《The Wealthy Psychic Lady: 99 Stolen Kisses》 Chapter 1

Chapter 1: After Passing Through This Door, I Have No Thoughts of Coming Out Again

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The chill from autumn crept into the air ¡ª the night sky was overcast, and the rain poured mercilessly amidst the shes of lightning and the thunder crashing. There were little pedestrians, and only dim yellow lighting reflected on the roads which were continuously being washed by the rain. ¡°Sir ¡ª please catch up to the red Porsche in front ¡ª I¡¯ll pay you double.¡± An Xiaoning had her eyes fixed ahead, and she continued to press the driver. ¡°Alright, sure, sit tight.¡± The driver stepped on the elerator and sped closer towards the luxury car. Finally, it followed the car to the entrance of a supermarket at Riverside Promenade. An Xiaoning immediately handed the fare over to the driver and said, ¡°Sir, can I sit in your car for a few minutes?¡± ¡°Sure, Miss. How is the person in that car rted to you?¡± ¡°He¡¯s my husband.¡± An Xiaoning kept a straight face and said bluntly, ¡°He¡¯s with my cousin.¡± Upon hearing this, the driver seemed to have thought of something and sat there with his eyes riveted ahead ¡ª he genuinely sympathized with An Xiaoning, who was beside him. The downpour became heavier. After more than ten minutes, the Porsche that was in front started moving. An Xiaoning clenched her teeth, rummaged through her bag to find her spare car keys, and crossed her bag over her shoulder to one side, resolutely alighting from the car. But the driver did not leave. He wanted to see what she was going to do instead. An Xiaoning swiftly walked to the front of the Porsche and used the spare keys to open the car ¡ª the woman in the car screamed and was pulled out of the car by her hair. Her body was unclothed. Subsequently, the man was also kicked out of the car undressed. What really left the driver dumbfounded was that An Xiaoning drove the car away immediately ¡ª leaving the adulterous pair in their bare skin, with no covering on their most important body parts, standing outside the supermarket and shivering uncontrobly from the cold. In the car, the lingering message of her husband¡¯s affair with her cousin left An Xiaoning gripping the steering wheel with her hands trembling and her emotions gradually going out of control. Atst, she stopped the car and leaned on the steering wheel, wailing uncontrobly. At a young age, she was sent to the mountains to practice her religion and was sent back home when her master passed away ¡ª only to be forced to marry the influential Shi Shaochuan. On the day of the wedding, Shi Shaochuan made his disdain for her clear, dering that he would make her a living widow and would nevery a finger on her his whole life. Since their marriage, two years had gone past. He really did not touch her once and even seldom spoke to her. He would rather sleep with other women than with her on the same bed. An Xiaoning had turned a blind eye to the other women he had been withst time, but she did not expect that he would eveny his hands on her own cousin... After crying for a full half hour, she finallyposed her emotions and went home. ¡°Young mistress ¡ª the matriarch and madam have flown into a rage. Be careful.¡± ¡°I know. Thanks, Uncle Lin.¡± An Xiaoning hastened her footsteps and, in one breath, she walked to the entrance of the living room. As one foot entered the room, a cold porcin cupnded urately on her forehead. Bright red blood oozed out and trickled down her forehead. Matriarch Shi swiftly cast her a fierce nce, which pierced through her like a knife. ¡°An Xiaoning, what big guts you have, you have the nerve to leave Shaochuan naked at Riverside Promenade! If this goes on the news, I¡¯ll hold you responsible for it!¡± ¡°So what if it goes on the news? Did I ask him to sleep with my cousin?¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t you the one who let your cousin live here? Now you¡¯re putting the me on Shaochuan when you were the one who caused this ¡ª if you didn¡¯t let that little vixen live here, would this have happened?!¡± Matriarch Shi furiously mmed the table. ¡°You¡¯ve been married for two years ¡ª you can¡¯t even get pregnant ¡ª even a chicken would haveid its eggs already!¡± An Xiaoning smirked in amusement. ¡°I¡¯m still a virgin now, grandma. You tell me, how can I get pregnant by myself?¡± ¡°What!¡± Matriarch Shi cried out in rm. She stared speechlessly at her daughter-inw and said, ¡°This you can¡¯t me on Shaochuan ¡ª he¡¯s even willing to sleep with your cousin but not you. It must mean that you are of such a poor standard and don¡¯t possess any charm at all.¡± ¡°What you mean is, I¡¯m the one in the wrong no matter what. Then what more do I have to say?¡± Shi Shaochuan came downstairs, his face looking ghastly. He ced the divorce agreement on the table. ¡°Sign it, and get out of this house immediately.¡± Mother Shi went forward to persuade. ¡°Shaochuan, when your grandfather was alive, he forbade both of you from getting divorced. You have to abide by it.¡± Shi Shaochuan did not look at his own mother and turned to his grandmother instead. ¡°Today, if you and my mother disagree with this divorce, I will not set foot in this house ever again. When I got married, I already told both of you that I don¡¯t like her ¡ª I hate her ¡ª I would rather marry a pig or dog than marry her, but grandfather insisted on this. Now, are all of you satisfied?¡± Matriarch Shi fixed her gaze at him. ¡°Have you really thought through this?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve long thought through this.¡± ¡°Then just get a divorce. Your grandfather is not around anymore ¡ª even if he learns about this and gets angry in the underworld, your grandmother has your back.¡± On Shi Shaochuan¡¯s face emerged a glimpse of a smile. He had yet to open his mouth to get An Xiaoning to sign the papers, but the papers were already signed. ¡°Smart enough of you.¡± He snorted coldly, signed his own name, then passed her a copy. ¡°See you at eight o¡¯clock tomorrow at the Civil Affairs Bureau. Now you can get out of here with nothing in your possession.¡± An Xiaoning suddenlyughed. ¡°Sure. Many thanks to Master Shi for returning me my freedom ¡ª I¡¯ll go and pack my belongings now and get out of here immediately with no dy.¡± She did not care about the blood stain which had dried on her forehead, or the bbergasted looks on the others, and returned to the bedroom. She quickly packed her clothes and carried her luggage downstairs. Without looking back at the Shi family again, she went out in the heavy rain. ¡ª She did not know where she could go from there ¡ª there was no ce for her in her family. She had little money, and she only knew fortune-telling andmunicating with spirits. All she could do now was to use her strengths to live on well. Standing outside a household to seek shelter from the rain, she used the inte from her phone to search for the youngest corporate businessman in S Nation. Eventually fixing her target as Jin Qingyan, she read about his family and all of his information. As her eyesnded on information on his mother, An Xiaoning threw her phone into her pocket and quickly moved to another neighborhood district. She stood before a door. She was about to reach out to press the doorbell, but a sh of blinding light projected from the side and a white Bentley speeding in the rain stopped behind her. An Xiaoning turned around, her eyes fighting hard against the rain to look at the male driver. The car door opened, and a shiny leather shoended. Jin Qingyan held a ck umbre in one hand and slowly walked to her. The umbrended above her head. His low and deep voice was masculine and attractive. ¡°A woman should cherish herself ¡ª how can you stand outside in the rain?¡± An Xiaoning gazed at his looks, her heart slightly moved. ¡°Can you invite me in to sit?¡± With a long deep look and a significant smile, he inquired, ¡°You¡¯re not afraid that you won¡¯t be able to get out after you enter?¡± An Xiaoning pursed her lips. ¡°After passing through this door, I have no thoughts ofing out again.¡± Chapter 2 - Congrats, Youre Now Famous!

Chapter 2: Congrats, You¡¯re Now Famous!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As she walked through the door, An Xiaoning realized that the vi was much bigger than she imagined. It looked more spacious under the warm yellow light that was cast across the room. Feeling chilly, An Xiaoning headed straight to the bathroom for a hot shower. d in Jin Qingyan¡¯s white shirt and ck trousers, she plonked herself down on the sofa and sipped on the hot ginger tea he made. The entire situation seemed rather peculiar and inappropriate since he was considered a stranger. ¡°If it were anybody else, they probably wouldn¡¯t take me in,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°I¡¯m not just anybody else,¡± Jin Qingyan said gently, swirling the ss of wine he was holding. ¡°An Xiaoning, while I was on my way home, I happened to chance upon the marvelous feat that was you chasing your Husband and his Mistress out of the car, stark naked at the junction. If it hadn¡¯t been for that, perhaps I would¡¯ve just behaved like ¡®anybody else¡¯ and refused to take you in. Congrats, you¡¯re now famous.¡± Startled by Jin Qingyan¡¯s words, An Xiaoning quickly exined, ¡°Mr. Jin, I¡¯m actually here to discuss a deal with you.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± said Jin Qingyan with raised eyebrows as he ced his feet on the table and wiped his mouth with a handkerchief. ¡°What would you like to discuss with me about?¡± he questioned calmly. ¡°Your mother has been feeling a constant pain in her calf that won¡¯t go away ¡ª even after multiple treatments by different doctors. Am I right?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I have a permanent solution for your mother¡¯s condition. If you trust me, she will never experience the pain ever again,¡± An Xiaoning said, her eyes fixed on him. Jin Qingyan was surprised, for not a single soul except his family was aware of his mother feeling pain in her calf. Due to her strong sense of pride, she demanded that her family members not spread the word about her condition. In fact, she was now secretly receiving treatment, but the results had constantly been unsatisfactory. Just how did An Xiaoning find out? he thought to himself as his mind filled with other questions. ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, give me a set of women¡¯s clothes and I¡¯ll go with you to visit your mother,¡± An Xiaoning said convincingly. ¡°What do you want in exchange?¡± ¡°Money. I want money,¡± she bluntly replied, with no intention of hiding her thoughts at all. ¡°How much?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a greedy person. Just 100 thousand yuan will do.¡± In a moment of recklessness, Jin Qingyan gave his assistant a call and ordered her to deliver a set of women¡¯s clothes for An Xiaoning. This was all done without hesitation. ¡°Are you aware of the consequences of lying?¡± Jin Qingyan questioned rhetorically. ¡°If what I said is not true, you¡¯re free to do whatever you want to me,¡± replied An Xiaoning confidently, smiling as she finished her ginger tea. Noticing how confident she was, Jin Qingyan decided to give her a shot. An Xiaoning quickly put on the set of women¡¯s clothes and followed him to visit his mother at his family mansite. ¡°Qingyan, who¡¯s thisdy you¡¯ve brought?¡± asked Jin Qingyan¡¯s grandmother, the old Mrs. Jin. ¡°Just a specialist for Mother¡¯s condition,¡± he replied. Then he asked, ¡°Father, where¡¯s Mother?¡± ¡°She¡¯s in her room, resting in bed,¡± answered his father. Jin Qingyan cast a nce at An Xiaoning, signaling for her to follow him to his mother¡¯s bedroom. His father and grandmother also tagged along. ¡°Mother, thisdy here says she can treat your calf,¡± he said immediately after opening the bedroom door. ¡°There had been so many experienced professionals who tried, but they all failed. Will she really make the cut?¡± asked Jin Qingyan¡¯s mother as she broke out in a cold sweat, trying to bear with the nagging pain. ¡°Auntie, no amount nor type of medicine can heal your calf. This is because the pain is not caused by an illness,¡± An Xiaoning said to his mother bluntly. Moving to the bedside, she continued, ¡°Auntie, I can ensure that the pain in your calf willpletely subside in two minutes, if you will believe me.¡± Mrs. Jin nodded along and agreed to give it a try. This was because she had no other resort, even though she was doubtful of An Xiaoning¡¯s words. An Xiaoning closed her eyes and began chanting with great speed. Once the time was right, she then pasted a yellow amulet that had words written in red onto Mrs. Jin¡¯s calf. A miracle happened almost immediately. Mrs. Jin sprung up joyously and eximed while looking at her calf in disbelief, ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt anymore! It really doesn¡¯t! How incredible!¡± ¡°Auntie, the pain in your calf was caused by spirits. Thus, no medicine can help curb the pain,¡± said An Xiaoning with a smile. ¡°Spirits? Please take a seat and tell me more,¡± asked Mrs. Jin as the smile on her face stiffened. Making herself at home, An Xiaoning sat down as instructed. ¡°In your situation, it is a case of karmic retribution,¡± An Xiaoning exined. ¡°During March this year, you identally knocked down a young child while driving, crushing his stomach and legs under the wheels twice. It was so severe that it resulted in instant death. Although you¡¯ve paid a hefty amount of money inpensation, you¡¯ve never once visited the child¡¯s grave to express your apology and remorse. Hence, the child bears hatred towards you for causing his death, even though it was not intentional. I suggest you go to his grave tomorrow morning and burn some paper clothes, along with 30 paper gold ingots, as a form of offering. I¡¯ll then perform a ritual to send his spirit away, after which your calf will no longer hurt.¡± Upon hearing what An Xiaoning had to say, Mrs. Jin said eagerly, ¡°Yes, indeed. I identally ran over a child while driving, sometime in March. The injuries were fatal. I didn¡¯t think much of the matter afterpensating his parents a huge sum of money. So that exins it. I¡¯ll atone for my sin tomorrow.¡± With a nod, An Xiaoning continued, ¡°Leave this amulet on your calf overnight, and the pain will have subsided when you remove it in the morning. However, it will continue to hurt, should you not do as I instructed earlier.¡± ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll do as you say. Will the amulet still be effective after I remove it tomorrow?¡± asked Mrs. Jin, who was entirely convinced that An Xiaoning could help her. ¡°I¡¯m afraid not. The amulet is only effective for one night. Rest assured, the pain will be gone once I perform the ritual tomorrow,¡± reassured An Xiaoning. ¡°I¡¯m hungry. Is there anything to eat?¡± she asked, feeling famished since she skipped dinner. ¡°Hubby, go get the kitchen to prepare some food for Ms. An, quick,¡± instructed Mrs. Jin. ¡°Thank you,¡± said An Xiaoning as she stood up. After everyone else left, Mrs. Jin asked her son, ¡°Qingyan, where did you find thatdy?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t. She came forth to look for me, out of her own ord,¡± Jin Qingyan answered. ¡°Out of her own ord?¡± questioned a puzzled Mrs. Jin. ¡°No one except our family members knows about my condition. Yet, not only is she aware, she even treated my calf using only an amulet. Wow, how strange.¡± ¡°Although it may seem hard to believe, it is indeed so,¡± said Jin Qingyan. On his way out, Jin Qingyan noticed his grandmother chatting merrily with An Xiaoning, who sat opposite her. He had never seen his grandmother so ted before. If only Grandma was as warm and friendly towards Rui¡¯er , he thought. Unfortunately, Rui¡¯er was simply too embarrassing and lowly in her eyes. In that instant, his eyes turned dull as he felt a tinge of sadness. ¡ª¡ª While driving home, Jin Qingyan casually asked An Xiaoning, ¡°Did you date and marry Shi Shaochuan out of your own will?¡± ¡°No,¡± An Xiaoning replied, a tone of mncholy in her voice. ¡°Ever since I was young, my parents had sent me to the mountains to learn from a master. When I reached the age of 20, I left the mountains and happened to save an old man, who then asked for my name. Little did I know, he was Shi Shaochuan¡¯s Grandfather, and he personally asked for me to marry his grandson shortly after. Enthralled by therge sum of betrothal money that Shi Shaochuan¡¯s Grandfather offered, my parents secretly agreed to let me marry him, without my knowledge. Growing up in the mountains, I had no experience in dating, and so I never thought much about marriage. Thus, I simply agreed to marry Shi Shaochuan, thinking that he wasn¡¯t a bad choice anyway.¡± Chapter 3 - Drunk on His Bed

Chapter 3: Drunk on His Bed

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Staring out of the window, An Xiaoning continued, ¡°I have no idea why, but ever since we got married, Shi Shaochuan had always disliked me ¡ª we¡¯ve never shared the same bed. Later on, his grandfather¡¯s illness deteriorated, and he passed away shortly after. Ever since, my presence in the Shi family seemed almost redundant. Wait, shouldn¡¯t you be more curious about why I ended up at your doorstep?¡± ¡°Well, to be honest, I¡¯m more interested in finding out what else you¡¯d wish to have, other than money,¡± replied Jin Qingyan. ¡°I wish to have a warm family,¡± replied An Xiaoning. He had wanted just the same. With a slight smile, he stared coldly at the road ahead. Making things clear beforehand, An Xiaoning said immediately after they arrived at his home, ¡°I¡¯d like for you to pay me half of the agreed sum in advance. You can pay the remaining half after the ritual ispleted tomorrow.¡± ¡°Why are you rushing me? Rest assured, I will pay you what is due. But first, let me take a shower,¡± Jin Qingyan said in response, loosening his tie and taking off his coat. He then put on his bedroom slippers and went upstairs while An Xiaoning waited for him in the living room. Ten minutes passed. Then twenty... and now, thirty... Yet, he still hadn¡¯t returned. Not wanting to wait any longer, An Xiaoning proceeded to look for him upstairs. The moment she entered his bedroom, she was greeted by a Jin Qingyan who was dressed in nothing else other than a bathrobe, his back facing her. It was nothing like she had expected. Jin Qingyan turned around and questioned, ¡°Getting anxious?¡± His lips thinned into a smirk at the same time, startling her. Not feeling like herself, An Xiaoning felt her heart racing out of the blue as she stared at him. ¡°I-I-I... decided toe up to look for you because you haven¡¯t returned even after a long time...¡± she said with a stutter. ¡°Are you going to barge in without knocking, even if I¡¯m showering?¡± Jin Qingyan asked, voice delicate. Is he implying that I was being impolite? An Xiaoning thought to herself. Upon hearing his words, she blushed with embarrassment and wished that the earth would swallow her up. ¡°Of course not, you¡¯re reading too much into things,¡± she answered. ¡°Come here,¡± instructed Jin Qingyan as, baring his olive skin, he sat on the sofa and poured two goblets of wine. An Xiaoning proceeded to sit opposite him. ¡°This is a cheque for 100 thousand yuan,¡± said Jin Qingyuan as he slid her the cheque. Surprised, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that the effects of my ritual are only temporary?¡± ¡°Well, you can be sure that I¡¯ll hunt you down no matter where you go, if that happens,¡± answered Jin Qingyuan. Offering her a goblet of alcohol, he continued, ¡°Try this. It¡¯s a drink you¡¯ve never tasted before.¡± An Xiaoning picked up the goblet and gave it a sip. ¡°What type of liquor is this?¡± she asked curiously after finding that it had a unique taste as he mentioned. ¡°It¡¯s a concoction I mixed myself, which I named ¡®Dreamyanghe¡¯,¡± answered Jin Qingyan. ¡°What does ¡®Dreamyanghe¡¯ mean?¡± ¡°Dreamy Yanghe liquor.¡± An Xiaoning enjoyed a drink every now and then, but she had good control and was never an alcoholic. However, she could not help but continue to down this liquor, sip after sip, goblet after goblet. After three goblets of wine, she still wanted more. ¡°You¡¯ve had enough. The effects of this drink are too strong, you should not be drinking that much,¡± said Jin Qingyan while stopping her from pouring herself a fourth goblet. ¡°Mr. Jin, the effects don¡¯t seem that strong to me. It tastes pretty good. Let me have another one, please, just one more,¡± An Xiaoning pleaded, licking her lips. He had no choice but to give in and allow her to pour herself onest drink, after which he put the liquor away. ¡°I said it would be thest, why are you still putting it away? You miser!¡± she eximed in a drunken stupor. ¡°A miser? I¡¯ve already offered you four goblets of the liquor, yet you are still not content. Do you have any idea how much each goblet costs?¡± retorted Jin Qingyan. ¡°A few hundred yuan... Or is it one thousand? Or two?¡± ¡°Twenty thousand yuan. You¡¯ve finished 80 thousand yuan¡¯s worth of liquor, and you¡¯re still calling me a miser?¡± he replied. An Xiaoning chuckled and stood up, almost losing her bnce. ¡°Wow, the effects are really strong. My head is spinning,¡± she continued, letting out a burp as she walked away from the sofa. To Jin Qingyan¡¯s surprise, An Xiaoning started walking towards his bed instead of leaving. Failing to stop her in time, he watched as she crawled onto his bed like a toad and kicked off the bedroom slippers. ¡°Get up and go sleep in the guest room,¡± he instructed, extending his hand to help her up. However, An Xiaoning turned around and whined with her eyes closed, ¡°I¡¯m only going to sleep for a while. Just a little while.¡± Not expecting An Xiaoning to be an alcoholic, Jin Qingyan began to deeply regret his decision to offer her some liquor. He really could not tell she was one. After half an hour of waiting while sitting on the sofa, she still did not wake up ¡ª he had no choice but to resort to forcing her. He had originally nned to carry her to the guest room. Little did he expect for An Xiaoning to react in such a way ¡ª she tugged at his bathrobe, causing it to fall to his waist instantly. After that, it continued to slide down further. Jin Qingyan put her down so he could adjust his bathrobe. At that very instant, An Xiaoning suddenly threw up all over him. The pungent odor of her vomit infiltrated his senses. He zoomed towards the bathroom, his hands covering his nose. An Xiaoning slipped back into her sleep after throwing up, leaving behind the mess she created, which Jin Qingyan would have to clean up. ¡ª¡ª It was daybreak. An Xiaoning awakened from her sleep, and the scene before her robbed her of her senses the moment she opened her eyes. She was lying stark naked in Jin Qingyan¡¯s bed, and he was nowhere to be found. What actually happenedst night? she thought to herself. Hearing the sudden noise of watering from the toilet, she quickly covered herself with the duvet. Jin Qingyan walked out of the bathroom wearing a look of disdain as he looked at her and said, ¡°What are you looking at? Put on some clothes and we¡¯ll make our way to the old mansite.¡± ¡°How... how did I end up in your bed?¡± An Xiaoning asked, bewildered. ¡°You should be asking yourself that,¡± answered Jin Qingyan. He left without another word. She then hopped off the bed while holding onto the duvet which was covering her naked body, then picked up the clothes on the floor. After putting on her clothes, she noticed a few bloodstains on the white sheets, giving her yet another shock. A terrifying image began to form in her mind. Last night... Did they do something they weren¡¯t supposed to? An Xiaoning quickly got dressed and took a photo of the stained sheets with her mobile phone. She hurried downstairs after taking the cheque left on the table. Remembering that it was the day she had to file for a divorce, she took out from her still-drenched luggage a pouch containing her bank ount passbook and personal identification card. ¡°What did you do to mest night?¡± An Xiaoning asked Jin Qingyan. ¡°Don¡¯t you remember at all?¡± he replied, looking at her as if to say she was a fool to even ask. ¡°Of course I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Splendid,¡± remarked Jin Qingyan, his cool and calm reply driving her crazy as she thought, What does that mean? ¡°Last night, did we... do something upsetting?¡± she continued to ask. ¡°It was joyous for you, but not so much for me. Quick, go have your breakfast,¡± he instructed while putting on his shoes. That darned jerk. How dare he say... it wasn¡¯t great for him! An Xiaoning cursed in her head. Her reaction was so boring. How infuriating! Jin Qingyan thought. After putting on her shoes, she said strangely, ¡°Anyway, I can¡¯t recall what happenedst night. Neither does it feel like anything. If not for the bloodstain on the sheets, I wouldn¡¯t have believed something like that actually happened.¡± Having just realized what she meant, a startled Jin Qingyan said casually without exposing her, ¡°If you¡¯d like me to prove it to you again while we¡¯re sober, we can do it tonight. I¡¯m all game for it.¡± Chapter 4 - My Duty Is to Bring You Glory

Chapter 4: My Duty Is to Bring You Glory

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Facing his back, An Xiaoning pursed her lips and checked the time on her mobile phone. ¡°It¡¯s almost 8 AM. I¡¯d better get going and sign the divorce papers with Shi Shaochuan at the Civil Administration Bureau,¡± she said hurriedly. ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning arrived at the Civil Administration Bureau, only to find that Shi Shaochuan had unexpectedly arrived before her. She alighted from the car after instructing Jin Qingyan to wait at a parking lot farther away. An Xiaoning and Shi Shaochuan were the first couple of the day to file for a divorce at the Civil Administration Bureau, the doors of which opened punctually at 8 AM in the morning. ¡°Pass me your personal identification card and household register,¡± instructed Shi Shaochuan. Doing as she was told, An Xiaoning handed him the items. He then submitted their personal identification cards and household register, along with the relevant materials required to file for a divorce, which was processed rather quickly. ¡°I had the best sleep of my lifest night, knowing that I¡¯ll never have to see you in my home again,¡± said Shi Shaochuan, looking at An Xiaoning as they exited the Civil Administration Bureau. ¡°Don¡¯t rejoice too soon, Shi Shaochuan. I bet you don¡¯t know the real reason behind your grandfather¡¯s wish for you to marry me,¡± An Xiaoning retorted. ¡°What is the reason?¡± asked Shi Shaochuan. ¡°It¡¯s because he asked about your fortune ¡ª all your marriages are destined to fail, no matter how many times you get married. I would be the only one to stay with you forever, if only you¡¯d choose me. Unfortunately, you didn¡¯t know any better.¡± An Xiaoning answered him confidently, showing a contented smile. Shi Shaochuan watched as her figure receded. ¡°You¡¯re just a swindle trying to fool me with your nonsense!¡± he eximed, but only after she was far away from him. As she was approaching Jin Qingyan¡¯s car, she tore the certificate of divorce into pieces before disposing it into a dustbin nearby. ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± she said, hopping onto the car. They returned to Jin Qingyan¡¯s home for breakfast before heading, along with his family members, to the house where the parents of the deceased child were living in. Upon understanding their purpose of visit, the parents brought them to their child¡¯s grave. An Xiaoning ced the paper clothes together with the gold ingots and handed them to Mrs. Jin so that the older woman could burn them. Meanwhile, she began a chant. After she finished chanting, she turned to the child¡¯s mother and said, ¡°Your child would like to have a piece of your clothing as an emblem of remembrance. Why don¡¯t you burn him this piece you¡¯re wearing? His eyes have turned red from continuous crying. What a poor child.¡± Upon hearing An Xiaoning¡¯s words, the child¡¯s mother broke into tears yet again. She removed the cardigan she was wearing and dropped it into the fire. At the end of her ritual, An Xiaoning said, ¡°He¡¯s gone now. It¡¯s time for us to leave.¡± On the journey home, she couldn¡¯t help but notice the child¡¯s mother tearing up uncontrobly. In a bid tofort her, An Xiaoning said, ¡°This is your child¡¯s destined fate. Try not to be too upset about it. He used to be a servant boy at the Temple of Tudi[Tudi: a Chinese mythical god ¡ª God of Earth]. He ought to return to the Heavens after bing your son. That¡¯s just his destiny, except as his parents, you do deserve some sympathy.¡± The child¡¯s mother felt a huge sense of relief after hearing what An Xiaoning said, and she thanked her profusely. An Xiaoning instructed Mrs. Jin in the car while they were on the way home. ¡°Your calf will be fine from now on. However, you ought to be more careful in the month of November this year. In fact, it¡¯s better that you stay at home, for there will be a looming threat of a fatal disaster.¡± Mrs. Jin¡¯s relief was short-lived. Fearful of the disaster An Xiaoning had mentioned, she quickly asked, ¡°Xiaoning, could you please tell me what disaster it would be?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t go into detail, but I strongly advise you to take my word seriously, and just stay home for the entire month of November,¡± persuaded An Xiaoning. ¡°Yes, I will,¡± said Mrs. Jin, nodding abidingly. ¡°I truly adore you, Xiaoning! If only Qingyan had the fortune of marrying such a great wife like you,¡± eximed the old Mrs. Jin. Recalling his misunderstanding with An Xiaoning, Jin Qingyan thought to himself, Could it be that she¡¯s so ignorant about rtionships because she grew up in the mountains? He found her to be rather pure and innocent. After all, she should have known that she would definitely feel a certain soreness in her lower body, had they really done the deedst night. ¡°Last night, Xiaoning and I... We shared the same bed,¡± Jin Qingyan confessed, coughing in between. Not expecting Jin Qingyan to bring up the matter, An Xiaoning instantly turned red as a tomato and red at him with her face flushed, staring daggers. ¡°Xiaoning, is that true?¡± said Mrs. Jin and the old Mrs. Jin in unison, both breaking into an approving smile. ¡°Well, we had a bit too much to drink that night...¡± An Xiaoning exined and tacitly agreed. ¡°Xiaoning, since you¡¯ve already done the deed with Qingyan, I shall decide for you two. Why don¡¯t you get married?¡± proposed the old Mrs. Jin joyously. Already expecting his grandmother toe up with such an idea, Jin Qingyan did not have much of a reaction, unlike An Xiaoning who was dumbfounded. ¡°Get married? But, I just signed my divorce papers this morning, Grandma,¡± she said bluntly. ¡°Do you have children?¡± asked the old Mrs. Jin. ¡°No, I never lived together with my ex-husband ever since we got married,¡± answered An Xiaoning. Believing An Xiaoning, the old Mrs. Jin eximed, ¡°That¡¯s great! We don¡¯t mind that you were once married.¡± With a faint sneer on his lips, Jin Qingyan thought, Grandma doesn¡¯t mind that she had been married before, simply because she isn¡¯t Rui¡¯er. From the bottom of her heart, An Xiaoning truly felt that Jin Qingyan was a great catch ¡ª he had an aplished career, and he was extremely polite and gentle. Although he sometimes puts on airs ¡ª a formidable, standoffish aura ¡ª feelings can be nurtured. Moreover, for someone who doesn¡¯t quite have a family, she wanted nothing more than a warm one. ¡°But, both parties have to be willing to get married.¡± ¡°Qingyan, what do you think of Xiaoning?¡± the old Mrs. Jin asked her grandson. ¡°Just like you, I too agree that she¡¯s a great choice for a wife. I¡¯ve always thought that way, ever since the moment I first saw her,¡± he answered. An Xiaoning remained silent. She was at a loss for words. On the other hand, Mrs. Jin and the old Mrs. Jin were ted. They were happier than ever, for they were extremely pleased with their new future daughter-inw. ¡°We shall discuss the details of your marriage once we get home. What a glorious day! I can¡¯t help but adore Xiaoning more and more,¡± the old Mrs. Jin said, smiling warmly. An Xiaoning did not see the marriage as a big deal since she had already given herself to him. Well, at least, that was what she thought. Most importantly, it was a testament to how attractive she was, which she wanted to show the Shi Family. An Xiaoning had initially nned to pack her bags and find a lodging ce once she arrived back at Jin Qingyan¡¯s house. However, with a sudden twist of fate, she was getting married instead. ¡°Qingyan, when do you think is a good time to hold the wedding?¡± asked the old Mrs. Jin. ¡°I think we should register our marriage first, this afternoon. The wedding should be held on an auspicious date, and next Monday would be perfect,¡± Jin Qingyan suggested in a poised and serious manner. ¡°A week should be enough to make the necessary arrangements,¡± he continued. The old Mrs. Jin was taken aback by her grandson¡¯s response, for it was rather unusual of him to agree to get married so hastily. ¡°Of course, that would be great,¡± the old Mrs. Jin agreed anyway. After dropping his family off, An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan were left alone in the car. They made their way back to his house. ¡°Is the marriage too rushed? After all, you barely know me,¡± she asked, worried that they might be taking things too quickly. ¡°Fret not, we will have ample time to get to know each other better after we get married. I actually considered our marriage seriously beforehand, so you don¡¯t have to worry that I agreed to it in a moment of rashness. I¡¯m not the type to treat marriage like child¡¯s y,¡± he replied. ¡°Pull over,¡± requested An Xiaoning. ¡°What do you want to do?¡± asked Jin Qingyuan. ¡°Now that I have money, of course I have to make myself presentable. As your wife, it¡¯s my duty to bring you glory,¡± she answered. Chapter 5 - The Wedding

Chapter 5: The Wedding

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning opened the door and alighted from the car. ¡°Let¡¯s meet at the Civil Administration Bureau at 3 PM,¡± she said to Jin Qingyan, then she quickly waved him goodbye while closing the door. Watching her figure recede, Jin Qingyan began to develop a mix of emotions. ¡ª¡ª Within just 10 minutes, news of Jin Qingyan¡¯s marriage broke out and the word spread fast. The breaking news made the headlines of tabloids and was broadcasted across primetime TV channels all over the world. The Jin family did not intentionally try to conceal the identity of the bride, An Xiaoning, either. Netizens soon found out that the bride was actually An Xiaoning, who had caught her ex-husband and his mistress red-handed in front of the supermarket at Bin Jiang Avenuest night. They could not understand how she got so lucky ¡ª getting married in the afternoon, right after she filed for a divorce in the morning. This was especially due to the fact that wealthy families are usually known to abstain from the taboo of selecting daughter-inws who were once married. Besides, Jin Qingyan was too much of a great catch to have to marry a divorced woman like An Xiaoning. It did not make any sense at all. After getting her hair done at the salon, An Xiaoning overheard the women next to her gossiping about her marriage. A mix of emotions stirred within her. ¡°Did you hear? Jin Qingyan is getting married!¡± Woman A eximed loudly to Woman B. ¡°The bride is a divorcee who just filed for her divorce this morning. How outrageous!¡± she continued. ¡°Do you have a photo of her?¡± ¡°Yes, here¡¯s a CCTV footage of her exposing her husbandst night. Oh my god, look how short she is... Can her waist get any thicker? She must be a in Jane who looks nothing more than ordinary.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. Mr. Jin must be blind to have chosen her!¡± ¡°Well, she must be really good in bed. Why else would he be attracted to her?¡± ¡°Exactly...¡± Taking a deep breath, An Xiaoning urged herself to stay still and endure the humiliation just a little longer until all of her sleek, straight hair had been curled. After making her payment at the cashier, she stormed furiously towards the two women and confronted them, ¡°It¡¯s me, An Xiaoning! Excuse you, please have a thorough look at me. Do I have a short stature and a thick waist like you said?¡± ¡°Oh, um... Certainly not,¡± answered Woman B, mellowing her tone significantly. ¡°Thank you,¡± An Xiaoning said with an assertive smile. She left confidently. Boiling with rage as she exited the salon, she immediately proceeded to buy herself two other sets of expensive and ssy clothing. She did not want to be branded as a bride who was as unstylish as a country bumpkin. With her arms full of shopping bags, An Xiaoning strode quickly towards Jin Qingyan, who had arrived on time at the Civil Administration Bureau and was waiting for her. After cing the shopping bags in his car, she turned to him and asked, ¡°Mr. Jin, how do you like my new hairstyle and outfit?¡± Jin Qingyan kept his eyes steadily on An Xiaoning, almost not recognizing her new look. He already thought she looked pretty and intelligent, exuding a pure and refined demeanor. However, he never knew that she could transform into a ravishing beauty with just a change of outfit and hairstyle, along with some exquisite make up tailored to her features. ¡°You look amazing,¡± said Jin Qingyan. He took her hand. ¡°Let¡¯s enter.¡± An Xiaoning gazed at him. She would forever remember this day ¡ª the sunny afternoon sun cast its rays on them; he was dressed in a white-cored shirt beneath a sleek ck suit while she donned a white women¡¯s cored shirt, along with a cream-colored knitted wool cardigan. Together, they made their way down the aisle, bing an officially married couple despite being unsure of what the future holds. A picture taken against a red background showed the pair of newlyweds, both d in a white-cored shirt, as they smiled broadly for the camera. On the 26th of September, they registered their marriage. There was no one else living in the vi but Jin Qingyan, with the exception of the part-time cleaner who visited at fixed times to clean and tidy his house. To him, his house was nothing more than a ce for him to sleep in. It was akin to a long-term stay in a hotel, allowing him to leave early in the morning, and only returning for a night¡¯s sleep every day. Once they arrived home, An Xiaoning headed straight to his bedroom to rece the bedsheets. Her imagination ran wild as she got reminded about the plum-red bloodstain from the night before. Images of Jin Qingyan lying on top of her began to flood her mind... A fuzzy warmth filled her heart as she thought about it. ¡°Boss, someone¡¯s calling you again!¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s ringtone cranked. Looking at the caller disy, she felt a strong reluctance to pick up the call. ¡°Yes, Father?¡± An Xiaoning answered anyway. ¡°You¡¯d bettere back home right now!¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s father roared with uncontroble fury. ¡°Okay.¡± An Xiaoning ended the call and proceeded downstairs. ¡°I have to make a trip back home,¡± she said while putting on her shoes near the door. ¡°I¡¯ll go with you,¡± suggested Jin Qingyan. ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± she rejected. ¡°Did you forget that we¡¯re already married now? Why can¡¯t I meet your parents?¡± he replied, insisting on apanying her home. Seeing how persistent he was, she agreed atst. It was not that An Xiaoning was strongly against the idea of him tagging along. In fact, she was just ashamed of her parents¡¯ nasty and loathsome demeanor. After an hour¡¯s journey along the expressway, they finally arrived at a vige house situated at the foot of a hill, next to a stream. The white Bentley sped through the vige entrance and gradually came to a halt in front of An Xiaoning¡¯s house. Amotion broke out as the vigers gathered around the car, engaging in a discussion as they scrutinized the Bentley, which was a rather rare sight. Unfazed, An Xiaoning alighted and turned a blind eye to the crowd, not greeting them at all. Her actions caught Jin Qingyan by surprise, for he had always found her to be polite. ¡°Why did you go ahead with a divorce without discussing with your mother and me, beforehand? It is such a serious matter!¡± hollered an enraged Mr. An, who was chopping some firewood. He seemed so angry he might throw the ax at her. ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t see a need to. Just like how you didn¡¯t, when you agreed to marry me off back then,¡± argued An Xiaoning. ¡°You and Mother insisted on having Fang Fang move in with the Shi Family. Now that Fang Fang and Shi Shaochuan havemitted adultery, do I not have a good enough reason to divorce him?¡± she continued. ¡°Ever since you were born, there had been no peace for you at all in this family. We had a hard time marrying you off, yet you decided to file for a divorce. Xiaoning, it is only normal for a man to have an affair. At the end of the day, you¡¯d still be hiswful wife. What are you going to do now that you are divorced? Who¡¯s going to marry you next?¡± said An Xiaoning¡¯s mother earnestly whileing out of the house. ¡°Greetings Father and Mother-inw, Xiaoning and I have registered our marriage this afternoon. You no longer have to worry about her being left on the shelves,¡± said Jin Qingyan, stepping forward to greet her parents. An Xiaoning¡¯s parents looked at each other in dismay, then looked Jin Qingyan up and down. Beaming with pleasure, Mrs. An quickly weed Jin Qingyan into their house. ¡°Hurry,e in. If you didn¡¯t mention about the marriage, Xiaoning¡¯s Dad and I wouldn¡¯t have known otherwise.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s parents understood that their daughter had gotten married to Jin Qingyan in the afternoon, shortly after settling her divorce with Shi Shaochuan in the morning. The realization that Jin Qingyan was a far better catch than their previous son-inw sparked a sudden, significant shift in their attitude. They hurriedly proceeded to prepare a sumptuous feast to wee him. They even criticized Shi Shaochuan and An Xiaoning¡¯s cousin, Fang Fang, for betraying her, agreeingpletely with An Xiaoning¡¯s decision to divorce him ¡ª theplete opposite of their initial reaction. Just as they were about to leave, Mrs. An pulled An Xiaoning to a corner and asked eagerly, ¡°Since you¡¯ve already registered your marriage, when will the wedding be?¡± ¡°Next Monday,¡± she replied coldly. ¡°What about the betrothal gifts? Or did you pocket it? How much did they offer?¡± Mrs. An bombarded An Xiaoning with questions, staring at her acquisitively. Completely ignoring her mother, An Xiaoning turned away and left. ¡°Hey, hey, hey! You haven¡¯t answered your mother!¡± Mrs. An eximed. An Xiaoning hopped onto the car and instructed Jin Qingyan to start driving straight away, once again disregarding her mother. Chapter 6 - Husband, I Was Wrong

Chapter 6: Husband, I Was Wrong

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The car left the small vige at the speed of light. After they reached the highway, An Xiaoning opened the windows partially ¡ª under the dark, starry sky, the cool air conditioning blew on her face and made it feel slightly refreshed. ¡°You are someone with many stories,¡± Jin Qingyan said firmly. ¡°It seems like you really hateing back here.¡± ¡°I had weak birth characters. ording to my mother, ever since I was born, I was a curse to my family. Then the people around me started having bad things happening to them all the time. They put the me on me and said I was the cause of it all.¡± Thinking of these scenes from her younger days, An Xiaoning was still torn by the old memories. ¡°Ever since I could remember, I¡¯d been subjected to taunts and horrible insults by the other vigers ¡ª they think I¡¯m an ill omen. There was one year, most of the pigs in the whole vige died of an epidemic. They med it on me again and came to my house, demanding punishment for a reincarnated evil spirit like me. The method of punishment was to be tied to a huge stage surrounded by firewood sshed with gasoline ¡ª they wanted to burn me to death.¡± Jin Qingyan urgently probed, ¡°Then what happened?¡± ¡°I¡¯m ultimately still my parent¡¯s flesh and blood. They naturally wouldn¡¯t have stomached seeing me get burned to death. They sent me to the mountains ¡ª I think the word ¡®sent¡¯ still sounds quite pleasant to hear. And so every time I think of this, I¡¯ll say that my parents sent me to the mountains since I was young. But actually, I was abandoned at my master¡¯s house. Only when my master passed away was I forced to go back to that home.¡± At that point, An Xiaoning held onto his arm. ¡°Now, you¡¯re my family ¡ª my husband ¡ª you will treat me well right?¡± Jin Qingyan darted a nce at her and said a single word, ¡°Yes.¡± The corner of An Xiaoning¡¯s lip curled into a smile. In that one moment, she felt that her life was not too bad ¡ª at least, when heaven closed a door on her, another one was opened right after. When they reached home, the living room was brightly lit. An Xiaoning was surprised. ¡°Is someone here?¡± ¡°Go in and take a look.¡± Jin Qingyan actually had some idea of who was inside. Someone who could enter his living room must be from the old vi. As expected, the housekeeper saw that they were back and nodded slightly. ¡°Young master, young mistress, madam asked me to prepare some shoes, bags, clothing, and other stuff for young mistress. She asked me to bring them here ¡ª I have hung everything in the dressing room. There is also a whole set of top-quality cosmetics and essories. I hope young mistress likes it.¡± ¡°Thank you, housekeeper, I¡¯ll definitely like them.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll take my leave first.¡± ¡°Take care, housekeeper.¡± An Xiaoning excitedly went upstairs. The dressing table was ced in the bedroom with many cosmetics arranged there as well as a wide array of essories. Opening the door of the dressing room, she found that there was indeed a wide collection of items inside. An Xiaoning excitedly looked at each item. They were all top-quality branded goods. One look at them and it was obvious they must have cost a bomb. Finally, An Xiaoning¡¯s handsnded on a set of uniform. At the thought that it was their wedding night, An Xiaoning took the uniform and ced it in the bathroom. Closing the door of the bathroom, she then rinsed and bathed. Before she wore it, she didn¡¯t think there would be anything to show, but once she put it on and An Xiaoning saw her reflection, she saw that the clothing revealed her small waist and slender legs. She turned one round, and what burst out of her mouth was the word ¡®perfect.¡¯ She walked a few rounds around the bathroom by herself and, at that moment, felt that she was in quite a good shape. After blowing dry her hair, she started cat walking ¡ª all while twisting her slender waist ¡ª out of the bathroom. Jin Qingyan was leaning on the bed rest and tasting wine. Upon seeing her, he almost choked to death. ¡°Is this a uniform showcase?¡± His voice was t and his gaze grew deeper. An Xiaoning started to feel hot all over. But keeping in mind that he was her husband, she felt that there was nothing to feel shy about and started walking towards him, looking at him with her soft and gentle gaze. ¡°How do I look in this? Give somements.¡± ¡°Not bad ¡ª just that... isn¡¯t the skirt a little short?¡± She lowered her head and took another look. ¡°It¡¯s not short at all. The school uniform for girls is of this length.¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s abdomen tightened and he ced the ss on the bedside table. ¡°I don¡¯t know about other people, but seeing you wear this, I think you are asking for trouble.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you?¡± ... ... ... Finally, he teased her, ¡°Didn¡¯t expect that your body is still intact.¡± The corner of An Xiaoning¡¯s lip twitched. ¡°Yesterday night, didn¡¯t we already... what exactly is going on?¡± ¡°Who told you we already did what we shouldn¡¯t have done?¡± He smiled cheekily. ¡°Just because of the bloodstain on the bedsheet? That happened in the middle of the night when you woke up from your drunken state: you smashed a flower vase which pricked my arm.¡± An Xiaoning was jolted by his words and had a feeling of being deceived. And yet, she could not me him. Thinking of what he just said, she held her waist andy down. ¡°I really didn¡¯t feel a thing just now, but now I feel weirdly sleepy. I¡¯ll sleep first.¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s eyes sank. He suddenly pounced her onto the bed and looked down at her. ¡°I¡¯ll use myself to prove whether you really didn¡¯t feel a thing!¡± Before An Xiaoning could react, her body was already mped down and she could not move at all. An Xiaoning opened her eyes slightly and looked at him. She said faintly, ¡°Husband, I was wrong.¡± ¡°It¡¯s gettingte...¡± ¡ª An Xiaoning felt like her whole body had been pressed down by an excavator. It ached all over. When she opened her eyes, she felt lucky to be alive. Thinking back to the previous night, it had seemed like a horrible nightmare. When she woke up in the morning, the sun was already bright and shining. The sunlight outside the window shone into the house and beams of light rays reflected from the floor. Thinking about everything that happenedst night, she took a deep breath. It was unbearable to think about ¡ª his physical strength was so good ¡ª she had really underestimated him. He was almost like a beast. It is true that people really cannot be judged based on their appearance. She tried her best and managed to sit upright, but An Xiaoning¡¯s brain was still in an unclear state. Then, a voice came from the door. ¡°Come down and eat, the food will get cold soon.¡± She pulled up the nkets and grudgingly said, ¡°If not for you, I would have long been awake. Now my head hurts, my waist hurts, my legs hurt ¡ª everywhere is aching. All because of you. ¡± ¡°Who was the one who seduced mest night? Now I¡¯m the one at fault.¡± An Xiaoning wore her clothes and took her time to wash up. On the tabley a warm spread of breakfast. Yet there was no maid at home. An Xiaoning asked, ¡°You made this?¡± ¡°Of course ¡ª with such a capable husband, you are truly fortunate.¡± As he said this, one could hardly sense that he was being shamelessly boastful. While drinking the porridge, she said, ¡°One can hardly tell that the dignified young master of the Jin Corporation actually knows how to cook. What else can you do?¡± He crossed his leg and replied leisurely. ¡°There are many more things I can do. For example, various ways to make marital life exciting. I believe after yesterday night¡¯s experience, you are already familiar with this. If you still wish to continue exploring this area with me, we can perhapse up with many more fun ways which can contribute greatly to improving the quality of marital life. May I know if you are interested?¡± Chapter 7 - Looking for An Xiaoning

Chapter 7: Looking for An Xiaoning

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In haste, An Xiaoning wolfed down her meal, pretending not to understand what she just heard. After breakfast, An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan went ahead to the tailor for their wedding dress and suit. Not wanting to waste any time, they then proceeded to take their wedding photos as well. They picked out a wedding dress, got her makeup done, and took a couple of outdoor shots at the beach, followed by a few other ones at the studio. By the end of it all, An Xiaoning began to feel like her legs were jelly ¨C they were almost giving out on her. ¡°Put on your best dress tonight,¡± instructed Jin Qingyan while they made their way home. ¡°Why?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°I¡¯m taking you to a ball,¡± he exined. She agreed without hesitation, thinking that it would not matter much since she could get a good rest before evening arrived. Jin Qingyan then drove away after dropping her off at the doorstep. She punched in the passcode and unlocked the digital lock on the door. Dog-tired, she quickly made her way to her bedroom upstairs and sprawled onto the bed, not wanting to move another inch. ¡°Boss, someone is calling you!¡± went her mobile ringtone. Looking at the caller disy which showed a local unknown number, she picked up the call. ¡°Hello?¡± ¡°Hey, cousin. It¡¯s me.¡± Instead of hanging up when she heard Wang Fangfang¡¯s voice, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Cousin, I know I shouldn¡¯t have done that. I¡¯m sorry. Will you forgive me?¡± Wang Fangfang apologized. ¡°Though I¡¯m unsure of how you¡¯d even have the cheek to ask for my forgiveness, I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t. I¡¯m not a saint nor God. I can¡¯t be that magnanimous and forgiving,¡± An Xiaoning replied sarcastically. ¡°An Xiaoning! I apologized to you sincerely from the bottom of my heart, yet you¡¯re still so unforgiving and obstinate. Who do you think you are? Marrying a rich husband does not make you high and mighty!¡± Wang Fangfang snapped scornfully. ¡°Look at you getting all worked up. Don¡¯t embarrass yourself again by calling me. Watch out, don¡¯t hurt yourself getting too upset. Otherwise, Shi Shaochuan might just go ahead and have another affair again,¡± mocked An Xiaoning. She ended the call right after, not giving Wang Fangfang a chance to retaliate. Feeling much less exhausted, An Xiaoningid down in bed again and sandwiched a pillow between her legs. After a big stretch, she set an rm on her phone and dozed off in no time. The rm went off at 5 PM sharp, waking An Xiaoning up. By now, she was already famished, and her stomach let out a low grumble. She quickly took a bath, dried her hair, and did her makeup ¡ª all in one go. Jin Qingyan arrived to pick her up just as she went downstairs. d in a pink qipao[qipao: traditional Chinese body-hugging dress for women] and a pastel-colored shawl draped over her shoulders, An Xiaoning looked more wless than ever ¡ª what with her face boasting immacte makeup and her long, curly locks cascading down her back. ¡°What ball is it? What are the people there going to be like?¡± asked An Xiaoning, trying to distract herself from her hunger. ¡°You¡¯ll know when we get there,¡± answered Jin Qingyan. ¡°That¡¯s as good as not replying,¡± scorned An Xiaoning. All eyes were on An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan as the couple entered the venue with their arms locked. They could already guess who the ravishing beauty was by their bodynguage. A bevy of single socialites stared at An Xiaoning with a look of disdain on their faces; all were green with envy. ¡°Is that Jin Qingyan¡¯s new wife?¡± they began to gossip. ¡°Yes, they just registered their marriage not long ago. I heard they had their wedding photoshoot today.¡± ¡°She¡¯s pretty good-looking, except shecks ss and elegance. What a shame. I heard shees from a small vige, with lowly status.¡± ¡°Exactly, it must be true love between them...¡± ¡°...¡± Although the gossipmongers were careful not to be too loud, An Xiaoning still managed to hear everything they had to say ¡ª be it good or bad ¡ª thanks to her impable hearing. As she continued to stride forward, she felt Jin Qingyan slowing down in his tracks. ncing ahead, she noticed ady dressed in a violet gown with a goblet of wine in her hands, chatting merrily with other guests. Though her looks were not extraordinary, she had perfectly poised mannerisms and exuded a certain air of elegance, which were bound to leave asting impression. Shifting her attention to the couple, she stood up and began to walk gracefully towards them, a gentle smile on her lips. ¡°Jingyan, I need a word with you privately,¡± said thedy while shooting An Xiaoning a nce. Sensing something peculiar about the rtionship between thedy and Jin Qingyan, An Xiaoning excused herself. ¡°Excuse me while I visit the restroom.¡± ¡°Why did you do that? I know you don¡¯t love her. You¡¯re only trying to spite me and get your revenge because I got together with Bei Cheng,¡± questioned Chi Rui¡¯er as she stared at the man before her. ¡°You said you wanted a word with me. Is this all you have to say?¡± asked Jin Qingyan, his eyes fixed on her. ¡°Jingyan, you can¡¯t fool me,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er said firmly, without doubt. ¡°It¡¯s not toote to turn back now. I don¡¯t wish to see you acting like this, torturing yourself because of me,¡± she continued. ¡°We¡¯ve already registered our marriage. Don¡¯t you watch the news?¡± retorted Jin Qingyan. ¡°You...¡± replied Chi Rui¡¯er, at a loss for words. ¡ª¡ª¡ª As she sat on the toilet bowl, it suddenly struck An Xiaoning that she was thewful wife of Jin Qingyan. Why did she have to allow them to have a conversation privately? Could there be a secret between them which was not to be divulged? she thought in her head. She had no idea how long they were going to take. After she was done with her business, An Xiaoning sat atop the toilet seat cover for 15 minutes straight. Wondering where she had gone, Jin Qingyan began to look for her himself. Since he could not enter the Ladies¡¯ Room, he waited patiently for someone to exit or enter it, hoping that they could help him call for An Xiaoning. However, there was not a single soul in sight as time passed. He had no choice but to enter the restroom. ¡°An Xiaoning?¡± he called. ¡°Yes?¡± she responded, at the same time standing up and exiting the cubicle. At that very instant, she heard a female voice from outside, approaching the restroom. A quick-witted An Xiaoning frantically grasped at Jin Qingyan and shoved him into a cubicle. Two women entered just as she closed the cubicle¡¯s door shut. Standing on tiptoe, she whispered in his ear, ¡°Why did youe inside the Ladies?¡± She was thinking that he could have simply given her a phone call if he was looking for her. Little did she know that he had forgotten to bring his mobile phone out with him that evening. ¡°To look for you, of course. Why else would I be in here?¡± Jin Qingyan asked teasingly. As he did so, he stroked her long locks. ¡°This is the Ladies¡¯ Room, how daring of you,¡± she replied with a change of expression, trying to suppress her voice. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that?¡± he asked, his lips brushing lightly across her face. The warmth of his breath sent her into a state of nervousness. Her legs turned to jelly. An Xiaoning gazed at him, speechless. Her heart was ricocheting against her chest. She could still hear the women chatting incessantly, along with the sound of water trickling from the tap in the background. She stood rooted to the ground, afraid to even speak, for she was fearful that the women would find out about Jin Qingyan hiding in the Ladies¡¯. ... Initially, he had purely wanted to just look for her, nothing more. Who knew... Jin Qingyan likened An Xiaoning to an aged wine ¡ª incredibly addictive after savoring it just once, leaving one begging for more because it tastes better and better with each sip, while the aftertaste lingers in one¡¯s mouth. She had silky smooth hair, and a pair of eyes that sparkled like diamonds, coupled with a pair of luscious lips. What a fine woman, indeed. For a period of time, no one entered the restroom, perhaps because the ball hadmenced. The pair of newlyweds exited the toilet, feeling like a huge load was lifted off their chests ¡ª there was no longer anyone within their vicinity. And thank heavens: Jin Qingyan would have surely made the headlines if he had gotten caught in the act of trespassing into the Ladies¡¯ Room. Chapter 8 - What Are You Waiting For? Get Out of My Sight, Now!

Chapter 8: What Are You Waiting For? Get Out of My Sight, Now!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Turning slightly red with anger, An Xiaoning eyed her husband, who was acting as if nothing had happened at all. She wanted nothing more than to expose his true colors, which were hidden beneath a facade. Indeed, the ball had alreadymenced. The crowd wasrger than she had expected. ¡°I¡¯m hungry,¡± said An Xiaoning to Jin Qingyan. She reached out to hold his hand. ¡°Come with me,¡± he said. They sat down on a sofa elsewhere, facing a young man who was holding a scantily-d woman in his arms. ¡°Fill your stomach with something small first. There will be proper dishester,¡± said Jin Qingyan as he handed An Xiaoning a te of appetizers. An Xiaoning shoved the appetizers into her mouth incessantly, one after another. She was too hungry to even bother about her image and posture, so much so that even Jin Qingyan could not stand watching her any further. Pursing his lips, he urged An Xiaoning, ¡°Hey, slow down. If you get yourself too full, how are you going to stomach the main dishester on?¡± ¡°Try this, hubby. It¡¯s delicious!¡± said an excited An Xiaoning, attempting to feed him. Jin Qingyan watched in embarrassment as she refused to heed his advice. Not wanting to chide her in public, he had no choice but to admit defeat and allow her to feed him the appetizer. Unable to contain his amusement, the young man opposite them let out a burst of boisterousughter and said, ¡°Young Master Jin, this has got to be your new wife, whom I¡¯ve yet to meet.¡± Slowing down, An Xiaoning nodded along with her mouth full. Jin Qingyan quickly handed her a drink with a low alcohol content, afraid that she would choke on her food. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m An Xiaoning, nice to meet you,¡± An Xiaoning introduced herself, right after taking a sip of the drink to water down the food in her mouth. ¡°Nice to meet you, I¡¯m Long Tianze,¡± greeted Long Tianze. As he did, his almond-shaped eyes wandered about. ¡°We¡¯ll be seeing each other rather frequently in the future. Young Master Jin and I have been friends ever since we were born. There¡¯s nothing about him that I don¡¯t know about, other than you... whom I found out about from the news. I have no clue at all as to how you two met and for how long. Well, looks like you¡¯re really important, for him to conceal your identity for so long, until the day you got married,¡± he continued. ¡°That¡¯s true. We¡¯ll be spending the rest of our lives together, so of course he has to respect me,¡± said An Xiaoning proudly, casting a nce at Long Tianze, overjoyed. ¡°Hahaha,¡± Long Tianze chuckled. He found her to be rather likable. Taken aback by her words, Jin Qingyan thought to himself, Spending the rest of our lives together? That idea had never once crossed his mind. ¡°Long time no see, Jin Qingyan,¡± said a cold, deep male voice. Looking in the direction of where the male voice wasing from, An Xiaoning watched as a man donning a full-white suit eased himself into his seat. He had a pair of long, thin eyes, a pronounced nose bridge coupled with thin and flushed red lips, and he wore an eye-catching blue diamond earstud on his earlobe. He exuded a dominating and fearsome aura. Thed was exceptionally handsome, but he still dulled inparison with Jin Qingyan. Coincidentally, the female partner he had brought along was the same woman who had wanted to speak to Jin Qingyan privately earlier. ¡°Gu Beicheng. It has indeed been a long time since we¡¯ve met, jerk,¡± said Jin Qingyan with a voice as cold as ice. Anyone could tell with just a look that the two weren¡¯t exactly on good terms with each other. ¡°Thest time we met, you were still battling it out with me over Rui¡¯er. Why... did you get married so soon after? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve given up on love because you were too heartbroken?¡± Gu Beicheng mocked Jin Qingyan while gently caressing the hair of Chi Rui¡¯er, who sat in his arms. All of a sudden, Long Tianze pushed thedy in his arms away and hollered in a moment of pique, ¡°Why is it so smelly? Are you trying to stink me to death? What are you waiting for? Get out of my sight, now!¡± His initial affection turned into an uncontroble rage. In order to be hisdy, one would first have to possess a good sense of self-awareness and intelligence. Knowing without needing to be told that Long Tianze was not actually referring to her, thedy stood up and excused herself, instantly ying along. An Xiaoning was tempted to let out a giggle or two, but she stopped herself. Instead, she turned to Jin Qingyan, who appeared extremely upset, and said sarcastically with a smile, ¡°Hubby, you actually fought with him over Chi Rui¡¯er? If he wants that dog so badly, let¡¯s just gift it to him! There¡¯s no point getting all worked up over such a trivial matter.¡± ¡°A dog... Rui¡¯er?¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s words had caught Jin Qingyan by surprise. Meanwhile, Gu Beicheng chuckled menacingly while Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s face stiffened. On the other hand, Long Tianze broke into an uncontroble bout ofughter. ¡°Yes, yes, she¡¯s right. Qingyan, just give that dog to me, lest you two argue over it. How annoying is that!¡± added Long Tianze mockingly. Jin Qingyan had never had a dog; he had zero patience for domestic pets. However, he knew that his wife was just trying to help him out of the predicament. Kudos to her foring up with such an idea. ¡°Honey, didn¡¯t you want to eat hot and spicy lobsters? Let¡¯s go have them somewhere else,¡± said Jin Qingyan. He stood up after taking another look at Chi Rui¡¯er, who was still canoodled in Gu Beicheng¡¯s arms. An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes lit up at her husband¡¯s suggestion. ¡°Sure,¡± she said. She too stood up immediately Realizing that they were about to leave, Long Tianze added, ¡°I¡¯ll join you guys.¡± Gu Beicheng and Chi Rui¡¯er were the only ones left on the couch. ¡°She¡¯s not a simple woman,¡± Gu Beicheng said solemnly. ¡°Damn, she actually had the nerve to insult me. Jin Qingyan has never had a pet, so she was obviously referring to me. Ugh!¡± grumbled Chi Rui¡¯er, who was raging with anger. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you expose her then?¡± he asked. ¡°I...¡± she stuttered, not wanting to admit that she was afraid of ruining her image of a dainty, refineddy. ¡ª¡ª ¡°How did you know that I loved eating hot and spicy crayfish?¡± said An Xiaoning who was riding shotgun. A the same time, she ced a hand on his thigh. ¡°You¡¯re my wife. Of course I¡¯d know,¡± Jin Qingyan replied. An Xiaoqing¡¯s heart began to flutter, and she felt warm and fuzzy from within. ¡°Is Long Tianze really your childhood friend?¡± she asked. ¡°You reckon he¡¯d dare to lie in front of me?¡± ¡°Of course not. Now that I think of it, you two are really simr.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Thedy with Gu Beicheng earlier... Is she Chi Rui¡¯er?¡± An Xiaoning asked inquisitively. As she spoke, the thought of thedy in purple crossed her mind. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you didn¡¯t want to know about it? Why are you suddenly asking again?¡± he answered. An Xiaoning was speechless. She could tell Jin Qingyan was reluctant to go into detail about thedy, and thus, she did not pry any further. Arriving at a restaurant, the couple quickly entered, with Long Tianze following closely behind. They then requested a private dining room. ¡°Hey, peel one for me too!¡± Long Tianze teased with his mouth open, watching Jin Qingyan peel some crayfish for An Xiaoning. ¡°Sorry, but I would only do this for my wife,¡± replied Jin Qingyan as he yed along. ¡°What a typical case of hiberdating[hiberdating: to disregard one¡¯s friends because he is dating someone]!¡± Long Tianze said yfully with a sigh. ¡°Seems like you don¡¯t remember who was the one who introduced you to fun toys and games, and sneakily brought you the street snacks you were craving but your Mother did not allow you to have, while you were ill... ¡± he continued, trying to guilt-trip Jin Qingyan. ¡°How is that?¡± said Jin Qingyan as he stuffed a peeled crayfish into Long Tianze¡¯s mouth. ¡°Now that¡¯s better,¡± chuckled Long Tianze. Since they still had to drive, the trio refrained from having too much alcohol, though they still had a couple of drinks here and there before leaving. Once they arrived home, An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan proceeded to take a bath together. The moment she undressed herself, he scooped her up in one fluid motion, quite effortlessly, and lowered her onto the basin. An Xiaoning shivered slightly uponing into contact with the cool surface of the basin. Gazing at the man before her, she broke into an unrestrained smile. ¡°Why are you smiling?¡± he asked. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Nothing, really,¡± she said, cing her arms around his neck. ¡°I just think God has been really good to me. Because I got to marry you,¡± she continued. ¡ª¡ª Writer¡¯s note: I¡¯ll be updating the novel with new chapters every day. Please show me some support by saving the novel to your collection if you enjoyed reading it! You guys are just like my family, I love you. Chapter 9 - Little Vixen Needs a Spanking

Chapter 9: Little Vixen Needs a Spanking

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyan stared at his wife with overflowing warmth and tenderness. Their eyes met, and clearly, they were smitten with each other. ¡°Don¡¯t you find it a little too quiet with just the two of us at home?¡± asked An Xiaoning. ¡°I¡¯d like to get a dog. Will you let me?¡± she suggested. ¡°Of course. Anything for you, as long as you¡¯re happy.¡± Her heart blossomed upon hearing his sweet reply. ¡°I¡¯ll let you off tonight. C¡¯mon, let¡¯s take a bath,¡± he said teasingly, carrying her into the bathtub. ¡°Can you tell my fortune?¡± he asked. ¡°I would need your birth characters (birth date). It¡¯s not listed on your Wikipedia page.¡± ¡°I was born on 6th October XXXX, at 12 noon, ording to the lunar calendar.¡± An Xiaoning closed her eyes and recited his birthdate and home address in her head. To her bewilderment, she could not read his fortune at all. It was an extremely rare case, for she was the only other person whose fortune she could not read. ¡°I can¡¯t tell yours,¡± An Xiaoning admitted truthfully. ¡°I can¡¯t read my own fortune either. Well, it seems we were made for each other, a match made in heaven,¡± she joked. Slightly displeased, he asked, ¡°What does that signify?¡± ¡°There are countless sets of identical birth characters, for there were definitely many others who were born at the same time as you. Many people do not share the same fate, despite having the same birth characters. However, one can still be distinguished from others sharing the same birth characters by looking at their given name and home address. I¡¯m not yet advanced in skill, and thus, I can¡¯t quite put a finger on what it signifies. The same goes for mine. Perhaps I could if I were my master. It¡¯s a pity that she¡¯s already passed on,¡± she continued to exin. After taking a bath, An Xiaoning sat on the bed with her hair wrapped inside a towel. ¡°Then, could you help me tell the fortune of someone else?¡± asked Jin Qingyan as he brought the hairdryer with him, preparing to help An Xiaoning dry her hair. ¡°Whose?¡± ¡°Chi Rui¡¯er.¡± ¡°What are her birth characters?¡± she asked after tugging at the towel on her head. ¡°She was born on the first day of the year XXXX, ording to the lunar calendar. She lives with her parents in the Northern District,¡± replied Jin Qingyan. Memorizing Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s birth characters, An Xiaoning proceeded to read her fortune. Then she asked, ¡°Out of the three ¡ª health, marriage, or career ¡ª which aspects of her fortune do you wish to know about?¡± In fact, she could already guess which aspect he wished to find out about. ¡°Will she marry Gu Beicheng?¡± he asked as he began to dry her hair. Amidst the loud noises from the hairdryer, An Xiaoming said, ¡°Then, I would need Gu Beicheng¡¯s birth characters as well. I can¡¯t read her marriage with just hers alone.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know his birth characters. Hmm, why don¡¯t you tell me about her career and love life instead?¡± ¡°She¡¯s at the peak of her health at the moment. It¡¯s going to deteriorate as she ages. As for her love life, she¡¯s destined to be married once and bear two children. However, she had already aborted one of them. If she aborts another child, she¡¯s bound to be childless for the rest of her life.¡± Having heard An Xiaoning¡¯s predictions, Jin Qingyan began to feel uneasy, and his face turned bleak. Noticing the change in his expression, she asked worriedly, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Nothing. Can you tell how long her marriage willst? Will they be together until death does them apart?¡± he asked again, eagerly. ¡°I can¡¯t read that because we don¡¯t have the birth characters of her husband.¡± Laying on her back, An Xiaoning finally asked, ¡°What¡¯s your rtionship with her? Is she your ex-girlfriend? Or do you have a crush on her?¡± She had remembered everything Gu Beicheng said about Chi Rui¡¯er at the ball. ¡°You don¡¯t have to know much about those, they¡¯re not important,¡± Jin Qingyan said coldly. He turned off the deskmp. Wide awake, An Xiaoning suddenly felt like she was worlds apart from her husband emotionally, though they were physically right beside each other. It was only understandable for him to not be in love with her. After all, they had only known each other for a few days. An Xiaoning was positive that he would genuinely fall for her one day, as time passes. ¡ª¡ª After a peaceful night¡¯s sleep, An Xiaoning awoke, only to find that it was pouring outside. She headed downstairs, but Jin Qingyan was nowhere to be found. He had left nothing but a note on the table, which read: There¡¯s food in the wok. Check the kennel for a dog. ¡°A dog?¡± An Xiaoning thought, intrigued. She searched the house for a kennel and finally spotted a structure which resembled a miniature house. Inching forward, she caught a glimpse of a pomeranianying on its stomach. It was extremely adorable, with a fluffy coat of white fur and a rounded chubby shape. She instantly fell in love with her new pet and canoodled it in her arms. ¡°Ahh, you¡¯re so cute! Let Mommy see if you¡¯re a girl or a boy,¡± said a thrilled An Xiaoning as she petted its face gently. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re a boy. Let¡¯s call you ¡®Maomao,¡¯ shall we?¡± she remarked, confirming the gender of her pet after taking a few looks. Staring at its big, sparkly eyes, An Xiaoning beamed with euphoria. ¡°Alright, get some rest in the kennel. Mommy will y with you once she¡¯s done eating!¡± she eximed excitedly. After washing her hands, she opened the lid of the wok. At that instant, as the heavenly aroma of the food wafted up to her nose, she seemed to have forgotten about the slight unhappiness she felt the night before. How wonderful it is to have a husband who cooks for me, especially since I have poor culinary skills, she thought to herself. An Xiaoning held Maomao in her arms and yed with it after finishing her breakfast. After some time had passed, she heard the sound of the car pulling up in the backyard. With Maomao in her arms, she walked towards the door where she was greeted by the sight of Jin Qingyan d in a ck coat. He had an umbre in one hand and a small carrier in another. ¡°Do you like the dog?¡± he asked with a raised eyebrow as he put away the umbre. ¡°Of course I do. I named it Maomao. What do you think about the name I came up with?¡± ¡°Maomao? What a strange name, I don¡¯t like it,¡± he said in a tone of displeasure. ¡°Should we name it ¡®Rui¡¯er¡¯ then?¡± ¡°Nah, let¡¯s just stick to Maomao. Here, I got a wedding ring. Try it on,¡± he continued, handing her the small carrier he was holding. After cing Maomao back inside the kennel, An Xiaoning took a seat on the couch and took the box out of the carrier. ¡°Wow, the diamond is huge! It must¡¯ve cost a bomb, didn¡¯t it?¡± she eximed after opening the box, revealing the ring. ¡°Put it on and see if it fits.¡± She put the ring on and scrutinized it carefully from every angle. ¡°It fits perfectly. Weren¡¯t you afraid of getting the wrong size?¡± she asked. ¡°I¡¯ve already measured your ring size before I bought it. Do you like it?¡± he said, turning to face her. She nodded in approval and joked, ¡°I do. It¡¯s beautiful. I can even exchange it for money when I¡¯m broke in the future.¡± The words left him speechless. ¡°Look how bad you are at taking jokes. I¡¯m just kidding,¡± reassured An Xiaoning, giggling at his reaction. ¡°Come here,¡± he said with an extended arm, gesturing for her to sit closer to him. An Xiaoning moved closer towards him and rested her head on his shoulder. As sheid in his arms, she felt more secure than ever. She ced the ring back into the box and sat up slightly. ¡°You woke up early today just to cook for me and buy me a wedding ring. It¡¯s been hard on you, hubby. Mmwah (kissing sound)!¡± said An Xiaoning. She was pouting her lips as she uttered these sweet nothings to Jin Qingyan. ¡°You did that on purpose, didn¡¯t you?¡± he blurted while staring at her chest. Shifting her gaze to where he was staring, she blushed red as a tomato and retorted, ¡°Who said so? I didn¡¯t...¡± ¡°You did,¡± he insisted. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Say that again?¡± he said teasingly with a smile. ¡°No, no, I didn¡¯t!¡± ¡°Little vixen needs a spanking.¡± ¡°...¡± Chapter 10 - I Make Them Tired Every Day

Chapter 10: I Make Them Tired Every Day

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The skies cleared up in the afternoon. Jin Qingyan went to check up on the wedding preparations while An Xiaoning, who felt bored staying at home, went out for a walk. The roads were still wet after the rain. With her bag slung over her shoulder, she walked on the streets and suddenly heard a few honking sounds from a car horn. An Xiaoning turned back to look and realized that seated in the car was Gu Beicheng. She did not know this man well, having met him only once. Moreover, Jin Qingyan had a cold rtionship with him, making her even more reluctant to acknowledge him. So An Xiaoning just looked him in the eye and continued walking ahead. Gu Beicheng did not expect that An Xiaoning would ignore himpletely. Hence, he moved the car ahead by one length and, without any notice, he got off the car. ¡°Ms. An, I wish to talk to you alone.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not interested in talking to you.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be that you¡¯re afraid to sit in my car?¡± His gaze was unusual, and his tone had a tinge ofughter, which left one guessing. ¡°It¡¯s regarding Jin Qingyan, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be interested.¡± ¡°What exactly do you want to say?¡± ¡°Get in the car, I won¡¯t do anything to you.¡± He went forward to open the car door. An Xiaoning scanned her surroundings, then got in. Gu Beicheng drove the car to a quiet ce, then he turned around and said calmly, ¡°As far as I know, you and Jin Qingyan haven¡¯t known each other for a long time, and yet you married him readily ¡ª aren¡¯t you a little too bold?¡± ¡°What has this got to do with you? I even dared to marry someone like Shi Shaochuan, with whom I had no contact at all before. What is so bold about marrying Jin Qingyan?¡± ¡°That is true.¡± Gu Beicheng continued firmly, ¡°However, Jin Qingyan will never fall for you in this life, so you better be mentally prepared.¡± ¡°Are you trying to drive a wedge in our rtionship?¡± An Xiaoning curled her mouth. ¡°I won¡¯t fall into your trap.¡± Upon hearing this, the faint smile in Gu Beicheng¡¯s eyes grew deeper. ¡°Someone who loves a woman to such extremes that, even though she is with another man, he still continues to love her ¡ª what makes you think he¡¯ll fall for you?¡± An Xiaoning knew whom he was referring to, but he still said stubbornly, ¡°He¡¯s married to me now so we¡¯ll be living the rest of our lives together. If he really loves that woman to such extremes, why did he agree to marry me? Both his heart and body should stay loyal ¡ª that is what ¡®loving to an extreme¡¯ means.¡± ¡°Look ¡ª you insist on arguing with me, Ms. An, can you see the future? If no, then what makes you think he¡¯ll live with you for the rest of your life without divorcing?¡± ¡°Because...¡± An Xiaoning answered weakly, ¡°Because he is very sincere about marrying me, so he will not divorce me so easily.¡± ¡°Tsk...¡± Gu Beicheng sneered. ¡°Let me tell you, as soon as Chi Rui¡¯er reaches her hand out to him, he¡¯ll embrace her and kick you out.¡± Seeing that she was about to rebut again, he continued, ¡°Whether I was right about what I said, see for yourself in the future.¡± ¡°Even if it were like that, I won¡¯t regret it.¡± An Xiaoning raised her chin slightly. ¡°I, An Xiaoning, can still live a brilliant life after leaving any man.¡± Gu Beicheng started the engine. ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°If you will, send me to my doorstep. The world outside is too dangerous ¡ª it¡¯s best to stay at home to y with my dog.¡± ¡°You really have a dog at home?¡± ¡°Is that surprising?¡± An Xiaoning answered. ¡°My husband bought it for me himself.¡± ¡°Surprising indeed.¡± He did not expect that Jin Qingyan ¡ª who hated cats and dogs ¡ª wouldpromise to this point. This woman was indeed not as simple as he had thought. ¡°Thank you for sending me home.¡± ¡°You are wee. It¡¯s all on you, for being so attractive.¡± ¡°Hope that I¡¯ll never see you again...¡± An Xiaoning used her strength to m the car door and strode towards her doorstep. Gu Beicheng stared fixedly at her back and under his breath, said sternly, ¡°No one has dared to talk to me like this, especially a woman.¡± ¡ª Meanwhile, in the residence of the Jin family. Jin Qingyue ced her luggage aside, immediately plopped down on the sofa, and said to her mother beside her, ¡°Mother, what happened to my brother, why is he getting married suddenly? Moreover, it¡¯s someone who is remarrying! I¡¯m puzzled.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t see your sister-inw as just a remarried woman ¡ª she is pretty formidable. Don¡¯t look down on her. Besides, your brother is fine with it, so don¡¯t add any trouble,¡± Mrs. Jin grabbed the fruit knife and started peeling an apple. ¡°Originally, brother wanted to marry sister Rui¡¯er, but Grandma was so adamant against it and said she was not presentable enough, but this divorcee is presentable? I really don¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°Can Rui¡¯er bepared to your sister-inw? She was with your brother but was still involved with that illegitimate child from the Gu family ¡ª could your Grandmother let her marry your brother?¡± As she spoke of this, Mrs. Jin shifted the subject to her. ¡°I spoke to your Father. After your brother gets married, don¡¯t leave the country anymore, stay right at home ¡ª it¡¯s not like you arepleting your studies overseas, so why run around all the time?¡± ¡°I like living overseas. Tthere¡¯s no restraint, and I have my freedom. At home, I have to be disciplined by all of you about every small little thing.¡± Jin Qingyue frowned her eyebrows. ¡°Mother, I¡¯m an adult already, can all of you stop controlling me all the time?¡± ¡°Right. Because you are an adult now, your father and I can¡¯t allow you to behave like this anymore. Now that you¡¯re back, you¡¯re not allowed to go anywhere. Stay right at home ¡ª after your brother¡¯s wedding, your father and I ought to worry about yours. With so many talented young men avable, you ought to choose wisely. For instance, Tianze is a good catch. Your father and I watched him grow up. We know his roots and everything about him.¡± ¡°Who?¡± Jin Qingyue widened her eyes. ¡°Long Tianze? He¡¯s a yboy. I don¡¯t fancy him ¡ª even if you give him to me, I wouldn¡¯t want it.¡± ¡°You brat, every rich boy has some ws here and there. After getting married, they¡¯ll be more serious. Also, don¡¯t think your Mother doesn¡¯t know, Tianze has always liked you. Last time when you were around at home, he came over all the time. He even grew up with your brother. If you and he get together, our whole family can rest assured.¡± Mrs. Jin passed the peeled apple over to her. ¡°Take it.¡± ¡°Mother, can you stop mentioning him?¡± As soon as she finished speaking, a voice from across sounded. ¡°What about me?¡± Mrs. Jin grinned and got up. ¡°Tianze is here, both of you talk, I¡¯m going back in.¡± Long Tianze went through the doorway and walked towards the sofa. ¡°Jin Qingyue, after going overseas for a period of time and seeing all kinds of foreigners, do you not fancy local men anymore?¡± ¡°So what?¡± Jin Qingyue looked at him coldly. ¡°Next time, if I¡¯m at home, can you stoping over all the time? Now my mother thinks that you¡¯re devoted to me to such an extent.¡± ¡°Hey, hey, little girl, can you think before you speak? I¡¯m devoted to you? Stop dreaming, who would fancy you.¡± Jin Qingyue¡¯s face went dark. ¡°Then what are you doing in my house? The moment Ie back, youe over ¡ª what do you mean by this?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not even here to find you.¡± He folded his hands in his pocket and turned around. ¡°There are so many girls willing to go out with me ¡ª I make them tired every day ¡ª even their kidneys get weak.¡± Chapter 11 - Hurry and Get Out of My Sight!

Chapter 11: Hurry and Get Out of My Sight!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Hurry and get out of my sight!¡± Jin Qingyue hollered while chasing Long Tianze out. As he exited the door, Long Tianze was panicking. Little did he expect that Jin Qingyue¡¯s attitude towards him would remain the same even after all this time ¡ª she still detested the sight of him. The sky turned pitch ck as the sun set and night arrived. It was already seven o¡¯clock in the evening when Jin Qingyan arrived at the Night Vixen bar. ¡°Good evening, Mr. Jin,¡± greeted Anbao as he approached his car. ¡°Has your boss kicked the bucket?¡± asked Jin Qingyan. ¡°No, he¡¯s still alive,¡± Anbao answered. ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Jin Qingyan locked his car and walked towards the bar. Taking a seat at his usual spot, Jin Qingyan crossed a leg over another and reached out for the ss of whisky on the waiter¡¯s te. ¡°You insisted on having mee all the way here. What¡¯s the matter?¡± he asked, looking at a tipsy Long Tianze. ¡°I feel like I¡¯m about to die,¡± muttered Long Tianze drunkenly. ¡°You say that all the time, but look, you¡¯re still alive and kicking aren¡¯t you? I know you best,¡± said Jin Qingyan, used to his best friend¡¯s antics. ¡°Why doesn¡¯t your younger sister like me?¡± ¡°Hasn¡¯t it always been that way?¡± Staring at the alcohol left in his ss, Long Tianze said frivolously, ¡°There are plenty of fishes in the sea, why am I so caught up with that single one? I really need to get a grip on myself...¡± ¡°Where are you going?¡± asked Jin Qingyan when he saw Long Tianze stand up. ¡°To answer nature¡¯s call.¡± ¡°...¡± His business too urgent to go all the way to his personal restroom, Long Tianze made his way to the washroom on the first floor, only to find that it had been locked from the inside. Damn it. He had a desperate need to empty his dder. It did not help that someone had the guts to lock the door of the washroom in the bar he owned. How frustrating! Long Tianze had hit the roof by now, for he could not hold in his urine any longer. Running to the bar counter with his legs crossed, he grabbed the keys to the toilet door and unlocked it forcefully. He was greeted by the sight of a set of women¡¯s clothing hanging on the door frame of a cubicle. As he did a double take, Long Tianze was convinced that it belonged to a shameless crossdresser. It was no wonder the door had been locked. After he was finished with his business, he snatched the set of clothes off the door frame and walked out with it in his hands. Curious as to why Long Tianze was holding on to a set of women¡¯s clothing, Jin Qingyan asked, ¡°Did you hook up with a girl when you went to the toilet?¡± ¡°Talking about it just makes my blood boil. I was already in a hurry, yet someone had locked the restroom. I quickly grabbed the spare key and unlocked it, only to find this set of women¡¯s clothes hanging on the door frame of the cubicle. It must¡¯ve belonged to a crazy crossdresser trying to disguise himself as a woman. Whatever.¡± ¡°What if it really belongs to a woman?¡± remarked Jin Qingyan, unable to help bursting intoughter. ¡°Why would a woman change in the Gents¡¯?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true...¡± After Jin Qingyan left, Long Tianze decided to check the security camera footage out of curiosity. He realized that he was the only one who exited the washroom, along with a few others who had entered earlier. After a short while, he entered the washroom again and tried to open the cubicle where he found the set of clothing previously. This time, it was locked yet again. How strange. ¡°It can¡¯t be ghost, can it?¡± he thought to himself. Knocking on the door, he yelled, ¡°Is there anyone?¡± ¡°...¡± There was not a single response. He exited the washroom and returned with a stool. Standing on the stool, he peeked into the cubicle from above. Oh gosh, why is there a woman? he thought to himself upon realizing that it was a female in the cubicle. A girl with doll-like features was sitting on top of the toilet seat. She was d in an oversized set of men¡¯s clothing, and she appeared to be rather infuriated. In a bid to look for her younger sister, she had decided to dress herself in a set of waiter¡¯s uniform and disguise as one. However, she realized that the uniform was too big for her and wanted to change back into her own clothes, only to find that they were missing! She sat atop the toilet seat, at aplete loss on what to do. All of a sudden, she heard a voiceing from above. ¡°Did you steal my clothes?¡± asked Mei Yangyang in agitation, looking up and staring at Long Tianze. If it wasn¡¯t him, who else would bothering into the restroom to check if it was a male or female inside the cubicle? she thought to herself. ¡°What do you mean ¡®steal¡¯? I should be the one asking, what are you doing in the Gents¡¯? You even locked the door. Besides, you¡¯re wearing a bar waiter¡¯s uniform, which obviously belongs to a man. You¡¯re the one who¡¯s stealing, aren¡¯t you?¡± he retorted. ¡°Quick, return my clothes!¡± ¡°I could, but I don¡¯t intend to. Not without something in return.¡± Long Tianze got off the stool as he finished speaking. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t leave!¡± she eximed anxiously. ¡°Call me Big Brother and I won¡¯t,¡± he teased, his lips twisting into a smirk. ¡°Big Brother.¡± ¡°How old are you?¡± ¡°20.¡± 20? She looks barely a day over 16, with that baby face of hers, he thought, his brows furrowed in confusion. ¡°And your name?¡± ¡°Mei Yangyang.¡± ¡°Pssht... I¡¯m Hui Tang then[¡®Mei Yangyang¡¯ and ¡®Hui Tang¡¯ are characters in a popr Chinese cartoon series, ¡®Xi Taiyang and the Big Gray Wolf¡¯]. Come on out. Bring along your pants and follow me to get your clothes,¡± Long Tianze said with a snort. But my pants are so loose, I have to hold them up all the time. It¡¯s too embarrassing,she thought in her head. ¡°Your Big Brother is drunk. There¡¯s no way I can bring them back here for you. Leave with me if you want your clothes back. Otherwise, you can keep sitting here,¡± he continued. ¡°Hold up,¡± she opened the door, holding up her pants awkwardly to stop them from falling off. Long Tianze proceeded to stroll back in a rxed manner, his hands in his pockets. He handed the set of clothes back to Mei Yangyang once they reached the couch. Noticing that she was about to return to the washroom to change, he offered, ¡°Go change in my private room. There¡¯s no one else there.¡± ¡°Where is it?¡± ¡°Go up to the second floor and enter the first room on your left.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± she said with a nod. Long Tianze squinted as he supported his head in his hands. 10 minutester, she thanked him once again, ¡°Thank you, I¡¯m going to get going now.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± At that instant, Mei Yangyang scooted off hurriedly. She had initially nned to bring her younger sister home after learning of her whereabouts. She did not expect the bar to be full of sleazy, lecherous men, and thus, she had no choice but to dress up as a waiter to avoid attracting unnecessary attention. Yet, things did not go ording to n, almost getting stuck in the washroom of the bar. It was just her luck. ¡ª¡ª Jin Qingyan arrived home to An Xiaoning lying in bed in her nightdress, reading a book. ¡°Why have you started reading? Trying to be more refined?¡± he asked. ¡°Yes.¡± Contrary to what he had expected her to be reading, he realized as he moved closer towards her that she was actually looking at ancient drawings. ¡°Why don¡¯t you read some poems or ssic writings instead?¡± he remarked, pursing his lips. ¡°Hubby, look how beautiful these ancient drawings are!¡± she eximed, dismissing his remark. ¡°There have been numerous people who are artistically-talented, be it in the past or now. What¡¯s the big deal? Let¡¯s stop looking at those drawings and get some sleep, honey,¡± he said with a mellowed, gentle voice. Turning to face him, An Xiaoning said out of the blue, ¡°I still think I¡¯m rather inferior.¡± ¡°Inferior in what?¡± ¡°In bed, of course. It¡¯s my first time doing it with you, though it¡¯s definitely not your first.¡± ¡°How do you know it¡¯s not my first?¡± he asked, turning the arrow back at her. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°No ¡®huh¡¯s, it is what it is,¡± he said, poking her forehead teasingly. Chapter 12 - The Lesson You Needed to Be Taught

Chapter 12: The Lesson You Needed to Be Taught

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Hmph, I¡¯m not buying that,¡± said An Xiaoning, secretly feeling a sense of happiness despite her words. Her doubts were understandable, for it was indeed a tall order to find a man who still had his chastity, especially in today¡¯s society. ¡°Well, it¡¯s the truth. It¡¯s up to you to believe me.¡± ¡°If you truly loved a woman wholeheartedly, would you still get together with another woman?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°That depends on whether she loves me the same way I do her.¡± ¡°And if she did?¡± An Xiaoning asked hypothetically. ¡°Well, I would never be that lucky,¡± said Jin Qingyan, resting his arms behind his head, a pillow sandwiched in between. ¡°Love and marriage are separate matters,¡± he continued. Hearing his words, An Xiaoning could not help but feel greatly disappointed. ¡°In my opinion, they don¡¯t necessarily have to be separate,¡± she said. He remained silent, despite already having a firm answer in his head. By saying that love and marriage are separate matters, he must¡¯ve meant that he loves another woman while being married to a different one. The sudden thought crossed her mind as she ced her book onto the desk. She was overwhelmed by a sudden wave of sadness and irritation. Observing every contour of his face, she said, ¡°Hubby, I¡¯ve studied a few positions earlier tonight. Let¡¯s try them.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª¡ª In the blink of an eye, a few days had passed. An Xiaoning had spent the past few days decorating their home. She reced all the furniture with the ones she liked, transforming the once-empty-and-spacious house into a warm andfortable home. In less than 24 hours, it would be their big day. An Xiaoning had nned to pay her respects to herte Master at her grave today. She decided to head out alone, without informing Jin Qingyan, who had gone to the old Mansion first thing in the morning. Having arrived at the foot of the mountain by bus, she climbed the stone steps and made her way up. The doorstep of the old temple was covered with dried leaves; the door was tightly shut. There seemed to be a tinge of loneliness in the air. There was not a single soul in sight on the mountain. An Xiaoning extended her arm to push the door open. Since there was no one to attend to its upkeep, the ce she had grown up in had been greatly reduced to nothing more than just a lonely, dpidated temple. Carrying a ck bag in her hands, she walked towards the house. Continuing along a substantial number of stairs, she finally arrived at her Master¡¯s grave. ¡°Master, I¡¯m here.¡± A strong, fleeting gust of wind blew towards her the very moment she ended her sentence. An Xiaoning proceeded to burn some joss paper and gold paper ingots, along with a set of paper clothes. ¡°Thest time I came to visit was to tell you that I was getting married. But Master, I had since gotten a divorce, and the purpose of my visit today is to let you know that I¡¯m getting married again, for the second time. It¡¯s a different man this time, though. He¡¯s someone reliable and trustworthy. I came alone and secretly today, because I didn¡¯t think the time was ripe for him to meet you just yet. But I¡¯ll bring him here to see you in the future. I miss you dearly, Master.¡± Teary-eyed, she stood up and gave a deep bow before leaving. On the way down to the foot of the mountain, she was stopped by a suave and dashing man who was dressed casually. ¡°Hey, excuse me, how much further from here is the Temple of Nun Jingxin?¡± asked the man.[¡®Jingxin¡¯ means ¡®to calm one¡¯s mind¡¯ in Chinese] ¡°You... You¡¯re looking for Nun Jingxin?¡± a surprised An Xiaoning asked. With a nod, he answered, ¡°Yes.¡± He seemed rather soft-spoken. ¡°You don¡¯t have to make a wasted trip. She had passed away for a long time already,¡± said An Xiaoning as she continued to descend the hill. ¡°Hold up, may I ask if you knew her personally?¡± he asked, frantically trying to hold her back. ¡°I was her disciple, so you can take my word for it.¡± ¡°Do you know who Gu Shaochun is?¡± Of course she did ¡ª Gu Shaochun was a name she would remember until the day she dies, for he was the man who had betrayed and let her Master down. Even on her deathbed, her master still could not let go of him. An Xiaoning was filled with animosity at the mention of Gu Shaochun. Her master had waited her entire life for that man. She refused to marry anyone else. The thought of meeting Gu Shaochun, if she managed to find him, had crossed An Xiaoning¡¯s mind multiple times. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Please enter, Ms. An. Turns out you are Jin Qingyan¡¯s new wife, no wonder I found you to be looking rather familiar,¡± said Gu Dongcheng as he weed her in. ¡°Neither did I expect him to be a member of your family,¡± she replied. She walked through the gate and found that there were a few people seated in the living room, including Gu Shaochun, Gu Beichen, as well as thetter¡¯s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Gu. ¡°Grandad, this is Nun Jingxin¡¯s disciple,¡± Gu Dongcheng introduced An Xiaoning as he stepped forward. ¡°You must be Gu Shaochun, I suppose?¡± asked An Xiaoning, staring daggers at him. ¡°How atrocious of you to be calling your elder by his full name! I see, this is how ill-mannered the daughter-inw of the Jin Family truly is,¡± Mrs. Gu snapped as soon as An Xiaoning finished her sentence. Unfazed by the hostilement, An Xiaoning retorted fearlessly, ¡°I wasn¡¯t speaking to you. Please shut up.¡± ¡°Please take a seat, Ms. An,¡± Gu Dongcheng said gently, gesturing for An Xiaoning to sit down. A stark contrast to his mother¡¯s animosity. An Xiaoning could feel Gu Shaochun looking her up and down as she took a seat. Without fear, she red back at him. Not expecting her to stare back at him, Gu Shaochun could not avoid eye contact with her quickly enough. With raised eyebrows, his lips curled into a stiff smile. ¡°Your master...¡± he began to speak. ¡°My Master had passed away a few years ago,¡± said An Xiaoning. Upon hearing her words, Gu Shaochun turned pale as a sheet at that very instant. Unable to process the shocking piece of news he had just heard, he asked, ¡°Passed away?¡± ¡°The purpose of my visit is to ask you a simple question. Old Mr. Gu, just why did you make my Master wait her entire life for you?¡± An Xiaoning roared with uncontroble fury. Staring daggers at the elderly man, she continued, ¡°Master was still calling your name, even on her deathbed. But look at you, living well with an abundance of fortune and riches. You even got married and were blessed with so many children, while she spent her entire life practising on the mountains and remained unmarried up until the day she passed on.¡± Cupping his face with his hands, the aged Gu Shaochun let out a cry of agony, tears streaming down his face uncontrobly. A deafening silence filled the room. No one dared to make a single sound. The old Mr. Gu had always been a dignified and awe-inspiring patriarch of the family. He had never lost control of his emotions in front of them before. His family had known very little about Nun Jingxin previously because he had never mentioned anything about her. As he was losing mobility in his legs, the old Mr. Gu had instructed his grandchild to look for Nun Jingxin and find out about how she was doing. Several moments passed. Supporting himself with his walking stick, Gu Shaochun struggled to stand on unstable feet and said to An Xiaoning, ¡°I¡¯d like to visit her grave. Please take me there.¡± An Xiaoning agreed to his request, thinking that her Master would have liked very much for Gu Shaochun to visit her as well ¡ª especially since she was still calling his name repeatedly while grief-stricken on her deathbed. With much gratitude, Gu Shaochun smiled widely at her. He then quickly entered his room and returned with a bag, all set to go. Having arrived back on the mountain, Gu Dongcheng and his Mother supported Gu Shaochun to Nun Jingxin¡¯s grave behind the dpidated house. Squatting at the door, An Xiaoning red at Gu Beicheng and said aggressively, ¡°What are you staring at me for? Why aren¡¯t you going inside? ¡± ¡°You¡¯ve seriously angered my Mother today. Other than myte Grandmother who was at loggerheads with her, no one else has had the nerve to tell my Mother to ¡®shut up¡¯,¡± he answered. ¡°Are you trying to lecture me out of filial piety?¡± ¡°You need to be taught a lesson, indeed,¡± said Gu Beicheng sternly as he walked closer towards her. An Xiaoning stood up and took a step back. Staring at him, she yelled, ¡°What are you trying to do, throwing your arms around me in broad daylight? Are you trying to take advantage of a helplessdy?¡± ¡°A helplessdy? Let¡¯s see how helpless you really are,¡± taunted Gu Beicheng with a sneer. Chapter 13 - The Truth

Chapter 13: The Truth

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As soon as he ended his sentence, Gu Beicheng rushed forward in an attempt to kiss An Xiaoning. She was quick to evade, though not quick enough: he managed to nt a kiss on her cheek before she could fully get away. As hard as she could, she wiped the spot which he had kissed. ring daggers at him, she hissed, ¡°Why did you kiss me?¡± Her eyes seethed with exasperation. ¡°Because I felt like it.¡± An Xiaoning glowered at him once more before turning around to enter the courtyard. After a long while of waiting in the courtyard, Gu Shaochun and the others finally returned. Gu Shaochun seemed to have dealt with a great blow as he appeared to be rather grief-stricken. ¡°Here, take this. Your Master had left it with me. Though I don¡¯t understand what¡¯s written on it, I know it meant a great deal to her. However, in order to avoid me, she has never asked for it back. I thought you should have it, now that she¡¯s no longer around,¡± exined the old Mr. Gu. He walked towards An Xiaoning and handed her a book. ¡°Old Mr. Gu, what exactly happened between you and Master?¡± she asked before taking even one look at the book. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you about it in the car,¡± he said despairingly with a sigh. She nodded along in agreement. On the journey back, Gu Shaochun began to talk about the events which happened in the past, between him and Nun Jingxin. The two were a pair of star-crossed lovers who did not earn the approval of Gu Shaochun¡¯s parents, for his father had despised her family background ¡ª her parents had passed away when she was young, making her an orphan. His parents had felt that she could not fulfil the rightful duties of a wife, like taking good care of Gu Shaochun or aiding him in his career, since her only interests were practising Buddhism and being vegetarian. Even though Nun Jingxin had repeatedly expressed her willingness to give up practising Buddhism for Gu Shaochun, her efforts were still futile. His parents were adamant about not changing their mind. Back in the day, it was extremely rare for one to disobey his parents. Moreover, Nun Jingxin had caught a bad cold during the winter which seemed to be incurable, despite the medical help Gu Shaochun had sought from various physicians to treat her. One fine day, an elderlydy who imed to be Nun Jingxin¡¯s Master hade forth to treat her disciple, whom she allegedly could sense was ill. The elderlydy added that Nun Jingxin was the Dragon Daughter[an assistant of the Guanyin Goddess, in Buddhism] of the Guanyin Goddess[Guanyin Goddess: a deity worshipped by many who believe in Buddhism] in her past life, who had arrived in the mortal world to be reincarnated, secretly. She then exined that the Guanyin Goddess had found and caught Nun Jingxin, and thetter would have to alter her fate in order to survive. Upon hearing the elderlydy¡¯s words, he inquired about how Nun Jingxin should go about altering her fate. The elderlydy then revealed that the only solution was for Nun Jingxin to practise Buddhism on the mountains, while remaining unmarried and childless, in addition to bing vegetarian and praying frequently. She also had to umte merit by doing good deeds for her own salvation, and finally, offer a substitute of herself to the Heavens while gradually bing a better person, so as to keep her life. Since Nun Jingxin could no longer marry Gu Shaochun, thetter¡¯s parents had arranged for him to marry the eldest daughter of the Xia family, who was none other than Gu Beicheng¡¯s grandmother. s, Nun Jingxin followed the elderlydy to the mountains to practise Buddhism. In a moment of hurry, as she was leaving, she left the book behind with Gu Shaochun and told him that they shall never meet again in this life. In fact, Gu Shaochun had been travelling to the mountains to visit her in secret, ever since his younger years. However, Nun Jingxin had not once in her remaining life left the mountains. ¡°She could not understand what the words written on the book meant, despite having studied it over and over again, countless of times. She said that her master had given it to her. Have you ever met your Grandmaster?¡± asked Gu Shaochun, turning to look at An Xiaoning. Shaking her head, she replied, ¡°Grandmaster had already passed on when I first arrived at the temple on the mountain. I¡¯ve only heard from Master that she was one of the rare few in this world who had achieved great sanctity.¡± Havingprehended what she said, Gu Shaochun nodded before continuing, ¡°Ms. An, may I trouble you to tell the fortune of my family members?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I do not wish to read and know about your family¡¯s fortune,¡± An Xiaoning rejected. ¡°Since you¡¯re unwilling to do so, I shall not impose my wishes on you either. Mediums possessing the actual ability to read fortunes are hard toe by these days. How lucky of the Jin¡¯s to have such foresight. It¡¯s a pity you¡¯re already married. Otherwise, I would¡¯ve wished greatly for you to be the daughter-inw of my family,¡± said Gu Shaochuan as he heaved a sigh of disappointment. Shock was written all over the faces of the other members of the Gu Family in the car. On the other hand, An Xiaoning remained calm andposed. She answered, ¡°Thank you for thinking so highly of me, old Mr. Gu. However, I am far inferior in skillpared to Master, for I only have superficial knowledge. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m not skilled enough to alter the fate of the Gu Family, even if I wasn¡¯t already the daughter-inw of the Jin Family.¡± Impressed by her frankness, Gu Shaochun nodded in approval. ¡°What a candid youngdy. My son did not give birth to a daughter. If you¡¯d agree, I would be more than willing to take you as my God-granddaughter.¡± It had never ured to An Xiaoning that the old Mr. Gu would want to be rted to her in one way or another. ¡°What would I stand to gain from being your God-granddaughter? Why would I call you ¡®Grandfather¡¯ and address the rest of your family as my elders for no apparent reason at all?¡± An Xiaoning asked rhetorically. ¡°An Xiaoning, many others are dying for a chance to call me their godmother. Yet here you are, despising the opportunity offered to you,¡± Mrs. Gu chastised. She gave her the side-eye. Beckoning his daughter-inw to stay silent, Gu Shaochun looked at An Xiaoning and answered calmly, ¡°Once you be my God-granddaughter, your name will be included in the historic record of the Gu Family. You will be one of us. You¡¯re free to raise any wishes you may have. I will fulfill them as long as they are within my means. Rtively speaking, there¡¯s only one thing I ask.¡± The rest of the Gu Family were robbed of their senses; their jaws dropped in shock. Is he already senile... they thought to themselves in disbelief of what they had just heard. How could he offer that stranger, An Xiaoning, such a great advantage? Absolutely ridiculous. Truth be told, An Xiaoning was tempted by what he had offered her. How could she not be? Putting aside the strained ties between the Gu Family and the Jin Family, the mere thought of having any wish of hers granted by Gu Shaochun was enough to move her. Besides, this was an issue which would have existed regardless of her marriage with Jin Qingyan. If she ever has a falling out with Jin Qingyan, she would at least still have the backing and support of the Gu Family. There was nothing wrong with leaving a way out for herself. After all, prevention is indeed better than cure. ¡°You said you only have one thing to ask. What is it?¡± she asked. ¡°My only request... is for you to lend a helping hand whenever you can, should any member of the Gu Family be faced with an inevitable disaster,¡± said the elderly patriarch, sweeping an arm across his family members, who were holding their breaths in anxiety. Quick to interrupt, Mrs. Gu objected, ¡°Father, how are you so sure that we are bound to face an inevitable disaster? Even so, what happens if she¡¯s unable to help us?¡± Looking at his daughter-inw, he questioned sternly, ¡°Do you think I¡¯m spouting nonsense?¡± ¡°Of course not...¡± answered Mrs. Gu, turning meek as amb. An Xiaoning, too, had wanted to know the answer to Mrs. Gu¡¯s question. ¡°Old Mr. Gu, how are you aware of what¡¯s going to happen to the Gu Family in the future?¡± she asked. ¡°Your Grandmaster had let me in about it, once. She didn¡¯t reveal much about when and what would eventually happen, other than the fact that it would be extremely disastrous. I¡¯m getting on in years. I¡¯ve previously tried countless times to look for simr Masters, to learn a skill or two, but to no avail. The people who truly possess genuine abilities in this world are few and far in between. I¡¯ve ordered Dongcheng to look for your Master on the mountains today, partly because of this matter. Little did I expect to meet you. Please, agree to my request, will you?¡± asked a hopeful Gu Shaochun. Chapter 14 - Spending the Night With Her

Chapter 14: Spending the Night With Her

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°In that case, why do you trust that I have the ability to do it? Although there are very few masters who are experts in that aspect, there are indeed still many others who are capable. Why me, when you can simply hire them by offering a hefty sum of money, which you don¡¯tck? Old Mr. Gu, I am far less advanced in age, as well as skill and practice. I know you¡¯re a man of good judgement; otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t have been able to build and develop your business into the empire it is today. Thus, will you tell me why you chose me?¡± asked an intrigued An Xiaoning. ¡°There isn¡¯t a special reason, actually. I trust you, only because you are Jingxin¡¯s only disciple,¡± he answered. Giving it some thought, An Xiaoning said with sarcasm while looking at Mrs. Gu, ¡°If I acknowledge you as my God-grandfather, I would have to acknowledge Mr. and Mrs. Gu as my godparents as well. But, with Godma disliking me, I¡¯m going to have a hard time living with the Gu¡¯s in the future.¡± ¡°Oh silly, since I¡¯ll be taking you as my God-granddaughter under the witness of everyone in my family, rest assured I¡¯ll be treating you like my own, making sure you have everything you need to livefortably,¡± reassured Gu Shaochun. Noticing how highly her father-inw regarded An Xiaoning, Mrs. Gu knew not to belittle her. ¡°Are you amenable now?¡± asked Gu Shaochun with a satisfied smile. ¡°Let me consider it, and I¡¯ll give you an answer tomorrow. How does that sound?¡± ¡°Great,¡± Gu Shaochun answered with a nod. The Gu¡¯s drove back home after dropping An Xiaoning off at her house. On the journey back, Mr. Gu asked, ¡°Father, can we really depend on her?¡± ¡°Back then, her Grandmaster had urately predicted the age and exact date your grandparents would pass on. She had let us in on this matter out of her own ord. It has got to be right. This is a family secret not to be divulged to anyone else, be it true or not. It doesn¡¯t pay to take a risk.¡± ¡°But An Xiaoning knows about our secret now. What if she reveals it to Jin Qingyan...¡± ¡°She won¡¯t. There are rules when ites to the practice. She¡¯s a careful and meticulous girl. She¡¯s not going topletely trust someone she hasn¡¯t known for long easily,¡± Gu Shaochun disagreed. ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning sat on the couch. The moment she arrived home, she had begun reading the book Gu Shaochun gave her. The words on the book were handwritten. The handwriting was unique and legible only to a few. Despite being a pious adherent of Buddhism who had been in practice for her whole life, An Xiaoning¡¯s Master was unable to understand the writings, simply because she was not psychic. Unlike her master, the psychic An Xiaoning could read each and every word written on the book. Since her Grandmaster was the one who had handed down the book to her disciple, the writings must have been handwritten by the former. The book was entirelyposed of hexagrams,ptions of mantras, and mnemonic chants. To An Xiaoning, it was a precious handbook that ought to be treasured. Noticing An Xiaoning reading cross-legged, as soon as he got home, Jin Qingyan inched forward and asked curiously, ¡°What¡¯s that book you¡¯re reading?¡± ¡°A book that means a ton to me. One that is priceless,¡± she said without revealing the identity of the book. ¡°Where¡¯d you get that from?¡± ¡°Secret.¡± ¡°Are there still secrets between us?¡± he asked inquisitively, one eyebrow raised. ¡°Of course,¡± replied An Xiaoning with a smirk. ¡°I went to offer my respects to my Master today and bumped into old Mr. Gu along the way. Turns out, he¡¯s the man my master had loved for her entire life. He wants to acknowledge me as his God-granddaughter and include me in his family¡¯s historic record. What do you think of that?¡± she continued, trying to sound him out. ¡°The Gu Family?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°He wants to acknowledge you, simply because you¡¯re the only disciple of your master?¡± An Xiaoning asked in reply, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? He even offered to grant me any wish I¡¯d like, as long as they are within his means. I find this a pretty good deal.¡± ¡°Back then, Gu Beicheng had had a hard time acknowledging his biological parents. Why would they include you in their family historic record that easily? There¡¯s no free lunch in this world,¡± said a skeptical Jin Qingyan. ¡°I think you¡¯d better not agree. Besides, you¡¯ll be the Mistress of the Jin family real soon. Given the strained ties between the Gu family and mine, Mother and Grandma won¡¯t be too pleased to hear about it,¡± he added. ¡°The strained ties between the families? Or is it... simply the strained rtionship between you and Gu Beicheng?¡± she asked with a smile. Without a response, Jin Qingyan headed upstairs, his face stiff. Smirking, An Xiaoning watched as his figure disappeared into the stairway. It seemed she had hit the nail on the head. After finishing a bowl of instant noodles paired with a carton of milk, a satiated An Xiaoning was all ready for a nap on the couch. Just as sheid down, Jin Qingyan zoomed down the stairs and headed straight for the door, anxiety written all over his face. ¡°Where are you headed to?¡± asked An Xiaoning. Not having the time to even reply, Jin Qingyan put on his shoes and left in a hurry. An Xiaoning did not put much thought into the matter. She closed her eyes and dozed off quickly. In dreand, An Xiaoning sat across her Master in the courtyard of the temple. Grinning from ear to ear, her Master said, ¡°I thought I would never have the chance to see him again after my death. But I did, all thanks to you.¡± ¡°Master, he had asked for me to be his God-granddaughter. And he requested me to lend a helping hand to the Gu Family during the time of the great disaster they were bound to face one day. Should I agree?¡± ¡°Follow your heart, dear. As your master, though, I feel it would be a good choice to agree, for I can then leave in peace, knowing that you will be taken care of in the future.¡± ¡°Thank you, Master.¡± Nun Jingxin was still smiling as her figure faded into a blur. An Xiaoning woke up from her nap only to realize it was just a dream. To her surprise, her Master had appeared in her dreams to convey a message. ¡ª¡ª Evening had arrived. All of a sudden, a bunch of makeup artists and hair stylists showed up at her door, iming that they had been sent by Mrs. Jin. The butler had also brought along the numerous sets of bridal gowns and suits. Having put on her wedding gown, An Xiaoning could not help but smile at the sight of her reflection in the mirror. This was her second time donning a wedding gown. Come her big day tomorrow, she would be the most beautiful she had ever been in her entire life. Her only worry was Jin Qingyan, who was still not yet home despite thete hour. She waited patiently on the couch for his return, sipping on a drink she had poured herself. As the clock struck nine, An Xiaoning decided to give him a call. She was tired of waiting. However, he did not pick up, even after a long time. Thus, she decided not to wait any longer and proceeded to get some rest alone. Not having slept well that night, An Xiaoning woke up to find that it was empty beside her on the bed. There were no missed calls or messages from him either. Soon, it was the morning of their big day. Jin Qingyan arrived home just as An Xiaoning was sitting on the dressing table to get her hair done, right after putting on her wedding gown. He immediately changed into his wedding suit. Without any exnation at all, he headed downstairs. An Xiaoning clenched her fists anxiously. She felt a need to know his whereabouts the night before. Why did he refuse to pick up my call? she thought to herself. After the makeup artists and hairstylists had left her bedroom, she ordered for someone to get him toe upstairs. ¡°Where did you gost night?¡± ¡°Rui¡¯er had injured her leg pretty badly. She was in pain the entire night.¡± Widening her mouth in disbelief, An Xiaoning questioned, ¡°So, you kept herpany at the hospital for the entire night?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t Gu Beicheng be the one apanying her? Why was it you instead?¡± An Xiaoning continued to ask, trying to get to the bottom of the matter. Chapter 15 - You Jerk!

Chapter 15: You Jerk!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Rui¡¯er couldn¡¯t get through to Gu Beicheng, so she called me instead,¡± exined Jin Qingyan. Noticing the sullen look on An Xiaoning¡¯s face, he continued in a mellowed voice, ¡°I know you tried calling me, but I didn¡¯t pick up because I had nned to exin to you after Ie home.¡± ¡°You¡¯re asking for it, honestly,¡± she scorned, staring at him. ¡°What?¡± said Jin Qingyan. Her words had struck a sour note. ¡°You¡¯re so quick to show your affection to someone else¡¯s woman. If that¡¯s not asking for it, I don¡¯t know what is. I turned a blind eye when you spent the entire afternoon yesterday searching for a caretaker to look after her. Well, I really think you¡¯re asking for it by spending the night with her. Do you love her that much?¡±mented An Xiaoning, her initial happiness turning into dust. All of a sudden, there was an indescribable shift in the emotional atmosphere. Seeing that Jin Qingyan was still remaining silent, she went on to give him a piece of her mind, ¡°Today is the day of our wedding. After today, I hope you will know your boundaries and draw a line between yourself and her. Once you be my husband, you should no longer be thinking about another woman. However, should you fail to do so, I¡¯ll end things between you two using another method.¡± It was truly an eye-opener; he had never heard her speak with such confidence and vigor before. Neither did he expect her to be such a shrewd woman. Indeed, he had not known her all that well yet. ¡°My wife actually said I was asking for it. Now that¡¯s a first. Why don¡¯t you try saying that again? ¡± he taunted, walking towards her. ¡°You were asking for it, ¡± said An Xiaoning proudly. She thought to herself,Does he actually think I¡¯m too timid to say it again? What does he take me for? Locking the door behind him, he pinned her onto the bed and said, ¡°Say that again.¡± ¡°Are you trying to be violent just because you can¡¯t outspeak me? Let go.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°You jerk!¡± ¡°...¡± Eager to hear An Xiaoning¡¯s answer, Gu Shaochun woke up exceptionally early that morning. However, she still had not given him her reply. He felt his heart sink with each passing moment that he continued to wait. Just as he was getting jittery, a call came through. It was An Xiaoning. ¡°After much consideration, I¡¯ve decided to agree to your request,¡± she said. Unable to contain his excitement, Gu Shaochun thanked her immediately. ¡°Thank you, Xiaoning. Grandpa has prepared a set of dowry for your big day today, and I¡¯ll be attending your wedding, as your family.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Feeling more energized than ever, he quickly ordered his daughter-inw to prepare a set of dowry for An Xiaoning. Together with his family, he then headed to the home of the Jin¡¯s, where the wedding would be held. The Jin¡¯s did a double-take upon the rare sight of the Gu family. ¡°Hubby, why are they here?¡± asked Mrs. Jin sternly. She could not believe her eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Turning around, she said, ¡°I¡¯m going to call Qingyan and ask what¡¯s going on.¡± A sullen look formed on Mrs. Jin¡¯s face, and it stiffened the moment she ended the call. Noticing her expression, Mr. Jin asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Qingyan said that Xiaoning had be a member of the Gu family, out of the blue, for no rhyme or reason at all. She had acknowledged Gu Shaochun as her Grandfather. Why... why weren¡¯t we informed of this at all, beforehand?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s ask Xiaoning about it after the wedding,¡± said Mr. Jin. ¡ª¡ª ¡°My Mother is obviously upset,¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°Then, so be it. Aren¡¯t you upset as well? We can dly call off the wedding now. Just don¡¯t regret it in the future,¡± dared An Xiaoning, ring at him while adjusting her gown. But Jin Qingyan replied, ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll be the one regretting.¡± ¡°I have a feeling I would too. After all, we don¡¯t truly love each other now. It¡¯s not going to be nice when I make a cuckold out of you the day I meet a man who¡¯s madly in love with me. You¡¯re going to look really bad when that happens.¡± ¡°Earlier on, you demanded that I be mindful of my boundaries after we get married. Is it right for you to be saying such things now?¡± ¡°I said that you should be aware of your boundaries, but I didn¡¯t say that it applied to me too.¡± ¡°I¡¯m very certain that you will fall for me. Wanna bet?¡± challenged Jin Qingyan with utmost confidence. ¡°No. I don¡¯t stand to gain anything, either way.¡± The bridesmaid, Jin Qingyue, and the best man, Long Tianze, arrived outside their bedroom just as their conversation ended. ¡°It¡¯s time,¡± she said with a smile. Hand in hand, they proceeded downstairs, the bridesmaid holding onto the train of her gown. The wedding photographers and videographers were more than ready to begin filming. Jin Qingyan carried An Xiaoning into the car, bridal style. Looking at the expensive, luxury cars which were escorting theirs, An Xiaoning gasped, ¡°The previous time I got married, there were only six cars to escort us. I can¡¯t believe there are so many today!¡± ¡°Do you like it?¡± ¡°Absolutely.¡± ¡°Something¡¯s happeningter. You¡¯re going to like it even more. I¡¯ve invited your ex-husband to our wedding,¡± he said with a sweet, mellow voice, seemingly trying to please her. ¡°They may not show up, though.¡± ¡°They wouldn¡¯t dare not to,¡± he said firmly as their fingers interlocked. ¡°I just can¡¯t quite see through you. You really spoil me in every aspect, fulfilling the standards of an ideal husband. Yet, you¡¯re in love with another woman. Truthfully, I¡¯d prefer a man who loves me wholeheartedly,¡± she said calmly. ¡°Is that so?¡± he asked. Before they knew it, they had arrived at the old Mansion and were greeted with the sight of a fleet of cars lined up farther away from the mansion. The wedding car arrived at the door. Jin Qingyan quickly alighted and, hand in hand, led An Xiaoning down the red carpet. She spotted her ex-husband and his family amongst the crowd. Every single member of the Shi family had turned up, including Wang Fangfang. A mix ofplex feelings began to overwhelm An Xiaoning when she noticed her parents from afar. They had invited themselves even though she did not inform them of the exact address. God knows when they had arrived. The majority of female guests were green with envy as they watched Jin Qingyan slip on the huge, ostentatious ring onto An Xiaoning¡¯s finger while they were exchanging their vows. It was only during the toasting ceremony that most of the guests realized that the Gu Family had attended the wedding as An Xiaoning¡¯s family. Having made the headlines, the matter came across as breaking news to many. When it was time to toast to the Shi Family during the ceremony, An Xiaoning gloated conceitedly when she noticed how uneasy they were. ¡°Here¡¯s a toast for the old Mrs. Shi. There¡¯s a permanent scar on my forehead that I just can¡¯t get rid of. Thankfully, my hair has helped keep it obscure. It would¡¯ve been hideous otherwise!¡± she sneered. At that very instant, the old Mrs. Shi turned pale as sheet. ¡°My apologies to have offended you, young madam,¡± said the old Mrs. Shi, still managing to force a polite remark out of herself. ¡°It¡¯s no bother. Here¡¯s another toast to Mr. Shi,¡± she eximed, handing Shi Shaochuan a ss of wine. Wang Fangfang kept her eyes peeled on An Xiaoning¡¯s hands. Almost blinded by the sparkling, exquisite, diamond ring, she could not help but wonder how An Xiaoning had gotten so lucky. Watching the gorgeous An Xiaoning smile at him beautifully, Shi Shaochuan felt a random tinge of moroseness. Chugging too quickly, he choked on the wine she had toasted and felt a burning feeling in his throat. With a smirk, An Xiaoning left their table with utmost confidence and strode towards the other tables for a toast. After the toasting ceremony, An Xiaoning returned to her resting area. She felt an immense pain settling into her legs. The very moment she sat down, she noticed Gu Beicheng leaning against the door, d in a white suit. Holding up a goblet in his hands, he stared at her with a faint smile on his face. Chapter 16 - Its So Strange

Chapter 16: It¡¯s So Strange

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Congrats, Sister,¡± said Gu Beicheng, giving An Xiaoning goosebumps all over. ¡°Thanks, Brother,¡± said An Xiaoning, returning the formality. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Just shoot. Don¡¯t just stare at me like that, it¡¯s so strange,¡± she snarled while crossing her leg to massage her sole. Entering through the door, Gu Beicheng stood in front of her and said, ¡°Since Grandpa, Father, and Mother had given you a big wedding gift, as your Brother, I ought to give you a little something too.¡± He handed her a bangle and continued, ¡°This one¡¯s for you.¡± An Xiaoning took a look at the bangle and realized it was made of jade. Thinking that he must have bought it with his money, she asked, ¡°Where¡¯d you buy this jade bangle? It seems to be of superior quality.¡± Casting a nce at her, he answered, ¡°You can¡¯t get it anywhere else on the market. Keep it properly. Better yet, wear it on your wrist.¡± ¡°Thanks. Just one more thing, is there something you want in return?¡± she asked. She¡¯d taken a liking to the bangle. ¡°You¡¯re overthinking. It¡¯s really just a gift from me, your brother,¡± he assured her before striding out of the room. An Xiaoning put the bangle on and felt strangely at ease all of a sudden. What a spiritual bangle , she thought, absolutely adoring it. An Xiaoning¡¯s mother entered the room right after Gu Beicheng left. ted, she chirped excitedly, ¡°Show me the diamond ring Son-inw had given you! It must be worth millions.¡± ¡°When did you arrive?¡± asked An Xiaoning. ¡°This morning. Tell me truthfully daughter, how much betrothal money did they pay?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t ask for any. So don¡¯t bother asking.¡± ¡°No betrothal money? Why didn¡¯t you ask for any, silly daughter? I¡¯ll ask your Mother-inw for itter. Your Father and I want the money, even if you don¡¯t.¡± ¡°You can forget about it. If you dare to breathe a single word about it, you¡¯ll never see me again. I mean it. Don¡¯t embarrass me,¡± warned An Xiaoning. ¡°Your Father and I have lived a poor life of rags in the vige. Now that you¡¯re enjoying life as a rich man¡¯s wife, you ought to understand our plight.¡± ¡°If I didn¡¯t get married to him, you and Father would¡¯ve beaten me to death. Save it, I know clearly what you two are thinking. Finish your meal and leave.¡± ¡°Great, you¡¯re chasing your parents away now, aren¡¯t you, Xiaoning? If it weren¡¯t for us, you wouldn¡¯t be alive today.¡± An Xiaoning was overwhelmed with exhaustion and simply did not have the energy to continue arguing with her mother. ¡°Your younger brother had dropped out of school and wishes to open a shop in the city. Being aware that you¡¯re now married to an extremely wealthy family, he had asked me to borrow some money from you to aid him in his venture. It¡¯s your brother¡¯s turn to get married in a few years, and since he¡¯s interested in starting a small business of his own, you should provide him with some help to improve his life a little. You¡¯re not going to leave him in a lurch, right, Xiaoning?¡± pleaded Mrs. An. ¡°How much is he going to need?¡± ¡°Calcting the costs, he would need 1.2 million yuan for a two-storey unit with a shopfront, 200 thousand yuan for the furnishing, another 200 thousand for production costs, 20 to 30 thousand for simple furniture. That would add up to a total of...¡± ¡°1.6 million or so. It¡¯s his first business venture and he¡¯s already spending so much. Can¡¯t he just rent a ce?¡± An Xiaoning interjected before her mother could even finish. ¡°It would cost at least a few hundreds of thousands for a year¡¯s rental. Your brother thinks it would be wiser to just buy a ce of his own. After all, it would belong entirely to him in a few decades.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have that much to lend him,¡± said An Xiaoning bluntly. ¡°Xiaoning, are you trying to lie to your mother¡¯s face? I¡¯ve seen it all today, from the red envelopes[red envelope: a mary gift given during special asions, like weddings, in Chinese societies] to the big gifts given by your many Godparents. All of those must be worth at least a few millions of yuan. What¡¯s wrong with lending a hand to your own brother?¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s mind was in great turmoil. While she was not a heartless person who does not value kinship, she too could not help but remember the times when her parents had cursed and humiliated her. ¡°I need to get some rest.¡± ¡°Fine. It¡¯s not worth raising and calling you my daughter,¡± said Mrs. An bitterly as she turned to leave. An Xiaoning stared at the ceiling and heaved a sigh of frustration. ¡ª¡ª Having waited until dinnertime to pop the question, the old Mrs. Gu asked, ¡°Xiaoning, what¡¯s your rtionship with the Gu Family?¡± ¡°Grandma, the old Mr. Gu was the love of my Master¡¯s life. He probably just acknowledged me as his god-granddaughter because I am closely rted to my Master, nothing more.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve agreed too quickly on this matter. The Gu Family have always been stringent about their family historic record and lineage. Why would he agree to include you so easily? I suspect that they have a greater hidden agenda, and you would be their head start,¡± warned the old Mrs. Gu sternly. ¡°Grandma, you¡¯re oveplicating things. It¡¯s not that serious,¡± said An Xiaoning, almost sneering. ¡°Perhaps I am. Since it had been set in stone, I shall not pursue the matter further. Before I forget, your mother had asked your Mother-inw for the betrothal money, iming to have needed it to tide over a financial difficulty back home. Were you aware of this?¡± ¡°How much did she ask for?¡± asked An Xiaoning, her face stiffening. ¡°Two million yuan.¡± ¡°And did you give it to her?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± An Xiaoning rose to her feet frantically and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to ask for it back.¡± ¡°Xiaoning, you don¡¯t have to...¡± ¡°Grandma, she doesn¡¯t deserve the money,¡± An Xiaoning answered before zooming out of the door. She instructed the driver to take her to the vige. For the entire journey, An Xiaoning was filled with anxiety. It was not the hefty sum that bothered her, but rather the fact that she had felt that her parents did not deserve to take the money at all. This was because An Xiaoning¡¯s mother-inw had already given her a lot of expensive clothing and jewellery, not to mention a red envelope that contained arge sum of money. How could she still have the cheek to ept the two million yuan as betrothal money? Her mother had seriously disgraced her. An Xiaoning instructed the driver to wait at the vige entrance while she hurried home alone. The door was half-open. An Xiaoning took a stride and entered the house, only to find that the courtyard was unlit. The door of the central room was left slightly ajar, and sounds of the TV and people chatting could be heard from within. She moved quickly, still making sure not to make a sound as she moved with feather-light steps. She felt a chill down her spine when she heard their conversation. ¡°That wretchedss! If only you saw the way she behaved today, not wanting to acknowledge us at all. If it weren¡¯t for us back then, she would¡¯ve frozen to death along the roadside. It was right for me to take this money today. I didn¡¯t expect the Jin Family to be so generous, though. They gave me so much money without much hesitation. They are far wealthier than the Shi Family. Seems like we won¡¯t have to worry for the rest of our lives.¡± ¡°Mother, shall we look for a house facing the street in the city tomorrow?¡± asked An Xiaonan eagerly. ¡°Do you really think we¡¯re getting you one?¡± Mrs. An said bluntly. ¡°It was just an excuse I gave your sister. I¡¯m not going to let you waste it. I know you too well, you spend without thinking twice. If you really want to start a business, I¡¯ll invest a little and save the rest for your Dad and I. But you are to rent a house, not buy one,¡± she continued. ¡°I¡¯ll tell sister what you just said,¡± threatened An Xiaonan. ¡°There¡¯s no use telling her. Ah, it¡¯s a blessing that she married a rich man again, after leaving the mountains. Otherwise, how else would we get so much money? They¡¯re truly our cash cow.¡± ¡°If I hadn¡¯t insisted on taking her in back then, we wouldn¡¯t be so lucky today!¡± exined Mr. An. ¡°Yes, yes, all the credit goes to you.¡± With all her might, An Xiaoning flung the door open, shocking the three of them inside. They stared at her wide-eyed, their jaws open. Chapter 17 - How Nice It Is To Marry Me

Chapter 17: How Nice It Is To Marry Me

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I... so I¡¯m actually not the biological child of both of you ¡ª no wonder you treat me like this, no wonder I don¡¯t look like any of you.¡± She stepped into the house and looked at Mrs. An coldly. ¡°The two million you got from my inws, give it back.¡± Mrs An would never give back money she received. She immediately said, ¡°I have no money to give, except a life of mine.¡± ¡°At a young age, I was sent to the mountains by you. Not long after I came back, you forced me to marry into the Shi Family. You¡¯ve also epted the betrothal gifts from them ¡ª treat that money as mypensation for you. I want this money back now, or don¡¯t me me for being nasty.¡± ¡°Unless I¡¯m dead, don¡¯t think about taking away a single cent from us!¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s figure appeared at the door. He strode in, having already heard everything from their conversation. ¡°Now, how about this¡ªboth of you write a contract to cut off all foster ties and go to the nearest office to get an official statement to remove a household member and this two million will be yours, okay?¡± An Xiaoning turned around to look at him. Jin Qingyan held her hand tightly, but his voice became colder. ¡°Say something.¡± ¡°Sure, okay.¡± Mr. An quickly left the house while Mrs. An hurried An Xiaonan, ¡°Quick, get a pen and paper.¡± An Xiaonan turned around to search for a pen and paper and ced them on the table. He wrote ording to what Jin Qingyan instructed him to, and finally, Mrs. An signed on it. Jin Qingyan took a seal from his pocket and passed it to Mrs. An. ¡°Seal your thumbprint on it.¡± Mrs. An sealed her thumbprint without hesitation. After half an hour, Mr. An came back. He showed the statement from the office ¡ª it had an official seal on it. ¡°Sign your name and seal your thumbprint too.¡± Jin Qingyan quickly scanned the signatures and said after confirming, ¡°After today, An Xiaoning has nothing to do with your family. If you go out and publicize that you¡¯re rted to her, we will take legal action. I hope all of you will understand.¡± He turned around, held An XiaoNing¡¯s hands, and left. Mrs An did not feel dejected at all. On the contrary, she was ted. ¡°It¡¯s two million yuan, I would never earn so much in my whole life.¡± ¡°Mom, I think both of you have gone overboard.¡± Mrs An pped his head. ¡°What overboard, if back then your father and I did not pick her up at the roadside, will she be here today? I think two million yuan is still too little ¡ª we should get at least ten million.¡± An XiaoNan rubbed his head. ¡°Luckily I¡¯m a son, if I¡¯d been a daughter, both of you would have long sold me for money.¡± ¡°You brat... are you the same as her? You are our flesh and blood, we wouldn¡¯t sell you no matter what. Enough. Now that we have money, let¡¯s get a two-storey house, buy some nice furniture and invest in a small business for you. You still need to get married next time ¡ª our good days are finally here.¡± ¡ª The chauffeur drove in one car while Jin QingYan and An XiaoNing drove in another. ¡°Why did youe here?¡± ¡°I knew you couldn¡¯t settle it yourself. Isn¡¯t it good that this money can get you freedom from that family? Why don¡¯t you change your residence to my household?¡± An XiaoNing shook her head. ¡°No, I want to change it to the Gu family¡¯s residence.¡± Jin QingYan¡¯s heart fell. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m afraid that one day, I¡¯ll get kicked out by you. It¡¯ll get troublesome.¡± She was not at all afraid of avoiding such inauspicious words. ¡°After all, no one knows about the future. It¡¯s best to be prepared.¡± ¡°You¡¯re such a smart woman.¡± An XiaoNing held onto his arm and rested her head on his body. ¡°From today onwards, you¡¯re the closest person I have. Please continue to treat me well.¡± Jin QingYan¡¯s heart tightened. Hhis closest person wasn¡¯t her, but her closest person was him? On the way home, she had fallen asleep while resting on him. He carried her off the car. An XiaoNing had actually woken up when the car arrived, but not expecting that he would carry her, she continued to pretend she was asleep. Only after he carried her onto the bed, took off her shoes and covered the nket on her did An XiaoNing open her eyes slightly. As she was about to talk to him, his phone rang. ¡°Babylifewasgoodtomebutyoujustmadeitbetternull, Ilovethewayitstandbymethroughanykindofweathernull...¡± An XiaoNing saw him take a look at the caller ID and walk out, going downstairs to take the call. She discreetly lifted the nket and walked down the stairs. ¡°How is it now?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Let me send a caretaker over.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Yes, leaving my beautiful and precious wife at home is inappropriate.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Hello... hello..¡± Jin QingYan saw that the call had ended. He looked anxious and, after some consideration, he still went out. An XiaoNing went back upstairs to wear her shoes, then got on a car to the hospital. At the carpark, she found his car as expected. Looking through the news, she eventually decided on the VIP room of the hospital. She wore a cap that covered most of her face, as well as a pair of sunsses. Then she sneakily loitered around the entrance of the wards. After she found the correct ward number, she boldly pushed the door open without making any noise at all. As she had expected, wards with toilets had a hallway, and she entered the toilet sessfully while listening to their conversation. ¡°Qing Yan, you¡¯re still the best to me. Bei Cheng can¡¯t evenpare to you. Ever since I¡¯ve been hospitalised, he only came once briefly and left in a hurry.¡± Chi RuiEr¡¯s voice was full of despair and dejection. Jin QingYan asked instead, ¡°Then why did you choose him. If I¡¯m better than him, why didn¡¯t you choose me?¡± ¡°Today, I saw your wedding on television. I was so upset.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s eyes reddened. She spoke tearfully while choking on tears, ¡°I don¡¯t know why I didn¡¯t choose you in the past. If I had chosen you, I would have been the one married to you now. I know you would fight for me in front of your family, but now everything¡¯s toote.¡± An XiaoNing could no longer stand to listen. She sneaked out of the ward from the toilet. When she reached her doorstep, she saw Gu BeiCheng¡¯s figure ¡ª he had his hands sped behind his back. She went forward. ¡°What are you doing at my house in the middle of the night?¡± ¡°Enjoying the breeze and admiring the moonlight.¡± Gu BeiCheng smiled lightly. ¡°Why were you so adamant on marrying him?¡± ¡°Then shoud I have married you instead?¡± ¡°Of course. How nice it is to marry me ¡ª we would be a happy family.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be silly. I¡¯m going in. You better leave.¡± She took a step towards the door, but Gu Beicheng held her arm back and pulled her to face him. A sh of light projected towards them and before she knew it, he held her face tight and nted a small peck before leaving speedily. ¡°Goodnight,¡± he muttered before he left. Before An XiaoNing could react, his car had already driven out of sight. It seemed like in the next second, another car came from the other direction. The door opened abruptly ¡ª it was her husband, Jin QingYan. Chapter 18 - No Playing Cute!

Chapter 18: No ying Cute!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He turned pale as sheet; he raged with anger. ¡°Who was that man?!¡± he barked, ring daggers at her. ¡°Didn¡¯t you manage to catch a glimpse of his face?¡± ¡°Would I have to ask you if I did? We just got married today and your lover is already looking for you?¡± hollered Jin Qingyan with much hostility. ¡°Don¡¯t spout nonsense, he¡¯s not my lover.¡± ¡°Then who is he? Why did he kiss you? Spill it!¡± he eagerly urged her for a reply. With a grunt, An Xiaoning turned around and walked towards the courtyard. There was no way she was going to tell him it was Gu Beicheng. That would make him hit the roof. Jin Qingyan made his way up the stairs after driving in. An Xiaoning had gotten ready to shower. However, the enraged Jin Qingyan refused to let her go before he had gotten an answer from her. ¡°Tell me.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing to tell you about,¡± said An Xiaoning fearlessly. ¡°You don¡¯t have the right to ask me about it because you just spent the night with another woman,¡± she continued. ¡°I¡¯m asking for thest time. Who is that man? How are you rted to him?¡± said Jin Qingyan coldly. ¡°There¡¯s nothing between us.¡± ¡°You think I¡¯d believe you?¡± he questioned, pinning her onto the bed. Not wanting to argue with him any further, An Xiaoning sat up on her own and cooed in a cutesy manner while looking up at him, ¡°I already told you the truth. But what am I supposed to do if you don¡¯t believe me?¡± ¡°No ying cute! Then why did he kiss you? I saw it all from afar,¡± he asked sternly. ¡°No, you didn¡¯t. He was just leaning in to speak to me.¡± Seeing that he still refused to believe her, she got on her knees and gazed up at him. With pouty lips, she said, ¡°If you still don¡¯t believe me, you can try smelling if there¡¯s another man¡¯s scent on me.¡± ¡°Who is he then?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to shower,¡± she said, putting one leg out onto the floor. Before she knew it, he grabbed her other leg tightly and dragged her back onto the bed. ¡°Did I say you could go?¡± he asked, gritting his teeth in anger. ¡°Jin Qingyan, you¡¯d better know your limits and not go overboard. You¡¯re the one who doesn¡¯t know your ce, running off to take care of Chi Rui¡¯er in the middle of the night. Yet you¡¯re still ying the victim? How atrocious!¡± retorted An Xiaoning, her smile beginning to fade. ¡°I¡¯m going overboard? Do you think you can lie to me easily? How dare you make me a cuckold right at our doorstep? Just you wait and see how I¡±ll punish you!¡± roared Jin Qingyan. ¡°You¡¯vepletely wronged me!¡± cried An Xiaoning as he picked her up and carried her into the bathroom, as if she were an object. ¡°Brush your teeth and rinse your mouth a hundred times.¡± Oh gosh! Was he out of his twisted mind? ¡°I¡¯m not going to.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not? Then I shall do it for you,¡± he said, squeezing some toothpaste onto her toothbrush. He seemed so angry, he might just brush her teeth until her gums bled. Worried, she said, ¡°No, I¡¯ll do it myself.¡± She brushed her teeth over and over again, until he was satisfied. ¡°I think my gums are swollen.¡± ¡°Swollen just from brushing a few times? You¡¯re too fragile,¡± he jabbed as he began to unbutton his shirt. ¡°Was that just a few? That was more than just a few! My gums are getting ruptured,¡± snapped An Xiaoning. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t tell me his name, regardless of how many times I¡¯ve asked. Seems like he means a lot to you.¡± ¡°He means nothing to me,¡± said An Xiaoning as shey down. ¡°There¡¯s a security camera at the doorstep. I¡¯ll just check the footage tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°It¡¯s your call,¡± said An Xiaoning nonchntly. She was sure that he was just trying to scare her. Out of the multiple times she had passed by the front door, she had not noticed any security camera, or anything of the sort. Having calmed down, Jin Qingyan turned towards An Xiaoning, who had her eyes closed, and said, ¡°If I ever find out that you cheated on me, you shall face dire consequences.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t have it any better either, if I find out that you cheated on me too!¡± Pressing his lips together, Jin Qingyan continued, ¡°It¡¯s just a matter of time before I find out who that man is.¡± A momentary silence filled the air. Just as she was about to fall asleep, An Xiaoning suddenly felt a hand sliding down her side beneath the sheets. Smacking his hand as hard as she could, she hissed, ¡°Get that hand away from me. I¡¯m not in a great mood this evening, will you just let me sleep in peace?¡± He had no choice but to do as instructed. An Xiaoning then went back to sleep, her back facing him. ¡ª¡ª ording to customs, she should only be allowed to return to her parents¡¯ home three days after the wedding. However, An Xiaoning went to the home of the Gu Family early in the morning the day after because she had to settle the procedure of changing her household registry and being added as to the Gu Family genealogy. The old Mr. Gu began to take charge once all the members of the Gu Family had gathered at the ancestral hall. An Xiaoning followed the instructions given and went ahead with the worship and bowing ceremony. By the end of the ritual, An Xiaoning had sessfully been added to the Gu Family genealogy. An Xiaoning did not even have to settle the changing of household registry herself. The procedure was quicklypleted, in less than an hour. Following the customary ceremonies, she then served some tea to her newly-acknowledged Godparents and God-grandfather. As noon approached, everyone gathered to have a reunion lunch. The old Mr. Gu was grinning from ear to ear, excitement written all over his face, as he spoke calmly. They were enjoying their meal when the helpers outside announced the arrival of Jin Qingyan. ¡°You¡¯re here, my grandson-inw. Come in quickly, please,¡± weed the old Mr. Gu, who was still smiling, as he enthusiastically instructed for the helpers to bring him in. d in a ck suit and ck coat, Jin Qingyan took his time to enter while handing the helper the gifts he had brought along. He then sat on a chair brought over by the helper, facing An Xiaoning. ¡°Have I interrupted anything by visiting at this hour?¡± he asked. ¡°Of course not, the timing is perfect. I was just asking Xiaoning why you were absent this morning. She said that you had something urgent to attend to at the office. We¡¯ve just started eating. Do make yourselffortable, at home,¡± assured the old Mr. Gu, gesturing with his hands. ¡°Thank you, Grandpa.¡± Upon hearing the way he addressed the old Mr. Gu, An Xiaoning shot him a nce before quietly continuing to savour her meal. All of a sudden, An Xiaoning felt a leg from opposite, tightly hooking onto hers. Having gotten a shock, she almost dropped her chopsticks. Looking up to see who it was, she noticed that he was chatting merrily with the members of the Gu Family, all prim and proper. She felt a sudden urge to call him a hypocrite. To the relief of An Xiaoning, the meal finally ended. She had felt as if she were stepping on eggshells the entire time. ¡°You did that on purpose, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Not on purpose, but intentionally,¡± jested Jin Qingyan. ¡°What was that for?¡± ¡°It was rather fun, especially when you had to suppress your anger and remain silent. How interesting,¡± sneered Jin Qingyan. Gazing at his alluring, nted eyes, sharp and straight nose bridge, and rosy lips, it was truly a tough feat for An Xiaoning, staying mad at such a perfect face. ¡°Why did youe here, all of a sudden?¡± asked An Xiaoning. ¡°This will be your maternal home from now on. As your husband, it would be rude not toe down to pay a visit,¡± said Jin Qingyan as he reached out to hold her hand. Years after, An Xiaoning would still clearly remember that simple gesture of his. She would still remember the way he reached his hand out to her gracefully, full of vigour and excitement, on that perfect afternoon. ¡ª¡ª Author¡¯s note: = ?¦Ø?= Please ¡®save,¡¯ ¡®rmend,¡¯ ¡®like,¡¯ ment,¡¯ and give me a 5-star rating! Thank you to those who show me your love and support through actions. Love you guys! The story¡¯s only going to get more exciting! Chapter 19 - Little Money-grubber, All You Think About Is Money

Chapter 19: Little Money-grubber, All You Think About Is Money

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios His palm was cold and his fingers looked good ¡ª they were fair and slender. ¡°Where are we going?¡± ¡°Home.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to the office?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go on our honeymoon this afternoon, pack a bit of clothester.¡± ¡°About the two million, please talk to your grandmother about it, ¡± She didn¡¯t forget to remind him. ¡°I already told her about it, she didn¡¯t say anything.¡± The moment they got onto the the car, his phone rang. Jin QingYan took a look at the caller ID, attached the wireless earphone in his ear and started the engine. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Now?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Okay.¡± When the call ended, An Xiaoning, who was seated beside the driver¡¯s seat, could already guess who had called because she sat so close to him. Her hearing was also good, and she recognized a woman¡¯s voice from the call. ¡°I¡¯m making a trip to the hospital, I¡¯ll send you home first.¡± An XiaoNing stayed calm and did not probe further. ¡°Okay.¡± He dropped her off on their doorstep and left immediately. An Xiaoning went in and fed Maomao, arranged all the cash gifts from the wedding, as well as the bank cards. Then, she pulled her luggage out and started packing her things ¡ª she wanted to help him pack too, but she didn¡¯t know what he liked to wear, so she gave up that idea and waited for him toe back. Before she realized, an hour or two passed as she waited. An XiaoNing had no choice but to call him. ¡°I thought we were going for our honeymoon in the afternoon? Why aren¡¯t you back?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll go tomorrow morning.¡± An XiaoNing questioned, ¡°When did you decide on this?¡± ¡°Now.¡± She mmed the phone down and shouted at it, ¡°Go to hell! If I didn¡¯t call you, would you have even informed me? You made me wait here in vain, where¡¯s the trust that a couple should have? Why are you someone who makes people feel warm sometimes but at other times make them feel hurt?¡± Seeing that it was still early, An Xiaoning didn¡¯t want to stay at home. Truthfully, she wanted to buy a house, which could be a ce where she could seekfort other than this home, somewhere she could go to if she quarrels with him next time. An Xiaoning had her own way of thinking and could execute it well ¡ª she impulsively went to look for a house. After looking through a few neighborhoods that weren¡¯t ideal, she went to the real estate agency and took a fancy to a house. It was a private property, which was valuable if she bought it because she would also own the piece ofnd forever. Although its location was not very central, An Xiaoning decided to take a look at the house, so she made the real estate boss bring her there. It was indeed a distance away from the city, and the house was a small two-storey bungalow which was different from other houses ¡ª it had two rooms on the bottom floor, two on the top, and the surrounding wall was very tall. Getting off the car, the real estate boss entered the passcode and said, ¡°This house has been vacant for some time and no one has bought it. First, the price is quite high. Second, it¡¯s a distance away from the city. But there¡¯s a wet market and supermarket nearby, so it¡¯s still quite convenient. Honestly, if you¡¯re interested in it, I can still negotiate the price with the seller.¡± From checking the living room to every other aspect of the house, An Xiaoning was satisfied with the interior design of it. ¡°I see there¡¯s not a lot of people residing nearby.¡± The real estate boss replied, ¡°The people living here enjoy the peace and quiet. There¡¯s a river not far from here ¡ª in the day, many fishing loverse here. I still have other houses in my hand, do you want to see them too?¡± ¡°How¡¯s the security here?¡± ¡°Not bad, really. The security is far better than other areas with alot of troublemakers, I haven¡¯t heard of anything happening in this neighbouhood.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go and see other houses, shall we?¡± she suggested. ¡°Then I¡¯ll make a decision.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± However, the houses that followed either had poor designs or were too noisy, with some surrounded by factories nearby. In allparison, An Xiaoning still preferred that bungalow. The house wasn¡¯t big, and it was peaceful and quiet. The only problem was that it was expensive. ¡°Youngdy, two million and three hundred thousand, that¡¯s the least it can get.¡± ¡°Sir, can you let me talk to the seller in your presence?¡± ¡°No, youngdy, his original price was two million and four hundred thousand ¡ª that was his bottom line. I saw that you were really keen on it so I helped you reduce it to two million and three hundred thousand. If you still want to lower it further, then I¡¯m sorry, we don¡¯t have a deal.¡± ¡°Tell you what, I¡¯ll go back and discuss with my husband about it. I¡¯lle over again tomorrow.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Of course, An XiaoNing did not intend on discussing it with Jin QingYan. She only wanted to find out from him if that house was worth that much. ¡ª After she had eaten noodles on the streets, it was already seven o¡¯clock when she returned home. He was reading in the living room, and seeing her return at this timing, he asked, ¡°Where have you been, why are you back sote?¡± ¡°Went on a date.¡± She looked down as she changed her shoes, intentionally saying this four words. ¡°A date?¡± Jin QingYan scowled. ¡°You¡¯re angering me on purpose?¡± ¡°On purpose? No, I did that intentionally.¡± She quoted his words from this afternoon. Jin QingYan couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°Tomorrow morning let¡¯s go on our honeymoon. Where do you want to go?¡± ¡°Tomorrow morning, I can¡¯t make it, Let¡¯s go the day after, I¡¯m busy with something tomorrow.¡± Since he went back on his word, she felt that there was no harm dying it too. ¡°What are you busy with?¡± She went right upstairs. ¡°An important event of my life.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not eating?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve eaten already.¡± Jin QingYan closed his book and followed her upstairs. As heid down, An XiaoNing turned over to ask him, ¡°Hubby, which areas near our city have good security?¡± ¡°Dongpo Road, Nanan Road, Mingyuan Road are all decent. Why are you asking about this?¡± ¡°Just casually asking. Which of these three areas has the most expensive property?¡± Hearing her question, Jin QingYan didn¡¯t suspect that she was buying a house ¡ª after all, they already had a house now. He didn¡¯t think too much about it. ¡°They are all about the same and quite expensive. A house would cost about two or three million? But a house in a less central area would be more difficult to sell, so most people who buy a house there reside in it. They rarely use it to invest.¡± ¡°I see. Then the house we live in must be quite expensive right?¡± She smiled. ¡°How much did it cost?¡± ¡°You really want to know?¡± The smile on Jin QingYan¡¯s face grew deeper. ¡°Call me your good hubby and I¡¯ll tell you.¡± ¡°What¡¯s so difficult about this, my good hubby my good hubby my good hubby...¡± ¡°Forty-five million.¡± An Xiaoning already knew that this house wouldn¡¯t havee cheap. After all, it was in a good location. But who would¡¯ve thought that it was so expensive? ¡°Forty-five million. What a shame that the house certificate doesn¡¯t have my name. If it did, I would be a rich woman already.¡± He stretched out his hand to touch her forehead. ¡°Little money-grubber, all you think about is money.¡± ¡°My husband isn¡¯t dependable, of course I need to depend on money right? We¡¯d agreed to go on our honeymoon this afternoon ¡ª I packed all my stuff already ¡ª and you spent your time with another woman. She¡¯s more important than me. You tell me, how are we different?¡± Chapter 20 - You Cant Be Compared to Her

Chapter 20: You Can¡¯t Be Compared to Her

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°It¡¯s indeed different,¡± he said as his smile began to fade. ¡°What¡¯s so different? We¡¯re both women,¡± An Xiaoning continued to ask. ¡°You can¡¯t bepared to her, understand?¡± His words seemed like a million daggers stabbing her heart. ¡°Well, more like she can¡¯t bepared to me, for I am uniquely myself,¡± said An Xiaoning proudly. Though still smiling, she was startled and confused by his response. Feeling a little uneasy, she closed her eyes after finishing her sentence. ¡°I¡¯m tired,¡± she said, pulling the sheets up to her neck. The bright rays of the fresh morning sun shone in, waking An Xiaoning from her sleep. She got up for breakfast in the living room and called the estate agency, expressing her interest in the house along Dongpo Road. The opening hours of the estate agency had supposedly been 8 AM. However, seeing that it was An Xiaoning who had called, the estate agent quickly answered the call and helped her process the transfer of ownership of the house. Not wasting any time at all, she hurriedly headed to the furniture store once the transfer procedure was done and picked out all the furniture she liked. While waiting for the furniture to arrive, she decided to give the house a thorough cleaning, making it spick and span. The walls looked rather new and the entire house was exquisitely furnished. There was no need for a second renovation at all. An hour passed. An Xiaoning looked up and down at her new two-storey home with much fondness. She was more than satisfied. She was not in a hurry to fix the minor details like bedsheets and whatsoever because she could simply buy and bring them along the next time shees. She felt a need to familiarize herself with the new ce. Just as she was about to retrieve the pot of nt from the bottom of the staircase, she heard a door open from below. The shock had robbed An Xiaoning of her senses. Looking down, she noticed a well-lit stairway. It seemed to be a basement. Perhaps the estate agency were unaware of it either, since they did not inform her about it. Trudging down the stairs, she realized that it was indeed a small basement, which was rather empty. Since there was nothing much to look at, An Xiaoning made her way back upstairs. Shifting the pot of nt back in ce, An Xiaoning closed the door to the basement. She then reset the passcode of the PIN-locked doors of the living room and main gate. ¡°Boss, someone is calling you again!¡± cranked her ringtone. Scooping up her phone, she noticed that it was a call from an unknown number and answered it immediately, ¡°Hello? Who¡¯s speaking?¡± ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± answered Gu Beicheng. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°I have something to ask you. Come over, now,¡± he said frankly. ¡°Why should I, just because you asked?¡± ¡°Because we are family. Come to brother, Xiaoning. I have something to ask you. You will be rewarded for it.¡± With a twitch of her lips, An Xiaoning thought to herself, Why does such a normal word sound so strangeing from him? ¡°Tell me about it over the phone.¡± ¡®Forget it, I¡¯ll go look for you at your house.¡± ¡°Where do I look for you?¡± asked An Xiaoning immediately, not wishing for him toe visit her. ¡°Jiangnan Residential Estate, Block A, #08-801.¡± ¡°Got it,¡± said An Xiaoning as she hung up and rushed down to the address he had given her. After a journey of 20 minutes, she finally arrived at his doorstep. ¡°You were so slow. I was getting anxious just waiting for you. Here, let Brother give you a big, warm hug,¡± said Gu Beicheng, leaning against the door. He reached out for a hug. With godlike speed, she quickly dodged and inched forward, causing him to miss. ¡°Just what is it that you can¡¯t tell me about over the phone? You even insisted that I make the trip down here.¡± Closing the door behind him, Gu Beicheng picked up the slip of paper on the table and said while handing it to her, ¡°Take a look at these birth characters for me.¡± After picking it up, she took a look at it and she said bluntly,¡±This set of birth characters belongs to Chi Rui¡¯er.¡± ¡°Oh, seems like my brother-inw had already asked for you to read them.¡± She rolled her eyes in annoyance. She could not help but imagine how disgusted and furious Jin Qingyan would be if he were to hear the way Gu Beicheng had addressed him as his ¡°brother-inw.¡± After all, Jin Qingyan was a year older than him, and the two did not get along well because of their feud over Chi Rui¡¯er. Yet, they had unwillingly be rtives, all because of An Xiaoning. ¡°Which aspect of her fortune would you like me to read? First things first, I can¡¯t read the fate between her and someone whose birth characters you are unaware of. If you¡¯d like to know about the fate between you and her, then you have to tell me your birth characters,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Who said I wanted to know about her fate with someone else? I don¡¯t want to know about the one between her and I, either. I just want you to read about a certain expect. That is, will she bear a child in the next six months?¡± asked Gu Beicheng, frowning sternly. Reaching her hand out, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t you mention that there would be a reward?¡± ¡°You¡¯re so untrusting of Brother. Where is the basic trust between siblings? Here, is this enough?¡± he asked, sliding her a cheque. She took a look at the cheque of 500 thousand yuan and nodded, ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s enough.¡± ¡°I can be sure that she is bound to bear a child, in the next half of the year.¡± ¡°Can you tell in which month it would be?¡± ¡°Yes, but I can¡¯t reveal that to you. It is in her fate to have a child,¡± said An Xiaoning. Reminded of the fact that it was thest child Chi Rui¡¯er would bear, she could not help but warn him, ¡°She is destined to bear two children, one of which she had already aborted. If she aborts thisst one, she is bound to be childless for the rest of her life. Gu Beicheng, if you made her pregnant, be sure to take good care of her.¡± ¡°Will she get pregnant, even if I don¡¯t have intercourse with her?¡± Gu Beicheng continued to ask eagerly. After taking another look at Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s birth characters, An Xiaoning had an answer in her head. ¡°Not sure why you¡¯d ask, but I¡¯d like to tell you that some things are just meant to be. You can¡¯t rewrite its fate. I hope you understand what I mean. Don¡¯t all women just want a man who loves and cares about her? Even a career-minded woman would wish to have a shoulder to rely on forfort and warmth. Please take your woman in hand. Did you know that she often calls my husband to get him to apany her at the hospital? Aren¡¯t you her official boyfriend?¡± chided An Xiaoning. Gu Beicheng seemed rather perplexed as he leaned against the couch with an arm raised. ¡°You said she had already aborted a child. I¡¯m not the father of that child. You mentioned that she would be expecting another child within the next six months. I¡¯m very certain that the child does not belong to me either.¡± Startled, An Xiaoning said, ¡°If not yours, then whose would it be...¡± With a shrug, he said,ughing rather innocently, ¡°How would I know...¡± ¡°Then why did you ask about it?¡± asked An Xiaoning as she stared at him. However, Gu Beicheng refused to answer her question and said instead, ¡°I have my own reasons. I¡¯m going out to run an errand, need a ride?¡± Seeing that he refused to answer, she did not pry any further. ¡°No, it¡¯s fine,¡± she answered. A whirlpool of questions flooded An Xiaoning¡¯s mind as she made her way downstairs. Could the child Chi Rui¡¯er had aborted have belonged to Jin Qingyan? Would the second child belong to him too? Besides, Gu Beicheng was certain that the child does not belong to him, despite being her official boyfriend. Not to mention, Jin Qingyan had been visiting her at the hospital rather frequently... An Xiaoning was overwhelmed by a state of confusion. She could not help but wonder if her imaginations were real. Chi Rui¡¯er must be smarter than she looked to abandon two rich and handsome men for a third one , she thought. What used to be a clear and outright rtionship had turned into a mysterious situation filled with doubt and suspicion ¨D all because of Gu Beicheng¡¯s words. Chapter 21 - We Can Never Be Too Sure About That

Chapter 21: We Can Never Be Too Sure About That

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Just as she exited the residential estate, Gu Beicheng pulled up next to An Xiaoning. The door was flung open and, with brute force, he pulled her into the passenger seat of his car. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a ride. It¡¯s on the way.¡± ¡°I said it was fine.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t stand on ceremony with your Brother,¡± insisted Gu Beicheng. Despite calling himself her ¡°Brother,¡± both Gu Beicheng and An Xiaoning were well aware that deep down, neither of them had ever seen the other as their own sibling. Not long after, they arrived at An Xiaoning¡¯s doorstep. ¡°Do you really want to know why I asked you about that, all of a sudden?¡± said Gu Beicheng as she was about to alight. ¡°I hope you¡¯ll tell the truth,¡± said An Xiaoning, turning to look at him. As he tucked her hair behind her ear, An Xiaoning remained still,pletely unaffected by his actions. ¡°I am rather curious about who that child she had had aborted belonged to. But what I am more curious about is whether or not your fortune-telling skills are as reliable as Grandpa had made them out to be,¡± he continued. A smile had crept around the corner of his mouth. Recalling what he had said previously, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°So that¡¯s why you asked such an ambiguous question, like whether she would be expecting a child within six months. I thought you were asking about the next six months, yet you were actually asking an open-ended question. ¡®Within six months¡¯ could refer to the six months prior to today. It could also refer to the next half of this year, or even a total duration of six months before and after today. Isn¡¯t that so?¡± He nodded in admission and continued to confess, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be so urate. My ssmate who¡¯s a gynaecologist told me that Rui¡¯er had gone through the abortion three months ago. ording to your predictions, she would be pregnant again in six months¡¯ time. I¡¯m so curious, just who is the father of the child?¡± An Xiaoning asked in reply, ¡°Do you actually think that it was my husband who had fathered the child?¡± ¡°Who knows? We can¡¯t be too sure about that,¡± implied Gu Beicheng as he gazed down at the ring on his finger and turned it around. ¡°It can¡¯t be Jin Qingyan,¡± protested An Xiaoning. ¡°But you¡¯ve only known him for a few days?¡± ¡°If Chi Rui¡¯er had carried his child previously, I wouldn¡¯t be his wife today.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± mocked Gu Beicheng with a slyughter, his head tilted. An Xiaoning alighted from the car and opened the main door of the house. At that very moment, Maomao came out of its kennel and ran towards her while wagging its tail. As she squatted down to pick Maomao up in her arms, she heard uniformly-paced footstepsing from the door. An Xiaoning received the shock of her life when she turned around to see who it was. A posse of men had entered. Donning the same uniform, they looked to be in their 20s and 30s, and a handsome and dashing man was leading the way. The man seemed to be about 27 years old or so. He walked towards her and introduced himself, ¡°Young Madam, I am Fan Shixin. We were sent by Boss Jin to oversee all matters regarding the vi.¡± ¡°Does ¡®we¡¯ include them?¡± asked An Xiaoning, pointing towards the men in the yard. ¡°Yes, Boss had given me a call 20 minutes ago to say that he needs some men here at the new ce.¡± The new ce? How many ces did he own? An Xiaoning began to wonder. Quickly dismissing her thoughts, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll have to trouble you with the house from now on.¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯re being too kind, Young Madam.¡± ¡ª¡ª Apart from the posse of uniformed men, many other helpers, including agriculture workers, housekeeping maids, and a female cook in charge of their meals, had also moved in to the house. It seemed that the part-time housekeeping helper would no longer have toe and clean the house, and An Xiaoning would rarely have the chance to taste her husband¡¯s cooking again. After more than an hour, Jin Qingyan still had note home. An Xiaoning knew instantly that he was definitely at the hospital again. After some thorough thinking, she decided to go look for him at the hospital. She paced up and down Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s hospital ward, hiding her face beneath a mask. When a nurse entered the ward, An Xiaoning quickly took a peek inside, only to realize that there was no one in at all. ¡°Where¡¯s the patient inside?¡± asked An Xiaoning, having waited until the nurse had exited. ¡°She was discharged today.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t she suffer a major leg injury?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t too major. She had gone home to rest and recuperate,¡± answered the nurse. ¡°Alright, thank you.¡± An Xiaoning stood at the entrance of the hospital and searched online about Chi Rui¡¯er. To her surprise, there was no information about her at all. She had initially thought it was a connectivity issue with the Inte. However, she soon realized that all photos and information regarding Chi Rui¡¯er had been blocked by every site on the Inte. It was in fact a tough feat to achieve that. Since she could not find him, An Xiaoning decided to head back home. However, An Xiaoning happened to stumble across a young girl seated along the alley when she was passing by. The girl had a table in front of her, and next to it was a sign that read: ¡°Fortune-telling.¡± The girl seemed to be exceptionally spiritual, although she was dressed rather simply. She looked gloomy and forlorn, perhaps because no one had believed her fortune-telling skills. ¡°How much does each fortune-telling session cost?¡± asked An Xiaoning as she approached the girl. ¡°It costs 10 yuan, prettydy. Why don¡¯t you give it a try? My readings are very urate,¡± answered Mei Yangyang. Her eyes had lit up at the sight of a beautifuldy. Breaking intoughter, An Xiaoning sat down on the stool next to her and said, ¡°No one is going to believe you this way.¡± ¡°Why not? I am really very urate with my readings,¡± asked an intrigued Mei Yangyang. ¡°Firstly, you¡¯re too young to be setting up a fortune-telling stall. Passers-by are just going to smile at you out of perfunctory courtesy, without really thinking that you actually possess real fortune-reading skills. Then again, because you¡¯re constantly iming to be ¡®very urate,¡¯ people who might be half-believing your skills aren¡¯t going to be convinced or patronize you anymore, even if you are really capable of urate readings,¡± exined An Xiaoning. ¡°Yes, you are right,¡± answered Mei Yangyang immediately upon hearing An Xiaoning¡¯s words. ¡°How many customers do you get on a daily basis?¡± ¡°None at all. Once in a blue moon, I would get a few here and there. Otherwise, it would just be some gangstersing by to harass and take liberties with me,¡± said Mei Yangyang, sounding rather dejected. ¡°How about this, tell my fortune and I¡¯ll see how urate you are!¡± eximed An Xiaoning as she ced 10 yuan on the table. An Xiaoning could not give her own birth characters since she did not know her real exact ones or who her biological parents were. Thus, she gave Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s birth characters instead. Mei Yangyang wrote the birth characters on a piece of paper and flipped through a book. ¡°Look, you¡¯re destined to have two sons, ording to your birth characters. Unfortunately, one of them had already passed on,¡± she continued, stopping at a specific page on the book. With a raised eyebrow, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Then, can you tell when the child is expected to arrive?¡± ¡°Congrats, prettydy. You¡¯re going to be expecting soon.¡± Mei Yangyang was indeed rather urate, in terms of reading birth characters. However, she was definitely not psychic, for she could not even tell that the set of birth characters did not belong to An Xiaoning. ¡°This set of birth characters aren¡¯t mine, but rather a set I had read previously. I just wanted to know if you were really as urate as you imed to be. Not bad, you do know a thing or two.¡± An Xiaoning turned around to leave as soon as she finished her sentence. ¡°Wait up!¡± eximed Mei Yangyang. Chapter 22 - How Daring of His Dainty Wife

Chapter 22: How Daring of His Dainty Wife

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°So, you¡¯re a fortune-teller as well?¡± Mei Yangyang called out to stop An Xiaoning. Adjusting her mask to cover her face, An Xiaoning admitted, ¡°Yes, I am.¡± ¡°Sister, will you leave me with a means to contact you?¡± asked Mei Yangyang. Thinking that Mei Yangyang was rather capable for her age, she agreed, ¡°I don¡¯t ever leave strangers with my contact details. But you¡¯re an exception, because I feel a strange affinity between us.¡± An Xiaoning then proceeded to give Mei Yangyang her mobile number. ¡°It¡¯s a great fortune to have met you. I won¡¯t take your money,¡± chirped Mei Yangyang as she tucked the 10 yuan into An Xiaoning¡¯s pocket, grinning from ear to ear. An Xiaoning found Mei Yangyang to be rather genuine and sincere, though she did not insist on paying thetter again. ¡°Don¡¯t set up your stall here anymore. There are more cars than passers-by here, it¡¯ll be hard for you to have any business. If you¡¯d like to earn more, I can teach you how to,¡± the former continued. ¡°How?¡± ¡°Go set up your stall at a more crowded ce, then ce a sign at the side, saying ¡®Fortune-telling: You¡¯ll get your money back if it¡¯s not urate!¡¯ I¡¯m sure that would work.¡± Having made sense of what An Xiaoning had said, Mei Yangyang began to thank her profusely, ¡°Alright, I shall try that tomorrow. Thank you, Sister.¡± After waving goodbye with smile, An Xiaoning then turned around to leave. ¡ª¡ª To her surprise, the moment she entered the vi An Xiaoning was greeted by the sight of Jin Qingyan¡¯s Bentley parked in the backyard. She kept her eyes fixed on the car, feeling a strong urge to bore a hole through it, as if it were Jin Qingyan. He was, however, sitting in the living room and resting against the couched, his eyes closed and his legs atop the teapoy. Hearing the noise made by An Xiaoning while changing into her home slippers, he slowly opened his eyes and scorned, ¡°You went out so early in the morning only to return at such ate hour. Could it be that you went to meet your lover?¡± ¡°Yeah, I did,¡± An Xiaoning was quick to confess. ¡°Let me count how many there are. Hmm, one... two... three... four... five... that¡¯s too few. I shall go look for two more tomorrow,¡± she sneered. Jin Qingyan¡¯s face stiffened instantly. He had never known that his dainty wife was so bold and daring, though he was well aware that she was only acting that way on purpose. ¡°Hubby, what¡¯s wrong?¡± mocked An Xiaoning when she saw how upset he was. Fuming with rage, he replied with much sarcasm between gritted teeth, ¡°Great, that¡¯s a marvellous idea!¡± ¡°If you didn¡¯t ask such a question, I wouldn¡¯t have answered that way either,¡± she retorted, implying that he had asked for it. Her inner devil seemed to be humming merrily while she was making her way upstairs, having proudly gained the upper hand in their argument. After a night shower, An Xiaoning sat in front of the dressing table and applied a sheet of facial mask on her face. ¡°I have no idea why, but I find myself looking exponentially better after each shower. Hubby, would you tell me why? Is it because one¡¯s vision is only clearer after a shower?¡± she asked, looking at Jin Qingyan¡¯s reflection in the mirror. ¡°Because your brain is damaged and thus your vision is affected too.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Will it hurt for you topliment me? Come, let me put on a facial mask for you,¡± bickered An Xiaoning as she stood up and climbed into bed with a fresh pack of facial mask. ¡°My skin is in such great shape that I don¡¯t need such things.¡± ¡°Are you trying to brag about your good skin?¡± scoffed An Xiaoning, pursing her lips. She sat on hisp after finishing her sentence. ¡°Even if your skin is that good, you still have to put it on. Now, that¡¯s what they call ¡®the husband sings and the wife follows,¡¯¡± insisted An Xiaoning as she tore the pack open andid the unfolded sheet of facial mask on his face. Jin Qingyan did not resist. Instead, he allowed her to continue adjusting the position of the mask on his face. Under the dim, yellow light, An Xiaoning looked more beautiful than ever, with her eyes sparkly and clear as ss. Theyid on the bed, side by side. Not wanting to be a killjoy, An Xiaoning decided to keep mum about the questions she had in her head and pretended not to know anything about the matter. ¡°Today, I instructed Shixin to install surveince cameras in the backyard and at the doorstep.¡± ¡°The living room too?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Are you sick in the head? This is our home, not your enemy¡¯s battleground,¡± asked a dissatisfied An Xiaoning as she turned to stare at him. ¡°I¡¯ve only installed it in the living room. Besides, I¡¯m the only one who has ess to the surveince camera footage. Even if you run around the house naked, I, your husband, would be the only one who sees you doing that. Unless, of course, you choose to do that outside of the living room...¡± Who does he think he is? An Xiaoning thought to herself while remaining silent. ¡°After looking at the footage of the surveince cameras at the front and back of the vi, I finally found out the identity of the man who showed up here on our wedding night,¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°Do you still refuse to speak up?¡± he asked, trying to sound her out. Seeing that he had brought up the matter again, An Xiaoning began to find him extremely petty and narrow-minded. The pot calling the kettle ck! ¡°Just look how shameless you are. I haven¡¯t mentioned a word about your actions, yet here you are, continuously chiding and pressing me for an answer,¡± retorted An Xiaoning. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you had already found out his identity? Why don¡¯t you reveal who he is?¡± she continued to taunt. ¡°You¡¯re still acting in front of me? It must be hard on you. I never expected you to know Ye Xiaotian, too.¡± ¡°Who?¡± asked An Xiaoning as she thought to herself, Ye Xiaotian? It was clearly Gu Beicheng, the other night. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t know who Ye Xiaotian is.¡± ¡°I know who he is, but he doesn¡¯t know who I am.¡± Everyone in S Nation knows that Ye Xiaotian was a freeloading heir of a wealthy family, with an infamous nickname ¡°Good-for-nothing Freeloader.¡± Seeing that Jin Qingyan had remained silent, An Xiaoning reiterated, ¡°I really don¡¯t know him.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear it,¡± clipped Jin Qingyan, a sudden coldness in his tone. He sat up and tossed the facial mask on his face into the dustbin. That day, An Xiaoning saw how truly fickle and temperamental he was. Within the next few moments, An Xiaoning finally understood what it meant by ¡°It¡¯s hard to figure out a man¡¯s mind.¡± Thinking that he was stronger, he did as he pleased. Without a tinge of sympathy for the helpless woman she was. Why would such a scumbag exist in this world? Coddling and pampering you when he decides to be gentle... bing as cold as ice when he decides not to. That damned jerk. Having cursed him a thousand times in her head, An Xiaoning could not help but feel the temptation to kick him off the bed with all her might, just so she can let off some steam. ¡ª¡ª It was a gloomy and cold morning, with no signs of sunshine at all. Jin Qingyue had sneakily brought her luggage downstairs. However, to her dismay, Mrs. Jin caught her the very moment she came down, asking, ¡°You¡¯re trying to sneak away with your luggage again, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Mother... I don¡¯t wanna stay home. Brother has already gotten married, so why don¡¯t you let me leave? I¡¯ll be back quickly, in a few months,¡± pleaded Jin Qingyue as she walked towards her mother. ¡°No,¡± refused Mrs. Jin as she set the mug down onto the table heavily. ¡°I¡¯ve already agreed with your Father not to allow you to fool around overseas. You are to stay at home and do whatever you want within these four walls. Drop the idea of going out or going overseas all the time,¡± she continued sternly. ¡°I have the right to my freedom. What right do you have to restrict me from leaving the house? Mother, I should have fun while I can, before I get too old. When I¡¯m older, do you think I will be happy when I recall the memories of you locking me up at home, depriving me of my freedom during my younger years?¡± argued Jin Qingyue. ¡°We shall worry about that when you¡¯re older. You¡¯re already grown up, yet you¡¯re still making your parents worried all the time. After you get married in the future, you¡¯re free to go wherever you want, I wouldn¡¯t restrict you even if you wanted me to,¡± said Mrs. Jin, her decision final. Chapter 23 - I Miss You, Though We Just Parted

Chapter 23: I Miss You, Though We Just Parted

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Crestfallen and disappointed over her ruined ns, Jin Qingyue carried the luggage back into her room. She then decided to go out but was stopped by her Mother, ¡°Where are you going again?¡± ¡°To take a breather.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re leaving again, with just your credit card, after leaving your luggage behind. Qingyue, won¡¯t you just allow your Father and I to have some peace of mind? I read on the news yesterday about a girl from overseas who got killed while travelling. Look how chaotic it is overseas. Besides, whatever can be found outside, we have it here at home too,¡± nagged Mrs. Jin worriedly. ¡°The thing is, I don¡¯t have friends to hang out with at home. There¡¯s nothing much for me to do either. How boring,¡± retorted Jin Qingyue. ¡°Your Sister-inw doesn¡¯t have much to do at home either. Why don¡¯t you go apany her? You two should get along just fine, since you¡¯re of simr age.¡± Pursing her lips, Jin Qingyue answered, ¡°I¡¯m not going! There¡¯s nothing to talk about with her. Forget it, I¡¯ll go back and y my video games.¡± She had been ying video games for more than half a year, though she did enjoy herself more while she was overseas because she got to be with her friends. In fact, she had not achieved much, other than just enjoy life. Just as she was chatting idly for a while with her in-game friends, a man iming to be from the city asked to meet up with her in person. The man had invited her to go to the dance club with him and a few of his friends. Thinking that it was not too bad of an idea, Jin Qingyue agreed to his suggestion. After an entire morning of video games and a great nap, it was almost evening and time for Jin Qingyue to leave. Lying to her Mother that she was just going to meet her ssmates, she eagerly agreed to stick to her strict curfew of 10 PM and hurried out. ¡°You¡¯re LittleFairy?¡± asked a man dressed in a suit, who approached her as soon as she arrived at the dance club. ¡°And you must be Mr.Baiyun?¡± said Jin Qingyue as she looked him up and down. She thought he was rather good-looking and well-built. ¡°Yes, my real name is Shi Shaochuan. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you.¡± ¡°Your name sounds pretty familiar, like I¡¯ve heard it somewhere before,¡± said Jin Qingyue betweenughs. Shi Shaochuan let out an intentional cough, thinking that Jin Qingyue must have known something from the news. After all, it was a rather well-known fact that he was her Sister-inw An Xiaoning¡¯s ex-husband. ¡°There are too many people who share the exact same name. What¡¯s yours?¡± asked Shi Shaochuan, chuckling. Jin Qingyue was reluctant to reveal her full name, although there were no photos or information about her online. She was not going to take that risk, especially since he was someone she had just met online. ¡°You may call me ¡®Yueyue.¡¯¡± ¡°Sure. Shall we enter, Yueyue?¡± ¡°Alright,¡± agreed Jin Qingyue. She had initially nned to flee immediately and deny that she was the person behind the username ¡®LittleFairy¡¯ if the ¡®Mr.Baiyun¡¯ she was going to meet had turned out to be hideous-looking. However, he happened to be rather dashing and had a pleasant smile. Thus, she thought it would be totally alright to be friends with him. If Jin Qingyue had been aware that he was her Sister-inw¡¯s ex-husband, however, she would have definitely ignored him. Without a doubt. They were having a whale of a time as they danced for a while at the crowded dance club and had a few drinks. Shi Shaochuan was amazed by Jin Qingyue¡¯s impressive dance skills. He actually had the same mindset as her ¡ª to not admit that he was the man online if she had turned out to be plump and unappealing. However, Jin Qingyue had turned out to be beyond his expectations. She was not only gorgeous but also had a beautiful figure. Since he still had to drive, he did not have much to drink. However, he kept offering liquor to Jin Qingyue whenever she was tired of dancing. Though she had a good alcohol tolerance, she could not help it and chugged a good amount of liquor. ¡°I promised my Mother I would be home by 10,¡± said Jin Qingyue while she was still rather conscious. ¡°I¡¯ll send you home since I¡¯m driving.¡± Jin Qingyue did not drive to the dance club for she knew she would be drinking that night and that she should not drink and drive. ¡°Alright, please send me to Beimen 1 .¡± Beimen was just a stone¡¯s throw away from her home. ¡°Come, get in,¡± said Shi Shaochuan as he helped her into the back seat. Having arrived at Beimen, he parked the car and walked to the back. Jin Qingyue had already fallen asleep. Shi Shaochuan then tried to unbutton her blouse with his hands. She opened her eyes and asked, still in a daze, ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°I like you so much, Yueyue,¡± said Shi Shaochuan as he kissed her forehead. Jin Qingyue did not resist. Instead, very confused, she asked, ¡°But it¡¯s our... first... meeting... how much do you like me?¡± ¡°I like you as much as you can imagine.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± It was half past 10 PM. ¡°Look at this daughter of ours, refusing to pick up all my calls. She had agreed to stick to her curfew of 10 PM, but it¡¯s already almost 11:40 PM and she¡¯s still not home yet,¡± panicked Mrs. Jin who was sitting in the living room. She began to feel more and more anxious with each passing minute. ¡°I guess she will be home very soon,¡± said Mr. Jin reassuringly. Just as he expected, Jin Qingyue returned shortly after. ¡°Mother,¡± greeted Jin Qingyue who was all flushed and red like a tomato. ¡°You¡¯ve been drinking.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m going back to my room to sleep,¡± said Jin Qingyue, stumbling back into her room. Mrs. Jin hurriedly chased after her and asked, ¡°How about I brew you something to clear away the effects of the alcohol?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s fine,¡± rejected Jin Qingyue, waving her hand. She fell straight onto her bed the moment she entered her room and broke into a sudden smile as she opened her eyes. She then reached into the pocket of her coat to retrieve her undergarments, which she then proceeded to fling onto her bed. The sound of a text message notification could be heard just as she came out of the shower. Feeling a headacheing on, she began to read the words on the screen of her phone while squinting. It was a text from Shi Shaochuan, which read: I miss you, though we just parted. See you next time, pretty girl. Without replying, she cast her phone aside and had a great stretch before quickly falling into a deep sleep. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Boss, someone is calling you again!¡± cranked An Xiaoning¡¯s ringtone, which woke her from her sleep unexpectedly. ¡°Hello?¡± she answered. ¡°Sister, it¡¯s me, Mei Yangyang.¡± An Xiaoning opened her drowsy eyes and answered as she sat up slowly, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you.¡± ¡°I heeded your advice and set up my stall in a more crowded ce yesterday. Although there were still people who weren¡¯t convinced by my skills, I had managed to earn 200-odd yuan yesterday. So I decided to give you a call to express my gratitude, Sister.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great. Are you going to do fortune-telling for a living, though?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ve never thought of that. I¡¯m actually thinking of looking for a job. After all, fortune-telling can be pretty taxing on one¡¯s health, thus it won¡¯t be a sustainable job in the long run. How about you, Sister?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never considered making a living out of it, either. I¡¯m currently looking for a job.¡± ¡°I heard the media broadcastingpany is looking out for actors to stand in as passers-by, and I¡¯ve decided to go have a look in a few days. Would you like toe together, Sister? They¡¯re offering 100-odd yuan for a day¡¯s filming.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t decided.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve thought about it all. In the future, I will read fortunes for a few days a month, on top of working a proper job. I should be able to not have to worry about making ends meet, and even save some money for myself,¡± squealed Mei Yangyang, exceptionally thrilled and excited. Just as An Xiaoning was about to reply, she felt an arm hugging her waist tightly. After shooting her husband a re, she continued to speak over the phone, ¡°100 yuan a day is a tad too little.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll add up to about three or four thousand a month, that¡¯s not little for us. Give it some thought, Sister. You can call me if you¡¯re interested. Let¡¯s go together.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± agreed An Xiaoning, though she had no intention of going at all. To her, a few hundred a day was indeed not much, especially since her current savings were enough tost her an entire lifetime. She probably would not want to look for a job if it wasn¡¯t for boredom. Besides, who would not love the idea of just restingfortably and doing nothing at home? However, an overlyfortable life was not for her. She did not want to spend her days doing nothing except go for high tea, frequent mahjong sessions, and visit beauty salons, as typical wives of rich men did. Chapter 24 - What a Silly Girl

Chapter 24: What a Silly Girl

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Who was that?¡± ¡°A friend asking if I¡¯d like to apply to be an extra actor at the broadcastingpany, together with her,¡± answered An Xiaoning. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t go, without a doubt,¡± sneered Jin Qingyan. ¡°How are you so certain about that? Because I¡¯m your wife? Or do I look like I love living in luxury?¡± ¡°It¡¯s tough being an extra on a film set. You¡¯re not going to be able to take all the injustice and unfair treatment. Besides, you don¡¯t have to put yourself through that kind of hardship just for a bit of money,¡± answered Jin Qingyan. Feeling that he was obviously belittling her, An Xiaoning could not take it lying down. ¡°Wanna bet?¡± she taunted. ¡°Sure, why not?¡± ¡°If I win the bet and be an extra, what are you going to do as a forfeit?¡± Jin Qingyan sat up straight, and looked into her eyes, ¡°If I lose the bet, I¡¯ll reward you with a hundred kisses.¡± ¡°Save it,¡± she cursed with a grunt. ¡°If you lose, you are to grant me any one wish I¡¯d like, under the condition that it¡¯s perfectly legal and that it does not involve mary assets and property or personal attacks. How does that sound?¡± ¡°An extra for a drama-series-production unit is far different from those temporary ones for action films.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± said An Xiaoning as she looked down. ¡°Deal. But, under what identity are you going to apply to be an extra? If you use your real name and identity, they¡¯re going to be treating you differently, and there¡¯ll no longer be a point in our bet.¡± ¡°Then, what do you suggest I do?¡± ¡°I suggest that you not apply to be an extra and just work behind the scenes with the rest of the production unit. You won¡¯t have to appear on-screen then. Use a different name and try to disguise yourself with some makeup. I¡¯m sure no one will be able to recognize you that way,¡± said Jin Qingyan. He was eager to see how well she could deal with hardship. ¡°For how long do I have to keep the job?¡± ¡°One month. Are you game enough?¡± asked Jin Qingyan as he inched closer towards her, such that they could feel each other¡¯s breath. ¡°You¡¯re spiting me. There¡¯s nothing I, An Xiaoning, am afraid of doing. It¡¯s just a matter of whether I¡¯d like to or not,¡± replied An Xiaoning. ¡°Alright. Very gutsy and confident of you. You deserve to be my wife. I¡¯m really curious to see how long you canst. I heard it¡¯s tough to work behind the scenes. Not only are the hours long, you also have to bear with the scoldings.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t belittle me, I¡¯ll show you what I¡¯m made of, you¡¯re going to be surprised. Remember not to go back on your word when the timees,¡± said An Xiaoning. She put on her clothes as she spoke and got off the bed. ¡°Why don¡¯t we put it on paper? If you canst a month, I¡¯ll agree to any request of yours, with no time limit. If you can¡¯t...¡± suggested Jin Qingyan, who was particrly invested in their bet. ¡°Then what?¡± ¡°Then you shall be my ve for a day. During then, you are to be at my beck and call at all times and follow every instruction I give. You¡¯re not to go West if I tell you to go East, or use a washing machine if I tell you to wash the clothes.¡± ¡°Am I supposed to eat some feces even if you tell me to?¡± said An Xiaoning, though she could not help butugh. With a nod, he said, ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Are you afraid now?¡± ¡°Whoever¡¯s afraid is a dog. It¡¯s merely for a month. I will persevere, no matter how hard it gets. You shall see for yourself, how highly resistant I am to stress!¡± boasted An Xiaoning confidently. ¡°Mhmm, I shall wait and see. How about our honeymoon ns, though?¡± he asked. ¡°We¡¯re not going anymore. You can transfer the money to be used for the honeymoon trip directly to my bank ount,¡± said An Xiaoning, who was not in the mood for a honeymoon trip. Thus, she thought it would be wiser to exchange the trip for money. ¡°...¡± He asked, ¡°You really have to be so money-minded, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just nning ahead for when you abandon me in the future. I¡¯ll text you my bank ount numberter, you can transfer the money to it. Your wife is leaving for the production team interview after she¡¯s done with her meal,¡± she retorted. Watching the rear view of an An Xiaoning who¡¯s full of gusto and confidence, Jin Qingyan broke into a smile. What a silly girl , he thought. ¡ª¡ª After breakfast, the newlyweds actually proceeded to draft an agreement for the bet, making two copies so they could keep one each. Just like he had suggested, An Xiaoning disguised herself with some makeup. She concealed her fair and radiant skin under ayer of dull foundation makeup, and followed it with eye makeup that made her previously alluring eyes look unappealing and lifeless. These were coupled with a boring outfitposed of thick, shapeless athletic wear. Even Jin Qingyan found it hard to recognize her under that disguise. She gave Mei Yangyang a call and they agreed to meet. ¡°Sister, you¡¯re really pretty, it¡¯s just your skin that looks a little dull. But that doesn¡¯t make you any less beautiful,¡± praised Mei Yangyang the moment she saw her. ¡°You¡¯re the only one who would say that. I¡¯ve never been to Yingshi Jidi[¡°Yingshi Jidi¡± trantes to TV Land] or any other broadcastingpany. Have you?¡± ¡°Neither have I. But there¡¯s a first to everything. Let¡¯s go have a look, Sister. What type of job are you looking for?¡± ¡°I want to work behind the scenes,¡± answered An Xiaoning as they boarded the public bus. ¡°Working behind the scenes is much more tiring than being an extra. I want to be an extra, but I want to stick with you and do the same things as you. At least we¡¯ll have each other.¡± ¡°Sure, we¡¯ll have a look when we get there,¡± said An Xiaoning, looking at the frank and outspoken Mei Yangyang who was beaming with happiness. The two chatted merrily along the way, and before they knew it, they had arrived at the TV broadcastingpany. What made Mei Yangyang happier was that it was rather smooth and easy for an adult like An Xiaoning tond themselves a behind-the-scenes job. It was a production unit for a period drama series that they would be working with, with An Xiaoning working as the assistant of the makeup artist and Mei Yangyang as that of the clothing coordinator. Since they were still considered to be working together, they were rather pleased with the oue. ¡°Sister, we will be paid 2500 yuan a month. That¡¯s quite a lot.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± said An Xiaoning. She was not concerned about the paycheck at all. If she had not agreed to a bet with her husband, she would never have wanted to experience life working behind the scenes. Possessing a considerable set of makeup skills, An Xiaoning found the task of putting on makeup for the actors to be a simple one. The makeup artist was rather relieved to see that there was no need to teach An Xiaoning the basics since she was already extremely familiar with makeup. After an entire morning of work, An Xiaoning and Mei Yangyang squatted on the floor to have their lunch. Noticing how happy and unexhausted Mei Yangyang was, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°What work have you done in the past?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve done almost everything you can think of. I may be young, but I¡¯ve worked all sorts of jobs before. Among others, I¡¯ve been a sales assistant for a clothing store, a supermarket promoter, an operator of the assembly line at an electronics factory,¡± said Mei Yangyang while shoving a spoonful of rice into her mouth. ¡°You seem to be really young.¡± ¡°I¡¯m already 20. I¡¯m not very cultured nor highly educated, and I joined the workforce long ago. My family is not affluent, and I have a younger sister who¡¯s still in school. Some time ago, my mother got knocked down by a car while riding on a motorbike to work, and we haven¡¯t found the culprit since then. It¡¯s been so long, we¡¯ve given up hope on ever finding him.¡± ¡°How is your mother now, then?¡± ¡°She¡¯s been bedridden for more than two years, while my father looks after her. He goes to work sometimes, but he can only get a job near home. So the livelihood of my family is entirely dependent on me.¡± Watching the smile on her face, An Xiaoning really could not see how Mei Yangyang was still so positive and optimistic. ¡°Then, how did you learn how to read fortunes?¡± Mei Yangyang answered, ¡°I think I was born with a ir for it. I have a few books about fortune-telling. They were given to me by a beggar called Huazi when I was younger. I used to be so curious about them. I read them all day long, every day, without fail. I¡¯vemitted their content to memory; I know them like the back of my hand. I¡¯ve also tried reading and telling the fortune of some others, and I found my readings to be pretty urate. Thus, I thought fortune-telling could be a means of living.¡± Chapter 25 - You Idiot

Chapter 25: You Idiot

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°It¡¯s indeed a way out, but I can¡¯t do this for life. It¡¯s more taxing and harmful to my health than leaking Heaven¡¯s secret.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. But, Sister, how did you get on this path?¡± ¡°Me? I was abandoned by my parents at my Master¡¯s doorstep on the mountains. Master passed away a few years ago, and thus, I decided to leave the mountains,¡± answered An Xiaoning sinctly. ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s how. You must have considered your Master to be your greatest kin.¡± With a nod, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Indeed. Don¡¯t you think the production unit we joined seems rather low-budget? Notice how they didn¡¯t even ask to check our identity cards before hiring us.¡± ¡°Perhaps every production unit is different.¡± The clothing coordinator called for Mei Yangyang the moment she finished her sentence. She then hurried over before even finishing her meal. An Xiaoning proceeded to the dressing room only to be told by the makeup artist that they were going to be filming on the mountains that day. The other actors involved were waiting in the room with their faces done, and all she had to do was to touch up their makeup. She had meant for An Xiaoning to follow the production unit to the mountains to film, without the need for the makeup artist to tag along. She agreed immediately, got all her beauty and makeup tools ready, and stood at the side to wait for the female lead, Sun Weiwei. After the makeup artist finished doing Sun Weiwei¡¯s makeup, An Xiaoning stood up, thinking that she was free to leave. Little did she expect that Sun Weiwei¡¯s assistant would remind her at thest minute, ¡°Sis Weiwei, your sponsor had asked for you to upload a selfie of yourself holding up a bottle of beverage onto Weibo in the afternoon 1 .¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do just that. How annoying,¡± Sun Weiweimented in irritation. She reached into her purse for 5 yuan and handed it to An Xiaoning. ¡°Go get me a bottle of Brand X green tea,¡± she instructed. An Xiaoning took the money and immediately went to buy the beverage. There was a huge crowd of fans waiting at the door, perhaps because they had gotten the news that Sun Weiwei was going to be involved in outdoor filming that day. An Xiaoning took about 20 minutes to and fro. The very moment she entered the dressing room, she was faced with ashing, ¡°Did you die outside? You took forever!¡± ¡°There were too many fans outside. I had to exit from the back door to go buy the drink,¡± exined An Xiaoning calmly. Sun Weiwei grabbed the green tea beverage from An Xiaoning and her purse from her assistant before leaving the dressing room, wearing a cap and shades. ¡°Follow along, quick,¡± the makeup artist signalled. An Xiaoning nodded and followed closely behind Sun Weiwei and her assistant. She watched as Sun Weiwei greeted her screaming fans excitedly, apletely different person from the Sun Weiwei back in the dressing room. Sun Weiwei managed to make her way into the nanny van, escorted by her bodyguards. Meanwhile, An Xiaoning boarded the coach and followed the rest of the production team, including the videographers, to the filming location. The location of filming was on Heyuan Mountain, which was situated in the rural area of the city. Unthinkingly grasping her clothes tightly, An Xiaoning felt extreme chill the moment she alighted from the coach. ¡°What type of ce is this? It¡¯s so different from the city! Why is it so cold?¡± fumed Sun Weiwei as she got down from the nanny van. ¡°Hurry and get to your positions. The faster we finish filming, the earlier we get to leave. Hurry up, quick,¡± instructed the director, gesturing for everyone to get into position. Sun Weiwei¡¯s assistant proceeded to drape a jacket over her while An Xiaoning looked out for the actors¡¯ makeup, giving them touch-ups when necessary. When it was Sun Weiwei¡¯s turn, she harshly instructed, ¡°You¡¯d better do a good job,¡± with a stern and hostile look on her face. When An Xiaoning was putting some powder onto Sun Weiwei¡¯s face, she was shocked to see a wound which was concealed by a thickyer of powder. Noticing An Xiaoning staring at her, Sun Weiwei snapped, ¡°What are you looking at? Never seen a face before? Go stand aside once you¡¯re done, don¡¯t be an eyesore and get in the way.¡± ¡°You¡¯re good to go.¡± ¡°So annoying,¡± uttered Sun Weiwei. Carrying a highly-unapproachable aura, she seemed to detest others looking at her face. During the process of filming, Sun Weiwei could not seem to get into it and ended up putting on a very unnatural performance. The director had no choice but to call her out, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you unwell?¡± ¡°I need some rest,¡± she answered, her hands shaky, before turning around to enter the nanny van. The director then proceeded to film the other scenes involving the other actors. An Xiaoning constantly weaved through the crowd, looking out for actors to touch up their faded makeup. ¡°Whoever that is...e here and touch up Sis Weiwei¡¯s makeup,¡± ordered Sun Weiwei¡¯s assistant. ¡°Alright,ing!¡± A strange, pungent odour attacked An Xiaoning¡¯s senses as soon as she got into the van. Afraid to ask about it, she simply moved next to Sun Weiwei and went ahead with touching up her makeup all over again. However, An Xiaoning soon realized that there was a spot on her face that cannot be touched up anymore. ¡°Ms. Sun, there¡¯s pus oozing out of the wound on your face. It shouldn¡¯t be covered with makeup anymore, lest it bes infected and deteriorates.¡± Without consideration, Sun Weiwei retorted, ¡°Would I not be aware of that? How am I supposed to continue filming without makeup? Are you going to stand in for me?¡± An Xiaoning was about to explode with anger, but she suppressed it and kept mum. She reminded herself not to get into too much conflict, especially since she wanted to keep the job for at least a month. It was lucky that the wound was rather small and, after cleaning away the pus and debris around the spot, it could be concealed very well with a freshyer of powder. Just as she was about to stand up and leave, carrying her tools, An Xiaoning identally tripped over the foot of Sun Weiwei¡¯s assistant, who was sitting opposite her. She fell forward andnded on the seat next to the assistant. A small pouch was crushed beneath her. Before An Xiaoning could even react, Sun Weiwei pushed her aside and hollered while staring daggers at her, ¡°You idiot! I¡¯ll kill you if you damaged my precious treasure.¡± She then unzipped the pouch and took out a small, clear jar containing a white powdered substance. ¡°Sis Weiwei...¡± eximed her assistant frantically. Although Sun Weiwei had subconsciously put the jar back into her pouch, An Xiaoning still managed to catch a glimpse of it nheless. ¡°Scram, now!¡± An Xiaoning let out a huge sigh. She felt a strong urge to vent her anger and give Sun Weiwei a tight p for chiding her, even though she did not sit on the jar on purpose. However, on second thought, she decided to endure the humiliation and not retaliate. After closing the door of the van, Sun Weiwei¡¯s assistant worriedly apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sis Weiwei. If it weren¡¯t for my leg, she wouldn¡¯t have tripped and that wouldn¡¯t have happened...¡± Before she could finish her sentence, Sun Weiwei interjected, ¡°She can¡¯t continue working with the production unit. Come here, I¡¯ll tell you something.¡± The assistant leaned in, and Sun Weiwei whispered into her ear before ending off her sentence by saying, ¡°Do as I instructed.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡ª¡ª It was already past 5 PM by the time the filming ended. An Xiaoning was exhausted. Although it was notbor-intensive, constantly having to stand around and touch up the actors¡¯ makeup was also tiring. Thus, as soon as she was finished with her duties that day, she quickly rushed to board the coach. At that very moment, Sun Weiwei¡¯s assistant appeared again and asked, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°An Ning,¡± An Xiaoning said. It was the name she had used during the job application. She removed the character ¡®Xiao¡¯ to prevent people from recognizing her name. ¡°Oh, An Ning, will youe with me for a while? I have something to ask you.¡± ¡°But we¡¯re leaving real soon. You can ask me about it when we get back,¡± answered An Xiaoning. She was feeling that something was amiss, though she did not know why the assistant was looking for her. Chapter 26 - In Your Dreams

Chapter 26: In Your Dreams

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°It¡¯s Sis Weiwei looking for you. Are you going or not?¡± asked the assistant. Her voice had be stern, as if to imply that An Xiaoning would be looking for trouble if she does not do as she was told, especially since it was the female lead who asked to see her. ¡°Go ahead. It¡¯s the female lead calling,¡± urged the extra who was next to her. She had no choice but to get up and alight from the coach together with Sun Weiwei¡¯s assistant. ¡°What is it that you have to drag me here to talk about?¡± asked a dissatisfied An Xiaoning when she could no longer see much of the coach. ¡°Did you see something when you were in our nanny van?¡± ¡°Saw something?¡± asked An Xiaoning, feigning ignorance. ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you are saying.¡± ¡°You look pretty smart. But let me warn you, do not spout any nonsense about what you saw today to anyone. You can eat anything you want, but you can¡¯t do the same for the things you say. Sis Weiwei is not going to let you off if she finds out.¡± ¡°Why can¡¯t you say anything you want, but you can eat anything you¡¯d like? If the food is poisoned, then wouldn¡¯t it be harmful to eat it?¡± corrected An Xiaoning. ¡°...¡± The assistant snapped, ¡°Have you got any brains? That¡¯s not my point at all.¡± ¡°Maybe? I¡¯ve always felt like I was different ever since I was young. Maybe I really don¡¯t have any brains.¡± Knowing that it was a prompt from Sun Weiwei when her phone vibrated, the assistant quickly said, ¡°I shall tell you the truth. Sis Weiwei¡¯s God-brother is the famed Ye Xiaotian. You should know about the Ye family right? Know your limits and behave yourself. You¡¯d better be mindful of what you say.¡± She walked towards the nanny van after saying her piece. An Xiaoning followed closely behind. To her shock and dismay, she discovered that the coach had left without her. Sun Weiwei¡¯s nanny van was the only vehicle left in sight, but she knew they would not offer to ferry her. An Xiaoning had realized by now that the reason the assistant had asked her to talk at such a faraway ce was so she could abandon her at the dpidated ce. ¡°Bye... You may slowly walk back by yourself!¡± the assistant gloated happily as she waved at An Xiaoning near the window. ¡°Damn it! To hell with you!¡± cursed An Xiaoning, finally letting off some of the steam and anger she had been suppressing. An Xiaoning was filled with rage as she watched the nanny van slowly disappear out of sight. She whipped out her phone, wanting to call her husband, only to realize that her phone was out of battery. She could not have been any unluckier. She stood rooted to the ground like a homeless spirit. Noticing that the sky was turning dark, she picked up her speed and hurriedly walked down the mountain. Since the journey by car would already take 20 minutes, An Xiaoning realized that she would have to continue walking for an extended period of time. Yet, she did not have a better choice. Storms gather without warning, and bad luck befalls men overnight. To her dismay, it began to pour heavily. An Xiaoning finally understood what it means to make a rod for her own back ¡ª insisting on making a bet with Jin Qingyan, she hadnded herself in such a horrid ce and situation instead of simply enjoying her life as a rich man¡¯s wife. She had to pay the consequences of the decisions she chose to make. By the time she reached the foot of the mountain, she was about to copse. Fortunately, she stumbled across a mini mart. She walked towards the mart and asked in a weak and feeble voice, ¡°Sir, could I please borrow your phone to make a call? I was abandoned by the production team on the mountain, and I didn¡¯t bring my phone and wallet. But don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll pay you for the telephone call when the person picking me up arrives.¡± ¡°Miss, how did you get so drenched? Hurry in, the phone is on the table. You may make the call inside.¡± ¡°Thank you, Sir.¡± An Xiaoning wiped the rain water off her face with her hands and quickly went inside to give Jin Qingyan a call. She did not try to memorize his phone number intentionally, it was simply too eye-catching to not remember. It was easy to remember his phone number just after a nce. 188888888XX There was a response only after the second call. ¡°Hello,¡± it was Jin Qingyan¡¯s voice indeed. ¡°Hubby, I¡¯ve been abandoned. My phone is out of battery, and I left my wallet in a box with the production unit.¡± ¡°Where are you?¡± ¡°A mini mart at the foot of Mount Heyuan.¡± ¡°Got it, I¡¯lle to pick you up now,¡± said Jin Qingyan as he hung up shortly after. An Xiaoning put down the phone and sat at the entrance of the minimart. ¡°Thank you so much, Sir,¡± she said in gratitude. ¡°No problem. Everyone is bound to meet with a difficulty every now and then. Here, dry your hair, Miss,¡± replied the mini mart owner, handing her a dry towel. She cast him a smile and began to dry herself. After more than 20 minutes, Jin Qingyan finally arrived. He pulled up at the entrance of the mini mart and An Xiaoning rushed forward to open the door. Instead of hopping in, she asked, ¡°Do you have five dors?¡± ¡°There,¡± said Jin Qingyan. He handed her a 10-dor note. She took the money and handed it to the owner while grabbing a bottle of mineral water. After he returned her the change, she bowed and thanked him once again, ¡°Sir, I¡¯ve got to get going now, thank you so much! ¡± He waved at her and said, ¡°Goodbye.¡± She hopped onto the car and closed the door before gulping down the entire bottle of mineral water, all in one go. An Xiaoning heaved a sigh of relief and poured out her grievances, ¡°Hubby, a prank was pulled on me today.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so muddle-headed all the time, I¡¯m not surprised that you got pranked.¡± ¡°The female lead of the drama, Sun Weiwei, had asked me to touch up her makeup. I identally tripped over her assistant¡¯s leg and fell onto her pouch. Little did I expect there to be a container of white powder in her pouch. I managed to catch a glimpse of it...¡± ¡°Look, you were being such a dimwit.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s face stiffened and she retorted, ¡°I don¡¯t think I was dimwitted. It¡¯s just that they were overly-suspecting and paranoid. I wouldn¡¯t have nned to do anything if they didn¡¯t treat me that way. But now... I¡¯m going to show them that I¡¯m not to be trifled with,¡± she said menacingly, anger written all over her face. ¡°Aren¡¯t you nning to keep your job? How are you going to show them that you¡¯re not to be trifled with? To be honest, a female lead like her can get you fired easily.¡± ¡°There¡¯ll always be a way out in due course. I have my own way, always. Haven¡¯t I made a bet with you? I won¡¯t admit defeat that easily. ¡± ¡°Wow, you¡¯ve got a backbone,¡± said Jin Qingyan, a smile hanging from the corner of his lips. ¡°Thanks a lot, though, foring to pick me up.¡± ¡°Actions speak louder than words,¡± he hinted. An Xiaoning did not continue bickering with him and instead remained silent as she looked out of the window. After some time, they arrived at the vi. An Xiaoning alighted from the car and hurriedly ran inside the house. After changing into her home slippers, she quickly headed upstairs for afortable, warm bath. She then changed into a set of thick pyjamas to stay warm. The kitchen helper had also brought her some hot ginger tea, to warm herself up. ¡°Young Madam, how did you get so drenched?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine, Auntie Chen.¡± ¡°Enjoy your ginger tea, Young Madam. I shall head back to the kitchen. Doe downter for dinner.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± replied An Xiaoning. After pulling her hair back, she removed her home slippers and sat cross-legged on the bed while sipping on her ginger tea. At the sight of her rxing on the bed, Jin Qingyan mocked with curled lips, ¡°Isn¡¯t it so much more rxing and carefree to stay at home and enjoy life as a Young Madam, without having to go out and work?¡± ¡°It is. I won¡¯t attend work tomorrow if you decide to forfeit the bet and admit defeat, then grant me any wish I¡¯d like. ¡°In your dreams,¡± he replied. Chapter 27 - I Was Just Playing

Chapter 27: I Was Just ying

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning ced the finished cup of ginger tea on the table and sprung from her seat. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that actions speak louder than words? Should I do just that and express my gratitude through actions?¡± she asked, draping her arms over his neck. Jin Qingyan tightened his core and answered, ¡°Trying to please me?¡± With a smile, she let go of him and said in response, ¡°Please you? In your dreams. I was just ying.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I was just thinking, should they decide to give me the sack tomorrow, I¡¯ll just tell them I¡¯m your wife. Do you think they¡¯ll think twice about firing me then?¡± Pretending not to mind her suggestion, Jin Qingyan replied sarcastically, ¡°You may dly do so. At least I won¡¯t be the only one getting embarassed when the word spreads, about how my wife had experienced working behind the scenes of a TV production unit.¡± ¡°Right...¡± ¡ª¡ª The morning after, An Xiaoning returned to the production unit. She arrived at the dressing room only to hear the makeup artist say, ¡°An Ning, you¡¯ve been sacked. Here¡¯s your sry for yesterday.¡± An Xiaoning watched as the makeup artist handed her 80 dors. epting the money, she asked, ¡°Why?¡± Although she had already known the answer, more or less, she still wanted to ask for the reason. ¡°It was the co-director who personally informed me about the decision. I don¡¯t know why exactly, either.¡± With a nod, An Xiaoning turned around and headed to the director¡¯s office. Upon seeing An Xiaoning, the director¡¯s assistant asked, ¡°What are you here for?¡± ¡°To look for the director, to discuss some matters.¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± asked the assistant. Realization hit after a moment, then he continued, ¡°Oh. You¡¯re the newly hired assistant makeup artist, right?¡± ¡°Yes, I only need two minutes of the director¡¯s time.¡± ¡°The director is not in right now.¡± ¡°Then, can I wait here for him? Just for a little while.¡± Looking as if he had been put on a spot, the director¡¯s assistant murmured, ¡°Um...¡± At just that moment, the director returned and entered, passing by An Xiaoning. ¡°Director, she¡¯s looking for you,¡± said the assistant. The director raised his head and said, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Will you leave us here for a while?¡± An Xiaoning said cordially to the assistant. ¡°He¡¯s my assistant. You may just speak your mind, there¡¯s no need to be so secretive. Just what¡¯s the matter?¡± chided the director, who was rather nonchnt. An Xiaoning continued to speak, ¡°Director, if you¡¯re sure you won¡¯t regret your decisions after hearing what I have to say, then it¡¯s fine by me. But I really have something important to speak to you about. Please take this seriously.¡± Noticing how serious An Xiaoning seemed, though he was not sure what she wanted to speak to him about, the director let out a cough and said, ¡°Xiao Li, please go outside for a while.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The director¡¯s assistant then turned around and exited the room, closing the door behind him. Standing opposite the director, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Director, I have something to ask of you. But I won¡¯t take your help for granted. I can tell your fortune.¡± ¡°Huh? Tell my fortune?¡± asked the director, who was bewildered at what he had just heard. ¡°Yes, as long as you give me your birth characters, I can tell the fortune of your entire life. If you don¡¯t believe me, you may tell me your birth characters and I¡¯ll talk about the past events in your life. You can then tell me if I¡¯m right. How does that sound?¡± The director was rather apprehensive about An Xiaoning¡¯s fortune-telling skills. He said, ¡°What if your readings are not urate?¡± ¡°If they¡¯re not urate, then I¡¯ll leave immediately and never appear in front of you again. Director, I hope you¡¯ll treasure this chance. If you think I¡¯m a swindler, then you may tell me the birth characters of someone you know. You can then hear what I have to say about their fortune. How about that?¡± said An Xiaoning with a smile. Squinting, the director began sizing An Xiaoning up and said, ¡°16/02/XXXX.¡± ¡°How about the name and address on the household registry certificate?¡± The director revealed all the details while An Xiaoning closed her eyes for an entire minute. After that, she said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to actually tell me your own set of birth characters. I¡¯ll start off with some simple events. You sat in a pail full of hot water when you were a year old, leaving behind a scar on the left side of your buttocks. You also got into a fight with your ssmate when you were seven years old, resulting in an eyeball injury, though it wasn¡¯t too serious. When you were nine, your father passed away in an ident, your mother remarried when you turned 12, and you moved into the school dormitory when you were 16. You¡¯ve always been independent, sharing a distant rtionship with your mother. You had your first rtionship at 19, but your then-girlfriend was just using you as her backup. Hence, you two didn¡¯tst very long. You lost your chastity when... would you like me to continue?¡± chuckled An Xiaoning, noticing the look of shock on the director¡¯s face. ¡°Go on.¡± ¡°Alright, you lost itst year. Your current rtionship status is ¡¯empty window.¡¯ There¡¯s a woman courting you, but you¡¯ve yet to agree to a rtionship with her. If you¡¯d like to know more about the future, I can read it for free, but on the condition that you promise me something. It may seem like a small matter to you, but it¡¯s rather serious to me,¡± An Xiaoning went on, speaking at an extremely fast pace. ¡°Tell me about it.¡± An Xiaoning spoke her mind and said, ¡°While filming at Mount Heyuan yesterday, the assistant of the female lead of the drama had brought me to a secluded area on the mountain and abandoned me there. I was drenched in the pouring rain, and today, I was told by the co-director that I had been sacked. Thus, I would just like to ask for you to promise to let me work here for a month.¡± The request was merely a piece of cake to the director. It was just a matter of his words. ¡°Do you have any conflict with Weiwei?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s just that I happened to stumble upon a bag of powder which looked like drugs in her nanny van. I guess she was afraid that I would leak the matter. I¡¯m not that kind of person, but she had gone overboard, and thus, I have no choice but to say it. But I also understand that if I were to leak this matter to the media, her life would be ruined, and so would this drama, before it even goes on air. I¡¯m not the type to do something like that.¡± The director shot her a nce and said, ¡°I will settle this matter ordingly. I want us to be friends, what do you think about that?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about me spreading a single word about the matter. I won¡¯t.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not concerned about that. It¡¯s just that I like your personality, and I¡¯d like to be your friend. What¡¯s your name?¡± he asked, waving his hand. ¡°An Ning.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you, An Ning, I¡¯m Jing Tian.¡± ¡°Since you¡¯re so sincere as to believe me, though it¡¯s only the first time we¡¯ve met, I think it¡¯s not a bad idea at all. Do I return to my workce now?¡± ¡°Alright, you go ahead. I¡¯ll get my assistant to head there soon,¡± he said with a nod. An Xiaoning showed the ¡°OK¡± hand sign and turned around to happily leave, keeping her hands behind her back. The matter was resolved, just like that. Jing Tian¡¯s assistant entered the room and asked out of curiosity, ¡°Brother Tian, what did thatdye to speak to you about?¡± ¡°Go to the dressing room now and tell them this. No one is to sack An Ning, unless they wish to lose their job too.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Not ¡®huh.¡¯ What are you waiting for? Go, quick,¡± he rushed his assistant. The assistant hurried over as instructed. Gently knocking on the table, Jing Tian smirked and thought to himself, ¡°An Ning... what an interesting girl she is.¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°Boss, someone is calling you again!¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s ringtone went off with an iing call from Jin Qingyan as soon as she began working. She moved aside to answer the call, ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sending my deepest regards and concern about your issue at work. I¡¯m worried you got sacked,¡± said Jin Qingyan over the phone, sounding as if he was harboring bad intentions. Chapter 28 - No Comment

Chapter 28: No Comment

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but you¡¯re in for a disappointment. I¡¯m going to start work now, please refrain from disturbing me during working hours,¡± said An Xiaoning before hanging up confidently, without a care about what he thought. Jin Qingyan had been patronized by his wife. She actually hung up even before he was finished with his sentence. It was definitely an insult to him, in the 20-odd years of his life. Better yet, she actually switched off her phone when he tried to call her again. She did not have that much of a backbone when she pleaded for him to pick her up from the mountains, though. Jin Qingyan cast his phone aside, only to see Long Tianze making his way in as the doors of his office opened. ¡°Upset to see me?¡± asked Long Tianze. He had cocked his head to the side to look at Jin Qingyan while leaning against the desk. ¡°Do I have to hold a weing ceremony to greet your arrival? Like a parachute show, or a bungee jump, or perhaps even a deep dive?¡± ¡°Damn, why don¡¯t you just send me straight into space?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve thought of that, to be honest. You don¡¯t have anything good up your sleeve, whenever you visit. Quick, shoot. What¡¯s the matter?¡± Long Tianze chuckled and answered, ¡°Will you just trust your best friend? There really isn¡¯t a particr reason for my visit, other than the fact that I miss you...¡± Getting goosebumps, Jin Qingyan almost threw his pen at him as he shot Long Tianze a re. ¡°Why are you staring at me like that? I¡¯m not finished yet. I just want you to organize an outdoor camp, since we haven¡¯t gone out for some fun in quite a long while. What do you think?¡± Long Tianze continued. ¡°Why do I have to organize it? Can¡¯t you do it yourself?¡± asked Jin Qingyan. As soon as he finished his sentence, he seemed to have realized something and said, ¡°Do you want me to invite Qingyue along?¡± ¡°Well, you said that yourself, not me,¡± answered Long Tianze frantically. ¡°That stubborn personality of yours. You were obviously implying it, yet you¡¯re still refusing to admit it. If the weather¡¯s fine tomorrow, we shall go watch the sunrise.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already checked the weather forecast. The weather¡¯s going to be great tomorrow.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll hand my work for the evening over to my subordinates. Go get ready, I¡¯ll say that I¡¯m the one inviting her.¡± ¡°Sure. But I¡¯ll have to bring along another woman, to show how popr I am,¡± eximed Long Tianze. ¡°Do as you please.¡± ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning bumped into Sun Weiwei and her assistant while getting off work. The duo had detested the sight of her during the day. Little did they expect to see her again in the evening. ¡°Great, you actually have someone to back you up, impressive for a lowly assistant like you. I heard you found your way to the director¡¯s bed?¡± scorned Sun Weiwei with a strong tone of sarcasm. ¡°No such thing. I hope Ms. Sun won¡¯t hold it against me,¡± said An Xiaoning as she quickly turned around to leave, not wanting to talk much. ¡°Then how did you manage to persuade the director to let you keep your job?¡± asked Sun Weiwei as she followed her closely. ¡°I have noment,¡± uttered An Xiaoning coldly. ¡°I¡¯d like to advise you, Ms. Sun, stop finding trouble out of nowhere. I¡¯ll leave you alone if you leave me alone. However, if you choose to continue bothering me, I¡¯ll be sure to retaliate. You¡¯d better know your limits,¡± she added. Watching An Xiaoning¡¯s figure recede, Sun Weiwei broke into an uncontroble rage. ¡°She actually raged at me, atrocious!¡± she hollered. Noticing how angry she was, her assistant hurriedly tried to cate her, ¡°Sis Weiwei, lower your voice. There are a lot of people around.¡± ¡°Did you see how outrageously obnoxious she was? I¡¯m going to look for the director, to make things clear,¡± Sun Weiwei stomped off while her assistant hurriedly chased after her. Jing Tian was dog-tired from an entire day of work. Sun Weiwei had appeared just as he was sipping on some tea and finally getting some rest. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Why are you so angry?¡± he asked with augh upon seeing the exasperated Sun Weiwei. ¡°Director, why did you let that An Ning stay? I absolutely detest the sight of her, she gets on my nerves every single time. So I especially got the co-director to sack her. ¡± Jing Tian answered, ¡°I have my own reasons, which you don¡¯t need to know about. She¡¯s merely an assistant. If you don¡¯t like having her touch up your makeup, you can simply get the makeup artist to do it himself, can¡¯t you?¡± ¡°But I don¡¯t wish to see her around.¡± ¡°Why? Give me a reason,¡± Jing Tian asked, sounding rather serious. Despite how, deep down, he already knew her reason, he still had to ask the obvious. ¡°No reason, I just don¡¯t like her.¡± ¡°There should be a reason for that too. You can¡¯t just get irritated at the sight of her, for no rhyme or reason at all.¡± Sun Weiwei took a seat and replied, ¡°Perhaps she¡¯s too ugly. She¡¯s just like a thorn in my flesh.¡± ¡°Too ugly? She¡¯s not, though. That¡¯s enough, Weiwei. Stop making mountains out of molehills. I¡¯m tired, I need some rest. You two may leave,¡± said Jing Tian as he stood up. Sun Weiwei and her assistant had no choice but to leave helplessly. Having returned to her own room, Sun Weiwei still felt ill at ease as she voiced her thoughts, ¡°What if she tells the matter to others? If she¡¯s no longer in the production unit, no one is going to believe her words then.¡± Trying to cate her, the assistant consoled, ¡°Sis Weiwei, people might still not believe her, even if she belongs to the production unit. Let¡¯s not worry too much, she¡¯s merely a makeup artist¡¯s assistant, no one¡¯s going to take her word for it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. But we have to be vignt and cautious too. I really feel like giving her a tight p,¡± Sun Weiwei snapped, regretting her actions that day. She would not be gued with the woes of this issue if she had been more careful. ¡ª¡ª Just as An Xiaoning reached home, Jin Qingyan informed her that they were going to visit the peak of a mountain to watch the sunrise, and thus, they would be camping there that night. ¡°But it¡¯s going to be cold at night,¡± she voiced her concern. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we can hug each other for warmth. It¡¯ll only be cold and lonely for singles,¡± said Jin Qingyan. As soon as he ended his sentence, he received an iing call from Long Tianze, whom he told to wait at the door. ¡°How many of us will there be?¡± ¡°Five or six.¡± ¡°Who are they?¡± she asked while changing into a fresh set of clothes and cing a camera into her bag. ¡°Apart from us, Tianze and his female friend would also be tagging along. I¡¯ve also invited Qingyue over the phone, she¡¯sing over now.¡± The couple left the house after they were done with packing. Donning a pair of shades, Long Tianze leaned against the car and waited for them. Upon seeing them, heined, ¡°Take any longer and it will be pitch dark by the time we reach the peak of the mountain.¡± ¡®What¡¯s the hurry?¡± asked Jin Qingyan as their family chauffeur arrived with Jin Qingyue in the car. ¡°Long Tianze ising along too?¡± asked Jin Qingyue. She had alighted and was walking towards them. Humming in agreement, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°We¡¯re taking his car there. Hop on.¡± Jin Qingyue opened the car door and hopped on without greeting An Xiaoning at all. However, it did not bother An Xiaoning as she followed and got into the car together with Jin Qingyan. Noticing the well-endowed woman sitting opposite her, Jin Qingyue asked, ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡± Long Tianze, who was seated in the driver¡¯s seat, began to introduce, ¡°Haven¡¯t you already met her? She¡¯s Mo Li.¡± Jin Qingyue curled her lips and scorned in curiosity, ¡°Why does she look so different now? Did she get stic surgery? She used to be so ugly.¡± After all, Jin Qingyue had been overseas for a long time, and it was only natural for her not to recognize Mo Li right away. ¡°She was still a child, then. Now that she¡¯s undergone puberty, she¡¯s obviously going to dress up and look better than before,¡± Long Tianze could not help but stand up for Mo Li. Without another word, Jin Qingyue nced opposite her, before looking down at her mobile phone. She then began to y her mobile game. She hadpletely ignored her sister-inw¡¯s presence. Not letting her behavior bother her, An Xiaoning took the initiative to strike a conversation with Jin Qingyue, ¡°Qingyue, what have you been doing abroad, all these years?¡± ¡°Nothing much, just enjoyed life,¡± answered Jin Qingyue. ¡°Oh, I thought you had been pursuing your studies. Your brother hadn¡¯t mentioned much.¡± ¡°I stopped schooling ages ago. I¡¯m not as smart as my brother. Besides, I¡¯m not very career-minded, and I just prefer doing things I like and enjoy. Girls are meant to be married off sooner orter anyway. Look how well you¡¯re living now, just because you married my brother. There are countless envious women out there who are coveting your ce as a young madam.¡± ¡ª¡ª PS: Things are going to get interesting as the story proceeds. Also, this is a multi-faceted story, with varying moments of unjust and heartwarming scenes. How well the story develops will depend on the support you guys give me! Please show Xiaoning some support and encouragement. Rest assured, the story is going to be of good quality, and I¡¯ll be sure to finish it to the very end. There will be new chapters uploaded every day! Chapter 29 - Itll Depend on Your Performance

Chapter 29: It¡¯ll Depend on Your Performance

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning pursed her lips, understanding what Jin Qingyue meant. ¡°You¡¯re right, I¡¯m aware of that. Your brother is indeed very outstanding. But I¡¯m one-of-a-kind myself. I don¡¯t just marry anyone who¡¯s rich and famous or powerful,¡± she said half-jokingly. Jin Qingyue looked up at her and asked curiously, ¡°Then, why did you marry my brother? Haven¡¯t you two only known each other for a short amount of time?¡± ¡°Time has nothing to do with love. Your brother and I are in love with each other, so we got married,¡± answered An Xiaoning as she shot Jin Qingyan a nce. As if she had just heard the greatest joke ever, Jin Qingyue burst intoughter and sneered, ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s true that you love my brother. But him loving you... I highly doubt it.¡± Trying to resolve the dispute, Long Tianze interjected while driving, ¡°Your brother is here, isn¡¯t he? Why don¡¯t you just ask him yourself?¡± ¡°Who said you could interrupt?¡± snapped Jin Qingyue,pletely disregarding the fact that there was a strangerdy opposite her. ¡°The one my brother likes is Sis Rui¡¯er,¡± she sneered. ¡°Shut it!¡± bellowed Jin Qingyan coldly, finally breaking his silence. ¡°If I knew you¡¯d be so angsty, I would never have brought you along,¡± he continued. Jin Qingyue was dumbfounded. She remained silent and continued ying her mobile game, knowing that she had enraged her brother. An Xiaoning chuckled nonchntly. She leaned her head on Jin Qingyan¡¯s shoulder, then closed her eyes to get some rest. The sky had turned dark by the time they arrived at the peak of the mountain. They worked together to set up the tent, while Long Tianze whispered softly to Mo Li, whom he had pulled aside, ¡°Do not breathe a word about what you had heard today, not to a single soul. Got it?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been friends for ages. I¡¯d know better than to do that.¡± Giving her a pat on her shoulder, Long Tianze said, ¡°I knew I could count on you.¡± Gathering around the barbecue pit they had set up, the group sipped on some beer and enjoyed themselves, although the night breeze was a tad bit chilly. When it was time to sleep, Jin Qingyue was allocated to the same tent as Mo Li. However, she objected, ¡°Long Tianze, you may share a tent with Mo Li. I want one for myself.¡± ¡°Do you really think that¡¯s eptable?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care. I just want to sleep alone in the tent. I¡¯m not used to having someone else around,¡± she firmly rejected. An Xiaoning interjected, ¡°Mr. Long, how about you share a tent with Qingyan while I share one with Mo Li? Let¡¯s just do that.¡± ¡°Come, let¡¯s take this tent,¡± suggested An Xiaoning as she inched forward to hold Mo Li¡¯s hand. An Xiaoning thought that that would be the best solution since Mo Li was not Long Tianze¡¯s girlfriend. After all, the problem would not have existed in the first ce, otherwise. However, Jin Qingyue had thought otherwise. She felt that An Xiaoning was intentionally going against her wishes instead. The matter had indirectly caused Jin Qingyue to detest her sister-inw further. In contrast to Jin Qingyue, Mo Li had begun to take a liking to An Xiaoning. With that, the night crept by peacefully. An Xiaoning woke up early in the morning, even before dawn arrived, and she could not fall back asleep. Mo Li had also woken up shortly after. The two began chatting merrily while keeping their volume down. The weather was splendid that day, just like Long Tianze had said it would be. The group frolicked and basked in the warm rays of the sun as they watched it rise beautifully from the peak of the mountain. With both arms extended, An Xiaoning closed her eyes and took in the fresh air, which was exceptionally refreshing and rxing. She then continued to snap some shots of the picturesque view before her eyes. On the other hand, Jin Qingyan seemed to be rather uninterested in watching the sunrise. He was constantly tapping and swiping away, his eyes glued on his mobile phone. He then sat inside the tent to answer an iing call. Long Tianze had intended for the trip to be a chance for him to get closer to Jin Qingyue. Having noticed that Jin Qingyue was about to return to her tent, he followed closely behind. ¡°Where would you like to meet?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I can¡¯t make it tonight. Didn¡¯t I tell you? My Mother would not have her peace until she sees me home at night.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Alright. I¡¯m watching the sunrise with my Brother now, I¡¯ll go look for you after I¡¯ve had my breakfast.¡± ¡°...¡± Jin Qingyue could be heardughing from within the tent. As much as she tried to keep her volume down, Long Tianze had already heard everything. She was obviously speaking to another man over the phone. Long Tianze clenched his fist and entered the tent after unzipping the p. Jin Qingyue frantically hung up the phone upon the sight of Long Tianze. ¡°Why did youe inside my tent?¡± she snapped. ¡°Who were you speaking to?¡± ¡°Does that concern you? Stay out of my business,¡± she said, ring daggers at him. ¡°You¡¯ve got a boyfriend?¡± he continued to ask. ¡°That¡¯s none of your business. Why are you so nosy all the time?¡± she retorted, obviously not wanting to answer his question. ¡°Answer me. Do you have a boyfriend?¡± he asked sternly. ¡°You¡¯re crazy,¡± she said. Just as she stood up, Long Tianze grabbed her by her arm, causing her to fall back onto the ground. Shrugging his hand off her, Jin Qingyue warned, ¡°If you keep being like this, I¡¯ll tell my brother that you¡¯re molesting me.¡± ¡°Go ahead. If you do, I¡¯ll just get my parents to visit your family, to ask for your hand in marriage. Do you dare to tell him?¡± he challenged with a raised brow. ¡°Seriously, Long Tianze, is there something wrong with you? I know you¡¯ve liked me since a long time ago, but can¡¯t you tell that I have no interest in you at all?¡± said Jin Qingyue with a grunt. His body stiffened. He felt as if her words were a million daggers piercing through his heart. Despite how bad he felt, he had to conceal his feelings at all costs, for he was none other than Long Tianze. ¡°I¡¯m only concerned because I treat you just like my younger sister. How did you even get the idea that I¡¯ve liked you since a long time ago? Someone so t-chested like you doesn¡¯t suit my taste and preference. Got that?¡± he said. ¡°Long Tianze... get out of my sight!¡± roared Jin Qingyue, seething in exasperation. Without another word, he stood up and exited the tent. They headed back in Long Tianze¡¯s car and soon arrived at Jin Qingyan¡¯s house. Together, Jin Qingyan, An Xiaoning, and Jin Qingyue alighted from the car. An Xiaoning then invited Long Tianze and Mo Li to have breakfast before leaving, which they turned down as they waved her goodbye. ¡°Brother, I¡¯ll go home for breakfast,¡± said Jin Qingyue. She clutched her bag and turned to leave. ¡ª¡ª After breakfast, An Xiaoning got ready to leave for work, but she was stopped by her husband. ¡°I didn¡¯t sleep wellst night.¡± ¡°Then go upstairs and get some rest.¡± She walked past him and proceeded to change into her shoes. Yet, at this very moment, he picked her up from behind and headed straight upstairs. ¡°I have to get going to the production unit, I¡¯m running out of time.¡± ¡°How much time do you have left?¡± ¡°20 minutes, at most. Can you wait until I¡¯m home from work?¡± she asked anxiously. ¡°How are 20 minutes enough? That¡¯s too short. It¡¯ll be another eight or nine hours before you¡¯re home. That¡¯s too much time to wait.¡± ¡°What do you suggest, then?¡± asked an impatient An Xiaoning. She was feeling a strong urge to murder him with an ax. ¡°We can only hurry then. It¡¯ll depend on your performance.¡± ¡°...¡± After 30 minutes, An Xiaoning made it onto the passenger seat of the car. ¡°Step on it, I¡¯m going to bete,¡± she rushed while gulping down the bottle of water she had in her hands. ¡°You actually have the decency to rush me when you¡¯re the one troubling me to send you there.¡± ¡°If not for you, I would¡¯ve arrived there long ago.¡± Chapter 30 - All Alone, Empty, Cold, and Lonely

Chapter 30: All Alone, Empty, Cold, and Lonely

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°So, you¡¯re ming me now?¡± he asked with a smile. ¡°Who else should I me?¡± Having recalled that they were no longer going on their honeymoon trip, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Are you going back to the office for work?¡± ¡°Not for a while. Though we¡¯re not going on our honeymoon trip anymore, I¡¯d like to take a few days¡¯ break. Unfortunately, without my wife at home, I¡¯ll be all alone, empty, cold, and lonely.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning sneered, ¡°You¡¯ll be lonely and empty? Go look for the goddess of your dreams, then.¡± He kept his eyes fixed on the traffic in front and did not answer. The car pulled up at a spot not too far away from her workce. An Xiaoning adjusted her face mask and alighted. ¡ª¡ª Jin Qingyan drove away. His stare turned cold the moment he was reminded of her words earlier. ¡°Babylifewasgoodtomebutyoujustmadeitbetternull:Ilovethewayitstandbymethroughanykindofweathernull...¡± went his ringtone. He pulled over again to answer the call. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Qingyan, would you be sad if I died?¡± ¡°Rui¡¯er, did something happen to you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t wish to live anymore... beep beep,¡± said Chi Rui¡¯er. The sound of the call ending followed. Not having a single idea of what had happened, Jin Qingyan rushed over hurriedly and arrived at Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s ce in no time. After he pressed the doorbell multiple times, the door finally opened slowly. Chi Rui¡¯er stood at the door, pale as a sheet, d in loosely-fitted pajamas. Her eyes were swollen; she seemed to have cried for a long time. ¡°Qingyan, he doesn¡¯t want me anymore,¡± she cried with sorrow while hugging him tightly. Startled, Jin Qingyan entered the house while holding her in his arms and closed the door behind him. ¡°What actually happened?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er remained silent and continued to tear up uncontrobly. ¡°Have you eaten?¡± ¡°No,¡± she answered, shaking her head. He stood up and headed to the kitchen, only to realize that there were only some bell peppers, noodles, and eggs left in the refrigerator. Thus, he made her a bowl of noodles with the ingredients he had found. ¡°Quick, eat up.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er broke into tears again as she looked at him. ¡°Qingyan, I must¡¯ve been so lucky to have met you. Ever since we met, you¡¯re the only one who¡¯s genuinely treated me well, all these years, regardless of what happened. I was blind not to treasure you. But now, you already have awful wife,¡± she said as she continued to cry even harder. With trembling fingers, she picked up the chopsticks and struggled to pick up a few strands of noodles. She then pushed the noodles into her mouth and ate slowly. Jin Qingyan remained quiet as he watched her finish the bowl of noodles. He then reached into the pocket of his suit for a clean, white handkerchief and handed it to her. Chi Rui¡¯er took the handkerchief and wiped her mouth, then held it in her hand. ¡°Deep down, I¡¯ve always known that I wasn¡¯t the only reason why you and Gu Beicheng don¡¯t get along. He¡¯s also your rival in business. Well, he¡¯s not going to treat me well if he doesn¡¯t genuinely love me. I¡¯ve always found myself stuck in ironic circumstances my whole life. Some things are always around when I don¡¯t want them. Yet when I do want them, I often realize that they¡¯re no longer there,¡± she reflected solemnly. ¡°Rui¡¯er, what do you want most, now?¡± Jin Qingyan asked. ¡°I want someone who¡¯s constantly by my side, to love and take care of me. Qingyan, if I didn¡¯t get together with Gu Beicheng, would you still have married that woman?¡± ¡°You want the truth?¡± he asked. ¡°Of course. So, would you?¡± ¡°No. Are you happy with that answer?¡± asked Jin Qingyan as they exchanged nces. A smile hung from the corner of Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s lips. As expected, she was the one he loved the most. However, she was also the one who had let him down. Holding her head in her hands, she felt a lump form in her throat and tears began to well up in her eyes. She continued to speak, ¡°How I wish I could turn back the clock. Perhaps then, I wouldn¡¯t be in such misery now. Truthfully, I had wanted to be with you back then, it¡¯s just that your mother and grandma detested me. They even said a lot of unpleasant things to me, which I could not tolerate any further. It was cowardly of me. Qingyan, I know it¡¯s all toote now, but I¡¯d still like to say it. I made a wrong decision. I should¡¯ve chosen you back then. But sadly, it¡¯s impossible to rewrite the past and start all over again.¡± She stood up and said, ¡°You may leave. I¡¯d like to be alone for a while.¡± ¡°Rui¡¯er.¡± Gazing at him, Chi Rui¡¯er said, ¡°Qingyan, I¡¯m too ashamed to bring up the past. Neither do I deserve the right to ask you to divorce your wife and be with me. That¡¯s just wrong. So, just leave. I¡¯ll sort my emotions out on my own. I¡¯ll be fine after I get over it.¡± She returned to her bedroom and locked the door. Jin Qingyan headed to the supermarket below her house and bought a ton of food and beverage, which he stored in her refrigerator. He then left a note on the table which read: Have your meals, and take good care of yourself . The bedroom door opened just as he left. Chi Rui¡¯er began to tear up again at the sight of the well-stocked refrigerator and the note on the table. What others were unaware of was that he would treat her well, regardless of what she had be or how many men she had dated. She, however, was well aware of that fact. After all, she had once risked her life to save his. Back then, he had told her on the operating table that he would marry her at once, as long as she agreed. However, she had told him that she did not want to marry him, simply because she was in love with Gu Beicheng then. She did not have eyes for Jin Qingyan for she had loved Gu Beicheng with all her heart. She had managed to save his life purely by coincidence. Yet, he had fallen in love with her unexpectedly and stayed in love since then. She had witnessed the times where he was enraged after finding out about her rtionship with Gu Beicheng, the times where he threw tantrums, and the times where he was helpless. That day, she had also witnessed yet again how well he treated her. Ah... his wife must be lucky. Isn¡¯t it a little toote to only realize it now? she thought to herself. She broke down at the very instant that Gu Beicheng told her, that there was no need for them to see each other anymore in the future. Gu Beicheng had never been intimate with her. Even a kiss was considered too much to him. In her opinion, the rtionship had ended before it even began. As her mobile phone rang, Chi Rui¡¯er took a glimpse of the caller disy. Exasperated, she answered the call, ¡°What else do you want?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t let Father wait too long, my obedient daughter. Come home, quick.¡± ¡°My biological father had already passed away for years. A hypocrite like you doesn¡¯t deserve to be my Father!¡± ¡°Oh, I see you can¡¯t be tamed now that you¡¯re all grown up, is that so? I¡¯ll ask you again, are youing home or not?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not!¡± she ended the call right away. A thought had struck her mind and she proceeded to turn off her phone straight up. She sprawled onto her bed and began crying out loud again, the moment she returned to her bedroom. After about half an hour, the doorbell began to ring endlessly. Chi Rui¡¯er sprung up, zoomed towards the door and peeked through the peephole. Upon seeing who it was, she sped back inside her room, her shock sending a chill down her spine. She hurriedly proceeded to give Jin Qingyan a call. Having just arrived back home, Jin Qingyan received a call from her again. Remaining inside her bedroom, she pleaded for him to make his way there quickly. Having heard her shaky voice, which sounded like she was crying, he had no choice but to make another trip down to her ce again. Chi Rui¡¯er felt more and more worried with each passing minute as she waited anxiously for his arrival. Chapter 31 - Wow, How Amazing

Chapter 31: Wow, How Amazing

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Finally, he came back again. Only when he was around did she dare to open the door. Her stepfather red at her until she had goosebumps, yet she managed to pluck up her courage to ask, ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°I was passing by, so I decided toe and see you. Oh, Rui¡¯er,e home and see us more often, don¡¯t always stay outside.¡± ¡°I know. If there¡¯s nothing else, go home ¡ª I¡¯m going out.¡± ¡°Okay then, you guys go out. I¡¯ll wait for you here, I have some private matters to talk to you about.¡± ¡°Do what you want.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er went to Jin Qingyan¡¯s car and said immediately, ¡°Qingyan, can I stay at your house? My stepfather is a monster, I¡¯m scared of him ¡ª he keeps harassing me.¡± She wanted to be honest with him so that he would cherish and protect her more. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say earlier?¡± Jin Qingyan drove out of that ce immediately. ¡°Can you stay at my other house?¡± ¡°Can I stay in the same house with you?¡± Her eyes were pleading. ¡°Will it make things difficult for you?¡± Jin Qingyan said honestly, ¡°I¡¯m living in the same house as her. If you move in, she¡¯ll get upset.¡± ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°Live in my other house. There are people guarding it. Don¡¯t feel burdened, tell them if you need anything.¡± His car drove directly to his other vi. ¡°Okay. Will youe often?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s my private headquarters.¡± ¡ª ¡°Mei Yangyang, are you dead? Why do you take forever just to get some clothes!¡± The wardrobe attendant was evidently bad-tempered. It was not the first time An Xiaoning had heard such words. She frowned and saw that Mei Yangyang was not bothered. She cheerfully replied, ¡°Coming,ing!¡± The wardrobe attendant took the clothes. Mei Yangyang turned around and waved at An Xiaoning, ¡°Sister, let¡¯s go home.¡± The two left the set side by side. They had a busy day, and their legs were aching badly. They bought two corns from a street stall and had one each. An Xiaoning tried to pass the money to her, but Mei Yangyang refused to ept it. The two finally reached apromise when An Xiaoning promised to give her a treat next time. Both of them took the same route, so they sat together on their bus ride back home. They were not chatting for long before Mei Yangyang reached her stop. An Xiaoning continued her bus ride alone. By the time she reached home, she copsed onto the sofa like a pool of mud. ¡°Auntie Chen, help me heat up a ss of milk.¡± ¡°Sure, Young Mistress, please wait a moment.¡± She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. Maomao had already run over, seemingly excited about her return. ¡°Dog-son, have you eaten?¡± Maomao stuck out its tongue and cheerfully wagged its tail. Looking at its round watery eyes, An Xiaoning felt happily at ease. ¡°Boss, that fellow is calling again!¡± Seeing that it was a call from Mei Yangyang, she hurriedly answered it. ¡°Yangyang.¡± ¡°Sister, my younger sister¡¯s form teacher called to inform me she¡¯d skipped sses these few days again. I¡¯m thinking she might have gone to the bar or club with those friends of hers again, but the previous time I went to a bar, I almost couldn¡¯te out. So can I ask if you¡¯d go there with me to find her?¡± ¡°Sure, see you thereter.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± An Xiaoning went upstairs to change her clothes and armed herself with a small knife. After all, ces like bars and clubs were quite messy. She had only agreed to go because she felt it was unsafe for Mei Yangyang to go alone. After going downstairs and drinking her ss of milk, she instructed, ¡°Auntie Chen, if Qingyanes back and asks where I went, please tell him I went out with my friends.¡± ¡°Sure, Young Mistress.¡± She quickened her footsteps and went to meet Mei Yangyang. ¡°This is not the first time already. I told her ¡ª if you hate school so much then stop going, get a job to share the burden for the household. If you like going to school, then do it properly. Sister, don¡¯t you agree with me?¡± Mei Yangyang was ridden with worry. An Xiaoning nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, don¡¯t use school as an excuse to waste your life away. How old is she?¡± ¡°Eighteen. She¡¯s in her third year of high school already.¡± ¡°Eighteen, and she¡¯s still so immature. Yangyang, there are many bars and clubs here. Are we suppose to look in each and every one of them?¡± ¡°No, I heard from her ssmates. She likes to go to ¡®Night Spirit¡¯ Bar and a club nearby ¡ª the name is in English, I¡¯m not too sure.¡± Mei Yangyang held onto her arm. ¡°Sister, do you think there¡¯s a way to stop her from hanging out with badpany?¡± ¡°Does she listen to your parents?¡± Mei Yangyang shook her head. ¡°She has her way all the time. Because she¡¯s the youngest in the family, my parents spoiled her. Plus, my mother is in this state now, my father doesn¡¯t bother caring about her anymore. Who knew that she would get out of control? She turns a deaf ear to my words now, I can¡¯t get through to her.¡± ¡°She¡¯s gone wild, but you can¡¯t keep finding her everyday. It¡¯s best if you can pull her back to the right path in time, but it can¡¯t be helped even if you can¡¯t.¡± Mei Yangyang nodded in agreement. The duo reached ¡®Night Spirit¡¯ Bar, but maybe because it was still early and the bar just opened, there were only a few people inside. But because there were few people, it was easier to search. Through a gap from a door left ajar, Mei Yangyang recognized her own sister immediately. She swiftly pushed the door wide open. ¡°Mei Shuangshuang! Go home with me!¡± Mei Shuangshuang sat in between two boys and was giggling away, but once she saw her own sister who came searching for her, her smile faded and she replied, ¡°I¡¯m not going home, don¡¯t care about me.¡± An Xiaoning pointed out, ¡°Your sister is worried about you ¡ª that¡¯s why she came to look for you. You should go home with her.¡± ¡°Who are you? It¡¯s none of your business.¡± Mei Shuangshuang turned nasty. ¡°Some Tom, Dick or Harry is here acting like a saint. Wow, how amazing.¡± Mei Yangyang saw her rude manner and went forward to grab her hair, dragging her out forcefully. ¡°Today, I¡¯ll teach you a lesson on behalf of our parents.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t go back!¡± Mei Shuangshuang exerted all her strength to break free. The people around her helped her too, and they drove Mei Yangyang and An Xiaoning out before locking the door shut. Mei Yangyang turned around and ran. An Xiaoning followed behind her. ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°To find the boss.¡± She ran so fast that she was gone in a blink of an eye. An Xiaoning looked around and went to the first floor to find her. After asking the bartender, Mei Yangyang went up to the second floor from another staircase. She recognized the door before her. It was definitely the right one. She remembered that a man had let her use it as a changing room. Seeing that the door wasn¡¯t closed, she just went in. On the bedy a man ¡ª could that be the boss? She cautiously went forward and shouted, ¡°Excuse me, are you the boss here?¡± There was no response. She leaned forward and raised her voice, ¡°Are you the boss of this bar?!¡± A pair of arms suddenly stretched out towards her and pressed her body down. This sudden movement left Mei Yangyang petrified. His whole head burrowed deeply into the crook of her neck; his face could not be seen at all. Mei Yangyang struggled desperately. ¡°Let go of me!¡± Chapter 32 - Still Being Stubborn

Chapter 32: Still Being Stubborn

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Long Tianze¡¯s muffled voice rang beside her ear, ¡°Keep quiet.¡± The heavy stench of alcohol entered her nostrils. Mei Yangyang was pressed down and could not move at all. Her whole face reddened from being suffocated, and her body could not withstand the weight from a 1.8-meter figure like him. Just when her movement was being severely restricted, An Xiaoning came in. ¡°Sis, quick ¡ª save me.¡± An Xiaoning took a look and quickly pulled Long Tianze away. As she did so, she recognized who he was. ¡°Tianze?¡± Long Tianze opened his eyes slightly and rubbed them. After confirming, he said, ¡°Sister-inw? Why are you here?¡± An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Are you drunk?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He stood up straight. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± An Xiaoning pointed at Mei Yangyang, who was suffering after being crushed by him. ¡°I came here with her, she¡¯s looking for her sister.¡± ¡°Sister?¡± Long Tianze¡¯s head hurt terribly. ¡°What happened to her sister?¡± An Xiaoning briefly told him about the situation. Long Tianze replied immediately, his eyes still blurry from the alcohol, ¡°This is easy to handle ¡ª I¡¯ll get someone to chase them out. I won¡¯t charge them anything. This young girl, you look very familiar.¡± Mei Yangyang lowered her head. She didn¡¯t know how An Xiaoning knew him, but she knew he was that man who took away her clothes and made her change in that room. Was he actually the boss of this bar? An Xiaoning spoke, ¡°Young Master Long, sorry to trouble you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Which room is it?¡± Mei Yangyang said the room number at once, and Long Tianze simply made a call to settle it. ¡°Why did you get drunk, do you want me to get you some hangover soup?¡± Long Tianze waved his hand. ¡°I¡¯m fine, no need to trouble yourself. I¡¯ll just sleep for a while more, it¡¯ll be better when I wake up.¡± ¡°Alright, then.¡± An Xiaoning covered him with a nket and turned off the lights before leaving with Mei Yangyang. As they reached the bar downstairs, they saw Mei Shuangshang swearing as she came out. When she saw them, she turned away and left. ¡°Sis, how do you know the boss of this bar? I heard him calling you Sister-inw? You¡¯re married, sis?¡± Wearing a smile, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Yes, just got married not long ago.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t hear you talk about this before, that¡¯s great.¡± ¡°What¡¯s so great about it?¡± Mei Yangyang responded, ¡°Isn¡¯t it best to get married at a young age?¡± An Xiaoning ced her hands in her pocket. ¡°This is my second marriage.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Mei Yangyang¡¯s jaw widened. ¡°Second marriage?¡± ¡°You¡¯re shocked?¡± Mei Yangyang shook her hand. ¡°Not really, just a bit surprised.¡± By the time she got home, it was alreadypletely dark outside. She thought that Jin Qingyan would most likely have reached home already, so on the way back, she kept thinking if he would tease herter on for meeting her lover outside. But her worries were unfounded. Jin Qingyan wasn¡¯t even back home. Her footsteps, which continued to pick up, momentarily slowed down. Stepping into the living room, Auntie Chen saw her and promptly greeted, ¡°Young Mistress ¡ª you¡¯re back. I¡¯ll serve you dinner.¡± An Xiaoning made a quick response to her and fished out her phone to call him. The line was answered very quickly. It was his unique voice, ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Why aren¡¯t you back? Waiting for you to eat.¡± ¡°I¡¯m eating outside now.¡± An Xiaoning restrained herself from probing, ¡°Come back earlier, be safe.¡± After saying these words, she charmingly ended the call. She did not think he would eat alone outside at this time. A clean freak like him seldom ate outside. He was most likely with that woman again. That jerk! As her husband, was he acting like how a morally upright husband should? An Xiaoning did not eat much for dinner. Seeing that there were many leftovers, Auntie Chen persuaded her, ¡°Young Mistress, you should eat more. You¡¯re too skinny now. I prepared these especially for you.¡± ¡°Yes, okay.¡± She didn¡¯t want to waste the food, so she ate a bit more before she gave up. Laying on the couch, she rested for a while before heading upstairs to remove her makeup. When she finished her shower and came out of the bathroom, Jin Qingyan, who had note back when she went into the bathroom, was lying boldly on the bed with a book in hand, his posture exceptionally attractive. Jin Qingyan looked up at her. ¡°Stunned?¡± She wiped her hair as she walked, asking casually, ¡°I saw you on the streets today ¡ª you were with another woman all day. What does that make me?¡± Jin Qingyan thought she really saw him, so he answered, ¡°Rui¡¯er can¡¯t go back to her own home now, so I sent her somewhere else.¡± Although An Xiaoning knew he was with Chi Rui¡¯er, hearing him say those words made her unable to calm down. ¡°She can¡¯t go back home? But she has her boyfriend. What has it got to do with you?¡± ¡°They broke up.¡± An Xiaoning threw the towel aside, used her hands to support herself, thenughed, ¡°They broke up, your chance is here.¡± Jin Qingyan sat up straight and stared at her, asking, ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to say that I thought marrying you was a right thing to do. Now that I think about it, it was something terrible I did.¡± ¡°You regret it?¡± An Xiaoning breathed out, ¡°There¡¯s no such thing as ¡®regret¡¯ in my dictionary.¡± ¡°Oh really?¡± he retorted. ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to see if your dictionary is a real one.¡± As he finished, he put on his shoes and went into the bathroom to shower. An Xiaoning took off all her clothes and wormed into the covers, feeling especiallyfortable. The moment he finished his shower and opened the covers, his hands froze. He asked while frowning, ¡°Sleeping naked?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll practice the habit of sleeping naked in the future. It¡¯s good for the body.¡± Jin Qingyan suddenlyughed and was shaking before her eyes. His voice was exceptionally pleasant, ¡°If you want it, then just say so. Why find such excuses?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°Still being stubborn.¡± He took off his robe and went into the covers. An Xiaoning turned around. ¡°I¡¯m sleeping, don¡¯t provoke me.¡± ¡°Your words don¡¯t count.¡± Right after he said that, Jin Qingyan hugged her from behind, restraining her body so tightly that she could not move at all. ¡ª For the next couple of days, An Xiaoning went out early and returned homete. She was living a rather peaceful marital life with Jin Qingyan. She would wonder sometimes if her life would be like this every day in the future. If it was, she felt it would not be too bad. Time flew to the tenth month of the lunar calendar, and the weather grew colder. In a blink of an eye, An Xiaoning had spent over twenty days on-set already. She had also grown even closer to Mei Yangyang. Realizing that there was only a little time left for her to experience life on-set, An Xiaoning was in high spirits. After all, she did not have to live like that anymore. But the thought of not being able to see Mei Yangyang every day made her feel slightly ufortable. After work that day, as Mei Yangyang and she waited at the bus stop, a car horn started honking a few times. An Xiaoning looked ahead ¡ª not far away was Gu Beicheng, whom she had not seen in a long time. Chapter 33 - Another Woman Lives in This Villa

Chapter 33: Another Woman Lives in This Vi

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Come here.¡± An Xiaoning went forward and said in a low voice, ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°I came especially to look for you,¡± he said. ¡°Get on, I have something to say to you.¡± An Xiaoning waved goodbye to Mei Yangyang, then went around the car to sit beside the driver¡¯s seat. ¡°What do you want to say?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a lot I want to say. What¡¯s this on your face ¡ª what¡¯s wrong with your skin?¡± ¡°It¡¯s on purpose, to prevent people from recognizing me,¡± An Xiaoning said. ¡°After all, I¡¯m your Godsister now, and the young mistress of the Jin family. If others were to find out I¡¯m working as a crew member, it¡¯ll probably end up on the news.¡± ¡°You must have a lot of time on your hands, leading such afortable life that you have to find something to torture yourself with.¡± ¡°No, I wanted to gain some experience. There¡¯s still a few days left, and I¡¯d have been here for a month, then I won¡¯t be staying here anymore.¡± An Xiaoning asked again, ¡°You came especially to look for me, what exactly is the matter?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve broken up with Chi Rui¡¯er awhile ago, do you know that?¡± ¡°Yes, I know, what¡¯s wrong?¡± The corner of Gu Beicheng¡¯s lip curled into a smile. ¡°How did you know?¡± ¡°Qingyan told me.¡± Gu Beicheng queried again, ¡°Do you know where Chi Rui¡¯er is staying now?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know.¡± An Xiaoning pointed out, ¡°I don¡¯t know her personally, how would I know where she¡¯s staying?¡± As she said those words, Gu Beicheng gave her a significant look. ¡°As your Brother, I have a duty to tell you what you don¡¯t know, isn¡¯t that right?¡± ¡°What exactly are you trying to say?¡± ¡°You probably didn¡¯t know that Jin Qingyan has another mansion ¡ª it¡¯s huge and has a widend area ¡ª the kind which could even fit an airport inside.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve guessed it before. But I didn¡¯t expect it was that huge.¡± Gu Beicheng reached out his fingers and hit her brain lightly. ¡°Fool. As his wife, you don¡¯t even know where your biggest property is. Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll show you.¡± He fired the engine and started driving. ¡°You¡¯re not on good terms with him. If you go to his ce, won¡¯t you be chased out?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you here?¡± Gu Beicheng darted her a nce. ¡°I¡¯m bringing you there, not just for you to see your own house.¡± ¡°Then for what?¡± She could vaguely guess what he wanted to say. ¡°You¡¯ll know when we arrive.¡± Gu Beicheng elerated the car. It flew on the streets. The car stopped at the entrance of a high-ss housing estate. An Xiaoning saw the name of the estate ¡ª Wei Ni. Gu Beicheng parked the carked in front of a huge gate. He remarked, ¡°Your front gate isvish, isn¡¯t it? This ce is a lot bigger than the vi you live in now. To think my Brother-inw is so insincere, he doesn¡¯t even let his own wife live in here.¡± Yet he let Chi Rui¡¯er move in. Interesting. ¡°Since we¡¯re here, let¡¯s get off and take a look.¡± An Xiaoning got off and Gu Beicheng followed closely behind. Standing before the main gate, she reached out to press the doorbell. A momentter, a young man in uniform came to open the door. Seeing the both of them at the door, he immediately nodded in acknowledgment. ¡°Young Mistress.¡± ¡°Uh.¡± She headed inside. The young man backed off, and a hint ofughter shed across Gu Beicheng¡¯s eyes. The mansion was boundless, but looking at its structure, An Xiaoning indeed believed that it was a lot more majestic than the vi she was living in. Although her footsteps hadnded on this piece ofnd, she felt she had nothing to do with it at all. It was as if she was looking at a luxurious ce through the eyes of a stranger. Heading towards thergest vi, they were at the doorstep when the sound of a womanughing heartily and a variety show screening in the background drifted from inside. An Xiaoning looked in. The back of someone¡¯s head popped out from the sofa, but the face could not be seen. A maid saw An Xiaoning¡¯s presence and became visibly shocked. ¡°Young... Young Mistress, what are you doing here?¡± An Xiaoning did not speak ¡ª the woman who was originallyughing quietened down momentarily. She stood up from the sofa and looked towards their direction. When she saw that both An Xiaoning and Gu Beicheng were there, Chi Rui¡¯er looked very ufortable. She did not speak, and An Xiaoning spoke first, ¡°Ms. Chi, how is it living here?¡± Her expression suggested that she already knew Chi Rui¡¯er was living there, but in actual fact, she waspletely unaware of it. She only knew Jin Qingyan had arranged a ce for her to stay in. She never expected that he had arranged for her to stay there. It was clear that Chi Rui¡¯er was of considerable importance to him, far more important than she was to him. Taking a deep breath, An Xiaoning understood then that the situation was quite terrible ¡ª not as optimistic as she had imagined it to be. The marriage was bona fide, yet it did not happen because they were truly in love. Her previous marriage with Shi Shaochuan was like that, and this one was the same. If she had the chance for another marriage, she did not want it like that anymore, putting herself in a passive position. ¡°Quite good,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er answered. ¡°I was the one who begged Qingyan for a ce to stay. I¡¯d wanted to stay in the same house as both of you, but he arranged for me to stay here. I hope Ms. An doesn¡¯t mind the inconvenience I¡¯ve brought.¡± An Xiaoning sped her hands tightly; her face remaining unchanged. ¡°Ms. Chi, just call me Mrs. Jin. I¡¯m not a single woman anymore.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s face froze, then she nodded, slightly embarrassed. Gu Beicheng did not say a word through all this. An Xiaoning stood there, not feeling that she was thedy of the house. On the contrary, she felt that Chi Rui¡¯er was. At that very moment, she felt like she was an uninvited guest. So, after staying for only a few minutes, An Xiaoning left in a hurry. Sitting in the car, she looked out of sorts and oddly felt a little upset. ¡°Feeling upset?¡± An Xiaoning remained stubborn, ¡°No.¡± Gu Beicheng saw through her words and exined, ¡°I brought you here to give you some mental preparation in advance. Your husband has someone else in his heart.¡± An Xiaoning forced a smile. ¡°So am I supposed to thank you? After a day at work, I¡¯m quite tired. I want to go back.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll send you back.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± She leaned against the car seat and, after a while of driving, the car entered the road leading to her estate. As he was about to drive in, An Xiaoning stopped him. ¡°Just here is fine.¡± She pushed opened the door and got off, then waved goodbye to him. She left immediately. Reaching home, she went upstairs to bathe after she had eaten. She was in a nk state of mind and didn¡¯t want to think about anything at all. Waking up from a nap, she looked at the time ¡ª it was only past nine at night. She got bored and casually took a book to read, yet her mind was not on the book at all. The more she flipped through the pages, the more ufortable she felt. She got off the bed and stood in front of the window. Pulling open the curtains, she noticed the patter of rain outside. His car was nowhere to be seen in the courtyard. The spacious courtyard seemed a little empty. Thinking back to the mansion at Wei Ni Estate, it was iparable. The sh from a pair of headlights faintly projected from the main gate into the courtyard. Very soon, his Bentley pulled in slowly. An Xiaoning closed the curtains shut, turned around, and continued to sleep. Chapter 34 - I Dont Like Children

Chapter 34: I Don¡¯t Like Children

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The bedroom door opened a few minutester. What followed was the sound of clothes being removed and, subsequently, the bathroom door being pushed open. After some time, there came the sounds of the bathroom door being pushed open again and of his footsteps approaching. An Xiaoning opened her eyes ¡ª their eyes met. ¡°Have you eaten?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Compared to her eagerness to question him, he touched on the matter lightly, ¡°I heard you went to that house with Gu Beicheng.¡± ¡°Yeah, I went to take a look.¡± ¡°What do you think of that house?¡± ¡°Very good.¡± Her brief replies prompted him to turn over andy on her side. ¡°Do you have something to ask me?¡± She outwardly denied, ¡°No.¡± Jin Qingyan reached out his hand and gently caressed her corbone, his voice softening, ¡°She¡¯s only living there for some time. If you want to move there, we can move over tomorrow.¡± An Xiaoning replied, ¡°Living here is fine, so why move over there? I¡¯m not moving.¡± ¡°Gu Beicheng brought you to Wei Ni Estate on purpose?¡± Although his tone sounded casual, An Xiaoning sensed his true meaning. ¡°Are you ming him for showing me your secret base?¡± He nted a kiss on her forehead. ¡°How is that possible.¡± An Xiaoning gazed at him.His eyes, which made one cave in easily, were light and refreshing. They were obviously full of infinite tenderness towards her, yet she could not find any trace of his emotion in them. She reached out her hands to hug his waist and rested her head on his chest. The smell of his unique scent entered her nostrils ¡ª something which she had surprisingly be familiar with. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Nothing. In a few days, I¡¯d have joined the set for one month already, don¡¯t forget what you promised me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fast. Sure. When that dayes, I¡¯ll agree to grant you a wish.¡± She hugged him tighter, and a question suddenly popped up in her head. ¡°Hubby, have you thought of having a child with me?¡± At that moment, she clearly felt his body freeze. His hand, which was near his waist where she was hugging him, trembled. ¡°Why? You want children?¡± ¡°We¡¯re already married. We¡¯ll live together for the whole of our lives ¡ª of course we¡¯ll have children. How many do you think is good?¡± An Xiaoning added, ¡°How about two?¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s lip touched her ear lightly, his voice became softer like a whisper, ¡°Isn¡¯t that a bit too many?¡± ¡°Then, one?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like children.¡± These few words made An Xiaoning swallow everything she had wanted to say. An Xiaoning was no fool. When she¡¯d just gotten married to him, she had felt that this might be herst marriage, but over time, it became clearer to her how important that woman¡¯s position was in Jin Qingyan¡¯s heart. So she became more doubtful about how long their marital life wouldst, especially after seeing Chi Rui¡¯er today, such burning questions she had had be more evident. Talking to him about children was only her attempt to find a topic. Yet he really thought that she wanted to have children with him. ¡°Because I still haven¡¯t had enough quality time with you.¡± He exined further, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want the addition of a little fellow to disturb us.¡± His exnation was reasonable, but An Xiaoning felt there was another significance behind it. ¡°Makes sense.¡± She closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep. She had a dream. In the dream, she was drowning in an ice-cold river. The water from the river continued to fill up her throat, suffocating her increasingly ¡ª her limbs were iling desperately in the water, it was simply insufferable. She didn¡¯t know how to swim and was losing consciousness. At this point, she woke up. She reached out her hand to feel her forehead. All she felt was a bunch of cold sweat. An Xiaoning woke up. She poured herself a ss of water and drank a few sips. She seldom had dreams, and when she did, they were either requests from others or a sign of something. There were also some which were hints. Of course, there were some dreams she had which werepletely illogical. But this dream made her especially disturbed. So at that moment, she made a decision: after her month in the crew ends, she was going to learn how to swim. Anything that could be fatal to her, she wanted to be able to withstand them. One can never be too careful. Learning another skill for her meant she could worry less about the unknown future. ¡ª When she just arrived on-set, Mei Yangyang asked, ¡°Sis, was that man in the car yesterday my Brother-inw? He¡¯s so handsome.¡± ¡°No.¡± An Xiaoning returned, ¡°You don¡¯t know who he is?¡± ¡°Actually, I didn¡¯t see clearly, but his overall appearance looked very handsome.¡± Mei Yangyang became curious. ¡°I feel like my Brother-inw must be very outstanding. If not, you definitely wouldn¡¯t take a fancy to him.¡± An Xiaoning acknowledged herment, ¡°My judgment is still not too bad.¡± She continued to ask her, ¡°Yangyang, do you have a boyfriend?¡± Mei Yangyang blushed. ¡°No, my family is in this state now, so whoever bes my boyfriend would feel pressured. Moreover, I¡¯m only 20. There¡¯s no rush.¡± ¡°How¡¯s your sister recently?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see her all day, I can¡¯t control her anymore. If my father tries to discipline her, she just talks back to him. We can¡¯t do anything about her.¡± ¡°Yangyang, can you swim?¡± ¡°Yes, I can.¡± Mei Yangyang added, ¡°And I¡¯m really good at it.¡± ¡°Then, in a few days, let¡¯s go to the hot spring. Can you teach me there?¡± The corner of An Xiaoning lips curled into a smile. ¡°I treat you to a hot spring bath, you teach me how to swim.¡± Mei Yangyang pped. ¡°Deal.¡± They were inseparable during meal time. Even when they ended work, they went home together and were around the makeup artist throughout their working hours. So, for this period of time, Sun Weiwei and her assistant had a hard time finding any chance to y a dirty trick. But without teaching her a lesson, Sun Weiwei did not feelfortable inside. Finally, it was herst day at work. This was thetest in a day that they had ended filming. Plus, the makeup artist was not around as her child was ill. It was the first time An Xiaoning worked overtime until night; meanwhile, Mei Yangyang left after knocking off in the afternoon. An Xiaoning thought that since it was herst day, there was no harm in staying a few more hours. Jing Tian inquired, ¡°Are you really not intending to stay here anymore?¡± An Xiaoning nodded. ¡°A month is long enough. I¡¯ll congratte you beforehand on sessful ratings for your period drama.¡± Jing Tian nodded in acknowledgment. ¡°Thank you. You didn¡¯t leave a contact number all this while ¡ª may I have it?¡± An Xiaoning told him directly, noting finally, ¡°You didn¡¯t ask me about future matters anymore, I¡¯m noting tomorrow, are you interested to know?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Jing Tian replied. ¡°Tell me in my office.¡± She nodded. Observing them going to his office, Sun Weiwei and her assistant popped their heads out from the corner. ¡°See that, the both of them went to the director¡¯s office. And they said she doesn¡¯t have a thing with the director, who¡¯ll believe that?¡± ¡°Exactly. Sister Weiwei, tonight is a good opportunity.¡± ¡°Teach her a lesson.¡± Sun Weiwei narrowed her eyes. ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning sat down, then described slowly, ¡°In these one or two years, your rtionships will end in failure. Your future wife will appear only when you¡¯re 31 ¡ª that is to say, you¡¯ll only meet her when you¡¯re 31.¡± ¡°Then, how will my career turn out?¡± ¡°Career-wise, not too bad. Your career luck will be very good next year, because you will achieve some sess with a movie. But you will attract some viins around you, just be more careful.¡± Chapter 35 - Go to Hell, That Jerk!

Chapter 35: Go to Hell, That Jerk!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jing Tian continued to probe, ¡°Okay, then in theter part of my life, how many huge idents will I get into?¡± ¡°This is what I wanted to say ¡ª you¡¯ll fall and injure yourself when you¡¯re 36, don¡¯t go out unnecessarily in winter that year. Don¡¯t drive for the whole year when you¡¯re 47, it¡¯s fine if you sit in someone else¡¯s car, just don¡¯t drive yourself. There are other small idents, but not too serious, just be extra cautious. Do you want to know how long you¡¯ll live?¡± Jing Tian shook his head. ¡°What¡¯s the point of knowing it now? Since you said I shouldn¡¯t drive when I¡¯m 47, then it means I¡¯ll have no problem living until then. It¡¯s best not to know how long I¡¯ll live. Let nature take its course. I wouldn¡¯t have fears about the unknown, but if I know what are to happen, it¡¯ll be a burden for me.¡± ¡°Makes sense.¡± An Xiaoning stood up. ¡°Other things should be pretty fine for you. It¡¯ste, I should go back.¡± ¡°Right, An Ning, have you gotten your pay?¡± ¡°Yes, thank you for everything all this while.¡± ¡°You¡¯re wee, let¡¯s keep in contact often. Why don¡¯t I send you home?¡± An Xiaoning waved. ¡°No need to trouble you, there are still buses now. I¡¯ll reach home very quickly.¡± ¡°Be careful on the road.¡± An Xiaoning left his room and headed towards the public toilet. She wanted to use the bathroom before going back. Unexpectedly, she¡¯d just sat down on the toilet bowl when the lights went off. Following that, she heard the sound of the bathroom door being closed and of footsteps near the door. An Xiaoning¡¯s heart suddenly jerked. She immediately realized that this was not a supernatural incident: someone was out to prank her. She instantly regretteding to the bathroom. After she was done, she used the light from her phone to find the toilet lights and switched them back on. She then attempted to pull open the bathroom door, but to no avail. She immediately called Jing Tian ¡ª who would have been the nearest to her ¡ª but his phone was switched off. Feeling rather impatient, she dialed Jin Qingyan¡¯s number. After countless attempts, however, no one picked up. Finally, she made a call to Mei Yangyang. It went through and she picked up eventually. Hearing that she was trapped in the bathroom on-set, Mei Yangyang rushed over without dy. An Xiaoning could finally calm down. She sat at the washbasin, waiting for Mei Yangyang toe. Throughout this whole time, Jin Qingyan did not return her call. After waiting for about 20 minutes, there came the sound of anxious footsteps arriving, and Mei Yangyang¡¯s voice came from outside. ¡°Sis?¡± ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± A minuteter, the bathroom door opened. Mei Yangyang was drenched in sweat. ¡°Who used a rope to tie this door handle to the door handle of the men¡¯s toilet? Damn it, who could be so wicked!¡± An Xiaoning remarked, ¡°Most probably Sun Weiwei and her assistant. Forget it. I feel bad I had to make youe back again. Sorry to trouble you.¡± ¡°Sis, don¡¯t be so polite with me. Thest time I had to look for Shuangshuang, didn¡¯t you go with me too?¡± An Xiaoning took her arm. ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡± On the bus, she said, ¡°Yangyang, I¡¯m noting back tomorrow. I¡¯ve gotten my pay already, work hard here.¡± Mei Yangyang replied, ¡°Sis, do you have any ns?¡± ¡°I want to rest for a few days, then get a shop front. I haven¡¯t decided what to do in detail, but if I start a business, would you be willing to join me?¡± Mei Yangyang replied to her invitation with, ¡°Of course I¡¯m willing. Sis, why don¡¯t I just resign tomorrow, since I¡¯ve already worked for a month with you too.¡± An Xiaoning saw that she was quite determined and nodded immediately. ¡°Sure, since you¡¯re so sure about this. Let¡¯s start a business together, and we won¡¯t need to suffer under other people anymore. Isn¡¯t that great?¡± Mei Yangyang was ted. ¡°Of course it¡¯s great, getting scolded on-set everyday was like living as someone else¡¯s ve. If I work with you, I know you won¡¯t scold me.¡± An Xiaoning said frankly, ¡°As long as you work hard, I¡¯ll give you what you deserve and treat you well. But if you don¡¯t work hard...¡± Without waiting for her to finish, Mei Yangyang patted her own chest and dered, ¡°Sis, don¡¯t you worry. I¡¯ll definitely make you proud.¡± An Xiaoning couldn¡¯t help butugh and gave her a high five. ¡°That¡¯s settled then.¡± She had originally wanted to rest for a few days, but this was good as well. Idling at home wasn¡¯t something she felt ustomed to. Opening a shop would give her something to upy herself with, and it could make her life more enriching. ¡ª He had not returned home yet. After An Xiaoning ate, she was not in the mood to sleep yet. Dialling his number again, he finally picked up the call. ¡°Where are you?¡± ¡°Working overtime in the office.¡± An Xiaoning immediately felt relieved. She queried, ¡°Have you eaten?¡± ¡°Not yet, I¡¯ll eat when I get back.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± An Xiaoning hung up. She had not expected that he¡¯d still be working at his office at this time and had not even eaten yet. She instructed Auntie Chen, ¡°Auntie Chen, Qingyan is still working overtime at his office and hasn¡¯t eaten. Can you heat up some dumplings? I¡¯ll bring it over to him.¡± Auntie Chen showed a smile and replied, ¡°Young Mistress is still the most considerate. I¡¯ll go and heat up the dumplings right now.¡± She smiled and nodded, then headed upstairs to remove her makeup and change her clothes. When she came downstairs, Auntie Chen had already finished packing the dumplings. She carried the food container and headed out, asked Fan Shixin for the car keys, and drove to Jin Corporation herself. The upper floors of the building were indeed still illuminated. It was clear that there were still people working overtime. She put on a face mask and carried the food container as she got off, heading towards the building entrance. However, she was stopped by the security officer on duty. ¡°What are you here for?¡± ¡°I¡¯m here to deliver some food to President Jin.¡± ¡°Oh, who are you?¡± The security officer sized her up. Oddly enough, she didn¡¯t want to remove her face mask and the entrance was quite dark, so the security officer did not recognize who she was. ¡°I¡¯m their housemaid.¡± The security officer sniggered. ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense. Be careful, I might just send you to the police station. Our President has knocked off long ago, who are you delivering food to? Who are you trying to pass off as?¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s heart skipped a beat. Could it be that Jin Qingyan was lying to her? Her heart became thoroughly cold. She turned around without saying a word and headed towards the car. Behind her, she could hear the security officer¡¯s intentionally raised voice, ¡°Swindlers these days are resorting to such cheap methods.¡± An Xiaoning got into the car directly and ced the food container beside the driver¡¯s seat. At this moment, her heart was racing like the scene of a battlefield. She sat in the car for half an hour, right until the building of Jin Corporation hadpletely closed and she had verified that the security officer was saying the truth. He had not been working overtime indeed. Go to hell, that jerk! He had the guts to lie to her! Did he think she ¡ª An Xiaoning ¡ª was a weakling? She drove straight to Wei Ni Estate and had just parked the car at the roadside when the main gate opened. His white Bentley slowly appeared. Staring at this car before her, An Xiaoning suddenly clenched her fist. She thought to herself, You could just tell me if you came to meet her. Why did you have to lie? An Xiaoning threw her face mask aside and got off the car without anyone noticing. Her rapid footsteps brought her to the main gate. When the person who opened the door recognized her, he clearly looked ill at ease. ¡°Young Mistress.¡± ¡°I happened to pass by here, so I came over to take a look.¡± Her tone was unconsciously cold and she strolled slowly to the living room. She had not reached the entrance yet, but she could already hear the sound of music. The slow melodious singing felt extremely pleasant to her ears. Chi Rui¡¯er sat before the dining table, sipping thest bit of red wine in her ss. An Xiaoning did not even bother changing her shoes. It was her own house and she could do as she pleased. Chapter 36 - Are You Trying to Show Your Authority?

Chapter 36: Are You Trying to Show Your Authority?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios There was a sumptuous feast, along with some red wine, spread across the dining table. Chi Rui¡¯er sat by the side of the table, her face flushed red like a tomato, her eyes ssed over. It seemed she had been drinking quite a bit. ¡°You¡¯re here sote. Making the rounds?¡± ¡°It¡¯s my home, I cane anytime I want. How can you call that making the rounds?¡± said An Xiaoning with a smile. ¡°Please take a seat, Ms. An,¡± scoffed Chi Rui¡¯er. ¡°Please call me Mrs. Jin. I remember telling you this thest time we met. I¡¯ll decide myself if I want to take a seat. It¡¯s my house anyway. Please don¡¯t act like you¡¯re the Mistress of this house,¡± An Xiaoning retorted as she took a nce at the couch. ¡°Oh, are you trying to show your authority now? Why? Trying to chase me away?¡± sneered Chi Rui¡¯er. ¡°Since my husband has allowed you to put up here, I won¡¯t chase you away,¡± said An Xiaoning in response. ¡°You may try doing so. However, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll be the one having to pack your bags instead, Mrs. Jin.¡± Unfazed, An Xiaoning stared at Chi Rui¡¯er, thinking to herself that thetter was by no means easy to handle, judging from her attitude. ¡°You¡¯re so certain about that?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er responded with nothing but a smile. Of course, she was not certain; she would have a hard time gaining the approval of Jin Qingyan¡¯s Mother and Grandmother. ¡°Boss, someone is calling you again!¡± cranked An Xiaoning¡¯s ringtone. After taking a look at the caller disy, she answered the call and spoke in her most gentle and delicate voice, ¡°Hubby, I¡¯m outside now. Are you waiting for me? Alright, I¡¯ll be back in a jiffy. Mwah.¡± An Xiaoning walked towards the door as soon as she ended the call. With clenched fists, Chi Rui¡¯er stared coldly at An Xiaoning¡¯s retreating figure. Once she arrived at her house, An Xiaoning pulled up at the doorstep and ced the lunchbox on the passenger seat onto herp. She opened the lunchbox and began wolfing down its contents with a pair of chopsticks. Although she was not hungry since she had already eaten, she struggled with the temptation to throw the lunchbox out of the window. Not wanting to waste any food, she thought it would be a better idea to finish it instead. She was stuffed beyond her limits by the time she finished the food. She then drove into the backyard after wiping her mouth. After entering through the gate, she handed the lunchbox to Auntie Chen. Just as she was about to make her way upstairs, Jin Qingyan stopped her in her tracks. ¡°I heard from Aunt Chen that you brought me lunch at my office. Is that true?¡± ¡°No, you heard wrong. I didn¡¯t intend to bring you lunch,¡± answered An Xiaoning as she stomped upstairs. The moment Jin Qingyan followed her up, An Xiaoning handed him the agreement they had drafted together. ¡°I¡¯ve kept my job at the production unit for an entire month. Sign here,¡± she said. Without objection, he signed the document ordingly and agreed to grant any one wish of hers. ¡°What is your wish?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t thought of one. I¡¯ll tell you about it when I do,¡± she said while putting the agreement away. She then continued to rub her full belly. ¡°Did you finish the dumplings all by yourself?¡± Ignoring him, An Xiaoning sat on the bed, whipped out herptop, and proceeded to surf the. ¡°I¡¯m speaking to you.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t hear you,¡± she said passively. Thinking that she must be angry, Jin Qingyan tried to cate her, ¡°I just didn¡¯t want you to overthink.¡± ¡°So you decided to lie to me instead. Pretending to be a good man, working overtime and everything. Ugh, save it!¡± she hissed as she turned to look at him with a stiff smile. ¡°It was a white lie,¡± he defended himself, grimacing. ¡°Stop speaking. I don¡¯t feel like hearing your voice right now, it¡¯s absolutely revolting. Why did I even agree to marry you without much consideration?¡± she asked, although it seemed she was reflecting on herself instead. ¡°Indeed, you can¡¯t be careless when ites to marriage,¡± she added. ¡°Do you regret it now?¡± ¡°Absolutely. I regret it very much,¡± she answered harshly while ring at him. ¡°You want a divorce?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say that. I still want to enjoy life as Mrs. Jin, I haven¡¯t thought about divorce yet.¡± ring daggers at him, she continued, ¡°But please, don¡¯t touch me from now on. Since you enjoy being unfaithful and having an affair so much, I¡¯ll make a cuckold out of you as well. We shall see who gets thestugh.¡± ¡°...¡± Jin Qingyan was strongly appalled by the words that came out of his wife¡¯s mouth. ¡°It was just a meal, wasn¡¯t it? How is that being unfaithful?¡± ¡°Who knows what could have happened? A candlelit dinner with wine for two, apanied by melodious music. What a wonderful ambiance,¡± she mocked sarcastically. ¡°You were there?¡± ¡°So what if I was? It¡¯s my house and I have the freedom to enter as I please. Why, you don¡¯t want me to be there?¡± she asked bluntly. The idea was getting on her nerves the more she thought about it. ¡°Of course not. Don¡¯t be angry, I promise to have all my dinners with you in the future. She and I are just friends, nothing more,¡± consoled Jin Qingyan as he leaned in closer towards her. ¡°You don¡¯t have to exin yourself further. I¡¯m so upset right now.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be upset anymore, honey...¡± An Xiaoning closed her eyes and opened them again to look at him. ¡°I ate a lot more than usual, of course my stomach would be upset,¡± she said. ¡°...¡± ¡ª¡ª Mei Yangyang proceeded to quit her job like she said she would. She gave An Xiaoning a call as soon as she returned home from the production unit. When the two met, An Xiaoning was no longer concealing her looks with makeup. It shocked Mei Yangyang, who then blurted, ¡°Sis, did you get stic surgeryst night?¡± ¡°stic surgery? Of course not. I was just disguising myself with makeup.¡± ¡°Sis, do you know who Jin Qingyan is?¡± ¡°Yes, he¡¯s my husband.¡± Mei Yangyang received yet another shock as she processed what she had just heard. With a smile on her face, she went through the motions of making obeisance and greeted, ¡°Paying you my respects, Young Madam.¡± Blushing, An Xiaoning poked her arm and said, ¡°That¡¯s enough, don¡¯t pull that trick on me.¡± ¡°I really would¡¯ve never expected that. Sis, why did you want to work with the production unit?¡± ¡°I made a bet with my husband. He would grant me a wish if I managed to keep my job for a month.¡± Finding it hard to believe what she had just heard, Mei Yangyang asked, ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± With a nod, An Xiaoming continued to suggest, ¡°I¡¯m nning to open a women¡¯s apparel store. What do you think of that?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a great idea. I used to be a store assistant, though I haven¡¯t tried selling clothes,¡± said Mei Yangyang in approval. ¡°Hop in the car, let¡¯s go look at some shops.¡± Mei Yangyang opened the car door and got into the passenger seat. ¡°Sis, I¡¯ve never ridden in such a luxurious car my entire life,¡± said Mei Yangyang, her eyes wandering about the interior of the car. ¡°You¡¯ll get to do it very frequently in the future.¡± ¡°Does Brother-inw know about your intention to venture into the fashion business?¡± asked Mei Yangyang. ¡°No. I make decisions on my own. There¡¯s no need to discuss with him,¡± answered An Xiaoning as she revved up the engine and began driving slowly. ¡°That¡¯s nice. I read on the news that a certain rich man¡¯s wife had be a baby-making machine as soon as she married him. She doesn¡¯t enjoy the freedom of doing whatever she wants at all.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not like those women,¡± An Xiaoning said with a smile. ¡°I would rather die than to live with the sole purpose of pleasing my husband. I only live for myself, not for my husband or even my child.¡± Giving her a thumbs-up, Mei Yangyang showed her approval, ¡°Sis, I really like how confident you are. It is indeed a blessing to have met and be friends with you.¡± ¡°At which location do you think we should open the shop?¡± Chapter 37 - Is This Lass Pretending Not to Know Me?

Chapter 37: Is This Lass Pretending Not to Know Me?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°We can consider Dongpo Street and Nan¡¯An Street, they¡¯re both great locations. However, I¡¯d personally prefer Nan¡¯An Street, because Dongpo Street seems a little secluded inparison.¡± Heeding her advice, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Let¡¯s go take a look at Nan¡¯An Street, then.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± They arrived at their destination only to realize that the entire street was filled with a plethora of stores selling clothing, each being only very slightly different from its counterparts. An Xiaoning decided to go have a look at Dongpo Street instead. They discovered that there was a greater crowd at Dongpo Streetpared to Nan¡¯An Street. ¡°I live in Dongpo Street, which is pretty close by. Let¡¯s get a unit here. Yangyang, not only should we be focusing on importing goods to sell, we should also provide tailoring and bespoke services, an online ordering system, as well as a physical store for walk-in sales. In other words, we should be focusing on developing a one-stop service for our customers. Only then can our business be sustainable in the long run. But let¡¯s start one step at a time. We¡¯ll y it by ear and worry about the rest in the future.¡± ¡°You call the shots.¡± After taking a look at several units, they finally settled on a spacious one, which has a store front. The interior also featured a washroom and a fitting room. The rental was 20 thousand dors a month. Which would amount to 240 thousand dors in a year. The hefty price tag shocked Mei Yangyang. She quickly remarked, ¡°Sis, 20 thousand a month is too expensive.¡± ¡°This is a prime location in the city. It would¡¯ve cost even more if it wasn¡¯t located a little further. I¡¯m guessing the rental for a unit in Nan¡¯An district would cost about 30 or 40 thousand dors a month.¡± ¡°How much can we make?¡± ¡°That¡¯ll depend on how we manage the business. We will earn a ton if we manage it well, of course. But if we don¡¯t, we¡¯re definitely going to take a loss.¡± However, An Xiaoning was more determined than ever to keep the business going. ¡°I think this one¡¯s not bad. Let¡¯s rent it for a year,¡± she said. ¡°But it¡¯ll cost more than 200 thousand for a year, Sis.¡± An Xiaoning gave her a pat on her shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll take care of the risks. We need to have the courage and be brave, no matter what we do. How can we seed if we don¡¯t try? We¡¯ll do a great job,¡± she said reassuringly. Mei Yangyang observed the stores around them and realized the owners were just like themselves. As long as they put their hearts to it, they are bound to achieve sess , she thought. After signing the agreement with thendlord of the unit, An Xiaoning proceeded to transfer the money to his ount. On that same day, the duo had arranged for the interior designers and contractors to refurbish the unit, ording to the design and style An Xiaoning had preferred. Mei Yangyang then stayed behind to supervise the renovation process. Meanwhile, An Xiaoning went ahead to look for clothing suppliers. Before they could go ahead with the official opening of the store, the renovation and furnishing first had to bepleted, which took more than 10 days. In other words, about 10 thousand dors worth of rental had gone to waste. Whenever renovations were going on in those 10 days or so, the two of them took the chance to visit saunas and hot springs. Just as An Xiaoning had expected, Mei Yangyang possessed impressive swimming skills. An Xiaoning could finally swim after a few sessions of learning from Mei Yangyang. Although she was unable to keep at it for too long, it was much better than not being able to swim at all. It was the morning of the opening day. An Xiaoning and Mei Yangyang stood at the entrance, feeling more satisfied than ever as they admired the fruit of theirbor ¡ª the well-organized and renovated store. An Xiaoning began discussing Mei Yangyang¡¯s sry with her as they entered the store. Upon hearing that An Xiaoning had nned to give her a share of 20% of their total earnings, Mei Yangyang eximed in shock, ¡°Sis, I can¡¯t ept that! You¡¯ve paid for everything in this store. I really don¡¯t deserve to enjoy such privileges since I didn¡¯t contribute anything at all. That¡¯s too much, I can¡¯t ept it. It would be more than enough to receive 5%.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s say our earnings for a certain day totaled up to 300 dors, 5% of it would be so meagre.¡± ¡°But I would be happy with just that. Oh, and Sis, I¡¯ve taken a look at the clothes you brought back from the supplier, the quality is great and the design is really pretty too. I¡¯m very confident that we will do well. So, 5% would be enough for me.¡± Thinking that it was still uneptable, An Xiaoning said, ¡°That¡¯s still too little. How about this, I¡¯ll give you a share of 10%, with a bonus if we do well. You¡¯re to ept any amount of the bonus, which will be decided by me.¡± With a nod, she agreed, ¡°Deal.¡± To the utmost surprise of An Xiaoning, Mei Yangyang had managed to sell more than 10 pieces of outerwear just within the first day of opening. Each piece was sold for at least 200 dors, with the most expensive piece costing more than 600 dors, and the total sales for that day amounted to a grand sum of over 4000 dors. Mei Yangyang had only wanted 10% of the earnings for that day, which was about 400 dors or so, for she felt that it was more than enough. However, An Xiaoning refused and insisted on giving her an additional bonus. ¡°Sis, I used to only make a few thousands at my previous jobs. The 400 something I earned today is already a lot for me. I can¡¯t ept any more money. If you deduct the cost price for the clothing and the rental for the store...¡± Handing her another 200 dors, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Yangyang, haven¡¯t I mentioned this morning that I¡¯ll decide how much of a bonus you would be getting, and you¡¯re not to refute it? Since you call me ¡®Sis,¡¯ it¡¯d be wrong for me to mistreat you. Here, take this.¡± Mei Yangyang was extremely touched as she looked at the extra 200 dors in her hands. ¡°Thank you, Sis,¡± she said. ¡°We were too busy to even have dinner this evening. Let¡¯s pack up and go have something to eat.¡± ¡°Do we switch off the surveince cameras?¡± ¡°No, we won¡¯t be here to watch the store overnight. It¡¯d be better to keep the surveince cameras on.¡± After they had finished packing up, they headed to a restaurant near the traffic light. Except, they had not expected to bump into Long Tianze and Mo Li. ¡°Here to eat, Sister-inw?¡± ¡°Yeah, you guys too?¡± ¡°We just arrived. Let¡¯s sit together.¡± Looking at Mei Yangyang, Long Tianze voiced his thoughts, ¡°This littless looks rather familiar.¡± With a smile, Mei Yangyang answered, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen you before, though.¡± Long Tianze squinted and thought to himself, Is thisss pretending not to know me? ¡°Is that so? Please take a seat, little lolita.¡± ¡°Have you two ced your orders?¡± asked An Xiaoning as Mei Yangyang proceeded to take a seat. ¡°We have. What would you guys like to eat? I¡¯ll order it for you,¡± asked Mo Li politely, with a grin. ¡°Yangyang, take a look at what you¡¯d like to eat. This prawn dish looks quite good, shall we order some?¡± asked An Xiaoning as she handed her the menu. ¡°Sure. We¡¯ll get one of this, and a bowl of pumpkin porridge.¡± An Xiaoning ordered her favorite dish and handed the menu to the waiter. ¡°What a coincidence to have bumped into you guys here tonight. I haven¡¯t seen Mo Li ever since our camping trip. You look a lot paler and thinner since thest time I saw you,¡± said An Xiaoning with a smile, facing Mo Li. ¡°How is it possible for her not to lose weight? She¡¯s been having irregr meals, and she eats nothing but junk food. She probably wouldn¡¯t even have bothered toe out tonight, if I didn¡¯t badger her to. I just feel like beating her to a pulp. Isn¡¯t she just degrading herself by putting herself through such torment, all because of a man?¡±mented an irritated Long Tianze. He had expected better from Mo Li. ¡°Mr. Long, you¡¯ve yet to see. Many women are just like Mo Li, they struggle to get a grip on themselves the moment they fall in love wholeheartedly. It¡¯s fine, give yourself some time to get over it, slowly, one step at a time. Time will heal everything,¡± An Xiaoningforted while patting Mo Li on her shoulder. Raising her chin, Mo Li eximed confidently, ¡°What right does he have to make me suffer over him? I didn¡¯t put myself through that torment because of him. I just felt like all the effort I had put in was unreciprocated and had gone down the drain. I¡¯m going to go look for another man who¡¯s a hundred times better ¡ª tomorrow.¡± An Xiaoning chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s great, isn¡¯t it? You¡¯ll feel better if you treat him like he doesn¡¯t exist.¡± Chapter 38 - The Pain Felt Distinctly Clear

Chapter 38: The Pain Felt Distinctly Clear

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As they left the restaurant, Long Tianze suggested they head to his bar for a while. An Xiaoning thought that Mei Yangyang would be too tired from a day of work, so she asked for her opinion. Unexpectedly, she responded in high spirits, ¡°Sis, let¡¯s have some fun before we head home, I want to drink a little too.¡± ¡°Sure then, as long as you aren¡¯t tired. Let¡¯s go there for a while.¡± ¡®Night Spirit¡¯ Bar was exceptionally lively at this time, flooded with people inside. The group sat in a corner table: they had a great view of the whole ce, but it was rather hidden from other people¡¯s sight. Long Tianze got the waiter to send a few sses of wine and said, ¡°Have a seat first, I¡¯ll take a look over there.¡± ¡°Go on.¡± Mo Li sat beside An Xiaoning and finished a ss in one shot, remarking, ¡°Xiaoning, why is it so hard to get a man¡¯s heart?¡± An Xiaoning replied, ¡°It¡¯s a heart after all, only one can fit inside. You can¡¯t love two or three people at the same time, right?¡± ¡°He wanted me to be by his side, but it turned out to be an illicit rtionship. Now I can¡¯t face the world anymore, I¡¯ve suffered enough.¡± ¡°Then just leave him. It may be painful, but at least you won¡¯t have to suffer every day in the future.¡± Mo Li signalled to the waiter for another bottle of wine and the three toasted. Mei Yangyang, who could not drink well, went down immediately. Her face was instantly flushed. An Xiaoning could still manage. She appeared unaffected while Mo Li was drowning her sorrows by drinking. The more she drank, the more she started slurring. Finally, she said the man¡¯s name: Ye Xiaotian. Hearing this name, An Xiaoning almost spewed out the wine. Why was it this Ye Xiaotian again? Gu Beicheng¡¯s car was his, Sun Weiwei¡¯s Godbrother was him too, and now him and Mo Li were... In that instant, she had no good impression of this person. She wanted to see for herself, what kind of man was this person? Mo Li looked up at the pole-dance on stage and dered, ¡°I¡¯m going for a dance.¡± Without waiting for An Xiaoning¡¯s reply, she reached out to loosen her hair tie and her hair momentarily came down in a mess. Following this, she took off her coat, revealing a small singlet, and started to move her body while supporting her hips. As she did so, her dangling earrings started to move in sync with her long hair. Under the spotlight, her enchanting figure and seductive moves seemed to possess the strongest appealing factor. Along with her refined facial features, all she gave off was endless flirtation. The audience was in absolute madness ¡ª everyone broke out in loud cheers for her. Just when the energy of the audience was at its peak, a slender figure walked towards her. An arm grabbed onto her wrist, picked up her coat on the floor, and left in a hurry. The audience was instantly full of sighs, overwhelmed with disappointment. An Xiaoning saw the man clearly. It was Ye Xiaotian indeed. She stood up immediately and walked towards them. After all, Mo Li was drunk. Although they only met twice, she knew she couldn¡¯t let him take her away like that. As it happened, just as she was going over, Long Tianze was already there blocking their path. ¡°Let go of her.¡± Mo Li desperately struggled to break free, but Ye Xiaotian had no intention of letting her go. ¡°What if I don¡¯t want to?¡± Long Tianze red at him, his face scrunched up in anger. ¡°Ye Xiaotian, just try taking Mo Li away and leave this ce!¡± Ye Xiaotian softened his tone. ¡°I¡¯m bringing her home.¡± Long Tianzeughed coldly. ¡°Naturally, I¡¯m the one bringing her home. You have no right to do so. I¡¯ve long wanted to lecture you ¡ª what do you take Mo Li for? Ye Xiaotian, who do you think you are?!¡± Ye Xiaotian did not answer him. He looked over at An Xiaoning instead. ¡°Oh, isn¡¯t this Beicheng¡¯s Sister?¡± An Xiaoning could not be bothered to talk to him. ¡°Please respect her wishes. If she wants to leave with you, nobody¡¯s going to stop her, but if she¡¯s unwilling, please let go of her. This is not a ce where you can behave as you wish.¡± Ye Xiaotian loosened his grip as expected. ¡°If that¡¯s what Young Mistress Jin wants, of course I wouldn¡¯t dare to not show face to Jin Qingyan and Beicheng.¡± A smile full of significance lingered on his face. With one hand in his pocket, he turned away and headed towards the door. When Mo Li staggered, An Xiaoning helped her to a chair. ¡°My head hurts, I want to sleep...¡± She leaned on the sofa and closed her eyes. ¡°Let her sleep here first. I¡¯ll bring her to my loungeter ¡ª I¡¯m not sleeping here tonight,¡± Long Tianze instructed. ¡°Sure, Young Master Long. It seems like you have a close friendship with Mo Li?¡± Long Tianze shed her a smile. ¡°We grew up together. Her mother was our housecook, so we are good friends who grew up ying together.¡± ¡°Oh, I see.¡± An Xiaoning just finished speaking when her eyesnded on the balcony area on the second floor. A familiar figure was back-facing them, and standing right beside this figure was Chi Rui¡¯er. Long Tianze noticed that her stare was fixed above and saw the two figures as well. Long Tianze was at a loss for a moment, then he suggested, ¡°Sister-inw, should I call them down?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± An Xiaoning stopped him. ¡°We just came to let loose for a while, we¡¯ll leave soon.¡± Long Tianze nodded and poured another ss for her and Mei Yangyang. The three clinked their sses again. Mei Yangyang drank down her second ss ¡ª she was close to a state of unconsciousness at this point. An Xiaoning saw that she could not drink anymore and said, ¡°Stop drinking and rest for a while. I¡¯ll send you backter.¡± Mei Yangyang murmured a reply, leaned on the sofa, and fell asleep as well. Amongst the four, only Long Tianze and An Xiaoning remained clear-minded at this point. She raised her head again and realized that the two on the balcony area had disappeared. It turned out they hade down. An Xiaoning saw that Long Tianze was about to stand up, but she stopped him. ¡°Wait for a while.¡± He nodded, then watched with An Xiaoning as Jin Qingyan and Chi Rui¡¯er moved to the bar to sit. Jin Qingyan had not realized anything, but at this point, Long Tianze was in a flurry of panic. He wanted to get his phone out to send a text to warn Jin Qingyan, but seeing the look of calmness on An Xiaoning¡¯s face, he seemed to have understood something. Hence, he decided against doing it eventually. ¡°If he didn¡¯t see me, don¡¯t tell him I¡¯m here,¡± An Xiaoning stated. ¡°I¡¯m leaving in a while with Yangyang.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± A momentter, Long Tianze carried a sleeping Mo Li towards Jin Qingyan¡¯s direction. Long Tianze did not speak to him indeed as he carried Mo Li upstairs, but An Xiaoning was staring at him from a distance. Maybe because there was nobody around her looking, or because they were shrouded in darkness, she was able to look at his every move and facial expression fearlessly, even managing to interpret his words from the shape of his lips. She was consciously reminded to leave, but her body seemed to be glued to the sofa. Finally, feeling ufortable in her posture, she even took off her shoes and hugged her legs as she watched. Perhaps because she was watching too intensely, when Jin Qingyan turned around incidentally, his gazended on her direction. His gaze met her eyes ¡ª even in the dark, the recognition of this familiar pair of eyes was something that came naturally to him. An Xiaoning¡¯s heart sank the moment she was exposed, but she did not hide immediately. As their eyes met, the pain she felt at that moment was distinctly clear. Chapter 39 - Lets Sleep Separately Tonight

Chapter 39: Let¡¯s Sleep Separately Tonight

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Long Tianze came back from upstairs. Seeing how Jin Qingyan was repeatedly looking towards An Xiaoning¡¯s direction, he knew that he had found out. Leaning against the bar counter, he eximed, ¡°Your wife is right there, and you still dare to bring this woman here? Do you have a death wish?¡± Upon hearing that, Chi Rui¡¯er immediately scanned her surroundings, but there were too many people so she could not find An Xiaoning. ¡°What is she doing here?¡± ¡°We met by ident and had a meal together, so we dropped by here after that.¡± Jin Qingyan started walking towards An Xiaoning, with Long Tianze and Chi Rui¡¯er following behind. An Xiaoning did not move an inch. Seeing him walk towards her, she maintained herposure. In truth, she was actually thinking of how to teach him a lesson tonight. With that thought in mind, an opportunity came at that moment. Gu Beicheng was calling her. ¡°Boss, that fellow is calling again!¡± Hearing this ringtone straight-up made Chi Rui¡¯er burst out intoughter. An Xiaoning slid her phone to answer. She took a morefortable posture, with both legs resting on the coffee table and her body leaning on the sofa. Her voice was soft and sweet like melting honey. ¡°Hello.¡± On the other end, Gu Beicheng was slightly in shock. A mere ¡°Hello¡± made him sense that An Xiaoning was behaving unusually. ¡°You¡¯re sick?¡± An Xiaoning resisted the urge to revert to her normal attitude and continued, ¡°What do you want to say at this time?¡± ¡°Why is it so noisy at your end, are you at a bar?¡± ¡°Umm, at ¡®Night Spirit¡¯ ¡ª want toe over for a drink?¡± ¡°What a coincidence, I¡¯m passing by. Give me a moment.¡± After he hung up, An Xiaoning reached out to raise the wine ss. Acting like she had never seen Jin Qingyan and Chi Rui¡¯er, her attitude was so carefree that Jin Qingyan could not help but wanted to ask: was she so blind that she hadn¡¯t seen him? ¡°Who was that?¡± Jin Qingyan asked as he sat down beside her. An Xiaoning smirked. ¡°Want to know?¡± Jin Qingyan saw that smirk and felt slightly ufortable. Perhaps that was because he noticed how that smile faded quickly from her face. ¡°It¡¯ste now, go home.¡± An Xiaoning acted like she didn¡¯t hear him. She turned her back on him and held onto Mei Yangyang. Jin Qingyan knew what An Xiaoning was feeling. Although she pretended to be cool about it on the surface, she was really angry. It was the kind of anger that had been contained inside for a long time, one that would simply explode at a specific point. Chi Rui¡¯er just stood there before finally sitting down on the sofa, not saying a word. She was like an innocent victim who was out of the picture. Eventually, it was the masculine voice of a man that broke the temporary silence. Gu Beicheng did not sit down directly. He stood behind the sofa An Xiaoning was sitting on, then bent over and asked in a low voice, ¡°I called you because I had something to talk to you about, but it seems like now¡¯s not the time for that. Why does this feel like a crime scene?¡± His voice contained a tinge of a sneer. It was rather obvious ¡ª his gaze was on An Xiaoning the whole time, not even for a second was it spared on Chi Rui¡¯er. ¡°Get in the car if you have something to say.¡± She stood up, supporting a drunk Mei Yangyang out as she left. Hearing her words, Jin Qingyan¡¯s face changed. But An Xiaoning was not about to consider his reputation, feelings, or even what he would think. When they reached the car, An Xiaoning sat in the driver¡¯s seat and turned to face Gu Beicheng who was seated beside her. ¡°You really have something to tell me?¡± ¡°No, I just thought of calling you at night. I said that just now as an excuse to get you out.¡± Gu Beicheng felt increasingly that this woman was a mystery to him. It made him more curious to find out what kind of person she was and know more about her. An Xiaoning leaned back slightly. ¡°What virtues does Chi Rui¡¯er have?¡± ¡°Not sure. Because I¡¯ve never bothered to study her, I think it¡¯s a waste of time. That¡¯s why I broke up with her. But one thing¡¯s for sure, she¡¯s nothingpared to you.¡± This was spoken from Gu Beicheng¡¯s heart, even though he¡¯d only known An Xiaoning briefly and didn¡¯tpletely understand what kind of person she was. An Xiaoning turned and shed a t smile. ¡°Which area can¡¯t she bepared to me, I want to know.¡± ¡°Looks ¡ª you¡¯re more good-looking than her.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, my beauty is universally recognized.¡± Gu Beicheng raised his eyebrows. ¡°And you¡¯re more capable than her. Although she doesn¡¯t look too bad, she¡¯s like a fragile vase. But you, you¡¯re different. If you weren¡¯t married, I¡¯d marry you into my household as my first wife and then marry a dozen other wives. You can reign over the harem.¡± ¡°No thanks.¡± An Xiaoning burst outughing. ¡°Marry a dozen other wives? You¡¯d be dead meat already.¡± ¡°Oh, no ¡ª you¡¯re the only one for me. As for the other wives, they are your ves. You can order them around to serve you.¡± Visualizing this scenario drove An Xiaoning onto the verge ofughter again. She looked out of the car window and remarked slowly, ¡°I can tell others¡¯ fortunes but I can¡¯t tell my own ¡ª nor Jin Qingyan¡¯s. If I can see how my life would turn out in the future, I¡¯d act ording to how things are fated to happen.¡± He caressed her head and responded, ¡°It¡¯ste. Go back earlier to rest. I¡¯m leaving.¡± ¡°Umm.¡± Gu Beicheng got off the car and headed towards his own car. An Xiaoning, on the other hand, had to send Mei Yangyang home before returning to her house. Jin Qingyang took a short rest on the sofa. Hearing some noises, he spoke in his cold voice, ¡°You still know toe back?¡± The only reason he was sitting there was to wait for her. An Xiaoning bent down to change her shoes,pletely ignoring him. She was like that when she was angry, refusing to speak a word to him. Jin Qingyan stood up, cursing under his breath, ¡°Damn it.¡± He followed behind closely, only to realize that the bedroom door had been locked from the inside. When he returned with the key to open it, the handle seemed to have been grasped tightly from the inside to prevent one from opening the door. Jin Qingyan exerted all his strength to kick the door. ¡°Open it!¡± An Xiaoning acted like she did not hear it. After a while, hearing themotion from downstairs, she loosened her grip and started changing into her pajamas. When the door suddenly opened, Jin Qingyan, who was standing at the doorway, was incensed. ¡°An Xiaoning, how dare you. You dare to lock me outside?¡± ¡°Other than killing you, what else would I not dare to do?¡± An Xiaoning cast him a side-nce. ¡°Jin Qingyan, let¡¯s sleep separately tonight. You go and sleep in the guest room.¡± ¡°I refuse to, I¡¯ll sleep right here.¡± He went forward, boldly sitting right next to her. ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll sleep in the guest room.¡± She went to the dressing room to take a set of clothes and stormed out, mming the door shut. Jin Qingyan pushed back the covers andy down, but he just couldn¡¯t seem to fall asleep no matter what. He tossed about over and over again and only fell asleep eventually when it was veryte. Actually, An Xiaoning was unable to sleep that night too. She went in and out of sleep until it was daylight. When the rm ringtone reminded her that it was Jin Qingyan¡¯s birthday, she turned it off and went out without even eating breakfast, instead grabbing a bite at a breakfast shop before going to the clothing store. Chapter 40 - Just You

Chapter 40: Just You

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios It was noontime when An Xiaoning received a call from Auntie Chen, who had called to inform her that it was Jin Qingyan¡¯s birthday. He did not n on holding a big celebration, however. Instead, he just wanted her to go home for dinner. Just as she was about to reject it, Auntie Chen spoke again to say that he had invited a few friends over and that they were all waiting for her toe home. Thus, An Xiaoning agreed. Thinking that the guests present were all his friends, none of which were hers, she decided to bring Mei Yangyang along. Besides, Mei Yangyang had not eaten either. The backyard was filled with four or five luxury cars. ¡°Sis, your house is huge!¡± eximed Mei Yangyang when she alighted. ¡°Hurry,e on in,¡± said An Xiaoning as she held Mei Yangyang by her hand. ¡°Alright.¡± Amongst the few people in the living room sat a good friend of Jin Qingyan¡¯s apart from Long Tianze. His name was Ling Ciye and he was a gang member, apparently. An Xiaoning could tell right away that he was not a simple man, just from his bodynguage. Jin Qingyue, who was also present, acted as if An Xiaoning did not exist at all. She kept her eyes glued onto the video game on her mobile phone. Jin Qingyan had had his eyes fixed on An Xiaoning since the very moment she entered. However, she pretended not to notice and, instead, took a seat together with Mei Yangyang. ¡°We¡¯re ready for the dishes to be served.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± said Auntie Chen as she hurried to the kitchen. Everyone rose from their seats, one after another. Taking a look at the words on the huge cake on the table, which read ¡°Happy Birthday to my Dearest Husband!¡± An Xiaoning grimaced ¡ª he actually tried to pass off as her and ordered a cake for himself! ¡°After today, you¡¯ll be 26. Close your eyes and make a wish before you blow out the candles,¡± said An Xiaoning as she lit up 26 candles. Jin Qingyan proceeded ordingly and blew out the candles in one breath after opening his eyes. The rest of the guests crooned to the birthday song and apuded along. ¡°Quick, tell us, what did you wish for?¡± asked Long Tianze. ¡°It won¡¯te true if I say it out loud,¡± Jin Qingyan said. ¡°Who said so? Why don¡¯t I guess what you wished for? I know what you¡¯re thinking, I¡¯ll guess it with just one try.¡± ¡°You can try to guess all you want,¡± said Jin Qingyan conceitedly. ¡°Forget it, since it¡¯s your birthday, you call the shots. I won¡¯t be a spoilsport. During my birthdays when I was younger, I used to wish for a chance to earn lots of money when I grow up, because back then, my mother was always stingy with my allowance. I even wished for my father to get a new wife. And because of that wish, I almost got beaten to death by my mother.¡± ¡°Hahahaha,¡± everyone burst intoughter upon hearing Long Tianze¡¯s anecdote. Ling Ciye could not help but joke, ¡°Tianze, your mother should¡¯ve broken your legs. If she did, you would be a cripple now.¡± ¡°How sharp-tongued you are! My mother still loves me, alright?¡± retorted Long Tianze. ¡°Now I know. When he was younger, Tianze didn¡¯t receive a beating for that incident, and thus, he got braver with each beating. Mrs. Long did love him very much, otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have hit him all the time,¡± said Mo Li. Mei Yangyang did not bring a gift with her because she was not aware previously that it was Jin Qingyan¡¯s birthday. At that instant, she said with a glib tongue, ¡°Happy Birthday, Brother-inw. May you and Sis wee a child into your lives soon and remain happily in love for the rest of your years.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± thanked Jin Qingyan as his lips thinned into a smile. After cutting the cake, everyone returned to their seats and prepared to begin feasting. The dishes were then served one by one. At this moment, Maomao began to bark continuously all of a sudden. All eyes on the entrance, they watched as Chi Rui¡¯er entered through the door, a gift in her hands. An Xiaoning¡¯s spirits were dampened at the sight of her. ¡°Ew! What¡¯s this ugly thing here? Get away from me,¡± snarled Chi Rui¡¯er as she gave Maomao a kick, causing it to bark even louder. Jin Qingyan stood up and bellowed, ¡°Get back inside your kennel!¡± Maomao let out a whimper and stopped barking. Being exceptionally spiritual, it returned to its kennel while constantly turning back to look at its owner. ¡°Qingyan, it¡¯s your birthday today, and so I specially got you the shirts you liked. They¡¯re in your favorite color, too. Take it as a birthday gift from me.¡± An Xiaoning took a glimpse of the logo on the paper bag she was carrying. It was a luxury brand known for their expensive shirts. Indeed, it was his favorite. ¡°Thank you. Have you eaten?¡± asked Jin Qingyan as he took the bag from her hands and ced it atop the teapoy. ¡°I haven¡¯t, actually.¡± ¡°Take a seat and eat with us, then,¡± Jin Qingyan offered as he returned to his seat. It seemed her arrival had greatly affected the ambiance. The initial chatter and boisterousughter came to a halt, and everyone sat and ate quietly. On the other hand, Long Tianze was continuously pouring everyone some liquor. The liquor they had that day happened to be Jin Qingyan¡¯s favorite, Dreamyanghe. For someone like Mei Yangyang who cannot hold her liquor well, a ss of regr liquor would be enough to get her tipsy, let alone one like Dreamyanghe, which was sure to knock her out of her senses with just half a ss. However, noticing that everyone else was drinking, Mei Yangyang did not want to be a killjoy. Thus, she decided to have just a few drinks, which was rather intoxicating though she had already kept the amount minimal. At least she could continue with the meal. But after some time, they began toasting to Jin Qingyan again, and she could not help but have another few sips of the liquor. She prayed in her head not to embarrass herself again like she did the night before, but in reality, she was already drunk. She was not the only one who was far from sober, though. Everyone else had also had one too many to drink throughout the course of dinner that evening. Even An Xiaoning herself had guzzled down a significant amount of liquor. Jin Qingyan was the only one who had managed to stay sober. Mei Yangyang sprawled herself across the couch while Long Tianzeid on the other end of it. To the surprise of Ling Ciye, the liquor had managed to knock him out, and he upied an entire couch all for himself. On the other hand, Jin Qingyue and Mo Li supported themselves against the couch. Even Chi Rui¡¯er had not been spared. She sat by the dining table with her eyes closed and her chin resting on her hand. ¡°Young Sir, shall I prepare some broth to help them sober up?¡± asked Auntie Chen inquisitively. ¡°Not at the moment. You may go get some rest first, Auntie Chen. Please order them not to enter without my instruction.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± said Auntie Chen as she proceeded at once. Jin Qingyan stood up and walked behind An Xiaoning. Hovering around her ear, he asked with a nibble on her earlobe, ¡°Are you drunk?¡± The quick-witted An Xiaoning cocked her head slightly to face him. She began to sober up at the very instant that her lips brushed lightly against his face. ¡°A little.¡± All of a sudden, he reached out to cup her chin with great force. The moment she felt the pain, An Xiaoning had no choice but to stand up while supporting herself with the chair. ¡°What are you doing, Jin Qingyan?¡± she hissed. ¡°Are you throwing a tantrum now?¡± ¡°So what if I am? And so what if I¡¯m not? Are you going to say that I don¡¯t have the right to?¡± ¡°No, you do. But you already gave me a hard time for it. What else do you want?¡± he asked with his eyes fixed on her. ¡°Do you really think that¡¯s equal?¡± ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t it be?¡± With a squint, she asked, ¡°Let me ask you a question. How many women do you have?¡± ¡°Just you, no one else,¡± he said with a mellow voice. He had carried her by her waist and lowered her onto the dining table. At that instant, the tableware fell to the ground with a loud and crisp thud. An Xiaoning was shocked to her core. She asked him nervously, ¡°They¡¯re all here. What are you trying to do?¡± ¡°What am I trying to do? Don¡¯t you know the answer? You, of course,¡± he answered with a smirk. ¡°They¡¯lle to, anytime. Do you actually have the guts to be intimate with me, right in the presence of Chi Rui¡¯er?¡± she asked apprehensively. She had a feeling that he would not do so. ¡°What¡¯s there to be fearful of?¡± An Xiaoning felt her legs being wrapped around his waist as soon as he finished his sentence. Chapter 41 - As Long as She Was Willing

Chapter 41: As Long as She Was Willing

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The initially half-drunk An Xiaoning felt her entire body stiffen. She soon sobered uppletely. The dining table was like a battlefield that afternoon on which they kept at it for a little less than an hour before finally calling it a day. An Xiaoning¡¯s legs felt like jelly, so much so that she almost fell when she tried to get down from the table. Glowering at Jin Qingyan, she slowly made her way upstairs. Jin Qingyan then proceeded to clear up some of the mess and ordered Auntie Chen to prepare some broth to sober the others up. All energized and rejuvenated, he eased himself onto the couch and began reading newspapers as if nothing had happened at all. An Xiaoning took a hot bath, changed into a fresh set of clothes, and put on some light makeup. She then headed downstairs, only to discover that everyone had alreadye to. Mei Yangyang and Long Tianze had sat up straight against the couch. They appeared to be rather groggy still. Chi Rui¡¯er sipped on the tea Auntie Chen had brought her. ¡°Yangyang, let¡¯s return to the store,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°What store? You¡¯ve been going out early and returning homete recently. What have you been busy with?¡± asked Jin Qingyan. ¡°I¡¯ve opened a store. I¡¯ll get going,¡± answered An Xiaoning as she left together with Mei Yangyang. ¡°Tsk, seriously what kind of husband are you? You¡¯re not even aware of what your wife has been doing out there,¡± mocked Long Tianze. ¡°I¡¯ll be aware of whatever she does only if she chooses to tell me about it. I have to leave for the office,¡± said Jin Qingyan as he put on his suit. One after another, everyone stood up and left through the door. Jin Qingyue stopped Chi Rui¡¯er in her tracks and said, ¡°I¡¯ll give you a lift.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er nodded in response. She had initially nned to hail a cab, but since Jin Qingyue had offered her a ride, she did not see a reason to turn her down. ¡°Where do you live?¡± ¡°Wei Ni Estate,¡± answered Chi Rui¡¯er. ¡°Why are you putting up at my brother¡¯s estate?¡± asked a surprised Jin Qingyue, who could not believe her ears. ¡°It¡¯s only temporary.¡± ¡°Tell me the truth, what¡¯s between you and my brother now? I heard you broke up with Gu Beicheng.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve broken up for quite some time now. I¡¯m just friends with your brother. Now that he¡¯s married, what else can there be between us?¡± answered Chi Rui¡¯er with a smile. ¡°That can¡¯t be. If you two are just friends, why would my brother be willing to let you put up there? Even my sister-inw had never stayed there before. Besides, divorce is rampant and only normal in today¡¯s society. To be honest, I¡¯m aware of my brother¡¯s feelings towards you all these years. It was rather dubious of you to gift him with a shirt for his birthday today. It was such a meticulous gift. Didn¡¯t you see how upset my sister-inw was?¡± scoffed Jin Qingyue. ¡°I didn¡¯t know what to get your brother since he already has everything he needs. Thus, I decided to just buy him something he¡¯d like. In hindsight, it was indeed a little inappropriate,¡± said Chi Rui¡¯er, lowering her head. ¡°I can tell my sister-inw doesn¡¯t fancy seeing you. She didn¡¯t even speak to you when you were there, did she? My sister-inw¡¯s really something, though. My brother wouldn¡¯t have married her otherwise,¡± Jin Qingyue chuckled. Chi Rui¡¯er asked hesitantly, ¡°Why is she something?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you know? My sister-inw is capable of fortune-telling, and her readings are pretty urate. My Mother and Grandma like her a lot, which is why she could marry my brother so easily. How else would that¡¯ve been possible?¡± answered Jin Qingyue. Although she had addressed An Xiaoning as her sister-inw, she actuallypletely disregarded thetter, deep down. ¡°I¡¯ve heard about that from your brother. I don¡¯t have such abilities, though,¡± said Chi Rui¡¯er. Before long, they had arrived at the entrance of the mansion in Wei Ni Estate. ¡°Thank you for the lift home,¡± said Chi Rui¡¯er. Jin Qingyue waved her goodbye. ¡°No problem, bye.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er waved back at her as she alighted. The moment she turned around, the initial smile on her face faded substantially. After changing into her home slippers, she plonked herself onto the couch and ordered, ¡°Bring me a cup of tea.¡± The helper then hurriedly brought a cup of tea as instructed and ced it onto the coffee table while Chi Rui¡¯er leaned against the couch. ¡°What¡¯s the big deal with being able to tell fortunes?¡± she snorted with contempt after an entire day of suppressing her displeasure. She whipped out her mobile phone and sent Jin Qingyan a text message to invite him over for dinner. However, he had rejected her tactfully, with the excuse of having to spend the evening with his wife at home. Chi Rui¡¯er grew into an uncontroble rage and cast her mobile phone aside angrily. At that very moment, she herself became convinced that they were indeed nothing more than just friends, that he had an actual wife. But she knew that he loved her. An Xiaoning would lose her ce instantly as long as she was willing to marry him. Then again, she did not want to tell Jin Qingyan directly and ask for him to get a divorce with An Xiaoning. It would make her seem like a homewrecker. Was there any way to cause them to get a divorce, withouting off as a shameless and unrefined woman? she thought. Chi Rui¡¯er sunk deep into her thoughts, bombarding herself with a bunch of questions. The sound of a text message notification could be hearding from her mobile phone. Thinking that it was a text from Jin Qingyan, she hurriedly picked up her phone, only to realize that it was from her stepfather instead. She opened the text message, which read: Your Mother wants to see you, she wants you home . She quickly proceeded to call her mother, who was indeed at home. Chi Rui¡¯er then swiftly got up, changed out of her slippers, and made her way back home in the Northern suburbs. By the time she arrived home, her mother had already prepared a spread of homemade dumplings on the dining table. ¡°Your mother made you some dumplings because she missed you. You haven¡¯t been home in so long, yet you don¡¯t even bother dropping by for a visit,¡± said her stepfather, smiling benevolently. She did not bother answering him, however. ¡°Mom, how has your health beentely?¡± she asked as she sat next to her mother. ¡°Great, everything had been fine, with your father taking care of me.¡± Handing Chi Rui¡¯er a pair of chopsticks, her mother said, ¡°The dumplings are made with your favorite filling. Here, have some before they turn cold.¡± She took the pair of chopsticks from her mother and began digging in. What a familiar taste it was. If it weren¡¯t for her Mother¡¯s request, thest thing Chi Rui¡¯er would want to do is to step foot into that house. In fact, she had nned to leave together with her mother. However, she decided not to in the end and thus did not inform her mother of the reason. Instead, she just let the matter drag on. After finishing the dumplings, she sat next to her mother and chatted with her until thetter was tired. Chi Rui¡¯er then informed them that she was leaving. ¡°You¡¯ve made it all the way back here, why don¡¯t you just stay the night?¡± said her stepfather, trying to stop her. ¡°Nah.¡± She insisted on leaving. ¡°Let your father send you,¡± said her mother. ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± she answered as she picked up her bag hurriedly and left through the door. Little did she expect for her stepfather to chase after her. Chi Rui¡¯er picked up her pace and made it in time for the public bus. She quickly boarded, unaware that her stepfather had tagged along. He sat right next to her and stared at her sideways. Just as she was about to make a call, he grabbed her by her hand and said with a mellow voice, ¡°Rui¡¯er, you¡¯re all grown up and independent now. But Father isn¡¯t old and muddle-headed just yet. If you continue to be so rebellious, I¡¯m going to have to punish you.¡± ring daggers at him, she warned, ¡°If you keep being like this, I¡¯m going to tell Mom about it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s up to you to say whatever you want. I¡¯ll just remind you, your mother is gued with a heart disease, she might just get a heart attack and pass on upon hearing what you have to say. If you¡¯d like that to happen, it¡¯s fine by me too. At least I¡¯ll be without a burden.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er felt helpless and as if there was nothing she could do. She cocked her head towards the window and ignored him for the rest of the journey. After alighting from the bus, Wei Ni Estate was still quite a distance away from where she was. Thus, she had to take another detour bus before she could arrive home. At that moment, she instantly regretted turning down the offer for a ride home. Chapter 42 - Are You Game Enough?

Chapter 42: Are You Game Enough?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She stuck a hand out to g down a taxi. Unexpectedly, her stepfather got into the back seat. When the car reached the entrance of Wei Ni Estate, Chi Rui¡¯er intended to stop the security officer from allowing him in. But before they even went in, her stepfather remarked haughtily, ¡°The man you¡¯re with now is called Jin Qingyan right? When I see himter, I¡¯ll tell him about us.¡± ¡°What exactly do you want?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er scowled at him. ¡°Why on earth are you being so shameless!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already told you, you better not provoke me. I have nothing but a mouth that has no qualms about saying anything at all.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er finally went back to her own home. Her stepfather shed a gloating smile, knowing he had gotten his way. The moment the door closed, Chi Rui¡¯er was forcefully held from behind by him. She kicked her legs while struggling to break free. ¡°You bastard, let go of me!¡± She turned her head and took a huge bite on his arm, then continued to bite it desperately. Immediately after, her body was thrown back andnded heavily on the floor. Chi Rui¡¯er only felt her brain was being blown. Everything before her eyes went blurry, and then she lost consciousness. ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± When she woke up, she realized that she was lying naked on the bed. Her clothes were all over the floor, and her stepfather was nowhere in sight. ¡ª Thinking that it was Jin Qingyan¡¯s birthday and that even Chi Rui¡¯er had bought a present for him, she felt that as his wife, she had to have some form of expression. An Xiaoning wrote Jin Qingyan a handwritten letter at the store, then went out to the streets when it was 6 o¡¯clock. She bought a watch that was rather costly, then brought it home. When she saw his car at home, An Xiaoning ced the gift in her own bag and got off the car, carrying her bag. He was sitting before the dining table getting ready to eat. Seeing her return, he called out, ¡°Come and eat.¡± An Xiaoning went forward and was not in a rush to present her gift. She sat down and started to eat. ¡°Auntie Chen, do you have some chilli sauce and fermented bean curd?¡± ¡°Yes, give me a moment, Young Mistress, I¡¯ll get it for you this minute.¡± A momentter, Jin Qingyan saw her scooping out a tablespoon of chilli sauce and a piece of fermented bean curd, mixing them together with her rice. Then she ced a big spoonful of it into her mouth. Her expression and the way she was devouring it showed she was enjoying it so much. He simply could not understand it at all. ¡°Mixing them all together, I¡¯ve lost my appetite just looking at it.¡± An Xiaoning shrugged her shoulders. ¡°Why is that? As long as it tastes good, isn¡¯t that good enough? Whatever we eates out afterwards anyway.¡± The rice he was about to swallow immediately stopped at his throat. He murmured, ¡°We¡¯re eating, can¡¯t you say something nicer.¡± An Xiaoning grinned. ¡°I don¡¯t have nice words but plenty of awful things to say.¡± ¡°Nothing goodes out from a filthy mouth.¡± He reached out for his handkerchief to wipe his mouth. An Xiaoning lowered her head and ate heartily, saying after she was done, ¡°Today¡¯s your birthday, I¡¯ve a surprise for you.¡± ¡°What surprise?¡± For some reason, he was vaguely expectant. ¡°Come up after 20 minutes, I need to prepare upstairs. Watch your watch okay,e up only after 20 minutes,¡± she instructed and went upstairs. She turned on the air-conditioning and washed her hair and body briefly. By then, 10 minutes had already passed. An Xiaoning blew her hair dry and took her time to retrieve a piece of bright red scarf made of genuine silk from the dressing room clothes rack. It was a piece of very long scarf which looked stunning. She used the back of her hand to wind the scarf from her back to the front of her chest, until it had wound up around her thighs. Then she ended by tying a butterfly knot. After the 20 minutes were up, he came up from downstairs. Actually, since she had gone up, Jin Qingyan continued to look at his watch regrly, feeling like 20 minutes were as long as two years. When it was finally time for him to go up, he went up eagerly. As the door opened, his eyes almost popped out. What his wife was wearing aroused his attentionpletely. He entered the room. An Xiaoning turned on the sound system and rxing music started to y. She fluttered gracefully as she danced to the music. In front of him, her moves were elegant and she was especially charismatic. With such beautiful moves, it was impossible for one to take their eyes off her. He actually never knew that she was such a great dancer. This An Xiaoning before him was bold and confident. She was someone who dared to reveal her beauty in front of her husband. At this point, the music stopped and so did her dance. The red scarf wrapped around her fell off andnded on her feet. Jin Qingyan swallowed the lump in his throat and spoke in a slightly husky voice, ¡°Thank you for taking time to prepare this gift for me, I like it very much.¡± He carried An Xiaoning in his arms and threw her onto the bed. Right after, he went down on her like a violent storm. After it was over, she rubbed her aching back as she got off the bed to retrieve the box containing the watch and passed it to him. ¡°Here.¡± He received it and opened the box ¡ª it was a very decent watch which was branded. ¡°You chose it for me?¡± ¡°What do you think of it?¡± ¡°Not bad.¡± He wore it on his wrist to try. It looked good. ¡°Since my wife chose it for me, I¡¯ll keep wearing it in the future.¡± An Xiaoning then passed her handwritten letter to him. It was written on red paper and folded into the shape of a heart. He was suddenly in high spirits and opened it expectantly, while An Xiaoning crept into the covers and covered her face. For some reason, she felt a bit embarrassed. She had not felt that way when she wrote it, only now after she had given it to him. ¡°My dear husband, when I was in my worst state, we became a family. Ever since we got married, I treated you as my closest family. But now, I realize that some of the things you do are hard for me to understand and are even upsetting. I hope you can do something to change in the future. Also, please continue to look out for me for the rest of our lives. From your wife, An Xiaoning.¡± He read the whole letter out. At this point, An Xiaoning ¡ª who was under the covers ¡ª found it even more embarrassing to look at him. ¡°Tonight, you gave me a wonderful surprise indeed. Well, how should I reward you?¡± His voice was smooth and pleasant, and he had a wide grin on his face. She pulled back the covers and replied, ¡°Money would be great. I would be too ashamed to ask for anything else.¡± ¡°How are you able to utter such words so easily?¡± ¡°Well, using my mouth.¡± She did not think that she was being shameless at all. Jin Qingyan reached out his fingers and smacked her head lightly. ¡°You¡¯re someone who¡¯s already in your twenties, why do you still act like a young girl.¡± ¡°It¡¯s your eyes that are bad, I am still a young girl.¡± An Xiaoning reached out her palm. ¡°I thought you wanted to reward me? Five hundred thousand is enough.¡± He was straightforward about it and immediately wrote a cheque of five hundred thousand for her. ¡°Here.¡± An Xiaoning received it with joy and ced it into her own bag, saying calmly as shey down on the bed, ¡°The atmosphere is great right now, I hope that the topic I want to discuss with you next won¡¯t ruin it.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s leave the topic forter and y a game now,¡± he suggested. ¡°Do you dare to y truth or dare with me?¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I ask you this question instead?¡± She had no secrets to hide, why would she be afraid of his questions? In reality, she had underestimated him too much. Chapter 43 - Dont Ever Fall for Me

Chapter 43: Don¡¯t Ever Fall for Me

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I dare. Are you up for it?¡± ¡°Until the very end.¡± An Xiaoning raised her chin. ¡°How do we y?¡± He got down from the bed and took out a box. When he returned, he sat opposite her and ced the box on the covers, asking, ¡°Take a guess, what¡¯s inside?¡± An Xiaoning shook her head. ¡°No idea.¡± Jin Qingyan opened the box and exined, ¡°This is a lie detector. We¡¯ll use this as a tool for our game of truth or dare. ce your hand on it ¡ª if your answer to my question is a lie, you¡¯ll be electrocuted. If it¡¯s the truth, you won¡¯t be. Let¡¯s y scissors, paper, stone. The winner gets to ask first.¡± Her whole life, An Xiaoning feared being electrocuted the most. The feeling of not knowing if she would be shocked was something that really strikes fear into her heart, but it was not like her to go back on her word. Nevertheless, she braced herself for it. ¡°Can anything be asked?¡± ¡°Of course. Ask anything you are curious about.¡± He positioned the lie detector properly and dered, ¡°Okay ¡ª scissors, paper, stone.¡± An Xiaoning yed stone while he yed scissors. She got to ask him first. Jin Qingyan voluntarily put his hand on the detector and pressed the button. ¡°Come on, ask me.¡± ¡°Marrying me, was it a decision you made willingly? ¡°Yes.¡± The lie detector did not react. He took off his hand. ¡°Your turn.¡± An Xiaoning ced her hand on it. She could feel her heart racing like it was going to burst out of her chest anytime. ¡°How well do you think I perform as a husband... in that area?¡± ¡°...¡± She knew it. He was not going to pass up this opportunity to ask such questions ¡ª right as she had expected. ¡°Superior...¡± Looking at the lie detector¡¯s reaction, Jin Qingyan broke into a delighted grin that was as warm as the spring breeze. It showed all over his face until even his ears became the color of beetroot. It was obvious how satisfied he was with her answer. Now it was An Xiaoning¡¯s turn to question him. This time, An Xiaoning wanted to ask him something she already had a clear answer for. She wanted to ask him this, perhaps, to verify if her answer was urate. ¡°If Chi Rui¡¯er and I were to fall into the water, who would you save?¡± His gaze started to shift slightly, but he still answered, ¡°Chi Rui¡¯er, because she can¡¯t swim. You learned how to swim recently. If such a thing happened, I would save her first, then go and save you.¡± For some reason, hearing this answer was like a stab in An Xiaoning¡¯s heart. All the happiness she felt within her vanished. Yet, she already knew this was the likely answer ¡ª it was akin to asking him if he loved Chi Rui¡¯er or her. ¡°My turn.¡± An Xiaoning voluntarily ced her hand on the device again. ¡°What position do you like?¡± ¡°Can I reject answering this question?¡± ¡°No.¡± She really could not bear to answer this question, but seeing the countdown timer on the device, she still muttered, ¡°From behind.¡± The corner of Jin Qingyan¡¯s lips curled into a faint smile, and he put his hand onto the device again. ¡°Do you think... I can make you fall for me in the future?¡± An Xiaoning was calm as she stared at him, expectantly waiting for his answer. Jin Qingyan thought she would have asked questions rted to his wealth, which was of interest to her, but little did he expect that all she¡¯d ask were personal questions. He answered, ¡°I think I might fall for you.¡± Even though he said there was a possibility he might, the lie detector still reacted. His hand suddenly jerked intensely from the shock caused by the electric current. An Xiaoning looked at the device, feeling that it was such a great invention ¡ª a small machine like that could reveal the truth. It was indeed amazing. ¡°You lied.¡± An Xiaoning continued, ¡°You said that you think you might fall for me, but you knew inside that you would never fall for me. I¡¯m just your wife. It¡¯s a mere position that has nothing to do with love.¡± For the first time, Jin Qingyan saw a look of disappointment in her eyes. He suddenly regretted ying this game of truth or dare with her. An Xiaoning noticed that his face was frozen. He looked extremely ufortable, so she assured him, ¡°It¡¯s okay. We never married out of love anyway. I already knew that.¡± Jin Qingyan kept the lie detector into the box and said in a low voice, ¡°Don¡¯t ever fall for me. Let¡¯s just be a married couple ¡ª I¡¯m your husband, you¡¯re my wife. Just as you said, it¡¯s a marriage that has nothing to do with love.¡± ¡°But...¡± she replied with her head lowered, ¡°you never said that explicitly when we got married. If you had said that, I wouldn¡¯t have married you.¡± She really meant what she said. She felt that love at first sight between two people was possible, but developing feelings over time was possible as well. He knew that she was upset and that it was because of his answer, so he reached out to hug her. ¡°Didn¡¯t you want to discuss something with me? What is it about?¡± ¡°Oh, I forgot what I wanted to discuss with you.¡± ¡°When¡¯s your birthday?¡± he suddenly asked, realizing he did not know when her birthday was. ¡°My foster parents never told me my birthday, but my Master told me: I was born on the fifteenth of July, ording to the lunar calendar. She confirmed that this was definitely my birthday.¡± ¡°Fifteenth of July? Isn¡¯t that the ghost festival?¡± An Xiaoning did not want to continue this topic. ¡°I¡¯ve never celebrated my birthday. It¡¯s as good as having none.¡± ¡°Do you want to find your birth parents? I can send someone to help you find them.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to find them.¡± An Xiaoning went on, ¡°No matter what difficulties they had, it was wrong of them to abandon me. If I were to have a child, I¡¯ll either not give birth to it or raise it with my own hands. I would never give it away after giving birth to it.¡± ¡°...¡± Jin Qingyan would have never expected that this game of truth or dare would be deeply etched in An Xiaoning¡¯s heart. After he fell asleep, her eyes were still wide open, and shey there not moving, looking out of the window. She kept on reflecting on herself ¡ª why she had escaped from a horrible marriage only to enter into another marriage without love. After thinking for a long time, she finally came to a conclusion: she wascking love too much. That was why she yearned for a good man to cherish and love her with all his heart. It was also why she got married again hastily without considering carefully. This second marriage was merely more prestigious than her first one. But both marriages were essentially the same. ¡ª For a period of time, Jin Qingyue no longer mentioned going abroad. Mrs. Jin felt something was rather strange and asked her, ¡°Where have you been going every night? Why have you stopped talking about going abroad?¡± Jin Qingyue pouted her lips. ¡°Father, look at my Mother, she won¡¯t allow me to go overseas, but when I stop talking about it, she thinks it¡¯s strange.¡± ¡°Your Mother is mainly concerned about this: have you gotten yourself a boyfriend?¡± Jin Qingyue found this a suitable time to tell her family and nodded, ¡°I¡¯ve indeed met a decent guy. He¡¯s really nice to me, we¡¯re still in the stage of getting to know each other.¡± Her parents heard this and exchanged looks. Mrs. Jin questioned, ¡°Who is he? What does his family do?¡± ¡°He¡¯s still not ready to meet both of you. After some time, I¡¯ll bring him home for you guys to see. Actually, he doesn¡¯t even know my real identity ¡ª I¡¯ve kept it a secret from him.¡± Chapter 44 - How Capable of You

Chapter 44: How Capable of You

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Thinking that it was a good idea, Mrs. Jin said, ¡°Yes, we have to be secretive when observing someone. If it¡¯s really your personality he¡¯s in love with, then we would be fine with you dating him.¡± Noticing that her parents did not seem to disapprove of her rtionship, she nodded and said, ¡°I think he¡¯s pretty good-looking, and he¡¯s rather generous with me as well. He seems toe from a wealthy background ¡ª he often brings me to dine at ssy, exquisite restaurants, and he gives me expensive gifts.¡± As soon as she finished her words, her mobile phone rang. . Looking down at the caller disy, she realized it was a call from Shi Shaochuan. ¡°Speak of the devil. Mother and Father, I¡¯ll get going,¡± she said, grimacing at her parents. ¡°Go ahead. Come home earlier,¡± instructed Mrs. Jin. ¡°Got it.¡± Jin Qingyue waited until she had left the house before answering the call. In a sweet, gentle voice resembling that of a young girl in love, she cooed, ¡°Hello, Shaochuan.¡± ¡°Where are you? I¡¯lle to pick you up,¡± Shi Shaochuan said over the phone. ¡°You don¡¯t have to. Where are you? I¡¯ll go look for you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m waiting for you at our usual haunt.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Jin Qingyue hung up the phone, filled with excitement. Instead of driving, she hopped onto a cab and made her way to a five-star hotel. d in a face mask and cap, Jin Qingyue entered the elevator and arrived at the 12th floor. She then headed to room 1232 and pressed the doorbell. Shortly after, Shi Shaochuan opened the door and carried her into the room before closing the door shut with his foot. The overly-excited pair began smooching each other, from the door all the way to the bed, as they began to breathe harder and quicker. Atst, they stared deeply into each other¡¯s eyes while Jin Qingyue began to speak in between breaths, ¡°I told my parents that I have a boyfriend now.¡± ¡°What did they say about that?¡± ¡°What else could they have said? They just asked me some basic questions, nothing out of the ordinary. Shaochuan, what does your family do?¡± ¡°They run a business. I¡¯m the only child, with no siblings at all,¡± he answered as he rubbed the tip of her nose affectionately. ¡°I have a brother, but he¡¯s already married,¡± said Jin Qingyue. ¡°Then, do you think I¡¯m husband material?¡± ¡°Well...¡± Jin Qingyue said with a smile as she looked down, ¡°We haven¡¯t known each other for too long, yet. But I¡¯ll know if you¡¯re husband material once I get to understand you deeper.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t we already understand each other deeply enough? I guess we¡¯ll have to explore each other, tonight,¡± he said as he began touching her inappropriately. ¡°You¡¯re naughty...¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that what you like about me?¡± ¡°...¡± An hour had passed, and the pair snuggled up against the bedhead. ¡°Do you believe in fortune-telling?¡± asked Jin Qingyue. ¡°Not at all, those things are sheer nonsense. They¡¯re all just a bunch of swindlers,¡± Shi Shaochuan answered in disdain. Recalling what his ex-wife had told him, about his grandfather asking for his fortune to be told ¡ª which revealed that he would never have a sessful marriage, no matter how many times he tried, and that An Xiaoning would be the only one who would¡¯ve stayed with him until death did them part ¡ª he could not help but find it ridiculous. Jin Qingyue continued, ¡°I didn¡¯t believe it too, at first. But the incident with my mother had really convinced me. If my mother hadn¡¯t experienced it firsthand, I guess she would¡¯ve been skeptical too.¡± ¡°What happened to your mother?¡± Jin Qingyue then spilled the beans about her mother¡¯s incident. ¡°Your sister-inw must really be something, then,¡± said Shi Shaochuan in response. ¡°Yeah, my brother wouldn¡¯t have married her otherwise. She¡¯s nothing other than just a pretty face who¡¯s capable of fortune-telling.¡± ¡°Perhaps she¡¯s great in bed.¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± said Jin Qingyue, covering her mouth with her hand as she giggled. The pair spent the day at the hotel and settled their meals by calling for room service. After an entire day of clinging on to each other, they checked out of the hotel in the evening, all rejuvenated and energized. ¡°It¡¯s only seven something now. I have about two to three hours more until my curfew. Shall we go to the dance club?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Shi Shaochuan then brought her to the most popr dance club in town, and they entered, hand in hand. ¡ª¡ª Just as Long Tianze and Jin Qingyan took a seat, the cheerful expression on Long Tianze began to dissipate all of a sudden. ¡°Hey, look who¡¯s there,¡± he said. A sullen look formed on Jin Qingyan¡¯s face as he turned.. They were greeted with the sight of Jin Qingyue holding onto the arm of An Xiaoning¡¯s ex-husband with one hand while grasping his hand with the other. Long Tianze was not too familiar with Shi Shaochuan, though Jin Qingyan had recognized him right away, simply for the fact that he was his wife¡¯s ex-husband. It was only natural for Shi Shaochuan to be deeply etched in Jin Qingyan¡¯s memory because thetter had once investigated about him in secret. Not noticing them at first, Jin Qingyue walked towards their direction. She stopped in her tracks the very moment she saw them. ¡°Yueyue, what¡¯s the matter?¡± asked Shi Shaochuan. ¡°I just saw my brother here. Perfect, let¡¯s go say hi, you¡¯re going to meet him sooner orter anyway,¡± said Jin Qingyue as she continued to walk towards them. ¡°Where is your brother?¡± ¡°Over there, in front of us.¡± Shi Shaochuan received a great shock the moment Jin Qingyue pulled him forward. What was he thinking? He would never have expected for her brother to be Jin Qingyan, his ex-wife¡¯s current husband! ¡°Brother, this is my boyfriend.¡± Noticing how startled he was, Jin Qingyue gave him a tug and urged, ¡°Quick, say ¡®Hi¡¯ to my brother.¡± ¡°H... hello.¡± Jin Qingyan shot them a deadly nce and sneered, ¡°How capable of my wife¡¯s ex-husband, to have be my sister¡¯s boyfriend in the blink of an eye.¡± Upon hearing his words, Long Tianze knew straight away who Shi Shaochuan was. ¡°Brother, what are you saying?¡± asked a confused Jin Qingyue. ¡°Why don¡¯t you get him to exin?¡± said Jin Qingyan coldly. He stood up and left instantly. Long Tianze stared at Jin Qingyue and Shi Shaochuan deeply, then left together with Jin Qingyan. As if she had been struck by lightning, Jin Qingyue finally realized what was going on and turned to ask him, ¡°You¡¯re actually sister-inw¡¯s ex-husband?¡± ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t know you were his sister,¡± said Shi Shaochuan, who was struck dumb and at a loss for words for a clear exnation. With stirred feelings, he hurriedly chased after Jin Qingyue, who had stomped off quickly. He caught up to Jin Qingyue outside the dance club and profusely tried to exin himself, ¡°Yueyue, hear me out. I didn¡¯t mean to hide it from you. It¡¯s just that that marriage meant nothing to me at all. Our rtionship is what matters the most to me now.¡± ¡°You actually hid such a serious matter from me. Why do you have to be my sister-inw¡¯s ex-husband? Think about it, will my parents approve of our rtionship when they find out?¡± said an exasperated Jin Qingyue. She had thought that she had finally found true love, yet it turned out to be not only a second marriage but also... ¡°You think I wanted this? I swear I don¡¯t want to have anything to do with An Xiaoning at all. Yueyue, I love you. Although we haven¡¯t known each other for long, you make me really happy. Don¡¯t get angry, let¡¯s talk about it calmly. Though I was married to An Xiaoning for two years, I¡¯ve never been intimate with her,¡± Shi Shaochuan continued to exin. ¡°Never?¡± asked Jin Qingyue, startled at his confession. ¡°Never. So we¡¯re only married in name. I¡¯ve never been intimate with her because I didn¡¯t want to treat it like a real marriage. If it hadn¡¯t been for my grandfather who insisted I marry her, I would¡¯ve never given in.¡± Chapter 45 - What a Foul Mouth Youve Got

Chapter 45: What a Foul Mouth You¡¯ve Got

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyue instantly felt better after hearing what Shi Shaochuan said. She believed his words. Before she could decide to check on him further, he quickly spoke again, ¡°While I was married to An Xiaoning, she had brought her cousin to live with us. She then intentionally got her cousin to ask me out, just so she could file for a divorce with me. Thus, I went ahead to bring her cousin out with me, because I was unaware of her scheming n. As a result...¡± At this very moment, he eximed all of a sudden, as if he had been wronged and severely ill-treated, ¡°As a result, I was chased out of the car by the both of them after they removed all of my clothing. Her cousin had gone all out to put on the show. She had taken off all her clothes too just so it would seem like I had reallymitted adultery.¡± ¡°Is she really such a person?¡± asked a stunned Jin Qingyue, who found the matter to be rather inconceivable. ¡°Isn¡¯t she? Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have married your brother so quickly, just after ending things between us.¡± Giving his words some serious thought, Jin Qingyue began to think that he indeed made sense. At that instant, her hatred towards her sister-inw grew even deeper. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Shaochuan, I misunderstood you.¡± ¡°I actually feel pretty perplexed myself. It¡¯s such a small world, of all people...¡± said Shi Shaochuan, holding onto her hand. ¡°It¡¯s okay. At the very most, just stay together with me and don¡¯t bother addressing her,¡±forted Jin Qingyue. ¡°But we¡¯ve yet to gain your parents¡¯ approval. Your brother already knows, and I suppose your parents...¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll settle the issue with my parents. Since things have alreadye to this, we might as well just be together openly.¡± Looking at the time, Jin Qingyue said, ¡°I¡¯ll go home first and contact you again if there¡¯s any news.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll send you home, Yueyue.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll just take a cab,¡± Jin Qingyue refused and left after waving him goodbye. Shi Shaochuan stood and watched as her figure receded, a smirk forming on the corner of his lips. ¡ª¡ª Jin Qingyue arrived home to the sight of her parents and brother seated upright on the couch, seemingly waiting for her to return. After changing out of her shoes and into her home slippers, she sat next to her Mother and confessed voluntarily, ¡°Mother and Father, it¡¯s true, I¡¯m dating Shi Shaochuan.¡± bbergasted, Mrs. Jin asked, ¡°What?¡± Jin Qingyue raised her head and noticed the look of astonishment written all over her parents¡¯ faces. Shifting her gaze towards Jin Qingyan, ¡°Brother, you didn¡¯t tell them about it?¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°I thought you¡¯d already told them,¡± said Jin Qingyue. She felt like biting off her tongue at that very instant. However, it was impossible to take back what she had already said. ¡°Why are you dating Shi Shaochuan? Don¡¯t tell me, he¡¯s the boyfriend you¡¯ve mentioned to your Mother and me?¡± questioned Mr. Jin, his forehead creased into a frown. ¡°Yes...¡± she admitted. ¡°I didn¡¯t know it was him, initially. I just returned from overseas and I¡¯ve never seen him, even when Brother got married. How else would I have known then? I only found out about it tonight. But he said that he was only married in name to Sister-inw, and that he had never been intimate with her. Besides, he also mentioned that Sister-inw and her Cousin had conspired to put on a show and frame him formitting adultery. Her motive was to get him to divorce her.¡± ¡°A pack of lies,¡± scorned Jin Qingyan. ¡°Brother, why else would Sister-inw have agreed to marry you right after her divorce? How can you use Shaochuan of lying if you weren¡¯t even involved in that matter?¡± retorted Jin Qingyue, as she raised her chin to look at him. ¡°You¡¯re going to say that it was the first time that your sister-inw met your brother, the night she had gotten a divorce, and she actually registered her marriage with your brother the day after, right? Don¡¯t think I¡¯m unaware of what you¡¯re thinking. It¡¯s impossible for her to get a divorce because of your brother. They got a divorce because he couldn¡¯t resist the temptation to have an affair and got caught red-handed by your Sister-inw. He had been lying to you!¡± eximed Mrs. Jin. ¡°Mother, we¡¯ve been dating for a while now, and I¡¯m very certain about what kind of person he is.¡± ¡°Break up with him right away. Your Father and I will approve of your rtionship with anyone but him, so long as they¡¯re decent. What are others going to say about us, if you marry him in the future? We would definitely be the joke and talk of the town,¡± ordered Mrs. Jin sternly. ¡°I don¡¯t care what others think of me, it¡¯s my own business. Besides, you¡¯re really so sure that Brother will never get a divorce with Sister-inw?¡± ¡°What nonsense are you spouting? Your Brother has only been married for days, and you¡¯re already trying to jinx him. You¡¯re really bing more and more callous with your words, the older you get. Did living overseas for too long cause you to be like this? Let me warn you, you¡¯d better break up with him as soon as possible, because your Father and I will never approve of you two,¡± chided the infuriated Mrs. Jin. ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll let you know of my decision too. Over my dead body will I break up with him,¡± she retaliated while rising from her seat. After finishing her sentence, she headed straight back to her bedroom. ¡°What should we do now? It really puzzles me why this daughter of mine is bing more worrying the older she gets,¡± Mrs. Jinmented. ¡°In my opinion, Shi Shaochuan seems like a tough nut to crack. Be cautious of him. I¡¯ll get going,¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°Alright, drive safely,¡± wished Mrs. Jin, standing up to walk him out. On the journey home, Jin Qingyan began to ponder over how upset Long Tianze looked when they came out of the dance club. Feeling rather worried about him, Jin Qingyan decided to give him a call. However, he did not expect Long Tianze to answer the call so quickly. Neither did he think that Long Tianze would be sober, sounding so calm and collected. ¡°You¡¯re worried about me?¡± ¡°I just wanted to say, it¡¯s time you settled down with someone, Tianze.¡± ¡°Do I seem that desperate for a woman? I just thought your Sister would have better taste in men, that¡¯s all,¡± said Long Tianze, swallowing the hard pill and hiding his sadness. ¡°I agree with you. Tianze, just give up on her. Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know how you feel about her.¡± ¡°She really doesn¡¯t matter that much to me. Alright, we should stop being so long-winded. It¡¯s time for me to go look for a pretty babe.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The smile on Long Tianze¡¯s face disappeared as soon as he hung up the phone. He sped along the roads with bloodshot eyes. Unable to take it any longer, he decided to give Jin Qingyue a call. ¡°What is it?¡± she asked coldly, as usual. She did not seem to be surprised at the fact that he had called her. ¡°What do you like about that scumbag?¡± asked Long Tianze calmly. Jin Qingyue was infuriated upon hearing the word ¡°scumbag¡±. ¡°What a foul mouth you¡¯ve got, Long Tianze. Please mind your words. Have you got anything to do with what I like about him?¡± she hissed. ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t talk about that. Would you like to hear what¡¯s on my mind?¡± he continued, cocking his head backwards slightly. ¡°Long Tianze, did you call me upte at night just to tell me these? I¡¯m really busy and I don¡¯t have time to hear your thoughts.¡± Just as she finished speaking, a beeping sound could be heard from the other end of the phone and she ended the call. As he drove home in the dark of night, Long Tianze slipped into a trance. The impetuous recklessness within him which he had tried to hide began to intensify. He wanted badly to vent his frustration, but he did not know who to turn to. While scanning his surroundings, a figure loitering around the entrance of the bar stealthily caught his attention all of a sudden. He squinted and caught a glimpse of the face of the figure, after which he instantly opened the door and alighted from the car. Chapter 46 - A Kiss Taken Away

Chapter 46: A Kiss Taken Away

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mei Yangyang stood at the doorway for some time. It was cramped with people entering and leaving. She did not want to go in alone, but Mei Shuangshuang seemed to be inside. She had no choice but to go in to find out, so she hesitated. The hoodie behind her shirt suddenly got raised up and Mei Yangyang squealed, startled ¡ª she turned to see a pair of cold eyes staring at her. ¡°Hey, little girl.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a little girl, I¡¯m 20 already.¡± ¡°Wow, you¡¯re of age.¡± Long Tianze unclenched his hands and folded them into his pocket. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°I¡¯m here to find my younger sister, but I don¡¯t quite dare go in alone.¡± ¡°Come in with me.¡± He turned and headed in while Mei Yangyang followed closely behind. After searching the ce once and realizing that Mei Shuangshuang was not inside, she said, ¡°Thank you, Young Master Long.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t eaten, will you have a meal with me?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± He continued to stare at her, ¡°Will you?¡± Mei Yangyang finally nodded, ¡°Sure.¡± At this very moment, Mei Shuangshuang¡¯s call came in. She answered it, and on the other end was Mei Shuangshuang¡¯s shrilly voice, ¡°What did you call me for? You act like you¡¯re inspecting me all day, how annoying can you get?¡± ¡°Do you think I want to supervise you? Our parents can¡¯t take care of you properly, I¡¯m just controlling you abit and you¡¯ve already be like this. If i didn¡¯t, you will probably do worse things.¡± ¡°Tonight I¡¯m sleeping at a ssmate¡¯s house, I¡¯m not going back.¡± With that, she ended the call. Mei Yangyang furiously threw her phone into her pocket. She then followed Long Tianze to a nearby restaurant and the two entered a private room only for themselves. He ordered many dishes. Although she told him that they won¡¯t be able to finish them, he still spared no effort in doing so, even ordering a luxurious brand of wine. Mei Yangyang could guess that the number of dishes he ordered would probably amount to a huge figure. He looked like he was in quite a bad mood, yet he urged her, ¡°Look at how skinny you are, eat more.¡± Mei Yangyang nodded and picked up her chopsticks to eat only the dishes nearest to her. Meanwhile, he ate very little and only kept on drinking. ¡°Don¡¯t just drink, it¡¯s harmful for your liver. Eat more.¡± Mei Yangyang picked up more food for him with her chopsticks. Looking at her appearance, he asked, ¡°Are you still in school?¡± ¡°No. I stopped school long ago, and now I¡¯m working at Sister Ning¡¯s store.¡± ¡°What store did she open?¡± ¡°A fashion boutique, selling clothes.¡± Long Tianze nodded. ¡°Looking at your baby face makes me feel that you¡¯re very young. Why didn¡¯t you continue going to school?¡± ¡°My family circumstances didn¡¯t allow me to.¡± Mei Yangyang smiled vaguely. ¡°Are you very unhappy?¡± ¡°You can see that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s very obvious...¡± He sighed and asked, ¡°How many boyfriends have you had?¡± ¡°Oh, I haven¡¯t been in love yet, so I haven¡¯t had a single rtionship before.¡± She ate as she spoke, ¡°A pure and beautiful young girl like me just hasn¡¯t found the right man who could catch my eye yet.¡± Long Tianze¡¯s gazended on her lips. Her pink lips were stained with oil, and he wanted to get a tissue to wipe it off for her. In actual fact, after drinking a few sses, he really did take out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the stain off her lips himself. Mei Yangyang was somewhat taken aback. She raised her head to look at him. His gaze was slightly detached, like he was seeing another face through hers. Long Tianze moved closer to her and sat beside her. Using one arm to support his head, he looked at her and said, ¡°You¡¯re so good-looking.¡± Mei Yangyang had never heard such apliment from a handsome man like him. Her pretty face blushed and turned scarlet. ¡°I think I¡¯m good-looking too.¡± He broke into a broad grin and went into a trance for a moment. Using one hand to hold onto the back of her head, he pushed his face towards hers and kissed her without warning. Mei Yangyang looked at the face that was on hers. Her whole body instantly froze; she remained in shock. She was wondering what situation she was in. Before she could even react, his lips had pulled away from hers. ¡°Yueyue, why are you so blind, is that guy a better catch than me? Can hepare to my handsome face, good qualifications, and devotion towards you?¡± Mei Yangyang was dumfounded. He must have taken her for someone else ¡ª this made her somewhat displeased momentarily. Seeing that she was not speaking, Long Tianze continued to probe, ¡°Why, don¡¯t want to answer me?¡± Although Mei Yangyang did not know who that other guy was, she still replied, ¡°He¡¯s not as good a catch as you, he doesn¡¯t look as good as you or have better qualifications than you ¡ª he can¡¯tpare to you in any way.¡± ¡°Then why do you want him and not me?¡± ¡°...¡± Mei Yangyang raised her ss and drank a few sips. It was true that alcohol could boost one¡¯s courage. She then responded, ¡°I want you and not him.¡± ¡°If you do it with me now, then I¡¯ll believe you.¡± Mei Yangyang took a deep breath and told him in a serious tone, ¡°Look carefully, who am I?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you just Jin Qingyue, who else could you be?¡± ¡°...¡± Basically, he did not eat much during that meal. After paying, Mei Yangyang felt the leftover dishes were such a waste. She asked the waiter to takeaway the food before leaving the restaurant with him. With one hand carrying the food and another supporting him, Mei Yangyang used up all her strength to get him to his personal lounge at his bar. When she finally helped him to his bed, she felt like she was going to pass out from the fatigue. After putting the food on the table, Mei Yangyang went to cover him with a nket. Little did she expect that he¡¯d open his eyes and ask, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you want me, you can have me now.¡± Mei Yangyang tried to coax him to sleep, ¡°Okay okay okay ¡ª I want you ¡ª quickly close your eyes and sleep now, I¡¯ll do it with you after you fall asleep.¡± He suddenly sprung and sat right up. He headed to the door and locked it from the inside, then came back and turned on the heater in the room. He removed his clothes himself. Witnessing this scene left Mei Yangyang dumbfounded. She stuttered, ¡°What... what are you doing?¡± ¡°You said you want me, you can¡¯t go back on your words.¡± As he spoke, he removed every piece of clothing on him until all that was left were his briefs. Mei Yangyang immediately stopped him from going on with his pace. ¡°Stop... don¡¯t continue anymore, I¡¯m going home.¡± Long Tianze reached out to grab her and held her tightly in his arms. ¡°I forbid you from leaving.¡± ¡°Let go of me.¡± Mei Yangyang instantly regretted sending him back. She should have just left him with someone from the bar. At this moment, she not only had to endure his actions of taking advantage of her but also had to hear him nagging. ¡°Yueyue, I¡¯ve liked you for so many years ¡ª do you know that? Everyone can tell but you. Yueyue, do you remember us going camping as kids? I scared you in the middle of the night by saying there was a ghost and everyone started running back, but you tripped over a rock and hurt your head. It was bleeding, and I brought my own medicine bag and bandaged your wound for you.¡± ¡°...¡± Her body was abruptly pushed onto the bed. Mei Yangyang¡¯s lips were forcefully seized by him, her whole body was in a state of oxygen deficiency. Looking at the face right before her, his brows, eyes, nose, hair, and even his pores could not be seen. She suddenly could not breathe and held her breath for a long time without letting go; meanwhile, her heart was thumping at a furious speed. When it came to the point where she had to breathe or she would suffocate, she exerted all her effort to push him away and took a huge breath. His scent was still around her mouth and lips. Mei Yangyang was not in a good state of mind ¡ª she was mourning deeply inside for herself. Twice, she was pushed down by the weight of a drunk man, and this time, even her first and second kisses had been taken away by him! Chapter 47 - Caught You and Ripped You Off

Chapter 47: Caught You and Ripped You Off

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios They were taken away just like that! Who on earth had she done wrong to! This time, he finally fell asleeppletely. Mei Yangyang was atst able to put a nket over him. The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. Thinking that he would not want the leftover food, she carried the packet of leftovers and set off. Reaching home, shey on her bed but just could not fall asleep. She made an unconscious gesture of touching her lips. It seemed as if she could still feel his lips on hers ¡ª that sizzling feeling of excitement made her doomed to suffer from insomnia that night. ¡ª The following morning, Mei Yangyang waste to the store by a whole half an hour. She ran into the store flustered, only to see An Xiaoning already seated inside. She immediately went forward apologetically said, ¡°Sis, I¡¯m sorry, I overslept.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. We¡¯re not busy in the morning anyway. Have you eaten?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Go to the breakfast shop to eat something. There¡¯s no one here anyway. Go on.¡± Mei Yangyang nodded thankfully. ¡°Okay.¡± When she returned after eating, An Xiaoning had gone to replenish the stocks, which was a full two hours of journey. Returning from the manufacturer¡¯s ce, she saw a nanny van parked outside her own store. This van looked extremely familiar to An Xiaoning. When she looked more carefully, she thought to herself, Isn¡¯t that Sun Weiwei¡¯s car? Heading towards her store¡¯s entrance, she saw Sun Weiwei and her assistant picking out clothes as soon as she reached the doorway. Seeing her, the both of them were in disbelief for a moment. But when Mei Yangyang called out to her sister, the two who were hesitant to acknowledge her immediately changed their faces. Sun Weiwei¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°You are An Ning?¡± ¡°Nice to meet you, Ms. Sun. I am An Xiaoning.¡± Sun Weiwei did not speak. She whipped out her phone and started looking for something. Reading her face, An Xiaoning could easily tell what she was looking at. ¡°You¡¯re Jin Qingyan¡¯s wife?¡± An Xiaoning shed a radiant smile at her. ¡°Yes, why?¡± Sun Weiwei¡¯s face burned in embarrassment. She stuttered, ¡°Why... why did you join the set...¡± Looking at her face, which had turned as pale as a sheet, An Xiaoning knew what she was afraid of. After all, doing drugs was not a small thing, and what she did to her was not a small matter either. ¡°To experience life, why not? Oh right, I forgot to tell you ¡ª this is my store. Take a look at our clothes, they are all new designs.¡± She spoke in an appropriate manner, like she had not suffered under the hands of Sun Weiwei on-set and like nothing had happened between the two at all. Sun Weiwei was already in a state of bewilderment at this point. She only nodded her head, muttering, ¡°Of course, I need to take a look, naturally.¡± An Xiaoning stered a smile on her face and spoke eloquently, ¡°See which one you fancy, you can try them on.¡± She pointed to one at random. It looked as if she had not recovered from the surprise. Seeing her serious state of shock, Mei Yangyang was unusually happy about it. She swiftly took out the clothes rail to get the piece of clothing for her. Sun Weiwei took off her coat and tried on the clothing. An Xiaoning praised her highly, ¡°Wow, it really highlights your ss when you wear it. Ms. Sun already looks beautiful originally, but wearing this clothing from my store enhances your beauty even further.¡± ¡°Okay then, I¡¯ll have this wrapped up.¡± An Xiaoning smiled politely. ¡°Yangyang, help Ms. Sun wrap up this clothing.¡± Right after, Sun Weiwei scanned the clothes around once and pointed to another piece. ¡°I¡¯ll have a look at this too.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± An Xiaoning took down the clothing and passed it to her. Sun Weiwei brought the clothing into the fitting room to try. She stood before the mirror. It fitted her veryfortably and it looked trendy as well ¡ª with this piece of clothing on her, she looked pretty good. After that, she tried on another piece of clothing. She was satisfied once again and, after changing, informed An Xiaoning, ¡°Wrap them all up.¡± ¡°Ms. Sun is indeed forthright. I guarantee you, with these clothes, you¡¯ll appear extraordinary.¡± ¡°How much do they cost?¡± ¡°These three clothing have different pricing. Hmm... the first costs 700 thousand, this one on my hand costs 550 thousand, and that one costs 600 thousand. Since we¡¯re already old friends ¡ª I mean, it¡¯s not the first day we¡¯ve known each other ¡ª I¡¯ll give you a discount from the original price of one million 850 thousand. How about one million 500 thousand, what do you say?¡± Sun Weiwei and her assistant were dumbfounded. Her assistant couldn¡¯t help but exim, ¡°What, but this clothing looks like it costs at most a thousand yuan...¡± ¡°It might look so, but the material of the clothing is different. Moreover, we are the sole distributor of all our clothing. The manufacturer only supplies it to our shop.¡± Sun Weiwei forced a smile. She had originally wanted to soothe her rtions with An Xiaoning. Little did she expect that An Xiaoning would rip such a huge sum out of her. But, at this moment, she was not in a position where she could back down. Puffing herself up at her own cost, she had no choice but to buy the clothes. ¡°Ms. Sun, do you want them or not? I¡¯ve wrapped them up for you.¡± ¡°I do. I¡¯m paying by card.¡± As she said those words, An Xiaoning could obviously detect her voice trembling. Her smile became even more radiant, and she replied sweetly, ¡°Okay.¡± After swiping her card, Mei Yangyang ¡ª who was also in shock ¡ª passed the clothing to Sun Weiwei¡¯s assistant and said gently, ¡°Take care, pleasee again.¡± Sun Weiwei smiled uneasily, and when she turned, her whole face was stiff. Returning to the car, she darted a nce at the bag of clothes, incensed. ¡°Does she think I¡¯m a fool, charging me one million and 500 thousand yuan for a few pieces of clothing!¡± ¡°Sister Weiwei, you should have rejected them.¡± Her assistant was boiling with rage too. ¡°So what if she¡¯s the Young Mistress of the Jin family?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t understand,¡± Sun Weiwei said slowly, ¡°We treated her like that on-set and she even knows that I do drugs ¡ª if she tells the media, my career is finished. You don¡¯t even understand such a principle, how can you be my assistant! Forget about the money she cheated me out of, it¡¯s way better than the truth being revealed. Forget it, just treat it as money lost, damn it, the more I think about it, the angrier I get.¡± Her assistant did not dare to speak anymore and drove the car away. An Xiaoning stood there watching the car pull away. She turned and told Mei Yangyang, ¡°Yangyang, how about this: let¡¯s hire one or two more sales assistants. They can stay in the store at night, we can put a huge bed in the changing room. That way, you can rest earlier ande inter.¡± Mei Yangyang¡¯s eyes moistened slightly. ¡°Sis, you¡¯re so nice to me.¡± An Xiaoning patted her shoulder. ¡°Because I think you¡¯re nice to me too. Let¡¯s put a notice of recruitment at the door, I¡¯ll put you in charge of it.¡± ¡°Sure. How much is the starting pay?¡± ¡°2500 per month, food and housing included. After working for a longer time, there will be a raise in pay.¡± ¡°I think that¡¯s really good enough. I see other shops offering at most 1600 to 1700, and they don¡¯t even include food or housing. But...¡± The thought of it lifted Mei Yangyang¡¯s spirits immediately. ¡°You were so daring just now, you actually dared to sell our few-hundred-yuan coats to Sun Weiwei at such a high amount ¡ª more than one million yuan. Wow, what a huge amount of money.¡± ¡°The suffering I experienced under her on-set was no joke.¡± An Xiaoning smiled lightly. ¡°People like her who specialize in bullying others need to be taught a lesson at the appropriate time. She probably wouldn¡¯t dare to buy from our store again in the future.¡± Mei Yangyang covered her mouth andughed. ¡°I suppose so, unless her brain has gone wrong.¡± ¡°Boss, that fellow is calling again!¡± An Xiaoning walked further into her shop and took out her phone. It was Gu Beicheng calling her. Chapter 48 - It Would Be Absurd If He Couldnt Recognize Her!

Chapter 48: It Would Be Absurd If He Couldn¡¯t Recognize Her!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Do me a favor please.¡± With his voice low and somber, he continued, ¡°There¡¯s a masquerade ball tonight. Will you be my partner?¡± ¡°This kind of ball is for blind dating, why would I, a married woman, go there?¡± ¡°I already said I needed your help. Anyway, with a mask on, no one will recognize you. It¡¯ll just be for a while,¡± Gu Beicheng urged her in a desperate tone. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that other than me, you can¡¯t find any other woman? I don¡¯t underestimate your charisma at all.¡± It was evident that An Xiaoning was unwilling to go. ¡°Five hundred thousand,¡± Gu Beicheng offered this price. ¡°Just half an hour and we¡¯ll go back. Five hundred thousand for 30 minutes, how¡¯s that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a deal then.¡± No one would everin of having too much money. ¡ª It was soon nighttime. Under the bright lighting that illuminated the venue, one could see that An Xiaoning was dressed immactely, all decked up for the event. Gu Beicheng¡¯s eyes brightened up at the sight of her. He handed the masquerade mask over to her. Noticing that the mask would only reveal her eyes, An Xiaoning momentarily felt relieved. With her hair tucked behind her ears and the mask on her face, she possessed a different kind of alluring charm. ¡°If I don¡¯t look close enough, I would never realize it was you,¡± Gu Beicheng assured her. ¡°Follow me inside and don¡¯t speak a word. It won¡¯t be nice if you are recognized by someone.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me there¡¯s someone I know inside.¡± He casually touched his nose, slightly awkward. ¡°Of course there is.¡± After they went in, An Xiaoning wished she could take Gu Beicheng¡¯s head off and kick it around like a ser ball. That jerk dared to lie to her. It was undoubtedly a blind date ball, but why didn¡¯t he tell her beforehand that Madam Gu would be there too? Although half of Madam Gu¡¯s face was hidden by a mask, An Xiaoning could still recognize her. She was suddenly on pins and needles. She even slightly regretted helping Gu Beicheng over money. ¡°Son, is this thedy you¡¯ve taken a fancy to?¡± ¡°No, this is my partner for the ball.¡± Madam Gu¡¯s face changed instantly. She said in a hushed tone, ¡°Told you toe here to pick ady, what have you brought a partner for?¡± ¡°How badly does your son need to find a woman that I have to attend this ball today?¡± ¡°You could find one easily, but you better be serious in your rtionship. That Chi Rui¡¯er whom you¡¯ve dated before, what kind of fling was that? Those who are invited here today are all celebrities. I asked you to attend today to meet more of these kinds ofdies. Just a few days ago, I read from a magazine report that you like men ¡ª that really pissed me off, what do you think I¡¯ll feel as your mother?¡± A smile twitched at the corner of Gu Beicheng¡¯s mouth. ¡°All of those were fabricated by the media. Can you believe them?¡± ¡°We know that, but others don¡¯t, right? Enough of this rubbish, I don¡¯t care, you have to get married before Ye Xiaotian does. I want to hold my head high before Ye Xiaotian¡¯s mother!¡± ¡°Mother, lower your volume.¡± Gu Beicheng hugged his mother to reassure her. ¡°Fine, you can go and find someone you think is decent for your son to see now. I¡¯ll go and take a look too, to see if there¡¯s anyone I fancy.¡± ¡°That¡¯s much better,¡± Madam Gu replied and headed in. Gu Beicheng tapped An Xiaoning¡¯s hand to signal her to follow him, and he headed towards another direction. They had not gone too far when An Xiaoning stopped in her tracks abruptly. Within sight were Jin Qingyan and another woman wearing a mask. He was wearing a mask that covered half his face, but she could recognize him immediately. Looking again at the woman wearing a full mask, she was sure that it was Jin Qingyue. It seemed like he hade for Jin Qingyue. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go.¡± An Xiaoning whispered, ¡°Are you blind? Jin Qingyan¡¯s in front ¡ª can¡¯t you see that?¡± ¡°Yes, so what? If you stand beside me and don¡¯t speak a word, would he be able to recognize you?¡± ¡°Yes, he would.¡± She debated, ¡°Can¡¯t we just stand here?¡± ¡°There¡¯s someone I know over there. Come on, it¡¯ll be fine.¡± Gu Beicheng reached out to drag her over forcefully. An Xiaoning felt extremely ufortable ¡ª her head hung low, and she stared fixedly on the ground. She did not dare to look in Jin Qingyan¡¯s direction at all. ¡°Wow, who is this beautifuldy?¡± Ye Xiaotian straightened his posture. ¡°New lover?¡± Gu Beicheng forced a grin. ¡°Take a guess?¡± Ye Xiaotian pouted jokingly, ¡°Not sure where you found this beauty to show off in front of your buddy.¡± Jin Qingyan, who was nearby, narrowed his eyes. His gazended on the figure beside Gu Beicheng. There was no question about it, he could tell who it was at first nce. He had been intimately involved with this figure countless times, it would be absurd if he couldn¡¯t recognize her! ¡°You can¡¯t recognize who she is, yet you me her for being a beauty.¡± Gu Beicheng sneered. Ye Xiaotian paused for a moment, observing An Xiaoning carefully. Since she had her head hung low, he had no choice but to go closer. He scanned her from head to toe and finally stood there, his mouth agape. It was like he had made a shocking discovery ¡ª there was a look of disbelief in his eyes. He purposely bumped into Gu Beicheng and remarked yfully, ¡°Wow, you¡¯re really something.¡± In an attempt to make her stand firmly with her head held high, Gu Beicheng grabbed An Xiaoning¡¯s shoulder, but she was too guilty to raise her head. ¡°A ball like this ispletely pointless.¡± ¡°Indeed,pletely pointless,¡± Ye Xiaotian chimed in. ¡°A bunch of boring women, I can¡¯t be bothered to look at them.¡± The two went on and on with their conversation. An Xiaoning stood there feeling tortured, wishing that time would pass quickly. On the other hand, Jin Qingyan¡¯s line of sight was fixated on An Xiaoning while Jin Qingyue beside him had taken out her phone to check it continuously. It looked like she also did not want to be there at all. A blind date ball like that could not do without them ¡ª nor without Long Tianze. He arrived thetest of them all. ¡°It¡¯s really getting worse over the years. One look at their figures and almost none are right on point.¡± As he said that, Long Tianze¡¯s eyesnded on Jin Qingyue and he quickly averted them. ¡°I¡¯m already a married man and I still have to apany you to suffer such treatment.¡± He then ordered Jin Qingyue, ¡°Switch off your phone.¡± Jin Qingyue cast him a pitiful look. ¡°Brother, I don¡¯t want to be here.¡± ¡°Even if you don¡¯t want to, you have to. This is our mother¡¯s orders.¡± Jin Qingyue said in annoyance, ¡°Our mother really shouldn¡¯t have made mee here, it¡¯s useless.¡± ¡°Those who attend this ball are our city¡¯s most eligible bachelors. Choose properly. If there¡¯s anyone you fancy, thening here would¡¯ve been useful.¡± Jin Qingyue raised her eyebrows. ¡°Brother, I already have a boyfriend now. Are you making me into a two-timer?¡± Jin Qingyan suddenly stopped speaking. The look in his eyes became ice cold. Seeing her brother¡¯s expression, Jin Qingyue was immediately intimidated into a state of speechlessness. On one side, Long Tianze appeared as if he was casually looking at the women around him. In reality, his soul had traveled miles out of his body. For this masquerade ball, the few of them were there just for fun. They left the exact same way they had arrived, without any gains at all. Yet... An Xiaoning was easily able to receive five hundred thousand. Who would find fault with money? Even though the thought of being subjected to a round of questioning once she was home arose, it did not matter anymore. She used to think five hundred thousand was arge amount. Now, she could get it so effortlessly. Only a fool would say no to it. An Xiaoning did not go home immediately while still wearing the gown. She changed into another set of clothes and threw the gown she had had on directly into the rubbish bin. As her car was pulling into the house, Jin Qingyan had already reached home. Chapter 49 - Please Me

Chapter 49: Please Me

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Did you have fun to your heart¡¯s content tonight?¡± An Xiaoning decided to y dumb and replied cluelessly, ¡°What fun to my heart¡¯s content? I just returned from the store, I¡¯m exhausted as it is, where did the fune from?¡± Jin Qingyanmented, ¡°You little liar.¡± An Xiaoning continued to deny to the end, ¡°Who¡¯s a little liar? Don¡¯te using me if you yourself went out to have fun. Jin Qingyan, don¡¯t use an innocent person. If you saw me, why didn¡¯t you acknowledge me directly?¡± Seeing how she tantly refused to admit, he ended the topic and stopped talking about it anymore. One after the other, they entered the bedroom. Jin Qingyan asked her, ¡°Can you help Qingyue read her fortune?¡± An Xiaoning responded, ¡°What aspect of her life do you want me to read?¡± ¡°Regarding marriage.¡± ¡°I already said before, to read about marriage you need to vaguely know the other party¡¯s birth characters.¡± ¡°Shi Shaochuan, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re familiar with it.¡± An Xiaoning was startled. ¡°Why did you mention him?¡± ¡°Qingyue is dating him now.¡± As Jin Qingyan uttered those words, it seemed as if they were forced out of his mouth. It was quite clear he was averse to the idea. An Xiaoning heard this and was immediately visibly shaken. ¡°I do know his birth characters because his grandfather made me read them for him, but I never expected your sister to get together with him. Shi Shaochuan is really a huge yboy. Beneath the facade of his dignified appearance, the women he has toyed with can line up from the front gate to the public bathhouse ¡ª my cousin is one of them.¡± ¡°And they say women in love have an IQ of zero. This is quite true indeed.¡± Jin Qingyan spoke as if he expected better from her sister. ¡°Can you help me read if they will get together for long?¡± An Xiaoning was actually reluctant to reveal it as it would do her no good. Not only will Jin Qingyue not thank her for it, she would also hate her. ¡°I already said, if your sister gets stopped by your parents, she¡¯ll put all the me on me.¡± Jin Qingyan could read between her lines and sensed her insinuations, but he still wanted to know, ¡°Compared to this, it¡¯s more serious if she falls into a fiery pit.¡± An Xiaoning changed into her nightgown, then went to the washroom to wash up and brush her teeth. After she was done, she got onto the bed and leaned on the pillow. With her body leaned on one side, she asked, ¡°What¡¯s Qingyue¡¯s birth characters?¡± ¡°She was born in the year XXXX, 24th August at 10:24 pm. The ce of birth is the old vi.¡± She repeated what he said silently, then replied, ¡°Even though I already know how Shi Shaochuan¡¯s marriage life would turn out, seeing the possibility of their marriage together, I don¡¯t what to go into the details. Their birth characters sh. Let me tell you about Shi Shaochuan¡¯s marriage situation: no matter how many women he has, these rtionships will end eventually. Even if he gets married, it won¡¯tst long. His grandfather¡¯s efforts were in vain ¡ª marrying me was the only way for him to find someone to grow old with, but he didn¡¯t appreciate it and even ruined the marriage himself. That piece of saying is really applicable ¡ª if it¡¯s fated, there¡¯s usually no way to change how it happens.¡± ¡°Then tell me, will Qingyue marry him?¡± An Xiaoning gave a pensive smile. ¡°Want to find out? You have to please me.¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s handsome face froze for a moment. When it came to him turning to her for a favor, he still had to put himself in a position to be exploited by her. ¡°How do you want me to please you? Do you need my physical strength, financial resources, or for me to wait on you personally?¡± An Xiaoning grinned from ear to ear. ¡°No, no, I only love money ¡ª your financial resources are enough.¡± Jin Qingyan looked like he understood immediately. His warm smile reached his eyes. ¡°How much?¡± ¡°Hmm, let me see... if it¡¯s too much, it makes it seem like I¡¯m ripping you off, but if it¡¯s too little, it doesn¡¯t befit your reputation. Just this amount then.¡± She raised one finger. ¡°Ten dors?¡± A smile twitched at the corner of An Xiaoning¡¯s lips. She got five hundred thousand from apanying Gu Beicheng to the ball. Ten dors? That idiot... ¡°No.¡± ¡°Ten thousand?¡± She shook her head. ¡°Do you think I charge just this amount now?¡± ¡°Okay ¡ª I know ¡ª a hundred thousand right?¡± An Xiaoning beamed. ¡°One million.¡± ¡°Who was the one who said she wouldn¡¯t rip me off?¡± ¡°You belittle your wife too much. In the beginning, when I asked for a hundred thousand for reading your grandmother¡¯s fortune, I already regretted ¡ª it was too little. It¡¯s up to you. If you don¡¯t want me to read anymore, I won¡¯t take the money. Let¡¯s turn in.¡± She slid into the covers and pulled them properly, closing her eyes to act like she was sleeping. ¡°One million it is. It¡¯s not to an outsider anyway, this is called sharing profits with your own people. Giving it to my own wife, I¡¯m happy with it. Come, take it, don¡¯t hesitate to buy anything you want with it!¡± He generously passed the cheque to her. An Xiaoning sprung up from the bed and received it with both hands. Looking at the cheque, she felt absolutely pleased in her heart, then she pecked a kiss on it and put it away. In a serious tone, she said, ¡°Shi Shaochuan is someone who can please women very well. He can twist facts and distort the truth. Your sister is destined to fall into his hands. Even if you and your parents try to stop it, it¡¯ll be useless ¡ª she needs to wake up from it herself. They will get married.¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s face changed instantly, and he seemed to be deep in thought. ¡°Can her fate be changed?¡± An Xiaoning answered directly, ¡°No. Enough, don¡¯t interfere in it anymore. It¡¯s not something within your control.¡± Jin Qingyany down with her, feeling slightly depressed. ¡°Regarding this matter, I still hope it can be reversed.¡± ¡°How can it be reversed?¡± ¡°How about forcefully arranging a marriage for her?¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s thin lips went cool. ¡°That¡¯s far better than her being with Shi Shaochuan.¡± ¡°This is not an oppressive society anymore, you¡¯re still thinking about arranged marriages?¡± An Xiaoning advised him gently, ¡°Everything in this life happens for a reason. The kind deeds you did in your previous life reap their rewards in this life. Simrly, the sins youmitted in your past life will affect how your life turns out ¡ª it¡¯s not something you can just change if you want to. Honestly, those who change their fate will cause misfortune to befall on the fortune-teller. If it¡¯s not out of greed for money, nobody would do such a thing. It¡¯s basically divulging the will of heaven ¡ª nothing goodes out of it if it¡¯s overly done.¡± ¡°Then by divulging this, how will it affect you?¡± ¡°Many ways.¡± An Xiaoning continued, ¡°My health, marriage, and other areas will be affected.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you tell me your Master said you were born on the fifteenth of July? How did she know?¡± An Xiaoning muttered, ¡°My Master is very skillful. Those who are skilled can tell such things, but I¡¯m nowhere near her level. My knowledge is still shallow and my skills are limited.¡± Thinking of the book old master Gu had given her, she went deep into thoughts. That book would be very beneficial to her. ¡°How¡¯s your store doing?¡± ¡°Oh, very good.¡± An Xiaoning naturally hugged his waist and snuggled her face onto his chest. ¡°Do you know why I love money so much?¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because only money is loyal to you. It won¡¯t be fickle-minded. As long as I have enough of it, I¡¯ll have control over it and it¡¯ll have to listen to me. People are different, they have a heart. Owning someone¡¯s heart is easier said than done.¡± She closed her lips gently. ¡°Compared to a person¡¯s heart, I still prefer money, which can be easily won over.¡± Chapter 50 - Are You Trying to Murder Your Husband?

Chapter 50: Are You Trying to Murder Your Husband?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyan looked down. ¡°You still have no sense of security even though our house is rich enough.¡± ¡°But ¡ª our house¡¯s money belongs to you and the whole of the Jin family, it¡¯s not mine. Most people probably think that as Mrs. Jin, I should be used to having money, but they¡¯re all wrong. Those who know me will know, regardless of the amount of money, it won¡¯t be too much to me.¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s fingers were in hers, gently rubbing at her smooth skin. An Xiaoning raised her head and the two passionately cuddled together. As their bodies pressed closer, the atmosphere gradually became heated. ¡°Babylifewasgoodtomebutyoujustmadeitbetternull, Ilovethewayitstandbymethroughanykindofweathernull...¡± His handphone ringtone suddenly broke out at this untimely moment. Jin Qingyan did not answer it. He allowed his phone to continue ringing, and the ringtone continued to chime over and over again. After the fourth ring, he stopped whatever he was doing because the only person who had the patience to ring him for so long was Chi Rui¡¯er. The people around him usually rang once or twice before giving up, including his parents and rtives. His hand reached out and, taking a look at the phone screen, he saw that it was indeed Chi Rui¡¯er calling. He sat up and answered it. ¡°Hello.¡± On the other end came Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s weak and feeble voice, ¡°Qingyan, I¡¯m having a fever.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give my family doctor a call so he could check on you.¡± ¡°Ahem, ahem... can youe over? If it¡¯s too much trouble, then it¡¯s fine.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er coughed repeatedly. Her voice was hoarse and her breathing was heavy. It seemed like she was in terrible difort. ¡°I¡¯ll go over right now.¡± His spirits immediately dampened, he pushed back the covers and got out. An Xiaoning tightened her grip on the nket. She looked over at him and said, ¡°I¡¯lle with you.¡± ¡°No ¡ª you sleep first. I¡¯ll be back in a jiffy.¡± He put on his coatst in an orderly manner. Maybe in consideration of her status, he turned and reached out to hold her face. Giving it a little peck, he said soothingly, ¡°I¡¯ll be back real quick.¡± An Xiaoning grunted, ¡°You better be back soon, or else...¡± ¡°Or else what?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll use a different method to make you get it!¡± ¡°Alright...¡± He kept his smile and headed out. He arrived at Wei Ni Estate. Just then, the doctor came out from Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s room and reported, ¡°Young Master, because the fever is quite high, I¡¯ve put her on a drip.¡± ¡°Hmmm, alright, noted.¡± He pushed the door open. Chi Rui¡¯er was leaning on the bed to rest. She had one hand hanging onto a drip and the other held a cup of milk. Seeing him enter, she looked at him with a pitiful look and said, ¡°Qingyan, I¡¯m feeling so unwell.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you on a drip? You¡¯ll get better soon. Why did you get a fever?¡± ¡°I fell asleep while bathing.¡± She ced the ss of milk on the table and continued, ¡°The bathroom temperature was too low ¡ª you should know, I have a weak constitution. Were you in bed already?¡± ¡°Ummm, I justy down when your call came.¡± ¡°If I knew, I wouldn¡¯t have called you. But I¡¯ve no one to speak to. I¡¯m so lonely.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s eyes were brimming with sadness. ¡°Qingyan, how much longer may I live here?¡± ¡°If you think it¡¯s not convenient living here, I¡¯ve arranged for someone to get you another house. I¡¯ll get people to protect and take care of you, okay?¡± His words were full of meaning. It wasn¡¯t her own house, after all, and there had to be a limit to how long she could stay there. She couldn¡¯t possibly stay there forever. Chi Rui¡¯er replied lightly, ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s inconvenient actually, it¡¯s very safe living here. There are people everywhere, it¡¯s just that I¡¯m afraid... you and your wife may get into an argument, that won¡¯t be good.¡± Jin Qingyan did not know what to say at that moment, so he just responded, ¡°She did mention it. Just stay here for now, I¡¯ll look for other houses. If there¡¯s a decent one, you can move in.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er felt ufortable inside. This was indeed not her house, and she wasn¡¯t thedy of the house either. She had no right to say anything. She suddenly felt it was very important for a woman to have a status. She originally thought she had Gu Beicheng within her grasp, but who¡¯d have known it would all be futile. She was so deeply devoted to him and loved him so extremely much, but he suddenly initiated a breakup with her. As for this one, he suddenly got married too. Chi Rui¡¯er found it funnier the more she thought of it. She had nothing at all in the end. She found her words stuck in her throat. Finally, she was able to mouth two words, ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± Jin Qingyan apanied her until a full bottle of intravenous drip had been used up. Seeing that it was ratherte already, he told her, ¡°I¡¯ll get the helper to apany you while you have this second bottle of drip, you can sleep peacefully now. After the bottle is used up, I¡¯ll get her to remove the needle for you.¡± ¡°Will you be here tomorrow?¡± ¡°I¡¯lle over.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er could finally reply cheerfully, ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll wait for you, hurry back then.¡± Jin Qingyan went forward to cover her with a nket properly and dimmed the lights. He then got up and instructed the helpers to take care of her. When he arrived home, An Xiaoning was already fast asleep. After moving close to her warm figure, Jin Qingyan did not want to wake her so he slept quietly. In the morning, when An Xiaoning woke up, he hugged her from behind. From his ears, he could hear the sound of her faint and regr breathing. She pushed his hands away but her body was immediately pulled into his arms again and was not allowed to move an inch. ¡°I want to get out of bed.¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t asked me if I agree to it.¡± ¡°Hmph,¡± she snorted softly. ¡°I still have to get your permission to get out of bed?¡± ¡°Other times, no, but now, yes.¡± He turned over her body and her eyes met his ¡ª they were crinkled up in a grin. She had yet to see them clearly and was suddenly overwhelmed by his warm breath, which made the whole of An Xiaoning¡¯s face numb. Her head remained whirling because of the gentle treatment she was receiving. Her lips did not belong to her anymore. It was not a reckless and domineering conquest but the gentle pampering of a baby. His legs slowly tangled up with hers, and his body gradually lost control. Between the two of them, An Xiaoning was always in the inferior position. When he changed and got out of bed, he said, ¡°Come and do my tie for me.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how to,¡± An Xiaoning confessed honestly. ¡°I really don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t know, then learn,¡± he said in a soft tone. ¡°I¡¯ll teach you.¡± An Xiaoning went forward and held onto the tie. His hand was on hers, going over the moves. However, she used too much strength at the end and almost strangled him to death. ¡°Ahem ahem ahem...¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s internal organs were about to bleed out. ¡°Are you trying to murder your husband?¡± ¡°Sorry, my hand slipped ¡ª used too much strength ¡ª I¡¯ll take note next time.¡± He did it properly himself and went to wash up. The two had the rare chance of brushing their teeth together. Doing the same action in the mirror and even having the same expression on, this scene oddly gave her an urge tough. ¡°A constipated look,¡± he mumbled as he rinsed his mouth. ¡°That¡¯s because I was looking at you.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª Chapter 51 - Aunt Flo Will Be Here in Just a Few Days

Chapter 51: Aunt Flo Will Be Here in Just a Few Days

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Is Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s fever severe?¡± ¡°Yes, she had two bottles of IV dripst night.¡± As they headed downstairs for breakfast, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°What would you like to have? Milk or porridge?¡± ¡°Your blood,¡± he blurted without hesitation. Startled, An Xiaoning smiled at him benevolently, then said teasingly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but you¡¯ll have to wait. Aunt Flo 1 will be here in just a few days.¡± Her sarcastic remark left Jin Qingyan speechless. Initially, he thought he had married a meek and dainty wife, yet she turned out to be a sharp-tongued cynic, which was contrary to his expectations. ¡ª¡ª Jin Qingyan had nned to take a day off from work that afternoon. He decided to make his way to the old mansion because he was concerned about Jin Qingyue having her fortune told by An Xiaoning. ¡°I guess it¡¯s all fate. Though we can¡¯t change much even if we try to stop her, we still shouldn¡¯t sit back and watch her dig a hole for herself,¡± said a worried Mrs. Jin, who was rather upset and disgruntled. ¡°Then you¡¯ll have to put more thought into the matter.¡± Nodding along, Mrs. Jin turned to ask Jin Qingyan, ¡°I heard that Chi Rui¡¯er is putting up at your mansion in Wei Ni Estate. Where did you get the audacity to do that? Your wife should be the only person allowed to live there. Who is Chi Rui¡¯er to deserve a chance to live there?¡± ¡°Mom, she¡¯s only staying there temporarily. She¡¯ll move out after some time.¡± ¡°Get her to leave quickly, before your grandma finds out. How dare she step foot in that mansion?¡± ¡°Alright, you don¡¯t have to worry too much about that matter. Channel your attention towards Qingyue, she seems to be getting out of hand,¡± said Jin Qingyan with a reassuring smile. ¡°Even so, I¡¯ll still have to keep an eye on her. She¡¯s getting too independent and rebellious for her own good.¡± Just as she ended her sentence, Jin Qingyue arrived downstairs. It was rare for her to be up so early. She usually does not wake up before noon. ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going out to handle some matters. I won¡¯t be having breakfast at home.¡± ¡°Come here,¡± ordered Mrs. Jin, fuming with anger. ¡°Mother, why are you suddenly so serious?¡± ¡°Sit down!¡± ¡°Okay, just what¡¯s the matter?¡± said Jin Qingyue passively. ¡°Your Sister-inw has read your fortune. You¡¯re not going tost forever with Shi Shaochuan.¡± ¡°Mother, haven¡¯t you heard? Your destiny lies in your own hands. Are you really going to take her word for it? Just because she said so, doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s going to happen,¡± argued Jin Qingyue, who was unconvinced. ¡°She said you guys would get married, but notst forever. Do you have any idea what that means?¡± ¡°Which elderly couple actually manages to stay together even until death?¡± said Jin Qingyue, who insisted on interpreting her mother¡¯s words literally. ¡°I knew you wouldn¡¯t believe it. Let me warn you again, you¡¯d better stop seeing him so often, he¡¯s going to toy with you once you¡¯re wrapped around his finger,¡± warned the enraged Mrs. Jin. ¡°Fine, fine, you¡¯re so annoying, nagging at me early in the morning. I¡¯m going to be bugged to death,¡± sheined as she stood up to leave whilepletely ignoring her mother. She had agreed to meet Shi Shaochuan at his office that day. That was the reason she woke up so early that morning. When she arrived at his office, Shi Shaochuan ordered for breakfast to be delivered while Jin Qingyue began to ry her mother¡¯s words to him. ¡°Didn¡¯t I already mention, An Xiaoning is just spouting nonsense. It was merely pure coincidence that she had managed to treat your mother¡¯s calf. No way will I believe her twisted logic,¡± said Shi Shaochuan. ¡°I guess you¡¯re right. Does she really think she¡¯s God? She even ims to be able to tell that our marriage isn¡¯t going tost forever. She¡¯s really starting to get on my nerves. I would have beaten her to a pulp if she weren¡¯t my sister-inw,¡±mented Jin Qingyue. ¡°Don¡¯t bother, she¡¯s just a crazy woman.¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°Wee...¡± Mei Yangyang¡¯s voice faded as she was startled to see that it was Long Tianze who had entered. He was d in a white suit, with both hands in his pockets. ¡°Babe, do you have clothes suitable for me here?¡± he asked, grinning from ear to ear. ¡°No,¡± answered Mei Yangyang. She turned around and walked further into the store. Grabbing her by the arm, Long Tianze said, ¡°We¡¯re somehow rted now, don¡¯t you want to see me?¡± Rted? ¡°Who¡¯s rted to you? Cut the nonsense,¡± retorted Mei Yangyang, recalling the passionate kiss from that night. ¡°You, of course. Why are you so quick to deny your actions?¡± She should have been the one saying that! ¡°I finally understand what it means for one to be shameless. You were the one who forced a kiss on me, why are you turning the arrow against me instead?¡± said Mei Yangyang with her chin raised. ¡°Littless, why don¡¯t we be boyfriend and girlfriend?¡± asked Long Tianze as he leaned closer towards her. ¡°What do I stand to gain from that?¡± ¡°Hahaha... There¡¯s plenty to gain. So would you like to?¡± he asked after letting out a bizarreughter. ¡°No. Why are you here?¡± Mei Yangyang asked as she took a seat. ¡°To look for you, of course.¡± Leaning against the counter with his eyes fixed on her, he continued, ¡°Why else do you think I¡¯m here?¡± ¡°To look for me... for what?¡± ¡°To take responsibility for me.¡± ¡°Seems you¡¯ve gotten it wrong. I should be the one saying that,¡± said Mei Yangyang with a grimace, in disbelief of what she had just heard. ¡°No, you stole my first kiss and so you have to be responsible for your actions.¡± At that instant, Mei Yangyang felt that she was wrong about him previousl. She would have never expected him to be someone like that in reality. ¡°You were clearly the one who kissed me first! Besides, that was my first kiss too! Don¡¯t be shameless, alright? I know that wasn¡¯t your first kiss!¡± she eximed. ¡°Oh, turns out it was your first kiss too? Just right, we happened to give our first kiss to each other. Seems like we have to take responsibility for each other then.¡± Mei Yangyang was speechless. She felt like she could notmunicate with him at all. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you talking?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want a boyfriend who is in love with another woman. Besides, it¡¯s just a kiss. As a female, I don¡¯t even let it bother me, so a man like you shouldn¡¯t either. Quitining.¡± She seemed to be calling him petty. The smile on Long Tianze¡¯s face widened ¡ª he found her to be different from other girls, who would have definitely agreed. She was not like them at all. ¡°Alright, we won¡¯t be a couple then. How about just friends?¡± ¡°Okay. I¡¯ve agreed, so you can leave now.¡± ¡°Give me your number.¡± ¡°1234567891011.¡± With a slight squint, he said while remaining calm andposed, ¡°Do you take me for a fool? I¡¯m being serious.¡± He proceeded to leave only after Mei Yangyang had blurted her actual phone number upon noticing that a customer had entered. Long Tianze had begun to think that he had found that kiss to be rather special and different only because he had been feeling lonely and empty. He had wanted the kiss to happen again, but he was not expecting to be rejected. ¡ª¡ª Having seen that Chi Rui¡¯er had been sick for a few consecutive days with no signs of recovery, Jin Qingyan questioned the doctor about his treatment. Feeling wronged, the doctor answered, ¡°Her fever had clearly gone down, but strangely, it came back again the day after. I¡¯m not sure why that happened either.¡± ¡°If you can¡¯t even treat a simple cold, why would I need you here?¡± Jin Qingyan chastised. ¡°I¡¯ll try my best.¡± The doctor was startled by Jin Qingyan¡¯s animosity and hurriedly proceeded to prepare some medicine. Jin Qingyan moved closer towards Chi Rui¡¯er and said, ¡°You look so wan and sallow after a few days of being sick. Get well soon.¡± ¡°Qingyan, I¡¯m feeling so cold,¡± said Chi Rui¡¯er while she boldly went ahead to hold his hand. ¡°But the heater in the room is on, and you¡¯re wrapped beneath the nket. Are you still cold?¡± With a nod, she answered, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You¡¯re running such a high fever, no doubt you¡¯d be cold.¡± Chapter 52 - I Want Him

Chapter 52: I Want Him

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Qingyan, I really feel like such a failure, living all alone with no one to love me. I really wish for a shoulder to lean on.¡± Jin Qingyan remained silent and looked away while she cupped her face with her hands. Chi Rui¡¯er closed her eyes and remained still, seeming to have fallen asleep as she did not continue speaking. A long whileter, she finally mustered the courage to voice the question she had been dying to ask, ¡°You mentioned the other time that you would marry me. Do your words still hold true now?¡± Retracting his hand, Jin Qingyan answered, ¡°But I¡¯m already married now.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m not the person you married.¡± ¡°Rui¡¯er...¡± ¡°Qingyan, I¡¯m sick of being all by myself. Qingyan, have you got any ways to help me find a man who¡¯s exactly like you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m already married,¡± he reiterated. ¡°But you don¡¯t love her, do you? How much longer do you want to be with a woman you don¡¯t love at all? Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re just being cruel to yourself, having to face a woman you don¡¯t love every single day? Qingyan, I don¡¯t wish toe between you two, but neither do I wish to watch you lose yourself in this sloppy, meaningless marriage,¡± said Chi Rui¡¯er, pouring her heart out. ¡°I don¡¯t love her, but I don¡¯t hate the sight of her either. In fact, I actually fancy her quite a bit. Since I¡¯ve already married her, I ought to be responsible for my actions. Unless she initiates a divorce, I will never mention it myself. Rui¡¯er, my grandma and parents adore her to bits, and she¡¯s already my wife now. That¡¯s a fact neither of us can change,¡± said Jin Qingyan firmly in a bid to make things clear between them. ¡°There is a way to change it, and it¡¯s only up to you to decide. It all depends on whether you¡¯re willing or not,¡± said an agitated Chi Rui¡¯er, who sat upright. ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning, who had been standing by the door, decided to head downstairs instead of entering the room. It was not that she feared to do so, but rather, she was worried about putting Jin Qingyan in an awkward spot. It had absolutely never urred to her that Chi Rui¡¯er was eyeing Jin Qingyan, and she even wanted them to get a divorce. Although his answer was not the best, it was definitely not the worst. In fact, it was ratherforting and reassuring. At least he did not blurt out anything hurtful. Several momentster, An Xiaoning headed back upstairs and pushed the doors open to enter. Upon her arrival, Jin Qingyan stood up immediately and said, ¡°You¡¯re not busy anymore?¡± ¡°I heard Ms. Chi still hasn¡¯t recovered from her cold after a long time, so I thought I ought to pay her a visit. After all, your friend is mine too. How¡¯s her condition now?¡± ¡°Much better,¡± answered Jin Qingyan while he adjusted An Xiaoning¡¯s coat, as it seemed to be slipping off. An Xiaoning could not help but smile. Her eyes lit up immediately when she caught sight of the water spots at the entrance of the washroom, and she quickly walked towards it. She opened the door and entered the washroom. After taking a look at the showerhead tap, she proceeded to scan the interior of the washroom and exited afterwards. ¡°Ms. Chi, did you take a showerst night?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t dare to since I¡¯m still having a cold,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er denied. ¡°I noticed that the tap was turned towards ¡®cold.¡¯ The weather¡¯s chilly now, remember to turn on the heater when you shower, lest you catch a cold and suffer the pain of it.¡± She then instructed the servant who had entered, ¡°From today onwards, please stay overnight to take care of Ms. Chi. You are not to leave even if she tells you to, not until she recovers fully.¡± ¡°Yes, Young Madam.¡± With a sullen and worried expression on her face, she nced towards Jin Qingyan and said, ¡°Mother gave me a call to ask me to go back to the Old Mansion. Would you like toe along?¡± ¡°Alright.¡± The couple then proceeded to leave together. At this very moment, Chi Rui¡¯er found An Xiaoning extremely detestable and wished she could just give her a tight p. Indeed, she had taken a cold shower with the intention to make herself catch a cold, for Jin Qingyan would not have visited otherwise. It was the only way she could think of to make him slowly care for her again, like he used to in the past. However, she did not expect An Xiaoning to be so alert and sharp-eyed. In that instance earlier, she felt a strong and sudden sense of enlightenment ¡ª that is, she would forever be like an outsider, no matter how much he had loved her, so long as his wife was present. After all, it was not perfectly legitimate nor appropriate for her to be putting up this mansion. Chi Rui¡¯er began to reminisce about the past, when she had all of Jin Qingyan¡¯s heart because he was submissive and willingly gave in to all her needs and wants. Not much had changed, except it felt drastically different inparison to the past. Reminded of the possibility that Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning would bear children of their own in the future, she started to realize how slim the chances of them getting a divorce would be. Chi Rui¡¯er began to feel a myriad of mixed emotions ¡ª just like how something unwanted seems to be more precious only after someone else had picked it up. ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan had driven a car each, separately, thus leaving no opportunity for a conversation within the same car. A whileter, they arrived at the old mansion, one after another. Jin Qingyan alighted and stood by the car to wait for An Xiaoning. Carrying her bag, she walked forward and swiftly held his hand, as if it was a natural reaction, though she was still not quite used to it. The pair then walked towards the living room at a synchronized pace. Mr. and Mrs. Jin were seated in the living room, together with Jin Qingyue. ¡°Xiaoning, it¡¯s November now. I called you here to ask if there¡¯s any taboo I should be mindful of, other than not leaving home for the whole of this month,¡± asked Mrs. Jin worriedly. The pair sat side by side, leaning against each other. ¡°There¡¯s nothing else to look out for. As long as you don¡¯t have a major outing, you¡¯ll be safe for the rest of the month,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then I¡¯m capable of fortune-telling too. Anyone who stays at home all day is obviously going to be safe from any mishap!¡± eximed Jin Qingyue in utmost disbelief. Unfazed, An Xiaoning said with a grin, ¡°Since you¡¯re capable of doing so, you shall predict the future events and matters of our family then.¡± ¡°Qingyue! Stop your nonsense,¡± Mr. Jin hollered while ring at her sternly. Pouting her lips, Jin Qingyue leaned back against the couch and began ying with her phone. ¡°That¡¯s a relief to hear. I heard from Qingyan that you had read Qingyue¡¯s fortune. Is it really impossible to change her fate?¡± asked Mrs. Jin again. ¡°It¡¯s indeed impossible.¡± ¡°Then could you tell us what the Shi family is like? I¡¯d still like to know more about them, even if their marriage is bound to fail. Since you¡¯ve lived with them before, give us an objective view of their family, Xiaoning.¡± ¡°The old Mr. Shi was a very nice person, but he had already passed on. Shi Shaochuan¡¯s mother isn¡¯t too bad either. His grandmother, however, is a tough one.¡± ¡°What about Shi Shaochuan then?¡± ¡°He¡¯s extremely popr with women, and he knows how to keep them attracted to him. On the surface, he seems like a great catch, but his true colors will show as soon as you¡¯ve known him for long enough. He¡¯s very flirtatious and promiscuous. A yboy, to put it simply. Well, he hates me, so I¡¯ve seen his true colors the most. All along, we¡¯ve been married only in name.¡± She continued, ¡°I swear to God, I¡¯m speaking the truth, every single word of it is true. You may not believe me now, but you definitely will after knowing him for a while.¡± ¡°Bullshit! You said Shaochuan was a yboy, but why wasn¡¯t he ever intimate with you even though you two had been married for so long? Doesn¡¯t that just show that he didn¡¯t want to settle for less?¡± Jin Qingyue could not help but break into an uncontroble rage. An Xiaoning had expected her to react that way. Not wanting to argue with her, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Time will tell whether I am right or not. It¡¯s up to you to decide what to do, I¡¯m staying out of it.¡± Chapter 53 - I Dont Want to Be Tied Down by You and Our Child

Chapter 53: I Don¡¯t Want to Be Tied Down by You and Our Child

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Since you believe him, then just continue dating him. I¡¯ve already said, I won¡¯t poke my nose into your business. It¡¯s all written in the books of fate, you¡¯re destined to be toyed with by him.¡± ¡°Written in fate? I refuse to buy it!¡± objected Jin Qingyue, adamant about the matter. ¡°That¡¯s up to you.¡± ¡°You guys are always so busy, it¡¯s rare that you¡¯re home together. Stay for dinner,¡± said Mrs. Jin. ¡°Alright.¡± At the dining table, everyone avoided the topic of fortune-telling and instead focused on discussing bearing children. Grinning from ear to ear, the old Mrs. Jin said, ¡°Xiaoning, hurry and bear some children while you¡¯re still young. It doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s a boy or a girl, we will dote on them very much, as long as they¡¯re a Jin. Besides, you¡¯re going to have an easier time returning to your prenatal state if you give birth early.¡± An Xiaoning nodded with a smile and shot Jin Qingyan a re. She had not forgotten what he said about detesting children and not wanting them toe between him and her. ¡°Grandma, we¡¯ve only just gotten married, what¡¯s the rush? We¡¯re not eager to have children just yet,¡± said Jin Qingyan in disapproval. ¡°Of course you¡¯re not eager. But I am. It¡¯s going to take a few years until your child can speak and call me ¡®Great-grandma.¡¯ You don¡¯t have to take care of the child after he or she is born. You two are free to roam wherever you¡¯d like. Isn¡¯t that great?¡± argued the old Mrs. Jin, a frown forming on her face. An Xiaoning had no choice but to say coaxingly, ¡°We¡¯ll try for it, Grandma.¡± Upon hearing An Xiaoning¡¯s words, the old Mrs. Jin beamed with joy, her initial displeasure subsiding. ¡°Yes, yes, alright. I¡¯ll be looking forward to good news from you two,¡± she said merrily. They managed to have a peaceful meal that day. An Xiaoning was stopped by Jin Qingyan while she was getting into her car, ¡°You don¡¯t actually n to have children, do you?¡± She found it rather amusing that Jin Qingyan could not tell that she was merely trying to coax the old Mrs. Jin earlier on, despite his intelligence and wit. ¡°Didn¡¯t you see how eager Grandma was?¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t I mentioned before that I don¡¯t like kids?¡± ¡°Do you really n not to have any in the future?¡± she said as soon as she saw how serious he looked. ¡°At least not for now.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning opened the car door and hopped on without saying another word. She was at a loss for words. He then stopped her from closing the door and said again, ¡°Xiaoning, let¡¯s discuss having kidster in the future.¡± ¡°It was just a casualment. Can¡¯t you tell? It¡¯s your call whether or not we¡¯ll have kids. How can we have children when you¡¯re always so stringent with contraception? Don¡¯t make it seem like I¡¯m so desperate to bear you children. I¡¯m still so young, I don¡¯t actually want to be tied down by you and our child,¡± groused An Xiaoning, seemingly a little disgruntled. ¡°I was just...¡± said Jin Qingyan. The frown on his forehead began to disappear. Before he could finish his sentence, she pushed him away and mmed the car door shut with all her might before driving off as quick as she could. ¡ª¡ª As soon as she arrived at the store, Mei Yangyang seemed to be able to tell from the expression on An Xiaoning¡¯s face that she was in low spirits. Since there was no one else in the store, Mei Yangyang went forward and asked, ¡°Sis, what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Yangyang, under what circumstance do you think a married man wouldn¡¯t want to have kids?¡± ¡°In my opinion, there could be a few reasons. First, he could be financially unprepared, thus, the child may be a burden on his shoulders, and he¡¯s nning to have one only after he¡¯s more financially stable. Secondly, since he¡¯s already married, it could be that he doesn¡¯t like children and wants to be a DINK[1: DINK: acronym for ¡°Dual Ie, No Kids,¡± which is used to describe someone who does not wish to have children.]. Lastly, perhaps he doesn¡¯t love his wife. Think about it, Sis, if he loved his wife dearly, why else would he not want to have children, who are supposed to be a testament and proof of their love? In a nutshell, these should be the main reasons why a man would refuse to have children.¡± Mei Yangyang had hit the nail on the head, for Jin Qingyan had indeed mentioned that he didn¡¯t like children, though An Xiaoning was convinced that it was instead because he did not want to have children with her. Leaving Mei Yangyang to tend the store, An Xiaoning left for the shopping mall and returned with bags full of items and furniture she had needed for her house on Dongpo Road. Sheid in bed beneath the covers, with the heater in the room switched on. She had initially nned on listening to some music and take a nap, but she ended up oversleeping. The sky had turned pitch ck by the time she woke up. She actually had such a long nap. She checked her phone and realized she had received two missed calls from Jin Qingyan. Since she was already going to make her way home anyway, she decided not to call him back. Just as she was driving out of the house, she received a call from Gu Beicheng. ¡°Where are you?¡± he said, sounding extremely anxious. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Wherever you are, make your way here now. Grandpa is not going to make it.¡± ¡°What?! I¡¯ll be there at once,¡± An Xiaoning answered hurriedly. She sped along the roads and managed to arrive at the Gu family mansion in 10 minutes, as opposed to the usual 15-minute journey. She quickly alighted from the car and zoomed towards the mansion. The butler had intentionally gone outside to wait for her. An Xiaoning picked up her tracks and eventually began running. All the members of the Gu family had gathered in the old Mr. Gu¡¯s bedroom. Upon the sight of An Xiaoning¡¯s arrival, they began to part like the Red Sea, one after another, and made way for her to enter. Walking forward, An Xiaoning noticed the paleness of the old Mr. Gu¡¯s face and asked for his birth characters. She then gained a clearer picture and proceeded outside the room to brief Mr. and Mrs. Gu on what they should do. ¡°Go and prepare a coffin right away. He¡¯s going to pass away in seven minutes.¡± Mr. Gu checked the time on his watch instinctively and ordered for someone to bring a coffin, as instructed by An Xiaoning. ¡°Grandpa, I¡¯m Xiaoning,¡± she said after she returned to the room and sat by his bed. With zed eyes, he gave a nod and struggled to speak as he tried to voice his thoughts. He kept his eyes fixed on An Xiaoning, seemingly having something to request of her. ¡°Grandpa, what would you like to tell me? Go ahead and say it. No worries, don¡¯t rush it, you can tell me slowly,¡± An Xiaoning said gently. ¡°The Gu... Gu... Family...¡± An Xiaoning understood right away what he wanted to say. ¡°I¡¯ll definitely lend a helping hand should the Gu family face any crisis or difficulty in the future, as long as it¡¯s within my means, for they¡¯re my maiden home from now on. Rest assured, Grandpa,¡± An Xiaoning reassuredfortingly. The old Mr. Gu could finally rest in peace after having her reassurance. A single teardrop streamed down his face as he closed his eyes after thanking her. He had not made another sound since. An Xiaoning reached out to grasp his dry and coarse hand tightly, remaining silent as time crawled by. An Xiaoning knew at the instant she felt his once-weak grip loosenpletely that he had passed on, there and then. ¡°Dad!¡± ¡°Dad!¡± ¡°Grandpa!¡± ¡°...¡± A somber mood filled the air, as everyone in the room cried and wailed in agony. With the exception of An Xiaoning, who remained unperturbed and stood rooted calmly, without saying a single word. Mr. Gu immediately checked the time again. It was exactly seven minutester, like she had mentioned. After helping thete old Mr. Gu change into a fresh set of clothes, they lowered him into the coffin and set up an altar. Word about his death had also spread quickly to tabloids and news broadcasters. All the members of the Gu family, apart from those who were still abroad, were present in the living room of their home at that moment. While they began discussing the burial matters, An Xiaoning was surprised to hear that the old Mr. Gu¡¯s death wish was to be buried next to Nun Jingxin. In the ordinary course of events, members of wealthy families were usually subjected to the customs of being buried together with their spouses. Chapter 54 - How Dare You

Chapter 54: How Dare You

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Xiaoning, your Godmother and I have agreed to your Grandpa¡¯s death wish before he passed on. It¡¯s because he mentioned that your Grandma would¡¯ve agreed to his request as well, even if she were still alive today,¡± said Mr. Gu. ¡°I¡¯ll first have to ask for my Master¡¯s opinion. I¡¯ll agree to it if she does. I will be making a trip to the mountains tomorrow morning,¡± said An Xiaoning, sounding rather dignified. ¡°Alright,¡± agreed Mr. Gu. ¡°I¡¯ll watch over Grandpa¡¯s coffin tonight. You guys can take over tomorrow.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll apany you,¡± Gu Beicheng interjected. ¡°Sure, if you¡¯d like.¡± Just as she finished, her ringtone began to crank loudly, ¡°Boss, someone¡¯s calling you again!¡± Gu Beicheng¡¯s face stiffened at the strange thought of that ringtone going off every single time he had called her. It was a call from Jin Qingyan. She headed outside to answer the call. Upon hearing that she was going to spend the night watching over the coffin, Jin Qingyan offered to apany her, but he was turned down by An Xiaoning. She instead instructed him to make a trip there the day after. Having changed into a fancy and proper attire essorized with sparkling silver jewelry, she sat herself down onto a cushion next to Gu Beicheng in the brightly lit room while the door was left wide open. ¡°Have you had your dinner?¡± he asked. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Here, have this,¡± said Gu Beicheng as he retrieved two mixed-fruit cakes from the pocket of his suit and offered them to her. An Xiaoning took the cakes and stuffed them into her mouth as soon as she unwrapped the packaging. With keen, sparkling eyes, he watched as An Xiaoning hurriedly wolfed down the cakes on an empty stomach, seeming to be famished. In those moments, under the warm lighting, she looked more delicate than ever. All of a sudden, Gu Beicheng reached his hand out to gently wipe the remaining food off her mouth with his thumb. ¡°Would you like me to order them to fix you something to eat?¡± Gesturing in disapproval, An Xiaoning rejected, ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll be full after finishing these cakes.¡± Hearing the iing footsteps, An Xiaoning quickly turned around only to see that Jin Qingyan had entered, d in a big, ck, and fur-cored coat. He stood tall before An Xiaoning and looked at her with a stern look on his face. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you not toe?¡± ¡°Well, after all, I¡¯m still your husband, and I ought to pay a visit since someone from your maiden family had passed away.¡± He red at Gu Beicheng and said coldly, ¡°Go home and get some rest. I¡¯ll apany her.¡± ¡°He¡¯s my grandfather... It¡¯s only right for me to watch over his coffin,¡± Gu Beicheng refused. Jin Qingyan then sat next to An Xiaoning and took her hand in his in a tyrannical manner, as if proiming his sovereignty. Noticing that he had acted out of the ordinary, An Xiaoning said with a mellow voice, ¡°You¡¯ll have to sit here for the entire night if you stay. Go home.¡± ¡°You¡¯re my wife, how can I sleep alone in peace without you?¡± His words had sounded ordinary, but An Xiaoning seemed to have deciphered it differently. Before she could speak, Gu Beicheng interrupted, ¡°Since Brother-inw is so filial, just let him stay.¡± Jin Qingyan turned pale upon hearing Gu Beicheng address him as his ¡®Brother-inw.¡¯ However, he could not retaliate since it was the truth, and thus, he had no choice but to suppress his anger, only managing to let out a grunt. An Xiaoning¡¯s purpose was not only to watch over the old Mr. Gu¡¯s coffin but also to perform a ritual for him herself, which had to bepleted that night. As the clock struck 12 at midnight, she began performing the ritual while Gu Beicheng and Jin Qingyan kowtowed. The ritual ended and the trio stayed up until three o¡¯clock in the morning. By then, An Xiaoning was already exhausted and struggled to stay awake, but to no avail. She soon fell asleep on herp after a few consecutive yawns. Jin Qingyan embraced her in his arms while Gu Beicheng stood up to bring forth a small cushion to drape over her. It was a chilly night and Gu Beicheng was wide awake. Jin Qingyan was a little fatigued, but seeing that Gu Beicheng was still awake, he then decided not to fall asleep. With An Xiaoning between them, they red at each other with much animosity. ¡°If I see you touching my wife again with those filthy hands, you shall bear the consequences,¡± warned Jin Qingyan. Gu Beicheng was unbothered by his words and went ahead to touch An Xiaoning. ¡°So what if I did?¡± he taunted. ¡°Gu Beicheng!¡± yelled Jin Qingyan with immense anger. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so loud, Brother can hear you.¡± ¡°...¡± Jin Qingyan could not be bothered to retaliate and cocked his head sideways instead. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you in a long while, and I¡¯ve been dying to ask you something.¡± Gu Beicheng lit up a cigarette with his lighter, tilting his head to the side as a cloud of smoke wafted through his fingers. ¡°Between Rui¡¯er and Xiaoning, who do you want?¡± he continued. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t y dumb with me, Jin Qingyan, I know how you feel about them. You¡¯ve arranged for Chi Rui¡¯er to put up at your mansion in Wei Ni Estate while yourwful wife lives elsewhere. Should the media find out about this juicy piece of news, I really wonder what they would write about it. Let¡¯s hope you don¡¯t suffer a double loss,¡± scoffed Gu Beicheng. ¡°Stay out of my business. You don¡¯t have the right to tell me what to do anyway,¡± Jin Qingyan said coldly. ¡°Indeed, I can¡¯t be bothered with your business. But for hers... there¡¯s no way I¡¯m staying out of it,¡± he said while pointing at An Xiaoning. ¡°Do as you please.¡± The initially exhausted An Xiaoning was disturbed and woken up by their loud bickering. Thus, she had overheard every single word of their conversation. Though she had always been unfeeling towards Gu Beicheng, she suddenly began to think at that very moment that it was not that bad of an idea after all to have a Godbrother. The two loggerheads remained seated while staring at each other fervently, all the way until daybreak. Once morning arrived, Jin Qingyan apanied An Xiaoning to the mountains, despite his overwhelming fatigue. He watched as An Xiaoning stood before a grave and rted the old Mr. Gu¡¯s death wish, then patiently waited for her Master¡¯s response. ¡°Master, please give me a sign, if you agree. If you don¡¯t, then refrain from doing so. I¡¯ll understand it.¡± As soon as she ended her sentence, a sudden gust of wind began to blow towards them, raking up the yellow leaves and twigs on the ground. Jin Qingyan remained in a state of reverence while An Xiaoning introduced him as her husband, after which he took three respectful bows. On the way back, An Xiaoning gave Mr. Gu a call to inform him that they could bury the old Mr. Gu together with Nun Jingxin. She then headed home to get some rest and catch up on sleep, together with Jin Qingyan. Facing each other, they could feel one another¡¯s breaths intensely. ¡°Jin Qingyan, I have a feeling that our marriage is going to be over soon,¡± said An Xiaoning with her eyes closed. ¡°I¡¯ll never initiate a divorce with you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t test my patience or force me to the end of my wits,¡± said An Xiaoning, smiling. He bit her lips all of a sudden, causing her to wince in pain. He then kissed her with a burning passion before she could even speak. Panting, An Xiaoning hissed as she pushed him aside, ¡°Why did you bite me? Are you a dog!?!¡± With a cold look in his eyes, he said, ¡°Finish what you were saying earlier.¡± He seemed to be giving her a warning. They both knew her previous words were unfinished. ¡°Jin Qingyan, I repeat, do not force me to the end of my wits. Otherwise, I¡¯ll end things between us immediately and free myself from this marriage.¡± ¡°Say it,¡± he insisted. Blinking her eyes, An Xiaoning feigned ignorance, ¡°Say what? What did I say earlier? I don¡¯t remember at all.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I¡¯m exhausted, I¡¯m going to sleep.¡± ¡°How dare you.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t wish to sleep, and you¡¯re not letting me go to sleep either. What do you want to do?¡± cooed An Xiaoning, who began to behave coquettishly. The initial stiffness of his face faded into a smile as he answered, ¡°You.¡± ¡°You want to?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Get lost...¡± Chapter 55 - Youre Far More Cunning Than a Capitalist

Chapter 55: You¡¯re Far More Cunning Than a Capitalist

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Get lost? Alright, we shall get lost ¡ª in each other,¡± he said teasingly while pinning her beneath himself, subduing herpletely. ¡°You didn¡¯t catch a wink of sleep at allst night, do you still have the energy to do it?¡± ¡°More than enough tost an hour.¡± ¡°...¡± By the time she was about to go to sleep, An Xiaoning was beyond exhausted from his exploits. ¡°You¡¯re far more cunning than a capitalist.¡± Wiping off the drops of sweat on her forehead with his handkerchief, he said while beaming radiantly from ear to ear, ¡°Thank you for thepliment.¡± Jin Qingyan felt exceptionally at ease, pulling his wife into his embrace. ¡°I know I¡¯ve caused you to be upset because of what I said at the old mansion, but I really haven¡¯t thought much about that issue. To me, you¡¯re my wife and always will be. Xiaoning, I will be good to you,¡± he apologized. Half-awake, she registered his words in her head, though she did not respond. ¡ª¡ª The burial ceremony for the old Mr. Gu was held three days after his death. The sky was gloomy that day. Since Nun Jingxin cannot be allowed to be buried on the burial grounds of the Gu family, the only other way was to bury the old Mr. Gu with her, on top of the mountains. Having considered the fact that there needed to be someone to tend to their grave, Mr. Gu thus arranged for a middle-aged couple who had been working for the Gu family for years to live on the mountains, offering them a hefty paycheck. Upon hearing Mr. Gu mention that An Xiaoning had urately predicted the exact time of their patriarch¡¯s death, the family members of the Gu family, who were initially unconvinced and had doubted her fortune-telling skills, began to revere the young fortune-teller that was An Xiaoning ¡ª though there was still a minority who did not believe her. However, their opinions had not mattered, for her current status in the Gu family had far surpassed that of the two heirs. Shortly after returning from the burial ground, An Xiaoning immediately made her way to Dongpo Street again. As the car came to a halt, she noticed a familiar figure. It was her younger cousin, Wang Fangfang. Upon the sight of An Xiaoning, Wang Fangfang went forth and greeted, ¡°Cousin.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t try to associate yourself with me. We¡¯re not cousins anymore,¡± chided An Xiaoning as she walked towards the storefront. Wang Fangfang chased along and pleaded, ¡°Cousin, please help me. I heard he¡¯s gotten together with your Sister-inw, please tell her what type of a person he really is behind that facade. Tell her it¡¯s not toote to turn back now.¡± ¡°And what will be next? Next, Shi Shaochuan is going to get back together with you, right? Wang Fangfang, just give up on him. Have you forgotten that I¡¯m Shi Shaochuan¡¯s ex-wife? Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re being extremely ridiculous?¡± An Xiaoning said with a sarcastic smile. ¡°I¡¯m pregnant,¡± revealed a dejected Wang Fangfang, seemingly on the verge of tears. ¡°Shaochuan refuses to see me at all. He told me to get an abortion, he even warned that I would have to raise the child by myself, should I refuse to abort it. He also said that there was no way he was going to be responsible for the child, neither is he willing to pay for the expenses,¡± she continued, sobbing. ¡°You¡¯ve brought it all upon yourself, so you shall bear the consequences. You¡¯ve created a child out of sin, yet you still had the audacity to call me a wild hen transforming into a phoenix. You¡¯re more well-suited for that saying. Wang Fangfang, you¡¯re still so young, just get an abortion and stop wasting what remains of your youth on Shi Shaochuan. Since you¡¯ve already seen his true colors, you ought to know better. There¡¯s no use going around begging for help, the decision lies with yourself,¡± An Xiaoning chastised as the smile on her face faded. She pushed the door open and entered. ¡°Yangyang, are the goods here?¡± ¡°They¡¯re here, Sis, I¡¯ve sorted them out.¡± ¡°Great job, I¡¯ll treat you to some good food tonight,¡± An Xiaoning praised. ¡°Alright, you¡¯ll have all my time tonight,¡± chuckled Mei Yangyang. Wang Fangfang had followed her into the shop. ¡°Stop wasting your time here, make a decision and start afresh,¡± An Xiaoning said bluntly, as Wang Fangfang seemed to have something to say. ¡°Cousin, I was chased out of his house, and I¡¯m almost penniless. Could you lend me some money?¡± ¡°No. The money is just going to vanish after I lend it to you, I¡¯ll never get it back. Besides, I think you need a reality check. Do you really think it¡¯s such a big deal that you¡¯re pregnant? I don¡¯t care who Shi Shaochuan has an affair with, but of all people, it had to be you. You betrayed me and yet you still have the cheek to be so shameless as to seek help from me. I wouldn¡¯t have agreed to let you move in with the Shi family if it hadn¡¯t been for the fact that the rental for the house you rented was too expensive and that I had sympathized with you. Yangyang, please send her out.¡± An Xiaoning walked towards the washroom, and by the time she came out, Wang Fangfang was nowhere to be found. ¡°It really puzzles me. How dare she have the audacity to appear before me?¡± An Xiaoning groused while sitting on the chair and going through the ounts book. ¡°Exactly. I really thought you were going to lend her some money earlier on, Sis. Well, because I¡¯ve always thought you were really amiable.¡± ¡°I am amiable, but it depends on who I¡¯m facing. I¡¯m no pushover, I won¡¯t let just anyone try their luck with me.¡± Suddenly reminded of the recruiting matter, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Has there been anyone who came forth to apply for the position?¡± ¡°There was a girl who came this morning, and I told her to start work tomorrow.¡± Mei Yangyang showed her a photo on her phone, and continued, ¡°Her name is Xu Jingwen and she¡¯s 19 this year. She seems rather bubbly and eloquent. Amongst all the applicants, she¡¯s the one I¡¯m most certain about. I just think she¡¯s really great at promoting. She said she was nning to stay at the store in the future and be in charge of opening it in the morning. She also mentioned that she would be bringing her luggage along to work tomorrow.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great, you may arrive at work at ater time from now on. We¡¯ll still have to hire someone to fill another position, though.¡± ¡°It¡¯s going to be peak season soon. Don¡¯t worry, Sis, I¡¯ve been on the lookout. I¡¯ll hire another applicant if I think she makes the cut.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± The night arrived and it was time for closing. An Xiaoning brought Mei Yangyang along for a meal of hotpot. After they arrived at the first floor of the restaurant, many of the other patrons requested for a photo with An Xiaoning upon recognizing her as Jin Qingyan¡¯s wife. An Xiaoning was rather friendly and politely conceded to their requests. ¡°Sis, you¡¯re just like a celebrity,¡± said an awestruck Mei Yangyang. Picking up a meatball with her chopsticks, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°Celebrity? Nah, I don¡¯t think so. Yangyang, have you thought of bringing your mother to the renowned hospitals? Perhaps they could sessfully treat her condition.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve brought her to one before, but the doctor said she would remain as such for the rest of her life. If there was still a glimmer of hope, we would¡¯ve tried our best to send my mother for treatment, no matter what it took,¡± exined Mei Yangyang with a shake of her head. ¡°Feel free to ask me for help wherever it¡¯s due, I¡¯ll be sure to try my best.¡± ¡°Alright. It¡¯s a blessing to have met you.¡± An Xiaoning replied with a smile, ¡°Likewise. Hurry, eat up.¡± After they finished eating, An Xiaoning looked out of the window and saw Mo Li being pushed to the ground. Staring wide-eyed at the scene before her, she realied it was Sun Weiwei who had pushed her. Not only did she bring her ever-present assistant, but she had also brought along four big and burly bodyguards. An Xiaoning whipped her phone out to take a photo of what she had just witnessed and exited the restaurant with Mei Yangyang after getting the tab. They then walked towards them. Mo Li tried with all her might to stand up, but she had her hand stuck beneath Sun Weiwei¡¯s foot, which thetter vigorously twisted. It must have been a serious matter, severe enough for Sun Weiwei to be irrational and behave in that boorish manner in public, with no qualms about her image. ¡°Miss Sun, you¡¯re a huge celebrity. Word is going to spread fast to the tabloids about you bringing your bodyguards along to subject a poordy to such treatment in public.¡± Upon the sight of An Xiaoning, the tension on Sun Weiwei¡¯s face began to ease, and she appeared a little more rxed as she moved her foot away. ring at Mo Li with a deathly cold stare, she threatened, ¡°You better be sensible and get lost from my sight. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for being ruthless.¡± Chapter 56 - Nothing More Than That

Chapter 56: Nothing More Than That

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Sun Weiwei, do you have the guts the reveal this vicious side of you in front of him? Give up on him, he doesn¡¯t belong to you. You¡¯re nothing more than a younger sister to him,¡± sneered Mo Li. Mo Li seemed to have struck a sour note from how Sun Weiwei grew into an uncontroble rage. Red with anger, she snapped, ¡°Mo Li, you may try your luck if you don¡¯t believe what I just said!¡± As soon as she finished her sentence, she turned around and hopped into the nanny van, which zoomed off right away. Mei Yangyang then continued to help Mo Li up. An Xiaoning could tell that Mo Li was trembling with anger instead of fear. A huge bruise had formed on the spot on Mo Li¡¯s hand that Sun Weiwei had stomped on. ¡°Mo Li, are you okay?¡± An Xiaoning asked worriedly. ¡°I¡¯m fine, thank you, Xiaoning.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, we were having some hotpot and just happened to notice what was going on. What are you doing here?¡± ¡°I just came out for a stroll, alone.¡± ¡°Let me give you a lift home. My car¡¯s over there,¡± offered An Xiaoning, pointing towards her car. ¡°Sure, thanks.¡± After getting into the car, An Xiaoning noticed a forlorn and sullen look on Mo Li¡¯s face. ¡°Where do you live?¡± she asked. ¡°Ming Yuan Estate.¡± Seeing that An Xiaoning was not asking her about the incident with Sun Weiwei, Mo Li decided to take the initiative to exin, ¡°Ye Xiaotian is her Godbrother. The purpose of her threats is just to get me to leave him. However, now¡¯s not the time yet.¡± ¡°How long have you been together with him?¡± ¡°I¡¯m 22 this year, and I¡¯ve been dating him since I was 18, so we¡¯ve been together for four years now.¡± With a wry smile hanging from her lips, Mo Li continued, ¡°My once bubbly and positive self has been reduced to this, all because of his fickle-mindedness and the torment he has put me through. He¡¯ll never marry me or give me status or anything of the sort, yet he refuses to let me go. It¡¯s probably because he just treats me like a toy and nothing more than that.¡± ¡°Why did you decide to be together with him? How did you two begin dating?¡± An Xiaoning bombarded her. A gentle expression formed on Mo Li¡¯s face as she recalled and reminisced the past while she answered, ¡°I didn¡¯t get together with him for money or anything. As a young and foolish teenager, I used to find stubborn and strong-headed guys like him extremely charming back then.¡± ¡°We¡¯re the same age. I¡¯m 22 years old too, my birthday is in July,¡± said An Xiaoning. With a smile, Mo Li replied, ¡°Mine¡¯s in August.¡± Mei Yangyang remained silent in the backseat throughout the entire journey, making sure not to interrupt their conversation. Having arrived at the entrance of Ming Yuan Estate, Mo Li bade her goodbye, ¡°Thank you Xiaoning, bye-bye.¡± ¡°Bye-bye,¡± said An Xiaoning, then she reversed the car and left. ¡°Sis, I kinda pity Ms. Mo.¡± ¡°Some guys are like that. They appear to be a great catch on the surface, but their true colors show only after you¡¯ve interacted with them for some time. There¡¯s a saying that goes ¡®Men fear getting into the wrong line of business, while women fear marrying the wrong man.¡¯ Indeed, you should consider someone carefully before deciding to get together with them. I was far too careless,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°But Sis, Brother-inw seems like a gentle and well-mannered man.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because you don¡¯t know him well yet.¡± To An Xiaoning, Jin Qingyan was far from gentle and well-mannered. In fact, he was sly and extremely temperamental. Although they had only known each other for a short period of time, she had already seen for herself every w of his and experienced his constant mood swings. An Xiaoning drove home alone after dropping Mei Yangyang off at her house. Fan Shixin happened to be going about his rounds when she arrived home, and thus opened the gate for her. ¡°Young Madam, Boss had just left for the Old Mansion.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± In one go, she changed into her home slippers, headed upstairs for a shower before drying her hair, and finished off with a facial mask. An Xiaoningid on the bed and rested against the headboard, dressed in thick,fortable pajamas. She casually looked up the news and surfed the Inte, only to realize that there was not a single trace of any news about Sun Weiwei. It seemed Sun Weiwei had a rather capable public rtions assistant, though there were a few discussions and posts about her on Weibo. However, they were also mysteriously deleted quickly after, as An Xiaoning could no longer find the posts when she returned to the Weibo page. It did not bother An Xiaoning much, however. Not wanting to use her phone any longer, she got out of bed and looked for some books to read. Truth be told, it was An Xiaoning¡¯s first time entering Jin Qingyan¡¯s study room ever since she got married to him. The door of the study was closed but not locked. The moment she turned on the switch, the entire room was filled with a bright, white light. It was a spacious room, with three bookshelves ced against the walls, each filled neatly with books. She could not help but wonder if he had actually read all of them or if it was all just a facade, just so he would appear to be knowledgeable. An Xiaoning leaned against the bookshelf and scanned the genres for one she preferred. Atst, the uppermost shelf caught her eye. cing adder at the side, she climbed up and ran her fingers across the spines of the books to look for one she was interested in reading. Finally, she set her eyes on a book about personal experiences. Just as she removed the book, the other books along the same row on the shelf also fell to the ground. She had no choice but to carry the book she had chosen and climb down thedder before squatting down to pick up and organize the remaining books on the ground. All of a sudden, she caught a glimpse of a yellow envelope in between the books. There was not a single word written on the envelope. She picked up the envelope and found a photograph after peeking inside. It was an old photograph of a few children. Looking at the photograph, An Xiaoning could roughly make out who each of them were. From left to right, it was Long Tianze, Mo Li, Jin Qingyan, Ling Ciye, and a girl with an unfamiliar face. In the photograph, Jin Qingyan seemed to be about 10 years old, approximately. An Xiaoning began to ponder about why he had kept the photograph in the envelope since there seemed to be nothing unusual about it. Besides, a photograph with such sentimental value ought to be well-kept in a photo album instead. An Xiaoning did not return the photograph to its original position and instead simply re-organized the books. She then ced thedder aside and left the study with the book she had chosen and the photograph. An Xiaoning was 20 pages deep into the book when Jin Qingyan returned home and opened the door of their bedroom. ¡°I went to your study to find a book to read, but I ended up knocking down some books by ident. And I found this while clearing the mess.¡± Jin Qingyan moved forward and took the photograph from her hands. After taking a few nces, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll put it back.¡± ¡°Keep it in an album. Isn¡¯t it an old photograph?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t do that,¡± he clipped and headed to the study. Holding the photograph in his hands, Jin Qingyan took a look and felt an immense pain in his heart as he kept his eyes focused on the girl next to Ling Ciye in the photograph. He then ced it back inside the envelope on the table and tucked the envelope between the books on the shelf. An Xiaoning had thought he would bring up the matter about the photograph when he returned from the study. To her surprise, he did not breathe a word about it. Overwhelmed with curiosity, she asked, ¡°Who¡¯s that girl next to Ling Ciye? I¡¯ve never seen her before.¡± With stiffened motions, he answered coldly, ¡°A neighbor.¡± ¡°Was she your first crush?¡± asked An Xiaoning. It was only normal for one to think that way, given his reaction. ¡°No. Am I the kind of person who¡¯d still have feelings for a girl I used to feel good about when I was a child?¡± he said while remaining calm andposed. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll never know.¡± An Xiaoning had a nagging feeling in her heart that the girl had meant something to him. He would not have been so reluctant to talk about her, otherwise. ¡°Believe me, it¡¯s not what you think. I¡¯ll tell you more about it and her when the time is right. It¡¯s a long story,¡± he assured An Xiaoning while looking at her earnestly. Chapter 57 - Come Let Your Wife Make You Beautiful

Chapter 57: Come Let Your Wife Make You Beautiful

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°It¡¯s fine by me if you don¡¯t wish to speak up. I¡¯ll just ask Mo Li tomorrow.¡± ¡°You really want to know that badly? Then let me just tell you about it myself. Honestly, I wouldn¡¯t have mentioned it if you didn¡¯t find out. Because it¡¯s not something to be celebrated,¡± said Jin Qingyan as he pulled her into his embrace. An Xiaoning remained silent and listened to what he had to say. ¡°There¡¯s too much to tell about her, so let¡¯s start off with who she is. I¡¯ll tell you about the rest in detail, in the future.¡± Jin Qingyan removed his shirt andid down while canoodling her in his arms. ¡°She¡¯s my sister from another mother. She¡¯s a year younger than me and two years older than Qingyue. My father had her with another woman whosest name was Fang when he was younger. Ever since she passed away, their child had secretly begun living in my house, which Tianze and Mo Li knew about. However, she went missing without a trace when she was 12, and neither of my parents had gone on a search for her. I secretly tried to find her a couple of times, but my efforts were futile. I can¡¯t openly keep that photograph in an album because it makes my mother upset. I can¡¯t allow her to see it,¡± he exined. ¡°What¡¯s her name?¡± ¡°She never had one. None of us had ever addressed her by a name, not even my parents,¡± answered Jin Qingyan. Knowing it was time to stop, An Xiaoning did not probe further and said instead, ¡°This must be your family¡¯s secret.¡± ¡°Kind of, not really. Well, you could say so since it¡¯s never been reported in the media, but at the same time, not quite, because all my close friends and family are aware of the matter. My mother said she had caused a huge scene at home, back then.¡± ¡°Why do I have a feeling you don¡¯t actually detest that girl, and in fact, you even feel a certain sense of guilt and sympathy towards her...¡± ¡°Yeah... she¡¯s innocent. During her time at my house, she was treated worse than a servant. Sometimes, she wasn¡¯t even allowed to have her meals. Tianze and I often snuck her some food to eat.¡± ¡°Actually, you should try searching for her now,¡± An Xiaoning suggested. ¡°I¡¯ve always been on the search for her, but to no avail. It feels like she just vanished from the face of this earth. It¡¯s been too long.¡± You¡¯re right, she ran away from home when she was 12, she should be 23 years old now. So many years have passed. ¡°Switch off the lights, I¡¯m going to sleep.¡± She put the book away and closed her eyes after tucking herself under the nket. ¡°Remove your mask, lest I get a huge scare when I wake up to go to the washroom in the middle of the night.¡± ¡°But there¡¯s still a ton of essence serum left on the mask. It¡¯ll dry up and fall off by itself before you even wake up to visit the washroom. Forget it, to be fair, you shall have one too,¡± said An Xiaoning as she tugged on the edges of the mask to adjust it. ¡°No,¡± he refused. ¡°You have to.¡± She sat upright to get him a sheet and continued, ¡°I bet Gu Beicheng applies a sheet of facial mask on his face every single night. How could he have such great skin otherwise? Do you want to lose out to him?¡± ¡°Hmph, myplexion is far better than his even without applying facial masks. It¡¯s au naturale !¡± He reached his hand out and said, ¡°Give it to me.¡± ¡°Great,e let your wife make you beautiful,¡± said An Xiaoning with a sheepish smile, handing him the sheet of facial mask. Jin Qingyan removed the facial mask from the packaging and ced it over his face. Noticing that he was going to dispose of the packaging, An Xiaoning interjected, ¡°There¡¯s still a lot of essence serum in there! Give it to me.¡± She then squeezed the essence serum out of the packaging. Looking at the white, thick, and sticky substance on her palm, Jin Qingyan jested teasingly, seemingly having something up his sleeve, ¡°That really looks like something thates out of me.¡± ¡°Go to hell... the fluid of yours can¡¯t be applied on my face,¡± An Xiaoning retorted. ¡°Why not? It can be, as long as you¡¯re willing to let it.¡± ¡°Can it whiten and moisturize my skin?¡± ¡°You won¡¯t know if you don¡¯t try. Though I¡¯m not sure if it has whitening and moisturizing effects, one thing I¡¯m very certain of is that it can create humans. That¡¯s something far greater than your essence serum.¡± Speechless, An Xiaoning began to rub the serum all over her neck andid down again after it had been absorbed by her skin. ¡°Oh, by the way, I have something to ask you. What kind of a person is Ye Xiaotian?¡± she asked. ¡°A looney.¡± What ament that was... ¡°What do you mean?¡± she continued to ask. ¡°Don¡¯t be fooled by that nickname of his, ¡®Leech,¡¯ he¡¯s just defamed and derogated by the media. He¡¯s way more cunning and slypared to his father. Why¡¯d you ask all of a sudden?¡± answered Jin Qingyan, as he cast her an apprehensive look. ¡°When Yangyang and I went for hotpot this evening, we happened to see Sun Weiwei giving Mo Li a hard time. From the way Sun Weiwei behaved and from what she said, it seemed to be because of Ye Xiaotian. I sent Mo Li back to her house in Ming Yuan Estate, and she also told me along the journey that Ye Xiaotian is more than meets the eye.¡± ¡°That silly girl. She¡¯s stuck in aplicated situation, even Tianze has a hard time trying to get her out of his control,¡± exined Jin Qingyan. ¡°From what you said, he¡¯s indeed no ordinary person.¡± ¡°Whoever he is, it¡¯s none of my business, as long as he doesn¡¯ty his hands on anyone I care about.¡± An Xiaoning was at a loss for words. Neither did she wish to know who he was referring to as ¡°anyone he cares about.¡± Thus, she closed her eyes and fell asleep quickly. The sky began to pour in the middle of the night. It was raining cats and dogs by daybreak. Jin Qingyan had already left for the office by the time An Xiaoning woke up. The gloomy skies made the room appear even dimmer. An Xiaoning¡¯s mood seemed to be mysteriously affected by the weather. She was overwhelmed with anxiety after breakfast, as she felt a strange omen that it would be a day of misfortune. Thus, she gave Mei Yangyang a call to inform her that she would not be heading to the store that day and remained alone at home. Seated on the bed, she took out the book given to her by the old Mr. Gu and began reading it from the first page. However, she was not just reading the words on the book but was also reading between the lines and had remembered them deeply in her heart. Hence, she read at an exceptionally slow pace. For the entire morning, she had only covered a few pages. However, she had already memorized the content on the pages. Despite having watched a movie and read the book about life¡¯s awakenings, she could not help but still feel overwhelmed by the growing worry and anxiety. It seemed like some sort of a premonition that something ominous was about to happen. Fortunately, she had remained at home for the entire morning and afternoon and did not n on going out in the evening. She hoped dearly for the nagging feeling in her heart to go away soon. For a psychic like her, it was not a good sign to be sensing such feelings. It was past six o¡¯clock in the evening, and the rain had not stopped pouring. Not only were there no signs of it dissipating, but it also seemed to be getting heavier ¡ª the skies had turned dark and gloomy, almost pitch ck. An Xiaoning gave Mei Yangyang another call to ask her to go home early and to be careful on the road since it was pouring heavily. Just as she ended the call, she received a text from Jin Qingyan. It was unusual of him to be sending her a text message, for he would usually give her a call instead. An Xiaoning began to read the content of the text message, which said: ¡± I¡¯m discussing something with another businessman in Room No. 6 of XX Teahouse. It¡¯s inconvenient for me to give you a call. Make your way here. ¡± An Xiaoning took another look at the sender ID. It was indeed a text from him. Puzzled, she began to wonder what matters he was discussing about that he¡¯d need her to make a trip there. Could it be that he had wanted her to tell the fortune of the businessman he was with? Apart from that possibility, she could note up with any other reason he would have wanted her to be there. ¡°Young Madam, it¡¯s time for dinner.¡± An Xiaoning got out of bed and answered, ¡°Auntie Chen, Qingyan wants me to go look for him now, I¡¯ll have it when I get back.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll keep your food warm in the cooker.¡± She put on her coat and made her way to the ce reluctantly. The sky had already turned pitch dark. The rain was crashing down, along with strong gusts of wind. However, she still decided to drive there. Having arrived at the address he had mentioned in the text message, An Xiaoning parked the car along the entrance of the teahouse and alighted, her phone and an umbre in her hand. She folded the umbre when she reached the door and entered the teahouse. ¡°May I know where Room 6 is?¡± she asked. ¡°Walk straight inside and turn left. It¡¯s the third room from the front.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± She proceeded as instructed and gave the door a knock the moment she saw the sign on the door. An unfamiliar-looking man answered the door and said, ¡°Please enter. Mr. Jin is inside.¡± She led the way and entered the room. To her surprise, the door was locked behind her as soon as she entered. An Xiaoning scanned the room for Jin Qingyan, but he was nowhere in sight. Chapter 58 - Go Have Fun in Hell

Chapter 58: Go Have Fun in Hell

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios There were five big and burly men in the room, who seemed to be up to no good and appeared rather viinous. ¡°Sorry, I made a mistake and got the wrong room,¡± she said calmly and turned around in an attempt to leave. A sly smile formed on the face of the man at the door as he said, ¡°Ms. An, you didn¡¯t get the wrong room, it¡¯s this one indeed.¡± Although she was unaware of their intentions, An Xiaoning was certain that she would not have an easy time escaping. Two of the men came forth and snatched her phone away. Although deep down, she was at a loss on what to do, she remainedposed and stood rooted to the ground. ¡°Who are you people? What do you want? Shoot.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll find out what we want soon enough. What a shame, you¡¯re such a pretty littledy,¡± said the man tauntingly, gesturing for the rest of the men toe forward. They began to tie her up with ropes while one of the men forcefully covered her mouth with a towel. An Xiaoning passed out in that instant. ¡°Boss, she¡¯s Jin Qingyan¡¯s wife. Look at her, it would be great if we could have some fun with her,¡± said the man lecherously. ¡°Go have fun in hell, we¡¯re working right now, it¡¯s not the time for fun. Untie the ropes and carry her away. We need to get out of here right away,¡± he hollered. ¡°Got it.¡± They quickly left the teahouse in a single file. After searching An Xiaoning for the key to the car, three of the men hopped on while the other two drove away in their van. One of the men in An Xiaoning¡¯s car began to ask, ¡°Boss, is the teahouse safe?¡± ¡°My Sister-inw owns the ce, obviously she wouldn¡¯t sell me out. Hurry up and get it done, we were paid to do this. Cut the crap,¡± answered the man. ¡°Well, Boss, why don¡¯t we just strangle her to death? That would save the hassle.¡± ¡°Damn, are your brains fried? She¡¯s the Young Madam of the Jin family, it would not be a small matter that she went missing. It¡¯s only a matter of time before they find out that we¡¯re the culprits behind the act. We have to think of a way to make it appear as if she had caused her own death and died in a car ident because of drinking and driving.¡± As he spoke, the man took out a bottle of liquor with high alcohol content and ordered, ¡°Force her mouth open, then chug this down her throat.¡± The other two men did as they were instructed and chugged about half the bottle. They drove in the direction of a riverside near Heyuan Mountain and pulled up at a blind spot which cannot be captured by the surveince cameras. The men then pulled An Xiaoning into the driver¡¯s seat and rigged the gas pedal before alighting from the car. Two of the three men then lifted the cover of the front hood of the car, then removed an essory part from the engine. ¡°Boss, it¡¯s done.¡± ¡°Okay, start the engine.¡± The man, who seemed to be the leader, began to gesture for the other men in the van to drive towards them, after which two of them hopped on. The remaining one then quickly followed after starting the engine. The gang of five kept their eyes fixed on An Xiaoning¡¯s car and watched as it automatically drove away onto the bridge. They then began to pray and hope fervently in the van. ¡°Fall off, fall off, please.¡± ¡°Hurry and fall off.¡± ¡°Why is it taking so long!¡± ¡°It¡¯s already on the middle of the bridge, fall off quick!¡± ¡°Stop making such a ruckus!¡± roared the leader, ring at them angrily before looking out of the window. Whether or not they would be getting paid would all depend on whether the car slipped off the bridge. A sudden silence filled the van. Just like what they had prayed for, An Xiaoning¡¯s car began to incline downwards towards the left and moved east. In unison, they let out a celebratory roar, as if they had struck the lottery. And as if they hadmitted amendable act. Unfortunately, the barriers of the bridge weren¡¯t secured or paved with cement. They were simply metal barriers, which was the reason why the car could easily ram through it. The men had taken that into consideration, and that was why they had chosen that location. Their efforts were not futile and their meticulous n had not gone to waste: the car fell off the bridge and into the water with a massive ssh, which could be seen from afar. ¡°Yay!¡± they cheered and drove away from the site excitedly. They were careful not to arouse suspicion by avoiding the main roads and instead took several detours around a dpidated area where surveince cameras were scarce. Last but not least, they abandoned the van, which they had bought at a cheap price, in a secluded and hidden cave. As soon as they received their reward, the gang walked away and left in their raincoats, full of energy and rigor. ¡°With this money, I¡¯m going to build a huge house in my hometown and leave it for my son and his future wife when he¡¯s older. I¡¯m going to return to my hometown in glory,¡± said one of the men. ¡°I¡¯m going to invest it and start a business. It¡¯s too tough making a living in the city. Finally, it¡¯s time to leave. It¡¯s actually pretty sad now that I think of it,¡± said another. ¡°For me... first things first, I¡¯m going to use it to treat my father¡¯s illness. I haven¡¯t quite thought about the rest though. I¡¯ll be contented as long as my father¡¯s illness can be treated and he can recover.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to livevishly for a few days and find a few babes to have some fun with. Hahaha, I¡¯m getting so excited just thinking about how great that would be. Finally, there¡¯s something in life to look forward to again.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± It was already past seven o¡¯clock in the evening when Jin Qingyan arrived home. After parking the car in the garage, he realized that An Xiaoning¡¯s car was missing. He alighted from the car with a ck umbre in hand and walked to the entrance of the living room. Auntie Chen then came out and asked, ¡°Young Sir, where¡¯s Young Madam? Why didn¡¯t shee back with you?¡± ¡°I have no idea, I didn¡¯t see her car in the garage. I¡¯ll give her a call.¡± ¡°But didn¡¯t she go to look for you? She told me you instructed her to go look for you,¡± said Auntie Chen. ¡°Really? But I didn¡¯t, though,¡± said Jin Qingyan, his face stiffening. Auntie Chen stopped talking immediately as a thought crossed her mind that that was just an excuse An Xiaoning had probably given her for her sudden need to go out. At least, that was what Jin Qingyan had thought as well. He quickly gave her a call, only to hear the lifeless automated voicemail message, which said that he was unable to get through to her at the moment. ¡°Head inside first, perhaps she will be home soon.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Aunt Chen wiped her hands on her apron and headed back in to serve the dishes. Jin Qingyan sat at the table and had his dinner alone. After just a few mouthfuls, he picked up his phone to give her another call, but yet again, there was no response. Ever since they got married, he had never been unable to get through to her phone. He had also remembered seeing her charge her phone the night before, which ruled out the possibility that it was out of battery. It was further impossible that the phone line was cut off due to overdue telco fees. Could she have lost her phone? He began to wonder. All of a sudden, he had lost his appetite and prepared to go look for her after wiping his mouth. He wondered why she was still not home yet despite the heavy rain. He hit the roads again, making her store on Dongpo Road his first stop only to find that it was closed when he arrived there. Thinking that she might be at the Gu¡¯s, he again embarked on a journey towards the Gu family mansion, during which he suddenly received a call from Fan Shixin. ¡°Boss, the police had called to inform us that Young Madam¡¯s car is suspected to have plunged into the river near Heyuan Mountain.¡± The shock robbed Jin Qingyan of his senses, and he did not process the rest of Fan Shixin¡¯s words. Jin Qingyan¡¯s hands began to tremble and he answered, ¡°I¡¯ll go have a look for myself...¡± He cast his phone aside onto the passenger seat and drove towards the river near Heyuan Mountain. He had always been insistent on driving safely, yet this time, he acted out of character and sped way past his usual speed limit. His car zoomed so quickly that it was almost impossible to have a clear sight of the view outside the car. His mind was flooded with a whirlpool of questions as he was filling with worry. Something had happened to her... Chapter 59 - Get Lost Now!

Chapter 59: Get Lost Now!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Having arrived safely at the destination, Jin Qingyan quickly alighted from his car and hollered while slightly quivering, ¡°Where is she!?!¡± Noticing his arrival, the patrol policeman quickly said, ¡°Mr. Jin, could you verify if this is your wife¡¯s car?¡± Jin Qingyan recognized her car right away. It was hanging from the crane the police had used to retrieve it from the river. He could even clearly recognize the back and the license te of her car. With bloodshot eyes, he roared, ¡°It is her car, but where is she!?!¡± His veins were bulging from his forehead; his heart raced exceptionally vigorously, almost ricocheting out of his chest. The policeman was startled by his sudden outrage and said, ¡°We haven¡¯t found her yet, but from the footage of the surveince cameras, we¡¯ve found out that her car had been parked at a blind spot and began moving towards the bridge before breaking through the barriers of the bridge. We¡¯re still trying to deduce if she had been drunk-driving...¡± Before the policeman could finish his words, Jin Qingyan interrupted coldly, ¡°She never drinks and drives.¡± ¡°Okay... there¡¯s a possibility that she did, but we can onlye to a conclusion after we find her. To finish off what I was saying earlier, we¡¯ve also found a suspicious car which had loitered around here...¡± Once again, before the policeman could finish what he had to say, Jin Qingyan took a big stride and rushed towards the broken segment of the bridge. ¡°Mr. Jin, your umbre...¡± He was drenched in the rain. Under the minimal light, the river appeared to be rather peaceful and calm, as if nothing had happened. Before the policeman could shield him from the rain with the umbre, Jin Qingyan jumped off the bridge and into the river, startling the surrounding policemen and news reporters. The river was freezing in the cold November weather. Jin Qingyan¡¯s heart dropped and palpitated as he began to imagine An Xiaoning, who had just learned how to swim recently, struggling to stay afloat in the deep waters. Within minutes, news of An Xiaoning plunging into the river while driving in the middle of the night had spread quickly and made the headlines of media reports all across the country. The members of the Gu family and the Jin family hurried to the ident site, one after another. Mrs. Jin, who had initially nned to stay home for the entire month of November, had no choice but to head down to the site since her daughter-inw had met with an ident. At that point in time, when there was an emergency, she could not care less either. Mei Yangyang had also put on her raincoat and rode a motorbike there, being unable to hail a cab in the wee hours of the night. The pouring rain was akin to a million daggers piercing through the hearts of the members of both the Jin and the Gu families. Shivering from the cold, Mei Yangyang stood along the riverside and stared at the river, which was so deep that the riverbed could not be seen. Tears streamed down her face uncontrobly, and she stared in disbelief that An Xiaoning had met with a mishap just hours after she had called her to get her to go home earlier. As soon as Jin Qingyan emerged from the surface of the river, his mother quickly removed her coat and draped it over him as she said, ¡°Son.¡± However, he again removed the coat and put it on his mother instead while remaining silent. There were two distinct schools of thought across all online discussions. The first being those who fervently prayed and wished that An Xiaoning was still alive. After all, manyizens thought she was rather fortunate to be gically blessed with good looks and a great figure, as well as to have gotten remarried to such a great catch like Jin Qingyan. Moreover, she also had the support of the wealthy and powerful Gu family, which was her maiden family. Not to forget, she even managed her own fashion apparel store. Thus, she had be the object of envy to many females, who dreamed of being in the highly-coveted position An Xiaoning was in. For example, aizen whose username was ¡®Shaofu40yiduohua¡¯ 1 hadmented: ¡± An Xiaoning is a winner in life, I hope she pulls through this ordeal. Heaven, please don¡¯t be that cruel to her! ¡± This had garnered a massive number of ¡®likes.¡¯ The other one, however, consisted ofizens full of grudge, who were extremely sarcastic and were gloating at her plight. They all seemed to have experienced failed rtionships and were extremely bitter and malicious with their words as they aired their disdain and grievances online. For example, anotherizen whose username was ¡®Rileyigedongwuyuan¡¯ 2 criticized: ¡± An Xiaoning is a piece of trash who only got lucky to have gotten remarried to Jin Qingyan. Yanluowang 3must be enraged at that fact and found it uneptable. Thus, he must¡¯ve ordered for Heibai and Wuchang 4to take her away to hell, lest she continue to harm and taint Jin Qingyan. She deserves to die and free up her position as a young madam for potential female hopefuls! The sooner she dies, the less trouble there will be. ¡± As soon as herment was published, she was faced with heavy criticism and severeshings from the majority ofizens. They thought she was far too outrageous and felt a need to call her out for her malicious words. Indeed, the power of the masses on the inte was not to be underestimated. Within just half an hour, all information about this female cyberbully had been exposed online, including photos of her, which had spread across all discussion tforms. The news and media even published an article about her entitled ¡°Female Netizen Curses An Xiaoning on a Forum: What an Evil Lady .¡± Seeing that things had been blown out of proportion, the femaleizen was shocked out of her wits and hurriedly published ament of apology, iming her previousment to be nothing but a frivolous, passing remark. She even pleaded for the otherizens to let her off the hook. However, trying to get the matter resolved was far more difficult than blowing it up. While the matter was going viral all over the inte, An Xiaoning was still nowhere to be found. After several hours of searching non-stop, the police had still found nothing other than An Xiaoning¡¯s pair of shoes. Hence, the police deduced that she may have escaped and saved herself, though she was not exactly great at swimming. They then carefully watched the footage of the surveince camera near the river, frame by frame. They tried to look out for clues from the footage. However, to the disappointment of many, there were some areas that appeared blurry because of the heavy rain that night, while no one was seen lurking around those that could be seen clearly. Remaining on the bridge was not a solution either. The police were under immense stress too about An Xiaoning going missing. The media was also careful not to make any assumptions about her death, because though there was not a single trace of her being alive, there was no evidence of her corpse either. Just when everyone had be immersed in a state of moroseness and worry, Jin Qingyan¡¯s mobile phone began to ring. He whipped out his wet and drenched mobile phone, which was surprisingly still intact, despite having been submerged in water. However, he felt a sudden tinge of disappointment as he took a look at the caller disy. It was Chi Rui¡¯er who had called. Extremely upset and not in the mood to hear anything other than news about An Xiaoning, Jin Qingyan immediately dismissed the call without answering and put his mobile phone away into his pocket. On the other end, Chi Rui¡¯er was rather sensible and did not call again after that. It was past 10 o¡¯clock at night. Together, everyone from the Gu and Jin families headed to the vi An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan were living in. Mei Yangyang¡¯s scooter had run out of battery. Thus, she had no choice but to leave it in the trunk of the car and tag along. The group made their way into the living room forlornly, only to be greeted by the sight of Chi Rui¡¯er walking towards them. ¡°Chi Rui¡¯er, what are you doing here?¡± Mrs. Jin immediately questioned. ¡°I... I heard that Qingyan¡¯s wife had met with a mishap. I tried to call him but he didn¡¯t pick up, so I decided to drop by for a look,¡± exined Chi Rui¡¯er, a little jittery as she wearing An Xiaoning¡¯s home slippers. ¡°What has that got to do with you? Get lost now!¡± seethed Mrs. Jin, growing into an uncontroble rage at the sight of Chi Rui¡¯er. Evidently, Mrs. Jin could not tolerate her presence at all. Exhibiting her authority as Jin Qingyan¡¯s Mother, Mrs. Jin glowered at Chi Rui¡¯er and scowlingly said, ¡°Look at you, all eager to take Xiaoning¡¯s ce as the Mistress of this house as soon as she had met with a mishap.¡± Tears welled up in Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s eyes as she gazed at Jin Qingyan and said softly, ¡°I shouldn¡¯t havee. You don¡¯t have to chase me out, I¡¯ll leave right away.¡± Noticing how she was crying but still trying to suppress her tears, Jin Qingyan gave an order to Fan Shixin, ¡°Send her home.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er made her way out from the entrance and hopped into the car with her head hung low throughout. A sinister smile formed on her face as she gazed out of the window at the brightly lit living room. Chapter 60 - Sin

Chapter 60: Sin

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Everyone sat on the couch in the living room, where An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan¡¯s wedding photos were hanging from the wall. Gu Beicheng began to feel a strange sense of sadness and uneasiness as he stared at the photo of her. At that very moment, Jin Qingyue appeared at the door all of a sudden. ¡°Mother, I called you so many times, why didn¡¯t you answer?¡± asked Jin Qingyue upon the sight of the crowd. ¡°Your Sister-inw had met with a mishap, do I look like I¡¯m in the mood for any trivial matter of yours? We¡¯re yet to know if your Sister-inw is dead or alive, so don¡¯t bother me with your nonsense,¡± Mrs. Jin chided bluntly. Jin Qingyue let out a disgruntled humph and turned around to leave. With an umbre in hand, she hopped into the car and said to Shi Shaochuan, who was in the driver¡¯s seat, ¡°See, I knew my parents would be here. They wouldn¡¯t bother about us tonight, let¡¯s go.¡± Shi Shaochuan was in high spirits and gloated in joy, ¡°See that? This is An Xiaoning¡¯s retribution for having done so much evil. She deserves every bit of it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough, she¡¯s already in such a sorry plight, there¡¯s no point in criticizing her anymore. Even if she manages to escape unscathed, it¡¯s only a matter of time before she and my brother end up in a divorce. Because she¡¯s not the one my brother loves. Why is it constantly pouring today? It hasn¡¯t stopped even now. How annoying,¡±mented Jin Qingyue as she leaned back against the headrest. ¡°It¡¯s the coldest when it rains in winter, much colder than snow. Are you feeling chilly?¡± he asked, one hand on the steering wheel and another on her thigh, which was covered in her stockings. ¡°I¡¯m best at tolerating the cold. Besides, can¡¯t you see how manyyers of clothes I¡¯m wearing? I even have boots on, I won¡¯t get cold like this.¡± All of a sudden, an idea popped up in Jin Qingyue¡¯s mind and she suggested, ¡°Let¡¯s go to your ce.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go to a hotel instead. A hotel is much more convenientpared to my house. At least in a hotel, we can be as loud as we want.¡± Jin Qingyue gave him a smack on his arm and said, ¡°You¡¯re naughty. But I¡¯ve just changed my mind. Or could it be that you¡¯re hiding a woman in your house and you don¡¯t want me to find out?¡± ¡°Of course not. Fine, my ce it is,¡± Shi Shaochuan casually agreed. They then drove along the roads towards his house, cooing and flirting with each other as if smitten the entire journey. After making onest turn, they finally arrived at the door of his home. Shi Shaochuan was greeted with the sudden sight of Wang Fangfang, who was standing with an umbre in hand, as the car headlights shone brightly at her face. Shi Shaochuan was not expecting Wang Fangfang to remain rooted at that same spot for hours, despite the heavy storm. There was no way he could allow Jin Qingyue to find out that Wang Fangfang was carrying his child. If she did, he would then be exposed for lying about An Xiaoning plotting a scheme and getting Wang Fangfang to ask him out on purpose. The quick-witted Shi Shaochuan was immediately reminded of the fact that Wang Fangfang was insistent on keeping the child and marrying him. At the thought of her clinging onto him like a leech, he decided to go all out and stepped on the elerator pedal, as hard as he could. Jin Qingyue¡¯s jaw dropped in shock as the car elerated quickly all of a sudden. Before she could even react, a figure appeared before her, which flew into the air after the car collided with it. The umbre thennded on a spot not too far away. Jin Qingyue was shocked speechless and robbed of her senses. ¡°Shao... Shaochuan, you¡¯ve knocked someone down...¡± He held his breath for several seconds before finally saying, ¡°Wait here while I get down to have a look.¡± Jin Qingyue nodded. Her face had turned pale as a sheet. He got down from the car and saw Wang Fangfang sprawled across the ground, wincing in pain as sheid in a pool of blood. She kept her eyes fixed on him, no longer able to speak. Squatting down, he said with an exceptionally soft voice, ¡°You chose to force me to my wits¡¯ ends, so don¡¯t me me for my ruthlessness. You¡¯ve brought this upon yourself.¡± As he was speaking, he reached a hand out to strangle her with all his might, and he did not stop until she showed no signs of breathing at all. Jin Qingyue began to wonder what he was doing, squatting there with his back facing her, and thus she yelled, ¡°Shaochuan, how¡¯s she?¡± Shi Shaochuan stood up immediately and walked towards the window, a flustered look on his face. ¡°Yueyue, she died. What do we do?¡± he said worriedly. ¡°How would I know...¡± said Jin Qingyue as she remained in her seat, dumbstruck upon hearing his words. ¡°Yueyue, it¡¯s your car we drove.¡± His words shocked her yet again, and she quickly asked worriedly, ¡°Shaochuan, what now?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be alright, it¡¯s already sote at night, there won¡¯t be passers-by. Let¡¯s dispose of the body and clean up the mess. It¡¯s the entrance of my house anyway, I¡¯ll just rece all the surveince cameras. No one is going to find out, rest assured. Don¡¯t be afraid, I¡¯m here.¡± He tried to cate her with a gentle and soothing voice. The two then proceeded to move Wang Fangfang¡¯s dead body into the trunk of the car, after which he continued to clean up the mess at the spot before heading to the entrance of a secluded area in the backyard together with Jin Qingyue. ¡°This is a house I bought some time ago and no one is living inside. Let¡¯s bury her body in the backyard. No one will find out if we both keep mum about it.¡± Jin Qingyue seemed to no longer have a mind of her own. She simply followed whatever instruction he gave her. Together, they dug a hole in the ground and buried Wang Fangfang, after which they disposed of her mobile phone in a river along the way. Jin Qingyue felt a huge sense of relief as they returned to the entrance of his house. ¡°Why don¡¯t you go home first? I¡¯ll tidy up the matters and rece the surveince cameras.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± she agreed with a nod. ¡°Drive safe,¡± he said, after which he pushed the door open to alight and quickly sped towards shelter. Jin Qingyue took an exceptionally slow drive home and finally arrived at the garage of her house. However, she still seemed to be overwhelmed with shock and anxiety. At that point in time, her parents had still not returned, thus she decided to take a shower before waiting for them toe home. ¡ª¡ª It was past 11 o¡¯clock at night when the police informed them of thetest news ¡ª while looking at the footage from the surveince cameras along the other roads nearby, they had discovered a van following closely behind An Xiaoning¡¯s car. The van had also moved even closer to An Xiaoning¡¯s car when the car pulled up at the blind spot of the surveince cameras. In order to obtain more clues, the police spent the entire night observing each frame of the footage closely before finally deducing the location from which both the vehicles had set off from. It was XX Teahouse. The police quickly made their way to the teahouse only to find that it was closed. After knocking on the door for an extended period of time, the person inside the teahouse finally opened the door upon seeing how persistent the police were. ¡°What are you guys here for...¡± ¡°Why did you take so long to open the door?¡± The posse of policemen quickly barged in. ¡°I must¡¯ve been too deeply asleep to hear anything. Officer, what are you guys...¡± ¡°Show me the footage of the surveince cameras in your shop.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have surveince cameras in the shop, though we¡¯re in the midst of installing some,¡± said the owner. ¡°Then, did thisdy and these men appear here tonight?¡± asked the policeman as he showed the owner a screenshot of a surveince camera footage. ¡°I think they did, from what I remember. But there are too many people here at night, I can¡¯t fully recognize every single one of them,¡± he said with shifty eyes, seemingly afraid of making eye contact. ¡°Thisdy is the Young Madam of the Jin family. You will be faced with an additional charge if we find out that you were involved in this matter yet refused to report it. The consequences are going to be huge. You will be sentenced to prison. Of course, if you choose toe clean, your sentence will be lightened. I hope you will not conceal any bit of the truth about this matter, for it is rather serious, given the status of the Jin family, who are known to the world to be rich and powerful. We have to get to the bottom of this matter. So don¡¯t try to get any funny ideas,¡± the policeman warned sternly. The man¡¯s heart began to race with fear, almost ricocheting out of his chest. Filled with fear, he confessed, ¡°Officer, I went to my mother¡¯s house tonight, when I returned...¡± Chapter 61 - Whos Got Such a Nerve

Chapter 61: Who¡¯s Got Such a Nerve

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°When I got back, I heard from my wife that her brother-inw had brought someone over. Among the few people in this photo, one of them is my wife¡¯s brother-inw.¡± Once he finished, a feisty woman came out and started shrieking, ¡°You idiot, what nonsense are you talking about!¡± The man was enraged. ¡°I¡¯m speaking the truth, don¡¯t tell me you want the police to think we¡¯re harboring a criminal? Why should a dutiful businessman like me bear the responsibility of the things that your brother did ¡ª I have to tell the police the whole story exactly as it happened.¡± The woman wanted to say something in return, but the police reminded her sternly, ¡°Lady Boss, if we find you have harbored a criminal, you¡¯ll have to go to jail for it. I hope that you understand, you have to choose between going against thew or doing the victim justice. Now that the Young Mistress of the Jin family¡¯s whereabouts is unknown, if you continue to obstruct our work, we will have no choice but to bring you in and punish you ordingly.¡± The woman who was originally aggressive quietened down significantly. ¡°You, continue speaking.¡± ¡°When I came back from my mother¡¯s house, I heard my wife say that my brother-inw has brought the person and even got a house ¡ª she said something about earning big money. I asked her about it, and she then told me that someone looked for my brother-inw and made him dispose of a woman while making it look like an ident. Then I found out that the woman was the Jin family¡¯s Young Mistress.¡± The man continued earnestly, ¡°Officer, whatever I told you is the truth, please don¡¯t arrest me.¡± ¡°We won¡¯t arrest you. Bring me to find your brother-inw. You don¡¯t have to show your face, just bring us to where he is.¡± ¡°But...¡± He looked like he¡¯d been ced in a tough spot. ¡°My brother-inw is very ferocious...¡± ¡°You¡¯re scared he¡¯ll take revenge on you?¡± the officer said. ¡°He¡¯s in big trouble. He¡¯ll be charged either with life imprisonment or the death penalty for his crime. It¡¯s a very serious punishment, don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°As long as I don¡¯t have to show my face, it¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll show you where you can find him.¡± Seeing how cooperative he was, the police officers more or less felt that the case was progressing and that there was room for hope. At this point, the few men who¡¯d already gotten their money were partying around. They intended to y to their heart¡¯s content that night. Once daylight came, they would go their own ways and pay attention to the news constantly. The teahouse boss who was on the police car now called his brother-inw and asked where he was. The man unsuspectingly answered him, and he even told him to join in the fun but he refused. The group secretly made their way to the destination. With the sudden ambush, the group of five were caught on the spot. The man then realized the intention of his brother-inw¡¯s call a while ago. Knowing very well that he¡¯d been betrayed, he was fuming with rage. The news continued to report updates on the case¡¯s progress, striving to put the issue into the open. When the reason for the crime was exposed, it became a sensation online. Netizens started specting about the reason that had made her a target of assassination. Some guessed that it was done by a rival of Jin Qingyan¡¯spany, others guessed it was done by a woman, because when a woman goes crazy, they could lose their rationalepletely. There were all kinds of insiders who stepped out, iming that they had exclusive information, and it garnered themselves attention from the fans. At this very moment, Jin Qingyan was not in the mood to pay attention to thements and discussion online. He changed into a set of new clothes and drove to the police station with Gu Beicheng while the others stayed at home. It never urred to him that there woulde a day where he could get along amicably with Gu Beicheng. When they reached the police station, the police were interrogating the group of five. They realized after that the five did not have any information about the person behind it. This person was extremely cautious such that his or her voice over the phone was made through a software. There was no clue about whether the person was a male or female. The handphone number used was from an unknown number, so the police could only start investigating through the person¡¯s ount from which the transaction had been made. The only thing they concluded from the interrogation was that, when the car dropped from a height, An Xiaoning was inside. Before that, she had been forced to drink half a bottle of white wine. Evidently, the two who went to the police station were only given the confirmation that An Xiaoning was intentionally harmed. She had stayed home the whole day and Auntie Chen imed that he was the one who¡¯d told her to go out. Unless someone hacked into his phone, he didn¡¯t know how else the person had been able to contact her. Although his handphone number was clich¨¦, there were only a few who knew it. Moreover, she did not have many enemies who bore grudges against her, and her number was also not widely known. Furthermore, his number had a contact name on her phone. Jin Qingyan took out his phone, wondering if the message could have been sent out from his own device. Whether or not it was, he would know for sure once he checked. He passed his phone to Fan Shixin to run a check, and a lead came back very soon. During the process of waiting, Jin Qingyan found it unusually tough to bear with. At one o¡¯clock in the morning, the rain outside finally stopped. The long wait finally came to an end when Fan Shixin returned with the results of his investigation. ¡°Young Master,¡± he started slowly, ¡°I used a special channel to investigate. The text came from your original phone ¡ª the specific model number is exactly the same.¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s pupils constricted. ¡°I didn¡¯t send her any text.¡± ¡°About this, I¡¯m not too sure.¡± ¡°When was the text sent out?¡± ¡°6:17 pm.¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s whole body froze. His face turned from a rich rose-pink to pale white before bing green. It seemed very hard for him to believe the truth. After he got off from work at 5:30 pm, he had gone to Wei Ni Estate and remained there until he went home. He remembered clearly that his phone was ced on the table throughout, and in between, he had gone to the washroom. The truth behind the matter became extremely clear already. He sprung up and briskly headed out, rming Fan Shixin. ¡°Young Master, where are you going?¡± ¡°Wei Ni Estate.¡± Upon hearing his reply, Fan Shixin could guess something and followed closely behind him. ¡ª At that time, Chi Rui¡¯er was not asleep yet. With the news reporting the arrest of the five, she kept on checking whether there were new updates on the case. As shey in bed tossing and turning around, her heart was in a state of uneasiness. She heard the sound of footsteps approaching from the corridor in an elerating manner. Putting her phone aside and switching on the tablemp, she sat up in her bed. She could hear the sound of the spare keys clicking into the door. The next moment, the door was vigorously pushed wide open. She looked and saw Jin Qingyan standing at the doorway. ¡°Qingyan...¡± His lips were pursed and he pulled a grim face. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you asleep?¡± ¡°I just woke up, why are you here at this time?¡± ¡°Nothing much, I just came to check on the surveince cameras here.¡± He continued in a meaningful tone, ¡°My wife was attacked because someone sent her a text with my phone, but I never sent her any text of that sort. Thinking back, I was here when the text was sent from my phone, so it would¡¯ve been done by someone from this house. The police still couldn¡¯t find the person behind it. I think looking at the surveince footage here will give me a clear picture.¡± ¡°So, the surveince footage... have you checked it?¡± Her face went ghastly pale; it appeared like there was no trace of blood there at all. ¡°Shixin has gone to retrieve it.¡± He stared at her face. In his eyes, a surge of emotions was rising. ¡°I want to see for my own eyes who¡¯s got such a nerve.¡± Chapter 62 - She Was the One Who Got Hit, But He Could Feel the Pain Clearly

Chapter 62: She Was the One Who Got Hit, But He Could Feel the Pain Clearly

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Chi Rui¡¯er could not utter a single word. Her hands were grasping the bedsheets tightly, trembling non-stop. Her fists were clenched tightly into balls with the bedsheets sped in them. In the present moment, her heart contained fear. She was horrified of her true colors being exposed, afraid that the image of her in his heart would be shattered. But there was no stopping this from happening right now. Fan Shixin appeared at the doorway very soon and announced, ¡°I¡¯ve retrieved the surveince footage and sent it to your phone already.¡± ¡± Ding Dong ...¡± The email notification alert sounded. He took his phone and clicked on the video attachment in the email. He conveniently switched on the lights of the bedroom ¡ª the room was momentarily brightly illuminated, the sudden re of light almost damaging Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s eyes. The footage was yed in fastforward. Although he already knew deep down who was behind it, witnessing the scene with his own eyes felt like a stab from a sharp knife to Jin Qingyan¡¯s heart. Blood was gushing out endlessly, and his flesh could no longer be clearly seen. Chi Rui¡¯er knew she could not hide from it anymore. She climbed down from the bed and knelt down before his legs. Her face was overflowing with tears as she pleaded pitifully, ¡°Qingyan, I was wrong, I didn¡¯t mean for anything big to happen to her, I just wanted to teach her a lesson.¡± He lowered his head to look at the woman who was kneeling by his feet and gave a tight p on her face with all his strength. She was the one who got hit, but he could feel the pain clearly. This woman whom he loved the most had changedpletely. ¡°Rui¡¯er, I¡¯m so disappointed with you.¡± ¡°Qingyan... Qingyan, I¡¯m sorry...¡± She grabbed onto the ends of his trousers and burst out in tears. ¡°Please forgive me this once, okay? I won¡¯t dare to do this ever again ¡ª I won¡¯t!¡± He turned around and used his strength to break free of her hands. Chi Rui¡¯er also exerted all her strength to cling onto his legs as tightly as she could. She begged him, ¡°Qingyan, please forgive me just this once. I know I was wrong, I regret it so much now too.¡± ¡°Let go.¡± ¡°Qingyan...¡± ¡°Let go of me!¡± There was a glint of tear in his eyes and he eximed exasperatedly, ¡°Chi Rui¡¯er, Xiaoning is missing right now. What can your word of apology do?¡± She rxed her grasp and looked up at him. ¡°If she¡¯s dead, I¡¯ll pay for it with my life. Will that do?¡± Jin Qingyan turned and left, and Fan Shixin hurried to catch up. The door shut with a loud m. ¡ª Mei Yangyang had just gotten her electric bike home. She had changed into a set of dry clothes and was reaching her main gate when she saw a figure taking slow steps towards her direction, using the wall as support. She got a scare and took out a torchlight to shine at the figure. To her surprise, it was An Xiaoning. ¡°Sis!¡± She immediately went over to hold onto her. An Xiaoning¡¯s face had traces of bloodstains, her body was ice-cold, and her legs were unsteady. Her voice was extremely hoarse and her words were slurred. ¡°Yangyang, do you have a car at home?¡± ¡°I have an electric bike, but it ran out of battery.¡± Mei Yangyang looked at the shape she was in and said, ¡°I¡¯ll send you to the hospital right away.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going... to the hospital. Send me home ¡ª to my own... house.¡± ¡°Sis, why don¡¯t youe to my house?¡± Mei Yangyang asked for her opinion. ¡°No, I want to go to my own home ¡ª it¡¯s very safe there ¡ª for now.¡± She was determined to do this, so Mei Yangyang had to agree, ¡°Alright,e up, I¡¯ll carry you home on my back.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t carry me ¡ª I¡¯m heavy ¡ª you... won¡¯t be able to.¡± Her lips were turning purple. It seemed like she could barely breathe. ¡°I can carry you.¡± She stood in front of An Xiaoning with her back against her, forcefully grabbed her two arms, and pulled them onto her shoulders with all her strength. An Xiaoning then steadily rested on her small and weak shoulders. Mei Yangyang¡¯s body was swaying as she took the first few steps, but after she¡¯d been walking for a while, her pace became smooth and steady. She had thought that An Xiaoning was referring to the house she lived in with Jin Qingyan, but the road she directed her to became more and more remote. They were heading all the way down Dongpo Road. They eventually reached a front gate and stopped there. She said the passcode and Mei Yangyang entered it. Sure enough, the door opened. After helping her to the sofa, Mei Yangyang felt like her body was going to fall apart. But she did not feel tired at all. She immediately switched on the water heater to let her have a hot bath. Since the water was not warm yet, she checked the wound on An Xiaoning¡¯s face. It wasn¡¯t huge, but there was quite a lot of blood. ¡°Sis, is there a medicine box here?¡± ¡°Yes... in that cupboard.¡± She took it out and ced it in the bathroom, then turned on the heater in the bedroom. Without pausing to rest, she helped An Xiaoning to the bathroom to take a shower. ¡°Sis, the police have been looking for you in the water. They also checked the surveince cameras nearby. How did you get out from there?¡± The image she first saw when she opened her eyes appeared in her head: the icy-cold river water was gushing down her throat ¡ª that feeling was one she would never forget. ¡°I had a dream in the past where I fell into a river and was gasping for air. Now that I see it, it was a sign.¡± She sat in the bathtub, her whole body curled up. ¡°Yangyang, fortunately, you taught me how to swim. Although I couldn¡¯t swim well yet, at least it saved my life. I was scared that the bunch of men hadn¡¯t left yet, so I stayed around in the water. I swam for a long time before I dared to go ashore. I didn¡¯t dare to walk anywhere that was brightly lit or walk with my body upright. I crouched down and crawled bit by bit.¡± Mei Yangyang¡¯s eyes reddened. She gently washed her hair, wiped away the bloodstains, and said, ¡°I was almost scared to death. Sis, those five people have been arrested. They were instigated to do this, someone else is behind it. The police are still investigating the case.¡± An Xiaoning shut her eyes lightly, feeling an extreme difort in her throat. ¡°The instigator of this case will not be revealed ultimately. It will end with those five being charged for it.¡± ¡°But, they didn¡¯t even know you. There must be someone else behind this, everyone can see that. Theizens are highly concerned about this incident. The police will definitely provide an exnation for this eventually.¡± Mei Yangyang continued, ¡°Sis, given your status, the police will not dare to stop investigating your case.¡± ¡°Do you know why I drove out in that huge rain?¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because it was Jin Qingyan who¡¯d sent me that text, he made me go there.¡± Mei Yangyang¡¯s hand froze. Her jaw dropped and she questioned incredulously, ¡°Sis, you¡¯re saying the instigator is Brother-inw?¡± ¡°I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s not.¡± An Xiaoning exined, ¡°He has no motive. Even if he wants to divorce me badly, it wasn¡¯t necessary to kill me. It¡¯s someone else behind this.¡± ¡°Then who is it?¡± ¡°Someone who can get close to him and take his phone. Think about it. I think I already know who it is.¡± Even as she soaked in the warm bath water, she was still shivering. ¡°I¡¯m so cold.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be done soon. Let me apply some medicine for you first. You hurry into the bedroom. Right, Sis, do you have any food here? I¡¯ll make some food for you.¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯te here often. But there¡¯s a bag of ginger. Just make me some ginger tea. That will do.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After she applied some medicine on An Xiaoning, she ced a few bandaids on her head. She was wearing her bathrobe as shey under the covers. The heater was on, and she hugged a water bottle in her arms. It was filled with hot water inside. Mei Yangyang made her put it on her stomach, fearing that she had suffered a cold. It was to give her some warmth. After a while, Mei Yangyang served the ginger tea. She also brought the clothes she had dried with the washing machine and remarked, ¡°There¡¯s a heater here, the clothes are already half dry. By morning, you¡¯d be able to wear them.¡± Chapter 63 - Dont Push Your Luck

Chapter 63: Don¡¯t Push Your Luck

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I forgot to bring some clothes over to this house. Next time, I¡¯ll prepare clothes for all seasons here. Yangyang, quick,e and lie down. Let¡¯s have a good sleep, we can talk about anything tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°But, Sis ¡ª aren¡¯t you going to call them to let them know you¡¯re safe?¡± ¡°No need, we¡¯ll just go over at daybreak.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± It was the first time Mei Yangyang slept beside her. Her whole body was restrained, but An Xiaoning hugged her and said, ¡°Yangyang, Sis can tell what kind of person you are. Although we haven¡¯t known each other for a long time, I treat you like my family. Don¡¯t hold back here, make yourself at home. Come, let¡¯s sleep.¡± ¡°Okay. Sis, you sleep too.¡± Though An Xiaoning acknowledged her with a reply, she could not fall asleep no matter how hard she tried. The frightening experience she¡¯d had tonight was still making her shudder at the recollection. It was a terrifying thought to her. If she¡¯d still been unable to swim, she would definitely have drowned in that river tonight. There was a saying which she felt was applicable to this: every new skill learned reduces the chances of one being killed by others. Some people would be feeling disappointed because she was still alive. What a great feeling. ¡ª At past seven o¡¯clock in the morning, the skies were clear and the sun was up. When An Xiaoning woke up, she used Mei Yangyang¡¯s phone to call Gu Beicheng. ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± ¡°Xiaoning?¡± Gu Beicheng rose up immediately. ¡°Where are you?¡± ¡°Come and pick me up at Dongpo Road, we can speak when we meet.¡± She ended the line, changed into her clothes and slippers, and went out with Mei Yangyang. The world after it had rained looked like a brand new one. The air was pure and fresh. The two held on to each other and walked slowly on the streets. An Xiaoning¡¯s face was pale, her lips remained bloodless, and she looked lifeless. In a few minutes, a spectacr-looking Lamborghini appeared beside them. An Xiaoning and Mei Yangyang got on together. Gu Beicheng looked at her and did not say anything, he just continued to stare at her like that. ¡°Why are you looking at me like that? Drive.¡± He started the engine and stepped on the gas pedal. The car turned around from a challenging position and drove off. ¡°What were you doing here?¡± ¡°The house I bought is here.¡± ¡°You knew how to go back to your house, why didn¡¯t you know enough to make a call to inform us you¡¯re safe? Did you know we didn¡¯t sleep for the entire night worrying about you?¡± An Xiaoning reached out and held his arm gently. ¡°Sorry. I thought of it, but I wanted to rest peacefully for a few hours to regain my energy, then talk about itter. If your number weren¡¯t easy to remember, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to call you this morning too.¡± ¡°Anyway, what matters is that you¡¯re back in one piece.¡± The huge load Gu Beicheng had inside was finally released. He red at her furiously. ¡°You brat, we were worried to death.¡± Sheughed. ¡°Alright, to make it up to you, I¡¯ll call you Brother, okay?¡± ¡°Quick, call me then, I¡¯m waiting!¡± ¡°Brother.¡± ¡°One more time, I haven¡¯t heard enough of it.¡± ¡°Brother.¡± ¡°Continue...¡± ¡°Gu Beicheng, don¡¯t push your luck.¡± ¡°Your true colors are revealed, you¡¯re not sincere in calling me that!¡± ¡°...¡± They finally arrived at the residence. When they reached the living room entrance, everyone inside stood up upon seeing her. Mrs. Gu cried tears of joy. ¡°Oh, Xiaoning! You really gave us a huge scare!¡± An Xiaoning ran forward to hug her and Mrs. Jin, saying, ¡°All of you have a seat first, please. Auntie Chen, make some porridge for me and a sumptuous breakfast for everyone.¡± ¡°Yes, Young Mistress.¡± Auntie Chen hurried to the kitchen while Jin Qingyan, who¡¯d just received the news that she was back, ran downstairs instantly. Seeing her, the happiness in his eyes was genuine. His lips quivered, but nothing came out. He went straight forward and pulled her into a tight embrace. An Xiaoning was almost suffocated in his arms. Both her hands hung at the side of her body. She did not return the hug. Gu Beicheng could not look on anymore. Heined, ¡°Excuse me, we¡¯re all here too. Are the both of you done hugging? Please spare a thought for our feelings.¡± Jin Qingyan then released his arms. An Xiaoning did not look at him and turned to sit beside Mei Yangyang. Shemented, ¡°I heard from Yangyang, those five people have been arrested.¡± Mrs. Gu replied, ¡°Yes, they¡¯ve been arrested, but there¡¯s another person who was behind it.¡± It was then that An Xiaoning darted a nce at Jin Qingyan and said, ¡°You were the one who sent me the text. I know it had nothing to do with you, but you can¡¯t shirk your responsibility. If you hadn¡¯t sent me a text with your phone, I wouldn¡¯t have gone out in that downpour. At past six yesterday, where were you? Someone who could ess your phone couldn¡¯t have been an outsider. Tell us, who were you with at that time yesterday?¡± Jin Qingyanpletely did not expect that An Xiaoning would question him in front of so many people. Upon hearing this, everyone was astounded and looked to Jin Qingyan for an answer. He stood there, finding it hard to answer for a while. Someone as smart as Gu Beicheng naturally understood what An Xiaoning meant. He thought aloud, ¡°Chi Rui¡¯er?¡± Mrs. Jin eximed rmingly, ¡°Qingyan, don¡¯t tell me it was really that bitch who did it?¡± Jin Qingyan knew, of course, what kind of consequences Chi Rui¡¯er would face if he admitted it. He was furious too, but making Chi Rui¡¯er spend the rest of her life in jail was not something he wanted. Not to mention that Chi Rui¡¯er was the woman he loved most. Just the fact that she risked her life to save him before was enough for him to protect her ¡ª he just hoped that she would change for the better in the future and not do anything that would harm others and herself. ¡°No.¡± His answer was something An Xiaoning had expected. She looked down and did not say a word anymore. Knowing perfectly well that would be his answer, she should not have asked him that question just now. Even though she did not want to, she still probed, ¡°Then tell me, at past six yesterday, who were you with?¡± ¡°It could have been through a high-technology method that my number was stolen. Until we are sure about it, we shouldn¡¯te to a conclusion for this incident so hastily. Let¡¯s leave it to the police to settle, shall we?¡± He stood there suddenly feeling ill at ease. When his eyes met with An Xiaoning¡¯s, his heart almost stopped. She was staring at him with a wide grin, as if she¡¯d already seen through this and was merely observing his pretentious act. It was the most terrible feeling ever. ¡°Qingyan¡¯s right. No matter what, I need a conclusion to this incident. It seems like we can only leave it to the police to investigate. After all, if this case reaches no conclusion, it won¡¯t only be me who won¡¯t agree to it, thousands ofizens wouldn¡¯t too. Regarding this matter, I¡¯ve worried all of you too much already. Please go back and rest well after breakfast. I¡¯ll head upstairs to change.¡± She stood up and walked towards the staircase. Mei Yangyang also got up and headed to where Fan Shixin was. She took some tea leaves, which were good for soothing one¡¯s throat, and went to brew a pot of tea for An Xiaoning. She was about to serve it when Fan Shixin came running inside. ¡°Young Master, Miss Chi has slit her wrist.¡± ¡°How is she?¡± ¡°They¡¯ve sent her to the hospital for emergency treatment, I¡¯m not sure about other things.¡± Jin Qingyan rushed to the hospital at once. Mrs. Jin got a clear idea about everything then. Both she and Mr. Jin were no longer in the mood for breakfast and drove home. In the living room, only the Gu family were now left. Mrs. Gumented then, ¡°How silly. Isn¡¯t this basically an act of a guilty conscience? Why attempt suicide when everything is perfectly fine? Luckily, Beicheng didn¡¯t marry her. Otherwise, with such a demon in our house, our whole house would be turned upside down.¡± Chapter 64 - Let That Woman Worry To Death

Chapter 64: Let That Woman Worry To Death

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°If only Xiaoning had married me instead.¡± Gu Beicheng continued, ¡°It¡¯s too hard on her, being married to Jin Qingyan. How great would it be if she were married to me? I would give up the whole forest for her.¡± Hearing this, Mrs. and Mr. Gu were at a loss for words. ¡ª An Xiaoning had just changed into another set of clothes. Hearing Mei Yangyang¡¯s words, she raised her head. ¡°She really slit her wrist?¡± ¡°I was just carrying the tea up when I heard Brother-inw¡¯s man personally report this to him.¡± An Xiaoning went to wash up in the bathroom, then sat before the dressing table. Looking at herself in the mirror, she then said, ¡°He didn¡¯t even n on holding Chi Rui¡¯er responsible for what happened. Now that this happened, he¡¯ll probably be even more heartbroken. A wife¡¯s status is really worse than that of a woman from outside. Yangyang, you must remember: a woman must have her own career and money. Never depend on a man. Only when it¡¯s like that can you live with spirit and dignity. Even after a divorce, you can still have self-confidence.¡± ¡°Sis, you¡¯re divorcing Brother-inw?¡± She replied while putting on makeup, ¡°I don¡¯t have such thoughts at present. After all, I¡¯ll just be giving my position to that little bitch ¡ª I don¡¯t want that. Even if I don¡¯t want to take a dump, I¡¯ll be a dog in the manger and upy my position. Let that woman worry to death.¡± Mei Yangyang couldn¡¯t help but burst outughing. ¡°Oh, Sis, what kind ofparison is that?¡± ¡°The decision for having a divorce is in my hands. It all depends on whether I want to. I was almost killed, so he cannot pursue it, but I can.¡± An Xiaoning was quickly done with her makeup. Her face which originally did not look too good immediately looked different afterwards. She got up and put on a thick cardigan, tossing her hair out from under it. She then held up the teacup and started drinking slowly. ¡°Sis, I¡¯ll head to the shop first. Jingwen is new, I¡¯m rather uneasy about letting her handle the store by herself.¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go together. I have some things to settle too. I¡¯ll send you there.¡± After they had a meal, Gu Beicheng drove Mei Yangyang to Dongpo Road, then headed to the 4S car shop with An Xiaoning. ¡°What brand of car do you want?¡± Gu Beicheng turned his head to ask her. ¡°The brand isn¡¯t important, what matters is whether it suits me, whether I like it, and whether it¡¯s not too expensive. I can¡¯t afford it if it¡¯s too expensive too.¡± He patted his own chest. ¡°My silly sister, don¡¯t you have your brother here? I¡¯ll buy it for you as a gift.¡± An Xiaoning shed him a smile. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Things like cars and houses should be paid for by yourself, then you¡¯ll feel more secure.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. Our family wasn¡¯t stingy with your dowry when you got married.¡± He saw that her neck seemed to be ufortable, so he stopped the car, took a small pillow from the backseat, and ced it at her backrest. As she leaned back naturally, he asked, ¡°Is it morefortable like that?¡± ¡°Mm...¡± She didn¡¯t realize before that he was actually quite attentive. When they reached the 4S car shop, a red Ferrari caught An Xiaoning¡¯s eye. It looked really ssy, but it cost three million yuan. Seeing that she couldn¡¯t quite bear to part with the money, Gu Beicheng said, ¡°Just get it if you like it, but if you just need one to use then you can always choose a cheaper car. It ranges from a few hundred thousand to one million yuan.¡± She bought that car eventually. Because she really liked it, she felt willing to fork out that money. ¡ª Once they returned home, Mr. and Mrs. Jin received news from Auntie Zhang that their daughter had waited for them the whole night. ¡°What is it about?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Missy looks very restless and uneasy.¡± As she finished, the thumping sound of Jin Qingyue¡¯s slippers was heard as she anxiously ran down the stairs. ¡°Mother!¡± She pulled Mrs. Jin into her arms and was unable to speak. Having never seen her like that, Mrs. Jin felt it was very unusual. She pushed her away and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± The two sat down and Jin Qingyue shook her head. ¡°Nothing¡¯s wrong, I just missed you.¡± ¡°This girl...¡± Mrs. Jin patted her. ¡°I thought that something big had happened. What is there to miss, don¡¯t we see each other every day?¡± Jin Qingyue then asked, ¡°I saw the news, Sister-inw is back.¡± ¡°Yup, she¡¯s back. What a false rm. This matter has a lot to do with that Chi Rui¡¯er. The woman deserves to die, she better not let me see her.¡± Mrs. Jin stretched her body, then continued, ¡°Just now, before I got back with your father, we heard from Shixin that she slit her wrist. Not sure if they saved her, it¡¯d be best if she just died like that.¡± Jin Qingyue said incredulously, ¡°You¡¯re saying what happened to Sister-inw was instructed by her?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not confirmed yet, but I feel that it¡¯s definitely her. Forget about this incident, I¡¯d nned on not going out the whole of this month. Just going out yesterday has made me feel so uneasy all over.¡± She looked over at Auntie Zhang. ¡°We haven¡¯t eaten yet.¡± ¡°Breakfast is ready, it will be served immediately.¡± Mrs. Jin nodded and continued to look at Jin Qingyue, ¡°Are you really bent on dating that Shi Shaochuan?¡± ¡°Yeah. Mother, we can¡¯t separate now, I want to be with him.¡± Mrs. Jin said in an unpleasant tone, ¡°He¡¯s going to get you into trouble, I think your sister-inw¡¯s words make sense.¡± ¡°Are you now going to believe anything that my sister-inw says? If she¡¯s that capable, why can¡¯t she read her own fortune? Didn¡¯t she still get plotted against?¡± Jin Qingyue was obviously in disbelief. ¡°Mother, don¡¯t you get it? She said you can¡¯t go out this month, that you¡¯ll meet with bloodshed, but aren¡¯t you all well and fine? It¡¯s all nonsense that she made up.¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s eat,¡± Mrs. Jin replied as she got up to the dining table. There were two flights of staircases. She was fine when she went up, but as she was going down, Mrs. Jin felt that her whole body was unsteady. Before she knew it, she lost her bnce and tumbled down sideways. Jin Qingyue cried out in rm, ¡°Mother!¡± Mrs. Jin¡¯s head mmed on a cement edge. When she was helped up by Qingyue and Mr. Jin, blood trickled down her cheek. The wound was very small, but it was indeed bleeding. As Mrs. Jin was putting on a band-aid for herself, she still eximed scornfully to her daughter, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say your sister-inw was spouting nonsense?¡± Jin Qingyue went speechless. After a moment, she rebutted, ¡°Mother, you couldn¡¯t possibly have done that on purpose because you wanted me to believe Sister-inw¡¯s words?¡± ¡°Do you think I have nothing better to do than to make myself bleed?¡± She got up and finally sat at the dining table. Taking a nce at the stairs, she remarked, ¡°You tell me, how many years have I walked on these stairs? I wish I could walk over them safely all the time ¡ª it was just two flight of stairs. Today is really a jinxed day.¡± ¡°There are some things we cannot doubt. We can only maintain our respect for them. I heard that thest few minutes of old Mr. Gu¡¯s life had been calcted so urately by Xiaoning. And that problem about your leg, it¡¯s not something that can just be made up with nonsense.¡± Mr. Jin turned to Jin Qingyue and continued, ¡°If you don¡¯t listen to your sister-inw¡¯s advice, be prepared to suffer in the future. Also, you better not be disrespectful to your sister-inw next time, do you hear me?¡± Jin Qingyue pouted her lips and replied grudgingly, ¡°I know, Father. I tell you, my attitude towards her is not important. It¡¯s all about my brother. He let Chi Rui¡¯er live at Wei Ni Estate, and now she has even broken up with Gu Beicheng. Can¡¯t you tell what is happening?¡± Mr. Jin exchanged a nce with Mrs. Jin, then responded, ¡°No matter what, your brother won¡¯t divorce your sister-inw. After they spend more time together and have their own children, everything will get better.¡± Chapter 65 - Just Talk About Married Life

Chapter 65: Just Talk About Married Life

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Hmph...¡± Mrs. Jin sighed. ¡°I hate those mistresses the most in my life. That bitch better pray that she doesn¡¯t create more trouble in future. If not, I won¡¯t need to wait for your sister-inw to do something, I will make her pay for it.¡± ¡ª Chi Rui¡¯er was sessfully saved, and she woke up very soon. Lying on the hospital bed with her left wrist bandaged, her eyes were red and puffy from crying. Jin Qingyan stood there just looking at her, not saying a word. Finally, she still could not bear it and asked, ¡°Why did you save me? You should¡¯ve just let me die.¡± ¡°Then why did you not hang yourself? It¡¯s a faster way of dying. It¡¯s difficult to slit deep into your wrist, it¡¯s too slow and painful a way to die.¡± His words made her cry even harder. Chi Rui¡¯er watched him and eximed bitterly, ¡°You hate me a lot now, don¡¯t you? I¡¯m not the same as I used to be in your heart, right?¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you ask yourself that?¡± Jin Qingyan continued, ¡°If you really wanted to end your own life, nobody could¡¯ve stopped you. Is it because you¡¯re scared of going to jail?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t it be because I¡¯m regretful and ashamed?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er lowered her head andmented, ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have done that. Now, whether she¡¯s even dead or alive is unknown, and it¡¯s all my fault.¡± ¡°She¡¯s already returned, just suffered some external injuries.¡± She suddenly raised her head and eximed, ¡°She¡¯s returned?!¡± Realizing her reaction was too obvious, she hurriedly added, ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± ¡°Rui¡¯er, I hope something like this won¡¯t happen again in the future. She doesn¡¯t owe you anything ¡ª I will settle this properly. You won¡¯t have to go to jail.¡± As his words came out, the image of An Xiaoning¡¯s smile this morning appeared in his head and his heart wrenched slightly. ¡°Qingyan, I only did that because I didn¡¯t want to put you in a spot. I know I have no right to say this, but I want to be with you now. Even though it¡¯s toote, I still want to fight for it. I don¡¯t want to miss out on you again.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t get a divorce. I¡¯ll pretend I didn¡¯t hear this today, please don¡¯t say anything like that in the future.¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s gaze became colder. ¡°Rui¡¯er, I got Shixin to find you a house. You can go there to rest after you¡¯re discharged. I¡¯ll send people to guard and apany you there, the house is a gift from me.¡± ¡°Mmm...¡± She didn¡¯t know what else to say at this point. She could only smile bitterly and remark, ¡°And they said the power of love is the greatest of all? Qingyan, you love me but don¡¯t dare to marry me. I look down on you.¡± ¡°But if I abandon my wife to marry you, you¡¯ll respect someone like that?¡± He raised his arm to look at the time and said, ¡°Stay here and rest well, I¡¯ve other things to settle.¡± Looking at the back of his figure drifting further away from her, Chi Rui¡¯er was going crazy inside. She thought she knew him well, but she realized ¡ª even after knowing him for so long ¡ª she still didn¡¯t know exactly what kind of person he was. After Jin Qingyan came back from the police station, it was already past four o¡¯clock in the afternoon. Once he reached home, he thought An Xiaoning would interrogate him, but she was squatting on the ground, helping Maomao, which just bathed, blow-dry its hair. Though knowing that he was back, she didn¡¯t even give him a single nce. Jin Qingyan decided to initiate a conversation. ¡°What do you want to eat for dinner? I¡¯ll let Auntie Chen make it for you.¡± An Xiaoning replied with a grin, ¡°I have a mouth to say what I want to eat. No need to trouble you ¡ª Mr. Jin.¡± He was very annoyed upon hearing the words ¡°Mr. Jin¡± and pointed out, ¡°We¡¯re a family, what¡¯s with calling me Mr. Jin?¡± ¡°A family?¡± An Xiaoningughed and continued to blow-dry Maomao¡¯s fur. Seeing that she couldn¡¯t be bothered to talk to him, Jin Qingyan sat on the sofa, ying with his phone but not forgetting to look up at her once in a while. An Xiaoning blew Maomao¡¯s fur dry and sat on another sofa to watch the news. When she saw the report on her own case being dered as closed, her heart momentarily sank. As expected, the police announced that the instigator previously reported was a fictional person the group of five created to reduce their sentence. After a detailed investigation, An Xiaoning had gone to the teahouse to meet a friend that night. Recognizing who she was, the five were stricken by greed. After robbing her, they attempted to create the false impression that she had driven while drinking and crashed to her death. But they never expected that the truth would be revealed and they were arrested that night. Thements on this report werergely fromizens who expressed immense satisfaction towards this conclusion andmended the high efficiency of the police in S Nation. An Xiaoning knew that once this conclusion came out, it would be set in stone. No matter what she said, it would be meaningless already. She didn¡¯t even have to think about who had incited this conclusion. It was not a difficult thing at all to settle this issue. But her heart fell to a bottomless pit. Sure enough, he used his actions to express how he really felt. Between her and Chi Rui¡¯er, he chose the other woman. Right, because after all, she was the woman he loved most. It was only natural, wasn¡¯t it? An Xiaoning¡¯s nail bit deep right into her flesh. The pain overwhelmed her in that instant. She could not bear all that suffering for nothing, she just could not. During dinner, An Xiaoning cast a nce beside her where he was and said, ¡°Since you choose to protect her at all costs, then I can¡¯t lose out either. Transfer me 20 million yuan tomorrow. You know my ount number.¡± Jin Qingyan only muttered a single word, ¡°Okay.¡± An Xiaoning mixed the fermented beancurd and vegetables all in her rice ¡ª mixed them all together vigorously ¡ª and finally ate them in huge mouthfuls. Maybe because she¡¯d earned back the amount she spent on her car, or that she felt her life was worth a lot of money, she smiled as she ate. The smile was almost bitter. It was like she had dumped all her suffering and anger into the rice to swallow it down. ¡ª At night, shey in bed reading a book while he sat on the couch in the bedroom tasting the drink he concocted, Dreamyanghe. The blue liquid swirled in the wine ss. While his figure was on the couch, his gaze was focused on her. An Xiaoning could feel his stare, but she did not look back at him the entire time. Eventually, Jin Qingyan put down the wine ss and walked towards the bed. He removed the book from her hand and said, ¡°Let¡¯s talk.¡± ¡°I have knowledge on almost any area, from astronomy to geography, gossip, and even fortune-telling. I¡¯m not sure which area you want to talk about with me.¡± Seeing her ying dumb, Jin Qingyan bent down and moved closer to her. His warm breathing, which carried the faint smell of alcohol, reached her face. He replied nonchntly, ¡°Hmm... then let¡¯s simply just talk about married life, how about that?¡± Without waiting for An Xiaoning¡¯s reply, he pressed down onto her soft lips like a ferocious tiger. With one hand pinning down on her arm, his whole body was on hers. She was unable to move an inch. Her ears turned red hot, but the look in her eyes remained unchanged. It seemed to only emphasize the rift between them. She waspletely unaffected by his arousal. Jin Qingyan stared firmly at her. His lips traveled from her lips to around her face and eventuallynded around her ears. ¡°Be good, open your mouth.¡± An Xiaoning gave him a push away and said, with a grin still on her face, ¡°Let¡¯s y cards, shall we? Whoever loses shall drink down a ss of wine.¡± ¡°What about the winner?¡± ¡°The winner gets to do as they please tonight.¡± Jin Qingyan narrowed his eyes. ¡°That¡¯s what you said, okay? It¡¯s a deal.¡± An Xiaoning sneered inside. y cards with me, get ready to lose thoroughly. And so the two started ying. Never would Jin Qingyan have expected that he would lose so terribly that night. He lost five games to her consecutively. From drinking only one ss to eventually drinking five sses, he passed outpletely after. Chapter 66 - Stop with That Nonsense and Idle Talk

Chapter 66: Stop with That Nonsense and Idle Talk

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Putting the cards away, An Xiaoning said, ¡°You¡¯ve lost and I¡¯ve won.¡± Heid rxingly on the bed, extending both his arms to the side as he dered, ¡°Please do whatever you¡¯d like to me.¡± An Xiaoning hummed in approval as she watched the way he behaved while in a drunken stupor. ¡°Don¡¯t get too eager, I¡¯ll begin right away.¡± After cing the pack of cards onto the table, An Xiaoning removed all of his clothes, leaving only his underwear on. She then got off the bed and headed downstairs to bring some medicated oil and chili water, which she then mixed together in a basin. She had added a huge amount of chili to the concoction. Atst, she poured the mixture into a smaller spray bottle and walked towards him. One could only imagine what would happen if An Xiaoning were to pour the mixture over his private area. An Xiaoning felt a sense of relief and satisfaction as she began to imagine doing that. She switched off the lights and poured the thick, gooey mixture all over him. She then quickly snuck out of the bedroom, disposing the spray bottle into the rubbish bin while a loud shriek could be hearding from the bedroom. An Xiaoning ran into the living room, wrapped herself in a nket, and started watching a movie. After the movie had ended, she felt it had been long enough and that it was time for her to return to the bedroom. The bedroom was brightly lit, and the sound of water gushing out of the taps could be hearding from the bathroom along with his loud, piercing shrieks. After changing the bedsheets, An Xiaoning was exceptionally thrilled as she switched off the lights in preparation for a peaceful sleep. For the entire night, Jin Qingyan had remained inside the bathroom while An Xiaoning enjoyed a great night¡¯s sleep. She woke up early and proceeded to the bathroom to wash up, only to be greeted with the sight of Jin Qingyan sound asleep in the bathtub, warm water constantly running from the tap. Just as she was about to leave the bathroom after having washed up and brushed her teeth, he said in his alluring voice, ¡°Are you appeased now?¡± With a smirk, she answered calmly, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± ¡°Xiaoning... forgive her just this once, alright?¡± he pleaded while stepping out of the bathtub and turning off the tap. ¡°Haven¡¯t you already settled everything on your own? Does my forgiveness really matter?¡± ¡°It does to me. In fact, it¡¯s necessary.¡± ¡°Dream on.¡± An Xiaoning walked out of the bathroom, with him following closely behind. He walked in an awkward manner, keeping his legs as far apart as possible because of the injury at that certain spot, which was a ratherical sight. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s talk about thatter. Look what you¡¯ve done to your husband, how am I going to pleasure you tonight? Will you help me put on some medication?¡± Staring at his reflection in the mirror while she was putting on her makeup, An Xiaoning let out a humph and said coldly, ¡°Why? Do I get a reward? Why do I have to serve you, don¡¯t you have hands to do it yourself?¡± ¡°An Xiaoning, where did your virtue go!?¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan, what happened to being a loyal and protective husband!?¡± An Xiaoning turned around and rolled her eyes at him as she hissed, ¡°Stop with that nonsense and idle talk, my anger has yet to subside. Shut up and stop talking!¡± Jin Qingyan was startled by her audacity. However, he decided to quietly apply some medicine himself. After all, the matter had indeed caused her some unhappiness. ¡°Can you just stay home today?¡± he asked. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I¡¯m already in this sorry state. Who¡¯s going to keep mepany at home if you¡¯re away?¡± ¡°Go look for your beloved one. Her wrist may be injured, but her mouth isn¡¯t,¡± she sneered. Slightly annoyed at her ambiguity and cynical sneer, he argued, ¡°But you¡¯re my wife.¡± ¡°Oh, wow, you actually remember that! Sorry, My Dear Husband, but I¡¯d rather go outside to look at unpleasant things than to face you,¡± she scoffed. Jin Qingyan stood up to chase after her, but he quickly went back inside when he realized that he was still naked. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Mother, how did Sister-inw know that your calf was hurting?¡± asked Jin Qingyue. ¡°Isn¡¯t my birth date stated on my Wiki page? What¡¯s shocking is that there are also photos of me as well as our home address online.¡± Finding her question to be rather unusual, Mrs. Jin asked, ¡°Why did you suddenly bring that up?¡± ¡°Here¡¯s what happened. Today, I heard that your life shortens with each fortune-telling session, so don¡¯t get her to tell my fortune again. Got it, Mother?¡± ¡°She¡¯s already done that before, why would I get her to do it again? Do you actually think fortunes can be told with no restrictions at all? It¡¯s detrimental to your Sister-inw¡¯s health as well. She avoids it if she can,¡± said Mrs. Jin. Jin Qingyue nodded and gave her a hug as she said, ¡°Mother, I¡¯m heading out.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Upon meeting Shi Shaochuan, she said worriedly, ¡°Because of this, I¡¯ve instructed my mother not to let my sister-inw read my fortune again, in case she finds out anything.¡± Thinking that she was just overthinking, Shi Shaochuan replied apprehensively, ¡°She can tell that your mother was feeling ufortable just by reading her fortune. But can she tell that we... killed someone by knocking them down? Do you actually think she has supernatural powers?¡± ¡°Mother said she¡¯s psychic and has a third eye, do you know what that means? It means she can see the spirits of the dead.¡± Shi Shaochuan was momentarily speechless. He then continued to say, ¡°Then do you believe that she can see deities and gods?¡± ¡°Shaochuan, I¡¯m scared. I actually believe my sister-inw, though notpletely. She instructed my mother not to leave the house at all for the entire month of November, but my mother left home on the day that my sister-inw had met with a mishap. To our horror, she tripped on the steps at home and fell on her head, which caused some bleeding.¡± ¡°That was pure coincidence, it¡¯s not convincing enough.¡± Taking a deep breath, he continued, ¡°I¡¯m an atheist, I don¡¯t believe in anything except myself. I¡¯m in charge of my own life, not heaven!¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s better to be careful when ites to such things. I still feel uneasy somehow,¡± Jin Qingyue cautioned worriedly. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to worry about, no one will find out. Wang Fangfang¡¯s parents can¡¯t be found anyway, the police won¡¯t be able to do anything. So just rest assured.¡± Jin Qingyue began to feel much better after hearing his words offort. ¡°Shaochuan, don¡¯t you have to go to the office today?¡± ¡°But you matter the most to me, don¡¯t you? I¡¯ve been so worried about you the past few days, so I¡¯ve decided to keep youpany today.¡± Upon hearing his words, Jin Qingyue felt all warm and fuzzy inside. She asked, ¡°So where should we go today?¡± ¡°Where would you like to go?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go to the amusement park then.¡± ¡°Alright, sit tight, I¡¯m going to start driving.¡± ¡ª¡ª After breakfast, Chi Rui¡¯er began scrolling through the news on her mobile phone in boredom. She felt a huge sense of relief after realizing that there was no news of her online. ¡°Mr. Gu.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er looked up at the sight of Gu Beicheng, who was d in a blue suit, a cold expression on his face. He stood before her at her bedside and kept his eyes fixed on her. ¡°You may go out first. I¡¯d like to have a word with Ms. Chi privately,¡± he said, cocking his head slightly to the right. ¡°Alright.¡± The nurses then exited the ward. Gu Beicheng finally spoke up only after hearing the door close. ¡°You should¡¯ve slit harder, or better yet, just sliced off your entire wrist. You¡¯d definitely die if you did that.¡± ¡°Gu Beicheng, did youe by just to tell me these?¡± A faint smile formed on his face as he raised his brows and said, ¡°Of course not. Chi Rui¡¯er, I have no other purpose other than to tell you this. Jin Qingyan may have saved your life this time because he was quick to react. If it happens again, my family and I won¡¯t just sit back or let you off easily. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re well aware that An Xiaoning is one of us. If you darey your hands on her again, I¡¯ll shred you into pieces. You hear?¡± Chapter 67 - Youre Worse Than a Dog

Chapter 67: You¡¯re Worse Than a Dog

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Even at this juncture, Chi Rui¡¯er was still refusing to admit to what she had done. ¡°What evidence do you have to say that I was the one whoid a hand on her? I didn¡¯t slit my wrists because I felt guilty, I did it to prove my innocence!¡± she denied. Gu Beicheng¡¯s initial gaze of slight gentleness turned into a cold and deadly stare upon hearing her words. Noticing the change in his expression, Chi Rui¡¯er knew it was the first sign of his impending anger. She quickly cocked her head to the side and hollered, ¡°Gu Beicheng, get lost now, I don¡¯t wish to see you!¡± He gripped her bandaged wrist forcefully, causing Chi Rui¡¯er immense pain each time he tightened his grip. ¡°Ouch! Let go!¡± She winced in pain. ¡°Chi Rui¡¯er, don¡¯t y mind games with me. You should know clearly whether or not you were the one behind the act. Let me warn you right now, if you ever try to get people toy a hand on An Xiaoning again, I¡¯ll strangle you to death. Just you wait and see.¡± He shrugged her wrist away forcefully, causing her eyes to tear up in pain. She began to shiver, the sight of the blood-stained bandage sending a cold chill down her spine. He then closed the door forcefully, startling her once again. A nurse entered again and hurriedly called for the doctor to rece her bandage, having seen that her wrist had started to bleed again. Gu Beicheng drove and made his way to Ye Xiaotian¡¯s house. Just as he arrived at the entrance of the living room, a rotten stench attacked his senses. The room reeked strongly of alcohol, and servants were cleaning up the mess. ¡°Where¡¯s Xiaotian?¡± ¡°Sir has yet to wake up. Please take a seat first, Mr. Gu.¡± ¡°Here? But it¡¯s so suffocating,¡±mented Gu Beicheng as he pinched his nose and quickly made his way upstairs. The door of the bedroom was wide open. Thus, he made his way inside and gave Ye Xiaotian a light smack on his face. ¡°Hey, time to wake up.¡± Opening his eyes and seeing that it was Gu Beicheng, Ye Xiaotian turned to lie on his stomach as he refused, ¡°I¡¯m very tired.¡± ¡°When did you go to sleep?¡± ¡°Four o¡¯clock in the morning.¡± Having caught a glimpse of a woman next to him in bed, Gu Beicheng asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Mo Li?¡± Ye Xiaotian sat upright and took a look at the woman in his bed. At that instant, he suddenly seemed rather energized and no longer sleepy. He sprung up after lifting the nket and made his way downstairs bare-footed. Startled, Gu Beicheng followed suit. As Ye Xiaotian entered the basement, he felt his heart sink and went ahead to squat in front of Mo Li, who had passed out from excessive blood loss. Lost and confused, he quickly carried her and fled the basement. Gu Beicheng inched forward to take a look at the spot on which Mo Li had fainted and discovered a small pail which was filled with bright, red blood. He turned around and exited the basement, only to see that Ye Xiaotian had put Mo Li on the drip while shey motionless on the couch, looking pale as a sheet. ¡°Look after her while I go change into a fresh set of clothes.¡± Gu Beicheng nodded and said, ¡°Go ahead.¡± Ye Xiaotian headed upstairs and saw that the blonde-haired woman was still asleep in his bed. He put on his clothes and dragged her out of bed by her hair. The pain woke her up, and she hurriedly got dressed and left upon seeing him re at her coldly. The servants were slightly surprised at the sight of Mo Li and continued to tidy up the living room. Mo Li was still unconscious even after a long period of time. Her phone began to ring and Ye Xiaotian answered the call after taking a look at the caller disy. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Where¡¯s Mo Li? Ye Xiaotian, get her on the line,¡± said Long Tianze. ¡°It¡¯s not your call to decide whether I get her on the line or not. Long Tianze, you¡¯d better stay out of our business. Otherwise, you shall bear the consequences.¡± Not intimidated by his threat at all, Long Tianze retorted, ¡°Ye Xiaotian, save it and cut the crap. What did you do to Mo Li? You damned jerk!¡± ¡°I did whatever I wanted. It¡¯s none of your business,¡± Ye Xiaotian hissed, ending the call immediately after and turning off the mobile phone. ¡°Xiaotian, you¡¯ve gone overboard this time. Look what you¡¯ve done to her by putting her through all that torment,¡± Gu Beicheng chided. Ye Xiaotian eased into afortable position and began fiddling with the lighter in his hand as he spoke, ¡°This is what happens every time I catch her trying to escape. There¡¯ll only be the case where I dump someone, never the other way round. She ought to be punished if she forgets.¡± He nced towards a servant and instructed, ¡°Collect the blood in a container and give it to Ranran.¡± ¡°Yes, Sir.¡± Only after the living room had been tidied up and sprayed with some air freshener did Gu Beicheng finally feel alright about taking a seat. ¡°There are so many people in this world who share the same blood group, why does it have to be her?¡± he asked. ¡°She¡¯s not going to make it past another few years, if this goes on.¡± ¡°She¡¯s just a woman. If she kicks the bucket, so be it. It doesn¡¯t matter to me anyway,¡± Ye Xiaotian answered nonchntly, though Gu Beicheng knew full well that the former actually cares about Mo Li deep down. Mo Li woke up to their conversation, only to hear what Ye Xiaotian had said before she even opened her eyes. Tears began to stream down her face. She felt hurt and upset even though she had long given up on him. She had set her mind to spend each waking moment nning her escape from him, for as long as she was alive. She was all bent on leaving the monster that was Ye Xiaotian and never appear in front of him again, ever. Never again. Ye Xiaotian then went out together with Gu Beicheng after instructing the servants to look after her and give him a call when shees to. Mo Li woke up as soon as he left and removed the needle from the back of her hand. She pressed onto the needle hole and hurriedly made her way back to the room. In the shower, Mo Li stared nkly at the spot on her arm which was bruised from the blood-drawing, seemingly already numb and used to it. After blow-drying her hair, she intentionally caked on ayer of makeup on her face. Despite looking slightly better than before, she was still unable to conceal the paleness of her face. As she carried her bag and prepared to leave, the servant reminded, ¡°Pleasee home quickly.¡± Mo Li retorted coldly, ¡°You¡¯re indeed starting to resemble a dog, after having stayed with one for so long.¡± ¡°You¡¯re no different from us, Ms. Mo. In fact, you¡¯re worse than a dog.¡± Mo Li headed out with a stiff face and a heavy heart. The servant was right. In the eyes of Ye Xiaotian, she was indeed worth less than a dog. She returned to the home of the Long¡¯s. Mo Li¡¯s mother was thrilled at the sight of her return and said, ¡°Tianze had asked me repeatedly why you didn¡¯t answer your phone.¡± ¡°Is he at home now?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll go get him,¡± answered Mrs. Mo. However, she was stopped by Mo Li. ¡°Mom, I¡¯ll go look for him myselfter. I actually came here because I have something to tell you. Mom, I¡¯d like to go somewhere very far away. Thus, I might not be able to see you for a long time.¡± ¡°What do you mean? Mo Li, why do you look so pale, what happened?¡± asked a worried Mrs. Mo as she looked at her daughter. ¡°Nothing, Mom, it¡¯s just... I¡¯d like to escape to somewhere far, far away, but he won¡¯t let go of me.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re at home right now, can he still take you away forcefully?¡± said Mrs. Mo. She felt as if a million daggers had pierced her heart upon hearing Mo Li¡¯s words. ¡°Mom...¡± After taking a deep breath, Mo Li continued, ¡°He can. So don¡¯t worry if I don¡¯te back again in the future, I¡¯lle back to visit you one day. Rest assured.¡± ¡°Li-Li...¡± cried a teary-eyed Mrs. Mo as she held onto Mo Li¡¯s hand. ¡°I¡¯ll go look for Tianze,¡± said Mo Li while turning away from her mother. She could not bear the sight of thetter being upset. Long Tianze was startled at the paleness of her face, the moment he saw her. He asked in shock, ¡°Are you on drugs?¡± ¡°No. Tianze, please take care of my family while I¡¯m away,¡± requested Mo Li while sitting down beside him. ¡°What do you mean? Where are you going?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to escape, to a ce so far away he will never find me, and find a man more powerful than him. Tianze, I don¡¯t have another choice.¡± Chapter 68 - You Mustve Had a Long Battle in Bed Last Night

Chapter 68: You Must¡¯ve Had a Long Battle in Bed Last Night

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Noticing the spot on her hand which had been pricked by the needle, Long Tianze asked, ¡°You got an injection?¡± ¡°I caught a cold so I was put on the drip.¡± Shifting his gaze towards her wrist, Long Tianze again noticed a bruise and quickly rolled up her sleeves to have a clearer look. His face immediately stiffened at the sight of the bruise and spot on her hands. ¡°What¡¯s... this? Is he abusing you?¡± Mo Li was at a loss for words, too afraid to speak. ¡°Speak up! Tell me the truth! What happened?¡± eximed the bbergasted Long Tianze. ¡°His fianc¨¦, Bai Ranran, has been diagnosed with a disease where her body is not capable of renewing and producing blood on its own...¡± Stunned at what he had just heard, Long Tianze asked, ¡°That damned jerk is drawing your blood to keep Bai Ranran alive?¡± ¡°Yes... Tianze, please keep this from everyone else, including my family.¡± Long Tianze was almost too furious for words. He eximed, ¡°When did this begin? Have you been hiding it from me for a long time!?¡± ¡°It had been going on for quite some time, indeed. I didn¡¯t dare to tell you about it. I¡¯ve also tried escaping many times before, but to no avail. He would manage to get his hands on me and nab me back, every single time. He even threatened to kill my family should I try to escape again...¡± Lowering her voice, Mo Li continued, almost whispering, ¡°Tianze, if I ever manage to escape sessfully, my family...¡± ¡°Where are you going to run to?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°You silly girl, I reckon you wouldn¡¯t have nned to tell me about this if it hadn¡¯t been for the fact that I discovered it myself,¡± said Long Tianze, who was filled with worry. ¡°How about I discuss this with Qingyan and arrange for you to put up at their house in the future? Ye Xiaotian wouldn¡¯t have the guts to step foot onto Qingyan¡¯s territory. If you¡¯d still like to flee far, far away, then we can get him to arrange for that, after you¡¯ve lived with them for some time. It would be safer that way. I¡¯m afraid you will be caught again if you choose to escape alone.¡± Mo Li nodded in agreement, and said, ¡°Please talk to him about it.¡± Long Tianze gave Jin Qingyan a call at that instant and asked where he was. Upon hearing that Jin Qingyan was at home, Long Tianze informed him that he would be making his way there and ended the call before Jin Qingyan could even react. He then left hand in hand with Mo Li and drove towards Jin Qingyan¡¯s vi. Puzzled at the sight of Jin Qingyan lying in bed in his pajamas, Long Tianze asked, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you at the office today?¡± ¡°Um... I felt like taking a day off.¡± Long Tianze rolled his eyes and advised earnestly, ¡°I suppose you¡¯ve had a long battle in bedst night, haven¡¯t you? You wouldn¡¯t have taken a day off otherwise. Mr. Jin, you should take good care of your body.¡± ¡°Get lost. What¡¯s up? Spit it, looking at you being all anxious, it doesn¡¯t seem like you came all the way here just to have an idle chat with me,¡± Jin Qingyan hissed at the sarcastic remark. ¡°Of course I didn¡¯t, I¡¯m really busy too myself.¡± ¡°Then get straight to the point.¡± ¡°Qingyan, please allow Mo Li to stay here. That imbecile, Ye Xiaotian, has been treating her like a living blood bank. He¡¯s been drawing her blood to keep his fianc¨¦ alive,¡± pleaded Long Tianze as he pulled Mo Li closer to show Jin Qingyan the bruises and welts on her arm. Jin Qingyan sat upright to take a look at the syringe hole. Noticing the paleness of Mo Li¡¯s face, he asked immediately, ¡°Mo Li, what are your ns?¡± ¡°What ns could she possibly have? She said she wanted to run away, and she did, but he had caught her every single time. How far can she go by herself?¡± ¡°Qingyan, I really don¡¯t have another choice, apart from escaping and marrying someone else. I can¡¯t stay here forever either, so I¡¯m thinking of marrying someone who¡¯s richer and more powerful than he is. Qingyan, you have arge socialwork, could you introduce me to someone? It doesn¡¯t matter even if he¡¯s a foreigner, I¡¯m willing to marry him as long as he¡¯s decent,¡± Mo Li said softly. Jin Qingyan and Long Tianze exchanged nces. Jin Qingyan found her suggestion to be a great idea. After all, she had to get married sooner orter. ¡°Just stay here for now. There¡¯s everything you need here so you don¡¯t have to go out, lest he finds you. I¡¯ll look for a suitable chap to introduce you to,¡±forted Jin Qingyan. Although Mo Li was younger than him, they had grown up together and she had always been around Long Tianze. It had never urred to Jin Qingyan that she would get herself involved with Ye Xiaotian. Mo Li nodded her head in gratitude and said, ¡°I¡¯m fine with anyone below the age of 45. It doesn¡¯t matter if he¡¯s divorced or widowed either.¡± Jin Qingyan gazed at her in pity and replied reassuringly, ¡°Alright, if I find someone who has a great personality and is richer and more powerful than Ye Xiaotian, I¡¯ll set you up with him.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Tianze, there are guest rooms on the first floor. Pick one for Mo Li and bring her to buy some clothes and daily necessities. Don¡¯t bother collecting the things she left at Ye Xiaotian¡¯s house.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± said Long Tianze as he headed out with Mo Li. Jin Qingyan ced hisptop in front of him and a suitable candidate popped up in his mind ¡ª he was someone more powerful than Ye Xiaotian and was known for his good temper. He logged on to themunication tform and tapped on an English name, ¡°Byron,¡± in the contacts list. It tranted into ¡°Bailun¡± in Mandarin. The connection was quickly established. Soon after, Jin Qingyan turned on the video chat function. He was a handsome man who exuded a mature charisma, coupled with ravishing features. He had a pair of alluring, blue eyes, a high and defined nose bridge, and rosy lips. Although he was already 40 years old, he looked to be only in his thirties. ¡°Hi, Byron.¡± ¡°Hi, Qingyan.¡± ¡°What have you been busy withtely?¡± Jin Qingyan asked with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ve been on vacation the past few days. Is it still snowing at your side?¡± ¡°Not yet, but it¡¯s freezing.¡± Instead of beating around the bush, Jin Qingyan cut to the chase and said, ¡°Byron, it¡¯s been so long since you¡¯ve divorced your wife. Have you ever thought about finding another one?¡± Byron burst intoughter and answered, ¡°Seems like you¡¯re nning to set me up with someone.¡± ¡°Indeed, not gonna deny that. She¡¯s a pitiful woman, and she¡¯s asked for me to help her look for refuge,¡± Jin Qingyan said tantly, with no intention of hiding the truth at all. Upon hearing his words, Byron asked, suddenly serious, ¡°Oh gosh, what type of a man is that? Who is he?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell you more when we meet. So, are you interested in visiting S Nation? I¡¯ll be more than happy to wee you and show you around,¡± Jin Qingyan said calmly. ¡°Sure, I¡¯ve been here for a while. I haven¡¯t seen you in so long, couldn¡¯t even make it for your wedding because my father was in a critical condition then. I¡¯ll make it up to you now. I¡¯d also like to take a look at the girl you¡¯ve mentioned. By the way, have you got a photo of her?¡± he said with a nod. ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll send it to youter,¡± said Jin Qingyan, after which he proceeded to send Byron a photo with Mo Li, Long Tianze, and himself in it, which he had found in the photo album on his phone. Byron was pleased at first nce, and he praised excitedly, ¡°What a charming and unique woman. Just my type.¡± Upon hearing his remark, Jin Qingyan saw a glimmer of hope in freeing Mo Li from Ye Xiaotian. He thought it would be a good idea to set her up with Byron. After settling on a date, Jin Qingyan called Long Tianze, who then made his way upstairs together with Mo Li. ¡°I just spoke to a friend from overseas a while ago. I think he¡¯s a rather suitable choice for you, Mo Li. Tianze, you two have a look at his photo,¡± said Jin Qingyan, handing them the tablet. Long Tianze was surprised at the sight of Byron¡¯s photo and asked, ¡°Qingyan, isn¡¯t this Prince Byron? He¡¯s royalty!¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t we supposed to look for someone of higher status and power than Ye Xiaotian? I¡¯ve shown him a photo of Mo Li. He¡¯s on vacation now and will be boarding a flight here tomorrow,¡± exined Jin Qingyan. Chapter 69 - He Was Jealous!

Chapter 69: He Was Jealous!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I was just surprised, that¡¯s all. Mo Li, what do you think?¡± said Long Tianze as he turned to look at Mo Li. ¡°I trust Qingyan¡¯s taste.¡± Smiling, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°He won¡¯t be inheriting the throne, thus he¡¯s just a Prince by name. His main profession is being a businessman, and he¡¯s known for his great temper ¡ª a man of quality indeed. Mo Li, you¡¯ll lead a happy life if you get together with him.¡± Mo Li nodded and began to tear up at the thought of her impending chance at a new life. ¡ª¡ª When she returned home, upon hearing about Mo Li¡¯s predicament, An Xiaoning realized that Jin Qingyan was right about Ye Xiaotian being a malicious and viinous man. ¡°How did you find someone for Mo Li in such a short time? Turns out he¡¯s a royal too?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve always been highly efficient.¡± As if she was reminded of something, she nodded fervently and sneered, ¡°Indeed, you¡¯re exceptionally efficient at offending others because of Chi Rui¡¯er. No one canpare to you when ites to that.¡± ¡°Byron is flying over tomorrow, and he¡¯s estimated to arrive in the afternoon. Dress Mo Li up and give her a makeover, change her hairdo and pick out some designer clothes for her.¡± ¡°Sure, of course, but before that... please transfer 20 million dors to my ount. Why haven¡¯t you done that yet?¡± said An Xiaoning, a sudden change in her tone. ¡°I¡¯ve been busy the entire day and didn¡¯t have time to do it. I¡¯ll proceed with that tomorrow.¡± With a squint, An Xiaoning said, ¡°You¡¯re not thinking of going back on your word, are you?¡± Sliding him hisptop, she demanded, ¡°Transfer it now.¡± He had no choice but to transfer 20 million dors into her ount, right in front of her. Only after receiving the text message notifying her of thepleted transfer did An Xiaoning finally say something that was easy on the ears, ¡°Ever since I¡¯ve gotten together with you, I¡¯ve been thriving economically. Seems like you really do bring me good fortune.¡± ¡°What are you waiting for then? It¡¯s time to treat me better. Come here and help me apply some medicine.¡± An Xiaoning turned around to remove her makeup while she sat at the dressing table. Staring at his reflection in the mirror, she said, ¡°Don¡¯t assume that everyone is capable of bringing me fortune. You¡¯re blessed to be able to do so.¡± ¡°...¡± After removing her makeup, An Xiaoning tied her hair into a bun and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to go swim with my coach in our hot spring now.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve already neglected me for the entire day. Why... aren¡¯t you apanying me in the evening too?¡± hemented grudgingly, sounding rather displeased. However, his words had not affected An Xiaoning, not one bit at all. ¡°Oh, Lord Jin, why do you still need mypany? You¡¯ve got a bevy of beauties to choose from. Bye, I¡¯m leaving.¡± ¡°Hold up. Why did you stop letting Mei Yangyang teach you how to swim?¡± he asked, sounding serious all of a sudden. ¡°She would be beat from an entire day of work. I¡¯ll just get the swimming coach to teach me. I have to learn it well, no matter what,¡± she answered and left after grabbing a clean towel. After she had exited, a sudden question popped up in Jin Qingyan¡¯s mind ¡ª was the coach male or female? He lifted the bedsheets and put on some clothes, before following her to the hot spring pool. It was warm as summer in the hot spring. An Xiaoning was swimmingps around the pool in her swimsuit, while the coach stood on the tform to supervise her. Although he was quite a distance away, the perfectly chiseled and toned eight-pack abdominal muscles belonging to the young and suave coach had caught Jin Qingyan¡¯s eye. The male coach¡¯s toned and muscr build was exceptionally striking as he stood there, d in nothing except a pair of swimming trunks and a swimming cap. Jin Qingyan peeked beneath his shirt at his midsection, only to realize that he only had a six-pack. He was obviously short of two,pared to the coach. It seems he had not been hitting the gym hard and intensely enough, despite his frequent workout sessions. After An Xiaoning had finished warming up, the coach then dived into the pool from the tform and began briefing her about the important things she had to look out for while swimming. He then proceeded to start on the lesson proper. Jin Qingyan¡¯s eyes seethed in anger as he watched the handsome coach ce his hands on An Xiaoning¡¯s legs and back, finding it to be an eyesore. He could not help but let his imagination run wild, despite being well aware that there was nothing between her and the coach. A plethora of scenes began to pop up in his mind. For example, the first would be An Xiaoning giggling with joy as she caressed his abdominal muscles while squealing, ¡°Coach Hottie, my husband doesn¡¯t have abs as defined as yours. You¡¯re so attractive!¡± An alternative would be An Xiaoning resting on the sunbed while saying to the coach next to her, ¡°Coach Hottie, let¡¯s go to the swimmingplex for our lesson tomorrow, it¡¯s so inconvenient at my house...¡± He snapped back into reality when he could not continue imaging it further. He began to wonder if he would be hysterical, should the scenes in his heade true. ¡°Sir...¡± Jin Qingyan was startled at the sudden sound of Fan Shixin¡¯s voice. After getting a grip on himself, he turned around to look at him and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Why are you standing here? Get inside.¡± ¡°Who said I was going to?¡± he said with a shrug and ced his hands behind him, while Fan Shixin followed beside him. ¡°You think that coach is not bad too, huh? He¡¯s received a lot of awards. I hired him immediately after Young Madam got me to find her one,¡± said Fan Shixin. Jin Qingyan stopped in his tracks and said with a squint, ¡°You¡¯re the one who hired him?¡± ¡°Mhm, I was the one who found him,¡± answered Fan Shixin. With a faint smile, Jin Qingyan suggested, ¡°Shixin, I haven¡¯t seen you work out in a while. Go run thirtyps around our yard.¡± Fan Shixin was momentarily stunned as his face turned stiff. ¡°Sir, are you kidding?¡± said an appalled Fan Shixin. ¡°I¡¯m not, hurry and go.¡± ¡®Yes...¡± Fan Shixin was filled with immense regret about his decision to tell him about it. Judging from his reaction, Jin Qingyan was definitely jealous, without a doubt! Jin Qingyan stopped straightening his back and slowed down his pace. Before he even realized, he had arrived back at the entrance of the hot spring. He headed in straight away. An Xiaoning pretended not to notice that he was approaching. Meanwhile, he removed all his clothes and dived straight into the pool with just his underwear on. Hit by the huge ssh of water, An Xiaoning wiped the water off her face with her hand and snapped, ¡°Can¡¯t you dive in from that side instead?¡± ¡°But you¡¯re here, aren¡¯t you?¡± he said firmly, as if he had every reason to. An Xiaoning ignored him and continued to swim. Jin Qingyan began swimming in backstroke and soaked in the hot spring. He stayed inside the pool throughout the entire course of An Xiaoning¡¯s two-hour lesson. After the lesson ended, the coach left. The couple was then left alone in the massive pool. An Xiaoning¡¯s legs were sore from soaking in the pool for an extended period of time, and thus, she decided to get out. Just as she was getting ready to get out of the pool, he stopped her by grabbing her arm forcefully as he called her name, ¡°An Xiaoning.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°What do you think of this coach?¡± ¡°He¡¯s pretty good, very responsible and great at teaching. Hmm... he¡¯s brilliant in every aspect. I¡¯ve also realized that there is an abundance of outstanding men in this world, from all walks of life and types of profession. I guess I won¡¯t have to worry about being left on the shelf, if we ever get a divorce,¡± An Xiaoning teased, grinning from ear to ear. ¡°You¡¯re thinking of getting a divorce?¡± ¡°That¡¯ll depend on your performance.¡± He inched forward and held her tightly in his arms. He red at her and said, ¡°Try getting a divorce, if you dare.¡± She looked down with her chin up. ¡± I¡¯m all game for it. Did he forget about the wish he had promised to grant me? Besides, there¡¯s no way he can reject it ,¡± An Xiaoning thought to herself. Seeing that she refused to speak, he grasped her chin and stared deeply into her eyes. ¡°Say something.¡± ¡°What¡¯s there to say? Haven¡¯t I already said that it¡¯ll depend on how you behave? Jin Qingyan, there¡¯s nothing in this world that I wouldn¡¯t dare to do. I have my boundaries, don¡¯t try to push past it,¡± An Xiaoning warned while maintaining herposure. Chapter 70 - As Long as I Want Something

Chapter 70: As Long as I Want Something

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He wrapped his arms around her andunched a sneak attack. An Xiaoning was caught off guard and taken aback by his sudden move. He pressed his lips against hers and began smooching her,pletely unrestrained. An idea popped up in An Xiaoning¡¯s head as she got reminded of his injury at his private area, which made him extremely vulnerable. At that instant, she reciprocated and slipped into a deep passionate kiss with him, to the joy of Jin Qingyan. Locking lips with immense passion, the pair frolicked in the pool, overwhelmed with feelings of tenderness. Trying to take things further, An Xiaoning wrapped her legs around his waist with a leap and began rubbing her body against him up and down seductively as she straddled him. At this juncture, Jin Qingyan began to realize that, as much as he had a burning desire to, he could not act in ordance with his wishes. His initial passion began to fade. Sensing the shift in his mood, An Xiaoning asked with an eyebrow raised, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°You did that on purpose, you knew I was injured there! Yet you...¡± ¡°Hubby, you¡¯ve wronged me, I was only conceding to your request. You tried to get me in the mood despite knowing very well that you¡¯re injured, so that¡¯s your fault, not mine,¡± An Xiaoning retorted and turned around to get out of the pool. She draped a towel over herself and gave her legs a big stretch before heading to change in a rxed manner. Jin Qingyan followed suit, and the couple exited the hot spring room, only to see Fan Shixin sprawled across the bench, panting heavily. Seeing them approaching, he stood up and greeted, ¡°Sir, Young Madam.¡± ¡°What did you do? You¡¯re dripping with sweat,¡± asked An Xiaoning. ¡°Ask your husband,¡± Fan Shixin said grudgingly, managing to get a few words out. ¡°I¡¯ve noticed that Shixin hasn¡¯t worked out in a long while, thus I instructed him to go for a run, lest he gets all rusty inside. Let¡¯s go,¡± said Jin Qingyan as he ced his hands behind him, as if it was all for Fan Shixin¡¯s own good. ¡ª¡ª Ye Xiaotian was enraged at the fact that Mo Li had not returned the entire night. Thinking that she had tried to escape again, he began to find that the punishments he had subjected her to previously were obviously not severe enough. However, after some investigation, he discovered that Mo Li and Long Tianze had gone to look for Jin Qingyan. Only Long Tianze was seen leaving the house, whereas Mo Li had remained inside throughout the night. Ye Xiaotian knew since then that Jin Qingyan had gotten involved in the matter. He decided to give Jin Qingyan a call personally, but thetter did not respond. Ye Xiaotian then gave Mo Li call, only to find that she had switched off her phone. Thus, he decided to make a trip there himself. It was past 10 o¡¯clock when Ye Xiaotian arrived at the entrance of Jin Qingyan¡¯s vi, where Fan Shixin proceeded to usher him in. Jin Qingyan was seated, and d in a ck-cored sweater beneath a bright, red coat, he exuded an aura of arrogance. Ye Xiaotian entered and sat down opposite him. ¡°Where¡¯s Mo Li?¡± he asked bluntly. Jin Qingyan looked up at him and sneered, ¡°Mr. Ye, I think your parents have spoiled you so much and given you a cloistered life since childhood, to the point where you¡¯repletely ignorant of the current societal standards. Mo Li hasn¡¯t sold herself to you, neither is she your personal belonging. It¡¯s entirely her freedom to roam wherever she wants, and you have no right to restrict her. Besides...¡± Raising his voice, he spoke in clipped, stato sentences, ¡°How shameless of you to have the cheek toe here to ask for her whereabouts, after all that imbecile acts you¡¯ve done to her.¡± ¡°Get her toe out, we¡¯ll talk about everything here face-to-face.¡± ¡°But she doesn¡¯t wish to see you,¡± refused Jin Qingyan as he gestured his hand. ¡°Then tell me which room she¡¯s in, I¡¯ll go look for her myself.¡± ¡°Please have some tea, Mr. Ye. I¡¯ll go ask Mo Li if she¡¯s willing to thrash things out with you. This issue has toe to a clean break, anyway,¡± said An Xiaoning as she brought some tea over on a tray and ced it onto the table. She then stood up and headed to Mo Li¡¯s room. After 10 minutes had passed, Mo Li came out of her room. Her face full of immacte makeup, she was d in a set of exquisite, designer clothing. She looked more gorgeous than ever and exuded sartorial elegance. Long Tianze had bought her all that makeup and clothing. She would usually only put on some light and casual makeup. However, she had woken up exceptionally early that morning just to doll herself up. The initial delicate look of gentleness on her face diminished at the sight of Ye Xiaotian. However, she felt at peace because both Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning were present. An Xiaoning held onto her hand and pulled her onto the couch. ¡°What are we going to talk about?¡± asked Mo Li. ¡°Come home with me,¡± said Ye Xiaotian, keeping his eyes fixed on her face. It was the first time in a long while that he had observed her features carefully, only to realize how scarily thin she had gotten. In fact, she looked sick and emaciated, as if she had been suffering from a chronic illness. ¡°If I go home with you, will I still have to continue being your blood bank and allow you to draw all my blood until the veryst drop?¡± Mo Li spoke with extraordinaryposure. An Xiaoning was starting to get worked up, despite only being an outsider in the situation. She began to wonder how heartbroken and dejected Mo Li must have been previously, to be able to remain so unfazed and calm. ¡°I won¡¯t do that, as long as you¡¯re obedient,¡± said Ye Xiaotian, feeling a little heart-wrenched. ¡°I don¡¯t wish to be enved to you any longer, Ye Xiaotian. You¡¯re rich and powerful. There are many women like me out there whom you¡¯re free to choose from, you don¡¯t have to keep me in purgatory. I¡¯d given you my life since I was 18. It¡¯s been four years now, I¡¯m already 22. I actually almost forgot that I¡¯m human. As a woman, I need and want to be loved and taken care of. So, Ye Xiaotian, I don¡¯t wish to see you ever again in my life, I¡¯ll no longer be your subject of torment,¡± Mo Li said extremely calmly, as if she was talking about something that didn¡¯t matter to her at all. Upon hearing her words, Ye Xiaotian began to feel worried and pleaded as his pupils constricted, ¡°Mo Li, I won¡¯t do that to you again, I promise. Is that okay?¡± Mo Li stood up and walked away without saying a word to him. Her very silence had said a lot. There was no way she would return to his side, for it was such a rare opportunity for her to leave him for good, which she had been hoping for, for the longest time ever. No way... Having returned to her room, Mo Li sat by her bed as her hands trembled uncontrobly. She felt cold from head to toe as she recalled the threatening re in his eyes back in the living room earlier. However, after having alreadye thus far, she could not concede defeat. ¡°I suppose Mo Li has already made herself clear about everything that needed to be said. There¡¯s no need for us to continue dwelling on this matter. Shixin, please see him out,¡± instructed Jin Qingyan. ¡°Mr. Ye, please,¡± said Fan Shixin with a gesture for him to follow. Ye Xiaotian rose from his seat and said sternly, ¡°Mr. Jin, as long as I want something, I¡¯ll do whatever it takes to obtain it, no matter what it is.¡± ¡°Then let me tell you something, there¡¯ll always be an abundance of people far capable than you are. It¡¯s up to you to do whatever you want, if you have the ability to.¡± Ye Xiaotian exited the door in a sh. Unfortunately, he happened to bump into Long Tianze who had just alighted from his car. Upon the sight of Ye Xiaotian, Long Tianze immediately threw a punch at him, without saying a word at all. Ye Xiaotian was struck in his face and began bleeding from his nose profusely. Instead of retaliating, he reached out to wipe the blood off his nose with his hands and said, ¡°I don¡¯t wish to hit you right here. Long Tianze, you¡¯d better watch out next time.¡± Upon hearing his words, Long Tianze grew into a sudden rage and began attacking him with all his might. Ye Xiaotian was not an easy one to deal with, for he possessed a repertoire of superior martial arts skills. Although it was indeed a tough battle for Long Tianze, he was not one to be trifled with either and did notg far behind. The immense rage and anger within Long Tianze had spurred him to win the fight against the skilled opponent that was Ye Xiaotian. Gradually, Ye Xiaotian began to show signs of defeat while Long Tianze gained the upper hand, despite the two havingparable skills at the beginning. Ye Xiaotian grew out of breath andpletely exhausted while Long Tianze was still strong. He mounted atop Ye Xiaotian and began rapidlynding multiple punches on his face, beating him to a pulp. Even then, he was unstoppable. Chapter 71 - A Secret Kiss (1)

Chapter 71: A Secret Kiss (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyan saw that Long Tianze had beaten up Ye Xiaotian enough, so he went forward to stop him. He¡¯de in looking impressive but left in a wretched plight. That was the true portrayal of who Ye Xiaotian was. ¡ª Byron arrived earlier than Jin Qingyan had expected. He was at his front gate at two o¡¯clock sharp. Hearing from Fan Shixin that he had arrived, those in the living room went out together to wee him. After the car stopped, Byron and his bodyguard got off together. He was in a ck suit, looking tall and fit. The 40-year-old looked extremely young, and his vivid eyes were exceptionally charming. He walked slowly towards Jin Qingyan and the two exchanged a brief hug. Thereafter, he looked at An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning reached out her hand. Byron gently held her fingertips with both hands, bent down, and nted a symbolic kiss as a gesture of friendliness. ¡°Nice to meet you, Prince Byron.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you, beautiful Madam.¡± After shaking hands with Long Tianze, he finally stood before Mo Li and said gently, ¡°Well, this must be Ms. Mo Li.¡± Mo Li never expected that he¡¯d look more gentlemanly than he did in the picture. His eyes were so fixed on her that they could almost swallow her whole. ¡°Nice to meet you, Prince Byron.¡± He smiled at her. ¡°You look even prettier than you did in your picture.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get in everyone, it¡¯s cold outside,¡± Jin Qingyan said in a timely moment. The handful of people entered the house. The heater had already been turned on, so hot air blew on their faces the moment they went in. Auntie Chen immediately served them tea, and everyone sat down one after another. ¡°How old are you this year, Ms. Mo?¡± Byron asked. ¡°I¡¯m 22 years old,¡± she replied politely, carrying a faint smile on her face. His brows raised as a smile curled on his face. ¡°Then I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s fortunate or unfortunate. I¡¯m 40 this year ¡ª that¡¯s 18 years older than you. Would you mind?¡± ¡°Prince Byron still looks very young to me. As long as it¡¯s not over 45 years old, I don¡¯t mind at all.¡± How could she mind, when her body was not intact anymore? A woman who had nowhere to hide, who wanted to be loved and cherished, surrounded by warmth... she did not mind an age gap, as long as he was a good person. ¡°Come here.¡± Byron patted the seat beside him and said gently, ¡°Sit over here.¡± Byron turned to face her and said slowly, ¡°I¡¯m Byron, I¡¯m 40 this year. I married my ex-wife at 30 and got divorced four years ago. The reason for the divorce was that she did not want to be part of the royal family anymore. Although I cannot seed the throne, there are many customs to follow as a member of the royal family. Every word and action has to be taken with caution, but because I have my own ce of residence, it¡¯s fine in my own home. We had to pay more attention to our behavior outside though, which she felt was too much of a constraint. That¡¯s why we got a divorce. But evidently, she misjudged the situation. Even after our divorce, she has continued to make the news, under thebel as my ex-wife. Even then, we¡¯ve never contacted each other after our divorce and we have no children.¡± Mo Li believed that he was being honest with her because she wasn¡¯t the only one listening to this. Someone who could earn praises from Jin Qingyan would have to be of a certain standard. ¡°I don¡¯t have many requests, as long as you can protect me and treat my family well.¡± Byron reached out to hold her hand and asked, ¡°Then are you willing to go back to Y Nation with me? Along with your family.¡± Mo Li never expected it would go so smoothly. It was unexpected not only to her but also to the other three who were present. Looking into his vivid eyes, she nodded and replied, ¡°I¡¯m willing to go back with you.¡± Jin Qingyan was the first to apud, ¡°I¡¯ve personally brought together a marriage.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you credit for this.¡± Long Tianze was equally ecstatic about it and turned to An Xiaoning. ¡°Sister-inw, reward our Young Master Jin properly tonight.¡± ¡°How about this, I¡¯ll let you both have the bed to sleep in tonight ¡ª you can reward him yourself, you two can learn some skills from each other.¡± Long Tianze¡¯s face twisted into a look of disgust. ¡°No way!¡± ¡ª Byron ended up staying for a week. Mo Li was extremely satisfied with him. She packed up her belongings with her father and brother to prepare to leave the country. Having stayed for decades in the Long family, they couldn¡¯t bear to leave that family, but for the sake of Mo Li, they were willing to leave. The Long family also dered that they were wee to return anytime they wished to. It would still remain as their home. The departure of Mo Li¡¯s family also resolved an inner struggle Long Tianze had fought against for a long time. Witnessing Mo Li fall into a living hell because of Ye Xiaotian was something he badly wanted to prevent but had been helpless to do so. This situation now was extremely gratifying to him. After they got their marriage certificate, all that¡¯s left was for their wedding to be held. The group would see them again to witness their moment of happiness. At the dead of night... A highly agile masked man entered Ye Xiaotian¡¯s residence. With the surroundings dimly lit, Ye Xiaotian rested on the sofa with a ss of blood-red wine in his hands. His gaze unknowingly shifted towards a corner. Hearing a stir, he demanded, ¡°Speak.¡± ¡°These are the photos taken. Ms. Mo left with that man today. Her family went along too. ording to my investigation, that man is a prince from Y Nation¡¯s royal family. He¡¯s not only business partners with Jin Qingyan but also good friends with him. From the looks of it, Jin Qingyan must have introduced him to Ms. Mo.¡± Ye Xiaotian ced the wine ss on the table and grabbed the stack of photos. Just within a week, she had grown slightly plumper. Walking hand in hand with that handsome man, there was a radiant smile on her face, which she had disyed before in front of him. All the photos were taken discreetly and were scenes of them merrily sight-seeing together. ¡°You may go.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Ye Xiaotian gripped onto a piece of photo in his hand tightly, fiercely crushing it into a ball. The look in his eyes deepened, yet it could not hide the fact that without Mo Li, a piece of his heart seemed to have disappeared. A pair of high heels started clicking from a distance. Ye Xiaotian took the photos, ripping them into pieces before chucking them into the rubbish bin. ¡°Brother Xiaotian,¡± Sun Weiwei¡¯s voice came from the door. ¡°Mmm.¡± He acknowledged her and took out a cigarette to light. After drawing a breath, he cast a nce at the woman beside her and remarked, ¡°Even powder can¡¯t cover your rotting face anymore. Stop doing those drugs, they¡¯ll take your life someday.¡± ¡°I want to quit too, but I can¡¯t. I just finished shooting an advertisement, I¡¯m dead beat. I thought of you, so I came over.¡± Sun Weiwei looked around and asked, ¡°She¡¯s asleep?¡± ¡°Gone.¡± Sun Weiwei was secretly delighted. She thought that her previous warning had been of use, yet she maintained herposure and queried, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you wouldn¡¯t let her go?¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan stepped into this matter.¡± Ye Xiaotian obviously did not wish to say more. ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else then go back, I would like to rest now.¡± Sun Weiwei tried to appease him, ¡°Brother Xiaotian, I see you¡¯re not in a good mood. Why don¡¯t we go somewhere to have fun in a few days, just to take your mind off things?¡± He stood up and replied, disgruntled, ¡°I don¡¯t want to go anywhere, just go back.¡± Sun Weiwei watched as he turned his back and went upstairs, and so she had no choice but to leave angrily. ¡ª An Xiaoning¡¯s swimming skills were bing more impressive day by day. She took two hours each day to learn. Every time she went to the hot spring pool, Jin Qingyan tagged along using the excuse of wanting to get a hot spring bath. As they ended their session today, cool, cotton-like kes fluttered down from the sky. An Xiaoning looked up and remarked in amazement, ¡°It¡¯s snowing.¡± Chapter 72 - A Secret Kiss (2)

Chapter 72: A Secret Kiss (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyan had his hands sped behind his back. He turned and darted a nce at her. ¡°How about we take a picture together?¡± ¡°Sure. Let¡¯s go over there where there¡¯s a long bench and some lighting,¡± she replied, pointing to the area ahead. Jin Qingyan walked alongside her to the area ahead. An Xiaoning stood on the bench, shed a wide smile revealing a line of shiny white teeth, and said, ¡°Take it.¡± Jin Qingyan aimed the phone camera at her and snapped a shot. The effect of the snow was not too overpowering or subtle. It made the shot look perfect. Next, he took over the position An Xiaoning was standing on and let her take a shot of him too. They then finally took a shot together. Both of them were facing the camera for the shot, but who¡¯d have guessed, when it was five seconds before the self-timer was about to go off, he caught her off guard by giving her a kiss. An Xiaoning red at him and immediately went to check if the picture was blurry. Surprisingly, the shot turned out pretty well. ¡°The solo shots were taken using your phone. You can keep them. This one of us together is in mine, I¡¯ll keep it then.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just send you these two pictures and you can send me that one.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± The two headed back to the main house, using their Bluetooth to send the pictures as they walked. Arriving back in their bedroom, there were two sets of pajamas ced neatly on the bed, one was blue and the other red. An Xiaoning noticed and asked, ¡°You prepared this?¡± ¡°Mmm, there are two more sets in the cupboard. The blue one¡¯s mine, the red one¡¯s yours. I picked them carefully.¡± An Xiaoning reached for the blue pajama top. There were Mickey Mouse patterns printed on it. Then she looked at her red one, which had Donald Duck patterns printed on it, and asked, ¡°Why is yours Mickey Mouse and mine Donald Duck?¡± ¡°No reason. I like it. Also, the ones in the cupboard are different from these two.¡± An Xiaoning noticed his lips had curled into a strange smile so she quickly went to take them out to see. The blue one had a pattern of Pleasant Goat, a cartoon character, printed on it, while on the red one was a pattern of Slow Goat, another cartoon character, printed. She rearranged them into the cupboard. After trying it on, she realized it looked pretty good and fit very well. She asked, ¡°This doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯s sold outside, you had it custom-made?¡± ¡°What a good judgment you have. Would it fit that well if I hadn¡¯t had them custom-made?¡± He wore the blue pajamas ¡ª the soft fiber on the inside rested against his skin, and it felt exceptionallyfortable. ¡°But how did you know my measurements?¡± ¡°I relied on... my sense of touch.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s face blushed slightly. She wore her socks and sat on the cushioned mat to do her yoga poses. ¡°Your body is great enough, what more do you need to shape?¡± ¡°A good body needs to be maintained too. Don¡¯t be too full of yourself and think I¡¯m doing this so that you won¡¯t get sick of me. I¡¯m doing this so that I¡¯ll be in a great condition every day.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think of it that way.¡± Hey on the bed, sipping some red wine. ¡°Don¡¯t tter yourself.¡± ¡°Babylifewasgoodtomebutyoujustmadeitbetternull, Ilovethewayitstandbymethroughanykindofweathernull...¡± Jin Qingyan took his own sweet time before he picked up his phone, nced at the screen, and said, ¡°It¡¯s from Father.¡± He then answered it. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Qingyan, your mother¡¯s been hospitalized.¡± ¡°How did that happen?¡± Jin Qingyan got down from the bed and wore his shoes. ¡°I¡¯m now in one of the wards at themunity hospital. We can talk about it when youe ¡ª oh yes, bring along Xiaoning.¡± The call was hurriedly ended. He turned to An Xiaoning and said, ¡°Don¡¯t practice anymore. Mother¡¯s in a hospital. Hurry, get changed ande with me.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± An Xiaoning questioned as she changed, ¡°Why was she hospitalized? What happened?¡± ¡°Father didn¡¯t say, he said we can talk when we get there.¡± The couple quickly rushed to the hospital by car and almost ran all the way to the ward. In the ward, there was only Mr. Jin and Jin Qingyue, who sat there with her head lowered. ¡°Father, what exactly happened, what¡¯s wrong with Mother¡¯s head?¡± ¡°It¡¯s like that, thest time Xiaoning met with that mishap, your mother and I went over to your ce. After we came back, she fell down two steps of the staircase near the living room and hit her head. There was a bit of blood then, but your mother said she wouldn¡¯t go out the rest of the month anymore. But this afternoon...¡± Mr. Jin continued, ¡°Shi Shaochuan wanted to see your mother to talk about him and your sister. Your mother said it wasn¡¯t nice if he brought his mother over to our house directly, so they arranged to meet at a private room in a teahouse. They finished talking and had already reached home, Qingyue opened the door for your mother, but for some reason, her head plunged past it and was injured badly. There was so much blood.¡± Jin Qingyan looked towards his own sister and questioned, ¡°You knew Mother couldn¡¯t go out this month, couldn¡¯t you have let Shi Shaochuan bring his mother to meet Mother next month?¡± Jin Qingyue pouted her lips and sulked, ¡°His mother already initiated this, how could I bring myself to push it to next month?¡± ¡°You couldn¡¯t bring yourself to push it to next month, but you could bring yourself to let Mother meet with an ident?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t want that either...¡± Jin Qingyan did not want to continue this dispute with her, so he asked, ¡°What did the doctor say?¡± ¡°Nothing much. She just needs to be hospitalized for a few days. But I think it¡¯s better if she rests at home ¡ª better to be safe than sorry.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll arrange it,¡± Jin Qingyan replied and turned to leave the ward. An Xiaoning moved closer to Mrs. Jin¡¯s bedside and took out a long piece of thin yellow amulet with red markings. She reached out to loosen Mrs. Jin¡¯s cor and pasted the amulet close to her heart, then she adjusted her cor properly again and instructed Mr. Jin, ¡°Take off this amulet for her tomorrow morning. It¡¯ste now ¡ª tomorrow when she¡¯s discharged, she should be fine until she gets back home. Until the rest of this month, whatever on earth happens, don¡¯t let Mother leave the old mansion again. It¡¯ll get more and more serious each time.¡± Mr. Jin noted this down and replied, ¡°Alright, then what do I do with the amulet after that...¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be useless after tomorrow morning, just tear it away.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡ª After Chi Rui¡¯er was discharged, she nned on fetching her mother to her own ce, so she brought two people along with her to visit her mother¡¯s house. Her mother was cooking in the kitchen while her stepfathery on the bed smoking. Seeing that she was here, he immediately got up. ¡°Mother, stop cooking. Come and pack your luggage, move to my ce to stay.¡± ¡°What on earth are you saying? I have a house, why would I go over and live with you? You¡¯ll get married in the future, I shouldn¡¯t create trouble for you.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er sighed. ¡°You living here makes me keep worrying about you. Even if I get married next time, I¡¯ll bring you along. You won¡¯t create trouble for me. Mother, go pack your luggage.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s mother turned around to continue her cooking. ¡°Both of you pack up all my mother¡¯s clothes and belongings. Take everything including her household register and identification card.¡± Seeing that she was so bent on it, Mrs. Chi was puzzled. ¡°This girl, now you¡¯re trying to take me away forcefully?¡± ¡°Mother, juste with me, I¡¯m your only family member.¡± ¡°And your father is not?¡± ¡°He¡¯s not.¡± Mrs. Chi said slowly, in a softer voice, ¡°I know you are prejudiced against your father, but after we are both gone, he¡¯ll be the only one left here. There¡¯ll be no one to cook and wash for him, how lonely and pitiful will that be?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er was at a loss as to what to tell her mother. She could only reply coldly, ¡°He¡¯s not pitiful at all. Mother, I don¡¯t want to say anything else ¡ª stop cooking.¡± She went forward and grabbed the kitchen knife from her mother¡¯s hands, ced it down, and insisted stubbornly, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Chapter 73 - I Need You Badly

Chapter 73: I Need You Badly

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mrs. Chi shook her hands off. Bewildered and annoyed, she questioned her fiercely, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you, why are you forcing me to live with you out of the blue? I¡¯m living perfectly well here.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er could not express what she wanted to say. Seeing her mother like that, she asked in a fit of anger, ¡°Is it me or him? Make a choice. If you choose him, I¡¯ll never return to this house ever again!¡± Mrs. Chi was in an utter state of shock. ¡°Are you forcing your mother? Rui¡¯er, how could you be so heartless? Your biological father died early ¡ª he is the one who supported us and raised you. How could you say such words?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er sneered. ¡°If Mother knew the truth, would you still say this?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Since you chose him, then I¡¯ll never return here again. You¡¯ve lived with him for so many years and yet you can¡¯t see his true colors. Since you¡¯re willing to live in deceit, I¡¯ve nothing to say about that. But this house, I¡¯ll never step in here ever again.¡± She turned and called her men to follow. They then left immediately. Mrs. Chi thought she was speaking out of spite, so she did not chase after her and let her leave. After cooking and serving the dishes, she then remarked, ¡°Rui¡¯er insisted on me moving to her ce. She said a bunch of stuff for no rhyme or reason.¡± Mr. Chi replied without batting an eyelid, ¡°She¡¯s had something against me since she was young. After all, I¡¯m not her biological father.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t leave with her, did I? I thought of what would happen to you if I were gone, you don¡¯t cook or do any housework.¡± Mrs. Chi looked at him. ¡°Rui¡¯er¡¯s old enough already. She¡¯ll get married someday ¡ª it¡¯d be somewhat inconvenient if I lived there,pared to living in our own house.¡± ¡°Why would you want to live in someone else¡¯s house? You have to listen to others about everything. Even if she¡¯s your own daughter, you¡¯ll have to be at her disposal.¡± Mrs. Chi nodded in agreement. ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯ll be going for my church service in the afternoon.¡± ¡°You go then, leave your phone at home.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er went home and ate. She received a message from her mother¡¯s handphone getting her toe back alone, iming that her stepfather was out and she wanted to have a good talk with her. She thought for a moment. It was her own mother after all, so she made her way home again, this time alone. ¡°Mother?¡± ¡°Your mother¡¯s gone to church.¡± Mr. Chi locked the door from the inside. Chi Rui¡¯er turned and saw that it was him. Immediately outraged, she shrieked, ¡°You sent that text with my mother¡¯s phone?!¡± ¡°What a clever child.¡± Mr. Chi approached her while Chi Rui¡¯er backed off rapidly. ¡°My men are still outside.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already looked out the window just now, there¡¯s no one outside at all. You¡¯re really obedient towards your mother.¡± His eyes twinkled with amusement. ¡°Your dad would probably never have expected, his wife and daughter are both my women ¡ª when I die and meet him, I must definitely brag about this to him.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s face stiffened and she cursed him furiously, ¡°Yang Yongcai, you¡¯ll die a horrible death!¡± Mr. Chi gave a cold smile, went forward, and grabbed Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s neck forcefully. ¡°Scold me ¡ªe on, continue scolding me ¡ª I¡¯m listening.¡± With her neck being severely constricted, Chi Rui¡¯er could not make a single sound and could only use her limbs to kick him desperately. She was thrown onto the bed with all his strength. ¡°You little brat. I thought you would stay away from here forever. Well, don¡¯t youe back.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er sprung up from the bed, trying to get off, but he gripped her by her hair and said callously, ¡°Just let me relieve myself and you can leave earlier. If not, when your motheres back, she might really get a heart attack and just die like that.¡± She just gave up struggling. It was the umpteenth time already. Ever since she was young, until now... she had lost count already. This time would be just like one of those times anyway. After she left this time, she would never return to this house ever again. Mr. Chi opened the drawer and took out a huge ck pill to eat, then he began to undress himself. Chi Rui¡¯er closed her eyes, silently enduring the physical suffering she was going through because of him. ¡ª At five in the afternoon, after he had finished handling his work, Jin Qingyan stood up to stretch himself. His secretary knocked on the door just then, reporting to him, ¡°CEO Jin, Ms. Chi is here looking for you.¡± ¡°Let her in.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er was wearing ck leggings with a red leather skirt. Her top was a white down coat, her long hair was draped over her shoulders, and she had specially put on makeup on her face. Once she¡¯d entered, she closed his office door shut. ¡°Qingyan, after you get off work, shall we have dinner together?¡± ¡°No thanks, my wife is waiting for me to have dinner together at home.¡± ¡°...¡± Chi Rui¡¯er was slightly dissatisfied, but she quickly returned to normal and said earnestly with a wide grin, ¡°I¡¯ve something important to tell you. Just half an hour is all I need. Qingyan, we haven¡¯t met in a week. I¡¯m just treating you to a meal, you won¡¯t even show me some face?¡± Seeing her like that, it was as if Jin Qingyan was looking at her a few years ago. She was exactly like that back then. He replied coldly, ¡°Anything important, you can just tell me here.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er moved closer and stood right before him. She looked up and stared at Jin Qingyan. ¡°Qingyan, all I want now is just to treat you to a meal. Is it that hard to agree to it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want my wife to misunderstand.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er could never have expected this. One day, he would actually use his own wife to reject her request. She really never saw thising. From her memory of him, Jin Qingyan loved her exceptionally much. Why would he reject her because of a wife whom he did not love? It was simply impossible! ¡°Qingyan, you¡¯ve changed.¡± Jin Qingyan looked down at her. ¡°Which part of me has changed?¡± ¡°Everything about you has changed. I¡¯m afraid in your heart now, I¡¯m just someone insignificant to you. But I don¡¯t believe An Xiaoning is capable of changing you in such a short time.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er continued desperately, ¡°Tell me, do you still love me?¡± ¡°Rui¡¯er, when you ask me this, do you take into ount my present status?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to think of what status you have now, I just want to know whether you still love me!¡± Chi Rui¡¯er sulked and cried, ¡°It was a question that you could easily answerst time, but why can¡¯t you utter a single word right now! Is it just because you¡¯re married now? Qingyan, you can¡¯t fool me. I know I didn¡¯t grab hold of you in time, I regret it so much too. I need you badly now, Qingyan.¡± Her eyes began to redden. She grabbed his waist and hugged him, rested her head tightly against his chest, and said, ¡°Qingyan, I can only rely on you now. Don¡¯t leave me alone.¡± Jin Qingyan pinned down her shoulders and pushed her away. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of everything in your life, don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°I don¡¯tck anything in my life now, I just need a man. How are you going to take care of that?¡± Jin Qingyan sat down and started spinning the fountain pen in his hand. ¡°I¡¯ll introduce some to you, how about that?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s making you do that?¡± She remained standing beside him. ¡°Qingyan, you¡¯re so smart. Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t understand what I¡¯m saying?¡± ¡°Rui¡¯er!¡± His gaze was sharp and powerful, piercing right through Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s eyes. ¡°You¡¯re bing more and more insensible. I have a wife now, and I¡¯m leading a happy life too.¡± ¡°Happy?¡± She sneered. ¡°You¡¯re living with a woman you don¡¯t love, how will you be happy like that?¡± ¡°We¡¯re passionate almost every night, how can I not be happy?¡± Chapter 74 - A Surprise from Him to Her

Chapter 74: A Surprise from Him to Her

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s lips were shaking, and her face was pale as a sheet. His words were ringing by her ears like a sudden attack from a savage beast. She was not mentally prepared to hear him say those words at all. She stood there, suddenly feeling absolutely pathetic. Turning around, she headed straight for the door. ¡°Rui¡¯er, I¡¯ll get someone to send you back.¡± ¡°No need.¡± She pulled the door open and just left. Jin Qingyan looked like he was in a trance. He felt that since he was an adult, he should be responsible for his own actions. If he married An Xiaoning, she was his wife, so regardless of anything, he should not give other women any glimmer of hope. ¡ª Mei Yangyang had hired another sales assistant. Her name was Zhang Li, she was 21 years old and had two years of experience as a sales assistant. Now, in the store, there were three employees, including her. An Xiaoning only went to personally check on the stock herself, the other matters of the store were left to the three of them to handle. Mei Yangyang went home every day, while Xu Jingwen and Zhang Li stayed behind to look after the store. At 5:30 pm, Jin Qingyan¡¯s car stopped at the entrance of the store. He wanted to give her a surprise, the very first since their marriage. As he arrived at the doorstep of the store, Mei Yangyang saw him and greeted cheerily, ¡°Brother-inw, you¡¯re looking for my sister right?¡± ¡°Mmm... where is she?¡± ¡°She¡¯s gone to buy food for us, she¡¯ll be back very soon.¡± She pointed to the interior of the store and continued, ¡°You can sit there and wait for her.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Jin Qingyan took the opportunity to survey the store ¡ª it was uniquely renovated, one look and he knew it was his wife¡¯s piece of work. The clothing looked like they cost a few hundreds, but the designs were fashionable. He reached out to feel the material of their clothing, and it was indeed of fine quality. ¡°Take it, Brother-inw.¡± Mei Yangyang passed him a cup of tea. ¡°Thank you.¡± He took it and asked gently, ¡°How¡¯s the daily earnings of this store?¡± ¡°Under my sister¡¯s leadership, it¡¯s improving by leaps and bounds every day. Look, we¡¯ve also hired two sales assistants.¡± Seeing Jin Qingyan for the first time, Xu Jingwen and Zhang Li were both in awe. Xu Jingwen greeted him, ¡°Hello, Mr. Jin, I¡¯m Xu Jingwen.¡± He nodded and smiled politely at her. This smile instantly turned Xu Jingwen head over heels for him. Her face flushed immediately and felt like it was on fire. She had applied for a job at this store precisely because she heard that it was opened by Jin Qingyan¡¯s wife, in hopes of meeting the man of her dreams. To her, Jin Qingyan was a handsome, rich, powerful, and gentle man who was the perfect prince charming in her heart. Sure enough, meeting him then allowed her to see for herself the gentle temperament he possessed like whatizens had imed online. Aspared to the fanciful efforts from a girl like her, Zhang Li appeared calm and did not take the initiative to introduce herself either. Not long after, An Xiaoning returned carrying a few bags of dumplings. There were also side dishes and some piping hot soup. At the sight of Jin Qingyan¡¯s car, she¡¯d known he was here. Mei Yangyang immediately took the bags from her and called Zhang Li and Xu Jingwen to head inside to eat. ¡°It¡¯s the first time you¡¯re here at this shabby store of mine, right?¡± Jin Qingyan stood up and leaned in front of the table, his eyes darting around. ¡°It¡¯s renovated pretty well. I heard from Yangyang that your store earnings are impressive too. How great ¡ª I can do business, and so can my wife.¡± ¡°I know everything, there¡¯s nothing I can¡¯t do.¡± She grabbed her bag and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go home.¡± Jin Qingyan snorted, ¡°You know everything? I really doubt that.¡± ¡°What, tell me what I don¡¯t know then.¡± An Xiaoning said with a beam, ¡°Let me tell you, as long as it can be learned, after I learn it, I¡¯ll know it.¡± ¡°There¡¯s something. You may be able to learn it, but you probably won¡¯t.¡± He continued calmly, ¡°Want to know what it is?¡± An Xiaoning stopped in her footsteps. ¡°What?¡± Jin Qingyan only mouthed two words and did not make a sound. But even then, An Xiaoning knew what he was saying. It was because his lips mouthed two alphabets which one could easily understand. The first was a ¡®K¡¯ and the second was a ¡®J.¡¯ She reached out andnded a fist at his chest, blushing right to the tip of her ears. Turning to leave, she responded, ¡°Silly.¡± He caught up and stretched his long arms to hug her shoulders. ¡°Do you want to learn? I can teach you for free and even provide you with the tools for practice.¡± ¡°Get lost...¡± Jin Qingyan had always enjoyed teasing her, so he continued, ¡°As my wife, you don¡¯t even want to humor me with such pleasures. How about this ¡ª let¡¯s do it the ¡¯69¡¯ way, fair and square. None of us will lose out.¡± An Xiaoning went nk. ¡°What is ¡¯69¡¯?¡± ¡°Mmm... this, I¡¯ll exin when we get home...¡± The two cars arrived at their doorstep one after another. After parking in the garage, he got off first and told her, ¡°Get into my car, I¡¯ve something to tell you.¡± ¡°We can say anything in the room, why sit in the car?¡± ¡°Quick, I just want to tell you in the car.¡± An Xiaoning had no choice but to open the door beside the driver¡¯s seat and get in. ¡°What do you want to say?¡± she asked. He looked towards the backseat and said, ¡°For you.¡± An Xiaoning followed his eyes and turned around. The back row was full of beautiful, delicate roses. It would be a lie if she said she wasn¡¯t surprised, but she felt that he was being exceptionally unusual. She then asked, ¡°A gift with ulterior motives. Tell me, what have you done wrong towards me again?¡± ¡°You¡¯re overthinking again.¡± He stuck out his finger to poke her head and remarked in amusement, ¡°Why can¡¯t you just think of my virtues.¡± An Xiaoning opened the car door and got off. She opened the back door of the car. The sight of so many bright red flowers before her suddenly brightened up her mood tremendously. ¡°ce the flowers in the living room, ce a huge bunch in the bedroom too. I love them.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Upon entering the living room, Maomao ran over excitedly, biting the corner of An Xiaoning¡¯s pants. She squatted down andmented, ¡°Has Maomao been eating loads of good food recently, he¡¯s gotten so fat.¡± ¡°You just see, this fellow will get so fat that you won¡¯t be able to carry him one day.¡± An Xiaoning carried Maomao and said, ¡°If I can¡¯t carry him, I¡¯ll just walk him. Too bad our Maomao is male. If not, I can still see him mate and give birth to little puppies.¡± She held Maomao in her arms and sat on the sofa, using her hand to stroke its white fur. ¡°Why do I just feel that you¡¯re acting really unusual today.¡± He sat beside her and tilted his body to look at her. ¡°Tonight, I¡¯ll act even more unusual.¡± Unable to withstand the steamy look in his eyes, An Xiaoning stood up, ced Maomao in its doghouse, and went to the kitchen to watch Auntie Chen make dinner. During dinner, Jin Qingyan picked up more food for her with his chopsticks and said gently, ¡°Eat more.¡± An Xiaoning passed a suspicious nce at him. She couldn¡¯t help but think he was acting strange today. ¡°Why do you always mix the fermented beancurd and other ingredients with your rice? Is it tasty that way?¡± ¡°You try it too.¡± She picked up a piece of fermented beancurd with her chopsticks and ced it in his bowl, conveniently mixing it for him. ¡°Taste it.¡± Jin Qingyan raised his spoon and imitated her by cing a huge scoop into his mouth. It did not taste horrible at all ¡ª on the contrary, with the addition of the handmade peanut chili sauce which had its unique vor, the texture was very refreshing. After a satisfactory meal, An Xiaoning sat on the sofa to rest. Jin Qingyan grabbed her arm and said, ¡°Come with me.¡± Chapter 75 - Jin Qingyan! Youre Stepping On My Leg!

Chapter 75: Jin Qingyan! You¡¯re Stepping On My Leg!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Reaching the bedroom, she sat on the bed while watching him bring out a ck stic bag from his briefcase. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± He passed it to her. ¡°Open it.¡± An Xiaoning took it from him and opened the bag, then took out a piece of thong underwear. ¡°Wear it for meter after you bathe.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning was about to vomit blood. ¡°You really want me to wear it?¡± ¡°Of course. I picked it especially for you. You have to wear it.¡± His tone was firm. ¡°Tonight, I want to y something different with you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m tired, I want to sleep. I don¡¯t want to y anything. No, no, no!¡± An Xiaoningy on the bed, refusing toply with his arrangement. ¡°I¡¯ll go and run the water for the bath. Quickly, wear it, let¡¯s bathe together.¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan, what¡¯s wrong with you today?¡± ¡°Nothing much.¡± He turned and went into the bathroom. An Xiaoning could hear the sound of water running inside almost immediately. The heater made the room warmer gradually. She stood up and took another look at the piece of unique underwear which had been especially picked out by him. The corners of her lips curled into a smile. She then slipped into the dressing room, opened the closet door, and crawled inside. Closing the closet door lightly, she rested inside to take a shut-eye. However, before two minutes had even passed, she could hear the sound of footsteps entering the dressing room. The footsteps slowly approached her, the sound of every step was loud and powerful. An Xiaoning did not even dare to make a breathing sound. With the footsteps getting closer and closer, she became a bundle of nerves. Could it be that he knew she was there? While she was in an agonizing situation wherein her heart was in her mouth, the closet door was ultimately not opened. Even after quite some time, nobody came to open the door. An Xiaoning could finally no longer endure it. She pushed the door open slightly to reveal a small gap in the wardrobe. Her eyes instantly met his deep smiling gaze. That smile gave her the chills all over. Atst, she pushed open the closet door and came out from inside, acting like nothing had happened. She asked casually with her innocent eyes, ¡°Hubby, why did I fall asleep lying in the wardrobe?¡± Jin Qingyan saw her pretense and the smile on his face grew deeper. ¡°ying hide-and-seek? You¡¯re not skilled enough for me.¡± ¡°How did you find me?¡± Getting out of the dressing room, he was unable to hold back hisughter. ¡°You¡¯re usually so smart, what¡¯s be of your brain now? Your slippers were by the bedside, and I was just in the bathroom for a short while, where else could you be besides the closet?¡± ¡°The bath water¡¯s done?¡± ¡°It¡¯s done. Everything¡¯s all ready, all that¡¯s left is for you toe.¡± An Xiaoning started undressing herself. ¡°Tell me truthfully, did you receive some kind of blow today?¡± ¡°Nothing of that sort, shouldn¡¯t our usual married life be like this?¡± ¡°Hmph, I don¡¯t believe you.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll use my actions to prove it.¡± Wearing that piece of sexy underwear in front of him, An Xiaoning was to some extent embarrassed. A momentter, her whole body was abruptly carried away by him, giving An Xiaoning a huge scare. He carried her in his arms and headed into the bathroom. The heater was turned on inside so there was steam rising at the top of the bathtub. After she was put down in the bathtub water, An Xiaoning noticed a small box ced at the side. There were five or six condoms ced inside. He actually put so many... ¡°Why do you have your phone with you when you¡¯re bathing?¡± He passed the phone to her. ¡°I especially searched the meaning of ¡¯69¡¯ for you, didn¡¯t you not know about it?¡± An Xiaoning took the phone from him and cast a nce, her face turning beetroot immediately. ¡°You... you want me to do that with you?¡± He appeared very calm and tossed his phone aside, turning the lights off straight away. ¡°What did you switch the lights off for?¡± ¡°I know you¡¯re embarrassed, I¡¯m trying to consider your feelings.¡± ¡°Ouch! Jin Qingyan! You¡¯re stepping on my leg! ¡± ¡°Sorry...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± By the time the two hadid down in bed, An Xiaoning felt that the two of them had been brought closer again. But at the thought of his true colors, she still silently reminded herself never to fall into the trap of his honeyed gestures. He was most capable of using such sweet intimate gestures to bury others alive. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you talking?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know what to say.¡± An Xiaoning turned over, gazing at him under the dim lighting. ¡°Tell me, exactly what kind of person are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a good person.¡± ¡°Are you really this shameless?¡± He turned over to face her as well. ¡°What kind of person I am, you¡¯ll know that in the future.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯ll have so much time to understand what kind of person you are. When we just got married, I felt that this marriage was one that wouldst a lifetime. Now, I¡¯m not so sure anymore.¡± ¡°I will never divorce you because of Chi Rui¡¯er.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say your words too early,¡± An Xiaoning replied in a gentle and calm voice. ¡°Life is full of uncertainties. You may think that what you¡¯re saying now is how you truly feel, but it may change in the future. Take things as theye ¡ª if one day you end up in a blind alley, I won¡¯t force you tond yourself in a passive position.¡± He pulled her into his arms tightly. ¡°You¡¯re afraid of something that has yet to happen? What¡¯s the point of thinking about the future? Everything is fine now, that¡¯s what matters.¡± That¡¯s true. ¡ª The news of Mo Li and Byron¡¯s uing wedding spread across the globe. Even though Byron had no im to the throne, he was still a member of Y Nation¡¯s royal family. Furthermore, he was a famous businessman. News of his remarriage rapidly upied the top spots on various media tforms. At the same time, his previous marriage with his ex-wife resurfaced as a topic of discussion. Not only that, Mo Li¡¯s background and identity in S Nation was also exposed. Although she had been Ye Xiaotian¡¯s woman for four years, she was not spared from such news. Byron was a whole 18 years older than she was, and her family was mere civilians. It was natural for the media to insinuate that she was materialistic and greedy for power. Ye Xiaotian had a fianc¨¦e, Bai Ranran. She knew it was impossible with him already, so she grabbed hold of Byron. However, they did not intend to make any statement, which left the outside world to specte among themselves. It did not seem to affect Byron and Mo Li at all. The two were bombarded by the media when they went out together. When asked about when they were getting married, Byron revealed frankly, ¡°We¡¯re getting our marriage certificate now. Our wedding will be held very soon too, in just a couple of days.¡± He rejected to answer all other questions politely and held Mo Li¡¯s hand as they both disappeared from the cameras. Ye Xiaotian switched off the television and stood up abruptly. Both his hands were sped behind his back and his face was dark as thunder. ¡°Young Master, Ms. Bai is here.¡± Ye Xiaotian headed towards the door. As he reached the living room entrance, Bai Ranran entered. Her pale face revealed her sick state, but she still appeared beautiful. She was dressed up so impably, it was obvious she came from a rich family. ¡°The weather¡¯s so cold today, why did youe over?¡± Bai Ranran replied, ¡°You¡¯ve been too busy to visit me these few days, so I came over to take a look. Xiaotian, I saw the news ¡ª Mo Li¡¯s gone overseas.¡± ¡°Mmm.¡± ¡°The doctor said her blood matches mine the most and is the purest. Why did you just let her go?¡± Chapter 76 - Will You Like Me for the Rest of Your Life?

Chapter 76: Will You Like Me for the Rest of Your Life?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I didn¡¯t let her go, she ran away herself.¡± Ye Xiaotian held onto her hand as they walked inside. ¡°Haven¡¯t I already gotten a few people to take turns donating their blood to you? It all turned out fine. Just take good care of your health, don¡¯t worry about the rest.¡± Looking at the expression on his face, Bai Ranran said, ¡°Xiaotian, you seem to be in a bad mood.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just vexed about some matters at work, it¡¯s not too serious,¡± Ye Xiaotian said with a sigh. ¡°You ought to be mindful of your health too. I wish I could take the best care of you and keep youpany every single day. Sadly, things don¡¯t always turn out the way we¡¯d like them to. I can¡¯t wait to marry you, so I can see you every day.¡± ¡°The medical technology we have currently is not developed well enough to treat your illnesspletely just yet. But I believe it will be, someday. When that happens, you¡¯ll no longer have to survive on the blood of others. Ranran, whatever¡¯s impossible now will be possible,¡± he said reassuringly. He sounded rather exhausted and weary, however, as if he had not had a good rest in ages. Bai Ranran rested her head on his shoulder and said with a smile, ¡°Xiaotian, I can die without regrets, now that I¡¯ve had the opportunity to be your fianc¨¦e, and one day, your wife.¡± ¡°Knock on wood! Don¡¯t mention anything about dying, you¡¯ll live a long life.¡± Bliss and euphoria were written all over her face as she nodded. After just a short while, Ye Xiaotian proceeded to send her home, after which he leaned against the backrest of the car seat, his eyes unable to focus on anything. He felt a constant mix of emotions and was more uneasy than ever. All along, he had thought there would never be a day in Mo Li¡¯s life that she¡¯d be able to escape his shackles. How far could she have been able to run from him? However, it was all just his assumptions. Little did he expect that she would actually manage to escape sessfully this time and that she had left him for good, to marry another man very soon. The memory of their first encounter popped up in his head. She¡¯d boldly confessed in a shaky voice that she liked him, a shy and coy expression on her face. He had tilted his head to look at the petite girl before him and asked not long after, ¡°Will you like me for the rest of your life?¡± To which she replied without hesitation, ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°You¡¯re willing to do anything for me?¡± However, at that juncture, she did give it a second thought before answering, ¡°I won¡¯t do anything illegal, though.¡± Heughed at the sight of her getting all frightened. ¡°Of course I won¡¯t let you do anything like that,¡± he¡¯d said, because to him, well, he set the rules. ¡°Then I¡¯m willing to.¡± Those words of hers had stuck with him dearly ever since. Even until now, they seemed to sound just as dreamy and surreal as they did back then. She had be his right after he asked for her blood type. However, she had been rather reluctant about donating her blood. He had continued to ask with a smile on his face, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you were willing to do anything for me?¡± She¡¯d hung her head low and remained silent. His initial gentleness had turned into overwhelming exasperation as he kept pushing her boundaries, forcing her into a corner. He only began to realize now that there are some people who were just like viruses, infiltrating your system and taking control before you even notice it. It begins tounch its deadly attack when you¡¯re most vulnerable and unsuspecting. You think you¡¯re in control of them, but in reality, they¡¯re in control of you. At the thought of her getting married and collecting her certificate of marriage very soon, Ye Xiaotian began to fear that he would not make it in time. However, he reminded himself that he was the fearless Ye Xiaotian, who would resort to any means to obtain what he wanted, as long as he had the guts to. It doesn¡¯t matter even if she were to be someone else¡¯s wife. ¡ª¡ª As soon as An Xiaoning returned home from the store, she was greeted with the sight of Wang Fangfang¡¯s parents squatting at her doorstep. She parked the car at the door and alighted. ¡°What are you two doing here?¡± she asked. ¡°Xiaoning, we¡¯re aware that you were adopted and we may be considered to be unrted now, but Xiaoning, Fangfang is missing. We don¡¯t even know if she¡¯s dead or alive. We couldn¡¯t contact her ever since the day she had gone to look for Shi Shaochuan,¡± cried Wang Fangfang¡¯s mother at the instant that she saw An Xiaoning. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you go and make a police report instead?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve already done that, but there hasn¡¯t been any news even though it has already been a few days since we¡¯ve filed the report. Xiaoning, you¡¯re already the Young Madam of the Jin family while we¡¯re just country bumpkins who don¡¯t know any big shots. Could you please help us? At most, I¡¯ll kowtow to you,¡± begged Mrs. Wang with tear-filled eyes, kneeling down before An Xiaoning immediately after finishing her sentence. ¡°You¡¯re just forcing me to go against my morals... It¡¯s disrespectful of me to have you kowtow before me. Quick, get up,¡± said An Xiaoning as she bent forward to help Mrs. Wang up. ¡°Xiaoning, I won¡¯t get up unless you agree to help me.¡± ¡°Wow, you¡¯re really forcing me. Can¡¯t you just get up first to talk things out properly? Why weren¡¯t you this concerned when Wang Fangfang hooked up with Shi Shaochuan back then? Look at you getting all flustered and worried now,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°We thought she could really subdue Shi Shaochuan. Little did we expect for that imbecile to chase Fangfang out so soon.¡± An Xiaoning was reluctant tomunicate with them. It was no doubt that they were a family, for they all shared the same personality. Wang Fangfang was nowhere to be found. Could it be that Shi Shaochuan had locked her up? Or could it be... ¡°How do you want me to help?¡± ¡°Xiaoning, I heard you¡¯re good at fortune-telling. Could you tell if she¡¯s still alive from her birth characters?¡± ¡°Forget it, we¡¯ll talk about that in the backyard,¡± said An Xiaoning as she drove in and allowed them to take a seat on the chairs in the courtyard. ¡°What are her birth characters?¡± asked An Xiaoning. Mrs. Wang blurted Wang Fangfang¡¯s birth characters right away. As she sat on the chair, An Xiaoning closed her eyes and began to read her fortune. Shortly after, there was a sudden change in An Xiaoning¡¯s expression as she began to look more tense. Noticing the look of dismay on An Xiaoning¡¯s face, Mr. and Mrs. Wang quickly asked, ¡°Xiaoning, has Fangfang... already passed away?¡± An Xiaoning opened her eyes and said firmly, ¡°Yes.¡± Beating her chest in agony, Mrs. Wang again cried, ¡°My poor daughter!¡± ¡°Xiaoning, could you tell how and where she died? Where is she buried now?¡± ¡°Leave that to the police. I¡¯m not the police, this is all I can do. Please leave, I won¡¯t see you out,¡± An Xiaoning said coldly as she turned around and walked towards the living room. Mr. and Mrs. Wang left in much disappointment and grief. Not long after their departure, An Xiaoning received a call from the Bureau Chief of the City Police Station on thendline at home. He had asked if she was free at the moment to meet him personally. Thinking that his intentions must have been to talk about Wang Fangfang¡¯s incident, she agreed for him to make a trip down to her house. The Bureau Chief arrived after 20 minutes. ¡°Hi, Mrs. Jin, my name is Pan Zhenghui.¡± An Xiaoning shook his hand and weed him, ¡°Hi, Chief Pan. Please, take a seat.¡± They sat opposite each other while Auntie Chen served some tea and quickly left the living room after. ¡°Mrs. Jin, I¡¯ve heard from Wang Fangfang¡¯s parents that you¡¯ve read her fortune and discovered that she had already passed on. I may not believe it if it was someone else who had read her fortune. However, it¡¯s different when ites to you. An Xiaoning asked curiously while maintaining herposure, ¡°Oh? Why do you say so, Chief Pan?¡± ¡°Truth be told, I don¡¯t know who started the rumor, but I¡¯ve heard that you urately predicted the exact timing at which the old Mr. Gu would pass away. I think the news was pretty reliable, though I¡¯ve yet to verify that myself. But Mrs. Jin, was what you said really true?¡± ¡°Chief Pan, do you reckon I would joke about someone¡¯s life?¡± Chapter 77 - Missing Her

Chapter 77: Missing Her

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Of course not, that¡¯s why I¡¯m here to rify things with you,¡± Pan Zhenghui hurriedly exined. ¡°Chief Pan, I¡¯ve read her birth characters and it says that she¡¯s already dead. I can provide you with a piece of information which may be of help in your investigations. Two lives were lost in this case: she was pregnant at the time of her death. You may carry on to investigate who the father of the child is. We used to be rtives, and she¡¯d also sought help from me before her death. I suppose you¡¯ve heard about that too. She said that that man had abandoned her and chased her out of the house. In my opinion, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible for it to be a case of suicide.¡± ¡°Why is that so?¡± ¡°She will never kill herself. Chief Pan, I¡¯ll keep a lookout for details regarding this matter. Although Wang Fangfang and I are no longer rtives, I¡¯d still like to know if the police are capable of avenging the dead.¡± Having understood what she meant, Pan Zhenghui said immediately with a nod, ¡°Our purpose as the police is to serve the public. Rest assured, we will definitely get to the bottom of this matter.¡± With a faint smile, she said, ¡°I hope... you¡¯ll stick to your word, Chief Pan. Don¡¯t let the public down. I¡¯m aware that some things may not be within your control, but I hope you¡¯ll still stay true to your morals and conscience.¡± ¡°Yes, of course. I shan¡¯t impose on you any further. I¡¯ll make a move now,¡± said Pan Zhenghui, feeling a strange sense of nervousness as his heart began to palpitate upon exchanging nces with An Xiaoning. ¡°Alright, take care, Chief Pan,¡± said An Xiaoning as she stood up to see him out. Jin Qingyan arrived home as soon as Pan Zhenghui left in his car. ¡°Why did the policee to visit?¡± ¡°Wang Fangfang, the woman whom Shi Shaochuan had an affair with and was my cousin in the past, had gone missing. I read her birth characters and discovered that she¡¯s already dead, so is the child she was carrying at the time.¡± ¡°Was she pregnant with Shi Shaochuan¡¯s child?¡± asked the quick-witted Jin Qingyan. ¡°Without a doubt, but I didn¡¯t reveal that to the police. They should be able to find out about it very soon, though. I¡¯m guessing that he¡¯s rted to her death, in some way. I was blind to have married a scumbag like him. To be honest, your sister is digging her own grave by being together with him,¡± she said sternly. Furrowing his brows, he held onto her hand and said firmly, ¡°I don¡¯t wish to see Qingyue ruin her own life in front of me. I¡¯d like to change her fate.¡± ¡°You may do so if you¡¯d like. However, no fortune-teller with genuine abilities would be willing to help you do that without any returns. I suggest you look for someone else. Besides, I was taught by my Master that there are some things that are fated, that cannot be easily changed on purpose.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you money-minded?¡± ¡°My life means more to me than money,¡± An Xiaoning said with a smirk. ¡°I¡¯ll look for someone else then,¡± he said as he took her hand in his. Upon feeling the gentle warmth of his hand, An Xiaoning could not help but say, ¡°There may be some dishonest practices which may help. Not for long, however.¡± ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± ¡°I think you should first seek the approval of Father and Mother before going ahead with it. It would be easier with their help.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make all the necessary arrangements.¡± Squeezing her hand tightly, he gave her the side-eye and said, ¡°You¡¯re so annoying this afternoon.¡± ¡°But I didn¡¯t even see you or contact you earlier today, how was I being annoying?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been running tirelessly through my mind all afternoon and made my head hurt.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning began to blush and her ears turned red as a tomato. Though it wasn¡¯t something worth blushing about, she felt unusually shy as her heart began pounding so quickly, almost ricocheting out of her chest. It must have been because she had rarely been told such sweet nothings. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s incredible, I didn¡¯t know I could actually run inside your head. I¡¯m hungry, I¡¯m going to go see what Auntie Chen had prepared.¡± She shrugged his hand away and zoomed towards the living room. A gentle look formed on Jin Qingyan¡¯s face as he watched her skip away happily. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Shaochuan, I¡¯ve seen from the news about the woman we knocked down... her parents have gone to the police.¡± ¡°So what if they have? We didn¡¯t do it, there¡¯s nothing to fear,¡± said Shi Shaochuan while remaining calm and collected. Upon seeing how unflustered he was even when he was lying, Jin Qingyue began to think that his acting skills were really convincing. She could never remain that calm. ¡°I was relieved at first, but I¡¯m starting to get worried again.¡± ¡°What are you afraid of? Getting arrested by the police? You really don¡¯t seem like the daughter of a rich and powerful family like the Jin¡¯s. What¡¯s there to be afraid of? It¡¯s just killing someone. Even if the police finds out, your family can get you out of trouble with a snap of a finger,¡± said Shi Shaochuan. ¡°I just feel guilty.¡± ¡°Guilty? What for...¡± Before he could finish, Jin Qinyue¡¯s phone began to ring. She took a look at the caller ID and said, ¡°It¡¯s my brother, hush.¡± She then answered the call, ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Shi Shaochuan looked at her and said, ¡°What did your brother say?¡± ¡°He said there was something important for me to attend to, and he wants me to go home right now. Do you think he found out that we were the culprits behind the car ident?¡± said a frightened Jin Qingyue. ¡°How could he possibly have... Jin Qingyue, I¡¯ve already destroyed all the evidence. Without any evidence or witnesses, no one would find out that we were behind it. For thest time, we didn¡¯t do it, her death has nothing to do with us, bear that in mind,¡± Shi Shaochuan chided impatiently. Noticing the austereness of his face, Jin Qingyue nodded abidingly and said, ¡°I¡¯m going home, you may alight.¡± Shi Shaochuan agreed and alighted from the car. Jin Qingyue then proceeded to drive home. ¡°Brother, what is it that is so important?¡± Staring into her eyes, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°Would you be willing if I locked you up and forced you to break up with Shi Shaochuan?¡± ¡°Of course not! Brother, are you sick in the head? You actually want to force me to do as you say by imprisoning me?¡± ¡°Are you aware that the police are currently investigating the case of a missing person named Wang Fangfang? She had gone missing while carrying a child. Your sister-inw had read her birth characters and discovered that she is already dead and that she was pregnant with Shi Shaochuan¡¯s child. The police are still in the midst of investigating her death. He¡¯s going to be a murderer, should they find out that he is the culprit. How are you going to have a future with him then?¡± Jin Qingyan had spoken to her about the matter in a bid to see if his sister would finallye to her senses. In case she does not, he would then have to resort to extreme means. ¡°How... how did you know that Shi Shaochuan is the father of the child she was carrying?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll find out if it really belongs to him once they find her body and carry out an autopsy, but I¡¯m very certain that it belongs to Shi Shaochuan. Wang Fangfang had looked up your sister-inw and told her personally that the child had belonged to Shi Shaochuan. She also tried to get your sister-inw to persuade you to leave Shi Shaochuan,¡± exined Jin Qingyan. Jin Qingyue was at a loss on what to do, and she felt lost and confused. ¡°Qingyue, answer me. If he had really killed the woman, would you still be willing to stay with him?¡± Chapter 78 - Feel Like Stomping You to Death

Chapter 78: Feel Like Stomping You to Death

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyue took a deep breath and answered, ¡°I will. If it turns out he is really the culprit, then he must have done it because he didn¡¯t want me to find out that that woman was pregnant with his child, and that must be because he cares about me, so he doesn¡¯t want me to be sad.¡± Jin Qingyan and his parents were bewildered by her words. ¡°What kind of twisted logic is that? It seems he had brainwashed you.¡± Not wanting to waste his breath trying to reason with her, Jin Qingyan rose from his seat and left. Mrs. Jin let out a huge sigh as she sat on the couch. ¡°Qingyue, there are plenty of fishes in the sea, why do you have to torment yourself over him?¡± ¡°Mother, Shaochuan is a great person. The police have yet toe to a conclusion, haven¡¯t they? Besides, there are indeed many fishes in the sea, but there is only one of Shaochuan.¡± ¡°I really feel like stomping you to death. He¡¯s such a yboy who dumps his girlfriends as and when he pleases, do you really think you¡¯ll be thest woman in his life? Dream on,¡± Mrs. Jin chastised angrily. Jin Qingyue stood up and said, ¡°No matter how frivolous a man is, he is bound to settle down with a woman one day. I believe I have the charm to make him mine and only mine. Is this all you¡¯ve called me here for? I thought there was something more serious.¡± ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°Out of here!¡± ¡°Even though we still can¡¯t change her fate in the end, at least we¡¯ve done everything we could as her family. She only has herself to me when shees to her senses in the future. I heard that ritual is extremely spiritual and really works, let¡¯s just give it a try,¡± said Mr. Jin. ¡°Sure, we¡¯ll leave it to Qingyan to handle that,¡± said Mrs. Jin in approval ¡ª¡ª There was much progress in Wang Fangfang¡¯s case, as the police had quickly managed to pin Shi Shaochuan as a prime suspect based on the ounts of Wang Fangfang¡¯s parents. They had brought him back to the police station to carry out interrogations. Shi Shaochuan remained unfazed while seated in the interrogation room. He answered all the questions posed by the police, including the matter about chasing Wang Fangfang out while she was pregnant. He exined that he had not seen Wang Fangfang ever since they broke up, and he was not aware at all that she was pregnant and whether or not it was his child. After the interrogations, the police did not release him immediately. Instead, they continued to scrutinize the footage of the surveince cameras, frame by frame. s, they discovered that Wang Fangfang had walked along the road towards Shi Shaochuan¡¯s house where no surveince cameras could be found. They had also checked up on the vehicle which appeared within the three hours that she had shown up along the road towards his house. A car appeared four times in the footage of the surveince cameras. It had returned back and forth for a total of three times. It was the only car which appeared the most in the footage. The owner of the car was found to be Jin Qingyue. What had puzzled the police further was the twist of events that followed. They had found out that Shi Shaochuan and Jin Qingyue were actually a couple. Investigations had to carry on further as they had yet to find out if Shi Shaochuan was present in the car. ¡°What time did you leave that day?¡± asked the police. ¡°I left reallyte that night because I was with my girlfriend at the time,¡± Shi Shaochuan answered. ¡°Around what time, roughly?¡± asked the police. ¡°I didn¡¯t check the time as it was pouring heavily that night, I went back after my girlfriend dropped me off.¡± ¡°Is your girlfriend Jin Qingyue?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± he nodded. ¡°Why did her car pull up at your house back and forth for four times?¡± questioned the police. ¡°She dropped me off first but decided to go to the supermarket to get something to munch on as she said she was hungry. I asked her to get me something as well so she proceeded and delivered the food back to me.¡± ¡°We will verify what you just said once we interrogate Jin Qingyue. We will know if you are lying then.¡± Shi Shaochuan¡¯s heart skipped a beat as he panicked, for he had thought that he had a foolproof answer which would be seamless once he coordinates the statement with Jin Qingyue. Little did he expect... He began to feel baffled as his initial calmness began to fade. He had understood Jin Qingyue pretty well more or less since the day they met, and thus, he knew that she would definitely be flustered. There was no way she could be as calm as him during the interrogation. He could not help but begin to feel anxious. It was only normal for him to be worried. However, Jin Qingyue had already begun feeling nervous when she was secretly brought to the police station. She had turned as pale as a sheet before the police even began to interrogate her. ¡°Can I please see him first?¡± she asked. ¡°Ms. Jin, we will let you see him once you¡¯ve answered our questions.¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°From the footage of the surveince cameras, we¡¯ve noticed that you drove back and forth to Shi Shaochuan¡¯s house for a total of four times. It was already the wee hours of the night, and besides that, it was pouring heavily. What were you doing?¡± ¡°I did send him home that night. I... I forgot about his mother¡¯s present, and thus I drove away to retrieve it,¡± she stuttered. The policeman¡¯s eyes lit up at her words and continued, ¡°Oh, but that was not what Shi Shaochuan said. Ms. Jin, your statements are contradicting.¡± Overwhelmed with fear and nervousness, Jin Qinyue broke out in a cold sweat as she clenched her fist. Seeing that she had remained silent, the policeman prompted, ¡°Ms. Jin, we will continue to investigate and get to the bottom of this matter. One of you must be lying, or perhaps both of you are. Whatever it is, we will verify it. We are in the midst of investigating the direction your car was headed towards during that four times bit by bit.¡± His words had sent a chill down Jin Qingyue¡¯s spine and she asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I mean, we¡¯re going to investigate where your car had headed to from the footage of the surveince cameras. I believe you are aware, Ms. Jin, that there are surveince cameras ced a short distance apart from each other along the roads. And they are switched on 24/7. Our superior is particrly concerned about this case.¡± ¡°What did Shaochuan say?¡± ¡°Well, we can¡¯t tell you that. I hope you¡¯ll try to recall clearly, just what did you do during the four consecutive trips you¡¯ve made that night?¡± ¡°I...¡± Jin Qingyue was at a loss for words as her mind went nk. She could not evene up with any other excuses, let alone imagine what Shi Shaochuan could have said. ¡°Ms. Jin, the faster you decide to speak up, the earlier you¡¯ll be released. If you continue to remain silent, then we will have no choice but to detain you throughout the afternoon.¡± She pretended to have amnesia and answered, ¡°I can¡¯t remember what happened, I¡¯ve been to his house several nights in a row recently. How could I possibly remember which night it was?¡± Upon hearing her words, the policeman stood up and exited the room. ¡°Please release me.¡± ¡°Continue to give it some thought, Ms. Jin. Tell me when you are ready,¡± said the policeman as he closed the door behind him. Staring at the unfamiliar surrounding of the four walls she was confined to, Jin Qingyue felt a strong urge to cry, but there were no tears. Being born with a golden spoon in her mouth, it was the first time in her life that she had been reduced to such a state. ¡ª¡ª Jin Qingyan had returned home just as An Xiaoning had woken up from her nap. Being well aware that he was going to look for another fortune-teller to change Jin Qingyue¡¯s fate, she asked, ¡°How did it go?¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t go ahead with it. Qingyue was taken to the police station,¡± he said angrily. Knowing that he still had something to say, An Xiaoning remained silent. ¡°Her statement did not align with Shi Shaochuan¡¯s, and they are now the prime suspects of the case,¡± he continued. ¡°It should not be a tall order for you to get your sister out of prison. All you have to do is to make a trip down to the police station and she will be released. Why are you still fretting over it?¡± Chapter 79 - No Rest for Me Tonight

Chapter 79: No Rest for Me Tonight

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Just as I arrived home, I received a call from Chief Pan. He told me that Qingyue had turned herself in and admitted that she was the one who ran Wang Fangfang over. She imed to have done it because she was infuriated at Wang Fangfang for refusing to abort Shi Shaochuan¡¯s child... However, after speaking to her this morning, I¡¯m rather certain that she hadn¡¯t known about the pregnancy at all, prior to this. Why would she have run her over in this case? I reckon she must¡¯ve done it to cover up and take the rap for Shi Shaochuan, thinking that she could escape scot-free because we definitely wouldn¡¯t leave her in the lurch,¡± said Jin Qingyan. Despite having noticed how furious he was, An Xiaoning still went ahead with what she wanted to say, ¡°You¡¯re all worked up and angry now, but you¡¯re still going to help her in the end. You can¡¯t possibly watch her get sent to prison for murder and not do anything about it, can you?¡± His face turned stiff, a cold re was in his eyes. Contrary to what An Xiaoning had expected, he replied, ¡°Since she decided to be the scapegoat for Shi Shaochuan, then I¡¯ll just sit back and wait until she finally caves in and reveals the truth herself.¡± ¡°Well, when the timees, one of them will have to be imprisoned, and they¡¯ll have no choice but to be separated then,¡± An Xiaoning added. ¡°What do you think of that?¡± he asked while running his fingers through her hair. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what I think, what matters is what your parents think...¡± ¡°They¡¯re fine with it.¡± ¡°Although I¡¯m well aware that nothing is fair in this world, I¡¯d still hope to see some justice in our society. What right does one have to take the life of another without having to pay the price simply because of connections? What right does one have to cause the death of two lives, without feeling a tinge of guilt or fear at all? This is not how the world should be,¡± said An Xiaoning, feeling the injustice. Jin Qingyan felt a sudden urge to kiss her as he watched her voice her thoughts with such gusto. In fact, he had gone ahead with his desires and nted kisses on her lips, one after another. ¡°If you ever decide to be a policewoman, you¡¯d be an upright and strong-valued one who¡¯s sure to serve the people well,¡± heplimented. ¡°Unfortunately, I did not graduate from police training school. Neither have I ever attended school or received any formal education, since I grew up in the mountains. I don¡¯t think I would even qualify to be a doorman, let alone a policewoman.¡± ¡°I could give you a little push, if you¡¯d like.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t resort to any underhanded means.¡± ¡°Forget it then,¡± Jin Qingyan said nonchntly. ¡°By the way, I heard your business is still in the process of getting registered at the Business Administration Bureau, although it has already been some time since the store opened. Why is it taking so long?¡± he continued. ¡°Yeah, what¡¯s wrong?¡± An Xiaoning asked. She had gone down to the Bureau multiple times, in hopes of speeding up the registration process, but to no avail. She had always refrained from employing connections. However, this time, she realized that it was indeed rather difficult for amoner to get errands done quickly. ¡°I could give you a hand, all it takes is just one call to get the matter done. So, have you decided if you¡¯d like to have a helping hand from your husband? One word from you and I¡¯ll get to it right away, my dear wife,¡± he said with a smirk. ¡°If you¡¯d really like to help me, you would¡¯ve done so and settled everything for me quietly. That¡¯s just the duty of a husband, unlike what you¡¯re doing right now ¡ª taunting me and trying to get me to please you!¡± ¡°You may choose not to ept my help too, I¡¯m not forcing you... I¡¯ll head upstairs,¡± he said as he stood up. Reminded of the multiple failed attempts at getting her business registered, An Xiaoning finally gave in to the idea of seeking his help, which she had been strongly against at first. Well, he was her husband, anyway. It would be a waste not to employ the resources he had. Thus, she quickly made her way upstairs only to find that he was in the shower. cing her home slippers at the door, she entered the bedroom while stepping on the carpet in her socks. She then removed the stuffing from the life-sized teddy bear, stuck her entire body inside, and pulled the zipper up. Jin Qingyan did not seem to find anything amiss in the bedroom when he stepped out of the bathroom, d in nothing except a bathrobe. As he sprawled himself across the bed, the life-sized teddy bear appeared out of nowhere all of a sudden, giving him a great shock. Startled, he fell off the bed. ¡°Ahh! What¡¯s that?!¡± he eximed in horror at the sight of the teddy bear jumping up and down on the bed, wagging its tail at him. ¡°How do you like the surprise I prepared for you, dear husband?¡± asked a grinning An Xiaoning as she pulled down the zipper to reveal her face. ¡°Surprise? More like a horrible shock.¡± An Xiaoning stepped out and put the stuffing back inside the teddy bear before zipping it up. She then ced it against the headboard of the bed and used it as a pillow. ¡°Help me settle the issue with the registration procedure,¡± she said while gazing at him as sheid on the bed. ¡°I won¡¯t do it if I don¡¯t get anything in return.¡± Jin Qingyanid down beside her, a hand supporting his head, and said while staring at her, ¡°Women are the best at subduing men.¡± ¡°I heard your business rivals had tried to distract you with women in the past, but their efforts were only futile.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because the problem lies with the women they¡¯d sent.¡± ¡°Well, if it had been Chi Rui¡¯er, it would¡¯ve definitely worked, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± she sneered. He raised his eyebrows and answered, ¡°It would have worked if it had been you.¡± His sweet and alluring voice made her heart melt at the instant that she heard his words. ¡°Jin Qingyan, tell me truthfully, how many women have you had before me?¡± she asked. ¡°You¡¯re the first. I know you¡¯re not buying that,¡± he answered. ¡°Obviously not, I would be out of my mind if I did. But then again, it doesn¡¯t matter if you¡¯ve had any, since it was all before you met me anyway...¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t had any. I really haven¡¯t,¡± he eagerly protested. ¡°What I meant was, it really doesn¡¯t matter whether you¡¯ve had any women in the past, what matters is whether you¡¯ve had any after we got married. Ever heard of that saying?¡± ¡°What?¡± he asked in confusion, with a raised brow. ¡°Women are the most vicious. If you ever get yourself involved with another woman while we¡¯re married, I won¡¯t kill you, but I¡¯ll definitely cut off something down there, which you hold dear to your heart,¡± she warned while sliding her hand across her throat. Jin Qingyan was speechless. ¡°At what age did you start bing so ruthless?¡± he asked rhetorically. ¡°Ever since the day I was born. Look how frightened you are, I was just kidding. I absolutely detest going through too much of a hassle, and I still have to serve a jail term for killing you. I don¡¯t want any of that. It would be so much easier to just get a divorce,¡± she said, grinning. ¡°I wasn¡¯t frightened, I was just surprised. I¡¯ve never been frightened my entire life,¡± he corrected her. ¡°Tsk, tsk, but you almost fell to the ground when I tried to scare you with the teddy bear, earlier on,¡± mocked An Xiaoning, who clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. ¡°You would¡¯ve reacted the same. Perhaps you¡¯d have been so scared that you¡¯d even plunge your head into the toilet bowl,¡± he retorted. ¡°You¡¯re asking for something in return, just for helping your wife out with a trivial matter. What kind of a man are you?¡± An Xiaoningmented with a humph. He gripped both her wrists tightly and lifted them above her head as he stared deep into her eyes and said, ¡°I¡¯ll settle the matter for you. As my wife, it¡¯s only right that you be intimate with me. Please me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s still broad daylight, what¡¯s the rush?¡± ¡°My parents are definitely going to call me home for a family meeting afterwards. Looks like I won¡¯t be getting any rest tonight.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning was beginning to find him rather over-the-toptely. There had not been a night where he let her off, without having done the deed. It was driving her insane. After they were finished, An Xiaoning was surprised to find that Aunt Flo had arrived. Chapter 80 - Invading Her Room

Chapter 80: Invading Her Room

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes lit up as she looked at him and said, ¡°No touching me for a week.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve held it in for 20-odd years, a week is nothing to me.¡± He continued to ask, ¡°Which brand of sanitary pads do you use? We don¡¯t have any at home, I¡¯ll go get you some.¡± Seeing how meticulous and caring he was, An Xiaoning proceeded to tell him the brand she preferred. ¡°I only ever use that brand. There are two types of pads, one for use in the day, and one for use at night. Get a packet of each. But... wouldn¡¯t it be awkward for you to buy something like this? Aren¡¯t you afraid that thedy at the cashier will expose you online?¡± she added. ¡°She can expose me for all I care, I¡¯m buying it for my wife,¡± he said as he put on his coat and headed out. An Xiaoning felt a warm and fuzzy feeling in her heart. She had never expected for there to be such a meticulous and sweet side to him. It was the wee hours of the night, and Mr. Jin had engaged his connections to visit Qingyue personally at the police station. ¡°Father, hurry, get me out of here. It¡¯s so cold here at night, and there isn¡¯t a heater at all,¡± Jin Qingyueined as soon as she saw her father. ¡°If you really wanted to get out of here, then you wouldn¡¯t have taken the rap in the first ce,¡± said Mr. Jin, looking at her with disappointment written all over his face. ¡°Father, I did that because there¡¯s at least a chance for me to get out of here. If Shaochuan were to be imprisoned instead, there¡¯s no way he can be released again. Do you really think I would do this if I had a choice? After wracking my brains, this is the only solution I coulde up with that could save both of us. Besides, you guys are dying for me to break up with him, you wouldn¡¯t save him if I didn¡¯t do this,¡± said Jin Qingyue, hanging her head low. ¡°So you think we will save you? Qingyue, you¡¯ve really let your mother and I down, we¡¯re not going to save you,¡± Mr. Jin said sternly with a stiff face. Jin Qingyue looked up at him in shock and eximed in disbelief, ¡°Are you really going to sit back and watch me get charged with a death sentence for running someone over?¡± ¡°It¡¯s up to you to decide if you want to save him or yourself. I have to get going,¡± Mr. Jin said bluntly. ¡°Father... are you guys really going to leave me in the lurch?¡± asked Jin Qingyue, who began to feel flustered. ¡°Yes. We couldn¡¯t do anything to stop you, so we¡¯re giving up now,¡± he finished thest of all that he had to say and left. Jin Qingyue was dumbfounded. She could not process what she had just heard. She had felt scared at first, but she began to feel more relieved when she reminded herself that she had a wealthy and powerful family, which could get her out of trouble at the snap of a finger. However, her father¡¯s words hadpletely destroyed her ns to get out of prison unscathed. Filled with fear and anxiety, she returned to the holding room which still felt cold and empty, despite the extra nket given to her by the police inspector. She thought about the matter for the entire night and decided to give it some time. She believed that they would not really leave her in the lurch and that they had just said that in a moment of anger. She continued to wait for more news... There was only a short list of guests who were invited to Mo Li and Byron¡¯s wedding. The list included Jin Qingyan, Long Tianze, An Xiaoning, Ling Ciye, as well as other guests who were friends with Mo Li. Together, they boarded a ne to Y Nation. Mo Li looked ravishing and gorgeous, d in an exquisite wedding gown, meticulously designed and tailor-made by a renowned designer in Y Nation. Her d¨¦colletage was embellished with sparkling, extravagant jewelry, and her final look was perfected with a finishing touch: a veil on her hair. On the other hand, Byron was immactely dressed in a ck tuxedo suit, exuding his uniqueness as he stood out strongly amongst the crowd. The wedding was held at a grand, five-star hotel. Though there were only less than a hundred guests present, the atmosphere was not any less boisterous or cheery. Long Tianze was in high spirits and swore to make a night of it as he downed drink after drink, with the excuse of it being a joyous asion worth celebrating. Mo Li was filled with nervousness as she stood before the Master of Ceremony together with Byron. Perhaps it was because it was her first wedding in her life. The ceremony proceeded quickly with much sess and was finally sealed with a long, passionate kiss between the newlyweds. The fervent apuse and cheers from the guests made Mo Li feel much more rxed, and she managed to let out a smile of pure happiness. Byron attended to the guests, while she headed to the dressing room to change into the next gown. The servant helped her put away the wedding gown. She then headed to the washroom after changing into the new gown. Mo Li received a great shock upon entering the washroom. She was greeted with a cold and deadly stare. Bumping into him here had foreshadowed impending trouble. Trying to contain her feelings of anxiety and shock, Mo Li said coldly, ¡°It won¡¯t reflect well on you when I get someone here to take you away and arrest you for invading my room, Mr. Ye.¡± Ye Xiaotian stepped out of the bathtub and said softly, ¡°You may very well do so now. Don¡¯t think that... I wouldn¡¯t dare to touch you, now that you¡¯re married.¡± Mo Li¡¯s hands began to tremble uncontrobly in fear as she turned around in a bid to leave the room. However, he grabbed her arm forcefully and stared at her menacingly as he called her name, ¡°Mo Li.¡± She shrugged off his grip with all her might and retaliated, ¡°Ye Xiaotian, this is not S Nation. It¡¯s not somewhere you can behave atrociously, as and when you please. It¡¯s my big day today, I¡¯m going to proceed with the toasting ceremony now.¡± A look of dismay formed on Ye Xiaotian¡¯s face upon seeing her nonchnt and cold expression. She seemed to be ring daggers right back at him. ¡°Let¡¯s head outside together then,¡± he said. ¡°Ye Xiaotian, I¡¯m not going to let you get away with ruining my life like you had wished to. I¡¯m no longer the old me!¡± she eximed while glowering at him. She whipped out her mobile phone and looked down at the screen to give Byron a call, ¡°Hubby...¡± Ye Xiaotian snatched her mobile phone away from her hands and ended the call immediately. Shoving the mobile phone back into her hands, he said, ¡°This is only the beginning, Mo Li.¡± Byron had already rushed there by the time she exited the washroom. Having noticed that she was looking rather upset, he asked worriedly, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing much. I just wanted to ask how it was going at your side, but my phone went out of battery. I¡¯ve left it to charge over there.¡± ¡°We¡¯re waiting for you to carry on with the toasting ceremony, let¡¯s go,¡± he said as he took her hand in his. Mo Li had had a hard time walking about in heels and toasting to her guests. Fortunately, there were only a few tables she had to toast to, and thus, the difort was still bearable by the time she had finished. She sat down next to Long Tianze and took a nce at Byron, who was happily chatting with his friends, after which she said softly, ¡°I bumped into Ye Xiaotian earlier, when I went to change into my gown.¡± Startled, Long Tianze asked eagerly, ¡°Where?¡± ¡°In the dressing room where I was getting changed,¡± she answered. Long Tianze stood up immediately without another word but was held back by Mo Li. ¡°Tianze, I think he¡¯s already left,¡± she said. ¡°Did he say anything?¡± asked An Xiaoning. Mo Li revealed the content of her conversation with Ye Xiaotian, but she did not look worried at all as she continued, ¡°I¡¯ve already started life anew, and I¡¯m more than ready to be a mother. A family is what I need. It¡¯s up to him to do whatever he wants.¡± An Xiaoning was impressed at her courage, yet at the same time, she also pitied her for the torment she had suffered in the past. Besides, it was indeed admirable for her to have managed toe so far and to be able tond herself such a good catch like Byron. As soon as the wedding was over, the group did not stay any longer in Y Nation and instead boarded another ne back home. Long Tianze was drunk out of his senses and remained asleep for most of the entire journey, onlying to when they were about 30 minutes away fromnding in Nation S. Still sleepy-eyed, he leaned against the backrest of the seat and nced at Jin Qingyan. ¡°Don¡¯t bother reasoning with Qingyue about the matter any longer. You should just get Shi Shaochuan, the mastermind behind the entire ident, arrested and put him behind bars.¡± ¡°She¡¯s already turned herself in. We can only get him arrested if she decides to reveal the truth. Let¡¯s see how long she¡¯s gonnast,¡± Jin Qingyan said calmly, seemingly certain that she would cave in soon. ¡°This littless has been living abroad for so long, she¡¯s be too westernized for her own good. She¡¯s be such a dimwit. Not only has she be a dimwit, her taste in men is so poor too,¡± said Long Tianze with half-closed eyes. Chapter 81 - Ive Dated Plenty of Women in the Past

Chapter 81: I¡¯ve Dated Plenty of Women in the Past

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I agree. Shi Shaochuan can¡¯t bepared to Oppa Long here. Tianze can beat him to a pulp within seconds. When we were younger, Tianze had put in a great ton of effort on Qingyue. It¡¯s a shame she did not reciprocate,¡± said Ling Ciye as he sat cross-legged and began browsing through a book. Long Tianze pushed him yfully and said, ¡°Mind your words, what do you mean I put in a great ton of effort on Qingyue? You¡¯re making it sound like I was in love with her.¡± Ling Ciye closed the book he was holding and looked up. ¡°Hey, that wasn¡¯t what I meant at all, you¡¯re the one who¡¯s overthinking it, yet you¡¯re ming me. However, you¡¯re my best buddy whom I grew up with, and I can¡¯t help but worry for you. You¡¯re already this old and you still don¡¯t have a proper girlfriend. All you do is date random girls frivolously, to put up a front. Seriously, when do you n to lose your chastity?¡± Amused by his words, An Xiaoning almost choked and spat her milk out. Long Tianze began to blush in embarrassment while still trying to defend himself. ¡°I¡¯ve dated plenty of women in the past. More than you can count with your fingers and toes.¡± ¡°Yeah, right. That¡¯s what you always say. We know. Point is, when are you going to lose your virginity?¡± Long Tianze closed his eyes and pretended to fall asleep. ¡°You¡¯re always like this. Strangely, you haven¡¯t been meeting those modelstely,¡± said Ling Ciye. ¡°Who said so? I¡¯ll bring a prettier one tonight, just you wait and see.¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll see if she¡¯s really that gorgeous, then.¡± ¡ª¡ª It began to snow heavily in the evening, causing the temperature to drop even lower, as if it wasn¡¯t already cold enough. Seeing that there were no more potential customers on the street, Mei Yangyang packed up and closed the store, leaving Xu Jingwen and Zhang Li to watch over it. As soon as she arrived home by bus, she was greeted with the sight of a spread of dishes on the table, prepared by her father. ¡°Shuangshuang came home this afternoon and asked me for money. I didn¡¯t give her any, so she threw a tantrum and left angrily.¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t take her studies seriously, and her attendance in university is so poor. All she does is fool around outside all day. If she doesn¡¯t wish to continue studying, then she should just get a job, it¡¯s at least better than wasting her life away like this. She¡¯s not getting any younger either.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like she listens to us. We can¡¯t quite interfere with her matters anymore now that she¡¯s all grown up. Actually, she could also stay at home to take care of your mother while I go out to work to earn some money. That¡¯ll help lighten your burden. I feel really bad that you have to shoulder the burden of providing for the family all by yourself,¡± sighed Mr. Mei. Mei Yangyang picked up her chopsticks and said in response, ¡°I¡¯m currently working at Sis Xiaoning¡¯s clothing store and it¡¯s really great. Sis Xiaoning is so nice to me, and she treats me like her actual sister. Never once has she ill-treated or taken advantage of me. Father, don¡¯t worry too much, just focus on taking care of Mother. I¡¯m earning enough to support our family and foot Mother¡¯s medical bills too.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not my main concern, but rather, you¡¯ve already grown up and you¡¯re of a marriageable age now. I¡¯m just afraid we will be a heavy burden to you and your potential future husband. He would have to provide for not only you but us too.¡± ¡°I¡¯m still young, there¡¯s still a long way to go before that happens. Well, at most, I¡¯ll remain unmarried for the rest of my life, no big deal. There¡¯s no such thing as ¡®my burden.¡¯ Father, let¡¯s just spend our lives the way they are, for now. We¡¯ll worry about the rest when the timees in the future. Come here, let¡¯s tuck in.¡± ¡°Go out and look for Shuangshuang againter. I¡¯m really worried that something might happen to her. She¡¯s a girl, after all. How about you stay at home to look after your mother and I¡¯ll go look for her instead?¡± Mr. Jin said. ¡°I¡¯ll go. I have the contact number of a few of her ssmates. Perhaps they might have a clue about where she is.¡± ¡°That¡¯ll do, too.¡± After dinner, Mei Yangyang was stopped by her father just as she was about to begin doing the dishes. He asked her to go look for Mei Shuangshuang instead. Thus, she had no choice but to leave in her scooter and call each of Mei Shuangshuang¡¯s ssmates, one by one. However, thetter¡¯s whereabouts were still unknown. An idea struck Mei Yangyang¡¯s mind, and she proceeded to find Mei Shuangshuang¡¯s MySpace ount. She then added the users who hadmented on thetter¡¯s posts and finally managed to obtain some information about her whereabouts. Mei Yangyang did not ask them about her directly. Instead, she asked about where they were at and if Mei Shuangshuang was around, while remaining anonymous at first. However, they constantly asked about her identity, to which she replied in the end, ¡°Her sister.¡± She quickly rode towards thergest entertainment nightclub in the city. Having arrived, she parked her scooter in a parking spot along the entrance and entered the nightclub, with her bag slung across her shoulder and wearing a mask. She arrived at the third floor of the nightclub via the elevator and realized that there were a significant number of rooms. She quickly sent a message to Mei Shuangshuang¡¯s ssmate to ask for their room number, only to realize that she had already been blocked. Mei Yangyang stood by the elevatornding helplessly. She had only two options: one was to search every single room, one by one, for Mei Shuangshuang; the other was to just stay there and wait. Searching the rooms one by one would be rather inappropriate, though it was indeed the quicker option. After all, she was a girl and it would be hard to escape should she get herself into trouble while searching the rooms. After giving it some thought, Mei Yangyang lowered her cap and adjusted her face mask in order to conceal more of her face, then she stood leaning against the wall. She decided to stay and wait for Mei Shuangshuang to appear. Mei Yangyang would drag her home as soon as she did. ¡± Ding ...¡± went the elevator as it¡¯s doors opened. A tall man strode out of the elevator, with three gorgeous women beside him. They were d in feather dresses, which exposed their thighs, and wore boots. ¡°Everyone here is a big figure, you¡¯d better behave yourselves and put up a good front. Be mindful of your etiquettes and you¡¯ll get your money, for sure,¡± the tall man said to the women. They followed behind him and nodded abidingly. Mei Yangyang stopped looking at them as soon as they entered a room not too far away. She began to feel rather anxious and panicky while waiting. However, she had no choice but to wait patiently. After two entire hours had passed, a door opened and Mei Yangyang exited with her ssmates in a single file. Mei Yangyang went forward and grabbed Mei Shuangshuang at the instant that she saw her, despite her legs being sore and achy from all the standing. ¡°Come home with me,¡± she ordered. ¡°How did you know I was here?¡± Mei Shuangshuang asked in confusion. ¡°Nevermind that, juste home with me. Let¡¯s go,¡± Mei Yangyang said sternly as she dragged her along with much force. ¡°Why are you guys still standing there? Hurry, get my sister away from here,¡± Mei Shuangshuang yelled at her friends in a bid to urge them to save her. A few men came forward and pulled the two apart, and Mei Shuangshuang quickly snuck inside the elevator. The men hurriedly followed suit, and one of them kicked Mei Yangyang mercilessly as soon as he saw her approaching, causing her to fall onto the ground. Clutching her stomach in pain, she stood up and quickly zoomed down the stairs. She finally reached the bottom of the stairs and fortunately found that they had not gone too far yet. She sped up and quickly chased after them, feeling furious and embarrassed at the same time. As soon as she caught up, she grabbed the man who had kicked her by his hoodie and wed at his face. The man was caught off guard and winced in pain. At the next instant, he instinctively turned around and kicked Mei Yangyang. Mei Yangyang retrieved the narrow whip she had prepared in her bag and beganshing it at the three men. She was red with fury. Her doll-like face was twisted into an angry frown. A crowd began to gather around themotion on the first storey. However, no one stepped in to stop the fight, despite it involving a single woman who was outnumbered by three men. Instead, they simply continued to watch the scene before them nonchntly. Mei Shuangshuang was taken aback by the sight of the whip, for it had never urred to her that her sister would bring that along. She began to wonder in fear and astonishment if Mei Yangyang had intended to punish her with the whip. Chapter 82 - Born to Be Slaves

Chapter 82: Born to Be ves

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Even though Mei Yangyang had a weapon with her, there was no way she could defeat the three men, especially since she had a small and petite frame. Thus, she suffered multiple attacks in her stomach and back, causing her to fall onto the ground in no time. She could not help but lie there helplessly, too weak to even move. ¡°Wretched woman, how dare you scratch my face!? Aren¡¯t you really tough and capable? C¡¯mon, hit me!¡± taunted the enraged man as he continued to give her a tight p across her face. Her ears began to ring from the impact. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you retaliating? I won¡¯t let you off easily for disfiguring me. You are to pay me apensation of 2000 dors,¡± he hollered. Mei Yangyang remained silent as she felt her heart grow cold at the thought of her blood sister leaving her in a lurch. No words could describe how disappointed she felt. ¡°Are you going topensate me or not?¡± the man barked as he gave her another p, but with much more force this time. Blood began to flow out of the corners of Mei Yangyang¡¯s lips. There was an overwhelming metallic odor in Mei Yangyang¡¯s mouth as it filled with blood. Blood sttered all over the man¡¯s face when she spat at him. ¡°You chose this!¡± the man flew into an uncontroble rage. Just as he was about to stomp his foot onto her face, he was kicked in his gut and thrown off bnce all of a sudden. Mei Yangyang looked up and saw Long Tianze, who was dressed in a blue suit, retracting his leg. ¡°Three men ganging up against one poor woman, aren¡¯t you guys ashamed at all!?! What a disgrace to your parents. They probably would¡¯ve wished that you were never born at all, if they hear about this,¡± Long Tianze glowered at the other two men. He bent forward to pick Mei Yangyang up from the ground and left straight away. Recognizing him to be Long Tianze, Mei Shuangshuang quickly went forward to ask, ¡°Where are you taking my sister?¡± At that instant, Long Tianze understood why Mei Yangyang had shown up there. ¡°You were enjoying the show when your sister was getting beat by those guys earlier. You don¡¯t even care if she¡¯s dead or alive, why are you so concerned about where I¡¯m taking her?¡± he sneered. As soon as he finished his sentence, he hurriedly left and brought Mei Yangyang to the hospital. Mei Yangyang did not make a single sound throughout the entire journey. She then thanked him when they returned from the hospital. ¡°Sister-inw Xiaoning is upstairs,e with me.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Mei Yangyang agreed and followed him upstairs. Just as Long Tianze entered the room, Ling Ciye said with a smile, ¡°Didn¡¯t you go out to take a breather? Why did you take so long?¡± ¡°I saw her getting bullied downstairs, so being the nice person I am, I brought her to the hospital to get her wounds nursed.¡± Upon seeing that it was Mei Yangyang, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°What happened?¡± Mei Yangyang sat down beside her and told her about the details of everything that had happened from the beginning. Finally, she said, ¡°It was my fault, I shouldn¡¯t have overestimated myself. I continued to put on a brave front despite knowing that I was outnumbered.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t me yourself. You don¡¯t have to go to the store tomorrow, just rest well at home,¡± said An Xiaoning as she held onto her hand. ¡°It¡¯s fine, Sis, it¡¯s just a minor injury,¡± said Mei Yangyang. The swelling had made her doll-like face appear even rounder. The music resumed sting in the room. Mei Yangyang soon realized that the three other women in the room were the ones she had seen along the corridor earlier. One of them was massaging Ling Ciye¡¯s thigh, the other was kneading his leg, and another was toasting next to Long Tianze. Mei Yangyang gazed at Long Tianze as she began to recall the moment he had appeared to save her, when she was getting bashed. She began to find him rather heroic and admirable. Seeming to have noticed her staring at him, he turned around and made eye contact with her. Mei Yangyang froze in shock but did not look away. Neither did Long Tianze. The two seemed to be engaged in a tacit staring contest. In the end, Long Tianze burst intoughter. He could not hold it in any longer and mocked, ¡°You really look like a piglet now with that swollen face of yours.¡± Mei Yangyang did not take offense. Instead, she began pinching her face and said in response, ¡°It¡¯s not that bad, at least I don¡¯t look deformed.¡± All of a sudden, Long Tianze was reminded of their intimate encounter as he stared at her lips. He felt a tension in his lower body and stopped staring when he began to feel slightly enticed. ¡°Mr. Long,e here, let me toast you,¡± said the woman beside him, who raised a goblet of wine in her hands. Long Tianze nced at her and clinked his goblet against hers, ¡°You can hold your liquor pretty well, eh?¡± ¡°Since you¡¯re here, of course I¡¯d have to drink more, Mr. Long. It¡¯s such a rare asion to be meeting you. I may not get the chance to see you again.¡± ¡°It¡¯s so noisy,¡± said an irritated Long Tianze as he turned off the music. He ced the goblet on the table and turned to look at Jin Qingyan, who was leaning against the couch while remaining silent. ¡°What are you thinking about? You¡¯re so engrossed in your thoughts,¡± he asked. ¡°I¡¯m thinking about you...¡± ¡°Mr. Jin, your wife is sitting right there. Wouldn¡¯t it break her heart to hear you say such words to me?¡± Long Tianze said teasingly, ying along. ¡°You¡¯re reading too much into it. I haven¡¯t finished my sentence. I¡¯m thinking about you and your poor taste in women.¡± ¡°Ciye, don¡¯t you agree that these three babes are gorgeous?¡± ¡°They are. But they¡¯re only good enough to massage my legs,¡± said Ling Ciye with a smile. The three women continued to put up a cheery front, seemingly unaffected by their words despite feeling rather hurt and dejected. Just like they had expected, these wealthy heirs would never find them good enough. They all had expectations that were way too high. In the eyes of the wealthy heirs, they were nothing more than mere objects of frivolous entertainment. But then again, it was their job to entertain, anyway. Nheless, they still dreamed of marrying a wealthy husband one day and leaving their past behind. They hoped for a fresh start in life and to be a woman of status as a wealthy man¡¯s wife. ¡°He said you¡¯re only worthy of being his masseuse. What do you think of that?¡± Long Tianze asked the woman beside him mockingly. ¡°Mr. Ling can say anything he wants, as long as he¡¯s happy.¡± ¡°Indeed, women who are after nothing but money have no pride or self-esteem at all. Truly born to be ves,¡± Long Tianze said distastefully with a sigh. He stood up and said, ¡°It¡¯s gettingte, let¡¯s leave.¡± ¡ª¡ª Mei Yangyang arrived home in her scooter, only to see that her father was still waiting for her to return. Noticing how disheveled she looked, he asked worriedly, ¡°Yangyang, what happened to you?¡± Mei Yangyang bluntly told her father the truth, without hiding anything at all. ¡°I¡¯m washing my hands off her matters in the future,¡± she said atst. Mr. Mei felt bad for her and, at the same time, infuriated with his younger daughter for her behavior. ¡°Yangyang, I won¡¯t ask you to go look for her at night again. Since she can¡¯t tell right from wrong, there¡¯s no way we can take her in hand, and we¡¯ll have no choice but to let her be.¡± ¡°Yes, Father. I¡¯m going to bed.¡± ¡°Alright, you still have to go to work tomorrow morning. How about you just take a day off to rest at home?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± She returned to her room andid on her bed. However, she seemed to have a hard time falling asleep. Suddenly, she heard her phone ring as she received a text message. After taking a look at her mobile phone, she realized that it was a text message from an unfamiliar number. Yet, she felt a strange sense of joy as she read the content of the message. ¡°Hey little piggy, goodnight.¡± She recalled giving him her mobile number in the store, though she had not asked for his. This was the first time he had contacted her since then. As she read the message, Mei Yangyang felt a sudden urge and replied, ¡°Big piggy, goodnight.¡± She put her phone down, feeling much better after reading the message. She closed her eyes and drifted off to dreand soon after. ¡ª¡ª Soon, it was the 20th of November, the peak of winter. The weather was freezing. However, Jin Qingyue was still adamant about not revealing the truth, and she remained as tight-lipped as ever. Having had another solution in mind, Jin Qingyan informed the police of his n and together, they staged an act to get her to speak up. Before Jin Qingyue had even woken up, the policeman opened the door. Chapter 83 - Your Wife Is Waiting for You at Home

Chapter 83: Your Wife Is Waiting for You at Home

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Four policemen entered the room. ¡°Jin Qingyue, pleasee with us.¡± She opened her eyes and asked in surprise, ¡°Am I going to be released?¡± ¡°No, we¡¯re taking you to court for your trial. The prosecutor has already filed your case to court.¡± With a sudden change in expression, she asked in shock, ¡°Why is it so soon?¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s a case of murder. The public is extremely concerned with it as well, thus the process is rather quick. Please,e with us.¡± She stopped getting down the bed and instead gripped on tightly to the metal bars holding the bed together. ¡°Is my family here?¡± she asked. ¡°No. Hurry, stop wasting time.¡± Jin Qingyue got out of bed slowly and put on her shoes before following behind them. She was at aplete loss on what to do. Initially, she had thought that her parents would definitely engage their connections and resources to rescue her from prison. However, no one hade to visit her at all, even after a long period of time had passed, let alone get her out of prison. ¡°What will my sentence be?¡± ¡°For murder cases, it would usually either be a lifetime jail term or a death sentence.¡± Her legs turned to jelly upon hearing the possible oues. She did not dare to take another step. ¡°I don¡¯t wish to attend the trial, I don¡¯t want to go to court,¡± she said in fear. ¡°Jin Qingyue, it is mandatory for you to attend the trial. You don¡¯t have a choice since you¡¯ve already turned yourself in and pleaded guilty to murdering someone by running them over.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t do it, it wasn¡¯t me,¡± she said, frightened and pale as a sheet. ¡°You said it was you, previously, yet you¡¯re denying it now. Jin Qingyue, what do you take the police for? Puppets for child¡¯s y?¡± ¡°I really didn¡¯t do it,¡± she blurted. At that instant, she could not help but break down in despair. She began to cry and exim, while sprawled across the ground, ¡°I didn¡¯t run her over! It wasn¡¯t me!¡± ¡°Are you trying to change your statement?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to see my parents and my brother. I don¡¯t want to go to jail. I didn¡¯t kill her.¡± She was nodding as tears flowed down her face like a broken tap. The policemen shot each other a knowing look and proceeded to bring her to the interrogation room. Facing the policeman who was interrogating her, Jin Qingyue was no longer insistent on hiding the truth. Instead, she changed her statement and confessed everything that happened. Jin Qingyan stared nkly at the screen, watching the live footage of the interrogation from the surveince cameras. Shi Shaochuan was arrested once again. He was rather surprised, not at the fact that Jin Qingyue had gone back on her word, but rather at the Jin family¡¯s attitude towards Jin Qingyue. He had never expected them toe up with such a solution to get her to speak up. Given their status and power, the Jin family could have easily gotten her out of prison with their connections. Yet they had gone the extra mile to stage an act like that. Clearly, their purpose was none other than to stop him and Jin Qingyue from staying together. In the end, they had seeded in separating them. Could it be that they despised him? Or could they have been thinking that the Shi family was not good enough for them? Or perhaps it was because he was once married to An Xiaoning... A whirlpool of questions flooded Shi Shaochuan¡¯s mind as he could not figure out the reason behind their objection towards their rtionship. He had already made all the necessary arrangements beforehand and informed his parents to engage every connection they had to rescue him from prison in case he gets arrested. The case would not be publicized by the media. Since Jin Qingyue was involved, it might cause an unnecessary uproar. Shi Shaochuan was the only child of his family. He knew for sure that his parents would do whatever it takes to save him, regardless of the consequence. Thus, he was not too devastated just yet. Although Jin Qingyue was not the prime culprit of the act, she was an aplice who even attempted to hide the truth in order to cover up for Shi Shaochuan. Besides, she had also helped him bury the corpse after the ident. Thus, she ought to be punished for breaking thew as well. Be it through underhand means or whatsoever, the Jin¡¯s would never let her be imprisoned. Jin Qingyue was released while Shi Shaochuan was arrested. She felt a sudden euphoria the moment she returned home, for she had finally regained her freedom. ¡°Shi Shaochuan¡¯s parents are pulling every connection and resource they have to save him. He¡¯s the one and only son they have, surely they¡¯re not going to sit back and watch him sink into trouble.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t let him be released. If he does, he¡¯s going to get together with Qingyue again,¡± Mrs. Jin opposed. ¡°If we really don¡¯t have any other option, then let¡¯s try getting someone to alter her fate, perhaps it could help. Whether it would work or not will depend on her luck. Xiaoning said that it would be difficult to try and change the events which had already been destined by fate. But there¡¯s no harm in trying, anyway.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll try changing her fate if he really gets released from prison. If we can¡¯t, then let¡¯s just let her be. We¡¯ve done everything we could. We can¡¯t change Heaven¡¯s decisions no matter how hard we try. We can¡¯t let this matter be publicized by the media though. Otherwise, Qingyue would definitely be exposed. It would cause a great deal of trouble then,¡± Mrs. Jin said with a sigh. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°So many unfortunate events have happened to our familytely. Quickly bear a child with Xiaoning. Hopefully that joyous asion would ward off some inauspicious ones,¡± suggested Mrs. Jin. ¡°It¡¯s not toote to bear one after we¡¯re done with our honeymoon period. We¡¯re still young, what¡¯s the rush?¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°But how would a child get in the way of your honeymoon period? Leave the child with me at the old mansion, I¡¯ll take care of it. You two can have each other all to yourselves then. Stop finding excuses.¡± ¡°Okay, Mother, to be honest, I don¡¯t actually fancy children that much, they¡¯re too noisy and mischievous. We¡¯ll just let nature take its course.¡± Trying to sound him out, Mrs. Jin said, ¡°Qingyan, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re still thinking of Chi Rui¡¯er and you want to be with her...¡± ¡°Mother, I will never divorce Xiaoning.¡± ¡°Great, I rest my case then. Alright, it¡¯s time you head home. It¡¯s gettingte and your wife is waiting for you,¡± said Mrs. Jin as she gestured for him to leave. Jin Qingyan stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯ll get going then.¡± ¡°Alright, drive safe.¡± He turned around and left. ¡ª¡ª Wang Fangfang¡¯s corpse had finally been found after three days of searching. There was no need for further verification because it was found buried in the yard of Shi Shaochuan¡¯s mansion. By then, Shi Shaochuan had found Wang Fangfang¡¯s parents and offered them a hefty amount of money in exchange for them to stop pursuing the matter. They were indeed devastated about their daughter¡¯s death. However, there was no point in letting Shi Shaochuan die. His death could not bring their daughter back, anyway. Greatly enticed by the attractive sum, they decided to choose money over justice for her death. Shi Shaochuan had managed to resolve the issue with her parents. Although the Shi family was far beyondparison with the Jin Family, they have nheless established a significantwork of connections over their many years of dwelling in the business world. In order to save their only heir, the Shi family had activated all their connections and spent a massive sum of money, all of which they did not regret, as long as he could escape unscathed. Though it was not reported on the news, word about the incident had spread across the upper-ss circle. However, theyid low and pretended not to know much, since Jin Qingyue was involved as well. Knowing that Shi Shaochuan would definitely escape scott-free, An Xiaoning stopped paying attention to news about the matter. Evidently, society was unfair. The average citizen would definitely be put behind bars formitting a crime. However, it was a different case for those from the upper ss of society, who can get away with their crimes simply because they were wealthy and powerful. In fact, it was no secret that the wealthy often resorted to dirty tricks and underhanded means to avoid bearing the consequences of breaking thew. In S Nation, any issue that could be resolved with money would be considered a small one. After restocking her store, An Xiaoning was called to have lunch with the Gu family. She arrived to the sight of a sumptuous feast spread across the table, with everyone present and waiting for her arrival. ¡°Am Ite?¡± ¡°No, we just sat down. Xiaoning, we asked you here today because it¡¯s a joyous asion,¡± said Mrs. Gu with a smile. Taken by surprise, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s your brother Dongcheng¡¯s birthday.¡± An Xiaoning turned to look at Gu Dongcheng and said her wishes, ¡°Happy Birthday, Big Brother. I didn¡¯t know it was your birthday today. I¡¯ll give you your giftter this afternoon.¡± ¡°Thank you. Oh, it¡¯s alright,¡± Gu Dongcheng thanked with a grin. Chapter 84 - Taking a Nap in His Bedroom

Chapter 84: Taking a Nap in His Bedroom

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The servants served the cake on a cart, which Gu Dongcheng proceeded to cut while everyone raised their sses for a toast to the joyous asion. An Xiaoning felt a sudden nudge at her leg when she was eating her slice of cake. She looked up and coincidentally made eye contact with Gu Beicheng. It had been a while since shest saw him. Apart from his immacte features, the blue diamond on his earlobe was his most striking and outstanding essory, which never fails to catch her eye. He picked up some cake with a fork in his right hand and began to chew, all in a slow andposed manner. ¡°I don¡¯t usually have a sweet tooth, but I¡¯ll make an exception since it¡¯s Brother¡¯s birthday today,¡± he said while eating the cake. ¡°You seem to be enjoying the cake though, you haven¡¯t stopped chewing ever since you started eating,¡± Mrs. Gu said as she red at him. ¡°By the way, I went to the beauty salon today and everyone kept asking me if the both of you are attached yet. Tell me, are you?¡± she asked her sons. ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± admitted Gu Dongcheng. Noticing that all eyes were on him, Gu Beicheng quickly defended, ¡°Why are you all staring at me? I¡¯m not, either.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you love womanizing and dating different women every now and then? Have you changed your waystely?¡± ¡°Since when? That¡¯s not true. I just haven¡¯t met someone I truly adore. I¡¯m so sick of most women nowadays, they¡¯re all the same ¡ª sharp, awl-shaped faces, augmented breasts, and a paper-thin figure that makes them seem malnourished. It really puts me off whenever I see one,¡± he denied. ¡°I¡¯m d and relieved you think that way. At least I won¡¯t have to worry about you bringing a demoness-looking woman home in the future.¡± An Xiaoning burst intoughter and interjected, ¡°Godmother, has that always been your main worry?¡± ¡°Of course, those women out there are shameless, and they¡¯re all bent on marrying into a wealthy family. By the way, Xiaoning, you may just call me ¡®Mother¡¯ in the future. I already treat you like my own daughter, isn¡¯t it time you see me as your own mother too?¡± ¡°Sure, I won¡¯t call you ¡®Godmother¡¯ from now onwards, then. But, only on the condition that you and Godfather pay me to do it,¡± An Xiaoning teased coaxingly with a smile. Mrs. Gu rose from her seat immediately and said, ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll go get it now.¡± Everyone began to giggle merrily while Mrs. Gu headed inside to bring two red packets containing a hefty sum. ¡°There¡¯s a cheque of 500 thousand dors in each packet, both will add up to a million. Is that enough?¡± said Mrs. Gu as she shoved the red packets into An Xiaoning¡¯s hands. Nodding fervently as she kept the red packets, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°Yes, it is. Thank you, Father and Mother!¡± She eximed loudly, feeling overjoyed. To An Xiaoning, there can never be too much when ites to money. Mr. and Mrs. Gu were just as ted about their newfound daughter. Seeing how happy An Xiaoning was when she epted the red packets, Gu Beicheng could not help but let out augh. After lunch was over, An Xiaoning gave Fan Shixin a call and instructed him to bring over a birthday gift that would suit Gu Dongcheng. The weather was merry, and An Xiaoning began to feel slightly sleepy as she sat on the swing in the backyard of the Gu family mansion. ¡°Didn¡¯t sleep wellst night?¡± Gu Beicheng asked, having noticed the fatigue on her face. ¡°Yeah...¡± answered An Xiaoning as she began to recall the night before, where Jin Qingyan resorted to every means to get intimate with her. Her blood began to boil at the thought of it. ¡°I¡¯m feeling a little sleepy,¡± she continued. ¡°Why don¡¯t you go get some rest inside?¡± ¡°Alright, please bring me there. I don¡¯t quite know my way around the house yet.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± he said, cing both hands inside his pocket. He turned around and saw her getting up slowly. He then went forward to grab her by her arm and pulled her along. When they arrived upstairs, he opened the door of a room without hesitation. ¡°You may take a nap in here.¡± An Xiaoning headed inside and immediately crawled onto the bed after removing her slippers, too tired to even observe her surroundings. She closed her eyes and prepared to take a nap. Gu Beicheng tucked her beneath the sheets and closed the door. He then closed the windows, drew the curtains, and turned on the heater, before sitting down next to her on the other side of the bed. A smile began to form on his face as he looked at An Xiaoning while leaning against the bedhead. An Xiaoning knew that he was looking at her, despite having her eyes closed. ¡°Stop looking at me like you¡¯re a surveince camera. Otherwise, I¡¯m going to poke you blind,¡± she said sluggishly. ¡°How relentless of you, it wouldn¡¯t hurt to let me take a look or two at you, would it? I¡¯m rather perplexed though, why didn¡¯t I meet you earlier?¡± he said with a chuckle. An Xiaoning let out a soothing heave and said, ¡°Does it matter when it was you met me? The oue will all be the same.¡± ¡°It matters to me. I want ass just like you,¡± said Gu Beicheng as he shot her a nce. ¡°What a shame I wasn¡¯t born 20 yearster, otherwise I could be your daughter.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Let me ask you something.¡± An Xiaoning opened her eyes and looked at him. ¡°Are men like you still virgins?¡± she asked. ¡°Did Jin Qingyan tell you he was one?¡± Gu Beicheng burst intoughter. However, he pulled a serious face and continued, ¡°I don¡¯t think you should believe any of his nonsense.¡± ¡°Please just answer my question. Don¡¯t digress,¡± An Xiaoning corrected him. Gu Beicheng touched his nose lightly and said, ¡°Hmm... That¡¯s a tough question. Well, I don¡¯t know about the rest, but for those my age and status, 99% of them in their twenties aren¡¯t virgins anymore.¡± ¡°And yourself?¡± ¡°Me?¡± he asked, blushing red. ¡°If you¡¯re willing, I would be more than happy to give you my first,¡± he said teasingly. An Xiaoning instinctively kicked him from beneath the sheets and chided, ¡°Get lost...¡± ¡°Hahaha... Don¡¯t discuss about such topics with a grown man like me, otherwise you shall bear the consequences,¡± Gu Beicheng said suggestively. An Xiaoning closed her eyes again and said, ¡°Get out, I¡¯d like to take a nap.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± he stood up and left, closing the door behind him. An Xiaoning could only fall asleep after hearing his footsteps fade further away. An hour had already passed by the time she woke up. She was surprised at the sight of Gu Beicheng sleeping next to her, without covering himself with the nket. She got out of bed and gently pulled the nket over him. It was only then that she noticed a photo of him on the wall. She scanned her surroundings and realized that it was Gu Beicheng¡¯s bedroom. Although she was aware that he had treated her rather well, she did not know his real agenda for doing so. She could not read his mind or deduce what he was up to. Gu Beicheng opened his eyes just as An Xiaoning closed the door. He moved onto the spot she hadid on earlier, and all of a sudden, he was filled with an incredible sense of joy. However, he soon began to feel cryptic about the way he felt. ¡ª¡ª Mrs. Jin had not once left the house, ever since she returned home from the hospital. Finally, she had made it past November, safe and sound. However, she was more relieved at the fact that her daughter had stopped going out after she was released from prison. She did not ask about Shi Shaochuan, nor did she leave the house, which made Mrs. Jin think that they had stopped contacting each other. Mrs. Jin was overjoyed and asked Jin Qingyue toe downstairs for a heart-to-heart talk. When Mrs. Jin asked Jin Qingyue if she had already broken up with Shi Shaochuan, Jin Qingyue answered in astonishment, ¡°Mother, who told you that we¡¯ve broken up?¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t?¡± asked a startled Mrs. Jin. ¡°Of course not, it¡¯s been a few days now since Shaochuan was released. Have you any idea how hard I had to try to stop myself from going out to look for him?¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you? Are you afraid of getting reprimanded by your father and me?¡± ¡°No, I just feel guilty for changing my statement. He and his family are definitely going to hold it against me,¡± said Jin Qingyue, hanging her head low. Mrs. Jin¡¯s initial happiness diminished as soon as she heard her daughter¡¯s words. ¡°What are you guilty for? He¡¯s the one who killed someone by running them over, so he ought to be punished with a death sentence. If you weren¡¯t involved in helping him bury the corpse, I would¡¯ve insisted he died. He would never be released, no matter how many connections his family tries to pull or how much money they spend,¡± said Mrs. Jin. Chapter 85 - Hope She Doesnt Regret Her Decisions

Chapter 85: Hope She Doesn¡¯t Regret Her Decisions

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Mother!¡± Jin Qingyue snapped, looking at her mother in disbelief of what she just heard. ¡°You, Father, and Brother just don¡¯t wish for me to be together with Shaochuan. What Sister-inw said may be true to a certain extent, but it¡¯s not entirely believable. I¡¯ve decided to go against her words and prove her wrong. Shaochuan and I are going to end up in a blissful rtionship!¡± Mrs. Jin grasped her chest in anger and hollered, ¡°I think your brains are fried! That bastard must¡¯ve brainwashed you.¡± ¡°I know clearly what I¡¯m doing. Stop trying to justify my happiness ording to your selfish standards. The more you guys try to stop me, the more I want to be with him and prove you all wrong,¡± she retorted. ¡°You...¡± Upon seeing how stubborn her daughter was, Mrs. Jin turned around and returned to her room immediately. She quickly instructed Jin Qingyan to try and change her fate. They could not afford any further dy. Changing her fate was theirst and only resort. Jin Qingyue headed upstairs to grab her bag and left in her car. Sitting in the car, she stared at the dialpad on her phone. She was constantly torn between giving him a call and dismissing the idea entirely. While she was stuck in that dilemma, her phone began to ring. It was a call from Shi Shaochuan. She hesitated for a few moments before finally picking up, ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Qingyue, it¡¯s me. Where are you?¡± ¡°Where are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m at home.¡± ¡°Has everything been settled?¡± Jin Qingyue asked. ¡°Yes. It¡¯s all settled. Let¡¯s meet at our usual haunt. I miss you,¡± said Shi Shaochuan. ¡°Alright,¡± Jin Qingyue agreed. The pair met up at the five-star hotel they frequented. Jin Qingyue felt an overwhelming sadness the moment she finally saw him. It was the first time they had seen each other after a long period of time. Despite missing her very much, Shi Shaochuan remained silent the moment he saw her, letting his actions speak louder than words. He expressed his emotions through his actions. ¡°I really thought you wouldn¡¯t be able to escape,¡± Jin Qingyue said as theyid on the bed, their eyes meeting. ¡°That¡¯s what your family wishes for. Yueyue, I don¡¯t me you at all for changing your statement. I understand that you were terrified.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve underestimated my brother. They didn¡¯t go all out because I was involved in the matter too. Otherwise, your family definitely wouldn¡¯t have managed to save you,¡± said Jin Qingyue. ¡°Yes, yes, that¡¯s right. I¡¯ve thought about that too. However, I¡¯ve realized that it¡¯s no easy feat for them to try and separate us. All I wanna do is to have some fun with you.¡± Shi Shaochuan gave her a kiss and continued, ¡°Qingyue, will you obey your family and break up with me?¡± ¡°No. It¡¯s just, Shaochuan, you shouldn¡¯t have killed that woman.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t wish for her to die, either. I just got really nervous the moment I saw her. I¡¯ve already broken up with her before we got together, yet she¡¯s still clinging to me like a stubborn leech. She really got on my nerves. I was afraid she¡¯d sow seeds of discord between us, and I didn¡¯t want to see you getting upset over her either. Thus, I couldn¡¯t control myself in the heat of the moment,¡± he exined. ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve been feeling rather guilty about it, but there¡¯s nothing we can do now that she¡¯s already dead. I¡¯ve given her parents arge sum of money, I guess that¡¯ll serve as some form ofpensation,¡± Shi Shaochuan said softly. Upon hearing his words, Jin Qingyue dropped the subject. ¡°I knew you couldn¡¯t control yourself because you were afraid I would find out... Forget it, it¡¯s over now, Shaochuan. We can¡¯t go on like this, why don¡¯t we get married?¡± ¡°Get married? You really want to marry me?¡± Shi Shaochuan asked in delight. ¡°Yes. Why, you don¡¯t want to?¡± ¡°Of course not, I just didn¡¯t expect you to initiate it. Is it appropriate to get married now?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve thought about it. As long as we get married, my family will stop trying to break us up.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, especially if we get you pregnant. Why don¡¯t we make a baby right now?¡± Shi Shaochuan chuckled. ¡°Hey, we¡¯ll talk about having children after marriage,¡± Jin Qingyue said coquettishly. ¡°No, I want it now,¡± he refuted and pulled the nket over their heads. ¡°What happens if your family is still insistent on objecting to our marriage?¡± ¡°Then we¡¯ll just tell them that we¡¯re pregnant...¡± ¡°...¡± Jin Qingyue refused to resign to fate. Perhaps she did believe An Xiaoning, but not entirely. She refused to believe that her destiny was already set in stone. Everyone in her family objected fervently when she brought up the idea of getting married to Shi Shaochuan. ¡°But I¡¯m already pregnant,¡± said Jin Qingyue, almost causing Mrs. Jin to faint in shock. ¡°What... did you say?¡± ¡°I said I¡¯m pregnant, Mother, just let us get married.¡± ¡°Over my dead body. Get an abortion. I¡¯m not going to sit back and watch you dig your own grave. Do you know how hard it¡¯ll be to draw a line between you and him in the future if you have a child?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m going to marry him, and that¡¯s it. No way I¡¯m getting an abortion either.¡± An Xiaoning had been keeping her thoughts to herself. However, at that point, she could not help but speak up, ¡°But, Sister-inw, I don¡¯t remember reading any signs of you bearing a child out of wedlock, the previous time I read your fortune.¡± ¡°How nosy of you, it¡¯s none of your business.¡± Jin Qingyue glowered at her. Upon hearing what An Xiaoning had said, Mrs. Jin hollered, ¡°Qingyue! You¡¯ve really let me down. She¡¯s your sister-inw, how dare you say it¡¯s none of her business? Your sister-inw is concerned about you. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t be bothered if you were just anyone else. Are you deceiving us?¡± In fact, Jin Qingyue was taken aback and astonished at the fact that An Xiaoning could actually read that she would not have any children before marriage... ¡°Mother, I¡¯m marrying him no matter what. If you must object to it, then I¡¯ll just move in with him. Everyone will know we¡¯re cohabiting then. I know what you¡¯re going to say, but I¡¯m not giving up until I see it for myself. I just want to be open about our rtionship. I haven¡¯t thought about the rest. I¡¯ll have no regrets, even if we don¡¯t make it until the end,¡± Jin Qingyue insisted. Despite seeing how obstinate and infuriated she was, Mrs. Jin did not wish to argue with her. Instead, she said calmly, ¡°Head back inside first, I¡¯ll discuss this with your Father, Brother, and Sister-inw.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± she stood up and headed upstairs. After a brief moment of silence, Mrs. Jin said, ¡°Qingyan, is everything prepared?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just give it a shot. If we can¡¯t change her fate, then there¡¯s nothing else we can do anymore. She¡¯s such a stubborn child. I just hope she doesn¡¯t regret her decisions in the future.¡± ¡°Mother, it¡¯ll really only keep her in line for a certain period of time. Some methods may change her fate entirely, but some may also bepletely useless. Just be mentally prepared,¡± An Xiaoning cautioned. ¡°It¡¯ll all depend on her luck. It¡¯s almost like she¡¯s possessed or something, she doesn¡¯t listen to any of us at all.¡± ¡ª¡ª Ever since her wedding with Byron, Mo Li had been putting her entire mind and soul into learning the local etiquette andnguage. She was a focused and fast learner. Within just a short period of time, she had managed to pick up some simple conversational phrases, despite having no background in the local nativenguage at all when she first started learning. Over time, she gradually managed to speak thenguage rather fluently. The social etiquette, however, was rather precise andplicated. Every single gesture had to be perfect, for one could easilye off as rude should there be any minor slip-ups. Chapter 86 - He Wanted to Kiss Her

Chapter 86: He Wanted to Kiss Her

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Butpared to these, Mo Li still felt that living here was a thousand times morefortable than when she was by Ye Xiaotian¡¯s side. Byron was really a caring gentleman. He did not speak harshly at all and was especially nice to her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Mo were extremely satisfied with this son-inw who was about their age. Other than paying her greetings to Byron¡¯s parents daily, Mo Li basically never left the house. As Byron was already 40 years old, his parents repeatedly urged Mo Li to have children earlier. Mo Li nodded in agreement ¡ª replying that she had such an intention too, but her physical condition was not too good and her body needed to be nursed first before she could bear children. Byron¡¯s parents then gave her many tonics for nourishment. To them, although this daughter-inw had a family background that wasn¡¯t too satisfactory, she was rather fine in other ways. ¡°I¡¯ve an engagement at six today, I¡¯ll be back at eight sharp.¡± Mo Li passed the suit over to him and replied gently, ¡°Alright. If the food at dinner isn¡¯t good, I¡¯ll make you something to eat when youe back.¡± Byron gave her a peck on her forehead. ¡°Thanks, dear.¡± Wearing a smile, Mo Li walked him to his car. Just as she came back to the room, her phone began ringing. There were only a handful of people who knew her new number. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°...¡± The other end waspletely silent, nobody replied. She took a look at the screen and repeated, ¡°Hello? If you¡¯re not speaking, I¡¯m hanging up.¡± ¡°Listening to your voice, you seem to be enjoying your newly married life.¡± Ye Xiaotian¡¯s voice sounded from the other end. Every bit of it jarred on her nerves. ¡°You really have your ways.¡± Mo Li instantly ended the line. She then changed her phone settings to only allow contacts from her phonebook to call her. Ye Xiaotian¡¯s repeated attempts to call her were to no avail. It was the same even when he used a different phone number. He stared at the phone, unable to recover himself for a long while. cing his phone on the bedside table, Ye Xiaotian¡¯s head was in a mess the whole day. From the day she left until now, she had left a mark on his heart which he could feel everyday. Day after day, it only got worse. He wanted to kiss and hug her, to feel the warmth of her body on his. He wanted all of these so badly. He had originally thought she was just an insignificant woman to her. A woman he, Ye Xiaotian, could easily find loads of others as recement for. But now, he¡¯d realized it wasn¡¯t that case. Mo Li... Mo Li! His thoughts were full of longing for her. His phone started to vibrate. He picked it up again. It was a call from Bai Ranran. ¡°Hello...¡± ¡°Xiaotian, I feel like eating Cheng Bei House¡¯s dumplings. Can you buy them for me?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Bai Ranran¡¯s requests, as long as it was something within his means, he would never reject. He drove all the way to Cheng Bei just to buy a bowl of dumplings to deliver to her. Seeing her face lit up with happiness, he stood there slightly out of sorts. At that moment, it seemed as if he saw another face through hers. ¡°Xiaotian.¡± ¡°Mmm. Why, is it not nice?¡± ¡°Why did you let the shop put vinegar in it? You know I don¡¯t like vinegar, right?¡± Her brows tightened in a huge frown. ¡°I felt it would be better if you added some.¡± Bai Ranran did not say anything further and continued gulping in small bites. ¡°Xiaotian, why have you been out of sortstely? Is it because Mo Li got married, so you¡¯re feeling upset?¡± ¡°Who said that?¡± he replied coldly. ¡°Why should I feel upset over her?¡± Hearing his reply, Bai Ranran finally said, ¡°That¡¯s just what I thought. Hearing you say this, I can rest assured then.¡± The doctor came over holding the blood pack. ¡°Ms. Bai, didn¡¯t I instruct you to only eat after the blood transfusion?¡± ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡± Bai RanRan grinned. ¡°Then let me rest a while after my meal before I do the transfusion.¡± The doctor then responded, ¡°Alright, I¡¯lle back in a while then.¡± Ye Xiaotian pulled the covers for her. ¡°I¡¯lle and see you tomorrow.¡± Bai Ranran reached out to pull his arm. ¡°Xiaotian, can¡¯t you stay with me for a while more?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve some matters to settle. I¡¯lle and see you tomorrow. Rest well.¡± He turned and left. Bai Ranran suddenly threw the bowl of dumplings on the table, the soup spilling out a little. Her eyes glistened with slight dissatisfaction. As a woman, she believed her instinct was the most urate and her heart was the most sensitive. Ever since Mo Li left, it was obvious that he was not himself. It was evident, since she had heard the two of them had an unusual rtionship. Considering that Mo Li had been supplying blood to her, as well as Xiaotian¡¯s denial, she did not think further. Now, it seemed, Mo Li was indeed special to him. About half an hourter... The door was pushed open. Bai Ranran looked on fixedly, and Sun Weiwei came with a fruit basket. Towards this Godsister of Ye Xiaotian, Bai Ranran had never felt fond. ¡°What are you here for?¡± ¡°To see you, of course.¡± Sun Weiwei ced the fruit basket on the table. ¡°How have you beentely?¡± ¡°It¡¯s none of your business.¡± Bai Ranranid down. She couldn¡¯t be bothered to hold a conversation with her. ¡°Sister Ranran, how could you say that? I¡¯m just concerned about you.¡± Sun Weiwei shed a sweet smile. ¡°Oh, Sister Ranran, don¡¯t pull a long face. Brother Xiaotian hasn¡¯t been in a good moodtely. If he¡¯s given you the cold shoulder, I¡¯ll help you to talk to him about it.¡± Bai Ranran could not listen any longer. ¡°You¡¯re just a mere Godsister, who do you think you are? Who asked you to help me talk to him?¡± Sun Weiwei¡¯s face turned ugly slightly. ¡°Brother Xiaotian said you have no one to talk to, he asked me toe and keep youpany.¡± ¡°No need.¡± Bai Ranran¡¯s tone was cold and indifferent. Sun Weiwei was already cursing inside by now. If Ye Xiaotian hadn¡¯t called her especially, she would never have came to see this sickly face. ¡°In that case, I won¡¯t stay here to be snubbed.¡± She turned and left in a huff. The moment the door was closed shut, Bai Ranran grunted, ¡°Annoying vixen.¡± Compared to a mild and gentle blood donor like Mo Li, she hated someone like Sun Weiwei more. She was a female actress with nothing but a superb body and sharp face. Sun Weiwei got onto her nanny van, her voice dripping with sarcasm. ¡°Might as well drop dead from her illness. What a wretched thing, she thinks she¡¯s a queen.¡± Her assistant enquired, ¡°Sister Weiwei, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Nothing much. I¡¯m just curious about what illness this sickly thing has. How mysterious.¡± ¡°You can just ask Young Master Ye and you¡¯ll know.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve asked that before, he told me not to probe into it.¡± Sun Weiwei lowered her head and picked into her nails. ¡°It must be something serious. If not, after so long, why does she still have to go to the hospital every few days?¡± ¡°Sister Weiwei, there¡¯s a dinner engagement tonight to discuss about the new show. Sister Huang instructed you to attend it dressed nicely, she said it¡¯s a major production.¡± ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll have to drink and entertain a bunch of ugly men again.¡± Sun Weiwei said pensively, ¡°When I be a rich man¡¯s wife, I¡¯ll be like An Xiaoning. Do you think I¡¯ll still need to earn money through acting? I¡¯ll stay at home to count my money everyday.¡± ¡°Then next time when we¡¯re working formercials, you should put in more effort when you see unmarried businessmen, Sister Weiwei.¡± ¡°Bullshit. How many of them are still unmarried? And the married ones are only those old fogies. That woman Mo Li has a good life, she could be a princess consort by finding a divorced businessman who¡¯s also a member of royalty overseas. That¡¯s because Mo Li¡¯s mother worked for Long Tianze¡¯s family. Given Long Tianze¡¯s close rtionship with Jin Qingyan, she could easily get Jin Qingyan to pull strings for her. Without that, she couldn¡¯t have possibly gotten married!¡± Chapter 87 - I Want You

Chapter 87: I Want You

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Sun Weiwei was still painting a perfect picture in her head. ¡°If I had such ties, I would be able to marry well too. Now, I¡¯m putting all my hopes on the person by my side. Without Mo Li around, there¡¯s only that sickly Bai Ranran who probably has not much longer left to live. The position of Ye family¡¯s Young Mistress is bound to be mine sooner orter.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true indeed ¡ª Sister Weiwei, now¡¯s a good opportunity. Young Master Ye is so nice to you, you definitely stand a chance.¡± The assistant had been with Sun Weiwei for such a long time, it was crystal clear to her what Sun Weiwei liked to hear. ¡°We shall see.¡± ¡ª An Xiaoning continued to pay close attention to the matter of Jin Qingyan getting someone to change Jin Qingyue¡¯s fate. After three days, he said it was sessfully settled atst. Seeing that the troubled look on his face had finally dissipated, An Xiaoning sincerely hoped that Jin Qingyue¡¯s fate could be changedpletely. But it was just a hope after all, she did not believe it could bepletely altered. There were many times where changing one¡¯s fate could only change events that would happen within a short period of time. It was not longsting . ¡°Why do you keep looking at me like that?¡± An Xiaoning came out of her trance and replied, ¡°I suddenly think that you look really handsome ¡ª your distinct features, that pair of upward-curving eyes which are deeply set, your tall pointed nose, and especially that mouth of yours ¡ª all of these make you look so attractive. Your looks are really abination of the best genes from your parents. Your sister has a pretty face too, but it¡¯s far from yours. Her brain can¡¯t bepared to yours too.¡± Jin Qingyan picked up his handkerchief to wipe his mouth and said with a half-smiling face, ¡°If you want to lie to me, you haven¡¯t reached a good level yet. Weren¡¯t you thinking just now that Qingyue¡¯s matter might be a waste of effort?¡± An Xiaoning reached out to peel the prawns. She lowered her head and said pensively, ¡°No.¡± ¡°But I feel that you were thinking of that just now. Actually, I¡¯ve let go of it already. Since I¡¯ve done something to try to change it, I won¡¯t have regrets. As for what will happen eventually, it¡¯s just like what Mother says, let nature take its course.¡± His face was twinkling with a smile. ¡°Are you keen on opening a franchise for your clothing store?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have such intentions,¡± An Xiaoning replied with her head still lowered as she ate her prawns. ¡°Why don¡¯t you open a shop to manage? If not, all your thoughts will be on this. That won¡¯t be good, it¡¯ll interfere with my other ns.¡± ¡°Other ns? What else do you want to do?¡± ¡°Other than continuing to swim everyday, I still want to learn something like boxing to defend myself.¡± An XiaoNing continued, ¡°Being able to live to earn money but not living to spend it away is the saddest thing. What do you think, hubby?¡± Actually, it was more than just that. She wanted to read the book old master Gu gave her everyday ¡ª that book was too important to her. Just reading it, replenishing stock for her clothing store, swimming, and learning boxing would fill up all her time. ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. When are you going to learn self-defense?¡± ¡°I¡¯m teaching Yangyang how to replenish the stock now. After I hand it over to herpletely, I¡¯ll be able to learn. This skill is also not one that can be learned in a few months. If I had a daughter, I¡¯d make her practice from a young age. In this day and age, it¡¯s dangerous to have a daughter ¡ª you need to take precautions as soon as they¡¯re born.¡± An Xiaoning wiped her mouth, then got up to carry her dishes into the kitchen. Jin Qingyan gazed at her in admiration. This lovely wife of his was really different from what he had expected. He¡¯d thought that earning money was her biggest source of satisfaction, but it was not. She did not have that much ambition in earning money, maybe because the money which she¡¯d umted until now was enough to give her a sense of security. ¡°You¡¯re not going to work this afternoon?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s go and watch a movie. There¡¯s aedy that just started showingtely, I want to watch it,¡± An Xiaoning suggested earnestly. ¡°But, we can watch movies that are showing now right in our own house.¡± ¡°I know, but I want to go to the cinema. The atmosphere there is great.¡± The mere thought of it delighted An Xiaoning. She then went forward and acted coquettishly. ¡°Please?¡± she begged yfully. Jin Qingyan got up, his hands sped behind his back naturally. He put on an air of serious manner and said, ¡°I¡¯ll agree if you give me a kiss.¡± What was so hard about that? She went forward immediately, stood on the tip of her toes, and nted a kiss on his face. ¡°Muah.¡± With his eyes deeply fixed on her, he carried her with both arms and pinned her down on the sofa before giving her a long passionate kiss. The taste of prawns still lingered in her lips, but despite being the clean freak he was, he was not bothered at all. ¡°You were the one who said just a peck, you went back on your words.¡± ¡°Since I went back on my words, I¡¯ll make up for it then. I give you the same right to kiss me like that.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning gave him a push and replied, ¡°Let¡¯s go watch the movie now.¡± He got up, straightened out his jacket, and reached out his handposedly. ¡°Come.¡± An Xiaoning grabbed hold of his hand. He turned his hand over and pulled her up from the sofa. She had not yet caught her bnce andnded in his arms head-first. He gave a warm and gentleugh. ¡°So eager to get a hug from me?¡± An Xiaoning red at him. ¡°Of course not. Quick, change your shoes.¡± The two worked together seamlessly at the cinema. Jin Qingyan went to buy the tickets while An Xiaoning got the food and drinks. They then headed for their seats together. As soon as they sat down, An Xiaoning moved closer to him and said under her voice, ¡°Look there, isn¡¯t that Shi Shaochuan with your sister?¡± Jin Qingyan took a look and confirmed, ¡°It¡¯s them indeed.¡± ¡°On first nce, I thought it looked like them.¡± An Xiaoning passed the drink in her hands to him and started eating. Very soon, the theatre was fully filled up and the movie started showing. An Xiaoning ate as she watched, but just as they were getting into the plot, her eyes could not help but shift to the couple nearby who was now kissing passionately. She remained collected and continued eating and drinking, but Jin Qingyan could no longer sit still. An Xiaoning pretended like she had not seen anything and continued watching the movie. There was no sign of any movement from the couple. After a while, however, Jin Qingyue and Shi Shaochuan started to quarrel for some unknown reason. The couple who was still lovey-dovey a moment ago were now in a heated argument. The noise was disturbing enough for the people around them to be unable to watch on. Perhaps in consideration towards the audience around them, Jin Qingyue got up to leave directly, with Shi Shaochuan chasing after her. An Xiaoning nudged the man beside her and asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you want to go and take a look?¡± ¡°They¡¯re fighting, why would I go and butt in?¡± Jin Qingyan pulled her closely and whispered in her ear, ¡°That master who helped to change her fate said that they would create issues to damage their rtionship, until they break up eventually.¡± She turned to the side, her lips coincidentally touching his face. ¡°This sort of thing is almost like putting a curse, I¡¯d stay away from this kind of stuff as best as I can.¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s eyes were now gleaming softly. He moved so close to her that her eyshes were touching his skin. ¡°Xiaoning... I want to...¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s heart jerked abruptly. She immediately sat upright and scanned her surroundings. Using her finger to pinch him tightly, she muttered under her breath, ¡°Are you mad? We¡¯re at the cinema, is there something wrong with your brain that you actually want to do that with me here.¡± ¡°But I didn¡¯t mean that, I wanted to say that I want to get a hot spring bath with you after the movie...¡± ¡°...¡± Looking at how he was grinning from ear to ear, An Xiaoning knew she had been tricked by him. She insisted resolutely, ¡°You did that on purpose.¡± ¡°It was obviously you who had dirty thoughts and now you¡¯re putting the me on me,¡± he replied firmly, refusing to admit it. ¡°How shameless.¡± The corner of his lips curled into a smug smile as he continued to watch the movie with her. Chapter 88 - My Wife Is So Capable!

Chapter 88: My Wife Is So Capable!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When the two got back from the cinema, they saw a police car parked at the front gate of their house. ¡°What is the police doing here?¡± ¡°No idea.¡± Jin Qingyan drove the car into the garage, and the two got off. Fan Shixin went up and spoke in a hushed tone, ¡°Chief Pan and his men are here, they¡¯re looking for Young Mistress to talk about something.¡± An Xiaoning showed a look of astonishment. ¡°Looking for me?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Fan Shixin nodded his head. ¡°Come, let¡¯s go in to see.¡± She made her way to the living room first, with Jin Qingyan following behind her. Upon seeing that they had returned, Pan Zhenghui and two other officers behind him stood up. ¡°Mr. and Mrs. Jin, sorry to intrude.¡± Jin Qingyan waved his hand and signalled them to sit. ¡°Please, take a seat. I wonder if there¡¯s some important matter Chief Pan came especially to discuss today?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Our higher-up has formed a special group in the bureau, we¡¯d already prepared to invite the most well-known fortune teller in our country to assist in our investigations, but weren¡¯t able to do so. With Mrs. Jin¡¯s skills, I wonder if you are willing to be involved with our investigations? Of course, we won¡¯t let Mrs. Jine for nothing, we¡¯ll offer you very high remuneration. I know Mrs. Jin doesn¡¯tck the money, but it¡¯s our sincerity.¡± The officer behind immediately ced two chests filled with cash on the table. ¡°This sum of money has been specially approved by our higher-up to aid us in handling particrly challenging cases.¡± An Xiaoning scanned the amount of money on the table. With one look, it seemed like a pretty hefty sum. But she was rather uninterested. ¡°Chief Pan, with money and power, one can easily work things out. But I¡¯m not convinced by this way of handling things. Just like for Shi Shaochuan¡¯s case ¡ª in the end, it was still settled with money. I don¡¯t believe that he ran over Wang Fangfang by ident. An act done intentionally and identally are very different in essence. Moreover, Wang Fangfang was not killed directly from being run over.¡± An Xiaoning had not wanted to mention this matter, but since they had approached her first, she had to talk about it. Although the answer was perfectly clear to Chief Pan, he still decided to sound her out. ¡°Mrs. Jin, then tell me, if she did not die directly from being run over, then what actually caused her death?¡± ¡°She was strangled to death after being run over by Shi Shaochuan.¡± Chief Pan¡¯s body suddenly gave a jolt. This young woman before him sent chills down his spine. Wang Fangfang¡¯s autopsy report indeed revealed that the cause of her death was by suffocation, as there were bruises on her neck caused by strangtion. But this matter was only shared between the coroner and his higher-up. The officers were all unaware of it, and yet she knew it for certain. She was definitely a formidable figure. Jin Qingyan was rather taken aback too. He had thought that Wang Fangfang¡¯s immediate cause of death was from the car ident, but he never knew there was something else to it. She had never told him about this before. ¡°Mrs. Jin is undeniably a master, I¡¯m in awe. To be very honest, that was indeed the cause of death from Wang Fangfang¡¯s autopsy report.¡± Pan Zhenghui continued, ¡°But Mrs. Jin, you may not know ¡ª to save Shi Shaochuan, the Shi family spent a lot of money on it, and Matriarch Shi practically went on her knees before our higher-up. Of course, this cannot justify his being free from implication for his crime. Yet, you should know ¡ª although I¡¯m themissioner, the ultimate control still lies in the higher-ups. Unless there is a change in leadership, this sort of thing may be unavoidable in the future.¡± ¡°Since this case has been closed and the Shi family has heavilypensated Wang Fangfang¡¯s parents, then I won¡¯t say anything further.¡± An Xiaoning muttered, ¡°Right now, I don¡¯t have any intention of joining, but I won¡¯t reject you directly. Give me some time to consider properly.¡± Pan Zhenghui felt that there was still hope, so he replied immediately with all smiles, ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll wait for Mrs. Jin¡¯s good news then. We¡¯ll head back first, call me when you¡¯ve made a decision.¡± ¡°Mmm, okay.¡± An Xiaoning pointed to the money on the table. ¡°Take these with you too.¡± Pan Zhenghui nodded. ¡°Sure. If Mrs. Jin has thought through it and is agreeable, I¡¯ll send the money over again.¡± ¡°Mmm, take care.¡± After sending them out, Jin Qingyan raised his head and asked her, ¡°They offered quite a huge amount, aren¡¯t you tempted? This is different from changing others¡¯ fate, and it¡¯s helping the police to nab criminals. It¡¯s doing good deeds by serving justice for the victims, it¡¯ll do only good and no harm at all.¡± ¡°Whatever I do, I¡¯ll have to like it first. Only with passion will there be dedication. If I don¡¯t like what I¡¯ll be doing, I won¡¯t be doing it willingly. Then, no matter how much money it is, what use will it do?¡± An Xiaoning sank into the sofafortably and said slowly in a gentle tone, ¡°It¡¯s been rather unstable in our countrytely, Chief Pan¡¯s higher-up may want a huge change of manpower. I¡¯ll just watch and see the changes before I make a decision. Moreover, even if I assist the police in their investigations, I won¡¯t agree just for the money. I have my own conditions to be fulfilled too. Money is but a remuneration forbour, it¡¯s not as important as fulfilling my conditions.¡± She turned her body around, rested her hands at the bottom of her face and looked at him, continuing, ¡°Do you know, dealing with people like the police ¡ª what¡¯s most important is not money, it¡¯s the power you have. Don¡¯t consult them for no reason. So, in my opinion, whether it¡¯s an opportune moment, we shall see. There¡¯s no hurry regarding this.¡± He reached out to stroke her head. ¡°I didn¡¯t think that my wife is so capable! You can tell from her birth characters that Wang Fangfang was strangled to death?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± An Xiaoning exined slowly. ¡°I saw Wang Fangfang¡¯s soul.¡± Seeing the look of shock on his face, An Xiaoningughed gently. ¡°Birth characters can only show the oue, so for instance, if she died of suffocation, we can tell from these characters. But specifically how she was suffocated, whether she was hung, stifled or strangled, or whether she was first suffocated then knocked down or vice versa, we can¡¯t tell these from one¡¯s birth characters.¡± ¡°Then how did you know she was knocked down first then strangled to death?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you already, I saw Wang Fangfang¡¯s soul?¡± ¡°When?¡± ¡°A while ago.¡± Jing Qingyan did not probe further. He raised his wrist to look at the time. ¡°Let¡¯s go and take a hot spring bath, it¡¯s almost time for you to swim too.¡± ¡ª After leaving the cinema, Jin Qingyue left directly in her car. Shi Shaochuan could only call a taxi to follow. He followed her all the way, until she reached the front gate of the Jin residence. Jin Qingyue drove the car into the courtyard, with Shi Shaochuan following behind closely. Those at the gate saw that he followed right behind Jin Qingyue and did not know whether to stop him. In the end, they simply let him be. Jin Qingyue was about to get off the car when Shi Shaochuan got into the seat beside her and grabbed hold of her. ¡°Throwing a tantrum at me just for some small thing, is it really necessary?¡± ¡°Small thing? It may be small to you, but it¡¯s a huge matter to me!¡± Jin Qingyue red at him. ¡°Shi Shaochuan, if you don¡¯t want to exin to me clearly who is that bitch who sent you that message, then let¡¯s break up!¡± ¡°Yueyue, didn¡¯t I say already, she¡¯s just a disciple from a game. Nowadays, don¡¯t people all use words like ¡®honey¡¯ or ¡®muah¡¯ all the time as a pet phrase? Just for these few words you want to break up with me, what are you thinking?¡± Chapter 89 - Protect My Wife

Chapter 89: Protect My Wife

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Then, when I asked you at the cinema just now, why did you simply refuse to say? Or do you have a guilty conscience? Shi Shaochuan, if you dare to hook up with other women when we¡¯re together, I won¡¯t let it rest!¡± ¡°Alright, alright.¡± Shi Shaochuan pulled her into his arms. ¡°I really don¡¯t harbor any thoughts about other women, you¡¯re enough for me. What¡¯s wrong with you today, why are you so emotional? Yueyue, I promise you, I¡¯ll never let you worry about something so trivial anymore, okay?¡± Jin Qingyue still ended up responding with a ¡°mmm.¡± ¡°Why did you follow me to my house?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it all because I care about you? I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll get angry.¡± Shi Shaochuan heaved a sigh. ¡°Your temperament is still that of a child¡¯s. I¡¯m here at your house now, but I didn¡¯t buy anything at all. Should I still go in to meet your parents?¡± ¡°Since you¡¯re already here, might as well meet them. If you don¡¯t go in to meet them, they¡¯ll have something to say about you. Either way, they¡¯ll have something to say no matter what.¡± Jin Qingyue pushed the car door open and got off. Shi Shaochuan got off as well. Mr. and Mrs. Jin did not expect Shi Shaochuan¡¯s arrival. Jin Qingyue smiled it off. ¡°We had a tiff, so Shaochuan followed me here and we didn¡¯t get any gift.¡± ¡°We don¡¯tck anything in our house at all,¡± Mrs. Jin replied simply. ¡°That¡¯s good, we¡¯ll go upstairs then.¡± Petrified, Mrs. Jin sat upright and responded in a serious manner, ¡°What for?¡± ¡°To get something, we¡¯ll be down soon.¡± Jin Qingyue grabbed onto Shi Shaochuan and headed upstairs briskly. Mrs. Jin threw the woollen sweater she was knitting onto the sofa and followed them upstairs directly. Taking soft and gentle footsteps, she cautiously walked up the stairs and stood before Jin Qingyue¡¯s doorway. As she could not hear any sounding from inside, she went back downstairs again. Just as she had sat down, Jin Qingyue and Shi Shaochuan emerged again holding hands, except Jin Qingyue now had another bag in her hands. The bag looked like it was fully filled up. Mrs. Jin asked, ¡°What¡¯s in that bag of yours?¡± ¡°Oh, my cosmetics.¡± Jin Qingyue grinned cheekily. ¡°Mother, I¡¯m putting these on the car, it¡¯s more convenient for me to use.¡± Mrs. Jin could see what was going on immediately. ¡°Why? Qingyue, you don¡¯t even want toe back to this house anymore, right?¡± ¡°Mother, I¡¯m just putting these in the car. I didn¡¯t say I wouldn¡¯te home, you¡¯re overthinking. We¡¯re going out now, okay?¡± She reached out to wave goodbye to her mother and left the house in smiles with Shi Shaochuan. It was like they had not fought at all just a while ago. ¡ª On that chilly night, the air outside was cool and quiet. Chi Rui¡¯er stood before the window, gazing at the bright neon lights downstairs. It was a winter night, yet there were still plenty of cars on the streets. She had her phone on her hand, and the dial page was on the disy screen. She wanted to call Jin Qingyan, but she didn¡¯t do it. This process of hesitation had alreadysted for more than ten minutes for her. She could feel it very evidently, that Jin Qingyan¡¯s attitude towards her was gradually bing colder. Before An Xiaoning came into the picture, he basically called her once every day and met her once in two days. It was their average frequency of contact. But now, it was different. It felt like... if she does not call him, he would not remember to call her at all. It was too unusual, how long had it been when... Chi Rui¡¯er reached out to open the windows. A gush of cold wind blew onto her face. It was so cold that she shivered unconsciously and closed the windows at once. In the end, she still pressed the ¡°dial¡± button and called him. After the ringtone, he picked up. ¡°Hello.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er held onto the phone but did not make any noise. ¡°Rui¡¯er?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er abruptly ended the call, then walked to the side of the bed and sat down, feeling oddly upset inside. She wondered to herself: why was her life always like that, why? At a young age, she had lost her father. She had originally thought that her stepfather could fill in the empty spot of a father, but little did she expect that he¡¯d be a source of pain and torture that she could not talk to anyone about. It was not easy for her to finally leave that home, but she still could not part with her mother. If she were to be given the chance to make a choice between Gu Beicheng and Jin Qingyan again, she would choose Jin Qingyan. Gu Beicheng was indeed someone she loved deeply, but she only understoodter that the only reason he made her his girlfriend was to provoke Jin Qingyan. They had always been on bad terms. After bing his girlfriend, nothing had changed. It was basically the same as before. Thinking back to then, she felt that she was too stupid, that she was unable to see reality for what it was. She had picked up a watermelon and threw the sesame seeds away. But when she turned back, not only were the sesame seeds gone, the watermelon had been eaten up by someone else too! Amongst the influential and rich young men in existence, few couldpare with Jin Qingyan. ¡°Ms. Chi, Young Master asked if you are having any physical difort or some important matter?¡± Thedy who prepared food appeared at the doorway. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± She managed a bitter smile on her face. He was not even willing toe for her now. Thedy who prepared food then closed the door shut. Chi Rui¡¯erid on the bed, feeling a sudden urge to cry. Shepletely did not regret what she did to An Xiaoning previously. If she had died when she fell into the river, everything would¡¯ve been different now. But she did not die; she was extremely fortunate. At the thought of An Xiaoning¡¯s face, Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s hands grabbed the bedsheets tightly, wrenching them together. ¡ª One morning a few dayster, Fan Shixin brought a courier parcel in. ¡°Young Mistress, there¡¯s an express package for you.¡± ¡°But I didn¡¯t buy anything online.¡± She put down the soupbel and received it. Her face changed immediately and she appeared startled. The package fell off from her hands andnded on the floor. Jin Qingyan got up and enquired, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± An Xiaoning pointed to the package on the floor and stammered, ¡°Inside...¡± He bent down and picked it up, checking what was inside the package. It was a dead mouse. Fan Shixin took it over and checked, immediately suggesting, ¡°I¡¯ll go and check who sent it right now.¡± An Xiaoningposed herself and said indifferently, ¡°No need, just get rid of this.¡± Fan Shixin then took a look at Jin Qingyan. He signalled him with a wave. ¡°You may go.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Fan Shixin turned and left the house swiftly. ¡°Why don¡¯t you want to check it?¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s good mood was instantly destroyed by this. She answered inly, ¡°I don¡¯t think it was done by a stranger. So what if we were to know who sent it, could I expect you to stand up for me?¡± She turned and went upstairs. Jin Qingyan folded one hand into his pocket and loosened his tie with his other hand, his eyes turning dark and sombre gradually. He turned and left the living room. An Xiaoning, on the other hand, applied some makeup on her face and tied up her long hair. She wrapped a scarf around herself, picked up her bag, and went downstairs. As she was changing into her shoes, Jin Qingyan came in from outside. With his hands habitually sped behind his back, he bent over and looked at her, asking, ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°To the shop.¡± He straightened his body and a lump moved in his throat as he dered, ¡°I¡¯ll stand up for you.¡± An Xiaoning was rather taken aback. She pulled the zipper in her shoe and responded in a serious tone, ¡°What if this dead rat was sent by Chi Rui¡¯er?¡± ¡°If it was her, I¡¯ll make her hold the dead rat with her bare hands to apologize to you.¡± ¡°Alright. It would be better if it¡¯s not her, hopefully, or else you will be disappointed again.¡± She passed by his figure. Her face, which had looked indifferent, significantly brightened up like a blossomed flower. She was indeed surprised to hear the words he had said. Chapter 90 - What Would Be a More Proper Thing For Us to Do?

Chapter 90: What Would Be a More Proper Thing For Us to Do?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios It was an incident that looked like it could be easily investigated, yet there was no conclusion to it, ultimately. The delivery worker who collected the package containing the dead rat imed that the person who sent the express package was an old woman. There were also surveince cameras to prove his words. After painstakingly retrieving the surveince footage, Fan Shixin watched it and verified the delivery worker¡¯s words. Based on the figure captured by surveince cameras, a sketch was done and searched for at the police station, but nothing could be found. It turned out that no such person existed. It was a sheer mystery. From the video, and from the delivery worker¡¯s description, the old woman looked very old. But judging from the way she walked and sounded, it did not give one the feeling of a weak and feeble elderly person. Given someone as intelligent as Jin Qingyan, he concluded that the person had worn a human face mask. One could only imagine the difficulty of this investigation now. Finding that person was not a simple task at all. Jin Qingyan yed Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s voice recording from his phone for the delivery worker to listen to. He expressed on the spot that it was not this voice he had heard. When he was collecting the package containing the dead rat, he had sized up the other party and had a deep impression of that person. For two consecutive days, there were no new leads in the investigation. An Xiaoning remarked, ¡°This matter was executed very carefully, the other party was very thorough with it. After all, we are in the open, and the other party is acting under cover. There are so many people. To find that person, it¡¯s definitely not an easy feat. Let¡¯s put this matter aside for now. Rather than being engrossed with reviewing this matter, we might as well do other things.¡± With his hand supporting his head, Jin Qingyan questioned casually, ¡°In your opinion, what is most suitable for us to review? Or perhaps, what would be a more proper thing for us to do?¡± His pair of eyes were glowing in an inviting manner, as if they were conveying some message to her, but it was extremely subtle. An Xiaoning coughed a few times to break the awkward topic and replied nonchntly, ¡°In my opinion, it¡¯s time for me to swim, so I¡¯ll be going first.¡± Watching the back of her figure as she left, Jin Qingyan¡¯s eyes were curled into a line as his face glowed with happiness and his heart pounded lightly. She spent more of her time swimming than with him. Luckily, he could make up for it at night. ¡ª ¡°Time¡¯s up, pack up and close the store.¡± Mei Yangyang took a look at the time and started to arrange the clothes. ¡°Sister Yangyang.¡± Xu Jingwen was grinning beside her as she asked, ¡°How did you meet Sister Xiaoning?¡± Mei Yangyang replied as she arranged the clothes, ¡°Well, purely by luck, how else could we have met?¡± ¡°Tell us how the both of you met, please?¡± Mei Yangyang looked up. ¡°We met on the streets.¡± ¡°Lucky you! Sister Yangyang, I can see that Sister Xiaoning trusts you a lot. She¡¯s already teaching you how to choose and order stocks.¡± Xu Jingwen revealed a face of envy. ¡°The both of you are so close.¡± Mei Yangyang grinned and did not say a word. An Xiaoning was good to her. She knew that, of course. It did not have to be said at all. She was very grateful too, as not everyone could ce such trust with a friend whom they had not known for a long time. Seeing that she was not talking so much, Xu Jingwen started to pack up too. Zhang Li returned with the dinner she had bought, and the three went to eat together. ¡°Hey, Sister Yangyang. Do you know how Sister Xiaoning and Mr. Jin met?¡± Xu Jingwen asked, unable to contain her curiosity. ¡°I¡¯m very curious to know.¡± Mei Yangyang responded with only a few words, ¡°I¡¯m not too sure.¡± Zhang Li passed the chopsticks to Mei Yangyang and lowered her head as she ate her food in a prim and proper manner. She knew what to say and what not to say, which was why she never asked anything out of line. When Mei Yangyang was done eating and had put down her chopsticks, she was taken aback by the figure who had appeared at the entrance of the store. ¡°Oh my, oh my god!¡± She had one hand on her chest as she looked at Long Tianze, who was leaning against the door frame. He was d in a ck suit and wore a ck face mask. His overall attire simply made him look like a robber. Hearing the noise, the other two came forward to take a look and were also stricken with fear. ¡°Why are you here?¡± Long Tianze stood up straight and folded his arms, looking at her calmly. ¡°Just shopping around casually, then I reached your store. I wanted to treat you to a meal, but I see you¡¯ve eaten.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve eaten. I thought there was something on. As it happens, the store has closed. If you¡¯ve anything to say, let¡¯s go outside.¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡± He turned around and headed out first, with Mei Yangyang following behind. Looking at how Xu Jingwen had turned into a fool, Zhang Li used the other end of the chopstick to nudge her shoulder. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Xu Jingwen suddenly went out of her trance and said, ¡°I thought he was Sister Yangyang¡¯s boyfriend. But from their conversation, it seemed like he wasn¡¯t. Although he was wearing a face mask, he seems really handsome.¡± ¡°He is your cup of tea again, right?¡± Although Zhang Li had not known her for a long time, she understood what kind of girl she was. ¡°Mmm... I have something for tall and handsome men. It would be best if he was rich too.¡± She beamed brightly. ¡°The problem is, I haven¡¯t been able to meet one myself.¡± ¡°Do you think it is that easy to win the heart of this kind of men who have everything? Unless you¡¯re extraordinary.¡± As she packed up the food boxes into a stic bag and threw it into the bin, Zhang Li went on, ¡°Look at Sister Xiaoning: she has a brain, a great body, and good looks. This kind of woman who has everything will naturally be able to find someone on par with her. Although Sister Yangyanges from an average family, she is sweet-looking like a little lolita, and her personality is straightforward and easy-going too. I think her future partner would not be too bad as well.¡± Xu Jingwen pushed her hair behind her ears and eximed, ¡°Well, I¡¯m not too bad either. I believe I¡¯m quite pretty too, my body is kept in shape, and my brain isn¡¯t too bad. Those men of mediocre quality don¡¯t deserve me, I¡¯ll find a good man too next time.¡± Zhang Li wiped the table and poured a ss of water. She shook her head as she replied, ¡°Your ambition is greater than the sky. A princess at heart, but living the life of a ve. I really hope that you¡¯ll achieve what you wish for in the future.¡± There was a resolute look in Xu Jingwen¡¯s eyes. This conviction pushed her to make preparations for the day she¡¯d be sessful. Although she was wearing a down coat, Mei Yangyang still felt slightly cold when she left the store. His car was parked at the store entrance, so the two got on immediately. Long Tianze turned on the lights and heater in the car, then took out a beef pattie. ¡°I¡¯d wanted to ease my hunger with this. Forget it, I¡¯ll just eat this for my dinner.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t let your stomach put up with this, why don¡¯t we go to a restaurant to eat?¡± ¡°I¡¯m toozy, there¡¯s no point in eating by myself. Why don¡¯t you make a meal for me?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± What¡¯s so difficult about making a meal? He¡¯d even saved her before. He put down the beef pattie and started to drive. The car started to go forward at a very slow speed. When they finally reached Shui Lou Estate where he lived, he stopped the car. Pointing to a brightly-lit area ahead, he said, ¡°Let¡¯s buy some ingredients from the supermarket, there¡¯s nothing in my fridge at all.¡± Mei Yangyang had to give it to him. ¡°What do you want to eat?¡± The two got off together, and Long Tianze responded after some thought, ¡°I want to eat noodles with shredded meat.¡± She turned and watched him. ¡°Just this?¡± ¡°Is that okay?¡± ¡°Since Young Master Long has spoken, of course it¡¯s fine. Let¡¯s go.¡± He went into the supermarket and ced almost any ingredient he could see into the shopping cart. After they were done, he came out with two big bags in his arms. His fridge was finally fully filled with food. ¡°Where¡¯s the apron?¡± He went to get it for her and hung it over her neck. Then, he naturally helped her tie it behind her back. Mei Yangyang then started to prepare a meal for him. While she was preparing the meal, he stood there observing her closely. He seldom ate at home and had never let any woman enter his kitchen before. As he looked on, Long Tianze felt that if he had a woman to cook for him every day, it would actually be great. Chapter 91 - Im Done with You!

Chapter 91: I¡¯m Done with You!

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mei Yangyang was scooping some noodles into a bowl when she decided to just tidy his kitchen as well. ¡°You¡¯ve got such a nice and well-designed kitchen, yet you don¡¯t put it to good use. What a waste,¡± she said while wiping away the dust and organizing the crockery. ¡°Well, it won¡¯t go to waste if you drop by to cook for me every day.¡± Startled, Mei Yangyang grinned and said in response, ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid I would poison you?¡± ¡°You may try, if you dare,¡± he teased and brought the bowls and chopsticks out. Mei Yangyang removed her apron and headed to the living room, where the heater was turned on at full st. She sat down opposite him and said, ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, then I¡¯d better get going, in case it gets toote and I miss the bus.¡± He looked up and said, ¡°I¡¯ll send you home. Since I¡¯ve brought you here, how could I let you take the bus home? Piggy.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the piggy,¡± Mei Yangyang retorted. ¡°After much observation, you don¡¯t look a day over 18, in any way at all. You look really young,¡± he said, chuckling. Mei Yangyang pouted her lips and said, both hands cupping her face, ¡°Look at me now, don¡¯t I look like a little goldfish?¡± Long Tianze turned to look at her and almost spat the noodles out of his mouth. ¡°You don¡¯t just look like a goldfish, you are one.¡± Mei Yangyang giggled and said in response, ¡°Hmph, didn¡¯t I say so?¡± Long Tianze was influenced by her contagious smile and instantly felt a boost in mood just from watching how cheery she was. The noodles she made were indeed delicious. Long Tianze was stuffed after chowing down an entire bowl of noodles. He received a call from Jin Qingyue while he was sending Mei Yangyang home. He had no choice but to turn the car around and head towards the location Jin Qingyue mentioned. ¡°Where are we going now?¡± Mei Yangyang asked in surprise. ¡°Qingyan¡¯s Sister is stranded alone in a dpidated area along the suburbs. I reckon she had an argument with her boyfriend and was too prideful to call her family. Otherwise, I can¡¯t think of any other reason why she would head there herself.¡± Mei Yangyang gave a nod and remained silent. They finally arrived to where Jin Qingyue waited. She had initially wanted to take the passenger seat. However, seeing that it was already upied, she had no choice but to take the backseat reluctantly, with much resentment. ¡°Why did youe here all by yourself?¡± asked Long Tianze. Still red with anger, Jin Qingyue answered bluntly, ¡°Nothing, I just came here to enjoy the breeze.¡± ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you go home yourself? If you really enjoyed the breeze, why did you have to call me?¡± Long Tianze questioned while looking at her reflection in the rearview mirror. ¡°All I asked from you was a simple task and that¡¯s to pick me up,¡± she replied sluggishly while leaning against the car seat. Mei Yangyang turned around to nce at her, finding her rather atrocious. She was still so rude and ungrateful, despite having received a favor from him for giving her a lift. ¡°Do I send you back to the old mansion or what?¡± he asked. ¡°The old mansion, obviously.¡± Just as she finished speaking, her phone began to ring all of a sudden. She dismissed the call immediately after taking a look at the caller disy. Soon, her phone began to rang again, and likewise, she dismissed the call without hesitation. The entire process repeated for a few times. Even the blind could tell that it was not that she truly did not wish to answer the call, but rather, she merely enjoyed the thrill of rejecting it. If she really did not want to answer, she could have simply turned off her phone. Atst, she finally answered the call, having felt that the time had ripened. ¡°Haven¡¯t you already left? What did you call me for? If you¡¯re so bent on leaving, then just do it confidently. Let¡¯s break up now, Shi Shaochuan! I¡¯m done with you!¡± she yelled into the phone provokingly. ¡°...¡± ¡°Cut the crap, I don¡¯t want to listen to your nonsense.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I said I didn¡¯t want to hear your exnation, I¡¯m not going to have any of it! Are you deaf?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Shut it!¡± Long Tianze could no longer tolerate what he was hearing any further and interjected, ¡°If you don¡¯t wish to hear him out, then just hang up and turn off your phone. You won¡¯t have to listen to him anymore, then.¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Jin Qingyue retorted. Mei Yangyang turned to look at Long Tianze, only to realize that he seemed to be in a foul mood. What happened shortly after caught Long Tianze and Mei Yangyang by surprise. Jin Qingyue, who had been raging with anger just minutes ago, began tough and beam with happiness. How strange! Furthermore, the initial animosity between the two began to fade as they began to speak sweet nothings to each other over the phone. Long Tianze could not believe what he had just witnessed. The swift shift in her mood was just too sudden and extreme. What an expert Shi Shaochuan was at cajoling women! Jin Qingyue finally ended the call before she arrived home. Having changed her mind, she said, ¡°I¡¯ve decided not to go home, drop me off at the traffic light.¡± All of a sudden, Long Tianze stepped on the brakes, catching Jin Qingyue off guard. She hit her head against the seat in front of her. ¡°What are you doing!?!¡± she hollered. Mei Yangyang remained still in the passenger seat because she had buckled the safety belt. She could sense that Long Tianze was extremely upset. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a lift if you¡¯re heading home, if not, please get down from my car. I¡¯m not your personal chauffeur.¡± Jin Qingyue was taken aback by his words and felt slightly embarrassed as she said, ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll alight right here. Are you happy now? What a petty miser.¡± She alighted from the car and mmed the door close forcefully with a thud. A sullen and stern expression formed on Long Tianze¡¯s face as he drove off abruptly. Sensing the austerity and tension which filled the air, Mei Yangyang dared not speak a word, though she found his angry self rather charismatic. Several minutester, Long Tianze broke the silence, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you speaking?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know... what to say. Do you fancy Ms. Jin?¡± she asked softly. ¡°Who said so?¡± ¡°No one, it¡¯s just, I could tell. Do you not?¡± Mei Yangyang continued to ask as she shot him a nce. ¡°Of course... I don¡¯t.¡± Long Tianze mellowed his voice, and he continued to speak, ¡°We grew up together, and everyone knows she¡¯s dating the wrong guy. Everyone except herself. She¡¯s going to suffer and be taken advantage of, sooner orter.¡± Upon seeing his denial, Mei Yangyang did not continue to try and guess if he was speaking the truth. It did not concern her, anyway. Having arrived at her doorstep, Mei Yangyang quickly thanked him, ¡°Thank you so much for sending me home.¡± Just as she was about to alight, Long Tianze reached out to grab her by her arm. Mei Yangyang turned around and asked, ¡°Is there anything else?¡± He let go abruptly and said instead, ¡°Nothing, goodnight.¡± ¡°Goodnight,¡± Mei Yangyang alighted and waved him goodbye after closing the door. Long Tianze watched as she closed the car door and left afterwards. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Mei Yangyang asked at the sight of Mei Shuangshuang standing behind her. ¡°Who was the man in the luxury car?¡± Mei Yangyang avoided her question and instead brushed her off coldly, ¡°That¡¯s none of your business.¡± Mei Shuangshuang followed closely behind her and continued to probe, ¡°Sis, is he your boyfriend?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°In that case, introduce him to me. If I seed in getting him to date me, I¡¯ll share some of the benefits with you.¡± Mei Yangyang stopped in her tracks and turned to look at Mei Shuangshuang, whose face was covered in thick makeup. ¡°Save it, drop that idea of yours. You may go look for that toad in the river instead,¡± she sneered. ¡°You...¡± Mei Shuangshuang was at a loss for words. Completely ignoring Mei Shuangshuang, she entered the house. ¡°Then tell me, was that man in the car the same one who carried you home that night?¡± Mei Yangyang continued to ignore her as she switched on the heating carpet, removed her shoes, and climbed onto bed, not speaking a word to her at all. Upon seeing her sister¡¯s hostile attitude, Mei Shuangshuang stopped probing further and went to sleep after removing her clothes. Chapter 92 - I Just Wanted to Kiss You, Alright? (1)

Chapter 92: I Just Wanted to Kiss You, Alright? (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios While lying on her bed, Mei Yangyang scrolled through her phone and stared at his mobile number. She found a photo of herself pouting like a goldfish and decided to send it to him, along with a text message which read: ¡°Take a look at me when you¡¯re upset. Don¡¯t you feel better now?¡± Not long after, he replied. It was a short and brief sentence: ¡°Good girl, little piggy.¡± Upon reading the message, Mei Yangyang quickly began to blush as red as a tomato, her blood rushing to the veins on her face. Despite having put away her phone, she was still shy as ever as her brain was flooded with the words, ¡°Good girl.¡± ¡ª¡ª Since she had nothing much to do at home, Mrs. Jin decided to brew a pot of nourishing soup for An Xiaoning, which she personally delivered to her house early in the morning. Feeling a sudden warmth in her heart, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Mother, did you prepare this especially for me?¡± ¡°Of course, it¡¯s all yours, and none for Qingyan.¡± Mrs. Jin ced the soup on the table and instructed Auntie Chen, ¡°Bring a bowl and a spoon here.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning took a seat and, at the sight of the soup getting poured out of the container, eximed, ¡°It smells delicious!¡± ¡°I especially attended sses just to learn how to prepare this soup. It¡¯s the most nourishing and beneficial for women,¡± Mrs. Jin said, grinning from ear to ear. An Xiaoning gave the soup a few puffs to cool it before tasting a mouthful, after which she said in delight, ¡°It¡¯s so delicious! Since it¡¯s all for me, I shall finish it to thest drop.¡± Having witnessed everything before him, Jin Qingyan interrupted, ¡°That¡¯s in favoritism, Mother, all you care about is your daughter-inw. Why didn¡¯t you cook for me too? I¡¯m your son. Xiaoning, did you know? In all the years after I¡¯ve moved out to live alone, my mother has never once brought me soup personally.¡± ¡°Is that so? Thank you, Mother,¡± said An Xiaoning, who found Mrs. Jin¡¯s gesture very heartwarming. Mrs. Jin was delighted to see how well they got along with each other. ¡°She¡¯s my daughter-inw. If not her, who else am I going to dote on? Everything¡¯s been going rather welltely, except with your sister, who¡¯s causing me so much worry. She even stays outte every night, I¡¯m really at my wits¡¯ end. There¡¯s no way I can take her in hand anymore,¡± said Mrs. Jin. ¡°Well, then, just wash your hands off her matters and let her be. She¡¯s only going to realize her mistakes when it¡¯s toote. Shi Shaochuan ran Wang Fangfang over before strangling her to death, just so he could get her off his back. I doubt Qingyue can make such a malicious person like him change his ways. We¡¯ll observe if changing her fate really works. If it doesn¡¯t make much of a difference, then we¡¯ll just leave her be in the future.¡± ¡°Got it, I¡¯ll head home now,¡± Mrs. Jin agreed with a nod. Just as Mrs. Jin left, Fan Shixin entered through the door and stood next to Jin Qingyan. He whispered into Jin Qingyan¡¯s ear, after which, a sullen expression formed on his face. ¡°Got it.¡± Fan Shixin nodded and turned around to leave. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± An Xiaoning asked as she took a sip of the soup. ¡°Let¡¯s have our meal first. I¡¯ll bring you to see something after we¡¯re done.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± she agreed with a nod. After a while, An Xiaoning finally realized why he had asked her to finish her meal before heading there, for the sight of a bunch of dead rats sprawled across the floor was truly nauseating and would have been sure to ruin her appetite. A look of dismay formed on An Xiaoning¡¯s face. She had previously received a dead rat mailed to her doorstep, but she did not pursue the matter and simply dismissed it. However, it seemed the culprit behind the act did not n on giving up. Instead, he/she had taken even more extreme measures. At this point of time, An Xiaoning yearned more than anything to find out who the culprit was. ¡°Clean up this mess and store them well. I¡¯m going to return these to the sender, personally. All of them, not one less,¡± An Xiaoning instructed. ¡°Yes, Young Madam,¡± Fan Shixin said profusely. ¡°By the way, when you obtained the fingerprints on the parcel the previous time, it¡¯s verified that the fingerprints belonged only to the courier, right?¡± ¡°Yes, the delivery man was wearing gloves at that time.¡± ¡°The culprit is indeed very meticulous, to be able toe up with such a seamless scheme andmit such a revolting act of misdeed while leaving no trace nor clue. I really wonder, who could it be?¡± Jin Qingyan nced at her from sideways and said, ¡°Whoever it may be, and no matter how meticulous and seamless the n, there¡¯s bound to be a w which will give the game away. We have to find out who the culprit is.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll investigate about this matter myself. Don¡¯t burden yourself with this.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you want me to stand up for you? Have you decided to seek your own justice, this time?¡± he asked with a raised brow. ¡°It¡¯s better that I go ahead with the investigation myself. I¡¯m certain that I¡¯d be able to find out who the culprit is and return her the dead rats personally. Only then will I feel a great sense of achievement.¡± An Xiaoning turned around and returned inside the house. She knew deep down that the culprit was definitely someone she knew. There were only very few people who knew her personally; thus, it would not require too much time even if she investigated them one by one. However, Jin Qingyan thought otherwise. He was not positive that she would be able to find out the identity of the culprit within a short period of time, considering the fact that the culprit was so secretive about it. Moreover, there were no fingerprints, no face to be verified, nothing except the vague memory of the courier¡¯s voice. It was, indeed, a tall order to find out who the culprit was. Besides, there was no need to get involved personally, for he could simply hire someone to investigate the matter. An Xiaoning was well aware of that fact. However, she had to interfere in the matter because she could no longer sit back and just ignore the culprit, who had tried to provoke her time and time again. Moreover, it was no easy feat to be able to get one¡¯s hands on a silicone face mask. After leaving home, An Xiaoning headed to the obscure location in the city where silicone face masks were sold. If not for Jin Qingyan, she would have never expected for such a ce to be a location for secret transactions, where the items disyed to the public were only a facade. In reality, face masks were being sold. It was a shop that appeared rather ancient, with several calligraphy writings all over the walls. Jin Qingyan reminded her once again that Fan Shixin had already investigated the location of transaction, but he did not manage to find anything suspicious. Thus, she would just be making another wasted trip. Yet, the purpose of her visit was not to try and find out who the culprit was. Instead, she was there to purchase a mask for herself. It had never ured to Jin Qingyan that that was her n. Upon noticing her arrival, a man who looked to be in his fifties weed her warmly with a smile, ¡°Are you here to shop for some calligraphy writings? Feel free to look around, we have all types of writings here.¡± An Xiaoning slid a note to him and said, ¡°I want this.¡± After reading the note, the man stuck two fingers out and said, ¡°That¡¯ll cost this much, at the very least. If you don¡¯t have that much money with you now, I suggest you better not.¡± ¡°20 thousand or 200 thousand? Make yourself clear.¡± ¡°The cheapest one costs 20 thousand dors. Missy, I can assure you that the quality offered here is the best. It¡¯s a risky business. The ones found elsewhere cannot bepared to this. Besides, those from the upper ss society particrly enjoy patronizing me. So, are you interested in buying one?¡± the man asked, seemingly pleased and proud of his goods. ¡°Of course I am, please show me the way.¡± ¡°Pleasee with me,¡± he said as he led her inside. An Xiaoning followed closely behind and asked while walking, ¡°Boss, you mentioned that your goods are of the best quality in the entire city?¡± ¡°That¡¯s for sure. Let me put it this way, the ones sold by others at cheaper prices of say, hundreds or thousands of dors, cannotpared to the ones I have here. The ones sold here are so realistic, you won¡¯t be able to tell the difference. The cheaper ones, on the other hand, are of much lower quality, and they don¡¯t look realistic at all,¡± he answered. An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°Oh, I see. How much does the most expensive one cost?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid you can¡¯t afford that one,¡± the man said with augh. ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m looking down on you, Missy, but rather, every customer of minees from a wealthy family. That¡¯s because I don¡¯t ever advertise my craft, and people only know of this ce based on word-of-mouth and introduction amongst the upper-ss social circle. Most people whoe forth often purchase those that cost tens of thousands of dors per mask. So far, there hasn¡¯t been anyone who has purchased the one of the best quality.¡± Chapter 93 - I Just Wanted to Kiss You, Alright? (2)

Chapter 93: I Just Wanted to Kiss You, Alright? (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°How much would those of top quality cost?¡± Noticing how calm her tone was, the man exined, ¡°The most expensive one was handcrafted by our old master, who¡¯s already passed on. It¡¯s the one and only piece we have, made out of the best material. It¡¯s sold at a price of two million dors, no bargaining.¡± ¡°Let me have a look at it. I¡¯ll decide if it¡¯s worth that price,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°It definitely is, you¡¯ll understand when you see it, Missy.¡± An Xiaoning sat on a stool and waited. Meanwhile, he entered the innermost room hidden deep inside the store and returned with the mask not long after. He had in his hands a wooden box which he carried carefully before cing it on the table. ¡°There¡¯s a mirror here, you may try the mask on and see how you look,¡± he said. An Xiaoning watched as he opened the box. ¡°Will I really see the effects just from trying it on?¡± she asked apprehensively. ¡°You¡¯ll know once you try it. This is the only mask which is 99% realistic. You may adjust your expressions freely and even put some makeup on. It¡¯s almost just like real human skin,¡± he said confidently. An Xiaoning picked up the mask and instantly thought it felt exactly like human skin. It was realistic to the touch, with extremely defined and natural-looking creases, as well as realistic skin pores. An Xiaoning fitted the mask onto one half of her face. To her astonishment, the mask looked incredibly realistic. ¡°I want it.¡± ¡°Alright, this is only the base material. I¡¯ll have to customize and tailor it to your facial features. I can sculpt the mask into any face you¡¯d like.¡± ¡°Just make it pretty. Please give me your bank ount number, I¡¯ll transfer the money to you now,¡± she said as she stood up. ¡°Alright, since you¡¯re so quick to decide, I shall make it quick too. I¡¯ll get it ready by today,¡± he said while writing his name and bank ount number on a piece of paper. ¡°Thank you, boss.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, it¡¯s just a transaction. Out of all the customers I¡¯ve had in the past, you¡¯re the first to be so kind and polite.¡± ¡°I hope you won¡¯t disappoint me and the end product will be worth the hefty price I paid.¡± ¡°That goes without saying. Oh, I forgot to tell you earlier, the reason why this material is so expensive and valuable. Not only is it extremely realistic, it¡¯s also very durable and has a long shelf life ¡ª it¡¯ll remain intact for up to 50 years.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll verify what you just said. If I find out that you¡¯ve cheated me of my money, you shall face dire consequences,¡± she warned. ¡°You may feel free to do so, Missy. If what I¡¯ve mentioned is not true, I¡¯m willing topensate you triple the amount that you paid. I¡¯ve been selling this for years, I wouldn¡¯t have had so many patrons if I weren¡¯t credible.¡± ¡°To be safe, I¡¯ve recorded our conversation. I¡¯m going to transfer you the money now, get it ready as soon as possible,¡± she said, raising up her mobile phone in her hands. Watching her figure recede, the owner of the store said indistinctly, ¡°How is this littless so alert and sharp?¡± By noon, the mask was ready to be collected. An Xiaoning was surprised at how quick the owner had managed to sculpt the mask. Yet, she had also felt the pinch of its cost. It was worth every cent, though. She proceeded to bring the remaining bits of material for verification. Indeed, it was exactly like what the owner had described. In order to test the results, she put on the mask and headed to her clothing store. Not only did Mei Yangyang fail to recognize her, the other two store assistants could not tell her identity as well. Atst, she was relieved. Jin Qingyan had already returned home by the time she did. Upon her arrival, he asked, ¡°Any progress?¡± ¡°No,¡± she said calmly while stretching her arm. ¡°There are only a few people anyway, I¡¯ll just investigate slowly.¡± ¡°Only a few people? Which few?¡± he asked. ¡°Those whom I know personally and vice versa. I think it¡¯s highly unlikely that it¡¯d be a looney who has nothing better to do other than mail me some dead rats.¡± Just as An Xiaoning finished her sentence, Fan Shixin handed her a mailer bag and exined, ¡°The courier mentioned that the address and words on the bag were written as instructed by the sender. The sender had imed to be illiterate, and thus requested for the courier to write it instead.¡± ¡°Is the courier left-handed?¡± said An Xiaoning as she scanned the bag. ¡°I don¡¯t know about that,¡± said Fan Shixin as he took another look at the handwriting on the bag. ¡°Young Madam, how could you tell that it was written by a left-hander?¡± he asked. ¡°Because I, too, write with my left hand sometimes.¡± Noticing the puzzled expression on Jin Qingyan¡¯s face, she continued, ¡°I can write with both my hands. Alright, I¡¯ll go meet the courier tomorrow.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go downstairs first then?¡± ¡°Yes, go ahead.¡± An Xiaoning sat down and began scrutinizing the handwritings on the bag. ¡°What a neat and small handwriting, for a man. I¡¯m really curious about what the courier looks like,¡± she remarked. ¡°I¡¯ve met the courier before. He¡¯s a handsomed, you don¡¯t have to go see him again.¡± ¡°Is that so? But he definitely isn¡¯t as handsome as you are. That goes without saying,¡± she coaxed with a smile, noticing the frown on his face. ¡°Of course, I¡¯ve never met any man better-looking than I am, ever since the day I was born,¡± said a pleased Jin Qingyan. ¡°Yes, yes, I¡¯ve never seen a man as conceited as you are, ever since the day I was born either.¡± He shot a re at An Xiaoning while she hurriedly stood up to wash her hands and get ready for dinner. When it was time for bed, An Xiaoning sprawled across the bed in her pajamas and said, ¡°I visited the mask store today, but the masks are so expensive. The cheapest one costs at least 20 thousand dors.¡± ¡°Do you know how much the most expensive one costs?¡± he asked. ¡°I¡¯ve inquired about it, it costs two million dors.¡± ¡°Hmm... two million dors for a mask is indeed very expensive. However, I guess it¡¯s not too high a price to pay, considering the fact that people either buy one for the fun of it or to disguise themselves in fear of getting recognized aftermitting an act of disgrace. If the price floor of each mask is raised to a minimum of a few million dors, I reckon there would be a huge decrease in crime rates. But the owner wouldn¡¯t do that, obviously, otherwise he would definitely suffer a loss of customers. He¡¯s not going to survive long in this business, though.¡± ¡°Why?¡± asked an intrigued An Xiaoning. ¡°Because I received a piece of news today about the government enforcing a strict ban on merchants selling such items across the country. I suppose he should be eager to let go of the stock in his inventory currently, as soon as possible. After all, he shouldn¡¯t be too happy to be imprisoned, after having made so much money from this business. I reckon he would be washing his hands off this as soon as he clears everything in his inventory,¡± Jin Qingyan said, thinking twice before he spoke. ¡°I see.¡± An Xiaoning felt relieved that she was decisive and firm in purchasing one earlier that day. She had a strong feeling that the mask would be of great help in the future. ¡°You¡¯re happy?¡± An Xiaoning snapped back to reality and instantly denied, ¡°No. If it weren¡¯t for the existence of such masks, we would¡¯ve caught the culprit long ago. What¡¯s there to be happy about?¡± ¡°But you were smiling,¡± he insisted. ¡°Yes, I was. But that¡¯s because people will no longer be fooled by the facade of these masks, after he stops selling them in the future. It would be easier for the police to go about their investigations as well. All in all, it would be beneficial to the public, so I¡¯m happy about that. Lord, could you smile for me too?¡± she said, with a sudden shift in attitude as she smiled sweetly at him. Instead of a smile, he gave her a light and gentle kiss. A smile crept up on An Xiaoning¡¯s lips as she looked up at him. ¡°Why did you kiss me?¡± ¡°Because I want to kiss you, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°...¡± Chapter 94 - You Ought to Be Rewarded

Chapter 94: You Ought to Be Rewarded

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After a long night, An Xiaoning almost overslept in the morning. Yet, Jin Qingyan had already left home early, leaving his spot on the bed cold and chilly. It was already past 8 o¡¯clock in the morning by the time she woke up. Fan Shixin informed her that there was, again, arger bunch of dead rats mailed to her, but this time, it was from a sender from overseas. An Xiaoning was enraged by the atrocity of the culprit. He or she was getting way out of hand. d in a light gray turtleneck sweater beneath an all-ck feathered coat, Jin Qingyan entered through the door with a bag in his hand. His nose had turned red as a Rudolph from the cold. ¡°We¡¯ll know everything once we find this person,¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°Did you head out early in the morning just to find me this?¡± An Xiaoning asked softly in surprise. ¡°Mhmm, though you keep insisting on handling everything by yourself, as yourwful husband, I can¡¯t just sit back and do nothing,¡± he said as he handed her the bag. ¡°Was this obtained from the footage of the surveince cameras from the roads outside all the way to our doorstep?¡± asked An Xiaoning as she took a look at the document. ¡°Yes. We only managed to get the footage from that day, after much painstaking effort. We¡¯ve covered the entire neighborhood based on the location of thest stop made by the sender. Shixin hasn¡¯t been getting much rest due to the arduous investigation he had been carrying out. He told me that he had found the two prime suspects behind this matter, and I¡¯ve deduced that he is the one, based on his posture and stance from the footage.¡± Jin Qingyan went forward and grabbed her hand. ¡°I¡¯ve already ordered for the culprit to be arrested. They¡¯re acting on it way faster than you¡¯d expected.¡± An Xiaoning was taken aback, and she began to wonder if this was the advantage of having a husband like him. ¡°I told you to stay out of this matter, yet you still poked your nose in. Hmm... you ought to be rewarded,¡± said An Xiaoning as she inched forward on tiptoes to give him a kiss on the cheek. She then turned around proudly and walked towards the kitchen, saying, ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡± ¡°Do you still want to meet the courier?¡± he eximed loudly. ¡°Didn¡¯t you forbid me from doing so? I don¡¯t n on meeting him anymore.¡± ¡°By the way, I¡¯ve also verified that the courier is indeed left-handed.¡± ¡°Did you go meet the courier yourself because you were afraid that I would fall for him as soon as I meet him?¡± asked An Xiaoning, stopping in her tracks and turning around. ¡°Of course not, I¡¯m not that petty.¡± ¡°I think it¡¯d be great if we could keep our rtionship this way,¡± An Xiaoning said with a smile, seemingly hinting at something. She was indeed a little disappointed to find out after marrying him that he had someone else in his heart. Fortunately, she did not love him either, and thus, it did not matter to her how much he loved Chi Rui¡¯er. The key to a sessful marriage is quality time and effort. Perhaps if she could make him treasure and care about her more and more, she might be able to conquer his heart one day. She was willing to put in the effort, except, her only fear was that her efforts would not be reciprocated. It would be devastating should the marriage still fail despite everything that she had done. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Ms. Chi, is the breakfast not to your liking?¡± the cook asked upon seeing Chi Rui¡¯er taking only a few mouthfuls of the porridge reluctantly, appearing to have a poor appetite. ¡°No, I just don¡¯t quite have an appetite, so I don¡¯t really feel like eating,¡± answered Chi Rui¡¯er, who was dressed in thick pajamas and looked more forlorn than ever, with her messy and unkempt hair. ¡°What do you feel like eating, then? I¡¯ll go prepare it for you.¡± ¡°I already said I don¡¯t have an appetite and I don¡¯t feel like eating anything,¡± she snapped impatiently. After dumping the spoon back inside the bowl, she stood up and headed back to her room. Chi Rui¡¯er had been spending her days staying at home, refusing to go out at all. She opened her closet and put on a feathered coat with leggings beforepleting her outfit with a pair of boots. She then tidied her hair, put on some makeup, slung her bag around her shoulder, and left the house. The bodyguard followed closely behind her. ¡°Ms. Chi, where would you like to go?¡± ¡°Your boss¡¯s office.¡± ¡°Oh, alright.¡± Having arrived at the office of the Jin Corporation, she put on a face mask and proceeded to ask the receptionist at the front desk, ¡°Is your CEO in?¡± ¡°Good morning. Our CEO won¡¯t being to the office this morning.¡± ¡°He¡¯s noting? Why is that so?¡± asked Chi Rui¡¯er. ¡°Well... we¡¯re not too sure, either.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er turned around to leave and hopped into the car. ¡°Ms. Chi, where would you like to go next?¡± asked the bodyguard. ¡°I¡¯ll go wherever he is right now. Step on it.¡± Unaware of Jin Qingyan¡¯s current whereabouts, the bodyguard seemed to be put in a spot as he said, ¡°I don¡¯t know where Boss is now.¡± ¡°Since you don¡¯t know where he is, don¡¯t you know how to search every location for him!?! Are you stupid? Head to his house first,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er glowered at him, her eyes seething with anger ¡°Got it.¡± The bodyguard began driving towards Jin Qingyan¡¯s home with An Xiaoning. He opened the door for Chi Rui¡¯er, following closely behind while she walked towards the door. No one had answered the door even after she had pressed the doorbell multiple times. Getting rather impatient and anxious, Chi Rui¡¯er decided to just barge in. ¡°Ms. Chi, I reckon Chief Fan had gone to report to him, don¡¯t get so impatient,¡± the bodyguard hurriedly tried to stop her. Chi Rui¡¯er flew into an uncontroble rage and shrugged his arm away. ¡°Get lost,¡± she said, seething. The bodyguard reluctantly continued to follow her. It was just his luck to be assigned to take orders from someone so unreasonable like her. After about a minute, Fan Shixin opened the door and greeted her with a smile. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you, Ms. Chi. Pleasee in.¡± ¡°Is your boss home?¡± ¡°Yes, he¡¯s basking in the sun with Young Madam, for it¡¯s rather sunny today,¡± said Fan Shixin, pointing towards the couple, who were not too far away. Chi Rui¡¯er turned to look in the direction he was pointing towards and stared at them begrudgingly. He did not give her a single call or pay her a single visit, and neither did he go to the office. Yet, he was home basking in the sun with his wife. An Xiaoning must have brainwashed him or cast a hex on him! Chi Rui¡¯er thought to herself. She quickly strode towards them, only to be greeted with the sight of An Xiaoningying on the beanbag in the backyard. An Xiaoning would have been at the clothing store at the time, if not for Jin Qingyan who¡¯d demanded she stay home and sunbathe while waiting for the culprit to be brought forth to their house. ¡°Qingyan,¡± said Chi Rui¡¯er. ¡°Oh, why are you here?¡± She sat down beside Jin Qingyan and held onto his arm tightly. ¡°To look for you, of course.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Jin Qingyan asked as he rose from his seat and stuck both his hands into the pockets of his feathered coat. Tears began to well up in Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s eyes as she tried to force a smile. Completely disregarding An Xiaoning¡¯s presence, she looked up and stared deep into his eyes. ¡°Nothing, I just wanted to have a meal with you.¡± ¡°You¡¯d like to have a meal together? Then stay behind for lunch here today,¡± he said coldly. Chi Rui¡¯er squinted upon hearing his words. Given how intelligent he was, there was no way he did not understand what she meant. It was obvious that she had wanted to have a meal alone with him, not at home, in the presence of his wife. FIlled with mixed emotions, Chi Rui¡¯er said reluctantly, ¡°Sure.¡± An Xiaoning closed her eyes and rxed while basking in the warmth of the rays of the sun casting down on her. It was a day of fair weather, which was truly enjoyable. Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s arrival had interrupted the couple, who were in the midst of a proper conversation. Jin Qingyan had initially wanted to lie on the bean bag as well, but he decided to head back inside the living room instead after seeing that Chi Rui¡¯er refused to get up. At this moment, Chi Rui¡¯er was left alone with An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning had no ns at all to speak a single word to Chi Rui¡¯er, who was still sitting there and staring nkly into space, with the intentions of provoking the former. ¡°I take my hat off to you. Indeed, I¡¯ve underestimated you,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er reluctantly admitted. Chapter 95 - Playing a Malicious Prank on Chi Rui’er

Chapter 95: ying a Malicious Prank on Chi Rui¡¯er

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Oh, Ms. Chi, you tter me. I¡¯m nowhere near as capable as you when ites to harming others. You¡¯re obviously a scheming and malicious one, yet you still hide behind the facade of an innocent and pure dainty littledy.¡± ¡°An Xiaoning, you should know very well who the scheming one is between us two. I may appear sly and cunning on the surface, but in reality, you¡¯re far worse than I am.¡± ¡°You¡¯re free to say whatever you want, it¡¯s all up to you to do anything you wish. It¡¯s a shame my beloved Maomao has already taken a dump this morning, otherwise, I would¡¯ve definitely left some for you. I know you¡¯d love it for sure,¡± An Xiaoning said sneeringly, with a grin. Seeing how infuriated Chi Rui¡¯er had gotten, An Xiaoning continued to rub it in, ¡°Since you¡¯re having lunch here today, I¡¯ll order the kitchen to prepare a sumptuous feast especially for you.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er was filled with fury as she watched An Xiaoning leave. Darn it! she thought to herself. She began to regret not killing An Xiaoning earlier. She would not have had to suffer such humiliation if thetter had died. As noon approached, Fan Shixin gave Jin Qingyan a call to inform him that they had already nabbed the culprit and locked him up. Jin Qingyan then ordered him to proceed with interrogations, which will carry on after lunch should the culprit choose not to speak up. Lunch that day consisted of a splendid spread of delicacies and staple dishes such as fermented beancurd with chili sauce. Jin Qingyan observed An Xiaoning¡¯s expressions, only to realize that she had been surprisingly calm throughout, with no signs of anger or animosity towards Chi Rui¡¯er at all. He began to wonder just what she was thinking. ¡°Ms. Chi, please do enjoy your lunch here at our home. You¡¯re absolutely wee, since you¡¯re my husband¡¯s friend. Don¡¯t stand on ceremony with us,¡± said An Xiaoning. As much as she detested how pretentious An Xiaoning was, and even while cursing her in her head, Chi Rui¡¯er continued putting up a front and answered, ¡°I don¡¯t ever stand on ceremony whenever I¡¯m at Qingyan¡¯s ce. In fact, I often make myself at home.¡± With a squint, An Xiaoning picked up her chopsticks and began eating. ¡°This meat smells delicious,¡± said Chi Rui¡¯er as she picked up a piece of meat from a te of dish in the middle of the table with her chopsticks. She savored the meat delightedly, as if it was her first time tasting it. Ignoring her reply, An Xiaoning remained calm andposed while watching her enjoy the food. Jin Qingyan took a look at the dish and was just as puzzled as to what it was. Thus, he asked Auntie Chen, ¡°What meat is that?¡± Seeming to be a little ill at ease, Auntie Chen nced towards An Xiaoning before answering, ¡°It¡¯s some meat Young Madam had received from an unknown person. Young Madam had instructed me to prepare a dish with it before it turns stale, since Ms. Chi hase for lunch too.¡± At that instant, Jin Qingyan retracted his chopsticks as soon as he realized that it was a dish made out of the dead rats... His appetite was ruined at the thought of it. He stared at An Xiaoning in disbelief. She then picked up some food and ced it onto his te while grinning, ¡°Have this, Hubby.¡± Jin Qingyan continued to stare in astonishment at Chi Rui¡¯er, who had been helping herself nonstop to the rat meat. He was driven into a dilemma, unable to decide if he should stop her. Finally, he could not tolerate it any further and decided to speak up, ¡°Um... the meat was meant for Xiaoning, stop eating it...¡± Not sensing anything amiss, Chi Rui¡¯er answered, ¡°But she¡¯s not even eating any. Let me have it instead. It¡¯s delicious. What¡¯s the matter, Qingyan? You¡¯re not going to allow me to eat ¡¯til my heart¡¯s full even though I¡¯m a guest?¡± ¡°Of course not, help yourself to it, then,¡± he said awkwardly, not exining any further. The mealsted for half an hour. An Xiaoning was exceptionally enthralled by the sweet taste of revenge. ¡°Auntie, what kind of meat is this? I¡¯d like to buy some home,¡± asked Chi Rui¡¯er. Auntie Chen hesitated for a long while as she was unsure of what to say. Before she could even say anything, An Xiaoning interjected, ¡°Rat meat.¡± ¡°What?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er turned as pale as a sheet, the shock robbing her of her senses. ¡°Didn¡¯t you ask what kind of meat it was? I answered you, it¡¯s rat meat.¡± ¡°Oh god...¡± Chi Rui¡¯er covered her mouth as she grimaced with nausea. Feeling utterly disgusted and queasy, she hurriedly sped towards the washroom. She kneeled down before the toilet bowl and began throwing up everything she had eaten. It was a while before she managed to stand up again and exit the washroom. With an unsteady gait, she supported her weight against the wall and returned to the living room, only to be greeted with the sight of a carefree An Xiaoning enjoying some fruit. ¡°An Xiaoning! How inhuman of you to have the audacity to feed me rat meat!¡± Chi Rui¡¯er hollered. ¡°I didn¡¯t force you to eat it, you wolfed it down out of your own ord. Didn¡¯t you mention that it was delicious? Why are you reacting differently now that you know it¡¯s rat meat? How sad must those rats feel, to know how disgusted you are with them, so much so that you threw them up again after masticating them.¡± ¡°You... your logic is twisted.¡± ¡°You... you ate it out of your own ord.¡± ¡°Um... Rui¡¯er, we have something to attend to in a while. If there isn¡¯t anything else, I suggest you make a move first,¡± Jin Qingyan interrupted, not knowing what else to say. ¡°Qingyan!¡± Chi Rui¡¯er cried in injustice, tears welling up in her eyes. She felt extremely hurt that he did not go out of his way to stop her from eating the rat meat, despite being fully aware of what it was. Instead of bringing the entire dish away like he usually would have, he chose to sit back and watch as she ingested every bit of it, which was very much to her disappointment. Chi Rui¡¯er began to feel extremely aggrieved the more she thought about it. ¡°Your wife may look innocent and harmless on the surface, but in reality, she¡¯s extremely evil and scheming. Can¡¯t you tell!?!¡± she cried. ¡°I¡¯m perfectly clear about what kind of person she is. She did this today because of what you had done to her in the past. It¡¯s just tit for tat, an eye for an eye. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s appropriate of you to describe her as ¡®evil,¡¯¡± Jin Qingyan defended An Xiaoning. ¡°What... have you been brainwashed by her? Qingyan, I¡¯m the person you love the most!¡± shrieked Chi Rui¡¯er. She stared wide-eyed at him in disbelief. ¡°Shixin, please get her bodyguard to send her back,¡± Jin Qingyan instructed. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not leaving!¡± Stomping her feet furiously, she walked towards him and glowered in anger. ¡°Qingyan, did you forget what you once told me? Did you forget everything you said on the operating table? You said you would marry me right away, as long as I was willing! You¡¯ve only married her for days, yet you¡¯re already so biased towards her. I admit, I was wrong to have done that, but I did it all because of you!¡± Beginning to dislike Chi Rui¡¯er, Auntie Chen was in utmost approval of what An Xiaoning had done, serving Chi Rui¡¯er with rat meat. In fact, she even felt that merely a te was not enough. Jin Qingyan summarized everything he had wanted to say at that point in time into a few simple sentences. Turning to face Chi Rui¡¯er, he said coldly, ¡°I said those words before you got together with Gu Beicheng and way before I married Xiaoning. We can neither turn back the clock nor return to that moment.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er clenched her fists tightly and stood rooted to ground, having nowhere to hide. She nced towards An Xiaoning, who remained calm, as if she did not hear any part of their conversation at all. ¡°Great, you¡¯re really something. I take my hat off to you!¡± Chi Rui¡¯er scoffed angrily. ¡°That has nothing to do with you at all. I am thewful wife of Jin Qingyan and the Daughter-inw of the Jin Family, whom every member of the family approves of. As the Mistress of this house, I demand that you get lost from my home immediately,¡± An Xiaoning retorted. Chi Rui¡¯er was terribly embarrassed. An Xiaoning¡¯s words seemed to be a huge blow to her ego. Keeping her eyes fixed on An Xiaoning, she thought to herself,I will destroy you one day! ¡°Shixin, what are you waiting for?¡± Jin Qingyan shot him a look. The bodyguard, who had been on standby at the door, entered to pull Chi Rui¡¯er away forcefully. Chapter 96 - Ill Annihilate Anyone Who Tries to Mess with Me Again

Chapter 96: I¡¯ll Annihte Anyone Who Tries to Mess with Me Again

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The living room returned to its initial peace while Auntie Chen and the other servants tidied up the dining table. ¡°Do you feel much better now?¡± asked Jin Qingyan as he turned to face An Xiaoning. ¡°Do you feel sorry for her? If you do, it¡¯s not toote to chase and cajole her a little,¡± An Xiaoning said, firing from the hip. Jin Qingyan squinted in puzzlement upon hearing her words, realizing all of a sudden that he did not feel upset at all despite watching Chi Rui¡¯er get pranked by An Xiaoning. He would not have realized it if she had not brought it up. Seeing that he had stayed silent, An Xiaoning said immediately, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did I strike a sour note?¡± ¡°No. I don¡¯t feel sorry for her at all. They¡¯ve brought the culprit here, let¡¯s go have a look,¡± he said gently. ¡°Alright.¡± They arrived at the hidden chamber where a young woman was shackled to a chair. An Xiaoning was certain that she had never even seen her before, let alone know her personally. Clearly, there was a mastermind behind the act, and the woman had only acted upon orders. ¡°Jin Qingyan! Jin Qingyan!¡± the woman squealed in exhration at the sight of their arrival. Excitement was written all over her face as she swooned and gazed at him like an obsessed fan girl. ¡°That¡¯s enough, drop the act. Shoot, who instructed you to do it?¡± An Xiaoning said bluntly, exposing her. The woman was momentarily dumbstruck and quickly retorted, ¡°No one instructed me, I did it out of my own ord. I¡¯m in love with Jin Qingyan, that¡¯s why I detest you!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have all day to be wasting my time here with you. We¡¯re even providing for your meals and amodation now. If you still refuse to speak up, I¡¯ll have no choice but to make you do it my way.¡± Refusing to speak another word to her, An Xiaoning instructed Fan Shixin, ¡°Chief Fan, bring me those rat carcasses, as well as her message history and call log, along with all the information on her electronic devices.¡± ¡°Yes, Young Madam.¡± ¡°What are you nning to do?¡± the woman asked in fear. ¡°You¡¯ll find out soon enough. Didn¡¯t I say I have my own ways to make you speak up and reveal who had instructed you to do it?¡± said An Xiaoning, who was seated opposite her with one leg crossed over the other. She stared at the woman, cool and collected. Jin Qingyan had remained silent throughout, allowing his wife to do the talking. Time crawled by bit by bit. The conversation between An Xiaoning and the woman remained rather peaceful, except for thetter¡¯s asional squeal whenever she saw Jin Qingyan. There was no way she could deceive An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan with such poor acting skills. Several minutester, Fan Shixin returned to the chamber with the rat carcasses. ¡°Young Madam, we¡¯ve sent the text messages for investigation, the results will be out soon.¡± ¡°Mhm, leave the dead rats here first. We¡¯ve got plenty of time,¡± said An Xiaoning The woman¡¯s imagination began to run wild as she stared at the bunch of rat carcasses before her, not knowing what An Xiaoning nned to do to her. With each passing minute, she began to feel increasingly anxious and insecure. However, what she had dreaded most still happened, s. ¡°Although she has deleted all the messages from herptop and mobile phone, we¡¯ve sessfully managed to recover all of them. Have a look, Young Madam. I¡¯ve transferred those from her mobile phone onto here, too,¡± said Xiaohuang as he handed aptop to An Xiaoning. After taking a nce at the woman not too far away, An Xiaoning ced theptop on herp and began scrutinizing the content disyed on the screen. Jin Qingyan, too, began looking at the screen while standing beside her. There were very few text messages and information about the identity of the sender, apart from the gender. The sender was confirmed to be a woman. The text messages, voice calls, and mobile number were traced down to several IP addresses, all of which Xiaohuang and the rest of his team had pinpointed. Two of the addresses were found to be from within the Old Mansion. The other IP addresses led to a few ces ¡ª a specific five-star hotel, somewhere nearby Shi Shaochuan¡¯s house, and,stly, a certain luxury restaurant. By now, it was obvious who the mastermind was. It was impossible for the servants at the Old Mansion to patronize luxury hotels and restaurants, or even the vicinity of Shi Shaochuan¡¯s house. Feeling a little shaken, An Xiaoning handed theptop back to Xiaohuang and said, ¡°Send me an email containing all these data. Delete everything on thisptop and return it to her.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± After about a minute of silence, An Xiaoning looked up at her husband, Jin Qingyan, who had been standing next to her. ¡°You¡¯ve mentioned that you would make the mastermind bring these carcasses before me to express their apology if you ever manage to nab her, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Though I was referring to Rui¡¯er, the same applies to this.¡± An Xiaoning rose from her seat with both hands tucked in her pockets and said, ¡°With that being said, I may rest assured now.¡± She then whipped out her phone and turned on the voice recording function before stepping forward to warn the woman, ¡°I already know who the mastermind is. Do you still refuse to speak up?¡± ¡°I already said I was the one behind it all. It¡¯s up to you guys to do whatever you want, I just hope you¡¯ll release me as soon as possible,¡± the woman insisted that she was the only person behind the act, remaining rather tight-lipped about who the mastermind was. ¡°Alright, since she said she was the sole culprit, feed her with these dead rats. Make sure she finishes every single one of them,¡± An Xiaoning instructed. With a smirk, she turned to face the woman, after which she said, ¡°I¡¯ll watch you finish all of them before I set you free.¡± The woman was dumbfounded as she stared wide-eyed in astonishment. It had never urred to her that the Young Madam of the Jin Family would be so vicious and ruthless. Did she just order her to devour all the dead rats... raw? The mere thought of it was revolting enough, how in the world was she going to finish eating them? ¡°I¡¯m not eating it...¡± she cocked her head sideways in fear and disgust. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say it was up to me to do whatever I wanted with you, and that you wanted to be released quickly? What¡¯s the matter, why are you chickening out now?¡± ¡°All I did was mail you some dead rats, yet you¡¯re forcing me to eat all of them. Aren¡¯t you being a little too psychotic?¡± she muttered softly. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you alone if you leave me alone. However, if you choose to provoke me, you shall incur my wrath. I¡¯ll annihte anyone who messes with me again. Pretty girl, I hope you¡¯ll give it some thorough thought ande to a wise decision. It¡¯s up to you to decide if you want to tell the truth and leave in one piece or to continue covering up and leave only after you finish eating every bit of these rat carcasses. Oh, by the way, let me remind you, don¡¯t try to fool me, or else... well. I shall leave you to imagine the consequences,¡± warned An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning¡¯s threatening words had shocked the woman out of her senses. She knew for a fact that An Xiaoning was not merely trying to frighten her. She would actually force her to stomach the carcasses. ¡°I¡¯ll allow you onest minute,¡± said An Xiaoning as she looked down at the time on her watch. ¡°May I have a word with Jin Qingyan alone?¡± asked the woman anxiously, shifting her gaze from Jin Qingyan to An Xiaoning. ¡°No. The rats were mailed to me, I¡¯m the main victim of this incident. Why do you have to talk to him privately?¡± An Xiaoning retorted, though she already had the answer in her head, more or less, and was just waiting to hear it from the horse¡¯s mouth. ¡°Okay, it was Ms. Jin who had instructed me to do this.¡± ¡°Which Ms. Jin are you referring to? Spell her name out.¡± ¡°Jin Qingyue.¡± A deafening silence filled the room once again as Fan Shixin took a look at An Xiaoning. Contrary to his expectations, she did not be enraged. Instead, she calmly saved the voice recording in her mobile phone, which she then kept inside her pocket before turning around to walk away. While walking out of the room, she instructed him, ¡°Release her and let her go.¡± ¡°Young Madam, don¡¯t you want to hear the full story?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not necessary.¡± Jin Qingyan followed behind closely and rushed forward to grab her hand. ¡°Xiaoning.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± An Xiaoning asked, a calm expression on her face. ¡°I¡¯ll get her to apologize to you with the carcasses in her hands.¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll be waiting,¡± she answered coldly. Chapter 97 - Was She Pregnant?

Chapter 97: Was She Pregnant?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Seeing how rxed she was, Jin Qingyan decided to suppress his anger and pulled her into his embrace as he said, ¡°Just let it out if you¡¯re upset. Don¡¯t bottle up your feelings.¡± ¡°As your wife, I ought to stay vignt and resistant towards the evil-doings of others. I know she had always disliked me, but I did not expect her to detest me to such an extent. Well, I guess I can understand why. I¡¯ll stay out of her matters from now on, and don¡¯t ask me anything about her ever again,¡± An Xiaoning said coldly as she looked up at him. ¡°Alright.¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°Brother, why are you looking at me like that?¡± asked Jin Qingyue, easing herself into afortable position on the couch. ¡°Qingyue, how I have been treating you since you were young? Tell me truthfully,¡± Jin Qingyan said sternly. ¡°Very well. You¡¯ve always doted on me.¡± Puzzled, Mrs. Jin asked, ¡°Qingyan, did something happen?¡± He looked down and answered, ¡°Hmm, Qingyue hired someone under the disguise of a silicone face mask to mail a bunch of rat carcasses to Xiaoning. It happened three times in total. After some investigation, we found out that she was the culprit.¡± ¡°What!¡± Mrs. Jin eximed in disbelief as she turned to look at Mr. Jin. She then red at Jin Qingyue angrily and hollered, ¡°Tell me, is what your brother said true!?!¡± Jin Qingyue would never admit to it, of course. ¡°What do you mean? Of course it isn¡¯t true. How could I have done something like that, especially since she¡¯s my sister-inw?¡± she denied. ¡°We¡¯ve already caught and interrogated the woman you hired. She spilled the beans and revealed that you were the one who had instigated everything. We¡¯ve also tracked the IP address of the phone number you had used to contact her, and it all led to you. Jin Qingyue, do you take me for a fool?¡± he questioned, staring at her coldly. Jin Qingyue pinched the couch nervously, too afraid to look him in the eye. She tried to leave after putting on her shoes but was stopped by Jin Qingyan. ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going? Sit down now,¡± he ordered. ¡°I¡¯m going upstairs to catch some sleep,¡± she said, trying to escape once again but to no avail. Finally, she admitted, ¡°Fine, I was the one who did it, but so what? I admit, I did hire someone to mail her the dead rats.¡± Before she knew it, Mrs. Jin gave her a tight p across her face, causing her ears to ring from the impact. ¡°Mother, you actually pped me!¡± she cried, staring at Mrs. Jin in disbelief. ¡°You deserved to be pped, didn¡¯t you? Just what did your sister-inw do to deserve such treatment from you? You¡¯d bettere up with a good exnation for what you did!¡± snapped Mrs Jin as she flew into an uncontroble rage. Jin Qingyue was just as furious. Shemented angrily, ¡°I just hate her, alright? I won¡¯t deny that she¡¯s indeed pretty capable, but I can¡¯t stand the fact that you guys believe herpletely and try every possible way to stop me from being in a rtionship with Shaochuan. Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know what she had been saying about me behind my back. You guys tried to have my fate changed, just so I would break up with Shaochuan. But let me tell you, I won¡¯t let you have it your way, ever!¡± Mrs. Jin was at a loss for words, momentarily dumbstruck. ¡°How... how did you find out...¡± she stuttered. ¡°Of course I did. I overheard you guys talking about it, but I¡¯ve been stopping myself from exposing you. Have you ever considered how I felt? We were getting along really well at the start, but because of the seeds of discord you had been trying to sow between us, we¡¯ve ended up arguing almost every other day. I¡¯ve really had enough! I am definitely going to marry Shaochuan, and my decision is final. No one can stop me, not even Heaven!¡± Jin Qingyue reiterated while staring angrily at her brother and parents. Seeing how adamant she was, Jin Qingyan interjected tantly, ¡°Let me tell you this, you¡¯re free to marry whoever you want for all I care. But before that, bring the rat carcasses before your sister-inw and apologize to her for what you¡¯ve done. Otherwise, I won¡¯t let you off!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going. Over my dead body,¡± Jin Qingyue refuted, giving him the side-eye. ¡°Qingyue, you¡¯d better do as I instructed. We¡¯ll put a full stop to this matter once you apologize. If you still refuse to go, I¡¯ll have to deal with you in my own ways.¡± With a squint, he continued, ¡°Shi Shaochuan ran Wang Fangfang over and proceeded to strangle her to death. He actually had the heart to subject a woman who was in love with him and carried his child to such treatment. I highly doubt he will ever be true to you or treat you well wholeheartedly.¡± ¡°That¡¯s bullshit! Wang Fangfang died at the instant that she got run over. Shaochuan didn¡¯t strangle her to death,¡± Jin Qingyue protested, extremely agitated. ¡°The forensic autopsy report revealed that the cause of her death was asphyxiation, and there were apparent welts on her neck which resulted from being strangled. If you weren¡¯t involved in this matter, he would have received capital punishment long ago, for murder. Qingyue, I¡¯ve told you the truth about everything that happened. If you continue being so obstinate and insistent on going about your willful ways, then you¡¯ll only have yourself to me when you face the consequences in the future. No one is going to help you.¡± Jin Qingyan left as soon as he finished his sentence. In extremely low spirits, Jin Qingyue ran upstairs, back to her room. Mr. and Mrs. Jin were left alone in the living room. Overwhelmed with anger and agitation, Mrs. Jin began to tear up while covering her face with her hand. ¡°That¡¯s enough, why are you crying?¡± Mr. Jin consoled. ¡°Didn¡¯t you see... she was so stubborn and headstrong.¡± ¡°She¡¯ll find a way out herself. Since she¡¯s so bent on marrying him, just let her be.¡± ¡°Are we really going to watch her dig her own grave blindly?¡± ¡°It may seem like a grave to us, but perhaps from her perspective, it¡¯s a path to happiness.¡± Mrs. Jin let out a helpless sigh. ¡ª¡ª Chi Rui¡¯er had spent the entire afternoon brushing her teeth vigorously, such that her gums were almost swollen. She could not get over the repulsing thought of having ingested so much rat meat. She stuck her finger down her throat in a bid to induce vomiting and throw up everything she had eaten. What she had once seen as a delicacy had now be extremely nauseating. Her hatred towards An Xiaoning grew even deeper. What made her even more bitter was Jin Qingyan¡¯s cold and nonchnt attitude. A million unfathomable thoughts began to flood Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s mind as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. It had never urred to her that she would be reduced to such a pitiful plight one day. Although she was materiallyfortable and could afford almost anything she wanted, she could never have the heart of the person she loved the most. Firstly, there was Gu Beicheng, whom she thought would love her wholeheartedly, since she had already be his girlfriend. Yet, little did she expect that she¡¯d turn out not standing a chance at all. Then, there was Jin Qingyan, who had once loved her. However, it was all toote when she realized what she had, and he had long been out of her reach before she even came to her senses. ¡°Ms. Chi... are you alright?¡± the cook asked upon noticing that she had not once left the bathroom throughout the entire afternoon. It did not help that Chi Rui¡¯er had also been mumbling to herself incessantly, which was in fact rather worrying. ¡°It¡¯s none of your business, get lost!¡± she snapped. Her sudden rage had startled the cook, who then closed the door and left. Upon noticing the cook retreating in shock, the bodyguard could not help but reveal the cause of Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s behavior. ¡°She deserved it!¡± the cook muttered under her breath as soon as she heard what had happened. Chi Rui¡¯er finally came out of the bathroom and plonked herself down onto the bed, not wanting to move another inch. She stared out of the window nkly and watched as the sky gradually turned from bright to pitch dark. With the heater switched off, the room was cold and empty, just like her heart. Having eaten nothing at all, sheid on the bed, all listless and sluggish. A painful lump had swelled up in her throat. It throbbed in pain, making her feel worse than ever. She did not have the appetite to eat or the mood to go out. In fact, she could not even fall asleep. There was nothing she was interested in doing. She felt just like a walking zombie. Feeling lonely and aimless, shey on the bed and began scrolling through her phone mindlessly, with the TV switched on in the background. A 50-secondmercial advertising a well-known brand of sanitary pads began to y on the screen. It suddenly came to Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s mind that she had not been using any of those in a long while. She tried to recall thest time Aunt Flo had paid her a visit and began to sense something was amiss. It was normal for menstrual cycles to bete for up to a week. However, hers had beente for way longer than that! Could she be gued with a gynecological disease? Or was she... pregnant? Chapter 98 - Gently Caressing Her Brows with His Fingers

Chapter 98: Gently Caressing Her Brows with His Fingers

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She began to feel more and more worried with each passing minute. Chi Rui¡¯er took a look at the time and realized it was 8 o¡¯clock in the evening. The pharmacy was still open. She sprung out of bed, hurriedly put on her feathered coat, grabbed her wallet, and sped out of the house, not even realizing that she did not change out of her slippers. Chi Rui¡¯er reached into her pocket for a mask which she quickly put on, in fear of being recognized. She then proceeded to a pharmacy nearby and bought five pregnancy test kits. She quickly scurried off to a shopping mall round the corner to carry out the test in the washroom. Her hands began to tremble in fear as she sat atop the toilet bowl. As soon as she dipped the pregnancy test kit inside her urine, the indicator began to turn red rapidly. Her heart began to palpitate vigorously as she waited for the results. Shortly after, two red, vertical lines appeared on the indicator. Knowing exactly what the results meant, Chi Rui¡¯er almost fainted, unable to process the information. Refusing to believe her fate, she repeated the test again with the four other kits she had bought, in hopes that the one she had just used was faulty. s, it was proven that all five were urate, for they had shown the same results. Disposing the cup of urine into the rubbish bin, Chi Rui¡¯er turned as pale as a sheet, unable to think straight. She was pregnant. Again! She knew clearly who the father of her child was. It was definitely not the right time for a child, especially since she was down and out. Chi Rui¡¯er stared nkly at the ground as she fell into a deep trance of thoughts. ¡ª¡ª Sun Weiwei¡¯s nanny van pulled up in front of Ye Xiaotian¡¯s home in Ming Yuan Estate. Dressed to the nines, she alighted from the van with her bag slung over her shoulder and stepped forward to knock on the door. ¡°Miss Sun?¡± a servant answered the door. ¡°Is Brother Xiaotian in?¡± ¡°No. Young Sir has left this morning for a business trip. He¡¯ll only be returning in a few days.¡± A look of disappointment formed on Sun Weiwei¡¯s face. She had dressed up for nothing. ¡°Where did he go?¡± she asked. ¡°I¡¯m not too sure about that. Young Sir has never had the habit of informing us about his whereabouts,¡± the servant answered. ¡°Got it.¡± Sun Weiwei returned to the nanny van. ¡°He¡¯s away for a business trip,¡± she said with much frustration as she tugged at the scarf on her neck forcefully and flung it onto the seat. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Sis Weiwei, you¡¯ve got plenty of time in the future. Just execute your n when Mr. Ye returns from his trip,¡± her assistant reassured her. ¡°That¡¯s all I can do.¡± At the time, Ye Xiaotian, whom Sun Weiwei had been missing dearly, was seated alone in a carnival organized by a tycoon in Y Nation. Everyone at the carnival was having a whale of a time while disguised in a plethora of masks which covered their faces entirely. Yet, he was the only one sitting alone, d in a devil mask and holding up a ss of blue liquor, with his eyes fixed on a figure some distance away. The figure was the only thing he had been channeling all his attention towards, ever since he had caught sight of it. Mo Li and Byron were in high spirits as they partied on. Mo Li had rarely attended such parties hosted by the upper-ss society. However, she had epted Byron¡¯s invite this time, as it was a masquerade where she would not have to show her face. Thus, she could rx and just be herself. She did not have to be mindful of her etiquette either. Despite the massive crowd, one would only be permitted entry with an invite. Hence, she had no choice but to stay close to Byron. Given the multiple exchanges of toasts, it was only normal for one to get tipsy quickly, despite the low alcohol content in the drinks. As expected, Mo Li had needed to use the washroom urgently after half an hour. Byron took care of her and apanied her to the entrance of the washroom, after which he waited for her to exit. Feeling a little stuffy and suffocated from the mask, Mo Li felt a strong urge to remove it. However, she kept it on after noticing that all the otherdies in the washroom were still wearing their masks, not wanting to be the odd one out. While washing her hands after she was finished, she took a casual nce at the mirror, only to notice a pair of eyes staring at her from the window, sending a cold chill down her spine. She froze in fear and dropped her clutch onto the ground as her hands trembled uncontrobly. She bent forward to pick up her clutch, after which she looked up, only to realize that the pair of eyes had vanished without a trace, as if she had imagined it. Mo Li clutched her chest tightly in a bid to calm herself down. She exited the washroom after regaining herposure. Together with Byron, she continued to join in the fun and in the rest of the programmes lined up for the night. Byron appeared to be in high spirits and enjoying himself, despite being a little tipsy. Seeing how joyous he was, Mo Li did not want to be a spoilsport, and thus did not restrain him from having a few more drinks. Instead, she remained silent beside him. They stayed at the carnival ¡¯til past midnight. They decided to leave early, while the rest of the guests continued to enjoy the night. Mo Li supported Byron, who had an unsteady gait, with her arms and helped him into the car. The bodyguards then escorted them in another car behind. The newlyweds were left alone in the car, with the chauffeur in front. Mo Li heaved a sigh of relief. She closed the car door as a wave of fragrant aroma wafted up her nose. ¡°Start driving,¡± she instructed. The chauffeur remained silent and began driving away slowly. To Mo Li¡¯s astonishment, the chauffeur began to drive faster and faster. Unable to tolerate it any further, Mo Li raised her voice and ordered sternly in the nativenguage of Y Nation, ¡°Please slow down.¡± The car began to slow down like she had instructed. She leaned back against the seat and began massaging her temples. She began to feel a little dazed and sleepy as the mysterious aroma in the car infiltrated her senses. The car began to speed up again along the roads, in the darkness of the night. It was moving so quickly that the escorting bodyguards could not keep up with it. It finally came to a halt and pulled up along a dimly lit road. The chauffeur had long been reced with someone else. After spitting out the gum he had been chewing, Ye Xiaotian alighted the car and abruptly opened the rear doors of the car. He took a look at the unconscious Mo Li who had been leaning sideways and reached a hand out to brush the hair on her forehead to the sides. He then gently caressed her brows and lips with his fingers. At that very moment, an indescribable emotion overwhelmed him from within. With a whistle, he signalled for two other cars toe forth, after which they quickly appeared before him. He picked Mo Li up in his arms, bridal style, and walked towards one of the two cars. The other car then stayed behind to keep a lookout. The car began to drive towards an unknown location. Ye Xiaotian took the backseat and rested Mo Li¡¯s head on hisp. Despite being fully aware that Byron would definitely hit the roof when he finds his wife abducted as soon as he wakes up, Ye Xiaotian did not allow it to stop him from pursuing what he wanted. Well, nothing could stop him, for he would do whatever it takes to get what he wanted, be it a person or an object. He had not seen her again ever since the brief encounter on the day of her wedding. She had gained some weight since hest saw her, which was evident from her chubbier cheeks. She looked so much better now,pared to the past. Having seen her body way too many times before, it shoulde as no surprise to him this time. However, at that very instant, he felt a strong urge to remove all her clothes. He could not resist his temptations, at the thought of her getting intimate with her husband, Byron. It had only been a short while since the journey began, yet Mo Li had already been stripped nakedpletely by Ye Xiaotian. The temperature of the air in the car was rather warm. With the push of a button, all the windows of the car were shut tightly. The cold and deadly look in his eyes began to soften as he gently caressed her corbones and d¨¦colletage. A gentle expression formed on his face. He turned around and pinned her beneath himself. Ye Xiaotian felt exceptionally at peace while gazing at her face adoringly ¡ª her eyes were shut tightly, and her lips, gently pressed together. The driver in front seemed to bepletely oblivious to what was happening in the backseat of the car. He was entirely focused on driving on the main road, seemingly having no idea what was going on. Chapter 99 - How Rare Is It for You to Still Be So Obsessed with a Withered Willow Like Me

Chapter 99: How Rare Is It for You to Still Be So Obsessed with a Withered Willow Like Me

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡ª¡ª ¡°Hubby, let¡¯s y a game, shall we?¡± asked An Xiaoning as she sat cross-legged on the bed. ¡°What is it?¡± he asked. ¡°Roley.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± An Xiaoning began to realize that Chi Rui¡¯er meant less to Jin Qingyan nowpared to the past. She was determined to make her marriage flourish; to make Jin Qingyan love and devote himself to her wholeheartedly. Only then can shepletely get rid of the thorn in her flesh that was Chi Rui¡¯er. Bearing that in mind, she was more motivated than ever to work towards her goals in order to ensure a stable and longsting marriage. Although he had indeed mentioned that he would never divorce her, whether or not they ended up in a divorce had nothing to do with the quality of their rtionship. What she wanted was for them to be truly in love and devoted to each other, not have a marriage that was merely forged for the sake of it. Even if she does not seed in the end, she would at least have no regrets, knowing that she had already tried her best and put in every bit of effort she could to salvage it. ¡°Let¡¯s enact the setting of a greatndlord and an innocent maiden, how does that sound?¡± she asked calmly. Already knowing what she had up her sleeve, Jin Qingyan answered, ¡°You¡¯d like me to y the greatndlord, don¡¯t you? And a dominant and tyrannical one at that.¡± ¡°I¡¯m impressed, you¡¯re getting better at guessing my thoughts, Hubby. Come up with the lines yourself, we¡¯ll take this as a little game of fun between us before bedtime every night,¡± said An Xiaoning as she apuded him. ¡°Sure,¡± Jin Qingyan said delightedly, for she had managed to pique his interest. It was his first time engaging in such roley, after all. He quickly got into position and ced his foot down onto the heavily carpeted floor, in his socks. ¡°Let¡¯s begin.¡± ¡°Open the door! An Xiaoning, you¡¯d better get out here and open the door!¡± he ordered sternly, raising his voice. Pouting her lips, An Xiaoning mimicked the action of opening a door and said with a grimace, ¡°Why are you here again, Nuisance Jin?¡± ¡°I¡¯m here... to see you, of course. Here, I got you your favorite snack, it¡¯s delicious,¡± he answered, continuing to y along and mimic the action of handing her something. ¡°Hmph, I don¡¯t want it. Get out of here quickly, I don¡¯t wish to see you,¡± she humphed and cocked her head to the side. ¡°You women just love to say one thing and mean another. Your bodynguage says it all. Hold this, I bought it especially for you, so just take it, otherwise, I¡¯m going to beat you into a pulp. You hear?¡± he pretended to threaten her, raising his clenched fist. Seeing how invested he was in his role, An Xiaoning burst into giggles, unable to contain herughter. ¡°Your acting skills are really superb, you ought to receive an international award.¡± ¡°Care to act out a bed scene with me?¡± he said suggestively while leaning closer towards her. Startled by the sudden change in mood, An Xiaoning replied, ¡°How do we act that out?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll do the real thing.¡± ¡°Get lost... how is that acting anymore?¡± she said, her ears blushing red with shyness. ¡°How is it not? Haven¡¯t you seen how they actually do it in romance films?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t? Alright, why don¡¯t we start getting intimate like normal couples do at night, then?¡± Before she could even react, he pulled the sheets up in one fluid motion, covering them both beneath the nket. ¡ª¡ª Mo Li woke up to find herself lying on arge,fortable bed. She peeked below the sheets, only to realize that she was stark naked. She cocked her head sideways and exchanged nces with a pair of eyes staring coldly at her. ¡°You¡¯re up?¡± said Ye Xiaotian. ¡°Ye Xiaotian!¡± she hollered angrily, trembling from head to toe. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so loud, I can hear you perfectly. I¡¯ve told you this before, haven¡¯t I, Mo Li? Just because you¡¯re married doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯ll keep my hands off you. Did you really think I would let you off once you¡¯re married? I¡¯ll never let you off, even when you have children. So you¡¯d better not have any with someone else, lest your children feel ashamed of you when they find out about your disgraceful past.¡± Every word of his had struck her hard, like a million daggers piercing through heart. Try as she might, she could note up with anything to say as she stared at him, utterly dejected and hopeless. All along, she had thought that he would be unable to do anything to her once she was married. However, he still did not let her off, just like he promised. He still did not... Was death really her only way out... It was too early to die at such a young age. Besides, she still had a family to care for; there was no way she could just die and leave them behind. ¡°Ye Xiaotian, just what have I done in my past life to be cursed with the misfortune of meeting you?¡± she said in devastation, tears streaming down her face uncontrobly. All of a sudden, she began to kowtow to him and pleaded, ¡°Ye Xiaotian, please just let go of me, I¡¯m begging you. On ount of the copious amounts of blood I¡¯ve given Bai Ranran and the fact that I¡¯ve stayed with you for a whole four years, please just let me off. Please, Ye Xiaotian, it¡¯s all I beg of you.¡± Looking at her with a malicious stare, he said in response, ¡°Get a divorce with him immediately. All I can promise is that I¡¯ll treat you well and stop drawing your blood, as long as you behave.¡± ¡°Xiaotian, he¡¯s really good to me. I don¡¯t want to get a divorce, I don¡¯t want to,¡± she said, shaking her head in refusal. ¡°Mo Li, it¡¯s up to you to decide how long you¡¯d want to suffer for. By the way, let me warn you, women who belong to me are forbidden from bearing children with other men. If you choose to disobey me, I can¡¯t promise I won¡¯t strangle your child to death.¡± Seeing that he had no intention to give in at all, Mo Li stopped pleading with him and returned to her normal self. ¡°Ye Xiaotian, I¡¯ve stopped having feelings for you long ago. You¡¯re just an imbecile, absolutely revolting and detestable. How rare is it for you to still be so obsessed with a withered willow like me? You¡¯ve got plenty of women eager to wait on you. In fact, you can easily have any woman you want. What¡¯s the point of being so insistent that I go back to you? Men like you shouldn¡¯t be getting so caught up with women they fool around with, should they?¡± ¡°Wow... you were just pleading and begging on your knees moments ago, and now there¡¯s such a drastic change in your attitude. You realized ying pitiful doesn¡¯t work, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Since begging you clearly doesn¡¯t work, why would I continue doing so?¡± she said, sneering. With a squint, he warned, ¡°Mo Li, you better initiate a divorce with him.¡± ¡°Why should I get a divorce when my husband treats me so well? I don¡¯t feel ill-treated at all. In fact, I feel like a withered willow like me is far from being worthy enough for him. If you stop showing up before me in the future, I would be so much happier and blissful.¡± ¡°Well then, I¡¯m really curious to know if he¡¯ll still treat you that well after he finds out how much you¡¯ve enjoyed yourself in bed with mest night.¡± Mo Li had been trying her best to avoid thinking about what happened the night before. However, she began to lose her rationality at the instant that he reminded her of it. ¡°Ye Xiaotian, I hate you.¡± Unfazed, he squinted at her and continued to speak slowly, ¡°There are plenty of people who hate me. You don¡¯t make a difference.¡± Mo Li turned around and quickly exited the room. Fortunately, he did not manage to bring her out of Y Nation. While walking on the streets, she reached into the pocket of her coat and scavenged for her mobile phone, only to realize that it had been switched off. She then switched it on again. ording to the time on her mobile phone, it was past 9 o¡¯clock in the morning. Several taxis drove past her, but she did not hail any at all. Neither did she give Byron a call. Instead, she simply continued walking aimlessly towards a secluded and quiet ce, before finally breaking down and bursting into tears all of a sudden. She covered her face as she let out a cry of despair while squatting down on the ground. Her tears were overflowing like a tap as she cried her heart out, finally releasing all her pent-up emotions and grievances. She had no idea how she was going to break the news ofst night¡¯s events to her husband. The fear she had towards Ye Xiaotian in the past had now be a strong and bitter hatred. She detested him to the core, so much so that she wished she could kill him with her own hands. Chapter 100 - No Woman to Keep Me Warm at Night

Chapter 100: No Woman to Keep Me Warm at Night

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mo Li decided to give Byron a call after she was done crying. While waiting for her husband to pick her up, Mo Li rehearsed in her head what she was going to tell him. However, she was still struggling to decide if she shoulde clean with him or not. She did not wish to deceive him, but at the same time, she did not want to say anything to hurt him either. After all, he was the best husband she could ever ask for. She had to face it sooner orter, anyway. She stopped pondering about the matter as soon as his car pulled up before her. Upon the sight of him alighting from the car, Mo Li stood up and walked towards Byron. ¡°Hey, Hubby.¡± ¡°Get in, we¡¯ll talk about the rest inside the car,¡± he said as he got into the car while holding her hand in his. Byron did not question Mo Li about the identity of the person who had abducted her the night before. Having lived for 40 years, he was aware of the vast possibilities of what could have possibly happened. Needless to say, he had already known the answer, more or less. Despite being extremely well-tempered, the incident that ured the night before had greatly triggered him. ¡°Did you get injured?¡± ¡°No,¡± she answered, shaking her head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I won¡¯t bring you to such partieste at night ever again. It was all my fault,¡± he apologized, embracing her in his arms with his forehead pressed against hers. Mo Li began to feel even more guilty. How could he put the me on himself for this matter? she thought. Mo Li was more than grateful for the fact that he had not questioned her or forced her to speak up about the truth. Yet, Byron¡¯s magnanimity and unwavering concern, despite knowing what had happened, had caused her to feel even more undeserving of him. After all that had happened, she was indeed incredibly blessed to still be able to remain as his wife. ¡°I should be the one apologizing. It was trouble I had created for myself.¡± Her emotions had begun to overwhelm her yet again. He did not ask her for the details of what happened between her and Ye Xiaotian the night before, neither did she tell him about it out of her own ord. However, she knew clearly that he was well aware of it. Byron remained silent, keeping his thoughts to himself. They arrived home peacefully. Byron apanied her for a while before leaving the house again. Mo Li waited until he had left before she looked her mother up. Upon hearing about what had happened the night before, Mo Li¡¯s mother was sent into a great shock. She then hurried out to buy some contraceptive pills for Mo Li, like thetter had requested. Ignoring her mother¡¯s advice, Mo Li popped twice of the rmended dosage in her mouth, all in one go. ¡°You¡¯re going to ruin your health by doing that. It¡¯s going to cause your hormones to shift out of bnce.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, Mother. I¡¯m going in to get some rest.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± said Mrs. Mo as she turned around and wiped the tears off her face. ¡ª¡ª Jin Qingyue arrived before An Xiaoning even began digging in on the red date porridge that Auntie Chen had prepared for her. She had in her hands a bunch of rat carcasses, which appeared absolutely revolting as their features seemed to look deformed. An Xiaoning rose from her seat and said smilingly, ¡°You¡¯re here, Sis-inw. Come, have a seat.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, Sis-inw, I¡¯m here to apologize to you. I¡¯m sorry, I shouldn¡¯t have done that,¡± Jin Qingyue apologized half-heartedly, showing no sign of remorse at all. Clearly, she was more than unwilling to make the trip here, and her apology was definitely not sincere. ¡°Sis-inw, you don¡¯t have to force yourself to apologize if you don¡¯t wish to. I can¡¯t do anything to you anyway, am I right?¡± ¡°I¡¯m... I¡¯m sincere about apologizing. I¡¯m sorry, Sis-inw. Please be the magnanimous person that you are and forgive me this once. I won¡¯t do it again.¡± ¡°Okay... hurry and take the rat carcasses away from Sis-inw. How could her precious hands be in contact with such filthy things?¡± instructed An Xiaoning. She shot the servants a look, after which they hurriedly took the carcasses and left. Jin Qingyue proceeded to wash her hands at that very instant. While walking out of the washroom, she sniffed her hands to check if they still reeked of any odor, a disgusted expression on her face. An Xiaoning smirked in delight at the sight of her behavior. ¡°You¡¯re done washing up?¡± ¡°Yes, Sis-inw, I¡¯ll take my leave now.¡± ¡°Alright, take care,¡± An Xiaoning bade her goodbye. She then picked up her phone and sent Jin Qingyan a text message: ¡± Your sister just came by to apologize. How did you manage to get her toe?¡± To which he replied with a simple sentence: ¡± By cutting her financial resources.¡± An Xiaoning gave a smirk upon reading his reply. What a ruthless move, indeed,she thought. ¡°Young Madam, you were being too nice earlier, weing Missy smilingly despite everything that she had done. Others would definitely be infuriated at the sight of her, if put into your shoes,¡± said Auntie Chen. An Xiaoning remained silent and, instead, picked up the spoon and began stirring the bowl of red date porridge. She did not exactly have a good temper, but she was not considered ill-tempered, either ¡ª she was grateful towards those who had given her a hand in need, and she would be more than willing to try her best to return the favor within all her means, should there be a need for it. Needless to say, she would definitely bear a grudge against those who had caused her harm or provoked her, going all out to settle the scores once and for all. Being no saint, An Xiaoning was sure to get revenge where it¡¯s due, though she would not forget to repay kindness bestowed upon her either. ¡°Boss, someone is calling you again!¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s ringtone cranked as she quickly sprung up to scoop up her mobile phone from the couch. She took a look at the caller disy and realized it was Gu Beicheng who had called. It came across as no surprise to her, since it had always been the same few people who called her anyway. ¡°I just arrived back from B City, and I¡¯m really worn out from all that traveling. You¡¯re the first person I wanted to see as soon as I touched down, though. Let¡¯s meet for a meal,¡± Gu Beicheng said, sounding a little indistinct and muffled. ¡°But I just had some porridge...¡± ¡°Is Jin Qingyan beside you?¡± ¡°No, he¡¯s not back yet.¡± Sensing that he had something to say, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Do you have something you¡¯d like to tell me?¡± There must have been a reason why Gu Beicheng had called her, for he usually would not ask to meet her, out of the blue. ¡°Sis, I really just want to have a meal with you. Would you allow me the pleasure to? If not, I¡¯ll just head straight to your ce to pick you up, in order to express my sincerity.¡± There he goes again... An Xiaoning had no choice but to ask, ¡°Alright, I only had some porridge, I guess I could eat some more. Where are you now?¡± ¡°Come over then, we¡¯ll go have some hotpot.¡± ¡°Okay, sure,¡± she ended the call and proceeded to change into her shoes at the doorstep. Noticing that she was about to leave, Auntie Chen asked, ¡°Young Madam, will you still be having dinner at home?¡± ¡°No, Gu... my second elder brother had invited me for a meal with him. Please let Qingyan know he doesn¡¯t have to wait for me for dinner when hees home.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± An Xiaoning grabbed her purse and walked out of the living room. As soon as she stepped outdoors, she felt a sudden gust of wind and chilliness. She looked up into the sky and extended her arm, only to realize that it had begun to snow. It had been snowing heavily throughout winter that year, with only a few days of sun, which was rare toe by. Wrapping her scarf tightly around her neck, An Xiaoning got into her car and hurriedly made her way down to the location at which she had agreed to meet Gu Beicheng. Given the freezing weather, it was no surprise that there were more patrons than usual at the hotpot restaurant. Fortunately, the two had managed to get themselves a seat in the crowded restaurant, seeking refuge from the freezing snow. Gu Beicheng ordered a ton of dishes while An Xiaoning sat down and asked, ¡°What were you doing in B City?¡± ¡°I was there to handle some business matters.¡± Thest time they had seen each other was at Gu Dongcheng¡¯s birthday celebration. Although it had not been that long, she felt that he had looked a lot more haggard and weary since thest time they¡¯d met. ¡°You didn¡¯t sleep wellst night?¡± she asked, making eye contact with him while she ced some meatballs and meat slices into the pot of broth. ¡°How could I have slept well, with no woman to keep me warm at night?¡± ¡°Quit joking, you can¡¯t get yourself a woman?¡± she said mockingly. ¡°There are plenty of women in this world, but one whom I truly adore and want to sleep with is indeed rare toe by. I¡¯m all about self-respect and morals, alright?¡± he said with a chuckle. ¡°I don¡¯t buy it...¡± A smile formed on his face as his eyes lit up while staring at her. ¡°Jokes aside, I heard Bureau Chief Pan had looked you up recently and asked for your assistance in investigations. Is that true?¡± Chapter 101 - Master Jins Unfathomable Jealousy

Chapter 101: Master Jin¡¯s Unfathomable Jealousy

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Well, you¡¯re quite well informed. It has been a while. I haven¡¯t agreed, but I also didn¡¯t turn him down.¡± An Xiaoning darted a nce at him. ¡°Tell me honestly, is there going to be huge manpower changes in our country?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just a businessman, how would I know so much? Why don¡¯t you ask your own husband, Jin Qingyan?¡± ¡°Hmmm... are you going to tell me or not?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not very sure too, but I¡¯ve heard rumors. There¡¯s going to be a huge transformationing up.¡± Gu Beicheng picked out the pieces of meat from the pot and ced them into her bowl. ¡°That¡¯s what they say, but until it is really confirmed, nobody can say for sure.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± An Xiaoning suddenly thought of Ye Xiaotian and asked casually, ¡°You¡¯re close to Ye Xiaotian. Are you the same kind as him?¡± ¡°Says who?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t there a saying: ¡®birds of the same feather flock together¡¯?¡± An Xiaoning pouted her lips and responded, ¡°Tell me honestly, you¡¯re quite a ruthless person too, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Quite ruthless, I would say.¡± He was still beaming brightly. ¡°Amongst people like us, very few are not ruthless. Don¡¯t tter your husband too much, he¡¯s equally ruthless. On the surface, he may seem quite decent, but he¡¯s a wolf in sheep¡¯s clothing.¡± For some unknown reason, hearing his words, An Xiaoning felt somewhat happy. She did not defend her husband at all. ¡°As long as he¡¯s not ruthless towards me, I don¡¯t care.¡± ¡°No matter what, you have a family backing you now. Whoever dares to bully you, your brother will stand up for you,¡± Gu Beicheng remarked frankly. His face was gentle, and his handsome features looked a lot clearer. ¡°That Ye Xiaotian... does he love his fiancee?¡± Gu Beicheng shook his head. An Xiaoning thought he was going to say he didn¡¯t know, but he replied firmly, ¡°No, he doesn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Then, is it a business marriage? Doesn¡¯t seem like it.¡± ¡°Although Bai Ranran¡¯s family is rich, it was indeed not a business marriage. Bing his fiance, and him treating her so well, there¡¯s something else behind it.¡± Gu Beicheng went on slowly, ¡°But, it¡¯s not in your position to know such things. Quick, eat, the food is getting cold.¡± ¡°Tell me what is behind it, you¡¯re making me curious,¡± An Xiaoning asked as she ate. ¡°Why are you such a gossipmonger today?¡± ¡°Well, I love gossiping everyday. It¡¯s just that we seldom spend time together, so you didn¡¯t know that.¡± An Xiaoning continued probing, ¡°What is going on? Tell me. Quick.¡± ¡°Not telling.¡± Gu Beicheng still kept to protecting his friend¡¯s privacy. ¡°Although we¡¯re family, Xiaotian is my good buddy.¡± ¡°Then forget it, I¡¯m not asking anymore.¡± An Xiaoning had no choice but to give up. ¡°This is so spicy, women can¡¯t eat so much spicy food too often.¡± He could not understand. ¡°Why? Is it easier to get heaty?¡± ¡°Yes, women get heaty easily. Then we may easily get female diseases.¡± ¡°Then stick away from spicy food.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll eat them every meal.¡± Gu Beicheng watched her with contempt. ¡°If you¡¯re going to eat them every meal, then why tell me that women should refrain from them?¡± ¡°There are two reasons. One, you¡¯re not a woman, you don¡¯t have to avoid spicy food. Two, I¡¯m just saying it to myself, even though I¡¯m not going to abide by it.¡± She covered her mouth as she broke into augh. ¡°I love chili so much. Without chili, there¡¯s no way I will be able to eat on.¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan is such a failure. He allows you to eat on like that, is that good? You have to limit the amount of chili you eat.¡± ¡°Just criticize me if you want, why do you have to belittle my husband?¡± He sighed out loud. ¡°Look at yourself, defending and protecting your husband already. I¡¯m expressing my utmost dissatisfaction.¡± ¡°We¡¯re so close already. Come on, I see you¡¯ve gotten thinner as you¡¯ve been busytely. Eat more.¡± She stood and picked up more food for him. Gu Beicheng chuckled. ¡°Xiaoning, you look really good without makeup.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need you to tell me, I¡¯ve long realized that.¡± ¡°...¡± The two enjoyed their hotpot merrily while someone was exceptionally upset eating alone at home. ¡°She didn¡¯t say when she would be back?¡± ¡°No.¡± Auntie Chen was perplexed. Was there a need to calcte the time when she was just out for a meal? After Jin Qingyan had eaten, he stood at the entrance of the living room, gazing at the increasing fall of fluffy snow outside. ording to the time Auntie Chen had said, she had just left when he had reached home. It had almost been one hour since she left. Why would a meal take so long? Was it an eighteen-course banquet or a table full of delicacies? Moreover, it was with Gu Beicheng. Although he was his family now, he could not help but feel anxious about this man who harbored other thoughts! ¡°Babylifewasgoodtomebutyoujustmadeitbetternull, Ilovethewayitstandbymethroughanykindofweathernull...¡± He took out his phone and looked. It was a call from Chi Rui¡¯er. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Qingyan, I have something important to tell you.¡± She seemed to be on the verge of tears. ¡°Can youe over here?¡± ¡°What important thing? Rui¡¯er, it¡¯s already night time.¡± ¡°Qingyan, if you don¡¯te in ten minutes, I¡¯ll jump down from the top of the floor. Just see!¡± She hung up immediately. Jin Qingyan was left with no choice. He called to get his men to watch her properly, then drove over himself. The car reached the estate Chi Rui¡¯er was living in. He parked the car downstairs and went directly into the lift, which brought him to the unit Chi Rui¡¯er was living in. Thedy who prepares food opened the door. ¡°Young Master, Ms. Chi is in an emotionally unstable state. I don¡¯t know what has upset her.¡± The first thing that came to Jin Qingyan¡¯s mind was still about eating the rat meat. He asked, ¡°Is she in her room?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He went forward to open the door. The room waspletely dark; not a single light was switched on. Turning on the lights, he saw Chi Rui¡¯er hugging her knees as she sat on the bed, her hair hanging down in a mess. Her face was bare with no makeup on, and she looked haggard. Upon seeing him, Chi Rui¡¯er ran down from the bed, into his arms. Jin Qingyan looked at the state she was in and asked gently, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Qingyan, I...¡± She did not know how to approach the topic. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re upset over eating the rat meat?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± ¡°Then what¡¯s wrong?¡± A sound came from outside suddenly, and thedy who prepares food appeared at the doorway. ¡°Young Master, Ms. Chi¡¯s parents are here.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er got worked up immediately. ¡°Get them to leave, I don¡¯t want to see them now.¡± ¡°They¡¯re already here...¡± ¡°Get them to leave immediately! Didn¡¯t you hear me?!¡± Chi Rui¡¯er was extremely agitated and her face was bursting with anger. Jin Qingyan told thedy, ¡°Just do as she says then. Get her parents to go back.¡± ¡°Yes...¡± Seeing that she was standing barefooted on the carpet, he went forward to open the covers. ¡°Sit on the bed.¡± She obediently went into the covers and Jin Qingyan pulled it up properly for her. ¡°Rui¡¯er, I still hope to see that person I knew. That confident and independent Chi Rui¡¯er who does what she likes and does not allow life to slowly ruin her.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m already ruined.¡± She looked at him with pitiful eyes. ¡°Qingyan, I had long been ruined. My life was always pitch ck, there was never a moment it was bright.¡± He did not know what was wrong with her. ¡°Other than a man, what else do you need now? Don¡¯t tell me without men, you can¡¯t live?¡± Chapter 102 - Hugged Her Tight

Chapter 102: Hugged Her Tight

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She shook her head, her eyes brimming with tears. ¡°It¡¯s not like that, it¡¯s not like that...¡± The urge inside her to say the truth was forcefully swallowed down. During the day, she had gone to the hospital to check and found out that she was over forty days pregnant. She who was originally insistent on doing the operation for abortion was told by the doctor that, because she had done it once before, the damage was rather big. Her uterine lining was now thinner, and if she were to have another abortion operation again, there was a high risk and possibility of her being infertile for life. She had asked how huge this risk was. The doctor imed that it was huge, because if the uterine lining was too thin, the fertilized egg would not be able to be imnted. It was the same logic as having unsuitable soil for a seed to be nted. Returning from the hospital, Chi Rui¡¯er seemed to have lost her soul. She was only 22 years old. If an operation for abortion caused her to be unable to be a mother for life, it was too much of a consequence to bear for her. Even though technology was very advanced now to allow for surrogacy to take ce, not being able to experience the process of carrying a child and giving birth to it herself would be her greatest regret as a woman. Thus, she was hesitant about it. She had thought about it in her room for a day and had wanted to tell Jin Qingyan. But now, she could not utter a single word. She was worried she would question her about who the child¡¯s father was. She could not handle it. She was worried that after knowing who the child¡¯s biological father was, he would be absolutely disappointed with her and not care about her anymore. Such worries filled up her mind... After calming down, these worries had emerged like bamboo shoots. She looked at Jin Qingyan before her and finally said, ¡°Qingyan, I don¡¯t have much money with me anymore, can you give me some to use?¡± Jin Qingyan never stopped supporting her financially. He had always felt indebted towards her for saving him. His life was priceless, so all this while, he¡¯d never stopped giving her money. He immediately passed her a cheque. It was for five hundred thousand yuan. She received it and took a look. A thought shed through her mind: it¡¯s lesser than before. ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll go back first.¡± ¡°Qingyan...¡± He stopped in his tracks. ¡°What else is wrong?¡± ¡°If I ask you toe over next time and you¡¯re not busy, can youe over as soon as possible?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see. If I¡¯m really not busy and there¡¯s something urgent, I¡¯lle over.¡± ¡°Mmm.¡± He went out and shut the door. Chi Rui¡¯er kept the cheque in her bag andid down. She was still rather upset. She was still troubled over whether to keep that vile thing in her stomach. If she were to keep it, she would be doing something against her will. But if she didn¡¯t, she might never have children again her whole life. This problem drove her to the edge of a mental breakdown. She was thinking whether or not there could be a better solution to it. ¡°Ms. Chi...¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er darted a nce at the doorway. Thedy who made food said, ¡°Your parents havee up from downstairs again. They¡¯re at the door now and refuse to leave. It¡¯s cold out there at night, and if they were to stay out for the whole night, I¡¯m afraid...¡± ¡°Let my mother in, but not the other one.¡± ¡°Are you sure that is okay...¡± ¡°Just do what I tell you to. That person is not even my biological father, even if he freezes to death, what has it got to do with me?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er bellowed as she red angrily at her. ¡°Yes.¡± Thedy turned and went to the door to let Mrs. Chi in. Seeing that she refused to let her husband in, she had no choice but to enter by herself. ¡°You don¡¯t even pick up my calls now. Rui¡¯er, do you really want to cut off ties with me and not go back to that home anymore?¡± Looking at her, Chi Rui¡¯er asked, ¡°You came herete at night just to ask me this?¡± ¡°It took me a whole day to find out that you¡¯re living here now. Rui¡¯er, you don¡¯t want your stepfather, now you don¡¯t even want me too? I shouldn¡¯t have given birth to only you, I should have had a few more children.¡± Every word that Mrs. Chi uttered upset her badly. She retorted sarcastically, ¡°Yeah, you should have given birth to two more daughters, for your dearest husband to have for himself.¡± Mrs. Chi flew into a rage upon hearing this and gave her a p on her cheek. ¡°You... how could say that! Although both of you are not rted by blood, he raised you since you were young. Not only are you not grateful towards him, how could you still insult him like that!¡± The raw anger and pain cut deeper into Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s wounds. She looked down helplessly and did not say a word. The insult to her that was so deep made her unable to tell her mother the truth. She knew clearly that if her mother were to learn about it, it would be a huge blow to her. It might even trigger her to have a heart attack. Thus, she could only bear it inside. ¡°Mother, you should go back with him, I want to rest.¡± Mrs. Chi was taken aback. Seeing her lie down and turn her back on her, she was at a loss for words. ¡°Did you be someone¡¯s mistress?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then why are you living here and not going to work? Where did the moneye from, and all those nannies who clean and make food and the guards around here?¡± ¡°A friend is taking care of me.¡± It was evident that Chi Rui¡¯er was reluctant to say more. ¡°Go back, I want to sleep.¡± Mrs. Chi turned and left. Looking at her in that state, she was actually in no mood to have a conversation with her. ¡ª When Jin Qingyan was driving back, he passed by a hotpot shop and immediately stepped on the brakes. As it happened, he¡¯d seen his wife¡¯s car. His gaze was fixed on the entrance of the shop as An Xiaoning and Gu Beicheng came out together. An Xiaoning was walking as she wrapped her scarf around her. It was probably not wrapped properly, so Gu Beicheng helped her with it. The me that was instantly spurting out of Jin Qingyan¡¯s eyes was so strong that he wished he could set Gu Beicheng on fire. Seeing that An Xiaoning had gotten on the car, he finally decided to make a move first and reached home before her. When An Xiaoning¡¯s car arrived at home, he had juste out from the garage and was walking out steadily in his suit. ¡°Where have you been until this time?¡± ¡°I went out to eat. Have you eaten?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve eaten long ago.¡± He folded his hands into his pocket. ¡°Did you have a good time eating with Gu Beicheng?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± An Xiaoning walked towards the living room while looking at him. ¡°It¡¯s so chilly outside at night and it¡¯s snowing, what were you doing in the courtyard? Don¡¯t tell me you were waiting for me?¡± ¡°Do I look like someone who¡¯ll wait for you in the courtyard?¡± Sheughed. ¡°Well, no, you don¡¯t.¡± When they reached the entrance, Auntie Chen greeted them. ¡°Young Master and Young Mistress are back.¡± An Xiaoning frowned. ¡°He just came back too?¡± Auntie Chen had not yet realized that Jin Qingyan was signalling him with his eyes, so she replied, ¡°Yeah.¡± She remarked as she changed her shoes, ¡°Just now, who was the one asking me why I¡¯m back sote? So I see, you were back only a few minutes earlier than I was. Tell me, where were you at thiste?¡± ¡°I was already back quite early, but there was something I had to attend to so I went out.¡± He touched his nose casually as he changed the topic. ¡°Why did both of you take so long to eat?¡± ¡°We just kept chatting and didn¡¯t realize that so much time had passed. He just came back from B City, he¡¯d been away for business.¡± An Xiaoning went upstairs and took off her scarf and gloves. She then turned on the heater with the remote and did some simple stretching exercises. Just as she was raising both her arms, she was hugged from behind by him, giving her quite a scare. She turned her head to the side as Jin Qingyan said, ¡°Actually, when I was driving back, I saw you. At the entrance of the hotpot shop.¡± Chapter 103 - Lets Bathe Together

Chapter 103: Let¡¯s Bathe Together

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°And then...¡± ¡°Then I saw Gu Beicheng help you wrap your scarf properly.¡± Jin Qingyan said in a low voice, ¡°I really can¡¯t stand the sight of him. Don¡¯t you let him touch one finger of yours next time.¡± ¡°Hubby...¡± She turned around to look at him. ¡°Are you really that petty?¡± ¡°He harbors other thoughts about you,¡± he said frankly. ¡°As long as a thing or person belongs to me, he¡¯s interested in it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m already married to you, I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll covet a married woman.¡± An Xiaoning changed the topic, ¡°Do you want to bathe?¡± ¡°Yes, let¡¯s bathe together.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll run the water.¡± She turned and headed towards the bathroom. Her originally neutral face had brightened up. Wasn¡¯t this a sign that he cared about her? She loved this feeling so much. ¡ª For two consecutive nights, Byron did not return home to sleep. She called him, only to find out that he had gone out of the country for business. Mo Li could not help but overthink. She could not sleep at night and wandered about in the courtyard alone. She stopped in her tracks when she heard a few whispering sounds. ¡°What do you know, our Prince did not return these two nights because he was staying elsewhere! Although we¡¯re forbidden from spreading this, but that night, when the Princess Consort was abducted, I heard it was done by another man. Think about it, he¡¯s not evening back at night now, something¡¯s bound to happen soon.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. Although maybe the Princess Consort wasn¡¯t a willing party, she still made a cuckold of him.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. From what I see, this Princess Consort cannot bepared to the previous one. I thought they were deeply in love and would get back together again. Who would have thought that the Prince would marry this foreign woman? How perplexing.¡± ¡°Alright, alright, let¡¯s just keep this between ourselves. Be sure not to leak this out. Let¡¯s go, we should go back and sleep.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The sound of footsteps faded away. Mo Li stood there, her whole body frozen in shock. It was impossible for her not to take it to heart. If it was before marriage, then it would have been different. She knew indeed that she was a disgrace to him as his wife. She was aware of her own limitations. As she walked back in, she decided to go to the house her mother was living in. ¡°Mom?¡± ¡°Li Li, why aren¡¯t you asleep?¡± Mrs. Mo sat up as she asked her. She sat at the side of her bed and replied, ¡°Mom, I feel like getting a divorce.¡± Mrs. Mo widened her eyes and eximed in a raised voice, ¡°What did you say? Don¡¯t say such silly things, you¡¯ve only been married for a few days. Moreover, if you divorce, you¡¯ll be falling into Ye Xiaotian¡¯s trap! You¡¯re fine now, but if you really get divorced, you¡¯ll never be able to shake off Ye Xiaotian!¡± ¡°But, I feel like I¡¯ve done wrong towards Byron.¡± ¡°I know you¡¯re a kind child, but this was not what you wanted either. If it wasn¡¯t for Ye Xiaotian...¡± While mentioning Ye Xiaotian, Mrs. Mo suddenly burst into anger. ¡°Oh, he really ruined your whole life!¡± Mo Li said as she lowered her head, ¡°I¡¯ve thought about ending my life once and for all. But, Mom, I know I¡¯m still so young. Death is not the solution to anything.¡± Mrs. Mo held onto her hand. ¡°Li Li, Mom would be so devastated if you were to die. Don¡¯t do something silly, everything will all pass.¡± She nodded. ¡°Byron is a good person. Now I feel that I did not grab hold of a life-saving straw but dragged it into the waters instead. Mom, if I were to make the choice to divorce in the future, please don¡¯t me me.¡± Mrs. Mo nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve never med you. Li Li, Mom hopes for you to be well and fine and, furthermore, for Ye Xiaotian to disappear from this earth. Without him, you will not be in this state now.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s Dad?¡± ¡°In the bathroom.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go back to sleep now.¡± She got up and left her mother¡¯s room. Mo Li looked up and gazed at the pitch-ck night sky, sighing helplessly in her heart. Her hopes and efforts came to nothing in the end. ¡°Ring, ring...¡± Just as she got back to the bedroom, her phone on the table rang. She answered it. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Hearing your voice, you¡¯ve not gone to bed yet?¡± Byron¡¯s voice on the other end was low and deep. ¡°You¡¯re not back, so I can¡¯t seem to sleep.¡± Mo Li asked, ¡°When will you return?¡± ¡°Tomorrow.¡± His tone was exceptionally gentle. ¡°Be good. When you wake up in the morning, I¡¯ll be at home.¡± ¡°Mmm, okay. Goodnight.¡± ¡°Goodnight.¡± She ended the call andid on the bed, staring at the ceiling, tears flowing down her cheeks as sheughed. She really could not bear to hurt a man who was truly good to her. After all, she was the source of all these mistakes. She was the cause of everything; he had nothing to do with it. ¡°Knock, knock, knock. Sis, are you asleep?¡± From outside the door came her brother¡¯s voice. ¡°Not yet.¡± She got off the bed to open the door. Mo Xun was standing at the doorway and passed his phone for her to see. ¡°Sis, look at this.¡± Mo Li took it. It was a web page of a news report. The title read: ¡± Ye Xiaotian assassinated, life and death uncertain. ¡± The corner of her lips curled into a smile as she passed the phone back to him. ¡°How great,¡± she remarked. Mo Xun said lightly, ¡°Sis, you still have me and our parents, as well as Brother Tianze. All of us wish for you to be well and happy. Go to sleep now. I¡¯ll leave.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After closing the door, Mo Li leaned back against it. There was a voice in her heart saying to her: ¡°Hopefully, he¡¯s dead. Please die, die, die...¡± ¡ª Ye Xiaotian was assassinated not long after he returned to the country. This incident caused a hugemotion; even the international media continued to spread news about it. ording to the media, Ye Xiaotian was stabbed by the assassin, and there was more than one of them. What made people very curious was who was behind this incident. Compared to that, what people were even more curious to find out was why Ye Xiaotian had told the maids around him not to call the police before he went into aa. Almost the whole of the Ye family set out to the hospital, and there were media reporters waiting on the roads, awaiting thetest news. Bai Ranran and Sun Weiwei had rushed to the hospital upon hearing the news as well. At the hospital corridor, there were a whole bunch of people crowding. Mr. and Mrs. Ye, who were Ye Xiaotian¡¯s direct family, took the greatest blow. They could only pray inside for Ye Xiaotian to make it through this hurdle. Gu Beicheng had also rushed over in a hurry. He knew Ye Xiaotian had gone to Y Nation and that it had something to do with Mo Li. Not long after his return, he was attacked. It was definitely under Byron¡¯s orders. It was the clearest fact of this matter. He wondered if he had done something to Mo Li for Byron to get people to kill him. The operation went on for a very long time. With the full cooperation of the doctors, Ye Xiaotian was saved from the brink of death. It was clear how professional the hired killer was, to be able to get past his men and attack him. Such skills were indeed formidable. As the doctors and nurses wheeled him out, everyone around shouted agitatedly, ¡°Xiaotian!¡± Mrs. Ye even burst out into tears uncontrobly. Ye Xiaotian was wheeled into the VIP ward directly. Other than his closest family members, outsiders were not allowed. Gu Beicheng inquired about his condition from the doctor and heard that Ye Xiaotian was stabbed in his vital organs. Luckily, Ye Xiaotian was wearing a special bulletproof clothing, which helped him to escape death. If he had not worn it, he would have died on the spot. Bai Ranran¡¯s eyes were all swollen and red. At the side of his hospital bed, she held onto Ye Xiaotian¡¯s hand tightly. Sun Weiwei was extremely upset too. But she could only watch from a corner and could not do anything at all. Chapter 104 - You Still Want Her Back?

Chapter 104: You Still Want Her Back?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios A roomful of people stayed the night over except for Gu Beicheng and Sun Weiwei. In the wee hours, Sun Weiwei had just stepped into the ward when Ye Xiaotian woke up. ¡°Son, you¡¯re awake?¡± Mrs. Ye asked gently, tears brimming in her eyes. ¡°Umm... did you not sleep... the whole night? Get everyone to go back to rest, I¡¯m fine,¡± he managed to say while bearing the pain. His face did not look very good, and even speaking required an overwhelming effort for someone like him who had been stabbed multiple times. ¡°Alright. Tell the doctor if you are in any difort, okay?¡± He nodded. Since he had woken up, the whole of the Ye family could finally rest assured. Having not slept for one night, they all went back to rest. But no matter how they persuaded Bai Ranran to go back, she refused to leave. ¡°Ranran, be good. Go back to rest.¡± ¡°Let me stay with you for a while more, you just woke up.¡± Bai Ranran held onto his hand and refused to let go of it. ¡°Xiaotian, why did you refuse to make a police report?¡± ¡°The police wouldn¡¯t be able to catch them anyway. Moreover, they have some powerful backing. It¡¯s useless.¡± Actually, the real reason was that if the police were to intervene, they would be able to trace it to Byron. Once this happens, the news would y this up into a hot topic for discussion. When Gu Beicheng entered the ward, there were only a few people in sight. ¡°All of you can go back, just let him stay here,¡± Ye Xiaotian instructed them. Bai Ranran was really too sleepy as well, so she stood up and gave up her seat to Gu Beicheng. ¡°Why do you look so serious?¡± Although Ye Xiaotian was already in a bad state, his expression still exuded a unique aura which was indelible. Seeing that everyone had gone out, Gu Beicheng took one look at the way the IV drip was hung and locked the door of the ward from inside. He then went back to his bedside. ¡°This was really done by Byron?¡± ¡°Umm...¡± As the effects of the anesthetic had worn off, he then started to groan in pain. ¡°Just now, when they were around, I didn¡¯t feelfortable to show the pain. But it really hurts so bad, my gosh. The pain is really killing me.¡± Gu Beicheng rolled his eyes at him. ¡°Serves you right if you die from the pain. What did you go to Y Nation for? Mo Li is already married, why can¡¯t you just let her go?¡± ¡°But, Beicheng...¡± He took a deep breath. ¡°I feel that without her around, it¡¯s so hard to bear. Do you know this feeling?¡± Gu Beicheng already knew that Mo Li was of significant importance to him, although he always denied it on the surface. ¡°You still want her back?¡± Ye Xiaotian looked down in despair. ¡°I¡¯ve already said, as long as she divorces Byron andes back to me, I¡¯ll treat her well.¡± ¡°Who¡¯ll believe that?¡± Gu Beicheng shook his head. ¡°Sorry, but even I don¡¯t believe that.¡± ¡°Are you not my good buddy?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m your good buddy, I¡¯ll tell you nothing but the truth! You¡¯ve always treated her as your source of blood supply and gave her the cold treatment. For the littlest of things, you¡¯ll re up at her. It¡¯d be weirder if she actually still believes you. She¡¯s probably more than eager to hate you.¡± Ye Xiaotian did not utter a single word. The painful expression on his face had changed. He looked beyond upset. Seeing him in this state, Gu Beicheng felt sorry for him too. But he had no choice. This pain was something no one else could suffer for him. He had to go through it himself. ¡ª ¡°My future inws, the reason we¡¯re here today is to ask for your daughter¡¯s hand in marriage,¡± Mrs. Shi said. ¡°Qingyue mentioned that it is a suitable time to discuss marriage already, so we came over.¡± The smile on Mrs. Jin¡¯s face turned stiff, yet she could not act up over the dissatisfaction she had inside. ¡°Auntie Zhang, go and get Sir and Qingyue.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Mrs. Jin maintained her air as the woman of the household. Even though in her heart, she was very reluctant to meet the Shi family, she still kept a polite smile on her face. ¡°Mr. and Mrs. Shi, please take a seat.¡± The three from the Shi family sat down together, waiting for Mr. Jin and Qingyue to join them. Mrs. Shi then started, ¡°These two kids really like each other a lot. Although our Shaochuan has gotten divorced once, his previous marriage with Xiaoning was set up by his grandfather. But Shaochuan and Qingyue are different, they fell in love themselves. When they get married in the future, they¡¯ll lead a good life. Shaochuan is a good child, Qingyue will not suffer if she follows him.¡± ¡°Alright, you don¡¯t have to burnish your son¡¯s image. If our Qingyue marries Shaochuan, she would be marrying someone beneath her. This by itself is a huge disadvantage already. Let me say some ugly words upfront: my daughter has been spoiled since she was young. She¡¯s more impatient and has a temper, she doesn¡¯t listen to my husband and me either. If she marries into your family, please bear with anything which upsets you.¡± Mrs. Jin was extremely forthright in her words. ¡°Your previous daughter-inw is now my daughter-inw. All that she had suffered there is all in the past. If my daughter is treated badly at your household, the Jin family will not let the matter rest.¡± ¡°Mother, what suffering would I possibly face?¡± Jin Qingyue interjected. Mrs. Jin red at her. ¡°You shut up. This marriage is what you insisted on. Remember this, since you chose this path, don¡¯t ever shed a tear about it in the future!¡± ¡°I know. Thanks, Mother.¡± Jin Qingyue was in such a pleasant mood due to this sessful talk about her marriage that even her words were coated with honey. ¡°Inw, we only have this son and daughter-inw. We¡¯ll naturally treat her very well, please rest assured. She¡¯s a wife that was picked out by Shaochuan, so we definitely trust his judgement. When Qingyuees to our house, she¡¯ll be treated like our own daughter.¡± Mrs. Shi continued, ¡°She¡¯ll definitely not suffer at all. When Xiaoning was in our family, she didn¡¯t suffer at all too. It¡¯s just that her character was not a match with Shaochuan¡¯s, so they could not maintain the marriage. Also, during her two years of marriage with Shaochuan, he never touched her at all. This is enough to speak for our Shaochuan¡¯s character.¡± Hearing such nonsense, Mrs. Jin could not help butment, ¡°Right, your son is of top-notch character. He ran down a pregnant woman and strangled her to death. You call that a good character?¡± The looks on the Shi family¡¯s faces turned ugly instantly. Shi Shaochuan all the more wanted to get out of that ce immediately. ¡°Mother... stop it,¡± Jin Qingyue responded. ¡°It¡¯s all in the past right.¡± Mrs. Shi gave an awkward but polite smile. ¡°Yes, yes, yes. It¡¯s all in the past already, let¡¯s not dig it up. This money is for the bridal payment, there are bridal gifts outside too.¡± It was a cheque for 8880000 yuan. Mrs. Jin looked at Jin Qingyue andmented, ¡°The bridal payment that your mother-inw gave you, you can keep it yourself. We don¡¯t want a cent of it.¡± Jin Qingyue took the cheque from her. ¡°Then let¡¯s discuss a date and arrange the wedding, how about that?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t we want to arrange their engagement first?¡± Mrs. Jin had just spoken when Jin Qingyue replied eagerly, ¡°Mother, there¡¯s no need for an engagement, we¡¯ll just get married right away.¡± Mrs. Jin did not expect that she was so eager to get married. This put her in a predicament for a moment. ¡°Then we¡¯ll go along with what you said. It¡¯s your marriage, you¡¯ll decide for yourself.¡± ¡°This is the day we¡¯ve picked. Please have a look, my inws. See which day you prefer and we¡¯ll stick to that.¡± Mr. Shi ced the piece of red paper on the table. It had the dates written ording to the Western and Chinese calendars. Mr. Jin took one look and asked Jin Qingyue, ¡°Which day do you prefer?¡± Chapter 105 - About to Get Married

Chapter 105: About to Get Married

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Father, how about the 18th of February next year, let¡¯s fix it on this date.¡± ¡°This is the nearest date, how about June the 6th,¡± Mrs. Jin suggested. ¡°It¡¯s too hot in June, let¡¯s just make it February 18th.¡± Jin Qingyue was bent on making it this date. Mr. and Mrs. Jin exchanged looks and had no choice but to respect her decision. The marriage was fixed just like that, and they were to wait until February 18th for the wedding to be held. After the Shi family left, Mrs. Jin kept silent while Mr. Jin sat there smoking quietly. The radiant joy on Jin Qingyue¡¯s face also vanished. Looking at how her parents were acting, she sat opposite them and said, ¡°Mother, Father, I chose this. I won¡¯t regret it, even if we are unable to stay together until we¡¯re old. I won¡¯t me anyone either.¡± ¡°Now I finally understand the significance of reading one¡¯s fortune.¡± Mrs. Jin continued slowly, ¡°Even if one knows what¡¯ll happen in the future, one will think that they can ovee the will of God, and this allows whatever that is predestined to happen to be verified even morepletely.¡± Jin Qingyue did not speak for a moment, then she responded, ¡°Mother, please stop saying these words. Your daughter is about to get married soon, you should take this time to prepare my dowry for me and let me get married off well and grandly.¡± ¡°What dowry, you can have this bridal payment and gifts. Bring them all back, they¡¯ll be your dowry. I¡¯ll just prepare a few nkets and clothes for you as well.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Jin Qingyue looked at the cheque in her hand, her heart bursting with joy. Compared to this side, the atmosphere in the car when the Shi family was going home was equally unpleasant. ¡°Look at that haughty attitude Qingyue¡¯s mother had just now, like her daughter would be extremely aggrieved when she marries our Shaochuan. It¡¯s her only daughter, but I only have this one son too! Just count the amount of money we¡¯re spending for this marriage. Everything must be the best. When An Xiaoning married into our family, how little did it cost. Well, look now, the bridal gifts and payment are already ten times the amount we previously spent!¡± Mrs. Shi was obviously not very fond of Jin Qingyue. Her tone was poles apart from when she was at the Jin family. Mr. Shi frowned. ¡°Alright, the date has already been set. There¡¯s no need to say all these. Moreover, when Qingyue marries into our family, it¡¯ll naturally benefit our family a lot. The Jin family themselves are such an established household, we can¡¯tpare to them, of course. Our inw must have said that because of dissatisfaction over all the things Shaochuan has done. Not to forget, given Xiaoning¡¯s rtionship to our family, it¡¯s already lucky that they agreed to the marriage. We shouldn¡¯tin.¡± ¡°Since there¡¯s no one else here, Shaochuan, Mother will just say this straight-up: the temper that this daughter from the Jin family has is not ordinary. Her temperament is different from that of An Xiaoning¡¯s. If you marry her, you can¡¯t y around outside anymore, got that?¡± ¡°Yes, I know,¡± Shi Shaochuan replied. ¡°Mother, this is my second marriage, and her family is more prestigious than ours. She¡¯ll be marrying someone beneath her, how could I still y around outside after I marry her?¡± ¡°Umm, that¡¯s good.¡± ¡ª When the news of Jin Qingyue¡¯s marriage was passed on to Jin Qingyan, he only asked when the date was and nothing else, then he ended the call. ¡°What about February 18th?¡± Long Tianze asked as he raised his ss while leaning against the bar counter. ¡°The date of Qingyue¡¯s marriage.¡± Long Tianze¡¯s hand froze, and he stared at him in shock. He could only utter one word, ¡°What...¡± ¡°My mother called me to inform that the Shi family went to propose a marriage. The marriage has been fixed on February 18th next year.¡± Seeing that his face did not look good, Jin Qingyan patted his shoulder. ¡°Tianze.¡± He scanned his surroundings and drank the whole ss of wine in his hand. Then he touched on the matter lightly, ¡°Well, that¡¯s great. It¡¯s a happy event. Congratte her for me.¡± Ling Ciye, who had yet to speak this whole time, finally said, ¡°Brother Xiao Long, things are already in this state, you should go and confess. If it fails, it¡¯s just a part of your youth. If it¡¯s a sess, it¡¯ll be love. It¡¯s already at this critical juncture, you should fight that rogue head-on.¡± At this point, however, Long Tianze appeared unusually defeated. ¡°You¡¯ve also said that it¡¯s already at this critical juncture, is there any point? It¡¯s really unnecessary.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t even try, how do you know it wouldn¡¯t turn out well?¡± Long Tianze darted a nce at him. ¡°How many years have we known each other? It¡¯s been so many years, you should be pretty clear how she¡¯s like.¡± ¡°So what if I¡¯m clear or not? Even if it leads to nowhere, you should put an end to it. You may know what the oue would be, but you should still not let yourself have any regrets.¡± Long Tianze thought of the time she made him fetch her: how her face had changed instantly after getting coaxed by Shi Shaochuan as she sat at the back of the car. He cracked augh as he mocked himself, ¡°It¡¯s not that I won¡¯t go, but if there was a possibility, we would have been together already. It¡¯s not like we¡¯ve only known each for just a year or two.¡± ¡°Look, who¡¯s that?¡± Ling Ciye stood up and ced the wine ss on the table, then walked towards his target. Long Tianze and Jin Qingyan stood there looking at Ling Ciye talking to Jin Qingyue and Shi Shaochuan. Thetter looked towards their direction too, and the three headed over. Long Tianze¡¯s hand was shaking slighting for some reason, and his heart felt like it was being crushed by a stone. He knew there was no way he could salvage it. But as he looked at her smiling radiantly beside another man, how he wished he could use a brick to knock some sense into her. ¡°Congrattions,¡± Long Tianze said. ¡°Thank you, I hope it¡¯sing from your heart.¡± Jin Qingyue got two sses of wine from the bartender. She passed one to Shi Shaochuan and took one for herself. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Long Tianze sat on the chair at the side and had one knee stretched out. ¡°How could these words possibly havee from my heart.¡± ¡°Oh...¡± Jin Qingyue rolled her eyes. ¡°I knew it was like this.¡± ¡°Good cabbage has been stolen by the pig.¡± He poured out the wine in his wine ss on the floor and abruptly let go of the ss in his hand. The wine ss suddenly shattered into pieces onto the floor. He said nothing more and got up, turning to leave. ¡°Long Tianze, you bastard!¡± His footsteps did not stop and he went through the crowd, leaving the nightclub. ¡°Brother, did you hear what Long Tianze said? What ¡®good cabbage has been stolen by the pig¡¯? What a thing to say.¡± ¡°You shut up,¡± Jin Qingyan spouted out these three words coldly and left as well. Ling Ciye broke into a smile momentarily. With both hands folded in his pocket, he looked at Jin Qingyue with his smiling face and whispered a few words in her ear. Jin Qingyue¡¯s originally fuming face changed. ¡°Brother Ciye...¡± Ling Ciye waved at her and replied, ¡°Go back earlier, bye.¡± Seeing that there was no one around now, Shi Shaochuan, who had been standing beside her all this while, then asked, ¡°What did he whisper to you?¡± Jin Qingyue shook her head and replied, ¡°Nothing much, let¡¯s go back.¡± ¡°Yueyue, what on earth did he say? I want to know.¡± Jin Qingyue stared at the ground and started bursting intoughter suddenly. ¡°Shaochuan. I knew it since long ago actually. Hahahaha!¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Brother Ciye told me that Long Tianze has liked me for many years. Actually, I already knew that since long ago.¡± Shi Shaochuan was taken aback. Thinking back to what Long Tianze had said just now, he was no longer angry anymore. After all, he would never get this woman before him, because she was his! His heart was bursting with satisfaction which caused him to get carried away. He was easily able to gain something which others could not get. Was there anything more gratifying than this? Chapter 106 - Not Going Home Tonight

Chapter 106: Not Going Home Tonight

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Since when did you find out?¡± ¡°I could sense it long ago, but I just yed dumb and pretended not to know about it. Long Tianze used toe to my house more frequently than my Brother even did. He would make his way down quickly every time I was home; meanwhile, on the several asions that I wasn¡¯t, he would rarely drop by. He would even ask my Mother for my whereabouts, yet he always denied it when asked if he was there to look for me,¡± said Jin Qingyue, holding onto his arm as they walked out together. ¡°He¡¯s such a great catch ¡ª dashing good looks, heir to a wealthy family, runs his ownpany, and has a broadwork of connections. In fact, he¡¯s better than me in every aspect, and he must treat you really well since you two grew up together. Haven¡¯t you ever had feelings for him?¡± asked Shi Shaochuan solemnly. Jin Qingyue remained silent throughout the journey from the exit of the nightclub to the carpark. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you saying anything?¡± ¡°I was thinking about how I should answer you. Well, he does treat me well, and he often took care of me when we were younger. But, so what if he¡¯s handsome and of a wealthier background than you are? I don¡¯t love him, and I¡¯m not attracted to him anyway,¡± said Jin Qingyue. ¡°Yueyue, what do you like about me?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, I just like you a lot and I feel really happy when I see you. That¡¯s why I want to marry you. Otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t be good enough to deserve me,¡± Jin Qingyue said spontaneously. ¡°I know what you like about me,¡± he said confidently. ¡°You do?¡± ¡°Mhmm, of course. As a man, I ought to have a certain level of confidence in this aspect.¡± ¡°What is it then?¡± asked Jin Qingyue, curious to know if he was right. ¡°My superb skills in bed, of course,¡± he said, chuckling. ¡°Argh, you¡¯re so naughty!¡± eximed Jin Qingyue, punching him yfully. ¡°Am I wrong?¡± said Shi Shaochuan as he pulled her into his arms and gave her a kiss. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll admit, that¡¯s one of the reasons...¡± ¡°...¡± The pair got into the car and drove off swiftly. A deafening silence filled the air as the three men remained quiet while seated in Ling Ciye¡¯s car, which was parked beside them. ¡°Rewriting her fate doesn¡¯t work, indeed. Well... I¡¯ll be making a move,¡± Jin Qingyan broke the silence and alighted from the car. Ling Ciye began to regret what he had said to Jin Qingyue. Having kept it in all day, he finally managed to blurt out a few words, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Bro. I shouldn¡¯t have said that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, doesn¡¯t matter anyway,¡± said Long Tianze, tilting his head backwards. ¡°This littless really has a poor taste in men. It¡¯s her loss that she doesn¡¯t reciprocate your feelings for her. Fret not, Tianze, there are plenty of fishes in the sea.¡± ¡°What do you think of this one?¡± said Long Tianze as he showed Ling Ciye a photo of Mei Yangyang from the photo album on his mobile phone. ¡°This one... I¡¯ve seen her before. If I remember correctly, her name is Mei Yangyang? She looks just like a Lolita. Honestly, you should be finding a decent girl when ites to choosing a girlfriend. But if you¡¯ve already fallen for her, then it¡¯s time you stop, lest you continue doing her harm,¡± Ling Ciye answered. ¡°Have I ever caused harm to any girl?¡± Long Tianze retorted, putting his phone away. ¡°You haven¡¯t, actually...¡± Ling Ciye gave his nose a light rub and continued, ¡°Don¡¯t people always say you ought to forget your old love by finding a new one? Only then will you be able to get over that someone by channeling all your attention towards your newfound love.¡± ¡°Great idea. I¡¯m going to go woo some girls now,¡± said Long Tianze as he hurriedly got down from the car. ¡°Rascal, do you have to be so quick about it?¡± Ling Ciye asked in shock. ¡°Duh, it¡¯s wintertime, I need a girl to hug to sleep.¡± mming the car door shut, Long Tianze put on the hood of his feathered coat and a face mask and began walking away. After a 40-minute walk, he finally arrived at Mei Yangyang¡¯s doorstep. He informed Mei Yangyang of his arrival, and within minutes, the door opened gently. ¡°It¡¯s sote, why are you here?¡± she asked, buttoning up her quilt jacket. ¡°I came out for a walk because I couldn¡¯t sleep.¡± ¡°You drank?¡± ¡°Just a little,¡± he said, looking down as he towered over her. He could not quite see the expression on her face clearly, but she seemed to have just crawled out of bed because her long locks were cascading down her back. ¡°I¡¯m not going home tonight,¡± he said. Taken aback by his words, she asked, ¡°Huh? What do you mean?¡± ¡°It means I¡¯m not going home tonight. Be with me,¡± he reiterated. Upon hearing his words, Mei Yangyang began to blush as she clenched her fists nervously. Unsure of what he had meant, she asked, ¡°Long Tianze, you...¡± ¡°Mei Yangyang, will you be mine? I¡¯m more than willing to be your boyfriend,¡± said Long Tianze, reaching out to grasp her tiny, warm hand. What! His sudden confession had greatly shocked Mei Yangyang out of her senses, robbing her of speech. She had understood what he meant. Just at this juncture, the door opened behind her and out came Mei Shuangshuang, who stood at the doorstep and yelled, ¡°Sis, who¡¯s that?¡± Only managing to see a tall,nky figure, Mei Shuangshuang could not make out who he was. ¡°A friend of mine. You may head back in to sleep,¡± said Mei Yangyang. ¡°Sis, introduce him to me.¡± Ignoring Mei Shuangshuangpletely, Mei Yangyang took Long Tianze¡¯s hand and pulled him away. ¡°Pardon me for my bluntness, but you two don¡¯t look like sisters at all,¡± said Long Tianze. ¡°She really is my biological sister, though. My Mother is bedridden while my Father is extremely lenient with disciplining her, which exins her unruliness. I¡¯ve stopped trying to take her in hand, she can do whatever she wants for all I care. I won¡¯t look for her even if she decides not toe home,¡± said Mei Yangyang. As soon as she finished her sentence, she realized that she was still holding on to his hand. She quickly retracted her hand in astonishment, only to be stopped by him. He tightened his grip on her hand, making Mei Yangyang¡¯s heart skip a beat. ¡°Are you nning to toy with my feelings?¡± she asked, cocking her head sideways to look at him. ¡°What do you mean? So far, I¡¯ve never had a girlfriend before.¡± ¡°I¡¯m young, don¡¯t fool me please,¡± she said apprehensively. ¡°I¡¯m being serious and totally honest.¡± Mei Yangyang whipped out her phone and showed him a news article, attached with a photo of him holding a female model in his arms. ¡°You¡¯re always photographed with a different woman, on the tabloids. How dare you say you¡¯ve never had a girlfriend?¡± ¡°Those are just female plus-ones, not my girlfriends,¡± he said smilingly, amused at the fact that she had actually searched for news about him online. ¡°Ie from a poor family where I¡¯m the sole breadwinner. I¡¯m going to be your burden,¡± said Mei Yangyang. ¡°You won¡¯t. Your family background has nothing to do with me finding a girlfriend. Besides, it doesn¡¯t matter to me, I don¡¯t find it a burden at all.¡± Stopping in her tracks, Mei Yangyang turned on the shlight of her mobile phone and shone it at him. ¡°Are you really serious about it? We¡¯ve only known each other for a short period of time.¡± ¡°Look at Xiaoning and Qingyan, they got married within days of meeting each other. We¡¯re nothingpared to them.¡± ¡°But, I still don¡¯t know you very well yet. Besides, I¡¯ve never been in a rtionship before, so I¡¯ll have to consider seriously before getting into one. I think you¡¯re being too casual by showing up here out of the blue to confess to me. It¡¯s too big of a risk, which I can¡¯t afford to take. However, I¡¯m willing to try dating you, just to see if we¡¯re reallypatible. Well, because, I don¡¯t want to miss the opportunity of being with you, without even trying.¡± A joyous smile formed on Long Tianze¡¯s face, for he had finally managed to convince this petite yet strong-headed littless before him to give dating him a shot. Chapter 107 - Heart Began to Race

Chapter 107: Heart Began to Race

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Mei Yangyang.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way you can escape. I¡¯m making you mine, for sure,¡± he said confidently, making her face blush and her heart skip a beat. ¡°You may try, I¡¯m giving you the opportunity to do so.¡± After taking a look at the time, she said, ¡°It¡¯s gettingte, you better go home soon. I¡¯m heading back in.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll walk you to your door,¡± said Long Tianze, still holding onto her hand. ¡°You don¡¯t have to... it¡¯s only a few steps...¡± ¡°But I want to.¡± Having arrived at her doorstep, Long Tianze watched Mei Yangyang closed the door shut, overwhelmed with happiness. A minute had passed, yet he still had not left. Mei Yangyang opened the door again and said, ¡°Get home safe, goodnight.¡± ¡°Goodnight.¡± She closed the door once again after bidding each other goodbye. Long Tianze turned around and embarked on his walk home, picking up speed in his tracks with each passing minute. All of a sudden, he jumped in joy and let out a cry of euphoria, just like a teeneger head-over-heels in love. Perhaps it was because they were actually going to begin a serious rtionship or, perhaps, it was because he was finally going to let go of his feelings for Jin Qingyue, after all these years. He was filled with aplicated mix of emotions, feeling excited and happy, yet a little bitter and perplexed, all at the same time. Having stood behind the door the entire time, Mei Yangyang had heard his loud shriek clearly. She felt her heart palpitate unusually quickly, almost ricocheting out of her chest, as sheid in bed. ¡°Sis, what did that man look you up for in the middle night?¡± ¡°It¡¯s none of your business,¡± said Mei Yangyang as she turned to her side. ¡°You¡¯re really something, aren¡¯t you, Sis? You¡¯ve gotten yourself a boyfriend sneakily. Does Father know about this?¡± ¡°He¡¯s not my boyfriend, yet. Take a look at yourself before criticizing me. The pot calling the kettle ck. I don¡¯t feel like talking to you anymore, I¡¯m going to sleep.¡± However, she was wide awake, preupied with what Long Tianze had said earlier. His words reyed in her head over and over again, like a broken record. ¡ª¡ª Maomao was born male; however, it had gradually grown to appear more and more feminine. In addition, it had even began putting on a great ton of weight, which was something An Xiaoning was guilty about. ¡°What should I do about this, Maomao? You¡¯ve gotten so fat and pudgy, it¡¯ll be hard to find you a mate in the future,¡± she said worriedly, holding Maomao¡¯s paw, which had gotten significantly stubbier. Basking in the sun on the backyard, Maomao squinted as the rays of sunlight shone onto its face,pletely ignoring its owner. ¡°Maomao, I¡¯m talking to you, stop stuffing yourself with food, you hear?¡± Seemingly upset, Maomao got on all fours and walked away, wagging its tail. It walked away, just like that... ¡°Hey furball, are you angry? I was just kidding!¡± An Xiaoning exined profusely, chasing after Maomao. Upon hearing her words, Maomao stopped in its tracks and began licking her legs affectionately. What a spiritual dog, indeed. An Xiaoning squatted down and began petting its snowy, white fur. Having raised Maomao since it was young, she had treated it just like her own child. Having believed the saying ¡°Get a dog if you¡¯re deprived of love, a cat if you enjoy being tortured,¡± An Xiaoning had always detested cats. Thus, she had only preferred dogs. An Xiaoning whipped out her phone to take some photos of Maomao and saved them in her photo album, grinning from ear to ear. ¡°Young Madam, have a look at this,¡± said Fan Shixin, stepping forward to hand her a set of newspapers. ¡°What is it?¡± she asked as she grabbed the newspaper from his hands. Upon scrutinizing it, she straightened her back and stared wide-eyed in disbelief. ¡°How... how did that happen...¡± An Xiaoning gasped in shock as she did a double take at the headline on the newspaper. It read: ¡± Mr. Shi dies, one day after son confirms date of marriage. ¡± Shi Shaochuan¡¯s father had passed away. It was truly unbelievable. Mr. Shi¡¯s death hade across as a shocking piece of news to An Xiaoning, for she had always known him to be in the pink of health, attending regr health check-ups. She continued to peruse the content, only to discover that Mr. Shi had suddenly died from a brain hemorrhage. An Xiaoning sensed something was amiss, though she was not too sure either since such conditions were rather unpredictable. ¡°He actually passed away the day after his son had just settled on a day to get married. God knows what might happen next. I¡¯ll be heading to the store now,¡± An Xiaoning said, handing the newspapers back to Fan Shixin. ¡°Alright, Young Madam.¡± An Xiaoning left and drove towards the store in her car. Upon arriving at the store, she was greeted with an alluring aroma of fragrant flowers. Noticing a huge bouquet of roses on the table, An Xiaoning asked in surprise, ¡°Who sent these?¡± ¡°Yangyang is the recipient,¡± said Zhang Li, pointing towards Mei Yangyang. ¡°Yangyang, who sent you these roses?¡± An Xiaoning asked with a smirk. Mei Yangyang stepped forward and whispered something into her ear, to which An Xiaoning answered gleefully, ¡°Great, great, that¡¯s fantastic.¡± ¡°Sis Yangyang, you¡¯re so biased. You¡¯ve remained so tight-lipped despite our constant probing. Yet you were so ready to tell Sis Xiaoning as soon as she asked,¡± Xu Jingwen said, pursing her lips. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s enough, we have customers, go attend to them,¡± An Xiaoning instructed. Xu Jingwen and Zhang Li hurriedly proceeded to serve the customers, while An Xiaoning pulled Mei Yangyang into a corner and continued to ask, ¡°Are you guys officially an item now?¡± ¡°No, he was acting out of the ordinary and showed up at my doorst night, asking me to be his girlfriend. I didn¡¯t ept him straightaway, but neither did I turn him down. I wanted to know him better before deciding. I did give him the green light to woo me, though,¡± Mei Yangyang answered, shaking her head. Nodding in approval, An Xiaoning said, ¡°That¡¯s right, smart move. You two barely know each other, after all. If only I did that before deciding to marry Shi Shaochuan, at least I wouldn¡¯t have had to waste two years of my youth. But, I also married Jin Qingyan even before getting to know him better. I¡¯ll definitely think it through carefully before agreeing to get married, should there be a third time.¡± ¡°Touch wood!¡± Mei Yangyang quickly interjected. ¡°What do you mean by a third time? Sis, there won¡¯t be a third time, you¡¯re going to have an evesting marriage with Brother-inw,¡± she continued. ¡°I¡¯m just saying.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not good to spout such inauspicious things. Actually, I did feel an urge to say yes to being his girlfriend,st night. But after considering it carefully, I realized I shouldn¡¯t be so quick to agree. For someone who takes rtionships seriously, I would definitely want to marry the person I¡¯m dating. Thus, I ought to spend more time with him to know him better, before deciding if we¡¯re reallypatible,¡± Mei Yangyang said earnestly. ¡°Long Tianze has a pretty decent social life. Don¡¯t be fooled by the many models you often see hanging around him, it¡¯s all just a facade for him to have his ego stroked. I heard from your Brother-inw that he¡¯s just an innocent child at heart,¡± said An Xiaoning. Mei Yangyang felt a huge sense of relief upon hearing her words. ¡°Yeah, to be honest... I feel rather good about him,¡± she admitted. She began to feel a little shy and embarrassed, hearing the words that came out of her mouth. ¡°You¡¯re doing it right, Yangyang. As women, we ought to make menpletely devoted to us and love us wholeheartedly, with no room for anyone else at all. Not even a little bit. Just try and get to know Long Tianze better, I really think he¡¯s a great catch,¡± An Xiaoning encouraged. ¡°Alright.¡± ¡ª¡ª Shi Shaochuan¡¯s spirits were dampened as he held a funeral for his father. He was dressed in ck from head to toe while donning a white mourning veil on his head, still unable to ept his father¡¯s death. He could not believe that his father, who was all energized and lively just the night before, was no longer around. Having lost her husband, and now her son, the old Mrs. Shi was the most grief-stricken out of them all. Shi Shaochuan was the only male left in the family. After helping herte husband put on his shroud, Mrs. Shi proceeded toy in bed all day, weeping continuously in agony. Jin Qingyue had also turned up at the funeral. However, Shi Shaochuan was too busy handling the necessary matters to even bother attending to her. News of Mr. Shi¡¯s death had sent the media into a state of puzzlement and bewilderment. Everyone within the upper ss society were aware of the misdeed Shi Shaochuan had done, which was killing someone in a car ident. Tongues started to wag as they began to specte if it was Shi Shaochuan¡¯s retribution to be struck with such unfortunate news just as he got engaged. Chapter 108 - Harbors Feelings Towards You

Chapter 108: Harbors Feelings Towards You

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Since the matter had implicated the Jin family, there was barely any conjecture on the news. Too grief-stricken to have any proper meals, Mrs. Shi lost a significant amount of weight in just three days. Only after Mr. Shi had been lowered into the burial grounds did Shi Shaochuan hear about the process of his death from his Mother. ¡°Your Father was taking a bath when it happened. I got out of the bed to get him a towel like he had requested. Just as I was about to enter the bathroom, I heard a loud shrieking from inside. By the time I entered, your father was already passed out on the ground,¡± Mrs. Shi exined. After a few moments of silence, Shi Shaochuan answered, ¡°Mother, Father may be gone, but you still have me. You have to stay strong for my sake.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine, it¡¯s just a great blow to me. Go look after your Grandma, she¡¯s advanced in years and may not be able to take such news well. Do try your best tofort and console her,¡± said Mrs. Shi. ¡°Okay.¡± ¡ª¡ª Mrs. Ye apanied Ye Xiaotian in his hospital ward and fed him some porridge. He was still pale and feeble, although his condition had improved. Bai Ranran had been visiting him almost every single day, and so had Sun Weiwei. Bai Ranran detested the sight of her, however. ¡°Miss Sun, you must be busy with all the acting andmercials you have to film. You don¡¯t have toe every day, actually. Auntie and I are here to look after Xiaotian. Oh, and not to forget, there¡¯s a nurse too,¡± Bai Ranran said smilingly, in a bid to get Sun Weiwei to stop showing up. Being the marvellous actress she was, Sun Weiwei put on her superb acting skills and said in response, ¡°Sis Ranran, Brother Xiaotian has always been treating me well. Now that he¡¯s in such a state, it¡¯s only right that I put my work aside and visit him, no matter how busy I may be. You should be the one resting though, Sis Ranran, you¡¯re not exactly in the best state of health. Don¡¯t be too hard on yourself, lest you make Brother Xiaotian worry about you, should you fall ill when you stretch yourself too thin.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, Ranran, you should really take good care of yourself and pay attention to your health,¡± Mrs. Ye agreed. ¡°Auntie, I don¡¯t do anything strenuous when Ie by to visit. Rest assured, it won¡¯t be affecting my health,¡± Bai Ranran defended opposingly. ¡°Take good care of yourself, Ranran, I¡¯m counting on you to bear me an adorable grandchild,¡± Mrs. Ye said with a smile. Bai Ranran blushed shyly and nced towards Ye Xiaotian, who was lying on the bed. He seemed to be his usual self. Why does Mrs. Ye fancy this sickly woman too? How could she possibly bear any children at all, when she¡¯s constantly being admitted to the hospital every other day?Sun Weiwei wondered to herself in puzzlement. Even if she could sessfully give birth to a child, it would definitely not be a healthy baby. ¡°Xiaotian, do you still want any porridge?¡± Mrs. Ye asked, cing the bowl onto the table. ¡°No, Mother. You guys don¡¯t have toe here to look after me every single day. You can go ahead with whatever you have to do,¡± Ye Xiaotian answered. ¡°You silly child. Alright, since you¡¯re looking rather fine now, I shall drop by in the afternoon instead.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s leave together and let Ranran apany Xiaotian,¡± Mrs. Ye stood up as she said this to Sun Weiwei. ¡°Alright,¡± Sun Weiwei agreed reluctantly. Deep down, she did not want to leave at all and instead wanted to spend some time with Ye Xiaotian alone. However, it would be inappropriate for her to turn down Mrs. Ye, and thus, she had no choice but to leave as well. Ye Xiaotian and Bai Ranran were left alone with each other in the ward. Tugging at Ye Xiaotian¡¯s hand, she said, ¡°Xiaotian, let¡¯s go have our wedding photos taken once you¡¯ve fully recovered. We¡¯ll settle on the wedding gown and suit then as well. I want to marry you as soon as possible.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so eager to be Mrs. Ye, huh?¡± he said with a smirk. ¡°Of course. I can¡¯t wait to marry you. Although we¡¯re set to get married in August next year, I¡¯m thinking of changing it to an earlier date. I really don¡¯t want to wait any longer,¡± Bai Ranran answered. ¡°Sure, you call the shots.¡± ¡°How about March instead? It¡¯ll be springtime, the flowers would¡¯ve bloomed and the weather would be perfect.¡± ¡°Sure, that sounds great. Do discuss the details with my Mother, and ponder over where you¡¯d like to get the wedding gowns and attire. I¡¯ll leave all matters regarding the wedding to you, my bride-to-be. What do you think of that?¡± ¡°My thoughts, exactly,¡± she said with a radiant smile, beaming with happiness. ¡°But, remember not to wear yourself out. I¡¯ll punish you if you stretch yourself too thin,¡± warned Ye Xiaotian. ¡°I know my limits, I¡¯m not that weak, alright? By the way, please don¡¯t get Sun Weiwei to apany me again. Don¡¯t you know that thest thing women want is thepany of another female?¡± Bai Ranran said adoringly. ¡°Why? It¡¯s not like you¡¯re rivals in love.¡± ¡°Who said we¡¯re not? I think Sun Weiwei harbors some feelings for you,¡± said Bai Ranran as she straightened her back. ¡°I don¡¯t have any designs on her, though. She¡¯s always been like a younger sister to me. Don¡¯t worry too much about it.¡± ¡°Xiaotian, that¡¯s what you say about every woman you encounter. But I just have a nagging feeling that you¡¯re keeping something from me. I actually feel really insecure,¡± Bai Ranran said softly, hanging her head low and fiddling with his fingers. Ye Xiaotian reached a hand out to caress her face and reassured her, ¡°Ranran, stop letting your imagination run wild. Aren¡¯t we already getting married earlier, like you wanted?¡± Bai Ranran nodded in agreement. ¡°I¡¯ll go look for Auntieter, then, to discuss the wedding matters.¡± ¡°Mm, alright. Pass my phone to me,¡± he instructed. ¡°I don¡¯t think you should be fiddling with your phone in this state,¡± said Bai Ranran as she took his mobile phone out of the drawer and handed it to him. ¡°I¡¯m just going to scroll through casually. You may go look for my Mother now.¡± She rose from her seat and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll call for the nurse toe in to tend to you.¡± ¡°Nah, that¡¯s not necessary. There¡¯s a call button here. I¡¯ll press it when I need help, and they¡¯ll make their way in here.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll make a move first then, Xiaotian.¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± Bai Ranran walked out of the door while Ye Xiaotian brought his phone up in front his face and began scrolling away at the ¡°User Log¡± page. There was a function embedded in his mobile phone that would capture the fingerprints of every user who had touched the screen orunched any apps on his phone. It allowed him to know which information the people who had tampered with his phone were interested in finding out, although all the apps on his phone were secured with a security passcode. The function disyed fingerprints belonging to two individuals, who had tapped on his ¡°Call Log¡± and ¡°Text Message History,¡± respectively. Clearly, they had failed to unlock the app without knowing the passcode. He had saved the fingerprints of the people close to him in his mobile phone. Thus, the names of the users to whom those fingerprints belonged to would be disyed. The two sets of fingerprints had belonged to Bai Ranran and Sun Weiwei. He then went on to search for thetest news online. However, after browsing through the news for a while, he did not find anything that caught his attention. He searched Byron¡¯s name, but again, he did not manage to find anything new. Just as he was clicking on the ¡°Home¡± button, his mobile phone slipped out of his hand and fell, right smack on the middle of his face with a thud. The sudden impact caused Ye Xiaotian to grimace in immense pain. He gave his face a few rubs before cing his mobile phone onto the table. Ye Xiaotian was all by himself in the room, which was dead silent, all thanks to the extraordinary soundproofing mechanism of the special ward. It indeed cannot bepared to that of regr wards. Ye Xiaotian shut his eyes gently for a little while before opening them again. He recalled the assassin¡¯s words over and over again in his head: ¡°If you¡¯re still alive, then bear this in mind. If you ever dare toy a hand on Her Highness again, your Mother and fianc¨¦ will be subjected to the same treatment, ordingly.¡± ¡ª¡ª It was exceptionally windy in the evening. Chi Rui¡¯er gave Jin Qingyan a call, iming that she had to see him urgently to divulge a huge secret. Jin Qingyan turned up at her house, like she had asked. He entered through the door, only to be greeted with the sight of Chi Rui¡¯er sitting at the table, on which there was a sumptuous spread for a candlelit dinner. It seemed she had been waiting for him to arrive before tucking in. ¡°I¡¯ve already had my dinner,¡± he said, taking a seat opposite her. ¡°You¡¯ve already eaten? Well, just watch me eat then, will you?¡± she said in response while pouring him a ss of red wine. ¡°What is it that you wanted to tell me? Stop beating around the bush and get straight to the point,¡± asked Jin Qingyan, cutting to the chase. Chapter 109 - Ive Fallen For You

Chapter 109: I¡¯ve Fallen For You

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Qingyan, since when have you be so distant and aloof, such that you won¡¯t even allow me the chance to have a meal with you? Do you still remember how you used to arrange a ton of surprises for me, just to convince me to have a meal with you? I still remember clearly, the words you said and the way you looked at me then.¡± Raising her ss, she said, ¡°Can¡¯t you at least have a drink with me?¡± Seeing that the bodyguard and cook were both around, Jin Qingyan did not wish to embarrass her. Thus, he clinked his goblet of red wine against hers lightly and took a few sips. The smile on Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s face quickly turned into a stern expression as she began to speak solemnly, ¡°Qingyan, the secret I wanted you to know is...¡± Before continuing her sentence, she shot a look at the bodyguard and the cook, signalling for them to take their leave. The bodyguard and cook then retreated quietly. Upon seeing that they had returned to their respective rooms, she continued, ¡°I¡¯ve fallen for you.¡± ¡°Since when?¡± he asked in astonishment. Apprehensive of her words, he said, ¡°We¡¯ve only spent a short amount of time together after you broke up with Gu Beicheng. In fact, it was even shorter than the time I had spent with Maomao. Since when did you fall in love with me?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know when I did. What do you expect me to do now?¡± she asked, shaking her head. ¡°You¡¯re really so sure that you love me?¡± he asked with an indescribable expression. ¡°I¡¯m very certain.¡± ¡°But, it¡¯s toote now,¡± said Jin Qingyan. He stood up wobbly, feeling dizzy as his head spun. For someone who could hold his liquor well, it was impossible that he had gotten tipsy from just half a ss of wine. Having guessed that she had spiked his drink, he questioned, ¡°You added something to my drink?¡± ¡°Qingyan, you¡¯ve really disappointed me,¡± she said as she stood up, in an attempt to help him steady himself. However, he shoved her away forcefully and snapped, ¡°I should be the one saying that!¡± He turned around and swiftly walked towards the door, only to ck out shortly after taking a few steps. Chi Rui¡¯er hurriedly inched forward to stop him from falling. At that juncture, she was more invigorated than ever. Jin Qingyan waspletely knocked out as Chi Rui¡¯er supported him in her arms and made her way inside her bedroom. She helped him onto the bed, after which she closed the door and returned to her seat. She then continued with her meal slowly, in a rxed manner. After finishing her food, she ordered for the cook to clear the dishes. Thinking that Jin Qingyan had already left, thetter did not ask much about anything. Chi Rui¡¯er returned to her bedroom and locked the door from within. Stood rooted to the ground, her hands trembling uncontrobly, as she was filled with pangs of anxiety and nervousness. She knew that Jin Qingyan would no longer trust her as soon as hees to. He may just stop providing for her and showing any concern about her wellbeing. Perhaps, he would never want to see her again. But it was her only resort, herst and only resort... She had wanted nothing more than to defeat An Xiaoning and cause them to end up in a divorce. She had wanted to take thetter¡¯s ce as his wife and was determined to do whatever it takes to make the child she was pregnant with Jin Qingyan¡¯s. Not only will she be able to have him to herself, she would also no longer have to risk bing infertile after an abortion. She could kill two birds with one stone and enjoy the best of both worlds. It did not matter even if it meant that he would no longer trust her in the future or fancy her. She could simply just try to move him again and make him rekindle his feelings for her gradually. ¡ª¡ª After her swimming and yoga sessions, An Xiaoning noticed that Jin Qingyan had still not yet returned home. She took a look at the time and realized that it was already 10 o¡¯clock in the evening. She tried to give him a call, only to hear it dismissed immediately. A million images began to flood her mind as she began to wonder what could have possibly happened to him. Was he busy? Or was he driving? Or was he almost home? Worried, she tried to give him another call, but it was again dismissed instantly. Seeing the circumstances, An Xiaoning stopped trying to call him. Instead, sheid in bed to read her book and waited for his return. Half an hourter, she began to sense that something was amiss and decided to call him again, but to no avail. Could he have met with a mishap? Getting more and more worried with each passing minute, she decided to give Fan Shixin a call and instructed him to try calling Jin Qingyan. Just like before, the call was dismissed immediately. ¡°There¡¯s a location-tracking GPS function in his phone, isn¡¯t there? Quick, show me where he is now,¡± asked An Xiaoning as she hurried downstairs. ¡°Yes, Young Madam, I¡¯ll get to it right away. Young Sir is...¡± Fan Shixin murmured awkwardly, afraid to speak up after checking his location. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°His current location is shown to be at... at... the ce Ms. Chi is currently residing in.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s face stiffened, and she was at a loss for words. ¡°Young Madam...¡± ¡°You may take your leave,¡± she said, turning around and returning to her bed. An Xiaoning sat cross-legged on the bed and stared at the life-sized teddy bear. ¡°So much for getting all worried about you. Turns out you were just enjoying yourself with the love of your life. Was I interrupting you with my calls? I may appear to be nonchnt on the surface, but I actually really care about you,¡± An Xiaoning cursed, throwing a few punches at the teddy bear in frustration. Feeling dejected, she hugged the life-sized teddy andid in bed. ¡°I actually thought I had finally gotten you to love me wholeheartedly. Turns out it was just wishful thinking on my part,¡± she said, sighing. Time crawled by slowly. Soon enough, it was 11 o¡¯clock. Then, it was half past 11, and again, the clock struck 12. An Xiaoning tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep. An idea struck her mind as she hurriedly put on some clothes, grabbed her bag and zoomed downstairs. ¡°Where is Chi Rui¡¯er staying at?¡± ¡°Let me take you there, Young Madam,¡± said Fan Shixin, who had not slept a wink either, for he had been trying to get through to Jin Qingyan. ¡°Hop on.¡± An Xiaoning started the engine and drove out of the mansion in no time. Following the directions given by Fan Shixin, they finally arrived at a building situated within a luxurious residential district. The two then walked towards Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s doorstep. After they rang the doorbell a couple of times, the cook answered the door. Upon the sight of them, she retreated slowly and greeted, ¡°You¡¯re here, Young Madam and Chief Fan. Please,e on in.¡± ¡°What is Young Sir doing?¡± ¡°Young Sir? Hasn¡¯t he already left, after dinner? Sir was here for dinner with Ms. Chi. I haven¡¯t seen him ever since I came out of my room,¡± said the cook while ushering them in. ¡°When did they have dinner?¡± ¡°A few hours ago.¡± ¡°Which room is she staying in?¡± The cook knew right away who An Xiaoning was referring to. ¡°This one,¡± she said, pointing at a room. An Xiaoning stepped forward and tried to open the door, only to realize that it was locked. ¡°Chi Rui¡¯er, open the door,¡± she ordered, banging the door a few times. The room remained silent. ¡°Bring me the spare key.¡± ¡°Got it,¡± said the bodyguard, who had been eavesdropping, and he hurriedly proceeded to fetch her the spare key. An Xiaoning opened the door with the spare key and turned on the light, only to be greeted with a sight which had sent her into a great shock. Fan Shixin stared wide-eyed in astonishment, while the rest of the staff behind him were dumbfounded. She was incredibly experienced in catching her cheating spouse red-handed, for it was not her first time anyway. Instead of storming off immediately, An Xiaoning stepped forward and moved closer towards the bed. Jin Qingyan reeked of alcohol, and he was flushed red like a tomato, with beads of sweat trickling from his forehead, seemingly in a post-coital mood as he looked as if they had just done the deed. Chi Rui¡¯er opened her eyes and slowly sat up straight, exposing her bare decolletage. ¡°You¡¯re here?¡± she said, staring at An Xiaoning while pulling up the nket to cover herself. Apart from a slight tinge of guilt in her tone, she did not sound flustered at all. ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m here,¡± said An Xiaoning as she gave Chi Rui¡¯er a tight p across her face with all her might. The impact was so forceful that Chi Rui¡¯er was rocked towards the side. Chapter 110 - Im Not Wearing Any Clothes

Chapter 110: I¡¯m Not Wearing Any Clothes

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Taking it out on me just because you failed to take your husband in hand? Your husband has already slept with me, and it¡¯s been more than just once. Anything wrong with that? I have always been the only one Qingyan loved before he met you, little wretch. If it weren¡¯t for you, I would¡¯ve already be his wife long ago!¡± Chi Rui¡¯er sneered, cing a hand on her face. Unable to tolerate what he was hearing any further, Fan Shixin interjected, ¡°That¡¯s enough, Ms. Chi.¡± ¡°How dare you! She may be your Young Madam now, but she will be stripped of that title in no time. Try continuing to defend her and you shall face the consequences once I be hiswful wife,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er glowered at him menacingly. ¡°We¡¯ll talk about that when it happens,¡± replied Fan Shixin,pletely dismissing her warning. He then asked An Xiaoning softly, ¡°Young Madam, do we bring Young Sir home?¡± ¡°Help him get dressed and send him to the hospital for a check-up, to test if there are any traces of drugs or substances in his blood. I suspect she had drugged him.¡± Noticing the look of panic which had formed on Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s face as soon as she finished her sentence, An Xiaoning knew something was up. ¡°You two, bring Chi Rui¡¯er back to my ce,¡± An Xiaoning instructed the bodyguards. ¡°I¡¯m not wearing any clothes, don¡¯t you dare touch me!¡± Chi Rui¡¯er yelled at the top of her lungs, upon seeing the bodyguards approaching her. The bodyguard grimaced in awkwardness, put in a difficult position. ¡°Wrap her beneath the nket and carry her away,¡± An Xiaoning ordered coldly. ¡°Yes, Young Madam.¡± Upon receiving the green light from An Xiaoning, the bodyguards did not bother wasting any more time talking to Chi Rui¡¯er nicely. They had long wanted to stop escorting such a difficult and detestable woman like Chi Rui¡¯er around. If it weren¡¯t because they were ordered to follow her everywhere she went, they would have left the ce long ago. ¡°I¡¯m not going, get your hands off me! Go away!¡± Chi Rui¡¯er continued to yell and protest while struggling to free herself from their clutches. Try as she might, the bodyguards managed to pick her up swiftly together with the nket, which she¡¯d been wrapped in, in one fluid motion. Startled by the way An Xiaoning had handled the situation, the cook stood rooted to the ground in astonishment, at a loss for words. ¡°Auntie, what was your original position?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Young Madam, I was responsible for cooking from the start, except I used to work at Wei Ni Estate.¡± ¡°I see. Pack your things and head back there with me.¡± ¡°Yes, Young Madam, I¡¯ll go get my luggage right away.¡± ¡°Alright, go ahead and pack.¡± The cook hurriedly left the room while Fan Shixin finished up with putting on some clothes for Jin Qingyan. ¡°Be sure to keep this incident under wraps, we can¡¯t afford to let word about it spread to anyone. Tidy the matters up, and make the necessary arrangements for the auntie responsible for cooking,¡± An Xiaoning instructed. ¡°Rest assured, Young Madam, I¡¯ll handle all of these ordingly. Was Young Sir really drugged?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not too sure, but it does seem like it. It¡¯s impossible for him to be unconscious and just lying there,pletely motionless, no matter how drunk he may have been. Oh, don¡¯t forget to test the percentage of alcohol in his bloodstream as well. We can then find out if he had reeked from alcohol because he had really drank or because someone had spilled liquor all over him.¡± With a nod, Fan Shixin answered, ¡°You¡¯re indeed very ingenious, Young Madam. I¡¯ll help Young Sir to the hospital now.¡± ¡°Sure, go ahead,¡± said An Xiaoning, a nk expression on her face as she pondered over some matters. An Xiaoning then drove home together with the cook after thetter had finished packing. Xiao Lu hurriedly approached to open the car door and said, ¡°Young Madam, Chief Fan had called to inform us that there will be a new cook arriving today.¡± ¡°Yes, she¡¯s here.¡± An Xiaoning then said to the cook, ¡°Auntie, follow him.¡± ¡°Okay, thank you, Young Madam.¡± Holding her car keys in hand, An Xiaoning began walking towards the living room but quickly changed her mind. She embarked on a car ride towards the hospital. Jin Qingyan was undergoing a check-up while still remaining unconscious. The director of the hospital had conducted the checkup, along with the doctor-in-charge, while An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin waited patiently for the results. The entire process went on for about another 30 minutes or so. The results were finally out. ¡°There was only a very small percentage of red wine present in his blood, but we¡¯ve also found traces of an incapacitating agent. It¡¯s a type of drug that has been banned in the country, capable of knocking someone unconscious with just a few drops. One may remain unconscious for a few hours, but in more serious cases, up to a few days. Overuse of this substance may also lead to kidney failure and, eventually, death,¡± exined the doctor. Fan Shixin began to curse and swear in his head upon hearing his words. ¡°May I ask what¡¯s the condition of Young Sir now?¡± ¡°He should being to within a few hours. There¡¯s not much to worry about,¡± said the director. ¡°Thank you, Director. Sorry to have disturbed you at thiste hour,¡± Fan Shixin said in thanks. ¡°No problem.¡± ¡°Well... Director, may I ask if men can still be erect while under influence of the drug?¡± An Xiaoning asked awkwardly. Feeling a little embarrassed, Fan Shixin turned away, his ears flushed red. ¡°Um...¡± The quick-witted Director cleared his throat, as he knew instantly the reason behind An Xiaoning¡¯s question. Needless to say, it must have been a woman who had drugged Jin Qingyan. ¡°Mrs. Jin, I can tell you this confidently, there is certainly no way for an erection to ur while being knocked out of his senses from the drug. This is different from alcohol or drug abuse, for one would still be conscious, though not fully, in those cases. Whereas in this case, he waspletely unconscious.¡± An Xiaoning felt a huge relief, as if a boulder had been lifted off her shoulders, upon hearing his words. With a nod, she said in response, ¡°Thank you so much, Director. I hope you will keep this incident of my husband to yourself.¡± ¡°That¡¯s for sure. Mr. Jin has always been donating to the hospital out of charity, annually. Rest assured, Mrs. Jin, I¡¯ll keep mum about it.¡± She nodded approvingly, a smile forming on her face. Upon arriving home, An Xiaoning took a look at the time on her watch, only to realize that it was already two o¡¯clock in the morning before she had even noticed. To her surprise, she was not weary at all, despite howte it was. She sat on the edge of the bed with a cup of hot tea on the table beside her. He had almost... let her downpletely. Almost... he was so close... Fortunately, she did not act on impulse. After all, there was no way she could let herself be eliminated, despite her marriage being tough to safeguard. She reached a hand out to caress his face and his smooth, supple, yet tender skin. How does such a manly man like him have such great skin? His pores could not even be seen at all, she thought to herself. She was green with envy, for she did not even have skin as good as his, despite being a woman. It had been a long day, indeed. She retracted her hand and stood by the window while holding onto her cup of tea. The backyard was brightly lit; the security team carried out their patrolling duties in shifts and assembled uniformly in rows. She hadpletely lost track of time while looking out of the window. The initially hot cup of tea had already turned cold. It had been a while since she hade to touch with her own thoughts, alone. She was strongly deprived of love. Yet, she had always told herself to never be insecure and cave in to temptations of frivolous rtionships, no matter how deprived she had felt. However, she finally realized how difficult it was to practice what she preached. Nun Jingxin was the only person she had spent her life with, ever since her adoptive parents had abandoned her on the mountains. Perhaps, if she had met more people and experienced more in life, she would have never made the grave mistake of marrying Shi Shaochuan. Perhaps then, she would have never married Jin Qingyan so casually. However, she did not regret her decision to marry him; rather, she regretted not realizing some things sooner. But then again, isn¡¯t that just part and parcel of growing as a person? One is bound to have regrets in life, but ultimately, what matters most is treasuring what you have and living in the moment. ¡°Xiaoning...¡± A hoarse voice began to speak. An Xiaoning turned around and made eye contact with him. Watching as he sat on the bed unscathed, An Xiaoning was suddenly overwhelmed with emotions. Tears began to well up in her eyes, strangely enough. ¡°You almost died in Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s arms. If I didn¡¯t manage to rush there in time, you probably would have made the headlines tomorrow morning, Jin Qinyan!¡± she eximed. Chapter 111 - Hubby Will Keep You Warm

Chapter 111: Hubby Will Keep You Warm

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°That¡¯ll be great, many celebrities are dying to be on the headlines. They even resort to bribery while I get to make it so effortlessly. What¡¯s not to rejoice about?¡± he said, making a joke of his near-death experience. Infuriated, An Xiaoning walked towards him and ced the cup of tea onto the table as she looked down at him. ¡°Your dearest lover is here at our ce, covered in nothing except a nket. Care to go have a look?¡± she said sarcastically, towering over him. ¡°Do you think she still deserves to be my lover, after all that she had done?¡± he answered, looking up at her. ¡°She didn¡¯t kill you though, all she did was spike your drink. At most, you would die of kidney failure, should you have overdosed on the drug. She merely stripped all your clothes off you andid naked in bed with you. She just warned that she would be recing me as your wife, that¡¯s all. No big deal. Jin Qingyan, I¡¯m so impressed by your marvellous taste in women, I take my hat off to you,¡± An Xiaoning sneered angrily. Despite being extremely disappointed in Chi Rui¡¯er, Jin Qingyan still managed to bring himself to smile as he said in response, ¡°Of course, how could I have possibly married you if I had poor taste in women? No one can beat me when ites to choosing women.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s anger vanished upon hearing his sweet talk. She removed her slippers, crawled onto the bed, and snuggled underneath the nket. ¡°This matter has greatly infuriated me,¡± she said with her eyes fixed on him. Trying to change the subject, Jin Qingyan held her hand and said, ¡°Your hand is so cold, let Hubby keep you warm.¡± ¡°Did you hear me? I said this matter had greatly infuriated me,¡± she repeated. ¡°Of course I heard you, I¡¯m not deaf. I knew you¡¯ve been suppressing your anger and you¡¯re only venting it all out right now. It¡¯s not good for women to be angry, it¡¯s going to be detrimental to yourdy parts. No matter what it is, we¡¯ll just settle it tomorrow morning. Let¡¯s just go to sleep for now.¡± ¡°The fact that I was upset just goes to show that I still care about our marriage. You haven¡¯t seen me when I¡¯m exasperated, though.¡± ¡°Yes, honey, got it,¡± he said smilingly, trying to cate her. An Xiaoning closed her eyes and snuggled up to him before falling asleep peacefully. On the other hand, Chi Rui¡¯erid in bed, grabbing on tightly for dear life to the nket she was covered in. Having nothing else to keep her warm besides the nket, she shivered uncontrobly in the cold, freezing temperature because the heater of the room was switched off. Not only was it exceptionally cold, it was also rather inconvenient to visit the washroom when she was stark naked. Unable to hold in her dder any longer, she cried for help, ¡°Someone! I need to use the washroom!¡± ¡°Ms. Chi, just go ahead and visit the washroom if you have to. There¡¯s one in the room,¡± said Xiaohuang, who had been keeping watch by the door. ¡°But there are surveince cameras in the room, and I¡¯m not wearing any clothes!¡± ¡°Well, you chose not to put on any yourself. It¡¯s not our fault, we didn¡¯t strip you naked.¡± Distraught, she eximed, ¡°Cut the crap, bring me some clothes!¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have to wait while I go borrow a set of clothes for you, Ms. Chi,¡± said Xiaohuang. He had no choice but to look for a set of clothes for her in the middle of the night. Upon receiving the set of clothes, Chi Rui¡¯er criticized in disdain, ¡°What kind of clothes are these? They reek of such a peculiar stench!¡± ¡°They belong to the cook. Everyone is asleep now, this is the only set I can find. Just make do with it.¡± She had no choice but to quickly put on the set of clothes from beneath the nket before zooming towards the washroom to relieve nature¡¯s call. She then removed the clothes again after she was finished with her business. She would rather be naked than spend another minute in those clothes. All hopes of bing hiswful wife had diminished, as Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s n had been foiled. On top of that, she had also been taken to this hell hole, wherein she was held in purgatory, causing her to be enraged and bbergasted. Extremely certain that Jin Qingyan would never treat her like a prisoner, she waited all night for daybreak, in hopes that he would release her as soon as he woke up. After a sleepless night of lying in bed, wrapped under the nket, Chi Rui¡¯er finally made it until dawn. However, no one hade forth to open the door. ¡°Is your Young Sir awake?¡± she yelled. There was no response. ¡°Is there anyone outside?¡± ¡°...¡± Just as she was filling with rage, Xiaohuang began to speak from outside the door, ¡°Young Sir was home long ago, though I¡¯m unaware if he¡¯s awake yet.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± said Chi Rui¡¯er, hugging her knees and resting her head upon them. With that, she continued to wait. ¡ª¡ª Mei Yangyang was just getting ready to leave for work when she was greeted with the sight of Long Tianze¡¯s car at her doorstep upon opening the door. ¡°When did you arrive?¡± she asked in surprise. ¡°Moments ago. I¡¯m here to send you to work.¡± ¡°Sure, saves me the hassle of taking the crowded public transport,¡± she said as she hopped inside his car. Long Tianze reached a hand out to buckle the safety belt around her before beginning to drive slowly. ¡°Have you got any ns for the future?¡± ¡°I n to make a ton of money.¡± ¡°Do you have any dreams and aspirations?¡± Long Tianze continued to ask. ¡°Dreams can only be realized when you have a roof over your head and your meals are taken care of. I used to have some, but my family¡¯s plight has forced me to give them up. I¡¯ve stopped thinking about my dreams ever since I stepped into the working world.¡± ¡°Then tell me, what aspirations did you use to have?¡± ¡°In hindsight, they were indeed rather far-fetched. I¡¯m too shy to talk about it,¡± she said coyly, appearing a little embarrassed. ¡°C¡¯mon, it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± ¡°I used to dream of being a teacher when I was younger, but when I was in middle school, I aspired to be a celebrity. Such wishful thinking on my part,¡± she said, blushing in embarrassment. Long Tianze nced towards her and said in response, ¡°Do you know which industry I¡¯m working in?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you the owner of Night Genie Bar?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve read about me online but you¡¯ve never actually searched for my wikipedia page? Try searching it,¡± he said, chuckling. Mei Yangyang quickly whipped out her phone and searched for his name online. She then began perusing the information on his wikipedia page carefully, her eyes glued onto the screen, all focused and engrossed. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re actually the owner of Yingshi Advertisement and Entertainment Productions?¡± she asked in astonishment. ¡°Littless, you¡¯re the first girl I¡¯ve ever courted.¡± Mei Yangyang was filled with joy as she let out a soft hum of approval. Long Tianze returned to his office after dropping her off at the entrance of the clothing store. Having arrived at the carpark of the office building, Long Tianze alighted from the car and began walking towards the entrance while buttoning up his suit. Just as he was walking through the turnstile, his secretary quickly reported to him, ¡°Mr. Long, a problem urred with the advertisement team.¡± ¡°Tell me about it.¡± ¡°The main issue is that the spokesperson, Song Yan, had been making several absurd and unreasonable requests. We¡¯ve already signed the contract with the client, and we may have to risk breaching the terms of contract if she still refuses to start filming and cause us to fail to produce the advertisement within the stipted time.¡± Taking a look at the time on his wristwatch, Long Tianze said, ¡°Now that she¡¯s famous, she¡¯s definitely going to be putting on airs, without a doubt. What requests have she made so far?¡± ¡°She requested for the proposal of the advertisement to be drafted ording to the way she preferred. She also mentioned that the white dress had made her look chubby, and thus, she refused to wear it. She¡¯s really given a long list of problems.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t change the storyline to the way she prefers it to be, since it had already been decided long ago. Has she arrived on set?¡± ¡°Yes, she¡¯s idling about inside.¡± Long Tianze stepped inside the elevator and arrived at the filming set shortly after. Upon his arrival, everyone on set quickly began greeting him, one after another. Long Tianze walked towards Song Yan, who had also risen from her seat, and said smilingly, ¡°Ms. Song, my secretary has just informed me of the requests you¡¯ve made. I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m afraid we can¡¯t make the relevant changes.¡± ¡°But I think it doesn¡¯t fit well with my image, and there are also an entire string of issues with it. Mr. Long, we¡¯ve yet to even begin filming, and you¡¯re already so adamant about making changes. How are we going to proceed with the shoot, then?¡± Chapter 112 - After Such a Long Night

Chapter 112: After Such a Long Night

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°You may leave now if you don¡¯t wish to film the advertisement. You¡¯re not indispensable,¡± Long Tianze said sternly, the smile on his face having disappeared. Taken aback by his words, Song Yan¡¯s face stiffened as she was momentarily at a loss for words. ¡°Well, I have a really tight schedule lined up with jobs, anyway. Since you¡¯ve said that, I guess I¡¯ll be taking a rain check then.¡± ¡°Goodbye, I won¡¯t be seeing you out.¡± All eyes were on Long Tianze as they stared on in astonishment. ¡°Give me half an hour,¡± he said to the crowd nonchntly. His secretary quickly chased after him and asked softly, ¡°Mr. Long, the client had specifically requested for Song Yan to be the lead in the advertisement. What are we supposed to do, now that she won¡¯t be filming it anymore?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll discuss this with the client,¡± he said, reaching out to press the elevator button. ¡°Have you got anyone in mind to rece Song Yan with, Mr. Long?¡± ¡°A recement? How about a fresh face?¡± Long Tianze suggested as he turned to look at his secretary. ¡°Are you kidding, Mr. Long? This is an advertisement for a prestigious brand. The spokespersons for their previous advertisements had all been A-listers and top celebrities. I highly doubt that they will agree to using a fresh face for this uing one. In fact, they might even terminate the contract with us. We¡¯ve worked with them several times before, we¡¯re definitely going to incur a huge mary loss if they decide to call the deal off. ¡± ¡°I¡¯m more aware of that than you are.¡± Long Tianze gave it some thought and continued, ¡°But, I do have someone in mind, and I really think we could give her a shot.¡± ¡°Who is it?¡± ¡°A girl I know.¡± Whipping his phone out, he said, ¡°Let me call the client to discuss about this.¡± Filled with fear and trepidation, the secretary stood beside him quietly, too afraid to even face him. Without a doubt, the client would definitely hit the roof. As expected, there was stiff tension on Long Tianze¡¯s face throughout the entire duration of the phone call. Meanwhile, the elevator had ascended then descended back and forth repeatedly. The secretary¡¯s legs had turned jelly from standing for so long. Finally, Long Tianze ended the call. ¡°Mr. Long...¡± the secretary began to ask. ¡°It¡¯s settled, though they obviously weren¡¯t too convinced that using a fresh face would bring about much attention. However, they¡¯ve decided to give it a shot, on ount of our rtions with them. Okay, head to the set now while I go look for the female lead for the advertisement,¡± Long Tianze instructed. ¡°Got it.¡± Mei Yangyang was surprised to see that Long Tianze had shown up again, despite having just left not long ago. ¡°I¡¯ve got something to tell you,¡± he said before she could even speak. ¡°Alright,¡± she agreed and followed him out. She hopped onto his car and waited for him to break the news to her. Mei Yangyang was taken aback upon hearing that he had intended to cast her as the female lead in the advertisement, feeling both excited yet nervous. ¡°But, I don¡¯t have any experience or knowledge on modelling for advertisements.¡± ¡°My question is, are you willing to take on the role?¡± With a nod, she answered, ¡°Yes, I am.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great, let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Wait a minute,¡± Mei Yangyang hesitated, though she was definitely not going to turn down the once-in-a-blue-moon opportunity of starring in an advertisement. Besides, her Mother had stopped receiving treatments at the hospital, since she could not afford to pay the hefty bills. Although her Mother had still been taking her medicine, it was undoubtedly less effective than treatment, for it had only helped to stabilize her condition. Perhaps, if the advertisement job pays well, I can bring Mother to the hospital to get her illness treated , she thought to herself. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I have to wrap up at the clothing store and give Sis Xiaoning a call to inform her about this.¡± ¡°Alright, go ahead, I¡¯ll wait for you here.¡± Mei Yangyang then alighted from the car and walked towards the store. Along the short journey, she was overwhelmed with emotions as she began to think about it. After all, it was her first time starring in an advertisement. Besides, it was for a prestigious shampoo brand ¡ª what a rare opportunity indeed. ¡°Sis Yangyang, isn¡¯t that the man who came here to confess to you the previous time?¡± She nodded and answered, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s him. I have something to attend to, now. You two tend the store today. I¡¯ll call Sis Xiaoning to tell her about it.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Zhang Li agreed. ¡°Sis Yangyang, what do you have to attend to?¡± ¡°Something important,¡± she answered. She grabbed her purse and hurried out of the door. ¡°Look how anxious Sis Yangyang is, I¡¯ve never seen her in such a hurry before. I wonder what it is that she has to attend to so urgently.¡± Xu Jingwen stood by the entrance and stared out of the ss. ¡°Wow, it¡¯s a luxury car. I knew it, he must be rich. Sigh, why don¡¯t I ever get to meet such handsome and rich men?¡± shemented. ¡°Hurry and sort the goods out. Why do you keep daydreaming about such stuff?¡± urged Zhang Li, not bothered by Long Tianze at all. ¡°Do you think Sis Xiaoning will set me up with someone, if I asked?¡± ¡°You¡¯re still so young...¡± ¡°I¡¯m already 19, way past the suitable age for dating. Sis Li, tell me what you think, would Sis Xiaoning agree if I asked her to introduce me to some heirs of wealthy families?¡± ¡°Jingwen, please remember your status, you¡¯re only an insignificant sales assistant in Sis Xiaoning¡¯s clothing store. Enough with it. I¡¯m going to use the washroom,¡± Zhang Li chided, unable to tolerate what she was hearing any further. Staring at her with pouted lips, Xu Jingwen muttered under her breath, ¡°How unambitious.¡± ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning had just woken up and not gotten out of bed when she received a call from Mei Yangyang. An Xiaoning tried to sit up straight as soon as she hung up the phone, only to feel a pair of hands wrapped tightly around her waist. ¡°Who called you?¡± ¡°Yangyang. She said she was going to film an advertisement at Long Tianze¡¯spany. Just what does he do for a living?¡± ¡°He¡¯s in the advertising and entertainment productions industry. But, the sponsors and clients are usually the ones deciding the spokespersons for the advertisement. Mei Yangyang is a nobody who has no knowledge about modelling for advertisements. Did she get recruited via underhanded means?¡± said Jin Qingyan with his eyes still shut. ¡°Long Tianze is wooing Yangyang.¡± Jin Qingyan opened his eyes in astonishment. ¡°What?¡± he gasped. ¡°Aren¡¯t you two buddies? Didn¡¯t he tell you about it?¡± ¡°No, he never did. Ah, that exins why he had been acting rather strangetely. But it¡¯s not a bad thing, I suppose. Does he even have to court her though?¡± said Jin Qingyan, sitting up slowly. ¡°Of course he has, Yangyang hasn¡¯t agreed to be his girlfriend yet.¡± ¡°Why? I¡¯m not looking down on anyone, but girls like her from poor families would usually jump at the chance to be Tianze¡¯s girlfriend,¡± he asked in puzzlement. ¡°Yangyang is different from those girls, she has a mind of her own. Besides, she has only met Long Tianze a while ago, they barely know each other. A girl has to first respect and love herself before she canmand the respect of others. I think it¡¯s great that she¡¯s taking her time to decide, unlike me ¡ª both times, I jumped straight into a marriage without even knowing the other party well.¡± ¡°You barely knew me before we got married, but don¡¯t you know me well enough now? Hmm? Answer me,¡± Jin Qingyan pressed her for an answer while pinching her cheeks. ¡°Now... I still don¡¯t know you that well, yet.¡± ¡°Liar. What else is there left about me for you to find out? You already know me inside out,¡± he retorted, staring at her. ¡°Rascal, we¡¯re not even on the same page,¡± she said in annoyance, moving her face out his hands. ¡°I¡¯m getting out of bed.¡± ¡°Me, too,¡± he loosened his grip and lifted the nket before getting down from the bed. An Xiaoning zoomed towards the cloakroom to pick out a set of clothes. She thenid the clothes onto the bed and began putting them on orderly. ¡°What are you going to do about Chi Rui¡¯er?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you want to punish her?¡± Jin Qingyan asked, raising a brow. ¡°It¡¯s better that you do it yourself, since she¡¯s someone that matters so dearly to you,¡± said An Xiaoning. She knew that she could not underestimate the influence Chi Rui¡¯er had over Jin Qingyan, although she had greatly disappointed him with what she had done. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll handle it myself, then.¡± He put on his clothes and proceeded to wash up. An Xiaoning followed closely behind him into the bathroom, where they stood side-by-side at the basin. Staring at her reflection in the mirror, shemented, ¡°My eyebags have gotten so heavy, after such a long night.¡± Chapter 113 - Placed His Face Against Hers Affectionately

Chapter 113: ced His Face Against Hers Affectionately

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Let me have a look,¡± said Jin Qingyan as he reached his hands out to pinch her cheeks and leaned forward for a closer look. ¡°Where are your eyebags? I can¡¯t even see them.¡± ¡°You must be blind,¡± An Xiaoning sneered at the fact that he was lying through his teeth while she squeezed some toothpaste onto her toothbrush. ¡°You¡¯re getting more and more brazen ofte. Watch out, I¡¯m going to punish you now,¡± he reached a hand out to tickle her underarm, and she quickly shunned him. ¡°You¡¯re a man, yet you¡¯re bullying a weak woman like me. Haven¡¯t you got any shame at all?¡± An Xiaoning chastised, shoving the toothbrush into her mouth. ¡°You, a weak woman?¡± ¡°Mhmm.¡± ¡°No matter how hard I try, I just can¡¯t find anything weak about you at all,¡± he scoffed. ¡°Like I said, you¡¯re blind, how could you possibly tell that I¡¯m weak?¡± ¡°...¡± After washing up, they headed downstairs for breakfast. Fan Shixin stood by the door, hesitating to say what he had on his mind. He resisted the urge and waited until they were finished with dinner before heading inside to break the news to them. ¡°Young Sir and Madam, Ms. Chi is acting all hysterical, demanding to see Young Sir.¡± Jin Qingyan rose from his seat and wiped his mouth with his handkerchief, out of habit; after which he said calmly, ¡°Let¡¯s go have a look then.¡± Seeing that An Xiaoning had remained in her seat, Fan Shixin asked in curiosity, ¡°Young Madam, aren¡¯t you going to go?¡± ¡°Let Young Sir handle it himself, I¡¯ll give it a pass.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Fan Shixin followed closely behind Jin Qingyan as they made their way to the room Chi Rui¡¯er had been locked up in. Upon sight of their arrival, the guard on shift, Xiaobai, greeted them immediately, ¡°Young Sir, Chief.¡± ¡°Open the door,¡± Fan Shixin instructed. ¡°Alright,¡± Xiaobai hurriedly unlocked the door with his key, allowing them to enter. They were greeted with the sight of Chi Rui¡¯er sitting on the bed. As soon as they entered, she gripped tightly onto the nket, feeling a little ashamed to face Jin Qingyan. However, she forced herself to speak up, for she did not want to spend another minute in this living hell, ¡°Qingyan, I¡¯m sorry.¡± Jin Qingyan stared at her with a stern and sullen expression on his face, seemingly reminiscing the past vicariously through her. He began to wonder when she had be so different from the Chi Rui¡¯er he used to know. Was she still the same woman he was in love with? She no longer deserved him. Noticing how he had been staring at her without uttering a single word, Chi Rui¡¯er mustered up the courage to look him in the eye as she broke the silence, ¡°Qingyan...¡± ¡°Rui¡¯er, you may leave. I won¡¯t take the house back since I¡¯ve already given it to you. We¡¯ll live our lives separately, from now on.¡± The smile on Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s face was short-lived as, after processing what she had heard, she soon began to realize what he had meant. ¡°Will it be hard for me to see you again, in the future?¡± she asked forlornly. ¡°It seems I didn¡¯t make myself clear earlier.¡± After a brief moment of silence, he continued, ¡°You¡¯ll have nothing to do with me in the future, and I¡¯ll be washing my hands off your matters. The house and the million dors I had given you should be enough tost you a lifetime, if you live frugally. Go live your life on your own.¡± ¡°You...¡± Chi Rui¡¯er stuttered in shock of what she had just heard, appearing incredibly upset. ¡°We¡¯ll be going our separate ways from now on, is that what you meant?¡± she said, finally letting out the words she had been suppressing. ¡°Yes.¡± Loosening her grip on the duvet, she swung her body and said, throwing a fit, ¡°Is this all I get from saving your life?¡± ¡°A life is worth a few million dors, at most. Although my life is indeed valuable, I¡¯ve spent a hefty sum on providing for your life expenses all this while, which I¡¯m not going to be calctive about. Besides, you¡¯ve even caused Xiaoning to almost lose her life. Isn¡¯t that enough? Rui¡¯er, you¡¯re too selfish, so much so that it¡¯s absolutely repulsive.¡± ¡°But I did it all for you...¡± Before she could even finish her sentence, he interrupted, ¡°You should know clearly whether you did it for me or for yourself.¡± ¡°I know I shouldn¡¯t have done what I did or said those things. But please don¡¯t act like this, Qingyan, you¡¯re making me feel worse than dying,¡± she pleaded, tears streaming down her face uncontrobly. ¡°Bring her a fresh set of clothes and take her away as soon as she gets dressed,¡± instructed Jin Qingyan as he turned to look at Fan Shixin. ¡°Yes, Sir.¡± After Fan Shixin exited the room, Jin Qingyan added, ¡°Rui¡¯er, you should know very well how I had been treating you in the past. Go about living your life properly.¡± Just as he was about to leave, Chi Rui¡¯er yelled abruptly, ¡°Qingyan, I¡¯m pregnant!¡± Noticing that he had stopped in his tracks, she continued, ¡°The doctor said that I may never have the chance to get pregnant again, should I choose to abort this one.¡± Jin Qingyan froze in shock. The first thing that came to his mind was An Xiaoning¡¯s readings about Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s fortune. He recalled that she was destined to be married once, with two children, one of which had already been aborted; she was fated to be childless for the rest of her life if she aborts this one too. ¡°Who... does the child belong to?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er burst into tears as she cried out loud, ¡°Please forgive me...¡± ¡°I¡¯m asking you, who is the father of the child!?!¡± he bellowed, his anger evident from the stern expression on his face. ¡°I¡¯m not telling you. Although I don¡¯t wish to have this child, I have no choice but to give birth to it. Qingyan, please help me,¡± she cried, shaking her head profusely. ¡°How do I help you? Clean up after the mess you created. Be the child¡¯s father then divorce Xiaoning? Chi Rui¡¯er, do you take me for a fool?¡± He was overwhelmed with fury as he stood rooted to the ground. All of a sudden, he began to realize the reason she had spiked his drink ¡ª she had nned to inform him of her pregnancy a few monthster, iming that he had fathered the child. ¡°Qingyan, I¡¯d like the child to have a father and aplete family.¡± ¡°Go look for the child¡¯s father then. Rui¡¯er, you¡¯ve gonepletely overboard. In fact, you¡¯ve gotten from bad to worse. Do you still remember the person you used to be?¡± he said, after which he quickly strode out of the door. ¡°Qingyan!¡± Chi Rui¡¯er shrieked, but to no avail, as Jin Qingyan continued in his tracks,pletely ignoring her. She stared at the door in despair and watched as his figure faded. ¡°Ms. Chi, hurry and put these on, then leave,¡± said Fan Shixin, handing her the set of clothes. Chi Rui¡¯er took the set of clothes from his hands and got dressed as soon as he left. She then wiped the tears and mucus off her face with the duvet before walking towards the door. Fan Shixin led the way while she followed behind him. Chi Rui¡¯er was deeply filled with regret as she observed her surroundings, finallying to terms with the fact that she hadpletely been defeated. She could not fathom why she had been reduced to such a sorry state, despite having gained the upper hand initially. What am I going to do with the baby I¡¯m carrying? she thought to herself. She had no idea if she should even keep the baby, now that her initial n had already gone up in smoke. If she kept the baby, she would have to be involved with the child¡¯s father for the rest of her life; but if she chose to abort it, she may never have the chance to be a mother again. Just what should I do? Perplexed and vexed, she was clueless about what her next move should be. Besides, things have alreadye to this. What else could she do about it!?! ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning bumped into Jin Qingyan at the door just as she had put on her shoes. She remained silent and stared at him, waiting for him to speak. Jin Qingyan leaned in towards her and ced his face against hers affectionately, with no qualms about the servants around them. Pressing his forehead against hers, he said softly, ¡°We didn¡¯t get to go on our honeymoon trip after our wedding. I say we should make up for it now. What do you think?¡± Chapter 114 - Making Up for Our Missed Honeymoon Trip

Chapter 114: Making Up for Our Missed Honeymoon Trip

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning could sense from his tone that he was utterly disappointed. Thus, she said with a smirk, ¡°Well, but I¡¯m not going to refund you the money that had been meant to cover the expenses of the honeymoon trip, which you¡¯ve transferred to my bank ount previously.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to make you return it, money face,¡± he replied, giving her a pinch on her nose. ¡°Sure, since it¡¯ll be a free trip for me, why not? Hmm, where would you like to visit?¡± ¡°I should be asking you that. Is there anywhere you¡¯d like to go?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to go somewhere warmer, it¡¯s too cold here.¡± ¡°Alright, I got it. Aren¡¯t you going out? Hurry along, quick,¡± he said with a smile. She nodded and proceeded to the garage to get her car. ¡°Has Chi Rui¡¯er left?¡± she asked Fan Shixin as she approached the gate. ¡°Yes, she has already left. Young Sir has said some relentless things to her, and he also mentioned that he would be staying out of her life from now on,¡± Fan Shixin blurted. An Xiaoning was slightly surprised by what she had just heard, for she did not expect things toe to this, especially since he had once loved Chi Rui¡¯er so dearly. It was no wonder that he had asked her to go on a honeymoon trip. Could it be that he wanted to take his mind off things? she thought to herself. An Xiaoning felt that everything that had happened was worthwhile, for it had allowed him to finally see Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s true colors. ¡°Alright. It¡¯s been hard on you, Chief Fan.¡± ¡°Not at all, it¡¯s only part of my duty. Drive safe, Young Madam,¡± said Fan Shixin, retreating backwards. ¡°Okay.¡± An Xiaoning drove out through the gate. She turned the music on in the car and began driving merrily, perhaps because she was in high spirits. An Xiaoning felt a strong urge to give Chi Rui¡¯er another tight p across her face at the thought of the misdeeds thetter hadmitted. What a wretched troublemaker indeed. ¡°Have you guys had your breakfast?¡± asked An Xiaoning upon arriving at the store. ¡°Not yet.¡± ¡°What would you like to eat? I¡¯ll go buy it for you,¡± said An Xiaoning, putting down her bag and getting ready to leave. ¡°I¡¯ll go instead. Have a seat, Sis Xiaoning, you just arrived,¡± Zhang Li quickly interjected. ¡°Alright, go ahead,¡± An Xiaoning agreed as she handed her some money. After Zhang Li left, Xu Jingwen handed the ounts book and sales profits to An Xiaoning. ¡°Sis Xiaoning, here¡¯s yesterday¡¯s makings.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± said An Xiaoning, who began flipping through the pages and scrutinizing the content. ¡°Um... Sis Xiaoning, is Sis Yangyang going to be absent today?¡± asked Xu Jingwen, standing beside her. ¡°She won¡¯t being today, she¡¯s still busy with her own matters.¡± An Xiaoning looked up at her and continued, ¡°Do you and Zhang Li need extra help?¡± ¡°No, we can handle everything by ourselves perfectly. A man was here to pick Sis Yangyang up when she left yesterday, is he her boyfriend?¡± Xu Jingwen asked smilingly. After a moment of silence, An Xiaoning answered chuckling, ¡°He¡¯s not her boyfriend yet, but he will be, soon enough.¡± ¡°Soon enough?¡± ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s wooing Yangyang.¡± Xu Jingwen was dumbfounded by her words. Someone from such a poor family like Mei Yangyang ought to agree to being Long Tianze¡¯s girlfriend right away, especially since he is rather good-looking. She¡¯s going to regret it when he runs out of patience, she thought. ¡°Sis Xiaoning, will you set me up with someone, when the opportunity arrives?¡± she asked coaxingly, giving An Xiaoning a shoulder massage. Feeling a little uneasy, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°Jingwen, don¡¯t massage my shoulders, I¡¯m notfortable with it. I don¡¯t actually know that many men who are single and avable. Besides, I think you should be choosing a suitable partner based on your personal preferences.¡± Despite being tactfully turned down by An Xiaoning, Xu Jingwen did not give up and instead continued to speak, ¡°I know, but after seeing so many couples in love, I really want to have a rtionship of my own too. Unfortunately, all the men I know just really don¡¯t make the cut. Thus, I¡¯d like to find a better partner.¡± Having understood what she meant, An Xiaoning advised, ¡°Jingwen, I think the most important quality you should seek in a man is the way he treats you. The most charming thing a man can do is to genuinely treat you well. Appearance is only secondary.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, Sis Xiaoning. Good looks are the first thing people look out for these days, especially those of our generation, who value appearance over personality. I don¡¯t think I¡¯d be willing to date a hideous man, even if he treats me really well.¡± An Xiaoning nodded in agreement. After all, she indeed agreed to get together with Jin Qingyan because he was good-looking. However, he had his ws too, his dashing good looks notwithstanding. ¡°You¡¯re still so young and beautiful, you can take your time to find a suitable partner. I¡¯m sure it won¡¯t be difficult for you to find one whom you¡¯re pleased with.¡± ¡°I think so too,¡± said Xu Jingwen, overjoyed at thepliment An Xiaoning had given her. An Xiaoning shot her a smile and did not utter another word. ¡ª¡ª After an entire day of receiving instructions on set the day before, it was time for Mei Yangyang¡¯s makeover ¡ª she put on some makeup and changed into a long white dress, which made her look gorgeous. Her long and ck cascading locks were straightened with the hair straightener. She was perfectly suited for a shampoomercial, especially with her photogenic, doll-like looks. The filming director was extremely pleased with her appearance as well. There was also a great chemistry between her and the supporting male model, thus allowing for a smooth filming process, which required only three takes. After filming the video, they proceeded to take photos for the advertisement. After an arduous day of moving about and changing poses, the petite Mei Yangyang was practically exhausted. Fortunately, the shooting had ended by 8 o¡¯clock in the evening. Unlike his usual habit of only viewing the end product, Long Tianze had stayed on set throughout the entire process of filming. He had made an exception today just to watch Mei Yangyang in action. After changing into her own clothes, Mei Yangyang walked towards him and said, ¡°How do you think I did?¡± ¡°You did great,¡± he said, giving her a thumbs up. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes, really.¡± Long Tianze then slid her a white envelope and said, ¡°Here¡¯s your pay.¡± ¡°I¡¯m getting paid so soon?¡± said a surprised Mei Yangyang as she took the envelope from his hand. ¡°By rights, it would take at least a few days for the payment to be processed, even for A-listers and top celebrities. Some are paid only after the final advertisement is released. Actually, themercial you just filmed has yet to undergo post-production; neither has it been confirmed with the client that you would be starring in it. So, you¡¯re not actually supposed to get paid yet. But, since you¡¯re mine, I¡¯ll pay you in advance,¡± he said with a smirk. Mei Yangyang knew that he would¡¯ve paid her well, although she did not check how much money there was in the envelope. ¡°Thank you,¡± she quickly thanked him with a bow. Before she could even straighten her back, Long Tianze pulled her by her hoodie and said jokingly, ¡°Who said you had to thank me? I¡¯m hungry, let¡¯s head to my ce and fix me a meal.¡± ¡°Alright. Hold on for a while, I need to use the Ladies¡¯,¡± she said delightedly. ¡°I¡¯ll wait for you outside.¡± She nodded and zoomed towards the washroom happily. Sitting atop the toilet bowl, Mei Yangyang opened the white envelope which contained a cheque. The number of zeroes written on it had shocked her greatly. ¡°200 thousand dors.¡± 200 thousand dors for just two days¡¯ worth of filming? Besides, she was just a neer who barely knew anything. Her monthly sries had always been only a few thousand dors, ever since she stepped into the working world. It was not until she started working for An Xiaoning that she had begun earning more. However, it had never once urred to her that she would ever earn 200 thousand dors in just two days. Reminded of the fact that she could now afford to send her Mother for treatments at the hospital, she carefully slid the cheque back into the envelope. She then ced the envelope inside a pocket of her quilt parka, where she usually kept her money, zipping it fully before exiting the washroom. As soon as she got on the car, she said, ¡°I just took a look at the cheque. Am I overpaid?¡± ¡°Based on the fact that you have no experience in filming and shooting, I¡¯ve indeed paid you the highest price we can offer. However, you would be paid more than 200 thousand dors, if the client epts themercial and there¡¯s an increase in sales. Do you understand what I mean?¡± answered Long Tianze as he strapped the safety belt across her. Chapter 115 - Is She Rushing to Hell?

Chapter 115: Is She Rushing to Hell?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Yes, I understood what you meant,¡± Mei Yangyang said with a nod. ¡°Great, you¡¯ll live well, being together with me.¡± He sat up straight and began driving after starting the engine. Mei Yangyang was beaming with happiness, which seemed almost contagious. ¡°Why are you so happy?¡± he asked. ¡°I¡¯m finally going to send my Mother to the hospital to receive treatment tomorrow. She hadn¡¯t been to the hospital again, ever since the time she was hospitalized after the ident. Although she had been taking her medicine regrly, the results haven¡¯t been ideal. She¡¯s been bedridden for more than two years, I really want to see her condition improve. Although I know it¡¯s impossible for her health to be the same as before, I just hope she can live a little longer,¡± she exined. ¡°It must be hard on you, being the sole breadwinner of your family.¡± ¡°Exactly, that¡¯s why I¡¯m definitely going to be a burden to my husband. No man would wish to have a wife with such a family background,¡± said Mei Yangyang. ¡°Didn¡¯t I say this before? I don¡¯t mind it at all. A problem that money can solve is not a problem at all. Your family will not cause any problems,¡± he said, looking at her. Feeling touched by his words, Mei Yangyang stared out of the window, grasping one hand tightly with another. After buying some groceries at the supermarket together, they headed back to his ce, where Mei Yangyang proceeded to make dinner for the both of them. By the time she had arrived home, it was already half past nine in the evening. Mr. Mei, who had been waiting for her, felt a huge sense of relief upon seeing that she had finallye home. ¡°Why are you home sote?¡± ¡°Father, I¡¯ve been filming amercial the past two days. Let¡¯s bring Mother to the hospital to get her treated tomorrow,¡± Mei Yangyang squealed, grabbing onto her father¡¯s arm excitedly. ¡°You were filming amercial?¡± Mr. Mei asked in surprise. ¡°Yeah, I was recruited by a friend of Sis Xiaoning¡¯s husband. Look, I was paid 200 thousand dors,¡± answered Mei Yangyang as she retrieved the cheque from her pocket, grinning from ear to ear. ¡°Is that real?¡± asked Mr. Mei, his hand trembling from the shock. ¡°Of course it¡¯s real.¡± Upon hearing their conversation, Mei Shuangshuang came out of her room and asked, ¡°Whatmercial is it?¡± ¡°A shampoomercial,¡± answered Mei Yangyang, quickly putting the cheque away. ¡°Father, let¡¯s wake up early tomorrow and head to the hospital first thing in the morning to settle the administrative matters. We¡¯ll get the doctor to treat Mother,¡± she continued. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll let your mother know about thister. She¡¯s definitely going to be thrilled. Yangyang, I feel really bad that you have to shoulder the burden of providing all of our expenses, all by yourself,¡± said Mr. Mei, overwhelmed with emotions. ¡°Don¡¯t say that, Father, we¡¯re family. Alright, you should go get some rest. I¡¯m going to bed.¡± ¡°Yes, yes.¡± As soon as Mei Yangyang returned to her room, Mei Shuangshuang continued to probe eagerly, ¡°How did you end up filming amercial? Did that rich man pull some strings and introduce you to it?¡± ¡°Those are none of your business,¡± answered an overjoyed Mei Yangyang, resting against the bedhead. ¡°Sis, being a celebrity is the quickest way to earn money. Why don¡¯t you be one? I¡¯ll be your manager. We won¡¯t have to worry about Mother¡¯s condition, once we earn enough. Perhaps she may even recover slowly and one day be able to stand on her two feet again. By then, we¡¯ll live in a luxurious mansion, drive expensive cars, wear designer clothing, and carry designer bags. Ah, how wonderful would that be.¡± Seeing how immersed Mei Shuangshuang was in her daydream, Mei Yangyang replied coldly, ¡°Stop daydreaming. I may not be a celebrity now, but even if I do be one someday, you¡¯d be thest person I¡¯ll ask to be my manager.¡± Mei Shuangshuang¡¯s spirits were dampened upon hearing her sister¡¯s words, which made her snap back into reality. With a humph, she retorted, ¡°I was just making a casual statement. I don¡¯t think you¡¯d be a celebrity just by filming amercial anyway.¡± Mei Yangyang ignored her snide remark and went to bed. ¡ª¡ª Ye Xiaotian and Bai Ranran¡¯s wedding was set to be held on the 26th of March of the following year. News of their wedding made the headlines as soon as it was verified by the Ye family. Sun Weiwei heard about the news in the morning. Refusing to believe her eyes, she repeatedly read through the morning newspapers for a total of three times while lying in bed. Her sleepiness vanished at the instant that she processed the information in her head. ¡°Sis Weiwei, it seems Bai Ranran had brought the wedding forward, in case something unfortunate happens in between. She must¡¯ve gained the approval of Mr. Ye.¡± Sun Weiwei sat up straight and tore the newspapers into shreds, snapping in frustration, ¡°This wretched woman. It¡¯s almost new year, she must be nning to get married as soon as Brother Xiaotian recovers. Is she rushing to hell!?!¡± ¡°From the way I see it, Bai Ranran doesn¡¯t seem like one to be trifled with. Moreover, she¡¯s the heiress of a wealthy family. Mr. Ye¡¯s mother actually fancies her, despite how sickly she is, and Mr. Ye treats her exceptionally well. Sis Weiwei, I doubt you¡¯d stand a chance, especially since there¡¯s only so little time left,¡± said her assistant, lowering her voice towards the end of her sentence. ¡°Since my chances are slim, I¡¯ll have to think of a way out then,¡± said Sun Weiwei as she reached for a pack of cigarettes on the bedhead. Her assistant hurriedly handed her a lighter as soon as she retrieved a cigarette from the packaging. She lit up the cigarette and took a puff before cing it between her fingers. ¡°I really wonder what Brother Xiaotian is thinking. Why would he even want to marry a sickly weakling like her? She might just die in the midst of doing the deed. Look how pale she is, even the blind can tell how fragile she is,¡± Sun Weiwei hissed, overwhelmed with frustration and annoyance at the thought of their marriage. ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t get it either.¡± ¡°Bring me my clothes.¡± Upon hermand, her assistant quickly turned around to bring her some clothes. After a meticulous round of selection, she picked out a set and handed it to Sun Weiwei. ¡°Sis Weiwei, where are you headed to?¡± ¡°Where else could I possibly go? To the hospital, of course,¡± said Sun Weiwei as she got out of bed in one fluid motion. She then proceeded to get dressed and do her makeup, which took an hour. After buying breakfast while on her way to the hospital, she quickly strode along the corridor of the hospital while d in a face mask and a hat, with her head hung low. She instructed her assistant to wait at the seats along the corridor while she opened the door of the ward gently and entered. There were no other visitors in the ward. Sun Weiwei sat beside his bed and said smilingly, ¡°Why are you alone, Brother Xiaotian?¡± ¡°My Mother and Ranran aren¡¯t here yet, while the nurse and bodyguards are outside. It¡¯s not like you didn¡¯t see them when you entered,¡± he snapped coldly, seemingly upset with her. ¡°Brother Xiaotian, you seem to be in a foul mood. What¡¯s wrong? Did something happen?¡± ¡°Nothing, I¡¯m just getting really sick of staying here.¡± ¡°I read the news this morning, about your wedding with Sis Ranran. Why has it been brought forward?¡± she asked, trying to sound him out. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, actually. A few months won¡¯t make a difference.¡± ¡°You¡¯re already getting married, yet I still don¡¯t have a boyfriend. After you get married, you¡¯ll be wrapped around Sis Ranran¡¯s finger. By then, it may be difficult for me to meet you again,¡± she said with a sigh. ¡°Why would it be difficult?¡± asked Ye Xiaotian. ¡°Because Sis Ranran will be keeping a close eye on you, of course. I really wish you weren¡¯t getting married,¡± Sun Weiwei said dejectedly, with seamless expressions. ¡°I¡¯ll still get to enjoy my freedom, even after marriage. Besides, Ranran won¡¯t be so uptight and strict with me, just rest assured.¡± ¡°Brother Xiaotian, how¡¯s your recovery going?¡± Sun Weiwei asked while forcing a smile. ¡°It¡¯s going great. I forgot to ask you, what have you been busy withtely? Filming TV dramas and movies, or what?¡± ¡°I¡¯m filming a reality show. It¡¯s so exhausting. Thankfully, there¡¯s a script for me to follow. I wouldn¡¯t know how to cope, otherwise.¡± Chapter 116 - Ill Kill You, Just You Watch

Chapter 116: I¡¯ll Kill You, Just You Watch

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°You¡¯re at the peak of your career now, continue to work hard. Also, it¡¯s time you quit drugs, lest something happens to you. There¡¯s always been an abundance of famous actresses in the entertainment industry, most of whom possess superb acting skills. Look at those who have ruined their careers by abusing drugs or getting into car idents ¡ª none of them have managed to make a sessfuleback. Weiwei, don¡¯t lead yourself onto a path towards death,¡± Ye Xiaotian advised earnestly, which was rather rare of him. Perhaps it was because he had too much time on his hands. Feeling a little touched, Sun Weiwei answered, ¡°Brother Xiaotian, I know where you¡¯reing from. But I just can¡¯t quit it, I¡¯ve already be too reliant on it. Besides, I¡¯m bing more and more addicted recently.¡± ¡°Go for rehab in secret, maybe?¡± said Ye Xiaotian, staring at her with a look of pity in his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m not going for rehab. It¡¯s not like I can¡¯t afford to continue doping anyway. I¡¯ll be fine,¡± Sun Weiwei said nonchntly. ¡°It¡¯s not about the money, it¡¯s that drugs are detrimental to your health.¡± ¡°Brother Xiaotian, you¡¯ve made me who I am today, with the constant support you¡¯ve been providing me with. I¡¯m really dependent and attached to you, and I want to stay by your side forever...¡± Before she could finish her sentence, Ye Xiaotian interrupted coldly with a stiffened expression, ¡°That¡¯s enough, I absolutely detest hearing mushy stuff like that. You should get going and head for work.¡± Taken aback by his words, Sun Weiwei got up slowly and said, ¡°Alright, have a good rest then, Brother Xiaotian. I¡¯ll visit you again when I¡¯m free.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± As soon as she left, Ye Xiaotian reached his hand out from beneath the nket. The screen of his mobile phone lit up in his hands. It was a notification about thetest news of Byron from Y Nation ¡ª he was asked if he had any ns on having children with his newlywed wife recently, to which he had answered tantly, saying that she was nourishing her body in preparation for a pregnancy. Preparing for a pregnancy? Was that the case? ¡ª¡ª Chi Rui¡¯er had stayed alone at home for two days. Yet, she still had note up with a solution. There were only two ways out. That is, to either abort the baby or to give birth to it. Gu Beicheng came to her mind all of a sudden while she was washing up. He must¡¯ve gotten together with me back then for the sake of spiting Jin Qingyan, who was his archenemy , she thought to herself. Hah, how ironic... She quickly rinsed her face, put on some makeup, and gave Gu Beicheng a call, only to find that he had blocked her number. Chi Rui¡¯er then got dressed and headed out. The weather was marvellous that day. The sun was out and shining bright, which was rare toe by during wintertime. Chi Rui¡¯er gged down a taxi and headed straight to the office building of the Gu Corporation, where she requested to see Gu Beicheng at the front desk. The receptionist then arranged for Chi Rui¡¯er to proceed upstairs upon the approval of Gu Beicheng. Having expected to be rejected, Chi Rui¡¯er was surprised to hear that Gu Beicheng had allowed her to see him. A million thoughts flooded her mind while she made her way towards his office. Gu Beicheng was dressed in a ck, casual suit, along with his trademark blue diamond earring. He was holding a teacup in one hand while supporting his weight against the desk with another. Upon sight of Chi Rui¡¯er, he ced the teacup onto the desk and said calmly, ¡°What did youe here to see me for?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve blocked my number.¡± ¡°Of course I did. Am I supposed to keep it so I can continue to contact you?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er looked up at him. He was the person whom she fell head over heels in love with, the one whom she left Jin Qingyan for. He often appeared cool and aloof on the surface, despite having a gentlemanly side, which not many have the privilege of seeing. ¡°Gu Beicheng, I¡¯m pregnant.¡± Startled, he answered, ¡°Oh. It¡¯s pretty spot on.¡± ¡°What¡¯s spot on?¡± she asked inquisitively. ¡°I¡¯ve asked Xiaoning to read your fortune, and her readings are rather urate. She read that you would get pregnant within six months, so I decided I didn¡¯t want to see you anymore, because I know the child wouldn¡¯t be mine, for sure.¡± ¡°You broke up with me because you had my fortune told?¡± she asked in astonishment. ¡°Not entirely, but that¡¯s one of the reasons. Well, but I broke up with you mainly because you¡¯ve had an abortion once, and you¡¯re going to be pregnant with another man¡¯s child. You don¡¯t deserve to be with me,¡± Gu Beicheng exined nonchntly, his words like a million daggers piercing through her heart. ¡°How did you find out? You checked up on me?¡± she asked as her lips trembled in fear and shock. ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard of the saying ¡®If you don¡¯t wish others to find out about what you¡¯ve done, then don¡¯t do it in the first ce¡¯?¡± he said, brushing her off. ¡°Did An Xiaoning predict that?¡± she asked in disbelief of An Xiaoning¡¯s urate fortune-telling. An Xiaoning... Chi Rui¡¯er wanted nothing more than to shred her into pieces at that very moment. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter whether she did or not. What matters is that you¡¯re indeed such a lowly woman.¡± Biting her lip in anger, Chi Rui¡¯er snapped, ¡°Gu Beicheng, stop giving me excuses, you just don¡¯t like me to begin with. You only asked me to be your girlfriend just so you could spite Jin Qingyan. If you truly loved a woman, you¡¯d never leave her, no matter how many abortions she¡¯s had.¡± Gu Beicheng did not try to deny and said instead, ¡°I¡¯d first have to find a woman like that. Are you here to discuss the standards I ought to follow when looking for a girlfriend in the future?¡± ¡°Of course not. Don¡¯t you want to know who the child I¡¯m carrying belongs to?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°...¡± Chi Rui¡¯er walked towards him and said, ¡°I¡¯ve been pregnant for more than a month now. Recalling the chronology of events, you broke up with me about a month ago. I believe the media will take my word for it, if I imed that you fathered the child.¡± ¡°If you dare do that, I¡¯ll kill you, believe it or not. Try me,¡± he warned coldly with a squint. ¡°Gu Beicheng, don¡¯t try to threaten me, I¡¯m not afraid of you. I¡¯ve already prepared myself mentally beforeing here to look you up. I¡¯m sure we¡¯re both aware that the child obviously doesn¡¯t belong to you. I¡¯m just kidding, why so serious?¡± she said with a smirk. ¡°You¡¯re just kidding? Don¡¯t joke with me again in the future. Otherwise, you shall face the consequences, regardless of whether you¡¯re kidding or not and of who the bastard child you¡¯re carrying belongs to. If this is all you¡¯re here for, you may get lost now,¡± Gu Beicheng said, seething, unsure of what she had up her sleeve. Chi Rui¡¯er stayed put and continued to speak, ¡°The child belongs to Jin Qingyan.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Gu Beicheng asked, keeping his eyes fixed on her. ¡°Yes.¡± Knowing that Jin Qingyan loved her, Gu Beicheng said, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you go look for him instead? Why did youe to me?¡± ¡°An Xiaoning may be your Godsister, but I know you¡¯ve never been on good terms with him. Why don¡¯t we help each other out?¡± ¡°Chi Rui¡¯er, are your brains fried? Do I look like I need your help?¡± ¡°Do you not? Just think about how badly it would reflect on his family, once news about me carrying his child begins to spread,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er exined. ¡°In that case, have you thought about the consequences you¡¯ll face once the DNA test results are out and it¡¯s verified that the child does not belong to him?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er felt a chill down her spine, but then again, how worse can things get, when she¡¯s already in such a sorry plight? ¡°He is indeed the father of the child. I know this because he was the only person I¡¯ve had intercourse with. The child I aborted previously belonged to him as well,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er said confidently without a single tinge of guilt, as if she was indeed speaking the truth. ¡°I won¡¯t resort to such despicable means. You¡¯ve gone to the wrong person,¡± Gu Beicheng answered apprehensively. Chapter 117 - Her Heart Was About to Explode

Chapter 117: Her Heart Was About to Explode

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Gu Beicheng! Businessmen like you are all despicable, quit being a hypocrite! You¡¯re actually turning down such a great opportunity to get back at Jin Qingyan. Are you out of your mind?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er hollered, beginning to feel flustered. ¡°Chi Rui¡¯er, I know exactly what it is you¡¯re after. But I won¡¯t ever resort to such lowly and despicable means. I may be on bad terms with Jin Qingyan, but that¡¯s none of your business. Don¡¯t forget, An Xiaoning is a member of my family,¡± Gu Beicheng bellowed sternly. ¡°A member of your family? You¡¯re not even close to your biological family, let alone a sister who¡¯s not even rted to you by blood.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you know when to keep your mouth shut and to mind your words? No wonder you¡¯re getting denser. Get lost,¡± he said with a squint. Chi Rui¡¯er gritted her teeth and turned around to leave, fists clenched. She had initially expected to gain the support of Gu Beicheng. However, to her dismay, her n did not work out. While on her way back from the Gu Corporation building, she decided to visit another hospital for a checkup. Yet, the oue was all the same ¡ª she may not be able to get pregnant again after aborting this child. She began to recall her previous abortion, which had required two surgeries due to there still being remnants of the fetal tissue after the first surgery. As a result, her womb was greatly damaged after sustaining serious injuries from the second surgery. She began to feel sad and upset at the thought of the traumatic experience. She had always thought that abortions and miscarriages would not be detrimental. Little did she expect to be struck by an unfortunate event such as this. Chi Rui¡¯er refused to ept her fate. She stormed off and headed home angrily. In a moment of pique, she threw a fit and began smashing everything she could get her hands on in the living room. Panting, she plonked herself down onto the couch as she burst into tears of agony. She knew that spilling the beans about this matter to the media would not do her any good, given the powerful status of the Jin family and the fact that Long Tianze was involved in the entertainment industry. Besides, Ling Ciye was also a member of the mafia and triads, which were rather fearsome. Without having someone as influential as Gu Beicheng to back her up, no one would believe a word she said. However, her main concern was actually the fact that she did not have a backup n, in the event that An Xiaoning orders for her to be nabbed. By then, she would be in an even sorrier state. After sitting on the couch for a long while, she whipped out her phone again and began browsing through thetest news. ¡°Major changes in Cab of A City: Reshuffle of staff made across all positions, including Mayor, Secretary, Police Headquarters, Courts, etc.¡± The head of the Police Headquarters was reced by Xu Yang, a handsome man in his thirties who looked suave and dashing in a policeman uniform, based on the photograph attached to the news report. The breaking news of the sudden and major reshuffle made the headlines of news and media reports, and the topic went viral across the nation. It caused an uproar amongizens as they began discussing it fervently on various tforms online. In conclusion, A City was going through a drastic political change. Chi Rui¡¯er proceeded to refresh the webpage, only to see that another piece of news had made the headlines. Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s heart was about to explode out of her chest. The title of the news read: ¡± Newly appointed Bureau Chief of the Police Headquarters makes a trip down to the home of the Jin family personally, in a bid to request for An Xiaoning¡¯s assistance in ongoing investigations for a tough case. ¡± Reading on, it was reported that An Xiaoning was capable of fortune-telling and providing highly urate predictions. There was a variance of both positive and negative responses in thements section. Someizens felt that An Xiaoning would not bother embroiling herself in the arduous investigations, for she was the mistress of the wealthy Jin family ¡ª which meant she lived a life of luxury, with an endless amount of money to spend, and could practically do whatever she wanted. It would go to show how truly capable she was if she were to agree to assist in the investigations. However, there were also some who felt that An Xiaoning would not make the cut, despite being a wealthy man¡¯s wife who was capable of fortune-telling. After all, she did not graduate from police training school, nor did she undergo any professional training in investigating cases. Her mere ability to read fortunes does not necessarily make her qualified. Besides, there were many other fortune-tellers out there, apart from her. Meanwhile, others had felt from an objective viewpoint that while there was indeed an abundance of fortune-tellers, the ones who were truly capable were few and far in between. Many who im to be fortune-tellers were in fact swindlers who knew nothing. Thus, An Xiaoning must really be something, for the police to have decided to engage her help. It would reflect badly on the police, otherwise. Chi Rui¡¯er locked her phone screen as soon as she read the news, clearly infuriated at the fact that An Xiaoning was stealing the limelight and enjoying every benefit there was. What¡¯s the big deal about being good at fortune-telling?she thought to herself in disgruntlement. However, she was, in fact, green with envy. She was determined to destroy An Xiaoning, no matter what it takes! ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning nced at the newly appointed Bureau Chief of the Police Headquarters, who seemed to be in histe thirties. He looked suave and refined while also exuding a formidable aura. ¡°Hello, Mrs. Jin. Oh, you¡¯re here too, Mr. Jin. I suppose you¡¯ve already heard about this from Bureau Chief Pan. This being the capital of S Nation, the government has imposed strict regtions on investigations in recent years, making it mandatory for us to follow up on every case until it is officially closed. However, there are some cases which date back to a long, long time ago, and we may not be able to recover enough evidence. The ones we could find were mostly too vague as well. It¡¯s almost the new year, and we¡¯ve received a steep increase in the number of cases filed. Upon orders from the government, we¡¯ve decided to seek help from individuals with extraordinary powers, like yourself. Bureau Chief Pan has told me that you¡¯re still considering whether or not to join us in the investigations. Now that I¡¯ve be the newly appointed Chief, may I ask that you let me know of your decision, Mrs. Jin?¡± ¡°Well, I was waiting for a reshuffle during the time I took to consider. To be honest, we¡¯ve heard about the news regarding this issue. Since you¡¯ve taken the courtesy to make your way down here personally, then I shall cut straight to the chase and discuss my ideas with you. I¡¯ll ept the offer if wee to a consensus. Otherwise, I¡¯ll just take a pass,¡± An Xiaoning said bluntly. ¡°Please feel free to speak your mind, Mrs. Jin.¡± ¡°Firstly, during my time at the police station assisting in investigations, I¡¯d like to request that I not be asked to leave my position as and whenever you please, unless Imit a reprimandable mistake, or unless I ask to leave out of my own ord.¡± She raised a finger and continued, ¡°Secondly, I suggest you set up a small department meant for solving cases like that. Within this department, there must be, in my opinion, two armed policemen who are highly trained in martial arts. Thirdly, I also think it¡¯d be better to report to you directly, matters involving search warrants and other documents which have to be applied for. That¡¯ll save a great ton of hassle. Of course, post-investigation applications should also be allowed. Lastly...¡± After a brief moment of silence, she continued to speak, ¡°This is the most important of all: I ask that you trust me.¡± Taken aback by herst request, Xu Yang reiterated, ¡°Mrs. Jin, we definitely trust you, since we¡¯ve decided to recruit you.¡± ¡°I meant, in the event that I ept the offer, please trust me when I say that a certain piece of evidence is false, even if you are convinced by it during investigations.¡± Having understood what she meant, Xu Yang nodded and agreed, ¡°I¡¯ll give you my promise on that, and I¡¯ll allow you the chance to prove yourself.¡± ¡°What about the three other requests I¡¯ve made?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do as you requested and set up a small department, with two armed policemen, Mrs. Jin.¡± With a nod, An Xiaoning said, ¡°I¡¯m going on a vacation with my husband. I¡¯ll report to work when I¡¯m back from my trip.¡± ¡°Deal, so it¡¯s settled. I shan¡¯t continue to impose on you anymore, Mr. and Mrs. Jin,¡± said Xu Yang as he rose from his seat. The couple then stood up and walked him to the door. ¡°Xiaoning.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve suddenly realized an issue. Would you like to know what it is?¡± Jin Qingyan asked, cing his hands behind his back, his eyes bright and full of expression. Chapter 118 - You’ll Get On Fine, With or Without Me

Chapter 118: You¡¯ll Get On Fine, With or Without Me

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°What?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just, I¡¯ve realized that you¡¯re capable of aplishing many things on your own. It makes me feel like you¡¯ll get on fine, with or without me,¡± said Jin Qingyan, staring at her. ¡°Well, all I can say is, that¡¯s because of my overachieving personality, and also because I¡¯m not reliant on you,¡± An Xiaoning said truthfully. ¡°You don¡¯t actually love me, do you?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t love me, so you don¡¯t deserve the right to know that answer. Ask me again when you¡¯ve really fallen for me,¡± said An Xiaoning, refusing to answer his question. Jin Qingyan chuckled. ¡°Let¡¯s embark on our honeymoon trip tomorrow. Let¡¯s both not bring our mobile phones or othermunication devices and seclude ourselves from the rest of the world. It¡¯ll be a honeymoon trip between just the both of us.¡± ¡°Seclude ourselves from the rest of the world? Are we going on a honeymoon trip or a concentration camp?¡± mocked An Xiaoning as she walked backwards. ¡°Stop avoiding my question. So do you agree to that?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve already brought it up, so I guess I¡¯ll agree. Let me inform everyone not to be surprised when they can¡¯t contact me in the meantime.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already settled that in advance,¡± he said, grinning. ¡°You¡¯re pretty fast, eh.¡± ¡ª¡ª Mo Li casually scrolled past the news report about Ye Xiaotian bringing forward his wedding with Bai Ranran, not bothering to read the content at all. She had even detested the sight of Ye Xiaotian¡¯s name. ¡°Sis, Brother-inw called to say that he couldn¡¯t get through to you on your mobile phone,¡± said Mo Xun as he entered. ¡°My mobile phone shut off by itself because it ran out of battery. I¡¯m charging it now.¡± ¡°Um, Brother-inw said he wouldn¡¯t being home today and asked that you rest early. He¡¯s currently overseas and will only be back tomorrow morning. It¡¯s gettingte, go to bed early, Sis,¡± said Mo Xun with a look of pity. With a nk expression on her face, Mo Li answered, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go upstairs to get some rest now. Your brother-inw has been rather busytely.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± replied Mo Xun, who knew exactly what was going on. As much as he pitied his sister, there was nothing he could do to help. Mo Li remained seated, her hands trembling slightly, as she watched her brother slowly walk away. Byron would return home in the day, asionally. Sometimes, he would be home the entire morning, and other times, the entire afternoon. Ever since the incident with Ye Xiaotian, he had never spent a night at home. However, she could empathize with him and understood that he needed some time toe to terms with it. Or perhaps not... Mo Li could not bring herself to speak up, although he was a gentleman. She had no idea how her life had been reduced to such a sorry state. She was still young in her years, yet she was living like a walking corpse, dreading the arrival of each day. She then got up and headed upstairs. After removing the rubberband on her head, she beganbing her hair, only to realize that there was a bunch of loose hairs stuck on the teeth of theb. To her astonishment, she noticed that a massive amount of her hair had fallen out and onto the dressing table. Lately, she had been suffering from insomnia, barely managing to catch some shuteye each night. Mo Li disposed of the hairs into the dustbin and sat on her bed. As usual, she did not feel sleepy at all. After sitting on the bed and staring nkly into space for about 20 minutes, she got out of bed, put on her coat, and quickly made her way downstairs. The chilly wind was piercing cold. Wrapping herself tightly with her coat, she zoomed towards the butler. ¡°Please bring me the spare car.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± She hopped into the car as soon as the chauffeur arrived, shortly after. ¡°Where are you headed to, Your Highness?¡± ¡°To the office.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± The chauffeur drove at a steady pace and soon arrived at the entrance of Byron¡¯s office building. ¡°Wait for me here, I¡¯ll be back in a short while,¡± she said to the chauffeur. ¡°Sure.¡± Mo Li arrived at the entrance, only to see that the door was wide open, exposing the brightly lit room. Meanwhile, the receptionist at the front desk was fast asleep. She put on a mask and sped towards the staircase. She climbed up the stairs to the second storey, where she entered the elevator and made her way up to the CEO¡¯s office. The corridor was brightly lit, without a single soul in sight. Mo Li looked out for the signs on the doors as she walked inside. The lights in the CEO¡¯s office were still switched on. Who could possibly dare to loiter around his office at this hour? Unless it was he himself. Just as she was about to enter, she heard a woman¡¯s voice all of a sudden,ing from inside his office. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you saying anything?¡± ¡°What¡¯s there to say? I have no words,¡± Byron said coldly. ¡°You have nothing to say? Can¡¯t you just inform the media to stop implicating me into every single piece of news about you? I¡¯m really sick and tired of living each day in the eye of the public. This is no different from before we got divorced.¡± It was ostensibly Byron¡¯s ex-wife who had been talking. ¡°It¡¯s not like I can control what they write about us. Besides, they don¡¯t write much about you. You can dly go ahead with finding yourself a boyfriend or a new husband, it really wouldn¡¯t matter.¡± ¡°They just won¡¯t shut up about our divorce which happened ages ago. At the end of the day, women are still different from men. We be akin to secondhand goods as soon as we¡¯re divorced, unlike men who are free to look for another partner as and when they please. But seriously speaking, you¡¯ve got a really poor taste.¡± Not wishing to speak to her any further, Byron cut her off, ¡°Annie, that¡¯s enough. Let¡¯s refrain from meeting each other in the future, unless it¡¯s something really important.¡± ¡°Afraid your dainty little wife would get jealous? Byron, do you think I like seeing you that much? I just hope you will inform the media to stop implicating me in your matters, the next time you receive an interview. It has caused a huge disturbance in my life,¡± Annie said sneeringly. ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell them that yourself? Making me out to be the bad guy?¡± ¡°You¡¯re a man. What¡¯s wrong with you telling them that?¡± said Annie, refusing to give in at all. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll let them know. Can you leave now?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave right away. But before that, let me give you an honest piece of advice. It¡¯d be fine if you got yourself a pure and a simple girl with a decent background. But don¡¯t you think you¡¯re bringing shame to yourself as a royal prince by marrying that used and worthless woman? The point is, the media will definitelypare me to her, which really infuriates me. Apart from the fact that she¡¯s younger than I am, I really can¡¯t tell what you see in her. I¡¯m better than her in every other aspect. Bye, I¡¯m leaving.¡± Slinging her bag across her shoulder, she opened the door, only to find that Mo Li had been standing by the entrance. However, she did not feel guilty at all despite knowing that Mo Li had probably heard what she said. Instead, she cast her a dirty look and let out an intentional cough as she sized Mo Li up, scanning her from head to toe. Atst, she said with a scoff, ¡°It¡¯s no wonder Byron was attracted to you. You¡¯ve got a really well-endowed bosom, haha.¡± Mo Li cast a nce at her and noticed that she waspletely t-chested. ¡°Thank you for thepliment.¡± ¡°Hmph.¡± Annie turned around and left. Byron knew that she was here upon hearing her voice at the door. As soon as he saw her, he began to look a little guilty and awkward, as if he was being exposed. He seemed to be ashamed, not at the fact that his ex-wife was there, but rather at the fact that she had exposed him for not returning home. ¡°Why... did youe here?¡± ¡°Byron, let¡¯s get a divorce,¡± Mo Li suggested calmly as she stepped forward. Byron was greatly startled by her words, for he did not expect her to initiate a divorce. He had only wanted to have some time away from her in order to sort his feelings out; he did not know how to face her ever since the incident. ¡°But we¡¯ve gotten married only recently...¡± ¡°You¡¯re a good man. I feel really honored to be introduced to you by Qingyan. However, after some serious thought, I can¡¯t let you continue living with me, with a thorn in your flesh. I know you¡¯re too embarrassed to bring it up, so I¡¯ll take the initiative to say it.¡± He quickly stepped forward to grab her hand and said, ¡°Are you upset because I haven¡¯t beening home at night recently? I just needed a few days to sort my feelings out, it¡¯s not that I wanted a divorce but couldn¡¯t bring myself to say it. Don¡¯t overthink it.¡± Chapter 119 - Storytime with Jin Qingyan

Chapter 119: Storytime with Jin Qingyan

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Really?¡± said Mo Li, raising her head. Inching forward to pull her into an embrace, Byron reassured her, ¡°You¡¯re my wife now. I won¡¯t give you up easily since I¡¯ve chosen to marry you. I have to be responsible towards you. About that incident, it wasn¡¯t your fault. I know clearly what happened, thus, I don¡¯t me you for it.¡± ¡°Thank you, Hubby,¡± said Mo Li, wrapping her hands around his waist, tears welling up in her eyes. ¡°Let¡¯s have a child, shall we?¡± said Byron. She was reminded of Ye Xiaotian¡¯s words at the instant that she nodded, and she began feeling a little worried. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go home now,¡± said Byron, putting an arm around her. ¡°Okay.¡± ¡ª¡ª Upon hearing that they were going on a honeymoon trip, Mrs. Jin was overjoyed at how much progress they¡¯ve made in their rtionship. She strongly supported the idea and especially reminded An Xiaoning not to take any contraceptive measures. An Xiaoning then informed Jin Qingyan of his mother¡¯s instruction, despite having already agreed with her over the phone. ¡°Mother said we should make a baby during our honeymoon trip, and she instructed me not to take any contraception. What do you think about that?¡± As per his usual reaction, Jin Qingyan answered, ¡°I¡¯m standing firm on my decision of not wanting children at the moment. We¡¯ve yet to enjoy enough of our alone time, what¡¯s the rush?¡± Having expected him to react that way, she dropped the subject and did not speak another word about it. ¡°The luggage is ready, let¡¯s set out.¡± An Xiaoning boarded the airne while Jin Qingyan followed closely behind. The destination they were headed to was a tropical area in the country, which was more than 6000 miles away. It was warm and sunny there, as opposed to the freezing winter at their side. They sat opposite each other on the airne. An Xiaoning removed her shoes and covered herself with a nket while chatting with him. ¡°I¡¯ve never traveled beyond our city before.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been living inside a cave.¡± ¡°Hey, I grew up on the mountains from a young age, and I got married to Shi Shaochuan as soon as I left the mountains. How could I have possibly had the chance to travel the world? Hence, I¡¯m really excited now. Why are you so calm about it?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯ve been to other countries so many more times than you have. Traveling within our nation is no big deal.¡± ¡°Are you trying to brag?¡± An Xiaoning remarked in disdain. ¡°You¡¯re overthinking,¡± he said, browsing through the newspapers with one leg crossed over another, not looking up at her at all. ¡°Hubby, tell me a joke, will you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how to tell jokes.¡± ¡°Then, tell me a story? Any genre will do, be it romance, thriller, supernatural horror, ancient, or anything else,¡± she continued. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to tell stories.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you were well-rounded?¡± she asked apprehensively. ¡°I meant I was well rounded in bed. Would you like me to tell you more about that?¡± ¡°Are you going to boast about your skills? I don¡¯t want to hear about it,¡± said An Xiaoning, not finding anything interesting about that topic. ¡°Look how boring you are. I shall give you some of my time then. Let me tell you a fairytale.¡± Does he think I¡¯m a child? she thought to herself. ¡°Why are you pulling a long face? Do you want to hear it or not? I won¡¯t tell you if you don¡¯t want to. Did you think I was going to tell you about the usual boring, old fairytales? Well, you¡¯ve underestimated me then. My stories have always stood out from the rest,¡± Jin Qingyan said confidently as he ced the newspapers onto the table and proceeded to pour two sses of red wine. He handed her one and rested against the table while swirling his ss of red wine in his hand. ¡°Hmm... just how different are yours? Tell me one.¡± After a brief moment of hesitation, he began to speak, ¡°Let me tell you a story about Snow White. Once upon a time, there was an evil queen who asked the magic mirror, ¡®Who is the fairest of them all?¡¯ The mirror replied, ¡®You. But Snow White is even fairer than you are,¡¯ thus sparking a strong sense of jealousy within the Queen, who then swore to kill Snow White. Only then will she be the fairest woman of them all.¡± Upon hearing his words, An Xiaoningpletely lost interest in hearing the rest of his story, for she already knew the ending. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say your fairytales were different from the traditional ones?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the rush? I¡¯ve yet to finish, calm down.¡± He then continued, ¡°Hence, the Queen sent an assassin to bring Snow White to the forest and to have her killed. However, she waster saved by a hunter passing by.¡± An Xiaoning could not help but ask, ¡°Did Snow White get together with the hunter?¡± ¡°Screw you, don¡¯t interrupt me. She obviously didn¡¯t,¡± Jin Qingyan retorted. ¡°Afterwards, the hunter brought her to a house with seven other dwarves, where she lived the rest of her days. The evil Queen then asked the magic mirror the same question, to which it replied again, ¡®Snow White,¡¯ causing the Queen to grow into an uncontroble rage. ¡®Why would it be Snow White if she¡¯s already dead?¡¯ the Queen thought. The magic mirror then revealed that Snow White was still alive and that she was living in the home of seven dwarves. Once again, the Queen sent another assassin to have Snow White killed, but this time, she tagged along in a bid to watch Snow White die before her own eyes.¡± At this juncture, An Xiaoning let out a yawn and said, ¡°I¡¯m falling asleep just listening to your boring fairytale. I still can¡¯t tell what¡¯s so different about it.¡± ¡°Stop being so impatient, the plot twist ising.¡± Jin Qingyan lifted his ss to have a sip of wine and continued with a grin, ¡°To the astonishment of the Queen, Snow White was the only woman in the house, thus making her the center of attention. During the long period of her stay, the seven dwarves had treated her extremely well ¡ª they gave her massages, cooked her meals, did the chores, brought her water, and went out to work to generate an ie, every single day without fail. Snow White was leading afortable life with the seven dwarves, and thus had no intention of returning to the Pce at all.¡± An Xiaoning stared at him in disbelief over how absurd he had made the fairytale sound. Did this reallye out of Jin Qingyan¡¯s mouth!?! Unable to contain her amusement, she burst intoughter and asked, ¡°What happened to the Queen afterwards? Did she kill Snow White?¡± ¡°Of course not. Snow White had gotten pregnant with the third dwarf¡¯s child. Instead of killing her, the Queen left with her men, for she knew that Snow White could no longer return to the pce. Alright, that¡¯s the end of the story.¡± ¡°You left out Prince Charming and the Poison Apple.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I said my fairytales were different from others,¡± he said indolently. An Xiaoning was speechless. She turned around to face him and said, ¡°Your story was so boring it actually made me sleepy. Wake me up when we¡¯ve arrived.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t go to sleep yet.¡± He ced the ss of wine onto the table and sat down beside her. ¡°Go sleep on the bed inside, I have everything here in my private jet.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± An Xiaoning agreed as she got up. Needless to say, she would obviously pick the bed over the couch. Sheid onto the bed, only to realize that he had followed her into the room and locked the door. ¡°You¡¯re sleepy too?¡± ¡°I just woke up a while ago, why would I be sleepy? I just feel a little bored and I thought we should do something interesting to kill some time. This flight is going to take hours,¡± said Jin Qingyan as he removed his shoes and snuggled up next to her. He ced her head onto his shoulder and pressed his face against hers affectionately, while his hands wandered about her body. An Xiaoning could not fall asleep since he kept touching her. She tried to reject his advances, but to no avail. Thus, she decided to close her eyes and just y dead. ¡°Xiaoning?¡± ¡°Hmm...¡± ¡°If you could decide, what would you like to dream about?¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯d like to dream about bing the Snow White you had mentioned in your fairytale.¡± ¡°...¡± Chapter 120 - Plotting a Scheme

Chapter 120: Plotting a Scheme

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Sis Weiwei, I¡¯ve asked around, Bai Ranran is currently looking for a bridal store to order her wedding gowns and attire in advance. They¡¯re going to proceed with their wedding photoshoot as soon as Mr. Ye recovers.¡± ¡°You¡¯re giving me such useless information. I told you to find out about her health condition, what¡¯s the point of telling me these? You¡¯re really getting on my nerves. Go find out what disease she¡¯s gued with,¡± Sun Weiwei ordered sternly, frustration written all over her face. ¡°It¡¯s impossible to find out about that. Mr. Ye has bribed all the doctors to ensure that they¡¯d keep mum about her condition,¡± her assistant said softly. ¡°Are you stupid? Since you can¡¯t get any information out of the doctors, don¡¯t you know how to ask about it from her family?¡± A sudden idea struck Sun Weiwei¡¯s mind as she continued to speak, ¡°Oh right, Bai Ranran¡¯s brother must be in the know. It should be easy to get something out of that wastrel who¡¯s capable of nothing but vices.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, Bai Duocai has even tried to ask you out on a date previously, but I rejected him,¡± her assistant quickly agreed. ¡°Contact him right away and tell him that I¡¯d like to treat him to a meal.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± After finding a way to contact Bai Duocai, the assistant proceeded to give him a call as instructed by Sun Weiwei. Bai Duocai was over the moon upon hearing that Sun Weiwei had wanted to meet him for a meal, and he agreed eagerly. ¡°I must find out what disease she¡¯s gued with by tonight. Only then can I n my next move. It¡¯ll be toote do anything by the time Brother Xiaotian marries her,¡± said Sun Weiwei. ¡°I doubt he¡¯ll give it away so easily, unless you get him drunk and try to sound him out. Sis Weiwei, won¡¯t it be a little dangerous for you to go meet him alone?¡± the assistant asked worriedly. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. I know very well how to handle such men.¡± By evening, Sun Weiwei had already dolled herself up, in preparation for dinner with Bai Ranran¡¯s biological brother, Bai Duocai. She had on a full face of immacte makeup and was dressed to the nines, d in ace dress with a thigh-high split, stockings, heels, and a long feathered coat. She entered the private dining room, only to see that Bai Duocai had already arrived. He had put on a substantial amount of weight, which was evident from his especially rounded figure and eyes that had appeared smaller because of his chubbier face. Upon the sight of Sun Weiwei¡¯s arrival, he quickly stood up and greeted, ¡°Oh, you actually showed up, Weiwei. Please, have a seat. My wish to meet you has finallye true. Have you any idea how much I adore you?¡± He reached out to hold Sun Weiwei¡¯s hand. Instead of resisting his touch, Sun Weiwei cracked a smile and said, ¡°Mr. Bai, I only found out recently that you¡¯d wanted to go on a date with me previously but was turned down by my silly assistant. I¡¯m very sorry about that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, you didn¡¯t know about it, I don¡¯t me you. Here, have some liquor, Weiwei. I got it especially for you.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± she said, grinning while pouring them a ss of liquor each. After clinking sses, she poured the ice-cold liquor into her sleeve instead of drinking it. Bai Duocai chugged the liquor in one gulp as he tilted his head backwards to make sure he had gotten everyst drop. In high spirits, he fervently served Sun Weiwei. ¡°Here, have some of these delicacies.¡± ¡°I heard your sister is getting married soon, when would it be your turn?¡± asked Sun Weiwei as she helped herself to the food with a pair of chopsticks. ¡°I¡¯ve yet to find my true love. Actually, I¡¯d like to get married sooner too, but there¡¯s nothing I can do,¡± Bai Duocai answered dejectedly with a sigh. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be in such a hurry, Mr. Bai. Given how great of a catch you are, you shouldn¡¯t have to worry about finding yourself a wife. I suppose there are a great ton of women throwing themselves at you, isn¡¯t that so?¡± Sun Weiwei said smilingly. Upon hearing her words, Bai Duocai felt a whim of confidence and answered, ¡°More than ten, I guess, though that¡¯s not considered many. But I just don¡¯t feel the spark with those tramps.¡± Sun Weiwei continued to pour him more liquor, ss after ss. ¡°Here, let¡¯s keep drinking.¡± Bai Duocai was enthralled by her eagerness. He had intended to take liberties with her once she was drunk. Little did he know that she had the same intention of getting him drunk as well. Bai Duocai could not help but enjoy the thrill of caressing her hands every now and then. The pair continued their attempts at getting each other drunk, while Sun Weiwei¡¯s assistant waited alone patiently outside the room. As time passed, her assistant began to feel a little worried as Sun Weiwei was yet toe out. At that juncture, Sun Weiwei decided to sit onto hisp, allowing him to let his hands roam freely about her body in a bid to get him to chug down more liquor. One would be bound to sumb to the effects of arge amount of alcohol, no matter how well he could hold his liquor. Soon, Bai Duocai was drunk out of his senses while Sun Weiwei struggled with the difort of having her alcohol-soaked sleeve touching her skin. In a drunken stupor, Bai Duocai began to answer the questions Sun Weiwei had thrown at him, though his words were slurred as his brain was all fuzzy and blurry. Little did he expect for his initial scheme to be foiled by Sun Weiwei, who was an expert at entertaining guests. In a moment of slight consciousness, he tried to pin Sun Weiwei down onto the chair, only to have her chug more liquor down his throat. ¡°I... I... can¡¯t take it anymore. No... no... more drinks for me,¡± he murmured, on the verge of intoxication as he swayed unsteadily from side to side. ¡°C¡¯mon, Mr. Bai, it was merely a few drinks. Well then, how much are you going to pay me for having a meal with you?¡± asked Sun Weiwei. He chuckled. ¡°Has money ever been an issue for me? Sleep with me for one night, and I¡¯ll give you 200 thousand dors. How does that sound?¡± Sun Weiwei¡¯s face stiffened with anger as she stood up immediately, causing Bai Duocai to lose his bnce and fall backwards onto the ground. ¡°Bastard, you think 200 thousand dors is enough to get me to sleep with you? Dream on,¡± Sun Weiwei scoffed distastefully. She bent forward to pick up Bai Duocai¡¯s wallet and rummaged through it to find that it contained some credit cards, debit cards, and a cheque for 200 thousand dors. It turns out, he had indeed nned to make her sleep with him, in exchange for 200 thousand dors. What does he take me for? The least I get paid for a meal with a tycoon is 800 thousand dors. 200 thousand dors really pales inparison. I can¡¯t let him take advantage of me, Sun Weiwei thought to herself, although she had already obtained the information she wanted. After putting on her hat and mask, Sun Weiwei exited the room and left hurriedly with her assistant. As soon as they got up the nanny van, she removed her hat and mask. ¡°Lady Luck is really smiling on me. I¡¯ve got everything I needed to know.¡± A malicious smile formed on her face as she thought about her scheme. ¡°Let¡¯s see who gets thestugh.¡± Feeling a little terrified by her expression, her assistant asked, ¡°Sis Weiwei, what are you going to do?¡± ¡°That¡¯s for me to know. I have my own ns. I¡¯m going to make sure Brother Xiaotian calls off his engagement with her. I promise she will die a horrible death.¡± ¡ª¡ª Once they¡¯ve arrived at their destination, they left their luggage in the hotel room and headed to the beach. They spent the rest of their afternoon sunbathing, getting massages by the beach, and feasting on a sumptuous spread. An Xiaoning donned a bikini paired with shades and a sun hat, while Jin Qingyan wore only a pair of beach shorts. Having cut off contact with the rest of the world, the pair enjoyed a private honeymoon on the sunny ind faraway, where they could forget their woes. They took plenty of photos on the beach. They then spent the night on the roof of the hotel building. Although they were a little exhausted from an eventful day, the picturesque view of the beach and skyline was worth every bit of it. Jin Qingyan had never thoroughly enjoyed himself on a vacation despite having gone on many business trips before. Ever since he took over thepany, he had had an overwhelming amount of work to handle, almost every day. Thus, this honeymoon trip was the chance for him to finally let his hair down, as he felt exceptionally at ease with thepany of his wife, An Xiaoning. Being miles away from his hectic lifestyle, he could finally rx and be free from worry. Chapter 121 - Kept Wanting More

Chapter 121: Kept Wanting More

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He held her in his arms, and the two of them kneeled there. Neither of them said a word. They just enjoyed the moment of peace. But unbeknownst to them, the scene of them at the beach was captured by a group of travelers and was posted online. As can be imagined, when Chi Rui¡¯er saw the photo, she was so enraged that she was almost on fire. While she was thrown into misery, they were traveling! That was the difference. The child in her stomach would be two months old soon. When it became three to four months old, her stomach would have grown bigger, and if she wanted to do anything about it, it would then be impossible. Even if she wanted to find a father for her child then, it would be too unlikely. But now, it was still possible. Chi Rui¡¯er had contemted very deeply about it. She could only casually mention that she was carrying Jin Qingyan¡¯s child to Gu Beicheng. But if she shamelessly decided to expose it online, not only would her post be deleted, Jin Qingyan would also wait for her stomach to grow bigger before doing a paternity test. By then, not only would she be famous, she would incur the rage of many people. After all, he already knew that it could not be his. Going with the same logic, it was even more impossible to use it on Gu Beicheng. Chi Rui¡¯er sat there looking dejected. Now, she could only find a man who was ignorant of this to take care of the mess. This person had to be of a certain standard too. She wanted to wait until Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning were unguarded against her before striking a fatal blow to them. If she didn¡¯t, she could not take it lying down. At night was when the nightclub was most crowded. With some simple makeup on, Chi Rui¡¯er looked younger by a lot. Her long hair was over her shoulders, and she was d in a white cotton-padded jacket, a thick skirt over ck leggings, and high heels. With a small red bag slung over her shoulder, she looked nothing like a woman who was pregnant for over a month. Her eyes continued to scan through the crowd. Whether that person appeared to be rich or poor was extremely clear to her at one nce. Nothing could escape her eyes. Suddenly, she saw a figure from the Gu family. It was Gu Beicheng¡¯s half-brother, Gu Dongcheng. Chi Rui¡¯er scrutinized him for a long while. From his looks to every other detail, he seemed decent. However, Gu Beicheng already knew that she was pregnant. If she got close to Gu Dongcheng, while it was not clear whether she would seed, if she did, would Gu Beicheng tell Gu Dongcheng about it? With this risk present, and the fact that Mrs. Gu was reluctant to see her, Chi Rui¡¯er was somewhat hesitant. She looked around and still felt that Gu Dongcheng was the most outstanding to her. Especially that face of his, which looked slightly simr to that of Gu Beicheng¡¯s. She felt slightly tempted. Eventually, she tossed her fears to the back of her mind and went forward to greet him. Gu Dongcheng had drunk a little wine. Upon seeing her, he asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t this Ms. Chi?¡± ¡°Master Gu, why are you alone here drinking your sorrows away?¡± ¡°Drinking my sorrows away? Me? I¡¯m not.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er sat beside him and, with her hand supporting her temples, she turned to look at him. ¡°I¡¯m alone too. How about I drink a few sses with you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s up to you.¡± Gu Dongcheng was no longer looking at her. He had his head raised and was looking at people dancing in the crowd while drinking leisurely. Seeing that he had emptied his ss, Chi Rui¡¯er voluntarily helped him to refill his ss with more wine. She herself drank too, seemingly unbothered by the fact that she was pregnant. Eventually, as she had wished for, she was helping him get into his car. ¡°Do you want some water?¡± ¡°No... I don¡¯t.¡± Gu Dongcheng rested against the car seat, bleary-eyed and in a drunken state. Chi Rui¡¯er removed her white cotton-padded jacket, revealing her sexy innerwear as sheined, ¡°It¡¯s so hot.¡± She leaned forward extremely close to him. ¡°Are you hot? I see that your face is very red after drinking.¡± Her hand caressed his face lightly, from his face to his chest, before making its way down his body. Gu Dongcheng¡¯s breathing became more rapid. With one hand holding down her arm, his eyes cleared up and he said, ¡°Ms. Chi, you should get off the car now.¡± Without any warning, Chi Rui¡¯er kissed his lips. Gu Dongcheng had an outburst of hormones instantly and he lost control. ¡ª In the morning, the rays of sunlight filled up the whole room. When An Xiaoning woke up, it was already past eight in the morning. She sat upright; with her head still fuzzy and facing the sun, she struggled to open her eyes. On the floor was the mess she and Jin Qingyan had created. Turning her head to the side, she saw that he was fast asleep. She did not want to get up anymore at that instant. As sheid down again, she suddenly realized he had a longer strand of beard on his chin. She reached out to pinch it and plucked at it tightly. He woke up from the pain. ¡°Xiaoning, you¡¯re being mischievous again.¡± An Xiaoning pinched the strand of beard in her hand. ¡°Look, there¡¯s a long strand of beard here. That¡¯s so weird, how did you let that grow?¡± His eyes were fixed on her neck. There were bright red patches left by him, all of which were evidence of his victory. ¡°Today, let¡¯s go out to the sea, shall we?¡± ¡°Okay, then we¡¯ll have to get up soon.¡± Jin Qingyan sat upright. ¡°What time is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s past eight.¡± As she was on it, An Xiaoning continued, ¡°Didn¡¯t we agree to get up at seven today? It¡¯s all your fault, you didn¡¯t stopst night. If not for that, I would have woken up already.¡± ¡°Wow, this is my fault again. Who was the one who kept eximing how great it was and kept wanting more?¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s face went beetroot. ¡°It was you.¡± Jin Qingyan pointed to the red patches on her. ¡°Today, I¡¯ll nt more of these on you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want it.¡± She got down from the bed, wore her clothes, and rinsed herself. The couple dressed up properly before heading out for breakfast. As they sat down, someone sat down beside them. Jin Qingyan raised his head to look, and Gu Beicheng appeared before him with a tray of breakfast in his hands. With a grinning face, he remarked, ¡°Wow, what a coincidence.¡± ¡°Yeah, how coincidental,¡± Jin Qingyan barely managed to sputter. He did not think that meeting him there was a coincidence, and at this time of the day furthermore! An Xiaoning looked at Gu Beicheng and was stunned. What was he doing here? ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°I came here to rx for a few days too. Why, you don¡¯t wee your Brother?¡± Gu Beicheng lowered his head as he started eating. ¡°No, I¡¯m just shocked. Are you alone?¡± ¡°I was, but doesn¡¯t it make it three of us now?¡± There was a faint smile on his face. ¡°Xiaoning, you won¡¯t have fun with just your husband and leave your Brother out right?¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning was just about to say something when a leg from under the table kicked her. She knew who it was without even looking. ¡°Erm... that, we¡¯re on our honeymoon.¡± ¡°Alright, then, both of you have fun. I¡¯ll have fun by myself.¡± He looked like he was fine and continued to eat his food. It went like how Gu Beicheng had said; they had their own fun. Meaning to say, they all went to the same ce, but he did not interact much with the two of them. Eventually, An Xiaoning could only say, ¡°Alright, you cane with us.¡± Gu Beicheng broke into a wider grin. ¡°It seems like I haven¡¯t doted on you for nothing.¡± His hand was about to touch her head when a strong arm forcefully stopped it. ¡°ws away.¡± Gu Beicheng retracted his hand resentfully. ¡°My brother-inw is simply too petty.¡± ¡°Gu Beicheng!¡± ¡°What?¡± Gu Beicheng replied haughtily, ¡°Is it not right to call you brother-inw?¡± ¡°...¡± In any case, with the addition of Gu Beicheng to their honeymoon trip, there were also more things for Jin Qingyan to be bothered by. Chapter 122 - What a Scheming Woman

Chapter 122: What a Scheming Woman

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The only time when the two got along harmoniously was when they took pictures at sea. Most of the time, Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning were taking pictures together. But because Gu Beicheng asked to take a few pictures with An Xiaoning, on ount that he did not try to get in their way, Jin Qingyan allowed it. This trip, which made up for their honeymoon,sted for half a month in total. From the warm summer beach to various famous ces from other regions, they took many pictures and had many local delights, leaving behind many footprints and experiencing the local practices of many different ces. An Xiaoning really did not think about anything during this period of time. All she had on her mind was traveling, sight-seeing, and being a happy foodie. Although Jin Qingyan was somewhat annoyed by Gu Beicheng¡¯s intrusion, he still enjoyed his trip overall. Even Gu Beicheng himself was quite happy and felt that he had not wasted his timeing. After the honeymoon trip, the new year was also approaching. On the ne, An Xiaoning was deep in sleep. Gu Beicheng and Jin Qingyan sat opposite each other and had a stare-down. After a moment of silence, Gu Beicheng spoke. ¡°Before I came here, Chi Rui¡¯er came to find me.¡± Jin Qingyan replied, ¡°What for?¡± ¡°Nothing much. She just said... she¡¯s pregnant with your child.¡± Gu Beicheng shrugged. ¡°Don¡¯t know if it¡¯s true.¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± Jin Qingyan said only these few words. He felt no need to exin further to Gu Beicheng. ¡°That better be it, or else you¡¯re in for trouble.¡± Gu Beicheng smirked. ¡°What you¡¯re thinking of ispletely clear to me.¡± Jin Qingyan looked at An Xiaoning beside him and said, ¡°Gu Beicheng, why do you always like the women around me?¡± ¡°Who says?¡± he denied. ¡°I don¡¯t like your mother, or your sister either. How does that count as liking the women around you?¡± Once the words came out, a sharp dagger came flying towards Gu Beicheng. While he did not move at all, the daggernded beside his ear, missing it by just an inch. ¡°It was obviously you who said something wrong, but I pity the sofa skin which is of such good quality. I wonder if, during that instant in which it was pricked, it felt the pain.¡± He pulled out the dagger and used his hand to rub against the part of the sofa which was now torn apart. ¡°...¡± The ne traveled rapidly through the air all the way until it reached Wei Ni Estate. When they alighted from the ne, An Xiaoning took a look at the time ¡ª it was 2 in the afternoon. Fan Shixin drove a car to where they were, and the three got on together. They sent Gu Beicheng back to the Gu residence and then went back home. ¡°If you had not agreed, I wouldn¡¯t have been willing to see Gu Beicheng.¡± An Xiaoning humored him. ¡°Actually, he¡¯s not too bad.¡± ¡°You just don¡¯t understand him well.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you the same too? You don¡¯t have a right to say that.¡± She said objectively, ¡°I¡¯m really curious, how big of an issue did the both of you have that you¡¯re so against him?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just against him. There¡¯s no reason, the sight of him makes me annoyed.¡± An Xiaoning justughed and did not say a word. She asked Fan Shixin, ¡°In this half a month that we weren¡¯t around, did anything happen?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Fan Shixin made a cough and continued, ¡°It was on the news a few days ago, Ms. Chi and Gu Dongcheng were caught having a date by the media. The two of them didn¡¯te out from the room the whole night.¡± ¡°What?!¡± An Xiaoning was transfixed in surprise for a moment. ¡°Are you sure it was Gu Dongcheng?¡± ¡°Umm,¡± Fan Shixin confirmed. ¡°It was him indeed.¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s face changed. The first thing that came to his mind was ¡ª did it mean that the child in Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s stomach was Gu Dongcheng¡¯s? He did not express it out but kept these doubts buried in his heart. ¡°What a good catch.¡± An Xiaoning folded her hands together like she was deep in thought. She mused as she turned and look at Jin Qingyan, ¡°I wonder when they got together? What marvelous speed this is.¡± ¡°Who cares when they got together?¡± Jin Qingyan remarked coldly. ¡°Her matters have nothing to do with me in the future.¡± An Xiaoning replied with a grin, ¡°I really don¡¯t know what Gu Dongcheng is thinking, he actually has eyes for a scheming woman like Chi Rui¡¯er. Forget it, I guess one man¡¯s meat is another¡¯s poison. Let¡¯s not talk about him, didn¡¯t you also fall for her? It¡¯s not surprising at all, not surprising.¡± These words were like a knife that pierced through Jin Qingyan, turning his face green instantly. Knowing that Chi Rui¡¯er had moved on to ruin a new target, An Xiaoning felt more relieved inside. Although Gu Dongcheng was her Godbrother in name, they were hardly close in reality. If he was a willing party, she did not want to say anything further. ¡ª When Gu Beicheng returned, he saw his mother sitting on the sofa and ying the handphone game of ¡®Fight the Landlord.¡¯ ¡°Mother, why are you ying this again?¡± ¡°I have nothing to do anyway, so I¡¯m just ying it to pass time. Where have you been for this period of time? I haven¡¯t seen you.¡± Mrs. Gu sounded slightly displeased. ¡°You didn¡¯t even answer my calls, what on earth were you doing?¡± ¡°I went away to travel for a few days, just to rx.¡± Mrs. Gu ced her handphone down and said in hushed tones, ¡°Did you see the news? That tramp, Chi Rui¡¯er, has gotten together with your brother.¡± Hearing this, Gu Beicheng startedughing momentarily. ¡°Why are youughing, is it that funny that your brother is ying with the woman you yed with?¡± Mrs. Gu reached out to hit him. ¡°Mother...¡± He had not recovered from hisughter. ¡°If he wants to y with her, let him be. He can have fun with her for all I care.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the most important issue. When I see that Chi Rui¡¯er, all my insides boil up. She¡¯s not anything good.¡± Mrs. Gu continued, ¡°Son, you should open your eyes wider when you find a girlfriend next time. Don¡¯t find someone like Chi Rui¡¯er anymore. Just with our family background, it¡¯s not difficult for you to find a good woman.¡± ¡°Umm. You¡¯re right, Mother, I¡¯ll listen to you about everything in the future.¡± These sugar-coated words were especially pleasing to Mrs. Gu, but on the surface, she replied, ¡°When have you ever listened to me?¡± ¡°Who says I¡¯ve never listened to you, Mother? Well, you didn¡¯t ask for my permission to give birth to me, wasn¡¯t that me listening to you?¡± Mrs. Gu reached out to hit him again. He suddenly sprung to his feet and said, ¡°Mother, I have something else to do, I¡¯ll go first.¡± Mrs. Gu took her phone again and continued to y ¡®Fight the Landlord.¡¯ Gu Beicheng went out, and the smile that was already on his face grew wider. He stood there looking ahead and noticed Gu Dongcheng¡¯s car entering the courtyard. He suddenly leaped forward towards his direction. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you for some time, where have you been?¡± ¡°Went away for over ten days to rx. I saw the news, you¡¯re with Chi Rui¡¯er now?¡± Gu Dongcheng made a sound of acknowledgment, then continued, ¡°I know she was your...¡± He had yet to finish his words when Gu Beicheng interjected, ¡°Brother, although she used to be my girlfriend in name, I¡¯ve never touched her. So about this, you don¡¯t have to be bothered by it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s truly like what she said.¡± Gu Dongcheng chuckled. ¡°Where are you going now?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve something to attend to.¡± ¡°Alright, you go ahead.¡± Gu Beicheng walked past him and made his way to his own car slowly. When he got on, he retrieved Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s phone number from the list of blocked numbers and sent her a message: ¡°Does my brother know that you¡¯re pregnant?¡± Very soon, he received a reply: ¡°I¡¯m not pregnant, I was just joking with you.¡± He chucked his phone aside and mumbled to himself, ¡°What a scheming woman.¡± Chapter 123 - Because Im Too Pretty

Chapter 123: Because I¡¯m Too Pretty

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Jin Qingyan received a simr message from Chi Rui¡¯er, he was slightly taken aback. He stared at the words on his phone screen: ¡°I¡¯m not pregnant at all actually. I have a new boyfriend now, will you give me your blessings?¡± He deleted the message directly, along with the feelings he had for her and the disappointment that he had towards her now. He deleted all of these once and for all. Looking at her, he felt that she had changed so drastically that he could no longer recognize how she was like originally. An Xiaoning passed him the milk. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You look very serious.¡± He tossed his phone aside and took the milk from her. ¡°Nothing much.¡± ¡°Boss, that fellow is calling again!¡± Looking at the caller ID, she remarked, ¡°It¡¯s a call from Xu Yang.¡± She then slid her phone to answer, ¡°Hello, Chief Officer Xu.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Tomorrow?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll head over tomorrow morning. Umm, bye.¡± Jin Qingyan looked up. ¡°He called you over to the police team?¡± ¡°Umm, he said he couldn¡¯t get through to me the past two days. Since he could get through to me today, he wanted me to go over to see if there¡¯s anything I¡¯m dissatisfied with so that they could make changes. After the new year, I¡¯ll start work. I have the status of a Young Madam but the life of a lowly maid,¡± she muttered as sheid on the bed, staring at the ceiling. ¡°You canpletely just reject the offer to assist them and stay at home to live the life of a housewife. You can do anything you want, why suffer like that?¡± Jin Qingyan suggested honestly, his eyes fixed on her. ¡°I suddenly gained an interest in it. I just feel that as long as we live, we should do something meaningful. After all, we wouldn¡¯t know when we might just die one day.¡± ¡°I just thought of this.¡± Jin Qingyan was slightly hesitant. ¡°You¡¯ve seen so much of those birth characters, will it be harmful to your body?¡± ¡°There will be effects. The more frequent you see them, the greater the ¡®Yang¡¯ energy in your body will be weakened. That¡¯s why I don¡¯t read others¡¯ birth characters often. After all, having good health is fundamental to our life. Other things can¡¯tpare, right?¡± Standing before the bed, Jin Qingyan looked down at her and, thereafter, pressed his body down on hers. With both hands supporting the sides of her body, he remarked, ¡°I just think that every day spent with you never makes me feel tired of it. It actually feels refreshing to me. What exactly is the reason?¡± An Xiaoning answered with a wide grin, ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯m too pretty, you¡¯ll never get tired of me no matter how many times you see me. Can¡¯t help it, I¡¯m this confident of it.¡± He touched his lips as he broke into augh. Seeing such a youthful and intelligent-looking face, he suddenly felt that that was what his wife had to look like. ¡ª At past midnight, rain started pattering outside. The corridor of the hospital was dimly lit, and a woman who was wearing a nurse¡¯s uniform was walking briskly, wearing a face mask. Very soon, she stopped outside the VIP ward and entered discreetly. It was pitch ck inside, and the woman appeared slightly nervous. Her footsteps were light, and she shed around the torchlight in her hand. Bai Ranran was already fast asleep and was not woken up. The woman was extremely nimble. She ced a piece of colorless and odorless incense, along with a small bag, on the ground and then went out. After about more than ten minutes, she re-entered the room, this time using the bag to wrap around the incense. She threw it into the bag, then took out a small syringe containing white liquid inside. Maybe due to nervousness, she held onto the syringe and did not make her move for a long time. Thinking that the effects of the incense might wear off soon, she shed the torch onto Bai Ranran¡¯s shoulder and injected the syringe needle into her blood vessel, watching the white liquid enter her body little by little. After everything was done, she did not forget to do a double check and, after ensuring that there were no errors, she left the ce hurriedly. Everything that had happened was unbeknownst to Bai Ranran, who waspletely knocked out. The woman in the nurse¡¯s uniform left the hospital and got on a rented van briskly. On the road, she continued to break out in cold sweat all the way until she transferred cars and got on a nanny van. ¡°Sister Weiwei, I¡¯ve done as you said.¡± Sun Weiwei made a hand gesture as she praised her, ¡°Very good, you¡¯ll be rewarded with 5000 yuan as a bonus this month. But listen up, if you dare to spread the word about this, you...¡± She made a hand gesture of strangling her, and the assistant understood it loud and clear. ¡°Sister Weiwei, I¡¯ve been with you for such a long time already. Since you asked me to do it, it means that you trust me. How could I possibly betray you? Now, that Bai Ranran will get what she deserves.¡± Sun Weiwei pulled out a cigarette to light up and took a small puff of smoke. ¡°This time, I¡¯ll see how she¡¯d still act arrogant in front of me. This kind of virus does not show any symptoms within a short period of time. We¡¯ll just wait and see.¡± ¡°Then again, Sister Weiwei, where did you get that thing?¡± Her assistant followed her around night and day, and she was really clueless as to when she had obtained it. ¡°With money, you can get anything. Do you believe that?¡± Her assistant nodded. ¡°I do.¡± With the cigarette in hand, Sun Weiwei took a deep puff then exhaled a cloud of smoke. ¡°Anyone who follows me, I¡¯ll definitely treat them well. Let¡¯s go back.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡ª Knock, knock knock! There was violent knocking on the bedroom door. Jin Qingyan opened his eyes and said, ¡°Speak.¡± ¡°Young Master, something big¡¯s happened.¡± ¡°Someone¡¯s died at Ya Long Wan Hotel, which is one of our subsidiaries. The deceased is Shi Shaochuan¡¯s mother,¡± Fan Shixin announced. ¡°His mother?¡± Jin Qingyan sat upright slowly. ¡°Didn¡¯t his father just pass away recently? How did his mother now die at our hotel?¡± ¡°It¡¯s been imed that his mother came to ask for a room when they were about to close. They¡¯ve confirmed that no one entered her room from the corridor. There was only her in the room. She jumped down to her death.¡± Fan Shixin continued, ¡°The media has reported this morning that ever since Shi Shaochuan and missy have been engaged, both parents of the Shi family have died. They¡¯re specting that missy is a curse to the Shi family. Netizen discussions have spread like fire online. This matter has escted out of hand.¡± Jin Qingyan got down from the bed and started getting dressed. ¡°No matter how badly out of hand it has gotten, you still have to handle it. I don¡¯t care what you do, remove this news from the media.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Fan Shixin had just gone out when An Xiaoning also got up and dressed herself. Her face looked rather serious. Seeing that she had gotten up too, Jin Qingyan told her, ¡°You should sleep a while more.¡± An Xiaoning said as shebed her hair, ¡°I think this matter has developed out of my expectations. Sure enough indeed.¡± Jin Qingyan narrowed his eyes. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve told you, I saw Wang Fangfang after she died right?¡± She hesitated for a moment. ¡°This matter could be rted to her. Money could have settled the issue with her parents, but could it have settled her anger and grievances? Don¡¯t look at me like that, it¡¯s just my guess too. It has yet to be verified.¡± ¡°If it was her, then would it work if Shi Shaochuan and Qingyue went to her grave to get her forgiveness?¡± ¡°Do you think that¡¯s all she wants?¡± An Xiaoning spected, ¡°If this has something to do with her, then all she wants is for Shi Shaochuan and your sister to suffer. She only just started from those around Shi Shaochuan. I¡¯ll go and verify it first.¡± She ran to the bathroom, quickly washed her face and put on some light makeup, then ran downstairs. Jin Qingyan chased her downstairs and questioned, ¡°How will you verify it?¡± Chapter 124 - Actually, You Can Think of Me More

Chapter 124: Actually, You Can Think of Me More

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I have my own ways. You better handle the matter at the hotel quickly. If this matter esctes onto the news, the business at the hotel will definitely be affected.¡± An Xiaoning turned around and was about to leave when she suddenly turned back and hugged his waist. With a gentle and affectionate tone, she said, ¡°Actually, you can think of me more.¡± With that, she was gone. Jin Qingyan stood there looking at that small and lively figure of hers leaving, a grin curling up on his face. ¡ª An Xiaoning bought two buns before she made her way to the police station entrance and finished them before she entered. Knowing that she would being this morning, Pan Zhenghui arrived there in the early morning and was eating his breakfast. Seeing her enter, he immediately ced his breakfast aside and stood up, heading towards her with his face glowing in happiness. ¡°Mrs. Jin, you¡¯vee indeed.¡± An Xiaoning shook his hand. ¡°Of course, I couldn¡¯t break my word.¡± ¡°Mrs. Jin, please take a seat.¡± ¡°Chief Pan, you don¡¯t have to call me by that next time. Since I¡¯ve joined, I¡¯m also a part of the team now. Just call me by my name,¡± An Xiaoning said frankly. ¡°Have all the members of the special group formed by Chief Officer Xu arrived?¡± ¡°I got them toe over at eight, they haven¡¯t arrived.¡± Pan Zhenghui continued, ¡°The contract is in my office. Shall we take this time to go over it, Xiaoning?¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning followed him to his office. The only words she could use to describe Pan Zhenghui¡¯s office were these: simple but grand. Sitting opposite him, she received the contract and started going through it meticulously. She realized that everything was written prim and proper. All the terms were ording to what she had discussed with Xu Yang, so she decisively signed her name on it. Thereafter, Pan Zhenghui passed her a card and said, ¡°Here¡¯s your sry card. Every month, you¡¯ll receive a sry in your ount.¡± She took it from him. ¡°Thank you very much, Chief.¡± ¡°You¡¯re most wee.¡± Pan Zhenghui got up from his seat. ¡°Let me bring you around to familiarize with your environment. It¡¯ll be easier for you to get things done.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning followed him out. It was the first time she was able to openly look around the city¡¯s police station. The police officers who passed by all greeted her and Chief Pan in a friendly manner. Pan Zhenghui introduced her to different ces as they went around. When they talked about the formation of the special group, Pan Zhenghui exined, ¡°The higher-up has arranged three members to assist you. One of them is senior officer Ma Jianguo who has worked for a long time in the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit, and the other two are Gong Le and Zu Dong who are both from the armed unit. They¡¯re all very good.¡± ¡°Umm, very well. Is there a designated ce for us to work at?¡± ¡°Of course, follow me.¡± Pan Zhenghui brought her to a nearby room. There were four desks inside, all of which were facing each other. At any one seat, one would be able to see the other three if they looked up from their seat. It was very good for facilitatingmunication. An Xiaoning thought for a moment and said, ¡°Chief Pan, please sit down for a moment. There¡¯s something I would like to talk to you about.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Please take a seat first.¡± An Xiaoning gathered her thoughts and finally said, ¡°This morning, Shi Shaochuan¡¯s mother jumped and killed herself at my husband¡¯s hotel. You saw the news right?¡± ¡°I saw, we went to investigate. Primary investigations suggest that it was suicide.¡± ¡°Do you think a woman who has lived out half her life would go to a hotel tomit suicide?¡± Without waiting for his answer, An Xiaoning continued, ¡°I suspect that the circumstances surrounding her death were unnatural. No matter how upset she was, she would notmit suicide over her husband¡¯s death. Thus, I really want to verify my spections.¡± ¡°Please be more specific.¡± Pan Zhenghui was at a loss over what she was trying to say. ¡°I suspect it was Wang Fangfang...¡± Pan Zhenghui¡¯s nostrils contracted. ¡°What? Isn¡¯t she dead?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to exaggerate the truth or keep anything from you. So I¡¯ve been thinking, if it was her, her next target would be Shi Shaochuan¡¯s grandmother. Tonight, I intend to check Wang Fangfang¡¯s grave. Going there alone would be slightly intimidating. Chief Pan should join me.¡± ¡°...¡± Pan Zhenghui was unwilling to go to that sort of ce, but he didn¡¯t want to present himself as being ungentlemanly so he replied, ¡°Just right, you can wait for your other three members toe and...¡± ¡°With the three of them, you shoulde along too. It¡¯s set then.¡± ¡°... Alright.¡± An Xiaoning grinned. ¡°Chief Pan, you¡¯re truly worthy of your title. You¡¯re so driven indeed.¡± ¡°Have a seat then, Xiaoning. I¡¯ll get someone to bring you coffee.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Chief Pan went out of the room, his throat constricting at the thought of having to go to the cemetery at night. It was really... Why on earth did he agree to it! At 7:50 am, the other three members arrived at the office like they had agreed on. The four sat at their respective seats, with An Xiaoning getting the ball rolling. ¡°Our special team has officially started work. I¡¯m An Xiaoning, just call me by my name.¡± ¡°I am Zu Dong.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Gong Le.¡± An Xiaoning looked at thest member. He was the over-forty-year-old senior officer Ma Jianguo. ¡°I am Ma Jianguo. Let¡¯s work well together in the future and strive towards being worthy of the title on our office ¡ª ¡®Special Crime Unit¡¯.¡± As he finished, he reached out to touch his shiny, glossy hair. ¡°Officer Ma is right, let¡¯s go for it, everyone.¡± ¡ª With the new year nearing and such things happening, Shi Shaochuan was in a state of emotional breakdown. His father had just passed away not long ago, and now something had happened to his mother. He really could not figure it out, what was wrong exactly? His grandmother had even fallen ill and was now bed-ridden. That frail woman who was already very old had lost all her appetite, and she even red up when she saw Jin Qingyue. ¡°Look, you¡¯re Jin family¡¯s missy after all. You¡¯ve only just gotten engaged and your future inws have met their end.¡± Although Jin Qingyue was also upset, she felt that putting all the me on her was not fair to her at all! ¡°Grandmother, I know you¡¯re devastated. However, this has nothing to do with me. Please don¡¯t be superstitious, Grandma.¡± ¡°Superstitious?¡± Old Mrs. Shi continued, ¡°I¡¯m afraid, the next one would be these old bones of mine.¡± Shi Shaochuan stepped up. ¡°Grandma, that won¡¯t happen. After I¡¯ve buried my mother, it¡¯ll be the new year.¡± ¡°What worries me is that this new year won¡¯t be a good one.¡± Matriarch Shi shut her eyes, taking a deep sigh. The two left, and Jin Qingyue said under her breath, ¡°What does your grandmother mean by that, how can she me me for what happened to your parents? What can be wrong with me?¡± Shi Shaochuan knew this had nothing to do with her and replied, ¡°It¡¯s just too coincidental, so everyone¡¯s making casual guesses. I¡¯m in a very bad mood, please understand.¡± Jin Qingyue held onto his arm. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m a curse to your family too?¡± ¡°No.¡± He looked at her and affirmed, ¡°I really don¡¯t think that way, it¡¯s true.¡± ¡°Are you still willing to marry me?¡± ¡°Our marriage has been fixed, hasn¡¯t it?¡± Shi Shaochuan raised his hand to caress her face. ¡°It won¡¯t change just because of what happened in my family. Don¡¯t worry.¡± She nodded, but she still felt vaguely uneasy inside. Both his parents had been fine, so how did something happen to both of them so suddenly, without any warning? ¡ª Chapter 125 - Shaken Nerves

Chapter 125: Shaken Nerves

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Once she reached home and saw her own mother, Jin Qingyue let out all the grievances that were bottled up inside her. Finally, she eximed indignantly, ¡°How dare they say that I¡¯m a curse, what proof is there? This is too outrageous!¡± Mrs. Jin replied unhurriedly, ¡°If you don¡¯t marry him, no one will be able to put the me on you.¡± ¡°Mother, Shaochuan said it won¡¯t affect our wedding.¡± Jin Qingyue continued irritably, ¡°It¡¯s his grandmother and thoseizens making up all those rubbish.¡± Mrs. Jin did not say anything further and lowered her head to continue knitting a hat. ¡°Mother, are you knitting this hat for me?¡± She sized it up and continued, ¡°There are plenty of nice ones on the streets, stop knitting it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m knitting this for your sister-inw, not you. There¡¯s no need for you to show your dislike.¡± Jin Qingyue pouted her lips. ¡°I saw the news, Sister-inw¡¯s joined the police force. Even with those qualifications of hers, she can enter the police force. Did she use my brother¡¯s connections?¡± ¡°Since you¡¯ve seen the news, didn¡¯t you see that it was the newly appointed Bureau Chief who invited your sister-inw to join?¡± Mrs. Jin said. ¡°Look at your sister-inw, even though she¡¯s married to your brother, she still keeps herself busy. First, opening a shop, then helping the police to arrest criminals. I heard she still does yoga and swimming. People like her are living such enriching lives, look at yourself ¡ª you¡¯re around that Shi Shaochuan all day and it still hasn¡¯t gotten you dizzy.¡± ¡°Alright, alright, alright. My sister-inw¡¯s your hot favorite now, I¡¯m like a pile of dog poop, okay?¡± She got up and headed upstairs. Mrs. Jin darted a nce at her, feeling very affected. ¡ª Although it did not rain at night, the night breeze was quite strong, and the five sat in the police car, heading towards Wang Fangfang¡¯s grave. Her remains were buried in the countryside, at the vige where An Xiaoning¡¯s previous foster parents lived in. The car stopped at the petroleum road outside the vige entrance, and the five got off at once. An Xiaoning led the group while Pan Zhenghui stood in the middle, and the five orderly made their way towards the fields. As they knew it had just rained and the ground was muddy, they all wore rubber shoes when they came over. There was no one in sight in the fields. They all walked carefully in the muddy fields, but An Xiaoning suddenly stopped in her tracks and said in a low voice, ¡°The four of you can wait behind this stack of hay, I¡¯ll go by myself.¡± Although Pan Zhenghui was very unwilling to go, he felt that since they were here, they might as well go and experience it themselves. Otherwise, he would not believe such a thing! He believed in reading one¡¯s fortune, but ghosts and spirits were something he had never seen, so he did not believe in them. ¡°We should go with you.¡± Seeing that he was rather insistent, An Xiaoning then replied, ¡°Alright, you guys cane. But don¡¯t make any noise at all.¡± The four nodded their heads unanimously. Actually, it wasn¡¯t just Pan Zhenghui who did not believe in ghosts and spirits, the other three were even more skeptical about it. Especially Ma Jianguo, who had incredible doubts inside his heart and was not in the least convinced. An Xiaoning finally stood before Wang Fangfang¡¯s grave. The night sky was pitch ck and it was very dark. She thought about it and eventually spoke. ¡°Wang Fangfang, I¡¯m here to see you. I have something to ask you.¡± There wasplete silence. An Xiaoning took a deep breath. ¡°Wang Fangfang...¡± Just as before, it waspletely silent. The few of them wrapped themselves up tightly as it turned cold. Having stood for almost half an hour, Ma Jianguo could no longer stand it. ¡°A person¡¯s death is like amp being wiped out. How can they possibly turn into evil spirits? It¡¯s all rubbish, let¡¯s go back, we¡¯re just looking for suffering in the middle of the night.¡± Pan Zhenghui said under his breath, ¡°Err... Xiaoning, why don¡¯t we go back?¡± An Xiaoning gave a stern warning, ¡°Don¡¯t talk.¡± ¡°...¡± Ma Jianguo rebutted, ¡°Young Madam Jin, how can you talk to our Chief like that? You wanted toe here in the middle of the night, and we came here with you. Don¡¯t tell me we have to stand here the whole night? Is there something wrong with you?!¡± ¡°Then all of you can leave first.¡± She seemed determined to continue waiting. Without hesitation, Ma Jianguo turned to leave by himself. Pan Zhenghui could not possibly leave An Xiaoning alone here since she was someone whom they painstakingly invited. But Ma Jianguo had taken only a few steps when a gust of strong wind came blowing from behind, leaving him blown down on the ground. ¡°Quick, squat down!¡± Everyone squatted down in an orderly fashion, with both their hands supporting themselves by pressing on the muddy ground. When the wind had passed, An Xiaoning stood up, looking at a faint figure who had appeared and was sitting by the grave mound, back-faced. ¡°You really did not go and reincarnate. Why are you still hanging around the living world?¡± ¡°Hehehehehe...¡± A voice that brought chills to one¡¯s spine sounded, and, although the few could not see the figure, they were terrified upon hearing this voice. With one hand clutching his police uniform, Pan Zhenghui¡¯s whole body trembled with fright as hey on the ground. On the other hand, Ma Jianguo, who had gotten quite a lot of mud into his mouth, crawled towards the other four. ¡°Don¡¯t you already know why, cousin? Why are you asking me?¡± An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Did Shi Shaochuan¡¯s parents die because of you?¡± ¡°So what if they did or didn¡¯t? If not for this bunch of useless police, all these won¡¯t have happened. I will make everyone who had used money to settle this matter die, they better watch out.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, another gust of strong wind started blowing. An Xiaoning looked up and saw that the figure at the grave mount had disappeared. She let out a sigh. Although she had already expected it, knowing the truth still gave one the urge to sigh. Turning as she shed the torch, she saw the other four. Other than the two armed officers, Pan Zhenghui and Ma Jianguo¡¯s postures were really unsightly. ¡°Let¡¯s go now.¡± The group hurriedly followed behind her. When Pan Zhenghui was standing up, he almost lost his bnce and fell back down, but luckily, Gong Le was agile and held onto him immediately. On the way back, there wasplete silence in the car. No one uttered a word at all. After a long while of driving, Ma Jianguo finally said, ¡°I really got a huge shock just now. I think we need to find a priest to get rid of her. Otherwise, I really do not dare to think of what will happen. An old man like me has believed in science for so many years, I really didn¡¯t think that I¡¯ll be able to see such a thing.¡± ¡°No, we can¡¯t do that,¡± An Xiaoning interjected over him. ¡°Do you really think Wang Fangfang, who has such deep grievances, can be easily handled like that?¡± ¡°Then what do you suggest?¡± An Xiaoning hesitated for a moment and replied pensively, ¡°The one who created the problem should be the one to solve it. We should get Shi Shaochuan to ask for forgiveness and send her away.¡± The thought of it angered Pan Zhenghui. ¡°It¡¯s all Shi Shaochuan¡¯s fault, I heard her words just now loud and clear. She said she¡¯ll make all those who used money to handle this matter die. Why do I feel that the next one would be Shi Shaochuan¡¯s grandmother?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s head back to the police station. We should get a change of clothes and go to the Shi residence.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Boss, someone is calling again!¡± The sudden chiming of her ringtone jolted the other four. An Xiaoning answered it, ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°When are youing back?¡± Jin Qingyan inquired. ¡°Maybe about two more hours, you can sleep first.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you settle it tomorrow?¡± Jin Qingyan pressed her. ¡°Come back soon.¡± ¡°I know.¡± She ended the line. ¡°Xiaoning, your ringtone is really special.¡± Pan Zhenghui chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m used to it already, can¡¯t be bothered to change it.¡± The car headed to the police station first, and, after they got a change of clothes, they made their way to the Shi residence together. The Shi family was in the midst of conducting a funeral. Seeing that An Xiaoning had arrived, Shi Shaochuan immediately questioned, ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Chapter 126 - Hugging Her Tightly

Chapter 126: Hugging Her Tightly

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Obviously not here to see you,¡± said An Xiaoning as she shot Ma Jianguo a nce. ¡°We¡¯re from the Special Crime Investigation Unit. Shi Shaochuan, I suggest you bring us to see your grandmother. You may be present to hear what we have to say, since you¡¯re the culprit after all. Bring us in,¡± Ma Jianguo instructed. ¡°Alright,e with me,¡± said a puzzled Shi Shaochuan who, nheless, brought them to old Mrs. Shi¡¯s bedroom. Upon sight of An Xiaoning, old Mrs. Shi proceeded with the formalities out of basic courtesy, despite having detested her. ¡°What brought you here, Young Madam of the Jin family?¡± said the old Mrs. Shi as she sat up straight while Shi Shaochuan adjusted her pillow. ¡°I¡¯m here clearly because of the atrocious misdeeds your family hasmitted. I won¡¯t beat around the bush, old Mrs. Shi. There¡¯s an extraordinary reason for the sudden death of your son and daughter-inw.¡± She took a nce at Shi Shaochuan and continued, ¡°I really wonder if thete old Mr. Shi will forgive you for causing your family such a disaster in order to save the only heir you have left.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked old Mrs. Shi as her face stiffened. ¡°Old Mrs. Shi, truth be told, we¡¯ve just returned from Wang Fangfang¡¯s grave, and it was a hair-raising experience. I know you¡¯re doubtful, just like we were at first, but her spirit had caused the deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Shi. We hurriedly made our way here, right after witnessing it with our own eyes. She even warned that she would never forgive anyone involved in the bribery to cover up for Shi Shaochuan. Hence, your grandson has caused all of these mishaps faced by your family members. We¡¯re afraid you¡¯ll be her next target. By the way, Xiaoning is our newly recruited investigative assistant. If it weren¡¯t for her, we¡¯d probably never find out the causes of many other deaths,¡± Pan Zhenghui exined. Old Mrs. Shi quickly sat up straight, upon hearing the shocking piece of news. An Xiaoning held an amulet in her hand and began chanting in her head. ¡°Hold this. She won¡¯t be able to do any harm to you, as long as you hold on to it,¡± An Xiaoning exined, handing her the amulet. Old Mrs. Shi looked up and asked her while taking the amulet, ¡°Does it really help?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Could you give one to Shaochuan too?¡± ¡°Do you think I¡¯m running a charity? Just be thankful that I gave you one. To be honest, I was reluctant to make my way here, and I hope this will be thest time I ever step foot into your house. Shi Shaochuan, you¡¯re the one who caused your parents¡¯ death,¡± An Xiaoning said calmly, retaining herposure. ¡°Their deaths were an ident. I¡¯m not going to believe your twisted ideologies. What¡¯s this nonsense about? A mere piece of paper is capable of keeping you safe from harm? Utter bullshit!¡± Shi Shaochuan sneered as he snatched the amulet away from old Mrs. Shi¡¯s hand. He then tore it into shreds. ¡°Let¡¯s just stay out of their business, it¡¯s up to them if they¡¯d like to stay alive or not. Just why do such horrid people even exist? We should¡¯ve just closed Shi Shaochuan¡¯s case right from the start and sentenced him to death. He wouldn¡¯t be so haughty and arrogant then,¡± Ma Jianguo said distastefully. ¡°Get lost from my house now, you¡¯re not wee here! Especially you, An Xiaoning!¡± Shi Shaochuan barked haughtily, not appreciating their help at all. ¡°The sight of you absolutely gets on my nerves, hurry and get lost,¡± he hissed, pointing a finger at An Xiaoning. Suppressing her anger, An Xiaoning red at him and said coldly, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you die, but don¡¯t get the rest of your family killed as well.¡± ¡°Are you done? You may have managed to get the Jin family wrapped tightly around your finger with those nonsensical superstitions of yours, but let me tell you, An Xiaoning, those don¡¯t work on me.¡± He then opened the door and said to the bodyguards outside, ¡°Send them out.¡± An Xiaoning turned around to leave while the rest followed behind her, with Ma Jianguo being thest. He pointed a finger at Shi Shaochuan and yelled, ¡°You don¡¯t know better!¡± Shi Shaochuan watched them leave, after which he returned inside. He then sat by the bed and said to his grandmother, ¡°They¡¯re just spouting nonsense, Grandma. Let¡¯s just let Father and Mother rest in peace. The government had always been actively advocating thews of science, yet even the police are buying into that superstitious rubbish. An Xiaoning must be an expert at manipting others.¡± ¡°But I don¡¯t think An Xiaoning is being maniptive or merely spouting nonsense,¡± old Mrs. Shi said solemnly. ¡°Grandma...¡± ¡°We have indeedmitted some shameful deeds, after all. Although I dislike Wang Fangfang, she was still carrying your child at the time. Shaochuan, go apologize to her and atone for your sins, regardless of whether you mean it or not. Just go. I don¡¯t wish to see anything bad happen to you. You¡¯re the only male heir left to our family. Our bloodline will really cease to exist, should something happen to you too.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get someone to perform a ritual tomorrow, be it real or not.¡± Amongst the few people in the police car, Ma Jianguo was the one who had the most to say. ¡°Xiaoning, give me one of those amulets you¡¯ve given old Mrs. Shi,¡± he requested. ¡°You weren¡¯t involved in the bribery of Wang Fangfang¡¯s case, she won¡¯te for you,¡± said An Xiaoning as she nced towards him. ¡°I know, but I¡¯d like to have one just in case.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you one tomorrow.¡± ¡°Xiaoning, can I have one too?¡± Pan Zhenghui hurriedly asked. ¡°Me too, Sis Xiaoning,¡± Gong Le added. ¡°Count me in,¡± said Zu Dong, in fear of missing out. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll give them to you guys tomorrow.¡± An Xiaoning looked out from the window and said, ¡°Chief Pan, do you think we should continue meddling with the matters concerning the Shi family? It¡¯s not that I want to poke my nose into their business, but I just think we¡¯ll lose our leads, if we let this go on.¡± ¡°How are we supposed to continue doing so? Haven¡¯t you seen how adamant Shi Shaochuan was? We should¡¯ve just sentenced him to death back then. That would have saved us from this hassle,¡± Ma Jianguo said in annoyance as his blood began to boil at the thought of Shi Shaochuan. ¡°Xiaoning has a point. It¡¯s up to him to say whatever he wants, we still have to carry out the necessary actions. It¡¯s just, I¡¯m not sure how we should go ahead with it. I don¡¯t think we can defeat those spirits.¡± Pan Zhenghui then shifted his gaze onto An Xiaoning and continued, ¡°We¡¯re counting on you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not enough to count on me. It may still not be enough, even with Shi Shaochuan¡¯s apology and remorse. Besides, he¡¯s so obstinate and strongly against it, I doubt we can do anything. We have to think of a way to convince him,¡± An Xiaoning answered. ¡°Didn¡¯t you see his attitude earlier? Is it even possible to convince him? We don¡¯t have a valid reason to arrest him for detention, either.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning arrived home to see that the living room was still brightly lit. Upon noticing her arrival, Auntie Chen quickly stood up and greeted her, ¡°You¡¯re home, Young Madam.¡± ¡°Has Young Sir gone to bed?¡± ¡°He¡¯s gone upstairs for a long while. I suppose he has already fallen asleep.¡± With a nod, An Xiaoning said, ¡°It¡¯s gettingte, you should turn in soon, Auntie Chen.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go right away,¡± Auntie Chen answered smilingly. An Xiaoning headed upstairs quietly, taking light and small footsteps. She stood outside the bedroom and opened the door gently, making sure not to make a single sound. She then quickly entered and guided herself to the bed with the shlight on her phone, only to realize that the bed was empty. All of a sudden, she felt a hand picking her up by her waist from behind, shocking her out of her senses. ¡°Ahh! You scared me!¡± she gasped in astonishment. Jin Qingyan then lowered her onto the bed and removed her home slippers from her feet. ¡°It would have been more than just a scare if you¡¯de back anyter,¡± he said in a clear and alluring voice. She turned over and retorted with a humph, ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have scared me if it weren¡¯t for the fact that I had visited a graveyard this evening.¡± Chapter 127 - She Has Nothing to Do with Me from Here On

Chapter 127: She Has Nothing to Do with Me from Here On

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Is that so?¡± he asked. ¡°Of course, I¡¯m very brave.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, a clown puppet sprung up before her, causing her to scream in shock. ¡°What is that!¡± she yelled in horror as she hurriedly crawled beneath the sheets. An evilughter belonging to Jin Qingyan could be hearding from the bedroom. An Xiaoning turned on the sidemp and red at him angrily. ¡°Jin Qingyan, you¡¯re so foolish. Are you done ying?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not. Didn¡¯t you say that you are very brave? What were you doing at a graveyard in the evening?¡± An Xiaoning revealed the details of the matter to him while sitting on the bed. She then ced a bed table atop the duvet and began scribbling on pieces of yellow-colored paper with a red felt marker. Jin Qingyan leaned in and watched her write an amulet for the first time in his life. ¡°Shi Shaochuan tore the one I gave his grandmother. The other members of the investigation unit have requested for one each,¡± An Xiaoning exined. ¡°Write me one too, then. Oh, actually, write one for everyone else in our family, including Qingyue,¡± he said, seizing the opportunity. An Xiaoning put down the marker and cocked her head towards him. ¡°I can dly give you one, since you¡¯re my husband. I¡¯m perfectly fine with giving Father and Mother one each too, they¡¯re my parents-inw. Grandma too. But your sister...¡± Before she could finish her sentence, he butted in, ¡°She¡¯s your sister-inw.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not giving her one. Sorry not sorry,¡± she answered with a sarcastic smile. ¡°Why do you bother stooping to her level?¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ve said this before. Her matters are none of my business, I¡¯m staying out of them. So, don¡¯t bring this up with me again. We¡¯re still Sisters-inw by name, but how I treat her in the future will depend on her behavior.¡± ¡°Alright. Does it work after just a few random scribbles?¡± he asked curiously. She lowered her head and said in a serious tone, ¡°Why don¡¯t you try scribbling on it randomly? Or print a million copies of it? I won¡¯t stop you.¡± ¡°Xiaoning, do all victims of murder end up like Wang Fangfang?¡± ¡°Of course not. Fate varies from person to person. Otherwise, the world would be in chaos. Everyone is destined to have a different oue,¡± she exined. ¡°Why does Shi Shaochuan detest you so much? I thought you were an intelligent and pretty woman at first nce. Not to mention you have a perfect figure. Just why does he hate you so much?¡± Jin Qingyan asked in puzzlement. ¡°Must there really be a reason to hate someone? To be honest, I detest him just as much too. Likewise, I can¡¯t stand the sight of him at all,¡± An Xiaoning answered as she carefully wrote thest amulet and allowed it to dry with the rest on the dressing table. She then put away the bed table and returned to bed. ¡°Why did youe to find me, back then?¡± he asked, embracing her in his arms. ¡°Why do you have so many questions tonight?¡± ¡°I just wanted to know. Quick, tell me,¡± he urged her for a reply, taking her hand in his. ¡°I was attracted to your appearance when I was looking through your Wikipedia page. That¡¯s how superficial I am. Besides, I¡¯ve also heard that you¡¯re the nearest within my reach, out of all the greatest young entrepreneurs in S Nation, or in the world, in fact. Well, I just prefer making connections with intelligent people. Do you need another reason?¡± He let out a confident chuckle. ¡°What are youughing at?¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing, I just think you have great taste in men. Have you thought about our future?¡± An Xiaoning answered with her eyes closed, ¡°I did when we first got married, but I haven¡¯t been thinking about it ever since.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t read your fortune, Jin Qingyan. It only crossed my mind recently that this may not be something good. How could it be that I can¡¯t read an ordinary person¡¯s fortune? Unless you¡¯re not someone ordinary,¡± she said truthfully. She opened her eyes and looked up at him. ¡°Is there something you¡¯re hiding from me?¡± With shifty eyes, Jin Qingyan replied with a chuckle, ¡°I grew up together with Tianze, Ciye, and Mo Li. What could I possibly be hiding from you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, only ordinary people would be head-over-heels in love with Chi Rui¡¯er anyway.¡± ¡°She has nothing to do with me, from now on.¡± ¡°You must¡¯ve been bitter when she got together with Gu Beicheng. But then again, like what they always say, love is blind. I do believe that. Otherwise, why would there be so many great catches falling into the hands of a woman?¡± An Xiaoning sneered. ¡°I wasn¡¯t bitter about it. Marrying you was the best decision I¡¯ve ever made,¡± he said, resting his chin on her head. An Xiaoning ced her head against his chest, hearing every beat of his heart, which was palpitating loudly. He looked out of the window with bright-lit eyes. ¡ª¡ª Shi Shaochuan hired a professional to perform a ritual for Wang Fangfang, which cost him a hefty sum. The ritual was performed in the day, thus arousing the attention of the vigers. Wang Fangfang¡¯s parents did not object to it, however. The ritual was finallypleted after taking up an entire morning. Shi Shaochuan heaved a huge sigh of relief as he felt like a boulder had been lifted off his chest, upon confirming that Wang Fangfang¡¯s spirit had been destroyed. Neither An Xiaoning nor the police were aware of the matter. In a blink of an eye, it was the Eve of the Lunar New Year. Many shops on the streets were temporarily closed for business to celebrate the festive season, though there were still a few that remained open. The streets were brimming with crowds, adding to the joyous mood of ushering in the Lunar New Year. Dressed in a long feathered coat with thick stockings and a pair of boots, An Xiaoning exited the store together with Mei Yangyang. Having decided to close the store for the holiday, she gave out red packets to Xu Jingwen and Zhang Li and instructed them to return to work only after the Lunar New Year holiday was over. She decided not to drive that day, since the roads were wet and slippery. Thus, she linked arms with Mei Yangyang and they walked on the streets together. ¡°It¡¯s the first day of the Lunar New Year tomorrow, Happy New Year. Here¡¯s a red packet for you,¡± said An Xiaoning as she handed Mei Yangyang a red packet. ¡°Thank you, Sis,¡± Mei Yangyang said as she epted the red packet, grinning from ear to ear. ¡°I haven¡¯t been tending to the storetely. It¡¯s been hard on you.¡± ¡°Nothing of that sort, it¡¯s only my duty. I got to spend a great Lunar New Year this year, all thanks to you, Sis Xiaoning. I¡¯m really grateful to you.¡± An Xiaoning gripped her hand and said, ¡°Don¡¯t say that, you¡¯ve had a hard time too. How are things between you and Long Tianze?¡± ¡°Things are fine, nothing special. Sis, he mentioned that he¡¯d like to invite you and Brother-inw to ski tomorrow afternoon. Would you like toe?¡± Mei Yangyang asked. ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go together. I feel safer with you around. I heard we¡¯re going to spend a night there and will only return on the next afternoon.¡± ¡°You¡¯re afraid he¡¯ll eat you up?¡± An Xiaoning teased. ¡°Of course, I¡¯m a fresh piece of meat, after all,¡± Mei Yangyang answered, her face blushing as red as a tomato. An Xiaoning could not help but burst intoughter. ¡°Okay, we shall go ahead with the n, since he asked.¡± On her way home, she suddenly received a call from Mrs. Jin, asking her to return to the family mansion. The reason being that Shi Shaochuan and Jin Qingyue were going to have lunch at the family mansion before heading to Shi Shaochuan¡¯s house in the evening to apany old Mrs. Shi. As soon as she entered through the gate, An Xiaoning was greeted with the sight of Shi Shaochuan seated at the dining table. She put on a smile and eximed as she quickly strode in, ¡°Mother, what a sumptuous spread we¡¯ve got for lunch!¡± ¡°Xiaoning,e sit down here.¡± ¡°Xiaoning, Qingyan has handed your father and me the amulets. How long will they be effective for?¡± Mrs. Jin asked softly as An Xiaoning took a seat. Chapter 128 - Sparks Flew in the Washroom (1)

Chapter 128: Sparks Flew in the Washroom (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°It¡¯ll stay effective for a long period of time. I¡¯ll give you a new one when it no longer works.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Not knowing what her mother and An Xiaoning were murmuring about to each other, Jin Qingyue interrupted their conversation. ¡°Mother, didn¡¯t Brothere home early today? Where has he disappeared to again?¡± ¡°He went out to handle some matters. He should be home anytime soon,¡± said Mrs. Jin. Not long after, Jin Qingyan returned. It was time for lunch and everyone began tucking in quietly. Mrs. Jin broke the silence and asked An Xiaoning, ¡°How are you coping with helping out with investigations at the police station?¡± ¡°I¡¯m coping just fine.¡± ¡°I heard they¡¯ve set up a special investigations unit. Which kind of cases do you usually handle?¡± asked Mr. Jin. ¡°We handle serious crimes. There are a total of four members in the department, including myself, two armed policemen, and an older, experienced policeman who has handled many cases before. We mainly deal with cases that haven¡¯t been cracked for many years, as well as the murder case which took ce recently.¡± ¡°I heard you¡¯ve brought some men with you to Shaochuan¡¯s ce, iming that Wang Fangfang was the cause of his parents¡¯ death. Is that true, Sis-inw?¡± Jin Qingyue said, sneering. Upon hearing her tone, An Xiaoning did not wish to go into detail about the matter; thus, she said instead, ¡°We can¡¯t do much if the person involved refuses to cooperate. Am I right?¡± ¡°We shall wait and see, then. If it¡¯s really like what you said, then perhaps something may happen again in the future. However, if you¡¯re just spouting nonsense, then I¡¯m afraid nothing will happen anymore.¡± After a brief second of silence, An Xiaoning replied, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be outright foolish to prove the truthfulness of this matter based on a human¡¯s life? I¡¯m afraid it¡¯ll be toote to realize your folly only after someone has died.¡± Shi Shaochuan looked up at her and said coldly, ¡°An Xiaoning, if nothing happens to my family in the near future, do you dare to admit to the media that everything you had mentioned before was nothing but a pack of lies you¡¯ve fabricated?¡± ¡°Shi Shaochuan, now that you¡¯re already engaged to my sister-inw, aren¡¯t you being a little too rude by addressing me by my full name? You¡¯re already a grown man, yet you stillck such basic manners and courtesy. Being the only child, you must¡¯ve been spoiled rotten by your family. What a brat indeed. Also, it¡¯s best if nothing happens to your family. But, in the event that something does happen, are you going to crawl on your knees and apologize to me for your words? Do you dare to take on the bet?¡± An Xiaoning taunted as her face stiffened. Shi Shaochuan was momentarily lost for words, for he could not guarantee that his family would be safe and sound. ¡°Qingyue¡¯s Father and I, as well as Qingyan, know best if Xiaoning is capable or not. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a need for her to prove anything to you. Shaochuan, you¡¯re marrying Qingyue soon. Thus, you should also be addressing Xiaoning as your sister-inw. That¡¯s just some basic courtesy and formalities,¡± said Mrs. Jin, in a bid to stop the conflict. Shi Shaochuan nodded abidingly, although he was, in fact, rather reluctant to address An Xiaoning as his sister-inw. Jin Qingyan remained silent while maintaining hisposure. He would asionally help An Xiaoning to the food, which was to the joy of Mrs. Jin, for they had gotten closer just like she had wished. Just as they were about to leave after finishing their meal, An Xiaoning noticed that Jin Qingyan had gone forth to say a few words to Shi Shaochuan, after which thetter nodded fervently with a grimace. She proceeded to hop into the passenger seat of the Bentley. Soon after, Jin Qingyan got atop the driver¡¯s seat. ¡°What did you say to him?¡± she asked. ¡°Nothing,¡± Jin Qingyan answered as he buckled the safety belt and began driving. Jin Qingyue had also witnessed Jin Qingyan speaking to Shi Shaochuan. Noticing the sullen expression on Shi Shaochuan¡¯s face as he approached, she asked in curiosity, ¡°What did my brother say to you?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you go ask him that?¡± Shi Shaochuan said, staring at her angrily. He turned sideways and got into the car while Jin Qingyue hurriedly chased after him, knowing that he was angry. ¡°Just what did he say?¡± Shi Shaochuan turned to look at her and told her the exact words of Jin Qingyan, ¡°He said that he absolutely despises me, to the extent that he doesn¡¯t wish to speak a single word to me at all. He also said he would show me the consequences I shall face if I ever spoke to his wife in that manner again.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like something my brother would say. He would never say it out loud, no matter how much he hated someone.¡± ¡°Believe it or not, those are the exact words your brother said to me. I see it perfectly now. None of your family members like me at all. I will never step foot into your home again.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll still have toe here, more or less. It¡¯s my maiden home, after all. Besides, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m asking for you toe by every day. Alright, don¡¯t be angry anymore. Let¡¯s go straight to your house.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± ¡ª¡ª Gu Beicheng booked a private room at the karaoke nightclub in the evening and invited An Xiaoning to make her way there. Upon hearing that Chi Rui¡¯er would be present, An Xiaoning eagerly agreed. There were beer and some snacks on the table, while they sang merrily at the top of their voices. Dressed in a floral embroidered coat along with a full face of immacte makeup, Chi Rui¡¯erid sluggishly in Gu Dongcheng¡¯s arms. It seemed she had gained a bit of weight. Upon seeing An Xiaoning, Chi Rui¡¯er quickly greeted with a smile, ¡°You¡¯re here, Ms. An?¡± ¡°Yes, long time no see,¡± An Xiaoning answered smilingly. ¡°Yeah, I heard you went on a vacation with Qingyan. Which ces did you visit?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er asked. ¡°We visited plenty of ces,¡± An Xiaoning said calmly, though she was boiling with anger deep down. Trying to put on a show? Game on , An Xiaoning thought to herself. ¡°Are you close to Xiaoning?¡± Gu Dongcheng asked in bewilderment. ¡°Yeah, you could say so.¡± An Xiaoning shot a nce at Gu Beicheng as she sat down beside him. ¡°Why is it just the three of you?¡± she asked. ¡°The rest have yet to arrive. What ns do you have to celebrate the first day of the Lunar New Year tomorrow?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be going about visiting in the morning and spending the afternoon with them.¡± An Xiaoning leaned closer towards him and said softly, ¡°Chi Rui¡¯er will be your sister-inw if she marries your brother. Don¡¯t you find that strange and awkward?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not like I¡¯d ever gotten intimate with her anyway. Besides, doesn¡¯t Shi Shaochuan have to address you as his sister-inw too? But then again, if I call her ¡®Sis-inw,¡¯ you¡¯d have to follow suit as well.¡± He handed her a can of beer and said, ¡°Why isn¡¯t Jin Qingyan here?¡± ¡°He went to the office.¡± ¡°He¡¯s such a workaholic. It¡¯s already the Eve of the Lunar New Year, why is he still going to the office?¡± Gu Beicheng scoffed. ¡°He¡¯s got some matters to attend to urgently,¡± said An Xiaoning as she opened the can of beer and took a sip, asionally ncing at Chi Rui¡¯er with a smirk. Not long after, Ye Xiaotian showed up at the door with Bai Ranran. Upon sight of An Xiaoning, he greeted, ¡°Hey, Mrs. Jin. What a rare sight.¡± ¡°Greetings, Mr. Ye.¡± He took a seat and said smilingly, ¡°I heard you¡¯re actively working with the police and helping them crack cases. Congrattions. Jin Qingyan has truly won in life to have married you.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve ttered me, Mr. Ye. You¡¯re very lucky yourself, to have gotten engaged with such a beautifuldy like Ms. Bai. You shouldn¡¯t be drinking much since you¡¯ve just gotten discharged from the hospital.¡± She then called for the waiter. ¡°Hi, please serve us some tea.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± An Xiaoning responded with a smile, after which she proceeded to chat with Gu Beicheng. Everything seemed perfectly normal. They sang, yed games, had a few drinks, and danced merrily. Having drunk more beer than she should, Chi Rui¡¯er had to use the washroom urgently halfway through the activities. Not long after she had left, An Xiaoning proceeded outside, with the excuse of having to answer an important call. She stood by the entrance of the washroom and caught a glimpse of Chi Rui¡¯er washing her hand. Upon seeing An Xiaoning, she said coldly, ¡°You¡¯re really good at pretending.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not far off,pared to me,¡± An Xiaoning retorted, leaning against the basin. Chapter 129 - Sparks Flew in the Washroom (2)

Chapter 129: Sparks Flew in the Washroom (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°An Xiaoning, it¡¯s just the two of us now. Drop the act. I shall cut straight to the chase, you better not breathe a word about my past to a single soul. Besides, it wouldn¡¯t reflect well on Qingyan either.¡± ¡°Rest assured, I can¡¯t be bothered to wash your dirty linen in public. But do you know why I¡¯m here today?¡± An Xiaoning said with a sarcastic smile. ¡°You¡¯re free to do whatever you want. I don¡¯t wish to know your reason,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er answered while wiping her hands dry. ¡°Well, I think it¡¯s better that you know.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, An Xiaoning grabbed Chi Rui¡¯er by her hair and plunged her head into the fountain. Chi Rui¡¯er tried to struggle with all her might, but she was no match for An Xiaoning who was much stronger than her. An Xiaoning pulled her head back from the water just as she was on the verge of drowning. ¡°Do you understand now?¡± ¡°Let go of me, An Xiaoning!¡± ¡°Qingyan may have set you free, but I¡¯m not as magnanimous as him. Chi Rui¡¯er, forget about getting out of here if I don¡¯t get my revenge tonight,¡± warned An Xiaoning as she grabbed Chi Rui¡¯er by her hair with all her might, causing thetter to grimace in pain. She then dragged Chi Rui¡¯er forcefully into a cubicle and locked it before letting go of her, causing her to stumble back, almost losing her bnce. She supported herself against the wall and glowered at An Xiaoning furiously. ¡°An Xiaoning, just what do you want?¡± she hollered, anger written all over her face. ¡°Nothing, I just felt like you needed a beating.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er removed her heels and attempted to attack An Xiaoning with it. ¡°Don¡¯t think I¡¯m afraid of you, An Xiaoning. I¡¯ll disfigure you with my heels if you dare provoke me again,¡± she threatened. ¡°You really don¡¯t have a sense of shame at all. You¡¯re not even in the least bit remorseful for what you¡¯ve done. Seems like the water from the basin wasn¡¯t dirty enough,¡± said An Xiaoning as she stepped forward while Chi Rui¡¯er began attacking her with her high heels. An Xiaoning managed to dodge the attack and grabbed Chi Rui¡¯er by her shoulders, before throwing a knee straight into her gut. Once again, Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s head was submergedpletely into the toilet bowl. An Xiaoning was exceptionally thrilled. ¡°The water from the toilet bowl tastes much better than that of the sink, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°You... vicious wretch... ahh...¡± ¡°I dare you to repeat yourself.¡± ¡°An Xiaoning, don¡¯t let me out if you dare!¡± Just as she inhaled a breath of fresh air, Chi Rui¡¯er was forcefully plunged into the toilet bowl again before she could even react. Her head was submerged into the water, back and forth repeatedly. s, Chi Rui¡¯er had no choice but to admit defeat and sumb to pleading with An Xiaoning to let go of her. ¡°Please let me off, I beg you,¡± she cried in despair. ¡°Aren¡¯t I a vicious wretch?¡± ¡°No... you¡¯re not. I am!¡± Chi Rui¡¯er begged as she kneeled beside the toilet bowl, resembling a clown with herpletely ruined makeup. ¡°Chi Rui¡¯er, let me warn you, I¡¯m not to be trifled with. If you ever dare to be so arrogant again, I won¡¯t let you off the next time. Also, it¡¯s fine by me if you breathe a single word about what I did to you,ter on. Just don¡¯t me me for being ruthless when I expose all your malicious misdeeds and your true colors. You did all of those out of your own ord, after all. Qingyan was merely the victim.¡± She let go of her grip on Chi Rui¡¯er and turned around to leave. Trembling uncontrobly in fear, Chi Rui¡¯er sped out of the cubicle, towards the basin. She then began rinsing her mouth and washing her face vigorously, over and over again. She was utterly disgusted and could not help but feel nauseous at the thought of the scene that just took ce. She flew into an uncontroble rage at the sight of her disheveled self in the mirror. She rinsed her face again, though it was difficult topletely remove her mascara and eyeliner without some makeup remover. After a long while, her eyes were still stained dark with the residue of her eye makeup. After getting a grip on herself, she returned to the room. ¡°Why were you gone for so long?¡± asked Gu Dongcheng. ¡°I had an upset stomach.¡± ¡°Ms. Chi, my brother was about to go look for you, if you came out anyter,¡± An Xiaoning said smilingly, as if nothing had happened earlier. Although Chi Rui¡¯er detested her from the bottom of her heart, she answered her nheless, ¡°He¡¯s going to be aughingstock when others find out that he barged into the Ladies¡¯.¡± ¡°I think you were in the washroom for too long, there¡¯s a strange odoring from you,¡± said Gu Dongcheng as he retrieved a small bottle of perfume from his pocket and began spraying some on her. ¡°Is... is that so?¡± she stuttered awkwardly, utterly embarrassed. Noticing that An Xiaoning seemed to be in a good mood, Gu Beicheng asked, ¡°Have you had your dinner?¡± ¡°Not yet.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go have some barbecue,¡± he suggested as he stood up. Ye Xiaotian and Bai Ranran followed suit. ¡°Count us in. Dongcheng, are youing with us?¡± ¡°No thanks, you guys go ahead.¡± The group of four then headed outside for a barbecue dinner while Gu Dongcheng and Chi Rui¡¯er left. It was snowing outside, and they began walking to a barbecue restaurant after parking the car at the carpark. Looking as pale as a sheet, Bai Ranran sat down beside Ye Xiaotian, all prim and proper. She barely spoke and remained rather quiet throughout. Apart from the asional conversation between Ye Xiaotian and Gu Beicheng, everyone remained silent. Just as An Xiaoning was casually enjoying some barbecued chicken wings, she stared out of the window and caught glimpse of a sight which shocked her greatly. However, she remained calm andposed as she stood up and excused herself. ¡°I have to get going, enjoy yourselves.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll send you,¡± offered Gu Beicheng. ¡°It¡¯s alright, I drove today.¡± Gu Beicheng handed her some barbecued skewers and said, ¡°You didn¡¯t have much to eat. Here, take these.¡± An Xiaoning epted his offer and told him, ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t stand on ceremony with your brother. Drive safe.¡± She nodded and hurriedly sped out of the barbecue restaurant. As soon as Gu Beicheng returned to his seat, Ye Xiaotian said to him, ¡°Beicheng, there¡¯s something fishy about the way you look at her.¡± ¡°Why do you say so?¡± ¡°You know that yourself,¡± Ye Xiaotian said teasingly as they exchanged a smile and continued with their meal of barbecued meat and beers. ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning hurriedly drove towards the north. The figure she had seen earlier was still nowhere to be found, despite her having driven along the roads for a long period of time. Thus, she had no choice but to head home instead. Jin Qingyan had already returned and was feeding Maomao. ¡°You¡¯re home sote, where did you go?¡± ¡°I went out for a walk and had some barbecue for dinner. Have you eaten?¡± ¡°Yes. Who did you have dinner with?¡± asked Jin Qingyan as he stood up. ¡°Hmm... myself,¡± she said, knowing that he would definitely get jealous if she told him the truth. ¡°Liar,¡± he retorted, keeping his eyes fixed on her as he cupped her face in his hands. Could it be that he had seen me? she thought to herself. Thus, she decided toe clean with him. ¡°Gu Beicheng invited me for dinner at a barbecue restaurant.¡± Jin Qingyan pinched her face harder as he said angrily, ¡°I knew it.¡± ¡°Let go of me, you¡¯re about to rip my mouth off!¡± An Xiaoning eximed as she winced in pain. ¡°I knew you didn¡¯t have dinner alone. I was right,¡± he said distastefully, loosening his grip. ¡°Oh, I thought you had seen us. Why didn¡¯t you think that I went with Mei Yangyang?¡± she asked with a humph. ¡°I just had a gut feeling.¡± ¡°I had to leave hurriedly in the midst of dinner. Guess who I saw?¡± ¡°Who?¡± Chapter 130 - A Special Position That Belongs to Both of You

Chapter 130: A Special Position That Belongs to Both of You

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Trying to keep him in suspense, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Make a guess.¡± ¡°Give me a hint. Tell me if it¡¯s a male or a female, young or old. I¡¯ll probably be able to guess after you let me know the details.¡± ¡°Make a guess.¡± Jin Qingyan pinned her down and said, ¡°I¡¯m toozy to guess, tell me, quick.¡± An Xiaoning then mouthed the words with her lips. ¡°Really?¡± asked a startled Jin Qingyan. ¡°Of course.¡± An Xiaoning sprung up and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go upstairs.¡± Jin Qingyan carried her bag for her as they headed upstairs together and turned on the heater in their bedroom. ¡°Shi Shaochuan is so obnoxious. I reckon he¡¯s going to learn his lesson very soon. He has never shared a close rtionship with his parents. I¡¯ve always felt that he was closer to his grandma, from what I observed during my stay at his house. His parents are rather reasonable though, unlike his grandma, who has practically spoiled him rotten. You have no idea how startled I was when I saw Wang Fangfang.¡± ¡°I do believe in the existence of supernatural beings, but Shi Shaochuan doesn¡¯t. That¡¯s why he¡¯ll never be guilty or remorseful towards the deceased. I know you don¡¯t wish to see any more deaths because of this matter. But clearly, there¡¯s nothing you can do, Xiaoning. We can only wait for him to realize it himself.¡± An Xiaoning closed her eyes as she reached both her hands out, waiting for a surprise. ¡°What is it?¡± she asked. ¡°Open your eyes and have a look,¡± said Jin Qingyan as he ced a long red box onto her hands. She opened her eyes slowly to realize that it was a bright and sparkly red ruby ne, which she instantly loved to bits. She took a look at the logo on the box and eximed, ¡°Wow, it¡¯s from a prestigious brand. It¡¯s beautiful. Must¡¯ve cost a bomb.¡± ¡°Let me put it on for you,¡± he said, picking up the ne. An Xiaoning turned to the side to have her back facing him. She held her hair up while he stood behind and helped her put on the ne. An Xiaoning stood before the dressing table and admired the ne on her neck as she kept her eyes peeled on her reflection in the mirror. ¡°Tell me, how much did this cost?¡± she probed. ¡°Just keep it. You don¡¯t have to know how much it cost, it¡¯s our money anyway.¡± She smiled in joy. Jin Qingyan would forever remember how pure and heartwarming her smile was. It was a moment he held dear to his heart. ¡°Just how much did it cost? I just want to know. Tell me quick.¡± ¡°This much,¡± he said, pointing a finger out. ¡°10 million?¡± ¡°100 million.¡± An Xiaoning gasped in shock. ¡°One... one hundred million?¡± ¡°You¡¯re worth it. Xiaoning, the ne looks beautiful on you. Don¡¯t ever take it off,¡± he said, holding her hand in his. ¡°What if it falls off my neck...¡± she asked worriedly. How could she move about freely with a hundred million dors hanging on her neck? ¡°It will never fall off, no matter how hard you move about. Don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°But, I still think it¡¯s safer to keep such an expensive and precious ne at home.¡± ¡°Xiaoning, you have to wear the ne to truly appreciate its value. There¡¯s no point in keeping it at home. I¡¯d like to see you wearing it every day,¡± said Jin Qingyan as his smile faded a little. ¡°Alright then, I won¡¯t be responsible if it goes missing though.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll get you another one if that happens.¡± ¡°Is this a New Year¡¯s present for me?¡± she asked, refusing to take her eyes off the ne. It was simply too mesmerizing. ¡°Yes,e here.¡± An Xiaoning walked towards him and sat on hisp while throwing her arms around his neck. ¡°Hubby, you actually bought me such an expensive ne. How generous of you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re my wife, it¡¯s only normal for me to splurge on you.¡± She nodded in joy and showered him with kisses. After continuing their conversation for a while, the exhausted An Xiaoning soon fell asleep while Jin Qingyan rested his head against the bedhead. The warm yellow light from the nighmp cast across every contour of his face, causing his striking features to stand out perfectly. Every now and then, he would peek a look at An Xiaoning, who was sound asleep. ¡ª¡ª The snow had gotten lighter during the night, though the roads were still paved with frozen snow in the morning. The floors were so slippery that one could slip and fall easily. An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan had woken up early in the morning to go about visiting houses for the Lunar New Year. The first stop was the Jin family¡¯s mansion, followed by the homes of Jin Qingyan¡¯s other rtives. ording to customs, married women were only allowed to visit their maiden homes on the second day of the Lunar New Year. However, they decided to also make a trip down to the Gu family, since they would be away for skiing the next two days. After lunch, the group of five boarded the camper van which was driven by a chauffeur. They headed towards a ski resort in B City. Along the journey, everyone chatted merrily amidst boisterousughter. They were all engaged in continuous chatter, especially Long Tianze, who could not stop cracking jokes. He would asionally tease Mei Yangyang, feeling exceptionally thrilled whenever she got shy or embarrassed. They took the expressway and finally arrived after a two-hour journey. To their surprise, Jin Qingyue and Shi Shaochuan were also on a trip at the ski resort. ¡°What a coincidence. Let¡¯s go skiing together,¡± Jin Qingyue suggested. ¡°Nah, it¡¯s fine. We don¡¯t want to y gooseberry,¡± said Long Tianze, raising his chin proudly. As soon as he finished his sentence, he turned around and left. ¡°Fine, you guys go ahead then. We¡¯re going upstairs to get some rest. We¡¯ve been ying for a while,¡± said Jin Qingyue as she pulled Shi Shaochuan along and strode towards the elevator. The rest of them then continued walking. After arriving at the ski area, An Xiaoning confessed, ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t know how to ski.¡± ¡°I know how to, I¡¯ll teach you,¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°Yeah, let Qingyan teach you, a position especially for the both of you,¡± Long Tianze interrupted. ¡°Long Tianze, watch what you¡¯re saying,¡± An Xiaoning chided. ¡°You just have a corrupted mind, Sis-inw. Am I right?¡± ¡°Actually, I can¡¯t ski either,¡± Mei Yangyang blurted. ¡°I¡¯m here to teach you, aren¡¯t I? I haven¡¯t skied in a while. Let me show you guys how skilled I am,¡± Long Tianze said confidently, all geared up and ready to go. He began skiing as soon as he finished speaking. All of a sudden, he skidded and tumbled over on all fours while the rest watched on in shock. The severity of the fall was evident from the expression on Long Tianze¡¯s face, who winced and grimaced in pain. Mei Yangyang stepped forward to help him up carefully. However, she too slipped and fell on the slippery snow before she could even reach him. Fortunately, she had held onto Long Tianze for support and did not suffer too bad of a fall. The rest burst intoughter upon the amusing sight of Long Tianze stumbling and falling, over and over again. ¡°Tianze, how long have you not been skiing? You¡¯ve be so rusty, it¡¯s awfully horrendous.¡± ¡°Let me bring you a ski coat. You¡¯re going to kill yourself if you keep falling over like this,¡± Jin Qingyan eximed, gesturing at Long Tianze. ¡°I¡¯m putting this on, not because I¡¯m afraid of falling, but because I don¡¯t want to dirty my precious self,¡± said Long Tianze as he put on the ski coat. Everyone else proceeded to put on their ski coats one after another. Over the afternoon, Long Tianze gradually regained his dexterity and guided the inexperienced Mei Yangyang along. Chapter 131 - Shut Up and Stop Being So Obnoxious

Chapter 131: Shut Up and Stop Being So Obnoxious

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning had also gotten the hang of it. The group of five had a whale of a time. ¡°If only Mo Li were here too,¡± Long Tianze said with a sigh during dinner. ¡°It¡¯s the first day of the Lunar New Year today. Give her a call,¡± Ling Ciye suggested. ¡°Let¡¯s just give her a video call,¡± said Long Tianze as he turned on the video call function after connecting his mobile phone to the resort¡¯s wifiwork. Long Tianze zoomed in on each of their faces, before panning the camera towards himself. ¡°How are you getting on over there?¡± he eximed. ¡°Great, Happy New Year, Tianze!¡± ¡°We¡¯re at the ski resort,¡± said Long Tianze as he pointed the camera around at his surroundings. ¡°Tianze, I miss you guys. I wish you all a great year ahead,¡± Mo Li said with a sweet smile on her face. ¡°We miss you too. Take good care of Uncle, Auntie, Mo Xun, and, most importantly, yourself. Remember to give me a call if you need help with anything, got it?¡± ¡°Yes, Tianze. I gotta go, my Mother is asking for me.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Mo Li burst into tears after ending the video call. She was overwhelmed with a mix of emotions, feeling touched and sad at the same time as she missed her friends dearly. Upon hearing footsteps approaching, Mo Li quickly wiped her tears and got a grip on her emotions. Noticing that Mo Li seemed a little upset, Mrs. Mo asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Lili?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing, I just came back from Mother-inw¡¯s ce.¡± ¡°Are you hungry? I¡¯ll fix you something to eat,¡± said Mrs. Mo, knowing that Mo Li must be tired from all the formalities and visiting of rtives. ¡°I¡¯m not hungry. Get some rest, Mother, we have a cook at home to prepare our meals. You¡¯ve worked hard all your life, it¡¯s time you take a break and rest,¡± said Mo Li, holding her mother¡¯s hand. ¡°I¡¯m used to it anyway. I feel uneasy not doing anything. Why are your eyes so red? You cried?¡± Mrs. Mo asked worriedly. ¡°I spoke to Tianze over the phone just now, I miss everyone.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have plenty of chances to see them in the future. I¡¯ve noticed that Byron has been home most of the timetely, isn¡¯t that great? Lili, just forget about your unhappy past and bear a child with Byron.¡± ¡°Mother...¡± Mo Li gave her mother a big hug. ¡°Okay, okay, look at you, still being such a baby even when you¡¯re all grown up. Others are going to poke fun at you if they see this. Let me cook you a sumptuous dinner. Nothing canpare to a heartwarming meal prepared by your mother, no matter how delicious it may be.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you, Mother,¡± said Mo Li as a smile formed on her face. ¡ª¡ª After dinner, Long Tianze and Mei Yangyang took a stroll along the vicinity of the resort. asionally, they caught the attention of passers-by. ¡°I have some good news I¡¯ve yet to tell you.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± asked Mei Yangyang. ¡°The client has epted themercial, we¡¯re currently in the midst of production. Soon, it¡¯ll be aired on TV,¡± said Long Tianze as he observed her reaction. Mei Yangyang looked up at him and said, ¡°That¡¯s splendid. Otherwise, I would feel really guilty about epting those 200 thousand dors. It would be a pity for the video we filmed to go to waste, too. Thank you so much, Long Tianze. My Mother would probably never have had the chance to undergo proper treatment without this sum of money.¡± ¡°When are you going to agree to be my girlfriend?¡± he asked, pulling her into an embrace. Mei Yangyang¡¯s heart palpitated against her chest as she inhaled his scent, which she found to be exceptionally fragrant. ¡°Why are you so eager?¡± she asked. ¡°Because I¡¯d like to know what it¡¯s like to be in a rtionship with someone I love,¡± he answered, walking forward while still holding her in his embrace. Feeling trapped in his arms, Mei Yangyang constantly tried to break free as she continuously moved backwards. Both Jin Qingyue and Shi Shaochuan witnessed the scene before them as they began walking towards the pair. The first thing that popped up in Jin Qingyue¡¯s mind was how Long Tianze had harbored feelings for her over a long period of time. Why is he embroiled in an ambiguous and flirtatious rtionship with another girl?she thought to herself. ¡°I¡¯ll go get a pack of cigarettes. Wait for me here, I¡¯ll be back soon,¡± said Shi Shaochuan as he swiftly turned around to leave. Jin Qingyue stayed put while Long Tianze and Mei Yangyang approached her. ¡°What are you two doing here?¡± she asked. However, Long Tianze did not seem to notice her presence at all, for he was too engrossed in talking to Mei Yangyang. ¡°We¡¯re dating, can¡¯t you see?¡± he answered coldly. ¡°What?¡± Jin Qingyue gasped in disbelief. She cast a condescending nce at Mei Yangyang and let out a snide remark, ¡°Your taste in women has seriously deteriorated.¡± ¡°No, in fact, I think it¡¯s gotten a hundred times better. If what I used to like was a pebble, then it¡¯s safe to say what I like now is a diamond,¡± he said, remaining unfazed. Jin Qingyue grimaced in anger. How could hepare her to a pebble, and that woman, a diamond!?! Strangely enough, her blood began to boil. ¡°Sure, she¡¯s a diamond if you say so. But, do Uncle and Auntie know about this? I suppose they wouldn¡¯t want a girl of such lowly background to be their daughter-inw, would they?¡± Jin Qingyue sneered with clenched fists and a stiffened smile. Mei Yangyang turned as pale as a sheet, at a loss for words. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about these, Ms. Jin. Look at yourself, you¡¯ve even managed to marry a scumbag like Shi Shaochuan, I¡¯m sure my parents wouldn¡¯t have an issue,¡± Long Tianze retorted mockingly. ¡°Is that so? I heard from Brother Ciye that you¡¯ve carried a torch for me for years. I guess you¡¯re only good enough for lowly peasants like her,¡± Jin Qingyue hissed. ¡°Jin Qingyue! I dare you to repeat yourself!¡± Long Tianze hollered as he grew into a sudden rage. ¡°What¡¯s there for me to fear? Long Tianze, I knew you fancied me since a long time ago, but I¡¯ve never once reciprocated your feelings for me. Thus, you have no choice but to settle for a woman from such a poor family,¡± Jin Qingyue remarked in a moment of pique. Long Tianze stared at her with cold and deadly eyes. Even unto this day, he was rather disappointed to hear those words from her mouth, for she did not even save him the least bit of shame. Hanging her head low, Mei Yangyang noticed that his hands were trembling uncontrobly. All of a sudden, Mei Yangyang freed herself from his embrace and mustered up the courage to confront Jin Qingyue. ¡°Ms. Jin, you¡¯re going overboard with your narcissism and arrogance. Don¡¯t mistake his courtesy for something more. Just because he¡¯s nice to you doesn¡¯t mean he adores you. If I were a guy, I would never fall for someone like you either, Ms. Jin. You¡¯re so self-absorbed, arrogant, condescending, and rude. Also, it¡¯s true that I¡¯m from a poor family, but I¡¯ve always been spending my own money and none of his. I heard you¡¯ve never worked a day in your life, even though you¡¯re already an adult. Leeching off your family¡¯s fortune is nothing to be proud of. You were just born into a better family than I was, what¡¯s the big deal? Shut up and quit being so obnoxious!¡± As soon as she finished talking, she grabbed Long Tianze¡¯s hand and left, pulling him along. The pair were already long gone by the time Jin Qingyue processed what she had just heard. She stomped her feet angrily and cursed them in her head before telling Shi Shaochuan about what happened, upon his return. However, there was nothing he could do to help, apart from hearing her rant on and allowing her to vent her anger and frustration. Chapter 132 - I Want You

Chapter 132: I Want You

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°You should¡¯ve given her a tight p across her face just now. But, did you really carry a torch for her for years?¡± In the past, Long Tianze would¡¯ve denied it straightaway. However, he did not evade her question and instead answered, ¡°It¡¯s all history now.¡± ¡°You must be really devoted and loyal to be able to like someone for so many years.¡± All of a sudden, he looked down and nted a kiss on her lips, causing her to retreat backwards in shock as her heart began to flutter and palpitate vigorously. His kiss was forceful yet gentle. He found her lingering scent to bepletely irresistible and simply could not stop smooching her. Mei Yangyang began to feel a little breathless. Long Tianze seemed to have noticed that she was running out of breath and began kissing her slowly and gently. The elevator ascended and descended repeatedly as onlookers refused to board the elevator, upon sight of their public disy of affection. ¡°My hormones are raging for you.¡± ¡°English, please.¡± ¡°I want you.¡± Mei Yangyang began to blush as red as a tomato and quickly refuted, ¡°I don¡¯t think the time is right yet.¡± ¡°When would it be right?¡± he asked. ¡°When we¡¯ve truly fallen in love with each other and be a couple. Only then will it be appropriate,¡± she answered, hanging her head low in utter shyness. ¡°How long more will I have to wait then?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you¡¯d like to woo me? You don¡¯t even have the courage and determination to resist your urges. Hmph!¡± she scoffed in annoyance and pushed him away. Long Tianze was amused at the sight of her getting upset. ¡°Mei Yangyang, just you wait and see. I¡¯ll definitely make you mine,¡± he said confidently. ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll be waiting.¡± The somber mood vanished instantly as they happily returned to their room. ¡°You¡¯ve definitely fallen for him. Otherwise, why would you allow him to kiss you?¡± said An Xiaoning, sprawled across the bed. ¡°I guess so. Sis, how do you tell if someone loves you or not?¡± Mei Yangyang asked, sitting on the bed and hugging a pillow tightly. ¡°Well, I think you should be able to feel it if someone really loves you, unless he¡¯s really good at hiding his feelings. There are also other ways to tell, or if he tells you straight that he does. But of course, it won¡¯t be special if he¡¯s the type to casually tell you that he loves you all the time. Aren¡¯t there plenty of heartwarming stories about love from the past? I still believe that true love exists in this world, the kind that¡¯s strong enough to make someone give up their life for the person they love and risk everything they have just to be with them. However, I¡¯ve yet to experience such noble love,¡± An Xiaoning answered. Nodding in agreement, Mei Yangyang said, ¡°In my opinion, a loyal man is indeed hard toe by in today¡¯s society. Humans have be too superficial and lustrous.¡± ¡°Sis-inw was too callous with her words, how could she say that about Long Tianze? Just avoid talking to her when you see her in the future. Got it?¡± An Xiaoning instructed. ¡°Got it,¡± Mei Yangyang answered with a nod. ¡°I¡¯m going to bed. See you tomorrow morning,¡± said An Xiaoning as she got down from the bed. ¡°Alright. Goodnight, Sis.¡± ¡°Goodnight.¡± As soon as An Xiaoning exited the room, she caught a glimpse of Jin Qingyan¡¯s figure, which quickly vanished at the instant that the elevator doors closed. She took a look at the time and realized that it was already ratherte into the night. Where is he going? she wondered. She swiftly boarded the other elevator and went straight to the first storey. However, Jin Qingyan was nowhere in sight. Thus, she whipped her phone out to give him a call. ¡°Where are you?¡± ¡°I went out to get something.¡± ¡°Come back quick.¡± After ending the call, An Xiaoning went back to the room. Not long after, Jin Qingyan returned. ¡°What did you get?¡± ¡°This. I was in such a hurry that I forgot to bring some out,¡± he answered, retrieving a small foil packet from his pocket. ¡°It¡¯s the same brand we have at home, why don¡¯t you just get the entire box?¡± An Xiaoning asked, staring at the three condoms he had thrown onto the bed. ¡°You can get just one too, as long as you¡¯re willing to pay for the entire box.¡± ¡°You have too much money,¡± said An Xiaoning as she grabbed her robe and entered the washroom. Jin Qingyan then took a shower while she was drying her hair. Sitting cross-legged on the bed, An Xiaoning picked up the condoms on the bed to have a look. To her surprise, the production dates stated on the packaging were exactly the same as the ones they had at home. She remembered it clearly because she had previously scrutinized the packaging of the ones at home. What a coincidence. Or was it? A whirlpool of questions flooded her mind as she stared at the condoms in her hand. ¡ª¡ª The first thing An Xiaoning did when they returned home from the ski resort was to check the condoms in the drawer of their room. She counted the number of condoms in the box, which she had previously opened, only to realize that there were three missing ones. She then checked the production date on the packaging and found that it was exactly the same. At this juncture, it struck her that Jin Qingyan had probably used buying condoms as an excuse to leave the hotel that night. He must have gone out to do something else. But then again, there was not much that could possibly be done in such a short period of time. Why did he have to hide it from me? she wondered. However, she did not pry further since he did not wish to tell her about it. ¡°Boss, that fellow is calling you again!¡± her ringtone rang abruptly, startling her. She took a look at the caller disy and realized that it was an unfamiliar number. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Ms. An, it¡¯s Bai Ranran speaking. May I see you?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± An Xiaoning agreed, although she was not sure why Bai Ranran had asked to meet her. Having arrived at the cafe they agreed to meet at, An Xiaoning walked towards the entrance. As soon as she stepped foot into the cafe, she was greeted with melodious music, which added a finishing touch to the tranquil ambiance of the cafe. Bai Ranran had arrived before her. Upon sight of An Xiaoning, she quickly stood up to greet her. ¡°Hi, Ms. An,¡± she greeted, reaching out for a handshake. ¡°Hello,¡± An Xiaoning returned the gesture and took a seat after shaking her hand. ¡°I didn¡¯t get a chance to speak to you privately during the evening of Lunar New Year¡¯s Eve. I got your number from Beicheng. I¡¯m very sorry to have asked to meet you out of the blue. I heard that you were great at fortune-telling, Ms. An. Thus, I¡¯d like to request that you help read mine. Is that alright?¡± Bai Ranran asked shyly, her face blushing red from embarrassment. ¡°I know you¡¯re not short of money at all, but I can¡¯t let you help me for free. Ms. An, please tell my fortune just once,¡± Bai Ranran requested as she ced a cheque for one million dors on the table. Being the money-grubber she is, An Xiaoning epted the cheque and cut straight to the chase, ¡°What would you like to know about?¡± ¡°Every aspect concerning my life.¡± ¡°When is your date of birth? And where is the exact location you were born in?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°I was born on 4/12/XX at 10:08 PM. The location was the courtyard of my home.¡± ¡°I got it,¡± said An Xiaoning, already having an answer in her head. Bai Ranran looked at her nervously with clenched fists as she waited for the verdict. ¡°Ms. Bai, since I¡¯ve already epted your money, I don¡¯t wish to hide the truth from you, but promise me you won¡¯t get worked up after hearing what I have to say next. I won¡¯t ept the money if you lose control of your emotions. Please prepare yourself mentally,¡± An Xiaoning said with a look of pity in her eyes. ¡°Go ahead and say it, I promise I won¡¯t get worked up. I may be a little nervous, but I¡¯ve already prepared myself for the worst beforeing to see you,¡± Bai Ranran answered as her stomach twisted into a knot. Chapter 133 - You Won’t Make It Past Another Three Months

Chapter 133: You Won¡¯t Make It Past Another Three Months

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning turned to the waiter and said, ¡°I¡¯d like to have two cups of coffee without sugar.¡± ¡°Ms. An, please just tell me straight.¡± ¡°Calm down, I¡¯ll tell you everything in detail when the coffee is here. May I ask, when did you fall in love with Ye Xiaotian?¡± An Xiaoning asked smilingly. Upon hearing her question, the image of her first encounter with Ye Xiaotian popped up in Bai Ranran¡¯s mind as a radiant smile of bliss formed on her face. ¡°It¡¯s been a really long time since I did, but I still remember clearly my very first impression of him, even to this day. We used to be schoolmates, but he still didn¡¯t know my name even after several years. Ever since then, I¡¯ve always loved him,¡± said Bai Ranran as she reminisced the past. Noticing how blissful Bai Ranran seemed, a heartwarming smile hung from An Xiaoning¡¯s lips and she continued, ¡°You¡¯re 23 this year, right?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m 23.¡± Soon, the coffee was served by the waiter. Looking down, An Xiaoning began stirring her cup of coffee as she rehearsed her lines in her head. All of a sudden, she looked up and said bluntly, ¡°Ms. Bai, you don¡¯t have much time left to live.¡± Although Bai Ranran had already prepared herself for the worst, she was still taken aback by An Xiaoning¡¯s words, which had made her feel rather upset nheless. However, she tried to contain and suppress her emotions with all her might and asked calmly, ¡°Ms. An, I believe youpletely. Could you tell me exactly how long I have left?¡± ¡°You won¡¯t make it past another three months.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s words hit her like a hurricane and her hands began to tremble uncontrobly. With a bitter smile, she said, ¡°I¡¯m getting married on the 26th of March. Does that mean I won¡¯t live until the day of my wedding?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid so,¡± An Xiaoning answered. She did not bother telling Bai Ranran the other aspects of her life, for they had all paled inparison to the life-and-death matter at hand. After all, there was no point in knowing the details of those aspects since she was going to lose her life soon. ¡°Heaven is so unfair to me. I¡¯m still so young, why must this happen to me? It¡¯s so unfair!¡± Bai Ranran wailed in despair with tears flowing from her eyes continuously like a tap. The news hade across as a heavy blow to her. What she had dreaded most was still going to happen in the end. Unsure of how she shouldfort her, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Do you know of karmic retribution in past and present lives?¡± ¡°I know of that, but I¡¯ve never believed it in the past. I used to think it was just illogical nonsense.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not. Fate and destiny are endless cycles. You will be punished in your present life for the sins you¡¯vemitted in your previous one. This is also known as karmic retribution. Some may not receive the punishment they deserve formitting numerous acts of evil in this life, simply because they¡¯ve umted a great ton of good karma from the many kind deeds they¡¯ve done in their previous life, which offset the sin umted. Yours is a case of severe karmic hindrance. Life is short and death is inevitable to all. It¡¯s only a matter of time. You still have some time left to do the things you¡¯ve always wanted to do and aplish the goals you¡¯ve always had. Ms. Bai, the greatest thing in life is to die without regrets, isn¡¯t it?¡± Bai Ranran began to feel a little more optimistic after hearing her words. Covering her face with her hands as tears streamed down uncontrobly, she said incoherently, ¡°Now that I think of it, here¡¯s what happened. Ever since I was diagnosed with a rare spontaneous disorder whereby my body is not capable of producing blood on its own, lots of people have been forced to donate their blood to me. I¡¯ve once kicked a pregnant woman¡¯s belly and caused her to have a miscarriage. She was carrying Xiaotian¡¯s child at the time. While I was still in school, I used to detest a fellow female schoolmate, whom I then hired people to... to strip naked. I also instructed for photos of her naked body to be taken and circted around everyone in school. She ended up taking her own life...¡± Bai Ranran broke down further and wailed in agony while An Xiaoning handed her a packet of tissues from her bag. ¡°Do you n to tell Mr. Ye?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t. I don¡¯t wish to spread the word about my impending death. Please help me keep this a secret. Just take it that we didn¡¯t meet at all today. Please,¡± she pleaded, shaking her head in refusal. An Xiaoning agreed to her request, for she did not wish to interfere in her matters. Besides, she was not in any ce to intervene, since they¡¯ve merely had a brief encounter with each other. ¡°Actually, I came to look for you because I bumped into a fortune-teller by the streets, who had piqued my interest and curiosity. Thus, I decided to give it a try and have him read my fortune. Upon reading my birth characters, all he said was that I should proceed to aplish my wishes as soon as possible. However, I was rather untrusting of his words since there are just too many swindlers out there. Hence, I decided to seek your help. You must be really capable to have been recruited by the police to assist in criminal investigations. I believe it¡¯s not mere superstition, and I trust youpletely.¡± When it was time to leave, Bai Ranran¡¯s eyes were red and swollen from all the crying, but she had managed to calm down and get a grip on her emotions. She touched up her makeup in the car and proceeded to meet Ye Xiaotian. Since he was still in the midst of a meeting, she headed to his resting room andid down to get some rest. Not long after, she heard the voices of Ye Xiaotian and his mothering from outside. They were having a conversation. Feeling down and low in spirits, Bai Ranran decided to go out of the room only after his mother had left. Upon hearing them approach the topic of his assassination, she began to eavesdrop attentively. ¡°I¡¯ve got someone to investigate this matter. Before you were attacked by the assassin, you visited Y Nation, but not for business reasons. Were you there to look for Mo Li?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± Clearly not believing his words, Mrs. Ye retorted, ¡°That¡¯s enough, drop the act. I often saw her inside your room whenever I was at your ce. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that she was donating blood to Ranran, I would¡¯ve chased her out long ago. She¡¯s already married, what designs do you still have on her? Don¡¯t forget, you¡¯re getting married yourself very soon.¡± ¡°Mother, I know what I¡¯m doing. Rest assured.¡± ¡°I know, you would¡¯ve never agreed to marry Ranran or treat her that well if it weren¡¯t for my insistence. Xiaotian, she really treats you very well, and she¡¯s made such a great sacrifice for me. We ought not to let her down or take advantage of her.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°...¡± Bai Ranran closed her eyes, and her temples began throbbing continuously. ¡ª¡ª Long Tianze went to look for Jin Qingyan at his ce, in a bid to invite him to go fishing, only to find that thetter was taking a nap. Without hesitation, Long Tianze forcefully tugged at his shirt and woke him up. ¡°It¡¯s wintertime, how are you going to go about fishing? Go look for Ciye instead,¡± Jin Qingyan refuted. ¡°He doesn¡¯t have that kind of patience. Let¡¯s go, just us two. We¡¯ll enjoy some time alone together.¡± Jin Qingyan rolled his eyes at him and answered, ¡°Why would I want to enjoy some private time with you? I heard you were wooing that littless. How¡¯s it going?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t seeded yet.¡± ¡°It¡¯s already been so long, yet you still can¡¯t get her to fall for you, stupid.¡± Long Tianze could not help but agree with his criticism in shame, ¡°Unlike you, I¡¯m pure and innocent. Showing off your skills in bed is all you have to do to get everything settled.¡± Jin Qingyan smacked him yfully and said, ¡°You deserve a beating. Where do you n to go fishing?¡± ¡°The usual spot. It¡¯s quiet and empty there, I¡¯m free to be myself. I¡¯ve already prepared everything we need, you¡¯re the missing puzzle piece,¡± Long Tianze answered confidently. They then headed to the entrance where they bumped into An Xiaoning and Mei Yangyang, who had just returned together. ¡°You¡¯re going fishing?¡± An Xiaoning asked upon noticing the fishing rods. ¡°Yes, we¡¯re going fishing.¡± ¡°Both of us don¡¯t have anything on, let¡¯s go fishing together and train our patience. Are we wee to join you guys?¡± An Xiaoning suggested. ¡°Of course, thepany of such beautifuldies is always wee. But, don¡¯t you have to report to the investigations unit, Xiaoning?¡± said Long Tianze, apuding in approval. ¡°Not today, I have to go tomorrow. We won¡¯t be fishing though, we¡¯ll just sit at the side and watch you guys. We don¡¯t have anything else to do anyway,¡± An Xiaoning replied. The group of four then got into the car and embarked on a journey towards their destination. They arrived at a unique-looking bridge, where the river was not frozen, after which they sat down in a single file. Chapter 134 - I’ll Eat You

Chapter 134: I¡¯ll Eat You

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning scanned her surroundings and eximed in awe, ¡°This is a really great ce, beautifully surrounded by mountains and nature. I find it really therapeutic, just staring at the calm waters of the river.¡± ¡°We used toe here to fish all the time, but we¡¯ve stoppeding so frequently, due to our busy work schedules. However, this is still the first ce thates to mind whenever we feel like fishing. There are plenty of fishes in this river,¡± Jin Qingyan exined to An Xiaoning as he pushed the fishing rods aside slowly. ¡°Qingyan has never once caught as many fishes as I have, though. I¡¯m an expert at fishing,¡± Long Tianze said with a confident smile. ¡°You forgot to mention that the ones I catch are wayrger than yours,¡± Jin Qingyan retorted. ¡°How about we have a match today?¡± he suggested. Jin Qingyan quickly epted the challenge, ¡°Sure.¡± The two of them proceeded to cast their rods into the water at the same time. Resting her chin in her hand, Mei Yangyang engaged in a casual conversation with An Xiaoning while they enjoyed a moment of tranquility and peace. Soon after, Long Tianze retracted his rod forcefully all of a sudden, and a huge grass carp emerged from the water. It continued to struggle in an attempt to escape, iling about in the air. Long Tianze proudly ced the grass carp into his fis and bragged about his achievement to Jin Qingyan, ¡°Did you see that? I just caught a humongous fish.¡± Seeing how conceited Long Tianze was, Jin Qingyan said nonchntly, ¡°It¡¯s just a grass carp, it won¡¯t be worth much.¡± ¡°Hmph! Look at yourself, you can¡¯t even catch one. Sour grapes,¡± Long Tianze sneered. ¡°Who said I can¡¯t?¡± Jin Qingyan retorted. As soon as he finished his sentence, Jin Qingyan caught a red snapper with his rod. ¡°A red snapper, not too bad, Qingyan. Why didn¡¯t you catch a shark?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you show me how to catch one, since you¡¯re so good at this?¡± ¡°Hahaha.¡± Over the span of the afternoon, the two of them managed to catch plenty of fishes in their. They each had their own strengths ¡ª Long Tianze had won the match in terms of quantity, whereas Jin Qingyan had won in terms of size and value of the fishes caught. On the way back, Long Tianze suggested, ¡°Let¡¯s have a feast of fish tonight, each dish prepared in every possible way ¡ª doused in sweet and sour sauce, steamed, braised, stir-fried with fermented pickles, stir-fried with dried chili, poached, etc. How does that sound?¡± ¡°It¡¯s all fish. Are you sure you can stomach that?¡± Jin Qingyan scoffed in disapproval. ¡°Why not? Every dish is going to be prepared differently and taste different from each other. I¡¯m salivating just at the thought of it.¡± ¡°Glutton,¡± Mei Yangyang interjected. Upon hearing her remark, Long Tianze answered with a grin, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m a glutton, and I¡¯m going to eat you.¡± Mei Yangyang cocked her head towards the side and looked out of the window, pretending not to have heard anything. Just as they were waiting for dinner to be served, the news broadcasted on the television had shocked them greatly. It was reported that Bai Ranran had publicly announced on her Weibo page that she would be calling off her wedding with Ye Xiaotian. In order to avoid spection, she included the reason for her decision in the announcement, iming that it was entirely due to her personal reasons and that she had decided not to get married anymore. She had shifted all the attention to herself. The piece of shocking and abrupt news had caused a major uproar, since it was not too long ago that they had announced that they would be bringing the wedding forward to an earlier date. Upon hearing the news, Mrs. Ye hurriedly gave Bai Ranran a call, but thetter did not answer. Thus, she proceeded to call Ye Xiaotian instead to ask about what was going on. However, he mentioned that he had also just received the shocking piece of news and that she did not discuss the matter with him prior to the announcement. Since he could not get through to her over the phone, Ye Xiaotian had no choice but to search for her personally. Both the Ye and Bai families were puzzled and perplexed at her abrupt decision. They took turns to question Bai Ranran. However, she had insisted on standing firm on her decision. Knowing very well how much Bai Ranran had yearned to be Ye Xiaotian¡¯s wife, her family members began to interrogate him upon his arrival, questioning if he had forced Bai Ranran to call off the wedding. Ye Xiaotian had no choice but to exin again that he had also just found out about the matter from the news on the television, emphasizing that he would never do something like that. Puzzled and confused by Bai Ranran¡¯s decision, Ye Xiaotian decided to look for her in her bedroom. The lights were on in the room while sheid in bed with her eyes closed, yet to fall asleep. Upon hearing the iing footsteps, she opened her eyes. Seeing that it was him, Bai Ranran spoke up, ¡°I know I didn¡¯t discuss it with you earlier, but, Xiaotian, I just realized all of a sudden that I had been living for your sake the past few years, so much so that I hadpletely lost myself. I¡¯m still young, and I ought to spend some time alone, living for no one but myself.¡± ¡°Ranran...¡± Utterly convinced by her words, Ye Xiaotian said, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be great to have me take care of you for the rest of your life?¡± ¡°Who knows how long more I¡¯ll get to live? Xiaotian, you don¡¯t love me at all. You treat me well and give in to me, not because you love me, but because of something else. Starting from tomorrow, I¡¯d like to go out there and explore whatever the world has to offer,¡± she said, hanging her head low. ¡°But you have to visit the hospital every other day... If you¡¯d really like to go exploring, I¡¯ll go with you and we¡¯ll bring along the doctor and your blood donor. How about that?¡± said Ye Xiaotian. Shaking her head, she refuted, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. I¡¯ll bring them along myself. You don¡¯t have to worry about those.¡± ¡°Ranran...¡± ¡°Xiaotian! Please respect my decision and grant me my wish, alright? Just take it that I¡¯m begging you,¡± she snapped, ring at him sternly. ¡°If this is really what you want, I¡¯ll go ahead with your wishes. But, Ranran, you¡¯ll always be the dearest kin of mine, even if we can¡¯t be husband and wife. I¡¯ll never forget the sacrifices you¡¯ve made for my mother.¡± Tears welled up in Bai Ranran¡¯s eyes as she nodded and said, ¡°Okay, thank you, Xiaotian. You may take your leave.¡± After the door was closed, Bai Ranran broke down in despair and began crying out loud while covering her face with the duvet. As soon as she was done crying, she felt a sudden, acute pain in her stomach. Clutching her gut in pain, she began tossing and turning in bed. The sharp painsted for several minutes, which made her feel like it was the end of the world. Bai Ranran suddenly realized that she had been so preupied with the fact that she had less than three months left to live that she had forgotten a crucial question: What would be the cause of her death? Thus far, she was aware that the only condition she was gued with was the disorder which hindered her from producing her own blood. However, the doctor had mentioned that she would be able to lead a normal life, as long as the blood transfusions were regr and consistent. She was never told that she would die in a short period of time. She hurriedly sent An Xiaoning a text message to ask about the question she had. In no time, An Xiaoning replied: ¡°Heart failure.¡± Bai Ranran sprung up immediately and hurriedly got dressed before rushing down to the hospital. She had wanted to verify if the prediction was true. After her cardiovascr checkup, the doctor did not inform her of the results right away, but instead proceeded to engage in a discussion with the other doctors. She waited anxiously for the results. ¡°Ms. Bai, your condition appears to be a littleplicated and we¡¯ve yet toe to a conclusion. Please proceed for a blood test now.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± she agreed cooperatively. After waiting for an hour... The results were finally out. ¡°Ms. Bai, could you get your family to make a trip here?¡± ¡°Please just tell me the results, I am ready for it. I¡¯ve already prepared myself for bad news prior toing here, more or less.¡± ¡°Alright then. We¡¯ve found that your heart is beginning to show signs of functioning abnormally. ording to the blood test, your blood sample was shown to contain traces of the SIA virus, a kind of virus that causes sudden and tremendous heart failure. It is known to have a certain incubation period, during which infected patients will not feel any symptoms at all. Infected patients would usually end up in an abrupt death, shortly after the first signs of sudden difort. Just how did you contract such a rare virus?¡± the doctor said solemnly. Chapter 135 - Thank You, Ms. An

Chapter 135: Thank You, Ms. An

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Bai Ranran turned pale as a sheet upon hearing the news and shook her head profusely. ¡°I don¡¯t know how I got infected. Doctor, is there no way to keep my condition under control?¡± she asked worriedly. With a nod, the doctor answered, ¡°The current medical technology we have is not yet advanced enough to treat such viruses. The first symptoms of such viruses usually begin from the abdominal area, and the difort will continue to spread upwards. Once one gets infected, the only solution is...¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± said Bai Ranran as she turned around to leave dejectedly before the doctor could even finish speaking. She was in utmost awe and respect of An Xiaoning¡¯s urate predictions. WIth cold and trembling hands, she picked up her mobile phone and sent An Xiaoning a text message: ¡°You were spot-on, Ms. An. I just went for a checkup at the hospital, and I¡¯m infected with a virus which would result in acute heart failure. There would also be no symptoms at all during the incubation period. I truly understand now that we ought not tomit sins and cause harm to others for our own selfish reasons. But, it¡¯s all toote now.¡± An Xiaoning felt a sudden sense of sadness and pity upon reading her message, to which she replied: ¡°Isn¡¯t it your greatest wish to marry Mr. Ye? Why did you announce that you would be calling off the wedding?¡± Bai Ranran replied: ¡°Perhaps humans only realize what¡¯s most important when our days are numbered. I¡¯ve always thought that I was merely diagnosed with a blood disorder and that I still had a long life ahead of me, which I could spend with him. But since I can¡¯t, I shouldn¡¯t marry him despite it being the greatest wish of my life, lest I end up being too reluctant to die. Once I marry him, I would never bear to give up my ce as his wife to someone else. That would be my greatest regret. Besides, Xiaotian has never once loved me. He¡¯s only treating me well out of gratitude, because I donated a kidney to his mother when she was diagnosed with uremia. Ms. An, I¡¯m actually not willing to die at all, I¡¯m still so young. I¡¯m only 23 this year! But, I can¡¯t help it since everything is destined. Last but not least, thank you, Ms. An.¡± An Xiaoning answered: ¡°Take care.¡± As soon as she put her phone down, she was overwhelmed with a mix of emotions. She had always seen death as merely an inevitable process of life that no one can escape from. In this limited life, there are only very few people who can truly understand the purpose of existence. One ought to do many kind deeds while he¡¯s living; only then can he be at peace with himself. However, some things are only realized when one when is on the brink of death ¡ª when it¡¯s all toote. The further one is away from death, the closer he is to selfish desires. ¡°Sis Weiwei, that dimwit, Bai Ranran, has announced that the wedding would be called off. Isn¡¯t that splendid?¡± said the assistant as she handed her phone to Sun Weiwei, who had just finished filming a television program. Sun Weiwei was puzzled upon taking a nce at the shocking piece of news and said in bewilderment, ¡°Isn¡¯t marrying Brother Xiaotian what she¡¯s always yearned for the most? Is she out of her mind?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, I find it rather peculiar and abrupt too. But Sis Weiwei, now that she¡¯s gotten out of the way, you¡¯re one step closer to Mr. Ye,¡± answered the assistant who gloated in joy, finding the news to be a fortunate event. ¡°I don¡¯t care, whatever. Start driving, let¡¯s go for dinner,¡± the fatigued Sun Weiwei instructed as sheid sluggishly on the seat in the van. To her dismay, they happened to stumble upon Bai Ranran¡¯s brother, Bai Duocai, at the restaurant they were dining at. He had been wanting to get back at her for getting him drunk to sound him out and fleeing with his money before he even had the chance to take liberties with her. Since then, he had been trying to find her to teach her a lesson, but to no avail. Little did he expect that he would finally bump into her here at the restaurant. Sun Weiweipletely ignored his presence, for she did not need to use him anymore. ¡°Stop right there,¡± Bai Duocai ordered. However, Sun Weiwei ignored his words and continued in her tracks. Bai Duocai then stepped forward and pulled her arm forcefully, after which the assistant hurriedly intervened, ¡°Mr. Bai, what are you doing!?!¡± ¡°Why, you took my money and now you¡¯re not even going to greet me?¡± Bai Duocai snapped with a squint, giving his bald head a stroke. ¡°Well, Sis Weiwei has an appointment tonight. We¡¯ll contact you next time,¡± the assistant answered patronizingly. ¡°Only a fool would believe your words. Forget about leaving if you don¡¯t make it up to me tonight,¡± he threatened as he gestured for a gang of more than ten men toe forth. Upon observing the circumstances, the assistant anxiously said, lowering her voice, ¡°Sis Weiwei, just go offer him a toast of apology, and he¡¯ll let this matter slide. Will that do?¡± Sun Weiwei rolled her eyes in annoyance and chided, ¡°You¡¯re so useless. Tell him I¡¯ll go over in a bit.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± The assistant then raised her voice and said loudly, ¡°Sis Weiwei said she¡¯ll go over to your room to ask for your forgiveness in a while. Will that be enough?¡± ¡°I want it to be now. Come in right away,¡± Bai Duocai demanded as he entered a room beside him. Upon her assistant¡¯s persuasion, Sun Weiwei had no choice but to enter the room, where she was left alone with him. She poured him a ss of liquor and toasted, ¡°Mr. Bai, you got drunk the previous time I had dinner with you; thus, I decided to take the money away out of my own ord, since I can¡¯t possibly spend the evening with you for free. My apologies for not greeting you earlier. Please forgive me, Mr. Bai.¡± Bai Duocai gave her a tight p on her face, with so much force that she instantly fell to the ground. He looked down at her from above and seethed. ¡°Drop the act, just say so if you wanted the money. You didn¡¯t have to try and get me drunk. Were you afraid I wouldn¡¯t pay? A promiscuous woman like you, who has slept with countless men, should be grateful and ttered that I liked you. You¡¯ve really angered me tonight, I want you to scram after finishing this entire bottle of liquor. Watch what I¡¯ll do to you if you leave before you finish it.¡± He then ced a bottle of white wine on the table, signaling for her to start drinking. Sun Weiwei was boiling hot with anger. However, she did not have her bodyguards with her and it was toote to call for them now. Thus, she stood up unstably as her body swayed from side to side and answered, ¡°Okay, will everything be settled once I finish the bottle of wine?¡± ¡°Yes, drink up.¡± Sun Weiwei picked up the bottle, removed the cork, and began chugging the wine down. Her throat was on fire after chugging half the bottle at one go. However, in order to leave quickly, she continued to finish the remaining half in one gulp, causing her stomach to churn ufortably, although it was not toorge a bottle. ¡°Can I leave now?¡± ¡°You may be brave, but I can¡¯t let my 200 thousand go to waste,¡± said Bai Duocai, going back on his word as he had no intention to let her leave just yet. Sun Weiwei stared as he approached her and began yelling at the top of her voice, only to have him cover her mouth with his hand. Feeling worried for Sun Weiwei¡¯s safety for she had not exited the room even after a long while, her assistant decided to go check on her. However, she was stopped by the men guarding the door as soon as she tried to enter. They did not allow her to give Sun Weiwei a call either. She continued to wait outside for a long period of time. They had initially nned to have a peaceful dinner, but who¡¯d have known it would end up bing a disastrous event. The assistant could already guess what was happening in the room, more or less. She stood waiting in fear outside the room. The door finally opened, but not for some time, and out came Bai Duocai, who was adjusting his pants as he walked, a look of satisfaction on his face. He then left together with his bodyguards while the assistant hurriedly rushed inside the room only to see that Sun Weiwei¡¯s face was flushed red and that she reeked of alcohol. She sitting on the ground in an unsightly position, stark naked andpletely drunk out of her senses. The assistant quickly helped her get dressed and gave the bodyguards a call, after which she ordered for the food to be packed and headed straight to Sun Weiwei¡¯s home. Chapter 136 - I’m Waiting for You Already

Chapter 136: I¡¯m Waiting for You Already

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Returning after she took a hot spring bath and swam, An Xiaoning found Jin Qingyan standing at the balcony as he talked on the phone. She stood near the door, hearing him speak fluently in a foreignnguage she could not understand. When he saw her, he quickly ended the call. ¡°You¡¯re done swimming?¡± ¡°Umm, let¡¯s have a drink.¡± She turned and headed into the room. He slowly poured the blue liquid of Dreamy Yanghe into two cocktail sses. Staring at the drink, shemented, ¡°The cocktail wine that you concoct is still the best. Even the best vintage wine outside can¡¯tpare to this.¡± ¡°Other people are not fortunate enough to drink the cocktail wine I personally concoct.¡± He looked down at the drink and took a small sip. She hugged her legs as sheughed, asking leisurely, ¡°What do you think about love?¡± Hearing her question, Jin Qingyan seemed rather taken aback for a moment. ¡°Love?¡± ¡°Umm. Do you believe that in this world, there¡¯s a kind of love which can make one give up everything for, even their own life?¡± He swirled the cocktail ss and replied casually, ¡°A stupid act of giving up on your life for your loved one. I know, it exists everywhere in this world.¡± She asked with a faint smile, ¡°What you im to be a stupid act, do you think you¡¯ll have the chance to do it in your life?¡± He put down the cocktail ss in his hand and looked at her in deep thought. ¡°I know you want me to say that there¡¯s a chance. But, I honestly feel that there probably won¡¯t be one for me. I¡¯m not a person who can be so easily defeated by someone. Someone who can make me sacrifice my life must be... iparable to anyone else in this world. That¡¯s what I think.¡± ¡°I really hope that you¡¯ll fall in love with me sooner.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because this way, my heart will be more at ease. Even though I don¡¯t need to get a sense of security from you, I want a marriage with some quality.¡± She got up and went to lie down on the bed, shutting her eyes as shey on one side. ¡°Aren¡¯t youing up? I¡¯m waiting for you already.¡± Jin Qingyan did not appear in front of her like he always did, but said instead, ¡°I¡¯ll go and take a hot spring bath too.¡± He turned and left the bedroom. An Xiaoning opened her eyes and hurriedly got up. She followed behind Jin Qingyan, who was ahead of her. An unusual sign like this made her especially sensitive. As yet, there was no one outside other than personnel patrolling. He had just reached a secluded area when his phone rang. An Xiaoning stood not far away and could hear him speaking in a foreignnguage to the other party he had been speaking to. It seemed like in the bedroom, his phone conversation had not really ended but was interrupted by her. She stood behind a tree, making no movement at all. He got increasingly agitated and seemed very angry. Even though his voice sounded like he was holding it in, she could still tell that he was extremely furious. It seemed as if he was arguing with the other party about something. An Xiaoning could not understand a thing from their conversation and did not know why he was angry at all. She suddenly felt that she had a lot to learn. Foreignnguages, for instance. When she had just turned to leave, she heard the sound of him throwing his phone from a distance away. An Xiaoning turned back to take a look but did not stop, returning to the bedroom instead. Sitting on the bed, she thought it over and over again but did not know, other than business matters, what else he could be keeping from her. However, since he was conversing with a foreigner, it was highly possible that it was about business matters. Since he did not want to tell her, she did not want to ask. Even if she was of no help, she did not want to hold him back or add on to his troubles. After half an hour, he returned with his hair slightly wet. ¡°Why did you only take such a short bath?¡± ¡°It¡¯s been more than half an hour already, and it¡¯s already sote. I can¡¯t let you wait for me on the bed for so long.¡± His lips curled into a smile. There was no sign of his explosion of anger earlier. An Xiaoning looked at him, cursing him inside her heart, What incredible acting skills! She did not expose him either and went forward to hug him, resting in his arms. ¡°I¡¯m tired, I just want some peace tonight, I don¡¯t want to move.¡± He held onto her, staring out the window with a cold and distant look. ¡°Alright, then sleep earlier. You still have work tomorrow. Oh right, I¡¯m making a trip to M Nation tomorrow. I reckon I¡¯ll only be back after a few days.¡± An Xiaoning very much wanted to ask him what his trip was for, but at the thought that he would definitely patronize her and say it was for work, she gave up the idea. ¡°Alright, stay safe outside.¡± He nted a kiss on her forehead lightly. It was a very gentle kiss. On this night, Jin Qingyan did not sleep at all. There was an extremely important issue bugging him. Before daylight, he was gone. When An Xiaoning woke up, she only sensed a heavy stench of smoke in the room. Darting a nce at the rubbish bin, she saw that there were many cigarette buds inside. Without even guessing, she knew who smoked them. She reached out to touch the covers beside her, but all she felt was a cold and empty bed. After putting on her clothes and rinsing herself, she went downstairs for breakfast. Auntie Chen had prepared century egg porridge and waffles, and the spread looked extremely delicious. Yet she was in no mood for breakfast despite her stomach being especially empty. ¡°Auntie Chen, can you get Chief Fan toe over?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Auntie Chen headed outside, and not long after, Fan Shixin appeared. ¡°Young Mistress, you called for me?¡± An Xiaoning nodded. ¡°This morning, Young Master went abroad, to M Nation. Does thepany have a branch office there?¡± Fan Shixin nodded. ¡°Yes.¡± She did not ask further. ¡°If Young Masteres back from his trip and I¡¯m not at home, remember to give me a call.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Umm, you can take your leave.¡± He turned to leave. An Xiaoning could only guess that something had happened at the branch office. If it was something else, she had no clue of it at all. After eating breakfast, she arrived at the station at 8 am sharp. Unexpectedly, she was thest one to arrive. The other three were already there. There was a case file on the table. She asked as she sat down, ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°The Crime Investigation Department passed it over. It¡¯s a case from eight years ago that is yet to be solved.¡± Ma Jianguo added, ¡°A murder case of a family of three who were decapitated.¡± An Xiaoning opened the case file. There were information and pictures of the victims inside. It was a severely brutal murder case, but it had been eight years and the perpetrator was yet to be nabbed. It was clear that there was little evidence at the crime scene or barely any strong evidence. The more time had gone by, the more difficult it was to solve it. Pan Zhenghui pushed the door open and said as he entered, ¡°You have Xiaoning as the leader of this special team. If this case is solved, then it would really be a joyous asion worth celebrating!¡± An Xiaoning said without raising her head, ¡°It¡¯s a murder case which had had no conclusion for eight years, what¡¯s there to be happy about if we solve it?¡± Pan Zhenghui remained silent, not knowing what to reply. Ma Jianguoughed heartily. ¡°Chief, can you tell from our team leader¡¯s tone that we¡¯ve a good chance of solving this?¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s a case that¡¯s been unsolved for eight years, if you can lead the team to solve it, then, Xiaoning ¡ª you will be able to use this chance to give those who looked down on your qualifications a tight p on the face.¡± An Xiaoning looked up and nodded. ¡°Makes sense. But just depending on the limited information provided in this case, which so many people were unable to solve... honestly, a newbie like me isn¡¯t that confident of doing it.¡± Chapter 137 - He Wants to Win? It’s Not That Easy

Chapter 137: He Wants to Win? It¡¯s Not That Easy

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Just do your best, okay?¡± Pan Zhengui said with a grin. ¡°I heard that the parents of the male victim of this case still live in their original residence. The day of the murder, both parents went to their daughter¡¯s house, which allowed them to escape death narrowly. However, after the incident, the parents have lived well until now and were unharmed.¡± An Xiaoning responded, ¡°I¡¯ll read this case first, then we¡¯ll go over to the male victim¡¯s parents¡¯ ce to understand more.¡± Pan Zhenghui acknowledged her with a gesture and turned to leave. An Xiaoning read the case carefully then passed it to Ma Jianguo, who then passed it to Gong Le and Zu Dong after reading it. The whole office was so quiet that they could only hear faint rustling. After understanding the case in-depth, the four drove towards their destination. ¡°The male victim and his family did not live with his parents. When the police received the call, the victims¡¯ bodies were already highly dposed. That is to say, they previously used the estimated time of death to specte that his parents were not around the night of the murder?¡± Ma Jianguo nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. It was the hottest summer at that time of the year. Some vigers said they could smell a stench when they passed by their house, but they did not think too much of it. It was a vige, after all, most toilets were in the house itself, and it wasmon for households to nt vegetables in their houses. Some used manure as a fertilizer for crops too. But, nobody had thought that the family could have been murdered.¡± ¡°The son and his wife were not on especially good terms with his parents. The young couple was also not the type that was likable. This was also the main reason why they were dead for so long in their house without anyone realizing. Adding on to this was the fact that their house was located in a slightly deserted spot. On its left is an abandoned old house, and there¡¯s nothing on the right.¡± An Xiaoning continued as she leaned against the car window, ¡°Although they were not likable, the vigers said that they did not offend anyone either. They were honest people who kept to themselves. Ma Jianguo, who do you think could be the perpetrator of this case?¡± Ma Jianguo shook his head. ¡°How would I know?¡± ¡°Make a guess?¡± An Xiaoning looked at him. ¡°ording to our case information, and your many years of investigation experience, make a casual guess. It doesn¡¯t matter even if it¡¯s wrong anyway.¡± Ma Jianguo replied in amanding tone as a senior officer, ¡°It must have been a murder for revenge. Otherwise, which nutcase would kill this family of three and decapitate them? Such a brutal method and vicious attack would have been presumably done by a man. It doesn¡¯t seem like it was done by a woman.¡± An Xiaoning nodded in agreement. ¡°This murderer must have had a strong physique and powerful physical strength. This is one point, and also, they must have had a feud against the deceased family of three.¡± Ma Jianguo continued to chime in. ¡°It was unlikely a crime of passion. The case file had said that the deceased male and female fell in love and got married. After marriage, the male worked while the female stayed at home. The male victim had always worked nearby and went home every day. So I feel that this is a possibility we can rule out. The motive of the crime would more likely be mary interests or something else.¡± ¡°Actually, the fact that they were not likable or had few acquaintances may be a point for us to investigate too. Later when we arrive, I¡¯ll talk to the male victim¡¯s parents, while all of you ask the vigers around.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Meanwhile, at M Nation... The ancient castle that was majestic-looking had a long history behind it, but its unique style still remained. Jin Qingyan had his leg crossed on the sofa, and opposite him were two elders in their sixties or seventies. The atmosphere was tense at one point, with Jin Qingyan¡¯s face turning absolutely cold. Seeing his attitude, one of the elders said, ¡°Young Master, more than half of the market shares here have been snatched by the Gu Corporation. We need to think of a countermove. Otherwise, he¡¯ll win over here.¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s face was unreadable. He simply replied lightly, ¡°He wants to win? It¡¯s not that easy.¡± The elder nodded his head. ¡°I heard you red up very badlyst night. When they arrive hereter, you need to control yourself, don¡¯t get too angry.¡± Jin Qingyan darted a nce at him. ¡°You¡¯re getting better with your words.¡± Just as he finished speaking, they heard the sound of many footsteps approaching the door. Eight to nine people dressed in suits who were from the branch office appeared. All of them had serious looks on their faces because they knew that they were not here to beplimented. ¡°Wee, President!¡± They greeted and nodded in an orderly fashion. Jin Qingyan stood up with his hands sped behind him. Looking at the General Manager at the front, hemented slowly, ¡°Why wasn¡¯t I informed at the first moment about Gu Beicheng¡¯s strategy? If I¡¯d been told immediately, the oue now would have beenpletely different.¡± ¡°President, at that time, I thought that even if he started developing property beside us, it wouldn¡¯t have too much an effect on us. I never expected that after he finished building the property, he would utilize a marketing campaign to defame our reputation and offer attractive prices which are significantly lower than ours.¡± He reached out his hand and straightened the General Manager¡¯s tie as he went on, ¡°You thought that it wouldn¡¯t have much effect on us... the enemy already pointed a knife straight at you. You tell me ¡ª what would the knife be for, do you think it¡¯s to protect you?¡± The General Manager broke out in cold sweat, and his body was extremely stiff as he stood there nervously. Jin Qingyan released his hands and took slow, regr steps in front of them. ¡°Now, let me ask all of you here ¡ª at this point, how do we wind this matter up? Whoever answers gets the General Manager¡¯s position. The person heading the branch office here shouldn¡¯t be someone who has no farsight.¡± Hearing his words, everyone else¡¯s eyes were sparkling. It was the highest position in the branch office at stake here. Some might have been working hard for a long time and were still unable to move up the ranks. ¡°President, please give me a chance.¡± The current General Manager was flustered. ¡°I¡¯ll definitely find a powerful countermeasure and prove myself to you.¡± ¡°Tell me first, how are you going to prove yourself to me?¡± ¡°I...¡± He was yet unable to give a specific counter-strategy at that moment. Jin Qingyan waved his hand. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll give all of you a chance. I still stand by my words, anyone who thinks of a countermeasure gets the General Manager¡¯s position.¡± ¡°Me!¡± The Vice-General Manager spoke. This rare opportunity was one that he would naturally grab hold of. ¡°Speak.¡± ¡°The Gu Corporation used this strategy which may have appeared cheap. But, the cheaper a method appears to be, the more effective it may be. Then, let¡¯s use an even cheaper method. A marketing strategy may be effective, since this is what I suggested to the General Manager from the start but he did not adopt it. If I¡¯m in charge of expanding the market here, I would adopt an even greater marketing strategy and carry out simr offers.¡± Hearing this, Jin Qingyan went into deep thought for a moment and responded, ¡°You shall get the position of General Manager, I hope the situation can be reversed in your hands.¡± ¡°Thank you, President. I won¡¯t let thepany down.¡± ¡°Umm.¡± Jin Qingyan was very vexed and did not want to see them any further. ¡°All of you may go.¡± ¡°President, then now, what should I do...¡± the original General Manager asked him with a gloomy look. ¡°You swap positions with him, assist him.¡± Therge group left the room, and one of the elders sighed. ¡°Being forcefully demoted by you must be a horrible feeling...¡± Chapter 138 - A Problem One After Another

Chapter 138: A Problem One After Another

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°The weak fall prey to the strong. If you¡¯re not capable, you have to give up your seat to others. Isn¡¯t this how the world works? Didn¡¯t you have something to tell me in person? It¡¯s been so long already, tell me.¡± The elder replied, ¡°I received information a few days ago. There¡¯s a mystery person who used rocket prices to hire top assassins from here, and they have secretly entered S Nation. They¡¯re heading for you. This news is not verified yet, I¡¯ve sent my men to check. We can¡¯t rule out the possibility that someone¡¯s leaked this fake news. But, Young Master, you ought to bring more men around with you.¡± ¡°Heading for me?¡± Jin Qingyan frowned. Such news reached him every year until he was used to it already. ¡°Elder, be sure to check and tell me.¡± ¡°Yes. Young Master, how many days are you intending to stay here for?¡± ¡°Three or four days.¡± He stood up and went on, ¡°I didn¡¯t sleep wellst night, I¡¯ll go and get some sleep.¡± The elder got up and replied, ¡°Alright.¡± After Mei Yangyang had just checked the ounts, Long Tianze¡¯s call came in. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°I just wanted to tell you, your advertisement will appear on the hottest channel tonight, it¡¯s more than ten seconds long.¡± Mei Yangyang was slightly excited. ¡°Umm, got it.¡± ¡°Are you at the store?¡± Long Tianze asked. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Do you want to have lunchter?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After she hung up, Mei Yangyang grinned to herself. Xu Jingwenmented, ¡°Sister Yangyang, you were speaking in such a gentle tone just now.¡± Mei Yangyang got up and threw her phone into her pocket. ¡°No, I wasn¡¯t.¡± ¡°In my opinion, Sister Yangyang ¡ª if there¡¯s a hot guy wooing you, you should just ept him. Or else, someone else may strike first.¡± ¡°If he can be snatched away, then it¡¯s a good thing for me.¡± She slung her bag over her shoulder and headed towards the door. ¡°I¡¯m going out to eat, both of you look after the store. When I¡¯m back, you can go out to eat.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± As the New Year had just passed, both sides of the streets had leftover firecrackers. Mei Yangyang put on her bunny hoodie and kept both her hands inside her sleeves, slowly walking on the pathway. Not long after, a car horn started sounding. She turned back to look and realized it was his car. She walked briskly towards his car window and asked, ¡°How did youe here so quickly?¡± ¡°Quick, get on.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± She went around the front of his car and got into the seat beside his. Long Tianze drove towards a nearby restaurant. Looking at her outfit, he couldn¡¯t help butment, ¡°You¡¯re already so petite, now you look even more like a little girl.¡± ¡°I like it when people treat me like a little girl.¡± She turned to look at him. ¡°Today, I feel like eating fish with pickled vegetable.¡± ¡°What else?¡± ¡°Sweet potato balls... but I¡¯ve called my father to get him to fry some for me at home.¡± ¡°Guess what I want to eat?¡± he asked her. Mei Yangyang predicted his answer, ¡°Don¡¯t say you want to eat me.¡± He pulled over the car and reached out to hold her face and kissed it. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± ¡°Are we considered to be in an ambiguous stage?¡± After being kissed a few times by him, Mei Yangyang did not feel rmed by it anymore. ¡°If you agree to be my girlfriend, then we won¡¯t be anymore.¡± The two entered the restaurant together. Jin Qingyue drove by and coincidentally saw this scene. While she was not hungry as she had just eaten, the thought of what that little girl had said before made her stop her car and follow them into the restaurant. Long Tianze and Mei Yangyang sat at a table in the hallway. When they had just finished ordering, they saw Jin Qingyue enter and head towards their direction. What a small world this is! Mei Yangyang pretended that she did not see her and kept An Xiaoning words in mind, refraining from talking to her. Jin Qingyue was not so tactless as to sit at the same table as them. Instead, she sat at the table beside them. After she sat down, she turned and cast a nce at them, suddenly regretting her act of following them here. But it was not nice to sit there without ordering anything, so she still ordered two dishes and took her own sweet time to eat. Throughout the whole time, Long Tianze did not initiate a word of conversation with her at all. After eating a few bites, Jin Qingyue moodily paid for her meal and left. Sitting in the car, she felt extremely ufortable. The feeling of something she did not want getting into others¡¯ hands was something she could not get used to. Ultimately, she decided to forget it. She didn¡¯t care for it anyway. She finally drove off. An Xiaoning stood before a rusty front gate and reached out to knock on the door. ¡°Is anyone there?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± A bright voice of a female sounded from inside. ¡°Madam, I¡¯m from the police force. I need to understand the situation again.¡± Hearing this, the door was opened almost immediately. An olddy of about sixty stood before the door. Her hair had all turned white, and she was wearing an old blouse. Looking at her, she remarked, ¡°What are you still here for, it¡¯s been so many years and the case still isn¡¯t solved. You police are certainly a bunch of useless things.¡± As she finished speaking, she turned and headed inside the house. An Xiaoning followed behind her and exined, ¡°Madam, our higher-up takes this case very seriously. Even though there were no results from past investigations, we are now re-investigating it, and I will be leading my team. This case, we will definitely try our best to solve it.¡± The olddy passed her a chair and said, ¡°Take a seat.¡± An Xiaoning sat down and watched as the olddy called her spouse out. The three faced each other and, looking at their ustomed expressions, An Xiaoning said, ¡°I¡¯ve read the information from this case. It says that on the night your son, Jiang Ying, daughter-inw, Liu Yan, and granddaughter, Jiang Shui, were murdered, both of you were not at home but at your eldest daughter¡¯s house. Is that right?¡± ¡°Yes, ording to the time that the police investigated, we can confirm that we were indeed not around. Let me say it like this, I¡¯m not on good terms with my son and daughter-inw. Even if I were at home and something had happened to them, we wouldn¡¯t find out at the first moment.¡± As she spoke about this, the olddy appeared downcast. ¡°Because of this, we have no clue who did it either.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and asked them frankly, ¡°Madam, do you believe in fortune-reading?¡± The olddy sneered. ¡°Why should I believe in that sort of thing? I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°But, I¡¯m a police officer who can read one¡¯s fortune. Can you tell me when your son was born?¡± The old woman replied, ¡°XXXX, the seventh day of the eighth lunar month.¡± ¡°What time was he born?¡± The olddy looked at her husband and asked, ¡°I¡¯ve forgotten. You can remember, when was it?¡± ¡°Around four to five in the afternoon.¡± An Xiaoning recorded it down, then asked, ¡°Do you know your daughter-inw¡¯s?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°How about your granddaughter¡¯s?¡± An Xiaoning looked at the two of them. ¡°Do both of you know when your granddaughter was born?¡± The couple shook their head in unison. ¡°No, when my daughter-inw gave birth, her own mother apanied her there. We didn¡¯t go, so the child¡¯s grandmother would be more clear on that.¡± ¡°Where does her grandmother live in?¡± An Xiaoning looked at them earnestly. ¡°Sir and Madam, if I know your daughter-inw and granddaughter¡¯s birth characters, this case will have a ny percent chance of being solved. Please believe me.¡± The couple turned and looked at each other, still in doubt. But since she was a police officer, the two thought it over and replied, ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll just bring you to where my daughter-inw¡¯s family lives.¡± An Xiaoning nodded. ¡°Alright, is it far from here?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just the vige beside ours, it¡¯s not too far.¡± Chapter 139 - Unable to Control Her Feelings

Chapter 139: Unable to Control Her Feelings

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning followed the two to where Liu Yan¡¯s parents stayed. What really surprised An Xiaoning was that when both families saw each other, they did not get along well and almost got into a fight. She stopped them in time and, from here, was able to obtain Liu Yan and her daughter Jiang Shui¡¯s birth characters. ¡°Policerade, you must serve justice for my daughter, son-inw, and granddaughter! They suffered too tragic a death!¡± When Liu Yan¡¯s mother spoke about the incident, she was still unable to control her own feelings and bawled with her head facing the sky. An Xiaoning was also emotionally stirred and suddenly felt that as a member of the police force now, she had a huge responsibility on her shoulders. ¡°Madam, this case is now being re-investigated. I don¡¯t dare to guarantee how soon we¡¯ll find out the truth. But, we¡¯ll do our very best to let the family of three rest in peace and ensure that the criminal is brought to justice.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll put our hopes on this investigation then, please don¡¯t disappoint us again.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and continued to obtain other information before returning to the police car. The other three had yet to return. She sat in the car and meticulously sorted out the information she had obtained, looking at the birth characters of the three victims. An Xiaoning already had some idea in her heart. Twenty minutester, Ma Jianguo, Gong Le, and Zu Dong returned, looking like a bunch of tired dogs. ¡°My lips are almost torn from talking, and there still wasn¡¯t any useful information obtained at all.¡± Ma Jianguo opened his bottle and gulped down a few mouthfuls of tea. ¡°I¡¯ve obtained the victims¡¯ birth characters and got some very useful information.¡± Ma Jianguo asked curiously, ¡°What useful information? Quick, tell us.¡± ¡°The case file says that the night the victims died, the male victim¡¯s parents were at their eldest daughter¡¯s ce right? This was estimated ording to the state of dposition of the bodies.¡± Ma Jianguo nodded. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°But, what I see is that this estimation is not urate. The three did not die at the same time.¡± She went on, ¡°The female victim and her daughter died one after another. But the male victim died a few dayster, and not at that time too. It was an earlier time of the day, and of a different method.¡± She took out one of the case files and said, ¡°This says that the three of them were shed to death, right, since they were all decapitated. However, it wasn¡¯t the case. The female victim and her daughter died of suffocation, while the male victim died from his throat being slit.¡± Ma Jianguo, Gong Le, and Zu Dong were dumbfounded. Gong Le asked, ¡°Sister Xiaoning, how did you know he died from his throat being slit?¡± An Xiaoning could not be bothered to exin to him. ¡°Don¡¯t ask, this is definitely right. There¡¯s no doubt about it. Since it has been such a long time and nothing creepy has happened, their souls could be gone and they may have reincarnated already.¡± Ma Jianguo was puzzled. ¡°They died so tragically, what¡¯s the point of being reincarnated so early? Why is it different from Wang Fangfang¡¯s case?¡± ¡°Not every victim is like Wang Fangfang. If not, what is the police here for? Let¡¯s take a rest, then head to the victims¡¯ house to look. Maybe we¡¯ll have some new findings.¡± Ma Jianguo passed a bottle of mineral water to her. ¡°Come, team leader, have some water.¡± She received it and opened the lid to take a few sips. The few of them rested in the car for ten over minutes, then got down and headed to the victims¡¯ house. The courtyard was filled with withered grass everywhere. As the house had been uninhabited for a long time, there was a huge hole in the roof. With the olddy leading them, they entered the house. It was pitch ck inside. The room door was stuck as it hadn¡¯t been opened for a long time. They were surrounded by darkness and a damp atmosphere. ¡°After they died, I haven¡¯t touched or used anything in their house. Everything is ced where it was. My daughter-inw wasn¡¯t on good terms with me when she was alive. If, after her death, she knows that I¡¯ve used something from her house, she will definitely not let me off.¡± When the olddy spoke of this, she sounded vaguely regretful. ¡°My son died when he was only thirty. Just when he was still strong and young, this happened suddenly. He was very close to his wife and listened to her for everything. She was more important to him than his own mother.¡± An Xiaoning did not say a word. Her eyes staring at a dark corner, she asked, ¡°Can the curtains there be opened?¡± ¡°Yes, of course.¡± The olddy went forward and pulled opened the curtains. Dust particles flew down at once. From the moment that the olddy pulled open the curtains, An Xiaoning cried out in rm and took two steps back. If Ma Jianguo did not grab hold of her, she would havended on the ground. ¡°Team leader... what¡¯s wrong?¡± Ma Jianguo¡¯s eyes circled around the house, feeling slightly creeped out. An Xiaoningposed her emotions and looked towards the wardrobe at one corner. She was sure that she had seen a small figure with two small pigtails drifting there from the window. If she had not seen wrongly, that small figure was the victim¡¯s daughter. She scanned around the house and realized that the little girl was the only soul present. An Xiaoning reached out and pinched Ma Jianguo¡¯s arm. ¡°Bring the olddy out, you two go out too.¡± Ma Jianguo couldn¡¯t be more grateful and went out hurriedly. An Xiaoning was the only one left in the room at this point. She looked towards the wardrobe and said, ¡°Little girl,e out now, I can see you. Sister is not scared of you.¡± The little girl did not move. However, An Xiaoning plucked up her courage and went forward. She stood right before her, with only two inches between them. An Xiaoning bent down slowly, her hands shaking slightly. Seeing a child like that was unbearable to her inside. ¡°Listen to Sister, okay? I¡¯m a police officer, here to nab the bad guy who did this to you and your parents. I won¡¯t do anything to you.¡± The little girl looked at her and only cried. She reached out her hand constantly to wipe her tears away. An Xiaoning reached out her hand and patted her slowly. ¡°Don¡¯t be scared, Sister will help you. Are your parents still around?¡± The little girl shook her head. An Xiaoning thought that would have been the case and smiled at her. ¡°Then, why are you still here? Can you tell Sister?¡± Her face looked extremely scared. A five-year-old child like her had been staying in that form for so long. If she were still alive, she would have been a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old teenager.¡± Seeing that she would not speak, An Xiaoning did not rush to probe her for any answers. Instead, she took out a few sweets and ced them in her palm. Looking at the girl with a wide grin, she assured her, ¡°Try one, it¡¯s very sweet.¡± She took a look at An Xiaoning and eventually reached out and put a sweet into her mouth. An Xiaoning looked at the sweet that remained in her palm. It was originally fine, but after the little girl took it, it instantly turned bad. Throwing it onto the floor, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Is it sweet?¡± The little girl nodded. ¡°Do you want to go with Sister? I¡¯ll bring you to have nice food, okay?¡± She nodded. After all, she was only a five-year-old child. An Xiaoning went to the doorway and told Ma Jianguo, ¡°Quickly, get me arger umbre here.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Chapter 140 - I Miss You Already

Chapter 140: I Miss You Already

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Ten minutester, the vigers saw An Xiaoning holding onto an umbre, but not for the purpose of covering herself. She only sheltered the spot beside her. What was weirder was that it wasn¡¯t raining or snowing. Everyone could vaguely guess something. But it was just a guess, there was no proof for it. Zu Dong drove the car while Gong Le sat in the seat beside him and Ma Jianguo did not sit at the back, but actually sat on Gong Le¡¯s legs. Seeing that good-for-nothing manner he disyed, An Xiaoning did notment about it. ¡°Drive, let¡¯s go to a Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet in the city.¡± Children would usually love eating such stuff. During the drive, Ma Jianguo, who was usually naggy, kept extremely silent as he sat on Gong Le¡¯s legs. But it was hard on Gong Le, who had to carry the burden of his weight on his legs for the whole journey, making him especially ufortable. They finally reached the fast food store. Ma Jianguo, Gong Le, and Zu Dong sat in one row while An Xiaoning sat opposite them. The seat beside her appeared empty to the three of them, but from An Xiaoning¡¯s point of view, it was upied. An Xiaoning ced the fried chicken and fries beside her, and added on a cup of coke to it, saying under her breath, ¡°Come on, eat them.¡± Thereafter, under the shock of the three sitting in the opposite row, the freshly cooked fast food meal turned stale. To avoid suspicion from others, An Xiaoning threw these food items into the rubbish bin. When they reached the police station, An Xiaoning wrote down an assignment on a book and passed it to Ma Jianguo. ¡°Get this done immediately.¡± Ma Jianguo read the assignment and nodded immediately. ¡°Yes. But, I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able to find all by today.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay if you can¡¯t find all of it today, you can continue tomorrow. But, you must be sure not to miss a single one. I¡¯ll head home first.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± An Xiaoning and the little girl stayed in the office. She asked her, ¡°Is your name Jiang Shui?¡± The little girl nodded. She beamed at her. ¡°It¡¯s a beautiful name. Can Sister call you Xiao Shui?¡± The little girl remained silent and only nodded her head. ¡°Shall we go to Sister¡¯s house?¡± she inquired. She nodded for the third time. An Xiaoning got up and brought the girl to her car, driving her home. ¡°You stay in this room. Tomorrow morning, Sister wille and bring you out, okay?¡± For the fourth time, the little girl nodded. An Xiaoning pulled the curtains properly, ensuring that no sunlight entered the room at all. She then ordered that no one was to enter that room. At past ten at night, an elder anxiously knocked and entered Jin Qingyan¡¯s room. ¡°Young Master, I¡¯ve already confirmed. There was indeed someone who hired two top assassins at high prices to make a trip to S Nation. Timing wise, it was the same as when you came here, so they missed you.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t find out who hired them?¡± ¡°No. But for these two years, ¡®SU Group¡¯ has been running rampant, trying their best to obtain our funding support. But Young Master, you¡¯ve insisted against it, so it could probably be them.¡± ¡°Why do I feel that it¡¯s either Gu Beicheng or Ye Xiaotian...¡± hemented pensively. ¡°Hiring assassins at high prices might not be for the purpose of killing. There might be other motives. For businessmen, making losses is not something they would do. It better not be any of those two, otherwise...¡± ¡°Regardless, Young Master ¡ª these few days and when you return, you must be especially cautious.¡± ¡°I got it. Go and rest, please. You¡¯re getting on in years already. Some matters, you can just leave them to your subordinates to handle.¡± ¡°But anything regarding Young Master, I still wish to keep an eye on myself. If not, I won¡¯t be able to rest assured. I¡¯ll take my leave then.¡± The elder retreated and shut the door. Jin Qingyan picked up his phone and looked at the time. At this time, she would probably be asleep. Nevertheless, he still dialed her number. Unexpectedly, the line just went through and was picked up immediately. ¡°You¡¯re not asleep yet?¡± An Xiaoning had her earpiece on as she leaned against the bed frame, a book in hand. Her eyes never left the page of her book. ¡°Umm, I¡¯ll sleep soon.¡± ¡°What are you doing if you¡¯re not sleeping? Just because I¡¯m not at home, you can¡¯t get used to sleeping alone on a huge bed?¡± It seemed as if she could almost imagine the look on his face as he said this. An Xiaoning agreed with him on the surface, ¡°Umm, without you sleeping beside me, I can¡¯t sleep at all. How I wish I could hug onto you as I sleep.¡± Even though he knew she was just spouting nonsense, he was still feeling rather joyful. ¡°In about three or four days, I¡¯ll be back. When you go out these days, remember to have people around you, just in case.¡± ¡°I¡¯m with the police every day, there are even two special armed officers. Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s you who should be careful about your safety there.¡± ¡°You¡¯re worrying about me?¡± ¡°Umm. I¡¯m worried that just going overseas for a few days, you will fall into the hands of other women seducing you and won¡¯te back anymore.¡± An Xiaoning had purposedly replied to him in a sarcastic tone. This drove him intoughter again. ¡°Why do you underestimate your husband?¡± ¡°You still know that you¡¯re my husband?¡± An Xiaoning could no longer bear it inside. ¡°You don¡¯t tell me anything that¡¯s bothering you. Don¡¯t tell me I, An Xiaoning, am only fit to share your happiness and enjoy the treatment as a Young Mistress, but not fit to share your burdens?¡± ¡°I was just afraid to affect your mood.¡± ¡°You hiding things from me already affects me, you really think I won¡¯t know?¡± An Xiaoning ced the book down and focused on the conversation. ¡°When we were at the ski resort that night, you weren¡¯t out to buy condoms. Those condoms were brought from home, weren¡¯t they? Tell me, where exactly did you go?¡± ¡°I just went out to pick up a call. A lot of the market shares here have been snatched by Gu Beicheng. I was afraid you¡¯ll ask me who I was calling, and I didn¡¯t want to affect your mood, so I just found a random excuse,¡± he replied frankly. ¡°Also, yesterday night, I went out to pick up a call too. I just conveniently got a hot spring bath before I went back. I¡¯m all done exining, honey.¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan.¡± An Xiaoning grunted. ¡°You¡¯re really something, you can even hide something like picking up a call from me. If you were to have another woman outside next time, I¡¯m afraid I wouldn¡¯t even find out until my death.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be angry, honey.¡± An Xiaoning was actually not angry. She could understand this, at least, and also saw an attentive side to him. Saying a white lie to not affect her mood was not a bad thing; at least his intentions were good. ¡°Don¡¯t do this anymore next time.¡± ¡°Umm, I won¡¯t.¡± Sheughed. ¡°Why do you sound so energetic?¡± ¡°I slept for a long time after reaching here. Now, I¡¯m not sleepy at all.¡± He leaned against the window. ¡°I miss you already.¡± Hearing this, An Xiaoning¡¯s heart abruptly pounded at a faster pace. She reached out her hand to feel her left chest. It was obviously not something mushy, but she could vaguely feel a sense of excitement. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you talking?¡± ¡°You really miss me already?¡± ¡°Really. Alright, rest early, good night.¡± She ended the call and mumbled to herself, ¡°He said he missed me already...¡± She turned to her side andy on the bed, her hands continuously pulling onto the bedsheets. Her face ridiculously felt hot. She took off her clothes and sat on the bed, only in her lingerie. Taking out her phone, she took a picture with high definition and sent it to him. She could almost imagine the look on his face when he sees the picture and couldn¡¯t help but chuckle about it. She quickly turned off her phone, pulled over the covers, and went to sleep. ¡ª Chapter 141 - What a Willful Little Lass

Chapter 141: What a Willful Little Lass

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios It was wonderful for her, but not so much for Jin Qingyan. A woman is exactly what a young man with raging hormones, like him, needs. They¡¯d always had a great sex life ever since they got married. It was only the first day he was away, and yet, she had already sent him such a suggestive and seductive photo of herself. He could not help but feel a strong urge to fly home and get intimate with her right away. What a willful littless. Themercial Mei Yangyang had starred in was widely received after it was broadcasted, and it became viral asizens fervently searched for her name online. Mei Yangyang was extremely satisfied with themercial as well. However, Mei Shuangshuang seemed to be upset over the fact that her sister was now famous. Upon arriving home in the morning after spending a night outside, she sat down at the dining table and began helping herself to the food with a pair of chopsticks. ¡°Great, now that someone has be amercial star, I¡¯m going to be banished and condemned in this family,¡± she sneered begrudgingly. Mr. Mei was speechless at her sarcastic remark and changed the subject instead, ¡°Have you washed your hands? You¡¯re already grown up yet you stillck such basic table manners. Didn¡¯t you see that your sister is still preparing the dishes? You didn¡¯t even bother waiting for her and just started eating once you sat down. What monkey business were you up tost night? You didn¡¯t evene home.¡± ¡°Father, would you stop meddling with my business? All you do is ask me about this and that, you¡¯re so annoying.¡± ¡°I¡¯m asking you, where did you gost night!?!¡± Mr. Mei glowered at her angrily, bent on knowing her answer. ¡°I spent the night at my boyfriend¡¯s ce. What¡¯s wrong?¡± Mei Shuangshuang answered rudely while picking at the dishes. Noticing that she had finished almost all the meat, Mr. Mei moved the te of dish away from her and hollered angrily, ¡°Why are you so selfish!?! Stop eating!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a ce in this house anymore. I¡¯mpletely redundant, aren¡¯t I?¡± said a disgruntled Mei Shuangshuang as she stood up and returned to her room. Mei Yangyang happened to overhear their conversation when she exited the kitchen. However, she simply disregarded her sister¡¯s remarks and said instead, ¡°Father, just ignore her.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t just ignore her, she¡¯s still my child after all. But, there¡¯s really no way I can take her in hand now,¡± he said with a sigh and began eating. Mei Yangyang¡¯s phone rang abruptly and she quickly took a look at the caller disy. Seeing that it was An Xiaoning who had called, she answered the call immediately, ¡°Sis.¡± ¡°Yangyang, do you have anything on today?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Great, I need you to help me run an errandter. Yangyang, once you¡¯re done eating, go buy some beautiful clothes and shoes suitable for little girls around the age of five. Oh, do also get some hair essories like hairbands or hairclips, some children¡¯s snacks, andstly, remember to buy some joss paper and paper ingots, which are used as offerings for the dead. After you¡¯re done buying everything, please send them to my office at the police station. I¡¯ll be making my way there in a bit, and I need those items urgently,¡± An Xiaoning instructed. ¡°Sure, Sis, I¡¯ll do as you instructed after I¡¯m done with my meal.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± said An Xiaoning before ending the call. She then slid her mobile phone inside her pocket and hurried downstairs. She proceeded to get on the car, bringing with her the spirit of the little girl, Jiang Shui. Along the way, she specially bought some steamed soup dumplings and milk for the little girl. The little girl was no longer afraid of her and would even smile at her every so often. An Xiaoning arrived at the police station together with her, only to see that Ma Jianguo had already arrived. Just as he was about to speak, upon seeing her arrive, An Xiaoning shot him a look, seemingly hinting at something. He knew at that very instant that there was a supernatural being present, which he could not see. He then kept the words he had initially wanted to say to himself. ¡°Have you settled everything I instructed you to?¡± asked An Xiaoning. ¡°Yes, I have,¡± Ma Jianguo answered, making the OK hand sign. An Xiaoning gave a nod of approval and took a seat, cing an empty stool beside her. Ma Jianguo, Gong Le, and Zu Dong then gathered to sort the information like An Xiaoning had instructed. After about half an hour, Mei Yangyang arrived with a few bags of clothing in her hands. ¡°Sis, I¡¯ve bought everything.¡± An Xiaoning took the items from her hands and ced them onto the table. Just as Mei Yangyang was about to sit down beside her, she quickly stopped her and said, ¡°Yangyang, sit there instead. Ma Jianguo, pour me a cup of tea.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± An Xiaoning cocked her head towards the side and said to the empty stool with a smile, ¡°I¡¯ve asked this sister here to buy you some new clothes and shoes. We¡¯ve got you some pretty essories for your hair too. I¡¯ll give them to youter, alright?¡± Jiang Shui nodded, beaming with joy as she finally spoke up, ¡°Sis.¡± After all, she was just a five-year-old child who should still be showered with love and care from her parents. It was a shame that she had met with such an unfortunate mishap at such a tender age. Mei Yangyang was initially rather puzzled by An Xiaoning¡¯s words. However, she waspletely shocked out of her senses upon hearing a soft murmuring from around the empty stool. She finally understood why An Xiaoning had stopped her from taking a seat on the empty stool earlier. Not only did Mei Yangyang feel a shiver down her spine, but the two other armed policemen also got goosebumps from the creepy scene they had just witnessed. Ma Jianguo had also received a great shock, which caused him to almost drop the cup of tea he was holding, upon hearing the voice just as he was about to enter. ¡°Have some tea,¡± said Ma Jianguo, cing the cup of tea in front of Mei Yangyang as his hands trembled with fear. ¡°Thank you.¡± Mei Yangyang took a few sips of the tea and asked, ¡°Sis, do you have any other instructions for me?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s all. You may leave, be careful while on your way back.¡± Mei Yangyang sprung up from her seat and left hurriedly. An Xiaoning closed the door and locked it from inside before taking a seat. ¡°Jiang Shui, listen to me. I know this is a traumatic memory you don¡¯t wish to recall, but all I ask is for you to help me identify someone. I have with me here the photos of numerous suspects. Could you point out the bad guy who had harmed you and your parents? I¡¯ll help you get your revenge, alright?¡± An Xiaoning said with a delicate gentleness in her voice. Jiang Shui stared at her for a while before finally giving a nod of agreement. An Xiaoning waved a hand at Ma Jianguo, who then hurriedly proceeded to bring her the photos of all the suspects who had been in contact with the victims. She then showed them to Jiang Shui, one by one. Jiang Shui looked at each photo and shook her head profusely. All of a sudden, Jiang Shui burst into tears and began wailing as she trembled uncontrobly, upon sight of the photo of a middle-aged man, which scared her out of her wits. An Xiaoning quickly tried to cate her. She then took out the photo Jiang Shui had reacted strongly to before continuing to show her the rest. At the sight of the victim¡¯s parents, she did not react as strongly but appeared to be rather upset. ¡°Grandma is a bad guy. She always quarreled with Mother,¡± said Jiang Shui, pointing at the photo. ¡°Did Grandma hit you?¡± An Xiaoning asked. Jiang Shui nodded vigorously and eximed in a baby voice, ¡°Grandma always tugs at my braids and mes Mother for not giving birth to a boy.¡± An Xiaoning gazed at Jiang Shui with a look of pity and coaxed her gently. After showing her all the photos, they decided to pin the middle-aged man as the prime suspect. Instead of continuing to show her more photos, An Xiaoning asked slowly, ¡°Is the bad guy you were afraid of just now very evil?¡± ¡°Yes, he¡¯s evil, he... he...¡± Jiang Shui answered, bursting into tears again as she rubbed her eyes with her hands. ¡°Go on slowly. Don¡¯t be scared, Jiang Shui, I¡¯m here.¡± ¡°He took my pants off, Mother saw it happen...¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s face stiffened in horror while the three other men were dumbfounded by what they had just heard. ¡°I understand it now. Don¡¯t be scared, Jiang Shui, I won¡¯t ask you about it anymore. I¡¯ll punish him for you, okay?¡± Jiang Shui nodded fervently and remained silent after. The team of four could already deduce what the case was about. Chapter 142 - The Truth Is Finally Out

Chapter 142: The Truth Is Finally Out

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios It was such a simple case, yet, for eight whole years, there had been no investigations carried out to uncover the truth. The culprit had been allowed to remain unpunished by thew. Tears began to well up in An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes upon witnessing such a tragic event. ¡°Let¡¯s go and arrest the bad guy together, shall we?¡± she asked as she stood up. ¡°But I¡¯m scared...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be, I¡¯ll be here with you, so will Big Brother and Grandpa.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, Ma Jianguo protested, ¡°Team leader, why am I addressed as ¡®Grandpa¡¯!?!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t help it, you look too old,¡± An Xiaoning answered with a chuckle. ¡°Hey, that¡¯s a personal attack!¡± Ma Jianguo hissed. ¡°Take all the items on the table, quick. We¡¯re leaving,¡± An Xiaoning instructed as she opened the door and strode out, holding an umbre in her hand. They then drove towards Jiang Shui¡¯s house. The male victim¡¯s parents were rather puzzled to hear that they had requested to visit their eldest daughter¡¯s home but proceeded to show them the way nheless. Since it was still the festive season, the victim, Jiang Ying¡¯s sister and brother-inw were both at home. Upon their arrival, Jiang Ying¡¯s sister, Jiang Xin questioned, ¡°You guys are...¡± ¡°We¡¯re from the Special Crime Investigation Unit of the Police Headquarters. We¡¯re here today to inquire about the details of the murders of your sister, her husband, and her daughter,¡± An Xiaoning exined. ¡°Please, have a seat. Feel free to pose any questions you may have,¡± said Jiang Xin as she poured them a ss of water each. ¡°I suppose this is your husband?¡± asked An Xiaoning as she red at the middle-aged man who was the same one in the photo. ¡°Yes.¡± After a moment of silence, An Xiaoning continued, ¡°May I ask you a few questions?¡± ¡°Go ahead,¡± the man answered, remaining unfazed. ¡°You two are the biological sister and brother-inw of the victims, respectively. May I know if you shared a close rtionship with them? Or were you guys unable to get along well and had a strained rtionship with each other? Or were you guys just distant?¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t get along too well, but the differences we had doesn¡¯t really matter since we¡¯re rtives, after all.¡± With a nod, An Xiaoning continued, ¡°Their daughter, Jiang Shui, is your niece right? May I ask why you removed her pants? As a father and uncle, you shouldn¡¯t be doing that.¡± ¡°Removed her pants? I didn¡¯t. I really didn¡¯t,¡± he quickly denied, as if he was being wronged. Having already expected him to react that way, An Xiaoning had hatched a n before arriving. Jiang Shui had remained in the police car, which was why An Xiaoning could speak her mind freely without having to worry about reminding Jiang Shui of her unhappy past. ¡°Wu Dayong, do you know how I found out about your misdeed? It was Jiang Shui who told us that you removed her pants, and her mother had caught you in the act,¡± An Xiaoning said with a squint. Unable to tolerate what she was hearing, Jiang Xin screeched, ¡°Bullshit, that¡¯s ridiculous. It has already been eight years since Jiang Shui died, how could she have possibly told you that!¡± ¡°Indeed, she had passed on eight years ago. But she had also remained at home for eight years as she did not dare to go out. She¡¯s really too young, at only five years old. I¡¯ve gotten Inspector Ma to take several photos, which we showed Jiang Shui, asking her to identify the culprit. She pointed out that it was your husband who did it. She even began to tremble in fear upon seeing the photo of your husband. If he wasn¡¯t the one who did it, I¡¯m really curious as to why a spirit would still be so afraid of him, even after so many years have passed,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°You¡¯re spouting nonsense, what spirit are you talking about? You belong to the police investigation unit of the city, yet here you are, spreading superstitious beliefs which aren¡¯t true at all.¡± ¡°Please wait while I bring Jiang Shui here. You¡¯ll see for yourself if it¡¯s really just superstition,¡± said An Xiaoning as she turned around to leave. An Xiaoning¡¯s words had sparked a variety of reactions amongst Jiang Ying¡¯s parents, Jiang Xin, as well as her husband, Wu Dayong. Soon, An Xiaoning entered with an umbre in her hand before taking a seat and leaving an empty space beside her. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, we¡¯re all here with you. This is your aunt. Tell her, what did uncle do to you?¡± said An Xiaoning, pointing at Jiang Xin. Jiang Shui did not dare to look at Wu Dayong as the shock robbed her of her senses. Time crawled by second after second while everyone waited in silence for Jiang Shui to speak up. However, Wu Dayong waspletely unbelieving of An Xiaoning¡¯s words and simply thought she was merely trying to scare him by fabricating the story about Jiang Shui¡¯s spirit. An Xiaoning began to feel a little anxious at the fact that Jiang Shui had yet to speak up, but she continued to wait patiently nheless. Jiang Shui gradually became less afraid and began to speak while looking at An Xiaoning, who was anticipating her answer, ¡°I came to Auntie¡¯s house to y that day...¡± Jiang Xin and her parents were dumbfounded at the abrupt voice, while Wu Dayong began to look around for Jiang Shui¡¯s presence, in utter disbelief of what he just heard. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, take your time to speak. You may trust me and everyone else.¡± ¡°Then, Auntie brought Brother and Sister to the garden to harvest some peanuts. While I was watching some cartoons, Uncle picked me up and put me onto the bed, before removing my pants. Mother came in at this time and witnessed everything. She then got into a heated argument with Uncle, and he began strangling her neck. Finally, Mother became motionless and Uncle... Big Sis, he¡¯s a bad guy. Return my mother to me!¡± Wu Dayong sat on the floor in utter shock of what he had just heard. Meanwhile, Ma Jianguo had managed to save a voice recording of Jiang Shui¡¯s statement. Jiang Xin began to wail and shriek in agony as she began pounding Wu Dayong. ¡°Why, why, why did you do that? Why!¡± Tears streamed down the faces of Jiang Xin¡¯s parents, as well as their son and daughter. Wu Dayong was shocked speechless. He then admitted to the crime he hadmitted, after which he was taken away in handcuffs and brought into the police car by Zu Dong and Gong Le. The rest then headed to the graves of Jiang Ying, Liu Yan, and Jiang Shui. Jiang Ying¡¯s mother began to speak while crying tears of grief as she sat before the graves. An Xiaoning got down onto a squat and turned to look at Jiang Shui. ¡°I¡¯ve bought you some beautiful clothes, shoes, and hair essories. Look, there are also some money and ingots here. I¡¯ll burn them as an offering to youter on. Hand the money and ingots over to the guards of the underworld, they won¡¯t make your life hard then. Jiang Shui, I hope you reincarnate into a good family,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Big Sis, I¡¯d still like to be with you,¡± Jiang Shui said, smiling sweetly. Pursing her lips, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°I¡¯d like to stay with you too, but, that¡¯s impossible. Go on, I¡¯ll burn you all of these.¡± Jiang Shui flew towards her grave and her figure began to fade away into nothingness. An Xiaoning then set all the items on fire and burnt them as an offering to her. An Xiaoning waved back at Jiang Shui who was waving at her smilingly, d in the beautiful clothing and hair essories. The case was cracked within just a few days of An Xiaoning¡¯s intervention. Thus, she instantly became the topic of discussion amongst major news and tabloids across the country. News of An Xiaoning managing to solve the case which had not been cracked for eight years became viral online, asizens who were initially doubtful of her capability began engaging in discussions across all tforms. On the other hand, people also began bashing and criticizing the police for theirck of efficiency in dealing with cases. However, all of these did not matter much to An Xiaoning. She began to feel an overwhelming sense of sadness as she listened to Wu Dayong¡¯s confession in the interrogation room. After strangling Liu Yan, Jiang Ying, and Jiang Shui to death, Wu Dayong had abandoned their corpses in a cer used to store sweet potatoes... Chapter 143 - A Sudden Rip in His Pants

Chapter 143: A Sudden Rip in His Pants

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Days after the murder took ce, Jiang Ying embarked on a search for his wife and daughter, but to no avail. He began to suspect that Wu Dayong had something to do with it since both his wife and daughter werest seen at thetter¡¯s house. Thus, Wu Dayong decided to go all out and nned an ambush at Jiang Ying¡¯s house. He then took the chance to slit Jiang Ying¡¯s throat while he was sound asleep. Afraid that he would arouse the suspicion of the police, he decided to chop off the heads of all three victims. Afterwards, he abandoned the corpses in the house and cleaned up after the mess, making sure not to leave behind a single trace of evidence. It happened to be the peak of summer where temperatures were at their warmest, the perfect condition for the dposition of corpses. Although the case was finally cracked only after eight years, Wu Dayong would still have to pay the price for the crime he hadmitted. An Xiaoning decided to leave before the interrogation was over. Just as she exited the room, she bumped into Pan Zhenghui, who said smilingly upon seeing her, ¡°I knew we could count on you, Xiaoning. It¡¯s time for you to shine and show your forte. Keep up the good work.¡± ¡°Like I always say, I¡¯ll try my best.¡± An Xiaoning then drove to meet Mei Yangyang for lunch. They sat down opposite each other while Mei Yangyang appeared to still be a little shaken from the events that took ce that morning. ¡°Sis, was there really a spirit beside you earlier?¡¯ With a nod, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°It belonged to a five-year-old girl who died a tragic death. The case is finally closed now.¡± She then took out some money from her wallet and handed it to Mei Yangyang. ¡°Here¡¯s the money for the items I got you to buy this morning.¡± However, Mei Yangyang refused to ept the money and said instead, ¡°Sis, keep it. It didn¡¯t cost much. Let¡¯s not be so calctive if you really see me as your sister.¡± An Xiaoning put the money away and said smilingly, ¡°Alright, this meal¡¯s on me then.¡± ¡°Sis, how are your swimming lessons going?¡± ¡°I can practice on my own without a coach now. Swimming has be a piece of cake for me. Yangyang, shall we take up wrestling when we¡¯re free?¡± said An Xiaoning with a smirk on her lips. Mei Yangyang¡¯s eyes lit up at her suggestion, to which she agreed instantly, ¡°Sure! But it¡¯s a difficult sport, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°It is, but we can just take our time to get the hang of it. There¡¯s no harm in possessing some martial arts skills anyway. I¡¯ve decided to spend an hour each day learning wrestling, then train more when I have the time. The hours are going to add up, and we¡¯ll definitely master it well in the long run. In this case, I shall sign up for both of uster.¡± ¡°Thanks, Sis. Why are you so different from other wives of rich men? I find that you¡¯re really well rounded, and you always make it a point to live your life to the fullest,¡± Mei Yangyang said with a cheery smile. ¡°Everyone leads a different lifestyle. You¡¯re pretty busy every day yourself too. Well, that¡¯s life, you gotta make the most out of it.¡± ¡°Being friends with someone so outstanding like you has truly inspired me to live my life to the fullest too. I don¡¯t ever want to return to the days where I just dragged my feet through life.¡± Just as Mei Yangyang finished speaking, Long Tianze¡¯s voice could be hearding from outside the dining room as he swiftly walked past. She stood up and proceeded outside the room, only to see that he had entered another room. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± asked An Xiaoning. ¡°I just heard Long Tianze¡¯s voiceing from outside. I went to have a look, and it turns out it was really him,¡± answered Mei Yangyang as she closed the door and returned to her seat. ¡°Have you two made any progress recently?¡± ¡°Actually, Sis, I don¡¯t know why, but as much as I¡¯d like to get together with him, I still feel a little worried. Although he mentioned that he wasn¡¯t bothered by the fact that my family was poor, I reckon it¡¯d definitely be an issue to his family. I like to think far ahead, though I¡¯m still young,¡± Mei Yangyang exined with a sigh. An Xiaoning looked at her solemnly and said, ¡°Yangyang, don¡¯t stress yourself out about things that have yet to happen. You¡¯re only going to create unnecessary worries for yourself by overthinking matters.¡± Mei Yangyang felt a sudden whim of confidence upon hearing her words. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯ve hit the nail on the head, Sis. That¡¯s exactly what¡¯s wrong with me. I guess I¡¯ll worry about those matters in the future, when the timees,¡± she said, feeling a little relieved. ¡°Dig in, quick. The food is getting cold.¡± After they were done with the meal, Mei Yangyang proceeded to send Long Tianze a text message to ask about his whereabouts. Long Tianze replied that he was having dinner with his family at a restaurant. She did not continue to ask him about anything else. An Xiaoning and Mei Yangyang exited the room with the aprons in their hands, only to see Long Tianzeing out of another room with four middle-aged people and a gorgeous woman. Mei Yangyang stared wide-eyed at the sight before her as her jaw dropped in shock. Was it a matchmaking session? she wondered to herself. Dumbfounded, she stood rooted to the ground. An Xiaoning pulled her forward to greet Long Tianze, as well as the rest of the people he was with. ¡°Hi, Uncle and Auntie, you¡¯re here for lunch too?¡± ¡°Hello, Xiaoning. Yes, we¡¯re here for a matchmaking session for Tianze.¡± An Xiaoning took a glimpse of Long Tianze and said calmly, ¡°Oh, I see. We¡¯re just about to go downstairs too.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go together.¡± An Xiaoning turned around and began walking while Mei Yangyang followed closely beside her. Long Tianze remained silent, looking at her from behind. Mei Yangyang had gone outside the restaurant while An Xiaoning was still footing the bill. By the time Long Tianze reached the entrance, Mei Yangyang was already nowhere in sight. He then proceeded to give her a call, but she did not answer. ¡°Tianze, what are you doing? Go send Ms. Lin home,¡± Mrs. Long instructed softly as she approached him. ¡°Mother, I have something to attend to.¡± ¡°You still have to send her home, no matter how urgent it is. Hurry,¡± Mrs. Long urged him. Not wanting to embarrass his mother in front of everyone, Long Tianze reluctantly proceeded to send Lin Mingxi home as instructed. An Xiaoning got inside the car only to see that Mei Yangyang had teared up while seated in the backseat. ¡°It¡¯s just a meeting arranged by their parents, they might not really get married. Just answer his call and agree to be his girlfriend, if he¡¯s still wooing you,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°I¡¯m not going to. It¡¯s only been a few days and he¡¯s already gone for a matchmaking session. So much for wanting to woo me,¡± Mei Yangyang answered, sounding a little disgruntled. ¡°Yangyang, do you fancy him? From the way I see it, you¡¯ve definitely fallen for him. In that case, you should grab the opportunity while he¡¯s still interested. Besides, you can still continue to know him better after you get into a rtionship with him. As long as you know your boundaries, there isn¡¯t much of a difference between just casually dating and being in a rtionship. Moreover, that would make him off-limits to other women who may be interested in him, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± Mei Yangyang had an epiphanic moment as she found that her words had made quite a bit of sense. ¡°We¡¯ll be a couple after getting into a rtionship. What if he wants to get intimate...¡± ¡°Like I mentioned, just make your boundaries clear, such that you won¡¯t get intimate with anyone whom you don¡¯t understand well enough or isn¡¯t willing to be responsible for his actions. You don¡¯t have to know him inside out before deciding to be his girlfriend. Actually, if you think about it, wouldn¡¯t you get to understand him better after you two had be closer when you¡¯re in a rtionship? To be honest, I think Long Tianze is a pretty good catch worth considering,¡± An Xiaoning said smilingly. ¡°I¡¯ll decide after seeing his behavior,¡± said Mei Yangyang as she looked at the missed calls on her mobile phone. ¡°Okay. Where are you headed to? Home or somewhere else?¡± ¡°I guess I¡¯ll go home.¡± Long Tianze arrived at Mei Yangyang¡¯s doorstep soon after An Xiaoning had dropped her off. After parking his car at the side, he proceeded to call her multiple times, yet she still refused to answer. He had gotten so anxious that he felt a sudden urge to climb over the wall and into her home. Unfortunately, things did not go as nned, for his tight-fitted suit began to rip apart at the instant that he tried to climb over with all his might. It left him dejected and forlorn. However, he had fortunately managed tond in the backyard without causing too much of amotion. Mr. Mei was apanying his wife in the bedroom, with the door closed shut. As soon as Long Tianze entered the house, he quickly proceeded to the other rooms upon hearing Mr. and Mrs. Mei¡¯s conversation. Chapter 144 - I Love You

Chapter 144: I Love You

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He gently pushed open the door of one of the rooms. He took a peek inside to see a figure, which obviously belonged to Mei Yangyang, lying on the bed with her back facing him. He then entered and locked the door from inside. Thinking that it was her sister who had entered, Mei Yangyang did not bother turning over to have a look. Long Tianze began to scan his surroundings and realized that her room was small but rather tidy and organized. It was decorated like a typical teenage girl¡¯s room, with posters of male celebrities and all sorts of decorative essories draped across the wall next to her bed. Long Tianze approached her slowly to find that she had closed her eyes. Looking down from above, he noticed a teardrop on her face. She had been crying... He felt a strange sense of joy, since the fact that she had cried just went to show that she cared about him. Seemingly having sensed that he was staring fervently at her, Mei Yangyang opened her eyes and exchanged nces with him. Taken aback by his unexpected arrival, she sat up immediately and asked in shock, ¡°When... when did you arrive?¡± ¡°I just did.¡± Mei Yangyang cocked her head towards the side, away from him, and answered sarcastically, ¡°You¡¯ve already gone on a matchmaking session with a rich man¡¯s daughter, why did you stille here to look for me?¡± ¡°It was my parents who forced me to attend it, I was just going through the motions. I¡¯m not in the least bit attracted to that Lin Mingxi at all, she¡¯s nowhere as pretty as you are.¡± Mei Yangyang felt a sudden burst of happiness as her initial sadness vanished instantly upon hearing his words. ¡°But she¡¯s a rich man¡¯s daughter. I¡¯m nothingpared to her.¡± ¡°Well, that happened because you refuse to be my girlfriend. I¡¯m already 24, yet I¡¯m still single. My parents were worried that I would bring a man home instead, that¡¯s why...¡± Mei Yangyang burst intoughter and asked, ¡°By the way, I locked the gate of my house from inside, how did you manage toe in?¡± ¡°I climbed in and identally ripped my trousers in the process,¡± he exined. Mei Yangyang hurriedly grabbed a sewing kit and said to him, ¡°Take off your trousers and go sit on the bed. I¡¯ll help you mend the hole.¡± He did as she instructed and sat on her spot of the bed which was still warm, watching as she helped him sew his trousers. Mei Yangyang heard a knock on the door as soon as she had just finished meticulously sewing the hole in his trousers. It was Mei Shuangshuang, who just returned home. She could not enter since the door was locked. Upon realizing that her sister was home, Mei Yangyang flew into a state of panic and hurriedly urged Long Tianze to put on his trousers. She then instructed him to hide beneath the sheets on her bed. Fortunately, he had managed to avoid arousing suspicion due to his slim frame. Mei Yangyang then opened the door, after which Mei Shuangshuang let out a snide remark, ¡°Why do you have to lock the door in broad daylight? Are you up to something shameless?¡± ¡°What could I possibly be up to?¡± Mei Yangyang retorted. Mei Shuangshuang thenid onto the bed and turned to face her sister. ¡°Why are you home now? Didn¡¯t you go look for your boyfriend?¡± ¡°It¡¯s none of your business,¡± Mei Yangyang answered coldly. ¡°I¡¯ve run out of cash, give me some,¡± said Mei Shuangshuang, reaching a hand out. ¡°Why do I have to give you money? Go earn your own if you don¡¯t have enough to spend. You¡¯re able-bodied and you don¡¯t attend school anyway, all you do is mess around here and there. You should have plenty of time to get yourself a job.¡± ¡°Are you done nagging?¡± Mei Shuangshuang retorted as sheid onto the bed. ¡°Mei Shuangshuang, go take a look in the mirror and see what you¡¯ve be. Do you even still recognize yourself?¡± ¡°I¡¯m still prettier than you from every angle, no matter what I¡¯ve be. I wonder who the luxury car parked at our gate belongs to. It¡¯s really getting in the way.¡± Mei Yangyang ignored her and did not even bother looking at her. She continued toy on her side, against the warm body behind her belonging to Long Tianze. She felt an arm around her waist. Although he had kept his arm still, Mei Yangyang¡¯s heart began to pound loudly against her chest. Feeling nervous about the fact that Long Tianze was still on the bed with them, Mei Yangyang still could not let her guard down, although Mei Shuangshuang had yet to discover anything amiss. There was no way Long Tianze could leave at all with Mei Shuangshuang around, be it through the room or the living room. Just as Mei Yangyang was about to turn to the side, she felt a stiff bump against her behind. Knowing exactly what it was, she began to blush red with shyness. Feeling his breath down her back as he hugged her tightly around the waist, Mei Yangyang felt as if she had lost all control of herself and her emotions. She turned her head slightly behind, only to realize that their faces were only less than an inch apart, catching her off guard. The two then exchanged nces and stared deeply into each other¡¯s eyes. Mei Yangyang feltpletely lost in his mesmerizing eyes. He opened his mouth and began mouthing a few words with his lips. She understood what he had meant right away ¡ª ¡°Be mine.¡± Mei Yangyang finally agreed with a nod, after recalling An Xiaoning¡¯s advice. Beaming with happiness, Long Tianze pulled her closer into his arms. He then continued toy there for a long time. Evening arrived, and Mei Shuangshuang finally decided to leave while Mr. Mei returned to his room after dinner. After ensuring that the coast was clear, Mei Yangyang left together with Long Tianze in his car. ¡°You¡¯re my girlfriend now,¡± said Long Tianze. ¡°Yes, but you can¡¯t get intimate with me without my consent.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± he agreed right away. ¡°Let¡¯s go have dinner, I¡¯m famished.¡± ¡°Fortunately, I gave you some snacks, otherwise, you¡¯d really have starved to death. I didn¡¯t think you woulde and look for me,¡± said Mei Yangyang, pursing her lips. ¡°I called you so many times but you refused to answer. Thus, I decided to drop by to have a look and it turned out you had been crying,¡± Long Tianze answered with a smirk on his face. ¡°There¡¯s actually no reason for me to cry. I don¡¯t know why but, I just felt like it...¡± said Mei Yangyang as she turned to look at him. ¡°If you fancied me, you should¡¯ve just said so. Why did you keep your feelings bottled up?¡± Long Tianze said smilingly. ¡°I had some qualms about it.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the point of worrying so much? There¡¯s no joy or meaning in life if you¡¯re constantly worrying about the future before you¡¯ve even lived in the moment.¡± ¡°You said the same thing as Sis Xiaoning. Indeed, I¡¯ve been overthinking. After hearing what you guys said, I¡¯m starting to think that it¡¯s better to just let nature take its course.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much, I¡¯ll handle the rest of the matters,¡± he said, reaching out to hold her hand. It was nighttime, the peak period for most nightclubs in the city. As a frequent patron of nightclubs, Ye Xiaotian could be seen at such ces almost every other day. He often walked around fearlessly, for he would always have a bunch of bodyguards with him, escorting him everywhere he went. As soon as he entered, he caught sight of a familiar figure. It was his ex-fiance. He hurriedly went forward and snatched the ss of liquor away from Bai Ranran¡¯s hand. ¡°You¡¯re here, Xiaotian,¡± Bai Ranran said with a smile. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be drinking alcohol. It¡¯s detrimental to your health.¡± ¡°I know, I¡¯m just having a casual drink, I¡¯ll be fine,¡± said a sober Bai Ranran as she stared at him, overwhelmed with sadness deep down. Noticing how sickly-looking she had gotten, Ye Xiaotian reached out to grab her hand, only to realize that it was freezing cold even though she was already dressed in a thickyer of clothes. ¡°Are you here alone? Why didn¡¯t you bring a bodyguard with you?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t want them to follow me. You know, I¡¯ve gotten rather used to traveling everywhere alely. Xiaotian, take good care of yourself in the future, I¡¯ll get going now,¡± said Bai Ranran, looking down. ¡°I¡¯ll get someone to send you home.¡± She shook her head in refusal and insisted on leaving alone. ¡°I¡¯m still sober, I can make my way back by myself.¡± However, Ye Xiaotian was more insistent than she was, and he ordered a bodyguard to see her home. He began to wonder if it was the lighting that had caused her to look worse than before. Moments after she left, Bai Ranran turned around to look at him, ¡°Xiaotian.¡± Ye Xiaotian looked up and nced towards her. ¡°I love you.¡± ¡°I know.¡± With teary eyes, Bai Ranran turned around to leave and never looked back since. Chapter 145 - Utterly Shameless

Chapter 145: Utterly Shameless

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Just as she was about to fall asleep, An Xiaoning received a call from Mei Yangyang, who called to inform her that she had officially be Long Tianze¡¯s girlfriend. Feeling happy for her, An Xiaoning advised her to get along well with him and avoid overthinking matters. An Xiaoning heaved a sigh of joy, a smile forming on her face after she ended the call. It was great news, indeed. Having gone to bed early, An Xiaoning woke up in the morning to find that it had been snowing heavily, evident from the snow-covered trees and buildings outside. Needless to say, the snow on the ground must have frozen as well. Afraid of the cold, An Xiaoning put on a feathered coat and headed downstairs for breakfast, after which she decided to walk to the police station instead of driving. It would be rather dangerous to drive on the snow-covered roads, given how slippery it was. Besides, there was no harm in getting some exercise by taking a stroll. As soon as she exited the door, she stumbled upon Jin Qingyue, who was holding onto Shi Shaochuan¡¯s arm as they slowly made their way in. From the looks of it, they were here for a visit. ¡°Is my brother in?¡± Shaking her head, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°No, he¡¯s gone overseas.¡± ¡°Oh, I see,¡± said Jin Qingyue, a tinge of disappointment in her voice. She then turned to look at Shi Shaochuan and said, ¡°It seems we can only wait for my brother to return.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Shi Shaochuan did not look at her and, instead, red at An Xiaoning as he warned sternly, ¡°Let me warn you, you¡¯d better stay out of my family¡¯s matters in the future. Stay in yourne and mind your own business.¡± ¡°Shi Shaochuan, you¡¯re really being too obnoxious. Let¡¯s just hope you don¡¯te begging me for help on your knees in the future,¡± An Xiaoning said sneeringly. Just as she was about to leave after finishing her sentence, Shi Shaochuan turned around and yelled at her, ¡°Why would I ever go on my knees to beg for your help? An Xiaoning, who do you think you are? I¡¯ve already gotten someone to perform a ritual for Wang Fangfang, the kind that ensures she¡¯ll never reincarnate and that her soul would be destroyed.¡± ¡°What!?!¡± An Xiaoning gasped in astonishment, the shock robbing her of her speech. She had no words to describe how horrible he was. ¡°Shi Shaochuan, you were the one who killed her and the child she was carrying. You wanted her dead when she was alive. Now that she¡¯s already dead, you actually got someone to perform such a ritual to destroy her soul, causing her to never have the chance to reincarnate. Not only do you not feel a tinge of remorse for what you did, you¡¯ve even resorted to such ruthless means. Shi Shaochuan, you¡¯re truly an imbecile. By the way, did you really think those rituals would actually work?¡± she continued. ¡°Just you wait and see. You¡¯ll know if it works or not in the meantime.¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll do just that.¡± An Xiaoning nced at the two of them condescendingly and said, ¡°They often say, the onlookers see most of the game while the yers are baffled. However, I think you¡¯re not in the least bit baffled at all, Sis-inw. If he could subject a woman he once toyed with to such ruthless means, I¡¯m very certain he would do it to you too. Shi Shaochuan, you¡¯re bound to bring upon destruction on yourself one day, for the sins you¡¯vemitted. I shall see how you clean up this mess you¡¯ve created.¡± She then proceeded to leave after giving them a piece of her mind. ¡°Let¡¯s leave,¡± Shi Shaochuan said coldly with a humph. ¡°I think I¡¯ll give my brother a call,¡± said Jin Qingyue. Just as she was about to whip her phone out, Shi Shaochuan said, ¡°I would much rather prefer for us to stay in my house than move into the same residence as your brother. Besides, my grandmother is going to be upset if we move out, leaving her with no one but herself at home. Alright, stop thinking about getting a new house, I¡¯ll redecorate my house and we¡¯ll take that as our bridal chamber.¡± ¡°But your grandmother detests me,¡± Jin Qingyue muttered under her breath. ¡°Then do your best to make her like you. Besides, it¡¯s not like you have to spend every waking moment with her anyway. You¡¯re making a mountain out of a molehill. Ever since I was young, Grandma had always doted on me and treated me well. Yueyue, don¡¯t behave that way, you¡¯ll make her upset,¡± said Shi Shaochuan as he turned around and walked towards Jin Qingyue who wasgging behind. Jin Qingyue gave in reluctantly, though she was absolutely against the idea. An Xiaoning began walking slowly with both her hands in her pockets, feeling utterly disgusted at how shameless of a person Shi Shaochuan was while she recalled his words earlier. Not only did he not reflect on his misdeeds and feel remorseful for what he had done, but he actually had the cheek to go on andmit such an atrocious act behind everyone¡¯s backs. Upon arriving at the police station, she proceeded to inform Pan Zhenghui and the rest about this matter. ¡°So darned relentless and vicious, indeed!¡± Pan Zhenghui eximed angrily. ¡°By the way, Xiaoning, why did you say that the rituals he had asked to be performed won¡¯t work?¡± he asked. ¡°It just won¡¯t. He actually thought everything was settled, how amusing. Well, I just pity the innocent victims of this matter,¡± An Xiaoning said with a sigh. ¡°There¡¯s nothing we can do to help, we¡¯re not that free to check up on his family¡¯s wellbeing and poke our noses in their business every day. We get new orders every so often.¡± Just as Pan Zhenghui finished speaking, a policeman from the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit appeared at the door and said, ¡°Chief, here¡¯s a case from a year ago, which will be handed over to you guys.¡± Pan Zhenghui took a look at the name written on the document envelope before handing it over to An Xiaoning. ¡°I¡¯m aware of this case, it involves the murder of a 17-year-old girl.¡± An Xiaoning opened the document and perused the information carefully, passing the pages she had finished reading over to Ma Jianguo. ¡°This girl died in such a... I don¡¯t know how I should exin it. She¡¯s only 17, yet she had the guts to travel around the country all by herself,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°That¡¯s where the case getsplicated. After receiving the report of this casest year, I made my way down to the crime scene personally. Her body was found floating on the surface of the sea, along the beach. She was stark naked at the time. We conducted some investigations at the scene and discovered that the murderer had buried her body beneath the sand and covered it up with stones, but it¡¯s not known why the corpse was exposed.¡± An Xiaoning continued to read the details of the report. ¡°Nothing was found on the corpse, not even a single document of identification. After several investigations, her identity was revealed to be that of a foreigner who was here for a vacation and had stayed in an area where security wasx. The reason behind her murder is still unknown, with no further leads up to now.¡± ¡°We even proceeded to search for clues from the online ounts which belonged to her when she was still alive, but we did not find anything amiss. This is a tough case. Since there were no surveince cameras at the crime scene, there¡¯s little to no evidence at all. The chances of cracking this case are as good as none.¡± ¡°Why would an underaged girl be so brave as to stay at a ce where security wasx? And, why would her parents even allow her to travel alone at such a young age?¡± ¡°If I remember correctly, her parents are divorced and she had been living with her grandmother from a young age. Her grandmother had passed away a few years ago. Read on and you¡¯ll know the details. I really think we¡¯re going to have a hard time cracking this case,¡± Ma Jianguo said with a sigh. Clueless, An Xiaoning instructed, ¡°Call her parents separately and ask about the details of her birth, including the date and exact time.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Ma Jianguo instantly proceeded to do as instructed. An Xiaoning picked up the teacup and took a few sips of hot tea, feeling rather flustered out of nowhere. Why did she get that strange feeling again? Thest time she had felt that way was on the day she had met with the mishap. Several momentster, An Xiaoning felt a sudden need to go home immediately. ¡°Team Leader, I¡¯ve asked them. Here are her birth characters.¡± An Xiaoning took the piece of paper from his hand and said to him, ¡°I have to make a trip home now, we¡¯ll discuss the details of this case over a video conference.¡± She picked up a pen and began writing down a series of numbers on a piece of paper before handing it to him. ¡°This is my ount number. Add me.¡± Noticing that she seemed a little troubled, Ma Jianguo asked, ¡°Are you alright, Team Leader?¡± Chapter 146 - Flustered Out of Nowhere

Chapter 146: Flustered Out of Nowhere

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I¡¯m fine, I just had a sudden premonition that something ominous is about to happen. Hence, I won¡¯t being in today, and I¡¯ll see how things go before deciding if I¡¯lle tomorrow. But I¡¯ll still keep tabs on this case, we¡¯ll discuss it over the video conferenceter.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Ma Jianguo acknowledged with a nod. Clutching her palpitating chest, An Xiaoning grabbed her purse and hurried home. She felt a huge sense of relief as soon as she arrived home, though she was unsure if it was just a cebo effect. ¡°Young Madam, didn¡¯t you go to the police station?¡± Auntie Chen asked while pouring her a cup of red date tea. ¡°I¡¯ve decided not to go today. I got an ominous feeling all of a sudden, so I¡¯ll be staying home today.¡± After a moment of hesitation, An Xiaoning continued, ¡°Auntie Chen, please get Chief Fan toe see me in my room, I have something to tell him.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning sat down on her bed and opened herptop. She logged into her ount and added the ounts of Ma Jianguo, Zu Dong, and Gong Le. She then set up a group chat and began a video conference call. After reading the girl¡¯s birth characters, An Xiaoning said, ¡°As stated in the autopsy report, she had indeed drowned to death. Let¡¯s make a trip down to the ce she had stayed in tomorrow. We¡¯ll see if her spirit is still around. If it isn¡¯t, then it would really be a tall order to crack this case. After all, the best way to crack a case is to hear the truth straight from the horse¡¯s mouth.¡± ¡°Sure, we¡¯ll go with your n. Let¡¯s find out the location of the ce she had stayed in at the time.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning then ended the video call, after which Fan Shixin entered her room. ¡°Young Madam, I heard you were looking for me?¡± ¡°Yes. No matter whoes to look for me today, don¡¯t inform me of their arrival and make sure I don¡¯t see them at all.¡± ¡°Got it. But, Young Madam, why did you instruct me to do so?¡± ¡°I just had a feeling something bad would happen today. I¡¯m experiencing the exact same feeling I did during the mishap involving Chi Rui¡¯er previously. I¡¯m suddenly feeling flustered out of nowhere. Whatever it is, it¡¯s better to be safe than sorry. Alright, you may take your leave.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Fan Shixin ryed An Xiaoning¡¯s instruction to his underlings and called for security to be tightened around the entire residence. Having remained at home the entire day, An Xiaoning began to feel a little more at ease, although the ominous feeling had yet to go away. It was past eight o¡¯clock in the evening when Jin Qingyue turned up at An Xiaoning¡¯s home again. Fan Shixin abided by An Xiaoning¡¯s instruction and refused to allow Jin Qingyue to enter. ¡°Sorry, Missy, Young Madam has ordered us not to allow anyone to enter the house today, whoever it may be.¡± ¡°She must really be something to be able to foresee that someone woulde forth to see her today. What ame excuse. I have to see her now for an urgent matter,¡± Jin Qingyue said, sneering. ¡°In that case, pleasee by again tomorrow morning instead.¡± ¡°Fan Shixin, how dare you try and stop me! I have something to ask her in private, get lost,¡± Jin Qingyue eximed, glowering at him. ¡°Please leave, Missy,¡± Fan Shixin refuted as he turned around to close the gate, leaving Jin Qingyue outside. Jin Qingyue stared wide-eyed at the sight before her, in disbelief that she would actually be denied entry to her brother¡¯s home. She had no other option but to leave, boiling with anger. An Xiaoning put down her binocrs while standing on the balcony. Doesn¡¯t matter. Jin Qingyue wouldn¡¯t be up to anything good anyway, she thought to herself. She then returned to her bedroom. She instantly felt better and rejuvenated after a warm and rxing bath. Just as she was stepping out of the bathroom, she received a call from Jin Qingyan, who insisted she turn on the video call function. Thus, An Xiaoning gave in to his request and switched it on. She sat down on the bed in her bathrobe and began chatting with him over the video call. Seeing how eager he was, she decided to remove her bathrobe, baring her body for his viewing pleasure. Jin Qingyan began to feel blood gushing through his veins as he stared at the provocative sight before him on his screen. An Xiaoning burst intoughter at the sight of him mimicking the action of devouring her. ¡°I wish I could teleport through the screen and pin you down beneath me.¡± ¡°Well, pin me down now if you dare. Would you like me to perform a little erotic dance for you?¡± she asked suggestively. ¡°No, I¡¯m going to bed now,¡± said Jin Qingyan, ending the video call right after he finished speaking. Hardly suppressing a smile, An Xiaoning ced her mobile phone onto the table and tucked herself beneath the duvet on the bed. She then turned down the temperature on the heater before closing her eyes to sleep. However, she began to feel pangs of worry at the thought of the strange feeling she had at the police station, which she could not quite put into words. Yet, it was the exact same feeling she had felt previously. Could this be yet another premonition? Filled with uncertainty, she thought it would be a safer option to remain at home whenever such a feeling struck. An Xiaoning woke up the next day to realize that the ominous feeling was gone. She heaved a huge sigh of relief, feeling as if a weight was finally lifted off her chest. She then proceeded to go about her daily activities, like having breakfast and heading to the police station. Jin Qingyue arrived just after An Xiaoning had left, making a wasted trip again. She proceeded to call An Xiaoning, only to find that thetter had switched off her phone, causing Jin Qingyue to boil with anger as she waited in her car by the entrance. There were some matters she had to ask An Xiaoning in person. In the police car, the team arrived in Benyang District, a ce in the city notorious for itsck of security. After parking the car by the entrance of a guesthouse, the team of four alighted and headed towards the room the victim had stayed in. Unfortunately, they did not manage to find any clues nor the victim¡¯s wandering spirit. After returning to the car, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°There¡¯s no information about her boyfriend in the case file, why is that so?¡± ¡°Boyfriend? That can¡¯t be, it says here that she doesn¡¯t have a boyfriend. I remembered checking with her affiliates, and they all mentioned that she didn¡¯t have one,¡± said a puzzled Ma Jianguo. An Xiaoning shook her head in disagreement. ¡°That¡¯s not true, it¡¯s mentioned in her fate that she indeed had a boyfriend at the time of her death.¡± ¡°Sis Xiaoning, does that mean her boyfriend could be the prime suspect?¡± said Gong Le with an epiphanic p. It was a potential clue. ¡°Zu Dong, let¡¯s head towards her house and begin our investigations from there. If we still can¡¯t find a single clue, then we¡¯ll continue from the guesthouse. We¡¯ll just have to go with the elimination method,¡± An Xiaoning instructed. ¡°My thoughts exactly. Although it¡¯s a bustling district in the city, there¡¯s a higher chance that the murder wasmitted by someone she knew, rather than a stranger. But of course, we can¡¯t deny the fact that this is a chaotic district, which is indeed rather dangerous for a teenage girl to be staying alone in. If my daughter has the guts to travel alone to such a faraway ce, I¡¯ll definitely break her legs,¡± Ma Jianguo remarked. ¡°Well, you¡¯d first have to get a wife before you can have a daughter,¡± An Xiaoning mocked. Ma Jianguo was speechless. The journey from the city to the victim¡¯s house had required a total of four hours on the expressway. Upon arriving at their destination, they had a quick lunch and hurriedly split the tasks amongst themselves. Ma Jianguo was responsible for keeping in touch with the victim¡¯s parents and asking if they had any of their child¡¯s personal belongings; Zu Dong and Gong Le were in charge of visiting the school the victim had attended while she was still alive. Lastly, An Xiaoning proceeded straight to the victim¡¯s house. The victim¡¯s uncle and auntie were currently residing in the house. Chapter 147 - Taking the Initiative to Take a Risk (1)

Chapter 147: Taking the Initiative to Take a Risk (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Upon hearing that the team was there to collect information for further investigations on the case, the victim¡¯s uncle and auntie were quick to answer the questions An Xiaoning had asked. However, the two started to get a little tongue-tied when it got to the question about whether she had a boyfriend or not. ¡°We¡¯ve never lived together with her in the past and only met her asionally. So, we wouldn¡¯t know if she had a boyfriend or not. ¡± ¡°Well, then, do you guys know who her friends were or who she usually went out with?¡± Shaking their heads in unison, the middle-aged couple answered, ¡°We¡¯re not quite sure about that.¡± Unable to obtain any useful information from the session, An Xiaoning had no choice but to return to the police car and wait for the rest of her colleagues. In fact, Gong Le, Zu Dong, and Ma Jianguo had questioned the victim¡¯s teachers, ssmates, and close friends, who had all mentioned that they were not aware of the existence of her boyfriend. Because, well, the victim had never once mentioned that she had a boyfriend. However, being the meticulous and alert person he was, Ma Jianguo had also managed to obtain all of the victim¡¯s social media usernames, including Weibo, WeChat, QQ, MSN, as well as her gaming ount. Although he did not manage to get the passwords, they could at least continue investigating with the additional details of her life they now had. They had ended up spending the entire day traveling to and fro around the city. However, they did not waste any time cking and managed to reset the passwords of all the social media ounts belonging to the victim, as well as her gaming ount, which was reset with the help of the online video gamepany. After much investigation, they finally found some new clues. An Xiaoning looked through the victim¡¯s WeChat ount and found that there were several flirtatious and ambiguousments left on thetter¡¯s posts by a particr user. Thus, she instantly added the user who had left thements using her private ount. She began chatting with the user using the false identity of an 18-year-old girl, only to find out that he was a local in the city who was currently residing in Benyang District. It was a crucial piece of information that would aid them greatly in their investigations. After making sure there were no more clues to be found from the other ounts, An Xiaoning decided to ask the man on WeChat out. ¡°Seriously, how could the victim have possibly had a boyfriend who was a local if she was just here for a vacation?¡± ¡°This man here is not her ¡®friend¡¯ on WeChat, don¡¯t you find that very suspicious? Besides, the victim had posted something on her ount just before she arrived here in A City. At that point of time, she had mentioned in her post that they had already known each other prior to her arrival. One look and you can tell it¡¯s a cyber-rtionship. She hade here to look for her online boyfriend, with the excuse of going on a vacation,¡± said An Xiaoning, pointing at her mobile phone. Ma Jianguo¡¯s eyes lit up in a moment of enlightenment. ¡°In that case, does that mean we¡¯re really close to cracking this case?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t be too sure about that. What we have to do now is to verify if he¡¯s really her boyfriend. I¡¯ll be meeting him under the pretense of a female cyber-friendter,¡± said An Xiaoning, not wanting to promise anything. ¡°Is it safe for you to go alone? Why don¡¯t you get Zu Dong to go with you?¡± Ma Jianguo suggested. ¡°We might give it away easily, with an extra person around. Besides, the man would be more reserved and careful about leaking any information. I¡¯ll stay alert, just park the car somewhere nearby while I go meet him alone,¡± An Xiaoning instructed. Being well aware that it would be rather dangerous for a woman like herself to meet a stranger alone, An Xiaoning made sure to have eyes watching so as to ensure her own safety. After dinner, the team of four drove towards An Xiaoning¡¯s house, after which she instructed the three of them to wait for her by the gate while she went inside to change into a set of youthful-looking clothes. She put on a pink parka and let her long locks down, which cascaded down her back, looking convincing enough for her to pass off as a teenager. She was informed that Jin Qingyue had been waiting by the gate for her since morning but decided to leave after having waited for a long period of time. However, An Xiaoning did not have much of a reaction to the piece of news. She then left the house again and got onto the car. She took out the face mask she had bought for two million dors from the bag she was carrying and put it on. ¡°Oh my, this is so convincing, you look just like a different person. It¡¯s no different from actual human skin,¡± said Ma Jianguo as he touched the mask carefully in utmost awe of how realistic it looked. ¡°You¡¯re not to breathe a single word about the fact that I own a mask to anyone, including my husband. Not a single soul. It¡¯ll be easier for me to carry out investigations that way. Got it?¡± An Xiaoning warned her colleagues. ¡°Got it!¡± the three of them chorused. ¡°But, Sis Xiaoning, the mask must¡¯ve cost a bomb, didn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes, I bought it for two million dors.¡± They were greatly taken aback by the hefty amount she had paid. ¡°Where did you get this? Don¡¯t you know the country is banning these?¡± asked Ma Jianguo. ¡°So what if they¡¯re banned? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m using it tomit crimes. But, I heard the shop I patronized had closed down shortly after my purchase. I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s going to be difficult to get our hands on masks of such great quality in the future,¡± An Xiaoning said nonchntly. An Xiaoning took out a handheld mirror and began looking at her own reflection while asking for their opinions, ¡°How do I look? Can¡¯t tell the difference eh?¡± ¡°Not at all.¡± ¡°Did you guys forget that I¡¯m Jin Qingyan¡¯s wife? I¡¯ve been on television, and our n will be foiled should he recognize me. So, I¡¯ll have to disguise myself this time, as well as for any other special cases in the future. Otherwise, it¡¯ll be tough for us to get things going,¡± An Xiaoning said with a smile. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± After discussing in detail the n they were about to execute, they proceeded to make their way towards their destination. An Xiaoning got down from the car and began walking leisurely along the sidewalk, her hands in her pocket. Holding her phone in her hand, she arrived at People¡¯s Square, the location where they had agreed to meet at. She then sat down somewhere and waited for the man to arrive. However, he had yet to show up even after hours had passed. The sky began to turn dark gradually. Cold air filled the entire za. Every now and then, An Xiaoning would stand up to stretch her limbs to prevent them from going numb. Gradually, the crowd became smaller and smaller. Finally, she decided to send him a message to inform her that she would be leaving, thinking that he was not going to show up. Just as she¡¯d sent the message, she received another one from him, informing her that he would be arriving in no time. An Xiaoning then sent another message to Ma Jianguo and instructed him to keep waiting. Two minutester, a rather suave-looking man showed up before her. A joyous smile appeared on his face as he looked her up and down, seemingly pleased with her appearance. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for turning upte.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± An Xiaoning said with a smile. ¡°Have you eaten?¡± ¡°Yes, I have,¡± An Xiaoning answered in a delicate voice, a smile on her face. Her sweet and cutesy demeanor was sure to make any man fall head over heels in love with her. ¡°Let¡¯s take a walk then?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± An Xiaoning agreed with a nod. ¡°How old are you?¡± she asked. ¡°I thought the first thing you¡¯d ask for would be my name, but turns out you wanted to know my age,¡± he said, chuckling. ¡°You don¡¯t look that much older than I am,¡± said An Xiaoning, covering her mouth as she giggled. ¡°I¡¯m 21.¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯re three years older than I am,¡± An Xiaoning remarked withposure, as if she was really 18 years old. ¡°My name is Dong Hai, what¡¯s yours?¡± ¡°Hmm... my name is... my name is Chi Rui¡¯er,¡± answered the quick-witted An Xiaoning as an idea struck her mind. ¡°What a nice name.¡± An Xiaoning began to realize that he was walking towards the exit of the za. Though she was unsure where he was about to bring her, she had a feeling it was going to be somewhere he felt was safe. Chapter 148 - Taking the Initiative to Take a Risk (2)

Chapter 148: Taking the Initiative to Take a Risk (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°When¡¯s your birthday?¡± An Xiaoning asked. After a moment of hesitation, Dong Hai answered, ¡°I was born on the 17th of May.¡± An Xiaoning pretended to gasp in shock. ¡°Wow, May is the warmest month of summer! Were you born in the day or at night?¡± ¡°Hmm... I think it was 3 o¡¯clock in the morning. How about you?¡± ¡°I was adopted at a young age. My foster parents have never told me when I was born, and I¡¯ve never celebrated my birthday before,¡± said An Xiaoning, feigning ignorance. ¡°You were adopted?¡± he asked in surprise. ¡°Yes, I was adopted, that¡¯s why I don¡¯t know my exact birth date,¡± An Xiaoning said with a sigh. Upon exiting the za, she asked, ¡°Where are we going?¡± ¡°My ce. Are you up for it? We¡¯re getting along better than I had imagined,¡± he said, staring at her. A smile formed on An Xiaoning¡¯s face as she gazed at him shyly like a teenage girl. ¡°Your ce? What if your parents are at home?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m living alone without my parents,¡± he answered, shaking his head. ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll go have a look at your ce. But you have to send me back at 9 o¡¯clock sharp,¡± said An Xiaoning as she took a look at the time. ¡°Sure.¡± An Xiaoning cocked her head slightly towards the side and caught sight of Ma Jianguo¡¯s car parked at a distance away, after which she continued to follow Dong Hai to the apartment he had rented. ¡°Have you had any girlfriends before?¡± she asked curiously. Shaking his head, he denied, ¡°No I haven¡¯t, I¡¯m broke and I don¡¯t have a house or car, no one would want to date me.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that? Those superficial things are far less important than a genuine personality,¡± said An Xiaoning, acting as if she didn¡¯t mind that he was penniless. A smile formed on his face upon hearing her words. ¡°Girls like you who think that way are hard toe by these days.¡± The two chatted along the journey and finally arrived at his apartment. ¡°You¡¯re a brave one. Many girls wouldn¡¯t dare to follow a stranger to his house at night,¡± said Dong Hai, chuckling as he opened the door. ¡°Who said so? Many girls are just as daring as I am. But, I doubt you¡¯re a crook. How long have you been living here?¡± An Xiaoning retorted. ¡°Hmm, I¡¯ve been living here for more than two years.¡± Nodding along, she continued, ¡°It¡¯s such a secluded area though, the streets are all barely lit. How dpidated indeed.¡± There were no streetmps in sight, let alone surveince cameras. An Xiaoning could not help but find that to be a major loophole that the culprit must have taken advantage of. ¡°It¡¯s indeed rather secluded, but there¡¯s nothing for me to be afraid of since I¡¯m a man. The main reason I chose to live here is because of the cheap rent. Well, I don¡¯t quite have a choice since I only earn a little more than two thousand dors a month, barely enough to cover my living expenses. In this city where the cost of living is so high, such a meager amount is only enough to make ends meet,¡± Dong Hai said candidly. ¡°I don¡¯t think so, you can save a ton by cooking your own meals.¡± As soon as he switched on the lights, An Xiaoning scanned her surroundings to see that it was an old and shabby apartment. However, it was rather clean and tidy, though there was very little furniture. An Xiaoning discovered a strange, damp odor in the room, as well as a pile of long rope scattered on the ground beneath the table. An Xiaoning entered the room while remaining cautious and asked, ¡°What do you work as?¡± ¡°I work at a food production factory nearby. I don¡¯t have any chairs here, you may proceed to sit on the bed.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and sat right down on the bed, not giving away any clues about her real identity at all. ¡°There aren¡¯t many beverages in my house. Here, have this,¡± said Dong Hai, handing her a bottled beverage he took out from a carton on the ground. ¡°Is there a washroom here? I¡¯ve had too much water earlier,¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Let me show you the way,¡± said Dong Hai as he walked towards a small door while An Xiaoning followed closely behind. He then waited for her outside the washroom with a torchlight in hand. A pungent odor infiltrated An Xiaoning¡¯s senses as soon as she stepped foot inside the washroom, which was obviously a public restroom. Unable to tolerate the overwhelming stench any longer, An Xiaoning locked the door from inside and hurriedly sent Ma Jianguo a text message. She then guided herself out of the pitch-dark washroom using the shlight of her mobile phone, pinching her nose in disgust. Finally, she took a deep breath and inhaled some fresh air. Sensing someone approaching her, An Xiaoning shone her shlight around to have a look, only to realize that it was Zu Dong, who was dressed in in clothes. ¡°It¡¯s freezing out here, get back inside,¡± said Dong Hai. ¡°Alright.¡± Dong Hai led the way back while An Xiaoning slowed down on purpose andgged behind him, just so he would not notice that she had left the door to his apartment slightly ajar. They then sat down on the bed while he turned on the television. ¡°Have some,¡± he said, handing her the bottled beverage again. ¡°I¡¯m not thirsty.¡± Seeing that she was not keen, Dong Hai did not continue to pressure her and instead said, ¡°Tell me honestly, were you disappointed when you saw that I was nothing like you had expected?¡± ¡°Nothing of that sort. If I were disappointed, I wouldn¡¯t have agreed to follow you here to your apartment. Besides, we¡¯re just friends who met online, we¡¯re not a couple yet. I haven¡¯t quite thought about those actually.¡± Dong Hai turned to look at her and said, ¡°I liked you since the very moment I firstid my eyes on you at the za. You¡¯re really pretty, and I¡¯ve never seen anyone as beautiful as you are. In fact, many celebrities can¡¯t hold a torch to you.¡± An Xiaoning looked down and pretended to be shy, though she had known clearly what he was up to. ¡°I guess it¡¯s time for me to go. Otherwise, my family is going to be worried.¡± ¡°Um, can I call you Rui¡¯er?¡± he asked, reaching out to grab her hand all of a sudden. ¡°You may address me that way, but could you please let go of my hand?¡± she said, trying to retract her hand but to no avail, as he had tightened his grip. ¡°Would you agree to be my girlfriend?¡± Dong Hai asked, staring at her intensely. Keeping her eyes fixed on him, An Xiaoning replied, ¡°And what if I don¡¯t?¡± ¡°Then I¡¯m not letting you leave.¡± ¡°Alright, I agree then. Can you send me back now?¡± ¡°Do you mean it? Why do I have a feeling you¡¯re just brushing me off so you can leave?¡± he asked apprehensively. ¡°You won¡¯t let me leave regardless of whether I agree or not. Just what do you want me to do? Besides, it¡¯s only the first time we¡¯re meeting, how much progress do you expect us to make?¡± An Xiaoning asked, pursing her lips. ¡°Don¡¯t go home tonight.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, Dong Hai leaned in, in an attempt to embrace her forcefully. However, An Xiaoning managed to dodge quickly and hurriedly escaped. He quickly got up and chased after her, but he was stopped by Zu Dong as soon as he stepped out of the door. Thetter then let out a yell, after which Ma Jianguo and Gong Le quickly appeared and pinned Dong Hai onto the ground, restraining him with handcuffs. An Xiaoning heaved a huge sigh of relief and instructed coldly, ¡°Bring him back.¡± ¡°What rights have you got to arrest me? I didn¡¯t break thew, let go of me!¡± Dong Hai hollered at An Xiaoning as he was picked up forcefully. ¡°Save your exnation for when you arrive at the police station,¡± said An Xiaoning as she turned around to enter the rented apartment, Ma Jianguo hurriedly catching up with her. Dong Hai was seated in between Zu Dong and Gong Le in the back seat, his hands trembling uncontrobly. An Xiaoning and Ma Jianguo did not manage to find anything suspicious in the room. After all, it had already been more than a year since the murder took ce ¡ª all traces of evidence would long have been destroyed. After switching off the lights and television, the two then closed the door and returned to the police car. Ma Jianguo took over the wheel while An Xiaoning rode in the passenger seat. Chapter 149 - Very Impressive Indeed

Chapter 149: Very Impressive Indeed

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Zu Dong searched Dong Hai for thetter¡¯s mobile phone and handed it to An Xiaoning. ¡°Start driving,¡± An Xiaoning instructed. She began scrolling through his WeChat ount on his mobile phone for further clues, which were, however, scarce. Having arrived back at her home, she took off the mask while Fan Shixin rushed forward to greet her, ¡°You¡¯re home, Young Madam.¡± ¡°Please help me retrieve the deleted WeChat history on this phone. I¡¯d also like to know if there are any records of this phone being used at XX beach, please find that out using the IP address.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± They then headed towards the police station. Dong Hai was detained in the interrogation room. An Xiaoning proceeded towards the interrogation room. ¡°You were disguising yourself?¡± asked a stunned Dong Hai upon sight of An Xiaoning, who looked different from the girl he was with earlier, though she was d in the exact same clothes. ¡°You don¡¯t have to know about that. Last year, a body belonging to a seventeen-year-old girl was found along XX beach, which the murderer had tried to hide beneath stones. However, he failed to do so and things did not go ording to n. Are you in any way rted to this matter?¡± ¡°Of course not,¡± he eagerly answered. ¡°Great, I expected you to say so. Dong Hai, Yang Yue¡¯s parents were divorced since she was young and she had been living with her grandmother, who passed away years ago. You¡¯re in a simr predicament as her, yet you did not try to empathize with her and even killed her instead. I¡¯d really like to know why you were so cruel to such a poor girl like her.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t me, I didn¡¯t kill anyone. This is awful society, you can¡¯t use me without concrete evidence. As the police, aren¡¯t you aware of that?¡± ¡°Concrete evidence? You¡¯ve already revealed your identity the moment you told me your birth characters. I¡¯ve read from your fortune that youmitted an act of murderst summer, and you were fated to be punished by thew. Although the event has already passed, the omen has yet to disappear. If you didn¡¯t kill anyone, why is it still stated that you¡¯ll be facing a sentence? Besides, do you know how we managed to find you?¡± An Xiaoning sneered. Dong Hai remained silent, avoiding eye contact with her. ¡°We found yourment on Yang Yue¡¯s post on WeChat, which was rather flirtatious. If you¡¯re not rted to her at all, why would there be suchments? After much investigation, we¡¯ve found that no one has verified the existence of Yang Yue¡¯s boyfriend. However, it¡¯s stated in her fortune that she had a boyfriend at the time of her death. Who else could it be other than you? You may deny it, but the truth will be out once we recover the chat history on your WeChat ount from your mobile phone.¡± An Xiaoning picked up the teacup Ma Jianguo brought her and began sipping on some tea slowly. ¡°How did you know she had a boyfriend?¡± ¡°Seems like you don¡¯t know what I¡¯m known for. Let me tell you, I¡¯m great at fortune-telling, I can read every aspect of your life at one nce.¡± ¡°Nonsense,¡± he said sneeringly, cocking his head towards the side. ¡°Your father met with a mishap when you were six years old, and your mother remarried twice. She gave birth to a son with her current husband. You were brought up by your grandparents, and you got more and more rebellious as you grew older ¡ª you dropped out of middle school to join the triads and rarely stayed at home. You were often disrespectful towards your grandparents, even though they were the ones who raised you...¡± Dong Hai stared at An Xiaoning in astonishment ¡ª his reaction had given everything away. ¡°I¡¯m right, aren¡¯t I? You¡¯ve been in two rtionships in the past, and your cyber-rtionship with Yang Yue was the third one. You made a girl with whom you share a simr plighte all the way here from another city just to look for you. Yet you ended up killing her in such a cruel manner and dumped her body stark naked along the beach. Dong Hai, you¡¯re so young yet so vicious and cunning.¡± Dong Hai hung his head low and kept mum. ¡°Boss, that fellow is calling you again!¡± An Xiaoning ced the teacup onto the table and answered the call, ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Alright, bring it here at once.¡± A smile formed on An Xiaoning¡¯s face as soon as she ended the call. She turned towards Ma Jianguo and said, ¡°We¡¯ve managed to recover all the information and records he had deleted from his phone. I¡¯ve instructed someone to deliver it to us right away.¡± ¡°Great, our painstaking efforts have not gone to waste after all,¡± said Ma Jianguo, who was initially doubtful of An Xiaoning¡¯s capabilities. However, after working with her for the past two cases, he now saw her in a different light ¡ª she had earned all of his respect and admiration with her impressive efficiency. Gradually, the team of four began to feel relieved as they sat in the interrogation room, waiting patiently for Fan Shixin to deliver the relevant documents. In less than half an hour, the documents were delivered. Seated opposite each other, the four of them began perusing the chat history. All of a sudden, Ma Jianguo mmed the table agitatedly and eximed, ¡°It¡¯s him.¡± After looking through the chat history, An Xiaoning looked up at Dong Hai, who still had his head hung low. ¡°We now have sufficient evidence to prove that you were the one who made her flee here for you. Dong Hai, do you have anything more to say?¡± she said. ¡°There¡¯s nothing I have to say,¡± he answered calmly. ¡°Why did you kill her? What made you decide to kill a girl who had gone out of her way toe look for you?¡± An Xiaoning questioned. He raised his head slightly, staring nkly into thin air. ¡°You may do whatever you¡¯d like with me, I don¡¯t wish to talk about this matter anymore,¡± he said sluggishly. ¡°There must be a reason for you to kill someone. Look how much of an imbecile you are, killing a girl at such a young age. Besides, it¡¯s already been more than a year since it happened, and you didn¡¯t even have the guts to turn yourself in. I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re actually nning to live the rest of your life in peace if we hadn¡¯t arrested you. Meanwhile, the victim had died a wrongful death. Speak up, why did you kill her?¡± Ma Jianguo interjected, demanding an answer from him. ¡°We had an argument and I couldn¡¯t control my emotions in the heat of the moment, so I plunged her head into the basin. She ended up drowning to death afterwards.¡± Upon hearing his vague response, An Xiaoning continued to ask, ¡°What sparked the argument?¡± ¡°It was just a trivial issue, which I cannot remember now. Initially, I kept silent and allowed her to scold me. However, she continued to do so and even mentioned that she wanted a breakup. In a moment of pique, I decided to kill her. Only then would she have stopped going off about it.¡± An Xiaoning could not tolerate what she was hearing any longer and decided to leave the interrogation room while the rest of them continued with the interrogations. She returned to her office and took a seat on her chair as she pondered over some thoughts in silence. She was almost fast asleep when Ma Jianguo, Zu Dong, and Gong Le entered. ¡°How did it go?¡± she asked. ¡°Just like that. We¡¯ve handed the case over to the prosecutor so we¡¯ll wait for the verdict to be out. I reckon it¡¯ll be a death sentence, for sure. In my opinion, the purpose of the death sentence is not only to punish,¡± said Ma Jianguo. ¡°What other purpose is there?¡± ¡°To let the murderer understand that the victim¡¯s life is just as valuable as his. Team Leader, you¡¯ve really given me an eye-opener. With your help, we¡¯ve managed to crack a few cases that we weren¡¯t able to previously within just a few days. Very impressive indeed.¡± Resting her chin in her hand, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°Do you think I can manage to do this continuously? I won¡¯t being in tomorrow.¡± ¡°What are the three of us going to do, if you don¡¯te? The Chief will definitely assign us to a special task,¡± Ma Jianguo said worriedly. ¡°Aren¡¯t we a team? You guys should take a break too, since I won¡¯t being,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Dream on,¡± Pan Zhenghui remarked upon hearing their conversation as he entered. Chapter 150 - I Miss You

Chapter 150: I Miss You

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios A frown creased Ma Jianguo¡¯s forehead upon seeing that Pan Zhenghui had entered. ¡°Chief, we ought to share weal and woe with Team Leader. How would it make sense for the three of us to work endlessly while she gets to take a break?¡¯ ¡°Cut the crap, there¡¯s a shortage of manpower at the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit. You guys are to report there whenever Xiaoning is not around. We¡¯re not using you for freebor anyway, you¡¯ll be paid your due in wages for serving the public,¡± Pan Zhenghui said sternly. ¡°You must be great atforting others, Chief. The total wage of the three of usbined is still far lesser than what Team Leader receives. Besides, we even have to slog our guts out. Life is so hard indeed,¡± Ma Jianguomented, feeling a sudden sense of resentment towards society. ¡°You¡¯ll get a raise too if you¡¯re capable of cracking a case within just days. You¡¯ll also get to enjoy the privilege ofing to work as and when you please,¡± Pan Zhenghui remarked sarcastically. ¡°Sigh, this is why you should neverpare yourself to others for it¡¯ll only bring about unhappiness. Team Leader, please report back to work as soon as possible after you¡¯re done taking a break, we¡¯d very much like to continue working with you. It feels great to be able to resolve cases,¡± Ma Jianguo said with a sigh. ¡°I know you¡¯re feeling unjustly treated, but I can¡¯t keep working for the police endlessly. Too much fortune-telling is bad for my health, I would need to take breaks to recharge and recuperate every now and then. Besides, I have a life of my own as well, I can¡¯t possibly spend all my time doing this,¡± An Xiaoning said, ring at him in disdain. ¡°Yes, Xiaoning is right. Come back after you¡¯ve gotten enough rest. There¡¯s no hurry, given how highly efficient you are,¡± Pan Zhenghui agreed. ¡°It¡¯s gettingte, we should all head home to rest,¡± said An Xiaoning as she took a look at the time. An Xiaoning hopped into her car and began driving home slowly. Several minutes into the journey, she caught a glimpse in the rearview mirror of a car which seemed to be tailing her. She then stepped on the elerator and began driving faster, only to observe that the car had also picked up its speed, following closely behind her. Sensing impending danger, An Xiaoning began to feel flustered and overwhelmed with panic. She gripped the steering wheel tightly and sped forward. After confirming that the car was indeed tailing her, she hurriedly gave Fan Shixin a call. She continued to pick up her speed, weaving in and out of the heavy traffic on the roads. An Xiaoning could not help but begin to feel increasingly anxious. She had no choice but to calm herself down and continue moving forward. Fan Shixin immediately brought some men with him to pick her up after answering her call. She was stuck in traffic for a total of 20 minutes. Finally, An Xiaoning had managed to get past the traffic while the car continued to follow closely behind. Just as it was about to catch up with her, Fan Shixin arrived in his car. Upon sight of the sudden twist of circumstance, the car then turned around and left. An Xiaoning could finally heave a sigh of relief. ¡°Don¡¯t forget to check up on that car when we get home.¡± ¡°Got it,¡± said Fan Shixin, who decided to take over the wheel upon seeing how frightened An Xiaoning was while thetter shifted to the passenger seat. ¡°It was negligence on my part, I should¡¯ve sent someone to escort you. Young Madam, we¡¯ve gotten news that an anonymous person had hired two hitmen with a hefty sum and they¡¯ve infiltrated our country. Their main target is Young Sir. We don¡¯t rule out the possibility that the car earlier on belongs to them, although it¡¯s yet to be confirmed. Perhaps they¡¯re nning to start off with you,¡± said Fan Shixin. An Xiaoning turned to look at him and said, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me this earlier? No wonder I¡¯ve been feeling ill at ease the past few days. So that exins it.¡± ¡°Young Sir was afraid of startling you, so he instructed me to keep mum about it. But from tomorrow onwards, you¡¯ll have to bring some bodyguards along with you no matter where you go, just in case.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± said An Xiaoning, taking a sip from a bottle of mineral water. An Xiaoning could not stop feeling worried even until she had returned to her bedroom. Her mind was upied with the news of Jin Qingyan being the target of two hitmen. Her stomach twisted into a knot upon knowing that he had be the target of assassination, though she could not quite figure why she was feeling that way. Well, he was a person of status and the main stakeholder of such a developedpany, after all. He must have a bunch of rivals who were dying to kill him. She whipped out her mobile phone and proceeded to give him a call eagerly. ¡°Miss me already?¡± he asked in his ever-alluring and delicate voice. ¡°I miss you,¡± An Xiaoning answered, gripping her phone tightly. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Jin Qingyan asked, puzzled at her strange reaction, for she would usually have bickered with him instead. ¡°I miss you and I want to see you right now. Come home as soon as you¡¯re done with work. Hurry.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Her words had struck him in a sweet spot, causing his heart to flutter. Jin Qinyan could not stop grinning from ear to ear after ending the call. Puzzled at his reaction, the elderly man asked, ¡°Young Sir...¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Your smile is getting pretty creepy.¡± Jin Qingyan stopped smiling and cleared his throat. ¡°Let¡¯s continue where we left off and settle it tonight.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to tire yourself out, Young Sir. We can continue tomorrow as well.¡± ¡°Old Chang, I¡¯ll have to return home tonight,¡± Jin Qingyan said in all seriousness. ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning had a dream while she was asleep at night. She dreamed that she was taken to an unknown ce with her eyes blindfolded and her limbs shackled to chains, leaving her with no means of moving at all. In the dream, she felt as hopeless as a sheep that was waiting to be ughtered. The overwhelming feeling of despair and helplessness jolted her awake, causing her to be unable to fall asleep for the rest of the night. Having encountered the premonition of drowning in her dreams previously, she began to think that this too was another premonition for an impending disaster. An Xiaoning was kept wide awake throughout the night, only managing to fall asleep after daybreak the next morning. It was dawn when Jin Qingyan arrived back at home. Thinking that she was already awake, he entered their bedroom, only to find that she was still in a deep sleep. Jin Qingyan turned on the heater and headed downstairs for breakfast, after which he proceeded to bring her her share, which he then ced onto the table. Standing beside the bed, a smile of pleasure formed on his face as he gazed at her adoringly. He bent forward to kiss An Xiaoning on the cheek, waking her up from her sleep as she opened her eyes slowly. An Xiaoning could not believe her eyes when she woke up to the sight of him. ¡°You¡¯re back?¡± ¡°Yes, because you summoned me. I¡¯ve brought you breakfast,¡± he answered while adjusting her pillow for her and caressing her face. Kneeling on the bed, she leaned forward to give him a big hug while inhaling his unique scent. ¡°You came home for me?¡± ¡°Yes, for you.¡± ¡°I have to use the washroom, I¡¯m so close to peeing my pants.¡± She pushed him away and zoomed towards the washroom after putting on her home slippers. Jin Qingyan burst intoughter at the amusing sight of her being in such a hurry. After washing up, An Xiaoning exited the washroom and pulled her long locks back into a ponytail before removing the lid of her bottle of toner. ¡°You¡¯re going to bed in broad daylight?¡± she asked, watching him undress himself in the reflection of the mirror at the dressing table. ¡°I didn¡¯t manage to catch a wink at allst night. Care to join me?¡± ¡°You have to wait for me to finish my breakfast first,¡± she said with pouted lips as she thered some lotion onto her face. ¡°Sure, no hurry, I¡¯ll wait for you,¡± he answered, leaning against the bedhead while keeping his eyes fixed on her. ¡°Why are you staring at me like that? You look like you¡¯re going to devour me.¡± ¡°Your sixth sense is pretty urate, eh?¡± He reached a hand out to caress her waist as his hormones began raging. Chapter 151 - Eat More, Then You’ll Have the Energy to Do Work with Me

Chapter 151: Eat More, Then You¡¯ll Have the Energy to Do Work with Me

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She tapped his hand and said, ¡°I¡¯m eating, wait a while.¡± She reached out and took the ss of milk in the tray. The temperature was just right. With her other hand, she took the sandwich and started eating it at her own pace. Jin Qingyan retracted his hands and, using his arm to support his head, he looked at her incredulously. ¡°Eat more, then you¡¯ll have the energy to do work with me.¡± An Xiaoning turned around andmented as she ate, ¡°Did you know? Last night, I got a huge scare. Thinking of it now still gives me the shivers.¡± ¡°I heard from Shixin already. Told you to bring people out, you just didn¡¯t listen. If you don¡¯t listen to your husband¡¯s words, you are bound to suffer.¡± An Xiaoning responded obediently, ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯ll definitely listen to you next time and bring people out.¡± ¡°Babylifewasgoodtomebutyoujustmadeitbetternull, Ilovethewayitstandbymethroughanykindofweathernull...¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s phone kept ringing, but he seemed like he was not about to answer. An Xiaoning gulped down the ss of milk and passed him the phone, conveniently looking at the caller ID on the screen. ¡°It¡¯s still ringing. It¡¯s your mother. Quickly answer, something may have happened.¡± ¡°Usually, when I¡¯m doing something important, I wouldn¡¯t want to answer any other person¡¯s calls.¡± He received his phone and slid it to answer. ¡°Mother.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve knitted a hat for Xiaoning. It¡¯s already done. When youe here, bring it back for her,¡± Mrs. Jin¡¯s voice sounded from the other end of the line. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take it when I¡¯m going back. I¡¯m busy now, I¡¯ll end the call, okay, Mother?¡± Jin Qingyan ended the line and immediately switched off his phone. ¡°What did your mother say?¡± ¡°She said she¡¯s hand-knitted a hat for you, it¡¯s already done. She wants me to take it for you when I go back.¡± Jin Qingyan raised his eyebrows. ¡°Look, my mother¡¯s so nice to you. She¡¯s thinking of you all the time.¡± ¡°I¡¯m nice to her too, it¡¯s called reciprocating her care for me,¡± An Xiaoning rebutted. ¡°You¡¯re still the fortunate one. Don¡¯t you know many mothers of rich families don¡¯t get along well with their daughters-inw? Look at me and your mother, we get along so harmoniously. If your mother continues to treat me this nicely, I¡¯ll continue being nice to her too.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the daughter-inw my mother and grandmother picked. If she¡¯s not nice to you, who should she be nice to?¡± Jin Qingyan grabbed onto her arm and forcefully pulled her in front of him. ¡°Are you done eating?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just done. I¡¯ll brush my teeth again.¡± She struggled to get up. ¡°I¡¯ll wait for you.¡± He released his hand. ¡°I¡¯ll give you two minutes.¡± ¡°Two minutes is enough.¡± She stood up and headed towards the bathroom. Jin Qingyan stretched his body, with both his arms supporting the back of his head. His eyesfortably scanned around his bedroom. It was his home, along with his wife here with him. All that wascking was a child. An Xiaoning came out of the bathroom after brushing her teeth and saw Jin Qingyan staring at the ceiling, acting just like a fool. ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± ¡°I¡¯m thinking about our home.¡± She was slightly puzzled and asked as she crawled onto the bed, ¡°What¡¯s there to think about, isn¡¯t this our home?¡± ¡°Our home, don¡¯t you think itcks something?¡± An Xiaoning naturally replied, ¡°Are you talking about children?¡± ¡°Smart of you. Do you still want children now?¡± he asked. ¡°No,¡± she responded without even hesitating. ¡°I know you still don¡¯t want anyone to disturb our peace. So, in the future, I won¡¯t consider this anymore. When you are done enjoying the two of us having our own time together, then I¡¯ll think about this.¡± She was definitely exacting revenge on him! Jin Qingyan reached out to squeeze her cheeks. ¡°You really think that way?¡± ¡°Yes, really.¡± An Xiaoning simrly reached out to pinch his face too. Only, this time, with both her hands. ¡°I¡¯m just respecting your opinion, like how a good wife should.¡± ¡°Then, what if I don¡¯t have any intention of wanting any children for the rest of my life?¡± A look of shock appeared on her face and she remarked, ¡°How badly do you hate children that you want to end the family line for your parents? Will you get beaten to death?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t change the topic, answer my question.¡± ¡°If you really don¡¯t want children for the rest of your life, then other than having a little regret, it¡¯ll be more of a happy thing for me. Honestly, giving birth is a woman¡¯s issue. Other than the child being the father¡¯s, what has it got to do with him? The stomach, suffering, pain, and loss of figure are all the woman¡¯s problems. If you really think that way, then I¡¯ll be more than thankful, because I don¡¯t want to give birth either.¡± She shed him a bright smile, yet her heart was full of disappointment. Although giving birth was a painful but happy process for a woman ¡ª if a man, who¡¯s also your husband, doesn¡¯t want to have a child with you, what does that say? She knew it clearly in her heart; all those were just his excuses on the surface. He did not say anything further and moved his hand from her face to the back of her neck, pulling her into his arms. ¡°About having children, we¡¯ll just let nature take its course, okay?¡± She nodded, yet scolded him inside her heart. He never forgot to use contraceptive measures, how was that letting nature take its course? However, as the only son, he would probably be unable to free himself from the destiny of having to bear a son to continue the family line eventually. Some things could not be decided just by himself. He turned and pressed onto her body, used his thumb and index finger to hold down her jaw as he leaned in for a kiss. An Xiaoning hooked her legs around his waist and bent her body forward for him. Having not seen each other for a few days, they were caught in a warm passion that burned like wildfire. While it went on, An Xiaoning¡¯s brain was in a state of short circuit. She did not want to think of anything else except enjoying the present moment where she was blooming like a flower. The two slept like that for a very long time. It wasn¡¯t until four in the afternoon that they finally started to wake up slowly. His voice was slightly t as he said, ¡°You kept on calling for your brother. I want to hear it, say it again.¡± She turned shy and snuggled into his arms, mumbling, ¡°Did I? I don¡¯t remember.¡± ¡°ying dumb.¡± He pinched her. ¡°Hey, Jin Qingyan. How dare you pinch me, why are you acting like a woman?!¡± He pinched her again. ¡°Who did you say is acting like a woman?¡± ¡°You!¡± She was dauntless and fought back with all her effort. She gave her all: pinching, grabbing, scratching, and pulling him all she could. Jin Qingyan was easily defeated. After all thatmotion, the two finally got down from the bed. The hungry couple swept off a meal into their stomachs. After they were done, Fan Shixin brought a bag in. ¡°Young Mistress, Madam told me to bring this here. She said Young Master had agreed to go back and collect it but was still yet to do so.¡± An Xiaoning quickly received the bag and took out a hat from it. She immediately wore it on the head, singing praises of it. ¡°Mother has such nimble fingers, it looks amazing!¡± Jin Qingyan signaled her to call his mother. ¡°Let me tell you, if you call my mother now to praise her, you¡¯ll soon receive all sorts of things from a sweater to a scarf. She has nothing to do at home anyway.¡± ¡°She must be really good at knitting.¡± She ran upstairs and took her phone, giving a call to Mrs. Jin. Chapter 152 - You Are My Wife

Chapter 152: You Are My Wife

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mo Li got down from the bed slowly. The few doctors who¡¯d checked on her exchanged looks with one another, appearing rather hesitant. Byron¡¯s mother saw this situation and got anxious. ¡°Doctor, tell me the truth. Is her body in the right condition to get pregnant now?¡± ¡°The Princess Consort¡¯s health is not very good right now. After running so many tests, we realized that it¡¯s not just a single problem. Her fallopian tube is blocked, the inner lining of her uterus is too thin, and there might also be inmmation in her uterus. All these will make it impossible for her to get pregnant. She needs to get treatment targeted for these problems.¡± Mo Li¡¯s grip tightened. She looked up at her mother-inw, realizing that her face looked somber. ¡°Then how long will the treatment take?¡± The doctor answered cautiously, ¡°That will depend on the Princess Consort¡¯s conditions. However, it will definitely take some time as these are not simple issues.¡± ¡°Umm, alright. All of you may go.¡± The doctors left, and only Mo Li and her mother-inw were left in the ultrasound room. Her heart tightened, and she could only feel the sharp gaze from her mother-inw, whichnded on her like a knife de. She immediately felt ashamed of these problems she had with her body. It never urred to her that she would have these issues with her health. ¡°Mother...¡± The Duchess went forward and raised her hand, giving her a tight p on the face. The p was so powerful that it left her hand mark imprinted on Mo Li¡¯s face. ¡°Before you married Byron, exactly how many times did you have a miscarriage that your uterus lining is so thin now? Even if the blocking of your fallopian tube and the inmmation in your uterus can be treated, I don¡¯t think you have any chance of treating your thin uterus lining. I thought I could depend on you to give birth to a few children for Byron. Who would¡¯ve known, if not for this physical checkup! A woman with a physical condition like yours doesn¡¯t deserve my son at all.¡± Mo Li was so utterly terrified by her outburst that she didn¡¯t dare to move an inch. But she still could not help but defend herself, ¡°I didn¡¯t have a single miscarriage before, my thin uterus lining might be something I was born with.¡± The Duchess was utterly green in the face and gave her another p. ¡°This brazen thing, you still have the nerve to retort! Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know anything about you from S Nation. You better pray that you can get treated and pregnant in a short time, or else...¡± She did not finish her sentence, but Mo Li knew exactly what she meant. She stood there with tears brimming in her eyes and her head hung low, not daring to say a word. The Duchess did not say anything further. She turned and headed towards the door. Mo Li stood there alone for a long time before pulling up the scarf on her neck and quickly leaving the ultrasound room with her head hung low. She finally returned home. Upon seeing her return, Mrs. Mo called her immediately. ¡°Li Li.¡± ¡°Mother, I¡¯ll go in and sleep for a while.¡± Mo Li quickened her footsteps and ran into the house. Mrs. Mo noticed that she was not quite right emotionally and that her scarf was almost covering her whole face. She had wanted to ask her about the results from her physical checkup, but looking at how she was acting, her heart sank momentarily. Could there be something wrong? She immediately followed behind her. As Mo Li entered her room, she got the maid to get her some ice cubes and a hard-boiled egg. Just as it happened, the maid and Mrs. Mo crossed paths. ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°The Princess Consort asked me to bring some ice cubes and a hard-boiled egg.¡± Hearing this, Mrs. Mo immediately entered Mo Li¡¯s bedroom. At the door, she saw the hand mark imprinted on Mo Li¡¯s face. Just one look and she knew who had done it. At this ce, who else would dare to hit her daughter? ¡°Li Li.¡± Mrs. Mo went forward, her eyes turning red. Mo Li threw herself into her arms, hugging her mother¡¯s waist tightly as she sobbed. ¡°Mother... the doctor said my fallopian tube is blocked, my uterus lining is too thin, and there is inmmation in my uterus...¡± Mrs. Mo consoled her. ¡°It¡¯s okay, you can get treated for them. Did your mother-inw hit you?¡± ¡°Umm.¡± Mo Li released her hands and rubbed her eyes, smiling at her mother. ¡°I¡¯m fine. It¡¯ll be gone after I give it a rub.¡± ¡°How dare she hit you, she¡¯s really gone overboard!¡± Mrs. Mo¡¯s heart ached for her daughter, yet she could not do anything. ¡°When your husbandes back, tell him about it. If he stands up for you, your mother-inw wouldn¡¯t dare to hit you anymore in the future.¡± Mo Li pressed her lips together as she replied, ¡°So what if I do, it¡¯ll only let my mother-inw think I¡¯m asking for a fight. Mother, if I were not still so young and if not for you, I might have been dead long ago.¡± Mrs. Mo gently held onto her face, her heart torn with grief. ¡°Li Li, as long as you¡¯re alive, there is always hope. You¡¯ll have nothing if you die.¡± At this moment, Byron returned. Mrs. Mo turned and left the room. Looking at her face, Byron went forward and asked her, ¡°Did Mother do this?¡± Mo Li took the ice cubes from the maid and applied it on the mark on her face. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, honey.¡± He sat on the bed. ¡°Lie down and apply it.¡± Mo Li nodded, taking off her slippers and lying down. Seeing how he pulled the covers for her, she said frankly, ¡°The doctor told you everything, right?¡± ¡°Umm.¡± She looked up at him. ¡°I didn¡¯t have an abortion done before, I really didn¡¯t.¡± Byron looked into her eyes. ¡°I believe you.¡± The three words went right into Mo Li¡¯s heart and her eyes brightened as she gazed at him. ¡°Byron, you¡¯re too nice to me.¡± ¡°You¡¯re my wife.¡± He got up and took the hard-boiled egg from the maid beforeying down beside her. ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with being ill. It¡¯s not some incurable disease anyway, you¡¯ll get better. I¡¯m not in a rush to have children.¡± Mo Li held her face, her heart feeling especially warmed by his words. Not long after Byrony down on the bed, he got up and left again as something cropped up. After he had just left, Mo Li received a call from Byron¡¯s ex-wife, Annie, which surprised her. Half an hourter, Mo Li appeared at a teahouse not far away from her home, wearing sunsses and a face mask. She was the only one seated in the private room. Seeing that Mo Li had arrived, Annie casually shouted, ¡°Mo Li, have a seat.¡± Mo Li sat right opposite her, her eyes fixed on her. ¡°Why did you ask me out?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the hurry, I just wanted to give you a reminder. You don¡¯t have to overthink about whether I¡¯ll harm you. I have better things to do than that. I just felt ufortable about something, so I wanted to talk to you about it.¡± She reached out to pour some tea. ¡°I don¡¯t think I have anything to talk to you about, and I don¡¯t need you to remind me of anything either.¡± Annie gave a forcefulugh with her lips pressed together. ¡°Hey, brat, although you¡¯re an unwanted good that¡¯s not worthy of Byron in any way, I still think you should listen to advice from your husband¡¯s ex-wife. After all, I don¡¯t have any intention of remarrying him, and I will never use this to sow discord. Furthermore, I¡¯ve lived with him for a pretty long time.¡± Mo Li softened her tone considerably. ¡°Just tell me what you want to say then, I¡¯m listening.¡± ¡°How did Byron tell you the reason for our divorce?¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t really say much about it. He only mentioned it briefly, I didn¡¯t really probe into it.¡± Annie crossed her leg. ¡°Did he say that I initiated the divorce because I couldn¡¯t stand the strict customs and etiquette that had to be adhered to?¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Let me tell you this, Byron and I fell in love and got married. We¡¯d been married for six years and always had a good rtionship. I didn¡¯t really want to have children, but I was still willing to bear children for him in the end. Why would I get a divorce just because of customs? It was because hepletely shattered my image of him, so we divorced. Youngdy, the position as the Princess Consort is not such an easy one. I see that you haven¡¯t removed your sunsses and face mask since you came in, did you get pped?¡± She seemed like she had seen through everything, even the way she said it made it seem like nothing. Chapter 153 - A Magical Piece of Jade

Chapter 153: A Magical Piece of Jade

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mo Li was instantly exposed by this woman ¡ª her husband¡¯s ex-wife. She suddenly felt embarrassed, like she had been made into a joke. ¡°So what if I was?¡± she openly admitted. ¡°I¡¯m sure you have been pped too.¡± ¡°Of course. Not by him, but by his mother, who¡¯s a real piece of work.¡± Annie did not mince her words. ¡°Think over what I¡¯ve said. Although you¡¯re a woman I look down on, I really don¡¯t want to see him treat you like how he treated me. It¡¯ll take a very long time for one to get over it. You¡¯re quite smart too. Knowing that S Nation¡¯s Ye family is not an easy family to enter, you¡¯ve found yourself someone easy to back you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not the kind of woman you¡¯re thinking of, I¡¯ve never thought of entering the Ye family.¡± ¡°Right, because you can¡¯t enter, you¡¯re consoling yourself like this. You better act wisely, and don¡¯t forget to thank me next time.¡± Annie shed a smug smile at her. The exquisite makeup on her face made this woman appear even more attractive. Mo Li looked at her, remaining silent. After Annie left, Mo Li sat there by herself, recalling her words. Although she wasn¡¯t sure if her words were credible, she really took them to heart. Whether her words were true, only time would tell. ¡°Young Master, Missy is here.¡± Fan Shixin hesitated before continuing, ¡°Should I let her in?¡± ¡°Let her in,¡± Jin Qingyan replied without raising his head. ¡°Alright.¡± Fan Shixin turned and went to open the main gate. Jin Qingyue pointed a finger at Fan Shixin. ¡°You¡¯ve stopped me from entering a few times already. You just wait, I¡¯ll tell my brother about this.¡± Fan Shixin reached out and casually rubbed his nose, closing the main gate indifferently. He did not take her words to heart at all. Jin Qingyue was wearing extra high ankle boots, and every step she took produced a clear cracking sound from her heels. She did not bother to change shoes and immediately sat beside Jin Qingyan. ¡°Brother, during these few days when you weren¡¯t at home, I couldn¡¯t even enter the main gate of your house. Fan Shixin kept stopping me from entering!¡± ¡°It¡¯s right to stop you from entering. Am I suppose to allow you to treat this as your own house, allowing you toe in whenever you want?¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s gaze was fixed on the screen of theptop which was lying on hisp. His tone was mild and cold. ¡°Brother!¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter, that you¡¯ve been looking for me for a few times already?¡± Seeing that he refused to look at her, Jin Qingyan reached out to block hisptop screen. ¡°Where¡¯s Sister-inw?¡± ¡°She hasn¡¯t woken up.¡± He turned and looked at her. ¡°What exactly is the matter?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to look for my sister-inw.¡± She was about to stand up, but Jin Qingyan pulled her back to where she originally was. ¡°Your sister-inw is still resting, don¡¯t disturb her. You can tell me if you have anything to say.¡± ¡°I want to ask her if the ritual Shaochuan did is effective enough. That morning, her tone seemed to suggest that it wasn¡¯t useful enough. I wanted to confirm again, so I went to find her a few times, but I couldn¡¯t see her. Her phone was either switched off or she doesn¡¯t pick up.¡± Jin Qingyue replied honestly. ¡°Shi Shaochuan did a ritual for Wang Fangfang?¡± ¡°Yes, he did one.¡± ¡°Has Shi Shaochuan really repented about what happened to Wang Fangfang?¡± Jin Qingyan could guess the answer immediately. ¡°No, right?¡± ¡°Umm, no. The ritual was... to make Wang Fangfang unable to reincarnate for eternity, and for her soul to be ripped into pieces.¡± As Jin Qingyue answered him, she felt rather uneasy. Jin Qingyan looked at her for a moment and replied, ¡°The both of you are really asking for death.¡± ¡°Brother, do you think the ritual Shaochuan did is useless?¡± ¡°Although I don¡¯t know if it is useless, I look down on his behavior. You¡¯re turning a blind eye to it anyway, why care about such things? Just live your life with him properly and leave the people around you alone.¡± ¡°Brother, how can you say such words!¡± Jin Qingyue shrieked furiously. ¡°Is this something you should say to your sister?¡± ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, you should go back.¡± ¡°I want to ask my sister-inw.¡± She remained persistent about it. ¡°Do what you want.¡± He stood up and carried hisptop upstairs. ¡°Brother!!!¡± Jin Qingyan turned a deaf ear to her call and returned to the bedroom, locking the door from the inside. Seeing him enter with his face green with anger, An Xiaoning sat upright with both her hands supporting her on the bed. ¡°I thought I heard your sister¡¯s voice.¡± ¡°Umm, she¡¯s here. She¡¯s looking for you.¡± An Xiaoningy down again. ¡°Then I should sleep for a while more.¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s face, which was originally scrunched up, instantly rxed. He ced hisptop on the desk and said with a faint smile, ¡°She came to ask if the ritual Shi Shaochuan did was useful.¡± ¡°Oh? So she came to get some peace for her mind.¡± An Xiaoning pulled the covers up to her neck. ¡°I think it¡¯spletely useless. Shi Shaochuan is that inhumane. I can¡¯t be bothered if he¡¯s dead or alive, I¡¯m not a saint anyway, I have more important things to do.¡± ¡°Alright, then don¡¯t care about it. Seeing that idiot makes me annoyed too.¡± An Xiaoning broke out into augh. ¡°But, he¡¯s about to be your brother-inw.¡± ¡°Who cares about him? It¡¯s already this time, you should get up.¡± Jin Qingyan brought her clothes and ced them on the covers. ¡°I¡¯ll be going back to the old residence. My grandmother asked me to make a trip there.¡± ¡°Then, go. I¡¯ll be staying at home, I don¡¯t feel like going anywhere.¡± An Xiaoning asked while she changed, ¡°Can you go and take a look if your sister¡¯s gone?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need, she hasn¡¯t left for sure.¡± An Xiaoning got down from the bed. ¡°Let her be then.¡± When she went downstairs, Jin Qingyue immediately ran forward to her when she saw her. ¡°Sister-inw, I have something to ask you.¡± An Xiaoning sat at the dining table as Auntie Chen served the dishes. ¡°You have something to ask me, but I¡¯ve nothing to reply to you.¡± ¡°Sister-inw, about what you said that morning, did you mean that Shaochuan¡¯s ritual was useless?¡± ¡°So what if it is useless or not?¡± She looked up at her. ¡°I¡¯ve already said, I don¡¯t want to answer any of your questions. Please respect the superficial rtionship we have in name, don¡¯t forget what you did to me before.¡± ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re really petty. How long ago was that incident that you¡¯re still taking it to heart?¡± An Xiaoning sneered. ¡°So that makes it my fault, I¡¯m the petty one now? Then what do I do, I¡¯m just that kind of person.¡± ¡°You really won¡¯t tell me?¡± An Xiaoning ate her food calmly, ignoring her. Jin Qingyue could no longer stand it and stood up to leave right away. Meanwhile, at the old Jin residence... Jin Qingyan looked at the wooden box ced on the desk and asked, ¡°What¡¯s inside?¡± Old Mrs. Jin answered with a light smile, ¡°Qingyan, open it.¡± He reached out to open the wooden box. Inside was a piece of jade, a thumb ring. The color, however, looked slightly peculiar. ¡°A thumb ring?¡± His grandmother nodded. ¡°This has been passed down our Jin family. Your father should have given it to you earlier, but it took so long. Now¡¯s a good opportunity for you to have it. You should wear it in the future.¡± He reached out and took the thumb ring. Looking at it carefully, he asked, ¡°Why is this piece of jade of such a color? It¡¯s neither green nor red.¡± ¡°Such a long time has passed since it was made, from our ancestors¡¯ time until now. It¡¯s been so many years. I heard from your grandfather that this piece of jade is extraordinary. You can say that it¡¯s our Jin family¡¯s lifeline, which has continued to bless us. Don¡¯t belittle it. Also, it has magical properties. Once you wear it, it will recognize you as its master until you pass it down to your next generation,¡± Mr. Jin exined. ¡°Wear it on for me to see.¡± Chapter 154 - Do You Want Your Husband to Help You Fall Asleep Easier?

Chapter 154: Do You Want Your Husband to Help You Fall Asleep Easier?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyan put on the thumb ring, and only then could he could see the pattern on it clearly. ¡°I thought it was a snake, but the pattern on it is actually a dragon. You said it¡¯s the lifeline of our family, what use does it have?¡± Mr. Jin coughed lightly. ¡°I¡¯m not sure about what it does specifically either, because I¡¯ve worn it for so many years and haven¡¯t found anything special about it. Your grandfather said it hadn¡¯t been made for me. Even if it doesn¡¯t have any obvious effects, keep it on. Don¡¯t take it off.¡± Jin Qingyan was about to remove it and wear it only after he got home when he suddenly realized that the ring was stuck on his thumb and could not be removed. ¡°Father, I can¡¯t take it off anymore.¡± Mr. Jin was dumbfounded and immediately stood up to check. ¡°But that¡¯s impossible. It¡¯s been on my hand for so long, but this never happened to me before.¡± ¡°Look...¡± He reached out his hand. Mr. and Mrs. Jin, as well as old Mrs. Jin, crowded around him and couldn¡¯t take their eyes off his hand. Mr. Jin took his hand and, no matter how he pulled, the ring really could not be removed anymore. ¡°It seems I¡¯ve been wearing this ring in vain for so many years. When you wore it, its effect took ce. Don¡¯t worry, when you grow older and reach the time to pass it down to your sessor, you¡¯ll naturally be able to remove it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s interesting. Where did our ancestors find such a thing?¡± No matter how Jin Qingyan looked at it, he disliked the color of the piece of jade. ¡°How would I know?¡± Mr. Jin turned and returned to his room. ¡°Qingyan...¡± old Mrs. Jin said with a grin. ¡°This is a magical item, I feel that it¡¯ll help you a lot in the future.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a piece of jade, how would it help me? But I know ¡ª I shouldn¡¯t belittle it. Even if I don¡¯t believe in its uses, I should maintain respect towards it.¡± Old Mrs. Jin nodded. ¡°You should really give me a grandson soon. You¡¯re already married. If not now, when will you have children?¡± Not again... ¡°Grandmother, I¡¯ll leave first. I still need to go to the office.¡± He hurriedly got up and left. ¡°That little bastard. He sneaks off when I start talking to him about serious things.¡± Old Mrs. Jin cursed at his figure. Mrs. Jin broke into an amusedughter. ¡°Mother, they¡¯ve just been married for a few months. You¡¯re being too anxious, let them have some time together on their own first.¡± ¡°As you get older, you¡¯ll feel like seeing vibrant, energetic children.¡± At this, old Mrs. Jin reminded her, ¡°In about two more months, Qingyue is getting married. Aren¡¯t you going to prepare her dowry?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve given her the betrothal gifts from her inws already, I¡¯ll just buy some stuff to add onto her dowry when the timees. There¡¯s already nothing else that¡¯s needed.¡± Old Mrs. Jin sighed. ¡°This Qingyue, why is she so different from Qingyan? Did she lose her brain or something?¡± Mrs. Jin nodded sulkily. Wearing the ring passed down from his ancestors, Jin Qingyan had a dream that night. In his dream, he was flying on and on and could not stop no matter how much he wanted to. It was eventually An Xiaoning who shook him awake. He woke up in a cold sweat, and his body felt weak. He drank a cup of tea in one mouthful and finally felt slightly more at ease. ¡°Did you have a nightmare?¡± ¡°Umm. I think it¡¯s because of this.¡± He began exining the origin of the thumb ring to An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning stared at the thumb ring and asked, astonished, ¡°Is that the pattern of a dragon on it?¡± He nodded. ¡°Yes. No wonder I kept dreaming that I was flying, I must have been affected by this.¡± An Xiaoningy down. ¡°Ancient people have said that jade can be pretty scary. Gu Beicheng gave me a jade bangle and made me wear it, but I¡¯ve never worn it. Somehow I feel that if I wear it, I¡¯ll be its master. I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s a good thing or a bad thing.¡± Jin Qingyan questioned, ¡°Bangle? When did he give it to you?¡± ¡°The day we got married, he gave it to me as a gift. It looks very pretty indeed, so I asked him where he bought it, but he just said that it isn¡¯t sold outside. I reckon it¡¯s one that he collected. I¡¯m not sure anyway, but I¡¯ve kept it well. It looks really expensive; if one day I be poor, I can even pawn it for money to spend.¡± Even though she said that, she had no thoughts of pawning that jade bangle, because she indeed liked it very much. ¡°You¡¯re really a moneygrubber indeed. There are many kinds of jade which are made to protect the one wearing them, and they¡¯re good for the body. You should get an expert to take a look at it one day. If it¡¯s a good jade, leaving it lying around is pointless anyway, you might as well wear it.¡± ¡°Umm.¡± An Xiaoning turned to hug him. ¡°I was sleeping well originally, but now that you¡¯ve woken me up, I can¡¯t get to sleep anymore. You need to take responsibility for this.¡± Heughed softly. ¡°How do I take responsibility for it? Do you want your husband to help you fall asleep easier?¡± She knew what he was getting at. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°No,¡± she reiterated. ¡°Are you deaf?¡± ¡°Alright, since you want it so badly, your husband will do everything to serve you.¡± He was bent on doing the opposite of what she wanted. An Xiaoning could no longer take it. ¡°Jin Qingyan, you¡¯re bing more and more shameless.¡± ¡°Like wife, like husband.¡± ¡°...¡± She had originally wanted a good night¡¯s rest. Well, now, it was out of the question for her! The whole month went by very smoothly until, at the start of February, something happened to the Shi family again. An Xiaoning¡¯s prediction was right. Early in the morning, Matriarch Shi was found dead on the bed by a maid serving her. The news spread and the whole of S Nation were in an absolute frenzy. The news also left the police station in a state of shock. After Shi Shaochuan¡¯s engagement, members of the Shi family met their deaths one after another, and they were all elders of the Shi family. It was simply an unimaginable mystery. Shi Shaochuan kneeled down at his grandmother¡¯s coffin, crying tears of devastation. At this moment, it finally became clear to him that it was not that his grandmother¡¯s time hade. He also understood that the ritual he did previously waspletely useless and a waste of money. A bunch of media reporters added to his misfortunes by surrounding the front gate of the Shi family, waiting to interview Shi Shaochuan. However, he did not leave his house for a long time. He was about to get married this month, but first his parents, and now his grandmother had died. As can be imagined, this cast a huge shadow in his heart. Jin Qingyue was also in shock by this. Sheposed herself and went to look for An Xiaoning again. Unfortunately, when she went to the police station to look for An Xiaoning, An Xiaoning had gone away to investigate a case and could not return for the time being. Those in the know were aware of the reason, but outsiders were clueless about it. Jin Qingyue¡¯s reputation as a curse to the Shi family became cast in stone. Before she was even married into the family, her reputation had be tarnished already. To her, it was definitely not a good thing. She did not know who Wang Fangfang¡¯s next target would be. But at this point, she knew why Wang Fangfang did not find Shi Shaochuan for revenge directly but instead used such a method. It was because watching one¡¯s loved ones die one after another would be the biggest torture to anyone. What was more direct than this kind of pain? Three dayster, when Matriarch Shi¡¯s body was being buried, reporters from across the ind crowded at the funeral. Even though it was obvious that Shi Shaochuan was in a horrible mood, they were intent on surrounding him to ask questions that went straight for his heart. ¡°Mr. Shi, may I ask ¡ª since your engagement, your parents and grandmother had passed away one after another. Do you think all these are coincidences?¡± Shi Shaochuan remained silent while disying an unshaven look. With the reporters surrounding him bbering away non-stop, he finally could not help but answer resolutely with tears brimming in his eyes, ¡°I don¡¯t think these are coincidences, but I don¡¯t believe in anything that is not backed by scientific evidence!¡± Chapter 155 - Someones Going Crazy

Chapter 155: Someone¡¯s Going Crazy

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Then what do you think is the reason that your parents and grandmother died one after another?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, please stop asking me, can¡¯t you see that today is the day of burial?!¡± He pushed away the microphone of the reporter exasperatedly and struggled through the crowd to leave. After arriving home from the cemetery, Shi Shaochuan locked himself in his room. Although he did not admit that it was just a coincidence, reality had given him a tight p on the face. He knew it was a coincidence. It absolutely had to be a coincidence! His whole body was shaking with anger. On the thought that he was the only one left in the Shi family, Shi Shaochuan couldn¡¯t help but feel regret. If he had known things would be like this, he would have just forced Wang Fangfang to abort the child instead of killing her. But it was a pity, things could no longer turn back! He knew clearly that all these had nothing to do with Jin Qingyue. He was the cause of it all. Now, as long as he could stop Wang Fangfang, he didn¡¯t need his dignity or face. He could forsake them all. If he ended up dead too, then the Shi family would definitely be a failure. Everything in the Shi family wouldnd in outsiders¡¯ hands and go down the drain. At this thought, Shi Shaochuan walked briskly to the bathroom and turned on the tap, using the water to rinse his face continuously. After briefly wiping his face, he went to the living room. Seeing him appear, Jin Qingyue immediately stood up and said anxiously, ¡°Shaochuan, I know you are very upset, but the problem still needs to be solved.¡± ¡°Bring me to see An Xiaoning.¡± Jin Qingyue questioned, ¡°Do you think my sister-inw will help you solve the problem? Did you forget what you once said?¡± The look on Shi Shaochuan¡¯s face was absolutely ghastly. ¡°Do you think I would go find her if I was not desperate?¡± Jin Qingyuemented frankly, ¡°I don¡¯t think she will help.¡± ¡°Yueyue.¡± Shi Shaochuan held onto both her shoulders with his hands. ¡°We¡¯re getting married on the 18th of February, it¡¯s in about half a month¡¯s time. If this thing isn¡¯t settled, do you think we can get married with ease? Are you not afraid that either of us might suddenly die? She is still your sister-inw no matter what. If she doesn¡¯t agree to help us, get your parents to ask on our behalf. Go and ask your mother, and bring her with you.¡± ¡°Then you¡¯ll have toe along too,¡± Jin Qingyue replied grudgingly. ¡°Although I haven¡¯t interacted much with her, I still know her a bit. If the person in question doesn¡¯t ask her personally, she¡¯ll definitely not agree to it.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go with you.¡± Shi Shaochuan and Jin Qingyue made a trip to the old Jin residence. Jin Qingyue continued to beg her parents, and Mrs. Jin finally agreed to go along with them to get An Xiaoning¡¯s help. Jin Qingyan had gone to the office while An Xiaoning was resting at home. Seeing the three of them here, she knew at once what they hade for. ¡°Mother.¡± An Xiaoning went forward to greet her. ¡°Xiaoning, take a seat. Mother wants to talk to you about something.¡± She sat down opposite the three. Mrs. Jin hesitated for a moment and finally spoke. ¡°Did you see the news about the Shi family?¡± ¡°Oh that. Yes, I saw.¡± ¡°Well, you see, Qingyue is getting married with Shaochuan on the 18th. If this thing isn¡¯t settled, more people might die in the future. They came to the old residence to look for me to ask me to get a favor from you. Will you be able to settle this issue for them?¡± Pursing her lips, An Xiaoning replied, ¡°Mother, I just saw the news and I can still remember Mr. Shi¡¯s words clearly. He said his parents¡¯ and grandmother¡¯s deaths are not a coincidence, but he doesn¡¯t believe in anything that isn¡¯t backed by scientific proof. Why is it that the next moment, hees finding you to get me to solve this matter? Mother, you¡¯re unaware of this ¡ª he previously did a ritual for Wang Fangfang, hoping that she¡¯ll never be able to reincarnate for eternity and for her soul to be ripped into pieces. He¡¯s such a disloyal and unrepentant person, so why should I help him? Moreover, he¡¯s someone that I never want to see. I was kicked out by him when I was the one helping him, now I¡¯m awakened. I don¡¯t want to have anything to do with his matters.¡± Mrs. Jin¡¯s face went pale upon hearing An Xiaoning¡¯s words. She turned and looked at Jin Qingyue. ¡°Did you hear your sister-inw? Why are you so obsessed with a man like him, are there no other men left in this world?¡± Shi Shaochuan¡¯s expression had turned ghastly, but he tried to control his own emotions. The words he once said could no longer be taken back, so he could only look at An Xiaoning and utter a few words grudgingly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± An Xiaoning stared at him, feeling incredulous. ¡°Am I the person you should be apologizing to? Shouldn¡¯t it be the one who you yed with and killed with your own hands?¡± ¡°As long as this matter can be settled, I¡¯m willing to go to her grave to get her forgiveness.¡± During that moment, his tone was neither harsh nor arrogant. An Xiaoning sized him up. ¡°Ask for forgiveness? Do you intend tomit suicide in front of her grave?¡± Jin Qingyue could no longer listen on. ¡°Sister-inw, Shaochuan has already apologized to you and is willing to ask for forgiveness, why are you still being so hard on him?¡± ¡°Being hard on him?¡± An Xiaoning stood up and looked directly into Jin Qingyue¡¯s eyes. ¡°A pile of shit like this, only you seem to find it delicious. I can¡¯t be bothered if you want to have a rtionship with him, but please don¡¯t force your values on others. I¡¯m not the merciful Bodhisattva, a mere insincere apology won¡¯t make me change my mind.¡± ¡°Look... Mother, look at Sister-inw, she¡¯s too much!¡± Jin Qingyue eximed furiously. Mrs. Jin red at her. ¡°Can you me your sister-inw for that?¡± She stood up and was about to leave. ¡°Mother, are you leaving?¡± ¡°Of course. I¡¯ve already brought the two of you here and helped you ask a favor. The rest is not up to me but your sister-inw. She can decide if she wants to help, I can¡¯t force it.¡± Mrs. Jin suddenly thought that this could be a chance for them not to get married, which she felt was actually pretty good. Watching her daughter jump into a fiery pit simply made her heart ache terribly. Only Shi Shaochuan and Jin Qingyue were left in the living room. The two exchanged nces and Jin Qingyue remarked, ¡°I knew my sister-inw wouldn¡¯t be easy to persuade. What now?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go and beg her.¡± He stood up and was about to head towards the staircase, but Jin Qingyue pulled him back. ¡°If you dare to go to my sister-inw¡¯s bedroom, my brother will kill you when he gets back. Don¡¯t forget, you were my sister-inw¡¯s ex-husband. We should sit and wait here to show our sincerity.¡± And so, the two continued to sit on the living room sofa to wait for An Xiaoning toe back downstairs. They waited until Jin Qingyan had returned home. Seeing the two sitting there like two blocks of wood, Jin Qingyan changed his shoes and headed upstairs,pletely ignoring them. ¡°Brother, get Sister-inw toe down.¡± Jin Qingyan acted like he didn¡¯t hear her and continued walking up the stairs to the second floor. When he opened the bedroom door, he discovered that An Xiaoning was practicing yoga on the yoga mat. He went forward and sat down beside her, asking, ¡°Are you really washing your hands off of this matter?¡± An Xiaoning took a deep breath and sat there, replying calmly, ¡°Calm down, there¡¯s no hurry.¡± Jin Qingyan grinned from ear to ear. ¡°You¡¯re not in a hurry, but someone¡¯s going crazy.¡± ¡°Then let him be, I don¡¯t even want to see him at all. He¡¯s not truly repentant.¡± Chapter 156 - I’ll Do as You Say

Chapter 156: I¡¯ll Do as You Say

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shi Shaochuan and Jin Qingyue continued to wait until nighttime, even though An Xiaoning was yet to show up. ¡°Shaochuan, let¡¯s head back, we can¡¯t just keep waiting here. She¡¯s not the only one who knows how to perform such rituals anyway, we can just look for someone else,¡± said an enraged Jin Qingyue, thinking that An Xiaoning was avoiding them on purpose. ¡°What if it doesn¡¯t work again like the previous time?¡± Shi Shaochuan answered. ¡°What do we do, then?¡± asked Jin Qingyue, getting a little anxious and impatient. ¡°Go upstairs and tell her that I¡¯m sincere in having a discussion with her and that I¡¯ll do everything she says.¡± Jin Qingyue proceeded to do as he instructed, though she was unsure if it would work or not. ¡°Got it, I¡¯ll go down in a bit,¡± An Xiaoning answered. Jin Qingyue then headed downstairs to wait for her. An Xiaoning put on a pair of thick, ck-colored leggings partnered with a long feathered coat, which ended at her calf, and headed downstairs after filling her pockets with some necessities. Upon seeing her arrival, Shi Shaochuan said, ¡°Just tell me everything you¡¯d like for me to do. I¡¯ll proceed ording to your instructions, will that do?¡± ¡°Firstly, you¡¯ll have to truly feel remorseful from within, for everything you¡¯ve done to her. I can¡¯t sense that you¡¯re feeling guilty or remorseful though,¡± said An Xiaoning as she red at him. ¡°I truly regret what I¡¯ve done. If it weren¡¯t for me, none of this would¡¯ve happened. Things have alreadye to this, can¡¯t you tell I¡¯m really feeling guilty and regretful?¡± An Xiaoning did not bother arguing with him and said instead, ¡°I can help you with this matter, but on one condition. If you fail to promise me that, I won¡¯t be able to proceed with it.¡± ¡°Speak your mind. I¡¯ll do whatever you say as long as it¡¯s within my means,¡± Shi Shaochuan agreed eagerly. ¡°Oh... it¡¯s definitely within your means. Firstly, you¡¯ll have to go with me to Wang Fangfang¡¯s grave and get down on your knees to beg for her forgiveness. Secondly, haven¡¯t I mentioned that I¡¯m no saint? Shi Shaochuan, I won¡¯t be helping you for free. Even Gu Beicheng would have to pay me, so would my husband, let alone you. I¡¯m asking for this much. I¡¯ll go tonight if you agree. Otherwise, please see yourself out,¡± An Xiaoning scoffed, sticking out all her fingers. ¡°Five million dors? I¡¯ll give it to you,¡± Shi Shaochuan agreed, for money did not matter to him anymore at this point. Needless to say, An Xiaoning would never give up such a rare opportunity to exploit and get back at him. At the thought of the mistreatment and humiliation she had endured during the two years of their marriage, An Xiaoning let out a sly smile and corrected him, ¡°50 million dors.¡± Jin Qingyue¡¯s jaw dropped in shock. Shi Shaochuan was dumbfounded while Jin Qingyan felt a sudden urge to interrupt as he stood by the stairs. ¡°Sister-inw, that¡¯s daylight robbery! 50 million dors!?!¡± Jin Qingyue eximed in astonishment. ¡°Sister-inw, I¡¯ve already given you a discount by offering the price of 50 million dors. I won¡¯t force you if you¡¯re not willing to go ahead with it. The ritual can only be performed if you¡¯re genuinely keen on it. Consider it carefully,¡± An Xiaoning answered calmly as she turned around in a bid to head upstairs. ¡°Wait a minute! I¡¯ll do as you instruct and I¡¯ll transfer the money to your bank ountter on, please perform the ritual tonight,¡± Shi Shaochuan yelled for her to stop in her tracks. ¡°Alright, go get the money transferred, I¡¯ll wait for you here.¡± After watching Shi Shaochuan and Jin Qingyue leave, An Xiaoning proceeded to call Ma Jianguo. ¡°Where are you?¡± ¡°The police station.¡± ¡°Work overtime for me today, I¡¯ll pay for the extra hours. Bring Zu Dong and Gong Le along too.¡± ¡°Team Leader, how much are you going to pay us?¡± Ma Jianguo asked excitedly. ¡°500 for each of you, are you up for it?¡± Ma Jianguo was stunned at how much she was willing to offer and thus agreed immediately, ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll bring them to go look for you right away.¡± ¡°Hurry.¡± An Xiaoning ended the call and turned around to make eye contact with a pair of eyes that seemed to be hinting at something. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t seen it for myself, I would¡¯ve never believed how shrewd of a businesswoman my wife is. You¡¯re almost as capable as I am.¡± ¡°Of course I won¡¯t go easy on Shi Shaochuan. But in hindsight, I was the one who had agreed to let Wang Fangfang move in with the Shi family back then. None of these would¡¯ve happened if I¡¯d insisted on objecting to the idea. Now that I think of it, I¡¯m partly to me for this matter. Oh well, since she¡¯s already dead, the least I could do now is to send her away peacefully,¡± said An Xiaoning. Jin Qingyan stepped forward to pull her into an embrace. ¡°Xiaoning, I¡¯m starting to look at you with a new level of respect. You¡¯re just like a gift that has been wrapped inyers of wrapping paper ¡ª I get a bit more excited and surprised with eachyer I remove.¡± ¡°Let go of me, quick, I have to get ready. But seriously speaking, would you like toe along for an eyeopener, since you don¡¯t have much to do anyway?¡± Jin Qingyan found her suggestion to be not too bad of an idea ¡ª there was no harm in having a look, with her around. ¡°Sure.¡± Ten minutester, Ma Jianguo arrived at An Xiaoning¡¯s house, along with Zu Dong and Gong Le. Handing Ma Jianguo a small stic box, An Xiaoning instructed, ¡°ce this in the boot of the car.¡± ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°Dog blood.¡± Taken aback by her answer, Ma Jianguo asked, ¡°Team Leader, you¡¯re headed to...¡± ¡°Wang Fangfang¡¯s grave.¡± Ma Jianguo was momentarily stunned beyond words as he turned around to ce the box into the boot slowly. ¡°Can I back out now?¡± he asked in fear, his legs turning into jelly. ¡°It¡¯s not like you¡¯re going alone. You¡¯re a man, why are you so much more timid than a woman?¡± An Xiaoning mocked, after which she continued to prepare the necessary materials. In order to save himself some pride, Ma Jianguo stopped speaking instantly. An Xiaoning proceeded to get on the car upon receiving a notification from the bank, informing her that the 50 million dors had been sessfully transferred to her bank ount. Shi Shaochuan and Jin Qingyue also arrived 20 minutester. The group then made their way towards the graveyard, in the police car. An Xiaoning remained silent in the car with her eyes closed, while leaning against Jin Qingyan¡¯s shoulder. Unfortunately, it began to pour in the midst of their journey. The weather was not in their favor. It was still raining cats and dogs even when they arrived at the vige entrance. An Xiaoning waited in the car for the rain to stop before alighting. The rain finally began to dissipate after pouring heavily for an hour. ording to An Xiaoning¡¯s instructions, Jin Qingyan ordered for someone to bring over some raincoats, umbres, and rubber boots. Everyone else then waited anxiously in the car. They had no choice but to wait patiently for the rainy-day attires to arrive before they could alight from the car. In a blink of an eye, it was already 10 o¡¯clock in the evening. Fortunately, the heavy rain had subsided into a tiny drizzle by the time they alighted. The vast sky had turned pitch ck. Everyone had put on a raincoat and a pair of rubber boots each, a torchlight in hand, while An Xiaoning held on to an umbre. Ma Jianguo and his colleagues were in charge of carrying the various items required, while Shi Shaochuan carried a small, foldable table. Feeling spooked and worried, Jin Qingyue grabbed Shi Shaochuan¡¯s arm tightly as they made their way across the muddy field. The group began walking towards Wang Fangfang¡¯s grave in a single file. A few minutester, An Xiaoning stopped in her tracks and stared at the tombstone before her. She then turned towards Gong Le and instructed, ¡°Shine themp on this.¡± Chapter 157 - Picking Her Up in His Arms

Chapter 157: Picking Her Up in His Arms

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shi Shaochuan ced the table onto the ground while An Xiaoning handed Zu Dong the umbre. ¡°Open this and hold it.¡± Zu Dong opened the umbre and hovered it over the table. Squatting down on the ground, An Xiaoning sorted the fruits on the table ordingly and ced a joss stick in the incense burner, which she set in the middle of the table. She then proceeded to pour the dog blood around Wang Fangfang¡¯s grave, after which she red at Shi Shaochuan and instructed, ¡°Get down on your knees.¡± ¡°But there¡¯s mud on the ground.¡± ¡°Would you like me to bring you a mat instead? Hurry!¡± An Xiaoning snapped, ring at him sternly. Shi Shaochuan kneeled on the ground immediately while An Xiaoning lit up the joss stick with a lighter. ¡°Fangfang, I¡¯ve brought him here to beg for your forgiveness. He has indeed hurt you and killed his child, whom you were carrying. But, if revenge breeds revenge, there¡¯ll be no end to it all. Fangfang, it¡¯s time to let go of the past, don¡¯t go on anymore,¡± said An Xiaoning. As soon as An Xiaoning finished speaking, a screeching female voice all of a sudden began crooning to a song aimed at ridiculing men. Her voice was brimming with mncholy, sad yet poignant in a sense. An Xiaoning turned to look at Jin Qingyan, who stood rooted to the ground, not moving an inch at all. However, he did not seem in the least bit surprised or terrified, perhaps because he had already prepared himself mentally beforehand. On the other hand, Shi Shaochuan was driven into hysterics and began kowtowing profusely, before bursting into tears. Wailing in agony, he admitted his mistakes and continuously pleaded for Wang Fangfang to let him off. Jin Qingyue almost lost her bnce and fell to the ground in astonishment of the scene before her, but luckily, Ma Jianguo had held onto her. ¡°Cousin, the hatred I have for him will never be resolved even if he dies. I¡¯m not leaving, I¡¯ll only be appeased when I see him die a painful death. Hahahaha, Shaochuan, do you still remember when you hired someone to have my soul destroyed and ensure that I¡¯ll never get to reincarnate? Don¡¯t think I¡¯ll go easy on you just because you¡¯re shedding crocodile tears now. I¡¯ll make you pay for all the misdeeds you have done to me!¡± There was a strong desire for vengeance in her tone. ¡°Since you¡¯re bent on taking revenge, why don¡¯t you just take it all out on him? Wouldn¡¯t that settle everything once and for all? Do you think it¡¯ll cause him more torment and suffering, killing all his family members? Fangfang, you¡¯re only going to umte more sins by doing that. Just put an end to it and stop harming these innocent people. The person you resent is right here, kneeling down before your grave.¡± Unable to contain her emotions, Jin Qingyue hollered in exasperation, ¡°Sister-inw, what are you saying!¡± An Xiaoning ignored her and continued, ¡°Fangfang, so what if you killed everyone? You¡¯re not going toe back to life. You¡¯ll just be a vicious murderer like him.¡± ¡°That¡¯s none of your business! Shi Shaochuan! Take my word for it, the next one in line will be Jin Qingyue. I¡¯ll kill every woman you get together with in the future, just you wait and see. I¡¯m going to make sure you live the rest of your life alone!¡± warned Wang Fangfang. Jin Qingyue¡¯s legs turned into jelly upon hearing Wang Fangfang¡¯s threat. With fear written all over her face, she frantically urged An Xiaoning, ¡°Sister-inw, send her away. You must send her away at all costs.¡± ¡°Hush,¡± said An Xiaoning, shooting Jin Qingyue a nce. Clenching her fists in a bid to suppress her anger, An Xiaoning continued, ¡°Fangfang, I¡¯ve brought some clothes, money, and food that I¡¯ll be burning as an offering to youter. If you¡¯re still insistent on staying, then I¡¯ll have no choice but to resort to brutal means to send you away. I¡¯ll give you a minute to decide.¡± ¡°Cousin, you really think you¡¯ve got what it takes to send me away?¡± Wang Fangfang scoffed nonchntly. ¡°Seems like you¡¯ve underestimated me. I¡¯m giving you a minute, your time starts now,¡± An Xiaoning said confidently, having already prepared herself beforehand, for she knew that Wang Fangfang would not leave out of her own ord. The incense was depleting faster than she had imagined. She looked at Wang Fangfang and said, ¡°Consider it carefully.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have to consider, I¡¯m not leaving!¡± ¡°Alright, then.¡± An Xiaoning retrieved an amulet from the pocket of her feathered coat and began chanting a spell speedily. Shortly after, the amulet began drifting towards the grave and rotated continuously while hovering atop it. ¡°Ah!!!¡± Wang Fangfang let out a shriek as her voice began to fade away. An Xiaoning then doused the clothes and joss money in kerosene, before setting them on fire with the lighter. She then proceeded to burn the fruits and food as an offering. An Xiaoning felt a sense of relief as she watched the items go up in mes. She then shifted her gaze onto Shi Shaochuan, who was kneeling beside. ¡°Your grandfather would be devastated if he were to find out that you had caused all these troubles. Everything is settled now, I don¡¯t wish to see anything like that happen again. You¡¯d better treat Sister-inw well, don¡¯t let her suffer the same fate as Wang Fangfang,¡± An Xiaoning hissed, giving him a tight p across his face as soon as he stood up. Jin Qingyue had initially felt infuriated at the sight of An Xiaoning pping Shi Shaochuan. However, she fell silent upon hearing the rest of An Xiaoning¡¯s words. An Xiaoning then turned around and gave out further instructions, ¡°Inspector Ma, Zu Dong, Gong Le, please tidy up the items and bring them back to the police car.¡± ¡°Got it,¡± they answered in unison. Just as An Xiaoning was about to begin walking, Jin Qingyan grabbed her shoulders and picked her up into his arms, catching her by surprise. Looking up at his glittery eyes, she felt safe and secure in his embrace. ¡°Son, I realized you haven¡¯t been contacting Mingxi ever since we met her at the restaurant the other day. You ought to contact her more,¡± said Mrs. Long. ¡°I¡¯m not interested in her. I don¡¯t think she¡¯s suitable for me, so I stopped contacting her. Mother, you and Father may stop introducing me to prospective partners,¡± Long Tianze said with a sheepish smile. ¡°You¡¯ve gotten yourself a girlfriend?¡± Mrs. Long asked inquisitively. ¡°Yes... she¡¯s four years younger than I am.¡± ¡°Which wealthy man¡¯s daughter is she?¡± Upon seeing her son¡¯s reaction to her question, Mrs. Long began to specte that his girlfriend must have a poor family background. ¡°Her parents are average citizens. Besides, Mother, have you any idea how hardworking and ambitious she is? Her father stays at home to look after her mother, who had be bedridden due to an unfortunate car ident, while she goes out to work to provide for her parents and younger sister. She¡¯s a strong-willed and independent girl. She¡¯s also very filial, so you, Mother, won¡¯t have to worry about conflict arising between you two in the future...¡± Before he could even finish speaking, Mrs. Long interrupted in a moment of pique, ¡°No way! You¡¯re from a wealthy family. You might be dating her, but you can¡¯t ignore her family either. She¡¯s definitely going to be a burden on your shoulders should you marry her in the future ¡ª how troublesome is that? Besides, it¡¯s going to be really embarrassing when others find out how poor she is. I¡¯m objecting to your rtionship with a girl like her. She can¡¯t hold a candle to Mingxi at all, just what do you see in her?¡± Long Tianze had initially thought his mother would be moved by Mei Yangyang¡¯s determination and filial piety. Not expecting his mother to throw the baby out with the bathwater, Long Tianze was utterly disappointed upon hearing her strong words of disapproval. ¡°I was the one who started wooing her first. I had a hard time making her my girlfriend. I adore her and I¡¯m dating no one else but her. Mother, how could you be so prejudiced!?!¡± Chapter 158 - Her Life Lies in Your Hands (1)

Chapter 158: Her Life Lies in Your Hands (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Tianze, what good can dating a girl like her do for you? You ought to find a wife whose family background matches ours and can aid you in your career. Otherwise, you¡¯ll definitely face a ton of problems in the future.¡± Completely disregarding his mother¡¯s words, Long Tianze brushed her off. ¡°Mother, I have something to attend to, I¡¯ll get going now.¡± ¡°Tianze!¡± He then stood up and stormed off in a huff. ¡°Go check up on who Tianze¡¯s dating. I want all the information you can get about her,¡± Mrs. Long hurriedly instructed the butler. ¡°Young Sir has a girlfriend now?¡± ¡°Cut the crap, hurry up and go, quick,¡± Mrs. Long urged. ¡°Yes, Madam.¡± Long Tianze then embarked on a journey towards the clothing store in his car. He whipped out a cigarette and took a puff after lighting it up. Having arrived at the entrance, he sent Mei Yangyang a text message to inform her of his arrival. Soon after, Mei Yangyang appeared at the entrance and hurried towards him after peeking outside. She quickly got into the passenger seat. cing the hand he was holding the cigarette with outside of the window, he reached into his pocket to retrieve a bunch of keys and handed it to her. ¡°Here,¡± he said with a smile. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± asked Mei Yangyang as she took a look at the keys and grabbed it from his hands. ¡°The keys to the apartment in Shui Lou Estate.¡± What did he mean by giving her the keys to his house... ¡°Why are you giving them to me?¡± said Mei Yangyang, asking the obvious. ¡°To give you free ess as and when you¡¯d like, of course. I want to be able to enjoy the delicious meals you prepare when Ie home, every day,¡± Long Tianze answered, holding her tiny hands in his. Mei Yangyang¡¯s heart began to flutter upon hearing his answer. Just as she was about to speak up, he let go of her hand and took out a bank card from his wallet. ¡°Here¡¯s some money for our future household expenses. I¡¯ll be transferring some money to this ount every month. I¡¯ll be in charge of paying for the expenses and washing the dishes, while you take care of our meals. How does that sound?¡± ¡°Sure, but I won¡¯t be responsible if you get food poisoning,¡± she said candidly, grabbing the card. ¡°I would dly let you poison me,¡± Long Tianze said, chuckling. ¡°You... you¡¯ve gotten such a glib tongue,¡± she said, ncing at him. ¡°I¡¯m more than willing.¡± She pushed the car door open and bade him goodbye. ¡°I¡¯lle home to fix us dinner after work. There are still customers I have to attend to, I¡¯ll get going.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± An Xiaoning tried on the hat Mrs. Jin had knitted for her. She was in high spirits as she recalled earning 50 million dors the night before, which made her a millionaire. She had nned to spend her few days¡¯ break from cracking cases resting at home. However, Shi Shaochuan had invited the entire family for lunch at a five-star hotel that afternoon. An Xiaoning was reluctant to attend the luncheon, not knowing what Shi Shaochuan had up his sleeve this time. However, Jin Qingyue called her multiple times to urge her to show up, iming that everyone, including old Mrs. Jin, would be present. She had no choice but to give in, for it would be rather rude and disrespectful of her to not turn up. Thus, she proceeded to doll herself up and made her way towards the hotel along with some bodyguards. Shi Shaochuan intentionally avoided booking a table at the hotel owned by the Jin family and picked another prestigious one instead. Together with the bodyguards she had brought along, An Xiaoning boarded the elevator and arrived at the dining room on the sixth storey. She opened the door to see that everyone was already present and waiting for her to arrive. ¡°My apologies, I¡¯mte.¡± Upon seeing that An Xiaoning was wearing the hat she had knitted for her, the ted Mrs. Jin said smilingly, ¡°It¡¯s alright, no worries. Ah, the hat looks beautiful on you, An Xiaoning.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯ve done a great job at knitting, Mother. It looks much better than the ones they sell in stores,¡± An Xiaoning answered as she sat down beside Jin Qingyan. ¡°Qingyan, look how glib of a tongue your wife has. I¡¯m really starting to adore Xiaoning more and more. Seems like your Mother and I have great taste ¡ª you wouldn¡¯t have gotten yourself such an amazing wife if we hadn¡¯t urged you two to get married back then,¡± said old Mrs. Jin, grinning from ear to ear. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s all thanks to your great foresight, Grandma,¡± Jin Qingyan agreed. Old Mrs. Jin could not stop smiling. Shi Shaochuan poured everyone a ss of wine each before rising from his seat to take a bow. ¡°I would firstly like to thank Sister-inw for helping me ovee this ordeal my family had been faced with. Qingyue and I are getting married soon. I hereby promise each and every one of you that I¡¯ll treat her well and bring her bliss.¡± ¡°Of course you have to treat her well, but the most important thing is that you have to stop your promiscuous ways. We¡¯ll be a family once you two get married, I don¡¯t wish to see any scandals involving you on the news. I hope you¡¯ll remember the promise you made today and be good to Qingyue,¡± Mrs. Jin said sternly, skeptical of his words. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll bear your words in mind.¡± Jin Qingyue was not in the least bit affected by the deaths of Shi Shaochuan¡¯s parents and grandmother. In fact, she was rather happy with the way things had turned out, for she would be the mistress of the Shi family once they got married. She would be the only person calling the shots, other than Shi Shaochuan, now that there were no longer any elders around. Thus, she was in a pretty good mood during the luncheon. Although she was genuinely grateful towards An Xiaoning for resolving the matter, Jin Qingyue could not help but feel the pinch at the thought of the 50 million dors Shi Shaochuan had transferred to An Xiaoning. After downing a few sses of wine, An Xiaoning began to feel strangely uneasy as her face flushed red. Unable to contain her happiness, Jin Qingyue had a tad bit too much to drink and ended up having to visit the washroom before lunch was even over. She stood up and began swaying from side to side, unable to get a steady gait. ¡°Xiaoning, give her a hand, lest she passes out in the washroom,¡± Mrs. Jin instructed,ughing at the amusing sight of her daughter. ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning rose from her seat to help Jin Qingyue to the washroom while the bodyguards, who were standing outside, followed closely behind. However, they remained outside the washroom instead, since it would not be appropriate for them to enter the Ladies¡¯. ¡°Sister-inw, thank you so much for your help. But aren¡¯t you being a little too wicked? After all, he¡¯s... he¡¯s still your future brother-inw. It wouldn¡¯t hurt to lend him a helping hand. Why did you have to ask for so much money in return... does my brother not give you enough to spend?¡± Jin Qingyue murmured in a drunken stupor, chuckling with her eyes ssed over. An Xiaoning opened the door of a cubicle and said, ¡°Hurry, go answer nature¡¯s call.¡± ¡°Answer me, does my brother not give you any money to spend?¡± ¡°He does give me enough, of course. I¡¯m earning my own money as well. But those have nothing to do with this matter, even your brother had to pay me for reading your fortune, let alone Brother-inw. Are you feeling the pinch now? I did allow you to consider before paying me, so don¡¯t regret it now since you¡¯ve already agreed willingly,¡± said An Xiaoning, not wishing to discuss the matter any further. Besides, it was merely a fair transaction between two willing parties. However, An Xiaoning began to feel the strange feeling of anxiety again, as soon as she ended her sentence. Clutching her chest, she began to find it difficult to breathe and hurriedly urged Jin Qingyue, ¡°Are you done? Hurry up.¡± ¡°I¡¯m done, stop rushing me.¡± At this very moment, An Xiaoning noticed two men, who were d in bvas, approaching them upon entering the washroom. An Xiaoning¡¯s stomach twisted into a knot as she frantically moved backwards. The two masked men then snatched her mobile phone away from her before she could even manage to call for help. As soon as she managed to speak up, one of the two men took out a watering can and began sshing some liquid at her. An Xiaoning could only feel herself passing out slowly as her legs turned to jelly, having no chance to struggle at all. Drunk out of her senses, Jin Qingyue pushed the door of the cubicle open, only to see a blurry figure standing in front of her. Before she could even take a clearer look, she was subjected to the same fate as An Xiaoning and slipped into unconsciousness. Chapter 159 - Her Life Lies in Your Hands (2)

Chapter 159: Her Life Lies in Your Hands (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Upon seeing the two bodyguards passed out outside the washroom, a female patron let out a shriek in horror and hurriedly looked for the hotel service staff. The service staff informed the hotel manager of the matter immediately. The other bodyguards recognized their colleagues right away before the manager had even called the police. The rest of the Jin family and Shi Shaochuan were not bothered by themotion going on outside and continued with their meal. It was not until the other bodyguards had barged in to inform them of the incident that they realized something disastrous had happened! Jin Qingyan sprinted towards the washroom immediately, only to see that there was not a single soul in sight. He then demanded to watch the footage of the surveince cameras. However, to his dismay, the surveince cameras outside the washroom had been destroyed beyond ruins. Shi Shaochuan was utterly ashamed to see that the luncheon he had organized had ended up bing a catastrophic event. However, what matters more at this point of time was to find out who had abducted An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyue. ¡°Jin Qingyan, should we call the police? Call the police now,¡± Mrs. Jin eximed frantically. ¡°Mother, there¡¯s no use in calling the police now. Even if we make a police report, Xiaoning and Qingyue may not survive and the mastermind will at most lose two assassins. I am their target. Let¡¯s head home first, I reckon they will definitely contact me soon,¡± said Jin Qingyue, feeling like a million daggers had pierced through his heart as he took the me on himself for failing to protect his wife and sister. As soon as they arrived back at the old Mansion, he received a text message on his mobile phone. It read: ¡°You should know the consequences of calling the police. Don¡¯t bother tracking our location, our boss isn¡¯t short of hitmen. Just wait patiently for the next piece of news.¡± Mr. and Mrs. Jin were devastated upon reading the message. ¡°What are we supposed to do now?¡± Mrs. Jin cried. Jin Qingyan replied: ¡°Tell me straight, what is it you¡¯re after? Stop beating about the bush.¡± However, he did not receive any more replies afterwards. They did not manage to keep the word from spreading, and thus, news of the incident soon made the headlines. News of An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyue being abducted was indeed breaking and came across as a huge shock to many. Upon hearing the news, Mei Yangyang hurriedly gave An Xiaoning a call, but to no avail. She then proceeded to call Long Tianze, only to hear that the news was indeed true. A million questions began to flood her mind. Who could¡¯ve abducted her in broad daylight? Why did they take Sis Xiaoning away? She could not figure out the answers to her questions. Not in the mood to continue tending to the store, Mei Yangyang decided to make her way to the Jin family mansion together with Long Tianze. As soon as they arrived, they were surrounded by a bunch of reporters. Refusing to answer any of their questions, Long Tianze took her hand in his and entered the mansion. They stepped inside, only to find that the living room was filled with people, including members of the Jin and Gu family. Mei Yangyang grabbed onto Long Tianze¡¯s hand as tears began to well up in her eyes. ¡°Since you¡¯ve already known earlier that someone is nning to harm you, why didn¡¯t you tighten your security and bring along more bodyguards? It¡¯s your fault to have allowed the mastermind a chance to abduct them!¡± Gu Beicheng hollered as he grew into an uncontroble rage, almostying a hand on him. ¡°Are you done? I¡¯ve already said this before, I¡¯m their main target, not Xiaoning and Qingyue. They¡¯re doing this to get my attention. So, let¡¯s just wait for further news,¡± said Jin Qingyan, trying his best to suppress his emotions. ¡°Is that all we can do? Sit back and wait? Wouldn¡¯t we be put at a disadvantage that way?¡± Gu Beicheng questioned agitatedly. ¡°We can¡¯t afford to take the risk in such a dangerous situation. You have to understand, it¡¯s a piece of cake for them to take their lives ¡ª they can kill them within minutes. We don¡¯t have a say in this matter. So, we can only wait patiently for now,¡± Jin Qingyan exined, overwhelmed with torment. His mind was nk and all he could think about was An Xiaoning. He would never forgive himself should anything happen to her. All of a sudden, Jin Qingyan recalled that they had gotten married on the 26th of September. It had only been less than 6 months, yet he seemed to have already fallen for herpletely before he even realized. He could not remember when she had begun mattering so much to him. He suddenly realized that he could not go on with his life without her. An Xiaoning came to, only to realize that she was blindfolded. She began shaking her head vigorously in a bid to shake the blindfold off and finally seeded after multiple attempts. She tried to move, but to no avail, as her limbs were shackled to chains. In theplete darkness of the room, An Xiaoning vaguely noticed that there was someone next to her. Squinting her eyes to have a clearer look, she realized that it was Jin Qingyue. An Xiaoning fell into a state of despair upon recalling the moment she had passed out. She absolutely detested the feeling of being restrained. If I could make it out alive, I would definitely take up wrestling sses, no matter how expensive they may be. Money is nothingpared to my safety , she thought to herself. But then again, what were the chances of making it out alive when she¡¯s stuck in such a hopeless situation? Her previous dream had proven itself to be a premonition. Perhaps, one would realize things only at the brink of death. Feeling a sudden urge to answer nature¡¯s call, An Xiaoning yelled for help but did not get a response. Her dder was so full it was about to burst. She had no choice but to endure it while pressing her legs together. However, she could only endure for so long. Not wanting to settle her business there and then, she continued to yell for help. Finally, she heard a sound, after which the lights were turned on. An Xiaoning squinted at the man dressed in ck, going down the stairs, not too far away. He had a bva covering his face, leaving only his eyes exposed. He stepped forward and removed her blindfold, released her from the chains, and put her in handcuffs, before bringing her to the washroom. Just as she had pulled her pants up after answering nature¡¯s call, the man quickly barged in to pull her back to the holding room. ¡°Who are you? What are you trying to do? Why did you abduct me?¡± An Xiaoning asked despite having already guessed the answer, more or less. ring at her, the man answered coldly, ¡°You don¡¯t have to know who we are. You¡¯ll know why we took you away, in no time. We abducted you for a reason, of course.¡± Just as he was about to leave, a sudden stench of urine wafted up to his nose, causing him to be taken aback. An Xiaoning looked over to see that it was Jin Qingyue who had urinated on the spot as soon as she woke up, for she could not hold it in any longer. The pool of urine began flowing towards her slowly. Without hesitation, the man stepped forward to remove Jin Qingyue¡¯s blindfold and gave her two tight ps across her face, causing her to instantly snap out of her daze. More awake than ever, Jin Qingyue¡¯s lips trembled with fear upon the realization of what was going on. The man did not clean up after the mess but instead walked away and turned off the lights. ¡°Sister-inw, where are we?¡± asked a terrified Jin Qingyue. ¡°How would I know? There¡¯s no way we can escape at this point, we can only wait for further news,¡± An Xiaoning said calmly, clearly the more rational one between the two. ¡°Will Brother manage to save us? They can¡¯t be nning to kill us, can they?¡± Jin Qingyue asked worriedly, on the verge of tears. ¡°It won¡¯t be that easy for him to save us, especially since we are now hostages. There¡¯ll be hope as long as we live on,¡± answered An Xiaoning. Chapter 160 - Her Life Lies in Your Hands (3)

Chapter 160: Her Life Lies in Your Hands (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I¡¯m so scared, what if we end up dying here? I don¡¯t want to die here.¡± Jin Qingyue burst into tears, which streamed down her face uncontrobly like a tap. An Xiaoning¡¯s mind was in such a turmoil that she could not think straight. To make matters worse, she had to suffer the stench of urine and tolerate Jin Qingyue¡¯s constant wailing. They struggled to survive as time crawled by, with each passing minute feeling like an hour of endless torment. They continued to hope for a chance to escape, without any idea of what awaited them. Having borne a strong hatred towards An Xiaoning since forever, Chi Rui¡¯er was over the moon upon receiving the news of her abduction. Someone had already dealt with An Xiaoning before she had to. It seemed to her that An Xiaoning had offended too many people. However, she was unsure why Jin Qingyue was taken away too. Just as she was celebrating the good news, Gu Dongcheng entered. She quickly stopped smiling and pretended to be worried as she said frantically, ¡°I¡¯ve seen everything on the news, I can¡¯t believe such people actually exist. I wonder how Xiaoning is doing.¡± ¡°Nothing must happen to her. Our family is going to be doomed should anything happen,¡± Gu Dongcheng said with a sigh as heid onto the bed. ¡°You guys and Jin Qingyan are rivals in business. Does her existence really matter? I¡¯ve always been curious about this, actually. Why did your family acknowledge her as one of you? Her name is even included in your family historical record, and your address is also registered as her home in her registry ount. Why is that so?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er asked. Not wishing to reveal much, Gu Dongcheng answered, ¡°For a very important reason, of course. She¡¯s someone who matters a lot to our family.¡± ¡°Hey, feed my curiosity. I¡¯d really like to know the reason,¡± she urged, cozying up to him. ¡°My grandfather mentioned while he was still alive that she could save our family in the future,¡± Gu Dongcheng exined briefly. ¡°Save your family? Are you kidding me? I reckon she can¡¯t even save herself, can she? Your grandfather must¡¯ve been manipted and fooled by her tricks,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er scoffed. ¡°It¡¯s not like that. Don¡¯t jump to conclusions if you don¡¯t know anything about these,¡± Gu Dongcheng said sternly. Chi Rui¡¯er was not in the least bit convinced that An Xiaoning was capable of saving the Gu family. Besides, given their powerful status and wealth, why would they need the help of a small fry like An Xiaoning? Absolute ridiculousness! Or so she thought. ¡°Has there been any news from the abductors?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not an abductor, they¡¯re just hitmen hired by an anonymous person to kill Jin Qingyan. But, I reckon they must have a hidden agenda for taking Xiaoning and Jin Qingyue away,¡± said Gu Dongcheng. ¡°They¡¯re nning to kill Jin Qingyan?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er asked in astonishment. ¡°Yes. Didn¡¯t you see how many bodyguards Jin Qingyan had been bringing with him everywhere recently? He¡¯s been really stringent and uptight about tightening security, so much so that the hitmen have probably picked on an easier target, to begin with. We¡¯re not concerned about Jin Qingyue, we just need An Xiaoning to stay alive,¡± Gu Dongcheng answered as his head began to ache. ¡°You may not care, but the Jins will definitely be concerned. I¡¯m hungry, I¡¯m going to get something to eat,¡± said Chi Rui¡¯er, putting on her shoes. ¡°Didn¡¯t you mention over the phone just now that you¡¯ve just had your meal?¡± ¡°Yes, but I¡¯m hungry again,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er answered, turning around to grab a snack. Momentster, Chi Rui¡¯er returned with some snacks, a milk beverage, and some fruit. Upon seeing how much food she had brought, Gu Dongcheng remarked, ¡°Do you n on stuffing yourself silly, such that you¡¯ll be as fat as a pig?¡± ¡°Mind your words, I just think I was too skinny before, so I¡¯m trying to gain some weight. Wouldn¡¯t you enjoy touching me more if I get chubbier? I¡¯m sparing a thought for you!¡± Chi Rui¡¯er retorted, ring at him. Gu Dongcheng sat up straight and said in response, ¡°You¡¯re going to be obese at the rate you¡¯re eating, with no exercise at all. It¡¯s time you move about daily, it¡¯s not good for women to be too chubby. You¡¯ll risk suffering from hormonal imbnce.¡± ¡°You really know your stuff, eh? I have to eat more since I¡¯m in a great mood today,¡± said Chi Rui¡¯er, shoving a snack into her mouth. ¡°Do whatever you please.¡± He stood up and prepared to leave. ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°Out to handle some matters.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er lifted her clothes to peek at her growing baby bump. What she had to focus on doing now was to make Gu Dongcheng devote to herpletely and get married after. She had already begun hatching a n to get him to marry her. Having already bribed the doctors and nurses at the hospital, she was confident that she could execute her n seamlessly. The position of the Eldest Young Madam of the Gu Family was hers to keep! He received a new text message the day after. It read: ¡°Getting impatient, huh? Your wife and sister are right here in front of me. Jin Qingyan, pick one, their lives are in your hands. I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re going to have a hard time deciding. How about this, I¡¯ll give you a day to decide. If I still don¡¯t get an answer from you by tomorrow, then I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯ll be taking both their lives.¡± Jin Qingyan almost passed out upon reading the message. Choosing between the two of them... How was he supposed to decide? One was his wife, and the other, his sister. There was no way he coulde to a decision. Noticing how pale he looked, Mrs. Jin asked worriedly, ¡°Qingyan, what did they say?¡± Jin Qingyan did not answer and instead handed her his mobile phone. Mrs. Jin was dumbfounded upon reading the message. The mobile phone was passed to Gu Beicheng, who then said while staring at Jin Qingyan, ¡°We have to save Xiaoning first, no matter what.¡± Mrs. Jin could not help but protest, ¡°No! Didn¡¯t you see that we¡¯re only allowed to choose one? What¡¯s going to happen to Qingyue if we choose to save Xiaoning?¡± ¡°Who was the one whonded Xiaoning in such a plight?¡± Gu Beicheng scoffed. Jin Qingyan stood up immediately and snatched his phone back, after which he hurriedly replied with a text message, pleading for them to release An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyue in exchange for his life. Little did he expect that the hitmen would reply almost instantly with just one word: ¡°No.¡± Jin Qingyan knew immediately what they had up their sleeves ¡ª they had wanted him to suffer the torment of being torn between saving his wife and his sister. ¡°Young Sir, I¡¯ve found the location of the ce they¡¯re hiding them,¡± said Fan Shixin as he entered through the door. As soon as he finished speaking, Jin Qingyan received yet another message. ¡°You¡¯d better watch out the next time your menes near us. Don¡¯t forget, we have your wife and sister.¡± ¡°Keep your distance from them, don¡¯t go too near,¡± Jin Qingyan instructed. ¡°Yes.¡± After a brief moment of silence that filled the air, Mrs. Gu began to speak, ¡°They demand an answer from us within 24 hours from now. How about we send some men to save them in secret tonight?¡± Furrowing his brows, Gu Beicheng said, ¡°Mother, that¡¯s impossible. They¡¯ll definitely be taking shifts to guard the ce.¡± ¡°What are we supposed to do then? No matter what it is, Xiaoning has to make it out alive,¡± said Mrs. Gu, her head aching in frustration. ¡°I¡¯d also like for Xiaoning to be able to escape unscathed, but we can¡¯t allow Qingyue to die too,¡± said Mrs. Jin. ¡°That¡¯s enough, stop arguing. We¡¯ll discuss this slowly. But of course, it¡¯d be best if both of them are safe and sound,¡± Mr. Jin interjected. Chapter 161 - Her Life Lies in Your Hands (4)

Chapter 161: Her Life Lies in Your Hands (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Clearly, there had to be a careful discussion beforeing to an appropriate decision. The Gu family was insistent on saving An Xiaoning, whereas the Jin family was bent on rescuing Jin Qingyue as well. It was a tough decision to make. The two families continued arguing over who to save but could still note to a consensus in the end. The matter continued to drag on as they found themselves stuck in a difficult dilemma. In fact, Jin Qingyan was in a dire state of turmoil. One was his wife, and the other, his sister. He would have to face the music either way, regardless of who he chooses to let live. He had never been put in such a difficult position before. This was the very first time in his life that he had ever experienced something like this. If he could pick, he would rather be the one who had been abducted than to have to choose between two of his dearest kin. He wished he could shred the two hitmen into pieces. He sat on the couch, staring nkly at the two families breaking into conflict before him. The argument began to get heated. From the looks of it, it would be a long time before they cut it out. Grabbing his phone with him, Jin Qingyan returned to his room and locked himself in, refusing to open the door no matter who it was. At this point, An Xiaoning finally began to realize how helpless she was. Jin Qingyan had also discovered how much An Xiaoning mattered to him. His mind was flooded with the memory of her ¡ª her sweet smile, her nk expression, the little tantrums she¡¯d throw, her sometimes willful self, her everpresent confidence, all of which were deeply etched in his mind. To the worry of Mrs. Jin, he had been locking himself up the entire day. At this point, An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyue were parched and starving beyond imagination. Thinking that it would be a hassle to have to bring them to the washroom every now and then, the hitmen decided not to allow them much to eat or drink. Freezing and famished, the two of themid helplessly on the ground, akin to cattle waiting to be ughtered. Jin Qingyue could not stop crying. After all, she was born with a golden spoon in her mouth and had never been subjected to such abuse all her life. She was petrified yet distraught at the plight she was in. God knows how long they had been being held in the basement, isted from the outside world. Red welts had formed on An Xiaoning¡¯s wrist due to her repeated struggle to free herself from the chains. However, her efforts were futile. She could not manage to break free at all. ¡°Sister-inw...¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I¡¯m freezing.¡± ¡°Me too, but there¡¯s nothing we can do, all we can do is just wait,¡± said An Xiaoning, staring at her though she could not quite see clearly in the darkness of the pitch-ck room. ¡°Why hasn¡¯t Brothere to save us?¡± Jin Qingyue whined, her voice turning hoarse from all the crying. ¡°Beats me.¡± All of a sudden, the door opened once again and they hurriedly kept quiet. The lights were switched on again as the two hitmen in ck began walking towards them. They stood beside Jin Qingyue and An Xiaoning, sandwiching them in the middle as they red down at them from above. An Xiaoning stared at them with a straight face while remaining silent. ¡°Your husband will be giving us an answer tomorrow. We¡¯ll know then if he decides to save you or his sister. Would you like to know his choice?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± An Xiaoning asked, her stomach twisting into a knot. ¡°An intelligent woman like you should have understood what I meant,¡± he said with a sarcasticugh. He then red at her menacingly and continued, ¡°Only one of you will get to make it out alive, while the other shall perish here. Our boss thinks it¡¯ll be more thrilling to kill either one of Jin Qingyan¡¯s wife or sister. It¡¯d be so boring to just take his life.¡± ¡°Let her stay here, I want to get out, please. I don¡¯t want to spend another minute in here. Please let me off, just take my sister-inw instead,¡± Jin Qingyue pleaded in fear. An Xiaoning¡¯s face stiffened upon hearing her words, though she had already expected her to react that way. This darned Sister-inw of hers... ¡°Haha. Yet another coward who shows her true colors only on the brink of death. You¡¯re really so much more timid and cowardlypared to your Sister-inw,¡± the hitman scoffed. In this life-and-death situation, Jin Qingyue could not care less about the humiliation she was suffering. All she wanted was to make it out alive. ¡°Your brother¡¯s answer tomorrow will decide if you get to survive. We¡¯re just informing you in advance that one of you is bound to die here when tomorrowes. Just prepare yourself mentally,¡± said the other hitman beside Jin Qingyue. ¡°Please let me go, I don¡¯t wish to die here,¡± Jin Qingyue begged as her face turned as pale as a sheet. ¡°Cut the crap. Didn¡¯t we already tell you? Wait for the news tomorrow.¡± The two hitmen then returned upstairs as soon as they were done speaking. The basement turned pitch dark yet again. An Xiaoningid on the ground with a stiffened body, feeling more flustered than ever. Pangs of anxiety overwhelmed her, although she appeared to be calm and collected on the surface. ¡°Sister-inw, please let me be the one to survive even if Brother decides to choose you. I¡¯ll burn you lots of joss money if you die.¡± Jin Qingyue¡¯s insensitivity and selfishness had driven An Xiaoning to her wits¡¯ end. She wanted nothing more than to strangle her to death. ¡°Shut up!¡± she snapped. Jin Qingyue broke down into tears again. This was the most she had ever cried in her life. ¡°I don¡¯t want to die, I really don¡¯t want to die,¡± she muttered under her breath. ¡°You think I want to?¡± An Xiaoning retorted in utmost annoyance. ¡°I think my brother will choose me, for sure. He can just find another wife, but I¡¯m his only sister whom he can¡¯t rece,¡± said Jin Qingyue, in a bid tofort herself. An Xiaoning felt a strong urge to smack her to death with her shoes. If only she could move about freely. ¡°Sister-inw, why aren¡¯t you speaking?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have anything to say to you,¡± An Xiaoning answered, cocking her head towards the side. ¡°My parents won¡¯t let me die. Sister-inw, don¡¯t me my brother if he chooses to save me.¡± Wishing she could just block all the noise out, An Xiaoning closed her eyes and tried to ignore what Jin Qingyue was saying. ¡°Sister-inw, did you hear what I said? If my brother has no choice but to choose me, don¡¯t bear a grudge against him even after you die. Please forgive him, he didn¡¯t want you to die either.¡± ¡°Jin Qingyue! What right have you got to be so selfish as to only care about your own life? My life is just as valuable as yours. Let me tell you, I¡¯ll do my best to stay alive, no matter what. I won¡¯t give up even ¡¯til the veryst breath,¡± An Xiaoning snapped, unable to tolerate her any longer. Jin Qingyue was startled by her sudden outburst and snapped out of her thoughts. She then stopped talking and stared nkly at the ceiling. They could not fall asleep after hearing the hitmen¡¯s words. How could they fall asleep knowing that only one of them would make it out alive in less than 24 hours? It was as if they had just received a death sentence. An Xiaoning pondered over the matter for a long time. She thought to herself that it would be the end of their marriage if she managed to escape alive. Although she was aware that the Jin family would be put in a spot, she still wanted to fend for herself and stay alive. It is only human nature to be selfish anyway. Anyone else would have done the same. If she managed to survive, she would spend the rest of her life repaying the Jin family, although it was never her fault, to begin with. If she died, he would probably be guilty for the rest of his life, but still, he would go on to marry someone else and start a fresh marriage. She would then be nothing more than just a sacrificial object. It waspletely pointless to die. She would risk everything she had in order to stay alive! At least there would still be some hope if she lived on, whereas she would end up with nothing if she died. An Xiaoning could already guess the oue indefinitely, perhaps because she knew it was a matter of fact that they had only been married for a short amount of time. With each passing minute, she began to lose everyst bit of her rationality as she approached the brink of death. Chapter 162 - Her Life Lies in Your Hands (5)

Chapter 162: Her Life Lies in Your Hands (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios It was daybreak. The Gu family did not manage to catch much sleep the entire night. Waiting blindly was not a solution either. Gu Beicheng seemed to have already guessed Jin Qingyan¡¯s final decision. He headed straight out without having breakfast. ¡°Beicheng!¡± Gu Beicheng stopped in his tracks and turned to look at his mother. ¡°Mother, I¡¯ve always remembered Grandpa¡¯s words.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around and stormed off quickly. An Xiaoning had to stay alive no matter what. He would do whatever it would take to save her, for she was far too important to the Gu family. The sky began to brighten bit by bit. The hitmen made their way down to the basement to bring them some food. However, they had only brought enough for one person. ¡°I¡¯ve already mentioned this before, one of you has to die here today. We¡¯re not unsympathetic beings, we¡¯ll let you eat your fill before you die. Soon, you¡¯ll find out who gets to survive.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes were bloodshot as beads of sweat trickled down her forehead. ¡°Can I hear the answer straight from the horse¡¯s mouth and say a few words to themter?¡± ¡°Of course, that¡¯d be interesting,¡± the hitman agreed right away. An Xiaoning nodded, feeling like a piece of frozen meat in the unusually chilly basement. ¡°If they don¡¯t give us an answer on time, both of you shall die,¡± said the other hitman, causing goosebumps to form on the skin of Jin Qingyue, who had initially felt a little relieved. ¡°No way, they¡¯ll definitely make a choice, they will for sure!¡± A sudden silence filled the air. About one or two hourster, the hitmen received a text message from Jin Qingyan. ¡°Ah, looks like he chose kinship over love. Well, womene and go anyway,¡± the hitman announced with a sigh. An Xiaoning felt her heart drop upon hearing the news, whereas Jin Qingyue felt a ton more relieved. ¡°Please let me speak to them over the phone,¡± An Xiaoning requested. ¡°Have a look before I call them for you,¡± said the hitman, handing her the mobile phone. An Xiaoning stared at the screen, on which there was nothing except a message which read: ¡°We¡¯ve chosen Jin Qingyue, let her go.¡± Just like she had expected, the number of the sender had indeed belonged to Jin Qingyan. The hitman took the mobile phone back and gave Jin Qingyan a call, then put him on speaker mode. He then ced the mobile phone in front of An Xiaoning¡¯s mouth. The call managed to get through. ¡°We¡¯ve already made the decision, let my daughter go!¡± Mrs. Jin eximed worriedly. ¡°Mother, it¡¯s me,¡± said An Xiaoning. Mrs. Jin was momentarily stunned to hear that it was her. Soon, she continued, ¡°Xiaoning, has Qingyue been released? Tell me quick, have they released her?¡± ¡°I may not be your biological daughter, but I still treat you like my mother. Has it never crossed your mind to save me first?¡± An Xiaoning asked in utmost disappointment as tears began to form up in her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Xiaoning. Of course I¡¯d want you to make it out alive, but I can¡¯t live without Qingyue either.¡± In other words, An Xiaoning was dispensable, unlike Jin Qingyue. ¡°Who made this decision? I want to speak to Qingyan,¡± she said, refusing to believe her fate. ¡°Qingyan...¡± After taking a nce at her son who was muffled and blindfolded while being tied up, Mrs. Jin continued, ¡°Qingyan didn¡¯te to any decision. It was your father-inw, Grandma, and I who decided together. Xiaoning, please don¡¯t hold it against us, should anything happen to you. We didn¡¯t have a choice either, how we wish all of this weren¡¯t true.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t me you guys for it, but I¡¯d like to stay alive too, I don¡¯t wish to die. Besides, I call you guys my parents as well, why can¡¯t you treat me like your own? I¡¯m still your daughter-inw, after all!¡± An Xiaoning cried, choking with sobs. As soon as she finished, the hitman raised the mobile phone in front of his face and said, ¡°Your daughter will be released soon.¡± The call ended abruptly, startling Mrs. Jin who then burst into tears, grasping the mobile phone tightly in her hands. ¡°Don¡¯t release them until Qingyuees home,¡± instructed Mrs. Jin as she stared at Jin Qingyan and the members of the Gu family, who were all tied up. ¡°You heard their answer. Okay, stop struggling or hoping you¡¯ll get lucky. I¡¯ll send you on your way to death once you¡¯re done with this meal,¡± said the hitman with a malicious smile. The other hitman proceeded to release Jin Qingyue from the chains and pulled her upstairs. He then instructed, ¡°I¡¯ll send her away ten minutes from now. Quickly get rid of the remaining one.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± The remaining hitman then freed An Xiaoning¡¯s arms from the chains. ¡°Eat up,¡± he said, pushing the tray of food towards her. ¡°Is the food poisoned?¡± ¡°Rest assured, you won¡¯t be dying such an easy death. I¡¯ll stab you over and over again until you¡¯re drenched in blood. That¡¯d be such a thrilling way to die, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± the hitman said sneeringly. An Xiaoning felt her body stiffen in fear. As much as she was famished and starving, she was not in the mood to feast on the sumptuous spread in front of her, at all. She had no other way out, at this point. She reached out to pick up the pair of chopsticks, her hands trembling uncontrobly in fear. Strangely, she had a gut feeling that there was something amiss with the food. Thus, she picked up the food at an intentionally slow speed, to the annoyance of the hitman who then hissed, ¡°Hurry up, or I¡¯ll stab you to death right now.¡± ¡°Look... aren¡¯t there bugs in here?¡± she said, pointing at the food packaging. ¡°How could that be?¡± said the hitman, craning his neck to have a better look. An Xiaoning then slowly separated the chopsticks, holding one in each hand. All of a sudden, she stabbed the hitman in his eyeballs with the pair of chopsticks, after making sure she had aimed urately. Noticing that he was about to retreat backwards, An Xiaoning hurriedly thought of her next move to stop him, for she knew that there would be no way to escape if he managed to leave. Thus, she grabbed him forcefully with one hand and began stabbing his eyeballs rapidly with the other, as if she had lost her mind. Blood began gushing out from his eyes, sttering all over her face. At this juncture, she could no longer think straight or be bothered with the fact that she was stabbing him. All she wanted was to get out alive! In order to stay alive, she would do whatever it took! Shrieking in pain at the top of his lungs, the hitman struggled to retreat backwards as he tried to free himself with his hands. He subconsciously whipped out a knife and thrust it deep into An Xiaoning¡¯s gut. Noticing that he was about to remove the knife and stab her with it again, An Xiaoning plucked up the courage to defend her own life, whichid in the hands of the hitmen. She was in so much pain that her face turned as pale as a sheet while she broke out in a cold sweat. She had no choice but to bite down onto his face and distract him from stabbing her,pletely disregarding the fact that his blood was flowing into her mouth. She removed the knife from her stomach and began stabbing him repeatedly with all her might, with no intentions to stop at all. Finally, he fell to the ground andid there motionlessly. To ensure that he would no longer get up, An Xiaoning continued to stab him a few more times, before heaving a huge sigh of relief upon confirming that he was dead. She then began to search his body for the keys to release herself. Chapter 163 - I Want a Divorce (1)

Chapter 163: I Want a Divorce (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Ignoring the fact that her wound was bleeding continuously, An Xiaoning hurriedly proceeded to free herself from the chains as soon as she found the keys. She walked out slowly, clutching her stomach that was in excruciating pain, which worsened with every step she took. Instead of leaving immediately, she dragged the deceased hitman towards an obscure spot by the stairwell, after which she took out his mobile phone and ced it inside her pocket. She then found her mobile phone from his clothes, only to realize it was out of battery. An Xiaoning continued to wipe away the bloodstains on the ground with her sleeve before sitting down at the bottom of the stairs. Having exhausted all her energy, she panted heavily and could barely move another inch. She was aching from head to toe. To make matters worse, she was also famished and parched. She wanted nothing more than to escape this hellhole instantly. How she wished she could... As much as she wanted to, she could not gather the strength and energy to escape. She could only ce a call using the hitman¡¯s mobile phone. Although the hitman had Jin Qingyan¡¯s number saved in his phone, An Xiaoning refused to call him. Instead, she quickly looked up Gu Beicheng¡¯s number in her mobile phone, which was running low on battery, and proceeded to give him a call. Gu Beicheng picked up almost immediately. Well aware that the number had belonged to the hitman, he said right away, ¡°Just what are you after? Release An Xiaoning and I¡¯ll give you whatever you want.¡± Leaning against the wall, An Xiaoning spoke in a feeble voice, ¡°It¡¯s me... I... killed him. I¡¯m hiding under the stairwell in the basement, the other hitman has sent Jin Qingyue away.¡± She began panting heavily with her eyes half-closed. ¡°I¡¯lle save you right away,¡± he said, ending the call immediately. An Xiaoning ced the mobile back inside her pocket. She had not managed to get much sleep ever since she was abducted. Thus, she began to feel sleepy and lethargic all of a sudden. However, she could only sleep in peace when Gu Beicheng arrives. Bringing along some bodyguards with him, Gu Beicheng hurried down to the location where the hitmen were hiding. The hitman who was responsible for sending Jin Qingyue away had already left via a secret passage. ording to n, he had headed towards the location where he had agreed to meet the other hitman who was in charge of killing An Xiaoning, after which they would leave S Nation together. Thus, Gu Beicheng had managed to arrive sessfully. He noticed the bloodstains all over the ground as soon as he stepped foot into the basement. He then proceeded down the stairs and was greeted with the sight of An Xiaoning sitting on the ground with her back against the wall and her head tilted towards the side. Her face was stained with blood, and she appeared to bepletely helpless. ¡°Xiaoning.¡± Upon the sight of his arrival, she managed to let out a faint smile before closing her eyes and falling asleep. Gu Beicheng stepped forward to pick her up carefully in his arms and instructed his bodyguards to deal with the body of the deceased hitman. Gu Beicheng had already informed the press and media of the matter as soon as he left his house. Thus, the news and media reporters had managed to capture the entire process of Gu Beicheng carrying An Xiaoning out of the hiding ce, with thetter soaked in blood. An Xiaoningid motionless in his arms with her eyes shut tight, as her long hair cascaded down his shoulder. Jin Qingyue was still shivering from the trauma even when she had already arrived home. Mrs. Jin broke down into tears upon her arrival. ¡°You really scared me!¡± eximed Mrs. Jin as she rushed forward to hug her daughter. ¡°I was almost frightened to death too,¡± Jin Qingyue cried while in her mother¡¯s embrace. The two then continued to cry together, after which Mrs. Jin said to the butler, ¡°Set them free.¡± Jin Qingyue stepped inside the house, only to find that Jin Qingyan and the members of the Gu family were all tied up. She then realized the reason she had managed to make it out alive. At that instant, she began to think that her parents were still the best in the end. Mrs. Gu took a deep breath and glowered at Mrs. Jin. ¡°I¡¯ll definitely expose the misdeeds you¡¯vemitted to the media!¡± ¡°Do whatever you please. From my position, I didn¡¯t do anything wrong,¡± Mrs. Jin said nonchntly. ¡°That¡¯s enough, Qingyue has alreadye home. What are you still bbering about?¡± Mr. Jin chided. Mr. and Mrs. Gu then proceeded to leave at once, along with their son, Gu Dongcheng. A deafening silence filled the air in the living room. Jin Qingyan stood up without uttering a single word at all. Noticing an expression she had never seen on him before, Mrs. Jin handed him his mobile phone. ¡°Qingyan, here¡¯s your phone.¡± He looked down and grabbed the mobile phone from her hands, after which he forcefully smashed it onto the ground in a sudden outburst with an austere expression on his face. He then turned to leave before the rest of his family could even react. Jin Qingyan arrived at the entrance only to see Fan Shixin, who hurriedly alighted from the car and rushed forward to report to him, ¡°Young Sir, Ms. An has already been sent to the hospital. I¡¯ve just gotten news that she had managed to kill one of the hitmen, though she has also sustained injuries as she got stabbed in the process. However, Gu Beicheng has already dealt with the deceased hitman, and the police have arrested the other one who tried to flee.¡± ¡°Which hospital is she in?¡± ¡°The People¡¯s Hospital.¡± Jin Qingyan grabbed his keys and hopped into his car before speeding away towards the hospital. Fan Shixin hurriedly chased after him along with the other bodyguards. Upon hearing the news, the three members of the Gu family quickly made their way to the hospital before even getting some rest. Famished and exhausted, Jin Qingyue decided to remain at home instead with her mother¡¯spany, while Mr. Jin proceeded to the hospital. The entrance of the hospital was surrounded by reporters from all media tforms. Gu Beicheng waited patiently along the corridor. Upon hearing his mother¡¯s angryints about the atrocious act Mr. and Mrs. Jin hadmitted, he in fact felt a sense of empathy towards thetter, for he understood that they had wanted to save their daughter¡¯s life, just as much as they had wanted to save An Xiaoning. He did not put the me on Jin Qingyan either, since thetter was also tied up. The surgeon proceeded to sew up the wound on An Xiaoning¡¯s stomach after disinfecting it and stopping it from bleeding. The wound was rather deep, though it was not too big. The nurse attending to An Xiaoning was startled to discover that the blood on An Xiaoning¡¯s pants did note from the wound. ¡°Doctor, is she on her menstrual period or did she have a miscarriage?¡± the nurse asked inquisitively. Finding it rather unusual as well, after taking a closer look, the female surgeon instructed, ¡°Conduct an ultrasound scan on her.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning was pushed out of the operating theater after her wound was cleaned. Everyone began to gather around the doctor and asked about her condition fervently. ¡°Please make way, we have to bring her for another checkup,¡± said the nurse. Thus, the crowd proceeded to move to the entrance of the ultrasound scan room from the operating theater. Due to the fact that An Xiaoning was considered an important person, the scan was conducted carefully with the assistance of the gynecologists. It was rather difficult to carry out the ultrasound scan, since the wound was located on her stomach. Fortunately, An Xiaoning had yet to awaken as the anesthesia had yet to wear off. The scan was carried out smoothly. The doctors sighed one after another after discussing the results of the scan. Shortly after, An Xiaoning was pushed towards the operating theater once again. ¡°Hasn¡¯t her wound been closed up? Why is she being pushed in again, Doctor?¡± Mrs. Jin asked worriedly. ¡°Mrs. Jin has suffered a stab in her stomach, which greatly ruptured her womb, causing a miscarriage. After much discussion, we¡¯ve decided to carry out another operation on her to remove the remaining fetal tissue,¡± the doctor exined to the crowd in front of her. ¡°What!¡± Everyone gasped in astonishment. Jin Qingyan froze in shock, stunned beyond words. Chapter 164 - I Want a Divorce (2)

Chapter 164: I Want a Divorce (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Having always taken safety precautions, he was puzzled to hear that she was pregnant. Well, contraception is indeed never a hundred percent safe, after all. Everything had turned out to be contrary to his expectations. Mei Yangyang and Long Tianze arrived at the hospital only to see that An Xiaoning was resting on the hospital bed after her surgery while Jin Qingyan sat by the bedside. Jin Qingyan was the only one left apanying her in the hospital ward after the Gu family took their leave. Jin Qingyan stood up upon sight of their arrival. Long Tianze gave him a pat on his shoulder while Mei Yangyang nced towards the bed. She felt like she had not seen An Xiaoning in a long time, although she had just met her a while ago. To her astonishment, the rosy and chubby cheeks An Xiaoning used to have had be sunken and hollow as she appeared as pale as a sheet. ¡°Has she note to?¡± ¡°She hasn¡¯t.¡± Long Tianze and Mei Yangyang stayed for a while before leaving, after which the ward was filled with silence once again. Jin Qingyan caressed her hand while holding it in his, feeling her existence strongly. ¡°She was stabbed in the stomach and even had a miscarriage? Does she have nine lives or something? I can¡¯t believe she managed to survive even after all that,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er said in surprise. ¡°Mind your words, it¡¯s a good thing she managed to stay alive,¡± Gu Beicheng chided while ring at her. ¡°No... what I meant was that others would have died long ago if they were put in her position. She must be really lucky. It¡¯s a blessing she had managed to survive,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er exined in embarrassment, putting on a pretentious smile. ¡°I¡¯ve been constantly worried ever since she had met with the mishap. I can finally sleep in peace now. I reckon the Jin family¡¯s tyrannical ways would be all over the news soon. They actually tied us up, damn it! Fortunately, Xiaoning is alright, otherwise, it¡¯d definitely be a great blow to the Jins,¡± said Gu Dongcheng as he lifted the duvet andid down in bed. Leaning closer towards him, Chi Rui¡¯er asked, ¡°Dongcheng, you¡¯ll be turning 28 this year, have you never thought of getting married and settling down?¡± ¡°Why? You want to marry me?¡± he asked, running his fingers through her hair. ¡°Yes,¡± she answered, nodding. ¡°I don¡¯t n on getting married just yet, I¡¯ll think about it in the future,¡± he said with a smile. With a look of disappointment in her eyes, Chi Rui¡¯er threw her arms around him and said, ¡°I¡¯m in lesser of a hurry to get married than you. I¡¯m five years younger than you anyway.¡± Actually, Gu Dongcheng had no intentions of making her his wife at all. Even if he wanted to get married, he would marry a woman who waspatible with him in terms of social and economic status. A promiscuous woman like Chi Rui¡¯er was, in fact, nothing more than an object for him to toy with. Little did he know, the scheming Chi Rui¡¯er had already hatched a n to make him hers. Seeing that he was going to bed, Chi Rui¡¯er got up and proceeded to the kitchen to get herself some food. However, she began feeling queasy and zoomed towards the washroom to throw up as soon as she ate. After she was done puking, she continued to eat, before throwing up again. The entire cycle repeated itself over and over again. Finally, it came to a halt, and she received a call from her mother. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Are you really not going toe home ever again?¡± asked Mrs. Chi. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m never going to again. Tell me when you run out of money, I¡¯ll transfer some to you,¡± she said coldly, bent on never stepping foot into the house again. ¡°You don¡¯t have to, I still have enough to spend. Rui¡¯er, you¡¯re the only daughter I have, must you really treat me like this?¡± Mrs. Chi said with a long sigh. ¡°Mother, if my intentions were really to treat you in such a way, I would¡¯ve left that home long ago. You¡¯re in poor health and you¡¯re gued with disease, just stay at home since you¡¯re willing to live there. I¡¯m currently living together with my boyfriend, just give me a call if you¡¯d like to meet,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er answered slowly. Chi Rui¡¯er could not bear to cut off ties with Mrs. Chipletely. After all, she was still her biological mother. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s hang up.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er felt unusually upset after hanging up the phone. The fetus would grow bigger and bigger, day by day. After making the calctions, she realized that she had to quickly seize the chance before her baby bump begins to show in no time. Chi Rui¡¯er stood by the basin and stared at her reflection in the mirror. She gave the matter some thought and decided to execute her n a few days earlier. She then came out of the washroom to see that Gu Dongcheng had already fallen asleep. She retrieved the rigged ultrasound report from her bag and wrote today¡¯s date on the bottom with a pen. She sat quietly by the bed, not wanting to wake Gu Dongcheng up. Instead, sheid down beside him and began pondering carefully over how she should make her n seamless. After a good night¡¯s sleep, Gu Dongcheng sat up straight in bed, only to see that Chi Rui¡¯er had an exceptionally gleeful smile on her face. ¡°You seem to be in a really good mood, what¡¯s the asion?¡± ¡°I nned to tell you about itst night but you were already asleep by the time I returned from the kitchen, so I decided not to disturb your sleep. Dongcheng, do you know why I asked you if you had ever thought about settling down, before you sleptst night?¡± asked Chi Rui¡¯er, facing him while sitting cross-legged on the bed. Gu Dongcheng had an ominous feeling about how unusually happy she had seemed. ¡°Why?¡± he asked. ¡°Because you¡¯re going to be a father very soon.¡± ¡°What?¡± Gu Beicheng gasped in disbelief of what he just heard. ¡°Are you too happy to react? I said, you¡¯re going to be a father. I¡¯m pregnant! I went for a checkup this morning, have a look,¡± she said, handing him the ultrasound report. Gu Beicheng took the report and scrutinized the information on it, which gave him the shock of his life. ¡°How did you even get pregnant? We use protection every single time,¡± he said apprehensively. ¡°How would I know? Maybe we were too vigorous and ruptured the condom in the process. That¡¯s very likely to happen. I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m pregnant, Dongcheng, I¡¯m really over the moon right now,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er eximed, jumping for joy. ¡°I won¡¯t me you if you don¡¯t n on marrying me and giving our child a legitimate status. Just make sure the media doesn¡¯t find out about it. But there were a lot of people who saw me when I went for the checkup at the hospital this morning. I wonder if they¡¯ll spread it online,¡± she continued. Gu Dongcheng was speechless and at aplete loss of what to do. He has had intimate rtionships with plenty of women in the past, but never once had he ever gotten them pregnant. He could not help but suspect that she had done it on purpose. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you poked a hole in the condom with a needle,¡± he blurted. Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s face stiffened in astonishment. ¡°What do you mean? Do you really see me as such a scheming woman?¡± she retorted defensively. ¡°We can¡¯t have this child, go get an abortion,¡± Gu Beicheng said bluntly. ¡°The doctor mentioned that it¡¯s difficult for me to get pregnant and I may not get to bear another child again, if I choose to abort it. Dongcheng, I¡¯d like to keep it. It¡¯s the very testament of our love. Don¡¯t you wanna know what the child will look like?¡± Gu Dongcheng felt terribly upset upon hearing her words. ¡°Seems like you¡¯re really bent on marrying me.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er fell silent upon noticing how upset he looked. She gazed at him longingly with tears welling up in her eyes. ¡°Since you¡¯re so insistent on not wanting this child, I¡¯ll just raise it myself, you may stay out of it,¡± she said in between sobs. Chapter 165 - I Want a Divorce (3)

Chapter 165: I Want a Divorce (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Gu Dongcheng mellowed his tone upon seeing that she had teared up. ¡°Let¡¯s take you for another checkup tomorrow. We shall keep the baby if the doctor says that you¡¯re really going to have a hard time getting pregnant again. Otherwise, we¡¯ll abort it if he says that another abortion won¡¯t make a difference. Will that do?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er agreed instantly with a nod, ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll go with your n.¡± An Xiaoning woke up to find Jin Qingyan sitting beside her. She made eye contact with him as soon as she opened her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re up?¡± An Xiaoning nodded and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Gu Beicheng?¡± ¡°He had already gone home,¡± answered Jin Qingyan, though he was a little disgruntled to hear that Gu Beicheng was the first person she asked about, right after waking up. As soon as he finished speaking, a sound could be hearding from the door. It was Mei Yangyang, who had entered with a lunchbox in her hand. ¡°Sis Xiaoning, you¡¯re awake. Here¡¯s some fish soup my father made for you. Would you like to have some now?¡± Mei Yangyang asked while cing the lunchbox onto the table. ¡°Alright, thank your father for me,¡± An Xiaoning said with a feeble voice. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, Sis. Just focus on recuperating. We still have a lot to do together, once you recover,¡± said Mei Yangyang as she scooped some soup into a bowl. ¡°It smells delicious.¡± ¡°Let Brother-inw feed you,¡± said Mei Yangyang, handing the bowl of soup and a spoon to Jin Qingyan. She then proceeded to help An Xiaoning adjust the bed so thetter could sit up. Jin Qingyan fed her the soup, mouthful after mouthful, until she had finished everyst drop of it. He discovered that An Xiaoning seemed to have be cold and distant towards him ever since the incident happened, though he was unsure if he was just imagining things. ¡°Qingyan, you may head back first. Let Yangyang apany me instead.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± He did as she instructed and exited the hospital ward, only to realize that there were a lot of people waiting outside. ¡°Sis, there¡¯s still more soup left in the lunchbox. Let me know when you¡¯d like to have some again. This thermal sk works wonders, the soup will still stay warm even after hours have passed,¡± Mei Yangyang said gently as she sat down on the spot Jin Qingyan was sitting on earlier. An Xiaoning was connected to a drip via a tube inserted into her left hand. She ced her right hand on top of Mei Yangyang¡¯s and broke down into tears, finally releasing the emotions she had been suppressing. ¡°Yangyang.¡± ¡°Sis... don¡¯t cry, you¡¯re making me want to cry too,¡± said Mei Yangyang as she hurriedly whipped out a piece of tissue paper to wipe An Xiaoning¡¯s overflowing tears. ¡°Qingyue and I were abducted and taken to a basement somewhere. The hitmen made Qingyan choose between saving me or Qingyue. My mother-inw was the one who made the decision,¡± An Xiaoning exined. ¡°I heard about it from Tianze, Brother-inw was tied up forcefully by his parents,¡± Mei Yangyang quickly tried to defend Jin Qingyan. ¡°Well, he was faced with a difficult choice. If I were to put myself in his shoes, I would¡¯ve been stuck in a dilemma and fail to make the right decision too. Fan Shixin was watching and guarding him closely throughout. I know he was put in a spot, so I don¡¯t me him for not choosing to save me. But Yangyang, I¡¯ve realized that when one faces the brink of death, survival would be the only thing that matters to them. Everything else would only pale inparison ande in second,¡± said An Xiaoning, forcing an awkward smile. Mei Yangyang had also begun to tear up. She took a deep breath and said, ¡°Sis, why do I feel like...¡± However, she stopped speaking before finishing what she had on her mind, for she was unsure if she had made a correct guess. ¡°I don¡¯t me him or his family at all. I just feel like I can no longer genuinely treat them like my own family with all my heart, like I used to in the past. So, I have something to ask of you right now,¡± An Xiaoning continued. What came out of An Xiaoning¡¯s mouth next was exactly what Mei Yangyang had guessed. ¡°I¡¯ll speak while you write. Please help me print two copies of a divorce agreement.¡± ¡°Sis, you might want to think through it carefully, or just wait until you¡¯re done recuperating...¡± ¡°Nah, my decision is final, I won¡¯t change my mind even after I¡¯ve recovered,¡± An Xiaoning insisted. ¡°Sis, are you upset because the child is gone...¡± An Xiaoning looked up in astonishment and asked, ¡°Child? What child?¡± Mei Yangyang was dumbfounded at her reaction. ¡°I thought... I thought Brother-inw had already told you about it.¡± Clutching the bedsheets tightly, An Xiaoning asked eagerly, ¡°What do you mean the child is gone. Was it my child?¡± ¡°Sis, don¡¯t get so worked up. Calm down, I¡¯ll tell you everything,¡± said Mei Yangyang as she grasped An Xiaoning¡¯s hands tightly. ¡°After the doctor cleaned up your wound, they realized that there were bloodstains around your thighs, which didn¡¯t seem to havee from the wound on your stomach, and began to specte that you must have been on your menstrual period or had a miscarriage. Thus, they conducted another check on you using the ultrasound scan and verified that you¡¯ve had a miscarriage. You then had to undergo another surgery to remove the remaining fetal tissue. Sis, were you unaware that you were pregnant?¡± exined Mei Yangyang. An Xiaoning shook her head profusely. ¡°I didn¡¯t know I was pregnant. We¡¯ve always used protection and contraceptives. I don¡¯t even know when I conceived the child. Yet, it¡¯s already dead before I even came to know about its existence. All of this could¡¯ve been prevented if only I knew about it earlier. But there¡¯s no point in saying these now, it¡¯s already toote,¡± she said, filled with agony. ¡°Sis, by when do you need the agreement?¡± After a brief moment of hesitation, she answered, ¡°Let me tell you what, go online and download thetest temte of a divorce agreement. Then, add the words I say to the agreement and print it out. Get it done as soon as possible.¡± ¡°Sis, you really... don¡¯t have to consider it carefully again?¡± ¡°No, marriage indeed involves more than just two people. I¡¯ve given uppletely.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go right away,¡± said Mei Yangyang as she stood up and pulled the nket over An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning watched as Mei Yangyang left, after which she let out a cry of agony and began bawling in tears while lying on the bed, unable to suppress her emotions any longer. Since the anesthesia had already worn off, her wound began to ache intensely. Having heard her cries, Gu Beicheng continued to stand by the door and did not enter. Shi Shaochuan felt rather guilty about the incident, for he was the one who had organized the luncheon. Thus, he hurriedly proceeded to apany Jin Qingyue in a bid to console her, upon hearing that she had been released. ¡°Don¡¯t cry anymore, look how haggard you¡¯ve be. You¡¯re going to be my bride very soon, you won¡¯t look pretty if you keep crying,¡± Shi Shaochuan cajoled her while reaching a hand out to wipe her tears. Jin Qingyue quickly sat up straight and picked up a handheld mirror to look at herself. She then put it down again andid in his arms. ¡°Shaochuan, the thought of it still terrifies me.¡± ¡°I know, I know. Let¡¯s talk about something else more positive. Look at me, I¡¯ve lost all of my closest kin, but here I am, still staying strong and getting on with life. Your case is nothingpared to mine. Life still has to go on no matter what,¡± said Shi Shaochuan, holding her hand in his. ¡°I¡¯m different from you. If I were to lose my family, I would probably never manage to get a hold on myself, not until a long period of timeter. Oh dear, what have I just said? Touch wood!¡± Jin Qingyue answered. ¡°An Xiaoning is still being hospitalized, would you like toe along with me to visit her?¡± asked Shi Shaochuan, thinking it would only be right to visit her. However, Jin Qingyue refuted instantly, ¡°I¡¯m not going. She probably detests the sight of me now. Why should I cause unnecessary trouble for myself?¡± ¡°I still think we ought to pay her a visit. Putting this incident aside, she¡¯s still your sister-inw, isn¡¯t she?¡± ¡°Why are you so insistent on having me go visit her? Do you think the 50 million dors you¡¯ve paid her is too low of a price?¡± Shi Shaochuan had no choice but to give in. ¡°Alright, we won¡¯t go then, if you¡¯re so unwilling.¡± Chapter 166 - I Want a Divorce (4)

Chapter 166: I Want a Divorce (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyue quickly grabbed Shi Shaochuan¡¯s hand and said as a sudden thought crossed her mind, ¡°Do you think she¡¯ll bear a grudge towards my family because my mother chose to save me instead of her, causing her to have had a close shave with death? What if she attempts to poison us to death?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so. I¡¯m not trying to defend her, but I don¡¯t think she¡¯s such a person,¡± Shi Shaochuan answered. ¡°We can¡¯t be too sure about that. You¡¯ll never know what a person is truly thinking. I¡¯d better tell my parents about it, so they can be wary of her,¡± Jin Qingyue said worriedly as she began to let her imagination run wild. Thinking that her concerns were redundant, Shi Shaochuan answered, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be informing your brother instead?¡± ¡°My brother... I don¡¯t think he¡¯d want to see me now. He used to be head-over-heels in love with Chi Rui¡¯er, but God knows why he suddenly agreed to marry Sister-inw. They got married on the 26th of Septemberst year. It¡¯s only been a mere few months, yet he seems to have changed a lot, and I think he had already fallen for Sister-inw,¡± Jin Qingyue said with a long sigh. Shi Shaochuan begged to differ. ¡°Well, they¡¯re a married couple who spend so much time together and sleep on the bed every day. They¡¯re bound to develop feelings for each other, more or less. Nothing too strange about that. Would your brother have married An Xiaoning if she wasn¡¯t capable of fortune-telling? To put it bluntly, your family must¡¯ve made that decision because they were after the benefits she could bring about. Otherwise, she¡¯s merely an ordinary woman who¡¯s divorced, with nothing to her name at all. What rights would she have to deserve the recognition and admiration of your family and brother, respectively?¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯m a little worried though,¡± Jin Qingyue agreed with a nod. ¡°About?¡± ¡°My sister-inw has read my fortune before...¡± Before she could even finish, Shi Shaochuan interjected, ¡°Well, I have to admit, she¡¯s indeed something. But, Yueyue, can you bear to separate yourself from mepletely? Don¡¯t you think it¡¯d be a waste to give up on our rtionship before even trying to change your destiny?¡± Jin Qingyue nodded profusely and wrapped her arms tightly around him. ¡°No matter what my fate decides, I have to be brave just this once. After all, we¡¯ve already been through so much hardship toe thus far.¡± ¡°I¡¯m the only one left in my family, you¡¯ll call the shots once we get married. We¡¯ll then give birth to a few children, how does that sound?¡± ¡°Who said I wanted to bear your children? Dream on,¡± said Jin Qingyue, blushing shyly with a coy smile. ¡°You, of course. Our wedding will be here real soon,¡± Shi Shaochuan answered with a chuckle. ¡°Shaochuan, are you really unaffected by the death of your family? Didn¡¯t they say that weddings had to be postponed should any of the prospective bride or groom¡¯s family members pass away? Besides, your family...¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, I want to settle down and have children with you, Yueyue. Our wedding will proceed as nned. I¡¯ve been busy with making the necessary arrangementstely. Just get ready to look your best and be my beautiful bride, okay?¡± Jin Qingyue gazed at him adoringly and nodded. Mei Yangyang returned to the hospital ward after printing out the divorce agreement, only to be greeted with the surprising sight of both Jin Qingyan and Gu Beicheng. Fortunately, she had kept the agreement obscured in her handbag. ¡°Sis, I¡¯m back,¡± she said calmly, maintaining herposure. ¡°Take a seat and have some rest.¡± Mei Yangyang tactfully sat down at the other end. Gu Beicheng had remained silent ever since he entered, due to Jin Qingyan¡¯s presence. After a long period of silence, the room was suddenly filled with the sounds of Ma Jianguo¡¯s voice, which could be hearding from the door. An Xiaoning looked up to see that Ma Jianguo had arrived with Gong Le and Zu Dong, with Pan Zhenghui and Xu Yang also tagging along. Jin Qingyan and Gu Beicheng then stood up to greet them with a handshake each. ¡°It¡¯s really incredible that Xiaoning had managed to survive the ordeal. You¡¯re bound to enjoy good fortune after such a disaster. In the meantime, just rest and recuperate, don¡¯t bother about the matters at the Investigation Unit. Your health is of utmost importance, staying healthy should be your priority.¡± ¡°I was nning to do so as well. Thank you for visiting me, Chief Officer Xu.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, it was only right for me to do so.¡± ¡°Xiaoning, you must be wondering about the aftermath of the incident. Let me tell you what happened afterwards. We managed to track down the location of the other hitman, based on the information on the mobile phone we found inside your pocket. However, he decided to kill himself after realizing that we had surrounded him and that there was no way for him to escape. Thus, this leads us to a dead end and we haven¡¯t managed to find any further clues since then,¡± Pan Zhenghui said quickly, as soon as Xu Yang turned around. ¡°Since they were top hitmen hired with a hefty sum of money, they must¡¯ve been under the control of a mastermind. They would at most be punished if they managed to return home sessfully, should they fail toplete the mission. However, in the event that they get arrested by the police, their only way out is to kill themselves. Besides, his identity was already exposed, I¡¯m not surprised he decided to end his life, since that would mean that you guys would be unable to continue investigating. I¡¯ll be washing my hands off this matter from now onwards. Just get Qingyan to be more wary and cautious in the future, the culprit will be revealed one day. It¡¯s only a matter of time, no hurry,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Indeed. Refrain from speaking too much, lest you rupture your wound,¡± Pan Zhenghui agreed. An Xiaoning murmured assent and remained silent afterwards, not wishing to find out more since the rest of the matter had already been settled. The policemen then proceeded to leave and so did Gu Beicheng, for he had an important dinner to attend. The three of them were left alone in the room, including Mei Yangyang. ¡°Yangyang, have you prepared the document I asked you to?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Yes, Sis.¡± An Xiaoning gave a nod of approval and said, ¡°Hand it to me and go out first.¡± Jin Qingyan began to feel uneasy and worried, though he was unsure what document she was referring to. Mei Yangyang handed An Xiaoning the enveloped document, after which thetter ced it in front of her and waved Mei Yangyang goodbye. ¡°Sis, I¡¯ll take my leave then. See you tomorrow.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Mei Yangyang exited the ward and closed the door gently. ¡°You... got her to prepare a document? What is it?¡± Staring at the haggard-looking Jin Qingyan, An Xiaoning felt a strong urge to be a magnanimous wife for once and tell him this: ¡°It¡¯s alright that we lost our child, we can have plenty in the future. What has already happened is now in the past, let¡¯s just put it behind us and move on with life.¡± She thought it would make her seem courageous and unrestrained, saying those words. However, she simply could not bring herself to do it. Her feelings for him had died just as they were about to blossom. ¡°Qingyan.¡± ¡°Call me Hubby.¡± ¡°Hubby,¡± she said, doing as she was told. ¡°What did you want to tell me?¡± An Xiaoning began to feel a little more rxed at this point, even managing to give a faint smile. ¡°I wanted to say that I don¡¯t hold it against anyone, this matter. I don¡¯t me you, or your family.¡± Jin Qingyan felt instantly relieved upon hearing her words. However, she was not finished, and as per typical situations, such sentences would be followed by an unsettling ¡°but¡± more often than not. As expected, she continued, ¡°But, I don¡¯t think I can continue to spend the rest of my life with you. I¡¯ve thought about pretending all this never happened and just returning to our normal life. But I just can¡¯t bring myself to do it. I¡¯d like to go back to being by myself. So, let¡¯s get a divorce.¡± Jin Qingyan stared hard at her face, trying to search for any signs of dilemma and reluctance, but to no avail. All she had on her face was a calm and amiable smile. Chapter 167 - I Want a Divorce (5)

Chapter 167: I Want a Divorce (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She was so straightforward and blunt with her words. ¡°I didn¡¯t hear clearly, repeat what you said,¡± he said, keeping his eyes fixed on her. It had never urred to him that she would ever mention a divorce, especially within such a short period of time of them getting married. An Xiaoning looked away from him and repeated herself, ¡°I said I want a divorce, as soon as possible. Are you clear now?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t agree to it,¡± he said firmly. ¡°Do you still remember the agreement we drafted together earlier? It¡¯s stated that you would grant me any one wish of mine, as long as I could keep my job on set for an entire month. If I failed to do so, I would then have to be your ve for a hundred days. I still have the agreement with me, kept intact. I hereby ask of you to grant me my wish, as agreed upon previously, and allow me to divorce you,¡± An Xiaoning said slowly. All of a sudden, Jin Qingyan began to recall the existence of the agreement. Little did he expect that her wish would be to get a divorce with him. Little did he expect... At this juncture, his disapproval had proved to be of zero significance. Mr. Jin brought Mrs. Jin to visit An Xiaoning at the hospital ward. Although she had felt ashamed to face An Xiaoning, it would be rather inappropriate of her to not pay her daughter-inw a visit at the hospital. As soon as she entered, she was greeted with the sight of her son appearing extremely upset while An Xiaoningid on the bed with a nk expression on her face. ¡°Xiaoning, I¡¯ve let you down and done you wrong,¡± Mrs. Jin said shamefully. There was no change in An Xiaoning¡¯s expression, though she had sounded rather distant and aloof as she spoke, ¡°I don¡¯t me you, Mother. Please have a seat.¡± Mrs. Jin felt as if a weight was lifted off her chest upon hearing her words. ¡°Since you guys are here, I¡¯ll just let you know now. I¡¯ve already mentioned to Qingyan that I¡¯d like to get a divorce,¡± said An Xiaoning without any consideration of how upset he was. ¡°A divorce?¡± Mrs. Jin gasped in astonishment and disbelief. Although such an unfortunate incident had indeed happened, no one had wished for it to. Mrs. Jin thought to herself that An Xiaoning seemed to be overreacting by demanding a divorce because of this reason. ¡°Xiaoning, it was your father and me who decided to save Qingyue instead of you. I had tied Qingyan up during that time and he had no say in the final decision.¡± ¡°I know, I don¡¯t me him, nor do I me you guys. I understand that you were put in a difficult position. In hindsight, we got married in the spur of the moment, and it happened all too quickly, before I had even considered it carefully. We became husband and wife when we didn¡¯t even have any feelings for each other, it was really too hasty. Marriage had never been solely between two parties, but rather, it was the union of two families. Now that things have alreadye to this, I really can¡¯t bring myself to treat you guys like my own blood and kin. I understand that you were stuck in a dilemma, but trust can never be regainedpletely once it¡¯s broken,¡± An Xiaoning said calmly. Mrs. Jin hurriedly tried to persuade her to change her mind. ¡°Xiaoning, don¡¯t be so quick to make a decision. Give it some thorough thought and consider it carefully. Once you get a divorce, you and Qingyan will no longer be husband and wife. I believe you two definitely have some feelings for each other, after having spent all this time together. So, can you bear to watch Qingyan marry someone else in the future?¡± An Xiaoning felt her heart wrench in sorrow at the thought of him marrying another woman, almost losing herposure. However, she forced herself to continue putting on a strong front and answered coldly, ¡°Once we¡¯re divorced, we¡¯ll have nothing to do with each other. He¡¯s free to marry whoever he wants, it¡¯s none of my business anymore. Likewise, it wouldn¡¯t concern him who I end up marrying. I¡¯ve already gotten the divorce agreement printed. After the divorce, I¡¯ll take his house off of my household registry ount, taking only what¡¯s mine and my bank ount card. I won¡¯t bring a single thing belonging to the Jin family away with me.¡± Surprised to see how much of a backbone she had, Mrs. Jin said, ¡°We¡¯ll leave this matter to the both of you to decide. Your father and I are staying out of it.¡± In the presence of Mr. and Mrs. Jin, An Xiaoning retrieved the agreement from the envelope as well and signed her name in a small designated box on both copies with a pen. She then slid the agreement to Jin Qingyan and said, ¡°It¡¯s your turn.¡± ¡°Are you really in such a hurry?¡± Jin Qingyan hollered, boiling with an anger that was about to erupt like a volcano. ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t wish to stay any longer in this marriage, not even for another minute. I just want to be free right now.¡± ¡°An Xiaoning! Have you really thought it through?¡± Jin Qingyan bellowed in frustration. ¡°Yes, I have. If you choose not to sign it, I¡¯ll file for a divorce in court,¡± she said, facing away from them as a teardrop streamed down her face onto the pillow. ¡°Since you¡¯re so insistent, I shall grant you your wish,¡± Jin Qingyan answered, grabbing the pen and both copies of the agreement. He picked up the pen and vigorously signed his name on the same designated box. After he was done signing both copies, An Xiaoning grasped the agreement and said, ¡°Once I¡¯m discharged, I¡¯ll make a trip down to your ce to collect my belongings. Afterwards, we¡¯ll head to the Civil Administration Bureau together.¡± Jin Qingyan stood up and left, without uttering a single word. Mr. and Mrs. Jin followed closely behind. An Xiaoning held the agreement in her hand and began perusing its content. Just like she mentioned herself, the agreement was indeed very standardized. Within less than half a year, she was divorced again. It should not matter much to him since he did not truly love her anyway. Or so she thought. However, the agony was still rather unbearable, especially during the times when she was all by herself, with no one to hide her true emotions from. She could only allow time to heal her wounds. Failing to catch up with Jin Qingyan¡¯s car, Mr. and Mrs. Jin had no choice but to head home. ¡°Father, Mother, did you go to the hospital?¡± asked Jin Qingyue as she made her way downstairs, hand in hand with Shi Shaochuan. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m so depressed right now,¡± Mrs. Jinmented in frustration. Assuming that her mother had received a scolding from An Xiaoning, Jin Qingyue remarked, ¡°Didn¡¯t I already tell you? You should¡¯ve visited her in a few days¡¯ time. She¡¯s too emotionally perturbed at the moment.¡± ¡°No, she appeared rather calm and spoke to me in a gentle manner. However, she has already signed the divorce papers with your brother and they¡¯ll be going ahead with the official procedure once she¡¯s recovered and discharged. She says she doesn¡¯t hold it against us, but I know she definitely does deep down,¡± said Mrs. Jin, clutching her chest in sorrow. ¡°What? A divorce?¡± Jin Qingyue turned to look at Shi Shaochuan before continuing to ask, ¡°Was she the one who initiated it?¡± ¡°Obviously. Your father and I saw it with our own eyes. She got someone to prepare the agreement and your brother signed it. She seemed to be pretty resolute and stood firm in her decision. There was no way she would give salvaging their marriage a shot,¡± Mrs. Jin said with a sigh. ¡°What¡¯s there to salvage? Brother has never loved her anyway, you and Grandma were the ones who set them up. They got married as soon as they met. Obviously, their marriage wouldn¡¯tst long,¡± Jin Qingyue retorted, finding their divorce to be not a bad idea at all, for she would not have to worry about feeling guilty whenever she saw An Xiaoning in the future. ¡°I don¡¯t care anymore. If she wants a divorce, so be it. Your brother is such an outstanding and great catch anyway, it won¡¯t be hard to find him another wife. Besides, she chose to leave the marriage with no property or possessions, out of her own ord. We didn¡¯t force her,¡± said Mrs. Jin as she stood up and walked towards her bedroom. Jin Qingyue held onto Shi Shaochuan¡¯s arm and walked towards the entrance, while Mr. Jin sat on the couch and smoked a cigarette solemnly, ignoring them. As soon as they stepped outside of the house, Jin Qingyue apuded excitedly and eximed in joy, ¡°Marvellous!¡± Chapter 168 - I Want a Divorce (6)

Chapter 168: I Want a Divorce (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyue turned to look at Shi Shaochuan and said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you seem excited at all? You won¡¯t have to call her ¡®Sister-inw¡¯ anymore, isn¡¯t that great?¡± ¡°No, I just got reminded of when An Xiaoning and I got divorced. I actually prepared the divorce agreement way before, but I just couldn¡¯t find an appropriate time to bring it up. She signed the papers immediately when I handed them to her that day. Very straightforward indeed. This would be her second time getting a divorce,¡± said Shi Shaochuan as he recalled the details of that night. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter how many times a guy gets divorced, there¡¯ll be plenty of women waiting in line to marry him as long as he¡¯s rich. However, it¡¯d be hard for a woman to find a better man to marry once she¡¯s divorced, regardless of how wealthy she may be,¡± said Jin Qingyue. ¡°What an urate analysis you¡¯ve given,¡± Shi Shaochuan scoffed. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear what my mother said earlier? She¡¯s going to leave without a single cent from us. Hats off to her for being so courageous.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t she just receive 50 million dors from me? Besides, she must be earning quite a bit from her clothing store too. It wouldn¡¯t make much of a difference for her to leave with nothing, anyway.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. Given how greedy she is, she can easily earn a ton from providing fortune-telling services for wealthy people. Can¡¯t believe I forgot about that. By the way, let¡¯s bring more bodyguards with us, I¡¯m still trying to recover from that traumatic experience,¡± Jin Qingyue said to Shi Shaochuan. ¡°Look behind.¡± Jin Qingyue turned around to see a car following closely behind them. To her surprise, the car was full of bodyguards. She could not help but let out a satisfied smile and said, ¡°How meticulous of you.¡± Ye Xiaotian stood in front of the window and gazed out at the heavy snow, wrapping a nket around himself, sipping from his cup every now and then. A deafening silence filled the room as he was all by himself. All of a sudden, the door opened with a loud thud. His forehead creased into a frown as he turned to face the door and chided, ¡°Butler, why are you still as reckless as ever?¡± ¡°Young Sir, Ms. Bai has passed away.¡± Upon hearing the piece of shocking news, Ye Xiaotian dropped the cup he was holding, which instantly shattered into pieces, the alcohol sttering all over the hem of his pants. ¡°Ranran is dead?¡± he gasped in shock. ¡°Yes, we just received the news from the Bai family. They mentioned that Ms. Bai had just passed on five minutes ago due to heart failure. They asked if you¡¯d like to make a trip down.¡± ¡°Obviously,¡± said Ye Xiaotian as he quickly strode towards the entrance. A sullen and gloomy expression formed on his face. A sudden thought struck his mind as he recalled her decision to call off the wedding. Without hesitation, he hurriedly drove towards the Bai family home. He was greeted with the sounds of weeping as soon as he stepped foot into the living room. ¡°She was fine just before, how did she pass away all of a sudden?¡± he asked with a look of austerity on his face. Mr. Bai let out a sigh and handed him a letter. ¡°Ranran wanted you to have this.¡± Instead of reading the letter immediately, Ye Xiaotian asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Ranran?¡± ¡°She¡¯s in her bedroom.¡± Ye Xiaotian made his way towards her bedroom, only to see that her bed was in aplete mess, while sheid there, looking as pale as a sheet. Her eyes were closed, and she waspletely motionless, with no signs of breathing at all. He bent forward and held her in his arms. ¡°Ranran...¡± he wailed with a deep sigh. Gradually, her body began to lose its warmth, turning icy cold. ¡°We found it strange that she decided to call off her engagement with you, so out of blue. Especially since we¡¯re all aware of how much she adored you, so much so that she went ahead with donating her liver to your mother, despite our strong disapproval...¡± Bai Duocai said with swollen and bloodshot eyes. Bai Duocai could not help but break down into tears as he continued, ¡°She had loved you too much, which was why she didn¡¯t want to marry you, knowing that she was already on the verge of death. It¡¯s not your fault though, she¡¯s just unlucky to have contracted such a virus.¡± Ye Xiaotian looked up and asked coldly, ¡°A virus?¡± ¡°Yes, she told us that she was infected with the SIA virus. She was told by the doctor that there would be no signs or symptoms at all in the initial stages of infection. After a certain period of time, the symptoms would begin to show from the abdominal area and spread upwards. Severe heart failure will then ur soon after.¡± ¡°How did she get infected?¡± Shaking his head, Bai Duocai answered, ¡°I don¡¯t know, she didn¡¯t know when she had gotten infected either.¡± ¡°SIA?¡± Ye Xiaotian¡¯s eyes turned ice cold, and he did not continue to say much about it. ¡°Have you started making the necessary preparations for the funeral?¡± he asked, changing the subject. ¡°Yes.¡± Staring at the deceased Bai Ranran who looked like she was just sleeping, Ye Xiaotian was suddenly overwhelmed by a strong sense of guilt. Ye Xiaotian left the letter unopened and finally read it, three days after her burial. ¡°Xiaotian, I may have already passed on, by the time you read this letter. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that I had discovered by chance that my life would be ending soon, perhaps I would never have had the courage to let you go. I¡¯d really like to thank An Xiaoning for her urate readings. She was even spot-on about the cause of my death. If I hadn¡¯t known about this, I would¡¯ve died without even knowing that I¡¯ll pass away before bing your wife, which was something I was looking forward to very much. That would have really be my biggest regret. Xiaotian, to be honest, I¡¯ve always known that you had felt differently about Mo Li,pared to me. I know she has a special ce in your heart, I actually feel bad that she had to be forced to donate blood to me. I hope a woman whom you truly love can fill the position I¡¯ve always wanted to and bring you the happiness you deserve.¡± A single teardrop streamed down his face as he read the letter. He then lit it on fire and stuck it out of the window of his car, watching it burn into ashes before lighting up a cigarette. In fact, he was well aware that Bai Ranran had invested all her efforts and done a lot for him, all of which he had felt both grateful yet guilty towards her for. In order to express his gratitude, he had already prepared to marry her and dote on her as much as he could. However, now that she¡¯s already gone, he would no longer have to put up with such an act, just so he could repay her for everything she had done for him. He would no longer have to be trapped in the shackles of marriage with someone he did not love. Although arranged marriages weremon amongst wealthy families, he would much rather settle down with a woman he truly loved, given a choice. It would have been a marriage based on guilt and gratitude, instead of true love. Ye Xiaotian disposed of the cigarette before it was burnt ¡¯til the end and began driving away. He returned to his home in Ming Yuan Estate, only to see Sun Weiwei¡¯s car parked at the entrance as he drove towards the backyard. ¡°Brother Xiaotian,¡± greeted Sun Weiwei as she hurriedly strode towards his car. ¡°Why are you here?¡± he asked calmly after alighting. ¡°I¡¯m here to see you. Did you just return from visiting Sis Ranran¡¯s grave?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Standing tall and straight, he grabbed his car keys and walked towards the living room. Sun Weiwei hurriedly chased after him and said, ¡°Brother Xiaotian, I¡¯m thinking of taking a few days¡¯ break from work. Why don¡¯t we go on a short trip to rx our minds?¡± ¡°No thanks,¡± he rejected without hesitation. Refusing to give up, Sun Weiwei continued to try her luck. ¡°How about we visit Y Nation? I¡¯ve been there once, the scenery is not bad, it¡¯ll be great for a vacation.¡± ¡°I know you mean well, but I¡¯m just not in the mood for that now, understand?¡± he said coldly with a straight face, cing one hand in his pocket while tucking a stray hair behind Sun Weiwei¡¯s ear with the other. Sun Weiwei watched as he entered the living room, unsure if she should tag along. After a moment of hesitation, she decided to just follow suit. She entered the living room, only to find that he had gone upstairs. She managed to curb the strong urge to look for him and decided to head home instead. After getting into her car, she stretched her arms backwards while leaning her head against the headrest. Staring at the entrance of his house, she began to wonder to herself: Now that Bai Ranran is dead and Mo Li is married, were there still any women in his life who mattered a great deal to him? It would seem there were none left. Chapter 169 - I Want a Divorce (7)

Chapter 169: I Want a Divorce (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios No rush, easy does it. She had plenty of time anyway. A smirk formed on Sun Weiwei¡¯s lips as she drove off alone. Major news had been breaking out and being reported on tabloids and entertainment news ofte. News concerning the few major wealthy families of the country were making the headlines for days, causing the frivolous news about celebrities to pale inparison. Although Bai Ranran had already passed on, the tabloids and media reporters were still bent on uncovering the history of her romance with Ye Xiaotian. It went on continuously for days and only came to an end when Ye Xiaotian proceeded to issue a warning to the mediapanies. After being hospitalized for ten days, An Xiaoning could finally get out of bed and was free to move about. Although she could move about with ease, the doctor had advised her against strenuous activity. All the same, she still had to continue to rest for a period of time before she couldpletely recover. She had initially nned to settle the divorce proceedings with Jin Qingyan the day after. However, it also happened to be the day of Jin Qingyue and Shi Shaochuan¡¯s wedding. Thus, she dismissed the idea and decided to wait until their wedding was over. Gu Beicheng paid An Xiaoning a visit at the hospital, bringing along her favorite food. At the sight of his arrival, she sat up straight and said, grinning from ear to ear, ¡°That must be something delicious.¡± ¡°Of course. I only ever bring you food that¡¯s tasty. Quick, have it while it¡¯s hot,¡± he answered, handing her a pair of chopsticks. An Xiaoning nodded and began digging in. ¡°Let¡¯s take a walk after you¡¯re finished eating, so as to aid digestion.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± After some consideration, she continued, ¡°I¡¯d like to get discharged tomorrow.¡± ¡°But the doctor said you should stay for a few more days.¡± ¡°Nah, I want to go home,¡± An Xiaoning refuted. ¡°Well, if you prefer staying at home, just go ahead then,¡± Gu Beicheng agreed. After a moment of silence, she asked, ¡°Beicheng... aren¡¯t you curious about why Jin Qingyan stopped showing up here the past few days?¡± ¡°He hasn¡¯t beening? I just assumed I didn¡¯t bump into him. In fact, I was rather surprised at how strangely coincidental it was that I managed to miss him every time I was here.¡± Noticing a change in her expression, Gu Beicheng questioned, ¡°What happened between you two?¡± ¡°I initiated it,¡± An Xiaoning answered, handing him the divorce agreement. ¡°A divorce?¡± he gasped in shock upon reading the content of the agreement. An Xiaoning remained silent and continued eating. Gu Beicheng began to feel vexed as he continued to peruse the rest of the content. ¡°You¡¯re so money-minded, yet you actually decided to leave the marriage without taking any property or alimony, out of your own ord? Why did you do that? You must¡¯ve been blinded by love and marriage,¡± he chided. Instead of taking offense, An Xiaoning said with a smile, ¡°Money can always be made again. Besides, I already have more than enough tost me a lifetime now. I might even get to make more in the future, so there¡¯s no need to make myself out to be so greedy.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because I can no longer treat him and his family like my own, with genuine sincerity. I don¡¯t me him though, I probably would¡¯ve done the same. If you were put in his spot, you probably would¡¯ve too...¡± An Xiaoning exined. Before she could even finish her sentence, Gu Beicheng eagerly answered, ¡°No, if I were in his position, I would¡¯ve chosen you without a doubt.¡± ¡°What if you had to choose between me and your parents?¡± ¡°I¡¯d definitely choose you if you were my wife and if I truly loved you. Father and Mother may be upset to have an unfilial son, but you¡¯d definitely be ted to know that you have a great husband who puts you first. Then, you¡¯ll be more than willing to spend the rest of your life with me.¡± ¡°Mother is going to kill you if she finds out about what you said,¡± An Xiaoning teased, letting out a chuckle. ¡°She won¡¯t. I¡¯ll stay firm on my answer even if she¡¯s here,¡± Gu Beicheng said earnestly, for he was in a different position from Jin Qingyan and he knew how important An Xiaoning was to the Gu family. Thus, should he ever be faced with such a dilemma, he would definitely pick her, as long as she was his wife! In fact, he was certain that his family would share simr sentiments as him. An Xiaoning was also well aware that they would choose to save her, only because she yed a crucial role in keeping their family safe. Thus, she did not respond much, other than with a faint smile. ¡°You know, I¡¯m really d you¡¯re getting a divorce. Because then, I¡¯ll stand a chance to marry you and make you my precious, beloved wife,¡± Gu Beicheng said candidly, with no intentions to hide his feelings at all. An Xiaoning was taken aback by his sudden confession and began poking him with the other end of the chopstick. ¡°You¡¯re so mean, taking advantage right after I had gotten a divorce,¡± she chided jokingly. ¡°I¡¯ve already had such intentions in mind, way before you were divorced.¡± Trying to y it off as a joke, An Xiaoning said smilingly, ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯d want to marry a woman who¡¯s twice divorced. Neither do I think I¡¯ll be courageous enough to get married for the third time. I was referring to my own ce when I mentioned that I¡¯d like to go home, earlier. It¡¯s a mansion on Dongpo Road, which I¡¯ve bought a while ago.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve prepared yourself long ago, I see,¡± said Gu Beicheng, who seemed to be in high spirits after hearing the piece of good news. ¡°One must always prepare themselves for the worst and have a backup n in hand. I have more important things to do once I¡¯m fully recovered. I¡¯m going to take up wrestling and attend vigorous training sessions at exercise boot camps. It¡¯s time I learn how to defend myself in times of danger,¡± said An Xiaoning, having alreadye up with a well-thought-out n. ¡°You have a detailed n and a clear goal in your head, continuing to enjoy life after suffering a great disappointment. That¡¯s great,¡± Gu Beichengplimented her. Noticing that she was almost done eating, he bent forward to pick her shoes up, in a bid to help her put them on. ¡°It¡¯s alright, I can wear them myself.¡± ¡°Your wound is going to act up again if you bend forward to squat down. Be good, listen to me,¡± he insisted. ¡°Thank you, Brother,¡± she said in a sweet voice. ¡°What a rare asion it is, for you to call me ¡®Brother¡¯,¡± he said with a chuckle while helping her put on her shoes. They then proceeded to go out for a walk after putting down the crockery on the table. However, they did not stray too far from the hospital but instead strolled around the sidewalk behind, where there was arger crowd. ¡°Do you still remember the first time we met?¡± he asked. ¡°Of course I do. Frankly speaking, my first impression of you was average. In fact... how should I put it... I didn¡¯t feel anything at all,¡± she said candidly. ¡°Oh... that¡¯s unfair, you left a deep impression on me,¡± he said smilingly. Standing firm to the ground while cing his hands on her shoulders, he stared deeply into her eyes and said, ¡°I guess you could say that you were just like a strong ma, the very first time Iid my eyes upon you, whereas I was akin to a piece of metal, strongly attracted to you, even from afar. The more I get to know you, the more surprised I get, finding out something new about your personality each time. You¡¯re very different from other girls, that¡¯s what I like very much about you.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, he pulled An Xiaoning into his arms, startling her. She waspletely stunned beyond words by his sudden confession, and the shock robbed her of her senses. At this very moment, a figure was standing straight and tall by the window of the hospital ward, gazing down at the pair embracing each other with a pair of icy cold eyes. He then dumped the food he was holding into the trash bin and left. An Xiaoning returned to her ward while Gu Beicheng instructed the bodyguards at the door to stay vignt before leaving. An Xiaoning picked up the lunchbox in a bid to dispose of the remaining leftovers, only to see the bag of food which had been thrown into the bin a few moments ago. She picked it up and realized that it was still piping hot. Moreover, there were more than just a few types of dishes. She turned to the bodyguards at the door to ask if she¡¯d had a visitor, to which they answered frankly, ¡°It was Young Sir who came by.¡± An Xiaoning then closed the door and slowly walked towards the window. She realized that the sidewalk where she had taken a stroll with Gu Beicheng earlier could be seen clearly from the position she was standing at. Chapter 170 - I Want a Divorce (8)

Chapter 170: I Want a Divorce (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoningid in bed and recalled the first thing she said when Gu Beicheng wrapped her in his arms on the sidewalk earlier. ¡°I told you just now, I don¡¯t have the courage or confidence to get married for the third time. Besides, I don¡¯t n to get into another rtionship from now on.¡± To which Gu Beicheng answered half-jokingly, ¡°Are you nning to be a nun then?¡± ¡°Perhaps,¡± she answered coldly, after which she turned around and began walking back to the ward. In a bid to give himself an out, Gu Beicheng said, ¡°Alright, fine. I don¡¯t n on getting a girlfriend either. Tell me when you decide to change your mind one day, let¡¯s get married and be doubly rted.¡± ¡°Haha, sure,¡± she yed along and gave him an out. An Xiaoning continued to lie in bed, without a tinge of sleepiness at all. She picked up her phone and began looking through her contacts list. She felt a sudden urge to send Jin Qingyan a text message but decided to dismiss the idea entirely after giving it some thought. Technically speaking, they were yet to be officially divorced. Thus, she was still his wife and Jin Qingyue¡¯s sister-inw by name. Hence, she wondered to herself if she should still attend Jin Qingyue¡¯s wedding. It should be fine not to turn up, using her injury as an excuse. An Xiaoning felt a sense offort at the thought of the mansion she owned, which was like her safe haven. After a sleepless night, An Xiaoning proceeded to give Mei Yangyang a call when morning arrived. She then instructed thetter to bring her a set of clothes from her clothing store, as well as a pair of boots from the store next door. Mei Yangyang arrived at the hospital ward at 8 o¡¯clock in the morning with bags of clothing and shoes. ¡°Sis, where are you nning to go?¡± she asked. ¡°Out of here. Go settle the administrative procedures to get me discharged, Gu Beicheng will be here to pick me up in a while,¡± she instructed Mei Yangyang. ¡°Alright.¡± She changed into the fresh set of clothes and realized that her hair was tangled in knots, due to the fact that she had not showered in days. I must get my hair washed today , she thought to herself. Jin Qingyue¡¯s wedding wasvish and grand. Although Shi Shaochuan had politely declined to invite any media personnel, photos of their wedding were, nheless, exposed and subjected to the scrutiny ofizens online. Someizens were cynical about their choice to get married at such an untimely period, given that three of Shi Shaochuan¡¯s family members had just passed away not long ago. However, some had thought the opposite ¡ª it must be true love, precisely because he was still insistent on marrying Jin Qingyue, despite the recent unfortunate events. There were mixed reactions and opinions amongst theizens. On the other hand, the public did not react much to the fact that An Xiaoning did not attend the wedding, perhaps because it was understandable for her not to show up, especially since she was heavily wounded and had just suffered a miscarriage. Having understood her plight, they did not amplify or focus their attention on the matter. Yet, news of the embarrassing slip-ups that urred during the wedding quickly spread across toizens online. It quickly became the talk of the town and a hot topic of discussion amongst many. Firstly, there was Shi Shaochuan, whose trousers¡¯ zipper came undone right after the solemnization ceremony ended, an amusing sight which the guests had managed to snap photos of and upload online. Next, it was Jin Qingyue¡¯s turn to embarrass herself by tripping over herself in heels during the toasting ceremony, after which she excused herself before she had even finished toasting. Last came the news of an anonymous femaleizen iming to be Shi Shaochuan¡¯s ex-girlfriend of many years, who took to the inte to expose all of Shi Shaochuan¡¯s strange and peculiar habits, as well as some awkward and embarrassing situations he was embroiled in, in the past. What should have been a joyous asion worth celebrating had turned into a disastrous event, causing Jin Qingyue to grow into an uncontroble rage as she trembled in exasperation. Shi Shaochuan had no choice but to exin himself profusely and continuously try to cate her. He promised over and over again that the rumors online were untrue and that any anonymousizens iming to be his ex-girlfriends were merely putting up false usations. However, Jin Qingyue was not convinced at all, especially since the expos¨¦ about his strange habits was indeed true. Extremely upset at how badly her wedding had turned out, Jin Qingyue burst into tears and began throwing a tantrum, which she kept up with until Mrs. Jin entered tofort her. The Jin family, who had disapproved of Shi Shaochuan right from the beginning, were cross at the sight of him. An Xiaoning basked in the sun while leaning against a chair in the backyard. Holding her phone in her hand, she began scrolling through news reports of the wedding. She paused the news video she was watching at the instant that she caught a glimpse of Jin Qingyan on the screen. In the video, he appeared to have lost some weight, evident from his now-sunken cheeks. d in a bespoke suit, he stood there with a nk expression on his face, not giving away any clues of his true emotions. An Xiaoning set her phone aside and closed her eyes while giving her legs a huge stretch. The warm rays of the sun shone down on her, as if it were a pair of warm hands, gently caressing her face. Every now and then, she would be reminded of her conversation with the gynecologist who operated on her. ¡°Doctor, since my womb was ruptured in the process of getting stabbed and I even suffered a miscarriage, will I still have a chance to conceive in the future?¡± ¡°Mrs. Jin, based on your condition, you will still recover gradually if you take extra care of it.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to hear the truth.¡± ¡°I¡¯m speaking nothing but the truth, Mrs. Jin. Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll still be able to conceive in the future, as long as you take good care and nourish yourself with the right supplements. It shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡± ¡°Alright, thank you.¡± An Xiaoning opened her eyes all of a sudden, only to be momentarily blinded by the striking rays of the sun. She sat up and returned inside her house, after which she took out the human mask she had purchased. ¡°Sis, where are you going?¡± asked Mei Yangyang, upon seeing that An Xiaoning was headed for the door. ¡°I¡¯m going out for a short while, I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± ¡°What would you like to buy? I¡¯ll get it for you, or I¡¯ll apany you instead,¡± said Mei Yangyang as she ced the broom aside and walked towards her. ¡°Yangyang, I¡¯ll be back real soon. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be fine. Look, I have this. Can¡¯t recognize me, eh?¡± An Xiaoning answered as she put the mask on, which shocked Mei Yangyang greatly. ¡°Yes...¡± ¡°Wait for me at home, I¡¯ll be back in a bit.¡± An Xiaoning removed the mask and exited the door. Still feeling a little worried, Mei Yangyang hurriedly chased after her and said, ¡°Sis, call me if anything happens.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Since An Xiaoning did not get Gu Beicheng to send his bodyguards, the ones standing by the entrance at the hospital, whom she then asked to leave, had belonged to Jin Qingyan. It was not that she was brave; rather, she found that it would not be appropriate to have Jin Qingyan¡¯s men following her around. Besides, she would be carrying out her task while wearing the mask, which meant no one could recognize her true identity at all. After walking a distance, An Xiaoning hailed a taxi and arrived at another public hospital in the city. She headed to the gynecological clinic again for another checkup. Having used a false name and age, no one could tell that she was An Xiaoning. Thus, the doctor was straightforward and frank about the results of the checkup. ¡°After looking at the test report, I¡¯ve found that you were stabbed in a critical spot, right smack in the middle of your womb. Thus, the damage done will be permanent. In addition, scarring had developed at the spot where fertilized eggs are to be embedded, which means it¡¯ll be hard for you to get pregnant again, though it¡¯s also entirely possible that you may no longer conceive at all. In such cases, you¡¯d have to be very careful throughout the entire course of pregnancy, should you manage to be impregnated. You¡¯ll have to ensure that you¡¯re in a constant good mood, rid of any negative feelings or emotions, and take your medicine regrly. As long as you stick to that, there may still be a chance for you to conceive.¡± ¡°Thank you, Doctor,¡± An Xiaoning thanked the gynecologist before standing up to leave with the report in her hands. At this point, An Xiaoning knew for sure that she would never have the chance to conceive again for the rest of her life, since the gynecologist was merely trying to make her condition sound more optimistic. It was right to get a divorce, after all , she thought to herself with a lopsided smile. Standing by the entrance of the hospital, she stared at the passing cars and pedestrians on the road, unable to restrain her emotions as tears began to stream down her face. Chapter 171 - I Want a Divorce (9)

Chapter 171: I Want a Divorce (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios What are you crying for, An Xiaoning? Crying for the sorry plight you¡¯re in? she asked herself Perhaps she was taking pity on herself for the string of unfortunate events she had faced since birth. First, she was abandoned by her biological parents and adopted by her foster ones, who then used her of jinxing her adoptive family. As a result, she was again abandoned and sent to the mountains. Fortunately, she was taken in by her master, Nun Junxin, who singlehandedly raised her until adulthood. However, her master unfortunately passed away, leaving her all alone to fend for herself, after which she left the mountains to get married to Shi Shaochuan. Yet, they were only married in name, and she continued to live the next two years of her life stuck in a meaningless and empty marriage, which ultimately ended dismally. Then came her second marriage, which happened all too quickly, before she could even take the time to consider it carefully. Once again, it had to be put to an end, soon enough. Will a third marriage exist in her life? Perhaps not, for she was determined to stay single for the rest of her life. She whipped her phone out and sent Jin Qingyan a text message: ¡°I¡¯ll be making a trip down to your ce to collect my luggage and belongings. Let¡¯s get the divorce proceedings settled as well.¡± It was not until An Xiaoning arrived at her doorstep that she finally received his single-worded reply: ¡°Okay.¡± ¡ª¡ª Fan Shixin entered the wine cer, only to be greeted with a strong smell of alcohol, which infiltrated his senses as soon as he opened the door. Upon noticing that Jin Qingyan had drunk a great amount of alcohol, unlike his usual self, Fan Shixin stepped forward to grab the bottle of liquor away from thetter¡¯s hands. ¡°Young Sir, you can¡¯t go on drinking like this. Let me help you to bed upstairs, alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not drunk, get out.¡± Fan Shixin stayed put and said instead, ¡°Look how drunk you¡¯ve be, yet you still im to be sober.¡± ¡°Give me the liquor.¡± ¡°No,¡± Fan Shixin refuted as he took a step back and gestured for the four other bodyguards, Xiao Huang, Xiao Lu, Xiao Bai, and Xiao Zi, to enter. ¡°Quick, bring Young Sir to his room,¡± he instructed. Just as they were stepping closer towards him, Jin Qingyan began to point a finger at them with his eyes ssed over. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare touch me,¡± he muttered in a drunken stupor. At that instant, none of them dared to move an inch and, instead, they froze on the spot. Jin Qingyan stood up, swaying unsteadily from side to side as he slowly walked towards Fan Shixin and snatched the bottle of liquor back from his hands. He then sneeringly said, ¡°You guys don¡¯t know anything. You don¡¯t understand at all, just how upset I am right now!¡± ¡°Young Sir, we understand...¡± ¡°What do you even understand?¡± he retorted as tears welled up in his eyes all of a sudden, startling the five bodyguards. For the first time in their lives, they witnessed with their very own eyes the usually emotionless Young Sir of theirs tearing up right in front of them. ¡°She¡¯s going to divorce me, we¡¯re getting a divorce tomorrow!¡± he yelled in a sudden outburst. The five bodyguards looked at each other in dismay, not knowing how they could help his plight. Fan Shixin then gestured for them to leave, after which he followed behind and said softly at the door, ¡°Let him drink to his heart¡¯s content. He won¡¯t have to think about the unhappy matters once he¡¯s drunk. Carry him back to his roomter, when he¡¯s drunk out of his senses and bes unconscious.¡± ¡°Yes, Chief.¡± Fan Shixin exited the wine cer and stumbled upon Long Tianze, who was still dressed in the clothes he had worn to attend Jin Qingyue¡¯s wedding in the day. ¡°Where¡¯s Qingyan?¡± ¡°He¡¯s in the wine cer.¡± Without another word, Long Tianze proceeded to enter right away. He sat down beside Jin Qingyan and reached out to open a bottle of liquor for himself. ¡°Take it easy. Take me for an example, I¡¯ve carried a torch for your sister for so many years, but still, I¡¯ve managed to put it all behind me, haven¡¯t I? Actually, I realized that I had made the right decision to let go after I decided to give up, because only then could I allow myself to be open to other options. I never thought I would live to see the day when you¡¯re this upset. How rare to see you like this, indeed,¡± he said, clinking his bottle against Jin Qingyan¡¯s. Jin Qingyan then drank another few mouthfuls of the liquor and murmured, ¡°Tianze.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I feel like I love her in a different way,pared to Chi Rui¡¯er.¡± ¡°How so?¡± asked Long Tianze, thinking that he should still be a little sober, to be able to call his name out correctly. ¡°When Rui¡¯er got together with Gu Beicheng back then, I was somewhat willing to let go of her, thinking that I ought to respect her decision. But this time, I just can¡¯t tolerate the thought of Xiaoning being together with another man, even though we¡¯ve yet to be officially divorced. The thought of it just drives me crazy and makes my heart shatter into pieces,¡± Jin Qingyan exined as he put down the bottle of liquor and leaned his entire weight against the wall. After analyzing his words, Long Tianze came up with a conclusion. ¡°I don¡¯t think you actually loved Chi Rui¡¯er, did you? When in love, one bes selfish and possessive, not wishing to see another man go near the woman you love at all. But then again, once you¡¯re divorced, both of you will be single and free. You¡¯ll no longer be in any position to restrict her from doing anything or to do anything to her. Divorce is a serious matter, you should really consider it carefully.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already agreed to go ahead with the divorce proceedings tomorrow.¡± Long Tianze reached a hand out to poke him and chided, ¡°Are you out of your mind? Why did you agree to a divorce if you don¡¯t wish to go through it at all? Did you do it just to prove how much of a gentleman you are? Or do you not want to appear clingy and annoying? Or are you too caught up with preserving your image?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe I really just don¡¯t want her to think that I can¡¯t go on living without her.¡± ¡°Afraid to bruise your own ego... why is she so insistent on getting a divorce, though? Was it because of the miscarriage, or because your family decided to save Qingyue? Or is it none of the above? I just can¡¯t figure why.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°If you love her, make her stay.¡± ¡°I love her?¡± ¡°Do you not? If you don¡¯t love her, what are you vexing about right now?¡± Long Tianze retorted. ¡°I have no idea either. But it seems we¡¯re getting a divorce for sure. You know, we had a bet in the past and even signed an agreement. If she could keep her job at the television production unit for an entire month, I would have to grant her any one wish of hers. Otherwise, she would have to be my ve for a day. In the end, she managed to win the bet, and she just told me that her wish is for us to get a divorce.¡± ¡®You¡¯ve really brought it upon yourself. Look what¡¯s happening now, you have no choice but to grant her her wish. I really take my hat off to you for being so silly. Wish I could just stomp you to death,¡± said an infuriated Long Tianze. Jin Qingyan closed his eyes as he began to lose his consciousness, before falling into a deep sleep. Long Tianze did not go home that night but instead slept on the same bed as Jin Qingyan, only because he had been drinking and did not want to drive while under the influence. However, the drunk Jin Qingyan could subconsciously feel the presence of another person on the bed and, having mistaken Long Tianze for An Xiaoning, he hurriedly embraced him tightly in his arms. Dazed and sleepy, Long Tianze felt a hand continuously rubbing against his chest. He opened his eyes, only to see that Jin Qingyan was hugging him, one hand on his... Feeling irritated yet amused, he reached out to smack him on his face yfully and said, ¡°Hurry, wake up. Sis-inw is back.¡± Jin Qingyan opened his eyes immediately and sat up straight. He looked around the room only to realize that he had been tricked, after which he reached his hands out in an attempt to strangle Long Tianze. However, thetter managed to dodge quickly and said, ¡°You actually have the cheek to be violent with me? You kept rubbing my chest just now.¡± Jin Qingyan ignored him and proceeded to the bathroom to take a shower. Long Tianze followed suit. After taking a look at the time, he entered the bathroom and turned on the tap to rinse his face with water. He then squeezed some facial cleanser onto his palm and began washing his face while saying, ¡°Let me tell you, you¡¯d better think it through carefully.¡± ¡°Think what through?¡± ¡°Quit feigning ignorance, think through your divorce with Sis-inw, obviously. Ignore the agreement and just ask yourself how you truly feel. Don¡¯t get a divorce as long as you don¡¯t want to,¡± said Long Tianze, bending forward to rinse the foam off his hands. ¡°Who said I didn¡¯t want a divorce? I won¡¯t go back on my word. If she¡¯s bent on getting a divorce, then I shall grant her her wish,¡± Jin Qingyan answered confidently, aplete change in his attitudepared to the night before. ¡°Seriously, why can¡¯t you just coax and cate her? Women love to be cajoled,¡± Long Tianze scorned as he turned around to grab a towel. Chapter 172 - I Want a Divorce (10)

Chapter 172: I Want a Divorce (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°If coaxing her worked, I would¡¯ve done it long ago. It¡¯s not like I can¡¯t get another woman anyway, there are plenty of women who are vying with each other to be together with me!¡± ¡°You... you¡¯re just in denial of your feelings. I¡¯ll get going.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After taking a shower, Jin Qingyan exchanged nces with An Xiaoning just as he wasing out of the bathroom in a bathrobe. He stood rooted to the ground and stared at her. ¡°Let me pack my luggage first,¡± said An Xiaoning, appearing rather calm and collected. Jin Qingyan did not answer and instead headed inside the walk-in wardrobe as soon as he saw her approaching. He then sat down on the bed, unsure where he should ce his hands. The room was filled with silence, apart from the noises An Xiaoning was making as she packed her belongings. Jin Qingyan stood up all of a sudden and strode towards the walk-in wardrobe where An Xiaoning was packing her clothes. She watched as he removed his bathrobe and cast it aside, exposing his stark naked body. Absolutely unrestrained, he continued to put on his clothes slowly, one piece after another. It seemed he did not find anything inappropriate with what he was doing. On the other hand, An Xiaoning waspletely ill at ease. Although they had been married for months, she was still not used to such a sight. Hanging her head low, she picked up her speed and hurriedly packed into her luggage all her clothes, shoes, bags, and everything else she had bought with her own money. However, she made sure not to take a single item which belonged to the Jin family. Jin Qingyan dressed himself in an immacte set of clothes and stood in front of her. With both hands behind his back, he looked down at her from above. ¡°Can¡¯t... can¡¯t you just allow me the chance to make it up to you in the future, instead of getting a divorce?¡± he said, keeping his eyes fixed on her. Upon hearing his words, An Xiaoning stopped packing immediately, beginning to feel a strange sense of sadness all of a sudden. However, she did not allow his words to make her waver and stood firm on her decision instead. ¡°I can¡¯t. Once I¡¯ve decided on something, I won¡¯t change my mind easily.¡± ¡°Since you¡¯re so insistent, I have nothing else to say. Come out when you¡¯re done packing,¡± he said coldly, clenching his fists. He turned around to leave as soon as he finished speaking. An Xiaoning then looked up and watched his figure fade away slowly. Jin Qingyan continued to pace back and forth in the bedroom until she finally came out of the walk-in wardrobe. He then headed downstairs and began driving towards the old Mansion to collect his household register. He stepped foot inside the old Mansion to see that all of his family members were present ¡ª Mr. Jin was reading the newspapers while Mrs. Jin was knitting a sweater and Jin Qingyue was ying with her mobile phone on the couch. Upon sight of his arrival, Mrs. Jin noticed the grim expression on his face. ¡°Qingyan, have you eaten?¡± she asked, casting her wool and needle aside. ¡°No. Where¡¯s my household register? Give it to me.¡± Mrs. Jin stood up, having already guessed what he needed it for. ¡°You¡¯re really getting a divorce?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll bring it to you,¡± said Mrs. Jin as she walked towards her bedroom. Jin Qingyan waited patiently for her return, with one hand tucked in his pocket. Shortly after, Mrs. Jin returned with his household register. Jin Qingyan took it from her hands and turned around to leave immediately, without uttering a single word. Mrs. Jin was all jittery and overwhelmed with a mix of emotions as she sat on the couch. ¡°Mother, why are you pulling a long face? You should be feeling happy for Brother, he¡¯s finally going to be single again. After their divorce today, you may begin setting him up with potential matchmaking candidates tomorrow. We¡¯ll show An Xiaoning what she¡¯s missing out on, Brother is such a great catch,¡± Jin Qingyue scoffed. Mr. Jin red and her and said sternly, ¡°That¡¯s enough, stop gloating and rubbing it in. Can¡¯t you see how vexed your Brother already is?¡± ¡°Father, An Xiaoning initiated the divorce with Brother, that must¡¯ve bruised his ego greatly. Why don¡¯t we report it to the media and im that it was Brother who initiated it?¡± ¡°Are your brains fried? iming that your brother initiated the divorce right after your sister-inw just survived an ordeal is obviously going to enrageizens. They¡¯ll definitely bash him online and condemn him for being heartless. Of course we can¡¯t do that.¡± ¡°How about we tell them that it was Sister-inw who initiated it then?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the point of that? We¡¯ll tell the media that she was the one who initiated it when they actually find out about the divorce themselves. To be honest, I would¡¯ve picked your sister-inw over anyone else in our family, should they have been taken away instead. But of all people, it had to be you. At such a critical situation, you¡¯re still the one I care most about in the end, but look how you¡¯re repaying me. You¡¯ve gotten yourself a scoundrel for a husband. But then again, there¡¯s nothing more I can say now that you¡¯re already married,¡± Mrs. Jin said frankly. ¡°Mother, I came home to apany you right after I just got married. Aren¡¯t I being filial enough?¡± ¡°If only such an unfortunate incident did not happen, Xiaoning and Qingyan wouldn¡¯t have to get a divorce then. She had even gotten pregnant, but now...¡± Mrs. Jin said with a long sigh, no longer in the mood to continue knitting. ¡ª¡ª After An Xiaoning was done packing her belongings, Fan Shixin took the initiative to help her carry her luggage to the trunk of her Ferrari. She then thanked him for his help. ¡°Young Madam, Young Sir actually still cares a lot about you. Last night, he...¡± said Fan Shixin, though he appeared rather constrained and reserved. ¡°Shut up,¡± Jin Qingyan bellowed before Fan Shixin could even finish speaking. Upon sight of Jin Qingyan, Fan Shixin hurriedly bowed at him before trotting away. ¡°Here¡¯s the household register. Wait for me while I go get the marriage certificate.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Jin Qingyan then proceeded upstairs to look for their marriage certificate. While flipping through the little red book, he chanced upon the photo of him and An Xiaoning, which instantly reminded him of the day they registered their marriage. Without further thought, he held the two little red books in his hands and headed downstairs. The two then got into their respective cars and began driving towards the Civil Administration Bureau. Walking side-by-side, they headed inside the ce where they once legalized their status as husband and wife. The staff working at the Civil Administration Bureau turned to look at each other in puzzlement, upon recognizing that it was Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning. They were steadfast in signing the divorce papers, remaining silent throughout the entire process. They were not wishy-washy or hesitant at all. They submitted their marriage certificate and received a certificate of divorce in return. An Xiaoning finally felt at ease and free upon receiving the divorce certificate. Perhaps no one could understand why she was bent on getting a divorce, except herself. Her marriage had already sunk into the doldrums, and she had no choice but to leave, lest she continued to live her days with the memory of the traumatic experience. It would then be a living hell for her, though she was living a life of luxury. ¡°I¡¯ve ced the ne you bought me, as well as the wedding ring, inside the drawer. I¡¯m fine by myself, you take care too. See you never again,¡± said An Xiaoning as she stepped out of the Civil Administration Bureau. Jin Qingyan could not help but pull her into a tight embrace, wishing he could keep her in his arms forever. ¡°Xiaoning...¡± An Xiaoning rested her chin on his shoulder and said, ¡°Mr. Jin, we have nothing to do with each other from now on. Please let go of me.¡± Jin Qingyan felt his body stiffen at her aloof words and let go of her immediately. ¡°It was just a goodbye hug,¡± he said coldly. He turned around to leave as soon as he finished speaking. An Xiaoning stood still on the spot and watched him get into his car and leave. Jin Qingyan stared at her reflection in the rearview mirror which faded slowly and gradually disappeared. The car came to a halt as he stepped on the brakes all of a sudden. Staring at the divorce certificate on the passenger¡¯s seat, Jin Qingyan began to feel like a million daggers were stabbing him in his heart. Chapter 173 - Completely Fallen for Her (1)

Chapter 173: Completely Fallen for Her (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios A sudden thought began running through his mind over and over again. He regretted his decision. He regretted not insisting on saving her back then. If only he had decided to save her at all costs, she would not have wanted a divorce so resolutely, and they would not have lost their precious child even before he came to know of its existence. Throughout his entire journey home, Jin Qingyan was upied with a myriad of thoughts. He stared at the dishes on the dining table with a pair of chopsticks in hand. He had no appetite at all. ¡°Young Sir, please have at least a little to eat. You can¡¯t go on an empty stomach, your body won¡¯t be able to take it. Besides, you¡¯ve had so much alcoholst night,¡± said a worried Auntie Chen. ¡°Alright, you may take your leave,¡± he answered as he began to dig in. He would asionally put down his chopsticks and gaze at the spot where An Xiaoning used to sit as he reminisced about the past. However, the spot was now empty, and all he had left was a memory of her. Jin Qingyan mindlessly chowed down on the food, which tasted nd and tasteless, just like his life now. Fan Shixin entered the house, only to be greeted with the sight of Jin Qingyan who appeared forlorn and soulless. ¡°Young Sir, have you been crying?¡± Fan Shixin asked in astonishment. Jin Qingyan wiped the tears off his face and said coldly, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Your divorce with Ms. An has been exposed. The media wants a piece of exclusive news, do we give them a reply?¡± ¡°No, there¡¯s no need to share details of my private life with the public all the time.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Fan Shixin then turned around and left quietly, finally heaving a huge sigh of relief as soon as he reached the entrance. Jin Qingyan was in an extremely worrying state. Despite having worked for Jin Qingyan for years, Fan Shixin had never seen him so devastated before, so much so that he¡¯d tear up without even realizing it. ¡°Fan Shixin!¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s sudden yelling sent Fan Shixin shivering in shock as thetter hurriedly ran towards to the door. ¡°Young Sir, have you got any orders for me?¡± ¡°Come here,¡± Jin Qingyan bellowed, gesturing for Fan Shixin toe forth. ¡°Coming,¡± said Fan Shixin as he quickly hurried over. ¡°Have you started dating recently?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Fan Shixin asked in surprise, puzzled that Jin Qingyan seemed to be concerned about his personal life all of a sudden. ¡°Answer me.¡± ¡°No, I spend all my time around a bunch of guys every day. Where would I get the chance to meet girls?¡± Fan Shixin answered, feeling a little gloomy. ¡°Okay,¡± said Jin Qingyan as he rose from his seat and took out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth. ¡°Young Sir, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re thinking of setting me up with someone? Since when have you be so concerned about your employees?¡± ¡°You¡¯re reading too much into it, I was just casually asking,¡± Jin Qingyan replied coldly, flinging his handkerchief onto the table before making his way upstairs. Jin Qingyan took a deep breath after closing the door to his bedroom. He then removed his jacket and threw it onto the couch forcefully, before sprawling himself across the bed. ¡°You don¡¯t know any better, An Xiaoning. Did I not treat you well enough? I already said I would make it up to you in the future. Why do you have to insist on a divorce!? Why!?! How I wish I could strangle you to death!¡± Jin Qingyan yelled in despair, repeatedly throwing his fists into the bedsheets and grasping the pillow tightly. ¡°How do you expect me to choose between my wife and my sister? How was I supposed to make a decision? How, how, how! Do you know how terribly upset I¡¯m feeling? You definitely don¡¯t, otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t have demanded a divorce. ¡°An Xiaoning, do I look like I¡¯mcking in women? Have you any idea just how lucky you are to have been chosen by me? Let me tell you, you¡¯re dead lucky!¡± Jin Qingyan shrugged his slippers off and sat cross-legged on the bed, almost exploding in anger. He felt like he was at his wits¡¯ ends, on the verge of losing his sanity and bing deranged. Heid in bed and stared at the empty bedroom, rid of all her belongings, except for her lingering scent. He sat up again and opened the drawer beside the bed to see that the jewel ne and wedding ring were both inside. There were still a few pieces of her clothing left in the wardrobe, but she did not buy those herself. Her toothbrush was still in the bathroom while her slippers were still sitting by the doorstep downstairs. ¡°Damn you, you should¡¯ve taken everything with you when you left, including my memory!¡± Jin Qingyan ced her slippers into a bag and sorted the toothbrush, as well as the remaining clothes which belonged to her, all of which he then put away in a suitcase. Being the gentleman that he was, he felt an obligation to deliver it to her. He felt an urge to tell her to bring her belongings with her, lest they be an eyesore! Jin Qingyan had never once felt at ease throughout the entire day, ever since he returned from the Civil Administration Bureau. Every second was arduous and painful. The weather began to turn gloomy in the afternoon. The initially clear skies turned gray as it became covered in dark clouds and gradually began pouring. The rain had gotten heavier by evening. Jin Qingyan arrived at Dongpo Road in his car. He would not have known about the fact that An Xiaoning had bought herself a mansion there if he had not gotten Fan Shixin to check up on it. Was she already expecting that their marriage would notst long, since the beginning? That was the reason she had prepared herself beforehand, just in case, wasn¡¯t it? Jin Qingyan parked his car at a spot further away from her ce and stared at the two buildings not too far away while sitting in his car. He seemed to be able to imagine just how she would have decorated her home. He took a look at the luggage in the back seat and proceeded to send An Xiaoning a text message with his phone, after which he got down from the car with a ck umbre in hand. He carried the umbre in his right hand and tugged the luggage along with his left. He then walked towards her house slowly. Just as he arrived at the entrance, the gate opened and out came An Xiaoning, dressed in a set of thick pajamas with an umbre in her hand. ¡°I¡¯ve already cleared all my belongings.¡± ¡°I¡¯d be throwing them away, anyway. You might as well just keep them,¡± he said, handing her the luggage. An Xiaoning decided to ept it, seeing how sincere he was to have delivered it to her personally. ¡°Thank you, for especially bringing it to me despite the heavy rain,¡± she said. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, I enjoy doing charity.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be heading in then,¡± said An Xiaoning. Just as she was about to return inside, Jin Qingyan pursed his lips and blurted, ¡°Wait a minute.¡± An Xiaoning stopped in her tracks and turned around to look at him. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°If I told you that I¡¯ve fallen for you, will you return to my side?¡± he asked, avoiding eye contact with her. An Xiaoning was taken aback, for she had never expected that such words woulde out of his mouth. She could not think of an appropriate answer. After hesitating for several seconds, she said, ¡°We¡¯ve already gotten a divorce, is there any point in saying such things now? Since I¡¯ve already decided to divorce you, I don¡¯t ever n to get back together with you. Jin Qingyan, let us part without hard feelings and refrain from seeing each other again in the future, unless necessary.¡± Tears welled up in his eyes at the instant that he heard her words. ¡°Okay, you¡¯d better not regret this ever!¡± he said as his heart was wrenched in agony. His figure gradually faded in the rain after he turned around to leave. An Xiaoning burst into tears as she held onto the umbre and luggage. Chapter 174 - Completely Fallen for Her (2)

Chapter 174: Completely Fallen for Her (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She did not mean for things to end up this way, either. Her reason for getting married was to have someone to spend the rest of her life with. Right from the beginning, her intentions had been pure, and she merely wanted to have an evesting marriage. In reality, she was just being over-idealistic. When thingse crashing down, leaving bes harder than it seems. She had definitely developed feelings for him across the span of the few months that they had been married. She could not me anyone for what had happened, but neither could she live with herself, knowing that she could no longer treat his family like her own even if she chose to stay. She did not regret her decision. An Xiaoning entered the door, dragging the luggage along. Jin Qingyan then drove off in his white Bentley as soon as she closed the door. Jin Qingyan was in low spirits and returned home with a sullen look on his face. Having guessed where he had gone, Fan Shixin stepped forwards and asked cautiously, ¡°Young Sir, would you like to have some hot milk? I¡¯ll get Auntie Chen to make you some.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯d like to be alone for a while, don¡¯t disturb me.¡± He headed upstairs and returned to his bedroom. Sitting on the couch, he poured himself his very own concoction, Dreamy Yanghe, ss after ss. He had rarely gotten drunk from drinking it, ever since he invented this concoction. Tonight would be one of the very few times he¡¯d get intoxicated from it. Unable to rest his mind, Fan Shixin moved a chair to the door outside of his bedroom and sat on it. Within less than an hour, sounds of objects being smashed and thrown around could be hearding from inside, just like Fan Shixin had expected. Though the sounds were getting louder and louder with each passing minute, Fan Shixin stayed put and allowed him to continue, as much as he had wanted to go in and stop him. He continued to wait ¡¯til Jin Qingyan was almost done venting his frustration before opening the door gently with the spare key. The room was dimly lit with the warm yellow light. Jin Qingyan was in a drunken stupor as he sat on the carpet, leaning against the bed. ¡°Young... Young Sir?¡± Jin Qingyan moved a little and opened his eyes slowly. ¡°Shixin,¡± he called, tears streaming down his face uncontrobly. Fan Shixin squatted down in front of him and answered, ¡°Yes? I¡¯m here. Young Sir, please don¡¯t act like this.¡± ¡°I¡¯m terribly upset, so upset that I feel like dying.¡± Fan Shixin watched as he continued to bawl continuously like a child, his nose turning red from all the crying. He was well aware that Jin Qingyan had always been known to be well tempered and that he rarely showed his weak side or emotions, let alone cry. It was evident from the many empty liquor bottles lying around on the ground that Jin Qingyan had been drinking his sorrows away. If it weren¡¯t for the effects from the massive amount of alcohol he had drunk, he probably would have nevere in touch with his emotions and reveal such a fragile and emotional side of himself. Fan Shixin helped him up onto the bed and proceeded to ce a cold towel on his forehead. ¡°You¡¯ll be fine after a night¡¯s sleep.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t... we¡¯re divorced, and she said it¡¯s best that we don¡¯t see each other at all in the future. I know she mes me for not choosing to save her. I me myself for that too, for not doing enough to protect her. It was my mistake and negligence that caused all of these to happen. She was right to have chosen to get a divorce, she was right...¡± he murmured with half-closed eyes. ¡°Young Sir... it¡¯s not your fault,¡± Fan Shixin said softly. Jin Qingyan shook his head and turned on his side, after which he instructed, ¡°Bring me a ss of water and you may leave after that.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Fan Shixin tucked him beneath the duvet and proceeded to bring him a ss of warm water, which he then ced onto the table. He had no choice but to get someone to clear the mess Jin Qingyan had created in the bedroom. Too worried to return to his own room to sleep, Fan Shixin wrapped himself in a nket and sat outside Jin Qingyan¡¯s bedroom instead. He left the door slightly ajar, so that he would hear every noise in the room clearly, in case anything happened. However, he felt rather sleepy, nheless, and would probably stay asleep unless there was too loud of a noise. As much as he was already drunk, Jin Qingyan still could not bring himself to fall asleep, and heid in bed wide awake. Even alcohol could not save him from his sorrowful thoughts and allow him to just forget everything for a short while. He reached into his pocket and retrieved a small bottle. He knew clearly what it was, despite being drunk. He recalled the present she had given him for his birthday. She had gifted him with a watch, a letter, and danced for him while wearing nothing except a scarf. She danced passionately around him, swaying her svelte and slender body gracefully. He could not get her out of his head. He missed everything about her dearly ¡ª her petite frame, her poised and elegant demeanor, even her little tantrums. They were all deeply etched in his mind. He could not figure out when she had started to be so important to him. All he knew was that it was all toote now. Jin Qingyan opened the cap of the bottle in his hand as a single teardrop streamed down his face. ¡ª¡ª The sudden rumble of the thunder jolted An Xiaoning awake as she sprung up immediately, breaking into a sweat. She began to pant heavily, overwhelmed with a sudden feeling of helplessness and difort. ¡°Sis... did you have a nightmare?¡± asked Mei Yangyang as she turned on the lights and sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes wearily. ¡°No, I don¡¯t know what¡¯s with me, either,¡± An Xiaoning answered, leaning against her pillow. ¡°You¡¯ve been looking flustered and rather haggard ever since you were done with the divorce proceedings. Sis, are you starting to regret your decision?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not. I don¡¯t ever feel regret after making up my mind,¡± said An Xiaoning, still refusing to believe that she was regretting her decision. ¡°Don¡¯t dwell on it, it¡¯ll all be over soon. New life, new beginnings.¡± Turning to the side to face Mei Yangyang, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Yangyang, do you feel happy after getting together with Long Tianze?¡± ¡°I do. I was too wishy-washy at the start, constantly worrying about this and that. But I¡¯ve stopped overthinking everything now. I¡¯ve decided to just let nature take its course and ept everything thates my way.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great, you two are in love with each other,¡± An Xiaoning said in between sobs. ¡°Sis.¡± An Xiaoning covered her eyes with her hands and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but I just feel like crying all of a sudden.¡± ¡°Sis, you¡¯re a decisive person with a mind of your own. Just do whatever makes you happy, you don¡¯t have to worry about what others think or have to say about the decisions you make. You¡¯re in charge of your own life,¡± said Mei Yangyang as she leaned forward to give her a hug and a pat on her shoulder. ¡°Boss, someone is calling you again!¡± cranked her ringtone. An Xiaoning shivered in shock and reached out to grab her phone. At the same time, she took a look at the time and realized that it was four o¡¯clock in the morning. It was a call from Long Tianze. ¡°Hello, Yangyang is beside me right now.¡± Long Tianze cut straight to the chase and said, ¡°I¡¯m not looking for Yangyang but you. Qingyan is in the emergency unit right now, hurry and make your way here.¡± ¡°What?¡± An Xiaoning gasped in shock. ¡°Don¡¯t you understand English? Qingyan had downed some poison and he¡¯s currently being rescued in the emergency unit of the first People¡¯s Hospital. Come here right away. Would he have done that if not for you? Stop wasting time and make your way here now!¡± An Xiaoning quickly cast her mobile phone onto the bed. Upon seeing what just happened, Mei Yangyang hurriedly picked up the mobile phone and took over the call. In no time, An Xiaoning had already sped outside barefooted. ¡°Sis! Wait for me!¡± Mei Yangyang yelled at the top of her lungs as she grabbed two sets of clothing and hurriedly made her way downstairs. Long Tianze¡¯s words were constantly ringing in An Xiaoning¡¯s ears as she drove along the roads. She could not believe what she had just heard. The Jin Qingyan she knew was full of pride and was well tempered. He had always been an objective person who often looked at the bigger picture and viewed things from a greater perspective. She had never expected him to take his own life because of her. She could still clearly remember when she asked about his thoughts on sacrificing his own life for love, to which he answered: ¡°There are plenty of fools in this world who are silly enough to give their lives up for love.¡± Chapter 175 - Completely Fallen for Her (3)

Chapter 175: Completely Fallen for Her (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He even boasted that he was not one to falter easily, unless the person was irreceable to him. Had she be that important him? An Xiaoning¡¯s jaw trembled uncontrobly as tears continued to flow freely from her eyes like a tap. She arrived at the hospital in no time. Just as she was about to get down from the car, Mei Yangyang grabbed her by her arm and said, ¡°Sis, put on some clothes before going down.¡± They then quickly changed into proper clothes and got down from the car. Not wanting to waste any time, they picked up their tracks and ran towards the emergency unit. All of Jin Qingyan¡¯s family was present except old Mrs. Jin. Upon sight of An Xiaoning, Mrs. Jin rushed forward to give her a tight p across her face and hollered, ¡°You wretched woman! What right have you got to make my son attempt to poison himself to death! What right have you!¡± ¡°What are you doing?¡± Mr. Jin said as he hurriedly pulled her backwards. ¡°What am I doing? I thought she could bring us some fortune by marrying Qingyan, but look at the mess she has created!¡± An Xiaoning clutched her face and stood still, at aplete loss for words. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Mrs. Jin¡¯s attitude towards her had changedpletely from before. She stared at An Xiaoning with eyes red from crying and hissed, ¡°An Xiaoning, if Qingyan fails to pull through, I want you to be buried together with him!¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll do just that if he dies,¡± An Xiaoning answered as she turned to re at Mrs. Jin. ¡°Now¡¯s not the time to talk about these things! Can you all just be quiet and wait for the results?¡± Long Tianze snapped in exasperation, extremely perplexed and frustrated at Jin Qingyan¡¯s decision to kill himself. The corridor was filled with silence all of a sudden. Throughout the entire hour in the operating theater, the doctors repeatedly conducted a gastricvage procedure on Jin Qingyan. They were puzzled to find that he had managed to stay alive, since one would definitely die within five minutes of ingesting the poison, in usual cases. To their bewilderment, he showed no signs of abnormalities at all after the gastricvage, and his stomach was intact, seemingly as if the poison had not infiltrated his organs at all. Jin Qingyan was conscious when he was pushed out of the operating theater. Having already sobered up by then, he quickly closed his eyes the instant that he saw An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning continued to follow him into the hospital ward, nheless. ¡°Doctor, how¡¯s my son?¡± ¡°Mrs. Jin, Mr. Jin is well and fine, which puzzles us as well. We¡¯ve run another checkup, and he¡¯s confirmed to be alright. He may be discharged in a few days¡¯ time.¡± ¡°Thank you, thank you so much,¡± said Mrs. Jin as she put her hands together, pleased and relieved to hear that her son was safe and sound. ¡°It¡¯s our duty.¡± The doctor and nurses then left the ward. ¡°How are you feeling, Son?¡± Mrs. Jin bent forward and asked worriedly. ¡°Great. I just overdosed on alcohol and ate something bad, nothing much to fuss about,¡± Jin Qingyan answered. Mrs. Jin then turned towards An Xiaoning and said, ¡°You may leave now. Since you¡¯ve already divorced Qingyan, don¡¯t show up in front of us again in the future, lest you be an eyesore.¡± Teary-eyed, An Xiaoning stared at Jin Qingyan, who was avoiding eye contact with her and remaining silent. She then turned around and walked towards the entrance while Mei Yangyang hurriedly chased after her. Mrs. Jin waited ¡¯til An Xiaoning and Mei Yangyang had left before saying, ¡°Qingyan, you¡¯ve really infuriated me, what do you mean you ate something bad? How could you have possibly mistaken poison for food? What¡¯s going to happen to us if you die? What are your father and I supposed to do?! Are you going to allow our family business tond in the hands of an outsider!?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mother, it won¡¯t happen again.¡± ¡°How foolish of you, you¡¯ve almost scared me to death. I won¡¯t want to live anymore if I¡¯m living without you. You can get any woman you want, why did you have to be so silly?¡± Mrs. Jin eximed agitatedly. Jin Qingyan remained quiet as he stared nkly at the duvet. ¡°Ciye is overseas, but he¡¯s rushing back now. Are you still going to refuse to admit that you¡¯ve already fallen for her? Your actions have already proven otherwise,¡± said Long Tianze, after Jin Qingyan¡¯s family had left. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve indeed fallen for her, but so what? We¡¯ll have nothing to do with each other from now on. I¡¯ll just forget that I¡¯ve ever had feelings for her,¡± Jin Qingyan said in admittance. ¡°Sure, it¡¯s all up to you. You¡¯ve really given me an eye-opener. Attempting suicide, eh? Impressive much. Never in my life have I ever expected you tomit such a silly act. What a miracle that you¡¯ve managed to survive, though. You¡¯re bound to enjoy great fortune after surviving such a disaster,¡± answered Long Tianze, giving Jin Qingyan a pat on his back. Jin Qingyan stared at him and said coldly, ¡°Open your eyes widely and watch me. This is the first andst time something like this would happen.¡± With a smirk, Long Tianze replied, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s hope so.¡± Jin Qingyan raised his hand and stared at the jade ring on his thumb, on which there were now newly-formed streaks of ck. He knew deep down that he would not have survived if not for the ring. ¡ª¡ª By the time she arrived home, An Xiaoning was no longer sleepy but rather wide awake. Mei Yangyang proceeded to boil some eggs to help reduce the swelling in An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes. The two sat on the bed together, remaining silent. An Xiaoning then went online to browse through thetest news but did note across any updates regarding Jin Qingyan¡¯s attempted suicide. She felt a little relieved at the fact that news of his attempt at suicide would not be leaked, since it would definitely affect the Jin Family Corporation¡¯s stake in the stock market. They continued to sit there until daybreak arrived. In the end, news of the incident was leaked nheless, though nothing was confirmed and the titles of the news reports were merely made up of spections and rumors spread by the media. The matter was notid to rest as Jin Qingyan, who was initially adamant about responding to the rumors of their divorce, suddenly called for a press conference. It was already past nine o¡¯clock in the morning when An Xiaoning came across the video of Jin Qingyan at the press conference while surfing the inte. He was dressed in a ck suit and shirt, which were immactely tailored to fit him perfectly, allowing him to appear even morenky than he already was. He appeared less sickly and pale unlike before, seemingly having put on some makeup deliberately. He stood in front of the microphone and began to speak, ¡°I know there had been several rumors regarding my personal life circting online. I¡¯d hereby like to give my response and shed some light on the recent events, in hopes that that would put an end to these rumors. It¡¯s true that Xiaoning and I have gotten a divorce. But, we separated amicably, and there are no conflicting interests or animosity between us regarding the distribution of assets or property. On the other hand, I would like to confirm that the news about my attempt at suicide which broke out this morning are merely false usations. Do I seem like someone who would kill himself because of a woman? Never would I ever do something like that. As for other matters, I won¡¯t be addressing them, but that doesn¡¯t mean I will refrain from taking legal actions, should I find out who the culprit behind the spreading of such false news is. I¡¯ll definitely be pursuing the matter and sue the culprits for nder and defamation. Please stop casting the spotlight on my personal life and respect my privacy instead. It is not my duty to be here for your entertainment and pleasure.¡± He had kept his eyes fixed on the camera throughout his speech, thus causing An Xiaoning to feel as if she was making direct eye contact with him as she watched the video. She then switched off the video with a heavy heart, overwhelmed with sadness and agony. ¡°Boss, someone is calling you again!¡± She took a look at the caller disy, only to realize that it was Gu Beicheng who was calling. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Alright, got it. Okay, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be fine,¡± said An Xiaoning before hanging up the phone. She then went inside the kitchen to look for Mei Yangyang, who was washing the dishes, and said, ¡°Yangyang, let¡¯s go out to replenish our stocks, and at the same time, I¡¯ll shop for a few pieces of clothing. My family will be celebrating a joyous asion in a few days.¡± Chapter 176 - Completely Fallen for Her (4)

Chapter 176: Completely Fallen for Her (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mei Yangyang removed her apron and asked eagerly, ¡°What¡¯s the asion?¡± ¡°My eldest brother Gu Dongcheng is getting married,¡± An Xiaoning answered as she stood up to put on her coat and a scarf, which she wrapped around her neck. Mei Yangyang then headed upstairs to grab her bag, after which the two left in An Xiaoning¡¯s car. Mei Yangyang would be apanying An Xiaoning everywhere she goes before thetter manages to hire a bodyguard whom she deemed trustworthy. After they had finished replenishing the stock, Mei Yangyang returned to the store to sort the goods out together with Xu Jingwen and Zhang Li, while An Xiaoning drove off alone to the Gu family¡¯s home. Just as she was alighting from her car, she noticed Gu Beicheng¡¯s car approaching slowly. She stood still and watched as Gu Beicheng got down from his car. He walked towards her and looked at her from head to toe. ¡°You don¡¯t look too good. Your face is a little red and swollen, and your eyes look extremely weary. You must¡¯ve had a poor night¡¯s sleep,¡± he said with a grin. Pursing her lips, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°Such sharp eyes you¡¯ve got. Indeed, I didn¡¯t catch much sleepst night.¡± ¡°I heard about what happenedst night. Can¡¯t believe...¡± said Gu Beicheng as he threw an arm around her shoulder. ¡°Can¡¯t believe what?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t believe it turned out to be just a rumor. Otherwise, I would¡¯ve thought that he really tried to kill himself because of you. But I guess it¡¯s not true, after all. ording to what I know about him, he¡¯s a resilient one who always strives to survive all odds. He couldn¡¯t have dug his own grave,¡± Gu Beicheng remarked, clucking his tongue in disdain. Not wishing to discuss the matter any further, An Xiaoning changed the subject. ¡°What¡¯s the benefit of wearing the jade bangle you¡¯ve given me?¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t been wearing it?¡± Gu Beicheng asked in surprise as he took a look at her wrist. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve never worn it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s one of the few rare pieces I¡¯ve been collecting. I heard from an expert that it was mined from an extremely rare tomb.¡± A frown creased on An Xiaoning¡¯s forehead upon hearing his words. ¡°It belongs to the dead?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mistake it for an inauspicious item now, there¡¯s a rich history about this particr tomb, which dates back to thousands of years ago. The entire tomb is well kept and intact, and in it lies the corpse of a teenage girl. Judging from her clothes and coffin, she must¡¯ve been from an affluent family. However, the only piece of jewelry in her tomb was this jade bangle, which she had worn on her wrist. I heard it was an extremely precious and exquisite piece of jade, which brings women good health and fortune. After wearing it for an extended period of time, the jade and you will be one as it chooses you to be its owner. It¡¯ll then protect you from all harm.¡± ¡°Is it really that impressive?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Since when have Brother caused you harm? Turns out you haven¡¯t been wearing the bangle I gifted you. No wonder you¡¯ve been facing so many obstacles ever since you got married. You deserve a beating,¡± Gu Beicheng said jokingly with a smirk. ¡°Ever since I got married? More like ever since I was born. I¡¯ve been living all by myself my entire life, and probably will for the rest of it.¡± An Xiaoning let out a chuckle and continued, ¡°I¡¯ll put the jade bangle on right away, as soon as I get home. Can¡¯t let a good thing go to waste.¡± Together, they entered the living room through the door to see that Mr. and Mrs. Gu were both present. Upon seeing their arrival, Mrs. Gu hurriedly patted the empty spot beside her on the couch and said, ¡°Come sit down here, Xiaoning.¡± An Xiaoning did as instructed and greeted Mrs. Gu, ¡°Mother, why is Eldest Brother getting married all of a sudden?¡± ¡°Because Chi Rui¡¯er had gotten pregnant. Besides, your brother is not getting any younger. He¡¯s almost 30 this year, it¡¯s time he got married. Your Father and I shall respect his decision. By the way, Xiaoning, I heard from Beicheng that you¡¯re living in a mansion along Dongpo Road. Move back in here with us, it¡¯s safer that way,¡± said Mrs. Gu, grasping her hand. ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯ve been looking for a bodyguard the past few days. I¡¯ll look for highly-skilled ones to keep me safe. I still prefer living by myself, actually.¡± ¡°Have you not been getting enough rest and taking good care of yourself? Why do you look so sick? Don¡¯t do anything at all and just stay at home to rest for the next few days. How about you move in with us for a while and go home when you¡¯ve fully recovered? I¡¯ll get someone to tidy up a room for you. Mother will make you lots of nutritious food every day, for you to nourish your health. Listen to me. I won¡¯t take ¡®No¡¯ for an answer,¡± Mrs. Gu said with a frown. ¡°Mother...¡± ¡°Xiaoning, do you not see me as your mother?¡± Mrs. Gu insisted. ¡°Of course I see you as my mother. It¡¯s stated on my household register that we¡¯re mother and daughter. Have a look,¡± An Xiaoning answered, handing Mrs. Gu her household registry book. ¡°I know that, of course. What I meant was that if you genuinely treated me like your mother, from the bottom of your heart. But since you do, then this is your home too. Are you going to turn your mother down for asking you to move back home for a while? Xiaoning, you¡¯re in poor health and your body is frail. Besides, you don¡¯t know how to take good care of yourself. Move in here for a period of time, Mother will take care of you and nurse you back into the pink of health. Listen to me, Xiaoning, you have to recuperate properly, especially since you¡¯ve had a miscarriage. Otherwise, it¡¯ll end up bing a persisting ailment. I was nning to move in with you after your brother¡¯s wedding, but now that I think of it, it¡¯s better that you move in here with us,¡± said Mrs. Gu as she held onto An Xiaoning¡¯s arm. Seeing how insistent Mrs. Gu was, An Xiaoning pouted her lips and conceded, ¡°I shall move in for a while then, alright?¡± ¡°Great, I¡¯ll arrange a room for youter. You shall take the one opposite Beicheng¡¯s,¡± said a delighted Mrs. Gu, a smile forming on her face. ¡°Okay, sounds good.¡± Upon hearing that An Xiaoning had agreed to move in, Gu Beicheng interjected, ¡°Mother, I haven¡¯t been home in a long while too. Why don¡¯t I move back for a while as well?¡± ¡°I¡¯m d you know you haven¡¯t been home in a long time, little bastard. I can count the number of times I¡¯ve seen youtely with the fingers on one hand. You¡¯re already starting to neglect me now that you¡¯re still single. I can only imagine how much worse it¡¯s going to get once you get married, you¡¯ll probably forget mepletely,¡± Mrs. Gu chided, feeling a little aggrieved. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare to, Mother.¡± ¡°Bullshit. I¡¯ll get the servants to tidy Xiaoning¡¯s room. Hubby, let the youngsters have a chat by themselves, go back to your room,¡± said Mrs. Gu as she rose from her seat. Mr. Gu stood up and left immediately. An Xiaoning could not help burst intoughter. ¡°Gu Beicheng, Mother is getting more and more humorous ofte. I still remember clearly the very first time I met her, as if it had only happened yesterday,¡± she said. ¡°You¡¯re probably the only one amongst us who has the audacity to talk back to your elders and tell Mother to shut up,¡± Gu Beicheng answered, chuckling. ¡°There¡¯s always a first for everything. But, in hindsight, it was indeed rather disrespectful of me to have done that. Thankfully, Mother did not take it to heart.¡± Reminded of the fact that she was going to move in for a period of time, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Why don¡¯t I go home to collect my luggage now?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go with you,¡± Gu Beicheng suggested. ¡°Alright.¡± They then headed towards Dongpo Road again. ¡°The temperature of this jade is really cool. It fits me just right though, not bad at all, indeed,¡± An Xiaoning expressed her approval as she put the bangle on in front of Gu Beicheng. ¡°Well, I couldn¡¯t think of a better gift for your wedding. It¡¯d be too tacky to just give you a ton of money or gold...¡± Before he could finish, An Xiaoning quickly interrupted, ¡°No, no, money will nevere across as tacky to me, no matter how much it may be. Next time, just give me money instead, you won¡¯t have to fret over picking me a gift. I¡¯ll just buy myself whatever I want with the money.¡± Chapter 177 - Completely Fallen for Her (5)

Chapter 177: Completely Fallen for Her (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°You¡¯ve already got plenty of money yourself, why do you still love money so much?¡± Gu Beicheng remarked as he let out a silentugh and poked her on her forehead teasingly. ¡°Because money is the only thing that stays true to you. It¡¯s up to you to do whatever you want with it, as long as it¡¯s yours. Let¡¯s go.¡± Gu Beicheng ced her luggage in the trunk of the car before driving off. They arrived back at the Gu family home, only to be stunned at the sight of Chi Rui¡¯er and Gu Dongcheng chatting merrily amongst boisterousughter as they too made their way towards the living room. The four of them made it to the living room at the same time. Chi Rui¡¯er was dressed in thin stockings that exposed her bare thigh, seemingly not afraid of the cold at all. She turned towards An Xiaoning and said with a pretentious smile, ¡°I watched the video of Qingyan at the press conference earlier today. Congrats on being single again.¡± ¡°Thanks. I won¡¯t congratte you though. I don¡¯t want to stoop to such a lowly level,¡± An Xiaoning said calmly. The smile on Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s face stiffened upon hearing An Xiaoning¡¯s sarcasm. She then cuddled up to Gu Dongcheng and said in a coquettish tone, ¡°Dongcheng, let¡¯s go pick out a diamond ringter and get our bridal photos taken as well. We don¡¯t have to take too many, just a few will do.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Gu Dongcheng agreed right away. Initially, he had never intended to marry Chi Rui¡¯er at all. However, he made a trip down to the hospital together with her, only to hear from the doctor that she would never be able to conceive again should she decide to abort the child she was carrying. In a moment of pity, he decided to agree to let her keep the baby. Since it would be inappropriate for the child to be fatherless, he had no choice but to end up marrying her. Every now and then, Chi Rui¡¯er would shift her gaze onto An Xiaoning, though thetter had never once stared back at her and was instead texting Mei Yangyang. ¡°Oh, by the way, who¡¯s going to be the best men and bridesmaids during our wedding?¡± said Chi Rui¡¯er, as if the thought had just struck her mind all of a sudden. ¡°We won¡¯t have to worry about the best men, I¡¯ll just ask a few of my friends. Do you have any friends yourself?¡± asked Gu Dongcheng, for he had never seen any friends around Chi Rui¡¯er ever since they¡¯d gotten to know each other. Chi Rui¡¯er shook her head and answered, ¡°No.¡± Not bothered by the fact that she did not have any friends, Gu Dongcheng said, ¡°We¡¯ll just find a few random people to stand in as your bridesmaids then.¡± ¡°How can we just look for someone random to be the bridesmaid? We should at least ask someone we know. How about Xiaoning? Perhaps some of our blessings can rub off on her. Hopefully, she¡¯ll find her Mr. Right soon.¡± Gu Dongcheng shot Chi Rui¡¯er with a stern re as soon as she finished speaking. Nheless, it would still be inappropriate of him to chide her in front of everyone else. In a bid to save her some face, Gu Dongcheng turned to speak to An Xiaoning instead. ¡°Xiaoning, you don¡¯t have to agree if you¡¯re not feeling well.¡± An Xiaoning chucked her phone inside her pocket and answered, ¡°I¡¯m indeed not feeling my best as of now. I doubt I¡¯m a suitable candidate for a bridesmaid. Please look for someone else instead, Eldest Brother.¡± ¡°No worries, it was just a casual suggestion from Rui¡¯er. Well, we¡¯re gonna go get a wedding ring now,¡± said Gu Dongcheng. ¡°Alright, sure.¡± Gu Dongcheng grabbed Chi Rui¡¯er by her arm and pulled her away. As soon as they got up the car, he began to chastise her, ¡°Are you out of your mind? Xiaoning had just gotten divorced and she¡¯s yet to fully recover. Yet you actually had the cheek to ask her to be your bridesmaid?¡± ¡°It was merely out of goodwill. I just forgot about that,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er exined herself, though she was exceptionally thrilled deep down. Taking the chance to spite An Xiaoning was exactly what she had wanted to do, as the slightest thought of the things An Xiaoning had done to her was enough to get her blood boiling with anger. She wished she could just shred An Xiaoning into pieces. However, to Chi Rui¡¯er, this was merely the beginning, and she had a long way ahead to n her revenge. ¡°Mind your words and think twice before you speak in the future. Although you don¡¯t necessarily have toe from a wealthy family with a high social status in order to be married into my family, you ought to still possess some basic manners and courtesy. It¡¯s okay to be yourself at home, but you mustn¡¯t embarrass me or my family when we¡¯re outside. Otherwise, you¡¯re going to get it from me,¡± Gu Dongcheng warned her vehemently. ¡°Got it.¡± An Xiaoning was very much pleased with her room, which was just a few steps away from Gu Beicheng¡¯s. She drew the curtains open to find that she could enjoy a clear view of the backyard from her room. Overwhelmed with fatigue from the sleepless night she had the night before, An Xiaoningid onto the bed and fell asleep as soon as she closed her eyes. Having noticed how exhausted she was, Gu Beicheng took the initiative to help her close the door of her room. To his astonishment, he stumbled upon his mother just as he was turning around, greatly startling him. ¡°Mother, you¡¯ve scared me!¡± he said, lowering his voice. Mrs. Gu then pulled him inside his room and asked sternly, ¡°I knew there was something off about you long ago. I reckon you¡¯re the only one who¡¯s happy about Xiaoning¡¯s divorce, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Mother, since when was I happy? Don¡¯t wrong me.¡± ¡°Putting on an act in front of your mother, huh? Do you need an Oscar Award for your superb acting skills? Tell me honestly, are you fond of Xiaoning?¡± Mrs. Gu said with a sneer, her arms folded. ¡°Yes.¡± After a moment of hesitation, Gu Beicheng continued, ¡°I know you won¡¯t agree to it though.¡± ¡°I definitely wouldn¡¯t approve of it if it were someone else. There¡¯s no way I would ever allow a girl who¡¯s twice-divorced and even had a miscarriage to be my daughter-inw. But in this case, I don¡¯t mind since it¡¯s Xiaoning. Besides, it doesn¡¯t bother you anyway. I¡¯ll have a daughter and a daughter-inw, what¡¯s not to love? Son, Xiaoning¡¯s not going to ept you now though, since she¡¯s just gotten a divorce.¡± ¡°I never intended for her to ept me right now. We¡¯ll just let nature take its course.¡± ¡°Ah, how apt that Xiaoning is moving in with us for a period of time. You ought to treasure this chance to get closer to her, though I doubt you¡¯re going to seed. So, I suggest that you shift your attention to other girls,¡± Mrs. Gu warned him. ¡°Alright, Mother, why are you getting so anxious? I¡¯m not the least bit in a hurry at all. Okay, I¡¯d like to get some rest, please leave quickly, Mother,¡± said Gu Beicheng as he quickly pushed Mrs. Gu outside before closing the door shut. Gu Beicheng sat in front of his desk and took out a few pieces of letter paper from the drawer. With a smirk on his face and a fountain pen in his hand, he began writing some words on the letter paper and waited for the ink to dry. He then followed some instructions online and folded the piece of letter paper into a heart shape. He paced back and forth in his room while holding onto the love letter, feeling as if he had gone back to the days of being a teenager in love ¡ª overwhelmed with excitement, nervousness, and uncertainty, all at the same time. Will she tear it up before even reading the letter? he wondered to himself. Since he had already written it, he might as well just give it to her. He tiptoed inside An Xiaoning¡¯s room stealthily and ced the love letter beside her pillow, before scurrying out of her room quickly. ¡ª¡ª After taking his aim, Ye Xiaotian released the trigger, after which the bullet struck the bull¡¯s eye on the target with a loud bam. The spectators apuded fervently and praised him. ¡°Young Sir, your shooting skills are getting more and more urate.¡± Ye Xiaotian then continued to fire a few more bullets, all of which struck the bull¡¯s eye. ¡°Young Sir, you¡¯ve got a call.¡± He handed the pistol to his subordinates and answered the call. ¡°What¡¯s up? Shoot.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Got it,¡± said Ye Xiaotian as he began smiling widely. He ended the call and began walking towards his subordinates, both hands in his pocket. ¡°Get my private jet ready, I¡¯m making a trip down to Y Nation,¡± he instructed. ¡°Young Sir... are you going to look for Ms. Mo again?¡± asked the butler. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Do I have to report to you who I¡¯m going to look for? Go prepare the jet at once, stop wasting my time,¡± Ye Xiaotian snapped and red at the butler, after which he quickly walked away. The subordinates had no choice but to take every order from their capricious employer, for they were not allowed to interfere or stop him at all. After taking a shower, Ye Xiaotian changed into a ck-colored suit and boarded his private jet towards Y Nation. Chapter 178 - Completely Fallen for Her (6)

Chapter 178: Completely Fallen for Her (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mo Li had been abiding the doctor¡¯s instructions ever since the day of her consultation. Though she was aware that there was still a long way to go before she could nurse her health into a state which was ideal for pregnancy, she was determined not to give up. She ought to buck up and work hard to bear Byron some children, in order to repay her gratitude towards him for choosing to marry her despite her unmorous past. She waspletely unaware that Ye Xiaotian would be stepping foot into Y Nation again. She had no clue what was going to happen next. Mo Li rarely got the chance to spend time with Byron, due to the fact that he was rather busy every day, though she did not know in detail just what he was busy with. However, she understood that he had to oversee many matters in the office himself in order to ensure that hispany was running well. She could not afford to waste her days idling about either, and thus, she had been picking up several skills in her free time. Besides, she had to spend most of her time lying down in bed, now that she had just undergone a fallopian tube recanalization surgery. ¡°Lili, I¡¯ve made you some soup,e drink it while it¡¯s still warm. I¡¯ve simmered it for a long period of time so that the broth would be thicker,¡± said Mrs. Mo as she handed Mo Li a bowl of soup. ¡°It smells delicious. Thank you, Mother,¡± said Mo Li as she took the bowl of soup over and began drinking it slowly, sip by sip. ¡°It¡¯s almost nine o¡¯clock in the evening, why hasn¡¯t Byron returned home?¡± Mrs. Mo asked all of a sudden. ¡°He¡¯s busy, and there¡¯s nothing much I can help him with either. He should be back soon.¡± ¡°Okay, remember to take good care of yourself. Things are going to get better once you¡¯re pregnant. Given the fact that they¡¯re royalty, they¡¯ll definitely need a sessor. Thus, you have to bear him a child. Byron is not getting any younger either, it¡¯s a great time to have a child now. Mo Li, you have to try and stay happy every day. Your father, Mo Xun, and I are all here to apany you. Feel free to tell me about your innermost thoughts. Don¡¯t bottle everything up.¡± Mo Li took her time to finish the soup before saying, ¡°I know, Mother. Here, take the bowl.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to bed, you should rest early too. Don¡¯t stay upte to wait for Byron.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Although Mo Li had agreed, she did not abide by her mother¡¯s instruction. She was a little fatigued but not sleepy just yet. After a rxing foot bath, sheid onto the bed and began reading her book. Time flew by, and soon, it was 10 o¡¯clock in the evening, yet Byron had still not returned. Mo Li then decided to give him a call, only to find that it was his assistant, Lance, who had picked up. ¡°Where¡¯s Byron?¡± ¡°Um... His Highness is still in the midst of entertaining his clients. I reckon he still has another hour to go. Your Highness, His Highness has asked for you to go to bed first. You don¡¯t have to wait for him, he¡¯ll be home once he¡¯s finished entertaining.¡± ¡°Alright, please tell him I¡¯m going to bed now.¡± Mo Li ended the call and began to feel worried for Byron, knowing that he would definitely have to drink a ton of alcohol, which would surely cause him difort in his stomach. She lifted the duvet, got out of bed, and headed to the kitchen to brew him some broth to aid him in dissipating the effects of alcohol. She then proceeded to ce it in a thermal sk, so as to keep it warm until he returns home. After cing the sk onto the dining table along with a spoon, she turned around to head back inside her room. At this very moment, the lights went off all of a sudden, without warning. Shocked and frightened, she hurried to the entrance in the darkness and yelled, ¡°Somebody,e here!¡± The bodyguard hurriedly ran towards her and asked, ¡°Your Highness, what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Why are the lights off?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid there¡¯s a power trip. Please hold on, Your Highness.¡± The bodyguard then instructed for the power source to be checked, only to realize that it was indeed a power trip. Mo Li heaved a huge sigh of relief upon seeing that the lights had been switched on again. She then turned the lights off and returned to her bedroom. Sheid onto the bed after removing her clothes and soon fell asleep. At this juncture, a figure emerged from the darkness and entered the room before locking the door from the inside. He then removed his clothes slowly andid onto the bed as well. Having felt the presence of someoneying down beside her, Mo Li said, while still being half-asleep, ¡°You¡¯re back? I¡¯ve made you some broth and left it on the dining table.¡± Ye Xiaotian was shocked to hear that she had brewed Byron some broth. With a deadly stare in his eyes, he spread her legs open forcefully with his icy cold hands, in a moment of pique. He then lifted the duvet to cover her above the waist, including her face, only exposing her long and lean legs. Thinking that it was Byron who had returned, Mo Li did not find anything strange or unusual with what was happening, despite how she was being pinned down forcefully by a pair of hands. She did not resist or struggle and instead even began swaying her hips about to match his rhythm. To her, it was only normal to engage in such acts of intimacy with Byron, since they were a married couple. Thus, she did not find anything inappropriate with it. Throughout the course of the entire night, Ye Xiaotian had ejacted inside her over and over again. After the veryst time for the night, he ced a pillow against her crotch to stop the semen from flowing out onto the sheets. All pleased and satisfied, he put on his clothes and picked up her mobile phone to alter its settings. He then installed a secret software on her mobile phone before leaving. The half-asleep Mo Li had no clue of what actually happened. Ye Xiaotian had managed to leave Byron¡¯s territory sessfully. Meanwhile, Byron and his assistant had just regained their senses after having too much to drink. Not sensing anything amiss, they got up on the car and Byron proceeded to lie down in the back seat. Lance had drunk significantly lesserpared to Byron. It was already almost three o¡¯clock in the morning and the streets were rather empty. The car drove slowly towards his home. Lance then reclined the backrest of the passenger seat and crawled behind to the back row. ¡°Are we home?¡± ¡°Yes, Your Highness, it¡¯s almost three o¡¯clock in the morning.¡± Byron reached out to pinch Lance¡¯s face and said, ¡°We¡¯ve gone overboard tonight. Sleep in the car, I¡¯m going back in.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± He walked inside with an unsteady gait and did not turn on the lights right away after arriving upstairs. Heid down beside Mo Li after taking off his clothes and fell asleep almost immediately. At this point, Ye Xiaotian was the only one awake as he sat inside his car in a rxed manner. He could not help but burst into smiles at the thought of the phone call he¡¯d received from the special agent earlier that afternoon. To his delight, the special agent had managed to get a hold of the conversation between Lance and Byron, who¡¯d told his assistant while he was drunk that he had never been intimate with Mo Li before. On top of that, he was also pleased to find out that Byron was bisexual, a top secret which was kept only between Byron and his assistant. Ye Xiaotian would have never guessed that, if not for the special agent he had hired. He was relieved and thankful for the fact that he had ejacted inside her, no matter what state of health she was in. There was still some hope in him, for he knew that she had just undergone a fallopian tube recanalization surgery. Since she yearned to get pregnant, he decided to grant her her wish. She was only allowed to bear his child! It didn¡¯t matter that she might not conceive easily, for he had plenty of time ahead. All he had to do was to pay her a visit every night, until she was impregnated. There¡¯ll be no escape for Mo Li once she gets pregnant! ¡ª¡ª Morning arrived and the sun had already risen, yet the two have yet to show any signs of being awake. Noticing that the clock was about to strike past 10 o¡¯clock, Lance proceeded to knock on the door in a bid to wake him up. ¡°Your Highness.¡± ¡°Got it,¡± Byron answered while stillying in bed. He sat up slowly and got out of bed, after which he proceeded to the dressing room to get dressed. By the time he came out, Mo Li had already woken up. ¡°Did you drink the broth I prepared for youst night?¡± Mo Li asked while hiding her head beneath the duvet, blushing red with shyness. Surprised to hear that she had made him some broth, Byron answered, ¡°No, I slept right away. I was exhaustedst night.¡± Mo Li nodded, thinking that it was understandable for him to be tired, given that they had done the deed multiple times. Not to mention, he was rather vigorous as well... Byron did not say much despite having noticed that she was acting strangely and instead left the house again after washing up. Chapter 179 - Completely Fallen for Her (7)

Chapter 179: Completely Fallen for Her (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After taking a look at the time, Mo Li proceeded to get dressed. Realizing that the pillow beneath the duvet was stained, she quickly removed the pillowcase and tidied up the bed before instructing the servants to bring the bedsheets and pillowcase to theundry. During breakfast, she looked up to nce at him every now and then. ¡°I won¡¯t head to the office today and spend the day with you instead. What do you say we go on a day trip?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Mo Li agreed in delight. Byron was d to see how ted she was. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Young Sir, this is from Ms. Chi. I reckon she¡¯s afraid you wouldn¡¯t show up. She even mentioned in the news that she had sent you an invitation and that you two are friends,¡± said Fan Shixin as he handed Jin Qingyan the red-colored invitation. ¡°I¡¯m not going,¡± Jin Qingyan said coldly, ripping the bright red invitation into shreds as soon as he got hold of it. ¡°Madam was here earlier, iming that she had called you multiple times but you didn¡¯t answer. She said... she said that she had arranged a luncheon for you to meet Miss Lin Mingxi this afternoon. Ms. Lin has previously gone on a matchmaking session with Mr. Long, but there had been no further contact between them since,¡± Fan Shixin exined. ¡°Tell her I¡¯m not going,¡± Jin Qingyan refuted. Just as he was about to leave, Fan Shixin hurriedly tried to stop him, ¡°Young Sir, Madam said that she was going to publicly announce your engagement with Ms. Lin, should you refuse to attend the luncheon. She mentioned that it would just be a casual meal and you won¡¯t have to meet Ms. Lin again if you¡¯re not interested. Besides, she also said that she wanted to show Ms. An how highly coveted you are...¡± Jin Qingyan closed his eyes before opening them again and said, ¡°Who is this Lin Mingxi?¡± ¡°Here¡¯s a photo of her. Take a look, she slightly resembles... Ms. An,¡± said Fan Shixin as he handed Jin Qingyan the photo. Taking a look at the photo, he realized that the girl in it seemed to be of a rather young age. Though none of her features particrly resembled those of An Xiaoning¡¯s, the overall vibe she gave off was indeed a little simr to thetter. ¡°Babylifewasgoodtomebutyoujustmadeitbetternull,Ilovethewayitstandbymethroughanykindofweathenull...¡± He turned around and whipped his phone out to answer the iing call. ¡°Tianze.¡± ¡°I heard from my mother that you¡¯re going on a matchmaking session with Lin Mingxi? Is that for real?¡± asked Long Tianze. ¡°Yes, why?¡± ¡°What in the world? You¡¯re going for a matchmaking session right after your divorce? Theizens are going to m you for being a total jerk.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care what they think about me. If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll be hanging up now.¡± ¡°Hold up! I¡¯ve met Lin Mingxi once before, my mother was rather pleased with her. But she got really anxious upon hearing that you¡¯re going to meet Lin Mingxi soon.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let you have her instead then.¡± ¡°No! That¡¯s not what I meant. What I mean is, although my mother¡¯s getting all flustered and anxious, I¡¯m actually rather happy about it from all perspectives. Hope your matchmaking session goes well, you have all my blessings!¡± said Long Tianze. ¡°Cut the crap and get lost.¡± Jin Qingyan ended the call right away and headed to the living room with the photo in his hand. He sat on the couch with one leg over the other and continued to stare at the photo. Lin Mingxi? Was it? His temples began to throb all of a sudden as the photo fell out of his hand and onto hisp. Hearing footstepsing from the door, Jin Qingyan cocked his head sideways to see that it was Ling Ciye who was walking towards him slowly. ¡°When did youe back?¡± ¡°Just now. I initially decided to make my way back on the day that you were hospitalized, but I dyed my return upon hearing that you were fine. Besides, there were some matters there that I had to attend to urgently. Are you two really going to go separate ways and never see each other again from now on?¡± said Ling Ciye. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You loved her so much to the point that you would kill yourself for her? Qingyan, that doesn¡¯t seem like something you would do,¡± Ling Ciye said in surprise. ¡°That¡¯s what I thought too,¡± Jin Qingyan answered solemnly. ¡°Tianze told me that you would be going on a matchmaking session soon, is that true?¡± ¡°What a big mouth he¡¯s got. My mother insisted that I go. She¡¯s the girl,¡± Jin Qingyan sneered, handing Ling Ciye the photo. ¡°She looks pretty decent, it¡¯s just...¡± Ling Ciye remarked. ¡°She has an uncanny resemnce to Xiaoning, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, does it not bother you?¡± Jin Qingyan remained silent, feeling upset and uneasy all over at the mere mention of An Xiaoning¡¯s name. Maomao came out of its kennel looking weary and dazed, clearly having just woken up from its sleep. It waddled along and made its way to Jin Qingyan before hovering around his feet. Jin Qinyan reached a hand out and began patting it affectionately. The living room was filled with a sudden silence. Just as Ling Ciye was about to speak, Jin Qingyan blurted, ¡°It feels like it was all just a dream, yet it also feels like I had lost the thing that¡¯s most important to me.¡± ¡°Find it again if you¡¯ve lost it. If you can¡¯t find it, then get a new one. I heard that in order to forget someone, you¡¯d have to shift your attention to someone else. Over time, you¡¯ll begin to forget that person you couldn¡¯t get over. There¡¯s no harm giving it a shot.¡± Pointing at Maomao, Ling Ciye continued, ¡°Why is your dog getting fatter with each day? But I like it though, it¡¯s really cute that way. Qingyan, why don¡¯t you let me take care of it instead?¡± Without hesitation, Jin Qingyan refuted immediately, ¡°Drop that idea.¡± ¡°Hey, it¡¯s just a dog. Is it really that precious?¡± ¡°Of course, it¡¯s priceless.¡± ¡°I reckon it was raised by you and Xiaoning. I suggest you get rid of everything that reminds you of her. Don¡¯t live here anymore and just move back to your house in Wei Ni Estate, lest you get upset at the thought of her,¡± Ling Ciye said bluntly. Jin Qingyan stood up to leave all of a sudden without even answering Ling Ciye, who then eximed, ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning did not open the heart-shaped letter, and neither did she tear it up. Instead, she just left it under her pillow. Both she and Gu Beicheng did not bring up the matter, as if it had never happened. After lunch, she dressed herself in a pink coat and boots before heading outside. She then proceeded to a public toilet stealthily and put on her human face mask. Staring at her reflection in the mirror by the basin, she nodded in satisfaction. An Xiaoning took a stroll on the streets while wearing her face mask, as if she had really be another person. She then stumbled upon a florist and decided to buy herself a bouquet of fresh flowers. Bit by bit, she began to let go of her negative emotions and cruised along merrily, feeling much more rxed than before. All of a sudden, An Xiaoning felt a hand grab her arm forcefully, greatly startling her. She turned around to see who it was. It was Jin Qingyan. Disappointment was written on Jin Qingyan¡¯s face as soon as he realized that it was not An Xiaoning. He then turned around to leave without uttering another word. His white Bentley was parked nearby. Chapter 180 - Completely Fallen for Her (8)

Chapter 180: Completely Fallen for Her (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning felt a chill down her spine. She wondered if he had alighted from his car to chase her because he had recognized her from behind. She stood rooted and stared at the bouquet of flowers in her hand, which seemed to have lost their vibrancy and beauty. She watched as the white Bentley drove past her slowly beforeing to a halt, not too far ahead. An Xiaoning began walking towards the spot where Jin Qingyan had parked his car, only to see that he had entered a cafe. He was seated near the window, facing a couple of familiar faces. An Xiaoning squinted to have a clearer look and soon realized that it was the very same woman whom she had seen Long Tianze with at the restaurant previously. Yet, she was at a cafe with Jin Qingyan today. Needless to say, it must have been yet another matchmaking session. She remembered reassuring Mei Yangyang previously, during Long Tianze¡¯s matchmaking session, that it was merely an arranged meeting and that he may not necessarily continue to contact Lin Mingxi. However, now that the same thing was happening to her, An Xiaoning could not help but empathize with how Mei Yangyang had felt the other time. After all, no one could force him to turn up if he truly did not wish to. After cating her emotions, she straightened her back and hung her head high as she began walking ahead. She soon arrived at a renowned exercise boot camp academy in A City. She then proceeded to enter after taking a look at the signboard at the entrance to confirm that she was at the correct ce. As soon as she entered, a sales associate quickly greeted her, ¡°Wee, would you like to sign up for the boot camp, Miss?¡± ¡°Yes, may I know what activities are included?¡± ¡°Pleasee with me. There are three intensities at which the boot camps will be conducted, namely, high, moderate, and low. The paces will be different, and thus, the results and prices will also vary,¡± said the gorgeous sales associate, Xiao Ke. ¡°What exercises do the high-intensity boot camps include?¡± An Xiaoning continued to ask. ¡°They include taekwondo, wrestling, judo, and several other high-intensity martial arts. On top of that, there¡¯ll also be exercises such as rock climbing, snow mountain climbing, deep sea diving, and many others. Please have a look at this brochure,¡± Xiao Ke exined as she handed her an information leaflet. ¡°Our coaches here are all world champions in wrestling and taekwondo, respectively. As for the pricing, it¡¯ll be 300 thousand dors per pax, excluding food and amodation, for a duration of four months,¡± she continued. ¡°What kind of results can I achieve within four months?¡± ¡°Those akin to three years of training elsewhere.¡± An Xiaoning was well aware that the boot camp academy was a prestigious one, which was the very reason she had chosen it. ¡°When can I begin training once I pay the fees?¡± she asked. ¡°You may begin in a week¡¯s time. You¡¯ll belong to the first batch this year. Our trainers will usually take on a maximum of two batches a year, one in the first half and another in the second. Though each boot camp spans across four months, we¡¯d still have to consider the possibility of unexpected circumstances and thus allow some leeway of perhaps an additional month or so.¡± ¡°Alright, let me give my friend a call to ask if she¡¯d like to sign up,¡± said An Xiaoning as she proceeded to call Mei Yangyang on the phone. Due to the fact that she was busy, Mei Yangyang only answered when An Xiaoning called her for the second time. ¡°Hello, Sis.¡± ¡°Yangyang, I¡¯m at the exercise boot camp academy to sign up for the boot camp. Would you like to join me? If you¡¯re interested, then I¡¯ll sign up for you as well. But to make things clear beforehand, it¡¯s going to be a high-intensity boot campprising of tough and vigorous activities and exercises. I was the one who decided on it. Would you be able to pull through it?¡± ¡°If you can manage, I can too! But, how much is it going to cost?¡± Mei Yangyang eximed in delight. ¡°300 thousand dors.¡± ¡°What! That¡¯s insanely expensive,¡± Mei Yangyang said with a gasp of astonishment. ¡°That¡¯s because the trainers are credible and extraordinary world champions. I just need you to tell me if you¡¯re interested. Don¡¯t worry about the cost, I¡¯ll pay for it.¡± ¡°Sis, I can¡¯t waste your money like that. 300 thousand dors is a huge sum to me, I guess I¡¯d better take a rain check. Besides, someone has to tend to the store anyway,¡± said a touched Mei Yangyang. An Xiaoning could tell that Mei Yangyang actually wanted to sign up, but the hefty price tag and her responsibilities at the clothing store were holding her back from saying ¡°yes.¡± However, An Xiaoning did not want thetter to give up the opportunity. Besides, Mei Yangyang was practically the only close friend she had, and she did not want her to miss the chance to pick up some useful self-defense skills just because of the costly price. Although An Xiaoning indeed loved money, she would still be willing to spend on things she deemed worthy. In this case, that would be paying for her close friend, Mei Yangyang. ¡°Yangyang, I¡¯vee to realize after surviving such an ordeal that your very own life is far more important than money. I hope you¡¯ll understand that too. I believe you see me as your own sister, just like I do you. Don¡¯t worry about the store, it¡¯ll be alright since we have surveince cameras. We¡¯ll replenish stocks by ordering directly from the supplier online and hand the store over to the two of them to keep the business running. It¡¯ll be boring for me to sign up alone, just take it as an invite from me to you. We¡¯ll look out for each other, alright?¡± An Xiaoning said in a tone of persuasion. Mei Yangyang was incredibly touched upon hearing her words, for even her biological sister did not treat her as well as An Xiaoning did. In fact, no one else, apart from her parents, could match up to how good An Xiaoning was to her. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll listen to you, Sis.¡± ¡°It¡¯llmence a week from now. I¡¯ll proceed to sign us up now, gotta go.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning proceeded to sign up right away after ending the call and paid the entire sum of 600 thousand dors in one go, without any dy or hesitation at all. Xiao Ke was surprised to see that An Xiaoning was both pretty and wealthy. ¡°We¡¯ll give you a call in a week¡¯s time. Remember to bring along a small suitcase containing your personal belongings, such as some clothes and daily necessities. We¡¯ll tabte the food and amodation costs altogetherter on,¡± said Xiao Ke while writing An Xiaoning an invoice. ¡°Thank you.¡± An Xiaoning turned around to leave afterwards. She then arrived back at the Gu family home. All the members of the Gu family were terribly shocked to hear that she would be joining an exercise boot camp that would bemencing in a week¡¯s time. ¡°Xiaoning, I doubt even Beicheng can survive such a strenuous and high-intensity boot camp. Are you sure you want to go?¡± Mrs. Gu asked in disbelief. ¡°I¡¯ll be joining together with a friend of mine and I¡¯ve already paid for it. I¡¯ll listen to you and rest at home for the remaining week, Mother. Since I¡¯ve already decided to join, I¡¯ll definitely make it home safe. Mother, did you know? I managed to save my own life previously, all thanks to just a few swimming lessons. I¡¯m determined to ovee every life threat I face. The more skills I pick up, the better I¡¯ll be equipped and the greater the chance that I¡¯d be able to defend myself.¡± Mrs. Gu gave her an apud for her courage and bravery before continuing to speak, ¡°Xiaoning, you¡¯ve really impressed me. But, isn¡¯t four months a little too long?¡± ¡°Not at all. Within four months, I¡¯d be able to achieve what others would only after three years of normal training. Money is not an issue, what matters is that I¡¯ll get to pick up something useful.¡± ¡°Alright, you have all of my support.¡± An Xiaoning pulled Mrs. Gu into an embrace and thanked her. ¡°Thank you, Mother.¡± ¡°You¡¯re already a big girl, yet you¡¯re still so chummy with me. My greatest regret in this life is not having a daughter, but it¡¯s splendid that I have you now. You¡¯ve really made up for my utmost regret. Xiaoning, it¡¯s truly a great blessing to have you as my daughter.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know who my biological parents are. You guys are my parents.¡± ¡°Why am I feeling bitter about the fact that my mother has a newly-found daughter? I¡¯m going to lose my ce in Mother¡¯s heart from now on, aren¡¯t I?¡± Gu Beicheng interjected, pretending to be jealous. ¡°You¡¯re all grown up, why are you still so jealous?¡± said Mrs. Gu, giving him a smack. ¡°I¡¯m still your son no matter how old I may be.¡± Chapter 181 - Completely Fallen for Her (9)

Chapter 181: Completely Fallen for Her (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mrs. Gu replied with augh, ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± ¡°How lively, what are all of you talking about?¡± Gu Dongcheng had returned, with Chi Rui¡¯er beside him. ¡°Nothing much. Where did the two of you go?¡± As he held onto Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s hand, Gu Dongcheng sat down and replied, ¡°We went to buy wedding rings, and we took our wedding photos too.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t wedding photos usually take a day or two? Did you take enough photos?¡± ¡°Umm. We didn¡¯t take too many, Rui¡¯er said those were enough,¡± Gu Dongcheng muttered. ¡°The wedding gown is tailor-made, it¡¯ll arrive tomorrow.¡± Mrs. Gu took a look at Chi Rui¡¯er and didn¡¯t say anything else. ¡ª ¡°You¡¯re going to the devil training camp?!¡± Long Tianze was rmed. ¡°Have you lost your mind?¡± Mei Yangyang darted a nce at him. ¡°No, I haven¡¯t. What¡¯s the big fuss about it?¡± ¡°Do you know what kind of ce that is? It¡¯s a devil training camp. The word ¡®devil¡¯ in its name is not just there for fun. Can you withstand such rigorous training day after day?¡± ¡°If other people can, so can I,¡± Mei Yangyang replied confidently. ¡°I think this is a good opportunity.¡± Long Tianze smirked and started analyzing for her. ¡°I dare say, the number of women in there are extremely few. You might be the only one. Also, the fee is really expensive.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not the only woman, Sister Xiaoning is going too. We¡¯re going together.¡± His mouth remained wide open. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me she¡¯s the one who wanted to go, and you¡¯re going with her?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Mei Yangyang responded frankly. ¡°Where would I get so much money? It costs three hundred thousand dors per person. But Sister Xiaoning was considerate towards me and wanted someone to apany her, so she asked if I was willing to go. I agreed.¡± ¡°Both of you are mad.¡± Long Tianze touched his chin lightly. ¡°Not even I would dare to go to such a ce.¡± ¡°Is it really that scary?¡± ¡°Whether it¡¯s scary or not, you¡¯ll know when you go there. You¡¯re really paying to suffer.¡± Long Tianze went on to suggest, ¡°So, how about you don¡¯t go, hmm?¡± Mei Yangyang straightened herself and looked at him calmly. ¡°Then you tell me, if Sister Xiaoning and I were to meet with some bad people one day and I can¡¯t defend myself, and you¡¯re not around either, what should I do?¡± Upon hearing her words, Long Tianze seemed to realize it was important to learn self-defense skills. Whether one would meet with bad people or danger out there, it was something no one could say for sure. ¡°That¡¯s true. Since you¡¯re joining for this reason, then you should go. It¡¯s just that, if itsts for four to five months, will I be able to go and see you?¡± Mei Yangyang seemed unsure. ¡°I think so. I don¡¯t know if we will be banned from contacting the outside world.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s really like that, then when you¡¯re back after a few months, aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯ll have found another prettydy?¡± Mei Yangyang reached out and held his face with both hands, answering seriously, ¡°If it¡¯s really like that, then what¡¯s the use of being with you if you¡¯re going to find another woman when I¡¯m not beside you for a few months? I¡¯d rather not have you. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve already inspected you for some time before taking a step further into this rtionship with you. Don¡¯t think I¡¯m stupid, I¡¯m not.¡± Long Tianze¡¯s face brightened up. His eyes turned and his face moved slightly, kissing her palm. She felt a sudden surge of electric current and immediately released her hands. The corner of his lips curled up into a smile. ¡°Even if you¡¯re banned from contacting the outside world, as long as I want to see you, I¡¯ll be able to have my way.¡± ¡°Umm. I¡¯m getting down, okay?¡± Mei Yangyang pushed the car door open and got down, then closed the door shut and waved goodbye to him. Long Tianze drove off and unconsciously looked at the rear-view mirror. He saw Mei Yangyang staring intensely at the hand he had kissed earlier. He felt like he was about to burst outughing. This feeling felt exceptionally sweet. After Mei Yangyang reached home, she told her father about going to the training camp. Her father supported her, of course. He was already worried about her going to work all day by herself. Such an opportunity was too good to be true. When she mentioned An Xiaoning forking out the three hundred thousand dors for her to join, Mr. Mei repeatedly reminded her to thank An Xiaoning. The two were chatting happily when Mei Shuangshuang emerged from the bedroom with a cold remark, ¡°People treat you like their maid to order around, and you¡¯re here being over the moon.¡± ¡°You brat, how can you say that of Ms. An? I think you can¡¯t tell a good person from a bad one.¡± ¡°Father, don¡¯t worry about her. I can¡¯t be bothered to talk to her. I¡¯ll be gone next week so I won¡¯t be around. If you and Mother need to eat anything, don¡¯t scrimp on it. I¡¯ll continue to work when Ie back.¡± ¡°I know all these. But the crux is about you, it¡¯s going to be tiring and hard on you. Yangyang, if you can¡¯t take it,e back.¡± ¡°Father, I¡¯ll be able to take it. No matter how tiring it is, I can¡¯t waste the money.¡± Mei Yangyang went into the room and opened her wardrobe. She packed three or four sets of clothes for next week and finally sat on her bed, feeling pleased inside. ¡°Hmph. What¡¯s the big deal about it, you¡¯re not even going there to have fun. You look like you could instantly fly now with some wings.¡± Perhaps feeling discontented, Mei Shuangshuang used her leg to kick the door, which let out a huge noise. Mei Yangyang simply ignored her and continued doing what she had to. ¡ª ¡°Did you meet Ms. Lin already?¡± Mrs. Jin asked on the other end of the line. ¡°Umm, I did.¡± ¡°How do you feel about her?¡± Mrs. Jin was keen on knowing his opinion. ¡°How do I feel? Her photos were probably heavily edited. When I saw her in person, her whole face was covered in thick powder. I almost felt like puking. There¡¯s nothing special about her looks at all, I¡¯ve already forgotten how she looks like.¡± The moment Jin Qingyan finished talking, Mrs. Jin immediately rebutted, ¡°I¡¯ve seen her in person too, she wasn¡¯t as bad as you said. I think she looks rather pretty.¡± ¡°Then why don¡¯t you have her?¡± ¡°Qingyan!¡± ¡°Mother, don¡¯t re up when you¡¯re already at this age. You¡¯ll get a stroke easily. Don¡¯t bother yourself about my affairs already, I¡¯ve no interest in this right now.¡± ¡°Last time, I thought the one you liked the most was Chi Rui¡¯er. Now, it¡¯s changed to An Xiaoning, right?¡± Jin Qingyan rubbed his temples. His voice was low and deep as he said, ¡°I¡¯m going to eat now, I¡¯ll hang up first.¡± Mrs. Jin was about to say something, but from the other end came the beeping sound of the line cutting. She could only put down her phone and dart an angry nce at Jin Qingyue sitting on the sofa. ¡°As someone who¡¯s already married, why are you acting like you¡¯re not? Go back to your own house.¡± ¡°Mother!¡± Jin Qingyue pouted her lips. ¡°Can¡¯t I miss my own home? Am I no longer a part of this family now that I¡¯m married?¡± ¡°You and your brother always keep me worrying.¡± Mrs. Jin turned and went into her room. Jin Qingyue got up and took her bag, heading towards the door. Shi Shaochuan appeared in front of her just in time. ¡°Let¡¯s go home,¡± Jin Qingyue nagged as they walked out. ¡°My mother thinks I¡¯m not a part of this family now that I¡¯m married. I came here to apany her, but it seems she doesn¡¯t want mypany.¡± However, Shi Shaochuan replied instead, ¡°Your mother¡¯s right. We¡¯ve just been married for a few days. Does it make sense that you¡¯re living here everyday?¡± ¡°But my mother still shouldn¡¯t say that, I think she¡¯s taking out her anger on me. She introduced someone to my brother, I think my brother probably pissed her off again.¡± Chapter 182 - Completely Fallen for Her (10)

Chapter 182: Completely Fallen for Her (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shi Shaochuan remarked as he buckled up his seat belt, which made a loud clicking sound, ¡°Your mother is really something. Her son just got divorced, and she¡¯s already finding him a blind date.¡± ¡°Why? Does your heart ache for An Xiaoning?¡± Jin Qingyue rolled her eyes at him. ¡°Why do you always make it about An Xiaoning? Why would my heart ache for her, I don¡¯t even want to see her.¡± Jin Qingyue then replied, ¡°That¡¯s more like it. Why did youe and fetch me today when you didn¡¯te yesterday when I asked you to?¡± ¡°I was busy yesterday. I came over today because I¡¯m free. I¡¯m fetching you home to make a baby. We¡¯re already married, having children is naturally a must.¡± As Shi Shaochuan spoke, his hand continued to touch her and he continued, ¡°Tonight, let¡¯s go somewhere exciting, shall we?¡± Jin Qingyue¡¯s face lit up at what she heard. ¡°Somewhere exciting? Where?¡± ¡°Come with me.¡± He drove all the way to the entrance of an entertainment city. Jin Qingyue thought that he wanted to drink and dance, but he secretly brought her to the public toilet at one corner. The both of them sneaked in when there was nobody around and entered a cubicle together. Locking the cubicle door from inside, he shed a smug smile and whispered into Jin Qingyue¡¯s ear, ¡°Honey, is it exciting here?¡± ¡°It¡¯s exciting indeed.¡± Shi Shaochuan chuckled and started getting intimate with Jin Qingyue. But unbeknownst to the two, the scene of Shi Shaochuan entering the women¡¯s bathroom was captured by the surveince camera. The guard on duty immediately noticed and felt that a man entering the women¡¯s bathroom with a woman would definitely be up to no good. What on earth are they treating this ce as, how outrageous! And so, the guard immediately sent some men to the women¡¯s bathroom. Shi Shaochuan and Jin Qingyue had their bottoms stripped off. The two were beyond excited and were ready to make a baby in that environment. When they were at the climax and had just begun, there came the sound of footsteps approaching the bathroom. The two ignored it, thinking it was another female who came to use the bathroom. Jin Qingyue deliberately tried to stop herself from making any sound, but a soft moan still came out from her mouth. The two were enjoying their moment of stimtion when a voice came roaring from above them, ¡°Are you two having a good time in there?!¡± The two were taken aback and panicked immediately. Shi Shaochuan looked up, and his face changed instantly as he saw a man holding a camera and capturing a footage of them. He pulled up his pants and was about to open the door when Jin Qingyue stopped him. ¡°Let me wear my pants first.¡± Shi Shaochuan held himself back and waited for her. When she was finally ready, the two went out. He looked at the man before them coldly and said, ¡°Delete that video.¡± ¡°Master Shi, I urge you to soften your tone. After all, this is our Master Ye¡¯s territory. Whatever happens to the video, I need to report it to our Young Sir.¡± ¡°How much do you want? Just tell me, I¡¯ll pay you,¡± Jin Qingyue offered. ¡°Sorry.¡± The few men turned to leave. Shi Shaochuan could not possibly let them leave. He could not risk them making a copy of the footage. He immediately raised his voice. ¡°Give us the video, and you¡¯ll get five hundred thousand. Otherwise, whether or not all of you can make it home safely tonight, I cannot guarantee it.¡± ¡°Master Shi, we don¡¯t give in to threats.¡± The few men were fearless and turned to leave immediately. Shi Shaochuan quickly called to get some men over. Very soon, he brought his men to snatch the footage away. The group got into a huge fight. After getting instructions from Ye Xiaotian, the men under him called the police and spread the news about this incident. They even spread fake information intentionally and exposed the footage. In a short time, things escted to a point beyond salvation. The footage spread around the inte like wildfire and was shared amongizens so many times on different media tforms. Shi Shaochuan and Jin Qingyue became famous people who were the talk of the town. When Jin Qingyan learned about the incident, it was already beyond being controlled. But he still made an official statement, saying that he would hold the person who exposed the footage responsible. While on the surface, he imed that he would pursue the matter, there was also a video footage to prove that Shi Shaochuan had sent his men to snatch the footage and started a fight. Hence, both parties eventually reached a consensus and decided not to pursue the matter. It was obvious that both parties suffered losses. In reality, Shi Shaochuan and Jin Qingyue suffered the greatest loss. Their intimate affair became a topic of entertainment for the public, and they became the main characters of an erotic film for free. Although the footage was very short, it did not stop the matter from escting. When Mr. and Mrs. Jin heard about the incident, they called and scolded Jin Qingyue harshly for it. Jin Qingyue naturally did not dare to go back home and went back to the Shi residence with Shi Shaochuan. In a short time, the inte was buzzing with news of them. Shi Shaochuan was extremely regretful while Jin Qingyue cried non-stop, feeling that she had no face to show the world anymore. Shi Shaochuan had no choice but to console her. The two¡¯s ns to make a baby were pushed back just like that, as they had both lost the mood for it. ¡ª ¡°Hahahaha!¡± After seeing the news, Gu Beicheng could not help but burst into uncontroble shouts ofughter. An Xiaoning passed the milk to him. ¡°Is it that funny?¡± ¡°How is it not funny? I can¡¯t believe there are such stupid people in this world. At first, I was still thinking that there was something wrong with Shi Shaochuan¡¯s brain ¡ª he married you, but he didn¡¯t want to touch you and looked for other women. Now I see, he is really beyond hopeless.¡± Gu Beicheng sipped the milk slowly. ¡°This couple is really a match made in heaven. No wonder there are so many news about the Jin family recently, it must have been to push up the news about this joke.¡± An Xiaoning sat down and said leisurely, ¡°Shi Shaochuan is aplete yer. I think that he married Jin Qingyue not because of love but because his parents and grandmother are all dead. There¡¯s no one left in his family anymore, so following the marriage arrangement is probably to continue his family line. It¡¯ll be impossible for him to actually turn over a new leaf for Jin Qingyue now and stay loyal to only her.¡± ¡°You understand him so well?¡± ¡°I was married to him for two years. Although we had no close interactions, during the marriage, I waspletely aware that he was going around to find other women frequently. Shi Shaochuan is the kind of person who likes the satisfaction of conquering women, so his targets are not really based on their looks. Having beautiful looks is the best, but even if it were someone with only a good figure, he would have a sense of achievement. Someone like him will never be able to find a partner to grow old with.¡± As she spoke about this, An Xiaoning could not help but snigger. ¡°No matter what kind of surprising news he appears in, I won¡¯t ever find it shocking.¡± ¡°What do you mean by him having no partner to grow old with?¡± Gu Beicheng inquired. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯ll be alone until the end of his life?¡± ¡°Umm. He¡¯ll probably be that kind of person, someone who changes partners all the time. Let¡¯s not talk about him, just mentioning him gets on my nerves.¡± Gu Beicheng ced the cup on the table, a hint of joy arising from his eyes. ¡°There¡¯s a newedy film which just started screening. Do you want to watch a movie together?¡± ¡°Comedy film? Sure.¡± He took out a pair of tickets from the pocket of his suit. ¡°I was going to invite you to watch a movie. Now, I finally found a good opportunity to do so.¡± Chapter 183 - Completely Fallen for Her (11)

Chapter 183: Completely Fallen for Her (11)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning nodded her head. She was indeed not in such a good mood, so watching aedy film would be useful to soothe her mood. The two bought some popcorn and warm milk before sitting down in the theatre. The movie was yet to start, so Gu Beicheng suddenly thought of her position at the police station and asked under his breath, ¡°If you¡¯re at the training camp, what will happen to the cases at the police station?¡± ¡°When I return,¡± An Xiaoning answered in a rxed tone, ¡°the many unsolved cases that await me will be uncovered. Being away for a few months won¡¯t hurt the unsolved cases anyway. If I strengthen myself, it¡¯ll be useful in solving cases too. I won¡¯t be a burden due to my own physical condition.¡± Gu Beicheng reached out and poked her face. ¡°This is why I like women like you. You always know what you want, and you never drag your feet in everything that you do.¡± An Xiaoning shed a sweet smile at him. ¡°Since ancient times, the status of men and women have not changed much. Even though the role of women has improved by quite a lot in today¡¯s society, it still can¡¯t bepared to the status of men. For me, I think that if a woman does not have the choice to live her own life, her life will be meaningless. I want to live differently from others.¡± Gu Beicheng stared at her, his eyes full of admiration for her. Theedy film made An Xiaoning burst into loud, uncontrobleughter while it ran. While Gu Beicheng was not easily amused like her, he was also tickled by a few points. The two watched the movie for two whole hours, 120 minutes, and came out of the movie theater in high spirits. They came without driving and left the same way, since the cinema was not far away from the Gu residence. ¡°Let¡¯s have apetition, shall we?¡± An Xiaoning was in a great mood and decided to y a small game with him. ¡°Whatpetition?¡± ¡°Actually, it¡¯s a rather childish game, but I just suddenly felt like ying. We y ¡®scissors, paper, stone,¡¯ the winner gets to take a big step forward, while the loser stays where they are.¡± An Xiaoning had her hands tucked in her pocket, and she looked at him with a wide grin. ¡°Two adults ying this game is rather absurd indeed. If you¡¯re not keen on ying, then forget it.¡± ¡°Why would it be absurd? I still think I¡¯m younger than 15 years old.¡± His words made An Xiaoning blurt out, ¡°How do you manage to say such things?¡± ¡°With my mouth, of course.¡± ¡°Alright, alright. We¡¯re both younger than 15 years. Come, let¡¯s start.¡± She rolled up her sleeves and stood beside him, ying ¡®scissors, paper, stone.¡¯ While the walk back home originally took only slightly more than ten minutes, the two spent more than half an hour ying the game and still had not reached home. On the other side of the road, a slender figure continued to look in their direction and could even hear the sounds ofughtering from the two. Was she that happy? It seemed like the divorce had no effect on her at all. After all, she was the one who insisted on it, wasn¡¯t she? Watching a movie with Gu Beicheng, and ying such a childish game with him, with no qualms of being photographed at all. The position beside her was meant to be his. But now, he could only look at her from afar, witnessing how she smiled at Gu Beicheng more than once. How he wished he could rip her face off. See if she could stillugh like that! Jin Qingyan stood beside a tree, having secretly tailed them for a long time. Was he mad? If he were not, why did his legs not follow what his mind told him to? His mind kept telling him that he should not havee, he should not have followed her. However, his legs defied his will and went forward continuously. If he went forward more, he would soone to the Gu residence. Thus, he had no choice but to stop in his tracks and turn to leave. When he reached home, Jin Qingyan was terribly troubled. He drank some wine while listening to music to rx himself. His eyes were suddenly covered by two hands, and the sound of a sharp voice rang beside his ear, ¡°Guess who I am?¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t remove your hands in five seconds, I¡¯ll wash your face with this ss of wine.¡± Long Tianze took back his hands. ¡°I¡¯ve some news for you, I wonder if you¡¯re interested to hear it?¡± ¡°Just say it if you want to.¡± ¡°It¡¯s about An Xiaoning. Since you¡¯re not interested to hear it, then forget it.¡± Long Tianze poured himself half a ss of wine and chuckled. ¡°Umm... you can tell me, since you wouldn¡¯t be able to keep it in.¡± ¡°It¡¯s you who can¡¯t keep it in, isn¡¯t it?¡± Long Tianze leaned forward and said mysteriously, ¡°I¡¯ve urate news that An Xiaoning has signed up for the devil training camp. She¡¯ll be gone for four to five months. She¡¯ll be leaving in one week¡¯s time.¡± ¡°Devil training camp?¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s eyes twinkled. ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Of course, because my girlfriend¡¯s going too.¡± Long Tianze pointed his index finger at him. ¡°Both of them have paid for the fees already. It¡¯s three hundred thousand dors per person, all paid by An Xiaoning.¡± Jin Qingyan swirled his wine ss in a slightly proud manner. ¡°She can join whatever she wants, it¡¯s none of my business.¡± Long Tianze understood what he meant without him saying it. He nodded in agreement as he replied, ¡°Indeed, the two of you are divorced already. You should go for blind dates, and she should start a new life too. You two are no longer rted. Qingyan, it should be like this. Good job, I¡¯m all behind you, brother. Continue to have this mindset. But, I¡¯ve also heard that An Xiaoning moved into the Gu residence. Gu Beicheng seems to harbor other thoughts about her. I wonder if he¡¯ll snatch her away? Well, it¡¯s hard to say. I¡¯ll get going first.¡± He put down the wine ss and got up, loosening his cor before heading out with his head held high. Once he got out, Long Tianze hid behind the living room entrance, looking inside furtively. He realized that Jin Qingyan first sat there without moving at all, then made a call to someone thereafter. Long Tianze covered his mouth whileughing non-stop, then ran out of the house with the lightest footsteps. When he reached his car, he finally muttered to himself pleasantly, ¡°I¡¯ll see how long you can put on an act in front of me, while being ridden with anxiety inside.¡± ¡ª Mo Li¡¯s body was aching all over for a few nights consecutively. Yet, she was also immersed in happiness, for they never stopped these few nights. Tonight, Mo Li received Byron¡¯s message, which invited her to have dinner at a private room in a restaurant. She went there with her guards. Standing at the entrance of the private room, her heart was thumping furiously. She, who was dressed exquisitely, appeared exceptionally charming. Pushing the door open gently, she found that it was pitch ck inside. Thinking it was a surprise from Byron, she pushed the door close and suddenly felt a hand touching her. Her eyes were covered with an eye mask, and she was then led in slowly by a hand guiding her. The high-ss restaurant had a sofa in the private room. Mo Li was guided to the sofa, and her voice trembled slightly as she muttered, ¡°Honey.¡± Ye Xiaotian knew she was not calling him, but he was extremely willing to y along and pretended it was him she was really calling for. Not allowing her to say another word, he immediately kissed her. The forceful and intense kiss left her breathless, and she was soon weak in the knees. Her hands continued to hold onto his neck, allowing him to lead her. For the few years Ye Xiaotian was with her, he only wanted her every few days. It was never frequent like these few days with her, where he wanted her a couple of times in one day. The desire for her was not as strong either. Just like after this time, he did not know when he could have her again ¡ª he was afraid it would be thest time. This sense of insecurity was overwhelming. Chapter 184 - Completely Fallen for Her (12)

Chapter 184: Completely Fallen for Her (12)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The past few days were pure happiness for him. He could brazenly look at how she meekly obeyed him; it was extremely enjoyable for him. His heart was full of satisfaction. The moment Ye Xiaotian thought of what would happen once she found out it was him who had been treating her like that, he wondered what her reaction would be like. If she were not to find out by herself, he did not wish to tell her himself. After all, seeing her act so docile like a little kitten, he wanted to have her like that for a longer time. After it was over, Ye Xiaotian personally helped her to put on her clothes and took her by her hand to the door. After that, he closed the door shut and locked it from inside before switching on the lights atst. He then put on his clothes in an orderly manner. At this moment, Mo Li who was just sent out felt that something was amiss. Not only did Byron not talk the whole time, but he was also acting strangely. As she was about to knock on the door, she received a text message: ¡°You go home first, I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± She could only leave the ce then, since the message was without a doubt sent from Byron¡¯s number. Mo Li could never have expected that her phone was hacked with a special software by Ye Xiaotian, and the message sent to her was not from Byron¡¯s number at all. Once the car reached home, Byron did not arrive right after. Feeling a sticky sensation between her legs, she decided to get a bath first. After putting on clothes again, she waited for him at the front gate. After about one hour, Byron¡¯s car finally entered the house slowly. Seeing the car approach the garage, her lips curled into a smile and she followed behind closely. But even when she reached the rear of the car, she still did not see Byron get off. Mo Li walked in front of the car window and looked in, realizing that the inside of the car was blocked by the car window. She could vaguely hear some rough soundsing from inside, which sounded like people kissing. Her face turned as white as a sheet instantly. A familiar sound like this was one impossible for her not to recognize. Mo Li stood there rooted to the ground and finally moved to another car with light footsteps. She took out her phone and rang Byron. His ringtone sounded from inside the car. At that moment, Mo Li¡¯s heart was pierced into a thousand pieces. Did he bring a woman home? He had another woman outside? She did not dare to think any further. She wanted to know who exactly the other woman he brought home was. And so, she continued to listen to the sound of his ringtone chiming, but he eventually never picked up her call. Mo Li felt it was weird too. It was only a while ago when he had a good time with her, and yet he was instantly with another woman... It was simply unbelievable, but she had heard it with her own ears. But then again, could the sounds havee from a video clip ying? She kept her body low as she moved back near to his car and carefully listened again. The sounds came from him indeed. Mo Li moved back to the other car beside his, her mindpletely nk. However, she was not too disappointed either. After all, she was indeed not good enough for him. Since he had another woman, she would leave the picture sensibly. After standing there for two minutes, Byron finally got off the car. What really made Mo Li dumbfounded was that there was no woman who got off from the car, only Byron and his assistant Lance. Her heart skipped a beat as she thought of what Byron¡¯s ex-wife Annie had said when they met previously. Was he bisexual? After they left, Mo Li knocked on the window of Byron¡¯s car, confirming that there was no woman inside. Returning back to the bedroom doorway in a rather distraught state, sheposed herself and finally pushed the door open before entering the bedroom. ¡°Where have you been?¡± ¡°I went out to take a walk.¡± Mo Li looked at him, smiling warmly as usual, and suddenly thought that his tolerance and warmth were like poison coated with honey. She thought that it was too good to be true as well, for such a good man in this world to actually exist. His marriage with her was for the sake of having children, so that the elders will have nothing to say about it, as well as to hide his true sexual preference. ¡°When you called me, I was about to reach home already so I didn¡¯t answer.¡± She nodded with a grin and acknowledged him. ¡°Alright, go and get a bath. I¡¯ve already bathed.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± He reached out to touch her head, then headed to the bathroom. Mo Li sat at the side of the bed, smiling bitterly to herself. When they went to bed, he fell asleep exceptionally quickly while Mo Li could not get to sleep. Despite that, she did not want to toss and turn for fear of waking him up. At around one or two in the morning, when it was said that people were in the deepest sleep, she secretly got up. She took the phone he ced on the table to the bathroom but realized that it was locked with a passcode. After a few unsessful tries, she ced the phone on the table again and put on a sweater before entering his study room. Switching on hisptop, she found that it was also locked with a passcode without exception. Mo Li could not get any sleep for the whole night. When Byron left in the morning, although she was so sleepy to the point that her eyelids were twitching, she still could not fall asleep. She did not know either what she wanted to verify. She had already heard it with her own ears, what other room for reservation was there left? Forcing herself to sleep, she found that even her dream was full of instability. She dreamt that she was running continuously while someone was chasing behind her endlessly, forcing her to a corner. When she suddenly woke up, it was afternoon already. She packed some stuff briefly and made a trip to Byron¡¯s office. Byron was having a meeting, so she waited for him in his office. When Byron came back from his meeting, he asked her with a grin, ¡°Why¡¯re you here?¡± ¡°I wanted to have dinner with you outside.¡± ¡°Umm, okay.¡± He leaned in to kiss her forehead, then sat on the chair as he replied, ¡°I still have some matters to settle, give me a moment.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± She stood up and stretched herselfzily. ¡°I¡¯ll go to your lounge to lie down for awhile, call me when you¡¯re done.¡± He nodded in acknowledgement. Mo Li went to his lounge and rested on the bed, feeling rather sluggish. She felt like she had slept for a long time. When she looked at the time on her phone, it was already 6 pm. But he was not done yet. She could only get off the bed and look out from the doorway. Seeing that he was still busy, she closed the door gently and continued to wait. After ten minutes, she heard footsteps approaching. Opening the door, she came face-to-face with him. ¡°I¡¯m done, let¡¯s go,¡± he said with a faint smile. ¡°Umm.¡± The two went downstairs together. Mo Li sat on the seat beside the driver¡¯s position. She had never observed him driving so closely before. The car was wide, and all the windows were covered by blinds. The seats on the back row were very spacious and were even retractable. They could basically be used as a small bed. She turned her gaze back and asked with her face not changing, ¡°Do you have any engagements tonight?¡± Byron nodded. ¡°Yes, sorry. I often have to work untilte before I can go home to apany you.¡± She shook her head; it was already very clear to her. ¡°It¡¯s alright, workes first.¡± ¡°I really like girls like you, pretty and obedient at the same time.¡± Mo Li did not answer. When the car stopped at a restaurant, the two had a meal and even ordered some red wine. Byron did not detect anything wrong with her. The two had a peaceful meal, and at the end, she finally said, ¡°Honey,e home earlierter.¡± He nodded. ¡°l¡¯ll try.¡± Mo Li beamed at him. ¡°I¡¯m done, I¡¯ll go home first.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you a lift.¡± Chapter 185 - Completely Fallen for Her (13)

Chapter 185: Completely Fallen for Her (13)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He got up to pay, then sent her home thereafter. Standing at the front gate as she watched his car turn away, Mo Li gazed at the rear of his car for a long time as it gradually disappeared out of her view. When she finally recovered herself, Mo Li had a slight internal struggle, but this struggle was one that vanished in an instant. Maybe because she did not want to give up before seeing it with her own eyes, she took a taxi to the entrance of his office again. Sitting in the taxi, she saw that his car came out of the building again. It was his assistant Lance who was driving, and he was sitting at the back row. Everything looked exceptionally normal on the surface. The taxi followed Byron¡¯s car to the entrance of a nightclub. The two went in first, while Mo Li entered after wearing a face mask and a cap. After finding a dimmer spot to sit down, Mo Li kept her gaze on the two. She sat there drinking, and after a long time, she still did not see the business partner whom they were supposed to entertain, only a group of people who wanted to perform on stage. On the stage, the few performers who put on makeup pretending to be women performed with their utmost effort. Byron and Lance, on the other hand, were having a great time talking, and they raised their sses to drink endlessly. Mo Li watched them from afar, knowing there was nothing else left to be said. As it gotter in the night, the atmosphere in the nightclub also became more heated. The two stayed for more than two hours before leaving. As they headed for the car, Byron, who had drunk a bit too much, had Lance help him inside. Lance opened the car door and helped him in. Maybe because he had left something inside, he closed the car door shut and hurriedly headed back to the entrance of the nightclub. Mo Li opened the car door at the other side and saw Byron lying inside with his eyes shut. Perhaps thinking that it was Lance, he did not open his eyes at all. She closed the door shut and went around to the trunk of the car at the rear. As it was connected, she could justy there to hide. It was perfect. After switching her phone to vibration mode, she ced it in her pocket. Lance soon returned and drove the car out of this ce. After driving the car to the garage at home, Mo Li thought that he would help Byron get off the car, but he did not. He got off himself, then locked the door of the garage from inside. Finally, he opened the door of the backseat and went in directly. Following the sound of belts unbuckling, Mo Li¡¯s heart skipped a beat. She did not even dare to breathe and covered her nose and mouth with her hand, lying there motionless. Then came the sound of clothes being removed. The lights in the car were not switched on, and Byron was notpletely drunk either. He was still conscious and went along with Lance. ¡°Sit up,¡± Lance said. Byron, who was served by him in reality, sat up obediently. Lance sat leaning against the car window, while Byron bent over andy near his legs. Mo Li was absolutely shaken by this scene before her. She felt that if they were to realize she was hiding in the back of the car, she would be strangled to death. As the door of the garage was locked from the inside, and the sound-proofing in the car worked well, all that sounded in her ears was the sound of low, deep moaning. For some reason, tears kept flowing out of Mo Li¡¯s eyes. She did not love Byron, and Byron did not love her either. However, she just wasn¡¯t certain why she was crying. Maybe it was because she finally realized that a man with a respectable status like him would not have possibly wanted to marry her at first sight. Moreover, it was a woman like her who had been with another man. No wonder Annie would say those significant words to her, and no wonder that although Ye Xiaotian forcefully had her for one night ¡ª Byron not only did not me her, but he even apologized to her. Perhaps because she had found out the truth and unravelled the doubts in her heart, she no longer thought that she was unworthy of him. At the very least, she never deceived him, ever. If she was only a tool for giving birth, then how was it different from being with Ye Xiaotian? Why was it that all of such misfortunes happened to her? Heaven was really unfair to her. When it was done, they rapidly got off the car, with various evidence of what they did still left inside. After seeing it with her own eyes, Mo Li hadpletely given up, since it was certain that she did not malign him. After meeting him, she felt guilty that he was such a nice person with a high status. Who was she to gain his kindness? Thus, she maintained the attitude of giving it her everything to be a wife to him for the rest of her life. Even when his mother was nasty to her, she told herself to bear it. As long as he was good to her, and truly genuine, then nothing else was important. But now, she felt that she¡¯d been deceived. She had used him to block Ye Xiaotian from her, but he had used her too. Her body was not pure as she had been with Ye Xiaotian, but it was the same for him too. Worse still, it was even more... Mo Li covered her mouth as she burst out in silent tears. While she thought that she had climbed out of a bottomless abyss, she had unknowingly fallen into a gentle trap. ¡ª On the day of Chi Rui¡¯er and Gu Dongcheng¡¯s marriage, it was not being paid much attention to. Other than some people from themercial world who attended, the media was not really present. But Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s face was still lit up with happiness. Wearing her white wedding gown, she was grinning from ear to ear as she collected an endless stream of red packets. She also used her hand to cover her stomach now and then, even though her stomach was already showing slightly. An Xiaoning only ate a meal and passed the red packet to Gu Dongcheng before returning. To her, Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s wedding was not a happy asion at all. She could not help but feel that her life was not too good. She was once Shi Shaochuan¡¯s sister-inw; now, Chi Rui¡¯er had be her sister-inw. Fortunately, in a few more days, she would not have to see Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s face for a few months. It was extremely worth rejoicing over. She read the book that Old Master Gu had given her every night, and she even had its content at her fingertips. After such a long time, the many pages that she had read had umted over many months. She was about to take out the book to read at night out of habit when she received a message. Since her divorce, she had already deleted Jin Qingyan¡¯s number from her phone. But once she saw that it was from such a clich¨¦ number with a bunch of 8¡¯s, she still knew it was his number. She opened it, and it read: ¡°You better run faster, or else when I catch up with you, you¡¯ll never be able to run away again.¡± ¡°What is this,¡± An Xiaoning muttered to herself as she sat on the bed, replying him: ¡°I¡¯m not in the least worried that someone with no legs can catch up with my fast legs. And you probably don¡¯t know me well, I¡¯ve no habit of grazing on old pasture.¡± His reply came in very soon: ¡°Habits that you didn¡¯t have all start from me.¡± An Xiaoning stared at this message, a ripple stirring in her heart. She suddenly thought of the scene of him going for a blind date and was about to ce her phone at the edge of the bed when the notification for another message sounded. She read the message from the notification list: ¡°I don¡¯t know you well? Which part of your whole body do I not know well? Tell me.¡± An Xiaoningy there, typing a reply to him: ¡°Master Jin, we¡¯re already divorced. Please stop contacting me and hindering me from finding a new partner.¡± When he saw the message, Jin Qingyan was absolutely furious. With his gaze fixed on her reply, he was about to go mad with fury. Hinder her from finding a new partner? He typed rapidly, wishing he could use his fingers to break the phone screen. Using almost all his strength, he replied her: ¡°When I agreed to divorce you, it was just to fulfill the wish that I owed you. You¡¯ve only just divorced me, and you can¡¯t wait to find another man already?¡± Chapter 186 - Completely Fallen for Her (14)

Chapter 186: Completely Fallen for Her (14)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Staring at the text message on her screen, An Xiaoning could not help but burst intoughter as she proceeded to send him ast text message, which read: ¡°Of course, I¡¯m a normal woman with needs that have to be fulfilled.¡± Jin Qingyan was infuriated. He read the text messages over and over again and could not help but feel his blood boil with exasperation. However, he had managed to curb his anger atst by taking a cold shower. Although winter was almost over, it was still rather chilly to be taking a cold shower in such freezing weather. Heid in bed, shivering uncontrobly after the shower. Although his frustration and anger had indeed dissipated, the cold shower had begun taking its toll on his body. He was running a fever. He fell asleep after taking some medicine and only woke up after daybreak, feelingpletely listless and lethargic. Hisplexion was awful and he looked sickly. Sensing something amiss upon seeing him, Fan Shixin asked worriedly, ¡°Young Sir, did you have a sleepless night?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve caught a cold and took some medicine.¡± After clearing his throat, he continued, ¡°Shixin, I think we canmence the exercise boot camp a few days in advance. Training doesn¡¯t have to begin right away though, we¡¯ll just use the time to allow the members to break the ice and get to know each other better. How does that sound?¡± ¡°Anything, as long as you¡¯re happy, Young Sir,¡± Fan Shixin answered. ¡°Great. An Xiaoning would never have guessed that I¡¯m the current boss of the boot camp. Give them a call to inform them about thetest instruction,¡± Jin Qingyan said with a smirk. ¡°Roger.¡± Jin Qingyan rolled his neck to rx his muscles and reached a hand out to massage his own shoulders. The mere thought of An Xiaoning never failed to get him uncontrobly agitated and worked up. Littless, just you wait and see,he thought to himself. ¡ª¡ª Mo Li had already woken up at five o¡¯clock in the morning but continued toy in bed until past seven. Byron woke up to the sight of her staring nkly into space. ¡°Good morning.¡± ¡°Oh, good morning.¡± Mo Li pursed her lips and continued, ¡°Byron, I have something to tell you.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Um, I¡¯d like to get a divorce. My decision is final,¡± said Mo Li, staring deep into his eyes. The initial look of calmness on Byron¡¯s face disappeared instantly as he continued to ask in bewilderment, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I like living a life like this.¡± ¡°Is it because of the pregnancy matters? Don¡¯t worry, we can get you treated slowly. We¡¯ll have kids after you recover. Before that, I won¡¯t give you any pressure, don¡¯t dwell on it, alright?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not because of that. Byron, you¡¯re really a good man, but this is not the kind of married life I¡¯m wishing for. I want to live my life in freedom,¡± Mo Li said calmly with a smile. ¡°But didn¡¯t you say you could ept theplicated and tedious formalities?¡± said Byron, sitting upright and still. Mo Li answered with a nod, ¡°Yes, I can tolerate the tedious formalities, but I can¡¯t tolerate being deceived and lied to. I used you to get away from Ye Xiaotian, but you¡¯ve also used me, isn¡¯t that so? Byron, this is the real reason behind my wish for a divorce. Life would be meaningless if I have to continue living like this until the day I die.¡± ¡°Did Annie tell you something?¡± ¡°No. Byron, let¡¯s get divorced,¡± said Mo Li as she lifted the duvet and got out of bed. All of a sudden, he grabbed her by her arm and pinned her down beneath him. Keeping his eyes fixed on her, he said sternly, ¡°I want to hear the absolute truth. Mo Li, you said that I used you, how so? You said that I lied to you and deceived you. Tell me honestly, since when have I done that?¡± Mo Li knew for a fact that she was not maligning him, for she had indeed seen and heard everything with her own senses. ¡°Byron, you married me just so I could bear you a child, as well as to stop tongues from wagging. Isn¡¯t that so? But it turns out, you¡¯re bisexual. You and Lance... I saw everything.¡± Byron¡¯s face stiffened in horror as he grabbed her neck forcefully. Shocked out of her senses, Mo Li clutched tightly onto the bedsheets and looked him in the eye as she continued to speak, ¡°So, let¡¯s get divorced, I won¡¯t spill a single word about it.¡± Byron began to tighten his grip, causing Mo Li to turn red as she found it harder and harder to breathe, almost on the verge of suffocating. Mo Li did not struggle and closed her eyes instead. All of a sudden, her phone began to ring and continued to do so for an extended period of time. Byron released his grip all of a sudden, and Mo Li began to pant heavily as she inhaled fresh air. She then moved towards the side of the bed to grab her phone, after which she took a look at the caller disy. To her horror, it was a call from Byron, although he was right in front of her and his phone was on the table as well. Nheless, she proceeded to answer the call. ¡°Hello,¡± she muttered, her hands trembling uncontrobly in fear as she ced the phone beside her ear. ¡°If you want your parents and brother to stay alive, then do as I say. Tell him that you don¡¯t want a divorce anymore. I can settle everything for you. Mo Li, you know what I¡¯m capable of. Believe me, I won¡¯t hurt you.¡± Mo Li could not help but feel an urge to say, ¡°Haven¡¯t you hurt me enough?¡± However, she kept her thoughts to herself, for she did not have a backup n. Even so, she did not regret saying those words to Byron. At least, doing it allowed her to see his true colors. ¡°Yes.¡± After ending the call, Mo Li turned towards Byron and said, ¡°It was my brother, he wants me to make a trip down to where he is. Byron, I regret my decision, I don¡¯t want a divorce anymore, alright?¡± Byron seemed to be in a better mood upon hearing her words. Mo Li retreated in shock just as he was about to reach a hand out to caress her face. However, he still continued to do so and said, ¡°Be good and continue being my wife. I won¡¯t mistreat you or your family. You either keep this secret to yourself for the rest of your life and continue to stay by my side or you die with it. You choose. You have to understand that you¡¯re different from Annie. I once loved her in the past, that¡¯s why she gets to stay alive until now. Understand?¡± The gentle and well-tempered man Mo Li used to think Byron was had turned out to be no better than Ye Xiaotian. In fact, he was far more terrifying and malicious than thetter. She was indeed very unlucky to constantly be involved with such toxic and maniacal men all her life. ¡°I understand,¡± she conceded with a nod. ¡°I¡¯m going off to work,¡± said Byron as he got out of bed. He did not seem worried at all that she might run away. But then again, how far could she run while being bound to the shackles of marriage? Mo Li felt like she was almost handicapped. At this very moment, Ye Xiaotian gave her a call again, which she answered. ¡°Hello. Why does it say on my phone that it¡¯s a call from Byron?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m your man and there¡¯s nothing your man can¡¯t do.¡± Reminded of the text message she had received from Byron previously, Mo Li asked, ¡°That text...¡± ¡°It was from me. I was the one who had gotten intimate with you too. Did you really think that that bisexual idiot would touch you? He doesn¡¯t even love you.¡± ¡°You...¡± Mo Li was on the verge of breaking down after putting the pieces together and realizing what had actually happened that night. No wonder it had felt so familiar, no wonder... Turns out it was him! ¡°What about at home?¡± ¡°That was me too. Remember the power trip?¡± Mo Li remained silent, exasperated beyond words. ¡°Go inform your parents and allow them to prepare themselves mentally. I¡¯ll send someone to pick you guys up at the entrance.¡± Although Mo Li was infuriated, she did not let her anger get the better of her rationality and asked calmly, ¡°Can I trust you?¡± Chapter 187 - Completely Fallen for Her (15)

Chapter 187: Completely Fallen for Her (15)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Mo Li, you may choose not to trust me, but seriously, do you have any other choice? Killing you and your family is just a piece of cake to him, he¡¯ll just cover his actions up with a frivolous excuse and it¡¯ll all blow over soon enough. Do you really think Long Tianze and Jin Qingyan would set everything aside and make their way to Y Nation to save you when that happens? When An Xiaoning met with a mishap, Jin Qingyan still decided to save his own sister at the end of the day. Do you think you matter more to him than An Xiaoning?¡± Ye Xiaotian began to mellow his voice before continuing to speak, ¡°Come back to me. I promise I¡¯ll be good to you in the future, as long as you don¡¯t provoke me. Mo Li, I¡¯ll really treat you well, I mean it.¡± ¡°Let me think about it,¡± Mo Li answered slowly. ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving tonight. Someone will be here to pick you up at six in the evening. If you don¡¯t show up by then, I¡¯ll be making my way back.¡± Mo Li expressed her assent and said, ¡°I¡¯ll text you once I¡¯ve made up my mind.¡± With a heavy heart, she ended the call. She changed into a fresh set of clothes and headed towards her parents¡¯ ce. She took a seat and greeted her family, ¡°Father, Mother, Mo Xun.¡± ¡°You¡¯re here so early. You haven¡¯t had breakfast, have you?¡± asked Mrs. Mo as she hurriedly scooped Mo Li a bowl of rice. ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s eat first. I have something to tell you guyster.¡± Mo Li looked down at her food and began digging in as she rehearsed in her head the things she was about to tell her family. Although her family noticed that she seemed a little troubled, they decided to remain quiet and leave their questions forter. ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning received a call from the boot camp academy right after breakfast. ¡°Didn¡¯t you mention that it¡¯llmence in a week¡¯s time?¡± she asked in disbelief. ¡°Here¡¯s the thing, Ms. An, the trainers thought it¡¯d be good to spend a few days getting to know the members better, prior to starting the boot camp.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯lle by in the afternoon.¡± An Xiaoning let out a long sigh and proceeded to pack her luggage. ¡°Father, Mother, the boot camp academy just called me to say that I have to be there a few days in advance. I¡¯m going to oversee some matters at the store now before heading to the boot camp in the afternoon,¡± said An Xiaoning as she passed by the living room, dragging her luggage along. ¡°It¡¯s been brought forward? Don¡¯t drive then, let the chauffeur send you there instead,¡± Mrs. Gu said hurriedly. ¡°Alright.¡± It was An Xiaoning¡¯s first time returning to the store in a long while. She was delighted to see that business had gotten better and that there were many returning customers. ¡°Sis!¡± Mei Yangyang eximed upon noticing her arrival. An Xiaoning gave her a pat on her shoulder and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the boot camp together this afternoon. They just called to say that it¡¯s going to begin a few days in advance. Get ready to be tortured.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, I¡¯m strong and healthy. I¡¯m rather concerned about you though, you¡¯ve yet to fully recover.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be alright, they said that there wouldn¡¯t be any training for the next few days. We¡¯ll just be going through icebreakers and familiarize ourselves with the other members,¡± An Xiaoning exined. She took a look around the store before sitting down in front of the desk to peruse the ounts book carefully. She spent the entire morning going through the ounts and went for lunch with Mei Yangyang in the afternoon, before hailing a taxi to Mei Yangyang¡¯s ce. The two then proceeded to the boot camp academy with their respective luggages. ¡°Sis, are you not going to put on your mask?¡± ¡°No, we¡¯ll be be carrying out vigorous training, the mask is only going to get in the way.¡± An Xiaoning pulled her long, curly locks back into a ponytail and secured it with a rubber band, exposing a pair of white ear studs on her ears. She looked at Mei Yangyang and said with a smile, ¡°Let¡¯s go in.¡± The sales associate, Xiao Ke, was surprised to see them and proceeded to speak. ¡°The boot camp for this semester is fully booked, we don¡¯t have any slots left.¡± ¡°Are you turning down sales? I¡¯m An Xiaoning, I¡¯ve already signed up previously,¡± said An Xiaoning, handing her her copy of the namelist. Xiao Ke took a closer look at the namelist, though she still could not remember attending to her before. Seeing how puzzled Xiao Ke was, An Xiaoning said, ¡°I was too busy toe here to sign up previously. It was a friend who did it for us.¡± Having understood the situation, Xiao Ke broke into a smile and said, ¡°Oh, I see. She was really gorgeous. Please follow me, Ms. An. No wonder I found your name familiar while I was signing you up.¡± An Xiaoning let out a courteous smile and followed her to the dormitory block, together with Mei Yangyang. There were two rooms allocated to each gender, and each bedroom was to be shared amongst three members. The bedroomprised of two washrooms and a spacious threeyered bunk bed made of wood, which appeared rather exquisite. There was one closet for each person, which wasrge enough for luggages to be stored inside. Since they had arrived first, An Xiaoning and Mei Yangyang upied the first twoyers of the bunk bed. They then proceeded to unpack their luggage. Just as they were done sorting their belongings, the door opened and in came Lin Mingxi, the heiress of the Lin family. The verydy whom Long Tianze had a matchmaking session with. Quick-witted as ever, An Xiaoning hurriedly took the initiative to greet her, ¡°Hi, Ms. Lin.¡± Lin Mingxi took a nce at them and seemed to have realized something, after which she answered, ¡°Hello, Ms. An.¡± She proceeded to the thirdyer of the bed beforeing down again to sort her luggage. ¡°I¡¯m a serious clean freak and a germaphobe. May I have one of the washrooms entirely to myself?¡± she requested while hanging her clothes inside the closet. ¡°Sure, Yangyang and I will share one. We¡¯re not too particr about it anyway,¡± An Xiaoning agreed. Lin Mingxi nodded and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to see you here, Ms. An.¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised that you¡¯ve joined the boot camp too, Ms. Lin.¡± ¡°I joined because of someone. The person I adore is here, so I decided to sign up at thest minute. Fortunately, I managed to book thest slot,¡± said Lin Mingxi, keeping her eyes fixed on An Xiaoning. ¡°The person you adore?¡± An Xiaoning asked in curiosity, beginning to wonder if she was referring to the trainers. ¡°Yes. I wouldn¡¯t have signed myself up for such torment, otherwise. This is a great chance for me to get closer to him, an opportunity not to be missed.¡± Lin Mingxi then turned to look at Mei Yangyang and continued, ¡°I remember seeing you before as well.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m Tianze¡¯s girlfriend,¡± Mei Yangyang acknowledged. Lin Mingxi seemed to have an epiphanic moment as she proceeded to speak, ¡°Ah, no wonder Mr. Long stopped contacting me since the first time we met. I thought he was displeased with me. Turns out he has a girlfriend.¡± ¡°When you met him, though, we weren¡¯t together yet. We only got together that afternoon,¡± said Mei Yangyang. A frown began to form on Lin Mingxi¡¯s face, and she appeared to be slightly offended by Mei Yangyang¡¯s words. She stopped hanging her clothes and instead questioned, ¡°His parents have yet to hear about your rtionship with him, have they?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Ms. Lin, that¡¯s none of your concern.¡± Lin Mingxi let out a humph in disdain. She truly did not expect An Xiaoning to be there. No wonder Jin Qingyan had decided toe, seriously... She recalled receiving a great shock upon meeting Jin Qingyan for the very first time. She had already heard about him long ago and seen plenty of photos of him on the news. However, it was her first time seeing him in the flesh. He was much more handsome in person and appeared cool and aloof, yet gentle and charming at the same time, giving off an overall impression of a well-temperedd. If An Xiaoning had known that Lin Mingxi thought he had a great temper, she would definitely think to herself, You¡¯ve been deceived by his looks. He¡¯s apletely different person on the inside! Despite being unaware of Jin Qingyan¡¯s motive, Lin Mingxi had eagerly signed up for the boot camp as soon as she heard that he would be here. However, she was overwhelmed with jealousy and disappointment upon seeing An Xiaoning. After all, An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan were once husband and wife. Chapter 188 - Completely Fallen for Her (16)

Chapter 188: Completely Fallen for Her (16)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mo Li¡¯s family burst into tears upon hearing the news, after which they fell silent. Atst, Mr. Mo said, ¡°Mo Li, it¡¯s up to you. We¡¯ll support you no matter what decision you make.¡± ¡°Father, Mother, Mo Xun, let¡¯s leave this ce together tonight. When we return to S Nation, you guys shall move back in with the Long family, at least you¡¯ll be safe there. I¡¯ll have other ns of my own,¡± said a teary-eyed Mo Li, hanging her head low. ¡°Mo Li, tell me the truth, are you nning to get back with Ye Xiaotian?¡± Mrs. Mo asked worriedly. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I¡¯ll decide when we return home. But, Mother, somehow I just feel... there¡¯s no way out for me at all. In the end, I¡¯m still back to square one even after so much has happened. I¡¯m better off dead.¡± ¡°I know you detest Ye Xiaotian to the core, but no matter what, there¡¯ll still be some hope left as long as you¡¯re alive. How are we supposed to live without you if you¡¯re dead? Do you wish to see me die of grief and agony? There¡¯ll be a way out no matter what. I really couldn¡¯t tell that Byron was such a malicious person, he even tried to kill you. I¡¯m seriously...¡± Mo Li pulled Mrs. Mo into an embrace and said, ¡°Mother, don¡¯t bother bringing any clothes or unnecessary items along with you. Just some cash will do.¡± ¡°I know.¡± After havinge to a consensus, Mo Li proceeded to send Ye Xiaotian a text message to inform him of her decision. She felt a huge sense of relief and assurance after receiving his reply. She would have never guessed that she would end up requiring help from the person she detested the most. In low spirits, she returned to her bedroom and gave Long Tianze a call. ¡°Hello, Mo Li. Littless, why the sudden decision to call me?¡± Long Tianze asked cheerily. ¡°Tianze, is everything going well at home?¡± she asked slowly. ¡°Yes, everyone¡¯s getting on fine. How about you? How are things at your side?¡± ¡°I¡¯m alright, I guess we¡¯ll be seeing each other very soon.¡± Thinking that she was just making a visit home, Long Tianze answered, ¡°Hurry ande back then. I haven¡¯t seen you in a while, I really wonder how you¡¯re doing.¡± ¡°Alright, gotta go.¡± Mo Li ended the call and remained seated on her bed, appearing rather flustered and anxious. She patiently waited for the clock to strike six in the evening. Mrs. Mo had already left the house at about three o¡¯clock, followed by Mr. Mo at half past four, whereas Mo Xun had decided to leave a littleter. Time crawled by slowly, and Mo Xun managed to leave at eight past five to meet up with his parents, after which they sessfully boarded the car Ye Xiaotian had sent, at six o¡¯clock sharp. However, Mo Li had yet toe out. Just as everyone was waiting for her, Byron returned home. Thus, the car sent by Ye Xiaotian had no choice but to drive off, leaving another car to wait for her in secret. Just as Mo Li was about to leave, she quickly jumped into bed and covered herself with the duvet upon hearing footsteps approaching. Byron entered the room as soon as she was done. He then ced a box of snacks on the table and said, ¡°I bought this especially for you. It¡¯s delicious, try some.¡± Sitting upright, Mo Li nodded and opened the box. ¡°Why are you home so early today?¡± she asked calmly while taking a bite of a piece of snack. ¡°I guess I must¡¯ve startled you. I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to.¡± ¡°I know,¡± she answered, pursing her lips. ¡°I won¡¯t go out tonight and stay at home to apany you instead, alright?¡± Mo Li felt her heart sink upon hearing his words. However, she still managed to force a smile and agreed to his suggestion. ¡°I¡¯ll go take a shower.¡± ¡°Mother has made me some soup, I¡¯ll make a trip down to her ce to collect it. I¡¯ll be back in no time,¡± said Mo Li, after which she slowly ced the box of snacks onto the table, not appearing to be in a rush at all. ¡°Alright, go ahead.¡± Mo Li put on her slippers and headed towards the entrance, after which she changed into her shoes. She never once turned to look behind. As soon as she stepped out of the entrance, Mo Li picked up her tracks, almost running by the time she approached the car. She knew the consequences she would have to face, once she was out of here. However, there¡¯s no turning back once she had already made up her mind. Besides, there was no way her marriage with Byron would havested forever, given the whole string of issues which existed between them. She did not stop feeling overwhelmed by pangs of worry and anxiety, despite having already gotten inside the car. Traveling at top speed, the car finally arrived at the airport. Everyone was waiting for her inside the ne. She stood nervously by the cabin entrance before proceeding to enter. The rest of her family felt a huge sense of relief upon seeing her arrival. ¡°Ms. Mo, Young Sir is waiting for you in the First ss cabin.¡± ¡°Got it,¡± Mo Li acknowledged and began walking towards the First ss cabin. Mo Li felt a strong urge to berate Ye Xiaotian when she saw him from behind. ¡°You¡¯re so shameless.¡± Shrugging his shoulders, Ye Xiaotian said, ¡°How rude of you to be saying that to your savior.¡± ¡°You know very well what I¡¯m referring to,¡± Mo Li retorted as she moved closer towards him. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± said Ye Xiaotian, feigning ignorance. He leaned in towards her and continued, ¡°I just know that my back feels like it¡¯s about to break after the consecutive nights of getting intimate with you.¡± Mo Li pushed him away and proceeded to take a seat. Just as she was about to sit down, he grabbed her by her arm, causing her to fall into his arms. ¡°If you obey me, you won¡¯t have to meddle with the matters regarding your divorce. I¡¯ll settle everything for you,¡± he said, wrapping his arms around her. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°What do you mean why?¡± ¡°Why did youe to Y Nation to look for me?¡± ¡°Because I found out that he¡¯s bisexual and that he had never gotten intimate with you before. Do you think I¡¯d still want you if you¡¯ve already given yourself to him?¡± ¡°Well, how about the time before you found out about these, didn¡¯t you still go ahead...¡± Mo Li sneered. Ye Xiaotian moved her onto the spacious seat and looked down at her before saying, ¡°Your body is the only thing about you that satisfies me. Now, while I¡¯m not sick of you yet, you¡¯d better take the chance to pleasure me often while I¡¯m still interested. Got it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how to pleasure you,¡± Mo Li said with her eyes closed. ¡°I¡¯ll teach you.¡± ¡°How do you n to settle the divorce?¡± ¡°I have my own ways which you don¡¯t have to know about. This is a secret of mine. Just do what you¡¯re supposed to,¡± he said confidently. ¡°You have your ways, but you were still nearly killed by a hitman.¡± ¡°I know Byron was the one behind that. He only managed to get near me by fluke. It won¡¯t be the same the next time,¡± Ye Xiaotian remarked sternly. He looked down at Mo Li, who then cocked her head towards the side to face away from him. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? You were sopliant and passionate the past few nights, thinking that I was him. Why are you acting all innocent and demure now?¡± he sneered. ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± Grabbing both her arms tightly, he said, ¡°In that case, you better do a good job serving me. You¡¯ll get to live well only when I¡¯m pleased.¡± ¡°Ye Xiaotian, you¡¯re still the same old tyrant I knew.¡± ¡°I¡¯m only like this to you, just think about how lucky you are.¡± Mo Li waspletely speechless. She resented herself for beingpletely clueless and allowing him to get intimate with her, without even realizing that it was him. ¡ª¡ª PS: I¡¯ll be updating many more chapter tomorrow as well. I¡¯ve uploaded 30 chapters consisting a total of 60 thousand words today. I don¡¯t n to set up any readers¡¯ group and will be updating thetest news and previews regarding the novel on QQ instead. It¡¯ll be easier for me to inform you guys as well, should there be any sudden issues. I just hope this would help you guys get together. My QQ ID: 2086623767 If you really don¡¯t wish to add me on QQ, an alternative would be to stay tuned to the updates in thements¡¯ section. I¡¯ll be announcing anytest news there immediately. I understand that the chapters may be a little long, since there is an average of 2000 words in each chapter. But, please refrain from skipping chapters, because you¡¯d risk missing out on important and exciting details! You won¡¯t be able to link the story properly then~ Chapter 189 - Completely Fallen for Her (17)

Chapter 189: Completely Fallen for Her (17)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡ª¡ª During dinnertime, Xiao Ke called for everyone to gather at the restaurant for a meal together, so as to get to know each other better. Hand in hand, An Xiaoning and Mei Yangyang made their way to the restaurant. An Xiaoning froze in shock upon seeing Jin Qingyan at the entrance and stopped in her tracks. Mei Yangyang nced at Jin Qingyan in astonishment and turned towards An Xiaoning. ¡°Sis, it¡¯s so obvious,¡± she said softly. ¡°What¡¯s obvious?¡± ¡°That he¡¯s here only because of you.¡± The people inside then weed them warmly with a round of apuse. ¡°Come in, quick.¡± After entering the restaurant, An Xiaoning took a seat beside the trainer while facing Jin Qingyan, who was seated opposite her. All eyes were on the both of them, for everyone was well aware of the fact that they were once married. Instead of asking why he had shown up at the boot camp, An Xiaoning proceeded to introduce herself, ¡°Hello everyone, I¡¯m An Xiaoning.¡± ¡°Hi everybody, I¡¯m Mei Yangyang.¡± All the members present then stood up one after another and began introducing themselves. ¡°I¡¯m Da Long[1: Da Long: directly trantes to Big Dragon.].¡± ¡°I¡¯m Xiao Long[2: Xiao Long: directly trantes to Little Dragon.]. Da Long is my twin brother.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Shi Bin.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Lin Mingxi.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Jin Nana.¡± ¡°...¡± They were a total of 12 members, consisting of six males and six females. Lastly, it was the two male trainers¡¯ turn to introduce themselves. ¡°My name is Chen Xu, you may just call me ¡®Coach Chen¡¯.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Jin Shan, nice to meet all of you.¡± Finally, Jin Qingyan too rose from his seat and said with a gentle and charming smile, ¡°You guys might be wondering what I¡¯m here for. Well, I¡¯ll tell you the answer. I¡¯m here as yourmander.¡± Everyone turned to look at each other in puzzlement as they began to wonder what he meant bymander. ¡°To put it simply, I¡¯ll be in charge of all of you. It seems we¡¯ve all met each other today. Those who are unable to pull through the entire duration of the boot camp may choose to excuse themselves halfway. But for those who manage to stay until the end, I assure you that you¡¯ll leave here equipped with all the skills you¡¯ll require to defend yourself in times of need. At the very least, average crooks won¡¯t be a match for you. The boot camp will be conducted in a confined environment. During the entire course of training, no one is allowed to leave on their own, unless instructed by the trainers. You¡¯ll also be allowed a fixed amount of time each day to surf the inte. I hope to gain all of your understanding. Regarding the food and aodation fees, I understand that it was supposed to be charged separately, as agreed upon prior to the signup. However, we have made changes to our policy and we¡¯ll now be absorbing the fees, which also means food and amodation will be free for all.¡± Everyone put their hands together excitedly and gave a round of apuse upon hearing the piece of good news. An Xiaoning followed suit and pped along, though she was curious about what Jin Qingyan had up his sleeve. During dinnertime, An Xiaoning came to know that Jin Nana was Jin Shan¡¯s sister. She also realized that Jin Nana was constantly staring at the trainer Chen Xu, seeming to have a crush on him. On top of that, An Xiaoning also noticed that Lin Mingxi had been keeping her eyes fixed on Jin Qingyan. Recalling what Lin Mingxi said in the room, An Xiaoning seemed to have guessed what was going on. Anything could happen, indeed. After she was done eating, An Xiaoning stood up in advance to greet everyone goodbye before quickly excusing herself. She sat down by her bed upon returning to her room, overwhelmed with perplexity. She rested on the bed for a few minutes before proceeding to take a shower. Just as she entered the washroom after removing her clothes, she heard a sounding from outside. Thinking that it was either Mei Yangyang or Lin Mingxi who had returned, An Xiaoning asked, raising her voice a little, ¡°Yangyang, is that you?¡± However, there was no answer, and she could only hear the footsteps approaching nearer and nearer to her. Sensing something amiss, An Xiaoning wrapped herself with a towel and turned off the shower tap before pushing the door open. To her astonishment, it was Jin Qingyan who was standing by the door and staring at her. ¡°What are you doing here? Get out.¡± Not only did he not go out, he audaciously entered the bathroom and locked the door from inside. ¡°Jin Qingyan!¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to shout, I can hear you,¡± said Jin Qingyan, walking towards her. An Xiaoning remained still and stared at him coldly. ¡°I¡¯m here for an exercise boot camp, but why are you here? I highly doubt the only reason you¡¯re here is to be amander. You can¡¯t be that bored.¡± Instead of answering her, he remained silent and continued to stare at her. They stood there, only inches apart from each other. Yet, it felt just like they were thousands of miles apart, so close yet so far. They could no longer find any trace of love or affection in each other¡¯s eyes, and they seemed nothing more than a pair of strangers. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect myself to be this bored either.¡± Jin Qingyan reached out to pinch her face and continued, ¡°Just leave and divorce me for all I care. But why do you have to take away what¡¯s most important to me?¡± ¡°Which important thing of yours... did I take with me?¡± ¡°You took my heart. Return it to me.¡± Tears began to well up in An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes all of a sudden as she answered, ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡± His hand began to hover towards her decolletage. All of a sudden, he pulled her forcefully into his arms, catching her off guard. In a moment of shock, she identally let go of the towel, which then fell to the ground instantly, exposing her naked body. Just as An Xiaoning was about to pick it up, Jin Qingyan stopped her and said with a smirk, ¡°You don¡¯t have to wear any clothes in front of me.¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan, have you any shame at all? We¡¯re already divorced, get lost!¡± ¡°So what if we¡¯re divorced? To me, you¡¯ll always be mine.¡± An Xiaoning pushed him away and bent forward to pick up the towel. At this very moment, he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, leaving her with no choice but to have her back facing him. Jin Qingyan then thrusted his hips against An Xiaoning¡¯s bottom, entering her from behind while pushing her neck down against her chin. As much as she was taken aback, she did not forget to react and instead lifted her foot backwards, kicking him in his groin. Jin Qingyan winced in pain and let go of her immediately. ¡°An Xiaoning, how dare you kick me.¡± ¡°I want to strangle you too. Hurry and leave before theye back,¡± An Xiaoning hissed and wrapped herself with the towel again, before walking away from him. ¡°Of all areas, did you really have to kick me there?¡± said Jin Qingyan, taking a deep breath. ¡°Who told you to start touching me inappropriately? I¡¯m not your wife anymore...¡± Before An Xiaoning could continue to speak, she heard Mei Yangyang¡¯s voiceing from outside. ¡°Sis?¡± Greatly startled, An Xiaoning said, ¡°I... I¡¯m here. I¡¯m showering.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Afraid that Mei Yangyang would find out about Jin Qingyan¡¯s presence, An Xiaoning kept her voice low and reached out to turn on the tap. Hot water began to flow out of the tap, filling the entire bathroom with steam. ¡°I¡¯m going to start showering if you won¡¯t,¡± he mouthed silently. Before An Xiaoning could even react, he began to unbuckle his belt and removed his clothes slowly. She began to feel pins and needles in her feet, causing her body to go numb. ¡°Jin Qingyan! Do you really want to be branded as an indecent man who¡¯s still hooking up with his ex-wife?¡± she chided softly. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter to me.¡± Jin Qingyan could not help but feel an urge to kill her at the thought of her getting together with another man in the future. He had never once had such extreme thoughts, ever. However, he could not deny that he had indeed fallen for herpletely, before he even realized. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter? Do you know just what you¡¯re doing?¡± An Xiaoning questioned in exasperation. Chapter 190 - Completely Fallen for Her (18)

Chapter 190: Completely Fallen for Her (18)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± he said, standing under the showerhead. An Xiaoning sat atop the toilet bowl with her eyes closed, clenching her fists tightly. She could not help but feel overwhelmed with sadness whenever she recalled the times they had when they were married. She was only human, after all. Shouldn¡¯t they be refraining from crossing paths after a divorce, as much as possible? What was this? What does he take me for? Does divorce mean anything to him at all? she thought to herself. She stood up all of a sudden while Jin Qingyan exited from the shower. He dried himself with a towel and began putting his clothes back on slowly. He was exceptionally delighted to have taken a shower in front of her. An Xiaoning tried her best to keep her volume down, amidst the noises of water flowing from the showerhead. ¡°I don¡¯t wish to y such silly games with you, and neither do I want to keep repeating myself. I¡¯ve given up on you and your family even before we got divorced. That¡¯s why I was so insistent on it.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, I have plenty of time to wait for you to change your mind,¡± said Jin Qingyan after mustering up the courage to let those words out. She knew that it must have been tough for someone so high and mighty like him to put down his pride and bare his feelings to her. ¡°Why did you take the poison?¡± An Xiaoning could vaguely guess that he might not answer her question and change the subject instead. To her surprise, he answered, ¡°Because I lost the person who means the most to me. At that point of time, I felt like I was better off dead.¡± An Xiaoning burst into tears upon hearing his answer. Jin Qingyan then pulled her into his arms and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright even if you don¡¯t wish to give in now. I love you, so I¡¯m willing to wait for you.¡± If she remembered correctly, this was the very first time he had told her that he loved her. Although his actions spoke louder than words, it was nheless the first time he said it out loud. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll have to disappoint you. I told you before, I don¡¯t have the habit of going back on my decision,¡± she said softly. ¡°I¡¯ve also told you before that you are to start developing habits you never had in the past. An Xiaoning, I¡¯m more determined than ever to woo you all over again and make you marry me once more.¡± ¡°Dream on! Why are you still here? I have to shower.¡± An Xiaoning let go and glowered at him. ¡°Got it,¡± he said with a smile before walking towards the door leisurely. An Xiaoning heard the door open once more right after he just left, causing pangs of panic to fill her again. She heaved a huge sigh of relief upon seeing that it was Mei Yangyang. ¡°Brother-inw... I mean, Mr. Jin, when did you enter?¡± asked a puzzled Mei Yangyang. ¡°Before you were back. This shameless rascal decided to enter just as I was about to take a shower. Fortunately, I haven¡¯t began showering. We then ended up talking for a while,¡± said An Xiaoning. Mei Yangyang giggled while covering her mouth and said teasingly, ¡°Sis... I noticed that his hair was still wet. Were you two really just talking?¡± ¡°Of course. We¡¯re already divorced. Nothing will happen between us. He was the one who decided to take off his clothes for a shower, after seeing that I was about to do so myself.¡± ¡°I was wondering what you were murmuring about in the bathroom. I thought you were making a phone call. Thank god that Lin Mingxi wasn¡¯t around. Sis, to be honest, I can tell that he still loves you. It¡¯s true, I can sense it. Men don¡¯t usually have the guts to poison themselves for a woman. Besides, he¡¯s filthy rich and powerful, he can get any woman he wants,¡± Mei Yangyang said with a sheepish grin. ¡°Who said so? He¡¯s shameless.¡± Mei Yangyang burst intoughter and nodded in agreement, before continuing to speak, ¡°Hurry and shower, I¡¯ll get the hairdryer ready.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± An Xiaoning hurriedly proceeded to take a shower, during which she constantly pondered over what Jin Qingyan said to her. She could not help but feel a little happy and touched by his words, which kept running through her mind. However, she could not cave in, no matter what. She did not wish to return to that home ever again. Neither did she want to face his family again. Never again! ¡ª¡ª Jin Qingyan drove away from the boot camp with a smile hanging from his lips. Although there was still no progress in the end, he had at least managed to let his innermost thoughts out to her. He did not feel like he had lost his pride or embarrassed himself; instead, he was rather ted somehow. He did not know where he had derived such joy from. All he knew was that he was in high spirits. He arrived at the gate of his house, only to be greeted with the sight of his mother¡¯s car, in which sat the chauffeur. By the time he entered after parking his car in the garage, Mrs. Jin was already sitting in the living room. ¡°Qingyan, the matter involving your sister and Shi Shaochuan is getting way out of hand. Can¡¯t you just do something about it? I hear about this matter everywhere I go, be it the nail salon, a mahjong session, or even just a casual tea session with my friends. It¡¯s really getting on my nerves,¡± said a frustrated Mrs. Jin. ¡°How am I supposed to stop it? The video was already saved by manyizens. The person who created this mess should be the one bearing the responsibility of addressing the issues. Now that we¡¯re on this topic, I actually feel pretty embarrassed to be implicated in this matter. So, Mother, please tell them not to show up in front of me for the next few months.¡± Seeming to have remembered something, he added, ¡°By the way, Mother, I don¡¯t have any intentions of finding myself another woman. Please stop trying to set me up with another woman.¡± ¡°Qingyan...¡± ¡°I¡¯m beat, I¡¯m going upstairs to get some rest.¡± Mrs. Jin had no choice but to leave reluctantly after making a wasted trip. All of a sudden, she was filled with an inexplicable rage and instructed the chauffeur to head towards the Shi family home. Upon noticing her arrival, Jin Qingyue quickly prepared herself mentally to face the music. ¡°Mother...¡± ¡°You actually still remember that I¡¯m your mother. You¡¯ve disgraced uspletely!¡± Mrs. Jin hollered as she stepped forward to give Jin Qingyue a tight p across her face with all her might. ¡°It was all Shaochuan¡¯s fault, he was the one who forced me to go. I didn¡¯t want to at all. Mother, we¡¯ll have another baby once the matter begins to blow over. Why are you here at this hour?¡± said Jin Qingyue. ¡°I just came from your brother¡¯s ce. He told me to inform you and Shaochuan not to appear in front of him for the next few months. He¡¯s infuriated as well.¡± ¡°Why is he acting like that? Forget it, I just won¡¯t see him then.¡± Jin Qingyue then gestured for the servant and instructed, ¡°Bring me the cake.¡± ¡°Why are you eating dessert at night? You¡¯re going to put on weight,¡± Mrs. Jin chided. ¡°I¡¯m almost bored to death. How am I supposed to vent my frustration if I¡¯m not even allowed to eat whatever I want? I¡¯m so thin, it won¡¯t make a difference to put on a few pounds,¡± Jin Qingyue said nonchntly. ¡°You¡¯ve really grown up, not listening to your mother¡¯s words anymore, eh? Whatever, I don¡¯t care anymore. I¡¯m going home.¡± ¡°Okay, take care,¡± said Jin Qingyan, stuffing herself silly with the cake using a fork while sipping on some beverage. She, too, was furious at the way things had turned out, for she did not want it to happen either. Her blood began to boil the more she thought about it. She felt indignant to have been attacked with such criticism and hate fromizens online. It seemed that eating and stuffing herself with food was the only outlet for her frustration. Chapter 191 - Completely Fallen for Her (19)

Chapter 191: Completely Fallen for Her (19)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Byron waited patiently for Mo Li to return, but to no avail. Mo Li and her family had already been on the flight for two hours by the time he realized that they had left Y Nation. It had never once urred to him that Mo Li would ever leave everything behind and flee without hesitation. To his surprise, he received a text message just as he was about to order his men to chase after them. Byron was filled with rage after reading the content of the text message, though he did not proceed to instruct his men to chase after the ne. He remained infuriated for the rest of the night. Turns out, it was a text message from Ye Xiaotian, who told him to initiate a divorce with Mo Li, which would benefit him since he was the one who brought it up first. He then threatened to expose Byron¡¯s homosexual rtionship with his assistant, should he notply and agree to divorce her. Ye Xiaotian also mentioned that he had found out about Byron¡¯s secret a long time ago, which meant, in other words, that Mo Li was not the one who had leaked it. By midnight, the nended in Ye Xiaotian¡¯s private hangar. Ye Xiaotian then arranged for Mo Xun and Mr. and Mrs. Mo to be sent to the Long family home while he and Mo Li returned to his ce in Ming Yuan Estate. The servants in the vi were shocked beyond words to see Mo Li. They could not believe their eyes, for it was a well-known fact that Mo Li was already married. Why did she appear here at this very moment then? Clearly, it was Ye Xiaotian who had brought her home. ¡°She will be staying here for a long while. Tighten security, nothing must go wrong,¡± Ye Xiaotian instructed the butler. ¡°Yes, Sir.¡± Ye Xiaotian held Mo Li¡¯s hand in his and made his way upstairs. Standing by the door of the bedroom, Mo Li was surprised to see that the room had been redecorated and that the bed had been reced,pletely different from before. ¡°You must¡¯ve never expected to return to me, have you?¡± Ye Xiaotian said gleefully as he pinned her down onto the bed. Mo Li struggled to breathe with his heavy weight above her. ¡°You¡¯re happy?¡± she asked, panting heavily. ¡°Of course, I¡¯m very happy.¡± Grasping her chin with his hand, he said, ¡°Stay here and be obedient from now on. I won¡¯t let you off easily if you try to run away again.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t n to run away,¡± said Mo Li. ¡°You¡¯ve said that countless times before, I¡¯m not buying it,¡± said Ye Xiaotian as he lowered his head to bite her. Mo Li grimaced in pain and retorted, ¡°Can you stop biting me? It hurts. It¡¯s already sote, can we just go to sleep?¡± ¡°Take my clothes off for me,¡± Ye Xiaotian said calmly as he stood upright. ¡°Do you think you¡¯re an ancient emperor who needs to be served by a peasant girl?¡± ¡°Peasant girl? Great choice of words, you¡¯re indeed my peasant girl, aren¡¯t you?¡± Ye Xiaotian said with raised brows. Who wants to be your peasant girl!?! Mo Li cursed in her head. Ye Xiaotian put an arm around her as theyid beside each other on the bed, after which he said arrogantly, ¡°Let me tell you, Mo Li, you belong to mepletely. I¡¯ll treat you very well in the future, as long as you¡¯re obedient.¡± ¡°Obedient? Haven¡¯t I been obeying you in the past?¡± Mo Li retorted. Ye Xiaotian gave her a pinch on her nose and said, ¡°Were you ever obedient at all in the past? You never failed to make me upset.¡± ¡°Could you stop being so violent with me? My nose really hurts. Thank god my nose is real, otherwise it would¡¯ve been destroyed by you.¡± Mo Li crinkled her nose and continued, ¡°I¡¯ll obey you in the future and try my best to be a demure and virtuousdy.¡± ¡°Demure and virtuous? You?¡± he scoffed. ¡°Yes, me. What¡¯s wrong? Ye Xiaotian, I¡¯ve been with you since I was 18. In the blink of an eye, it¡¯s already been four years,¡± said an exhausted Mo Li with half-closed eyes. Four years is enough to make me detest you, she thought to herself. Ye Xiaotian remained silent. Listening to her steady breathing, he lowered his head to kiss her on the cheek. The image of their first sexual encounter began to pop up in his head. She was blushing red with shyness as sheid on the bed, too shy and afraid to even look him in the eye. In hindsight, that Mo Li back then was indeed very pure and innocent. After going round in circles, she was still back in his arms at the end of the day. Somehow, it was an enjoyable feeling. Although they went to bedte, they did not sleep in. Instead, they had woken up by seven o¡¯clock in the morning, all because of Sun Weiwei. Sun Weiwei immediately barged inside his bedroom before the servants could even stop her. Due to the fact that no one had dared to enter without his permission, Ye Xiaotian had never had the habit of locking his bedroom door. However, Sun Weiwei hadmitted that act of audacity. Sun Weiwei flew into an uncontroble rage at the sight of Ye Xiaotian sound asleep while cuddling Mo Li in his arms. ¡°Brother Xiaotian!¡± Ye Xiaotian opened his eyes immediately and bellowed, ¡°Get out!¡± Taken aback by his sudden outburst, Sun Weiwei trembled in fear and quickly exited. Ye Xiaotian and Mo Li were then woken up from their sleep. They headed downstairs together after washing up, only to see Sun Weiwei seated on the couch, appearing extremely upset. ¡°Brother Xiaotian, isn¡¯t she already married? How did she...¡± Not allowing her to finish, Ye Xiaotian glowered at her angrily and hissed, ¡°Who are you to interfere with my matters?¡± Sun Weiwei fell silent immediately. She waspletely thrown off guard as her n to make herself his hadpletely been foiled. She had initially thought that she would stand a great chance, since Bai Ranran was dead and Mo Li had already gotten married in a faraway country. Little did she expect to see Mo Li return. She had never expected for that to happen. To her surprise, Mo Li actually returned although she was insistent on leaving Ye Xiaotian back then. ¡°Come and eat,¡± Ye Xiaotian said to Mo Li, not concerned about whether Sun Weiwei had eaten or not. ¡°Brother Xiaotian, I¡¯ve yet to have breakfast,¡± Sun Weiwei had no choice but to say it herself. ¡°You may eat but cut the crap.¡± Sun Weiwei proceeded to take a seat opposite Mo Li. Well aware of Sun Weiwei¡¯s true colors, Mo Li did not feel the slightest desire to entertain her at all. Sun Weiwei was filled with jealousy as she ate her breakfast begrudgingly. Mo Li was the first to finish her breakfast, after which she sat down on the couch and pulled her hair back into a ponytail before securing it loosely with a rubber band. She picked up the TV remote and tuned in to the morning news. ¡°Wee to thetest global news. This morning, we have a piece of news from the royal family of Y Nation. Prince Byron has publicly announced his divorce with his newlywed wife, Mo Li. The reason is stated to be because they had contrasting personalities and could not get along well with each other. Due to the fact that Prince Byron had filed for a one-sided divorce, his request has already been approved by the Royal Family, allowing them to proceed with the divorce...¡± Mo Li was over the moon upon hearing the news. Y Nation had a very different administration systempared to S Nation, where even the wealthy and powerful, like Jin Qingyan, had to get their divorce processed at the Civil Administration Bureau, under the condition that both parties were present. Whereas in Y Nation, one could file for a divorce one-sidedly and the divorce would take effect once approved by the Royal Family. Besides, Byron was a prince, which meant that his request would have been approved and processed even more quickly. Indeed, Ye Xiaotian had put Byron¡¯s secret to good use and turned it to his advantage. Being a royal, Byron could not afford to have such news about him spread and leaked to the public. Hence, his marriage with Mo Li ended in no time. There was not even a need for them to agree to a divorce, face-to-face. The news caused an uproar amongst citizens worldwide. Mo Li then switched off the TV. Having heard the news too, Sun Weiwei ced her spoon down on the table and looked up at Ye Xiaotian. ¡°Brother Xiaotian...¡± Chapter 192 - Completely Fallen for Her (20)

Chapter 192: Completely Fallen for Her (20)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Ye Xiaotian did not look at Sun Weiwei at all, clearlypletely disregarding her presence. ¡°Brother Xiaotian... were you behind this...¡± Sun Weiwei asked in disbelief of what she had just seen. ¡°So what if I was? From now on, don¡¯t keeping here unless absolutely necessary,¡± said Ye Xiaotian, ring at her. Ye Xiaotian¡¯s words struck Sun Weiwei like a million daggers piercing through her heart. She seemed to no longer have a ce in his heart, now that Mo Li had returned. ¡°Mo Li was once married, don¡¯t you find her filthy at all? You still want her?¡± Sun Weiwei scorned in disdain. ¡°That¡¯s none of your concern. Weiwei, you¡¯ve gone overboard today. If there¡¯s nothing else, please take your leave,¡± Ye Xiaotian said coldly. He then wiped his mouth and stood up to leave while tugging Mo Li along. ¡°Where are we going?¡± asked Mo Li, staring at Ye Xiaotian who was seated in the driver¡¯s seat. Staring at the roads ahead of him, Ye Xiaotian answered, ¡°Shopping. You didn¡¯t bring anything back with you, we¡¯ll need to get you new clothes. Let¡¯s get everything you need all in one go, shall we?¡± Mo Li felt a little confused as she was not used to seeing such a gentle side of him. ¡°Can I meet Tianze for a while after we¡¯re done shopping?¡± she asked. ¡°You can go anywhere you¡¯d like as long as I¡¯m apanying you.¡± Mo Li gave a nod as she felt a huge sense of relief. They soon arrived at the shopping mall. They proceeded to buy some clothes, shoes, essories, as well as other necessities altogether, all of which they stuffed into the trunk and back seat of the car. After they were done shopping, Mo Li gave Long Tianze a call and agreed on a meeting ce. Long Tianze was stunned beyond words upon hearing the news, as he did not see Mo Li¡¯s family at home since he had returned homete. He was not expecting to meet Mo Li again under such circumstances. Long Tianze understood the situation at the instant that he saw Mo Li entering the dining room in the teahouse together with Ye Xiaotian. ¡°Tianze,¡± Mo Li greeted him while taking a seat. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Tianze...¡± Mo Li hung her head low, unsure of how she should break the news to him. On the other hand, Ye Xiaotian spilled the beans without hesitation. ¡°The man you and Jin Qingyan introduced her to turned out to be bisexual. That¡¯s what happened,¡± he said. Dumbfounded, Long Tianze hurriedly asked Mo Li, ¡°Is what he said true?¡± Mo Li nodded and answered, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s true. Tianze, things have alreadye to this, stop prying further.¡± Staring at Ye Xiaotian, Long Tianze said, ¡°I suppose you took advantage of the situation and made Mo Lie back to you, am I right?¡± ¡°What do you mean I took advantage? I saved her. Please don¡¯t nder me based on your inurate assumptions,¡± Ye Xiaotian retorted with a smirk. ¡°Ye Xiaotian, do you actually n to keep Mo Li by your side for the rest of her life? I want to know what your ns are,¡± said Long Tianze. ¡°Just because you want to know doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯ll tell you. This is my personal matter, I don¡¯t have to exin myself to you.¡± ¡°Well... Mo Li is part of my family, my home address is registered in her household register. You don¡¯t have to be the one taking care of her,¡± Long Tianze insisted. ¡°So what if it¡¯s registered on the household register? Wouldn¡¯t it be easier if she doesn¡¯t have one at all?¡± Mo Li felt a shiver down her spine upon hearing his words. She knew right away that he still intended to keep her by his side and never be shown off to the world. She would forever be just an object which he could toy with whenever he pleased and cast aside once he gets bored. No matter how much he seemed to have changed, his mentality would still stay the same. Upon noticing that Long Tianze had gotten angry, Mo Li quickly said, ¡°Tianze, I¡¯ll be fine. He¡¯s a little different from before.¡± However, Long Tianze could tell from the look in her eyes that she did not genuinely wish to stay by Ye Xiaotian¡¯s side. ¡°A leopard never changes its spots. I shall take my leave,¡± said Long Tianze as he rose from his seat. Mo Li did not try to make him stay and remained seated instead. However, there was actually more she had intended to tell him. Having grown up together with him, Long Tianze was just like her blood kin. Ye Xiaotian stood up and said, ¡°Long Tianze is bing ruder the older he gets. Let¡¯s go home too.¡± Noticing the look of austerity on his face, Mo Li said, ¡°That¡¯s how Tianze is, don¡¯t mind him.¡± ¡°Of course I won¡¯t, who would be bothered with a fool like him?¡± ¡°Tianze is intelligent, he¡¯s definitely not a fool. Don¡¯t say that about him,¡± Mo Li said sternly. ¡°But you¡¯re perfectly fine with hearing him criticize your man? Hmm?¡± Ye Xiaotian questioned as he looked down at her. ¡°You¡¯ve already told him off, that makes you two even. Okay?¡± Mo Li chided in frustration. ¡°Alright, if you say so,¡± said Ye Xiaotian, interlocking his fingers with hers. ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± said Mo Li as she looked up at him before shifting her gaze away quickly. Ye Xiaotian turned to face her while walking and said, ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to take any medicine during this period of time, including flu or fever pills. Remember that.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because I want you to bear my child.¡± ¡°What!¡± Mo Li gasped in shock. ¡°Are you deaf? I said I want you to bear my child. What¡¯s wrong? You don¡¯t wish to?¡± Given how much Mo Li detested him, she would obviously not be willing to bear him any children. Besides, she was still infertile at the moment. ¡°I¡¯m very sickly, my body is too frail for me to be able to get pregnant. You should be aware of that,¡± Mo Li answered. ¡°We¡¯ll just get you treated slowly. Besides, it¡¯ll feel even better now that we don¡¯t have to use protection, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°Ye Xiaotian!¡± Mo Li snapped, bbergasted at how ridiculous he was. Has he got any brains at all? she thought to herself. ¡°Why? Was I wrong? Think about how much sense I¡¯m making,¡± Ye Xiaotian said with a smirk. ¡°I don¡¯t know why you¡¯d think of that, but can you consider it carefully from all aspects before running your mouth off? Although it¡¯s difficult for me to conceive now, it doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s impossible. What if I really get pregnant? How are you going to take responsibility for the child? It¡¯s not as simple as just making sure he stays alive. It¡¯s a life at stake, not an inanimate object you can throw away whenever you¡¯d like. Besides, the child is going to be branded as an illegitimate child born out of wedlock...¡± ¡°It won¡¯t. I¡¯ll marry you if you really get pregnant.¡± Noticing how cross she was, Ye Xiaotian continued, ¡°Why? You don¡¯t believe me?¡± Mo Li could not sense a tinge of sincerity or seriousness in his tone at all. However, she knew that he always meant what he said, and this was no exception. What was she supposed to do then? She was not in the least bit willing to bear a child for him at all. Neither did she want to spend the rest of her life with him, for she had already seen his true colors after the past few years of being by his side. ¡°Looks like you really don¡¯t believe me. Do you feel like you¡¯ve just won the lottery, too stunned for words? That¡¯s right, you better hurry and nurse yourself back to health so you can get pregnant with my child soon. But you¡¯re not allowed to take any medicine. You¡¯re only allowed to supplement your diet with nourishing foods and take herbal showers.¡± Remaining unfazed, Mo Li nodded before continuing to speak, ¡°I got it. I read about the news here when I was overseas. How did Ms. Bai pass away all of a sudden?¡± ¡°She was infected with a rare virus,¡± Ye Xiaotian answered calmly. ¡°Why are you so supportive of Sun Weiwei? I don¡¯t like her,¡± Mo Li said bluntly. Chapter 193 - Love Trap (1)

Chapter 193: Love Trap (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Ye Xiaotian turned to face her and said, ¡°In that case, don¡¯t speak to her.¡± ¡°Is it really up to me? The decision lies with you. There¡¯s this faint scent I¡¯ve been smelling ever since you got on the car. What is it?¡± asked Mo Li, taking a deep sniff of the air. ¡°It¡¯s the smell of jasmine flowers.¡± Mo Li turned her head to the side and looked out of the window, feeling ufortable because of the faint floral scent. ¡ª¡ª On the second day of the boot camp, all the members were dressed in a uniform attire. They started off with some simple basic training, leaving the toughest part of the boot camp forst. After all twelve members had gotten into their respective positions, trainers Chen Xu and Jin Shan then proceeded to speak while standing in front of them. ¡°Once you¡¯re in the boot camp, there are only two ways out: one is to forfeit voluntarily, should you be unable to carry on with the rest of the training; and the other is to push through and make it until the end. However, do note that the fees will not be refunded. I know, none of you here are hard up for cash, and I¡¯m also aware that each of you are here for a different reason. But since you¡¯ve already decided to be part of the boot camp, then you ought to exercise discipline and adhere to the strict rules and regime here. Please make it a point to kick all your bad habits and foul temper.¡± Chen Xu had an austere expression on his face, paired with chiseled good looks that gave him an overall vibe of a charismatic and mature man. ¡°Bear in mind that this is not your home. You¡¯ll be able to make a change and unleash the best version of yourself at the end of the boot camp only if you listen to the trainers. However, if you choose not to abide by our instructions, you¡¯ll only have yourself to me, should you be unable to achieve your dream results. Everybody hear me?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± the members chorused in unison. ¡°Excellent. From now onwards, we¡¯ll proceed to the first stage of the bootcamp training. Coach Jin will now brief you on the important things to look out for during the training process, as well as the rules to follow during sparring sessions. Everyone, please bear in mind that proper training will only begin officially in a few days¡¯ time. The first stage is just a warm-up,¡± said Chen Xu, before walking towards the side to allow Jin Shan to take over. Staring at the crowd of twelve with a warm and friendly smile on his face, Jin Shan appeared to be much more rxed and personablepared to Chen Xu. ¡°This is a confined boot camp, which also means that we¡¯ll be seeing each other every day for the next four months or so. Thus, I hope everyone will be kind and understanding towards each other. I¡¯ll now be briefing you about the important things to watch out for during the bootcamp. Firstly...¡± The twelve members listened attentively to Jin Shan, all except Jin Nana, who was not paying any attention at all. Instead, she was focusing all her attention on Chen Xu, who was standing at the side. Chen Xu began to feel uneasy, perhaps having noticed that she was staring at him intensely. However, he continued to feign ignorance and looked towards the front with a stern expression on his face. ¡°Jin Nana, please pay attention to what I¡¯m saying, lest you break any rules or hurt your fellow members,¡± Jin Shan chided while glowering at her. Suddenly realizing that all eyes were on her, Jin Nana let out an awkward smile and said, ¡°Yes, Coach.¡± Standing upright with her back as straight as a ruler, An Xiaoning listened to Jin Shan¡¯s instructions attentively. Just as he was about to finish his speech, she turned her head to the side unintentionally, only to see a figure standing by the window. It was none other than Jin Qingyan. How long has he been standing there like a block? What was he standing there for?An Xiaoning wondered to herself. She then turned her head back to face the front. Jin Qingyan began to stride in as soon as Jin Shan had finished speaking. Standing in a rxed manner with both hands together, he said, ¡°I was observing all of you from outside while Coach Jin was was making his speech. Regarding your attitude, hmm... I¡¯ve noticed that there are three of you who didn¡¯t pay attention at all.¡± He then walked towards Lin Mingxi and said, ¡°You¡¯re the first.¡± Afterwards he continued to walk towards Jin Nana and chided, ¡°Next, it¡¯s you. Your eyes were practically glued onto Coach Chen the whole time.¡± Blushing red with embarrassment, Jin Nana stomped her feet on the ground and retorted, ¡°I didn¡¯t, Commander!¡± ¡°You should know it yourself,¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°Hmph!¡± Lastly, Jin Qingyan stood before An Xiaoning while the rest of the crowd kept their eyes peeled onto the both of them. ¡°Andstly, there¡¯s you. You were outright indecisive.¡± An Xiaoning was at a loss for words for she felt maligned. Is he just picking on me and looking for trouble? she thought in her head. An Xiaoning decided to give in and answered softly, ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll pay more attention to the trainers next time.¡± Surprised at howpliant she was, he raised his brows proudly and said, ¡°Good that you remember. Don¡¯t behave like this again.¡± Even the blind could tell that he had an ulterior motive. Although they were all well aware of that fact, none of them was brave enough to say it out loud. After they were dismissed, An Xiaoning and Mei Yangyang proceeded to leave right away while Jin Qingyan hurriedly chased after them. ¡°An Xiaoning.¡± An Xiaoning pretended not to hear him and continued in her tracks. All of a sudden, Jin Qingyan stepped forward to grab An Xiaoning forcefully by her arm, greatly angering Mei Yangyang. ¡°Commander, is there anything else you¡¯d like to instruct me?¡± An Xiaoning asked with a sarcastic smile on her face. She stared at him coldly, intentionally trying to keep a distance from him. ¡°Please go back first, I¡¯d like to have a word with her,¡± said Jin Qingyan, gesturing for Mei Yangyang to leave. Mei Yangyang then turned around to leave immediately, after which Jin Qingyan dragged An Xiaoning to the rooftop. ¡°I really wonder, what is it that you have to tell me, such that you had to bring me all the way here, Commander?¡± ¡°A secret, of course.¡± With both hands behind his back, he raised his chin slightly and continued, ¡°Why? Are you that reluctant to see me?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Well, too bad. You¡¯ll still have to see me around no matter what.¡± Jin Qingyan cleared his throat before saying, ¡°I¡¯ve made a decision, so I thought you needed to know about it.¡± ¡°Please speak,¡± An Xiaoning said calmly, remainingposed. ¡°I¡¯ll be courting you from today onwards.¡± An Xiaoning did not have much of a reaction to his words, which reminded her of Mei Yangyang and Long Tianze. What a pity, however, that their circumstances were starkly different from that of Mei Yangyang and Long Tianze. ¡°Are you just trying to make yourself feel less guilty?¡± ¡°You know I¡¯m not.¡± After an entire night of thinking, Jin Qingyan had decided that the only way he could get back together with her was to take the initiative to woo her all over again, for he had known that she would definitely make it a point to minimize contact with him since she was so insistent on getting a divorce. How he wished he could continue being high and mighty, pretending not to be bothered at all. However, acting that way would not help him at all in salvaging their rtionship. After some thorough thought, Jin Qingyan decided that the only way to convince her to get back together was for him to take the initiative. ¡°I don¡¯t wish to y such silly games with you, Commander. Please stop acting like this, don¡¯t let us be aughing stock,¡± An Xiaoning said coldly, keeping her eyes fixed on him. ¡°Drop the act, I know you still love me, deep down in your heart.¡± ¡°It¡¯s time you took some medicine for your narcissism,¡± An Xiaoning retorted before walking away. Jin Qingyan remained still and watched as her figure disappeared slowly, a smirk hanging from his lips. He had already thought of a n in his head, though he still did not think it was enough. Perhaps, it was time to master the skill of wooing girls. As soon as he returned to the office from the boot camp, he proceeded to give Fan Shixin a call, instructing him to collect a tip for courtship from each of his subordinates. He also emphasized that each tip had to be different from the others. Chapter 194 - Love Trap (2)

Chapter 194: Love Trap (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°What in the world?¡± Fan Shixin blurted in bewilderment upon receiving the instruction. Nevertheless, he proceeded to do as he was told and gathered all of his subordinates before instructing them sternly, ¡°The task for each one of you is toe up with a tip for wooing girls. It has to be the type which is sure to make a girl fall head-over-heels in love. Each tip has to be different from the rest, and you are to submit them to me during lunch.¡± ¡°Chief Fan... is there a girl you fancy? Is that why you need our help?¡± Xiao Huang asked in curiosity. ¡°It¡¯s not me, um...¡± Fan Shixin stuttered, remembering not to reveal that it was Jin Qingyan who had asked. ¡°Who is it then?¡± ¡°It¡¯s me indeed... I¡¯ve begun to fancy this girl, but she doesn¡¯t feel the same way about me, so...¡± Everyone seemed to have a tacit understanding and empathy towards his predicament. As the saying goes, teamwork makes the dream work. There was bound to be a few useful tips out of the many ideas contributed by the team. Looking at the list of ideas Fan Shixin handed him, Jin Qingyan asked, ¡°Did they ask about what these tips were to be used for?¡± ¡°Yes, they did. But of course, I didn¡¯t mention your name. Instead, I imed that there was a girl I adored and got them toe up with the ideas. Young Sir, look how thoughtful I am,¡± said Fan Shixin. ¡°Not bad, I shall reward you with a big bonus at the end of this year. Let me ask you, after knowing An Xiaoning for the past few months, what do you think of her?¡± asked Jin Qingyan. ¡°Ms. An? I think she¡¯s a clever woman,¡± Fan Shixin answered after some hesitation. ¡°How were you able to tell?¡± ¡°From that time when Ms. Chi drugged you.¡± Jin Qingyan found that he had indeed made sense and continued to ask, ¡°What else?¡± ¡°Hmm, I also find her to be a very decisive and opinionated woman. She¡¯s not all-forgiving and knows clearly what she wants. On top of that, she¡¯s also very driven and capable herself. For example, she¡¯s determined to learn every life skill which would aid her in protecting herself in times of danger and threat. Young Sir, aren¡¯t these the very reasons why you love her? Ms. An is the most independent girl I¡¯ve ever met, she¡¯s very unique and different from other girls. Actually, I can tell she likes you a lot,¡± Fan Shixin answered slowly. Fan Shixin¡¯s words struck a spot in Jin Qingyan¡¯s heart. ¡°You think... she likes me a lot?¡± ¡°That¡¯s for sure. Think about it, Young Sir, Ms. An would¡¯ve left long ago after taking the 100 thousand dors for treating your mother back then if she didn¡¯t like you. Why do you think she agreed to marry you? If it were other women, then I¡¯d say they were probably just after the highly-coveted position of being the Young Madam of the Jin Family. But I doubt Ms. An was enticed by the superficial advantages of being your wife. So, I reckon she must¡¯ve married you because she had some feelings for you back then,¡± Fan Shixin answered, giving his honest opinion. ¡°You¡¯re right, continue...¡± ¡°Hmm, although you and Ms. An have only been married for less than half a year, you two do get along rather well, in my opinion. I suppose you feel that way too. All in all, I think Ms. An definitely has feelings for you. She must¡¯ve insisted on a divorce only because she was too disappointed in you and your family.¡± ¡°True, women just love to say one thing and do another. She said that she doesn¡¯t me us, but well, that doesn¡¯t mean she¡¯s not disappointed,¡± said Jin Qingyan, thinking to himself that the miscarriage must have yed an important part in influencing her decision to get a divorce. ¡°Young Sir, I¡¯m all for you making Ms. An fall in love with you again. Because I know that you¡¯re genuinely fond of her,¡± said Fan Shixin, raising a fist in the air. ¡°I already told her today that I¡¯d be wooing her all over again.¡± ¡°How did Ms. An react?¡± ¡°Just like her usual self, she was very calm andposed. She said that she wasn¡¯t interested in ying such silly games with me. That darned anonymous mastermind! It¡¯s all his fault. I¡¯m going to skin him alive once I get a hold of him,¡± Jin Qingyan answered with his eyes closed. ¡°I¡¯m afraid it won¡¯t be soon before we find out who he is. But we¡¯ve constantly been investigating on this, though. I believe we¡¯ll definitely discover some clues, sooner orter.¡± Jin Qingyan began to feel his eyelids getting heavier and thus gestured for Fan Shixin to leave. ¡°Stay alert at all times, don¡¯t let go of any chances. Alright, you may go down.¡± He had been suffering from insomnia and sleepless nights ever since the divorce. Life without a woman was indeed torturous. Why is it so difficult to resist the urges once you¡¯ve had a taste of coital bliss? Just how did I survive the past 20-odd years of being single? Jin Qingyan wondered to himself. He wanted to get intimate with her every single day. Jin Qingyan snapped out of his thoughts and quickly picked up the list of ideas provided by his bodyguards. One of the many tips on the list caught his attention. It read: ¡°The way to a woman¡¯s heart is through her body.¡± Jin Qingyan burst intoughter upon reading it. What a great idea , he thought. ¡ª¡ª ¡°I¡¯ve been wanting to ask you all day, what did Commander tell you at the rooftop after the dismissal?¡± Lin Mingxi questioned. Pursing her lips, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°Go ask him yourself if you¡¯re curious. Besides, why are you so interested to know about this? Did you sign up for the boot camp just for him?¡± ¡°So what if I did? I came here just because of him. You two are divorced anyway. Since you¡¯re already divorced, stop talking to each other so often. Can¡¯t you just act like strangers?¡± Lin Mingxi retorted, with no intentions to hide her ulterior motive. Amused at how unashamed Ling Mingxi was, An Xiaoning scoffed, ¡°It¡¯s up to me to decide how I want to treat him. Likewise, it¡¯s also his choice to decide if he wants to treat me like a stranger or not. Tell me what to do when you¡¯ve actually be his girlfriend or wife.¡± ¡°I just... I just thought that it wouldn¡¯t be very appropriate for you two to continue talking so frequently since you¡¯re already divorced. Don¡¯t think I¡¯m unaware that you signed up for the boot camp precisely because you knew he would be here.¡± An Xiaoning was speechless at how ridiculous Lin Mingxi was. ¡°Ms. Lin, not everything you see is true. Must you really jump to conclusions ande up with such frivolous rumors? I suggest you get your facts right and check when I signed up. Mind you, I signed up way before he was here.¡± ¡°Ha. The boot camp academy was acquired and bought over by the Jin Corporation, though I¡¯m unsure when that happened. But I¡¯m very certain you decided to sign up because you were aware of that right from the start,¡± Lin Mingxi sneered. ¡°Can¡¯t be bothered to argue with you.¡± Mei Yangyang returned to the room after dinner with a lunchbox in her hands, containing some food which she had brought back for An Xiaoning. ¡°Sis, I packed you some rice and your favorite fermented beancurd. There¡¯s also some sliced meat and vegetables,¡± said Mei Yangyang. ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning put on her bedroom slippers and sat down on the chair, after which she picked up a pair of chopsticks and began digging in. ¡°Boss, someone is calling you again!¡± An Xiaoning turned to Mei Yangyang and said, ¡°Help me answer the call.¡± Mei Yangyang reached out to pick up An Xiaoning¡¯s phone which was sitting on the bed. After taking a look at the caller disy, she said, ¡°It¡¯s from Mr. Gu.¡± ¡°Answer it for me and tell him I¡¯m having my meal.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Mei Yangyang swiped on the screen to answer the call. ¡°Hello, Sis is eating.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Right now?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll let her know.¡± Chapter 195 - Love Trap (3)

Chapter 195: Love Trap (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After hanging up the phone, Mei Yangyang proceeded to ry Gu Beicheng¡¯s message to An Xiaoning, ¡°Sis, Mr. Gu wants you to meet him at the entrance of the academy once you¡¯re done eating. He¡¯ll be waiting for you there. He mentioned that he has something to tell you.¡± ¡°Okay, got it.¡± An Xiaoning proceeded to make her way to the entrance immediately after she finished her meal. Gu Beicheng did not drive and instead arrived on a motorbike. He was dressed in a ck leather jacket, which made him appear rather suave. ¡°Hop on.¡± ¡°We¡¯re on lockdown, I¡¯m not allowed to leave.¡± ¡°Ms. An, I¡¯ve already spoken to your trainers and requested for a short break on your behalf. We¡¯ll be back in an hour. I¡¯d like to take you to a special ce,¡± Gu Beicheng said smilingly. An Xiaoning remained still and said, ¡°Where is it? Tell me first.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll love it, trust me,¡± he answered confidently. ¡°Let me inform the trainers again, it¡¯s a must to abide by the rules here,¡± said An Xiaoning as she gave Chen Xu a call, only to hear that her request for a break had indeed been approved. ¡°We¡¯ve got one hour.¡± ¡°Yes, one hour indeed.¡± She rode pillion on the motorbike and put on the safety helmet. ¡°Hold on tight, don¡¯t fall off,¡± said Gu Beicheng as he grabbed her arms and wrapped them around his waist. An Xiaoning felt a little uneasy but kept her hands there, nevertheless. The motorbike then sped off like lightning. The engines of the motorbike roared loudly as it sped along the streets. It was An Xiaoning¡¯s first time riding a motorbike. Her very first time indeed. ( Boxno vel. co m ) The high speed he was travelling at made the entire ride much more thrilling. She nced at the scenery around her and eximed in exhration, ¡°This is so exciting!¡± ¡°There¡¯s more toe. You¡¯ll know soon,¡± Gu Beicheng answered. ¡°Really?!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± After a journey of fifteen minutes, they soon arrived at the destination. It was a vast and emptynd. An Xiaoning removed her helmet and asked, ¡°Where are we?¡± ¡°My secret hideout,¡± Gu Beicheng answered, pulling her along as he made his way towards the light where an airne was parked. Is this his private hangar? she wondered. An Xiaoning scanned her surroundings and said, ¡°It¡¯s huge. What have you got up your sleeve?¡± Putting his arm around her shoulder, Gu Beicheng answered, ¡°A game, of course. There are people waiting for us in the jet.¡± An Xiaoning seemed to have a rough idea of what the game was. ¡°I¡¯m afraid of heights,¡± she said, rather reluctant to move forward. ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯m here,¡± Gu Beicheng insisted. An Xiaoning was then dragged onto the ne by Gu Beicheng, only to be greeted with the sight of Ye Xiaotian and Mo Li. An Xiaoning was surprised to see Mo Li with Ye Xiaotian again, though she had heard the news of Mo Li¡¯s divorce. However, she did not know that Mo Li had gotten back together with him. ¡°Hello, Ms. An,¡± Mo Li greeted smilingly. ¡°Hi, Mo Li, long time no see,¡± said An Xiaoning as she sat down beside Gu Beicheng, facing Mo Li and Ye Xiaotian. ¡°I just returned. I¡¯ve been wanting to see you, Ms. An. I heard from Beicheng that you had signed up for an exercise boot camp. Xiaotian wanted to gather for some fun tonight, and so Beicheng suggested we invite you toe along,¡± Mo Li answered while nodding. ¡°Are we parachuting?¡± An Xiaoning asked worriedly, forcing a smile. ¡°Wow, you¡¯re spot on, Ms. An,¡± Ye Xiaotian answered while clucking his tongue. ¡°Can I back out?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°How many meters above ground?¡± An Xiaoning asked eagerly, feeling like she was almost going to faint. ¡°Hmm, about four or five thousand. You¡¯ll knowter, Ms. An. You will realize tonight how beautiful this world is with all the city lights bringing life to the darkness of the night,¡± Ye Xiaotian said with a grin. An Xiaoning clutched her chest in shock and fear. She turned towards Gu Beicheng and said, ¡°I¡¯m actually really scared.¡± ¡°What¡¯s there to be afraid of? I¡¯ll be with you. You think I would allow you to do it alone?¡± Gu Beicheng reassured her with a smile on his face. That was at least something... An Xiaoning felt like she was being forced to do something beyond her limits. As the ne flew to a greater height in the sky, An Xiaoning looked out of the window to see that the sky was inplete darkness. An Xiaoning swallowed her breath, too afraid to imagine the feeling she would experience after taking the plunge... ¡°Will we be carrying a parachute each? I don¡¯t know how to open it,¡± she said worriedly. ¡°No, the two of us will be sharing onerge parachute, which I¡¯ll be responsible for opening,¡± Gu Beicheng exined. An Xiaoning was too tense to even think about anything else. Several momentster, Ye Xiaotian and Mo Li stood up. ¡°We can go now,¡± said Ye Xiaotian. The secondrge parachute would be shared between him and Mo Li. Standing by the exit of the airne, Mo Li dared not look down below her, for she was almost as terrified as An Xiaoning. Without warning, Ye Xiaotian jumped off the airne with Mo Li in his arms. However, thetter did not scream at all. Soon after, Gu Beicheng got himself all geared up and said smilingly, ¡°This will be a very thrilling and exciting game as usual. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t allow anything to happen to you.¡± ¡°Hold on to me tightly,¡± he added, standing by the exit. ¡°Are you doing this on purpose so you could take liberties with me?¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Yes,¡± he admitted. Without hesitation, An Xiaoning stepped forward to hug him tightly, after which they plunged into the air almost immediately. An Xiaoning shrieked at the top of her lungs in exhration. ¡°Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!¡± Gu Beicheng opened the parachute while they were in each other¡¯s embrace. By the time An Xiaoning finally opened her eyes, she realized that her initial fear and anxiety hadpletely disappeared. She looked down at the magnificent view of the city lights which seemed like beautiful constetions in the sky. In that moment, she felt like all her woes and troubles had vanished without a trace. An Xiaoning broke into smiles, gushing with joy and euphoria from within. Gu Beicheng was ted to see that she was enjoying herself. However, someone was raging with fury at this very juncture. That person was none other than Jin Qingyan. Having discovered that An Xiaoning applied for a break just to go out with Gu Beicheng, Jin Qingyan simply could not sit back and rx. He then reprimanded Chen Xu and gave him a stern warning. He demanded that Chen Xu report to him right away the next time An Xiaoning requests for a break, which could only be approved with his consent. Otherwise, she would not be allowed to leave. After hanging up the phone, Jin Qingyan arrived at the entrance of the boot camp academy in his car, after which he switched off the lights and leaned back against the seat while waiting for An Xiaoning to return. Before long, he heard the rumbling sounds of a motorbike approaching. He squinted to see An Xiaoning getting off the motorbike and handing the safety helmet to Gu Beicheng while murmuring something to him smilingly. Jin Qingyan had also caught sight of her wrapping her arms around Gu Beicheng¡¯s waist. Gu Beicheng then left after dropping An Xiaoning at the entrance. Just as thetter was about to enter the door, she was stopped in her tracks by a sudden bright beam shining at her from a car. An Xiaoning knew who it was right away upon the sight of the white Bentley. Instead of waiting for him to alight from the car, she proceeded to walk towards the door while Jin Qingyan hurriedly chased after her. Hearing his footsteps approaching from behind, she quickly picked up her tracks and began walking faster. She was trying to avoid him not because she felt that she had done something wrong, but rather, she had expected him to get touchy-feely with her, especially since they were alone and it was nighttime. She hurriedly ran towards the hostel without stopping to take a breath. Panting heavily, she slowed down after realizing that she could no longer hear the footsteps. She took a deep breath and began walking towards the entrance of the hostel. Before she even knew it, Jin Qingyan grabbed her tightly all of a sudden, causing her to turn her head around in shock. Chapter 196 - Love Trap (4)

Chapter 196: Love Trap (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°What are you doing!¡± Jin Qingyan pulled her forcefully towards the corridor and questioned her with a menacing re, ¡°What were you and Gu Beicheng up to at this hour?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not thatte yet. Besides, must I report whatever I did with him to you?¡± ¡°Of course, I¡¯m your superior here! Your request to leave will not be valid if it¡¯s approved only by Chen Xu,¡± he snapped, glowering at her. ¡°What do you want now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m asking you, what were you two up to?¡± he continued to ask. ¡°Why must I tell you?¡± Jin Qingyan grabbed her wrist tightly and pulled her into his car. An Xiaoning felt a sharp pain in her wrist as soon as he let go. He had grabbed her with so much force that her wrist felt like it was almost going to break. ¡°Jin Qingyan, you¡¯re being outrageous and unreasonable!¡± ¡°So what if I am? Did you forget my words? I said I was going to woo you all over again,¡± Jin Qingyan reiterated. ¡°I refuse to ept you. Did you forget what I said too? I said that I¡¯ll never step foot into your home ever again the moment I decided to leave.¡± ¡°An Xiaoning!¡± Jin Qingyan roared in an uncontroble rage. An Xiaoning shuddered in shock at his sudden outburst, for she had never seen him so exasperated before. ¡°I can hear you, you don¡¯t have to be so loud.¡± ¡°Have you fallen for Gu Beicheng?¡± ¡°If I said I have, will you stop pestering me from now on?¡± she asked, keeping her eyes fixed on him. ¡°No. I will kill him if you¡¯ve fallen for him.¡± ¡°You¡¯re nuts.¡± An Xiaoning felt like she could no longermunicate with him; he was still being so unreasonable and overboard although they were already divorced. An Xiaoning pushed the door open and tried to get out of the car, only to find that he had locked her in her seat. ¡°Are you in love with Gu Beicheng?¡± Jin Qingyan asked again, finally firing the burning question on his mind. ¡°I only see him as my elder brother...¡± ¡°I knew it,¡± said Jin Qingyan as he pulled her into his arms as soon as she finished speaking. ¡°Why do you have to ask again then?¡± An Xiaoning hissed as she struggled to break free from his embrace, but to no avail. ¡°I just wanted to be sure,¡± said Jin Qingyan as he proceeded to recline her seat all the way down, after which he took the chance to pin her beneath himself. All of a sudden, his initial fury turned into joy. ¡°Jin Qingyan, you better know your limits and not go overboard. Hurry and get off me before I lose my temper,¡± An Xiaoning warned. ¡°Go ahead then, I¡¯m not getting off anyway.¡± What a time to still be so brazen! ¡°Are you really that insistent on having nobody else but me? It¡¯s not like you can¡¯t live without me, is it?¡± said An Xiaoning, trying to spite him as she knew that he would definitely deny it, given how arrogant he was. Contrary to her expectations, he said, ¡°Yes, I can¡¯t live without you, indeed.¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan... are you possessed by a spirit?¡± Slightly startled, he continued to stare at her in the dim yellow light. ¡°Could it... really be that case?¡± ¡°You would¡¯ve been able to tell right away if I was really possessed. Did you forget you were a psychic medium and fortune-teller?¡± he said softly. ¡°But you¡¯re different from others, I can¡¯t read your fortune. I might not be able to tell even if you were really possessed,¡± An Xiaoning retorted. He lowered his head slowly to look down at her, leaving only inches between their faces. ¡°I¡¯m not possessed. I¡¯m Jin Qingyan. Xiaoning,e back to me, will you?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°...¡± Without warning, Jin Qingyan pressed his lips against hers, overwhelmed with euphoria. It had simply been too long since he¡¯dst kissed her. Almost suffocating, An Xiaoning bit down on his lips in a moment of pique, causing him to wince in pain. Their mouths were filled with the metallic taste of blood. ¡°Jin Qingyan, are you really that shameless?¡± An Xiaoning looked at him with teary eyes and eximed, ¡°How many times have I said that we¡¯re already divorced? We¡¯re divorced! Divorced! Why are you still acting like this with me!?!¡± ¡°You matter more to me than my pride.¡± An Xiaoning felt a lump form in her throat. She used to wish for the day that he would fall in love with her. Yet, the tables have turned. ¡°It¡¯s toote now.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not. This is only the beginning for us,¡± said Jin Qingyan as he caressed her hair affectionately. ¡°Then tell me, how are you going to make me have faith in you again now that I¡¯ve already given up on you!?! Everyone is selfish. You weren¡¯t there for me when I needed you most. In that case, I won¡¯t need you ever again in the future. Jin Qingyan, stop being like this. Life still goes on no matter who you lose. If I can do it, you can too. Let me go and let yourself go,¡± said An Xiaoning, tears flowing from her eyes like a tap. ¡°Have you ever had feelings for me?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± An Xiaoning admitted. He got off her and returned to his seat while An Xiaoning sat up slowly. They then continued to sit there in silence. An Xiaoning thought he would be manly enough to agree to let her go. To her surprise, he burst intoughter. She could notprehend his reaction. ¡°What are you smiling about?¡± ¡°Xiaoning, as much as your heart is already dead, I¡¯ll make you rekindle your feelings for me. One day, I will make you love me as much as I love you.¡± He then unlocked the car door and said, ¡°Go back.¡± An Xiaoning alighted from the car and said to him while standing before the car window, ¡°I hope that day neveres.¡± ¡°No, it will.¡± He then revved up the engine and drove off. An Xiaoning returned to her room, feeling more vexed than ever. She stood before the basin and stared at her reflection in the mirror, only to notice how swollen her lips had gotten. Clearly, Jin Qingyan had kissed her forcefully with all his might. Sheid down in bed after washing her face, unable to calm herself down or get a grip on her emotions. ¡°Sis, where did Mr. Gu bring you?¡± asked Mei Yangyang, craning her neck from the secondyer of the bunk bed. ¡°Parachuting.¡± ¡°Oh... it¡¯s already so dark outside now, yet you still went parachuting?¡± Mei Yangyang asked in astonishment. ¡°Yeah, I was forced to. I¡¯m tired, I¡¯m going to bed,¡± An Xiaoning answered, covering herself with the duvet. ¡°Goodnight.¡± ¡ª¡ª Wearing a surgical mask to cover her face, Chi Rui¡¯er arrived at Dongpo District in broad daylight. She parked the car in front of An Xiaoning¡¯s clothing store and began walking towards the entrance slowly. Zhang Li had gone out to buy breakfast, leaving Xu Jingwen to tend to the store alone. Upon the sight of Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s arrival, Xu Jingwen hurriedly greeted, ¡°Hello, prettydy, feel free to have a look.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er proceeded to take a look around the store. She had made a trip there precisely because she knew An Xiaoning was not around. She had long heard about the plethora of fashionable clothing sold at affordable prices avable at An Xiaoning¡¯s clothing store. She finally had the chance to have a look for herself. Indeed, the clothing sold were pleasant yet not too pricey. ¡°Bring this down and let me have a look,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er instructed, pointing at an oversized jacket. ¡°Alright.¡± Xu Jingwen brought the jacket down with a hook and removed the hanger before handing the jacket to her. ¡°This is a newly arrived piece. It¡¯ll look great on you, have a look.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er removed her coat slowly and put on the oversized jacket before taking a look in the mirror. Indeed, it looked pretty good on her. ¡°How much is it?¡± ¡°570 dors.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er proceeded to buy a few more pieces without hesitation. After processing the payment, Xu Jingwen packed the clothes into a bag and handed it to her smilingly. ¡°Thank you and have a nice day.¡± Chapter 197 - Love Trap (5)

Chapter 197: Love Trap (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Instead of leaving right away, Chi Rui¡¯er asked, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°My name is Xu Jingwen.¡± ¡°Are you interested in moonlighting?¡± asked Chi Rui¡¯er, looking at her. ¡°Huh?¡± Xu Jingwen eximed, puzzled at Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s offer since they were merely strangers. ¡°Here¡¯s the thing, I¡¯m pregnant and I¡¯m really bored at home, so I need someone to apany me and chat with me. I thought you¡¯d be a great candidate. If you¡¯re interested, I¡¯d be willing to offer you a sry of 3000 dors a month.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll only have to chat with you?¡± ¡°Yes, just some chit-chatting. It won¡¯t affect your job here. Here¡¯s my number, drop me a call when you¡¯ve made up your mind,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er answered, taking out a piece of paper with her phone number written on it from her purse before handing it to Xu Jingwen. ¡°Alright,¡± said a puzzled Chi Rui¡¯er, who found the entire situation a little peculiar. 3000 dors a month just to chit-chat as a sideline? Is she a conman? Xu Jingwen wondered to herself. But then again, she was dressed in designer clothing and goods from head to toe ¡ª didn¡¯t seem like a conman. Xu Jingwen stood by the entrance of the store and peeked out of the window, only to see Chi Rui¡¯er driving away in a luxury car. Xu Jingwen used to research about luxury cars and knew the different brands and their prices like the back of her hand, which was why she had recognized Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s car to be one. From the looks of it, Chi Rui¡¯er was indeed a wealthy woman. Xu Jingwen changed her mind and clutched the piece of paper tightly in her hand. Chi Rui¡¯er removed the surgical mask and cast it aside before driving off merrily, with music sting in the background. She was very certain that Xu Jingwen would give her a call. For some reason, Xu Jingwen seemed to remind her of her younger self, who was hungry for a life of materialfort and luxury. It was outright obvious. Chi Rui¡¯er stopped by a street to buy herself some milk and a hamburger, which she polished off in the car, before proceeding to get dessert. She then drove home in high spirits after a delicious and satisfying meal. Gu Dongcheng¡¯s house would be used as their bridal chamber. Due to the fact that it was newly-renovated, all that there was left to do was to decorate it a little. Gu Dongcheng had initially suggested that they continue to live in the old mansion. Yet, Chi Rui¡¯er decided to turn down his suggestion after giving it some thought. It would be fine by her to move back there for a short stay every now and then. However, living there for good would be out of the question, for she could not stand the thought of having to face Mrs. Gu every single day. Chi Rui¡¯er proceeded to sit in front of herputer to y some video games right after she arrived home. She had recently developed the habit of ying video games for two hours each day. Otherwise, she would have been bored to death doing nothing except eating and sleeping every single day. She decided to have a look at thetest news before beginning to y her game. There were some news updates about Jin Qingyan. Chi Rui¡¯er almost fainted upon reading the content. It was stated in the news report that Jin Qingyan could not forget his ex-wife and recklessly bought over the exercise boot camp academy upon hearing that his ex-wife had signed up for the boot camp. Instantly, she was no longer in the mood for video games. As much as she was already married, Jin Qingyan still mattered a lot to her. To her dismay, he turned out to have actually fallen madly in love with An Xiaoning. Recalling the past where he had once loved her too, Chi Rui¡¯er began to find the twist of events akin to those of a television drama. She somehow felt that Jin Qingyan loved An Xiaoning with a greater passion than he had loved her, especially since she had secretly heard about Jin Qingyan trying to take his own life because of An Xiaoning. She did not quite seem to have found the piece of news credible, however. Just what was so great about An Xiaoning that he would sacrifice his life for her? What redeeming qualities did she have besides the ability to read fortunes? Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s blood began to boil at the thought of An Xiaoning and the misdeeds thetter had done to her, all of which she remembered clearly. She would never forget them even until the day she dies. One day, she will exact her revenge on An Xiaoning! Chi Rui¡¯er was jolted awake from her afternoon nap by her mobile phone, which rang all of a sudden. She took a look at the caller disy to see that it was an unknown number. Thinking that it must be Xu Jingwen, the sales assistant she approached at An Xiaoning¡¯s store, Chi Rui¡¯er quickly sat up straight and answered the call. ¡°Who¡¯s speaking?¡± ¡°I¡¯m... I¡¯m the girl you gave your number to today. Um, I¡¯ve given it some consideration and I¡¯ve decided that I¡¯d like to take up the sideline you offered,¡± Xu Jingwen answered, sounding a little nervous over the phone. Chi Rui¡¯er then proceeded to tell her her address, ¡°Alright, you maye here right away, my address is...¡± She took a look at the time and realized that it was already six o¡¯clock in the evening. Famished, she got out of bed and instructed the servants to prepare dinner at once. Dinner was ready to be served by the time Xu Jingwen arrived. ¡°You... you are...¡± Xu Jingwen stuttered. ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m your employer¡¯s sister-inw. You haven¡¯t had dinner, have you? Come, sit down,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er said with a grin. ¡°It¡¯s okay...¡± Xu Jingwen no longer suspected that Chi Rui¡¯er was a conman. ¡°I¡¯ll be taking care of your meals, don¡¯t worry. Have a seat, we¡¯ll chat while we eat. Don¡¯t tell your boss I visited the store to get some clothes, though. Otherwise, she¡¯s definitely not going to let me pay. Well, I can¡¯t take her things for free, even though we¡¯re rtives. The clothing sold at Xiaoning¡¯s store are just so gorgeous. I offered you this job precisely because I know you work there,¡± said Chi Rui¡¯er, putting up a warm and friendly front. ¡°Alright, thank you.¡± Xu Jingwen began to take a liking towards Chi Rui¡¯er, thinking that thetter seemed to be a nice and friendly person. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. Dig in, don¡¯t stand on ceremony. Having meals with me is part of your job scope too,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er urged. Xu Jingwen scanned her surroundings, green with envy towards Chi Rui¡¯er for being able to enjoy the privilege of living in such a luxurious mansion, served by many servants. Indeed, not everyone can enjoy the benefits of being a wealthy man¡¯s wife. ¡°How long have you been working at Xiaoning¡¯s store?¡± ¡°Not that long.¡± ¡°How much does she pay you each month?¡± asked Chi Rui¡¯er. ¡°2500 dors. Food and aodation are all provided for. Sis Xiaoning said that I¡¯ll be getting a raise in the future.¡± ¡°How many hours a day?¡± ¡°The hours are not fixed. Sometimes 12, sometimes fewer, eight or nine, perhaps.¡± ¡°That¡¯s way too long for how little you¡¯re getting paid. I have to raise this issue about your sry with her the next time I see her,¡± said Chi Rui¡¯er, grinning from ear to ear. ¡°It¡¯s not that little actually,¡± said Xu Jingwen, although deep down, she had begun to waver after hearing Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s words. Compared to the 3000 dors Chi Rui¡¯er offered for a part-time job, her current sry did seem a little too low. The initially tense and reserved Xu Jingwen began to let her guard down and ease up after chatting with Chi Rui¡¯er for a while. Both of them were sizing up and forming impressions of each other. After some chit-chatting, Chi Rui¡¯er began to find that Xu Jingwen was exactly the person she was looking for. While they were in the midst of a joyous conversation, Gu Dongcheng returned home. Xu Jingwen was a little afraid to make eye contact with Gu Dongcheng upon seeing him. The 28-year-oldd was rather good-looking and seemed to be quite the gentleman. He was dressed in an immactely-tailored suit and appeared to be a little weary and haggard. ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡± he asked after taking a nce at Xu Jingwen. ¡°A part-timer I hired to apany me at home because I¡¯m getting really bored.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er then introduced, ¡°This is my husband.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you, Mr. Gu,¡± Xu Jingwen hurriedly greeted. ¡°Nice to meet you. I¡¯ve already eaten, I¡¯m going to take a shower,¡± he said, walking towards the bedroom. ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°Sis Rui¡¯er, you¡¯re so lucky,¡± said Xu Jingwen, filled with envy. Chi Rui¡¯er chuckled and answered, ¡°Follow me around and I¡¯ll introduce you to a handsome and wealthy boyfriend.¡± Chapter 198 - Love Trap (6)

Chapter 198: Love Trap (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xu Jingwen was greatly enticed by what Chi Rui¡¯er had to offer. Although she was exceptionally thrilled, she continued to put up a front and said, ¡°Wealthy men won¡¯t fall for me, though.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re very pretty. You¡¯ll look gorgeous if you doll yourself up.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er then stood up and said, ¡°Wait for me here.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Xu Jingwen continued to sit on the couch alone while Chi Rui¡¯er walked towards the bedroom. Several momentster, Chi Rui¡¯er returned with two bottles of beauty products in her hands. ¡°I just bought these two bottles of serum and I¡¯ve only used them once or twice. It¡¯s from a prestigious brand. You may have them.¡± ¡°Um... Sis Rui¡¯er, that¡¯s too kind of you. I can¡¯t ept it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a wee gift from me to you. Take it, don¡¯t stand on ceremony with me. It¡¯s getting dark out there so let¡¯s call it a day, shall we? Head home first, you maye again tomorrow after work,¡± said Chi Rui¡¯er, giving her a pat on her back. ¡°Alright.¡± Xu Jingwen epted the beauty products and went home happily. The smile on Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s face disappeared as soon as the door closed, after which she headed back to her room. Gu Dongcheng exited the bathroom in a bathrobe after taking a shower and found her sitting on the bed. Noticing that she seemed to be engrossed in her thoughts, he asked, ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± ¡°Nothing much. Hubby, I haven¡¯t seen you all day. I miss you,¡± said Chi Rui¡¯er as she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his waist. Gu Beicheng lowered his head to kiss her lightly on her forehead and said, ¡°What about me do you miss?¡± ¡°Why are you asking when you already know the answer?¡± She was burning with passion and her hormones were raging. Her pregnancy had never affected their sex life. In fact, she had be much more sensitive because of it. ¡ª¡ª On the day that training officially began, Jin Qingyan touched her intimately in front of everyone else. An Xiaoning was infuriated because there was nothing she could do since his actions were not deemed inappropriate by the others. An instance would be during the beginner taekwondo ss conducted by Chen Xu. Jin Qingyan stood beside An Xiaoning and was often overly eager to correct her technique by adjusting her positions whenever she made the slightest mistake. He would intervene even during times when she felt she had executed a technique perfectly. Everyone was aware of his intentions. However, it did not bother him at all. On top of that, An Xiaoning hated it too when he smacked her bottom while she was practicing the horse¡¯s stance, with the excuse of trying to make her straighten her back. During their break, she took the chance to approach him. Staring at Jin Qingyan, who was sipping on his tea leisurely, she said, ¡°Mr. Jin, you¡¯re the owner of arge corporation, there are plenty of work for you to do. You shouldn¡¯t be wasting your time here. I think you¡¯re putting your talent to waste.¡± ¡°Wasting my time and talent? I don¡¯t think so. This is part of my duty too,¡± he said nonchntly. She held her breath and answered, ¡°Fine, take it as if I never said that.¡± With a smirk, he headed downstairs while holding his teacup in his hands. ¡°Jin Qingyan! I need a word with you,¡± Lin Mingxi eximed as she hurriedly stood in front of Jin Qingyan to stop him in his tracks. ¡°About what?¡± ¡°Could you give me a few minutes of your time? I just have something to ask you,¡± said Lin Mingxi. ¡°There are some things you can ask about and some which you¡¯re not allowed to ask. Which of the two would you like to ask me about?¡± Biting her lip, Lin Mingxi continued, ¡°I¡¯ve seen the news. Did you buy over the boot camp academy because of An Xiaoning?¡± ¡°You¡¯re asking something you¡¯re not allowed to. I have noment,¡± said Jin Qingyan as he proceeded to walk away without addressing her further. Refusing to give up, Lin Mingxi hurriedly chased after him and continued, ¡°I signed up for the boot camp just for you.¡± ¡°Ms. Lin, I think you may have gotten the wrong idea. We¡¯ve only met once, and I have no ns of staying in contact with you in the future. You should understand what I mean by that,¡± he said bluntly. ¡°Jin Qingyan, can¡¯t you just give me a chance? I came all the way excitedly just because I knew you would be here. I was hoping to be able to spend more time with you and to know you better, yet you actually said that...¡± said Lin Mingxi, feeling aggrieved. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t give out chances to women I don¡¯t know,¡± Jin Qingyan answered coldly before walking towards his car. Lin Mingxi stood rooted to the ground, feeling as if her heart had sunk deep inside her. Jin Qingyan had sounded rather cold and aloof, as opposed to his initial gentleness when they met for the first time. Lin Mingxi turned around to return to the hostel. She grew into an uncontroble rage upon the sight of An Xiaoning and began stomping her foot against her bed. Sheid in bed, overwhelmed with exasperation. It was not like her to give up easily. However, there was nothing else she could do anyway even if she chose not to give up. She was caught in a difficult dilemma. Would things be easier with the help of Jin Qingyan¡¯s family? she wondered. Lin Mingxi sat up and exited the room again with her mobile phone in her hand. She headed to a secluded ce and proceeded to call thendline of the Jin family mansion. ¡°Hello, is Madam Jin in?¡± ¡°You are?¡± asked Auntie Zhang. ¡°I¡¯m Lin Mingxi from the Lin family.¡± ¡°Alright, let me transfer the line.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Lin Mingxi¡¯s initial nervousness faded as soon as she heard Mrs. Jin¡¯s voice. ¡°Is that Miss Mingxi?¡± asked Mrs. Jin. ¡°Yes, Auntie. My apologies for not asking about you in such a long time. Besides, I¡¯m busy with an exercise boot camp now. I¡¯ll definitely pay you a visit when I have the chance,¡± Lin Mingxi said in a soft and gentle voice, exuding the elegance of a wealthy man¡¯s daughter. ¡°No worries. You¡¯ve signed up for an exercise boot camp? Those programs are meant for people who are keen on training in martial arts. You¡¯re going to suffer a great deal over there,¡± said Mrs. Jin, surprised at her decision to join a boot camp. ¡°I came here for Qingyan.¡± ¡°Qingyan? He¡¯s at the boot camp?¡± Mrs. Jin asked in surprise, for she was not aware that he had bought over the academy. ¡°Didn¡¯t you know, Auntie? Qingyan had already bought over thepany. It¡¯s reported all over the news. Ms. An is here too. I thought you were already aware of this, Auntie,¡± said Lin Mingxi. ¡°What? I¡¯m going to ask him about thister,¡± Mrs. Jin screeched in shock. ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t disturb you further, then.¡± Lin Mingxi then ended the call before muttering to herself, ¡°What? Turns out she doesn¡¯t know.¡± Mrs. Jin put down the phone and instructed Auntie Zhang, ¡°Bring me today¡¯s newspapers.¡± ¡°Madam, you don¡¯t look too well. Did something happen?¡± asked Auntie Zhang. ¡°Qingyan actually bought over the boot camp academy where An Xiaoning is currently training at. It¡¯s obvious what his intentions are. Hurry and bring me the newspapers,¡± Mrs. Jin snapped. ¡°Got it,¡± Auntie Zhang turned around to bring her the morning newspapers. Mrs. Jin¡¯s heart sank upon reading the content of the newspapers. Her blood began to boil in exasperation, infuriated with the fact that Jin Qingyan did not even mention the matter to her. ¡°Madam, calm down,¡± said Auntie Zhang as she hurriedly brought her a cup of green tea upon noticing how enraged she was. ¡°Calm down? I can¡¯t! Just what is he trying to do!?! Give Qingyan a call right away. Now, at once, immediately!¡± ¡°Yes, Madam,¡± said Auntie Zhang as she proceeded to do as instructed. Old Mrs. Jin came out of her room and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Why are you so angry?¡± Chapter 199 - Love Trap (7)

Chapter 199: Love Trap (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Mother, did you know Qingyan bought over a martial arts boot camp academy just because An Xiaoning signed up for it? Is he crazy!?! They¡¯re already divorced, why is he doing this!¡± ¡°So what if he did? Must you really make such a big fuss out of it? It would be great if he actually manages to woo Xiaoning back,¡± old Mrs. Jin said calmly, not appearing too surprised. ¡°Mother, An Xiaoning was the one who strongly insisted on the divorce. Why would she agree to get back together with him? This matter has already been reported on the news. Others are just going to criticize and mock him for being so desperate. He¡¯s such an outstanding individual in all aspects, why does he have to shortchange himself by clinging onto that An Xiaoning!?!¡± Mrs. Jin roared in anger, feeling extremely outraged. ¡°That just goes to show how excellent Xiaoning is. We were the ones who let her down, don¡¯t shift the me on her. If it weren¡¯t for that mishap, their child would almost be born by now. What a pity,¡± old Mrs. Jin said with a long sigh. ¡°There are plenty of women out there who are willing to bear Qingyan¡¯s child. Ms. Lin gave me a call today. In fact, I find her to be a really good catch in almost every aspect. It¡¯s a pity Qingyan doesn¡¯t fancy her.¡± Mrs. Jin then turned to Auntie Zhang and said, ¡°What did he say?¡± ¡°He said he would be home during dinner time in the evening.¡± Mrs. Jin picked up her teacup and finished all the green tea in one gulp. She continued to sit in the living room until Jin Qingyan returned. ¡°I don¡¯t wish to exin any further regarding this matter. It¡¯s my freedom to do whatever I want. I purchased the academy using my own assets anyway,¡± said Jin Qingyan. Mrs. Jin pounded her chest and eximed in frustration, ¡°Do you really think I¡¯m being concerned about that? Qingyan, you two are already divorced. Can¡¯t you just give other girls a chance?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°You want to marry her again? Is that so? Tell me quick,¡± Mrs. Jin questioned. ¡°Yes, I want to marry her again. My decision is final, no one can change my mind.¡± ¡°What if she never agrees?¡± ¡°One day, she wille back to me,¡± he said with utmost confidence, as if he was the person who loved her most in the world. ¡°But you were so quick to give in when your grandma and I insisted you marry An Xiaoning back then, even though you were so fond of Chi Rui¡¯er. Qingyan, just marry another girl instead. Feelings can be nurtured, and you¡¯ll definitely fall in love with her in due time after knowing each other for long enough. By then, you¡¯ll realize that An Xiaoning matters as little to you as Chi Rui¡¯er did. Okay?¡± ¡°But too bad, I don¡¯t think any other woman is good enough for me other than An Xiaoning.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You¡¯re out of your mind,¡± Mrs. Jin gasped in disbelief. ¡°Maybe I am. I¡¯ll be making a move first, I won¡¯t be having dinner here,¡± said Jin Qingyan as he rose from his seat. He then proceeded to leave before Mrs. Jin could even respond. Having arrived at the vi, he alighted from the car, only to be greeted by Maomao, who was nibbling and rubbing its face on his legs affectionately. Jin Qingyan bent forward to pet its fur before opening the car door of the backseat. ¡°Hop on, we¡¯ll go look for your Mom.¡± The spiritual and almost human-like Maomao then put a leg forward andunched its chubby self onto the backseat in one fluid motion. Jin Qingyan grinned at the adorable sight before him and closed the door before getting into the driver¡¯s seat. He then set out again, though he had only arrived home not long ago. He drove along the roads towards his destination. Upon arriving at the entrance of the boot camp academy, Jin Qingyan alighted from the car while Maomao followed closely beside him and trudged along with sturdy steps. However, Jin Qingyan did not enter immediately, due to the fact that there was an ongoing training session. Instead, he stood watch by the window and waited ¡¯til the intermission to enter. Maomao¡¯s eyes lit up brightly at the sight of An Xiaoning and leaped forward towards her. Before she could even react, An Xiaoning was shot by Maomao, who pounced on her. ¡°Maomao?¡± An Xiaoning let out a smile of surprise and joy. She then reached out to hold Maomao¡¯s paws while still dripping with sweat from the strenuous training session. Maomao stuck its tongue out and began wagging its tail continuously in excitement. An Xiaoning looked up at Jin Qingyan, who appeared slightly awkward, standing not too far away from her. An Xiaoning sat on the ground to y with Maomao until the intermission was over, after which Maomao had no choice but to move aside next to Jin Qingyan and watch her train. During a sparring session with another male member, An Xiaoning could not defend herself in the nick of time and was thrown off bnce by Shi Bin, who managed to flip her sessfully. It was actually not too big of a deal since she did not get hurt or injured. However, Maomao seemed to have thought that its mother was getting bullied and thus broke into a sudden outburst. It zoomed towards Shi Bin and began barking at him, before pouncing on him and biting his clothes ravenously while tugging at him to pull him away. Everyone else stared wide-eyed at the shocking scene before them. An Xiaoning hurriedly rushed to intervene and exined the scenario to Maomao softly, who seemed to have understood what she said. Maomao then retreated abidingly and returned to a spot beside Jin Qingyan. The sky had turned dark outside, yet training still did not end. Everyone was already exhausted and dog-tired. Jin Nana and Lin Mingxi, who were constantlyining about being tired, finally gave up and sat at the side to take a break while others continued with the session. Jin Qingyan made a rare appearance and watched them train. It was obvious that the only reason he was there was to see An Xiaoning. Otherwise, he would not have bothered wasting his time there. It was already half past nine in the evening by the time training had ended. During dismissal, An Xiaoning and Mei Yangyang continued toy on the ground, too exhausted to even move. However, they forced themselves to get up in the end and returned to their room to wash up. It would have been a privilege if they managed to go to bed by half past ten. An Xiaoning had initially nned to head back to her room straight away. However, she was stopped by Maomao, who bit onto the hem of her pants in an attempt to drag her downstairs. Thus, she had no choice but to follow. She wanted to get Maomao to hop into the car and vice versa. An Xiaoning was rather reluctant since all her energy had been depleted during training. ¡°Bring Maomao home, I¡¯m going to head back to my room to get some rest,¡± she said sluggishly. Noticing how tired she was, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°I have something for you.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± He turned around and opened the car door before sticking his head inside the car to retrieve a paper bag. ¡°Aren¡¯t you all about vanity? This is a newlyunched facial serum mask. I¡¯ve tried it, it¡¯s excellent,¡± he said, handing her the bag. An Xiaoning did not ept it and refuted, ¡°I¡¯ve brought some facial masks with me.¡± ¡°The ones you brought can¡¯t bepared to these,¡± he answered while cing the bag into her hands. Noticing that she still seemed reluctant to ept it, he straightened his back and insisted, ¡°It¡¯ll be yours once I¡¯ve given it to you. It¡¯s up to you to keep it or throw it away.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, Jin Qingyan hopped into his car and drove off. An Xiaoning took a look at the paper bag to find that it belonged to a prestigious brand, which meant that it must have cost at least a few tens of thousands of dors. It would be a waste to throw it away. She returned to the room with the bag in her hands and was greeted with the sight of Mei Yangyang, who just came out of the shower. ¡°Sis,¡± thetter greeted. ¡°Yangyang, you may have half of these.¡± ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Mei Yangyang peeked inside the bag and said, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s from a prestigious brand, must¡¯ve cost a bomb.¡± ¡°There¡¯s too many, I can¡¯t finish all of them. Take half of it.¡± Mei Yangyang chuckled in delight and said, ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t stand on ceremony then.¡± As they were in the midst of a conversation, An Xiaoning felt a bowl of instant noodles being poured onto her head without warning. Chapter 200 - I Love You, But I Don’t Dare to Let You Know (1)

Chapter 200: I Love You, But I Don¡¯t Dare to Let You Know (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mei Yangyang dropped the packet of facial serum mask in shock and got out of bed immediately. She red at Lin Mingxi angrily and hissed, ¡°Hey, you did that on purpose, didn¡¯t you?¡± Lin Mingxi put on a pretentious smile and said, ¡°It was just a slip of the hand. It¡¯s just too unfortunate that Ms. An happened to be sitting there.¡± An Xiaoning grabbed the bunch of noodles off her head and glowered at Lin Mingxi. ¡°Clean it up, Sis,¡± said Mei Yangyang as she hurriedly brought over a piece of wet towel. Due to the fact that the bowl of instant noodles was boiling hot, fumes of steam could be seen wafting from the crown of An Xiaoning¡¯s head, which was badly scalded by the hot soup. Lin Mingxi craned her neck to take a look and burst intoughter at the sight of a dishevelled An Xiaoning. In high spirits, sheid back in bed, feeling satisfied as she finally got a chance to vent her frustration. However, what she did not expect was for An Xiaoning to return five minutester with another bowl of boiling hot instant noodles. She stood in front of Lin Mingxi¡¯s bed. Lin Mingxi frantically sat up and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t do it on purpose earlier.¡± ¡°I know you didn¡¯t do it on purpose, you merely did it intentionally.¡± Without another word, An Xiaoning dumped the entire bowl of instant noodles onto Lin Mingxi¡¯s face. ¡°Ahh!¡± Lin Mingxi shrieked in pain at the top of her lungs, feeling as if she was scalded to the point of disfiguration. She hurriedly zoomed towards the bathroom and sshed her face with water in great panic. She burst into tears while washing her face, her eyes burning from the spicy soup which caused her vision to be blurry. An Xiaoning then proceeded to take a shower in the other bathroom while Mei Yangyang cleaned up the spilled instant noodles and soup on the ground. Lin Mingxi had yet toe out of the bathroom by the time An Xiaoning was done showering. Sounds of her bawling in agony could be hearding from the bathroom. An Xiaoning did not feel bothered nor guilty at all. Well, as the saying goes, ¡°Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.¡± She just had to show Lin Mingxi that she was not one to be trifled with. An Xiaoning dried her hair with the hairdryer and proceeded to put on a facial serum mask. Lin Mingxi came out of the bathroom with her eyes swollen and her face flushed as red as a tomato. Well aware that she was not in any position to retaliate since she was the one who had started the conflict, Lin Mingxi had no choice but to keep mum and climb up onto her bed on the thirdyer of the bunk bed. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Sis Weiwei, why aren¡¯t you going in?¡± the assistant asked softly. Gazing at the entrance of Ye Xiaotian¡¯s mansion, Sun Weiwei said, ¡°I do feel like going in, but that wretched hussy Mo Li is inside. I really don¡¯t feel like seeing her face.¡± ¡°Just ignore her presence then. Sis Weiwei, given your intelligence, wouldn¡¯t it be easier than ever to get rid of her presence? You¡¯ve defeated Bai Ranran in the end. Mo Li is no match for you,¡± the assistant remarked, keeping her voice low. Shaking her head, Sun Weiwei said, ¡°I can¡¯t use the same method I used to get rid of Bai Ranran on Mo Li. That¡¯ll be too obvious. Brother Xiaotian is going to suspect something. It can¡¯t be that coincidental for the both of them to contract the same virus. I have toe up with another solution.¡± ¡°Given how Mr. Ye actually brought Mo Li home again all the way from Y Nation, I have a strong feeling... Mo Li is rather special to Mr. Ye.¡± Sun Weiwei shot her a re and hissed, ¡°I¡¯m not blind, I can see that. Drive further up, I¡¯ll go inside to see her alone once Brother Xiaotian leaves.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± After half an hour, Ye Xiaotian finally left in his car. Sun Weiwei then got out of the nanny van and headed towards the entrance while clutching her purse. The servant at the door allowed her to enter immediately. ¡°Ms. Sun, Young Sir just left not long ago,¡± said the servant. ¡°Really? What a coincidence. What has he been doing in his free time recently?¡± Sun Weiwei asked inquisitively. ¡°He has been with Ms. Mo most of the time.¡± ¡°Got it. Where¡¯s the butler?¡± ¡°He left early in the morning to attend to something.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± said Sun Weiwei, gesturing for the servant to leave. She entered the living room and proceeded upstairs after realizing that Mo Li was nowhere in sight. Mo Li had just woken up and was still in bed. She quickly pulled the duvet over herself and sat up straight upon hearing the sounds of Sun Weiwei¡¯s heels clicking against the floor. ¡°You were still a young girl when I first heard about you from Brother Xiaotian. Can¡¯t believe you actually have the ability to make Brother Xiaotian bring you back again. What¡¯s the matter? Did you realize that you still prefer local men after being toyed with by a foreign man?¡± Sun Weiwei sneered. Mo Li was slightly startled and hurt by Sun Weiwei¡¯s snide remark. However, she retorted, ¡°You¡¯re in no position to question me about my preference.¡± ¡°I just can¡¯t help but find you so cheap and lowly. Mo Li, Brother Xiaotian will never marry you, forget about bing the Young Madam of the Ye Family,¡± Sun Weiwei scoffed. ¡°Can¡¯t be as cheap as you are. Sun Weiwei, you know clearly what kind of a piece of trash you are. Quit acting all high and mighty. If you¡¯re here so early just to find trouble, I¡¯ll entertain you as you please. But if you¡¯re here just to bluster and throw your weight around, then get lost immediately.¡± ¡°You...¡± Sun Weiwei was at a loss for words, taken aback by how feisty Mo Li had gotten since thest time they met. ¡°I see, you¡¯ve gotten really brazen now that you have Brother Xiaotian to back you up. Don¡¯t rejoice too soon, Mo Li, we shall wait and see who gets thestugh,¡± Sun Weiwei scorned with a squint, staring at Mo Li with ice-cold eyes. ¡°Stop imagining things, Brother Xiaotian doesn¡¯t fancy you at all. Go take a look in the mirror and see how awful you look, druggie. Only a blind man would be interested in you,¡± Mo Li sneered. ¡°Don¡¯t get too arrogant just yet. Watch out, your time to grieve wille,¡± Sun Weiwei retorted, gritting her teeth in anger. Mo Liid back against the bed head and heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing that Sun Weiwei had left. She could finally rx and be herself whenever Ye Xiaotian was not around, taking a break from the tension when he was present. This was not a life she wanted to live. Was there a greater torture than having to face every single day the person you hate to the core? Although he was indeed treating her better now, nothing could make up for the cruelty he had subjected her to in the past. In fact, those painful memories that could never be erased seemed to serve as a reminder for herself of the traumatic experiences he had put her through in the past. Not only did she detest Ye Xiaotian, she could not stand the sight of everyone else either, including the servants, in the vi. She got out of bed and washed up before making her way downstairs, allowing her long locks to cascade down her back. Mo Li stared coldly at the servants who used to treat her like an animal and shifted her gaze to the breakfast spread on the dining table. Noticing that the food had already turned cold, Mo Li chided distastefully, ¡°You guys have been working here for years. Why are your culinary skills still so lousy? You prepare the same few breakfast dishes every single day, can¡¯t you just switch it up a little?¡± ¡°Ms. Mo, you ought to be thankful that you get to eat. I can¡¯t believe you actually have the cheek to be picky. If the food is not to your liking, you may feel free to cook breakfast yourself in the kitchen. We¡¯re not obliged to serve you, you¡¯re not our boss anyway,¡± the servant retorted with a look of disdain. They were still as sarcastic and scornful towards her all the same. Staring at the servant, Mo Li remained silent and reached out to grab the steamed buns on the dining table. She then proceeded to smash them onto the ground, followed by the porridge which had already turned cold, then the preserved vegetables, and,stly, the fried dough fritters. The dishes fell to the ground with a loud thud, causing a mess as the food sttered across the initially squeaky-clean flowers or. In the end, there were only a few dishes left on the dining table. Mo Li looked up at them and rebuked, ¡°I may not be your boss, but it¡¯s an undeniable fact that all of you are servants. Wait until Xiaotian is back before you clean up this mess I¡¯ve created, I dare you. It¡¯s hard to get another job when you¡¯re already so old. Watch out, it won¡¯t be nice when you get asked to leave.¡± Appearing rather upset, the servants turned around to grab some cleaning tools and proceeded to clean up the mess. Mo Li made her way inside the kitchen and cooked herself a sumptuous breakfast. The food smelled delicious and looked extremely appetizing. She sat by the dining table and began to tuck in. Chapter 201 - I Love You, But I Don’t Dare to Let You Know (2)

Chapter 201: I Love You, But I Don¡¯t Dare to Let You Know (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In the past, Mo Li would never haveined about being mistreated by the servants to Ye Xiaotian. However, she decided to tell on them this time. When Ye Xiaotian returned home for lunch, she said to him up front, ¡°Could you rece all of these servants here?¡± Upon hearing her words, all of the servants turned to look at each other in dismay, with the exception of one who was advanced in her years, for she was confident that Ye Xiaotian would never rece her easily. After all, she had been serving him for years and he had long gotten used to her cooking. Raising his brows in curiosity, Ye Xiaotian asked, ¡°Why?¡± After a moment of hesitation, Mo Li answered, ¡°Because I don¡¯t like them. Is that reason good enough?¡± Ye Xiaotian let out a smile in surprise. Apart from begging him to let her go, she had rarely requested anything from him. Thus, he answered, ¡°That¡¯ll depend on your behavior.¡± Mo Li rose from her seat and sat down on hisp in front of everyone else. She then threw her arms around his neck and began kissing him on his lips. Ye Xiaotian was greatly pleased by her sudden romantic gesture as he inhaled deeply and took a whiff of her scent. After they were done with the romantic exchange, he gazed at her with a smirk hanging from his lips and said, ¡°Seems like you really dislike them. Alright, we shall rece all of them then.¡± The servants were dumbfounded, their jaws dropping in disbelief of what they had just heard. ¡°What I meant was for you to sack all of them.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± He agreed and gave in to her request. Curling her lips into a smile, Mo Li got off hisp and sat beside him, asionally ncing at the older servant. ¡°Young Sir, we¡¯ve worked for you for years. I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t be able to enjoy the tasty dishes prepared by us in the future, should you choose to give us the sack,¡± the elderly servant said frantically in a bid to make him change his mind. ¡°Do you really think there won¡¯t be anyone else possessing superb culinary skills, apart from you guys? Pack your bags and collect your sry from the butler, then get lost immediately! Go now!¡± Ye Xiaotian hollered, ring at the servant coldly. He had always been known to stay firm to his decisions. Thus, the servants had no choice but to take their leave. The elderly servant was overwhelmed with regret. However, there was nothing she could do to change his mind. ¡°Your godsister came by here right after you left this morning,¡± said Mo Li, not forgetting to bring up the matter. ¡°What did she say when she was here?¡± Mo Li cleared her throat and mimicked Sun Weiwei¡¯s voice as she continued to repeat thetter¡¯s words, ¡°You were still a young girl when I first heard about you from Brother Xiaotian. I can¡¯t believe you actually have the ability to make Brother Xiaotian bring you back again. What¡¯s the matter? Did you realize that you still prefer local men after being toyed with by a foreign man? I just can¡¯t help but find you so cheap and lowly. Mo Li, Brother Xiaotian will never marry you, forget about bing the Young Madam of the Ye Family.¡± Just as she had expected, Ye Xiaotian began to frown in disdain. ¡°She really said that?¡± ¡°I speak nothing but the truth. I¡¯m not the type to sow seeds of discord. I¡¯ve gotten myself embroiled in so much trouble just by being with you. But, I can tell she¡¯s rather fond of you and yearns to make you hers,¡± said Mo Li with a sigh. Ye Xiaotian squinted and remarked, ¡°She¡¯s really getting way overboard and out of hand.¡± ¡°You were the one who spoiled her.¡± ¡°She¡¯s free to do whatever she wants when I feel like spoiling her. But she¡¯ll be nothing if I decide not to tolerate her atrocious ways. Of course, the same applies to you,¡± Ye Xiaotian replied, scoffing. Needless to say, Mo Li was well aware of what kind of a person he was. She would never forget his cruelty and maliciousness. There would always be a rift between them no matter how close they may be physically. ¡ª¡ª Jin Qingyan had been racking his brains, trying toe up with a way to first possess her body before capturing her heart. But to no avail, mainly because he could not seem to find an appropriate chance to execute his n. An Xiaoning would return back to her room at the hostel after the strenuous training sessions every day. She lived each day going through that exact routine. Jin Qingyan suffered from insomnia every night as he could not get his mind off the matter. Well, there had not been any progress in his rtionship with An Xiaoning at all ever since their divorce. Of course he would get anxious. After much thought, Jin Qingyan decided to create an opportunity for himself since he could not seem to find one. The weather had been gloomy all day, and it even began raining cats and dogs in the evening. Jin Qingyan parked his car in the garage and made his way to the boot camp training ground while shielding himself from the rain with a ck umbre. He had managed to arrive at the right timing ¡ª just as they were being dismissed. Completely exhausted from training, everyone dragged their feet out of the training ground sluggishly, tired beyond their senses. An Xiaoning and Mei Yangyang exited together, only to see Jin Qingyan standing there with his hands in his pocket. ¡°An Xiaoning, I have something to ask you about,¡± he said. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Come with me.¡± Just as he was about to leave, An Xiaoning refuted right away, ¡°I¡¯m not going.¡± ¡°Wow, ignoring yourmander¡¯s instructions, eh?¡± said Jin Qingyan, watching as she walked past him without entertaining him at all. ¡°...¡± Just as An Xiaoning was about to take a shower, Jin Qingyan barged inside her room and grabbed her wrist tightly before pulling her away. ¡°Jin Qingyan, what are you doing! Let go of me!¡± An Xiaoning barked, with no more energy left in her to struggle. Mei Yangyang was still in the shower. By the time she came out, An Xiaoning had already been taken away by Jin Qingyan. He dragged her inside his car forcefully. ¡°Just what do you want?¡± An Xiaoning said weakly, without strength. ¡°You!¡± Jin Qingyan answered before driving away from the boot camp academy. He then headed towards the vi. Too tired to even retort, An Xiaoning leaned back against the car seat and fell asleep soon after. Having arrived back home, Jin Qingyan carried An Xiaoning, who was sound asleep, out of the car and headed upstairs, giving Fan Shixin a great shock. He turned on the heater in the room and filled the bathtub with water before carrying her in. He then ced her inside the tub full of warm water. An Xiaoning struggled to open her eyes, only to be greeted with the sight of him. Appearing less fatigued, she immediately struggled to get out of the bathtub. However, he stopped her from doing so. ¡°Here, have a ss of your favorite,¡± said Jin Qingyan, handing her a ss of Dreamy Yanghe. ¡°I¡¯m not having any.¡± He proceeded to down a ss of the liquor before cing the goblet aside as the water continued to run from the tap in the background. ¡°I want to go back.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not going anywhere tonight,¡± Jin Qingyan refuted, gripping her tightly. An Xiaoning knew what he was up to. However, she constantly reminded herself that they were no longer husband and wife. Panting lightly as she leaned against the bathtub, An Xiaoning said in scorn, ¡°Go find a prostitute to satisfy your needs if you¡¯re struggling to curb your sexual desires. Or you could also hook up with a random woman at the nightclub. Getting a woman to sleep with is a piece of cake for you.¡± Jin Qingyan was suddenly overwhelmed with anger. Her words had greatly enraged him. ¡°Prostitutes are too filthy for me, and those women at nightclubs are no better either. I only want you,¡± said Jin Qingyan as he tied a ribbon around her wrist. An Xiaoning quickly sat up in an attempt to free herself, only to have him sit on her and secure the ribbon around her other wrist. ¡°Jin Qingyan!¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Do you know what you¡¯re doing?¡± ¡°I do, it¡¯s called raping, isn¡¯t it? No worries, you¡¯ve already sentenced me to a lifelong jail term. A few more years won¡¯t make a difference,¡± he answered nonchntly and took off his clothes. He then unzipped her jacket and removed her shirt. Her skin was soaked with the lukewarm water. Chapter 202 - I Love You, But I Dont Dare to Let You Know (3)

Chapter 202: I Love You, But I Don¡¯t Dare to Let You Know (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning¡¯s cheeks were flushed red in an attractive manner. She was too tired, even her legs were weak. He got up and poured more wine into the empty wine ss. With one hand, he pressed down on her lower jaw. An Xiaoning had yet to recover herself and was already being forced down with wine by him. Her throat was choked by a hot, stinging sensation. After the wine went down her throat, she started coughing non-stop. The taste of wine was indeed what she loved most. One ss was not enough, so he passed her another ss. Two sses were still not enough, so he passed her yet another one. After three sses of Dreamy Yanghe, An Xiaoning was in a drunken stupor. She did not know what she was doing at all. Her deep eyes were full of eager expectation. Jin Qingyan kissed her rosy lips and slowly moved to her neck, her white and wless corbone, then her plentiful chest. His hands did not cease for a moment, and he continued to stir her up. Before meeting her, he felt that the kind of women he liked was someone like Chi Rui¡¯er. But after meeting her, all the women out there became unattractivepared to her. He did not want to touch any other woman but her. It was only her that he wanted desperately. ¡°Xiaoning, I love you...¡± An Xiaoning left her eyes half-open, and tears kept flowing out. The vigorous attack from him continued to make her let out sounds of enjoyment. Under such enjoyable circumstances, Jin Qingyan heard the words he wanted to hear from her. ¡°Call me brother...¡± ¡°Brother.¡± ¡°Call me honey...¡± ¡°Honey.¡± ¡°One more time, louder!¡± ¡°Honey!¡± Her originally drenched clothing were all removed by him one by one. Getting out from the bathtub, Jin Qingyan carried her naked body and ced her on a towel that was already spread out, using it to wrap around her body. With her head facing the bed, he took a hairdryer and started blow-drying her hair for her. Finally, he ced her properly on the bed and pulled the covers over her. Her hair was sprawled over the pillow, and hey down beside her. At this very moment, he was happy. It was the first time since their divorce that they hugged each other as they slept together for the whole night. When An Xiaoning woke up, it was still raining outside. As the curtains were drawn in the bedroom, the room looked extremely dimly lit. Her legs did not feel like they were hers, and her back was aching very badly. Her lower body, especially, felt very ufortable. She supported herself as she got up and looked around the room, suddenly thinking back tost night. She was forcefully dragged away by him, and then... Pushing back the covers and getting out of bed, she walked barefoot all the way from the carpet to the bathroom door. As expected, her drenched clothing was lying in the bathtub. She no longer had clothing in this house. Looking at the time, she found that it was already past nine. Mei Yangyang would probably be training and would not have her phone with her. What could she do? Jin Qingyan was already awake when she got off the bed. He watched as she walked from the bed to the bathroom door in her naked body, then from there back to the bed again where she crawled back into the covers. ¡°Good morning, Ms. An.¡± An Xiaoning raised her hand and gave him a tight p, her body trembling with anger. ¡°Jin Qingyan, you¡¯re too despicable!¡± His face was pped until it swung towards the side. The impact of the p even left her palm in pain. As can be imagined, she had exerted a lot of strength in it. It was the first time in his life that Jin Qingyan was pped by a woman. The smile on his face gradually faded, and his face grew darker. ¡°I slept with you, and you slept with me as well. That¡¯s fair, what¡¯s so despicable about it?¡± ¡°You...¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with me?¡± ¡°You¡¯re shameless!¡± ¡°Let me take a look, is your hand painful from hitting?¡± He reached out and held onto her hand. An Xiaoning was taken aback. She turned her face to the side and did not say a word. Seeing that her eyes were red, Jin Qingyan¡¯s eyes sank. ¡°You said you wanted a wish to be satisfied, so I satisfied your wish for you. In my whole life, all I want is you. Who asked you to make me fall for you? Since you tamed me, then be responsible for it ¡¯til the very end.¡± A corner of An Xiaoning¡¯s heart cracked, and her voice softened slightly. ¡°Get someone to bring me clothes, I¡¯m going back to the training camp.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± He called Fan Shixin and got him to buy a set of clothes. The reason he was asking him to buy was that, during this time, he could spend more time with her alone. He didn¡¯t feel this way before, but now, it was especially precious to him. It was so precious that he felt that, after she puts on clothes and leavester, they would not have time like this together anymore. An Xiaoningid down and grabbed onto the covers tightly, closing her eyes. Jin Qingyan put on his clothes in an orderly manner, then pulled the curtains wide open. The rain continued to patter lightly, and the view outside was misty. The gray sky appeared like someone had intentionally drawn a curtain over it, concealing the sun. She did not speak, and neither did he. It was weird because although both of them did not speak, he did not feel awkward, but felt at ease instead. This feeling was a very strange one. After wearing the clothes Fan Shixin had delivered, An Xiaoning left immediately, with Jin Qingyan chasing after her downstairs. ¡°Let me send you there.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, just lend me an umbre.¡± He still grabbed onto her wrist and took the umbre Fan Shixin passed over, covering the whole of it over her head and forcing her to the seat beside the driver¡¯s. It was not until he sat down that An Xiaoning saw that the back of his suit was drenched. He casually wiped his hair and back, then helped her to buckle up her safety belt. Following that, he steadily drove out of the house they used to live in together. Reaching the entrance of a breakfast shop, he pulled the car over. ¡°The breakfast shop is still open, what do you want to eat?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel like eating.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll decide.¡± He alighted from the car on his own, leaving An Xiaoning alone in the car. She lowered her head, quietly wiping away the tears brimming in the corners of her eyes. When he emerged at the entrance again, he drove the car away, driving An Xiaoning back to her dormitory. However, An Xiaoning came out again not long after. She changed into a set of clothes and found a public toilet where she put on a mask, thereafter heading to a hospital for a review of her checkup. She was not feeling particrly nervous. Perhaps that was because she already knew the oue, and going for the review will only affirm the situation. After the doctor made a diagnosis, the gynecologist looked at the review report, asking in a rather regretful manner, ¡°You¡¯re only 23 years old, do you have a husband already?¡± An Xiaoning answered, ¡°Not at the present moment.¡± ¡°Well, your situation is ratherplex. The oue of the review is not much different from the oue of your previous checkup...¡± ¡°Doctor, during my previous checkup, I already got a result and I¡¯m mentally prepared. Just tell me the results of this review directly.¡± ¡°Umm. Your condition after recovering from your miscarriage is not too good. Mainly because the position where you got injured was rather critical, other than affecting your chances of pregnancy, there won¡¯t be other problems. It¡¯s still the same issue which will pose problems to your pregnancy in the future. Even if you fortunately get pregnant, you need to be extra careful as the ce where the embryo is imnted is where your injury is. You may experience miscarriages frequently, and it won¡¯t be easy to keep a pregnancy.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s heart turned thoroughly cold. She told the doctor indifferently, ¡°I don¡¯t intend to get married or have children for the rest of my life.¡± After leaving the hospital, An Xiaoning held onto the review report as she slowly strolled down the pavement. She might not have her own children anymore in the future. Even though she already knew that, after the results of the review, she still felt very upset. While the moon has its dimness and brightness ¡ª waxing and waning ¡ª men have their weal and woe, parting and meeting. Chapter 203 - I Love You, But I Dont Dare to Let You Know (4)

Chapter 203: I Love You, But I Don¡¯t Dare to Let You Know (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°You are Mei Yangyang?¡± Mrs. Long sized up the girl before her who had a baby face. No matter how she looked, the girl appeared very young. ¡°Yes, and you are Tianze¡¯s mother, right?¡± Mei Yangyang saw that she looked quite simr to Long Tianze and made a bold presumption. ¡°Yes. Today I came especially to look for you, to ask what exactly is going on between you and my son.¡± Her question made Mei Yangyang dumbfounded. After some thought, she replied honestly, ¡°We¡¯ve been dating for some time already.¡± Mrs. Long of course knew that already. ¡°What I want to know is, are you intending to marry my son?¡± ¡°Of course, I¡¯m a serious person. If I get into a rtionship, I¡¯ll definitely consider marriage.¡± Of course, as expected , Mrs. Long thought to herself. ¡°Then, do you think you are worthy of my son?¡± Mei Yangyang kept silent for a moment, then replied, ¡°I think I am worthy of him.¡± ¡°Then tell me, what about you is worthy of my son?¡± Mrs. Long¡¯s words could not be any more obvious. Her purpose for looking for her today was not to meet her future daughter-inw but to make a move from the girl¡¯s side, to make her break up with her son! Mei Yangyang could see that she was very unsatisfied with her. She could understand that, but she would never concede easily. ¡°No matter whether I say it or don¡¯t, Auntie will not be satisfied, so I might as well not defend myself.¡± Mei Yangyang looked at the time and continued, ¡°I still have trainingter, so I can¡¯t continue to chat with you, Auntie.¡± ¡°Stop there.¡± Mrs. Long stood up and looked at her, saying bluntly, ¡°I¡¯ve already continued to arrange blind dates for Tianze. Any one of the candidates is more outstanding than you are, so stop putting in effort on Tianze. You should know, for a family like us, it¡¯s usually the parents who decide on the child¡¯s marriage. I hope you¡¯ve gotten my warning and will think well about it.¡± She took out an envelope from her bag. ¡°There¡¯s one million yuan inside, it¡¯s for you.¡± Mei Yangyang pressed down her lips into a forceful smile. ¡°Auntie, I don¡¯t deserve this money. I am able-bodied and I don¡¯tck money, I can earn it myself. No matter whether you give me one or two million yuan, it¡¯s only when Tianze tells me himself that he wants to break up that I won¡¯t cling onto him anymore.¡± She turned and left, her mood absolutely spoiled. Hearing such words from her boyfriend¡¯s mother, it was, as can be imagined, a frustrating issue. She went to a store and bought a bottle of water, then made her way to the training room. Seeing her gloomy face, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Mei Yangyang told her the story from beginning to end andmented finally, ¡°I think his mother has a big issue with me. I know, there¡¯s a huge gap between his family and mine, this is what made me hesitate at the start. But now, since I¡¯m already in a rtionship with him, I won¡¯t concede easily. Unless he gives up first.¡± An Xiaoning looked at her with admiration. ¡°Great, your attitude is the most important thing. Sis supports you.¡± Mei Yangyang leaned towards her ear and whispered, ¡°Sis, you slept over at Mr. Jin¡¯s cest night?¡± An Xiaoning did not know how to exin the situation to her, so she simply replied, ¡°I was forced to.¡± However, Mei Yangyang said instead, ¡°Sis, why don¡¯t you remarry him?¡± An Xiaoning shook her head. ¡°Impossible, I¡¯ll never have a third marriage in my life. Training¡¯s starting, let¡¯s get up.¡± The twelve people lined up properly. Chen Xu walked forward and slowly said, ¡°This morning, Xiaoning did not attend training. You¡¯ll have to make it up at night.¡± ¡°Coach!¡± Lin Mingxi retorted. ¡°Yesterday night, An Xiaoning left as she pleased and did not return the whole night, and she didn¡¯t even attend lessons in the morning. From what I know, she didn¡¯t apply for leave. This is a serious vition of discipline. Don¡¯t tell me she¡¯s safe from punishment because she¡¯s Jin Qingyan¡¯s ex-wife?¡± Chen Xu frowned. ¡°Who says that she didn¡¯t apply for leave? She applied for leave directly from Mr. Jin, so is there still a need for me to approve that?¡± Lin Mingxi sneered. ¡°What an unhealthy practice. As the boss behind the scene, Jin Qingyan actually has such power. Even though everyone doesn¡¯t say it on the surface, we¡¯re not happy about it.¡± Chen Xu replied in a crude but sinct manner, ¡°If you¡¯re not happy about it, you can withdraw from the devil boot camp of your own ord. We¡¯re here to build up our strength, not to pick on other¡¯s ws.¡± His words sessfully left Lin Mingxi speechless yet feeling wronged at the same time. ¡ª No matter what other people said about it, Jin Qingyan never stopped going to the boot camp. It was only after three months, when the trainers started to teach them diving in deep waters, that Jin Qingyan could not find an excuse to see An Xiaoning anymore. During the three months of the boot camp, of the original twelve people who signed up at the beginning, only six people persisted ¡¯til the end. It was enough to show how terrifying the intensity of the training was. Jin Nana and a few other men and women had withdrawn. There were only Lin Mingxi, the pair of twin brothers Da Long and Xiao Long, Shi Bin, as well as An Xiaoning and Mei Yangyang left. Those who withdrew did so of their own ord. Although Jin Nana had withdrawn, she still insisted on following along, disying her principle of sticking by until the end. For a rich family¡¯s daughter like Lin Mingxi to persist this far, An Xiaoning honestly admired her perseverance quite a lot. They would wake up at 6 am, and other than the rest time they had, they would train until 9:30 pm every day, rain or shine. The two coaches were very strict; there was no room forcency at all. By this time, it was already June. The weather was hot and humid, and light rain came only every two or three days. Before they went out of the country, An Xiaoning did not know if it was Chen Xu and Jin Shan¡¯s idea or that of Jin Qingyan¡¯s that the devilish boot camp allowed them two days off. They were allowed to go anywhere they wanted, or return home, and were due to meet two dayster to travel abroad. When they were leaving the camp, An Xiaoning and Mei Yangyang did not bring anything with them. They were just exiting from the main door when an eye-catching sports car stopped in front of the two. An Xiaoning took a closer look, and it was Long Tianze inside. He got off from the car and took off his sunsses, his smile bright like the spring breeze. ¡°Aren¡¯t I on time? I¡¯ve personallye to pick up the two of you, are you both honored?¡± ¡°As expected, this two days of holiday was specially arranged by someone,¡± Mei Yangyangmented. Long Tianze understood what she meant clearly. He grinned and touched her head. ¡°Be good, no one here needs to hear that.¡± The three got into the car, and An Xiaoning immediately said, ¡°Just send me to Dongpo Road.¡± Long Tianze coughed lightly and replied, ¡°Ms. An, Qingyan said that if I don¡¯t bring you to the destination, he¡¯ll kill me.¡± ¡°What destination? Where are we going?¡± ¡°Wei Ni Estate.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going, stop the car.¡± Upon hearing his words, An Xiaoning rejected the idea immediately. ¡°Ms. An, I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t help it too.¡± Long Tianze looked at her with an apologetic gaze. Mei Yangyang asked, ¡°Why are we going to Wei Ni Estate?¡± ¡°We¡¯re going out to have fun for two days, all of us.¡± Long Tianze continued, ¡°Ms. An, what happened was a very long time ago already. During this period of time, it should be quite clear how Qingyan has been treating you. Actually, I¡¯m hoping that the two of you can get back together.¡± Chapter 204 - I Love You, But I Don’t Dare to Let You Know (5)

Chapter 204: I Love You, But I Don¡¯t Dare to Let You Know (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mei Yangyang turned back and leaned on the back of the seat, looking at An Xiaoning. ¡°That¡¯s right, Sis. I can see it too, Jin Qingyan has been putting a lot of effort on you. Don¡¯t reject him so resolutely, give him a bit of chance.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve reminded me, I probably haven¡¯t rejected him resolutely enough, that¡¯s why he¡¯s pushing his luck time and again.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s heart trembled slightly. ¡°Yangyang, whatever decision I make, it¡¯s after careful consideration.¡± Hearing her words, Mei Yangyang did not say anything further. She knew An Xiaoning¡¯s character extremely well. The car drove all the way to the airport within Wei Ni Estate. When it pulled over, An Xiaoning got off and immediately turned around to leave. Long Tianze hurriedly went forward to stop her. ¡°Big Sister, we¡¯re here already. Moreover, you¡¯re not alone, we¡¯re all here. What can he possibly do to you?¡± An Xiaoning sulked. ¡°You¡¯re in cahoots with him. If he really does anything to me, you¡¯ll pretend like you didn¡¯t see it.¡± ¡°No, I won¡¯t,¡± Long Tianze assured solemnly. ¡°I won¡¯t ever pretend like I didn¡¯t see it. If he does anything to you, I¡¯ll be sure to prepare my camera and capture it.¡± ¡°You, get lost[1: The original Chinese has the same pronunciation as ¡°roll over.¡±].¡± Long Tianze grinned cheekily. ¡°Later, I¡¯ll make Jin Qingyan roll over for you to see, alright?¡± With that, An Xiaoning was forced onto the ne by him. Jin Qingyan was lying down on the sofa with a neatly folded towel on his forehead, looking quite under the weather. An Xiaoning saw that he appeared sick, but did not probe. Long Tianze, however, took the initiative to exin, ¡°Qingyan¡¯s gone down with the flust night and had a fever this morning.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not resting at home when you have a fever and are only thinking about going out to have fun. What a sacrificial spirit you have, I¡¯ll definitely take pleasure in your misfortunes,¡± Ling Ciye said in a serious manner while reading his book. Jin Qingyan opened his eyes slightly, coincidentally meeting An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes. He simply sat up and ced the towel from his forehead on the table, his gazending at the front of her chest. Her pink, one-piece dress reached her knee and had an opening at her chest, vaguely revealing her cleavage. While it was not obvious at all, as someone with other desires towards her, his eyes kept shifting there, which led to other thoughts about it. For three months, he had not touched anyone. Ever since he had her the previous time, he did not get any other chance to get close to her. Firstly, she was getting so good at taekwondo and kickboxing that he would soon no longer be her match. Secondly, she was always dead-beat and injured after her trainings, he could not bear to do anything to her. What was that called? Sacrificing oneself for the sake of another¡¯s happiness. A considerate good citizen of S Nation. An Xiaoning was rather shocked by the predatory look in his eyes. She immediately looked at Ling Ciye and asked, ¡°Can I borrow your suit for awhile?¡± Ling Ciye¡¯s suit was originally ced at the side, so he passed it to her directly. ¡°Sure, just take it.¡± She had just covered herself with it when Jin Qingyan suddenly stood up and took the suit from her, throwing it back to Ling Ciye. ¡°There¡¯s one right here. You don¡¯t need to borrow it, you can just have it.¡± As he said that, he took off the suit he was wearing and put it on her. ¡°Wow, such narrow-mindedness.¡± Ling Ciye slowly went on, ¡°When we were young, Qingyan had a fever in the cold winter. He said he wanted to eat ice cream, so I went through difficulty and danger without hesitation just to send it to him. When he was eating it, I felt like eating it too, so we shared the same ice cream together. Now that we¡¯re all grown up, tsk tsk tsk. Everyone can see, this is how I¡¯m being treated.¡± Jin Qingyan raised his eyebrows. ¡°Why don¡¯t you talk about the time when you didn¡¯t have paper in the toilet cubicle, and it was me who especially went to pass you some.¡± Long Tianze shrugged. ¡°Do the two of you have nothing better to do than talk about things that happened decades ago?¡± ¡°...¡± The ne took off and headed to the nearby country H Nation. The destination was H Nation¡¯srgest resort. The extent of the resort¡¯s extravagance was simply unimaginable. It had everything you could possibly find, and those that could enter were either wealthy businessmen with multiple assets or those with special status. Ordinary people did not have the privilege of receiving such treatment. This resort was Jin Corporation¡¯s overseas estate. After flying in the air for a few hours, they finally arrived at the resort¡¯s very own airport. When the nended, An Xiaoning was still in a deep sleep. The others got off the ne first, while Jin Qingyan stared at her, his lips curling into a faint smile. Unable to restrain himself in that moment, he leaned towards her, his lips hovering around hers. An Xiaoning woke up in rm, frowning. ¡°Just a slip on my part and I have to be taken advantage of by you like that.¡± ¡°I wee you to take advantage of me anytime.¡± She sat up, realizing that the others were not around. ¡°Have we arrived?¡± ¡°Umm. Do you want to sleep for a while more?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t dare to sleep anymore. I might get eaten alive by you.¡± ¡°No, I won¡¯t bear to.¡± He smiled smugly, and for a moment, it did not appear like he was sick. ¡°Looks like your fever is not that serious after all. Let¡¯s get off.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± When they exited the ne cabin, the cold wind blew at them, and what came into sight was an eye-opening view of a castle. It was made up of many castles clustered together and was basically like an exclusive kingdom. The main management team of the resort stood before them in two rows and bowed down in a formal 90-degree angle at them. They were there to wee them. An Xiaoning stood there taking in this scene, feeling slightly shaken by it. She and Jin Qingyan went down together. ¡°Wee, Mr. Jin.¡± ¡°Umm. Help us to settle our luggage,¡± he ordered. ¡°Arrange the meal for us now.¡± ¡°Your meal has already been arranged properly, please follow me.¡± The head of the resort led them, while the others followed behind. ¡°We¡¯ve waited for you until my legs are aching already.¡± Long Tianze couldn¡¯t resist adding in, ¡°I thought you¡¯d have taken a longer time?¡± ¡°If they¡¯re aching, chop them off. They wouldn¡¯t ache anymore.¡± Long Tianze rolled his eyes. ¡°Heartless. But then, I remember thest time we were here was a few years back. Now that we¡¯re here again, everything feels different.¡± ¡°Umm...¡± Jin Qingyan said jokingly, ¡°Don¡¯t know if those chicks of yours are still here.¡± Long Tianze turned and looked at Mei Yangyang, then hurriedly hit Jin Qingyan¡¯s shoulder. ¡°What chicks, I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about. Such a grown man already, and you still like to spout nonsense.¡± Jin Qingyan was wearing sunsses and gave others a feeling of detachment. But under his sunsses, his gaze was always fixed at the woman ahead of him. However, the woman never turned back and continued to walk on her own casually. It was like she had forgotten that they came here together. ¡°It¡¯s so hot.¡± Long Tianze shrugged his shoulders. ¡°But I don¡¯t care, I¡¯m going to swim firstter.¡± Mei Yangyang chimed in, ¡°I want to swim too. It¡¯s really too hot. It feels like if I stand here the whole day, I¡¯ll melt into oil.¡± Long Tianze winked at her. ¡°Let¡¯s swim together. Get them to prepare a swim suit for you. Yangyang, you¡¯ll definitely look good in it.¡± Ling Ciye interrupted, ¡°He probably wishes that you wouldn¡¯t wear anything at all. Littlemb, be careful. Don¡¯t let the big bad wolf eat you up.¡± Mei Yangyang¡¯s face blushed and even her ears turned red as she acknowledged hisment softly in an embarrassed manner. Chapter 205 - I Love You, But I Dont Dare to Let You Know (6)

Chapter 205: I Love You, But I Don¡¯t Dare to Let You Know (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Don¡¯t listen to his nonsense, am I that kind of person? Our rtionship is pure and based on emotional connection.¡± Long Tianze pointed his index finger at Ling Ciye, giving him a warning look. Ling Ciye burst out intoughter and did not say anything further. As they were moving forward, a drunk man slowly appeared, heading in their direction. When he was about to collide with An Xiaoning, Jin Qingyan went forward rapidly and held back An Xiaoning¡¯s arm. Then, under her cold nce, he released his hand and said under his breath, ¡°Stay by my side.¡± The further they went inside, the more crowded it was. There were celebrities whom one only saw on television, big figures from themercial world, and those with high social status. Most of them were men; however, there were very few married couples. After all, it was a living paradise. Those wealthy and powerful men would not be satisfied just staying by their wives¡¯ side. For them, love was but a fleeting moment, only enjoyment was the true meaning of life. Seeing Jin Qingyan appear with a group of people, many eyes were fixed on their group. Even though they only looked from afar, the women in the castles were exhrated. Every one of those beauties wished they could kick aside An Xiaoning, who was beside him, and exchange positions with her. The more it was like this, the more Jin Qingyan held onto An Xiaoning¡¯s hand tightly in front of the crowd, not fearing the gossip they would spread about it. Only when they reached the private room in the restaurant did An Xiaoning shake off his hand and red at him ferociously. Jin Qingyan pretended like he did not see it and sat down immediately. The waiter served the dishes in a steady stream, with no break in between. The originally empty table was now filled up by a wide variety of dishes. It was not too exaggerated to describe the table of food as delicacies. Jin Qingyan put on disposable gloves and picked up a prawn, cing it in An Xiaoning¡¯s bowl after he was done peeling off the shell. However, she ced it back into his bowl right after, remarking coldly, ¡°Thanks, but I have my own hands.¡± Her cold, hard tone was extremely distant. She did not eat much and was the first to leave the dining table. ¡°I¡¯ll go out and take a walk.¡± Only after she¡¯d left the private room did An Xiaoning heave a sigh of relief. Now, everytime when she stayed within a close distance to Jin Qingyan, she felt a sense of suffocation. She walked down the corridor and headed east, looking around as she walked. After walking for awhile, she realized that she was lost. There were too many corridors and revolving doors; she no longer knew where she was at this point. An Xiaoning started walking back ording to her memory. But when she reached a crossroad, she became utterly confused. It was rather embarrassing to call for help, so she simply tried to find the private room they were dining in. She stopped in front of a room and looked at the room number. It was exactly the room they were dining in. An Xiaoning smiled in relief and knocked on the door. The person who opened the door was a man wearing sunsses, who immediately made way for her to enter. Once she entered, An Xiaoning felt her whole body stiffening. This was not a private room to dine in but a suite to sleep in. The scene before her shocked her particrly ¡ª a man was leaning against the bed frame, a cigarette in hand andpletely naked. A woman was kneeling on the bed, using her mouth to serve him. At the door stood a row of men in sunsses. ¡°Sorry, I entered the wrong room.¡± She turned and was about to leave when the man on the bed raised his eyebrows and said slowly, ¡°Stop there.¡± An Xiaoning still opened the door, but a man in sunsses grabbed onto her arm. She pursed her lips, kicking the abdomen of the man in sunsses. Her kick was strong and powerful, directly throwing the man a few meters away. She opened the door and ran out at the speed of light, with two men in sunsses chasing after her. At this moment, in the suite, the man on the bed sat up slowly and grabbed onto the woman¡¯s hair. ¡°Your mouth is as big as a catfish, get out.¡± The woman did not dare to say a word and immediately got down from the bed. She rapidly put on her clothes and got out of the room. The man got up and went into the bathroom, rinsing his body. He then came out in a bathrobe and picked up the wine ss on the table, standing before the window with a cold look in his eyes. Very soon, the two men in sunsses returned and reported to him, ¡°Master, she was really running too fast, we didn¡¯t catch up to her.¡± ¡°Useless things! You can¡¯t even catch a woman. Then again, it can¡¯t be med on the both of you. She¡¯s An Xiaoning after all. Not bad, not bad really. She¡¯s really trained her agility well.¡± ¡°Master, Jin Qingyan¡¯s here too. I wonder if he knows you¡¯re here.¡± ¡°It¡¯s his territory here, would he not know?¡± ¡°His ex-wife looks far better in real life than from pictures online...¡± He raised his neck, slowly gulping the wine down his throat. ¡°I heard that to win her back, Jin Qingyan is putting in a lot of effort, but it¡¯s not working out well. This woman is not easy.¡± ¡°She¡¯s really someone with character.¡± ¡ª An Xiaoning gasped for breath heavily as she leaned against the wall. Those two men were really good at chasing. Realizing that she should have called someone in the first ce, An Xiaoning took out her phone and made a call to Mei Yangyang. The one who picked up was Jin Qingyan instead. His face was slightly flushed, possibly because his fever had not subsidedpletely. He went to her without dy and forcefully dragged her away. The warmth of his palm made An Xiaoning silent. She thought that he was going to bring her to the room where everyone had gathered at. Unexpectedly, after entering, she realized that the room was empty with only the two of them. ¡°Where is everyone else?¡± ¡°They went to watch a performance, I¡¯ll bring you there in awhile.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you go?¡± ¡°I was afraid someone would get lost, so I was looking around for her.¡± Jin Qingyan relentlessly pinched her nose. ¡°Can¡¯t you stay by my side at all times? What if you get abducted again?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t get abducted easily, I¡¯m not that weak anymore.¡± ¡°You may have good skills now, but can you defend yourself from a bullet?¡± His face fell slightly. ¡°Being overly naive is your fatal weakness. Looks like it¡¯s a w you were born with. After all, you grew up on the mountains.¡± An Xiaoning turned speechless from his words. She remarked sulkily, ¡°Take me to find them.¡± ¡°Why? You¡¯re not used to being alone with me?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll deliberately not let you have your wish.¡± He raised his chin slightly. ¡°Stay with me while I have my drip.¡± An Xiaoning thought of the tangled up rtionship that they would have, then replied in a cold and harsh manner, ¡°Jin Qingyan, if I said that after our divorce, I was somewhat moved by your sincerity, it was because you did so many things for me and even wanted to die by drinking poison. But now, I hope this won¡¯t continue anymore. I don¡¯t love you at all, and I really hate your behaviour now, it¡¯s making me annoyed.¡± His slightly red eyes turned cold. ¡°What did you say?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear it all loud and clear? There¡¯s no need to ask again.¡± She looked directly at him with her almond-shaped eyes, with no tinge of avoidance at all. ¡°Jin Qingyan, let me tell you directly so that you won¡¯t think I have some lingering feelings for you. I won¡¯t ever love you. My character is like this. If I get a divorce, I¡¯ll make a clean cut once and for all.¡± His palm was clenched into a tight fist, and his whole figure gave off a cold feeling. But Jin Qingyan did not speak and just stared at her outright. An Xiaoning waspletely fearless and stared back at him. The silence in the room was so overwhelming that even the sound of a pin dropping would have been audible. Chapter 206 - I Love You, But I Dont Dare to Let You Know (7)

Chapter 206: I Love You, But I Don¡¯t Dare to Let You Know (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Is your heart made of metal?!¡± he shrieked. ¡°I thought my effort for the past few months would have somehow made you more soft-hearted towards me, An Xiaoning!¡± ¡°If I¡¯ve be more soft-hearted towards you, it¡¯s only because I take pity on you for being so persistent.¡± Jin Qingyan raised his hand, instantly flinging aside the stand for the IV drip bottle, and pushed her onto the bed. An Xiaoning turned her body over and went down from the other side of the bed. She had not gone more than two steps further before she was cornered by him. The two had an intense fight in the room. If it wasst time, An Xiaoning would not have been able to fight him back. But now, it was different. She could not possibly defeat himpletely, but at least, she was still able to defend herself. At the end of this war, the ultimate winner was still Jin Qingyan. He held back her hands and pushed her onto the bed, panting furiously. ¡°You think I¡¯ve not trained before?¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan, get your hands off me!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been too nice to youst time, right? Okay, since you won¡¯t yield to the soft approach, then I¡¯ll go hard on you from here on.¡± Jin Qingyan thought of her words just now and was still fuming with anger. He pulled up the end of her skirt, revealing her white underwear. He then gave her a p. ¡°You don¡¯t love me, right? Take a p from me.¡± Pa! ¡°For angering me, two more ps for you.¡± Pa! Pa! ¡°For not listening to me, three more ps for you.¡± Pa! Pa! Pa! An Xiaoning bore with the pain and did not make a noise, until she was bitten by him. ¡°Ouch!¡± Her shoulder was numb with pain, and it hurt so much she wished she could p him a few times. ¡°Jin Qingyan, are you a pervert?!¡± ¡°Since you said that, then I should probably y my role!¡± Right after, he ripped her skirt off her with so much force that it was torn. An Xiaoning struggled desperately, to no avail. Why is he so strong, was he evolved from a bear? Jin Qingyan¡¯s anger continued to rise within him. He turned her over, his arms raised to her head. One hand was holding it down while the other was loosening the tie on his neck, which he then wrapped around her wrists to restrain them. ¡°Jin Qingyan!¡± ¡°An Xiaoning!¡± With his eyes reddened, he roared hysterically, ¡°Today, I¡¯ll let you know what sex is!¡± She was about to go mad with anger because of this crazy man. The intensity of his breath surrounded herpletely as he continued to bite every inch of her skin. An Xiaoning felt like she was in a frying pan with hot oil, suffering pure torture. She took the chance and bit him back. It was a long and hard bite, one out of anger and desperation. Even if Jin Qingyan felt it was painful, he did not express it at all. After she rxed her bite, he chuckled. ¡°My turn.¡± ¡°Ouch!¡± It was yet another bite, so painful that her teeth hurt from being clenched. This bastard! If she had known, she would have bit off his meat! With no prelude or warning beforehand, he just went straight to it. An Xiaoning was messed up pretty badly by him this time. Which was why she became more firm on her stand. ¡°Even if you do this, it¡¯ll have no use. It¡¯ll only make me more disgusted with you!¡± ¡°So be it. Since my soft approach on you doesn¡¯t work, then at least this way, I get to enjoy myself!¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan, get lost!¡± No matter how she scolded him and screamed for him to get lost, he did not say another word. He merely worked hard at what he was doing, allowing her to feel the pleasure of the sensation. But it was torturous, absolutely torturous for her. An Xiaoning did not want to say anything further; her throat was already slightly hoarse. When it ended, Jin Qingyan was about to wipe himself clean when she broke free of the tie wrapped around her wrists and kicked his face brutally. The kick sent Jin Qingyan off the bed with a loud thud. Jin Qingyan was caught off guard and fell onto the floor. Yet, he was able to recover instantly and stand up. With one of them standing on the floor and the other standing on the bed, the two were caught in a deadly situation as they exchanged looks with one another. An Xiaoning¡¯s chest was fuming with anger. ¡°Jin Qingyan, you¡¯ve ruffled my feathers.¡± ¡°So what?¡± She narrowed her eyes and grabbed onto the tie, whipping it at him as she leaped towards him. Jin Qingyan could not dodge in time and was immediately pushed down. He let out a soft groan and almost passed out as she sat at an unfortunate position on him, which almost handicapped him. Right after, Jin Qingyan did not expect that An Xiaoning, who was petite in size, started beating him. Unexpectedly, he did not fight back. Only when she was done did he raise his eyebrows. ¡°You¡¯re taking it out on me?¡± ¡°No!¡± ¡°Even so, I won¡¯t let you continue hitting me.¡± Jin Qingyan smiled vaguely, as if he had a sudden change of character. ¡°Please remember that in the future, other than using you to release my biological needs, I won¡¯t seek you out anymore.¡± ¡°Despicable!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m that despicable. From now on, I¡¯ll be even more despicable. Now, you can go!¡± An Xiaoning immediately put on his clothes, but he snatched them back. ¡°Why¡¯re you wearing my clothes, just go out naked.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you go out naked?¡± She retorted and took the covers on the bed and wrapped it around her, making it look like a dress. Finally, she red furiously at Jin Qingyan and went out in an upright manner. Jin Qingyan watched as she walked out, almost getting a heart attack from the fury within him. Lying on the bed, he put on his clothes and called for the doctor to give him the IV drip. While everyone else was having fun, he was having an IV drip here. Sure enough, he was suffering by himself while others were enjoying themselves. However, he could not just suffer alone like that. He took the inte on the table and told the general manager, ¡°Get a bunch of young and pretty girls here to dance right now.¡± ¡°Yes, Mr. Jin.¡± ¡ª After An Xiaoning called Mei Yangyang, she bought her a dress, and the two sat on the merry-go-round while eating ice cream. ¡°Sis, what¡¯s with your neck?¡± ¡°Got bitten by a dog,¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s answer made things clear to Mei Yangyang immediately. ¡°Actually, I wanted to go and fetch you. But Master Jin was beside me then, so he went immediately and I didn¡¯t go.¡± ¡°Yangyang, let¡¯s take the chance now and return home, shall we?¡± ¡°But, Sis, we didn¡¯te here with our passports, how do we go home?¡± That was a very serious question! An Xiaoning came down from the merry-go-round. ¡°Let¡¯s go back and rest, I¡¯m so tired.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Mei Yangyang held onto her arm and grinned. ¡°Sis, you weren¡¯t there, but today we watched a demon performance. Hahaha, it really enriched my experience.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not even human, how would it enrich your experience?¡± ¡°At night, I¡¯ll bring you to see some new performances, there¡¯s more at night.¡± Mei Yangyang¡¯s eyes scanned the surroundings. ¡°It¡¯s really luxurious here, it¡¯s a world for the rich.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± An Xiaoning replied as she walked on weakly, with no strength left within her. Once they reached the fountain, they saw a group of attractive girls all dressed up seductively and heading towards the revolving door. The girls seemed really overwhelmed as they talked while walking. ¡°Is it really Mr. Jin? It¡¯s really wonderful, we¡¯ll have a chance to get near to him.¡± ¡°Yes, yes. He made the call to the general manager himself to get us to go there!¡± Chapter 207 - I Love You, But I Dont Dare to Let You Know (8)

Chapter 207: I Love You, But I Don¡¯t Dare to Let You Know (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Sisters, we need to do our best to make Mr. Jin happy, okay?¡± ¡°Of course, there¡¯s no need to even say this.¡± ¡°...¡± Mei Yangyang and An Xiaoning stopped in their tracks, taking in every word of the conversation they had heard. ¡°Sis...¡± Mei Yangyang was slightly afraid of saying anything. ¡°Let¡¯s go back to our room and rest.¡± An Xiaoning pretended like she had not heard anything and returned to the suite with her. An Xiaoning went to bathe while Mei Yangyang made a video call to Xu Jingwen and Zhang Li to check on the ounts with them. While she bathed, An Xiaoning felt her mood worsening. Standing under the shower head, the warm water continued to rinse her body and she continued to use her fingers to scrub herself. She bent down, looking at the flow of the water, her eyes in a mist. Even though she continued to tell herself every minute and every second of the day that there was no future with him, her body and the thoughts deep within her were honest. There was no way to lie against them. Her tears streamed down her face continuously, with the conversation of those girls just now reying in her head. He was taking revenge on her. She was very clear about this. She pushed back her wet hair and stood up, continuing her bath. After she came out of the bathroom, An Xiaoningy down on the bed, not wanting to move at all. It was like her body was on fire. Mei Yangyang shut down herptop andy down beside her, saying gently, ¡°Sis, don¡¯t think so much about it. Aren¡¯t you tired? You should close your eyes and get some sleep.¡± ¡°Umm.¡± She slowly shut her eyes. She slept for a few hours just like that. When she woke up, her energy was replenished and she felt rejuvenated. Mei Yangyang was sitting on the bed while watching television, and seeing that she had woken up, she cheered merrily, ¡°Sis, you¡¯re awake, let¡¯s go and eat something! Then after that, we¡¯ll go shopping and then watch a performance together. We¡¯ll be going for our overseas training the day after already, then we¡¯ll be preupied for a few months. Let¡¯s enjoy ourselves while we can!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± An Xiaoning sat up and pinned up her hair into a bun, remarking, ¡°Luckily I brought my credit card. Otherwise, we wouldn¡¯t be able to have fun. Let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°Umm!¡± The two left spontaneously and went out of their room, going out to find food. They did not care about the others, who were probably having fun together, and only focused on spending their time together. They first went to eat some delicacies, then went to shop after they¡¯d had their fill. The resort had two streets that sold an abundance of products, but they were also priced rather high. However, An Xiaoning did not worry about that. She had money and was willing to spend it. In a clothing store, she had her eyes on an especially sexy short dress. She did not bother to negotiate for a lower price and bought it without hesitation. The two also bought a swimsuit each. They intended to go for a swim after shopping, and then watch a performance thereafter. They did not bring any cosmetics when they came, but seeing how the women who walked past them were dolled up in exquisite makeup, An Xiaoning casually bought a set of cosmetics and skincare products. One set of each was enough for Mei Yangyang and her to share. After an exciting round of shopping, they went back to their room. Changing into their swimsuits and putting on their hats and sunsses, the two went out again together. Mei Yangyang was slightly shy. Although she was wearing a swimsuit with an umbre skirt that reached her thigh, which wasn¡¯t as sexy as An Xiaoning¡¯s, she still couldn¡¯t help but feel embarrassed. An Xiaoning, on the other hand, was rtively calmer. Everywhere they went, there were other women in simr outfits who were walking around. Since they were all wearing the same thing, there was nothing to be shy about. Although she was wrapped in a thin fabric, it was only to cover the bite mark on her. With their hats and sunsses on, nobody could recognize the both of them. The two avoided the crowded ces and chose a rtively more secluded spot. Swimming by themselves in a corner, they were absolutely having fun. At the peak of their excitement, Long Tianze and Ling Ciye came marching in. ¡°I say, have the two of you considered our feelings? We were looking all over for the both of you. If we didn¡¯t take a look at the surveince cameras, we wouldn¡¯t have found you! What if you two got abducted!¡± Long Tianzeined rather grudgingly, ¡°Ms. An, you¡¯ve sessfully abducted my girlfriend!¡± An Xiaoning muttered, ¡°She has her own legs, how did I abduct her?¡± Long Tianze immediately took off his jeans, revealing his boxers. Mei Yangyang took one look and instantly screamed, looking elsewhere. The other three burst out intoughter. Long Tianze went into the pool headfirst, then resurfaced and whistled at Ling Ciye, who was still onnd. ¡°Why are you taking so long? Get in.¡± Ling Ciye, who was lying down on a sun lounger, replied, ¡°You guys go ahead, I¡¯m not joining.¡± Long Tianze swam towards Mei Yangyang andughed in an evil way. ¡°Little sheep, I¡¯ming!¡± ¡°Ya!¡± Mei Yangyang shrieked as she hurriedly swam towards another side. As she watched the two y around, An Xiaoning was in a great mood. The sky slowly turned darker and paved its way for a pitch-ck night sky. The three swam in the pool for more than an hour beforeing out. Long Tianze¡¯s eyes were glowing as he looked at Mei Yangyang. ¡°When did you buy this swimsuit?¡± ¡°Before we came to swim.¡± ¡°Not bad.¡± An Xiaoning wrapped the thin fabric around her and put on her shoes. ¡°We¡¯re going to watch a performanceter. If you guys are hungry, you can go and eat. We¡¯re going back to change first.¡± ¡°Go and change, we¡¯ll wait for you guys.¡± Long Tianze went forward and held onto Mei Yangyang¡¯s hand, his handsome face revealing his other desires. ¡°Yangyang...¡± Mei Yangyang answered, ¡°What?¡± ¡°That... erm... can you apany me to watch the stars and moon at night?¡± Ling Ciye could not help but remark, ¡°What he really means is, sleep with him tonight.¡± ¡°Get lost...¡± Long Tianze pouted his lips. ¡°Am I such a shallow person?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± He showed a righteous look on his face. Mei Yangyang rejected him point-nk. ¡°There are no stars or moon to see at night. Why do I feel that the weather tomorrow will be bad?¡± ¡°...¡± Long Tianze found a way out for himself. ¡°Umm, I think so too.¡± Ling Ciye was about to sustain internal injuries from suppressing hisughter. He really wanted tough very badly. Having such a hrious friend, wasn¡¯t it a form of torture?! An Xiaoning and Mei Yangyang returned to their room to change. The men, on the other hand, waited for them on the sofa in the lounge. Long Tianze said idly, ¡°Jin Qingyan is so boring. He watched some girls dance for a whole afternoon, and he isn¡¯t bored by it.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s take the time now to go and see him. The girls need to change and put on makeup, I reckon they¡¯ll take at least half an hour.¡± Long Tianze pointed his index finger at him as he broke into a wide grin. ¡°I must say, you still know more about women. Let¡¯s go then.¡± When they got to Jin Qingyan¡¯s room, the women in the room werepletely gone. Jin Qingyan was asleep on the bed. ¡°We¡¯re going to eat then watch a performance, do you want to go?¡± ¡°...¡± He remained motionless. ¡°We just came back from swimming with Ms. An and Yangyang. Ms. An was dressed way too sexily.¡± ¡°...¡± He slowly started to open his eyes. Long Tianze heartily patted his face. ¡°Your fever has long subsided, why¡¯re you still in such a state? Get up now.¡± Chapter 208 - I Love You, But I Don’t Dare to Let You Know (9)

Chapter 208: I Love You, But I Don¡¯t Dare to Let You Know (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyan sat up, then got down from the bed and changed. His face still did not look good, but he was in a rtively better condition. When An Xiaoning and Mei Yangyang came out of their room together, the three waiting at the door were taken aback. Long Tianze looked at the two before him and could not contain himself, letting out an exmation before pping. ¡°Both of you look great!¡± Ling Ciye said jokingly, ¡°I didn¡¯te with a female partner, but I guess I have a chance to feast my eyes.¡± Jin Qingyan looked at the new short dress she wore; she looked absolutely sexy in it. Maybe because of the mark he left on her neck, he noticed that her neck was wrapped in a scarf, which gave her a different air. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± The five went out and headed for a meal first. An Xiaoning and Mei Yangyang were not very hungry but still ate a little, in case they would feel hungry at night. They did not eat in a private room but ate directly at the hall of the restaurant. Long Tianze poked Jin Qingyan¡¯s arm as he asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t that Xi Bi?¡± Jin Qingyan looked up and nced over. ¡°I¡¯d seen him long ago.¡± An Xiaoning looked over too and froze, realizing that the person Long Tianze was referring to was the man on the bed she had identally chanced upon earlier. ¡°Tianze, what does he do?¡± ¡°He¡¯s the head of the SU Organisation, not a good guy,¡± Long Tianzemented under his breath. ¡°I¡¯ve seen him today.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s words justnded when Jin Qingyan inquired, ¡°Where did you see him?¡± ¡°When I went out alone just now and got lost. I went into a room which looked exactly the same and had the same room number. But it turns out, it wasn¡¯t the same room we ate in but his suite.¡± ¡°Ms. An, there¡¯re many differentyouts here. There are plenty of rooms that look exactly the same and with the same room number.¡± Long Tianze continued to probe, ¡°You went into his room?¡± ¡°Umm, I went in, and he was...¡± An Xiaoning thought of the scene and was slightly embarrassed, so she simply did not mention it. ¡°I¡¯d just gone in when I realized something was not quite right. When I wanted to go out, his men stopped me. I kicked one of the guards and ran out. The guards continued to chase me, but they eventually could not catch up.¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s expression was cold. ¡°If they¡¯d caught up with you, you¡¯d have been in for it.¡± ¡°That would have been caused by you anyway. If you didn¡¯t force me toe here, nothing would¡¯ve happened.¡± ¡°Still talking back?¡± The anxiety and worry beneath his eyes were not obvious. An Xiaoning unknowingly looked towards Xi Bi¡¯s direction. She somehow felt that he knew her and that his gaze was almost predatory, which made her rather annoyed. After eating, the five went to watch a performance. The resort at night appeared even more crowded and lively. The male performers on stage who dressed like female demons acted even more graceful than women. They all wore smiles on their faces as they yed their strengths, performing immactely. An Xiaoning watched the group of special performers on stage and felt it was really not easy for them. Everyone had their own difficulties in their lives, and no one had it easier than others. The rich had their own problems, and the poor had their own worries too. But they still deserved a round of apuse. As An Xiaoning watched from the audience seat, a bold performer invited her on stage to dance with them. Jin Qingyan¡¯s face turned dark instantly. He especially disliked watching her dance in a seductive dress under the eyes of so many others. It was a right that he solely had! He wanted to burst out in anger, but Long Tianze reminded him, ¡°Don¡¯t embarrass yourself, okay? There are so many people around who know you, especially Xi Bi.¡± Jin Qingyan had no choice but to bear it, watching as she was on stage in her exquisite makeup and radiant smile, giving off that unique air that she had. The apuse that came was endless. Everyone was in the high spirits of a warm summer day. Only Jin Qingyan seemed to be in the middle of a cold, harsh winter. Once the song ended, the performers seemed to want An Xiaoning to continue, but Jin Qingyan went forward and forcefully dragged her off the stage. ¡°Just try going up there again.¡± ¡°You have no right to butt in.¡± ¡°Yes, I have no right to care.¡± He leaned closer to her ear and whispered, ¡°If you dare to go up, I¡¯d dare to go up there and kill you too. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can try.¡± Despite his domineering tone, An Xiaoning rebutted, ¡°It seems you¡¯re dying to fight me in public. Aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°If you dare, then go up there again.¡± He retracted his gaze. The two did not give in, going back and forth in their argument and treating the other three around them as transparent. ¡°I¡¯ll go and get a bottle of water.¡± An Xiaoning got up. Jin Qingyan followed behind her thereafter and said, ¡°I¡¯ll bring you there.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± Jin Qingyan caught up with her. ¡°Hmph, women always like to say no on the surface but their bodies never lie.¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan, I don¡¯t need you to do things to please me. Go and find those young sexy chicks of yours, they need your love more. I wish you sess with them in advance.¡± He narrowed his eyes. She found out about it? ¡°You¡¯re jealous?¡± ¡°Jealous, my foot.¡± She walked over to the store and bought two bottles of water. ¡°You said you don¡¯t like me, but I think you like me so much, you just won¡¯t admit it.¡± ¡°I think you¡¯re incurably sick.¡± She sneered. ¡°I¡¯mpletely recovered now, I¡¯m not sick.¡± Going back to the performance area, An Xiaoning passed a bottle to Mei Yangyang and opened the other, gulping down water. When they returned to rest, it was past 11 pm. An Xiaoning and Mei Yangyang both removed their makeup. After washing their faces, they watched a movie together with their hair let down. Suddenly, the lights in the room went out. A resort like that could not possibly have a ckout, unless there was something wrong. The two were highly vignt, and An Xiaoning immediately used her phone to call Jin Qingyan as Mei Yangyang¡¯s phone was charging and she could not make a call immediately. A stimting smell suddenly filled up the air, so An Xiaoning hurriedly passed a pillow to Mei Yangyang and took one for herself, using it to cover their noses. The two did not wear their shoes and moved around the room rapidly. All of a sudden, there came the sound of footsteps approaching their door. Two minutester, the room door was actually forced open. Then came the sound of footsteps entering, and it was more than one person. Three shadows appeared in the room, all holding onto a torch. The two shadows approached the bed, while one stood at the door. Realizing to their surprise that there was no one on the bed, the two had yet to make a sound when they were kicked to the ground by Mei Yangyang and An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning hurriedly took out a strap from her bag, whipping it forward with all her strength. The two who¡¯d barely crawled up were in extreme pain, with one of them tangled up in the strap. And so, An Xiaoning started drawing it at the other. The person at the door said something into his walkie talkie, and the lights that originally went out came back again. The three men went forward together, and at this moment, An Xiaoning felt that it was a good thing she made Mei Yangyang join the boot camp with her. Otherwise, it would have been her against the three, and Mei Yangyang would have been defenseless and may have even be a bargaining chip. Now it was great, as the two easily beat up the men, the three of them being no match for them at all. The three were not filled up with bruises, but the juices in their heads were almost blown out. Theypletely did not expect that An Xiaoning and Mei Yangyang, who looked slender and petite, were full of strength all over and were merciless with every blow they dealt. Chapter 209 - I Love You, But I Dont Dare to Let You Know (10)

Chapter 209: I Love You, But I Don¡¯t Dare to Let You Know (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios While the three were originally there to take An Xiaoning away, they were instead beaten up by An Xiaoning and Mei Yangyang to the point that they were crawling out, frightened out of their wits. After the fight was over, the room was in aplete mess. An Xiaoning gulped down a whole ss of water and finally looked at the time. It was already ten minutes since she had called Jin Qingyan. She and Mei Yangyang changed their clothes and went to his room to find him. While Jin Qingyan had seen her calling him, there was something inside him that had made him decided not to pick up. He thought that she would call again, but unexpectedly, she didn¡¯t. In these few minutes, he thought about making a call to her, but he eventually did not. When he heard the doorbell, he went to open the door and immediately remarked, ¡°I didn¡¯t pick up your call, so you came to find me because you couldn¡¯t wait?¡± An Xiaoning replied incredulously, ¡°I called you just now to tell you that we were being attacked. If we didn¡¯t learn self-defense, you and Long Tianze would be searching high and low for us now.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s face turned serious. ¡°It was Xi Bi¡¯s men. Three of his men came, I¡¯ve seen them before.¡± Jin Qingyan immediately turned and headed into his room, calling the general manager to retrieve the surveince cameras. He also asked which room Xi Bi was in, but the general manager said that Xi Bi had checked out of his room half an hour ago and had already left the resort. It was apparent that he was well prepared. After changing to a new room, An Xiaoning and Mei Yangyang were no longer in the mood to sleep. They started to search for more information on Xi Bi online. After they were done reading up on him, the look on their faces grew darker. Xi Bi was 29 years old and the head of the SU Organization. Due to his deep background and his extreme capabilities, he had always gotten funding from international merchants to back him up, but this didn¡¯t work in S Nation. It was mainly because Jin Qingyan did not like his ways and looked down on him. This person was cruel and merciless, and was well known for his boldness. He had done many things, which made others tremble in fear just from hearing them. Also, after analyzing the things which he had done, one would gain some understanding of a person like him. An Xiaoning did not know why he had sent men to capture her. Whether it was because of Jin Qingyan or other motives, she had no idea. However, she felt that he would be back again. This made her more guarded against him inside. On this night, the two did not sleep well. But there was only one day left to enjoy at the resort. The group intended to return to S Nation on the afternoon of the second day. Thus, after having lunch, they decided to surf and enjoy the nearby scenery on a yacht. The weather was cloudy, which made it extra refreshing. An Xiaoning stood leaning against the railing, a ss of champagne in hand. Her long hair spread over her shoulder, and the light breeze blew at her; it was especiallyfortable and pleasing. Just when she was admiring the scenery, she was trapped by two armsing from behind, and the strong scent of a man drifted towards her. Even without turning back, she already knew who it was. He did not speak either and only continued to stay in that position, which seemed somewhat like an embrace. An Xiaoning swirled the ss of champagne in her hand and tilted the ss, allowing the mouth of the ss to face the direction behind her and directly sshing it at him. Jin Qingyan dodged just in time to miss the champagne sshing into his face. He kissed her ear and An Xiaoning quivered slightly before turning to look at him resentfully. ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not.¡± She bent down and sessfully crawled out from the hole between his arm and body, heading down the stairs without looking back. The corner of Jin Qingyan¡¯s lips curled slightly, and he seemed a little dejected from the look in his eyes. ¡ª Jin Qingyue was sessfully two months pregnant. Shi Shaochuan was especially nice to her. Whatever she wanted to eat or wear and anything that she desired, he bought it for her immediately without hesitation. As long as Jin Qingyue requested for it, Shi Shaochuan did his utmost best to fulfill it. At this point, Jin Qingyue was ten pounds heavier than she was when she got married. She weighed around 100 pounds when they had gotten married, and now she was around 110 pounds heavy. However, she did not intend to go dieting. After all, she had a child in her stomach now, and she intended to put it first. Shi Shaochuan went home to apany her right after work and basically rejected all social meetings. Day after day passed, and this hadsted for more than two months already. Ever since Jin Qingyue became pregnant, the doctor had been advising them to have intercourse only after the first three months had passed as the pregnancy was not stable yet and it was not advisable to take that risk. For the sake of having someone to carry on the Shi family, Shi Shaochuan strictly abided by this. For two whole months, he did not touch her at all. When she needed something, he did his all to settle it. This made Jin Qingyue extremely touched. She also felt that Shi Shaochuan loved her a great deal. In the afternoon, Jin Qingyue went back to her family home. Seeing that she had not been back for some time and was also pregnant, Mrs. Jin agreed to make her anything she wanted to eat. Even her tone was much gentler and full of motherly love for her. Such a feeling of being loved and cherished made Jin Qingyue bask in this enjoyment. ¡°Mother, I want to eat the green bean pastry and pickled fish you make.¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll make anything for you.¡± Mrs. Jin grinned as she got up and headed to the kitchen, putting on an apron. Jin Qingyue satfortably on the sofa, with her phone ced properly in front of her. Looking at thetest new report, she hurriedly put up her shoes and ran to the kitchen asking, ¡°Mother, my brother, Long Tianze, and An Xiaoning went to H Nation¡¯s resort for a holiday.¡± Mrs. Jin was taken aback, but sheter replied, ¡°So what, let him be.¡± ¡°Look at this news, it says that it¡¯s spected that Brother and An Xiaoning have gotten back together.¡± Jin Qingyue pointed to the phone screen to show her. ¡°I think there¡¯s a high chance of this. Otherwise, why would they go to a resort together?¡± However, Mrs. Jin answered instead, ¡°I don¡¯t think so. If they¡¯d gotten back together, your brother would have said something.¡± ¡°They¡¯d better not get back together,¡± Jin Qingyue muttered. ¡°An Xiaoning must hate us to the core: you, Father, and me. If she bes my sister-inw again, who can guarantee that she won¡¯t take revenge on the two of you when you grow older?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t care about them, thinking about them makes me angry. Let your brother settle it himself. Has Shaochuan been home on time recently?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Jin Qingyue¡¯s face glowed with happiness as she talked about this. ¡°Shaochuan cares a lot about me, Mother. He gets off work at 5:30 pm, thenes back before 6 pm for sure. When hees back, he doesn¡¯t go anywhere else but stays to apany me. Thinking about what An Xiaoning said makes me angry. I don¡¯t deny that she¡¯s capable, but not everything she says ispletely right either. At least it¡¯s proven that I¡¯m really lucky to have married Shaochuan.¡± ¡°We have your best interests in mind anyway. Alright, as long as you know that you¡¯re happy, that¡¯s fine. If he¡¯s still this good in the future, then Mother would think you have married the right man. Also, let me tell you, when women are pregnant, it¡¯s the easiest time for men go out to find other women. You better keep a close eye on him.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I already say? Shaochuanes home on time everyday, when would he have the time to find other women?¡± Mrs. Jin snapped, ¡°It¡¯s like that now, but haven¡¯t you been pregnant for only around two months? I meant in the future.¡± ¡°Umm, alright. I get it, Mother.¡± She shed an unconcerned smile. ¡°Your daughter¡¯s charm is very powerful, okay?¡± ¡°A leopard never changes its spots. I¡¯m still very worried for you.¡± ¡°Mother, can¡¯t you change your impression of Shaochuan? He¡¯s a different man from who he was.¡± Seeing her defensive manner, Mrs. Jin did not say anything further. Chapter 210 - I Love You, But I Don’t Dare to Let You Know (11)

Chapter 210: I Love You, But I Don¡¯t Dare to Let You Know (11)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The three who were given the missionst night were now hanging upside down on the wall. Xi Bi¡¯s eyes had no tinge of warmth at all. With a scorching iron in hand, he looked at the three shaking in fear before him, his tone cold as ice. ¡°What now, Jin Qingyan already knows that I did it. What should I do to you three useless things?¡± ¡°Master, please spare us. We really didn¡¯t expect that An Xiaoning and her friend were so skilled. You said she trained for around three months, but it didn¡¯t seem like it at all. It felt like she trained for a few years already, we¡¯ve never met a match like that.¡± Xi Bi moved closer to him slowly,pletely ignoring the sweat trickling down his face due to fear. ¡°Don¡¯t find such excuses. If you can¡¯t beat them, it just means that all of you are useless. What is the use of keeping such people? You didn¡¯t aplish anything but only posed as a hindrance, and you didn¡¯t take your own life but dared to appear right in front of me again. You¡¯re simply asking for death.¡± As he finished speaking, the piece of scorching iron was pressed onto the man¡¯s face. ¡°Ah!!!¡± The shrill howls sounded throughout the entire basement. The scorching iron made the man¡¯s face badly mutted instantly. Due to the pain, he immediately died from passing out. The other two men were in absolute fear and shaking terribly. Xi Bi threw the scorching iron into the coal and looked at his assistant beside him. ¡°Get rid of all three of them, I don¡¯t want useless things.¡± With that, he left the basement. He reached out and put on his watch which was on the table. Thereafter, the door opened. He looked up and saw Annie, who had a staggeringly beautiful figure, walking in. She looked at him cheerily and asked, ¡°Who made you upset again?¡± ¡°You want to know?¡± He smirked. ¡°I won¡¯t tell you then.¡± The smile on Annie¡¯s face remained. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t like me anymore?¡± Without waiting for Xi Bi to answer, she kneeled down and reached out to unbuckle his belt. Xi Bi looked down at her. ¡°If Byron were to know that his ex-wife despised him for ying with men but is offering her services to me like a loyal dog, I wonder if he would go mad.¡± Maybe because she was used to hearing such nasty words from him, Annie did not take it to heart. ¡°Don¡¯t mention him. Aspared to him, I still think you are more like what a man should be. At least you don¡¯t lie. If you like or dislike something, you show it. You¡¯re brutally direct.¡± Xi Bi kicked her aside instantly. ¡°Get lost now, I have something to do.¡± Annie was tripped over, butter stood up slowly. ¡°Master, did you not have a good time during your stay at H Nation¡¯s resort?¡± ¡°Yes, I didn¡¯t have a good time indeed. So don¡¯t appear before me during this while, or else I won¡¯t be held responsible if I hit you to death.¡± Annie did not dare to stop him anymore. Only after a while did she go out and inquired from his assistant, ¡°Where is Master going now?¡± ¡°Overseas.¡± ¡°For what?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know, we wouldn¡¯t dare to ask further about Master¡¯s affairs.¡± Annie probed, ¡°Then how long will he be gone?¡± ¡°For a pretty long time, I heard.¡± Annie seemed to be deep in thought. ¡ª An Xiaoning and Mei Yangyang returned to the training boot camp. Under the leadership of Chen Xu, they went along with other members to S Nation¡¯s K City for their deep sea training. The training was due tost for half a month, while they would rock climb for another half a month. Without Jin Qingyan¡¯s harassment, An Xiaoning felt exceptionally peaceful during the period of training. Out of all the members, she was the most hardworking, but Mei Yangyang wasparable too. The incident at the resort had also taught her the importance of knowing self-defense as a female. That was because in society, men and women were never equal, and women were in a weaker position. It was the most basic fact. A basic requirement for deep sea training was to ovee a fear of deep waters and develop strong swimming skills. Training overseas was different from training in the facilities within the boot camp. The conditions there were not as good. An Xiaoning did not think it was that bad as she grew up on the mountains and it could not have possiblypared to the harsh conditions then. Perhaps because she did not have to see Jin Qingyan, An Xiaoning felt that the tough days passed incredibly fast. Day after day passed. Even though Jin Qingyan would not be able toe, and Lin Mingxi would not get to see him, she still continued to persevere every day. Maybe because she did not want to lose to An Xiaoning, no matter how many times An Xiaoning trained every day, she would do the same. It was to the point that Chen Xu could not help but remark, ¡°If Lin Mingxi can hang in there until the veryst day, Ms. An, you¡¯ll have yed an important role in it.¡± ¡°Right, I guess I must take some credit.¡± Lin Mingxi naturally refused to admit it. ¡°I train for myself, what has it got to do with her?¡± An Xiaoning stuck out her tongue at her. ¡°Of course, it has nothing to do with me, Ms. Lin.¡± For more than one month, the two did not get along harmoniously. They were obviously averse to each other but had to have a verbal battle every day. It was soon July and thest day of training. The following day, they would all return to A City. When the training ended, everyone gathered together to celebrate. Everyone was exhausted, apart from the two coaches and Jin Nana, who had withdrawn and did not take part in the training. ¡°Now that it¡¯s ended, everyone should say a few heartfelt words. Da Long and Xiao Long, tell us why both of you had wanted to join the devil training camp.¡± Chen Xu raised his ss. Everyone clinked their sses. Da Long was more extroverted while Xiao Long was on the shy side. ¡°My brother and I joined the devil training camp mainly because my younger brother is too shy and can¡¯t persevere in anything he does. Thus, my parents and I discussed and we signed up for this. In the end, it has been pretty good. He and I can persevere until now, it means that he has challenged himself.¡± Everyone apuded, and Jin Shan asked Lin Mingxi, ¡°How about you?¡± ¡°Me? I¡¯m just here to y.¡± Lin Mingxi saw the look of doubt on everyone¡¯s faces andughed. ¡°I came because Jin Qingyan was here. But unexpectedly, I could survive ¡¯til the end. It wasn¡¯t too bad.¡± When it came to An Xiaoning and Mei Yangyang, An Xiaoning took the initiative to say, ¡°Yangyang was brought here by me, to apany me in a way. I came to learn how to protect myself, that¡¯s all.¡± When it was Shi Bin¡¯s turn, the usually silent man suddenly said something that made everyone speechless. ¡°I came because I was beaten by my ex-wife¡¯s lover. I¡¯ve never beaten someone back, so I came here.¡± ¡°...¡± Lin Mingxi almost choked. ¡°You¡¯re already so rich, your ex-wife still went to look for a lover?¡± ¡°Being rich and finding another lover are not rted.¡± He raised his ss and swallowed it in one gulp. After a moment of awkward silence, everyone started raising their sses again. After having dinner and drinking, everyone went to rest. An Xiaoning slept alone in one room. Before she slept, she was still thinking about whether she would start getting harassed by someone again after returning to A City the following morning. In her sleep, she felt someone touching her face. After waking up in shock, she realized that the sensation still felt extremely real and that it was not a hallucination she had after drinking. In those moments, a hand was really touching her face. Could it be that Jin Qingyan had sneaked in at this time of night? An Xiaoning slowly opened her eyes. The room was inplete darkness as it was past midnight already. She looked at the figure before the bed and checked multiple times before realizing in rm that the person was not Jin Qingyan! Chapter 211 - I Love You, But I Don’t Dare to Let You Know (12)

Chapter 211: I Love You, But I Don¡¯t Dare to Let You Know (12)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning sobered up and sat up straight immediately. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± She reached a hand out to switch on the lights, only to see a man sitting beside her, staring at her with a creepy smirk. The look in his eyes gave her the chills. It was none other than Xi Bi. It was indeed rather unsettling to see him by her bedside out of the blue. ¡°Long time no see, An Xiaoning,¡± he said with a strong S Nation ent, which he had managed to master well. ¡°Is there a need for us to meet frequently? Mr. Xi, may I ask why you showed up by my bed and caressed my face at such ate hour?¡± she said coldly. ¡°I¡¯ve been observing you for more than a month,¡± he said with a smile, which seemed a little forced, though it did not appear malicious. ¡°What were you observing me for? I merely entered your room by mistake, I don¡¯t know you at all,¡± An Xiaoning said, not letting her guard down. ¡°It may have been the first time you saw me at the resort, but... I¡¯ve already known you long ago.¡± ¡°When?¡± ¡°You wanna know?¡± He leaned in closer towards An Xiaoning while she remained still without a tinge of fear at all in her expression. ¡°Indeed, I¡¯d like to know when I caught your attention. I¡¯ve never messed with anyone or initiated a conflict before. I really wonder when I had offended you,¡± An Xiaoning said calmly. ¡°I already knew of your existence when you got married to Jin Qingyan. I was wondering then, just which foolish woman was it who actually decided to marry Jin Qingyan?¡± he said with a smirk. An Xiaoning stared at him and retorted, ¡°I don¡¯t find myself foolish.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, I realized that too. I wouldn¡¯t have known how outstanding you are if I hadn¡¯t conducted a thorough background check on you,¡± Xi Bi remarked with a malicious and sinister smile. ¡°Cut straight to the chase. What is that you¡¯re after?¡± ¡°Be with me, will you?¡± He reached a hand out to caress her face, only to have her p it away. ¡°A gentleman will never act with such indiscreet conduct. Besides, I¡¯m sorry, but I prefer men who aren¡¯t filthy,¡± An Xiaoning said sneeringly. Xi Bi sat up straight, not surprised at her reaction at all since he had already expected it. ¡°Too bad, you don¡¯t have a choice.¡± The smile on his face faded as he stared at her with a cold and menacing look in his eyes. All of a sudden, he whipped out a silencer and ced it against An Xiaoning¡¯s temple. ¡°It¡¯s up to you to decide if you want to leave with me or die here,¡± he threatened while holding her at gunpoint. An Xiaoning looked up at him in fear and nervousness. After all, he had a real gun in his hands and it would be impossible not to be afraid. She would die instantly with a pull of the trigger. Besides, she had known him to be a ruthless person capable of anything, ording to what she had read about him online. An Xiaoning sat up slowly and said, ¡°Could you put the gun further away from me? I have to get dressed.¡± Xi Bi proceeded to retreat backwards. An Xiaoning put on her clothes slowly, followed by her shoes. She then picked up her phone and purse before heading outside the room. Xi Bi followed closely beside her and continued to point the gun at her head. He could not afford to be careless at all. An Xiaoning followed his directions and arrived at a secluded area. ¡°Don¡¯t think of escaping. Otherwise, I¡¯ll kill everyone who came along with you,¡± Xi Bi warned. ¡°You must be kidding, Mr. Xi. You¡¯re already holding me at gunpoint, how am I supposed to escape?¡± ¡°That better be the case.¡± The helicopter was hovering only a stone¡¯s throw away. Having arrived next to the helicopter, Xi Bi said, ¡°Send your friends a text message ande up with a reason yourself for your departure. You¡¯re not allowed to tell them that I brought you with me.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t bring me away, you abducted me,¡± An Xiaoning corrected him. ¡°I¡¯m not a patient person. You have a minute to send the text message.¡± An Xiaoning hurriedly proceeded to send Mei Yangyang a text message. However, thetter was the only one she had contacted. He was watching closely as she went about typing the message. Thus, she had no choice but to only mention that she went out for a walk alone. Just as the message was delivered, Xi Bi reached his hand out and said, ¡°Give it to me.¡± An Xiaoning handed him her mobile phone and entered the helicopter. Xi Bi then cast her mobile phone out of the window as soon as the helicopter took off. ¡°Are you going to throw me off the helicopter as and when you¡¯d like too?¡± ¡°I do have such ns, though I especially made a trip here to S Nation with the sole intention of bringing you back with me. Fortunately, my efforts have not been in vain,¡± Xi Bi said coldly. ¡°Why did you abduct me? Any reason?¡± ¡°No reason at all. I just found you attractive and I want to sleep with you,¡± he said tantly. ¡°You¡¯re nuts.¡± His face stiffened in anger upon hearing her words. ¡°What did you say?¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing.¡± He was asking the obvious. ¡°A woman Jin Qingyan had toyed with can¡¯t be too bad.¡± ¡°Do you have a penchant for secondhand hand-me-downs?¡± Xi Bi grabbed her chin forcefully and hollered, ¡°So what if I do and so what if I don¡¯t? Wretched woman, you better wash up and make yourself squeaky clean once we get back to Y Nation. Prepare to get intimate with me.¡± An Xiaoning was at aplete loss for words. Just what does he take me for? she thought to herself. She closed her eyes and yed dead. All she could do at this point was to y it by ear and go with the flow. ¡ª¡ª Mei Yangyang woke up to the text message, only to realize that An Xiaoning had left without her luggage. She only brought her purse along. Mei Yangyang began to sense something was amiss after perusing the content and timestamp of the text message. It was not like An Xiaoning to leave without informing Mei Yangyang of her whereabouts. Furthermore, there was no reason for her to leave at midnight, of all times. Something must have gone wrong. Mei Yangyang could not stop worrying about An Xiaoning and thus decided to leave for A City with her luggage. She gave Long Tianze multiple calls, but he did not answer any of them. Thus, she had no choice but to head to his office building. ¡°Miss, you¡¯re not an employee of ourpany. We can¡¯t allow you to enter,¡± said a staff member who stopped her from barging in. ¡°I¡¯m Mei Yangyang. I shot a shampoomercial here previously. I¡¯m looking for Mr. Long.¡± ¡°Do you have an appointment?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but you can¡¯t enter without an appointment,¡± the staff member refuted. ¡°Could you please help me contact Mr. Long¡¯s secretary then?¡± Mei Yangyang pleaded, appearing flustered and anxious. ¡°Miss, there are plenty of people asking to see Mr. Long each day, he¡¯s very busy. If there¡¯s nothing else...¡± Before the staff could even finish speaking, Mei Yangyang ran towards the staircase. ¡°Hey, hey, hey, Miss, you can¡¯t just barge in like that...¡± The staff member hurriedly chased after her while the security guard standing by the door followed suit. Mei Yangyang was swift with her actions and ran up the stairs at godspeed. Having worn high heels on her feet, the female staff member struggled to catch up with Mei Yangyang. Mei Yangyang finally arrived at Long Tianze¡¯s office, panting heavily as she tried to catch her breath. Slightly startled to see her, the secretary said, ¡°Ms. Mei?¡± ¡°Is Tianze in?¡± ¡°He¡¯s making the rounds at themercial filming unit. He¡¯s yet to return.¡± Chapter 212 - I Love You, But I Don’t Dare to Let You Know (13)

Chapter 212: I Love You, But I Don¡¯t Dare to Let You Know (13)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I¡¯ll go look for him.¡± Just as Mei Yangyang entered the elevator, the barefoot female employee hurriedly chased after her, but she did not manage to enter the lift in the nick of time. She took a look at the storey the lift stopped at and continued to enter the other elevator together with the security guard. Mei Yangyang arrived at themercial production floor. Due to the fact that she had filmed amercial there before, she was rather familiar with the ce and knew her way around. She entered to see Long Tianze bending forward in front of theputer to look at the photos that were taken. She stepped forward, pursing her lips. ¡°Mr. Long, how do you think I did?¡± asked the female celebrity who just had her photos taken. ¡°There are a couple of good shots. Alright, we¡¯ll choose a few from these photos.¡± Resting her arm on his shoulder, the female celebrity said smilingly, ¡°Will you allow me the chance to treat you to lunch this afternoon?¡± ¡°I have something on.¡± ¡°Oh... I see,¡± the female celebrity answered in disappointment. All of a sudden, Mei Yangyang yelled at the top of her voice, ¡°Stand right there!¡± Long Tianze turned around and stared at her in astonishment. He then began walking towards Mei Yangyang. ¡°Um, Mr. Long, thisdy here barged in without an appointment. I¡¯ll get security to send her out,¡± said the female employee. ¡°My girlfriend doesn¡¯t need to book an appointment to see me,¡± he rebuked, raising his brows. ¡°Huh?¡± the dumbfounded female employee gasped in puzzlement. ¡°What are you waiting for? Bring the security officer away,¡± he chided with a frown on his forehead. ¡°Yes, yes...¡± With a sullen look on her face, the female employee hurriedly left with the security officer. Everyone on set was taken aback by what they had just heard. Did he just say that she was his... girlfriend? ¡°Tianze, why didn¡¯t you answer my calls?¡± Mei Yangyang questioned. ¡°I left my phone to charge in the office,¡± Long Tianze exined as he began walking towards the exit while holding her hand,pletely disregarding the presence of everyone else. Upon returning to his office, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s the urgent matter?¡± ¡°The exercise boot camp has ended.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that great?¡± ¡°But after we split upst night, I received a text message from Sis Xiaoning, saying that she would like to have some alone time outside. She sent me that text at midnight and didn¡¯t bring anything with her except her purse,¡± Mei Yangyang exined. Not finding anything unusual, Long Tianze answered, ¡°Given her spontaneous character, isn¡¯t this normal?¡± ¡°No, I find it really strange. I¡¯m afraid she might have been abducted. Remember the night at the resort in H Nation? Someone came forth to attack us then. Quick, give Mr. Jin a call and get him to look for Sis. It¡¯s better to be safe than sorry,¡± Mei Yangyang said worriedly. ¡°Given how skilled she is in martial arts, it shouldn¡¯t be that easy for her to be abducted. Besides, she would¡¯ve definitely put up a struggle and made some noises should she have really been abducted.¡± Although he was apprehensive, Long Tianze still proceeded to give Jin Qingyan a call and informed him of the matter. Jin Qingyan was sent into a state of panic and worry upon hearing the news. He had initially nned to look for her today after she came back from the boot camp. Yet, she had gone missing. He was determined to find her, regardless of whether she had been abducted or had left out of her own ord. Mei Yangyang was filled with worry and decided to head to An Xiaoning¡¯s mansion along Dongpo Road to have a look. ¡°You came all the way here for your boyfriend, yet you¡¯re leaving so soon?¡± ¡°I¡¯m thinking of heading to her ce to have a look. Perhaps she just wanted to have a couple of days¡¯ peace and some alone time. I really hope that¡¯s the case though,¡± said Mei Yangyang. Hugging her from behind, Long Tianze said, ¡°We didn¡¯t see each other in so long. Did you miss me?¡± ¡°My actions represent my feelings,¡± Mei Yangyang answered, turning around to kiss him on his cheek. ¡°That¡¯s not enough.¡± Cupping her face with his hands, he lowered his head and nted multiple kisses all over her face. ¡°These represent my feelings too,¡± he added atst. ¡°I¡¯ll get going then.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Long Tianze returned to his chair in the office and called for his secretary to enter. ¡°No one is to stop Yangyang from entering in the future, got it?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll inform them right away.¡± ¡°Alright, go ahead.¡± As soon as Long Tianze turned on hisputer, a news update popped up on his screen: Female Lead of Washroom Scandal, Jin Qingyue, Seen Going for an Ultrasound Checkup, Allegedly Two Months Pregnant... He clicked the news open with his mouse and closed the webpage after ncing through the content. Although Jin Qingyue was already married with a child, Long Tianze could not help but be overwhelmed with an indescribable feeling every time he saw her or heard her name. Fortunately, that peculiar feeling had slowly begun to fade. Jin Qingyue had already be a thing of the past. To be exact, she was merely a crush he had. On the other hand, Mei Yangyang was his present and his future. ¡ª¡ª The sky was pouring and covered with gray clouds over at Y Nation. There was not a single trace of sun amidst the dark and gloomy sky. An Xiaoning was brought back to Xi Bi¡¯s home. Upon the sight of An Xiaoning, Annie understood right away where Xi Bi had been for the past few days. Annie began to feel a little flustered at the thought of the divorced An Xiaoning bing Xi Bi¡¯stest favorite ything. She stepped forward and murmured incoherently, ¡°Ancestor, I¡¯ve been worried about youtely. Did you go to S Nation?¡± ¡°Get lost,¡± he hissed, expressing his disdain towards Annie. Annie opened her mouth in an attempt to say something but decided to remain silent in the end. She had no choice but to retreat backwards towards a corner. To her dismay, An Xiaoning was put in handcuffs with both her hands behind her back, treated as if she were a prisoner. Xi Bi then brought her to a secret chamber, which was well furnished and extravagantly decorated. It was evident that he enjoyed living in luxury. ¡°You shall stay here from now on.¡± ¡°There¡¯ll be someone here to remove your clothes and bathe youter. Get yourself clean and wait for me to finish you off,¡± he added. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I actually have the honor of gaining your affection, despite having been married and divorced twice. Seems like you¡¯re not picky about women at all, Mr. Xi. Does that mean you would get sexual urges at the sight of anything or anyone, as long as they¡¯re female?¡± An Xiaoning said with a sneer. Instead of beating around the bush, he answered right away, ¡°I will satisfy my sexual needs with whatever I¡¯m attracted to, as long as it¡¯s female.¡± He then turned around to leave. Soon after, two young female servants entered and brought An Xiaoning to the bathroom. There was arge wooden tub, and the servants gestured for An Xiaoning to get inside it. She did as instructed, after which a servant proceeded to turn on the tap and adjust the temperature of the water. The other female servant then poured a basket of flower petals into the tub before adding some shampoo and hanging some shower tools on the side of the tub. One of the servants rinsed An Xiaoning¡¯s hair with water while the other ced thetter¡¯s head against the edge of the tub and began shampooing her head. An Xiaoning could not help but get a little anxious. From the looks of it, it seemed Xi Bi was really going to make her sleep with him. What can I do to stall for time ... she wondered to herself. An Xiaoning began to brainstorm for ideas. All of a sudden, she turned towards the servants and said in her native S Nationnguage, ¡°Can you understand me?¡± ¡°Of course, we were especially assigned to serve you here.¡± Chapter 213 - I Love You, But I Don’t Dare to Let You Know (14)

Chapter 213: I Love You, But I Don¡¯t Dare to Let You Know (14)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I¡¯m new here. May I ask, what does your master like and dislike eating?¡± ¡°I actually thought you really detested our ancestor. Turns out you just want to know how to please him,¡± scoffed a female servant. The other female servant then said, ¡°Our ancestor loves seafood such as crabs, escargots, fish, and prawns. He absolutely detests all types of starchy food made of flour.¡± With a nod, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°What does he hate most about women?¡± The two servants looked at each other before saying, ¡°Don¡¯t think of doing anything our ancestor would hate. Otherwise, the consequences will be dire.¡± They had seen through her. However, An Xiaoning continued to pretend as if she had not been exposed and said instead, ¡°I can¡¯t wait to please him, why would I dig my own grave?¡± ¡°d you know better.¡± ¡°Okay, we¡¯re almost done, hurry and get out of the tub.¡± The two female servants were abrasive and harsh with their tone. An Xiaoning stood up, after which the servants then removed her clothes forcefully by cutting them off. Stark naked, An Xiaoning remained still while the servants proceeded to wrap arge towel around her before pushing her out of the bathroom. Soon, Xi Bi entered and said to the servants beside him, ¡°Bring in the dishes.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The servants did as instructed and began feeding An Xiaoning. However, thetter refused to eat any of the food. ¡°There¡¯s no poison in this. We just don¡¯t want you to starve to death.¡± ¡°Bring it away,¡± An Xiaoning refuted. ¡°Why are you such a stubborn and obstinate woman? Must I feed you myself?¡± scorned Xi Bi as he moved forward to snatch the bowl and chopsticks away. ¡°I don¡¯t feel like eating.¡± ¡°You have to eat even if you don¡¯t feel like it. Open your mouth,¡± Xi Bi insisted, refusing to give in at all as he brought a spoonful of food towards her mouth. An Xiaoning insisted on keeping her mouth shut. Xi Bi then mmed the crockery onto the table in a moment of pique and hollered at the servants, ¡°Bring these away!¡± The servants hurriedly proceeded to clear the food away. The room fell silent instantly. ring at her coldly, Xi Bi chastised, ¡°Fine, since you¡¯re unwilling to eat, you may stay hungry for all I care. I won¡¯t pity or go easy on you just because you¡¯re a woman. You¡¯ll be begging me to let you eat when you¡¯re famished.¡± ¡°You¡¯re actuallypelling a weak woman like me. What kind of a man are you?¡± An Xiaoning said in contempt. ¡°Weak woman? You? An Xiaoning, I know clearly whether or not you¡¯re a weak woman. Quit putting on airs in front of me,¡± Xi Bi scoffed. He shifted his gaze onto the towel wrapped around An Xiaoning¡¯s body and made to rip it off. At this very juncture, a voice outside the door interrupted, ¡°Master, you¡¯ve got a call from Jin Qingyan...¡± ¡°I¡¯m not answering.¡± ¡°Master, I¡¯m not finished. Byron has shown up at our door with a bunch of bodyguards. He said he¡¯s going to barge in if you refuse to show yourself.¡± ¡°Byron? What a busybody!¡± Xi Bi snapped as he stood up all of a sudden. He began walking towards the door before turning around to look at An Xiaoning. ¡°I¡¯lle back to finish you in a while.¡± An Xiaoning heaved a huge sigh of relief as soon as the door closed. An Xiaoning got down from the bed, clutching onto the towel tightly as it would droop off easily every now and then. An Xiaoning took a look around the secret chamber, only to realize that Xi Bi¡¯s clothes were neatly arranged in a corner, without a single trace of women¡¯s clothing in sight. But then again, there was no way she could put on any clothes herself now that she was in handcuffs. Overwhelmed with a mix of emotions, An Xiaoning was at aplete loss on what to do. It was impossible to unlock the handcuffs since the keys were with Xi Bi. Just what should I do? Should I just take the risk? ¡°I¡¯m hungry, bring in the dishes!¡± she yelled at the door. Just as she had expected, there were servants guarding the door. Upon hearing hermand, they proceeded to bring in the food. ¡°You refused to eat even when master fed you. How dare you put on such airs? Don¡¯t eat if you¡¯re that high and mighty,¡± the female servant scorned with a humph. An Xiaoning kicked her foot against the female servant, who was caught off guard and fell onto the bed immediately. ¡°Are you out of your mind?¡± the servant eximed as she stood up. ¡°I want to get dressed, bring me some clothes.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go out first.¡± An Xiaoning signalled with a look in her eyes. ¡°Bring me your master¡¯s clothing and put them on for me. My hands may be restricted by handcuffs, but my legs are free to move about. I¡¯ll kick you to death if you dare to walk out of here. Hurry,¡± An Xiaoning threatened, stopping the servant in her tracks. ¡°Somebody...¡± Before the servant could even finish, An Xiaoning threw a knee straight into her gut, causing her to fall to the ground immediately in pain. Before the servant could even react, An Xiaoning continued to stomp her foot onto the former¡¯s face. ¡°I told you to help me get dressed, did my words fall on deaf ears?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do just that, please move your foot...¡± An Xiaoning moved her foot away and red at the female servant sternly. Thinking that there was no way An Xiaoning could escape anyway, the servant proceeded to dress An Xiaoning in Xi Bi¡¯s T-shirt and shorts. The T-shirt appeared to be oversized for An Xiaoning and hung loosely on her petite frame. Just as the female servant was about to leave the chamber after getting An Xiaoning dressed, thetter threw another kick against her. The impact was so great that the servant flew back and hit her head against the wall, causing her to pass out instantly. Standing in front of the door of the chamber, An Xiaoning continuously pressed her face against the sensor in a bid to open the door. She finally seeded after multiple attempts and made her way out of the secret chamber, only to find that there was not a single soul in sight. However, she was not too surprised to see that, seeing as no one hade forth to rescue the servant or even responded to her shrieks and cries. The door of the secret chamber closed automatically just as An Xiaoning exited. One look and she could tell it was Xi Bi¡¯s study. An Xiaoning tiptoed towards the entrance and peeked through the peephole to see that there were two bodyguards keeping watch by the door. Thus, she decided to find another route. She sneaked in between two bookshelves before yelling, ¡°Somebody,e here quick!¡± The door opened and in came the two bodyguards, who hurriedly zoomed towards the secret chamber. Once they had entered the chamber, An Xiaoning quickly took the chance to escape. She did not know how far she could run, but she was well aware that it would be no easy feat to get out of this ce. Sure enough, she was surrounded by the bodyguards at the stairwell who came swarming towards her. They then brought her back to the secret chamber again. The servant who passed out earlier was no longer in the secret chamber. An Xiaoning tried to struggle and break free with all her might, but to no avail. ¡ª¡ª It was noon when Mei Yangyang arrived at the clothing store along Dongpo Road. The crowd was rather sparse at the time. Zhang Li and Xu Jingwen were sitting around and taking a break since they had just finished lunch. Zhang Li stood up immediately upon seeing Mei Yangyang and greeted, ¡°You¡¯re back, Yangyang.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s been hard on you guys for the past few months.¡± After taking a look at the clothing on disy in the store, a frown creased Mei Yangyang¡¯s forehead as she questioned, ¡°Didn¡¯t I already pick out the clothes to be sold during our video conference call? Why did you bring in these stocks instead?¡± ¡°Here¡¯s what happened, Jingwen thought these clothes were pretty...¡± Before Zhang Li could even finish, Mei Yangyang reached out to tug a piece of skirt off its hanger. ¡°Have a feel of the material. Just because it¡¯s visually appealing doesn¡¯t mean we canpromise on quality. Do you guys own this store? How could you make decisions on your own without asking for permission?¡± she chided. Xu Jingwen rose from her seat and said, ¡°Hey, Sis Yangyang, what matters is that these clothes are selling and we¡¯re making profits. Besides, the customers love them anyway.¡± ¡°The customers may like these clothes, but they won¡¯t return again if the material is of inferior quality. We are focusing on building a strong customer base with many returning customers.¡± Mei Yangyang was already in low spirits to begin with. However, her mood worsened upon seeing the mess they had created in the store within just months of her absence. Chapter 214 - I Love You, But I Don’t Dare to Let You Know (15)

Chapter 214: I Love You, But I Don¡¯t Dare to Let You Know (15)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Bring me the profits records for the past few months. I need to tally the sums.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t we already tally them together during the video conference?¡± ring at her, Mei Yangyang retorted, ¡°Do you really think I could see them clearly from the call? I¡¯m going to tally the sums again before showing it to Sis Xiaoning when shees back.¡± Xu Jingwen had no choice but to hand her the records and funds collected. ¡°Remove all the clothes on disy right now and return them to the supplier. I¡¯ll re-order a new batch of stocks,¡± Mei Yangyang instructed, keeping her eyes peeled on the records. Feeling disgruntled, Xu Jingwen and Zhang Li proceeded to do as instructed. ¡°Yangyang, is Sis Xiaoning back?¡± ¡°Sis had gone overseas to attend to something, she didn¡¯t mention when she would be back. I didn¡¯t realize earlier during the video conference that we¡¯ve been losing a lot of customerstely. Why is that so?¡± Mei Yangyang questioned. ¡°Jingwen and I were the only ones left to tend to the shop after you and Sis Xiaoning went to attend the exercise boot camp. In fact, Jingwen has been overseeing everything, and she had been the one making all the major decisions on her own. For example, we¡¯ve acquired the goods at a rather low cost, but Jingwen insisted on raising the price even further to maximize profits. Hence, many of the customers stopped shopping with us after the price surge because they felt that the clothes weren¡¯t worth such a hefty price tag,¡± Zhang Li exined truthfully. ¡°Since when... I didn¡¯t do that,¡± Xu Jingwen quickly defended herself. ¡°I¡¯ll know whether you did it or not once I check the surveince cameras¡¯ footageter. I have plenty of time to do so anyway,¡± said Mei Yangyang. Xu Jingwen kept quiet immediately and pulled a long face. When Xu Jingwen excused herself to go to the washroom, Zhang Li whispered to Mei Yangyang, ¡°For the past few months, Sis Xiaoning¡¯s sister-inw had been visiting the store rather often to pick out clothes for herself. Well, she did pay for them at the start, but after a while, she began taking the clothes away without paying during her subsequent visits, all because Jingwen said she didn¡¯t have to pay for them since she was Sis Xiaoning¡¯s sister-inw. She even imed that Sis Xiaoning wouldn¡¯t want to ept her money if she were to find out. I reckon Jingwen is on pretty good terms with Sis Xiaoning¡¯s sister-inw. ¡± ¡°You mean Chi Rui¡¯er?¡± Mei Yangyang asked in astonishment. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Seriously... Sis Xiaoning doesn¡¯t get along with Chi Rui¡¯er at all,¡± Mei Yangyang said softly. ¡°Is that so?¡± Zhang Li gasped in shock. ¡°Of course. You have to make her pay for the clothes she takes the next time she drops by, got it?¡± said a flustered Mei Yangyang. ¡°Yes, I got it.¡± Mei Yangyang discovered some anomalies in the records and wrote down the problems she had found, which she decided to bring up after she was done looking through everything. ¡ª¡ª Byron and Xi Bi sat facing each other in the living room of thetter¡¯s home. Byron was a little perplexed to see Annie there. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Xi Bi chuckled and said, ¡°You must be kidding, Prince Byron. Annie is my woman. If not here, where else would she be?¡± Byron gave a smile of courtesy and did not probe further. ¡°Where is An Xiaoning?¡± he asked. ¡°On my bed.¡± ¡°Xi Bi, I know you¡¯re fearless, but let me warn you still, you better not try anything funny. Jin Qingyan is making his way here now on a ne. If you don¡¯t wish to see your house being demolished, then I suggest you don¡¯t touch his ex-wife. It¡¯d be a pity to lose everything because of a woman,¡± Byron continued. ¡°It¡¯s up to me to do whatever I want, you¡¯re in no position to teach me what to do. Prince Byron, I hope you will stay out of this matter between Jin Qingyan and I, lest you get yourself embroiled in unnecessary trouble,¡± said Xi Bi, not afraid at all. ¡°Jin Qingyan and I are friends, it¡¯s only right that I lend him a hand. Xi Bi, I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t be able to live the rest of your life in peace, should you choose not to hand An Xiaoning over to us,¡± Byron said coldly. ¡°Whatever, I don¡¯t have all day to be wasting my time here with you. Let Jin Qingyan speak to me himself when he¡¯s here.¡± Byron watched as Xi Bi walked away slowly. A sudden tension filled the air as the respective bodyguards of Byron and Xi Bi pointed their guns at each other. Xi Bi entered the secret chamber after hearing his bodyguard¡¯s words. Sitting on the bed, An Xiaoning watched as he entered again with a sinister look on his face. ¡°You¡¯re already in handcuffs, yet you¡¯re still trying to escape. Seems like you need to be restricted further.¡± He retrieved a long chain from the drawer and chained her legs together forcefully, leaving only enough leeway for her to walk. Xi Bi sat down beside her and could not help but feel amused at the sight of her sulking. ¡°You must be infuriated at how helpless you are now. You hate the way I¡¯m treating you, yet you can¡¯t do anything about it. I won¡¯t touch you now, but could you tell me why you insisted on getting a divorce with Jin Qingyan? Was it because his family chose Jin Qingyue over you?¡± he asked with a smirk on his lips. ¡°Why do I have to answer you?¡± ¡°You must answer me, because I would be too bored otherwise. And if I get too bored and free, I¡¯ll have to start doing you. Consider it carefully. Think about whether you¡¯d like to answer me and wait here patiently for Jin Qingyan to arrive or to let me begin touching you right now. It¡¯s your choice.¡± He was utterly despicable and unbelievable. To the point that An Xiaoning wished she could just stab him to death with a knife and feed his flesh to the dogs after throwing him inside a meat grinder. ¡°Don¡¯t y dumb, speak up.¡± After a few seconds of hesitation, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°We didn¡¯t get married because we were in love with each other. Since I don¡¯t love him, wouldn¡¯t it be better to live alone? What other reason could there be?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if you love him or not, but I¡¯m sure he loves you deeply.¡± ¡°How are you so sure?¡± ¡°I¡¯m very clear about what¡¯s happening with you two. How could you be his only weakness if he didn¡¯t love you? If he doesn¡¯t love you, he wouldn¡¯t be bothered about you at all,¡± said Xi Bi, caressing her face with his hand. An Xiaoning was struck by his words and felt incredibly touched all of a sudden. ¡°We were once husband and wife, after all. The fact that he doesn¡¯t wish to leave me to die in the lurch just goes to show that he¡¯s a nice and kind person. It has nothing to do with love at all.¡± ¡°Men know best what other men are thinking. You know yourself whether or not he loves you. Quit keeping me in suspense.¡± Xi Bi continued, ¡°I really feel like finishing you off right now. Women like you are the kind to invoke sexual urges in men.¡± Heid down on the bed and pulled her into an embrace. ¡°Xi Bi, have you got the guts to remove the handcuffs and chains on my ankles? Do you dare to stop holding me at gunpoint?¡± ¡°What would you do if I did?¡± ¡°I¡¯d dig your eyeballs out.¡± Instead of getting worked up, he broke into a sarcastic smile and said, ¡°Oh... I totally believe you would.¡± An Xiaoning tried to turn towards the side to no avail as Xi Bi was grabbing on tightly to her. Noticing how hard she was struggling, he said, ¡°Why? You¡¯re not even going to let me hug you?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m afraid you don¡¯t have a choice. I want to do just that. What can you do to stop me? I¡¯m tired, I¡¯m going to take a short nap. You better not disturb me again. Otherwise, I¡¯m really capable of doing anything,¡± he threatened with his eyes closed, sounding a little fatigued. An Xiaoning stopped moving upon seeing that he had really closed his eyes. However, she felt really ufortableying beside him. Especially with her hands restricted behind her back. Chapter 215 - I Love You, But I Don’t Dare to Let You Know (16)

Chapter 215: I Love You, But I Don¡¯t Dare to Let You Know (16)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An idea struck An Xiaoning¡¯s mind as she suddenly got reminded of the fact that the keys to the handcuffs were on him. She would get a chance to escape as long as she got her hands on them. But then again, how is she supposed to grab the keys with her hands behind her back? Even if she managed to get the keys, how was she supposed to unlock the handcuffs? It was a huge obstacle. Nheless, An Xiaoning decided to first get her hands on the keys before nning her next move. An Xiaoning remained still while keeping her eyes fixed on Xi Bi. Twenty minutester, he was confirmed to have fallen asleep. She then shifted her gaze to the pocket of his denim shorts. She moved sideways slightly at snail¡¯s pace, careful not to make any noise in case she woke him up. She then tried to pick at his pocket using her toes and finally managed to retrieve the keys from his pocket. It was a bunch of keys secured together. An Xiaoning was overwhelmed with agitation and panic. Upon noticing his body jerk, seemingly about to wake up, she quickly moved back beside him, not wanting to arouse any suspicion. She got up again after making sure that he was sound asleep before using her toes to move the keys beside her. She thenid down next to him again while fiddling with the keys, trying to find the keyhole with her hands behind her back. Although she could not see the handcuffs, she knew roughly what they looked like and was aware of where the keyhole was positioned. Thus, it was rather easy for her to find it. She proceeded to poke every key inside the keyhole and try to unlock the handcuffs. Atst, her efforts were not in vain despite the multiple attempts. She managed to unlock it sessfully. An Xiaoning was filled with nervousness and euphoria. However, she tried with all her might to not let her emotions show. She moved her hands gently between her legs and finally freed herself. Due to the fact that her hands had been kept in an awkward position behind her back for an extended period of time, her arms had gone sore and numb by the time they were freed. However, this was a great opportunity for escape which was not to be missed. She proceeded to unlock the chains on her ankles with the key. However, she continued to leave the chains hanging from her ankles, conjuring a false appearance so as to prevent him from finding out that she had unlocked them, in case he wakes up. Holding the handcuffs in her hands, An Xiaoning stared at Xi Bi, who was lying beside her. A menacing re formed in her eyes. ¡ª¡ª A frown creased Jin Qingyan¡¯s forehead upon seeing the scene before him when he arrived. ¡°Get Xi Bi toe out.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll ry your message to my master,¡± said the bodyguard as he retreated backwards. Jin Qingyan and Byron watched as An Xiaoning brought Xi Bi downstairs while holding him at gunpoint. Byron¡¯s jaw dropped in astonishment as he turned towards Jin Qingyan and said, ¡°No wonder she¡¯s your woman, she¡¯s extraordinarily brave indeed.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Jin Qingyan agreed proudly, raising his brows. An Xiaoning walked towards them while still pointing the gun at him. ¡°If any of you dares to pull the trigger, I¡¯ll shoot him right away. Release us and I¡¯ll let him go,¡± An Xiaoning warned Xi Bi¡¯s bodyguards. Thus, they then proceeded towards the main entrance with An Xiaoning leading the way. She then pushed Xi Bi towards Jin Qingyan and Byron¡¯s bodyguards, who were guarding closely outside the door. Xi Bi staggered along with a look of dismay on his face. Staring at An Xiaoning, who was opposite, he said, ¡°I¡¯ve really underestimated you, An Xiaoning. Indeed, you didn¡¯t fall short of my expectations. You¡¯re a very smart and clever woman.¡± ¡°Xi Bi, if you ever dare to find trouble with me again, I¡¯ll shoot you to death.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t let me get my hands on you again then. Otherwise, it won¡¯t be as simple next time.¡± He red at An Xiaoning again before turning around to enter his mansion. ¡ª¡ª Jin Qingyan immediately pulled her into an embrace. Wrapping his arms around her tightly, he eximed, ¡°You¡¯ve scared me.¡± An Xiaoning remained still and answered coldly, ¡°Thank you for rushing to make your way here, there wasn¡¯t a need to though.¡± She freed herself from his embrace and walked towards the car. Pursing his lips, Jin Qingyan gave Byron a pat on his shoulder to express his gratitude for thetter¡¯s help. He then proceeded to chase after An Xiaoning. They boarded a ne back to S Nation. Feeling a little jealous about the fact that she had eaten and quenched her thirst, Jin Qingyanmented, ¡°You¡¯ve had your fill but I¡¯m still hungry.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t stop you from eating.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the only thing that can satiate me,¡± he answered suggestively. ¡°I¡¯m sorry then,¡± An Xiaoning rejected as sheid down to sleep right away. Noticing that she had fallen asleep, Jin Qingyan picked up a nket andid it over her body. An Xiaoning was a light sleeper who awakens easily, even by the slightest movement. Thus, she was aware that he had covered her with a nket. However, she simply could not bring herself to give him a passionate hug and tell him that she could feel all of his love. She was very tempted, yet she just could not reciprocate with her actions. It was almost evening by the time they arrived back in S Nation. An Xiaoning was greatly worn out and exhausted after the string of catastrophic events she had experienced the past few days. As soon as she alighted from the airne, An Xiaoning hailed a cab and made her way towards Dongpo Road right away. She arrived at the store only to witness an ongoingmotion and argument between Xu Jingwen and Mei Yangyang. Meanwhile, Zhang Li was holding them back in a bid to get them to stop arguing. ¡°What happened? Why are you guys arguing?¡± asked An Xiaoning. Upon the sight of An Xiaoning, Mei Yangyang hurriedly scampered towards her to give her a hug. ¡°Sis, where did you go? You¡¯ve made me so worried!¡± Mei Yangyang eximed in agitation. ¡°We¡¯ll talk about thatter. Yangyang, what were you arguing about with Jingwen?¡± Appearing to have calmed down a little, Mei Yangyang exined, ¡°Jingwen has really gone overboard. While we were away at the boot camp, she falsified and tampered with the ounts. I tallied the records this afternoon and discovered that there is a total of 30 thousand dors missing from our profits. I contacted the supplier, and he told me that they¡¯ve been instructed to minimize the production costs of our clothing since a few months ago. Compared to the pieces we¡¯ve brought in previously, the new ones are really poor in quality, and the costs have been reduced by half. Hence, this resulted in a great loss of customers.¡± Mei Yangyang began to grow angrier and continued, ¡°Sis, she¡¯s even gotten involved with Chi Rui¡¯er, who had been visiting our store frequently. She did pay for the clothes she bought the first few times, but she stopped payingpletely for the subsequent visits. Jingwen even allowed her to do so by voiding the receipts. I made herpensate for the loss of 30 thousand dors from her own pocket, but she refused to admit to it no matter what. That¡¯s how we started arguing.¡± A sullen expression formed on An Xiaoning¡¯s face upon understanding the situation. ¡°Is what Yangyang said true?¡± An Xiaoning questioned, ring at Xu Jingwen. ¡°Sis Xiaoning, I didn¡¯t pocket any funds.¡± ¡°Then where did the money go? The records don¡¯t tally or match the ones we¡¯ve talked about over the video conference. You¡¯ve falsified the ounts,¡± said Mei Yangyang. Xu Jingwen pouted her lips and remained silent. There was nothing left for An Xiaoning to ask, for it was clear what had happened and Xu Jingwen was already blown out of the water. Thetter must have taken the chance tomit the act during the time that Mei Yangyang and An Xiaoning were too busy to tend to the store. She sat down at the desk and looked up at Xu Jingwen. ¡°Putting the embezzlement of funds aside, who gave you the authority to allow Chi Rui¡¯er to purchase the clothes without paying?¡± she questioned. ¡°I... I thought you and Sis Rui¡¯er got along well since you are sisters-inw.¡± ¡°Did you really think I¡¯d be on good terms with someone who tried to kill me?¡± An Xiaoning snapped, glowering at her. ¡°Well... I really didn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Putting that aside, you ought to give me an exnation for the money you pocketed.¡± ¡°Sis Xiaoning, since you¡¯re so affluent, could you please just let me off this time? I¡¯ve spent all that money, I don¡¯t have much left on me now,¡± Xu Jingwen admitted. Chapter 216 - I Love You, But I Don’t Dare to Let You Know (17)

Chapter 216: I Love You, But I Don¡¯t Dare to Let You Know (17)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°No matter how affluent I may be, it¡¯s still my money in the end. It¡¯s considered stealing if you took it without my permission.¡± With no intentions to give in at all, An Xiaoning continued, ¡°I¡¯ll give you three options. One, return to me everything you¡¯ve taken. Two, if you don¡¯t wish to pay me back, then continue to work for me without a sry, your meals and amodation will be provided for. Last, follow me to the police station. It¡¯s up to you to choose one of the three.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t wish to go to jail, nor do I have any money to pay you. Can I work for you then? Will that do?¡± Xu Jingwen pleaded. ¡°Alright, you¡¯ve pocketed 30 thousand dors. You have a sry of 2500 dors a month, which would total up to 30 thousand dors in a year. You are to work for me for three years.¡± An Xiaoning turned to look at Zhang Li and instructed her, ¡°From now on, keep a close eye on her whenever she¡¯s in the store. I¡¯ll raise your current pay to 3000 dors a month.¡± ¡°Sis Xiaoning, I¡¯m sorry for not stopping her,¡± Zhang Li apologized, feeling a little guilty. ¡°Just perform your duties well.¡± An Xiaoning then turned towards Mei Yangyang and said, ¡°Get off work.¡± Extremely pleased with the oue, Mei Yangyang left the store together with An Xiaoning. ¡°Sis, you weren¡¯t the one who sent that text message, were you?¡± ¡°It was me, but I didn¡¯t mean to. I wouldn¡¯t leave without telling you face-to-face beforehand. It was Xi Bi who took me away and held me at gunpoint. Yangyang, I¡¯ve recentlye to a realization.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Mei Yangyang listened attentively. ¡°We have to take every safety precaution possible in order to stay alive. Otherwise, we would never be able to sleep in peace at night. Let¡¯s go have dinner. I¡¯ll take you somewhere afterwards,¡± said An Xiaoning, holding her hand. ¡°Alright, sure.¡± ¡ª¡ª Xu Jingwen made her way to Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s ce. At this point, Chi Rui¡¯er was already heavily pregnant with a huge baby bump. Being eight months pregnant, she appeared rather clumsy and awkward trying to move about. Upon seeing that Xu Jingwen was bawling with tears, she quickly pretended to show her concern and asked worriedly, ¡°What happened? Why are you crying?¡± Xu Jingwen told her about the matter truthfully, after which Chi Rui¡¯er let out augh and said nonchntly, ¡°Ah, I see. Then just continue working there for a year. Your meals and amodation will be taken care of anyway. Pocketing the money was your fault to begin with.¡± ¡°Sis Rui¡¯er, I find you to be a really kind person, but Sis Xiaoning used you of trying to kill her and she even mentioned that you two are on bad terms with each other. In my opinion, she¡¯s not as nice as you are.¡± Pleased to hear what Xu Jingwen said, Chi Rui¡¯er answered smilingly, ¡°Well, she¡¯s still my husband¡¯s godsister no matter what. Why would I even attempt to kill her? She¡¯s really great at imagining things and smearing me.¡± ¡°Exactly, you don¡¯t seem like such a malicious person at all no matter how I see it.¡± ¡°I reckon you haven¡¯t had dinner. I haven¡¯t either so eat with me. Come, sit down,¡± said Chi Rui¡¯er, pulling her towards the dining table. Xu Jingwen sat down together with Chi Rui¡¯er, who was smiling at her warmly, as if she were her blood sister. Chi Rui¡¯er opened a can of beer for Xu Jingwen while she poured herself a ss of beverage. Seeming to have thought of something, Chi Rui¡¯er stood up and said, ¡°You may tuck in first, I¡¯ll go get something from my room.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er returned to her room to retrieve a straw from her purse inside the closet. She had prepared the straw long ago. But she just could not find the right time to execute her n. Now was the perfect opportunity. Her efforts did not go in vain. With the right tools, it would be more than easy to control the person working for you. Chi Rui¡¯er let out a malicious smirk and ced the straw inside her pocket before leaving the bedroom. Chi Rui¡¯er took advantage of the time when Xu Jingwen was not paying attention and slipped the straw into the half-finished can of beer. She then swirled the can in her hand and continued to pour Xu Jingwen some beer. The smile on Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s face widened upon seeing Xu Jingwen finish all of the beer. Perhaps she had overdosed on the drug, but Xu Jingwen appeared to be extremely excited and overstimted. She began to curse and swear at An Xiaoning before even finishing her meal. ¡°Sis Rui¡¯er, tell me, would it hurt to give me 30 thousand dors when she¡¯s already so rich!?! Just like what they say, the richer one is, the greater of a miser he would be. Very true indeed!¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. Jingwen, you have to understand, she¡¯s the boss and you¡¯re just an employee. You can¡¯t be that haughty and bratty, got it?¡± said Chi Rui¡¯er. ¡°I know you have a point, Sis, but I really don¡¯t wish to work there anymore. But then again, I don¡¯t have any money to return to her.¡± Xu Jingwen stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯m going home.¡± ¡°Can you even manage?¡± ¡°It was merely a can of beer, not enough to make me drunk. I¡¯m fine, I¡¯ll get going,¡± Xu Jingwen said smilingly. ¡°Alright, be careful.¡± ¡°Okay, got it.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er hurriedly disposed of the beer can and ss Xu Jingwen drank from into therge trash can outside the house before returning inside. ¡ª¡ª After dinner, An Xiaoning brought Mei Yangyang to a secret ck market in A City. It was Mei Yangyang¡¯s first experience with a ck market, which she had not known had existed in the city prior to this. The dark and relentless sides of humanity were all exposed within the ck market. However, everyone in the ck market had sold themselves voluntarily in exchange for money. They would agree willingly to leave with anyone who paid their family. ¡°Sis, I never knew of the existence of such a twisted scene in our city.¡± ¡°I guess I wouldn¡¯t have known about it either if Jin Qingyan hadn¡¯t told me about it. I asked him about it on the ne back. He initially suggested that he assign some of his bodyguards to me, but of course I wouldn¡¯t want that. His bodyguards are all loyal to him, they would definitely sell me out and be in cahoots with him, should I allow them to follow me around.¡± ¡°You have a point, Sis. But, the people here must be expensive.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll pick one who¡¯s superior in skill and agility, no matter how expensive it may cost.¡± The two of them then continued to wander around the ck market. After looking through repeatedly back and forth, An Xiaoning finally picked out a few people. The eloquent seller then eagerly promoted, ¡°All of them here have received awards for their excellent performance in wrestlingpetitions. It¡¯s just, they were abandoned by their employer. They¡¯re all orphans with no kin or family. Miss, you won¡¯t have to worry about any dispute in the future if you pick them.¡± An Xiaoning seemed to be pleased with the row of men in front of her. ¡°How much would the six of them cost?¡± she asked. ¡°This much. Strictly no bargaining,¡± the seller answered, sticking a hand out. ¡°But I don¡¯t know if they¡¯re gued with health problems or not. Who¡¯s going to be responsible if they drop dead right after I pay to bring them home?¡± With a hollowugh, the seller said, ¡°Look how energetic they are. Which bit of them looks like they¡¯re going to die as soon as you buy them?¡± ¡°Well, who knows? I¡¯ll pay you that amount but you are to give me those two over there as well,¡± said An Xiaoning, pointing at two girls who were standing not too far away. ¡°You¡¯ve got a knack for making business deals, eh? There are eight people in total. They¡¯re not just objects which I can give away easily just because you bought some of them.¡± ¡°But aren¡¯t you putting them up for sale like they¡¯re objects? Cut the crap and just tell me if you¡¯re selling them or not. I¡¯ll buy them if you are. Otherwise, I¡¯ll leave right away,¡± An Xiaoning retorted, striking the nail on its head. Mei Yangyang hurriedly interjected, ¡°Sis, why don¡¯t we have a look over there? It seems they¡¯re selling at a cheaper price.¡± Upon seeing that they were really going to leave, the seller quickly gave in. ¡°Fine, fine, I¡¯ll sell them to you. Will that do?¡± Chapter 217 - I Just Fancy You (1)

Chapter 217: I Just Fancy You (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning shot Mei Yangyang a smile and said to the seller, ¡°Sure, hand me their indentures and I¡¯ll pay by card.¡± An Xiaoning spent 5 million dors in total to buy eight people. They did not have household registers since all of them were orphans, with the exception of the two girls, who were sold by their father, who was a drug addict. They were all trained to work for money since a young age and abandoned once they grew older. It must have been tough to live life that way. A life with no freedom at all. Not only were they put through all sorts of strenuous training since a tender age, they were subjected to an environment filled with danger lurking in every corner where personal safety was no longer guaranteed. Life was practically a living hell for them. There were, in fact, plenty of people like them in this world. However, they were just kept hidden from the public eye. asionally, the media would report about a selected part of their lives and predicaments, keeping the rest hidden behind closed doors for there were some information which were deemed inappropriate for exposure to the public. There were four rooms in An Xiaoning¡¯s two-storey mansion. There were two on the first storey and another two on the second. Those on the upper storey were her bedroom and bathroom, while those on the lower storey consisted of the living room and the kitchen. Though her house was neither spacious nor cramped, there was clearly not enough space to house all eight of the people she had bought. Fortunately, there was also a basement. Thus, the people An Xiaoning brought home could stay there temporarily. There was also space in the backyard that could be converted into extra rooms and bathrooms. However, it was alreadyte at night, and thus, she could only wait until tomorrow to get a contractor to build the rooms. Having decided to let them sleep in the basement for that night, she proceeded to buy some mattresses and nkets for them. ¡ª¡ª Shi Shaochuan had been abiding by their agreement and headed home straight after work every day. However, he decided to make an exception tonight, for he simply could not bring himself to turn down an invite to a gathering with his former ssmates whom he had not met in a long time. Thus, he gave Jin Qingyue a call to inform her about it and that he would be going homete. Thinking that he deserved a night out given how well he had been behaving, Jin Qingyue decided to cut him some ck and agreed to let him go, though she emphasized that he was not to stay out toote since he still had to attend work the next morning. Shi Shaochuan agreed and said that he would be going home early. After wrapping up at work, he headed straight to meet his friends without even bothering to change out of his suit. Unfortunately, as luck would have it, it happened to be the peak period where everyone was getting off work and school, resulting in extremely heavy traffic. The roads were packed with cars lined up one after another in a snake-like queue. Shi Shaochuan began to grow impatient after being stuck in the massive jam for more than half an hour. After weaving in and out of the traffic, he finally made it out of the jam. Just as he was about to reach the karaoke ce, a woman dashed out into the road all of a sudden, causing him to instinctively step on the brakes. He had been getting the chills every time he got reminded of the traumatic experience with Wang Fangfang. He then hurriedly got down from the car to check if he had knocked her down. ¡°Miss, are you alright?¡± Xu Jingwen seemed to not be in the right state of mind, almost like a little lunatic as she proceeded to get into the passenger seat of his car immediately. Noticing that she seemed to be abnormal, Shi Shaochuan quickly got into the driver¡¯s seat, afraid that she would drive his car away without warning. ¡°Miss... who are you? Why did you hop into my car? Get down now.¡± ¡°Hey, handsome, mind giving me a lift?¡± said Xu Jingwen, chuckling with her eyes ssed over. ¡°Where do you live?¡± asked a bewildered Shi Shaochuan. ¡°I live... I forgot where I live. Let me try and recall.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I have something urgent to attend to, could you get down and hail a taxi instead?¡± said Shi Shaochuan, sounding rather annoyed and impatient. Xu Jingwen then threw her arms around his neck all of a sudden and said, ¡°No, no, I¡¯m not getting down. Nice to meet you, handsome.¡± Shi Shaochuan pushed her away and removed his car key from the keyhole before alighting from his car. He then walked towards the door of the passenger seat and pulled her out forcefully. ¡°I¡¯m calling the cops if you insist on staying,¡± he threatened. To his astonishment, Xu Jingwen removed her clothes all of a sudden and began bawling loudly while pointing her finger at him. Afraid that he would be exposed on the news again, he immediately pushed her into the backseat, nning to dump her in a remote area afterwards. He gave his friends a call to inform them that he would bete. He then proceeded to drive to a secluded area in town. He turned his head only to see that Xu Jingwen had stripped herself naked. Sheid on the back seat and stomped her feet against the car shed while grumbling about something incoherently. Shi Shaochuan began to feel a little enticed as he observed her fair skin and petite body. Shi Shaochuan alighted from the car and opened the door of the backseat. ¡°Put on your clothes and get out of my car,¡± he said, resisting his urges. Xu Jingwen sat up straight and looked at him with a pitiful look in her eyes. ¡°What if I don¡¯t get down?¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll throw you out.¡± ¡°That¡¯s so heartless of you. Come on in, will you?¡± she murmured in a coquettish voice. Shi Shaochuan got into the backseat and closed the door, after which Xu Jingwen leaned in closer towards him. All of a sudden, she grabbed his hand and ced it onto her soft and delicate bosom. ¡°You crazy woman, do you know what you¡¯re doing...¡± ¡°Of course I do. Can I call you Brother?¡± ¡°Um... sure.¡± The rational part of him was constantly urging him to retract his hand, yet his body refused to listen to his brain. Shi Shaochuan felt his body stiffen. Although women¡¯s bodies appeared more or less the same, he could not help but get excited and aroused at the thought of it being another woman apart from Jin Qingyue. He looked around nervously as his heart began to race and found that there was almost no one in the vicinity. Her coquettishness and heavy panting made it all the more difficult for him to resist his urges. Being rather ambitious, Xu Jingwen had never had a boyfriend before as she refused to settle for less than what she wanted. She had always aspired to find herself a wealthy boyfriend. Although she was not quite in a clear state of mind due to the drug overdose, she could still tell that Shi Shaochuan¡¯s car was a luxurious and expensive one. She could not help but feel overwhelmed by his burning passion. To his surprise, Xu Jingwen turned out to still be a virgin. In the blink of an eye, an hour had passed. Shi Shaochuan was beyondte for his appointment with his former ssmates. He continued to bask in post-coital pleasure after the deed was done. Noticing that she had sobered up quite a bit, he said, ¡°Get dressed and give me your phone number.¡± ¡°Will you drop me home?¡± Xu Jingwen asked coyly after telling him her phone number. ¡°Where do you live?¡± ¡°Dongpo District. You may drop me off there.¡± Shi Shaochuan agreed to give her a lift home. After all, it was only courteous to do so after having had his fun with a virgin like her. Xu Jingwen finally managed to recognize him while on the journey home, especially since he was one of the many wealthy men she had been keeping close tabs on. Besides, Shi Shaochuan was a notorious figure who was often exposed in the news for his scandalous acts. ¡°Will you look for me again?¡± she asked while alighting from his car. ¡°Wait for me to contact you,¡± said Shi Shaochuan, handing her a wad of cash he took out from his wallet. Xu Jingwen epted the money and threw her arms around him before giving him a kiss. ¡°I doubt I can fall asleep tonight. You were too vigorous while taking my virginity.¡± Shi Shaochuan was pleased to hear her flirtatious words. ¡°I¡¯ll be even more vigorous the next time. Alright, go home. I¡¯m running extremelyte for a gathering with my friends.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Xu Jingwen alighted and took a look at the logo on the back of his car. She hurriedly searched it online and found that it was indeed a luxurious car. Chapter 218 - I Just Fancy You (2)

Chapter 218: I Just Fancy You (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An idea struck her mind as she counted the wad of cash he had given her, which amounted to a few thousand dors. What happened to me tonight though? she wondered. How did I get so drunk from just a can of beer? Xu Jingwen could not seem to find an answer as she began to wonder if it was because her tolerance for alcohol had decreased drastically. ¡ª¡ª Jin Qingyue woke up from her dreams at almost midnight. She ced a hand onto the spot beside her on the bed, only to find that Shi Shaochuan was still not home yet. She switched on the lights and gave him a call, which he did not answer. Thus, she tried to call him again, but to no avail. She then proceeded to call a ssmate of his whom he was rather close to, only to hear that Shi Shaochuan had gotten drunk from chugging threerge jugs of beer as a forfeit for the drinking game they were ying. Jin Qingyue got out of bed to get dressed and decided to go pick him up. She grabbed her car keys and headed out of the door with two bodyguards. The streets were almost empty at that hour, and thus, she sped along the roads and arrived at the entrance of a karaoke centre in no time. She proceeded to the entrance of a karaoke room, which was rather noisy and boisterous. That exined why he could not hear the sound of his phone ringing and thus did not answer her calls. Upon sight of her arrival, one of Shi Shaochuan¡¯s former ssmates gave him a nudge and said, ¡°Shaochuan, your wife is here.¡± At this point, Shi Shaochuan was already drunk beyond his senses as heid sluggishly on the couch, murmuring incoherently, ¡°My wife is at home right now, why would she be here?¡± ¡°Have a look for yourself, it really is your wife,¡± said the ssmate. He squinted at Jin Qingyue, who was standing before him, and said, ¡°Oh? It is indeed my wife who¡¯se to pick me up.¡± ¡°It¡¯s almost midnight, yet you¡¯re still not home. Of course I¡¯d have toe and look for you.¡± Jin Qingyue then turned around and instructed the bodyguards behind her, ¡°Carry him to the car.¡± ¡°Yes, Young Madam.¡± Shi Shaochuan was then carried away while Jin Qingyue said smilingly to Shi Shaochuan¡¯s ssmates, ¡°Hey, everyone, hurry and drink to your hearts¡¯ content. Tonight¡¯s on me.¡± ¡°Ah, seems like you¡¯re the one holding the purse strings, Sis-inw. Thank you so much,¡± said a ssmate. ¡°Yeah, thank you,¡± another added. ¡°No problem, you guys go ahead, we¡¯ll be making a move first.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Jin Qingyue decided to get the tab so as to allow Shi Shaochuan¡¯s ssmates to hold him in high esteem. Besides, the bill was only peanuts to her. On the journey home, the bodyguard took over the wheel while Shi Shaochuan continued to bber continuously before throwing up his intestines as soon as he alighted from the car. Jin Qingyue pinched her nose in disgust and instructed the bodyguards to bring him to the living room. Drunk out of his senses, Shi Shaochuan fell asleep immediately after sprawling himself across the couch. Jin Qingyue covered him with a nket. ¡°Young Madam, Young Sir left his phone in his car,¡± said the bodyguard, handing her Shi Shaochuan¡¯s mobile phone. Jin Qingyue took the mobile phone from his hands. Just as she was about to ce it on the table, an iing text message popped up on the screen of his mobile phone. Jin Qingyue opened the text message, which read: ¡°Thank you for sending me home.¡± Jin Qingyue¡¯s womanly intuitions told her that it was a text message from another woman. Staring intensely at the screen to decipher the message, she could not help but find it unusual as she began to wonder if she was reading too much into things. Jin Qingyue recorded the unknown number in her phone before deleting the text message. She woke up exceptionally early the next morning after a sleepless night. ¡°Yueyue, why are you up so early?¡± asked Shi Shaochuan, surprised to see her sitting by the dressing table just as he was about to take a shower. ¡°Do you know what time you arrived homest night?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t remember. I had to do a forfeit for beingte due to a heavy jam, so I had a bit too much to drink. I¡¯m sorry, Honey,¡± Shi Shaochuan apologized. Just as he was about to hug her, Jin Qingyue pushed him away and said, ¡°Go take a shower, you reek of alcohol and vomit.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll hug you after a shower then.¡± ¡°Hmph! You¡¯re not allowed toe home sote again,¡± Jin Qingyuemented. ¡°Yes, Honey!¡± Shi Shaochuan eximed, giving a salute. ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning drove out to look for a contractor first thing in the morning of the next day. She instructed the contractor to construct a few simple rooms, to bepleted within a day. She then proceeded to the furniture store together with Mei Yangyang to purchase some necessities such as beds, pillows, as well as their personal crockery and utensils. As the saying goes, money does make the world go round. An Xiaoning managed to purchase everything she needed in a single trip. From now on, she would have to provide for eight other people. It made her feel just like the head of a family. Since it was rather easy to build simple rooms, the fast workers managed toplete construction by afternoon. Due to the fact that An Xiaoning¡¯s backyard was not exactly enormous, there was not much space left after the five rooms were constructed. There were two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a kitchen. In the afternoon, she ordered for the tiles to beid and for the toilet amenities to be installed in the bathrooms ¡ª all of which werepleted in one day. Usually, it would be impossible to reachpletion within just a day. However, An Xiaoning managed to make the impossible happen by offering double of the quoted price. At the end of the day, all she wanted was for them to have a room to stay in as soon as possible so as to make living together easier. The six men and two girls stood in a single file before An Xiaoning. Putting her hands together, An Xiaoning said smilingly, ¡°It¡¯s been a day since you guys arrived, but we¡¯ve yet to introduce ourselves. I shall take the lead then. My name is An Xiaoning, and this is my sworn sister, Mei Yangyang. We¡¯re both still pretty young, I¡¯m 23 and she¡¯s 21 this year. ¡°No matter what you¡¯ve been through in the past and what your names used to be, you guys will start life anew from now onwards. You shall be our family in whom we can trust,¡± she continued. ¡°Just like what my sister said, you guys will have numbers for names, so as to make it easier for us to remember and identify you. Starting from the left, you shall be named 001, 002, 003, 004, 005, 006, 007, and 008, respectively,¡± said Mei Yangyang. ¡°007 and 008, you twodies shall be in charge of housekeeping andundry, as well as cooking our meals. As for the other six of you, you are to form two groups of three and be on shift duty 24/7. You may decide the grouping and shift amongst yourselves,¡± she continued. ¡°The three areas at which you are to be on standby and keep watch are the backyard, the living room, and the second storey. I hope you¡¯re aware that there are surveince cameras all around this residence. All of you will receive a monthly sry. Rest assured, your attire and daily necessities will all be provided for,¡± An Xiaoning instructed. They then gave a round of apuse and cheered in celebration, seemingly in high spirits to be able to be a part of such a big family. An Xiaoning felt a sudden sense offort and security, though she was not aware if it was just a cebo effect. All of a sudden, a white Bentley showed up at An Xiaoning¡¯s doorstep. An Xiaoning caught sight of it right away since the door was left ajar. She watched as Jin Qingyan alighted from his car, d in a bespoke suit perfectly tailored to his measurements along with a white buttoned shirt. He was the only person she knew who could look so dashing in such a boring outfit. He gazed at the people in the backyard with a smile on his handsome, chiseled face. A bunch of uniformed men followed closely behind him. The first thing that came to An Xiaoning¡¯s mind was that Jin Qingyan was there to arrest someone. Chapter 219 - I Just Fancy You (3)

Chapter 219: I Just Fancy You (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Apparently, she was wrong. Jin Qingyan walked towards her with his hands behind his back and said with a smile, ¡°Not bad, you¡¯ve learned to hire bodyguards to protect yourself.¡± ¡°Thank you for the concern, Mr. Jin. I¡¯m nowhere near as armed as you are though,¡± she said modestly. ¡°Don¡¯t call me Mr. Jin, that¡¯s too formal. We¡¯re way closer than that. By the way, I came by today to inform you that we¡¯re going to be neighbors from now on,¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked a puzzled An Xiaoning. ¡°We¡¯ll be neighbors. I bought the mansion down the road, just a short distance beside yours. The air here is fresh, and it¡¯s convenient to get around too. It¡¯d be a great choice for a home I¡¯ll be staying in every now and then. Besides, I¡¯m more than happy to have you as my neighbor.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Up to you,¡± An Xiaoning said coldly. Jin Qingyan had a smug smile on his face as he turned around to instruct his men, ¡°Hurry and decorate the new ce. I¡¯ll drop by for a visit in a while.¡± They hurriedly proceeded to do as instructed. He was quick to make himself at home and began walking leisurely towards the living room. An Xiaoning dismissed her servants and hurriedly chased after Jin Qingyan. ¡°Jin Qingyan, get out now.¡± ¡°An Xiaoning, is this how you treat your new neighbor?¡± he asked, raising a brow. She stepped forward to grab his arm and pulled him into the backyard before instructing her six bodyguards, ¡°Do not allow him to enter the house.¡± She then headed back inside. Jin Qingyan did not force his way in and instead looked up at the windows on the second storey to see that she had installed anti-theft windows. He could not help but feel a little disappointed upon realizing that she had blocked every possible area from which one could climb over. The only way to enter was from the main gate. However, he was determined to find a way to get close to her since he had already gone the extra mile to move in beside her. An Xiaoning would have been enraged to know what he had up his sleeve. ¡°Sis, Mr. Jin seems to be really serious about you, why don¡¯t you just give in to him?¡± said Mei Yangyang, giggling while covering her mouth with her hand. ¡°Over my dead body. I have my own reasons not to give in,¡± An Xiaoning refuted, thinking that Jin Qingyan was merely too stubborn to give up and would throw in the towel soon enough. An Xiaoning headed upstairs while Mei Yangyang was preparing dinner. She logged into her email ount on herputer to see that she had received a new message in her mailbox. Her face turned pale as a sheet upon opening and reading its content. It was a message from Xi Bi, which read: ¡°Take good care of yourself, we¡¯ll meet again very soon.¡± He had attached his photo at the bottom of the email, further proving that he was indeed the sender. An Xiaoning sat before theputer, seemingly reminded of something after reading Xi Bi¡¯s message. Upon seeing An Xiaoning, Mei Yangyang asked, ¡°Sis, where are you going?¡± ¡°Nowhere. Let¡¯s head out to somewhere after dinner.¡± Noticing the austere expression on An Xiaoning¡¯s face, Mei Yangyang nodded in agreement without probing further. After dinner, they gave 001, 002, and 003 a simple briefing for their night duty before heading out in An Xiaoning¡¯s car. Having arrived at the entrance of an essories store, Mei Yangyang asked softly, ¡°Sis, are you nning to buy some essories?¡± ¡°Yes, I need to get something.¡± An Xiaoning alighted and entered the store. ¡°May I know where the brooches are?¡± she asked the store owner. ¡°Here,¡± answered the store owner, showing her the way. After taking a look at the rows of brooches on disy, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Do you have those with a long needle at the back?¡± ¡°Hmm... these few have a long needle attached to the back,¡± said the store owner, pointing at a few brooches. An Xiaoning took a closer look and found that they were very much to her liking. Thus, she bought a few in one go. She then hopped into the car again and drove towards a household weapon store. She picked out a few whips of varying widths and lengths as well as a few otherpact daggers. Thinking that she ought to tighten security even further, she proceeded to look for Jin Qingyan as soon as she arrived home. ¡°I heard you¡¯d like to see me?¡± Noticing how smug he looked, An Xiaoning pursed her lips and said, ¡°We just met two hours ago.¡± ¡°There must be a reason you came to see me. What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Do you have guns? Sell me two of them.¡± ¡°Why do you have to use the word ¡®sell¡¯? That sounds so awful. I do have guns, but I don¡¯t want money, I want you...¡± he said bluntly. ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll go look for Gu Beicheng. I knew I couldn¡¯t count on you.¡± ¡°Wait, wait, hold on... why are you so impatient? You¡¯re getting anxious even before we¡¯ve had a proper conversation,¡± said Jin Qingyan, rushing forward to grab her by her arm. He pinned An Xiaoning down onto the couch and looked at her from above. ¡°If you manage to get your hands on some guns, you have to promise me you won¡¯t point it at me, ever.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that if you don¡¯t try anything funny with me.¡± ¡°Well, you have to promise me that before I give them to you.¡± She looked up into his eyes and said, ¡°Jin Qingyan... you¡¯re not the only one who has guns.¡± ¡°Indeed, I¡¯m not the only one who does. But I¡¯m very certain that Gu Beicheng will not give them to you. Do you think these are toy guns, sold everywhere on the streets? Just promise that you won¡¯t ever point the gun at me no matter where you are and how infuriated you may be,¡± he reiterated. An Xiaoning nodded and gave in, ¡°I¡¯ll promise you that.¡± He then nodded in satisfaction and said, ¡°I¡¯ll send them over to your ce tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going home,¡± said An Xiaoning as she rose from her seat. ¡°You may stay too if you don¡¯t wish to leave.¡± ¡°Dream on,¡± she retorted, turning around to leave right away. ¡ª¡ª Jin Qingyue waited for three days before dialing the number. She ced the call using a newly bought mobile phone. It was a woman who picked up the call, sounding rather young. Jin Qingyue then imed to have dialed the wrong number and hurriedly ended the call. She began to suspect something. Though she was unsure. Since then, she would fervently search for clues or traces of a scent belonging to another woman on Shi Shaochuan¡¯s clothes, right after he returned home every day. However, she did not manage to find anything. Shi Shaochuan had returned to his normal routine ofing home on time every day and refraining from going out again after returning home. Jin Qingyue¡¯s suspicion towards him began to fade gradually. However, she still took the opportunity to ask him about the unknown number, ¡°Whose phone does this number belong to?¡± ¡°This? Let me try and recall... oh, right, it belongs to a girl who was knocked down by a car while I was on my way to meet my former ssmates. I decided to be kind and sent her to the hospital before driving her home.¡± Jin Qingyue recalled the text message he received that night and immediately pieced the puzzle together. She felt a huge sense of relief and praised him, ¡°Oh, I see. You¡¯re such a kind person, Hubby.¡± ¡°Actually, I did that because I¡¯ve been feeling rather guilty about knocking someone down and killing her.¡± He let out a sigh and continued, ¡°Yueyue, we¡¯re the only ones left in the Shi family now. What do you say we have a few more kids of our own?¡± ¡°Alright, as long as you¡¯re happy, I¡¯ll bear you a few children. It¡¯s not like we can¡¯t afford to raise them anyway.¡± Hugging her in his arms, Shi Shaochuan said, ¡°Yes. It¡¯s half past seven, time for me to head to the office. Take care of yourself at home and have your meals on time. Be a happy expecting mother and stop letting your imagination run wild. You¡¯re the only one in my heart.¡± Jin Qingyue let out a gleeful smile and answered, ¡°Yes, I will.¡± Chapter 220 - I Just Fancy You (4)

Chapter 220: I Just Fancy You (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡ª¡ª Staring at the 30 thousand dors Xu Jingwen handed her, An Xiaoning asked in astonishment, ¡°Aren¡¯t you penniless?¡± ¡°I borrowed from someone to return it to you. I don¡¯t wish to work for you anymore from today onwards,¡± said Xu Jingwen, turning around to leave as soon as she handed her the money. An Xiaoning counted the money to find that it was indeed the correct amount. ¡°Sis, do you think she could¡¯ve possibly gone to be a social escort? She seems to be in a dazetely, something feels off about her,¡± Mei Yangyang said softly. ¡°Stay out of her business. She¡¯s already an adult, she¡¯s responsible for her own life and actions. Zhang Li is there to tend to the store. Although we don¡¯t know when Xu Jingwen wille by again, we shouldn¡¯t be wasting our time on such matters. I¡¯m nning to invest in a movie, the director is the one in charge of the production unit we worked at previously, Jing Tian. I¡¯ve read his fortune long ago. He¡¯s 29 this year and he¡¯ll be enjoying bright career prospects. The movie he¡¯s directing is going to be a blockbuster, so I¡¯ve decided to invest in it,¡± said An Xiaoning. Mei Yangyang¡¯s eyes lit up and answered, ¡°I heard you¡¯ll get to earn a lot from investing in a movie.¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll let you be the female lead, how does that sound?¡± ¡°Sis... are you kidding?¡± Mei Yangyang asked in shock and disbelief. ¡°Why would I be kidding about that? Haven¡¯t you filmed a shampoomercial before? I¡¯d like for a newbie like you to star in a movie like that. Yangyang, I strongly believe you can surpass famous actresses like Sun Weiwei and Song Yan.¡± ¡°Sis, why do I feel like you¡¯re trying to create a star instead of investing in a movie? Sis, why don¡¯t you just start a film productionpany? Or you could also be an artiste manager, I¡¯ll be your first artiste.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have a really hectic schedule then. I don¡¯t like living such a busy lifestyle with so much to tend to everyday. Besides, I¡¯m nning to pick up a foreignnguage soon. Yangyang, if you¡¯d like to star in a movie, I¡¯ll just invest in one to let you be the female lead. You don¡¯t have to stick to the same industry forever. Your freedom will be restricted once you bind yourself to a contract with apany.¡± ¡°Sis! You¡¯re really my role model! I¡¯ve never seen a woman who¡¯s so enthusiastic about living her life to the fullest,¡± Mei Yangyang eximed, gazing at An Xiaoning in utmost awe. ¡°You won¡¯t have time to think about redundant ideas as long as you make full use of each day. Only then will you... stop being upset. I think there¡¯s still a lot for me to learn about in this life. But sadly, time is never enough.¡± An Xiaoning stood up and said, ¡°I went to bed rather earlyst night, but strangely, I¡¯m starting to get a little tired now.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to go home to take a nap,¡± she continued, stifling a yawn. Noticing how weary An Xiaoning was, Mei Yangyang said, ¡°Go home to get some rest then, I¡¯ll tend to the store.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± She stopped walking all of a sudden as she approached the entrance and turned around to ask Mei Yangyang, ¡°Yangyang, what¡¯s the date today?¡± ¡°Sis, it¡¯s the 12th of July today.¡± ¡°My birthday is on 15th of July,¡± said An Xiaoning in sudden realization. She walked back towards Mei Yangyang and continued, ¡°I can¡¯t remember thest time I got my period. But it feels like Aunt Flo hasn¡¯t paid me a visit in a long time.¡± After some thorough thought, Mei Yangyang answered, ¡°Sis, thest time you got your period was before we went to the resort.¡± A frown creased An Xiaoning¡¯s forehead as she said, ¡°Does that mean my period has beente for more than half a month?¡± ¡°Sis, you¡¯d better visit the hospital for a checkup. Your hormones and cycle must have gone out of whack. It happened to me before too, but everything returned to normal after my mother cooked me some herbal medicine. That was back when she was still healthy and agile.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll head to the hospital then.¡± An Xiaoning was ill at ease for she did not receive ideal results during her previous checkup. An Xiaoning made a trip back home specifically to get her human skin mask before making her way to the hospital. Throughout the journey, she was preupied with the thought of being gued with gynecological problems on top of being infertile. Upon arriving at the hospital, she proceeded to inform the gynecologist about her condition right away, iming that she had been missing her period for quite a while now. After taking a look at her medical records, the gynecologist said, ¡°Based on your condition, I highly doubt you¡¯re pregnant. But to be safe, we¡¯ll just conduct an ultrasound scan on you before proceeding with the other checkups once it¡¯s confirmed that there¡¯s no abnormalities.¡± An Xiaoning proceeded to queue up for her turn for the scan. She began to feel like it was unfortunate to be a woman upon seeing the massive number of women present at the clinic, waiting for their turn for consultation. There is bound to be a few days of difort during a woman¡¯s menstrual cycle each month. But then again, it was not tooforting to miss one¡¯s period either. In fact, a missed period only induces fear and worry. This was a fact that all women could agree upon. It was finally her turn after queuing up for a long period of time. ¡°Lie down and lift up your shirt,¡± instructed the doctor conducting the scan. She did as instructed, feeling rather calm andposed, strangely enough. Holding up the ultrasound wand and hovering it around her stomach, the doctor said in surprise, ¡°This is not a gynecological problem you¡¯re faced with.¡± An Xiaoning remained silent and waited for the doctor to continue speaking. ¡°You¡¯re pregnant. The fetus is five weeks old.¡± ¡°I¡¯m pregnant?¡± An Xiaoning eximed in shock as she sprung up immediately. ¡°Yes, please lie down, we¡¯re not done with the scan yet.¡± An Xiaoning lied back down onto the bed as her hands trembled uncontrobly in nervousness. After conducting another round of check, the doctor said, ¡°The fetus has been sessfully imnted in your womb. However, your condition is not looking too good, I suggest you undergo an abortion.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s initial happiness and excitement vanished immediately. Her hopes had gone up in smokes. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°The fetus is embedded right on top of the scar in your womb. Don¡¯t you get it? Although you¡¯re very lucky to have gotten pregnant sessfully, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll suffer a miscarriage very soon, unfortunately. Alright, I¡¯ll write you a referral letter and get the gynecologist to exin it to you,¡± said the doctor, throwing a piece of facial tissue at her, which she used to wiped her stomach before getting off the bed. With a heavy heart, she made her way back to the gynecologist¡¯s office again. The gynecologist gasped in shock upon reading the referral letter. ¡°You¡¯ve managed to get pregnant?¡± ¡°Yeah, the doctor said I¡¯ve been pregnant for five weeks. Didn¡¯t you say that it¡¯d be difficult for me to conceive?¡± An Xiaoning asked in bewilderment. ¡°Yes, that was the case. Just how did you manage to get pregnant again? Have you been having unprotected intercourse with your boyfriend very frequently?¡± asked the gynecologist as she scrutinized the referral note. ¡°It¡¯s not frequent...¡± ¡°You¡¯ve left a strong impression on me. I remember you mentioned the previous time that you don¡¯t intend to get married and have children, am I right?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± An Xiaoning acknowledged with a nod. ¡°Well, schedule for an abortion tomorrow or today after noon. There¡¯s no way you can give birth to this child. It is highly likely to be deformed or suffer from a certain disability. From the looks of it, there¡¯s a 90% chance you¡¯re going to suffer a miscarriage,¡± the gynecologist said truthfully. An Xiaoning felt as if her heart was being stabbed a million times. The child she had previously had died before she even came to know about its existence. Yet, she had to bring herself to undergo an abortion, now that she was aware of this fetus. ¡°Why? Are you nning to keep the child and just let nature take its course?¡± After a long moment of silence, An Xiaoning said, ¡°I¡¯d like to give it a try.¡± An Xiaoning drove to a remote area after leaving the hospital and began bursting into tears as she ced her head onto the steering wheel. Chapter 221 - I Just Fancy You (5)

Chapter 221: I Just Fancy You (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She could only allow herself to cry and let her long-suppressed emotions out when no one else was around. Heaven had given her a gift, only to take it away again before she could even enjoy it. Just how did something so unfortunate happen? What wrong did she do to deserve this? ¡°Boss, someone is calling you again!¡± cranked her ringtone. An Xiaoning whipped her phone out to see that it was a call from Mei Yangyang. She got a grip on her emotions before answering the phone. ¡°Hello, Yangyang.¡± ¡°Sis, have you gone for a checkup at the hospital?¡± asked Mei Yangyang. ¡°Yes, I have.¡± ¡°Sis, why do you sound like you just cried? You don¡¯t have to worry too much if it¡¯s just a hormonal imbnce. I¡¯ll bring you to the traditional Chinese medicine clinic I went to previously. You¡¯ll be fine after taking some medicine for a period of time,¡± Mei Yangyang reassured her worriedly. ¡°It¡¯s not that. Don¡¯t tell anyone, but I underwent an ultrasound scan and the doctor said I¡¯m pregnant,¡± An Xiaoning said with a sigh. After a moment of silence, Mei Yangyang said, ¡°Is that the reason why you¡¯re upset...¡± ¡°The doctor said it¡¯s very likely I¡¯ll suffer a miscarriage, and I was advised to go for an abortion.¡± Mei Yangyang felt like she was on an emotional rollercoaster. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell you the rest when we¡¯re home. Come home in the afternoon,¡± An Xiaoning said in a feeble voice. ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning proceeded to drive back home after ending the call. As soon as she arrived home, she removed her makeup with some cleansing oil and rinsed her face with water afterwards. She thenid onto the bed to rest, feeling exhausted and worn out. Perhaps it was because she was now aware of the existence of a precious baby she was about to lose anytime soon. She felt like there was a boulder on her chest as she ced her hands atop her abdomen. Although there were no physical changes to her stomach appearance-wise, she still felt like something was different. It was her mentality that had changed. Needless to say, Jin Qingyan was the father of the child. However, she could no longer tell him about it. Being told that there was a 90% chance of a miscarriage was akin to being sentenced to death immediately. Yet, she wanted dearly to keep the child. She had a burning desire to keep it. Thus, she decided from now on that she would try her very best to keep the child. Even if she still had to lose it some day, she would at least have no regrets in the end since she had already done everything she could. ¡ª¡ª After exiting the store at Dongpo District, Xu Jingwen hailed a taxi and made her way to Shi Shaochuan¡¯s office. Using the spare key he had given her, she unlocked his car door and got into his car. Since there was no inte connection in the carpark of his office building, she decided toy down in the back seat and y some games on her mobile phone while waiting for Shi Shaochuan to get off work. Shi Shaochuan was the one who had given her the 30 thousand dors that she returned to An Xiaoning. He had given it to her right away upon hearing that she was owing a debt. Xu Jingwen epted the money without hesitation because she was aware of how wealthy he was. In fact, she felt like she had deserved every bit of that sum of money. After waiting for him for the entire morning, Shi Shaochuan finally appeared, holding a bag of fast food in his hands. ¡°I¡¯ve paid the debt of 30 thousand dors,¡± Xu Jingwen said while enjoying her food. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s good. But do you n to go home every night now?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t n to move back home. My parents are too strict with me, I won¡¯t be allowed to leave again once I go home. I enjoy a lot of freedom now because they¡¯re still under the impression that I¡¯m staying at my workce.¡± ¡°How about I rent you a ce to stay and give you a fixed allowance every month? You won¡¯t have to go to work anymore then.¡± Xu Jingwen was delighted to hear his suggestion, which matched her thoughts exactly. She found it a better idea than going to work, which would not bring her much money despite having to slog her guts out. All smiles, she gave him a kiss and said, ¡°Does that mean you¡¯ll be providing for me from now on?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you wish for me to?¡± ¡°I do. I¡¯ve seen the news, your wife is pregnant, isn¡¯t she?¡± Xu Jingwen asked, wolfing down her food quickly. ¡°Do you think you¡¯d have the chance to cozy up to me if my wife wasn¡¯t pregnant?¡± said Shi Shaochuan, sounding a little haughty and conceited. He stuck his hand into her shirt and onto her bosom before continuing to speak, ¡°As long as you don¡¯t mind the fact that I have a wife and family, you¡¯ll enjoy a life of luxury from now on just by staying by my side as a kept woman.¡± Xu Jingwen wiped her mouth after finishing her cup of milk tea and answered, ¡°I just have to wait on you and pleasure you, right?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll make the cut if you promise to keep it from my wife too.¡± ¡°Got it. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t seek unnecessary trouble.¡± ¡°Clever girl,¡± he said, nodding his head in satisfaction. Xu Jingwen pleasured him in the car before heading to Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s ce in the evening. Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s initial warm and weing smile faded as soon as she heard that Xu Jingwen had quit her job at An Xiaoning¡¯s clothing store. ¡°Weren¡¯t you supposed to continue working for her for a year?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve returned her money. Sis Rui¡¯er, looks like you¡¯re going to deliver soon. I actually came by today to tell you that I won¡¯t be apanying you anymore from now on,¡± Xu Jingwen said smilingly. ¡°You¡¯re quitting this sideline too? You¡¯ll be paid 3000 dors a month just to chat with me.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯d like to quit. My boyfriend said he¡¯s going to provide for me from now on. He was the one who helped me clear my debt too.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er was both infuriated and flustered, for her initial n to control and make use of Xu Jingwen to her advantage had now gone awry. How was she supposed to nt a mole beside An Xiaoning now that Xu Jingwen had decided to quit? It seemed her painstaking efforts and the scheme she had plotted for months were about to go down the drain very soon. ¡°Jingwen, I¡¯ll be paying you monthly to simply chat with me. It¡¯s such an easy job. Are you really going to let Sis down?¡± Noticing how upset she had gotten, Xu Jingwen said, ¡°I know you treat me really well, Sis, but I just don¡¯t feel like working anymore. You can¡¯t possibly force me to, right?¡± ¡°But I just love forcing others to do things they don¡¯t like to. Did you know that you¡¯ve done drugs once?¡± Xu Jingwen froze in shock and fear. ¡°Did you say... drugs?¡± she asked, staring at Chi Rui¡¯er, who had a malicious and sinister smile on her face. ¡°That¡¯s right, it happened just a few days ago. Don¡¯t you remember feeling a little strange and unlike your usual self after leaving my ce that evening?¡± Of course she remembered. Xu Jingwen grew into an uncontroble rage as she snapped, ¡°You vicious and cunning woman! How could you feed me drugs!?!¡± Chi Rui¡¯er let out an evilugh. ¡°How can I control you otherwise? I reckon you¡¯ll be experiencing withdrawal symptoms soon enough.¡± ¡°Why did you have to do that to me!?!¡± Xu Jingwen hollered. ¡°Didn¡¯t I already mention earlier? I did it just so I could control you. I¡¯ve given you so many presents and paid you such a high sry just to chat and rx with me. Of course there wouldn¡¯t be such a simple and easy job. There¡¯s no free lunch in this world. You are to be good and abide by my instructions from now on. Only then will you have an easy life. But if you choose not to, it¡¯s fine by me. I¡¯m not the one who¡¯ll lose anyway,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er said bluntly. All she had to lose was her painstaking efforts. ¡°What do you stand to gain from controlling me?¡± ¡°That¡¯s none of your concern.¡± Suddenly reminded of An Xiaoning¡¯s words, Xu Jingwen continued, ¡°I guess it¡¯s true that you once tried to kill An Xiaoning. Your purpose for controlling me is just so you could harm An Xiaoning, isn¡¯t it? I¡¯ve really thought wrong about you. I actually thought... turns out, you¡¯re far worse than An Xiaoning!¡± ¡°It¡¯s up to you to say whatever you want. It doesn¡¯t matter to me at all. You¡¯ll be begging me in the future,¡± scoffed Chi Rui¡¯er, staring at Xu Jingwen coldly. Chapter 222 - I Just Fancy You (6)

Chapter 222: I Just Fancy You (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Oh please! Over my dead body will I ever beg you!¡± ¡°We shall wait and see then,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er sneered nonchntly. Xu Jingwen carried her purse and walked towards the door. She broke out into cold sweat, and her hands trembled uncontrobly. ¡°Finally, your withdrawal symptoms are showing,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er gloated as she burst into evilughter while seated on the couch. Xu Jingwen supported herself against the wall, feeling as if her body had been infested with a million bugs. Such a feeling was, in fact, worse than death. She had a growing desire for a whiff of drugs to relieve her symptoms. She looked back at Chi Rui¡¯er and staggered towards her. ¡°Give it to me, quick!¡± ¡°Oh, weren¡¯t you just being an obstinate littless moments ago? Why have youe begging me like a dog now?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er sneered, chuckling loudly. Xu Jingwen was trembling uncontrobly from head to toe as her burning need for reliefpelled her to kowtow to Chi Rui¡¯er. ¡°Sis Rui¡¯er, please save me. Please, I¡¯m dying,¡± she pleaded while on her knees. ¡°Save you? Why do I have to save you when you refuse to obey me?¡± said Chi Rui¡¯er, putting on a nonchnt and unsympathetic front. Xu Jingwen¡¯s initial animosity vanished instantly as she continued to plead eagerly, ¡°I¡¯ll obey you and abide by your instruction. I¡¯ll do everything you tell me to, will that do?¡± Xu Jingwen was on the verge of losing her sanity as she struggled to curb her drug addiction. ¡°I can give you some dope, but you¡¯ll first have to sign an agreement.¡± Xu Jingwen would have never resorted to begging her if not for her drug addiction, which was ultimately caused by Chi Rui¡¯er. In fact, she hated thetter to the core and never nned to do as she instructed, let alone sign an agreement. Xu Jingwen got up from the ground and roared in a moment of pique and exasperation, ¡°It¡¯s all your fault, vicious wretch! You cunning and relentless woman! Since you¡¯ve caused my life to be reduced to this, I won¡¯t allow you to live in peace either! We¡¯ll perish together!¡± Xu Jingwen then rushed forward to grab Chi Rui¡¯er. However, thetter shielded herself with her arms and said, ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± ¡°You were the one who caused me to be like this!¡± Xu Jingwen had beenpletely consumed by her anger. She tugged onto Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s hair and dragged her onto the ground with all her might,pletely disregarding the fact that thetter was pregnant. Chi Rui¡¯er waspletely susceptible and helpless to the sudden attack because of her huge baby bump, which caused her to lose most of her agility. To make matters worse, there was no one else at home since the servants had gone to the market. Thus, she decided to temporarily give in before nning her next move, ¡°Let go of me, I¡¯ll give you some dope.¡± However, Xu Jingwen was enraged beyond her rationality at this point. She stomped her foot angrily onto Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s abdomen, causing thetter to shriek in pain and clutch her gut while trying to sit up straight. Xu Jingwen was snapped out of her convulsions and back into reality by Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s sudden loud shriek. She came to her senses and hurriedly zoomed out of the house upon realizing the situation. Chi Rui¡¯er was in immense pain and broke out into cold sweat. She then quickly gathered up all her might and dialed the emergency hotline to call for an ambnce. By the time Gu Dongcheng arrived at the hospital, Chi Rui¡¯er was already in the delivery room. She had given birth to a premature baby boy. There was actually still a month and a half to go before her estimated due date. The newborn was immediately ced in an incubation tank due to the fact that his lungs were still yet to be fully developed and would require further treatment to induce lung development. Chi Rui¡¯er did not sustain any medicalplications since she had delivered via natural birth. She could get out of bed right away. She stood by the ss of the incubation room, staring at her premature child being attached to an incubator. She began to feel a strong resentment against Xu Jingwen upon seeing her child suffer as he struggled to breathe. However, she did not realize that all of these would not have happened if she had not plotted to control Xu Jingwen in the first ce. Although she had given birth to the child, she somehow could not feel a strong motherly love for him. Perhaps it was because she was aware that the child did not belong to Gu Dongcheng. However, she did feel a little guilty for causing her child¡¯s premature birth. ¡°Why were you so careless as to trip and fall?¡± Gu Dongcheng chided. ¡°You think I wanted that?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er retorted. She did not tell Gu Dongcheng that Xu Jingwen was the cause behind it all because she knew that he would definitely pursue the matter. When that happened, Xu Jingwen would spill the beans about the misdeeds Chi Rui¡¯er had done to her, without a doubt. Things would be worse should that happen. It seemed she could only take the me for now. ¡ª¡ª In an attempt to keep her child, An Xiaoning spent a huge sum of money to contact a gynecological professor, who agreed to try his best to help her, though there were no promises. An Xiaoning would have to inject herself daily with a single dose of tocolytic[1: A type of medicine used to suppress prematurebor.], which she could get administered at the hospital or by herself. She also had to attend regr gynecological checkups and remain sedentary in bed throughout most of her pregnancy. An Xiaoning noted down the professor¡¯s instructions and instructed Mei Yangyang to collect the tocolytic syringes from the hospital so she could inject them herself at home. Mei Yangyang then proceeded to inject a dosage of tocolytic into An Xiaoning ording to the doctor¡¯s instruction. Due to the fact that it was her first time performing an injection, Mei Yangyang could not help but feel overwhelmed with nervousness. An Xiaoning watched as Mei Yangyang injected her with the syringe and reassured thetter that she would get better with more practice. She then saw the news report about Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s prematurebor as soon as she turned on the television afterying down in bed. Reminded of the fact that Mei Yangyang had once read Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s fortune, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Do you still remember the first time we met? You were manning a fortune-telling stall and I gave you a set of birth characters to read, after which you urately predicted that the person would have two children.¡± ¡°Yes, I remember that. What about it?¡± ¡°That set of birth characters belongs to Chi Rui¡¯er. She¡¯s already had an abortion once previously.¡± Mei Yangyang gasped in shock before answering, ¡°Oh, so it belongs to her. She¡¯s destined to have a hard life though. Although she will be married, her marriage unfortunately would notst. The child she aborted was a boy too. But I remember clearly that the son she has now will live...¡± An Xiaoning quickly put her index finger over her mouth and shushed Mei Yangyang, ¡°Don¡¯t say it out loud. Let¡¯s just keep it to ourselves. The child is innocent though. I hope he will grow up peacefully.¡± ¡°I hope so too, but no one can deny fate. Sis, are you still nning to invest in the movie now that you have to remain in bed most of the time?¡± said Mei Yangyang while putting a cotton gauze over the needle hole on An Xiaoning¡¯s arm. ¡°Of course I am. I¡¯m only going to be an investor, there¡¯s no need for me to be on set every day. Besides, I can¡¯t allow you to spend all your time taking care of me. You¡¯ll have to live your own life too.¡± ¡°But I just want to apany you. It won¡¯t be nice if I leave you at home alone every day, especially since you have to rest and recuperate at home.¡± ¡°No worries. This is a chance I¡¯m giving you. You ought to cherish it. Besides, it won¡¯t take too long to film a movie. I¡¯ll discuss this matter further with Jing Tian when I see him.¡± ¡°Knock, knock!¡± Mei Yangyang stood up to answer the door. ¡°Mr. Gu Beicheng would like to see Missy,¡± reported 006. Mei Yangyang turned and said to An Xiaoning, ¡°Sis, Mr. Gu is here.¡± ¡°Let hime upstairs.¡± Mei Yangyang proceeded to go outside the room. Not long after, Gu Beicheng appeared at the door of her room. It had been quite some time since theyst met. Gu Beicheng had since had a change of hairstyle ¡ª he had gotten a fresh cut of fringe, which made him look even more dashing. He walked towards An Xiaoning and bent forward to have a look at her. ¡°Let me see, did you lose weight since thest time?¡± ¡°Losing weight is a tall order for me, alright?¡± An Xiaoning said with a grimace. ¡°Liar, you obviously lost a lot of weight. Have you been starving yourself? You really want to be just skin and bones?¡± Gu Beicheng chastised as his brows furrowed into a frown. Chapter 223 - I Just Fancy You (7)

Chapter 223: I Just Fancy You (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Skin and bones? Is it really that bad? I only weigh 40-odd kilograms, it¡¯s not that light. I n to go up to 60 kilograms though,¡± An Xiaoning said with a wry smile. ¡°You¡¯ll look good if you¡¯re chubbier. Tell me honestly, whatmendable feat have you achieved recently other thanpleting the exercise boot camp?¡± Gu Beicheng asked, reaching out to hold her hand. ¡°Seems like you know I¡¯ve done somethingmendable.¡± She retracted her hand from his and mocked teasingly, ¡°Would it hurt to not take advantage of me?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you in so long. What¡¯s wrong with holding your paw for a little? Petty miser.¡± He refused to give up and held her hand once again. Gazing at him, An Xiaoning burst intoughter and allowed him to continue holding her hand. ¡°Where did youe from? Don¡¯t tell me you especially came all the way here just to see me?¡± ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°How would I know? By the way, I just saw on the news that Chi Rui¡¯er had delivered prematurely.¡± ¡°Yeah, I heard she imed to have tripped and fallen at home,¡± Gu Beicheng said nonchntly. ¡°Why did Jin Qingyan move in beside you?¡± he added. ¡°You¡¯ve found out about that too?¡± ¡°It¡¯s all over the news! Is he really that bored and free to be buying and moving into a new property so casually?¡± Gu Beicheng grumbled in disgruntlement. ¡°Just ignore him. You too can buy property if you wanted.¡± With a squint, he asked, ¡°I forgot to ask you earlier, why have you gotten yourself involved with Xi Bi?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t wish to either. I¡¯m innocent. He was the one who came looking for trouble. If it weren¡¯t for my quick-wittedness, I reckon you wouldn¡¯t be seeing me here today,¡± said An Xiaoning, feeling rather aggrieved. ¡°Wow wow wow, look at you being all poor and pitiful. Weren¡¯t you just having a great ton of fun at the holiday resort with Jin Qingyan?¡± he teased. However, he sounded rather bitter and jealous. ¡°I didn¡¯t go out of my own ord, he forced me to,¡± An Xiaoning exined. ¡°Do you dare say that you weren¡¯t in the least bit willing?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t! Besides, why aren¡¯t you mentioning the time you forced me to go parachuting with you? The pot calling the kettle ck,¡± An Xiaoning retorted. Gu Beicheng chuckled, thinking that An Xiaoning must have borne a strong resentment against Jin Qingyan, judging from her tone. ¡°We haven¡¯t seen each other in so long. What do you say we go out for a meal?¡± he suggested. ¡°I haven¡¯t been feeling too well the past couple of days. Why don¡¯t we go have a meal on my birthday instead? It¡¯s on the 15th of July.¡± Noticing that she indeed looked a little sickly, he answered, ¡°How can we spend your birthday by having just a simple meal? Why don¡¯t you let me n your schedule on your birthday?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± she agreed with a nod. ¡ª¡ª At this very moment, a tall and slender figure standing by the roof of the house next door was staring at them intently with a pair of binocrs. It was none other than Jin Qingyan. Why hasn¡¯t Gu Beicheng left yet even though it had already been more than ten minutes? he wondered. He continued to watch them for a few more minutes, only to find that Gu Beicheng had still yet to leave. ¡°Young Sir, Old Madam has called to ask you to return to the old mansion for dinner,¡± said Jin Qingyan¡¯s servant. ¡°Tell my Grandmother I¡¯m busy.¡± ¡°This is the third time you¡¯ve turned her down this week. Old Madam has already mentioned beforehand that she would keep waiting for you toe home if you refuse to show up again this evening.¡± cing his binocrs down, Jin Qingyan grumbled, ¡°Grandma is really bing more and more obstinate with age.¡± He headed downstairs to pick up his car keys on the table and proceeded to drive away. Coincidentally, he bumped into Gu Beicheng, who had just exited from An Xiaoning¡¯s house, at that very moment. Jin Qingyan did not stop his car, however, and instead just drove past Gu Beicheng. Soon, he arrived at the Jin family¡¯s old mansion. Upon the sight of him, old Mrs. Jin quickly rose from her seat on the couch and said in surprise, ¡°I really thought you weren¡¯t going toe home today.¡± ¡°Grandma, I told you I was busy. Where¡¯s Mother?¡± ¡°She went to Qingyue¡¯s ce. I reckon she¡¯ll be home anytime soon.¡± ¡°Grandma, did you miss me a little too much?¡± said Jin Qingyan as he took a seat. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t havee back if I didn¡¯t give you a call. I¡¯ve been seeing you on the news every day though. You and Xiaoning... how are things between you two now?¡± asked old Mrs. Jin. ¡°Things are the way they are,¡± Jin Qingyan answered vaguely, picking up his chopsticks to begin eating. ¡°It¡¯s been so long, yet you still haven¡¯t managed to convince her to go back to you? Seems like Xiaoning has really made up her mind,¡± old Mrs. Jin said with a sigh. ¡°She¡¯s made up her mind, but so have I. I don¡¯t believe that she¡¯s more determined than I am,¡± Jin Qingyan said confidently with a smile. ¡°You¡¯re almost driving your Mother to her grave. But, I really think you shouldn¡¯t force Xiaoning if she¡¯s really so unwilling to get back together with you, lest we appear to be unreasonable and tyrannical.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m going to force her no matter what.¡± ¡°You¡¯re as stubborn as a mule yourself,¡± old Mrs. Jin chastised as she shot him a re. ¡°Well, too bad. I just fancy her too much.¡± ¡°...¡± Mrs. Jin entered through the door with a sullen expression on her face. ¡°Who made you upset again this time?¡± Jin Qingyan asked in curiosity. ¡°You, of course. Could you stop making the headlines every other day? And it¡¯s always because of her. You actually brought her to a holiday resort previously. Qingyan, do you think our family is not embarrassed enough?¡± Mrs. Jin chided as she sat down. ¡°I don¡¯t find that embarrassing at all. Please stop grumbling and being such a killjoy during mealtimes.¡± ¡°Exactly, you¡¯ve been nagging at him continuously every single time you see him. You¡¯ve made him detesting back here. I had to call him multiple times before he finally agreed toe home,¡± said old Mrs. Jin. ¡°He¡¯s already an adult. Do you really think he¡¯s not sensible enough to know what he¡¯s doing? It¡¯s not like he¡¯s still a toddler who needs you to tell him what to do,¡± she continued in defense of her grandson. ¡°Mother... that¡¯s not what I meant.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough, stop talking and start eating.¡± Mrs. Jin dared not utter another word upon hearing old Mrs. Jin¡¯s warning. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Long time no see, Ms. An,¡± Jing Tian greeted as he entered through the door. ¡°Indeed, it has been a while. Have a seat, Jing Tian. I¡¯ve got something to discuss with you,¡± said An Xiaoning, pointing towards a chair beside her. Jing Tian proceeded to take a seat and said, ¡°Please speak your mind.¡± ¡°I was wondering if you have some free time in your schedule to direct a film this year. It¡¯s going to be a small-productionedy film. I haven¡¯t found a screenwriter, but I thought it would be better to discuss it with you first,¡± said An Xiaoning, cutting straight to the chase. ¡°Ms. An, you mean...¡± Jing Tian asked with uncertainty. ¡°You may just call me Xiaoning. What I meant was, I¡¯d like for you to direct a film I¡¯ll be investing in. At the same time, I¡¯ll also be looking for sponsors to invest as well. As for the script, we shall look for a suitable scriptwriter together. What do you think about that?¡± An Xiaoning suggested. ¡°That¡¯s great, of course. I don¡¯t have anything lined up at the moment. The drama starring Sun Weiwei, which I directed previously, didn¡¯t receive ideal ratings. So, I don¡¯t have any new assignments currently,¡± Jing Tian answered, appearing a little glum and disappointed. ¡°You¡¯re still young in your years, people are definitely going to be skeptical of you. But in my opinion, you¡¯ll definitely make it big. Remember I read your fortune once? You¡¯re going to enjoy excellent career prospects this year. The film you direct is going to be a blockbuster. So, let¡¯s work together. I believe in you,¡± An Xiaoning reassured him smilingly. ¡°Since you have so much faith in me, I¡¯ll do my best to not disappoint you, Ms. An. I¡¯m more than willing to work with you.¡± ¡°Okay, great. Then you shall start looking for a screenwriter who¡¯s experienced inedy films. I¡¯ll look out for some candidates too. We¡¯ll discuss about further details once we find a suitable one. What do you say?¡± ¡°Sure, we¡¯ll do just that.¡± Jing Tian nodded in agreement. Chapter 224 - I Just Fancy You (8)

Chapter 224: I Just Fancy You (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After Jing Tian left, Mei Yangyang headed out to go on a date with Long Tianze, after which she would be returning back to her own home instead. An Xiaoning was left alone in her bedroom. She could rest with a peace of mind since there were bodyguards on duty right outside the door. Two hours into her nap, she was jolted awake by the sudden sound of her mobile phone ringing continuously. With half-closed eyes, she picked up her phone to see that it was a call from Jin Qingyan. A call at this hour, could it be something urgent? she wondered. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°An Xiaoning,e by my ce now.¡± ¡°I¡¯m already in bed. I¡¯m not going,¡± she rejected immediately. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll look for you then...¡± An Xiaoning ended the call before even waiting for him to finish speaking. She took a look at the time and realized that it was almost 11 o¡¯clock in the evening. She turned off the lights and went back to bed immediately. On the other hand, Jin Qingyan was suffering from severe insomnia. He had already hired someone to begin building a secret underground passageway which would lead him to her house from his backyard. However, he had yet to decide which area of her house it would be because he was unclear of the structure and floorn of her house. He decided to invade her room tonight. The crucial question was: how? There were bodyguards keeping watch at almost every corner of her house, making it impossible to enter at all without ying some dirty tricks. After much thought and consideration, he decided toe up with another solution. There was a square window on the wall of the back of An Xiaoning¡¯s house. Although it was also embedded with an anti-theft security system, it was no issue for him at all. Hence, he instructed his men to move adder against a wall of An Xiaoning¡¯s house and climb up to remove the anti-theft system quietly with a special prying device. He was perhaps the only person who possessed the guts to do something so stealthy at such ate hour. He then climbed up thedder and over to the window, which he then sat on, his legs dangling from the side. He shone a dimly-lit torchlight onto the window and discovered that it was the bathroom. There was a bathtub right next to the window, making it easier for him to enter. He then slowly slid down the wall inside the bathroom. Since it was Jin Qingyan¡¯s first time in An Xiaoning¡¯s house, he had no choice but to look for her room slowly. In order to avoid making any noise, he removed his shoes and carried them in his hands. After getting his eyes used to seeing in the dark, he continued to walk towards the door. He was careful with his steps and walked at an exceptionally slow pace. Holding onto the doorknob, he tried his best to control his strength while turning it and finally managed to open the door without making too much of a sound. Overwhelmed with nerves and anxiety, Jin Qingyan felt his heart pounding continuously against his chest. However, he actually enjoyed the thrill of it. He exited the bathroom to find that he was right in her bedroom. Footsteps could be heard pacing about outside her bedroom. As expected, she had instructed her bodyguards to keep watch outside her bedroom round the clock. After putting his shoes on the ground, he slowly walked towards her bed to see that she was sound asleep. Jin Qingyan gazed at her with a look of gentleness in his eyes. He removed all of his clothes, leaving only a pair of briefs on. He boldly lifted her duvet and snuggled up beside her in the bed. As much as he was gentle with his actions, she was still slightly disturbed. She turned to the side to have her back facing him before falling back into sleep again. Laying down beside her, Jin Qingyan basked in the warmth of her bed and the lingering scent of her hair. Jin Qingyan felt exceptionally at ease, just as he always did whenever he was around her. He let out a soft sigh as it seemed she was the only one who could help him with his insomnia. He leaned in closer towards her and wrapped his arm around her waist, struck with a sudden feeling as soon as he came into contact with her skin. The familiar sensation of touching her delicate skin sent blood rushing through his veins all of a sudden. Jin Qingyan began to feel a strong urge as his hormones began to rage. His hand began to hover gently down, south from her waist. All of a sudden, he felt his hand being shrugged away. An Xiaoning sprung up and switched on the bedmp. Both of them could not get used to the sudden brightness of the room. An Xiaoning looked at the man beside her and was momentarily stunned beyond her senses. Soon after, she kicked a foot up against Jin Qingyan, causing him to fall to the ground straightway, before he could even react. The duvet had slipped onto the ground together with him. An Xiaoning sat on the bed, scantily d in a sleeveless pajamas. She blushed red as a tomato and covered her chest with her hands. ¡°You! Did you do that on purpose?¡± she questioned angrily, pointing a finger at him. Instead of getting infuriated, Jin Qingyan burst intoughter and batted his eyelids at her. ¡°Since when? You were the one who was violent with me.¡± Just as An Xiaoning was about to break into rage and yell for him to get lost, the bodyguard knocked on the door loudly. ¡°Ms. An, what¡¯s the matter?¡± asked the worried bodyguard. An Xiaoning began to feel flustered; she did not want the bodyguard to find out that Jin Qingyan was in her bed room in the wee hours of the night. Acting as if nothing had happened at all, she answered, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. You don¡¯t have to guard outside my bedroom tonight. Continue your duty outside.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± She heard his footsteps walking away. Staring at the culprit, Jin Qingyan, who was getting up from the ground, she said coldly, ¡°Put on your clothes right now and get lost to where you came from immediately!¡± Jin Qingyan felt rather upset to see how stern she was. Instead of leaving right away, he pinned her down onto the bed and said, ¡°But you¡¯re here, where else am I supposed to go?¡± ¡°Get off me!¡± she snapped. Jin Qingyan shushed her and whispered softly into her ear, ¡°Go ahead and yell if you¡¯d like for everyone here to find out that you¡¯re hiding me in your room.¡± ¡°I¡¯m hiding you in my room? You were clearly the one who sneaked in here from God knows where.¡± ¡°Others would think otherwise though,¡± he said with a sheepish grin. She red at him in frustration and said, ¡°Get off. I¡¯ll let you sleep here tonight, but you¡¯re not allowed to touch me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not up to you to say,¡± he pulled her into his arms forcefully and closed his eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll leave before daybreak. I won¡¯t touch you, so don¡¯t touch me either. Because even if you did, I wouldn¡¯t leave,¡± he added. An Xiaoning was raging with immense anger. It was her first time encountering someone so annoying and stubborn. Not long after, she began to feel his rhythmic breathing above her head. His unique masculine scent wafted up to her nose as sheid there with her head on his chest. Strangely, she felt rather at ease and free of worry. Thus, she closed her eyes and soon slipped into deep slumber. In the darkness of the night, a sudden loud rumble of thunder jolted An Xiaoning awake, though she had just fallen asleep not long ago. In a moment of shock and panic, she clutched his shirt tightly, only to see that his eyes were still closed. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, I¡¯m here,¡± he murmured while giving her a few pats on her back. An Xiaoning felt her racing heartbeat slow down all of a sudden upon hearing his words. She was no longer as frightened as before, no matter how hard the thunder came crashing down. Soon, it began to pour heavily, flooding the streets. Tit, tat, tit, tat went the window pane as the rain drops struck the ss. Little did he know, at this very moment, she was pregnant with their baby, whom neither knew how long they could keep. Tears began to well up in An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes as she could not help but feel overwhelmed with sadness at the thought of the possibility of losing her unborn child anytime soon. However, she could only bottle up her feelings instead of telling him about it. Chapter 225 - I Just Fancy You (9)

Chapter 225: I Just Fancy You (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Before An Xiaoning even realized it, morning had arrived. She was woken up by Mei Yangyang. ¡°Sis, time to wake up.¡± To her relief, An Xiaoning sat up to find that the spot beside her was empty. ¡°Yangyang, what time is it now?¡± ¡°8 o¡¯clock. I¡¯ve made us breakfast,e and have some, quick,¡± Mei Yangyang said smilingly. ¡°Alright, sure.¡± Mei Yangyang turned around to leave, causing the air to be restored to its initial silence. An Xiaoning then noticed a note on the table. She picked it up to see that it was written by Jin Qingyan. He had beautiful handwriting, although not exactly the neatest. All he wrote was: ¡°I love you, Good Morning.¡± An Xiaoning blushed slightly with shyness upon reading the heartwarming note. She put her hands on her face to find that they were burning hot. Although she had torn the note into shreds, the words he left were deeply etched in her mind. Weren¡¯t there bodyguards on dutyst night?Just how did he manage to enter? she could not help but wonder to herself. She simply could not figure it out. When she entered the bathroom to wash up, she discovered that there were footprints on the bathtub. An Xiaoning stepped onto the bathtub slowly and opened the windows, only to discover that the anti-theft device had been removed. He really had so many tricks up his sleeve. Even an anti-theft system could not stop him. An Xiaoning got out of the bathtub slowly and walked to the basin where she stood in front of the mirror to look at herself. She subconsciously let out a long sigh. He had been getting more and more brazen with his advances, which she, however, could not ept. It had gotten to the point where he was almost unstoppable. It had never once urred to her that the high-and-mighty Jin Qingyan would ever swallow his pride and go to such extremes just to woo her. How could she have not known? She wished she could board a time machine back to the past year, for she would be able to avoid all these trouble with the knowledge she had now. Unfortunately, things don¡¯t always turn out the way you¡¯d like them to. During breakfast, An Xiaoning decided to tell Mei Yangyang about what happened the night before. ¡°Last night, Jin Qingyan climbed in from the window of the bathroom and even removed the anti-theft device installed on the windows. Yangyang, go call for a contractor toeter and make the window smaller with some cement. It¡¯ll be the best if it bes so small to the point that he can no longer climb in.¡± Mei Yangyang could not help but burst intoughter. ¡°Sis, I think Mr. Jin has really outdone himself for you. He almost deserves an Oscar.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll be him and I¡¯ll be me. Let¡¯s ignore him.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do as you instructedter,¡± Mei Yangyang agreed. ¡ª¡ª In high spirits, Jin Qingyan returned to the office with happiness written all over his face. Upon noticing that he was all smiles, his employees began to feel a little perplexed as they could not figure out why he was behaving so strangely. His assistant chuckled and asked out of curiosity, ¡°Mr. Jin, what¡¯s the joyous asion?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll double your sry for today,¡± said Jin Qingyan. His assistant was taken aback by his words. What has gotten into him today? Although Jin Qingyan had always been kind and courteous to the people around him, he had never worn his heart on his sleeve like he was doing right now. His assistant was over the moon yet confused. Staring at Jin Qingyan with a look of puzzlement on his face, he asked, ¡°Is what you said true, Mr. Jin?¡± ¡°Of course. Do your job well.¡± Dumbstruck, the assistant let out a sheepish smile and answered, ¡°Alright, I will work hard for sure.¡± Jin Qingyan then gestured for his assistant to leave before returning to his office. He sat by the office desk, still yet to snap out of his thoughts about the scene he woke up to this morning ¡ª finding her sound asleep in his arms. Jin Qingyan knew that he was head-over-heels in love with An Xiaoning, and there was no way he could ever get over her. A sudden warmness and joy began to fill his heart. Soon after he slipped into work mode, he received a call from his subordinate, who informed him that An Xiaoning had hired someone to reduce the size of the window, which meant that he probably could not climb into her house from there again. However, Jin Qingyan did not have much of a reaction to the piece of news. There was nothing unusual about it, given her character. Staring at the photo of them taken during winter on his desktop wallpaper, he could not help but reminiscence about the events of that day. He was overwhelmed with happiness, though he wondered when the day she decides to change her mind and go back to him woulde. ¡°Knock, knock!¡± ¡°Come in.¡± It was Fan Shixin at the door. ¡°Young Sir, this is the new design for the bridal chamber you¡¯ve requested. Could you have a look and let me know if you¡¯d like for any changes to be made?¡± said Fan Shixin, cing a project file on the desk. ¡°Just proceed ordingly,¡± Jin Qingyan instructed after browsing through the document. ¡°Got it. Rest assured, the task will bepleted. I¡¯ll be making a move then,¡± Fan Shixin bade him goodbye with a bow. ¡°Sure.¡± The project file Fan Shixin brought along was a sketch of the interior design for the vi in Wei Ni Estate. There was actually no need for renovation in the vi. However, Jin Qingyan nned to live there with An Xiaoning, should she ever decide to get back together with him. She would definitely feel a thorn in her flesh, living in a house Chi Rui¡¯er had once lived in. Thus, he decided to go ahead with renovating the house and rece all the furniture. As much as it may all seem redundant, money does make the world go around. Given that he truly disliked children, he had never thought of having any of his own in the past. Yet. Tapping his fingers gently on the table, Jin Qingyan kept his innermost thoughts to himself. ¡ª¡ª Due to the fact that news of Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s prematurebor had spread across the country, her mother would have naturally heard about it too. Mrs. Chi rushed to the hospital with her husband, slightly infuriated. Yet, she could not express her anger and instead apanied Chi Rui¡¯er at her hospital ward. However, Chi Rui¡¯er did not wish for her apaniment because her stepfather was present as well. ¡°Mother, you may go home first. There are people here to take care of me. You¡¯re not in the best state of health yourself, you don¡¯t have toe all the way here just to apany me.¡± ¡°Of course I¡¯ll have to apany you at this time. Wretchedss,¡± said Mrs. Chi, staring at her daughter. ¡°Get Yang Yongcai to leave then. I don¡¯t wish to see him.¡± ¡°How could you address him by his full name? He¡¯s your father. Don¡¯t be so disrespectful.¡± ¡°You either get him to leave or leave together with him,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er said coldly. Mrs. Chi had no choice but to say to her husband, ¡°She¡¯s willful and insensible. Don¡¯t bother stooping to her level. Go home first, I¡¯ll stay here to apany her for a few days.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make my move then,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s stepfather agreed with a nod. Chi Rui¡¯er and her mother were left alone in the room, which fell silent instantly. ¡°Now that you¡¯ve got yourself a wealthy husband, you don¡¯t even wish to see your parents. What an ingrate. Did you forget who raised you? You ought to show him some basic respect even if you don¡¯t wish to address him as your father.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not fit to be my father!¡± Chi Rui¡¯er snapped. ¡°Let me tell you, littless, you¡¯re going to get yourself into trouble sooner orter with that attitude of yours,¡± Mrs. Chi chided. Refusing to argue with her any further, Chi Rui¡¯er answered, ¡°Mother, I¡¯m getting on fine with life, stop pointing a finger at me and ming me for this and that. Just take good care of yourself. Although I don¡¯t wish to return to that home, I¡¯m still very worried about you.¡± Chapter 226 - I Just Fancy You (10)

Chapter 226: I Just Fancy You (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°My health is alright. I just have to take medicine regrly for my heart disease, that¡¯s all.¡± Reminded of her grandson, Mrs. Chi continued, ¡°Although your child is really small, he looks so much like you when you were younger. In fact, he looks nothing like Dongcheng at all.¡± ¡°He¡¯s my child, of course he will look like me. It¡¯s only normal that he doesn¡¯t look like his father,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er said eagerly. ¡°They always say that sons resemble their mothers. Seems like it¡¯s true. Your child is definitely going to suffer from poor health in the future since he is a premature baby. Besides, you¡¯re notctating now. I reckon he¡¯s going to have to feed on powdered form,¡± Mrs. Chi said softly. ¡°So be it then, it¡¯s not like we can¡¯t afford powdered form anyway,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er answered nonchntly. ¡°What do you know? Powdered form can¡¯t bepared to breast milk.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no other option anyway...¡± The sight of Xu Jingwen who just entered the room caused her to go speechless before she could even finish her sentence. ¡°Sis Rui¡¯er, I¡¯m here to visit you and the baby,¡± said Xu Jingwen, bringing along a bouquet of flowers, which Mrs. Chi epted and ced onto the table. ring at Xu Jingwen coldly, Chi Rui¡¯er said to her mother, ¡°Mother, go sit outside along the corridor. I need a word with thisdy here privately.¡± ¡°Alright, you guys go ahead. I¡¯ll go take a walk outside,¡± Mrs. Chi agreed before turning to exit the ward. ¡°Xu Jingwen, you actually had the cheek to show up here.¡± ¡°Why not? I¡¯ve managed to push through the withdrawal symptoms, and I¡¯ll do the same the next time itpses. I¡¯ll be able to fully ovee my addiction after a few more times. I came here today to tell you that I¡¯m not going to be your ve just because of a drug addiction,¡± Xu Jingwen said smilingly, with no signs of a drug addiction rpse at all. ¡°Is that so?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er answered with a smirk. ¡°Of course. You tried to harm me, but look, you¡¯ve harmed yourself too in the end. Chi Rui¡¯er, just why are you so wicked and vicious? It¡¯s no wonder you don¡¯t have any friends at all. Who would want to befriend a monster like you? I didn¡¯te here to visit you today, I came to visit your son. How unlucky of him to have reincarnated and be your son. He must¡¯vemitted a lot of sins in his past life.¡± ¡°Shut your trap! Cut the nonsense and get lost immediately!¡± Chi Rui¡¯er hollered. With a stern expression on her face, Xu Jingwen answered, ¡°You don¡¯t have to chase me out, I¡¯ll leave right now. The scores are settled, and we¡¯re even now. You¡¯ll live your life while I do the same with mine. But if you choose to provoke me again, let me tell you, I¡¯m not afraid of you.¡± Xu Jingwen left as soon as she finished speaking, while Chi Rui¡¯erid on the hospital bed, clenching her fists in anger. ¡ª¡ª The gloomy skies were pouring continuously for the entire day, though the rain was not too heavy. While Ye Xiaotian was away at work in the afternoon, Mo Li took the chance to go shopping before making a trip to the Long family¡¯s home at about five o¡¯clock. To her surprise, her parents were not in. ¡°Mo Xun, where¡¯s Father and Mother?¡± ¡°Madam asked to see them.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go have a look.¡± Holding an umbre in hand, Mo Li made her way across the passageway towards the living room. Just as she was about to reach the door, she overheard the ongoing conversationing from inside the living room. ¡°Up until now, I still get questioned about Mo Li whenever I attend parties and gatherings. Today, someone asked me if Mo Li had gotten back together with Ye Xiaotian, iming to have seen them together at some estate. Can¡¯t you just perform your duty as her parents? Isn¡¯t it great to be married to Prince Byron? Why did she decide toe back? Isn¡¯t she just digging her own grave?¡± Mrs. Long chastised in a high-pitched voice. ¡°There were some special reasons for that,¡± said Mr. and Mrs. Mo, who remained silent throughout most of the conversation. ¡°What reason is it?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t say it, Madam. Mo Li instructed us not to. We¡¯re very sorry to have implicated your family, we didn¡¯t want this to happen either. But Madam, Mo Li and Byron are only a thing of the past now. As for her rtionship with Ye Xiaotian, Mo Li didn¡¯t have much of a choice herself,¡± Mrs. Mo exined. ¡°She didn¡¯t have a choice? I highly doubt that. She¡¯s been enjoying a luxurious life with Ye Xiaotian andpletely neglecting you two and your son. Tianze¡¯s Father and I have had a discussion. We decided to return to you your household registers. Don¡¯t live with us anymore from here on. Although you have served us for years, we¡¯ve never once mistreated you anyway.¡± ¡°Madam... are you chasing us out?¡± asked a flustered Mrs. Mo. ¡°What do you mean chase out? Don¡¯t make it sound so bad. I¡¯m just afraid our family¡¯s reputation is going to be tarnished by your daughter if this goes on. It¡¯s already been so long, yet she still chose to return to Ye Xiaotian¡¯s side. I have nothing to say to people like you who don¡¯t have a backbone,¡± Mrs. Long said coldly. ¡°Madam, please don¡¯t act like this, we¡¯ve been here for so many years...¡± Before Mrs. Mo could even finish, Mrs. Long interrupted, ¡°Have you really taken this as your own home just because you¡¯ve lived here for ages?¡± ¡°Of course not...¡± Tears welled up in Mo Li¡¯s eyes upon realizing that she had implicated her parents and became a burden to them. She ced the umbre on the ground and entered before walking towards her parents. Noticing that Mo Li seemed to have overheard everything, Mrs. Long stared at her awkwardly. ¡°I was wrong to have caused my parents to be implicated into this matter. My parents have been working conscientiously for the Long family for years. Although their meals and amodation are provided for, they¡¯ve toiled and moiled to serve all of you. But since you¡¯ve decided to chase us out, we won¡¯t be so thick-skinned as to insist on staying. No matter what goes on in our lives from now on, we¡¯ll be careful not to mention that we¡¯ve lived with the Long family for years, lest we tarnish your reputation. I¡¯ll get Mo Xun toe back and collect the household registers,¡± said Mo Li as she grabbed her parents¡¯ hands and exited the door. ¡°Wow, she¡¯s really got backbone,¡± said Mrs. Long. ¡°Mo Li... you heard everything?¡± asked Mrs. Mo. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sorry, Father and Mother,¡± Mo Li answered softly, staring at the road ahead. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault. Do we go to your ce now?¡± Mrs. Moforted her. ¡°Yes, Xiaotian will allow you all to live with me in his house,¡± Mo Li said reassuringly, though she was in fact rather unsure since Ye Xiaotian was fickle and unpredictable. ¡°Alright, we shall start packing now then.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll wait for you guys.¡± The sky began to turn dark while the rain continued to pour. Mo Li stood outside the door to wait for her parents to finish packing their belongings. All of a sudden, her phone began to ring. She picked up immediately after seeing that it was a call from Ye Xiaotian. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Where are you? Why aren¡¯t you home yet?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a bit. Xiaotian... I have something to tell you.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°My parents have been chased out by Tianze¡¯s parents. Will you allow them to live with me?¡± Mo Li asked, trembling in fear that he might disagree. However, he did not. ¡°Sure, let them move in. You¡¯d be more at ease if they lived together with us, wouldn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Mo Li then ended the call, thinking to herself that Tianze must have been kept in the dark about his mother¡¯s decision. However, she decided not to tell him about it, lest she sowed discord between them. Chapter 227 - I Just Fancy You (11)

Chapter 227: I Just Fancy You (11)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After a ride in the taxi, they arrived at Ming Yuan Estate. The family of four took their luggage out. A figure stood at the front door. Mo Li took a closer look, and it was obviously Ye Xiaotian. He stood there with a ck umbre in hand and appeared to be waiting for her. Seeing that they were here, Ye Xiaotian went forward and greeted them. ¡°All of you are here. I¡¯ve already arranged your rooms for you, please enter.¡± Mrs. Mo simply replied, ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡± Ye Xiaotian¡¯s words made his stand very clear. He was allowing them to stay here only because of Mo Li. Mo Li¡¯s parents and brother settled down, and after eating, Mo Li gave her family some assurance and went upstairs. Ye Xiaotian just came out from a shower and was in a bath robe. He watched her sit by the bed silently, wondering what she was thinking of. ¡°Go and bathe.¡± ¡°Umm.¡± She got up and headed to the bathroom. After she went in, she did note out for a long time. Ye Xiaotian went inside to see what had happened to her and was surprised to see that she had fallen asleep in the bathtub. Even the water had turned cold. He reached out and carried her out of the bathtub, cing a dazed Mo Li on the bed. Using a towel, he wiped her dry and covered a nket over her. During the night, he unconsciously hugged her. At the touch of her skin, Ye Xiaotian opened his eyes in shock ¡ª her skin was boiling hot. He touched her forehead and it felt equally hot ¡ª she was actually having a fever. He immediately switched on the lights and got out of bed, getting the fever medicine from the medicine box. After pouring some water, he carried her and fed her the medicine. Ye Xiaotian did not sleep the whole night. He felt her forehead from time to time, afraid that her fever woulde back again. Which was why, when morning came, Mo Li woke up and realized for the first time that he did not go to work and was still fast asleep. After eating breakfast, she realized that he had not came down yet, so she went up to call him. ¡°Xiaotian, aren¡¯t you going to work? It¡¯s almost eight already.¡± Ye Xiaotian opened his eyes vaguely and, seeing that it was her, he reached out to touch her forehead. It was cold, so he turned and continued to sleep, murmuring, ¡°Not going.¡± Mo Li was a little surprised. But looking at the fever medicine at the edge of the bed, she knew what was going on already. No wonder she felt that she was being fed something when she was in the midst of sleeping. In addition to his move earlier, Mo Li felt exceptionally warm inside. ¡°Then are you eating? I¡¯ve made breakfast, get up and have some,¡± she bent down and said into his ear. Ye Xiaotian held her by her neck in one move. The two looked at each other at a close distance and could even feel each other¡¯s breathing. ¡°Mo Li, I want to eat you. You have to make it up to me. Last night, I didn¡¯t sleep well because of you.¡± Thinking of how he allowed her family to live here and did not sleep well the whole night because of her, plus the fact that her body was already his, she simply agreed. Once her wordsnded, he turned over and pressed onto her body. Mo Li was rather shocked and stared at him innocently like a little deer. His eyes were exceptionally beautiful, and, as she stared at him, she was irresistibly drawn to him. The state he was in almost made her forget how he really was. ¡°Xiaotian, thank you.¡± ¡°Mo Li.¡± He stared at her. ¡°I don¡¯t like it when you thank me.¡± ¡°Then what do you want me to say?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like you to say you want me.¡± Mo Li¡¯s eyes twinkled. ¡°You haven¡¯t eaten, do you have the strength?¡± He shed a rare smile and got down from her, using his arm as support. Looking at her, he asked, ¡°What have you made for breakfast?¡± ¡°I made bacon beef burger and corn porridge. There¡¯s also waffles,e and eat quickly.¡± The moment he sat up, he nted a kiss on her face. ¡°I¡¯ll let you go for now, I¡¯m indeed hungry.¡± As he spoke, he put on his clothes and then went to the bathroom. Mo Li watched the back of his figure and could not point to anything that was wrong, but simply felt uneasy inside. He wiped out all the food she made for breakfast. Mo Li grinned. ¡°Are you that hungry?¡± ¡°It¡¯s because the food you made was really good. I¡¯ll go upstairs to change. I¡¯m not heading to thepany in the afternoon, I¡¯ll bring you somewhere.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Sitting on the seat beside the driver¡¯s seat, he leaned in to her and Mo Li suddenly held her breath. She watched as he buckled up her safety belt for her and finally drove the car. Mo Li did not ask him where he was taking her and he did not say either. The car steadily arrived at the entrance of the building, then pulled over into the carpark. When the engine went off, the two got off from the car. He did not hold her hand, but the two walked one after another, with only a small gap between them. Following him into the lift, the two still did not say anything. The lift arrived at the tenth floor. When the door opened, Mo Li was slightly shocked. The decor was very luxurious, and every item was from established brands. The golden yellow color of the ceiling was shining with bright lighting, even though it was daytime. The massive ce had over ten young men and women drinking in high spirits. The men were surrounding each other closely and appeared to be enjoying themselves. Mo Li took a closer look and realized that she had seen most of these people before. They were all either second-generation businessmen with assets worth billions or investors. What she did not expect was for Gu Beicheng to be around too. He sat on the sofa with his leg crossed, aptop on his thigh. Upon seeing the two, the noise subsided into a moment of silence. Gu Beicheng raised his head and beamed. ¡°You¡¯re here, take a seat.¡± Ye Xiaotian sat beside Gu Beicheng and looked at the screen, sniggering. ¡°You use this method to satisfy your needs?¡± Mo Li unconsciously looked at the screen too and discovered that Gu Beicheng was watching an erotic love film. Her ears turned beetroot, and she quickly changed her line of sight. Gu Beicheng grinned. ¡°Then what can I do? I¡¯m not as fortunate as you to have a lover tucked away in your house. For me, I don¡¯t even have a woman. I can only settle it myself.¡± Ye Xiaotian smiled faintly. ¡°If you want, I can give her to you.¡± The warmth Mo Li had for him in her heart instantly turned cool. Originally, she had felt veryfortable with how he treated her sincest night. But now, she felt that she was being really ridiculous. He definitely knew how much she hated him and would never have developed real feelings for her. It was only that, in that instant, she could not believe her own ears that he would say something like that. Gu Beicheng looked at Mo Li and saw her face had turned pale. He unwittingly said, ¡°Look at how you¡¯ve scared her. He¡¯s just joking, can¡¯t you tell?¡± Thest line was meant for Mo Li to hear. Ye Xiaotian smiled faintly. He was unaware that his every little expression was noticed by Mo Li and that her heart was greatly hurt by just one line of his words. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you go to work too?¡± ¡°I just felt like taking some time off. Xiaotian, what kind of birthday surprises do women like?¡± Gu Beicheng asked. ¡°Birthday surprise? Who¡¯s having their birthday?¡± ¡°Xiaoning.¡± Ye Xiaotian replied, ¡°Look at you, so attentive over someone¡¯s birthday.¡± Chapter 228 - I Just Fancy You (12)

Chapter 228: I Just Fancy You (12)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I¡¯m willing to, can¡¯t I?¡± Gu Beicheng pestered him. ¡°I¡¯m asking you a question. Quick, answer me.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t all women like romantic stuff? But I haven¡¯t done such stuff before, you think about it yourself.¡± Ye Xiaotian¡¯s tone changed as he continued, ¡°But, there are so many girls here. How about I choose one for you?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t I have eyes and a mouth of my own, why would I need you to choose for me?¡± ¡°Come, I¡¯ll choose one for you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to,¡± Gu Beicheng replied resolutely, standing up and closing hisptop shut. ¡°I¡¯m going back.¡± ¡°Why¡¯re you leaving when I just arrived?¡± ¡°I have things to do.¡± ¡ª The 15th of July was An Xiaoning¡¯s birthday. Her master had told her that she was born on this day. She did not know if it was urate, but she indeed believed that it was this day. Because her master was never wrong. When she woke up, An Xiaoning felt weak all over. Maybe it was due to her pregnancy, or that she hadin down for too long or some other reason. Early in the morning, Gu Beicheng called to tell her that he would be bringing her back to the Gu residence to celebrate her birthday at night. She agreed. She took her injection in the morning and stayed at home for the whole day, until Gu Beicheng came to pick her up at night. Once she was picked up by him, Jin Qingyan¡¯s men immediately informed him of her movements. ¡°Gu Beicheng went to pick her up?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s face instantly changed. He had intended to give her a birthday present at night. But now this fellow, Gu Beicheng, had beaten him to it. He was very upset about it and felt that he was really foolish. He had left such a good opportunity to have her in the day, and now he could only wait for her to return. With his hands sped behind his back, he paced around the room like an impatient lion. This situation where he had prepared everything butcked the crucial element was one that could really drive someone mad. Mrs. Gu prepared a whole table of dishes and an exquisite cake with the figure of an arrogant princess. It stood there wearing a divine dress, smiling. It looked quite simr to An Xiaoning¡¯s looks. One could see, it was made ording to her face. ¡°Xiaoning, there¡¯re still fireworkster. Beicheng arranged all these for you. He doesn¡¯t even put in that much effort for my birthday.¡± An Xiaoning looked up at Gu Beicheng. ¡°Brother, thank you.¡± ¡°What¡¯s there to thank, we¡¯re all family.¡± She sat down as she said, ¡°No one has ever celebrated my birthday for me. Now that I have family, this feeling is really good.¡± ¡°Every year from now, we¡¯ll celebrate it for you.¡± Mrs. Gu continued cheerily, ¡°Come, sit down, everyone. Let¡¯s eat.¡± Gu Beicheng noticed that, throughout the meal, her phone kept ringing. ¡°Who¡¯s calling, why aren¡¯t you picking up?¡± Mrs. Gu asked. ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± An Xiaoning looked down and turned off her phone before continuing to eat. After the meal, Gu Beicheng brought her to the swing in the courtyard and they sat on one swing each. He whistled, and instantly, there came loud sounds of explosion in the air. Vibrant fireworks started disying endlessly; it was a beautiful sight. An Xiaoning looked at the beautiful scenery right before her eyes and eximed, ¡°How beautiful.¡± Gu Beicheng turned and looked at her. ¡°Do you like it?¡± ¡°Yes. Only very few people would dislike such beautiful sights.¡± She was indeed happy tonight, that someone would put in so much effort for her. ¡°Later, do you want to go to the yground?¡± An Xiaoning showed an astonished look. ¡°The yground?¡± ¡°Umm. If you don¡¯t like it, then we don¡¯t have to go.¡± ¡°I like it.¡± Since he put in his heart and soul in preparing it, she did not want to reject it. Gu Beicheng smiled lightly, enjoying these words from her. After eating and watching the fireworks, they went to the yground and had loads of fun. But someone was unhappy. Extremely, extremely unhappy. Having sat in the living room for a long time and called her so many times, he found that not only did she not answer, but she also switched off her phone thereafter. Jin Qingyan had an impulse to smother someone at that very moment. At the thought of her and Gu Beicheng perhaps enjoying themselves under the moonlight, the fire in his heart continued to burn. However, he still restrained from rushing out and merely stood at the roof, waiting as he looked out with a pair of binocrs. Time ticked away just like that. Finally, when it was past ten at night, the headlight of a car projected from a distance away. He took a closer look, and it was Gu Beicheng¡¯s car indeed. It stopped right outside An Xiaoning¡¯s front door. ¡°Finally back.¡± Jin Qingyan put down the binocrs and went downstairs. An Xiaoning got off and waved goodbye at Gu Beicheng. ¡°Be careful on the road.¡± ¡°Goodnight.¡± He obviously appeared like he was in a good mood and turned his car away. An Xiaoning had just turned around when she saw Jin Qingyan furiously storming towards her. He grabbed her wrist tightly and, before she knew it, her whole body was being dragged away by him forcefully. She did not want to fight back; she was extra cautious of her body and did not want to make strenuous actions. Yet, this allowed him to act more boldly. ¡°Jin Qingyan, let go of me.¡± He did not make a sound and immediately dragged her to his own house. Bringing her to the living room was not enough, he even brought her all the way up to the roof. He put her down on the sofa and then sat down as well. ¡°Gu Beicheng celebrated your birthday for you, are you that happy about it? I could see you smiling like a flower from miles away.¡± ¡°What a warped logic. Someone celebrated my birthday for me and I¡¯m not supposed to smile, but cry instead?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know it¡¯s your birthday today.¡± His tone was slightly enraged. ¡°I waited here for you the whole night and you didn¡¯te. Why don¡¯t you juste over tomorrow morning?¡± ¡°How is this the whole night? It¡¯s only past ten.¡± ¡°For me, every second seemed like years!¡± An Xiaoning turned to the side as she muttered, ¡°I didn¡¯t ask you to wait.¡± He was using strength to grab her wrist, and it was painful enough to make her frown. Under the night sky, his face was almost unclear, yet she could fully sense that he was furious. ¡°I wanted to wait, can¡¯t I?¡± he replied after a moment. ¡°I¡¯m very tired, I want to go back and rest.¡± She tried to shake off his hand, but struggled desperately and was eventually unable to. ¡°I don¡¯t allow it.¡± ¡°I have freedom of my movement, what gives you the right to not allow it?¡± ¡°Because I haven¡¯t celebrated your birthday for you.¡± An Xiaoning was taken aback, and the lights suddenly went on. They stared into each other¡¯s eyes and realized that both their eyes were red. The roof was originally a pavilion. Under the pavilion was a sofa and a coffee table, with wine sses and red wine arranged on it. His men came up in an orderly manner and filled up the whole table. Jin Qingyan poured two sses of red wine and passed one to her. An Xiaoning did not take it. ¡°I¡¯ve quit drinking.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t give me face?¡± He looked up. ¡°Take it.¡± An Xiaoning took it from him and poured the wine onto the floor. ¡°I said I¡¯m not drinking.¡± Jin Qingyan obviously did not know the reason she did not want to drink and only felt that she was resisting him. He ced the wine ss on the table heavily and leaned close to her, staring at her face. ¡°Tonight, you stay here.¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan, don¡¯t make me fight.¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t make me turn tough too.¡± He said lightly and in a cold tone, ¡°Tonight, I¡¯m having you.¡± Chapter 229 - The Girl Who Was Possessed (1)

Chapter 229: The Girl Who Was Possessed (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning really did not want to fight with him. She simply softened her tone. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you wanted to celebrate my birthday? As long as we don¡¯t drink or sleep together, I¡¯ll listen to whatever you say, okay?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what you said.¡± His anger subsided almostpletely. ¡°Yes, I said it.¡± While An Xiaoning had already had a meal and eaten a cake, she had to eat them now one more time. It was not a great feeling. But she still ate them. It was already 11 o¡¯clock and the moon had appeared in the night sky covered with dark clouds. Maybe because it was the 15th of the month, the moon was exceptionally round. An Xiaoning suddenly felt sleepy. ¡°I¡¯m very sleepy, I¡¯m going to sleep.¡± He simply did not allow her to leave and even carried her to the bedroom. An Xiaoning could not open her eyes, and her body felt heavy. She raised her hand and said in a weak voice, ¡°Jin Qingyan...¡± ¡°Umm.¡± ¡°I feel like I¡¯m out of breath.¡± Jin Qingyan switched on the lights and realized that she seemed to really have difficulty breathing. It didn¡¯t seem like she was acting at all. He immediately helped her to sit up. ¡°Are you feeling better?¡± She became weak all over and rested on him, slowly losing her consciousness to the point that she could no longer speak. Sensing that something was unusual, Jin Qingyan kept on calling her name, but did not get any response. He hurriedly carried her to the hospital and had them do all sorts of tests, but he got a ridiculous diagnosis from the doctor. The diagnosis was that she had just fallen asleep. ¡°Why can¡¯t I get her to wake up if she¡¯s just fallen asleep?¡± The doctor was also slightly jittery. ¡°This, I¡¯m not very sure too. But looking at her situation, it¡¯s true that she¡¯s indeed just asleep. Also, Ms. An is pregnant now too.¡± ¡°Pregnant...¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Jin Qingyan looked at her lying on the bed, his face bursting with joy. Why didn¡¯t she tell him that she was pregnant? Could the child not be his? Jin Qingyan felt that it was impossible. Looking at the report from her checkup and calcting the time of her pregnancy, huge waves of happiness engulfed him. Judging from the time of her pregnancy, the child was surely his. He hugged her, too overwhelmed by his agitation. No wonder she did not drink, nor did she fight with him tonight. That exins it. Beyond his joy was a deep sense of worry. What exactly was wrong with her? How could she be so deeply asleep? Damn it, he didn¡¯t even know about her pregnancy, seriously... Jin Qingyan brought her back to her own house and spent the whole night beside her. But what was truly disappointing was that, even until the following morning, there was no sign of her waking up. When Mei Yangyang came over, she saw him lying beside An Xiaoning and appeared shocked. ¡°Master Jin.¡± ¡°Your sister hasn¡¯t woke up since she felt sleepyst night,¡± Jin Qingyan said slowly. ¡°I¡¯ve brought her to the hospital already, the doctor said she¡¯s just asleep. But why can¡¯t she be woken up?¡± ¡°What!¡± Mei Yangyang went forward to call out to An Xiaoning, but she really could not be woken up. ¡°Master Jin, don¡¯t tell me you drugged my sister?¡± Jin Qingyan was speechless. ¡°Am I that kind of person? Of course not!¡± ¡°Then, what¡¯s wrong with my sister?¡± ¡°How would I know? I was married to her for quite some time, and I never knew that she couldn¡¯t be woken up in her sleep. Right, if I hadn¡¯t brought her to the hospital yesterday, I wouldn¡¯t have known that she¡¯s pregnant. Both of you are really good at hiding this.¡± Faced with his questioning, Mei Yangyang was somewhat at a loss. Finally, she replied, ¡°My sister didn¡¯t mean to keep it from you. The child might not be able to survive, the doctor said there¡¯s a 90% chance that it will be lost in a miscarriage.¡± ¡°...¡± His sunken eyes suddenly shed a look of shock. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°When my sister wakes up, you should ask her yourself.¡± Mei Yangyang turned around as she continued, ¡°I¡¯ll go and make breakfast. When my sister wakes up, she¡¯ll need to eat.¡± However, in actual fact, even when Mei Yangyang was done making breakfast, An Xiaoning still showed no sign of waking up. Jin Qingyan and Mei Yangyang just kept waiting like that. When it was around ten, An Xiaoning¡¯s body started moving. But no matter how they shouted to her, she still did not open her eyes. For a short moment, tears started flowing out from the corner of her eyes continuously. She frowned tightly ¡ª it appeared like she was in unbearable agony. ¡°Sis? Sister, please wake up.¡± Mei Yangyang was about to go crazy as she kept on shouting for her to wake up. Jin Qingyan, on the other hand, held onto her hand tightly and was equally gripped with anxiety. This situationsted for about ten minutes. An Xiaoning, who was on the bed, suddenly opened her eyes, then sat up immediately. ¡°Sis, you¡¯re awake?¡± An Xiaoning scanned her surroundings, ignoring Mei Yangyang. Her eyesnded on Jin Qingyan and glowed with a sparkling radiance. She reached out to pinch Jin Qingyan¡¯s face, then touched his eyes, nose, right to his lips, and finally, his chest. Her face suddenly lit up in happiness and she said merrily, ¡°I can finally feel it, what a great feeling.¡± Jin Qingyan: ¡°...¡± Mei Yangyang: ¡°!!!¡± Both of them were petrified. What on earth was this situation! ¡°Sis...¡± An Xiaoning looked at Mei Yangyang near her and took a close look at her. ¡°You¡¯re my sister? That¡¯s impossible, right?¡± ¡°Yes, I am, what¡¯s my name?¡± She reached out and touched Mei Yangyang¡¯s face, then pushed it away. ¡°You don¡¯t even know your own name, how would I know?¡± Mei Yangyang widened her jaw inplete disbelief. An Xiaoning then looked over at the silent Jin Qingyan in high spirits. She pressed her lips into a wide grin and asked, ¡°You don¡¯t have a girlfriend, do you?¡± He didn¡¯t know where this wasing from, so he could only frown while muttering, ¡°No.¡± ¡°Great, I don¡¯t have a boyfriend either. Will you be my boyfriend?¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s pupils constricted and he did not reply. She hurriedly pestered him, ¡°Yes or no? Say something.¡± ¡°Of course... yes.¡± An Xiaoning was overwhelmed and grabbed his neck as she pulled him into a hug excitedly. ¡°You must keep your word, no going back on it!¡± ¡°Sis...¡± As Mei Yangyang called out to her, she immediately interrupted, ¡°How old are you?¡± ¡°21...¡± ¡°You¡¯re already 21, but I¡¯m only 15 this year and you¡¯re calling me Sis..¡± An Xiaoning made an exaggerated movement. ¡°How stupid can you be?¡± Suffering yet another blow, the lump in Mei Yangyang¡¯s throat rolled slightly. ¡°May I know... what¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°I¡¯m...¡± Her eyes rolled around. ¡°Uh, I¡¯m An Xiaoning.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you¡¯re 15?¡± She scratched her head sheepishly. ¡°I remembered wrongly.¡± The doubt on Mei Yangyang¡¯s face grew. ¡°Think properly, how old are you exactly?¡± She replied impulsively, ¡°I¡¯m over 20 years old, right?¡± ¡°Be specific.¡± An Xiaoning hesitated for a moment, then pointed her index finger. ¡°Ah... I¡¯m 22 this year.¡± Seeing the look on their faces, she corrected herself. ¡°I¡¯m 24.¡± Mei Yangyang and Jin Qingyan exchanged looks; both of them were struck with horror at the same time. They knew An Xiaoning too well, and this was not her. An Xiaoning¡¯s tone and expression were not like that, and it was impossible that she would be unclear about how old she was. This was An Xiaoning¡¯s body, but not her soul! Chapter 230 - The Girl Who Was Possessed (2)

Chapter 230: The Girl Who Was Possessed (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Thinking that yesterday was the 15th of July, which was also the Ghost Festival, could it be that... Mei Yangyang¡¯s whole body started trembling, and she instructed Jin Qingyan, ¡°You look after her first, I¡¯ll be back soon!¡± She rushed out of the room immediately and ran to her own house at lightning speed. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with her?¡± While Jin Qingyan¡¯s heart was strong, he too could not digest this fact for a moment. He reached out and pushed her long hair behind her ears. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about her. You tell me, when were you born?¡± Her eyes sparkled, and for a moment, she could not answer him. But she was smart and retorted instead, ¡°You don¡¯t even know when my birthday is?¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s lips curled. ¡°Of course I know, isn¡¯t your birthday on the 16th of October?¡± She pped her hands. ¡°That¡¯s right, the 16th of October is my birthday.¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s eyes turned cold instantly. ¡°I lied, the 16th of October is my birthday. You¡¯re not Xiaoning indeed. Who are you? Why are you possessing her? Where is Xiaoning now?!¡± She was taken aback, and her body trembled slightly as she answered confidently, ¡°I am An Xiaoning. What possession? You¡¯ve made a mistake.¡± ¡°You think I wouldn¡¯t know if I made a mistake?¡± Jin Qingyan gave off an air of dismay. ¡°I advise you to get out of her body right now, or else I won¡¯t go easy on you.¡± An Xiaoning smirked. ¡°Won¡¯t go easy? I would really like to see how you could do that. That¡¯s right, I¡¯m not An Xiaoning. So what? I¡¯m going to use her body to live well.¡± ¡°Live well?¡± Jin Qingyan stared at her coldly. ¡°I¡¯m afraid it would be hard for you to get your wish.¡± Her voice did not have a tinge of worry at all. ¡°Why? Don¡¯t tell me you want to torture this physical body?¡± She was indeed right, he could not torture her at all. Jin Qingyan suddenly thought of the amulet that An Xiaoning had given him and immediately called Fan Shixin. ¡°Take that thing in the wooden box on my study and bring it to me, quickly.¡± An Xiaoning got down from the bed and opened the wardrobe, speaking with disdain, ¡°What kind of clothes are these, they¡¯re too mature. I want to wear a school uniform, go and buy one for me.¡± She said these to Jin Qingyan. ¡°What if I don¡¯t?¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll use my stomach to hit the table.¡± ¡°...¡± Jin Qingyan wanted to tie her up badly, but he was afraid that she wouldn¡¯t eat if he tied up her hands and feet... So he could only give in and made his men buy it for her. When Mei Yangyang returned, she was drenched in sweat and brought a famous sorceress along with her. She begged her endlessly, ¡°Olddy, please drive away the dirty thing off my sister¡¯s body.¡± ¡°Allow me to take a look first.¡± The sorceress stood at the door and took a look inside, then told Mei Yangyang in a low voice, ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll have to wait until the first day of the tenth month, it¡¯ll be the ghost festival too then. As long as you do the ritual that night, we¡¯ll be able to drive the spirit away. For now, you won¡¯t be able to do so. It doesn¡¯t look like the spirit has been around the human world for a year or two only, probably more than two years. A spirit that has wandered around for more than two years and has painstakingly found a body with weak ¡°Yang¡± energy will be difficult to drive away once it has entered.¡± Jin Qingyan murmured, ¡°If we find a skilled master, will we be able to drive it away?¡± ¡°For this, you¡¯ll have to see how skilled the master is. For me, you can only wait until the first day of the tenth month.¡± Jin Qingyan had a clear idea inside already. He took the amulet from Fan Shixin¡¯s hands and pasted it on the door, then threw the uniform to her. ¡°Didn¡¯t you want to wear it?¡± An Xiaoning took the uniform and put it on merrily. She tied up her long curly hair into a high pigtail, and in the uniform which showed her thighs, she really looked younger by a few years. Jin Qingyan went to the door and gave Fan Shixin some instructions. He was then about to go on, but he suddenly looked at An Xiaoning, who was about to leave the room. ¡°Where are you going?¡± She was trying to get out of the bedroom, but could not do so. Her leg had just reached the door when Jin Qingyan and Mei Yangyang heard her let out a scream, then saw her retract her leg. Jin Qingyan frowned. The amulet worked indeed. ¡°What did you all paste on the door!¡± ¡°An amulet.¡± ¡°Take it off, I want to go out.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not taking it off.¡± Jin Qingyan enquired, ¡°What do you want to eat?¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t tear it off, I won¡¯t eat anything. I¡¯ll let this body starve to death!¡± Jin Qingyan was about to give in when Mei Yangyang told him in a hushed tone, ¡°I have a way to settle this. But you absolutely can¡¯t tear off the amulet.¡± ¡°Umm.¡± Mei Yangyang heated up the rice and served it. She did not eat it indeed. Even when Jin Qingyan tried to feed her, it was useless. With no choice, Mei Yangyang changed a method and made a variety of dishes of different kinds and colors. All of them were arranged on the bedroom table for her. While she originally refused to eat, she eventually ended up sumbing to it. Half an hour after she had eaten, she was supposed to get her injection, but she refused to do so. ¡°Get the syringe away! I won¡¯t be injected by this! I¡¯m afraid of pain.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯ll just be like an ant bite, you won¡¯t feel anything.¡± Mei Yangyang tried to assure her as she held onto the syringe. ¡°I don¡¯t want an injection!¡± She still refused to listen. Eventually, Jin Qingyan and Fan Shixin had to step in and hold her back. Fan Shixin had his face turned to the side while Jin Qingyan pulled up her skirt, allowing Mei Yangyang to inject the syringe. ¡°Ah!!! It hurts so bad!¡± Mei Yangyang had only used the cotton bud to wipe her skin, and she said embarrassedly, ¡°But I haven¡¯t injected it yet.¡± Once the needle went in, she acted like she was being skinned and eaten alive. An Xiaoning was about to be suffocated in the room. ¡°Can you allow me to go out, I don¡¯t want to stay in here. I want to go out to y.¡± ¡°What do you want to y?¡± Jin Qingyan asked. ¡°Mmm, I want to y games, eat delicacies, swim, and go to many other ce to have fun.¡± ¡°You can eat delicacies and y games in this house. As for the rest, don¡¯t even think about it.¡± Jin Qingyan had just finished speaking when she started howling, ¡°I want freedom, I possessed someone¡¯s body to enjoy my life, not to be locked up.¡± ¡°You can get out of this body right now and go anywhere you want. No one¡¯s stopping you.¡± She sat there, dejected, then thought of something all of a sudden. She grinned and said, ¡°Forget it, with a hunk like you beside me, I¡¯m contented enough.¡± As she said that, she went head first into his arms, but Jin Qingyan blocked it with his hand. ¡°Just lie there properly to rest and keep your hands to yourself.¡± ¡°How am I not keeping my hands to myself? Can you kiss me?¡± ¡°No.¡± If it was An Xiaoning herself who had said that, he would have leaned in for a kiss immediately. However, this person before him wasn¡¯t her. He was exceptionally clear about this fact. ¡°Then what if I kiss you?¡± She pouted her lips and slowly leaned in towards him. Looking at her face, Jin Qingyan was inplete agony. He used his index finger to poke her forehead and pushed it away. ¡°You better get off and lie there to rest. Do you understand me?¡± ¡°No!¡± ¡°You have no choice, lie down!¡± He held her back and put her down on the bed. But she got up again, and the cycle continued. In the end, Jin Qingyan had no choice but to lie down beside her and used his hand to hold down her arm. ¡°I¡¯ll stay here with you, so don¡¯t move.¡± Chapter 231 - The Girl Who Was Possessed (3)

Chapter 231: The Girl Who Was Possessed (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyan decided to apany her for the day instead of going to work. He had no idea where An Xiaoning¡¯s spirit had gone or when the spirit of the girl would leave An Xiaoning¡¯s body. Neither did he know if she would even leave. After she had fallen asleep, Jin Qingyan proceeded to look into the matter, only to discover that there was a basement in An Xiaoning¡¯s house. He then ordered for the underground passageway to be constructed between his basement and hers. ¡°Young Sir, I¡¯ve consulted a famous Master who said the same thing as the medium. We would have to wait ¡¯til the 1st of October on the Lunar Calendar to perform the ritual, in order topletely get rid of the spirit. I¡¯ve already instructed them to start preparing the necessary items. We just have to wait for that day to arrive,¡± Fan Shixin said softly upon returning from his errands. ¡°It¡¯s the 16th of July today, there¡¯s still a long while to go before October arrives.¡± To Jin Qingyan, days felt like months. ¡°We don¡¯t have any other choice.¡± It was a knotty issue which had exceeded Fan Shixin¡¯s imagination. He found it hard to believe that something so ridiculous and far-fetched had actually happened. ¡°Okay, send more men here.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Jin Qingyan walked towards the living room and said to Mei Yangyang, ¡°Tell me, what exactly happened?¡± ¡°What... what do you mean?¡± ¡°The matter about your sister¡¯s pregnancy.¡± ¡°Mr. Jin, I wasn¡¯t the one who got Sis pregnant. Why are you asking me instead of yourself?¡± Mei Yangyang asked rhetorically. ¡°I¡¯m asking you, what does it mean that there¡¯s a 90% chance that your sister will suffer a miscarriage?¡± asked Jin Qingyan, beyond irritated at the fact that she was feigning ignorance. ¡°That¡¯s literally what it means,¡± said Mei Yangyang, unsure if she should tell him the truth. ¡°Are you nning to not go into detail about her condition? The ritual can only be performed on the first day of October. Mei Yangyang, are you going to be held responsible should there be any mishaps within the next few months?¡± Jin Qingyan questioned, glowering at her sternly, giving her the chills. Mei Yangyang was stuck in a dilemma ¡ª she did not wish to go against An Xiaoning¡¯s wishes, yet she found that his words had made sense as well. ¡°Well, it¡¯s actually because of the scarring on the womb which resulted from the time she got stabbed in her abdomen. The doctor said that the scarring would be permanent, and the fetus happens to be embedded right in the middle of it. The doctor also mentioned that it would be difficult for her to conceive and that she would suffer a natural miscarriage even if she manages to get pregnant. It is very unlikely for the child to be born alive,¡± Mei Yangyang exined. Jin Qingyan felt like a million daggers had just stabbed him in his heart. ¡°Is this the reason why she was so insistent on divorcing me?¡± he asked. After some consideration, Mei Yangyang nodded and answered, ¡°It¡¯s not entirely because of that, though. Another reason is that she just can¡¯t forget about that incident which really hurt her.¡± ¡°I understand,¡± said Jin Qingyan as he hung his head low. Mei Yangyang was stunned yet sympathetic to see his teardrop falling onto the ground. A deafening silence filled the air of the living room. Upon hearing the truth, Jin Qingyan felt rather thankful that he did not give up on their rtionship straight away after their divorce. Otherwise, he would not have found out about these. Jin Qingyan could not help but burst into tears of agony. His heart ached at the thought of An Xiaoning bottling up all her emotions and suffering in silence, just so she could continue putting up a strong front. He headed upstairs and gazed at An Xiaoning, who was sound asleep. He was overwhelmed with immense guilt, which made him feel like he had nowhere to hide his shame. All of these had happened solely because he failed to protect her well. If only he had done his utmost best, she would not have been implicated into such a catastrophic string of events. ¡ª¡ª ¡°I¡¯ve gained another pound!?! I¡¯m going to die of obesity if this goes on,¡± Jin Qingyuemented as she stepped off the scale. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll still love you even if you weighed 300 pounds,¡± Shi Shaochuanforted her. ¡°I¡¯ll crush you to death if I be 300 pounds,¡± she scoffed. ¡°You shall be on the bottom then, I¡¯ll be on top.¡± Jin Qingyue crawled onto the bed and cuddled up to him. ¡°Hubby, I kinda want it.¡± ¡°No, you¡¯ve yet to reach the first trimester.¡± ¡°Wow, Hubby, you¡¯ve really got such great tolerance, huh? Would you like a girl or a boy?¡± ¡°I like both. It¡¯s still going to be my child at the end of the day, be it a girl or a boy.¡± He turned serious all of a sudden and continued, ¡°But, given the circumstances of our family now, we must have a boy no matter what. It¡¯ll be best if our firstborn is a boy. Otherwise, we¡¯ll have a few more babies.¡± ¡°Actually, my utmost wish is to have a pair of twins consisting of a boy and a girl. It¡¯ll be great to have two at the same time.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like for that too, you wouldn¡¯t have to suffer then. Honey, it¡¯s been hard on you,¡± said Shi Shaochuan as he caressed her supple and chubby cheeks. ¡°Not at all, our baby is the testament of our love.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go to bed,¡± said Shi Shaochuan, reaching out to switch the lights off. Smiling from ear to ear, Jin Qingyue went to bed, all snuggled up in his arms. At about three past midnight, Shi Shaochuan was woken up by the sudden ringing of his mobile phone. He awakened instantly upon seeing that it was a call from Xu Jingwen. Instead of getting up, he answered the call and ced the phone beside his ear. ¡°I miss you, what am I supposed to do?¡± Shi Shaochuan remained silent while holding onto his phone. Xu Jingwen moaned suggestively over the phone, in an attempt to arouse Shi Shaochuan, who was kept awake by her sexual advances. He wanted very much to go back to sleep but simply could not bring himself to end the call. Reminded that he still had to go to work early the next morning, he decided to force himself to end the call anyway. He had already woken up by six o¡¯clock in the morning. He did not even bother to have breakfast at home and instead hurriedly drove out to Xu Jingwen¡¯s house right away. d in a nightdress, Xu Jingwen answered the door and said smilingly, ¡°Why are you here so early?¡± ¡°All because you tempted me, littless. Watch how I punish you,¡± he answered teasingly before pinning her onto the bed as soon as he closed the door. Xu Jingwen let out a squeal and giggled in joy. ¡°I missed you so muchst night, that¡¯s why I called.¡± ¡°I know, you won¡¯t ever be satisfied without me at night.¡± She wrapped her legs around his waist and began unbuckling his belt with her hands. They then began to get intimate with burning passion. ¡°I only have forty minutes,¡± he said, struggling to speak while holding onto her waist. ¡°No worries, forty minutes it shall be then. It¡¯s just, I¡¯ll be so bored at home,¡± Xu Jingwen answered with her eyes ssed over and her face flushed red. She was now leading afortable life of mary and material abundance. ¡°Didn¡¯t I already give you money? Use it for shopping.¡± ¡°Yeah, but, I can¡¯t just go shopping every day. Shaochuan, I¡¯d like to have a car to get around in. Will you buy me a cheap one?¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll give you the moneyter. Go get one yourself,¡± he agreed right away. Xu Jingwen beamed with happiness and thrusted her hips forcefully against him to match his rhythm. Shi Shaochuan had been obsessed with her bodytely and wanted to go see her every single day. In fact, he would get her almost anything she wanted. He found it exceptionally thrilling to have an affair outside of his marriage. However, he could only provide Xu Jingwen with materialfort and nothing more. She could practically drop the idea of him giving her a proper status. The idea had never once crossed his mind. However, Xu Jingwen had thought otherwise. She was fine with staying as a kept woman of his for a short period of time, but continuing to remain status quo in the long run was out of the question, especially since she had always found herself to be extremely gorgeous. She was also aware that there would be a day when she¡¯d grow old and her beauty would fade. Thus, she was extra careful to keep her ns to herself. Chapter 232 - The Girl Who Was Possessed (4)

Chapter 232: The Girl Who Was Possessed (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Gu Beicheng gave An Xiaoning a call which Mei Yangyang answered instead. Mei Yangyang turned down his request to see An Xiaoning, iming that thetter was not feeling well. However, he headed straight to her ce. Mei Yangyang had no choice but to tell him the truth. Gu Beicheng was shocked beyond his senses. He stood by the door and stared at An Xiaoning, who insisted that Jin Qingyan put on her clothes for her. Feeling tense as ever, Gu Beicheng made his way in. An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes lit up at the sight of the arrival of yet another handsome and dashing man. Jin Qingyan cocked his head towards the side and was upset to see that it was Gu Beicheng. Gu Beicheng pretended not to know anything and said smilingly, ¡°Xiaoning, what is he doing in your room?¡± ¡°He¡¯s my boyfriend.¡± ¡°If he¡¯s your boyfriend, then who am I?¡± Gu Beicheng questioned as his face stiffened. ¡°You...¡± After a few moments of silence, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± You¡¯re reading on B oxnovel.c om Thanks! ¡°I¡¯m your husband. How could you allow another man into your room when your husband is not home?¡± said Gu Beicheng, pretending to be angry. Dumbfounded, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Husband?¡± Suppressing his anger, Jin Qingyan glowered at Gu Beicheng and said sternly, ¡°Have you had enough?¡± ¡°No,¡± said Gu Beicheng as he took a seat. Just as he was about to caress her face, Jin Qingyan quickly stopped him. ¡°Get out.¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan! What rights have you got to chase me away?¡± Gu Beicheng snapped, keeping his eyes fixed on Jin Qingyan. ¡°Because I¡¯m her man.¡± ¡°Wrong, ex-husband.¡± ¡°Her man!¡± ¡°Ex-husband!¡± An Xiaoning was at a loss on what to do upon seeing them bickering non-stop. She quickly pulled them apart and said, ¡°Okay, okay, I know you two are fighting over my attention. How about this? Both of you shall be my boyfriends and we¡¯ll be in a rtionship of three. Wouldn¡¯t that settle everything?¡± Thus, Jin Qingyan was infuriated while Gu Beicheng was dumbstruck. Mei Yangyang was also stunned as she stood by the door. ¡°No!¡± Jin Qingyan snapped. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You won¡¯t even let me kiss you,¡± An Xiaoning whined with a humph. She turned to look at Gu Beicheng and said, ¡°You¡¯re so handsome, may I kiss you? ¡°...¡± Jin Qingyan stared at Gu Beicheng, seemingly hinting at him to get lost quickly, threatening to murder him if he dared to kiss her. Gu Beicheng had his own boundaries and knew exactly what he should do. However, he simply wanted to spite Jin Qingyan and thus answered, ¡°Sure,e on and kiss me.¡± Jin Qingyan was mad with fury. ¡°Get someone to throw him out!¡± Jin Qingyan ordered Fan Shixin. ¡°Jin Qingyan, don¡¯t be too despicable,¡± Gu Beicheng said with a raised brow. ¡°Sorry but that¡¯s just how I am,¡± Jin Qingyan answered coldly. Gu Beicheng was thus chased away by Jin Qingyan¡¯s bodyguards. Jin Qingyan then warned that no one was to allow Gu Beicheng to enter without his permission. Boiling with exasperation, Gu Beicheng decided to bring his own bodyguards and battle it out with Jin Qingyan. ¡°Why did you chase Handsome away!¡± ¡°He¡¯s your brother, you want to kiss him?¡± ¡°My biological brother?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Jin Qingyan nodded. An Xiaoning let out a long sigh. Gazing at Jin Qingyan, she said, ¡°What am I supposed to do now that I feel like sleeping with you?¡± ¡°Stop fooling around, I¡¯m not sleeping with you. Don¡¯t forget who you are. Quit being inappropriate,¡± Jin Qingyan warned. ¡°I¡¯m An Xiaoning, all right? Who else could I be? I just want to mess around with you, I want to do just that,¡± she insisted. She then removed her clothes right away. Although Jin Qingyan was not startled at all by the familiar sight of her body, he could not stand watching this atrocious spirit degrade the body of the woman he loved! Mei Yangyang leaned against the wall, wanting to cry, but no tears came out. ¡ª¡ª Long Tianze only found out about his mother chasing Mo Li¡¯s family out a few days after the matter took ce. He threw a tantrum at his mother and hurriedly proceeded to look for Mo Li. ¡°Tianze, I have my own ns. I¡¯m currently looking for a ce for my parents too. I don¡¯t wish to trouble you with my family matters anymore.¡± ¡°What are you talking about? I¡¯ve long considered you guys as my family. Your matters are my matters.¡± Staring at him, Mo Li insisted, ¡°Tianze, I know you mean well, but it really is alright. I will take care of my family myself. Stop acting like this. Madam will resent us if she finds out. Tianze, listen to me, don¡¯t behave this way.¡± ¡°Do you have enough money then?¡± ¡°Yes, I have. So rest assured, I¡¯ll take good care of my family,¡± Mo Li said reassuringly, stepping forward to give him the hug she had long wanted to, since she had also treated him like her family. ¡°Tianze, you don¡¯t have to worry about us, we will get on fine,¡± she added. Long Tianze could not help but feel upset as he hugged her tightly. Mo Li returned to her bedroom and took a look at the small amount of savings she had. She then opened her jewelry box to see that it was full of jewelry Ye Xiaotian had given her. The jewelry would definitely fetch a high price, which should be enough for her family to survive. Standing by the door, Ye Xiaotian could already guess what she had nned to do next after observing her actions. But then again, why would he let her get away with it easily? ¡°Are you going to sell what I gave you?¡± Ye Xiaotian had hit the nail on the head, causing Mo Li to feel a little flustered and panicky. However, she continued to pretend to be calm and said, ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then why do you keep looking and fiddling with them? It can¡¯t be that you¡¯re reminiscing the times that I gave them to you, can it?¡± Mo Li stood up and answered, ¡°Why not?¡± A smile formed on Ye Xiaotian¡¯s face as he approached her. ¡°Mo Li, quit ying mind games with me. There¡¯s no way you will ever outwit me. I can tell with one look just what exactly you¡¯re thinking.¡± Mo Li remained silent. Grasping her chin in his hand, Ye Xiaotian continued, ¡°I can tell you¡¯ve yet toe to a decision and you¡¯re still as unwilling to stay by my side as before. How about I allow you to bear my children? That should be sufficient to tie you down.¡± Mo Li raised her head to look at him in astonishment. ¡°What?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve done it without protection so many times before. It should be likely that you¡¯ll get pregnant. Otherwise, we¡¯ll just keep having you undergo treatment until you finally manage to conceive.¡± Mo Li froze in fear as she prayed fervently in her heart to never fall pregnant with his child. ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll just take you for a checkup,¡± said Ye Xiaotian, taking a look at the time on his wrist watch before pulling her out of the house. Ye Xiaotian watched closely as she performed the urine test. The lines on the indicator of the pregnancy test kit began to form. Upon sight of the second line appearing on the indicator, Mo Li¡¯s heart sank to the utmost bottom while Ye Xiaotian was over the moon. She was pregnant. They then proceeded to go for an ultrasound scan, which further confirmed that the embryo had been sessfully imnted in her womb and that she was a month pregnant. Ye Xiaotian broke into smiles while Mo Li had a sullen expression on her face. The doctor instructed Ye Xiaotian to be careful with Mo Li as she had a naturally thinner womb membrane, which would require special care and attention throughout the entire course of pregnancy. Ye Xiaotian then decided to hire a doctor and some nurses to look after Mo Li at home. He instructed for them to take proper care of her, allowing no room for mistake. Mo Li could not help but bawl in tears of agony while on the way back from the hospital. ¡°It¡¯s a joyous asion to find out that you¡¯re pregnant. What are you crying for?¡± Mo Li remained silent and instead continued to weep. She would forever have to be embroiled in aplicated rtionship with him for the rest of her life. She utterly detested him to the core! Yet she was carrying his child. How was she supposed to continue living? ¡°You call the shots now that you¡¯re pregnant. I said I would treat you well in the future. Haven¡¯t I been doing so ever since I brought you back from Y Nation?¡± Ye Xiaotian tried to cate her emotions. Chapter 233 - The Girl Who Was Possessed (5)

Chapter 233: The Girl Who Was Possessed (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Can I abort this child?¡± asked Mo Li. Ye Xiaotian¡¯s face stiffened and he warned her, ¡°Mo Li, if you dare abort this child, I promise I¡¯ll make you regret your decision.¡± Mo Li became speechless upon noticing the austere expression on his face. ¡°I¡¯m talking to you, do you hear me?¡± She continued to remain silent. Ye Xiaotian was beyond infuriated at this point. Other women would jump at the chance to bear his child, yet she wanted to abort it. ¡°I¡¯m talking to you, did you hear me!?!¡± Ye Xiaotian hollered, wishing he could just strangle her to death. ¡°I heard you. Will you give the child and I a proper status?¡± she asked. He gazed at her and answered, ¡°As long as you behave properly, I¡¯ll mention this to my family and inform them of my decision to marry you,¡± Ye Xiaotian answered, staring at her. Mo Li nodded and agreed anyway upon hearing his words, as much as she was still rather reluctant to. You¡¯re reading on B oxnovel.c om Thanks! She informed her parents of the news as soon as she arrived home. Mrs. Mo let out a sigh and said, ¡°Mo Li, Ye Xiaotian has ruined your entire life. Now that you¡¯re pregnant with his child, why don¡¯t you take this chance to let him make it up to you? Even if you try to run away, how far can you go? Given his capability, it¡¯s a piece of cake for him to find you.¡± ¡°I know, but I¡¯d like more for you, Father, and Mo Xun to lead a stable life. I¡¯ll give birth to the baby,¡± said Mo Li, swallowing her sadness. ¡°What do you think?¡± Mrs. Mo asked her husband, who was smoking continuously. ¡°Let¡¯s move out. Mo Li, your mother and I are still young, we can work elsewhere to make ends meet. Besides, Mo Xun has stopped schooling, he can get a job too. We don¡¯t need you to worry about us, just take good care of yourself. Just like your mother and I always say, we¡¯ll support whatever decision you make as long as you think it¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Mother, this ring is very valuable. Go and sell it and take the money to run a small business. Only then can I rest assured. He has given me a lot of jewelry anyway,¡± said Mo Li, handing her mother a ring she took out from her closet. ¡°This...¡± Mrs. Mo appeared rather reluctant to ept it. Mo Li stuffed the ring into her hands and continued, ¡°Mother, listen to me. Although... I don¡¯t wish to be together with him, I would much rather do so than spend the rest of my life hiding and sneaking around. I¡¯d like to meet you all openly and allow you guys to depend on me. Even if I managed to escape, what¡¯s going to happen to you guys? You¡¯ll more likely than not be held hostage by him, which he will then use to threaten me. There¡¯s nothing much I can do anymore at this point, especially since I¡¯m already pregnant. You guys are the only thing I care about now.¡± Teary-eyed, Mrs. Mo crinkled her nose and epted the ring. Mo Li then returned to her bedroom aftering out of her parents¡¯ room. Leaning his head against the bedhead, Ye Xiaotian red at Mo Li, who had a sullen expression on her face, and said, ¡°Must you really do this?¡± The sulk on Mo Li¡¯s face broadened into a smile all of a sudden as she answered, ¡°No, I¡¯ll have to make sure I keep myself in a good mood and stay happy from now onwards.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Don¡¯t keep looking so disgruntled and upset all the time. Your unhappiness is contagious.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll bear that in mind,¡± Mo Li said with a smile. ¡°Come here,¡± said Ye Xiaotian, gesturing for her to approach him. Mo Li inched forward and said, ¡°My parents will be moving out soon.¡± ¡°Alright, that¡¯s their freedom, I won¡¯t meddle with it. But, you are to stay within my sight.¡± ¡°Why are you such a tyrant?¡± ¡°That¡¯s Ye Xiaotian for you.¡± ¡ª¡ª It was noontime. Jin Qingyan was taking a nap with An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning woke up while Jin Qingyan was still asleep. She stealthily reached her hand into his shirt, jolting him awake instantly. He looked up to see her retract her hand in a moment of panic and said, ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡± ¡°I want to go out.¡± ¡°Out of the question.¡± ¡°I want to go out!¡± she yelled in frustration and boredom of staying at home all day. ¡°I said no!¡± ¡°Will you bring me out then? I promise I won¡¯t wander about on my own and I¡¯ll stick by your side the whole time.¡± She was on the brink of dying of boredom and yearned for nothing more than to go out and have some fun. She was beyond frustrated at the fact that she was not allowed to touch or kiss such a handsome man like him, though he was right in front of her. Having died at the tender age of 15, she had yet to experience a lot of things in life and had never once been in a rtionship before. She managed to seize the once-in-a-blue-moon opportunity of possessing An Xiaoning¡¯s body, yet she was not allowed to fulfil her heart¡¯s desires. It was indeed rather torturous. She kicked her legs in the air and tossed around the bed in frustration. ¡°If you don¡¯t bring me out, I¡¯ll kill the baby in her stomach when I get the chance to. You better watch out and bring me everywhere you go. Hmph!¡± she threatened. Jin Qingyan stared at her in utmost annoyance. All of a sudden, an idea struck his mind and he decided to bind her to him with a pair of handcuffs which cuffed their wrists together. He then instructed Mei Yangyang to put away the amulet on the door and paste it back on when they return home. Together, they got into his car. Looking at the curious An Xiaoning who could not stop looking out of the window, he asked, ¡°Where would you like to go?¡± ¡°A nightclub. I want to hook up with some men.¡± ¡°No!¡± he immediately refuted sternly. ¡°You won¡¯t allow me to touch or kiss you, yet you still restrict me from hooking up with other men?¡± ¡°Please remember that this body does not belong to you!¡± he snapped. ¡°Look how uptight and worried you are. Let¡¯s go on a rollercoaster ride then,¡± she said, pursing her lips. ¡°No, that¡¯s too vigorous and thrilling for you.¡± ¡°I love thrill rides. How about we go bungee jumping?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Why aren¡¯t you saying anything?¡± she said, giving him a slight push. ¡°Don¡¯t forget that you¡¯re pregnant.¡± ¡°Oh right, it slipped my mind. By the way, I¡¯ve always wanted to know, who¡¯s the father of the child I¡¯m carrying?¡± ¡°Me,¡± he answered, staring at her solemnly. An Xiaoning burst into smiles all of a sudden and said, ¡°I actually guessed it right. Since we already have a baby, why don¡¯t we get intimate once more? Just be gentle with me. I¡¯d like to know what it feels like to get intimate too.¡± Jin Qingyan took a deep breath and answered, ¡°Dream on.¡± What an atrocious spirit possessing her! He just wanted his Xiaoning! ¡°Okay, since you¡¯re so unwilling, I won¡¯t force you either. I don¡¯t wish to look at you anymore if I can only see but not touch,¡± said An Xiaoning with a burning desire to devour a man. ¡°Other than the ces you¡¯re not allowed to visit, where would you like to go now?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go watch some scenery,¡± she said dejectedly. ¡°Shixin, drive towards a scenic location.¡± ¡°Yes, Young Sir,¡± Fan Shixin answered immediately. The three of them then arrived at a popr scenic location in A City. After touring around the scenic spots for four hours, they decided to have a meal before heading home. Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning sat beside each other in the dining room of the restaurant while Fan Shixin waited for them at the carpark, nning to have his dinner when he got home instead. They then began to dig in after the dishes were served. Noticing that she was about to finish therge bowl of soup, Jin Qingyan interrupted, ¡°Stop drinking so much, lest you be too full.¡± An Xiaoning ignored him and polished off everyst drop of soup. She lifted the bowl to find that it was rather heavy, just as she expected. ¡°Are you nning to bring the bowl home with you?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m nning to use it to...¡± Before she even finished speaking, she smashed the bowl against Jin Qingyan¡¯s head forcefully, causing him to be greatly taken aback. Chapter 234 - The Girl Who Was Possessed (6)

Chapter 234: The Girl Who Was Possessed (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Before he could even get on his feet, she continued to smash the bowl against his head rapidly, as if she had gone mad. Jin Qingyan felt the warm blood trickling down his face. He wanted to snatch the bowl away from her, yet he could not hurt her. All of a sudden, she struck him in his eye and blinded him momentarily. Clenching his jaw in pain and exasperation, Jin Qingyan bellowed, ¡°You damned spirit!¡± He then passed out on the table as soon as he finished speaking. An Xiaoning searched his clothes for the key and unlocked the handcuffs to free herself before hurriedly making her escape. Noticing that they had yet toe out even after a long time had passed, Fan Shixin decided to head inside the restaurant to have a look. To his astonishment, he was greeted with the sight of Jin Qingyanying his head on the table with a pool of blood around his face, after which he frantically sent Jin Qingyan to the hospital. At this juncture, he did not even have the time to bother looking for An Xiaoning. A City had a bustling and vibrant nightlife full of entertainment and activities. By night, many seem to have found their safe haven in the popr nightclubs in the city, where they could let their hair down and enjoy a whale of a time celebrating their youth and passion. Wearing a human skin mask, An Xiaoning sat in a dimly lit corner and observed the ongoing performance onstage. She had stolen the mask from home with the sole purpose of hiding her identity so that Jin Qingyan would not be able to find her. She was over the moon to finally be free from any restrictions. She watched in disdain as the male spectators stared lustfully at the female dancers onstage who were buzzing out to the repetitive and boring dance routine. Standing on the couch, An Xiaoning picked up the microphone on the table and yelled, ¡°Why are all the dancers female? Are there any male dancers at all?¡± All eyes were on her as the crowd was greatly taken aback by her sudden interjection. Everyone began to wonder just who this masked woman was. As much as she had managed to conceal her identity rather convincingly, she still could not manage to escape the pair of eyes which had been watching her closely from upstairs. Jin Qingyan had his head in a bandage and his face covered with sters. Masking his face with a cap and a pair of shades, he stood above, swirling a ss of liquor in his hand. All of a sudden, he snapped the ss into two before dumping it into a rubbish bin nearby. Fan Shixin felt worried for An Xiaoning as he watched on while standing by the side. As soon as Jin Qingyan came to in the hospital, the first thing he asked for was An Xiaoning¡¯s whereabouts. It was also the first time he had gotten so infuriated with Fan Shixin upon hearing that thetter did not look for her. He then ordered for his men to look for her immediately. After discovering that she was at the nightclub, he instructed his men to stay put while he made his way there personally to nab her. What a brazen and atrocious woman. ¡°Prepare a set of dance costume and bring her to the room. Just tell her... there¡¯ll be handsome dancers... performing for her viewing pleasure!¡± He emphasized thest four words of his sentence. Fan Shixin nodded his head in fear and said, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll get to it immediately.¡± An Xiaoning threw the microphone onto the table and finished a ss of liquor beforeying onto the couch. At this moment, a man approached her and said, ¡°Miss, there¡¯s a handsome man who¡¯d like to invite you to watch him dance. Would you allow him the honor to perform for you?¡± An Xiaoning sat up straight immediately. ¡°Really? Sure, which room?¡± ¡°The one on the eighth floor, Room 888.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll make my way there now.¡± After sitting on the couch quietly for a few minutes, she stood up and entered the elevator to reach the eight storey. A bald, middle-aged man began to hit on her in the elevator. ¡°Miss, you were really brave earlier.¡± An Xiaoning shot a nce at him and said, ¡°Uncle, what are you trying to say?¡± ¡°Name your price.¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t fancy you at all,¡± An Xiaoning refuted, leaning against the elevator. Getting frustrated, the middle-aged man walked towards her and said, ¡°Littless, show Brother your true colors. Do you think I¡¯ll let you step out of this elevator?¡± Just as he was about to pinch off An Xiaoning¡¯s face, she dodged out of his reach and kicked him with all her might, causing him to fall to the ground. ¡°Get away from me!¡± She looked at her legs afterunching the attack, delighted to find that An Xiaoning was well trained in martial arts. He stood up and pranced onto An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning grew into an uncontroble rage and threw another few kicks, whichnded on his face. After performing a somersault, she gave him an uppercut on his chin, causing him to cry out loud in pain before retreating backwards and falling onto the ground. Taking another look at her hands and legs, An Xiaoning was amazed at her reflexes. She actually managed to take the man down without even thinking about her next move. The elevator door opened and she arrived outside Room 888. She pressed the doorbell, after which the door opened quickly and she was greeted with a sight of darkness in the room. All of a sudden, the room became brightly lit and a scantily-d man appeared before her, his back facing her. ¡°Nice body you¡¯ve got,¡± said An Xiaoning as she pped her hands in surprise and closed the door behind her. She sat down on the couch and prompted him, ¡°Hurry and dance for me.¡± Having thought that she would throw herself at him immediately, he did not expect for her to sit down on the couch. Dancing had always been a talent of his, though he rarely exhibited his skills. Thus, he decided to give her a shock. Turning away from her throughout, he began dancing to the music with great passion. However, it was clearly not to An Xiaoning¡¯s liking. ¡°Although you¡¯re great at dancing, it just can¡¯t seem to get me interested or excited. I would be thrilled to see you perform a striptease like those dancers onstage earlier though. Otherwise, I suggest that you wash up and go home.¡± Jin Qingyan stopped dancing as his chest began to heave up and down, appearing to be rather infuriated. FInally, he turned around to face her. ¡°An Xiaoning!¡± he snapped angrily, gritting his teeth in anger. Not expecting it to be him, An Xiaoning was greatly taken aback and wanted to flee immediately. However, it was evident that there was no way she could escape. ¡°How atrocious and brazen you are!¡± Jin Qingyan stepped forward to grab her forcefully and locked her wrists with the pair of handcuffs. He then dragged her out of the nightclub. On the journey home in the car, An Xiaoning whined, ¡°I haven¡¯t had enough fun yet but you¡¯re already dragging me home.¡± Jin Qingyan remained silent, too angry for words. Long Tianze and Mei Yangyang were shocked to see the bandages on Jin Qingyan¡¯s head when he arrived home. ¡°How did you get injured?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll exin thatter after I lock her up inside the house. Shixin, arrange for four bodyguards to watch her closely and guard by the door.¡± He then reached out to Mei Yangyang and asked for the amulet. Mei Yangyang hurriedly gave it to him. Since then, Jin Qingyan decided to sleep in the living room and stopped trying to cate her. He continued to live on that way, day by day, hoping that time would pass faster. However, he was also rather afraid for the first day of October to arrive, for he was unsure if the real An Xiaoning would return after they get rid of the spirit. He was also extremely worried about their unborn child, whom he hoped with all his heart would not cause her health to deteriorate or be another huge disappointment. He could not help but feel his heart ache as he watched her daily routine of injecting herself with tocolytic. If only he could turn back the clock, he would have definitely stood firm on his decision to save her instead of Jin Qingyue. Although it may have been a little selfish to do so, he would have at least gotten to lead a blissful life with her and their child. Besides, aren¡¯t all humans selfish to begin with? Chapter 235 - The Girl Who Was Possessed (7)

Chapter 235: The Girl Who Was Possessed (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios It was selfish of his mother to have chosen Jin Qingyue instead too, anyway. It was no different from his decision to save his wife. What a pity, time will never rewind. He decided to shoulder the me for causing everything that had happened. It was negligence on his part for failing to do his best to protect her. He only had himself to me... He could only wait for October to arrive, in hopes that the real An Xiaoning would return after the ritual was performed on that day. He would then spend the rest of his life making it up to her. ¡ª¡ª Ye Xiaotian had begun treating Mo Li significantly better ever since she got pregnant. You could say that he cherished her to bits and showered her with tender care and affection. All of which she had never once experienced in the past. Mo Li could finally be at ease after knowing that her family would have a steady source of ie now that they had begun operating a breakfast bistro. However, her happiness was short-lived. Ye Xiaotian¡¯s mother had made a trip here personally. Mo Li was filled with worry at the sight of Mrs. Ye as she could not help but feel overwhelmed with an inexplicable ominous feeling. She could tell right away from Mrs. Ye¡¯s aura that she was not a kind or magnanimous soul, just like the many wealthy women and wives of wealthy men she had encountered before. Before Mo Li could even speak, Mrs. Ye gave her a tight p across her face and barked, ¡°Indeed, it was you again, wretched woman! You¡¯re still so caught up and obsessed with my son, huh? How dare you be so atrocious!¡± Mrs. Ye appeared rather youthful with her porcin skin and long locks which cascaded down her back. However, she had an icy-cold expression and a deadly stare in her eyes. She had pped Mo Li with all her might, causing thetter to bleed from her mouth, her ears ringing from the sudden impact. ¡°Hello, Mrs. Ye, long time no see,¡± Mo Li greeted, ring at her. ¡°I didn¡¯t n on seeing you again. Mo Li, just what spell did you cast on Xiaotian to make him so obsessed with you!?! Do you believe I won¡¯t make you perish!?!¡± Mrs. Ye warned coldly. ¡°I do believe you have the power and means to do so, Mrs. Ye.¡± With an austere expression on her face, Mrs. Ye red at Mo Li and continued, ¡°Since you¡¯re well aware of that, why are you still clinging on to Xiaotian, at the expense of divorcing your husband overseas!?!¡± ¡°Mrs. Ye, please give your son a call to get your facts right. He¡¯s the one who¡¯s controlling me by force. I¡¯m not so thick-skinned as to insist on staying here, if he really wanted me to leave.¡± Remaining calm andposed, Mo Li stared at Mrs. Ye with a fearless expression on her face, though she felt a little nervous deep down. From the looks of it, Mrs. Ye must have yet to hear about Mo Li¡¯s pregnancy. Mrs. Ye let out a hump and whipped her phone out to call Ye Xiaotian. While dialing his number, she shot Mo Li a re and said, ¡°Don¡¯t utter a single word while I¡¯m on the phone.¡± ¡°Mother, I¡¯m in the midst of a meeting, what is it?¡± asked Ye Xiaotian. ¡°I¡¯m currently at your mansion in Ming Yuan Estate. Let me ask you, are there no women left in this world apart from Mo Li?¡± ¡°Mother, whatever it is, let¡¯s talk when I get home,¡± said Ye Xiaotian as he stood up and walked out of the door. ¡°Are you going to marry her?¡± Constantly bombarded with her questions, Ye Xiaotian had no choice but to exin, ¡°Mother, I nned to tell you about this when the time is right. But since you¡¯ve asked, I shall just tell you the truth. I do have ns to marry her. Besides, now that she¡¯s pregnant, the child would need aplete family too.¡± Mrs. Ye¡¯s face stiffened with shock and anger as she turned to nce at Mo Li before ending the call right away. Before he had even finished speaking, Mrs. Ye ended the call. Having sensed that something ominous was about to happen, he called off the meeting and drove back home immediately. ¡°You really are something. You¡¯ve actually gotten pregnant! I really couldn¡¯t tell that you were such a scheming one,¡± Mrs. Ye rebuked as she shot Mo Li a death stare while approaching her. Feeling rather upset by her words, Mo Li retreated backwards and retorted, ¡°Your son was the one who forced me to bear him a child, I didn¡¯t get pregnant willingly!¡± ¡°Drop the act. You¡¯re really great at shirking responsibility and pushing all the me on Xiaotian, aren¡¯t you? Mo Li, let me tell you, over my dead body will I ever let you be a part of the Ye family. Forget about marrying Xiaotian!¡± Seeming to show no concern at all for the child Mo Li was carrying, Mrs. Ye said firmly, ¡°I will never acknowledge this child either.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter whether or not you acknowledge it, so long as your son does.¡± Mo Li mustered up the courage to look Mrs. Ye in the eye and added, ¡°The person you ought to punish and berate is not me.¡± A frown creased the forehead of Mrs. Ye, who then tried to give Mo Li another p. However, Mo Li managed to dodge in time and turned around to go upstairs immediately. ¡°Stand there, you shameless woman!¡± Mrs. Ye hurriedly chased after her. Mo Li zoomed towards the bedroom and locked the door from inside. Soon, Mrs. Ye began to knock loudly on the door. She slid her back downwards against the door and began tearing up while squatting on the floor. Unable to get her to open the door, Mrs. Ye had no choice but to leave. She exited the door, only to see that her son had returned in his car. Remaining calm andposed, she stood rooted to the ground. Ye Xiaotian alighted and said smilingly, ¡°Mother, why did youe here all of a sudden?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Xiaotian, how long did you n to hide it from me for? You actually got her pregnant?¡± Mrs. Ye questioned. ¡°Yes. Mother, let¡¯s talk inside, shall we?¡± said Ye Xiaotian, reaching out to grab her. ¡°Xiaotian, are you really going to marry such a lowly woman!?!¡± hollered an exasperated Mrs. Ye as she freed herself from his grip angrily. ¡°Mo Li is a great girl.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see it at all.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯ve yet to spend time with her, you¡¯ll understand in the future,¡± Ye Xiaotian answered, pushing her towards the backyard. He then poured her some tea himself. Due to the fact that she had been in a poor state of health, Ye Xiaotian dared not anger or agitated her and often tried to talk things out with her calmly instead. ¡°I don¡¯t agree to your marriage with her.¡± ¡°Mother, she¡¯s frail and sickly, making it hard for her to conceive. I have to bear the responsibility since I¡¯ve managed to get her pregnant. Otherwise, I¡¯d be worse than an animal,¡± Ye Xiaotian said in a gentle voice. ¡°It¡¯s okay if you¡¯re just toying with her, but now you¡¯ve actuallynded yourself in trouble. I will never approve of her, don¡¯t try to persuade me any further.¡± ¡°But I can¡¯t let my child be branded as an illegitimate child for the rest of his life,¡± Ye Xiaotian insisted. ¡°If you must behave this way, then prepare to see me at my funeral!¡± Mrs. Ye snapped as she mmed the teacup onto the table, causing its contents to spill out. She then stood up and stormed off immediately. Ye Xiaotian hurriedly tried to stop her. ¡°Mother, Mother... don¡¯t be like this, What am I supposed to do then? Get her to abort the child?¡± ¡°She must get an abortion no matter what, and you are to sever all ties with her!¡± Ye Xiaotian remained silent as the smile on his face faded. ¡°Mother... she¡¯s carrying your grandson or granddaughter in her stomach. Can you really bear to force her to get an abortion?¡± he continued. ¡°The child is not even born yet, there¡¯s nothing unbearable about getting her to abort it. Xiaotian, I don¡¯t wish to see youpromise your standards and forgo your boundaries because of a woman. What¡¯s going to happen in the future if you keep being like this?¡± Mrs. Ye squinted and continued, ¡°I¡¯m sure you wouldn¡¯t want to end up like Jin Qingyan and be aughing stock for the public eye every other day, all because of a woman! You ought to focus on your career and put it first before everything else. How could you be so preupied with such frivolous matters like your rtionship!?!¡± ¡°She¡¯s been by my side for almost five years, I¡¯ve developed feelings for her.¡± ¡°Just get a new woman and you¡¯ll be able to nurture feelings for her too. Son, I absolutely detest Mo Li. How are we supposed to get on with life in the future if you insist on marrying her? Do you n to live together with her on your own andpletely forget about your mother?¡± Mrs. Ye said solemnly. Chapter 236 - The Girl Who Was Possessed (8)

Chapter 236: The Girl Who Was Possessed (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mo Li stood at the stairway looking at Ye Xiaotian, who kept silent, and turned to return into the room. She had heard every word of their conversation. Mo Li sat by the bedside, mulling over it. In that manner, she sat for a long time before getting up to go downstairs. Mrs. Ye was no longer around, and Ye Xiaotian was sitting at the sofa, deep in thought. She acted like she had not seen him and headed for the door right under his nose. Ye Xiaotian hurriedly went forward and grabbed onto her arm, exchanging looks with her. ¡°Where are you going?¡± Ye Xiaotian questioned, his eyes flickering slightly. ¡°Nowhere, just wanted to take a walk outside.¡± Ye Xiaotian grabbed her wrist and took her back into the house. He pulled her all the way into the bedroom before letting go of her arm. ¡°My mother said some nasty things, please don¡¯t take them to heart. Even if you do, don¡¯t bottle your feelings up. Tell me about it, let it all out.¡± ¡°What use would it do?¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯ll be useful.¡± Mo Li lowered her head, asking, ¡°Are you going to make me abort the child?¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t you adamant on not having it?¡± She kept silent for a while before answering, ¡°If you don¡¯t want it, then I won¡¯t keep it.¡± ¡°If I don¡¯t want it, neither do you?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He leaned in to kiss her lips lightly. ¡°I won¡¯t let you have your wish then. Keep this child.¡± ¡°How about your mother¡¯s side?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what you should worry about. What you should do now is take care of yourself and the child. As for my mother, I¡¯ll persuade her eventually.¡± Mo Li was not happy about it at all. Her eyes were crystal clear, and she said in a choked voice, ¡°Ye Xiaotian, ever since I¡¯ve been with you, I¡¯ve never lived a good day. Now, you still want to control my future. There¡¯s no one worse than you in this world.¡± ¡°But you just can¡¯t escape from me, can you?¡± Ye Xiaotian smirked, and the way he smiled was like a needle that firmly pricked inside her heart. He made it sound like something easy to say, yet Mo Li felt like it was a treatment colder than a freezing hell. ¡°I don¡¯t owe you anything.¡± Mo Li continued after some hesitation, ¡°Ye Xiaotian, I don¡¯t owe you anything and I never had. Your mother is so determined to stop this child from being born, what¡¯s the point of going against her wishes and making her upset? That way, everyone will be happy. How good is that?¡± His eyes were covered with ayer of ice. ¡°Everytime you say something like this, it gets on my nerves. You have something against having the child, yet you¡¯ll feel upset if you don¡¯t have it. So, since this concerns me, I¡¯ll make the decision. You shouldn¡¯t interfere in it.¡± Mo Li looked up. ¡°This is what you said. Since you want to keep this child, you must give it a status. If by the fifth month of pregnancy, I still don¡¯t get a satisfactory reply, Ye Xiaotian, I won¡¯t keep this child. If you want to stop me by force, I¡¯ll die together with the child.¡± Hearing such a determined tone from her, Ye Xiaotian was shocked because, from what it sounded like, she wasn¡¯t just kidding when she said those words. ¡ª Jing Tian wanted to call An Xiaoning to tell her that he found a few good scripts for her to take a look at. But it was Mei Yangyang who picked up. She told Jing Tian that An Xiaoning was resting due to her pregnancy and would only be able to read the scripts in October. Jing Tian was perplexed. If she could only read the scripts in October, and filming a movie takes about two to three months, would the movie be able to screen by this year? Was An Xiaoning toying with him? Mei Yangyang felt that this reason was indeed inappropriate, so she asked him to send the scripts over. ¡°What scripts?¡± Jin Qingyan asked. ¡°It¡¯s the movie my sister invested in. The director found a few suitable scripts and wants my sister to take a look. But with the state that Sis is in now, how can she browse through them?¡± Mei Yangyang was troubled. ¡°When the directorester, I really don¡¯t know how to exin it to him.¡± ¡°Invest in a movie?¡± Jin Qingyan raised his eyebrow. She really can¡¯t stay idle, can she? Alright. Since she wasn¡¯t herself now, then this time, he¡¯d make a decision for her. When Jing Tian arrived, he did not see An Xiaoning, but only saw Jin Qingyan and Mei Yangyang on the sofa. ¡°Hi, Mr. Jin and Ms. Mei. Where is Ms. An?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bother looking for her, she¡¯s not feeling well. Just talk to me.¡± He continued, ¡°Where are the scripts? Let me see them.¡± Jing Tian was stunned for a moment, then proceeded to pass him the scripts. ¡°Ms. An wanted to film aedy, so I found a few suitable scripts. Have a look at them.¡± Jin Qingyan took them and had a close look. He realized that the scripts were all quite good, but the best out of them was the one Jin Qingyan pointed out. ¡°This one¡¯s good, it¡¯s kind of simr to Xiaoning.¡± Jing Tian agreed with him. ¡°Yes, I saw that it was special andedic so I chose this.¡± ¡°This script will do then,¡± Jin Qingyan readily decided. ¡°All the production costs will be forked out by me. Did she ask for any particr actors to be part of the cast?¡± Mei Yangyang appropriately added in, ¡°Master Jin, my sister wanted me to be the first female lead...¡± Jin Qingyan nodded without hesitating. ¡°Sure, you¡¯ll be the first female lead. Tianze can be the first male lead.¡± ¡°Tianze?¡± Mei Yangyang seriously doubted it. ¡°He won¡¯t agree to act.¡± ¡°He will definitely agree to act.¡± Jin Qingyan was extremely sure about it. ¡°Later, I¡¯ll give him a call. Look at this script, isn¡¯t it specially written for the both of you? How coincidental.¡± Mei Yangyang looked carefully at it and realized it was indeed. The male lead was the boss of an entertainmentpany, while the female lead had a fortune-telling stall set up. The two even went to solve cases together... To find someone who can act as the boss of an entertainmentpany, which other actor would have this real status and be more suited for the role? Jing Tian was exceptionally excited. Although Long Tianze was not a famous actor and Mei Yanyang was not a famous actress either, Long Tianze had the status and natural looks while Mei Yangyang had a doll-like face and appeared intelligent. With some honing of their acting skills, they would get the hang of it easily. ¡°As for the male and female supporting actors, you can find them, Director. We don¡¯t have special requirements for these supporting cast, but their private life must be clean, no smoking and no drugs. It¡¯s all up to you. When you find the right people, pass me their contracts. This is my name card.¡± Seeing how forthright he was, Jing Tian was absolutely delighted. ¡°Sure.¡± After Jing Tian left, Mei Yangyang asked, ¡°Master Jin, are you investing in this movie now?¡± ¡°If not, what can I do?¡± Jin Qingyan had his hand on his forehead. ¡°Why does she have so many things she wants to do? She already has money, but she can¡¯t idle around for even a moment.¡± ¡°This way, she won¡¯t have the extra time to think about other things and won¡¯t feel sad.¡± Mei Yangyang saw how Jin Qingyan suddenly turned to look at her, so she added, ¡°This is the gist of what my sister told me, because I asked her the same question too.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°I really think that my sister has a lot of ideas, she¡¯s my role model.¡± The corner of Jin Qingyan¡¯s lips curled. Wasn¡¯t that what made An Xiaoning her? Wasn¡¯t that also the same woman whom he fell so deep in love with and went out of control for? ¡°Master Jin, didn¡¯t you want to call Tianze?¡± Mei Yangyang reminded him. Chapter 237 - Heart Hurts Too Much to Even Breathe (1)

Chapter 237: Heart Hurts Too Much to Even Breathe (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyan dialled Long Tianze¡¯s number. ¡°Umm. What are you up to?¡± Long Tianze answered, ¡°I¡¯m working, what else will I be doing?¡± ¡°Xiaoning has invested in a movie, but given the state that she¡¯s in, she can¡¯t go through with it, so I¡¯m forking out the money now but investing it in her name. The character is simply made for you. Do you want toe and act as the first male lead?¡± Long Tianze sneered. ¡°Do Ick money so much that I have to do this? You should know, I hate being on-screen the most.¡± ¡°I know, but I¡¯ve already told the director that you¡¯re joining the cast.¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan, you actually made the decision for me? Do you believe that I¡¯ll kill you...¡± He darted a nce at Mei Yangyang and replied slowly, ¡°The female lead is Mei Yangyang, are you sure you don¡¯t want to act?¡± ¡°Yangyang?¡± Long Tianze¡¯s tone changed immediately. ¡°She¡¯s the first female lead?¡± ¡°Uhuh, it¡¯s like that. If you¡¯re really unwilling to act, I¡¯ll just get the director to find a famous actor then. The movie will most probably have some kissing scenes, maybe even bed scenes...¡± Without waiting for him finish, Long Tianze cut in. ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve always wanted to act. Given a face like mine, imagine the amount of fans I¡¯d get. Since I have this chance now, then I¡¯ll definitely give you and Ms. An some face. It¡¯s decided then, get someone to send me the script so I can take a look.¡± Jin Qingyan sniggered. He knew it would be like that. They grew up together since they were young. What kind of person Long Tianze was, he knew extremely well. After hanging up, Mei Yangyang asked, ¡°He agreed?¡± ¡°With you around, can he not agree? Alright, just wait for the filming to start, you and Tianze can develop feelings yourself on-set. I¡¯ll be in charge of here.¡± Mei Yangyang was agitated and worried at the same time. ¡°Master Jin, if my sister wakes up, you must be sure to give me a call.¡± ¡°Umm, I will.¡± ¡°You must take good care of her, don¡¯t let her run away like the previous time. Also, Xi Bi may find a chance to get her anytime. Master Jin, you can¡¯t let anything go wrong.¡± ¡°Young Sir!¡± Xiao Huang hurriedly ran down from upstairs, shouting, ¡°Ms. An says that her stomach hurts.¡± Jin Qingyan and Mei Yangyang were terrified and immediately sprung upstairs. Mei Yangyang lifted the covers and realized that An Xiaoning¡¯s pants were stained with blood. Jin Qingyan immediately took out the keys and removed the handcuffs on her arms before carrying her down the stairs. Looking at his anxious and terrified expression, An Xiaoning held onto his neck and said, ¡°If I¡¯m unwilling to go, all of you would probably take at least two or three months to drive me away. I thought being in this body, I¡¯ll be able to enjoy life. But I never expected that I would have to suffer injections every day, and even now, this pain hurts so bad. Living like this, I¡¯d rather not have this body. So, hunk...¡± She ced her hand on Jin Qingyan¡¯s face. ¡°I¡¯m leaving, I won¡¯t stay to y with you guys anymore.¡± ¡°You should have long been gone!¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s eyes had reddened, and he bellowed in his low voice. After he carried her to the car, Mei Yangyang followed onto the car as well, and Fan Shixin hurriedly drove them to the hospital. After arriving at the hospital, An Xiaoning went into aa. Jin Qingyan did not know if the young girl had left, but he could only pray that the child was fine. Only when the child was fine would she not want to leave him again when she woke up. Only then would she be more courageous in facing this problem. But in actual fact, once the doctor judged the situation, he immediately diagnosed that the child was miscarried. An Xiaoning was immediately wheeled into the operating theater. Jin Qingyan and Mei Yangyang were emotionally worn out as they waited in the hospital corridor. He had his hands firmly on his lowered forehead, and he felt extremely devastated. The operation waspleted very soon, and even though An Xiaoning was in aa, the doctor was afraid that she would wake up in the middle of the operation, so she was given full anesthetic. After around ten minutes in the operating theater, she was wheeled into the ward again. Looking at her in a deep sleep, Jin Qingyan held onto her hand tightly and refused to let go of it. There wasplete silence in the room, as if there was no one inside at all. All they were waiting for was for her to wake up. The doctor entered the ward and told Jin Qingyan in a hushed tone, ¡°Mr. Jin, pleasee with me.¡± He followed the doctor out and went to his office. The doctor looked at him and said, ¡°Just now, the hospital director told me that there are paparazzi lurking around near the hospital. The director suggests that Ms. An can go back in an ambnce and recuperate at home. The doctor will visit every day to give her an IV drip and that will do. What do you think...?¡± Jin Qingyan agreed. ¡°I have the same thought.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mr. Jin. Our doctors and nurses will keep this fully confidential.¡± ¡°Umm.¡± After some thought, Jin Qingyan still brought An Xiaoning to her home at Dongpo Road. He hoped that she would wake up soon, and he stayed by her bedside throughout, without leaving for a single moment. But contrary to what they had hoped for, An Xiaoning still did not wake up. The next morning, the first thing Jin Qingyan did when he woke up was to look at her. He realized that her eyes were wide open and staring at the window, and they had reddened. Unsure if it was her or the young girl, he called her lightly, ¡°Xiaoning...¡± She retracted her gaze slowly, looking at him, but did not say a word. In that moment, Jin Qingyan knew that it was her. It was his Xiaoning. He reached out and pulled her into his arms. ¡°You¡¯re finally back, I was afraid you wouldn¡¯te back anymore.¡± Tears brimmed down An Xiaoning¡¯s face profusely. She closed her eyes and choked on her tears. It was like pain was being released from her body, every inch of it from her bones. From the moment her body was stolen away, she was like an empty shadow looking at the young girl who stole it away. That state she was in was not her. And she was unable to be recognized by anyone. In reality, she had worried too much. With an obvious abnormality like that, they would not have been unable to recognize it. When the child was lost, she was the most devastated of all. Heaven knew how much she wanted to keep this child. Heaven knew it for sure... But, she was still unable to keep it. She would not be able to have any more children in her life, would she? At the thought of this, An Xiaoning could not help but be overwhelmed by sorrow. She no longer had the courage to get pregnant again, she no longer did... Jin Qingyan looked at her with his head down. She was sobbing silently. He reached out and wiped away the tears on her face,forting her, ¡°It¡¯s alright, what matters is that you¡¯re back. Nothing else is more important than you.¡± An Xiaoning broke free from his arms and sat upright, looking at Jin Qingyan. ¡°All this while, thank you for taking care of me so well. Also, thank you for helping me to choose the script from Jing Tian and making Long Tianze the male lead. As for the money for the investment, I¡¯ll take care of it. It¡¯s a small production, I can afford it.¡± ¡°You...¡± He was stupefied. ¡°You knew all of these?¡± ¡°I saw all of it.¡± She looked down. ¡°Since the child is gone, there¡¯s nothing I can do about it either. It¡¯s my fate, Jin Qingyan...¡± ¡°Umm?¡± ¡°I know you¡¯re good to me. I¡¯m not a piece of rock, I can feel it. I can¡¯t me you for many things too.¡± She was driven by the urge to cry as she let out a sob. ¡°But, can you please not put me in a bind because of you anymore? Don¡¯t continue doing this already, stop making me feel the pain of losing a child time and again!¡± She bent down and crawled into the nket, holding it close to her face. Cries from deep within her soul were let out. Chapter 238 - Heart Hurts Too Much to Even Breathe (2)

Chapter 238: Heart Hurts Too Much to Even Breathe (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyan watched her like that in pain, and in that moment, he could not utter a single word. Mei Yangyang, who was outside the door, vaguely heard An Xiaoning¡¯s voice from outside and ran up agitatedly. But upon hearing An Xiaoning¡¯s words from the doorway, she turned to leave again. She immediately went to prepare breakfast. Just when she was cing the breakfast down on the tray and was about to serve it, she saw Jin Qingyane down from upstairs with a grim face and walk out of the door. Mei Yangyang did not dare to stop him to ask what the situation was like. Carrying the tray upstairs, she pushed the bedroom door open and left the tray on the bedside table. ¡°Sis, I¡¯ve prepared breakfast for you. Hurry and eat some while it¡¯s still hot. You should wash up first.¡± An Xiaoning lifted the covers, slowly putting on her shoes before heading to the bathroom. After washing up, she came out of the bathroom and sat by the side of the bed, asking as she ate, ¡°Yangyang, you have been worrying a lot about me these days right?¡± ¡°Umm. I was afraid something would happen to you, Sis. Yesterday, Jing Tian came.¡± ¡°Umm. I was there beside all of you when you were discussing the script.¡± Mei Yangyang¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Really.¡± ¡°Master Jin said he will invest.¡± ¡°No need, I¡¯ll invest it myself,¡± she said while eating. ¡°This whole thing was nned by me, I should be responsible for it. Getting possessed by that young girl was an ident. On the night of my birthday, it was the Ghost Festival. Moreover, my body has alwayscked ¡®Yin¡¯ energy and the pregnancy had made my body even weaker, giving her an opportunity to take advantage of me.¡± ¡°That young girl was really too maddening. She smashed Master Jin¡¯s head and went to the nightclub to y by herself, but she was captured again by Master Jin himself.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°Sis... just now, why did Master Jin leave?¡± Mei Yangyang cautiously sounded her out. ¡°Did you chase him away? Sis, you haven¡¯t forgiven Master Jin?¡± ¡°Yangyang.¡± An Xiaoning stared straight into her eyes. ¡°The incident of making a choice between me and his sister has passed. Everyone is selfish, I¡¯m not being persistent about it. Jin Qingyan is the only son; even if he¡¯s willing to believe in miracles with me, will his family agree? He¡¯s the only son, and Jin Qingyue has also married. There¡¯s no excuse if he doesn¡¯t have children. Then, don¡¯t you think I¡¯ll me myself for it? Even if it¡¯s not because of me, I¡¯ll be responsible for the result. If you want to talk about surrogacy, then forget it. I¡¯d rather not have any children than make another woman suffer for me.¡± ¡°But, Sis, I just feel that it¡¯s such a pity. Don¡¯t tell me that because of this, you¡¯ll give him up?¡± ¡°If we¡¯re fated, then what¡¯s meant to be will happen, I won¡¯t force it. Let¡¯s just let nature take its course. Now, some things are not truly smoothed out and they may ignite a bomb explosion in the future.¡± An Xiaoning picked up the ss of milk and drank a few sips. ¡°Must a woman be able to live only with a man? Will we die without men? I wasn¡¯t clear-minded for both my marriages. Because Icked love, I was led to this result continuously. I don¡¯t want to get married anymore; being alone is pretty good as well.¡± ¡°Umm. No matter what you choose, Sis, I¡¯ll support you.¡± Mei Yangyang shed her a broad grin. ¡°Get well soon, and recover your endless energy. This is what I want to see most.¡± An Xiaoning pressed down her lips into a smile. ¡°Jin Qingyan actually did something good too, by getting Long Tianze on-board. It¡¯s great. When the both of you start filming, Yangyang ¡ª you need to take more initiative and develop your rtionship with him. As long as both of you have a solid rtionship, his mother wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything about it.¡± Mei Yangyang acknowledged her. ¡°I don¡¯t intend on conceding. It¡¯s her son who¡¯s chasing me. Since I¡¯ve already agreed, I won¡¯t give up easily.¡± ¡°Yes, good luck!¡± ¡ª Jin Qingyan was on the road, driving home. On the way, he started rattling away to himself. ¡°Do you think I would give up? Haha, An Xiaoning, you really underestimate my determination.¡± ¡°You brat, who stayed by your side all day and didn¡¯t go to thepany for you? Heartless.¡± ¡°When you¡¯ve recovered fully, I¡¯ll punish you properly.¡± ¡°An Xiaoning, you brat.¡± ¡°...¡± Jin Qingyan returned to Wei Ni Estate and checked on the renovation of the new house. Everything was going ording to n. ¡°Babylifewasgoodtomebutyoujustmadeitbetternull,Ilovethewayitstandbymethroughanykindofweathernull...¡± Taking a nce at the disy screen of his phone, he saw it was Jin Qingyue. He suddenly did not feel like picking up. After his phone rang countless times, he eventually slid the ¡°answer¡± button. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Brother, where are you?¡± ¡°Why?¡± he asked as he walked around his car. ¡°Tonight, if you¡¯re not too busy,e home and have a meal, okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not free.¡± ¡°Brother, are you that busy? Don¡¯t you even have time for a meal?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m busy. I¡¯m hanging up.¡± Upon hearing the line cut off, Jin Qingyue threw the phone onto the bed. She had not been seeing Shi Shaochuan¡¯s figure almost every morning. When she went down, the maid served her breakfast. She asked, ¡°When did Young Sir leave?¡± ¡°He left around six this morning. He didn¡¯t eat breakfast at home as usual.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Jin Qingyue frowned. ¡°He leaves so early. Is he that busy?¡± She started to eat breakfast and felt something was amiss throughout. After eating, Jin Qingyue changed and drove to Shi Shaochuan¡¯spany. His secretary saw her and greeted her hurriedly. ¡°Young Madam is here?¡± ¡°Umm. Where¡¯s Shaochuan?¡± ¡°CEO Shi is negotiating with a client.¡± ¡°Oh, I just passed by to take a look. I see Shaochuan works so hard every day. What time did hee this morning?¡± The secretary thought: Both of you sleep on the same bed. How would you not know what time hees? But she still kept a radiant smile on her face and replied, ¡°CEO Shi always works hard. When I came, he was already here.¡± Hearing her answer, Jin Qingyue nodded. ¡°Umm. Don¡¯t tell him I was here. I won¡¯t bother him then, I¡¯ll just be going.¡± ¡°Alright, take care, Young Madam.¡± Jin Qingyue left the office building and got onto the car. She decided to go shopping. With nothing to do all day, she shopped before going home to y games and sleep. For a pregnant woman like her, her entertainment activities were rather restricted. When she woke up, the sky was already dark, but Shi Shaochuan was still nowhere to be seen. She immediately called him. ¡°Hubby, where are you?¡± ¡°That mate of mine ran over somebody. His family is bankrupt so he doesn¡¯t have the money. I¡¯ve paid the medical fees for him. I¡¯m still at the hospital now apanying him, I¡¯ll be backter.¡± Upon hearing this, Jin Qingyue responded, ¡°Oh, I see. Thene back soon from the hospital, I¡¯ll be waiting for you at home.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Jin Qingyue felt that she should probably call his mate and express her regards, but at the thought that he would probably be vexed now, she decided she should probably call tomorrow. She leaned on the bed rest, feeling irritable for some reason. Chapter 239 - Heart Hurts Too Much to Even Breathe (3)

Chapter 239: Heart Hurts Too Much to Even Breathe (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shi Shaochuan only came back at ten o¡¯clock. He was notpletely fatigued; on the contrary, he looked extremely energetic. Seeing that Jin Qingyue had not slept yet and was reading a book, he went forward and kissed her. ¡°Honey, why aren¡¯t you asleep? If you don¡¯t sleep, our baby won¡¯t get sleep either.¡± ¡°I was waiting for you. I can only see you at night every day. You¡¯re gone in the morning when I wake up. Why are you going to the office so early?¡± ¡°It¡¯s been busy at thepanytely. After this period of time, it won¡¯t be so busy anymore.¡± Shi Shaochuan straightened his body and told her, ¡°I¡¯ll go and get a bath.¡± ¡°Umm, okay.¡± Jin Qingyue ced the book aside, waiting for him toe out. Ten minutester, Shi Shaochuan came out wiping his wet hair and got onto the bed in his bathrobe. ¡°It¡¯s not good for a pregnant woman to stay upte, you should sleep earlier.¡± ¡°Honey.¡± She nestled beside him voluntarily and hugged him. ¡°I want to do that with you.¡± ¡°No, we can¡¯t. Let¡¯s wait for over ten days, the child is still small now. What if I exert too much strength and we lose the child...¡± ¡°Tsk, you¡¯re being exaggerating.¡± Jin Qingyueughed. ¡°It¡¯ll be fine if you do it gently.¡± But Shi Shaochuan no longer had the strength; all his strength had been bled dry by Xu Jingwen today. ¡°Be good, listen to me. Let¡¯s just think of the child first.¡± He kissed her lips. ¡°It¡¯s so hard on you being pregnant now, I don¡¯t want anything to happen to the child. It¡¯ll be irresponsible towards you and the child.¡± Jin Qingyue feltforted yet slightly ufortable at the same time, but she still held it in. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that your mate ran over someone, how is the person now?¡± ¡°The person was sessfully saved. Everything¡¯s fine now, I¡¯ve paid them already.¡± ¡°Umm. Can¡¯t he be more careful when he drives?¡± ¡°Exactly.¡± He pulled the covers over him. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go to sleep.¡± Jin Qingyue acknowledged him. For the whole night, she had nightmares. As a result, the following day, she was not in a good state of mind. That led to her temper being unstable as well. She made a call to Shi Shaochuan¡¯s mate, and someone picked up only at the second try. ¡°Hello?¡± Jin Qingyue spoke, ¡°I¡¯m Shaochuan¡¯s wife. Yesterday night, I heard from Shaochuan that you ran over somebody. Is everything settled now?¡± The person on the line responded, ¡°Ran over somebody? Me?¡± Jin Qingyue was surprised. ¡°Yes, didn¡¯t you run over somebodyst night and sent the person to the hospital with Shaochuan?¡± ¡°Erm, Sister-inw, I think you called the wrong person? I haven¡¯t seen Shaochuan in two months already. I was at home the whole ofst night and I didn¡¯t run over anyone.¡± Jin Qingyue was obviously not taken in. ¡°Aren¡¯t you XX? He only has you as his mate, would I have called the wrong person? I say, what¡¯s going on? That was what he told me, why are you iming that it¡¯s not true? He even said that he lent you money forpensation to settle the matter.¡± The person on the line was slightly angered. ¡°Sister-inw, there¡¯s nothing of that sort. Although my family has gone bankrupt, I¡¯m not in the state where I have to borrow money from Shaochuan. Worst still, there¡¯s nothing of that sort that happened. Saying that I ran over somebody, are you trying to curse me?¡± Jin Qingyue¡¯s heart momentarily turned cold. Judging from the person¡¯s tone, it was obviously Shaochuan who lied. Why did he lie to her? ¡°Well, if there¡¯s nothing of that sort, then forget it.¡± The person on the other end kept silent and ended the call just like that. From what she knew, his only mate was the person that she just called. What was he doingst night that he came back sote and lied to her? Could it be that he went to the nightclub to find women to satisfy his needs? Realizing that, Jin Qingyue¡¯s face turned as pale as a sheet. A few minutester, Shaochuan¡¯s call came in. He started berating her, ¡°Why did you call XX?¡± ¡°No, I haven¡¯t even talked about you. Didn¡¯t you say he ran over somebodyst night, and that you were with him? He said he didn¡¯t run over anyone at all and hasn¡¯t seen you in two months. What on earth is going on, where were youst night? You lied to me, Shi Shaochuan, how dare you still me me, you bettere back right now!¡± Jin Qingyue was emotionally agitated, her voice full of fury. ¡°Yesterday, I was with a client untilte at night. I was afraid you would get worried, so I just made up an excuse. To think you actually called him...¡± ¡°With a client? You went to find women, didn¡¯t you?!¡± Shi Shaochuan¡¯s heart sank, and his tone softened. ¡°Look, I knew you¡¯d get suspicious since you¡¯re pregnant. I was just scared you¡¯d be like this, so I found an excuse. I¡¯ll exin it properly to you when I get off work, okay?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to listen, don¡¯t tell me!¡± Jin Qingyue furiously switched off her phone, then got up and changed, going back to her family home without eating. She could not tell her parents about this either as she was afraid her mother would take the chance to criticize her. She could only give the excuse that she was bored at the Shi residence and came back to stay for a few days. ¡ª A weekter... Jing Tian passed all the contracts to An Xiaoning, and she personally signed on all of them, making a copy of each of them. During her period of rest, she also attended the opening ceremony of the filming. Because of Long Tianze¡¯s status, many media reporters came, of which some were secretly sent over by Jin Qingyan to help them with their publicity. An Xiaoning wore a pink windbreaker and a pair of light-colored jeans. With her long hair over her shoulders and makeup on her face, the color of her face waspletely hidden. With one look and anyone could tell she was absolutely gorgeous. Mei Yangyang wore a white blouse and a pair of ck and baggy cropped pants. With her hair pinned into a bun, she looked really cute. During the ceremony, everyone was sincerely offering joss sticks at this sacred base of the film industry. After the ceremony was over, the group went to a hotel to put their luggage. Although An Xiaoning was not part of the crew, she had to supervise the filming process, so visiting once in a while was quite important. The director, assistant director, scriptwriter, and she were discussing the script in the room, while Mei Yangyang was dragged into a private room along with her luggage by Long Tianze. ¡°My room is over there...¡± Long Tianze was unbothered. ¡°Who says? I¡¯ve swapped your room, now it¡¯s just beside mine. That¡¯s more convenient.¡± Mei Yangyang darted a nce at him. ¡°Convenient for what?¡± ¡°Stop acting, you¡¯re still asking the obvious.¡± He hugged her tightly. ¡°To find you, of course. I¡¯m already seriously doubting whether your man is An Xiaoning or me.¡± Mei Yangyang looked at his bitter face and asked, ¡°How old are you exactly? Why do you have such thoughts?¡± ¡°Because you spend more time with her than me. It can¡¯t be like that, you need topensate me.¡± He immediately carried her onto the bed and hugged her as shey there. ¡°Kiss me.¡± There was no room for doubt, these words came from Long Tianze and not Mei Yangyang! Mei Yangyang got up, and at the thought that since they were a couple, she timidly yet at the same time daringly kissed his lips. This kiss was terribly serious. It was like the attraction of thunder and fire, which drove things out of control. Mei Yangyang felt her body leap onto his, and the two could not stop themselves. Only when her abdomen area was blocked by a hard object did she instantly use her hand to touch it. He gasped, his voice slightly husky, ¡°Don¡¯t touch there.¡± ¡°Tianze...¡± Her rosy, doll-like face always made Long Tianze feel like he was bullying a child. Chapter 240 - Heart Hurts Too Much to Even Breathe (4)

Chapter 240: Heart Hurts Too Much to Even Breathe (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mei Yangyang rested her head on his chest and listened to his heart pound at an elerated speed. She could not help butugh. ¡°Tianze, your feelings are going out of control.¡± Long Tianze had his lips pressed together lightly, and his breathing was rather rapid. ¡°Of course, I¡¯m a normal man.¡± Mei Yangyang grinned sweetly. ¡°At the thought that we will be the male and female leads of this movie soon, I¡¯m so happy. Apart from the few who know, nobody else knows our rtionship.¡± ¡°If not for you, do you think I woulde and act? Unless I¡¯ve gone mad. Let¡¯s make a promise, shall we?¡± Long Tianze stared at her fixedly. ¡°Regardless of whether this movie is a hit or not, you¡¯re only allowed to act in this one, unless the male lead is me. Otherwise, don¡¯t think about acting in the future. I won¡¯t permit you to have kissing and bed scenes with those other male actors.¡± Mei Yangyang acknowledged him. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll listen to you, okay? I know, you only allow me to act kissing and bed scenes with you, right?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± He reached out and touched her nose. Unable to hold it in, Long Tianze kissed her again. Mei Yangyang closed her eyes, and the two rolled over the bed a few times. Finally, Long Tianzended on top, pressing right onto her body. ¡°Yangyang.¡± ¡°Umm?¡± ¡°You¡¯re so beautiful.¡± Mei Yangyang reached out and held his face with both hands. ¡°You¡¯re very handsome too.¡± ¡°I want you, will you give it to me?¡± His body moved slightly, and Mei Yangyang, who was beneath him, had her face flush red. She stammered nervously, ¡°Does it... hurt?¡± ¡°Maybe, but it will just be for a short while.¡± ¡°Why are you so clear about it?¡± ¡°I read it in a book...¡± Mei Yangyang was still rather determined. ¡°I still don¡¯t feel like doing it yet.¡± Seeing that she was unwilling, Long Tianze did not force her either. ¡°I respect your decision. But, you need to help me resolve this crisis now.¡± ¡°What crisis?¡± Long Tianze ced her hand at a particr spot, and Mei Yangyang turned stiff all over, thereafter agreeing in a low voice. After An Xiaoning, the director, and the editor were done discussing, they saw Long Tianze and Mei Yangyang walking out together. Mei Yangyang had a bright red glow on her face while Long Tianze looked rather cheerful. ¡°Come, let¡¯s have a meal together. Call the supporting casts along.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± In a rather unfortunate turn, they ran into Sun Weiwei as they were about to go for their meal. Looking at An Xiaoning, Sun Weiwei was surprised too and went forward to greet her. ¡°I just heard that you were secretly filming a movie a few days ago. Ms. An, how could you do this and not invite me to join?¡± An Xiaoning was extremely forthright. ¡°You¡¯re now on so many variety shows and dramas. A big shot like you, where would I get the money to invite you to join?¡± ¡°You really like to joke. If you had invited me, I wouldn¡¯t ask for a huge amount. But, Ms. An, you¡¯re investing in such a low-cost production. Don¡¯t tell me...¡± Sun Weiwei¡¯s tone changed, ¡°after your divorce with Mr. Jin, you don¡¯t have enough fortune to spend?¡± An Xiaoning was taken aback for a moment, then sheughed. ¡°Well, have you not heard? I divorced without getting a single cent, and I was willing to do so. Women should earn their own money to spend. Using your own capabilities to earn a living is the truth to life.¡± ¡°What remarkable words. I really admire you, you¡¯re different from other women.¡± An Xiaoning was reluctant to talk more with her. ¡°We¡¯re going to have a meal, I¡¯ll have to end the conversation here.¡± Sun Weiwei stared at her figure as she left, muttering to herself, ¡°What an idiot. Divorcing Jin Qingyan, is there something wrong with her brain?¡± Her assistant reminded her, ¡°Sister Weiwei, you shouldn¡¯t provoke her. I just feel that she¡¯s not someone to mess with.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not blind, do I need you to remind me?¡± Sun Weiwei turned and headed outside. Her phone suddenly rang and she picked it up as she walked. ¡°What?!¡± She stopped in her tracks, her face changing. Looking at the expression on her face, her assistant¡¯s heart tightened. It was definitely not a good sign. After she hung up the call, Sun Weiwei directly mmed her phone on the ground. ¡°Damn it!¡± Her assistant hurriedly picked up the phone. ¡°Sister Weiwei, be careful. What if someone takes a picture of you!¡± Sun Weiwei quickened her pace and, seeing that she got onto the nanny van, her assistant asked, ¡°Sister Weiwei, do we still go for the shootter?¡± ¡°Tell them that I¡¯m not going today. I¡¯ll go tomorrow. I¡¯m already fuming mad as it is, who cares about that shoot!¡± The assistant had no choice but to call her manager and get the manager to settle it. The assistant got onto the van and asked, ¡°What happened for you to be so angry?¡± Sun Weiwei leaned on the seat rest, boiling with rage. ¡°That slut, Mo Li, is pregnant.¡± Her assistant covered her mouth in shock. ¡°Oh my god, then will Master Ye let her have the child?¡± ¡°She¡¯s been with him for four years and never got pregnant. Now, she¡¯s suddenly pregnant. Obviously, Brother Xiaotian wanted it to happen.¡± Sun Weiwei darted a nce at her assistant. ¡°I¡¯ve not been paying attention to her matters for only a few days, and now she¡¯s created this huge problem for me. If she were to give birth to the child, how would it go for me?¡± ¡°Sister Weiwei, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re thinking of...¡± Sun Weiwei nced at her assistant coldly. ¡°I have my own ns. If I don¡¯t teach her a lesson for real, she would probably have her head in the sky.¡± ¡°What if Master Ye finds out?¡± Sun Weiwei was brimming with confidence. ¡°Whatever I do, would it be possible that I don¡¯t consider it thoroughly? It¡¯s either I don¡¯t do it or do, but if I do, I¡¯ll definitely do a clean job.¡± ¡ª In the evening, An Xiaoning was driving home. She suddenly realized that ever since she left previously, that man who had not appeared before her was now standing at her front gate with his hands sped behind his back. One look and it was obvious that he was waiting for her. The main gate opened and her car pulled in slowly. Just as she got off the car, a long pair of arms hugged around her tightly. An Xiaoning¡¯s nerves were triggered, and she exerted strength with her arms and directly gave him a punch. Jin Qingyan was in pain but did not release his arms. On the contrary, he hugged her even tighter. ¡°Xiaoning.¡± ¡°What are you doing here again?¡± ¡°Looking for some fun.¡± ¡°Let go of me first.¡± He released his arms indeed, and An Xiaoning turned around, staring at his face under the light. ¡°Stop joking around.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not joking around, I just wanted to talk to you, so I came.¡± An Xiaoning touched her lips lightly. ¡°Then, well, I guess you cane in.¡± Upon hearing this, Jin Qingyan¡¯s face brightened. Why is she ... He immediately followed her closely into the house. An Xiaoning poured a cup of tea for him and asked with a calm face, ¡°What do you want to say? Speak.¡± ¡°You, why did you let me in? You¡¯re being unusual.¡± An Xiaoning replied faintly, ¡°If I don¡¯t let you in, you¡¯ll probably construct an underground entrance into my basement.¡± Jin Qingyan smirked. ¡°Xiaoning, after careful thought, what do you think if we make a deal? It¡¯ll be just like the first time we met when you asked me for one.¡± ¡°What deal?¡± ¡°Since both you and I don¡¯t want to get married but we¡¯re both adults...¡± The corner of Jin Qingyan¡¯s lips curled. ¡°So we need a sexual life. I gave you my first, and so did you. We¡¯re both clean freaks, so...¡± An Xiaoning immediately understood what he meant. ¡°Although I am particr with cleanliness, why should I be with you? There are so many other hunks, you¡¯re not the only one. There are other beauties out there too, I¡¯m not your only choice.¡± Chapter 241 - Heart Hurts Too Much to Even Breathe (5)

Chapter 241: Heart Hurts Too Much to Even Breathe (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Seems like you¡¯re still not very satisfied with me,¡± he said, smiling wryly. ¡°Didn¡¯t expect you to still have a bit of self-awareness. I made you this myself. Aren¡¯t you going to give it a sip?¡± An Xiaoning answered, handing him a cup of beverage. Jin Qingyan could not quite get used to such a calm and well-mannered An Xiaoning. Perhaps due to the fact that she had been treating him coldly with much disdain the past few months, he seemed to have forgotten what the An Xiaoning he knew was like. He lifted the cup of green tea which seemed to have tasted sweeter than usual, though it was merely an ordinary cup of green tea. In fact, it almost felt like he was drinking honey. He appeared extremely haggard, though his immacte features had not changed a single bit and he still looked as handsome as ever. It was evident that he had not been getting enough rest. Staring at Jin Qingyan, An Xiaoning realized that he was looking extremely worn outpared to thest time she met him, which was quite some time ago. ¡°Have you been suffering from insomniately?¡± ¡°Yeah, you can tell?¡± After a moment of silence, An Xiaoning answered calmly, ¡°You ought to rest well since you still have to work in the day. How are you going to have the energy to work if you don¡¯t get enough sleep at night? Your health matters the most.¡± They seemed to have a tacit understanding upon exchanging nces with each other. A smile formed on his face as he was set into a good mood upon hearing her words. ¡°I¡¯m very d to know that you¡¯re so concerned about me. You haven¡¯t spoken to me so calmly in a long time, I can¡¯t quite get used to it yet.¡± His gentle and mellow voice reminded An Xiaoning of the very first time she met him. ¡°Well, I just thought we couldmunicate amicably. Besides, there¡¯s no point in being crude and saying mean things to you since they¡¯re not going to drive you away, anyway.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. It would be better if you could be just as nice to me in bed as you are now,¡± he said, cing the teacup on the table. ¡°Jin Qingyan, don¡¯t push your limits.¡± He chuckled and said, ¡°I¡¯ll get going.¡± An Xiaoning headed upstairs to get some rest after seeing him leave. She tossed and turned in bed, finding it difficult to fall asleep. ¡°Boss, someone is calling you again!¡± cranked her ringtone. She took a look at the caller disy to find that it was an unknown number. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Long time no see. Have you forgotten who I am?¡± said Xi Bi, giving her the chills instantly. ¡°How dare I forget who you are? Why bother making life hard for me, Mr. Xi?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not trying to make life difficult for you. I just need you to help me with something,¡± said Xi Bi, who seemed to be telling the truth. ¡°I¡¯m not interested nor capable enough to render you help. Neither am I obligated to. I highly doubt it¡¯s within my means to aplish something you weren¡¯t able to despite your power and status, Mr. Xi. Xi Bi, stop calling me. I¡¯m not afraid of you. Since you dared to look for me, I have the guts to turn you down as well. Although I may not be as powerful as you are, I¡¯m tough and insusceptible to pressure. That¡¯s all I have to say.¡± After ending the call, An Xiaoning reached under her pillow to retrieve the small silencer, which she then kept beneath her shirt. She then closed her eyes and fell asleep. ¡ª¡ª Chi Rui¡¯er had long regained her health. In fact, she could have already been discharged on the day of her delivery. However, she continued to stay in the hospital ward and had not left since. She decided to do that all because her son had yet to be discharged from the incubation room. Staring at his son who was inside the incubator, Gu Dongcheng could not help but feel sad and worried. Compared to him, Chi Rui¡¯er was far more rxed. Mrs. Chi had been apanying her throughout. The doctor finally allowed their family members to enter the incubation room to have a look at the baby, under the condition that they put on hospital gowns throughout the visitation period. Eager to see his child whom he had been gazing at through the ss from outside, Gu Dongcheng was the first to enter the incubation room. He then reached out to hold his son¡¯s chubby little hand with his fingers. It was his first time having such close contact with him. Although the child had yet to develop distinct facial features, one could tell easily that he greatly resembled Chi Rui¡¯er. Mrs. Gu, who had alsoe to see the newborn, was taken aback at the sight of her grandson. ¡°Why does this child look exactly like his mother? None of his features resemble Dongcheng at all.¡± ¡°He probably just resembles his mother more,¡± said Mr. Gu. Chi Rui¡¯er did note to visit her son, however. ¡°Did the doctor mention when the baby can be discharged from the incubator?¡± ¡°There¡¯s still a month to go.¡± Gu Dongcheng began to get annoyed at the thought of his premature son and chided her, ¡°I always told you to be careful, to be careful! Yet you still refused to listen. Otherwise, he still wouldn¡¯t be due today. Premature babies are going to suffer a whole string of health problems like poor immunity. They can¡¯t bepared to babies delivered at full term at all.¡± ¡°You think I wanted that?¡± ¡°Okay, that¡¯s enough. What do you feel like eating? I¡¯ll bring them for you.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er told him a list of foods she was craving, though there were only a few that she could eat. Due to the fact that she was going through her post-natal confinement period, she was not allowed to take any spicy foods. Sensing something amiss, Gu Dongcheng said, ¡°I saw a baby who just got admitted to the incubation room earlier, it was a baby who was almost due. Yet, it was significantly smaller than our baby. Ours doesn¡¯t look premature at all.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er felt her stomach twist into a knot. She quickly exined, ¡°I ate so much throughout the course of pregnancy, of course our baby is going to be bigger. There¡¯s nothing strange about that. If our child isn¡¯t premature, why would his lungs be underdeveloped?¡± Gu Dongcheng did not pry further and said instead, ¡°I¡¯ll go home to bring you some food.¡± As soon as he left, Chi Rui¡¯er quickly searched online: ¡°Will babies born slightly ahead of due date be gued with the same health problems as premature babies?¡± A lot of answers online revealed that it all depends on the mother¡¯s food and nutrition intake during the course of pregnancy, which exins why in some cases, babies born at full term may still encounter various health issues. She knew it clearly herself. In fact, the child was born merely a few days ahead of the due date. It was not a premature baby at all. She could have actually waited ¡¯til the due date to go intobor, yet Xu Jingwen had caused her to... Her huge lie would have long been exposed if she had not already bribed the nurses and doctors at the hospital beforehand. Thankfully, she had left no stones unturned. Otherwise, how else could Gu Dongcheng be so ted about bing a father? d in a hospital gown, Mrs. Chi entered the hospital ward. ¡°The baby is so adorable. Rui¡¯er, put this on and go have a look yourself,¡± said Mrs. Chi while removing the gown. ¡°I¡¯m not going.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you seem attached to your child at all?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er kept mum and continued to y with her phone. ¡°Stop ying with your phone. Too much exposure to phones and television during the confinement period will be harmful to your eyes,¡± Mrs. Chi chided as she snatched her phone away and ced it onto the table. ¡°Mother, go home tomorrow. There are so many people here to look after me, you don¡¯t have to apany me.¡± Before Mrs. Chi could even answer, the door swung open all of a sudden. Chi Rui¡¯er turned to see that it was her stepfather. She covered herself with the nket and turned away from him. ¡°Why did youe at this time?¡± asked Mrs. Chi. ¡°I just thought you¡¯ve been staying here for too long and thus decided toe and pick you up.¡± Mrs. Chi took a look at Chi Rui¡¯er, who had her back facing them, and said, ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll go back with you. Rui¡¯er, I¡¯m going home with your father. Get Dongcheng to keep youpany when he returnster.¡± ¡°Got it. Please leave quickly, I don¡¯t wish to see him.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s stepfather had been staring at her coldly, though she had never once turned back to look at him. He then left the hospital together with Mrs. Chi. Upon hearing the door close, Chi Rui¡¯er sat up straight and picked up her phone, which was lying on the table. She then began tapping away at it mindlessly. Chapter 242 - Heart Hurts Too Much to Even Breathe (6)

Chapter 242: Heart Hurts Too Much to Even Breathe (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡ª¡ª Mo Li was jolted awake from her sleep by a nightmare, which had caused her to break out into cold sweat while grabbing onto the duvet tightly. She dreamed that she had lost her baby, though she was not exactly the most willing to keep it, since its existence would mean that she would have to be tied down to Ye Xiaotian for the rest of his life. Ever since she found out about her pregnancy, she had been feeling a little excited about its arrival. She looked forward to see what her child would look like when it was born. She was eager to know if it was a girl or a boy and even more eager to hear her child call her ¡°Mother.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Ye Xiaotian asked as he sat up slowly. ¡°I had a nightmare.¡± ¡°About what?¡± he asked. Gazing at him, Mo Li snuggled up into his arms and said, ¡°Xiaotian, I¡¯m really scared.¡± Ye Xiaotian felt his heart ache upon seeing her show her softer side for once. ¡°What are you scared about?¡± he asked worriedly. Shaking her head, she answered, ¡°I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m exactly afraid about.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to be afraid when I¡¯m here with you. Don¡¯t worry, my mother won¡¯t being here again anytime soon.¡± Mo Li nodded and took a look at the time before saying, ¡°Time to get up.¡± They then got dressed and washed up together before going downstairs for breakfast. Even during breakfast, Mo Li could not rx and was still rather tense and worried about something. After Ye Xiaotian left for work, she did not want to go anywhere and instead remained at home to catch up on reading, listen to music, and water the nts. Although there was no one for her to talk to while she was all alone at home, she somehow did not feel bored at all. When the clock struck ten, she decided to go take a look at her parents¡¯ bistro, which should have just closed for business. She turned down the chauffeur¡¯s offer to drive her and opted to walk there instead. There was nowhere she could walk about at home; thus, she almost felt like she was bing a cripple due to thergely sedentary lifestyle she had been leading. Upon sight of Mo Li, Mrs. Mo hurried to the entrance to greet her, ¡°Why did youe out alone?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t want them to follow me. I thought it¡¯d be better toe alone. Mother, how¡¯s business going?¡± Mrs. Mo nodded and answered, ¡°It¡¯s going well, we¡¯re making profits every day. It¡¯s just a little tiring, that¡¯s all. But your father and I are still able-bodied and young, a little hardship doesn¡¯t matter as long as we have the drive to push through.¡± Mo Li was relieved to hear that her family was living well. She would be happy as long as they were. After having lunch with her parents at noon, she took a slow and leisurely walk back to Ming Yuan Estate. On her journey back, she happened to bump into An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning was on her way to the police station when she saw a figure that greatly resembled Mo Li. Thus, she drove up ahead slowly and honked at Mo Li, who shuddered in shock before bing more rxed upon seeing that it was An Xiaoning. As Mo Li got on the car, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Why are you walking around here alone?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t want those bodyguards to follow me around.¡± ¡°Silly girl, don¡¯te out alone in the future. You have to make sure someone chauffeurs you, and remember to bring along a few more bodyguards, got it?¡± said An Xiaoning, who offered to send her home. Mo Li remained silent and looked at her. ¡°Let me tell you, there are plenty of crooks aroundtely. You¡¯ll risk getting abducted when you¡¯re walking around alone. Don¡¯t do this again next time.¡± Mo Li agreed with a nod and said, ¡°Yes, I understand. Thank you, Ms. An. Where are you headed to now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sending you home. I¡¯ve seen the news about your divorce with Byron. I also know that you got back together with Ye Xiaotian. You¡¯re still living in Ming Yuan Estate now, right?¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Yes. Ms. An, I¡¯m pregnant,¡± Mo Li revealed. An Xiaoning subconsciously gazed at her stomach before asking, ¡°How long has it been?¡± ¡°Less than two months.¡± ¡°All the more you should bring bodyguards with you when you go out. Ye Xiaotian is highly coveted by many women, so you ought to be extra careful and cautious of your own safety.¡± ¡°I won¡¯te out by myself again in the future. Ms. An, I¡¯ve been keeping in touch with the news daily. Qingyan must really love you,¡± said Mo Li, touched to hear how concerned An Xiaoning was about her. ¡°Is that so?¡± An Xiaoning said with a smile. In reality, she was more aware than anyone else about the fact that he loved her a ton. ¡°It¡¯s hard to find someone who loves you as much as you love them. Ms. An, although I haven¡¯t spent much time with you, I can tell you¡¯re a woman who has a mind of her own. Qingyan is only a few years older than I am, I guess it¡¯s safe to say that we grew up together. I know him really well, he truly is a great person. You have to take charge of your own happiness,¡± said Mo Li. An Xiaoning let out a wry smile and expressed assent before saying, ¡°Why did you return to Ye Xiaotian?¡± Mo Li was momentarily lost for words, after which she proceeded to answer, ¡°It¡¯s a long story. I couldn¡¯t help myself, and I didn¡¯t have much of a choice either. Besides, now that I¡¯m pregnant with his child, there¡¯s nothing else I really want anymore apart from a proper status for my child and me. The world is huge, but how far can I run? We can¡¯t be so selfish all the time, anyway.¡± ¡°No matter what it is, just remember to keep a few trustworthy servants and bodyguards around you. They¡¯ll be of great help to you. Mo Li, every child has arrived in this world for a purpose. Take good care of yourself and deliver a healthy baby.¡± ¡°Ms. An, can we be friends?¡± Mo Li asked smilingly. ¡°Of course we can.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± An Xiaoning dropped her off at the entrance of the v in Ming Yuan Estate before making her way to the police station. After parking the car in a parking spot at the police station, she put on a pair of ts and alighted from her car. Several bypassing police officers greeted her one after another upon sight of her. She nodded in response and headed to the Special Crimes Investigation Unit Office. Her three colleagues were waiting in the office for her arrival. ¡°Long time no see,¡± she greeted. ¡°Hello, Team Leader!¡± the three of them said in unison. An Xiaoning could not help but burst intoughter. ¡°What has gotten into you guys? You¡¯ve be so prim and proper within just months.¡± Ma Jianguo was the first to slip back into his usual character and sat back down. ¡°Team Leader, our office is about to be covered in cobwebs, had youe back anyter. We¡¯ve missed you so much!¡± he eximed with a long sigh. ¡°Why so?¡± ¡°Because we prefer to work under you. You have no idea how much we¡¯ve suffered working in the other units. Not only do we have to slog our guts out every day, we often get reprimanded as well. It¡¯s practically a living hell,¡± hemented. ¡°Haven¡¯t you been living like that while working with the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit previously? You should¡¯ve gotten used to it by now. By the way, has there been any major casestely?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Team Leader, don¡¯t you watch the news?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t been paying attention to news regarding such matters,¡± she answered. Just as she was about to pour herself some tea, Zu Dong quickly interjected and took her teacup away, ¡°Team Leader, let me do it instead.¡± Noticing how eager he was to help, she handed him the teacup and said, ¡°Please wash the cup first, I haven¡¯t used it in a while.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°What major cases have there been? Tell me about it,¡± said An Xiaoning, sitting up straight. ¡°There had been a few cases of murder this month. Did you know...¡± Ma Jianguo leaned in closer towards her and lowered his voice before continuing to speak, ¡°Did you know how many cases the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit managed to crack within the past few months?¡± ¡°How many?¡± ¡°So far, only two. Moreover, the entire unit was involved, and Chief called for a meeting every day to analyze the details of the case. At that instant, I knew that you¡¯re the most capable of them all.¡± ¡°Quit bootlicking and sucking up to me,¡± An Xiaoning chided teasingly. Chapter 243 - Heart Hurts Too Much to Even Breathe (7)

Chapter 243: Heart Hurts Too Much to Even Breathe (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Has Chief handed us the new cases?¡± Shaking his head, Ma Jianguo answered, ¡°Not yet, but I reckon they¡¯ll send it here soon.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± she told Zu Dong who was bringing her some tea. Zu Dong gave a courteous smile before returning to his seat. Just as An Xiaoning was discussing the details with her colleagues, Pan Zhenghui entered. He brought along two documents in envelopes with him. ¡°There are two cases?¡± ¡°No, just one. This is a case from two months ago, and it¡¯s the worst one we¡¯ve had so far. Due to the fact that the Serious Crimes Unit were unable to crack the case, it wasn¡¯t reported in the news in order to avoid ruining their image. But this case really gets one¡¯s hackles up. I reckon you¡¯re the only one who can crack it,¡± said Pan Zhenghui as he ced the document envelopes onto the table. An Xiaoning retrieved the case file from the envelope and perused its content. Seeing one of the photographs, her brows furrowed into a frown as she asked, ¡°What is this pot of spare ribs broth...¡± ¡°It¡¯s broth made with human meat... it seems the murderer was extremely skilled in cleaning up the crime scene. The autopsy report also showed that the victim¡¯s bones were severed in a very precise manner, which is not something the average citizen can achieve easily,¡± Pan Zhenghui said with much disgust. An Xiaoning was repulsed at the thought of the revolting scene of a human being ughtered alive. ¡°When I arrived at the scene to carry out investigations... I threw up immediately. The murderer must be a psychopathic maniac,¡± said a nauseated Pan Zhenghui. ¡°There are so many dark sides to today¡¯s society, and people with twisted minds are rampant as well nowadays,¡± An Xiaoning remarked as she continued to read the details of the case. ¡°Thank god you¡¯vee back yourself. If you were absent for any longer, we would¡¯ve gone to look for you.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t been feeling too well ofte actually, but I¡¯ll do my best. Besides...¡± An Xiaoning looked up at Pan Zhenghui before continuing, ¡°I¡¯ve developed some martial arts skills after training at the boot camp academy for close to five months, which also means three out of four of us in this unit are capable of defending ourselves. Isn¡¯t that rather reassuring?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, Oldie Ma is the only one we have to worry about then...¡± Pan Zhenghui agreed. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m already forty-odd years old. I don¡¯t want to start training and toughening myself up, now that I already have one foot in the grave.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll hand the case to you guys then. You may discuss when you¡¯d like to begin carrying out investigations. I¡¯m heading back to my office.¡± Pan Zhenghui then exited through the door before closing it behind him. ¡°The victim¡¯s name is Wu Changqing. Female, 24 years old. Her parents were divorced since she was young and have since went on to rebuild a family of their own each, separately. She was raised by her grandmother. It says here that she used to be a rebellious teenager, ording to the ounts of her ssmates. Is that so?¡± An Xiaoning said to Ma Jianguo. ¡°Yes, she had apparently been severely deprived of parental love, which was the main cause of her rebellious nature from a young age. Ever since her grandmother was gued with illness, she cut off all contact with her ssmates and friendspletely. We¡¯ve found out from Wu Changqing¡¯s workce that she had been moonlighting as a social escort at a certain nightclub, perhaps because it pays well. We also heard from her grandmother that Wu Changqing had given her a lot of money for her medical treatment, during the few months before her death.¡± ¡°The peculiar thing we discovered was a text message her uncle received. Take a look at the photo attached in the message,¡± he added. An Xiaoning took a look at the caption attached to the photo in the message, which read: ¡°Grandma, I¡¯ll be leaving the city to go overseas to work. I¡¯ll take good care of myself. Love, Changqing.¡± ¡°ording to Wu Changqing¡¯s uncle, this phone number had indeed belonged to his mother, but thetter had given it to him a few months ago. The reason being, her hearing has be poor due to her old age and she won¡¯t be able to hear any phone calls. Besides, she¡¯s also illiterate, thus, there was no way she could ever read or understand text messages. These are matters-of-fact that Wu Changqing knew clearly. She would only ever call to speak to her grandmother, and she was also aware that the phone number now belonged to her uncle. Thus, she would have definitely mentioned for her uncle to ry the message, instead of directly addressing her grandmother, should she ever send a text message. Hence, this was why her family decided to make a police report,¡± Ma Jianguo exined. An Xiaoning expressed assent and continued to flip to the remaining pages of the case file. She then realized that the murderer had left the pot of human meat broth at the scene intentionally for the police to find. ¡°Since the murderer had sent that text message, why did he or she still want us to find out that the broth was made with Wu Changqing¡¯s body? Isn¡¯t that a little contradicting?¡± ¡°This is exactly why the murderer is psychotic. Perhaps he wanted to y hide-and-seek with the police, thinking that it¡¯s impossible for us to find him.¡± ¡°That¡¯s one possibility. I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll only get to the bottom of the truth when we manage to nab the murderer.¡± An Xiaoning looked at them in a serious manner while sticking out her index finger. ¡°I¡¯ll assign the three of you to your respective tasks. Firstly, you¡¯ll have to obtain Wu Changqing¡¯s birth characters, followed by the total amount of money she¡¯s earned at the nightclub. Oh and also, remember to ask her grandmother how much money Wu Changqing had given her. Thirdly, since we can¡¯t find anything from her text message history on her phone, we¡¯ll have to search for other clues online, just like how we did for the murder case involving the 17-year-old girl previously. We mustn¡¯t leave this out. Lastly, carry out careful and detailed investigations on the people around Wu Changqing. Find out about her personality traits other than her rebellious nature and the hobbies she enjoyed in her free time. I want to know all of that,¡± she instructed. ¡°Got it! We¡¯llplete the task for sure!¡± Ma Jianguo, Zu Dong, and Gong Le chorused. An Xiaoning then began driving home after assigning the tasks to them. She hadpletely lost her appetite for dinner, probably because of the revolting photo she had seen earlier. Upon arriving home, 007 served An Xiaoning a bowl of freshly-boiled herbal soup. Pinching her nose, she gulped it down in one sitting before proceeding to rinse her mouth. ¡°Ms. An, what would you like to eat? I¡¯ll prepare it for you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel like eating anything. You may return to your room to get some rest.¡± An Xiaoningid onto the couch, too exhausted to move an inch. Her eyelids began to feel heavy as she eased into afortable position. Soon after, she fell asleep and drifted off to dreand. Sensing something unusual, she opened her eyes immediately. An Xiaoning heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing Jin Qingyan, who covered her with a nket. ¡°Didn¡¯t you already drop by yesterday? Why are you here again tonight?¡± ¡°I had dinner yesterday, but I¡¯ll still have to eat again today, don¡¯t I?¡± Jin Qingyan said smugly. ¡°Twisted logic.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you go upstairs to sleep since you¡¯re tired?¡± Sleepy-eyed, An Xiaoning sat up straight and asked, ¡°Have you had dinner?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Neither have I. I went to the police station earlier and caught sight of a repulsive photo of the crime scene. It absolutely ruined my appetite,¡± she said sluggishly. ¡°Let me see what you have in your refrigerator,¡± said Jin Qingyan as he stood up and began walking towards the kitchen. An Xiaoning did not stop him and instead remained seated on the couch quietly, hugging her knees. All of a sudden, she heard some noisesing from the kitchen. Chapter 244 - Heart Hurts Too Much to Even Breathe (8)

Chapter 244: Heart Hurts Too Much to Even Breathe (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Soon, the fragrance of freshly prepared dishes wafted up her nose. In less than half an hour, a sumptuous spread consisting of three dishes and a bowl of soup was served. Jin Qingyan brought her a pair of chopsticks, which she then ced onto the table. After putting on her home slippers, she said, ¡°I¡¯ll go wash my hands.¡± Jin Qingyan waited for her to return. An Xiaoning headed to the bathroom upstairs and stood by the basin. Staring at her reflection in the mirror, her eyes glistened as she beamed with happiness. She removed her makeup and rinsed her face before going downstairs again. ¡°Why haven¡¯t you started eating?¡± ¡°I was waiting for you.¡± An Xiaoning picked up her chopsticks and began eating. She knew that he had superb culinary skills, based on the food cooked by him which she had sampled in the past. However, this time, it somehow felt different from the past. The two of them barely spoke to each other throughout the meal. However, neither of them felt awkward and instead polished off all the dishes. An Xiaoning was stuffed by the end of the meal. A warm, fuzzy feeling filled her heart as she watched him bring the empty dishes and cutlery to the kitchen. Jin Qingyan exited from the kitchen and sat down beside her. ¡°Xiaoning.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°May I sleep over tonight?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t sleep in the same bed as you. Will that do? I¡¯ll sleep on the floor, and I promise I won¡¯t climb up to your bed in the middle of the night,¡± he swore. ¡°It¡¯s not like you haven¡¯t sneaked into my bed at midnight before. Go home,¡± An Xiaoning refuted. ¡°At home... the pillows at home are cold, so are the sheets and the duvet. In fact, everywhere is cold and empty at home,¡± said Jin Qingyan, sounding aggrieved. ¡°It¡¯s not wintertime now, why would it be cold?¡± ¡°To me, it¡¯s winter whenever you¡¯re not around.¡± ¡°When did you get such a glib tongue?¡± said An Xiaoning, clucking her tongue. ¡°You didn¡¯t kiss me, how would you know?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Xiaoning, let¡¯s start dating all over again. Be my girlfriend, won¡¯t you?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°No...? Then I guess I¡¯ll have toe up with another solution...¡± Jin Qingyan said with a sulk, though he was d to see that she was less aloof towards him. ¡°Go home, quick. Drive safe,¡± said An Xiaoning as she stood up and walked upstairs. Jin Qingyan had no choice but to leave. Although things had gotten better and more amicable between them, he knew that he should not push it. Besides, she had just had a miscarriage and he did not want to upset her any further. Thus, he decided to just go home. An Xiaoning was rather relieved to see that he did not insist on staying behind. She proceeded toy down in bed and catch up on some reading. Before she even realized, one hour had already passed. She squeezed a few drops of eyedrops onto her eyes and closed her eyes to take a short nap. Just as she was about to fall asleep, she received a call from Mei Yangyang. ¡°Hello, Yangyang.¡± ¡°Sis, we filmed a night scene today and the director praised me for doing a great job. He said my acting was really natural and convincing,¡± Mei Yangyang said confidently. ¡°That¡¯s great, I¡¯ll visit you guys in the next few days when I¡¯m free. I still have to carry on with investigations tomorrow. I¡¯m going to bed early.¡± ¡°Oh by the way, Sis, have you seen the news? The one about Mr. Jin,¡± Mei Yangyang said all of a sudden as it came across her mind. ¡°News? No, I haven¡¯t.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I should tell you, but the piece of news reported that Lin Mingxi had paid Mrs. Jin a visit, bringing along several gifts with her. They even went shopping and visited the beauty salon together. They seem to be on good terms and really chummy with each other. From the looks of it, she has gained Mrs. Jin¡¯s utmost approval to be her daughter-inw.¡± An Xiaoning felt her heart sink, though there was no change in her tone when she answered, ¡°Oh, I see. I didn¡¯te across that piece of news. Okay, I¡¯m going to bed.¡± ¡°Alright, goodnight.¡± ¡°Goodnight.¡± Is Jin Qingyan aware of that piece of news? An Xiaoning wondered. He did not mention it during dinner, though. She browsed through thetest entertainment news on her phone and found that what Mei Yangyang said was true. There were even photos taken by reporters which showed Mrs. Jin and Lin Mingxi linking arms, appearing to be rather close with each other. An Xiaoning exited the entertainment news page and ced her phone onto the table. She continued to lie in bed, greatly affected by what she had just read. Given her character, this was not how she had nned for things to go. She was well aware that she was the one whom Jin Qingyan was fully devoted to and loved wholeheartedly, at the moment. However, that does not mean that she could take it for granted, since things may not remain that way forever. It also did not mean that things would work out as long as she remained single for the rest of her life. She indeed did not wish to put him in a difficult spot and cause him to live a life of regret because of the child. Although he detested children, he would still be obligated to have some of his own eventually. If Jin Qingyan¡¯s family insisted that he marry someone else, did that mean An Xiaoning would have to give the man she loved away to another woman who¡¯s nothing more than just a baby-making machine? Would he even be happy that way? If he truly loved An Xiaoning to bits, then such an arrangement should cause him a ton of misery as well, wasn¡¯t that so? An Xiaoning felt somewhat relieved as that thought crossed her mind. She felt as if someone had pulled her out of a muddy swamp she had sunk into. As if a heavy weight had been lifted off her chest. Although she was still a little troubled, she had at least managed to figure things out, more or less. She decided to leave the rest to the gods and just let nature take its course. If Heaven wanted the two of them to stay together for the rest of their lives, then it would happen gradually. Otherwise, things would definitely find a way to fail their wishes sooner orter. ¡ª¡ª As soon as Jin Qingyan arrived home in his car, he was greeted with the sight of Fan Shixin scampering towards him. ¡°Ms. Lin has been waiting for you inside for an hour,¡± he reported. ¡°Why is she waiting for me?¡± ¡°She wants to see you. She said that she called you multiple times but you did not answer.¡± ¡°Who allowed you to let her in? Does it seem like anyone can enter my house as and when they please?¡± Jin Qingyan rebuked. ¡°Madam was the one who especially instructed me to. What was I supposed to do?¡± Fan Shixin retorted. ¡°Do you take orders from me or my mother? You have to ask for my consent before letting anyone enter in the future.¡± ¡°Yes, Young Sir, got it.¡± Jin Qingyan then made his way to the living room. Upon hearing his footsteps, Lin Mingxi quickly stood up from the couch and walked towards him. ¡°You¡¯re back.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter? You actually waited so long.¡± ¡°I wanted to ask you to have dinner together but you didn¡¯t pick up my calls.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already had my dinner. If there¡¯s nothing else, you may take your leave,¡± said Jin Qingyan as he made his way upstairs. Lin Mingxi hurried forward to grab his arm. ¡°Let go,¡± Jin Qingyan said coldly, ring at her hand. She let go and said, ¡°Don¡¯t go up yet, I still have something to say to you.¡± ¡°Get straight to the point.¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan, I adore you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t fancy you.¡± ¡°But feelings can be nurtured. Didn¡¯t you not fancy An Xiaoning either when you got together with her at the start?¡± ¡°Why would I marry her if I didn¡¯t fancy her at all? I can tell you confidently that I felt good about her the very moment Iid my eyes on her. As for you, I don¡¯t feel good about you at all.¡± Jin Qingyan scowled as a frown creased his forehead. ¡°Why are you behaving like this? I¡¯m already taking the initiative, are you blind?¡± Lin Mingximented with a sigh. ¡°I didn¡¯t tell you to take the initiative.¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan, your mother adores me.¡± ¡°So what if she does? You can¡¯t marry her anyway,¡± Jin Qingyan retorted. Lin Mingxi turned pale upon hearing his harsh words. ¡°Jin Qingyan, you¡¯re being too much.¡± ¡°This is considered being too much? You¡¯ve yet to see how I can make you cry instantly,¡± he scoffed. ¡°You... hmph!¡± Lin Mingxi grunted before turning around to leave. Chapter 245 - Heart Hurts Too Much to Even Breathe (9)

Chapter 245: Heart Hurts Too Much to Even Breathe (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyan made his way upstairs straight away. Heid on the bed, suffering from insomnia yet again. He just could not fall asleep. Likewise, his sister, Jin Qingyue, was also having trouble sleeping. It had been an entire week! Not only did Shi Shaochuan refuse to give her any calls, he did not bother toe and pick her up either. All he did was call thendline of the Jin family¡¯s old mansion to inquire if she was there. Needless to say, Jin Qingyue was infuriated. Her anger did not dissipate and grew exponentially instead. Thus, she drove back to the Shi family home after dinner. While on the journey home, Jin Qingyue rehearsed the lines she was going to bombard him with once she got home. She was going to threaten him with the baby! As soon as she arrived home, she was thrown off guard. Shi Shaochuan was not even at home. ¡°Why hasn¡¯t Young Sir returned!?!¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t mention anything,¡± the servant answered, noticing how infuriated Jin Qingyue was. Jin Qingyue then drove to his office, only to find that he had gotten off work long ago. The more she dwelled on it, the more she began to sense something amiss. Women are the most intuitive and sensitive creatures. The first thing that came to mind was the possibility of him having an affair. Jin Qingyue was perturbed. Not sure where to find him, she decided to go home and wait for his return. After sitting around and waiting all day, he was still yet toe home. Boiling with fury, she paced back and forth around the living room. Men just always seem to have a way to anger women. In fact, Shi Shaochuan was great at that. He was having an affair with Xu Jingwen, to whom he would rush to spend all his time with as soon as he got off from work. Since he was having a whale of a time every day, he could not even be bothered to persuade Jin Qingyue toe home, lest she got in the way of him having his fun. He had all the freedom to himself, now that she was not home. He arrived home at ten o¡¯clock in the evening, only to be greeted with the sight of a fuming Jin Qingyue, who was ring daggers at him. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you in a few days. Did you gain weight again?¡± Of course she would gain weight at the rate things were going. She would get the urge to binge eat whenever she was enraged. It was such a vicious cycle. On top of that, she had developed an enormous appetite and was constantly hungry due to the fact that she was pregnant. His words had added fuel to the fire. Jin Qingyue swiftly stomped towards him and gave him a tight p across his face, releasing all her pent-up anger. ¡°Shi Shaochuan, go to hell!¡± Shi Shaochuan was dumbstruck by the sudden p. He pped her back instinctively. ¡°How dare you hit me! I¡¯m going to divorce you!¡± Jin Qingyue hollered at the top of her voice. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hit me too?¡± said Shi Shaochuan, mellowing his voice at the mention of a divorce. Jin Qingyue hadpletely lost her rationality. ¡°We shall get the divorce papers signed tomorrow, I¡¯m aborting the child too!¡± she snapped, teary-eyed. She scurried off as soon as she finished speaking. Shi Shaochuan hurriedly chased after her. ¡°I¡¯ll let you hit me again, will that do!?!¡± ¡°Get lost!¡± Suppressing his anger, Shi Shaochuan said calmly, ¡°Where else do you want me to go when you¡¯re not here?¡± Jin Qingyue pushed him away forcefully and retorted, ¡°Go away! Shi Shaochuan, don¡¯t you already have another woman outside!?! I went back to my maiden home for a week, yet you didn¡¯t even bother calling me oring to pick me up the entire time. How could you! Don¡¯t think I¡¯m not aware that you came homete that night because you had a rendezvous with another woman!¡± ¡°Look at you over-imagining things again. I just wanted to let you cool off. I was just nning to pick you up tomorrow. Yueyue, that¡¯s really what I was thinking. Be good, Honey, stop being angry,¡± Shi Shaochuan tried to cate her by grabbing her arm and kissing her right away. Jin Qingyue¡¯s initial anger began to fade as soon as he kissed her. On top of that, Shi Shaochuan carried her upstairs and forced himself onto her, though she did not quite resist him anyway. They then ended up getting intimate, after which Jin Qingyue waspletely coaxed and cated. ¡°You¡¯re really not having an affair?¡± ¡°I really am not. Why would I do that when I already have you? Look what has gotten into you ever since you got pregnant. You¡¯ve been overthinking and imagining things that woulde in between our marriage,¡± said Shi Shaochuan, hugging her tightly in his embrace. After all, Jin Qingyue indeed did not have any explicit evidence, nor did she manage to catch him red-handed. Thus, she had no choice but to say, ¡°Shi Shaochuan, let me warn you, you¡¯re going to get it from me if you ever dare to have an affair and get caught by me.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare to, Honey. Don¡¯t be angry, it won¡¯t be good for our baby. Our baby¡¯s going to think that you¡¯re an ill-tempered mother,¡± Shi Shaochuan cajoled her. ¡°Weren¡¯t you the one who made me that way?¡± Jin Qingyue retorted with a humph. ¡°It¡¯s all my fault, okay? I¡¯ll apologize to you, be good. It¡¯s gettingte. I was almost scared to death, why did you even mention a divorce?¡± said Shi Shaochuan, giving her a kiss. Embracing him with her eyes closed, Jin Qingyue said, ¡°Shaochuan, I¡¯ve married you and gotten pregnant with your child. You¡¯d better not disappoint me.¡± Feeling a little guilty, Shi Shaochuan answered, ¡°Yes, got it.¡± ¡ª¡ª Having woken up bright early in the morning, An Xiaoning hurriedly made her way to the police station after having her breakfast. She swifty got dressed and put on a pair of trainers. She looked more refreshed and energized than ever, with her hair smoothed back into a ponytail. She arrived at the police station before her colleagues. She decided to look through the case file again while waiting for them to arrive. After she was done perusing the file, the three of them turned up one after another. ¡°Team Leader, we¡¯vepleted the tasks you assigned us with. Wu Chanqing¡¯s birthdate is the 1st of October on the Lunar Calendar. She was born at seven o¡¯clock in the morning, and written below is her family address which was included in her household register. We found out from the records provided by the nightclub owner that Wu Changqing had made a total of 160 thousand dors from working at the nightclub. Given that she received a payout every two to three days, there hadn¡¯t been a time where she wasn¡¯t paid her due sry.¡± Suddenly reminded of something, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°The country has been heavily banning vices such as prostitution, gambling, and drugs. Why hasn¡¯t the police raided that nightclub?¡± ¡°That¡¯s because it belongs to the Ye family,¡± Ma Jianguo answered awkwardly. She understood what he meant instantly. ¡°Oh, I see. Continue speaking.¡± ¡°The owner said that she had just received her payout when the murder took ce. We¡¯re not lying. We also found out that Wu Changqing¡¯s grandmother is diagnosed with stomach cancer, and Wu Changqing had given her a total of 60 thousand to pay for her treatments, which she is currently undergoing at the city hospital. This also means that Wu Changqing must¡¯ve had savings worth at least 100 thousand, after deducting her daily expenses.¡± A stern expression formed on An Xiaoning¡¯s faced as she continued to ask, ¡°Ma Jianguo, when you visited the crime scene with the Serious Crime Investigations Unit, did the forensic scientist deduce her cause of death from the human meat broth?¡± ¡°No, it was difficult to carry out an autopsy since the body had already been majorly severed. Apart from a few remainingrge bones, the rest have all been crushed. Thus, this is the tricky part of this case. In the end, it could only be deduced that the weapon used was an axe. ording to the cuts made, the forensic scientist concluded that the murderer was extremely skilled in using knives.¡± ¡°Skilled in using knives...¡± An Xiaoning looked down and pondered over his words. A momentter, she said, ¡°From what I read, the cause of Wu Changqing¡¯s death is said to be liver failure. There are several causes of liver failure though.¡± ¡°Team Leader, we didn¡¯t manage to find any clues from her online ounts,¡± said Zu Dong. Chapter 246 - Heart Hurts Too Much to Even Breathe (10)

Chapter 246: Heart Hurts Too Much to Even Breathe (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Ok, how about her other personality traits and personal interests, as well as her hobbies?¡± ¡°The majority answered that Wu Changqing was rather pessimistic and had a very negative outlook on life, besides being rebellious. She often expected the worst and remained quiet and moody most of the time. As for her hobbies and interests, most of the people who knew her said that she enjoyed cultivating flowers in her free time. They also mentioned that she nted a garden of flowers in the backyard of her home when she was living with her grandmother,¡± Gong Le answered. After a moment of pondering in silence, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Cultivating flowers? She wouldn¡¯t be able to do so at the nightclub where she stayed at. At most, she could only buy some potted flowers that she could water daily. Everyone, go with me to visit her dormitory.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning arrived with her colleagues at the nightclub by car. Due to the fact that it was daytime, the usual boisterousness of the nightclub was nowhere to be found, and the entire ce was filled with serenity and silence. The manager in charge then brought them to the dormitory Wu Changqing used to stay in when she was alive. The four of them looked at each other in dismay upon sight of the room. ¡°She¡¯d been staying in this room and she slept on this bed in the past,¡± said the manager, pointing towards a bed on which a few women were sleeping. The few women quickly hid their faces upon hearing that the police had entered, for they feared seeing the police at the nightclub the most. An Xiaoning scanned her surroundings to find that it was a rather small room, though there was a balcony and a washroom outside. However, there was an anti-theft system secured to the window of the balcony. The window was also facing the west, thus making it a poor environment for flowers to thrive in, since sunlight was scarce. ¡°Has she ever brought flowers back here?¡± ¡°No, she has never brought any flowers home,¡± one of the women in the dormitory answered confidently. ¡°Then, does shee back here to rest every day? Or does she only return once every few days?¡± ¡°Shees home every day.¡± ¡°Thank you for your cooperation. We¡¯ll drop by again should we have any further inquiries,¡± An Xiaonning said to the manager. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, Team Leader An. It¡¯s only part of our duty. Feel free toe by again if you have any other questions for us.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± An Xiaoning exited the dormitory, while Ma Jianguo, Zu Dong, and Gong Le followed closely behind. A smile formed on An Xiaoning¡¯s face as soon as they got on the car. ¡°Team Leader, why are you smiling...?¡± asked Ma Jianguo, widening his eyes in surprise. ¡°Did you guys find anything after taking a look at her dormitory?¡± ¡°Yes, that cultivating flowers is not possible at all,¡± Zu Dong answered. ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m not sure if we¡¯re working towards the right direction, but I hope we can get something out of this lead. If not, we¡¯ll just search for new clues. So now, we have to begin searching for clues from property agents. She must¡¯ve wanted to move out of the dormitory back then. Didn¡¯t you see how cramped and pungent it was? A pessimistic and introverted woman who enjoys growing flowers wouldn¡¯t enjoy living in groups. Thus, she must¡¯ve been constantly searching for a house thates with a backyard to move into. She should¡¯ve also been looking for property housed in locations near the hospital where her grandmother is receiving treatment,¡± An Xiaoning said with much seriousness. An Xiaoning smirked and continued, ¡°Go check up on all the property agencies near the hospital her grandmother is currently residing in. Bring her photos along with you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m suddenly enlightened after hearing your analysis, Team Leader,¡± said Ma Jianguo, giving her a thumbs-up excitedly. ¡°What are you waiting for then? Drive to the police station, then you three shall visit the property agencies near the hospital. There should only be a few around. Also, remember to ask for the birth characters of any suspicious persons you see. It¡¯ll help with resolving the case,¡± An Xiaoning instructed. ¡°Yes!¡± They then dropped An Xiaoning off at the police station before driving away again. She stretched her back andid down on the seats of her sports car. She then picked up an apple she brought and began to savor it bite by bite. Just as she was about to rest and rx, she received a sudden call from Jing Tian. She answered to hear what he had to say. An Xiaoning then immediately drove towards the filming location. She parked her bright red Ferrari in the carpark of the actors¡¯ hostel and quickly strode towards the location Jing Tian mentioned. She arrived to see that a crowd had gathered around a bald man who had a gold chain draped around his neck and arge beer belly. The malicious-looking man had brought along many bodyguards with him. An Xiaoning took a closer look and realized that he was Bai Ranran¡¯s brother, Bai Duocai. ¡°What brings you here to my film set, Mr. Bai?¡± asked An Xiaoning. Bai Duocai stroked his bare head and chuckled before answering, ¡°Ms. An, you arrived at the right time. I shall just tell you now then, we¡¯ve booked this filming location way before you. But, I heard it was rented to you guys after I already made my booking. Thus, this would hinder the filming of the movie I invested in. What do you say we do now?¡± ¡°Although you did book it first, ultimately, it¡¯s up to the owner to decide who to rent it to. There¡¯s nothing much we can do about it. If you¡¯re willing to let this matter slide on my ount, then I¡¯ll make it up to you in the future when I have the chance to. Otherwise, there¡¯s nothing else I can say,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Ms. An, it¡¯s not that I¡¯m not willing to let it slide, but it¡¯s really going to affect filming. Well, I heard that you¡¯ve trained at a martial arts boot camptely. Why don¡¯t we spar for a few rounds? If you lose, you are to give up the location to us. In the case that I lose, I¡¯ll leave with my men immediately,¡± Bai Duocai said fearlessly. ¡°One on one?¡± An Xiaoning said with a raised brow. ¡°Not bad. But I don¡¯t want to seem like I¡¯m taking advantage of women. Why don¡¯t you get your femalepany along?¡± Bai Duocai sneered with a grin. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that.¡± An Xiaoning threw her bag towards Mei Yangyang and said to the people crowding around, ¡°Stand back, everyone.¡± ¡°How brave of you, Ms. An. Since you chose to give up the advantage I gave you, I shall show no mercy then,¡± Bai Duocai said boastfully with his chin raised. Dressed in easy-fitting clothes, which would allow her to move about without restrictions, An Xiaoning put on a straight face and began sparring with him. Just as they began, Long Tianze arrived after rushing down from the city. Due to the fact that his scenes were scheduled to be filmed in the afternoon, Long Tianze decided to head to the office in the morning. Little did he expect that Bai Duocai would bring along his men to seek trouble so soon. The nimble and agile An Xiaoning was relentless inunching her strikes on Bai Duocai. Within just minutes, Bai Duocai was already on the verge of vomiting blood due to the hard and fast kicks An Xiaoning had been throwing at him. Striking the iron while its hot, An Xiaoning finished off with a perfectly executed flying kick, which caused Bai Duocai to fall onto the ground. ¡°Hooray!¡± the crowd cheered and apuded in unison. Long Tianze¡¯s lips curled into a smile. It never urred to him that An Xiaoning would be so skilled and remarkable. Meanwhile, his girlfriend, Mei Yangyang... ¡°You¡¯d better not try and provoke me; otherwise, you shall suffer the same fate as Bai Duocai,¡± Mei Yangyang whispered to him. He patted her head gently and answered, ¡°Yes, Madam.¡± Chapter 247 - Heart Hurts Too Much to Even Breathe (11)

Chapter 247: Heart Hurts Too Much to Even Breathe (11)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Bai Duocai got to his feet, looking dishevelled and worn out. pping his hands in disgruntlement, he conceded defeat, ¡°I¡¯ve lost, I¡¯ll ept the forfeit.¡± He then turned around and said to his men, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Goodbye, Mr. Bai,¡± An Xiaoning added. The crowd then gave her another round of apuse. ¡°It¡¯s been hard on everyone, let¡¯s get back to work,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Sis, Sis... are you busy?¡± asked Mei Yangyang, scurrying towards her. ¡°I¡¯m in the midst of investigating and solving cases. I¡¯ll get going.¡± ¡°Alright, drive safe.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and proceeded to drive away from the film set quickly. She sped along the roads towards the police station. She arrived to find that her colleagues had yet to return. She decided to wait for them in the office. When she passed by the main investigations office, she chanced upon the sight of a youth being forced inside a dark room by a bunch of officers. The youth appeared to be rather unusual. She decided to inquire about the situation. ¡°What¡¯s the matter with the boy?¡± ¡°We¡¯re not sure, but we heard that he attacked a police officer.¡± An Xiaoning did not probe further and instead headed back to her office to wait for Ma Jianguo and the rest to return. She began scrolling through Weibo on her mobile phone and realized that thetest hot search was news about the police. She read the content of the news, only to receive a great shock. It was aint lodged by an acimed rtive of the victim, iming that her brother had been used of stealing and was taken away forcefully by the police, despite refusing to admit to stealing. An Xiaoning took a look at the attached photo and recognized the victim to be the youth she had seen earlier in the interrogations room. She then registered a new anonymous ount on Weibo and contacted the owner of the thread privately. After obtaining the owner¡¯s mobile number, An Xiaoning proceeded to give her a call to ask if they could arrange to meet. The owner agreed. Arriving at the cafe opposite the police station, An Xiaoning caught sight of a woman looking to be in her twenties, who appeared rather anxious and teary-eyed. ¡°You¡¯re Police Officer An?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± An Xiaoning acknowledged with a nod. ¡°I know who you are, I¡¯ve seen you on the news. Police Officer An, please help my brother, please. We may not be affluent, but we¡¯re not poor either. There¡¯s no way my brother would steal, he must¡¯ve been framed,¡± the woman pleaded agitatedly as she grabbed An Xiaoning¡¯s hand anxiously. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, if he was really framed, I¡¯ll stand up for you. However, if the investigations prove otherwise, please rify it on Weibo, alright?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Do you know when your brother was born?¡± Shaking her head, the woman answered, ¡°I only know his birth date though. I¡¯m not sure of the exact timing he was born.¡± ¡°Go ask your parents. I have to know the exact timing he was born,¡± An Xiaoning urged. Although she did feel like she was being a little too nosy, she simply could not sit back and not lend a helping hand. If it was within her means to help, why not? ¡°Alright.¡± The woman had heard about An Xiaoning¡¯s fortune-telling skills on the news; thus, she trusted herpletely. The woman then quickly gave her parents a call to ask about the exact time and location of her younger brother¡¯s birth. ¡°What is his official name stated on his household register? Please also tell me his registered home address.¡± After a few moments of silent thinking, the woman revealed all the details An Xiaoming wanted to know. An Xiaoning closed her eyes while the woman stared at her intently, afraid to make a single sound. A minuteter, a look of dismay formed on An Xiaoning¡¯s face as she stood up and walked towards the woman. Reaching a hand out to grab her, An Xiaoning said, ¡°I¡¯ll help you settle the matter about your brother. You don¡¯t have to rify anything online, but promise me you will delete the thread on Weibo, okay?¡± Nodding her head fervently, the woman agreed right away, ¡°Yes, got it. I¡¯ll do just that.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no ultimate justice in this world. I know it¡¯s unfair and upsetting for you and your family, but there are loopholes in the judiciary system of the country. Ever since the dawn of history, the people who could ovee the system had always been few and far in between. I hope you¡¯ll understand what I mean.¡± ¡°As long my brother can make it out safe, our family will not pursue this matter further,¡± said the woman, her eyes brimming with gratitude. An Xiaoning turned around to give her a hug andforted her, ¡°Rest assured, your brother will be released soon. I¡¯ll do my best to help him.¡± An Xiaoning then brought the woman back to her office; Ma Jianguo and the rest happened to return at the same time. ¡°Team Leader, after checking with the property agencies, we¡¯ve discovered from a surveince camera footage that she had indeed patronized a certain agency. Just as she was about to take a tour around a house she was interested in, she was taken away by an anonymous man. ording to the owner of the property agency, the man seemed to share a close rtionship with Wu Changqing, thus the owner thought that he was her boyfriend. After watching the surveince camera footage, we¡¯ve taken a screenshot of his appearance and we¡¯re currently trying to identify the details of his household register.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes lit up in joy upon hearing the news. ¡°That¡¯s great, you guys go ahead with checking the details. I¡¯ll have to make a trip to the interrogations room now.¡± Noticing the woman sitting on the chair, Ma Jianguo asked out of curiosity, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± An Xiaoning then showed him the content on Weibo. ¡°Team Leader, you¡¯re meddling with such a trivial matter?¡± Ma Jianguo whispered in astonishment. ¡°It may be trivial to you, but to her family, it¡¯s a grave and serious matter.¡± ¡°No, what I meant was, our duty is to handle serious murder cases...¡± Staring at him calmly, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Ma Jianguo, don¡¯t you realize that many murder cases are sparked by trivial matters? So, don¡¯t neglect minor cases.¡± ¡°You have a point. Let the two of them continue with the investigations, I¡¯ll go with you,¡± Ma Jianguo agreed with a nod. ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning asked the woman to wait in the office while she proceeded to the interrogations room with Ma Jianguo. It would be better to bring him along since she did not know the officers there. She heard a grunting from inside the room just as she arrived at the door. An Xiaoning was instantly overwhelmed with an ominous feeling. She was greeted with an astonishing sight as soon as she pushed the door open. The youth was being pinned onto a bed with several thick books stacked on top of his body. A police officer was also smashing a brick onto his body. An Xiaoning used to read about police officers allegedly resorting to violent and underhanded means during interrogation sessions on discussion forums online. However, it had never urred to her that she would ever witness such a frightening scene before her very own eyes. She knew that such a torturous punishment would cause the victim to experience immense pain and internal bleeding of the organs. However, there would be no traces of the attack at all on the victim¡¯s body apart from some redness. ¡°What are you guys doing!?!¡± An Xiaoning barked. An Xiaoning¡¯s sudden outburst threw the police officers in the interrogations room off guard. ¡°Ms. An, we¡¯re currently carrying out interrogations. Not only did hemit theft, he also assaulted a police officer. Furthermore, he¡¯s been refusing to admit to the crimes hemitted.¡± ¡°Why did he assault a police officer? I¡¯d like to know the reason,¡± An Xiaoning questioned. ¡°Because someone reported him for theft, and he began to assault us when we questioned him for his actions. Of course we¡¯d have to teach him a lesson.¡± With a stern expression, An Xiaoning walked towards the police officer who gave her the exnation. ¡°Tell me, are you trying to teach him a lesson or take his life?¡± Chapter 248 - Sealed with Love (1)

Chapter 248: Sealed with Love (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The officer stood up and answered firmly, ¡°Of course we¡¯re teaching him a lesson. What else could it be? Ms. An, you don¡¯t have to get so worked up. We can¡¯t go easy on criminals like him.¡± ¡°Criminal? Have you got any evidence to prove that he had indeedmitted theft?¡± ¡°Ms. An, could it be that he¡¯s your friend or rtive? Is that why...¡± said the police officer, seemingly hinting at something. ¡°Sorry, but I don¡¯t know him at all. I just happened to know of his birth characters a little while ago. I¡¯m asking you a question. Bring me the evidence,¡± An Xiaoning snapped angrily. ¡°Someone reported him and even provided a surveince camera footage. Take a look yourself,¡± said the police officer, handing her the surveince camera footage. The footage ying on theputer screen showed that the youth had indeed taken away a mobile phone from the table. ¡°Who was the one who reported him?¡± ¡°The person who reported him is right outside.¡± Without hesitation, An Xiaoning ordered, ¡°Bring him in.¡± ¡°Although evidence is key in our country¡¯s judiciary system, some things may not always be like what they seem on the surface,¡± An Xiaoning added. Staring at the person inside, she instructed, ¡°Open the door.¡± The police officer opened the metal door from inside, allowing An Xiaoning to enter. She squatted down beside the youth and questioned, ¡°Could you tell me what happened in the footage?¡± With a nod, he answered, ¡°I¡¯m a service staff at the bathhouse. After getting into an argument with the owner, he decided to sack me. Thus, I told him to tabte my wages, after which he instructed me to bring him his phone which was sitting on the counter.¡± ¡°You must be in a lot of pain,¡± An Xiaoning said with a look of pity in her eyes. ¡°Yes. Thank you, Sis.¡± ¡°Bear with it for a little bit more,¡± said An Xiaoning, giving him a light pat on his head before standing up. The man who reported the youth was then brought into the interrogations room. An Xiaoning could not help but get reminded of Bai Duocai at the sight of him. ¡°May I ask, are you his employer?¡± asked An Xiaoning. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you want to pay him his wages if you decided to sack him? You even tried to punish a 16-year-old with such an unscrupulous method, do you really think you¡¯re being smart?¡± The owner of the bathhouse was taken aback by An Xiaoning¡¯s words. Failing to recognize who she was, he retorted, ¡°Aren¡¯t you being a little unreasonable and inappropriate, female police officer?¡± ¡°Compared to what you¡¯ve done, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m being very inappropriate. What¡¯s your name?¡± asked An Xiaoning. ¡°Ma Yuelun.¡± ¡°And your birthdate?¡± ¡°10th of June, year XX. Why do you need my birthdate for investigations?¡± Ma Yuelun asked in puzzlement. ¡°What is the exact timing you were born?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not quite sure, but my mother said it was ten something at night.¡± ¡°Where do you live?¡± ¡°Are you doing a background check?¡± he snapped, getting a little impatient and frustrated. ¡°I can¡¯t be bothered to look up the details of your household register. Cut the nonsense and answer my question.¡± ¡°Ma family home in Dongpo District.¡± ¡°I suppose you must be rather affluent to be able to open a bathhouse. I¡¯m not sure if you regret trying to harm others since you¡¯ve ended upnding yourself in trouble instead, but what I want to say is, I absolutely detest despicable and dishonest people like you. Forget about causing others harm,¡± An Xiaoning said with a scowl. ¡°What evidence have you got? Let me tell you, don¡¯t think you can go around spouting nonsense just because you¡¯re a police officer,¡± Ma Yuelun retorted haughtily. ¡°You dropped out of school at the age of thirteen and became wayward after getting yourself involved in gangs and triads. Your parents run a business and you¡¯re their only son, thus, they¡¯ve never been too strict with you or even taken you in hand. In fact, they spoil and shower you with love. Perhaps they thought that you would finally have something to upy yourself with by giving you the money to set up this bathhouse. Yet, little did they expect that you¡¯d push all the responsibilities of operating the bathhouse to your wife. You never had the intention to settle down and run a proper business. You¡¯ve already been to prison twice and the rehabilitation center thrice. Seems like a leopard really never changes its spots.¡± Ma Yuelun was at aplete loss for words as the shock robbed him of his speech. As soon as he regained his senses, the first thing he said was, ¡°You checked up on me?¡± ¡°This is my first time meeting you. How could I have checked up on you beforehand?¡± An Xiaoning then turned to the police officers and ordered, ¡°What are you waiting for? Arrest him and charge him for nder.¡± ¡°Do you have any evidence at all!?! Touch me if you dare,¡± Ma Yuelun threatened as he whipped a knife out and pointed it at the police officers. An Xiaoning reached into her chest to retrieve her silencer, causing everyone in the room to be dumbfounded. What is she trying to do? ¡°Let¡¯s see if your knife is faster than my bullet. Put it down,¡± An Xiaoning demanded, pointing her gun at Ma Yuelun. Ma Yuelun remained still and did not put down his knife. An Xiaoning aimed the gun at a spot beside his ear and pulled the trigger. The bullet brushed past his head, missing him by less than an inch. Frightened beyond his senses, he dropped his knife and got onto his knees immediately. The police officers hurriedly rushed forward to put him in handcuffs. Just as they were about to bring him inside the interrogations room, they discovered that Ma Yuelun had peed in his pants out of fear and shock. An Xiaoning red at the officer carrying out interrogations and said, ¡°What are you waiting for? Hurry and send the victim to the hospital for emergency treatment.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, right away.¡± An Xiaoning then returned to her office together with Ma Jianguo, who was bewildered. ¡°Your brother is being sent to the hospital now. Make your way there, quick,¡± An Xiaoning said to the woman sitting in her office. Dumbfounded and teary-eyed, the woman asked, ¡°The hospital?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing too serious, I managed to intervene in the nick of time. You need not worry about the medical bills, we¡¯ll be taking care of that. Just to inform you, your brother has also assaulted one of our police officers. I hope you¡¯ll remember what I asked you to do. Hurry and go.¡± ¡°Thank you, Ms. An¡± ¡°Hurry along.¡± An Xiaoning took a seat and took two big gulps of tea. ¡°Team Leader...¡± Ma Jianguo swallowed his spit before continuing, ¡°You weren¡¯t given a gun from the police station. Where did you get that silencer?¡± ¡°Do I owe you an exnation?¡± she said as she shot him a nce. Waving his hand frantically, Ma Jianguo answered, ¡°Of course not, it¡¯s just, what a ce to keep your gun...¡± ¡°Well, to me, my bosom is the safest ce to keep it.¡± As soon as An Xiaoning finished speaking, Pan Zhenghui entered the room, appearing to be in a hurry. ¡°Oh gosh, how dare you open fire within the police station? What if you strike...¡± ¡°I¡¯m confident I won¡¯t.¡± Taking a seat beside her, Pan Zhenghui said, ¡°Ms. An, I don¡¯t know if you were frightened by that incident or not, but I just want to say, good job.¡± ¡°Drop the act, Chief Pan. I don¡¯t believe that you¡¯re not aware of the fact that they had been abusing their authority.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know much about it. But you have no idea, those criminals have to be dealt with forcefully before they¡¯ll actually speak the truth.¡± ¡°That¡¯s called using torture to extort a confession. I really think we have to find a way to make them confess without having to resort to such violent and extreme means. Besides, you guys were forcing the victim to admit to a crime he did notmit. You shall settle the medical billster. We can¡¯t allow the victim to pay for it. Although the youth was wrong to have assaulted the police officer, we should still avoid letting this piece of news continue to circte around the inte. Thus, we ought topensate his family with some money.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already instructed them to settle the bills. By the way, are there any new clues for the murder case?¡± ¡°Yes, Zu Dong and Gong Le have gone to retrieve the information. They should be back soon.¡± Giving her a thumbs-up, Pan Zhenghui praised, ¡°Marvellous. If only we had more police officers as capable as you, Ms. An. But, how did you know that the youth was framed?¡± ¡°Because it says so in his fortune. I doubt you¡¯d understand even if I told you in detail.¡± Chapter 249 - Sealed with Love (2)

Chapter 249: Sealed with Love (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Chief, Ma Yuelun has confessed,¡± said police officer Xiaozhang. ¡°Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll go have a look,¡± said Pan Zhenghui as he stood up and walked to the door before giving her another thumbs up. An Xiaoning gave a smile as she suddenly felt like this was what she was meant to do. Isn¡¯t it great to be able to save a young teenager? ¡ª¡ª ¡°Auntie, I went to visit Qingyan yesterday,¡± Lin Mingxi said over the phone. ¡°How did it go?¡± asked Mrs. Jin. ¡°He said tantly that he doesn¡¯t like me. I don¡¯t think I should force it. I guess I¡¯ll forget about him,¡± Lin Mingxi answered, sounding a little disappointed. However, Mrs. Jin had already expected these to happen. ¡°Um, Mingxi, I actually like you a lot. Qingyan is still unable to let go of the past, that¡¯s why he¡¯s reacting like this. Just give him some time, alright?¡± ¡°Auntie, he¡¯s already made things so clear. He¡¯s only going to detest me more if I keep trying to cling onto him. Actually, I¡¯d also like to give it a little more push lest I have any regrets. But there¡¯s no way for me to get close to him, and I don¡¯t know where to start either,¡± Lin Mingxi said hesitantly, seemingly caught in a dilemma. ¡°Mingxi, how about youe over for dinner tonight? I¡¯ll get Qingyan toe by too, and you two may interact with each other. How does that sound?¡± ¡°Will he turn around and leave as soon as he sees me?¡± ¡°He wouldn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Alright then.¡± Lin Mingxi hung up the phone, beaming with joy at the thought of having dinner with him. She quickly picked out a beautiful set of clothes from her closet before taking a shower and putting on some exquisite makeup. She was determined to seize the opportunity tonight. Otherwise, it¡¯d be even more difficult for her to see him again in the future. Mrs. Jin was rather pessimistic, however. Glowering at her daughter-inw, old Mrs. Jin chided, ¡°Is there really a point in trying so hard to set them up?¡± ¡°Mother, I haven¡¯t told you this, but I went to the hospital the other day for a health checkup, and one of the doctors there is the daughter-inw of Mrs. Wang, my mahjong ymate. She secretly told me that Xiaoning went for an abortion surgery at the hospital recently, due to a natural miscarriage. Qingyan was there as well. It¡¯s said that Xiaoning will never be able to conceive again,¡± said Mrs. Jin as she sat down beside her mother-inw. ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked old Mrs. Jin. ¡°What else could that mean? I reckon Qingyan has gotten back together with Xiaoning. What¡¯s going to happen to our family in the future, should their feelings for each other grow even deeper? Wouldn¡¯t Qingyan be the end of our bloodline if he doesn¡¯t have a child in the future?¡± ¡°Is that true?¡± old Mrs. Jin questioned. ¡°Of course it¡¯s true. The hospital has been banned from leaking the news. The doctor took a great risk to inform me about it. I obviously didn¡¯t let Qingyan know I was aware of this matter, though. Don¡¯t tell him either, Mother. I asked Mingxi over this evening for a reason.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Mrs. Jin leaned in closer and whispered into her ear. A frown creased old Mrs. Jin¡¯s forehead upon hearing her words. ¡°How daring of you, aren¡¯t you afraid Qingyan would...¡± ¡°Mother, I do feel a little guilty towards Xiaoning, but we can¡¯t change the fact that she can no longer conceive. Given how much Qingyan is in love with her, he definitely wouldn¡¯t look for another woman now. Do you really wish to see our family business end up in an outsider¡¯s hands? I¡¯m just looking at the bigger picture,¡± Mrs. Jin said softly. ¡°Why did things turn out this way...¡± old Mrs. Jinmented with a long sigh. ¡°Mother, I¡¯ve already nned how to execute this matter. You don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡± ¡ª¡ª After tallying the information they retrieved, the team of four did not get up into the police car straight away, but instead proceeded to arrest the murderer in An Xiaoning¡¯s car. Along the journey, An Xiaoning said, ¡°I really don¡¯t get some of the silly scenes in television dramas. For example, why do the police in dramas have to turn on the siren on the police car when they¡¯re going about arresting the criminals? Wouldn¡¯t the criminals be alerted of their presence then?¡± Ma Jianguo guffawed in amusement upon hearing her remark. ¡°That¡¯s what makes viewers want to watch the dramas, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I still think there¡¯s more to this murderer than meets the eye. You three be carefulter.¡± An Xiaoning warned Ma Jianguo especially, ¡°You especially, you¡¯re not trained in self-defense skills, so be extra careful and don¡¯t get hurt.¡± ¡°Team Leader, are you discriminating against your elderly colleague now that you have mastered some martial arts?¡± he sneered. ¡°I¡¯m not discriminating against you, I¡¯m just showing you some concern.¡± ¡°Team Leader, you¡¯ve struck a sour note within Officer Ma. He¡¯s naturally oversensitive, I reckon he¡¯s already taken it to heart,¡± Zu Dong jested. Ma Jianguo gave him a yful p and retorted, ¡°What are you saying? Do I seem like such a petty person? Quit sowing discord between us.¡± ¡°Okay, that¡¯s enough, all of you be quiet and let me concentrate on driving in peace.¡± They soon arrived at the address on his household register. Pretending to be a friend of the murder suspect, Zu Dong asked the suspect¡¯s parents about the location at which their son was currently residing. After which, the team of four then proceeded to the given address. It was a building of apartments. An Xiaoning put on her mask while Zu Dong was dressed in inclothes. The two then pretended to be a couple interested in renting an apartment. Ma Jianguo kept watch by the entrance while Gong Le pretended to be a resident of the building and stayed close to An Xiaoning and Zu Dong. ¡°Auntie, our workces are nearby and we¡¯d like to rent an apartment whiches with a backyard. Do you know if there are any of those avable for rent nearby?¡± The elderlydy appearing to be in herte sixties answered with a grin, ¡°You¡¯vee to right person. I know of an apartment thates with a backyard in my residential building. It¡¯s up for rent, but no one has rented it yet, even after a long time.¡± ¡°Why is that so?¡± ¡°Well, firstly, it¡¯s a very old and small apartment with just two bedrooms and a hall. Secondly, there is barely any sunlight, although there¡¯s a small backyard. I¡¯ll take you guys there to have a look if you¡¯re interested.¡± An Xiaoning pretended to give it some thought before answering, ¡°From what you¡¯ve described, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s the kind that matches what we¡¯re looking for.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why no one has rented it yet up ¡¯til now. But you guys may ask around, this entire area is made up of several residential buildings. There are many empty rooms avable for rent,¡± said the elderlydy. ¡°Sure, thank you, Auntie.¡± An Xiaoning and Zu Dong then walked away side by side. In order to look convincing as a couple, An Xiaoning took the initiative to hold Zu Dong¡¯s hand, catching him by surprise and causing him to blush as red as a tomato. An Xiaoning turned around to see that the elderlydy was still staring at them. She smiled at her warmly before turning back to face the front. They were getting closer and closer to their target. ¡°Wait up!¡± the elderlydy stopped them in their tracks. Pointing at a man riding on a scooter, the elderlydy said, ¡°I remember now, he has an empty room up for rent. You may ask him about it. Yiliang, wait a minute!¡± Liu Yiliang stopped his scooter and asked, ¡°You¡¯re interested in renting a room?¡± ¡°Yes, I just suddenly recalled that you have an empty room in your house. Are you willing to rent it to this couple over here?¡± ¡°Sure,e with me, you two,¡± said Liu Yiliang as he got down to push his scooter. An Xiaoning and Zu Dong exchanged nces before following him, hand-in-hand. They arrived at the stairwell of an apartment building where Liu Yiliang parked his scooter. ¡°Follow me.¡± Liu Yiliang led the way in while holding his keys in his hands. ¡°Alright,¡± An Xiaoning agreed. Chapter 250 - Sealed with Love (3)

Chapter 250: Sealed with Love (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He unlocked the door with his key and said, ¡°This is an empty room which hasn¡¯t been upied in a very long time. Thus, there may be some cobwebs and dust around, but it¡¯ll be spick and span after some cleaning and tidying up. It won¡¯t get in the way of your stay. There¡¯s also a small yard where you can grow some nts and flowers.¡± With a look of satisfaction, An Xiaoning answered gleefully, ¡°Not bad, it¡¯s just a little dirty, but it should be fine after some cleaning. May I know how much the rental costs would be?¡± ¡°500 dors a month, but you¡¯ll have to pay for six months at once.¡± ¡°No problem, this one it shall be. We¡¯ll pay you upfront the total sum for six months. Please write us an invoice.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a piece of paper and pen with me now. I live just upstairs, please wait a moment.¡± ¡°Sure. It¡¯s pretty nice here, isn¡¯t it?¡± An Xiaoning remarked, pulling Zu Dong further inside. ¡°Yeah, looks good.¡± After entering the backyard, An Xiaoning said softly, ¡°I can tell he¡¯s well trained in martial arts. Text Gong Le immediately and tell him to move closer towards us. Tell him not toe in and just loiter around the corridor, lest we rm Liu Yiliang and arouse suspicion. We have to arrest him when it¡¯s the safest.¡± Zu Dong whipped his phone out right away and proceeded as instructed. Just as Zu Dong finished sending the text message, Liu Yiliang came back downstairs. ¡°Here,¡± said Liu Yiliang, handing An Xiaoning the invoice he had already written upstairs. An Xiaoning took the invoice from his hand and said to Zu Dong, ¡°Take out the money.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, she subconsciously stood aside while Zu Dong took his wallet out. Since he did not have much cash in his wallet, wouldn¡¯t that let the cat out of the bag as soon as he opened it? He gazed at An Xiaoning, who then immediately understood his signal. In one fluid motion, she pinned Liu Yiliang onto the ground forcefully and hooked one side of the handcuffs onto his wrist. Before she could even put the other side of the handcuff onto his other wrist, he shrugged her away forcefully. Upon realizing how strong he was, the two of them pounced on him and began attacking him rapidly. The three of them broke out into a scramble. Upon hearing the ruckus, Gong Le quickly stepped in to aid them. Due to the fact that all three of them were well trained in martial arts, it was not too difficult to subdue Liu Yiliang. Zu Dong and Gong Le held him down and dragged him outside forcefully. Upon the sight of the situation, Ma Jianguo said immediately, ¡°Team Leader, hurry and drive your car over, lest we frighten the residents around here.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± They then proceeded to bring Liu Yiliang to the police station. However, as soon as they arrived, Liu Yiliang remained tight-lipped and refused to speak up, as if he had gone mute. Not in a hurry, An Xiaoning instructed, ¡°Lock him up first.¡± Upon hearing that they had managed to arrest the prime suspect of the murder case, Pan Zhenghui again hurried over to their office to express his joy. ¡°You never fail to disappoint, Team Leader An. You¡¯ve definitely set the bar too high, the officers at the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit are going to be seriously pressured,¡± Pan Zhenghui said in praise of An Xiaoning. ¡°Diamonds were made under pressure. We ought to work at maximum efficiency, only then can we give the victims justice as soon as possible. I shall head home to get some rest. I¡¯lle tomorrow to interrogate him,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Go ahead, have a good rest.¡± ¡°Bureau Chief, we¡¯re exhausted too. Since Team Leader has gone home, do we get to rest as well?¡± Showing his benevolence, Pan Zhenghui answered, ¡°Alright, you guys may leave too, report back here tomorrow.¡± ¡°Hooray,¡± Ma Jianguo eximed gleefully. Grinning from ear to ear, Ma Jianguo nudged Zu Dong and said teasingly, ¡°Team Leader actually held your hand in order to aplish the task. Tell us, what does it feel like to hold her hand?¡± ¡°That¡¯s all for the task. You¡¯re reading too much into it,¡± Zu Dong answered shyly. ¡ª¡ª Mo Li took a look at the time to see that it was already past six o¡¯clock in the evening. Yet, Ye Xiaotian had still not returned home. Is he not going to have dinner at home? she wondered. Just as the thought crossed her mind, she received a call from Ye Xiaotian. As guessed, he called to inform her that he would be attending a dinner event and thus would not be eating at home. Mo Li did not say much apart from reminding him not to have too much alcohol. She did not feel too affected since she had long gotten used to eating alone. The newly-hired servants had been treating her with utmost respect, perhaps because they were aware that she was pregnant with Ye Xiaotian¡¯s child. However, Mo Li did not pry much about the reasons for their respectful attitude towards her. Dinner consisted of a sumptuous and nutritious spread. After having her fill, she proceeded to take a shower. Due to the fact that the tiles on the bathroom floor were rather slippery, Ye Xiaotian had ordered for non-slip mats to be ced above the tiles in order to prevent Mo Li from slipping and falling. She took a bath leisurely before crawling onto bed to watch someedy shows on television. She constantly reminded herself to remain in a happy mood. After reading some books about prenatal education, she learned that she should be maintaining positive feelings as much as possible, lest the baby gets affected by her mood. Time passed by gradually, and before she knew it, it was already nine o¡¯clock. Noticing that Ye Xiaotian had yet to return home, she decided to go to bed without him. Before she fell asleep, she heard sounds made by Ye Xiaotianing from downstairs. He seemed to have gotten drunk. Mo Li was instantly annoyed, for she had already instructed him not to drink too much alcohol. She got up and headed downstairs in her pajamas. She arrived at the stairwell, only to see that Sun Weiwei was sitting beside Ye Xiaotian, who was leaning his head against the couch, appearing to be in a drunken stupor. ¡°Xiaotian.¡± Mo Li sat down on the empty spot beside him and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go upstairs?¡± ¡°Ok.¡± He wrapped his arms around Mo Li and propelled himself upwards to get on his feet. Mo Li helped him upstairs. Just as Sun Weiwei was about to hold him, Mo Li interjected, ¡°I can handle it myself, you may leave.¡± ¡°You¡¯re pregnant now, don¡¯t overexert yourself. Let me do it,¡± Sun Weiwei said smilingly. ¡°I said there¡¯s no need for you to!¡± Mo Li snapped, ring daggers at Sun Weiwei, whom she utterly detested. Sun Weiwei did not insist further and instead watched as Mo Li helped Ye Xiaotian upstairs. She then instructed the kitchen members to brew a bowl of broth which she nned to bring upstairs herself after it was ready. Mo Li was tending to Ye Xiaotian while he took a shower. Staring at the king-sized bed, Sun Weiwei could not help but feel rather upset and disgruntled at the thought of Ye Xiaotian and Mo Li sleeping on it together every day. She then ced the bowl of broth onto the table. She walked towards the door of the bathroom, only to hear Ye Xiaotian murmuring in a drunken stupor. ¡°Mo Li, I¡¯m really d to have you by my side...¡± ¡°Mo Li, are you upset that I had too much to drink?¡± ¡°Mo Li, why aren¡¯t you talking?¡± ¡°...¡± Sun Weiwei stormed off angrily and grabbed her purse from the couch downstairs before exiting through the main entrance. Noticing how infuriated she looked, her assistant, who was waiting for her in the car, asked, ¡°Sis Weiwei, do you still want to go for supper?¡± ¡°No! Drive me home!¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The car zoomed off quickly. Meanwhile, Mo Li helped Ye Xiaotian out of the bathroom. By the time she helped him onto the bed, she was already panting heavily. Lying on his side, he wrapped his arms around her and buried his face into her decolletage. Mo Li had already noticed the bowl of broth on the table long ago. However, she decided not to wake him up since he was already sleeping soundly and thus switched off the lights immediately. The room was filled with silence, apart from the sounds of his snoring, which made it difficult for Mo Li to fall asleep. Wide awake, she stared at the ceiling above her. She was feeling rather insecure, though he had verbally promised to marry her. She would only receive the assurance she needed, the day he actually married her. However, Mo Li felt like she was going to live the rest of her life hidden in the dark, should he be unable to give their child a proper status. Her child would also be kept hidden as an illegitimate child. That was thest thing she wanted to see happen. She began to try convincing herself that he should be able to talk his mother into agreeing to their marriage. He was Ye Xiaotian, after all. Was there anything beyond his means? Mo Li then closed her eyes and soon drifted off to dreand. ¡°You¡¯ve got a text message.¡± She heard the sound of a text message notificationing from a mobile phone. Mo Li opened her eyes again to find that it was Ye Xiaotian¡¯s phone whose screen had lit up. Chapter 251 - Sealed with Love (4)

Chapter 251: Sealed with Love (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mo Li sat up slowly and reached a hand out to pick up the mobile phone on the table. She then opened the text message he just received. It was his mother who had sent it. Mo Li could feel the piercing coldness of her words radiating through the screen. ¡°I will never agree even ¡¯til the day I die.¡± Mo Li realized that she was referring to their marriage after reading the messages Ye Xiaotian had sent. Mo Li ced his phone back onto the table and went on to have a sleepless night. Ye Xiaotian woke up in the morning to find that she was wide awake, surprisingly. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you didn¡¯t catch a winkst night.¡± ¡°I did, but I kept waking up in between. I saw the text your mother sent youst night,¡± said Mo Li as she sat up slowly. Upon hearing her words, Ye Xiaotian hurriedly took a look at the text message before saying, ¡°My mother is just disapproving of it temporarily.¡± ¡°What if she really never agrees to it?¡± ¡°Do you know why my mother liked Bai Ranran so much?¡± said Ye Xiaotian. ¡°Must I know why?¡± Mo Li asked rhetorically. ¡°Ranran had done a lot for me. In order to marry me, she even donated her kidney to my mother voluntarily. My mother was previously diagnosed with uremia, she managed to survive all thanks to Ranran¡¯s kidney,¡± Ye Xiaotian exined. ¡°You¡¯re trying to say that your mother adores her only because she had done a lot for you and even saved your mother¡¯s life, aren¡¯t you? Didn¡¯t I give up a lot for you too?¡± Mo Li scoffed. ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant.¡± After some hesitation, Ye Xiaotian said, ¡°Mo Li, could you try to get into my mother¡¯s good books?¡± Pinching her fingers in anger, Mo Li answered, ¡°Absolutely not.¡± ¡°Mo Li, my mother means the world to me. You may say that she¡¯s my Achilles heel,¡± said Ye Xiaotian, staring at Mo Li. ¡°Well then, why don¡¯t you just listen to her and give me up? That would be great, wouldn¡¯t it? I¡¯ll get to live my own life in freedom. Xiaotian, you can¡¯t always have the best of both worlds.¡± ¡°But I just want you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already said this before. If you still can¡¯t give me or the child a proper status before I enter the fifth month of pregnancy, it shall be the end of discussion,¡± Mo Li said coldly as she covered herself with the duvet and turned away from him. Ye Xiaotian got out of bed to put on some clothes before leaving the vi. He then drove towards the Ye family home. Mrs. Ye happened to be watering the flowers when he returned. Upon the sight of him, she remained quiet, perhaps because she had already guessed his intentions. ¡°Mother.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re going to talk about that woman to me, then save it.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t be talking to you about her. Could you give my household register to me, please?¡± Ye Xiaotian asked, squatting down. ¡°Over my dead body. Xiaotian, if you marry her sneakily without my consent, then the day of your wedding shall be the day of my demise. Go ahead and try if you choose not to believe my words,¡± Mrs. Ye warned. ¡°Mother, why do you have to be so obstinate?¡± ¡°Why do you have to be so insistent? I¡¯ll be as obstinate as you are,¡± Mrs. Ye retorted. Ye Xiaotian had never been put in such a difficult position before. ¡°You¡¯re putting me in a spot.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe a woman matters more to you than the mother who¡¯d raised you does. Xiaotian, you¡¯re better off dead! Have you seen the news today? Even Jin Qingyan has agreed to get together with the daughter of the Lin family. Didn¡¯t he end up finding a wife whose family background matches his, anyway!?!¡± Mrs. Ye hollered in exasperation. ¡°I don¡¯t care what others do, I¡¯m only concerned about myself.¡± ¡°Xiaotian, are you trying to drive me to my grave? I¡¯m telling you straight, I¡¯ll kill myself if you dare marry her!¡± Mrs. Ye snapped as she smashed the flowering can onto the ground forcefully. Ye Xiaotian was at a loss for words as he stood rooted to the ground. From then on, he understood that he could never convince his mother to allow him to marry Mo Li. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Boss, someone is calling you again!¡± ¡°Boss, someone is calling you again!¡± ¡°Boss, someone is calling you again!¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s mobile phone kept ringing continuously. She opened her eyes and reached out to grab her phone. ¡°Yangyang, what¡¯s the matter, why did you call so early in the morning?¡± ¡°Sis, are you alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine, why did you ask?¡± ¡°Sis, it¡¯s all over the inte, um...¡± Mei Yangyang stuttered, unsure how to break the news to An Xiaoning, who sounded like she had not heard of it. ¡°What is it? Why are you so tongue-tied? Quick, tell me.¡± ¡°I read the headlines on today¡¯s news. It says that Mr. Jin and Lin Mingxi were seen having dinner together at the Jin family¡¯s old mansion...¡± An Xiaoning was not too surprised since she was aware that Mrs. Jin adored Lin Mingxi to bits. ¡°What else?¡± ¡°Lin Mingxi didn¡¯t leave the entire night.¡± Taken aback, An Xiaoning said, ¡°She must¡¯ve slept in the guest room.¡± ¡°The servants of the Jin family home imed that Mr. Jin and Lin Mingxi shared the same roomst night. Lin Mingxi also admitted it to the reporters who were questioning her this morning,¡± Mei Yangyang blurted. An Xiaoning was momentarily stunned beyond words. ¡°Sis, it may not be true though. The servants were so certain in answering and verifying the information. It kinda feels like the Jins had nned to leak the piece of news on purpose.¡± ¡°Alright, got it. I¡¯ll be getting out of bed now, I still have to go to the police station today.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, An Xiaoning ended the call, her spirits dampened. However, she refused to believe that it was Jin Qingyan¡¯s wish for that to happen. Given how much he loved An Xiaoning, such that he was willing to kill himself for her, why would he spend a night together with Lin Mingxi? However, another thought soon popped up in An Xiaoning¡¯s mind. Didn¡¯t he get together with her too back then, in spite of how dearly he had adored Chi Rui¡¯er? Clutching her chest, An Xiaoning sat on the bed, feeling her face turn cold. An Xiaoning touched her face, only to discover that she had broken out in a cold sweat. An Xiaoning browsed through the news again to peruse the content. She ced her phone onto the bed before getting up to wash up and get dressed. She then proceeded downstairs to have her breakfast. It was half past seven in the morning. While grabbing her purse upstairs, she took a look at her phone to see that there were more than ten missed calls from Jin Qingyan. Instead of calling him back, she proceeded to make her way to the police station. Little did she know that Jin Qingyan would show up at her house just moments after she left. After learning that she had gone to the police station, he hopped back into his car and began driving to the police station to look for her. Noticing that she looked rather pale, Ma Jianguo asked worriedly, ¡°Team Leader, what... happened to you?¡± ¡°Nothing, let¡¯s go ahead with the interrogations,¡± said An Xiaoning as she turned around to leave while the three of them followed closely behind her. They arrived at the interrogation room to see that Liu Yiliang had already been brought forth. An Xiaoning took a seat while Ma Jianguo held onto a piece of paper and pen. ¡°Don¡¯t think we wouldn¡¯t know what to do with you if you choose to remain silent. Liu Yiliang, you murdered Wu Changqing under the excuse of renting out a room, and you even tried to express your authority by intentionally leaving the pot of human meat broth for us to find it. Do you really think you¡¯re being smart?¡± An Xiaoning questioned, keeping her eyes fixed on him. Yet, he still refused to speak up. Staring at him, An Xiaoning said calmly, ¡°What do we do now? I still think we ought to resort to violence.¡± ¡°Team Leader...¡± Ma Jianguo could tell that she was losing her patience. ¡°Forget it, bring his family here. I want to speak to them about how twisted of a mind he¡¯s got, right in front him,¡± An Xiaoning instructed. Upon hearing her words, Liu Yiliang finally caved in and broke his silence, ¡°Don¡¯t call them.¡± Chapter 252 - Sealed with Love (5)

Chapter 252: Sealed with Love (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ring at him sternly, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Then you¡¯d better give me an exnation. Why did you kill Wu Changqing?¡± ¡°Because she was affluent and I desperately needed money at that time,¡± he said in admittance. ¡°How did you know that she had money?¡± ¡°I saw her at the nightclub previously and I¡¯m aware that she¡¯s a social escort. I wanted to act on her long ago, but I decided to take the opportunity to do so when I chanced upon her at the property agency.¡± An Xiaoning continued to ask, ¡°Since you wanted to harm her, you definitely wouldn¡¯t wish to get caught. But why did you let us find the human meat broth on purpose?¡± ¡°No particr reason, I just found it thrilling.¡± An Xiaoning exchanged nces with Ma Jianguo before carrying on with the interrogation. Jin Qingyan arrived to see that she was still in the midst of interrogating. Instead of interrupting her right away, he decided to wait for her in her office instead. He waited for more than half an hour. Standing by the door and staring at him seated on her office chair, An Xiaoning felt somehow touched that he actually rushed to see her right after the news of him and Lin Mingxi broke out. She grabbed her purse and said to him, ¡°Let¡¯s talk in the car.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± They left one after another and got into his Bentley. A deafening silence filled the air in the car. Sensing that he had been staring at her, An Xiaoning cocked her head towards the side. ¡°Why are you looking at me that way?¡± she asked while making eye contact with him. ¡°Have you seen the news today?¡± ¡°I have. Congrats to you and Ms. Lin,¡± An Xiaoning congratted, suppressing her emotions. Teary-eyed, he asked in astonishment, ¡°You¡¯re congratting me?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you already sleep with her?¡± Shaking his head, he denied, ¡°No, I didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Why were there such news then?¡± ¡°It was obviously leaked by my family on purpose. My mother drugged me. As you¡¯re aware, intercourse can never take ce when you¡¯re drugged.¡± An Xiaoning was obviously aware of that fact, for she was the one who had asked about it from the doctor at the hospital during the previous incident. ¡°Seems like your Mother adores Lin Mingxi to bits, so much that she actually resorted to such gimmicks. What else can I say?¡± Jin Qingyan reached out to hold her hand, which she did not retract immediately. ¡°Xiaoning, let¡¯s get married again.¡± Just as she was about to speak, Jin Qingyan interrupted, ¡°I know you¡¯re going to say that you¡¯re unable to conceive. But Xiaoning, I¡¯ve never liked children, not because I don¡¯t wish to have any with you but because I really just dislike them. If you can¡¯t conceive, so be it. We¡¯ll get to live the rest of our lives by ourselves. As for the heir to Jin Corporation, we won¡¯t have to worry about that for another 50 years at least. Maybe thepany wouldn¡¯t exist anymore then. Who knows? We shouldn¡¯t worry unnecessarily about a future which has yet toe.¡± How daring of him ... An Xiaoning remained silent and pondered over his words. Striking the iron while it¡¯s hot, he continued, ¡°Ask yourself if you love me from the bottom of your heart. If your answer is yes, are you really going to be so selfless and give me up for the sake of my family? You ought to spare a thought for yourself too. Humans are all selfish. It¡¯s time you be selfish for yourself just this once. I don¡¯t think you¡¯re being selfless by acting the way you are now, I think you¡¯re being silly.¡± An Xiaoning was deeply moved by his words. The only reason she did not wish to marry and conceive again was because she simply could not. She yearned greatly to give birth to the child when she fell pregnant again for the second time. Unfortunately, she had failed to keep it. The man before her would actually give up his life for her, a stark contrast from when she first got to know him. Even the blind could tell that he was deeply in love with her. Ever since she read the news, she had been confused and overwhelmed with a mix of emotions. ¡°Speak up,¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°I said I wouldn¡¯t go back on my decisions.¡± ¡°I also said I would make you change your mind.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve won,¡± An Xiaoning said with a smile, her eyes brimming with tears. Unable to contain his happiness, Jin Qingyan rushed forward to embrace her. He knew that he had finally conquered her heart and made her let her guard down. He wrapped his arms so tightly around An Xiaoning that she almost felt suffocated. Jin Qingyan wished he could hug her even more tightly. ¡°Let¡¯s get married now then.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll change my mind again.¡± ¡°An Xiaoning!¡± Jin Qingyan hollered, feeling an urge to subdue her in bed at this very moment. ¡°There¡¯s no point in yelling,¡± said An Xiaoning as she pushed the car door open in a bid to alight from the car. Afraid that she would change her mind at that instant, he grabbed her and said, ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°Driving home, I don¡¯t n to solve any cases today.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go with you.¡± Thus, An Xiaoning¡¯s red Ferrari and his white Bentley left for Dongpo Road, one after another. Due to the fact that Jin Qingyan had just made the headlines, the media had been keeping close tabs on him and following him secretly. Jin Qingyan only realized that they had been tailing him when he arrived at Dongpo District. ¡°Great job,¡± Jin Qingyan greeted the reporters. The reporters were shocked at the sight of him acknowledging them. Did the sun rise from the west today? ¡°Let me tell you guys a piece of good news. I¡¯ve gotten back together with Xiaoning. This shall be some exclusive news for you guys,¡± he announced excitedly. ¡°Mr. Jin, may we take some photos?¡± they asked eagerly. ¡°Sure, make me look good in the photos.¡± ¡°That goes without saying...¡± Worried that something might have happened to him since he had yet toe in after a long time, An Xiaoning decided to go check on him, only to be greeted with the sight of a bunch of reporters cheering outside her house. She was shocked beyond her senses. He actually informed the reporters without her consent! The whole world is going to find out soon enough! Darn it! She returned inside her house and said coldly, ¡°Jin Qingyan, you¡¯ve gone overboard.¡± ¡°I was just afraid that you would change your mind again.¡± ¡°Do you think that by doing this, I wouldn¡¯t change my mind!?!¡± ¡°Here¡¯s what happened. The headlines this morning were spreading like wildfire. Thus, I decided I might as well shift the public¡¯s attention to this fresh piece of news instead,¡± Jin Qingyan exined. An Xiaoning¡¯s anger subsided upon realizing that he did make some sense after all. He inched forward to pull her into an embrace before smooching her on the lips. An Xiaoning was pinned onto the couch as heid on top of her. Just as they were in the midst of a hot and steamy passion, Mei Yangyang and Long Tianze entered through the door. The four pair of eyes exchanged nces awkwardly in astonishment. ¡°Oh god, what have I just seen? I¡¯m going to gouge my eyes out,¡± Long Tianze teased. ¡°Hurry and do it then,¡± Jin Qingyan retorted as he sat up straight. An Xiaoning shot Jin Qingyan a re before asking Mei Yangyang and Long Tianze, ¡°What brings you here?¡± ¡°All because Yangyang is extremely worried about you. What¡¯s up with you two?¡± Long Tianze answered. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I mean this. What¡¯s going on between you two?¡± Long Tianze goaded as his lips curled into a smirk. ¡°Nothing, we just couldn¡¯t hold ourselves back,¡± said Jin Qingyan. Long Tianze chuckled while Mei Yangyang felt a sense of relief upon noticing that An Xiaoning seemed to be in high spirits. ¡°Sis, since you¡¯re fine, we shall return to the film set then. We¡¯re currently filming the scenes involving the supporting characters.¡± An Xiaoning nodded, after which Mei Yangyang dragged Long Tianze out of the house. ¡°Why are you dragging me out? I¡¯ve yet to ask them anything.¡± Mei Yangyang smacked him lightly and chided, ¡°They¡¯re enjoying some alone time, don¡¯t y gooseberry.¡± Chapter 253 - Sealed With Love (6)

Chapter 253: Sealed With Love (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Did they get back together? Or did Jin Qingyan force himself on her earlier?¡± Long Tianze asked in bewilderment. ¡°You¡¯re so oblivious and insensitive. You could tell they did just from their expression,¡± Mei Yangyang chastised as she quickly walked outside. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to the office?¡± An Xiaoning asked Jin Qingyan. ¡°No, I¡¯d like to spend the day with you.¡± An Xiaoning expressed assent. The two of them headed to Jin Qingyan¡¯s rooftop where theyid on the couch to do some reading while basking in the warm and bright sun. Jin Qingyan¡¯s phone kept ringing continuously. However, no one bothered to answer. More willful than ever, they continued to enjoy their alone time together. Soon after, Mrs. Jin showed up with her chauffeur to look for them. Upon the sight of An Xiaoning, Mrs. Jin asked, ¡°You two got back together?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°May I have a word with you privately?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± An Xiaoning agreed. The conversation then took ce in the living room of An Xiaoning¡¯s home while Jin Qingyan waited patiently in the backyard. He was filled with worry that his mother might end up saying some callous things that would make An Xiaoning leave him again. An Xiaoning poured Mrs. Jin some tea before saying, ¡°What would you like to say? Go ahead.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already heard that you can¡¯t conceive anymore.¡± Taken aback, An Xiaoning quickly corrected, ¡°It¡¯s not that I can¡¯t get pregnant anymore, it¡¯s just going to be more difficult with the poor state of health I¡¯m in.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to exin. To sum things up, you just won¡¯t be able to give birth to a child. Qingyan is our only son, are you really going to continue being with him?¡± Mrs. Jin rebuked. ¡°I¡¯ve been refusing to get back together with him because of this very reason. I know that this would be a major obstacle for us, but I guess I don¡¯t have a choice. If I choose to give him up, I¡¯ll only be allowing another woman to take my ce and be with the man I love. Besides, no one would thank me for being selfless. In fact, I would be deemed as a fool for doing so, don¡¯t you agree?¡± Appearing rather upset after hearing her words, Mrs. Jin said sternly, ¡°Xiaoning, I know we¡¯ve let you down and we¡¯re willing topensate you in whichever way you¡¯d like. But getting back together with Qingyan is out of the question.¡± ¡°Mrs. Jin, do you really think I¡¯m short of money, or a house or a car? I don¡¯t need the kind of marypensation you¡¯re referring to. I would suggest that you speak to Qingyan about this. I won¡¯t say another word if he chooses to give up. You don¡¯t have to talk to me about the rest. If you continue to harrass me like this, I¡¯ll marry Qingyan right away. We were once mother and daughter-inw for a few months, after all. You should know very well that I mean what I say,¡± An Xiaoning retorted. Mrs. Jin was at a loss for words. ¡°Have you seen the news this morning?¡± ¡°Yes, I have. You¡¯re going to tell me that Qingyan has slept with Lin Mingxi after you¡¯ve set them up sessfully, aren¡¯t you? Perhaps youck somemon sense but, Mrs. Jin, intercourse cannot happen when one has lost his consciousness from being drugged. Moreover, what you¡¯ve done is just going to make Qingyan refrain from going home for dinner in the future. In a nutshell, you¡¯ve just suffered a double loss, Mrs. Jin. You¡¯d better stoping up with such tricks, lest you lose your son as well, on top of not getting to have a grandchild,¡± An Xiaoning said relentlessly. Speechless, Mrs. Jin stood up to leave. Seeing his mother, Jin Qingyan hurriedly asked, ¡°Mother, what did you talk to Xiaoning about?¡± Mrs. Jin red at him and walked away without uttering a single word. Jin Qingyan returned inside to see that An Xiaoning was sitting on the couch, deep in her thoughts. ¡°Xiaoning...¡± ¡°Yes?¡± She stood up and walked towards him to give him a hug. ¡°Did my mother say anything inappropriate?¡± ¡°She knows I can¡¯t conceive easily and she wanted me to leave you,¡± An Xiaoning said calmly. ¡°Did you...¡± He took a deep breath and continued, ¡°Did you agree?¡± ¡°Silly, would I hug you if I agreed? Let¡¯s just let nature take its course,¡± An Xiaoning answered. ¡°Let¡¯s go get married now.¡± ¡°I already said no. I haven¡¯t made up my mindpletely yet. It shall depend on your performance.¡± ¡°Xiaoning, am I not doing well enough?¡± Jin Qingyan asked in bewilderment, thinking that he had already done his best. ¡°You are, for now. But we don¡¯t know how you¡¯ll do in the future. Don¡¯t think you can bewless and sleep over here just because we¡¯ve gotten back together. You are to return to your house as usual.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª¡ª Staring at the news on his phone screen, Gu Beicheng felt his heart sink, for he had never expected them to get back together. It was not good news for him. Gu Beicheng could not help but feel upset and uneasy. To make matters worse, she did not pick up his multiple calls. Resisting the urge to go look for her, Gu Beicheng went home straight after work. Mrs. Gu sat down beside him and said, ¡°Son... just forget about Xiaoning. I don¡¯t think she fancies you at all. Don¡¯t be so stubborn and just continue being her brother, alright?¡± ¡°I know.¡± Gu Beicheng turned to look at his mother and said, ¡°Mother, in which aspect am I worse than Jin Qingyan?¡± ¡°To me, you¡¯re better than him in every aspect. Well, that¡¯s because you¡¯re my son. But your rtionship with Xiaoning is different. One of the main reasons why things turned out this way is because you appearedter than him.¡± Gu Beicheng did not answer and returned to his room instead. He walked inside the room opposite his, which An Xiaoning stayed in for a few days previously. Sitting by the bed, he turned to look at the bedhead where he spotted an envelope. Gu Beicheng took the envelope and realized that it contained the letter he had written to her. It seemed she did not open it at all. As he sprawled across the bed, a smile formed on his face and he began to recall the very first time he hadid his eyes upon her. All of a sudden, his phone began to ring. He picked it up to see that it was a call from An Xiaoning. ¡°Xiaoning.¡± ¡°You called me so many times. What¡¯s the matter?¡± Gu Beicheng no longer felt like telling her the things he wanted to initially. Instead, he answered, ¡°I read on the news that you¡¯ve gotten back together with Jin Qingyan.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± She had confirmed the truth with just a single word. ¡°Um... well, congrattions then,¡± said Gu Beicheng, not managing toe up with anything else to say. ¡°Thank you. Beicheng, I¡¯m sorry,¡± said An Xiaoning, who hesitated for a long while before deciding to call him back. She had long wanted to apologize to him. However, she had yet to do so. ¡°Why? There¡¯s no need to apologize to your brother. I just hope he¡¯ll treat you well in the future. You¡¯ll always be a part of our family,¡± said Gu Beicheng, filled with misery. ¡°I still feel a little guilty towards you somehow. I¡¯ll go home for dinner in a few days¡¯ time. We¡¯ll talk then.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Gu Beicheng let out a sigh after hanging up the phone. Little did he expect to lose the battle even before he had the chance to shine. He won the previous time with Chi Rui¡¯er, yet he hadpletely been defeated by Jin Qingyan this time. He could not help but wish that An Xiaoning could swap ces with Chi Rui¡¯er instead, so that he could at least win her heart. Heaven is fair, indeed. He had initially thought that she would no longer get back together with Jin Qingyan once they got divorced, regardless of how much Jin Qingyan pestered her. To be frank, he simply could not bring himself to be as clingy as Jin Qingyan was. Besides, she was an extremely important person to the Gu family after all. He stood up and tore up the unopened letter he had written to An Xiaoning into shreds before disposing of it in the rubbish bin. Gu Beicheng quickly strode out of the room and headed downstairs to drive away from the Gu family mansion. He put on a pair of shades to shield his eyes from the ring sun and continued to drive at top speed, seemingly venting his frustration and sorrow. Chapter 254 - Sealed with Love (7)

Chapter 254: Sealed with Love (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyan had tightened security around An Xiaoning, despite knowing that she was already well equipped with self-defense skills. He would order for a car full of bodyguards to escort her around wherever she went. As much as An Xiaoning felt like he was being over the top, he insisted on doing so. An Xiaoning would allow the bodyguards to wait for her in the police station whenever she was dealing with cases. However, An Xiaoning began to think that it was not too bad of an idea to have such tight security around her, since it might very well be the reason why Xi Bi had been staying away from her. Three months went by in peace. Within those three months, Jin Qingyan would spend all of his time after work together with An Xiaoning, thuspelling Mei Yangyang to move back to her own home after the filming process of the movie had ended. Even until mid-October, Jin Qingyan had never once slept in An Xiaoning¡¯s bed. He often racked his brains toe up with ways to do so, but to no avail. Atst, he concluded that the reason he always failed to execute his n was simply because he had been toopliant and giving in too much to her. Considering the fact that she had been nourishing her health with daily doses of herbal soups for the past few months, Jin Qingyan decided to take action within the next few days before her period arrives, lest he¡¯d have to wait another week. After giving it some thought, Jin Qingyan decided that tonight would be the perfect opportunity. In order to make it seem like she was the one who initiated it instead, Jin Qingyan went the extra mile and instructed Fan Shixin to bring him some philter. He then stealthily added a small dose of it to her porridge while making dinner. The effects began to show in no time. An Xiaoning continuouslyined about feeling warm while sitting at the dining table. Pretending not to know what was happening, Jin Qingyan continued to enjoy his meal slowly. He then proceeded to do the dishes after dinner. All of a sudden, An Xiaoning entered and hugged him from behind, flushed red as a tomato. ¡°Qingyan, I¡¯m feeling a little unwell.¡± He wiped his hands dry after washing the dishes. ¡°Are you running a fever?¡± he asked, cing one hand on her forehead. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± An Xiaoning stuck her hand beneath his wool sweater to caress his abs, which were cold to the touch. She felt a bit of a relief. ¡°Qingyan...¡± Although he was overwhelmed with euphoria, he continued to feign ignorance and said calmly, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°I kinda feel like... doing it.¡± ¡°Doing what?¡± ¡°You know what.¡± She loosened her grip and stood in front of him. ¡°Haven¡¯t you been wanting to do it?¡± Pretending to be all prim and proper, he answered, ¡°No, I haven¡¯t had the audacity to think about it, knowing that you¡¯ve been nursing your healthtely.¡± Grabbing her by the hand and pulling her out of the kitchen, he said, ¡°It¡¯s gettingte, I¡¯d better get going. Hurry, take a shower and go to bed.¡± An Xiaoning pounced on him and wrapped her legs around his waist to support herself. ¡°Let¡¯s sleep together tonight,¡± she suggested. ¡°An Xiaoning, you can¡¯t behave like this. You¡¯ve yet to fully recover,¡± Jin Qingyan refuted in a bid to let her have a taste of her own medicine, thinking of how she often rejected his advances. ¡°I¡¯m alright, it¡¯s already been months.¡± ¡°You really want it?¡± ¡°Heyd, drop the act,¡± said An Xiaoning, who had long seen through his facade. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go right away. I missed you so much!¡± he eximed, chuckling. Although he was beyond excited and eager, he did not forget to lock the bedroom door. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we shower first?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s shower together.¡± Raising her chin, An Xiaoning teased, ¡°You are to help me scrub my back, got it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s my pleasure to serve you, mydy.¡± ¡°Good, here¡¯s your reward,¡± said An Xiaoning before giving him a kiss and gazing at him with ripples in her heart. Being the bright and alert person she was, An Xiaoning was well aware that he had spiked her food. ¡°Jin Qingyan.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s a piece of cake for you to kill me,¡± An Xiaoning said with a smile. ¡°Why do you say so?¡± ¡°Because I wouldn¡¯t be able to tell that you¡¯ve spiked my food with a drug that has no taste or smell. In fact, I¡¯ll evenpliment you for your superb culinary skills.¡± ¡°...¡± Jin Qingyan dropped his pretense as soon as he realized that she had already found out. ¡°I know, you¡¯re intelligent,¡± he said while kissing her neck gently. ¡ª¡ª Mo Li was already more than four months pregnant by now, yet Ye Xiaotian had still not mentioned anything about marrying her. However, she did not reveal her thoughts to him, since the fetus had yet to reach the five-month mark they had agreed upon initially. After remaining silent for a long time, Ye Xiaotian decided to tell her himself. After dinner, he leaned against the couch and gazed at Mo Li. Staring at her baby bump, which was already showing, Ye Xiaotian said, ¡°I didn¡¯t manage to convince my mother to allow me to marry you. However, I¡¯d like to keep this child. I¡¯m sorry, but you have to sacrifice a little and keep waiting on. Mo Li, my mother is in a poor state of health, I¡¯ll feel guilty for the rest of my life if she really kills herself because of this.¡± Mo Li kept her eyes fixed on the television and did not answer him immediately. Little did he know that his words meant that Mo Li had to wait ¡¯til the day his mother dies before she could be given a proper status. What was this? The child would be illegitimate as soon as he was born. ¡°Got it,¡± she answered coldly before preparing to go upstairs. Ye Xiaotian hurriedly stopped her, ¡°Sit down.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to go to bed.¡± ¡°Mo Li, my mother will give in once she sees the baby when he¡¯s born.¡± Mo Li let out a wry smile as tears welled up in her eyes while she made her way upstairs slowly. She then locked herself inside the bathroom. Standing by the basin, Mo Li stared at her reflection in the mirror and ced her hand on her baby bump. The child had already begun kicking her in the womb. She could feel that he was an active baby. Over time, she had begun looking forward to the birth of the child. Yet, everything would being to an end soon. Did he think she would not mean what she said? She had nned to do exactly what she said she would. She did not wish for tongues to wag and brand her and her family for being shameless and insisting on giving birth to the child. She did not want to hear anyone say that Ye Xiaotian would not give her a proper status even after she had already given birth. He was put in a spot, but so was she. Why did he get her pregnant if he was not confident that he could marry her? Mo Li turned on the tap and rinsed her face before exiting. Ye Xiaotian had already gone upstairs. ¡°I didn¡¯t tell you those for you to let your imagination run wild,¡± Ye Xiaotian said worriedly. ¡°I¡¯m not overthinking or letting my imagination run wild.¡± ¡°Are you thinking of aborting the child?¡± he questioned, staring at her in the eye. ¡°Will you let me go if I abort the child?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°I just needed to know your answer,¡± Mo Li answered coldly as she removed her slippers andid down on the bed. Ye Xiaotian began to sense that something was amiss and unusual about her. Heid down beside her and said, ¡°Mo Li... I promise you¡¯ll be the only woman I have in the future. I¡¯ll only bear children with you, alright?¡± Cupping her face with her hands, Mo Li retorted, ¡°Why must you force me to have children?¡± ¡°Because then you¡¯d be willing to settle down.¡± ¡°Do you love me?¡± Ye Xiaotian was at a loss for words upon hearing her question. He had never pondered about whether he loved her or not. He had always just wanted to keep her by his side and be together with her. In conclusion, he had merely gotten used to having her around. Love... was something that had never crossed his mind before. Chapter 255 - Sealed with Love (8)

Chapter 255: Sealed with Love (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Do you love me then?¡± Ye Xiaotian asked while staring at her. Without hesitation, Mo Li answered, ¡°Do you want me to love you?¡± She detested him to the core, and her hatred for him had never decreased a single bit. Yet, Mo Li knew that she would have no feelings for him at all if she had really given up on him. ¡°Yes.¡± Staring at him, Mo Li answered, ¡°Unfortunately, I don¡¯t. Because you don¡¯t deserve my love. If you¡¯re talking about when we first got together, then yes, I did like you very much at the start. But those feelings don¡¯t exist anymore. Ye Xiaotian, how could I possibly be in love with you?¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t love me, does that mean you can love someone else? Unfortunately, Mo Li, you¡¯ll never escape my hands the rest of your life.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I don¡¯t n on escaping anymore, because I know there¡¯s nowhere for me to run,¡± Mo Li said with a wry smile. Ye Xiaotian squinted and answered, ¡°That¡¯s right. Give birth to the child and stay by my side. I won¡¯t mistreat you. I¡¯ll give you a proper status when my mother is no longer around.¡± ¡°Ye Xiaotian, do you realize that you¡¯re sounding like you¡¯re giving me a status out of pity? You sound just like you¡¯re giving me everything out of pity. I¡¯m going to bed,¡± Mo Li said coldly. Sheid down on the bed and remained still. Feeling flustered out of nowhere, Ye Xiaotian tried to cajole her, ¡°Mo Li, I don¡¯t mean it that way. Marriage is just abel, aren¡¯t we living like we¡¯re married now? Isn¡¯t it enough for me to promise that you¡¯ll be the only woman I¡¯d have for the rest of my life?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t wish to talk about this any further, I¡¯m tired.¡± ¡°Alright, go to sleep then.¡± Ye Xiaotian reached out to hold her in his embrace, cing his hand on her baby bump. Mo Li remained still while keeping her eyes wide open after the lights were turned off. She stayed up wide awake for the rest of the night. Thinking that she was still sound asleep, Ye Xiaotian pulled the duvet over her before heading to work. Mo Li got out of bed as soon as he left. She then stowed all her jewelry into her bag. Although there were very few of them, they were rather valuable. She proceeded to leave the house while wearing a face mask and a cap. Having arrived at a jewelry store, she decided to keep her favorite piece and sell the rest. Needless to say, the price she sold them for was far lower than what Ye Xiaotian had paid for them. However, Mo Li could not be bothered about the difference. Mo Li then made her way to her parents¡¯ breakfast bistro with the bank card. ¡°Sis... why didn¡¯t you bring any bodyguards with you?¡± said Mo Xun as he hurriedly rushed forward to hold her. ¡°I went to settle some matters. It wouldn¡¯t be convenient with them around. Where¡¯s Mother?¡± ¡°She¡¯s arranging the tables in the bistro.¡± ¡°Alright,e in with me.¡± Mo Xun then helped her inside. Mo Li pulled her parents into the bedroom while Mo Xun waited outside by the door. Handing the bank card to Mrs. Mo, Mo Li said, ¡°Mother, there¡¯s six million dors in this ount. It¡¯s the money I got from selling the jewelry Xiaotian had given me. The PIN number is XXXXXX.¡± ¡°Mo Li, we have enough to spend now. Your Father and I are making a decent amount,¡± said a shocked Mrs. Mo. ¡°Use this money to buy a house nearby. Mo Xun is not getting any younger, he¡¯s going to need a house when he gets married in the near future. You may keep the rest. I¡¯m not short of money,¡± Mo Li answered. Mrs. Mo had no choice but to give in, ¡°Mo Li, how about you keep the remaining money after we buy a house?¡± ¡°Alright, that would do too,¡± she agreed smilingly. ¡°Go clean up at the bistro, I¡¯ll talk to Mo Li,¡± Mrs. Mo said to Mr. Mo. Mr. Mo nodded and proceeded to do as told. ¡°Mo Li, tell me, has Xiaotian mentioned anything about your marriage?¡± Mrs. Mo asked softly. ¡°Mother, his mother threatened to kill herself if he were to marry me. But that¡¯s good because I don¡¯t want to marry him anyway,¡± Mo Li said nonchntly, though she was overwhelmed with sadness. ¡°What about the child? Is his mother not going to acknowledge the child too?¡± Mrs. Mo asked worriedly. ¡°As long as Xiaotian acknowledges him, nothing else really matters. Mother, could you promise me something?¡± Mo Li asked, holding her mother¡¯s hand. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°No matter what happens in the future, promise me that you, Father, and Mo Xun will continue to live on well.¡± Taken aback, Mrs. Mo answered worriedly, ¡°Mo Li, what are you talking about? You mustn¡¯t do anything foolish, you hear? If anything happens to you, how am I supposed to continue living?¡± Mo Li was on the verge of tears. However, she suppressed her emotions and said instead, ¡°I¡¯m just talking about the future. I¡¯m not going to do anything foolish.¡± Mrs. Mo heaved a huge sigh of relief before saying, ¡°There¡¯s hope as long as you live on. You should just give birth to the child since he wants you to do so.¡± Mo Li nodded in agreement. ¡°Yes, the baby is almost five months old.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think about anything else, just focus on staying healthy and taking good care of yourself and the baby. I shall go apany you one month before you¡¯re due forbor. How does that sound?¡± Mo Li gave a nod and pulled her mother into her arms. ¡°Mother, I love you the most.¡± Giving her a pat on her back, Mrs. Mo answered, ¡°I just hope you will live well. We¡¯ll be happy as long as you¡¯re happy.¡± Mo Li held her tears back and nodded fervently. Upon returning to Ming Yuan Estate, Mo Li locked herself in her bedroom and burst into tears while tucking herself beneath the duvet. She had no idea what to do next. She could not see a glimmer of hope in life at all. By the time the child was born, Ye Xiaotian would have a stronger reason to control her and tie her down. Besides, given how young his mother was, it would be ages before Mo Li would get to have a proper status, should his mother continue to disapprove of their marriage. She would be illegitimate, and so would the child. It would be akin to living behind closed doors forever, not fit to be revealed to the world. ¡°Get her toe out!¡± Mrs. Ye barked from the living room. Mo Li quickly sat up and put on her slippers. She headed to the bathroom to rinse her face; her eyes were red and swollen from crying. Just as Mo Li exited the living room, she was greeted with the sight of the servant standing by the door. ¡°Ms. Mo, Madam is waiting in the living room. She¡¯d like to see you,¡± the servant said softly. ¡°Got it.¡± Mo Li then headed downstairs together with the servant. While seated on the couch, Mrs. Ye kept her eyes fixed on Mo Li the moment thetter arrived downstairs. Her eyes were peeled onto Mo Li¡¯s baby bump. ¡°Do you really n to keep the child?¡± Mrs. Ye asked coldly with no signs of anger in her tone, unlike the previous time. ¡°Your son insists that I give birth to it.¡± ring daggers at Mo Li, Mrs. Ye said, ¡°Mo Li, just because I haven¡¯t beening here the past few months, doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯ve stopped minding about the issue between you two. I came here today with the main purpose of telling you that I¡¯ve already begun looking for a suitable prospective wife for Xiaotian. She¡¯s the daughter of a wealthy family belonging to the upper ss society. You¡¯re in no wayparable to her at all in every aspect, be it family background, education level, height, appearance, and what have you. I also want to tell you that the baby you¡¯re carrying is no trump card. Don¡¯t think you can make Xiaotian marry you just because you¡¯re pregnant with his child. I will kill myself if Xiaotian dares to marry you. We shall see if he picks you or his mother.¡± ¡°It¡¯s indeed to be expected of you to threaten your son using your life, Mrs. Ye. You don¡¯t have toe forth to tell me these. Whatever it is that you¡¯ve done for him, I¡¯m not interested in hearing any of it. Neither am I in any ce to meddle,¡± Mo Li retorted. Chapter 256 - Sealed with Love (9)

Chapter 256: Sealed with Love (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Her words, in the opinion of Mrs. Ye, were insincere. ¡°I¡¯m just reminding you, don¡¯t harbor any wishful thinking. Xiaotian will never marry you. Mo Li, I advise you to give up the child in your stomach.¡± ¡°Mrs. Ye doesn¡¯t have to worry about this.¡± Mo Li got up to leave. To Mrs. Ye, she really had nothing to say. Mrs. Ye sprung up. ¡°I haven¡¯t finished speaking.¡± ¡°But I don¡¯t wish to continue listening to you speak. The child is now more than four months old, it has already developed its hearing. If it hears its grandmother saying such malicious things, I¡¯m sure it would have no good impression of you. It might even doubt if this is its grandmother. Even if you don¡¯t admit it, when this child is born, it will be a descendant of the Ye family. Your grandson or granddaughter.¡± Mrs. Ye was rather enraged. ¡°I¡¯ve already said, even if it gets born, it will not be a part of the Ye family. This child will not be part of our family tree and will not be recognized by the Ye family. If you give birth to it, it will be nothing but an illegitimate child!¡± Mo Li¡¯s body went stiff, and her hands were clenched together tightly. She turned and went upstairs. After spilling out everything she wanted to say, Mrs. Ye left with her heart at ease. But on the other hand, Mo Li hadnded into a state of suffering, and she had locked the door from inside. She did not feel a tinge of hope and could not see any glimpse of the future. This kind of negative emotions made the bitterness kept inside her for so long suddenly erupt. Mo Li got up and headed into the bathroom, turning on the tap in the bathtub. Thereafter, she turned on the heater in the bedroom. After a nice, cleansing bath, she blew her hair dry and put on her favorite white long-sleeved nightgown. She sat down before the dressing table. Ever since she knew she was pregnant, she did not put on makeup anymore. However, she now dolled up her face with some exquisite makeup. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, she saw that her thick eyebrows were surreal and her red lips seductive. She took out a knife de from the drawer meant for trimming eyebrows. It was extremely sharp. With it held in her hand, she slowly sat by the bed and sent her brother a message: ¡°Without me by our parents¡¯ side, Xiao Xun, you need to take good care of them. Don¡¯t make them angry.¡± Mo Xun replied her instantly: ¡°Sis, I know.¡± Thereafter, she actually typed out a message for An Xiaoning. Although she only met her a few times, she really wanted to send her this message: ¡°I really want to live like you, to be able to live out one¡¯s own brilliance, but I can¡¯t do anything about it. I can¡¯t see a glimmer of hope at all. This life is not how I want it to be. If I could relive my life again, I want to be like you. I want to work hard and live freely.¡± After typing out the message, she did not send it, but ced her phone at the edge of the bed. She slowlyid down on the bed and covered herself with the nket. With the knife de in her left hand, she ced it over her right hand. Mo Li closed her eyes and exerted strength using her left hand. The immense pain went past in a sh, and all she could feel was the blood in her body draining out gradually. Before she lost her consciousness, she sessfully sent out the message she had typed out. ¡ª When An Xiaoning received the message, she was at the police station discussing a case with her other three team members. The more she looked at the message, the more she felt something was amiss. She immediately dialled Mo Li¡¯s number. After one and thereafter several tries, still no one picked up. She did not have Ye Xiaotian¡¯s number, so she could only call Gu Beicheng and get him to pass the message to Ye Xiaotian. She wanted to get him to go home to take a look in case something had happened. After the call, she still felt uneasy, so she drove to Ming Yuan Estate herself. She reached the front gate of the house almost at the same time as Ye Xiaotian. Ye Xiaotian had a serious look on his face and hurriedly ran into the house. Since An Xiaoning was wearing ts, she ran along with him. She was praying deeply in her heart for Mo Li to be fine. But a feeling of uneasiness overwhelmed her. The content of that text message did note from a person who was just expressing their negative emotions ¨C she sounded like someone who had reached the peak of her despair, who did not have the strength to resist and could no longer live on. An Xiaoning hurriedly went up the second floor and saw Ye Xiaotian take the spare keys to open the bedroom door. Because he was shaking, it took some time for him to unlock it. The door burst open upon unlocking. The room was in darkness, and the curtains were tightly closed. ¡°Mo Li?¡± Ye Xiaotian headed towards the bed. An Xiaoning followed behind him. With the lights switched on, Ye Xiaotian saw Mo Li with her eyes shut on the bed and could already sense that something was wrong. Although her face had makeup on it, it was pale as a sheet. Her phone was ced right at the bedside. With An Xiaoning calling her multiple times, it was impossible for her not to have heard it. An Xiaoning went forward and slowly opened the covers. ¡°Mo Li!¡± Ye Xiaotian¡¯s eyes were instantly brimming with tears. An Xiaoning had her hand on her mouth, and tears flowed down her cheeks rapidly. Mo Li¡¯s body was covered in a pool of blood. Ye Xiaotian immediately took off his tie and wrapped it around her wrist before running down the stairs with her in his arms. An Xiaoning stared at the massive blood stains on the bed, her heart wrenching in pain. Even with a child in her stomach, to still be able toe to this state, it was apparent that she could no longer live on. She surveyed the surroundings and did not see Mo Li¡¯s soul. That meant that at least she was still alive. She turned and hurriedly drove to the hospital, following behind Ye Xiaotian¡¯s car. After Mo Li entered the emergency treatment room, they waited at the corridor. Gu Beicheng came over too and, upon hearing the situation, was at a loss for words. He could only pat Ye Xiaotian¡¯s shoulders to console him. ¡°Can I see that text message?¡± Ye Xiaotian asked, his eyes reddened. An Xiaoning passed him her phone. Ye Xiaotian stared at the phone screen for a long time before passing the phone back to her. An Xiaoning felt that she could not just wait on like that. She discreetly ran to the nurses¡¯ changing room and put on a nurse uniform. With a cap and face mask on, she pretended she was a nurse and entered the emergency treatment room. Gu Beicheng and Ye Xiaotian, who were at the entrance, both did not recognize her. An Xiaoning stood by the doctors¡¯ side, watching as they tried to save Mo Li. Standing there, she was on pins and needles. Time passed like eternity. The doctor used all the effort he could exert and finally pulled Mo Li back from the realms of death. ¡°What a close shave. If she had been sent in just a minuteter, she would never have lived.¡± The doctor continued, ¡°Forget it, she¡¯s survived at least. Bandage her properly, I¡¯ll go out to inform the family.¡± Just then, An Xiaoning pulled him back. ¡°Stop.¡± ¡°Umm?¡± The doctor nced at her. ¡°Who are you? I¡¯ve never seen you before.¡± An Xiaoning replied with a grin, ¡°Who I am is not important. What¡¯s important is that I need a favor from all of you. If you guys help me, the three checks here are for all of you.¡± She fished out three checks from her wallet. The two doctors and the nurse were stunned. ¡°It can¡¯t be that you want to kill her?¡± The doctor waved his hand. ¡°No matter how much you give us, we won¡¯t do it.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s asking all of you to kill her?¡± An Xiaoning continued, ¡°I just want all of you to respect her wishes when she wakes up.¡± ¡°I... I don¡¯t quite understand what you mean.¡± An Xiaoning reiterated, ¡°When you go out, don¡¯t tell the person who sent her here that she¡¯s been saved. Wait for her to wake up.¡± Chapter 257 - Sealed with Love (10)

Chapter 257: Sealed with Love (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The doctor questioned, ¡°Then what?¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll tell you what to do again.¡± An Xiaoning continued, ¡°All of you just wait first, I¡¯m just asking you to respect her wishes, not to do anything bad.¡± ¡°...¡± Ye Xiaotian and Gu Beicheng waited at the corridor for four whole hours. Only then did newse from the operating theater. The doctor came out first with a grim face. ¡°After such a long time of emergency treatment, the patient could not be saved.¡± Ye Xiaotian went forward and pulled the doctor¡¯s coat cor. ¡°You have to save her!¡± Gu Beicheng hurriedly held him back. ¡°Xiaotian.¡± Ye Xiaotian released his hand and was about to barge into the operating theater when the nurse wheeled Mo Li out. Mo Li¡¯s face was pale as death. Her eyes were shut, and there was no sign of breath from her. ¡°Mo Li...¡± Ye Xiaotian hugged her head, tears rushing out of his eyes. He truly regretted it. He regretted saying those things to herst night. He really did not expect that she was so brave. Now, nothing that he said would matter. Gu Beicheng looked at him, feeling rather upset. When they went back, Gu Beicheng drove while Ye Xiaotian sat at the back row, holding Mo Li in his arms. Gu Beicheng¡¯s own car, on the other hand, was left at the hospital. When they reached home, An Xiaoning arrived as well, just closely behind them. ¡°You should ask Mo Li¡¯s family toe here.¡± Ye Xiaotian agreed. When Mr. and Mrs. Mo, as well as Mo Xun, arrived, they saw Mo Li on the sofa. The family of three broke into uncontroble sobs. Mrs. Mo almost passed out as she threw herself onto Mo Li and wailed bitterly. ¡°Mo Li ah, why did you take things so hard? Now that you¡¯re gone, how is your mother going to live on?¡± Mo Xun stood at the side and suddenly turned to Ye Xiaotian, ring at him resentfully. ¡°It¡¯s you, you caused my sister¡¯s death. Are you happy now?!¡± Ye Xiaotian did not answer and stood there like a statue. Mrs. Mo stood up, her eyes tearful. ¡°Xiao Xun, carry your sister out. Since she¡¯s already dead, we¡¯ll bury her ourselves.¡± Mo Xun teared up as he carried Mo Li out. Watching them leave, An Xiaoning hurriedly followed after them. ¡°Uncle, Auntie, sit in my car. Mo Li and I were friends. I¡¯ll send all of you back.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± They got onto her car, and An Xiaoning drove out of Ming Yuan Estate. Seeing them sob, devastated, An Xiaoning could no longer hold it in. ¡°Mo Li isn¡¯t dead.¡± The family of three were in a state of shock all at once. ¡°She¡¯s just been given anesthetic and is in deep sleep. She¡¯ll wake up soon.¡± An Xiaoning shed a grin at them. ¡°Only like this will she be able to escape Ye Xiaotian¡¯s clutches.¡± The three who were originally overwhelmed with grief were instantly cured, and they exchanged looks of joy with each other. Mrs. Mo then hugged Mo Li tightly and stuck her face closely to hers. ¡°That¡¯s really wonderful.¡± ¡°Now, Mo Li can go to my ce first. I have a basement there, and I¡¯ve already arranged for someone to buy a bed. She can stay there temporarily. The injury on her wrist has been bandaged properly, so the doctor just has toe and give her some anti-inmmatory IV drip for some time, then she¡¯ll recover.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Mrs. Mo replied gratefully. ¡°Having a friend like you, it¡¯s really Li Li¡¯s honor.¡± ¡°Auntie, don¡¯t say that. This decision was hers, I¡¯m just doing what I can to help her.¡± The car finally drove into Dongpo Road. Mei Yangyang had already prepared the bed in the basement, so Mo Xun carried Mo Li onto the bed. As it was gloomy and cold in the basement, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Yangyang, get someone to install a venttion system here.¡± ¡°Alright, Sis.¡± The venttion system was installed properly, and Mo Li woke up. She looked extremely weak, but was aware of her surroundings. The anxious hearts of the others were finally able to calm down. ¡°Li Li, you¡¯re awake?¡± ¡°Mother, I¡¯m sorry.¡± Mrs. Mo could not help but tear up. ¡°Why were you so silly? Luckily there was Ms. An to help you. Otherwise, what can you do?¡± Mo Li looked around. ¡°Where is she, Mother?¡± ¡°She¡¯s upstairs.¡± ¡°Get her toe down, I want to talk to her.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Mrs. Mo went up the stairs and out of the basement, calling An Xiaoning down. An Xiaoning sat by the bed and asked gently, ¡°Mo Li, are you alright now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine, I¡¯m really thankful that you were there and that you helped me get to your ce secretly.¡± An Xiaoning responded, ¡°What¡¯s there to thank? I¡¯m just doing what I can to help you, I¡¯m willing to. Don¡¯t think about anything else and recuperate here properly, then give birth to the child.¡± ¡°About this, I don¡¯t want this child anymore. It won¡¯t be good for the child to grow up in an iplete family.¡± An Xiaoning replied immediately, ¡°Mo Li, you have to give birth to it. Even if the child does not have a father, at least it has her mother¡¯s love. You know, I¡¯ve already miscarried two children. When a childes, you must keep it. Otherwise, when you can¡¯t have children, it would be difficult if you want one.¡± ¡°The child has been in my stomach for more than four months, almost five months already. I actually have a bond with it already. I¡¯ll listen to you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s not like you can¡¯t afford to raise it anyway,¡± An Xiaoning replied cheerfully. ¡°Honestly, when I saw you lying on the bed, I was terrified too. But seeing how you were saved, I¡¯m really relieved.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid he¡¯lle here to find me...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll make proper arrangements for you.¡± An Xiaoning patted her own chest to assure her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± The basement¡¯s door suddenly flung open. Long Tianze hurried down anxiously and arrived before Mo Li¡¯s bed in the blink of an eye. ¡°Mo Li.¡± ¡°Umm, Tianze.¡± Long Tianze heaved a long sigh of relief. ¡°Just now, when I heard it from Yangyang, I almost died of a cardiac arrest.¡± Mo Li gazed at him and broke into augh. ¡°You still have the cheek tough.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t do this again in the future.¡± Long Tianze ced his hands on An Xiaoning¡¯s shoulders and remarked in a serious tone, ¡°Sister-inw, you¡¯ve really done something that deserves respect this time.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t call me Sister-inw. Who¡¯s your Sister-inw? Just call me what you used to call me.¡± ¡°The two of you have already gotten back together, why should I still call you Ms. An?¡± Long Tianze straightened his body. ¡°Right, don¡¯t ever let Gu Beicheng know about this. If he knows, Ye Xiaotian will know about it soon as well.¡± ¡°I know. So from today onwards, Mo Li¡¯s family can¡¯te here anymore. Even when Mo Li is about to give birth, only her mother shoulde here for a short period of time.¡± Long Tianze nodded his head in agreement. ¡°Of course.¡± ¡ª Ye Xiaotian sat on the sofa in the living room for a long time. Even when Gu Beicheng spoke to him, he did not have any response at all. ¡°Xiaotian, why did Mo Limit suicide?¡± ¡°My mother did not allow her to marry into the family no matter what.¡± Gu Beicheng was stunned by the reason. ¡°So, you told her she couldn¡¯t marry you?¡± ¡°Umm.¡± ¡°Wow, are you an idiot? Even if your mother didn¡¯t agree, you could still take the household register and secretly register your marriage, then talk about carrying out the wedding ceremonyter on.¡± Gu Beicheng really felt he would be the death of him. ¡°Now, it¡¯s toote to say anything.¡± Ye Xiaotian looked up at the maid. ¡°After I went to thepany, was there anything unusual with Ms. Mo?¡± ¡°After Young Sir went to work, Ms. Mo went out alone. Not long after she came back, Madam came.¡± Chapter 258 - You Misbehaved (1)

Chapter 258: You Misbehaved (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Ye Xiaotian asked, ¡°My mother?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The maid hesitated to speak, but thinking that Mo Li was already dead, she still replied, ¡°Madam said many nasty things. She made it very clear that even if Ms. Mo gave birth to the child, it will be an illegitimate child.¡± Ye Xiaotian¡¯s expression was already very ugly. At this point, his fury reached its peak. Before Gu Beicheng could even stop him, he had already rushed out. Thinking that he must be going back to the Ye residence, Gu Beicheng did not bother chasing after him either. Mrs. Ye was still unaware of the news at this point and was at home ying mahjong with other wealthy housewives. Seeing Ye Xiaotian suddenly appear at the front gate of their house, her face changed. Mrs. Mo thought that Mo Li must haveined to him about her. She then made her mahjong members leave, and when it was finally quiet in the living room, she remarked, ¡°Sheined to you?¡± Ye Xiaotian gazed at her. ¡°Mother, does that make you happy?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°She¡¯s dead.¡± Mrs. Ye could not react to this all of a sudden. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Mo Li slit her wrist andmitted suicide.¡± Ye Xiaotian looked at her, his eyes full of tears. ¡°Because of this matter of our marriage, she¡¯s dead. Mother, are you still happy about it?¡± Mrs. Ye was still in shock by the news. ¡°She¡¯s really dead?¡± ¡°The child is not even five months yet, it¡¯s your biological grandson or granddaughter! How could you say it¡¯s an illegitimate child!¡± He was so agitated that he bellowed at his mother for the first time, ¡°Are you happy now?!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you can¡¯t live without Mo Li? Without her, Mother can find a respectable match for you! I¡¯ve already found one, you can meet her today!¡± Mrs. Ye could not bear to see him in that state. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll meet her!¡± He stared right into his mother¡¯s eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll meet the person today, and get married today! Your son naturally can¡¯t bear to watch you die, much less see you unhappy. Since you¡¯re so eager to make me marry someone you¡¯re pleased with, then I¡¯ll fulfill your wishes. I hope you¡¯ll never regret your actions, Mother!¡± He turned and left quickly. Mr. Ye came out from the bedroom and saw the figure of his wife shaking. He berated her, ¡°Look what you¡¯ve done, you¡¯ve driven her to her death.¡± ¡°She deserved to die! So what if she¡¯s dead? That¡¯s my exact wishes anyway. If she had not seduced Xiaotian, do you think Xiaotian will be in this state now ¡ª refusing to be with anyone but her?¡± Mr. Ye was unwilling to argue with her. He could only remain silent after letting out a loud sigh. Ye Xiaotian was back at the courtyard at Ming Yuan Estate. After getting off the car, he walked into the house slowly. As he stood in this house, past memories started flooding back into his head. Ye Xiaotian¡¯s hand trembled slightly, and his heart felt like it was being ripped out. The pain caused everything before him to appear blurry. His heart felt like he had lost the most precious thing to him. She was dead. Thinking back on her short life, he found it was indeed ruined by his very hands. The bedsheets had already been changed into a new set of clean ones. There was no longer her blood stains, but her smell still lingered in the bedroom. The room was filled with memories of her. Ye Xiaotianid down on the bed, feeling terribly ufortable in his heart. Only now was he realizing that Mo Li was more than just a habit to him. He wanted her to be by his side forever, because he loved her. He did love her. Realizing this, Ye Xiaotian felt that it was all toote. Unknowingly, he fell asleep while lying there. When he woke up, the pitch-dark room was like an endless void, which made him tired of it. He switched on the lights and lit a cigarette. The cigarette in between his fingers emitted a thin smoke that rose up slowly. His phone ringtone suddenly sounded, breaking the silence in the quiet night. Ye Xiaotian took out his phone, and the screen disyed a name that made him frown tightly. He did not want to pick up his phone at all. As the phone rang time and again, he finally picked it up. His voice was low and hoarse. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Brother Xiaotian, I heard something¡¯s happened to Mo Li, is it true?¡± ¡°Mmm.¡± ¡°Brother Xiaotian, I know you must be feeling very upset. If you want to get drunk, I can apany you.¡± Sun Weiwei¡¯s voice was full of worry. ¡°No need, I¡¯m very vexed now. Don¡¯t find me.¡± With that, he hung up the call. Sun Weiwei looked at the phone disy screen and did not feel disappointed, but burst outughing. ¡°The heavens have really helped me. I had not even made my move and she already killed herself.¡± ¡°Sister Weiwei, looks like the heavens are really helping you.¡± Sun Weiweiughed and did not answer. ¡ª When Jin Qingyan found out about this incident, he kept staring at An Xiaoning. ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡± He sat on the bed, looking at her idly. ¡°I realized that you worry about other people a lot.¡± ¡°I feel that I meddle too much in others¡¯ lives too.¡± Jin Qingyan reached out and smacked her forehead. ¡°Ye Xiaotian is not a benevolent person. If he were to find out that Mo Li isn¡¯t dead and is at your ce, Xiaoning, you¡¯ll be in trouble. If this issue was easy to handle, I would have stepped in a few years ago. But it¡¯s not.¡± ¡°Who cares if it¡¯s easy to handle, look at what the Ye family has done to Mo Li. But I have a magic weapon.¡± She took out a mask. ¡°This cost two million dors. The next time Mo Li goes on the streets, as long as she¡¯s wearing this, she can go anywhere. No one will be able to recognize her.¡± Jin Qingyan stared at the mask, replying, ¡°That day when I went to meet Lin Mingxi, the person I held onto on the streets was really you.¡± ¡°Of course, who else could it be?¡± She ced the mask down. ¡°You men think further and consider a wider scope, but women are sentimental. Seeing Mo Li like that, I felt that I should help her. If she can raise her child safely for the rest of her life, I would consider it a charitable deed done.¡± Jin Qingyan hugged her, affectionately leaning against her face. ¡°It¡¯s this you that makes me love you more. I can¡¯t live without you for the rest of my life, how about you?¡± ¡°Me? I can live perfectly well without you for the rest of my life.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Looks like you need to try harder to make me love you to that extent as well.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try. But, Xiaoning, let¡¯s make a bet.¡± Jin Qingyan hesitated for a moment, then continued, ¡°If you can get pregnant again, then no matter whether the child can be born, you must marry me again.¡± ¡°If I can give birth to it, I¡¯ll marry you again. Otherwise, don¡¯t even think about it.¡± ¡°... Xiaoning.¡± ¡°Even if you call me Daning, it¡¯s useless.¡± She insisted on not being affected by his bewitching. ¡°If I remarry you, it¡¯ll be my third marriage. I need to be especially careful about it. How could I just marry you again like that? You reallyck sincerity.¡± ¡°Alright, we have a deal then. If you get pregnant and give birth to it in the end, then you¡¯ll have to remarry me. You can¡¯t go back against your words.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not assured, I need to get Fan Shixin to print two pieces of a written agreement.¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan, enough.¡± Was it really still him? It was usually women who were afraid of not being able to get married when they had a child. But, look at him ¡ª he was afraid that she wouldn¡¯t marry him if she had a child. He must be drunk. ¡°No, I haven¡¯t had enough.¡± Jin Qingyan immediately gave his instructions to Fan Shixin. With that, the well-known Chief Fan wearily made his way there through the bitter cold, just to send the two pieces of written agreement. Chapter 259 - You Misbehaved (2)

Chapter 259: You Misbehaved (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The freshly printed agreement was treated by Jin Qingyan like it was a precious gem. Seeing the look of happiness on his face, An Xiaoning could not help but pour cold water at him. ¡°For a child toe out from my stomach, I think it¡¯s harder than ascending the skies.¡± ¡°Who says ascending the sky is hard? What are nes for in this modern age?¡± He promised sincerely, ¡°This is not something that¡¯s been set in stone. As long as there¡¯s a chance, I¡¯ll try my best and find the best doctor for you.¡± Looking at the glow in his eyes, An Xiaoning made a sound of acknowledgement. But in reality, she did not have high hopes. But if the heavens were to grant her this miracle, she would be extremely grateful. She would also work hard to grab hold of her happiness. ¡°It¡¯s gettingte, it¡¯s time to rest. You should go back to your house to rest, I want to sleep alone.¡± Jin Qingyan opened the covers andid down. ¡°I disagree.¡± An Xiaoning could only give up the idea. ¡°Tomorrow morning, I need to wake up early to supervise the editing of the movie. You better not disturb my rest tonight.¡± ¡°Umm.¡± For the whole night, he really just hugged her to sleep. To Jin Qingyan, this was much better than the situation a few months ago. He was contented by it. Early in the morning, before An Xiaoning had even opened her eyes, Mei Yangyang knocked on the door. ¡°Sis, are you awake?¡± ¡°Not yet...¡± ¡°You should wake up quickly, I have an important news to tell you.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± After some struggle, she managed to sit up on the bed. Mei Yangyang waited for twenty minutes in the living room before An Xiaoning finally came down. ¡°What important news?¡± ¡°Come and see the newspapers.¡± Mei Yangyang passed the morning paper to An Xiaoning. She took a nce at the headlines and immediately questioned, ¡°Does Lin Mingxi specially hunt for men?¡± ¡°Exactly. Look at this speed, who canpare to her?¡± Mei Yangyang continued, ¡°Ye Xiaotian is really remarkable. Mo Li just died, yet he¡¯s marrying Lin Mingxi today.¡± An Xiaoning was actually relieved. ¡°It¡¯s good as well this way. Show Mo Li the paperter, so she won¡¯t be in a constant state of anxiety anymore, afraid of Ye Xiaotian capturing her back again. At least now she can live here in peace.¡± ¡°Umm, okay.¡± Mei Yangyang brought the morning paper to the basement. ¡°Sister Mo Li, there¡¯s a recent news about the Ye family. My sister asked me to inform you, so that you¡¯ll be more at ease.¡± ¡°What... news?¡± ¡°Ye Xiaotian¡¯s marrying Lin Mingxi today. The news just got out suddenly, look.¡± Mei Yangyang passed her the paper. ¡°Looks like you don¡¯t have to be on tenterhooks anymore.¡± Mo Li took the paper from her. Under the light, she read the content on the paper from beginning to end. After reading, she responded, ¡°When I got him to marry me and give the child a status, his mother refused to agree no matter what. Now, she¡¯s acting so quickly. This is the difference, how amazing.¡± ¡°Sister Mo Li, Lin Mingxi can¡¯tpare to you at all. Did you know? Lin Mingxi went for a blind date with Tianze before, then met Mr. Jin too after that. When we were at the devil training camp, she went there just for Mr. Jin. What incredible speed, in the blink of an eye, she¡¯s marrying Ye Xiaotian.¡± ¡°To me, it¡¯s a good thing. I no longer have to be controlled by him. When I¡¯ve recovered and given birth to the child, it¡¯ll just be the two of us. I¡¯ve already thought it through. When the child is born, I¡¯ll bring it to the countryside to live. News doesn¡¯t spread fast there. I¡¯ve sold my jewelry previously, so I can use that money to buy my parents and Xiao Xun a house to live in. The rest of the money should be enough for me and the child to spend.¡± Listening to her ns, Mei Yangyang felt that as long as it was her own choice, it would be for the best. ¡°Umm, Sister Mo Li, you¡¯ll be happy.¡± ¡°I hope so.¡± ¡ª There wasplete silence in the Jin residence¡¯s living room. After eating, Mrs. Jin sat on the sofa, knitting a scarf for Jin Qingyue. She had her head lowered, and her fingers continued to move. But maybe because she thought of something that made her burn with rage, she threw the knitting in her hands onto the sofa. ¡°Mother, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Jin Qingyue asked upon seeing her sudden movement. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Today Lin Mingxi¡¯s getting married to Ye Xiaotian. If not for your brother, she¡¯d already be my daughter-inw now.¡± ¡°You¡¯re angry about this?¡± Jin Qingyue stroked her belly and said idly, ¡°I think it¡¯s all An Xiaoning¡¯s power, which bewitched Brother. Right, An Xiaoning¡¯s talismans are so effective, Mother, do you think she used some special talisman to enchant Brother?¡± Upon hearing this, a thought shed in Mrs. Jin head. ¡°That¡¯s possible. When you were dating with Shi Shaochuan, she even had the power to make the two of you break up. Even though the effect wasn¡¯t that huge, you two were fighting every day during that period.¡± ¡°I already knew then that it was a curse. But seriously, even though we did not break up, during that time, I kept fighting with him for no good reason. This is true.¡± Mrs. Jin sprung up all of a sudden. ¡°I¡¯ll go and ask those powerful masters. If An Xiaoning can get pregnant, I have nothing else to say if she¡¯s with your brother. But if she can¡¯t get pregnant now, even though we owe her, we can¡¯t possibly pay her back by letting your brother be thest of the Jin family line.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Mother, you should go and inquire quickly. They have yet to remarry now. By the time they remarry, it will be toote to handle it.¡± As she spoke, her phone rang. Seeing that it was Shi Shaochuan calling her, Jin Qingyue hurriedly got up and went out to pick up the call. ¡°You seldom call me this early at eight or nine in the morning. What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Yueyue, where are you now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m at my mother¡¯s ce, I just sat down for less than two minutes. What¡¯s wrong?¡± Shi Shaochuan exined on the other end, ¡°Mypany¡¯s going overseas to negotiate an agreement, I have to go over personally too.¡± ¡°To where? For how long.¡± ¡°Three days, to H Nation.¡± ¡°Three days... so long?¡± Jin Qingyue was dissatisfied. ¡°Let me go with you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re carrying a huge belly, how can you run about like that?¡± Shi Shaochuan continued, ¡°We can video call every day, can¡¯t we? It¡¯s three days, I¡¯ll be back really soon. Yueyue, you need to support your husband¡¯s career, right? Wait for me to be back, I¡¯ll spend more time with you.¡± ¡°Alright then.¡± Jin Qingyue¡¯s tone could not hide her sense of dejection. ¡°If you dare to be seduced by other vixens outside when you¡¯re overseas these few days, I¡¯ll not let you off so easily.¡± ¡°How would I dare to?¡± Hearing her consent, Shi Shaochuan sweetened his voice, ¡°Honey, I can¡¯t bear to part with you. But I¡¯ve no choice, I have to go over personally.¡± ¡°Alright. Isn¡¯t it just three days? I¡¯ll wait for you at home.¡± Shi Shaochuan responded, ¡°Umm. When I¡¯m not at home, remember to eat and drink well. Wait for Honey toe back.¡± ¡°I know. Muah, Honey.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll hang up, okay?¡± After Shi Shaochuan ended the call, he let out a huge sigh of relief. Darting a nce at Xu Jingwen beside him, he remarked, ¡°Look, just to go on an overseas trip with you, I have to go through such things. I have to instruct thepany not to reveal anything and to lie to my wife. Baby, I¡¯m doing all these just for you.¡± Chapter 260 - You Misbehaved (3)

Chapter 260: You Misbehaved (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xu Jingwen gave him a kiss. ¡°Then, let¡¯s start preparing now. My dreamst time was to travel overseas to y. Now, it¡¯s finally being fulfilled.¡± ¡°I just fed you full, now I¡¯ve no more energy. You pack up now, and we¡¯ll set off immediately!¡± Xu Jingwen¡¯s face lit up with happiness. ¡°Umm!¡± ¡ª An Xiaoning had a cup of tea in her hand as she walked out of the police station towards her own car. As she was about to reach the front of the car, a figure appeared at the rear end of the car. It turned out to be Gu Beicheng. ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°I had nothing to do today, so I came to chat with you.¡± An Xiaoning rolled her lips. ¡°Get on.¡± Gu Beicheng got into the driver¡¯s seat, and An Xiaoning passed him the car keys. ¡°Isn¡¯t it Ye Xiaotian¡¯s wedding today? Aren¡¯t you going to be his best man?¡± ¡°I can goter.¡± Gu Beicheng started the engine and drove the car out of the police station. ¡°Is everything good between you and Jin Qingyan?¡± ¡°Very good.¡± An Xiaoning rolled down the car window slightly, allowing the wind to blow in. The inside of the car became more cool instantly. ¡°How about you, have you found a girlfriend?¡± ¡°I want to, but I haven¡¯t found anyone who catches my eye.¡± ¡°Leave such things to fate then. There¡¯s no point finding someone if she isn¡¯t the right one.¡± Gu Beicheng turned and looked at her. ¡°This logic applies to you very well.¡± ¡°Are youplimenting or insulting me?¡± ¡°Complimenting, of course. Do you intend to remarry him?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t intend to, for now. Let nature take its course.¡± An Xiaoning stretched out her left hand and rolled up her sleeve. ¡°Look, I¡¯ve been wearing the bangle you gave me. It just gives me a weird feeling.¡± Gu Beicheng was perplexed. ¡°What about it is weird?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t describe it, but I just feel that it has an aura to it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had this bangle in my collection for a very long time. It caught my eye because it looked pretty nice. So when you got married, I thought of gifting it to you because I felt that it suits you best. But if you feel ufortable wearing it, then stop wearing it.¡± An Xiaoning swung her wrist. ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ve worn it for some time already. I don¡¯t feel ufortable, do you know what this weird feeling is like?¡± ¡°Umm?¡± ¡°It¡¯s like I have a special connection with it. That¡¯s why when you first gave it to me, I liked it then. It¡¯s just that I felt jades are quite ominous items, so I didn¡¯t wear it.¡± Seeing how she liked it so much, Gu Beicheng felt that it was right gifting the bangle to her. He parked the car by the roadside. ¡°I heard the movie you invested in is in its final stage of production. If you need any help, just let Brother know.¡± ¡°Do you think I¡¯d stand on ceremony with you?¡± An Xiaoning turned to him and continued, ¡°After some time, the movie preview will be out. We intend for it to premiere on Christmas Day. Before it premieres, we¡¯ll definitely need to do some promotions. Qingyan can arrange for exposure on some variety shows, but some other shows seem to be controlled by a subsidiarypany under the Ye Corporation. Brother can settle those for me.¡± Gu Beicheng readily agreed. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to Xiaotian about it, your cast will definitely be able to go on those programs. On the day of the premiere, I¡¯ll book the whole theater. Your family will provide you with immense support.¡± ¡°Umm. Thanks, Brother.¡± This call to him turned Gu Beicheng wild with joy. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll just get off here.¡± As he got off, An Xiaoning got down from the car too. She went around the front of the car and said, ¡°Since you¡¯re going to Ye Xiaotian¡¯s wedding, I can send you there.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a lot of media reporters there, you¡¯ll get photographed. Get into the car.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± An Xiaoning got into the car and watched his figure as he left. There was something about the look in her eyes that was unusual. When she reached home, she found that it was exceptionally quiet. As she reached the stairway, she vaguely heard low sobs. She could recognize that it was Mo Li. It was inevitable that her heart would ache. After all, her four, five years with him ended with nothingpared to a blind date whom he only met once. Moreover, they even had a child together. After some thought, An Xiaoning still went down to the basement. ¡°Mo Li...¡± The bed wasrge enough so An Xiaoning took off her shoes andid down beside her, looking at her eyes, which were reddened from crying. An Xiaoning said gently, ¡°Your new life just began, a good life awaits you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m crying because of my stupidity. If I hadn¡¯t been saved, I would have left nothing but pain for my family while it would probably not have changed things for other people. Isn¡¯t that so?¡± An Xiaoning nodded in agreement. ¡°Yes.¡± Mo Li looked up. ¡°So, I¡¯ll live well in the future and raise my child all by myself. I¡¯ll consider that my sess achieved.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll still be able to meet your true love in time.¡± She shook her head. ¡°No, I just want to live my life with my child. I won¡¯t think about other things.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s good as well. Even without a man, a woman can live a brilliant life as well. Life is so short, we should never put ourselves through suffering. Living a happy life is the most important. Mo Li, I wish you the best.¡± ¡ª Mrs. Ye was extremely happy about Ye Xiaotian¡¯s marriage, but the groom himself did not disy even a tinge of happiness on his face. The wedding was not carried out in a grand manner either. Due to the rush, everything was kept simple. Even the wedding photos were taken on the spot, and only a few shots were taken. This made the Lin family extremely discontented, but Lin Mingxi reiterated how she did not care about these and that all these that were lost could be gotten back in the future. The couple were to spend their wedding night at the old Ye residence, and they were to stay under the same roof as Mrs. Ye. Lin Mingxi was a quick-thinking woman. She did like Jin Qingyan indeed, but seeing that he had gotten back together with An Xiaoning, she changed her target rapidly and gave up on Jin Qingyan. When her family rmended Ye Xiaotian to her, she agreed on the spot. She had long heard of Ye Xiaotian and the things he did, but this did not stop her from marrying him. The wedding today was the second time she had met Ye Xiaotian. Their first meeting was the previous night, under the witness of both of their parents. Although they went through the wedding ceremony together and were within close proximity throughout, she actually felt that this man was even colder than Jin Qingyan was. While Jin Qingyan was considered polite and courteous towards her, Ye Xiaotianpletely disregarded her presence. He made no eye contact with her and did not even talk to her, much less look her in the eye. After the wedding ceremony ended, he just left like that. From the looks of it, their wedding night would not be consummated. Lin Mingxi was rather disappointed. She hade back from the devil boot camp with much more confidence. If he did not return to the old residence tonight, she would find him herself, by virtue of being his new wife. When night came, Ye Xiaotian did not return home, as expected. Lin Mingxi went out to find him. She first went to Ming Yuan Estate, then to Ye Xiaotian¡¯spany, and finally, to the nightclub he frequented. After looking around for more than an hour, he finally found Ye Xiaotian. He was already drunk at this point and had Gu Beicheng apanying him. Seeing that she hade, Ye Xiaotian sneered. ¡°Wow, my new wife came here to catch me?¡± ¡°Ye Xiaotian, you know that I¡¯m your newly wed wife too. We did not get married so quickly for you to make me into a fool. Go home with me.¡± Ye Xiaotian looked at her and remarked, ¡°Lin Mingxi, from the moment you entered the Ye family today, I wanted you to know how it feels like to live as a wife only in name.¡± Chapter 261 - You Misbehaved (4)

Chapter 261: You Misbehaved (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lin Mingxi was taken aback by his crude words. Reminded of what her mother-inw said to her earlier that afternoon, she retorted bluntly, ¡°Are you trying to use the rest of your life to prove to me that the person you care most about, at the end of the day, is that very woman whomitted suicide?¡± Ye Xiaotian was enraged and agitated upon hearing the words, mitted suicide.¡± He sprung up from his seat immediately. Sensing that they were about to break out into a heated argument, Gu Beicheng hurriedly tried to calm them down. ¡°Xiaotian, let me send you home.¡± Ye Xiaotian gestured to turn Gu Beicheng down. ring at Lin Mingxi, he said, ¡°You¡¯re right, Lin Mingxi. You¡¯re the daughter of a wealthy, upper ss family. Very pretty indeed, how many times have you gone under the knife? No matter how outstanding you may be, I¡¯ll never fancy you.¡± Which woman would be happy to hear her husband say such a callous thing on their wedding day? Lin Mingxi flew into a rage out of humiliation and gave the drunk Ye Xiaotian a kick, causing him to fall back unsteadily onto the couch. Noticing that she was about to attack him again, Gu Beicheng hurriedly intervened. ¡°Do you wish to make the headlines tomorrow?¡± ¡°Hmph! Send him home,¡± Lin Mingxi instructed, pointing at Ye Xiaotian. ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯m not your bodyguard who¡¯s at your beck and call,¡± Gu Beicheng retorted as he helped Ye Xiaotian up and supported him towards the door. Lin Mingxi followed closely behind his car, only to realize that Gu Beicheng was bringing him to his personal mansion in Jiangnan District. Lin Mingxi had no choice but to hurry back to the Ye family mansion. Upon sight of her returning home alone, Mrs. Ye asked, ¡°You haven¡¯t found Xiaotian?¡± ¡°I did, but he had gotten drunk and was brought home by Gu Beicheng.¡± ¡°How insensible of Gu Beicheng, he should¡¯ve sent Xiaotian back here,¡± Mrs. Ye groused with a frown on her forehead. ¡°Whatever, your son said he would be making me live a virtual widowhood for the rest of my life anyway. I¡¯m heading upstairs to get some rest.¡± ¡°Alright, go ahead.¡± Lin Mingxi¡¯s words had greatly upset Mrs. Ye, though Ye Xiaotian was indeed the root cause of it all. Mrs. Ye could already imagine what their married life would be like in the future ¨C practically almost non-existent. She felt vexed and troubled at the thought of it. ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning was jolted awake from her sleep at three o¡¯clock in the morning by a phone call from Mrs. Gu. Something urgent must have cropped up for her to call at such ate hour , An Xiaoning thought to herself. She quickly answered the call. ¡°Mother.¡± ¡°Xiaoning, Dongcheng¡¯s son is running a high fever which wouldn¡¯t go away, even after taking a trip to the hospital. It¡¯s been going on for an entire day. I¡¯m really worried that his brain would be damaged, should the fever continue to go on. Could youe take a look and see if he had met with some harmful spirits?¡± ¡°Sure. Mother, what are his birth characters?¡± ¡°I remember his birth characters very clearly. We rushed to the hospital immediately the day Chi Rui¡¯er went into earlybor,¡± said Mrs. Gu as she read out the child¡¯s birth characters. Sleepy-eyed, An Xiaoning sat up and read the child¡¯s fortune before answering, ¡°Mother, bring the child to me.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Just as An Xiaoning was about to put on her pajamas after ending the call, Jin Qingyan grabbed her by her waist and asked, ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°The child of your old me seems to have encountered some unholy spirits. I¡¯m about to go take a look.¡± ¡°There you go spouting nonsense again. You¡¯re the only old me I have. Don¡¯t you hate her to the core? Why do you still bother helping her?¡± said Jin Qingyan as he reached a hand out to pinch her lips. ¡°My mother called to ask for my help. Besides, I¡¯m helping the child, not her. The child is innocent. Furthermore, he belongs to Dongcheng too.¡± She pushed his hands away from her waist and got out of bed. Gu Dongcheng drove Mrs. Gu, Chi Rui¡¯er, and the child to An Xiaoning¡¯s ce for her to have a look. Upon sight of Chi Rui¡¯er, An Xiaoningpletely ignored her presence since she did not even wish to see her at all. Carrying the child in her arms, Mrs. Gu sat down beside An Xiaoning and said worriedly, ¡°Xiaoning, quick, have a look. What is wrong with this child?¡± After taking a nce, An Xiaoning stood up and said, ¡°Mother, wait for me here while I go upstairs to get something.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning made her way upstairs and returned soon after with a small piece of amulet in her hands. As soon as she pasted the amulet on the infant¡¯s forehead, he stopped crying and his face, which was initially flushed red, returned to normal. ¡°How incredible,¡± Mrs. Gu eximed in astonishment. Gazing at the infant, An Xiaoning let out a sigh before instructing, ¡°Don¡¯t bring the child to ces full of spirits or supernatural beings, such as temples and stuff like that. Those ces aren¡¯t good for children. Refrain from bringing him to the temple, unless instructed. Mother, let Big Brother carry the child, I have something to tell you about privately.¡± Mrs. Gu quickly handed the infant over to Gu Dongcheng before gesturing for Chi Rui¡¯er to leave as well. ¡°Wait for me in the car with Dongcheng.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er agreed abidingly, showing no signs of gratitude to An Xiaoning at all. In fact, she was rather curious about what An Xiaoning had to say to Mrs. Gu. ¡°Mother, I will tell you the truth. The child is not going to live for long,¡± An Xiaoning broke the news to her mother with a heavy heart and a somber expression. ¡°What! Xiaoning, what do you mean?¡± Mrs. Gu gasped in utter shock. ¡°The child is here to get revenge, he¡¯s not going to live for long. Chi Rui¡¯er had an abortion once, and this child now is the very one she aborted back then. She¡¯s destined to only have two sons in her life. Thus, she¡¯ll remain childless for the rest of her life after this one dies. Mother, do you understand what I mean? This child is the reincarnation of the one she aborted previously,¡± An Xiaoning said without hesitation. ¡°But she fell pregnant shortly after she got together with your eldest brother. ording to the flow of events, the child she aborted previously mustn¡¯t have belonged to your brother then. I¡¯m not sure if I understood correctly, but if this child is the reincarnation of the previous one, does that mean that this one doesn¡¯t belong to your brother too?¡± As soon as she realized what she just said herself, Mrs. Gu covered her mouth in shock and continued, ¡°No wonder this child looks nothing like your eldest brother at all. Okay, don¡¯t tell anyone, I¡¯m just making a wild guess.¡± ¡°The soul and body of the fetus are two separate entities. I can only predict the child¡¯s soul, I can¡¯t deduce if it belongs to Big Brother or not,¡± An Xiaoning exined softly. ¡°Xiaoning, could you then tell me how much longer this child might live for? One to two years? Or more than five?¡± ¡°Not that long. A few months, at the very most.¡± Greatly taken aback, Mrs. Gu instructed, ¡°Let¡¯s keep this between us two. We definitely can¡¯t let your eldest brother and Chi Rui¡¯er know about this. Chi Rui¡¯er is a scheming one, let¡¯s not allow her the chance to me us for her son¡¯s death in the future. My lips are sealed for sure.¡± ¡°I was just about to tell you that. Mother, how are you so intelligent?¡± An Xiaoning said with a smirk. ¡°Of course. Okay, sorry for waking you up in the middle of the night. I¡¯ll get going,¡± said Mrs. Gu as she rose from her seat. An Xiaoning walked her to the door and watched as their car left before heading back inside. ¡°Mother, what secret did Xiaoning share with you?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er asked curiously. ¡°She¡¯s my daughter, can¡¯t we talk about other matters apart from secrets? Look how capable Xiaoning is, she managed to solve your problem so quickly. You¡¯d better take good care of the child and avoid bringing him out unnecessarily, especially to ces like temples. You hear?¡± said Mrs. Gu. ¡°Yes, I also realized that the child began to feel unwell after the visit to the temple,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er answered, feeling slightly at fault. Chapter 262 - You Misbehaved (5)

Chapter 262: You Misbehaved (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Rui¡¯er, you have to take good care of the child. Dongcheng is very busy with work, so you¡¯d better take care of everything at home and don¡¯t let him worry,¡± Mrs. Gu instructed. Although Gu Dongcheng was her stepson, she had done her duty as a mother duly and wished for peace within the family. ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± An Xiaoning closed the bedroom door, no longer sleepy after she got woken up from her sleep. Noticing that Jin Qingyan was awake too when sheid back down in bed, she asked, ¡°Do you still remember the time you asked me to read Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s fortune?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Remember I mentioned that she was destined to be married once and have two children, one of which she had already aborted?¡± ¡°Yes, what about it?¡± After a brief moment of hesitation, An Xiaoning continued, ¡°The son she has now is the reincarnation of the one she aborted previously. The child is here to seek revenge from her, and he thus won¡¯t live for long. Soon, he would be called back by Heaven for another round of reincarnation.¡± ¡°You mean this child won¡¯t live for long?¡± asked Jin Qingyan. ¡°Yes, he only has a few months to live. Every child reincarnates for a reason. If it was the child who wanted to leave this world out of his own ord, then the child wouldn¡¯t seek revenge from his parent. However, the parent is bound to get punished if she chooses to abort the child,¡± An Xiaoning exined. ¡°Chi Rui¡¯er has indeedmitted many acts of misdeed. In my opinion, this is Heaven¡¯s way of punishing her by making her spend the rest of her life childless. Well, Heaven is fair indeed,¡± Jin Qingyan remarked. ¡°Actually, I¡¯d really like to see how your fate would turn out. I want to know your destiny, but unfortunately, I can¡¯t tell your fortune,¡± An Xiaoningmented as she held his chin in her hand. ¡°I think I¡¯m an ordinary person though, why couldn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t think you¡¯re an ordinary person.¡± After some thought, An Xiaoning continued, ¡°I can tell the fortunes of ordinary people, but I can¡¯t for extraordinary people, like myself.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what makes life meaningful and interesting. You never know what tomorrow may bring.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t sleep,¡± said An Xiaoning as she turned the lights off. ¡°Let me tell you a story then.¡± ¡°Not those twisted fairytales of yours again?¡± ¡°This time, it won¡¯t be about Snow White. I shall tell you about Cindere instead,¡± Jin Qingyan answered, pressing his face against hers. ¡°Can I reject your offer to tell me fairytales?¡± ¡°Yes, you may. But since you can¡¯t sleep, I¡¯m going to have to do something to your body. Ms. An, please make your choice.¡± ¡°Mr. Jin, didn¡¯t we just do it before bedtime? It¡¯s only been a few hours and you already want another go at it. Aren¡¯t you afraid of depleting your semen?¡± An Xiaoning said in astonishment. ¡°I don¡¯t mind depleting it on you. Quick, take your pick. We went to bed too earlyst night, now I can¡¯t sleep too,¡± Jin Qingyan urged. An Xiaoning picked up the remote and turned on the heater. Before she could even put the remote down, he picked her up in his arms. An Xiaoning threw the remote onto the bed while he carried her to the window. With the lights still off, An Xiaoning drew the curtains open to see that the night sky was full of stars and the moon was shining brightly like a luminous pearl. Jin Qingyan hugged her from behind and began kissing her neck. An Xiaoning felt her breath shortening while she supported herself against the window. Meanwhile, Jin Qingyan was greatly aroused by her faint, coquettish moaning. He could feel his blood gushing through his veins with burning desire. At this very moment, he wanted nothing more than to conquer her. He hoped that she could fall pregnant again soon, after which he would do everything in his power to keep the child. As long as the child was born, they would definitely get married again. He would never agree even if she asked for another divorce. He was determined to be the best husband she could ever have and knock the idea of a divorce out of her head. She had been painstakingly downing bowls of medicine every day in order to nourish her body and nurse herself back to health. He also discovered that her health had greatly improvedpared to before. He had never once yearned so much to have kids before, nor had he ever looked forward to the arrival of their child as much as he did now. Although he had always disliked children, he desperately wanted to have a child with her at this very moment. The temperature in the room began to rise slowly as their passion continued to burn endlessly. ¡ª¡ª Ye Xiaotian sat up all of a sudden due to an acute headache. ¡°Why are you here?¡± he asked in astonishment upon sight of Gu Beicheng. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for me, you would¡¯ve been dragged home by your new wife. I took a great risk to bring you back here. You ought to thank me,¡± Gu Beicheng retorted. ¡°Thank you, indeed. I had a dream,¡± said Ye Xiaotian, rubbing his temple. ¡°What did you dream of?¡± ¡°I dreamed that Mo Li didn¡¯t die and she had given birth to our child.¡± Gu Beicheng gave him a smack on his forehead and jested, ¡°You¡¯re still dreaming, keep sleeping.¡± ¡°My stomach feels unwell, let¡¯s go out for breakfast,¡± said Ye Xiaotian as he got out of bed. ¡°Sure.¡± They exited his house and headed to the breakfast bistro within the estate. ¡°I haven¡¯t had the steamed buns from these bistros in years,¡± Ye Xiaotian said with a frown. ¡°Obviously you haven¡¯t, you¡¯ve been living in luxury. Put it down if you don¡¯t wish to eat it. Are these buns too cheap for your expensive taste?¡± Gu Beicheng chastised in disdain. Try as he might, Ye Xiaotian could not get used to the food and had only a few bites. He nned to have a proper breakfast at home. ¡°Let me tell you something. The movie Xiaoning invested in is currently in the midst of production. Inform the TV station to help advertise it,¡± said Gu Beicheng. ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°I knew I could count on you, buddy. I gotta get going, there¡¯s a pile of work for me to do.¡± ¡°Wait, I didn¡¯t drive. Send me back to my home,¡± said Ye Xiaotian as he threw the steamed bun away. ¡°Alright.¡± Gu Beicheng drove Ye Xiaotian to Ming Yuan Estate and caught sight of Mrs. Ye in the vi. To Ye Xiaotian¡¯s surprise, his mother did not chide him as soon as he alighted. Instead, she held the door of the passenger seat open and said to Gu Beicheng, ¡°Last night was Xiaotian¡¯s wedding night. How dare you bring him back to your ce? Do you know that you guys made it into the news?¡± ¡°Sorry, Auntie, but Xiaotian insisted on going to my ce. I can¡¯t reject my friend,¡± Gu Beicheng apologized, pushing all the me to Ye Xiaotian. ¡°Do you know what kind of news are spreading about you two? The media reports are iming that you two are in a homosexual rtionship and that Xiaotian had gotten himself drunk because of you. They even spected that you must be cohabiting, saying that you two slept with each other because you were seen leaving together this morning,¡± Mrs. Ye grumbled angrily. Gu Beicheng could not help but burst intoughter. ¡°Oh, I see. It¡¯s up to them to fabricate any nonsense they¡¯d like. I only fancy women anyway,¡± Gu Beicheng said calmly. ¡°Of course, I know you two are innocent. Remember to rify things when the reporterse looking for you for an interview.¡± ¡°Rest assured, Auntie, I will. I still want to get myself a wife in the future. Bye, Auntie, I¡¯ll be on my way,¡± Gu Beicheng waved them goodbye. Mrs. Ye closed the door shut, after which Gu Beicheng left quickly. An idea struck Ye Xiaotian¡¯s mind upon hearing his mother¡¯s words. ¡°Mother, how about I be a couple with Beicheng from now on?¡± Chapter 263 - You Misbehaved (6)

Chapter 263: You Misbehaved (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Xiaotian! Are you trying to drive me to my grave!?!¡± Mrs. Ye snapped angrily. Ye Xiaotian stepped forward to give her a hug before answering, ¡°Mother, you¡¯re the only mother I have. Why would I want you to die? Haven¡¯t I abided by your wishes and married a socialite as soon as I could? What else are you unhappy about? Are you asking for another grandchild? Mother, quit ying. You¡¯ll only be more frustrated with another grandchild, given how much you detested having one. I¡¯m famished, I¡¯m going to go have my meal.¡± The smile on his face vanished at the instant that he turned around. Staring at his figure from behind, Mrs. Ye felt a sudden tinge of regret for the very first time. ¡ª¡ª Mo Li was perplexed upon reading the news on her phone screen. She was surprised to read that Ye Xiaotian had spent the night with Gu Beicheng instead of returning home. She put down her phone and began caressing her baby bump. ¡°Although you won¡¯t have a father in the future, Mother will give you all my love,¡± she said to her child tacitly in her heart. ¡°Time to eat,¡± said An Xiaoning, who brought the dishes down to the basement. ¡°I still think I¡¯m imposing on you and giving you too much trouble by staying here.¡± ¡°Nothing of that sort. Quick, sit up and eat. Don¡¯t think about the rest.¡± cing the tray on the table, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Does it still get chilly at night?¡± ¡°No, the heater helps a lot.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and instructed, ¡°Feel free to let me know if you need anything. Don¡¯t force yourself to suffer in silence. Your baby is currently in the stage where it¡¯s growing rapidly. You¡¯ll definitely have to eat a lot throughout the day. Don¡¯t let yourself go hungry. There are servants at home, you may call for them using the inte when I¡¯m not at home.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± An Xiaoning exited the basement, only to discover that Jin Qingyan had yet to leave for the office despite having already had his breakfast. ¡°Why haven¡¯t you left?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to the office today.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you already take a day off on your birthday? Why have you decided not to go again today?¡± An Xiaoning asked in puzzlement. ¡°That¡¯s a separate asion. I¡¯m bringing you to our home to have a look today,¡± he answered, grinning from ear to ear. ¡°Our home? The wedding home?¡± ¡°No, Wei Ni Estate.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going,¡± An Xiaoning refuted right away. ¡°I know you¡¯re a germaphobe so I¡¯ve renovated the entire vi and swapped out everything Chi Rui¡¯er had used during her stay. Everything is new and the refurbishment isplete. Let¡¯s go have a look, shall we?¡± ¡°When did you start renovations?¡± ¡°A few months ago.¡± ¡°You really did it for us?¡± ¡°Yes. How dare you doubt my intentions,¡± Jin Qingyan jested, his chin slightly raised. ¡°I didn¡¯t. I just never thought you¡¯d renovate the house secretly behind my back.¡± Standing up to grab her hand, Jin Qingyan answered, ¡°I knew you would return to my side. When we first got married, we didn¡¯t have any actual feelings for each other, which was why I didn¡¯t let you move in to Wei Ni Estate. I actually feel rather guilty for that, even until now. That will be our home from now onwards. I¡¯ll marry you again in the future and that¡¯ll be our bridal chamber.¡± An Xiaoning was moved to tears by his words. ¡°I will go have a look then,¡± she conceded, touched by his sincerity. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± They hopped into Jin Qingyan¡¯s car and embarked on a journey towards Wei Ni Estate. The entire estate was Jin Qingyan¡¯s territory. The main gate opened slowly to allow his car to enter. An Xiaoning alighted from the car to find that the backyard seemed different from the previous time she was there. An Xiaoning was taken by surprise when she arrived at the living room. The interior of the vi had beenrgely renovated. It was extremely luxurious and extravagant. Photos of her and Jin Qingyan were spread across the walls of the living room. Due to the fact that most of the photos were taken in the past, they could not help but reminisce about the past and recall the memories they shared. Jin Qingyan held her hand in his and entered. An Xiaoning adored the ce instantly. There was a living room, kitchen, bedroom, study, bathroom, walk-in wardrobe, gym, nursery, etc. The vi consisted of everything they needed. There were a plethora of bonsai and potted nts on the rooftop, along with a couch, some tables, and a telescope. An Xiaoning was overwhelmed with an inexplicable feeling as she stood on the rooftop and gazed at her surroundings. Conquering his heart was akin to conquering the entire universe. Wasn¡¯t that so? ¡°Do you like our new home?¡± ¡°Yes, I do.¡± Jin Qingyan opened his hands to reveal the red ruby ne he had gifted her previously, on the eve of the Lunar New Year. ¡°I¡¯ve been safekeeping this ne ever since you returned it to me back then. I¡¯m putting it back on you again. Promise me, you will never return the the gifts I give you back to me again in the future, regardless of whether we¡¯re going through an argument or other issues.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll never return to you something so valuable again,¡± An Xiaoning joked smilingly. He then put on the ne for her. ¡°Where¡¯s the wedding band?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve put it away. We¡¯ll buy a new one when you marry me again.¡± ¡°The previous ones will do, actually. You don¡¯t have to get another pair.¡± ¡°No, I bought the previous pair myself without asking for your opinion. When we get married again in the future, I must bring you to pick out something you like.¡± An Xiaoning turned around and looked up at him. ¡°You treat me really well now.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because I love you.¡± Leaning her head against his chest, An Xiaoning reciprocated, ¡°I love you too.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t hear you, repeat yourself.¡± ¡°I love you too.¡± ¡°Remove the ¡®too¡¯.¡± ¡°I love you.¡± ¡°There are secret passages and chambers in our home too. Let me take you to have a look,¡± said Jin Qingyan, hugging her tightly. ¡°Sure.¡± ¡ª¡ª Long Tianze had been having a rather hectic work schedule ofte, with voice-dubbing for the film to do right after he was finished with work. Fortunately, he had finallypleted all the voice-dubbing together with Mei Yangyang. The voices were all dubbed by the actual actors instead of voice actors. When he returned from the production center, his secretary handed him a lunchbox. ¡°Who sent this?¡± ¡°Madam did. She instructed me to tell you to finish drinking all of it. She said you needed some nourishing, due to how busy you¡¯ve been recently.¡± He reached out to grab the lunchbox before cing it on his table. After settling some work matters, he finally had the time to open the lunchbox. The pleasant fragrance of the soup immediately wafted up to his nose. Owing to the highly-effective thermal function of the lunchbox, the soup was still boiling hot by the time he opened it. Long Tianze decided to allow the soup to cool down before drinking it. At this juncture, Mei Yangyang entered. ¡°Tianze, let¡¯s go have lunch.¡± Noticing the lunchbox on the table, Mei Yangyang asked curiously, ¡°What soup is that? It smells heavenly.¡± Long Tianze chuckled. ¡°I don¡¯t know, you may have some if you want.¡± ¡°Let me try some,¡± said Mei Yangyang as she scooped a spoonful of the soup into her mouth. She found that it tasted delicious. The two of them soon finished everyst drop of the soup, which they shared between themselves. Long Tianze and Mei Yangyang were greatly taken aback when they reached the bottom of the sk. Mei Yangyang was unsure of what it was. However, Long Tianze was well aware that it was ox¡¯s pizzle soup. He instantly felt sick and uneasy. Pointing at the lump of dregs in the lunchbox, Long Tianze eximed in disgust, ¡°Yangyang, dispose of that in the rubbish bin!¡± After taking a closer look, Mei Yangyang asked, ¡°Tianze, what¡¯s this? It looks like dried-up feces.¡± Long Tianze was on the verge of throwing up. Extremely nauseated, he refused to stare at the remnants of the soup in the lunchbox. ¡°Quick, dump it in the rubbish bin. I really feel like throwing up everything I had just drunk.¡± Chapter 264 - You Misbehaved (7)

Chapter 264: You Misbehaved (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Noticing that he was getting impatient, Mei Yangyang hurriedly cleared the contents of the lunchbox and proceeded to wash the utensils. She returned to Long Tianze¡¯s office after she was done washing, only to see that he was sitting on the chair, appearing extremely disgusted and infuriated. Mei Yangyang walked towards him and tried tofort him, ¡°Tianze, if only we knew earlier. We shouldn¡¯t have drank the soup. I really couldn¡¯t tell that there would be something that resembles poop at the bottom of the soup.¡± ¡°Mei Yangyang!¡± ¡°Huh? Yes? What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Are you trying to upset me further? Do you know that that¡¯s ox¡¯s pizzle?¡± Long Tianze grumbled as he stood up. Upon realizing that that¡¯s what it was, Mei Yangyang was instantly overwhelmed with nausea as she let out a barf. Noticing how disgusted she looked, Long Tianze burst intoughter. ¡°Lass, you find that revolting too, eh?¡± he said in amusement. ¡°Who made you the soup?¡± ¡°My mother.¡± ¡°Oh, she must really love you.¡± He opened the windows to catch some fresh air. He could not help but feel queasy in the stomach at the thought of the scene earlier. ¡°What are the functions of this soup?¡± Long Tianze cocked his head towards her and said, ¡°Do you have renal deficiency?¡± After some thinking, Mei Yangyang answered, ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± ¡°That¡¯s for nourishing the kidney. Yangyang, I¡¯ve yet to even get intimate with you, yet my mother has already begun worrying about my renal deficiency,¡± Long Tianze teased as he walked towards her and cupped her face in his hands. ¡°I doubt she¡¯s worried about that. She probably just thinks you¡¯ve been overly exhausted.¡± Holding onto her hand, Long Tianze suggested, ¡°I¡¯ve been too busytely. Yangyang, let¡¯s go for a hot spring.¡± ¡°When?¡± ¡°This afternoon.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Mei Yangyang agreed as the image of them enjoying a hot spring popped up in her mind. Long Tianze was secretly delighted to hear that she had agreed. The two of them then proceeded to a renowned hot spring on the mountains that afternoon. They had an entire room to themselves. Soaking in the hot spring tub, Mei Yangyang¡¯s cheeks had turned rosy from the hot steam in the bath. ¡°This is a very popr hot spring attraction. Qingyan may have a hot spring at home, but me and him used toe here together during winter, mainly for the majestic and picturesque view from the peak of the mountain,¡± said Long Tianze, who was sitting beside her. pping her hands in the water, Mei Yangyang said, ¡°The hot spring is sofortable that I¡¯m almost getting a little sleepy.¡± Long Tianze turned to the side to gaze at her doll-like face. ¡°Baby, you look so beautiful from here,¡± heplimented with a kiss. Mei Yangyang remained silent and stared at him dreamily. All of a sudden, he pulled her into an embrace and began kissing her passionately. Due to the fact that they were scantily d, they could not help but feel a strong urge as their skin touched in the warmth of the hot spring. However, they managed to resist their urges in the end. After bathing in the hot spring, they proceeded to go sightseeing before finishing off with a delicious meal as a treat for themselves. Wishing for a chance to get intimate there, Long Tianze had a meticulous n up his sleeves. Besides, they were two young people with raging hormones that needed an outlet for release after all. ¡°Tianze, aren¡¯t we driving back now?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll leave tomorrow. Let¡¯s spend a night here.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need to stay for the night, it¡¯s not too far away from the city,¡± said Mei Yangyang. ¡°Didn¡¯t notice the gloomy weather? It looks like it¡¯s going to rain tonight. To be safe, we¡¯d better stay here tonight,¡± Long Tianze insisted, pointing at the sky. ¡°That¡¯ll do too.¡± Unlike what she had expected, Long Tianze did not book a separate room for her. His reason was, ¡°Yangyang, ever since you and Sis Xiaoning were attacked by Xi Bi the previous time, I¡¯ve been very worried and concerned about your safety. You shall sleep with me tonight.¡± ¡°But, Tianze, I can protect myself.¡± Long Tianze had no choice but to say, ¡°I promise I won¡¯t do anything to you, we¡¯ll just go to sleep, alright?¡± Thinking that he was her boyfriend anyway, Mei Yangyang agreed. During bedtime, theyid down beside each other in bed, tucked beneath a single duvet. Although they were both wearing pajamas, Mei Yangyang felt exceptionally warm. They interlocked fingers while snuggling up to each other. ¡°Yangyang, I really adore you.¡± ¡°Me too.¡± Long Tianze tried to resist his urges, but to no avail. He began touching her sensually around her body. He began to harbor inappropriate thoughts as a result. Both of them were startled at the moment he ced his hand on her bosom. Long Tianze kept his hand there, not daring to move an inch. Soon, he began to feel pins and needles in his hand, which started getting numb. Mei Yangyang did not smack his hand away and instead allowed him to keep it there while they both remained as still as a statue. After a long silence, Long Tianze could not hold it any longer and began to move his hand. He was rather perplexed at the thought of having touched and teased the female models around him inappropriately before. Yet, he was still a virgin. He had managed to suppress his urges very well. However, it simply felt different this time, with his girlfriend. His heart began to race and palpitate against his chest. He felt just like he did when he first fell for Jin Qingyue in his younger days. ¡°Tianze...¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I¡¯m dating with the intentions of getting married. How about you?¡± ¡°Me too. Otherwise, you definitely wouldn¡¯t be my girlfriend.¡± ¡°But your mother doesn¡¯t seem too pleased with me.¡± ¡°She may not be pleased, but she¡¯s not the one marrying you anyway. I¡¯ll handle her myself. If she ever looks you up to say some callous and crude things, you don¡¯t have to take it to heart. All that matters is that I want to be with you.¡± Clearly, Mei Yangyang was extremely pleased with his answer. Crossing his leg over hers, he turned to the side and began caressing her while moving his lips near her ear. ¡°Yangyang, I¡¯d like to touch you.¡± Such crude and brazen words. ¡°Didn¡¯t you promise that you wouldn¡¯t do anything?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t help it... I wasn¡¯t sure if you¡¯d be angry, that¡¯s why I decided to ask,¡± he exined while nibbling her earlobe. ¡°Jerk, you¡¯ve already touched me, is there still a need to ask?¡± Mei Yangyang rolled her eyes at him while blushing red like a tomato. Long Tianze was delighted to get the green light from her. Just as he was about to reach beneath Mei Yangyang¡¯s clothes, his phone rang all of a sudden. He turned to the side to take a look at the caller disy and saw that it was his mother who had called. ¡°Hello, Mother.¡± ¡°Did you finish the nourishing soup I brought you today?¡± ¡°Yes I did. Mother, stop making me such soups in the future, they make me sick in the stomach. If you ever send me such soups again, I¡¯m going to pour it away,¡± Long Tianze said bluntly. ¡°If you don¡¯t like it then I won¡¯t make it anymore in the future. I was just concerned about you because you¡¯ve been so busytely. Where are you now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m enjoying a hot spring.¡± Afraid that his mother would probe further, he quickly said, ¡°I¡¯m hanging up.¡± ¡°Who are you at the hot spring with? Is it that girl again?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m hanging up.¡± Long Tianze ended the call without even waiting for Mrs. Long to respond. In order to avoid being interrupted by his mother¡¯s calls again, he decided to just switch off his mobile phone. Chapter 265 - You Misbehaved (8)

Chapter 265: You Misbehaved (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Tianze, what did your mother say?¡± ¡°Nothing much, she just wanted to know if I finished the soup she made,¡± Long Tianze answered, exceptionally thrilled as he ced his hand onto her bosom beneath her clothing. However, they did not advance further than just touching for the rest of the night. Mei Yangyang fell asleep before she even realized, whereas Long Tianze could not fall asleep. He was frustrated at the fact that they did not progress to the next step, despite being a couple and alone with each other. ¡ª¡ª Shi Shaochuan left for a total of three days, during which Jin Qingyue stayed in her maiden home. Jin Qingyue was looking forward to her husband¡¯s return and decided to give him a surprise. What surprise should it be? To doll herself up and pick him up at the airport, of course. Being five months pregnant, Jin Qingyue had put on a significant amount of weight since the start of her pregnancy. She weighed only a hundred pounds when they got married and 110 pounds when she was two months pregnant. Since then, her weight had gone up by another 15 pounds, which makes her 135 pounds now. She was the chubbiest she had ever been in her entire life. She could barely fit into all her old clothes. Shi Shaochuan informed her over the phone that he would be arriving at the airport in the afternoon, though he did not give her an exact timing. However, Jin Qingyue had already made her way to the airport at about 1 o¡¯clock in the afternoon. d in a hat and shades, she sat down somewhere to y with her mobile phone while waiting for Shi Shaochuan. She thought to herself that he must have had a tiring three-day business trip. She waited for a total of three hours. Yet, he still did not show up by the time it was four o¡¯clock. Being the impatient person she was, Jin Qingyue began to feel her patience wearing thin. However, she urged herself to calm down and continued to wait for him while ying with her mobile phone, reassuring herself that he must have turned his phone off since he was on the ne. Soon, it was almost five o¡¯clock. From a distance away, she noticed a group of people who seemed to have just alighted from the ne walking towards the exit. Jin Qingyue sneakily hid in a secluded spot that would easily go unnoticed, nning to jump out and give Shi Shaochuan a scare when she saw him. Jin Qingyue began to get a little excited just at the thought of it. Two minutester, Shi Shaochuan finally appeared with a mask on his face, though Jin Qingyue had managed to recognize him from his figure right away. Strangely, he did not have his secretary with him and instead went to collect his baggage alone. Just as she was about to step forward to give him a surprise, she was puzzled to see him dragging a bright-colored luggage. It was a bright pink hue. How could such a feminine luggage actually belong to him? Jin Qingyue could not help but find it puzzling and peculiar. Noticing that he was walking towards the exit, Jin Qingyue quickly chased after him. However, another woman who was also wearing a hat and mask beat her to it, before she could even catch up to him. After all, Jin Qingyue was pregnant and she would understandably be slower in her steps. Shi Shaochuan was walking rather speedily and soon disappeared out of sight. Not wanting to ruin the surprise, Jin Qingyue did not call his name and scurried forwards instead. Jin Qingyue stood rooted on the ground in shock upon exiting the airport. Just what did she witness? The masked woman who passed her earlier had gotten into a cab together with Shi Shaochuan. Could it really be a coincidence? Jin Qingyue hurriedly hopped into her car and chased after them. Her hands trembled uncontrobly while holding onto the steering wheel. She prayed fervently that they did not go on the trip together and merely happened to board the same cab. However, the truth proved otherwise. Following behind the cab, Jin Qingyue arrived in the city where the cab proceeded to drive towards the entrance of a luxurious estate. Shi Shaochuan alighted from the cab together with the woman before proceeding to collect their luggage from the trunk of the car. Although they were both wearing masks, Jin Qingyue could tell that they were ted. From the looks of it, he had definitely gone on a vacation instead of a business trip. Jin Qingyue refused to believe her eyes. She was going through the pains of being pregnant and carrying their child. Yet, what was he doing? He was having a scandalous affair with another woman. It turned out she should have trusted her instincts all along. Yet, she often gave in after being sweet-talked and coaxed by him, time and time again. Jin Qingyue began driving slowly and followed them into the estate. She shrank back and cringed at the sight of them entering a lobby. At this point of time, she could not bear to abort the child and divorce him. Besides, his mistress would be the one benefiting from it. Jin Qingyue was overwhelmed with a mix of emotions. A woman would naturally be more magnanimous once she has a child. She did not want to abort the child, and she could very well raise it on her own. However, she was too disappointed to even enter. She decided to drive home. Jin Qingyue did not know who to air her grievances to, for she was too ashamed to even tell her family about it. Besides, she was the one who¡¯d insisted on marrying Shi Shaochuan in spite of their strong disapproval. She was just talking to her mother about how happy she was and how much of a caring husband Shi Shaochuan was. Yet, everything had gone to nothing. At this moment, Jin Qingyue was suddenly reminded of the fact that An Xiaoning had once read her fortune. She was grief-stricken. To the point that she wished she could just end her life. She was not in the mood to even pick up Shi Shaochuan¡¯s call. She went straight to bed without even having dinner. Jin Qingyue had suffered a major blow. Shi Shaochuan returned at night to see that she was sound asleep. He ced the present he had gotten her onto the table before leaning forward to kiss her chubby cheek. ¡°Honey, your dear husband is home.¡± Jin Qingyue opened her eyes to look at Shi Shaochuan, who felt strangely unfamiliar all of a sudden. ¡°You¡¯re back?¡± ¡°Yes, I know you missed me.¡± ¡°When did youe back?¡± ¡°It was supposed to be an afternoon flight but it got dyed, which is why I arrived home sote. Look, I bought you a present,¡± said Shi Shaochuan as he handed her the present, acting as if he ought to be rewarded. Jin Qingyue epted the present and stared at it, filled with sorrow and agony. ¡°It looks beautiful, thank you, Hubby,¡± she said calmly, calmer than she had imagined herself to be. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Why did you thank me all of a sudden?¡± ¡°Nothing, I just found it very thoughtful of you to have gotten me a gift despite how busy you were during your business trip. I¡¯m tired, I¡¯m going to bed.¡± ¡°Alright, go sleep if you¡¯re tired,¡± said Shi Shaochuan, cing the present back onto the table. Jin Qingyueid down in bed with an icy-cold stare in her eyes. While Shi Shaochuan was in the shower, Jin Qingyue decided to ransack his bag, but did not find anything else except a few condoms. That exined why he had begun losing interest in her ever since she got pregnant. Turned out he had long been having an affair. She trusted him with all her heart, yet he still let her down. How utterly disappointing. ¡ª¡ª After blow-drying her hair, An Xiaoning came out of the bathroom in a bathrobe to see that Jin Qingyan was sitting cross-legged on the bed with some poker cards in front of him. She could tell his intentions right away. ¡°You¡¯d like to y poker with me?¡± Staring at her chest, Jin Qingyan taunted, ¡°Why? Are you too timid?¡± ¡°Of course not, I¡¯m just scared you¡¯ll be pressured by how great my skills are.¡± Chapter 266 - You Misbehaved (9)

Chapter 266: You Misbehaved (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyan snorted and said, ¡°This just reminds me of when I lost to you previously and you poured chili water on me. You were rather ruthless, eh? I get the chills just thinking about it. Do you know how much I felt like I was in a living hell that night?¡± ¡°Do you still dare to y against me?¡± An Xiaoning said with a smile. ¡°Of course, we shall have a bet this time too.¡± Squinting his yes, he continued, ¡°If you win, I¡¯ll cook and do the dishes for three months. If I win, you shall do the same.¡± An Xiaoning was surprised to hear that he did not suggest aplicated bet and thus agreed right away, ¡°Sure.¡± Having gained the upper hand in the first round, Jin Qingyan boasted confidently, ¡°I¡¯ve lost to you the previous times we yed, but this time, I will show you what I¡¯m made of. You¡¯re just about to have an eye-opener. Call me... King of Poker.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t rejoice too soon, we¡¯ve yet to see who the true winner is,¡± An Xiaoning said nonchntly. Thinking that he was going to win for sure, the overjoyed Jin Qingyan said, ¡°You go first.¡± ¡°I was supposed to go first anyway. Don¡¯t you belittle me.¡± An Xiaoning then drew a card from her set. ¡°Three, small.¡± ¡°Four, small.¡± ¡°56789, straight.¡± ¡°10JQKA.¡± After drawing a strong set of cards, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°Not drawing any, eh?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll pass, your turn.¡± ¡°Hold on, let me visit the bathroom,¡± said Jin Qingyan as he put down the cards and zoomed towards the bathroom. After taking a look at his cards, An Xiaoning swapped out one of his cards with hers and continued to sit there in a serious manner. Realizing with just one nce that his cards had been swapped, Jin Qingyan exposed her. ¡°Don¡¯t try to fool me, my memory is superb. I know you swapped my cards.¡± He put down the cards and pounced on her. An Xiaoning let out a shriek and jumped off the bed. However, Jin Qingyan caught up with her in no time and dragged her back onto the bed. After ying with each other for a while, they proceeded to reshuffle the cards and restarted the round. Just as they were in the midst of having fun, they heard a knock on the door. ¡°Ms. An, someone is looking for you,¡± 002 informed. ¡°Who?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Mr. Jin¡¯s mother.¡± An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan turned to look at each other in puzzlement. Why did Mrs. Jin turn up at such ate hour? ¡°Your mother is definitely here to look for you. Quick, hide yourself. I¡¯ll tell her that you¡¯re not around.¡± ¡°My car is right outside, isn¡¯t it obvious that I¡¯m here? Silly!¡± Jin Qingyan mocked, giving her a poke on her forehead. ¡°That¡¯s true. Why is your mother here?¡± An Xiaoning groused in dismay. She absolutely resented seeing any of his family members. ¡°I don¡¯t know, she¡¯s not going to eat you up anyway. Let¡¯s go down together. I¡¯ll still be in charge of cooking and doing the dishes from now on,¡± said Jin Qingyan as he tidied the cards. They then proceeded downstairs in their pajamas. While seated on the couch, Mrs. Jin looked up to see that they hade downstairs together. However, she was not too surprised since she had already sensed that something was going on between them. ¡°Mother, why did youe at this hour?¡± ¡°Nothing, I just came to see you. Good that both of you are here. Let me ask you then, since you two have already gotten back together, when are you going to get married? I want an answer,¡± said Mrs. Jin, staring at her son. ¡°We don¡¯t have ns to get married as of now. We¡¯ll y it by ear,¡± An Xiaoning answered. ¡°Okay, putting that aside, I¡¯ll stay out of your decision to get married if Xiaoning can conceive. But if she can¡¯t, your father and I are not going to sit back and allow you to do whatever you want.¡± ¡°Mother, who told you that Xiaoning cannot conceive? We just don¡¯t want children now. We¡¯ll give birth to one when we decide that we want to. Even if she doesn¡¯t wish to have any children at all, I still want to be together with her,¡± Jin Qingyan scoffed. ¡°Does that mean you¡¯d like to put an end to our bloodline?¡± ¡°Mother, I¡¯ve already said that Xiaoning can conceive. Why do you keep thinking that she can¡¯t? Besides, if it weren¡¯t for the fact that you and Father decided to save Qingyue instead, our child would¡¯ve already been born by now. Yet you¡¯re still spouting nonsense. Shouldn¡¯t Xiaoning be the one ming you guys? Why have you put the me on her instead?¡± Jin Qingyan retorted. Feeling embarrassed, Mrs. Jin answered, ¡°I know we¡¯ve let Xiaoning down greatly regarding this matter, but anyone else would¡¯ve done the same if put in our shoes. I¡¯ll give you one year to get pregnant. I will keep my mouth shut if you manage to. Otherwise, I¡¯m going to start finding a prospective wife for you. I came here with the main purpose of telling you these.¡± As soon as Mrs. Jin finished speaking, she picked up her purse and left. Their spirits were dampened by Mrs. Jin¡¯s harsh words. An awkward silence arose between them as they made their way upstairs. ¡°Don¡¯t get angry.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not angry, I just feel really pressured. I want to have children too, but it¡¯s not up to me to decide.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to listen to my mother.¡± ¡°Qingyan, I¡¯ll do my best in order not to face such troubles,¡± An Xiaoning said slowly. ¡°Xiaoning, don¡¯t be too hard on yourself, I just want you to be happy. Let¡¯s just care about our own happiness, just like before.¡± But, how could things go back to before? An Xiaoning felt as if there was a boulder on her chest. She yearned dearly to have a child of her own. An Xiaoning took a book out from her cupboard, and Jin Qingyan took a look to find that it was a Kama Sutra. ¡°You want to learn some new positions?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m just trying to see which positions would increase the chances of getting pregnant.¡± ¡°...¡± Upon hearing her words, Jin Qingyan began to mimic amander and said, ¡°This one and that one. However, it seems tough. Looks interesting, shall we try it tonight?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s try a few.¡± ¡°!!!¡± Jin Qingyan was perturbed. Did she n to stay up all night? ¡°Are you nning not to sleep tonight?¡± ¡°You¡¯re reading too much into it. I was just nning to try a new one every day. Qingyan, if we work hard and do it every day for two months straight, what do you think are the chances of getting pregnant?¡± ¡°I think you will get pregnant for sure,¡± he said confidently. It was two months, not two days! However, Jin Qingyan had utmost faith in his stamina as well as the potency of his sperms. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s settled then.¡± Putting the book away, she continued, ¡°Let¡¯s try this one tonight. I¡¯ll be on top.¡± Ever since Jin Qingyan began spending every night in her bedroom, there was practically no need for her bodyguards to keep watch outside. However, the soundproofing of the walls of her bedroom were not exactly great. Jin Qingyan¡¯s loud moans and shrieks never failed to send chills down the spines of the bodyguards on duty in the living room and backyard. The soundsing from her bedroom seemed to be those of a whip. Reminded of the fact that their Ms. An was well-trained in martial arts, they could not help but tense up. ¡°Why are you making so much noise? Everyone can hear you from outside!¡± An Xiaoning warned. Jin Qingyan grimaced in pain as he ced his hands on his crotch, which she had stepped on. ¡°You¡¯ve stepped on my crotch, my testicles are going to be crushed!¡± he eximed in pain. Laying beside him, An Xiaoning dared not get up to turn on the lights, lest she identally step on him again. They then began touching and fondling each other in the dark. Chapter 267 - You Misbehaved (10)

Chapter 267: You Misbehaved (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I¡¯ming, stop moving about,¡± said An Xiaoning, on the brink of climaxing. ¡°I haven¡¯t been moving about. You were the one who misbehaved and kept abusing me. Should we turn on the lights?¡± ¡°Okay, since you asked, I will turn the lights on.¡± Just as An Xiaoningnded on the other side, Jin Qingyan let out another piercing shriek. ¡°My back...¡± Jin Qingyan sighed in pain before getting up. ¡°Oh god, stop moving please. I¡¯ll turn the lights on. Let me do it.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª¡ª Jin Qingyue had been tailing closely behind Shi Shaochuan¡¯s car ever since he left the house that morning. She discovered that he had gone to visit the other woman before driving away shortly after. Jin Qingyue did not leave even after Shi Shaochuan had left. Jin Qingyue then decided to hire a private investigator to work round the clock and find out who the woman was. She grew into an uncontroble rage that did not dissipate even after she arrived home. The strong sense of betrayal she felt made her tremble uncontrobly in anger. Deeply hurt and agonized, she could not help but feel like her life was overly dramatic. She finally understood the saying, ¡°A leopard never changes its spot.¡± Staring at her reflection in the mirror, she realized that the 35 pounds she had put on throughout the course of her pregnancy had really begun to show on her now chubbier and stockier frame. Since she was only five months pregnant, she would definitely go on to gain even more weight in the uing months leading to full term. She had given up the pursuit of a perfect and svelte figure all for the sake of their child. Besides, she had also settled for less when she decided to marry him back then. Yet, how did he treat her in return? He lied to her, betrayed her trust, and hurt her deeper than ever. At this point of time, she was no longer in the mood to do anything at all. She could only bottle up her sorrow and misery. She refused to eat or drink the entire day, which she spent crying. Soon, the private investigator managed to find out detailed information about the woman. Jin Qingyue then instructed the private investigator to send the data to her email address. She turned on herputer and opened the email to see that there were indeed detailed information and high-definition photos of the woman. She continued to stare at the photos for an extended period of time. The woman exuded a coquettish and sultry aura and was nowhere as pretty as Jin Qingyue. Clearly, men are animalistic creatures who would take any woman regardless of appearance, as long as she could fulfill his sexual desires. With a heavy heart, Jin Qingyue picked up her phone to make a call to someone. It was a member of the triads, just like Ling Ciye. However, Jin Qingyue refrained from looking for thetter, since her brother would definitely find out about Shi Shaochuan¡¯s affair in no time if she were to do so. She was determined to show Shi Shaochuan and his mistress that she was not one to be trifled with! After making the call, Jin Qingyue proceeded to take a shower and change into a fresh set of maternity clothes before putting on some makeup, which made her look much more radiant than before. She then carried her purse and drove to the estate Xu Jingwen was living in. After some waiting, the gang member arrived in his car. ¡°Ms. Jin.¡± ¡°Let two of your men follow me upstairs while the rest of them wait here.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Jin Qingyue made her way upstairs with the gang members. She stood in front of the door, covering the peephole with one hand and pressing the doorbell with another. Soon, Xu Jingwen could be heard scurrying towards the door. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± asked Xu Jingwen, who found that she could not see anything through the peephole. Jin Qingyue gave the man beside her a nudge, motioning for him to speak up. Acknowledging her signal immediately, the man quickly said, ¡°There¡¯s a parcel for you, please sign to ept it.¡± To her astonishment, Xu Jingwen opened the door to see the two gang members and Jin Qingyue standing in front of her. Her instinct was to close the door immediately, but she failed to do so in the nick of time. One of the two men kicked the door open immediately. ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± Xu Jingwen eximed, retreating backwards in fear. ¡°What do you think? Do you know Shi Shaochuan?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Shameless whore, how dare you have the cheek to feign ignorance?¡± Jin Qingyue hissed as she stepped forward to give Xu Jingwen a p across her face. Jin Qingyue mmed the door shut and began walking towards her. Shocked out of her senses, Xu Jingwen tried to threaten, ¡°I¡¯m going to call the police if you still refuse to leave.¡± ¡°Go ahead,¡± Jin Qingyue taunted without fear. Xu Jingwen zoomed towards her bedroom immediately to grab her phone while Jin Qingyue followed closely behind. Realizing that Xu Jingwen was really about to call the police, Jin Qingyue quickly instructed the gang members, ¡°I will grant you two a privilege. You guys are allowed to have your fun with her however you¡¯d like.¡± Upon hearing hermand, the two gang members immediately rushed forward to pin Xu Jingwen down. They then snatched her mobile phone away forcefully. Fearing that they would really hurt her, Xu Jingwen pleaded in fear, ¡°Sis, let¡¯s talk things over nicely. Don¡¯t do this, Sis...¡± ¡°You don¡¯t deserve to call me ¡®Sis¡¯. Don¡¯t you enjoy being screwed by men? I¡¯m rewarding you with two young and muscr men at once, yet you¡¯re still so unwilling? Well, thank meter,¡± Jin Qingyue sneered coldly. ¡°Give the men downstairs a call and ask them toe up. I want you guys to rape her one after another!¡± Jin Qingyue ordered the gang members. ¡°Yes, Ms. Jin.¡± Soon, three other men showed up at the door. After locking the door from inside, Jin Qingyue sat down on the couch and began filming them with her mobile phone. Every now and then, she would zoom in on the scene before her. Xu Jingwen was brutally raped by the five men all at once, who were rough and vigorous with her. Bawling non-stop, she continuously pleaded for them to spare her, but to no avail. Jin Qingyue did not allow them to stop even after she was done filming. Instead, she continued to scrutinize her surroundings in the bedroom, where she noticed some used condoms in the rubbish bin. Tears began to well up again in Jin Qingyue¡¯s eyes, which were already red and swollen from all the crying she had done earlier. Xu Jingwen was continuously raped for a whole one and a half hours, ¡¯til there was barely any breath left in her. She could not even close her legs. She had no more tears left to cry. Staring nkly at the ceiling above her, Xu Jingwen felt as if she was on the brink of death. ¡°Xu Jingwen, this is only a minor warning for you. If you still refuse to leave Shaochuan out of your own ord, then I¡¯ll make sure you die a painful death the next time around. Try me if you dare,¡± Jin Qingyue warned. She then left together with the gang members as soon as she said her piece. Xu Jingwen had developed a strong hatred and resentment towards her. Yet, she could not call the police. If she did that, Shi Shaochuan would definitely find out that she was gang-raped and thus leave her for good. He would find her filthy. She did not register Jin Qingyue¡¯s warning in her head at all, though she was terrified. Xu Jingwen struggled to get on her feet and slowly made her way to the bathroom before taking a long shower. ¡ª¡ª Three dayster, it was old Mrs. Jin¡¯s 70th birthday. The Jin family prepared an extravagant celebration. Surprisingly, Mrs. Jin had also invited An Xiaoning via a phone call. An Xiaoning epted the invitation. She picked out a special present and headed to the Jin family old mansion together with Jin Qingyan. By ten o¡¯clock sharp in the morning, all of the guests, who were associated with the Jin family, had turned up on this sunny and splendid morning. Dressed in a suit, Jin Qingyan greeted the guests politely and weed them in. Due to the fact that An Xiaoning was no longer the daughter-inw of the Jin family, she did not have to worry about the formalities and was thus exceptionally at ease. As much as everyone was bewildered to see her there, she continued to remain in a calm and rxed mood. ¡°Ms. An, old Madam would like to see you,¡± said a servant. ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning nced at the servant before following her to old Mrs. Jin¡¯s bedroom on the first storey of the house. Upon arriving at the door, the servant gestured for her to enter before taking her leave slowly. An Xiaoning stood by the door and knocked politely. ¡°Old Madam Jin, it¡¯s me.¡± The room was silent. An Xiaoning opened the door gently, only to see that old Mrs. Jin was lying on the bed with her eyes shut tight. Did she fall asleep? An Xiaoning approached the bed slowly. To her astonishment, there was a knife ced near old Mrs. Jin¡¯s neck. Chapter 268 - You’re the Only One I Adore (1)

Chapter 268: You¡¯re the Only One I Adore (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Terrorized with shock, An Xiaoning called out softly, ¡°Old Madam?¡± However, there was no response at all from old Mrs. Jin, whose eyes were tightly shut. An Xiaoning reached out to pick up the knife, only to find that there were bloodstains on it and that old Mrs. Jin¡¯s pillow was drenched in blood. At this very moment, a bunch of people showed up at the door, appearing to have been in a hurry. Jin Qingyan was shocked beyond his senses at the sight of An Xiaoning standing there with a knife in her hand. Mrs. Jin hurried to the side of the bed and fell to her knees as she wept out loud, ¡°Mother.¡± Mr. Jin was plunged into a state of grief just as he was in the midst of a celebratory mood. Teary-eyed, he cried in agony, ¡°Mother!¡± Jin Qingyan stood rooted by the door, afraid to take another step forward. His eyes were red and brimming with tears; he could not believe the scene before him. As soon as he regained his senses and rationality, he closed the door shut right away and walked towards the center of the living room. Clenching his fists, he announced to the guests, ¡°My grandmother isn¡¯t feeling too well today. I¡¯m afraid we won¡¯t be able to carry on with her birthday celebration.¡± ¡°Is old Madam alright?¡± ¡°What happened to old Madam?¡± ¡°...¡± Jin Qingyan was bombarded with questions from the curious guests, to which he answered, ¡°We¡¯re not too sure about her current condition. But may everyone please take your leave.¡± With his hands trembling slightly, Jin Qingyan turned around and returned to his grandmother¡¯s bedroom. He closed the door, leaving the butler and servants outside. ¡°Mother!¡± Jin Qingyan eximed as he frantically pulled his mother away to stop her from yanking An Xiaoning¡¯s hair any further. ¡°Qingyan, let go of me. I¡¯m going to shred her into pieces. She killed your grandmother.¡± ¡°How are you so sure that Xiaoning is the culprit even before any investigations? I don¡¯t think Xiaoning has a reason to kill Grandma.¡± ¡°Qingyan! Didn¡¯t you see that she was holding the knife earlier? Who else but her could¡¯ve killed your grandmother!?!¡± Mrs. Jin hollered in agitation. Although her hair was aplete mess, An Xiaoning still maintained herposure and said calmly, ¡°It wasn¡¯t me. I was told by a servant toe in here because old Mrs. Jin was looking for me. I noticed the knife on her neck when I entered, thus I pulled it out.¡± At this point, she absolutely regretted her decision to pull the knife out. ¡°An Xiaoning, stop feigning ignorance, you were the one who killed her! I¡¯m going to call the police to arrest you right now!¡± ¡°We must call the police right away!¡± Mr. Jin bellowed sternly. ¡°Let¡¯s check the surveince cameras before calling the police. Xiaoning doesn¡¯t have a motive to do that. Besides, she wouldn¡¯t be so foolish as to do something like that here,¡± Jin Qingyan refuted. ¡°Qingyan, this is your grandmother¡¯s life we¡¯re talking about!¡± ¡°I know that she¡¯s my grandmother. That¡¯s exactly why I must get to the bottom of this matter and find out who did it! Just because you saw it with your own eyes doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s true!¡± An Xiaoning looked at him with tears in her eyes. He believed that she was innocent. She was rather relieved to know that she had his trust. It was rare to have someone believe herpletely in such a tricky situation. Not wishing to argue any further, Mrs. Jin said, ¡°Let¡¯s look at the surveince camera¡¯s footage then. We¡¯ll watch it together.¡± An Xiaoning was not worried or afraid at all to view the surveince camera¡¯s footage since she did not kill old Mrs. Jin. The butler brought the surveince camera footage. They then yed it in front of everyone, including An Xiaoning. However, the surveince cameras had malfunctioned and stopped recording the moment old Mrs. Jin woke up in the morning. It was the suspicious part of the entire matter. Mr. Jin smashed theptop and hollered at Jin Qingyan, ¡°What are you waiting for? Just because you think she doesn¡¯t have a motive doesn¡¯t mean she really doesn¡¯t. We¡¯ll leave this matter to the police.¡± ¡°Father, if we hand it to the police and they manage to find out that Xiaoning wasn¡¯t the one who did it, then we would¡¯ve wrongly used her and caused her reputation to be tarnished. I believe I have the means to find out the truth. Just give me some time,¡± Jin Qingyan insisted. ¡°Is her reputation more important than arresting the murderer!?! Don¡¯t forget, I¡¯m the head of the family, you¡¯d better shut up!¡± Mr. Jin snapped in a moment of pique. Staring at him, Jin Qingyan retorted, ¡°I just don¡¯t believe that she did it. You¡¯re the head of the family, but I¡¯m the head of the Jin Corporation. I will get to the bottom of Grandma¡¯s murder.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to let you handle this matter,¡± Mr. Jin refuted, pointing his index finger at Jin Qingyan. ¡°Call the police and get them toe immediately,¡± Mr. Jin instructed. ¡°Yes, Sir.¡± ¡°Hold it!¡± Jin Qingyan tried to stop the butler, who ignored him and exited the door. An Xiaoning remained standing and said, ¡°I know I¡¯m a prime suspect, but I really didn¡¯t kill old Madam. Could you tell me her birth characters? I¡¯ll investigate the case myself,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Are you kidding? Why would I let a murderer investigate the case?¡± Mrs. Jin scoffed distastefully. ¡°Mrs. Jin, I¡¯m not a murderer. It¡¯s obvious that someone is trying to frame me!¡± An Xiaoning eximed, keeping her eyes fixed on Mrs. Jin. ¡°Who would want to frame you? Who would have the guts and audacity to do something so outrageous in my home?¡± ¡°How would I know?¡± ¡°Of course you¡¯d know, because you were the one who did it. We all saw you holding the knife with our very own eyes, yet you¡¯re still trying to deny it. Don¡¯t think we can¡¯t do anything to you just because Qingyan is defending you. I was just being kind by inviting you to the birthday party, yet you were so brazen to have killed Qingyan¡¯s grandmother. An Xiaoning, how vicious of you,¡± Mrs. Jin rebuked. ¡°Mrs. Jin! How could you just use me like this? The truth behind this matter will be out sooner orter,¡± An Xiaoning retorted. The police officers from the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit arrived in no time. They scanned the crime scene and took down notes. However, they were rather astonished to hear that An Xiaoning was the prime suspect. Two of the police officers brought An Xiaoning back to the police station while the others stayed behind to carry out further investigations. Upon arriving at the police station, Pan Zhenghui came over to ask her about the matter personally, after which An Xiaoning told him about the events that took ce. Pan Zhenghui then told her not to worry and wait for the evidence to be out. Due to the fact that it was a grave matter which involved the Jin family and An Xiaoning, Pan Zhenghui ordered for the matter to be strictly kept under wraps. Mei Yangyang headed to the police station upon hearing the news. She sat down beside An Xiaoning and listened to her exnation. ¡°Sis, it¡¯s reported all over the news that Old Madam Jin¡¯s 70th birthday party had turned sour and that all the invited guests were told to leave. There are now spections that something disastrous had urred because someone had also witnessed the arrival of police cars.¡± ¡°Old Mrs. Jin¡¯s spirit wouldn¡¯t have left the room yet if she had just died not long ago. The strange thing is, I didn¡¯t see any vengeful spirits in her bedroom at all. The bloodstains didn¡¯t seem to be fresh either. It doesn¡¯t look like the murder had just taken ce. I reckon old Mrs. Jin must¡¯ve been dead for at least five hours,¡± An Xiaoning spected. ¡°Five hours? Sis, why do you think the murderer wanted to kill old Mrs. Jin?¡± Mei Yangyang asked softly. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯ve been wondering too. Old Mrs. Jin had always kept a low profile and rarely left her home. Besides, the murder took ce within the Jin family mansion. If the murderer wasn¡¯t one of the invited guests, who else could¡¯ve killed her for no reason?¡± ¡°Sis, after hearing you tell me what Mr. Jin had said, I suddenly felt like he truly loves you.¡± An Xiaoning was indeed very touched and grateful to see that he insisted on believing her, although she was the prime suspect in this life-and-death matter involving his own grandmother. Chapter 269 - You’re the Only One I Adore (2)

Chapter 269: You¡¯re the Only One I Adore (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning was not detained in the police station, though she was not allowed to leave either. Although she was stuck in such a sticky situation, she was still concerned about Mo Li and instructed Mei Yangyang to take good care of her. Mei Yangyang abided by her instructions and arranged the servants at An Xiaoning¡¯s home to take care of Mo Li, who was residing in the basement. An Xiaoning remained in her office alone. ¡°Team Leader, all the evidence is pointing towards you right now. There are no fingerprints on the knife other than yours. Besides, there are also several eyewitnesses. I reckon the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit is going to pinpoint you as the culprit,¡± Ma Jianguo said softly upon returning to the office. ¡°If they¡¯re so certain that I¡¯m the one who did it, then I can only say that they¡¯re nothing but an empty shell. That¡¯ll really make me begin to wonder just how many cases they have wrongly prosecuted in the past.¡± ¡°Actually, they¡¯ve been rather prejudiced against us ever since you started working with us, mainly because they¡¯ve constantly beenpared to us. They¡¯ve also been facing frequent criticism from Chief for taking way longer than you to crack cases,¡± said Ma Jianguo. ¡°Is that so? I really think that you can never be too cautious of the people around you. Such troubles and messy situations are always bound to happen. How frustrating,¡± An Xiaoning groused, holding her hands together. ¡°Team Leader... I believe that you¡¯re definitely not the one who did it. You don¡¯t have anything against that old Madam, why would you kill her? Besides, to put it across crudely, she¡¯s already 70 years old, there¡¯s not much longer for her to live. You didn¡¯t even have to bother killing her. You¡¯re not that free anyway. I just heard from one of the police officers who were involved in investigations, Mr. Jin and his father had broken out into a heated argument at home, allegedly because of you. I can tell he strongly believes that you¡¯re not the culprit too.¡± Resting her chin in her hand, An Xiaoning closed her eyes and sank into deep thoughts. The entire incident hadpletely caught her off guard, causing her to be at a total loss on what to do. ¡°Boss, someone is calling you again!¡± She swiped the answer button to pick up the call. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Xiaoning, are you alright?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s just, I¡¯m afraid I would have to continue to be involved in this for some time. But it doesn¡¯t matter,¡± An Xiaoning answered softly. ¡°Rest assured, I¡¯ll do my best to stop the negative news about you from spreading. Don¡¯t worry,¡± said Gu Beicheng. ¡°Thank you.¡± Holding back her sudden tears, An Xiaoning continued, ¡°I didn¡¯t kill her.¡± ¡°Of course I know you didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all I needed.¡± An Xiaoning took a deep breath and said, ¡°There¡¯s nothing that can defeat me entirely, unless I choose not to stand back up from where I fell.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I like about you,¡± Gu Beicheng answered after a moment of hesitation. ¡°I¡¯m hanging up.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Noticing that An Xiaoning did not have anything to eat throughout the day, Pan Zhenghui decided to buy her some fast food. ¡°Xiaoning, eat something,¡± said Pan Zhenghui, cing the box of fast food onto the table. Realizing that she was rather hungry, An Xiaoning picked up the chopsticks and began digging in. ¡°Is the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit in the midst of investigating?¡± she asked. ¡°Yes, they are. But the general conclusion is already out. Xiaoning, all of us strongly believe that you¡¯re innocent, but in the eyes of thew, evidence is ultimately key. We cannot prosecute based on personal trust. Xiaoning, I¡¯m sure you know very well just how powerful the Jin family is. Jin Qingyan¡¯s parents are insisting that they witnessed you murdering old Madam Jin with their own eyes. On top of that, they also warned that they would be proposing the matter to the government¡¯s political leaders, should we be unable to give them a satisfactory answer,¡± Pan Zhenghui exined. ¡°Chief, I could no longer see old Mrs. Jin¡¯s spirit in the bedroom when I entered. By rights, one¡¯s spirit would still be present shortly after their death. Besides, the bloodstains on her had already dried uppletely, yet the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit was unable to deduce such a simple conjuncture. I really have nothing to say about their abilities. I¡¯m very certain that old Mrs. Jin had died at least five hours before I entered. The guests wouldn¡¯t have been present five hours earlier.¡± ¡°Xiaoning, the autopsy report was released long ago. It wasn¡¯t mentioned that the old Madam died five hours earlier. Rather, it was concluded that she had died at the time that you were there.¡± ¡°That can¡¯t be. Could it be because of the knife?¡± ¡°What about it?¡± ¡°The knife was stuck in old Mrs. Jin¡¯s neck, so I pulled it out...¡± ¡°Why did you do that?¡± Pan Zhenghui asked. ¡°There were no bloodstains when I was there. I only found the bloodstains on her pillow after I pulled the knife out.¡± A police officer pushed the door open and called out, ¡°Chief, you have a call from the higher-ups.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Pan Zhenghui quickly stood up and exited. The office was filled with silence once again. An Xiaoning felt her head throb with a major headache. Somehow, murder cases simply felt different now that she was involved herself. To make matters worse, she was not allowed to carry out investigations herself. An Xiaoning had no choice but to sit and wait helplessly, not sure how much longer she would have to wait before she could go home. Half an hourter, two police officers from the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit entered. ¡°Team Leader An, we¡¯re now arresting you as the prime suspect of the murder, and you will be temporarily detained.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± An Xiaoning conceded. She did not resist because she was well aware that there was no point in exining or defending herself at this juncture. An Xiaoning was brought to the custody room, where police officers who passed by began to discuss fervently amongst themselves. However, An Xiaoning knew not to sumb or be affected by any false rumors or gossip about her, for she was upright and innocent. She believed that she would only be held in custody temporarily. There would definitelye a day when the truth surfaces. It was only a matter of time. All she had to do was wait for that day to arrive. An Xiaoning stayed awake throughout her first night in prison. She simply could not fall asleep. A lot had gone through her mind. On the second day of detainment, An Xiaoning began to grow restless and impatient, especially since her phone had been taken away from her. By the third day, she eagerly desired to know the current situation going on outside of prison. However, there was no way she could do so. Being detained within these four walls was akin to beingpletely isted from the outside world. Days of living in darkness awaited her. Full of torment and turmoil. Time crawled by slowly day by day. An Xiaoning¡¯s initial impatience had turned into emptiness. She had not seen a single soul apart from the officers who brought her her meals each day. Hugging her knees while seated on the bed, An Xiaoning began to recall the 16-year-old youth whom she had once helped. He must¡¯ve felt this way then , she thought to herself. Wronged and used, yet helpless. Just when she thought she was growing stronger, she began to realize just how small she really was. So small that she could not even see herself. An Xiaoning had known all along that wealthy families often brought about the most trouble. The richer they are, the more rivalry and power struggle there was amongst them. Yet, she truly understood that fact only after she had experienced it herself. Half a month passed. It was the start of November. The temperature was freezing. However, An Xiaoning was still dressed in the same set of clothes she had worn to the birthday party, which she had never once changed out of throughout her time in prison. An Xiaoning began to wonder if she had been forgotten about. On the evening of that day, Pan Zhenghui finally appeared. ¡°Xiaoning.¡± An Xiaoning looked up at him and responded, ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t been eating welltely. I bought these from the restaurant especially for you. You¡¯ve lost weight,¡± said Pan Zhenghui, bringing with him some piping hot food, which smelled heavenly. Chapter 270 - Youre the Only One I Adore (3)

Chapter 270: You¡¯re the Only One I Adore (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Am I forbidden from seeing any outsiders?¡± Handing her a chopstick, Pan Zhenghui answered, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s an order from the higher-ups. The political leader has already heard about this matter. The Head of the police office has also been trying his best to keep this matter under the radar. Thankfully, there are no news reports about it.¡± An Xiaoning picked up the chopsticks and stared at the sumptuous spread before her. However, she did not have an appetite at all despite having eaten very little the past two weeks. ¡°What¡¯s the detailed progress?¡± ¡°Mr. Jin has buried old Madam Jin¡¯s body in order to keep the situation in control. However, his parents are still insistent on pursuing the matter and even requested the higher-ups to sentence you to death.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s hands trembled in fear at the thought of a death sentence. How could they be so quick to insist on taking her life just after some superficial investigations? Besides, they were once her parents-inw. She had once looked out and cared for their family, after all. ¡°What did Xu Yang say?¡± ¡°Head Yang is currently keeping the situation under control. He hopes that it would be settled soon. He too doesn¡¯t believe that you would do something like that. In fact, we all find this utterly ridiculous and unbelievable. It¡¯s not like you to murder someone at all. But, things don¡¯t seem like they can be settled so easily,¡± Pan Zhenghui said with much disappointment. An Xiaoning looked down at her food and continued to eat silently. Momentster, she said, ¡°Actually, the only solution I cane up with for now is to obtain old Mrs. Jin¡¯s birth characters and perform a ritual for her at her grave. Maybe then we can summon her spirit. Otherwise, I really can¡¯t think of another way to prove my innocence.¡± ¡°I thought about that too. But I took a look at her household register and only managed to get her birthdate. I don¡¯t know the exact timing she was born. I wonder if that¡¯ll work?¡± After pondering for a while, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°Chief Pan, I would like to give it a shot.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll inform Head Xu and see if he agrees.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll be waiting for your news.¡± ¡ª¡ª Jin Qingyue was barely affected by the somber situation in her family. She was too preupied with her husband¡¯s affair. Several days after receiving the warning, Xu Jingwen had yet to be discharged from the hospital and even hired some bodyguards to protect herself. Shi Shaochuan would visit her at the hospital asionally. However, it was apparent that Shi Shaochuan and Xu Jingwen had yet topletely cut off ties with each other. Jin Qingyue had been holding off executing her next move on Xu Jingwen for a while, mainly because she could not find the right opportunity to do so. She decided to wait and observe the situation. If they still refused to break up, she would then teach Xu Jingwen another lesson once and for all. The sky had already turned dark by the time she arrived back from the Jin family home. She entered to see that Shi Shaochuan had already begun eating while seated at the dining table. Upon seeing her, he quickly stood up and weed her home, ¡°Honey, how¡¯s the matter with your grandmother going?¡± She shrugged his hand off and answered coldly, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that since you¡¯re already so busy yourself.¡± Shi Shaochuan was puzzled by her recent aloof and hostile attitude towards him. However, he continued to put on a smile and said, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? I know it¡¯s tough being pregnant and you¡¯ve been emotionally unstable for a while now. Why hasn¡¯t it gotten better though?¡± Jin Qingyue took a seat. Suppressing her unhappiness, she said slowly, ¡°Did you know? My brother has been waging a cold war against my parents for more than half a month. This is the main reason why the matter has yet to be resolved. I haven¡¯t been envious of anyone before, but now, I really envy An Xiaoning.¡± ¡°What¡¯s there to envy about her?¡± ¡°I¡¯m envious of how much my brother loves and trusts her. Unfortunately, I¡¯m not as lucky as her to meet a man like my brother,¡± Jin Qingyue answered begrudgingly, feeling the urge to vent her pent-up anger and frustration. Before she found out about his affair, she had already warned him repeatedly that she would divorce him if she were to find out that he was unfaithful towards her. However, she realized that it was easier said than done, now that he had actuallymitted adultery. Thus, she decided to tolerate it further. ¡°Although I may not be like your brother, I still treat you rather well, don¡¯t I, Yueyue? I let you have the say in everything, and I give in to you all the time. I always try my best to be a dutiful husband too,¡± Shi Shaochuan answered. Staring at him in the eye, Jin Qingyue sneered, ¡°Do you know what it means to be a dutiful husband? I can¡¯t believe you have the cheek to say that you¡¯re almost one.¡± ¡°Of course I do. Yueyue, what¡¯s the matter with youtely?¡± Shi Shaochuan asked in bewilderment. Staring at the innocent look on his face as if he had done nothing wrong at all, Jin Qingyue could not stand it anymore and handed him her mobile phone. ¡°See for yourself what this is.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Shi Shaochuan asked apprehensively while holding the mobile phone in his hand. ¡°Watch the video.¡± Shi Shaochuan tapped on the video to y it. His face twisted into a frown upon hearing the moaning soundsing from the video, whichsted several minutes. He continued to watch it until the end. Clueless as to what to do, he stared at Jin Qingyue and proceeded to delete the video from Jin Qingyue¡¯s phone right away. However, she had kept spare copies of it. ¡°Yueyue...¡± ¡°You actually have the cheek to call my name. Shi Shaochuan, do you have any idea how hard I¡¯ve been strugglingtely?¡± Clutching her baby bump, she stood up and picked up the bowl of porridge on the table, which she then sshed at him. ¡°How dare you deceive me and lie about not having an affair? Why? Upset to see her getting gang-raped?¡± Jin Qingyue rebuked. Wiping the grains off his face, Shi Shaochuan stood up and defended himself, ¡°Yueyue, she and I are just friends. There¡¯s nothing more between us.¡± ¡°You¡¯re still lying at this point of time?¡± Jin Qingyue decided to just expose him. ¡°You said you went on an overseas business trip for three days, but in actual fact, you went on a vacation with that hussy, didn¡¯t you? I was tailing you two after younded at the airport. Shi Shaochuan, I went there happily to pick you up, yet this is what you surprised me with.¡± Shi Shaochuan began to feel guilty and stepped forward to hug her. However, Jin Qingyue pushed him away and hissed, ¡°Don¡¯t try to fool me with those tricks of yours.¡± She turned around and headed upstairs. Shi Shaochuan hurriedly chased after her. ¡°Honey!¡± Jin Qingyue locked him outside the bedroom. The more he tried to coax her, the more enraged she was. In her opinion, she felt that he was not sincere in admitting to his mistakes and was merely trying to cate her just so she would stop reprimanding him. ¡°Yueyue, open the door!¡± Shi Shaochuan pleaded, still attempting to deny his affair. Jin Qingyue sat on the bed and began to feel extremely sick and tired of his nonsense all of a sudden. What did she get in return for being selfless? Was it really worth giving birth to a child for a jerk like him? Did he really deserve to spend the rest of his life together with her? Was it worthwhile at all? A million questions began to flood Jin Qingyue¡¯s mind. Shi Shaochuan managed to open the door with the spare key. He sat down beside her on the bed and said, ¡°Honey, hear me out.¡± ¡°What¡¯s there to hear out? Your pack of lies and gimmick-y tricks? Shaochuan, you only manage to deceive those who trust you. Why? Do I really seem like such a fool to you? Why don¡¯t we just abort the child and get a divorce?¡± Jin Qingyue retorted. Shi Shaochuan got on his knees all of a sudden and began begging for her forgiveness, ¡°Yueyue, please forgive me just this once. I promise I won¡¯t see her again. She was the one who seduced me first. During the time when I was on my way to my ssmates¡¯ gathering, she stopped my car and insisted on getting it on. I did reject her at first, but I simply could not help myself and gave in to temptation because you were pregnant.¡± Chapter 271 - Youre the Only One I Adore (4)

Chapter 271: You¡¯re the Only One I Adore (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyue red at him while remaining silent. Hugging her legs, Shi Shaochuan continued to plead, ¡°Yueyue, our baby is almost six months old, we can¡¯t just end her life because of a mistake I made. I won¡¯t do that again, I promise. I¡¯ll prove it through my actions, alright?¡± Jin Qingyue let out a sigh and said, ¡°Get up.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t unless you forgive me. I swear to you, Jin Qingyue, I¡¯ll never involve myself with any woman except you in the future, or else I shall be killed by a car,¡± Shi Shaochuan swore solemnly. Jin Qingyue expressed assent and warned him sternly, ¡°I hope this will be the first andst time that I find out you¡¯re having an affair. If you ever cheat on me again, I won¡¯t forgive you easily, Shi Shaochuan.¡± Shi Shaochuan jumped for joy immediately and stood up to hug her in agitation. ¡°Honey, I won¡¯t dare to do that again.¡± However, the tension within Jin Qingyue had not eased one bit. In fact, she was unsure if she had made the right decision to forgive him. She was also aware that what he had done would leave a dark memory in her heart and cracks in their rtionship that can never be repaired. ¡ª¡ª Pan Zhenghui managed to get the approval of Xu Yang and informed An Xiaoning of the good news, thus arranging for her to set off in half an hour¡¯s time. ¡°Chief Pan, have you interrogated the servant who told me to enter Old Madam¡¯s room?¡± ¡°Xiaoning, we could not find the servant you described,¡± Pan Zhenghui answered. ¡°What? Why are you only telling me this now? That woman is very suspicious. Please bring me to the simtion room. I can still remember her face pretty clearly,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Alright.¡± Pan Zhenghui proceeded to bring her to the simtion room. Once the portrait sketch was out, An Xiaoning matched it with the image of the woman in her head and said, ¡°I¡¯m very certain she was the one who called me.¡± ¡°Let me scan this into the database and see if we can find any matching documents and identities.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± An Xiaoning agreed with a nod. After waiting for twenty minutes, the police officers informed them that, after the system scanned through the database of household registers of all the citizens in the country, there was indeed a person whose face matched the sketch. Pan Zhenghui and An Xiaoning began to feel worked up upon hearing the news. After taking a look at the photocopied document of the suspect¡¯s household register, An Xiaoning identified confidently, ¡°It was her.¡± ¡°If only we¡¯d allowed you to sketch the portrait earlier, you wouldn¡¯t have had to be imprisoned for so long,¡± Pan Zhenghui eximed, smacking his thigh in an epiphanic moment. ¡°I thought you guys had already interrogated that servant, and yet you still haven¡¯t even found her.¡± Pointing at the information on the photocopied document, An Xiaoning continued, ¡°It says here that this woman is a local. Let¡¯s go look for her now.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Three of you,e along too,¡± ordered Pan Zhenghui, gesturing for Ma Jianguo and the rest to follow. ¡°Okay! Team Leader, here¡¯s your tea,¡± said Ma Jianguo as he handed An Xiaoning the cup of hot tea he had made for her. ¡°Thank you, Officer Ma.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go, Team Leader.¡± In the darkness of the night, the five of them set off in a police car and headed towards the target¡¯s home. The search was extremely sessful. They managed to find the ce straight away. Knock knock! ¡°Is there anyone home?¡± An Xiaoning called, knocking on the door. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± A middle-aged woman answered the door. ¡°Hello, Auntie, is this Liu Yingying¡¯s home?¡± ¡°Yes, you are?¡± ¡°We are from the Criminal Police Unit and we¡¯d like to talk to her about something. Is she in?¡± ¡°Criminal Police? I¡¯m her mother, may I know what crime she hasmitted?¡± the middle-aged woman asked in shock. ¡°Auntie, don¡¯t worry, she didn¡¯tmit any crime. We¡¯d just like to ask her some questions.¡± ¡°She hasn¡¯t been home in two months. She¡¯s been working in the city.¡± ¡°Which part of the city?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°I¡¯m not too sure about that, but she said she¡¯s getting paid a hefty amount to work as a servant for a wealthy family. Perhaps her father would know, let me ask him.¡± The middle-aged woman retreated backwards and weed them into the house. ¡°Pleasee in.¡± The five of them followed her into the house. ¡°Hubby, where does Yingying work at in the city?¡± ¡°The Jin family.¡± An Xiaoning and Pan Zhenghui exchanged nces. ¡°Uncle, are you sure that it¡¯s the Jin family?¡± ¡°Yes, you guys are?¡± Liu Yingying¡¯s father confirmed. ¡°They are the Criminal Police. They¡¯re here to ask Yingying some questions. Please take a seat, I¡¯ll get Yingying¡¯s father to call her,¡± said Mrs. Liu. ¡°She really didn¡¯t break thew?¡± Mr. Liu asked apprehensively. ¡°Uncle, she really didn¡¯t. We just need her assistance in investigations,¡± An Xiaoning reassured upon noticing how worried Liu Yingying¡¯s parents were. Mr. Liu whipped his phone out to give Liu Yingying a call, only to find that she had switched off her phone. ¡°I can¡¯t get through.¡± An Xiaoning took a look at the information on her household register and asked, ¡°Auntie, at what time was Liu Yingying born?¡± ¡°At about seven or eight o¡¯clock in the evening.¡± ¡°Was it on the 28th of September in the year XXXX?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s the 18th of September,¡± Mrs. Liu corrected. ¡°But it says 28th on her household register.¡± ¡°That was a typo made by the staff at the Registry back then.¡± ¡°Auntie, are you sure that she was born on the 28th of September XXXX at seven or eight o¡¯clock in the evening?¡± An Xiaoning murmured. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s body swayed all of a sudden. Noticing that something was amiss, Pan Zhenghui asked softly, ¡°Xiaoning, what¡¯s the matter?¡± An Xiaoning shot him a nce and said to Liu Yingying¡¯s parents immediately, ¡°Thank you, Uncle and Auntie. We¡¯ll be taking our leave. Please give us your contact number.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Mr. Liu agreed and provided Ma Jianguo with his contact number. They then left the Liu family home in a single file. Once they got into the car, Ma Jianguo asked curiously, ¡°Team Leader, why do you want their contact number?¡± ¡°To contact them easily once we¡¯ve found Liu Yingying¡¯s corpse, of course,¡± An Xiaoning said with a sigh. The rest of them looked at each other in dismay. In disbelief of what he had just heard, Pan Zhenghui asked, ¡°Does that mean Liu Yingying is dead?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s been more than ten days since she died. Seems like she was killed during the time I was detained. If only we found her on that very day the incident took ce,¡± An Xiaoningmented, feeling rather regretful. After some thought and analysis, Pan Zhenghui answered, ¡°No, she would¡¯ve already fled the moment she brought you to Old Madam¡¯s room. She must¡¯ve been instigated by someone and killed after her job was done. The mastermind definitely wouldn¡¯t have allowed her to live. Even if we tried to look for her that day, it wouldn¡¯t have been easy to find her. But we didn¡¯t make a wasted trip this time, at least we know that she was indeed a servant at the Jin family¡¯s home. What¡¯s puzzling though is that the butler denied the existence of such a servant when we questioned him two weeks ago.¡± ¡°Show this photograph to the butlerter. If he still denies it, then it seems there¡¯s a mole in the Jin family¡¯s household,¡± An Xiaoning instructed as she handed Ma Jianguo the portrait sketch. ¡°Got it.¡± ¡°Lend me your phone,¡± An Xiaoning said to Ma Jianguo. ¡°There you go.¡± Ma Jianguo whipped his mobile phone out and handed it to her. An Xiaoning quickly dialed Jin Qingyan¡¯s mobile number and ced the mobile phone beside her ear. After several seconds of a melodious dial tone came Jin Qingyan¡¯s hoarse voice, ¡°Who¡¯s speaking?¡± ¡°Qingyan, it¡¯s me.¡± Chapter 272 - Youre the Only One I Adore (5)

Chapter 272: You¡¯re the Only One I Adore (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyan sat up straight immediately and asked, ¡°Whose phone are you using?¡± ¡°Officer Ma¡¯s. My phone was confiscated by the police. I¡¯ll retrieve itter. I¡¯d like to see you, make a trip down to the police station,¡± An Xiaoning said quickly. ¡°Sure.¡± An Xiaoning hung up and handed the phone back to Ma Jianguo. After taking a look at the dialed number, Ma Jianguo remarked in surprise, ¡°Why is Jin Qingyan¡¯s mobile number so peculiar? There are so many 8¡¯s.¡± ¡°Exactly why it¡¯s so easy to remember. I don¡¯t even have to memorize it,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Team Leader, we knew all along that you¡¯re not the murderer. Seems like this servant is very suspicious.¡± Ma Jianguo turned to Pan Zhenghui and said, ¡°Chief, haven¡¯t the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit been checking up on the servant?¡± ¡°The eyewitness¡¯ statements were all they needed to nail Xiaoning as the suspect. The current investigation oues are all the same. From the looks of it, I should be focusing on the Jin family. Something smells fishy,¡± said Pan Zhenghui. An Xiaoning remained quiet and gazed out of the window at the passing streets, feeling as if her heart had sunk deeper. Jin Qingyan had already arrived at the police station by the time they made it back. An Xiaoning had noticed his white Bentley with one nce. It was his car indeed. As soon as the police car came to a halt, An Xiaoning alighted from the car and strode quickly towards the Bentley. Jin Qingyan had just gotten down from his car as well. He had not seen her in half a month. She had slimmed down a lot and lost all the weight she had just gained recently. He extended his arms for an embrace, after which An Xiaoning jumped onto him and wrapped her legs around him. ¡°Qingyan!¡± she eximed, hugging him tightly. Jin Qingyan carried her into the car. The four men sitting in the police car not too far away were stunned at the scene before them. Jin Qingyan closed the car door and gazed at the petite An Xiaoning. ¡°I¡¯ve been to the police station several times in the past few days, but I didn¡¯t get to see you. I was told that the higher-ups forbade any visitors.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m out now. We¡¯d just returned from visiting the parents of that female servant your family hired. We found out that the name of the servant who called me into your grandmother¡¯s room is Liu Yingying. Her parents said that she was working as a servant for your family. But, when the police questioned the butler previously, the butler denied the existence of such a servant. I instructed Ma Jianguo to bring the portrait sketch to the butler. If he still insists on denying it, then I¡¯m certain that there¡¯s something suspicious and fishy about the butler,¡± An Xiaoning exined. After giving her words some thought, Jin Qingyan answered, ¡°Is that so? No wonder I had a feeling that it wasn¡¯t an outsider who was behind this.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Just a hunch I had.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve read Liu Yingying¡¯s birth characters given by her parents and found she¡¯s now dead. But her parents don¡¯t know yet,¡± said An Xiaoning, holding onto his hand tightly. ¡°No matter what, I¡¯ll definitely prove your innocence and protect you,¡± Jin Qingyan reassured her as he reached a hand out to caress her face. ¡°I¡¯ve missed you dearly for the past two weeks that I was imprisoned.¡± He gave her a peck before proceeding to kiss her passionately. An Xiaoning reciprocated. They continued to smooch for five minutes before letting go of each other. After two weeks of not seeing each other, they suddenly felt as if they had returned to the honeymoon stage of their rtionship again. Hand in hand, they could guess what was on each other¡¯s mind even though they were not speaking. ¡°I still have to stay here tonight, you should go home first.¡± ¡°It¡¯s chilly, be careful not to catch a cold,¡± Jin Qingyan reminded her. ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll get going then,¡± said An Xiaoning as she let go of his hand. ¡°Okay.¡± Just as An Xiaoning pushed the door open, she was again stopped by Jin Qingyan, who nted another passionate kiss on her lips before letting go of her reluctantly. She closed the car door, after which Jin Qingyan drove away quickly. An Xiaoning returned to her office to wait for Ma Jianguo. Touching her lips subconsciously, she could not help but feel over the moon at the thought of the kiss in Jin Qingyan¡¯s car earlier. Jin Qingyan bumped into Ma Jianguo and the rest when he arrived back at the Jin family old mansion. Upon sight of him, Ma Jianguo greeted, ¡°Hi, Mr. Jin.¡± ¡°Hello, Officer Ma and everyone else.¡± Jin Qingyan strode towards him and said softly, ¡°Is there any oue after asking the butler about the portrait sketch?¡± ¡°The butler answered that Liu Yingying had worked here before but quit afterwards.¡± ¡°Let me have a look.¡± Ma Jianguo handed him the sketch. Jin Qingyan scrutinized the sketch before shaking his head and saying, ¡°No, I saw her on the morning of my Grandma¡¯s birthday.¡± Ma Jianguo¡¯s eyes lit up in surprise. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes, she broke a vase by ident and I happened to walk past her at the time. I¡¯ve always had a good memory. Let¡¯s keep this a secret for now, I¡¯ll begin investigating around my home,¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°Alright.¡± Jin Qingyan then walked towards the living room with a heavy heart. He had taken the familiar route towards the mansion countless times ever since he was young. Yet, this time, he was dragging his feet along. He was no fool. The fact that the butler constantly denied the existence of the servant, even though she indeed existed, could only mean one thing: the butler was lying! The butler had been serving the Jin family for decades. He could already be considered a part of their family. There were only two reasons behind his decision to lie. ¡°One could be that he lied out of his own ord, another was... Mother made him do so,¡± Jin Qingyan pondered to himself as he stopped in his tracks. He could not help but find the entire situation extremely ridiculous. As much as that was the only conclusion he coulde up with for now, what he needed to know now was the reason why the butler was hiding the truth about the servant. Jin Qingyan gazed at the entrance of the living room. He felt his heart wrench with immense pain and sorrow. Although old Mrs. Jin had already passed on for more than half a month, he could still feel her very presence in the mansion. He still remembered how she used to nag at him and call him toe home for meals. He stepped foot inside to see that Mr. Jin was seated on the couch, with Mrs. Jin beside him, while the butler was standing by the side. Mr. Jin let out a grunt upon seeing Jin Qingyan. ¡°Butler, bring me a pot of tea,¡± Jin Qingyan instructed as he entered through the door with his hands in his pocket. ¡°Yes, Young Sir.¡± Sitting opposite his father, Jin Qingyan crossed a leg over another and rested his hands on hisp as he stared at his parents. He continued to stare at them while suppressing his emotions of confusion and bewilderment. Silence filled the air. When the butler arrived with the pot of green tea, Jin Qingyan looked up at him slowly and asked, ¡°Butler, you¡¯ve been serving us for years and you watched me grow up. I¡¯d like to ask, how did Grandma treat you when she was alive?¡± ¡°Old Madam had always been kind and nice to me. I¡¯m very grateful towards her for always taking good care of me.¡± ¡°Since you¡¯re so full of gratitude, then I have a question for you. On the day of my grandmother¡¯s 70th birthday, there was a servant named Liu Yingying who told Xiaoning that Grandma had asked to see her. You denied the existence of this servant when the police questioned you about her. The police made another trip here again just now, and yet you imed that she did work here before but she had already quit. When did she quit?¡± asked Jin Qingyan. ¡°She quit some time ago,¡± the butler answered politely. ¡°How long ago exactly?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not too sure about that. Age is catching up with me and I¡¯ve be rather forgetfultely,¡± the butler said calmly, standing tall and still like a statue. Chapter 273 - Youre the Only One I Adore (6)

Chapter 273: You¡¯re the Only One I Adore (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios With a wry smile, Jin Qingyan answered, ¡°Is that so? Although most of the evidence are pointing towards Xiaoning, I refuse to believe that she has the ability to tamper with the surveince cameras within the mansion. Grandma may no longer be around, but I must let her know that her beloved grandson will avenge her. No matter who the murderer may be, I will find and catch him myself. I will never forgive the culprit, be it for killing Grandma or for framing Xiaoning.¡± ¡°I absolutely believe that you¡¯ll never forgive the culprit, Young Sir. However, I beg to differ that Ms. An doesn¡¯t have the means to tamper with the surveince cameras. Ms. An has trained at the boot camp academy for months before; I strongly believe she has the ability to destroy the surveince cameras. I hope you will judge this matter from an objective viewpoint instead of getting your personal emotions and prejudice involved.¡± ¡°Tell me then, why did you deny the presence of the female servant? You can¡¯t just cover up with the excuse of being old and forgetful,¡± Jin Qingyan retorted. Unable to tolerate what she was hearing any further, Mrs. Jin snapped, ¡°Qingyan! How long more are you going to continue acting like this? Is there really still a need to investigate any further? The truth is already obvious! You would actually rather let the case drag on just so you could save Xiaoning. Qingyan, your father and I will never show mercy regarding this matter, you don¡¯t have to waste your efforts and time any further.¡± ¡°Mother, I really hope you¡¯re so eager to prosecute Xiaoning because you¡¯d like for Grandma to rest in peace and not because of another reason.¡± ¡°What other reasons could there be? Of course it¡¯s because I want your Grandma to rest in peace as soon as possible. What else could it be?¡± Mrs. Jin retorted defensively. ¡°I didn¡¯t insinuate anything, why are you so flustered, Mother?¡± ¡°Xiaoning must have put a spell on you,¡± Mrs. Jin rebuked, standing up quickly. Jin Qingyan left the Jin family old mansion and returned to his vi in Wei Ni Estate. ¡°Young Sir,¡± Fan Shixin greeted. ¡°Find out the mobile numbers on the identity cards belonging to my parents and the butler, as well as their call logs and text message history.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Fan Shixin asked in puzzlement. ¡°Why do you have to ask so much? Just do as you¡¯re told.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Fan Shixin turned around to leave and did as instructed. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Head-of-Office Xu, what brings you here?¡± An Xiaoning asked as she rose from her seat. ¡°I thought I ought to go with you guys. Ms. An, what time should we set off?¡± asked Xu Yang. ¡°11 o¡¯clock in the evening. But old Mrs. Jin¡¯s grave is situated in the Jin family graveyard, so we¡¯d better make the necessary arrangements with Qingyan beforehand.¡± Xu Yang nodded in agreement and said, ¡°I¡¯ll give him a callter and ask him to arrange for the people guarding by the graveyard to allow us in.¡± ¡°Actually, I¡¯m not quite sure if we can summon her spirit,¡± said An Xiaoning as she sat back down. ¡°Just give it a shot, don¡¯t give yourself too much pressure.¡± Ma Jianguo entered and handed An Xiaoning her mobile phone. ¡°Team Leader, your phone.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go outside to make a call,¡± said Xu Yang as he turned around to exit. ¡°The Head of Office has made his way here too. Seems like he¡¯s very concerned about helping you prove your innocence,¡± Ma Jianguo remarked softly. An Xiaoning was not confident if the ritual happening that night would work or not. ¡ª¡ª Chi Rui¡¯er paced back and forth continuously while carrying her infant son in her arms. Staring at Gu Dongcheng, who had a frown on his forehead, Chi Rui¡¯er said, ¡°In my opinion, An Xiaoning being arrested shoulde off as good news for you.¡± ¡°Are your brains fried? How would her being arrested benefit me in any way?¡± ¡°Calm down, I¡¯m not finished yet. An Xiaoning and Gu Beicheng share a very close rtionship, and I know that Gu Beicheng fancies her. You and Gu Beicheng are half-brothers. There¡¯s a very high chance that An Xiaoning would have a say in who inherits the family fortune andpany. Why do you think Mother-inw and Gu Beicheng are so chummy with her?¡± ¡°You¡¯re so ignorant. An Xiaoning is not part of the board of directors, how would she be able to decide who inherits the familypany?¡± Gu Dongcheng retorted, staring at Chi Rui¡¯er. ¡°Even if she can¡¯t, the fact that she¡¯s close to Gu Beicheng alone is a huge disadvantage to you. Don¡¯t you realize how evil she is?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er remarked. Needless to say, Gu Dongcheng was definitely not aware that Chi Rui¡¯er had long treated An Xiaoning as her arch nemesis. ¡°You really can¡¯t tell good from bad. If you¡¯re so high and mighty, don¡¯t go seeking help from her when our son runs a high fever.¡± ¡°Does the child belong to only me?¡± Gu Dongcheng could not be bothered to argue with her and decided to go to sleep instead. Chi Rui¡¯er was filled with frustration. She simply could not stand having to take care of the child every day, which took up the bulk of her time. ¡°Hubby, why don¡¯t you look for two babysitters to take care of our son tomorrow? It¡¯s too tiring for me to handle it alone.¡± ¡°At the beginning, I suggested that we hire babysitters to help you, but didn¡¯t you insist on taking care of him yourself just so you could shower him with your motherly love?¡± Pouting her lips, Chi Rui¡¯er answered in frustration, ¡°I said that casually, but you actually took it for real. Can¡¯t you just be empathetic and understanding towards my plight?¡± ¡°I still have to go to work tomorrow morning. Must you really keep me awake and disturb me like this?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er kept quiet and coaxed her son to sleep. After painstakingly putting her son to sleep, she began to be aware of how sore and achy her muscles were. She then headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth. Staring at her reflection in the mirror, she realized that her hair was in aplete mess and her eye bags were dark and heavy. She had be so haggard and dishevelled that she almost could not recognize herself. Touching her face with her hands, Chi Rui¡¯er decided that she must hire a babysitter as soon as possible. She¡¯d lose all her radiance and beauty, should this go on. She frantically put on a sheet of facial mask in a bid to stop her skin condition from deteriorating. Chi Rui¡¯erid in bed while holding her mobile phone in her hand. She could not help but feel enthralled at the thought of An Xiaoning being in prison. As soon as she heard about the incident An Xiaoning had met with, she proceeded to spread the news online using an anonymous ount she created. However, to her disappointment, she could not find any data when she searched the keyword ¡°An Xiaoning¡± in every possible form, be it Chinese characters, pinyin, or both. She soon realized that every single piece of information rted to An Xiaoning was being automatically erased from the inte as soon as it was uploaded. Thus, she had never seeded in spreading the news online. Everything she uploaded would be deleted almost instantly. She was utterly dejected and helpless. She decided to make do and leave it be, thinking that An Xiaoning would be tortured in prison for a long while more anyway. ¡ª¡ª It was 11 o¡¯clock in the evening. The group of six made their way to old Mrs. Jin¡¯s tomb. They scanned their surroundings and saw that the graveyard was made up of the graves of all the ancestors of the Jin family. It was not exactly a joyous and rxing activity to visit the graveyard at such ate hour. They were granted ess to the graveyard and arrived at old Mrs. Jin¡¯s tomb after guiding themselves with a torchlight each. An Xiaoning first offered the gifts before burning the incense. She bowed to the grave and began chanting softly. She then picked up a pile of amulets she had written the night before and scattered the amulets across old Mrs. Jin¡¯s tomb. While An Xiaoning continued to chant a spell with her eyes closed, several pieces of amulets began to hover in the sky and revolved continuously around old Mrs. Jin¡¯s tomb. It was Xu Yang¡¯s first time witnessing such a phenomenon, though not for the other four colleagues since they had already seen something simr during Wang Fangfang¡¯s case. ¡°Old Madam, this is Xiaoning. I know you have suffered a great grievance, but if you are present at this very moment, please tell me, who was the one who caused you such harm? The police and I will definitely give you justice.¡± Chapter 274 - You’re the Only One I Adore (7)

Chapter 274: You¡¯re the Only One I Adore (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After saying her piece, An Xiaoning closed her eyes and got down on her knees to kowtow a total of three times. As soon as she stood up, a sudden gasp filled the air, adding to the spookiness of the night. Xu Yang¡¯s forehead creased into a frown as he frantically grabbed onto Pan Zhenghui¡¯s arm, causing thetter immense pain. However, Pan Zhenghui did not dare to shake him off and had no choice but to bear with the pain. Not afraid at all since her conscience was clear, An Xiaoning kept her eyes fixed on the grave. ¡°Littless...¡± ¡°I¡¯m here, Old Madam,¡± An Xiaoning said agitatedly. ¡°Are you not going to call me ¡®Grandma¡¯ anymore now that you and Qingyan are divorced?¡± old Mrs. Jin¡¯s spirit asked in disappointment. ¡°No, Grandma. I¡¯ve always treated you like my own grandmother. I was just afraid that you would be upset if I went against the rules and formalities,¡± An Xiaoning eagerly exined. ¡°Why would I? I¡¯ve always been supportive of you getting back together with Qingyan. It¡¯s been hard on you, littless.¡± ¡°Nothing of that sort. Grandma, who was the one... who did such a ruthless thing to you? Could you tell me?¡± ¡°Xiaoning, I¡¯m sorry, but Grandma can¡¯t tell you. However, I¡¯d like to see Qingyan¡¯s father and tell him the answer personally. Don¡¯t worry, I will help prove your innocence. To all the police officers present, Xiaoning didn¡¯t murder me, don¡¯t use her falsely,¡± said old Mrs. Jin. ¡°Old Madam, we¡¯ve always felt that she didn¡¯t do it, but we just didn¡¯t have the evidence to prove her innocence. Xiaoning has constantly been used by your son and daughter-inw, so...¡± ¡°Call my son here.¡± An Xiaoning turned towards Ma Jianguo and instructed, ¡°Give Qingyan a call and get him to inform his father. Quick.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Ma Jianguo proceeded to call Jin Qingyan immediately. After informing Jin Qingyan, An Xiaoning and the rest continued to wait for their arrival. Noticing that the incense stick was about to finish burning, An Xiaoning quickly reced it with a new one. The sky was pitch dark, and gusts of cold wind were blowing strongly. Twenty minutester, they finally heard footsteps approaching quickly. Jin Qingyan arrived with his parents, as well as the butler. ¡°Uncle, Grandma said she¡¯d like to see you alone. No one else is allowed to go near,¡± said An Xiaoning. Mr. Jin had a stern expression on his face while Mrs. Jin insisted, ¡°I want to be there too.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mrs. Jin, but you weren¡¯t asked to be here.¡± An Xiaoning then instructed Zu Dong and Gong Le, ¡°Bring Madam away.¡± Thus, Mrs. Jin was brought away forcefully while the rest of them waited patiently a distance away from the grave. Mrs. Jin appeared rather jittery and ill at ease as she continuously paced back and forth. About half an hourter, it was almost 12 midnight. Mr. Jin walked towards them slowly with a grave expression on his face. ¡°Your grandmother would like to see you and Xiaoning,¡± he said to Jin Qingyan. Jin Qingyan held An Xiaoning¡¯s hand and entered the graveyard. Both of them then got down on their knees before old Mrs. Jin¡¯s grave. ¡°Grandma,¡± Jin Qingyan sobbed, tears in his eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t cry, I just think it¡¯s a pity that I left too soon and too abruptly. I didn¡¯t get the chance to live my life to the fullest. I¡¯ve yet to even see you two give me a grandchild,¡± old Mrs. Jinmented with a sigh. ¡°Grandma...¡± Jin Qingyan bawled loudly. ¡°Grandma has faith in you two. Technology is so advanced nowadays. Besides, it¡¯s not like Xiaoning is infertile. Xiaoning, I¡¯ve never seen Qingyan so uptight and protective over a woman before. I can tell he really wants to spend the rest of his life with you. Since you two have decided to reconcile, you must remember to love and cherish each other,¡± said old Mrs. Jin. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll remember your words dearly. Rest assured, Grandma, Qingyan and I will bring the child to see you should we have one,¡± An Xiaoning answered. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m looking forward to that day,¡± old Mrs. Jin said in relief. ¡ª¡ª After exiting the graveyard, An Xiaoning did not return to the police station with Xu Yang and the rest. Instead, she left together with Jin Qingyan for the old mansion. On the way home, Mrs. Jin continuously pestered Mr. Jin and asked about what old Mrs. Jin had said to him. However, Mr. Jin remained tight-lipped and did not respond to her at all. Although the lights were off in the car, An Xiaoning could tell clearly that Mr. Jin had been trying his best to hold back his emotions throughout the entire journey home. Jin Qingyan was still holding onto An Xiaoning¡¯s hand when they alighted from the car. ¡°All of you,e here,¡± said Mr. Jin as he took the lead and walked towards the living room. Everyone except Mr. Jin took a seat in the living room. All of a sudden, he bowed down to An Xiaoning. ¡°Uncle...¡± ¡°Xiaoning, I¡¯m very sorry and guilty for what I¡¯ve done towards you. I¡¯ve wronged you for everything from the start, including the time we chose to save Qingyue as well as this murder case. I hereby express my deepest regrets and apology.¡± An Xiaoning was taken aback by his sudden apology. Although she knew that he had indeed used her, she did not expect him to be so frank and sincere in apologizing. ¡°I ept your apology, please take a seat.¡± Mr. Jin straightened his back slowly and turned towards Mrs. Jin. ¡°It¡¯s your turn.¡± Unable to swallow her pride like her husband did, Mrs. Jin refuted, ¡°But you¡¯ve already apologized on our behalf.¡± ¡°We¡¯re two separate individuals. Hurry up,¡± Mr. Jin urged with a straight face and an aloofness in his voice. Mrs. Jin strongly refused and cocked her head towards the side, away from him. Trying to smooth things over, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Uncle, let¡¯s forget it, if Mrs. Jin is unwilling to do so.¡± ring at Mrs. Jin, Mr. Jin bellowed, ¡°No! I¡¯m giving you onest chance. If you¡¯re still not willing to apologize, I¡¯ll have no choice but to get the servants to force you to kowtow.¡± ¡°What are you trying to do!?! It¡¯s your own decision to apologize. Why do you have to force me to do the same?¡± Mrs. Jin snapped. Unable to tolerate her outrageousness any longer, Mr. Jin released his anger and gave Mrs. Jin a hard p across her face, causing her to be robbed of her senses. It was a long while before she managed to recover from the shock. Jin Qingyan seemed to have sensed something and continued to remain silent while holding onto An Xiaoning¡¯s hand. ¡°Apologize.¡± Realizing that there was no way she could retaliate, Mrs. Jin had no choice but to do it. ¡°Xiaoning, I¡¯m sorry.¡± Before An Xiaoning had even responded, Mr. Jin chided, ¡°Apologize sincerely like I did. I know you weren¡¯t apologizing with your utmost sincerity.¡± Suppressing her anger, Mrs. Jin rose from her seat to give An Xiaoning a bow. ¡°Xiaoning, I¡¯m sorry,¡± she apologized yet again. From An Xiaoning¡¯s perspective, there was nothing much she could really say since they were both Jin Qingyan¡¯s parents. If she were to marry Jin Qingyan again in the future, she would still have to address them as her parents-inw. Thus, she had no choice but to forgive them. ¡°You were right to have insisted on getting to the bottom of the matter. If it weren¡¯t for Xiaoning¡¯s help, I wouldn¡¯t have gotten the chance to speak to your Grandma again. Fetch Qingyue here when daybreak arrives. Make sure she¡¯s here by nine o¡¯clock in the morning. I have something to speak to you guys about,¡± Mr. Jin said to Jin Qingyan. ¡°Alright.¡± Mrs. Jin appeared to bepletely flustered and bbergasted. Noticing that Mr. Jin was walking towards the bedroom, Mrs. Jin frantically chased after him. Jin Qingyan pulled An Xiaoning up before giving Fan Shixin a call. ¡°Bring some bodyguards to surround the entire mansion and keep it on lockdown. No one is allowed to leave here tonight.¡± ¡°Why?¡± An Xiaoning asked after he ended the call. ¡°Because I don¡¯t want to allow the murderer a chance to escape. My woman is so capable and outstanding indeed. Not only did you manage to prove your own innocence, you¡¯ve even uncovered the truth,¡± Jin Qingyanplimented her while draping his coat over her shoulders. ¡°The truth?¡± Jin Qingyan gave her a peck and said, ¡°You¡¯ll know tomorrow. You ought to take a cleansing shower tonight.¡± Chapter 275 - You’re the Only One I Adore (8)

Chapter 275: You¡¯re the Only One I Adore (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Yeah, I stink. I haven¡¯t showered or changed my clothes in more than half a month.¡± ¡°That¡¯s very filthy indeed.¡± ¡°Why did you still kiss me then?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll kiss you regardless of how dirty you may be.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning took an hour-long shower as soon as she arrived home. She instantly felt rejuvenated and was set into a good mood after the shower. She smelled pleasant from head to toe. Thest thing she ever wanted was to step foot into prison again. After drying her hair, she exited the bathroom to see that Jin Qingyan was looking at his mobile phone while leaning his head against the bedhead. Upon the sight of her, he cast his mobile phone aside immediately and sat up straight. ¡°Great,¡± said An Xiaoning as she crawled onto bed and snuggled up into his embrace. ¡°What¡¯s great?¡± ¡°This feeling, it¡¯s great.¡± An Xiaoning raised her head to look at him and said, ¡°One is bound to be helpless at some point, regardless of how powerful he may be. Even the strongest person is susceptible to frailty. Jin Qingyan, if you chose to believe your eyes and not me during this incident, then let me tell you, it would¡¯ve been truly over for us for the rest of our lives.¡± ¡°That goes without saying. If I didn¡¯t choose to believe you, you would¡¯ve been sentenced to death. Things would definitely have been over between us then.¡± ¡°You know that¡¯s not what I meant. What I¡¯m trying to say is, you would¡¯ve been eliminated in my heart forever,¡± An Xiaoning corrected as she punched him yfully. ¡°You know, these past two weeks, I was the most worried and scared I¡¯ve ever been. I was so afraid that I wouldn¡¯t get to see you again. All I could do was think about you every second that I¡¯m awake.¡± Jin Qingyan ced his leg over hers and turned to his side. With half his body on top of her, he asked, ¡°Are you tired?¡± ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re not tired, then I¡¯d like to get it on with you. If you are, though, let¡¯s do it tomorrow morning instead.¡± An Xiaoning closed her eyes and answered, ¡°I¡¯m tired and I want to sleep.¡± He chuckled. ¡°Sure, let¡¯s go to bed first then.¡± They cuddled each other to sleep and soon drifted off to dreand. To them, it was the end of yet another battle, and they could finally get a peaceful night¡¯s sleep. Yet, someone else could not fall asleep and decided to stay awake the entire night. At this very moment,motion had broken out in the old mansion. ¡°You hit me in front of the children. Imbecile,¡± Mrs. Jinmented in between sobs. Mr. Jin did not bother entertaining her and instead yed deaf while tucked beneath the duvet. ¡°You even made me apologize to Xiaoning...¡± ¡°Get lost once you¡¯re done crying,¡± Mr. Jin hissed in annoyance. Mrs. Jin immediately stopped weeping andid down beside Mr. Jin in bed. Her thoughts were in a whirl as she stared nkly at the ceiling above her, thrown into an emotional turmoil. ¡°You asked Qingyue toe here by daybreak. What is it that you want to talk to them about?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know when they¡¯re all here.¡± Refusing to give up, Mrs. Jin continued to probe, ¡°Just what did Mother say to you?¡± ¡°You¡¯re really getting on my nerves. Leave me alone if you don¡¯t wish to sleep, because I want to sleep,¡± Mr. Jin rebuked. Mrs. Jin fell silent immediately and continued to stay wide awake throughout the rest of the night, a million thoughts flooding her mind. ¡ª¡ª Lin Mingxi arrived in Ming Yuan Estate early in the morning only to find that Ye Xiaotian had already left. Since she was now the Young Madam of the Ye family, it was only normal for her to show up there often. ¡°Young Madam, have you had breakfast?¡± a servant asked politely. ¡°No, fix me a set.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Lin Mingxi climbed up the stairs to the second storey. She pushed the door open and switched on the lights in the bedroom, causing the room to be brightly lit instantly. The room was scattered with items that obviously belonged to a woman. Needless to say, Lin Mingxi knew right away who the items had belonged to. ¡°Why are her things still lying around here even though she¡¯s already dead?¡± She took a look around the bedroom, walk-in wardrobe, and bathroom to find that Mo Li¡¯s belongings were everywhere. She could not help but feel terribly upset and peeved at the thought of Ye Xiaotian refusing to return to the Ye family mansion and choosing to stay in Ming Yuan Estate every day instead. Am I worse than a dead person? she thought to herself. She headed downstairs and sat down at the dining table. Shortly after, breakfast was served. ¡°Did Xiaotiane home frequently when that woman was still alive?¡± asked Lin Mingxi. ¡°Yes... Young Sir woulde home every day.¡± With raised brows, Lin Mingxi questioned apprehensively, ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Do you think that woman was pretty?¡± ¡°Definitely not as pretty as you are, Young Madam,¡± the maid answered. ¡°Why does Xiaotian adore her so much then?¡± The maid shook her head and said, ¡°Um, I¡¯m not too sure about that.¡± ¡°Alright, you are dismissed. I¡¯ll leave once I¡¯m done eating.¡± ¡°Alright, please enjoy your meal, Young Madam.¡± Lin Mingxi stood up to leave after barely eating anything. She instructed the servants not to inform Ye Xiaotian of her visit. She then headed to the office building of the Ye Corporation. She managed to make her way to Ye Xiaotian¡¯s office smoothly without any obstacles or obstruction. Upon sight of her arrival, Ye Xiaotian nced at her casually before continuing to focus on his work. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Are you upset to see your beautiful newlywed wife?¡± she remarked sarcastically, leaning against his office desk. ¡°You should know that very well.¡± ¡°Regardless of whether you¡¯re upset or not, you are to take responsibility since you¡¯ve married me, Ye Xiaotian.¡± He put his fountain pen down and stood up. Grabbing her chin with his hand, he asked, ¡°How do you want me to take responsibility?¡± Lin Mingxi was momentarily speechless as she looked him in the eye. ¡°You do have very exquisite features,¡± said Ye Xiaotian as he leaned in closer towards her. ¡°d you¡¯re aware.¡± ¡°I wonder how many times you¡¯ve gone under the knife to achieve that. Your nose bridge is so straight and high, I can¡¯t help but wonder if it¡¯ll go out shape if I pinch it,¡± Ye Xiaotian sneered with heavy sarcasm. Realizing that she had just been humiliated and made fun of, Lin Mingxi flung his hand away angrily. ¡°Ye Xiaotian! Are you done mocking me?¡± she snapped. ¡°Why did youe to my office?¡± he asked, tucking his hands into his pockets. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with visiting my husband at work? Am I only allowed to look for you when there¡¯s something urgent?¡± Lin Mingxi retorted distastefully, infuriated at the fact that Ye Xiaotian had never once returned to their bridal chamber ever since they got married. ¡°Oh? But I really don¡¯t understand why you¡¯re here.¡± Just as she was about to hug him, Ye Xiaotian pushed her away and dismissed her. ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, you may just leave.¡± Realizing that he was chasing her away, Lin Mingxi¡¯s face twisted into a frown. ¡°Ye Xiaotian, let me tell you, don¡¯t think I have to put up with this nonchnt attitude of yours just because you said you would treat me coldly for the rest of my life.¡± ¡°Feel free to file for a divorce if you can¡¯t put up with it. I¡¯d be more than willing to get a divorce,¡± Ye Xiaotian answered nonchntly. ¡°Dream on, I¡¯ll insist on not getting one then. I shall see how loyal you can be to a dead person,¡± Lin Mingxi retorted before turning around to leave. Standing by the French window, Ye Xiaotian gazed out at the scenery outside. He was filled with immense sorrow, feeling as if Mo Li had just passed away yesterday, though it had already happened quite some time ago. He could no longer control her or keep her by his side. She had finally obtained the freedom she always yearned for, yet he was entrapped in a state of agony and emotional turmoil. It was not until then that he truly understood what love was. Yet, it was all toote to tell Mo Li that he loved her. It was snowing heavily outside; his sorrows and troubles seemed to be taken away with the falling snow. ¡ª¡ª When Mei Yangyang arrived at An Xiaoning¡¯s ce to make Mo Li breakfast, she learned that An Xiaoning had returned home at midnight. Thus, she hurriedly zoomed upstairs to knock on her bedroom door. ¡°Sis?¡± Chapter 276 - You’re the Only One I Adore (9)

Chapter 276: You¡¯re the Only One I Adore (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Hurry and get up, it¡¯s already 8 o¡¯clock.¡± Upon hearing her call, An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan opened their eyes instantly. They were suddenly reminded of Mr. Jin¡¯s instruction to turn up at the old mansion by 9 o¡¯clock. Without further ado, they quickly got out of bed. After drawing open the curtains to find that it was snowing outside, An Xiaoning hurriedly put on a long feathered jacket. An Xiaoning then put on some makeup after washing up and headed downstairs for breakfast together with Jin Qingyan. While serving breakfast, Mei Yangyang asked An Xiaoning about what happened, and she got a great fright upon hearing An Xiaoning¡¯s exnation. ¡°How has Mo Li beentely?¡± ¡°The wound on her wrist haspletely healed and she can move about freely now. But to be safe, I seldom let her out.¡± ¡°Pregnant women ought to get some light exercise too. But given the current weather, she¡¯d better not move about too much, lest she slips and falls. Once the weather turns sunny, let her wear my human skin mask and go to the hospital for a prenatal checkup,¡± An Xiaoning instructed. ¡°Sis, you¡¯re so nice to Mo Li,¡± Mei Yangyang said with a grin. ¡°It¡¯s been hard on youtely. You¡¯ve been taking care of her while I was away for the past few weeks.¡± ¡°Sis, you ought to get some good rest in the days toe. By the way, they¡¯ve begun publicizing and advertising the movie. I¡¯m going to film for a TV program tonight.¡± ¡°Have some fun, Yangyang, just let your hair down. You have to speak more and be more outgoing on variety shows.¡± ¡°I know, but I¡¯m so nervous. It¡¯s my first time filming for a variety show. Thankfully Tianze will be going with me.¡± An Xiaoning took a look at the time and said, ¡°It¡¯s half past eight. Qingyan, hurry up and finish your breakfast. Before I forget, have you called Qingyue yet?¡± ¡°I tried, but I couldn¡¯t get through. Let¡¯s drop by her house to bring her alongter,¡± Jin Qingyan answered. They set off at forty minutes past eight in the morning. By the time they arrived at Jin Qingyue¡¯s doorstep, it was already five minutes before nine. Once they arrived at the entrance of the Shi family home, they alighted and entered the house. An Xiaoning once again stepped foot into the home she had once lived in for two years. She was extremely familiar with the ce and knew her way around. Meanwhile, Jin Qingyue was called to go downstairs before she had even gotten out of bed or had her breakfast. After months of not seeing each other, An Xiaoning was stunned beyond words to see that Jin Qingyue had put on a massive amount of weight. Compared to the way she looked before, Jin Qingyue indeed appeared less pleasant and attractive. However, it was rather understandable, given the fact that she was pregnant. ¡°You woke me up at such an early hour. What¡¯s the matter?¡± asked a sleepy-eyed Jin Qingyue, who had not washed up yet. ¡°Father wants you to go home together with me. He mentioned that he had something important to tell us,¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°Father? What¡¯s the matter?¡± Jin Qingyue asked in bewilderment. ¡°We¡¯ll know once we get there. Let¡¯s go,¡± said Jin Qingyan as he grabbed her by her arm. ¡°But I haven¡¯t washed up or had my breakfast.¡± ¡°Do that at the old mansion.¡± Jin Qingyue was then pulled into the car by her brother. ¡°An Xiaoning, weren¡¯t you imprisoned? Why are you with my brother?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. The truth is clear that I wasn¡¯t the murderer,¡± An Xiaoning rified. ¡°Of course, murderers wouldn¡¯t admit that they killed someone.¡±¡® Sensing that Jin Qingyan was ring daggers at her, Jin Qingyue hurriedly defended herself, ¡°I¡¯m just speaking the truth.¡± ¡°Truth? More like nonsense. We went to Grandma¡¯s gravest night and we even met her. Grandma said herself that Xiaoning wasn¡¯t the murderer. Now that you know the truth, stop spouting nonsense, otherwise you¡¯ll get it from me,¡± Jin Qingyan warned sternly. ¡°Got it.¡± Jin Qingyan red at her again and added, ¡°And... you are to address her as Sister-inw from now on. If I hear you calling her by her full name again, Jin Qingyue, I¡¯ll teach you a lesson myself.¡± ¡°Brother, aren¡¯t you being a little too protective...¡± ¡°I can¡¯t help it, she¡¯s mine. You¡¯d better address her properly.¡± ¡°Fine fine, I¡¯ll do whatever you say. No wonder Mother says you¡¯re bewitched by her. In fact, you¡¯re crazy about her,¡± eximed a disgruntled Jin Qingyue. ¡°Aren¡¯t you bewitched by Shi Shaochuan yourself? Why are you always so quick to criticize others before taking a look at yourself?¡± An Xiaoning rebuked. Recalling how stubborn she had been about insisting on marrying Shi Shaochuan back then, Jin Qingyue began to feel like she was too blinded by love. Thus, she stopped speaking and began stroking her taut and rounded belly. By the time they arrived at the Jin family old mansion, An Xiaoning took a look at the time and realized that it was a quarter past nine. Mr. Jin was seated on the couch alone while Mrs. Jin was nowhere in sight. Upon sight of their arrival, Mr. Jin motioned for them to take a seat. ¡°Father, what¡¯s the urgent matter? Brother came to fetch me here before I even got out of bed,¡± Jin Qingyue asked. Mr. Jin gazed at them with an austere expression on his face. ¡°Xiaoning.¡± ¡°Uncle,¡± An Xiaoning greeted. ¡°Give me a few strands of Qingyue and Qingyan¡¯s hair.¡± ¡°Alright...¡± An Xiaoning stood up and proceeded to pluck a few strands of hair from Jin Qingyan¡¯s scalp before moving on to Jin Qingyue. However, Jin Qingyue vehemently refused to allow An Xiaoning to pluck her hair. ¡°Father, tell me first, what are you doing this for?¡± Jin Qingyue questioned. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you after we pluck your hair.¡± ¡°Okay, okay, I¡¯ll do it myself. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re going to send the hair samples for a DNA test?¡± asked Jin Qingyue as she plucked a few strands of hair from her scalp. An Xiaoning grabbed her hair samples and ced them onto a sheet of white paper on the table. ¡°Yes, I¡¯d like to send them for a DNA test.¡± ¡°...¡± Before the pair of siblings could even respond, two medical professors dressed in long, white coats entered through the door. One of them was carrying a small box. ¡°Since both Mr. Jin and Ms. Jin are here, we shall begin now.¡± The professors stepped forward and ced the box onto the table. ¡°What are you guys going to do now? Are you going to draw our blood?¡± Jin Qingyue asked worriedly, appalled at the sight of the tubes. ¡°Yes. Please cooperate with us,¡± a professor said smilingly, motioning for her to remove her coat and roll up her sleeves. Upon sight of Jin Qingyan removing his coat, Jin Qingyue followed suit. Sitting in between them, An Xiaoning seemed to have guessed something as she watched them get ready for their blood samples to be taken. ¡°Ahh!¡± Jin Qingyue shrieked in pain. ¡°Ms. Jin, please stop moving. It¡¯ll be done in no time. If you keep moving about, we¡¯ll have to start all over again,¡± the professor instructed gently. Jin Qingyue¡¯s face twisted into a grimace due to the unbearable pain. The blood samples of Mr. Jin and the pair of siblings were ready in no time. The two professors then proceeded to leave with the blood and hair samples they collected. As soon as they left, Jin Qingyue burst out in agitation, ¡°Father, we¡¯re already all grown up. Do you actually still suspect that we¡¯re not your biological children?¡± ¡°This has nothing to do with age. The results will be out in a couple of hours. I really hope I haven¡¯t been raising and doting on someone else¡¯s children,¡± Mr. Jin answered bluntly without mincing his words at all. Jin Qingyue waspletely bbergasted and puzzled by her father¡¯s actions. ¡°Father, are you out of your mind? Why would Brother and I not be your biological children? Aren¡¯t you being a little too ridiculous?¡± Chapter 277 - You’re the Only One I Adore (10)

Chapter 277: You¡¯re the Only One I Adore (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°It¡¯s merely a test. Of course, it¡¯s best if you both are my biological children ¨C that just means I haven¡¯t raised you for nothing. If both or one of you isn¡¯t my biological child, then I¡¯ll definitely chase you out of the Jin family. The reason I¡¯m doing this is because it greatly concerns your grandmother¡¯s death!¡± Mr. Jin eximed, staring at Jin Qingyue. ¡°What? Father, what do you mean?¡± asked a confused Jin Qingyue. ¡°I spoke to your grandmother privatelyst night, she said...¡± Mr. Jin answered slowly. Suppressing his emotions with all his might, Mr. Jin continued, ¡°Your grandmother said, the person who murdered her... is someone within our family.¡± Jin Qingyue finally understood what he meant. ¡°Do you mean Mother did it!?! How could that be? Mother has always been respectful towards Grandma, why would she do that?¡± Jin Qingyue eximed in astonishment. ¡°Xiaoning is considered a part of our family. Since it¡¯s only a matter of time before you and Qingyan get married again, I won¡¯t hide it from you. This is a piece of scandalous news which would greatly affect our family once it spreads to the public. Your grandmother is still deeply concerned about our family and our reputation even though she¡¯s already passed. She made sure not to allow the press or media to hear of this,¡± said Mr. Jin. Agony was written all over his face, which he covered with his hand. Jin Qingyue was dumbfounded as she gripped onto the couch tightly, feeling as if it was all just a dream. Having already guessed the situation, Jin Qingyan asked, ¡°Was Grandma killed because she found out about the scandal?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Who was the perpetrator? Was it the butler?¡± Staring at the ground, Mr. Jin answered, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Father, where¡¯s Mother?¡± Jin Qingyue asked as soon as she recovered from the shock. ¡°She was locked up by me early in the morning. So was the butler. Once the DNA test results are out, I¡¯ll get her to sign the divorce papers. She¡¯s not allowed to take anything with her.¡± This was only to be expected. ¡°Has she admitted to it?¡± asked Jin Qingyan. ¡°No, she denied it. But your grandmother has already said that your mother was the one behind it. Does it still matter whether she admits it or not? She killed your grandmother, yet she still tried to frame Xiaoning and make her the scapegoat. I have nothing left to say about your mother. Last night, I really wanted to kill her. But I decided to endure it at the thought of the fact that she was your mother and that your grandmother said to spare her. Thus, I¡¯ll only be making her leave the family like your grandmother had instructed.¡± A deafening silence filled the air. Jin Qingyan was speechless because he too found that his mother¡¯s actions were unforgivable. Jin Qingyue was overwhelmed with anxiety and fear that she might not be a part of the Jin family. It would be disastrous, should that really be the case. Pangs of panic engulfed her. She was thrown into a state of confusion and emotional turmoil. At this point, she could no longer be bothered about washing up or having her breakfast. They then continued to wait for the test results. The clock struck 12 noon. When the two medical professors showed up at the door, Jin Qingyue was so nervous that her legs turned to jelly as she sat on the couch, unable to move an inch. An ominous feeling filled her heart. Holding the test report in hand, one of the professors spoke up, ¡°The test results are out. We were afraid of making the slightest mistake, thus we conducted multiple tests with the hair and blood samples repeatedly, over and over again. Here are the results which are of the highest uracy. There are a total of six matches.¡± ¡°What do you mean there are six matches?¡± asked Jin Qingyue. ¡°Before collecting the hair and blood samples of the three of you, we¡¯ve already done so for Mrs. Jin and the butler. We then conducted the tests by matching the samples belonging to you and your brother against those of Mr. and Mrs. Jin, as well as the butler,¡± the professor exined. ¡°Professor, please tell us the results,¡± Mr. Jin requested eagerly. ¡°Alright.¡± Looking at the test report, the professor continued, ¡°The test between Mr. Jin and Jin Qingyan¡¯s DNA shows that there is a 99% match, and thus, Jin Qingyan is confirmed to be your biological son.¡± Mr. Jin heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing the first result. Although Jin Qingyan had kept a straight face throughout, An Xiaoning knew that he was relieved as well because he had loosened his grip on her hand. ¡°Jin Qingyan and Mrs. Jin are also confirmed to be mother and son, and Jin Qingyan has no biological rtion to the butler. These are the test results for Mr. Jin Qingyan¡¯s samples.¡± The professor picked up the other set of test reports and continued, ¡°Ms. Jin and Mrs. Jin are also confirmed to be mother and daughter. However, Ms. Jin is not biologically rted to Mr. Jin. The paternity test shows that there¡¯s a 99% match in the DNA samples of Ms. Jin and the butler; thus, it is confirmed that Ms. Jin is the biological daughter of the butler.¡± Jin Qingyue was thrown into a state of frenzy as soon as the professor finished speaking. ¡°Bullshit!¡± Jin Qingyue eximed as she sprung up from her seat and quivered in shock and perturbation. ¡°I belong to the Jin family! I belong to the Jin family!¡± ¡°Ms. Jin, if you have any doubts about our test results, you may feel free to bring your samples to a different DNA Diagnostics Center for another test. In order to ensure maximum uracy, we¡¯ve run the test multiple times,¡± said the professor. ¡°I refuse to believe this! I refuse!¡± Jin Qingyue snapped, losing control of her emotions as she ran outside. ¡°It¡¯s snowing heavily outside. I¡¯ll give you a liftter,¡± said Jin Qingyan as he rushed forward to stop her. ¡°Let go of me!¡± Jin Qingyue burst into tears, in disbelief of what had happened. ¡°Why is that the test oue! I don¡¯t believe it, Brother, tell me it¡¯s not true.¡± ¡°Bring it to another Diagnostics Center to test it again. Alright?¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°Why are you Father¡¯s biological child but I¡¯m not? We¡¯re biological siblings, why have we be half-siblings all of a sudden!?!¡± Jin Qingyue cried, tears streaming down her face like a tap. Jin Qingyan picked her up from behind and carried her onto the couch. Jin Qingyan refused to let her leave alone because he was afraid that she would meet with a mishap, particrly since she was heavily pregnant. Mr. Jin was just as perturbed and astounded to find out that the daughter he raised did not belong to him. If even his son was someone else¡¯s child, he would¡¯ve lived his life in vain as an absolute failure. Fortunately, thankfully... ¡°Well, Mr. Jin, we¡¯ll be taking our leave then,¡± said the professor, handing him the test reports. Mr. Jin agreed with a nod. ¡°I will transfer the fees for the test to your bank ount.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± After walking the medical professors out, Mr. Jin returned straight to his bedroom. Jin Qingyue bawled loudly while covering her face, unable to ept the truth. She was the daughter of the glorious Jin family. How did she suddenly be the butler¡¯s daughter overnight? It was akin to a princess being reduced to a pauper. Absolutely uneptable to her. What was this? All of a sudden, she developed a strong sense of resentment and hatred towards her biological parents. She was right in her maiden home, yet she felt like she had just be an outsider without warning. Her brother had be the sole proprietor of the Jin family. She would no longer have a share in the Jin family assets. Was Heaven ying a joke on her? How could something so ridiculous happen? Mr. Jin returned to the living room from his bedroom with two documents in his hands. It was the divorce agreement papers between him and Mrs. Jin. ¡°Son, take a look,¡± said Mr. Jin, handing him the documents. Jin Qingyan was slightly taken aback, not because of the divorce agreement, but rather because his father rarely called him ¡°Son.¡± Chapter 278 - You’re the Only One I Adore (11)

Chapter 278: You¡¯re the Only One I Adore (11)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He felt a sudden surge of emotions within him upon hearing his father addressing him with such a term of endearment. He took the agreement from his father¡¯s hands and perused it before saying, ¡°I think the terms stated are more than lenient and generous.¡± Mr. Jin nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯ll have someone bring them here and get your mother to sign it.¡± Mr. Jin then gestured for the servants to bring Mrs. Jin and the butler, both of whom had been locked up the entire morning. An Xiaoning held onto Jin Qingyan¡¯s arm and remained silent throughout. More than ten minutester, she heard footsteps approaching. An Xiaoning looked up to see a dishevelled Mrs. Jin, who appeared aged and haggard with her bare face and unkempt hair. The butler had also entered. Jin Qingyue cried out even louder upon seeing them. ¡°The DNA test results are already out. Here¡¯s the divorce agreement. Sign it and leave while taking nothing with you, or face a death sentence in prison. It¡¯s up to you to decide,¡± said Mr. Jin, staring at her without a tinge of reluctance in his voice. Staring at the divorce agreement, Mrs. Jin scoffed, ¡°Nowadays, it¡¯s eptable for a man to have an affair outside his marriage, yet a woman ought to be punished for being unfaithful, is that so? I have Qingyue, but don¡¯t you have an illegitimate daughter too!?! What rights have you got to act all lofty and proper!?!¡± ¡°Did I kill your mother? You made the child¡¯s life hard while she struggled to live here for twelve years, after which she disappeared all of a sudden. You actually have the cheek to bring that up!¡± Mr. Jin snapped, ring daggers at her. Mrs. Jin did not respond and turned to face Jin Qingyan instead. ¡°Qingyan, do you really wish for your father and I to get a divorce too?¡± With a look of agony, Jin Qingyan answered, ¡°You two ought to settle this between yourselves, just like how no one should meddle in my matters. Don¡¯t forget, you killed Grandma and framed Xiaoning. I¡¯m ashamed to have you as my mother.¡± ¡°You... you¡¯re going to leave me be, is that it is?¡± said Mrs. Jin as tears welled up in her eyes. An Xiaoning absolutely detested emotional ckmailing. Thus, she interjected, ¡°Qingyan is not going to stop caring about you, he¡¯s still your son after all. He won¡¯t let you starve to death. He¡¯s just very disappointed in you because you¡¯ve ruined his impression of you as a dutiful mother.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just an outsider. You¡¯re in no position to poke your nose in our family matters,¡± Mrs. Jin hissed. ¡°How could I possibly be an outsider? I¡¯ll be registering my marriage with Qingyanter,¡± An Xiaoning said without hesitation. Jin Qingyan shot her a joyous nce, as if asking: ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Is that the case?¡± said Mrs. Jin, staring at the ground. ¡°Sign the papers, quick. We¡¯ll go ahead with the proceedings in secret afterwards,¡± Mr. Jin reiterated. Mrs. Jin walked towards the table and took another nce at the divorce agreement. She then bent forward to sign her name and stamp her fingerprint onto the papers. After she finished signing the agreement, she turned behind to look at Jin Qingyue. Jin Qingyue had been crying continuously, her tears knowing no limits. ¡°Qingyue...¡± Just as her mother called her name, Jin Qingyue yelled at the top of her lungs, ¡°Don¡¯t call me!¡± She struggled to get on her feet and red at her biological parents. Teary-eyed, she hollered, ¡°You two are inhumane! Mother, how could you kill Grandma? Since I was young, I¡¯ve been hearing you tell me about Father¡¯s affair and his illegitimate child. But look at you! What sets you apart from Father? I¡¯ve always thought I was different from Father¡¯s illegitimate daughter and often chastised her and despised her. Yet, it turns out she¡¯s Father¡¯s biological daughter and I¡¯m not!¡± The butler stood aside and said cautiously, ¡°Missy...¡± Jin Qingyue grew into an uncontroble rage. ¡°Shut up! I¡¯ll never acknowledge you as my father. Now that Mother is divorced, you two may very well just live together and stay away from me. I don¡¯t wish to see such a repulsive and adulterous pair like you two!¡± Jin Qingyan pulled An Xiaoning up and said to Jin Qingyue, ¡°Let me send you home.¡± Jin Qingyue walked away from the couch. Mrs. Jin tried to stop her, only to be pushed away forcefully. Jin Qingyue then left. Upon getting into the car, Jin Qingyue fell silent. After a while, she finally spoke up, ¡°Brother, I hope these scandalous news will never spread to outsiders.¡± ¡°Yes, that goes without saying.¡± ¡°Brother, you¡¯re the only kin I have now. There¡¯s no way I¡¯m allowed to return to the old mansion anymore. I wonder if Father will make me remove my surname,¡± Jin Qingyue said slowly. ¡°He will remove you from the household register and family bloodline record, but he wouldn¡¯t make you change your surname. You¡¯re married now anyway, your surname shouldn¡¯t matter anymore. You are to keep this matter from Shi Shaochuan, lest you create unnecessary trouble for yourself. If you let him know about this, he might see you in a different light,¡± Jin Qingyan instructed. If this were in the past, Jin Qingyue would definitely defend Shi Shaochuan and say confidently that he would love her the same regardless of her family background. However, she now realized that anything was possible, should Shi Shaochuan hear about the matter. Thus, she would remain tight-lipped for sure. ¡°Yes, I won¡¯t tell him. I¡¯m not that silly.¡± Jin Qingyan expressed assent and tried tofort her, ¡°Stop crying, you¡¯re pregnant right now. What would happen if you scare the baby? I¡¯m still your brother, aren¡¯t I?¡± Jin Qingyue was heartened and relieved to hear that. Jin Qingyan dropped Jin Qingyue off at her home before returning to the old mansion together with Xiaoning. ¡°Why are we here again?¡± asked An Xiaoning. ¡°Don¡¯t forget, you said you wanted to go register our marriage together.¡± ¡°I was just kidding.¡± ¡°But I took it for real. I hereby proim that the agreement we signed earlier is now invalid. Let¡¯s get married right away,¡± Jin Qingyan said bluntly. ¡°Jin Qingyan...¡± ¡°By the way, the pact you made with my mother to get pregnant within a year is also invalid now. She¡¯s no longer the matriarch of the Jin family, and thus, she has no rights to tell us what to do. Xiaoning, I love you. You are free.¡± ¡°I was being impulsive when I said that,¡± An Xiaoning struggled to exin. ¡°KIlling someone on impulse is still killing. You did say it, even if you were being impulsive.¡± ¡°Do you really wish to marry me so badly?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯d really like you to marry me again. Xiaoning, I want to use the rest of my life to prove to you that, no matter what happens, I¡¯ll still love you, pamper you, and give in to you. You¡¯ll be my queen from now on, you call the shots.¡± ¡°But, Qingyan, I don¡¯t feel secure if we don¡¯t have children.¡± ¡°I am the security you need. You are the security you need. Why do you need to have children in order not to be insecure? We¡¯re the ones who ought to give ourselves that sense of security. Got it, Xiaoning? We never know what the future holds, and we can¡¯t promise what will happen. I really need us to be husband and wife, our marriage means a lot to me. Xiaoning, I¡¯m willing to sign an agreement with you. Once we get married, 99% of my wealth and assets shall belong to you. I¡¯ll use that to prove that you¡¯re the only one I¡¯ll adore, be it now or in the future,¡± said Jin Qingyan. Chapter 279 - Please Me (1)

Chapter 279: Please Me (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He was genuinely full of sincerity. An Xiaoning was deeply moved, to the point that she wanted to agree right away. However, her rationality got the better of her. ¡°Qingyan, I understand where you¡¯reing from. But, I¡¯ll have to be prepared to spend the rest of my life together with you before I can agree to marry you. The agreement we had cannot be nulled.¡± Although Jin Qingyan was rather disappointed to see how persistent she was, his determination and resilience got even stronger. He was determined to cherish her even more dearly in the days toe, for if he were to lose her, he would never be able to get her back again easily. ¡ª¡ª Shi Shaochuan had not visited Xu Jingwen in days. Neither did he return her calls or text messages, causing her to panic. Throughout her rtionship with Shi Shaochuan, she had been rather blissful, apart from the time that Jin Qingyue found out about their affair. It had always been her dream to live a life of luxury. In fact, she had even considered bearing him some children in the future, so as to give herself some sort of reassurance that the rest of her life would be taken care of. However, it was apparent that he was now trying to cut off all ties with her. Although Xu Jingwen greatly feared what Jin Qingyue could do to her, she still refused to give up so easily. Thus, she decided to make the first move and came up with a solution to deal with Jin Qingyue. That is, to first seduce Shi Shaochuan all over again, and then to move into another rented apartment situated near a police station and install surveince cameras around the house. If Jin Qingyue were to turn up again with some gang members, Xu Jingwen would then upload the surveince camera footage online and expose her, so as to tarnish her reputation even further. After dolling herself up, Xu Jingwen put on a pair of ck stockings in spite of the cold, followed by a long feathered coat and a pair of heeled boots. She then began driving towards Shi Shaochuan¡¯s office building. Instead of going in straight away, she parked the car in the carpark and waited inside the car. Due to the fact that she had arrived just before he got off from work, he soon appeared. ¡°What brings you here?¡± asked Shi Shaochuan, shocked at the sight of her. ¡°You didn¡¯t answer my calls or reply to my messages. You didn¡¯te to visit me either, so I decided toe look for you myself,¡± said Xu Jingwen as she leaned closer towards him. Shi Shaochuan frantically opened the car door and pushed her into the back seat. ¡°My wife already knows about us. Don¡¯te looking for me again from now on.¡± ¡°Shi Shaochuan, are you dumping me now that you¡¯re sick of me?¡± Xu Jingwen snapped, infuriated to hear that he wanted to put an end to their rtionship. ¡°I already bought you a car, and I¡¯ve been giving you a generous amount of money all this while. How about I transfer you another 100 thousand dors tomorrow? Will that do?¡± Xu Jingwen stared at him and said, ¡°But I love you. I don¡¯t want money, I just want to be with you because being with you makes me happy.¡± Shi Shaochuan let out a sigh and pulled her into an embrace. ¡°But we can¡¯t go on. Jingwen, take the money I¡¯m giving you to set up a small business or something. Or you may go look for another man instead. Okay?¡± ¡°Shaochuan...¡± Finding that her first move did not work, Xu Jingwen decided to switch tactics and y cute instead. Spreading herself on top of him, she said, ¡°Don¡¯t do this to me, I genuinely want to be together with you.¡± Shi Shaochuan was already feeling a little repulsed by her after watching the video of her being raped in the morning. No matter how many women he had fooled around with, he would always want a clean and untouched woman. Noticing that he could not shirk her off, Shi Shaochuan had no choice but to say, ¡°Let¡¯s wait a while before we contact each other again then. How about that?¡± Xu Jingwen was dejected to see that he did not intend to continue their rtionship. ¡°Well, could you give me more money? Life would be easier for me then.¡± At the thought of the severe treatment Jin Qingyue had subjected her to, Shi Shaochuan decided to take pity on Xu Jingwen. Caressing her head gently, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll give you 200 thousand dors. Find a good man to live with in the future.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Xu Jingwen gave him a peck on his cheek before alighting from the car. She returned inside her car and looked out of the window to gaze at Shi Shaochuan¡¯s car. Initially, she thought that she could seduce him again. Little did she expect that things would turn out this way. Xu Jingwen then drove away from the building. After having her dinner outside, she drove towards ck Genie Bar, in hopes of finding herself another wealthy man to sponge off of. To her dismay, she coincidentally bumped into Mei Yangyang as soon as she entered. Mei Yangyang almost could not recognize her. Within just months, Xu Jingwen seemed to have be apletely different person. Her initial pure and innocent demeanor had transformed into a mature sultriness, thanks to her heavy makeup and revealing clothes. ¡°Wow, I was just wondering who¡¯d entered, turns out it¡¯s you,¡± said Mei Yangyang as she took a nce at her from head to toe. ¡°Yeah, didn¡¯t expect to see you here.¡± Not wishing to go about an idle chat with her, Mei Yangyang said, ¡°Do as you wish.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, she proceeded to the counter top. Long Tianze was sitting right by the counter. Xu Jingwen scanned her surroundings in the bar. She caught sight of a few men sitting alone. With just one nce, she could tell from the way that they were dressed who was wealthy and who was not. Without dy, she walked towards a wealthy man right away. Uncoincidentally, she happened toy her eyes upon Ling Ciye. Ling Ciye was sitting on the couch alone and ying with his mobile phone. Sensing that someone had sat down beside him, Ling Ciye looked up and said coldly, ¡°Get lost.¡± From his hostile attitude, Xu Jingwen knew right away that he would not be easily seduced. She had long managed to recognize him to be Ling Ciye, due to his outstanding features and dashing good looks. ¡°Mr. Ling, will you allow me the chance to buy you a drink?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need you to buy me a drink. I¡¯ve never had to pay for alcohol here,¡± Ling Ciye dismissed her coldly before standing up to walk away. Xu Jingwen had initially wanted to chase after him. However, she decided to forget it upon seeing that he was walking towards Mei Yangyang. She had made several attempts to strike a conversation that night, but to no avail. Atst, she had no choice but to head to another nightlife entertainment spot. ¡ª¡ª ¡°What did Xu Jingwen say to you?¡± asked Mei Yangyang. ¡°Who¡¯s Xu Jingwen?¡± Ling Ciye asked in puzzlement. ¡°The one with heavy makeup who sat beside you.¡± ¡°She said she wanted to buy me a drink. One look and you can tell she¡¯s a whore.¡± Long Tianze immediately burst into hystericalughter upon hearing Ling Ciye¡¯s words. Confused by his huge reaction, Mei Yangyang nudged him and said, ¡°Why did you have to let out such an exaggeratedugh?¡± ¡°Bet you didn¡¯t know, but Ciye has a penchant for trashy women who look like whores,¡± Long Tianze answered. Mei Yangyang hurriedly got him to shut up; even though they were close friends, he might offend Ling Ciye, she feared. However, Ling Ciye did not take offense and instead said calmly, ¡°Tianze is right, I do like women who dress like whores. But, just because they look like one, doesn¡¯t necessarily mean they are one. There¡¯s a great difference between looking like a whore and actually behaving like one.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Mei Yangyang, confused by his y on words. ¡°What he means is that he fancies women who look like whores, but aren¡¯t actually promiscuous or trashy,¡± Long Tianze exined. ¡°Women who look like whores? That¡¯s actually someone¡¯s type? Wow, I really learned something new today,¡± Mei Yangyang remarked. Chapter 280 - Please Me (2)

Chapter 280: Please Me (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Nothing is impossible in this world. Do you know why Ciye likes such women?¡± Long Tianze asked with a sheepish grin. ¡°Of course not,¡± said Mei Yangyang. How could she possibly know? ¡°Because, Ciye had a crush on this girl in high school, and she absolutely looked like a whore.¡± Mei Yangyang seemed to have an epiphanic moment. ¡°Oh I see, that girl must really be something, to be able to influence his taste in womenpletely.¡± ¡°Exactly. That girl is pretty famous now though, she¡¯s be a celebrity,¡± Long Tianze added. ¡°Who is she?¡± Mei Yangyang asked in curiosity. ¡°Not telling you just yet, lest you leak the news,¡± Long Tianze refuted as he flicked his finger against her forehead. Clutching her forehead in pain, Mei Yangyang answered, ¡°I promise I won¡¯t tell anyone. I really want to know who it is. Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s Sun Weiwei?¡± ¡°Of course not. Give me a kiss and I¡¯ll tell you.¡± What was so hard about that? Mei Yangyang stood on tiptoes immediately. However, she still could not reach Long Tianze, who had his chin raised. She had no choice but to jump up and give him a peck. Long Tianze then whispered into her ear. ¡°Oh my god!¡± she gasped in shock while covering her mouth. ¡°Don¡¯t tell anyone else, or Brother Ling is going to be upset.¡± Patting her chest, Mei Yangyang answered, ¡°Rest assured, I¡¯m very trustworthy.¡± Meanwhile, Ling Ciyepletely ignored their conversation, as if they were not talking about him. After finishing his ss of liquor, Ling Ciye turned around and said to Long Tianze, ¡°Since the Jin family matters are already settled, why didn¡¯t you invite Qingyan over for a drink? ¡°I wanted to call him here, but Yangyang didn¡¯t allow me to, she told me not to interrupt them from having their alone time,¡± Long Tianze exined, pointing at Mei Yangyang. ¡°What¡¯s the big deal about having a woman? Both of you are attached now, yet I¡¯m still a single bachelor. I just want to stop him from having a good time at home. Call him here,¡± Ling Ciye said, full of grudge. ¡°Hahaha, okay.¡± Long Tianze proceeded to give Jin Qingyan a call to invite him and An Xiaoning to the bar. Before the pair even arrived, female celebrity Song Yan turned up. Upon sight of Song Yan, Mei Yangyang immediately turned to look at Ling Ciye, because she had just heard from Long Tianze that his high school crush was Song Yan. She was the female celebrity who turned down the shampoomercial which Mei Yangyang took over. Long Tianze and Ling Ciye watched as she entered together with her bodyguards. Without warning, Ling Ciye threw an arm around Mei Yangyang, startling her. She turned to look at Long Tianze, only to find that he didn¡¯t seem angry at all. She immediately understood the situation and did not resist. Just like how Long Tianze had described it, Song Yan indeed looked like a tramp with her sultry appearance, which was alluring yet pure. She was the type that most men would find attractive. Song Yan stopped in her tracks upon sight of them and whispered to her assistant before taking a seat on the couch near the bar counter. Ling Ciye pretended not to notice her presence at all and continued to hold Mei Yangyang in his arms while facing Long Tianze. ¡°If only I¡¯d known earlier, I would¡¯ve brought two women here with me tonight.¡± Long Tianze could not help but burst intoughter. ¡°It¡¯s been eight years since you had a crush on her. Didn¡¯t you say that you no longer harbored any feelings towards her?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve long lost all feelings for her. I just don¡¯t want to look like a loser in front of her.¡± ¡°Oh... why is she walking towards us?¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes, she¡¯s here,¡± said Long Tianze as he stood up straight. ¡°Mr. Long, I didn¡¯t get to film the shampoomercial back then, and this prettydy here took the chance instead. I was just wondering how a newbie could actually score a shampoomercial. Turns out she has someone to give her a little push,¡± Song Yan said sarcastically with a smile on her face. In fact, she was mocking Mei Yangyang for having Long Tianze and Ling Ciye to help her pull connections... After a moment of silence, Long Tianze said, ¡°Pulling strings is only the first step. One must still have what it takes and put in the hard work to pull through. Just because you didn¡¯t wish to film themercial doesn¡¯t mean others didn¡¯t deserve the chance to. Weren¡¯t you once a newbie yourself?¡± Song Yan shifted her gaze onto Ling Ciye, who looked back at her. Ever since they graduated from high school, they had rarely seen each other. During the very few times that they showed up at the same event, they did not have a conversation either. Eight years flew by in the blink of an eye. Neither Ling Ciye nor Song Yan had ever been in a rtionship. Although there had been many rumors over the years, she had never had an actual boyfriend. The reason behind her fame and sess was her family¡¯s wealth and influential status. ¡°You¡¯re right, Mr. Long. Here, let me toast you to a drink,¡± said Song Yan as she picked up a ss of liquor gracefully from the tray a waiter was holding. ¡°Please.¡± Long Tianze clinked sses with her. ¡°We¡¯ll be heading to the room first,¡± Ling Ciye said to Long Tianze, taking thetter¡¯s girlfriend away right in front of him. Song Yan tightened her grip on the ss slightly as she stared at Ling Ciye¡¯s figure from behind. The reason Ling Ciye and Song Yan had ended up on such bad terms was precisely because they were both too prideful and ill-tempered for their own good. Even now, they were still the same old arrogant individuals they used to be back then. Jin Qingyan arrived together with An Xiaoning, hand in hand. Upon sight of them, Long Tianze greeted excitedly, ¡°Qingyan, Sis-inw.¡± ¡°Why the sudden invite?¡± asked An Xiaoning. ¡°Nothing, I just thought it¡¯d be great to meet and catch up with each other in this cold winter. There¡¯s a stove in the private room. Let¡¯s have hotpot and y some games, shall we?¡± ¡°Why are you alone? Where¡¯s Ciye?¡± asked Jin Qingyan, scanning his surroundings. ¡°He¡¯s upstairs with Yangyang. Let¡¯s go.¡± Noticing that they were about to leave, Song Yan interjected, ¡°May I join you guys?¡± Long Tianze was bbergasted and irritated at her shameless request. He felt an urge to tell her: We¡¯re all close friends, what¡¯s the point of tagging along? No one else knows you personally except Ling Ciye. However, he kept his thoughts to himself and said with a smile, ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯m afraid they won¡¯t feelfortable with a stranger around.¡± Actually, Long Tianze¡¯s main concern was that Mei Yangyang would have to continue posing as Ling Ciye¡¯s girlfriend if Song Yan were to tag along. Thest thing he wanted was to be a loner for the night! ¡°Mr. Long, I¡¯d just like to be close friends with you guys,¡± Song Yan insisted. Long Tianze had no choice but to give in, ¡°Well,e along then.¡± Song Yan turned around to tell her assistant something before following them upstairs. Ling Ciye and Mei Yangyang were sitting separately in the private room. However, upon sight of Song Yan, Ling Ciye shot Mei Yangyang a look, after which she quickly sat down beside Ling Ciye. An Xiaoning was dumbstruck by their actions. Being the bright and intelligent person he was, Jin Qingyan immediately understood what was happening. Ling Ciye red at Long Tianze, who then shot him a look, as if to say that Song Yan had insisted on tagging along and that he did not have any other choice but to concede. Chapter 281 - Please Me (3)

Chapter 281: Please Me (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Song Yan sat down beside An Xiaoning and took the initiative to break the ice. ¡°Nice to meet you, Ms. An. I¡¯m Song Yan, I often read about you on the news. I¡¯m so envious of you.¡± ¡°Thank you, there¡¯s nothing about me to be envious of. Look at yourself, you¡¯re the hottest A-lister right now. I heard the television dramas you starred in have even been broadcasted overseas and received high viewership and ratings,¡± An Xiaoningplimented smilingly. ¡°Well, to me, a woman¡¯s only truly sessful if she manages to capture the heart of the person she loves. That¡¯s something far greater than an established career,¡± Song Yan answered, appearing a little shy. ¡°If a woman doesn¡¯t have a sessful career, for how long can she make a man stay in love with her?¡± An Xiaoning said in disagreement. ¡°In my case, forever,¡± Jin Qingyan interjected. His sudden uncalled-for opinion interrupted their conversation. ¡°This is exactly why I¡¯m so envious of you, Ms. An. You¡¯re so fortunate,¡± Song Yan said with a chuckle. An Xiaoning responded with a courteous smile. After all, others were not aware of the trials and tribtions she had gone through. Although he had indeed brought her an abundance of happiness and bliss, she had also suffered a great deal of torment because of him. Indeed, Heaven is fair ¡ª win some, lose some. An Xiaoning had fully epted that fact. The crowded room was filled with warmth from the heater as they gathered around the hotpot for a sumptuous meal. Ling Ciye remained rather quiet and did nothing except request for Mei Yangyang to help him to the food throughout the entire meal. Mei Yangyang had no choice but to abide by his instruction. Unsure of how she should address him, she simply said, ¡°Honey, tuck in.¡± ¡°I want some too, scoop some into my bowl,¡± said Long Tianze, handing her his bowl. ¡°Okay, here¡¯s yours,¡± said Mei Yangyang as she scooped some food for him. Holding a pair of chopsticks in her hand, Song Yan appeared to be rather upset and frustrated. She began to wonder why she had been so insistent on tagging along, as she could not help but feel like her presence was redundant. ¡°Shall we y a game?¡± Song Yan suggested. ¡°What game?¡± asked Long Tianze. A smile formed on Song Yan¡¯s face as she answered, ¡°Let¡¯s turn off the lights and y a round of Scissors, Paper, Stone to decide who gets to be blindfolded. I know it may seem childish, but I think it¡¯d be fun to y once in a while.¡± No one responded except Ling Ciye, who finally spoke up. ¡°Let¡¯s go ahead then,¡± he agreed. Long Tianze nced at Ling Ciye and understood his intentions right away. He then stood up and began pping his hands excitedly. ¡°Now that we¡¯re done eating to our hearts¡¯ content, let¡¯s y some games.¡± Everyone rose from their seats to y a round of Scissors, Paper, Stone. Having lost the first round, Mei Yangyang had to wear a blindfold and guess who the person in front of her was. The area of guessing was restricted to the teapoy. Once the lights were off, Mei Yangyang raised her hands in the air and began to touch the things around her while moving towards the window. Shortly after taking a few steps, she tripped over a small stool and fell onto the ground, causing her to wince in pain. ¡°Yangyang, are you alright?¡± Long Tianze asked worriedly. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± After hearing Long Tianze¡¯s voice, she quickly stood up and walked towards him. Soon, a familiar scent wafted up to her nose and a smile formed on her face as she reached a hand out to touch Long Tianze. She traced his eyes, nose, and lips with her hands. It was him all right. ¡°I caught one, it¡¯s Tianze,¡± Mei Yangyang eximed as she removed her blindfold. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have found me if I didn¡¯t speak up. Littless, I let you find me on purpose.¡± ¡°Well, you were the one who wanted to speak up. Let¡¯s restart the game,¡± Mei Yangyang said triumphantly. The lights were switched on again and the second round of Scissors, Paper, Stonemenced. Jin Qingyan never expected himself to be ying such a childish game, which he absolutely could not stand. However, he decided to carry on and apany An Xiaoning upon noticing how happy she was. In the second round, it was Song Yan¡¯s turn to wear the blindfold. Once again, the lights were switched off. Minding her steps along the way, Song Yan moved forward slowly and soon got hold of the long curtain, after which she managed to touch a body. Ling Ciye remained still and allowed her to move her hand about his body. All of a sudden, he grabbed onto Song Yan¡¯s hand, causing her heart to pound rapidly when she realized who it was. Before she could even make a sound, he surged forward to nt a deep, passionate kiss on her lips. She could never forget the all-too-familiar scent that was unique to him. After less than a minute, he quickly moved away from her and whispered softly, ¡°Seems like my kiss still never fails to get you enamored.¡± Song Yan turned as pale as a sheet, though he could not see it since the room was pitch dark. She did not deny that the sudden kiss from him had shocked her out of her senses and caused her mind to go nk. When the lights were on again, all eyes were fixed on the two of them. For the rest of the game, Song Yan could not bring herself to focus as she sank deep into a trance. Thus, she decided to go sit on the couch instead and remained seated after chugging two sses of wine. Mei Yangyang had been observing her throughout. She began to wonder what happened between Ling Ciye and Song Yan upon noticing that they seemed to look rather upset. Mei Yangyang was constantly ill at ease as she simply could not hold it in any longer. Thus, she finally caved into temptation and pulled An Xiaoning aside to tell thetter about the secret she had just found out from Long Tianze. An Xiaoning was thest one to find out about the secret, which shocked her greatly. She finally understood why Song Yan was so insistent on tagging along. However, she was in no ce to poke her nose into others¡¯ business. Everyone was in high spirits after the games and karaoke session, whichsted ¡¯til almost ten o¡¯clock before they decided to call it a day. Jin Qingyan left together with An Xiaoning while the four of them remained. Being the lofty and arrogant woman she was, Song Yan decided to take leave out of her own ord together with her assistant and bodyguards. The remaining three could finally drop the pretense and be themselves. ¡°Why do I have a feeling that you two still have feelings for each other? You even kissed her just now. I saw everything,¡± Long Tianze said to Ling Ciye. Evading his question, Ling Ciye quickly took his leave. ¡°I¡¯ll get going.¡± ¡°Did you hurt yourself when you fell just now?¡± Long Tianze asked Mei Yangyang, who was beside him. Leaning her head against his chest, Mei Yangyang answered, ¡°No, I¡¯m fine. Mr. Long, what are your thoughts on watching me act as a couple with your best friend?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fortunate that it¡¯s my best friend. Otherwise, I would murder you two.¡± ¡°Hmph, really?¡± asked Mei Yangyang as she sat up straight to look at him. ¡°Of course.¡± Mei Yangyang took a look at the time and said, ¡°Send me home now, it¡¯s gettingte.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t go home tonight, let¡¯s spend the night together,¡± Long Tianze suggested. ¡°No, I want to go home, hurry up.¡± ¡°Alright, got it, Baby.¡± Long Tianze reluctantly exited ck Genie Bar while holding onto her hand. They were then greeted with the sight of Ling Ciye pulling Song Yan into a car as soon as they stepped out of the bar. That speed, aura, and expression... Clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth, Long Tianze remarked, ¡°I knew it. I know what he¡¯s thinking.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t buy it. Tell me then, what is he thinking?¡± ¡°You really want to know? But I¡¯m not telling you.¡± ¡°I bet you don¡¯t even know.¡± ¡°Ah, you know me best,¡± said Long Tianze as he held her hand up to kiss it. Chapter 282 - Please Me (4)

Chapter 282: Please Me (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Ling Ciye and Song Yan sat side by side in the back seat of the car. Ling Ciye knew that Song Yan hade with him willingly, for her bodyguards would have intervened otherwise. ¡°Why did you bring me here?¡± asked Song Yan. ¡°Why did you follow Tianze into the private room? I want nothing but the truth,¡± said Ling Ciye, keeping his eyes fixed on her. ¡°Must I tell you just because you want to hear it?¡± Song Yan retorted in her usual prideful tone. She had been staying single for the past few years because she had yet to find someoneparable to him. Yet, he had already had multiple girlfriends after her. It¡¯s apparent that he had already put their past behind him. At least, that was what she thought. ¡°Yangyang is not my girlfriend but Tianze¡¯s,¡± Ling Ciye said in admittance. Song Yan stared at him in astonishment. She had long heard of rumors about Mei Yangyang and Long Tianze, which surfaced due to the fact that they were an onscreen couple in the movie they had recently filmed. To her surprise, the rumors turned out to be real. Why did he pretend to be a couple with Mei Yangyang then... Being a bright woman, Song Yan quickly realized his intentions. ¡°Really?¡± she asked, overwhelmed with a mix of emotions. ¡°I¡¯ve been staying single ever since we broke up. It¡¯s been that way for years,¡± Ling Ciye answered. He felt that they could sort things calmly over a talk, especially since so many years had already gone by. Song Yan was momentarily touched by his words. ¡°Me too.¡± Ling Ciye inched forward and kissed her passionately. Song Yan kept still and allowed him to continue kissing her. In those moments, they felt as if they were transported back to the days in high school when they were in love with each other. In hindsight, it was indeed quite a pity to have broken up over a trivial matter. Minutester, he let go off her. With the lights switched off in the car, the car was dimly lit by the streetmps. A brief moment of silence followed. ¡°Let¡¯s start our rtionship afresh,¡± said Song Yan. ¡°I¡¯ve waited years for your exnation about what happened back then, but you¡¯ve yet to say anything to me. I came to look for you because I really couldn¡¯t hold my feelings back any longer. So many years have passed. I really think it¡¯s time we try starting anew. Perhaps things will turn out differently this time.¡± ¡°I did try and exin to you, but you refused to listen at that time.¡± ¡°Exin it to me again, I want to hear it now.¡± Ling Ciye raised his brows and ced his hands on hisp as he began to recall the past. After pondering over where to begin, he finally said, ¡°At that time, it was a few days before your birthday and I wanted to give you a present you¡¯d like. But I didn¡¯t know what I should get you so I decided to ask Mo Li along to help me pick out a present for you. I thought that since you were both girls, you would have simr preferences. You were the one who misunderstood the situation. I don¡¯t have many females around me, and in fact, I have no female friends at all apart from Qingyue and Mo Li. Mo Li tried exining to you back then too, but you were simply too infuriated to hear any of what we had to say.¡± ¡°I actually heard from an insider tonight that Mo Li has passed on.¡± Unsure of how to exin, he answered, ¡°Is that the only reason why you came to find me tonight?¡± ¡°I just couldn¡¯t swallow my pride to look for you first before this. You know me, that¡¯s just how I am. I will never be the one to give in first. But, I decided that I could bring myself to do it if it means I could finally put an end to the regrets I¡¯ve been holding on to for the past few years,¡± Song Yan exined. Ling Ciye allowed his actions to do the talking as he reached out to hold her hand. Song Yan gazed at him, her heart racing and pounding exceptionally quickly. ¡ª¡ª On the way home, Jin Qingyan briefly exined about Ling Ciye and Song Yan¡¯s rtionship to An Xiaoning. Upon arriving home, they headed upstairs straight away. Jin Qingyan proceeded to brush his teeth while An Xiaoning took a few sips of tea before entering the bathroom. Jin Qingyan squeezed some toothpaste onto her tooth brush before handing it to her. She then stuffed the toothbrush into her mouth and began brushing her teeth. After she was finished brushing her teeth, she said, ¡°I¡¯ll go downstairs to check up on Mo Li.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning opened the door of the basement and began walking down the stairs slowly to see that Mo Li had yet to go to bed. Upon hearing footsteps approaching, Mo Li sat up and greeted her, ¡°Xiaoning.¡± ¡°You¡¯re still up?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯m not tired since all I do isy down in bed all day. Did you just return home?¡± Mo Li asked smilingly. ¡°We had a gathering with Tianze and the rest at his bar. Song Yan was there too.¡± ¡°Oh, she was there. Was Brother Ciye present too?¡± Mo Li asked in astonishment. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°It¡¯s quite a pity that their rtionship ended. Brother Ciye is the type to refuse to swallow his pride and concede, but so is Song Yan. Moreover, Song Yan has an extremely powerful family. Her grandfather is a founding father of our country, S Nation, and her father was the Chief of Military. I heard he¡¯s incredible. That exins why she¡¯s so prideful and lofty. Thus, ever since they broke up, they cut off all contact with each otherpletely. Very few people know about their rtionship because they were dating secretly,¡± Mo Li remarked. ¡°Teenage romance is the purest, but it¡¯s also very susceptible to failure since teenagers simply cannot ovee obstacles in their rtionships. But, from the way I see it, I reckon they¡¯ll reconcile in the future ¨C they both seem like they do have the intentions of doing so. Even the blind can tell they still have feelings for each other. By the way, I saw the weather report today, and tomorrow¡¯s weather is predicted to be merry. Mo Li, if you find yourself getting bored, do feel free to go out for a walk. You may put on my human mask, no one will recognize you then,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Really? That¡¯s great. I¡¯ve been cooped up here for days, I¡¯m really going to be bored to death soon. I desperately need to take a breather.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you the mask tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°Alright, thank you so much, Xiaoning.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. Go to bed, it¡¯s gettingte,¡± An Xiaoning said with a smile. ¡°Goodnight.¡± An Xiaoning returned upstairs and asked Jin Qingyan, ¡°When was thest time I got my period? I can¡¯t remember.¡± ¡°On the 6th ofst month,¡± Jin Qingyan answered without hesitation. ¡°How did you remember so clearly?¡± ¡°I wrote it down for you on a notebook that I left in the drawer.¡± An Xiaoning quickly opened the drawer to discover that there was a small journal with a pen on top of it. She took the journal out and flipped through its pages. Jin Qingyan had indeed noted down all the dates of her menstrual cycle as well as the color of her blood. He did not seem like such a meticulous person at all. ¡°Seems like Aunt Flo will be paying a visit anytime soon then,¡± said An Xiaoning as she put the journal back into the drawer, then removed her home slippers before crawling onto bed. ¡°I know that better than you. But I hope she doesn¡¯t arrive this month,¡± said Jin Qingyan, cocking his head towards the side to face her. ¡°Just because I don¡¯t menstruate doesn¡¯t necessarily mean I¡¯m pregnant. Most of the time, it¡¯s merely because of a hormonal imbnce.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re pregnant, I¡¯ll definitely have to suffer a dry spell of three months.¡± ¡°Says who? If I manage to conceive, you¡¯d have to resist your urges throughout the entire course of my pregnancy, not just three months,¡± she corrected him in a serious manner. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, we¡¯ll be together anyway, I¡¯ll just wait until the night we consummate our marriage and give it my all. You might not be able to even get down from the bed then.¡± An Xiaoning burst into giggles and surged forward to snuggle into his arms. ¡°Could you be less crude about it?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Since you¡¯re getting your period soon, all the more reason I can¡¯t let you off tonight,¡± Jin Qingyan dered as he cast the book in his hands aside. ¡°I¡¯m very tired, I want to sleep.¡± Chapter 283 - Please Me (5)

Chapter 283: Please Me (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°You¡¯re free to go to sleep. Just lie down, you don¡¯t have to move at all.¡± Jin Qingyan lowered his head to give her a kiss and said, ¡°Be good. Actually, it¡¯s best if you just y dead.¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan, you jerk. Why don¡¯t you y dead instead?¡± ¡°Will you do the work if I y dead?¡± ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll be the one to y dead then.¡± ¡ª¡ª As soon as they woke up to have breakfast the next morning, Jin Qingyan received a call from Mr. Jin, who informed him that the divorce proceedings were already settled. He also mentioned that Mrs. Jin had packed her bags and left the old mansion together with the butler in the morning. Jin Qingyan did not ask any questions and instead just acknowledged the information. After ending the call, he picked up a pair of chopsticks and began eating his breakfast. An Xiaoning knew better than to ask any questions. After putting on the mask An Xiaoning had handed her, Mo Li stared at her reflection in the mirror in surprise of how realistic it appeared. ¡°It really looks just like an actual face. It must¡¯ve cost a bomb, hasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I bought it for two million dors.¡± ¡°Awesome, the weather looks great today. I¡¯d like to go for a prenatal checkup. Oh, and I¡¯d also like to visit an hical clinic to find out the gender of the baby, just so I can buy him or her some clothes in advance. After that, I¡¯ll go visit my parents.¡± ¡°Sure, but I¡¯ll instruct 007 to apany you. It won¡¯t be easy for you to get around since you¡¯re heavily pregnant. Are you okay with that?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Of course I am. Xiaoning, you¡¯re so thoughtful and considerate. I¡¯ll get going now then,¡± said Mo Li as she stood up slowly. ¡°Let me drive you there.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s alright, I¡¯d like to take a stroll. I have been sedentary for too long.¡± ¡°Alright, be careful then,¡± An Xiaoning instructed. ¡°Got it.¡± Mo Li and 007 then proceeded to stroll along the sidewalk. She had spent most of her time in the basementtely and rarely had the chance to catch some fresh air. Mo Li was d to finally take a day out. 007 held her arm as they walked together at a very slow pace. She simply could not stand lying in bed all day with no activity at all. They first visited the hospital for a prenatal checkup, which concluded that the fetus was very healthy with no visible issues. They then headed to a private clinic for an ultrasound scan to find out the gender of her child. After the scan, the middle-aged woman who conducted the scan informed her straight away that it was a girl. Mo Li was not in the least bit disappointed at all. She was happy to be expecting a daughter with whom she could spend the rest of her life with peacefully without much of a burden. She would strive and do her best to raise her child well. After a long walk, they arrived opposite the breakfast bistro run by Mo Li¡¯s family. From a distance away, she could spot her parents and brother in the midst of serving customers and operating the bistro. She made her way to the bistro together with 007. Mrs. Mo did not recognize her, though she had recognized 007. ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to be working for Ms. An?¡± asked Mrs. Mo. ¡°Mother,¡± said Mo Li. ¡°Huh?¡± Mrs. Mo opened her eyes wider to take a closer look before recognizing who she was. ¡°Mo Li?¡± ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± Mo Li answered as she began walking towards a room inside before removing her mask in front of Mrs. Mo. ¡°Anything is possible in this world, indeed. It really looks so realistic. I wouldn¡¯t have been able to recognize you if I didn¡¯t hear your voice,¡± Mrs. Mo said in utter shock and amazement. ¡°This human mask belongs to Xiaoning. I borrowed it because it would make it easier for me toe out. This mask was tailor-made to her face, but fortunately, my face isn¡¯t toorge and we share simr face shapes. Otherwise, there would¡¯ve been an obvious difference.¡± Suddenly reminded of her purpose for visiting, Mo Li added, ¡°Mother, ask Mo Xun toe in.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Mrs. Mo turned around to call for her son. Shortly after, Mo Xun entered the room. ¡°Sis.¡± ¡°Mo Xun, take a seat. I have something to ask of you.¡± Mo Xun was rather confused about her appearance and listened to his mother¡¯s exnation before saying, ¡°Go ahead and speak, Sis.¡± ¡°I was just thinking that I can¡¯t keep imposing on Xiaoning and live in her house forever. So, I need you to make a trip to the countryside and rent a house there. Houses don¡¯t cost much in the countryside. It doesn¡¯t have to be a mansion. A simple one with a few rooms and a garden would do. Try to look out for those with arger garden, though. We may then use it to grow some vegetables and fruits. I¡¯m intending to live in the countryside with the child once she¡¯s born.¡± ¡°Got it, I¡¯ll go to the countryside to ask aroundter,¡± Mo Xun answered. Gazing at her mother, Mo Li revealed, ¡°Mother, I went to verify the gender of my baby. It¡¯s a girl.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great, I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about you having to shoulder a burden then. It¡¯s a good idea to move to the countryside since no one knows you there. I¡¯ll have peace of mind knowing that you and my grandchild are safe in the countryside. The air there is fresher, and the food is environmentally friendly too. Alright, let¡¯s get Mo Xun to goter,¡± said Mrs. Mo. Mo Li nodded and said, ¡°Give me a call once you¡¯ve found a suitable house.¡± ¡°Sis, I¡¯ll help you organize the house, and I¡¯ll pick you up directly once I¡¯ve found one. Okay?¡± ¡°Alright, that works too. I won¡¯t stay here any longer then. Mother, I¡¯ll be taking my leave,¡± said Mo Li as she stood up. ¡°Let Mo Xun send you,¡± Mrs. Mo suggested. ¡°It¡¯s fine, I n to shop around a little before heading back. I haven¡¯t been out in ages, I¡¯d like to explore and walk around,¡± Mo Li refuted. ¡°Take good care of yourself then. Be mindful of your step,¡± Mrs. Mo instructed. ¡°Got it, Mother.¡± Mo Li exited the bistro with 007 and began walking along the sidewalk. Due to the fact that she had concealed her identity with her mask, Mo Li could walk around at ease, without fear of being recognized. Mo Li proceeded to buy herself two sets of maternity clothing as well as somepression wear and winter boots. Exhausted, she decided to hail a cab home. Rays of sun cast down on Mo Li as she sat in the garden while surfing the inte on her mobile phone to kill some time. There were reports online about Ye Xiaotian not returning to the bridal chamber ever since his wedding, which was to the displeasure of Lin Mingxi and her family. Mo Li continued to stare at her phone screen for a long while. She knew clearly the reason behind Ye Xiaotian¡¯s decision to marry Lin Mingxi all of a sudden. However, it was no longer important. She could now live her life as she pleased, with no one to restrict her from doing what she wanted. Although her child would still not enjoy a proper status, she would register her child onto her household register. Her child would be showered with all the love Mo Li had to offer, in spite of how she would not have a father. ¡ª¡ª Xi Bi sat on the chair in his study with his pants unzipped while Annie kneeled under the desk to pleasure him enthusiastically. He had on a straight face as he fiddled with a pen in his hand while staring at the screen on hisputer. ¡°Ancestor, aren¡¯t you enjoying my service?¡± Xi Bi looked down at her and answered, ¡°If you were An Xiaoning, I wouldn¡¯t be just sitting here now.¡± Annie could not help but retort in disgruntlement, ¡°What¡¯s so great about a woman who was twice married?¡± ¡°Are you any different from her in terms of marital status?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve only had one divorce.¡± ¡°From what I know, you¡¯ve engaged in promiscuous rtionships with countless men in nightclubs after your divorce with Byron. Quit pretending to be innocent and demure in front of me or I¡¯ll lock you up again,¡± Xi Bi scoffed. Annie crawled out and away from the desk slowly before steeling her guts to snuggle up into his arms. ¡°Ancestor, don¡¯t be like this. I belong to youpletely now.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± he asked. ¡°Of course,¡± Annie replied as she straddled hisp. Chapter 284 - Please Me (6)

Chapter 284: Please Me (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xi Bi retrieved a rope from the drawer and tied it around Annie¡¯s neck before tightening the knot, causing her to remain still. ¡°Just dare to bet I won¡¯t strangle you to death.¡± ¡°I know you won¡¯t. You¡¯re not that cruel to me,¡± said a frightened Annie as she gripped the rope tightly to prevent him from tightening it further. Xi Bi finally let go and said, ¡°I¡¯ll give you a chance. Don¡¯t show up in front of me again and stay as far away from me as possible. I don¡¯t wish to see you again from now on.¡± Noticing the austere expression on his face, Annie said reluctantly, ¡°You really don¡¯t need me anymore?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you understand English? Must I really repeat myself?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± Utterly dejected, she lifted herself off him and said, ¡°I¡¯ll leave right now.¡± After taking a few steps, she stopped in her tracks and added, ¡°I think you¡¯re suddenly interested in An Xiaoning only because you¡¯ve never seen such a strong-headed woman like her before. But, there¡¯s no way you can defeat Jin Qingyan, he¡¯s way more brilliant than you are.¡± In a moment of pique, Xi Bi whipped a gun out and pointed it at her. ¡°You talk too much,¡± he said while releasing the trigger. The bullet struck Annie right smack in the middle of her forehead, after which she fell to the ground immediately. He zipped his pants and stood up to leave. ¡°Clean up the mess,¡± he instructed the servants at the door. ¡°Yes, Master.¡± With a hand in his pocket, Xi Bi walked towards the living room and asked the man beside him, ¡°What¡¯s the condition in S Nation now?¡± ¡°Master, An Xiaoning was imprisoned previously because she was framed as the prime suspect of the murder of Jin Qingyan¡¯s grandmother. But the truth was revealed, proving her to be innocent, and thus, she has since been released. Jin Qingyan seems to be very protective of An Xiaoning. He ordered for bodyguards to guard by every corner of their residence, and An Xiaoning would also be escorted everywhere she goes. I heard that Jin Qingyan has renovated his house and they would be moving in very soon.¡± ¡°Oh, seems like he¡¯s learned his lesson. He¡¯s Jin Qingyan after all.¡± A look of disappointment formed on Xi Bi¡¯s face. It was his first time feeling threatened and challenged because of a woman. His only hobby was to toy with women who were already attached. He refused to believe that Jin Qingyan could protect her seamlessly. They agreed to meet again after all, how could he not keep to his promise? An Xiaoning, I wille for you , he thought in his head. Xi Bi stared out of the door with a look of determination in his gaze. ¡ª¡ª Jin Qingyan received a call from Mrs. Jin just as he got off from work in the afternoon. ¡°Qingyan, Mother has nowhere to go now. I¡¯ve been looking for a house all day, but I just can¡¯t seem to find a suitable one. I don¡¯t feelfortable living in a smaller house. I n to move in to the house you used as your bridal chamber back then,¡± said Mrs. Jin, who sounded like she was informing him of her decision instead of discussing her ns with him. ¡°You¡¯re moving in alone?¡± ¡°No, with your uncle as well.¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s tone turned cold and aloof instantly. ¡°No, I¡¯ll allow you to live there if you¡¯re moving in alone. He¡¯s not allowed toe with you. Otherwise, you two may go look for Qingyue instead.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already divorced your father. Qingyan, you have so many properties across the country anyway, what¡¯s wrong with letting me move into one? Your father and I have long lost our feelings for each other. Do you know how I struggled with the emotional torment when he begot a daughter with his mistress in the past? I¡¯ve already given up on him since then.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care what¡¯s between you two. My decision is final. You may move in alone, but the butler is not allowed to,¡± Jin Qingyan insisted firmly. ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll let him rent another house nearby.¡± ¡°Wait a minute! If he rents a house nearby, wouldn¡¯t you two be openly showing up together very often around my estate?¡± Jin Qingyan questioned. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be okay?¡± ¡°Of course not! If you don¡¯t wish to see me kill him, then you¡¯d better make him move to another city,¡± Jin Qingyan warned sternly. ¡°Then I¡¯ll leave together with him. Forget about seeing me again for the rest of your life!¡± Mrs. Jin retorted angrily. ¡°Sure, it doesn¡¯t matter to me anyway. Do you really think I can¡¯t live without my mother?¡± ¡°Qingyan!¡± Not wishing to live her remaining days branded as an adulterer, Mrs. Jin gave in. ¡°I promise we won¡¯t appear in public together under broad daylight. Will that do?¡± ¡°He is to rent a house at least five kilometers away from my estate. Otherwise, you¡¯re on your own.¡± Jin Qingyan detested the butler to the point that he wished he could just behead him. ¡°Alright, got it. I¡¯ll move in alone then,¡± said Mrs. Jin before hanging up the phone. Staring at his phone screen, Jin Qingyan blocked the butler¡¯s mobile number and began driving back to Dongpo District. Just as he arrived at the backyard, a pleasant fragrance wafted up to his nose. He peeked inside to find that his dainty woman, An Xiaoning, was cooking up a meal while wearing an apron, in spite of her mediocre culinary skills. ¡°Are you cooking?¡± he asked, hugging her from behind. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m learning how to.¡± ¡°Let me teach you,¡± he said, grabbing her hand to guide her in stir-frying the dishes. Beaming with joy, An Xiaoning looked up at him and said, ¡°I feel just like we¡¯re acting out a scene from a romantic drama.¡± ¡°Really?¡± he asked. ¡°You seem to be in a bad mood. What happened?¡± An Xiaoning managed to sense his unhappiness due to her sensitive character. ¡°My mother has been on a search for a house to move into the whole day and said that she wouldn¡¯t befortable with living in a smaller house. Thus, she wants to move into our previous bridal chamber, and she even said that she¡¯d like for the butler to move in together with her. But no way am I allowing that. In the end, she agreed to move in alone,¡± Jin Qingyan exined, fuming with anger at the thought of his conversation with his mother earlier. ¡°Ever since we got married, my impression of your mother has changed drastically. I used to see her as a good role model and a perfect mother-inw, but after everything that happened, I view her in apletely different light now,¡± An Xiaoning remarked. ¡°Do you remember the half-sister from another mother I mentioned to you before? Do you know how her mother died?¡± ¡°Did your mother kill her?¡± the intelligent An Xiaoning guessed it right away. ¡°You may say so. That woman stirred up a huge dispute in my family back then and requested my father to give her a proper status. My mother was no saint either and went all out in dealing with her. That woman died afterwards. My mother would often get very agitated at the sight of my father¡¯s illegitimate daughter. But then again, my mother didmit adultery herself too. She ought to be punished for her sins.¡± With no desire to mince his words or hide the truth at all, Jin Qingyan added, ¡°I was thinking, I might just lose all my respect for her one day. I don¡¯t expect you to respect her either.¡± An Xiaoning found it rather heartwarming to hear him bare his heart and soul to her and reveal things he normally would not tell anyone easily. She was d to know that she had a special ce in his heart. ¡°I think you¡¯re doing the right thing. You¡¯re not obliged to give in unconditionally just because she¡¯s your parent. So, I don¡¯t think you¡¯re wrong at all,¡± An Xiaoning reassured him while holding his gaze. He lowered his head to give her a nibble while she stretched her neck to kiss him back. They engaged in a deep, passionate kiss in the midst of cooking up a dish. They pulled away from each other momentster and continued to concentrate on cooking. Together, they prepared a delectable feast of four dishes and a pot of soup. They sat down opposite each other. ¡°I need to eat more,¡± said An Xiaoning as she picked up her bowl of rice and a pair of chopsticks and began eating without waiting for him. Chapter 285 - Please Me (7)

Chapter 285: Please Me (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Why? Are you nning to give it your all in bed tonight?¡± Jin Qingyan teased with his brows raised. ¡°Of course not, it¡¯s because I¡¯m hungry. I think you¡¯re sex-obsessed, all you think about is doing it,¡± An Xiaoning retorted. ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯m doing it with you, I wouldn¡¯t be interested if it were someone else.¡± ¡°Boss, someone is calling you again!¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s phone began to ring all of a sudden. Upon realizing that it was a call from Pan Zhenghui, she quickly picked up. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Now?¡± She nced at the dishes on the table before continuing, ¡°Can I go together with Qingyan after having our meal?¡± ¡°Alright, sure.¡± After hanging up the phone, An Xiaoning rushed Jin Qingyan, ¡°Hurry and eat, Chief Pan wants me to go have a look at your old mansion and search for Liu Yingying¡¯s corpse. But once we find it, we¡¯ll have to inform her parents about whether it was your mother or the butler who had murdered her, or even both. I think we ought to give her parents a clear exnation.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll handle that, don¡¯t worry. But no matter what, this scandal must not be leaked, otherwise we¡¯ll suffer a great loss,¡± Jin Qingyan said after some thought. ¡°That¡¯s true, it¡¯d be a major setback for the Jin family. Not only will your stocks plunge, the reputation of your family would be tarnished forever too. That¡¯s probably why Grandma didn¡¯t want your father to prosecute your mother,¡± An Xiaoning agreed. ¡°Yeah, my mother may not be prosecuted, but the butler must be duly punished. In fact, my mother and the butler think that they¡¯re already punished by being chased out of the house. They never had the intention to leave out of their own ord. But, I doubt my father would let her off easily for making a cuckold out of him for so many years. Besides, my father has always been kind to the butler.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, Jin Qingyan received a call from his mother. ¡°Qingyan, your uncle has been taken away by the police. You must save him. He may not be your father, but he¡¯s Qingyue¡¯s father!¡± Mrs. Jin eximed anxiously over the phone. ¡°What has the fact that he¡¯s Qingyue¡¯s father got to do with me?¡± Jin Qingyan retorted coldly before ending the call. After receiving another iing call from Mrs. Jin, Jin Qingyan decided to just switch his phone off and continued eating with An Xiaoning. After they were finished with the meal, they proceeded to the old mansion and saw that Mrs. Jin had just arrived too. With a flustered and anxious look on her face, Mrs. Jin clutched her purse and scrambled towards Jin Qingyan. She stopped him in his tracks before they reached the entrance. ¡°Qingyan, no matter what, you shouldn¡¯t let your uncle be put behind bars. He¡¯s already so old. He will never be released again once he¡¯s imprisoned. Alright?¡± Mrs. Jin pleaded worriedly. ¡°That¡¯s not up to me to decide. Besides, Grandma was not the only person who was murdered. I hope you¡¯ll understand,¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°Qingyan, I¡¯m begging you. We just have to give the deceased girl¡¯s parents a sum of money to rest their case. Let¡¯s just settle things privately as much as we can.¡± A frown creased Jin Qingyan¡¯s forehead as he stared at his mother. ¡°I n to stay out of this matter, and I¡¯m already being very kind by choosing not to interfere.¡± Jin Qingyan had said his piece nonchntly. Having already expected him to react that way, Mrs. Jin hurriedly gave Jin Qingyue a call. ¡°They¡¯ve begun searching for the corpse with sniffer dogs,¡± Pan Zhenghui said immediately upon sight of them. ¡°Has he pleaded guilty?¡± Shaking his head, Pan Zhenghui answered, ¡°No, he refused to admit that he was the murderer. We can only continue to investigate here and elsewhere, until we finally find some evidence. On top of that, there has been a few bodyguards who resigned from working for the Jin family recently. We¡¯re in the midst of arresting them because we highly suspect that they¡¯re involved in this case as aplices.¡± After pondering for a moment, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Go ahead and search. Have you guys checked the room the butler used to live in?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve investigated the room twice but we didn¡¯t manage to find anything abnormal.¡± ¡°Let me take a look, where is it?¡± ¡°Here,¡± said Pan Zhenghui, leading the way. An Xiaoning proceeded to follow him, leaving Mr. Jin and Jin Qingyan alone in the living room. Jin Qingyan noticed that his father had be rather haggard and aged. It seemed the recent events were a massive blow to him. ¡°Are you nning to just let the matter rest here? Or would you like to hold the butler responsible and get him to ount for the murder of the female servant?¡± asked Jin Qingyan. Without hesitation, Mr. Jin answered straight away, ¡°Do you wish to see the media expose the scandal between your mother and him? The media will then expose the reasons behind our divorce, as well as the matter we intend to hide. We might as well just let the police handle and prosecute him. I¡¯ve always been kind and treated him well. I admit I did make a mistake bymitting adultery when I was younger, but I¡¯d turned a new leaf ever since then and wanted to just live on well with your mother. He and your mother shouldn¡¯t have conspired to murder your grandma, it is a major sin they ought to be punished for. I¡¯ll never forgive them. If it weren¡¯t for your Grandma¡¯s instruction, I would¡¯ve killed your mother at the graveyard that night.¡± ¡°Father, we¡¯d better stay out of this matter and leave it to the police to handle. Regarding the media, I¡¯ll exin it as briefly as possible and not mention anything else.¡± ¡°My thoughts exactly. Qingyan, my illegitimate daughter has been missing for more than ten years. She should be 25 years old by now. Your mother and I had a very serious argument then; she didn¡¯t allow me to speak to the child at all. She was also not allowed to call me her father. Your mother refused to let me look for her ever since she had gone missing. In hindsight, I¡¯ve really let the child and her mother down. I wonder if she¡¯s still alive now. Qingyan, help me search for them,¡± Mr. Jin said with a sigh. ¡°I¡¯ve never stopped searching for her, but there hasn¡¯t been any clues at all. It¡¯s been too long.¡± Mr. Jin took out his handkerchief to wipe his tears. After talking on the phone with Jin Qingyue, Mrs. Jin entered through the door and walked towards Mr. Jin. ¡°Could you let him off?¡± she asked. ¡°I¡¯m already being very kind by not reporting you to the police. Don¡¯t push your limits. This matter is not up to me to decide anyway. Someone has to face the punishment at the end of the day. One of you has to be put behind bars, or you could both be imprisoned together. It¡¯s your choice,¡± Mr. Jin said coldly. At this point, he had already lost all feelings for Mrs. Jin and did not even wish to see her at all. ¡°I should¡¯ve just killed you back then.¡± Noticing that Mr. Jin was about to grow into a rage upon hearing Mrs. Jin¡¯s words, Jin Qingyan hurriedly tried to cate him and said to Mrs. Jin, ¡°Go home.¡± ¡°No,¡± Mrs. Jin refuted. With his hands trembling in anger, Mr. Jin lit up a cigarette and took a puff before saying, ¡°I was reluctant to marry your mother back then. But if I could turn back time, I definitely wouldn¡¯t have married her. Indeed, you can¡¯t be careless when ites to marriage.¡± ¡°Do you really think I wanted to marry you? I would¡¯ve never done so if it weren¡¯t an arranged marriage. I knew you had a girlfriend before we got married, but you should¡¯ve ended your rtionship with her since we were getting married. Not only did you not cut off ties with her, you even gave birth to a child with her...¡± Mrs. Jin retorted. ¡°That¡¯s enough! Reflect on your actions before you criticize Father. All the misdeeds you¡¯vemitted are far worse than what he had done!¡± Jin Qingyan snapped angrily. ¡°He was the one who cheated on me first!¡± Chapter 286 - Please Me (8)

Chapter 286: Please Me (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At the thought that his son was there, Mr. Jin did not continue arguing with her. The atmosphere reached the peak of its coldness, then An Xiaoning and Pan Zhenghui came out. ¡°Did you find anything?¡± Jin Qingyan inquired. An Xiaoning leaned in to his ear and whispered some words. Jin Qingyan immediately got up and went out with Pan Zhenghui while An Xiaoning sat on the sofa to wait. ¡°Where have they gone?¡± Mrs. Jin asked. An Xiaoning put on a faint smile. ¡°There¡¯s something they need to settle.¡± ¡°I know, what is it?¡± ¡°You can ask him when hees back,¡± An Xiaoning said, refusing to answer her. Mrs. Jin looked embarrassed, and she could only stand there waiting quietly. Before Jin Qingyan and Pan Zhenghui came back, Jin Qingyue arrived. She came over despite her huge belly, and because she did not want Shi Shaochuan to know about it, she did not make him apany her there. ¡°Qingyue, you¡¯re here. Your father has been locked up at the police station,¡± Mrs. Jin immediately said. ¡°Isn¡¯t my father sitting here all well and fine? What police station?¡± she remarked deliberately, obviously not treating the butler as her own father. ¡°Qingyue, you already know who your biological father is, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re going to stand by and watch him die?¡± Jin Qingyue was actually feeling rather hesitant, which was why she came over. ¡°What can I do?¡± Jin Qingyue waved her arm. ¡°I really don¡¯t know what I can do.¡± Mr. Jin stepped in and said, ¡°Qingyue, leave this matter to the police. We¡¯ll not get involved in it. I hope you¡¯ll not get involved in it as well. It¡¯s true we¡¯ll remove you from the household register and the ancestry record, but...¡± Mr. Jin¡¯s tone changed. ¡°If you don¡¯t get involved in this matter, you¡¯ll always be part of the Jin family. Qingyan¡¯s sister, and my daughter.¡± Through these frank words, Mr. Jin¡¯s meaning could not be made clearer. No matter whether or not Jin Qingyue got involved in the matter, the result would not change. If she chose to be on his side and not create any trouble, then they would still be a family going forward. If she did not, then they would no longer be a family. Jin Qingyue originally did not have much of a bond with the butler and was ashamed of her mother¡¯s ways. Since Mr. Jin had said it that way, she knew clearly that anything she did would not change the result, so she replied, ¡°Alright, Father.¡± ¡°Qingyue!¡± Mrs. Jin¡¯s pupils constricted. ¡°He¡¯s no longer your father now.¡± ¡°Yes, even though I¡¯m not his biological child, he raised me for so many years and loved me dearly. His act of raising me is far greater than any biological rtions. In my heart, he will always be my father.¡± Mr. Jin nodded, somewhat touched by her words. Mrs. Jin felt disheartened by the world. She was overwhelmed with disappointment. At this point, Jin Qingyan walked in alone, with Pan Zhenghui nowhere in sight. ¡°Where¡¯s Chief Pan?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°He¡¯s gone back because there was a small head essory found in the butler¡¯s house. Afterparing it with the other maids¡¯, we found it¡¯s Liu Yingying¡¯s indeed.¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s words added to Mrs. Jin¡¯s worry. ¡°What can one head essory prove?¡± Mrs. Jin was indifferent. ¡°It can only prove that she¡¯s been to his room, but it can¡¯t prove that he killed her.¡± ¡°Mother, a maid who was used by the two of you ¨C you¡¯re telling me her death had nothing to do with you both?¡± Jin Qingyan ced his gloves in his pocket and offered his hand to An Xiaoning. ¡°Come, let¡¯s go back.¡± An Xiaoning ced her hand in his, and the two exchanged nces, walking out of the front gate together. The air outside was chilly, and the cold breeze was prating. An Xiaoning sniffed. ¡°I think your mother will hate you and your sister.¡± ¡°Parents don¡¯t bring us into this world for us to be their private goods or tools. If they made a mistake, then that¡¯s that. For such a huge matter to end just like this, we¡¯ve been lenient enough already. I don¡¯t want to fret over other people¡¯s issues. My time is precious. I don¡¯t want to waste it for other people.¡± He held her hand tightly and moved forward. ¡°Brother!¡± Jin Qingyue walked towards them. ¡°Umm?¡± ¡°Mother said she doesn¡¯t want to live anymore, she wants tomit suicide.¡± Jin Qingyue was obviously shaken; her face had even turned pale. Jin Qingyan reached out and straightened out her hat. ¡°She can¡¯t bear to die. I¡¯ll bet you a dor on that. If you don¡¯t believe me, we¡¯ll see tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°You... you¡¯re sure?¡± Jin Qingyan replied, ¡°Umm. It¡¯s gettingte, go back to rest.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Hearing his reply, Jin Qingyue did not go back into the house, and the three left the old Jin residence. An Xiaoning returned home and stood on the yoga mat to practice yoga. She had put on a face mask, and Jin Qingyan sat opposite her, imitating the same yoga pose, wearing the same mask on his face as well. The two looked at each other. An Xiaoning reminded him, ¡°Don¡¯t move your body unnecessarily, remain stable...¡± ¡°Looking at you, my heart can¡¯t stay calm.¡± His deep gaze could almost devour her. ¡°Jin Qingyan, you¡¯re getting better at saying such romantic stuff.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t like it?¡± ¡°I like it.¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s face lit up with happiness. ¡°An Xiaoning, I feel that it¡¯s not enough looking at you for the rest of my life.¡± ¡°I know I¡¯m quite good-looking, I¡¯m aware of this.¡± ¡°Tsk...¡± ¡°Am I wrong?¡± ¡°No, you¡¯ve hit right at my heart. It¡¯s exactly what I wanted to say.¡± He blinked his eyes at her, then straightened his body, letting out a long breath. ¡°Boss, someone is calling you again!¡± ¡°It must be from the police station, help me to pick up the call,¡± she remarked while staying in her position. Jin Qingyan took the phone on the table and, seeing that it was a call from Gu Beicheng, he coughed and slid her phone screen to answer. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Pass the phone to Xiaoning, I have something to tell her.¡± When he heard Jin Qingyan¡¯s voice, Gu Beicheng¡¯s tone sounded unfriendly. ¡°If you have anything to say, just say it. I¡¯ll pass the message for you.¡± Gu Beicheng¡¯s tone was impatient. ¡°Pass her the phone quickly, I have something important to tell her.¡± ¡°I said, I can pass the message for you. Just tell me.¡± An Xiaoning realized that it was probably not someone from the police station, so she got up from her yoga position and snatched the phone from his hands. Seeing that it was a call from Gu Beicheng, she immediately put the phone to her ear. ¡°Beicheng, it¡¯s me.¡± ¡°Just now, people guarding the cemetery told me that the person who was on night duty saw a figure before Grandfather¡¯s grave. They were scared out of their wits. Xiaoning, can ordinary people see those who¡¯ve died?¡± An Xiaoning frowned. ¡°That¡¯s impossible. Ordinary people can only hear but not see them.¡± ¡°Do you have time now? Let¡¯s bring some people there to take a look.¡± Gu Beicheng was rather unassured. ¡°The people guarding Grandfather¡¯s grave are two middle-aged couples. I want to arrange for more people to stand guard. Can youe and see if there is really something there?¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning had just replied when the man beside her cut in, ¡°Xiaoning, quick,e and wipe my back.¡± Chapter 287 - Please Me (9)

Chapter 287: Please Me (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning turned over and red at him slightly, then said to Gu Beicheng on the other end of the line, ¡°Let¡¯s meet at the foot of the hill then, I¡¯ll head over right now.¡± ¡°... Alright.¡± After hanging up the phone, An Xiaoning said leisurely to the man beside her, ¡°How childish.¡± ¡°How was I being childish?¡± ¡°You intentionally said things like wiping your back, isn¡¯t that being childish?¡± She rapidly changed into a set of clothes. ¡°I¡¯m going to Master¡¯s grave. Gu Beicheng said someone guarding it noticed a figure there. Ordinary people would not be able to see it, I think someone came across it and wanted to steal from the grave. I really can¡¯t think of anything else. But, we still have to take a look, otherwise, the luck there might be destroyed by other people.¡± ¡°Should I go with you?¡± She pressed down his shoulders. ¡°Be good and sleep at home. You still have work tomorrow morning, don¡¯t you want to go to work anymore?¡± ¡°Can you handle it by yourself?¡± ¡°How could I possibly go alone? I¡¯m bringing three others there.¡± An Xiaoning ced her gun near her chest area and ced a dagger in her sleeve pocket. She even attached a whip near her waist. Jin Qingyan, who was watching her, became more assured instantly. She put on a face mask and cap before going downstairs, then brought three others as she drove to the foot of the hill. The car drove past smooth traffic and arrived at the destination. Gu Beicheng was already there. He wore a thick, dark blue coat and a white polo-neck sweater, which brightened up his whole look. As she got down the car, he joked, ¡°Jin Qingyan is really quite ridiculous.¡± ¡°Right? I think so too.¡± An Xiaoningughed. ¡°He¡¯s just like a child.¡± ¡°The two of you stay together every night now?¡± An Xiaoning was slightly embarrassed. ¡°Yeah, he said he wants to protect me.¡± ¡°Even his excuse is childish, exactly how old is he this year?¡± ¡°He¡¯s three years old. Jin Three Years, alright.¡± An Xiaoning tucked her hands into her pocket, walking up the hill with the people she brought. The pathway was rather slippery, so the group walked at a very slow pace. ¡°I heard something happened at the Jin family.¡± An Xiaoning was surprised. ¡°Howe you know everything?¡± Gu Beicheng grinned. ¡°This is what makes me powerful.¡± ¡°I really hand it to you.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t it cross your mind? You got thrown into prison for no reason, so I had to use so many of my connections. If not for me, the media would probably still be reporting it right now. No matter how Jin Qingyan abused his power, would it be possible for everyone¡¯s mouths to be sealed? For you to be safe and sound now, half of this credit goes to your brother.¡± If he had not revealed this, An Xiaoning would¡¯ve remained unaware of it. She was instantly full of gratitude towards him. ¡°How sweet, it¡¯s really great to have a brother.¡± ¡°Since we¡¯re here, tell me three things to make me happy.¡± How difficult was that? She knew how to sweet talk. ¡°Beicheng.¡± ¡°Umm?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a ce in my heart for you that no one can ever rece. I already treat you as family; this ce is one reserved for those dear to me.¡± Gu Beicheng¡¯s heart stirred. ¡°What¡¯s the second thing?¡± ¡°If there¡¯s any problem in the future that the Gu family cannot solve and I just happen to be able to lend a hand, I¡¯ll help the Gu family settle it at all costs. As long as I can do it, what I promised Grandfather, I won¡¯t forget.¡± ¡°What about the third thing?¡± An Xiaoning hesitated for a moment, then said, ¡°The world is so big. For us to meet, it¡¯s really not easy. I¡¯m happy to have met you.¡± Gu Beicheng looked up at the sky, the ends of his lips curling into a smile. ¡°Whether they¡¯reing from your heart or just words to humor me, I¡¯m taking them for real.¡± An Xiaoning quickened her pace. ¡°Why would I say them to humor you? I don¡¯t know why, but having seen through so many people, I still want to be someone who can trust others.¡± Gu Beicheng looked at her, his heart thoroughly warmed by her words. Even though he knew that he had already lost her to Jin Qingyan, being able to have such a close family member, he felt, was good as well. The group finally arrived at the entrance of the temple. Gu Beicheng knocked on the door. ¡°Open up!¡± Hurried footsteps came from inside, and the door was flung open. The graveyard-keeper looked at them, his face bing calmer. ¡°Young Sir, you¡¯re here atst.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the situation like?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go in and talk.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± When they were inside, the graveyard-keeper said, ¡°After it turned dark, the two of us went to stand guard. But not long after sitting down, we saw a figure near your grandfather¡¯s grave. At first, I thought that I must have been seeing things, but when I asked my wife if she¡¯d seen it too, she replied yes. We were both shaken and didn¡¯t dare to go and check, so we hurriedly called you.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go and take a look.¡± An Xiaoning was not scared at all. One of the graves was old Mr. Gu¡¯s, while the other was her master¡¯s. What was there to be afraid of? After bringing her people to the back of the house, they went up the stairs. An Xiaoning and Gu Beicheng went to check the ce the graveyard-keeper mentioned, using hugemps to light up the way. The two saw footprints on the ground. As it had just snowed, the snow on the ground had yet to melt, and with mud added on, the footprints were exceptionally prominent. ¡°Have some of you checked this area?¡± ¡°No, we didn¡¯t dare to check,¡± the graveyard-keeper answered frankly. An Xiaoning eyed the footprints; the path it led to went a distance away. ¡°Don¡¯t step over these, let¡¯s go there to look.¡± In the end, they realized that the footprints disappeared at a ce where there was a stone b. An Xiaoning looked at the people behind her. ¡°Move this stone b away.¡± ¡°Yes, Ms. An.¡± A few people went forward and moved the stone b away. To their surprise, they found that there was a secret passageway they did not know existed. It was really a huge eye-opener. This group of grave-robbers actually dug a secret tunnel all the way here. One look and it was obvious this tunnel led to the grave. If that was the case, then on the surface, the grave might have looked intact. But, in reality... Looking at the situation, the tunnel had not extended to the grave yet. However, someone must have been checking the location of the grave at night and was mistaken as a ghost by the graveyard-keeper. Gu Beicheng was suddenly angered and told An Xiaoning, ¡°I¡¯ll go down to see.¡± An Xiaoning took the torch. ¡°I¡¯ll go with you, the rest wait up here.¡± Gu Beicheng jumped down first, while An Xiaoning followed closely behind. When they went down, they realized it was very spacious down there, but it was pitch ck. The tunnel had indeed not been dug up to the grave yet, so Gu Beicheng and An Xiaoning followed the tunnel and went towards the opposite direction from the grave. It was chilly inside the secret passageway. The passageway was very long, and no one seemed to be inside. The two took light steps and kept silent; neither of them said a word. After walking for a very long time, they gradually heard some noises. An Xiaoning grabbed hold of Gu Beicheng¡¯s arm and said in a low voice, ¡°I think that would be those workers. I know a way to make them crawl out themselves. Let¡¯s go back first.¡± Seeing the sparkle in her eyes, Gu Beicheng agreed and made his way out of the tunnel with her. After they had gone out, An Xiaoning instructed, ¡°Beicheng, call someone to get two hundred people and make them transport a hundred bags of cement here. All of them need to be careful with their movements. The rest of the people wait here. We¡¯ll follow the path we took just now and wait for the people arriving at the exit, then use the cement to seal up the passageway there.¡± Chapter 288 - Please Me (10)

Chapter 288: Please Me (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning then continued, ¡°They¡¯ll naturallye out from the exit at the grave. That way, we¡¯ll minimize our losses because we don¡¯t know whether they have weapons or arms down there or how many of them there are exactly. But, just now, I felt that there were quite a lot of them. So this is a risk we must reduce.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Gu Beicheng did exactly as she had instructed. They followed the path leading to the exit of the passageway and, after some time, finally found the exit. With the two hundred people here and the cement transported, An Xiaoning made the people seal the passageway with cement after requesting that they make minimal noise and movements. After everything was done, the group went to the secret passageway where the stone b was. An Xiaoning saw that the men Gu Beicheng brought were all carrying knives, so she instructed them to stay there. Considering that the people in the tunnel were probably still unaware of them using cement to seal the exit, An Xiaoning made these men guard the area in batches and take turns to be on duty. A bunch of them stayed around for the first half of the night. Another bunch had their duty for theter half of the night, and the rest would stand guard at daybreak. On the other hand, An Xiaoning and Gu Beicheng returned to the house within the temple. ¡°This room used to be where I lived.¡± An Xiaoning pushed the door open. ¡°There was no electricity here before. Ever since Grandfather was buried here, you made people connect it with electricity, so now it¡¯s not too bad.¡± Gu Beicheng looked at the interior of the house ¨C it was very shabby. Perhaps because it was not inhabited anymore, the house appeared rather dpidated. The graveyard-keeper brought two nkets, one each for Gu Beicheng and An Xiaoning. The two covered themselves under their nket and sat facing each other on their beds. It was too cold at night there. ¡°Are there a lot of valuable things in Grandfather¡¯s coffin?¡± An Xiaoning asked. Gu Beicheng shook his head. ¡°Not a lot, but there¡¯s still quite a few in there. They¡¯re all Grandfather¡¯s favorite items when he was still around. Also, I feel that they might not be after those items alone. If they made an effort to resort to this, they might be after Grandfather¡¯s remains.¡± ¡°You mean they want to use it to threaten the Gu family?¡± ¡°Smart. Compared to those valuables, Grandfather¡¯s remains can get them what they want, right?¡± Gu Beicheng thought it over. ¡°We just have to see who instigated it and we¡¯ll get answers. It could simply be for money, but if it¡¯s moreplicated, it might be other things they¡¯re after.¡± ¡°I think this is really despicable.¡± An Xiaoning continued, ¡°Grandfather and Master are buried together. If they want to steal both their remains, then it won¡¯t just be you they¡¯re going to threaten. It¡¯ll be both of us.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. Seems like leaving only four people to guard the grave here is no longer possible. They want to collect the remains without anyone realizing it, so they must be intending to find us at an opportune moment. Otherwise, they could have just captured the four graveyard-keepers and openly dug the grave.¡± Gu Beicheng wrapped the nket around him tightly. ¡°It¡¯s really cold here. When you lived here, how did you survive during winter without a heater?¡± ¡°I just survived like that. It¡¯s fine when you get used to it. Thinking back to those days, I don¡¯t think they¡¯re hard at all.¡± ¡°You might not be able to go back tonight, aren¡¯t you going to report to Jin Qingyan?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll send him a text message.¡± She took out her phone and sent Jin Qingyan a message, simply exining the situation and asking him not to worry. As she was with Gu Beicheng, everything would be fine. Unexpectedly, his reply was: ¡°It¡¯s exactly because you¡¯re with Gu Beicheng at this time of night, all the more I¡¯m worried!¡± An Xiaoning replied: ¡°You¡¯re irreceable in my heart. I love you, goodnight.¡± This sessfully soothed the upheaval in the man¡¯s feelings. After talking endlessly with Gu Beicheng thiste at night, the two were wiped out and fell asleep leaning against the wall, hugging onto their legs. They slept through the night, and before daybreak, the two were awakened by the voice of someone who suddenly broke in. ¡°Young Sir, Ms. An, there¡¯s movement down there.¡± An Xiaoning and Gu Beicheng removed their nkets and got down from the bed, then headed to the back of the house. Just as they arrived, they heard a loud vibrating sound from below. An Xiaoning used her hand to signal all of the men toe over. Very soon, the stone b was pushed open forcefully and a figure from below slowly appeared. When he saw that he was surrounded by people, he wanted to go back down but was pulled up by Gu Beicheng¡¯s men, who covered his mouth. Just like that, one by one, people came out of the tunnel. The people who were at the top wanted to go back into the tunnel, while those at the bottom who were unaware wanted toe out. One by one, a total of more than sixty people came out from the tunnel. There were also about twenty to thirty people who knew they would be surrounded by men up there and refused toe out. An Xiaoning had no choice but to speak into a loudspeaker and direct it into the tunnel. ¡°If all of you won¡¯te up, then we will seal up this entrance to the tunnel and you can stay in there forever. Don¡¯te out anymore.¡± Hearing this, the people inside could only crawl out. There were a total of ny-two people. Seeing an army of so many people, Gu Beicheng¡¯s eyes turned cold. ¡°Who sent all of you here to dig the tunnel?¡± ¡°No one ordered it, we wanted to dig it ourselves. Just cut the crap and send all of us to the police station.¡± The leader of the group appeared fearless. ¡°You want to go to the police station so bad?¡± An Xiaoning stared at him. ¡°I won¡¯t let you all have your wish then. Men, listen up. Throw all of these people back into the tunnel and seal the exit with cement. I want to see if all of them are that stubborn.¡± Gu Beicheng looked at her in surprise. She was far more ruthless than he had expected, but he liked women like that. Hearing this, the group pleaded for mercy. ¡°We¡¯re really not sure, we just work for the money. We only know that they pay well, that¡¯s why we risked doing this.¡± Another man was drenched in cold sweat. ¡°Miss, please spare me. My two sons and wife are waiting for me at home. I won¡¯t dare to do something like this again!¡± An Xiaoning remained unmoved. ¡°From now onwards, whoever says the name of the instigator, I¡¯ll let him go and I won¡¯t pursue any responsibility. I stand by my words.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll speak!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell you!¡± ¡°Let me say it!¡± ¡°I know!¡± ¡°...¡± The people who had insisted on not conceding were instantly heated upon hearing her words and fought with each other to say something. ¡°Silence.¡± An Xiaoning raised her hand. ¡°To verify if all of you are saying the truth, stand properly and tell me one by one.¡± She went farther away and started gathering the people who had something to say. Only after each person had answered were they then allowed to go back to the group. Just like that, one by one, apart from the leader of the group, everyone revealed the same name. After An Xiaoning had verified this, she said to the group, ¡°All of you have given the same name. I¡¯m someone who stands by my word, so all of you can go.¡± She waved her hand to signal the men from the Gu family to let these people go. In an instant, the group of people scurried off. The only one left was the leader of the group. An Xiaoning shed out a knife from her sleeve pocket and cut open his shirt. ¡°The people who work for you have said the truth. As for you... you¡¯d rather die than concede?¡± Chapter 289 - Please Me (11)

Chapter 289: Please Me (11)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The man shuddered in fear and swallowed silently. ¡°I didn¡¯t say I¡¯d rather die than concede.¡± ¡°Then tell me, who sent you here? Although they¡¯ve already said it, I want to see if you¡¯re an honest person.¡± ¡°Whoever they¡¯ve said it was, that can¡¯t be the truth, because they¡¯ll never be allowed to know,¡± the man said confidently. ¡°Only I know, but how can I possibly tell you?¡± ¡°Xi Bi.¡± An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Correct?¡± The man was instantly stupefied. ¡°You...¡± ¡°How do I know?¡± An Xiaoningughed. ¡°Do you want to know how?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not him.¡± ¡°Your reaction just now already gave you away.¡± An Xiaoning used the sharp knife in her hand and stabbed it slightly into the man¡¯s body. The man felt the pain, and his face scrunched up. Feeling the knife stab into him slowly, the man became panic-stricken. ¡°Wait!¡± An Xiaoning stopped her hand. ¡°I¡¯m only giving you this one chance.¡± ¡°Indeed... it was indeed him who sent us here. The goal was to get your master¡¯s remains without anyone realizing.¡± The man¡¯s lips trembled. ¡°That¡¯s all.¡± ¡°All of you could have just captured those graveyard-keepers, or killed them and dig up the remains. Why didn¡¯t you do that?¡± She could notprehend that the most. ¡°Mr. Xi originally sent us here to kill them directly, but we have elderly and children at home, how would we dare to kill them? So, we decided to use this stupid method. We originally didn¡¯t want to take on this job, but the remuneration was a hefty sum. That¡¯s why everyone was willing to take this risk. Please spare me, Ms. An, I won¡¯t dare to do this anymore in the future!¡± An Xiaoning took her knife away. ¡°Ah, I thought you were really not afraid of entering prison or dying. You were acting so righteous just now, but this is all you amount to.¡± ¡°Ms. An, if I¡¯d chosen to concede in front of the group just now, I would definitely die because Mr. Xi nted people in there to supervise. Compared to death, going to prison isn¡¯t as frightening.¡± An Xiaoning turned and exchanged looks with Gu Beicheng, the two breaking into a smile. ¡°Let him go.¡± The man who held him instantly released his hands. The leader of the group was extremely eager to run away, but An Xiaoning shouted to him, ¡°I haven¡¯t finished.¡± He stopped in his tracks and turned around. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°You and your group have failed your mission. Xi Bi¡¯s men would definitely search for all of you. Break off all connections with them and move your families away. Judging from Xi Bi¡¯s character, he¡¯ll definitely not let all of you off so easily. So, breaking off connections with them of your own ord is more appropriate.¡± ¡°Thank you... Ms. An!¡± As he finished speaking, the man scurried off rapidly. An Xiaoning turned and told Gu Beicheng, ¡°Ask someone to seal this underground passageway. Also, arrange for more people to take turns to be on duty here. I don¡¯t want to move the grave, it¡¯s quiet here, and when Master was alive, she liked living at a ce like this. After staying here for so many years, it¡¯ll be upsetting if she had to leave.¡± ¡°Umm. I¡¯ll send more people to be on duty here.¡± An Xiaoning went before the grave and gave a deep bow. ¡°Master and Grandfather must have gotten a shock. Something like this will never happen again.¡± Gu Beicheng followed her and gave a deep bow as well. The sky was bright by now, and the two went downhill together. ¡°Looks like Xi Bi is mainly after you.¡± ¡°I know why he¡¯s doing that,¡± An Xiaoning remarked frankly. ¡°I feel like he¡¯s aplete nutter. I hate it extremely. He wants to catch me? It won¡¯t be so easy.¡± ¡°Protect yourself well. You must not let him have any chance at all.¡± Gu Beicheng continued, ¡°We musn¡¯t harbor any intention to harm others, but we ought to guard against all who intend to harm us.¡± ¡°Mmm.¡± An Xiaoning brought her people and drove back to her house at Dongpo Road. Jin Qingyan had yet to wake up, so An Xiaoning wore her slippers and crept into the bedroom with the lightest footsteps. It was very warm in the room, and she could feel her face turning hot as soon as she entered. Her hand was icy cold. Seeing him sleeping soundly on the bed gave her the urge to do something bad all of a sudden. Hence, she sneaked her icy cold hands into the covers, and Jin Qingyan was instantly awoken by her cold touch. He opened his eyes, saw her, and immediately pulled her into his arms. ¡°Why are your hands so cold?¡± ¡°It was very cold on the mountains.¡± ¡°How did all of you survive the night?¡± An Xiaoning took off her slippers and climbed under the covers. ¡°There were nkets. Gu Beicheng and I each had one, and we wrapped it around ourselves. In the mountains, one nket isn¡¯t enough for warmth. I think even two nkets won¡¯t be useful.¡± ¡°You spent the whole night beside him. He¡¯s gotten it easy.¡± An Xiaoningughed. ¡°What are you talking about? We went to do serious business. Xi Bi made his people dig a long underground passageway to connect to Master and Grandfather¡¯s grave. Luckily, before the tunnel had reached the grave, we discovered it in time. We captured a total of ny-two people, but I let them all go. They were after my master¡¯s remains. I guess, Xi Bi wanted to use that to threaten me.¡± Jin Qingyan frowned. ¡°Why is he so disgusting? Do you want to move the grave over?¡± ¡°No.¡± She shook her head. ¡°Master likes it there. I made Beicheng get more people to stand guard there, so there are people taking turns to be on duty twenty-four hours a day.¡± He affectionately leaned on her face. ¡°Do you know what time I slept yesterday, all by myself?¡± ¡°After you sent me the message?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± His eyes still looked rather sleepy. ¡°Two hours after I sent that message, I was still awake. Without you lying beside me, I couldn¡¯t sleep.¡± ¡°Do you need some medicine from the hospital?¡± He removed the hand he had on her waist. ¡°What medicine? You are my medicine.¡± An Xiaoning stretched her body. ¡°Actually, I didn¡¯t really sleep wellst night either. It was so cold, and we just slept hugging our legs and leaning against the wall. It was impossible to sleep well like that. Sleeping like that for the whole night, my whole body is aching now.¡± ¡°Then, let¡¯s sleep a while more?¡± ¡°If we sleep more, we¡¯ll bete. You still have to go to work.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll just take a snooze for a while more.¡± She gazed at his figure that was within close distance to her, and her nose was filled with his unique scent. She shut her eyes as well. ¡ª ¡°Sis.¡± Mo Xun came down from upstairs. ¡°I¡¯ve already found a house. Everything went ording to what you said, and it¡¯s all been sorted out there. Should I bring you there to take a look?¡± Mo Li sat upright. ¡°I believe your judgement. Wait for me to pack up and we¡¯ll go over.¡± Mo Xun was rather surprised. ¡°Sis, you¡¯re moving there today?¡± ¡°Umm. I¡¯ve disturbed them for a period of time already, I feel rather sorry about it, so it¡¯s better if I move out. I¡¯m fine now, I can handle things myself.¡± Mo Li got down from the bed, packed up her few pieces of belongings, and headed out of the basement with him. An Xiaoning saw her carrying a bag and asked, ¡°Mo Li, are you leaving?¡± Chapter 290 - Please Me (12)

Chapter 290: Please Me (12)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Yes, I made Xiao Xun find me a house in the countryside. Since it¡¯s been found already, I would like to move there today. Thank you so much for your help all this while.¡± ¡°The conditions in the countryside are not that good. Why not move there after the child is born?¡± Mo Li shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m not a delicate person, I won¡¯t find it hard. In a ce like the countryside, I guess no one will be able to recognize me. I¡¯ll be able to have more freedom.¡± ¡°Since you insist, then I won¡¯t force you to stay. Have a meal first before you leave.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After eating, Mo Li and Mo Xun left the ce together, heading to a vige near mountains and rivers at the countryside. One year¡¯s worth of rent had already been paid for the house. Mo Li stood at the entrance, looking around the courtyard. She felt that it was kept very tidy, and the interior of the house had also been cleaned up. All the necessities had also been fully prepared. Mo Li instantly liked this quiet little house. ¡°Sis, the only bad thing about this ce is the water. It¡¯s winter now, so the pipes are frozen and there¡¯s no water. I heard the water pipes are connected to a dam that was moved here. Since it¡¯s the cold winter now, the water can¡¯t run through, so the vigers have to get water from the well in the vige. But, it¡¯s alright, I¡¯lle once in a few days to get you water in the water tank.¡± Mo Li nodded. ¡°Sure, this ce¡¯s fine. There¡¯s even a firece in the house. With the fire on, the house will definitely be warm.¡± Mo Xun pointed to a shed in the courtyard. ¡°There¡¯s firewood here. I bought it from the farmers in the vige. To get past winter, they¡¯ll always chop firewood from the mountains and collect them first. They knew we were new here and didn¡¯t have these, so they were willing to sell some to us.¡± Mo Li patted his shoulder. ¡°Xiao Xun, you¡¯re really attentive. Okay, I¡¯ll stay here then.¡± ¡°Sis, get some rest first. I¡¯ll go on the streets to buy some vegetables and rice.¡± ¡°Alright, be careful.¡± ¡°I know.¡± With that, Mo Xun¡¯s figure disappeared out the door. Mo Li went before her bed andid the bed properly, then carried some firewood into the house and lit up the fire. She sat on a stool and ced both her hands over the firece to warm them. This serene ce would be her home from now on. ¡ª An Xiaoning made a trip to her clothing store before heading to the police station. Just as she reached the office, she received good news. The butler confessed to the murder. ¡°Didn¡¯t he refuse to confess?¡± Pan Zhenghui replied with a grin, ¡°We tricked him. He finally opened his mouth and confessed.¡± ¡°What trick?¡± ¡°I told the investigator to tell him that we found the maid¡¯s body already and to ask him what he had to say. We didn¡¯t expect him to just confess like that. After he confessed, he then learned we tricked him. He was boiling with rage, but it was toote. Our men already went to look for the body ording to the location he imed to have buried it in. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll find it soon.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. Then, Chief, what will his sentence be?¡± Pan Zhenghui made an act of slicing his throat. ¡°It¡¯s this of course. Also, we¡¯ve already informed Liu Yingying¡¯s parents. Depending on the court¡¯s judgement, we¡¯ll also retrieve an amount from the butler¡¯s bank ount topensate the victim¡¯s family. The rest will be confiscated.¡± An Xiaoningmented, ¡°This case is finally closed now. I had to be locked up for half a month because of it.¡± ¡°What a close shave.¡± Pan Zhenghui instructed, ¡°Luckily, we had sharp eyes and didn¡¯t malign you. Xiaoning, you musn¡¯t let down the trust the Head Officer and I have towards you. Continue cracking more cases, okay?¡± ¡°Chief, you¡¯re really good at iming credit. Wasn¡¯t this incident resolved because our team leader cleared her own charges...¡± Ma Jianguo interrupted as he cracked some melon seeds. Pan Zhenghui¡¯s mouth twitched and he made an act of threatening to hit him. ¡°What nonsense are you talking about? Alright, those in our industry all hope for peace in the world. That way, we won¡¯t have so much trouble.¡± ¡°Chief, if there¡¯s peace in the world, do you think the higher-ups will still need us toe to work?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. Anyway, there are always endless cases to investigate. It¡¯s like that all the time. Everyone, get your spirits up. You¡¯ll all have a new case soon.¡± With that, Pan Zhenghui left. An Xiaoning got up and closed the door. Reaching out to grab a bunch of melon seeds, she sat on the chair and stared at her other three members. ¡°So, during this half a month when I was locked up, what were the three of you busy with?¡± ¡°We had to work for the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit.¡± Ma Jianguo sighed. ¡°Even then, we were still despised by them. Team Leader, when you were locked up, do you know what Officer Zhang, the team leader of the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit, said about it?¡± ¡°What did he say?¡± Ma Jianguo replied in a low voice, ¡°He was full of bitterness towards you, and his tone waspletely pessimistic about your situation. He said you were in a big mess and our group would be disbanded.¡± ¡°Oh? I see,¡± An Xiaoning replied lightly. ¡°Don¡¯t take it to heart, let him say what he wants. We¡¯ll use our actions to prove to him that this group will not be disbanded.¡± ¡°Yes, Team Leader is the most powerful!¡± ¡°Give me a break. Let¡¯s wait for the Chief to give us a new case, then we¡¯ll need to start working again after a short rest.¡± ¡°Team Leader An, there¡¯s someone looking for you.¡± The door was pushed open, and a police officer came to inform her. ¡°Who?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Mrs. Jin.¡± At present, news of Mr. and Mrs. Jin¡¯s divorce was not yet known to the public. She ced the melon seeds on the table and walked out. Outside, she saw Mrs. Jin¡¯s figure. ¡°Why are you looking for me?¡± Mrs. Jin looked at her and found it difficult to open up. She hesitated for a long time. An Xiaoning already expected what she wanted to say, so she did not hurry her either and just stood there waiting. ¡°That... Xiaoning...¡± Mrs. Jin still opened up eventually. ¡°If you can get him out, I won¡¯t interfere in your and Qingyan¡¯s rtionship anymore, regardless of whether you can have children or not. I won¡¯t meddle in it anymore.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning ced her hands in her pocket. She did not find what she said enticing at all. ¡°Although you¡¯re still Qingyan¡¯s mother, you¡¯re no longer the Madam of the Jin family. I haven¡¯t married him yet, but even if I do, your words won¡¯t have any effect. If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯m going back in.¡± ¡°Can you just take it that I¡¯m begging you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, the case has already been set in stone. I can¡¯t do anything about it.¡± An Xiaoning turned to leave. Regarding this matter, she had nothing much to say. ¡°Xiaoning...¡± Mrs. Jin stood there in disbelief. It seemed like the end of the world to her. She had gone to find everyone she could, but the result was still the same. An Xiaoning had her gaze fixed ahead as she walked back in, very soon disappearing amongst the people in the cafeteria. ¡ª After hiring two nannies who took turns to look after her child twenty-four hours a day, Chi Rui¡¯er could finally take it easy. She also had time to doll herself up and go shopping. Gu Dongcheng had just left for work, and she was about to head to the beauty parlor for some beauty treatment to take care of her face. Just when she had changed and was about to go out, her stepfather arrived. Chapter 291 - Please Me (13)

Chapter 291: Please Me (13)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Who allowed you to let him in?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er chided the babysitter. ¡°Get out now,¡± she hollered at her stepfather. ¡°What a willful child you are. What¡¯s wrong with visiting my daughter and my grandchild? I raised you up painstakingly, yet this is how you treat me? Do you find your mother and me a hindrance now that you¡¯ve married a wealthy husband?¡± Mr. Chi said with a sigh. The nanny and servant immediately understood the situation. Chi Rui¡¯er did not know how to retaliate and said instead, ¡°If you refuse to leave, I¡¯ll have no choice but to call security.¡± ¡°Okay, okay, I¡¯ll leave. Here¡¯s some fruit I bought. I know you don¡¯t need them, but it¡¯s all I can afford,¡± said Mr. Chi, cing a bag of items onto the table. He turned around to leave as soon as he finished speaking. In a moment of pique, Chi Rui¡¯er dumped the fruits into the rubbish bin. Her mood waspletely ruined, and she was no longer interested in visiting the beauty salon. She stormed off in exasperation and returned to her bedroom. The babysitters began to whisper amongst themselves. ¡°Why is Young Madam so harsh to her father who raised her? He may not be her biological father, but he was the one who brought her up after all.¡± ¡°Exactly, how unfilial of her.¡± ¡°We¡¯d better stop talking, lest she overhears us.¡± ¡°Yes, yes.¡± ¡°...¡± Chi Rui¡¯er remained in her room alone for almost an hour before picking up her purse again to leave the house. Just as she arrived at her car, Mr. Chi appeared out of nowhere, greatly startling her. ¡°Why haven¡¯t you left?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er asked in astonishment. ¡°I could tell that you were about to go out just now. I was initially nning to wait here for two hours before going home if you didn¡¯t show up by then.¡± Absolutely speechless, Chi Rui¡¯er unlocked her car door with the key and entered her car, after which Mr. Chi hurriedly hopped into the backseat. ¡°Get out of my car!¡± she barked. Finally showing his true colors, Mr. Chi retorted, ¡°Don¡¯t try chasing me away. Now that you¡¯ve found a wealthy husband to provide for you, you¡¯repletely casting your mother and me aside, eh? Your mother needs to be put on long-term medication because of her heart disease. Her medicine doesn¡¯te cheap. Give me 20 thousand dors so that your mother and I may improve our living standards.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been paying for my mother¡¯s medical bills all this while. Quit using that as an excuse to extort money from me, I won¡¯t give you any,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er refuted, realizing that he was after money. ¡°Rui¡¯er don¡¯t be too quick to turn me down. Don¡¯t you know that I can destroy your marriage by just talking to your husband?¡± He sat up slowly and leaned forward against her seat before cing his hand on her neck. ¡°How many times have I warned you? You¡¯d better not infuriate me or I¡¯ll teach you a lesson. Hurry and give me the money before I run out of patience.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er pushed his hand away and took out a wad of cash from her purse. ¡°10 thousand dors, nothing more than that. Get down from my car now,¡± she said, handing him the cash. ¡°I said 20 thousand dors, not a single cent less,¡± he insisted. ¡°I don¡¯t owe you a living!¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have a choice, your secret is in my hands,¡± Mr. Chi said smugly. Clenching her fists in anger, Chi Rui¡¯er said, ¡°Go home first. I¡¯ll bring another 10 thousand dors when I visit my motherter in the evening.¡± ¡°Now that¡¯s Daddy¡¯s good girl. I¡¯ll be waiting for you at home in the evening.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er finally heaved a sigh of relief after her stepfather alighted from the car. With an icy cold stare in her eyes, she watched as he left smugly. It seemed like it¡¯s about time she got rid of this timebomb, lest it explode without warning, causing her ns to go awry. Gu Dongcheng would definitely divorce her if he were to find out about her incestuous rtionship with her stepfather. She would then have to live a sorry life with the burden that was her child. She was, once again, snapped out of her mood to visit the beauty salon. ¡ª¡ª It began to snow in the afternoon. Mei Yangyang and Long Tianze resumed filming for the variety television program. The two of them had been rather exhaustedtely from attending multiple publicity events to advertise the movie. On top of that, Long Tianze also had a pile of work and tasks toplete. Although he was dog-tired, he did not have anyints as he was happy to be able to work with his girlfriend. It was thest filming session for the variety program, which would be aired two days before Christmas. As soon as they alighted from the car together, the hosts of the variety program quickly weed them warmly before ushering them to the room. Long Tianze was somewhat familiar with the hosts, unlike Mei Yangyang, who did not speak much and instead put on a courteous smile on her face most of the time. After rehearsing for an hour, they proceeded to get their makeup done. Afraid that Mei Yangyang would be lost and confused on stage, Long Tianze repeatedly exined the rules of the games to her. He also briefed her on what she could or could not say and instructed her not to fall into the trapsid by the hosts. ¡°What happens when they ask if we¡¯re a couple in real life and not just on screen? How should I answer them?¡± Mei Yangyang asked. ¡°Hmm... just answer truthfully and tell them that we were already in a rtionship before filming even started. That might just help add to the publicity too,¡± said Long Tianze, with no intentions to hide their rtionship at all. ¡°I¡¯ll tell if they ask. But if they don¡¯t, I¡¯ll just remain quiet.¡± Just as Mei Yangyang finished speaking, one of the hosts entered and asked excitedly, ¡°Are we really allowed to ask about your rtionship?¡± Taken aback, Mei Yangyang nodded. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Great, great, I¡¯ll let the others know,¡± the host eximed delightedly. ¡°Why is he so worked up?¡± asked Mei Yangyang as she stared at the back of the host, who was scurrying away excitedly. ¡°Of course he would be worked up. Once we discuss our rtionship on this program, not only will we make it on the news, the program will also receive higher viewership on television as well as on online video tforms.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m just a rookie actor. Although you¡¯re well known in the entertainment industry, you¡¯re still not exactly a famous actor. Why would anyone be interested in our rtionship?¡± Mei Yangyang said, full of doubt. Long Tianze patted her head and said with much gusto, ¡°Just you wait and see. When the movie bes a blockbuster hit, you have to tell your sister that I contributed to half of its sess.¡± ¡°Fine ¨C if it really bes a hit, that is.¡± ¡°You¡¯d better keep your word.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°What do I get for a reward? I¡¯m more interested in knowing that, actually,¡± Long Tianze asked inquisitively. ¡°A reward? You¡¯re not in need of anything, what should I give you?¡± Mei Yangyang answered, having no idea what she should gift him with. ¡°Are you asking the obvious when you already know what I want? Tell me honestly,¡± said Long Tianze, raising his index finger. ¡°No.¡± ¡°I¡¯m indeed not short of anything, but, I need you, dummy. Could you... give yourself to me?¡± he asked, chuckling. Mei Yangyang instantly blushed red with shyness. ¡°Let me think about it, alright?¡± ¡°Sure, you call the shots.¡± Since they were an actual couple to begin with, they were exceptionally at ease with each other during the filming of the variety program, which was rather enjoyable for them. Once they were done with the filming, they quickly became a hot topic online, all because they had openly admitted to their rtionship. Jin Qingyue rested her head against the bedhead while reading the news. She stared intently at the photos of Mei Yangyang and Long Tianze smiling widely and enjoying themselves while ying the games on the variety program. Throughout the years of growing up together with Long Tianze, she had never paid much attention to photos of him before. After piecing the puzzle together and recalling everything Long Tianze had done for her in the past, Jin Qingyue realized all of a sudden that Shi Shaochuan had never been as sweet to her as Long Tianze was. Chapter 292 - Please Me (14)

Chapter 292: Please Me (14)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyue could not believe that she was only seeing the picture clearly now. She finally understood what it meant to be blinded by love and to lose her rationality because of a rtionship. If only she had not been so preupied with finding a whirlwind romance and instead took a look around herself, she would have realized sooner that Long Tianze was the best option around. Given the fact that they had grown up together and how much he fancied her back then, he would definitely have treated her well after they got married. Besides, she had always known him to be a loyal and devoted man. All of a sudden, she began to feel like she had made a grave mistake by choosing to marry Shi Shaochuan. Although Shi Shaochuan had been returning home diligently ever since the end of his affair, there were still cracks in their rtionship and in her trust towards him, which were impossible to repair. Whenever he came home a littlete, even for just five minutes, she would begin to suspect he was meeting another woman again. The trust she gave him had long been destroyed by him. In fact, it was almost impossible for him to regain her trust. Stroking her round and full baby bump, Jin Qingyue felt her heart sink as she began to imagine her future, which did not seem promising. ¡°Honey, what¡¯s the matter?¡± asked Shi Shaochuan, who just came out of the shower. ¡°Nothing.¡± She ced her mobile phone onto the table andid down slowly. After drying his hair, Shi Shaochuanid down beside her and said, ¡°I still think you¡¯re really troubled by something. Did something happen to your family again?¡± ¡°Nothing much happened apart from my parents¡¯ divorce.¡± ¡°They got a divorce? Why?¡± Shi Shaochuan asked in puzzlement. ¡°Because they realized they¡¯re ipatible after living together for most of their lives. What other reason could there be?¡± Jin Qingyue answered, refusing to exin further. ¡°That doesn¡¯t seem like what Mother-inw would do.¡± ¡°How are you so sure?¡± ¡°Of course I know. Women with wealthy husbands would never want to get a divorce. I suppose it was your father who initiated it?¡± Shi Shaochuan asked. ¡°I don¡¯t wish to talk about this anymore. Let¡¯s go to bed.¡± However, the topic had piqued Shi Shaochuan¡¯s curiosity. ¡°Could it be that Father-inw is having an affair?¡± His words had struck a sour note within Jin Qingyue. She turned to re at him and hissed, ¡°Do you think all men are like you!?!¡± ¡°But didn¡¯t you mention before that your father has an illegitimate daughter?¡± ¡°Shi Shaochuan! What do my family matters have to do with you? They didn¡¯t get a divorce because my father is having an affair. He doesn¡¯t have one,¡± Jin Qingyue snapped. ¡°Is your mother having an affair then?¡± Jin Qingyue flew into a rage as she hollered at him, ¡°Go sleep outside!¡± ¡°Honey... I was just asking casually. Why do you have to get so angry?¡± ¡°Get out!!!¡± Noticing how infuriated she was, Shi Shaochuan had no choice but to get out of bed and go to the guestroom to sleep. Jin Qingyue was left alone in the bedroom. She turned to her side and began crying into her pillow. She waspletely devastated. Her misery increased exponentially with each passing day. How long more could she go on like this? She did not have an answer. ¡ª¡ª ¡°It¡¯s still snowing outside, where are you going?¡± asked Gu Dongcheng upon noticing that Chi Rui¡¯er was about to go out. ¡°I¡¯m making a trip to my mother¡¯s ce. She isn¡¯t feeling too well.¡± ¡°Drive safe then,¡± Gu Dongcheng instructed. ¡°Got it.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er left and began driving towards her mother¡¯s house in the northern suburbs. After pulling over by the entrance of her mother¡¯s house, Chi Rui¡¯er remained seated and pondered in silence for a few minutes before alighting from the car. ¡°Where¡¯s my mother?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er asked, realizing that her mother was nowhere in sight. ¡°She went to her church friend¡¯s ce. I didn¡¯t tell her that you would being by this evening,¡± Mr. Chi answered. ¡°Have you eaten?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er asked with a straight face. ¡°Not yet.¡± ¡°Neither have I. I bought some ingredients, let¡¯s have a meal and some drinks together. I need to have a serious talk with you.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Mr. Chi agreed delightedly. Chi Rui¡¯er ced the bags she was carrying onto the table before heading to the kitchen to bring some tes and chopsticks. They then sat down opposite each other. ¡°Have some beer.¡± Mr. Chi took the can of beer from her and opened it happily. Chi Rui¡¯er picked up a pair of chopsticks and began helping herself to the food. ¡°After you married my mother, you started viting me behind my mother¡¯s back. It¡¯s not that I couldn¡¯t tell her about it, but rather, I just didn¡¯t want her to be greatly affected by such a huge blow, lest her disease rpses,¡± she said. ¡°I know, that¡¯s why I didn¡¯t stop. As long as you behave yourself in the future, I promise I won¡¯t ruin your marriage,¡± said Mr. Chi as he took a few gulps of beer before helping himself to the dishes. Chi Rui¡¯er had rarely spoken to him in such a calm andposed manner. She vaguely felt her anger dissipate at the sight of him enjoying the meal. ¡°I will behave myself in the future. So, you ought to keep your promise.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Let me toast you,¡± said Chi Rui¡¯er, raising her can of beer. Mr. Chi clinked his can against hers gleefully. Being an alcoholic, he thoroughly enjoyed the beer and proceeded to open another bottle for himself. Chi Rui¡¯er spoke to him calmly throughout the meal. After they were finished eating, Chi Rui¡¯er tidied up the mess and cleared the remaining food and beer bottles into arge rubbish bag, which she then brought outside. Unlike what Mr. Chi had thought, she brought the bag of rubbish to her car instead of disposing of it in the rubbish chute outside the house. She returned to see that Mr. Chi was sitting on the floor beside the bed, clutching his stomach in utter difort. Staring at her ring at him coldly, he struggled to speak, ¡°You poisoned the food?¡± ¡°No. Didn¡¯t you see that I ate the food too? I coated your chopsticks with poison. I wanted to kill you a long time ago. I¡¯ve detested you to the core ever since the first time you raped me. But it was a pity I was still young at the time and didn¡¯t have the guts to do it. After that, I chose not to kill you for my mother¡¯s sake. However, you chose to push your limits and went from bad to worse. You¡¯ve already ruined my life, and I won¡¯t allow you to continue being a ticking time bomb near me. Go to hell, I will bury you properly,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er sneered with a smirk. Foam began to spill out of Mr. Chi¡¯s mouth as his body quivered uncontrobly; he was no longer capable of speech. However, he gathered all the remaining energy within him and said with hisst breath, ¡°You will be put behind bars for killing me!¡± ¡°No I won¡¯t. Apart from my mother, you no longer contact any of your distant rtives. Who cares if you¡¯re dead or not? I won¡¯t allow myself to be arrested easily, that¡¯s so unlike me. Go to hell in peace,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er said with a humph. More and more foam began to overflow from Mr. Chi¡¯s mouth, and he was on the verge of suffocating. Chi Rui¡¯er took back the 10 thousand dors she had given him earlier, which he had yet to spend. She stowed the money in her bag and wiped away the foam on his mouth with a towel. She then removed his jacket and threw him onto the bed before tucking him beneath the duvet whileying him down onto his side. From where she was standing, it appeared as if he was sleeping. Chi Rui¡¯er switched on the televison and the lights before quickly making her escape. She drove to a short distance away and began waiting patiently. Having understood her mother¡¯s character, Chi Rui¡¯er was certain that her mother would give her a call as soon as she realized her husband had died. Thus, all Chi Rui¡¯er had to do now was to wait patiently. Just like she had expected, she received a call from Mrs. Chi two hourster. Chapter 293 - Please Me (15)

Chapter 293: Please Me (15)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Rui¡¯er, your father seems to have stopped breathing. Hurry ande home to take a look,¡± Mrs. Chi said frantically over the phone. ¡°Yes.¡± After hanging up the phone, Chi Rui¡¯er waited a few minutes before she set off. In fact, she had already prepared to go all out before arriving at Mrs. Chi¡¯s house. She had nned to poison him to death in front of her mother. However, Mrs. Chi happened to be away from home at the time, giving Chi Rui¡¯er the chance to execute a seamless murder. Several minutester, Chi Rui¡¯er arrived back at the entrance. She entered the door only to be greeted with the sounds of Mrs. Chi weeping in agony. A smile formed on Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s face as she made her way inside. Mrs. Chi was sprawled across the bed, bawling in grief. Upon hearing footsteps approaching, she quickly stood up and said to Chi Rui¡¯er, ¡°Rui¡¯er, quickly send your father to the hospital to see if he can be resuscitated.¡± ¡°It seems like he¡¯s already dead,¡± said Chi Rui¡¯er, leaning forward to test if he was still breathing. ¡°How did he just suddenly... Rui¡¯er, why don¡¯t we call the police and allow the forensic scientists to carry out an autopsy to find out the cause of his death?¡± suggested a perturbed Mrs. Chi. Little did Chi Rui¡¯er expect that her mother would be so well informed about such procedures. ¡°Let¡¯s not bother wasting time and just bury him.¡± Mrs. Chi stared at her, in disbelief of what had just happened. ¡°But, we don¡¯t even know how he died. I want to know the cause before burying him. Otherwise, I would never be at ease.¡± ¡°It seems he had died from alcohol poisoning. Can¡¯t you smell how much he reeks of alcohol?¡± ¡°He reeks of alcohol?¡± After taking a few sniffs, Mrs. Chi said, ¡°He really does. Who did he drink with?¡± ¡°How would I know? We don¡¯t have to hold a funeral for him. Let¡¯s just bury him straight.¡± Mrs. Chi was displeased to hear that Chi Rui¡¯er had nned to handle his corpse so casually and hastily. ¡°We have to inform his rtives in the countryside about it. How could we just bury him straight away? That¡¯s too disrespectful and not in ordance to traditional customs,¡± she chided. Mrs. Chi then got up in a bid to give Mr. Chi¡¯s rtives a call. ¡°I¡¯ll inform them and discuss about his funeral together.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t inform them,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er objected. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Just don¡¯t.¡± ¡°No matter how much you may dislike him, we still ought to hold him a funeral. Rui¡¯er, you¡¯re being too much!¡± Mrs. Chi snapped in bewilderment. Staring at her mother, Chi Rui¡¯er said, ¡°If you wish to send your daughter to prison, then go ahead and inform them.¡± ¡°What... what do you mean?¡± Mrs. Chi asked, dropping her phone in shock. ¡°I poisoned him to death.¡± ¡°What!?! Rui¡¯er!¡± Mrs. Chi gasped in shock, her eyes brimming with tears. ¡°After all these years, there are some things I ought to tell you about now,¡± said Chi Rui¡¯er, not wishing to hide the truth anymore. Besides, it would allow her mother to see her stepfather¡¯s true colors. Disregarding the fact that her mother was tearing up uncontrobly, Chi Rui¡¯er sat down and continued to reveal the truth, ¡°I actually disliked him from the very start, when you said you wanted to marry him. But, you tried to convince me that he was a reliable and trustworthy man. You said that an ill woman like you would need a man to provide for us so we could lead a stable life. All these years, he¡¯s been a man of exemry character to you, and in fact, you¡¯ve always chosen him over me.¡± At this point, painful memories and images of the past began to sh across Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s mind. ¡°But, did you know? This man who you thought treated us well had begun viting and raping me a short while after we moved in together.¡± Mrs. Chi stopped weeping and stared at Chi Rui¡¯er with her eyes widened in astonishment. ¡°Rui¡¯er... what... what did you just say?¡± Mrs. Chi stuttered, unable to believe her ears. Looking at her mother, Chi Rui¡¯er answered, ¡°I said he had begun viting me a while after we moved in together, and he has never stopped doing so since. I¡¯ve kept it from you because I was afraid that you¡¯d suffer a huge blow and it would cause your heart disease to worsen. I didn¡¯t dare to tell you about it when I was younger; neither did I see a point in telling you since nothing would change anyway. Given your character, would you have put him behind bars? I highly doubt so.¡± ¡°Who said I wouldn¡¯t? Rui¡¯er, why didn¡¯t you tell me earlier! Mother didn¡¯t know about this. If I did, I wouldn¡¯t have let things turn out this way,¡± Mrs. Chi eximed in utter shock and devastation, bursting into tears yet again. ¡°I¡¯ve had an abortion once, and the aborted child belonged to him. The father of the child I have now is also him. He has ruined my life, yet he still had the audacity to threaten me with this disgraceful matter that has marred me. He threatened to destroy my marriage, which didn¡¯te easy. If Dongcheng finds out about this, he would definitely chase me out of the family. That scroundrel came to look for me at my ce this morning to extort me for money. I gave him 10 thousand dors, but he wanted another 10 thousand dors, which I then agreed to give him during my visit here this evening. When I arrived here, he said that you went to visit your church friend. I brought some beer and food along to have a meal with him, after which he died because I handed him a pair of chopsticks that were coated with poison,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er exined as tears began to well up in her eyes. Mrs. Chi was greatly shaken by her words. ¡°You mean... your child belongs to him?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Mrs. Chi¡¯s legs turned to jelly, and she fell onto the bed. Staring at her deceased husband, she flew into a rage and began punching him forcefully. ¡°You shameless, despicable bastard! Why didn¡¯t you die earlier? You should¡¯ve died earlier!¡± she eximed in fury. Chi Rui¡¯er held onto her and said, ¡°Let¡¯s just bury his corpse without informing anyone. Pack your belongings and move in with me. Don¡¯t forget to tell the neighbors that both of you came to live with me together.¡± Wiping her tears, Mrs. Chi answered, ¡°Let¡¯s cremate him tomorrow instead and cast his ashes into the sea. There wouldn¡¯t be any remnants of his body then. If we bury him, I¡¯m afraid it would be dangerous for you. You¡¯ll be in great trouble if his distant rtives decide to report it to the police.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er found that her mother did make some sense. ¡°Let¡¯s cremate him tomorrow.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡ª¡ª At almost midnight, it was still snowing heavily. An Xiaoning was stopped by Pan Zhenghui just as she was about to leave the office. ¡°Hey, Xiaoning, this is thetest task,¡± said Pan Zhenghui. ¡°Chief, we¡¯ve just solved a case, I ought to take some time to rest now. I believe I¡¯ve mentioned before that I wouldn¡¯t be working on cases consecutively without breaks,¡± An Xiaoning said in a serious tone. Pan Zhenghui nodded and answered, ¡°I know. We¡¯re just letting you guys prepare yourselves for the uing task. You don¡¯t have to start investigating yet. It¡¯s not a case to be solved. Just hold on for a while, I¡¯ll brief all of you together when the members of the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit arrive.¡± Upon hearing that it would involve the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit, An Xiaoning began to get curious and asked, ¡°What task is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a secret operation which will involve a spy. We¡¯ll select two of you to go undercover,¡± said Pan Zhenghui. ¡°I¡¯m not taking part,¡± An Xiaoning refuted. ¡°Why don¡¯t you hear what it is before deciding?¡± ¡°Hmm, alright,¡± An Xiaoning agreed and took a seat. All the members of the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit arrived and remained standing since there were not enough chairs. Feeling bad for sitting while the rest were standing, Ma Jianguo, Zu Dong, and Gong Le immediately stood up as well. However, An Xiaoning, Pan Zhenghui, and the team leader of the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit remained seated. ¡°I called you guys here to inform you about an extremely important mission handed down from the Police Headquarters. They¡¯d like us to select the most outstanding male and female officer to join the Narcotics Bureau as undercover agents,¡± Pan Zhenghui exined. As soon as he finished speaking, all eyes were on An Xiaoning. Chapter 294 - Please Me (16) Chapter 294: Please Me (16) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios There were only two female police officers in the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit. Everyone knew for a fact that they were nowhereparable to An Xiaoning in terms of beauty and capability. ¡°Team Leader An, you¡¯re the most outstanding and brilliant female police officer in the two units. Be it in terms of brains, brawn, or beauty, the other two female officers are simply no match for you. If you don¡¯t participate in the mission, I highly doubt that they¡¯d be able to sessfullyplete the task,¡± said police officer Zhang. ¡°Team Leader Zhang, I hope you understand that I didn¡¯t agree to join the police force to be an undercover spy,¡± said An Xiaoning, who was fully aware of the purpose of going undercover. However, she was not confident that she could perform the task of being an undercover spy well. Thus, why would she bring upon herself unnecessary trouble and put herself in a dangerous predicament by epting the task? Pan Zhenghui agreed with An Xiaoning, ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s entirely up to Team Leader An to decide if she wants to go ahead with the mission. I decided to let her attend this briefing so she could decide if she wanted to join the operation. Due to the fact that this undercover mission would span across an extended period of time and is extremely critical, the higher-ups are offering a generous reward of 200 thousand dors. I¡¯d like to know if any of the male officers are willing to volunteer? Please raise your hand if you are.¡± Noticing that no one from the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit had volunteered, Zu Dong raised his hand all of a sudden and said, ¡°I¡¯m willing to go.¡± Both Pan Zhenghui and An Xiaoning were stunned. ¡°They¡¯re all so reluctant to go. Why did you volunteer?¡± ¡°For the mary reward. If the leaders didn¡¯t appoint us to take over this mission, I reckon no one would be willing to go. But I am more than willing, because my mother has been staying at the hospital to receive a treatment that is very costly. Thus, I really need this sum of money,¡± Zu Dong exined truthfully. With a nod of agreement, Pan Zhenghui answered, ¡°Alright, you shall go then. I was nning to just send one of you if no one is willing to volunteer in the end. Since Team Leader An doesn¡¯t wish to take part, I¡¯ll have to pick one of the two female officers in the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit. Team Leader Zhang, between the two of them, who do you think is a better option?¡± ¡°Chief, neither of them would make the cut. One of them is a mother of two and would have to return home every day while the other is poorly-skilled in martial arts. Besides, they¡¯re not exactly visually appealing. I doubt they¡¯d be able to sneak into the drug ring to obtain the crucial information we need. If Team Leader An is willing to go undercover, the mission would be a guaranteed sess,¡± police officer Zhang said bluntly. ¡°Seems like Team Leader Zhang has a lot of faith in me. I¡¯ve never been through training at the Police Academy, how are you so sure it¡¯d be a guaranteed sess? I¡¯m not even that confident myself. Team Leader Zhang, you¡¯re not praising me but giving me pressure instead,¡± said An Xiaoning, folding her arms. Pan Zhenghui waved his hand in disagreement. ¡°Team Leader Zhang, Ipletely respect Xiaoning¡¯s decision. If she¡¯s not willing to go, then don¡¯t force her to. We all know how capable she is, she¡¯s able to solve more cases in a month than you guys can in half a year. You don¡¯t have to keep emphasizing that.¡± Police Officer Zhang¡¯s face stiffened upon hearing Pan Zhenghui¡¯s words. As the team leader of the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit, it was rather embarrassing to constantly bepared to An Xiaoning¡¯s team, who had been surpassing them in solving cases ever since the special unit was established. Besides, her impable efficiency was bound to make him look bad, more or less. Realizing that they had gone quiet, Pan Zhenghui added, ¡°Since Team Leader Zhang thinks that these two female police officers are not suited to go undercover, I¡¯ll just send Zu Dong¡¯s name first. The operation willmence in just a few days. I¡¯ll try to find a suitable candidate for the female spy from the armed police unit. That¡¯s all I have for you today. It¡¯s gettingte, those of you who have clocked out may leave. As for the rest, you may resume duty.¡± Everyone then dismissed themselves. Six or seven police officers exited the police station while the remaining ones resumed their duty. ¡°Team Leader, it was right of you to turn the task down,¡± Ma Jianguo said softly. ¡°Why?¡± asked An Xiaoning. ¡°Other than Zu Dong, who only went because of the reward, everyone else was reluctant for a reason. Last year, Chief had also called for a meeting to select four undercover spies. Do you know what happened in the end?¡± Ma Jianguo whispered. ¡°What?¡± ¡°None of them came back alive. The mary reward was given to their family instead. They were also honored as heroes, but what¡¯s the point? They lost their lives in the end. Going undercover is not an easy task, especially in dangerous associations like a drug ring. There are traps everywhere in those ces, and one must be careful and cautious at all times. Even then, there are still some dangers that you can¡¯t guard against. More often than not, spies get killed before they even get their hands on the key information.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the only reason why I refused to take part. It¡¯s also because I won¡¯t get to live in freedom for at least a few months once the operationmences. I don¡¯t want to be away from the person whom I want to see every day.¡± Ma Jianguo chuckled and said, ¡°I totally understand. Team Leader Zhang wishes so hard that you would go, because that way, the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit wouldn¡¯t appear ipetentpared to us.¡± ¡°It¡¯s too bad his wishes won¡¯te true. I¡¯ll be taking a day off tomorrow.¡± ¡°That means we¡¯ll have to run errands for the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit...¡± Ma Jianguo turned to see that Pan Zhenghui was walking towards them. He then pleaded, ¡°Team Leader, please tell Chief to give us a day off too. Zu Dong still has to visit his mother at the hospital and help his father take care of her. Gong Le and I need to rest too.¡± Thinking that her colleagues ought to get some rest too, An Xiaoning agreed, ¡°I¡¯ll tell him about it. No promises that he¡¯ll agree though.¡± ¡°Thank you, Team Leader,¡± Ma Jianguo said, grinning from ear to ear. ¡°Chief... I won¡¯t being in tomorrow. Do allow Officer Ma, Zu Dong, and Gong Le to take a day off too,¡± An Xiaoning said to Pan Zhenghui. ¡°But we¡¯re short of manpower at the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit. They¡¯ll have to report there whenever you¡¯re not around,¡± Pan Zhenghui said in disagreement. ¡°Chief, I just think that since we¡¯re a team and work together all the time, it won¡¯t be fair for me to take a day off while they continue to work.¡± Noticing that Pan Zhenghui was hestitating, An Xiaoning added, ¡°The Serious Crimes Investigation Unit¡¯s efficiency in solving cases can¡¯t bepared to us at all. I can¡¯t say that it¡¯s all my hard work alone, they¡¯ve contributed greatly too. It¡¯s not fair to make them work the same hours as the other officers who don¡¯t perform as efficiently.¡± ¡°Team Leader An, I see you¡¯re pleading on behalf of your members. Alright, I¡¯ll allow them to take a break whenever you do,¡± Pan Zhenghui answered smilingly. Ma Jianguo hugged Pan Zhenghui in exhration and thanked him profusely. ¡°Chief, thank you so much.¡± ¡°You ought to thank your team leader, not me.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, right.¡± Extremely agitated, Ma Jianguo extended his arms in a bid to hug An Xiaoning, who quickly dodged and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to hug me. Just continue to work hard. Do inform the two of them as well.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± An Xiaoning then walked towards her car and unlocked the door with her keys before hopping in. Just as she revved up the engine, she felt a gun being held against her temple. Staring at the rear mirror while remainingposed, she said, ¡°You did this the previous time. Are you really going to use the same method again?¡± ¡°As long as it works, does it matter how many times I use it? Didn¡¯t think we¡¯d meet again so soon, did you?¡± Xi Bi answered with a smirk. Chapter 295 - Please Me (17)

Chapter 295: Please Me (17)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning had brought along two bodyguards, who waited for her in the car while she worked inside the police station. Needless to say, they must have been killed by Xi Bi. However, she was not worried at all as she quickly pressed a button on the handle of the car door. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect it indeed, but I¡¯m not surprised at all. I never thought you¡¯d meet me openly without resorting to underhanded means anyway,¡± An Xiaoning answered. ¡°I really like how unruffled and calm you are all the time. Few women are like you. It¡¯s no wonder Jin Qingyan adores you so much.¡± Xi Bi cut straight to the chase, ¡°Start driving.¡± An Xiaoning turned her head around slowly and looked at Xi Bi, who was sitting in the backseat. ¡°Mr. Xi, you really love ying pranks on me. First you tried to threaten me by stealing my master¡¯s corpse, and now you sneaked into my car. Is there really a point in doing these?¡± ¡°Of course. To me, it¡¯s fun. I love ying cat-and-mouse games with you.¡± ring at him coldly, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Don¡¯t think you¡¯ll win tonight just because you¡¯re holding me at gunpoint.¡± ¡°You¡¯re really so confident?¡± Xi Bi retorted. ¡°I¡¯m not confident, I¡¯m just very certain.¡± ¡°Get into the passenger seat. Hurry up. I¡¯ll shoot you if you keep dilly-dallying.¡± An Xiaoning got into the passenger seat slowly. Xi Bi continued to press the gun against her head while moving together with her from the backseat. She fumbled about in the dark to grope at the handle and opened the car door slowly. The extremely alert and vignt Xi Bi immediately locked the car door and windows. ¡°An Xiaoning, quit ying tricks with me,¡± Xi Bi hissed, holding the gun in one hand and steering the wheel with another. He drove her car away from the police station quickly and continued to speed along the roads. Due to the snow and thete hour, traffic was light and there were very few cars on the road. Soon, more than ten cars began chasing from behind. An Xiaoning knew right away that they were Jin Qingyan¡¯s bodyguards. ¡°Not bad. He¡¯s quick,¡± Xi Bi said with a smirk. An Xiaoning remained silent and slowly pulled a knife out from her sleeve with her left hand. Xi Bi continued to drive onto a secluded path along the mountains while Jin Qingyan¡¯s bodyguards were hot in their pursuit. Noticing that they were about to catch up soon, Xi Bi tried to steer away quickly, but to no avail since it was difficult to drive with one hand. He put down the gun and began driving with both hands. ¡°Mr. Xi, is it really worth it?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know each other well at all, and we¡¯ve only met a few times. Is it really worth all this trouble to try and take me away time and time again?¡± Still smiling at her, Xi Bi answered, ¡°Yes, you¡¯re worth every bit of the efforts I¡¯ve put in.¡± ¡°You might lose your life too in the midst of it,¡± An Xiaoning sneered. ¡°So what? I¡¯ll do everything that is in my power to achieve my goal. An Xiaoning, you made me put a lot at stake. But I¡¯m willing to take this huge risk for you.¡± ¡°I love Jin Qingyan. So, regardless of whether you¡¯re trying to use me to spite Jin Qingyan or for another reason, I¡¯ll never concede to your requests,¡± said An Xiaoning as she turned to look at him. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. I don¡¯t expect you to be loyal to me or even fall in love with me,¡± he answered nonchntly. Due to how it was snowing continuously, the temperature had gone down to below zero degrees celsius and the roads were all paved with frozen snow. The car had begun to skid a little on the slippery roads. He continued to drive for a little more than a kilometer with the bodyguards chasing fervently behind. All of a sudden, sounds of a helicopter approaching came from the sky. An Xiaoning raised her head and squinted to see that it was Xi Bi¡¯s emergency helicopter. It seems he had indeed made all the necessary arrangements beforehand. At this very moment, a massive number of cars appeared in front of them, preventing Xi Bi from driving forward. An Xiaoning stabbed Xi Bi with the sharp knife at the instant that he stepped on the brakes. She had decided to do it after realizing that he was about to whip the gun out to hold her hostage. If he had managed to hold her at gunpoint again, Jin Qingyan would have had no choice but to watch him take her away, for the former would be too afraid to take action. That was because her life mattered the most to Jin Qingyan. That was thest thing she wanted to see happen. If Xi Bi were to manage to take her away, a ton of trouble would prevail again. Thus, she might as well fight him in the car before he managed to whip the gun out again. Xi Bi grimaced in pain and pulled the trigger while pointing the gun in her direction. However, An Xiaoning managed to grab his wrist in the nick of time, causing the bullet to hit and fly through the window. Jin Qingyan hurried towards them with a bunch of bodyguards. Xi Bi squinted in dismay, well aware that if Jin Qingyan and his bodyguards were to surround the car, there would be no way for him to escape. Only death would await him. Jin Qingyan would never let him make it out of S Nation alive once he¡¯d gotten a hold of him. He was fully aware of that fact. Seconds before Jin Qingyan and his bodyguards reached the car, Xi Bi quickly stomped his foot onto the elerator, causing the car to surge forward all of a sudden. The many pairs of eyes watched as he sped and drove off the cliff in An Xiaoning¡¯s Ferrari. Jin Qingyan failed to stop him in time. ¡°You¡¯re out of your mind!¡± An Xiaoning yelled at the top of her lungs while grabbing his arm. The car plunged downwards quickly and crashed onto the ground in no time. ¡°I am out of my mind. Do you think I¡¯d actually let Jin Qingyan get a hold of me? Don¡¯t even think about it. Great, at least we have each other forpany.¡± Xi Bi¡¯s words had greatly infuriated An Xiaoning, who did not have a backup n at this point. As soon as he finished speaking, the car bounced off and fell to the ground again, knocking them unconscious immediately. Xi Bi¡¯s bodyguards in the helicopter quickly made their way downwards. The Ferrari had flipped and was severely crushed. They carried the blood-drenched Xi Bi out from the car and onto the helicopter. ¡°Do we take the woman too?¡± a bodyguard asked. ¡°Of course, carry her up regardless of whether she¡¯s dead or alive,¡± said another. An Xiaoning was then pulled out of the car and carried onto the helicopter. Jin Qingyan¡¯s bodyguards made it to the scene just as the helicopter left. However, it was all toote, they had already taken her away. Since the car did not plunge from a great height, An Xiaoning and Xi Bi should both still be alive. Anger rushed through Jin Qingyan¡¯s veins as he immediately ordered for his private jet to take chase. Clenching his fists in anger, he wanted nothing more than to chop Xi Bi into pieces. He swore to himself that he would not rest his case until he¡¯d killed Xi Bi. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Young Madam, why have youe at this hour?¡± a female servant in Ming Yuan Estate asked in surprise. ¡°Is Xiaotian home?¡± ¡°Yes, Young Sir has already gone to take some rest.¡± Lin Mingxi strode towards the door and changed into a pair of home slippers at the entrance before making her way upstairs. As soon as she pushed the bedroom door open, she was greeted with the overwhelming scent of jasmine flowers. A frown creased Lin Mingxi¡¯s forehead as she closed the door and walked inside the room. Chapter 296 - Please Me (18)

Chapter 296: Please Me (18)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Ye Xiaotian woke up all of a sudden and reached out to turn on the lights. Upon sight of Lin Mingxi standing by the bed, he quickly sat up and said, ¡°Who let you in?¡± ¡°I¡¯m your wife. Since you refuse to go home, I¡¯ll have toe look for you,¡± Lin Mingxi answered. ¡°Get out,¡± Ye Xiaotian hissed coldly. ¡°No.¡± Ye Xiaotian lifted the inte handset on the table and said, ¡°Security,e in.¡± Lin Mingxi removed her clothes immediately. ¡°I shall see if they¡¯d dare to carry me out when I¡¯m naked.¡± Ye Xiaotian got out of the bed and picked her clothes up. Just as he was about to push Lin Mingxi away, she managed to stop him from doing so with her quick reflexes. ¡°Young Sir, what¡¯s the matter?¡± asked the bodyguards, who were standing by the door. ¡°Take her out of the mansion.¡± Ye Xiaotian sat down on the bed. The bodyguards were, however, no match for Lin Mingxi who, in turn, beat them up into a pulp. Lin Mingxi then locked the door from inside and said to Ye Xiaotian while staring at him, ¡°You want me to feel widowed for the rest of my life. However, I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t let you have your wishes.¡± ring at her coldly, Ye Xiaotian hissed, ¡°Don¡¯t force me to go to extreme means. Hurry and get lost before I get infuriated.¡± ¡°Extreme means? Go ahead, I¡¯m not afraid of you,¡± Lin Mingxi retorted fearlessly. Ye Xiaotian was beyond irritated with her at this point and stood up to walk towards her. Holding her face in his hand, he taunted, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? You really want to sleep with me so badly?¡± ¡°We¡¯re husband and wife, isn¡¯t it only normal? It¡¯d be abnormal for a married couple to not share the same bed, isn¡¯t it? Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know just how many women you¡¯ve slept with in the past. Are you too afraid to sleep with your legal wife?¡± said Lin Mingxi, keeping her eyes fixed on him. Ye Xiaotian began to strip herpletely naked and carried her onto the bed before turning the lights off. He then opened the drawer to take an item out. ¡°Kneel down,¡± he instructed. ¡°Oh? You like doing it from behind?¡± asked Lin Mingxi, who did as instructed and knelt on the bed. He ced the item aside and pulled her wrists together. Before Lin Mingxi knew it, he had sessfully restrained her arms in a handcuff, which she tried to struggle out of, but to no avail. ¡°You jerk!¡± Ye Xiaotian turned the lights on again as a malicious smile formed on his face. He carried her up and plonked her down onto the couch. ¡°You¡¯re right, I¡¯ve slept with countless women in the past, but I just don¡¯t wish to sleep with you.¡± ¡°Ye Xiaotian! Let go of me!¡± Ye Xiaotian walked towards the bathroom and returned with a towel that he then stuffed inside her mouth. Reminded of the fact that she was nimble and trained in martial arts, Ye Xiaotian decided to cuff her ankles together before returning to bed. Lin Mingxi was inplete torment for the rest of the night. Ever since Ye Xiaotian and Lin Mingxi got married, the media had been watching them closely and focusing on matters such as whether they are living together or not. News of Lin Mingxi heading to Ming Yuan Estate in the middle of the night quickly made the headlines the next morning. The caption was: ¡°Days after their marriage, Lin Mingxi decides to take action and finally gets to spend a night with her husband.¡± Mo Li was overwhelmed with a mix of emotions upon reading the news. She got out of bed and started some fire to cook up a meal. She opened the door to see that it was snowing heavily outside. It was chilly inside the house. She sat by the stove and proceeded to start the fire, after which she soon felt aforting warmth. Although she was sitting by the fire, her heart was still cold. After pondering for a long while, she stood up and began cooking. She was very satisfied with the way things were now and wanted to continue leading a peaceful life with her child, whom she would raise by herself. ¡ª¡ª Although Xi Bi¡¯s face was covered in blood, he did not sustain any major injuriespared to An Xiaoning, all because he had managed to activate the airbag. He had alreadye to, but he could not move his body because of the injuries, especially since An Xiaoning had stabbed him. ¡°What¡¯s her condition?¡± ¡°Master, Ms. An¡¯s injuries are far more serious, and she¡¯s still unconscious at the moment. The doctor said that she had suffered an impact to her head. Thus, we still don¡¯t know if she wille to.¡± Xi Bi expressed assent and said, ¡°Inform Jin Qingyan about this and get him to bring 500 million dors. Send him a photo of An Xiaoning and tell him that we¡¯ll have to punish his woman if I don¡¯t receive the money by today.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± After the bodyguard left, Xi Bi¡¯s personal assistant said, ¡°Master, I reckon Jin Qingyan wouldn¡¯t dare to not pay up.¡± ¡°Very true, unless he doesn¡¯t want this woman anymore. Our organization has always been seeking his financial assistance, but he¡¯s never once agreed. Let¡¯s see if he¡¯s still so adamant about it this time.¡± Xi Bi nced at his assistant and said, ¡°No matter what, An Xiaoning mustn¡¯t die. I want her toe to, by hook or by crook, regardless of how expensive the medicine may be.¡± ¡°I understand. But, Master, you¡¯ve really had a close shave with death this time. It won¡¯t be worth it to risk your life again.¡± ¡°It was indeed very dangerous, I almostnded in Jin Qingyan¡¯s grasp. But it doesn¡¯t matter, it¡¯d be worth it if I¡¯ll get to receive such a hefty sum of money just by taking this risk.¡± The smile on Xi Bi¡¯s face quickly turned into a grimace due to the pain from his injuries. ¡°Jin Qingyan must be dying to kill me now. But too bad, An Xiaoning is in our hands. We¡¯ll be striking a fortune very soon. This time, I¡¯ll ask for 500 million, next time, it¡¯ll be 1 billion. Just the thought of it makes me happy,¡± he continued. ¡°Very clever of you, Master. Not only did you manage to get the money, but you also got the girl.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see how she is now. Once she manages to get resuscitated, I want her to be guarded closely. The security must be tightened. History mustn¡¯t repeat itself. You should be aware of the consequences should you fail to guard her properly.¡± ¡°Rest assured, Master. I will make the necessary arrangements.¡± ¡°Okay, you may leave. I¡¯d like to get some rest,¡± said Xi Bi as he closed his eyes. ¡°Alright.¡± Just as his assistant reached the door, he was stopped in his tracks by Xi Bi. ¡°Hold up.¡± ¡°Master, any more orders for me?¡± ¡°If An Xiaoning dies, I would suffer a huge loss. Regardless of whether she dies or not, prevention is always better than cure. I heard there¡¯s a kind of chemical that allows you to clone humans. Um... is there really such a thing?¡± ¡°Yes, there is. But those chemicals are extremely expensive, and experts in such technologies are few and far in between. I heard that if the cloning is sessful, the clone would be exactly the same as the human from which it was cloned from, be it voice, appearance, or blood type. The only difference is that the clone would be a nk te with no memory at all.¡± ¡°The memory bit won¡¯t be an issue. Didn¡¯t we return from an ident on the mountains? We¡¯ll just im that she lost her memory and is suffering from amnesia. The more we talk about this, the more I¡¯m starting to desire such a clone. It can work for me too. Ah, that would be perfect, killing two birds with one stone. I won¡¯t even need the real An Xiaoning anymore. Hurry and go look for an expert in this field, as well as for the required chemicals. If the cloning is sessful, you shall be duly rewarded!¡± Xi Bi eximed, his eyes lit up in joy. ¡°Yes!¡± At the thought of a sessful cloning, Xi Bi was too agitated to even get some rest. Images of the idea began to flood his mind. Chapter 297 - Please Me (19)

Chapter 297: Please Me (19)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xi Bi was deep in his merry thoughts. Little did he expect that Jin Qingyan would arrive with a bunch of bodyguards after receiving the message he had sent him. Xi Bi had weaker forcespared to Jin Qingyan. Moreover, it was more than easy for thetter to defeat Xi Bi with the help of Byron, who had a powerful authority in Y Nation. Soon, Xi Bi¡¯s den was surrounded by Jin Qingyan¡¯s men. They could not enter, but Xi Bi¡¯s men could not exit either. The two waging parties continued to remain that day. Atst, Jin Qingyan let out a warning, threatening to destroy Xi Bi¡¯s territory and annihte him should he still refuse to hand An Xiaoning over. Xi Bi was not flustered at all and instructed his men to tell Jin Qingyan to go ahead since An Xiaoning was still inside anyway. They would at most perish together. That was Jin Qingyan¡¯s main concern and exactly why he had been dying his attack. He absolutely regretted not getting rid of Xi Bi the previous time he¡¯d managed to rescue An Xiaoning. He should not have given Xi Bi the chance to act all haughty and arrogant. It was unlike him to sacrifice his men to annihte his enemy. However, he had already decided that Xi Bi must die once he managed to rescue An Xiaoning. The two parties continued to be on guard day after day. Soon, two weeks passed. There was no progress at all. An Xiaoning had yet to regain consciousness while Xi Bi could finally get down from the bed and move about. ¡°Master, Jin Qingyan¡¯s bodyguards have surrounded us, and the food supply in the storeroom is running low. I¡¯m afraid we won¡¯t be able to make it past another few days if we still don¡¯t go out to restock.¡± Gripping the surface of the table tightly, Xi Bi instructed, ¡°Tell him to prepare to collect An Xiaoning¡¯s corpse if he doesn¡¯t transfer the 500 million dors to my bank ount today.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± His subordinates hurried downstairs to inform the bodyguards outside. Surprisingly, Jin Qingyan asked to speak to Xi Bi instead. Xi Bi agreed. ¡°Transfer me the money and I¡¯ll hand her over,¡± Xi Bi said over the phone. ¡°What happens if you go back on your word?¡± ¡°Then that¡¯s too bad. It¡¯s up to you to decide if you want to believe me,¡± said Xi Bi, who had the upper hand. He was not afraid that Jin Qingyan would not pay up since he was holding An Xiaoning hostage. Having already guessed what Xi Bi had up his sleeve, Jin Qingyan asked, ¡°Are you going to extort me for more money in the future after I give you the 500 million dors this time?¡± ¡°Hahaha, I haven¡¯t thought about the future, I¡¯m talking about now. You have half an hour to decide. If I still don¡¯t receive the money by then, you know what¡¯ll happen. Don¡¯t think I¡¯m afraid just because you¡¯ve surrounded my house. There are many secret passageways here. Don¡¯t underestimate me,¡± Xi Bi sneered. Gritting his teeth in anger, Jin Qingyan answered, ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Xi Bi ended the call in high spirits. He was exceptionally thrilled to know that he had managed to anger Jin Qingyan. ¡°Master, Ms. An hase to.¡± ¡°Excellent. I¡¯ll go have a look,¡± said Xi Bi as he made his way upstairs. He pushed the door open, and seeing him, the servants inside left. Xi Bi stared at her with raised brows and said, ¡°You¡¯ve finallye to after sleeping for half a month. I would¡¯ve really treated you like a vegetable if you woke up anyter.¡± ¡°Xi Bi, do you know how utterly shameless and despicable you are?¡± ¡°You may say what you want for all I care. An Xiaoning, didn¡¯t you say that night that I wouldn¡¯t win? But the truth has proven that I won, hasn¡¯t it? Since you¡¯vended in my hands once again, you won¡¯t be able to escape so easily. I won¡¯t allow history to repeat itself.¡± An Xiaoning looked down to see that she had been changed out of her clothes. ¡°Is that so?¡± she asked. ¡°Jin Qingyan is going to give me 500 million dors very soon. You¡¯re very valuable, eh? Other men would never be willing to give up so much for a woman.¡± ¡°Xi Bi! Just what do you want?¡± An Xiaoning snapped in uncontroble rage. ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious enough? I¡¯m after money, of course. What else? I¡¯d also like to know what it¡¯s like to sleep with Jin Qingyan¡¯s woman,¡± he answered, clucking his tongue. Noticing how nervous An Xiaoning had gotten, a malicious smirk formed on his face. ¡°Rest assured, I don¡¯t feel like touching a patient who just regained her consciousness. I will treat you well, just rx and recuperate. You don¡¯t have to worry about that bit yet,¡± he added. An Xiaoning closed her eyes and remained silent. All smiles, Xi Bi exited the room. An Xiaoning opened her eyes again. Her arms and legs were all shackled. The bed she wasying on was one meant for elderly and immobile patients. There was a round hole in the middle of the bed to allow her to answer nature¡¯s calls conveniently. She wasying in bed just like a vegetable. She knew that she was not wearing any bottoms, without even having to touch herself. Once again, she was gued with the feeling of being trapped and humiliated. She deeply resented Xi Bi to the core. She must find a way to escape. However, given the current situation, Xi Bi must have tightened security around her. Fleeing was almost a far-fetched idea. Yet, it was not like her to give up. ¡ª¡ª The film An Xiaoning invested in was screened on Christmas Day. The box office sales hit over 100 million within the first day of screening. It should have been a piece of joyous news for An Xiaoning, who was the sole investor of the film. However, she was unable to celebrate at this juncture. Mei Yangyang was also in a state of worry and panic. She could no longer tolerate it any further after hearing that Xi Bi had greedily extorted Jin Qingyan for 500 million dors, followed by another billion dors. She decided to go undercover and infiltrate Xi Bi¡¯s den to rescue An Xiaoning. Long Tianze did not support her decision. ¡°That¡¯s an extremely dangerous ce. You definitely can¡¯t go alone. The consequences would be dire if you get exposed,¡± Long Tianze objected. ¡°I¡¯ll wear Sis¡¯ mask,¡± Mei Yangyang insisted. ¡°Forget it, even Jin Qingyan¡¯s secret agents failed to do so. What makes you think you¡¯ll seed? If anything happens to you, Qingyan and I will be grief-stricken,¡± said Long Tianze, expressing his strong disapproval. ¡°It¡¯s settled then. Stay out of this,¡± Mei Yangyang said, refusing to give in. ¡°Mei Yangyang! Don¡¯t try anything funny and just stay put here,¡± Long Tianze snapped in a bid to stop her. Upon seeing how adamant he was, an idea popped up in Mei Yangyang¡¯s mind. ¡°You look so stern and austere. Fine, I won¡¯t go, okay?¡± ¡°Yes. There¡¯s no way you can go alone. It¡¯s not a ce anyone can enter easily. Don¡¯t be so reckless,¡± Long Tianze lectured her. Although Mei Yangyang responded by nodding fervently, she actually thought otherwise deep down. Mei Yangyang headed to An Xiaoning¡¯s home in Dongpo Road to retrieve the human mask and An Xiaoning¡¯s gun. She also armed herself with a knife before heading to the underground ck market to buy some gas that would knock someone unconscious with just one spray. Mei Yangyang did not adopt the standard protocol of going through immigration and boarding amercial ne. Instead, she chose to cross the border to Y Nation sneakily. Before leaving, she informed her father that she would be going on a vacation. Her father agreed right away, thinking that she must be going with her boyfriend on a trip to rx after being so busytely. Mei Yangyang arrived at the ferry terminal with a backpack strapped across her back. Chapter 298 - Please Me (20)

Chapter 298: Please Me (20)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After paying up, she boarded the ferry together with a bunch of other illegal immigrants. The ferry was extremely crowded. After some inquiring and asking about, Mei Yangyang found out that all of them were going overseas to work. Mei Yangyang was freezing in the chilly ferry, which did not have a heater. That was the status quo for the rest of the night. By daybreak, she was feeling just like a block of frozen meat. Fortunately, she had finally arrived in Y Nation. She would have chosen to travel by ne if it were not for the fact that she would not be allowed to carry any weapons with her up there. Famished, she immediately looked for a restaurant after alighting from the ferry. Since she was not proficient in the nativenguage of Y Nation, she had a hard timemunicating with the cashier while footing the bill. She sent Long Tianze a text message to inform him of her whereabouts, only to receive ashing from him over the phone. ¡°For your sake, I will make it back alive. Wait for my return,¡± she answered. Long Tianze had no choice but to give in, though he was enraged beyond limits. He could only advise her to pick up the nativenguage of Y Nation before executing her n. Mei Yangyang shared simr sentiments as he did. She checked into a hotel and tried her best to pick up thenguage, though it was indeed a tall order. Long Tianze insisted that Mei Yangyang contact him every day. Seeing how worried he was, she agreed to his request. Since learning a newnguage would require a certain amount of time, Mei Yangyang decided to stay at the hotel for about two weeks to learn the basics of thenguage before proceeding with her n. ¡ª¡ª Twenty days after the butler was prosecuted in court, the verdict was finally out. The butler was sentenced to a death penalty with all of his assets confiscated. Thepensation for the victim¡¯s family would be deducted from his assets. Mrs. Jin was not in the mood to eat or drink at all after hearing the verdict. She cooped herself up in the room and wept in agony. The matter could initially have been swept under the carpet. However, she was well aware that it was the doing of her ex-husband, who wanted the butler to die. Throughout her 20-year marriage to Mr. Jin, they¡¯ve been living as a couple who were only married in name. Jin Qingyue¡¯s biological father, the butler, had always been her true love. Yet, her only soulmate was about to face a death sentence. Naturally, she would detest Mr. Jin for his ruthlessness. As much as she resented him, there was nothing much she could do. After an entire day of cooping up in her room, the starving and parched Mrs. Jin finally came out of her room to have a meal. She ate a meager amount and instead filled her stomach with excessive alcohol. The servants could only advise her to drink less. However, she ignored their advice and even ordered them to stay out of it. The servants thus remained quiet, thinking that Mrs. Jin would just go to bed after drinking. Little did they expect that she would not do so. She stopped drinking before she was drunk out of her senses and proceeded to walk out of the door. The bodyguards quickly took chase. ¡°Madam, where are you going?¡± ¡°To Qingyue¡¯s ce. I¡¯m going to look for her...¡± The bodyguards helped her into the car and brought her to the Shi family home. Jin Qingyue was having her dinner at the time. At the sight of a tipsy Mrs. Jin, she quickly instructed the servants to help her onto the couch. ¡°Mother, why did you drink so much?¡± ¡°Why... can¡¯t I drink that much? Qingyue, your father has been sentenced to a death penalty by the court. I won¡¯t be able to live on if he dies.¡± Jin Qingyue ordered the kitchen helpers to brew some broth to cure Mrs. Jin¡¯s hangover before dismissing the servants. She then sat down beside her mother on the couch. ¡°So what if you can¡¯t live on? Are you going to die with him?¡± Jin Qingyue scoffed. ¡°I do have such ns.¡± ¡°If you really did, then just go ahead and die quietly. Why do you have toe and tell me about it?¡± Jin Qingyue asked. Staring at her with widened eyes, Mrs. Jin said, ¡°Qingyue, he¡¯s your biological father. Are you really just going to sit back and watch him die?¡± ¡°Other than the DNA test report, does it state anywhere else that he¡¯s my biological father? I¡¯ve never felt his fatherly love for me at all. Since I was young, I¡¯ve only seen him as the butler and treated him like an outsider. All of a sudden, he¡¯s be my biological father. It may not seem like much to you, but it came off as a huge blow to me. It¡¯s uneptable to me, and I refuse to ept it just because it¡¯s the truth.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you feel how endearing and caring he had been to you since you were young? He had always treated you better than he treated your brother,¡± said Mrs. Jin as tears streamed down her face uncontrobly. ¡°Seems like he had known that I was his child all along. The verdict of this matter is set in stone. It¡¯s not something I can decide anyway. Don¡¯t bring it up again in the future. Shaochuan doesn¡¯t know about this yet, I don¡¯t want him to find out about such a scandalous piece of news. It¡¯ll really bring me shame.¡± ¡°I really don¡¯t see a point in living anymore.¡± Jin Qingyue took the bowl of broth from the servant and ced it onto the coffee table before saying, ¡°You may sleep in the living room after drinking the broth. I¡¯m going upstairs to get some rest.¡± Noticing how awful she looked when she entered the room, Shi Shaochuan asked, ¡°Who made you upset again this time?¡± ¡°My mother came to look for me in a drunken stupor.¡± After removing her clothes, Jin Qingyueid down and red at him. ¡°It¡¯s either you or my mother who constantly gets on my nerves. Are you two out to infuriate me together?¡± she hissed. Shi Shaochuan decided to change the subject, in a bid to not upset her any further since she was still pregnant. ¡°Don¡¯t dwell on it anymore, go to bed,¡± he said calmly. ¡ª¡ª The secret agents Jin Qingyan hired had failed to rescue An Xiaoning, not because they were ipetent but because Xi Bi had ordered for An Xiaoning to be heavily guarded by bodyguards who were all armed with guns. Security was so tight that even a housefly would not make it inside. Upon realizing that Jin Qingyan¡¯s secret agents had infiltrated his den, he proceeded to move An Xiaoning to another secret chamber in the basement. He ced an extra bed in the chamber and decided to guard her himself. He also ordered that no one was allowed to enter the den. Thus, Mei Yangyang had still yet to find an opportunity to slip in, despite having learned most of the nativenguage of Y Nation. In the blink of an eye, one month had passed since An Xiaoning met with the mishap. It was extremely cold during wintertime in December. Mei Yangyang had been loitering near Xi Bi¡¯s den for two days, in a bid to look for an opportunity to enter. At past nine o¡¯clock in the evening, Mei Yangyang made her way to the back of the den to find that a window on the third storey was left wide open. She looked around before climbing up one of the walls, only to find that there were guards on duty inside. Mei Yangyang whipped out a hooked rope and hooked it onto the window pane on the second storey. She supported her weight against an anti-theft window and climbed upwards to the window pane on the third storey. She peeked inside to find that it was a male bathroom, which exined why the window was left wide open. She retracted the rope and hurriedly climbed downwards into the bathroom. An idea popped up in Mei Yangyang¡¯s head at the instant that she saw thedies¡¯ bathroom opposite. While the coast was clear, she swiftly sneaked into thedies¡¯ bathroom. Soon, a pleasant-looking cleaner entered. Just as she lifted her pants to take a piss, she was abruptly shot by a bullet from Mei Yangyang¡¯s gun. Although she had died an innocent death, Mei Yangyang could not be bothered to dwell on it. Having alreadye this far and made it into Xi Bi¡¯s den, her ultimate goal was to rescue An Xiaoning, do or die. Mei Yangyang swapped outfits with the cleaner and brainstormed for a way to get rid of the corpse. In order to leave no stones unturned and guard against all possibilities, Mei Yangyang carried the cleaner¡¯s corpse to the male bathroom and chucked it out the window. Chapter 299 - Please Me (21)

Chapter 299: Please Me (21)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Panting heavily, Mei Yangyang heard a thud all of a sudden. She quickly rushed back inside thedies¡¯ washroom and put on the mask without dy, after which she finally felt a huge sense of relief. Hanging her head low, she quickly zoomed out of the bathroom and embarked on a search for the surveince cameras control room. However, she could not find the room after searching the entire storey. Mei Yangyang had no choice but to leave and search elsewhere. In the darkness of the night, she scanned her surroundings and finally decided on a direction to proceed in. She began walking towards a brightly lit area. She mustered the courage to brave across the entrance and sessfully managed to escape the eyes of the guards on patrol. She then finally reached the door of the surveince cameras control room. Upon hearing a faint moaning, Mei Yangyang decided that it was the right time to take action. She gently pushed the door open and entered on tiptoes. She took a nce to see that the people inside were getting intimate with each other. She then quickly tampered with the surveince camera system and destroyed the surveince camera footage memory cardpletely. The surveince camera system immediately shut down and ceased to operate. Pangs of panic engulfed Mei Yangyang as she rushed out of the door, after which her nervousness slowly began to dissipate. Mei Yangyang racked her brains toe up with a way to remain in the den without arousing suspicion. She sneaked out of the area, hoping to find an opportunity to stay behind by daybreak. Feeling chilly, she subconsciously slipped her hands into her pocket, only to discover a small mobile phone. At this very moment, the screen of the mobile phone lit up due to an iing call from ¡°Kaili,¡± as shown on the caller disy. Mei Yangyang answered the call. Before she could even speak, she heard a voice yelling over the phone, ¡°Wretchedss, did you fall inside the toilet bowl?¡± Mei Yangyang instantly scurried away and said in a muffled voice in between sobs, ¡°No, they¡¯re trying to catch me.¡± ¡°Why do you sound so different? Where are you now!?!¡± ¡°In the corridor near the bathroom.¡± Mei Yangyang ended the call right away and returned to the building she had initially climbed into. Upon reaching the stairwell, Mei Yangyang craned her neck to see a figure belonging to a woman scrambling across to her. Mei Yangyang instantly remained still as a statue. ¡°Xiaoying?¡± the woman yelled while standing by the entrance of the bathroom. Clearly, the woman was too terrified to enter the bathroom. She called Xiaoying again but did not hear sounds of a mobile phone ringinging from inside. Thus, she retreated backwards frantically towards the stairwell. All of a sudden, Mei Yangyang grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away, greatly startling the woman. The woman quivered uncontrobly in shock and fear. ¡°Are you Xiaoying¡¯s friend?¡± Mei Yangyang asked softly, a terrified expression on her face. ¡°Yes, you are?¡± ¡°She and I were chased by two men earlier. I hid here while she ran inside the male bathroom. I haven¡¯t seen here out ever since.¡± Kaili instantly turned as pale as a sheet. ¡°Really?¡± she asked in astonishment. Mei Yangyang nodded and answered, ¡°They saw us entering the bathroom and wanted to rape us. Thus, we tried to flee. It was really terrifying.¡± ¡°Hurry and go back to the dormitory. I¡¯m heading back too,¡± said Kaili, frightened upon hearing her words. Mei Yangyang grabbed her again to stop her. ¡°Wait a minute, Xiaoying might already be dead by now. They¡¯ll definitely find a scapegoat to take the me. Did you see the surveince camera on the ceiling?¡± Staring at the direction Mei Yangyang was pointing at, Kaili answered, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°For all you know, they might make us the scapegoat. So, from now on, we¡¯re a team and on the same boat. Who knows? They mighte for us when daybreak arrives.¡± Since Mei Yangyang was not exactly fluent in the nativenguage of Y Nation, she was constantly stuttering as she spoke. However, Kaili did not suspect anything and merely thought that Mei Yangyang was acting that way because she was frightened. Kaili felt a shiver down her spine after hearing Mei Yangyang¡¯s words. ¡°What should we do then...¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got a solution. But, it¡¯s not safe to talk about it here. Could you let me go to your dormitory? We¡¯ll talk about it softly whileying in bed.¡± ¡°Sure,e with me,¡± Kaili agreed as she proceeded to lead the way while Mei Yangyang followed closely behind. The duo quickly made their way to the dormitory. They did not turn on the lights in the dormitory, where there were four other servants. Mei Yangyangid down in Xiaoying¡¯s bed and began discussing the situation with Kaili softly. They spent the entire night discussing the matter, during which time Mei Yangyang obtained a lot of information. For example, she learned that Xiaoying used to be a cleaner in charge of housekeeping and cleaning the corridor on the first storey while Kaili was responsible for tidying the rooms on the first storey. Xiaoying and Kaili shared a close rtionship and would practically chat about anything under the sun. Xiaoying¡¯s parents were not around, and she was working alone in the den. Due to the fact that the majority of the workers in the den were males, it was naturally unsafe for females to lurk about alone in such aplicated and dangerous ce. Female servants would often travel in pairs at night, in case they stumbled upon any lecherous men who would definitely take the chance to rape them. Although it was indeed very dangerous to work in such a ce, all the workers were offered a hefty paycheck. Besides, they had all been working there for a long period of time, and thus, they were all willing to continue working. It did not ur to Kaili that such a terrifying incident would happen. She burst into tears atst and mentioned that she wanted to quit. However, she would definitely be deemed as the scapegoat, should she tender her resignation the day after. In a bid to calm Kaili down, Mei Yangyang said slowly, ¡°If someonees to ask you about this tomorrow, just say that you didn¡¯t go outst night at all. Tell them that you and Xiaoying are no more than just colleagues. You mustn¡¯t mention that you two are close friends. Don¡¯t ask why, just answer directly. I will exin myself when they question me.¡± ¡°Will this really work?¡± ¡°Trust me, it¡¯ll work. You have to believe me,¡± Mei Yangyang reassured her while holding her hand tightly. Kaili nodded in agreement and fell asleep only when it was almost daybreak. Less than a few hourster, they were jolted awake by a voice yelling at the door. ¡°Hurry and get up. The higher-ups are calling for an assembly.¡± ¡°What assembly?¡± Kaili asked in fear, pale as a sheet. ¡°I don¡¯t know, they just want us to fall in at the courtyard. Master has something to say to us.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Kaili and Mei Yangyang got out of bed together and hurried towards the courtyard. Mei Yangyang could finally have a clear view of the ce since it was daybreak. The courtyard was filled with people who were obviously servants, as evidenced by the way they dressed. As soon as Mei Yangyang stood amongst the crowd, she became the center of attention because of how gorgeous she looked with the mask on. ¡°Why haven¡¯t I seen her around before?¡± ¡°Exactly, it¡¯s been ages since I saw such a pretty babe.¡± ¡°If only she were my girlfriend.¡± ¡°...¡± Though the crowd was engaged in curious gossip, they immediately fell silent upon hearing a sudden voice from the podium. ¡°All of you, be quiet!¡± Mei Yangyang looked in front to see a man, d in a ck suit, walking towards the podium. She immediately recognized him to be Xi Bi. She red at him coldly. It was a pity that such a handsome man like him turned out to be an unscrupulous viin. ¡°This morning, we found a female corpse at the wall behind the building. The body belongs to one of our servants.¡± As soon as he paused his speech, Kaili began to tremble in fear. ¡°However, she turns out to be a snitch sent by the people outside. She¡¯s already dead. Let me warn all of you, if there¡¯s a mole amongst you, you¡¯d better leave out of your own ord right away. I will spare your life if you do. Otherwise, you shall die once we¡¯ve exposed you.¡± Chapter 300 - Please Me (22)

Chapter 300: Please Me (22)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Dumbfounded, Kaili muttered softly, ¡°Didn¡¯t expect Xiaoying to be a snitch from outside. Indeed, you will never know a person¡¯s true colors despite knowing them for a long time.¡± ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t expect it either. I was just wondering why those people were chasing us. I ran along the corridor, and they stopped chasing me but continued to go after her. That exins why,¡± Mei Yangyang agreed. Kaili heaved a huge sigh of relief. ¡°All¡¯s well now. I was really scared soulless.¡± ¡°From today onwards, I will tighten the security around here. Those of you who are thinking of breaking the rules, I hope you¡¯d know better,¡± Xi Bi added. After they were dismissed, Kaili decided to return to the dormitory to pack her belongings. ¡°I want to leave.¡± ¡°Are you mad? Master said that the snitches may leave on their own. If you decide to leave now, wouldn¡¯t that mean that you¡¯re one? Wouldn¡¯t it be better to leave after some time from now?¡± Mei Yangyang objected. After some hesitation, Kaili answered, ¡°But, I don¡¯t wish to wait anymore. I don¡¯t want to stay here another minute longer.¡± Knowing how despicable and ruthless of a person Xi Bi was, Mei Yangyang continued to persuade her, ¡°Just hang in there for a little while.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to anymore. I¡¯m really filled with terror right now. I don¡¯t even wish to collect the rest of my sry, I just want to leave now,¡± Kaili insisted while packing her belongings. Mei Yangyang stopped trying to convince her. She was relieved that Xi Bi had mistaken Xiaoying, the servant she killedst night, to be a snitch since that would mean that he would not suspect her for now. Kaili packed her bags and exited the dormitory. While Mei Yangyang was deep in her thoughts about what identity she should take on in order to remain in the den, a bunch of men showed up at the door all of a sudden. Slightly taken aback, she thought to herself, ¡°What are they doing here?¡± ¡°What is your name?¡± Mei Yangyang kept mum. ¡°You¡¯re really gorgeous, do you have a boyfriend?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Pretty babe, speak up.¡± ¡°...¡± Mei Yangyang was irritated by these bunch of men. Just as she was about to lose her patience, the men hurriedly scurried off while another man entered. The man looked just like a yboy. Gazing at her, he introduced himself, ¡°I¡¯m Xi Boyu. Xi Bi is my elder brother.¡± Clearly, he was out to inform her that he was someone of status and authority within the den. If normal circumstances, Mei Yangyang would never be bothered to care about who he was and would simply ignore him. However, things were different this time. Since she was here to rescue An Xiaoning, she ought to make use of such a powerful man and put his authority to her advantage. She stared at Xi Boyu, who greatly resembled Xi Bi, and put on a smile. ¡°Nice to meet you,¡± she greeted. Noticing her friendly attitude, Xi Boyu stepped forward to grab her hand. ¡°I happened to catch a glimpse of you during dismissal earlier. You¡¯re really pretty, just my type. I¡¯m single as of now, would you like to be my girlfriend?¡± Although Mei Yangyang was instantly repulsed by his shameless confession, she could not express her disdain openly and instead said, ¡°But we don¡¯t know each other at all.¡± ¡°Getting to know each other is a piece of cake,¡± Xi Boyu answered, pulling Mei Yangyang into his embrace. Mei Yangyang suppressed her anger and annoyance, in hopes of bing associated with him so as to rescue An Xiaoning. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Xi Boyu asked smilingly. ¡°Xiaoyang.¡± ¡°Xiaoyang 1 ? I¡¯m Big Bad Wolf, I love lusting over sheep meat,¡± Xi Boyu gibed. Mei Yangyang pretended to smile shyly, after which he forcefully pulled her away. The female servants who walked past stared at them intently, green with envy. ¡°Where are you taking me?¡± ¡°To my ce.¡± Mei Yangyang was then brought to his abode. Along the way, she stumbled upon the sight of Kaili being taken away forcefully. It seemed like she was about to be executed with the other people outside. Mei Yangyang let out an internal sigh, feeling helpless that she could not save her. Xi Boyu shared his personal life experiences with Mei Yangyang while walking. Once they arrived at his abode, he then went on to brag and unt his items. In fact, Mei Yangyang was beyond irked at his behavior. ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll take you to have some delicacies then, my little sheep.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Why haven¡¯t I seen you around before? I would¡¯ve heard about the existence of such a gorgeous girl like you long ago,¡± Xi Boyu questioned. Upon hearing his words, Mei Yangyang knew right away that Xi Boyu was a scum of the elite, just like his brother. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m very pretty. Maybe you guys have different tastes in women. But, I¡¯m often alienated because of the attention I enjoy. The other girls don¡¯t seem to like me, so I¡¯m always by myself. They don¡¯t like talking about me either. Besides, I¡¯m such a homebody. Other than the times when I¡¯m working, I¡¯ll be reading in the dormitory most of the time,¡± Mei Yangyang exined. ¡°I see, you don¡¯t have to return to the dormitory anymore. Don¡¯t bother collecting your belongings either. Just live with me from now on. We¡¯ve just met, and there¡¯s a lot for us to find out about each other. We ought to spend more time together to nurture our feelings and get to know each other better,¡± he said with a nod. ¡°Could you promise me something?¡± she asked, pursing her lips. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Before we get to know each otherpletely, could you not touch me?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t get intimate with you?¡± Xi Boyu asked, a frown creasing his forehead. ¡°I¡¯ve never had a boyfriend before. Thus, I¡¯d like to give myself to him only when I feel safe and ready,¡± said Mei Yangyang, feeling a little guilty for lying through her teeth. His eyes lit up upon hearing her words. He was pleased to hear that the pure and innocent-looking Mei Yangyang was still a virgin. ¡°Alright, I promise to give you some time. How does a week sound?¡± Mei Yangyang¡¯s stomach twisted into a knot. She was not confident that one week was sufficient for her to rescue An Xiaoning. ¡°How about two weeks?¡± Noticing that he was a little upset, she quickly stood up and began ying cute and fawning over him. ¡°Okay?¡± Atst, he finally gave in and agreed, ¡°Alright, I promise.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± After dinner, Mei Yangyang changed into the set of clothes Xi Boyu had prepared for her and left together with him. Mei Yangyang pushed herself to continue apanying him, despite the fact that she had yet to get enough proper rest. She was extremely perturbed at the moment, though she considered herself lucky to have made it this far unexpectedly. Thus, she became more confident that she could rescue An Xiaoning. ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning had not reported to the police station in days. Meanwhile, with the exception of Zu Dong who had gone undercover in a drug ring, the rest of her colleagues had also been taking a break on paid leave, as promised by the Bureau Chief. However, they were extremely puzzled and curious about An Xiaoning¡¯s absence. Pan Zhenghui then told them that An Xiaoning was ill and resting in bed. Although Pan Zhenghui did not quite believe Jin Qingyan¡¯s words, there was nothing else he could do. The Gu family were flustered and anxious, but likewise, all they could do was wait. The oue would still be the same even if Gu Beicheng were to send his bodyguards to Y Nation. Chi Rui¡¯er was exceptionally thrilled to hear about the mishap An Xiaoning had met with. An Xiaoning had long be her arch nemesis whom she detested to the core. Her hatred towards An Xiaoning would never be resolved even with time. Now that she would not have to deal with An Xiaoning herself since there was someone else to do it for her, what¡¯s not to rejoice about? Although she was in high spirits, she began to notice red gs in her marriage with Gu Dongcheng. They had gotten married in a shotgun wedding; the child they had out of wedlock was the only reason Gu Dongcheng had agreed to marry her. In fact, she was never serious about Gu Dongcheng either. Ever since they got married, they had been arguing almost every other day. Gu Dongcheng felt that she was being extremely inconsiderate and not understanding at all towards his busy work schedule. To make matters worse, her mother had moved in together with them, which greatly irked him. Chapter 301 - Please Me (23)

Chapter 301: Please Me (23)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios For a couple who did not have a stable rtionship to begin with, this undoubtedly worsened things further. Gu Dongcheng originally liked ying around, and he now went home at an eventer timing. A smart woman like Chi Rui¡¯er was definitely aware of what was going on. But she did not investigate and turned a blind eye to it. Until tonight. Chi Rui¡¯er returned from the beauty parlor and passed by a high-quality women¡¯s boutique. She happened to notice Gu Dongcheng there as well. Not only that, she saw Xu Jingwen¡¯s figure beside him. Looking at the situation, Chi Rui¡¯er was burning with rage. She was already not fond of Xu Jingwen, but seeing this situation, she was nowpletely at odds with her. Seeing how Xu Jingwenughed seductively beside her own husband, Chi Rui¡¯er could no longer take it. For the reputation of the Gu family, however, she did not catch them on the spot but followed their car to the estate they lived in. Chi Rui¡¯er then realized that Xu Jingwen actually lived in one of the units of a building next to their own house. It was obvious who had rented or bought that house for her. Looking at them get off the car, Chi Rui¡¯er pulled her car over but did not get off. She thought of Gu Dongcheng¡¯s attitude towards hertely and firmly believed that Xu Jingwen must have told him something. She did not think that it was her own fault at all. She believed that all the fault lied in Xu Jingwen. After Gu Dongcheng returned home, she gazed at the units of the building and estimated the time Xu Jingwen took to go up, thereby determining which unit she lived in. When Chi Rui¡¯er was clear about it, she went home. Gu Dongcheng had gone to bathe. As Chi Rui¡¯er looked at the bathroom door, an idea popped up in her head. She fished out his phone from his suit pocket and resolutely sent a message to Xu Jingwen: ¡°Honey, I¡¯ll go and find you at 11:30ter, wait for me, okay?¡± After the message was sent out, a reply came in immediately: ¡°Alright, love you, muah.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er immediately deleted the record of the messages. Her heart was like the scene of a battlefield and she thought, Muah? Go and die, you bitch! She ced the phone back into his suit pocket and sat at the dressing table, staring at her own reflection. Without a sound, she stood up again. Gu Dongcheng came out from his bath and saw that something was not right with her. He then remarked lightly, ¡°I¡¯ve rented a house for your mother. Let her move over there.¡± ¡°If she lives alone, she won¡¯t even have someone to talk to her. I object.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll find a house nearby so you can go and apany her, it¡¯ll be very convenient.¡± It seemed like Gu Dongcheng had already made a decision. ¡°You don¡¯t want to live with my family either, can¡¯t you consider how it is for me to live with my mother-inw every day?¡± ¡°That¡¯s your stepmother, but this is my biological mother. Is it the same?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er sat down on the bed. ¡°Don¡¯t mention this issue anymore, I¡¯ll never agree to it. Right...¡± She thought for a moment and continued, ¡°Do you remember that girl Xu Jingwen whom I hired for three thousand dors when I was pregnant?¡± Gu Dongcheng was taken aback, but still pretended like he was unfamiliar with her. ¡°Oh... that girl? I remember.¡± ¡°I went to the hospital to do a checkup at my gynecologist¡¯s and I ran into her.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er made up the story with ease, such that even her expression was wless. ¡°Then?¡± ¡°The doctor said that because she¡¯d had too many abortions done, she won¡¯t be able to get pregnant in the future,¡± she said smoothly while observing Gu Dongcheng¡¯s expression. ¡°Really?¡± Gu Dongcheng was indifferent about it. ¡°Even if she can¡¯t get pregnant, what has that got to do with us? You shouldn¡¯t care so much about other people¡¯s affairs, just care about your own issues.¡± If she had not seen it with her own eyes, she would have thought that his reaction waspletely normal and did not indicate anything was amiss. But in reality? Her husband was a superior actor. Chi Rui¡¯er did not say anything further and went on the bed to sleep along with him. After he fell asleep, she changed into another set of clothes again and headed out to meet Xu Jingwen. It was dead silent at night. Chi Rui¡¯er arrived alone at the hallway outside Xu Jingwen¡¯s door and pressed the doorbell. The door was flung open instantly, and Xu Jingwen said as she opened it, ¡°Didn¡¯t you bring your keys?¡± Seeing Chi Rui¡¯er at the door, she was about to close the door shut when Chi Rui¡¯er went in. She closed the door shut. ¡°Wow, it¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve seen you.¡± Xu Jingwen was slightly daunted. The scene of Jin Qingyue bringing people here previously had cast a shadow upon her, and now that Chi Rui¡¯er hade to find her, she was more or less feeling guilty. But the good thing was, she came alone without anyone else. ¡°Right, it¡¯s been long.¡± Xu Jingwen broke into a grin. ¡°I wonder why you¡¯re here in the middle of the night?¡± ¡°Cut the pretense.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er closed in on her step by step. ¡°Xu Jingwen, what nerve you have. You dare to hook up with Dongcheng?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve no proof, don¡¯t spout nonsense!¡± ¡°I even saw it with my own eyes. Do I still need proof?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er took off her high heels resolutely and pressed it against Xu Jingwen¡¯s face. Xu Jingwen groaned in pain and screamed, ¡°Get out of here right now, or I¡¯m calling the police!¡± Chi Rui¡¯er was obviously undaunted. ¡°Look at yourself, bitch. You can call the police for all you want, I¡¯ll make you get on the news immediately.¡± She reached out her hand. ¡°Give me the phone.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er was about to hit her again, but Xu Jingwen immediately covered her head and, while Chi Rui¡¯er was still unprepared, she raised a broom to defend herself. ¡°If you still won¡¯t leave, don¡¯t me me for being nasty.¡± ¡°Look at you, you really don¡¯t know what¡¯s good for yourself. Alright, I¡¯m going to call people here.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er took out her phone and was about to make a call. As she turned and was about to enter the bedroom, she took the chance to grab Xu Jingwen¡¯s hair before she locked the door from inside, then rode on her body. Xu Jingwen struggled vehemently and used both her legs to kick her forcefully. In the midst of iling her hands about, she scratched Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s face. Chi Rui¡¯er only felt a twinge of pain on her face and, after she touched it, saw that there was blood on her hand. Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s eyes emitted sparks of anger and she totally lost her cool. Using both her hands, she strangled Xu Jingwen¡¯s neck and pressed onto it with all her might. After a fierce struggle, Xu Jingwen copsed onto the floor with her pupils turned upward and her breath stopped. Chi Rui¡¯er released her hands and looked at her, still boiling with rage. ¡°You deserve to die!¡± She got up and called her mother. When Mrs. Chi arrived, she saw Xu Jingwen lying motionless on the floor and her face turned as pale as a sheet instantly. ¡°Rui¡¯er...¡± ¡°I killed her. She¡¯s Dongcheng¡¯s mistress.¡± Mrs. Chi couldn¡¯t help but reply, ¡°But, you still shouldn¡¯t have killed her.¡± ¡°I think she deserved to die. I wanted to kill her a long time ago.¡± Not a tinge of guilt could be detected from her face. ¡°Quickly help me to move her body onto the car.¡± At this point, Mrs. Chi had no choice but to help her get rid of Xu Jingwen¡¯s body. After moving her body to the boot of the car, Chi Rui¡¯er did not immediately get rid of it but tidied the crime scene first instead. She packed Xu Jingwen¡¯s clothes, cosmetics, and the rest of her belongings into a suitcase and threw it into her car, making it seem like she left. Gu Dongcheng remained unaware of all that had happened. The following morning, he went to work as usual. After he was gone, Chi Rui¡¯er went to a remote area of the city and bought a house with a garden. Following that, she buried Xu Jingwen¡¯s body within the garden of the house. She still did not stop at that and went to the security office of the estate and bribed the person-in-charge to delete all the records on the surveince cameras. Chapter 302 - Please Me (24)

Chapter 302: Please Me (24)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Chi Rui¡¯er then used Xu Jingwen¡¯s manner of speaking to send a message to Gu Dongcheng: ¡°Your wife knows about us, I¡¯m too ashamed to keep staying here. Let¡¯s stop contacting each other from now on, I¡¯m leaving.¡± Thereafter, Gu Dongcheng called Chi Rui¡¯er to ask if she had forced Xu Jingwen to leave. She cleverly exined it to him, and Gu Dongcheng did not probe any further. This incident was once again perfectly settled by Chi Rui¡¯er. Her mentally-exhausted self could finally get sleep in peace. Mrs. Chi opened her bedroom door and entered. Sitting beside her on the bed, she said in a low voice, ¡°Rui¡¯er, don¡¯t do this anymore from now on. Mother¡¯s worried about you.¡± ¡°Worried that I¡¯ll get caught?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er sniggered. ¡°Mother, don¡¯t worry. Your daughter is not that stupid.¡± ¡°If you walk in the river often, you¡¯ll naturally be defiled.¡± Mrs. Chi remained pessimistic about the situation. ¡°Moreover, that girl¡¯s family will definitely call the police when more time has gone by.¡± ¡°So what if they call the police? They won¡¯t be able to find anything.¡± ¡°I heard there¡¯s a police officer in our city who can investigate murders by using a person¡¯s birth characters. She¡¯s also Dongcheng¡¯s sister, right?¡± Hearing mention of An Xiaoning, Chi Rui¡¯erughed. ¡°Mother, she can¡¯t even fend for herself right now. She¡¯s been captured by some people overseas. So, don¡¯t worry, this incident has been put to an end. Originally... I didn¡¯t intend to kill her, I just wanted to use her phone to send Dongcheng a message to break up. But she provoked me.¡± ¡°Your Mother just doesn¡¯t feel at ease about it.¡± ¡°I executed it wlessly, no one will find out.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er waspletely unbothered. Mrs. Chi let out a helpless sigh. ¡ª An Xiaoning was imprisoned in the room every day. She slept, ate, and did her business, all on the same bed. It almost seemed like she was a paralyzed patient. Xi Bi did not mind the stench in the room and indulged in the time he spent with her in that basement. Seeing how she struggled to even move, Xi Bi found it extremely satisfying. ¡°Jin Qingyan is really trying a lot of means and ways. He¡¯s sent so many people in secretly, but what a shame. They¡¯ve all failed or have died in my hands. The thought of it makes me drunk with satisfaction.¡± Xi Bi had his arm supporting his head, and his body was turned sideways so he could look at her. ¡°He¡¯s already given me 500 million dors, but it seems like he¡¯s not very willing to give me one billion dors. I see you¡¯re not worth one billion.¡± An Xiaoning scoffed. ¡°It¡¯s right not to give it to you. A greedy man like you, giving you 500 million is already more than you deserve.¡± His eyes twinkled. ¡°You really have the gift of the gab, but I won¡¯t hold it against you. An Xiaoning, I¡¯ll bleed you dry of your worth and let you see with your own eyes how your man gets controlled by me.¡± An Xiaoning darted a nce at him. ¡°Then you must definitely protect what you have. Or else, it will be tragic if you don¡¯t even know how you ended up dying.¡± Xi Bi shed a contemptuous smile. ¡°You¡¯re in my hands. What will Jin Qingyan dare to do to me?¡± At this moment, An Xiaoning wished that Jin Qingyan did not love her. Only then would he not be threatened by this man. She wanted to get out of this ce. Desperately. ¡°I see your body has been nourished more or less. In a few days, I¡¯ll let you get a good bath and serve me. So, don¡¯t be too happy tonight.¡± An Xiaoning listened to his words numbly. Her gaze was fixed elsewhere, and a firm conviction was all that was holding her together. If she could get out, Xi Bi was the greatest enemy she wanted to kill. It had to be him. She would no longer allow this person to act with even an inch of arrogance in front of her. If only she could get out of this ce quickly. The night was extremely long, and An Xiaoning found it difficult to fall asleep. At the same time, Jin Qingyan, who was trying to hold himself together, was also finding it hard to sleep. As this matter did not reach any breakthrough, he became extremely bad-tempered. His gentle and mild personality on the surface all came to nothing. He heard from Long Tianze that Mei Yangyang had sessfully gotten close to Xi Bi¡¯s biological brother. He knew Mei Yangyang was highly skilled and put all his hopes on her. ¡ª Mei Yangyang had carefully stayed by Xi Boyu¡¯s side for a few days without exposing a single bit of what was close to her heart, sessfully entertaining Xi Boyu. He had grown fonder of Mei Yangyang and decided to bring her to see his brother that day. ¡°My parents aren¡¯t around, so my brother and I grew up relying on each other. He has been especially good to me.¡± Talking about this, he grinned. ¡°Although he¡¯s my brother, I¡¯ve always treated him like a father.¡± ¡°Why, is he very strict towards you?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s just that, he treats me like a son.¡± He held onto Mei Yangyang¡¯s hand. ¡°Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll bring you to his house.¡± Mei Yangyang¡¯s heartbeat elerated as she followed him to Xi Bi¡¯s house. Xi Bi was eating his breakfast and, upon seeing his brother bring a woman there, he looked up. ¡°You told me that you got a girlfriend just a few days ago. She¡¯s pretty indeed. How long has she been here?¡± Mei Yangyang carefully answered his every question. Xi Bi could not find fault in anything, but based only on his intuition, he felt there was something off about this woman. ¡°Do you also really like our Boyu?¡± Mei Yangyang replied, ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m the kind of person who ys up to people with power and disregards feelings in a rtionship. I¡¯m very fond of him. You could say I like him, but it hasn¡¯t developed into love yet.¡± ¡°You¡¯re an honest person. Indeed, the two of you have only dated for a few days. If you said you love him, even a ghost wouldn¡¯t believe it.¡± Mei Yangyang had just rested at ease when she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and looked in surprise at the person who ced it there. It was Xi Bi¡¯s right-hand man. ¡°In front of my boyfriend, is it appropriate for you to put your hand on my shoulder?¡± Xi Bi¡¯s right-hand man was embarrassed and turned to his master. He said apologetically, ¡°Sorry, I was out of it.¡± Actually, everyone present knew clearly that his move was an act meant to sound her out. He was trying to sound out whether she had a sensitive reaction and knew martial arts. But it was apparent that Mei Yangyang had passed the test. ¡°Get out,¡± Xi Bi said to him. His right-hand man immediately turned to leave. Xi Bi broke out into a smile. ¡°Don¡¯t take it to heart, my man has quite a habit of being touchy.¡± ¡°Mmm.¡± She replied simply, keeping in mind the principle of speaking less to make less mistakes. When she left, she looked rather upset, so Xi Boyu exined, ¡°Lately, there¡¯s been a few agents from outside who were sent in. My brother is just being extra careful.¡± ¡°Does he actually suspect that I¡¯m a secret agent?¡± Mei Yangyang asked him. ¡°Do I look like one?¡± ¡°No, you don¡¯t.¡± ¡°I think the atmosphere¡¯s been really intensetely. I¡¯ve been used to going everywhere alone. No one told me anything, did something happen?¡± ¡°Nothing big.¡± He obviously did not want to say anything further, so Mei Yangyang was tactful enough to not probe. If she had, it might have allowed him to detect a trace of something. If that happened, not only would she be unable to save An Xiaoning, she would have gotten into trouble too. As the two nestled on the sofa to watch a movie, Mei Yangyang kept trying to find an opportunity to nt a hearing device in his phone. However, she could not even find the chance to touch his phone. Chapter 303 - Please Me (25)

Chapter 303: Please Me (25)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios It was impossible for her to do it openly, so she felt that she had to take a risk. Just waiting like that for an opportunity did not seem like a good idea. As they watched a movie, Mei Yangyang went right for his body, leaning against it. Xi Boyu enjoyed this greatly, and he wrapped his arms around her while watching. However, no matter how Mei Yangyang tried to find an opportunity, her attempts were futile. She even thought of putting a drug in his food to knock him out. But in reality, she did not even have the chance to go to the kitchen alone. Finally, after much thought, Mei Yangyang wanted to use her final trick. ¡°Boyu, I¡¯m tired from watching the movie. I want to get some sleep, can you apany me?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± He was more than willing to do so. The corner of Mei Yangyang¡¯s lips curled into a smile as she got up with him. He wanted to go to her room with her, but Mei Yangyang said instead, ¡°I want to lie on your bed. May I?¡± His eyes twinkled. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± The twoid down on the bed and he turned, pressing down his body on hers. ¡°I really want you.¡± Mei Yangyang put on the pretense of being shy. ¡°We agreed on two weeks. It hasn¡¯t even been one week, you can¡¯t go back on your words, okay?¡± He reluctantly got off of her and pulled her into his arms. ¡°Alright then, I won¡¯t rush it. You sleep, I¡¯ll stay here with you.¡± ¡°Umm. You¡¯re such an upright gentleman. I love upright gentlemen like you.¡± Xi Boyu shed a slightly cunning smile. He thought to himself that he was never an upright gentleman, it was just his ploy to put out his bait to catch the big fish. Would it matter if he waited a few more days? He had sufficient sleepst night, so he was not sleepy at all. After waiting for a while and seeing that he was really not falling asleep, Mei Yangyang acted like she needed the washroom and sprayed the colorless and odorless mist spray she brought around with her in her palm. Shey down beside him again and gazed at him, cing the hand with the mist sprayed on it near his chin. ¡°Your moustache has grown out.¡± ¡°I just shaved yesterday.¡± ¡°No, I have obsessivepulsive disorder. I¡¯ll pull it off for you.¡± She narrowed her eyes as she leaned closer to him, moving one hand back and forth over his chin while cing the other at his nose. With that, after one to two minutes, she went back to lie in his arms. ¡°I¡¯m sleeping.¡± ¡°I¡¯m getting sleepy too.¡± His eyes were half-closed. Mei Yangyang closed her eyes, quietly waiting for the right time toe. Five minutester, she raised her head and saw that he was already asleep. Taking the spray out, she resolutely sprayed a few times on his face. After confirming that he would not wake up, she then openly took his phone. Using her own phone, she sent the listening software to his phone, then speedily set it up. After it was all done, she did not forget to hide the software amongst the other files in his phone. Mei Yangyang then conveniently went through the content in his phone and discovered that he sent many women ambiguous texts. He even had naked photos of various women in his photo gallery. The leading male was not inside the pictures, but it was obvious that he was the one. What made Mei Yangyang the most speechless was that he even kept videos of him and many women being intimate. Towards this person, she really did not have a good impression at all. After putting his phone back into his pocket, Mei Yangyang got down from the bed and started surveying his bedroom. Surprisingly, she obtained a map of this ce from a book in his drawer. To Mei Yangyang, that was an extremely valuable gain. The map even had all the secret passageways of the cebelled properly. Mei Yangyang decisively took pictures of the map and sent them to Jin Qingyan. As for the rest, she did not find anything else in his bedroom. Since he was not awake yet, she took the time to carefully study the pictures of the map, remembering them by heart. What surprised Mei Yangyang was that, that very night, she heard the phone conversation between Xi Boyu and Xi Bi with her own ears. Xi Bi: ¡°I just feel that there¡¯s something wrong with that woman.¡± Xi Boyu: ¡°What problem is there? You¡¯ve tested her already.¡± Xi Bi: ¡°That wasn¡¯t enough. You need to keep an eye out for her. Don¡¯t tell her anything at all, just treat it as a fling. Don¡¯t take it seriously. Next time, don¡¯t bring her to our house.¡± Xi Boyu: ¡°On the surface, she may be my girlfriend, but I haven¡¯t treated it as that. I just think that she¡¯s pretty and just want to y with her.¡± Xi Bi: ¡°ying around is fine, but don¡¯t go out of hand.¡± Xi Boyu: ¡°I know.¡± Xi Bi: ¡°I think I have to test her some more. Later, I¡¯ll get someone to act as a special agent sent to assassinate you, then he¡¯ll give her a stab. We¡¯ll see if she fights back, okay?¡± Xi Boyu: ¡°Brother, don¡¯t do this. She¡¯s so small and petite, you might just kill her with one stab. Don¡¯t do this, she doesn¡¯t seem like a special agent.¡± Xi Bi: ¡°Listen to me, just cooperate. She won¡¯t die from the stab, I¡¯ll get my man to take note of that. If we can confirm that she isn¡¯t, then both you and I can rest assured.¡± Xi Boyu: ¡°Alright then.¡± Mei Yangyang removed her phone from her ear. It seemed like, to remove their suspicions towards her, she had to get hurt. Just when she had gotten ready, Xi Boyu¡¯s voice sounded at the door. ¡°Xiaoyang, are you asleep?¡± ¡°Not yet.¡± She got up and opened the door. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°The moon¡¯s out tonight, let¡¯s go out and take a walk. Alright?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± she agreed readily. ¡°Give me a moment, I¡¯ll put on a coat.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± A momentter, Mei Yangyang had her coat on and was out, hand in hand with him. ¡°Indeed, the moon tonight is really nice. I like it so much.¡± ¡°The weather forecast said that there¡¯ll even be snow tomorrow. You should wear more tomorrow, or else you might catch a cold.¡± ¡°Umm, you too.¡± The two chatted as they walked along. After walking for some time, Mei Yangyang felt that something was wrong. She felt the presence of another person, but she had to pretend like she did not know anything. Indeed, two men approached the two of them. One of them had his face covered and was right before them. ¡°Be careful!¡± Mei Yangyang went forward to shield Xi Boyu with her body and a knife stabbed into her shoulder. The intense pain overwhelmed her and she broke out in cold sweat, her heart palpitating with fear. Xi Boyu did not expect that at this crucial moment, she would actually shield him from that stab. He was instantly touched by her actions. ¡°Xiaoyang, how are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine, but they¡¯ve run away...¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get someone to chase them, you hang in there. I¡¯ll bring you to get bandaged.¡± He carried her in his arms and immediately headed towards the medical room urgently. Mei Yangyang bore with the pain and gazed at him, moaning, ¡°It¡¯s so painful, I think I¡¯m going to faint.¡± ¡°We¡¯re arriving soon.¡± Mei Yangyang still pretended like she had fainted and closed her eyes. It was the first time Xi Boyu developed guilt towards a woman. He made the doctor bandage Mei Yangyang properly and carried her back to her room himself. He took off her shoes and covered her with a nket. Even his actions were a lot gentler than before. Hearing his footsteps as he left, Mei Yangyang then opened her eyes. Watching the door being closed, she grinded her teeth in pain. If she had not known that she was going to get stabbed, it might have been better. But going there while knowing that she would get stabbed, she¡¯d been more or less nervous about it. But at least, she had survived this obstacle. Following this, she had to find the right opportunity to save An Xiaoning. In the dark of the night, with the moon outside the window shining bright and clear, the conviction in her heart was equally firm as well. Chapter 304 - Please Me (26)

Chapter 304: Please Me (26)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡ª ¡°Young Sir, you got me to check where Ms. Mo¡¯s burial ce was, but I couldn¡¯t find it.¡± Ye Xiaotian nced up. ¡°What do you mean by this?¡± ¡°I checked all the cremation records and many cemeteries, but I couldn¡¯t find it. Maybe her family didn¡¯t bury her, or buried her somewhere else. This, I¡¯ve no way of finding out. I¡¯m afraid only her family will know.¡± ¡°Get people to keep a lookout over her family. After some time, they will definitely go and pay respects to her.¡± ¡°Yes, Young Sir.¡± Ye Xiaotian grasped the sofa firmly, unable toprehend the situation. ¡°Xiaotian.¡± Mrs. Ye appeared with her bag slung over her shoulder. He turned to look at her. ¡°Mother.¡± Mrs. Ye sat down beside him and asked, ¡°It¡¯s been so long. How long more will you continue being like this?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Go home to sleep.¡± Mrs. Ye continued, ¡°The Lin family has been very upset about this. Mingxi¡¯s mother has called me so many times. That time when you handcuffed Mingxi for the whole night, do you think Mother didn¡¯t know about it?¡± Ye Xiaotian was indifferent about it. ¡°So what if you knew?¡± With him acting like this, Mrs. Ye could indeed do nothing about it. It was just like back then ¨C when she insisted on objecting against the marriage between him and Mo Li, he could do nothing about it either. ¡°She¡¯s your wife now, Xiaotian. Live well with her, don¡¯t make a joke of it anymore.¡± ¡°How am I making a joke of it?¡± Ye Xiaotian rebutted. ¡°Who says that if you get married, you have to sleep together and have children?¡± Mrs. Ye sighed helplessly. Because of this issue, she had been in a constant state of worry. ¡°Mother knows you have been ming me in your heart. But, you can¡¯t bring the dead back. Can¡¯t you let this incident pass?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t. This incident will never pass in my heart.¡± Mrs. Ye¡¯s hands trembled slightly. ¡°Xiaotian, are you bent on driving your mother to death?¡± ¡°Mother, I got married ording to your wishes already. Do I have to do things that I dislike ording to your wish again? Will you be happy then?¡± ¡°...¡± Mrs. Ye was dumbfounded. There was nothing she could say to rebut. Afterplete silence passed for a few seconds, Ye Xiaotian said slowly, ¡°I let Mo Li down. From the start, I let her down. Until she died, it was still me who let her down. This is the most regretful thing in my life thus far.¡± ¡°I¡¯m slightly regretful now,¡± Mrs. Ye remarked, having not expected that things would turn out this way. ¡°I never thought that she was that brave, and I never thought that making you marry Lin Mingxi would be doing more harm to you. If you¡¯re really suffering, then divorce Lin Mingxi. Mother won¡¯t force you anymore in the future.¡± It was a rare urrence for Ye Xiaotian to hear such words from his mother. He looked at her in astonishment and eximed, ¡°Mother, are you serious about what you¡¯re saying?¡± ¡°What do you think?¡± Mrs. Ye¡¯s eyes were moist with tears. ¡°Seeing you like this, what can your mother do? I can only concede.¡± Ye Xiaotian went forward and embraced her. ¡°Thanks, Mother.¡± In that instant, Mrs. Ye had let go of everything. Ever since Mo Li died and he had gotten married, he did not return to the old residence to see her and there was never a good conversation between them. Mrs. Ye let out a sigh in her heart silently. Forget it, let him do what he wants then. When Mrs. Ye left, Ye Xiaotian started to call Lin Mingxi. It was the first time he had called her since they met each other. This person was his wife only in name. Lin Mingxi rushed there hurriedly and, seeing the divorce agreement ced on the coffee table, her face changed instantly. ¡°What do you mean by this?¡± ¡°Nothing much. I want to divorce you. My mother has agreed.¡± ¡°Ye Xiaotian, are you ying with me?¡± Lin Mingxi sneered. ¡°Is marriage a game to you?¡± ¡°As long as you agree, I willpensate you a sum of money. Even if you don¡¯t agree, it¡¯s fine. I will make you do so.¡± Lin Mingxi sniggered and retorted, ¡°Who do you think you are?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not anyone in particr, but when dealing with a woman, I never go easy. Lin Mingxi, although we got married, I never touched you all this while. You clearly know that very well.¡± ¡°I do, but others don¡¯t!¡± She flew into a rage. ¡°In front of other people, I¡¯ll be a divorced woman, do you know that? I¡¯ll be a second-hand good who has been yed by you!¡± Ye Xiaotian looked up. ¡°So I willpensate you for your loss. Despite what other people say, I haven¡¯t touched you in reality. Isn¡¯t that so?¡± ¡°Ye Xiaotian!¡± Lin Mingxi was going berserk. ¡°I¡¯m not going to divorce you.¡± ¡°Lin Mingxi, you might not be so clear about this,¡± he said. ¡°As long as it¡¯s something that I want to do, I will get it done. You should consider this carefully. You can obediently take the money and divorce me, or you¡¯ll not get a single penny and suffer humiliation. To eventually concede under pressure after refusing the first overture... it won¡¯t be a good experience.¡± This obvious threat towards her made Lin Mingxi extremely upset. She¡¯d known long ago that her husband was not someone to be trifled with. Such a passive retreat was not something she wanted. A smart person like her, however, naturally knew which option to choose. ¡°I have a request,¡± Lin Mingxi stated. ¡°If you agree to it, I¡¯ll sign this agreement.¡± ¡°Speak.¡± ¡°Our side will make the divorce announcement. It will be our side who makes the news known as well. You can¡¯t make any announcement on your side first, to preserve my final bit of dignity.¡± Ye Xiaotian was not so easily yed with. ¡°If you don¡¯t make the announcement for the rest of your life, then I won¡¯t be able to say anything about it?¡± ¡°How can that be possible? I still need to get married.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you the right to decide then, but it has to be within half a year.¡± Ye Xiaotian made the greatest concession he could. ¡°If you don¡¯t make the announcement first on your side within half a year, then I¡¯ll have it made known to all on my side.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Lin Mingxi added, ¡°What price are you offering forpensation?¡± ¡°You can state a price, I will consider it.¡± ¡°Ten million.¡± Ye Xiaotian sneered. ¡°Can you take a good look at yourself in the mirror and see if you¡¯re worth that much? Five million. I won¡¯t give you a cent more.¡± Lin Mingxi¡¯s face was heating up with rage. ¡°Five million is too little.¡± ¡°You can choose not to take it as well.¡± A cold re emitted from his eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t waste my time anymore, I¡¯ll give you one minute to consider.¡± ¡°I got it.¡± Lin Mingxi signed on the divorce agreement. Ye Xiaotian did not dy a single moment. He got up and muttered, ¡°Let¡¯s get the proceedings done.¡± ¡°You¡¯re in such a hurry?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, I don¡¯t want to be married to you for even one more minute.¡± Going out with him, Lin Mingxi bit her lip in anger and snorted. ¡ª Late into the night, the heavy snow finally stopped. The weather turned incredibly cold. With the strong wind blowing hard, the guards on duty were freezing to the point that their legs were trembling. Mei Yangyang took her phone away from her ear, her face stiffening. She did not expect that tonight, Xi Bi was going to vite An Xiaoning. This situation was not inspiring optimism. She skillfully climbed out of her window and, grabbing onto a rope hooked to it, she reached Xi Bi¡¯s house. She was surrounded by surveince cameras and by men guarding the house. To avoid the surveince cameras, she had to enter a dead end. However, this was a huge risk to take. It was extremely difficult to get near to where An Xiaoning was. Fortunately, as she arrived at Xi Bi¡¯s balcony area, she heard him ordering his men to serve food and wine. He also ordered the maids to quickly give An Xiaoning a bath. She thought to herself and instantly got an idea, then turned to leave. At this point, An Xiaoning was forcefully given a bath by the maids. She had already experienced this feeling of her body being invaded by other people once before. Chapter 305 - Please Me (27)

Chapter 305: Please Me (27)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios It was a feeling she extremely abhorred. An Xiaoning was then brought to the bedroom. Xi Bi raised his eyebrows gently and gazed at her in a nightgown. ¡°Is the temperature alright in the room?¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t cold indeed.¡± ¡°Come over.¡± The maids brought her forward and pressed her down on the bed. Xi Bi ordered the maids, ¡°Get out, don¡¯te in without my instruction.¡± ¡°Yes, Master.¡± In the room now, only the two of them were left. He reached out and pinched An Xiaoning¡¯s chin, saying in a in tone, ¡°Why? Aren¡¯t you scared?¡± ¡°What¡¯s there to be scared of?¡± An Xiaoning thought of the time she and Jin Qingyue were captured in a basement and asked, ¡°Previously, when Jin Qingyan¡¯s sister and I were captured and threatened, you were the one behind it, right?¡± Xi Bi replied instead, ¡°Don¡¯t think that just because I captured you now, everything else was done by me. I didn¡¯t do that, I won¡¯t admit it.¡± ¡°The aim was to kill Qingyan, but after failing at that, his sister and I were captured instead. Using the two of us to make him choose, you¡¯re saying you didn¡¯t do all these?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Xi Bi retorted. ¡°In your eyes, am I the only person like that in this world? My goal is simple, I¡¯m doing it all for money, not just to kill. I think I have to exin this myself. If I kill Jin Qingyan, who will give me money? You didn¡¯t think about it, did you? If I captured you and his sister, why would I make him choose? I would just make him give me a lot of money, right?¡± An Xiaoning looked down and thought to herself, There¡¯s some truth behind that. But since it was his words, she could not believe it. ¡°Although your face screams of disbelief, I won¡¯t exin further. Since to you and to Jin Qingyan, I¡¯m not that good of a person, then forget it. I¡¯m not a good person indeed.¡± He couldn¡¯t help but break into a smile. ¡°You¡¯re destined to be mine tonight. I want to make youpare whether Jin Qingyan¡¯s or my skills are better.¡± ¡°I must say, your hobby is really unusual. Other men like untouched women, don¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Why must I be like other people?¡± Xi Bi shrugged. ¡°I am who I am, and I am a firework of a different color.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning looked at him like she was watching aplete nutter. ¡°Oh, really?¡± ¡°Of course. The food and red wine will be served soon. We¡¯ll have fun as we eat,¡± he remarked smugly. A white robe was on him, which revealed the skin on his chest muscles. An Xiaoning¡¯s palms became sweaty. To her, sleeping with another man, regardless of the reason, was considered having an affair and being disloyal. She was extremely unwilling to do so. But at this moment, she did not know who she could depend on but herself. A few momentster, a few maids entered the room with food and red wine. Xi Bi poured two sses of red wine as he smiled joyfully. He first drank two sips, then brought the ss to her lips and said, ¡°Open up.¡± An Xiaoning remarked, ¡°I don¡¯t like to drink, can I not drink it?¡± ¡°Umm... okay.¡± ¡°I want to eat, can you remove the handcuffs for me?¡± He refused immediately. ¡°No, I¡¯ll feed you.¡± An Xiaoning nodded since she was really famished. Xi Bi fed her one bite, then ate another bite for himself before remarking, ¡°You know, we¡¯re kissing indirectly.¡± These words made An Xiaoning annoyed and she cringed inside, wishing she could give him a p on the face. However, she could only reply helplessly, ¡°Oh, really?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± He drank two full sses of red wine, and the two of them finished sharing the food. After they were done, the maids cleared the wine and the dishes. Xi Bi¡¯s face had turned pink by this point. ¡°An Xiaoning, you really have quite memorable looks.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I have such good looks.¡± ¡°No, you do.¡± His hands reached out to her face and caressed it. ¡°As long as you please me, I can treat you very well from here on.¡± An Xiaoning felt slightly dizzy. But she obviously did not drink at all. Was the food... Before she could say anything, he copsed. From the looks of it, the drugs in the food was not put by him, or why would he copse? Surely, it couldn¡¯t be...? An Xiaoning¡¯s vision turned blurry and, at this crucial moment, she got up and bit her own shoulder. The pain came in a sh, and she felt much less dizzy. She regained much of her consciousness and became more clear-headed too. She immediately kicked him. A rare opportunity like this, she knew it was not to be missed. The keys to her handcuffs were right on his person. The previous time, An Xiaoning had depended on her will, but this time, she knew someone was helping her. She found the keys and unlocked her handcuffs. As her arms had been handcuffed for a long time, after removing the cuffs, she felt vastly unustomed to it. But she did not dare to dy a single moment ¨C she immediately removed the chains on her legs. From inside Xi Bi¡¯s clothes, she fished out a gun. Looking at the bullets inside, she found that it was fully loaded. ¡°Sis...¡± A small voice came from the balcony. This familiar voice belonged to... Mei Yangyang! That exined it! However, it was a pity that the balcony and the interior of the room were separated by a piece of ss. As Xi Bi was afraid someone woulde in from the balcony, he¡¯d sealed the path from the balcony to the room and only left a small window for venttion. The two could only exchange looks like that. Mei Yangyang said softly, ¡°There¡¯s many men outside. If you walk from the main path, you definitely won¡¯t be able to get away. If you point a gun at him to leave, it won¡¯t work either, since he¡¯s passed out. Sis, there¡¯s a secret passageway out from his bedroom. Wait for me, I¡¯ll check the map.¡± An Xiaoning nodded. She watched as Mei Yangyang squatted down, checking thebels on the map. She nced up and said, ¡°The opening of the passageway is at the wall on the east, in the middle. Use your hand to feel it.¡± An Xiaoning looked at the wall, it did not seem like there was anything unusual about it. But when she used her hands to touch it, she could feel something different about it. She gently knocked on it with her hand and realized it was hollow. She quickly pushed the wall gently, and a narrow crack in the wall appeared. She was overjoyed and pushed the door wide open. It led to the room next door. When she was going in, Mei Yangyang whispered, ¡°I live in the house at the east side,e and find me quickly.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± An Xiaoning stopped in her tracks. She turned and took a nce at Xi Bi, who was lying on the bed. She thought that she could just kill him like that, but as this thought came to her, she heard knocking on the door. She hurriedly went into the passageway. When she pushed the door open gently, she found out, as she had expected, that the room next door and this one were separated by a wall. She sessfully got out of there and discretely took care of the man on duty. Atst, she made it to the house Mei Yangyang was staying in. When the two were about to find a chance to sneak out, thepletely dark house was suddenly illuminated. Mei Yangyang pulled her into her room and took a set of clothes for her to wear, then hid her underneath the bed. She then crept to her bed and pretended to be asleep. After a while, Xi Boyu knocked on the door. ¡°Xiaoyang.¡± ¡°Umm...¡± She opened the door while pretending she was still in a sleepy state. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Did a woman run into your room?¡± ¡°Hmm? A woman? No, what woman?¡± He replied, ¡°Nothing. You haven¡¯t recovered from your injury, have a good rest.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Mei Yangyang closed the door, her heart finally at ease. She locked the door from inside and helped An Xiaoning onto the bed. Chapter 306 - Reunion (1)

Chapter 306: Reunion (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°What injuries?¡± Mei Yangyang told An Xiaoning the truth about everything that had happened ever since she sneaked her way inside the den. Although she had sounded calm, An Xiaoning was extremely shocked and frightened. She realized how Mei Yangyang had risked her own life just to save hers. Moreover, Mei Yangyang even allowed herself to be stabbed in order not to let her identity be exposed. Greatly touched by how much she had sacrificed, An Xiaoning hugged Mei Yangyang and expressed her gratitude. ¡°Thank you, Yangyang.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just d to see that you¡¯re alright, Sis. We¡¯re still not safe yet, so we must get out of here as soon as possible. But I¡¯m afraid we won¡¯t be able to leave tonight. Everyone is looking for you, it won¡¯t be easy to leave,¡± said a teary-eyed Mei Yangyang. An Xiaoning gave a nod of approval. ¡°I¡¯ll send Mr. Jin a text message right away so he can rx,¡± said Mei Yangyang. ¡°Alright.¡± Jin Qingyan was overwhelmed with mixed emotions upon hearing that Mei Yangyang was with An Xiaoning at the moment. He then informed Mei Yangyang that he had sent his bodyguards to block the entrances of all the secret passageways. Xi Bi had engaged all his men to surround the main entrance and exits. Thus, there was no way An Xiaoning could leave from there. The only solution ahead was to leave via the secret passageways and meet with Jin Qingyan¡¯s bodyguards. Jin Qingyan instructed clearly that he would be meeting them at the entrance of one of the secret passageways. After discussing the n with An Xiaoning, Mei Yangyang then left together with her ording to Jin Qingyan¡¯s instructions. They had a feeling that Xi Bi¡¯s territory would bepletely destroyed once they managed to escape. ¡ª¡ª Xi Bi grew into an uncontroble rage as soon as he woke up. He had been reinforcing themand that An Xiaoning was strictly not allowed to be rescued. Yet, his efforts had gone in vain. After looking through the surveince camera footage, Xi Bi discovered that An Xiaoning had escaped in the direction of Xi Boyu¡¯s backyard. However, nothing else could be seen since there were no surveince cameras at the blind spot. He deduced that An Xiaoning must be hiding somewhere and was yet to leave his territory. Thus, he checked all the footages of the surveince cameras himself. He scrutinized every segment, one by one. He made sure not to let any clues escape his eyes. After a full day of investigating and watching the footage, he suddenly discovered that Mei Yangyang had been captured by the surveince cameras. Xi Bi was a quick-witted and intelligent person. He immediately summoned his bodyguards and headed to his brother¡¯s abode to look for Mei Yangyang. Xi Boyu said that Mei Yangyang had gone to get some rest after dinner. Xi Bi insisted on seeing her, however. Thus, the two headed to Mei Yangyang¡¯s room, only to find that she was not around. ¡°Where are the surveince cameras in your ce?¡± ¡°Brother, did you forget that the surveince cameras here have been faulty for a few days already? You said you wanted to fix them for me.¡± ¡°What!¡± Xi Bi gasped in exasperation. How could such important devices like surveince cameras be left damaged and unrepaired!?! ¡°The two of them must be in cahoots. I knew something was off about that woman.¡± ¡°Brother, didn¡¯t you already test her?¡± said Xi Boyu, who refused to believe that Mei Yangyang was a spy since she had once risked her life for him. ¡°We¡¯ll know the answer if she does or doesn¡¯te back. I reckon she won¡¯t be returning, though. But I¡¯ve alreadyid traps everywhere, there¡¯s no way they can escape,¡± Xi Bi deduced. A frown creased Xi Boyu¡¯s forehead. He was hoping to himself that Mei Yangyang was not a spy and had merely gone out for a walk. Half an hourter, he was struck with a huge blow. ¡°Master, we¡¯ve found that the two of them headed in the southeast direction.¡± Upon hearing the report, Xi Bi immediately instructed, ¡°There are no exits in the southeast direction, only secret passageways. Seems like they¡¯ve already discovered the existence of the secret passageways there. But not to worry, inform me immediately once they¡¯ve entered the passageway.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Brother, why don¡¯t we just chase them straight away?¡± ¡°Why should we? If we can¡¯t get them back, we¡¯ll just destroy them. I¡¯ve already embedded several bombs in the passageway. Once I activate the switch, they shall be trapped and blown into pieces.¡± Xi Boyu was left speechless, astonished to discover that such a gorgeous girl actually turned out to be a spy. Noticing that his brother was about to return to his room, Xi Boyu quickly followed behind. Just as they reached the bedroom, they received a call from Xi Bi¡¯s assistant. ¡°Master, they¡¯ve entered the passageway.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± ¡°Once Jin Qingyan hears the explosion, he¡¯ll definitelye for us to exact revenge. So, we have to leave right away,¡± said Xi Bi. He retrieved the detonator from the drawer before packing some important belongings. ¡°Brother, do we leave by another passageway?¡± ¡°Yes, Jin Qingyan couldn¡¯t have discovered all of the passageways. We¡¯ll take a different direction.¡± ¡°What about our servants here? Wouldn¡¯t they all die a wrongful death?¡± Xi Boyu asked. ¡°Now¡¯s not the time to bother about them. Leave them to fend for themselves. As long as we make it out, we¡¯ll be able to start cloning. Once we seed, we¡¯ll forever have a hold on Jin Qingyan.¡± There was a burning question in Xi Boyu¡¯s mind which he dared not ask: What happens if we don¡¯t make it out? Xi Boyu followed suit and hurried back to pack his belongings. They then fled together with a few bodyguards via another secret passageway. Along the journey, Xi Bi asked, ¡°How long has it been since I received the call?¡± ¡°Brother, it¡¯s been 10 minutes.¡± ¡°It¡¯s about time, they should have reached the middle of the passageway by now. Even if they ran, they wouldn¡¯t be able to make it out so quickly,¡± Xi Bi said in an unhurried manner. He whipped out the detonator and pressed the switch. They instantly felt a tremor radiating through the ground, after which Xi Bi said, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡± ¡ª¡ª Jin Qingyan and Long Tianze waited anxiously by the exit of the passageway, unaware that An Xiaoning got shot in her leg while escaping. Thus, she experienced great difficulty walking and instructed Mei Yangyang to sprint away without her. Mei Yangyang refused and insisted on piggybacking her. However, it was impossible to do so because the passageway was too short in height. Having walked a distance, An Xiaoning knew that the wound on her leg had begun to bleed profusely, and she soon could not manage to take another step. Mei Yangyang had no way to help her out since she could not carry or piggyback her. Thus, she heeded An Xiaoning¡¯s instruction and sprinted towards the exit to inform Jin Qingyan to carry An Xiaoning out on a stretcher. To her astonishment, she heard a loud, deafening explosion as soon as she came out of the exit. The secret passageway had copsed. Mei Yangyang¡¯s legs turned to jelly at the sight before her, and she cked out soon after. ¡°Yangyang!¡± Long Tianze eximed as he rushed forward to pick her up. Jin Qingyan was dumbfounded and shocked beyond speech. He hurriedly ordered for his men to dig into the ground with an excavator and search for her. He was aware that An Xiaoning had fled together with Mei Yangyang, who made it out of the exit alone. Needless to say, she must have been buried in the passageway. Jin Qingyan knew right away that the explosion hade from a bomb. Boiling with anger and distress, he felt his blood rushing to the veins on his head. ¡°Young Sir, the bodyguards at the west reported that they had caught Xi Bi and his men, who were trying to escape.¡± Clenching his fists in fury, Jin Qingyan instructed, ¡°Guard them well, I¡¯ll make my way thereter.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Long Tianze carried Mei Yangyang into the ambnce while the doctors and nurses on duty hurriedly put her on a drip. It pained Long Tianze to note, after days of not seeing her, that her porcin, doll-like face had visibly be thinner. Chapter 307 - Reunion (2)

Chapter 307: Reunion (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Throughout the rest of the night, Jin Qingyan had been actively searching for traces of An Xiaoning¡¯s presence. The excavator had also been put to work continuously. Finally, they found her. An Xiaoning waspletely buried beneath the soil. By the time she was pulled out of the ground, she was no longer breathing. Upon sight of her lifeless body, Jin Qingyan was overwhelmed with agony and trembled uncontrobly. He stepped forward and gently held her in his arms, tears flowing from his eyes like a tap. ¡ª¡ª Upon seeing Jin Qingyan, Xi Bi had an ominous feeling and knew that things had gone awry. As Jin Qingyan approached closer and closer towards him, Xi Bi soon noticed that Jin Qingyan was carrying a knife in his hand. Xi Bi immediately tried to struggle with all his might, but to no avail ¨C he could not break free from the handcuffs and ankle chains. It had never urred to him that he would one day be subjected to such treatment. Just as Jin Qingyan was nearing him, Xi Bi said, ¡°If you spare my life, I¡¯m willing to return to you a brand new An Xiaoning.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve collected a sample of An Xiaoning¡¯s DNA to be used for making an exact clone of her. It¡¯s in the midst of processing, we don¡¯t know yet if it¡¯ll be sessful. If you¡¯re willing to spare my life, I¡¯ll give you the sessful clone of An Xiaoning.¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s face stiffened with anger. ¡°I do believe that you¡¯ve sent her gic material for cloning, but I refuse to believe that you¡¯d give me the sessful clone once I let you off. Wouldn¡¯t it be another trump card of yours? Xi Bi, I¡¯m going to make you pay for what you¡¯ve done,¡± Jin Qingyan said with a menacing look. As soon as he finished speaking, he stabbed Xi Bi in the gut with the knife in his hand. Xi Bi grimaced in fear and pain. He did not expect that Jin Qingyan would continue to stab him in non-fatal areas of his body. The crowd watched as Xi Bi was stabbed continuously, to the point that his body appeared like a beehive. Jin Qingyan made multiple holes in his body with the knife before finishing him off with a fatal stab to his neck. Xi Boyu witnessed his brother¡¯s death with his very own eyes. The shock had robbed him of his senses; he could not even get himself to cry. Shortly after, it was his turn to die, followed by the rest of Xi Bi¡¯s bodyguards. Staring at the lifeless corpses on the ground, Jin Qingyan did not feel his misery lessen one bit. To him, there was no way his anger could be cated even if he killed everyone. No one could understand what he was going through. No one could tell how much misery and torment he was suffering. In fact, no one knew how much he¡¯d wanted to kill himself to be with her the very moment he saw her body. However, he could not do that. He was the only male heir left in the Jin family. What would happen to the bloodline of the Jin family if he died? ¡°Look into the matter Xi Bi mentioned about cloning,¡± Jin Qingyan instructed. ¡°Yes, Young Sir.¡± Jin Qingyan then turned around to leave. On the flight back home, Mei Yangyang came to and sprung up all of a sudden. She began sobbing at the sight of An Xiaoning, whom Jin Qingyan was holding in his arms, before loudly bursting out into tears. ¡°Sis...¡± she cried. Mei Yangyang removed the needle attached to her hand and scrambled towards An Xiaoning while crawling on her knees. She then grabbed An Xiaoning¡¯s hands, only to find that they were icy cold. Seeing that Mei Yangyang was bawling uncontrobly, Long Tianze asked about what happened at the time. Mei Yangyang exined the details truthfully. Jin Qingyan remained silent. He seemed to be deep in his thoughts while holding An Xiaoning in his embrace. Just as they were about to reach S Nation, he gave Gu Beicheng a call. ¡°Are there any news of Xiaoning?¡± Gu Beicheng asked worriedly over the phone. ¡°She¡¯s dead.¡± ¡°What?¡± Gu Beicheng gasped, unable to process what he had just heard. ¡°She¡¯s dead.¡± ¡°You jerk! She¡¯s been through so much torment ever since she got together with you!¡± Gu Beicheng hollered in great anger. Jin Qingyan did not retaliate because he knew that Gu Beicheng was right. ¡°Are you guys back?¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯re about to touch down on my hangar.¡± Gu Beicheng hung up the phone right after. Jin Qingyan tucked his mobile phone inside his pocket, his face pale as a sheet. Gu Beicheng then broke the news to his parents, after which they sank into a somber mood. An Xiaoning¡¯s death was unfortunate, especially for the Gu family. ¡°Let¡¯s go collect her body. She¡¯s a part of our family, regardless of whether she¡¯s dead or alive. Since she¡¯s not married, she has to be buried in our family graveyard. We can¡¯t let Jin Qingyan call the shots this time,¡± Mrs. Gu said agitatedly. ¡°You have a point. Let¡¯s go,¡± Mr. Gu agreed. The family of three then arrived at Wei Ni Estate with their bodyguards. Jin Qingyan¡¯s jet hadnded. Fan Shixin rushed forward to report at once, ¡°Young Sir, the members of the Gu family are at the entrance. Do we allow them to enter?¡± ¡°Yes, let them in,¡± said Jin Qingyan, fully aware of their purpose of visit. ¡°Yes.¡± Fan Shixin immediately ordered for his subordinates to allow them to enter. They drove towards the mansion. As soon as they alighted, Mrs. Gu rushed forward to tear apart Jin Qingyan¡¯s outerwear. Tears welled up in her eyes at the sight of An Xiaoning, whose eyes were closed. ¡°We¡¯re bringing her home. Xiaoning belongs to our family,¡± said Gu Beicheng. If they were still husband and wife, Jin Qingyan would have the right to stop them from taking her body away. However, they¡¯d yet to reinstate their marriage. At the moment, he was only her boyfriend, not her husband. Jin Qingyan was still hugging her tightly when Gu Beicheng tried to pull her out of his arms. However, Gu Beicheng managed to carry her away forcefully in the end. ¡°We hope to keep a low profile on the media regarding this matter. We¡¯ll hold a quiet funeral for her, we don¡¯t want the media to be exploiting Xiaoning for news,¡± said Mrs. Gu. ¡°I understand, rest assured,¡± Jin Qingyan answered. ¡°I¡¯d like to know, how did Xiaoning die? Could you exin in detail everything that happened? We just want to have a clear idea about what happened,¡± Mrs. Gu questioned. Jin Qingyan expressed assent and said, ¡°Let¡¯s talk inside.¡± Mrs. Gu shot her son a nce and said, ¡°Bring Xiaoning back to the mansion. Your father and I will make our way back after hearing what happened.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± The group then walked towards the living room while those who were not concerned remained outside the door. Jin Qingyan began to exin clearly everything that happened to Mr. and Mrs. Gu, starting from the part where An Xiaoning was abducted. After hearing the truth, Mr. and Mrs. Gu returned home while Mei Yangyang tagged along. After much discussion, they came to a consensus and agreed to hold a low-profile funeral for An Xiaoning in order to prevent the media from spreading the news about it. They decided to bury An Xiaoning along the mountains where she grew up, next to Nun Jingxin and old Mr. Gu¡¯s grave. They ordered for An Xiaoning¡¯s shroud to be tailor-made overnight. The wound on her leg was also bandaged after the bullet was removed. Gu Beicheng helped An Xiaoning put on her favorite earrings and the bangle he had given her previously. He also ced her weapons, gun, whip, and her bank card in her coffin, all of which belonged solely to her. He then noted down her bank ount number, so as to help her collect her share of the box office sales of the movie she invested in. However, she would never get the chance to spend the money. Sheid in the coffin, d in her shroud, her long locks cascading between the pillow and her hands ced atop her abdomen. Adorning her wrist was the bangle Gu Beicheng gave her, and next to herid her weapons, bank card, personal identification card, as well as two other sets of clothing. Chapter 308 - Reunion (3)

Chapter 308: Reunion (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Staring at her lifeless body, Gu Beicheng was overwhelmed with grief and agony. The Gu family, Jin Qingyan, as well as other guests watched as the coffin was covered slowly before being nailed shut. It was then brought to the mountains to be buried in secret. Chi Rui¡¯er also attended the funeral. Although she appeared to be deep in sorrow on the surface, she was imploding with immense joy deep down. A smile formed on her face as she watched An Xiaoning¡¯s coffin being lowered into the ground. Everyone was grief-stricken. All of a sudden, the jade bangle on An Xiaoning¡¯s wrist shattered into pieces. An Xiaoning, who was pronounced dead earlier, opened her eyes abruptly. An Xiaoning tried to sit up straight, only to hit her head against the cover of the coffin. She winced in pain and felt that there was something on top of her. She reached a hand out to feel about and realized that it was the shattered jade bangle. She had long heard about how spiritual ornaments made of jade were like. The shattering of a jade piece signifies the prevention of a great disaster. Could it be that she got a second shot at life all because of the jade bangle? She touched and groped around her surroundings to discover that she was lying inside her coffin. It seemed she got buried alive. She would definitely suffocate to death in the coffin if she does not get out as soon as possible. She banged on the sides and cover of the coffin with all her might, thinking that there must be someone above watching over her grave. However, what she did not know was that the tombkeeper was standing a great distance away from her. Moreover, the Gu family had buried her coffin deep under the ground in order to prevent her coffin from being raided. No matter how hard she banged on the coffin or how much she yelled, the people above would not be able to hear a thing. An Xiaoning instantly felt like she was dead meat. The bullet hole on her leg began to ache, though not as immensely as before. She began touching the wounded spot on her leg and realized that it had been bandaged. She also did not feel the presence of a foreign object in her leg, which meant the bullet must have been removed. She fiddled and fumbled about and chanced upon a weapon as well as a gun. She also discovered that her bank card, personal identification card, whip, as well as a set of clothes were beside her. Who was so kind and thoughtful as to have ced these items in here? An Xiaoning wondered. An Xiaoning was determined to thank the person who ced the items for his saving grace if she managed to get out. If it were not for the gun and dagger, she would definitely suffocate to death in the coffin. An Xiaoning aimed the gun at the side of the coffin. She thought that the gun was empty since there was no sound at all. However, she soon found that the bullet had made a small hole in the coffin. Beaming with joy, she touched the hole with her hand and shot another bullet beside the hole before stabbing it forcefully with the knife. At that instant, a hole about the size of a palm formed, and soil began pouring into the coffin through the hole. She continued to fire the remaining bullets in the gun around the hole and finally erged it to a size big enough for her to crawl out of. She pushed the soil into the coffin with all her might, creating an empty space. She carried her items and climbed up, continuously pushing the soil downwards while she advanced upwards. She could not see anything in the dark; neither did she know where she was going. However, she continued to dig fervently in a random direction and soon made it above ground. Why was it pitch dark? she wondered. She climbed up above ground, only to realize that she was in a huge cave. She could not see anything and had no clue as to where she was. She walked towards the inside of the cave and soon reached the end of it. She touched the walls around her to find that they were made of cement. All of a sudden, it struck her that it was the cave where the grave-robbers who attempted to raid Nun Jingxin¡¯s coffin were caught. Could it be that Gu Beicheng¡¯s men had only sealed the two openings previously? Brilliant. She was buried here. Fortunately... The bunch of grave-robbers did not bring anything with them while they were in a hurry to escape. Could their belongings be lying around here then? Mobile phone? Torchlight? An Xiaoning got extremely worked up at the thought of the many possibilities, though she was annoyed at the wound on her leg. She could feel blood gushing out of her wound. Due to the freezing temperature in the cave, she began to shiver uncontrobly in the cold. She could not see anything at all. She had been getting around with her sense of touch. Atst, her efforts paid off. She managed to get a hold of an electricmp. She was temporarily blinded at the instant that she switched on the light, though she soon managed to adjust to the light and see her surroundings clearly. She noticed a bunch of nkets at a distance away, which clearly belonged to the grave-robbers who once lived here. She hurriedlyid a few nkets on the ground and ced a few torchlights on top of them. To her surprise, there were a few pots and pans around, along with some vegetables and rice, tworge pails of water, and a gas stove. There were also tools used for digging. An Xiaoning was relieved to know that it would not be a problem for her to escape with these necessary tools and items. However, she was beyond exhausted at this point and tucked herself beneath the sheets. Although the nkets reeked strongly of a moldy stench, it did not bother her as long as they could keep her warm. She closed her eyes andid down to get some rest. A million thoughts crossed An Xiaoning¡¯s mind. Since she had already made it back to S Nation, Xi Bi must have been dealt with. How would others react when they see her making it out alive? They ought to be surprised, wouldn¡¯t they? A smile formed on her face at the thought of giving everyone a surprise. She was filled with immense joy and excitement. She decided to get some quality sleep to replenish her energy before executing her next move. The day after, the weather had turned merry and warm rays of the sun shone brightly at the ground. Gu Dongcheng was stopped by the police as soon as he exited his house. ¡°Mr. Gu, do you know Xu Jingwen?¡± Taken aback, he asked, ¡°Yes, what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Her family has made a police report to im that she¡¯s missing because they can¡¯t seem to reach her. You were thest and most frequent person she contacted, that¡¯s why we need your help in the investigations.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Gu Dongcheng agreed and followed the policemen to the police station to assist in the investigations. He revealed everything he knew about Xu Jingwen. He had initially nned to hide the truth about his rtionship with Xu Jingwen, but decided toe clean in the end after realizing that he could not keep it under wraps any further. He reiterated that he did not murder her and revealed the content of thest few text messages they had sent each other. He even spilled the beans about the rented apartment he stayed at together with Xu Jingwen. Since the rental period was not up yet, the apartment was still empty, and thus, the police decided to head there to investigate. They also asked to view the footage of all the surveince cameras within the estate, only to hear that they were unable to do so because the surveince cameras were faulty at the time of the suspected murder. The police had no choice but to carry out investigations within the vicinity of Xu Jingwen¡¯s apartment. To their disappointment, there were no clues at all. There was not a single strand of hair in sight, let alone footprints. Evidently, the apartment had been cleaned up thoroughly. The degree of cleanliness within the apartment did not appear to be left behind by a person who travelled elsewhere. Firstly, Xu Jingwen could not have gone anywhere without contacting her family at all. Secondly, being the careless person she was, there was no way Xu Jingwen would have tidied and cleaned the ce until it was spick and span. The only possible answer was that she was murdered. Gu Dongcheng¡¯s heart sank upon hearing the conclusion. At the thought of the sudden text message she hadst sent him, Gu Dongcheng and the police immediately thought of Chi Rui¡¯er as the main suspect. Thus, the police proceeded to call Chi Rui¡¯er to the police station for interrogations, though she did not appear in the least bit flustered at all. ¡°When did you find out about their rtionship?¡± Chapter 309 - Reunion (4)

Chapter 309: Reunion (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I happened to see them by chance. I really hit the roof when I found out. But then again, isn¡¯t itmon for wealthy men to have affairs and keep mistresses? Thus, I decided to curb my urge to look for her and give her a warning. I¡¯ve never seen her again since then,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er exined. Both Chi Rui¡¯er and Gu Dongcheng then returned after having their statements recorded at the police station. Once they got into the car, Gu Dongcheng again questioned, ¡°You really weren¡¯t the one behind it?¡± ¡°Must I kill her just because you two were having an affair? You need evidence before jumping to conclusions,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er scorned. ¡°That¡¯d better be the case. If you were the culprit, the police will find out sooner orter. There¡¯s no way you can escape thew,¡± Gu Dongcheng warned. Chi Rui¡¯er snapped in fury, ¡°I said it wasn¡¯t me! Could you have more trust in me, your wife?¡± Gu Dongcheng did not respond and instead began driving home. Chi Rui¡¯er looked out of the window, filled with a mix of emotions. As soon as they arrived home, Chi Rui¡¯er noticed how unconcerned Gu Dongcheng was towards her child. She lifted the child into her arms and carried him towards the bedroom. ¡°Let your father carry you,¡± said Chi Rui¡¯er as she cast the child onto the bed. The childid in Gu Dongcheng¡¯s embrace, saliva drooling from his mouth. Gu Dongcheng lifted the child in his arms and began teasing and ying with him. ¡°I married you and bore you a son. Yet, you actually had an affair. Gu Dongcheng, you¡¯ve really let me down,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er chastised while standing by the side. ¡°You¡¯ve brought this up time and time again. Are you finished yet?¡± ¡°If you dare have another affair again, I¡¯ll tell your son about your shameless acts when he¡¯s old enough to understand what¡¯s going on. I suppose you don¡¯t wish your son to have a bad impression of you, do you?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er threatened. Gu Dongcheng let out a long sigh and retorted, ¡°If you had been understanding and caring towards me, would I resort to having an affair? Reflect on your mistakes before criticizing others.¡± ¡°Wow, that¡¯s what all adulterers say. All they do is find excuses for themselves. Just admit that you enjoy fooling around, don¡¯t push the me on me.¡± ¡°I can¡¯tmunicate with you at all.¡± ¡°...¡± Chi Rui¡¯er red at him, filled with disdain and annoyance. Mrs. Chi gently pushed the door open and called, ¡°Rui¡¯er? Come out, Mother has something to ask you.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± She turned around to leave the room and entered Mrs. Chi¡¯s bedroom. Once the door was closed, Mrs. Chi asked softly, ¡°What did the police call you for?¡± ¡°They wanted to ask some questions, but I just covered up with some lies. Mother, you have to remain tight-lipped. As long as you do, the police won¡¯t be able to find out much.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m just worried.¡± ¡°What are you worried about? I¡¯m not worried at all. Mother, there are a bunch of aunties who practice line-dancing below our estate everyday. You should go join them and have some fun too,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er said smilingly. ¡°I¡¯ll just have a look and watch them dance. I can¡¯t dance myself.¡± ¡°You may chit-chat with those aunties and uncles whenever you¡¯re free. Otherwise, you¡¯d be pretty lonely.¡± ¡°You¡¯re my only daughter. I¡¯ll be happy as long as you¡¯re living well,¡± Mrs. Chi said unhurriedly. Chi Rui¡¯er nodded and said, ¡°I will live well, even if it¡¯s just for your sake.¡± ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning woke up with a slight tummy ache. The pain in her leg wound had alleviated significantly. She supported herself up with a torchlight in her hand and proceeded to break the cemented wall with the digging tools. In order to get out as soon as possible, she toiled and moiled continuously without breaks. She thought that it would not take much effort since the wall should not be too thick. However, due to the freezing temperature during wintertime, the cement and ground had hardened, which made it more difficult for her to work. After going hard at work for some time, she began to feel her stomach rumbling. She was famished and could not continue working on an empty stomach any longer. Guiding herself with the torchlight, she found a lighter and started a fire on the gas stove. She made some rice and cooked up a dish of stir-fried cabbage. Although the meal was nd and tasteless, she could not care less since she was starving and just wanted something to fill her stomach. She finished tworge bowls of rice in one sitting and took a short break before resuming work. Atst, her efforts paid off and the cemented wall was broken. She finally got to see the light of day again, though it was already night time. An Xiaoning was panting heavily, exhausted beyond limits as she had already expended all her energy. She quickly changed into a set of clothes that she was buried with and left together with her shroud. She pushed the soil outwards with all her might and resealed the opening. A radiant smile formed on her face as she took in a whiff of fresh air, feeling lucky to have survived yet another ordeal. She spread her shroud open and ced her belongings onto it before wrapping it into a bag and securing it tightly. She then carried the makeshift bag and left the ce. An Xiaoning did not see a single soul when she reached the foot of the mountain. She began to ponder where she should head to first ¨C Jin Qingyan¡¯s ce, the Gu family home, or her own home in Dongpo Road? She was stuck in a dilemma. After much thought and consideration, she decided to head home first to take a warm bath and clean up before looking for Jin Qingyan. The crowds on the street were sparse since it was already the wee hours of the night. There was not a single soul in sight at the ATM which An Xiaoning went to. She withdrew 10 thousand dors from her bank ount before hailing a taxi back to her home in Dongpo Road. The lights were all switched off in the house. Could everyone be sleeping? she thought to herself. An Xiaoning entered her PIN number into the security lock on her door, which opened shortly after. There was no one in the backyard at all. She then walked to the servants¡¯ room and knocked on the door a few times, but did not get any response. She pulled the door handle and opened it effortlessly. An Xiaoning switched on the lights, only to discover that the room was empty. She took a look at the other rooms to find that they were all empty as well. The first thing that came to her mind was, ¡°Did everyone leave because they thought I was dead?¡± She went back inside the house and made her way upstairs with her bag of belongings. She turned on the heater and headed inside the bathroom. She removed her clothes and realized that there was medication applied on her wound underneath the bandage. However, she reeked of a pungent odor and desperately needed to take a shower. An Xiaoning had no choice but to sit on a stool and wash herself while holding the shower head above her body. In order to prevent her wound from getting wet, she lifted her leg high up and kept it away from the water. After the painstaking shower, she proceeded to wash her hair in the basin. An Xiaoning beamed with joy at the sight of her squeaky-clean self. She dried her hair before exiting the bathroom. Her bedroom waspletely devoid of any electronic devices, which made it impossible for her to contact anyone at all. Thus, she had no choice but to catch some sleep and wait until the next day to see her loved ones. She began to wonder if she would be giving them a great shock or a surprise. It had been a long time since shest saw Jin Qingyan, though she did not count how many days it had been exactly. However, she missed him dearly, and the thought of being able to see him in less than a day made her more excited than ever. Filled with immense joy, she looked forward to the arrival of daybreak. An Xiaoning turned toy on her side. Her lips curled into a smile before she closed her eyes. In the middle of the night, thunder rumbled all of a sudden and the sky began to pour heavily. However, An Xiaoning was not disturbed at all and continued to sleep peacefully until morning. She woke up feeling refreshed and got out of bed to draw the curtains open, only to find that it was drizzling outside. She then opened her closet to retrieve her feathered jacket and put it on before fixing her hair and applying some makeup. Sporting a scarf and a hat, she put on a surgical mask and strode downstairs leisurely while carrying her purse. With an umbre in hand, she exited the door and walked along the sidewalk towards the office building of the Jin Corporation. Chapter 310 - Reunion (5)

Chapter 310: Reunion (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After having her breakfast at a bistro along the streets, she headed to a shopping mall to buy a mobile phone that had an array of functions. She slid a new SIM card into the mobile phone and curbed her temptations to give Jin Qingyan a call before hailing a taxi to bring her to the Jin Corporation office building. d in a mask and shades, she arrived at the front desk of the atrium and asked, ¡°Is your CEO in?¡± ¡°Sorry, Miss, but the CEO has something to attend to today and won¡¯t be making his way to the office.¡± ¡°He has something on?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± An Xiaoning turned around to dial the all-too-familiar mobile number. However, all she heard over the phone was an automated voice that said, ¡°Sorry, the number you have dialed is currently unavable...¡± A frown creased her forehead when she recalled that no number could reach Jin Qingyan¡¯s mobile unless it was included in his personalized contacts list. An Xiaoning initially nned to head straight to their bridal chamber in Wei Ni Estate. However, she decided to go to the hospital for a checkup first, due to the nagging pain in her stomach. Suddenly reminded that her human mask was still with Mei Yangyang, she again changed her mind and decided to look for Mei Yangyang before going to the hospital, followed by Jin Qingyan¡¯s ce. She arrived at Mei Yangyang¡¯s house to find that thetter was not in. Thus, she asked for Mei Yangyang¡¯s mobile number from Mr. Mei and proceeded to give her a call. ¡°Hello.¡± A smile lit up An Xiaoning¡¯s face upon hearing a familiar voice. ¡°Yangyang, it¡¯s me.¡± After a moment of silence, Mei Yangyang eximed in shock, ¡°Sis, is that you!?!¡± ¡°Yes, where are you?¡± ¡°At the clothing store. Wait... are you really my sister? Where are you? I¡¯ll go look for you,¡± Mei Yangyang asked apprehensively in disbelief. ¡°I¡¯m at your ce.¡± ¡°Okay, okay, don¡¯t go anywhere. I¡¯lle home now. Right away!¡± Mei Yangyang ended the call as soon as she finished speaking. All smiles, An Xiaoning put away her phone and chatted with Mr. Mei for a while. Soon, Mei Yangyang showed up, appearing to have rushed there. Upon sight of An Xiaoning, Mei Yangyang froze in shock, unable believe her eyes. She had clearly witnessed An Xiaoning being buried, just how did she... ¡°Sis?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me.¡± Mei Yangyang burst into tears and rushed forward to hug her. ¡°Sis, what happened exactly? I don¡¯t get it. I can¡¯t even tell if I¡¯m dreaming right now.¡± An Xiaoning then reassured her, ¡°It¡¯s real.¡± Mei Yangyang jumped for joy agitatedly and said, ¡°Quick, pinch my face. I don¡¯t believe it.¡± ¡°It hurts, doesn¡¯t it?¡± said An Xiaoning as she reached out to pinch Mei Yangyang¡¯s cheek. ¡°Yes, it hurts. It¡¯s real! Awesome! How could something so incredible actually happen in this world? It¡¯s really unbelievable.¡± ¡°I find it really incredible too. I guess it¡¯s because of the jade bangle Gu Beicheng had given me,¡± An Xiaoning exined as she reached into her bag for the jade bangle. To her surprise, the bangle, which had initially already broken into bits, waspletely in one piece. ¡°How did this happen...? The bangle had already shattered into pieces when I woke up in the coffin. It was still broken when I packed it into my bag this morning. How did it...¡± ¡°Sis, this is truly a magical piece of jade. Put it on quickly,¡± Mei Yangyang said smilingly. An Xiaoning slipped the bangle onto her wrist and remarked with a smile, ¡°How fascinating.¡± ¡°Sis, tell me quick, how did you manage to get out? I saw you getting buried with my very own eyes.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a long story, but I made it out alive all thanks to the dagger and knife which were buried with me in my coffin.¡± Having understood the situation immediately, Mei Yangyang exined, ¡°Sis, Mr. Gu was the one who ced those items in there for you.¡± An Xiaoning instantly felt an immense gratitude towards Gu Beicheng. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for those items, I would¡¯ve died in the coffin for sure.¡± ¡°You really have to thank Mr. Gu then. Sis, did you know? The movie you invested in has be a blockbuster hit. The box office sales have hit 1.7 billion dors, and it¡¯s still going to continue rising. Mr. Gu mentioned that he was still going to help transfer the dividends from the box office sales to your bank ount even though you¡¯re already dead,¡± said Mei Yangyang, grabbing her hand tightly. ¡°What was he thinking? If I really died, then he might as well donate the money to those who need it. What¡¯s the point of letting me take it to my grave?¡± ¡°Well, he was thinking that the money belonged to you. But it¡¯s all good now. They¡¯d be over the moon to know that you¡¯re alive, especially Mr. Jin. Sis, I heard from Tianze that Mr. Jin had fallen ill because of your death.¡± ¡°I tried to call him a few times, but I couldn¡¯t reach him. I didn¡¯t see him at the office either. I was thinking of making a trip to the hospital before going to see him. Where¡¯s the mask? Give it to me.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go get it.¡± Mei Yangyang went to her room and returned with the human mask. ¡°Sis, why do you need to go to the hospital?¡± asked Mei Yangyang as she handed it to An Xiaoning. ¡°My stomach feels uneasy, so I¡¯d like to go for a checkup. By the way, what¡¯s the date today?¡± ¡°Sis, it¡¯s only a few days before the new year arrives.¡± A look of dismay formed on An Xiaoning¡¯s face as she put on the mask before saying, ¡°I¡¯m going to the hospital now.¡± ¡°Sis, I¡¯ll go together with you.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After getting into the taxi, An Xiaoning said softly, ¡°My period hasn¡¯t been here for more than two months.¡± ¡°Huh? Sis, are you pregnant?¡± Mei Yangyang asked in astonishment. ¡°It feels more like a hormonal imbnce. My tummy is really upset. I¡¯ll know once I go for a checkup at the hospital.¡± An Xiaoning was silently hoping that she was pregnant. Besides, there was indeed a possibility since Jin Qingyan had been getting intimate with her every night without any protection or contraceptives at all. An Xiaoning closed her eyes and prayed in her heart, hoping to have really gotten pregnant. Having arrived at the hospital, An Xiaoning first took a urine test. To their delight, she was pregnant! She then proceeded to undergo an ultrasound scan, which further confirmed that she was pregnant for ten weeks. However, the bad news was that the fetus was not stable, and the chances of a miscarriage were high. An Xiaoning¡¯s heart sank as her stomach twisted into a knot. She had already had two miscarriages. This time, she was determined to keep the child no matter what it would take. ¡°Sis, let¡¯s go look for Mr. Jin and inform him of this news.¡± ¡°No, didn¡¯t you hear the doctor mention that I could suffer a miscarriage anytime? I want to tell him only after the pregnancy is stable. Although I¡¯m willing to do whatever it takes to keep it, some things are still beyond my control. I don¡¯t wish to disappoint him,¡± An Xiaoning objected. ¡°Sis, what do you n to do then?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell Long Tianze that I¡¯m alive yet. I won¡¯t let Qingyan or the Gu family know about it either. Once the fetus is stable, we¡¯ll let them know of the good news together, okay?¡± ¡°Good idea. Sis, I know what you¡¯re worried about. We shall go ording to your n then. Sis, let¡¯s look for the best gynecologist in town to help stabilize your fetus. I heard M Nation is far more advanced in medical technologypared to our country. Why don¡¯t we go there? The gynecological expert we consulted previously was of no help at all,¡± Mei Yangyang suggested. ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s apply for a visa first,¡± An Xiaoning agreed. Mei Yangyang nodded. ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°But, if you go with me, how are you going to exin it to Tianze?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll just tell him that I¡¯m sending my mother overseas for treatment.¡± ¡°Yangyang, why don¡¯t you actually send Auntie for treatment overseas?¡± Chapter 311 - Reunion (6)

Chapter 311: Reunion (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shaking her head in refusal, Mei Yangyang answered, ¡°My mother¡¯s condition can¡¯t be treated even if we send her to outer space. I was initially hoping to send her to a hospital in our city, but the doctor said her condition can only be prevented from deteriorating and cannot be treated even if we seek medical help overseas.¡± ¡°Has her condition debilitated to that point?¡± ¡°Yes, she¡¯s been bedridden for three years. Her health must¡¯ve gotten worse because of her immobility too.¡± Gazing at her, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Yangyang... I grew up on the mountains and never had any friends before. You¡¯re my only best friend and sworn sister.¡± ¡°You too, Sis. You¡¯re closer to me than my biological sister. Since you¡¯re so nice to me, I ought to treat you well too.¡± An Xiaoning grinned and hugged her tightly. ¡ª Jin Qingyue stepped off the weighing scale after measuring her weight. Being eight months pregnant, she found that her weight had plummeted to 176 pounds. She still had another month to go before her baby was due for delivery. At this rate, she was going to be morbidly obese, should she continue to gain any more weight. At this point, she was utterly dejected and frustrated. Staring at her reflection in the mirror, Jin Qingyue began to miss her thinner days when she only weighed 110 pounds. She used to look good in anything she wore. Yet, she could no longer fit into her old clothes. All because of her unborn child, she had gone up several dress sizes and be plump and aged, no longer the youthful woman she used to be. In fact, she had begun to sense that Shi Shaochuan had been refraining from getting intimate with her with the excuse of having their child¡¯s interests at heart. As a result, she constantly suspected him of having an affair again. However, she did not manage to find anything in the end even after hiring a private investigator to keep tabs on him. Due to the huge amount of weight she had put on, Jin Qingyue lost all her confidence, such that she did not even wish to step out of the house. She had evolved into a true-blue homebody. She was no longer interested in attending social gatherings, for fear of the mockery and criticism she would face from her former ssmates and friends. Realizing that it was almost six o¡¯clock in the evening yet Shi Shaochuan had still not returned home, Jin Qingyue decided to give him a call. Shi Shaochuan hung up immediately after answering the call. Shortly after, sounds of the car pulling up in the backyard could be heard. ¡°I¡¯m already home now, aren¡¯t I? Did you really have to call me?¡± Shi Shaochuan groused as he entered the house with his office bag in hand. ¡°Who knows if you are having an affair again?¡± ¡°That happened ages ago. Can you just stop bringing it up?¡± ¡°You know too little about women. That¡¯s just how women are, we remember everything clearly no matter how long it has been. Besides, it¡¯s merely been a few months, that¡¯s not considered ages! I¡¯m just trying to remind you often that I won¡¯t let you off easily or forgive you if you fool around again.¡± ¡°Got it. Look how chubby you¡¯ve gotten from stuffing yourself silly all day. Go on a diet and lose some weight once you give birth,¡± Shi Shaochuanmented with a sigh. His snide remark had greatly hurt Jin Qingyue¡¯s pride. ¡°Whose child did I be like this for? You still have the cheek to criticize me? You can¡¯t even give birth, what right have you got to me me!?!¡± Jin Qingyue snapped angrily. ¡°It was just a casual remark, I¡¯m not ming you. You don¡¯t have to be so sensitive and overreact. I know you made a huge sacrifice for our child. Hubby understands it all,¡± said Shi Shaochuan as he looked at her in disdain. Jin Qingyue let out a disgruntled humph and walked away towards the dining table. ¡°I have to attend a social event after dinner. If you don¡¯t trust me, you maye along,¡± said Shi Shaochuan, knowing clearly that Jin Qingyue would be ashamed to show her face due to how plump she had gotten. ¡°I¡¯m not going, you may go ahead yourself. Shi Shaochuan, don¡¯t think I won¡¯t know what you¡¯re up to outside just because I¡¯m not tagging along. You¡¯d better watch out and don¡¯t let me find out that you fooled around.¡± ¡°It¡¯s up to you to do whatever you want. I mean it when I say I didn¡¯t. I¡¯ve even swapped my secretary with a male one. If you¡¯re still so worried and paranoid, then you may follow me around every day.¡± ¡°It¡¯s entirely up to a man to decide if he wants to cheat on his spouse or not. A good man will exercise self-control and restrain himself from being unfaithful without having to be told to do so. Meanwhile, a rotten man will still give in to temptations even if you keep close tabs on him and watch his every move with binocrs all day. That¡¯s the difference between a good man and a scumbag. You know very well which one you are,¡± Jin Qingyue sneered. Shi Shaochuan frowned in annoyance and continued to have his meal in silence. As soon as he was done eating, he headed out straight to attend the social event. He was infuriated to know that Jin Qingyue had hired a private investigator to watch him. His displeasure was understandable since no one likes being watched all the time anyway. Thus, he had decided to bribe the private investigator by offering a price much higher than what Jin Qingyue was paying to hire him. As the saying goes, it takes constant vignce to stave off evil. He began driving towards a hotel. He then proceeded to the hotel room in which they had agreed to meet at. After pressing the doorbell for a few times, a youthful and pretty girl answered the door. Shi Shaochuan¡¯s eyes glistened with joy as he walked inside the room. He had met the young girl online via a dating app. They did not know each other personally and merely chatted online, after which they agreed to meet up at a hotel to take things further. It was their first time meeting in real life. Without uttering a single word, Shi Shaochuan immediately pinned her onto the bed. ¡°You¡¯re really pretty. Tell me, how old are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m 18. I¡¯m attending my first year of university,¡± the girl answered smilingly. ¡°You¡¯ve got such a great figure. Just my ideal type,¡± Shi Shaochuan said lustfully as he slowly slid his hand downwards to her slender thighs. The girl put her arms around his neck and said, ¡°You¡¯re my type too.¡± ¡°You forgot to tell me, what¡¯s your real name?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not telling you. We¡¯re just dating for fun now. You don¡¯t have to know my real name. It¡¯s not toote to tell you after we get to know each other long enough.¡± Shi Shaochuan nodded in satisfaction and gave her a kiss. ¡°I like your character. But, I don¡¯t get it, you¡¯re so young and beautiful. Wouldn¡¯t it be more than easy for you to find a boyfriend in university?¡± he asked curiously. ¡°I¡¯m not looking for a boyfriend. I¡¯ll just hook up with men whenever I get sexual desires. Other times, it¡¯s great being single, why do I need a boyfriend?¡± she answered. ¡°Is such a lifestyle in trend now?¡± Shi Shaochuan remarked, thinking that such a carefree lifestyle was a great idea since there were no restraints or restrictions. ¡°It¡¯s just a personal preference. Don¡¯t tell me anything about yourself, I¡¯m not interested in hearing it. You don¡¯t have to know much about me either. At this very moment, we¡¯re just here to satisfy each other¡¯s needs and desires.¡± ¡°Nice.¡± Shi Shaochuan¡¯s hormones were raging out of control as he lowered his head and began kissing her tempestuously. At the same time, Jin Qingyue was sitting in her car, which was parked right outside the entrance of the hotel. She stared at the name of the hotel before shifting to another parking spot not too far away. Although Shi Shaochuan was aware that Jin Qingyue had hired a private investigator to watch him, what he did not know was that she would tail him every time he went out without her to attend dinners and events. She would only rest her mind after discovering that there was nothing unusual. Perhaps her paranoia was a result of the trauma from catching him red-handed inmitting adultery the previous time. The hotel was one of the branch outlets belonging to the Jin Corporation. She put on a cap and a surgical mask before entering the hotel to request the hotel manager to show her the surveince camera footage. The hotel manager could not recognize her under her disguise, but he still allowed her to view the footage anyway. She watched it alone. At the sight of Shi Shaochuan entering a guest room instead of a private dining room, her face instantly stiffened in dismay. She then proceeded to find out the name and personal identification number of the person who had booked the room Shi Shaochuan had entered. Chapter 312 - Reunion (7)

Chapter 312: Reunion (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios It was a girl named Liu Xiaomi, who was only 18 years old. Jin Qingyue had also obtained her home address. Jin Qingyue returned to her car and continued to wait patiently instead of leaving straight away. While waiting, she gave the private investigator a call. ¡°He went out tonight, did you find anything suspicious?¡± ¡°No.¡± The private investigator¡¯s answer had disappointed her greatly. ¡°Okay.¡± Jin Qingyue had already understood the situation more or less. She was no fool after all. Although she had already turned on the heater in the car, she was still feeling chilly. She continued to sit in the car and waited for four hours before Shi Shaochuan finally appeared. He drove there alone. After walking towards his car, he did not get in immediately and instead stared at the entrance while standing in front of his car. Soon, Liu Xiaomi walked out. Liu Xiaomi did not notice Shi Shaochuan at first. He then whistled at her, after which she turned around to wave at him. Jin Qingyue then drove away. Due to herrge baby bump, she experienced great difficulty while driving, but still managed to make it home nheless. ¡°Young Madam, where did you go?¡± ¡°I went to visit my mother. Don¡¯t tell Young Sir that I went out,¡± she instructed. ¡°Alright.¡± Shi Shaochuan arrived upstairs shortly after Jin Qingyue went inside the bedroom. Startled to see her standing there, Shi Shaochuan asked, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you asleep yet?¡± ¡°I was waiting for you.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t drink.¡± Jin Qingyue sneered before saying, ¡°Shi Shaochuan, why did you even marry me?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you again? I¡¯m going to take a warm bath. I¡¯m dead beat,¡± said Shi Shaochuan as he removed his jacket. Jin Qingyue stared at his back view before looking down at her baby bump,pletely disheartened. She had brought all of this upon herself, simply because she was too willful and foolish back then. It was indeed so. Jin Qingyue felt that her decision to be vignt and keep close tabs on him was correct. Otherwise, how else could she have discovered that he did not change his ways at all? There was no way she could continue to sit back and do nothing. Not a chance. ¡ª By daybreak, Shi Shaochuan woke up to find that Jin Qingyue was no longer lying beside him in bed. She had instructed the driver to send her to Jin Qingyan¡¯s early in the morning. Jin Qingyan was having his breakfast when she entered. He appeared extremely frail and haggard. Noticing that Jin Qingyue had gotten a lot chubbier, he said, ¡°Take a seat.¡± Jin Qingyue stepped forward and eximed, ¡°Brother, please help me.¡± She then got down on her knees with great difficulty. Jin Qingyan was greatly startled, thinking to himself that it must be a serious matter that was grave enough to make her kneel down. ¡°Sit down and tell me whatever you have to say. You¡¯re almost due forbor, why are you kneeling down?¡± said Jin Qingyan as he put down his chopsticks and helped her up. Jin Qingyue was crying uncontrobly. ¡°Tell me what happened. There¡¯s no point if you keep crying.¡± ¡°Brother, I¡¯d like to get a divorce.¡± ¡°A divorce? Why?¡± Jin Qingyan asked. Jin Qingyue told her brother about Shi Shaochuan¡¯s affair and his rendezvous with the girlst night. ¡°But I can¡¯t divorce him just yet. I have to get my revenge andpletely destroy him before leaving together with the child. I don¡¯t wish to live like this anymore. I¡¯ve already given up on him,¡± she added. ¡°You¡¯ve really given up on him? Doesn¡¯t seem like it to me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s true. Brother, do you really think I¡¯d still be loyal and devoted to him after all that he¡¯s done?¡± ¡°How do you want me to help you?¡± asked Jin Qingyan. ¡°Brother, why don¡¯t you buy over the Shi Corporation. I¡¯ll help you with the administrative processes. Once you buy over thepany, you just have to give me a sum of money enough for me and my child to live on for the rest of our lives.¡± ¡°Enough for you and your child to live on for the rest of your lives? How much would that be?¡± ¡°100 million dors. The Shi Corporation should be worth at least 500 million dors. Brother, you won¡¯t stand to lose a cent from this transaction at all. How does that sound?¡± ¡°All I want to know now is, have you really given up on him?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Recalling the past, Jin Qingyue continued, ¡°I deeply regret it. I really regret not heeding all of your advice and warnings back then. I also regret not seizing the opportunity to be with a good man and instead insisting on marrying that jerk. Look how fat I¡¯ve gotten because of this child. Yet he still has the heart to be unfaithful towards me. I¡¯m seriously so disappointed in him. Brother, if it weren¡¯t because the baby is almost due, I would¡¯ve really aborted it.¡± Staring at her, Jin Qingyan said solemnly, ¡°Qingyue, you have to know who you¡¯re closest to in this world. Don¡¯t lie to me. If you really haven¡¯t given up, I¡¯ll take it that you never said any of these today. But if you¡¯ve really decided to do so, then I¡¯ll lend you a hand. However, if you betray me in the midst of it, I won¡¯t show you any mercy.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you believe that I¡¯ve truly given up on him?¡± ¡°Because you were so bewitched and obsessed with him back then.¡± After a moment of silence, Jin Qingyue said, ¡°Then, Brother, I¡¯ll sign an agreement with you. If I back out halfway, I¡¯ll be at your mercy. Will that do?¡± ¡°You¡¯d better keep your word.¡± ¡°Yes, I will.¡± Noticing how sickly he appeared, Jin Qingyue asked, ¡°Brother, are you ill?¡± ¡°Yes. I have to consider this matter carefully. I¡¯ll give you a call once I¡¯ve decided. You are to listen to me throughout, I¡¯ll teach you what to do.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡ª On the 29th of December, An Xiaoning and Mei Yangyang boarded a ne to M Nation. Along the way, An Xiaoning listened to the stories Mei Yangyang told her about the fate of Xi Bi and his bodyguards and how devastated Jin Qingyan was. After arriving at M Nation, An Xiaoning was directly admitted to the hospital where she spent a huge amount of money to hire the most knowledgeable specialist to help stabilize her pregnancy. After perusing her checkup reports, the specialist said to her, ¡°Ms. An, the doctors in S Nation have told you that there¡¯s a high chance you would suffer a miscarriage, but I¡¯ll do my best to help you keep the baby. I just need you to cooperate with me fully, can you do it?¡± An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°Yes, I can.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not making empty promises, but although you might suffer a miscarriage in the end if you remain in S Nation, our medical technology is very advanced. I will prescribe you with the best medicine we have. As long as you keep yourself happy and follow my instructions every day, I can ensure that you will deliver a healthy baby.¡± ¡°Thank you, Doctor,¡± Mei Yangyang thanked agitatedly. ¡°Just stay in the hospital for now, Ms. An. You might have to remain here throughout the course of your pregnancy though.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± Mei Yangyang settled the administrative processes, after which An Xiaoning was admitted to a hospital ward. She was admitted to a private ward with two beds, one for her and the other for Mei Yangyang. The heater was turned on in the ward. An Xiaoning changed into a set of maternity clothes made of a special fabric beforeying onto the bed for the doctor to help her administer an injection. ¡°Sis, I think the doctors here are far more professional than those in our country. I¡¯m sure the child will be delivered safely.¡± ¡°I think so too. I¡¯m more confident after hearing the doctor¡¯s words. Yangyang, do you think Qingyan would jump for joy when I show up in front of him all of a sudden with our baby?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°That goes without saying. Sis, I can¡¯t help but feel touched by his love for you.¡± Chapter 313 - Reunion (8)

Chapter 313: Reunion (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mei Yangyang chuckled and said, ¡°Sis, I didn¡¯t get to attend your wedding previously. When you get married to Mr. Jin again, I must be there to witness your big day and the most beautiful side of you.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be my only bridesmaid. It¡¯s settled then,¡± said An Xiaoning. Mei Yangyang¡¯s phone rang all of a sudden. She took a look at the caller disy to see that it was from Long Tianze and shushed An Xiaoning before answering the call, ¡°Tianze.¡±¡® ¡°...¡± ¡°I just touched down a while ago.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Yes, my mother has settled down.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Alright, mwah. I¡¯m hanging up.¡± Mei Yangyang ended the call and said to An Xiaoning, ¡°I told Tianze that I sent my mother abroad for medical treatment. That¡¯s the only excuse I can fool him with. Hope he doesn¡¯t kill me when he finds out the truth.¡± An Xiaoning guffawed and answered, ¡°He won¡¯t kill you, don¡¯t worry.¡± The doctor entered with a nurse and a syringe containing a tocolytic drug. ¡°Ms. An, you will be administered a single dose of a tocolytic agent daily until you reach the full term of your pregnancy. I will continue to increase the dosage depending on your condition.¡± ¡°Alright, Doctor. I¡¯ll do as you say.¡± ¡ª ¡°Young Sir, we¡¯ve got news.¡± Ye Xiaotian looked up and said, ¡°Shoot.¡± ¡°After tailing Ms. Mo¡¯s family continuously, we¡¯ve discovered that Ms. Mo¡¯s brother has been going to the countryside rather frequently. He goes there almost every other day. We also found that he would often bring a few buckets of water back home in the countryside before leaving. We¡¯ve never seen anyone elsee out of the house. After we asked about, the vigers told us that a pregnant woman was residing in that house.¡± Ripples formed in Ye Xiaotian¡¯s heart upon hearing the piece of news. ¡°A pregnant woman?¡± he asked with a frown. It can¡¯t be Mo Li ... She clearly wasn¡¯t resuscitated back then. Impossible! ¡°Yes, it might be the girlfriend of Ms. Mo¡¯s brother.¡± ¡°Knock on the door and verify who it is. Go now, at once,¡± Ye Xiaotian instructed. ¡°Yes.¡± Ye Xiaotian was filled with a sudden nervousness as he sat on the couch. He hoped greatly for a miracle to happen. At the same time, Mo Li heard a knock on her door. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± she asked while walking towards the door. ¡°Your neighbor next door.¡± Mo Li opened the door to see that it was a woman who was pregnant, just like herself. ¡°Pleasee in,¡± Mo Li weed her with a smile. ¡°I noticed that you¡¯ve moved in for quite some time now, but I¡¯ve never seen youing out of the house before. I was almost bored to death at home so I decided to pay you a visit,¡± said the female neighbor, Xiao Song, who slowly walked inside Mo Li¡¯s house. ¡°I don¡¯t know anyone here so there¡¯s no one I can look for. Have a seat.¡± ¡°Your house is so warm,¡± said Xiao Song as she sat beside the firece to warm her hands. ¡°I¡¯ve been burning firewood all day. Otherwise, I really can¡¯t tolerate the freezing temperature.¡± ¡°Indeed. What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°My name is Mo Li, what about you?¡± ¡°You may call me Xiao Song. Since we¡¯re neighbors, feel free toe to me if you need anything. I will help you with whatever I can. Don¡¯t stand on ceremony with me.¡± Mo Li nodded and asked, ¡°Sure. How far along are you?¡± ¡°Five months. How about you?¡± ¡°Seven.¡± ¡°...¡± Mo Li and Xiao Song sat side by side next to the firece and chatted idly about almost everything under the sun. While they were in the midst of a joyous conversation, there was a sudden banging on the door. Just as Mo Li was about to stand up to answer the door, Xiao Song interjected, ¡°I¡¯m more nimble than you are. Let me get the door.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Xiao Song opened the door slowly. Staring at the two men in front of her, she asked, ¡°Who are you looking for?¡± The man was at a sudden loss for words upon noticing her baby bump. However, the other man was rather quick-witted and asked, ¡°Is the Yang Vige nearby?¡± ¡°It¡¯s right there,¡± Xiao Song answered, pointing in the direction of the south. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re wee,¡± said Xiao Song as she closed the door and returned inside. ¡°Who was it?¡± Xiao Song took a seat and said, ¡°Two men asking for directions. Where does your husband go to work? I always see him bringing you water.¡± Mo Li did not know how to answer her, though she still did nheless. ¡°That¡¯s my brother. My husband... is dead.¡± ¡°Why do you still want to give birth to this child then? Sorry if Ie off as being offensive, but it¡¯s easier for a woman to remarry without a child. If it¡¯s a son, you¡¯d be burdened for the rest of your life,¡± Xiao Song remarked in astonishment. ¡°It¡¯s a girl. I¡¯ve gone for a gender check. Besides, I don¡¯t n on remarrying anyway,¡± Mo Li said smilingly. Xiao Song gasped in shock and said, ¡°You must love your husband very much. Otherwise, why would you be willing to bear him a child and give up the chance to marry someone else?¡± Mo Li expressed assent and did not say anything much. The men who¡¯d dropped by for a spot check reported back to Ye Xiaotian that the person who answered the door was an unknown pregnant woman. Ye Xiaotian felt his heart sink upon hearing that it was not Mo Li, though he had already expected it. ¡°Stop keeping tabs on that house and focus on tailing her parents instead. Find out which graveyard they frequent and report back to me.¡± ¡°Yes, Young Sir.¡± ¡ª It was the night of New Year¡¯s Eve. The entire Gu family were present at the hospital ward. Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s son was again running a persistent high fever that would not go away regardless of any medicine or injections he received. The results of the blood tests did not show any abnormalities either. All the members of the Gu family were filled with worry and anxiousness as they looked at the child. Reminded of what An Xiaoning said about the fate of the child, Mrs. Gu let out a sigh in her heart. No one knew what to do to help the child, whose fever had caused an infection in his lungs and brain. Atst, Mrs. Gu revealed to everyone, ¡°This child can¡¯t be saved.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er looked up at her and snapped, ¡°How could you say that!¡± Not wanting to argue with her, Mrs. Gu answered, ¡°When we brought him to see Xiaoning the previous time he ran a high fever, Xiaoning told me that the child would only have months to live because he¡¯s only here to seek revenge. And do you know why?¡± Mrs. Gu continued, ¡°Xiaoning said that this child is the reincarnation of the one you aborted previously. It has once again reincarnated as your child precisely because he resents you for terminating its life before it was even born. It¡¯s all predestined.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s face turned as pale as a sheet as Mrs. Gu¡¯s words hit the nail on the head. ¡°I don¡¯t believe it,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er protested. Although she appeared to disagree on the surface, she believed it deep down. ¡°We knew you wouldn¡¯t believe it, that¡¯s why she told me to keep it from you,¡± said Mrs. Gu. ¡°I believe it. Chi Rui¡¯er, this is your retribution. You made the child suffer because of your sin. You¡¯re such a great mother, aren¡¯t you? Who fathered the child whom you aborted previously?¡± Gu Dongcheng gibed. ¡°It¡¯s normal to have a few ex-boyfriends before marriage. Ask yourself, how many women have you had in the past? How many women have gone through abortions because of you? I even caught you red-handed formitting adultery after we were married, yet you still have the cheek to berate me?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er retorted. ¡°Chi Rui¡¯er, the child is the only reason I married you, and also because you imed that you would never be able to conceive again if you abort this one too. If our son dies, we¡¯ll get a divorce. I don¡¯t wish to continue living such a hellish life with you!¡± ¡°Gu Dongcheng, I won¡¯t let you divorce me so easily. Dream on!¡± ¡°...¡± Chapter 314 - Reunion (9)

Chapter 314: Reunion (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios While they were engaged in a heated argument, their child slipped into a state of unconsciousness due to the persistent fever. ¡°That¡¯s enough! No matter what it is, the child is of utmost importance right now. Leave your issues forter!¡± Mr. Gu interjected. Gu Dongcheng let out a sigh and said, ¡°If only Xiaoning were here.¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard that you can¡¯t cheat or escape death as long as it¡¯s Heaven¡¯s will? No one can change what¡¯s written by fate. Besides, I heard that those who have sinned too much are bound to receive their karmic retribution,¡± Mrs. Gu added. While Mrs. Chi stood by the side, Chi Rui¡¯er retreated backwards, resisting her urge to speak. The child soon passed away, before the New Year even arrived. The child lived for only a few months. Gu Dongcheng was filled with immense sorrow as he carried his lifeless son in his arms. The New Year was supposed to be an asion worth celebrating amongst family members. Yet, the Gu family was overwhelmed with misery and unhappiness on this very day. Just as they were preparing to bury the deceased child, Gu Beicheng hurriedly stopped Gu Dongcheng. ¡°Brother, we¡¯re all very devastated about the child¡¯s death. But since he¡¯s already dead, there are some facts you have to get straight.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I took a close look at the child and realized that 80% of his features resemble Sis-inw. Strangely, he looks nothing like you at all. Maybe it¡¯s because he¡¯s still young and his features have yet to fully develop, but I think we should carry out a DNA test before we bury him, just in case.¡± Gu Dongcheng¡¯s feelings were further aggravated upon hearing Gu Beicheng¡¯s words. ¡°What do you mean? Are you trying to say that the child doesn¡¯t belong to me? Would Chi Rui¡¯er have the audacity to marry me while carrying another man¡¯s child? Has she really got the guts to do so?¡± Gu Dongcheng snapped. ¡°I was just reminding you. Of course, it¡¯s best if he¡¯s a biological member of the Gu family. But if he isn¡¯t, I¡¯m afraid it¡¯d be inappropriate to bury him in our family graveyard. There¡¯s no harm in taking a DNA test anyway. Just take it as a form of reassurance so you can have a peace of mind.¡± Gu Dongcheng found that he did make some sense. Ever since the child was born, he had been finding the child to be strikingly different from him in terms of appearance. Besides, it would not cost much to get a DNA test done. ¡°Come along with me.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Gu Beicheng drove him to the hospital to get the test done. The results of a test conducted using blood and hair samples would usually require a few days to process. However, Gu Beicheng took the initiative to pay a hefty sum in order to request to collect the results earlier. Carrying the deceased child in his arms, Gu Dongcheng sat along the corridor while Gu Beicheng sat down beside him. ¡°Why did you think of that?¡± Gu Dongcheng asked. ¡°Hmm... how should I exin it... well, I¡¯ve been sensing something amiss for a long time, but I haven¡¯t had the chance to tell you about it. Chi Rui¡¯er came to look for me at the office a long while ago to tell me that she was pregnant. At first, she imed that the child belongs to me. But how could that be possible if I¡¯ve never been intimate with her before? She then imed that Jin Qingyan was the father of the child. I didn¡¯t know if I should believe her at the time, but I realizedter that it¡¯s unlikely to be the case. Given her character, she would¡¯ve gone straight to Jin Qingyan and stirred up amotion if he was really the child¡¯s father. Afterwards, she came again to tell me that she was just kidding. But I doubt she¡¯d joke about such a serious matter. That¡¯s the first suspicious bit,¡± Gu Beicheng exined. ¡°What else?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve once asked Xiaoning to read Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s fortune. Xiaoning said that Chi Rui¡¯er would get pregnant within the next six months from then. I¡¯d yet to break up with her at that time. Xiaoning mentioned that Chi Rui¡¯er was fated to have only two children in her life. Should her second child die, she would remain childless for the rest of her life. She also said that Chi Rui¡¯er had already aborted a child previously. I was thinking to myself that the aborted child can¡¯t be mine, and neither would the next one she gets pregnant with. Since that was the case, there¡¯s no way I¡¯m going to raise another man¡¯s child, and so I decided to break up with her quickly.¡± ¡°Is there anything more?¡± ¡°Yes. Thest thing is that the child doesn¡¯t resemble you at all. Well, I¡¯m just making a wild guess, it doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m right. Do you still remember what Grandpa said? He mentioned that non-members of the Gu family are strictly not allowed to be buried in our ancestral graveyard. That¡¯s the very reason why I decided to prompt you. Of course, it¡¯s best if he¡¯s your biological child. But even if he isn¡¯t, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a good thing in a certain sense?¡± ¡°You have a point,¡± Gu Dongcheng agreed with a nod. The results were out an hourter. Holding the test report with a sullen expression on his face, the doctor said, ¡°Mr. Gu, the test conducted with the two sets of samples has proven that the child is not biologically rted to you.¡± Gu Dongcheng felt his heart sink at the instant that he processed the information. If it were not for Gu Beicheng¡¯s reminder, he probably would have never found out about the truth. ¡°Okay.¡± Gu Dongcheng held the test report in his hands, which were trembling slightly. That damned Chi Rui¡¯er. How dare she lie to me and make me raise another man¡¯s child! he thought to himself. He only married her because of the child, who was not rted to him by blood. Yet, in the end... Indeed, it could be considered good news for him in a certain sense. However, he could not help but feel a little sad for the pitiful child, though his misery was no longer as immense as before. ¡°Seriously... who¡¯s the father of this child?¡± Gu Beicheng eximed. ¡°I¡¯ll go home and question her now,¡± said Gu Dongcheng as he stood up with the deceased child in hand. They rushed back to the old residence to find that most of the members of the Gu family were present in the living room. Upon sight of him returning with the child, Chi Rui¡¯er barked, ¡°We were preparing to bury the child. Where did you bring him to!?!¡± Gu Dongcheng shoved the deceased child into her arms and said, ¡°Great, everyone happens to be here. Just the right time. Chi Rui¡¯er, I¡¯m not afraid of washing our dirty linen in public. I¡¯m going to make you exin yourself to the members of the Gu family. Who is the father of this child?¡± Dumbstruck, Chi Rui¡¯er feigned ignorance. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± Holding the test report up with his hand, Gu Dongcheng snapped, ¡°Here are the results from the DNA test performed using the hair and blood samples taken from the child and me. The results show that the child is not biologically rted to me at all!¡± He then flung the test report onto Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s face. Chi Rui¡¯er picked the report up and took a look at the information written on it. Her face immediately paled as she began to wonder why he had suspected it all of a sudden. She stood rooted to the ground, robbed of her speech due to the shock. Mrs. Chi burst into tears and carried the child away from her arms. ¡°The poor child has already passed away. Please take pity on him and stop probing further on his ount,¡± Mrs. Chi pleaded in between sobs. ¡°Since the child has passed away, all the more I should find out the truth, isn¡¯t it? Your daughter married me and sponged a living off of me while carrying another man¡¯s child. Why am I not allowed to find out the truth?¡± Gu Dongcheng refuted. Chi Rui¡¯er decided to go all out and admitted disgruntledly, ¡°Since you¡¯ve already found out, I will not hide it any further. Yes, the child is not yours, all right. You should be grateful for the chance to be my child¡¯s father! Do you know how many men would be jumping at the chance to father my child!?!¡± Gu Dongcheng gave her a tight p across her face and rebuked, ¡°You shameless slut!¡± Chi Rui¡¯er was thrown off bnce from the hard p and almost fell onto the ground. She regained her bnce and looked Gu Dongcheng in the eye before saying, ¡°You¡¯d better report this to the media and allow this scandalous news to spread all over town, so everyone can see how shameful your family is. Gu Dongcheng, you must be bent on divorcing me now, aren¡¯t you? Give me half of your assets. Otherwise, forget about getting a divorce.¡± Chapter 315 - Reunion (10)

Chapter 315: Reunion (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Tears streamed down Mrs. Chi¡¯s face uncontrobly as she begged her daughter to stop. ¡°Forget it, Rui¡¯er. Don¡¯t ask for anything.¡± ¡°No way!¡± Chi Rui¡¯er grabbed her mother¡¯s arm and said to Gu Dongcheng, ¡°Don¡¯t think of getting a divorce unless you pay me.¡± Just as they were walking towards the door, Gu Dongcheng yelled, ¡°Stop them!¡± The bodyguards proceeded to block them from leaving at once. ¡°Lock them up!¡± Gu Dongcheng ordered. Clicking her tongue in distaste, Mrs. Gumented, ¡°This woman is really something. Thankfully Beicheng chose not to be with her back then. Otherwise, he would¡¯vended in the same sorry state as Dongcheng.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough, cut it out. Isn¡¯t there already enough trouble?¡± Mr. Gu chided as he shot her a re. ¡°Dongcheng, what made you want to take a DNA test?¡± ¡°Beicheng was the one who suggested it. She still has the cheek to ask for money. I won¡¯t give her a single cent. I¡¯m going to prepare the divorce agreement right away,¡± said a frustrated Gu Dongcheng. ¡°If we don¡¯t make the first move and beat Chi Rui¡¯er to exposing the matter about the child to the media, I¡¯m afraid Chi Rui¡¯er is going to try and tarnish your reputation in the future. If it means we¡¯re going to wash our dirty linen in public, then so be it. I still think it¡¯s better to take the initiative and tell the media of the reason for your divorce ourselves,¡± said Mr. Gu. ¡°Alright,¡± Gu Dongcheng answered with a nod. Chi Rui¡¯er and Mrs. Chi were locked up together with the child¡¯s body. Carrying her deceased grandchild in her arms, Mrs. Chi said with a sigh, ¡°You were the one at fault in the first ce. How could you ask for a share of his assets? Rui¡¯er, just tell him that you don¡¯t want the money anymore when hees byter. After your divorce, let¡¯s move elsewhere and get on with life. Doesn¡¯t that sound great?¡± ¡°No way. What are we going to live on if we don¡¯t take his money? Things have alreadye to this anyway, the cat is out of the bag. It¡¯d be a waste not to take the money,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er objected. ¡°He seemed so infuriated. Why would he still give you the money?¡± After a moment of silence, Chi Rui¡¯er said, ¡°If he doesn¡¯t give me the money, I¡¯ll spill the beans to the media.¡± ¡°Rui¡¯er, are you out of your mind? If you leak this news to the media, he¡¯s definitely going to expose the truth about the child not being his biological son.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter to me, I don¡¯t have an establishedpany or career at stake anyway. It¡¯s a different case for him though.¡± As she was speaking, they began to hear footsteps approaching. Gu Dongcheng entered and ced two sets of the divorce agreement onto the table. At this point, he hade to utterly detest Chi Rui¡¯er. ¡°Pride matters to all humans, but just how did such a shameless person like you live until today? You decide whether you want to sign the agreement amicably or make me force you to do it.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t sign it,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er refuted. Gu Dongcheng motioned for the bodyguards toe forth and instructed, ¡°You two, force her to stamp her thumbprint onto the agreement.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Get away from me!¡± Chi Rui¡¯er hollered as she retreated backwards, but to no avail. The big and burly bodyguards dragged her in one fluid motion and grabbed her wrists forcefully to make her stamp her thumbprint onto the designated space on the divorce agreement. Holding the signed agreement in his hands, Gu Dongcheng scorned, ¡°Once the divorce certificate is ready, you may get lost from my sight. Go as far away from me as you can.¡± ¡°Gu Dongcheng! I¡¯m going to sue you for bribing the Civil Administration Office to process the divorce certificate!¡± ¡°Go ahead and try suing me. We shall see if you can.¡± He turned around to leave, ignoring her cries and incessant yelling. ¡ª ¡°Sis, news of Chi Rui¡¯er and Gu Dongcheng¡¯s divorce have spread like wildfire. Look, it¡¯s even made it onto the local news here,¡± said Mei Yangyang, handing An Xiaoning a set of newspapers. An Xiaoning took a look at the content before saying, ¡°The child doesn¡¯t belong to Dongcheng?¡± ¡°Exactly. Look, it says here that Gu Dongcheng carried out a DNA test after the child passed away.¡± An Xiaoning carefully perused the rest of the content of the news before putting the newspapers down. ¡°Whatever, it¡¯s good that they¡¯re divorced. Thankfully I won¡¯t have to see her again in the future. She never fails to ruin my mood.¡± ¡°Yeah. Otherwise, you¡¯ll even have to address her as your sister-inw.¡± ¡°I read her birth characters a couple of times. Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s health is only going to deteriorate. I won¡¯t say much about what¡¯s likely to happen in the future,¡± said An Xiaoning, who was lying in bed. ¡°She deserves it. This evil woman¡¯s life is not going to end well,¡± Mei Yangyang scoffed. ¡°Yangyang, tell me, will you be bored if we continue to stay here for an extended period of time?¡± ¡°No, because you¡¯ll be here with me. Besides, the thought of your baby growing bigger in your womb day by day just makes me look forward to his birth. You¡¯re so beautiful, and Mr. Jin is so handsome. If it¡¯s a girl, she¡¯ll definitely be pretty. If it¡¯s a boy, then he¡¯s sure to be dashing. The more I think about it, the more excited I am to see him. By then, we¡¯ll both be promoted ¡ª you¡¯ll be a mother and I¡¯ll be an aunt. Actually, Sis, I don¡¯t want to be his or her aunt.¡± ¡°Huh? What would you like to be then?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°I¡¯d like to be the Godmother of your child.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Awesome. Sis, when the child bes a toddler, let¡¯s bring him or her to train at the boot camp so no one can bully your child in school,¡± said Mei Yangyang, chuckling. ¡°My child won¡¯t be bullied, but his or her schoolmates are going to be in danger. If my child bes a little tyrant, I would get a huge headache.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t happen. We¡¯ll just educate him or her well. Sis, I know you miss Mr. Jin to bits. Do you want me to give Tianze a call to ask about Mr. Jin tomorrow?¡± Mei Yangyang suggested. ¡°Hold it first. I¡¯m only going to miss him more if you ask about him.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s tell him as soon as your condition is stable then. He¡¯ll definitely rush over to see you.¡± ¡°Yes, my thoughts exactly,¡± An Xiaoning said with a nod. ¡°Sis, starting today, I¡¯m going to film a snippet of you every day and show them to Mr. Jin when he¡¯s here. He¡¯s definitely going to be moved to tears. I think it¡¯d be a great idea for a surprise too,¡± said Mei Yangyang, holding a digital camera in her hands. ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s film the first part.¡± Mei Yangyang switched the camera to video recording mode and signalled an ¡°OK¡± sign at her. An Xiaoning sat up straight and said to the camera, ¡°Qingyan, it¡¯s the second day of the New Year. You¡¯re in S Nation while I¡¯m in M Nation. I¡¯ve been here for five days, and I¡¯ve had five doses of tocolytic so far. That¡¯s right, I¡¯m pregnant with our child. ¡°I was nning to tell you about the good news after the baby is stable. I know you¡¯ll definitely be over the moon. We¡¯re going to meet very soon. I miss you so much.¡± Tears welled up in An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes as she smiled radiantly at the camera. Mei Yangyang stopped recording at this juncture and showed An Xiaoning the rey before saving it. Mei Yangyang put the camera away beforeying down on the bed to y with her mobile phone. All of a sudden, she sprung up and eximed with her eyes peeled onto her screen, ¡°Sis, look!¡± ¡°What is it?¡± asked An Xiaoning, craning her neck to have a look. ¡°Mr. Jin hase to M Nation. Could it be that he found out that we¡¯re here?¡± Mei Yangyang said agitatedly. An Xiaoning read the title of the news and said, ¡°There¡¯s apany branch in M Nation. Perhaps he came here to handle some business matters. It¡¯s unlikely that he knows we¡¯re here.¡± Chapter 316 - Reunion (11)

Chapter 316: Reunion (11)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios However, An Xiaoning was still a little nervous deep down, mainly because the distance between her and Jin Qingyan had gotten closer. ¡°If Mr. Jin came here especially because he found out that you¡¯re still alive, that¡¯d be exceptionally touching, just like those romantic scenes in movies. It¡¯s a pity that¡¯s not the case. But it¡¯s alright, you¡¯re setting him up for a surprise, aren¡¯t you, Sis?¡± Mei Yangyang remarked, appearing a little dejected. ¡°How does the saying go? Ah, absence makes the heart grow fonder. Once the baby is stable, I¡¯ll tell him about it immediately.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t wait for that day to arrive.¡± An Xiaoning would have never expected that her well-thought-out n to give Jin Qingyan a surprise only after everything was stable was going to be destroyedpletely by an uninvited guest. The cloning process using her DNA extract had been sessfullypleted. The clone shared the exact same gic traits as her, such as appearance, voice, and blood type. However, it was aplete nk te with no memory at all, unlike An Xiaoning who had experienced a great deal of trials and tribtions throughout her life. The entire process only required a mere two months. However, only Ling Ciye and Long Tianze were aware of the matter at the moment. The three of them were shocked beyond their senses at the sight of the woman standing before them. She was identical to An Xiaoning. ¡°This is really terrifying and creepy. I can¡¯t imagine what¡¯ll happen if I see my clone appear before me in the future. I wonder if I¡¯d kill him right away?¡± Long Tianze eximed. ¡°Who would make a clone out of you for no rhyme or reason?¡± Ling Ciye mocked. Staring at the woman in front of him, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a name yet. Please name me,¡± the woman said smilingly. ¡°You don¡¯t need a new name. Your name is An Xiaoning,¡± said Long Tianze. ¡°No,¡± Ling Ciye objected. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯d be appropriate.¡± Ling Ciye turned to ask Jin Qingyan for his opinion, ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°Yeah, I find it inappropriate too. Why don¡¯t we give her a new surname?¡± ¡°Jin Xiaoning,¡± Long Tianze suggested. ¡°No. I think we should name her ¡®Gu Xiaoning.¡¯ Xiaoning belongs to the Gu family after all. That way, no one will find anything suspicious should they hear about it. Qingyan, what do you think?¡± Ling Ciye proposed. ¡°Let¡¯s name her Gu Xiaoning then,¡± Jin Qingyan agreed. He gazed at the woman before him, feeling as if the love of his life had returned. It felt just like An Xiaoning had lost her memory and was merely suffering from amnesia. ¡°From now on, you shall be called ¡®Gu Xiaoning.¡¯ My name is Jin Qingyan, you may call me Qingyan.¡± A smile formed on Gu Xiaoning¡¯s face as she called his name in a voice that was identical to An Xiaoning¡¯s. Jin Qingyan acknowledged it, his eyes lighting up in amazement. ¡°Qingyan, she¡¯s a nk piece of paper. You have to teach her properly.¡± Long Tianze then introduced himself, ¡°My name is Long Tianze.¡± ¡°Hello, Long Tianze.¡± Pouting his lips in approval, Long Tianze answered, ¡°Wow, not bad. May I ask you a question?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s the man you love most?¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan.¡± ¡°What the hell, are you kidding me?¡± Long Tianze eximed as he stared at his friends in amazement and shock. Jin Qingyan gestured for Fan Shixin to bring Gu Xiaoning upstairs before saying, ¡°When I went to M Nation to check on her progress previously, I instructed the expert to tell her that over and over again during her development process. We must keep this a secret. Tianze, you can¡¯t tell Mei Yangyang, you hear me?¡± ¡°How do I answer if she asks me about it?¡± Long Tianze asked, thinking that there was no way he could keep it from Mei Yangyang. ¡°Just say that Xiaoning came back to life. I¡¯ll tell the Gu family the same thing too. They won¡¯t go verify it at the graveyard. Besides, she¡¯s indeed Xiaoning. Even their DNA is identical,¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°Qingyan, I don¡¯t think Xiaoning would approve of your actions if she finds out about it in the underworld,¡± said Ling Ciye. ¡°Everyone is selfish when ites to love. She wouldn¡¯t want to be reced by an identical substitute of herself who¡¯s going to receive all your love, even if the clone was made from Xiaoning¡¯s DNA. Do you understand what I mean? She is indeed identical to Xiaoning in terms of appearance and gic makeup, but I still feel a little iffy about it, though I can¡¯t quite tell the difference for now.¡± ¡°I¡¯m selfish too. I miss her dearly now that she¡¯s not around. Being able to see her and hear her voice every day would make me feel like she¡¯s still around,¡± Jin Qingyan retorted, causing Long Tianze to gasp in shock. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re nning to marry her?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that?¡± Jin Qingyan asked rhetorically. ¡°...¡± ¡°You really n to do so?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t thought about that yet. We¡¯ll see how it goes in the future. I just want to keep her by my side for now and teach her everything from scratch. You guys may go home first,¡± Jin Qingyan said solemnly. He turned around and headed upstairs. Long Tianze and Ling Ciye looked at each other in dismay, feeling a sudden sense of sadness. Jin Qingyan opened the door and motioned for Fan Shixin to leave, after which thetter hurriedly zoomed out of the bedroom. Jin Qingyan closed the door shut. He had renovated and redecorated the main vi in Wei Ni Estate solely for An Xiaoning. Yet, she had passed away even before she got to move in. Jin Qingyan was overwhelmed with sorrow as he stared at the exquisitely-renovated bedroom into which he had put a lot of effort. The woman sat beside him on the bed with her long locks cascading down her back. With widened eyes, she gazed at him intently. He leaned in closer and raised Gu Xiaoning¡¯s head by pushing her chin upwards gently with his hand. Gu Xiaoning and An Xiaoning had identical eyes, brows, nose, and lips. Even the positions of the moles on her face were the same. To him, they were two separate individuals, though they looked identical. The woman he loved the most was already dead. Teary-eyed, Jin Qingyan took a deep breath before saying, ¡°Go get some rest.¡± Heid down beside her without taking off his clothes. Gu Xiaoning leaned her head against his chest, blushing red like a tomato. He stayed wide awake for the rest of the night. Memories of their past shed through his head over and over again, images from their very first encounter to the trials and tribtions they experienced together continued to flood his mind. All of these precious memories were deeply etched in his mind, and he would never forget them. ¡ª Jin Qingyue¡¯s newborn was two weeks old. It was a girl. Shi Shaochuan was utterly disappointed. All because it was not a boy. Jin Qingyue had initially opted to deliver her daughter via natural birth. However, due to the unbearable pain and the fact that her amniotic sac wascking in fluids, as well as how the umbilical cord was coiled twice around the fetus¡¯ neck, she had had no choice but to switch to a C-section instead. A C-section was a one-time surgery which would not cause any pain duringbor. However, Jin Qingyue struggled and winced in pain uncontrobly during the administration of a local anesthetic at the operating table. The anesthesia had yet to wear off when Jin Qingyue was pushed out of the operating theater. Upon sight of his newly-born daughter, Shi Shaochuan let out a snide remark, ¡°She looks just like a little monkey. How hideous.¡± Chapter 317 - Reunion (12)

Chapter 317: Reunion (12)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°The child was born just moments ago, of course she¡¯s going to look wrinkly. Her features have yet to develop, alright?¡± Jin Qingyue snapped in a moment of pique. Jin Qingyue did not feel even the slightest bit of Shi Shaochuan¡¯s care or concern at all throughout her post-natal confinement period. It did not matter to her anyway. Lately, he had been returning to his old ways of going out early and returning homete again. She had lost all hope andpletely given up on him. In fact, he had rarely taken care of the child either. Jin Qingyue decided to sleep in the nursery every night and hug her daughter to sleep. They were practically living like they had separated. Jin Qingyan had dropped by a few times to visit her during her confinement period. On the other hand, Mrs. Jin had been bearing a grudge against Jin Qingyue for leaving her biological father in the lurch, causing Mrs. Jin¡¯s old me to be executed. Thus, she had only visited Jin Qingyue once. Jin Qingyue was entirely dependent on the nanny and servants to take care of her. She would receive the same answer every single time she called the private investigator to ask about Shi Shaochuan. She was well aware that the private investigator had been bribed. However, she decided to leave him alone for now and deal with him after everything was settled. ¡°Young Madam, Mr. Jin is here.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Jin Qingyue put her well-fed daughter down before making her way downstairs in her home slippers. ¡°Brother.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve settled the matter you requested me to, and I¡¯ve separated your household register from the Jin family list. Your daughter has also been registered under your name. Here,¡± said Jin Qingyan as he handed her the household register. Jin Qingyue took a look at the booklet to see that the child¡¯s registered name was the one she had picked: Jin Bao¡¯er. ¡°Brother, help me keep the register. It¡¯s not convenient for me to carry it around. There¡¯s nowhere for me to keep it anyway.¡± Jin Qingyan thus decided to help her safeguard it. ¡°Brother, that jerk has bribed the private investigator I hired. Could you help me find another one to capture the evidence of his adulterous acts? If he insists on refusing a divorce, then I¡¯ll at least have sufficient evidence to file for a one-sided divorce in court.¡± ¡°Alright. How are the servants managing? Do you need me to send a few more over?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, things are going well.¡± Jin Qingyue¡¯s skin condition had worsened, and her eyebags had gotten heavier due to herck of sleep to feed her infant daughter every night. The thought of her brother being the only kin left on whom she could rely invoked a strong sense of guilt within her. She felt ashamed for the way she treated him in the past. ¡°Brother... I¡¯m sorry for what I did to Sis-inw in the past. Please help me apologize to her. I was wrong.¡± Jin Qingyan felt an urge to tell her that An Xiaoning was no longer around and could not hear her apology anymore. He held a hand out to pat Jin Qingyue on the back and said, ¡°Don¡¯t behave that way anymore in the future.¡± ¡°Yes, I won¡¯t.¡± ¡ª ¡°Sis Weiwei, what¡¯s the joyous asion?¡± the assistant asked upon noticing that Sun Weiwei was grinning from ear to ear after answering a call. ¡°Brother Xiaotian and Lin Mingxi had been divorced for days. I only heard about it today from a snitch I stuck in Ming Yuan Estate. Given his character, he should¡¯ve announced it long ago. Why hasn¡¯t it been exposed by the media yet?¡± Sun Weiwei asked in puzzlement. ¡°It must be because Madam Ye doesn¡¯t know about it. What else could it be?¡± said the assistant. ¡°That¡¯s one possibility. I knew they wouldn¡¯tst. That Lin Mingxi is not Brother Xiaotian¡¯s type at all,¡± Sun Weiwei remarked as she took out a bottle of bright red nailcquer and began painting her nails. ¡°Sis Weiwei, this is a good opportunity. You mustn¡¯t let it slip again. Otherwise, who knows which brazen hussy would seduce Mr. Ye next?¡± the assistant advised. ¡°No hurry. Now that both Bai Ranran and Mo Li are gone, Brother Xiaotian won¡¯t fall for other women easily. I can¡¯t be overly enthusiastic and cling onto him, lest it backfires. I¡¯ll have toe up with another solution,¡± Sun Weiwei said in a calm andposed manner. ¡°Have you already got a concrete n, Sis Weiwei?¡± Sun Weiwei let out a sly smile and answered, ¡°Extraordinary tricks are needed in order to deal with Brother Xiaotian. Although I haven¡¯te up with something yet, don¡¯t I have you as my advisor? Help me analyze the situation, how can I conquer Brother Xiaotian¡¯s heart?¡± ¡°Sis Weiwei, I really don¡¯t have a clue. I would¡¯ve told you about it long ago if I had a solution. I really can¡¯t think of any ways to attract a wealthy yboy like Mr. Ye,¡± said the assistant. I would¡¯ve snatched him for myself if I knew of a way! the assistant added to herself. ¡°I knew you couldn¡¯te up with anything brilliant, dimwit.¡± Sun Weiwei put her bottle of nailcquer away into her bag and blew on her freshly-painted nails gently. ¡°Let me give Brother Xiaotian a call and ask where he is.¡± The assistant hurriedly dialed Ye Xiaotian¡¯s mobile number and ced the phone beside Sun Weiwei¡¯s ear. ¡°Brother Xiaotian, where are you?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go look for you.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have any work to do tonight. It¡¯s settled then,¡± said Sun Weiwei, motioning for her assistant to end the call. The assistant quickly ended the call and proceeded to drive towards Ye Xiaotian¡¯s current location as instructed by Sun Weiwei. Gu Beicheng and Ye Xiaotian were together at the time, along with thepany of two other women. However, the germaphobic Gu Beicheng would often push the women away whenever they tried to lean closer towards him. ¡°You¡¯re so boring. Who are you saving your virginity for?¡± Ye Xiaotian jested. ¡°Get lost, what virginity?¡± Gu Beicheng retorted. After taking a nce at Sun Weiwei, he said, ¡°Your sister is here.¡± Sun Weiwei took the lead while her assistant followed closely behind. Standing in front of Ye Xiaotian, she gestured for the woman beside him to leave and hissed, ¡°Get lost.¡± The woman nced at Ye Xiaotian, who reached a hand out to caress her face. ¡°Get lost, Baby.¡± ¡°Tsk, tsk. You called her ¡®Baby¡¯ yet you told her to get lost,¡± Gu Beicheng sneered. ¡°Why would I take a casual woman seriously?¡± With a ss of champagne in his hand, Ye Xiaotian shot Sun Weiwei a nce before chiding, ¡°Didn¡¯t I ask you not toe? Why are you so disobedient?¡± ¡°Brother Xiaotian, I haven¡¯t seen you in ages. Do you really detest the sight of me that much?¡± Sun Weiweimented coquettishly while snuggling up next to him. ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t really feel like seeing women I know,tely.¡± ¡°Does that include Auntie?¡± Ye Xiaotian humphed and said, ¡°I already said: the women I know. All of them.¡± ¡°I know you¡¯re not in a good mood, that¡¯s why I wanted toe and apany you. Here, let me toast to you,¡± said Sun Weiwei as she clinked her ss of liquor against his. Ye Xiaotian watched as she chugged the ss of liquor. Pointing at the stage, Ye Xiaotian instructed, ¡°Go dance for me.¡± ¡°Brother, I¡¯m a celebrity. There are so many people below the stage. I¡¯m going to be exposed on the news if I get recognized.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you know how to mask your face?¡± Ye Xiaotian ced his ss onto the table and said, ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s go to the private room, okay?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine with that.¡± Sun Weiwei motioned for her assistant to follow while the group entered the private room. After the door was shut, Sun Weiwei began performing a catwalk in her thigh-high heeled boots as she slowly moved towards the coffee table. She then removed her jacket and cast it onto the couch. d in a pair of ck stockings wrapped around her thighs, she began performing ap dance with her long locks flowing freely, matching the rhythm of the music in the private room. Gu Beicheng sat on the couch and squinted to look at Sun Weiwei, whom he did not find attractive at all. In fact, he was rather perplexed as to how a woman like her could actually be a sessful celebrity. Are her fans blind? he thought. Chapter 318 - Reunion (13)

Chapter 318: Reunion (13)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He closed his eyes, feeling a little uneasy due to the alcohol. Just as he was about to fall asleep, his mobile phone began to ring all of a sudden. He did not answer the call and only opened his eyes when it rang a second time. He whipped his mobile phone out from the pocket of his suit and took a look to see that it was an iing call from overseas. ¡°Hello,¡± he answered. ¡°Hello, is this Mr. Gu Beicheng speaking?¡± Mei Yangyang asked over the phone while meeting An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes. ¡°Yes, you are?¡± ¡°Here¡¯s the thing, we¡¯re currently at the People¡¯s Hospital in M Nation, and we have a huge surprise gift for you left behind by ady named An Xiaoning. May I ask if you¡¯re avable to collect it?¡± Gu Beicheng was utterly shocked and sat up straight immediately. ¡°Who... who did you say it was from?¡± he asked with a frown, unable to believe his ears. ¡°That¡¯s enough, Yangyang, quit ying,¡± said a familiar voice. An Xiaoning then took over the call and said, ¡°Beicheng, it¡¯s me.¡± ¡°Xiao... Xiaoning?¡± he stuttered in surprise, the frown on his forehead easing. ¡°Yes, you heard right. We¡¯re at the airport now, are you free to pick us up?¡± Gu Beicheng stood up immediately. Without asking another question, he zoomed out of the door, catching Ye Xiaotian and Sun Weiwei off guard. ¡°Brother Xiaotian, what¡¯s wrong with him?¡± ¡°He loses control of his emotions once he hears An Xiaoning¡¯s name. Whatever, leave him be.¡± On the way to the airport, all Gu Beicheng had on his mind was a burning question: Am I dreaming? After taking a look at the call log on his mobile phone, he confirmed it to be true. It did not matter if it was a prank or not. He would find out once he sees it with his own eyes. He sped along the roads all the way to the airport. An Xiaoning had indeed returned to the country with Mei Yangyang. The first person they tried to call was Jin Qingyan, but they could not get through to his mobile phone. She had already expected that, though. The next person they called was Long Tianze, whose mobile phone was switched off. Lastly, they called Gu Beicheng. Finally, the call had gone through. An Xiaoning was currently pregnant for more than four months. In the past two months, she had been administered one or two doses of tocolytic each day and actively cooperated with the doctor. After abiding closely by the doctor¡¯s instructions, she was told her fetus was finally stable. The doctor prescribed her with a few doses of the drug and instructed Mei Yangyang to continue administering it for An Xiaoning regrly when they return to S Nation. They hade back specifically to break the news to everyone. It was the best timing in their opinion. After parking his car, Gu Beicheng scurried inside the airport like a madman and immediately burst into tears at the sight of An Xiaoning. ¡°Xiaoning?¡± he called as he quickly strode towards her. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Xiaoning?¡± Gu Beicheng reached out to cup her face in his hands and confirmed that it was really her. ¡°Thank you. Thank you for everything. If it weren¡¯t for you, I wouldn¡¯t have made it out alive,¡± An Xiaoning said as she stepped forward to hug him gently. Gu Beicheng released her from his embrace and shifted his gaze onto her belly. Momentarily stunned, he asked, ¡°You... you¡¯re pregnant?¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯re going to be an uncle. I know you might be upset though,¡± said An Xiaoning, pursing her lips. He was indeed appalled, though not to the extreme of being upset. ¡°To me, the most surprising is that you¡¯re alive. Is Jin Qingyan the father of the child?¡± ¡°You¡¯re asking the obvious. Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s head back home first. We¡¯ve yet to eat anything. I¡¯m starving,¡± said An Xiaoning as she held onto his arm. ¡°Tell me first, what actually happened?¡± asked a puzzled Gu Beicheng, who was being dragged away by An Xiaoning. ¡°I clearly saw you being...¡± Before he could even finish his question, An Xiaoning interrupted, ¡°I think... it¡¯s the magic of the bangle you gave me.¡± ¡°The jade bangle?¡± Raising her wrist, An Xiaoning exined, ¡°I felt this on me when I woke up in the coffin. It was initially broken into bits when I put it away, but when I took it out to show Yangyang, it magically became aplete piece again. Incredible, isn¡¯t it? How could something so amazing happen in this world?¡± ¡°It sounds unbelievable. But I don¡¯t care how you survived, it¡¯s the greatest miracle that you¡¯re alive,¡± said Gu Beicheng. ¡°The items you left in my coffin were of great help too.¡± An Xiaoning began to exin her entire experience, starting from her escaping from the coffin all the way ¡¯til her admission to the hospital in M Nation, which caused Gu Beicheng to gasp in amazement. Before arriving at the Gu family home, Gu Beicheng gave Mrs. Gu a call to inform her of their arrival. Thus, upon reaching home, they were greeted with the sight of all the members of the Gu family standing by the entrance, eagerly waiting for them to arrive. Everyone¡¯s jaws dropped in astonishment at the sight of An Xiaoning when she alighted from the car. ¡°Xiaoning, you¡¯ve really gotten rid of all my sorrow and misery,¡± Mrs. Gu eximed as she rushed forward to hug her from the side. Incredibly touched and agitated, An Xiaoning grabbed her hand and said, ¡°Mother, let¡¯s talk inside.¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go,¡± Mrs. Gu agreed, crying tears of joy. An Xiaoning described the predicament she had been in all over again. ¡°Thankfully, we didn¡¯t inform the media about your funeral back then, in fear that they would spout nonsense about you. ording to what you said, seems like it¡¯s really all thanks to Beicheng,¡± said Mrs. Gu. ¡°Yes, Brother is my life savior.¡± ¡°I¡¯d be happy enough to hear you call me Brother more often in the future,¡± Gu Beicheng said gleefully. ¡°That¡¯s a piece of cake. I can call you that hundreds of times without an issue.¡± ¡°Xiaoning, have you met Jin Qingyan yet?¡± Mrs. Gu asked. ¡°Not yet. I¡¯m nning to go look for him after dinner,¡± An Xiaoning said smilingly. ¡°You ought to do so. Since you¡¯re already pregnant, it¡¯s time you consider reconciling your marriage.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what I think too,¡± An Xiaoning agreed with a look of delight. After having dinner with Mei Yangyang at the Gu family home, An Xiaoning was ferried to her bridal chamber by Gu Beicheng. In a bid to give Jin Qingyan a great shock, Gu Beicheng instructed An Xiaoning and Mei Yangyang to stay put in the car while he went out to meet Jin Qingyan alone. Seeing how insistent he was, An Xiaoning conceded to his request. ¡°Sis, you¡¯re going to see Mr. Jin very soon. Are you nervous?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± An Xiaoning kept her eyes fixed on Gu Beicheng, who was standing by the door, her hands trembling with nervousness. The door finally opened. However, Gu Beicheng returned to the car after speaking to the servant who answered the door. ¡°Jin Qingyan is not in. He¡¯s moved into Wei Ni Estate.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go to Wei Ni Estate then. Sis, once you get to see Mr. Jin, I¡¯m going to go see Tianze,¡± Mei Yangyang chirped excitedly. ¡°You two didn¡¯t meet for so long all because of me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing to worry about, we¡¯ve been chatting with each other over the phone every day.¡± Gu Beicheng then began driving towards Wei Ni Estate. He executed the same n as before and again instructed An Xiaoning and Mei Yangyang to remain in the car while he spoke to Jin Qingyan. He told An Xiaoning to prepare herself to wee Jin Qingyan, who would most likely be running towards her agitatedly. ¡°Go ahead, we¡¯ll wait here,¡± said An Xiaoning. Gu Beicheng gave her an ¡°OK¡± sign with his hand and walked towards the entrance. ¡°Is your Young Sir in?¡± ¡°Yes, hold on for a minute, Mr. Gu, I¡¯ll go inform him,¡± said Fan Shixin. Chapter 319 - Reunion (14)

Chapter 319: Reunion (14)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be waiting here.¡± Gu Beicheng and Jin Qingyan had been arch enemies and rivals in business for years. Little did he expect that he would one day be so bored as to create a surprise for Jin Qingyan. Pigs were going to fly. ¡°Young Sir, Mr. Gu is waiting at the entrance. He¡¯d like to see you.¡± ¡°Gu Beicheng?¡± After a moment of hesitation, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°I just happened to have something to tell him too. Allow him in.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Fan Shixin turned around to let Gu Beicheng in. Upon sight of Jin Qingyan, Gu Beicheng said, ¡°I went to look for you at your bridal chamber beforeing here. This ce is so well renovated, eh? Do you n to make this the new bridal chamber?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve guessed it. I was nning to look you up too, actually,¡± Jin Qingyan answered with a straight face. Gu Beicheng raised his brows in surprise. ¡°You were going to look for me?¡± ¡°Yes, I have something to tell you. Your family must know about this,¡± said Jin Qingyan, looking at Gu Beicheng in the eye. ¡°What is it about?¡± ¡°Xiaoning is still alive.¡± Staring at him, Gu Beicheng grimaced in bewilderment, momentarily speechless. Thinking that he must have been shocked, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°She¡¯s upstairs right now. Would you like me to bring her down?¡± ¡°She¡¯s upstairs?¡± Gu Beicheng was dumbfounded. If An Xiaoning was upstairs, then who was the person waiting for him outside? ¡°Bring her down to let me have a look then.¡± Gu Beicheng sat down on the couch, maintaining hisposure. Jin Qingyan motioned to Fan Shixin and instructed, ¡°Please ask her toe down.¡± ¡°Yes, Young Sir.¡± Gu Beicheng did not ask any further questions and continued to wait in puzzlement. A minuteter, footsteps could be heard from the stairs. Gu Beicheng was overwhelmed with perplexity as he stared at the woman who was making her way down slowly. ¡°Let me make a call.¡± Jin Qingyan did not react much, thinking that he was going to call the Gu family. Gu Beicheng gave An Xiaoning a call and said, ¡°Wait for me for a little while.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Gu Beicheng ended the call and stood up to walk towards Gu Xiaoning. Staring at the woman before him who looked exactly like An Xiaoning, he asked, ¡°You¡¯re An Xiaoning?¡± ¡°I am Gu Xiaoning. Myst name shall be ¡®Gu¡¯ from now on,¡± Gu Xiaoning answered. Gu Beicheng was appalled and dumbstruck to hear that they even had the same voice. Just what was going on? Was this a case of doppelgangers? However, Gu Beicheng knew clearly which one of them was the real An Xiaoning. ¡°Why is yourst name ¡®Gu¡¯? It¡¯s clearly ¡®An¡¯.¡± ¡°Qingyan wanted me to have thatst name.¡± ¡°You decided to take up thest name ¡®Gu¡¯ just because he wants you to. Are you that obedient andpliant towards him?¡± ¡°Of course, he¡¯s the man I love most.¡± She had answered without hesitation at all. If he had not known that the real An Xiaoning was alive beforehand, he would have really taken the imposter for the real deal. Even if they were identical twins, there was no way their voices would be exactly the same, unless she was a clone. ¡°Don¡¯t you have any questions?¡± asked Jin Qingyan, puzzled at Gu Beicheng¡¯s unusually calm reaction. ¡°Of course I have a lot to ask. Xiaoning clearly stopped breathing and passed away. Could you tell me what happened exactly?¡± Gu Beicheng answered. ¡°I used a special method to bring her back to life. Isn¡¯t it wonderful that she¡¯s alive? The other things shouldn¡¯t matter.¡± Gu Beicheng rubbed his nose lightly and said, ¡°That¡¯s true. I¡¯m really d to see that she¡¯s still alive.¡± ¡°By the way, why did youe to look for me at such ate hour?¡± Gu Beicheng shook his head and said, ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter anymore.¡± He then turned around to leave. Jin Qingyan was ill at ease as he watched Gu Beicheng¡¯s figure recede, thinking that thetter must have had something important to say since he dropped by so suddenly. Mei Yangyang and An Xiaoning¡¯s spirits were dampened as soon as Gu Beicheng emerged from the entrance. ¡°Sis, why did Mr. Gue out alone?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Gu Beicheng got into the car and turned around to say to An Xiaoning, ¡°I didn¡¯t tell him.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Mr. Gu, why didn¡¯t you tell him?¡± ¡°Xiaoning, there¡¯s a woman who looks exactly like you with Jin Qingyan right now. Even her voice is identical to yours. Her name is Gu Xiaoning. I asked her why herst name was ¡®Gu¡¯ and she answered that it was Jin Qingyan who gave her thatst name. I initially thought that Jin Qingyan knew about what happened when he first mentioned that you were alive. Yet, he actually showed me a replica of you,¡± Gu Beicheng exined. An Xiaoning felt her heart sink immediately. ¡°What do you mean? She looks exactly like me?¡± she asked in puzzlement. ¡°Yes, entirely identical. Her height, appearance, and even her voice are the same as yours. This is impossible even in the case of twins. I reckon it must be a clone.¡± ¡°I know what happened.¡± Reminded of the time when Xi Bi extracted her DNA, An Xiaoning exined, ¡°Xi Bi wanted to create an exact clone of me back then. But he waster killed by Jin Qingyan. I guess the clone must¡¯vended in the hands of Jin Qingyan.¡± ¡°Besides... this Gu Xiaoning seems to be here as your substitute and to rece all of your positions,¡± said Gu Beicheng. ¡°Rece me? Other than the fact that she¡¯s physically identical to me, can she really rece me in other aspects?¡± An Xiaoning scoffed. ¡°It¡¯s so infuriating! She¡¯s going to be my sister¡¯s imposter with that face of hers. Sis, let¡¯s go in right now. Mr. Jin will definitely get rid of that clone once he sees you!¡± Mei Yangyang protested. ¡°Xiaoning, do you want to go in?¡± Gu Beicheng asked. An Xiaoning¡¯s initial excitement and desire to see Jin Qingyan hadpletely vanished. She knew that it was not Jin Qingyan¡¯s fault. However, if she had really died, she could not help but feel uneasy and upset at the thought of her clone recing her and enjoying a blissful life with Jin Qingyan. It did not matter whether the woman was a clone or not ¨C he wanted someone else to rece An Xiaoning all the same. ¡°Let¡¯s go home.¡± ¡°Sis... as long as you go in now, Mr. Jin will definitely choose you,¡± Mei Yangyang said, trying to persuade her. ¡°Why must I make him choose me? Since he already has my recement with him now, my existence is practically redundant. I thought he would be devastated because of my death, but it seems he can just easily rece me with any woman who resembles me, doesn¡¯t it?¡± That was not the kind of man she wanted. In fact, she wanted to be irreceable in his heart! His one and only! ¡°Step on it,¡± said An Xiaoning as she leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes. Gu Beicheng started the engine and took a nce at her before driving back to the Gu family mansion. Upon arriving home, they exined the matter to the Gu family, who were greatly taken aback. ¡°I¡¯ll be wearing this bangle Beicheng had given me every day, from now onwards. I¡¯m leaving tomorrow,¡± said An Xiaoning, raising her wrist in the air. ¡°Xiaoning, why don¡¯t you stay home for a few more days?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, Mother. Although I spend all my time staying in the hospital, I¡¯m actually picking up a foreignnguage and learning how to take care of babies. I¡¯ll be making full use of my time. The next time I return, I¡¯ll be bringing the child back with me,¡± An Xiaoning said smilingly. ¡°Xiaoning, let me go there to apany you. Mother can¡¯t allow you to be alone abroad,¡± Mrs. Gu suggested. Chapter 320 - Reunion (15)

Chapter 320: Reunion (15)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Mother, you maye to visit me. But don¡¯t worry, I really won¡¯t feel lonely.¡± ¡°Alright, Beicheng and I as well as the rest will definitely visit you often. But first things first, I must be there to take care of you when you¡¯re nearing your due date. Parents ought to apany their daughter when she¡¯s going intobor,¡± said Mrs. Gu, who still found it unbelievable that An Xiaoning was still alive, as if it were all just a dream. ¡°Alright.¡± During bedtime, An Xiaoning said to Mei Yangyang, ¡°Yangyang, I¡¯ll be going back alone tomorrow. I can¡¯t keep wasting your time. Because of me, you¡¯ve been separated from Tianze for a period of time. It can¡¯t keep going on like this. Besides...¡± An Xiaoning sighed before continuing, ¡°I¡¯d like to get used to living by myself.¡± ¡°Sis...¡± ¡°Yangyang, I¡¯m really ufortable. I¡¯d like to tide through this alone.¡± Mei Yangyang held onto her hand and said, ¡°But I¡¯ll be worried about you being alone abroad.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, isn¡¯t there another An Xiaoning to rece me now? I can live alone with the child in peace. Manage the store for now. I n to sell it when I return from overseas, and we¡¯ll venture in something else after. Since we¡¯re not cash-strapped now, we don¡¯t have to spend too much time operating the store and can look for other things to do instead. For example, the film we invested in has helped us earn a huge sum. I do have ns to continue investing in films in the future.¡± ¡°Since you already have ns, I¡¯ll just follow you and do what you do in the future. Sis, you call the shots.¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s gettingte. Let¡¯s go to bed.¡± An Xiaoningid in bed and stared nkly at the ceiling, feeling a sudden sense of emptiness. Tears began to well up in her eyes. Well, life¡¯s as such. Before leaving, An Xiaoning made a trip to the police station while wearing her mask. The police were aware of the mishap she had met with. However, they knew nothing about her death. She arrived at the entrance of the Special Investigation Unit only to find that there was no one in the office. Thus, she decided to head to the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit. Just as she reached the door, she heard Police Officer Zhang berating Ma Jianguo, ¡°You¡¯ve been working for the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit for years. Yet, why are you still so ipetent? Your team leader has gone missing for days, and you¡¯ve also taken a break for as long as she has been away. It¡¯s been a while since youst worked. Haven¡¯t you rested enough yet?¡± ¡°Team Leader, it¡¯s not what you think...¡± ¡°What is it then? Ma Jianguo, let me tell you, you and Gong Le have been spoiled rotten by your team leader while you were at the Special Investigation Unit. You are to kick the bad habits you¡¯ve picked up there. Well, she¡¯s still a woman after all. As expected, she didn¡¯t do a good job at leading you guys,¡± Police Officer Zhang chided sternly. The pregnant An Xiaoning removed her mask and entered the room. ¡°Team Leader Zhang, you¡¯re really well-trained in berating my subordinates, aren¡¯t you?¡± said An Xiaoning. Police Officer Zhang was startled at her sudden appearance. ¡°It was Jianguo¡¯s fault for being ipetent at his job. I was just telling him off.¡± ¡°Oh, are you really just telling him off? You think I didn¡¯t hear what you said about me? It¡¯s true that I¡¯m a woman, but isn¡¯t it a proven fact that I¡¯m far more capable at solving cases than a man like you, Officer Zhang? What¡¯s the matter? I¡¯ve been nursing my pregnancy at home for the past few months and did not report to work here. Yet, the first thing I hear when Ie back is youshing out at my subordinates. Seems like my subordinates have been suffering a lot working under you while I was away.¡± ¡°Team Leader An, don¡¯t put it that way. I¡¯ve been treating Jianguo and Gong Le the same as my other subordinates.¡± ¡°Enough, you don¡¯t have to exin any further.¡± An Xiaoning motioned for her teammates and said, ¡°Come with me.¡± ¡°Yes, Team Leader!¡± Ma Jianguo eximed delightedly and zoomed towards her, Gong Le following closely behind. Before they even sat down upon reaching the office, Pan Zhenghui hurriedly entered. ¡°Goodness gracious, you¡¯re finally back. You were away for so long, yet you didn¡¯t even tell me. How willful of you.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve been spending all my time staying in the hospital. I didn¡¯t mean to be gone without a word. Chief, I have something to discuss with you,¡± said An Xiaoning, pointing at her belly. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going overseas tomorrow to nurse my pregnancy. So, I won¡¯t be able to work on cases until I deliver. But, I¡¯ve been holding up everyone¡¯s time while I was away for so long. Thus, I¡¯m willing to solve cases bymunicating with them and giving them instructions via onlinemunication tools. How does that sound?¡± ¡°Sounds good. Xiaoning, it¡¯s tough on you to still be concerned about solving cases when you¡¯re already pregnant. I agree to your suggestion.¡± ¡°Also, if you guys see me on the streets or anywhere else, don¡¯t initiate a conversation with me unless I greet you or talk to you first,¡± An Xiaoning instructed. ¡°Why?¡± asked a puzzled Pan Zhenghui. ¡°Um... here¡¯s the thing. I heard that there¡¯s a woman who has an uncanny resemnce to me. So, I just don¡¯t want you to get the wrong person.¡± ¡°Alright. Xiaoning, I always get in an exceptionally good mood whenever I see you. You¡¯re a special one,¡± Pan Zhenghui said smilingly. ¡°I¡¯m not special or extraordinary. Heaven is just being nice to me and blessing me with a good life,¡± An Xiaoning mocked herself. ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re living well. We all heard about the mishap you met with. Because there were no news of you at all for a long while, we all thought you... but it¡¯s all good now.¡± An Xiaoning let out a wry smile, keeping her sorrow to herself. ¡°By the way, since you said you¡¯d like to handle some cases, why don¡¯t you take over a case from the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit about a missing person? After some investigation, we found that the missing victim used to work at your clothing store. Is that true?¡± ¡°Used to? Is it Xu Jingwen?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Yes, her. We¡¯ve gotten some clues, but we¡¯ve yet to find any substantial evidence to prove it. So, we¡¯re handing the case over to you guys now,¡± said Pan Zhenghui. ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll inform the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit to bring the files over. Before I forget, you guys are missing a member since Zu Dong has gone undercover in the drug ring. Do you need me to transfer another officer here from the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, just transfer another armed police officer. When Zu Donges back, I¡¯ll let him join me again.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Pan Zhenghui agreed smilingly before exiting. ¡°Team Leader...¡± Ma Jianguo brushed his hand across his glossy hair and said, ¡°While you were away, we¡¯ve been suffering a lot of scolding every day. Please don¡¯t go missing without notice again. You¡¯re our superior, and we¡¯ll be left on our own when you¡¯re gone. Chief won¡¯t allow us to remain here to crack cases either. He¡¯ll just send us to the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit.¡± ¡°Yeah. We all missed you. Thanks to you, we got to enjoy a long break while you were away. But because of that, the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit have been bing more and more disgruntled,¡± Gong Le said, chuckling. ¡°No matter when or where you are, you¡¯ll only get to have a say if you¡¯re truly capable and worth something. We get to enjoy such privileges because we¡¯re efficient at cracking cases. So, from now onwards, I¡¯ll be giving you guys instructions online. It¡¯s going to be hard on you guys. You have to work well and cooperate with the new armed policeman when the Chief transfers him here.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Chapter 321 - Reunion (16)

Chapter 321: Reunion (16)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In no time, the personnel from the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit arrived with all the information of the case regarding Xu Jingwen. An Xiaoning¡¯s flight was scheduled in the afternoon. Thus, she decided to use the spare time to go through the case details all over again. ¡°From what I know about Chi Rui¡¯er, this matter definitely has something to do with her. Let¡¯s nail her as the suspect,¡± An Xiaoning said straight away after she was done reading. ¡°But, Team Leader, after some investigation, we discovered that Xu Jingwen has a penchant for being a homewrecker. She¡¯s had an affair with Shi Shaochuan previously. Thus, we can¡¯t eliminate the possibility that Jin Qingyue might also have been the one.¡± ¡°Xu Jingwen had ended things with Shi Shaochuan a long while ago. Her rtionship with Gu Dongcheng was still fresh. I personally know everyone involved in this matter. I can¡¯t help but say Shi Shaochuan is truly a leopard that never changes its spots. I knew he would have an extramarital affair,¡± An Xiaoning said in defense of her stand. After analyzing the conversation between Gu Dongcheng and Chi Rui¡¯er, An Xiaoning deduced, ¡°Since Chi Rui¡¯er admitted that she already knew about it, she must¡¯ve been involved. Don¡¯t ask me why ¨C Chi Rui¡¯er has tried to harm me in many different ways before. Gu Dongcheng lives in a luxurious estate. How is it possible that the surveince cameras were faulty at the time? I¡¯m very certain the staff were bribed. Let¡¯s begin investigating from here.¡± ¡°But there¡¯s nothing we can do if they insist that it was faulty.¡± ¡°We can try scaring them. Tell the staff in charge of managing the estate that Chi Rui¡¯er has already been arrested and she has confessed to bribing him. If he had really been bribed, then he would definitely be shocked and terrified. However, if he appears calm andposed, then we¡¯ll have to search for other clues from elsewhere. I¡¯m flying off in the afternoon. Before that, let¡¯s head to Xu Jingwen¡¯s residence, and you guys shall do what I instruct you to in the afternoon.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Just as the trio were about to leave, the newly-transferred armed policeman arrived to report at their office. It was an extremely young chap. ¡°Hello, Sis Xiaoning, Uncle Jianguo, Brother Gong Le.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you call me ¡®Brother¡¯ too?¡± Ma Jianguo said in displeasure. ¡°You¡¯re old enough to be my father. Wouldn¡¯t it be a little inappropriate to call you ¡®Brother¡¯?¡± An Xiaoning snorted withughter and teased, ¡°Just do it before Brother Ma gets angry.¡± ¡°Yes, Brother Jianguo. My name is Ding Liang and I¡¯m 22 years old. I just graduated from the Police Academy,¡± Ding Liang introduced with a grin. ¡°Okay. Come with us, Ding Liang. While we¡¯re on our way there, let Brother Ma exin to you the details of the case we¡¯re currently working on,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Alright!¡± The police car began driving out from the entrance. Gong Le was behind the wheel while An Xiaoning sat in the passenger seat. Ma Jianguo took the backseat together with Ding Liang. When the car came to a halt at the traffic junction, An Xiaoning caught a sudden glimpse of a white Bentley opposite them. She took a closer look to see that there was no one inside the car. She then shifted her gaze to the license te on the front of the car. It was the license te number of Jin Qingyan¡¯s car. An Xiaoning froze in shock and quickly lowered herself in the seat. ¡°Sis Xiaoning, are you unwell?¡± Gong Le asked worriedly. ¡°I¡¯m fine, keep driving.¡± The traffic lights turned green, and Gong Le began driving again slowly. An Xiaoning raised her head slowly after deciding that they had gone far enough. Why was she so afraid of being seen by him when she did not do anything wrong? Just why did she react that way? An Xiaoning wrapped her clothes tightly around herself as a million thoughts flooded her mind. They finally arrived at the estate. The team of four entered the rented apartment Xu Jingwen used to live in, which was still unupied at the moment. An Xiaoning scanned her surroundings but did not find Xu Jingwen¡¯s spirit. The apartment was cleaned up thoroughly. An Xiaoning took another look around the house before leaving with her colleagues, whom she then gave instructions to. __ ¡°I heard from Yangyang that she came back today. Is she home now?¡± asked Long Tianze, who showed up at Mei Yangyang¡¯s doorstep with some gifts. ¡°She went out to buy some groceries. Why don¡¯t you try giving her a call?¡± Mr. Mei answered. ¡°I tried, but the call couldn¡¯t get through.¡± ¡°Her mobile phone might be charging then. Pleasee in and have a seat,¡± Mr. Mei told him in wee. Long Tianze entered through the door and ced the gifts onto the table before asking, ¡°The medical technology overseas is far more advancedpared to that of our country. How did Auntie¡¯s treatment in an overseas hospital go?¡± Mr. Mei shook his head and answered, ¡°Overseas? Your Auntie has always been at home, she didn¡¯t go abroad.¡± Raising his brows in bewilderment, Long Tianze said, ¡°She didn¡¯t? Didn¡¯t Yangyang bring Auntie overseas for two months to get treated?¡± ¡°Did Yangyang say that?¡± asked a puzzled Mr. Mei, who then seemed to be reminded of something. ¡°Oh... Yangyang did mention bringing your Auntie abroad for treatment, but I didn¡¯t agree to it,¡± he added. Long Tianze began to sense something seriously amiss. At this very juncture, Mei Yangyang returned home. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you brought Auntie overseas to receive treatment? Uncle said she didn¡¯t go.¡± Mei Yangyang was shocked to realize that her lie had been exposed. ¡°Yeah, she didn¡¯t. I went on a solo trip to rest and rx. I didn¡¯t want you guys to worry about me,¡± she exined, chuckling. She had lied once again to cover up her previous lie. However, it was a harmless white lie. If it were not for the sudden twist of events the night before, she would have told him the truth. Upon hearing her exnation, Mr. Mei said, ¡°You silly child. You told me that you went on a vacation with Tianze, but it turns out you went alone.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Come with me,¡± said Long Tianze, who stepped outside. Mei Yangyang put her basket down and followed him outside to his car. ¡°I¡¯ll apany you if you want to go on a vacation. How could you lie to your father and me?¡± Long Tianze chided. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, okay? Don¡¯t you have something you¡¯re hiding from me too?¡± said Mei Yangyang, hugging his arm. ¡°No.¡± Mei Yangyang decided not to expose him, even though she knew that he was aware of the clone. ¡°We haven¡¯t seen each other in a long time, did you miss me?¡± Long Tianze turned around and answered, ¡°I¡¯ll let my actions do the talking.¡± He eagerly pulled her into a kiss, taking Mei Yangyang¡¯s breath away. mes of passion began burning in her heart. After not seeing each other in so long, they simply could not keep their hands off each other. The pair of lovebirds were practically inseparable. They ended the passionate French kiss, both panting heavily in arousal. Staring at her affectionately, Long Tianze said, ¡°You promised earlier that you would give yourself to me if the movie we filmed bes a hit. Yangyang, I want you. Give yourself to me.¡± Mei Yangyang¡¯s heart began to flutter upon hearing his words. She threw her arms around his neck in a moment of excitement and said, ¡°Tianze, let¡¯s get married.¡± Long Tianze lit up in surprise, as if he had just heard the best thing ever. ¡°You really want to marry me?¡± ¡°During the time that I was abroad, you were the person I missed the most. I do want to marry you, but I doubt your parents would be willing to ept me as their daughter-inw. So, I¡¯d like to see your sincerity. To me, my chastity would be the best gift to my husband. I¡¯d like to save it for my husband.¡± ¡°My parents may not ept you, but I ept you with all my heart. How about I try stealing my household register and we sneakily register our marriage?¡± Long Tianze said smilingly. ¡°What if you don¡¯t manage to steal it? By the way, it¡¯s allowed in our country to register our marriage using our passports instead.¡± Chapter 322 - Reunion (17)

Chapter 322: Reunion (17)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Although we¡¯re allowed to register our marriage using our passports, my mother had instructed the Civil Administrative Office to restrict me from doing so, precisely because she¡¯s aware of this possible method. Qingyan and Ciye also suffer the same fate as me. But don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be able to steal it. I know where my mother keeps the registers.¡± Feeling uncertain about his suggestion, Mei Yangyang said, ¡°If you manage to get a hold of it and we manage to register our marriage sessfully, wouldn¡¯t your parents detest me even more when they find out?¡± ¡°Their opinion doesn¡¯t matter. What matters is I¡¯m in love with you. Besides, by the time things are set in stone and we give them a grandchild, there¡¯s nothing they can do regardless of how strongly they are against our marriage.¡± ¡°Your parents are going to kill you!¡± Mei Yangyang jested, punching him yfully. ¡°Well that¡¯s too bad. I don¡¯t mind being beaten to death as long as I get to be with you. But they won¡¯t be able to bear it. I¡¯m their only son, after all.¡± Mei Yangyang smiled and agreed, ¡°Alright, you shall go steal the register.¡± Long Tianze nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll go home now.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Mei Yangyang alighted and headed back inside her house. ¡°Yangyang... why didn¡¯t you tell me that you went overseas alone? You¡¯re really so worrying,¡± Mr. Mei chided. ¡°Father, did you forget that I¡¯ve trained in martial arts at a boot camp before? Rest assured, your daughter is no pushover,¡± Mei Yangyang assured him with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ll still be worried about you being alone abroad no matter how skilled you may be. Was Tianze angry?¡± Mr. Mei asked. ¡°No. Father, please bring me the household register.¡± ¡°What do you need it for? Don¡¯t tell me you want to...¡± Mr. Mei asked, immediately sensing that something was up. ¡°I want to register my marriage with Tianze.¡± Mr. Mei was momentarily stunned beyond speech. ¡°Marriage?¡± he gasped in shock. ¡°Yes, I want to marry him.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t meddle in your marriage, but Yangyang, you have to think twice before you decide. Our family and his are worlds apart in terms of social and economic status. He¡¯s the only son of a wealthy family. You¡¯re bound to have a hard time if you marry him,¡± Mr. Mei said earnestly. ¡°Hey, Father, you¡¯ve underestimated your daughter. I won¡¯t allow myself to suffer or get bullied. After spending so much time with Sis Xiaoning, I¡¯ve been influenced by her independence and bravery. I will protect myself. Although I¡¯m marrying him, I¡¯ll still continue to work hard and earn my own keep. I will remain financially independent and support you and Mother with my own ie,¡± Mei Yangyang said smilingly. ¡°If only Shuangshuang were half as sensible as you are, I¡¯ll be able to rest my mind,¡± said Mr. Mei, who was moved by her words. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen Shuangshuang since I got back. What has she been busy withtely?¡± ¡°No idea. She rarelyes home. I don¡¯t know what she¡¯s up totely.¡± ¡°Whatever, she has already gotten out of hand anyway. Let¡¯s leave her be. Father, hurry and give me my household register.¡± ¡°Okay, okay, I¡¯ll get it for you right away.¡± Mei Yangyang followed her father into his bedroom gleefully. ¡°Here,¡± said Mr. Mei as he handed her the register. ¡°Thank you, Father.¡± Mei Yangyang then returned to her bedroom to ce the register inside her bag while waiting for Long Tianze¡¯s news. Meanwhile, Long Tianze arrived home to find that his father was not in and his mother was ying a game of ¡°Fighting the Landlord¡± in her bedroom. Upon sight of him, Mrs. Long remarked, ¡°How rare of you to be home in the day.¡± ¡°I missed you, that¡¯s why I came back to see you. What¡¯s wrong with that? Mother, why have you been so interested in ¡®Fighting the Landlord¡¯tely? Did you stop attending line dance sessions with those aunties?¡± Long Tianze asked as he sat down beside her. ¡°I¡¯m bored at home with nothing to do anyway. I¡¯ve gotten used to your tricks. Shoot, what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Nothing, I just decided to drop by to have a look since I took the day off from work.¡± Long Tianze took a look around Mrs. Long¡¯s bedroom and began brainstorming for a way to get his mother to leave the room. ¡°Son, why don¡¯t you go shopping with me? We haven¡¯t gone shopping together in a long while,¡± Mrs. Long suggested. An idea popped up in Long Tianze¡¯s mind as he quickly answered, ¡°Sure, why don¡¯t you go take a shower, change into a fresh set of clothes, and put on some makeup before we leave? Doll yourself up and get ready to go shopping with me.¡± ¡°I just showeredst night. I¡¯m wearing a fresh set of clothes now too. I do need to put on some makeup, though. Wait for me while I go do my makeup.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Long Tianze agreed with a nod. He watched as she entered the bathroom to wash up. Long Tianze then quickly opened a drawer at the bottom of her bed and rummaged through the items inside. His eyes lit up with joy at the sight of the register booklet. He took it out right away and pushed the drawer back gently before cing the booklet into the inner pocket of his suit. Mrs. Long came out of the bathroom to see that Long Tianze was answering a phone call. ¡°Yes, alright, got it.¡± Long Tianze then swiped on the screen of his mobile phone and pretended to end the call before saying to Mrs. Long, ¡°Mother, I¡¯m afraid we can¡¯t go shopping. There¡¯s something urgent for me to attend to at the office.¡± ¡°I knew it. It always happens,¡± said Mrs. Long with disappointment written all over her face. ¡°I promise I¡¯ll apany you to go shopping next time. Mother, I¡¯ll be heading back to the office then.¡± ¡°Go ahead. I¡¯ll continue ying ¡®Fight the Landlord¡¯,¡± Mrs. Long conceded as she waved him goodbye. Long Tianze zoomed out of his house excitedly and continued to remain in a state of agitation even after he got into the car. Marriage was a huge deal to him. It had never urred to him in the past that he would ever get married at the young age of 25. Yet, now that he was actually about to register his marriage, he did not feel a tinge of hesitation or uncertainty about his choice to marry Mei Yangyang. Not in the least bit at all. At the moment, he was not quite sure what it was that he felt for Mei Yangyang. He simply adored her and wanted to marry her, though he had no idea if he loved her or not. However, she must have mattered the world to him, for him to feel such a strong urge and desire to marry her. He whipped his mobile phone out to send Mei Yangyang a text message which read: ¡°Bring along your household register. I¡¯ll see you at the Civil Administration Office.¡± How efficient of him! Mei Yangyang thought to herself upon reading the message. She quickly strode out of the entrance of her house with her household register and made her way to the Civil Administration Office in a taxi. As soon as she alighted, she was greeted with the sight of Long Tianze, who was standing there and waiting for her. He was d in a ck suit while she coincidentally had on a white cardigan. They were clearly dressed toplement each other. Long Tianze stepped forward to hold her hand, after which they made their way inside the Civil Administration Office with their fingers interlocked. Due to the fact that he was wearing a pair of shades and a surgical mask, which she also had on, no one could recognize them clearly. They filled in the form ordingly with their details and proceeded to have their photo taken against a red background. Pangs of worry and nervousness filled Mei Yangyang while they waited by the window to collect their certificate of marriage. ¡°Thankfully, there¡¯s not much of a crowd at the moment. Otherwise, we¡¯re going to make it on the news if someone were to recognize us. Your parents will find out then. I actually don¡¯t wish to let your parents know about it too soon.¡± ¡°They will find out sooner orter. I¡¯m not too worried though. We¡¯re already married anyway. What can they do?¡± Long Tianze said nonchntly, appearingpletely calm and unfazed. Chapter 323 - Reunion (18)

Chapter 323: Reunion (18)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mei Yangyang chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± After receiving their newly-minted marriage certificate, which came in a red booklet, they skipped out of the Civil Administration Office merrily, beaming with joy. Staring at the marriage certificate while riding in the passenger seat, Mei Yangyang groused, ¡°We¡¯re husband and wife now, but you didn¡¯t even propose to me. In fact, I was the one who brought up the idea of getting married. Now that I think about it, we really got married rather casually. It almost seems like I was really desperate to marry you.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t propose to you but I asked for you to love me. Although we registered our marriage in advance, I will still prepare a marriage proposal for you. There¡¯ll be a ring and a house, as well as a wedding gown. Let¡¯s decide on those together. Oh, and let¡¯s not forget the bridal shoot. We have to get our wedding photos taken.¡± Mei Yangyang nodded in agreement. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m really looking forward to our little family.¡± ¡°I look forward to being able to enjoy the meals you cook every day too. From today onwards, we¡¯ll be a married couple. I¡¯m your husband and you¡¯re my wife,¡± said Long Tianze, giving her a kiss on her forehead. Mei Yangyang grabbed his hand tightly as they held each other¡¯s gazes with a look of bliss and happiness in their eyes. ¡°Let¡¯s buy a house now. Which estate do you wish to live in?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a preference. It doesn¡¯t matter which estate. You decide.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t we pick a house in Wei Ni Estate? That estate belongs to Qingyan, and there are a few vis that are currently unupied. The one opposite his is very beautiful. It just happens to be near him too. Let¡¯s get that for our bridal chamber,¡± Long Tianze suggested. ¡°Sure,¡± Mei Yangyang agreed. ¡°Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll bring you to have a look.¡± Long Tianze drove her to Wei Ni Estate, and Jin Qingyan happened to be at home. Jin Qingyan was surprised to hear that Long Tianze was interested in purchasing the vi opposite him. ¡°Why do you need such arge vi when you¡¯ll be living alone?¡± ¡°Who said I¡¯ll be alone? My wife and future kids are going to be living with me.¡± ¡°Are you going to make it your bridal chamber?¡± ¡°Ta-da! Look, it¡¯s my marriage certificate! Yangyang and I just registered our marriage.¡± Greatly taken aback, Jin Qingyan grabbed the marriage certificate from Long Tianze and took a look to discover that it was really the case. ¡°Did your parents agree to let you get married?¡± he asked. ¡°They don¡¯t know yet.¡± ¡°How did you get married then?¡± ¡°I stole the household register. I¡¯ll just return it to my motherter. Your buddy is a married man now. Do you think you could help me settle into a love nest?¡± Long Tianze asked gleefully. ¡°Tell him all the passwords to the vi opposite,¡± Jin Qingyan instructed Fan Shixin. ¡°Alright. Please wait a minute, Mr. Long. Let me go get the file records.¡± ¡°Alright. How much does the vi cost? I¡¯ll transfer the sum to your bank ountter,¡± Long Tianze asked. ¡°You should know the market prices. Someone once offered me a price of 90 million dors, but I rejected it. Well, since it¡¯s you, I¡¯ll sell it to you at half-price. You may just give me 40 million dors.¡± Grinning widely from ear to ear, Long Tianze stepped forward to give Jin Qingyan a pat on his shoulder and said, ¡°That¡¯s what I call a good buddy whom I grew up with.¡± ¡°The decor in the vi is rather basic and simple. You may renovate it properly aftering up with a nice sketch. I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll look beautiful.¡± ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll go have a look with my wife then.¡± ¡°Alright, go ahead.¡± Long Tianze held Mei Yangyang¡¯s hand and followed Fan Shixin to the vi opposite. The vi was rather spacious, and there was a garden in the yard that wasrge enough for cultivating some vegetables. After taking a look around the house, Mei Yangyang began to imagine her ideal interior design. ¡°Hubby, shall we renovate it ording to a nautical theme?¡± Long Tianze lit up in joy upon hearing her call him ¡°Hubby,¡± which was just like music to his ears. ¡°Honey, you call the shots from now on. We¡¯ll go with your decisions.¡± ¡ª An Xiaoning received the news of Mei Yangyang getting married only after she touched down. Mei Yangyang also mentioned in her text message to An Xiaoning that they would be moving in to the vi opposite Jin Qingyan¡¯s. An Xiaoning was rather taken aback by the piece of news but still congratted her nheless. She also promised that she would attend their wedding. However, Mei Yangyang said that they would not be holding a wedding for now because Long Tianze¡¯s parents had yet to learn about their marriage. Thus, they were nning to take things a step at a time. An Xiaoning carried her luggage and made her way to the hospital ward alone. Just as sheid down in bed, she received an update from Ma Jianguo. They managed to hoax the management staff in Gu Dongcheng¡¯s estate into spilling the truth. As expected, Chi Rui¡¯er had indeed bribed him with a sum of money to delete the surveince camera footage. The staff was brought to the police station, and they have begun searching for Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s whereabouts. An Xiaoning instructed them to contact her once they¡¯d found Chi Rui¡¯er. After having her meal, she went to the rooftop of the hospital alone. The gentle breeze caressed her face as she sat on the rooftop to gaze at her surroundings. An Xiaoning stared at the wallpaper on her mobile phone, which was a photo of Jin Qingyan. Her heart was filled with immense sorrow at the sight of him. From now onwards, she would be living alone with her child, and they¡¯d be dependent on each other. In order to keep this child, she would have to stay in the hospital throughout the course of her pregnancy and receive a daily shot of tocolytic. All she wanted was to deliver the child safely and bring him or her into this world. They would be a family once the child was born. So what if they didn¡¯t have a man? She would still continue to live on well. When she meets Jin Qingyan again in the future, she would greet him like an old friend and tell him, ¡°Long time no see.¡± In reality, she had a lot to say to him. However, she kept it all to herself and resisted the urge to tell him what was on her mind. For instance, she wanted to tell him: ¡°Jin Qingyan, did you know? I¡¯m willing to go through thick and thin with you and brave through all storms together. But, I will never tolerate the idea of being reced by anyone or anything in this world.¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan, did you know? Love is selfish. If you could easily rece me with another woman who looks exactly like me, this is not the kind of love I¡¯m looking for.¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan, did you know? I, An Xiaoning, will continue to live on well even without a man.¡± ... ¡ª Mei Yangyang and Long Tianze were in a room on the twelfth storey of Shui Lou Estate. Tonight was the night they would consummate their marriage, the very night he had been looking forward to for a long time. Mei Yangyang came out of the bathroom d in a bathrobe. Long Tianze, who had showered before her, was lying in bed and waiting for her with a ss of wine in hand. ¡°Come here.¡± He ced the ss onto the table and gestured for her to approach. Blushing with shyness, Mei Yangyang inched forward slowly in an awkward manner. As she reached the bedside, he picked her up and carried her onto the bed. ¡°It sure was hard to get intimate with you. You¡¯re too chaste and conservative. If only everyone was like you.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you conservative as well? Or have you already had a lot of experience before?¡± Mei Yangyang retorted. ¡°Of course not...¡± Long Tianze let out a cough and looked down at her cherry-red lips before saying softly, ¡°I¡¯ming for you.¡± Mei Yangyang closed her eyes and froze in nervousness the moment he nted a kiss on her soft and gentle lips. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, I¡¯ll be gentle,¡± said Long Tianze as he pulled away and gazed at her from above. Chapter 324 - Reunion (19)

Chapter 324: Reunion (19)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mei Yangyang squinted and said, ¡°Okay, be more gentle.¡± Long Tianze smiled sweetly at her and kissed her again on her forehead, cheeks, and earlobe. His unique scent wafted up into her nose. Mei Yangyang¡¯s eyes began to ss over as sheid down and gazed at him adoringly, overwhelmed with burning passion and desire. ¡°Hubby, I¡¯m willing to spend the rest of my life with you. Actually, when I agreed to be your girlfriend, I already decided that you were the one I¡¯m going to marry,¡± Mei Yangyang said, although she was still rather shy. If she¡¯d been someone else, Long Tianze would probably snigger at her for taking marriage so seriously in such a modern society. However, she was special to him. Unlike other girls, she had a very traditional mindset and was insistent on saving her chastity for the man whom she deemed worthy of her love. He was well aware of that fact. Thus, he never tried to force her into premarital sex as he was afraid of letting her down. Now, he was certain that she was the one he wanted to build a family and grow old with. Even when they were old and gray, he would still be willing to spend his remaining days with her. He buried his chin into her decolletage and whispered sweet nothings into her ear. ¡°Yangyang, I genuinely want to be with you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all I needed to hear, Hubby.¡± They lost track of time, which flew by quickly. Before they even realized, an entire night had passed. Long Tianze woke up before she did in the morning. He pulled the duvet over her and gave her a gentle peck on her cheek. ¡°Honey, I¡¯ve given you my chastity, it¡¯s up to you to decide if you want to take responsibility for the rest of your life.¡± ¡°Hubby, I¡¯ve given mine to you too. To be honest, I didn¡¯t think it would be your first as well. Don¡¯t tell me you were pretending to be a virgin?¡± Long Tianze seemed to be in high spirits as his initial pent-up fury vanished. ¡°I swear to Heaven that that was my very first time. Are you hungry? I¡¯ll go buy you something to eat.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After watching him leave, Mei Yangyang forced herself to sit up straight although her muscles were aching all over. She bit her arm to confirm that it was not just a dream. She was married. She now had a husband and a home of her own! She tossed and turned in bed with joy and excitement, as if those were the only way she could rejoice at the fact that she had finally found her happiness. After expressing her euphoria, she quietened down andid back onto the bed. She began to recall all the ups and downs she had had with Long Tianze since the day they met. They were truly bittersweet memories. Fortunately, she had managed to conquer his heart, and nothing else mattered more than that. ¡ª ¡°Young Sir, after tailing Ms. Mo¡¯s parents continuously, we also discovered that they don¡¯t visit anywhere else apart from that pregnantdy¡¯s home. They¡¯ve never been to ces like the graveyard either.¡± Ye Xiaotian was thrown into a state of bewilderment. Could they have cremated her and kept her ashes in an urn at home ? he wondered. But just how is that pregnant woman rted to them? ¡°Go find out what that pregnant woman has to do with them.¡± ¡°Young Sir, is that important?¡± asked his puzzled assistant. ¡°It¡¯s not important, I¡¯m just curious.¡± ¡°Got it. I will get to it right away.¡± Ye Xiaotian opened the drawer and took out a photo frame, which contained a photo of him and Mo Li. Ye Xiaotian was filled with sorrow as he stared at the photo intently, gently brushing his fingers against Mo Li¡¯s face on the photograph. If she were still here, their child would have been due for delivery anytime soon now. It was five o¡¯clock in the evening when the assistant returned. ¡°Young Sir,¡± the assistant greeted as he entered the room. ¡°Did you find anything?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve asked around, and many of the vigers imed that Mo Xun¡¯s sister was living in that house. Due to the fact that it was difficult to obtain potable water in the countryside, Mo Xun would have to bring her water very frequently. If that¡¯s the case, does that mean Mo Xun has two sisters?¡± A frown creased Ye Xiaotian¡¯s forehead. He stood up immediately and said, ¡°He only has one sister. I¡¯ll go take a look myself.¡± ¡°Young Sir, it¡¯s gettingte. Go tomorrow instead.¡± ¡°I want to go right now.¡± He had to take a look for himself and see if the woman was indeed Mo Xun¡¯s sister. Could it be that Mo Li was still alive? Ye Xiaotian was again filled with agitation at the thought of the possibility. The entire situation seemed extremely fishy. If she were truly dead, why didn¡¯t her parents visit her at her grave? Even if she was cremated, why wasn¡¯t it found in the records at the crematorium? The sky had almost turned dark by the time they arrived at the vige. The vige was surrounded by mountains and rivers. From where he was standing, he could see a small vige along the waters below him. Although it was almost March, the temperature at night was still rather chilly, especially since the vige was located near the mountains. ¡°Is this the ce?¡± Ye Xiaotian asked with a frown. ¡°Yes, we¡¯re here,¡± answered the assistant, who was grabbing onto his jacket tightly and shivering from the cold. The car was parked at the vige entrance. Ye Xiaotian and his assistant alighted and walked towards the vige. As soon as they arrived, they chanced upon the sight of a woman¡¯s silhouette. ¡°Young Sir, she seems to be the pregnant woman we saw previously,¡± said the assistant, who managed to recognize Xiao Song immediately. Ye Xiaotian put on a surgical mask and began following Xiao Song quietly. Noticing that she had entered the door of another house, the assistant immediately eximed in astonishment, ¡°Young Sir, she was the one who answered the door of the house opposite previously.¡± ¡°Where does Mo Xun¡¯s sister live exactly?¡± ¡°She lives just opposite. Not the house that that woman just entered.¡± Ye Xiaotian did not utter a word and began walking towards Xiao Song¡¯s doorstep right away. The main door was left slightly ajar and was not locked. He pushed the door open and entered. Upon hearing the noises outside the door, Xiao Song came out of her room to see that there were two men standing before her in her house. In a moment of panic, she asked, ¡°You are...?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to find out some things from you. Do you live opposite?¡± Xiao Song shook her head and answered, ¡°No, I live here. What¡¯s the matter?¡± Staring at herrge baby bump, Ye Xiaotian asked, ¡°May I ask, who lives opposite then?¡± ¡°What are you asking these for?¡± asked Xiao Song, who was on her guard. ¡°Well, my mother asked me to bring something here for my rtive. I¡¯m not sure if she¡¯s moved opposite.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the name of your rtive?¡± After a moment of hesitation, Ye Xiaotian answered, ¡°Mo Li.¡± Xiao Song eased up and let her guard down at the instant that she heard his answer. ¡°Oh, I see. She lives right opposite. You may go ahead.¡± Ye Xiaotian and his assistant looked at each other in shock and dismay upon hearing her words. ¡°Does Mo Li really live opposite?¡± Ye Xiaotian asked, not allowing his emotions to show. ¡°Yes, Mo Li does live opposite. Aren¡¯t you going to look for her?¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Ye Xiaotian turned around to leave while his assistant followed closely behind. After exiting the gate of Xiao Song¡¯s house, Ye Xiaotian stood in front of Mo Li¡¯s doorstep, overwhelmed with surprise. Noticing that Ye Xiaotian had been holding himself back from knocking on the door, the assistant asked, ¡°Young Sir, would you like me to knock on the door?¡± ¡°Wait... a minute,¡± Ye Xiaotian declined. The assistant had never seen such behavior from Ye Xiaotian before. Under the dim yellow rays of dusk, Ye Xiaotian appeared to be rather agitated and unable to contain his emotions, unlike his usual cool and collected self. He stood rooted to the ground outside the door for a full five minutes. Ye Xiaotian finally decided to knock on the door slowly. He continued to give it a few more knocks, growing more and more eager to see her with each knock. That damned woman, how dare she fool him! Chapter 325 - Reunion (20)

Chapter 325: Reunion (20)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mo Li was startled by the sudden knocking on the door. She was just about to go to bed. Since she was almost at the end of her pregnancy, her huge and heavy baby bump made it difficult for her to move about. Dragging her feet along the way, she opened her bedroom door and walked towards the entrance of her house. She slowed down upon reaching the entrance and called out loud, ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± The familiar voice made Ye Xiaotian¡¯s heart race as he quickly shot his assistant a look, signalling for him to speak up. ¡°I was sent by Mo Xun to bring you something.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Mo Li opened the door and almost fainted at the sight of Ye Xiaotian, who was standing before her. ¡°Sorry, Ms. Mo, I didn¡¯t mean to lie,¡± the assistant apologized as he retreated backwards. Mo Li did not utter a single word and tried to close the door immediately, only to be taken aback by Ye Xiaotian, who stopped her and forced his way inside. Mo Li had no choice but to turn around and walk away. However, Ye Xiaotian quickly rushed forward and hugged her tightly in his arms. ¡°I thought I was dreaming. Mo Li, you¡¯re the most evil woman on this earth. How could you lie to me like that?¡± Mo Li tried to free herself from his embrace, but to no avail. Thus, she retorted bluntly, ¡°I lied to you? Did I? I was just trying to save myself from the brink of death.¡± ¡°What do you mean the brink of death? My mother stopped forcing me,¡± said Ye Xiaotian. ¡°That¡¯s because you married Ms. Lin ording to her wishes. Of course she¡¯d stop forcing you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already divorced Lin Mingxi. My mother also agreed to stop forcing me and allow me to marry whomever I want from now on.¡± ¡°How is that any of my business?¡± Gazing at her belly, which was as round as a ball, Ye Xiaotian answered, ¡°Of course it¡¯s your business. We¡¯re the parents of this child. We should give him or her aplete family. Mo Li,e home with me. Let¡¯s get married.¡± Mo Li faced away from him and eximed in displeasure, ¡°You¡¯re always the one deciding and calling the shots. What right have you got to do that? Ye Xiaotian, I don¡¯t want to be manipted by you anymore!¡± Ye Xiaotian burst intoughter at the sight of an enraged Mo Li. Despite her struggling, he picked her up forcefully and lowered her onto the bed. ¡°Ye Xiaotian, just what do you want?¡± ¡°I just want to be together with you, nothing else.¡± ¡°If I insist on living here on the mountains for the rest of my life, are you going to remain here too?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what I¡¯m nning to do.¡± Ye Xiaotian closed the bedroom door while the assistant yelled, ¡°Young Sir, where am I going to sleep?¡± ¡°Just find a random ce,¡± Ye Xiaotian replied to brush him off and crawled onto the bed shamelessly before pulling Mo Li into an embrace. ¡°Ye Xiaotian, get lost! Have you got no shame at all? You¡¯re so thick-skinned!¡± Mo Li snapped in exasperation. ¡°No, why do I need shame? I can¡¯t live on it anyway. Neither is it going to bring you into my arms.¡± ¡°Will you truly be happy only after you¡¯ve driven me to my grave? Or would you like to die with me?¡± Mo Li questioned, instantly regretting her words. Ye Xiaotian remained silent for a moment before saying, ¡°I will protect you from now on. I won¡¯t let you die. Go to sleep. Don¡¯t dwell on it, I won¡¯t force you.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re forcing me right now.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what you think. I don¡¯t think I¡¯m forcing you. Mo Li, I¡¯ve fallen in love with you. I want to be with you and our child forever from now on. I will treat you well. Okay?¡± said Ye Xiaotian, sounding a little like he was begging her. Mo Li¡¯s body stiffened with uneasiness. She dared not move an inch or utter a word. His minty yet pleasant scent wafted up to her nose. She tried to stop herself from thinking about the things that happened, yet, images of the past repeatedly shed across her mind. Mo Li concluded that those were traumatic memories that she could never forget. She turned over slowly. Now that she was pregnant, she could not engage in any rough intercourse with Ye Xiaotian. In fact, a pragmatic question popped up in her mind. How was she going to answer her child when he or she asks about his or her father? Or should she just tell the child that his or her father had passed away a long time ago? All she could offer her child was her never-ending maternal love. No matter how much she tried, she will never be able to make up for theck of paternal love. Besides, the child would need a proper status as well. She could not allow him or her to develop an inferiorityplex for being fatherless since birth. Mo Li let out a soft sigh as she med herself for thinking only about herself. She had never once spared a thought for the child. Noticing that she was remaining silent, Ye Xiaotian did not speak further and continued to hold her in his arms quietly. They then spent the rest of the night lying together on the same bed. Before they knew it, it was daybreak, and sounds of roosters crowing could be hearding from outside. Mo Li turned to her side and touched the spot beside her on her bed, only to realize that it was cold and empty. She opened her eyes immediately and scanned her surroundings. Indeed, Ye Xiaotian was nowhere to be found. Could he have left early in the morning? the confused Mo Li wondered to herself. She put on her clothes and bedroom slippers before getting out of bed. It began raining outside. The cold raindrops fell from the sky onto the muddy ground. All of a sudden, Mo Li noticed that there were heavy fumesing from the kitchen. Mo Li was shocked with horror and quickly rushed to the kitchen without bothering to bring an umbre. She initially thought that a fire had broken out. To her surprise, she was greeted with an amusing sight that made her burst intoughter. Ye Xiaotian was standing amongst the thick fumes and lowering his back to blow at the stove with all his might, in hopes of re-igniting the fire. However, he was huffing and puffing with too much force, thus causing the amount of smoke to increase instead of rekindling the me. ¡°What are you doing?¡± With his head and face covered in soot, Ye Xiaotian turned around to look at her before answering, ¡°I¡¯m trying to cook, but the me is rather difficult to ignite. It would extinguish moments after I light it up, every single time.¡± Mo Li walked towards him and said, ¡°Let me do it.¡± Ye Xiaotian had no choice but to move aside. He could not help but feel a little awkward and embarrassed upon seeing how Mo Li managed to rekindle the me so effortlessly with just a gentle huff. Mo Li added some more firewood to the stove before standing up. She lifted the lid off the pot and burst intoughter at the sight of the food inside the pot. ¡°What are you trying to make?¡± she asked, pointing at the raw eggs and water inside the pot. ¡°I was trying to make you some egg soup.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not how you do it. You have to bring the water to a boil before cracking in the egg.¡± Well, his mistake was understandable since he had never prepared egg soup before. Mo Li was a little pleased deep down. Regardless of how malicious he may have been in the past, it was rather precious of him to attempt to do something he had never done before for her sake. Finally, after some painstaking effort, the water in the pot began to boil. The egg that Ye Xiaotian had cracked into the pot earlier began to cook and floated to the surface of the water. Mo Li stirred some flour into the soup in the pot and allowed it to keep boiling. She then cut some vegetables and scooped some porridge out before stir-frying the dishes. Finally, she made a few pancakes. Ye Xiaotian had been standing by the stove, watching her silently throughout. Mo Li did not find it arduous at all and instead enjoyed every bit of it. Ye Xiaotian could not help but be filled with immense guilt at the thought of how hard her life must have been to have to go through so much trouble every day just to fix herself a meal, especially since she was heavily pregnant. Mo Li brought the dishes into the house. She then pointed at the basin and said to Ye Xiaotian, ¡°Wash your face. It¡¯s covered in soot. Go home after having breakfast.¡± Chapter 326 - Reunion (21)

Chapter 326: Reunion (21)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Ye Xiaotian felt slightly upset as he ate silently, like a doll that was about to be abandoned. Mo Li purposely did not look at him, and ate slowly. Finally, Ye Xiaotian stated, ¡°Either we go back together, or we stay here forever.¡± ¡°How can that work?¡± ¡°Why not?¡± he retorted. ¡°If you and the child stay here, do you think I can go back at ease?¡± Mo Li hesitated for a moment, then replied, ¡°Ye Xiaotian, after everything that has happened, do you still think it¡¯s possible between us?¡± If she were to give her child a home, she would have to face him her whole life. But, on the other hand, depriving her child of aplete family would make her guilty towards the child her whole life. At this very moment, she waspletely torn inside. ¡°Why not?¡± Ye Xiaotian responded matter-of-factly. ¡°You¡¯re my wife. The child in your stomach is mine. Wherever my wife and child go, I¡¯ll stay there.¡± ¡°You!¡± Mo Li was very furious. ¡°When did you be so garrulous? Let me reiterate again, I¡¯m not your wife. We haven¡¯t signed a marriage certificate or carried out any wedding.¡± Upon hearing this, Ye Xiaotian smiled even more brazenly. He gave a long and meaningful exmation, ¡°Oh! So what you want is to get our marriage certificate and carry out our wedding? That¡¯s easy. As long as you¡¯re willing to, I can give them to you now.¡± ¡°Do you think I have no choice but to marry you? I can live equally well taking care of the child by myself.¡± ¡°You¡¯re my woman, if you don¡¯t marry me, who will you marry?¡± Ye Xiaotian ced his chopsticks down and asked. ¡°Marrying anyone else is better than marrying you!¡± Mo Li rebutted and ate rapidly, not looking at him at all. ¡°I would like to see who in this world will dare to marry you apart from me. Whoever has that thought, I¡¯ll chop their head off and use it to boil soup!¡± Mo Li was beyond angered by his words. ¡°You¡¯re so used to being a master, look at your conduct.¡± Ye Xiaotian then picked up vegetables to ce into her bowl, but this gesture was refused by her. ¡°Eat your own food, you don¡¯t have to pick food up for me. I can¡¯t afford this kind of treatment.¡± Ye Xiaotian did not get angry either. He felt that the knot in her heart could not be untangled in a short period of time, so it was fine with him. He had a lifetime to wait for that to happen. As long as he was alive, she would be his everything, no one was toy a finger on her! With that thought, Ye Xiaotian¡¯s whole body was full of energy. With her around, everything was great. He would never let go of her again! Only after breakfast did Ye Xiaotian¡¯s assistant appear at the door. ¡°Young Sir, I¡¯m sorry. I overslept in the car.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, as long as you didn¡¯t die from sleeping.¡± Seeing how he was utterly shameless about staying, Mo Li pointed to the water bucket. ¡°There¡¯s no more water at home, you go to the well and carry some water back.¡± Ye Xiaotian carried the shoulder pole and the two water buckets. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go right now. This should be a man¡¯s chore. But, where¡¯s the well?¡± Mo Li went out the door and pointed to the east. ¡°Walk out and keep heading east, then you¡¯ll reach it. It¡¯s not far. Be careful, the road is a bit slippery.¡± Ye Xiaotiain shed a smile at her. ¡°Look at you, worrying about me. I¡¯ll be careful.¡± With that, he went out with his assistant. Just after they went out, his assistant and two other guards headed towards him with umbres over their heads. ¡°Young Sir, let me get the shoulder pole. Your body is precious, let me do such hard chores.¡± Ye Xiaotian narrowed his eyes and passed him the shoulder pole, remarking, ¡°I have an important mission for you to do. Whether it seeds will depend on you.¡± His assistant looked at his face and couldn¡¯t help but tremble in fright. He instantly felt the huge burden ced on him and inquired while shaking with fear, ¡°What is it?¡± Ye Xiaotian wriggled his finger to beckon him toe closer. ¡°Move your ear here.¡± After hearing his words, the assistant¡¯s eyes brightened instantly. ¡°Young Sir, you¡¯re really the best at scheming!¡± Ye Xiaotian turned up his face confidently. ¡°Of course, look at who I am! So, you have to get it done properly. Or else, the consequence will be you getting fired.¡± His assistant¡¯s face fell in that moment. ¡°Young Sir, you can¡¯t do this. I¡¯ve been so loyal to you, would you actually just fire me like this?¡± ¡°That will depend on how you perform. Alright, enough of the crap. You need to quickly brew your emotions.¡± ¡°I guarantee I¡¯ll get this mission done!¡± It was more than half an hour since Ye Xiaotian had gone to get water and was still not yet back. Feeling rather anxious, Mo Li thought that it must be due to hisck of experience in carrying water and continued to wait on. But after waiting for another half an hour, she still did not see him returning. Mo Li had no choice but to make her way towards the well slowly to see what was going on. Before she had even arrived, however, she saw from a distance away his assistant squatting down beside the well, bursting into loud sobs. A bunch of vigers had also gathered around, discussing heatedly as they pointed around. Mo Li¡¯s mind went nk. She only saw the shoulder pole and water buckets from her house beside the well, along with one leather shoe. Her body went weak immediately. Her lips were trembling as she asked the assistant anxiously, ¡°What on earth happened? Where¡¯s your Young Sir?¡± The assistant¡¯s face was covered in tears. While he choked on them and could not utter a word, a middle-aged man at the side interrupted, ¡°Just now, a man in a suit came to get water. We haven¡¯t seen him before, but he fell in identally and left only one of his leather shoe. We wanted to rescue him, but it was toote. His body has surfaced already.¡± The nearby vigers got a rope, and the assistant hurriedly passed the rope to the vigers to hold while he got ready to climb into the well with it. ¡°I¡¯ll get my Young Sir¡¯s body up!¡± Mo Li¡¯s body copsed just like that, but luckily, Xiao Song, who was nearby, was quick and held onto her. ¡°Mo Li, are you alright?¡± Tears gushed down her face instantly and she slowly waited by the well, looking at the back of the figure at the surface of the well. It was obviously Ye Xiaotian, who else could that be? Mo Li grabbed onto the well and shouted into it agitatedly, ¡°Xiaotian!¡± But, the body on the surface of the water did not move at all. Mo Li was in apletely unstable state. Her body was trembling in fright, and her mind was nk. She could not think of anything at all. When the assistant entered the well sessfully with the rope, he could finally heave a sigh of relief and used his own body to block Ye Xiaotian¡¯s body. ¡°Young Sir, my acting is not bad right?¡± ¡°Umm. If you have the intention to enter the acting industry next time, I¡¯ll support you.¡± The assistant chuckled. ¡°Let¡¯s go up. You should drink a mouthful of water first.¡± Ye Xiaotian closed his eyes and went up with his assistant slowly. His whole body was frozen by the ice-cold water from the well, but he insisted on not moving at all andy there motionless, pretending he was unconscious. The assistant breathed heavily and pretended to reach out to detect Ye Xiaotian¡¯s breath. He then eximed in rm, ¡°There¡¯s still a breath! Who can do mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on him? Ms. Mo, you should do it.¡± Mo Li immediately kneeled on the floor and pinned herself on Ye Xiaotian, blowing air into his mouth. Only after Ye Xiaotian coughed out water did she use her hands to grab his face excitedly. ¡°Are you alive, Ye Xiaotian?¡± ¡°Umm.¡± Ye Xiaotian replied in a low voice. Hearing her cries of happiness, he opened his eyes slowly. ¡°I¡¯m not dead yet, why are you crying?¡± Chapter 327 - Reunion (22)

Chapter 327: Reunion (22)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°What would happen if you really died!¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t die either, how would I dare to die?¡± He stood up, then helped her up. When they were going back, his assistant carried the water while Ye Xiaotian forcefully held onto her hand. With her huge belly, Xiao Song hurried to catch up with them. ¡°This is the child¡¯s father, right?¡± Mo Li unwillingly nodded her head. ¡°Mo Li, you were really too much. Doesn¡¯t the child have a father? Why did you say the child¡¯s father is dead?¡± Ye Xiaotian turned his head and looked at the woman beside him in disbelief. ¡°You actually told other people that the child¡¯s father is dead?!¡± Mo Li did not feel guilty about it and admitted it matter-of-factly. ¡°Yeah. I intended to tell the child the same in the future, when he or she asks where his or her father is.¡± Letting out a soft exmation, his assistant unconsciously slowed down his pace. Not only was Ye Xiaotian not angry, he evenughed. ¡°There¡¯s no doubt that you¡¯re my woman. But, what a pity, my child is destined to see me when she¡¯s born. Your words won¡¯t have a chance ofing true.¡± Once they reached home, Ye Xiaotian immediately took off all his clothes from top to bottom right in front of Mo Li. He then climbed into the covers naked, his whole body so frozen that he was trembling badly. ¡°You can even fall into the well while getting water. That¡¯s really all you¡¯ve got,¡± Mo Li said frankly. ¡°I¡¯ve no men¡¯s clothes here, you can just wait for your clothes to dry before you get up.¡± ¡°Then what do I do if I need the toilet?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get you a set of my clothes then. You can just put in on for now. If you don¡¯t want to, you can get your assistant to go back and bring you some clothes.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯ll just wear yours.¡± Mo Li took out her cotton pyjamas and passed it to him. It obviously did not fit Ye Xiaotian, since Mo Li had grown fatter from her pregnancy. For Ye Xiaotian, the pyjamas were short and too loose, but at least they were warm. As Mo Li was about to wash his clothes for him, Ye Xiaotian considerately remarked, ¡°Let him wash them, you can¡¯t bend down.¡± The assistant then had no choice but to act the role of a maid and squat down to wash Ye Xiaotian¡¯s clothes. Fortunately, there was hot water on the stove, so his hands did not get frozen. ¡°Come here, I want to have a proper talk with you,¡± Ye Xiaotian told Mo Li. ¡°What about?¡± She went forward and sat at the side of the bed. Ye Xiaotian slowly got up and hugged her tightly, not allowing her to move at all. ¡°You¡¯re about to give birth soon. Let¡¯s go back to the city and settle down in a hospital to wait for the delivery. When the child turns a month old, we will get married. How about that?¡± Mo Li¡¯s gaze was fixed straight on the floor. To her, his words were the best situation she could think of. She turned and asked him, ¡°Why... why did you divorce the Lin family¡¯s daughter?¡± ¡°I only married her to spite my mother in the first ce. My mother realized she really couldn¡¯t force me, so she allowed me to decide for myself. Although I married her, I never touched her at all. The news that came out at one time was when I handcuffed her on the sofa for a whole night.¡± ¡°Who asked you about all these?¡± ¡°Even if you don¡¯t ask me, I have to make it clear. Mo Li, I let you down regarding a lot of things in the past. I hope you can give me a chance to make up for it. I¡¯m willing to use the rest of my life to treat you and our child well, to let you forget the unhappiness and suffering in the past.¡± Mo Li sighed. ¡°Ye Xiaotian, I must have owed you a lot in my previous life, that¡¯s why I¡¯m stuck with you in this life.¡± Ye Xiaotian broke into a wide grin. ¡°You being alive is a huge surprise to me, I would never have dreamed of it. Mo Li, how were you able to deceive me back then?¡± Mo Li of course would not reveal who had helped her. She simply replied, ¡°Is that important?¡± ¡°Alright, if you say it isn¡¯t, then it isn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Uh...¡± Her body froze all of a sudden. ¡°My stomach hurts...¡± Ye Xiaotian¡¯s nerves tensed up. He hurriedly released his hands from her and helped her down from the bed. ¡°You must be giving birth soon, let¡¯s go to the hospital.¡± His leather shoes had beenpletely soaked so he put on Mo Li¡¯s slippers and carried her in his arms, frantically rushing out of the house to his car, along with his assistant. Mo Li sat behind Ye Xiaotian¡¯s driver seat and, while he was already a bundle of nerves, her cries of pain behind him made him drive at a frantic speed like that of a rollercoaster ride. ¡°Ah! The pain is killing me!¡± Mo Li screamed as she grabbed onto Ye Xiaotian¡¯s hair. ¡°It¡¯s all your fault, it¡¯s so painful! Ye Xiaotian, you idiot!¡± Ye Xiaotian¡¯s scalp was in pain, but he could only bear it in silence. On the road, his hair had be Mo Li¡¯s indispensable weapon to endure the pain. When they got down from the car, he couldn¡¯t help wonder if all his hair had already been ripped off by her. Just like that, amongst the crowd in the hospital, a man dressed in a set of women¡¯s pyjamas and slippers hurriedly rushed into the gynecological department, bing a scene that brightened up onlookers in the hospital. ¡ª After a few days of searching, Ma Jianguo and the rest of the team finally found Chi Rui¡¯er living in a rented apartment. When she heard that she was being arrested as the suspect of a crime, Chi Rui¡¯er wentpletely nk. ¡°What proof do all of you have?¡± Ma Jianguo immediately asserted, ¡°To destroy the evidence, you bribed the person-in-charge at the office of Gu Dongcheng¡¯s estate. Do you think we don¡¯t know? The person-in-charge has already told us.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er turned speechless, but even at this juncture, she still tried her best to defend herself. ¡°Just because of his one-sided statement, I have be the prime suspect?¡± ¡°If you have anything to say, it can wait until we get to the police station.¡± She was then forcefully detained in the police car, and Mrs. Chi watched on in anxiety. Watching the police car leave, Mrs. Chi was in a frantic state. But even as her anxiety reached its peak, she could do nothing about the situation. After much thought, she made an important decision. As Chi Rui¡¯er was being brought to the police station, Mrs. Chi had been rushing over as well. She made a clear statement to the police, confessing that she was the one who had killed Xu Jingwen. She described the whole process of the crime as well as the ce where she had buried the body. ording to her description, Ma Jianguo was immediately able to dig up Xu Jingwen¡¯s body. However, Mrs. Chi¡¯s decision not only did not help Chi Rui¡¯er but also allowed the investigation of the case to proceed smoothly. When Chi Rui¡¯er found out about this, she was boiling with rage. If she had known this would happen, she would definitely have not told her mother where she had buried Xu Jingwen¡¯s body. But now, everything was toote. After doing an autopsy, the coroner confirmed that Xu Jingwen had died of suffocation. This coincided with the conclusion An Xiaoning had derived from analyzing Xu Jingwen¡¯s birth characters. In addition to this, the process of the crime Mrs. Chi had described was not valid as everyone found out that Mrs. Chi had heart disease and, even though she was not that much shorter than Xu Jingwen was, she had imed that Xu Jingwen was standing when she strangled her. Hence, Mrs. Chi could not have been the one who killed her. As a result, the main suspect was fixed as Chi Rui¡¯er once again. Just when An Xiaoning and the other members of the special team felt that there would be a huge breakthrough in the case, suddenly, Pan Zhenghui brought a bad news to them. He asked them to stop the investigation of Xu Jingwen¡¯s case and to pass this case over to the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit. These words left Ma Jianguo and the other three unable toprehend the situation. They demanded an exnation from Chief Pan, but Pan Zhenghui remained dumbfounded. It seemed like he had difficulties he was unable to express, and at this point, he indeed had an urge to die as well. Chapter 328 - Reunion (23)

Chapter 328: Reunion (23)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning could no longer stay still. She called Pan Zhenghui directly to ask what was going on. Pan Zhenghui then exined, ¡°It¡¯s like this, the higher-ups called me directly to make me pass the case for the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit to take over. Their reason is that they don¡¯t want you to be involved in the case, and they will hand over other cases to you.¡± ¡°I need a more convincing reason, not this.¡± An Xiaoning felt that there was something fishy going on. Her voice turned deeper as she demanded for an exnation, ¡°Chief Pan, tell me the truth. What exactly is the reason that Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s case has been passed over to the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit?¡± Pan Zhenghui knew as well that if he did not reveal the truth, An Xiaoning would not let it go so easily. If that were to happen, he would have even greater losses. He knew An Xiaoning¡¯s character a little, and she was definitely capable of leaving because of this. The police force would lose a talent like her. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you the truth then. When the higher-up said to pass the case to the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit, I was strongly against it because it¡¯s obvious that the case is bing clearer. There¡¯s no need for the other side to continue investigating it already. But the higher-up said, the investigation of this case has been forcefully stopped by Head Officer Xu. I only heard about it from others too, that Chi Rui¡¯er and Army Commander Xu¡¯s youngest daughter Xu Youran has close ties. I¡¯m afraid... Head Officer Xu is Army Commander Xu¡¯s eldest son.¡± An Xiaoning was rather astonished. How did Chi Rui¡¯er, who had an ordinary status, get close to Army Commander Xu¡¯s daughter? It was really an impressive feat. Having not seen Chi Rui¡¯er for a few days, she now found that Chi Rui¡¯er seemingly had quite a backing. ¡°So... passing the case over to the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit is just a cover. The real motive is to get Chi Rui¡¯er out of here, then spend a little money topensate Xu Jingwen¡¯s family. This case will pass just like that,¡± An Xiaoning could not help but respond with a sneer. ¡°Since it¡¯s like this, then I won¡¯t say anything else. I¡¯ll be resting for my pregnancy from now on, so don¡¯t bother me about work for the time being.¡± She then hung up the call on him. Within the police station, whoever dared to hang up on Pan Zhenghui and show him attitude, they were the boss. Not only did An Xiaoning dare to do so, she even dared to speak that bluntly to him. Pan Zhenghui was sitting around, feeling anxious but helpless at the same time. He tried calling back An Xiaoning, but found she had switched off her phone. Pan Zhenghui was slightly infuriated too, and sat there sulking. Just then, Serious Crimes Investigation Unit Team Leader Zhang knocked on the door and entered his room. ¡°Bureau Chief, what do we do about Xu Jingwen¡¯s case?¡± Pan Zhenghui darted a nce at him, his eyes spurting with fumes. ¡°Why don¡¯t you call Head Officer Xu and ask him directly? Get him to ask his father, what exactly we should do!¡± ¡°Chief, what¡¯s the matter? Why are you ring up over this?¡± ¡°Can I not re up over this? Because of this issue, Team Leader An is very unhappy. Alright, I¡¯ll call Head Officer Xu. You go out first.¡± Officer Zhang nodded. ¡°Yes.¡± After brewing his emotions, Pan Zhenghui called Xu Yang to exin the situation. Xu Yang expressed that he already knew about it because his father had called him to tell him, but he never expected that this would infuriate An Xiaoning. He maintained that this matter still had to be handled ordingly, and that he would personally call An Xiaoning to exin the situation. With his words, Pan Zhenghui became much more assured. At eleven at night, An Xiaoning just switched on her phone when Xu Yang gave her a call. ¡°Ms. An, I¡¯ve called you many times. You finally switched on your phone.¡± ¡°If there¡¯s anything Head Officer Xu wants to say, just speak.¡± An Xiaoning did not beat around the bush either. ¡°Bureau Chief Pan has told me about Xu Jingwen¡¯s case. I know what you think about it, but sometimes, people think that just because we are in a high position, we can decide many things. Only we ourselves know, however, that a lot of things are out of our control too.¡± ¡°I get what you are trying to say. Even though I can¡¯t stand some things, I know that the world works like that. If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll hang up first then.¡± ¡°Wait, wait...¡± Xu Yang enquired, ¡°You¡¯ll continue to work for the police force right?¡± ¡°This issue can wait until I give birth. The condition is that the members of the Special Investigation Unit don¡¯t have to be ordered around by the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit anymore. Give them their own cases. If there¡¯s anything that can¡¯t be handled by themselves, I will assist them.¡± An Xiaoning knew that what Xu Yang had said entailed that Xu Jingwen¡¯s family would be settled with money. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll arrange for that.¡± Xu Yang heaved a sigh of relief. In the police station, there was no other officer like An Xiaoning who could easily solve cases using her special abilities. Moreover, when An Xiaoning joined the police force back then, he was the one who invited her on behalf of the police force. He definitely could not allow this to be ruined by this incident. An Xiaoning ended the call with her face showing her displeasure. She already knew that in the police station, no matter which higher-up was leading it, there was always unfairness and a dark side to everything. It was only a matter of how much there was to it. If one did not have the power to change society, they could only adapt to it. Coming down from the bed slowly, An Xiaoning stood by the window and watched the starry night sky. Her hand slowly moved to her stomach. In there was their child. It was their third child. She raised her hand with her phone in it and slid to the message segment. She looked at the screen and tapped it lightly. There were a dozen unsent messages in there. Looking at the content of these messages, she felt agonized inside. Her fingernded on the ¡°delete¡± button and she deleted all of them. She then took out her camera and deleted the numerous videos that she had recorded in advance as well. For some reason, these were the evidence of her innermost feelings. ¡ª Mo Li gave birth to a full-term baby girl. She was plump and healthy, and looked just like Ye Xiaotian. Even though her daughter looked like him, she still looked very pretty. Ye Xiaotian stayed in the hospital for a few days before fetching Mo Li and their child back to their house in Ming Yuan Estate for Mo Li¡¯s confinement. Returning back to this house, Mo Li¡¯s status was elevated. Maybe because she now had a child, or knowing that she was of significant importance to Ye Xiaotian, the maids did not dare to disrespect her the slightest bit. Upon knowing that Mo Li was brought back here, Mr. and Mrs. Mo, as well as Mo Xun, could only ept it after much sighing. ¡°He didn¡¯t say when the both of you are getting married?¡± ¡°He said when the child turns a month old, we¡¯ll get married.¡± Mrs. Mo was finally assured. ¡°Then, how about his mother¡¯s side...?¡± ¡°His mother probably doesn¡¯t know that I had a child already. I think she would know about it soon.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, there came the sound of footsteps approaching and the door was pushed open by Mrs. Ye. She stood at the doorway, looking at Mrs. Mo and Mo Li inside. Thereafter, she entered the room. Mo Li was slightly nervous and was about to get down from the bed when Mrs. Ye waved it off. ¡°You don¡¯t have toe down, justy there.¡± Mo Li was taken aback, andy back to rest again. Mrs. Mo looked at Mrs. Ye and muttered bluntly, ¡°Our Mo Li has already suffered so much because of your son. If you¡¯re here to give her more trouble, then it won¡¯t be necessary.¡± Mrs. Ye raised her eyebrows. ¡°No matter what, they already have a child now. We will be inws soon as well. Is it necessary to go head-on with each other?¡± Mrs. Mo was startled by her words. From her tone, it was obvious that she would no longer intervene regarding their marriage. Chapter 329 - Reunion (24)

Chapter 329: Reunion (24)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Her eyes were slightly moist as she thought of the hurdles her daughter had gone through. It was a relief for her that her daughter had attained happiness after all that suffering. ¡°I¡¯ll go down to take a look.¡± Mrs. Mo turned and went out. In the bedroom, only Mrs. Ye, Mo Li, and her baby were left. Mrs. Ye went before the baby¡¯s cot and looked at the infant. She ced her bag aside and bent down to carry her. Mo Li was slightly nervous at this sight. Mrs. Ye seemed to detect this and said to Mo Li while looking at the child, ¡°You¡¯re afraid I¡¯lll strangle her to death? I won¡¯t. You were right, this is my granddaughter indeed. Isn¡¯t that so?¡± The infant in her arms was really tiny. To give birth to her, Mo Li did not suffer any less. Even though the pain was terribly overwhelming, she did not get a cesarean section and gave birth to her naturally. ¡°She really looks a lot like Xiaotian.¡± Mrs. Ye reached out and touched the baby¡¯s chubby face. A corner of her heart was also melted by the adorable baby. At this moment, she had to admit that even though she was not fond of Mo Li, she really had a special feeling towards this child. At the thought that this infant was her granddaughter, she dered, ¡°I¡¯ve let Xiaotian decorate your wedding room at the old residence. After the both of you get married, you¡¯ll live there with the child as well.¡± Mo Li did not want to live together with her. She muttered, ¡°It¡¯s fine living here.¡± ¡°Why? You want to make mee over every day to see the child? Or is it that you intend to carry the child to the old residence to pay respects to me every day?¡± Mo Li was dumbfounded and could not say a word at all. Mrs. Ye swayed slightly as she carried the child in her arms. ¡°Since I¡¯ve allowed the both of you to get married, you shouldn¡¯t have too much requirements as well. Since Xiaotian wants to marry you, I won¡¯t say anything further. The both of you should live on well. I just never imagined that you were still alive and had even given birth to the child.¡± Mo Li still remained silent. At this point, she did not know how she should reply to Mrs. Ye. ¡ª Chi Rui¡¯er was brought into a vi by someone. She knew the district where she was in, but not who she was going to meet. With the man beside her, she cautiously entered the living room. Before her, a woman with a good figure stood at the center of the living room. Her short hair was neatly cut, and her petite body appeared extremely slender. Chi Rui¡¯er had never seen her before. ¡°You go out,¡± Xu Youran said to the man beside Chi Rui¡¯er. ¡°Yes, Missy.¡± Xu Youran pointed to the sofa. ¡°Ms. Chi, have a seat.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er went forward and sat down. ¡°You are?¡± ¡°I¡¯m your life¡¯s savior,¡± Xu Youran answered. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t saved you, you would have been immediately convicted of murder. Followed by that, the prosecution would take charges against you in court. If they sessfully charge you for murder, then I don¡¯t have to tell you what would happen. It would be the death penalty for sure. So, tell me, am I not your life savior?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er hesitated for a moment, then responded, ¡°I know you¡¯re my life savior. But, I don¡¯t know you. Why did you save me?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright if you don¡¯t know me. As long as you know the Jin family, that¡¯s fine.¡± A smile curled up on Xu Youran¡¯s face. ¡°Since I saved your life, you¡¯ll work for me from now on. If you don¡¯t listen to what I say, I can let you go back to jail and get the death penalty. What would you choose then?¡± Although Chi Rui¡¯er did not like being controlled by others, it was apparent that she had no choice this time. ¡°I¡¯m naturally willing to follow you and work for you.¡± ¡°Very well.¡± Xu Youran asked, ¡°You know Jin Qingyan right?¡± ¡°Umm. I do.¡± ¡°Since I saved you out, I¡¯ve already investigated everything about you in depth.¡± Xu Youran continued, ¡°As long as you do exactly what I say, you¡¯ll live well.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er could sense that what she wanted her to do had something to do with the Jin family, so she stated directly, ¡°Jin Qingyan doesn¡¯t contact me anymore. Although I know the Jin family, it¡¯s only on the surface. We don¡¯t have a close rtionship.¡± ¡°But from what I know, Jin Qingyan loved you.¡± ¡°That was in the past. He no longer loves me. We haven¡¯t contacted each other for a long time already. Also, he¡¯s not fond of me now,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er confessed frankly. ¡°Whether he¡¯s fond of you now is not the main point.¡± Xu Youran continued, ¡°His parents are divorced, did you know that?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er shook her head. ¡°I didn¡¯t. They don¡¯t report this kind of family issue on the news.¡± ¡°Then, that¡¯s fine. You don¡¯t have to think about other issues. I won¡¯t let you do something impossible either. Since Jin Qingyan is not fond of you now, I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll fall in love with you again.¡± She stood up, her arms folded as she stared right at her. ¡°Who I am isn¡¯t important to you. Who you are isn¡¯t important to me either. From now onwards, you just have to act ording to what I say. Otherwise, you won¡¯t be able to move an inch forward.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er looked up at her and realized that this woman¡¯s gaze was ice-cold. Although she was a woman, she easily caused others to develop a fear towards her. Chi Rui¡¯er could only nod and reply, ¡°Umm. I know.¡± ¡°Alright, you can go back. I¡¯ll call to notify you of anything to be done.¡± She pointed to the phone on the table and remarked, ¡°This phone will be our only method of contact. Don¡¯t use any other phone to contact me, do you get that?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er reached out and took the phone. ¡°Okay.¡± As she left this ce, Chi Rui¡¯er was in a nk state of mind. When she reached her front door, Chi Rui¡¯er could hear Mrs. Chi sobbing uncontrobly in the house. Seeing that she had returned, Mrs. Chi¡¯s eyes widened and she walked towards her. ¡°Rui¡¯er, are you fine now?¡± ¡°Umm. Someone saved me.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er looked at her and asked, ¡°Why were you so silly as to confess at the police station?¡± ¡°I panicked, okay? Right. Who saved you?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know her. She¡¯s a woman around the same age as me. She made me work for her. I don¡¯t think it will be anything decent.¡± ¡°Rui¡¯er, let¡¯s get away from this ce, shall we? Let¡¯s go somewhere nobody knows us.¡± ¡°Although this world is big, where can I run to? We can run away, but the police will put us on the wanted list. If that happens, I might even be shot dead. I¡¯d rather work for her and try to live on. Mother, the house that I used to bury Xu Jingwen was bought by me. If you live there, I¡¯ll probably be unable to go home to see you often next time.¡± ¡°No, Mother won¡¯t go anywhere,¡± Mrs. Chi said resolutely. ¡°Now, I don¡¯t have anything but you. I want to stay by your side.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er gazed at her mother in pain and responded, ¡°Alright. Since you want that, then stay by my side.¡± Thinking back to the past, she never had a good life to begin with. Even after various struggles, this fact remained so. If she had grabbed hold of Jin Qingyan back then, then everything else after that would not have happened, right? She could only me herself for being blind and ignorant. For missing such a good opportunity and giving up the seat that had been meant for her to someone else. Chi Rui¡¯er returned to her own bedroom andid down on the bed, her exhausted gaze fixed on the ceiling. Chapter 330 - Reunion (25)

Chapter 330: Reunion (25)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After having a nice warm bath and changing into a set of pretty clothes, Chi Rui¡¯er put on some makeup and slung her bag over her shoulder, getting ready to go out. ¡°Rui¡¯er, where are you going?¡± ¡°Mother, I¡¯m going out to shop for a while, I won¡¯t be eating dinner at home.¡± Mrs. Chi felt slightly ill at ease. ¡°Come back soon.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± She retracted her gaze. After her divorce with Gu Dongcheng, her driving license had been revoked as well. Now, she could only take a taxi out. On the way, she received Xu Youran¡¯s call for her to go to a mahjong house, where she would meet the target she was to get close to. Only after Chi Rui¡¯er persistently asked who the target was did Xu Youran finally reveal the target¡¯s name. Chi Rui¡¯er stiffened in shock. Never would she have expected that the target she was to get close to was Jin Qingyan¡¯s father. What she meant by her words, Chi Rui¡¯er already understood fully. She had be a mere tool for others to make use of. But yet, she could do nothing about it. The taxi drove towards the mahjong house and, after twenty minutes, she came down from it. Wearing a face mask, her bag slung over her shoulder, she entered the mahjong house. ¡°May I know which room the senior Mr. Jin is in?¡± ¡°He¡¯s in room 203 on the second floor.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er hurriedly made her way towards the second floor. At the doorway of room 203, she took a deep breath and mentally prepared herself. She already had a vague idea of what she was going to say to him, but she still had to n out how she would say it. After preparing herself for two whole minutes, she gently pushed the door open and looked into the room. At first nce, she noticed Mr. Jin. Behind him stood a group of emotionless bodyguards. She leaped past them into the room and saw that a richdy seated beside Mr. Jin had won quite a huge amount but was too embarrassed to leave just like that. Seeing that Chi Rui¡¯er had entered, thedy hurriedly got up and said, ¡°She can y for me first, I¡¯ll go to the washroom.¡± Although that was what she imed, she even took her wallet with her and only left some starting money on the table. Seeing this, Chi Rui¡¯er knew it was a good opportunity as she did not have to use an excuse to invite Mr. Jin out. That helped her to save trouble as well. She removed her face mask, and Mr. Jin immediately recognized her. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°I came to look for someone.¡± She smiled in embarrassment and started the mahjong game. Mr. Jin did not say anything else either and continued to y as well. During the game, Chi Rui¡¯er intentionally stretched her foot out towards Mr. Jin and, after touching him lightly, she appeared slightly embarrassed. Throughout, Mr. Jin had felt her foot touch him at least five times. His face showed he was slightly annoyed. The waiter came to refill tea for them, and the teacup that Mr. Jin had emptied was full again. Chi Rui¡¯er sat there watching, and an idea came to her head. There were some drugs in her bag that had been prepared for Xu Jingwen a long time ago. She did not throw them away previously and casually put them into an innerpartment of her bag. Thinking of this, her face changed and she discreetly dabbed some of the drugs with her finger and flicked it into Mr. Jin¡¯s teacup. As her movements were subtle, nobody at all realized what she had done. Looking at Mr. Jin empty away the teacup, Chi Rui¡¯er felt secretly happy inside. After two rounds of mahjong, the richdy who imed to have gone to the washroom indeed did not return. Chi Rui¡¯er won a game and lost another, so she did not lose too much money. The other two yers did not want to y on and stood up to leave. Mr. Jin noticed that his head was dizzy and did not feel good, so he did not get up and sat there to rest. The bodyguard behind him asked in a low voice, ¡°Do you want to go back now?¡± ¡°Wait a while, I don¡¯t feel well.¡± As he rubbed his temple with one hand, he noticed that Chi Rui¡¯er had not left either and asked, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you leaving?¡± ¡°Uncle Jin, actually, I came to look for you. I have something to say to you, can I speak to you in private?¡± ¡°You¡¯re looking for me?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s something very important.¡± Mr. Jin signalled the bodyguards behind him to leave. ¡°All of you wait at the doorway.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± The bodyguards went out and closed the door. ¡°What is it? You can speak now.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er gazed at him tenderly and said, ¡°It¡¯s like this. Aren¡¯t I divorced? And I lost my child too. I¡¯ve been pretty short of money and my mother isn¡¯t in good health, so I really need money now. I didn¡¯t know who else to ask, so I thought of you.¡± Mr. Jin felt the situation was ridiculous. ¡°You want me to lend you money?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t let you just lend me money for nothing, I¡¯ll repay you with something else.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er leaned towards him. ¡°Is that okay?¡± ¡°How will you repay me?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er removed her coat, revealing her innerwear. She looked like an innocent rabbit who could pounce on him eagerly anytime, and she whispered lightly, ¡°What do you think I can repay you with? Anything is fine.¡± Mr. Jin eyed her chest and asked, ¡°How much do you need?¡± ¡°Not a lot, a hundred thousand dors.¡± Mr. Jin responded incredulously, ¡°A hundred thousand dors isn¡¯t a lot?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a lot to me. But to you, it must be just peanuts. Uncle Jin, please? I already said I¡¯ll repay you in any manner.¡± Mr. Jin hesitated for a moment and replied, ¡°Of course I can lend it to you. But I want to know, how long will you repay me with your services?¡± Chi Rui¡¯erughed coquettishly. ¡°It¡¯s not easy to count for how long. But, is the number of times fine?¡± ¡°What you¡¯re doing is equivalent to selling your body, you know that right?¡± Mr. Jin darted a nce at her. ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll just give you the money. It¡¯s not a loan. But, you have to sleep a hundred times with me.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er frowned. ¡°That makes me look too cheap.¡± Mr. Jin grunted, ¡°You came here to find me yourself. If you¡¯re not willing, I won¡¯t force you either.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er made it seem like she was put in a spot. She thought for a moment, then replied, ¡°I reallyck money very badly. Since it¡¯s like this, then I¡¯ll agree to it.¡± Mr. Jin felt exceptionally pleased inside. ¡°Alright. This is what you said.¡± Although he was past the age of fifty, he still had to satisfy his own needs in that area. Moreover, after his divorce with Mrs. Jin, he was lonely as well. He didn¡¯t even have someone to talk to. Thinking of this woman¡¯s young body, Mr. Jin felt that it was more of a transaction between them. Since it would be the same, or even riskier if he found other women at a hotel, then this would probably be better. He openly looked at Chi Rui¡¯er and pinched the meat at her cleavage. He chuckled as he asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you ask Qingyan for money?¡± ¡°He won¡¯t lend it to me.¡± Mr. Jin did not say anything more. He turned around and unbuckled his belt. ¡°You can serve me once first. Let me see how good your skills are.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er nodded, then served him with her utmost effort. After it ended, she received a check for a hundred thousand. Her stomach was growling when she returned, and she thought of having a good meal to reward herself. At the entrance of the hotel, however, she met a long-time acquaintance whom she had not seen in a long time. It was Jin Qingyan, and she watched as he went around the head of the car to open the door of the seat beside the driver¡¯s. Gu Xiaoning, dressed in a pink coat and light-colored jeans, got down from the car thereafter. She went to his side and they leisurely made their way to the entrance of the hotel. Chi Rui¡¯er stood there not moving as her gaze fixed on the two of them. She initiated a conversation with them, ¡°It¡¯s been a long time. The both of you are still so loving, how wonderful.¡± Her tone was obviously sour and full of sarcasm. If it had been An Xiaoning, she would have immediately rebutted her with an even sharperment. But Gu Xiaoning stared at her with innocent-looking eyes and darted a nce at Jin Qingyan beside her, not returning a single word. ¡°Um-hmm.¡± Jin Qingyan acknowledged her words with a curt reply, holding Gu Xiaoning¡¯s hand as they walked into the hotel together. Chapter 331 - Reunion (26)

Chapter 331: Reunion (26)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Staring at the couple from behind, Chi Rui¡¯er could not help but feel that something was different about An Xiaoning, though she was not sure what it was exactly. An answer shed across her mind. It was the expression in her eyes, all right. Chi Rui¡¯er snapped out of her thoughts and entered. Just as Jin Qingyan was done ordering the dishes, he caught sight of Chi Rui¡¯er, who asked, ¡°Do you mind having a meal together?¡± ring at her coldly, Jin Qingyan answered, ¡°I mind it very much. Get out.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er had no choice but to leave. ¡ª ¡°Say that again!¡± Sun Weiwei barked, her eyes widened with anger as she flew into a rage. ¡°Sis Weiwei, calm down. I¡¯ve already verified this matter. It¡¯s true,¡± said the assistant, who was trying her best to cate Sun Weiwei. ¡°I can¡¯t believe it. This Mo Li must really be something. Not only is she still alive, she¡¯s even given birth to the child and about to marry Brother Xiaotian,¡± Sun Weiwei sneered begrudgingly. ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t expect all of this to be real too. But, Mr. Ye has yet to announce this news to the public. I reckon he¡¯s going to do so very soon. Sis Weiwei, everything is set in stone now. I¡¯m afraid we can no longer try to change anything.¡± Sun Weiwei spat in contempt before saying, ¡°I didn¡¯t know that little vixen Mo Li was still alive and kicking. Had I known earlier, how could I have possibly allowed her child to be born? I was really being too careless and negligent.¡± ¡°Sis Weiwei, what do you n to do next?¡± Sun Weiwei remained silent and pondered for a few minutes before answering, ¡°What do I n to do? I doubt I can do anything by the time she gets married. Once she bes Brother Xiaotian¡¯s wife, she will definitely sow discord ande in between him and me. He¡¯s going to start ignoring me when that happens. Isn¡¯t it obvious? It¡¯s happening all too quickly. I need some time to think.¡± The assistant was rather worried and troubled too, for Sun Weiwei had managed to take many shortcuts in her career path due to the broadwork of connections she enjoyed, all because she was Ye Xiaotian¡¯s godsister. However, once she loses this status, she would be bound to face many obstacles. A silence filled the air in the car. Sun Weiwei was distraught, and her spirits were dampened. She took a look at the time to find that it was past nine o¡¯clock in the evening. ¡°Head to Ming Yuan Estate, I¡¯m going to go see Mo Li.¡± ¡°Sis Weiwei, it¡¯s better if you don¡¯t go. Mr. Ye must be at home now for sure. If you go there now, not only will it not make a difference, you can¡¯t do anything to Mo Li in front of him either. So, you¡¯d better not go. Let¡¯s hatch a n to kill Mo Li, like how we did for Bai Ranran. Everything would be perfect then. Once she dies, wouldn¡¯t it be a piece of cake to kill the child?¡± the assistant advised. ¡°It¡¯s not that easy to kill her right now. She¡¯s in the midst of her post-natal confinement period. She won¡¯t be leaving the house for at least a month. It¡¯s impossible to kill her in Ming Yuan Estate. This is giving me such a headache,¡± Sun Weiwei groused. ¡°Sis Weiwei, I think it¡¯s a tall order too. She seems to be dering that we¡¯ll be annihted should there be any slip-ups or loopholes in our plot. I¡¯m afraid we would lose everything then. So you must be very careful and stringent.¡± ¡°I know that, of course. I don¡¯t need you to teach me what to do. Seems like I have to do it myself this time,¡± said Sun Weiwei. The assistant froze in fear and asked worriedly, ¡°Sis Weiwei, are you nning to make me go...¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like you¡¯re allowed to step foot inside Ming Yuan Estate. What¡¯s the point of letting you go? Don¡¯t forget, one of those servants around Mo Li is a snitch I nted. This time, I can¡¯t make her die because of a viral infection like Bai Ranran did. Otherwise, it¡¯s going to be too suspicious, and we will be at a disadvantage if Brother Xiaotian suspects something. So, we have toe up with something else.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t thought about it yet, but you don¡¯t have to care. I¡¯ll have my own ns.¡± Squinting out of the window, Sun Weiwei asked, ¡°Is it raining outside?¡± The assistant opened the door and stuck a hand out of the car. ¡°Yes, Sis Weiwei. It¡¯s raining now. Let¡¯s rush back to the set. You still have a night scene to film tonight.¡± ¡°Ugh, how annoying. Let¡¯s go back.¡± ¡ª Upon arriving home after dinner, Jin Qingyan instructed Gu Xiaoning to head upstairs to get some rest while he remained in the living room for a long while. His mind waspletely nk. Perhaps because he had yet to go upstairs even after some time, Gu Xiaoning walked towards the corridor and called out to him, ¡°Qingyan,e and get some rest.¡± He looked up and said smilingly, ¡°Right away.¡± Jin Qingyan closed the bedroom door and removed his jacket. Realizing that the rain seemed to be getting heavier, he proceeded to draw the curtains andid on the bed. Gu Xiaoning snuggled up beside him and said, ¡°Qingyan, I can¡¯t sleep. Will you tell me a story?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± An Xiaoning had never asked him to tell her stories again ever since she heard his twisted fairytales ¨C he was simply ruining fairytales for her. However, he was not quite keen on telling other stories. Thus, he decided to narrate the story of Snow White again. ¡°Once upon a time, there used to be an evil queen who asked the Magic Mirror, ¡®Who¡¯s the fairest of them all?¡¯ The Magic Mirror answered, ¡®You are. But Snow White is even fairer.¡¯ Thus, the evil queen was filled with hatred and jealousy and swore to kill Snow White, because only then will she be the most beautiful woman in the world...¡± He paused and looked down at her. ¡°What do you think of the opening of my story?¡± ¡°Great, keep going. I want to hear the rest of the story. I¡¯ve never heard it before,¡± Gu Xiaoning answered. Jin Qingyan¡¯s eyes lit up as he recalled clearly how An Xiaoning was reluctant to hear the rest of the story after listening to his opening. ¡°Why did you stop? Continue the story, quick,¡± Gu Xiaoning urged him. ¡°Thus, the Queen then sent Snow White to the forest to be killed by an assassin. However, a hunter who passed by managed to save her...¡± The bedroom was filled with silence. Jin Qingyan stopped narrating once he heard her rhythmic breathing. He got down from the bed and tucked her underneath the nket before turning off the nightmp. He then picked up his jacket and left the room. He entered the master bedroom. He pushed the door open and was greeted with the sight of An Xiaoning¡¯s photos stered across all the walls as soon as the lights were switched on. He continued to gaze at the photos for a long, long while. Even though he had her clone with him, he still missed her dearly. He had never once visited her grave again ever since her burial. He was living in denial and repeatedly told himself that she was not dead and still alive. He wanted the clone to further prove his belief. However, deep down, he knew clearly that he saw her die with his very own eyes. Jin Qingyan was not sleepy at all. He exited the master bedroom and headed downstairs. ¡°Young Sir, where are you going?¡± Fan Shixin asked. ¡°To the mountains.¡± ¡°Young Sir, it¡¯s pouring heavily and it¡¯ste at night now. Go tomorrow instead.¡± ¡°I miss her.¡± With a ck umbre in hand, he began walking towards the garage. Fan Shixin quickly caught up and followed him to An Xiaoning¡¯s burial ground on the mountains. They parked the car at the foot of the mountain and made their way up by foot. After treading through the rain, the two arrived at the back of the temple. There were three tombstones. Standing by An Xiaoning¡¯s tomb, Jin Qingyan began to speak. ¡°Xiaoning, I¡¯m here to see you. Do you hold it against me, taking this long to visit you?¡± Chapter 332 - Reunion (27)

Chapter 332: Reunion (27)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The only response he got was the sounds of the rain crashing down in the middle of the night. Jin Qingyan had a lot on his mind. However, that was all he could manage to say. Tears began to well up in his eyes. He did not utter another word. ¡°Babylifewasgoodtomebutyoujustmadeitbetternull, Ilovethewayitstandbymethroughanykindofweathernull...¡± Jin Qingyan took a look at the caller disy to see that it was a call from Jin Qingyue. He swiped to answer the call. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Got it, I¡¯ll make my way there at once.¡± After hanging up the phone, Jin Qingyan took onest nce at her tombstone longingly before rushing off with Fan Shixin. As soon as they arrived at the entrance of the Shi family home, Jin Qingyue, who had been waiting all day, quickly hopped into the car while carrying her child in her arms. Her child was asleep at the time. ¡°Brother, this is the USB drive that contains all the evidence of thepany ounts,¡± said Jin Qingyue. Jin Qingyan took the USB drive from her hands and asked, ¡°Let me ask you onest time. You won¡¯t regret this?¡± ¡°No, not at all. I think this is the best thing I¡¯ve ever done,¡± Jin Qingyue answered with much gusto. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll send someone to gather the evidence of his infidelity and adulterous acts. I¡¯ll get Shixin to bring it to you tomorrow morning.¡± Shaking her head in refusal, Jin Qingyue said, ¡°Brother, help me expose the evidence on the media. I¡¯m getting a divorce for sure.¡± ¡°Since that¡¯s your wish, I¡¯ll help you with it.¡± ¡°Brother... if only I listened to your warnings back then. If only I heeded Sis-inw¡¯s advice, things wouldn¡¯t have turned out this way. I absolutely regret it now. But thankfully, I still have my brother to help me. Thank you,¡± Jin Qingyuemented, filled with immense regret. Jin Qingyan smacked her gently on her head and said, ¡°What are you thanking me for? We¡¯re family. You¡¯re still very young. There¡¯ll still be chances for you to start afresh.¡± Jin Qingyue nodded in agreement and handed the child to Fan Shixin. ¡°Help me take care of the child for a few days. That¡¯ll make it easier for me to handle the matters here.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll get the nanny to look after the child.¡± Jin Qingyue took another nce at her child before alighting from the car hurriedly. Her figure slowly began to fade in the rain. After closing the door of the house, Jin Qingyue strode towards the living room hastily. Shi Shaochuan did not return home at all that night. She hadpletely given up hope on him. She sacrificed a ton for him. Yet, how did he treat her in return? He criticized her for gaining weight and resented her for this and that. To make matters worse, he even cheated on her again and again. Jin Qingyue made her way upstairs with a straight face. Sheid in bed and allowed a million thoughts to fill her mind. She pondered over everything thoroughly and made several decisions carefully. Shi Shaochuan finally returned home at five in the morning. The moment he switched on the lights, he was greeted with the sight of Jin Qingyue leaning her head against the bedhead and staring at him with her eyes wide open, which gave him a great scare. ¡°You... why... why are you wide awake in the middle of the night?¡± ¡°Did you think I was waiting for you? I¡¯m just suffering from insomnia,¡± she scoffed. Shi Shaochuan walked towards the bathroom calmly and took a long shower, whichsted ¡¯til six in the morning. He changed into a fresh set of clothes after exiting the bathroom. This was the umpteenth time she witnessed him showering or changing in the morning. Ah... the irony. ¡°Shi Shaochuan, do you think there¡¯s any point in continuing our marriage at all?¡± Shi Shaochuan stopped in his tracks and turned around to return to the side of the bed. Looking down at her from above, he questioned, ¡°Are you thinking of leaving me?¡± Jin Qingyue nodded and answered, ¡°Yes, I can¡¯t tolerate the fact that you keep having an extramarital affair.¡± Appearing calm and unfazed, Jin Qingyue continued, ¡°Are you surprised that I¡¯m aware that you¡¯ve never repented and that you¡¯ve beenmitting adultery over and over again?¡± Shi Shaochuan was infuriated. Realizing that she had already found out, he decided to stop denying it or covering it up with more lies. ¡°I do have an affair. But why did I cheat? Isn¡¯t it all because of you? Go take a look in the mirror and see for yourself just how fat you¡¯ve gotten. You must weigh almost 200 pounds now, eh? You¡¯re fatter than a pig now. Do you think I¡¯d still get aroused at the sight of you?¡± Jin Qingyue was shocked speechless. She initially thought she had gotten used to his snide remarks. Yet, she realized that she could actually still get upset and hurt by his derogatoryments. ¡°Yeah, I am fatter than a pig now and I don¡¯t attract you anymore. Is this the reason you had an affair? Shi Shaochuan, what¡¯s the point of shifting the me on me when you¡¯re the one who¡¯s promiscuous? Get off your high horse and quit finding excuses for your phndering ways. Let¡¯s get a divorce.¡± ¡°Jin Qingyue, don¡¯t keep trying to threaten me with divorce. I¡¯ll still be a promising and attractive bachelor even if I¡¯m divorced. But you? You¡¯ll be no more than a secondhand good. And an obese one at that.¡± She looked up at the familiar face she used to love deeply, only to realize all of a sudden that she no longer knew who he was. ¡°Even then, I still want a divorce,¡± she insisted. ¡°Since you¡¯re so insistent on a divorce, I¡¯ll agree on the condition that I get the custody of the child and you leave with nothing. How about that?¡± Clenching her fists in anger, Jin Qingyue retorted, ¡°Did you get your facts wrong? It should be the other way around!¡± ¡°No, why? Do you still want a divorce?¡± Shi Shaochuan gibed. ¡°Of course. Shi Shaochuan, don¡¯t forget, I belong to the Jin family. You want me to leave with zero share of the assets? You must be dreaming!¡± ¡°You belong to the Jin family? Do you think I won¡¯t know just because you don¡¯t tell me? Your parents are long divorced, and you¡¯re not a member of the Jin family at all. You are the bastard child your mother had with the butler of your home. People may not talk about this in the open, but everyone already knows about it,¡± Shi Shaochuan sneered in contempt. ring daggers at him, Jin Qingyue quipped, ¡°So what if that¡¯s the case? Don¡¯t forget, Jin Qingyan is my brother and he always will be. He will never leave me alone in the lurch!¡± ¡°Wow, wow, wow. You still have the cheek to seek help from your brother despite all the misdeeds youmitted then?¡± Jin Qingyue got out of bed and stood up to face him. Staring at him in the eye, she rebutted, ¡°Not only do I want to get a divorce, I¡¯m also going to get a hold of the child¡¯s custody. The assets must be divided equally between you and me. Shi Shaochuan, when you ran Wang Fangfang over and killed her back then, if it weren¡¯t for my help, you would¡¯ve been sentenced to death no matter how many times your grandmother had kowtowed. You¡¯ve ruined my lifepletely. You really jinxed your family to death. You¡¯ve also brought harm to me and the child. Yet, you still have the cheek to criticize and chastise me. We shall wait and see what the oue will be in the end.¡± Overwhelmed with shame and anger, Shi Shaochuan threatened, ¡°Jin Qingyue, you¡¯d better not try and provoke me. Otherwise, I will kill you too.¡± Jin Qingyue was utterly thankful deep down that she had made the necessary preparations to destroy him beforehand. Indeed, women can¡¯t be soft-hearted. Otherwise, they will only bring down suffering on themselves. ¡°If you want a divorce, then you¡¯ll have to concede to the conditions I stated earlier. If not, you¡¯d better behave yourself and stay at home to take care of the child. Count your blessings for the fact that I didn¡¯t initiate a divorce. How dare you want to divorce me? Just what are you thinking?¡± Shi Shaochuan added. ¡°I still remember, the previous time I mentioned a divorce because I found out about your affair, you swore that you would die in a car ident if you ever dare to cheat on me again. It¡¯s already been so long since you¡¯ve had multiple affairs, why aren¡¯t you killed by a car yet? Looks like Heaven must be blind.¡± Chapter 333 - Reunion (28)

Chapter 333: Reunion (27)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At a loss for words, Shi Shaochuan turned around to leave. Jin Qingyue watched as the door closed and immediately felt a strong sense of relief. ¡ª Mo Li heard the sky pouring heavily once she woke up. The rain had not subsided even after an entire night. She sat up slightly and realized that Ye Xiaotian was no longer beside her. She took a look at her watch and found that it was almost half past eight in the morning. She lifted the duvet and took look at her child, who was sleeping soundly in the cot. Mo Li had woken up multiple times throughout the night to feed her daughter and thus did not get a good night¡¯s sleep. After washing up in the bathroom, she was served by the servants with some dishes on a tray. ¡°Ms. Mo, here¡¯s your breakfast.¡± ¡°Okay, leave it on the table.¡± The servant ced the dishes onto the coffee table and stood at the side while holding the tray in her hands. ¡°You may leave first. Come up and collect the empty dishester.¡± After some hesitation, the servant ced the tray onto the table and said, ¡°Young Sir arranged for us to prepare this breakfast spread for you. You have to finish it, it¡¯s good for your health.¡± ¡°Yes, got it.¡± The servant turned around to leave and closed the door. Mo Li sat in front of the dressing table and put on some light makeup before taking a seat on the couch to have her breakfast. She found that the porridge tasted slightly bitter. She would not have noticed the difference had she wolfed it down quickly. However, she was eating at an exceptionally slow pace, leaving tens of seconds between each spoonful. Thus, after taking a few mouthfuls of the porridge, Mo Li began to find that it tasted a little different than usual. She then ced the porridge aside and tucked into the other dishes instead. After she was done eating, the servant entered again with a ss of milk. ¡°Ms. Mo, here¡¯s some milk.¡± ¡°Alright, thank you.¡± Mo Li took the ss of milk from the servant¡¯s hands and instructed her, ¡°Clear the dishes and bring them down.¡± Noticing that she did not touch the porridge much, the servant asked, ¡°Does the porridge taste awful? Why didn¡¯t you eat much of it, Ms. Mo?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel like having porridge today. Bring it down.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The servant cleaned up the mess and watched as Mo Li began drinking the milk before hurrying out of the room. Mo Li took a sip of the milk, only to find that it tasted strangely bitter, just like the bowl of porridge earlier. ¡°Could it be my tastebuds?¡± she wondered. She did not want to drink the milk anymore and instead poured it into a pot of nt on the window ledge before cing the empty cup onto the table. Mo Li then took a look at her child, who had just woken up. All smiles, she picked the child up and wrapped her in the nket. She then stood by the window while carrying the child in her arms. The sky was still pouring. Mo Li looked down at her child and gave her a peck on her face affectionately. Not long after, the child fell asleep again, just like all newborns who spend all day eating and sleeping. After cing the child back into the cot, Mo Li was suddenly reminded of An Xiaoning. There was no way Mo Li could have managed to survive if not for her help. She decided to inform An Xiaoning that she had already given birth. However, she discovered that An Xiaoning¡¯s mobile number was no longer in use when she tried to call thetter. Needless to say, she was not aware that An Xiaoning had already changed her mobile phone and number long ago. After much thought, Mo Li decided to call Ye Xiaotian instead and asked him to find out An Xiaoning¡¯s mobile number from Gu Beicheng. She finally managed to get An Xiaoning¡¯s mobile number after much hassle. She waspletely unaware of what An Xiaoning had just gone throughtely, since only very few people knew about it. An Xiaoning was resting in bed right after receiving a dose when she received Mo Li¡¯s call. Noticing that it was a call from an unfamiliar local number, An Xiaoning hesitated for a moment before picking up. She remained silent and waited for the caller to speak. An Xiaoning finally let her guard down upon hearing Mo Li¡¯s voice. ¡°Mo Li, we haven¡¯t spoken to each other in ages.¡± ¡°Yeah, Xiaoning, where are you now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m overseas now. How have you beentely?¡± ¡°Great. I returned to Xiaotian¡¯s side. He decided to bring me home after finding out that I was still alive. The child is born. It¡¯s a girl. We¡¯ll be getting married once the child is one month old,¡± said Mo Li. ¡°Congrattions, it¡¯s been hard on you. You¡¯ve finally found your happiness. I¡¯m really happy for you,¡± An Xiaoning congratted her from the bottom of her heart. ¡°Thank you. Actually, you¡¯re the person I¡¯d like to thank the most. If it weren¡¯t for your help, I wouldn¡¯t be here today.¡± An Xiaoning expressed assent and said, ¡°It was nothing. Don¡¯t mention it. I¡¯m really d that you¡¯re getting married soon. But it¡¯s a pity I won¡¯t be able to attend your wedding. I¡¯ll have to remain abroad for a long period of time.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, no worries.¡± ¡°Mo Li, do you still detest him?¡± An Xiaoning asked slowly. ¡°After all that pain and suffering, there are still scars that time can never heal. After so many twists and turns, I¡¯ve returned to square one and gotten back together with him again. I¡¯ve loved him and hated him before. In fact, I don¡¯t quite know what I¡¯m feeling now, though I do wish I could go back in time and change some things. I just hope life will be good from now on.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. There¡¯ll always be an end to suffering, no matter what. I hope you will have a blissful life from now onwards.¡± ¡°...¡± A smile formed on Mo Li¡¯s face as she ended the call. One would truly grow only after many trials and tribtions in life, which will enlighten oneself. Only after experiencing suffering would one actuallye to realize that growth is truly about learning to ovee ordeals and setbacks. Happiness is bound toe soon after struggling through so much pain and suffering. ¡ª Although Mei Yangyang and Long Tianze had yet to hold a proper wedding, Long Tianze still abided by the traditional marriage customs. He still proceeded with the proposal and betrothal gifts. The betrothal gifts were selected ording to the rules Mei Yangyang¡¯s family was ustomed to. Long Tianze gave Mr. Mei a betrothal sum of 88 thousand dors as well as other gifts. On the day of the proposal, Mei Yangyang was moved to tears as Long Tianze handed her all his savings as well as all the property under his name. He also swore to treat her well for the rest of their lives. Mei Yangyang responded by promising to bear him a few children and build a family of their own. Long Tianze was over the moon. Ever since they had gotten married, they were head-over-heels in love with each other and were practically inseparable. Long Tianze would return home every day after work. Today was no exception. After getting off from work, he drove straight home. He changed into his home slippers at the door before zooming towards the kitchen, only to be greeted with the sight of Mei Yangyang cooking up a storm in the kitchen. He inched forward gleefully and picked Mei Yangyang up in his arms. ¡°Hey, beautiful, I¡¯m home.¡± ¡°Put me down, quick. We may begin eating once I¡¯m done cooking this dish,¡± said Mei Yangyang, who was holding a spat in hand. Long Tianze did as she instructed and helped to carry the cooked dishes out of the kitchen. Mei Yangyang removed her apron afterpleting thest dish and proceeded to bring it out. She then sat down opposite Long Tianze on the dining table. ¡°Before we dig in, I¡¯d like to talk to you about something.¡± Noticing the stern expression on her face, Long Tianze asked in surprise, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been keeping something from you, and I know that you¡¯re also hiding something from me. After dinner, let¡¯se clean with each other, alright?¡± she said calmly while looking at him. Long Tianze squinted and answered, ¡°You know that I¡¯m hiding something from you?¡± ¡°Yes. Nothing can escape my eyes. I know all about it, that¡¯s why I¡¯d like you to tell me about it yourself. I¡¯ll then also tell you what I¡¯m hiding from you.¡± Chapter 334 - Reunion (29)

Chapter 334: Reunion (29)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Why do we have toe clean? Wouldn¡¯t it be better to just keep hiding it?¡± said Long Tianze. Shaking her head, Mei Yangyang said, ¡°I think I should do something about it, instead of sitting back and not doing anything at all.¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s eat first then.¡± Long Tianze began digging in. Mei Yangyang would often have to vie with him for the food every time they ate together. Long Tianze would often say that it¡¯s more appetizing that way. They polished off all three dishes and half a bowl of rice each, after which they yed a round of Scissors, Paper, Stone. Long Tianze lost the round and thus had to do the dishes. Hugging her knees together, Mei Yangyang sat on the couch and recalled her conversation with An Xiaoning in the afternoon. Although they were physically miles apart at the moment, she could sense that An Xiaoning would rather be lonely and stay in the hospital by herself than let Mei Yangyang leave Long Tianze to apany her. She understood the misery An Xiaoning felt deep down. Although thetter had been living each day to the fullest by enriching herself, it was still rather sad to be nursing a pregnancy alone overseas. Thus, she decided to take things into her own hand ande clean with Long Tianze after giving the matter some thought. ¡°Let¡¯se clean,¡± Long Tianze said sternly as he sat down beside her after doing the dishes. Mei Yangyang turned to face him and said, ¡°Hubby, I hope you won¡¯t lie to me. You should know what it is that I want you to be honest about.¡± ¡°Honey, give me a hint so I know what you¡¯re referring to.¡± ¡°The matter about Sis Xiaoning,¡± Mei Yangyang blurted. With raised brows, Long Tianze answered, ¡°I guessed right. But, could you first tell me, what made you want to talk about this?¡± ¡°Because I saw her with my own eyes,¡± Mei Yangyang replied, giving his nose a pinch. Her answer was rather ambiguous. It could mean that she had seen Gu Xiaoning living opposite them, or she could also be referring to An Xiaoning, who was currently overseas. Long Tianze automatically assumed that it was the former. ¡°You saw it?¡± Long Tianze heaved a sigh of relief before continuing to speak, ¡°Since you¡¯ve already seen it, I shall be honest with you. That¡¯s right, your sister is still alive. Jin Qingyan managed to resuscitate her.¡± Mei Yangyang was momentarily speechless, disappointed that he did not tell her the truth. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you talking?¡± Pursing her lips, Mei Yangyang answered, ¡°Nothing, I just feel like she¡¯s different from before.¡± ¡°She¡¯s suffering from amnesia. Couldn¡¯t you tell?¡± Liar! Mei Yangyang felt her blood begin to boil. He was an aplice! ¡°Oh.¡± She managed to calm herself down and did not wish to speak further. ¡°You haven¡¯t confessed to me yet. What is it that you¡¯re hiding from me?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think you need to know anymore.¡± Mei Yangyang put on her slippers and headed upstairs straight away. ¡°Honey!¡± Long Tianze frantically chased after her, unsure why she suddenly got upset. Just as Mei Yangyang sat down on the bed in the bedroom, Long Tianze pounced on her and pinned her down beneath him. She could not move an inch at all. ¡°You¡¯re crushing me!¡± ¡°Tell me quick, what is it that you¡¯re keeping from me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not telling you. Long Tianze, why must I tell you the truth when you can¡¯t even be honest with me?¡± Mei Yangyang retorted, clenching her jaw. ¡°I already told you, didn¡¯t I?¡± ¡°But what you said wasn¡¯t the truth.¡± Mei Yangyang would have definitely told him the secret she was hiding if Long Tianze had chosen to admit his at this juncture. However, he still continued to deny vehemently, ¡°It¡¯s true. There¡¯s nothing I can do if you don¡¯t believe me.¡± Mei Yangyang decided not toe clean in the end. ¡°I was just bluffing you. I¡¯m not hiding anything from you.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. Well done, you little liar. Watch how I punish you!¡± Long Tianze said as he straddled her and began tackling her. ¡°...¡± One hourter, Mei Yangyang began begging for his mercy. ¡°Hubby, please have mercy on me!¡± ¡°No!¡± Mei Yangyang continued to plead to him, but to no avail. Atst, she decided to kick Long Tianze a few times. The initially high-spirited Long Tianze was subjected to physical abuse by his wife. Mei Yangyang finished it off by beating him into a pulp. Atst, he had no choice but to sumb to his wife and give her a full-body massage. Mei Yangyangid in bed while Long Tianze kneeled down to give her a back rub and a feet massage. ¡°Honey, on ount that we¡¯re lovers, may I stop here for tonight?¡± ¡°No, continue massaging me for half an hour.¡± Thus, Long Tianze gathered all his energy and became her masseuse for the night. Jin Qingyan tried to call Long Tianze a few times but could not reach him. Thus, Jin Qingyan decided to go look for Long Tianze personally. As soon as he entered the living room, Jin Qingyan found that Long Tianze was nowhere in sight even though thetter¡¯s mobile phone was sitting on the coffee table. ¡°Where¡¯s Tianze?¡± ¡°He¡¯s upstairs.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Jin Qingyan made his way upstairs, only to overhear their conversationing from the room as soon as he reached the second storey. ¡°Honey, how do you feel? Comfortable?¡± ¡°Go harder. Did you not eat or what?¡± Mei Yangyangined. ¡°I¡¯m already going very hard. Why are you still not satisfied? Forget it, I¡¯m not doing it anymore.¡± ¡°Okay, okay, this is fine. Look how irascible you¡¯re getting just because I chided you a little. Are you asking for a beating?¡± ¡°It¡¯s so hard to please you.¡± ¡°Jerk, where are your hands going...¡± Jin Qingyan was dumbfounded upon hearing their conversation from outside the door. Just as he was about to go downstairs, he bumped into the servant, who asked, ¡°Mr. Jin, why aren¡¯t you going in?¡± The two of them quickly put on their clothes. After getting dressed, Long Tianze opened the door and was immediately greeted with the sight of Jin Qingyan. ¡°When did you arrive?¡± Long Tianze asked. Jin Qingyan burst intoughter and began mimicking Long Tianze, ¡°I was here since ¡®Honey, how do you feel? Comfortable?¡¯¡± ¡°I embarrassed myself. What are you here for?¡± Long Tianze asked. ¡°You didn¡¯t answer all my calls. I was wondering what happened. Turns out you were getting it on.¡± ¡°Haha, I was giving my wife a massage. Do you want one too?¡± ¡°No. I came to ask you if you wanted to join me for a gathering tonight.¡± ¡°Do I get to bring my wife?¡± ¡°It¡¯s up to you.¡± ¡°Count me in then, I¡¯m more than happy to have fun at night.¡± ¡°It¡¯s settled then,¡± said Jin Qingyan as he proceeded to make his way downstairs. ¡°Are you leaving now?¡± ¡°Why? Do you want me to stay?¡± ¡°No, screw you.¡± Long Tianze returned to the bedroom and said to Mei Yangyang, ¡°Take a shower and change into a set of clothes. I¡¯ll take you to have some fun tonight.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s going to be there?¡± ¡°Qingyan didn¡¯t tell me.¡± ¡°Okay then.¡± Mei Yangyang opened her closet and picked out a Qipao before asking him, ¡°Shall I pair this with a cardigan?¡± ¡°Sure. But why does this cardigan look so familiar?¡± Mei Yangyang smiled and said, ¡°Sis Xiaoning gave it to me.¡± ¡°Oh, no wonder it looks so familiar,¡± Long Tianze said in epiphany. ¡°Sis used to wear this cardigan all the time. Now it¡¯s my turn,¡± said Mei Yangyang as she walked towards the bathroom. After taking a warm shower, she changed into the Qipao and put on some makeup and red lipstick. Mei Yangyang pulled her hair back into a ponytail and stood in front of the mirror to gaze at her fresh look, which was rather eye-catching. ¡°You¡¯re so beautiful,¡± Long Tianze praised, gazing at her in awe. ¡°Thank you for thepliment, Mr. Long.¡± They looked at each other and smiled. Long Tianze reached out to hold her hand and said, ¡°Come, let¡¯s go show them how stunningly gorgeous you are.¡± Little did Long Tianze know, Mei Yangyang actually had an ulterior motive for dressing in that set of clothes. Both the Qipao and cardigan had been donned by An Xiaoning, as well as her hairdo for the night. Chapter 335 - Reunion (30)

Chapter 335: Reunion (30)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The gathering was held in arge private room in Entertainment City. By the time Mei Yangyang and Long Tianze arrived, everyone was already present in the room. To Long Tianze¡¯s surprise, Jin Qingyue had also turned up. He was momentarily stunned at the sight of Jin Qingyue, who had gotten way chubbier since thest time he saw her. However, due to the fact that her features were attractive to begin with, Jin Qingyue did not be hideous despite having gained so much weight. Jin Qingyue was initially reluctant to turn up, but Jin Qingyan insisted shee along for some fun, thinking that she needed an outlet to relieve her stress and just rx. Mei Yangyang shifted her gaze to the spot beside Jin Qingyan where An Xiaoning¡¯s clone was seated. In fact, her outfit for the night had already caught Jin Qingyan¡¯s attention. It suddenly struck his mind that the woman he loved had once donned the outfit Mei Yangyang was dressed in. ¡°Let¡¯s wee Oppa Long and his newlywed wife as they make a stunning appearance!¡± Ling Ciye weed them warmly with an apuse. ¡°His wife?¡± Jin Qingyue asked in astonishment. Ling Ciye nodded with a sheepish grin and said, ¡°Mhmm, they¡¯ve been married for some time now.¡± Jin Qingyue was rather disgruntled to hear the news. ¡°Why isn¡¯t there a wedding?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t n to hold one yet at the moment,¡± Long Tianze answered as he held Mei Yangyang¡¯s hand and took a seat. To Jin Qingyan¡¯s surprise, Mei Yangyang had been appearing rather calm andposed since the moment she saw An Xiaoning. Long Tianze gave her a nudge and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t that your sister? Go say hi to her. She¡¯s lost her memory and doesn¡¯t remember who you are.¡± Mei Yangyang turned to face Long Tianze and chuckled sarcastically. In fact, it was already rather obvious from her actions that she was aware of the truth. Yet, Long Tianze failed to sense anything from her unusual behavior. Mei Yangyang turned around and greeted Gu Xiaoning, ¡°Do you still remember me?¡± ¡°This is Mei Yangyang, she used to be your sworn sister,¡± Jin Qingyan said gently. Mei Yangyang felt an urge to punch Jin Qingyan at the instant that she heard his words. Since when was she sworn sisters with this imposter? However, she managed to curb her anger. Instead, she responded with a smile before grabbing the microphone and proceeding to the song selection station to pick a song. ¡°Let me kick off the party with a song dedicated to you guys.¡± ¡°A round of apuse please!¡± Long Tianze eximed, urging his friends to cheer for his wife. The crowd broke into apuse while Mei Yangyang selected an old song, ¡°999 Roses.¡± ¡°The past has vanished like wind, infatuation is hard to understand, bidding you goodbye and drowning my sorrows in wine, your blurred figure continues to linger in the candle light. Your features can¡¯t be seen and all I see is a photo of you standing alone...¡± Mei Yangyang was extremely absorbed in the mood while crooning the song. Gazing at Long Tianze, she would sometimes smile at him and, at other times, she would appear extremely stern and solemn. After the song ended, Mei Yangyang handed the microphone to Long Tianze and said, ¡°Come, sing for us.¡± Long Tianze epted her offer and picked a song by Elva Hsiao: ¡°Confession.¡± Standing in front of Mei Yangyang with the microphone in hand, Long Tianze began to sing, ¡°I¡¯ve always been confident. Usually, I would never fear to speak my mind. Yet, when I¡¯m around you, I just can¡¯t help but feel shy. Why have I be like this? My body won¡¯t listen to my mind, I¡¯ve never felt this way before...¡± Mei Yangyang burst into smiles upon hearing his cover of the song. Jin Qingyue, who was sitting not too far away, stared begrudgingly at the pair of lovebirds, who were gazing at each other affectionately. She could not help but feel awkward and ill at ease. She felt awkward not because anyone had embarrassed her, but because she felt like she should not have turned up that night, especially since she had gotten so much chubbier. Staring at Long Tianze, Jin Qingyue recalled the past and began to find herself extremely foolish for not ever realizing how brilliant Long Tianze was before. Yet, the very same man seemed extremely attractive to her now. Unfortunately, she often gave him the cold shoulder while he was wooing her in the past. Now that he had already gotten married, she could not help but deeply regret her silly decisions. It was just her luck to be so ill-fated. Jin Qingyue stared nkly at a corner and thought to herself, Will I ever meet a good catch again in this life? After Long Tianze¡¯s song ended, he immediately eximed, ¡°Let¡¯s wee Qingyan and his femalepany to have a dance!¡± Jin Qingyan stood up amidst the constant cheering from his friends and held onto Gu Xiaoning¡¯s hand. Noticing that she appeared rather nervous, he assured herfortingly, ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯ll teach you.¡± She was akin to a newborn who needed to be taught everything all over again. Mei Yangyang whipped her phone out to see that she had an iing call from ¡°Beautiful Babe.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s Beautiful Babe? Is she from overseas?¡± Long Tianze asked. ¡°Someone I know, obviously,¡± Mei Yangyang answered straight away. She swiped to answer the call and ced the mobile phone beside her ear. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°I hear ssical music in your background. Where are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m at Entertainment City. There¡¯s a karaoke here, remember?¡± ¡°Oh, who¡¯s there?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Everyone.¡± Just as they were speaking, Ling Ciye cheered loudly, ¡°Qingyan, kiss her!¡± Feeling nervous and afraid that An Xiaoning had overheard Ling Ciye, Mei Yangyang quickly asked, ¡°Have you eaten?¡± ¡°Yes. Is that woman there with him too?¡± ¡°Um, yeah.¡± An Xiaoning fell silent all of a sudden. ¡°I feel like spilling the truth,¡± Mei Yangyang said frantically. An Xiaoning knew what she meant and immediately stopped her, ¡°You mustn¡¯t do that, this is not what I want. I would rather not have such a superficial rtionship, lest it bes a burden to me. I¡¯m trying to cleanse my soul now. To me, he¡¯s bing more and more distant. Yangyang, we will definitely meet again one day. I¡¯m very certain of that. I don¡¯t wish to seem like a loser when I see him again. I¡¯m going to get some rest. Goodnight.¡± ¡°Goodnight,¡± Mei Yangyang said over the phone. She proceeded to end the call. Her heart sank after the conversation. Noticing that she seemed to be upset, Long Tianze asked, ¡°Who was the person who called? What did you guys talk about?¡± Mei Yangyang shook her head and stared at the couple dancing in front of her. ¡°Nothing much.¡± ¡°Just who was that person?¡± ¡°A friend of mine.¡± ¡°Which friend? Why am I not aware that you have such a close friend?¡± ¡°A childhood friend who had gone to live abroad,¡± Mei Yangyang said, brushing him off with ame excuse. ¡°Oh, I see,¡± said Long Tianze, who took her word for it. With a nod, Mei Yangyang continued, ¡°She¡¯s pregnant now. I said I wanted to be the Godmother of her child, which means you¡¯ll be the Godfather.¡± ¡°You acknowledged a godchild without asking for my opinion?¡± asked a dumbfounded Long Tianze. ¡°So what if I did? We¡¯re very close friends, even closer than family. I don¡¯t need to seek your approval before deciding. If you don¡¯t wish to be the godfather, so be it. I¡¯m definitely going to be the Godmother, anyway,¡± Mei Yangyang said in all seriousness. ¡°I didn¡¯t say I don¡¯t want to. I just think it¡¯s too abrupt to be her child¡¯s godfather out of the blue when I don¡¯t even know her personally.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll get used to it. Do you understand how it feels to be unable to speak your mind?¡± Mei Yangyangmented while leaning her head on his shoulder. ¡°Just speak whatever¡¯s on your mind. Why aren¡¯t you allowed to do so? Is someone forcing you to keep mum?¡± ¡°Idiot.¡± Mei Yangyang let out a humph and did not say anything else. Chapter 336 - Reunion (31)

Chapter 336: Reunion (31)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyue decided to leave early before the gathering even ended. Throughout the night, she did not sing a single song. She returned home to her empty bedroom. Shi Shaochuan had been brazenly staying out every night ever since the conflict they had previously. Jin Qingyueid in bed wide awake and unable to fall asleep. She could not wrap her head around why almost every woman around her was able to grasp their true happiness, yet she had to suffer such a terrible fate. She began topare Mei Yangyang¡¯s svelte figure to her current plump and rotund self. Her figure had be so hideous within just a little over a year. Women ought to love themselves before they earn the love of others. Fortunately, her disastrous marriage was going toe to an end very soon. Things would be great then. She was so close to starting her life anew. Jin Qingyue began to feel at ease after reassuring herself with happy thoughts and soon managed to slip into a peaceful slumber for the rest of the night. Itsted ¡¯til the next morning, where she was jolted awake by the sounds of Shi Shaochuan returning home to get a change of clothes. ¡°It¡¯s already past seven yet you¡¯re still sleeping. Are you a pig?¡± ¡°That¡¯s none of your business. I¡¯ll sleep however long I want,¡± Jin Qingyue retorted. ¡°I¡¯m just showing you concern as your husband. You¡¯re already so fat and you still sleep so much. You¡¯d better watch out for a sudden death.¡± ¡°Hah... don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll die before I do,¡± Jin Qingyue gibed while putting on her clothes in an unhurried manner. Just as Shi Shaochuan got dressed, the butler began knocking on the door frantically. ¡°Young Sir, something has happened.¡± ¡°Come in,¡± Shi Shaochuan yelled. The butler quickly entered and said, ¡°The officers from the Property Tax Authority are here. They¡¯re asking to see you.¡± ¡°They¡¯re looking for me?¡± Shi Shaochuan shot Jin Qingyue a nce before making his way downstairs. Jin Qingyue was filled with joy and quickly got out of bed to follow him downstairs. ¡°We received a report about you, Shi Shaochuan. After some investigation, we¡¯ve collected sufficient evidence from yourpany records to charge you with tax evasion. The total tax revenue amounted to more than 10 million dors. We¡¯re now going to bring you back for further investigation.¡± ¡°Who was the one who reported it?¡± asked a flustered Shi Shaochuan. ¡°We can¡¯t tell you that. Take him away.¡± Shi Shaochuan was thus arrested. Jin Qingyue watched him being taken away before turning around to go upstairs. She opened her closet and began packing her clothes into her luggage furiously without breaks. After packing all her belongings, she made her way downstairs. ¡°Young Madam, I heard that Young Sir is undergoing investigations because he had been reported by someone. Young Madam, you must save Young Sir this time,¡± the butler said worriedly. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best to save him,¡± Jin Qingyue answered smilingly. She began walking towards the entrance, keeping her eyes fixed on the road ahead. After exiting the gate, she looked up into the sky, grinning from ear to ear. Meanwhile, Jin Qingyan had begun taking action just as Shi Shaochuan had gotten arrested. The board of directors and shareholders of Shi Shaochuan¡¯spany had all heard of thetest news. Due to the presence of gaps and omissions in thepany ounts, thepany was currently facing a crisis. The Jin Corporation is offering a high price to acquire thepany. The board of directors called for a meeting and came to a consensus to sign the buy-over agreement within just two days of confirming that Shi Shaochuan had been charged guilty for tax evasion. Jin Qingyan had also instructed for the news to be leaked to Shi Shaochuan, informing him that the directors and shareholders had all cast a unanimous vote to strip him of his leadership position in thepany. Upon hearing that the Jin Corporation had acquired hispany, Shi Shaochuan knew right away who it was that reported him. There was no use being angry at this point. Jin Qingyue filed for a divorce and produced the evidence of Shi Shaochuanmitting adultery repeatedly. She requested for full custody of the child as well as for the majority of the marital assets. Shi Shaochuan only realized after hearing about her filing for a divorce that she had nned all of this from the start. He understood that Jin Qingyue had lost all feelings for him and wanted him to end up with nothing. He tried to contact Jin Qingyue through hiswyer to no avail. That goes without saying. It was impossible that Jin Qingyue would want to visit him at this point, let alone answer his calls. She signed up for a weight-loss program and set her mind to regaining her prenatal figure. She managed to lose seven pounds within just three days of starting the slimming program, which came at a hefty price tag. She sat in a cafe, appearing more radiant and healthier than before. Opposite her was the woman Shi Shaochuan had an affair with, Liu Xiaomi. ¡°Do you know what plight Shi Shaochuan is in now?¡± Shaking her head, Liu Xiaomi answered, ¡°No, I don¡¯t think I need to know either.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve always known of your existence. I didn¡¯t look you up earlier simply because I thought it¡¯d be easier for me to gather evidence of his adulterous acts that way. I¡¯ve already filed for a divorce in court, and he¡¯s currently locked up for tax evasion. Due to the fact that the revenue evaded is a ratherrge sum, he¡¯s probably going to be sentenced to a few years in jail. I came to look for you to tell you something,¡± Jin Qingyue said slowly. ¡°What is it?¡± Liu Xiaomi asked. ¡°You¡¯re very young, and you¡¯re still a university student. There are plenty of guys in college whom you can get to be your boyfriend. Yet, you chose to be a homewrecker. Although you may not admit that you¡¯re one, you¡¯ve actually be so. You¡¯re not after money or status, you just want to be with him. I don¡¯t know if your brains are fried or what, but I¡¯d like to tell you, you¡¯re such a silly girl. Do you know what happened to his previous lover? She¡¯s dead now, though I wasn¡¯t the one who killed her, obviously. So, I just came to tell you this, if you don¡¯t respect yourself, you¡¯ll be the one regretting and suffering in the end,¡± Jin Qingyue said with a smirk. Staring at her, Liu Xiaomi nodded and conceded, ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so young and beautiful. Why do you have to reduce yourself to living like this? Life is short, you ought to make the best out of it and live an exciting life. Otherwise, you¡¯re only going to realize when you¡¯re older that you¡¯ve achieved nothing in the end and wasted your time and youth.¡± Jin Qingyue stood up and continued, ¡°It¡¯s up to you to decide if you want to take my advice or not. I just felt the need to give you a piece of my mind. Goodbye.¡± ¡°Wait a minute, Ms. Jin.¡± Jin Qingyue stopped in her tracks and turned around to look at her. Liu Xiaomi stood up to stare at her before saying, ¡°I¡¯m going to take your advice and stop contacting him from here on. But, I¡¯d also like to tell you something. A man can only hurt a woman if she loves him way too much, to the point that she¡¯s be too soft-hearted and would forgive him easily just after hearing his sweet nothings. So, a man can¡¯t hurt you unless you ask for it yourself.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, a woman should live for herself instead of allowing herself to be objectified by a man and to be his essory,¡± said Jin Qingyue. Jin Qingyue then grabbed her purse and left. Upon getting into her car, she began to recall her actions in the past and felt an urge to go back in time to p some sense into her own head for being so foolish back then. ¡ª ¡°Ms. Mo, here¡¯s some milk for you,¡± said the servant, serving her a ss of milk on a tray. ¡°Okay. What¡¯s your name?¡± Mo Li asked as she grabbed the cup of milk. ¡°My name is Tao Zi.¡± ¡°Alright, you¡¯re dismissed.¡± Just as Tao Zi left, Ye Xiaotian entered with another ss of milk. ¡°I¡¯ve decided not to go to work today.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I want to stay at home to apany you.¡± Mo Li lowered her head to take a sip of the milk, only to discover that it was still as bitter as before. She reached out to grab his ss and said, ¡°Let me have a sip of yours.¡± ¡°Why? Does mine taste better?¡± Ye Xiaotian asked, handing her the ss. Mo Li took a sip of his ss of milk and found that it tasted normal, unlike hers. ¡°Yes,¡± she answered smilingly. Chapter 337 - Reunion (32)

Chapter 337: Reunion (32)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°That¡¯s because you know it¡¯s mine,¡± Ye Xiaotian said teasingly. ¡°Try mine and tell me if you can taste a difference between the two,¡± said Mo Li. Ye Xiaotian took a sip out of his ss before trying hers. ¡°It does taste a bit different,¡± he concluded with a frown on his forehead. Mo Li turned around to carry the pot of nt on the window ledge and showed it to him. ¡°I haven¡¯t been drinking the milk served to me the past few days ¨C I¡¯ve been pouring them into this pot of nt instead. Look, the waxy green leaves have all turned yellow and withered. I¡¯m wondering, could there be something wrong with this milk?¡± Ye Xiaotian took a closer look and realized that it was indeed so. His face immediately stiffened with dismay. ¡°Go watch the surveince camera footage with me.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± They arrived at the surveince cameras monitor room and extracted the footage from the surveince camera in the kitchen. In the end, they discovered that whenever Tao Zi was pouring milk, she would add an unknown transparent liquid into the ss. They looked at each other in dismay. Ye Xiaotian was hot with fury while Mo Li remained rather calm. In hindsight, the consequences would have been dire, had she been careless. Just as Ye Xiaotian was about to reprimand Tao Zi, Mo Li quickly stopped him. ¡°Someone definitely instigated her to do it. If we punish her now, we might not get the answer we want. There¡¯s no harm in waiting a little longer.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve discovered that you¡¯re far sharper than I imagined.¡± ¡°I just pay attention to the details. Actually, I realized that it pays to be alert and careful,¡± Mo Li said smilingly. ¡°Thank you for being so meticulous. If you didn¡¯t discover that the milk tasted unusual, I wouldn¡¯t have suspected anything either. I won¡¯t be able to forgive myself should anything happen to you,¡± Ye Xiaotian said solemnly while staring at her. Pursing her lips, Mo Li answered, ¡°Let¡¯s pretend we don¡¯t know anything about this for now. Get someone to send that ss of milk to theb for a chemical test and find out what¡¯s in there.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After exiting from the surveince cameras monitor room, Mo Li returned to the bedroom while Ye Xiaotian brought the ss of milk for ab test personally. Mo Liid down in bed and gazed at her child, who was not too far away. She was filled with fear and terror. Would the child be an easy target for the perpetrator if she leaves her with the nanny all day? There were only very few people who could be the possible masterminds behind the scheme. However, Mo Li did not dare to pinpoint anyone without sufficient evidence. However, it rmed her to always be wary of the people around her. It was already afternoon by the time Ye Xiaotian returned. Holding theb test results in his hand, he said, ¡°I got someone to look into the call log on her mobile phone. We¡¯ll find out very soon if she has contacted anyone familiar to us.¡± Mo Li took the test report from him and began perusing the content. ¡°What do these mean?¡± she asked, referring to the numbers and information written on the report, which she could not understand. ¡°It¡¯s a kind of drug that would cause one to develop cancer rapidly. One month of consecutive dosing is all it takes to reach the final stages of cancer,¡± Ye Xiaotian answered. ¡°Such drugs exist?¡± Mo Li eximed in utter shock. ¡°Of course they do. The mastermind had better watch out. He or she is going to be dead meat once I find out who it is,¡± Ye Xiaotian said with an icy cold re in his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m the main target, which means it¡¯s definitely a woman behind this,¡± deduced a terrified Mo Li. Ye Xiaotian looked at her and said, ¡°Don¡¯t dwell on it anymore. We¡¯ll interrogate that servant once we find out more. Would you like to go take a walk now? It¡¯s sunny outside and there¡¯s no wind.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± During her postnatal confinement period, the furthest Mo Li had gone for a walk was around the yard at home. They strolled along the sidewalk, hand in hand. Mo Li felt exceptionally rxed to be able to take a breather. ¡°Why don¡¯t we give the child a name now?¡± ¡°What would you like to name her?¡± Ye Xiaotian asked. After some thought, Mo Li answered, ¡°How does ¡®Yingying¡¯ sound?¡± ¡°Ye Yingying? Doesn¡¯t sound good. How about ¡®Jiani¡¯?¡± Ye Xiaotian rejected her suggestion directly. ¡°Sounds good. Ye Jiani?¡± Mo Li agreed. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s settled then. Jiani, Jiani, Jiani, my daughter. Did you know? I adored her instantly the moment I saw her little face for the first time. She¡¯s too cute,¡± Ye Xiaotian chirped, ted and proud to be a father. ¡°She looks too much like you. If only she resembled me a little,¡± Mo Limented. ¡°She has to resemble me to be beautiful. You¡¯re at most pleasant-looking, understand?¡± ¡°No, I think I¡¯m quite pretty myself,¡± Mo Li protested. ¡°That¡¯s what you think.¡± ¡°Ye Xiaotian!¡± ¡°Yes? I¡¯m not deaf, you don¡¯t have to shout.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to ignore you,¡± said Mo Li as she strode forward quickly. Ye Xiaotian hurriedly chased after her and hugged her tightly from behind while continuing to move forward slowly. ¡°I was just joking. In my eyes, you¡¯re the most beautiful woman in this world.¡± ¡°Compared to your mother?¡± Mo Li threw a difficult question at him. ¡°I¡¯m very fair and just. So, you two are equally beautiful to me,¡± Ye Xiaotian answered softly. Mo Li turned around to look at him and asked, ¡°If Sun Weiwei was behind the act, how are you going to handle the matter?¡± ¡°Weiwei?¡± It had clearly never ured to Ye Xiaotian that Sun Weiwei could be the culprit. ¡°If she was the one who did it, I¡¯ll definitely teach her a good lesson. Other than my mother, there¡¯s no one I will tolerate and let off. I will pursue the matter for sure. It¡¯s seriously too vicious, after all.¡± Mo Li was relieved to hear his answer. ¡°Oh, they¡¯re back from doing investigations.¡± Ye Xiaotian took a look to see that his underlings had returned. ¡°Young Sir, this is the call history.¡± Ye Xiaotian and Mo Li then began perusing the call history. A grave and sullen expression formed on his face. ¡°I never expected this,¡± he said, clenching the piece of paper in his hands. ¡°Who did she contact the most frequently?¡± Mo Li asked. ¡°Come with me.¡± Ye Xiaotian did not answer her question and instead held her hand and began walking towards the house. Upon arriving in the living room, Ye Xiaotian instructed the butler, ¡°Gather all the servants.¡± ¡°Yes, Young Sir.¡± Not long after, all the servants of the vi assembled in the spacious living room. Ye Xiaotian stood rooted to the ground while holding on to Mo Li¡¯s hand tightly. Staring at the servants before him, he raised Mo Li¡¯s hand in the air and announced, ¡°Very soon, she will be the Young Madam of the Ye family, my wife. Yet, someone amongst you is trying to cause her harm. How do you think I should punish this person?¡± As soon as he finished speaking, the servants looked at each other in dismay and began discussing amongst themselves. ¡°Who would have that audacity?¡± ¡°Exactly, is she tired of living?¡± ¡°How terrifying.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Young Sir, is that true? Who is the person? We¡¯ll single her out immediately,¡± said the butler, who was also greatly taken aback. Ye Xiaotian let go of Mo Li¡¯s hand and red at the servants. ¡°The person behind this, show yourself now. I¡¯ve already checked the footage of the surveince cameras in the kitchen. Things are going to get ugly if I have to expose you myself,¡± he warned. In no time, Tao Zi immediately stepped forward, trembling uncontrobly from head to toe in immense fear. Chapter 338 - Reunion (33)

Chapter 338: Reunion (33)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios All eyes were on Tao Zi as she dropped to the ground on her knees immediately. ¡°Please spare my life, Young Sir. I was wrong.¡± Everyone stared at her in extreme shock and disbelief. ¡°How dare you poison Ms. Mo!?! Who was the one who put you to it?¡± the butler questioned. ¡°No one did. It was just a moment of folly. Please spare me, Ms. Mo!¡± ring at her from above, Ye Xiaotian questioned further, ¡°If no one instigated you, then let me ask you, why did you contact Weiwei so many times? You¡¯re just a servant who¡¯s not her friend or rted to her in any way. Why do you have to call each other so often?¡± Tao Zi was momentarily at a loss for words. After several seconds of silence, she raised her head slowly and answered, ¡°Sis Weiwei and I are friends. We¡¯re just contacting each other like normal friends do.¡± ¡°Looks like you don¡¯t n to tell the truth, do you? You actually still have the guts to beg me to let you off. Someone, send her to Mount Heyuan!¡± Ye Xiaotian sneered. The butler quickly berated, ¡°Quick, spit the truth!¡± Unsure of what awaited her on Mount Heyuan, Tao Zi insisted on remaining tight-lipped and answered, ¡°No one instigated me, I did it all out of my own ord. I was jealous of Ms. Mo for being adored by Young Sir, whom I fancy very much.¡± Putting his hands behind his back, Ye Xiaotian walked towards her slowly and warned, ¡°Mount Heyuan is where I breed my snakes. When I dump you there, I reckon the snakes would definitely enjoy feasting on you. Well, you¡¯re young, after all, your flesh must be tender.¡± Everyone else stood rooted to the ground in shock. Pangs of panic engulfed Tao Zi as she turned pale as a sheet. ¡°Bring her away,¡± Ye Xiaotian instructed. ¡°Young Sir, I¡¯ll speak up, I¡¯ll tell the truth!¡± Tao Zi eximed while struggling to break free, clearly scared soulless. ¡°It was Sis Weiwei who put me to it. She threatened to tell you that I stole from her and send me to prison if I don¡¯t do what she says. Young Sir, please spare me,¡± she confessed. ¡°You¡¯re so silly. You should¡¯vee to tell me when she first threatened you. After I find out the truth, not only would I spare you from punishment, I¡¯d even reward you. But it¡¯s a shame you chose the wrong path. No matter who instigated you to do this, you still did it in the end. Thus, I can¡¯t let you off easily for sure. Send her to the police station,¡± said Ye Xiaotian. The butler gestured to the bodyguards and ordered, ¡°Bring her away.¡± ¡°Young Sir!¡± Tao Zi cried as she was dragged away forcefully while the rest remained standing in silence, not daring to utter a single word. Staring at the crowd before him, Ye Xiaotian warned, ¡°You¡¯ve all seen what happened to her in the end. Just perform your job well and do what you¡¯re supposed to. There are surveince cameras everywhere in this house. Don¡¯t think you can get away withmitting any sordid acts. Don¡¯t be a smart aleck, for your ingenuity might just be the cause of your own downfall. Okay, that¡¯s all for today. Go back to what you¡¯re supposed to do.¡± ¡°Yes, Young Sir,¡± the servants chorused. ¡°Young Sir, do we call Ms. Sun toe here?¡± asked the butler. ¡°No need for that. Ry my instruction to the rest. No one is allowed to let her enter this house in the future, hear me?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You may take your leave too.¡± Ye Xiaotian held Mo Li¡¯s hand and headed upstairs. When they returned to the bedroom, Mo Li remained silent while Ye Xiaotian said, ¡°Do you think I would let her off just like that?¡± ¡°Yes, I do think so,¡± Mo Li answered in admittance. Keeping his eyes fixed on her, Ye Xiaotian said, ¡°No, I won¡¯t. I was the one who gave her fame and sess. Since I have the ability to do that, I naturally have the power to destroy her too. I must make her pay for doing something so outrageous to you.¡± Mo Li felt her heart skip a beat. At this very moment, she felt extremely ttered ¨C she did not expect him to stand up for her. ¡°What do you n to do?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that. In all, I won¡¯t deal with her with the same method she used to harm you. But, I¡¯ll make her realize that you¡¯re not to be messed with,¡± said Ye Xiaotian, holding her in his arms. ¡°Okay,¡± Mo Li agreed with a nod. Little did she expect that Ye Xiaotian would be prompt at taking action. The next day, news of Sun Weiwei being a drug addict were sshed across all media tforms such as Weibo, online news portals, newspapers, as well as all major tabloids and magazines. She was also exposed to be involved in sexual rtionships with her superiors, and photos of her scandalous affairs were all leaked. All sorts of insider gossip and dirt on Sun Weiwei¡¯s scandals quickly spread like wildfire. Meanwhile, Sun Weiwei waspletely thrown off guard by the sudden expos¨¦. Her management agency frantically began to pull their public rtions and offered to bribe the person who leaked the news with arge sum of money in an attempt to get him to retract the news and apologize, but to no avail. Their efforts were futile. The matter was soon blown out of proportion and became the greatest scandal of the year. On the same day, Sun Weiwei¡¯s works were stopped from broadcasting. The variety programs that she took part in filming for were all temporarily cancelled, and sales of her new album took a tremendous plunge. In addition, all themercials she starred in were terminated by the advertisers and sponsors. In other words, Sun Weiwei¡¯s entertainment career took an unexpected turn for the worse and was thrown into jeopardy within just a single day. Yet, she still could not figure out who the culprit behind the leak was! Realizing that matters were getting way out of hand, Sun Weiwei decided to call Ye Xiaotian for help. Ye Xiaotian answered her call. ¡°Brother Xiaotian, have you seen the news? Please hurry and save me.¡± Without beating around the bush, Ye Xiaotian said bluntly, ¡°Sun Weiwei, I¡¯ve brought all of these upon you. This is the price you have to pay for trying to poison Mo Li. I won¡¯t let you die, but I¡¯ll make your life a living hell.¡± He then hung up on Sun Weiwei, who was utterly dumbstruck. She hurriedly tried to call Tao Zi, but thetter did not answer. Sun Weiwei sprawled onto the ground in distress, feeling as if her world hade crashing down on her. ¡°Sis Weiwei... what did Mr. Ye say?¡± ¡°He found out about the n I hatched to harm Mo Li. So...¡± Sun Weiwei answered feebly, unable to recover from the shock. ¡°So Mr. Ye was the one behind this,¡± said the assistant, who immediately understood the situation. ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m at the end of my rope, there¡¯s no way out for me now.¡± Unsure how she shouldfort her, the assistant said, ¡°Given Mr. Ye¡¯s character, he definitely won¡¯t let you off. Sis Weiwei, what are you supposed to do now?¡± Sun Weiwei¡¯s initial fury grew into an uncontroble rage upon hearing her assistant¡¯s words, which were like fuel added to fire. Trembling uncontrobly in anger, Sun Weiwei immediately gave her assistant a tight p across her face. ¡°Could you stop reminding me of it so intentionally!?!¡± she snapped. The assistant clutched her face and stared at Sun Weiwei before giving her a p back. Sun Weiwei was dumbfounded. In the past, her assistant would never have had the audacity to p her. However, not only did she now have the guts to, but she also even vented all her pent-up frustration that was caused by Sun Weiwei and proceeded to p thetter a few more times. ¡°How dare you hit me? Take a good look at the sorry state you¡¯re in now. Sun Weiwei, you¡¯ve brought all of these upon yourself. If you dare order me around again, I¡¯ll expose you to Mr. Ye and tell him about how you poisoned Bai Ranran to death. If he finds out about that, I suppose he will punish you in an even more severe manner than just ruining your career.¡± ¡°Are you getting too brazen and biting the hand that feeds you!?!¡± Sun Weiwei hollered, her ears still ringing from the impact of the p. ¡°So what if I am? If you dare treat me the way you used to in the past, I can¡¯t promise I won¡¯t spill all the secrets I know about you to the public,¡± the assistant sneered. Sun Weiwei was exasperated beyond words. She was on the verge of bing deranged and hysterical from the multiple blows she suffered in one go. Chapter 339 - Reunion (34)

Chapter 339: Reunion (34)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Little did Sun Weiwei know that this was only the beginning of her great downfall. In the subsequent days, all sorts of breaking news about her were exposed, followed by a massive plunge in her poprity. Fans who adored her in the past had begun turning their backs on her and expressed their disgust at her sordid andplicated lifestyle. Soon, half a month passed. Sun Weiwei¡¯s career had sunk into the doldrums. The initial A-list celebrity was reduced to a greatly despised and abhorred actress who was way past her prime. It all happened too quickly, such that Sun Weiwei could not even process what was going on. At the same time, there was also progress in the case involving Shi Shaochuan. The prosecution was followed by a case hearing in court. Jin Qingyue was present on the day of the court hearing because the verdict of her divorce im was also scheduled to be out that very same day. It was initially supposed to be on a different day. However, Jin Qingyan pulled some connections and arranged for the two separate cases to be brought to trial in court on the same day. Shi Shaochuan was sentenced to five years in prison and charged a fine of 500 thousand dors for the evasion of more than 100 million dors worth of taxes. He also indicated that he would not be requesting for an appeal. ¡°Mr. Shi Shaochuan, we¡¯ll now be hearing the case of your divorce. Ms. Jin Qingyue has filed for a divorce with you in the beginning of March. The distribution of matrimonial assets as well as the custody of the child will be decided after today¡¯s trial,¡± said the judge while taking a look at the case details. Shi Shaochuan cocked his head to the side to see that Jin Qingyue was seated in the jury box as the intiff, alongside herwyer. A gloomy expression formed on his face. Jin Qingyue¡¯swyer listed all the evidence of Shi Shaochuan¡¯s multiple extramarital affairs, which had been urring consecutively since the start of their marriage. Shi Shaochuan was unfaithful towards his wife, Jin Qingyue, and had a nonchnt and negligent attitude towards their child. Thewyer exined that Jin Qingyue had decided to divorce him out of disappointment and was requesting for full custody of their child as well as a XX% share of the assets. ¡°XX% share of the assets? Out of the question! You can¡¯t have full custody of the child either!¡± Shi Shaochuan roared in exasperation. ¡°I knew you wouldn¡¯t agree, that¡¯s why I took the matter to court. It¡¯s not up to you to decide the oue,¡± Jin Qingyue said coldy with a straight face. ¡°Please be quiet! Mr. Shi Shaochuan, is the evidence produced by the intiff true?¡± the judge questioned. ¡°It is false,¡± Shi Shaochuan denied. ¡°Please produce the evidence to support your im then.¡± Shi Shaochuan was at a total loss for words. Yet, he could not find any substantial evidence to rebut Jin Qingyue. Thus, the judge approved their divorce and granted the faultless Jin Qingyue her request for full custody of the child. Due to the fact that Jin Qingyue had also filed a im for alimony for the child to be paid in one go, the matrimonial assets were distributed in a 60:40 ratio, with Jin Qingyue receiving 60% of the total assets while Shi Shaochuan was receiving 40%. The case was passed and the hearing was over. Jin Qingyue was over the moon to achieve the verdict and oue she hoped for. However, Shi Shaochuan was infuriated beyond limits. Not only did he lose more than half of his assets, his child was about to be taken away from him, and so was hispany! To make matters worse, he had to serve a jail term of five years! There can¡¯t be anything more devastating for him at this point. ¡°Jin Qingyue, you¡¯d better watch out for when I¡¯m released. I won¡¯t let you off!¡± Shi Shaochuan hollered. ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll be waiting for that day toe,¡± Jin Qingyue said, remainingposed and fearless. She grabbed her purse and turned around to leave. As soon as she stepped out of the courts, she was surrounded by a bunch of reporters and journalists who bombarded her with many questions, all of which she answered ordingly. She looked up into the sky to see that the sun was shining bright and high. She was only 23 years old this year, still very young in her years. A bright future awaited her. She believed that she would not make the same mistake twice and would definitely open her eyes wider in the future to judge a man clearly instead of jumping into a rtionship right away. She was certain that she would find a kind and good-hearted man. She learned her lesson after suffering the consequences of letting love get the better of her rationality. However, she was determined to be the best version of herself and live her life to the fullest, now that she had wealth and a child. Fall down seven times, get up eight. Failure does not matter as long as one is willing to pick themselves up and learn from their mistakes. __ An Xiaoning¡¯s greatest fear at the moment was that her child would be born in July. She was born in the midst of July herself, yet she dreaded to have her child be born on the same day. Right smack in the middle of July, her fetus was more than nine months old. She was nearing the end of herst trimester; her due date was approaching. That morning, Mr. and Mrs. Gu, Gu Beicheng, as well as Gu Dongcheng arrived at the hospital An Xiaoning was residing in. Due to the fact that An Xiaoning was about to deliver any time soon, they decided to arrive a few days in advance. Mei Yangyang was rather eager to tag along as well. However, she was four months pregnant at the moment. Thus, An Xiaoning refused to allow her to board such a long flight toe visit her. Besides, Mei Yangyang could not find a suitable excuse to convince Long Tianze, who had been watching her closely, to allow her to go overseas. She was relieved to hear from An Xiaoning that the Gu family had gone to visit thetter. Mei Yangyang prayed silently in her heart for a safe and smooth delivery of the child. An Xiaoning had been consistently injecting herself with daily doses of tocolytic and had gone through a ton of suffering to keep the child. She prayed for there to be no hups in the remaining few days and for An Xiaoning¡¯s efforts to finally pay off. In fact, An Xiaoning was the most nervous of them all. As long as I push through the 15th of July, everything will be fine, An Xiaoning thought to herself. She did not want her child to share the same birthday as her. That must not happen at all! Yet, what she dreaded most had arrived, ironically. At around eight in the evening, An Xiaoning felt a sudden contraction in her stomach after dinner. She had an ominous feeling and, soon after, she began to feel an immense, acute pain in her abdomen. Gu Beicheng was the only one apanying her while the rest had gone back to their hotel rooms to rest. An Xiaoning did not make a sound and instead tried to sit up straight. Noticing that she appeared to be in difort, Gu Beicheng asked worriedly, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Beicheng, I think I¡¯m going intobor very soon.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll call the doctor then,¡± said Gu Beicheng as he reached out in an attempt to press the assistance bell. An Xiaoning quickly stopped him and said, ¡°Hold it. Do you know what day it is today?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s your birthday.¡± An Xiaoning was filled with tension from head to toe. ¡°I don¡¯t wish to give birth to him today. I¡¯d like to wait until past midnight, everything will be fine by then. Beicheng, the child can¡¯t be born today, do you understand what I mean!¡± An Xiaoning struggled to speak in between sobs due to the unbearable pain. Gu Beicheng was flustered and at a loss of what to do. ¡°But how are you going to bear with it until midnight? If the fetus is intentionally denied delivery, it might suffocate to death in your womb.¡± ¡°How... how did you know about that so clearly?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯ve read books about it.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s call the doctor then.¡± An Xiaoning was far more concerned about her child¡¯s lifepared to his birth date. If he was destined to be born on this day, then she had no choice but to just ept that it¡¯s fate. ¡°Alright.¡± Gu Beicheng pressed the rm for assistance and said hurriedly in the nativenguage of M Nation, ¡°She¡¯s going intobor very soon. Hurry here please.¡± ¡°Got it,¡± the nurse answered. Although Gu Beicheng had made the necessary preparations beforehand, he still ended up being extremely flustered. ¡°Shall I just carry you to the delivery room?¡± Grabbing his hand tightly, An Xiaoning said, ¡°No, I doubt I can move about now. Aren¡¯t I supposed to experience cervix dtion beforebor? Why do I feel like the baby is going to pop out real soon?¡± Gu Beicheng stared at her stomach as his mind went into a whirlwind. All he could manage to do was to grab her hand tightly and give her moral support while waiting for the nurses and doctor to arrive. ¡°Xiaoning, take deep breaths. Follow me. It¡¯ll help ease the pain,¡± said Gu Beicheng as he demonstrated what he learned from the pregnancy books. Chapter 340 - Reunion (35)

Chapter 340: Reunion (35)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning followed his lead and continued to grab his hand tightly. The doctor and nurses soon arrived. Realizing that An Xiaoning was not able to move at all, the doctor had no choice but to carry out the delivery right in her hospital ward. ¡°I¡¯vee across many expectant mothers, but I¡¯ve never encountered anyone as eager to deliver as you are. Give it a push,¡± the doctor instructed. An Xiaoning grabbed onto Gu Beicheng with one hand and held the doctor¡¯s hand with the other. She pushed with all her might and expended all her energy to give birth to her child. Yet, images of Jin Qingyan kept shing through her mind as she burst into tears uncontrobly due to the immense pain. ¡°Keep pushing, the baby is almost out.¡± The doctor let go of her hand and pressed both his hands onto her stomach. An Xiaoning was incapacitated and could not speak due to the pain, which also caused her to break out in cold sweat. Panting heavily, she clenched her jaw and persisted on. After another few minutes of torment, An Xiaoning felt like the fetus was about to slide out of her and all she needed to give was all her energy. Otherwise, the fetus might suffocate in her womb. Feeling as if she was about to be pried open further, An Xiaoning tightened her grip on Gu Beicheng¡¯s hand and eximed in agony, ¡°Beicheng... I feel like I¡¯m going to die soon. Ahh!!!¡± Gu Beicheng was thrown into a state of frenzy along with An Xiaoning¡¯s shrieks. ¡°The baby¡¯s head is out. An Xiaoning, please give it onest push! Hurry!¡± the doctor eximed, egging her on. Drenched in sweat, An Xiaoning was exhausted beyond her limits and felt as if she was crippled from head to toe. However, she managed to gather everyst bit of energy in her and gave a final push to deliver her child. The next thing she knew, the room was filled with the sounds of her newborn crying. ¡°Quick, take a look at the time.¡± ¡°8:46!¡± The doctor swiftly grabbed the scissors and asked Gu Beicheng, ¡°Would you like to cut the umbilical cord?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Gu Beicheng took the scissors from the doctor¡¯s hands and cut the cord ording to thetter¡¯s instruction. A smile formed on his face as he gazed at the newborn, who was still covered in the amniotic fluids. The nurse hurriedly wrapped the infant in a towel and carried him to let An Xiaoning have a look before bringing him away for a wash-up. The doctor then proceeded to help An Xiaoning clean up. Gu Beicheng carried An Xiaoning onto another bed while the nurses hurriedly reced the bed sheets and nket, after which Gu Beicheng then carried her again back onto the bed. An Xiaoning closed her eyes, dog-tired and exhausted beyond limits. The nurses helped An Xiaoning change her undergarments underneath the nket and put on a sanitary pad for her, lest her bodily fluids stain the sheets. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you ask about the gender of your child?¡± asked Gu Beicheng, who was apanying her by her side. ¡°It¡¯s still my child regardless of the gender.¡± ¡°You still ought to know anyway. It¡¯s a boy,¡± said Gu Beicheng, grinning from ear to ear and beaming with joy, as if she had just given birth to his child. ¡°Call Father and Mother to inform them about it,¡± An Xiaoning instructed. ¡°Oh, right. Yes, yes, I totally forgot about that.¡± Gu Beicheng hurriedly proceeded to give Mrs. Gu a call and break the good news to them. Minutester, the nurse returned to the ward with the child in her arms, bringing along a baby¡¯s cot. Gu Beicheng carried the child into his arms carefully before taking a seat beside An Xiaoning¡¯s bed to let her have a look. ¡°Look, it¡¯s your son.¡± An Xiaoning took a nce at her child, who only had one eye open, and blurted, ¡°He¡¯s hideous.¡± ¡°Hey! What do you mean hideous? He¡¯s a newborn, of course his features aren¡¯t going to be developed yet. Who says that about their own child?¡± Gu Beicheng chided. Gazing at her child, An Xiaoning felt her heart fill with love and warmth, though her abdomen was still twitching with a dull ache since her womb was still in recovery. ¡°Beicheng, who do you think the child looks like?¡± Pinching the newborn¡¯s tiny hand, Gu Beicheng answered smilingly, ¡°I think he looks like me.¡± An Xiaoning snorted withughter. ¡°You really enjoy being thick-skinned, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not being thick-skinned. I¡¯m just stating facts. But, one of his features does resemble yours.¡± ¡°Which?¡± An Xiaoning asked as she began scrutinizing her child¡¯s face. ¡°His nose. It¡¯s very nice and well shaped. Well, as for the rest, he resembles his father.¡± As much as he hated to admit it, he found that the child¡¯s features were simply too strikingly simr to Jin Qingyan¡¯s. An Xiaoning took a closer look to realize that it was indeed so and could not stop smiling. Dog-tired, An Xiaoningid down slowly and said to Gu Beicheng, ¡°Beicheng, I¡¯m going to get some sleep. Help me look after the child for a while.¡± ¡°Go ahead, I¡¯m here.¡± She nodded and closed her eyes before falling asleep peacefully. Gu Beicheng sat by the side and stared at the infant, who opened both his eyes. Staring wide-eyed at the world around him curiously, the infant looked extremely innocent and adorable. Meanwhile, his mother, An Xiaoning had already drifted off to dreand. A sudden fantasy popped up in Gu Beicheng¡¯s head, and he thought to himself, If only she was my wife and this was my son. How great would that be? Even if he had nothing to his name, he would still be d as long as he had his wife and child with him. Unfortunately, it was all just a figment of his imagination. Not long after, Mr. and Mrs. Gu arrived together with Gu Dongcheng. ¡°Hush,¡± Gu Beicheng shushed them to stop them from making too much noise. Mrs. Gu nodded and made her way in quietly, making sure to keep her footsteps as light as possible. She took a glimpse of the infant in Gu Beicheng¡¯s arms and eximed in delight, ¡°How adorable! Let me carry him.¡± ¡°Be careful,¡± Gu Beicheng cautioned as he handed the infant to her. ¡°I know, I know. How could I possibly drop the baby? I was the one who brought you up. I¡¯m very experienced in carrying infants,¡± Mrs. Gu retorted. ¡°Are you done yet? It¡¯s my turn,¡± urged Mr. Gu, who also wanted to have a go at carrying the infant. ¡°I barely started. You may just have a look.¡± ¡°I want to carry him.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª It was not only Gu Beicheng who knew it was An Xiaoning¡¯s birthday, Jin Qingyan was aware of it as well. He brought some fresh flowers with him to the graveyard andid them all around her grave. ¡°Did anyonee to visit the grave today?¡± he asked the grave-keeper. ¡°They didn¡¯t.¡± A frown creased Jin Qingyan¡¯s forehead as he asked again, ¡°Mr. Gu didn¡¯te either?¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°How about the Gu family?¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t.¡± Jin Qingyan did not say anything else. On the journey back, a sudden thought ran through his mind continuously: You damned Gu Beicheng, you adored Xiaoning to bits while she was still alive. Now that she¡¯s dead, you¡¯ve forgotten all about her. What a hypocrite! If Jin Qingyan knew that Gu Beicheng was apanying An Xiaoning and holding his child at this very moment, he would definitely implode with anger and pass out for three days straight. Upon arriving home, he sat alone in the living room and began drowning his sorrows in alcohol. He was overwhelmed with a misery that he could not exin. In fact, he did not know to whom he could tell his troubles. All he could do was suffer in silence and bottle up his feelings. ¡°Qingyan...¡± Gu Xiaoning made her way downstairs and walked towards him slowly before sitting down beside him. ¡°Why are you drinking again? It¡¯s not like you don¡¯t know that I dislike the smell of alcohol.¡± Jin Qingyan shot her a nce and said, ¡°Go to bed first. I won¡¯t be apanying you tonight.¡± ¡°Are you beginning to dislike me?¡± Gu Xiaoning asked, feeling as if his words were a million daggers stabbing through her heart. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then why did you make tonight an exception when you¡¯ve been spending every night with me? You must be starting to dislike me.¡± Not sure how he should exin himself, Jin Qingyan had no choice but to stand up and concede, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go upstairs.¡± She instantly burst into joy and held onto his arm while they made their way upstairs together. He could finally be at peace after telling her a bedtime story and tucking her into bed. This was a daily affair for him. She would only go to bed in peace after he tells her a bedtime story. Chapter 341 - Reunion (36)

Chapter 341: Reunion (36)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios However, such a lifestyle was not what Jin Qingyan wanted. He began to feel like he was ying the role of her father instead of her lover. Gazing at that innocent face of hers, he would be soft-hearted and give into every single request of hers. Even if it was something he did not excel at. On this cold and lonely night, Jin Qingyan found it hard to fall asleep. ¡ª In the brightness of early morning, Mei Yangyang and Long Tianze made their way to the hospital by car for a prenatal checkup. In the past, Mei Yangyang used to go alone in order to avoid getting exposed. However, Long Tianze insisted on apanying her this time. Needless to say, they were recognized and photographed by the public, though Long Tianze was no longer bothered about that. After conducting the ultrasound scan, the doctor said smilingly, ¡°The fetus is very healthy. Congrattions, Mr. Long.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great. Is it a girl or a boy?¡± Long Tianze asked. ¡°By right, we¡¯re not supposed to reveal the gender of the child, but I¡¯ll make an exception for you.¡± Ah, so that¡¯s the difference in treatment, Mei Yangyang thought to herself. ¡°It¡¯s a boy.¡± Mei Yangyang broke into smiles upon hearing the doctor¡¯s answer. ¡°Really?¡± she asked excitedly. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°A boy?¡± asked a dismayed Long Tianze. ¡°Yes,¡± the doctor repeated himself. It was written all over Long Tianze¡¯s face that he detested boys! Mei Yangyang was overjoyed for she had been hoping for the child to be a boy. Male heirs were necessary and favored in wealthy families like Long Tianze¡¯s. Once it¡¯s confirmed that it was a boy she was carrying, she would no longer have to be afraid of Long Tianze¡¯s parents¡¯ disapproval. She could then tell them with much gusto: ¡°I¡¯m carrying your grandson in my womb! Are you still refusing to ept me?¡± Besides, there were no sons in her family. Tongues would definitely wag if her firstborn was a girl. The gender reveal had put an end to her woes. Mei Yangyang began humming merrily on the way back. ¡°Are you really that happy?¡± ¡°Yes, and I¡¯d like to ask you, why were you so upset to find out that it was a boy?¡± ¡°I was hoping for a daughter. I like girls.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Our firstborn may be a son, but if you want a daughter, I¡¯ll bear you another child.¡± ¡°What if it¡¯s a boy again?¡± Long Tianze asked. ¡°Then we¡¯ll go on to have a third child. I like children.¡± Long Tianze was momentarily speechless at her answer. ¡°Although I like children too, I don¡¯t wish to make you be a baby-making machine. Regardless of the baby¡¯s gender, let¡¯s just stop at two. We won¡¯t have our own space if we have too many children,¡± said Long Tianze. Mei Yangyang grinned at him and answered, ¡°You call the shots, Hubby. Let¡¯s go back to your ce.¡± Long Tianze was surprised to hear that she asked to go back to the old mansion. Was she more confident now that she was expecting a son? ¡°Sure,¡± he agreed joyously. Soon, they arrived at the Long family home. Mr. and Mrs. Long were still kept in the dark about their son¡¯s marriage. Mr. Long was sipping on some tea and reading newspapers on the couch while Mrs. Long was seated opposite him and scrolling through her social media ount. They were stunned at the sight of Long Tianze and Mei Yangyang¡¯s arrival. Noticing Mei Yangyang¡¯s full baby bump, they looked at each other in puzzlement and asked, ¡°What does this mean?¡± ¡°Mother, I brought your daughter-inw home to see you.¡± ¡°What daughter-inw? I didn¡¯t approve of your marriage. She¡¯s not my daughter-inw yet,¡± Mrs. Long hissed in contempt. Unbothered by the harsh remark, Mei Yangyang put on a smile and walked towards Mrs. Long. ¡°Mother, you may not acknowledge me as your daughter-inw, but I already see you as my mother-inw. Tianze and I have already gotten married months ago. I¡¯m currently expecting the grandson of the Long family.¡± ¡°You¡¯re married?¡± Mrs. Long asked, her eyes widening in shock. ¡°Yes, I stole the household register and went to register my marriage with Yangyang.¡± ¡°Tianze!¡± Mrs. Long eximed, receiving the shock of her life. Although Mr. Long was rather taken aback as well, he said calmly, ¡°Sit down and talk.¡± Mei Yangyang held Mrs. Long¡¯s arm and took a seat while smiling throughout. Noticing that Mrs. Long had yet to hit the roof, Mei Yangyang quickly said glibly, ¡°Mother, we just went for a prenatal checkup at the hospital. The baby is four months old now. It¡¯s a boy.¡± Mrs. Long¡¯s initial fury vanished upon hearing that she was expecting a boy. She had been too preupied with the news of them getting married in secret that she forgot about the pregnancy. Staring at Mei Yangyang¡¯s stomach, Mrs. Long was overwhelmed with a mix of emotions. ¡°You two are so defiant. Why didn¡¯t you tell us about such a serious matter like marriage?¡± ¡°Mother, if I informed you and Father beforehand, would you guys have allowed us to get married? I did that precisely because you were so against it. But it¡¯s all good now. You¡¯re going to be a grandmother in another few months,¡± said Long Tianze, who hit the nail on the head. ¡°When do you n to hold the wedding?¡± Mrs. Long asked. ¡°We¡¯re not in a hurry. We¡¯ll discuss the wedding in the future. I¡¯d like to hold a wedding when the time is right,¡± Mei Yangyang interjected. To her, she would rather not hold a wedding if An Xiaoning could not be present on her big day. ¡°Yeah, isn¡¯t Mo Li holding her wedding with Ye Xiaotian after her child was born? We¡¯re not in a rush either,¡± Long Tianze agreed. ¡°Up to you guys then.¡± The situation was a lot less tricky than Long Tianze had expected. Mrs. Long even invited them to stay for lunch, which consisted of a specially-prepared spread of nourishing dishes. Mrs. Long was exceptionally pleased to hear Mei Yangyang addressing her endearingly. What was done cannot be undone, it was toote for Mrs. Long to object to anything now. It did not matter to her anyway, as long as her son was happy. Long Tianze initially thought that they could hold their wedding after the birth of their first child. Contrary to his expectations, Mei Yangyang never once mentioned the wedding even after their second child, a daughter, was born. Every time he initiated it, she would turn him down and say that she would like to wait a while more. He could not wrap his head around why she was reacting that way. Neither did he know what she was waiting for. It was not until their son, Long Wenlun, and daughter, Long Xiaoxi, turned four and three, respectively, that Mei Yangyang told him they could finally hold a wedding. On their big day, Long Tianze could not help but ask her, ¡°I¡¯ve always wondered why you took so long to agree to holding our wedding, which should¡¯ve been held long ago.¡± Mei Yangyang was trying on the wedding gowns at the time and appeared to be in high spirits. Beaming with joy, she looked at him and answered, ¡°Because my Godson and his mother weren¡¯t around at the time.¡± ¡°So, you refused to hold a wedding all because of your childhood friend who went abroad, whom I¡¯ve never met before?¡± Mei Yangyang nodded. ¡°Yeah, precisely because of that. I wanted to wait ¡¯til they¡¯re back so they could attend my wedding.¡± Long Tianze was almost driven berserk by her ridiculous answer. ¡°Just who is that important? I have to take a good look at her myself once she¡¯s back.¡± Mei Yangyang changed out of the wedding gown and said softly, ¡°You should¡¯ve found out about this earlier. I¡¯ve been hiding it from you all along. Also, please don¡¯t be too shocked when you see her.¡± Long Tianze simply could not guess who it was. ¡°She¡¯s going to give me a great shock?¡± Reminded of the fact that Mei Yangyang would often go on an annual trip overseas without him and their children, Long Tianze could not help but feel a little disgruntled. ¡°Well, I feel like your bosom childhood friend matters more to you than I do,¡± hemented jealously. ¡°Why would you say that? You two are equally important to me.¡± Mei Yangyang took a look at the time and said, ¡°They¡¯re touching down in the evening. Go sleep in the guest room tonight.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Long Tianze asked in disbelief. ¡°Nothing, I just want to share the same bed as my bosom sister.¡± Chapter 342 - Reunion (37)

Chapter 342: Reunion (37)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°People usually ditch their friends for their other halves, yet you¡¯re the other way round. You value your friend over your husband,¡± Long Tianze groused in distaste. ¡°You may be upset and annoyed, but you have to ept it. I¡¯m going to sleep together with my bosom sister tonight,¡± Mei Yangyang said, chuckling. ¡°I¡¯ll go with you to pick them up.¡± ¡°Sure. It¡¯s time you found out anyway. Bring our children along too. I¡¯ve promised to make her the godmother of our children, like how I¡¯m the godmother of her son.¡± ¡°You took things into your own hand and made decisions without discussing with me again,¡± chided an infuriated Long Tianze. ¡°Yeah, I did. I didn¡¯t see a need to discuss such matters with you. Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re hiding from me. Now that I think of it, I¡¯ve gained the upper hand since you don¡¯t know about my secret even though I already know yours.¡± Long Tianze was confused by her words. ¡°Stop staring into space. Quick, get dressed and let¡¯s go pick our godson up at the airport.¡± Long Tianze stood up immediately and said, ¡°Of course, I¡¯m going to have a look at who this woman is. I¡¯m going to see just why she has the power to make you decide on things without discussing with me beforehand.¡± Mei Yangyang looked at him with a smirk hanging from her lips. Tears began to well up in her eyes at the thought of An Xiaoning finally returning from abroad after five years. Ever since the time they came back a few years ago, An Xiaoning had never once returned. During her time abroad, An Xiaoning had not been doing much apart from assisting in solving cases through onlinemunication tforms. She would spend all her free time focusing on educating and taking care of her son. She had managed to educate her son very well, thus resulting in him being much more brilliant and outstandingpared to other children his age. Mei Yangyang would often take pity on her godson, however. Other children his age were enjoying their childhood and spending their time ying and fooling about. Yet, he was over-achieving in his academics and in taekwondo, as well as in other aspects, all thanks to An Xiaoning¡¯s strict training and supervision. Mei Yangyang heard from An Xiaoning that thetter would be returning for good this time. Mei Yangyang had already made the necessary arrangements with the kindergarten that Long Xiaoxi was enrolled in. Although her son¡¯s academic standards were eligible to get him advanced to elementary school, An Xiaoning nheless allowed him to continue attending kindergarten like other children his age. Mei Yangyang snapped out of her trance and began to get herself ready to go the airport. She now had long, curly locks, though her babyface and doll-like features made her appear just as youthful as she was a few years ago. The family of four got into the car and began driving away. They happened to bump into Jin Qingyan, who was also driving his car out. Long Tianze wound down the window and asked, ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°Nowhere special, we¡¯re just going to soak in a hot spring.¡± ¡°Are you kidding me? Don¡¯t you already have a hot spring at home? Why do you have to go elsewhere?¡± Long Tianze asked in bewilderment. ¡°Xiaoning wants to go. Where are you guys headed?¡± ¡°The airport to pick someone up.¡± ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll make a move then,¡± Jin Qingyan bade them goodbye before driving away. Long Tianze followed suit and said to Mei Yangyang, ¡°He really agrees to every request your sister makes, eh? Remember when Qingyan brought her to a closed restaurant in the middle of the night and demanded that they open up for them, because that big shot said she was craving some hotpotst winter?¡± Mei Yangyang remained silent and kept her eyes fixed on the road ahead. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you talking?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel likementing on Jin Qingyan¡¯s actions.¡± ¡°You think it¡¯s outrageous and unbelievable too, don¡¯t you? He¡¯spletely spoiled her rotten, so much that he¡¯s almost treating her like his daughter at this point. But, you¡¯re really peculiar, you know?¡± said Long Tianze. ¡°In what way am I peculiar?¡± ¡°There are too many to list. You used to be so chummy and close to Sis Xiaoning in the past. Why have you be so cold to her ever since she suffered amnesia?¡± Mei Yangyang turned to face him and asked rhetorically, ¡°Are you sure she and An Xiaoning are the same person?¡± Long Tianze shuddered in shock. ¡°You... don¡¯t think they¡¯re the same person?¡± Not wishing to beat around the bush any longer, Mei Yangyang said, ¡°Tianze, how much longer do you n to hide this from me for? I know Qingyan made you keep this secret for him. You two must really be great buddies.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± asked Long Tianze. ¡°Are you still nning to continue feigning ignorance? Jin Qingyan has created a clone to apany him. You think I didn¡¯t know about this all along?¡± Mei Yangyang said bluntly. ¡°When... when did you find out about this?¡± ¡°I actually already found out about it before I even met that Gu Xiaoning. That¡¯s why I said I knew what you were hiding from me. You still have the cheek to say that she¡¯s my sister. Is she really? She¡¯s no more than just a substitute for Sis,¡± Mei Yangyang scoffed. ¡°I really thought you didn¡¯t know. Although Qingyan has been spending the past few years with Gu Xiaoning by his side, he never really got the relief he wanted, unlike what we all imagined. He still can¡¯t get over your Sis, which is precisely why he found this substitute. He merely wanted to ease his sorrow and fill the void,¡± Long Tianze exined with a sigh. ¡°I know that, of course. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve been refraining from exposing this matter until now,¡± said Mei Yangyang, who did not have much of an opinion about the matter. ¡°Then why did you choose toe clean with me now?¡± ¡°Good question.¡± She leaned back against her seat and burst into giggles all of a sudden before saying, ¡°But I don¡¯t wish to answer you just yet.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be like that. Tell me why, quick.¡± Mei Yangyang ignored him and instead turned around to look at her children, who were seated in the backseat. ¡°You guys will be meeting your Godmotherter. Don¡¯t forget what I taught you earlier. Greet her properly and politelyter.¡± ¡°Got it, Mommy,¡± Long Wenlun answered. ¡°Mommy, what does Godma look like? I¡¯ve never seen any photos of her before,¡± Long Xiaoxi asked. ¡°She¡¯s very beautiful. Your godbrother will being along too, remember to greet him as well. He¡¯s about your age. You all hear me?¡± The two children were clearly not as excited as she was, though they answered, nheless, ¡°Got it.¡± Unable to contain her excitement and joy, Mei Yangyang sted the music in the car and began dancing along merrily. Noticing how ted she was, Long Tianze decided not to be a wet nket and focused on driving towards the airport. Upon arriving at the airport, the family of four alighted from the car and made their way towards the entrance of the arrival hall, hand in hand. Mei Yangyang took a look at the time and said, ¡°It¡¯s almost time. They should be out soon.¡± ¡°Look how eager you are,¡± Long Tianze remarked calmly, keeping his hands behind his back. ¡°Of course I¡¯m eager. I only get to see them once a year when I visit them abroad. I miss them so much.¡± Long Tianze was extremely curious about this pair of mother and son and had a burning desire to know what they looked like. Ten minutester, a bunch of people began walking out of the exit. Mei Yangyang¡¯s heart began to race quickly. Filled with nervousness and excitement, she stood on tiptoes to have a clearer look. Holding her hands together tightly, she stared intently at the front. Finally, a figure and its smaller counterpart, both dressed in ck, began approaching them. Long Tianze was the first to notice them. After squinting to have a clearer view, he turned to face his wife in utter shock and disbelief. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, the childhood friend you were referring to is...?¡± he asked in astonishment. Chapter 343 - Reunion (38)

Chapter 343: Reunion (38)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mei Yangyang waved at An Xiaoning before turning to Long Tianze and answering, ¡°That¡¯s right, I was referring to my Sis. She¡¯s not my childhood friend though.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, she quickly strode forward while Long Tianze followed closely behind, holding his children¡¯s hands. An Xiaoning was sporting a bob that ended at her neck, along with a nted fringe. She was dressed in a full-leather outfit, and her hair was tucked behind one of her ears, on which there was a sparkly white diamond earstud. She was holding the hand of a little boy dressed in a ck leather coat. The boy resembled Jin Qingyan very much. Long Tianze suddenly became teary-eyed at the sight of the boy. ¡°Since you¡¯re still alive, why didn¡¯t youe back to look for Qingyan?¡± asked Long Tianze. Maintaining herposure, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°Help me collect my luggage. I¡¯ll tell you the answer while we¡¯re on our way back in the car.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Long Tianze let go of his children and proceeded to collect the luggage. ¡°Sis!¡± Mei Yangyang cried before hugging her tightly. ¡°You¡¯re not leaving again this time, right?¡± ¡°Of course. Didn¡¯t I already ask you to arrange the enrolment at the kindergarten?¡± An Xiaoning said smilingly before letting go of her to squat down. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen your children in real life before. Wenlun looks like Tianze while Xiaoxi resembles you. What a handsome little boy and a pretty little girl.¡± The two children greeted her smilingly in unison, ¡°Hello, Godma.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s lips curled into a smile. ¡°Hello, this is your godbrother, Youqing.¡± An Youqing stepped forward to give Long Wenlun a hug, then Long Xiaoxi, before greeting them warmly with a grin, ¡°Hello.¡± Donning an adorable pair of rabbit ears on her head, Long Xiaoxi walked towards An Youqing and praised him, ¡°Brother Youqing, you¡¯re so dashing.¡± ¡°You¡¯re very pretty too, you look just like a little princess.¡± Long Xiaoxi blushed red with shyness; happiness was written all over her face. On the journey back, Long Tianze was still in disbelief of everything that happened. ¡°So you actually knew about everything. Why didn¡¯t youe back to look for Qingyan?¡± he asked. After a moment of hesitation, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°I came back five years ago with Yangyang to look for him.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you go ahead then?¡± Long Tianze asked in astonishment. ¡°Isn¡¯t it all because of that Gu Xiaoning? Sis thinks she¡¯s irreceable. Even a clone is not supposed to rece her. Do you get it?¡± Mei Yangyang interjected. Long Tianze was at a loss for words. ¡°Great, Qingyan would be ted now that you¡¯re back.¡± ¡°I think you misunderstood. I came back this time with the intentions of settling down for good, not to look for him. My rtionship with him has ended five years ago. I don¡¯t n to reconcile with him again in the future,¡± An Xiaoning corrected him bluntly. An Youqing was unfazed despite hearing his mother¡¯s words and instead remained seated in the backseat, all prim and proper. An Xiaoning had told him all about his father long ago, but clearly, he did not quite miss his father. Well, it was understandable ¨C he had never seen or lived with Jin Qingyan before, after all. Although he had a missing father figure in his life, An Xiaoning showered him with all her love, which was already enough. ¡°What is the name of your son?¡± Long Tianze asked. ¡°An Youqing. His name was inspired by a line from an ancient Chinese novel, ¡®Summoning Spirits¡¯.¡± ¡°What does it mean?¡± ¡°It means to dedicate one¡¯s life to being a kind and upright person.¡± ¡°Why isn¡¯t hisst name ¡®Jin¡¯?¡± Long Tianze asked. ¡°Why must hisst name be ¡®Jin¡¯ when he¡¯s my child? Long Tianze, you¡¯d better not tell Jin Qingyan about this,¡± An Xiaoning warned. ¡°Of course I have a burning urge to tell him. It¡¯s understandable if I were still kept in the dark, but now that I¡¯m aware of the truth, it¡¯d be too unloyal of me to continue hiding it from him.¡± ¡°Just don¡¯t tell him yet. We¡¯ll eventually be meeting each other tomorrow.¡± ¡°Exactly,¡± Mei Yangyang added. ¡°No wonder Mei Yangyang goes on an annual trip abroad every year. I was just thinking, who has such a strong charm? She even told me that it was a childhood friend and I actually believed her,¡± said Long Tianze. ¡°What else do you need to rant about? Keep going,¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Of course there¡¯s more! I¡¯m banished to the guest room tonight,¡± Long Tianzemented, clucking his tongue in disdain. An Xiaoning understood what he meant immediately and said, ¡°It¡¯s right that you¡¯re sleeping in the guest room tonight. It¡¯s your wedding tomorrow. I have a lot of secrets to tell Yangyang, you can¡¯t hear them.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Sis, have you eaten?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s find a restaurant and have dinner before heading back home then. How does that sound?¡± ¡°Alright, sure,¡± An Xiaoning agreed. An Xiaoning looked out of the window and gazed at the passing scenery outside. She discovered that the city had undergone rapid development, and her surroundings appeared rather unfamiliar to her, though she had only been away for a few years. Having arrived at a hotel, they alighted from the car one after another. An Xiaoning alighted while wearing a pair of shades and a surgical mask. She held An Youqing by his hand and proceeded to enter the hotel together with Long Tianze¡¯s family of four. During dinner, Long Tianze had a lot of questions on his mind that he did not have the courage to ask in the end. He thus nned to ask Mei Yangyang about it when the opportunity strikes. The mealsted for a total of forty minutes, after which they proceeded to drive back to Wei Ni Estate. Unexpectedly, Long Tianze caught sight of Jin Qingyan¡¯s white Bentley in the rear view mirror of his car just as he entered the estate. He felt a sudden urge to rush towards Jin Qingyan and tell him all about it. Long Tianze parked his car by the doorstep, facing the white Bentley, which was parked opposite. A silence filled the air in the car. Long Tianze then asked, ¡°Shall we alight?¡± ¡°No, drive in,¡± said An Xiaoning after taking a glimpse outside the window. Noticing that the bodyguard was already opening the gate, Long Tianze had no choice but to drive in. As soon as the gate closed, An Xiaoning turned behind to look at Jin Qingyan, whom she had not seen in five years. I believe you have been well since we parted, Jin Qingyan, An Xiaoning thought in her head. ¡°You two will be Daddy and Mommy¡¯s flower boy and girl at our wedding tomorrow. So, you must go to bed early tonight.¡± Mei Yangyang stroked Long Xiaoxi¡¯s head and said, ¡°Go to bed with Brother, quick.¡± ¡°Mommy, where is Brother Youqing going to sleep?¡± asked Long Xiaoxi. ¡°He¡¯ll be having a room to himself.¡± ¡°Mommy, I want to sleep with Brother Youqing.¡± Mei Yangyang was shocked speechless. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I said I want to sleep on the same bed as Brother Youqing.¡± As soon as Long Xiaoxi finished speaking, Long Tianze quickly interjected, ¡°That¡¯s not allowed. You¡¯re a girl and he¡¯s a boy. You two can¡¯t share the same bed.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m allowed to sleep together with Brother. Why can¡¯t I sleep together with Brother Youqing?¡± Thinking that it was not too big of a deal, Mei Yangyang conceded, ¡°They¡¯re just children, it doesn¡¯t matter. Go ahead.¡± ¡°Thank you, Mommy.¡± Long Xiaoxi skipped away merrily towards An Youqing¡¯s bedroom. ¡°Wait for me!¡± Long Wenlun hurriedly chased behind. ¡°Why did you... forget it. But, why do I feel like this child¡¯s name means something different from Xiaoning¡¯s definition?¡± Long Tianze said as he inched closer towards Mei Yangyang. ¡°What do you think it means then?¡± Chapter 344 - Reunion (39)

Chapter 344: Reunion (39)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lowering his voice, Long Tianze said, ¡±When I heard the child¡¯s name initially, the first thing that came to mind was ¡®friendship¡¯ followed by ¡®feelings¡¯. I also thought of two other words.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°You Qing, the ¡®Qing¡¯ in Qingyan¡¯s name. I just felt like the child¡¯s name was strongly rted to Qingyan. It feels like he was born out of love between her and Qingyan.¡± ¡°She named the child ¡®Youqing¡¯ based on her definition. Whatever you just said is purely coincidental,¡± said Mei Yangyang, who did not think of that. Long Tianze chuckled and said, ¡°She knows best if it¡¯s purely coincidental or not. I must tease Qingyan about this someday. It¡¯s definitely going to be interesting.¡± ¡°Have you got nothing better to do? Go to bed. I¡¯m returning to the bedroom too,¡± said Mei Yangyang, poking his forehead with her finger. ¡°Now that you sisters have reunited, I¡¯m going to be alone in this empty room. Hais...¡± Mei Yangyang returned to her bedroom in high spirits. An Xiaoning was lying in bed and browsing through Mei Yangyang and Long Tianze¡¯s wedding photos. ¡°You guys took so many photos. They look great.¡± ¡°We took this a while ago. See, the kids are in the photos too,¡± Mei Yangyang exined as she sat down beside her after removing her slippers. ¡°They look really nice. Yangyang, let me try on my bridesmaid dress.¡± ¡°It¡¯s in my closet. I¡¯ll bring it here.¡± Mei Yangyang hurriedly scurried to the dressing room to bring her the bridesmaid dress. ¡°It looks amazing, I knew I could trust your taste,¡± An Xiaoning eximed in awe and approval of the dress. ¡°Sis, Tianze told me just now that he thinks there¡¯s another meaning behind the name you gave your son.¡± An Xiaoning looked up at her and said, ¡°It is exactly like what I exined.¡± ¡°No, he said that you meant something totally different. He even said you chose that name because of Qingyan and that the ¡®Qing¡¯ in Youqing¡¯s name is the same ¡®Qing¡¯ in ¡®Qingyan¡¯.¡± An Xiaoning smiled in amusement and said, ¡°He¡¯s reading too much into things. Those things didn¡¯t cross my mind when I was thinking of a name. I only realized it... muchter. But I didn¡¯t bother changing it.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. Sis, you¡¯re the bridesmaid for my wedding tomorrow. You¡¯ll definitely bump into him there. If you show up at the same time as Gu Xiaoning, I reckon there¡¯s going to be a lot of confusion and an uproar. By then...¡± ¡°I knew this day woulde long ago. I¡¯ve prepared myself for it. Don¡¯t worry.¡± An Xiaoning changed into her bridesmaid dress and stood before the mirror to look at herself. The dress fit her perfectly. She changed out of the dress andid down beside Mei Yangyang before saying, ¡°I¡¯m the real An Xiaoning. What¡¯s there to be afraid of?¡± Hugging her arm, Mei Yangyang said, ¡°That¡¯s true. I¡¯m just afraid tongues would wag once the matter spreads around.¡± ¡°I can tell you¡¯re more worried than I am.¡± An Xiaoning gave her a pat on her hand and said reassuringly, ¡°It¡¯s alright, we¡¯ve shut down the clothing store anyway. Besides, didn¡¯t I tell you to block the secret passageway to my house in Dongpo Road and sell the house? So, I¡¯ll just bring Youqing back to the Gu family mansion after the wedding tomorrow. We¡¯ll live there from now onwards.¡± ¡°Sis, are you not going to buy a house?¡± ¡°Nah, I¡¯m not going to anymore. It¡¯s better to live in my maiden home with the rest of my family. Youqing won¡¯t be lonely that way, either.¡± ¡°Speaking of that... Xiaoxi seems to fancy Youqing a lot. She keeps asking to sleep together with him.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mind that. I don¡¯t mind the two children sleeping together either,¡± An Xiaoning teased. ¡°Of course I won¡¯t. They¡¯re going to be childhood ymates, so they have to build their friendship since young. Perhaps it can blossom into something more special when they¡¯re older.¡± ¡°Are you suggesting that we be inws?¡± ¡°Sis, don¡¯t you want that?¡± ¡°Of course... I do! Xiaoxi is pretty and adorable. Youqing will definitely fancy her.¡± ¡°Hahaha, look how far ahead of ourselves we¡¯ve gotten.¡± ¡°...¡± At this moment, while carrying her teddy bear in her arms, Long Xiaoxi pushed open the door of the room An Youqing was staying in. An Youqing, who was seated on the bed, quickly got down at the sight of Long Xiaoxi entering. A smile formed on his face as he greeted her smilingly, ¡°Sis Xiaoxi.¡± Long Xiaoxi stepped forward and said in her baby voice, ¡°Brother Youqing, I want to sleep with you.¡± An Youqing was at a slight loss for words. Staring at her chubby cheeks full of baby fats, he answered, ¡°Your mother will be angry when she finds out.¡± ¡°She won¡¯t, she won¡¯t. I¡¯ve already asked Mommy, she said I could sleep with you.¡± ¡°Come with me then.¡± Long Xiaoxi followed An Youqing, who was a year and a half older and a head taller than her. Due to her petite stature, she could not climb up the bed no matter how many times she tried. Just as she was trying to make a final attempt, An Youqing hugged her from behind and lifted her onto the bed. It was clearly an easy feat for him, since he did it so effortlessly without even letting out a single pant. Gazing at An Youqing while seated on the bed, Long Xiaoxi praised him, ¡°You¡¯re nicer to me than my own brother. He doesn¡¯t carry me at all and we even fight sometimes. He bullies me all the time and never gives in to me.¡± An Youqing removed her slippers for her and said, ¡°I¡¯m your brother too. Your parents are my parents and my mommy is your mommy. We¡¯re family. You¡¯re younger than me so you¡¯re my little sister. I won¡¯t bully you.¡± ¡°Little sister? I¡¯m already in lower kindergarten. Everyone in ss has to call me Big Sister regardless of whether they¡¯re older or younger than I am,¡± Long Xiaoxi said with pouted lips. ¡°Are you the leader of your ss?¡± An Youqing asked in surprise. ¡°Yes! So stop calling me Little Sister from now on.¡± ¡°What do I call you then? Do I have to call you Big Sister too?¡± ¡°No... you may just call me by my name.¡± Just as Long Xiaoxi was about to remove her clothes, An Youqing quickly stopped her, ¡°Don¡¯t take off your clothes, just keep them on to sleep.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± For the rest of the night, An Youqing was constantly disturbed by Long Xiaoxi, who kept clinging on to him and wrapping her arms and legs around him like a ko. She kept talking to him non-stop. For example, ¡°Brother Youqing, you smell so nice. Are you wearing any perfume?¡± ¡°No, Mommy said children are not allowed to use perfume.¡± ¡°My mommy doesn¡¯t allow me to either. But, I often sneak inside her bedroom to spray some on myself. Take a sniff of my scent, do I smell nice?¡± ¡°...¡± Another instance would be ¡°Brother Youqing, you look so much like my Uncle.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s your uncle?¡± ¡°The one who lives right opposite me. His name is Jin Qingyan.¡± ¡°Does he have a nickname?¡± An Youqing asked. ¡°Yes, Daddy often calls him a fool.¡± ¡°Oh yes, your daddy is right.¡± ¡°Right? I think so too.¡± ¡°...¡± An Youqing did not sleep well that night. He still could not fall asleep even when Long Xiaoxi was already fast asleep beside him. He had used the word ¡°Daddy¡± countless times before, though he had never once addressed his biological father with that term. He could not get used to the fact that he was about to meet his biological father very soon. It was his first time meeting his father in the flesh, though he had seen photos of him online in the past. Chapter 345 - Reunion (40)

Chapter 345: Reunion (40)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Dear Daddy, please don¡¯t be too shocked to see me, An Youqing thought in his head. An Youqing closed his eyes and began drifting off to dreand. Mei Yangyang and An Xiaoning were the first to wake up at past five o¡¯clock in the morning. They instructed the servants to look after the children before hailing a taxi to Mei Yangyang¡¯s maiden home. Mei Yangyang¡¯s family was still residing in that same house of theirs from five years ago. Mei Yangyang initially wanted to buy them a new home, but her parents opposed strongly to the idea because they enjoyed living in that house. Thus, Mei Yangyang decided to renovate the house for them instead and added a ton of furniture. In addition, she had also bought her father a car. As for Mei Shuangshuang, who was still sponging off of her parents, she had had a few rtionships, all of which did not work out in the end. She was currently idling her time away at home and refused to go out to get a job. They ought to adhere to the traditional customs of marrying their daughter off from their own home. Shortly after arriving at the Mei family home, the makeup artists and the assistants from the bridal store quickly helped Mei Yangyang do her makeup, style her hair, and change into her wedding gown. On the other hand, Long Tianze had also changed into his wedding suit and groomed himself, making him look even more attractive than he already was. The children had also changed into their respective outfits and waited to fetch the bride. Since An Youqing was not the flower boy, he followed the Long family servants back to the Long family mansion. They decided to hold the wedding at the Long family mansion instead of at an exotic location or a prestigious hotel. The Long family had prepared avish and extravagant wedding for their only son. ¡°Although I¡¯m not supposed to steal the limelight as your best man, I¡¯m sorry to say, I think I¡¯m more dashing than you,¡± teased Ling Ciye, who was dressed in a ck suit. Shrugging his shoulders, Long Tianze retorted, ¡°Please stand 500 kilometres away from me right now.¡± ¡°How petty. Where¡¯s Qingyan?¡± ¡°He¡¯s not here yet. Oh, by the way, go to Qingyan¡¯s ce opposite and tell him not to bring that Gu Xiaoning.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Long Tianze quickly whispered something into Ling Ciye¡¯s ear, causing thetter to be greatly taken aback. ¡°What!?!¡± Ling Ciye gasped in shock. ¡°Whatever I said is the truth. Don¡¯t tell him yet though, just instruct him not to bring her.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t stop him without a reason. It¡¯s like you don¡¯t know how much he dotes on Gu Xiaoning.¡± ¡°Ugh, I¡¯m dying of frustration. I also just found out about itst night when we went to pick her up at the airport. What do you think we should do now?¡± ¡°Let nature take its course. It¡¯s not something you should be concerned about anyway.¡± Ling Ciye raised his wrist to take a look at the time on his watch before saying, ¡°It¡¯s already past nine. What time are we going to go fetch the bride?¡± ¡°Ten o¡¯clock.¡± ¡°That¡¯s almost soon. Netizens are going to criticize you for holding a shotgun wedding.¡± ¡°Whatever it is, at least I didn¡¯t shirk the responsibility. By the way, why are you here alone? Where¡¯s Song Yan?¡± said an unbothered Long Tianze. ¡°We broke up,¡± Ling Ciye said nonchntly. ¡°Again! Isn¡¯t this like the umpteenth time you¡¯ve broken up ever since you got back together again?¡± Long Tianze scoffed, giving him a facepalm. ¡°She¡¯s always so unreasonable and throws silly tantrums all the time. I¡¯m starting to find her rather unbearable because it¡¯s been like this for almost six years.¡± ¡°You have to tolerate her attitude if you love her. Isn¡¯t that your logic?¡± ¡°But there¡¯s still a limit to my tolerance. I¡¯m seriously at the end of my patience. I always agree to get back together because of how soft-hearted I am, but now that I think of it, I really can¡¯t stand that temper of hers anymore. This time, I didn¡¯t contact her first after the breakup, and neither did she. I just feel exceptionally at ease. Tianze, why do I feel this way?¡± said Ling Ciye, who appeared rather relieved. ¡°Seems like it¡¯s really going to be over for you two. Yangyang and I have never had so many petty quarrels like you guys. You¡¯re always breaking up and getting back together again. Do you really think your rtionship can stand the test of time? You two aren¡¯t getting any younger, yet why are you still so childish? So shameful,¡± Long Tianze remarked. ¡°Love is always so pure and wonderful when you¡¯re younger. I¡¯ve been regretting my decision to break up with her in high school back then. In hindsight, it was that very regret that made me feel like I couldn¡¯t get over her. Everything seems to be so different and pragmatic once I ditched my rose-tinted sses.¡± ¡°I¡¯m d you realize it clearly now. That¡¯s right, once you leave her, there are still plenty of fishes in the sea waiting for you. If you don¡¯t see a future with her, you¡¯re better off letting go. At least you¡¯ll free each other of torment,¡± said Long Tianze, giving him a pat on his back. Ling Ciye looked up and said, ¡°Oh, Qingyan is here.¡± Long Tianze turned to look at Jin Qingyan, who was dressed to the nines. So was Gu Xiaoning, who let her long locks drape across her shoulder and had on a warm and innocent smile on her face. She began walking towards them while holding onto Jin Qingyan¡¯s arm. ¡°I think there¡¯s an urgent need for you to tell Qingyan immediately. Otherwise, the consequences will be dire,¡± Ling Ciye muttered softly. ¡°We shall wait and see.¡± Long Tianze stepped forward and said to Jin Qingyan, ¡°Qingyan, I have something important to tell you privately. Come here, quick.¡± ¡°What is it? Say it here.¡± ¡°It¡¯s something very important.¡± Long Tianze pulled him away all the way upstairs. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Long Tianze let go of him and said, ¡°You can¡¯t bring Gu Xiaoning to attend my wedding.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Unsure of how he should exin it, Long Tianze said, ¡°Just listen to me and don¡¯t bring her along. Get her to stay at home instead.¡± ¡°What is the reason?¡± ¡°Never mind that. You¡¯ll know the reason when you attend the weddingter.¡± Noticing how mysterious Long Tianze was being, Jin Qingyan prompted, ¡°If you don¡¯t tell me the reason, I¡¯m going to take her with me.¡± Long Tianze had no choice but to give him a big hint. ¡°Qingyan, it¡¯s because you¡¯re going to see someone extremely important to you at my wedding today.¡± ¡°Who is it?¡± Long Tianze sighed before answering, ¡°She said she¡¯d be seeing you today and didn¡¯t allow me to tell you.¡± ¡°Tell me or I¡¯ll strangle you!¡± Jin Qingyan eximed, eager to know the truth as Long Tianze¡¯s words had managed to pique his interest. ¡°I won¡¯t say it even if you strangle me. You¡¯ll be seeing herter anyway. Well, this person matters a lot to you. In fact, she¡¯s the most important person to you. That¡¯s all I can say.¡± Isn¡¯t Xiaoning the most important person to him? But she passed away a long time ago. Jin Qingyan did not try and guess amongst the people who were still alive, though he could not help but wonder who Long Tianze was referring to. ¡°What if I insist on bringing her to attend your wedding?¡± ¡°Qingyan, please believe your buddy¡¯s words. Don¡¯t bring her along. Just trust me this once, alright?¡± ¡°Fine. You¡¯re really something, aren¡¯t you?¡± Pointing his index finger at Long Tianze, Jin Qingyan warned, ¡°If I find out that the person I¡¯ll be meeting at your wedding isn¡¯t someone important to me, I¡¯ll yank your head off.¡± ¡°Yes! Prepare yourself for it,¡± said Long Tianze, staring at him solemnly. Jin Qingyan turned around to leave upon seeing how Long Tianze was so insistent on keeping him in suspense. Long Tianze felt a strong urge to spill the truth but nheless decided to let Jin Qingyan find out by himself. On the way to fetch the bride, Long Tianze was energetic and full of vigor while blushing slightly at the same time. He drove his own car while a fleet of other luxury bridal cars escorted him. Along the way, Long Tianze could not help but look around in overwhelming excitement. Although traffic was rather heavy, it fortunately did not cause too much of a dy. He managed to arrive at Mei Yangyang¡¯s home in time. Chapter 346 - Reunion (41)

Chapter 346: Reunion (41)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Amidst the loud crackling of the firecrackers, Long Tianze alighted from his car and began waving to the crowd around him, which included some media reporters. Carrying a bouquet of fresh flowers in his hand, he stepped inside the Mei family home. After a while, Mei Yangyang exited the door hand in hand with Long Tianze, alongside thepany of her parents and An Xiaoning. Mei Yangyang was donning a sparkly white wedding gown and a veil on her head. Happiness was written all over her face. She did not mind being photographed by the reporters at all. After all, there was nothing to hide since they¡¯d already been in a rtionship for a few years and even had two children of their own. They got into the car and began driving towards the Long family mansion. The car was parked outside the gate of the Long family mansion, where a red carpet wasid across the ground to wee the newlyweds-to-be. An Xiaoning held onto Mei Yangyang¡¯s hand in the car. They could see the crowd clearly through the window. However, the people outside could not have a clear view of the passengers in the car due to the tinted ss of the car windows. Long Tianze had already gotten down from the car and stood beside Ling Ciye. Jin Qingyan was still nowhere to be seen at this point. The auspicious hour arrived. The firecrackers continued to crackle for a long period of time. Long Tianze opened the car door, but it was not Mei Yangyang who came out first. The crowd stared on while An Xiaoning came out of the car, dressed in the pink bridesmaid attire. Although Ling Ciye had already expected it, he was still rather shocked to see her in the flesh nheless. Besides, isn¡¯t it unbelievable that a person who was supposedly dead for a few years suddenly came back to life? Was there anything more bewildering than that? An Xiaoning then reached her hand into the backseat to help Mei Yangyang out of the car. She handed Mei Yangyang¡¯s hand to Long Tianze while the flower boy and girl led the way, each carrying a basket of flower petals that they scattered along the bridal path. Mei Yangyang held onto Long Tianze¡¯s arm and took center stage as they walked down the red carpet while An Xiaoning and Ling Ciye followed closely behind. Ling Ciye kept his thoughts and questions to himself and would steal an asional nce at An Xiaoning. The wedding march began to y slowly in the background. It was romantic and heartwarming. They treaded along the red carpet and arrived at the holding area for guests after passing the gate of the main entrance. The guests were to be seated along the sides of the red carpet. The Master of Ceremony was standing at the front with a microphone in hand and waiting for the bride and groom to arrive. Staring at the crowd of guests, Ling Ciye was surprised to find that Jin Qingyan was not around. What was going on? Little did Ling Ciye know, Jin Qingyan was still trying to cate Gu Xiaoning at home. He only began to rush to the venue when the wedding had alreadymenced. After parking the car, Jin Qingyan strode in quickly. He heard the sounds of celebration as soon as he entered the courtyard. Upon arriving at the guest area, a figure caught his attention. While walking towards his seat, he kept his eyes fixed on the figure, which he found to be strangely familiar. However, he still did not manage to catch a glimpse of her face in the end. Just as he sat down beside Ling Ciye, thetter gave him a smack and said, ¡°My goodness, why are you sote?¡± ¡°Tianze didn¡¯t allow me to bring Xiaoning and I had a hard time coaxing her. Thankfully I made it in time.¡± Jin Qingyan paused his speech and pointed at the figure before asking, ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you tell from her silhouette?¡± Ling Ciye asked softly. Jin Qingyan squinted and said, ¡°She looks really familiar.¡± ¡°She¡¯s An Xiaoning.¡± ¡°... Who?¡± ¡°An Xiaoning.¡± Jin Qingyan turned his head to the side and stared at Ling Ciye seriously. ¡°Who did you say it was!?!¡± ¡°Your lover, An Xiaoning. She¡¯s still alive. I¡¯m the groomsman and she¡¯s the bridesmaid. She was supposed to be sitting here, but the bride wanted An Xiaoning to keep herpany. That¡¯s why she¡¯s standing there now.¡± Jin Qingyan stood up slowly, after which his legs turned jelly all of a sudden, perhaps because he was overwhelmed with agitation. ¡°Calm down!¡± eximed Ling Ciye, who quickly supported him. ¡°Is this a new clone version that I¡¯m not aware of?¡± Jin Qingyan sat down to speak to Ling Ciye, who thought he was going to rush forward straight away. ¡°I don¡¯t know, you¡¯ll find out for yourself after Tianze¡¯s wedding,¡± Ling Ciye said with a shrug. cing a hand on Jin Qingyan¡¯s arm, he added, ¡°This is Tianze¡¯s wedding, don¡¯t create a scene here. Just wait a little while more, she¡¯s not going to run away.¡± Jin Qingyan was held back forcefully by Ling Ciye while he kept his eyes fixed on An Xiaoning. To his disappointment, she never once turned behind. The crowd apuded along when the solemnization ceremony finally came to an end. It was time for the guests to move to the banquet hall. An Xiaoning turned around gracefully, finally facing Jin Qingyan¡¯s direction. An Xiaoning was searching for An Youqing in the crowd when she unexpectedly made eye contact with Jin Qingyan. She had thought about this day countless times before. She had constantly been imagining what it would be like to meet him again after returning to the country. She had even thought about how both of them would react. An Xiaoning managed to maintain herposure when she finally met him face to face. She stood in front of Jin Qingyan, who was seated. They held each other¡¯s gaze in front of everyone else. Jin Qingyan stood up all of a sudden and zoomed towards her frantically. An Xiaoning was greatly taken aback and stood rooted to the ground like a statue. An Xiaoning was almost crushed to death by his sudden and fierce hug. She was overwhelmed with his unique scent, which did not change over the years. Noticing that she was remaining silent, Jin Qingyan released his grip and stared at her intently. ¡°Are you Xiaoning?¡± he asked in agitation. ¡°So what if I am and so what if I¡¯m not?¡± An Xiaoning then turned to ask Mei Yangyang, ¡°Where did Youqing go?¡± Although she knew that her son would not wander about on his own and that there would be someone to look after him at all times, she could not help but feel a little worried to find that he was nowhere in her sight. ¡°Who¡¯s Youqing?¡± ¡°My man.¡± Jin Qingyan was perturbed and bbergasted to hear her answer. ¡°I¡¯m your man, no one else is!¡± he eximed, getting extremely worked up. Everyone else was speechless. Mei Yangyang was amused by his words and gestured an ¡°OK¡± sign at An Xiaoning before hurrying off to change into another gown. Just as An Xiaoning was about to walk away, Jin Qingyan grabbed her by her wrist tightly and asked, ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°It¡¯s none of your business.¡± ¡°Xiaoning. Why didn¡¯t youe back if you¡¯re alive?¡± Jin Qingyan asked, his lips trembling with nervousness as he reached out to caress her face. ¡°I¡¯m just another clone, don¡¯t be mistaken,¡± An Xiaoning said smilingly. She was clearly being sarcastic and not actually hiding her identity on purpose. Jin Qingyan looked her in the eye. It was that very pair of sparkly eyes that he had been yearning to see every day and night. ¡°You really are Xiaoning.¡± ¡°Seems like you¡¯d think I¡¯m the real An Xiaoning just because I look and sound exactly like her.¡± Jin Qingyan raised her wrist and said, ¡°You¡¯re the only one who has this bangle.¡± ¡°There are plenty of counterfeits and replicas on the market.¡± ¡°Why? Why didn¡¯t youe to find me when you¡¯re still alive? You¡¯re still alive, yet why...¡± An Xiaoning shrugged off his grip and said, ¡°No reason.¡± Just as she took a few steps forward, she was stopped by him again. Noticing that there were many people around, she decided not to embarrass him and warned him sternly, ¡°If youe near me again, I¡¯ll teach you a lesson.¡± ¡°Go ahead then.¡± Holding her breath, she gave him a shoulder throw and caused him to fall to the ground, though he was well over six feet tall and much bigger than her petite self. He did not resist, seemingly allowing her to do so on purpose. Chapter 347 - Son, Im Your Father (1)

Chapter 347: Son, I¡¯m Your Father (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyan was sprawled across the ground with his head throbbing from the impact. He looked up at her and beganughing hysterically like a maniac. Noticing how ted he seemed even though he had just been attacked, An Xiaoning could not help but wonder if he had gone berserk over the years and had just been released from an asylum. Just as she was about to turn around and leave, she realized that his initialughter had turned into tears, causing her to be slightly panic-stricken. Jin Qingyan slowly got up from the ground and onto his feet. ¡°You¡¯re the only one who dares to treat me that way too,¡± he said, staring at her. An Xiaoning smiled at the sight of a figure dressed in red approaching her slowly from behind Jin Qingyan. She then began walking towards the figure. Thinking that An Xiaoning was walking towards him, Jin Qingyan stood rooted to the ground. To his surprise, An Xiaoning walked past him and continued moving forward instead. Jin Qingyan turned around to see that it was Gu Beicheng. d in a red suit, Gu Beicheng was immactely dressed for the asion. Jin Qingyan hurriedly followed behind. ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t even inform me that you were back. I wouldn¡¯t have known that you returned if I didn¡¯t see the photos of you on the news,¡± Gu Beicheng said to An Xiaoning. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you over the phone that I¡¯d being back to attend Yangyang¡¯s wedding? My luggage is at her ce now. After the banquet, I¡¯ll be collecting my belongings and make my way home.¡± ¡°Have you lost weight again?¡± Gu Beicheng asked, reaching out to tuck her hair behind her ear right in front of Jin Qingyan. ¡°No I didn¡¯t. Why don¡¯t I go with you to collect your luggage after the banquet lunch?¡± ¡°Sure. I¡¯ve given the betrothal money 1 on your behalf.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve given the betrothal money? How does this concern you in any way?¡± Jin Qingyan hissed. Gu Beicheng chuckled and said, ¡°I can¡¯t possibly ask for a free lunch. I didn¡¯t notice you were here.¡± How dare he say he didn¡¯t notice my presence when I was standing right in front of him? Jin Qingyan thought. Clenching his fists tightly, Jin Qingyan questioned sternly, ¡°Gu Beicheng, did you fabricate Xiaoning¡¯s death?¡± ¡°Are you nuts? Why would I do that for no rhyme or reason? You were the one who pulled her out of the soil in the secret passageway. Shouldn¡¯t you be clear as to whether she was still breathing or not at the time? If you could create a clone who¡¯s identical to Xiaoning, why can¡¯t I? This one¡¯s a clone too,¡± Gu Beicheng retorted. ¡°She¡¯s not,¡± Jin Qingyan said firmly. ¡°Oh? Have you developed bionic vision?¡± Gu Beicheng sneered with raised brows. ¡°It¡¯s none of your business. Get your ws off her hands,¡± Jin Qingyan snapped in sudden exasperation. Unfortunately, An Xiaoning was not on his side. ¡°Daddy!¡± Upon hearing the sudden piping voice of a child, Jin Qingyan turned around to see a little boy walking towards them. The boy seemed to be referring to someone amongst the three of them. Staring at An Youqing¡¯s face, Jin Qingyan was struck with a sudden illusion of seeing himself as a child as he began to find an uncanny resemnce between An Youqing and his younger self. Could it be... He quickly turned to stare at An Xiaoning and said, ¡°This child is yours...¡± ¡°Yes, he¡¯s my child,¡± An Xiaoning admitted. Everything was all too sudden for Jin Qingyan to process. It had never urred to him that he would actually have a son whose existence he was not aware of! He was extremely confident that the child was his. After all, An Youqing¡¯s inherited traits and features, which were strikingly simr to Jin Qingyan¡¯s, had given it all away. Jin Qingyan even heard An Youqing call him ¡°Daddy¡±... or so he thought. Tears welled up in Jin Qingyan¡¯s eyes. Just as he was about to turn around and receive An Youqing, thetter ran towards Gu Beicheng. ...!!! ¡°Daddy, when did you arrive?¡± An Youqing surged into Gu Beicheng¡¯s embrace and draped his arms around Gu Beicheng¡¯s neck. ¡°Just now. Where did you go?¡± Gu Beicheng asked smilingly. ¡°I went to y. Daddy, Godpa¡¯s house is so much fun, there¡¯s a huge fountain too.¡± ¡°We have one at home too, you don¡¯t have to be too envious of others. If you like fountains, Daddy shall build one just for you. Sounds good?¡± An Xiaoning took a nce at Jin Qingyan, who hadpletely frozen in shock. He stood rooted to the ground, still like a statue. Once he regained his senses, he looked at An Youqing and asked, ¡°You clearly look just like me. You¡¯re obviously my son. Why did you call him Daddy instead?¡± An Youqing put on a courteous smile and answered, ¡°Uncle, have you got bad eyesight? In what way do I resemble you? He¡¯s my Daddy, of course I¡¯d address him that way.¡± Jin Qingyan was at a loss for words. ring at An Xiaoning, he chided, ¡°Not only did you hide the fact that you¡¯re still alive, you¡¯ve also given birth to our child secretly behind my back. What¡¯s worse is that you even let him call someone else his father. An Xiaoning, are you asking for an early death?¡± An Xiaoning held onto Gu Beicheng¡¯s arm and said, ¡°Let¡¯s ignore him and go enjoy the feast at the banquet.¡± Thus, Jin Qingyan watched as the three of them left. Anger was rushing through his veins, and he felt as if he was about to explode in pique. He decided not to chase after them and instead gave Fan Shixin a call to hand him his instructions, then proceeded to the banquet. Due to the fact that they were sharing the same table, Jin Qingyan was filled with jealousy as he stared begrudgingly at the sight before him ¡ª An Xiaoning was seated in between Gu Beicheng and An Youqing, and the three of them seemed just like a family. Jin Qingyan felt like he was getting pped in the face every single time An Youqing calls Gu Beicheng ¡°Daddy.¡± That was his woman and his son! The child resembled him so much that there was practically no need for a DNA test! It was clear as day! An Xiaoningpletely ignored his presence throughout the meal and continued to eat and drink to her heart¡¯s content. In high spirits since it was Mei Yangyang¡¯s big day, she decided to have a few drinks to celebrate the joyous asion. Jin Qingyan did not have much of an appetite and was instead focusing his gaze on An Xiaoning and An Youqing. Unable to hold his urge in, Jin Qingyan asked, ¡°Little imp, what¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not an imp,¡± An Youqing retorted while staring at him. ¡°Tell me then, what is your name?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t tell you that.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Son, that¡¯s exactly how you should answer strangers. Otherwise, you¡¯re going to be abducted by crooks,¡± Gu Beicheng praised, extremely pleased with An Youqing¡¯s answer. ¡°Gu Beicheng! Don¡¯t mislead my son!¡± ¡°You made a mistake, he¡¯s my son,¡± Gu Beicheng corrected. Jin Qingyan sneered and ced his wine ss onto the table before getting up to leave the table. He left the wedding altogether. Puzzled, Ling Ciye got up to chase after him and said softly, ¡°You¡¯re just leaving like that?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going home.¡± ¡°Are you out of your mind? Wouldn¡¯t you lose out if you just leave right now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going home to make the preparations.¡± ¡°What preparations?¡± ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know?¡± Jin Qingyan loosened his tie and looked towards the front. ¡°Today is indeed a day of joy and merriment. I was still apprehensive at first.¡± He hopped into his car and drove back to Wei Ni Estate. Upon arriving at the entrance, Fan Shixin scurried towards him and reported, ¡°Young Sir, there¡¯s indeed no corpse in the grave.¡± ¡°Wow, I¡¯ve really witnessed all sorts of strange and incredible phenomenons throughout all these years I¡¯ve lived,¡± Ling Ciye remarked in awe. ¡°Fan Shixin, bring some bodyguards with you to hide in Tianze¡¯s vi and wait for my instructions,¡± Jin Qingyan said with a smirk. ¡°Yes, Sir. I read the news report just now. Ms. Gu is undoubtedly at home, so who was that person who looks exactly like her in the news...¡± Fan Shixin said with much uncertainty. ¡°The original.¡± Footnotes:

Ch 347 Footnote 1

It is a Chinese tradition to gift the newlyweds with money on their wedding. Chapter 348 - Son, Im Your Father (2)

Chapter 348: Son, I¡¯m Your Father (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Is Ms. An still alive?¡± Fan Shixin gasped in shock. ¡°Yes, not only is she alive and kicking, she¡¯s even brought a son back with her.¡± ¡°Huh? Don¡¯t tell me she¡¯s married?¡± ¡°Nonsense, the son obviously belongs to me.¡± Fan Shixin¡¯s jaw dropped in shock. ¡°That¡¯s awesome,¡± he eximed in agitation. After settling down and getting a grip on his emotions, Fan Shixin went on to ask a crucial question, ¡°Young Sir, what do we do with Ms. Gu then?¡± ¡°Lock her up in a room first. Don¡¯t allow her to leave the room at all times. We¡¯ll talk about the rest in the future. I¡¯m not in the mood to think about her now.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± ¡°Tsk, tsk, tsk. You¡¯re so lucky, Qingyan, I¡¯m so envious of you,¡± Ling Ciye said mockingly while seated in the passenger seat. ¡°What are you envious about?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve hugged a pure and innocent little girl to sleep every night for five years. Now you¡¯re getting another woman.¡± Jin Qingyan smacked Ling Ciye on his head and warned, ¡°Mind your words, I haven¡¯t touched her at all throughout these years.¡± ¡°Only a fool would believe you. If you didn¡¯t touch her, how did you satisfy your sexual needs?¡± After a moment of hesitation, Jin Qingyan answered, ¡°I had my hands to apany me for so many years. I can¡¯t leave them out during times of need.¡± ¡°...¡± Giving him a thumbs-up, Ling Ciye said, ¡°Good job, you¡¯re amazing. But I don¡¯t believe you.¡± ¡°Too bad then.¡± Jin Qingyan drove past the gate at the entrance and alighted together with Ling Ciye before walking towards the vi opposite. ¡°Why did youe here instead of bringing your bodyguards to kidnap your son and his mother?¡± ¡°Because I have something important to do, of course. Don¡¯t follow me.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t follow you, but can Ie along to watch the show?¡± cing his hands behind his back, Jin Qingyan refuted, ¡°You¡¯re not wee.¡± ¡°I just want to,¡± Ling Ciye insisted as he quickly overtook Jin Qingyan and walked towards the front. Jin Qingyan had no choice but to chase after him. An Xiaoning and her son arrived back at Wei Ni Estate in Gu Beicheng¡¯s car to collect their luggage. Shortly after, Long Tianze¡¯s car swiftly arrived as well. Mei Yangyang¡¯s hair was neatly groomed into a hairdo and she was dressed in a bright, red gown. ¡°Sis,¡± she greeted smilingly. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re back too. I was just nning to call you. I¡¯m going to go home after collecting my luggage.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to stay here to apany me for a few more days?¡± ¡°You have him to apany you. You don¡¯t need mypany. I¡¯m thinking of settling down first. I¡¯m already back in the country, aren¡¯t I? We can meet easily whenever we¡¯d like,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°You have a point. The luggage is in the bedroom, you may collect it there, Sis.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± As soon as Long Tianze entered the living room, he was greeted with the sight of Ling Ciye sitting alone on the couch with a book in hand. Resting his legs on the coffee table, Ling Ciye greeted him, ¡°You¡¯re back?¡± ¡°What are you doing sitting here alone in my living room?¡± Noticing that Long Tianze was approaching, Ling Ciye grabbed Long Tianze¡¯s bowtie and said softly, ¡°Someone is in your bridal chamber right now. Go bring your wife away.¡± ¡°Gu Beicheng and the child are with her though,¡± said Long Tianze, knowing clearly what Jin Qingyan was up to. ¡°Think of a solution then. Don¡¯t you wish to see them reunite as a happy family?¡± ¡°Of course I do...¡± ¡°Then act on it now. Go, go, go, quick!¡± ¡°What are you waiting for? Come with me.¡± Ling Ciye ced his book down onto the couch and sprung up from his seat. They proceeded to the bridal chamber. An Xiaoning handed the luggage to Gu Beicheng and said, ¡°Bring these to the car. I¡¯lle soon with Youqing.¡± ¡°Mm, okay.¡± Gu Beicheng carried the luggage downstairs. Ling Ciye shot Long Tianze a look, after which Long Tianze quickly said, ¡°Youqing, go say bye to your brother and sister.¡± ¡°Alright. Mommy, I¡¯ll be back very soon.¡± An Youqing then proceeded to walk out of the room. ¡°Um... Yangyang,e out for a while. I need to talk to you about something.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Can¡¯t you say it here?¡± Mei Yangyang asked. ¡°No,e out quick,¡± said Long Tianze as he dragged Mei Yangyang out of the room. Feeling slightly awkward, Ling Ciye quickly grabbed An Xiaoning to stop her from leaving. ¡°Um, can I speak to you for a bit?¡± ¡°What is it?¡± He closed the bedroom door and subconsciously nced at the door of the dressing room where Jin Qingyan was hiding. ¡°Throughout these years, Qingyan may have had a clone of you by his side. But, it¡¯s because you were dead then and he simply loves you too much. He really wanted to see you every waking minute of his life, that¡¯s why...¡± Before he could even finish speaking, An Xiaoning interrupted, ¡°You don¡¯t have to exin, I know all about it. I came back once five years ago. So, I¡¯m very clear about everything regarding him and the clone. I don¡¯t wish to bring up the past anymore. He¡¯s no more than a stranger to me now.¡± ¡°A stranger? You two have had countless nights of bliss in the past, yet you im that he¡¯s just like a stranger?¡± Ling Ciye eximed in bewilderment with his brows raised. ¡°That was all in the past. We¡¯re in the present now.¡± Putting a hand up, Ling Ciye said, ¡°Okay, this is between you two. I won¡¯t interfere anymore.¡± He turned around to leave while An Xiaoning followed suit. To her surprise, Ling Ciye closed the door immediately upon exiting. ¡°Ling Ciye, what are you doing? Open up.¡± ¡°Look who¡¯s behind you.¡± An Xiaoning turned around only to find that Jin Qingyan was standing right in front of her. She retreated backwards and leaned back against the door. ¡°You...¡± Gazing at her, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°I¡¯ve never gotten intimate with any other woman at all. My heart and body are pure, Xiaoning. I really never expected to see you alive again. You¡¯ve given me a huge surprise ¨C a great shock, in fact. Am I dreaming?¡± ¡°No matter how much you may try to sweet talk, I will never give in. Jin Qingyan, I¡¯ve been getting on rather well living alone abroad with the child. Please don¡¯t disrupt our current lifestyle. I¡¯ve even considered noting back at all for the rest of my life. We may never bump into each other again that way. But then, I realized that I didn¡¯t have to hide myself from you since I didn¡¯t do anything wrong and my conscience is clear.¡± Just as she was about to leave, Jin Qingyan rushed forward and hugged her tightly from behind, afraid that he may never get to see her again. ¡°Let go.¡± ¡°No.¡± An Xiaoning kicked a leg back at Jin Qingyan, though he had expected it beforehand and managed to dodge sessfully. He then picked her up in his arms and lowered her onto Long Tianze¡¯s bed. An Xiaoning was pinned beneath him, unable to move an inch. Since he had grabbed her wrist tightly, she could not even manage to struggle and break free. However, the quick-witted An Xiaoning had long prepared herself well for such situations. ¡°I need to use the washroom. Let go of me first.¡± ¡°You¡¯re lying.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± An Xiaoning said with a gentleness in her voice. Jin Qingyan got off her slowly. Just as he was about to release her, she threw a few punches at him, striking him right in the eye. Jin Qingyan shrieked in pain. Before he could even recover from the shock, she kicked him again in his groin. ¡°Damn it!¡± He sprung up immediately but did not make it in time as An Xiaoning had already zoomed out. She thought that Jin Qingyan would not dare to try anything funny as long as there were others around. Little did she expect, there was nothing Jin Qingyan was afraid of doing! As soon as she reached the first storey, she was greeted with the sight of Jin Qingyan sliding down the railing of the stairs, obstructing her from moving forward. Chapter 349 - Son, Im Your Father (3)

Chapter 349: Son, I¡¯m Your Father (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Where are you going?¡± Jin Qingyan asked with a smirk. Noticing that she was about to attack him again, he quickly took a step back and returned her strike. The crowd watched on as the two of them engaged in a fistfight. Having gone through further training while she was overseas, An Xiaoning felt confident in herbat skills and reflexes. To her surprise, Jin Qingyan was not too far behind and possessed a set of impressive skills as well. He was at least much betterpared to five years ago. Little did she know, he would go and train whenever he felt exceptionally lonely. After five years of training, he had indeed improved exponentially. They continued to exchange strikes while the rest of the people in the living room looked on like spectators, as if it were a real fight. They kept at it for a total of 40-odd minutes, and Jin Qingyan managed to gain the upperhand atst. Moreover, their ending position earned the apuse of the spectators. Jin Qingyan was holding An Xiaoning by her waist while she leaned backwards. In fact, she would have fallen straight onto the ground if he hadn¡¯t managed to catch her in time. Gu Beicheng shrugged off Fan Shixin¡¯s subordinates and walked towards them. ¡°Jin Qingyan, that¡¯s enough,¡± he said with a scowl. ¡°Not enough, not yet at all. Shixin, bring him out of Wei Ni Estate,¡± Jin Qingyan ordered. ¡°Jin Qingyan! Try doing that if you dare!¡± An Xiaoning snapped as droplets of sweat trickled down her forehead. She shifted her gaze to her son and said, ¡°Youqing,e on, let¡¯s go home.¡± ¡°An Xiaoning!¡± An Xiaoning ignored him while An Youqing held onto Gu Beicheng¡¯s hand and left through the door. Jin Qingyan was flustered yet infuriated to watch her leave just like that. Exhausted, he walked forward and sprawled himself across the couch. ¡°Hey, fool, aren¡¯t you going to take chase? Go stop her, quick,¡± Long Tianze urged. ¡°Let her cool off for a while.¡± Jin Qingyan then gestured to Fan Shixin and said, ¡°Summon the bodyguards from the elite team and surround the Gu family mansion in half an hour¡¯s time.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Without dy, Fan Shixin immediately proceeded as instructed. ¡°Turns out you¡¯re saving the best forst,¡± Ling Ciye remarked, giving him a thumbs-up. Just as Mei Yangyang was about to go upstairs, Long Tianze quickly stopped her. ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to leak any information to An Xiaoning.¡± ¡°You¡¯re telling me what to do?¡± ¡°Of course, you¡¯re my wife. Yangyang, stay out of this. Let them sort this out between themselves. Isn¡¯t it great for them to reunite as a family?¡± Mei Yangyang, too, wanted for them to reunite, perhaps because she knew clearly who An Xiaoning truly loved deep down. ¡°I reckon Sis must be full of regret right now. She definitely wouldn¡¯t havee back had she known earlier. She truly didn¡¯t expect you to be as obstinate as a bull,¡± Mei Yangyang said to Jin Qingyan. ¡°Mei Yangyang,¡± said Jin Qingyan, who rarely addressed her by her full name. ¡°You knew she was alive right from the start, but why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡± ¡°You already have someone by your side to rece Sis. What more can I say? Do you know how tough it was for me to hold myself back from blurting out the truth all these years?¡± Long Tianze snorted withughter and pointed a finger at Jin Qingyan before saying, ¡°Don¡¯t me my wife. It was your own fault for creating a clone. Otherwise, none of this would¡¯ve happened. It was all your silly tricks that caused these troubles.¡± Jin Qingyan did not wish to argue further and said, ¡°I¡¯m going back to change my clothes.¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± Ling Ciye picked up his book and was about to start reading when Long Tianze snatched it away from his hands and suggested, ¡°Wanna y ¡®Fighting the Landlord¡¯?¡± ¡°Who wants to y such ame and boring game with you?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s ce a stake of 2000 dors,¡± said Long Tianze, sticking two fingers up. ¡°You said that yourself, better keep to your word. Watch how I make you burn a hole in your pocket...¡± said Ling Ciye as he stood up. ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°Upstairs, let¡¯s go.¡± ¡ª An Xiaoning and Gu Beicheng held An Youqing¡¯s hands and entered the house while the servants dragged the luggage along. Mr. and Mrs. Gu were dressed formally and sitting on the couch to enjoy a conversation with their inws when An Xiaoning returned. ¡°Xiaoning is back.¡± ¡°Youqing,e and give Grandpa a hug,¡± said Mr. Gu as he extended his arms for a hug. An Youqing scurried towards Mr. Gu and snuggled into his embrace. ¡°Grandpa, did you miss me?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I missed you too.¡± Pointing at his own cheek, Mr. Gu said, ¡°Come, give Grandpa a kiss.¡± An Youqing immediately gave him a peck on his cheek. ¡°My turn, Youqing,¡± said Mrs. Gu as she craned her neck towards him. He gave yet another peck. All smiles, Mrs. Gu stood up to introduce An Xiaoning to the inws. ¡°Xiaoning, this is Military Commander Xu and his wife, Madam Xu. This is Youran, your elder brother¡¯s fiance. We¡¯ve already decided on a date for their wedding.¡± The sight of Military Commander Xu and his family suddenly reminded An Xiaoning of Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s case. An Xiaoning began to find Youran looking extremely familiar. Yet, she could not recall where she had seen her. ¡°Hello, Uncle and Auntie. Nice to meet you, Sis-inw,¡± Youran greeted, smiling warmly. ¡°You must be Xiaoning. You¡¯re really gorgeous. But I¡¯ve never heard that you were married, yet you already have a child,¡± Mrs. Xu said smilingly. ¡°Yes.¡± An Xiaoning replied with a courteous smile. ¡°In that case, my dearest Inws, the matter of the wedding is settled then. We¡¯ll hold it on the agreed date,¡± said Military Commander Xu as he stood up in a bid to leave. Noticing that they had stood up, Mr. and Mrs. Gu hurriedly walked them out. After sending the Xu family off, the Gu family rejoiced at An Xiaoning¡¯s homing with An Youqing. ¡°Mother, since when did Elder Brother get married to the daughter of the Xu family?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°I found it rather puzzling as well. I have no idea when your brother started seeing her either.¡± Mrs. Gu then turned to look at Gu Dongcheng and asked, ¡°When did you two get together?¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a few months. We met at a bar and hit it off well right away. She doesn¡¯t mind that I¡¯m divorced either, I¡¯ve told her all about it,¡± Gu Dongcheng exined. ¡°She seems like a nice girl. You¡¯re not getting any younger too, hurry and get married. Oh, and you too,¡± Mrs. Gu said, nodding. Facing Gu Beicheng, she asked, ¡°When are you going to bring a girl home to see me?¡± Gu Beicheng chuckled and said, ¡°Mother, could you not rush me please?¡± ¡°I have to rush you. My mind won¡¯t be at peace unless you¡¯ve settled down,¡± Mrs. Gu said with a sigh. ¡°What are you worried about? Your son is so handsome, you don¡¯t have to be afraid that he can¡¯t get you a daughter-inw,¡± Gu Beicheng answered. ¡°All you do is patronize me.¡± Mrs. Gu grabbed An Xiaoning¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Xiaoning, help me talk some sense into him. He can¡¯t go on like this.¡± An Xiaoning nodded in agreement. ¡°Get to know more girls, there¡¯s bound to be some who match your type,¡± said An Xiaoning, making eye contact with Gu Beicheng. In reality, she was well aware of the reason why Gu Beicheng had been refraining from going on dates with other women. However, she had also hinted at him multiple times that they¡¯re not fated to be a couple. ¡°I know.¡± Just as Gu Beicheng finished speaking, the butler came scrambling towards them, appearing rather panicked. ¡°Bad news, there are a bunch of people outside surrounding our courtyard now.¡± ¡°What!?! Do you know who they are?¡± Mr. Gu eximed as he sprung up from his seat in shock. ¡°They¡¯re Jin Qingyan¡¯s men.¡± All eyes were on An Xiaoning, who was seated on the couch and keeping her eyes peeled onto the ground. She knew that Jin Qingyan was trying to take her away forcefully. She had expected him to behave that way. She rose from her seat and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go take a look.¡± Chapter 350 - Son, Im Your Father (4)

Chapter 350: Son, I¡¯m Your Father (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As soon as An Xiaoning reached the entrance of the living room, she bumped into Jin Qingyan. He broke the silence before she did. ¡°Xiaoning, I didn¡¯t know that you were still alive. If I knew, I couldn¡¯t have waited ¡¯til now to see you. I¡¯m giving you three options now. One, you leave with me. Two, the child leaves with me. Three, both of the above. If you don¡¯t decide, I¡¯ll decide for you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want you to decide for me, neither do I wish to pick any of the options you¡¯ve listed.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to take the child away first before you can decide properly.¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan, do not touch my son!¡± A smile formed on his face as he stepped forward slowly. With one hand against the door, he gazed at An Xiaoning, who was just inches away from him. He moved his lips closer to her ear and whispered, ¡°Not only am I going to touch your son, I¡¯m going to touch you as well, Baby. Start thinking about how you¡¯re going to satisfy me tonight. I¡¯ve waited too long for this.¡± He then turned to the army behind him and ordered, ¡°Bring Young Madam and Little Sir home!¡± The bunch of bodyguards then surged forward like a wave and took An Xiaoning and An Youqing away effortlessly. The Gu family held their horses, in fear that things would turn ugly for they were at a disadvantage since Jin Qingyan had surrounded their territory. Mrs. Gu held Gu Beicheng back by his arm and said softly, ¡°Hold it right there.¡± ¡°Mother.¡± After watching them leave, Mrs. Gu turned around and said to Gu Beicheng, ¡°Have you ever wondered why Xiaoning has never developed feelings for you despite it having been five years? If she truly didn¡¯t love Jin Qingyan, she would¡¯ve gotten together with you long ago. Had she married you and built a family with you earlier, Jin Qingyan wouldn¡¯t have had the chance to do what he did today. The woman belongs to him, so does the child. Beicheng, can¡¯t you see that clearly even until now?¡± Gu Beicheng stood rooted and stared at the ground. His mother¡¯s words had struck a sour note within him. In fact, he had long understood that fact. Thus, he had never gotten his hopes up, for higher expectations often led to greater disappointment. An Xiaoning did not argue with Jin Qingyan in the car. Instead, she sat next to An Youqing with Jin Qingyan beside her. A deafening silence filled the air in the car. Somewhere along the journey, Jin Qingyan broke the silence. ¡°An Xiaoning, why are you so cruel? Our son is already this old, yet you didn¡¯t even let me know of his existence. Neither did I get to witness the process of him growing up. By keeping him away from me, you¡¯re only going to mislead him into thinking that I¡¯m an irresponsible father.¡± An Xiaoning remained silent. ¡°Are you mute?¡± An Xiaoning looked up at him and asked, ¡°Jin Qingyan, am I someone who can easily be reced by another woman who looks identical to me?¡± ¡°No, no one can rece you.¡± ¡°But don¡¯t your actions prove that you¡¯re allowing her to rece me?¡± Realizing where the problemy, Jin Qingyan mellowed his tone and said gently, ¡°Although she looks exactly like you, deep down I¡¯m more than aware that she¡¯s not you. Throughout the five years that she¡¯s been living at Wei Ni Estate, I¡¯ve never allowed her to stay in our bedroom. Neither have I ever gotten intimate with her. If she could rece you, I would¡¯ve had a child with her long ago. Do you understand me?¡± ¡°How are you going to prove that you¡¯ve never gotten intimate with her?¡± ¡°Surveince cameras.¡± An Xiaoning was actually already convinced deep down, upon noticing how calm and firm he was in answering, with no signs of fear or guilt at all. ¡°Mommy, did you decide to give up everything all because there¡¯s a woman who looks exactly like you by his side?¡± An Youqing asked. ¡°Yes.¡± Staring at his mother, An Youqing said, ¡°Mommy, you¡¯re so silly. Although the fact that this uncle has gotten together with that woman may prove that he¡¯s a jerk, doesn¡¯t it also show that you don¡¯t have a strong willpower?¡± Uncle... jerk... ¡°Son, I¡¯m your father, not an uncle or a jerk,¡± Jin Qingyan corrected. ¡°Sorry, I haven¡¯t gotten used to the fact that you¡¯re my father. Jerk is merely an example, please don¡¯t take it personally.¡± Jin Qingyan was speechless. Was this little imp who¡¯s full of logic really his son!?! ¡°Little imp, let me tell you, regardless of whether you¡¯ve gotten used to it or not, I¡¯m your biological father nheless. Look how much you resemble me. You have to get used to it no matter what.¡± ¡°Are we automatically biologically rted just because we look alike? Just because we look like each other, we¡¯re father and son? Many cats resemble each other too. Does that mean they¡¯re all rted by blood?¡± Jin Qingyan was at a loss for words. Is this really a five-year-old child? he thought to himself. Didn¡¯t seem like it at all. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°My name is An Youqing.¡± ¡°Who gave you that name?¡± Jin Qingyan asked in a delighted surprise. ¡°Me! What¡¯s wrong with it?¡± An Xiaoning interjected. ¡°Nothing, I just think it¡¯s a great name. But, we ought to change hisst name. He should be named ¡®Jin Youqing¡¯ instead.¡± ¡°Sorry, but it¡¯s already registered on the Gu family household register. Hisst name shall be An. I¡¯m not changing it.¡± Jin Qingyan had no choice but to say, ¡°Fine, fine, we won¡¯t change it. You call the shots, as long as you¡¯re happy. Never mind me.¡± They soon arrived in Wei Ni Estate. Fan Shixin¡¯s car led the way in while Jin Qingyan followed closely behind. They parked the car in the courtyard. Upon alighting from the car, An Youqing eximed, ¡°Wow, the courtyard is huge!¡± ¡°Son, this is our house,¡± Jin Qingyan said proudly. ¡°Wrong, this is your house, Uncle, not mine.¡± ¡°...!!!¡± Jin Qingyan corrected him once again, ¡°I¡¯m your father, stop calling me Uncle.¡± ¡°Uncle Uncle Uncle.¡± ¡°Little brat...¡± Jin Qingyan grabbed An Xiaoning¡¯s hand and said, ¡°I need to have a talk with you.¡± ¡°I have nothing to say to you.¡± ¡°We have to talk nheless.¡± He then instructed Fan Shixin, ¡°Bring Little Sir to y.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± An Youqing did not make a sound at the sight of his mother being dragged away. Instead, he looked up at Fan Shixin and asked, ¡°Is he usually such a tyrant?¡± Fan Shixin squatted down to look at An Youqing¡¯s delicate face and could not help but burst intoughter. ¡°What are youughing at? You haven¡¯t answered my question.¡± ¡°Little Sir, you look so much like your father. If you don¡¯t believe me, why don¡¯t I bring you to see some photos of him when he was a child?¡± ¡°His childhood photos?¡± ¡°Yes,e with me,¡± said Fan Shixin as he held An Youqing¡¯s hand and proceeded forward. Fan Shixin told him to sit on the couch and wait. He then returned with a photo album and handed it to An Youqing. ¡°All of his childhood photos are in here. Have a look.¡± An Youqing ced the photo album on hisp and opened it. His eyes lit up at the sight of the photos. If he was not told that those were Jin Qingyan¡¯s childhood photos, he would have really thought that they were photos of himself. An Youqing continued to flip through the album, page by page. He gradually began to realize how much he resembled Jin Qingyan, whose gic traits he had greatly inherited. Ah... The young An Youqing was overwhelmed with an inexplicable feeling. Chapter 351 - Son, Im Your Father (5)

Chapter 351: Son, I¡¯m Your Father (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning was dragged into the bedroom by him. It was the bedroom he slept in every night, and the ce where they once promised to sleep in the future. Everywhere in the room was filled with his unique scent. He locked the room door from the inside, and An Xiaoning was pulled by him to the bedside to sit. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you resisting?¡± ¡°Because I know resisting doesn¡¯t work at all.¡± Jin Qingyan shrugged and grabbed her hand tightly, his face lighting up with happiness. ¡°Xiaoning, let¡¯s get married again, shall we?¡± An Xiaoning did not answer his question, but asked instead, ¡°I want to see the surveince cameras.¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll bring you there right now.¡± Jin Qingyan really brought her to the surveince room. The surveince cameras there were in perfect working condition, so they started watching the tapes from five years ago. ¡°Before we finish watching the surveince footage, you are not to touch me.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± He felt pleased inside as he thought to himself, So after watching the surveince footage, I could touch her? An Xiaoning sat there watching the footage at an elerated speed. Only when it reached the portions of him at home did she look at it more slowly and carefully. In the end, she realized from the surveince footage that he treated Gu Xiaoning exceptionally well. After watching for a very long time, they only finished going through two years¡¯ worth of footage. Throughout this time period, other than holding Gu Xiaoning¡¯s hand, he indeed did not do anything beyond that. They did not even pause to fill up their stomachs and sat there watching from noon to night. And finally, they finished watching all five years¡¯ worth of surveince footage. She was deeply touched from watching it. For a man to stick by the boundaries for so long, it was indeed not easy. She knew that the reason for Gu Xiaoning¡¯s existence was indeed because of herself. Originally, she had thought that her position in his heart could easily be reced. But now, it turned out that it wasn¡¯t the case. Arriving at this conclusion, An Xiaoning felt that although she had wasted five years that could have been spent with him, it also helped to confirm the fact that he did indeed love her. This time wasted was not in vain, it seemed. After all, wasn¡¯t the proof of time a more precious thing? Having finished watching the surveince footage, her sleepiness had reached its peak and her stomach was rumbling in hunger since she had not eaten any of the food he brought throughout. ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡± Jin Qingyan held her hand. ¡°Come, let¡¯s go and eat.¡± She then followed him downstairs. While she had not said anything to Auntie Chen when she saw her yesterday, An Xiaoning stood at the entrance of the kitchen and looked at Auntie Chen, who was busy in the kitchen. She greeted her, ¡°Auntie Chen.¡± ¡°Hey...¡± Auntie Chen turned to her and replied with a grin, ¡°Food will be ready soon, you should sit and wait first.¡± ¡°Umm.¡± Sitting before the dining table, Jin Qingyan asked, ¡°So, you¡¯ve seen the surveince footage. It proves my innocence, right?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no traces of it in the surveince footage indeed. But who could know if you did anything on the car, or somewhere outside?¡± ¡°...¡± Jin Qingyan was dumbfounded. ¡°Then I have no way of proving my innocence anymore. However, the one in my heart, I¡¯m sure you know very well. Xiaoning, you¡¯re usually very smart, why is it when ites to important things, you be muddle-headed?¡± ¡°This just proves that, in rtionships, women are always the party that can¡¯t withstand hurt.¡± ¡°I¡¯m the one who can¡¯t withstand the hurt, okay? All these things that happened are like a dream to me. This sort of dream is one that I¡¯ve had so many times. But when I wake up, what I always faced was the crude reality.¡± An Xiaoning then reached out to touch his hand. This move made Jin Qingyan¡¯s heart flutter. He gazed at her longingly. ¡°From now on, it won¡¯t be a dream anymore.¡± Jin Qingyan got up and pulled her forward by her hand, forcing a kiss onto her lips across the table. Even when he kissed her, his body was shaking slightly. An Xiaoning did not move and allowed him to act as he wished. It was just a kiss, but An Xiaoning shed her first smile to him since they reunited. Auntie Chen stood by the kitchen door, genuinely happy for them. On the dining table was all the favorite dishes she used to love. They still tasted like the same old vors that she enjoyed. After they finished eating, An Youqing woke up. ¡°Mommy, good morning.¡± ¡°Umm, good morning. Come and eat.¡± She waved at him, beckoning him toe. An Youqing sat beside her and gazed at Jin Qingyan, who was full of smiles, then turned to his own mother. He was in utter confusion. ¡°Mommy, what¡¯s with him?¡± An Xiaoning replied slowly, ¡°He¡¯s your biological father, so you should call him Daddy from now on.¡± An Youqing felt like he had received a direct blow. They were still at odds yesterday, why was it that today... What was the reason that made his own motherpromise... ¡°Mommy, I need an exnation.¡± ¡°The exnation is that Mommy has watched all the surveince footage and realized that your father has always loved me. My position in his heart was not reced, so...¡± ¡°What if he cut away some parts of the surveince footage?¡± An Youqing asked innocently. Jin Qingyan felt that his son was simply out to destroy him. He immediately exined, ¡°How is that possible? It¡¯s simply impossible if you think about it.¡± ¡°Quick, call him Daddy.¡± An Xiaoning cut to the chase directly as she looked at his son. Seeing how his mother was behaving, An Youqing changed his attitude and chuckled. ¡°Hello, Daddy! Actually, I¡¯ve long been thinking of how to call you, but I couldn¡¯t help it because of Mommy¡¯s attitude...¡± ¡°...¡± This moment was undoubtedly the happiest moment of Jin Qingyan¡¯s life. He thought he had lost what was most important to him, but unexpectedly, not only did he not lose it, he even gained something that added to his happiness. It must have been the heavens helping him. ¡°Hello, my son.¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s eyes were slightly watery as he gazed at him, feeling rather emotional. Having not slept for a whole night, the two went to catch up on sleep after their meal. ¡°It¡¯s easy to gain weight from sleeping right after you eat.¡± ¡°You¡¯re already very thin, you do need to gain some weight indeed,¡± he repliedzily as he held her in his arms. ¡°Right, where¡¯s Maomao? Why didn¡¯t I see him?¡± ¡°Maomao passed awayst year. He caught a serious disease, and after getting treated for some time, he still passed away. I buried him on the hill.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe that I won¡¯t see him anymore. Thinking about it makes me feel slightly upset.¡± ¡°If you like, we can have another one.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s eyelids were drooping as she struggled to keep her eyes open. ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. I¡¯m going to sleep, I can¡¯t bear it anymore.¡± ¡°Alright, you sleep.¡± He supported his arm and gazed at her. He was obviously tired himself, yet he did not feel like sleeping. He just wanted to keep watching her like that as she slept deeply beside him. He wanted to spend every conscious moment by her side. And never part with her forever. He wrapped his hand around her waist and continued to nt kisses on her. It went on until he himself fell asleep as well. Outside their bedroom window, it was bright and clear, but in the room, it waspletely silent. The both of them had switched their phones to vibration mode. When they woke up, it was already three in the afternoon. An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes were still sleepy, and she looked at the list of missed calls she had, returning Gu Beicheng¡¯s call first. ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°Yes. We got back together.¡± ¡°...¡± Gu Beicheng acknowledged her, but his disappointment could not be hidden. ¡°That¡¯s very good.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll go back for dinner. Let¡¯s talk when we meet.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After ending the call, An Xiaoning¡¯s heart felt somewhat heavy. An arm wrapped around her waist tightly, and she turned to look as an awake Jin Qingyany beside her. ¡°What time is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s 3 o¡¯clock.¡± ¡°That was a really good sleep.¡± Jin Qingyan sat upright, his arms supporting him from behind, and looked at her while grinning with happiness. ¡°Umm. It was a great nap, now I don¡¯t feel like waking up anymore.¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t. It¡¯s better to be more willful sometimes.¡± He went right on top of her and muttered, ¡°I¡¯ve held it in for five years, can you give me a sweet treat first?¡± An Xiaoning knew what he was up to. ¡°How about tonight instead?¡± ¡°No, I want it right now.¡± Chapter 352 - Son, Im Your Father (6)

Chapter 352: Son, I¡¯m Your Father (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He just finished speaking when there came the sound of knocking on the bedroom door. ¡°Mommy, time to wake up. Godfather and Godmother are here to find you.¡± Looking at Jin Qingyan pull a long face, An Xiaoning nudged him. ¡°Quick, get up.¡± ¡°Tonight, I won¡¯t let you off. You better be mentally prepared.¡± ¡°Mmm-hmm.¡± An Xiaoning got up and, after taking a rinse with him, went downstairs with her bare face. When she saw here down, Mei Yangyang hurriedly went forward to ask, ¡°Sis, are you okay?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m pretty good.¡± Mei Yangyang surveyed her carefully. She seemed to be in a good mood and looked rather refreshed. She leaned into An Xiaoning¡¯s ear and asked, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me the two of you patched it up already?¡± ¡°Umm.¡± ¡°!!!¡± This piece of news was beyond anyone¡¯s expectation. ¡°The two of you patched it up so quickly?¡± Jin Qingyan remarked, ¡°Then, do you think we should take another two years to make up?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant, of course. I just thought it was too soon.¡± Mei Yangyang chuckled as she continued, ¡°Since the two of you have made up, we can all rest assured now. We¡¯re going on our honeymoon tomorrow, so we wanted to leave our children here to stay for a few days.¡± ¡°You two are going to spend time together by yourselves, and you¡¯re throwing your children to us?¡± Jin Qingyan frowned. ¡°Whose idea is this?¡± Mei Yangyang pointed at Long Tianze. ¡°His.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t Youqing at home? That¡¯s just perfect, he can have someone to apany him. We¡¯ll be back in a few days, just a blink of an eye. Okay?¡± As he was in a good mood, Jin Qingyan agreed. ¡°Alright, just go and leave your children here.¡± ¡°Okay, that¡¯s agreed then.¡± Long Tianze then went forward and dragged Jin Qingyan aside, grabbing his shoulder as he asked in a low voice, ¡°How did you handle her in just one night? Don¡¯t tell me you didn¡¯t rest the whole night?¡± ¡°Of course I didn¡¯t rest the whole night, or why else would I still be sleeping at this time of the day?¡± Long Tianze broke into a wide grin, revealing his teeth. ¡°Wow, I really couldn¡¯t tell. Your kidney functions really well.¡± ¡°What are you thinking of? I stayed up the whole night to watch the surveince footage with her.¡± ¡°Surveince footage? Why?¡± ¡°To prove my innocence and self-control.¡± Jin Qingyan sighed. ¡°Luckily, I have strong self-control. Otherwise, I will really have regretted it my whole life.¡± ¡°A man like you is probably facing extinction already.¡± Long Tianze released him from his hold. ¡°Alright, look after my children well. We¡¯ll be going back to pack our luggage then.¡± ¡°How did you tell your children about you both going overseas?¡± ¡°Mmm, we just found an excuse, that we¡¯re going overseas for work.¡± Jin Qingyan criticized him crudely, ¡°How wicked. Lying to your children just for the sake of having some alone time together.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a white lie, okay? You know, with children around, it¡¯s not traveling anymore, it¡¯s a nightmare, okay?¡± ¡°Alright, cut the crap. Just go back and pack your luggage.¡± ¡°Umm. Bye!¡± Long Tianze and Mei Yangyang returned while An Xiaoning brought Jin Qingyan and their son back to the Gu residence. Seeing how An Xiaoning appeared very calm, the Gu family also acted like the chaotic scene of An Xiaoning being forcefully dragged away just yesterday did not happen at all. They merrily weed Jin Qingyan, without the presence of Gu Beicheng, who wasn¡¯t at home. Even when it was time for dinner in the evening, he did not return and only called to say that he wouldn¡¯t be back in time for dinner as he was busy with other matters. An Xiaoning knew he was probably angry. Yet, she did not intend to exin herself to him. Between a man and woman, there was no right or wrong. She also hoped that Gu Beicheng would thoroughly let go of his feelings for her and treat her as nothing more than a sister, instead of keeping his feelings inside. It more or less made her feel guilty towards him. Dinner was a rather pleasant affair, although Jin Qingyan still felt slightly ill at ease and restrained himself. When they were going back, they came face to face with Gu Beicheng¡¯s car. An Xiaoning left the father and son on the car, getting off by herself. She walked to Gu Beicheng¡¯s car window. ¡°Have you eaten?¡± he asked. ¡°Umm, we¡¯ve eaten. I was waiting for you, but you never came back.¡± An Xiaoning leaned against the car window and asked, ¡°Are you angry?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t lie, I know you are. But, Beicheng, if there was a possibility between us, it would have happened already. I hope you understand that.¡± He smiled and replied, ¡°I know. Quick, go back. They¡¯re waiting for you.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± She retreated from the car window and waved goodbye to him. Gu Beicheng¡¯s car went past her and Jin Qingyan¡¯s car, entering the Gu residence. Only when it was parked a distance away did Gu Beicheng nce at the rear view mirror. He watched as the white Bentley exited the Gu residence¡¯s front gate and finally retracted his gaze, unbuckling his seat belt. He did not get off the car but took out a cigarette to smoke. There were some things that one fought hard to get yet were still unable to attain. Just like one¡¯s feelings. But at the same time, no matter how hard one tried to give up some things, it was not so easily done. Just like one¡¯s feelings. He often felt that he should start his life anew, but since she¡¯d had no one by her side as well, he had harbored some illusions. But now, everything was great. She had a partner already, and it was indeed true that he was just her child¡¯s godfather and uncle. Other than that, they were not rted. It was that simple. To let go or not, it was all up to himself. On the road back, An Xiaoning kept silent. Jin Qingyan nced at her a few times and found that her gaze was fixed outside the car window. ¡°Son, tonight you¡¯ll have to sleep in your own room. Can you do that?¡± ¡°I can sleep by myself, but it would be better if I sleep with Daddy and Mommy. After all, I¡¯m only four and a half years old. I¡¯m still a kid.¡± Jin Qingyan hesitated for a moment, then replied, ¡°Four and a half years old is a big kid already. You can¡¯t sleep with Daddy and Mommy anymore, you should have your own privacy already. Moreover, Daddy and Mommy want to train your independence. Being independent is the first step to growing up.¡± This method obviously did not work on An Youqing. ¡°What¡¯s being independent and growing up? I don¡¯t know those things.¡± ¡°If you sleep alone tonight, Daddy will grant you a wish. How about that?¡± ¡°My wish has already been fulfilled. For now... I don¡¯t have any wishes.¡± ¡°What is your wish that has been fulfilled?¡± ¡°Having a daddy, of course. Isn¡¯t it fulfilled now? So, for now, I don¡¯t have any wishes.¡± Hearing such words said in his little boy¡¯s voice easily made one feel emotional. ¡°Even if you don¡¯t have a wish now, you can save it forter. In the future, if you have anything that you need Daddy¡¯s help in, Daddy will help you satisfy your wish without any hesitation.¡± An Youqing hesitated for a moment, then replied, ¡°I¡¯ll consider it.¡± Hearing his tone, Jin Qingyan made ament about him. ¡°Mischievous.¡± Unexpectedly, An Youqing returned ament to him. ¡°Old-fashioned.¡± ¡°...¡± When they reached home, An Youqing was brought to the bedroom next to theirs, where he would live in temporarily. Jin Qingyan intended to help him prepare a room of his own tomorrow. Jin Qingyan then eagerly pulled An Xiaoning back into the master¡¯s bedroom. Before he could even lock the door, he had immediately carried An Xiaoning onto the bed. ¡°I want to have you right now, even to your bones.¡± As he said that, Jin Qingyan was almost gnashing his teeth in desperation. ¡°This is for lying to me.¡± An Xiaoning gazed at him awkwardly. Maybe because they hadn¡¯t seen each other for a few years, the thought of doing some things couldn¡¯t help but make her feel embarrassed. They¡¯d already done it countless times, though, and even had a child together. Chapter 353 - Son, Im Your Father (7)

Chapter 353: Son, I¡¯m Your Father (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As she was scrutinizing Jin Qingyan, he was doing the same to her as well. It was only an exchange of nces between them, but it burned like the fiery passion in his heart. Jin Qingyan leaned down his body and pressed his lips down on hers, and An Xiaoning¡¯s body reacted by leaning close to his. Their clothes were ripped off in a mess and their minds were freed of every other small thing. During this very moment, the hardships they went through were all in the past. It was just about the two of them being by each other¡¯s side. He could hardly contain his happiness as he basked in the love she showed him. At three in the morning, the two finally stopped to rest. Looking at her flushed cheeks, Jin Qingyan couldn¡¯t help but nibble one. She let out a short yelp of pain. Turning to re at him, she screamed, ¡°Why did you bite me?¡± ¡°Because I want to.¡± She replied furiously, ¡°Get off me.¡± He continued to nibble another bite, then turned over and got down from her. As hey down beside her, his expression was full of tenderness. He joked, ¡°You¡¯re amazing, I¡¯mpletely tired out.¡± An Xiaoning felt embarrassed hearing this. Her body was also so fatigued that she did not want to move at all. Jin Qingyan gazed at her, asking, ¡°Do your words still count?¡± An Xiaoning did not even move her eyelids as she responded weakly, ¡°What words?¡± ¡°When you said you would remarry me.¡± ¡°When did I say that?¡± She refused to admit having said those words. He reached out and pinched her nose. ¡°It was when we were fighting hard just now. I asked you if you were willing to remarry me, you said you were. I heard it with my own ears, don¡¯t deny it.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t remember anymore.¡± She closed her eyes and started to doze off. ¡°...¡± He looked at her and realized she had actually fallen asleep in such a short time. It seemed like she was really exhausted. She had said herself that she would marry him again, yet she would not admit it now. Was it because she did not feel secure enough? Or was it because she still had her reservations about him? He did not know the answer. But, from this day onwards, he vowed to perform well and not lose her again. He would not allow those avoidable incidents to happen again. The two had slept for no more than a few hours when the sky gradually turned bright. There was a ray of light in the morning air. After waking up, An Youqing discreetly opened the door of the master¡¯s bedroom. There were tissue papers all over the floor and clothes were scattered around. The two lying beside each other in bed did not realize someone had entered their room. An Youqing tiptoed in with light footsteps, his hand covering his mouth as he crept in. He had actually not slept much for the whole night and heard his mother¡¯s moans of pain from time to time. He knew he was still young and would not be able to stop them or beat his father. From the amount of tissue paper on the floor, Mommy must have been crying badlyst night. All these were the proof! Daddy must have bullied Mommy so terribly! He couldn¡¯t believe that Daddy was a wolf in sheep¡¯s clothing. Was he taking revenge on Mommy? Mommy¡¯s such a poor thing. He had his hand on his chin as he pondered seriously. How should he get Daddy to stop bullying Mommy? Alright then, from today onwards, he would stop it. In front of him, Daddy would not possibly dare to bully Mommy, right? ¡ª When Long Tianze and Mei Yangyang sent their children there, Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning were nowhere in sight. ¡°Where¡¯s Daddy and Mommy?¡± ¡°They¡¯re still sleeping.¡± An Youqing looked at the brother and sister beside his godparents and asked, ¡°Godfather, if you¡¯re looking for them, I¡¯ll ask them to get up.¡± ¡°No need.¡± Long Tianze waved his hand. ¡°Your Godmother and I are going overseas for a few days, so Brother Wenlun and Sister Xiaoxi will stay at your house temporarily. Youqing, you¡¯ll take care of your brother and sister for your godparents, right?¡± An Youqing nodded. ¡°I will.¡± Long Tianze chuckled and patted his head. ¡°What a good boy. Godfather and Godmother will bring all of you gifts when we return.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Then Godfather and Godmother will leave first.¡± Long Tianze instructed his children yet again, ¡°Both of you be good. You can¡¯t cause trouble here, okay?¡± Long Wenlunzily made an ¡°OK¡± sign to him. After settling down their children, the two hurriedly left. ¡°Brother Youqing.¡± Long Xiaoxi¡¯s hair was braided into two pigtails, and she hugged An Youqing¡¯s arm in high spirits. ¡°Let¡¯s go and y.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s eat first, then go and y, okay?¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t eaten?¡± ¡°Umm.¡± An Youqing grinned at her, then brought them both to the dining area to eat. After eating, Long Xiaoxi suggested, ¡°Shall we y house 1?¡± An Youqing had not yed it before. Confused, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Long Xiaoxi exined, ¡°It means we have to pretend to be adults. We¡¯re children, right? When we y house, we¡¯ll be like adults.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± An Youqing felt it was rather interesting. ¡°Let¡¯s y then.¡± Long Wenlun said eagerly, ¡°I want to be Daddy.¡± Long Xiaoxi objected. ¡°Brother, you can¡¯t be Daddy. Let Brother Youqing be Daddy, I¡¯ll be Mommy. You be the kid.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m your brother! You want me to be the child of both of you?¡± Long Xiaoxi appeared unbothered. ¡°It¡¯s just a game, it¡¯s not real anyway. Why are you concerned about it, Brother?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to. I want to be Daddy.¡± ¡°I already said, Brother Youqing will be Daddy. You can¡¯t be.¡± ¡°Then, let me be the daddy of the both of you. I¡¯ll be Grandpa, okay?¡± An Youqing: ¡°...¡± Long Xiaoxi hesitated for a moment, then replied grudgingly, ¡°Okay.¡± Long Wenlun was ted and broke into a warm beam. ¡°From now on, I¡¯m the father of the two of you. Both of you are my children.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª Only when it was ten in the morning did the two finally wake up. When they were eating, Jin Qingyan thought for a moment and remarked, ¡°Can we get our marriage certificate? I want to change my son¡¯s name.¡± ¡°Are you really that unassured?¡± An Xiaoning waspletely not in a rush to get this done. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you in a rush about this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯m not prepared to remarry you.¡± An Xiaoning thought of the past and continued, ¡°I¡¯ve been married twice already. Although we have a child of our own now, we just got back together. Marriage is just a formality. Let us spend more time together, then talk about thister. Okay?¡± ¡°Umm.¡± Jin Qingyan said in a serious tone, ¡°The more you¡¯re like this, the more I have to keep an eye on you.¡± ¡°Compared to this issue, there¡¯s something else that you have to handle first.¡± Jin Qingyan knew what she was referring to. ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go there with you after we eat.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The two took their time to eat and were done half an hourter. An Xiaoning came downstairs in a fresh set of clothes. She hade back with her luggagest night from the Gu residence. Stepping out of the living room entrance, they saw the three children ying around not far away. The two walked together on the small path hand in hand, and the scene of this beauty and hunk side by side was refreshing. They were heading to the ce where Gu Xiaoning was locked up. Ever since the day of Long Tianze¡¯s wedding, Gu Xiaoning had been locked up and had not seen Jin Qingyan. She did not even know what mistake she had made and why he was locking her up. For the past few days, she had been waiting for him to appear. Footnotes:

Ch 353 Footnote 1

¡®House¡¯ is a role-ying game that children y. Chapter 354 - Son, Im Your Father (8)

Chapter 354: Son, I¡¯m Your Father (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When she heard the news about Jin Qingyan arriving, she immediately headed to the door. Opening the door, Gu Xiaoning gazed at Jin Qingyan and immediately went forward to hug him. ¡°Qingyan, why did you lock me up?¡± Jin Qingyan exerted his strength and broke free from her, slowly stepping into the house. After he entered, Gu Xiaoning then saw the person behind him. For a moment, she was rmed. ¡°Why do you look exactly like me?¡± It was the first time An Xiaoning was facing her. ¡°You¡¯re wrong. The reason why you look exactly like me is because you were a clone made from extracting my genes.¡± ¡°What...¡± Gu Xiaoning could notprehend the situation. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t know, then don¡¯t bother understanding it.¡± As she faced the woman who looked exactly like her, she just felt it was a pity that she was destined to die. This woman whom Xi Bi made from his careful scheme had to be eliminated. If not, there were bound to be endless trouble in the future. This point, An Xiaoning understood more than anyone else. ¡°Qingyan...¡± Gu Xiaoning¡¯s eyes watered. ¡°Can you not do this to me? You were always nice to me, but now you locked me up. Do you know how upset I feel?¡± Jin Qingyan knew that he had to be decisive or else it would cause more trouble. He replied coldly, ¡°It¡¯s fine if you¡¯re upset or hate me. No matter what, I have to end this. These few years, without her by my side, you were around apanying me. This is your destiny. Although it may not be fair, your ending can only be like this.¡± Gu Xiaoning cowered in fear. She looked at An Xiaoning, then turned to Jin Qingyan. She felt like crying, but no tears could evene out. Such obvious words, it was impossible not to understand the meaning behind them. ¡°Please spare me. Don¡¯t do this to me, I haven¡¯t done anything wrong.¡± ¡°Your existence right now is a mistake in itself.¡± Jin Qingyan had no choice but to act ruthless. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Gu Xiaoning kneeled down at once, pulling at the ends of Jin Qingyan¡¯s trousers. ¡°Qingyan, you¡¯ve always been nice to me. You¡¯d do whatever I say. You won¡¯t do this to me, right? If you think I¡¯m an inconvenience, then just lock me up like this. I¡¯ll stay here forever. I want to live.¡± Seeing Jin Qingyan¡¯s gaze turn slightly soft, An Xiaoning understood that they had spent several years together, and even if there was no love, there would have been some feelings. ¡°Indeed, letting you live here your whole life would be fine. But, I¡¯m not willing. Once you get the chance to go out, other people might make use of you to cause irreparable danger to us. Let me be the bad guy then.¡± She took out her pistol and, without hesitation, shot Gu Xiaoning urately in the head. Once shot, Gu Xiaoning copsed to the floor instantly. She did not die instantly. An Xiaoning walked nearer to her and squatted down, saying to her, ¡°Farewell.¡± Fan Shixin entered at that moment, witnessing the whole scene. ¡°You¡¯re here at the right moment. Get her body cremated and watch over it tightly.¡± ¡°Yes. Then, what do I do with her ashes?¡± Fan Shixin only just received word that he shoulde over. Little did he expect they¡¯d be so quick. Without even giving Gu Xiaoning a single chance to live, they shot her dead just like that. ¡°Throw them away.¡± An Xiaoning turned to Jin Qingyan. ¡°Does your heart ache?¡± ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t. I just feel somewhat guilty about it.¡± An Xiaoning shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t have such feelings. Because I know that, if I go soft on her and give her a chance to live, then sooner orter, she willpletely rece my position. Don¡¯t say that she doesn¡¯t have such ambitions. A human heart is difficult to fathom. Who knows what the future will bring? If we had eliminated Xi Bi back then, then everything after that wouldn¡¯t have happened.¡± She turned around and left, folding her hands into her pocket. The guilt Jin Qingyan originally had somehow disappearedpletely after hearing her words. ¡°You know, when Chi Rui¡¯er was almost charged for murder back then, who had saved her?¡± ¡°Murder? Who did she kill?¡± ¡°The previous sales assistant from my shop, Xu Jingwen, was killed by her.¡± Jin Qingyan had never heard about this matter. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Umm. Military Commander Xu did it. I heard his youngest daughter has ties with Chi Rui¡¯er. That daughter is Gu Dongcheng¡¯s fiancee now, and they¡¯re getting married soon. Which means she¡¯ll be my sister-inw.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know Military Commander Xu¡¯s daughter.¡± Jin Qingyan went forward and pulled her by her shoulders into his arms. ¡°And the reason you¡¯re telling me this is...¡± ¡°The more delicate and harmless a woman looks, the more unexpected the things that she can be capable of turn out to be.¡± Jin Qingyan felt that her words made a lot of sense. Hand in hand with her, they went back home together. When they reached the swing in their house, they saw Mrs. Jin heading over. She had her bag slung over her shoulder and was walking briskly. It seemed like there was something urgent going on. At the sight of An Xiaoning, Mrs. Jin was not in the least surprised. She had seen her countless times already. ¡°Qingyan, have you contacted your father recently?¡± ¡°No, why?¡± Mrs. Jin was rather infuriated as she said, ¡°Do you know who your father is with now?¡± ¡°He¡¯s found an old partner?¡± ¡°Of course not!¡± Mrs. Jin grunted. ¡°He¡¯s together with Chi Rui¡¯er now! If I didn¡¯t see it with my own eyes at the mall, I would never have believed it.¡± Jin Qingyan turned to look at An Xiaoning. ¡°You were indeed right about what you said.¡± ¡°I know, right?¡± An Xiaoning let go of his hand. ¡°You guys have a chat. I¡¯ll head in first.¡± ¡°Wait.¡± Jin Qingyan stopped her, then said to Mrs. Jin, ¡°Mother, Xiaoning and I have a child.¡± ¡°She¡¯s pregnant?¡± Mrs. Jin stared at An Xiaoning¡¯s stomach, scrutinizing it non-stop. ¡°No, our son is already past four years old.¡± Mrs. Jin had an incredulous look on her face. ¡°What?! The child is past four years old? Why did I not know? When did this happen?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask when this happened, it¡¯s a fact now.¡± He turned and called out to An Youqing, who was not far away. Hearing his father call out to him, An Youqing ran there. Looking at the child¡¯s face, Mrs. Jin believed it immediately. She looked at the child then turned to Jin Qingyan, finding it hard to restrain herself for a moment. ¡°This child looks exactly like you when you were young. You looked like that when you were a child.¡± ¡°This is your grandmother.¡± Jin Qingyan looked down at the little fellow and introduced Mrs. Jin to him. An Youqing looked at his mother for affirmation, then called out, ¡°Hello, Grandma.¡± Mrs. Jin bent down and tried to carry him, but although An Youqing was only four and a half years old, he was tall and looked like a six-year-old. She naturally could not carry him. ¡°I really didn¡¯t see thising, I¡¯m actually a grandmother now.¡± She straightened her body and reprimanded, ¡°Qingyan, you are really something. Why didn¡¯t you tell me something as huge as having a child?¡± ¡°I only knew about it too, how was I supposed to tell you?¡± Jin Qingyan grinned as he continued, ¡°That Xiaoning who had amnesia was actually a fake one. This one is the real one.¡± Mrs. Jin¡¯s jaw widened in surprise. She stared at An Xiaoning, unable to utter a single word. No wonder she felt something was amiss when she saw An Xiaoning just now. Chapter 355 - Son, Im Your Father (9)

Chapter 355: Son, I¡¯m Your Father (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After getting used to it a bit, Mrs. Jin could not help but sigh emotionally. She had actually be someone¡¯s grandmother all of sudden. ¡°Qingyan, you have to meddle with your father¡¯s matter. If he finds someone around his age, I don¡¯t have anything to say about that. But he¡¯s with Chi Rui¡¯er, will that do? Isn¡¯t it embarrassing?¡± Jin Qingyanmented to her instead, ¡°The two of you have no right to criticize each other. Don¡¯t bother about this matter anymore.¡± Mrs. Jin persuaded her son, ¡°Son, Mother is just thinking about you, okay? If this gets on the news, you¡¯ll be the one who loses face. It¡¯ll be thepany¡¯s reputation that will be tarnished.¡± Jin Qingyan knew that if this matter about his father were to get out, the ugliness would reflect on him. He didn¡¯t care if his mother had other intentions either and replied, ¡°I know about this matter already now. If there¡¯s nothing else, then go back.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be going back then.¡± Mrs. Jin turned around to leave. Seeing her figure slowly disappear past the doorway, An Xiaoning said to her son, ¡°Go and y with the others.¡± ¡°Umm. I¡¯ll go then, Mommy.¡± An Youqing merrily skipped off to y. Jin Qingyan folded one hand into his pocket and nced at An Xiaoning. ¡°What do you think about my father¡¯s matter?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have any opinions. I just wanted to say that your family is really a mess. Hopefully, you didn¡¯t inherit any of your parents¡¯ genes.¡± Jin Qingyan beamed in amusement. ¡°Of course not, haven¡¯t I proved it clearly enough?¡± An Xiaoningmented idly, ¡°If Chi Rui¡¯er enchants your father so well that he swoons over her, and your father marries her, won¡¯t she be your stepmother?¡± ¡°Fat hope.¡± Jin Qingyan sniggered. ¡°It¡¯s true indeed that if you don¡¯t eliminate someone, they¡¯ll rise again. I¡¯ll make a trip back there now, do you want toe with me?¡± An Xiaoning shook her head. ¡°No, I don¡¯t really want to see Chi Rui¡¯er. You go.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go together. You don¡¯t want to see our son have such a young step-grandmother, do you?¡± An Xiaoning saw the re in his ferocious gaze. Since it made sense, she replied, ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll go there with you then.¡± The two drove to the old Jin residence. Upon seeing the both of them return together, the new butler went forward and greeted, ¡°Young Sir, you¡¯re back.¡± ¡°Is my father at home?¡± ¡°Yes, he just returned.¡± ¡°Umm. Is he alone?¡± The butler was slightly hesitant, but still responded frankly, ¡°No, Ms. Chi is with him.¡± ¡°How long has it been?¡± ¡°They just came back.¡± ¡°I meant, how long have they been together?¡± His originally warm gaze instantly turned cold as ice. ¡°For a very... very long time already. I can¡¯t remember.¡± ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you call to tell me?¡± The butler was put in an awkward situation. ¡°Old Master didn¡¯t let me tell you.¡± Jin Qingyan stopped in his tracks, looking at the butler, ¡°You just stay here, we¡¯ll go in.¡± ¡°Yes, Young Sir.¡± After going through the doorway, they found it waspletely silent and empty in the living room. Jin Qingyan held An Xiaoning¡¯s hand as they headed towards Mr. Jin¡¯s bedroom together. Before they entered, they heard a voice from inside. It was Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s voice. ¡°We¡¯ve been together for so long already, when will you give me a status?¡± ¡°I said, I¡¯ll give you one.¡± ¡°But I want it right now.¡± ¡°Just wait for now. Qingyan doesn¡¯t know yet, I haven¡¯t told him.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er was hasty about it. ¡°If you feel too embarrassed to tell him, I¡¯ll tell him myself.¡± ¡°No, let me do it. Be good, Baby. Don¡¯t make a fuss.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning noticed that the expression of the man beside her was extremely ugly already. She nudged his hand, then knocked on the door. ¡°Who is that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± Jin Qingyan answered. ¡°Both of you get out.¡± When they heard his voice, there was silence in the room all of a sudden. Jin Qingyan held onto An Xiaoning¡¯s hand as they sat on the sofa and the maid served them tea. After a few minutes, Mr. Jin and Chi Rui¡¯er came out together. Having not seen Chi Rui¡¯er for a few years, An Xiaoning felt that she had changed drastically. Her face was sharper, her eyes were bigger, and the curves on her body were more discernible. She was thinner than before and had exquisite makeup on her face. It seemed like she had maintained her body well. But even so, she did not look so well. Aspared to Mr. Jin¡¯s embarrassed attitude, Chi Rui¡¯er appeared at ease and not awkward at all. It seemed like she had already prepared herself to face this moment. ¡°It¡¯s true, I¡¯ve been with your father for a few years already. We¡¯ve developed deep feelings now. Qingyan, we¡¯re intending to get married. You won¡¯t object, right?¡± Jin Qingyan had indeed not cared about his father for these few years and even came home rarely. If he had found someone around his age, he would have beenpletely fine with that. But the person he found was more than ten years younger than him, and worse still, it was Chi Rui¡¯er. If news of this were to get out, how would that be different from his mother¡¯s affair with the butler? ¡°Chi Rui¡¯er, looks like you¡¯ve forgotten who I am. The two of you better break up immediately.¡± Mr. Jin responded instead, ¡°Qingyan, don¡¯t bother yourself about my matter anymore. I¡¯m very happy with her, and I¡¯m getting on in years already. I need someone who understands me well.¡± ¡°I¡¯m informing both of you, not negotiating. If the two of you don¡¯t break up, I naturally have ways to make it happen.¡± At this point, Jin Qingyan¡¯s face was utterly cold and gloomy. ¡°If you don¡¯t believe it, try me.¡± Mr. Jin had never been ordered by anyone else before. At this point, he could not take the shame of being ordered by his own son. ¡°When you got together with Xiaoning, did I ever meddle in your decision? Whoever you choose is your freedom, and so is mine.¡± ¡°You have the freedom to choose whoever you want, of course. However, don¡¯t embarrass me. You have been together for a few years already, it seems like it was too much carelessness on my part.¡± ¡°Qingyan!¡± Mr. Jin could not help but protect his own woman. ¡°I know what you¡¯re worried about, but Rui¡¯er is not the kind of person you think she is. She¡¯s not with me for my money.¡± ¡°Then what is she after? Your youth and vitality? Or your true feelings?¡± ¡°You young people can have true love, but older people like me can¡¯t?¡± Jin Qingyan was about to say something but An Xiaoning held back his arm, signalling him not to speak first. She slowly remarked, ¡°Nowadays, regardless of age, it¡¯spletely fine to pursue the life that one wants. But, if Uncle insists on doing so, and even on marrying her, I just want to ask one question: how do you want your grandson to call her? Should he call her Auntie or Grandmother?¡± ¡°Grandson?¡± An Xiaoning responded, ¡°Yes, your grandson is already four and a half years old. He¡¯s at Wei Ni Estate. I gave birth to him. Do you want to see him?¡± Mr. Jin was in slight disbelief. ¡°When did that happen? How is it that I don¡¯t know about it?¡± ¡°When you got together with this Chi Rui¡¯er, I had no idea about it too.¡± Jin Qingyan no longer wanted to go on with this. He remarked coldly as he got up, ¡°If you don¡¯t end it with her today, I¡¯ll get rid of her tomorrow.¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan!!!¡± Chi Rui¡¯er got up as well and stared into his eyes. ¡°You better not go out of line. If you dare to do anything to me, I¡¯ll make you regret it for life. I already expected that you¡¯ll try to do something to me if you found out about this one day. I¡¯ve already told my good friend Xu Youran. If I can¡¯t be contacted for a few days, she¡¯ll call the police to say you¡¯re behind it!¡± Chapter 356 - Son, Im Your Father (10)

Chapter 356: Son, I¡¯m Your Father (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Noticing that Jin Qingyan was remaining silent, Chi Rui¡¯er hollered, ¡°You may be formidable, but don¡¯t forget how powerful the Xu family is!¡± Staring at Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s face, Jin Qingyan was suddenly overwhelmed with disbelief that she was the woman he once cared about most a long time ago. Recalling the past, he simply could not fathom just what had turned her into such a different person. ¡°Xu Youran is a close friend of yours, yet she has gotten engaged to my brother, Dongcheng. This is seriously tooplicated. Ms. Chi, I¡¯m afraid you must be mistaken. Qingyan didn¡¯t say explicitly what he¡¯s going to do to you. Uncle probably doesn¡¯t know your true colors as well as Qingyan and I do, even if you¡¯ve been seeing each other for a few years. Since your rtionship with Uncle has been going on for a few years, I suggest that Uncle freeze his assets and draw a fixed monthly allowance in order to prove that you, Chi Rui¡¯er, truly love him for who he is and not for his money. Uncle, what do you think of my suggestion?¡± An Xiaoning said with a smile. Not expecting An Xiaoning to raise such a suggestion, Mr. Jin was at a sudden loss for words. Chi Rui¡¯er put on a pretentious smile and stared at An Xiaoning. ¡°What are you trying to prove? Are you afraid that I would spend the Jin family¡¯s money?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it just a testament of your true love for Uncle?¡± An Xiaoning retorted with a sarcastic smile. After some thought, Chi Rui¡¯er answered, ¡°This is not something I can decide.¡± She turned to Mr. Jin and said, ¡°You decide yourself.¡± ¡°I agree, as long as you guys don¡¯t stop us from dating each other,¡± said Mr. Jin, who found that it was not too big of a deal. ¡°Sure. Hand me the household register,¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°Are you afraid that we¡¯d register our marriage in secret?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Qingyan, you don¡¯t have to interfere in this, do you?¡± Mr. Jin refuted. ¡°I must, without a doubt. Give it to me,¡± Jin Qingyan insisted. Just as Mr. Jin was about to stand up, Chi Rui¡¯er stopped him and snapped angrily, ¡°You said you would give me a proper status, are you going back on your word now? What have you taken me for? I¡¯ve been with you for so many years, just what do you take me for!?!¡± Mr. Jin did not know what to say, though he found that she did make some sense. Although she was the one who approached him first to borrow some money, she had indeed treated him rather well throughout the past few years of spending time together. She had also satisfied all his sexual and emotional needs. He ought not to shirk responsibility. ¡°Qingyan, I want to marry Rui¡¯er,¡± said Mr. Jin. ¡°In your dreams!¡± Mrs. Jin interjected. Everyone turned to look at Mrs. Jin, who was scurrying in. Pointing at Mr. Jin, she bellowed, ¡°Let me tell you, I strongly object to your decision to marry this little vixen. We may be divorced, but I¡¯m still Qingyan¡¯s mother. I won¡¯t allow you to bring shame to Qingyan!¡± ¡°What right have you got to tell me what to do!?! Who let you into my house!?!¡± Mr. Jin barked, seething with exasperation. ¡°I¡¯m in no position to criticize you, but I didn¡¯t remarry and cause a string of scandalous news. If you get married now, you¡¯re definitely going to be bashed all over the media. You¡¯re already so old, just forget about getting married. Do you wish to see your son ignore you when you¡¯re on your deathbed? Do you really think this brazen hussy will be there for you when that timees?¡± Mrs. Jin chastised. ¡°That¡¯s none of your business. Stay in your ownne,¡± Mr. Jin retorted. ¡°Son, bring Chi Rui¡¯er to be executed. They may have a marriage in hell then!¡± Mrs. Jin said to Jin Qingyan. ¡°Madam Jin... oh wait, I forgot you¡¯re no longer Madam Jin now. How should I address you? How about I just call you Jin Qingyan¡¯s Mother? That¡¯s the best you deserve anyway. You¡¯re already getting on in your years. Don¡¯t get too worked up about something that has nothing to do with you. It won¡¯t be nice if you suffer a stroke all of a sudden,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er sneered. Just as Mrs. Jin was about to step forward to p her, Mr. Jin quickly grabbed her and pushed her away. Fortunately, Jin Qingyan managed to catch her in time, saving her from a great fall. ¡°Qingyan, you have to settle this the hard way. Otherwise, the consequences will be dire.¡± Holding onto his mother, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°Mother, go home first. I¡¯ll handle it from here, you may stay out of this.¡± Mrs. Jin then shouted in the direction of the entrance, ¡°All of you,e in!¡± All of a sudden, Jin Qingyan¡¯s bodyguards rushed forward. ¡°Go inside that room and bring me the household register, personal identification document, and passport!¡± Mrs. Jin ordered, pointing at Mr. Jin¡¯s bedroom. The bodyguards quickly abided by her instruction and zoomed towards the bedroom. Mr. Jin tried to stop them, but clearly to no avail. Even the butler was not allowed to interfere because Jin Qingyan was holding him back. It seemed Jin Qingyan had a greater authority than his father in the Jin family. Everyone knew that, in time, Jin Qingyan would be the only one calling the shots in the Jin household. Mr. Jin was old in his years. He was bound to die some day. Jin Qingyan was the sessor. The household register, personal identification document, passport, as well as title deeds of property were brought out by the bodyguards. Holding the documents in hand, Mrs. Jin stared at Mr. Jin and Chi Rui¡¯er before saying, ¡°Qingyan, request the bank to freeze his assets. Keep these safe with you. I may rest my mind now. I¡¯m washing my hands off this, he may continue being blinded by his infatuation.¡± Mrs. Jin handed the documents to Jin Qingyan before leaving with the bodyguards. Jin Qingyan did not have anything else to say and turned around to leave while holding An Xiaoning¡¯s hand. He helped An Xiaoning put on the safety belt upon getting into the car. ¡°Didn¡¯t expect your mother to act on it faster than you did.¡± ¡°Perhaps she¡¯s thrilled to be taking revenge. That¡¯s the way the two of them always are. What would you like to have for dinner tonight?¡± Jin Qingyan asked as he begun driving away from the Jin family old mansion. ¡°There are a lot of foods I want to eat, but I¡¯m craving for the dishes you prepare the most.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll cook you dinner then.¡± An Xiaoning looked at him and smiled in pleasure. This was the family she had always dreamed of having. She had always looked forward to enjoying a good night¡¯s sleep after a day of joy andughter with her loved ones. It was all she asked for. During dinner, An Xiaoning took a look at the screen of her mobile phone before saying to An Youqing, who was seated beside her, ¡°It¡¯s Monday tomorrow. I shall bring you to attend kindergarten together with Wenlun and Xiaoxi.¡± As happy as ark, An Youqing chirped merrily, ¡°Sure, sure.¡± ¡°You¡¯re really that happy?¡± Jin Qingyan asked. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll get to y with other children at school.¡± Jin Qingyan looked him up and down before saying, ¡°Look how messy your hair is. Let me take you to get a new haircutter.¡± ¡°I think his hairstyle is fine. Children don¡¯t need such fancy hairstyles. This one¡¯s perfectly alright,¡± An Xiaoning objected. Shaking his head, Jin Qingyan insisted, ¡°Although he¡¯s very handsome, his hairstyle will y a huge role in determining his ssmates¡¯ first impression of him. As his father, I must make him unforgettable.¡± ¡°What kind of hairstyle would you like to give him then?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know once it¡¯s done.¡± After dinner, Jin Qingyan brought An Youqing to the hair salon. On the way there, An Youqing asked, ¡°Yourst name is Jin while mine is An. Do you n to change myst name?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ll give you a second name.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that the same as changing my name?¡± ¡°The difference is, An Youqing is your given name while the second one will be your nickname.¡± ¡°Will I have to take yourst name?¡± ¡°Would you like to?¡± Jin Qingyan asked. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I¡¯m used to it. I¡¯ve gotten used to taking Mommy¡¯sst name. So don¡¯t let me take on two surnames at once. I don¡¯t want that,¡± An Youqing exined. Chapter 357 - Son, Im Your Father (11)

Chapter 357: Son, I¡¯m Your Father (11)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Since you don¡¯t agree to it, we won¡¯t give you a second name then. We¡¯ll maintain the status quo.¡± ¡°How are you going to answer when others ask about why your son doesn¡¯t share the samest name as you?¡± asked a delighted An Youqing. ¡°I¡¯ll decline to answer.¡± ¡°No, you must. How are you going to answer?¡± An Youqing insisted. ¡°I¡¯ll just say that my son and his mother both refuse to let him take myst name. What else can I do?¡± A gleeful smile formed on An Youqing¡¯s face as he said, ¡°So don¡¯t let Mommy cry again in the future.¡± ¡°Did she cry a lot when she was abroad with you?¡± ¡°No, but you made Mommy cry for a very long whilest night. Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know.¡± Last night? Did she? Jin Qingyan wondered in puzzlement as he recalled the events which took ce the night before. ¡°Why didn¡¯t I know about that?¡± ¡°You still refuse to admit it. I went to your bedroom this morning and there were so many clumps of tissue paper on the floor. Wasn¡¯t it because Mommy cried a lot?¡± Jin Qingyan was momentarily speechless. ¡°Um... that... that really wasn¡¯t because your Mommy cried...¡± Jin Qingyan stuttered, unsure of how to exin the situation. ¡°Don¡¯t think I¡¯m ignorant just because I¡¯m young. I know everything. Forget about deceiving me.¡± ¡°Daddy¡¯s not lying to you. Think about it, it took me so much effort to woo your mother and you back. Why would I let Mommy cry? Well, about those tissues... um... those are because Daddy and Mommy are trying to give you a little Brother or Sister. Son, tell Daddy, would you like to have a younger brother or sister?¡± Jin Qingyan asked in all seriousness. His question had managed to distract An Youqing. ¡°I want both.¡± ¡°What if you can only choose one?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t decide. I¡¯ll have whatever you give birth to,¡± said An Youqing, appearing to be stuck in a dilemma. ¡°If you want a younger sibling, then I¡¯ll need your cooperation, Son.¡± ¡°How can I cooperate?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have to sleep alone in your room from now on.¡± An Youqing turned to face him and said, ¡°I still want to sleep together with Mommy.¡± ¡°That¡¯s impossible.¡± They soon arrived at the hair salon. It was a salon Jin Qingyan frequented. Upon sight of him, the owner of the salon quickly greeted him warmly with a smile, ¡°You¡¯re here for a haircut, Mr. Jin?¡± ¡°Not me. Please give him a nice haircut.¡± The owner looked down at An Youqing and was momentarily stunned. ¡°Mr. Jin, this is your...¡± ¡°My son.¡± ¡°No wonder he resembles you so much. How secretive of you, Mr. Jin. Your son is already grown up yet this is the first time I heard of his existence.¡± The owner then handed a hairstyle catalogue to Jin Qingyan and said, ¡°Pick one. These are all hairstyles that are suitable for children.¡± Pointing at one of the hairstyles, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°This one.¡± ¡°Alright. Come, take a seat here please, Little Sir.¡± ¡ª By the time An Xiaoningpleted an hour of yoga and a 30-minute bath afterwards, Jin Qingyan and An Youqing were still yet toe home. Thus, she decided to lie in bed to catch up on some reading. She had long finished reading the two books given to her by old Mr. Gu and had in fact memorized their content by heart. At the moment, she was reading some books aboutw and justice. She felt that doing so would give her an advantage since she ought to be well versed in the country¡¯sws and regtions in order to perform her task as a police investigator well. Knock! knock! ¡°Ms. An, you have an urgent mail,¡± said Auntie Chen, who was knocking on the door outside her bedroom. ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning put down her book and got out of bed to open the door. After taking the letter from Auntie Chen, An Xiaoning could tell at one nce that the name of the sender was fake. It was simply too obvious. She could not help but be reminded of the case of the dead rats perpetrated by Jin Qingyue back then. After closing the door, An Xiaoning tore the envelope open to find that there was only a square piece of white paper inside. There were a few lines written in ck, which were obviously typed out and printed onto the paper. The message was rather short and brief. ¡°I heard about you and your exceptionally urate fortune-telling skills a few years ago. I¡¯ve been waiting for the day to have a duel with you. An Xiaoning, please tell Jin Qingyan that I¡¯ll make the Jin family pay for all the suffering and torment they have brought upon me! This is only the beginning of the war.¡± Upon reading the message, the first thing that struck An Xiaoning¡¯s mind was the photo of the little girl she found in Jin Qingyan¡¯s bookshelf in the study. The nameless little girl who was Jin Qingyan¡¯s half-sister from another mother. An Xiaoning did not know why the girl crossed her mind. The girl who had gone missing all of a sudden when she was twelve years old. Was she seeking revenge now? An Xiaoning had no clue as to who and where the sender was. Besides, they were in the open while the anonymous sender was obscured under a cover. Although An Xiaoning could empathize with how Jin Qingyan¡¯s half-sister felt, she could not sit back and watch Jin Qingyan, Youqing, and herself be embroiled in this dangerous war. The fact that the letter was sent to her just went to show that the sender had included the three of them in her n for revenge. She was ready to do everything in her power to deal with what awaited her. A brief momentter, the father and son returned. ¡°Your hairstyle looks great. I like it,¡± An Xiaoning praised smilingly, delighted to see her son¡¯s suave fresh cut. ¡°I think it looks great too.¡± Noticing that An Youqing was about to enter the master¡¯s bedroom, Jin Qingyan quickly stopped him, ¡°Go back to your own room to sleep.¡± He then closed the door on An Youqing, leaving him outside the room. ¡°Have a look,¡± said An Xiaoning as she handed Jin Qingyan the piece of paper containing the letter. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°An anonymous sender mailed it to us. I was the receiver. But the sender wanted me to ry the message to you.¡± After perusing the contents of the message, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°Why do I feel like this is...¡± ¡°Sent by your half-sister...¡± An Xiaoning finished his sentence. ¡°Yes! But we can¡¯t confirm if it¡¯s really her at the moment,¡± said Jin Qingyan, clutching the piece of paper tightly. ¡°Forget about trying to investigate from this note. You won¡¯t be able to find anything.¡± Jin Qingyan ripped the piece of paper into shreds and dumped it into the bin before saying, ¡°No matter who it may be, I won¡¯t be afraid of anyone who¡¯s here to look for trouble. Xiaoning, why don¡¯t we let Youqing be homeschooled instead of letting him attend kindergarten?¡± ¡°Letting him be homeschooled will only iste him from other children and hinder him from learning how to be independent. The kindergarten Wenlun and Xiaoxi go to is pretty good. I heard from Yangyang that the security there is really tight. After all, the fees are expensive for a reason.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel safe. I¡¯ll send some bodyguards to protect them at school.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine, but don¡¯t let the children know about it. Otherwise, none of Youqing¡¯s ssmates would dare to y with him.¡± ¡°Got it,¡± Jin Qingyan agreed, finding that she did make sense. Gazing at her covering her body under the duvet while lying on the bed, Jin Qingyan lifted the duvet to find that she was scantily d. He let out a chuckle and said suggestively, ¡°Wait for me, I¡¯ll go take a shower. Be right back.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s waiting for you?¡± ¡°You of course.¡± He then zoomed towards the bathroom. Before he even reached the bathroom, the door of their bedroom opened and An Youqing popped his head in through the crack. ¡°Where did you get the keys?¡± ¡°I asked Uncle Shixin for them,¡± said An Youqing, showing Jin Qingyan the keys in his hands. ¡°Do you want to take a shower?¡± ¡°With you?¡± ¡°Come in if you¡¯d like to take a shower. Otherwise, go outside,¡± said Jin Qingyan as he pushed the door of the bathroom open. Chapter 358 - Son, Im Your Father (12)

Chapter 358: Son, I¡¯m Your Father (12)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I want to of course!¡± An Youqing eximed as he skipped inside the bathroom gleefully. ¡°I bet you were wishing that I don¡¯t step foot into your bedroom at all at night. How heartless of you, Daddy.¡± ¡°You know my intentions, yet you still found the spare key and opened the door. You must be going against me on purpose,¡± said Jin Qingyan as he turned on the showerhead tap and removed his clothes. An Youqing took off his clothes slowly. As soon as he removed his shirt, he was greeted with the sight of a stark naked Jin Qingyan standing before him. Staring at his father¡¯s crotch, An Youqing could not help but feel a little ashamed all of a sudden. ¡°Daddy, you¡¯re so big down there.¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t you showered with a man before?¡± said an unsurprised Jin Qingyan. Shaking his head, An Youqing answered, ¡°No.¡± ¡°Ah, poor child. You¡¯re still young. When you get to Daddy¡¯s age, your... it will be bigger too,¡± said Jin Qingyan, pointing at his crotch. ¡°What if it¡¯s still small when I¡¯ve already be an adult?¡± ¡°It won¡¯t be.¡± An Youqing removed his remaining clothes and stood under the shower to bathe himself, after which he said, ¡°Daddy, I still want to sleep with Mommy.¡± ¡°No, your Mommy can only sleep with me.¡± ¡°Why? I¡¯m Mommy¡¯s son, you¡¯re not.¡± ¡°I¡¯m your Mommy¡¯s man, do you understand?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t.¡± He was done showering in no time and quickly dried himself with a towel before running out of the bathroom with his clothes in hand. d in a bathrobe, Jin Qingyan exited the bathroom only to see that An Youqing was alreadyying in bed and cuddling with An Xiaoning. Jin Qingyan stood in front of the bed and let out a cough before instructing An Youqing, ¡°Go back to your room to sleep.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°Hurry up.¡± ¡°I said I don¡¯t want to.¡± An Youqing hugged An Xiaoning tightly and continued, ¡°I want to sleep with Mommy, I don¡¯t want to sleep alone.¡± ¡°Alright, let him sleep here tonight,¡± said An Xiaoning. Not wanting to seem relentless, Jin Qingyan decided topromise, ¡°Alright, you may sleep on the extreme end.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± An Youqing conceded. Thus, An Youqing took the innermost spot of the bed while An Xiaoning slept in the middle with Jin Qingyan beside her. How was he going to get business done with his son on the same bed as them? After some thought, Jin Qingyan decided to put An Youqing to sleep before carrying him to his bedroom. Everything will be fine then. Jin Qingyan was delighted at the thought of it. ¡°Mommy, I can¡¯t sleep. Will you tell me a bedtime story?¡± ¡°Shall I tell you the story about Snow White?¡± An Xiaoning suggested. ¡°Something else please. I¡¯ve already heard that so many times. I¡¯m sick of it,¡± An Youqing refuted. ¡°How about ¡®Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves¡¯?¡± ¡°Forget it, Mommy. There¡¯s no novelty at all. You¡¯re always telling me the same few stories.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Mommy¡¯s bad at telling stories. Let Daddy tell you one. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll like it,¡± Jin Qingyan said confidently. ¡°Go ahead then,¡± An Youqing agreed, all ready to hear his story. ¡°Alright, your Daddy is the best at telling stories. I managed to make Mommy fall asleep when I told her stories back then.¡± ¡°Daddy, stop bbering about and start telling me the story,¡± An Youqing groused impatiently. ¡°Okay, okay, don¡¯t get too impatient. I¡¯ll start right now. Let me tell you the story about the Daughter of the Sea. Somewhere deep in the ocean lies a beautiful mermaid princess who was a ravishing beauty. One day, she happened to save a Prince who was stranded due to a shipwreck and fell in love with him. The prince woke up thinking that the princess of a neighboring nation was the one who saved him and thus fell for her instead. The Little Mermaid was devastated when she found out and decided to make a deal with a witch to exchange her sweet, alluring voice for a pair of legs. If she doesn¡¯t manage to get the Prince to marry her, she would turn into foam...¡± Jin Qingyan craned his neck to take a look at An Youqing, only to find that thetter¡¯s eyes were wide open, showing no signs of sleepiness at all. Thus, Jin Qingyan continued, ¡°Hence, the Little Mermaid transformed into human and became the Prince¡¯s servant. She struggled through the immense pain to perform a graceful dance for the Prince, in hopes of attracting him and gaining his affection. However, the Prince was still deeply in love with the princess of the neighboring nation and even married her. Angry yet embarrassed, the Little Mermaid felt like she had wasted her efforts by making her greatest sacrifice since she did not manage to conquer the Prince¡¯s heart in the end. Thus, she killed the Prince and returned to the sea to be a mermaid again...¡± An Youqing looked at him and said, ¡°Daddy... that¡¯s not how the story goes in the fairytale books I¡¯ve read. The books say that the mermaid princess could not bear to kill the prince and thus turned to foam. Why was your version different from those books?¡± ¡°That¡¯s indeed how it¡¯s written in the books, but didn¡¯t you want to hear Daddy¡¯s version? That¡¯s why mine was different from those books.¡± ¡°Tell me another one then, I¡¯m not sleepy yet. In fact, I¡¯m bing more and more energized.¡± ¡°...¡± Hence, Jin Qingyan continued to tell him more stories, one after another. He was almost out of breath and his patience was wearing thin, yet An Youqing still could not fall asleep. Atst, he decided to switch off the lights and continue storytelling in the dark. A whileter, Jin Qingyan realized that An Youqing had stopped speaking after he finished telling another story. Thinking that his son had already fallen asleep, Jin Qingyan shone the light from his mobile phone screen to have a look. An Youqing blinked at him with widened eyes. Jin Qingyan put his phone down andid down in bed, not uttering another word. Time continued to pass. Some timeter, Jin Qingyan got up to go to the washroom. He returned to bed, only to find that An Youqing had switched ces with An Xiaoning and was nowying in between them. Jin Qingyan tolerated it and continued to lie down to sleep. Half an hourter, he picked up his phone again to take a look at An Youqing and found that thetter had already closed his eyes. Jin Qingyan heaved a sigh of relief. It sure was a tall order to get him to sleep. Jin Qingyan had initially wanted to wait ¡¯til his son was fast asleep before carrying him to another bedroom. However, he could not wait any longer and decided to stick his hand into the duvet. An Youqing moved about andmented, ¡°Daddy, why did you touch me?¡± Jin Qingyan froze in shock while An Xiaoning snorted withughter. Jin Qingyan had no choice but to wait another half an hour. You must be asleep by now, he thought to himself. Hehe. Just as he sat up straight, he felt two small hands being wrapped around his waist. ¡°Daddy, where are you going? Don¡¯t leave, what is Youqing going to do if you leave, Youqing is scared.¡± Jin Qingyan sighed andid back down without another word. This time, Jin Qingyan waited for another whole hour before finally hearing the slow and steady breathing of An Youqing, who wasying beside him. He got up slowly and managed to sneak into An Xiaoning¡¯s spot. ¡°Stop fooling around, our son is here. Go out and sleep,¡± An Xiaoning said softly. ¡°No way, I want you. Am I supposed to stay miles away from you, as if the Red Sea was in between us, if he chooses to sleep here every night?¡± ¡°Psht... Red Sea? You¡¯re exaggerating.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± Jin Qingyan insisted as he reached into An Xiaoning¡¯s clothes. Just as he was about to kiss An Xiaoning¡¯s neck, he was pushed into the innermost end of the bed forcefully by a small pair of hands. Chapter 359 - Son, Im Your Father (13)

Chapter 359: Son, I¡¯m Your Father (13)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Before Jin Qingyan even knew it, he was pushed to the extreme end of the bed. ¡°Mommy, you¡¯re mine,¡± An Youqing whined while pouting his lips sulkily. He then crawled onto An Xiaoning andid on top of her. Realizing that An Youqing did not fall asleep at all and was simply going against him on purpose, Jin Qingyan decided to push him off of An Xiaoning¡¯s body. To his surprise, An Youqing dropped his act and sprung up immediately. He then reached for the switch of the sidemp and turned on the lights. ¡°Daddy, you¡¯re being too much!¡± he eximed, ring at his father angrily. ¡°You¡¯re the one who crossed the line. You still have school tomorrow morning. Why aren¡¯t you sleeping early?¡± Jin Qingyan retorted. ¡°Daddy, I¡¯m not going to sleep unless you sleep first.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°No reason,¡± said An Youqing, raising his chin to stare at his father. An Xiaoning gave Jin Qingyan a nudge and said, ¡°Stop hindering our son from getting enough sleep for school tomorrow, move aside.¡± Jin Qingyan then took the extreme end of the bed while An Youqingid in the middle. The lights were switched off again. Both Jin Qingyan and An Youqing soon fell asleep. At four past midnight, Jin Qingyan woke up to go to the washroom and did not feel sleepy anymore. All energized and awake, he decided to take the chance to get intimate with An Xiaoning while his son was sleeping like a log. Afraid that he would wake the little imp up again, Jin Qingyan pulled him to the side of the bed slowly and took the middle spot himself. He managed to switch ces with An Youqing. He spooned An Xiaoning from behind and began fondling her with his hands. He could fulfill his heart¡¯s desires without getting up. An Xiaoning was disturbed from her peaceful sleep. ¡°What time is it?¡± she asked softly. ¡°Almost morning.¡± ¡°Seriously, you...¡± ¡°How frustrating that we have to wait ¡¯til now to do what we were supposed tost night.¡± ¡°...¡± During breakfast, An Youqing asked, ¡°Mommy, will you be sending me to school?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll be taking the three of you to the kindergarten,¡± said An Xiaoning, whose cheeks were rosy and radiant. ¡°Yay, I thought you weren¡¯t going to give me a ride.¡± An Youqing finished his milk and got down from the chair to run upstairs. He carried his new backpack on his shoulders and rushed downstairs again. Jin Qingyan went to the office while An Xiaoning drove the three children to the kindergarten. The three children had obviously warmed up to each other as they engaged in endless chatter in the backseat. Having arrived at the entrance of the kindergarten, An Xiaoning held Wenlun and Xiaoxi by their hands while An Youqing followed beside her. They then entered together. Xiaoxi and Wenlun ran straight to their ssrooms since they were already familiar with the environment. An Youqing followed his mother to the ssroom for children attending upper kindergarten. He was in the same ss as Wenlun. Having recognized An Xiaoning, the kindergarten teacher, Ms. Tian, greeted them smilingly, ¡°Is this An Youqing whom I¡¯ve met the previous time?¡± ¡°Yes, he¡¯s a transfer student. Please take good care of him,¡± An Xiaoning answered. ¡°That goes without saying. Come in with me,¡± said Ms. Tian as she held An Youqing¡¯s hand and entered the ssroom. An Xiaoning then left for the staff room, in a bid to look for the Dean to pay the enrolment fees. ¡°Children, we have a very dashing transfer student who¡¯s going to be your new ssmate. Shall we wee him with an apuse?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± the children answered in unison, dancing in joy. Ms. Tian brought An Youqing to the rostrum and said smilingly, ¡°This is him. Shall we let him introduce himself?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± the children cheered loudly in excitement. ¡°Hi, everyone, nice to meet you. My name is An Youqing. My mother named me after a popr line in an ancient Chinese novel, ¡®Summoning Spirits¡¯. My name means ¡®to dedicate one¡¯s life to living upright with strong morals¡¯. I¡¯m four and a half years old this year. I hope to have an enjoyable time in kindergarten with you guys,¡± An Youqing introduced himself. Ms. Tian was surprised to hear his profound introduction. There¡¯s no question he¡¯s An Xiaoning¡¯s child. But, why is it that I¡¯ve never heard about An Xiaoning having a son on the news? she thought to herself. Judging from the child¡¯s features, it was obvious who his father was... ¡°Well said. Come here, Youqing, sit together with Yuechan,¡± said Ms. Tian, pointing at the empty seat next to a little girl. ¡°Alright, thank you, Teacher.¡± An Youqing sat down with his backpack on his shoulders. He looked at his table mate, a girl who looked like a real-life Barbie doll, and greeted her, ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you,¡± Wen Yuechan answered, her sparkly eyes glistening in the light. ¡ª An Xiaoning proceeded to the police station. She was donning a pair of shades and a pair of heels on her feet. Her main purpose for visiting the police station today was to report for duty. She did not inform the officers in the police station of her impending arrival prior to making her way there. After entering the police station, those who recognized her quickly greeted her warmly. She arrived at the entrance of the Special Investigation Unit office. Sounds of a heated argument could be hearding from inside the office. Themotion came to an abrupt stop as soon as she pushed the door open. Staring at her colleagues, she asked, ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Team Leader! You¡¯re back?¡± Ma Jianguo eximed, smacking his thigh in excitement as his initial fury turned into joy at the sight of her. ¡°Duh! Or do you think you¡¯re talking to a ghost right now?¡± ¡°Nah. Xiaoding, hurry and bring Team Leader a cup of tea.¡± An Xiaoning closed the door and declined, ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯m not thirsty. Ma Jianguo, what were you arguing about with Gong Le?¡± ¡°Here¡¯s what happened. Bureau Chief just handed us a new case, and my n was to first find out the birth characters of the victim and give them to you before discussing the other details of the case together, just like how we always do. But Gong Le insisted that we don¡¯t inform you about it yet and instead try and solve the case ourselves,¡± Ma Jianguo exined. Gong Le quickly defended himself, ¡°Well, it¡¯s because the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit is constantly gibing about us being ipetent and unable to solve cases without your help. Thus, I wanted to test our potential and try to crack the case ourselves.¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll give you the chance to. I¡¯ll stay out of this case and allow the four of you to crack it,¡± said An Xiaoning as she took a seat. She then turned to Zu Dong and said, ¡°I¡¯ve yet to praise you. You¡¯re really awesome for making it back in one piece afterpleting the task as an undercover.¡± ¡°Thank you, Sis Xiaoning. I was too afraid to die there,¡± Zu Dong told her in thanks. ¡°Yes. I trust that you guys have the ability to solve the case without my help. But I¡¯d like to remind you guys, the taunting and goading from the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit are only going to affect your efficiency at solving the case. We¡¯re here to crack cases. I¡¯ve never once imed that it was my hard work alone every single time we manage to solve a case. I hope you guys won¡¯t develop a superiorityplex when ites to case-solving. Okay, I shall leave this case to you guys. Call me when you¡¯ve solved it,¡± An Xiaoning added. She then stood up again and turned around to leave. Ma Jianguo did not speak his mind and instead just watched her leave. Atst, he turned to Gong Le and said distastefully, ¡°Be prepared to get mmed by the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit if we don¡¯t manage to crack this case.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just trying to prove our capabilities to the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit this once. I don¡¯t mean anything else,¡± Gong Le exined. ¡°So what if we¡¯ve proven ourselves? Does it mean we could then tell Chief that we don¡¯t need Team Leader anymore and the four of us can just continue to solve cases on our own?¡± ¡°I said I don¡¯t have any other intentions.¡± ¡°From the way I see it, you do.¡± ¡°Forget it if you don¡¯t believe me.¡± Ding Liang finally broke his silence and interjected, ¡°Cut it out, you two. We should treasure the opportunity given by Sis Xiaoning and just focus on cracking the case. That¡¯s the right thing to do.¡± ¡°You have a point. Let¡¯s get to it.¡± Chapter 360 - Son, Im Your Father (14)

Chapter 360: Son, I¡¯m Your Father (14)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡ª After five years, Jin Qingyue managed to regain her svelte figure. She managed to return to her prenatal self after shedding the unwanted b from her chubby and overweight body. Her phone began to ring right after she dropped Jin Bao¡¯er off at school. ¡°Jin Qingyue,¡± a familiar voice said over the phone. Jin Qingyue¡¯s hands began to tremble upon realizing that it was Shi Shaochuan who called. ¡°You¡¯re released?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m out of prison. All thanks to you, I was in there for five years. Now I finally get to be free.¡± ¡°Then turn over a new leaf and be a good person.¡± Not wishing to speak to him any further, Jin Qingyue ended the call and switched off her mobile phone. Sitting in her car, she felt a sudden sense of threat and impending danger. It seemed her peaceful andfortable life was about to be disrupted. She decided to buy a medium-sized mansion in an estate where security was tight and hired a bunch of bodyguards and servants to live with her. She did not remarry because she had yet to meet a man whom she could trustpletely. For the past few years, she had been feeling rather lonely and empty emotionally, though she had been leading afortable life. She would frequent nightclubs at night, in hopes of meeting an ideal man. However, she had never met a suitable man. Upon arriving home, she switched her phone on again and gave her brother a call. ¡°Brother, Shi Shaochuan is released from prison.¡± ¡°So what if he is? Are you afraid of him?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not afraid, I¡¯m just a little worried.¡± ¡°Bring more bodyguards with you whenever you go out. You¡¯ll be fine as long as you don¡¯t give him the chance to slip in,¡± Jin Qingyan instructed. ¡°Alright, shall we have lunch together this afternoon?¡± ¡°Sure,e to Wei Ni Estate in the afternoon then.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After ending the call, Jin Qingyue sat on the couch and began to realize how lonely it was to be single. She wanted to find a good man to settle down with. Yet, she did not know where to find one. Jin Qingyue began racking her brains as she leaned back against the couch, overwhelmed with sorrow. She sunk into a trance for the entire afternoon and a million thoughts flooded her mind. When afternoon arrived, she proceeded to pick her child up from school and headed towards Wei Ni Estate. She parked the car in the courtyard and caught sight of three children ying merrily at a distance away. She then turned to her daughter, who was seated in the passenger seat, and asked, ¡°Would you like to go y with them?¡± ¡°No, they¡¯ll dirty my new clothes.¡± Jin Qingyue then unbuckled her daughter¡¯s seatbelt and said, ¡°Get down from the car and go inside with Mommy then.¡± The pair of mother and daughter alighted from the car and entered the living room slowly. Upon sight of Jin Qingyue, An Xiaoning failed to recognize her immediately. Jin Qingyue had be much more mature since thest time they met. ¡°Sis-inw.¡± ¡°You¡¯re here, I heard from your brother that you¡¯d be here for lunch today,¡± An Xiaoning greeted in response. Jin Qingyue expressed assent and asked, ¡°Sis-inw, who¡¯s that child ying with Long Tianze¡¯s children outside?¡± ¡°He¡¯s my son.¡± Noticing that she sounded rather convincing, Jin Qingyue asked in puzzlement, ¡°When did you have a child? I¡¯ve never seen you pregnant before. Don¡¯t tell me... he¡¯s adopted?¡± ¡°The An Xiaoning you saw previously wasn¡¯t me. The one standing before you right now is the real deal.¡± ¡°Wait a minute... what do you mean the one previously wasn¡¯t you and that you¡¯re the real deal? You¡¯re making me confused.¡± ¡°That An Xiaoning you saw previously was a clone. I¡¯m the real An Xiaoning.¡± Jin Qingyue could not believe her ears. ¡°I¡¯ve only heard of animal cloning. Since when was it possible to clone humans too?¡± she asked apprehensively. ¡°Just because you don¡¯t know about it doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s not possible. Is this the daughter you had with Shi Shaochuan?¡± An Xiaoning said calmly. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°She¡¯s an exact copy of her father. She looks nothing like you at all.¡± ¡°Indeed so. She still resembled me a little when she was just born. She looks less and less like me the older she gets. Well, I can¡¯t alter her gic makeup. No wonder my brother kept saying you were suffering from amnesia everytime I asked you to read my fortune. Could you help read my fortune again?¡± Jin Qingyue requested. ¡°But you don¡¯t believe in fortune-telling.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t in the past, but I do now after witnessing it for myself,¡± said Jin Qingyue, sounding a little ashamed. An Xiaoning sat down opposite her and said, ¡°I forgot your birth characters. Tell me again.¡± ¡°I was born on the 24th of August XXXX at 10:24 PM. You know the home address.¡± ¡°What would you like to know about your fortune?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°I¡¯d like to know about my marriage prospects. Will I meet a good man in this life? Will I still get married again in the future?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Jin Qingyue was ted to hear her answer. ¡°Really?¡± she asked. ¡°Yes, really.¡± Jin Qingyue felt as if she had seen the light at the end of a tunnel and a glimmer of hope for a blissful life. ¡°When am I going to meet him?¡± she asked eagerly. ¡°Next month.¡± ¡°April?¡± ¡°Yes. Treasure the opportunity.¡± ¡°Thank you, Sis-inw. I absolutely believe you. Great, I thought I was going to be alone for the rest of my life.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t be.¡± ¡°Come have lunch! Xiaoning, go call the kids outside,¡± Jin Qingyan called. ¡°Oh, okay.¡± At the dining table, Jin Qingyue kept staring at An Youqing and her brother and could not help but find it incredibly amazing. ¡°Bao¡¯er, this is your cousin, Youqing. Come, greet him.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°Why not? Hurry,¡± Jin Qingyue urged her. ¡°I¡¯m eating. I don¡¯t have the time to say hello,¡± Jin Bao¡¯er refuted with a frown on her forehead. Jin Qingyue let out a wry smile and said, ¡°I¡¯ve been raising her by myself since she was a baby and have spoiled her rotten. She¡¯s very impolite.¡± An Xiaoning decided to give her an out and said, ¡°Children are all like that. But, you ought to take her in hand. Children¡¯s personalities are usually set when they¡¯re young.¡± ¡°Yes, I got it.¡± Afterparing her daughter to other children, Jin Qingyue began to realize that she did not teach her daughter too well. Perhaps it was because she had forgotten to discipline her daughter while in the midst of showering her with love and tender care. After lunch, Jin Qingyue forced Jin Bao¡¯er to y with the three other children in a bid to make her be friends with them so as to change her bratty attitude. Jin Bao¡¯er had no choice but to drag her feet towards the swing at the yground unwillingly. ¡°Come y with us. Your name is Bao¡¯er, right?¡± Long Xiaoxi weed her warmly. ¡°Yes. How old are you?¡± Jin Bao¡¯er asked as she walked towards them. ¡°Three years old.¡± ¡°I¡¯m five and a half. You ought to call me ¡®Sister¡¯.¡± ¡°Sure, Sister Bao¡¯er,¡± an unbothered Long Xiaoxi agreed. Staring at Long Xiaoxi, who was sitting on the swing, Jin Bao¡¯er said distastefully, ¡°I¡¯ve stopped getting on swings a long time ago. They¡¯re meant for kids like you.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re not that much older than I am, Sister Bao¡¯er.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a lot older than you are. Why did you have lunch at my Uncle¡¯s house instead of your own home?¡± Jin Bao¡¯er corrected her. ¡°Because my parents aren¡¯t home and I live just opposite. My brother and I will go home once they¡¯re back. Besides, your Uncle is my Godpa and your Auntie is my Godma. That makes us their godchildren. Isn¡¯t it normal to eat with them frequently?¡± Long Xiaoxi answered. Pouting her lips in disdain, Jin Bao¡¯er hissed, ¡°I don¡¯t have an Auntie.¡± ¡°My Godma is your Auntie. Didn¡¯t your mother make you address her as your Auntie during lunch?¡± Long Xiaoxi said in her baby voice. ¡°You¡¯re so ignorant. They¡¯re not married yet so she¡¯s not my Auntie.¡± Chapter 361 - Son, Im Your Father (15)

Chapter 361: Son, I¡¯m Your Father (15)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Long Xiaoxi got down from the swing. Slightly infuriated, she retorted, ¡°Sister Bao¡¯er, I think you should ask your mother why you¡¯re supposed to call her your Auntie.¡± Watching Long Xiaoxi¡¯s figure recede, Jin Bao¡¯er turned around to leave as well. On the way to school, Jin Bao¡¯er asked her mother, who was driving, ¡°Mommy, why do I have to call her Auntie even though they¡¯re not married yet?¡± ¡°You silly child, why are you asking such a question?¡± ¡°I just don¡¯t understand it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because your Uncle and Auntie were once married in the past and share a child together. They¡¯ll get married again in the future.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t I address her properly after they¡¯re married in the future?¡± ¡°Would it hurt to call her ¡®Auntie¡¯? Look how polite those children are. Can¡¯t you be like them?¡± Jin Qingyue chided, slightly peeved at her daughter¡¯s stubbornness and twisted logic. ¡°No matter how polite they may be, they¡¯re still not your children. Other children have fathers, why don¡¯t I have one? Why can¡¯t I be like them and have a father too?¡± Jin Bao¡¯er¡¯s words had struck a sour note within Jin Qingyue. She turned to look at her precious daughter and said, ¡°You¡¯re better off not acknowledging your biological father. If you want a father, I¡¯ll find you one in the future. Besides, you may not have a father, but I¡¯ve given you all my love. Isn¡¯t that enough?¡± ¡°No, of course not. Everyone else has a father, I want a father too. Bring me to see my biological father.¡± ¡°Bao¡¯er, Mommy¡¯s going to get angry if you keep behaving this way.¡± Upon hearing her mother¡¯s warning, Jin Bao¡¯er fell silent and remained seated obediently. Jin Qingyue put on the safety belt and began driving away. ¡ª An Xiaoning decided to go shopping in the afternoon and buy a few sets of clothes. Since the weather was getting warm, she had to start wearing clothes that were more cooling. She entered a prestigious clothing store known for its cutting-edge designs and reliable quality. Sheid her eyes upon a jacket and asked for the price, ¡°Miss, how much does this cost?¡± ¡°Hello, 370 thousand dors.¡± ¡°Can I bargain?¡± An Xiaoning asked with a grin. ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°50 thousand.¡± ¡°Miss, you¡¯re asking for way too low. We can¡¯t even cover the cost with such a low price,¡± the sales assistant said in astonishment. ¡°If it weren¡¯t because it¡¯s a brandedbel, I would¡¯ve just offered you a few hundred dors at most. I used to be in the fashion apparel business, you can¡¯t fool me.¡± Noticing that An Xiaoning was about to leave, the sales assistant hurriedly made an offer, ¡°Miss, could you offer a little bit more?¡± ¡°45 thousand.¡± With a sullen expression on her face, the sales assistant conceded, ¡°Forget it, 50 thousand it is. I¡¯ll sell it to you at a loss. Do rmend this store to your friends, okay?¡± ¡°50 thousand is still overcharging. You¡¯ve ripped me off,¡± An Xiaoning remarked, pursing her lips. ¡°Wow, Miss, I¡¯m already selling it to you at a loss and yet you still say you¡¯re being ripped off. This is a luxurybel, not a street market.¡± ¡°The difference between luxury goods and those sold at street markets is more than just quality. It also includes rental and location.¡± An Xiaoning handed the sales assistant her bank card and said, ¡°I¡¯m paying by card.¡± Just as she exited the store with her bag of clothes, she bumped into Mo Li, whom she had not seen in a long time. Mo Li had lookedpletely different from before. She had gotten slightly chubbier and was dressed fashionably, with her long locks draped across her shoulders. She exuded the aura of a wealthy woman and was apanied by bodyguards. ¡°Is that you, Xiaoning?¡± Mo Li eximed, surprised to see An Xiaoning. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me, what a coincidence.¡± ¡°I patronize this clothing store frequently. Are you done shopping already?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Finding it rather rare to bump into her, Mo Li eagerly invited, ¡°Drop by my house for a visit. I really want to have a chat with you, I haven¡¯t seen you in so long.¡± ¡°I happen to be free now. But, aren¡¯t you here to shop?¡± ¡°I can shop any other day. Let¡¯s go.¡± Mo Li hopped into An Xiaoning¡¯s car while her bodyguards followed behind in another car. Along the journey, Mo Li and An Xiaoning both shared about their lives and their current situation. However, An Xiaoning did not mention a word about the clone, since some things were better left unsaid. They chatted happily like old friends who just reunited. ¡°I really ought to thank you for everything,¡± said Mo Li. ¡°You¡¯ve said that countless times before throughout these years. Stop it, I don¡¯t like hearing it,¡± An Xiaoning said teasingly with a smile. ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t say it again then. Just keep going straight and we¡¯ll arrive at my ce.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the route to Ming Yuan Estate though. Has there been a change in roads?¡± ¡°Xiaotian and I have moved to the Ye family home ever since we got married. We¡¯ve long moved out of Ming Yuan Estate,¡± Mo Li exined. ¡°Are you living with your inws?¡± Mo Li nodded and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t have much of a choice. Although his mother doesn¡¯t exactly adore me, things have gotten betterpared to before. Maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯m expecting our second child now. Whatever it is, we¡¯ve already gotten married anyway, we still have to get on with life.¡± ¡°You¡¯re pregnant again?¡± An Xiaoning asked, staring at Mo Li¡¯s stomach. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m pregnant. My clothes are loose enough to hide the bump,¡± Mo Li answered, smiling. ¡°How¡¯s your rtionship with Ye Xiaotian now...?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been living together for a few years now. Although I still can¡¯t forget the things that happened in the past, I still ought to close that chapter and get on with life, shouldn¡¯t I? Besides, he treats me extremely well now. I used to detest him a lot in the past, but I think the way we are now is pretty good.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great. Your life has changed drastically for the better.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Having arrived at the entrance, they alighted from the car, after which Mo Li brought her to the courtyard of her home. ¡°Although we live in the same estate, there are actually two separate blocks. They¡¯re just very near each other,¡± she exined while walking. ¡°Actually, it¡¯s best not to live with your inws. That way, many trivial conflicts may be avoided.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± When the two arrived at the living room, the servants served them tea. Mo Li had be much more outgoingpared to the past and would put a smile on her face almost all the time. A while into their conversation, Ye Xiaotian returned home and was slightly taken aback to see An Xiaoning. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you in so long.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m d to see that you guys are getting on well with life,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°If you tell Jin Qingyan to stop going against the Ye Corporation when ites to business, we¡¯ll get on even better and you¡¯ll be happier for us,¡± Ye Xiaotian replied. ¡°We women won¡¯t meddle in the matters between you men,¡± An Xiaoning refuted. ¡°You¡¯re smart,¡± Ye Xiaotian said with a smirk. Noticing that it was almost time to go, An Xiaoning excused herself and left. As soon as she left, Ye Xiaotian asked, ¡°Why was An Xiaoning here?¡± ¡°I bumped into her coincidentally when I went out. So I decided to invite her home for a chat. It¡¯s been way too long since I met her.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t invite her here anymore,¡± Ye Xiaotian instructed with a sullen expression on his face. ¡°Why?¡± Mo Li asked in puzzlement. ¡°Do you think I¡¯d enjoy seeing my business rival¡¯s woman showing up at my home frequently? Jin Qingyan managed to clinch the bid again this time,¡± Ye Xiaotian said disgruntledly. ¡°You two may be rivals, but Xiaoning and I aren¡¯t. Besides, if Xiaoning didn¡¯t save me back then, I would¡¯ve died long ago.¡± Chapter 362 - Son, Im Your Father (16)

Chapter 362: Son, I¡¯m Your Father (16)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Excuse me, Missy, you¡¯re my wife now. That means you should stand on my side. Although she¡¯s Beicheng¡¯s sister, the Gu and Jin families have always been at odds with each other when ites to business.¡± ¡°So what if I¡¯m your wife? Does that mean I can¡¯t have my personal space to befriend the people I want?¡± Mo Li retorted in disagreement. Ye Xiaotian held her hand in his and said, ¡°Mo Li, people like us should just be amicable and courteous to them on the surface, no more than that.¡± Although Mo Li understood where he wasing from, she still refused to agree nheless. ¡°But I don¡¯t wish to live such a pretentious life like you. Why do I have to beat around the bush when we women are just having a simple and idle chat over tea?¡± ¡°I knew you would say that. But not all women are the same. Xiaoning is different from you. She may very well be Jin Qingyan¡¯s capable assistant. Now that they¡¯re a couple, she¡¯ll definitely stand by his side. Meanwhile, you and I are a team in a united front. From the bigger picture, you two are not supposed to be friends.¡± ¡°But Beicheng and Xiaoning are siblings, yet the Gu Corporation and Jin Corporation are still rivals in business, aren¡¯t they?¡± Mo Li insisted. ¡°You¡¯ll understand what I mean in the future. An Xiaoning may treat you like her friend now, but you two will definitely fall out in time toe.¡± An Xiaoning was well aware of Ye Xiaotian¡¯s concerns, though she did not dwell much on it at this point in time. On her journey home, the traffic at the junction was so heavy that she was stuck in the jam for half an hour. As soon as she arrived home, she received a call from Jin Qingyan. ¡°Xiaoning, there¡¯s a business gathering this evening, and the invited guests are all prestigious figures. You shall be my plus one.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll doll myself up and wait for you to pick me up,¡± An Xiaoning agreed. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll pick you up from home at six o¡¯clock sharp.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After alighting from the car, An Xiaoning made her way to the dressing room with the bag of clothing she just bought. To her surprise, the closet was stuffed with clothes suited for the season. When Auntie Chen entered to serve her a cup of tea, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Auntie Chen, since when were there so many clothes in the closet?¡± ¡°It was Young Sir¡¯s instruction.¡± An Xiaoning took a look at the clothes to find that they were all from luxurybels. They were all extremely stylish and pretty. She then opened arge gift box that was sitting on the dressing table and discovered that it contained an evening gown. An Xiaoning took the gown out from the box carefully. It was a gorgeous evening gown, which was red in color and had an exquisite yet unique design. She put it on immediately to find that it was extremely ttering. It was as fitting as bespoke gowns. An Xiaoning took a look at the time and hurriedly proceeded to take a shower in the bathroom before putting on a full face of immacte makeup. Before she even realized, two hours had passed. After instructing Fan Shixin to pick the children up from school, An Xiaoning changed into the evening gown and draped a ck shawl over her shoulders before making her way downstairs. She happened to bump into Jin Qingyan, who entered at the same time with a box in his hands. A smile formed on his face as he watched her walk down the stairs. He then walked towards her. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°High heels.¡± Jin Qingyan knelt to the ground, took out a pair of crystal heels from the box, and helped her put them on. The pair of heels were absolutely stunning. ¡°They look really pretty.¡± Jin Qingyan stood up and said, ¡°During our wedding, you¡¯ll be wearing a pair that looks even better than this.¡± An Xiaoning gazed at him and remained silent. They then exited the house, hand in hand. Xiao Lu was the chauffeur for the evening while the two of them sat in the back seat of the car. ¡°The business gathering this evening is no ordinary event.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Someone hasid a trap. It appears to be a gathering, but it¡¯s not as simple as that. Because I¡¯ve gotten news that the mastermind who made me choose between saving you and Qingyue would be making an appearance this evening,¡± Jin Qingyan exined, still holding on to her hand. ¡°How did you know?¡± ¡°Ciye informed me about it.¡± An Xiaoning did not probe further about how Ling Ciye had managed to get hold of the information ¨C she knew, given the fact that Ling Ciye was a member of the triads, he would definitely have his own resources for insider news. ¡°Initially, I thought the mastermind was Xi Bi. I even questioned him, but he said that he was not the one behind the act.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not that capable anyway. Drinks and liquor would be served tonight. Don¡¯t touch any drinks or food unless I hand them to you myself,¡± Jin Qingyan added. ¡°Okay, who¡¯s the host?¡± ¡°The Xu family.¡± Slightly taken aback, An Xiaoning turned to look at Jin Qingyan and asked, ¡°You mean Military Commander Xu?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t he a civil personnel?¡± ¡°His second son Xu Cai is a businessman, though he¡¯s always kept a low profile.¡± ¡°Turns out Xu Cai is Military Commander Xu¡¯s son. I wouldn¡¯t have known if you didn¡¯t mention it,¡± An Xiaoning said in a moment of epiphany. ¡°It says so on Wikipedia. The Xu family must have a reason for inviting so many business elites for a gathering this evening,¡± Jin Qingyan said calmly. After pondering for a moment, An Xiaoning said, ¡°I have a gut feeling this is a setup with a sinister plot behind it.¡± Jin Qingyan retrieved a hair clip from his pocket and exined, ¡°This is a hairclip specially designed for you. There are three needles embedded within this contraption. All you have to do is press this spot and the needles will be darted out rapidly.¡± ¡°Why did you think of getting this done for me?¡± An Xiaoning asked in surprise. cing the hair clip onto her hair gently, Jin Qingyan answered, ¡°Because I want to keep you as safe as possible.¡± An Xiaoning stared at him quietly. They were slowly driven to the entrance of the Xu family mansion where numerous luxury cars were parked outside the gate, forming a snake-like queue. Clearly, there was a long list of guests invited. The sky had begun to turn dark. An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan took their time and entered the Xu family mansion. Boisterous chatter andughter could be hearding from the living room before they even stepped foot inside. They smiled and greeted the business associates whom they knew personally. All eyes were on them when they showed up at the living room. An Xiaoning held onto Jin Qingyan¡¯s arm and walked inside slowly. She would asionally hear the remarks made by guests engaged in endless gossip, though they would often make a conscious effort to keep their volume down. ¡°Her shoes are really pretty, whichbel are they from?¡± ¡°No idea, must¡¯ve cost a bomb though.¡± ¡°An Xiaoning is so lucky. Rumor has it that Jin Qingyan pampers and dotes on her greatly.¡± ¡°Yeah, I heard about it too. If only I were that lucky.¡± ¡°Exactly.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning pretended not to hear the curious gossip and continued to put on a courteous smile while walking towards Ling Ciye together with Jin Qingyan. Upon sight of them, Ling Ciye immediatelyplimented, ¡°Beautiful.¡± ¡°That goes without saying.¡± Jin Qingyan scanned his surroundings before asking, ¡°Why isn¡¯t Ye Xiaotian here?¡± ¡°He¡¯s yet to arrive. He¡¯s on the guest list. I brought these myself, it¡¯s absolutely safe,¡± said Ling Ciye, handing them two sses of champagne. An Xiaoning took the ss of champagne and giggled in amusement. ¡°Qingyan said someone would be serving drinks and liquor. Turns out it¡¯s you,¡± she teased. ¡°Well, it pays to be alert on such asions.¡± Noticing that Ling Ciye was alone, Jin Qingyan asked, ¡°Where¡¯s your femalepanion?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have one. I¡¯m not as lucky as you are to have a gorgeous babe in your arms. Bachelors like me can only be alone.¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t reconciled with Song Yan?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t n to. It¡¯s too draining,¡± Ling Ciye answered as he took a look around the ce. ¡°Gu Beicheng is here.¡± An Xiaoning turned around to see that Gu Beicheng was d in a blue suit with a flower on his chest. He brought a female stranger with him, evidently hispanion for the night. Chapter 363 - Son, Im Your Father (17)

Chapter 363: Son, I¡¯m Your Father (17)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As soon as he saw them, Gu Beicheng let go of his femalepanion¡¯s hand and said, ¡°You guys are here early.¡± ¡°We¡¯re just punctual.¡± Noticing that Gu Beicheng was about to grab a drink from a waiter¡¯s tray, An Xiaoning quickly stopped him and handed him a ss from Ling Ciye¡¯s tray. Gu Beicheng gave a faint smile. Jin Qingyan was slightly displeased with her gesture and tightened his grip on her waist. An Xiaoning remained unfazed and instead cocked her head to the side to smile at Jin Qingyan. Minutester, Ye Xiaotian, who was donning a white suit, arrived together with Mo Li, which was no surprise. Soon, all the remaining guests had turned up. To An Xiaoning¡¯s surprise, Chi Rui¡¯er was present too. She followed closely behind Xu Youran and made her way downstairs. Jin Qingyan looked up at Xu Youran, only to find that she appeared rather familiar, as if he had seen her somewhere before. Likewise, An Xiaoning shared simr sentiments as Jin Qingyan and in fact had been finding Xu Youran strangely familiar since the first time they met at the Gu family home. Xu Youran stepped forward and weed the guests smilingly, ¡°Dear elites of the business circle, wee to the Xu family home.¡± ¡°You must be the legendary Ms. Xu. You¡¯re really gorgeous. Let me toast to you on this rare asion that we¡¯re meeting,¡± said Ling Ciye. ¡°Thank you for ttering me, Mr. Ling.¡± She reached out for a ss of liquor from the waiter¡¯s tray and clinked it against Ling Ciye¡¯s ss before taking a small sip. Gazing at her, Ling Ciye said, ¡°Ms. Xu, you don¡¯t seem to go out often. I rarely see you.¡± ¡°Yeah, I grew up overseas ¨C I¡¯ve been there since young and only returned a few years ago. You definitely wouldn¡¯t have had the chance to see me often since you¡¯re such a busy man, Mr. Ling.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, she turned around and said to Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning, ¡°Beicheng, Xiaoning, and I are going to be family very soon. Please make yourself at home and refrain from the formalities.¡± An Xiaoning nodded in courtesy and answered, ¡°That¡¯s right. I should be addressing you as my sister-inw, actually.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t be toote to wait ¡¯til after Dongcheng and I get married to do so,¡± said Xu Youran, chuckling with a hand covering her mouth. ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± The melodious music came to an abrupt stop as Military Commander Xu made an appearance along the railing of the second storey. He picked up the microphone and began addressing the guests with a formal speech. It was none other than a speech to wee the guests. While everyone shifted their gazes onto the second storey, An Xiaoning continued to observe Xu Youran and Chi Rui¡¯er. She discovered that although Xu Youran and Chi Rui¡¯er appeared to be on rather good terms with each other, there seemed to be an invisible distance between them in reality. An Xiaoning began to wonder if Xu Youran had decided to save Chi Rui¡¯er out of sheer camaraderie or because of an ulterior motive. She could not help but feel that there was more to Xu Youran than meets the eye. The music continued to y in the background after Military Commander Xu ended his speech. The crowd of guests continued to chat amongst themselves while standing or sitting down. Xu Youran turned to face Chi Rui¡¯er and asked with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t you know them personally too? Why aren¡¯t you guys speaking?¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing much to talk about,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er answered awkwardly. Xu Youran folded her arms in puzzlement and said, ¡°Why would that be the case? Aren¡¯t you dating Jin Qingyan¡¯s father? Seems like you¡¯re going to be his stepmother very soon.¡± A grave expression formed on Jin Qingyan¡¯s face as soon as he heard her words. Not waiting for Jin Qingyan to speak, Ling Ciye quickly interjected with a sarcastic smile, ¡°They¡¯re just dating, bing a stepmother is too far-fetched. Ms. Xu, could you please tap on your EQ and think twice before you utter such callous remarks?¡± ¡°Yes, yes, it was just a slip of the tongue. Don¡¯t mind me, Mr. Jin,¡± Xu Youran frantically apologized. ¡°Of course I won¡¯t. It¡¯s not true, nor will it be true anyway. Why would I mind?¡± Jin Qingyan said with an icy cold stare in his eyes. Smiling wryly, Xu Youran looked Jin Qingyan in the eye and could not help but notice how cold and aloof he was. She then turned around and said to Chi Rui¡¯er, ¡°Come, let¡¯s take a look over there.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± The duo then left together and began babbling about something along the way. Jin Qingyan seemed to be deep in thought as he stared at Xu Youran from behind. He sensed something amiss, though he could not put the way he felt into words. Ye Xiaotian broke his silence and said, ¡°Jin Qingyan, didn¡¯t expect your family to be so happening.¡± ¡°How is it any of your business?¡± Ye Xiaotian smiled without uttering a word. Instead, he changed the subject and shifted the attention to Gu Beicheng. ¡°Is this your girlfriend?¡± he asked. ¡°Of course not. She¡¯s my newly-hired secretary.¡± ¡°She¡¯s quite the looker. I bet you recruited her because of her beauty.¡± ¡°Do I seem like such a superficial person?¡± Gu Beicheng retorted. ¡°From what I know about you... yes, you do.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the asion today? It¡¯s already been 15 minutes,¡± Gu Beicheng remarked as he took a look at the time on his wristwatch. Ye Xiaotian snickered and said, ¡°The best is yet toe. Why are you getting so impatient? Look, someone¡¯se downstairs.¡± The crowd looked up, only to see Military Commander Xu¡¯s subordinatesing down the stairs and calling out, ¡°Gentlemen, please follow me upstairs. May thedies remain waiting downstairs.¡± Soon, the gentlemen got up one after another and made their way upstairs while thedies were left in the living room. Since Mo Li had rarely attended such formal events, she naturally felt out of ce and uneasy. Upon sight of An Xiaoning, she suggested, ¡°Let¡¯s go wait for them on the couch.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± An Xiaoning had always disliked wearing heels and would only make an exception for formal events and asions. Although they looked pretty on her feet, she simply could not tolerate the torturous pain in her soles which arose from walking in heels. She felt a huge sense of relief in her feet the moment she sat down. ¡°Xiaoning, just what¡¯s the purpose of this gathering?¡± Mo Li asked softly. ¡°Ye Xiaotian didn¡¯t tell you?¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t mention anything else other than the fact that it was a gathering.¡± ¡°Actually, I¡¯m not too sure either. Who knows? Maybe it¡¯s just a casual gathering for the men,¡± said An Xiaoning, though she had constantly been on her guard. ¡°I¡¯d like to go to the washroom. Do you want toe along?¡± An Xiaoning actually did not need to use the washroom but decided to tag along since Mo Li was pregnant and wearing heels. ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± They arrived at the entrance of the washroom, only to find that it was extremely crowded. Some were touching up their makeup while others were answering nature¡¯s call. Thus, they decided to ask the servants for help. ¡°Hello, may I ask if there are other washrooms here?¡± ¡°The second and third storey are restricted areas because it¡¯s our master¡¯s bedrooms. There¡¯s a washroom avable on the fourth storey. You may take the elevator up,¡± the servant said smilingly while pointing them in the right direction. ¡°Alright.¡± The two of them entered the elevator and pressed the buttons. Just as the elevator doors were about to close, a hand was stuck through the gap to stop the doors from closing. An Xiaoning took a look and realized that it was Chi Rui¡¯er. ¡°Oh, what a coincidence,¡± said Chi Rui¡¯er, who entered the elevator but did not press any buttons. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you pressing the buttons?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m going to the fourth storey too. Why else would I say that it was coincidental?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er said with a pretentious smile. The doors of the elevator closed slowly, and the elevator began to ascend. A deafening silence filled the air. Both An Xiaoning and Chi Rui¡¯er kept mum. The elevator soon arrived at the fourth storey. However, the doors did not open and instead continued to ascend. Frightened, Mo Li asked worriedly, ¡°Xiaoning, what¡¯s going on?¡± Before An Xiaoning could even respond, Chi Rui¡¯er said casually, ¡°Seems like the elevator is out of order.¡± ¡°Why are you so happy about the elevator being faulty?¡± ¡°Am I?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er asked with a grin. ¡°Are you not?¡± An Xiaoning retorted. ¡°Of course not.¡± Chapter 364 - Son, Im Your Father (18)

Chapter 364: Son, I¡¯m Your Father (18)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning could not be bothered to continue arguing with her blindly and instead tried to give Jin Qingyan a call immediately, only to find that there was no reception. She looked down at Mo Li and said, ¡°Check your phone and see if there¡¯s reception.¡± Mo Li handed her mobile phone to An Xiaoning, who then took a look and realized that there was no reception as well. ¡°There¡¯s no way there¡¯ll be reception here. Didn¡¯t you realize that there aren¡¯t any surveince cameras in here either?¡± said Chi Rui¡¯er. ¡°Why is it impossible for there to be reception? Don¡¯t tell me you tampered with it? Chi Rui¡¯er, just what are you trying to do?¡± An Xiaoning questioned, ring at her. ¡°Could you not malign me? Do you really think I¡¯m capable enough to block the reception in the elevator?¡± An Xiaoning obviously knew Chi Rui¡¯er was not the one behind it since they were on the Xu family territory and there was no way they would allow Chi Rui¡¯er to call the shots. Chi Rui¡¯er was neither the master nor the servant of the Xu family and was at most just a guest. ¡°It¡¯s true that you don¡¯t have such capabilities. But, you were aware that the elevator was faulty and you also knew that nothing serious woulde out of it because you wouldn¡¯t have entered if you knew that a fatal incident would ur,¡± said An Xiaoning. Chi Rui¡¯er squinted and retorted, ¡°An Xiaoning, will you stop jumping to conclusions without any evidence? Mrs. Ye is right beside you, don¡¯t taint my reputation, alright?¡± ¡°Your reputation is already beyond marred, yet you¡¯re still afraid of being smeared?¡± An Xiaoning sneered while pressing all the buttons on the panel again. She then held Mo Li and leaned back against the elevator walls. Just like An Xiaoning predicted, although the elevator went out of order and plunged from the fifth storey to the second basement and ascended back up to the fifth storey again, there were no other issues present. After going up and down repeatedly, the faulty elevator finally stopped at the fourth storey. What a miraculous elevator. Chi Rui¡¯er remained still while An Xiaoning quickly grabbed Mo Li to stop her from exiting. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you going out, Chi Rui¡¯er?¡± ¡°It¡¯s none of your business.¡± An Xiaoning decided to stay put as well. The doors of the elevator closed again, and Chi Rui¡¯er pressed the button for the first storey. The elevator began to descend slowly. When the doors opened at the first storey, Chi Rui¡¯er continued to remain still and so did An Xiaoning and Mo Li. Secondster, Chi Rui¡¯er took the lead and began walking out of the elevator. An Xiaoning then held Mo Li by her hand and followed suit. The doors closed shut once again. After watching Chi Rui¡¯er leave, Mo Li asked softly, ¡°Why did you wait for her to take the first step before moving out?¡± ¡°No reason, I just thought it¡¯d be better to be careful. Perhaps I¡¯m being paranoid, but I was afraid that the doors would close on us if we exited before her. Well, it¡¯s not like it hasn¡¯t happened before,¡± An Xiaoning exined. ¡°This is the Xu family home, I doubt that¡¯ll happen,¡± Mo Li said apprehensively. ¡°So what if it¡¯s the Xu family¡¯s home? Does that mean elevator faults won¡¯t happen? Didn¡¯t you notice how calm she was when the elevator began acting up after she entered with us?¡± ¡°I did.¡± ¡°The fault must¡¯ve been deliberate. Why would a family like the Xus allow such elevator faults to happen? They would definitely call for regr maintenance of the elevators. I really think the only reason behind this is because someone tampered with it on purpose.¡± ¡°What?¡± asked Mo Li, who was beginning to get terrified. ¡°Chi Rui¡¯er thought I¡¯d be the only one in the elevator, thus she must¡¯ve been nning to harm me while we¡¯re inside. However, she noticed that you were present too and realized that it won¡¯t be easy to execute her n. She was afraid that she would end up exposing herself should she fail to carry out her scheme sessfully. That¡¯s why she decided not to take action in the end,¡± An Xiaoning deduced. It was the only possible situation she could think of. ¡°Why does she want to harm you?¡± ¡°Our bad blood goes a long way back. There are a lot of aspects involved, it¡¯s hard to exin it clearly.¡± After all, An Xiaoning was the one who suggested that Mr. Jin freeze his assets. Thus, Chi Rui¡¯er must¡¯ve resented her for that. Even if she were not nning to cause her harm, she must have wanted to give her a piece of her mind, but unfortunately, her efforts were futile. ¡°I¡¯m going to join the queue at the washroom on the first storey,¡± said Mo Li. ¡°Go ahead, I won¡¯t apany you then. I¡¯d like to sit here alone for a while.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Mo Li stood up and left for the washroom. Chi Rui¡¯er took the stairs up to Xu Youran¡¯s bedroom. After closing the door, Xu Youran asked, ¡°Did you manage to settle it?¡± ¡°No... I didn¡¯t.¡± Xu Youran looked up and questioned, ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°The person shadowing An Xiaoning told me that she entered the elevator. I thought she was alone, but Ye Xiaotian¡¯s wife, Mo Li, was there as well.¡± Xu Youran mmed the ss onto the table and said, ¡°So you decided to just give up such a great opportunity?¡± ¡°I did want to take action afterwards, but after thinking it through carefully, I realized that your family would be greatly affected if Ye Xiaotian¡¯s wife dies too. Besides, I may not be able to deal with the both of them at the same time, though it¡¯d be quick if I had a gun. But then again, it¡¯s not that easy to simply pass it off as a fatal elevator fault. Let¡¯s not forget, An Xiaoning is extremely skilled in martial arts, I¡¯m no match for her,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er said in defense of herself. Xu Youran sprung up from her seat and red at her coldly. ¡°All you do is find excuses for yourself. I gave you such a great opportunity, yet you let it slip! Once you inject the chemical into her, she won¡¯t be able to move in no time. By then, all you have to do is exit at the fifth storey, then move An Xiaoning to the opening of the elevator and cause her to be stuck between the doors. The story would have a perfect ending then. Yet, you messed it all up. But it¡¯s true, you were put at an disadvantage since there was someone else with her.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er heaved a huge sigh of relief upon hearing that Xu Youran understood her dilemma. ¡°Ms. Xu, what kind of chemical is it to be so potent?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like you¡¯d understand even if I told you. Anyway, the only function of the chemical is to numb one¡¯s senses in a godlike speed, nothing else.¡± ¡°But, if we inject her with the syringe, there¡¯s going to be a needle hole on her body and there¡¯ll definitely be traces of the chemical in her blood. I¡¯m afraid Jin Qingyan will find out the truth when that happens.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t, whatever you said will never happen. I¡¯ll see if there¡¯s another opportunity tonight. Get out first,¡± Xu Youran hissed with a sullen expression on her face. ¡°Yes.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er then turned around to leave. Chi Rui¡¯er could not help but feel like Xu Youran was merely using her to kill An Xiaoning, although she did detest An Xiaoning herself. However, if she actually killed An Xiaoning in the elevator, she would definitely be the first person Jin Qingyan suspects. There would be no escape for her should that happen. Just how strong of a grudge does Xu Youran bear against the Jin family, such that she had to resort to such extreme means? Chi Rui¡¯er wondered to herself. She did not want to die in anyone¡¯s hands, regardless of who it may be. She just wanted to continue living on well. For the first time in her life, Chi Rui¡¯er was relieved that her n did not work out. Otherwise, she would¡¯ve been hot soup regardless of whether An Xiaoning dies or not. She ought to choose her battles wisely. Chapter 365 - Son, Im Your Father (19)

Chapter 365: Son, I¡¯m Your Father (19)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mo Li exited from the washroom and found that the gentlemen had yet to return from upstairs. She sat down beside An Xiaoning and said, ¡°What¡¯s taking them so long?¡± ¡°They must be discussing about something important. Let¡¯s not interfere in their matters.¡± Mo Li nodded in agreement. Seemingly reminded of something, she asked An Xiaoning, ¡°Do you and Brother Qingyan talk about business matters?¡± Shaking her head, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°Not at the moment. I have my own matters to handle, and so does he. He doesn¡¯t discuss work-rted issues with me. He¡¯s a very decisive man who¡¯s capable of handling his own matters well.¡± ¡°Yes, Brother Qingyan does have that capability. He¡¯s always been running thepany smoothly. Ever since we were young, he has always done well in school. We¡¯re a mischievous bunch and he would join us to y and have fun. Yet, he never failed to excel in his academics.¡± ¡°What was he like when he was younger? Was his personality the same as now?¡± An Xiaoning asked curiously. ¡°Hmm... he¡¯s about the same. But he¡¯s always been popr with the girls at school because of his dashing good looks. While we were in school, he, Tianze, and Brother Ciye would often receive love letters from their secret admirers. Those who knew that I was close to them would get me to help deliver the love letters. Now that I think about it, we were truly so young and inexperienced.¡± shbacks of the past began to pop up in Mo Li¡¯s head as she continued to recount the various events, ¡°However, Brother Qingyan has never been in a rtionship, probably because of his family. His half-sister had a great influence on him. I used to think that it would cause him to be cynical towards marriage, but to my surprise, he actually married you. To be honest, I didn¡¯t know who you were at all before you two got married. All I knew was that you were Shi Shaochuan¡¯s wife.¡± ¡°Were you bewildered when you found out back then? Did you wonder why he would marry a divorced woman?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Those thoughts did cross my mind. Well, because I¡¯ve known him for so many years and I didn¡¯t think he would be the type to get married casually.¡± An Xiaoning chuckled and said, ¡°You don¡¯t say, it was really rather casual. We got married right after we just met. We didn¡¯t even know each other well then.¡± ¡°You two were really brave then.¡± ¡°Yeah. Love is all about going through a great deal of hardship together but still choosing to believe in the power of love and brave through all odds to be with each other,¡± said An Xiaoning, suddenly overwhelmed with emotions at the thought of the ups and downs they¡¯d been through since they were married. Mo Li agreed, ¡°That¡¯s right. By the way, do you feel like you¡¯ve seen Ms. Xu somewhere before?¡± ¡°I find her rather familiar too, but I just can¡¯t recall where I¡¯ve seen her before.¡± ¡°They¡¯re here,¡± said Mo Li, standing up quickly. An Xiaoning looked up to find that it was indeed so and quickly rose from her seat. ¡°What did you guys talk about upstairs?¡± An Xiaoning asked Jin Qingyan softly. ¡°Some frivolous talk. Were you getting impatient?¡± Jin Qingyan asked. ¡°No, I was just a little bored.¡± ¡°Well, such events are indeed boring.¡± Jin Qingyan turned around to look at Ling Ciye and said, ¡°We¡¯re taking our leave soon. When are you guys leaving?¡± ¡°You¡¯re leaving right after you just came down? You¡¯re being too willful. Wait a little longer,¡± said Ling Ciye as he shot him a nce. An Xiaoning agreed, for it was indeed a little inappropriate to leave Military Commander Xu¡¯s house so quickly. ¡°We¡¯ll wait a while more then.¡± ¡°Did you guys reconcile your marriage? I didn¡¯t see it on the news though,¡± Ye Xiaotian asked curiously. ¡°Why? Are you trying to dig for exclusive news and then leak it to the media?¡± Jin Qingyan answered. ¡°Psht... Do I seem like such a person?¡± Ye Xiaotian scoffed with a look of disdain. ¡°You never know.¡± ¡°I was merely being curious.¡± ¡°Not yet,¡± An Xiaoning answered. ¡°That¡¯s puzzling. Why haven¡¯t you done so? You two seem to be very in love with each other,¡± said Ye Xiaotian as he took a sip of his drink. ¡°It¡¯s our freedom to decide. We¡¯re very happy with the way we¡¯re living now. Maybe we¡¯ll decide to register our marriage spontaneously one day,¡± Jin Qingyan said bluntly to brush him off. ¡°Oh... I see.¡± Gu Beicheng remained silent while leaning against the high table, appearing to be deep in his thoughts. ¡°Ladies and Gentlemen, please make your way to the dance floor,¡± the butler called out from a short distance away. Jin Qingyan put on a faint smile and began walking forward while taking An Xiaoning by her hand. The guests began to dance to the melodious music with theirpanions under the dazzling, colorful lights. After the first dance, An Xiaoning began to feel a nagging ache in her soles again. Clearly, heels were not for her. Just as they stopped dancing, Xu Yang and Xu Cai approached them to say hi. ¡°Long time no see, Xiaoning,¡± Xu Yang greeted. ¡°Head-of-Office Xu, forgive my ignorance, but I really didn¡¯t know you two were brothers.¡± ¡°Well, you know now. There¡¯ll be an exciting showter. We rarely get to see each other. Don¡¯t leave so soon,¡± Xu Yang said smilingly. ¡°What program is it?¡± ¡°A magic show,¡± Xu Cai answered. ¡°Is that so? I¡¯m looking forward to it then.¡± After the brothers left to greet the other guests, An Xiaoning tugged on Jin Qingyan¡¯s sleeve and asked, ¡°What kind of a person is Xu Cai?¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing special about him. If it weren¡¯t because of his father¡¯s authority and status, no one would bother turning up today,¡± Jin Qingyan said calmly. ¡°This is so boring. I would rather practise yoga at home. But, he mentioned that there¡¯ll be a magic show. It should be interesting. I¡¯ve never watched magic tricks being performed live, I¡¯ve only ever seen them on television,¡± said An Xiaoning as she ced both arms around his bicep and rested her head against his shoulder. ¡°Since you enjoy magic shows, I shall hire the best magician in the country to perform for you especially in the future.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. Let¡¯s just go out to watch magic shows together next time. That¡¯s practical and wallet-friendly.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Gu Beicheng would asionally steal a nce at them while dancing gracefully on the dancefloor. He began to realize that some things were truly fated and they were indeed destined to meet but never fated to be a couple. All the guests stayed put in their positions. The magician then began performing his tricks for the guests on the dancefloor. The music came to a halt and a renowned magician of the country began walking towards the stage slowly. The crowd began pping their hands profusely in awe. He stood beside arge trunk and announced to the guests, ¡°I¡¯ll be performing a trick called ¡®The Conjuring of a Human¡¯ tonight.¡± He then pushed the trunk and rotated it to prove that there was nothing behind it. Afterwards, he opened the trunk to show that it was empty. In order to prove that the trunk could not be dismantled from the back, the magician even invited a guest onstage to verify it. Once the trunk was closed, he proimed smilingly, ¡°A miracle is going to happen at this very moment.¡± The audience kept their eyes peeled on the trunk. Less than a minuteter, the door opened slowly and a woman popped out of the trunk all of a sudden. The crowd began pping their hands profusely in awe. The door closed and opened again quickly. This time, it was not a woman but a man who appeared. The door was shut yet again. An elderlydy was seen in the trunk when it opened once more. The crowd gasped in amazement as they marvelled at the incredible act happening before them. Atst, the magician proposed, ¡°May I now invite one of you here toe on stage and have a go at it? This beautifuldy here, would you like to have a try?¡± He was referring to An Xiaoning. Chapter 366 - Son, Im Your Father (20)

Chapter 366: Son, I¡¯m Your Father (20)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios All eyes were on An Xiaoning, who was remaining still and staring at the magician on stage. ¡°Her legs are aching. Please select someone else,¡± Jin Qingyan politely declined. ¡°She won¡¯t even concede to such a tiny request. How spoiled,¡± a female guest muttered distastefully under her breath. ¡°Exactly, this is not even her home,¡± said another. ¡°...¡± Jin Qingyan shot them a re, which put an abrupt end to their gossip. To the surprise of everyone, the magician did not pick someone else from the crowd and instead insisted, ¡°This beautifuldy here, would you please cooperate for a bit?¡± An Xiaoning grew more and more reluctant with the magician¡¯s constant urging. After all, there¡¯s no harm in being careful and vignt. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I really don¡¯t feel too well.¡± Noticing how adamant An Xiaoning was, the magician had no choice but to say, ¡°Since thisdy here refuses to do me the honor...¡± He then proceeded to select the wife of a wealthy businessman. On the way home after the gathering ended, An Xiaoning told Jin Qingyan about the incident in the elevator. ¡°Why did you wait ¡¯til now to tell me?¡± Jin Qingyan asked worriedly. ¡°If I told you there and then, you¡¯d definitely take me away immediately.¡± Jin Qingyan wrapped his hands tightly around hers and said, ¡°I knew something would happen tonight.¡± ¡°On top of that, I also think there was something fishy with the magic show. I was the first person he selected for the trick, and he even insisted twice despite my constant refusal. Of all people, he had to choose me. I don¡¯t believe the nonsensical reason that it¡¯s because I stand out most amongst the crowd appearance-wise.¡± ¡°It¡¯s good to be on your guard at all times when you¡¯re on someone else¡¯s territory. Regarding the elevator incident and Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s nonchnt attitude, don¡¯t you find that the clues point to a certain person?¡± ¡°You mean Xu Youran?¡± ¡°That¡¯s an easy guess. Usually, wealthy families like the Xus would definitely enforce regr maintenance for the elevators. Why would a fault ur? In order to control the elevator operations, the person must be someone of authority within the Xu family. She¡¯s the only person who fits that description and is closely rted to Chi Rui¡¯er.¡± Jin Qingyan added, ¡°But why is Xu Youran targeting you? Chi Rui¡¯er may be at odds with you, but it doesn¡¯t make sense for Xu Youran to do that just so she could help her close friend out.¡± ¡°Unless, it¡¯s Xu Youran¡¯s intentions to attack me,¡± An Xiaoning deduced. ¡°I¡¯ll get Shixin to do a detailed investigation on this Xu Youran when we¡¯re home.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡ª Jin Qingyue returned home with Jin Bao¡¯er after having dinner outside. Just as she arrived at the entrance in her car, her path was obstructed by a figure. She took a look and realized that it was Shi Shaochuan. Pangs of panic engulfed Jin Qingyue, who then immediately called her bodyguards toe out and take him away. Standing in front of her car, Shi Shaochuan stared at them and said, ¡°Long time no see, Yueyue. Aren¡¯t you going to introduce me to our daughter?¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t need to know who you are. Scram.¡± Shi Shaochuan looked at Jin Bao¡¯er and said, ¡°I¡¯m your biological father, get out of the car, quick.¡± Upon hearing his words, Jin Bao¡¯er turned to face her mother and asked, ¡°Is what he said true, Mommy? Is he really my father?¡± ¡°No,¡± Jin Qingyue denied right away. ¡°Jin Qingyue, don¡¯t you feel ashamed lying to your child at all? If I¡¯m not her father, who is?¡± The gate opened slowly and out came a few bodyguards. Upon sight of Shi Shaochuan, they immediately pinned him down onto the ground and dragged him away while Jin Qingyue frantically drove past the gate. Her heart began to palpitate vigorously. She was afraid that Shi Shaochuan would snatch her child away. Extremely afraid. She was the one who gave birth to the child and raised her single-handedly. Shi Shaochuan had never once done his part as a father. She was not worried about the issue of the custody, but rather, she feared that he would resort to underhanded means and dirty tricks to take the child away. ¡°Mommy, so is he my father or not?¡± ¡°No! Haven¡¯t I already said so? Why do you keep asking?¡± Jin Bao¡¯er dared not utter another word for she had never seen her mother so exasperated before. The pair of mother and daughter alighted from the car, after which Jin Qingyue instructed the servant to bring Jin Bao¡¯er upstairs for a shower and tuck her in bed. She then sat alone on the couch, unable to recover from the shock. The mere sight of him had caused her to be beyond flustered. A whileter, the bodyguard entered and reported, ¡°Missy, he¡¯s gone.¡± ¡°Alright, keep a lookout in the future. Chase him away immediately once you see him loitering around the entrance.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Jin Qingyue saw a glimmer of hope in her life at the thought of An Xiaoning¡¯s prediction of her meeting her future husband in the uing month. She was determined to treasure the opportunity when it arrives. Although there was indeed a trace from her past, she would not dwell on it on purpose. Besides, she still had a long way ahead of her in life and she ought to be looking forward to the future. ¡ª As soon as Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning arrived home, they instructed Fan Shixin to do a thorough check on Xu Youran. Soon after, Jin Qingyan received a call from his secretary and thus had no choice but to leave the house again at such ate hour. An Xiaoning did not know what happened since they had always had a tacit agreement to not interfere in his matters unless he chooses to tell her about it himself. A silence filled the living room. Auntie Chen came out of the kitchen and asked smilingly, ¡°Ms. An, would you like to have dinner?¡± ¡°I only had some drinks at the Xu family home. I didn¡¯t have anything to eat and my stomach is rumbling now. Auntie Chen, I¡¯d like to have some rice.¡± ¡°Alright, please hold on while I prepare it for you right away.¡± ¡°Where are the three children?¡± ¡°They¡¯re upstairs.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll go upstairs to have a look. Please call me when dinner¡¯s ready.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Auntie Chen responded. An Xiaoning made her way upstairs in her home slippers. Before she even reached the room, she could hear the sounds of their chatteringing from inside. She pushed the door of the master bedroom open, only to be greeted with a horrifying sight. The three children had blown balloons out of some condoms and ced them on the bed. ¡°What are you guys doing?¡± An Xiaoning asked in astonishment. ¡°Mommy, we¡¯re having a contest. There are so many balloons in the closet. Look, we blew all of these,¡± An Youqing eximed excitedly while pointing towards the finished products on the bed. ¡°...¡± Not knowing whether tough or cry, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough. You guys still have school tomorrow. Go back to your rooms to sleep.¡± ¡°Mommy, I¡¯d like to sleep with you again tonight,¡± An Youqing said earnestly. ¡°Your Daddy went out to attend to some matters at the office. I don¡¯t know what time he¡¯ll return. It won¡¯t be good for you to sleep here, so be good and go back to your room to sleep, okay?¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Youqing then took the lead and exited the room with the other two children. An Xiaoning deted the balloons and disposed of them in the rubbish bin. She then changed into her pajamas andid on the bed. Her feet were sore and aching. That just shows that beautyes at a price. She would have to tolerate the pain if she wanted to don beautiful heels. After resting for a while, she was called downstairs for dinner by Auntie Chen. Dinner included a dish of fermented beancurd with chili sauce. Her absolute favorite. She paired it with rice and began eating. ¡°I just love the tasty meals you cook, Auntie Chen.¡± ¡°As long as you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯ll continue cooking for you and Young Sir for as long as I can, Ms. An,¡± Auntie Chen said smilingly. ¡°Sure.¡± An Xiaoning lowered her head and savored the food slowly. Half an hour had passed by the time she finished eating. She decided to take a walk in the yard to ease digestion. Realizing that Jin Qingyan had yet to return, she had no choice but to head upstairs and go to bed without him. She was rather fatigued. Her imagination began to run wild as soon as she closed her eyes. Although she was extremely exhausted, she simply could not fall asleep. Chapter 367 - Son, Im Your Father (21)

Chapter 367: Son, I¡¯m Your Father (21)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Just as she was about to fall asleep, she heard the door of the bedroom open, followed by the shuffling of footsteps. However, the lights were not switched on. Soon, she began to hear the familiar sound of clothes being taken off. He had returned. Jin Qingyanid down beside her and hugged her from behind while burying his head into her neck. An Xiaoning felt her breath quicken and decided to stop pretending to be asleep. She turned to her side to face him. ¡°Why are you home sote?¡± ¡°There was something urgent I had to attend to. It¡¯s all settled now. I¡¯ll be taking a day off tomorrow. We can enjoy a good night¡¯s sleep.¡± He greatly emphasized thest three words of his sentence. An Xiaoning remained silent while he forcefully pushed her head onto his arm. She could hear his heartbeat with her face pressed against his chest. They embraced each other tightly. Soon, they removed their clothes and cast their garments out of the duvet while pressing their bodies closely against each other. Jin Qingyan chuckled and said, ¡°Feels exceptionally great without the little imp around to disturb us tonight.¡± ¡°He wanted to sleep with us tonight but I didn¡¯t allow it.¡± ¡°You did the right thing,¡± he said, giving her a pinch on her nose. ¡°I was just afraid that you two would engage in a squabble again and end up keeping everyone awake.¡± He nibbled her gently before nting a passionate kiss on her lips. He held her in his arms and did not advance further than just kissing. ¡°You must be tired from a long day. I¡¯ll deal with you properly tomorrow.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m going to die if you keep wanting to do it every day.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a choice. me it on your alluring beauty. Everytime I¡¯m with you, I just feel like...¡± he paused his sentence. ¡°Feel like what?¡± Jin Qingyan whispered in her ear gently, ¡°Doing you.¡± What a in and crude answer. Feeling a little ufortable, An Xiaoning wiggled her body to ease into a morefortable position. ¡°Is it really that serious?¡± she asked. ¡°You know, if a man truly loves a woman, he would wish to conquer her.¡± ¡°Or he could also give her his unconditional love,¡± An Xiaoning disagreed. ¡°No man would give without ever thinking of reaping some returns. I know Gu Beicheng fancies you. He may seem all prim and proper, but men know other men best. He¡¯s definitely had fantasies about you.¡± ¡°How would you know if he¡¯s had any fantasies or not?¡± ¡°Like I said, men know other men best. I guess I¡¯ve been defeated by you for the rest of my life,¡± said Jin Qingyan, tapping the tip of her nose lightly. ¡°Why? Are you unwilling to be?¡± asked An Xiaoning as she raised her chin. ¡°Of course I¡¯m willing. I, your man, am more than satisfied to be with you, such that I want to spend every second of my life with you.¡± An Xiaoning put her arms around his neck and snuggled into his embrace. ¡°Me too. If anyone dares to trying in between us in the future, we have to work together to annihte them.¡± ¡°Yes, Honey.¡± ¡ª An Youqing woke up at six o¡¯clock in the morning. Just as he was about to go downstairs after getting dressed and draping his backpack onto his shoulder, he overheard a peculiar conversation between his parents when he passed by their bedroom door. For example, Daddy: ¡°I love you.¡± Mommy: ¡°I love you too.¡± Daddy: ¡°Where do you love me?¡± Mommy: ¡°Everywhere.¡± Daddy: ¡°Then, would you like to spend the rest of your life together with me?¡± Mommy: ¡°Actually, I¡¯d like to marry you.¡± Daddy: ¡°I really want to marry you too, it¡¯s just that, I have a child.¡± Mommy: ¡°That¡¯s unfortunate. I have a child too.¡± Daddy: ¡°What are we supposed to do then? We can¡¯t stuff the child back inside the womb.¡± Mommy: ¡°Exactly, this is such a headache.¡± ... ... Standing outside the door, An Youqing could not tolerate what he was hearing any further. He took out the spare key and opened the door of their bedroom upon realizing that they were still engaged in a strange conversation. Craning his head through the crack to stare at them, he said, ¡°Daddy, Mommy, quit fooling around. It¡¯s time to wake up.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to bother about us. Uncle Shixin will take the three of you to school. Daddy doesn¡¯t have to go to work today,¡± said Jin Qingyan. An Youqing let out a long sigh and said, ¡°Society is so unfair. Why do I have to attend school when I¡¯m so young, yet you don¡¯t have to go to work although you¡¯re so old? How unprincipled.¡± ¡°Son, I¡¯m your father. How could you say that I¡¯m old?¡± ¡°What am I supposed to say otherwise?¡± ¡°You should say that Daddy is very young.¡± ¡°Are you as young as I am?¡± said An Youqing as he turned around to leave. ¡°...¡± After breakfast, Fan Shixin brought the three children to school. As soon as they entered, they were greeted with the delicate voice of a little girl. ¡°Youqing.¡± ¡°Yue Chan,¡± An Youqing greeted Yue Chan smilingly and walked towards her. ¡°Brother, who¡¯s that?¡± Long Xiaoxi asked Long Wenlun while tugging at his sleeve. ¡°She¡¯s Youqing¡¯s table mate.¡± ¡°I want to sit next to Brother Youqing too,¡± Long Xiaoxi said with pouted lips. ¡°That¡¯s impossible. You¡¯re in lower kindergarten while we¡¯re in upper. We¡¯re one grade apart. Well, unless you work hard to perform well academically and advance a grade. By then, we¡¯ll all be in first grade. We can get Daddy and Mommy to arrange you two to sit together. That¡¯s the only solution.¡± Stomping her feet on the ground, Long Xiaoximented, ¡°Ahh, that sounds reallyplicated.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯m going to ss now.¡± Long Xiaoxi quickly rushed forward to grab him and asked, ¡°Brother, when are Daddy and Mommy going toe home?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, they should be home soon though.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Long Xiaoxi let go of his hand and began walking towards her own ssroom. She was a little disgruntled about how happy her beloved Brother Youqing seemed to be with his table mate. Long Xiaoxi rested her head on the table with her legs dangling from the chair, which was too high for her petite stature. The curriculum for lower kindergarten was far less stressful than that for upper kindergarten. The first lesson for the day was an arts and crafts session led by the teacher. Once she was done with her piece, Long Xiaoxi took the chance to sneak out of the back door when the teacher was not looking. She treaded along the stairs to the window of the upper kindergarten ssroom. Due to the fact that she was too short, she could not reach high enough to peek inside the window. Moreover, the back door was locked. Thus, she had no choice but to lean against the back door and peek through the crack. She managed to catch a glimpse of An Youqing. Standing on tiptoes, Long Xiaoxi stared inside, only to find that her Brother Youqing was chatting and giggling merrily with his table partner. After staring for a long while, she decided to return to her own ssroom. For the rest of the morning, Long Xiaoxi was rather distracted during ss. During dismissal, she specially stood by the entrance of the kindergarten to wait for the rest of them. She was slightly annoyed to see An Youqing waving goodbye at Yue Chan enthusiastically. ¡°Brother Youqing.¡± ¡°Yes? What¡¯s the matter, Xiaoxi?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the name of your table mate?¡± Long Xiaoxi asked with a grin. ¡°Her name is Yue Chan.¡± ¡°Oh, what a nice name. She¡¯s very pretty too.¡± ¡°I thought so too,¡± An Youqing agreed, nodding. The smile on Long Xiaoxi immediately turned into a gloomy sulk. ¡°Do you think she¡¯s prettier than I am?¡± ¡°Um...¡± An Youqing was put in a spot as he found the both of them to be equally pretty. ¡°Answer me, quick.¡± ¡°Of course... Yue Chan is prettier.¡± Long Xiaoxi¡¯s eyes widened in shock as a frown formed on her forehead. ¡°Hmph, I¡¯m going to ignore you from now on, Brother Youqing!¡± she eximed in annoyance. Noticing that she stormed off in anger, An Youqing quickly shouted, ¡°Hey, I¡¯m just joking!¡± Chapter 368 - No One Is Allowed to Bully Her Except Me (1)

Chapter 368: No One Is Allowed to Bully Her Except Me (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios During noontime, Jin Qingyan was basking in the sun whileying on the sun bed in the yard when Fan Shixin approached him with the investigation results. ¡°ording to the investigation, we discovered that Xu Youran grew up overseas and only returned in the recent years. But, she¡¯s unemployed and has been idling at home most of the time. She even got engaged to Gu Dongcheng recently, and they¡¯re about to get married soon.¡± Jin Qingyan opened his eyes and asked, ¡°Did you find out why she bears a grudge against us?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°That¡¯s very strange then,¡± said Jin Qingyan as he sat up straight. ¡°Young Sir, why do you want to check up on Xu Youran?¡± ¡°Nothing. Keep close tabs on Chi Rui¡¯er and Xu Youran at all times and report to me every day. Remember, do not let them find out that you¡¯re watching them.¡± ¡°Got it,¡± Fan Shixin acknowledged with a nod. Jin Qingyan took a look at the time on his wristwatch and stood up to go back inside the house. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll make my way there now,¡± An Xiaoning said over the phone before ending the call upon seeing that he had entered. ¡°I need to go out for a while.¡± ¡°What for?¡± ¡°I have to make a trip back home. My mother said she¡¯s not feeling too well. She went to the hospital for a checkup, but the doctors didn¡¯t find anything wrong with her. She just mentioned that she was feeling exceptionally ill at ease. She¡¯d like me to have a look at her and see if she¡¯s encountered any spirits.¡± ¡°Let me send you there.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. Send the children to schoolter. I¡¯ll be back very soon,¡± An Xiaoning refuted. ¡°Alright, drive safe then.¡± An Xiaoning tiptoed to give him a peck on his cheek before hurrying out of the door. After parking her car outside the entrance of the Gu family mansion, An Xiaoning quickly alighted with her purse in hand. ¡°You¡¯re back, Missy.¡± The guard at the door greeted her politely. ¡°Yes.¡± An Xiaoning quickened her pace and strode towards the main door. Just as she took a few steps, she stopped in her tracks all of a sudden and looked towards the south. Holding her breath, she steered away from her intended route and began walking towards the south slowly. She arrived at the Gu family ancestral hall. An Xiaoning took a thorough look inside the hall before making her way back to the living room. Leaning against the bedhead, Mrs. Gu clutched her chest in extreme difort. At this very moment, she felt as if she was on the brink of death. ¡°Is Xiaoning home yet?¡± The servant quickly strode towards the balcony to take a look before answering, ¡°Madam, Missy is home. She¡¯s walking in now.¡± A smile of relief formed on Mrs. Gu¡¯s face as she dismissed the servant, ¡°You may go out first.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± A minuteter, An Xiaoning arrived at the door of Mrs. Gu¡¯s bedroom. ¡°Mother.¡± ¡°Xiaoning, I feel a nagging ache in my chest, as if a million needles are piercing right through me. I just went to the hospital for an X-ray and a checkup, but the doctors said I was perfectly fine.¡± An Xiaoning sat down by the side of the bed and took a closer look at the spot Mrs. Gu was pointing at. With a grim expression on her face, she asked, ¡°Who¡¯s in charge of keeping the keys to our family¡¯s ancestral hall?¡± ¡°The keys are with your father, but he went hiking early in the morning and has yet to return home. I can¡¯t reach him on his mobile phone either.¡± An Xiaoning retrieved an amulet from her purse and said, ¡°I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯ll work for the time being, but let¡¯s just give it a try first.¡± Keeping her eyes fixed on the amulet, An Xiaoning began chanting a long spell before cing the amulet onto Mrs. Gu¡¯s chest. ¡°It works, it doesn¡¯t hurt as much anymore,¡± Mrs. Gu said with a joyous smile. ¡°When I entered through the gate just now, I felt something unusual in our home in the direction of the ancestral hall. So, when Fatheres home, let¡¯s open the door of the ancestral hall. I¡¯d like to go in to have a look. By the way, Mother, has anyone entered the ancestral hall recently?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not too sure about that. Ask your father when he¡¯s back.¡± Holding her hand, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°How do you feel now?¡± ¡°Much better. The pain was unbearable before you came back,¡± Mrs. Gu answered, nodding. ¡°Have you called Beicheng?¡± ¡°Not yet.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll call him.¡± An Xiaoning whipped her phone out and gave Gu Beicheng a call. Mr. Gu had yet to return home by the time Gu Beicheng was back. ¡°Mother, where does Father usually hike at?¡± ¡°He often goes to the Nanshan Mountain.¡± An Xiaoning turned to Gu Beicheng and said, ¡°Go to Nanshan Mountain and look for Father.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Gu Beicheng agreed and quickly set off. One hourter, they were still not home yet. An Xiaoning called Gu Beicheng again, only to hear that he did not manage to find Mr. Gu at Nanshan Mountain despite searching for a long time. He had gone missing during hiking. An Xiaoning began to sense something amiss. How could it be so coincidental? she thought to herself. ¡°Mother, I¡¯ll drive there to help search for them.¡± ¡°Alright, go ahead.¡± An Xiaoning quickly drove towards Nanshan Mountain. After meeting up with Gu Beicheng, the two of them proceeded to search the different paths on the mountain, but to no avail. Mr. Gu could not be reached on his mobile phone and was nowhere in sight. Gu Beicheng¡¯sst resort was to call Mr. Gu¡¯s close friend, after which he discovered that Mr. Gu was currently having a game of chess over tea with that close friend. Upon hearing that his son was looking for him, Mr. Gu responded by saying that he would go home at once. Mr. Gu was already home by the time the two of them returned. ¡°My mobile phone was out of battery. I¡¯ll charge it fully before going out next time,¡± said Mr. Gu, who was rather guilty after realizing that his son had had a hard time searching high and low for him. ¡°Father, where are the keys to the ancestral hall?¡± asked An Xiaoning. ¡°Here.¡± Mr. Gu retrieved a bunch of keys from his pocket and handed it to An Xiaoning. ¡°Father, has anyone asked you for the keys to enter the ancestral hall recently?¡± she asked. ¡°Yes, Dongcheng asked for them oncest week.¡± An Xiaoning immediately understood the situation. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go to the ancestral hall to have a look.¡± Mrs. Gu had initially wanted to tag along. However, Mr. Gu refused to let her do so. ¡°Don¡¯t get out of bed yet. Wait for us, we¡¯ll be back soon.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to go have a look too,¡± Mrs. Gu insisted. ¡°Let¡¯s allow Mother toe along since she wants to,¡± said An Xiaoning as she helped Mrs. Gu up. The four of them proceeded to the ancestral hall together with the servants. However, the pain in Mrs. Gu¡¯s chest would intensify with each step they took. ¡°Hold her,¡± Gu Beicheng instructed the servant. Mrs. Gu stopped in her tracks. Mr. Gu¡¯s palms began to sweat as he found the entire situation too absurd and unbelievable. Pangs of panic engulfed Mr. Gu, who chose to walk inst. Upon arriving at the entrance of the ancestral hall, An Xiaoning opened the door with the key. She pushed the doors forcefully, causing them to m open with a loud thud. They were greeted with a strong, chilly breeze. She took the lead and began walking inside the hall. Gu Beicheng walked beside her while Mr. Gu followed closely behind. The ancestral hall was filled with the tablets of all the ancestors of the Gu family. An Xiaoning reached out to bring the joss urn down from the altar and exited the hall while carrying it in her arms. Under the bright rays of the sun, An Xiaoning flipped the urn upside down, causing the incense ashes to be scattered onto the ground. All of a sudden, a small piece of bone appeared among the ashes. ¡°What¡¯s that...?¡± Gu Beicheng said with a squint. ¡°It must be the remains of an animal or a human,¡± said An Xiaoning. She took out a square piece of yellow-colored paper from her purse, followed by a red ink pen. She kneeled on the ground and began drawing an amulet on the piece of paper before pasting it onto the bone. All of a sudden, the amulet began burning by itself with a crackling sound and turned into ashes. The initial piece of bone immediately vanished out of sight. If they had not witnessed it with their own eyes, Gu Beicheng and Mr. Gu would have never believed that a piece of bone could be turned into ashes by an amulet. Chapter 369 - No One Is Allowed to Bully Her Except Me (2)

Chapter 369: No One Is Allowed to Bully Her Except Me (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Get the servants to clean up the pile of ashes,¡± An Xiaoning instructed as she handed the joss urn to Gu Beicheng. ¡°Xiaoning... it doesn¡¯t hurt anymore,¡± said Mrs. Gu, who strode towards her quickly. An Xiaoning nodded and held onto Mrs. Gu¡¯s arm before turning around to tell Mr. Gu and Gu Beicheng, ¡°I have something to tell you guyster when we return inside the house.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning and Mrs. Gu first went back to the bedroom. An Xiaoning sat down by the side of the bed and asked Mrs. Gu if she was feeling any difort in other parts of her body, to which Mrs. Gu answered with a no. ¡°Mother, does Elder Brother know when your birthday is?¡± Mrs. Gu nodded and answered, ¡°Yes, he even asked specifically for the exact timing of my birth. But, I didn¡¯t tell him since I thought I shouldn¡¯t give away these details so casually.¡± ¡°Actually, it would work even if you didn¡¯t tell him the exact timing. After all, no one shares the same birthday as you in this household.¡± An Xiaoning was not sure if it was Gu Dongcheng or Xu Youran who was behind the act, or if they ganged up and did it together. Thus, it was a rather thorny situation. Gu Beicheng and Mr. Gu entered, after which they locked the door from inside. ¡°I¡¯m guessing that that piece of bone must be from a human. There shouldn¡¯t be such a vigorous reaction if it were from an animal. At least the only thing we can confirm for now is that the culprit must be either Elder Brother or Xu Youran. They could¡¯ve both done it together too. It can¡¯t be anyone else,¡± An Xiaoning deduced. ¡°Xu Youran?¡± Mrs. Gu asked in puzzlement. An Xiaoning nodded before exining, ¡°Last evening, we went to attend the business gathering held at the Xu family mansion. While I was in the elevator, it suddenly went out of order. It didn¡¯t seem like a random urrence. Instead, I felt like someone had caused it to happen intentionally. Chi Rui¡¯er was also present in the elevator at the time, and I had a hunch that she was trying to harm me, but her n failed to fall through. From now onwards, just pretend that you guys don¡¯t know about what happened at the ancestral hall earlier. Make sure the servant who cleared the ashes remains tight-lipped, and also...¡± She paused. ¡°Mother, you have to pretend that your chest still hurts whenever you¡¯re in front of others.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± After some thought, Mrs. Gu said, ¡°I still think Dongcheng was the one behind it.¡± ¡°Whoever the culprit may be, the truth will be out in due time. His fiancee is definitely not one to be underestimated. We can only maintain the status quo for now. We¡¯ll discuss everything together if there are any sudden changes.¡± An Xiaoning then took a look at the time and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be taking my leave first.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Thank Heavens for Xiaoning, otherwise I wouldn¡¯t have known what to do,¡± said Mrs. Gu, whose heart was still fluttering with fear. ¡°Mother, have a good rest. I¡¯ll be heading to the office now,¡± said Gu Beicheng. ¡°Alright, drive safe.¡± Gu Beicheng left the house and saw that An Xiaoning had yet to get into her car. He then quickly stopped her in her tracks, ¡°Have you eaten?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Shall we... have a meal together?¡± he asked with raised brows. An Xiaoning chuckled and agreed, ¡°Sure, let¡¯s go. You lead the way.¡± Gu Beicheng walked past her car and got into his. He began driving and led the way while An Xiaoning followed closely behind. It had been a long time since they had a meal together outside of home. They sat down facing each other while Gu Beicheng ordered some of her favorite dishes. ¡°When are you nning to get married?¡± asked Gu Beicheng. ¡°I should be asking you that,¡± An Xiaoning answered smilingly. ¡°Why would you ask me that? I¡¯m a lonely bachelor who doesn¡¯t even have a girlfriend. There¡¯s still a long way to go before I get married, unlike you. You¡¯ve found the right person, and all the odds are in your favor. All you need is to say yes,¡± he said with a shrug. ¡°I actually have a fear of marriage. I don¡¯t know why, but I feel morefortable and carefree with the way I¡¯m living now. Maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯ve gotten married too many times. This would be my third marriage if I were to get married again,¡± An Xiaoning said truthfully. ¡°Meanwhile, I¡¯ve never even been married once.¡± ¡°Hurry and look for a wife then. You can¡¯t keep expecting girls to take the initiative and court you first. You have to open the windows to your heart, only then can Cupid strike you with his love arrow,¡± An Xiaoning said with a smile. ¡°Let¡¯s not bring up such unhappy matters. How do you think I¡¯m getting along with Elder Brother?¡± Pursing her lips, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you know that better than I do?¡± ¡°Indeed, no matter how harmonious we may seem on the surface, there¡¯ll always be hidden thoughts we keep only to ourselves. After all, we¡¯re half-brothers who don¡¯t share the same mother. I reckon Elder Brother must be getting impatient and eager to marry Xu Youran. Well, because marrying her would bring him a great deal of benefits,¡± said Gu Beicheng, cing both his hands under his chin. ¡°Maybe they¡¯re just using each other,¡± An Xiaoning remarked casually. ¡°Perhaps so. They¡¯re already in their thirties and no longer young and reckless teenagers. They must¡¯ve weighed the pros and cons carefully before deciding to get married,¡± said an unsurprised Gu Beicheng. The dishes were served one by one. Gu Beicheng put on a pair of disposable gloves and began peeling some prawns. Helping herself to the food with a pair of chopsticks in hand, An Xiaoning said, ¡°I¡¯ve never dined at this restaurant before. You seem like youe here pretty often, though.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve dined at almost every renowned restaurant in the city.¡± ¡°I have a nickname for you.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± he asked, handing her a peeled prawn. An Xiaoning sped the prawn with her chopsticks and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to peel the prawns for me. Save the peeled ones for yourself. I can peel them myself.¡± ¡°I¡¯m asking you, what¡¯s the nickname you gave me?¡± ¡°Little Glutton.¡± ¡°Haha, you¡¯re right,¡± Gu Beicheng agreed as he burst intoughter. They had an enjoyable dinner, during which they cracked jokes with each other and chatted merrily. By the time she returned home, the children had already gone to school while Jin Qingyan was ying basketball with Fan Shixin. Under the bright sun, An Xiaoning squinted to look at the two of them, who had athletic figures, and walked towards them while carrying her purse. She sat on a chair to watch their game, which ended when Jin Qingyan emerged victorious. Holding a towel in hand, Jin Qingyan walked towards her and asked, ¡°How did it go?¡± ¡°It¡¯s settled. I didn¡¯t sleep wellst night, I¡¯d like to go take a nap,¡± said An Xiaoning as she stifled a yawn. ¡°Let me apany you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, I won¡¯t be able to sleep with you around.¡± He chuckled and said, ¡°Go ahead, I¡¯ll y with Shixin for a while more.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡ª Chi Rui¡¯er walked into the gynecologist¡¯s office with her ultrasound scan report. Due to the fact that her period was exceptionally heavy all of a sudden, she hurriedly rushed to the hospital without even having lunch. However, the gynecologist would only be in at two o¡¯clock. Thus, she had no choice but to wait patiently for the gynecologist to report to work. ¡°Here, Doctor.¡± The middle-aged female gynecologist took a look at her report before turning to face her. ¡°Are you 29 years old this year?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± ¡°You¡¯re suffering from a severe case of cervical erosion. It¡¯s not quite shown clearly in the scans, but ording to your description, the unusually heavy blood flow is a sign of an abnormality. So, we¡¯re now going to perform a dtion and curettage surgery to stop the bleeding first before conducting a cervical biopsy on the tissue that is to be scraped off during the surgery.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er asked in fear and bewilderment. ¡°It means we¡¯re going to check for cancerous cells in your uterine lining and cervix,¡± the gynecologist exined while scribbling on a receipt, which she then handed to Chi Rui¡¯er. ¡°Please make payment outside beforeing back for the surgery.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er grabbed the receipt and felt like she was at a loss for what to do. She turned around to make her payment outside, overwhelmed with nervousness and anxiety throughout. I¡¯m still so young. I¡¯ve yet to even hit the big 30. I¡¯m not going to get cancer , she attempted tofort herself silently in her head. After paying up, she entered thebor ward where she removed her pants andid onto the hospital bed. ¡°Is it going to hurt a lot?¡± ¡°No, because I¡¯ve given you a shot of anesthesia,¡± the doctor exined. Chi Rui¡¯er felt a slight sense of relief, though her tension had yet to easen up. She grabbed onto the sides of the bed tightly. Chapter 370 - No One Is Allowed to Bully Her Except Me (3)

Chapter 370: No One Is Allowed to Bully Her Except Me (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When the doctor began operating on her, Chi Rui¡¯er clenched her fists and jaw tightly in nervousness and pain. The pain was more unbearable than she had imagined. Chi Rui¡¯er was trembling uncontrobly on the operating table throughout the minor surgery, whichsted only a few minutes. She became feeble and weak due to excessive blood loss. ¡°If you don¡¯t think you can walk now, you may rest for half an hour before getting up.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, I can walk.¡± ¡°The results will be out in four to five days. Do leave your contact number behind. We¡¯ll call you once they¡¯re out.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er left the hospital looking as pale as a sheet and returned home. Noticing how sickly she looked, Mrs. Chi asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you?¡± ¡°My period is here. It¡¯s a little too heavy this month.¡± ¡°You have to nourish yourself properly then. I¡¯ll go to the marketter to buy some ingredients that are good for replenishing your blood,¡± said Mrs. Chi. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go rest on my bed,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er returned to her room andid down on the bed immediately. She did not want her mother to be worried; thus, she did not tell her about the dtion and curettage surgery she had just undergone. Her mother used to be and still was her only kin in the world. She was almost thirty years old, yet she had aplished nothing except a pathetic life. Chi Rui¡¯er prayed that the results of the checkup would show that she¡¯s all clear. All of a sudden, her phone began to ring. She picked it up from the table to take a look and realized that it was Xu Youran who called. She did not quite feel like picking up. However, she still swiped to answer nheless. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you answer when I called you at two o¡¯clock?¡± ¡°I was having a checkup at the hospital. Do you have any orders for me?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er asked. ¡°It¡¯s been too long. I decided I¡¯m going to start exposing your rtionship with the old fogey.¡± ¡°Are you really going to do it?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er asked nervously. ¡°Yes, so you¡¯d better prepare yourself. There are going to be a ton of photos being leaked to the public.¡± ¡°Actually, I¡¯d like to ask you a question.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Why do you want to do this? Do you and the Jin family...¡± ¡°That¡¯s not something you should be asking about or poking your nose into. Just do as I instructed. Don¡¯t forget, I¡¯m your savior,¡± Xu Youran said coldly. ¡°Could you not expose it?¡± ¡°No. My decision is final,¡± Xu Youran said firmly. ¡°But it¡¯ll be a huge blow to my mother when she finds out. She¡¯s always been in the dark about my rtionship with him.¡± ¡°What has your mother¡¯s reaction got to do with me? You¡¯d better send your mother abroad or a secluded ce where technology is scarce. Otherwise, I don¡¯t care what consequences there may be.¡± Grabbing her phone tightly, Chi Rui¡¯er answered, ¡°It¡¯s up to you. I¡¯m hanging up.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er was filled with panic and fear the moment she put down her phone. She could not fathom why such fear arose within her. ¡ª ¡°Godma, when are my parentsing back?¡± Long Xiaoxi asked whileying on An Xiaoning¡¯sp. ¡°I don¡¯t know either. Shall I give them a call?¡± ¡°Yes, yes, yes,¡± Long Xiaoxi agreed profusely as she sat up straight. An Xiaoning then called Mei Yangyang, who answered the phone very quickly. ¡°Yangyang, how are things on your side?¡± ¡°Great, we¡¯re enjoying ourselves. By the way, are they causing a nuisance at your home?¡± ¡°Not at all, they¡¯re very obedient. Xiaoxi is next to me right now. Would you like to speak to her?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Here, it¡¯s your mother on the line,¡± said An Xiaoning as she ced her mobile phone into Long Xiaoxi¡¯s hand. Long Xiaoxi ced the phone beside her ear and answered, ¡°Mommy.¡± ¡°Have you been obedient at home?¡± ¡°Yes I have. Mommy, when are youing back? Brother and I miss you already.¡± Mei Yangyang could not stop grinning upon hearing her daughter¡¯s sweet words. ¡°Mommy misses you guys too. We¡¯ll be home very soon. I¡¯ll be bringing you guys lots of presents.¡± ¡°Yay, that¡¯s awesome. Come home quick, Mommy.¡± ¡°Okay, I will definitely be back soon. Be patient and wait a little while more, alright?¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Long Xiaoxi handed the phone back to An Xiaoning. ¡°Godma, your turn to speak.¡± Long Xiaoxi then got off the couch and ran upstairs. She pushed the door of An Youqing¡¯s bedroom open gently, only to find that he was sitting by his desk and doing his homework. She decided not to enter and instead returned to her bedroom and sat on her bed without uttering a single word. ¡°Xiaoxi, do you want to do some homework?¡± ¡°No, what is homework? Can I eat it?¡± she refuted, sounding extremely frustrated. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Long Wenlun turned around and continued to do his homework. ¡°Brother, do you think I¡¯m pretty?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°In your eyes, am I the prettiest girl in the world other than Mommy?¡± ¡°Yes, you are,¡± Long Wenlun said without hesitation, as if he had already memorized his answer. ¡°Why doesn¡¯t Brother Youqing think I¡¯m pretty then?¡± After some thought, Long Wenlun answered, ¡°You actually still remember? He¡¯s just kidding.¡± Long Xiaoxi kicked her slippers off her feet and crawled under her duvet in bed, not uttering a single word. After finishing his homework, An Youqing entered their room in a bid to ask them to y. ¡°Has Xiaoxi fallen asleep?¡± asked An Youqing. ¡°She¡¯s still angry with you.¡± ¡°Why is she angry?¡± An Youqing asked in puzzlement, clearly having forgotten the incident. Long Xiaoxi grew angrier upon hearing his answer and purposely turned her body to the side under the duvet. ¡°You said that your table mate was prettier than Xiaoxi,¡± Long Wenlun said to remind him of what happened. ¡°I was just joking,¡± An Youqing exined. ¡°But she took it for real.¡± An Youqing inched closer to Long Xiaoxi and lifted the duvet to speak to her. ¡°Xiaoxi, shall we y together?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Alright. Wenlun, let¡¯s go outside to y.¡± ¡°Okay, give me a minute, I¡¯m almost done,¡± said Long Wenlun as he quicklypleted his homework. Long Xiaoxi clutched her duvet tightly in anger while remaining silent. Once Long Wenlun was done with his homework, he switched off the lights and left the room together with An Youqing. Long Xiaoxi sat up and attempted to get down from the bed. However, she missed her step and fell straight to the ground andnded on her buttocks. The sudden impact and pain caused her to burst into tears. She stood back up on her feet and quickly made her way downstairs. ¡°Godma, where did Brother go?¡± she asked. ¡°He went outside. He should be in the courtyard,¡± said An Xiaoning. Long Xiaoxi quickly ran outside, only to find that there was no one around. She continued to search for them to no avail. Thus, she had no choice but to return inside. While sitting on the bed, she burst into tears all of a sudden at the thought of how aggrieved she felt. Soon, she heard footsteps approaching, after which the door opened. ¡°I know you girls love flowers. Here¡¯s some for you. Don¡¯t be angry anymore,¡± An Youqing said in apology, handing her a bunch of fresh flowers he had just picked. Long Xiaoxi stopped crying and burst into smiles at the sight of the flowers. She reached out to grab them and took a sniff of the petals. ¡°They smell so pleasant.¡± ¡°Do you like them?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Long Xiaoxi ced the flowers aside and inched forward to put her arms around his shoulder. ¡°Brother Youqing, you¡¯re the most handsome person in my eyes. I should be the prettiest to you too.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Xiaoxi, didn¡¯t you say that I was the most handsome in your eyes and that our Daddy is second to me? Why is it not the case now?¡± questioned a disgruntled Long Wenlun. ¡°You¡¯re now in second ce while Daddy is in third ce. Brother Youqing is the most handsome.¡± Chapter 371 - No One Is Allowed to Bully Her Except Me (4)

Chapter 371: No One Is Allowed to Bully Her Except Me (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I knew it, sisters are never trustworthy,¡± Long Wenlunmented with a look of disappointment in his eyes. Long Xiaoxi ignored his silly tantrum and said to An Youqing softly, ¡°Brother Youqing, I¡¯ll sleep with you tonight.¡± Long Xiaoxi hugged An Youqing tightly while wrapping her legs around his body like a ko. Although he was much taller than her, he still found it rather challenging to support her weight. However, An Youqing continued to carry her with all his might. ¡°Xiaoxi, I¡¯d like to go back to my room to sleep.¡± ¡°Brother Youqing, I want to go with you...¡± ¡°Xiaoxi!¡± Long Wenlun snapped angrily. Noticing that her brother was getting upset, Long Xiaoxi had no choice but to get down and wave An Youqing goodbye. ¡°Goodnight, Brother Youqing.¡± ¡°Goodnight.¡± Long Wenlun waited for An Youqing to leave the room before locking the door from inside. He then began disciplining his sister on behalf of his parents. ¡°Mind you, you¡¯re a girl. Why don¡¯t you know how to stay reserved?¡± ¡°What does it mean to stay reserved, Brother?¡± ¡°It means... I don¡¯t know what it means, but it¡¯s what Mommy always says. Didn¡¯t Mommy tell you to keep an appropriate distance away from boys?¡± ¡°But, Mommy allowed me to sleep together with Brother Youqingst time!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª Just as Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning were about to go to bed at eight o¡¯clock in the evening, Fan Shixin came knocking on their door all of a sudden. ¡°Young Sir, bad news. Your father¡¯s rtionship with Chi Rui¡¯er has been exposed on the media. The news have even made it to the headlines. It seems like someone was behind this.¡± Jin Qingyan opened the door immediately and snatched the tablet from Fan Shixin¡¯s hands to peruse the news on the screen. Jin Qingyan was filled with immense rage. Although he had expected for there to be such a day, he did not expect it to arrive so soon. It was so soon and sudden that he did not even have enough time to prepare himself. An Xiaoning put on her home slippers and got out of bed to have a look. To her astonishment, the photos were extremely scandalous and graphic, though they were not exactly explicit. The matter would surely stir up amotion and cause a public uproar. The Jin Corporation would definitely see a plunge in stocks on the market the next morning. Jin Qingyan immediately gave Mr. Jin a call. Before he could even speak, Mr. Jin hurriedly exined, ¡°Rui¡¯er misced her phone. That¡¯s why those photos were leaked.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you understand what¡¯s going on? This entire matter was a plot nned by Chi Rui¡¯er and the person she¡¯s in cahoots with. That person could very likely be my half-sister from another mother!¡± ¡°How could Rui¡¯er possibly gang up with someone else to do something like that? She¡¯s only going to be publicly embarrassed when it goes out to the media,¡± Mr. Jin said in puzzlement, unable to process what was happening. ¡°Her being humiliated is nothingpared to your reputation being tarnished. The only thing we can do now is to send you to the hospital immediately. I¡¯ll contact the hospital to make the necessary arrangements. I¡¯ll hold a press conference to rify this matter tomorrow morning. When the reporters question you about this, choose to remain silent at all times. From now onwards, cut off all ties with Chi Rui¡¯er!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I should do that. Rui¡¯er is a victim herself.¡± ¡°I can only restrain you with my own ways then,¡± Jin Qingyan snapped, boiling with fury at how thick in the head his father was. Jin Qingyan ended the call and ordered Fan Shixin to take Mr. Jin to the hospital immediately and to guard him round the clock. He also confiscated Mr. Jin¡¯s mobile phone and cut off allmunication between him and the outside world. Noticing that Jin Qingyan was getting dressed, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°To look for Chi Rui¡¯er and have a talk.¡± ¡°Why are you looking for her? Let me go instead,¡± said An Xiaoning as she got dressed too. ¡°You?¡± Jin Qingyan asked in surprise. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll go instead. It¡¯s midnight now. You will definitely be exposed if you¡¯re seen looking her up at this time. The media will then fabricate stories and rumors. I know what you¡¯re nning to talk to her about anyway. I¡¯ll talk to her for you,¡± said An Xiaoning while putting on her clothes. ¡°Alright then, bring more bodyguards with you,¡± Jin Qingyan agreed, finding that she did make sense. ¡°It¡¯s okay, two are enough. We might attract unnecessary attention if I bring too many bodyguards.¡± After getting dressed, An Xiaoning headed to the washroom to wash up and put in some light makeup again before leaving the house while wearing a surgical mask. Xiao Huang was in charge of driving while An Xiaoning took the backseat as they made their way to Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s house. The night sky was in with no moon or visible stars. They parked the car in front of the entrance . The three of them then alighted from the car. An Xiaoning looked up at the window of Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s house to see that the lights were still on. They proceeded to knock on her door. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± Mrs. Chi opened the door, after which An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Is Chi Rui¡¯er home?¡± ¡°Yes, she¡¯s inside.¡± An Xiaoning walked past Mrs. Chi and began walking towards the room thetter was pointing at. She pushed the door open. Chi Rui¡¯er was leaning against the bed head when An Xiaoning entered, which greatly took aback the former. It was indeed surprising, since it should be Jin Qingyaning forth to question her instead. Chi Rui¡¯er knew clearly what An Xiaoning was there for. ¡°Mother, go back to your room first. I have something to talk to her about,¡± Chi Rui¡¯er instructed her mother. ¡°Alright.¡± Mrs. Chi then turned around to go back to her room. An Xiaoning instructed her bodyguards to wait outside the house while she went inside alone. She closed the door and walked towards Chi Rui¡¯er. ¡°You must know the reason why I¡¯m here.¡± ¡°I do. I shall be honest with you, I can¡¯t control what goes onto the media, and neither am I the one who leaked the news. I didn¡¯t want to be the spotlight of such scandalous news either.¡± ¡°Who was the one who did it then?¡± ¡°An Xiaoning, quit feigning ignorance. Are you sure you don¡¯t know who it is? My mother has cardiovascr disease. I hope you won¡¯t tell her about this. I¡¯ll be sending my mother to live in a remote area tomorrow, lest the news agitate her.¡± ¡°But, you know... most of the time, you¡¯d have to pressure someone to get the information you need out of them. I don¡¯t care about your mother¡¯s condition. She¡¯s not my mother anyway. I only know that your aplice has done some outrageous things that greatly infuriated my man. So... even if I already guessed who it is, can¡¯t I further confirm it?¡± An Xiaoning said with a sarcastic smile. Chi Rui¡¯er remained silent as she found herself stuck in a dilemma. Atst, a thought crossed her mind ¡ª if her mother could take the blow from finding out the matter between her and her stepfather, she should be able to stomach this too. ¡°Suit yourself. I won¡¯t be telling you the answer.¡± The smile on An Xiaoning¡¯s face disappeared as she threatened Chi Rui¡¯er, ¡°What if I kill your mother now? Will that make you change your mind?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er felt her heart skip a beat. ¡°An Xiaoning, would you actually dare to kill someone?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re capable of murder, why can¡¯t I be too? Chi Rui¡¯er, you¡¯d better give me an honest answer. Otherwise, I can¡¯t promise I won¡¯t do anything that you¡¯ll regret.¡± ¡°If I told you, would you help me? If I told you everything I know, would you defend me if the Xu Jingwen case undergoes investigation again?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er asked. ¡°You want to strike a deal with me? Do you think you actually deserve to?¡± An Xiaoning rebuked. ¡°An Xiaoning, I don¡¯t know if I deserve to or not. But, didn¡¯t you still have to sumb to your superior¡¯s orders when you were handling Xu Jingwen¡¯s case back then? The case was closed with no justifiable oue in the end, wasn¡¯t it? If others can abuse their authority to get what they want, why can¡¯t you do the same? To sum things up, you just don¡¯t possess such strong authority and power.¡± Chapter 372 - No One Is Allowed to Bully Her Except Me (5)

Chapter 372: No One Is Allowed to Bully Her Except Me (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Her words had hit the nail on the head. An Xiaoning would never stoop to making a deal with her. Otherwise, how would she be any different from Chi Rui¡¯er? ¡°I know it myself even if you don¡¯t tell me. I may not be as powerful or enjoy as much authority as the Xu family, but I highly doubt they¡¯d bother standing up for you if I were to kill your mother. After all, you and Xu Youran aren¡¯t actually close friends, are you?¡± An Xiaoning retorted. ¡°It¡¯s good that you know who the culprit is, you don¡¯t have to find out from me then. Your guess is right. I¡¯m merely a puppet of hers, though, and I¡¯d like to break free too,¡± said Chi Rui¡¯er. An Xiaoning knew what her words meant. ¡°Are you genuinely in love with Uncle?¡± ¡°I already said, I¡¯m only a puppet. I have standards when ites to men.¡± An Xiaoning stared at her and said, ¡°You¡¯d better watch out, you¡¯re on your own.¡± After the three left, Mrs. Chi closed the door and hurriedly rushed inside Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s room. ¡°What were they here for?¡± ¡°Nothing much. Mother, pack your belongings. I¡¯ll take you to live in the ce I buried Xu Jingwen tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°Why do I have to go there?¡± Mrs. Chi asked in puzzlement. After a moment of silence, Chi Rui¡¯er answered, ¡°Just stay there temporarily for a short while. I intend to buy a house overseas. We¡¯ll move abroad after some time. Let¡¯s go somewhere no one can find us and nevere back.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t we getting on well now?¡± ¡°Mother, I killed someone. If we don¡¯t go somewhere no one can find us, it¡¯s only a matter of time before I get arrested.¡± Mrs. Chi conceded, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go along with your n. It¡¯s your call. I¡¯ll go pack my belongings now.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er let out a long sigh and stared out of the window nkly, gued with woes of life. ¡ª Upon returning home, An Xiaoning removed her makeup and washed her face before sitting on the bed to talk to Jin Qingyan. ¡°From what Chi Rui¡¯er said, I¡¯m very certain that the mastermind is Xu Youran. Actually, it¡¯s pretty obvious that she¡¯s the one behind it. Chi Rui¡¯er clearly doesn¡¯t possess the capability toe up with such a plot and expose the matter widely across so many media tforms. Chi Rui¡¯er imed that she was just a puppet, and I have a feeling that Xu Youran was the one who saved Chi Rui¡¯er from being arrested for murdering Xu Jingwen. That¡¯s why...¡± An Xiaoning concluded. ¡°But the results of the investigation show that Xu Youran has no feud or rtion with our family. Why would she want to do that?¡± ¡°People are intelligent these days. Given the Xu family¡¯s wealth and status, how hard could it be to fabricate an identity and im that she had grown up overseas? I was just wondering why she looked so familiar. Don¡¯t you think she resembles you a little?¡± An Xiaoning prompted. ¡°Me?¡± asked Jin Qingyan, who was rather stunned by her remark. ¡°Yes. Oh, why don¡¯t you just bring that group photo of you guys when you were children to a studio and get a sketch of the predicted appearance of her older self based on the photo? Wouldn¡¯t everything be clearer then?¡± ¡°Oh right. Why didn¡¯t I think of that?¡± Jin Qingyan eximed agitatedly. ¡°If the simtion proves that it¡¯s not Xu Youran, then all the better. You may use the simted sketch to continue looking for your half-sister whom you¡¯ve been feeling guilty towards.¡± Jin Qingyan hugged her tightly and said, ¡°Indeed. Xiaoning, you¡¯ve really enlightened me.¡± He then hurriedly got out of bed and rushed to the study to get the photograph. After scrutinizing the photograph while in bed, they realized that Jin Qingyan¡¯s half-sister does look a little like Xu Youran, though there was not a clear or distinct resemnce. ¡°Now that I look at it, she really looks like your half-sister. I believe her motive for doing that to your father may be to seek revenge. Besides that, it will not only be your father who¡¯ll be her target, she will also try and get back at your mother.¡± Jin Qingyan found that An Xiaoning¡¯s conclusion did make a lot of sense. ¡°I¡¯ll bring the photo to an artist tomorrow and get him toe up with the sketch. If there¡¯s indeed a close resemnce, I¡¯ll then retrieve her hair samples to run a DNA test. The truth will be out by then.¡± Pursing her lips, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Don¡¯t you find that most of your anger has dissipated after we broke everything down?¡± Jin Qingyan gave her a kiss and said, ¡°All thanks to your brilliant idea. You¡¯re indeed the clever and virtuous wife I need.¡± Looking at him with her arms folded, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°What are Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s birth characters?¡± ¡°1st of January XXXX, four o¡¯clock in the morning.¡± ¡°You actually still remember so clearly?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be mistaken, it just left a strong impression in my mind,¡± Jin Qingyan frantically exined. ¡°I¡¯m joking. Do I seem like such a petty person? Her health is going to deteriorate constantly, perhaps because she has done too much evil,¡± An Xiaoning said casually whileying t on her back and staring at the ceiling above. ¡°What will be the cause of her death?¡± ¡°Skull fracture.¡± ¡°A skull fracture? That usually happens due to a head injury,¡± Jin Qingyan asked. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± ¡°May I ask when she¡¯s going to die?¡± ¡°She will die when her timees,¡± said An Xiaoning, unwilling to disclose the answer. Jin Qingyanid atop her and asked, ¡°Why do I feel like you sound a tad bit too serious?¡± ¡°I just feel that life is short and one may only die without regrets if he or she doesn¡¯t live life in vain and instead upies their time by doing things they find meaningful.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let you live with no regrets tonight, alright?¡± he teased with an evil smirk. ¡°Again?¡± ¡°Yes, again.¡± ¡°If you die from excessive ejaction, I¡¯d be too embarrassed to say that I was the cause of your death, should others ask about it.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be. What¡¯s there to be embarrassed about? You should feel glorious and proud that a man died for you. Think about it, how few women can achieve such an amazing feat?¡± Jin Qingyan joked with augh. ¡°That¡¯s enough. Get to work if you want to. Why do you have so much rubbish to say?¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll get to... doing you right away.¡± ¡°...¡± The day after, Mr. Jin was admitted to the hospital in the middle of the night due to being severely agitated by the scandalous news that were spreading like wildfire. Jin Qingyan hurriedly called for an urgent press conference to address the situation. During the press conference, the reporters and journalists rapidly bombarded him with crude and straightforward questions, such as, ¡°Mr. Jin, your father¡¯s face can be seen clearly in the photographs, yet you¡¯re still so insistent on denying it. Are you trying to pull public rtions yourself?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but there are many people who look alike out there. We¡¯ve already verified that the photos are merely a hoax and have been retouched and photoshopped,¡± Jin Qingyan answered with a straight face, remaining unfazed. Another reporter then asked again, ¡°Mr. Jin, may I then ask if the senior Mr. Jin has been admitted to the hospital because of an overwhelming shock or because of other reasons?¡± Keeping his eyes fixed on that reporter, Jin Qingyan answered, ¡°My father is getting on in his years, he can¡¯t deal with such absurd and sudden usations. Touch your hearts and ask yourself, is it really appropriate of you guys to treat an elderly man by sparking rumors and spreading false news before even finding out the truth?¡± ¡°...¡± Jin Qingyan answered every question posed to him during the interviews at the press conference, regardless of how crafty and crude they may be. The press conference soon ended. Jin Qingyan, too, believed that the matter would blow over very soon. He felt as if a weight had been lifted off his chest. At the same time that he heaved a sigh of relief, someone else was extremely furious and displeased after watching the press conference. It was none other than Xu Youran. ¡°I thought the Jin Corporation stocks would take a tremendous plunge in the market today. I can¡¯t believe it didn¡¯t happen. How disappointing,¡± she scorned. Chapter 373 - No One Is Allowed to Bully Her Except Me (6)

Chapter 373: No One Is Allowed to Bully Her Except Me (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The man beside her answered, ¡°Missy, I reckon everyone will forget about this matter very soon. Once the situation blows over, your meticulous n and efforts can only go down the drain.¡± ¡°Yes, I know that, of course.¡± ¡°Missy, why don¡¯t you get Chi Rui¡¯er to take a high-definition photo together with that old fogey?¡± ¡°Dimwit. That old fogey is now admitted to the hospital. Jin Qingyan must be guarding him closely. Why would he even allow Chi Rui¡¯er to enter? But we can¡¯t wait ¡¯til the matter blows over to take action, I doubt we¡¯ll be able to garner any attention by then,¡± said Xu Youran. ¡°Well, then...¡± ¡°Pass me the phone.¡± The man then handed Xu Youran the mobile phone, after which thetter proceeded to give Chi Rui¡¯er a phone call. ¡°Where did you go?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Okay, you have to rush here by afternoon,¡± Xu Youran ordered before hanging up the phone. ¡°What did she do?¡± the man asked. ¡°She went to settle her mother down. Her mother has heart disease.¡± Xu Youran picked up the goblet on the table before continuing to speak, ¡°Tonight, we¡¯ll strike with our ultimate move and catch Jin Qingyan off guard.¡± ¡°Missy, what¡¯s the ultimate move?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know tonight.¡± Knock! Knock! ¡°Come in,¡± said Xu Youran as she looked up at the door. Xu Yang entered and asked smilingly, ¡°What are you doing? Why don¡¯t you go out to have some fun?¡± ¡°Why haven¡¯t you gone to work yet, Elder Brother?¡± ¡°I have the day off today. Earlier, Xiaoning, who works at the police station, gave me a call to say that she experienced an elevator malfunction while she was here to attend the business gathering the other evening. She wanted me to inform the butler to fix it,¡± Xu Yang exined with a grin. ¡°Hasn¡¯t our elevator always been running rather well?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what I thought too. So, just refrain from taking the elevator these few days. Wait ¡¯til the repair and maintenance works are done.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Xu Youran stood up and handed him a goblet before pouring him some wine. ¡°Brother, I heard that An Xiaoning is highly efficient at solving cases at the police station. Isn¡¯t she Jin Qingyan¡¯s woman? Why is she so willing to work with the police?¡± ¡°Because I went to look for her and sought her help personally. Why else would she be willing to go out of her own ord? She indeed has what it takes and is a little strong-headed as well. But then again, most capable people are bound to be opinionated, more or less,¡± Xu Yang exined. Xu Youran nodded and said, ¡°I think she¡¯s really pretty. She¡¯s been in a rtionship with Jin Qingyan for so long.¡± ¡°Not that long, I suppose? She just came back from abroad recently. Her son is already four or five years old. But I¡¯m not sure if she did return to the country in between,¡± Xu Yang rified. ¡°Son? Whose son?¡± Xu Youran asked in bewilderment, for she had never heard of An Xiaoning¡¯s son before. ¡°Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning¡¯s son, of course. They share a child together.¡± ¡°Why haven¡¯t I read about that on the news before?¡± Xu Youran asked. ¡°I¡¯m not too sure about that. Perhaps Jin Qingyan told the press not to report about it.¡± ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Xu Youran was filled with thoughts and curiosity as to what their child looked like. Chi Rui¡¯er did not make it to Xu Youran¡¯s house in the afternoon and instead only rushed over in the evening. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you toe in the afternoon?¡± ¡°My mother had apse in the afternoon, so I had to apany her.¡± Xu Youran looked up and asked, ¡°Was it because she found out about the news?¡± ¡°No. Have you got any important instructions for me?¡± asked Chi Rui¡¯er. ¡°I¡¯d like you to do onest thing for me. Have you helped your mother settle down yet?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve found her a ce.¡± ¡°You should tell her your bank ount number and password.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er asked in puzzlement. ¡°In case you die unexpectedly one day.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er felt her heart sink. ¡°What... what do you mean?¡± she stuttered in fear. ¡°Nothing much. Okay, that¡¯s all,e by again in the evening three days from now. I have an important task for you.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er then turned around to leave. She was overwhelmed with an ominous feeling. Upon returning home, Chi Rui¡¯er recalled Xu Youran¡¯s words carefully and could not help but feel like thetter was hinting that she would be dying three days from now. Pangs of panic engulfed Chi Rui¡¯er. Staring at her mother, who was cooking for her, Chi Rui¡¯er decided to tell her about it after some thorough consideration. ¡°Mother, I have something to tell you.¡± ¡°Oh, what is it?¡± asked Mrs. Chi as she approached her daughter. ¡°Do you know why I was released by the police regarding the case about Xu Jingwen? It¡¯s because Military Commander Xu¡¯s daughter saved me. However, I¡¯ve since be her puppet, and she¡¯s been using me all this while. I¡¯m afraid she¡¯s trying to use me for the veryst time before getting rid of me once and for all. So, let¡¯s escape together tomorrow.¡± ¡°Rui¡¯er...¡± Mrs. Chi dropped her spat in shock and disbelief of what she had just heard. ¡°Is what you said true?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s true.¡± ¡°What are we supposed to do now then? How far can we run? Since they¡¯re the militarymander¡¯s family, they¡¯ll definitely manage to find us no matter where we go.¡± Before she could even respond, Chi Rui¡¯er received yet another call from Xu Youran. ¡°Don¡¯t think of resorting to any tricks. If you¡¯re nning to try and escape, I can only tell you, it¡¯s impossible. Rest assured, I won¡¯t shortchange you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not thinking of escaping.¡± ¡°The thing is, there¡¯s no use trying to flee. I¡¯ve already informed all the airports and ferry terminals overseas to inform me if they have your immigration records. Of course, it¡¯d also be impossible if you try to sneak abroad as a stowaway. There are people who work for me at the terminals as well. Think through it carefully, don¡¯t try anything funny,¡± Xu Youran warned. ¡°Got it.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er ended the call, feelingpletely hopeless and dejected. ¡°Rui¡¯er... was she the one who called?¡± Mrs. Chi asked worriedly. ¡°Yes, Mother. There¡¯s no way we can escape.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er had no idea how or where she could flee to at the moment. ¡°What are we supposed to do then?¡± Mrs. Chimented as tears streamed down her face uncontrobly. Although sitting back and doing nothing was not her usual style, there was no other way out for her. ¡°I¡¯d like to go look for someone,¡± said Chi Rui¡¯er, who stood up all of a sudden. ¡°Who?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to know. I¡¯ll be back very soon.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er left the house as soon as she finished speaking. She arrived at Wei Ni Estate and parked the car by the gate before getting down to press the doorbell without hesitation. ¡°I¡¯m looking for Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning. Please inform them that I have something important to talk to them about.¡± ¡°Alright, please wait a minute.¡± Xiao Huang hurriedly sped inside to inform them. He returned soon after and said, ¡°Young Sir would like you toe in.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er quickly strode inside with an uneasy tension in her heart. She followed Xiao Huang all the way to the main door. An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan were sitting on the couch in the living room. Chi Rui¡¯er changed into a pair of home slippers and walked towards them, only to realize that they were ying games on their mobile tablets. What a harmonious and warm scene. Upon sight of her arrival, they quickly cast their mobile tablets aside. ¡°Have a seat.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er sat down opposite them and got straight to the point, ¡°I¡¯d like to discuss a deal with you.¡± ¡°Speak.¡± ¡°...¡± Chi Rui¡¯er had an hour-long discussion with them in the living room. Once it was over, she exited and stood by the door, remaining silent while looking up at the sky. Chapter 374 - No One Is Allowed to Bully Her Except Me (7)

Chapter 374: No One Is Allowed to Bully Her Except Me (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡ª In the morning, Jin Qingyue dropped Jin Bao¡¯er off at school, where she instructed the teachers to forbid anyone else other than herself from picking Jin Bao¡¯er up, even if they imed to be a rtive. While driving back from the school, Jin Qingyue chanced upon a fortune-telling stall along the way. In a moment of curiosity, she decided to have a look and try her luck to see if the fortune-teller was urate with his readings. She pulled over and got down from the car. She sat down in front of the elderly fortune-teller and said, ¡°I¡¯d like to know about my marriage prospects.¡± ¡°Miss, what are your birth characters?¡± asked the fortune-teller. Jin Qingyue revealed her birth characters to him. The elderly man then took out a book slowly and flipped through its pages before saying, ¡°Have you already ended your marriage?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Jin Qingyue answered with a nod. ¡°From what I see, you¡¯re going to have another marriage in your life. The catch is, he has a bad temper. However, he¡¯s definitely a good man. On top of that... you two know each other,¡± said the fortune-teller as he looked up at her. ¡°We know each other? How long more until I meet him again?¡± Jin Qingyue asked eagerly. ¡°Very soon.¡± ¡°But, I¡¯ve consulted another fortune-teller before and I was told that I would only meet him in the next month. How then could it be someone I already know?¡± ¡°You two know each other, but your romance has yet to begin. It¡¯s only predestined to begin recently.¡± ¡°Thank you, Uncle,¡± Jin Qingyue said as she handed him 100 dors. ¡°Miss, there¡¯s no need to pay me so much.¡± ¡°You absolutely deserve it.¡± She then stood up and left. Jin Qingyue hopped back inside her car and began driving towards Wei Ni Estate. She had initially thought that An Xiaoning was not at home. To her surprise, An Xiaoning was leaning against a chair in the yard and reading some books leisurely. Upon sight of her arrival, An Xiaoning sat up straight and asked, ¡°What brings you here, Sis-inw?¡± ¡°Sis-inw, try this. It¡¯s from a newly-opened dessert shop that I passed by along the way. Thus, I decided to buy some for you to try,¡± said Jin Qingyue as she ced the snacks she bought onto the table. An Xiaoning scanned her from head to toe before asking teasingly, ¡°There can¡¯t be rat meat in there, can there?¡± Jin Qingyue snorted withughter and said, ¡°Sis-inw, could you just trust me a little? I wouldn¡¯t dare to do that to you anymore. I was too insensible in the past. I just want to get along well with you now, okay?¡± An Xiaoning decided to do her the honor and picked up a piece of snack. ¡°I¡¯m not used to you being so nice to me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯re the person my brother loves the most and my brother is my closest kin. That makes you my family too.¡± ¡°Since when have you gotten such a glib tongue? Don¡¯t tell me you have something to request from me?¡± An Xiaoning asked calmly. ¡°No, I don¡¯t. It¡¯s purely because I¡¯m in a good mood. You know I don¡¯t have much friends anyway. I don¡¯t have anyone to chat with, so I decided toe look for you,¡± Jin Qingyue said smilingly. An Xiaoning was rather surprised and bewildered to see such a friendly side of Jin Qingyue. ¡°I know you still don¡¯t quite trust me yet, but I¡¯ll earn your trust in the future and let you know that I can be a trustworthy person too.¡± ¡°Why do I feel like you¡¯ve changed so much?¡± An Xiaoning remarked. ¡°People grow and change. Before I met Shi Shaochuan, I used to think that my life was extremely blissful. I was born into a wealthy family and could live a carefree life, rid of any financial burden or woes. I didn¡¯t have to worry about having a roof over my head or fret over establishing a stable career. Neither did I have to work hard to run mypany, unlike Brother. I would go about my willful, bratty, and stubborn ways without ever heeding anyone¡¯s advice unless failure hits me in my face. In hindsight, I was really such an ignorant and naive girl who doesn¡¯t know she¡¯s walking herself to the end of a cliff. As much as I wish I could go back in time and stop myself, it¡¯s impossible, and there¡¯s nothing I can do now,¡± Jin Qingyue said with a wry smile. An Xiaoning ced her book aside and picked up the teacup on the table to take a sip of her floral tea. ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯ve realized it now. Life is indeed a journey of continuous growth. How else are you going to learn about what the world has to offer if you don¡¯t experience trials and tribtions?¡± ¡°I passed by a fortune-teller on my way back after dropping Bao¡¯er off at school and decided to give it a try.¡± ¡°What was the result?¡± ¡°The same as you said. He even mentioned that the person I¡¯ll be meeting next month is someone I already know,¡± Jin Qingyue answered with a smile. An Xiaoning looked up and said, ¡°Looks like that fortune-teller does have the trick of the trade, not bad. That person is indeed someone you¡¯ve known for a very long time. However, you two¡¯ve just never felt the spark for each other in the past. Don¡¯t keep trying to find out who it is, you can¡¯t stop fate in its tracks. Just let nature take its course, got it?¡± ¡°Got it. No matter who he is, be it a servant or a bodyguard, I¡¯ll ept him as long as he¡¯s good to me,¡± said Jin Qingyue as she nodded smilingly. ¡°Has Shi Shaochuane to look for trouble since his release from prison?¡± ¡°Yeah, he even showed up at my gate and told Bao¡¯er that he was her biological father. I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s up to no good,¡± Jin Qingyue exined truthfully. ¡°He¡¯s seriously such a thick-skinned and annoying scum. But, I suppose he¡¯d definitely bear a grudge against you for causing his downfall. Bring more bodyguards with you whenever you go out, don¡¯t ever leave your home alone by yourself.¡± ¡°Alright. By the way, you and Brother should really hurry and get married again.¡± ¡°No rush.¡± ¡°You may not be in a hurry, but I am. I¡¯m really looking forward to seeing you marry my brother again. If I were you, I would be so eager and anxious. But perhaps it¡¯s because I¡¯m really insecure right now.¡± An Xiaoning began to find Jin Qingyue rather adorable all of a sudden. It took her long enough to finally see such a side of Jin Qingyue. Well, people do change, after all. ¡°The snacks are delicious. Thank you.¡± ¡°No need to thank me. I¡¯ll buy them for you frequently if you¡¯d like.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª ¡°Long Xiaoxi, please recite the ancient poem ¡®Quiet Night Thought¡¯, which I asked you all to memorize yesterday,¡± said Long Xiaoxi¡¯s teacher. Long Xiaoxi rose from her seat and stared nkly at the teacher, unable to recall the poem after pondering for a long while. Thus, the teacher prompted, ¡°Moonlight before my bed...¡± ¡°Moonlight before my bed...¡± Long Xiaoxi repeated after the teacher in her piping, delicate voice. She could not remember the rest of the poem. ¡°The writer is Li Bai,¡± the teacher said to remind her again. ¡°Moonlight before my bed... Li Bai pushes the window open... Lift my head and see the Heavenly Court... Lower my head and hit the jar.¡± The teacher froze in utter shock. ¡°Long Xiaoxi, you¡¯ve gotten the poempletely wrong! What did I say before dismissal yesterday? I said that you must memorize this poem and I¡¯ll be checking the morning after. Yet, not only did you not memorize it well, you even tweaked the lines any old how. Go and stand outside now!¡± the teacher hollered, pointing at the door. Long Xiaoxi stood up again and walked towards the door, hanging her head low. Once she exited the ssroom, she looked up all of a sudden and scurried away frantically. She ran to the door of the upper kindergarten ssroom. She leaned against the door and peeked through the crack. She would often be infuriated by what she saw and stop after catching a few glimpses. After ss ended, Long Xiaoxi ran inside the upper kindergarten ssroom and sat down beside Long Wenlun. ¡°Brother, what¡¯s your next lesson?¡± ¡°Arts and craft.¡± ¡°I have a free period next and we¡¯re allowed to y freely in the courtyard or do whatever we want. Can I sit beside you and attend ss together with you guys? I promise I¡¯ll pay attention and not disturb you. And...¡± She turned around to take a glimpse of An Youqing before continuing, ¡°I promise I won¡¯t disturb Brother Youqing too.¡± ¡°Alright, my table mate also happened to be absent today. You may sit next to me. Just don¡¯t let Teacher find out.¡± Chapter 375 - No One Is Allowed to Bully Her Except Me (8)

Chapter 375: No One Is Allowed to Bully Her Except Me (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Thank you, Brother,¡± Long Xiaoxi said, grinning from ear to ear. Once ss started, Long Xiaoxi began staring at An Youqing. Initially, An Youqing did not know that she was in the ssroom. He was momentarily stunned when he discovered her presenceter, perhaps because she was staring too intently. Since it was an arts and craft lesson, the teacher instructed the children to draw a flower ording to the sample on the ckboard. However, the teacher found that Long Xiaoxi had drawn a little boy instead when she went round to check on their progress. ¡°Hey, I asked you all to sketch the flower on the ckboard, why did you draw a person instead? Who is it that you¡¯ve drawn?¡± ¡°My brother.¡± ¡°Oh... redo the drawing.¡± Long Xiaoxi had no choice but to tear up her initial piece and redo the drawing. She seemed to be very focused while drawing with some colored pencils. Atst, she managed toplete the task. She waited for the teacher to leave before running towards An Youqing¡¯s desk and called him in her sweet, delicate voice, ¡°Brother Youqing.¡± ¡°Hello, Xiaoxi, why are you here?¡± ¡°To see you, of course.¡± An Youqing began blushing slightly. ¡°Youqing, could you take a look at my drawing?¡± asked Yue Chan as she ced her drawing book in front of him. ¡°You¡¯ve done a really good job. It looks just like the one drawn by Teacher,¡± An Youqing praised. Long Xiaoxi turned around to bring him her drawing book and said, ¡°Brother Youqing, take a look at mine.¡± Yue Chan craned her neck to take a look and burst into giggles. Long Xiaoxi indeed did not do too great of a job. After all, she was still young and had simply done her best. ¡°Xiaoxi, your drawing is nice too.¡± ¡°Compared to hers? Is mine better than hers?¡± Long Xiaoxi asked, pointing at Yue Chan. An Youqing was at a loss for an answer. Furthermore, it was a tough decision to make since they were both staring at him. Based on the drawing itself, Yue Chan had indeed done a better job. However, after the previous incident, he no longer dared to say that Yue Chan¡¯s drawing was better. ¡°Xiaoxi, could you stop asking me suchparative questions?¡± Long Xiaoxi stared at An Youqing with pouted lips and did not say anything further. She then left with her drawing book and walked back to her brother¡¯s side. ¡°Brother, do you think I did a great job at drawing?¡± ¡°Yes, you did.¡± Long Xiaoxi hugged Long Wenlun and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to ignore Brother Youqing from now on.¡± ¡°...¡± After school, Long Xiaoxi¡¯s teacher bumped into her and asked, ¡°Xiaoxi, where were you the previous lesson? Why weren¡¯t you in ss?¡± Long Wenlun shot Long Xiaoxi a look, as if to be asking, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you were having a free period?¡± Long Xiaoxi looked down quietly before raising her head again quickly to bid her teacher goodbye smilingly. ¡°Buh-bye, Teacher.¡± ¡°Hey... Long Xiaoxi...¡± Noticing that she had taken flight, Long Wenlun hurriedly chased after her and questioned, ¡°Xiaoxi, did you lie?¡± ¡°I just wanted to see Brother Youqing.¡± Long Xiaoxi then put on a serious face and said, ¡°Brother, I want to marry Brother Youqing when I grow up.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you¡¯re going to ignore him from now on?¡± Long Wenlun reminded her. ¡°Did I? When?¡± Long Wenlun held her hand and said, ¡°You want to marry him in the future, but he may not necessarily wish to marry you too when he grows up.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Do you want to hear the truth?¡± ¡°Yes, yes,¡± she said, nodding fervently like a woodpecker. ¡°I don¡¯t think he likes girls like you who are noisy and kick up a big fuss over small things. He definitely fancies girls like his table mate.¡± ¡°Brother, do you actually find his table mate better than me too?¡± ¡°Of course not. In my eyes, no girl can bepared to you in our ss because you¡¯re my sister. But to him, it might not be that way.¡± ¡°Brother, I¡¯m going to sleep together with Brother Youqing tonight. No one is allowed to stop me,¡± said Long Xiaoxi, feeling rather dejected upon hearing her brother¡¯s words. ¡°...¡± On the way home, the three children sat together in the back seat of the car. Long Xiaoxi was exceptionally quiet and remained seated obediently. She was nothing like her usual bubbly and restless self. An Youqing took a nce at her before looking away without uttering a single word. Upon returning home, everyone had lunch together, after which Long Xiaoxi decided to take an afternoon nap. She woke up half an hourter, only to find that there was a fresh stalk of rose and a note on the table. Long Xiaoxi sat up straight and picked up the note. She took a look to see that there was a message written on it. Unfortunately, the only word she could recognize was ¡°I¡± and she did not understand the rest of the sentence. A smile formed on Long Xiaoxi¡¯s face as she picked up the rose on the table. She got down from the bed and ced the stalk of rose into her drawer before leaving the room with the note in hand. ¡°Xiaoxi, you¡¯re up? I was just preparing to wake you up. Hop in quick, you¡¯re almostte for school.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Long Xiaoxi sped towards the car and hopped inside quickly. She noticed that everyone was present in the car and sat down beside her brother. An Youqing turned to face her and asked smilingly, ¡°Do you like the flower?¡± ¡°What flower?¡± asked Long Xiaoxi. ¡°The one I ced on your table. Didn¡¯t you see it?¡± An Youqing then muttered under his breath, ¡°There¡¯s no way you couldn¡¯t have seen it.¡± Long Xiaoxi quickly admitted, ¡°I saw it. But, I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯ve written on the note.¡± Long Wenlun took the note from her and read it out loud, ¡°Don¡¯t ask me such questions again in the future. I¡¯ll be put in a spot.¡± ¡°Xiaoxi, if you ask me such a question in front of everyone, someone¡¯s bound to be upset no matter who I pick. Do be considerate towards others.¡± ¡°I understand,¡± Long Xiaoxi conceded, thinking that he was right. ¡ª ¡°Sis Yan, guess who I saw on my way here?¡± Song Yan¡¯s assistant said with a smirk. ¡°Who is it?¡± ¡°Sun Weiwei. She was dressed sloppily like an old hag and wasing out of the market while carrying a basket.¡± Song Yan¡¯s eyes widened in shock before she snorted withughter. ¡°Sun Weiwei?¡± ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s as thin as a stick now. She looks just like a haggard, middle-aged woman.¡± ¡°She brought it upon herself, she deserves it.¡± Just as Song Yan was about to grab a bag of snacks, she quickly retracted her hand. ¡°Did I get any missed calls on my mobile phone?¡± ¡°No,¡± the assistant answered. Song Yan reached a hand out and said, ¡°Pass me my phone.¡± The assistant did as instructed. Song Yan was filled with pique at the fact that Ling Ciye had yet to contact her despite it being so long. ¡°Is he really trying to break things offpletely with me this time?¡± After taking a look at the time, she said, ¡°I¡¯m going out for a while.¡± ¡°Sis Yan, you have a song-recording session at the studio in half an hour¡¯s time.¡± ¡°Wait for me toe back.¡± Song Yan left with her purse while the assistant hurriedly chased after her. Donning a surgical mask and a pair of shades, Song Yan drove towards Ling Ciye¡¯s work area at the peak of Nanshan Mountain together with her assistant. She drove along the route leading towards the mountain and arrived right at the entrance. Song Yan alighted from the car. Upon sight of her arrival, the guards watching by the door said, ¡°Ms. Song, our boss is not in.¡± ¡°Where did he go?¡± ¡°Wei Ni Estate.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Song Yan then returned to her car and drove away. ¡°Sis Yan, are you going to Wei Ni Estate?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The assistant dared not utter a word. Upon arriving at Wei Ni Estate, Song Yan instructed the assistant, ¡°Wait for me in the car, I¡¯ll go in by myself.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Chapter 376 - No One Is Allowed to Bully Her Except Me (9)

Chapter 376: No One Is Allowed to Bully Her Except Me (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Song Yan entered through the front door. From a distance away, she saw Ling Ciye sitting on the swing. Beside him was a woman who had her hair pinned up in a bun. From her back view, the woman looked small and petite and appeared to be quite young. Was it his new girlfriend? Song Yan pressed down her lips and walked briskly towards them. ¡°I really didn¡¯t expect that you¡¯d find a new woman so soon.¡± Ling Ciye turned around and saw her behind him. ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°If I didn¡¯te, would I have known that you found a woman so quickly?¡± Once her words came out, the woman on the swing turned around and she realized she had made a fool of herself. The woman talking to Ling Ciye was actually An Xiaoning. ¡°This smell of jealousy is so strong it can even reach the Pacific Ocean.¡± An Xiaoning got up to leave. ¡°You guys have a chat.¡± Jin Qingyan, who was about to serve two sses of fruit juice over at that moment, bumped into An Xiaoning. ¡°Here.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t go over ¨C look.¡± Jin Qingyan narrowed his eyes, then said, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Song Yan. What¡¯s she doing here?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know. She mistook me for Ling Ciye¡¯s new girlfriend.¡± Jin Qingyan turned around, going back into the house with her. ¡°These two really have an endless source of troubles in their rtionship.¡± With the atmospherepletely silent for a whole minute, Song Yan went forward and sat down at where An Xiaoning had been sitting. She turned to look at him. ¡°Why didn¡¯t youe and find me? Were you waiting for me to find you first?¡± Ling Ciye looked far ahead quietly, then replied, ¡°I think our rtionship these few years has been tiring.¡± ¡°Have you found someone else?¡± ¡°No,¡± Ling Ciye responded resolutely. ¡°If I did, I would definitely admit it. I¡¯m not someone who will hide it.¡± Song Yan bit down her lip as she muttered, ¡°Let¡¯s patch things up.¡± Ling Ciye looked at her. ¡°I think being with you is tiring. I don¡¯t want this to continue anymore.¡± ¡°Ling Ciye.¡± ¡°Umm.¡± ¡°You... are you intending not to patch things up with me anymore?¡± ¡°Umm, yes.¡± Ling Ciye got up and headed towards the living room. ¡°We¡¯re adults already. Whatever we want, we should probably think it through properly. Breaking and patching up with you so many times, I¡¯m sick of it already.¡± Song Yan gazed at his backview, her eyes turning red. There was even some disbelief in her eyes at the thought of this rtionship of a few yearsing to an end. They were together in high school and split because of a misunderstanding. A few yearster, they had to part ways again? She didn¡¯t want this to happen. Song Yan sprung up and chased after him, grabbing onto his arm. ¡°Ciye.¡± Ling Ciye turned around. ¡°Is there anything else?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be like this. Let¡¯s get back together. After we get back together, let¡¯s not ever split again, okay?¡± ¡°You say this everytime, but how does it always end up?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll change my temper.¡± Ling Ciye appeared persistent this time. ¡°But I don¡¯t believe that.¡± ¡°I really will change.¡± ¡°I still have some things to talk to Qingyan about. If there¡¯s nothing else, you should go back.¡± ¡°Ciye...¡± He broke free of her hand and turned to leave. ¡ª For Chi Rui¡¯er, the past few days were a turmoil. She felt that time had passed too fast. She had not thought of anything, and a day passed just like that. Before the thought of what Xu Youran wanted to do came to her, another day passed. Finally, the third day came. She was called over by Xu Youran. On the way there, Chi Rui¡¯er was on pins and needles. Finally, she arrived at a hotel room. Xu Youran was sitting while facing the window when Chi Rui¡¯er entered and called out to her, ¡°Ms. Xu.¡± The guard closed the door and Xu Youran turned around. ¡°You¡¯re here.¡± ¡°Umm.¡± Her legs were tense as she muttered, ¡°The results of my checkup will be out tomorrow, I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll have any disease.¡± Xu Youran stood up and gazed at her, leaning against the table. ¡°What a pity then, you won¡¯t be able to get the results.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°The reason I saved you was to let you live for only a while longer. You¡¯ll still die anyway. Now, I¡¯m giving you a chance. Call your mother and tell her the pin number of your bank ount. Five minutester, you¡¯ll die.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er looked at her. ¡°Then I¡¯ll call my mother.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you five minutes. Instruct her about everything you have to properly. I¡¯m being very merciful towards you already, I don¡¯t give other people such an opportunity.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s hands were shaking as she took out her phone, saving the previous recording well. Thereafter, she called Jin Qingyan, ¡°Hello, Mother. The pin number for my bank ount is XXXXXX. Please continue to live well. You have heart disease, so you need to take your medication on time. The amount in my bank ount is enough to sustain you for the rest of your life...¡± After saying a long bunch of heartfelt words, her time was up. Xu Youran spoke. ¡°After I saved you from the police station, you¡¯ve worked for me for quite a long time. It should be a good relief for you. Now, it¡¯s time to use the remaining value you have.¡± ¡°What do you want me to do?¡± ¡°Jump down the building.¡± These words came out lightly from Xu Youran¡¯s mouth. On the other hand, Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s face changedpletely. Although she had mentally prepared herself sufficiently, it was still difficult for her to withstand this sort of fear. Both her legs were shaking, and even her voice was slightly trembling. ¡°Ms. Xu, are you going to push me down the building?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Xu Youranughed lighlty. ¡°Only then will the news of you and that old Mr. Jin spread like wildfire. Afterwards, I shall see how Jin Qingyan handles it. Only when a life is involved will the matter escte. If you jump down from here, everyone will think it¡¯s because that old Jin fellow didn¡¯t take responsibility for you, which caused you to take your own life. This time, the Jin family reputation will be tarnished for a long, long time.¡± ¡°Do you really think things will go ording to your wish?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er asked. ¡°Before I die, can you tell me, exactly what grudge do you hold against the Jin family? May I know?¡± Xu Youran looked at her. ¡°Why? Even if you die, you want to be a ghost that knows the truth?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I just want to know. I hope you can fulfill my wish.¡± Xu Youran did not reveal it, of course. ¡°Even though this is your wish, I still won¡¯t tell you. I can only say that this grudge is very strong. I hate every single one of the Jin family. That¡¯s all.¡± Knock, knock, knock. The sound of knocking came from the room door. Xu Youran looked up, signalling the guard to see who it was. However, even when he leaned at the door hole, he couldn¡¯t see who was outside. It seemed like it had been blocked. Meanwhile, the knocking on the door continued. Finally, the guard used the room card to open the door. Standing outside the door was none other than Jin Qingyan. He headed into the room with his phone in hand. At that point, his phone was still connected on a call with Chi Rui¡¯er. Seeing that he hade, Chi Rui¡¯er instantly heaved a sigh of relief. Xu Youran, on the other hand, was surprised. She never expected that he woulde. Staring at his face, Xu Youran asked, ¡°What is Mr. Jin here to find me for?¡± Jin Qingyan turned his gaze towards Chi Rui¡¯er and said, ¡°You go first.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er nodded and was about to go out, but she was unfortunately stopped by Xu Youran¡¯s men. Jin Qingyan dered, ¡°I have a phone recording of the conversation the both of you had just now. If Chi Rui¡¯er is thrown down the building or if you find trouble for her in the future, this will be sent to the police station and the media.¡± Xu Youran clenched her fist tightly into a ball. ¡°The two of you are actually in cahoots.¡± Chapter 377 - No One Is Allowed to Bully Her Except Me (10)

Chapter 377: No One Is Allowed to Bully Her Except Me (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Chi Rui¡¯er said instead, ¡°I just want to live. I don¡¯t want to die in your hands. Xu Youran, you ought to remember Qingyan¡¯s words properly. I¡¯m leaving.¡± She left grandly like that, with no one daring to stop her. In the room, only the two others were left. They continued to face each other like that. Jin Qingyan stared at the short-haired Xu Youran in front of him. ¡°You should stop now while you still can.¡± Xu Youran still put on an air and said as she narrowed her eyes, ¡°Jin Qingyan, what are you trying to say?¡± ¡°At this stage, if you still want to act like this, it probably won¡¯t go well for you. You were behind everything, I already know.¡± A significant look emerged from his deep gaze. ¡°If you say that you¡¯ve be like this because of what you went through when you were young, then how are you different from them? This isn¡¯t revenge, it¡¯s something you¡¯re doing to yourself.¡± He revealed a piece of simted photograph in his hand, and it was precisely Xu Youran¡¯s face on it. ¡°This simted picture is based on the picture we took together when we were young. Little fellow, I¡¯ve been looking for you all this while. Even though in the middle I¡¯ve stopped looking for a while, I still continued thereafter. Brother didn¡¯t let you down.¡± Jin Qingyan gripped that piece of simted picture in his hands tightly. Xu Youran was slightly rmed for a moment, but she thenposed herself and replied, ¡°Jin Qingyan, I really don¡¯t get what you¡¯re trying to say.¡± ¡°You¡¯re my half-sister. Xu Youran, even if you don¡¯t admit, it¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll prove it.¡± Jin Qingyan questioned, ¡°Do you dare to take a DNA test?¡± ¡°Why should I do that thing with you? Who do you think you are?¡± ¡°Whether or not you have the courage to do so, it¡¯s pretty obvious. If you¡¯re really not my half-sister, what¡¯s the harm in doing the test once?¡± He went closer in front of her and trained his eyes on hers. ¡°Nobody will do something to others for no reason. There must be a reason. You¡¯re taking revenge on Father, right?¡± ¡°I think you must be mad.¡± Jin Qingyan sped his hands behind his back naturally. ¡°I¡¯m very clear on whether I¡¯m mad or not. You should know, after you disappeared when you were twelve, I¡¯ve been looking for you. It was only because you vanished without a trace that I couldn¡¯t find you. If you want toe back and salvage this, I¡¯m more than willing to wee you. I¡¯ll always treat you as my biological sister, and I¡¯ll be ready to reinstate you as a member of the Jin family. But, if you refuse toe to your senses and remain adamant on destroying the Jin family, I¡¯ll naturally not take mercy on you. Regardless of who you are.¡± Xu Youran sank her nails deep into her flesh and looked at him; the pain came to her in a sh. That home, how could she possibly think of going back there? She would never return to that ce her whole life. Towards the Jin family, she¡¯d remain at loggerheads. Everyone in the Jin family was her enemy. She wanted to take revenge for her mother, and for all the suffering she had gone through. ¡°Jin Qingyan, if you continue being like this, I will call my brother here. Do you think Ick a brother? Sorry, but I have two brothers, and I don¡¯t need one more at all. If there¡¯s nothing else, please go back. My good mood has beenpletely ruined by you already.¡± She turned and was about to sit down on the chair when her arm was held back by him forcefully, pulling her whole body backwards. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°You better not ignore my words, I never make jokes.¡± With that final sentence, Jin Qingyan brought his people back with him. ¡°Wait!¡± Jin Qingyan turned around. ¡°What else do you want to say?¡± ¡°The case of Chi Rui¡¯er murdering Xu Jingwen is not up to me to decide. Maybe tonight, the investigation for this case would resume.¡± ¡°If that happens, then your voice recording will be spread to the media tonight.¡± ¡°You¡¯re protecting Chi Rui¡¯er like that, does An Xiaoning know about this?¡± ¡°That¡¯s none of your business.¡± He left coldly, shutting the door with a loud m. Xu Youran leaned before the table and grabbed the edge of it. Flying daggers wereing out from her eyes. Other than the matter regarding Chi Rui¡¯er, which he threatened her with, as well as the voice recording, there was nothing else that bothered her. Jin Qingyan, you better watch out. There was a long road ahead and sufficient time. After such a long time of preparation, how was it possible for her to concede just like that? Don¡¯t they say that men are scary when they¡¯re ruthless, but women are even more vicious when they get ruthless? ¡°Missy, do we really let that Chi Rui¡¯er go?¡± ¡°Or else?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Go and investigate Jin Qingyan¡¯s son, I want it as detailed as possible.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll get it done right now.¡± ¡ª Late at night, rain started pattering outside. There were knocks on the door of the unit Sun Weiwei lived in. She asked, ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± Since nobody replied, Sun Weiwei went forward to open the door. The guest gave her a huge surprise. It was her former assistant. ¡°You¡¯ve been hiding for some time, but do you think you can continue hiding like this?¡± Her assistant grunted. ¡°While I still haven¡¯t told Mr. Ye about what you¡¯ve done, you better go and get customers for me.¡± Sun Weiwei refused to do so. ¡°These few years, I¡¯ve already earned quite a sum for you. It¡¯s enough for you already.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not enough. It¡¯s far from being enough. Faster.¡± Sun Weiwei screeched, ¡°You better not take things too far.¡± ¡°So what if I do?¡± Her former assistant raised her hand and gave her a tight p on the face. ¡°Do you think you¡¯re still a popr star?!¡± Sun Weiwei simply returned a p to her face. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you were going to tell Brother Xiaotian? Go and tell him then. Don¡¯t forget, although I was the one who instructed it, you were the one who injected the virus into Bai Ranran¡¯s body. Even if they investigate the surveince cameras, you¡¯ll be the one responsible for it. So, while I¡¯m still being nice, you better get lost!¡± The assistant did not expect that after being oppressed for a few years, Sun Weiwei would dare to say these kind of things to her. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll be an aplice at most, you¡¯re the mastermind.¡± ¡°If I don¡¯t admit it, can you prove it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m the proof.¡± ¡°I¡¯m already in this state, so we better not meet anymore from now on. If you still intend to make use of me to earn money, let me tell you, it¡¯s impossible. I don¡¯t even have money to take drugs, you expect me to earn money for you?¡± She turned and took a knife from the table, waving it at her. ¡°Are you going to leave or not? If not, I¡¯ll hack you to death!¡± The assistant had no choice but to turn and leave. Sun Weiwei closed the door shut andid down on the bed alone. At this moment, she was nowhere like how she used to be a few years ago. After taking drugs for a long period of time, her face had been ruined and her body had turned weak. She could only offer services to men at an entertainment center. But because she dared to y around, and did so too often, she had contracted a sexual disease. Her whole life had been turned upside down. She once led a luxurious life and had unlimited money to spend, lived in a good house and had a nice car. But ever since her decline, her house was confiscated by thepany and her car was sold by her assistant. Her savings had also been spent away on drugs. Everything that she once had was like a dream. Sun Weiwei turned her body over, tears flowing down her cheeks. She once led such a satisfactory life, but she desired what did not belong to her. If she were given another chance, would she still end up like this today? Definitely not. But this chance did not exist, as life could not restart. The rain outside grew heavier, and thunder started roaring. Sun Weiwei tossed and turned around in bed, falling into the silent emptiness of the night. Chapter 378 - No One Is Allowed to Bully Her Except Me (11)

Chapter 378: No One Is Allowed to Bully Her Except Me (11)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡ª ¡°Mommy, since it¡¯s raining today, you don¡¯t have to pick me up at schoolter. The teacher said we can eat in school on rainy days.¡± An Xiaoning passed his school bag to him. ¡°The food in school won¡¯t be as good as the one made at home. Mommy doesn¡¯t find it troublesome. When Mommy goes to work, I won¡¯t be able to fetch you from school every day. Since I¡¯m not busy now, I want to fetch you every day.¡± An Youqing started carrying his school bag and replied, ¡°It¡¯s up to you then, Mommy. Let¡¯s go.¡± An Xiaoning then drove the three little fellows to school. Just a while after she had left, someone came to look for An Youqing. ¡°Youqing,e out for a while,¡± Ms. Tian beckoned him. He stood up from his seat and followed Ms. Tian out of the ssroom. Once they came out from the ssroom door, in front of them stood a tall man with arge build. ¡°Little Sir, I¡¯m your father¡¯s bodyguard. Your father is outside the school gate.¡± He bent down to An Youqing¡¯s level and continued, ¡°He wants to take you out to y.¡± An Youqing widened his eyes and looked at this unfamiliar face, not saying a word. ¡°Come with me to find your Daddy, okay?¡± He reached out his hand and was about to grab An Youqing¡¯s arm, but his hand was flung away by An Youqing. ¡°Uncle, you¡¯re someone who kidnaps children to sell them, right? I know all the bodyguards around my Daddy. Why haven¡¯t I seen you before?¡± Ms. Tian, who was standing aside, started to feel anxious and hurriedly held onto An Youqing¡¯s arm. ¡°There¡¯re so many bodyguards at home, how is it possible for you to have seen us all?¡± ¡°But, if it¡¯s someone I don¡¯t know, my Daddy and Mommy won¡¯t make them fetch me. Who exactly are you? You¡¯re trying to kidnap me, right? Teacher, I don¡¯t know him. Can you call my Mommy to confirm?¡± Thereafter, An Youqing turned around, returning to the ssroom. Ms. Tian immediately used her phone to call An Xiaoning. Seeing the situation, the man with the huge build could only turn to leave. After the confirmation, Ms. Tian realized that the man was really not sent by An Youqing¡¯s family. The fear still lingered within Ms. Tian as she thought of what could have happened if the bad guy had really taken the child away. She would not be able to pay for the price of it even with her own life. She immediately told the kindergarten principal, who got a shock as well. The principal immediately called for a teachers¡¯ meeting and reiterated that if it was not the parents themselves who came to fetch, the teachers should not allow the child to be fetched away. The man who left the kindergarten got onto a car and reported, ¡°I couldn¡¯t get him out.¡± Xu Youran turned and darted a nce at the man. ¡°What a useless thing.¡± ¡°That little fellow was too clever, the teacher immediately called his parents to confirm.¡± Xu Youran started driving away. ¡°If we still don¡¯t leave, they might even call the police. This incident must have gotten Jin Qingyan¡¯s attention. I¡¯m afraid he may do something to retaliate.¡± She was right indeed. After hearing what An Xiaoning said, Jin Qingyan immediately drove to the school with her to check the situation. There were people he had sent both inside and outside the kindergarten, so he knew it was impossible to take his son away. However, he still had toe and confirm it himself. ¡°Daddy!¡± An Youqing ran towards him and hugged his legs. ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°Umm. Do I look like I¡¯m not?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s skip lessons today.¡± Jin Qingyan bent down and carried him up. ¡°Daddy will bring you to the theme park, okay?¡± An Youqing¡¯s eyes sparkled with excitement. ¡°Really? That¡¯s awesome! You¡¯re really a great Daddy.¡± ¡°That¡¯s for sure.¡± ¡°Daddy, do you know what I want to y?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell Daddy what you want to y now. Daddy will apany you.¡± Jin Qingyan carried him outside the school while An Xiaoning followed beside him. ¡°I want to y everything in the theme park. Let¡¯s start from the rollercoaster ride, shall we?¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s face stiffened. Rollercoaster ride? He actually feared rollercoaster rides the most and did not like any activities that were overly stimting. But since his son had already said that, how could he not agree? That would make him lose face in front of his son! He was An Youqing¡¯s father, how could his courage be worse than that of a child¡¯s? ¡°Alright!¡± With that, Jin Qingyan brought the mother and son to the theme park in high spirits. When they were about to start the rollercoaster ride, Jin Qingyanughed dryly as he asked, ¡°Youqing, did you ride this often before? ¡°No, this is my first time sitting on this. Mommy didn¡¯t let me ride this when she brought me to the theme parkst time. She said one will fall down while sitting on this. Mommy¡¯s a liar.¡± Jin Qingyan was slightly jittery before the rollercoaster ride. During the ride, he was seriously regretting having agreed to sit on it just to save his face. The moment the ride ended and they came down, he started vomiting heavily, which greatly amused An Youqing. ¡°Daddy, you¡¯re so lousy! You can¡¯t even bepared to me!¡± Jin Qingyan shrugged. ¡°That¡¯s true indeed. Isn¡¯t there a saying? Every generation is better than the previous one. Your father ispletely beaten by you.¡± An Xiaoning could not refrain from chuckling at hisment. ¡°So, what¡¯s next?¡± ¡°Up ahead is the haunted house, are you up for it?¡± Jin Qingyan asked An Youqing. ¡°Are there ghosts in the haunted house?¡± ¡°Yes, there¡¯re all kinds of ghosts there.¡± Jin Qingyan thought that he would be afraid and was secretly pleased with himself. Who¡¯d have guessed, An Youqing immediately raised his arms in excitement and screamed, ¡°That¡¯s great, I love such excitement!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you scared?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t Daddy and Mommy here? I¡¯m not scared.¡± ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s go.¡± After buying the tickets, the three entered the entrance of the haunted house together. Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning held An Youqing¡¯s hand on each side and walked in together. The decoration inside was scary, and the setting was very dark. They had only walked a few steps when the crew who were acting as ghosts crawling on the ground clung onto Jin Qingyan¡¯s leg. He lowered his head to look, his heart jerking abruptly. After crossing this hurdle, they had not gone much further when a spooky human skull fell from above,nding beside An Xiaoning¡¯s leg. She immediately took a step back. An Youqing asked, ¡°Daddy, why is your palm sweating?¡± ¡°What rubbish, Daddy¡¯s very brave... ah...!¡± A red-colored hand was suddenly on his shoulder. ¡°Daddy, you¡¯re such a coward.¡± ¡°It was just too sudden. It¡¯s fine, let¡¯s continue walking.¡± ¡°...¡± Throughout the whole process, the three went through it rather smoothly. At the exit, Jin Qingyan felt that he might not evere back to a haunted house again. ¡ª Meanwhile, at a particr caf¨¦... Slow, ssical music was ying inside. Gu Beicheng, who was dressed in a formal suit, sat upright with his fingers tapping on the table lightly. Seated opposite him was Lin Mingxi, whose face was dolled up in exquisite makeup. The two were only there to prove that they were on a blind date. In actual fact, after seeing Lin Mingxi, Gu Beicheng wanted to get up to leave already. Towards a divorced woman whom he didn¡¯t love, he honestly did not have any interest at all. ¡°I¡¯m Lin Mingxi, I¡¯m 29 years old this year. I¡¯m a female coach at a gym right now, with a monthly sry of 8000 yuan. I had a previous marriage thatsted for a very short while, but Ye Xiaotian and I never consummated our marriage. Since you¡¯re so close to him, you can ask him if you don¡¯t believe me.¡± ¡°Umm. Nice to meet you, I¡¯m Gu Beicheng. I¡¯m 31 years old this year.¡± Lin Mingxi gazed at him seated opposite her. She was actually very satisfied with him and did know some things about Gu Beicheng. ¡°When my mother told me it was you I would be meeting, I was actually quite shocked because you don¡¯t look like the type of man who would go on a blind date.¡± Chapter 379 - No One Is Allowed to Bully Her Except Me (12)

Chapter 379: No One Is Allowed to Bully Her Except Me (12)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Gu Beicheng raised the teacup in his hand and drank a sip. ¡°Indeed, I¡¯m only here to fulfill my mother¡¯s wish.¡± Lin Mingxi sped her hands together tightly as she grinned. ¡°Do you have prejudice against women?¡± ¡°Prejudice? What do you mean specifically?¡± ¡°Like for example, I¡¯m a divorced woman. Stuff like that.¡± She was slightly apprehensive. Gu Beicheng put down the teacup in his hand and, after hesitating for a moment, replied, ¡°That will depend on who the woman is. If I have feelings for that woman or love her, then I wouldn¡¯t mind. I might not even think of such things as an obstacle at all.¡± Upon hearing his answer, Lin Mingxi¡¯s heart finally rested at ease. However, Gu Beicheng¡¯s next words raised her heart¡¯s tension again. ¡°If I don¡¯t like the woman, I would think that she wouldn¡¯t be good enough for me. After all, I haven¡¯t married and my personal life is pretty clean.¡± Lin Mingxi¡¯s hands were nervously hanging around as she answered, ¡°My personal life has been clean too. Other than the marriage I had in name.¡± ¡°I heard you and Xiaoning joined the training camp together. What kind of person do you think she is?¡± Lin Mingxi knew how to answer this, of course. She definitely would not be stupid enough to say things that Gu Beicheng would not like to hear. ¡°I think she¡¯s really good. She¡¯s very hardworking and sets out to aplish whatever she wants. I heard she even opened a clothing store and invested in a movie, earning quite a lot of money. She really is business-minded.¡± ¡°You¡¯re really good at lying on the spot.¡± ¡°I¡¯m saying... the truth.¡± ¡°You¡¯re saying the truth, but these are not what you want to say. Indeed, saying something you don¡¯t want to is not easy.¡± Gu Beicheng raised his wrist to look at his watch and muttered, ¡°Let¡¯s just end it here.¡± ¡°Wait.¡± Lin Mingxi stopped him. ¡°Why don¡¯t you give us a chance to understand each other? I¡¯m not actually like how the media ims me to be or what you hear from others.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. Towards someone I don¡¯t like, I¡¯m not very willing to give hope.¡± Lin Mingxi asked, ¡°If you¡¯re not even willing to give us a chance to understand each other, how would you know if you really don¡¯t like me? Or is it that you already have someone you like?¡± ¡°This... noment.¡± ¡°Gu Beicheng,¡± Lin Mingxi said. ¡°I¡¯ve heard some gossip that you like An Xiaoning. Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s true?¡± ¡°You¡¯re really too noisy.¡± Gu Beicheng turned to leave. Lin Mingxi just stood there speechless. It was the umpteenth time that her blind date had ended in failure. It was either the person did not take a fancy to her or that she had no interest in the other party. It was really true that as women grow older, they¡¯ll grow out of their childish temper and be more mature than in their younger days. But more importantly, they be less adorable. If it was a few years ago and Gu Beicheng had said that she was noisy, she would have definitely started a fight with him. But now, she just took her bag and left quietly. Before she had even reached home, her mother started pressing her by calling her continuously, but she did not pick up. When she reached the front gate of her house, she could hearints from inside. ¡°She didn¡¯t even pick up my calls. I bet it failed again this time.¡± Her mother maintained a negative attitude as always. ¡°Maybe they¡¯re still talking? What¡¯s the hurry?¡± Her father¡¯s voice, on the other hand, still appeared to contain a glimmer of hope. ¡°That couldn¡¯t be. If it went well, your daughter would long have called me back.¡± ¡°...¡± Lin Mingxi entered the house and greeted, ¡°Mother.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you answer my calls? How was the blind date with Gu Beicheng?¡± ¡°It failed again. He doesn¡¯t like me.¡± Lin Mingxi sat down, knowing well and clear that she would be facing her mother¡¯s nagging next. ¡°I knew it. How many times has it been already, why don¡¯t you have one sessful blind date at all? Now, the more I think about it, the more I feel you ruined your own reputation back then. First, you were obsessing over Jin Qingyan, then you married that Ye Xiaotian and was cheated. What¡¯s the point of gettingpensation when your reputation is ruined?¡± Lin Mingxi¡¯s father tried to soothe Mrs. Lin¡¯s anger. ¡°Alright, how many times have you talked about this already? Just stop.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel good if I don¡¯t let it all out. One Jin Qingyan and one Ye Xiaotian was enough to ruin our Mingxi¡¯s reputation. That¡¯s why all her blind dates don¡¯t go well now.¡± Lin Mingxi replied, ¡°How long has it been already? Stop mentioning it. They¡¯re all leading their own lives now. Ye Xiaotian remarried and Jin Qingyan has the love of his life beside him now. It was me who couldn¡¯t capture their hearts.¡± Regarding this, she had long seen through it all. If a woman couldn¡¯t get a man¡¯s heart, everything else would be useless. ¡°Back then, you even went to the training camp just for Jin Qingyan. How rash and impulsive...¡± Mr. Lin interrupted her. ¡°Alright, stop going on and on. Mingxi didn¡¯t go to the training camp for nothing either. She managed to stay ¡¯til the end and gained some good skills. We¡¯re more assured when she goes out now too.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t go to that gym to work anymore. Your father and I only have you and your sister. Thepany will also be yours both in time. Your sister must be tired taking care of thepany matters by herself, you should help her out.¡± Lin Mingxi was unwilling to do so. ¡°I like working at the gym as a coach. I don¡¯t want to go back to thepany.¡± ¡°Are you stupid?¡± Mrs. Lin was still concerned about her. ¡°If you don¡¯t go to thepany, thepany will be solely your sister¡¯s in the future. Your father and I have arranged for you to have some of thepany shares.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s talk about itter on.¡± Lin Mingxi took her bag and got up to head upstairs. ¡°Is her brain full of water?¡± Mrs. Lin scolded. ¡°She¡¯s driving me mad.¡± ¡°You, really ¨C you should stop, alright?¡± ¡°That Gu Beicheng dares to look down on my daughter. Hey, what¡¯s wrong with our Mingxi¡¯s looks?¡± ¡°...¡± Lin Mingxi reached the second floor and was rather distressed. At this moment, she received a call from the training camp coach Chen Xu. ¡°Coach Chen.¡± ¡°Oh, Mingxi. We haven¡¯t seen each other for some time, right? Let¡¯s have a gathering if everyone¡¯s free.¡± Lin Mingxi asked, ¡°Will Jin Qingyan be there?¡± ¡°You still like him?¡± ¡°No, my feelings for him have long faded. I¡¯m just asking if he¡¯ll be there.¡± ¡°Yes. Xiaoning will be there too. We¡¯ve arranged it for next Monday night. You shoulde if you¡¯re free. It¡¯s been a long time since everyone met, we should catch up.¡± Lin Mingxi readily agreed, ¡°Okay, sure.¡± After ending the call, she suddenly felt like crying, but no tears came out. Having not seen the rest for a few years, she was rather unsure of how to face them. Especially Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning, who were going there together to show how loving they were. But she, on the other hand, would be going there to suffer. Should she find a boyfriend to bring there too? But that wasn¡¯t easy. Should she rent one? Thinking that this would be a more reliable method, Lin Mingxi hurriedly switched on herputer. She wanted to send out a notice for hiring, but after much thought, she was not sure where she should put up this notice. Her sudden impulse quickly vanished again. Sitting there, Lin Mingxi was deeply troubled. All these years, she had met many young chaps at the gym, but they were either younger or older than her, or were already married or attached. As for the rest, she wasn¡¯t interested in them. Chapter 380 - No One Is Allowed to Bully Her Except Me (13)

Chapter 380:No One Is Allowed to Bully Her Except Me (13)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡ª ¡°Why won¡¯t you take a liking to her? Her mother has already told me, when Lin Mingxi and Ye Xiaotian were married, they didn¡¯t consummate their marriage. Moreover, you¡¯re friends with Ye Xiaotian, you¡¯ll know if you ask him.¡± Mrs. Gu was rather enraged as she looked at her own son. ¡°Mother, I don¡¯t like her.¡± ¡°Beicheng, do you want to keep your mother anxious like this?¡± Mrs. Gu continued, ¡°If your mother doesn¡¯t set up blind dates for you, you¡¯ll never walk out of that dead end.¡± Gu Beicheng did not answer. ¡°It¡¯s impossible between you and Xiaoning. She and Jin Qingyan only need a piece of marriage certificate to remarry. Beicheng, change your focus to other women. Maybe you¡¯ll realize that you can actually like someone else.¡± ¡°I know, I¡¯ll try.¡± He looked at his mother¡¯s face and conceded. ¡°Didn¡¯t I already listen to you and go to meet Lin Mingxi? I really don¡¯t like how she is. I¡¯ve heard of the things she didst time too. I really can¡¯t bring myself to like her.¡± ¡°Beicheng, how many years has it been already? Who hasn¡¯t done stupid things when they were young? I heard from her mother that she¡¯s rather stubborn. Her mother only has two daughters and her elder sister is working at thepany now, but she refuses to go there and insists on working at a gym. I think this girl isn¡¯t someone who sees money and status as everything, that¡¯s why I thought she would be good for you.¡± Gu Beicheng acknowledged his mother, ¡°Umm. If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll be going back to thepany.¡± ¡°Then, may I tell Lin Mingxi¡¯s mother that the two of you can meet again?¡± ¡°Do as you please.¡± After hearing it from Mrs. Gu, Mrs. Lin immediately went to tell her daughter. Lin Mingxi was slightly shocked and doubtful. After much thought, she decided to call Gu Beicheng. ¡°Hello. I heard your mother said we can meet again. I¡¯m wondering, did you agree to it?¡± Without waiting for Gu Beicheng to answer, she went on, ¡°If you didn¡¯t agree to it, I¡¯ll definitely not pester you. I know you don¡¯t like me. But, if you agreed to it, I¡¯m still willing to try.¡± Gu Beicheng was rather surprised that she would call over this issue. ¡°Umm. I agreed to it.¡± Lin Mingxi¡¯s heart skipped a beat. ¡°Then, how about we have dinner tomorrow night?¡± ¡°... Umm.¡± After ending the call, Lin Mingxi felt rather lost and confused. ¡ª ¡°You sent someone to act as my underling to fetch my son in the afternoon. I think you must be asking for it.¡± Xu Youran answered as she gripped onto her phone, ¡°Jin Qingyan, are you in your right mind? I didn¡¯t even know that you had a child, why would I do that?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me the vehicle parked outside the kindergarten back then didn¡¯t belong to you? Xu Youran, don¡¯t y such boring games with me, I¡¯ll get very annoyed.¡± Xu Youranughed coldly. ¡°Jin Qingyan, don¡¯t think you can keep threatening me over that voice recording.¡± ¡°Try me then.¡± Xu Youran mmed her phone onto the table, staring somewhere as she stood there dressed in her bathrobe. ¡°Missy...¡± ¡°Since he dares to threaten me with the voice recording, I¡¯ll find a bargaining chip to threaten him with as well. We¡¯ll be even then.¡± Xu Youran stared at the man before her. ¡°What a useless piece of thing. You can¡¯t even get a child out.¡± ¡°Missy, I have a n, I think it¡¯ll work. Do you want to try?¡± ¡°Speak.¡± ¡°...¡± After listening to his words, Xu Youran¡¯s eyes twinkled. ¡°Do ording to what you said then.¡± A few minutester... Knock, knock, knock. A few knocks sounded at the door and then came the butler¡¯s voice, ¡°Missy, Old Master wants you in the study room.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Xu Youran changed, then got everyone to leave her bedroom. Pushing the door of the study room open, she saw Military Commander Xu seated before the study table. Upon seeing her, he made a hand gesture. Xu Youran closed the door and greeted him sweetly, ¡°Father.¡± ¡°Have a seat.¡± Xu Youran sat opposite him and asked, ¡°Father, is there something you want to talk to me about?¡± Military Commander Xu¡¯s face was rather somber as he replied, ¡°Jin Qingyan just called me. He said that you¡¯ve been causing trouble for the Jin familytely. Youran, you can¡¯t afford to offend the Jin family. Don¡¯t mess things up for me.¡± Xu Youran did not expect that Jin Qingyan would actually call her father. ¡°I know the limits, Father. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t cause trouble for you.¡± Military Commander Xumented sincerely, ¡°You¡¯re not young anymore and will get married soon. You should think more for your husband¡¯s family. Don¡¯t keep wanting to act like a man. You may have only seen things about Jin Qingyan from the news online and don¡¯t know much about him, but your father understands this man. He¡¯s a ruthless man who gets what he wants. Otherwise, he couldn¡¯t have managed such a hugepany and kept his business running well for so long. Bing enemies with such a person won¡¯t do us any good. There¡¯s no point in suffering losses on both ends.¡± ¡°Umm, Father. I know.¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t been by our side since young and were lost when you were just born. Your mother cried her eyes out over it and was looking for you all the time, but to no avail. It took us more than ten years to find you painstakingly. You have been the precious gem of our family all this while. Youran, don¡¯t break your parents¡¯ heart, okay?¡± Xu Youran¡¯s eyes sank slightly and she replied, ¡°I know.¡± Thinking about this, she couldn¡¯t help but panic slightly. If Jin Qingyan were to tell the Xu family that she was his half-sister, then she would not be able to live on in the Xu family. Back then, the twelve-year-old her had run away from the Jin family and coincidentally ran into Mrs. Xu. That was how she was mistaken as their long-lost daughter. So ever since then, everyone in the Xu family took extra care of her, especially her two brothers. This secret was kept in her heart for so many years and had be her huge source of worry. Only when she¡¯dpletely destroyed the Jin family could she get revenge for her mother and be reborn. The motivation that supported her was this. ¡°Father, if there¡¯s nothing else, then I¡¯ll go back to my room to rest.¡± ¡°Alright, sleep early.¡± Xu Youran got up and returned to her own room, still in a nk state of mind. Her father¡¯s words did not have any effect as to stopping her. She had all along set out to achieve what she wanted. She would not let the Jin family off easily. Torturing the whole of the Jin family was the greatest wish of her lifetime. But at this point, she had forgotten that the blood of the Jin family ran inside her as well. She had been trying to destroy the Jin family, which included herself. Xu Youran stood before the window, pulling the curtains open and staring outside. When she was young, she was often locked up. Back then, she had looked outside the window often. She had yearned to be free like a small bird flying in the sky. She had yearned to be free like the clouds in the sky. She had yearned to be free like the stars in the sky. Everytime she recalled her childhood memories, Xu Youran felt a part of her heart being pierced through again. That pain, which followed her everywhere, made her unable to ever forget. All the humiliation that she received, she vowed to pay them back in return! Chapter 381 - No One Is Allowed to Bully Her Except Me (14)

Chapter 381: No One Is Allowed to Bully Her Except Me (14)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡ª The morning sun was warm and the air was as fresh as dew. Chi Rui¡¯er showed up at the entrance of the hospital at eight o¡¯clock sharp. She was there to collect her results from the checkup. Fear and anxiety filled her. Upon arriving at the gynecologist¡¯s office, Chi Rui¡¯er pushed the door open to see that the gynecologist was already waiting for her. ¡°Are you Chi Rui¡¯er?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me.¡± ¡°Please take a seat,¡± said the gynecologist, who had a grim expression on her face. Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s heart began thumping in her chest upon noticing how serious the gynecologist looked. ¡°Doctor, are the results bad?¡± The gynecologist let out a long sigh before revealing the result. ¡°You¡¯re diagnosed with early-stage cervical cancer.¡± ¡°What!¡± Chi Rui¡¯er gasped in shock as her face turned pale as a sheet. ¡°Early stage of cervical cancer. But don¡¯t get too worked up yet, your condition has yet to deteriorate to theter stages. So, we¡¯ll be able to get rid of the cancer cells as long as you get treated as soon as possible.¡± ¡°What kind of treatment do I have to undergo? A surgery?¡± ¡°Do you still n to bear children?¡± ¡°I can no longer conceive, so I don¡¯t n on having any children.¡± ¡°Alright, then I suggest you get admitted to the hospital and schedule for a womb removal surgery immediately. This is the best treatment option at the moment, especially because the cancer cells have yet to spread elsewhere. Thus, this would be a better solution.¡± ¡°Doctor, tell me the truth, how much longer do I have to live?¡± ¡°That depends on the development stage of the cancer cells, the results of the treatment, your body¡¯s condition, as well as several other factors. Thus, it¡¯d be hard to pinpoint exactly how much longer you¡¯ll have to live, but it¡¯ll definitely be longer than that of patients who have developedter stages of cancer.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er was still in disbelief of the results. She felt like Heaven was being too unfair to her for putting her through so many ordeals and hardship. Why did Heaven do that? Was she really going to have to end up dying alone? Or could it be that she was struck with her retribution formitting too much evil? Without hesitation, she immediately proceeded to settle the administrative processes to be hospitalized. She did not dare to tell her mother about it and instead just gave an excuse of going on a vacation for a few days. After a round of discussion, the doctors decided to perform the surgery for her on the same day and instructed Chi Rui¡¯er to ask her family to apany her at the hospital. However, Chi Rui¡¯er said that she did not have any family members and signed her name on the surgery form. __ An Xiaoning headed to the police station after dropping An Youqing off at school. It was her first time reporting there in days. She stood in front of the office only to find that it was dead silent inside. ¡°You guys look so spiritless, what¡¯s the matter?¡± asked An Xiaoning as she ced her purse on the table before sitting down. Ma Jianguo looked up to see that she had arrived. ¡°Team Leader, you didn¡¯t answer all our calls. We¡¯re going to be in despair if you don¡¯te again,¡± Ma Jianguomented. ¡°Don¡¯t be. What happened? Has the case still not been solved?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have a single clue at all. It¡¯s all Gong Le¡¯s fault. Otherwise, we would¡¯ve solved two cases by now. Great, now the officers from the Serious Crimes Investigation Unite by every day to question us,¡± Ma Jianguo groused in utter annoyance. ¡°Do theye by every day?¡± asked An Xiaoning. ¡°Of course.¡± She looked at Gong Le, who quickly said, ¡°Team Leader, I think you¡¯d better take over this case, it¡¯s too difficult.¡± An Xiaoning reached a hand out and said, ¡°Hand me the document file.¡± Ma Jianguo hurriedly handed it to her. ¡°It¡¯s all in here, have a look.¡± An Xiaoning looked down and said, ¡°This is a case regarding a school murder. The victim Liu Chen¡¯s corpse was found in ake in the school. An autopsy was carried out after the corpse was retrieved and there were no wounds on the victim¡¯s body at all. The cause of death was drowning. After some investigation, it¡¯s found that Liu Chen¡¯s favorite hobby is swimming.¡± ¡°Maybe he had a cramp in his leg. For a man who¡¯s great at swimming, it¡¯s most likely due to a leg cramp, since the victim is generally healthy with no serious illnesses,¡± Ma Jianguo suggested. ¡°Have you guys watched the footage of the surveince cameras in school?¡± ¡°The surveince cameras only managed to capture him going to thekeside alone before entering the woods where there were no surveince cameras. Sis Xiaoning, it¡¯s very likely that he fell into theke himself and suffered a cramp in his leg, after which...¡± Ding Liang added. ¡°It can¡¯t be. The autopsy report showed that there were no traces of any drug or alcohol in his body. Besides, he¡¯s been attending the university for three years, he should be very familiar with the area around theke. He couldn¡¯t have fallen in by ident,¡± Zu Dong protested. Atst, Gong Le said, ¡°His roomates and his family members as well as his friends have all testified that he doesn¡¯t have a girlfriend. Thus, it can¡¯t be that he attempted suicide because of a heartbreak. He has a warm family and enjoys a strong camaraderie with his ssmates in school. There are no reasons for him tomit suicide...¡± cing both hands on the table, An Xiaoning stared at the four of them and said, ¡°Although all the superficial reasons show that there¡¯s no substantial evidence to this case, that is in fact the very reason why it¡¯s extremely suspicious. How could it be that a boy died for no rhyme or reason?¡± ¡°Team Leader, we¡¯ve asked the victim¡¯s parents for his birth characters. Here are his birth characters as well as his home address,¡± said Ma Jianguo as he handed her a piece of paper. After taking a look, An Xiaoning said, ¡°He did drown to death. In my opinion, I¡¯m very certain that someone amongst the people you¡¯ve questioned is not telling the truth.¡± ¡°They lied?¡± the rest asked in unison as they looked at each other in puzzlement. ¡°Where¡¯s the victim¡¯s corpse? Has it been cremated?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s with the forensic pathologist.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go have a look together.¡± An Xiaoning stood up while the four of them followed closely behind. After taking a look at the corpse, An Xiaoning made a brave decision. She decided to solve the case with a different approach, which gained the approval of her team members. The team of five then headed to the victim¡¯s college together. An Xiaoning quickly stopped them from alighting the police car. ¡°Team Leader, what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Look at the ck car behind us.¡± Everyone turned around to take a look. An Xiaoning stared at the reflection of the ck car, which was parked a short distance away from them, in her rear view mirror. She happened to notice the car while on the way to the college. The car pulled over right after they did. They were definitely being tailed, if it was not a coincidence. Realizing that the people in the ck car had yet to alight even after a long time, An Xiaoning said, ¡°We¡¯re being shadowed.¡± Everyone soon realized it. ¡°Shall we get down and see who it is?¡± said Ding Liang, after which Ma Jianguo chided him immediately. ¡°Dimwit, so what if we have a look? We¡¯re on the streets right now, what can we do if they refuse to admit that they¡¯re tailing us? We might even end up rming them,¡± Ma Jianguo chastised. ¡°That¡¯s right. So let¡¯s just feign ignorance for now. Get down from the car.¡± An Xiaoning alighted and was greeted with the sight of another car that pulled over. It was Jin Qingyue. She wound down the windows and greeted, ¡°Sis-inw.¡± ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°I went to see my mother. I was nning to go home, but I happened to bump into you. Why are you here?¡± Jin Qingyue answered as she alighted from the car. Just as she was walking towards An Xiaoning, she shrieked all of a sudden, ¡°Watch out!¡± Jin Qingyue immediately pushed An Xiaoning to the side, after which a bullet brushed past her left shoulder. If she had not pushed An Xiaoning away in the nick of time, the bullet would have struck An Xiaoning in her back and gone through her chest. ¡°Qingyue!¡± An Xiaoning quickly looked behind her, only to see that a window was closed immediately. ¡°Send her to the hospital right now, hurry!¡± she shouted at Ma Jianguo. Chapter 382 - No One Is Allowed to Bully Her Except Me (15)

Chapter 382: No One Is Allowed to Bully Her Except Me (15)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Yes. Team Leader, where are you going?¡± ¡°What do you think?¡± An Xiaoning turned around and zoomed towards the front of the house on which she noticed the window. Zu Dong and Gong Le hurriedly took chase while Ma Jianguo and Ding Liang proceeded to send Jin Qingyue to the hospital. Upon reaching the shophouse, An Xiaoning quickly asked thedy boss, ¡°Is there a back door upstairs?¡± ¡°Yes, just walk along the alley and you¡¯ll find it,¡± said thedy boss, pointing at the start of the alley which was a stone¡¯s throw away. ¡°Gong Le, wait here. Zu Dong, youe with me.¡± With a stern expression on her face, An Xiaoning and Zu Dong scurried towards the alley. As soon as they entered, they chanced upon a man who was in the midst of an escape. Just as he whipped out his gun and was about to aim it at An Xiaoning, a footnded on his face, causing him to drop his gun. Zu Dong quickly picked it up and the two broke out into a brawl in the alley. The man was extremely skilled in martial arts. It was evident that he had undergone special training. Zu Dong was kicked onto the ground by the man several times. Atst, An Xiaoning pulled her trump card and restrained the man by his neck with thesso she wrapped around her hips. An Xiaoning tugged at it with all her might, almost suffocating him. She then kicked the man in his back, causing him to fall on his knees onto the ground, after which Zu Dong managed to put his wrists in handcuffs. Afraid that he would try and kill himself by biting his tongue, An Xiaoning stepped forward and dislocated his jaw, resulting in him drooling continuously. They then arrested him forcefully. Once they brought him to the police station, An Xiaoning immediately rushed to the hospital before even carrying out investigations. It had never crossed her mind that Jin Qingyue would take a bullet for her. She had never expected it, ever. Jin Qingyue¡¯s sacrifice had deeply moved her. Upon reaching the entrance of the operating theater, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Is she still inside?¡± ¡°Yes, she is. Have you arrested him?¡± Ma Jianguo asked. ¡°Yes, we¡¯ve nabbed him back to the police station.¡± ¡°Team Leader, shall we go back to interrogate him first?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ve dislocated his jaw to prevent him from biting his own tongue to death. Wait for me to go back, I¡¯ll interrogate him with my own ways. You guys may go back first,¡± said An Xiaoning, gesturing for them to leave. ¡°Yes.¡± An Xiaoning then gave Jin Qingyan a call. Less than twenty minutester, Jin Qingyan showed up at the corridor along the operating theatre. An Xiaoning did not cover up any details and exined the entire matter to him truthfully. ¡°Thankfully you¡¯re fine,¡± said Jin Qingyan, cing both his hands on her shoulder and looking at her earnestly. ¡°I wonder how her condition is?¡± ¡°She should be alright since the bullet only hit her shoulder.¡± Jin Qingyan held her hand and took a seat before continuing, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Qingyue to do that. It was really surprising. Indeed, I didn¡¯t dote on her for nothing.¡± An Xiaoning remained silent. Truth be told, she still remembered clearly the incident of the dead rats that Jin Qingyue had mailed her years ago, as well as the many conflicts they¡¯d had with each other, which arose from Jin Qingyue¡¯s animosity towards her. It was not that An Xiaoning refused to let go and wanted to hold grudges, but rather, it was because those incidents were simply too unforgettable. However, she was rather touched by what Jin Qingyue had suffered for her. Not everyone is willing to put themselves on the line during a life-and-death situation. After waiting for about half an hour, the doors of the operating theater opened and out came the surgeon, who was wearing a surgical mask. ¡°Doctor, how¡¯s my sister?¡± Jin Qingyan asked instantly. ¡°We¡¯ve retrieved the bullet. She¡¯ll recover after some rest and recuperation. There¡¯s not much of an issue.¡± ¡°Thank you, Doctor.¡± They then waited for the nurse to push Jin Qingyue out, after which they transferred her to a VIP ward. Jin Qingyan picked Jin Qingyue up gently and lowered her onto the bed. Her face and lips were as pale as a sheet, and her eyes were still closed as the anesthesia had yet to wear off. ¡°Let¡¯s take her to our home to recuperate once she wakes up. I have a strong feeling that it won¡¯t be safe here. Besides, Shi Shaochuan has been released from prison. I¡¯m afraid he¡¯lle looking for trouble. Pick Bao¡¯er up from school yourself once she¡¯s dismissed,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Alright, sure,¡± Jin Qingyan agreed. ¡°Who do you think is behind this?¡± ¡°I¡¯m thinking what you¡¯re thinking,¡± Jin Qingyan answered with a sullen expression. ¡°Although she¡¯s the greatest suspect in this matter, I don¡¯t wish to pinpoint anyone before finding the appropriate evidence. Besides, there are indeed many people who wish death upon me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s your call then, we won¡¯t act rashly for now.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± An Xiaoning assented with a nod. ¡ª During noontime, Jin Qingyan proceeded to pick Jin Bao¡¯er up from her school before sending her back to his house. Along the way, Jin Bao¡¯er constantly asked about her mother¡¯s whereabouts and why she was not there to fetch her. Jin Qingyan did not exin initially and waited ¡¯til they were home to tell her that her mother was injured. Contrary to his expectations, Jin Bao¡¯er continued to bombard him with more questions after his exnation. ¡°Why is Mommy injured?¡± ¡°Uncle, answer me, quick.¡± ¡°Are Mommy¡¯s injuries serious?¡± ¡°Which hospital is she at now? I want to see her.¡± ¡°Uncle, say something.¡± ¡°...¡± Jin Qingyan would never tell her that her mother was injured because of An Xiaoning. Noticing that she was crying uncontrobly, Jin Qingyan had no choice but to squat down and say, ¡°Your Mommy is alright, she¡¯s already returned from the hospital. She¡¯s in the room now. Go take a look.¡± Jin Bao¡¯er hurriedly zoomed towards the room. ¡°Mommy!¡± ¡°Bao¡¯er. You¡¯re home?¡± said Jin Qingyue, who was leaning against the bed head. ¡°Mommy, how did you get injured?¡± ¡°Um, it¡¯s nothing much. I just fell down identally.¡± Jin Qingyue decided to hide the truth, knowing that Jin Bao¡¯er would definitely resent An Xiaoning, given her petty character. ¡°Mommy, don¡¯t fall down again anymore. Does it hurt?¡± ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning stood by the door while holding a bowl of porridge in her hands. She seemed to have witnessed an eye-opener. To her surprise, Jin Qingyue had matured greatly over the years and begun sparing a thought for others. Her repulsion and resentment towards Jin Qingyue seemed to vanish slowly. She entered the room while Jin Bao¡¯er exited. Little did she know, Jin Bao¡¯er remained standing by the door instead of leaving. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry. If it weren¡¯t for me, you wouldn¡¯t have gotten injured.¡± ¡°Sis-inw, don¡¯t say that. Brother is so nice to me, what I¡¯ve done is nothing much.¡± ¡°...¡± Jin Bao¡¯er was rather infuriated to hear their conversation and stormed off quickly. At the same time, Fan Shixin returned with the three children, who alighted from the car merrily while carrying their backpacks on their shoulders. Jin Bao¡¯er walked towards An Youqing and said, ¡°Do you know that my Mommy got injured because of your Mommy?¡± Shaking his head, An Youqing asked, ¡°Auntie is injured?¡± ¡°Yes. She even hid the reason from me. If my Mommy dies because of your Mommy, I¡¯m going to kill the both of you!¡± Before An Youqing coud even respond, Long Xiaoxi interjected with a frown on her forehead, ¡°Isn¡¯t she still alive? Sis Bao¡¯er, you¡¯re not allowed to speak to Brother Youqing like that!¡± ¡°It¡¯s none of your business!¡± Jin Bao¡¯er snapped, pushing Long Xiaoxi away. Deeply infuriated, An Youqing helped Long Xiaoxi up and bellowed, ¡°Are you done talking!?!¡± ¡°No!¡± Long Xiaoxi stood up from the ground and hissed, ¡°How dare you push me. I¡¯m going to kick you!¡± Just as Long Xiaoxi was raising her chunky leg, Jin Bao¡¯er grabbed her and threw her onto the ground, causing her to wince in pain. ¡°No one is allowed to bully Xiaoxi except me. Yet, you actually dared to bully her. Watch out, I¡¯ll beat you into a pulp and make you cry!¡± An Youqing hollered, boiling with fury. Chapter 383 - The Secret About the Past (1)

Chapter 383: The Secret About the Past (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Youqing pushed Jin Bao¡¯er away with all his might. She fell onto the ground and began bawling out loud. Fan Shixin hurriedly helped Jin Bao¡¯er up andforted her. Long Xiaoxi held onto An Youqing¡¯s hand and remained silent, after which the three of them including Long Wenlun returned inside the house. Likewise, Jin Bao¡¯er returned to Jin Qingyue¡¯s room while still sobbing. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± asked An Xiaoning as she stood up. ring daggers at her, Jin Bao¡¯er hollered, ¡°Stay away from me. If it weren¡¯t for you, would my Mommy have gotten injured? I heard everything while I was standing by the door. Your son even pushed me, you¡¯re all crooks!¡± An Xiaoning was taken aback by her sudden outburst. ¡°Watch your tone, how could you be so rude to your Auntie? Is this how Mommy taught you?¡± Jin Qingyue admonished Jin Bao¡¯er. ¡°It¡¯s clearly their fault. Why do you have to scold me?¡± Jin Bao¡¯er retorted, covering her face as she burst into tears. An Xiaoning was rarely that patient, though she did not wish to argue with a child. ¡°Your Mommy did get injured because of me and I¡¯m very guilty for that too. But no one wanted this to happen. I know you¡¯re just concerned about your Mommy, but we¡¯re all worried about her too. You¡¯re not the only one.¡± Jin Bao¡¯er remained silent while An Xiaoning said to Jin Qingyue, ¡°You continue to coax her. I¡¯ll have to get back to the police station to carry out interrogations.¡± ¡°Alright, it¡¯ll be fine. Go ahead, Sis-inw.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and turned around to leave. She closed the door after she left. Jin Qingyue leaned her head against the headboard and stared at her daughter without uttering a word. She suddenly felt as if her daughter was a reflection of her younger self. ¡°Mommy...¡± ¡°Who said you could talk to your Auntie so rudely?¡± Jin Qingyue questioned. ¡°She¡¯s not my Auntie yet.¡± ¡°Who said she isn¡¯t? If you¡¯re already so rude and bratty when you¡¯re still young, no one will like you,¡± Jin Qingyue chastised with an austere expression on her face. Jin Bao¡¯er hung her head low and kept quiet. ¡°It was all my fault for spoiling you rotten. I¡¯m not going to let you go about your willful and insensible ways anymore. If you dare to be so rude again next time, Mommy is going to berate you.¡± ¡°You¡¯d better beat me to death. Once you do that, you won¡¯t have a daughter anymore!¡± Jin Qingyue was astonished. She did not expect her daughter to be threatening her at such a young age. ¡ª An Xiaoning drove back to the police station where Ma Jianguo and the rest were waiting for her. The man was sitting in the interrogation room with his jaw still dislocated, leaving him drooling uncontrobly. An Xiaoning tied a rope of medium thickness around his lips in order to prevent him from biting his tongue to kill himself while answering their questions. After fixing his jaw, An Xiaoning stood by the bars and looked inside. ¡°Do you n to tell the truth?¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing much to say, I was the one who did everything. No one else is involved,¡± the man answered straightforwardly, showing no signs of fear at all. Keeping her eyes fixed on him, An Xiaoning questioned, ¡°Could you tell me what your motive is, then? Why did you want to kill me? We don¡¯t even know each other. There must be a reason why you wanted to kill me, isn¡¯t there?¡± ¡°No reason, I just wanted to kill you. Can¡¯t I do that?¡± ¡°Oh wow, I didn¡¯t know people would actually kill for no reason nowadays. It¡¯s alright if you don¡¯t wish to speak up. I have a thousand ways to force the truth out of you. But, the process might be very painful. If you don¡¯t wish to undergo torment, you¡¯d better hurry up and speak. Don¡¯t wait ¡¯til we subject you to ruthless punishment before you confess.¡± ¡°You... you¡¯re going to force me to confess by subjecting me to physical torture!?!¡± ¡°See, I told you to confess while we¡¯re still being nice. Since you choose to be so tight-lipped, I won¡¯t go easy on you.¡± An Xiaoning then said to Ma Jianguo, ¡°I¡¯ve hired someone to dig up a tunnel in the ground of my house. Officer Ma, what do you say we take him to live in there for a while?¡± ¡°What if he crawls up?¡± ¡°He can¡¯t. I¡¯ll ce two hungry Tibetan mastiffs in there. Let¡¯s see if the mastiffs will eat him up. I¡¯m really looking forward to it,¡± said An Xiaoning, cing her hands together. Everyone¡¯s hearts skipped a beat, for they did not know if she was being serious or merely trying to scare the man. The man immediately turned pale as a sheet in fear. ¡°An Xiaoning, you¡¯re way too vicious. You¡¯re not going by the book!¡± ¡°Your bullet missed my heart by just a teeny weeny bit. Do you still expect me to treat you in ordance with the rules? You¡¯re right, I¡¯m a vicious woman. Whoever does me wrong, I¡¯ll make him pay double the price. The feeling of wishing you were dead must be great. I¡¯m sure you¡¯d like to have a try. Since you don¡¯t wish to tell the truth, we¡¯ll have to bring you to Wei Ni Estate,¡± An Xiaoning said with a straight face. Noticing that the police officers were about to take him away, the man began to struggle vigorously and refused to budge but to no avail, since both his hands and legs were tied up. Thus, he was taken away forcefully. Upon reaching the door, An Xiaoning asked onest time, ¡°You should really think this through carefully. It¡¯s important to decide if you want to act like a hero and sacrifice for the mastermind or to save yourself from a cruel punishment. Don¡¯t think about how you¡¯ll be hunted down and killed by the mastermind when you¡¯re released, because by then, that person would no longer be around.¡± The man raised his brows in astonishment. He had never expected the small and petite woman in front of him to have such a sharp tongue. ¡°I told you, I did everything out of my own ord.¡± An Xiaoning instructed Zu Dong and Gong Le, ¡°Take him away immediately.¡± She then gave Fan Shixin a call and instructed him to dig up a basement with a width of two meters and a depth of three meters right away, iming that it was extremely urgent. Fan Shixin proceeded to do as instructed without dy. Once the police car arrived in the courtyard, An Xiaoning took the lead and alighted. ¡°Is it done yet?¡± ¡°Almost. What do you need it for?¡± Fan Shixin whispered softly. ¡°You¡¯ll knowter. Bring me two Tibetan mastiffs now.¡± ¡°Tibetan mastiffs?¡± Fan Shixin asked in bewilderment. ¡°Yes, hurry,¡± An Xiaoning said with a gesture. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go right now.¡± She chucked her hands in her pockets and stood there to wait. The rest of the police officers alighted from the car one after another while dragging the man out forcefully. Fan Shixin returned 20 minutester with two dog owners, each walking their Tibetan mastiff towards An Xiaoning and the rest. Noticing the scene before them, everyone soon realized that An Xiaoning was not joking! By the time they moved to the hole, the man¡¯s legs had already turned to jelly. He stared at the Tibetan mastiffs, which were sticking their tongues out, before looking at An Xiaoning, who had a stern expression on her face. He was almost on the verge of despair. ¡°Dump him into the hole before sending the mastiffs to apany him. Let¡¯s watch how determined he is to cover up for his organization and the mastermind,¡± An Xiaoning said with a smirk. Zu Dong and Gong Le pushed the man along and were about to throw him into the hole. Just as they approached the edge of the hole, the man finally conceded and yelled at the top of his lungs while appearing as pale as a sheet, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you everything! Don¡¯t throw me down, I¡¯ll speak up!¡± An Xiaoning reached a hand out and gestured for Zu Dong and Gong Le to stop, which they did ordingly. ¡°Why? Weren¡¯t you still very tight-lipped and stubborn earlier? Are you afraid now? Weren¡¯t you unafraid of death?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid, who wouldn¡¯t be?¡± ¡°Take him back to the police station,¡± An Xiaoning instructed. Chapter 384 - The Secret About the Past (2)

Chapter 384: The Secret About the Past (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning interrogated the man all over again. He gave a reasonable exnation for his actions. ¡°I work for Ms. Xu Youran of the Xu family. I used to be a sniper. I¡¯ve been working for her up to now. She¡¯s definitely not going to let me off now that I failed toplete the task and even got arrested by you guys.¡± ¡°What did she instruct you to do?¡± An Xiaoning asked while recording the interrogation with her mobile phone. ¡°She just said that I would be rewarded with two million dors as long as I shoot you to death.¡± ¡°How can you prove that you work for her?¡± asked An Xiaoning. ¡°Of course there are things to prove it. I have with me a mobile phone solely meant for contacting her. Whoever works for her would have a simr mobile phone.¡± Ding Liang searched the man for the mobile phone and found it. He then handed it to An Xiaoning. ¡°Is this the mobile phone?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Because I decided to be careful, there are recordings of my conversations with her.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes lit up in surprise and immediately opened the voice recording app on the mobile phone to find that it was indeed so. She immediately sent the recordings to herself on her mobile phone. They were crucial pieces of evidence. After the interrogation, the man was locked up and detained. An Xiaoning then instructed her subordinates, ¡°I¡¯m afraid that he¡¯ll be assassinated, so from now on, the four of you are to take turns and keep watch overnight.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± the four of them chorused. The doors of the interrogation room opened and Pan Zhenghui entered. ¡°Xiaoning, are you alright?¡± he asked smilingly. ¡°I¡¯m alright.¡± ¡°The moment I came back, I heard that you were assaulted and almost got injured. Be more careful in the future. By the way, do you know where I came back from?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s Head-of-Office Xu¡¯s ce?¡± An Xiaoning guessed. ¡°How clever of you, Xiaoning. You¡¯re right.¡± ¡°Stop beating around the bush and get straight to the point.¡± ¡°Well, regarding the person you¡¯re detaining... release him for now,¡± Pan Zhenghui spluttered, afraid to speak his mind. ¡°Let¡¯s pause this matter temporarily. I¡¯m going to look for Head-of-Office Xu now. Wait for my call.¡± ¡°Why are you going to look for him?¡± Pan Zhenghui asked frantically. ¡°His sister ordered someone to shoot me dead.¡± An Xiaoning took a deep breath before saying to Pan Zhenghui sternly, ¡°This matter is not going to end so easily.¡± Pan Zhenghui¡¯s heart began to thump against his chest. Noticing that she was leaving, he quickly chased after her. ¡°Xiaoning... Xiaoning...¡± An Xiaoning did not stop walking. Pan Zhenghui continued to take chase while panting heavily. ¡°Xiaoning, wait a minute.¡± An Xiaoning stopped in her tracks and squinted at him. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be so impatient. I don¡¯t know why Head-of-Office Xu¡¯s sister wants to kill you, but I know there¡¯s no point in looking for him.¡± ¡°Bureau Chief, I think you¡¯re mistaken. I didn¡¯t n to ask him for help to solve the problem.¡± ¡°What are you looking him up for then?¡± asked Pan Zhenghui, dumbfounded. ¡°To have a casual chat with him and his family. So, Chief, don¡¯t release that man yet. Just wait for my call.¡± ¡°Talk things over calmly, don¡¯t get too worked up,¡± said a worried Pan Zhenghui. ¡°Okay, I know what to do.¡± She turned around and hopped into the car before driving away from the police station quickly. An Xiaoning had a cold and austere expression on her face throughout the journey. This was not the first time she had endured Xu Youran¡¯s outrageous acts. Xu Youran had been testing her patience time and time again. Does she think I¡¯m a pushover? An Xiaoning thought to herself. Don¡¯t be too arrogant just because you¡¯re Jin Qingyan¡¯s sister! This time, An Xiaoning was going to show that woman what she¡¯s made of! Halfway through her journey there, An Xiaoning decided to give Xu Yang a call. After hearing that he had already reached home, she quickly said that she would be visiting him at the Xu family home right away and hung up before Xu Yang could even respond. She drove along the roads and arrived at the entrance of the Xu family mansion. ¡°I already called Head-of-Office Xu to inform him that I¡¯ll be visiting,¡± she said to the guards at the gate. ¡°Pleasee with me,¡± said the guard, who led the way inside. An Xiaoning followed closely behind, dressed infortable clothes like she always was whenever she reported to the police station. She was donning a sports attire, coupled with a pair of trainers on her feet. She tucked her hair behind her ear, revealing the white diamond earstud on her earlobe. She followed the guard all the way to the living room of the Xu family mansion. ¡°Young Sir, Ms. An is here.¡± An Xiaoning entered through the door, only to see that all the members of the Xu family were present, except Xu Youran. She held her breath and walked towards them. She put on a smile and said, ¡°Hello Head-of-Office Xu. It¡¯s great that Military Commander and Madam Xu are both here too. I have some questions for you. I won¡¯t bring up the case about Xu Jingwen, since you¡¯ve already settled it. Xu Youran has secretly hired a sniper to assassinate me, but he ended up injuring Qingyan¡¯s sister instead. I¡¯d like to ask, what do you guys n to do about this matter?¡± A grim expression formed on Military Commander Xu¡¯s face immediately. ¡°What...¡± ¡°Xu Youran hired someone to shoot me dead, but I managed to dodge the bullet, which struck Qingyan¡¯s sister¡¯s shoulder instead. She was just discharged from the hospital. I¡¯d like to know, is the Xu family still going to abuse your authority and power to continue bullying me and the Jin family?¡± An Xiaoning repeated herself. The Military Commander¡¯s jaw dropped in shock. He looked up at Xu Yang and asked, ¡°Is this true?¡± Xu Yang expressed assent. ¡°Technically, Head-of-Office Xu, you are my superior. It really saddens me to know that you¡¯re preparing to release the criminal who tried to kill me, just so you could save your sister. I don¡¯t know why she¡¯s doing this, but her n did not work out, unfortunately. I have sufficient evidence to prove that Xu Youran was the mastermind behind this plot to kill me. I, An Xiaoning, am not afraid of anything in this world. This is not the first time Xu Youran has done something like this to me, anyway. She previously even tried to hire people to abduct my child. If I don¡¯t get a reasonable exnation that I¡¯m satisfied with, I¡¯ll spread the evidence online.¡± Everyone else was speechless. Madam Xu stood up and said smilingly, ¡°Please don¡¯t act rashly, Ms. An. Let¡¯s talk things over slowly. Besides, Youran is going to be your sister-inw very soon...¡± An Xiaoning did not allow her to finish and instead interjected, ¡°My sister-inw-to-be? Since she¡¯s going to be my sister-inw soon, why did shemit such an atrocious act? She doesn¡¯t deserve to be my sister-inw.¡± Madam Xu then instructed the servants to serve some tea. ¡°Please take a seat, Ms. An.¡± After An Xiaoning sat down, Military Commander Xu said, ¡°If what Ms. An said is true, I will definitely get Youran to apologize to you until she earns your forgiveness. We¡¯ll also promise that nothing of this sort would happen again in the future.¡± ¡°Apologize? I don¡¯t know if apologizing will help though. Or does Military Commander Xu n to treat me the same way you did Xu Jingwen¡¯s family ¨C by shutting their mouths with money?¡± An Xiaoning scoffed. ¡°...¡± ¡°To be honest with you, we can¡¯t lose this daughter of ours because she was already lost before and found. We can¡¯t afford to lose her again. Other than putting her behind bars or taking her life, we will agree to any wish of yours, as long as it¡¯ll appease you, Ms. An.¡± In An Xiaoning¡¯s opinion, Military Commander Xu merely found himself an adopted daughter. ¡°I truly envy Ms. Xu for having such a close-knit and protective family to defend her. I¡¯ve never had my biological parents protect me this way before. But, this is not a valid excuse.¡± ¡°Ms. An, your biological parents are...?¡± Madam Xu asked in astonishment. Chapter 385 - The Secret About the Past (3)

Chapter 385: The Secret About the Past (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I don¡¯t know who my biological parents are. I was adopted at a young age. My adoptive parents sent me to live with my Master in the mountains where I spent my adolescent years. I only acknowledged the Gu family as my godparents when I was older,¡± An Xiaoning said upfront. ¡°Your biological parents must be looking for you urgently,¡± said a surprised Madam Xu. ¡°Why would they be eager to look for a child they abandoned?¡± An Xiaoning sneered. ¡°Boss, that fellow is calling you again!¡± An Xiaoning whipped her mobile phone out from her pocket and realized that it was a call from Jin Qingyan. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I¡¯m at the Xu family mansion now.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°...¡± After ending the call, An Xiaoning looked up at the members of the Xu family and said, ¡°Qingyan is making his way here now. I hope we¡¯ll have a thorough discussion about the misdeeds Xu Youran hasmitted recently.¡± ¡°Get Youran toe home immediately,¡± Military Commander Xu instructed his son. ¡°Yes, Father.¡± His younger son Xu Cai immediately gave his sister a call. Xu Youran returned soon after Jin Qingyan arrived. She immediately grew flustered and anxious at the sight of Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning. Staring at her sternly, Military Commander Xu questioned, ¡°Tell us quickly, what have you done?¡± Xu Youran stuttered in fright, afraid to admit to her doings. Xu Yang shot her a nce, as if to be telling her, ¡°Stop trying to cover up. It¡¯s not going to work.¡± ¡°Father, I don¡¯t know how to exin it. To put things simply, I¡¯ve done something wrong.¡± Xu Youran admitted it straight away. Perhaps because she knew it was a piece of cake for the Xu family to settle the matter. That¡¯s why... Military Commander Xu stood up and walked towards her. ¡°Have my words fallen on deaf ears? You didn¡¯t abide by my instructions at all,¡± he admonished. As soon as he finished speaking, he gave her a tight p across her face and hollered, ¡°How could you do that time and time again!¡± Xu Youran stared at her father in utter shock and terror. Ever since she was adopted by the Xu family, her adoptive parents had been showering her with love and pampering her to bits. Not once had they everid a hand on her. Madam Xu seemed to have something to say, though she kept it to herself in the end. ¡°Father, I was wrong. I won¡¯t do it again.¡± ¡°Promise Ms. An you won¡¯t do it again and apologize to her.¡± Xu Youran knew that it would be too inappropriate not to express her apology. She turned to face An Xiaoning and bowed down to her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± An Xiaoning would have never bothered to waste her time making a trip down there if an apology was all she wanted to hear. ¡°Saying sorry means nothing to me. Military Commander and Madam Xu, I only have one request. I hope she will be put through a year of reform and receive her due punishment.¡± ¡°You mean to take her into custody for a year? Isn¡¯t that the same as prison?¡± said Military Commander Xu as an austere expression formed on his face. ¡°Indeed. Otherwise, I don¡¯t think Ms. Xu is really going to change her ways and turn over a new leaf.¡± Although Madam Xu was gentle and sweet-tempered by nature, she could not help but huff, ¡°Ms. An, we¡¯ve already made her promise that she won¡¯t do that to you again. Could you stop insisting...?¡± ¡°This is not the first time it¡¯s happened. We hope that she will genuinely learn from her mistakes and repent, instead of continuing tomit such acts of misdeeds just because she knows her family will defend her. Fortunately, Xiaoning managed to escape this ordeal unscathed. Should anything happen to her, I, Jin Qingyan, will definitely not sit back and do nothing,¡± Jin Qingyan said firmly while holding on to An Xiaoning¡¯s hand. ¡°Make it half a year, Xiaoning. She will undergo reform for half a year. If she repeats her mistake again in the future, we¡¯ll stay out of it and leave it entirely to you guys to punish her,¡± Xu Yang conceded. An Xiaoning stood up and said, ¡°Head-of-Office Xu, I¡¯ve recorded everything you said. Half a year it is, then. I hope she will truly change for the better this time, although I highly doubt it. I will prepare myself for another attack, nheless. If this happens again, I¡¯ll upload all the evidence online. I¡¯m afraid she won¡¯t be the only person implicated when that happens. Military Commander Xu, please watch your daughter closely and take her in hand.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± the Military Commander assented. ¡°Qingyan, let¡¯s go.¡± Jin Qingyan left together with her, hand in hand. After watching them leave, Xu Youran asked, ¡°Father, you¡¯re not really going to put me through reform, are you?¡± ¡°I am. I remember telling you again and again previously to not repeat your mistakes, yet you still refuse to repent. Youran, I¡¯m very disappointed in you,¡± said Military Commander Xu, staring at her. As soon as he finished speaking, he returned to his bedroom. Teary-eyed, Madam Xu asked, ¡°Youran, tell me, why did you do that? There must be a reason for everything. Tell me.¡± ¡°I just really detest her,¡± said Xu Youran, still refusing to reveal the underlying reason. ¡°Why? Did she do something that made you detest her?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, I just really hate her for no apparent reason. Half a year of reform, huh? I¡¯ll just get through it, no big deal,¡± said Xu Youran, clenching her fists in anger. Xu Yang stood at the side without uttering a word. Fan Shixin drove An Xiaoning¡¯s car home while An Xiaoning took Jin Qingyan¡¯s. ¡°I¡¯m really so sick and tired of these unprecedented dangers. It makes me feel as if I have to constantly be in fear and on my guard every single day.¡± ¡°Shall we go to the beach to rx tomorrow?¡± Jin Qingyan suggested. ¡°I still have a case to handle. Let¡¯s go when I¡¯m done solving it instead,¡± said An Xiaoning, whose temples began throbbing all of a sudden. ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°The case I¡¯m working on now is pretty tricky. Under what circumstance, apart from a muscle cramp in his legs or suicide, would a man drown, despite knowing how to swim?¡± After a moment of pondering in silence while staring at the road ahead, Jin Qingyan answered, ¡°I really can¡¯t think of a reason. Unless he¡¯s mentally unsound, it¡¯s very unlikely that a good swimmer would drown if not because of a muscle cramp or suicide.¡± ¡°Makes sense.¡± ¡ª In the evening, at a certain hotel, Lin Mingxi arrived to see that Gu Beicheng was there before her. ¡°Order the dishes,¡± he said while handing her the menu. Lin Mingxi took the menu from his hands and asked awkwardly, ¡°What would you like to have?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine with anything. You decide.¡± Lin Mingxi expressed assent and proceeded to order a few dishes, which included pumpkin porridge, before handing the menu to the waiter. ¡°I thought... you¡¯d definitely not want to meet me again.¡± ¡°I thought so too. But my mother thinks you¡¯re a good catch, thus I decided to get to know you better,¡± Gu Beicheng said coldly. Lin Mingxi was not upset by his words. Instead, a faint smile formed on her face as she said, ¡°You must be the type who puts love above all else.¡± ¡°You can tell?¡± ¡°Because I belong to that type. I¡¯ve been through several matchmaking sessions and even tried getting to know them better, but nothing fruitful hase out of it. It¡¯s an absolute torture to be with someone you don¡¯t fancy at all,¡± Lin Mingxi said truthfully. ¡°Have you had any boyfriends in the past?¡± Lin Mingxi chuckled and said, ¡°Would you believe me if I said I haven¡¯t?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you already 29 years old? You seriously never had any before?¡± Gu Beicheng asked apprehensively with raised brows. ¡°I really haven¡¯t had a proper boyfriend before. Those whom I adored never reciprocated my feelings for them while those who fancied me were simply not to my liking. I haven¡¯t found someone I could hit it off with. So, I¡¯ve actually be indifferent towards matchmaking nowadays,¡± Lin Mingxi exined, smiling wryly. Staring at her, Gu Beicheng asked, ¡°Would you like to have some liquor?¡± ¡°Sure, let¡¯s have a drink or two then. Alcohol makes everything better,¡± Lin Mingxi said smilingly. Gu Beicheng gestured for the water to approach and ordered, ¡°Bring us a bottle of whiskey.¡± Chapter 386 - The Secret About the Past (4)

Chapter 386: The Secret About the Past (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The meal went on smoothly and they shared the entire bottle of whiskey between themselves. Lin Mingxi could not hold her liquor well and thus got extremely tipsy while Gu Beicheng was still rather sober. She could not even walk steadily when it was time for them to part. Gu Beicheng had no choice but to help her into his car and send her home. Once they got into his car, he reached out to help Lin Mingxi fasten her safety belt, only to have his hand grabbed by her all of a sudden. Staring at him with her eyes ssed over, she said, ¡°Gu Beicheng, can I tell you an honest opinion?¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I feel really good about you.¡± She hugged his arm and ced her head on his shoulders while murmuring, ¡°Gu Beicheng, let¡¯s get married.¡± Gu Beicheng remained silent, greatly taken aback by her sudden confession. He pushed her hand away from his arm and fastened her safety belt, as well as his. He then began driving slowly towards her house. Twenty minutester, they arrived at the entrance of the Lin family mansion. ¡°Lin Mingxi, you¡¯re home.¡± She humphed and eased herself into afortable position in the passenger seat. Gu Beicheng tapped her a few times. ¡°Lin Mingxi?¡± She was asleep like a log. Gu Beicheng had no choice but to carry her out of the car and bring her inside her house. Lin Mingxi¡¯s parents were shocked to see Gu Beicheng carrying her home. ¡°Hello, Uncle and Auntie. We had some drinks during dinner earlier, but it turns out she can¡¯t hold her liquor well and got drunk. So, I decided to send her home.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble you to carry her to her bedroom then,¡± said Mrs. Lin, who was as happy as ark. Mrs. Lin then showed him the way to Lin Mingxi¡¯s bedroom. Gu Beicheng put on a courteous smile and carried Lin Mingxi to her bedroom. Mrs. Lin did not enter and instead headed back to the living room. ¡°Did you see how dashing and suave he was? He¡¯d be a suitable partner for Mingxi.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Gu Beicheng carried Lin Mingxi onto the bed. Just as he was about to let go of her, Lin Mingxi grabbed onto his arms tightly and slowly opened her eyes. They exchanged nces, after which Gu Beicheng said, ¡°You¡¯re home now. I don¡¯t know if you drove to the restaurant or not, but if you did, your car is probably still there. You may go back tomorrow to drive your car home. I¡¯ll be taking my leave now.¡± ¡°Gu Beicheng.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Will I get the opportunity to have a meal with you again?¡± Gu Beicheng continued to stare at her without uttering a word. ¡°Will I?¡± Lin Mingxi repeated herself, feeling a little dejected. ¡°I¡¯m not free tomorrow. How about the day after?¡± Gu Beicheng asked. ¡°Sure,¡± Lin Mingxi agreed right away, keeping her eyes fixed on him and beaming with joy. ¡°I¡¯m going home.¡± Lin Mingxi let go of him and watched as he left her bedroom. She ced her hands on her face, which was burning red. She opened her eyes before closing them again. We¡¯ll be meeting again the day after tomorrow ... she thought. Lin Mingxi was filled with happiness and excitement at the thought of meeting him again. Does this mean there¡¯s a high chance we would get together? she wondered. ¡°Mingxi,¡± said Mrs. Lin as she entered her daughter¡¯s bedroom. Lin Mingxi greeted her mother. ¡°How was dinner this evening?¡± ¡°Great.¡± ¡°Your father and I are very pleased with Gu Beicheng. You have to grasp the opportunity to date him. I can tell at one nce that he¡¯s different from Ye Xiaotian,¡± said Mrs. Lin. ¡°Yes, we agreed to meet again the day after tomorrow.¡± cing her hands together, Mrs. Lin eximed delightfully, ¡°Great! There¡¯s hope in marrying you off now.¡± ¡°...¡± After a long silence, Lin Mingxi asked, ¡°Do you resent the sight of me in this house that much, Mother? Why are you in such a hurry for me to get married?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just sparing a thought for you, Mingxi. It¡¯s all for your own good. Expectant mothers who are in their thirties are at a higher risk than those who are in their twenties. Besides, the younger you give birth, the quicker your body would recover. For example, if you two were to begin dating now, you would probably only get married after at least a year. How old would you be by the time you get pregnant and give birth? Not to mention, this is in the event that everything goes smoothly as soon as possible.¡± Lin Mingxi closed her eyes and said, ¡°You¡¯re thinking way too far ahead. We still barely know each other.¡± ¡°Then hurry and make some progress. Don¡¯t just keep waiting for others to court you. Men all fancy women who y cute and cozy up to them. You have to imagine that you¡¯re still as lively as an 18-year-old and make yourself more adorable.¡± ¡°That¡¯s just pretending to be young.¡± ¡°Exactly what I want you to do. Go get a new haircut tomorrow, followed by a facial at the beauty salon. You have to capture his heart before everything else cane to fruition.¡± ¡°Got it, Mother. I¡¯m tired, I¡¯m going to sleep.¡± ¡°Alright, go to bed then.¡± Mrs. Lin then quickly exited her bedroom. ¡ª Gu Beicheng returned home to find that An Xiaoning, his parents, and Gu Dongcheng were ying mahjong. Upon seeing that he was home, An Xiaoning greeted, ¡°Hey, you¡¯re home?¡± ¡°Yes, why are you guys ying mahjong?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know how to at first but Mother taught me the rules and I picked it up rather quickly. So, I decided to y a few rounds with Father and Mother. I heard from Mother that you went for a blind date. How did it go?¡± asked An Xiaoning. ¡°It was alright. It was with Lin Mingxi,¡± said Gu Beicheng as he took a seat. ¡°Lin Mingxi is a determined one. She managed to survive ¡¯til the end of the exercise boot camp too. Anyway, we used to bicker and fight really often during training. I haven¡¯t seen her in years. The coach called all of us for a gathering next week,¡± An Xiaoning said smilingly. ¡°Had I known earlier, I would¡¯ve joined back then too. Unfortunately, I was busy with work at the time, unlike Jin Qingyan. He actually joined as a Commander and even bought over the boot camp with a hefty amount of money, all for your sake,¡± said Gu Beicheng. ¡°That¡¯s enough, stop mocking me,¡± An Xiaoning teased with a grin. An Xiaoning did not bring up the matter about Xu Youran in front of Gu Dongcheng, as if nothing had happened at all. Gu Dongcheng did not mention anything either. Everyone seemed to have a tacit understanding. It was already past eight o¡¯clock in the evening when An Xiaoning left the Gu family mansion. She drove home to Wei Ni Estate. Jin Qingyan was standing straight and waiting for her by the entrance. She alighted and made eye contact with Jin Qingyan. ¡°Why are you standing so still by the entrance at this hour?¡± ¡°To wait for you, of course. I can¡¯t rest my mind unless you¡¯re back.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s lips curled into a smile as she stepped forward to hold his arm. ¡°It must¡¯ve been hard on you. I should¡¯vee back earlier.¡± ¡°What did you go back for?¡± ¡°To have a look.¡± Upon returning to their bedroom, An Xiaoning removed her clothes and headed to the bathroom right away for a warm,fortable shower. Jin Qingyan took the initiative to bring her undergarments from the dressing room to the bathroom and hung them onto the hook. ¡°Are you really willing to let her off so easily?¡± ¡°What else can I do? Her entire family works for the government. Military Commander Xu is wealthy and is a person of high authority. Justice means nothing and thew can¡¯t have a hold on you as long as you have a powerful status. I¡¯ve realized that fact a long time ago,¡± An Xiaoning said with her eyes half-closed, leaning her head against the bathtub. Jin Qingyan picked up the showerhead and tested the temperature of the water before helping her wash her hair. ¡°It¡¯s been hard on you.¡± ¡°This world is too dangerous. We have to be on guard at all times.¡± Jin Qingyan squeezed some shampoo onto his palm and allowed it tother before applying the foam onto her hair. ¡°I will do my best to protect you from now on. Although I¡¯m not sure if I can keep you 100% safe, I¡¯ll ensure at least 90% of your safety. I¡¯ve hired someone to make the three of us a bulletproof vest each. They¡¯ll be ready very soon,¡± he said while massaging her scalp. ¡°How thoughtful of you,¡± An Xiaoning praised. Chapter 387 - The Secret About the Past (5)

Chapter 387: The Secret About the Past (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°As your man, this is the attribute I ought to possess. Is this level of pressure just nice?¡± asked Jin Qingyan. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s veryfortable.¡± Jin Qingyan massaged her scalp for a few more minutes before rinsing the shampoo off her head with water. He then applied some conditioner and serum onto her hair and continued to massage gently. ¡°Xiaoning, do you know what my wish is right now?¡± ¡°What is it? Don¡¯t tell me you want a second child?¡± ¡°I want to make you my wife.¡± ¡°Really?¡± An Xiaoning asked smilingly. ¡°Really. I would die with no regrets if I could marry you again.¡± ¡°Touch wood, don¡¯t talk about dying. I hate hearing it.¡± After a moment of silence, An Xiaoning continued, ¡°Actually, we¡¯re almost just like a married couple now...¡± ¡°It¡¯s different. If we were overseas, one would require their spouse¡¯s signature in order to proceed with a surgery. We¡¯re not husband and wife yet, we¡¯re at most a cohabiting couple.¡± ¡°You gotta buck up then. Earn my trust and make me agree to marry you again as soon as possible,¡± An Xiaoning said with a smile. Jin Qingyan rinsed all the hair product out of her scalp before cing the showerhead aside. Supporting himself against the bath tub with both hands, he kissed her on her lips and said, ¡°Xiaoning, I want to openly dere to the public that you¡¯re my wife and Youqing is my son. I don¡¯t wish to have the media fabricate stories about Youqing being my illegitimate son. I don¡¯t like that.¡± An Xiaoning was deeply moved by his words. ¡°Then you¡¯d better prepare a nice proposal,¡± An Xiaoning agreed with a nod. His eyes lit up with joy, unable to contain his happiness. ¡°Does that mean you¡¯ve agreed?¡± ¡°Yes. Since you¡¯ve already put it that way, I don¡¯t have a reason to turn you down,¡± said An Xiaoning with a look of helplessness. Jin Qingyan cupped her head with his hands and began kissing her continuously. ¡°I... I¡¯m so happy!¡± he eximed in euphoria. ¡°Why are you acting like a teenager?¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Are you not?¡± ¡°Heh, I guess I am.¡± In high spirits, Jin Qingyan insisted on helping her blow-dry her hair aftering out of the shower. Noticing how excited and agitated he was, An Xiaoning decided to grant him his wish and sat on the chair to enjoy his services. Just as they came out of the bathroom after blow-drying her hair, Jin Qingyan immediately picked her up in his arms and carried her onto the bed. ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± An Xiaoning asked, cupping his face in her hands. ¡°You.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a little exhausted today. I have no energy as much as I want to.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, just pretend you¡¯re asleep. Leave all the work to me.¡± ¡°Wait a minute.¡± She got out of bed and scurried towards the dressing room to retrieve four small foil packets from the cupboard. ¡°Which vor would you like? Fruity, original, or milk?¡± ¡°Can we have one of each vor?¡± ¡°No. That¡¯s exhausting,¡± said An Xiaoning, chuckling. She then picked out a fruity-vored one and put the rest away inside the cupboard. ¡°Xiaoning...¡± ¡°Yes? What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t we stop using these?¡± ¡°Are you thinking of getting me pregnant again? I had to get two injections a day when I was pregnant with Youqing.¡± ¡°I do want to have another child with you, be it a girl or a boy. Only then can I keep you by my side even more securely.¡± Kneeling on the bed, An Xiaoning stared at him and said, ¡°I¡¯m not a pet, you don¡¯t have to restrain me. Don¡¯t you dislike children?¡± ¡°Well, now that I think about it, I¡¯d like to have another child with you.¡± An Xiaoning inched forward and put her arms around his neck before saying, ¡°You¡¯ve made me so muddled up and caused me to act beyond my rationality.¡± ¡°Like allowing me to propose to you?¡± ¡°And giving birth to a second child?¡± ¡°Does this mean you¡¯ve agreed?¡± asked Jin Qingyan, grinning from ear to ear. ¡°Do I have a choice?¡± Jin Qingyanid down while holding her tight in his arms. A warm, fuzzy feeling filled his heart. That night, An Xiaoning was constantly disrupted from her sleep, causing her to oversleep. She woke up at nine o¡¯clock in the morning and arrivedte at the police station. Her four colleagues were already present by the time she arrived. ¡°I¡¯d like to first apologize to everyone for beingte and making you guys wait.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, no worries. It¡¯s understandable for young people like you to engage in excessive exercise at night. Team Leader, you¡¯ve got so many hickeys on your neck,¡± Ma Jianguo said teasingly. An Xiaoning quickly adjusted the scarf on her neck and cleared her throat before saying, ¡°Um... let¡¯s continue investigating the case about Liu Chen today.¡± ¡°Sis Xiaoning, are we going to the college again today?¡± ¡°Of course we are. I¡¯m very certain that there¡¯s something missing from the information you¡¯ve gathered. Perhaps those people you¡¯ve questioned were hiding the truth. I didn¡¯t know what exactly happened before I handled the case, but now that I¡¯ve taken over, you guys... have to follow my instructions. Let¡¯s head to the college now. By the way, that man hasn¡¯t been released by Bureau Chief, has he?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± They then stood up and got into the police car to embark on a journey towards the college. It was a university campus. It was one of the most prestigious and renowned universities in A City. Due to the fact that they had already informed the management staff of the college beforehand, there were teachers present to receive them when they arrived. They followed the teacher-in-charge to the victim¡¯s dormitory. Upon arriving at the entrance, the teacher took out the key to the door and said, ¡°Due to the incident, the three other students who were his former roommates have requested to move into other dormitory rooms. Apart from removing the belongings of the other students, we¡¯ve also retained the original positions of the items in the room ording to your instructions. We didn¡¯t allow Liu Chen¡¯s parents to take his belongings home either.¡± As soon as the door opened, An Xiaoning took the lead and entered the room, which was rather neat and tidy, with no clutter in sight. An Xiaoning turned to look at the only bed, which had a duvet on it, and asked the teacher, ¡°Is this Liu Chen¡¯s bed?¡± ¡°Yes. No one else has ever touched this bed.¡± ¡°Teacher, could you call his three other roommates here, please? My colleagues were the one handling this case previously, and now that I¡¯ve taken over, I have to carry out investigations all over again,¡± An Xiaoning requested. ¡°Alright.¡± The teacher then turned around to leave. An Xiaoning sat down on the bed and looked down at the pillow, only to find that there were several strands of hair on it. The strands were very short and would easily go unnoticed if she did not take a closer look. ¡°Team Leader, the three students are here.¡± An Xiaoning looked at the three male students, who were of simr height, standing before her. Pointing at the bed opposite, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Have a seat, please. Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re just going to have a casual chat about Liu Chen.¡± The three male students sat down as instructed. ¡°Did you guys interact with Liu Chen regrly? How were your rtionships with him?¡± An Xiaoning asked. Shaking their heads in unison, they answered, ¡°We¡¯re not exactly bosom friends, but we don¡¯t have any conflicts either. We¡¯re just normal friends.¡± ¡°Does he return to the dormitory on time every day? What I mean is, does hee back to the dormitory at a fixed time every day, say at ten or eleven o¡¯clock?¡± ¡°Liu Chen does return to the dormitory every night, though not always at a fixed time. Sometimes, hees back when we¡¯re all already asleep. But we know he¡¯s here every night,¡± said Student A. ¡°What do you guys think of his personality then?¡± ¡°He¡¯s rather withdrawn and doesn¡¯t like to talk much. He seems to be very introverted,¡± Student Bmented. Chapter 388 - The Secret About the Past (6)

Chapter 388: The Secret About the Past (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Has any female studente to look him up before?¡± ¡°No,¡± the three students answered unanimously. ¡°During bedtime, have you guys ever woken up in the middle of the night to find that he was still awake?¡± ¡°Yes, there had been several times when I woke up in the middle of the night to use the washroom and guided myself with the torchlight on my mobile phone. I would often get a great shock when Ie down from the upper deck and find that his eyes were still wide open. He doesn¡¯t get much quality sleep,¡± one answered. After pondering for a while, An Xiaoning asked again, ¡°Does he have any habits that you guys can¡¯t tolerate?¡± The three students looked at each other. ssmate B then said, ¡°There¡¯s one bad habit of his that does get on our nerves. He often forgets to flush the toilet after he¡¯s done with his business. That¡¯s the only thing we can¡¯t stand about him after sharing the same dormitory for so long, because we are all clean freaks.¡± ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°No. He¡¯s very quiet and reserved. But there¡¯s no animosity between us because we rarely talk to him.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°Thank you for your cooperation. That¡¯s all for today.¡± The three students then took their leave. ¡°Officer An, Liu Chen¡¯s parents have made a trip down upon hearing that you guys are here.¡± An Xiaoning craned her neck to see that a middle-aged couple had entered, appearing extremely haggard. She could tell that their son¡¯s death hade as a huge blow to them. ¡°Uncle and Auntie, please have a seat here. I¡¯m An Xiaoning, the police officer in charge of your son¡¯s case,¡± said An Xiaoning, reaching out for a handshake. The middle-aged couple shook her hand one after another. ¡°I heard from your son¡¯s ssmates that Liu Chen is rather withdrawn and introverted. From your perspective, was his personality really like that?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been working outside most of the time, so I¡¯ve rarely interacted with my son in recent years. His mother should be clearer about what he¡¯s like,¡± said Mr. Liu. Mrs. Liu burst into tears as they approached the topic. ¡°Liu Chen wasn¡¯t like this in the past. He used to be a lively and bubbly child, but he¡¯s experienced a drastic change in his character ever since he went to university. He became quiet and irascible, as if he¡¯s a different person. He used to live in a dormitory during high school too and would call home every week. However, ever since he went to university, he stopped doing so and even went an entire semester without calling us. Sometimes, he¡¯d even refuse to pick up my phone calls,¡± she exined. ¡°Did he only go through a major change after attending university? Have you had a proper talk with him?¡± Mrs. Liu nodded and said, ¡°Whenever he returned home, I would ask him about his situation in school out of concern, but he always refused to answer. He even found me annoying when I continued to probe. I just can¡¯t figure out why he took things so hard. Everyone says that he killed himself because he was down with depression.¡± ¡°Do you think hemitted suicide because of depression then?¡± Shaking her head, Mrs. Liu answered, ¡°No, I don¡¯t think he¡¯s depressed either. Because, well, there¡¯s no reason for him to be. I doubt he¡¯s stressed about his academics, neither does he have a girlfriend or any rtionship woes. How could he possibly be depressed if there¡¯s no trigger? Besides, he¡¯s our only son. How could he bear to leave his father and me behind by taking his own life? I¡¯m very certain he wouldn¡¯t have done that.¡± An Xiaoning nodded in acknowledgment. Although it appeared on the surface that there was no visible issue, that was the very reason why the entire situation seemed all the more fishy. There must be a motive and reason even if it were suicide. She turned to face the teacher and asked, ¡°May I ask if anyone died in the dormitory Liu Chen lived in throughout the three years of his time in university?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not too sure about that. I¡¯ll have to ask the dormitory staff,¡± the teacher answered, dumbfounded. ¡°Could I trouble you to look into it now? Please.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Mrs. Liu wiped her tears and held onto An Xiaoning¡¯s hand. ¡°Police officer, you must find out the reason behind my son¡¯s death, please.¡± ¡°Auntie, don¡¯t you worry. I¡¯ll definitely get to the bottom of this matter and give you and Uncle an exnation,¡± said An Xiaoning, taking pity on Mr. and Mrs. Liu for losing their only son. She empathized with them and understood their misery. Half an hour passed. The teacher entered hurriedly and said, ¡°Officer An, I just heard from the staff in charge of managing the dormitory that a murder once took ce in the freshmen dormitory four years ago. The matter wasn¡¯t exposed to the public in a bid to save the school¡¯s reputation. Thus, it was settled in private. The room where the murder happened was the very same room Liu Chen stayed in during his first year in university.¡± Everyone was taken aback by the revtion and immediately turned their heads to look at An Xiaoning. ¡°Officer Ma, you and Zu Dong go find out the information and details of the murderer as well as the victim of that murder, which took ce four years ago. Teacher, please take me to that room immediately,¡± An Xiaoning said with a grave expression. ¡°Alright.¡± Without dy, An Xiaoning and her two other colleagues followed the teacher to the dormitory room where Liu Chen used to stay in during his first year of university. Liu Chen¡¯s parents had also tagged along. The room was spick and span, with no strange odor at all. It was evident that the male upants of the room were rather particr about cleanliness too. Although that was the generic observation, An Xiaoning found the room to be extremely unusual. ¡°Teacher, could you please make another trip down to call the four students upying this room toe here? Sorry to trouble you,¡± An Xiaoning requested. Noticing how serious and stern she looked, the teacher immediately nodded and said, ¡°No problem, please wait here, Officer An. I¡¯ll go ahead right away.¡± An Xiaoning nodded in agreement. Just as Ding Liang was about to enter, An Xiaoning stopped him abruptly, ¡°Don¡¯t go in. Wait here by the door.¡± ¡°Team Leader, what¡¯s the matter? Are there spirits in there?¡± Ding Liang asked softly. ¡°I have a feeling there are.¡± Upon hearing her words, Gong Le immediately took a step back. ¡°Those things scare me the most.¡± After waiting for more than ten minutes, they heard footsteps approaching. The four students were walking towards them one after another. An Xiaoning noticed immediately that one of them did not look too well and appeared rather sickly as he hung his head low. ¡°Hey, this student over here, are you ill?¡± The male student nodded and said, ¡°I caught a cold.¡± ¡°How long has it been?¡± ¡°Quite some time now. I haven¡¯t recovered since and I always get a fever at night. I¡¯ve been sent to the emergency unit at the hospital several times.¡± An Xiaoning opened her purse, which contained a few amulets ¨C necessities she brought along with her everywhere she went, every single day, without fail. She took one out and pasted it on the male student¡¯s forehead with no moisture at all. The dry piece of amulet was stuck closely onto his forehead. ¡°I feel so much better,¡± the male student eximed with a look of surprise. An Xiaoning had an answer to the situation upon hearing his words. ¡°You can¡¯t take this amulet off. Keep it on for an entire day until tomorrow morning, got it?¡± An Xiaoning instructed. ¡°Sister, what does it do?¡± ¡°It gets rid of spirits and unholy beings.¡± An Xiaoning did not wait for him to react in shock and instead said to Gong Le, ¡°Why are you standing so far away? Come here.¡± ¡°Team Leader, you can¡¯t be nning to get me to enter, can you?¡± Gong Le said with a wry smile. ¡°I¡¯m going to perform a ritual here. I want you to make a trip to my ce to get some necessary items. Ask for them directly from Fan Shixin, he¡¯ll hand them to you. I¡¯ll call him now to inform him.¡± An Xiaoning then whipped her phone out to give Fan Shixin a call. After ending the call, she pasted two other amulets onto the door frame, one on each side. The students and teacher were filled with fear and worry as they watched her. Chapter 389 - The Secret About the Past (7)

Chapter 389: The Secret About the Past (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning smiled at them and said reassuringly, ¡°Fear not, it¡¯ll be alright. Could you please bring me two chairs?¡± The teacher hurriedly gestured for the students to bring the chairs. ¡°Go, quick.¡± They soon returned with two chairs, which An Xiaoning ced in front of the door. Ma Jianguo and Zu Dong arrived back at the dormitory twenty minutester, holding the case files of the murderer and victim of the murder case that urred a few years ago. An Xiaoning reached out to grab the two case files, which she then perused carefully. She discovered that the murderer and the victim were not on good terms right from the start. The murderer was from a poor family and went through painstaking means to earn himself a ce in the university. He had always been living a frugal life, whereas the victim was from an affluent family and was never cash-strapped. The two had conflicting personalities and would frequently engage in heated arguments, which sometimes turned physical. They did not get along with each other at all. An Xiaoning believed that they both had a part to y in causing the strained rtionship between them. The murderer would have understandably developed an inferiorityplex due to his poor family background. Meanwhile, the victim would have been bound to develop a sense of superiority, given the fact that he had always lived afortable life with material abundance. Even if he may not have necessarily unted his wealth on purpose, it would have seemed like so to others, simply because they didn¡¯t possess the things he did. During theirst heated argument, the pauper stabbed the affluent victim with a knife repeatedly to death. There were no tedious investigations carried out after the murder, and the murderer was simply arrested and put behind bars, after which the case was closed. Gong Le handed An Xiaoning the materials and tools needed for the ritual, which she then arranged ordingly before lighting up a joss stick. Shock and terror were written on everyone¡¯s faces as they heard a sudden shrill voiceing from inside the dorm, whichsted for a few seconds beforeing to an end. ¡°It¡¯s all settled. Would you guys like to go in to have a look? Also, these students here, you guys might be frightened and afraid, but don¡¯t worry, everything is fine now,¡± An Xiaoning said smilingly, amused at the sight of the teacher grabbing onto the railing tightly inplete shock. ¡°I don¡¯t want to stay in this room anymore...¡± ¡°Me too, I want to move to another room...¡± ¡°I¡¯m moving back home...¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning removed the amulets on the door and took the lead in entering the room. The students were too afraid to enter, as much as they wanted to collect their belongings. Atst, they finally entered in thepany of the police officers and quickly began packing their bags. Liu Chen¡¯s parents could not help but ask, ¡°Officer An, just how did my son die?¡± ¡°The answer is very obvious. Your son had once lived in this room for a period of time. You mentioned that he used to be outgoing and optimistic but became moody and aloof ever since he attended university. This is because he was possessed by the vengeful spirit of the victim who was murdered in this room previously. Such spirits and unholy beings would usually choose to possess those who are frail and weak. For example, they would take the chance to possess their victims when their immune system is weak and defenseless. When one is healthy and full of vigor, it would practically be impossible for spirits to possess them. The vengeful spirit had possessed your son¡¯s body for years and led him to drown in the river once your son¡¯s energy and vitality were depleted,¡± An Xiaoning exined patiently. ¡°I would¡¯ve never believed these superstitious theories if I didn¡¯t witness it with my own eyes today,¡± said Mrs. Liu as she began tearing up uncontrobly. An Xiaoning pointed at the student who had an amulet on his forehead and said, ¡°This student over here was the spirit¡¯s next target. Fortunately, we managed to discover it in time. Otherwise, he could very likely have ended up in the same plight as your son.¡± The male student was scared soulless and wanted to cry yet had no tears. ¡°Thank you, Officer An. If it weren¡¯t for your help, I¡¯m afraid I would have suffered the same fate too. I¡¯ve been experiencing lots of diforts ever since I caught a cold. I couldn¡¯t sleep at night and suffer from insomnia, which made me appear listless all the time. I instantly felt better and revitalized after you pasted the amulet on my forehead. I really don¡¯t know how I should thank you.¡± An Xiaoning gave him a pat on his shoulder and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to thank me. Fate brought me to you and allowed me to discover your condition in the nick of time. If it weren¡¯t because of Liu Chen¡¯s death, I wouldn¡¯t have been here for the investigations. So, just burn some offerings for Liu Chen during his burial. That¡¯ll do.¡± ¡°I will do that for sure,¡± the male student agreed, nodding earnestly. An Xiaoning took another look around the room. Noticing how hastily the students were packing their belongings, she said, ¡°There¡¯s really nothing in this room anymore. You don¡¯t actually have to move out.¡± ¡°No, no, no. I must move out. I¡¯m really traumatized.¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s okay if we didn¡¯t know, but now that we¡¯re aware, we seriously dare not continue living in here.¡± ¡°I have to move away no matter what. I¡¯m overwhelmed with fear and paranoia now.¡± An Xiaoning empathized with them and said to the teacher, ¡°Teacher, please arrange for them to move into another dormitory then.¡± ¡°Yes, yes,¡± the teacher agreed while nodding profusely. The team of five then exited the college and returned inside the police car. Leaning her head against the window of the car, An Xiaoning opened a bottle of mineral water and began gulping it down. Ma Jianguo gave her a thumbs-up and eximed in awe, ¡°Team Leader, you¡¯re really brilliant. No wonder we couldn¡¯t find out anything substantial at all. If it weren¡¯t for you, I doubt we¡¯d get to the bottom of the matter even if we continue to investigate for another two years.¡± An Xiaoning shot him a nce and said, ¡°If you¡¯d taken another two years to investigate, that student today might¡¯ve already been dead.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± ¡°This case is considered closed now. Drive back to the police station,¡± An Xiaoning instructed. Zu Dong was behind the wheel and began driving towards the police station slowly. ¡°Which day of March is it today?¡± ¡°Team Leader, it¡¯s the first day of April.¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s already April? That¡¯s so soon. Time really flies. This is the time of the year where it¡¯s not too hot or cold. Perfect for a vacation,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Team Leader, are you actually thinking of going on a vacation?¡± ¡°Why? Am I not allowed to?¡± ¡°Of course you are, hehe. I¡¯m really getting on in my years. Yet, I¡¯ve aplished nothing in this life. I don¡¯t have a wife or a child or even any money at all. I¡¯m really envious of you,¡± Ma Jianguo said with a sheepish grin. ¡°You¡¯re only forty-something. It¡¯s not that old.¡± ¡°Uncle Ma, if you still don¡¯t get married and have children soon, your child might think you¡¯re his grandfather in the future,¡± Gong Le reminded teasingly. ¡°Get lost, who said you could call me ¡®Uncle¡¯? Call me ¡®Brother¡¯!¡± Gong Le chuckled and answered, ¡°Yes, Brother Ma.¡± ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡± Less than twenty minutester, they arrived smoothly at the police station due to theck of traffic on the roads. As soon as they entered through the gate, they were greeted with the sight of a woman bawling loudly and wrapping her arms tightly around the thigh of an armed policeman, Xiao Li. Xiao Li stood rooted to the ground with a look of helplessness on his face. What was happening? The five of them alighted, after which Ma Jianguo asked, ¡°Xiao Li, what¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Officer Ma, hurry and help me out. I¡¯ve really had enough of her, she¡¯s been making a din for God knows how long,¡± Xiao Li eximed in despair, appearing deathly pale. ¡°Miss... please get up from the ground first. Let¡¯s talk things over calmly,¡± said An Xiaoning. The woman slowly got up on her feet and announced, ¡°I told him to release my husband but he refuses to.¡± ¡°What crime did your husbandmit?¡± ¡°My husband... he didn¡¯t hit me. Hurry and release him.¡± Everyone was confused and at a loss. ¡°Sis Xiaoning, here¡¯s what happened. She came here to make a police report a few days ago, iming that her husband abused her. So, we paid her husband a visit and berated him. He said that he would change his ways and seemed really remorseful. We all took pity on her when we saw how bruised and swollen her face was from the beating. She then made another report a few dayster and said that her husband had hit her again,¡± Xiao Li exined. Chapter 390 - The Secret About the Past (8)

Chapter 390: The Secret About the Past (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Then?¡±. ¡°We then sped to her ce immediately and brought her and her husband back to the police station to record their statements. After taking their statements, we held a discussion and decided to detain her husband for a few days in order to make him reflect on his actions. She was rather supportive of our decision too. Yet, she insisted all of a sudden yesterday that her husband be released. We helped to cate their feelings and acted as a mediator between them. We thought the matter was settled there and then. Little did we expect that she¡¯d call against night to say that her husband physically abused her yet again,¡± Xiao Li exined, finding the entire situation extremely absurd and ridiculous. The woman eagerly exined, ¡°We were just ying around, he didn¡¯t hit me. Please release him, quick.¡± An Xiaoning noticed that the woman¡¯s face was covered in bruises and her eyes were swollen to the point that she could not open them fully. ¡°If he didn¡¯t hit you, where then did you get the bruises on your face?¡± she asked. ¡°I... I fell down identally.¡± Staring at her, An Xiaoning admonished, ¡°Oh... you had a fall. Every woman wishes for a blissful life after marriage. I believe he¡¯sid a hand on you more than just a few times and you¡¯d forgive him time and time again after crying, right? Was it because of your children? Or because of your broken family? Is this the kind of life you wish to lead? You called the police, saying that your husband abused you, and we sent our men to help mediate the conflict. Yet, you bit the hand that fed you and med us for arresting your husband. Just what are you getting at? In my opinion, a woman is nothing but foolish if she can¡¯t be independent and insist on keeping the family together for the sake of her children. Since you can¡¯t bear to see him being put behind bars, you should¡¯ve sucked it all up when he beat you into a pulp. What did you even call the police for?¡± ¡°I was just trying to scare him by calling the police.¡± ¡°Do we, the police, seem like a tool you can use to scare him whenever you¡¯d like? If you wish to continue living a life of being abused willingly, then please don¡¯t call us to say that your husband is hitting you again,¡± An Xiaoning berated her relentlessly. ¡°Xiao Li, ignore all her calls in the future,¡± she instructed. The woman flew into a rage all of a sudden upon hearing An Xiaoning¡¯s words. ¡°What kind of police are you guys? You have to render police assistance to citizens in need, no matter how many times they call for help. You actually instructed your men to ignore my calls. Do watch out, I¡¯m going to lodge aint against you!¡± she snapped angrily. ¡°Sure, go ahead andin about me. Why aren¡¯t you this feisty when ites to your husband? Oh, before I forget, why did your husband hit you?¡± An Xiaoning retorted sarcastically. ¡°Her husband mentioned in his statement that he could no longer tolerate the way she criticizes him scathingly and leaves him covered in bruises every time they spoke. That¡¯s why he snapped and ended up beating her,¡± Xiao Li exined. ¡°Did she admit to what her husband imed she had done to him?¡± ¡°Yes, she admitted it,¡± Xiao Li said with a nod. ¡°Stay out of their matters in the future. We¡¯ll have one less trouble when one of them gets beaten to death,¡± An Xiaoning instructed. Once she was done saying her piece, she began walking towards the police station. After taking a few steps, she turned around and said to Xiao Li, ¡°Release her husband. I actually really sympathize with him. People who don¡¯t reflect on themselves are truly hopeless.¡± Staring at An Xiaoning¡¯s receding figure, the woman said to Xiao Li, ¡°Who does she think she is to criticize me that way?¡± ¡°Do you know who Jin Qingyan is?¡± ¡°Yes, I do, what about him?¡± ¡°She¡¯s the love of Jin Qingyan¡¯s life.¡± The woman was shocked speechless. Just as the five of them entered the police station, they bumped into Team Leader Zhang from the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit. Upon sight of them, Team Leader Zhang said smilingly, ¡°I knew your colleagues couldn¡¯t have aplished anything without you. See, you still have toe back to help out, don¡¯t you? Has the case about the school murder been solved?¡± Peeved by his sarcastic gloating, An Xiaoning said calmly, ¡°The case is closed. Team Leader Zhang, don¡¯t be the pot calling the kettle ck. I doubt you can do a better job than my team members if you were to be tasked with solving a murder case without the help of your subordinates.¡± The smile on Team Leader Zhang¡¯s face vanished. ¡°You¡¯re not Team Leader An for nothing. You¡¯re still as straightforward and sharp-tongued as ever.¡± ¡°Sorry you didn¡¯t get to watch a good show. I still have something to attend to, bye.¡± She turned around to leave immediately while the four of them followed closely behind her. Team Leader Zhang took a deep breath, greatly infuriated by her remark. Once they returned to their office, Ma Jianguo said while clucking his tongue, ¡°Did you see the look on Team Leader Zhang¡¯s face? He was so furious because of your words.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have to bother about those who keep trying to sow discord. It¡¯d be too tiring to constantly be worrying about what others think of you. We¡¯re a team and everything we¡¯ve aplished is the result of everyone¡¯s joint efforts and hard work.¡± ¡°Well said. I¡¯m sorry, Sis Xiaoning,¡± Gong Le said apologetically. ¡°What are you apologizing for? We¡¯ve been so busy that we haven¡¯t had the time to eat lunch. Let¡¯s order some takeout, my treat. Ask everyone what they¡¯d like to eat and call for delivery,¡± said An Xiaoning, handing a few hundred-dor bills to Ding Liang. ¡°Alright.¡± ¡ª Since Gu Beicheng agreed to meet her again the day after, Lin Mingxi decided to heed her mother¡¯s advice and headed to the beauty salon for a facial before getting a new haircut at the hair salon. She swapped her curly, blonde locks for a jet-ck blowout. She exuded a whole different vibe. On the second day of April, she skipped her gym session and instead took a shower. She then put on some makeup and waited patiently until past five in the evening. Lin Mingxi decided not to drive and instead boarded a taxi to the restaurant they agreed to meet at. Gu Beicheng had yet to arrive by the time she reached the restaurant. She took a look at the time and realized that there was still half an hour to go before it was the time they agreed to meet. She was there early. Lin Mingxi took a seat and was overwhelmed with an unprecedented feeling. It had never urred to her that waiting for someone would fill her with a sense of mystery and uncertainty. He showed up five minutes before the agreed meeting time. Gu Beicheng was dressed in a casual attireposed of a grayish-white wool sweater coupled with a pair of rolled-hem jeans and a pair of shades. Lin Mingxi was smitten at the instant that he removed his shades. Looks indeed came first for her, and that was the very reason why she used to fancy Jin Qingyan so much. She simply could not resist the charm of men who were dashing and yet capable. Gu Beicheng was slightly surprised to see that she had gotten a new haircut. She looked very different with thinly-trimmed bangs, exuding a different aura from thest time they met. ¡°Have you been waiting for very long?¡± ¡°No, only twenty minutes.¡± ¡°Why were you here so early?¡± Gu Beicheng asked in puzzlement. ¡°Because... I was afraid that there would be a traffic jam and I didn¡¯t want to bete.¡± As usual, Gu Beicheng handed her the menu and said, ¡°You order the dishes.¡± Lin Mingxi took a look at the menu and ordered a few dishes before handing it back to him. ¡°Your turn,¡± she said. Gu Beicheng ordered two more dishes, after which he asked, ¡°Would you like some alcohol?¡± ¡°A little will do,¡± said Lin Mingxi, thinking that alcohol was sometimes a savior as it would give her courage. ¡°Alright.¡± After ordering the dishes, they continued to remain silent while facing each other. Lin Mingxi then initiated the conversation. ¡°Could you tell me what your ideal type of girl is?¡± Gu Beicheng pondered for a moment before answering, ¡°I don¡¯t exactly have a type, neither have I ever thought about it. I guess I just need to have feelings for her.¡± ¡°I have feelings for you now,¡± Lin Mingxi blurted, holding her hands together nervously as she looked up to gaze at him. ¡°...¡± ¡°Gu Beicheng, I want to woo you.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have much experience in rtionships. I tried to woo someone once, to no avail. Although it¡¯s a matter of the past, I feel like that very same urge has returned again,¡± Lin Mingxi continued. Chapter 391 - The Secret About the Past (9)

Chapter 391: The Secret About the Past (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Noticing that Gu Beicheng was staring at her without uttering a word, Lin Mingxi smiled awkwardly and said, ¡°Why am I saying such nonsense when we haven¡¯t even started drinking yet? Silly me.¡± ¡°Why did you marry Ye Xiaotian back then?¡± Lin Mingxi was at a loss for how to exin. ¡°When I was younger, I used to think that it¡¯d be great to be the Young Madam of the Ye family. There were lots of things I wanted a few years ago. But as I grew older, I began to realize how important it is to find a man with whom I can hit it off and how difficult it is to find someone I truly fancy.¡± She could not find a man with whom she clicked, whereas he never had the chance to be with the person he adored. Gu Beicheng had long buried his feelings for An Xiaoning deep within thebyrinth of his heart. If he didn¡¯t hope to start afresh with someone new, he wouldn¡¯t have agreed to meet Lin Mingxi at all. ¡°I understand,¡± said Gu Beicheng. During dinner, Lin Mingxi did most of the talking while Gu Beicheng remained quiet and listened to her speak throughout. Lin Mingxi had a few drinks, though she was mindful not to get too drunk like the previous time and watched her liquor intake. Thus, she was rather sober after the meal, although her heart began to race. She walked out of the restaurant side by side with Gu Beicheng. Just as they were approaching his car, Lin Mingxi grabbed his hand all of a sudden. Gu Beicheng stopped in his tracks and took a nce at her but did not shrug her hand away. She let go as soon as they reached his car. She hopped into the passenger seat and Gu Beicheng began driving her home. Along the journey, Lin Mingxi said softly, ¡°Gu Beicheng, let¡¯s get married. I¡¯m not drunk.¡± ¡°Are you sure you won¡¯t regret marrying me?¡± ¡°What regrets would I have if you don¡¯t have any?¡± Gu Beicheng focused his attention on driving and did not answer her. His mindset had matured greatly, perhaps because he was already past 30 years old. He no longer felt the urge to get into a rtionship on impulse. As soon as they pulled over in front of the entrance of the Lin family mansion, Lin Mingxi said, ¡°I have a gathering with the exercise boot camp members tomorrow night. Could you go together with me?¡± ¡°But I didn¡¯t attend the exercise boot camp.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, I¡¯d like you to go with me. Will you?¡± asked Lin Mingxi, who refused to get down from the car. Gu Beicheng knew that An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan would be present at the gathering. Thus, he agreed right away, ¡°Sure.¡± Happiness was written all over Lin Mingxi¡¯s face as she gave him a kiss without hesitation before getting down from the car delightedly. Gu Beicheng was rather taken aback by her sudden kiss. He was overwhelmed with a mix of emotions and thoughts while on his way home. He constantly wondered if it was really time for him to get married. Throughout these years, he had always been single and lonely. He wanted to have a family. After getting to know Lin Mingxi for a while, he began to find that she was a woman who was young at heart, nothing like what he had heard about her. ¡°Son, why aren¡¯t you getting out of the car?¡± Mrs. Gu asked, knocking on his window. He unbuckled the safety belt and alighted. ¡°Mother.¡± ¡°Did you meet Ms. Lin?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Mrs. Gu saw a glimmer of hope and asked smilingly, ¡°What do you think of her?¡± ¡°Mother, would you be happy if I marry her?¡± Mrs. Gu nodded and said, ¡°Of course I¡¯ll be happy, but you have to be willing to marry her yourself. Mother doesn¡¯t wish to force you. What I want to see is you marrying her and building a family with her out of your own ord.¡± Gu Beicheng nodded. ¡°Yes, I understand. Hand me the household register.¡± ¡°Are you really going to marry her?¡± Mrs. Gu asked in astonishment. ¡°I think she¡¯s a nice girl. She should be a good choice for your daughter-inw.¡± ¡°Son, but you two haven¡¯t known each other for long yet.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t feel like getting married anymore if I wait too long.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll pass the register to youter,¡± Mrs. Gu conceded. That evening, Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi were photographeding out of the restaurant hand in hand, after which the photos were reported on the news. The next morning, Lin Mingxi¡¯s sister, Lin Mingyuan, made a trip down to the Gu Corporation office and asked to meet Gu Beicheng. Looking at the woman who resembled Lin Mingxi standing in front of him, Gu Beicheng greeted, ¡°Have a seat.¡± Lin Mingyuan sat down opposite him and got straight to the point, ¡°I don¡¯t want you to date Mingxi.¡± Being a sharp and experienced businessman, Gu Beicheng could see right through her. ¡°Do your parents know about your objection?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter whether they know or not. What¡¯s important is that you know. Gu Beicheng, you and Mingxi are way too ipatible. You two should stop dating each other.¡± ¡°You¡¯re telling me what to do? Ms. Lin, aren¡¯t you poking your nose too far into my business?¡± Gu Beicheng hissed with a stern expression. ¡°Gu Beicheng, I know you two only met a few times. If you agree to stop seeing her, I¡¯m willing to grant you many benefits.¡± ¡°I think you¡¯ve belittled me, Ms. Lin. I won¡¯t mention how much stronger the Gu Corporation ispared to the Lin Corporation. But do you actually think I¡¯d be after the benefits you offer me? If there¡¯s nothing else, please take your leave.¡± Lin Mingyuan did not expect him to dismiss her directly and show her the door. With a look of disdain, she stood up quickly and stared at him onest time before picking up her purse to leave. Gu Beicheng put his pen down onto the table. Five minutester, his secretary entered and reported, ¡°Mr. CEO, Ms. Lin Mingxi is here.¡± ¡°Let her in.¡± Lin Mingxi was dressed in white with a blue purse in her hand. She entered his office and closed the door behind her. ¡°I know my sister just came by. I don¡¯t care what she said to you, but there¡¯s something I¡¯d like to ask you...¡± She took out her personal identification card and household register from her purse before continuing, ¡°Gu Beicheng, are you willing to marry me?¡± Gu Beicheng looked at the time on his wristwatch and said, ¡°It¡¯s nine o¡¯clock in the morning now and it¡¯s Monday today. This is a good timing to get married.¡± He stood up and put on his zer. Staring at him while he buttoned his zer, Lin Mingxi asked in surprise, ¡°Gu Beicheng, you... you¡¯ve agreed?¡± ¡°What else?¡± Gu Beicheng then took the lead and walked out of the office. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Lin Mingxi hurriedly chased after him with her personal identification card and household register. ¡ª A smile formed on An Xiaoning¡¯s face as soon as she put down the phone. Great. She had always felt guilty towards Gu Beicheng for not reciprocating his feelings for her. Thus, she was ted to hear about him and Lin Mingxi registering their marriage. She picked out a set of clothes, which she nned to wear to the gathering. An Xiaoning ced a sheet of facial mask over her face andid down in bed to read some books. The door was pushed open all of a sudden and Mei Yangyang popped up by the door. ¡°Yangyang! You¡¯re back.¡± Mei Yangyang rushed inside and eximed gleefully, ¡°Sis, I bought you a lot of presents!¡± Mei Yangyang ced the tworge bags she was carrying onto the ground and said, ¡°I also bought presents for the three children. Thank you for helping me look after them while we were not around.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, I didn¡¯t look after them much anyway, they¡¯re at the kindergarten most of the time.¡± An Xiaoning sat up and said, ¡°There happens to be a gathering with the members of the exercise boot camp tonight. Since you¡¯re back, let¡¯s attend it together. Bring along your family.¡± Mei Yangyang chuckled and said, ¡°Tianze would definitely agree to go.¡± ¡°By the way, Beicheng and Lin Mingxi just registered their marriage.¡± ¡°Lin... Lin Mingxi!?! That¡¯s really shocking, how did Lin Mingxi and Gu Beicheng...?¡± Mei Yangyang eximed in bewilderment. Chapter 392 - The Secret About the Past (10)

Chapter 392: The Secret About the Past (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°They got to know each other better through a matchmaking session. They only met a few times though. Beicheng said that Lin Mingxi is nothing like the rumors we hear about her. She seems to have changed a lot.¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know about that. I haven¡¯t seen her since the exercise boot camp ended. Sis, when are you going to remarry Mr. Jin? I¡¯m getting so anxious for you. Hurry and reconcile your marriage,¡± said Mei Yangyang as she removed her shoes and sat on the bed. ¡°I¡¯ve said yes to him. All he has to do now is propose to me. I reckon he¡¯s in the midst of making the necessary preparations now.¡± ¡°That¡¯s for sure. Has everything been fine while I was away?¡± Mei Yangyang asked smilingly. ¡°It was great, of course. Let me tell you about the Xu family. After hearing what I have to say, you¡¯ll change your impression of Xu Youran.¡± ¡°Alright, Sis, go ahead...¡± ¡°...¡± In the afternoon, Fan Shixin delivered the items An Xiaoning prepared beforehand, as well as her favorite cardigan. She paired both pieces together to form a gorgeous outfit. The skirt was blue in color with arge slit at the side that exposed An Xiaoning¡¯s slender legs. She put on her pair of crystal heels, which were embellished with dazzling diamonds. It was an absolute show-stealer. After putting on the outfit, An Xiaoning stood in front of the mirror and stared at her own reflection before nodding in satisfaction. ¡°Ms. An, Young Sir is back. He¡¯s waiting for you downstairs,¡± Auntie Chen said softly. ¡°Got it, Auntie Chen. I¡¯ll go down now.¡± She arranged her hair neatly and picked up her purse before making her way downstairs. Dressed in blue, An Xiaoning walked down the stairs gracefully while her skirt flowed in ordance with her footsteps, asionally exposing her thigh through the slit. She had on a full face of immacte makeup and a sweet smile hanging from her lips. She looked absolutely alluring and gorgeous. Jin Qingyan sat on the couch and marvelled at her in awe. However, he was slightly peeved at the thought of the attention his woman was going to attract at the gathering, perhaps because he was possessive, just like all men. He wanted to be the only one who was allowed to admire her beauty and grace. But then again, he was not a conservative man. Besides, he was more than proud to have a beautiful and charming woman. An Youqing skipped into the house merrily with his school bag on his shoulders. His jaw dropped upon seeing An Xiaoning, and he apuded excitedly. ¡°Mommy, you¡¯re the most beautiful Mommy in the world now.¡± ¡°Most beautiful now? You mean there are times when I¡¯m not beautiful?¡± said An Xiaoning, who was pleased to hear her son¡¯spliment. ¡°Mommy¡¯s not beautiful when she¡¯s angry.¡± ¡°Your Mommy is beautiful even when she¡¯s angry. You¡¯re not allowed to say that your Mommy is not beautiful,¡± Jin Qingyan retorted. An Youqing put his school bag down and said, ¡°Daddy, could you please be at least a little rational? Mommy haspletely subdued you.¡± ¡°Who cares as long as I¡¯m happy? Hurry and go do your homework. Mommy and I are going out tonight.¡± ¡°Are you two going out on a date and dumping me alone at home?¡± ¡°No, we¡¯re going to attend a gathering with some friends.¡± ¡°Can Ie along?¡± ¡°No.¡± An Youqing had no choice but to say, ¡°Alright then. But, Daddy, you have to protect Mommy when I¡¯m not around. Also, stop letting Mommy be covered in red marks all over her body.¡± Jin Qingyan was speechless. ¡°What do you mean I have to protect Mommy when you¡¯re not around? Do you really think you can protect her even if you¡¯re around? You¡¯re not even as tall as the vase at home.¡± ¡°Daddy, our teacher said that we¡¯re not supposed to discriminate against the weak. I may be short now, but one day, I¡¯ll be taller than you.¡± ¡°Yes, that day wille. Hurry and go do your homework.¡± An Youqing grimaced at him before zooming upstairs. The sky turned dark gradually. Jin Qingyan stepped forward to hold An Xiaoning¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± His voice was deep and gentle. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go,¡± said An Xiaoning. They exited the door and got into Jin Qingyan¡¯s car. Just as they drove out of the entrance, they were stopped by Long Tianze, who then hopped inside the car together with Mei Yangyang. ¡°Let us hitch a ride.¡± They began driving to their destination, which was an entertainment hub. The organizers of the gathering had booked thergest private room, which had just about everything they needed. Just as the four of them alighted from the car, they were greeted with the sight of Lin Mingxi and Gu Beicheng getting down from another car. ¡°Have they really gotten together?¡± Jin Qingyan asked softly. ¡°They registered their marriage today.¡± Noticing how Jin Qingyan beamed with joy upon hearing her words, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Why are you so happy?¡± ¡°Of course I¡¯m happy.¡± Jin Qingyan continued to smile without uttering another word. It was good news to him since it meant that he would have one less rival in love, although Gu Beicheng was never a match for him. Lin Mingxi was dressed in a long white skirt with a silk cardigan draped over her shoulders. She was moving gracefully while holding onto Gu Beicheng¡¯s arm. The pair of three-inch crystal heels on her feet made her appear thin and slender while exuding an air of elegance. It was evident that Lin Mingxi had put in a lot of effort to doll herself up for the night. She had indeed be more elegant and poised over the years. This was An Xiaoning¡¯s first time seeing her in years. ¡°Long time no see. You¡¯ve gotten so much prettier since thest time we met,¡± said Lin Mingxi. ¡°Thank you, you too. Let¡¯s go up,¡± An Xiaoning answered. Everyone entered the elevator together and pressed the button for the ninth floor. To their surprise, there were a few models and celebrities in the elevator who put on extremely pretentious smiles upon the sight of them. ¡°Isn¡¯t this Ms. An and Mr. Jin? What a coincidence,¡± a famous female model took the initiative to greet them while keeping her eyes glued onto Jin Qingyan. An Xiaoning smiled at her in courtesy. After all, it was better to refrain from chatting too much since she did not know them at all. ¡°Seems like no one noticed that I¡¯m standing here,¡± Long Tianzemented, letting out a sigh of boredom. ¡°Can¡¯t you see that her eyes are peeled onto Mr. Jin? Why would she bother noticing you?¡± Mei Yangyang sneered. The female models felt a little awkward upon hearing Mei Yangyang¡¯s remark and put on mirthless smiles. The doors of the elevator soon opened and they proceeded to therge private room straight away. They were greeted with melodious music as soon as they entered. Colorful lights were cast across the floor of the room, and all the guests were already present. The temperature of the air was just right. Upon sight of their arrival, everyone in the room rose from their seats to greet them one after another. ¡°Our Commander is here!¡± Jin Nana eximed excitedly while grinning from ear to ear. She had grown more mature over the years. ¡°We haven¡¯t met in a few years. Has everyone changed drastically?¡± Jin Qingyan asked while taking a ss of liquor from Chen Xu¡¯s hands. ¡°That goes without saying. I married the man of my dreams, Coach Chen Xu!¡± Jin Nana eximed in utmost tion. ¡°Seems like Coach Chen didn¡¯t manage to escape your hands after all,¡± An Xiaoning teased. ¡°How does that saying go? Ah, if you work hard enough, you can grind an iron bar into a needle. Perseverance leads to sess!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t persevere too hard, lest you grind Chen Xu into an extra-fine needle. How are you two going to live after that then? Don¡¯t you still want children? What¡¯s going to happen to your blissful life?¡± Jin Qingyan joked, which was a once-in-a-blue-moon urrence. ¡°You¡¯re so sleazy, Commander. Don¡¯t taint me, I¡¯m still an underaged girl!¡± Jin Nana jested. ¡°Oh, please. Save it.¡± Everyone burst intoughter. Chapter 393 - The Secret About the Past (11)

Chapter 393: The Secret About the Past (11)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Quick, tell us. How did you manage to get your hands on Coach Xu?¡± Mei Yangyang asked curiously. Jin Nana began blushing shyly and took a nce at Chen Xu before saying, ¡°The way to a man¡¯s heart is through conquering his body first.¡± ¡°Psht, seriously?¡± ¡°Wow.¡± ¡°Oh god.¡± ¡°You¡¯re really something.¡± Everyone gasped in shock unanimously. ¡°Why? What¡¯s wrong?¡± said Jin Nana, who was blushing red. ¡°We didn¡¯t say that there¡¯s anything wrong.¡± An Xiaoning gave her a pat on her shoulder and said, ¡°Not bad, you¡¯ve got the guts and courage.¡± ¡°Of course, it¡¯s me after all,¡± Jin Nana said smilingly. ¡°Don¡¯t believe her nonsense. She saved Chen Xu by chance and that¡¯s how they began dating,¡± Jin Shan interjected. ¡°Brother! Why did you expose me? Isn¡¯t it good to keep letting everyone view our rtionship in a romantic light?¡± Jin Nana protested while stamping her foot on the ground. ¡°I was just telling the truth. What do you mean expose you? Come on, everyone, don¡¯t just stand around, take a seat.¡± Everyone began walking towards the couch where they then sat down. ¡°I heard Mingxi is a fitness trainer at a gym now. Are you married yet?¡± Jin Shan asked. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m married. Let me introduce everyone to my husband, Gu Beicheng,¡± Lin Mingxi said smilingly while holding onto Gu Beicheng¡¯s arm. Shock was written on everyone¡¯s faces. ¡°When did you two get married?¡± ¡°We registered it today. You guys have toe to our wedding banquet when the timees, okay?¡± ¡°That¡¯s for sure,¡± everyone agreed in unison. ¡°I heard that Xiaoning and Commander have a son now. Have you two remarried each other yet?¡± Jin Nana asked. ¡°We can¡¯tg behind them obviously. We¡¯ll be registering our marriage very soon,¡± said Jin Qingyan, putting on learned airs. Everyone cheered loudly in excitement. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re doing this out of spite?¡± Long Tianze asked brazenly. ¡°Of course not. I¡¯ve already gotten Xiaoning¡¯s approval a few days ago. We both think it¡¯s a good time to get married now.¡¯ ¡°Awesome!¡± Jin Nana eximed while apuding enthusiastically. ¡°We have to give two sets of red packets then. By the way, once Mingxi and Mr. Gu get married, wouldn¡¯t Mingxi be Xiaoning¡¯s sister-inw? I still remember how they used to be at odds with each other during the boot camp,¡± she added. ¡°That was all because we were young and immature, and often acted on impulse. I haven¡¯t met her in years. In hindsight, those petty quarrels we had were indeed rather childish,¡± said Lin Mingxi, feeling a little embarrassed. Mei Yangyang unintentionally brought up the incident about them pouring instant noodles onto each other. ¡°There was one time when I was chatting with Sis in the room during the boot camp and Mingxi poured a bowl of instant noodles over Sis¡¯ head. Sis then made another bowl of instant noodles and poured it down Mingxi¡¯s head from the upper deck of the bunk bed.¡± ¡°That¡¯s so intense! No wonder Mingxi looked so grumpy and sullen that day,¡± said Jin Nana as she recalled the incident. ¡°It was my fault for starting it,¡± said Lin Mingxi. An Xiaoning chuckled and said, ¡°It was tit for tat. We used to bicker so often when we were roommates back then. Turns out, she¡¯s actually going to be my sister-inw now.¡± ¡°You two must be fated. We¡¯re too carried away with chatting. Let¡¯s have some alcohol,¡± said Jin Nana, pping her hands. Lin Mingxi would asionally take a nce at Jin Qingyan. After years of not seeing him, she no longer had feelings for him. Lin Mingxi smiled at the sight of Jin Qingyan keeping his eyes glued onto An Xiaoning. How typical of Jin Qingyan indeed. ... The gathering went on for another few hours. An Xiaoning began to feel tired at about nine o¡¯clock in the evening. ¡°Let¡¯s go home,¡± she said to Jin Qingyan. ¡°Let¡¯s leave if you want.¡± Upon hearing their conversation, Chen Xu quickly asked, ¡°Mr. Jin, Xiaoning, are you guys leaving already?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s gettingte. We¡¯d better take our leave first.¡± Mei Yangyang nodded in agreement and said, ¡°We hitched a ride here in their car so we gotta leave with them too. Let¡¯s meet again next time. Enjoy yourselves for the rest of the night, everyone.¡± ¡°Bye bye!¡± ¡°Such gatherings are so boring and meaningless,¡± Long Tianze remarked as soon as they exited the room, chucking his hands in his pocket. ¡°I told you not toe. You were the one who insisted on tagging along, yet you¡¯re stillining about it being meaningless,¡± Mei Yangyang rebuked. The four of them then entered the elevator. Staring at the clumps of tissue on the ground, Long Tianze chuckled and said, ¡°Some rascal must¡¯ve been getting it on with a woman in this elevator.¡± Mei Yangyang and the rest looked down to find that there was an unknown white substance on the tissues. ¡°The elevator may be small, but that¡¯s what makes it thrilling. Look, the surveince cameras have been covered with ck tape.¡± Long Tianze burst intoughter and asked, ¡°Have you ever done any hanky panky business in elevators before?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Look how serious you sound. That just makes me think you have.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what you think, I really haven¡¯t before.¡± ¡°...¡± Feeling extremely sleepy, An Xiaoning leaned against the window to take a nap while on the way home. When they arrived at Wei Ni Estate, Mei Yangyang woke her up softly. An Xiaoning sat up straight and said, ¡°I¡¯m really tired.¡± The four of them alighted from the car and wished each other goodnight before parting ways. Jin Qingyan stepped forward to hold An Xiaoning¡¯s hand, wrapping it with the warmth of his palm. The two of them changed into their home slippers and made their way upstairs. ¡°Let¡¯s go on a vacation for a few days tomorrow. I¡¯ve arranged everything,¡± Jin Qingyan said while taking off his clothes. ¡°What time are we setting off?¡± ¡°Three o¡¯clock in the morning. We¡¯re not going too far, it¡¯s only a three-hour flight away. We¡¯ll make it just in time to watch the sunrise. You can take a nap on the ne.¡± ¡°I have to pack my luggage now then. How many days are we going for?¡± ¡°How many days would you like?¡± ¡°Three or four days would be enough. It¡¯ll jeopardize our work schedules if we go for too long,¡± An Xiaoning said smilingly. ¡°We¡¯ll go ording to your wishes then. Three days it is.¡± ¡°Do we bring Youqing along?¡± ¡°We have to bring him, of course. Otherwise, he¡¯s going to grumble non-stop and use us of being cruel and heartless.¡± ¡°You have a point,¡± said An Xiaoning as she walked towards the dressing room. An Xiaoning packed the luggages while Jin Qingyanid on the bed to wait for her. She thenid down beside him after she was done. ¡°You seem to be in a good mood tonight.¡± Jin Qingyan turned to lie on his side and pulled her into his arms. ¡°Yeah. I can¡¯t believe Gu Beicheng got married so suddenly. I was really surprised.¡± ¡°I¡¯m also really surprised that you¡¯re this happy about him getting married.¡± ¡°Of course I am. Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know that he harbors feelings towards you. I¡¯m well aware of that...¡± Jin Qingyan buried his chin in her neck and brushed his face lightly against her skin. ¡°If you didn¡¯t meet me first, you¡¯d definitely be his woman now. He¡¯s not in any way inferior to me. It¡¯s only a matter of sequence. He just showed up toote.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t be too sure about that. Even if I knew him before I met you, he might not necessarily fancy me. Nothing is certain at all. I¡¯m really happy for him now that he¡¯s married,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the beach tomorrow and get married when wee back three dayster. How does that sound?¡± ¡°You call the shots.¡± ¡°I like hearing that from you,¡± Jin Qingyan said gleefully, giving her kisses, one after another. ¡°I said it precisely because I knew you liked hearing it.¡± ¡°Do you know what else I like hearing you say?¡± ¡°Hubby, I love you.¡± ¡°I love you too, Honey,¡± Jin Qingyan eximed agitatedly. They burst intoughter in unison, though they were not exactly sure what was so amusing. Theyid in each other¡¯s arms and cuddled to sleep for the rest of the night. ¡ª Tonight could be considered the night that Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi would consummate their marriage. Although they had yet to hold a wedding, they had already registered their marriage and were now awful married couple. Chapter 394 - The Secret About the Past (12)

Chapter 394: The Secret About the Past (12)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Gu Beicheng drove back to the Gu family mansion after the gathering and brought Lin Mingxi along with him. The two of them were overwhelmed with an inexplicable nervousness. Lin Mingxi entered the living room together with him to find that Mrs. Gu was still awake. Upon sight of their arrival, Mrs. Gu said smilingly, ¡°I¡¯ve redecorated Beicheng¡¯s bedroom today. You guys may go up to rest.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°Mother, goodnight,¡± said Lin Mingxi, after which Mrs. Gu waved at them. Lin Mingxi made her way upstairs to his bedroom. It was her first time visiting his house. ¡°I rarelye home to stay. I have other property,¡± he exined after closing the door. Lin Mingxi sat by the side of the bed and asked, ¡°Would you like to take a shower?¡± ¡°Yes...¡± ¡°Let¡¯s shower together. We¡¯re already husband and wife now,¡± Lin Mingxi suggested, blushing as red as a tomato. The more she tried to cover up her shyness, the more awkward she appeared to Gu Beicheng. She was clearly extremely shy and embarrassed, yet she still continued to pretend and put on a brave front. He decided not to expose her anyway. They then entered the washroom together. After turning on the tap to fill the bathtub with water, they stood there, remaining still as a statue. They stared at each other awkwardly. Atst, Gu Beicheng made the first move and removed his clothes. Noticing that he was taking off his clothes, Lin Mingxi decided to follow suit and slowly began to undress herself. Both of them were removing their clothes at a snail¡¯s pace. They took more than five minutes toplete what could have been done in a minute. They stripped down to nothing in the end. Although she was already 29 years old, Lin Mingxi was already red with shyness by the time she was naked. She slowly stepped into the bathtub and nced at him coyly before looking away again quickly, afraid to hold his gaze. Gu Beicheng smiled in amusement and asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that we¡¯re already husband and wife? Why are you still so shy?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a man naked.¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t?¡± he asked apprehensively, refusing to believe her. ¡°I have...¡± ¡°You have?¡± he asked again with raised brows. ¡°I¡¯ve seen it before in erotic films!¡± Lin Mingxi eximed bashfully as her breathing turned erratic. ¡°Oh...¡± He smiled at her, seemingly hinting at something, after which he stepped into the bathtub. The bathtub was extremely spacious and could fit four people. Heid down with her side by side and their bodies began to turn hot as fire. Gu Beicheng was in fact very nervous himself. However, he managed to conceal his emotions well. Even the slightest brush against her skin would give him the chills, as if he had been shocked by electricity. He turned over and looked at her before reaching out to grip her chin in his hands, forcing her to make eye contact with him. Lin Mingxi stared at him intently with her mouth slightly open. Gu Beicheng inched closer towards her slowly and kissed her fervently, like a predator who just caught its prey, while letting his hands wander about her body and caress her skin under the water. There were some liquor ced on the shelf on the edge of the bathtub. They were breathing and panting heavily from the passionate kiss. He grabbed a bottle of liquor and began chugging its contents down straight from the bottle. While he was in the midst of a trance, the blurry face in front of him seemed to slowly be that of An Xiaoning¡¯s. He shifted his body on top of her and began kissing her gently. He cupped her face between his hands with overflowing tenderness. At this very moment, Lin Mingxi felt as if she was a precious gem treasured dearly by him. She was brimming with happiness and enjoyed every moment of it. Throughout the night, they went at it again and again, as if he could never get enough. They did not stop until he got tired and fell asleep. Lin Mingxi snuggled up beside him, blooming with euphoria even though she was aching all over. __ At about three o¡¯clock in the morning, An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan woke up and proceeded to wake An Youqing up too. An Youqing initially got up on the wrong side of the bed. However, his grumpiness vanished at the instant that he heard about the vacation they were about to go on. The family of three boarded the ne with their luggage. Fan Shixin and the entourage of bodyguards tagged along as well. The ne took off at three o¡¯clock in the morning and arrived at the destination about three hourster. They moved their luggage into their rooms in the beach resort before changing into summer outfits to match the weather, which was much warmer than that in A City. They strolled along the beach and watched as the sun rose from the horizon along the ocean. The breeze gently caressed their faces, and they were in a great and rxed mood. Sitting by the beach and ying with the sand merrily, An Youqing was the happiest one of them all. After watching the sunrise and having breakfast, An Xiaoning was surrounded by a bunch of people all of a sudden. She then turned to look at Jin Qingyan in puzzlement. ¡°Let¡¯s take a set of wedding photos here,¡± said thetter. An Xiaoning sat on the chair in aposed manner while the makeup artist proceeded to do her makeup. Although it was supposed to be a wedding photoshoot, the end product was in fact family photos of the three of them. They managed to capture several beautiful shots after shooting for the entire morning. They were currently in a small country called N Nation, which was very near S Nation. The air was fresh in N Nation, which was surrounded by mountains and a deep blue ocean. It was An Xiaoning¡¯s first time there and she fell in love with the ce instantly. It was already two o¡¯clock in the afternoon by the time they finished having lunch. The family of three then changed into a fresh set of clothes. An Xiaoning put on a tank top and shorts while An Youqing simply wore a pair of undershorts. However, his father, Jin Qingyan, was undoubtedly more conservative and wore a pair of boxers instead. An Xiaoning and An Youqing jumped into the ocean and began ying with each other gleefully. On the other hand, Jin Qingyan seemed to be preupied with making calls on his phone non-stop. After he finally ended the call, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Who were you calling?¡± ¡°Fan Shixin, of course. I have a surprise for youter,¡± Jin Qingyan answered as he stepped into the water. ¡°Is it the proposal?¡± ¡°It won¡¯t be fun if you guess it out loud.¡± An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m very curious about how you¡¯re going to propose to me.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll knowter. I¡¯ll be ruining the surprise if I let you know now.¡± Shaking her head, she said, ¡°That¡¯s not true. To me, it¡¯s a pleasant surprise to be able to wake up to see you by my side and be together with you every day.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve said this before, but my greatest wish now is to marry you again. If I could make you my wife once more, I would die with no regrets, Xiaoning.¡± ¡°How many times have I heard you say this?¡± An Xiaoning gave him a peck on his cheek and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll grant you your greatest wish.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t even proposed to you yet. Don¡¯t be so eager to agree,ter...¡± She burst intoughter and said, ¡°Okay.¡± There were many tourists along the beach. Clearly, it was a popr attraction with scenic beauty. ¡°Did you arrange the boat over there that¡¯s approaching us?¡± asked An Xiaoning, who was sitting on top of a float. ¡°Are you irvoyant or something? Why do you seem to know everything? I¡¯m running out of surprises for you,¡± said Jin Qingyan, brushing his finger across her nose lightly. An Xiaoning watched as the boat stopped in front of them, after which they slowly got on it. Just as they stepped onto the boat, Jin Qingyan¡¯s mobile phone began to ring again. The smile on his face vanished after he answered the call. An Xiaoning saw clearly with her own eyes how his initial joy turned into a rare panic. ¡°Prepare the helicopter immediately. At once!¡± he hollered in trepidation. An Xiaoning¡¯s stomach twisted into a knot as she felt the boat rock up and down unsteadily. She immediately grabbed An Youqing¡¯s hand tightly in fear, overwhelmed with an ominous feeling. ¡°Is something bad going to happen?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be fine, don¡¯t worry,¡± Jin Qingyan reassured her in a bid to cate her despite the situation. An Xiaoning looked at his hand to find that it was trembling uncontrobly. Soon after, the boat began to rock and jerk even more vigorously. Suppressing her fear and anxiety, she asked, ¡°Just what is going on?¡± Chapter 395 - The Secret About the Past (13)

Chapter 395: The Secret About the Past (13)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Shixin called to say that there was a warning of a tsunami released two minutes ago,¡± said Jin Qingyan, his voice shaking with fear and panic. ¡°What!¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s mind went nk immediately. She was well aware that they would be drowned by the tsunami within two minutes, before they could even make it back to the resort. At this juncture, their only way out of this ordeal was to wait for the helicopter, which was rushing towards them at the moment. It was no wonder why Jin Qingyan did not allow them to get off the boat immediately ¨C there was no use in doing that anyway. Even if they had ten minutes, the chances of them escaping the ordeal was slim. An Xiaoning hugged An Youqing tightly. Staring at her child, who did not have a single clue of what was happening, An Xiaoning immediately burst into tears and said to Jin Qingyan, ¡°Youqing is still so young. What do we do? Qingyan... I¡¯m scared.¡± Although she rarely ever teared up, she could not help but feel helpless and at aplete loss of what to do in the event of a natural disaster like this. No one could control the disasters brought about by nature. Natural disasters could not be stopped by anyone, no matter who they are. Jin Qingyan grabbed her hand tightly. She could feel that his palms were getting sweaty. Fishes, prawns, and other animals of the sea began to appear on the shore while the surface of the ocean began to turn white gradually. Jin Qingyan whipped out a rope from the boat and tied it tightly around An Youqing and An Xiaoning. Just as he was done tying them together, a helicopter soon appeared in the sky. The boat began rocking more and more vigorously. In no time, two thick safety harnesses were released from the helicopter above. Fan Shixin stood by the door of the helicopter and shouted, ¡°Young Sir, hurry!¡± The helicopter hovered in the air while Jin Qingyan hurriedly helped An Xiaoning put on the harness. ¡°Qingyan, put it on yourself too, quick,¡± An Xiaoning urged. She stared at him and continued to rush him. ¡°Daddy, hurry,¡± An Youqing chimed in upon sight of his parents being flustered, though he was not sure what was happening. ¡°Young Sir, things are not looking good. The tsunami is here! We don¡¯t have time, grab onto the rope,¡± Fan Shixin yelled anxiously, almost on the verge of tears. Jin Qingyan grabbed onto the rope tightly, after which the helicopter began rising upwards quickly. Amidst all the shrieks of terror and cries of agony, the water from the ocean surged upwards all of a sudden, forming a glistening, massive wall of seawater that soared up to several feet above sea level. The tsunami broke out in godlike speed. The houses andmp posts surrounding the beach were instantly struck by the gushing waves and swept towards the beach. An Xiaoning hugged An Youqing in her arms tightly while Jin Qingyan was still a distance away from her. He was holding onto the rope for dear life, two meters below her. ¡°Qingyan, hold on tight.¡± An Xiaoning had never prayed for something so fervently before. She hoped that they would escape the ordeal as she wished. She prayed with all her heart... The loud rumbling of the tsunami could be hearding from the bottom of the sea. An Youqing was shocked and scared soulless by the tsunami and grabbed on tightly to An Xiaoning¡¯s clothes, too afraid to even move an inch. The shrill voices and cries for helping from the victims of the tsunami were soon drowned out by the massive waves crashing against thend. An Xiaoning waspletely distraught at the horrifying sight below her. Brimming with tears, she stared at Jin Qingyan, who was sliding down the rope even though he was already grabbing on to it tightly. ¡°Hold on tight, you must hold on... Qingyan, grab it tightly.¡± Several minutester, the waves began to simmer down. Fan Shixin and the rest of the bodyguards on the helicopter continuously tried to pull An Xiaoning upwards. They nned to pull An Xiaoning up into the helicopter before letting Fan Shixin pull Jin Qingyan up to safety using the rope tied around An Xiaoning. Unexpectedly, the moment An Xiaoning and An Youqing got up the helicopter and were about to release themselves from the harness, they heard Fan Shixin shriek, ¡°Young Sir!!!¡± An Xiaoning craned her neck to take a look and immediately fell onto her knees in distress. Jin Qingyan had already plunged deep into the ocean and was nowhere in sight. ¡°Qingyan!!!¡± An Xiaoning would never forget how Jin Qingyan fell into the ocean right before her eyes. She burst into tears and put on the safety harness again. ¡°I¡¯m going down to save him!¡± ¡°Let me go instead.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going! Hurry, stop wasting time!¡± An Xiaoning eximed firmly. Fan Shixin tied the rope securely before allowing An Xiaoning to jump down slowly from the door. The helicopter continued to hover around the spot where Jin Qingyan had plunged into. By the time An Xiaoning reached the ocean, there were still some remaining waves on the surface. However, she never received a response no matter how hard and loud she cried for his name. An Xiaoning stared at the vast ocean before her, overwhelmed with agony and despair. Soon, the waves once again rose to a higher height of more than ten meters. The helicopter hurriedly soared high above while An Xiaoning dangled from the safety rope. Staring at the surface of the ocean, she continued to yell Jin Qingyan¡¯s name at the top of her lungs. Not long after, an army of nes flew towards them and An Xiaoning was brought away from the site forcefully. Fan Shixin walked out of the helicopter slowly with An Youqing, who was shocked beyond his senses, only to find that An Xiaoning had been knocked unconscious. Considering the fact that the hospitals nearby would definitely be overcrowded, Fan Shixin immediately decided to send them back to S Nation beforeing back to continue searching for Jin Qingyan. However, there was a very slim chance that he would still be alive. An Youqing sat beside An Xiaoning on the ne and held her hand without uttering a single word while staring nkly at the ground. It was as if he had lost his soul. Fan Shixin sat down not too far away and began tearing up in silence. A dead silence filled the air. No one dared to breathe a word. News of the tsunami spread across the globe in no time. Long Tianze and Mei Yangyang were aware that they had gone to N Nation for a vacation. Thus, they continuously tried to call An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan on their mobile phones as soon as they saw the news. Yet, they never once managed to get through. Pangs of panic engulfed them. Long Tianze quickly gave Ling Ciye a call, and the three of them then decided to call Fan Shixin after some discussion. They managed to reach him. ¡°How¡¯s Qingyan?¡± Long Tianze asked worriedly. ¡°We¡¯re on the ne back home. Young Sir... Young Sir... fell into the sea,¡± Fan Shixin said in between sobs. Long Tianze froze in shock, and tears welled up in his eyes immediately. ¡°What do you mean he fell into the sea!?!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll exin when we¡¯re back,¡± Fan Shixin said before ending the call. Within three hours, the ne arrived at the hangar of Wei Ni Estate. Long Tianze, Mei Yangyang, and Ling Ciye stood by the entrance of the living room and caught sight of Fan Shixin carrying An Xiaoning from a distance away, An Youqing walking beside them. Jin Qingyan was nowhere to be seen. The three of them quickly rushed forward. ¡°Sis!¡± Mei Yangyang yelled. An Xiaoning did not respond. Fan Shixin carried An Xiaoning upstairs and put her down onto the bed before making his way downstairs again. ¡°Shixin, what¡¯s going on!?!¡± Ling Ciye asked anxiously. Fan Shixin briefly exined the truth about the matter. ¡°I¡¯m going back there now.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡± Ling Ciye took a look at the time and said, ¡°Stop wasting time, hurry up.¡± Long Tianze hurriedly tagged along. ¡°Count me in.¡± Mei Yangyang and An Youqing were the only ones left in the living room. Mei Yangyang looked at him and called, ¡°Youqing.¡± An Youqing looked up at her with tears streaming down his face uncontrobly. ¡°Godma.¡± Mei Yangyang inched forward to hug him and said with a shaky voice, ¡°Let¡¯s go up to look after your Mommy, okay?¡± Chapter 396 - The Secret About the Past (14)

Chapter 396: The Secret About the Past (14)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Alright.¡± Mei Yangyang headed upstairs while holding onto his hand. Soon after, Mei Yangyang called An Xiaoning¡¯s family doctor. The doctor arrived to put An Xiaoning on the drip. Mei Yangyang and An Youqing sat there quietly, waiting for An Xiaoning toe to. More than half an hourter, An Xiaoning finally opened her eyes. She stared at the ceiling above and tried to sit up straight slowly. However, Mei Yangyang quickly stopped her. ¡°Sis, you¡¯re still on the drip. Lie down first.¡± Mei Yangyang ced a pillow behind An Xiaoning¡¯s back to let her rest on it. ¡°Qingyan... Yangyang, has Qingyan been found?¡± ¡°They¡¯ve gone to look for him.¡± Completely dejected and distressed, An Xiaoning began murmuring to herself, ¡°If I¡¯d known earlier, I wouldn¡¯t have agreed to go to the beach. If I¡¯d known earlier, I wouldn¡¯t have agreed...¡± ¡°Sis, I believe Mr. Jin will be alright. He will definitely be fine,¡± Mei Yangyang said, trying tofort her. An Xiaoning continued to stare nkly into space, as if she did not hear Mei Yangyang at all. Jin Qingyue entered the room and closed the door behind her. ¡°Sis-inw, what happened to Brother?¡± asked Jin Qingyue, who was as pale as a sheet. An Xiaoning looked at her with tears flowing from her eyes like a tap. ¡°Qingyue, your brother...¡± ¡°Hurry, tell me.¡± Mei Yangyang briefly exined the situation, after which Jin Qingyue fell to the ground and broke down in despair. ¡°How did such a disaster happen? Why? I refuse to believe it, I refuse!¡± An Xiaoningid back in bed, both physically and mentally exhausted and overwhelmed with a strong agony she had never felt before. A burning fury was raging within her. She felt as if she was dying. She felt as if every living cell within her was eroding her rationality, telling her that it was all real and not just a dream. Auntie Chen stood by the door with a bowl of porridge in her hands. She wiped her tears and entered the bedroom slowly. ¡°Ms. An, do eat more.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have the appetite right now.¡± ¡°You ought to eat at least a little even if you don¡¯t have an appetite,¡± Auntie Chen said worriedly as she ced the bowl of porridge onto the table. She turned around and bumped into Mrs. Jin just as she exited the bedroom. Mrs. Jin pushed the door open and barged in straight away. ¡°Did Qingyan go to N Nation!?!¡± she barked, shivering from head to toe in agitation. ¡°Mother, how did you know?¡± asked Jin Qingyue, who was weeping uncontrobly. ¡°Of course I know! He called me on the day he left! Where is he? Why are all of you here except him? Where¡¯s Qingyan!?!¡± Mrs. Jin yelled in trepidation, clearly unable to get a grip on her emotions. At this point, all she wished to hear was that he was safe; for instance, ¡°Qingyan has gone out¡± or something of the sort. Yet, no one gave her the reassurance she needed. The room was filled with the sounds of faint weeping and cries of misery. Mrs. Jin walked towards the side of the bed and hollered at An Xiaoning, ¡°I¡¯m asking you, where¡¯s Qingyan!?! Speak up!¡± ¡°He¡¯s missing...¡± Just as she finished answering, Mrs. Jin pped her hand across An Xiaoning¡¯s face with all her might. Mrs. Jin expended all her energy in giving An Xiaoning the hard p, which made a loud, crisp sound. The impact was so hard that An Xiaoning began to bleed from the edges of her mouth. ¡°Mother, what are you doing!?!¡± Jin Qingyue eximed as she hurriedly stopped her mother. ¡°Did Sis cause this natural disaster? What rights have you got toy a hand on her!?!¡± Mei Yangyang snapped angrily. ¡°Yes, I hit her, what¡¯s wrong with that!?! Yes, I hit her! An Xiaoning, return my son to me!¡± Mrs. Jin yelled at the top of her lungs, swaying uncontrobly from side to side in despair. Noticing that Mrs. Jin was about to pounce on her again menacingly, An Xiaoning grabbed her arm and removed the needle on her own hand. ¡°That was a tsunami, I didn¡¯t cause it. I¡¯m in more pain and agony than you are! If hitting me and ming me will guarantee his safety, then go ahead and do so. But stop being unreasonable and kicking up a big fuss. I¡¯m not in a good mood right now, stop bothering me!¡± she snapped. As soon as she ended her sentence, An Youqing pushed Mrs. Jin and red at her coldly. ¡°My Daddy is not around now. I won¡¯t allow you to bully my Mommy just because Daddy is not around. My Daddy wille back for sure.¡± Everyone froze in shock. Mrs. Jin sat on the ground and broke down in tears. Her son was the only person she could depend on. If something had happened to him, she would no longer have someone to rely on. She simply could not bear to watch her son die before her. ¡°Qingyan... Mother just wants you to be back safe, Qingyan...¡± Jin Qingyue squatted down and hugged Mrs. Jin while they bawled together. ¡ª News of Jin Qingyan going missing spread like wildfire. It became a major news headline across S Nation. The media had also covered photos of Ling Ciye and Long Tianze searching for Jin Qingyan in N Nation together with a bunch of people. Ling Ciye activated half of Jin Qingyan¡¯s bodyguards and half of his own and deployed numerous nes and submarines to search for Jin Qingyan. After news of Jin Qingyan going missing broke out, not only were the people around him saddened, the Jin Corporation was also greatly affected: it took a drastic plunge in stocks on the stock market. It caused a continuous linear decline. A board meeting with the directors of the corporation was held every single day. Yet, they could not put an end to the situation or prevent things from blowing out of proportion. Dayster, there were still no news of him. In fact, everyone knew in their hearts that the possibility of him surviving were grim. Moreover, the waves were massive. Even the best swimmer would not escape such a tough ordeal. Despite the slim chances, the search unit did not cease to continue searching high and low for a single trace of Jin Qingyan. The disaster hade off as a major blow to An Xiaoning. She could not stomach any food or water and solely depended on a liquid drip to survive. Within just days, she lost a huge amount of weight rapidly. Mei Yangyang was filled with worry and anxiety at the sight of her devastated sister. She had no choice but to get An Youqing to persuade her. An Youqing¡¯s eyes were red and swollen from crying multiple times in secret. However, he never once teared up in front of his mother and would always strive to put on a brave front. Auntie Chen waited for the food to cool before handing it to him. ¡°Be careful with it.¡± An Youqing nodded and slowly made his way upstairs to An Xiaoning¡¯s bed. ¡°Mommy, time to eat.¡± An Xiaoning remained silent and continued to stare out of the window, as if she did not hear him at all. ¡°Mommy... please don¡¯t be like this. How are you going to look for Daddy if you fall ill?¡± An Youqing pleaded. His words seemed to have struck An Xiaoning, who then grabbed the bowl from his hands and began eating with a spoon. An Youqing looked at her and said, ¡°Mommy, you¡¯ve gotten so thin.¡± An Xiaoning expressed assent. After she finished eating, she ced the bowl onto the table. An Youqing then picked it up and brought it downstairs. ¡°Has she eaten?¡± asked Auntie Chen, who was waiting by the stairs. ¡°Yes.¡± Auntie Chen patted his head and said, ¡°Good job, Youqing. You¡¯re such an obedient and sensible child. Do persuade Mommy andfort her often.¡± ¡°Yes, got it.¡± Auntie Chen then turned around to leave with the empty bowl and began tearing up. A dead silence filled the air, as if there was no one in the room at all. An Xiaoning reached out to open the drawer, only to find that there were two red booklets inside. Was this their marriage certificate from the past? Her heart wrenched in pain immediately. She held the red booklets in her hand and opened them while leaning against the bed head. She stared in awe at the photo they took when they registered their marriage years ago. Back then, they got married swiftly right after they just met. She shifted her gaze to the date of the marriage. It was the 27th of March, year XXXX. Her eyes widened in shock. Wasn¡¯t that the second day of the fourth month on the lunar calendar? she thought to herself. It was the same day as the gathering. They boarded the ne to N Nation on the third day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar. Why was the date of their marriage on the second day of the fourth month on the lunar calendar? An Xiaoning lifted the duvet and hurriedly scurried towards the balcony with the marriage certificate booklets. She took a closer look to find that the date was indeed a few days ago. Chapter 397 - The Secret About the Past (15)

Chapter 397: The Secret About the Past (15)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Was this a false certificate? On the day of the gathering, he clearly said they would register their marriage very soon. An Xiaoning immediately understood what happened upon recalling his expression back then. She proceeded to take a shower and changed into a fresh set of clothes before driving towards the Civil Administration Office. After checking her official marital status with the office, she discovered that the marriage certificate was real. She had registered her marriage with him unknowingly on the second day of the fourth month on the lunar calendar. An Xiaoning had no recollection of how she made it back home for her mind was preupied and was sent into a whirlwind throughout the entire journey. Once she arrived at Wei Ni Estate, she caught sight of Fan Shixin, who had just returned, from a distance away. She hurriedly got down from her car and scrambled towards Fan Shixin. ¡°Did you find him?¡± Fan Shixin looked at her and shook his head in dismay. ¡°No.¡± The look of hope in An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes faded instantly. ¡°It could mean that he¡¯s still alive if you couldn¡¯t find his body. It¡¯s a good thing, it¡¯s a good thing...¡± Noticing that she was holding the marriage certificates, Fan Shixin asked, ¡°You saw... that?¡± An Xiaoning looked down and asked, ¡°You knew about the registration of our marriage?¡± ¡°Yes, I do. Young Sir went to register your marriage personally with your passport and his. He initially wanted to propose to you with the helicopter by the beach. He already had it all nned out. Although he knew you would say yes, he still wanted to arrange a proper marriage proposal. He even nned to tell you that he¡¯s registered your marriage once we return from N Nation...¡± Fan Shixin paused his speech, too agonized to carry on. Atst, he said, ¡°I won¡¯t give up on searching for Young Sir.¡± ¡°Why are you back now then? Why didn¡¯t you continue searching for him?¡± ¡°The directors of thepany gave me a call, saying that thepany is going through a tumultuous time right now. Young Madam, you have to take charge of the situation now that Young Sir is not around. Otherwise, the senior Sir Jin would have to step in once again. I¡¯m afraid thepany would end up in someone else¡¯s hands while we¡¯re carried away with searching for Young Sir. It would be disadvantageous to the Jin Corporation if Sir Jin takes charge of thepany. Remember his rtionship with Chi Rui¡¯er? I¡¯m worried that she would try to bewitch him again. By then... it¡¯d be inevitable...¡± Fan Shixin exined. Although Jin Qingyan was currently nowhere to be found and the press had spected that he¡¯s more likely than not dead, An Xiaoning knew that she would never give up unless she saw his corpse with her own eyes. Since he was not around, she had to guard all that belonged to him safely. ¡°I got it.¡± Just as An Xiaoning was about to turn around, Fan Shixin added, ¡°Young Madam...¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Young Sir had prepared a will beforehand.¡± An Xiaoning turned to face him in shock. ¡°A will? He¡¯s still so young, why did he draw up something like that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, perhaps because Young Sir just wanted to take precautions. I was next to him when he drafted the will, so I know the contents of it. It¡¯s said on his will that all of the assets under his name would be bequeathed to you and Youqing. Since Sir Jin still has a portion of thepany¡¯s shares, Young Sir¡¯s mother would be receiving a fixed amount of allowance from thepany every month,¡± said a haggard-looking Fan Shixin. A lump formed in An Xiaoning¡¯s throat, and she reached out to wipe away her tears. ¡°Alright, I know what to do.¡± She then began walking towards the living room. It had never urred to her that this would be the circumstance under which she¡¯d remarry him. He had bequeathed all of his assets, including himself, to her and their child. Yet, she refused to trust him enough at the start and constantly denied his wishes to get married again, in fear that history would repeat itself. However, she was filled with gratitude towards his decision to register their marriage secretly behind her back, for it had fulfilled his lifelong wish. Moreover, An Xiaoning had never resented the fact that she could tell fortunes as much as she did right now. She could read the fortunes and predict the fates of every single person in this world. Everyone except him. If only she could read his fortune, they would have never embarked on that vacation. Yet, it was all toote now. Once she reached the door, An Xiaoning stopped in her tracks all of a sudden and said to Fan Shixin, ¡°When Qingyan was admitted to the hospital previously for attempting to poison himself, I happened to hear him mention that he managed to survive because of that jade ring. Was that true?¡± Fan Shixin nodded and exined, ¡°Back then, when we discovered that Young Sir was unconscious, it had already been some time since he drank the poison. Yet, during the emergency rescue, it was found that all the toxins and poison in his blood had umted inside the ring.¡± An Xiaoning saw a sudden glimmer of hope upon hearing his answer. ¡°Could the ring have watched over him and saved his life too this time? Fan Shixin, we can¡¯t cken our search for him. We must find him, be he dead or alive,¡± she instructed. ¡°Yes, Young Madam.¡± Xiao Huang came scurrying from the main entrance and reported, ¡°Young Madam, Mr. Gu hase by a few times asking to see you. But I¡¯ve been refusing to let him enter because you¡¯ve been in low spiritstely. Would you like to see him?¡± ¡°Let him in,¡± An Xiaoning instructed. ¡°Alright.¡± Xiao Huang then turned around and zoomed towards the entrance. Soon, Gu Beicheng appeared and began walking towards them. He was alone. Gu Beicheng was stunned to see that An Xiaoning had gotten visibly thinner and gaunt within just days of not seeing her. In fact, she looked as thin as a skeleton that could be blown away by the wind easily. ¡°Mother said she misses you. She¡¯d like you toe home for a meal.¡± An Xiaoning nodded in agreement. ¡°Alright, give me half an hour.¡± She quickly returned inside and made her way upstairs. About half an hourter, An Xiaoning stepped out of the house, looking very different from before. She appeared much more beautiful and radiant with some makeup on her face. After giving some instructions to Fan Shixin, she followed Gu Beicheng back to the Gu family home. She knew that her godparents was worried sick about her. There was silence inside the car throughout the entire journey. A deafening silence filled the air. Gu Beicheng was focused on driving while An Xiaoning remained quiet without uttering a single word. They soon arrived at the Gu family mansion. Mrs. Gu rushed forward to hug her at the sight of them returning home. ¡°Why have you lost so much weight? Come here, Xiaoning,e inside with Mother,¡± Mrs. Gu said worriedly. An Xiaoning entered the house with Mrs. Gu pulling her along. There was a sumptuous spread on the dining table. An Xiaoning was pulled towards the dining table. Mrs. Gu then said with a mellow voice, ¡°We¡¯ve seen the news. We tried to call you so many times these past few days, but we couldn¡¯t get through. Beicheng tried to look you up in Wei Ni Estate, but to no avail either. We were worried sick. Xiaoning, remember, you still have us.¡± ¡°Mother, I¡¯m fine,¡± An Xiaoning said reassuringly while forcing a smile. Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi sat down opposite her. Mr. Gu and Gu Dongcheng also took a seat in silence. ¡°Isn¡¯t he yet to be found? That means he must still be alive. Otherwise, it can¡¯t be that they can¡¯t find him. Don¡¯t worry, he will be found soon. Maybe he was rescued, you never know,¡± Mrs. Guforted her. She then handed a pair of chopsticks to An Xiaoning and said, ¡°Look how thin you¡¯ve gotten. Here, let¡¯s eat.¡± An Xiaoning forced herself to eat something although she really did not have an appetite. Mrs. Gu scooped the dishes into An Xiaoning¡¯s bowl continuously, allowing her actions to do the talking and show her utmost concern. ¡°The Jin Corporation has been rather unstabletely. Since he¡¯s not around, how are the directors nning to handle the situation...?¡± Mr. Gu asked. Shaking her head, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°I don¡¯t know, I haven¡¯t gone to the office yet. Now that he¡¯s not around, I definitely have to take charge on his behalf.¡± ¡°But you two haven¡¯t gotten married. Will they allow you to enter thepany?¡± Mrs. Gu asked worriedly. An Xiaoning looked at her and said, ¡°Mother, we¡¯ve already registered our marriage. He sneakily brought my passport to get the registration done behind my back on the second day of the fourth lunar month.¡± Chapter 398 - The Secret About the Past (16)

Chapter 398: The Secret About the Past (16)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shock was written all over their faces. ¡°That¡¯s the same day we registered our marriage,¡± Lin Mingxi said in surprise. ¡°Yes. Our priority now is still to find him. Perhaps no news is good news. Maybe he was really rescued. We never know,¡± An Xiaoning said gently. Lin Mingxi could not help but notice that Gu Beicheng had been stealing nces at An Xiaoning throughout dinner, whereas he had only looked at herself perhaps once or twice. She was overwhelmed with an uneasiness. However, she knew that it was impossible between An Xiaoning and Gu Beicheng now that An Xiaoning had already married Jin Qingyan. Regardless of whether Jin Qingyan was dead or alive, Gu Beicheng would never stand a chance. Lin Mingxi reminded herself that she was thewful wife of Gu Beicheng, and she was confident that she could conquer his heart one day. An Xiaoning felt much better after chit-chatting with her family at the dining table. There were lots of things she had to handle and lots of suffering she had to ovee. However, she had set her mind straight and understood that she could conquer all odds as long as she does not falter and stays strong. She was determined to use all her pent-up agony and frustration to motivate herself. ¡ª The wound on Jin Qingyue¡¯s shoulder was almost healed and only had a while more to go before fully recovering. She was staying over at Wei Ni Estate with her daughter for the time being. She took over the responsibility of sending the children to and from school. She bumped into Shi Shaochuan as soon as she exited from the school. He was standing right in front of her car. Jin Qingyue had her bodyguards with her. She quickly said to them, ¡°Take him away, we want to get into the car.¡± ¡°Yes, Missy.¡± Just as the bodyguards were about to get a hold of Shi Shaochuan, they suddenly realized that they were outnumbered by Shi Shaochuan¡¯s men. Jin Qingyue¡¯s stomach twisted into a knot. She hurriedly handed her phone to a bodyguard and ordered, ¡°Give Fan Shixin a call, hurry.¡± The bodyguard did as instructed but could not reach Fan Shixin, unfortunately. ¡°The call can¡¯t get through, Missy.¡± ¡°Call Ling Ciye,¡± said Jin Qingyue, knowing that An Xiaoning had yet to use her new mobile phone. Ling Ciye picked up very quickly. The bodyguard then handed her phone to her. ¡°Brother Ciye, I¡¯m at the entrance of XX Elementary School. Shi Shaochuan is blocking my way and stopping me from getting into my car. Are you in the country right now?¡± Jin Qingyue asked, her voice shaking a little. ¡°Yes, I¡¯lle over right away.¡± Ling Ciye ended the call as soon as he finished speaking. Jin Qingyue felt a sense of relief after putting down the phone. ¡°Shi Shaochuan, just what are you trying to do?¡± Shi Shaochuan walked towards her slowly and stopped when he was about a meter away. Staring at her and Jin Bao¡¯er, he said, ¡°Look how much the child resembles me. Jin Qingyue, aren¡¯t you being inhuman by refusing to let me acknowledge my daughter? Or are you nning to find another man to be her stepfather?¡± ¡°What rubbish are you talking about it? We¡¯ve long be unrted to each other. Stop looking for trouble out of nowhere,¡± Jin Qingyue sneered. ¡°Hah... now that your brother has already died in the tsunami, what¡¯s next will be the downfall of the Jin family. Do you still think you have a backer?¡± ¡°My brother is not dead,¡± Jin Qingyue retorted, ring daggers at him. ¡°Stop deceiving yourself. How could he have possibly survived such a massive tsunami? I can¡¯t be bothered to argue with you. Jin Qingyue, I will fight for the custody of the child. I¡¯m her father and she belongs to the Shi family,¡± Shi Shaochuan said with a squint. Pursing her lips, Jin Qingyue snapped, ¡°You¡¯re going to snatch the custody away from me? Forget about it. I was the one who raised the child single-handedly. She has nothing to do with you at all.¡± ¡°What do you mean nothing to do with me? Could you have given birth to her without me?¡± Shi Shaochuan then looked down at Jin Bao¡¯er and said, ¡°I¡¯m your Daddy. Come home with Daddy, alright?¡± Jin Bao¡¯er looked up at him,pletely ignoring her mother¡¯s expression. ¡°Are you really my Daddy?¡± she asked. ¡°Of course I am. Don¡¯t you think you look a lot like me?¡± Jin Bao¡¯er tugged Jin Qingyue¡¯s hand and asked, ¡°Mommy, so is he my biological father or not? He is, isn¡¯t he?¡± Jin Qingyue did not answer her. Upon seeing her mother¡¯s reaction, Jin Bao¡¯er immediately understood the situation. ¡°Mommy, I want to follow Daddy home. Can I?¡± ¡°Who allowed you to call him ¡®Daddy¡¯? He¡¯s not your Daddy!¡± Jin Qingyue hollered angrily. ¡°If he¡¯s not my Daddy, who is?¡± Jin Bao¡¯er asked, teary-eyed. ¡°Jin Qingyue, do you have the guts to carry out a DNA test to prove that I¡¯m her father? How dare you deny my existence right in front of me? Daughter, your Mommyid a trap to set me up and sent me to prison. I couldn¡¯t see you or take care of you because I was in prison for five years. That was all your Mommy¡¯s fault. I didn¡¯t choose to not see you on purpose.¡± Staring at how he was so full of hypocrisy, Jin Qingyue wished she could tear his smug face into shreds. ¡°Mommy, is what he said true?¡± Jin Bao¡¯er questioned her mother. ¡°You don¡¯t have a father like him,¡± Jin Qingyue answered in utter annoyance and frustration. Shi Shaochuan then instructed the men he brought, ¡°Bring the child to the car.¡± Jin Qingyue grabbed Jin Bao¡¯er¡¯s hand tightly and pushed her towards the bodyguard. With a look of grief and indignation on her face, Jin Bao¡¯er whined, ¡°Mommy, could I stay with you for a few days and then stay with Daddy for a few days? I want Daddy, I want Daddy!¡± ¡°No!¡± Jin Qingyue barked, utterly disappointed and frustrated at how the child she had raised single-handedly was behaving. Jin Qingyue and her bodyguards managed to stall for some time. Soon, two cars arrived quickly and Ling Ciye alighted from one of them. As soon as Jin Qingyue saw him, she immediately grabbed Jin Bao¡¯er¡¯s hand and scurried towards him. ¡°Brother Ciye.¡± ¡°Get inside the car first.¡± Jin Qingyue nodded and pulled Jin Bao¡¯er into the car. Ling Ciye stared at Shi Shaochuan and said, ¡°Why? You¡¯re still trying to pester and harass them even though you¡¯ve already divorced each other for so long?¡± ¡°I just want my daughter.¡± ¡°Are you fit to be her father?¡± A sarcastic smile formed on Ling Ciye¡¯s face, partly because he was already in a bad mood to begin with. ¡°You duped Qingyue and brainwashed her into marrying you when she was still a young and insensible girl. Yet, not only did you treat her poorly, you even cheated on her time and time again. Shi Shaochuan, don¡¯t think you cany a hand on her just because her brother isn¡¯t around now. Listen up, I¡¯m not going to sit back and do nothing. If this happens again, I can¡¯t promise I won¡¯t do anything to you,¡± he warned. He turned around to leave as soon as he finished giving Shi Shaochuan a piece of his mind. The chauffeur drove them home while Ling Ciye sat beside Jin Qingyue and her daughter. ¡°Don¡¯t let Bao¡¯er attend school for the time being,¡± he said to Jin Qingyue. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what I thought too. Thank you, Brother Ciye,¡± Jin Qingyue answered. ¡°What for? We grew up together. Now that your brother is nowhere to be found, it¡¯s only right that I stand up for you. I can¡¯t watch you getting bullied.¡± ¡°Mommy! I want Daddy. Did you hear me?¡± Jin Bao¡¯er yelled. ¡°That liar, he¡¯s not your biological father!¡± Jin Qingyue had no choice but to cate her with a lie. ¡°Mommy, you¡¯re lying. Look how much I resemble him. You¡¯re lying to me. You just don¡¯t want me to see Daddy. I heard everything he said just now. He said he couldn¡¯t see me because of you. Mommy, why must you do that? Everyone else has a Daddy and a Mommy. Why can¡¯t I be like them? Why must you be like this? I want Daddy, I want Daddy!¡± Chapter 399 - The Secret About the Past (17)

Chapter 399: The Secret About the Past (17)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyue¡¯s brows furrowed into a frown, her ears hurting from her daughter¡¯s constant yelling and tantrums. Noticing how helpless and frustrated she was, Ling Ciye said, ¡°Look how simr your daughter is to you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve spoiled her rotten, just like how my parents used to spoil me. I was really too insensible in the past. Every time I recall how willful I used to be, I seriously wish I could dig a hole and jump into it. I really can¡¯t believe I did something so foolish. I was such a dimwit.¡± Ling Ciye leaned against the seat and said, ¡°I also think you were really foolish in the past. Tianze was such a great catch, yet you never saw the good in him or reciprocated his feelings for you. He¡¯s been especially nice to you since we were young, but you didn¡¯t know how to cherish him.¡± ¡°It¡¯s toote to regret now. Sometimes I really wish I could turn back the clock and start all over again, or perhaps go back to a certain time.¡± ¡°Do you think you won¡¯t behave impulsively again if that happens?¡± ¡°That¡¯s hard to say,¡± said Jin Qingyue, smiling wryly. ¡°You¡¯ve changed quite a bit, eh? I haven¡¯t seen you in years, but I feel like you¡¯re a different person now,¡± Ling Ciye remarked. ¡°I¡¯m no longer my 21-year-old self. I¡¯m already 28 years old. If I¡¯m still the same as I was back then, wouldn¡¯t I have lived for nothing the past few years? There are no news of my brother now at all. I feel as if the sky is falling down on me,¡± Jin Qingyuemented, feeling terribly upset. ¡°I believe he won¡¯t die so easily, regardless of a natural disaster or an intentional mishap. He¡¯s not going to die. He¡¯s definitely going toe back safe,¡± said Ling Ciye, staring out of the window. Jin Qingyue wondered if he said that tofort her or himself. ¡ª An Xiaoning made her way to the Jin Corporation office and was surrounded by a swarm of media reporters and tabloids as soon as she stopped her car. Fan Shixin alighted from the car before opening the door for her. The moment she stepped foot out of the car, she was greeted with the sight of reporters, who were shoving their microphones in her face. They bombarded her with all sorts of questions. ¡°Ms. An, are there any news of Mr. Jin?¡± ¡°Ms. An, rumor has it that you and Mr. Jin have gotten married again. Is that true?¡± ¡°Ms. An, will you be taking over Mr. Jin¡¯s duties in thepany and handle the office matters?¡± ¡°Ms. An...¡± An Xiaoning put her hand up and gestured for them to stop, after which the initialmotion faded into silence. Staring at the reporters around her, she began to speak in a hoarse voice, ¡°I shall now address your questions briefly. Jin Qingyan and I have already registered our marriage, though we¡¯ve yet to hold a wedding. Jin Qingyan still hasn¡¯t been found, but I¡¯m positive that he¡¯s still alive. We just haven¡¯t found him yet. It¡¯s only a matter of time before we do though. I refuse to believe that he¡¯s dead, unless I see his corpse with my own eyes. As for thepany matters, I¡¯ll be holding a discussion with the board of directors beforeing to a decision for our next step. Please don¡¯t ask me about other matters. I¡¯m not in the mood to answer your questions right now. Thank you.¡± As she proceeded to walk forward, the reporters began to part like the Red Sea to make way for her while Fan Shixin and a few bodyguards followed closely behind to escort her to the Jin Corporation Office Tower. All the directors were present in the meeting room and were discussing amongst themselves while waiting for An Xiaoning to arrive. An Xiaoning stopped in her tracks when she reached the entrance and stared at the door of the meeting room. She was determined to keep Jin Qingyan¡¯s position in thepany. ¡°Our Young Madam is here,¡± said Fan Shixin as he pushed the door open slowly. As soon as An Xiaoning entered, the board of directors rose from their seats one after another. An Xiaoning stood in front of the empty seat reserved for her and said, ¡°No one took charge of thepany the past few days and the stocks have plunged dramatically. I know all of you are thinking of ways to keep it within control. It¡¯s been hard on everyone.¡± She bent forward and bowed down to the directors. ¡°May I ask, have you remarried CEO Jin?¡± ¡°Yes, I have. Thus, I¡¯ll be taking over Qingyan¡¯s duties in thepany for the time being, until he returns. Leave the issues thepany is currently facing to me. I¡¯ll handle them ordingly,¡± said An Xiaoning. The directors did not seem too convinced; a look of apprehension formed on their faces. ¡°I know everyone is doubtful of my capabilities and finds it hard to believe in me. Let¡¯s start off with keeping the stocks in control then. I¡¯ll prove myself worthy of this position,¡± An Xiaoning said confidently without shifting her gaze. ¡°...¡± Fan Shixin watched as she spoke with fervor and assurance during the discussion. After the meeting ended, he proceeded to follow her to Jin Qingyan¡¯s office. An Xiaoning was filled with thoughts about Jin Qingyan as she sat in his office chair. ¡°Young Madam, after some investigation, I¡¯ve discovered that the tremendous plunge in ourpany¡¯s stocks was all Ye Xiaotian¡¯s doing. Seems like he¡¯s taking the chance to beat down the Jin Corporation. Otherwise, there wouldn¡¯t be such a rapid fall in our stock prices.¡± ¡°Oh, Ye Xiaotian...¡± said An Xiaoning, knocking her hand gently against the table. After pondering for a while, she exined her intended strategy to Fan Shixin before instructing, ¡°Prepare me a mobile handset.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After Fan Shixin left, she stared at a framed photograph of her and Jin Qingyan on the office desk. She switched on theputer to see that the wallpaper was a photo of herself. She continued to work until the afternoon and was gued with a major headache. At this moment, Fan Shixin entered with a paper carrier and a mobile handset box. ¡°Young Madam, I¡¯ve done what you instructed me to. The stock prices have stopped decreasing within just hours. This is the new handset you requested, and here¡¯s a copy of your original SIM card. I¡¯ve also bought you some food and drinks. Continue working after you eat something.¡± An Xiaoning reached out to take the items from him and said, ¡°Thank you, Shixin.¡± ¡°It¡¯s only my duty.¡± She switched on her new mobile phone and left it to charge. Realizing that her stomach was rumbling, she began digging into the food, taking one small bite at a time. ¡°Boss, that fellow is calling you again!¡± An Xiaoning looked up at Fan Shixin, surprised that the ringtone was the same as her previous phone. ¡°I was afraid that you wouldn¡¯t get used to other ringtones so I re-downloaded the ringtone you used to have.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s great,¡± said An Xiaoning as she grabbed the phone. She knew that it was a call from Ma Jianguo as soon as she saw the numbers disyed on the caller disy. ¡°Officer Ma.¡± ¡°Team Leader, are you alright?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Team Leader, Xu Youran and the man who tried to shoot you previously have both been released. I overheard Team Leader Zhang talking about it while I was in the washroom. Seems like it¡¯s true,¡± Ma Jianguo said softly. ¡°Got it, thanks, Officer Ma,¡± said An Xiaoning, who had a throbbing headache. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Team Leader, you have to take good care of your health and beware of your own safety. I reckon that Xu Youran is going to find trouble with you once she¡¯s released.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be careful at all times, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll call you if there¡¯s anything.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± After ending the call, An Xiaoning said to Fan Shixin, ¡°Xu Youran and that sniper have been released.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t they agree to keep them locked up for half a year?¡± Fan Shixin groused, feeling slightly infuriated. ¡°I reckon the Xu family decided to take the matter lightly now that Qingyan is not around.¡± An Xiaoning then instructed, ¡°Send more bodyguards to guard Father-inw closely. Don¡¯t allow Xu Youran or Chi Rui¡¯er to get near him.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll transfer more people there to watch him round the clock.¡± ¡°Oh and send some people to keep close tabs on Mother-inw too. Report to me immediately if she¡¯s seen meeting up with Chi Rui¡¯er, Xu Youran, or any suspicious-looking person.¡± ¡°Got it,¡± Fan Shixin agreed. ¡°Shixin, you haven¡¯t been resting welltely because of the search for Qingyan. You have to take good care of your health. There aren¡¯t many people around me whom I can trust. You¡¯re the only one I can trust and depend on.¡± Chapter 400 - The Secret About the Past (18)

Chapter 400: The Secret About the Past (18)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Alright, take care of yourself too,¡± said a teary-eyed Fan Shixin. ¡°Instruct the search team in N Nation to keep searching. If there aren¡¯t any updates yet, just stay here with me.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡ª In the evening, all the members of the Xu family were present at the dining table. Xu Youran was beaming with joy and constantly cozied up to her parents. ¡°I knew Father and Mother wouldn¡¯t leave me in the lurch.¡± ¡°If it weren¡¯t because Jin Qingyan had met with a mishap, you definitely wouldn¡¯t be released. The Jin Corporation is in chaos now. I¡¯ve long heard about the fact that Jin Qingyan and his sister don¡¯t belong to the same father. Jin Qingyan¡¯s father is confined in the hospital, and there¡¯s no one to hold the fort in the Jin family. Otherwise, I would¡¯ve really wanted you to be locked up for six months, just so you would reflect on your own mistakes. You¡¯re already an adult, yet you still don¡¯t know your limits. All you do is get into trouble,¡± Military Commander Xu said with a tinge of gentleness in his voice, though he had a stern expression on his face. ¡°Father, can you really bear to lock me up in prison? Jin Qingyan wanted to set me up for a hard time, yet he met with a tsunami during his vacation. This just shows that he got the karma he deserves,¡± Xu Youran said with pouted lips. ¡°An Xiaoning has taken over Jin Qingyan¡¯s position in thepany. I saw on the news that she and Jin Qingyan have registered their marriage,¡± said Xu Yang, who was far less optimistic about the situation. ¡°She¡¯s just an uncultured fortune-teller. Does she seriously think she¡¯s capable enough to manage apany? I¡¯m not looking down on her, but in my opinion, I really don¡¯t think she has what it takes to run such a major corporation,¡± Xu Youran said bluntly. Xu Yang begged to differ. ¡°Youran, to be honest, I think there¡¯s more to her than meets the eye. So don¡¯t incur her wrath again. She¡¯s no kind soul or saint. If you attempt to kill her again, I¡¯m afraid even Father wouldn¡¯t be able to defend you.¡± Madam Xu agreed with her son, ¡°Youran, your father has pulled his connections in order to save you. Could you just let us stop worrying about you from now on? Besides, An Xiaoning seems like a nice person to me. Why do you keep wanting to kill her?¡± Xu Youran began fiddling with her chopsticks, appearing to be rather peeved. ¡°I just don¡¯t like her. I find her utterly detestable. Maybe... our birth characters are ill-matched and we simply can¡¯t get along by nature.¡± ¡°What kind of a reason is that? Silly child, stop looking for trouble. You¡¯re only going to put your brother and father in a difficult position if you keep behaving this way,¡± Madam Xu reiterated. ¡°That¡¯s enough, Mother. I heard you. I¡¯m so happy right now. How did something so marvellous happen? Jin Qingyan met with a tsunami. Hahaha,¡± Xu Youran gloated, brimming with joy. ¡°You¡¯re not to spread rumors when you¡¯re outside. He might still be alive since they haven¡¯t found him,¡± Madam Xu instructed. ¡°Mother, it¡¯s a tsunami we¡¯re talking about, an earthquake beneath the seabed, not just a harmless wave. Jin Qingyan is dead for sure. Tsunamis are frightening.¡± ¡°Okay, that¡¯s enough, stop talking about such things and start eating.¡± Reminded of her schedule for tomorrow, Madam Xu asked Xu Youran, ¡°I¡¯m going to a temple on the mountains tomorrow. Would you like to apany me?¡± ¡°No, I have something important to do tomorrow. I¡¯m not free.¡± ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll go by myself,¡± Madam Xu said with a look of disappointment. After they were done with the meal, Madam Xu returned to her room to grab her purse in a bid to go out. ¡°Honey, where are you going?¡± Military Commander Xu asked. ¡°I¡¯m going out to get the necessary items for visiting the temple tomorrow.¡± ¡°Alright, hurry ande back quick.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± After watching her mother leave, Xu Youran sat down beside Military Commander Xu and said, ¡°Father, why don¡¯t you take Mother in hand? She¡¯s always so superstitious. What¡¯s the point of visiting the temple on the mountains?¡± Military Commander Xu let out a long sigh before exining, ¡°You have no idea, your mother had a hard time giving birth to you. I wasn¡¯t by her side back then and it was a passerby who lent her a helping hand. The passerby happened to be a monk of that temple, which she had been frequenting ever since. Regardless of whether it helps, your mother feels a sense of assurance by visiting the temple regrly.¡± ¡°Oh...¡± said Xu Youran, staring at the ground. Madam Xu headed to a shop specialized in selling incense and joss sticks. She would always refuse to use the joss sticks provided at the temple and insist on bringing her own whenever she visited the mountains. The chauffeur and the bodyguards waited for her patiently in the car. She entered the shop alone. To her surprise, she bumped into An Xiaoning inside. An Xiaoning had bought a pile of items that she carried in a ck stic bag. ¡°Hello, Madam Xu,¡± An Xiaoning greeted, rather surprised to see her too. ¡°Hello, Ms. An. You¡¯re here to buy something too?¡± Madam Xu asked smilingly. ¡°Yeah. What are you here for?¡± ¡°To buy some joss sticks.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you get your servants to buy them for you?¡± ¡°I prefer to buy such things myself. Um, Ms. An... we¡¯re really sorry about Youran,¡± Madam Xu said with a faint smile. ¡°I find your daughter a stark contrast from you. Madam Xu seems to be a person of principle. Enjoy your shopping, I¡¯ll be taking my leave,¡± said An Xiaoning, who did not resent Madam Xu because of Xu Youran. ¡°Sure.¡± Madam Xu turned around to watch An Xiaoning leave, feeling a strange sense of familiarity and connection towards her. ¡ª An Xiaoning ced the items she bought inside the car. She had run out of paper and ink pens she needed for drawing amulets, as well as joss sticks, and thus decided to head to the shop to buy some. Upon reaching Wei Ni Estate, she saw Mei Yangyang and Long Tianze standing by the roadside. She parked the car at the gate and alighted. ¡°Sis,¡± Mei Yangyang greeted. Just as An Xiaoning walked towards them, Mo Li, who was standing beside Long Tianze, immediately walked away and got inside another car. The car then drove away quickly. ¡°Why is Mo Li behaving so strangely? She didn¡¯t even bother greeting Sis,¡± Mei Yangyang questioned in surprise. ¡°She probably feels awkward and embarrassed. After all, her husband has been going toe-to-toe with Qingyan¡¯spany the past few days,¡± said Long Tianze. Upon hearing his words, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Whoever stands against me will no longer be my friend, regardless of who it may be.¡± ¡°Sis was the one who saved her when she attempted suicide back then. How great, now that she¡¯s married to Ye Xiaotian, she just turns her back and obeys him. Long Tianze...¡± Mei Yangyang scoffed before looking at him sternly all of a sudden. ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡± ¡°You are to cut off all ties with Mo Li from now on! I¡¯m obviously on my Sis¡¯ side, and since you¡¯re with me, you have to stand on Mr. Jin¡¯s side without a doubt,¡± Mei Yangyang ordered. ¡°That goes without saying. I¡¯m obviously standing together with you guys. It¡¯s just, Mo Li is helpless too in this situation,¡± Long Tianze said with a sigh. ¡°No matter how helpless she may be, she should at least say something, shouldn¡¯t she? Mr. Jin helped her so much in the past. Although he didn¡¯t quite seed in helping her find a suitable marriage partner, he still helped her nheless. She¡¯s not even in the least bit concerned now that Mr. Jin has met with a mishap.¡± Mei Yangyang scowled in disgruntlement. An Xiaoning gave Mei Yangyang a pat on her shoulder and said, ¡°That¡¯s enough. Tianze and Mo Li are childhood friends. Don¡¯t put him in a spot. There¡¯s no way they can cut off tiespletely. I¡¯m going home.¡± Mei Yangyang grabbed her hand and said, ¡°Sis, I want to sleep with you.¡± ¡°Does he agree to it?¡± ¡°He wouldn¡¯t dare to disagree. Let¡¯s go.¡± Long Tianze stared blindly as his wife and An Xiaoning walked towards the house opposite. He could not help but feel lonely at the fact that he had to go home alone. Long Tianze was extremely troubled and saddened at the thought of his buddy who had gone missing ¨C he did not even know whether he was dead or alive. He felt as if a boulder was weighing down his chest. Looking up at the nket of stars above him, Long Tianze prayed fervently in his heart, ¡°If Heaven is fair, please let Qingyan return safely. Please, I¡¯m begging you.¡± Chapter 401 - The Secret About the Past (19)

Chapter 401: The Secret About the Past (19)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios They entered the living room to find that An Youqing was sitting on the couch and watching an animated cartoon show on the television. An Xiaoning walked towards him and said gently, ¡°Son, it¡¯s time to shower and go to bed.¡± ¡°Mommy, let me watch for a while more.¡± ¡°Let Mommy discuss something with you then. What do you say I give you a new name?¡± An Xiaoning said, asking for his opinion. An Youqing turned to look at her and asked, ¡°Changing my name?¡± ¡°Mommy would like you to take Daddy¡¯sst name.¡± ¡°Sis...¡± Mei Yangyang muttered in surprise. An Youqing did not show a sign of displeasure at all. Having lost his father all of a sudden, he suppressed all his emotions and kept his thoughts to himself. ¡°Mommy, I agree to it.¡± An Xiaoning reached out to caress his face before saying, ¡°How does ¡®Jin Yiheng¡¯ sound? If you like it, it shall be your name from now onwards. Mommy will get Uncle Shixin to bring our household registers from Grandma¡¯s house and register our names under Daddy¡¯s household register, alright?¡± ¡°Sure... Mommy, I really like that name. No one will ask me why I follow yourst name anymore then.¡± ¡°Sis, the name¡¯s great,¡± Mei Yangyang said in approval. An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°It shall be that then. I¡¯ll get Shixin to change Youqing¡¯s name as well when he¡¯s processing the transfer of household registers.¡± ¡°Yiheng... Yiheng...¡± Mei Yangyang recited the name repeatedly. ¡°This name sounds good. I shall call you by your new name from now on. Yiheng, your Mommy and I are going to bed. You should go upstairs and sleep soon too.¡± ¡°Got it, Godma.¡± Once they returned inside the bedroom, Mei Yangyang asked, ¡°Sis, why did you suddenly think of changing his name?¡± ¡°It¡¯s something I was supposed to do from the start. I don¡¯t want the media to spark rumors and tarnish Qingyan¡¯s reputation. The Jin family is no ordinary family. It¡¯s better to let Youqing take the Jin family name.¡± ¡°Sis, look how forgetful you are. You just changed his name minutes ago, yet you called him ¡®Youqing¡¯ again. Perhaps you haven¡¯t gotten used to it yet. It¡¯s ¡®Yiheng¡¯,¡± Mei Yangyang corrected her. ¡°Right, Yiheng.¡± ¡ª The morning sky was gloomy, seemingly about to pour. Xu Youran wasying on the couch in her private vi and staring at Chi Rui¡¯er, whom she had abducted. With a malicious smirk on her face, she said, ¡°Now that you don¡¯t have Jin Qingyan to back you up, there¡¯s no way you can escape my hands.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er kept a straight face and said, ¡°I¡¯ve been diagnosed with cancer, there¡¯s not much longer left for me to live.¡± ¡°Cancer? That¡¯s great. If I were to throw you down from upstairs, everyone¡¯s going to think that youmitted suicide. After all, it¡¯s only normal for cancer patients to be moody and suicidal. But... you still have a mother, don¡¯t you? What do you say I throw your mother down together with you?¡± ring daggers at her, Chi Rui¡¯er scorned, ¡°Xu Youran, you devil.¡± ¡°If I¡¯m a devil, what are you? You¡¯re not much better than I am. Do you really think you¡¯re a pure and innocent flower? You didn¡¯t seem very righteous when you were killing someone,¡± Xu Youran retorted sarcastically. Chi Rui¡¯er was at a loss for words to counter her remark since she was a murderer herself. Indeed... ¡°Just what do you want?¡± ¡°Nothing much, I just want you to get close to Jin Qingyan¡¯s father and pluck a few strands of his hair for me, by hook or by crook. This is your first task. If you behave well and obey me, I won¡¯t hurt your mother,¡± Xu Youran instructed. ¡°I heard Jin Qingyan¡¯s father is ced under confinement and there are people watching him round the clock. How am I supposed to get near him?¡± said Chi Rui¡¯er. ¡°That¡¯s your job to find out. Why would I get you to do it if it was easy? He¡¯s now hospitalized. You may sneak in under the disguise of a nurse. His father is still in the dark about Jin Qingyan¡¯s mishap. You have to inform him about it personally. Also... you must tell him that An Xiaoning has taken charge of the Jin Corporation and that thepany is going tond in the hands of somebody else,¡± Xu Youran prompted her. ¡°Got it.¡± ¡°What are you waiting for then? Get to it right now.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er turned around to leave. She arrived at the hospital Mr. Jin was confined in. After taking a look around the hospital ward Mr. Jin was staying in, she discovered that she could enter through the balcony of another VIP ward, though the two balconies were quite a distance apart. Besides, there were also bodyguards guarding along the balcony. Chi Rui¡¯er then decided to disguise as a nurse, only to realize that not even doctors were allowed to enter the ward, let alone nurses. She had no choice but to return to Xu Youran and say, ¡°There¡¯s no way for me to approach him.¡± ¡°Chi Rui¡¯er...¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have a solution even though you¡¯re wealthy and powerful. What makes you think I, who¡¯s alone, have the means to do it?¡± ¡°Okay, go back and wait for further news. I¡¯ll contact you again,¡± said Xu Youran, seemingly having thought of an idea. Chi Rui¡¯er did not know what she had up her sleeve and thus left as instructed. ¡°Announce to the press immediately that An Xiaoning is hogging the leadership position of thepany and has locked Jin Qingyan¡¯s father up in the hospital. She will definitely allow Mr. Jin to show his face to the public then.¡± ¡°Yes, great idea, Missy.¡± ¡°Step on it.¡± ¡ª Mei Yangyang was tasked with sending the three children to and from school and told the teacher personally about the change in An Youqing¡¯s name. ¡°Mommy, why is Brother Youqing¡¯s name being changed?¡± ¡°Because your Brother Youqing initially took your Godma¡¯sst name. So, you can¡¯t call him ¡®Brother Youqing¡¯ anymore in the future. You have to call him ¡®Brother Yiheng¡¯ instead.¡± Long Xiaoxi nodded and said, ¡°Mommy, I have a great ambition now.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°When I grow up, I want to marry Brother Yiheng and be his wife...¡± ¡°Do you know what wives are for?¡± asked a dumbfounded Mei Yangyang. ¡°Of course I do. You¡¯re Daddy¡¯s wife. Wives can be kissed and used to make babies. There are so many functions a wife can perform. Mommy, did you know? All the boys in our ss are ugly and disgusting, they¡¯re nowhere as handsome as Brother Yiheng.¡± Mei Yangyang was speechless. ¡°Mommy, what do you think of my ambition?¡± ¡°Hmm... good. But it sounds like a tall order. You have to work for it.¡± ¡°Why is it a tall order?¡± ¡°You two are considered childhood sweethearts. You¡¯ll get too familiar with each other once you¡¯ve yed together for too long. You might not be the kind of girl your Brother Yiheng would want to marry in the future.¡± Long Xiaoxi looked up at her and said, ¡°Mommy, I¡¯ve already asked Brother Yiheng.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I asked him if he wanted to make me his wife when we grow up,¡± Long Xiaoxi said in a serious manner, though her chubby cheeks made her appear rather amusing. ¡°What did he say then?¡± ¡°He said to leave that for the future and that he can only decide when he grows up.¡± ¡°Alright, hurry and eat your breakfast. You still have school to attend afterwards.¡± Long Xiaoxi put down her chopsticks halfway through her bowl of rice. ¡°Why have you stopped eating?¡± ¡°Mommy, I¡¯d like to lose some weight. I think I¡¯m too chubby right now.¡± Long Wenlun burst intoughter. ¡°Did you just realize that? You¡¯re a fatty.¡± Mei Yangyang red at him and chided, ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to say that about Xiaoxi. Xiaoxi is forever Mommy¡¯s most beautiful princess. You¡¯re not chubby at all. You only have some baby fats on you.¡± Chapter 402 - The Secret About the Past (20)

Chapter 402: The Secret About the Past (20)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Mommy, really?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Long Xiaoxi picked up her chopsticks and began eating again. ¡°I¡¯m not chubby, I only have some baby fats,¡± she murmured to herself. After dropping the children off at the kindergarten, Mei Yangyang passed by a junction on her way back and noticed the news about An Xiaoning confining Mr. Jin stered across an LED billboard. She then decided to drive towards the Jin Corporation Office Tower. As expected, there were a massive number of reporters at the main entrance. Mei Yangyang alighted from the car while wearing a pair of shades and a surgical mask and entered the elevator straight away. Two female employees were gossiping between themselves in the elevator. ¡°It¡¯s all over the inte. It¡¯s said that An Xiaoning encroached our CEO¡¯s position and locked Chairman up in the hospital. Do you think it¡¯s true?¡± said Employee A. ¡°I think it must be real. Look what state thepany has ended up in the past few days, just because Mr. CEO is not around. Several major clients have terminated their contracts with us or pulled out of ongoing partnerships. I doubt our current female CEO has the ability to resolve these issues,¡± Employee B answered. ¡°Yeah, I heard she grew up on the mountains and only rose to riches after getting adopted by the Gu family when she was older. Afterwards, she somehow got together with Mr. CEO. She doesn¡¯t actually have much of an education, nor does she have much knowledge.¡± ¡°Well, who knows? Anyway, we¡¯re in no ce to worry about those matters.¡± Mei Yangyang removed her mask and chastised, ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid of getting the sack by gossiping about?¡± The two female employees turned around to look at her one after another and dared not utter another word, though they did not know who she was. Upon arriving at the office, Mei Yangyang asked the secretary softly, ¡°Is Sis around?¡± ¡°She¡¯s inside.¡± Mei Yangyang pushed the door open gently and was greeted with the sight of An Xiaoning handling some business matters while seated in front of the desk. ¡°Hello, Sis.¡± ¡°You¡¯re here, Yangyang. Have the kids gone to school?¡± asked An Xiaoning, who appeared rather haggard and fatigued. ¡°Yes. Have you eaten?¡± ¡°No, Shixin went out to buy my lunch.¡± An Xiaoning picked up her teacup and took a few sips before asking, ¡°Have you seen thetest news?¡± ¡°Yes, I have.¡± ¡°Someone is definitely behind this. It¡¯s either Ye Xiaotian or Xu Youran.¡± An Xiaoning put down her teacup and stared at Mei Yangyang calmly. ¡°I feel really stressed.¡± ¡°I saw a lot of reporters outside. How do you n to address their questions about Mr. Jin¡¯s father being confined?¡± ¡°He was already confined when Qingyan was still around. He¡¯s been fooling around with Chi Rui¡¯er. Now that Qingyan is not around, Chi Rui¡¯er must¡¯ve been manipted by Xu Youran again. Releasing Father-inw will only add hail to the snow, nothing good wille out of it. Make a guess about why I¡¯m so certain.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because once we release Father-inw, he¡¯s going to get back together with Chi Rui¡¯er. It¡¯ll be another piece of scandalous news if Xu Youran then decides to kill Chi Rui¡¯er. Qingyan has already rified to the media previously and denied the existence of their rtionship. That¡¯s how we managed to avoid the scandal back then. So, no matter what, we can¡¯t release Father-inw for the time being.¡± ¡°But Sis, you can¡¯t keep continuing to confine him, can you?¡± said Mei Yangyang. ¡°I know I can¡¯t keep letting the matter go on like this, but I don¡¯t have the time or energy now to care about his affairs. Thepany is currently facing an unprecedented crisis. I must pull through this difficult time. I won¡¯t be going home for a while. Do help me look after Yiheng,¡± said An Xiaoning, sounding extremely exhausted. Mei Yangyang nodded and said, ¡°Sis, why don¡¯t I find you some business elites to form an assistance team of your own. It doesn¡¯t matter how much it may cost, as long as it¡¯ll help you tide through this ordeal. Nothing matters more than that. What do you think?¡± An Xiaoning looked up and said, ¡°That¡¯s a great idea, but it¡¯s not that easy to hire business elites.¡± ¡°Sis, you have no idea. We don¡¯t have to poach well-known figures from establishedpanies. We can just look for youths who are capable yet not recognized for their abilities. Leave this to me,¡± said Mei Yangyang as she patted her own chest. ¡°Apart from sending the children to and from school, I have a lot of free time on my hands. I¡¯ll handle it for you.¡± An Xiaoning was moved to tears. ¡°Yangyang, thank you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. I just want you to be well. Your health is of the utmost importance. I¡¯m going to look for some prospective elites now. I¡¯ll call you again if there are any updates.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡ª The casualties of the tsunami in N Nation totaled up to a shocking number of more than 50 thousand. Not to mention, a huge financial loss was incurred as well. What used to be a scenic and beautiful holiday resort turned into and of ruins overnight. Apart from the rescue team, there was almost no one else in the area, for most of the citizens had already fled to other regions. During the time Jin Qingyan fell into the ocean, he was quickly washed away by a huge wave before he could even swim to the surface of the water. Just as he took a breath of fresh air, he was again pushed elsewhere by another wave of tsunami. He felt a strong pressure surging against him and lost consciousness soon after. Jin Qingyan only opened his eyes again dayster. Noticing that he had opened his eyes, the girl beside him immediately asked, ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡± His lips were dry and cracked. After scanning the unfamiliar environment around him, he asked in an extremely hoarse voice, ¡°Where am I?¡± ¡°This is the disaster relief center. You were unconscious for days. You must be famished and parched. Hold on for a while, I¡¯ll bring you some water.¡± Jin Qingyan nodded. At this juncture, he was indeed very thirsty and feltpletely sluggish and weak while aching immensely from head to toe. It could be said that he was currently on the verge of death. Soon, the girl returned with a bottle of mineral water and a bag of instant noodles in her hands. She squatted down beside Jin Qingyan and opened the bottle of mineral water before cing it beside his lips. ¡°Drink up, the water is very clean.¡± He eagerly gulped the water down and finished the entire bottle in no time. The girl ced the empty bottle aside and handed him the bag of instant noodles. ¡°We don¡¯t have any other food here, just fill your stomach with his.¡± Jin Qingyan took it from her hands and began wolfing the noodles down. Squatting beside him, the girl said, ¡°You were unconscious for days, so I decided to pour some water into your mouth. You actually woke up, surprisingly.¡± ¡°How many days was I asleep for?¡± ¡°It¡¯s been six days since I brought you here after discovering that you were still alive. What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°My name is...¡± Jin Qingyan opened his mouth and stared at her nkly. ¡°I can¡¯t remember.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t remember your name? You seem very fluent in the nativenguage here. Are you a local?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Your condition is pretty serious then. Could it be because you hurt your head? You were bleeding profusely from your head when I first found you. The doctor gave you several stitches on your head. It¡¯s alright, just take your time to recall slowly. There¡¯s no hurry anyway. My name is Bu Xianxian,¡± the girl said smilingly. ¡°Did something happen here?¡± ¡°Seems like you really forgot everything. A tsunami urred here a few days ago and ruined numerous homes within the vicinity of the beach. But fortunately, my family and I were plucking herbs on the mountains at the time and managed to escape the disaster. Heaven must¡¯ve blessed us.¡± Chapter 403 - The Secret About the Past (21)

Chapter 403: The Secret About the Past (21)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Seems like you really forgot everything. A tsunami urred here a few days ago and ruined numerous homes within the vicinity of the beach. But fortunately, my family and I were plucking herbs on the mountains at the time and managed to escape the disaster. Heaven must¡¯ve blessed us.¡± ¡°A tsunami?¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll be returning to rebuild our homester. I told my parents that we should move to the mountains. That way, we¡¯ll be safe even if there¡¯s a tsunami. Since you can¡¯t remember your name, shall I give you a new name?¡± Jin Qingyan nodded in agreement. ¡°Hmm... how does ¡®Nick¡¯ sound to you?¡± Jin Qingyan nodded again and said, ¡°Great.¡± He stared at Bu Xianxian, who was beaming with joy because she and her family managed to escape a major disaster. However, he was not as happy. He had lost his memory and had be a nk te. He did not even know who he was or where his family was. How could he bring himself to smile? Half an hourter, Bu Xianxian helped him onto a stretcher since it was too painful for him to even stand, let alone walk. Bu Xianxian¡¯s parents carried him on a stretcher and embarked on a journey towards their destination. Along the way, the middle-aged couple even burst into song, seemingly not upset or dejected about the destruction of their home at all. Perhaps to them, being able to survive was more than enough. ¡°Nick, you look really young. I bet you¡¯re less than 27 years old,¡± said Mrs. Bu, who was carrying the rear end of the stretcher. ¡°I don¡¯t know how old I am either.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, you¡¯ll regain your memory again slowly. Just live with us for the time being,¡± she said smilingly. ¡°Thank you.¡± By the time they arrived on the mountains, the middle-aged couple was already panting heavily in exhaustion. Jin Qingyan wanted to get down from the stretcher in a bid to ease their burden, but they insisted that he continue lying on the stretcher. Thus, they continued to carry him all the way to a in field along the mountains. Noticing that the couple were about to walk away again, Jin Qingyan asked, ¡°Where are your parents going?¡± ¡°To collect some disaster relief supplies. Otherwise, we won¡¯t be able to sleep tonight.¡± Bu Xianxian sat down beside him and asked, ¡°You¡¯ve got so many wounds on your body. Do they hurt a lot?¡± ¡°They don¡¯t hurt much,¡± he said instinctively. ¡°Liar. Look how huge your wound is. The doctor who helped you bandage it instructed that you have to rest and recuperate properly. Otherwise, it¡¯s going to be an old ailment,¡± said Bu Xianxian, pointing at the wound on his leg. Jin Qingyan felt a warm and fuzzy feeling in his heart as he watched her continue to bber on and on. The world was an unfamiliar ce to him now. He had no idea where his home was, who his family members were, whether or not they were alive, what his name was, how old he was, or if he had any friends. Beingpletely clueless about his identity made him feel extremely helpless. Bu Xianxian¡¯s parents soon returned, panting heavily. Mr. Bu was carrying a tent while Mrs. Bu had tworge bags on her shoulders. Bu Xianxian hurriedly helped her mother put the bags down and asked, ¡°Mother, have you taken everything?¡± ¡°No, I have to make another trip. Set up the tent with your father while I go and fetch the remaining supplies.¡± ¡°Alright, be careful on your way there,¡± Bu Xianxian instructed. ¡°Yes, got it.¡± Mr. Bu brought onerge tent and another smaller one, both of which were provided by the government disaster relief unit. Bu Xianxian and her father took more than half an hour to set up both the tents. In order to set up their makeshift home for the night before the sky turned dark, Mr. and Mrs. Bu toiled endlessly to gather the stones around them one by one and ced them inside the tent. They then picked up ten stones and stacked them atop each other. ¡°So what¡¯s the n for tonight? Why don¡¯t I share a tent with Xianxian while you and Nick share the other one?¡± Mrs. Bu asked her husband when she returned. Before Mr. Bu could even respond, Bu Xianxian said, ¡°Mother, Nick needs extra care and assistance. I¡¯ll share a tent with him, that¡¯ll make it easier for me to take care of him.¡± ¡°But... a woman and a man shouldn¡¯t share the same tent,¡± Mrs. Bu said hesitantly. Bu Xianxian snorted withughter and said, ¡°Mother... he¡¯s already in such a state. He can¡¯t even move about on his own. He can¡¯t do anything to me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, I was overthinking. Alright then, you two shall share the small tent while your father and I will take therger one. Besides, all the cooking utensils have to be inside the tent anyway. Xianxian, it looks like it¡¯s going to rain soon. Don¡¯t keep standing there. Hurry and set up the bed for Nick toy down on inside the tent. I¡¯ll go cook now.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Bu Xianxian then merrily proceeded to do as instructed. The tent was indeed rather small, and there were very few nkets. Two nkets could beid in the tent if the nkets were not spread out. It began to drizzle as soon as Jin Qingyan was ced inside the tent. Bu Xianxian entered her mother¡¯s tent and sat around the charcoal stove. ¡°Mother, add more sausages. Nick needs some nourishing.¡± Mrs. Bu red at her and said softly, ¡°Can¡¯t you see how tired your parents are? We need some nourishing too. Why do you only think about that man? Are you still my daughter?¡± ¡°Mother, you and Father aren¡¯t injured, unlike him. I would¡¯ve really thought that he was going to die if he still didn¡¯t wake up today. Mother, I¡¯ve never seen such a good-looking man before. Mother, I fancy him. Since you don¡¯t have a son and he¡¯s lost his memory anyway, why don¡¯t we let him be your son-inw? Isn¡¯t that great?¡± Bu Xianxian suggested with a coy smile. ¡°That¡¯s great of course. But... you can¡¯t force him to stay if he doesn¡¯t wish to continue living with us after he¡¯s recovered.¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t even remember who he is. Where can he go even after he¡¯s recovered? Besides, it would all depend on how we treat him. We have to treat him like family and nurture feelings with him.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so smitten with him. I¡¯ll only take my hat off to you if you have the ability to make him stay with us in the future.¡± ¡°What¡¯s so difficult about that? I¡¯ll treat him extremely well and make him stay for me,¡± Bu Xianxian said with a smirk. ¡°Okay, let your actions do the talking.¡± Mrs. Bu ced some sausages into the pot. Once the rice was cooked, Bu Xianxian took the initiative to scoop arge bowl of rice for Jin Qingyan. ¡°You silly child. There¡¯s only so little rice in the pot and you¡¯ve taken most of it. What are your father and I supposed to eat?¡± ¡°Mother, cook some noodles. This portion is for Nick and me,¡± said Bu Xianxian, after which she scurried to the tent nearby with the bowl of rice and a pair of chopsticks. She ducked her head and crawled inside the dimly-lit tent. She sat down on the nket and said, ¡°Nick, time to eat.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± He picked up the bowl and began eating slowly. She watched him eat while sitting beside him. When he was halfway done with the bowl of rice, he paused and asked, ¡°Have you eaten?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already eaten, these are all for you. I asked my mother to add more sausages for you. She couldn¡¯t bear to eat them.¡± Chapter 404 - The Secret About the Past (22)

Chapter 404: The Secret About the Past (22)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He realized that her breath did not smell like food. Thus, he deduced that she did not eat at all. ¡°Have some of the food,¡± said Jin Qingyan as he handed her the bowl. ¡°I¡¯ve already had my fill. You go ahead and eat.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think you can fool me. I can smell that you didn¡¯t eat. I¡¯m full.¡± Thus, she had no choice but to take the bowl from his hands and begin eating with his chopsticks. Jin Qingyan was touched by how kind she was to him. She must be a nice girl since she was willing to help him even though they were in such a difficult predicament where resources were limited. ¡ª Xu Youran did not receive the response she wanted from An Xiaoning despite having spread the false rumors to the press. In fact, An Xiaoning simply ignored it. Mr. Jin was still under close supervision while thepany was also being managed well by An Xiaoning. The stock prices had stabilized and no longer plunged drastically like the previous days. An Xiaoning had been living her days at the office and never once left. Thus, the reporters did not even have the chance to bombard her with questions. Realizing that things were not going ording to n, Xu Youran decided to bribe another bunch of media personnel in a bid to blow the matter out of proportion. This time, An Xiaoning responded. She filed awsuit against all the mediapanies that were involved in spreading the false news. Xu Youran was enraged by the fact that her n had backfired and decided to go see Mr. Jin personally regardless of what it took. Thus, she brought arge number of bodyguards with her and trespassed on the hospital at night. She ordered for the bodyguards supervising Mr. Jin to be killed, after which Xu Youran¡¯s men surrounded the hospital. An Xiaoning rushed down to the hospital immediately from the office, only to be greeted with pools of blood on the ground of the VIP corridor. Xu Youran was standing opposite with her entourage. An Xiaoning was boiling with rage; anger rushed through her veins. ¡°Shixin, contact the reporters and get them toe down immediately.¡± Xu Youran waspletely unflustered and continued to re at An Xiaoning coldly. As soon as the reporters arrived, they quickly gathered around the hospital, thinking that they were about to cover some juicy news. Yet, the moment they saw Xu Youran, none of them dared to even take any photographs, let alone report about it. ¡°Didn¡¯t you get them here to report about the incident? Go ahead, I¡¯m standing right here. Let¡¯s see who dares to snap a single photograph,¡± Xu Youran warned smugly while standing with her arms folded. An Xiaoning cocked her head towards the side to look at the reporters before saying, ¡°Don¡¯t you guys usually jump at the chance to cover exclusive news, regardless of whether they¡¯re true or not? What¡¯s wrong now? Are you guys too afraid to even make a sound now that I¡¯m getting you guys to report about a woman who murdered so many people?¡± Silence filled the air. She was deeply disappointed. Soon, she heard footsteps approaching. It was Military Commander Xu, who hurried down to the hospital together with Madam Xu and Xu Yang. Upon sight of their arrival, the reporters hurriedly fled the scene. Not a single one of them dared to stay behind. Noticing the numerous corpses on the ground, Military Commander Xu red at Xu Youran and bellowed, ¡°Youran, did you order your men to do this!?!¡± ¡°Yes, I did. But it¡¯s not only the bodyguards of the Jin family who died, mine did too.¡± Madam Xu clutched her chest in agitation and disbelief of her daughter¡¯s actions. ¡°Youran, why did you do that?¡± ¡°Because I hate what this woman is doing. She encroached on the CEO position of the Jin Corporation and locked Jin Qingyan¡¯s father here. She didn¡¯t even want to tell him about his son going missing. I¡¯m just taking pity on Mr. Chairmain, who¡¯s confined to the four walls of his ward.¡± The door of the ward opened slowly and Mr. Jin stood by the entrance. ¡°Who did you say went missing?¡± he asked, staring at the people along the corridor, dumbfounded. ¡°Your son, Jin Qingyan, of course. Your son Jin Qingyan has been washed away by the tsunami. I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s already dead, and this woman has taken over the Jin Corporation. You still don¡¯t know about this yet, do you?¡± Mr. Jin turned as pale as a sheet at the instant that he heard Xu Youran¡¯s words. An Xiaoning clenched her fists tightly and red at Xu Youran before turning to look at the Xu family. Teary-eyed, she admonished, ¡°Xu Youran, you¡¯ve been nning all of these right from the start. Do you think I don¡¯t know what your n is? Listen up, over my dead body will I let you have your wishes! Just because you know you have your family to back you up, you abused your parents¡¯ connections and authority to create chaos in defiance of thew. But don¡¯t forget, there¡¯s a higher power and authority above your father. Don¡¯t ever forget that!¡± She turned to face Fan Shixin and instructed, ¡°Bring Father-inw back to the old mansion.¡± ¡°An Xiaoning! Who gave you the right to do that!?!¡± Mr. Jin barked. ¡°Your son did! Take him away!¡± ¡°Yes, Young Madam.¡± Fan Shixin gestured for his subordinates toe forth and bring Mr. Jin away forcefully. An Xiaoning turned around to leave. Her words were deeply etched in the mind of Military Commander Xu. Little did he expect that his precious daughter would create trouble for him again. All his pent-up anger was about to erupt like a volcano. ¡°Come here.¡± Xu Youran walked towards him slowly. ¡°Father.¡± Military Commander Xu gave her a hard p across her face and snapped, ¡°I don¡¯t have such an idiotic daughter like you! How many times have I repeated myself!?!¡± No one dared to stop him or step in to defend Xu Youran. In fact, Xu Youran did not regret her decision to stir up so much trouble just so she could let Mr. Jin know the truth. The reason being, she believed that what Mr. Jin was going to do next would not disappoint her. ¡°Take her home and lock her up. No one is allowed to visit her!¡± Military Commander Xu ordered. ¡°Yes.¡± Xu Youran did not beg for his mercy at all. Instead, she allowed the bodyguards of the Xu family to take her home and ce her under house arrest. She knew clearly that her father would release her within days. The hospital staff quickly cleared the corpses away and cleaned up the scene. Everyone was instructed to keep mum about what happened that night. An Xiaoning followed Mr. Jin back to the old mansion. Just as the bodyguards let go of Mr. Jin, he immediately smashed a vase onto An Xiaoning¡¯s head. ¡°An Xiaoning, how could you keep such a serious matter from me!?! Are you trying to stir up a rebellion!?¡± An Xiaoning could still remember Mr. Jin apologizing to her for wrongly using her of murdering thete old Mrs. Jin. Yet, the tables had now turned. There will no longer be peace and harmony between them. ¡°Young Madam...¡± Fan Shixin called out worriedly upon seeing her head bleeding profusely. An Xiaoning reached a hand out to touch the spot on her head where the vase was smashed onto, only to find that her hand was covered in blood. ¡°It¡¯s alright. This is nothingpared to the fact that Young Sir is missing,¡± she said to Fan Shixin. She then stared at Mr. Jin and eximed angrily, ¡°You should know clearly why Qingyan decided to confine you to the hospital. Now that something has happened to Qingyan, do you really expect me toe and tell you about it and then let you take over thepany again? Do you think I¡¯ll allow Chi Rui¡¯er and Xu Youran to have their wishese true? Do you still not understand what¡¯s going on? Chi Rui¡¯er is in cahoots with Xu Youran, and the very reason why Xu Youran is doing this is because she¡¯s that daughter of yours who went missing! She wants to exact revenge on you and the Jin family.¡± ¡°How did you know?¡± Mr. Jin asked in astonishment. ¡°Because Qingyan has already verified her identity previously. Although Qingyan is yet to be found, I still don¡¯t think he¡¯s dead. No one is to say that he¡¯s dead unless I see his corpse with my own eyes. I believe he will definitelye back. So, you¡¯d better stay here while I manage thepany. Don¡¯t try to get up to anything funny and stop causing more trouble for me.¡± Chapter 405 - The Secret About the Past (23)

Chapter 405: The Secret About the Past (23)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Okay,¡± Mr. Jin agreed verbally, though he had other thoughts in mind. An Xiaoning then left the old mansion. Once she got into the car, she began wiping the blood off her head with some tissue paper. ¡°Young Madam, let¡¯s go home, shall we?¡± ¡°No. I don¡¯t want Yiheng to see that I¡¯m bleeding. Let¡¯s go back to the office.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± An Xiaoning stared out of the window at the passing scenery. The tension within her did not ease one bit. She was going through the toughest time of her life. After An Xiaoning left, Mr. Jin sunk deep in his thoughts while staring at the guards outside. He returned to the study and switched on theputer, only to find that it was disconnected from the inte. Fortunately for him, he had a sparework adapter in his drawer. He took it out and connected to the inte, after which he contacted all the directors of thepany online. When Jin Qingyan was in charge of thepany, the board of directors would stand on his side and adhere to his instructions. The reason was that Jin Qingyan was the biggest shareholder of thepany and also ran thepany well. Thus, they trusted himpletely. Now that Jin Qingyan was not around, the directors were in fact not quite trusting of An Xiaoning. After all, she was not rted to the Jin family by blood. Everyone was shocked that Mr. Jin had contacted them all of a sudden. Mr. Jin repeatedly told them that An Xiaoning had been locking him up and imed that he had just found out about Jin Qingyan¡¯s mishap. He wanted very much to take charge of thepany again since he was still the Chairman of the Jin Corporation after all. He had managed to convince all of the directors, who stood together to support his decision. They even continuously criticized An Xiaoning for encroaching on the leadership position of thepany. Atst, they decided to hold another board meeting tomorrow and insisted that Mr. Jin had to be present. They were nning to strip An Xiaoning of her position and eliminate her. After contacting the directors, Mr. Jin then went online to search for information and news rted to the tsunami in N Nation, only to find that there was a massive number of casualties and a substantial amount of damage. Mr. Jin was grief-stricken after reading numerous news reports about the tsunami. He was overwhelmed with an inexplicable feeling, especially after hearing the news of his son having registered his marriage with An Xiaoning. He had a feeling that the chances of his son making it back alive were extremely slim since it was a major tsunami. He had lost his only son, which meant thepany was going to fall into the hands of an outsider. He would then be too ashamed to live on in this world. How was he going to face his ancestors after his death? Given the fact that his grandson was still so young, thepany would definitely be led by An Xiaoning in the future. If his son was really dead, An Xiaoning might go on to marry someone else in the future and bear another son with her new husband. By then, there would be a very good chance that thepany would end up being inherited by an outsider. The more Mr. Jin pondered, the more he was convinced that the Jin Corporation could not be handed to An Xiaoning, even if it meant his non-biological daughter had to take over. Mr. Jin did not sleep at all that night, for he was too troubled and gued with the woes of the chaos happening to his family. He began to tear up uncontrobly at the thought of his life being in a dire mess. ¡ª It began pouring the next morning and the rain became heavier at nine o¡¯clock. As expected, Xu Youran was confined to her room where she sat alone on her bed. No one had dared toe forth to visit her. A deafening silence filled the room. Xu Youran was desperate and eager to get out. After racking her brains, she decided to get the people guarding her to tell Military Commander Xu that she had realized her mistakes and was willing to truly repent. However, her solution did not bring about any change even after the guards did as she instructed. Her trusted servant had secretly snuck Xu Youran¡¯s mobile phone inside the room by cing it inside the lunchbox that was meant for her. Xu Youran picked up the mobile phone and contacted her underlings to find out about the present situation. A smile of relief formed on Xu Youran¡¯s face upon hearing that Mr. Jin had shown up at the Jin Corporation Office dressed in a suit. Her efforts and the risk she took by going to the hospital were not futile after all and had sparked some progress in her malicious scheme. All she had to do now was to get out hurriedly and look for Mr. Jin. It was time she put her acting skills to use. In order to leave the house righteously, she sent her mother a text message to gain her pity. Soon, she was released, just like she had expected. Her n had gone smoothly so far. As soon as she followed the guards to the living room, she immediately broke down in tears and walked towards her mother. ¡°Mother!¡± she eximed affectionately. Realizing that her husband¡¯s anger had yet to dissipate, Madam Xu said, ¡°That¡¯s enough, we¡¯ll just teach her properly. You can¡¯t be nning to lock her up for the rest of her life, can you? Besides, Youran has already sent me a text message just now. The very reason she bears a grudge against the Jin family is because they had harmed her foster mother. That¡¯s why she resents them so much.¡± Military Commander Xu mmed his hand down onto the sofa and hollered, ¡°Your adoptive mother was killed by the Jin family, but you¡¯ve killed so many more people!¡± ¡°Father, I was wrong, please don¡¯t be angry anymore. I promise, I won¡¯t be making such a mistake again. Without my adoptive mother, I wouldn¡¯t be here today. I would have been starved, frozen, or even beaten to death long ago if she didn¡¯t take me in. What¡¯s wrong with wanting to seek revenge for her? Besides, Father, my wish is about toe true very soon.¡± ¡°How is your wish going toe true? By continuing to kill more people?¡± ¡°Father, I promise for real this time. If I ever kill someone again, I shall be struck by lightning and die a horrendous death! I just need you to cooperate with me, Father. Not only will I be able to avenge my adoptive mother, I¡¯ll also be able to get my hands on the Jin Corporation and strip An Xiaoning of her position.¡± ¡°Youran, stop all your nonsense. It won¡¯t be nice to fall out with Ms. An and strain your rtionship with her any further. You¡¯re going to be her sister-inw and a part of her family in the future,¡± Madam Xu chided, finding her absolutely ridiculous. ¡°Who wants to be her family? Moreover, I have a whole new n now, Mother. Just pretend that you don¡¯t know anything and watch how I make the Jin Corporation mine,¡± Xu Youran said with a confident smile. Military Commander Xu was exasperated beyond limits. ¡°What did I do to give life to such a horrible daughter like you? If I knew you would turn out like this, your mother and I wouldn¡¯t have gone to search for you back then! We searched high and low for you for so many years and yet this is what we get! You¡¯re already 29 years old, why are you still so worrying? Do you think you¡¯re still a 19-year-old teenager!?! You even have the cheek to think of seizing the Jin Corporation. Are you trying to cause even more chaos within our family!?!¡± he snapped, seething with anger. He sprung up from his seat with a grave expression on his face and walked away immediately. Madam Xu teared up silently and said, ¡°Youran, listen to your father. Cut it out, alright? Look at how much trouble you¡¯ve causedtely. Your father hasn¡¯t been sleeping well at all because of you. He keeps feeling guilty for causing you to turn out this way.¡± ¡°Mother, seems like you and Father don¡¯t believe me. But so be it then, I¡¯ll prove myself to you guys. Mother, you don¡¯t have to worry. I promise I won¡¯t kill anyone or create any more trouble for you guys. Okay?¡± Madam Xu sighed and said, ¡°I truly hope so.¡± Xu Youran left the house. Once she got inside the car, her male assistant asked, ¡°Missy, was what you said to Madam true?¡± ¡°You heard everything while standing by the door?¡± ¡°I heard some of it. Are your promises... true?¡± Chapter 406 - The Secret About the Past (24)

Chapter 406: The Secret About the Past (24)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Real? What¡¯s real? What I meant was I just won¡¯t let them find out the next time I kill someone. I¡¯m a person who handles major matters. It¡¯s inevitable for my hands to be stained with blood when getting rid of people who are in my way,¡± said Xu Youran. ¡°Yet you still said you shall be struck by lightning if you kill someone again...¡± ¡°I was just casually saying it for fun. Did you take it for real?¡± She then looked down to put on her safety belt. ¡°Missy, what do you n to do next?¡± She put on her shades and said, ¡°That¡¯s none of your concern. Focus on driving.¡± ¡°Where would you like to go?¡± ¡°The Jin Corporation.¡± Xu Youran stared out of the window. It was her lifelong wish to avenge her mother and her dream to seek justice for herself. All these years, she had been passing off as the long-lost daughter of the Xu family. She was extremely cautious with every step she took, afraid that she would be exposed and punished, should she be careless and identally let the cat out of the bag. Unlike what her father said, she was not 29 years old. In reality, she was already 31 years old. To her surprise, even Heaven was on her side and allowed her n to go smoothly. Wasn¡¯t Heaven making space for her by getting rid of Jin Qingyan? An Xiaoning can forget about taking charge of thepany! As long as Xu Youran was around, she would never allow An Xiaoning to have her way. ¡ª At this moment, Mr. Jin had sessfully shown up at the entrance of the meeting room during the board meeting, which shocked An Xiaoning greatly. The fact that she did not receive any reports of him leaving from her subordinates in the old mansion just went to show that there was a secret passageway within the old mansion. It was not surprising that a secret passageway existed anyway. The directors in the meeting room apuded loudly the instant Mr. Jin entered, a stern expression on his face. An Xiaoning rose from her seat slowly and exchanged nces with Mr. Jin. ¡°It¡¯s been too long since I came to the office. I haven¡¯t turned up ever since the day I became Chairman and handed my CEO duties over to Qingyan, solely because I had enough trust and faith in him.¡± Mr. Jin paused in his speech before continuing, ¡°I waspletely kept in the dark about the mishap he met with and only found out about itst night. This is all because I¡¯ve been confined and put under close supervision 24 hours a day.¡± Before he even finished speaking, An Xiaoning interrupted, ¡°Father-inw, since all the directors of the Jin Corporation are present today, why don¡¯t you tell us the reason why you were confined? Qingyan told the media that you were admitted to the hospital for recuperation in order to save thepany from being implicated and affected by your scandal. Why? Are you going to expose yourself to the media and shame your son in public?¡± Mr. Jin was at a loss for words and decided to change the subject. ¡°I¡¯ve stepped in once again today for a single purpose, and that is to take over the management of thepany again. We shall now hold a vote to decide. Those who stand in favor of me taking over the CEO duties of the Jin Corporation again, please raise your hand.¡± All of the directors raised their hands immediately. Clearly, they still trusted the experienced Chairman far more than they did An Xiaoning. Mr. Jin nodded in satisfaction and said, ¡°Since I¡¯ve gained the support of everyone, I shall now...¡± An Xiaoning interrupted him again, ¡°Have I agreed yet?¡± ¡°Is your opinion even necessary?¡± ¡°Of course it is. My son Jin Yiheng and I are currently the biggest shareholders of the Jin Corporation. Since Jin Yiheng is still a minor, I¡¯m hiswful guardian. You don¡¯t have to waste your efforts, Father-inw.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s words immediately caused an uproar amongst the directors. Mr. Jin tried to suppress his anger and questioned, ¡°What do you mean you¡¯re the biggest shareholder? Even if Qingyan is dead and you¡¯re his wife, it doesn¡¯t necessarily mean that you¡¯ll be entitled to all his assets.¡± ¡°Sorry to disappoint you, but Qingyan has long drawn up his will, which states clearly that all of the assets under his name would be bequeathed to my son and me. Due to the fact that you still have a small portion of thepany¡¯s shares, you don¡¯t get a single share of Qingyan¡¯s assets, and Mother-inw will be receiving a fixed monthly pension from thepany¡¯s funds. You must¡¯vee here eagerly to vie for the rights to thepany without knowing that in the first ce, haven¡¯t you?¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°What!¡± Mr. Jin gasped in shock. It had never urred to him that Jin Qingyan would ever be so careless with giving his assets away. ¡°Do you really think I¡¯ll believe you? Why would he make a will when he¡¯s still so young!?!¡± ¡°How would I know? I hereby announce that I¡¯ll give up my position once Qingyanes back. In the event that he doesn¡¯t, I will never allow anyone to cause harm to the Jin Corporation. I also hope that everyone will stand together as one in this time of crisis and refrain from getting up to any dirty tricks. If Father-inw still refuses to believe the existence of the will I mentioned, you may follow me to thewyer¡¯s office to check it out yourself. That¡¯s all I have for today¡¯s meeting,¡± An Xiaoning said atst. Mr. Jin followed closely behind her and said, ¡°Where¡¯s the will? I want to see it for myself.¡± ¡°Sure, let¡¯s go together.¡± After leaving the office, the two of them proceeded to view the will while Fan Shixin led the way. Upon sight of them exiting, Xu Youran, who had been waiting inside her car, quickly instructed her assistant to follow them. They were seen entering thew firm beforeing out again soon after. Dejection was written all over Mr. Jin¡¯s face as he was on the verge of losing control of his emotions and sanity. ¡°An Xiaoning, you¡¯re really something. You actually had the capability to make Qingyan do so much for you,¡± said Mr. Jin, after which he walked away alone. ¡°Young Madam, shall we take Sir Jin back to the old mansion?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. Even if we take him back, he¡¯ll be able to sneak out again through the secret passageway. Go back to the old mansion and do a thorough check around the ce. Find out where the secret passageway is. Before that, send me back to the office.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Xu Youran had been shadowing Mr. Jin all the while, not allowing such a good opportunity to meet him to slip. She pulled over beside him and wound down the window. ¡°Hop in.¡± Mr. Jin immediately got into the backseat upon realizing that it was her. Xu Youran got out of the passenger¡¯s seat and moved into the backseat. ¡°Start driving.¡± She then turned to look at Mr. Jin before asking, ¡°How are things at thepany?¡± ¡°Nothing much, just normal.¡± ¡°I saw you entering thew firm together with An Xiaoning earlier. What were you there for?¡± Mr. Jin looked at her before taking a nce at the chauffeur in front. He then said, ¡°Let¡¯s find somewhere to talk privately.¡± Xu Youran nodded, after which the chauffeur quickly drove towards Xu Youran¡¯s private mansion. While they were alone in the mansion, Mr. Jin stared at her and asked, ¡°Are you really my daughter?¡± ¡°I think a DNA test would be more convincing than my words. I¡¯ll give you my hair sampleter. Take it to carry out ab test.¡± Mr. Jin was actually already convinced by her. Besides, he could tell that she resembled her biological mother greatly. ¡°Okay. I was at thew firm with An Xiaoning earlier to take a look at the will.¡± ¡°What will?¡± Xu Youran asked eagerly. ¡°Your brother¡¯s will.¡± Xu Youran was dumbfounded. ¡°The tsunami struck without warning. How could he have had the time to make a will?¡± she questioned in puzzlement. ¡°He made it way before that, obviously. He has bequeathed all his shares to An Xiaoning and their son.¡± What! Xu Youran felt as if her dreams were shattered at the instant that she heard his words. Her dream, which was initially so close to bing true, had now turned into dust. Xu Youran stared at Mr. Jin and let out a bitterugh. Chapter 407 - The Secret About the Past (25)

Chapter 407: The Secret About the Past (25)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mr. Jin was puzzled by her reaction. ¡°Does that mean all of the shares of the Jin Corporation belong to An Xiaoning and her son now?¡± ¡°I still have a portion of the shares. But they¡¯re not quite significant,¡± Mr. Jin answered. Staring at him, Xu Youran said, ¡°You ill-treated me when I was younger. I was your biological child too, why did you have to treat me so differently? I¡¯ve also heard that Jin Qingyue is not even your biological daughter at all. Now that I think about it, you actually treated Jin Qingyue ten times better than you treated me. You pinned all your hopes on your son. Yet, what did he do? He ended up giving all his assets away to his woman and his son!¡± Mr. Jin remained silent in shame because he was well aware that she was merely stating facts. ¡°Even until now, has it never crossed your mind to make it up to me? What did my mother gain from being together with you? What did I even gain from being your daughter? Do you not feel in the least bit ashamed and guilty at all!?!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how I¡¯m supposed to make it up to you. The title deed of the house and the document of entitlement of the shares are both with An Xiaoning. They were taken away from me previously.¡± ¡°What!¡± Xu Youran turned as pale as a sheet. She initially thought she could gain a little something from her father, only to realize that she stood to gain nothing. In that case, what was the point of acknowledging him as her father? ¡°You¡¯ve lived for so long, yet your life has been reduced to such a pathetic state. Enjoy living the rest of your days being bossed around by An Xiaoning. We weren¡¯t rted before in the past and never will be in the future,¡± Xu Youran scorned with an icy cold stare in her eyes. ¡°What... do you mean?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mean anything. I just don¡¯t need such a father like you in my life. You may leave. Pardon me for not seeing you off,¡± Xu Youran sneered. Mr. Jin stood up and said, ¡°You imed that you¡¯re my daughter, yet you refuse to acknowledge me after you heard that the shares have been bequeathed to An Xiaoning and her son. That¡¯s because you realized you can no longer use me, right?¡± ¡°Yes, indeed. Why else do you think I¡¯d want to acknowledge you when I already have a father? I don¡¯tck any paternal love at all. You¡¯ve given everything to your son, yet you still have the nerve to want me back by your side. Dream on!¡± Xu Youran scoffed, filled with utter disappointment. Mr. Jin did not say another word and left her house. Just as he left, Xu Youran gave Chi Rui¡¯er a call. Chi Rui¡¯er proceeded to meet Mr. Jin as instructed. Xu Youran returned to the Xu family mansion, feeling extremely dejected, unlike her confident self when she stepped out of the house previously. She sat on the couch alone and remained quiet. ¡°Youran, what¡¯s the matter with you?¡± Madam Xu asked while bringing her some tea and snacks. ¡°Mother, I won¡¯t do anything that upsets you and Father anymore from now on.¡± Madam Xu was relieved and heartened to hear her words. ¡°That¡¯s good. You¡¯re already an adult. You have to think twice before you act. I often go to the temple to pray, and the reverend of the temple always says that people whomit evil are bound to be punished sooner orter. It¡¯s only a matter of time. Even if you don¡¯t receive your punishment now, you will suffer retribution in your next life. There¡¯s no escape from it. So, Youran, you must treasure what you have now. The life you are living is something that others yearn for and dream of having,¡± Madam Xu admonished. ¡°Who knows what will happen in the future?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t I take you to the temple to have your fortune told by the Master there? He¡¯s very urate with his readings and predictions. Shall we ask him to predict your future fate?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to. I don¡¯t believe in those things,¡± Xu Youran refuted frantically. Madam Xu was not surprised since Xu Youran would often react strongly at the mention of having her fortune told. ¡°Since you don¡¯t wish to, then let¡¯s forget it. Why hasn¡¯t there been any progress between you and Dongchengtely? I noticed he hasn¡¯t beening here to look for you either.¡± ¡°Everything¡¯s fine. I still contact him in private. There¡¯s no change in our wedding date.¡± Madam Xu was relieved to hear her answer. ¡°As a woman, you ought to find a good man whom you can depend on for the rest of your life. Although he¡¯s a divorcee, Mother will support you since it¡¯s your choice.¡± Xu Youran ced her arms around Madam Xu¡¯s neck and said, ¡°Mother, you¡¯re the best to me.¡± ¡°You¡¯re my daughter, who else would I dote on if not you? Youran, let your Father and I live in peace for a while. Don¡¯t create any more unnecessary trouble.¡± ¡°Yes, I won¡¯t do that again,¡± said Xu Youran. However, what she meant deep down was that she would not act on impulse without thinking twice again. If she decided to do it, she would make sure to hatch a well-thought-out and seamless n. ¡ª Mei Yangyang entered An Xiaoning¡¯s office while carrying her purse. ¡°Sis, I¡¯ve got big news.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Mei Yangyang supported herself against the desk and leaned in closer towards her to say, ¡°It¡¯s about that recruitment matter. I¡¯ve already settled it. They¡¯re a bunch of capable youths. I¡¯ve also discussed the sry with them and agreed on a reasonable amount. Sis, you¡¯re definitely going to get your money¡¯s worth. This bunch of youngblood are going to ease your worries and assist you fully.¡± ¡°Really? How many of them are there?¡± An Xiaoning asked in delight. ¡°Fifteen. I¡¯ve already arranged for them to go to your ce. Would you like to see them?¡± ¡°Of course. But I have a social gathering to attend tonight. It¡¯s an event where wealthy and powerful women of society gather to chit-chat and just enjoy a good time. I heard the Chief Of Staff¡¯s wife and daughter are going to be present too. Yangyang, would you like to attend the gathering with me?¡± ¡°Sis, are you trying to take the initiative to draw some connections for yourself?¡± asked Mei Yangyang. An Xiaoning looked down and said, ¡°What¡¯s the use of being rich? Wealth is nowhere as useful as authority and power. I guess I¡¯m just forced to do this because of the current situation. But, I haven¡¯t lost my morals and principles. Yangyang, given the position I hold and the predicament I¡¯m in now, I must broaden my connections as much as possible in order to survive.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll apany you,¡± Mei Yangyang agreed. ¡°I saw Yiheng¡¯s photos on the news earlier,¡± she continued. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, they would¡¯ve been leaked sooner orter anyway.¡± Looking at the haggard An Xiaoning, Mei Yangyang stuck her thumb up and said, ¡°Sis, you¡¯re really brilliant for managing to ovee this ordeal.¡± ¡°Yangyang, I only realized how tough it has been on Qingyan when I finally got to be in his shoes. So much energy has to be put into managing such a hugepany, especially when everyone else is watching you closely and being extremely critical towards you. Even an innocent woman would be bound to be shrewd and suave when faced with such a situation. Such a tedious life just makes me find living a chore.¡± Mei Yangyang grabbed her hand and said, ¡°I¡¯ll definitely help you whenever I can, Sis. You¡¯re not alone.¡± An Xiaoning took a look at the time and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go take a look at the people you¡¯ve hired.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The two of them then drove towards Wei Ni Estate. After parking the car in the courtyard, An Xiaoning and Mei Yangyang alighted from the car. Upon sight of her, Fan Shixin scurried towards her and eximed excitedly, ¡°Young Madam, I think they¡¯re all very outstanding.¡± ¡°Is that so? Let me take a look,¡± said An Xiaoning as she began walking towards the newly-hired elites who were lined up in a single file. She stood in the middle and stared at the young men in front of her. ¡°I heard from Yangyang that all of you are outstanding and brilliant youths whom she had carefully selected. I don¡¯t know if you guys truly live up to that expectation, but I¡¯m willing to trust you and give you each a fair chance to prove yourselves. Those who genuinely have what it takes will get to stay and be handsomely rewarded, whereas those who fail to prove their capabilities will have to pack their bags and leave, as simple as that. Alright?¡± Chapter 408 - The Secret About the Past (26) Chapter 408: The Secret About the Past (26) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Yes!¡± they answered in chorus. ¡°Come with me.¡± An Xiaoning walked towards the living room while the fifteen men followed closely behind. They sat down on the couch ordingly. An Xiaoning took the non-disclosure agreement from Fan Shixin¡¯s hand and said, ¡°This is a non-disclosure agreement I would need you to sign. If you leak any secret information belonging to thepany, I will not show any mercy, no matter who you are. I will treat those who are loyal to me well and give you what you deserve. But if you choose to betray me, I¡¯ll make sure to teach you a lesson. Bear in mind that my words are not to be taken lightly.¡± Everyone was rather stunned to hear her words of warning. They had never expected to hear such cold and stern words from the pretty and petite An Xiaoning. After perusing the contents of the non-disclosure agreement, they signed ordingly on each of their own copies. After making sure that all of them had signed the agreement, An Xiaoning handed it to Fan Shixin and instructed, ¡°Put this away and keep it safe. From now on, you guys will move in here and all of your meals and amodation will be taken care of. I will provide you with the best living conditions and sry. I hope none of you will disappoint me.¡± One of the men raised his hand and asked, ¡°Young Madam, are we still allowed to go out to meet our parents and friends?¡± ¡°Of course you are. This is not a prison. The only condition is that you have to be apanied by two bodyguards at all times. You have to understand that there are certain risks involved when working for me. There are lots of people who are out to get me too. I suggest you guys refrain from going out and stick to contacting your family via phone calls for the time being, until everything has stabilized. Conversely, you may also ask them to meet here. My main concern is to protect the safety of everyone. What do you guys think?¡± ¡°Of course, that would be great.¡± They would obviously be willing to take up such a brilliant and attractive offer. After all, it was difficult to find a job that pays well nowadays. Even undergraduates were paid almost as low as cleaners. ¡°You guys may have seen on the news before that I¡¯ve undergone training at a martial arts academy. That academy belongs to me and the enrollment fee is 300 thousand dors per boot camp. My sister and I paid to sign up for the boot camp back when we had yet to acquire the academy. I¡¯d like to tell everyone here, I can¡¯t emphasize enough just how important it is to possess strongbat skills. You¡¯ll be able to protect and defend yourself if you¡¯re well equipped with the necessary skills. So, I¡¯ll be selecting a few of you who perform well to every year attend training at the boot camp. What do you guys think of my suggestion?¡± An Xiaoning added. Everyone lit up in surprise and cheered enthusiastically in agreement. Fan Shixin had never expected An Xiaoning to invest so much in her newly-hired assistants just to gain their loyalty. ¡°Next up, you guys will be facing the first challenge you have to undergo to prove your capabilities. The Jin Corporation is at odds with several other corporations in the business industry. In fact, there are no absolute friends or foes in the world of business. Ever since my husband went missing, the Ye Corporation has been continuouslyunching attacks against the Jin Corporation. I¡¯ll leave it to Chief Fan to exin the details to you. Now, I want you toe up with a n and strategy to ovee the struggles we are faced with currently as well as to counterattack the Ye Corporation.¡± ¡°...¡± After listening to Fan Shixin exin the details of the situation, they engaged in a heated discussion. To An Xiaoning¡¯s surprise, all of the young men turned out to be extremely outstanding and talented individuals. Not only did the matter allow her to obtain a brilliant solution to tackle the current issues, it also made her realize that she had gotten her money¡¯s worth by hiring them. She instructed Fan Shixin to set up an office for them to work in, equipped withputers so as to allow them to keep in contact with her at all times, even when she¡¯s away at the office. At about five o¡¯clock in the evening, An Xiaoning and Mei Yangyang set off to attend the gathering after dolling themselves up meticulously. It was going to be an extraordinary social gathering, since only female guests were invited. Upon alighting from the car, they removed their coats and stepped inside the venue of the gathering. It was held within an entertainment hub. An Xiaoning scanned her surroundings to find that all the guests present were indeed the wives of business tycoons and the rtives of politicians. ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t this Ms. An?¡± ¡°Greetings, Madam Li,¡± An Xiaoning greeted smilingly. ¡°Hello, you¡¯re here too. This is...?¡± ¡°This is my sister who¡¯s also Long Tianze¡¯s wife,¡± An Xiaoning introduced. ¡°Oh, turns out it¡¯s the Young Madam of the Long family.¡± ¡°...¡± After greeting several people, An Xiaoningid her eyes upon women sitting on the couch. The women were in the midst of a joyous conversation. They were dressed elegantly and appeared beautiful and radiant. An Xiaoning immediately recognized them to be Madam Li, the wife of the Chief of Staff, her daughter Lin Shishi, Madam Jin, the wife of the Commander-in-chief, and the wife of another military head, respectively. She shot Mei Yangyang a nce, after which the two of them walked towards the women slowly. Her purpose for attending the gathering was more than obvious. Noticing that she was approaching them, the women shifted their gazes onto her. An Xiaoning picked up a ss of champagne from the waiter¡¯s tray and stood in front of the coffee table. ¡°Isn¡¯t this Ms. An? I¡¯ve finally seen you in the flesh after hearing about you endlessly. I¡¯ve seen photos of you online. You really look much prettier in person,¡± Madam Jin eximed in surprise. ¡°Thank you for ttering me, Madam Jin. But I¡¯m nowhere as beautiful as you are. Your children are already all grown up, yet you still look barely older than me. Madam Jin, save the formalities, you may just address me by my name,¡± An Xiaoning said unhurriedly. Madam Jin was extremely pleased by herpliment. ¡°I won¡¯t be too formal then. I heard you are exceptionally urate in your readings, Xiaoning. Could you please help tell my fortune?¡± ¡°Of course I can.¡± An Xiaoning and Mei Yangyang sat down one after another, after which An Xiaoning said, ¡°Madam Jin, you just have to tell me your birth date, home address, and name. By the way, which aspect of your fortune would you like to hear about?¡± ¡°Love and marriage.¡± ¡°I would need your husband¡¯s information as well then. You may write them down here,¡± said An Xiaoning, handing her a piece of paper and pen, which she had already prepared beforehand. Madam Jin hurriedly wrote the information down on the piece of paper and handed it to An Xiaoning. After taking a look at the piece of paper, An Xiaoning said, ¡°In order to protect your privacy, I¡¯ll have to tell you secretly.¡± She leaned closer towards Madam Jin and whispered into her ear. The expressions on Madam Jin¡¯s face changed drastically within just two minutes. Madam Jin stared at An Xiaoning with her hands trembling in agitation. ¡°You¡¯re spot on. Xiaoning, what¡¯s your mobile number?¡± An Xiaoning proceeded to give Madam Jin her mobile number. Madam Lin finally broke her silence and asked, ¡°Is it really that urate?¡± ¡°Sis Mei, it¡¯s seriously so spot on. You may ask Xiaoning to tell your fortunes too,¡± said Madam Jin, nodding profusely. An Xiaoning ced her ss of champagne onto the table and said, ¡°The amount I usually charge per fortune-telling session is at least a million dors. But I feel extremely honored and lucky to be able to meet Madam Lin and Madam Jin, thus I¡¯m willing to read your fortunes for free.¡± Madam Lin finally caved in to Madam Jin¡¯s influence and reached her hand out. ¡°I¡¯d like to have a go too.¡± Madam Jin hurriedly handed her the paper and pen. Madam Lin then wrote down the relevant information on the piece of paper conscientiously before handing it to An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning took a look and again revealed the results by whispering into Madam Lin¡¯s ear. Madam Lin then stared at An Xiaoning inplete amazement and disbelief upon hearing her words. Chapter 409 - The Secret About the Past (27)

Chapter 409: The Secret About the Past (27)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°That¡¯s... incredible. It¡¯s seriously so amazing. I used to think fortune telling was just a hoax and never believed in it. But now, it seems I was wrong.¡± ¡°Sis Mei, it¡¯s extremely urate, isn¡¯t it?¡± Madam Jin chirped. ¡°It¡¯s not just urate, it¡¯s spot on. How were you able to tell? It¡¯s really incredible,¡± asked Madam Lin, staring at An Xiaoning in awe. An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°I grew up on the mountains with my Master. I think I might just be naturally gifted in this aspect.¡± ¡°Sis Xiaoning, could you read mine too?¡± asked Lin Shishi, who was quickly stopped by Madam Lin. ¡°You¡¯re too young for that.¡± An Xiaoning thought otherwise. ¡°Madam, can I be honest with you about something? My sister-inw, Jin Qingyue, was extremely doubtful of my predictions when I read her fortune back then. She insisted on marrying Shi Shaochuan whilepletely ignoring everyone else¡¯s advice. In the end, her fate turned out to be exactly the way I predicted, and she absolutely regrets it now. Fortune-telling may only serve as a warning in advance. To be honest, there¡¯s nothing much one can do to change what¡¯s already predestined.¡± ¡°Could I trouble Mrs. Jin to tell my daughter¡¯s fortune then?¡± Madam Lin conceded atst. Upon hearing her mother¡¯s approval, Lin Shishi hurriedly picked up the pen and wrote her birth characters onto the piece of paper. Instead of revealing the results to Lin Shishi privately, An Xiaoning looked at both Lin Shishi and her mother with a grim expression and said, ¡°Madam Lin, regarding your daughter¡¯s destiny... I¡¯d like to talk to you about it privately, is that okay?¡± Panic engulfed the pair of mother and daughter. Madam Lin hurriedly said, ¡°Yes, of course. Let¡¯s go there, there¡¯s a small private room. Please follow me, Mrs. Jin.¡± ¡°Sis Xiaoning, may I hear it too?¡± Lin Shishi asked. ¡°Yes,e with us.¡± Mei Yangyang stayed behind to chat with Madam Jin while the three of them proceeded inside the room. After closing the door, An Xiaoning revealed the truth upfront, ¡°Pardon my bluntness, but Shishi will be met with a cmity in the uing week. Fortunately, you allowed me to read her fortune, Madam Lin. Otherwise, I¡¯m afraid she would¡¯ve been unable to escape the ordeal.¡± They were both frightened by her words. ¡°A cmity? What is that about?¡± Madam Lin asked worriedly. ¡°A fatal one. If you have any doubts, you may consult other fortune-tellers as well,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°I believe you, I believe you. You¡¯re so urate and precise with your readings, of course I¡¯d believe you. Mrs. Jin, is there anyway to ovee the omen?¡± ¡°There are two types of cmities in one¡¯s destiny, one of which can be escaped while the other can never be ovee no matter what you do. The one Shishi is going to be facing soon is the type that can¡¯t be escaped. But, I¡¯m willing to do my best to help her minimize the damage as far as possible,¡± An Xiaoning exined solemnly. Lin Shishi was frightened and shocked beyond her senses. She grabbed An Xiaoning¡¯s arm and pleaded eagerly, ¡°Sis Xiaoning, I¡¯m only 19 years old this year. Please save me.¡± An Xiaoning gave her a pat on her shoulder and tried tofort her, ¡°I¡¯ll do my best to help, but you have to cooperate with me. Are you willing to do so?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°When the gathering endster, follow me home and stay over at my ce for a week. Don¡¯t step out of the house at all within the next week. Madam, you may move in together too. I¡¯ll give Shishi an amulet every day.¡± Both Madam Lin and her daughter agreed readily. Still feeling extremely worried, Madam Lin asked, ¡°What happens after you minimize the ordeal?¡± ¡°Madam, to be frank, her life is destined to end at the end of this cmity. I¡¯m defying Heaven¡¯s wishes by doing my best to help her ovee the fatal ordeal. But I feel that since fate brought us together, I¡¯m willing to do what I can to help. At the end of the cmity, she might at most just shed some blood.¡± ¡°Mrs. Jin, you¡¯ll be our benefactor if you¡¯re really able to save my daughter. I¡¯m willing to acknowledge you as my Goddaughter,¡± said Madam Lin, who knew that the business-minded An Xiaoning would never make deals where she would incur a loss. Madam Lin¡¯s offer was exactly An Xiaoning¡¯s heart¡¯s desire. She nodded in agreement and said, ¡°Come to Wei Ni Estateter after you¡¯ve packed your belongings. I¡¯ll be waiting for you guys at home.¡± They exchanged mobile numbers beforeing out of the room. Madam Lin was no longer in the mood to continue socializing at the gathering. Just as she was about to leave with Lin Shishi, she coincidentally bumped into Madam Xu and Xu Youran. Xu Youranpletely ignored the presence of An Xiaoning and Mei Yangyang when she saw them. Madam Xu approached them to say hello. ¡°Hey, Madam Lin, are you leaving already?¡± ¡°Yes, something cropped up at home. Enjoy the rest of your night, Madam Xu. My daughter and I shall take our leave first.¡± Madam Jin followed suit and left as well. So did An Xiaoning and Mei Yangyang, who found no reason to stay any longer. Noticing that Madam Lin was leaving in a hurry, Mei Yangyang asked, ¡°Sis, what¡¯s wrong with the Chief-of-Staff¡¯s daughter?¡± ¡°She¡¯s about to meet with a cmity, but I fortunately managed to discover it in time. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to get closer to them that easily. I instructed them to move in with me for a week, mainly to pull them closer to me and also to make it easier for me to break her daughter¡¯s curse,¡± An Xiaoning exined while buckling her safety belt. ¡°Sis...¡± Mei Yangyang rested her head on her shoulder and continued, ¡°Great, if you manage to be associated with the two big shots, the Chief-of-Staff and the Commander-in-Chief, you wouldn¡¯t have to worry about Military Commander Xu anymore.¡± ¡°Madam Lin said she would take me as her Goddaughter if I could help her daughter survive this cmity.¡± Mei Yangyang lit up in surprise and sat up straight quickly. ¡°Really? That¡¯s awesome!¡± ¡°Yeah, wait for my news at home.¡± Little did An Xiaoning expect that Madam Lin and Lin Shishi would not proceed to Wei Ni Estate as agreed upon. Madam Lin gave An Xiaoning a call to tell her that she had just received ashing from her husband for believing in such superstitions, and he forbid her daughter from leaving the house the entire week. An Xiaoning did not get worked up or worried and instead said, ¡°Since Chief-of-Staff is bent on proving me wrong, I shall wait patiently for your call, Madam Lin. I believe you¡¯ll definitely call me again within the next week.¡± Madam Lin was filled with panic upon hearing how confident andposed An Xiaoning sounded. She could not fall asleep at all for the rest of the night after ending the call. ¡ª Since Jin Qingyan was heavily injured, Bu Xianxian had been taking meticulous care of him the entire time with noints at all. She did not mind the fact that he was filthy or that it was a hassle to take care of him. Clearly, she adored him to bits. After spending the past few days with her, Jin Qingyan began to feel touched by her kindness. After all, it was indeed noble of her to be taking care of someonepletely unrted to her for no special reason. She provided him assistance even when he had to answer nature¡¯s call. She would help him out of the tent slowly and turn away while he was getting on with his business. Once he was done, she would then help him back inside the tent. Both of them could not fall asleep that night, especially Jin Qingyan, who was bedridden most of the time and could not get to do anything strenuous that would deplete his energy. ¡°Look, there are so many stars tonight. The weather should be great tomorrow.¡± Bu Xianxian turned to the side and continued, ¡°Once you¡¯ve recovered, I¡¯ll bring you to the mountains to gather some medicinal herbs and sell them for money. We¡¯ll then use the money to buy you some meat. Do you like eating meat?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°What do you like to eat then? I¡¯ll satisfy your cravings when we¡¯re a little less cash-strapped.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know either.¡± After some thought, he asked, ¡°Do you have a mobile phone?¡± ¡°My father has a retro-style mobile phone, but there¡¯s no power supply here on the mountains so he stopped using it. What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to put my photos up online. If my family sees them, they¡¯lle here to look for me.¡± Chapter 410 - The Secret About the Past (28)

Chapter 410: The Secret About the Past (28)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Bu Xianxian¡¯s stomach twisted into a knot upon hearing his words. She had been dreading and avoiding that topic, though she wasn¡¯t sure if she could escape it. She hugged his arm tightly and said, ¡°Once you¡¯ve recovered, I¡¯ll take you to look for your family. Do you know why I saved you?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re a kind person.¡± She chuckled and said, ¡°Of course not. It¡¯s because I¡¯ve never seen a man like you and thought you were really special. Although you were filthy and disheveled with blood all over your face, I had a feeling that you were the man of my dreams.¡± ¡°The man of your dreams? How superficial of you to be judging someone by the way they look,¡± Jin Qingyan criticized her although he knew what she meant. ¡°So, you ought to be thankful that you¡¯re good-looking. Otherwise, I probably wouldn¡¯t have brought you home with me if you were an old fogey. After all, we¡¯re just as helpless too.¡± ¡°I should really be thankful that I¡¯m young too...¡± ¡°Actually, I brought you to the doctor when I saved you back then. The doctor said that it was very likely that you would be a vegetable because not only was your leg injured, you sustained injuries in your head too. There was a possibility that you may never wake up again. Turns out you were really fortunate to havee to.¡± Bu Xianxian¡¯s words triggered a subconscious response from him. ¡°I think there are people waiting for me at home. I can¡¯t die,¡± he blurted. Even Jin Qingyan was stunned by his own response. ¡°It must be your family, your parents,¡± said Bu Xianxian. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± said Jin Qingyan, overwhelmed with a sudden confusion and frustration. He felt as if there was a void in his heart, which made him feel extremely upset and uneasy. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll apany you to look for them when you¡¯re fully recovered.¡± ¡ª After missing lessons for a few days, Jin Bao¡¯er finally returned to school today. The teacher called the day before to inform that all parents would have attend a parent-teacher meeting, which was happening today. ¡°Mommy, Teacher said that both Daddy and Mommy would have to attend together. You can¡¯t go alone, you have to bring Daddy with you,¡± Jin Bao¡¯er pestered her continuously. ¡°You don¡¯t have a Daddy. Mommy will go alone.¡± Jin Bao¡¯er refused to concede and retorted instead, ¡°Mommy, I have a Daddy. You just won¡¯t let me see him. Mommy, I want Daddy!¡± ¡°Why are you such an insensible child? I¡¯ll apany you to school by myself,¡± Jin Qingyue insisted as she grabbed her daughter¡¯s hand and left. Jin Bao¡¯er shrugged her hand away and yelled, ¡°Everyone else has a Daddy except me! Why!?!¡± Carrying the schoolbag with her other hand, Jin Qingyue stood on the spot and looked at her daughter, who was throwing a tantrum. She could not help but feel on the verge of tears. Jin Bao¡¯er had never quite asked about her father before in the past, but ever since Shi Shaochuan showed up in front of her, she had been demanding to see him every other day, thus putting Jin Qingyue in a difficult position. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± asked a voice, which wasing from not too far away. Jin Qingyue looked up to see Ling Ciye walking towards them from the entrance and was momentarily at a loss for exnation. ¡°Nothing, it¡¯s just her school has organized a parent-teacher meeting and the teacher requested for both parents of each child to attend. I said I would be going alone, but Bao¡¯er insists that her Daddy alsoes along.¡± Ling Ciye instantly understood the situation. ¡°Oh, I see. Wait for me here, I¡¯ll go in to talk to your sister-inw about something. I¡¯ll be back real soon.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± A question popped up in Jin Qingyue¡¯s mind: Could he possibly be thinking of helping me? She dared not jump to conclusions. Just like her brother, Ling Ciye had always held a high status in her heart and was someone whom she admired and respected. He would only be degrading himself by helping her in such a way. A few minutester, Ling Ciye came out of the door dressed in a casual outfit, which made him appear suave and dashing. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Go... go where?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t there a parent-teacher meeting today?¡± He patted Jin Bao¡¯er on her head and continued, ¡°I¡¯ll be her Daddy for today.¡± Jin Qingyue gazed at him in shock, feeling extremely ttered to receive such a favor from him. ¡°Brother Ciye.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing much. Hop in.¡± They then got inside his car, after which Jin Bao¡¯er asked curiously, ¡°Mommy, is he really my Daddy?¡± Jin Qingyue did not answer her question. Meanwhile, Ling Ciye said, ¡°Little imp, are you upset to have me as your Daddy? Not everyone is as lucky as you to have such a handsome Daddy like me.¡± After hearing his words, Jin Bao¡¯er knew that he was not her biological father. However, she did not say anything much. Although she was only at the tender age of five, there were many things she knew about. Having arrived at the school, Ling Ciye parked his car near the entrance and entered the school together with Jin Qingyue and Jin Bao¡¯er. There were already many parents present in the ssroom. Jin Qingyue and Ling Ciye found themselves a seat and sat down. Soon, all of the children and parents arrived, one after another. The teacher carried a pile of workbooks and stepped onto the rostrum. Staring at the audience in front smilingly, she said, ¡°Seems like everyone is present. I shall now mark the attendance.¡± ¡°Zhang Xiaopang.¡± ¡°Here.¡± ¡°Liu Wenjun.¡± ¡°Here.¡± ¡°...¡± After marking the attendance one by one, the teacher continued to speak, ¡°Looks like all the Daddies and Mommies are present today. I¡¯d like to thank all parents for taking the time out of your busy schedules to attend this meeting today. Now, I¡¯d like to invite all students to give your parents a score each. Afterwards, you shall exin why you gave them that score in front of the ss, alright?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± they chorused. The teacher handed the cards down to the students, after which they wrote down their scores with a pencil. The teacher then allowed them to exin the reasons behind the scores they gave, one after another. When it was Jin Bao¡¯er¡¯s turn, she grabbed the card and gave her mother full marks. Jin Qingyue was shocked to see her score. ¡°Bao¡¯er, could you tell us why you gave this score?¡± ¡°Because Mommy deserves full marks today. Because both Daddy and Mommy are here with me today.¡± Jin Bao¡¯er pointed at Jin Qingyue and Ling Ciye before saying, ¡°Look, Teacher, that¡¯s my Mommy and Daddy.¡± All eyes were on Ling Ciye and Jin Qingyue, who broke into smiles. At this moment, she could not help but feel bittersweet. She felt guilty for being unable to give her daughter aplete family and sufficient paternal love, which she yearned to have. ¡°Excellent. Let¡¯s give Bao¡¯er a round of apuse.¡± Everyone in the ssroom began to apud loudly. It was Ling Ciye¡¯s first time attending such an event as a parent, firstly because he did not have a child and secondly because he would never casually agree to attend a parent-teacher meeting as just anyone¡¯s father. The meeting ended. Jin Bao¡¯er stayed behind in school to resume lessons while Ling Ciye and Jin Qingyue left. Upon getting into the car, Jin Qingyue fastened her safety belt and said, ¡°Thank you so much, Brother Ciye.¡± ¡°Told you it was nothing much,¡± Ling Ciye answered nonchntly. Jin Qingyue smiled and said, ¡°Yes, but I still ought to thank you.¡± ¡°I realized you¡¯ve really changed a lot. You¡¯re so different from your younger self. Ever since we were young, I¡¯ve never heard a word of gratitude from you,¡± Ling Ciye remarked while revving up the engine. ¡°I was too insensible and willful in the past, so much that I would never apologize for my own mistakes. Brother Ciye, aren¡¯t you going to reconcile with Song Yan?¡± ¡°Nah, I don¡¯t n to anymore.¡± ¡°That feels like a pity.¡± Chapter 411 - The Secret About the Past (29)

Chapter 411: The Secret About the Past (29)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°A pity?¡± He looked ahead and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay if you are dyed for a few years. If you have to sink into an unhappy rtionship for the rest of your life, then it would be a real pity. Actually, it¡¯s fine since I¡¯ve thought it through. Just like you and Shi Shaochuan, if you hadn¡¯t gotten out of that marriage in time, what would your life be like now?¡± Jin Qingyue nodded. ¡°That¡¯s true. It¡¯s alright if you take a wrong step, but one should never repeat their mistakes. Everyone¡¯s life can never be perfect, but we only realize this toote.¡± ¡°How old are you, how is it toote?¡± ¡°I feel like my reputation has be so notorious that no one will dare to marry me anymore.¡± Jin Qingyue did not forget the headlines she had made when she was with Shi Shaochuan. All of them were scandals that could not be unseen. ¡°Why do you say that of yourself? A lot of people are worse than you, it¡¯s just that they weren¡¯t exposed on the news. You should change your mindset.¡± ¡°My sister-inw read my fortune.¡± Jin Qingyue turned around and continued, ¡°She said I¡¯d meet my other half this month.¡± ¡°Really? That¡¯s great. I told you you¡¯ll have no problem.¡± Ling Ciye drove the car to Wei Ni Estate and both of them got down from the car. Just when he was about to get off his car, he saw Song Yan walking towards him from the swing in the courtyard. Jin Qingyue nced at Ling Ciye, then went into the house immediately. ¡°Why are you here again? Looks like I have to tell off Fan Shixin properly. How can he let anyone in?¡± These words immediately hurt Song Yan¡¯s feelings deeply. ¡°Ling Ciye, how can you say that? I¡¯m here to look for you, of course. I knew you came here again, so I¡¯m here. I saw you and Jin Qingyue get off her car together just now. Don¡¯t tell me...¡± Her tone changed suddenly and she moved closer towards Ling Ciye. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me your judgment has be so poor? You¡¯re even interested in an unwanted divorced woman?¡± Ling Ciye did not expect her to say such harsh words. He was suddenly enraged. ¡°Song Yan, how can you make such mean remarks?¡± ¡°Mean? I¡¯m being polite already. Ling Ciye, is it because you¡¯ve fallen for her, is that why you broke up with me?¡± ¡°How long has it been since I broke up with you already? Don¡¯t be so unreasonable.¡± Song Yan suddenly felt an urge to cry. Her eyes reddened and tears flowed down her cheeks as she looked at him. ¡°Did you really loved me? You were tired of me, right?¡± ¡°Song Yan!¡± She hugged him tightly and her tone softened. ¡°Ciye, don¡¯t be like this, okay? These days, I can¡¯t eat or sleep. I won¡¯t be willful anymore from now on. I won¡¯t make you angry anymore. Will you forgive me? Let¡¯s not keep this cold war going on anymore.¡± Ling Ciye did not move at all. ¡°How many times has it been already?¡± ¡°I¡¯m being serious right now.¡± Song Yan raised her head and asked him again, ¡°Let¡¯s patch things up, okay?¡± ¡°Even until now, do you still not get what I mean?¡± Song Yan had no choice but to use her final killer weapon. ¡°I¡¯m pregnant.¡± Ling Ciye was taken aback. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I said I¡¯m pregnant.¡± Song Yan took out a test report and passed it to him. ¡°It¡¯s been 38 days already.¡± Ling Ciye was overwhelmed by emotions at this point; it was aplicated feeling beyond exnation. He was not an irresponsible man after all. All the words he had wanted to say was instantly let out through a gasp, and he hugged Song Yan tightly. At the living room entrance, Jin Qingyue watched the scene of the two in an embrace and turned to An Xiaoning on the sofa, remarking, ¡°Sister-inw, my Mr. Right is definitely not Brother Ciye. I must have thought too much.¡± An Xiaoning did not expect this toe from her. ¡°Why are you so sure?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know either, it¡¯s just a feeling.¡± Thereafter, Fan Shixin walked in. ¡°Young Madam, I just heard Ms. Song saying that she¡¯s pregnant. The child is Master Ling¡¯s.¡± An Xiaoning looked up. ¡°Wow, are you sure?¡± ¡°Umm. Yes.¡± Jin Qingyueughed. ¡°My guess was really correct. Now Brother Ciye will have to prepare for his wedding already.¡± An Xiaoning felt that it was still too early to say. She got up and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to thepany.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Jin Qingyue packed lightly as well and went to look for her mother. Mrs. Jin was sitting in the house alone, her head low as she was knitting a woollen sweater glumly. Seeing that Jin Qingyue had arrived, she put the woollen sweater aside and remarked sarcastically, ¡°What wind has blown you here?¡± ¡°Mother, why do you say it like that? Of course it¡¯s the strongest typhoon like you who blew me here.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bother humoring your mother.¡± Mrs. Jin red at her. ¡°You ungrateful thing, siding with An Xiaoning instead of your mother.¡± Jin Qingyue sighed. ¡°Mother, don¡¯t talk about sister-inw like that. She¡¯s actually quite nice. Now that my brother isn¡¯t around, she has to manage thepany every day and settle outside matters. She¡¯s really busy and tired. You probably don¡¯t know yet, Father tried to chase her away previously but failed.¡± ¡°Your father is nothing good. If he gets back the control over thepany, Chi Rui¡¯er will return to him again. He¡¯ll probably go head over heels over her again.¡± ¡°Umm. But he wasn¡¯t sessful. Brother gave thepany shares to Sister-inw and their son.¡± Mrs. Jin was dumbfounded. ¡°What did you say!¡± ¡°Mother, you didn¡¯t know?¡± ¡°Who could have told me, how could I have known? Your brother, that damn thing. I gave birth to him and raised him for nothing!¡± Mrs. Jin¡¯s face was overflowing with tears. ¡°That child, how could he do that? He doesn¡¯t care about his mother at all!¡± ¡°He said he¡¯ll give you money for retirement every month, and that you should go to thepany to get it.¡± ¡°How much money could that possibly amount to!¡± Mrs. Jin looked extremely heartbroken. ¡°I don¡¯t want to live anymore, how can my own son do this to me!!!¡± ¡°Mother, don¡¯t cry yet. You know what, Father has found that illegitimate daughter of his.¡± ¡°He¡¯s found her?¡± Mrs. Jin suddenly stopped wailing and looked at her nkly. ¡°Who is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the Xu family¡¯s youngest daughter, Xu Youran.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°My sister-inw told me. I feel that if Father regains control of thepany and kicks Sister-inw out, then the one who gains the most is definitely this Xu Youran. After all, she¡¯s the only child left. But, they probably will not get as they wish.¡± Mrs. Jin then replied, ¡°Then does it mean that it¡¯s still better for your sister-inw to manage thepany?¡± ¡°Of course. Moreover, Mother, there¡¯s still my nephew. Thesepany shares are for both Sister-inw and her son, not just her alone.¡± Mrs. Jin started to calm down slowly. ¡°I didn¡¯t think that illegitimate thing is still alive. I should¡¯ve killed her back then. What a cheap thing, just like her mother.¡± Jin Qingyue remarked, ¡°But, I¡¯m even worse than her. At least she¡¯s still Father¡¯s biological daughter. Look at me.¡± Mrs. Jin rebutted, ¡°That was because your father was unfaithful to me first. I was paying him back in his own coin.¡± ¡°Alright, Mother. Do you and Father really not have any feelings at all?¡± ¡°No.¡± Mrs. Jin continued, ¡°I have deep feelings for your biological father. But you ungrateful brat, you watched him die and you didn¡¯t do anything to save him.¡± Jin Qingyue sighed. ¡°I never formed any bond with the butler at all. You suddenly just told me that he was my biological father, who would be able to take it? Moreover, that matter was not within my control. Don¡¯t you remember how Father and Brother were determined to hide that scandal? So, Mother, don¡¯t mention this matter anymore. Since he¡¯s gone, let it be.¡± Chapter 412 - The Secret About the Past (30)

Chapter 412: The Secret About the Past (30)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mrs. Jin¡¯s face overflowed with tears. ¡°I think this is just how my life is. I kind of regret choosing this path back then.¡± ¡°You mean you regret marrying Father, or having an affair with the butler?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Mrs. Jin simply replied, ¡°I just regret it badly.¡± ¡ª Two dayster, a video of Chi Rui¡¯er and Mr. Jin emerged online again. It even revealed the conversation between them clearly and had multiple sexually explicit pictures of them. This was a worse crisis than the previous one. When she was notified of this, An Xiaoning was about to go mad. The worst scenario she had not wanted to see eventually still happened. When the board members were discussing a solution to this matter, even those who werepletely on Mr. Jin¡¯s side previously changed their stances and asked for him to be removed as the Chairman. This motion went through with unanimous votes of agreement. Without a moment of dy at all, a press conference was held. This time, An Xiaoning did not attempt to exin or cover up the truth as she had already guessed Xu Youran¡¯s next move. As such, at the press conference, she answered the media reporters¡¯ questions truthfully. A reporter asked, ¡°CEO An, may I ask, what exnation do you have towards the matter that emerged online?¡± She answered, ¡°I just received news about this and saw the video and pictures. I am deeply shocked and ashamed by this incident. Regarding the negative impacts of my father-inw¡¯s actions, I sincerely apologize here to everyone.¡± Someone asked, ¡°Then, your father-inw is having an extramarital affair, right?¡± She answered, ¡°It¡¯s nothing of that sort. My mother-inw and father-inw have previously divorced.¡± Another asked, ¡°I heard your father-inw is still the Chairman of thepany in name. May I know if there will be any manpower changes in thepany?¡± She answered, ¡°Just before this, the board members of thepany have held an emergency meeting, and the motion to remove my father-inw as the Chairman has passed through unanimously. From now on, my father-inw¡¯s rtionship matters are solely his personal issues.¡± ... At past five in the evening, the sky was overcast, and not long after, thunder started roaring. Chi Rui¡¯er stood there, her legs shaking uncontrobly as she looked at a gloomy Xu Youran. The room remained silent as Xu Youran stood before the window, staring at the sudden pouring of rain outside, her mood extremely unpleasant. She tried to start amotion, but An Xiaoning always managed to handle these problems unexpectedly. This time round, regarding the scandalous video that emerged online, she had thought that An Xiaoning would justify that the video was not real and had been edited. However, she not only admitted the scandal but even apologized for it, which waspletely out of her expectation. She stood there silently like that while Chi Rui¡¯er was drowning in anxiety. She just had an ominous feeling. ¡°Does your mother know the pin number of your bank ount?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s heart was in her mouth. ¡°No, she doesn¡¯t.¡± In reality, she had long told her mother the pin number. ¡°That¡¯s a pity then. Your savings will be donated to the bank.¡± Xu Youran had her hands folded in her pockets. ¡°I give you a chance to call others for help again. Actually, I know that you have no one to turn to anyway. Even if you call An Xiaoning, she won¡¯te and save you either.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er stammered, ¡°Please... please... I beg you to spare my life... anything that you need me to do, I¡¯ll do them for you! Please spare me!¡± Xu Youran responded coldly, ¡°Aren¡¯t you diagnosed with cancer? You should be prepared to die already. Why? You still can¡¯t bear to leave the living world?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er dropped to her knees instantly. ¡°I don¡¯t want to die, I don¡¯t want to die. Ms. Xu, you honestly don¡¯t have to handle an insignificant person like me. Please, will you be nice and spare me? My mother¡¯s getting on in years already and she has heart disease, she can¡¯t live without me.¡± Xu Youran¡¯s face remained emotionless, and she appeared to have already decided. ¡°Stop nagging already. You should have long been dead. If I hadn¡¯t saved you from prison, you would have been sentenced to death for murder already. If Jin Qingyan had not appeared to save you previously, do you think you could have lived ¡¯til today? Allowing you to live until now has been a blessing for you already.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er had her hands supporting the floor and her body did not have an ounce of energy left. She was like a deted ball. All that was left of her was an empty shell. Tears streamed down her face as she knew clearly that she was bound to die this time. She slowly used all her energy to get up, her hands still shaking profusely. ¡°Xu Youran, back then, I killed someone with that mentality of yours.¡± Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s lips were trembling as she muttered, ¡°I harmed many people like that with no consideration for anything at all. But, back then, I never thought that I would eventually end up in such a state and get killed by somebody else. I concede this. But...¡± She paused for a moment, then shed a contemtive smirk, ¡°Do you think you will end up in a better state than me in the future? I¡¯ve harmed and killed, but have you killed less people than me? Have you harmed less people than I have? Your family is powerful, but it doesn¡¯t mean they will remain in power forever. Your family is powerful, but it doesn¡¯t mean you are. You are but a parasite. A parasite who attempted to harm an entire family.¡± ¡°You shut up!¡± Xu Youran went forward and pped her furiously. ¡°What gives a cheap woman like you the right to insult me?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m cheap? Then aren¡¯t you using a man who¡¯s been used by someone cheap?¡± Chi Rui¡¯er went all out against her. ¡°Gu Dongcheng is my ex-husband. You¡¯re marrying my ex-husband. Hahhahahahah! That¡¯s a man I¡¯ve slept with before.¡± ¡°Get her out and throw her down a building near her house!¡± Xu Youran ordered her men. ¡°Do it right now!¡± ¡°Xu Youran, I pray that you will meet a horrible end! You¡¯ll die terribly!!!¡± Xu Youran grabbed the edge of the table tightly. The sound near her ears eventually grew further and further away from her until she could no longer hear anything. It was pouring heavily outside, and the overcast sky had a fewyers of vibrant color. Chi Rui¡¯er was forced towards the end of her life step by step. Her heart was full of terror and bitterness. Looking at the streets that were jammed with cars, she hoped that this would go on forever. She hoped that the roads would not ever be clear of cars. Even then, the additional time that she had was still extremely short for her. It was so short that she felt that in the next second, she would meet her death. Her hands were tied up and her mouth was taped as she reached the roof of a tall building. Under the heavy rain, it was indeed rather cold. She waspletely drenched, and her phone had been taken away from her. Her mouth was untaped, and the rope on her hands were untied. The rain was trickling down her face slowly. Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s legs were already growing unstable. With a few men exerting strength to drag her, her body was forced to the edge of the top of the building. Tears were streaming down her face in fear and desperation. Multiple images and scenes shed up in her mind. When she reached the furthest edge of the building where she could no longer go any further, her fear reached its peak. With a loud, piercing scream let out from her, the men behind her pushed her forcefully, and Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s body instantly descended into the darkness of the night. Pedestrians who were walking past witnessed arge object falling onto a car and were horrified. A courageous person went forward to check while being sheltered by an umbre and was immediately panic-stricken as he screamed, ¡°Someone¡¯s dead! Someone¡¯s dead! Quick, call the police!¡± Chapter 413 - The Secret About the Past (31)

Chapter 413: The Secret About the Past (31)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Mrs. Chi was notified about it, three days had already gone past. As she went to see Chi Rui¡¯er for the final time, she could not withstand the blow and passed out instantly. When she woke up, she found herself lying in the hospital with a nurse beside her. Seeing that she was about to get up from the hospital bed, the nurse gently told her, ¡°Please wait for a moment. Someone ising to fetch you.¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°It¡¯s people from the police force. They want to have a talk with you about something.¡± Mrs. Chi knew, of course, that they wanted to talk to her about her daughter. Her face grew sullen and lifeless as she nodded. Thereafter, she was sent to the police station by a police officer. ¡°Why was I only informed three days after she died?¡± This was the first question that burst out from Mrs. Chi¡¯s mouth. Team Leader Zhang of the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit served her a cup of tea and replied, ¡°Auntie, let me exin. After we received the case, we did not find any identification on her body. Also, we were busy with investigations. For this, we apologize to you.¡± ¡°No matter how busy you are, it¡¯s only right to inform the family members at the very first moment, right? Also, how is the investigation going?¡± ¡°This is what I want to tell you. From the coroner¡¯s report, we¡¯ve confirmed that her cause of death was due to a fall from a great height, which led to severe brain damage. It was suicide. Also, we¡¯ve tracked hertest movements before her death and discovered she went to the hospital frequently. It seems that she was diagnosed with cervical cancer.¡± Mrs. Chi was taken aback and instantly understood the truth behind her daughter¡¯s death. She had actuallymitted suicide. If she had not known that she was diagnosed with cancer, she would not have believed her daughter wouldmit suicide. But after hearing it, she believed it. ¡°I see. She never told me. It¡¯s negligence on my part as her mother.¡± Team Leader Zhang added on, ¡°Also, even if your daughter did notmit suicide, she would have been arrested for murder by us very soon. Do you remember the case of Xu Jingwen?¡± Mrs. Chi nodded. ¡°I remember.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a charge for murder, she¡¯d have been sentenced to death.¡± As Mrs. Chi knew it well and clear, she did not want to go on any further. ¡°I¡¯ll make arrangements for Rui¡¯er¡¯s funeral matters myself. Can I take her body back now?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll get someone to help you send it back.¡± ¡°Alright, thanks.¡± Team Leader Zhang did not expect this matter to be settled so quickly. He was feeling relieved inside as he remarked, ¡°The weather¡¯s getting hot these days. I suggest you send it to the crematorium to be burned immediately.¡± Mrs. Chi felt that was a reasonable thing to do. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do that then.¡± Team Leader Zhang hurriedly ordered his team members, ¡°Immediately help Auntie get Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s body to the crematorium.¡± He also instructed them to watch over the cremation process. Ding Liang, who was at the door, hurriedly turned and rushed back to the Special Investigations Unit, conveying everything that he had heard to his teammates. Ma Jianguo hesitated for a moment and replied, ¡°Although this Chi Rui¡¯er deserves to die, I still feel that something¡¯s not right. No, this can¡¯t do. I have to call Team Leader to tell her.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the point of telling her? Our team leader doesn¡¯te to the station anymore and is focused on managing thepany. She won¡¯te back for sure.¡± ¡°We still have to tell her to let her know,¡± Ma Jianguo replied as he called An Xiaoning and told her everything Ding Liang had said. In actual fact, An Xiaoning already knew the news about Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s death. Furthermore, she had actually expected this day toe. And did not find it surprising at all. Most of all, she did not intend to interfere in Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s matter. She had other matters on her hands that she could not cope with, how would she have the extra time to investigate if Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s death was a suicide or not? From her understanding of Chi Rui¡¯er, she could actually guess who was behind her death. But it was a pity, Xu Youran was about to lose her game. An Xiaoning had already managed to prevent Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s matter from getting onto the news first. Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s body was cremated just like that. It was good as well, since it did not allow Xu Youran to use this matter to stir up more trouble. But Xu Youran did not give up easily. At the thought of her, An Xiaoning only felt a bad headacheing. Knock, knock, knock. An Xiaoning recovered herself. ¡°Come in.¡± Fan Shixin passed her a document to sign. ¡°I¡¯ve seen it, there¡¯s no problem. Also, the search team just brought news. They still haven¡¯t found a trace of him. They¡¯re specting that...¡± At this point, Fan Shixin started stammering, unable toplete his sentence properly. ¡°Continue.¡± ¡°They say that Young Sir may have been eaten by sea creatures.¡± An Xiaoning could not take in the news and was inplete disbelief. ¡°It¡¯s impossible. He might also have been saved already. Send people to search the houses belonging to the residents nearby. Search each and every household properly.¡± Fan Shixin nodded. ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Right,¡± An Xiaoning instructed, ¡°put Qingyan¡¯s photo on arge search poster and offer a reward. If anyone has leads or finds him, they¡¯ll be rewarded with money. If anyone leads our people to find him, they¡¯ll be offered a reward of five million yuan.¡± ¡°Yes, Young Madam.¡± After much thought, An Xiaoning added, ¡°I think I¡¯ll still have to find a Master to read his fortune because I can¡¯t read his. Maybe someone else can.¡± ¡°Indeed, Young Madam. There¡¯s no harm in finding a skilled master to read his fortune.¡± An Xiaoning nodded in agreement. ¡°Do ording to what I¡¯ve said, then find a skilled master living in seclusion.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡ª From when An Xiaoning had mentioned at the gathering until today, six days had passed. Today was the seventh day, and a week would soon have passed. Madam Lin¡¯s heart started to rx as well. ¡°Look at Shishi, she¡¯spletely fine having stayed at home for a week. Don¡¯t listen to those superstitious people uttering rubbish,¡± the Chief-of-Staff said to his wife. ¡°Who says she was uttering rubbish? If she were, how could she have known so much about me and Madam Jin?¡± ¡°Think about An Xiaoning¡¯s status. She¡¯s heading the Jin Corporation now. How much money does she have, do you know that? She can definitely find a private investigator to check the background of both our families. It¡¯s an easy feat.¡± Madam Lin was still in doubt. ¡°That¡¯s not right. She knows about the birthmark I have under my bottom. Other than our family, who would know that?¡± The Chief-of-Staff was dumbfounded. ¡°Maybe... maybe someone let this out unknowingly.¡± ¡°Then, how do you exin that she knows many things from my childhood in deep detail? There are very few who know things from my childhood. No matter how rich she is, I don¡¯t believe she can find out about these.¡± ¡°Alright. Isn¡¯t a week almost over? What are you still worried about?¡± ¡°There¡¯s still one more day left. My heart can¡¯t rxpletely.¡± ¡°You¡¯re overthinking.¡± The Chief-of-Staffughed. ¡°To think you¡¯re a university graduate. How can you believe in those superstitious beliefs?¡± Madam Lin got up and instructed the butler, ¡°Can you go up and see what Shishi is doing?¡± ¡°Yes, Madam.¡± The butler went up and came back thereafter, ¡°Missy is bathing.¡± ¡°Umm, noted.¡± Ring!!! The sudden chime of the phone ringing made Madam Lin jump suddenly. Just as she was about to pick up the call, the Chief-of-Staff picked up the phone. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Hello, I¡¯m An Xiaoning. Please pass the phone to Madam Lin, I have something important to tell her.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, thank you.¡± The Chief-of-Staff mmed the phone down. ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Who else could it be? It was An Xiaoning, of course. She wanted to look for you, but I cut off the line. What else could she have to find you about at this time? She must have wanted to scare you again.¡± Chapter 414 - The Secret About the Past (32)

Chapter 414: The Secret About the Past (32)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Madam Lin rolled her eyes at him. ¡°You, how could you just cut her off like that?¡± She hurriedly went to the phone. ¡°I¡¯ll return her call.¡± ¡°Stop there.¡± The Chief-of-Staff stopped her. ¡°I think you¡¯re too deep into it. You believe her words too easily.¡± Madam Lin had reached out to the phone, but she could only return to the sofa in the end. After a moment of silence between the couple, the Chief-of-Staff got up and said, ¡°I¡¯m going out for a while.¡± A sudden scream pierced through their ears. Madam Lin turned around and realized it was Lin Shishi screaming. The couple instantly ran upstairs to check. As the door was locked from the inside, the Chief-of-Staff had to run back down to take the spare keys. Madam Lin continued to knock on her door frantically. ¡°Shishi, Shishi?¡± ¡°Mother...¡± ¡°Shishi, what¡¯s wrong?¡± No matter how Madam Lin called out to her, no reply came after that. Madam Lin was trembling all over and tears streamed down her face in panic. The moment the Chief-of-Staff used the spare keys to open the door, the couple were stunned beyond words. The ce where the fish tank had been ced was now empty and the whole floor was full of water and fishes jumping around. Lin Shishi was sprawled out on the floor, and because a ss fragment had cut her artery on her wrist, blood continued to spurt out from her wound non-stop. Madam Lin waspletely horrified as she stood there nkly. When she finally came to, she could only scream out in a heart-wrenching manner, ¡°Oh my, Shishi!¡± The Chief-of-Staff, on the other hand, quickly carried Lin Shishi, whoid amongst the ss fragments, and ran downstairs with his eyes reddened. Madam Lin followed closely behind and was about to faint anytime. Lin Shishi was sent to the nearest hospital for emergency treatment, and the corridor outside her treatment room was soon full of people who arrived. They were all the Lin family members. Madam Lin was breathless from crying and did not stop berating her husband. The Chief-of-Staff listened on silently and did not rebut her at all. ¡°If you hadn¡¯t tried every means and ways to stop me, Shishi could probably have avoided this!!!¡± ¡°Mother, what exactly is wrong?¡± Lin Shishi¡¯s brother Lin Junnan probed frantically. Madam Lin exined the whole matter to her son, then started choking on tears thereafter. ¡°Before this happened to Shishi, Ms. An called to find me, but your father put down her call. She might have called to remind me, but your father was bent on convincing me and Shishi not to believe her words. Now, it seems it was his words we shouldn¡¯t have believed.¡± Everyone who was present were in shock. If Lin Junnan had not heard this from his mother, he would probably have believed the same as his father. It was truly incredible. Other than being in disbelief, he was also full of admiration. ¡°Junnan, quickly call home. Get someone to bring my phone from home. I want to give Ms. An a call.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Junnan immediately instructed someone to send Madam Lin¡¯s phone here. Even when her phone had been brought to her, there was still no sign from the operating theater. Madam Lin was sobbing as she called An Xiaoning. She told her how badly she regretted not listening to her and pleaded for her toe to the hospital. An Xiaoning agreed. After ending the call, Madam Lin was still shaking all over in fear. The Chief-of-Staff sat on the bench along the corridor, burying his head deeply between his legs. He deeply regretted as well, to the extent that he wanted to p himself a few times. Less than ten minutester, the lights of the operating theater went off. Very soon, the doctor emerged from the operating theater. ¡°Chief-of-Staff, Madam, we have tried our best.¡± Madam Lin wailed uncontrobly in grief. ¡°What do you mean you¡¯ve tried your best? Our Shishi is only 19 this year!!! My poor daughter, Mother has let you down. No, this isn¡¯t real. All of you haven¡¯t tried your best. If you did, then you would have saved our Shishi!¡± Lin Junnan watched his mother who was about to copse and quickly helped her, tears streaming down his face as well. ¡°Mother, don¡¯t be like this.¡± ¡°Junnan, your sister is only 19 this year, 19! She hasn¡¯t even married or had a boyfriend. How can the Heavens do this to her?!¡± ¡°Madam Lin!¡± The doctor raised his voice slightly to get her attention. ¡°Your daughter is still breathing, but we can¡¯t save her anymore. So, all of you should go and see her for thest time.¡± Hearing this, all the family members went into the operating theater. Because only Lin Shishi was inside the operating theater, and also due to the Lin family¡¯s status, the doctor did not dare to say anything even when so many people entered the operating theatre. The Chief-of-Staff, his wife, and Lin Junnan all leaned before the operating table, looking as a lifeless Lin Shishiy there. They all burst into loud uncontroble sobs at this scene. Madam Lin lightly caressed her daughter¡¯s face. Her nose and eyes were both watering profusely. During that moment, an atmosphere of grief overwhelmed the whole operating theater. When An Xiaoning rushed over, it was two minutester. Seeing that she had arrived, the family members made way for her automatically. An Xiaoning walked towards the head of the operating table, but her eyesnded on Lin Junnan. ¡°You get up first.¡± Lin Junnan did not know why he had to give way for her, but still did so. Her gaze shifted towards the empty space Lin Junnan had made and she asked, ¡°Do you still want to live?¡± The others could not see that at that empty side, Lin Shishi¡¯s soul stood. She nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t want just a determination to live from you, but an eager desperation to live. You have to possess that kind of will now.¡± An Xiaoning retracted her gaze and took out ten pieces of talisman from her bag, pasting them on Lin Shishi¡¯s body. As she pasted them, she told the Lin family, ¡°I¡¯m notpletely confident as well, but I¡¯ll try my best.¡± After all, to her, if she could save Lin Shishi, then she would gain the Chief-of-Staff¡¯s backing. She desperately needed this backing. Desperately... It was an urgent desperation. Thus, she would do anything to gain this. Even if it left her half-dead, she was fine with it as well. ¡°The three of you stay here, the rest get out first.¡± She looked at the other people besides the Chief-of-Staff, Madam Lin, and their son. Seeing their hesitation, the Chief-of-Staff snarled, ¡°What are all of you waiting for? Get out now!¡± The other family members went out at once. An Xiaoning took out a joss stick and lit it with a lighter, then held it with both hands as she first bowed to the Southwest direction, then went down on her knees and continued to kowtow. At the same time, she was chanting something the Lin family could notprehend. This went on, and even when An Xiaoning¡¯s knees were tired from kneeling, she still did not stop. All in all, she kowtowed and bowed 66 times each. Atst, she ced what was left of the joss stick on the ground and kneeled down again, her hands adjacent to the ground first then at the sides of her body. After kowtowing three times, she got up finally. It was apparent that An Xiaoning was much weaker than she was before, and her face was as pale as a sheet. She could not even stand properly. She grabbed onto Lin Shishi¡¯s hand and called out to her, ¡°Your parents and brother are waiting for you toe back. Don¡¯t stay there anymore. Come back,e back quickly.¡± After her calls to her and with the three family members deeply expectant, Lin Shishi eventually opened her eyes. A smile appeared on An Xiaoning¡¯s face as she witnessed this. Next, she copsed to the ground. ¡°Ms. An!¡± the three eximed in shock. ¡°Junnan, quick. Carry Ms. An into the hospital ward. Quick!¡± Madam Lin pressed him urgently. ¡°Okay.¡± Lin Junnan bent down and carried An Xiaoning, rushing out of the operating theater instantly. Chapter 415 - The Secret About the Past (33)

Chapter 415: The Secret About the Past (33)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At night, inside the VIP ward, two peopley on two separate beds. One was Lin Shishi, and the other was naturally An Xiaoning. When An Xiaoning woke up, the sky was alreadypletely dark outside the window. ¡°Sis, you¡¯re awake?¡± Mei Yangyang asked gently. ¡°Umm.¡± Hearing that she was awake, the Lin family members crowded around her bed and watched her. Madam Lin held tightly onto her hand that was not hooked onto the IV drip. ¡°Thank you so much! Really, I don¡¯t know what else to say, and I know whatever I say will not be able to express the Lin family¡¯s gratitude towards you.¡± ¡°Madam Lin, is she alright now?¡± ¡°Yes, she¡¯s alright. She¡¯s here.¡± Madam Lin turned around and pointed to the bed on her other side. ¡°Shishi, your Sister Xiaoning has woken up.¡± Tears were streaming down Lin Shishi¡¯s face continuously as she eximed gratefully, ¡°Sister Xiaoning, thank you for saving me. I¡¯m really very grateful towards you.¡± An Xiaoning shed a smile at her. ¡°Actually, I wasn¡¯tpletely confident at that time either. All that matters is that you¡¯re fine now.¡± The Chief-of-Staff sighed as he confessed, ¡°If not for me, both of them would have gone over to your ce previously. It was me who stopped them. I was too ignorant at that time. To think that something this magical really exists. Ms. An, just as what my wife had said, nothing we say now can express our gratitude towards you. So, my wife and I promise that we¡¯ll take you in as our Goddaughter.¡± Hearing this, An Xiaoning was instantly relieved. ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°When Shishi has recovered, we¡¯ll hold a formal ceremony for it. With such a capable goddaughter like you, it¡¯s really a blessing to us.¡± However, An Xiaoning replied instead, ¡°No, to be able to be the Goddaughter of you two and a part of your family, it¡¯s my honor.¡± Mei Yangyang, on the other hand, said in a heartbroken manner, ¡°Sis, you almost scared me to death. What if anything happened to you?¡± An Xiaoning felt that she had already recovered some energy. ¡°It¡¯s alright. Yangyang, you should go back. Tell Yiheng that I will pick him up at school tomorrow.¡± ¡°Alright. When he knows that you¡¯ll be fetching him, he would be so happy. He hasn¡¯t seen you for a few days already and has been nagging to see you. Alright then, Sis, you rest well for the night. Chief Fan and I will go back first.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Yiheng... is your son, right?¡± An Xiaoning nodded. ¡°Yes, he¡¯s turning five in a few months.¡± ¡°Wow, that¡¯s great. Right, your parents came by and stayed here for a long time before they left.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll call them now.¡± As An Xiaoning finished speaking, Madam Lin then passed her phone to her. An Xiaoning gave Mrs. Gu a call. Thereafter, the nurse removed the needle from her left arm. ¡°You must be very hungry. I¡¯ve gotten the people at home to make food and send them over.¡± Seeing that she had gotten up, Madam Lin beamed as she said gently, ¡°You lie down first.¡± ¡°I need to use the toilet.¡± When she came out of the toilet, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°This matter didn¡¯t get onto the news, I suppose?¡± The Chief-of-Staff replied, ¡°No, I got people to prevent the news froming out.¡± An Xiaoning nodded. ¡°That¡¯s good. Right, how did Shishi cut her wrist?¡± Madam Lin still couldn¡¯t help but shudder when she talked about it. ¡°We only found out when we asked her. She came out from the bathroom after she bathed and was wearing her slippers when she tripped over a stool on the ground. In a moment of panic, her hands grabbed onto the fish tank and it smashed down on her. Think about it, the fish tank is huge. Could she have been unhurt? Back then when she ced a fish tank in her room, I didn¡¯t agree to it, but she insisted on it as she likes to keep fish. I couldn¡¯t do anything about it. Xiaoning, when you made the prediction, couldn¡¯t you see what the reason is that¡¯ll cause the disaster?¡± An Xiaoning shook her head. ¡°I can only see the oue, because there can be many causes of disasters like car idents. Some are different as well. There can be bloodshed, but the cause of death might not be due to that. For instance, jumping down from a building. There may be bloodshed, but the cause of death is mostly brain damage.¡± Madam Lin nodded as if she had understood her. ¡°Is your master still around?¡± ¡°No, she passed away some years ago.¡± ¡°The two of you must have had a close bond.¡± An Xiaoning nodded. ¡°Yes, I grew up with my master. Without her, I would probably have died.¡± The door was pushed open as Madam Jin and the Commander-in-Chief entered, carrying gifts in their hands. ¡°Why are you here at this time?¡± Madam Lin asked. ¡°Sis Mei, we just came back from overseas and heard about this from our family. Otherwise, why would wee here sote to see your child? We haven¡¯t heard the details yet. What exactly happened?¡± Madam Lin repeated the whole matter from head to tail and, after listening, Madam Jin told her husband, ¡°See? I was right. Mrs. Jin is extraordinary. You still didn¡¯t believe me?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not just him, my husband didn¡¯t believe it either. If this hadn¡¯t happened to Shishi, he probably would still not believe.¡± The Chief-of-Staff nodded as he spoke in a rather guilty tone, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s really quite hard to believe something as magical as this exists in this world.¡± ¡°Mrs. Jin, do you stillck godparents? If you don¡¯t, please take us as your godparents. We only have one son and no daughter. It would be great to have a capable goddaughter like you,¡± Madam Jin asked eagerly. There was a cackling ofughter in the room instantly. An Xiaoning touched her lip and replied, ¡°If Madam Jin and the Commander-in-Chief don¡¯t mind, I¡¯m more than willing to.¡± Madam Jin widened her eyes as if she had gained a precious jewel. She pointed her finger as she said in a serious manner, ¡°This is what you said, no taking back of your words!¡± Madam Lin patted Madam Jin¡¯s hand. ¡°Look at you. The child has agreed already. You look like you¡¯re afraid she¡¯ll go back on her word.¡± ¡°Of course. Sis Mei, it¡¯s not like you didn¡¯t know. I¡¯ve always wanted a daughter, but I only have one son. You¡¯re different. You¡¯ve both a daughter and a son, that¡¯s why I envied you in the past. But, now I have a daughter too. This is great.¡± Madam Jin was in high spirits and couldn¡¯t restrain her excitement. ¡°This is really great. I wonder if that fellow at home will suffer a shock when he learns he will be getting an older sister.¡± Madam Jin took out her phone as she murmured, ¡°I¡¯ll send him a text right now.¡± An Xiaoning did not expect that in such a short time, she would gain two new families. This was something she had not imagined and waspletely out of her expectations. From now onwards, she would have more than the Gu family as her family. There was an immense satisfaction of having gained something effortlessly. It was a feeling akin to winning the top lottery prize. From that moment forth, she would have a strong backing from her families, who else would dare to bully her! She was a woman whocked a lot of love and had not enjoyed love from her parents since she was young. She never expected that when she grew up, she would have three sets of parents. Was this to make up for the parental love she hadcked since young? This was not only to carve a path for herself, but for her son as well. She was extremely keen to know what the Xu family¡¯s reaction would be upon knowing that she¡¯d gained two sets of godparents. Would they be shocked? Or would they feel terrorized? That was right. At this very moment, An Xiaoning felt, what could a small fry like Xu Youran amount to? Wasn¡¯t that right? An Xiaoning looked out the window, and a bitter feeling overwhelmed her as she kept in her tears. Qingyan, you know that? Without you by my side, I will try my best to protect everything you have and wait for you to return. Chapter 416 - The Secret About the Past (34)

Chapter 416: The Secret About the Past (34)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios It was raining cats and dogs in N Nation. Amidst the pouring rain, a bunch of people arrived at Bu Xianxian¡¯s tent after guiding themselves with handheldmps. They were panting heavily, clearly exhausted. ¡°Is anyone in?¡± ¡°Yes, yes.¡± Mr. Bu lit up a candle while Mrs. Bu slowly came out of the tent. ¡°Have you ever seen this man?¡± asked the man who led the way while showing them a photograph. Upon sight of the photograph, the couple looked at each other in dismay. Just as they were about to speak, Bu Xianxian grabbed the photograph and said, ¡°No, I haven¡¯t.¡± ¡°You have to inform them if you saw him. If you bring him to us, you¡¯ll be handsomely rewarded with five million dors.¡± ¡°Five million dors? Who is he? Why is there such a hefty reward offered for finding him?¡± Mrs. Bu asked in astonishment. ¡°He¡¯s our Young Sir. He was washed away by the tsunami while he was here on a vacation.¡± The man then turned around and said to his subordinates, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Boss, aren¡¯t you going to search the tents?¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. Let¡¯s search.¡± Bu Xianxian frantically tried to stop them. ¡°I have a huge python in my tent. It¡¯s my pet snake. Wait a moment while I let it know, in case it bites you guys.¡± Upon hearing her words, the search team immediately turned around to leave and did not insist on searching her tent. After waiting for the team to leave, Mrs. Bu pped Bu Xianxian across her face and admonished, ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear that we¡¯ll be rewarded with five million dors if we hand the person over to them? Since his family has alreadye forth to look for him, why didn¡¯t you allow them to take him away?¡± ¡°Mother, if he leaves with that bunch of people now, I definitely wouldn¡¯t get to see him anymore in the future,¡± said Bu Xianxian, biting her lip. ¡°How did I even give birth to a fool like you? Didn¡¯t you hear them mention that he¡¯s a Young Sir? What makes you think your status ispatible with his? I¡¯m going to call them toe back,¡± said Mrs. Bu. Just as Mrs. Bu took a step, Bu Xianxian got down on her knees and stopped her mother. ¡°Mother, if you go, I¡¯ll die right in front of you now.¡± ¡°You silly child... just what are you after?¡± Mrs. Bu said softly. ¡°Mother, if he falls in love with me, five million dors is considered nothing. Why can¡¯t you n further ahead?¡± ¡°Could you not be so greedy? What happens if he doesn¡¯t fancy you?¡± ¡°I will make him fall for me,¡± Bu Xianxian said confidently before walking towards her tent. Mrs. Bu was so infuriated she felt as if she was going to burst a vein. ¡°It¡¯s five million dors we¡¯re talking about. I would¡¯ve never even dreamed of having so much money. Hubby, why don¡¯t we go chase after them and tell them that the person is right here? That way, we¡¯ll be able to live a good life and we no longer have to live in this tiny tent,¡± Mrs. Bu said to her husband. ¡°Yes, his parents must be worried sick about him. Our daughter is getting more and more insensible. Come, let¡¯s go,¡± Mr. Bu agreed. ¡°Father! Where are you guys going?¡± Bu Xianxian eximed when she came out of her tent and saw that they were about to leave. ¡°We¡¯re... Xianxian, his family must be searching for him eagerly. You can¡¯t be so selfish. Let¡¯s hand him over to those people and get our money,¡± Mrs. Bu said softly. ¡°Mother, wouldn¡¯t it be the same if we wait a while more before handing him over? He and I have only just met and are yet to nurture any feelings. Let¡¯s wait a little longer. Once he¡¯s fully recovered, I¡¯ll apany him to look for his family. We¡¯d also still be able to get the money.¡± ¡°You have a point. But, what if he gets recognized by the people who visit us asionally?¡± Mrs. Bu asked. Bu Xianxian pondered for a moment before whispering something into her mother¡¯s ear. Atst, she said, ¡°Just say that. I¡¯m going back to my tent now.¡± She returned to her tent before even allowing her mother to respond. ¡°I heard a lot of voicesing from outside the tent just now. What were they here for?¡± Jin Qingyan asked. ¡°They were a bunch of people iming to be your family. They showed my parents and me a photo of you and asked if we¡¯ve seen you around. They even offered a reward of five million dors for finding you. But, we didn¡¯t tell them that you were here becuase we had a feeling they were crooks,¡± Bu Xianxian exined. ¡°How did you know that they were crooks?¡± Jin Qingyan asked. ¡°They just seemed like they were. I still think it¡¯d be better to start searching for your family once you¡¯re fully recovered. Do you hold it against me?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll leave the rest for when I recover.¡± Little did Bu Xianxian know, Jin Qingyan wanted desperately to see them when he heard her mention that they were from his family. However, he decided to let the matter rest after realizing that she did make some sense. Thus, he decided to just wait until he recovered to start looking for his family. Sensing that he was rather disappointed, Bu Xianxian asked, ¡°Nick, are you angry?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°I feel like you¡¯re upset.¡± ¡°I really am not. I just have this inexplicable feeling. I¡¯m desperate to know where my family is and what they look like... It¡¯s gettingte, hurry and go to bed.¡± ¡°...¡± The thunder was rumbling loudly amidst the pouring rain. By the time Bu Xianxian had fallen asleep, Jin Qingyan was still wide awake. He was constantly rubbing the jade ring on his thumb with his finger beneath the nket. Again and again... He finally managed to fall asleep but was haunted by a string of nightmares. Yet, he could not remember any of it when he woke up. He could not help but find living inside the tent extremely unbearable. ¡ª An Xiaoning headed to her son¡¯s school in the afternoon to pick him up. The moment Jin Yiheng saw her, he beamed with joy and skipped towards her merrily. ¡°Mommy, you really came to pick me up!¡± ¡°Of course, didn¡¯t Godma already inform youst night?¡± ¡°I thought you wouldn¡¯t turn up because of how busy you are. Mommy, will Godma still being to pick Wenlun and Xiaoxi up?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be sending them home too. Get into the car first,¡± said An Xiaoning as she opened the car door. Just as he got inside the car, the Long siblings approached while carrying their bags on their shoulders. ¡°Godma, I haven¡¯t seen you in days. I missed you!¡± eximed the glib-tongued Long Xiaoxi. ¡°I missed you too, Xiaoxi. Hop in, quick,¡± said An Xiaoning, who held Long Xiaoxi¡¯s hand and helped her into the car. On the way home, the three children in the backseat engaged in continuous chatter throughout the entire journey. An Xiaoning was pleased to see how well they got along with each other. That way, she would not have to worry about her son being neglected when she¡¯s too busy to look after him since he could have them forpany. An Xiaoning pulled over at the entrance upon arriving at the estate. The three children alighted from the car together and returned to their respective homes. ¡°Mommy, do you have good news since you came to pick me up personally today?¡± asked Jin Yiheng while holding onto An Xiaoning¡¯s hand. ¡°No.¡± Upon hearing her answer, he understood that there were no news of his father. Thus, he decided not to probe further and instead pretended to be in high spirits. With a smile on his face, he said, ¡°Mommy, stop trying to lose any more weight. Women look better when they¡¯re chubbier.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll stop being on a diet and eat more from now onwards,¡± An Xiaoning answered, feeling on the verge of tears. She could tell that her son was worried about her and was indirectly hinting at her to take care of herself. Her son had grown up. An Xiaoning was filled with an inexplicable feeling as she gazed at her son, who resembled his father greatly. She held his hand all the way to the living room where Auntie Chen wasying the lunch spread across the dining table. Jin Yiheng sat down opposite her and said, ¡°Mommy, Teacher gave us a question today which we were supposed to ask our parents.¡± ¡°What question is it?¡± ¡°How did we childrene about?¡± Chapter 417 - The Secret About the Past (35)

Chapter 417: The Secret About the Past (35)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Did your teacher really make you ask that question?¡± ¡°Yes, we even have to step onto the rostrum to tell everyone our parents¡¯ answers.¡± ¡°Where do you think you came from then?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°From Mommy¡¯s stomach, of course. But, how did I get inside your stomach, Mommy?¡± Jin Yiheng asked, smiling shyly. After some thought, An Xiaoning said, ¡°You¡¯re the testament of Daddy and Mommy¡¯s love for each other. You¡¯ll understand after I tell you a story about it.¡± ¡°What story?¡± An Xiaoning recalleding across an online forum regarding how to answer a child¡¯s questions about their birth. After thinking about the answers she had seen in the forum, she replied, ¡°There¡¯s a type of cell in Mommy¡¯s body called an ovum while Daddy has a different type of cell called a sperm. One day, the ovum and the sperm met and the ovum eagerly invited the sperm to her house for a visit. Thus, they both then headed to Mommy¡¯s stomach together. Mommy had built a beautiful pce for them, called the womb. The sperm and ovum then fused to be a fertilized embryo embedded within Mommy¡¯s womb. After receiving the nutrients from Mommy¡¯s body, the fertilized embryo developed into a fetus, which continued to grow for another 10 months. After the 10 months were up, Mommy went to the gynecologist at the hospital where the midwife helped to deliver the baby. That¡¯s how you came about.¡± ¡°I understand now,¡± Jin Yiheng said with a nod. ¡°My table partner Yue Chan told me that her Mommy often says she was picked up from the trash can. Can babies be found inside trash cans?¡± he asked. ¡°Of course not. Her Mommy was lying to her.¡± ¡°My Mommy is the best. You never lie to me, ever.¡± An Xiaoning picked up her chopsticks to pick some food up and ced it into his bowl. ¡°Eat up, quick. Then take a nap after lunch.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°By the way, after I acknowledge my new Godparents, you¡¯ll have another set of grandparents. I¡¯ll take you to visit them in another few days,¡± An Xiaoning said during lunch. ¡°Does that mean I¡¯ll have three Grandpas and three Grandmas? Mommy, how did you achieve that?¡± Jin Yiheng asked with his mouth wide open. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°How did you get so many Godfathers and Godmothers?¡± An Xiaoning bent forward to lift him up in her arms. ¡°I managed to do that because I put my heart and soul into it. Son, it¡¯s getting harder for me to lift you up nowadays. Will you carry me when I¡¯m old and frail?¡± He looked at her earnestly and said, ¡°Why would you ask such a question, Mommy? I¡¯m your son, of course I¡¯ll carry you when you¡¯re old and can no longer walk. I¡¯ll carry you wherever you¡¯d like to go.¡± An Xiaoning kissed him on his forehead and said, ¡°Son, thank you.¡± ¡ª Ling Ciye returned home to find that Song Yan had yet to wake up. He then entered the bedroom and said, ¡°It¡¯s already noontime. Are you still not going to wake up?¡± ¡°I rarely get to enjoy a break for a few days. Can¡¯t you just let me sleep in?¡± Song Yan groused. She stretched her arms out slowly and looked at him, sleepy-eyed. ¡°Where did you go early in the morning?¡± ¡°I went out to handle some matters. What would you like to eat? I¡¯ll get Auntie to prepare it for you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine with anything.¡± Ling Ciye turned around and instructed the servants to prepare a nutritionally-bnced lunch for her. Song Yan got out of bed to take a shower before switching on her mobile phone. As soon as her mobile phone switched on, it began to ring continuously. A frown creased her forehead the moment she realized that it was her manager who called. ¡°I wonder what¡¯s the urgent matter. I can¡¯t even rest in peace during my break,¡± she grumbled with frustration. After mumbling to herself, she swiped on her phone screen to answer the call, ¡°Hello, Huahua.¡± ¡°Xiaoyan, our CEO called me personally this afternoon to inform me that there¡¯s a social gathering tonight which he wants you to attend. He was very insistent, I couldn¡¯t turn him down with an excuse. He even mentioned that he¡¯s going to terminate your participation in filming for the new drama series if you don¡¯t show up tonight. Well, I¡¯m sure you know there are many fresh faces in the industry who are vying for the chance to steal the spotlight. We can¡¯t be willful and risk losing out to them. I¡¯ll send you your outfitter in the afternoon. I¡¯ve already agreed on your behalf.¡± Song Yan threw her head back and let out a long sigh. ¡°Things are different for me now. It¡¯s not like you don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Rest assured, I¡¯ll help you drink the alcohol. You¡¯ll at most have to take just a few sips.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t afford to even drink a few sips. Why didn¡¯t you discuss it with me beforehand? You¡¯re always agreeing on my behalf without asking for my opinion.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t have a choice either. Besides, you¡¯ll be fine with me by your side,¡± said the manager, who seemed to be put in a spot. Song Yan hung up immediately. Having guessed that it was work-rted matters though he did not hear their conversation, Ling Ciye asked, ¡°Do you have to work in the afternoon?¡± ¡°No, I just have a social gathering to attend this evening.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll bepelled to drink at those gatherings. Just turn it down then.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to give it a miss too, but my boss insists that I go.¡± Ling Ciye stared at her solemnly and said, ¡°Song Yan, we¡¯ve had so many arguments over how you should live your life after we get married. There¡¯s nothing to argue about anymore. Now that you¡¯re pregnant, I¡¯ll prepare the wedding and marry you as soon as possible. But now, we ought to re-evaluate this crucial matter. After we get married, I¡¯ll still allow you to continue being a celebrity, but you¡¯ll have to know your limits and boundaries.¡± ¡°Thepany arranges everything. I don¡¯t have a say at all. I¡¯ve always been doing as I was instructed.¡± ¡°There you go again. Are you still going to stay out every day and only see me once in a while, even after we¡¯re married?¡± After a moment of silence, Song Yan answered, ¡°Being an actress and singer has always been my job. I now have an established career and am one of the most famous actresses in the country. I don¡¯t wish to give that all up because of marriage and having a child.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t force you to give it all up. I¡¯m just saying that I¡¯m fine with you releasing an album and filming a movie every year, but not with you being busy all year round,¡± Ling Ciye retorted. He would feel extremely frustrated when they got to the touchy topic of her career. ¡°But Ciye, filming just one movie a year is going to take a toll on my fame and poprity. If the movie turns out to be a low-quality one or doesn¡¯t receive good ratings, I¡¯ll very soon be surpassed by newbies. Do you know howpetitive the entertainment industry is?¡± ¡°Song Yan, you can¡¯t enjoy fame forever. A career is indeed important to a woman, but shouldn¡¯t your family be your priority? I want a wife who can spend a lot of quality time with me, not one who has a busier career than I do. We¡¯re not cash-strapped or struggling to make ends meet anyway. Why are you so obstinate?¡± ¡°Yes, we may not be short of money, but working hard to maintain an established career matters to my pride.¡± Ling Ciye stared at her and remained silent. Nothing constructive ever came out of their discussion and arguments whenever they got to that topic. Noticing the awful expression on his face, Song Yan knew that he was suppressing his anger again. ¡°Ciye, like you said, I won¡¯t enjoy fame forever. Perhaps when my poprity has died down, I¡¯ll really end up having only one movie to film a year. By then, I might even be willing to retire from my career and leave the entertainment industry withoutints.¡± Ling Ciye turned around to leave the bedroom and did not answer her. ¡°Ciye...¡± Chapter 418 - The Secret About the Past (36)

Chapter 418: The Secret About the Past (36)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡ª It was exceptionally quiet at the dining table. No one dared to utter a single word and instead just tucked into their food silently. Madam Xu looked at her daughter and husband before putting down her bowl and chopsticks. Noticing that she was about to stand up, Xu Yang stopped her, ¡°Mother, don¡¯t go yet.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Madam Xu sat down again. ¡°After thinking about it, I decided to tell you and Father about this matter,¡± said Xu Yang as he shot Xu Youran a nce. ¡°Brother! Didn¡¯t you promise me earlier?¡± Xu Youran eximed, seemingly having guessed what he was going to say. Xu Yang looked away and ignored her. ¡°Youran was the one behind Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s suicide.¡± Madam Xu turned to re at Xu Youran and questioned her, ¡°Is what your Brother said true?¡± ¡°Yes, but, Chi Rui¡¯er killed someone before. She deserves to die.¡± ¡°She killed someone, but weren¡¯t you the one who chose to save her back then? If you really wanted to punish her, you could¡¯ve just allowed her to be sentenced to death for murdering someone. Why did you spare her life? What did you promise me previously? Youran, I really didn¡¯t expect you to still be so unrepentant!¡± Madam Xu hollered. Military Commander Xu was much calmer this timepared to Madam Xu, perhaps because he had already guessed that she would not turn over a new leaf so easily. ¡°Just our luck to have you as our daughter, Xu Youran.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got such a troublemaker for a sister. Not only did you implicate Father and Brother, you¡¯re even trying to drag the entire family down with you. Father, if you keep conniving with her, I really can¡¯t imagine what other trouble she¡¯ll bring!¡± Xu Cai gibed sarcastically. ¡°Brother, are you trying to ask Father to get rid of me? Elder Brother, you¡¯re such a traitor. You clearly promised me not to tell anyone about it. What¡¯s the point of helping me settle everything if you¡¯re still going to expose me in the end?¡± Xu Youran retorted. ¡°That¡¯s because I heard a piece of news today that would be disadvantageous to our family,¡± Xu Yang said unhurriedly while holding his chopsticks. Madam Xu turned towards him and asked, ¡°What was it?¡± ¡°An Xiaoning has acknowledged both the Jin and the Lin families as her Godparents. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s true, but it has reached my ears. If it¡¯s true, An Xiaoning would definitely not let Youran off. But, regardless of whether it¡¯s true or not, we can¡¯t let Youran create any more disturbances, Father,¡± said Xu Yang. Military Commander Xu raised his brows and answered, ¡°I doubt it¡¯s true. The Jin and the Lin families are extremely powerful and well-known families. How could they possibly take the same person to be their Goddaughter? I find it very unlikely. But Xu Yang is right. Regardless of whether it¡¯s true or not, Youran can¡¯t be spoiled any further. This has happened over and over again, and I¡¯ve reached the limits of my tolerance. Youran, you¡¯ve repeatedly gone against my instruction. It¡¯s time you undergo strict training with the military.¡± ¡°Father, are you making me join the army?¡± Xu Youran asked in astonishment. ¡°Yes, surrender your bank card and car before you join the army. I believe you won¡¯t have time to wreak havoc when you¡¯re under the strict supervision of the military. No one is allowed to plead for mercy on her behalf. This time, she must be put through proper training,¡± Military Commander Xu warned sternly, extremely determined to teach her a lesson. ¡°Who would bother pleading for her? She¡¯s already caused the family so much trouble. Father, it¡¯s best if you keep her in the army for the rest of her life and never ever let her out again,¡± Xu Cai scorned. ¡°Brother! Why don¡¯t you just say it¡¯s best if I die in the army?¡± Xu Youran retorted angrily, upset at her brother¡¯s gloating. ¡°Sounds like a good idea too.¡± ¡°You...¡± ¡°There¡¯s still some time to go before your wedding with Gu Dongcheng. Just stay with the army for the time being before your wedding. After you get married, I¡¯ll be washing my hands off your affairs since you¡¯ll be a member of the Gu family by then. We will no longer make decisions for you either,¡± said Military Commander Xu. Xu Cai sighed in dismay and said, ¡°I thought it¡¯d be longer, turns out it¡¯s only up ¡¯til her wedding. That¡¯s way too short.¡± Xu Youran felt a slight sense of relief. At least she would no longer have to stay with the army after she¡¯s married. ¡°Father, when are you going to send me in?¡± ¡°Today.¡± Military Commander Xu left the dining table as soon as he finished speaking. Madam Xu heaved a huge sigh of relief. She was sick of and exhausted from worrying about her daughter all the time. After packing the necessary items, Madam Xu embarked on her journey to the temple on the mountains to pray and burn some incense. Madam Xu confided in the Reverend after burning the incense. ¡°My daughter, Youran, is always getting into trouble and making everyone in the family worry about her. We¡¯re honestly all mentally and physically exhausted. Reverend, could you please help me take a look at her fortune?¡± ¡°Please tell me her birth characters, Madam.¡± ¡°She was born in the evening of the 15th of July, year XXXX. She¡¯s 29 years old this year and her name is Xu Youran, she lives in...¡± Madam Xu revealed her daughter¡¯s information. The Reverend closed his eyes and opened them again. ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s her birth date?¡± ¡°Yes, I remember it very clearly.¡± ¡°You said that your daughter often wreaks havoc, right?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± Shaking his head, the Reverend answered, ¡°No. Based on her birth date, she¡¯s not one to stir trouble. I only ever tell the truth. The birth characters of your child show that she¡¯s going to live a promising life. Although there are ws in her life, there¡¯ll be other aspects which make up for it, allowing her to live a fulfilling life. Your child is very blessed and fortunate. She¡¯s also very popr with the opposite gender, and her rtionship is going to flourish. In fact, it could be said that her other half treats her like she meant the world to him.¡± Madam Xu shook her head in bewilderment. ¡°Reverend, what you mentioned ispletely different from what I know about her. I can¡¯t see how she¡¯s fortunate at all.¡± ¡°I was just deducing based on the birth characters you gave me. That¡¯s all I could decipher from the set of birth characters.¡± ¡°Maybe she¡¯ll really change in the future.¡± Not only did Madam Xu not get the reassurance she needed, she in fact became even more worried. Once she returned home, she told her husband about what the Reverend said. After pondering over what Madam Xu said, Military Commander Xu asked, ¡°Did the Reverend really say that?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Why do I feel like his description doesn¡¯t match Youran at all?¡± ¡°Exactly. I really wonder where Youran got her evil tendencies and maniptive behavior from. You and I aren¡¯t such malicious people, neither are Xu Yang and Xu Cai like her at all. I just can¡¯t wrap my head around why my daughter would turn out to be like that. Don¡¯t they always say that gics and personality traits are hereditary?¡± Madam Xu said in puzzlement. ¡°Father, I¡¯ve packed my belongings,¡± said Xu Youran as she walked towards them while carrying her luggage. Madam Xu gestured for her to approach and said, ¡°Put down your luggage, I¡¯d like to talk to you about something.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± asked Xu Youran as she took a seat. ¡°How does Gu Dongcheng treat you?¡± ¡°Very well.¡± ¡°Is he willing to sacrifice his life for you?¡± Xu Youran snorted withughter and said, ¡°Mother, how¡¯s that possible? I wouldn¡¯t be willing to give up my life for him either, why would he do that for me?¡± ¡°Then... Youran, do you have many male friends?¡± Madam Xu asked. ¡°Not really.¡± ¡°Do you have lots of suitors?¡± ¡°Mother, what¡¯s wrong with you? I don¡¯t have that many suitors, though they¡¯re notpletely non-existent.¡± Madam Xu shot her husband a nce, feeling as if none of the conditions of her daughter¡¯s life fit the Reverend¡¯s description at all. Could it be that the Reverend was inurate with his readings? It can¡¯t be. Madam Xu was extremely perplexed and frustrated. ¡°Mother, why did you ask me such strange questions out of the blue?¡± asked Xu Youran. ¡°Nothing. Go join your father in the military for a period of time.¡± Chapter 419 - The Secret About the Past (37)

Chapter 419: The Secret About the Past (37)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡ª ¡°Young Madam, I¡¯ve managed to find out about the matter you instructed me to look into. It¡¯s said that the Reverend lives deep inside the mountains and many wealthy people have tried to consult him to no avail.¡± ¡°Have you found out the exact location?¡± ¡°Yes, I have.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go right now.¡± ¡°Young Madam, you want to head there now?¡± Fan Shixin asked in astonishment. ¡°I still think this matter is more important. Arrange for the helicopter to take us there, it¡¯d be more convenient that way.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do that right away.¡± An Xiaoning shut down theputer and sorted the documents. She then put on her coat and left together with Fan Shixin. An Xiaoning drove back to Wei Ni Estate and changed into a sports attire. She also brought along two extra sets as well as all the necessary items. After she was done preparing, she drove towards her private hangar. An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin boarded the helicopter together with some bodyguards. Soon, the helicopter began revolving above Wei Ni Estate and took off towards their destination. The afternoon sky was brightly lit with fluffy white clouds swaying in the wind. An Xiaoning¡¯s spirits were lifted as she gazed at the vast, clear sky. ¡°Do you think the Reverend would be able to read your Young Sir¡¯s fortune?¡± she asked Fan Shixin, who was sitting beside her. ¡°Not necessarily. Young Madam, if even a capable fortune-teller like you can¡¯t read Young Sir¡¯s fortune, I doubt this Reverend would be able to. But, that actually puzzles me. Young Madam, what types of people won¡¯t be able to have their fortune told?¡± ¡°Extraordinary ones. Well, at least that¡¯s one I¡¯m very certain about, because I can¡¯t read my own either,¡± An Xiaoning answered. ¡°Young Sir is indeed extraordinary. That¡¯s why I think it¡¯s very likely that he¡¯s still alive now. Since he¡¯s no ordinary person, how could he possibly die so easily?¡± Fan Shixin remarked. ¡°You have a point. I think so too. If this Reverend we¡¯re looking for can really tell that Qingyan is still alive, then Shixin, we have to find him at all costs, even if it means we have to search through the entire N Nation.¡± ¡°That goes without saying,¡± said Fan Shixin, appearing extremely hopeful and optimistic. The helicopter flew towards an area surrounded by mountains and woods. After about an hour, it arrived at a barend. Uponnding, An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin got down from the helicopter together with the bodyguards. ¡°It should be near here. I don¡¯t know the exact details though.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll just look around then.¡±An Xiaoning then turned to the bodyguards behind her and instructed, ¡°Let¡¯s look in opposite directions. A few of you will follow Chief Fan while the rest of you shall follow me.¡± ¡°Young Madam, there¡¯s no mobilework reception here. I think it¡¯s better to stay together. Although it may be slower that way, it¡¯ll at least be safer.¡± ¡°That¡¯ll do too,¡± An Xiaoning agreed. They proceeded to search in a certain direction. After covering a long distance and walking until their legs ached, they still did not manage to find a single trace of a human living in the area. Thus, they decided to continue searching in another direction instead. Atst, they were greeted with a surprise. They caught sight of a wooden house just a short distance away. They lit up with joy and began walking towards the house. Upon arriving, they discovered that there were two sheep leashed to the front of the house and some chickens in the courtyard. There were also vegetables being grown in the garden. ¡°Is anyone in?¡± An Xiaoning called. No one responded. An Xiaoning walked up the short flight of stairs and stopped in front of the wooden house. Instead of pushing the door open right away, she called out again gently, ¡°Is there anyone home?¡± Finally, an old-sounding voice answered, ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± Upon hearing that it was an elderly man who answered, An Xiaoning immediately said, ¡°Hello, Uncle. I¡¯m An Xiaoning from the city, I heard that you are revered by many and exceptionally skilled in fortune-telling. My husband went missing during a tsunami, and we don¡¯t know if he¡¯s dead or alive. I¡¯d like to seek your help to deduce if he¡¯s still alive. I¡¯m a fortune-teller myself, but sadly, I can¡¯t seem to read his fortune and fate.¡± ¡°Get your people to stay in the yard. You may enter alone.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± An Xiaoning gestured for Fan Shixin and the bodyguards to leave. ¡°Wait for me down there.¡± Fan Shixin immediately proceeded as instructed with his subordinates. ¡°Come in.¡± An Xiaoning pushed the door open gently. It was not dark inside the house, and there were two windows at the sides which were left widely open. She entered to see an elderly man sitting right in the middle of the room. He was sitting on a quilt on the ground. The room was extremely in and minimalistic, without even a bed in sight. Clearly, the elderly man was sitting on the spot where he would usually sleep. An Xiaoning stepped forward and bowed to him respectfully before greeting, ¡°Hello, Uncle. I¡¯m An Xiaoning.¡± The elderly man opened his eyes and said, ¡°Please take a seat.¡± Since there were no chairs, An Xiaoning sat directly onto the ground, just like he did. ¡°What are your husband¡¯s birth characters?¡± ¡°He was born on the 16th of October, Year XXXX at 12 noon.¡± ¡°What¡¯s his name?¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan.¡± ¡°Where is he from?¡± An Xiaoning told him Jin Qingyan¡¯s home address. ¡°You mentioned that you were a fortune-teller?¡± asked the elderly man. ¡°Yes, Nun Jingxin was my Master. She took me under her wing when I was young, and I grew up with her on the mountains.¡± ¡°Were you born in the middle of July?¡± he asked, though he sounded very certain. ¡°Yes, how did you know, Uncle?¡± ¡°You¡¯re a rare one. You¡¯re a gifted individual who¡¯s naturally spiritual and psychic. You¡¯re fated to stand out be extraordinary. Shall we strike a deal?¡± he asked with a smile. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I¡¯m getting too lonely living here by myself. If you¡¯re willing to move in here with me for a month and apany me to chit-chat, cook, or feed the chickens and cattle, not only will I tell you whether or not your husband¡¯s still alive, I¡¯ll also tell you everything else about him.¡± It was a house nestled deep within the mountains and woods, with no reception or connection to the outside world at all. However, she knew that in today¡¯s society, such problems could easily be solved with money. Thus, she agreed right away without hesitation. ¡°What a straightforward littless. The living conditions here are too minimalistic and simple, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll have a hard time adapting,¡± said the elderly man, grinning from ear to ear. ¡°Uncle, I can live in a luxury mansion, and I can simrly thrive in a dpidated ce with simple living conditions. If you¡¯re able to manage, why won¡¯t I be as well?¡± ¡°Great,¡± said the elderly, who admired her determination. From that moment onwards, Fan Shixin became the tool of transport between the house and the city. In order to allow herptops to function properly, Fan Shixin brought a special adapter which would allow for long-range connection and for mobilework signals to be received. ording to An Xiaoning¡¯s instructions, he visited her at the house every day with the sole purpose of reporting to her about thepany matters and did not bring along any food or quilts. An Xiaoning moved into the elderly man¡¯s house together with her bodyguards, Xiao Huang, Xiao Bai, and Xiao Zi. They had all their meals together and lived harmoniously in peace and joy. They would often gather in a circle to chit-chat merrily. Day after day, the routine continued, regardless of rain or shine. From that day onwards, An Xiaoning did not ask the elderly man a single question regarding Jin Qingyan. However, she was constantly counting the days in her heart. Time passed from April to May. She lived there for one entire month. Due to the fact that she was away for a month, the acknowledgement ceremony with her Godparents had to be postponed. Fortunately, both the Jin and the Lin families agreed to wait for her to return before holding the ceremony. Chapter 420 - The Secret About the Past (38)

Chapter 420: The Secret About the Past (38)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios One month was considered neither long nor short. The day that An Xiaoning had been waiting for finally arrived. On this very day, the skies were clear and vast. The weather was more pleasant than ever. An Xiaoning woke up bright and early in the morning to feed the sheep and chickens. She then cleaned the yard and garden before proceeding to make some breakfast by herself, despite having substandard culinary skills. After having breakfast together, Xiao Huang and his colleagues took charge of washing the dishes. An Xiaoning and the elderly man were the only ones left in the room. They sat down facing each other, both smiling widely. ¡°You¡¯re really such a patientss. I believe you¡¯d be willing and patient enough even if I made you stay here for a year. But, I¡¯m not such an unreasonable person. I reckon you must be extremely eager and anxious to know your husband¡¯s fate. I shall reveal it to you right now,¡± said the elderly man. An Xiaoning held her breath and kept her eyes fixed on him. ¡°Based on the name, birth characters, and home address you gave me, your husband is still alive.¡± His words empowered An Xiaoning and gave her endless hope. Tears streamed down her face uncontrobly, and she was sent into a state of agitation. ¡°Really?¡± she asked, unsure where she should ce her hands. ¡°Absolutely, without a doubt. He¡¯s not an ordinary person. I would¡¯ve found it very peculiar if it were anyone else. But, it¡¯s understandable since he¡¯s a descendant of the Jin family.¡± ¡°Uncle, what do you mean?¡± ¡°The Jin family used to be arge family with extended members. It¡¯s actually rather shocking to see how few descendants there are left today. Since you¡¯re the daughter-inw of the Jin family, shouldn¡¯t you be aware of the reason why the Jin family is extraordinary?¡± An Xiaoning shook her head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°How could you not be aware of that? Didn¡¯t the elders of the Jin family tell you about it before? The Jin family are the descendants of the Dragon.¡± ¡°What!?!¡± An Xiaoning gasped in utter shock, as if she had just heard the most absurd thing ever. ¡°The ancestor of the Jin family fell in love with the Dragon Maiden and gave rise to their descendants. The Jin family bloodline had always been extraordinary. The reason why there had been peace within the family for so long is merely because their family heirloom has yet to unleash its power. They¡¯re not suspiciously different from ordinary people, apart from being much more intelligent.¡± An Xiaoning was suddenly reminded of the jade ring on Jin Qingyan¡¯s thumb, which was sculpted in the shape of a dragon. ¡°Uncle, I think I know what heirloom you¡¯re talking about. My husband has shown it to me before,¡± she said, overwhelmed with shock and bewilderment. ¡°I heard that the Jin family heirloom is spiritual and would never leave once it has found its owner.¡± An Xiaoning immediately understood upon recalling how Jin Qingyan could never remove the ring on his thumb. ¡°Uncle, what are the purposes of their family heirloom?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not too sure about the rest, but one thing I know for sure is that it protects the life of its owner. After the passing of so many generations, I reckon the Jin family may no longer be clear about the purposes of the family heirloom.¡± ¡°Uncle, how did you know about these? I know you¡¯re not an ordinary person, but I just feel like you seem to know everything about the Jin family and their ancestors. Could you possibly be a deity?¡± An Xiaoning asked while staring at him intently. The elderly man smiled without answering her question. ¡°That¡¯s enough. Now that you know your husband is still alive, shouldn¡¯t you be hurrying along to look for him?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± An Xiaoning stood up and bowed down to him before saying, ¡°Thank you, Uncle. When I¡¯ve found my husband, I¡¯ll bring him here to thank you again.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. We won¡¯t meet again.¡± Knowing that the elderly man did not wish to be disturbed or imposed on, An Xiaoning did not say anything else and instead retreated out of the room slowly. Fan Shixin was already waiting for her in the yard. ¡°Young Madam, has he told you yet?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± she said, taking the lead. They then followed her and walked out of the courtyard. An Xiaoning turned behind to take onest nce before leaving. While they were on the helicopter, Fan Shixin asked, ¡°Did Uncle mention the exact location?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a fortune-teller, not a global positioning system. How could he possibly deduce the location too? It¡¯s enough to know that Qingyan is still alive. At least my efforts and time didn¡¯t go to waste. I have a strong feeling that this elderly man seems to be a deity or something of the sort. He doesn¡¯t seem to be an ordinary fortune-teller,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Young Madam, fortune-tellers like you are extraordinary to begin with. Look, you couldn¡¯t read Young Sir¡¯s fortune, but the elderly man managed to. That just means he¡¯s superior in terms of capability. He definitely isn¡¯t ordinary since he¡¯s willing to live alone on the mountains in the woods and is not after fame or money.¡± ¡°He even knows about the Jin family¡¯s history and ancestors. That was what really surprised me.¡± ¡°Given what you said, why do I feel like he¡¯s been living for a lot of years?¡± ¡°Shixin, turn the helicopter around. I¡¯d like to speak to the elderly man about something.¡± Fan Shixin nodded in agreement. They then walked along the route back to the elderly man¡¯s abode. To their astonishment, the yard was missing and the wooden house was no longer in sight, as if it had never existed in the first ce. ¡°Young Madam... what¡¯s going on? We didn¡¯t go the wrong way. I¡¯ve been taking this route every single day for the past month. It¡¯s impossible that I¡¯ve made a mistake. Where¡¯s the wooden house? Where¡¯s Uncle?¡± An Xiaoning immediately understood the situation. ¡°I initially wanted to ask Uncle how old he was this year. Seems like there¡¯s no need for that anymore.¡± ¡°Young Madam, what do you mean...¡± ¡°Nothing is impossible in this world. Uncle is indeed no ordinary human. Perhaps he had used a diversionary trick to keep the wooden housepletely obscured. Or perhaps the wooden house, the sheep, and the chickens never existed in the first ce. Maybe Uncle is not even human and is a deity from Heaven. Let¡¯s leave this ce and stop imposing on him,¡± said An Xiaoning, gesturing for them to leave. ¡°Yes.¡± On the flight back home, An Xiaoning instructed sternly, ¡°You¡¯re all not to breathe a single word about what happened here to anyone at all. Hear me?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± they chorused unanimously. ¡°But, Young Madam, that was really so incredible and fantastical. I wouldn¡¯t have believed it if I hadn¡¯t seen it with my own eyes. I think he was putting you to a test by making you live with him for a month, Young Madam,¡± said Xiao Huang. ¡°Yeah, he probably knows what he¡¯d like to test about me. Let¡¯s not dwell on those any further.¡± An Xiaoning turned to face Fan Shixin and asked, ¡°Where did you hear about this Reverend?¡± ¡°I found out about him from my father. My father has been working for the Jin family for years. He¡¯s been cultivating agriculture in the old mansion.¡± ¡°Your father told you?¡± An Xiaoning asked in surprise. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Who did your father hear about it from?¡± An Xiaoning asked. How could a gardener possibly know of the existence of such a powerful Reverend? she wondered in her head. ¡°I reckon he must¡¯ve heard it from others. My father told me that many people in the past, including the wealthy and the powerful, have gone to the ce we went in a bid to look for the Reverend, but to no avail. It sounded really unbelievable. There was an uproar because no one managed to see him then, ording to my father,¡± Fan Shixin exined. An Xiaoning nodded in acknowledgment and said, ¡°Oh, I see. So many people failed to see him, but we managed to seed on the first try. Shixin, do you think that¡¯s fate?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°If fate allows, we¡¯ll get to see Uncle again in the future. Even if we don¡¯t, it¡¯d be a blessing to have at least met him once in my life.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, Young Madam. Since Uncle has revealed that Young Sir is still alive, we have to buck up and keep searching for him carefully.¡± Chapter 421 - The Secret About the Past (39)

Chapter 421: The Secret About the Past (39)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning looked out of the window and said, ¡°I think he is around the vicinity of the spot where he plunged into at the start. But, we can¡¯t be sure now since it¡¯s already been more than a month. Even if he was injured, he should¡¯ve almost recovered by now. This just makes it harder for us to find him. Shixin, don¡¯t you find something unusual about this?¡± ¡°What¡¯s so unusual?¡± ¡°By rights, Qingyan¡¯s injuries should be more or less recovered by now if he¡¯s still alive. Since he¡¯s still alive, why hasn¡¯t hee back to us?¡± said An Xiaoning, making eye contact with him. ¡°Maybe he doesn¡¯t have money for transport?¡± ¡°But we¡¯ve already put up many notices in that area and announced that we¡¯re searching for him and offering a mary reward to whoever finds him. If anyone had seen him, they would¡¯ve definitely contacted us for the reward. Five million dors is not a small sum to many, let alone victims of a disaster who are undoubtedly in desperate need for money. Even if Qingyan is penniless, he could¡¯ve also looked for the members of our rescue team or borrowed some money to call us. Given his intelligence, he would¡¯ve surely found a way to reach us. Yet, why hasn¡¯t he returned?¡± An Xiaoning questioned in puzzlement. ¡°Young Madam, could he have been trapped?¡± Fan Shixin asked with a frown. After analyzing the situation, An Xiaoning said, ¡°I think there are two possibilities. One could be that he has been kidnapped, and the other, that he has lost his memory.¡± ¡°Lost his memory?¡± asked Fan Shixin, gaping with shock. ¡°Based on the scenario and conditions, those are the only two possibilities I cane up with. During the tsunami, he plunged straight down into the ocean from the helicopter. The waves were way too huge to have allowed him to swim away. Besides, there was another massive wave soon after hended in the ocean, which must¡¯ve washed him much further away. Think about it, there are so many boulders along the coast. If he got washed up ashore, it¡¯s very likely that he had hit his head on one of those boulders. Moreover...¡± After some thought, she continued, ¡°Amnesia is a verymon disorder in our lives. You may go to the hospital to observe the patients or browse through news online. There had been so many incidents that all resulted in amnesia, such as methane poisoning or a car ident. Memory loss may be temporary or long-term, and some victims may even suffer from short-term memory. These could¡¯ve happened to him. So, the only two possibilities now are that he¡¯s either trapped or suffering from amnesia.¡± ¡°Young Madam, you make so much sense. After hearing what you said, I also think that these are the only two possibilities. As long as Young Sir is still alive, we¡¯ll definitely find him,¡± Fan Shixin said confidently. ¡°Yes, I think so too. But we have to rack our brains for a solution to find him quickly with no blunders.¡± The helicopter soon arrived in the hangar of Wei Ni Estate. The first thing An Xiaoning did once she returned home after alighting from the helicopter was to take a shower and change into a fresh set of clothes. After getting dressed, she packed some clothes into a small luggage and made her way downstairs. ¡°Young Madam, didn¡¯t you mention that you¡¯re going to proceed with the acknowledgment ceremony as soon as youe back?¡± ¡°Nothing¡¯s more important to me now than finding your Young Sir. The ceremony can wait. I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s going to drift farther and farther away from me the longer I dy the search. Perhaps he had already gone somewhere else, we can¡¯t be too sure about it. I think it might be better for me to search for him alone rather than deploying rescue teams, which will catch too much attention. Shixin, report to me about the matters at the office every day. I¡¯ll leave you to take care of the things at home,¡± An Xiaoning said softly. ¡°Young Madam, I¡¯ll be worried about your safety if you go alone.¡± ¡°Are you worried about my reflexes and mybat skills? I¡¯ve taken safety precautions and armed myself with two daggers, a whip, and two guns, each containing thirty bullets.¡± Fan Shixin did not utter another word of disapproval, for he could tell from the look of determination in An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes that she was unstoppable. ¡°Alright, go ahead then. Leave everything here to me. But, I still think searching for him by yourself is akin to finding a needle in a haystack...¡± ¡°It won¡¯t be. I have my own ways. You don¡¯t have to worry.¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t seen Little Sir in a month. Would you like to take a look at him before leaving?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll set off after lunch.¡± She had initially wanted to have lunch at home. However, she received a call from Mrs. Gu even before noontime. Mrs. Gu called to say that she had missed An Xiaoning after not seeing her for so long and wanted her to return to the Gu family home for lunch. An Xiaoning agreed. She proceeded to pick Jin Yiheng up from school in the afternoon and brought him back to the Gu family home. ¡°Hey, my little grandchild. Come with Grandma,¡± said Mrs. Gu as she held Jin Yiheng by his hand and entered the house. ¡°Mother, I haven¡¯t seen you in so long. You¡¯re looking more energized and radiant than before.¡± ¡°Of course, that¡¯s because I¡¯m in a good mood.¡± They sat down on the couch, after which Mrs. Gu asked, ¡°I heard you went to live in the mountains for a month. What were you there for?¡± ¡°To visit a master. He insisted that I live there for a month, so I did,¡± An Xiaoning said smilingly. ¡°Oh, I see. I was wondering why I couldn¡¯t reach you on your mobile phone. I only knew you went to the mountains after Beicheng went to look for you.¡± An Xiaoning ced both hands on herp and said smilingly, ¡°By the way, Mother, I have something to tell you guyster.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll announce itter when everyone is present.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you tell me first?¡± Mrs. Gu urged. Thus, An Xiaoning decided to tell her, ¡°I¡¯ll be setting offter in the afternoon to somewhere far away for a period of time. When I return, I¡¯ll be holding an acknowledgment ceremony with the Chief-of-Staff¡¯s and Commander-in-Chief¡¯s families.¡± ¡°Acknowledgment ceremony?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve agreed to be their Goddaughter.¡± ¡°Both families? That¡¯s splendid, Xiaoning. Others don¡¯t even get the chance to acknowledge one, yet you managed to acknowledge both families at once to be your Godparents,¡± said Mrs. Gu, pleased to hear the piece of good news. ¡°Heaven must have taken pity on me for being an orphan and decided to bless me with three sets of parents.¡± Mrs. Gu chuckled and said, ¡°Yes, yes. But, I¡¯m getting a little jealous. Are you going to stop wanting to see me after you¡¯ve acknowledged two other Godmothers?¡± ¡°Of course not, Mother. In the future, the three of you will matter the same to me. The Xu family is being too tyrannical, bullying me to the extreme. Xu Youran has been trying to kill me time and time again. Yet, she¡¯s going to be my sister-inw and my family soon. Mother, it¡¯s going to be tough for me if I don¡¯t have a stronger backing behind me. So, once they¡¯re married, you, Father, and Beicheng have to be extra cautious whenever I¡¯m not around,¡± An Xiaoning said softly. Mrs. Gu understood An Xiaoning¡¯s concerns and hugged her gently. ¡°Mother understands. Xiaoning, I¡¯m very happy that you¡¯ll be able to acknowledge them as your Godparents.¡± Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi returned home to the heartwarming sight of Mrs. Gu and An Xiaoning in each other¡¯s embrace. Gu Beicheng lit up with joy and joked, ¡°I get a little jealous every time I see Mother and Xiaoning being so chummy with each other.¡± ¡°What are you getting jealous for? We¡¯re mother and daughter. Isn¡¯t it only normal for us to get along well?¡± Mrs. Gu retorted. ¡°Xiaoning, Mother has been urging me to look for you in Wei Ni Estate repeatedly when she couldn¡¯t reach you during the time that you were away. She was worried sick about you and kept asking about what was going on.¡± Gu Beicheng sat down and crossed a leg over another. ¡°I was filled with envy and jealousy when I saw how much more concerned and caring Mother was towards you than she is to me,¡± he continued. Mrs. Gu giggled in amusement and said, ¡°I see you almost every day, do you really need special concern?¡± Chapter 422 - The Secret About the Past (40)

Chapter 422: The Secret About the Past (40)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Gu Beicheng shifted his gaze onto An Xiaoning and scanned her from head to toe before saying, ¡°Did you go experience life as a nun on the mountains? I haven¡¯t seen you in a while. Why have you be so thin?¡± An Xiaoning remained silent, at a loss for words. The Gu family gathered around the dining table for lunch. Before An Xiaoning even spoke, Mrs. Gu announced, ¡°Xiaoning just told me that she¡¯s going to be the Goddaughter of the Chief-of-Staff¡¯s and Commander-in-Chief¡¯s families.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Mr. Gu asked in astonishment. ¡°Of course. Ask Xiaoning yourself if you don¡¯t believe me,¡± Mrs. Gu said gleefully. ¡°It¡¯s true. We¡¯ll be putting the ceremony on hold for the time being, though. I¡¯m too busytely,¡± said An Xiaoning while putting on a pair of disposable gloves to peel some prawns. ¡°I was really happy for Xiaoning after hearing about it. Let¡¯s see which scumbag dares toy a finger on our Xiaoning in the future,¡± said Mrs. Gu. Gu Beicheng burst intoughter and looked at An Xiaoning, who was seated opposite him. ¡°You really surprised me.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve surprised you in so many ways before and there are more toe. This is considered nothing,¡± An Xiaoning bantered. ¡°Indeed.¡± Gu Beicheng helped his godson to the dishes and said, ¡°Youqing, eat more.¡± ¡°Daddy, I¡¯ve changed my name. I¡¯m no longer called Youqing. My name is now Jin Yiheng.¡± ¡°But Daddy likes calling you ¡®Youqing.¡¯ What am I supposed to do now?¡± ¡°Alright, you call the shots since you¡¯re old,¡± said Jin Yiheng. Gu Beicheng guffawed and chided teasingly, ¡°You little rascal.¡± ¡°If I¡¯m a little rascal, are you a big rascal, Daddy?¡± ¡°...¡± Everyone at the dining table burst intoughter, except Lin Mingxi, who was a little displeased. She was irritated about the fact that An Xiaoning¡¯s son addressed Gu Beicheng as his ¡°Daddy.¡± It felt as if the three of them were a family while she, thewful wife of Gu Beicheng, seemed to be the redundant outsider instead. Moreover, what she found intolerable was the fact that Gu Beicheng merely mentioned that he had a godson but did not tell her that An Xiaoning was the mother. Why did he have to be the child¡¯s godfather when he¡¯s clearly supposed to be the uncle? Lin Mingxi suppressed her anger and did not reveal her emotions, up until it was time to leave. She grew visibly upset when Jin Yiheng addressed her as ¡°Auntie.¡± ¡°Why does he call you Daddy but addresses me as ¡®Auntie¡¯?¡± Lin Mingxi asked Gu Beicheng in disgruntlement. ¡°Can¡¯t you see that he hasn¡¯t warmed up to you yet? He¡¯ll naturally address you as his Godma when he bes familiar with you. But, what¡¯s wrong with calling you ¡®Auntie¡¯? You are his Auntie, all right. It shouldn¡¯t matter,¡± said Gu Beicheng. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter to you, but it matters to me. You seemed really happy to be his father. Others might just mistake you to be his biological father,¡± Lin Mingxi said sarcastically, filled with unhappiness. ¡°Yeah, I wish I really was. It¡¯s a shame I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°...¡± Noticing that he was about to walk away, Lin Mingxi hurriedly chased after him and eximed angrily, ¡°Gu Beicheng, don¡¯t you think you¡¯ve gone overboard?¡± ¡°How have I gone overboard?¡± ¡°In every possible way.¡± Realizing that she was upset, Gu Beicheng said, ¡°Both Yiheng and his mother are my kin. Before you and I got married, I was already his godfather for a few years. That was before you showed up. Many things have happened before your appearance in my life, so there¡¯s no need to get so angry and uptight about this. I¡¯ll just get Yiheng to call you ¡®Godma¡¯ the next time he sees you. Okay?¡± Lin Mingxi pursed her lips and decided not to harp on the matter any further. She stepped forward to hug him and said, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s drop the subject.¡± Gu Beicheng put an arm around her shoulder and said, ¡°I won¡¯t be going to the office this afternoon. I shall spend some time with you instead. Where would you like to go? I¡¯ll apany you.¡± Lin Mingxi lit up in surprise and joy as a smile formed on her face immediately. ¡°Now that¡¯s better. I shall take you to meet my friends.¡± ¡°Sure, but I think there¡¯s something more important for us to do than that.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Getting our bridal photos taken. We may have registered our marriage, but we haven¡¯t held a wedding yet. Did you forget about that?¡± Lin Mingxi was delighted to hear his answer. ¡°How could I possibly forget about something so important? I just thought you didn¡¯t want to hold a wedding.¡± Raising his brows in puzzlement, Gu Beicheng asked, ¡°Why would you think so? I¡¯ve always been one to finish what I started. Since I¡¯ve married you, it¡¯s only right that I give you a wedding.¡± Lin Mingxi¡¯s heart began to flutter as she gazed at him. ¡°You¡¯re that happy?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go in,¡± Gu Beicheng said smilingly. ¡ª After dropping Jin Yiheng off at school, An Xiaoning drove back home. Without even taking a break, she immediately carried her luggage and boarded a ne towards N Nation. It was her second time going to N Nation. Yet, she was in apletely different mood aspared to the previous time. An Xiaoning knew that it would not be easy to find him without the help of anyone else. But so what if she had to tread through the mountains awaiting her? She was determined to find him herself and bring him home. He protected her and put her life before his during the tsunami. He buckled her and their child into the safety harness before minding about himself. From today onwards, she wanted to protect him too. She knew it would not be easy. However, she had already made all the necessary preparations. Fortunately, N Nation and S Nation were neighboring countries wherein the nativenguage of Y Nation was widely used. It was not an issue for her since she had previously picked up the foreignnguage. The flightsted for three hours. The ne managed to touch down sessfully. An Xiaoning exited the airport with her luggage and hailed a taxi to where the holiday resort by the beach used to be. The condition of the ce had improved dramatically over a month. However, there were still very few people in sight. Once again, she stepped foot onto this verynd. Trepidation and fear still remained in An Xiaoning¡¯s heart after the trauma. However, she was also filled with hope, which overpowered her anxiety. No one could understand how she felt the moment she heard the elderly man say that Jin Qingyan was still alive. At that very moment, she felt as if she was alive all over again and had found meaning in life. After putting on a surgical mask atop the human skin mask on her face, An Xiaoning began strolling on the streets along the resort. Upon passing by a pedestrian, she asked, ¡°Hello, may I know if there¡¯s a hotel or inn nearby?¡± ¡°You must be here for a vacation. This ce has already been reduced to such a state. How do you even dare toe here? Anyway, there¡¯s an inn ahead, just keep walking straight from here.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± An Xiaoning followed the pedestrian¡¯s instructions and began walking towards the roads ahead. As mentioned by the pedestrian, there was indeed a dpidated inn in front, which appeared rather empty. It was the only building consisting of a few stories that had remained intact after the tsunami. All the other houses and buildings around it had already been ruined beyond recognition. Yet, this particr building had managed to remain intact. Clearly, it was very well built with a strong foundation. ¡°Hello, is this an inn?¡± ¡°Yes, pleasee in,¡± thedy boss of the inn weed her enthusiastically, excited to see a potential guest after experiencing ack of business for a long period of time. ¡°How much does it cost to stay here per night?¡± ¡°100 dors.¡± An Xiaoning handed her the money and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be staying here for a few days, or maybe longer. Can I ask you about something?¡± ¡°Sure, go ahead.¡± ¡°A close kin of mine has gone missing here. Lady Boss, have you ever heard of an extremely handsome man living with anyone you know?¡± ¡°A handsome man?¡± Thedy boss shook her head and answered, ¡°No, I haven¡¯t heard of any. Human flow is scarce here now. It¡¯s actually be much more difficult for people to search for their rtives here because many of the corpses have already been taken away.¡± ¡°Alright, thank you.¡± Thedy boss then brought her to a clean and tidy room upstairs. ¡°Are there still any more rooms upstairs? I¡¯d like to live on a higher floor,¡± An Xiaoning asked. Seemingly having sensed that An Xiaoning was still rather traumatized by the tsunami, thedy boss answered smilingly, ¡°There are some more rooms upstairs. I can move you there as long as you don¡¯t find it a hassle to have to climb up and down so many flights of stairs.¡± Chapter 423 - The Secret About The Past (41)

Chapter 423: The Secret About The Past (41)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I won¡¯t find it tiring at all.¡± An Xiaoning followed thedy boss to a room on the fourth storey. There were tworge windows in the room, one facing the ocean and the other facing a range of mountains. The climate there was much warmerpared to S Nation. The weather happened to be breezy that day. Thus, An Xiaoning decided to open the windows and allow the wind to cool the room. An Xiaoning ced her luggage onto the bed and stood in front of the window to gaze at the ocean from afar. Beneath the calm and peaceful expression on her faceid a growing worry and anxiety. Realizing that it was still early and that the summer sun would only set muchter in the day, An Xiaoning decided it would be a good time to go out and reconnoiter around the area. She brought her personal belongings and important items with her and left her clothes and luggage inside the inn. Despite not knowing if Jin Qingyan was still in the area, she still went ahead with searching for him mindlessly. She asked the residents of every single house she came across and even checked their rooms, one by one. By the time the sun had set and the sky had turned dark, she still made no progress. Several days had passed since An Xiaoning moved into the inn and searched the houses near the beach. Just as she was about to leave to search in another area, thedy boss of the inn asked, ¡°Have you gone to search in the mountains?¡± ¡°The mountains?¡± ¡°Yeah, a lot of people have moved to live in the mountains because they¡¯re afraid that a tsunami would strike again. Thus, many families have settled down in the mountains where they rebuilt their homes.¡± An Xiaoning decided to go have a look. She headed to the mountains that afternoon. Indeed, she caught sight of an abode after walking for just a short while. However, she still could not find him. He was nowhere in sight, despite having searched the houses one by one like she did at those near the beach. Her legs had begun to ache from treading through the mountains painstakingly and searching everywhere by foot the past few days. She sat down on arge rock and took a few sips of water from her bottle of mineral water. Just as she twisted the cap back onto the bottle, An Xiaoning caught sight of a middle-aged woman who was panting heavily and walking in her direction while carrying a bag of items on her shoulders. She also had a bandage around her arm. An Xiaoning stood up and offered to help, ¡°Auntie, let me give you a hand.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, I can manage,¡± Mrs. Bu politely declined. ¡°Your arm is injured. Let me help you,¡± said An Xiaoning as she took the initiative and carried the bag. ¡°Thank you so much then,¡± Mrs. Bu thanked her smilingly. ¡°No problem. Where do you live?¡± ¡°I live just above there, not too far away from here,¡± Mrs. Bu answered, pointing at a spot nearby. ¡°Alright. Auntie, how did your arm get injured?¡± ¡°I went on the mountains to gather some firewood yesterday and fell down identally. My arm got injured in the process, but it¡¯s nothing too serious. You don¡¯t sound like a local, Miss,¡± Mrs. Bu said. ¡°I¡¯m indeed a foreigner. I¡¯m here to look for my family.¡± ¡°To look for your family? Did your family member go missing here?¡± Mrs. Bu asked. ¡°Yes, but I haven¡¯t been able to find him,¡± An Xiaoning said with a wry smile. ¡°May I ask how your family member¡¯s rted to you?¡± An Xiaoning had initially wanted to say that it was her husband. However, she suddenly remembered that she was wearing the human skin mask and thus answered, ¡°He¡¯s my brother.¡± Mrs. Bu¡¯s expression changed upon hearing her answer. ¡°How old is your brother?¡± ¡°32 years old.¡± The tension within Mrs. Bu eased, for she thought that Nick appeared way younger than 32 years old and thus would not likely be An Xiaoning¡¯s brother. ¡°Miss, you¡¯re not that old yourself either, are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not very young actually. I¡¯m already 29 years old.¡± ¡°Twenty-nine? You barely look a day over 23, seriously. You look so young and pretty. I thought you were about my daughter¡¯s age. She¡¯s 23 years old this year.¡± Twenty-nine isn¡¯t that old either ... An Xiaoning thought to herself. Soon, they arrived at Mrs. Bu¡¯s doorstep. An Xiaoning took a look to see that it was a house made of stones and rocks piled atop one another. ¡°Auntie, did you use to live near the beach too?¡± ¡°Yes. We moved here to the mountains ever since the tsunami. Although it¡¯s a remote area and pretty hard to get around, it¡¯s at least safer here. We lived in a tent when we first settled down here. Not long after, my husband and I began moving stones and rocks here one by one to build a house. We still have two more rooms to build actually, but my arm is injured...¡± An Xiaoning took a look around the dpidated house, which did not even have a proper bathroom. ¡°You may leave the things here.¡± An Xiaoning removed the bag from her shoulders and put it down onto the ground. ¡°Miss,e in and have a seat. Thank you so much.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯ll take my leave first.¡± ¡°No worries, don¡¯t be in such a hurry to go. Come in and have a seat. Take a rest before you go,¡± Mrs. Bu insisted, dragging her into the stone house enthusiastically. An Xiaoning had no choice but to sit down. She scanned her surroundings to see that there were no proper furniture in sight and there were several items scattered around the ground. The things in the house were poorly organized, with pots, pans, and crockery lying around. The entire ce was extremely cluttered and seemed just like a warehouse. This was what natural disasters brought to its poor victims. An Xiaoning took the cup of water Mrs. Bu handed her and said, ¡°Thank you, Auntie.¡± ¡°I should be the one thanking you instead. But, are you searching alone for your brother?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Mrs. Bu sat down and said, ¡°Oh dear, it must be tough for such a pretty girl like you to be searching for your family alone in a foreignnd. But you have to be very careful. There are more and more crooks around now because of how little people there are left here. I don¡¯t allow my daughter to go out at night either.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, I can defend myself. I¡¯ve trained in martial arts,¡± An Xiaoning said smilingly. ¡°That¡¯s at least better, but you still ought to be on your guard at all times. It¡¯s not quite safe out there,¡± Mrs. Bu cautioned. There had been many peopleing forth to search for missing persons, and they¡¯ve actuallye by on several asions,¡± she added. ¡°I heard about that from thedy boss of the hotel inn. I even heard that someone is offering a hefty reward to find a missing person,¡± An Xiaoning said agitatedly. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s true. They¡¯re offering five million dors! I¡¯ve never seen so much money before. In fact, I¡¯ve never even dared to imagine having that much money.¡± ¡°Five million? Who¡¯s the person they¡¯re looking for?¡± An Xiaoning asked, pretending to be shocked. ¡°I heard he¡¯s the young sir of some family,¡± Mrs. Bu said with a smile. ¡°This used to be a popr tourist attraction. There¡¯s bound to be many tourists, most of whiche from wealthy families. The people who offered five million dors must be searching for someone from an extremely wealthy family. His family must be worried sick. I can¡¯t even sleep well at night because my brother¡¯s missing, let alone those whose husbands and sons are missing.¡± ¡°Yeah, they must be worried sick and looking for him eagerly, but sadly, there¡¯s nothing much they can do. Are you living in an inn now?¡± Mrs. Bu asked. ¡°Yes, it costs 100 dors a day.¡± ¡°That¡¯s so expensive!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not too bad. Um, Auntie, I shall take my leave now.¡± An Xiaoning stood up slowly and bade Mrs. Bu goodbye. ¡°Alright, be careful.¡± Mrs. Bu then sent her to the door. An Xiaoning made her way down the mountain slowly. Just as she left, Bu Xianxian and Jin Qingyan returned to the house. ¡°Mother, why are you standing there?¡± ¡°A kind-hearteddy saw that my arm was injured and offered to help me carry the things here. She just left not long ago. Where did you guys go to gather herbs?¡± Mrs. Bu asked. ¡°We went to the peak, but we¡¯ve almost retrieved all the herbs there. I¡¯m nning to go to another mountain tomorrow.¡± Mrs. Bu turned around and said, ¡°Alright, it¡¯s up to you. Xianxian,e here and help me cook.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Bu Xianxian said to Jin Qingyan smilingly, ¡°Nick, leave the herbs over there then go get some rest in the tent.¡± Jin Qingyan nodded in agreement. ¡°You know, thatdy just now was much older than you, but she was really gorgeous. She came here alone to search for her missing brother.¡± Chapter 424 - The Secret About the Past (42)

Chapter 424: The Secret About the Past (42)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°She¡¯s such a brave girl,¡± Mrs. Bu remarked while cutting the vegetables. ¡°She came to look for her brother by herself? Isn¡¯t she afraid of getting lost or bumping into crooks?¡± Bu Xianxianmented. ¡°Exactly. But she said she hasbat skills.¡± ¡°She¡¯s one of those brainless women,¡± Bu Xianxian scoffed apathetically. ¡°The topic of searching for one¡¯s kin really gets on my nerves. Just think about how worried his parents must be. When are you going to take him to find his family?¡± Mrs. Bu asked softly. ¡°What¡¯s the hurry? I don¡¯t think it¡¯s the right time yet.¡± ¡°Xianxian... you may not be in a hurry, but his parents must be worried and anxious. You can¡¯t be so selfish, spare a thought for others. Return him to his family and we¡¯ll get five million dors, isn¡¯t that great?¡± Mrs. Bu said solemnly. ¡°Mother, you seriously don¡¯t have foresight. Why are you so enticed and satisfied with just five million dors?¡± Bu Xianxian scorned, rolling her eyes at her mother. ¡°Isn¡¯t five million dors more than enough? Why do you have to be so greedy? It¡¯s enough tost us a lifetime.¡± ¡°This concerns my lifelong happiness. How could you say that I¡¯m being greedy? It¡¯s called striving for my own happiness.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care what you call it, I just think we¡¯re being unfair to his parents.¡± ¡°Mother, that¡¯s enough. He¡¯s eagerly looking for his family and you¡¯re eagerly wanting to get your hands on those five million dors you¡¯ve been eyeing. You two are seriously getting on my nerves,¡± Bu Xianxian snapped, getting a little infuriated. Noticing the sullen expression on her face, Mrs. Bu did not continue to speak. ¡ª The sky began to pour heavily at about eight o¡¯clock in the evening. Holding his mobile phone in hand, Ling Ciye stood on the balcony and stared into the distance, only to realize that there were no signs of Song Yan¡¯s return. He turned around quickly to pick up a box of cigarettes on the table before leaving the house. He drove towards the artiste management agency in charge of Song Yan. Upon arriving, he alighted from the car and strode towards the entrance quickly with a ck umbre in hand. The puddles of rainwater made his shoes wet. ¡°Is Song Yan in?¡± ¡°She¡¯s shooting some publicity photos. She should be in the studio now.¡± Ling Ciye cast his umbre into the umbre holder and entered the elevator alone. Having been in a rtionship with her for years, he was more than familiar with theyout of the artiste managementpany office. He pushed the door of the studio open quietly. Ling Ciye stood behind the staff and gazed at Song Yan, who was in the midst of shooting some publicity photos. She was hopping and jumping about,pletely unbothered about the fact that she was already two months pregnant. Ling Ciye stared on with an icy cold re in his eyes. He stepped forward and dragged Song Yan down from the stage. ¡°Ciye!¡± Song Yan eximed in shock, startled and flustered by his unexpected visit. ¡°Let¡¯s go home.¡± ¡°I¡¯m almost done. Give me five minutes, I promise I¡¯ll be done in five minutes. Will you wait a while?¡± Song Yan pleaded. Not wanting to embarrass her in front of so many crew members, he decided to let go off her hand and stood there to wait for her. To his dismay, the shoot continued for more than ten minutes. Ling Ciye¡¯s expression grew sullen and stern, which Song Yan had noticed as well. Yet, the more she yearned for it to end, the longer it dragged on. Atst, it finally ended fifteen minutester. Song Yan changed out of her clothes and scurried towards him before even removing her makeup. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Noticing that she was scantily d, he removed his windbreaker and draped it across her body. The crew members were not surprised at the sight of his action since they had long gotten used to it. The two of them left the office together. Holding the umbre in one hand, Ling Ciye opened the car door for Song Yan before closing it again after she got into the seat. He then returned to the driver¡¯s seat. A silence filled the air in the car throughout the journey back. Song Yan took a nce at him every now and then. Noticing that he was visibly upset, she asked, ¡°Are you angry?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you know that you¡¯re pregnant? Why are you still hopping and jumping about? Seriously, have you been taking care of yourself properly?¡± ¡°Of course I have. Those actions don¡¯t require much effort. I¡¯ve been very careful.¡± ¡°What photos were those for?¡± ¡°A variety program.¡± Ling Ciye stepped onto the brakes immediately and asked, ¡°A variety program?¡± ¡°Huahua was the one who took on the job for me. The contract has already been signed, there¡¯s nothing I can do.¡± ¡°Breach the contract then. I¡¯ll pay thepensation fees.¡± ¡°Are you out of your mind? Thepensation fees for breaching the contract are triple of what I¡¯m getting paid. It¡¯s alright, I¡¯ve looked through the schedule of the program, it¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯m only two months pregnant, I¡¯m not that fragile yet. Once this variety program is over, I¡¯ll stop taking on any jobs. I mean it. I¡¯ve already told Huahua that I won¡¯t be epting any more offers after this one. Okay?¡± Song Yan said with a look of sincerity. ¡°Song Yan, a woman is no longer strong and independent if she doesn¡¯t know her limits. Do you understand?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what makes me stand out from other women. I don¡¯t wish to rely on men and I have my own established career. Besides, I¡¯m in my prime and at the peak of my career now. If I go missing from the screens all of a sudden, the audience and viewers are definitely going to forget me.¡± ¡°If they could forget you so easily, that just means you haven¡¯t performed any works worth remembering. Reflect on my words thoroughly,¡± said Ling Ciye as he began driving again. Song Yan was upset by his snide remark and remained silent while staring out of the window at the pouring rain. She did not alight from the car despite having arrived home. ¡°Get down.¡± ¡°No.¡± Ling Ciye red at her and admonished, ¡°Don¡¯t be stubborn and willful.¡± He held the umbre and walked towards the door of the passenger seat. ¡°Get down, quick.¡± ¡°I refuse to.¡± Ling Ciye had no choice but to grab her wrist and drag her out of the car. They then returned inside the house. ¡°Do you want to eat anything? I¡¯ll get Auntie to prepare it for you.¡± ¡°I want to eat the dishes you cook. Will you cook for me?¡± asked Song Yan. Ling Ciye put on an apron and walked towards the kitchen. A smile finally formed on Song Yan¡¯s face as she sat on the couch and began scrolling through Weibo. After browsing through Weibo for a while, she was served by Ling Ciye with a te of noodles tossed in tomato sauce with a sunny side up on top. ¡°Eat it while it¡¯s hot,¡± he said, handing her a pair of chopsticks. ¡°ce the chopsticks there, I¡¯m going to take a photo and upload it onto Weibo.¡± Ling Ciye ced the chopsticks on top of the bowl. Song Yan adjusted the chopsticks before taking several photos of herself posing with the bowl of noodles. She then gave the photos some finishing touches using a photo editor app on her phone. She uploaded the photos onto Weibo before picking up the chopsticks to begin eating. Noticing that she had moved the egg to the side of the te, Ling Ciye asked, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you eating the egg?¡± ¡°Eggs are fattening. I¡¯ve always disliked eating them.¡± ¡°The noodles are starchy and full of carbohydrates. Those are fattening too. Don¡¯t eat them then.¡± Song Yan put the chopsticks down and retorted, ¡°Fine, I just won¡¯t eat then.¡± ¡°You¡¯re pregnant now and you need the nutrition. Does it even matter if you¡¯re plump or thin?¡± Ling Ciye scoffed. ¡°I¡¯ve been having arger appetite recently, precisely because I¡¯m pregnant now. If I lose control of my diet and begin binging on food, I¡¯m definitely going to pack on a huge amount of weight. Who knows how the tabloids are going to ridicule me when the paparazzi manage to snap some photos of me appearing chubby.¡± After some consideration, Song Yan said, ¡°I¡¯d better not have any. Eating at night is going to make me gain weight easily.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You¡¯re really not going to eat?¡± Ling Ciye asked. ¡°No.¡± Ling Ciye picked up the chopsticks and began eating the noodles himself. Song Yan stood there and watched as he polished off the noodles before bringing the empty bowl and chopsticks to the kitchen. She was a little infuriated all of a sudden. However, she did not know the reason for her anger. Chapter 425 - The Secret About the Past (43)

Chapter 425: The Secret About the Past (43)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Ling Ciye came out of the kitchen, only to realize that Song Yan was no longer in the living room. He walked towards the bedroom to find that it was empty. She was not in the bathroom. Ling Ciye proceeded to search the other rooms but still could not find her. Thus, he deduced that she must have gone out. He then hurriedly went outside to look for her. The car was still outside, and the rain was still pouring heavily. The dim roadmps stood in the rain. He looked around his surroundings outside and found that she was nowhere in sight. Ling Ciye returned to the bedroom upstairs. To his astonishment, Song Yan was sitting in front of the dressing table and removing her makeup. Staring at her, he said, ¡°I thought you went out.¡± ¡°I was trying to mislead you on purpose,¡± said Song Yan, gently removing her eye makeup with a cotton pad. ¡°Song Yan, you¡¯re still as capricious and willful as ever.¡± ¡°I¡¯m only willful in front of my man. In front of other male actors, I¡¯m a tough and independent woman, understand?¡± Song Yan stood up and continued, ¡°That¡¯s enough, let¡¯s stop arguing over such trivial matters and making ourselves unhappy like this at this hour. Okay?¡± Ling Ciye stopped arguing with her, considering the fact that she was pregnant. While they wereying down on the bed, Song Yan picked up her phone and began scrolling through Weibo again. ¡°Young teenagers nowadays are getting more and more childish,¡± she remarked all of a sudden. ¡°How so?¡± he asked. ¡°Look at thisment left on my page by this person under the handle of ¡®Flower of the Vige.¡¯ She said, ¡®Song Yan, let me tell you something really horrifying. A female celebrity who constantly uploads narcissistic photos of herself every day. As a fan of yours, I¡¯ve decided to stop supporting you.¡¯¡± Song Yan then turned her head sideways and sneered, ¡°It must be a kid who didn¡¯t even graduate from elementary school.¡± ¡°Are there many haters who criticize you on Weibo?¡± ¡°There are so many of them who criticize me in every way you can possibly think of. But then again, these are just anonymous keyboard warriors. Like what they always say, the more cynical and mean-spirited these people are online, the more weak and cowardly they are in real life. I¡¯ve gotten used to all that hate and criticism, actually. Sometimes I don¡¯t feel anything at all when Ie across their snide and malicious remarks. I think I¡¯ve grown numb to it.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s talk about something else.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re thinking of talking to me about work again, I don¡¯t wish to discuss about it. I have a strong love and passion for my career. Even though I¡¯m pregnant, I don¡¯t wish to leave this industrypletely,¡± Song Yan reiterated. ¡°I wasn¡¯t thinking of talking to you about that, because it irks me everytime we discuss that topic. I want to talk to you about getting married.¡± If it were not for the sake of their unborn child, Ling Ciye would have never wanted to marry. However, he could not bring himself to shirk the responsibility and get her to abort the child. Besides, an abortion would be detrimental to her health. Since they had decided to reconcile, they ought to give their child aplete family. Thus, after some thorough consideration, he decided to marry her before her baby bump became too obvious. ¡°Marriage... how about we just register our marriage without holding a wedding?¡± Song Yan said hesitantly, as usual. ¡°Without a wedding?¡± Ling Ciye asked in surprise. ¡°Yes. We¡¯ll hold a wedding after the child is born. What do you think?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have anyments since that¡¯s what you want.¡± Pleased to hear that he had agreed, Song Yan leaned forward to kiss him on his cheek. ¡°Ciye, I promise you, once I finish filming for this variety program, I won¡¯t take on any more simr programs. I might just release another album or film somemercials, I won¡¯t be epting other kinds of offers.¡± ¡°Song Yan, the kind of wife I want is one who prioritizes her family over her career, not one who¡¯s overly career-minded. Do you understand?¡± Ling Ciye reiterated. ¡°I know, but I¡¯ve already gotten used to it. I wouldn¡¯t be willing to give it all up now. Ciye, can you give me some time to adjust and reduce my workload gradually?¡± ¡°It¡¯s good to be independent, but you¡¯ll be overbearing if it¡¯s excessive. Song Yan, I hope you¡¯re not justpromising temporarily. If this goes on for long, I won¡¯t be able to tolerate it in the long run.¡± ¡°Or do you not love me enough? When a man loves a woman deeply, he¡¯ll be willing topromise and give in to her endlessly. He¡¯d dote on her, be understanding towards her, and ept all her ws and shorings. But all you do is get impatient with me and lose your temper easily.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been amodating to you for almost six years, but have you ever given in to me? A man will only give in to a woman, dote on her, and be understanding towards her when she does the same for him. It can¡¯t be one-sided on my part,¡± Ling Ciye retorted. ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk anymore. Let¡¯s go to bed.¡± Song Yan reached out to switch off the lights and turned to face away from him. Ling Ciyeid down quietly, filled with overwhelming frustration. Apart from the initial honeymoon phase after which she allowed her true colors to show, she had been extremely inconsiderate towards him throughout the rest of their rtionship. He did not know how much longer he could tolerate her. He was genuinely sick and tired of everything. ¡ª It began pouring heavily the night before in A City, followed by N Nation the next morning. An Xiaoning had initially nned to leave the ce and search elsewhere since she still could not find him. However, she decided to wait another day because of the heavy rain. The thundery showerssted throughout the entire morning. It finally stopped in the afternoon, and a rainbow formed in the sky. After the heavy rain, the hot and humid weather turned cool and breezy. An Xiaoning wore a white skirt, which ended below her knees, coupled with a sun hat and proceeded to have lunch outside. There was a small restaurant near the inn where she would go to have her meals every day. Although the dishes were rather pricey, they tasted delicious and the hygiene conditions of the restaurant were sanitary. Just as An Xiaoning was about to leave after having a bowl of noodles, she suddenly overheard two women chatting enthusiastically at the table beside hers. ¡°When I came down from the mountains today, I saw a really handsome guy. He was seriously so dashing, though I only saw his eyes,¡± said Woman A. ¡°You only saw his eyes, though. Is he really that handsome?¡± Woman B asked. ¡°Yes, his eyes were long and narrow, yet alluring. It¡¯s a shame he was wearing a surgical mask. I¡¯d really like to know what he looks like,¡± Woman A emphasized. Woman B chuckled and teased Woman A, ¡°You¡¯re being man-crazy again.¡± An Xiaoning decided to approach them. ¡°May I ask, where did you see that man?¡± she asked. ¡°That mountain over there. I happened to chance upon him,¡± said Woman A, pointing in a certain direction. ¡°Was he alone?¡± ¡°No, he was with a girl. They were wearing raincoats and carrying baskets on their shoulders. It seemed like they were gathering medicinal herbs.¡± ¡°When did you see them?¡± ¡°In the morning.¡± ¡°Got it, thank you,¡± said an agitated An Xiaoning. Watching as An Xiaoning zoomed out of the door quickly, Woman A remarked, ¡°See, she¡¯s more man-crazy than I am. She¡¯s so eager to look for him as soon as she heard about the existence of a handsomed.¡± Woman B shook her head indifferently and said, ¡°You two are peas in a pod. Have you guys never seen a man before? I¡¯m seriously speechless.¡± An Xiaoning had a strong feeling that Jin Qingyan was the man whom the woman stumbled across. Just like the man she described, Jin Qingyan indeed had long and narrow eyes that were absolutely charming and alluring. However, she was not too sure and could only verify if it was really him after taking a look herself. She began walking along the route towards the mountains. Yet, she did not see anyone in sight despite having walked a distance. To her disappointment, she still did not see any handsome man as described by the woman in the restaurant, even until she had reached the peak of the mountain. Chapter 426 - The Secret About the Past (44)

Chapter 426: The Secret About the Past (44)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning then strolled down the mountain slowly. A sudden thought crossed her mind ¡ª If he could make his way to this mountain, that means he must be living somewhere nearby. It might not be Jin Qingyan either. After all, he was not the only handsome man in this world. However, An Xiaoning was full of hope after recalling the woman¡¯s description. She wanted to see who he was with her very own eyes. If he turned out to be someone else other than Jin Qingyan, she could then rest her mind and continue searching in other areas. The sun was shining brightly onto the ground below, a stark contrast from the gloomy skies and raging storm in the morning. An Xiaoning¡¯s legs were aching terribly by the time she arrived at the foot of the mountain. She happened to chance upon an elderly man whom she then approached and asked, ¡°Uncle, may I ask if there are lots of medicinal herbs on this mountain?¡± ¡°Are you thinking of gathering some medicinal herbs too? There are plenty on this mountain,¡± the elderly man answered smilingly. ¡°Are there many people who go up there?¡± ¡°I live right on this mountain. There are rarely any people nowadays. I haven¡¯t seen anyone recently other than two young people who came by this morning.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°Got it, thank you so much.¡± ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± An Xiaoning agitatedly returned to the inn to retrieve her mini surveince camera and brought it to the mountain. She thought to herself that the battery-powered surveince camera should be able tost for about two days. Thus, she climbed up the tree and ced the surveince camera at a spot on a tree that would allow her to see via the footage on her mobile phone the people who visited the mountain. Fortunately, she had brought along with her on this trip all the fully-equipped high-tech gadgets that coulde in handy. An Xiaoning climbed back down and returned, her heart full of satisfaction. If the two of them were toe by to pick medicinal herbs again, they would definitely be captured by the surveince camera. Upon returning to the inn, An Xiaoningid down in bed straight away and did nothing else apart from staring at the live footage from the surveince camera on her mobile phone. Her phone was plugged to the charger throughout the entire time. To her disappointment, she did not see them at all even after the sky turned dark. An Xiaoning tossed and turned in bed for the rest of the night. She could not fall asleep in peace at all and woke up right after daybreak. After having breakfast, she put on her human skin mask and quickly made her way to the foot of the mountain again. She sat down on a clean rock and began waiting. The sky began to brighten gradually. Noticing that the weather seemed rather pleasant, An Xiaoning thought to herself, It¡¯d be a pity not toe and pick herbs today . All she wanted was some closure and to verify if the man was really Jin Qingyan. She merely wanted to try her luck, never mind if it turned out not to be him. Eventually, the sun began to rise high above. Finally she heard the sounds of someone talking. It was a voice belonging to a woman. An Xiaoning climbed up the tree in one swift motion. Shortly after, two people appeared at the end of the road. It was a man and a woman. The man was wearing a surgical mask. An Xiaoning stared at the figure that she could clearly recognize, regardless of what he was wearing or however he tried to disguise himself. She removed the camera from the tree and slid down the trunk again. The two of them walking in front turned their heads around, perhaps because they heard the noises she made. They were neither near nor far away from her. She was more than familiar with those pair of eyes. An Xiaoning burst with euphoria at that very instant. She sprinted towards him and hugged him tightly while crying tears of joy. Jin Qingyan was momentarily stunned by the sudden embrace. Bu Xianxian tried to pull An Xiaoning away, only to have thetter shove her forcefully, such that she almost fell to the ground. Jin Qingyan jerked and pushed An Xiaoning away upon realizing what was happening. ¡°Miss, please show yourself some respect.¡± Jin Qingyan should have recognized her since he was aware of the human skin mask An Xiaoning would don asionally. At this point, An Xiaoning immediately understood the reason why he did not return home. He could no longer recognize her. ¡°Brother!¡± she called out. ¡°Brother?¡± Jin Qingyan asked in astonishment. An Xiaoning nodded fervently and eximed, ¡°Brother, I finally found you!¡± She did not address him as her husband, in fear that she would scare him and push him further away from her. ¡°He¡¯s your brother?¡± asked Bu Xianxian, who had shock and confusion written all over her face. ¡°Of course.¡± An Xiaoning reached out to remove the surgical mask from Jin Qingyan¡¯s face. At this very moment, tears began to stream down her face uncontrobly. ¡°Turns out you¡¯re really still alive.¡± ¡°You said he¡¯s your brother. You mean your biological brother?¡± Bu Xianxian asked. ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you two look alike then?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t I resemble my mother while he resembles my father?¡± An Xiaoning retorted before sizing Bu Xianxian up and scanning her from head to toe. She then grabbed onto Jin Qingyan¡¯s arm and said, ¡°Come, I¡¯ll take you home.¡± ¡°Can you prove that you¡¯re really my sister?¡± Jin Qingyan asked. ¡°Of course I can.¡± An Xiaoning opened the photo album on her phone and showed him some photos she had taken with him in the past while wearing the human skin mask. Jin Qingyan believed her after taking a look. ¡°Come home with me.¡± ¡°I have to bid goodbye to Xianxian¡¯s parents first,¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°Sure, let me call Chief Fan and get him to arrange for the private jet to pick us up.¡± An Xiaoning whipped her phone out to dial Fan Shixin¡¯s mobile number. However, she only seeded after several attempts because her hands were trembling vigorously. ¡°I¡¯ve found him. Send the jet here to pick us up right away.¡± ¡°Really? Got it!¡± After ending the call, An Xiaoning followed the two of them to Bu Xianxian¡¯s home. Upon arriving at the door, An Xiaoning said, ¡°I¡¯ve been here before.¡± Bu Xianxian managed to guess it. ¡°You¡¯re the woman whom my mother mentioned was looking for your brother?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Bu Xianxian brought the two of them inside her house and said, ¡°Mother, she¡¯s Nick¡¯s sister.¡± Mrs. Bu was greatly taken aback for she did not expect there to be such a coincidence. ¡°Turns out you¡¯re Nick¡¯s sister. I really didn¡¯t expect it.¡± ¡°Auntie, you didn¡¯t tell me previously that a man who¡¯s suffering from amnesia is staying at your home.¡± Mrs. Bu smiled awkwardly and exined, ¡°You mentioned that your brother was 32 years old, but Nick didn¡¯t seem like a day over 27 to me. So I didn¡¯t bring it up since I thought it couldn¡¯t be him that you were looking for.¡± An Xiaoning held onto Jin Qingyan¡¯s hand tightly and said, ¡°My brother¡¯s name is Jin Qingyan. He¡¯s 32 years old this year, and he¡¯s already married and is a father of one.¡± Her words instantly dampened the spirits of Bu Xianxian and Mrs. Bu. ¡°He¡¯s already a married man with a wife and a son?¡± Bu Xianxian asked in disbelief. ¡°Of course he is. You may find information about him all over the inte just by searching his name online. He¡¯s the CEO of the Jin Corporation.¡± Bu Xianxian stared at Jin Qingyan and said, ¡°He can¡¯t remember anything right now. Even if he has a wife and a son, he probably doesn¡¯t have any feelings for them anymore.¡± Her remark had struck a sour note within An Xiaoning, who felt as if a million daggers had pierced through her heart. ¡°It¡¯s fine, he¡¯ll regain his memory slowly.¡± ¡°Some patients suffering from amnesia may never regain their memory,¡± Bu Xianxian insisted. Mrs. Bu smacked her and chided, ¡°How could you say that?¡± An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, we¡¯re very wealthy. We¡¯ll do whatever it takes to make him regain his memory, even if he can¡¯t recall everythingpletely. What matters is that he¡¯s still alive.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s words, ¡°we¡¯re very wealthy,¡± had caused Bu Xianxian to be filled with jealousy. She may never have the opportunity to say something like that ever in her life. ¡°Will you guys leave as soon as your familyes to pick you upter?¡± Bu Xianxian asked. An Xiaoning nodded and answered, ¡°Yes, this is a ce that bring us misery and reminds us of pain and suffering. We don¡¯t wish to stay here any longer.¡± Mrs. Bu looked at her daughter and sighed tacitly. ¡°Could Ie with you guys then?¡± Bu Xianxian asked. Chapter 427 - The Secret About the Past (45)

Chapter 427: The Secret About the Past (45)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Being a woman herself, An Xiaoning knew exactly what Bu Xianxian was thinking. Thus, she obviously would not allow her to tag along. ¡°You¡¯re very wee to visit our country for a vacation. I¡¯ll even get someone to bring you on a tour around the ce. But, I won¡¯t allow you to live with us in the long run.¡± Bu Xianxian looked at Jin Qingyan and asked, ¡°Nick, am I really not allowed to?¡± Jin Qingyan turned to An Xiaoning and said, ¡°Let here with us. She was the one who saved me and looked after me when I was immobile.¡± ¡°There are tons of ways to repay our gratitude, we don¡¯t necessarily have to thank her by bringing her home with us,¡± An Xiaoning refuted. She then said to Mrs. Bu, ¡°Auntie, I mentioned before that I¡¯ll be rewarding the person who finds my brother and hands him over to us with five million dors. Even though you guys didn¡¯t bring him to me out of your own ord, I¡¯m still going to honor my promise nheless. I¡¯ll be giving you the five million dors to thank you for saving my brother and taking care of him for the past month or so.¡± Mrs. Bu thanked her immediately, ¡°Thank you.¡± Realizing that there was nothing else she could do, Bu Xianxian began to get flustered and quickly said, ¡°I¡¯ve been treating Nick like my family ever since the day I saved him. Is this really something money can settle? The thought of not being able to see him again in the future just makes me upset. We¡¯ve been eating and sleeping together during the past month, and we spend time with each other everyday... I...¡± Tears began to well up in her eyes as she spoke and she eventually broke down. ¡°Let¡¯s just allow her toe along,¡± said Jin Qingyan, who thought Bu Xianxian was a nice girl and could not quite bear to leave her behind. He sounded firm and decisive. However, An Xiaoning was incredibly upset to hear that they had been eating and sleeping together. ¡°Sleeping together? On the same bed?¡± Bu Xianxian nodded and said, ¡°Yes, Nick¡¯s now much closer to me than he is to your sister-inw. I¡¯ve been through thick and thin with Nick, has your sister-inw done the same?¡± ¡°How are you so sure she hasn¡¯t? You¡¯re not allowed toe with us,¡± An Xiaoning insisted, not wishing to argue with her any longer. ¡°I won¡¯t go home if she doesn¡¯te along,¡± said Jin Qingyan. An Xiaoning turned to face him abruptly and stared at him without uttering a word. Mrs. Bu continuously shot her daughter a nce in a bid to get her to stop making things difficult. However, Bu Xianxian simply ignored it and pretended not to notice. After remaining silent for two minutes, An Xiaoning asked Bu Xianxian sarcastically, ¡°What do you want toe back with us for? Are you nning to be his woman? Is that the case?¡± ¡°I want to be together with him every day, just like how we had been for the past month,¡± Bu Xianxian said in admittance. ¡°He¡¯s already married. Let me repeat myself, he has a wife and a son.¡± ¡°So what? I don¡¯t care, it doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Bu Xianxian insisted nonchntly, unbothered by his marital status. An Xiaoning stared at the man whom she loved most and asked, ¡°Are you going to share the same mindset as her and ignore the fact that you¡¯re married?¡± Shaking his head, Jin Qingyan answered, ¡°No, I¡¯m not going to ignore it or allow myself to be unbothered. But, I would¡¯ve been dead by now if it weren¡¯t for her. Since she yearns to tag along so much, let¡¯s just let her follow us home. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s much of a big deal.¡± Does this woman think she can change anything by tagging along? An Xiaoning thought to herself. If I don¡¯t allow this woman toe with us, my husband will definitely be missing her and longing to see her. I might as well let her take a good look herself and watch my husband and me be lovey-dovey! Does she seriously think she has what it takes to be the other woman? Just watch how I¡¯ll make your life a living hell everyday, Bu Xianxian! ¡°Okay,e along if you want to.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Jin Qingyan asked. ¡°My name is... Qingyue.¡± ¡°What is... my wife¡¯s name?¡± ¡°An Xiaoning.¡± ¡°What about my son?¡± ¡°Jin Yiheng. He¡¯ll be turning five years old in another three months.¡± Jin Qingyan noted it down in his head. ¡°How did my wife and I get married?¡± ¡°You two were married twice. The first was a lightning marriage. The second time came about when you sneakily brought her passport to the Civil Administrative Office to register your marriage behind her back.¡± ¡°Why did we get married twice?¡± he asked, as curious as a cat. ¡°Because you two got a divorce once somewhere along your rtionship, after which you married each other again.¡± ¡°Why did we get a divorce?¡± An Xiaoning paused for a moment before answering, ¡°Well, because of many reasons. But let me first tell you about what happened during your vacation here before the tsunami struck.¡± The three of them opened their ears to listen attentively. ¡°At that time, you brought your wife and son here for a vacation, during which you nned to propose to her. Although you¡¯ve already registered your marriage at the Civil Administration Office, you thought it¡¯d be more appropriate to still go ahead with a proper marriage proposal. Thus, you nned to bring them onto a yacht and maneuver it to the middle of the ocean before proposing to her with the help of a helicopter. Yet, you received an unexpected call from Chief Fan just as you guys got onto the yacht. Chief Fan is your able assistant and your right-hand man. His name is Fan Shixin. He told you that there was a warning of a tsunami approaching in two minutes and you immediately called for the helicopter toe forth, which it did minutester.¡± ¡°Then?¡± Recalling the scenario back then, An Xiaoning continued, ¡°Then, the helicopter arrived and cast two safety harnesses down to your aid. Youtched your son onto your wife and helped them buckle up into the safety harness. However, the tsunami soon approached and you didn¡¯t have enough time to get into the safety harness yourself. Thus, you were then lifted into the air by a rope attached to the helicopter. Not long after, you lost your grip on the rope and plunged into the sea directly. There were no news of you ever since. From the moment you went missing, we¡¯ve sent many rescue teams to search for you continuously without break but to no avail. We refused to believe that you were dead, though. Do you know why I came to look for you myself?¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because I went to visit a Reverend and revealed your birth characters to him in a bid to find out if you were still alive. He told me that you were still alive, and thus, I decided toe and look for you, since things at thepany have stabilized and are running smoothly. I came here alone, and it felt like I was looking for a needle in a haystack. I was actually nning to leave this ce yesterday, but there was a thunderstorm in the afternoon, which made me change my mind. Everything is fated.¡± Jin Qingyan looked at her and gave her a tight hug. ¡°Thank you for finding me. I¡¯m thankful that my family didn¡¯t give up on looking for me.¡± An Xiaoning hugged him back tightly. She had waited long and hard for this opportunity to hug him again. Thinking that it would take Fan Shixin three hours to arrive, An Xiaoning decided to use the time to get to know how he had been spending the past month or so. ¡°Where did you find him?¡± she asked Bu Xianxian. ¡°I found him lying on top of a boulder. He was covered in blood, and his head was bleeding profusely.¡± That exins his memory loss. ¡°Was his head injury very serious?¡± ¡°Yes, his leg was severely injured too. He was unconscious for several days and didn¡¯t show any signs ofing to. We almost thought he wasn¡¯t going to regain his consciousness again.¡± Bu Xianxian paused for a moment and eximed, ¡°Thank Heavens for blessing him! He managed toe to in the end after being in aa for days.¡± ¡°Did you bring him to the doctor to get him treated after rescuing him?¡± Mrs. Bu shook her head and said, ¡°We¡¯re penniless, we couldn¡¯t afford to bring him to a doctor. But we¡¯ve been picking medicinal herbs for a long time, so we were familiar with the herbs and their medicinal properties. Thus, we applied some herbs on his injuries and brewed him some medicinal herbal soup. He¡¯s more or less recovered now.¡± An Xiaoning ced her hands together and said, ¡°No matter what, I still ought to thank you guys for saving him, Auntie. We¡¯ll always remember your help and forever be grateful to you.¡± Chapter 428 - The Secret About the Past (46)

Chapter 428: The Secret About the Past (46)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Don¡¯t say that, Miss,¡± said Mrs. Bu, who appeared rather uneasy as she felt a little guilty. ¡°Auntie, how many children do you have?¡± ¡°Xianxian is my only daughter.¡± ¡°Can you and Uncle really bear to let your only daughter follow us back to S Nation?¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be a non-issue if we bring my parents along? It¡¯s rather inconvenient to get around here, and we still have to live in worry and fear of another tsunami. We relocated to the mountains precisely because we were afraid of another tsunami attack,¡± Bu Xianxian interjected. Jin Qingyan found her suggestion to be rather reasonable, thinking that he ought to render them help too since they were his life saviors. ¡°Leave together with us then. Don¡¯t bother bringing the things here. We¡¯ll arrange a ce for you to live in when we return to my country. How does that sound?¡± Mrs. Bu lit up with joy and asked An Xiaoning, ¡°Can we do that?¡± An Xiaoning was reluctant to agree. She would be more than willing to repay them in other ways instead of taking them back with her. However, she knew that Jin Qingyan must have grown attached to them after living with them for a period of time. Nheless, these were not much of an issue to An Xiaoning, who did not feel threatened by Bu Xianxian. ¡°Okay,¡± she agreed. ¡°Let¡¯s bring these along,¡± said Mrs. Bu. ¡°What for, Mother? Let¡¯s take nothing with us. We¡¯ll be receiving a new set of things when we go there. What¡¯s the point of bringing these with us? They¡¯re not worth a cent anyway. Hurry and get Father toe home now,¡± Bu Xianxian said with a grin. ¡°Right. I¡¯ll go now.¡± Mrs. Bu stood up and exited through the door. The three of them were left alone in the house. Jin Qingyan appeared to be extremely nervous as he hugged his knees while sitting on the ground, asionally taking a nce at An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning would check her mobile phone every now and then, hoping that time would pass quicker. ¡°Do you have... photos of them in your mobile phone?¡± ¡°Whose?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°An... Xiaoning and the child,¡± he answered. An Xiaoning opened the photo album on her mobile phone again and showed him some photos of her and Jin Yiheng. ¡°This is your wife and son.¡± Bu Xianxian took a look at the photos out of curiosity and could not help but feel inferior all of a sudden. An Xiaoning looked pleasant and fair in the photos, unlike herself, whose skin was tan and coarse. The child in the photos resembled Jin Qingyan greatly. She could tell right away that he was Jin Qingyan¡¯s biological son. A smile formed on Jin Qingyan¡¯s face. He grabbed the mobile phone from An Xiaoning¡¯s hand and stared at the screen intently. ¡°What was our rtionship like?¡± An Xiaoning simply answered, ¡°You two were inseparable.¡± Her words came off as yet another blow to Bu Xianxian. However, what Jin Qingyan said next filled her heart with joy. ¡°Is that so? But I don¡¯t remember a single bit of her at all. What a shame,¡± said a dejected Jin Qingyan. ¡°Even if you don¡¯t remember her at all or never regain your memory in the future, I believe you will fall in love with her again,¡± An Xiaoning said firmly. ¡°How are you so confident? Seems like you¡¯re on very good terms with your sister-inw,¡± Bu Xianxian protested. ¡°I¡¯m just that confident, all right. Can¡¯t help it,¡± An Xiaoning retorted. She would never allow any woman to vie with her ande in between her and her man. ¡°Aren¡¯t you being a little overconfident?¡± Bu Xianxian sneered. An Xiaoning put on a mirthless smile and remained silent. After hearing everything An Xiaoning told him, Jin Qingyan began to feel rather curious about what his wife was like. She should being to fetch meter too, right? he thought to himself. He could not help but look forward to meeting her. Three hours was not a long time, though it was not considered short either. An Xiaoning sent her location to Fan Shixin, who ordered for the jet tond near the beach. An Xiaoning and the rest then came down from the mountains to meet up with them. There were a lot of people who came to fetch them, including Ling Ciye, Fan Shixin, Mei Yangyang, Long Tianze, and Jin Qingyue. Everyone began to tear up at the sight of Jin Qingyan, who was dressed in clothes that were tattered and torn. An Xiaoning waved at them and said, ¡°Hear me out first. Qingyan has lost his memory, he doesn¡¯t remember any of us anymore.¡± Everyone seemed to have a tacit understanding. Long Tianze stepped forward to pat Jin Qingyan on his shoulder and said smilingly, ¡°Hey, I haven¡¯t seen you in more than a month and you¡¯ve really be a fool. What are you wearing? Fortunately, I brought you a set of clothes when I came here. Change into them when you board the jetter.¡± ¡°You are...¡± ¡°He¡¯s Tianze, your best buddy whom you grew up with. This is Tianze¡¯s wife. This is Ciye, he¡¯s also a good friend of yours since childhood. This is Fan Shixin, your able assistant whom I mentioned to you before,¡± An Xiaoning introduced them to him one by one. When it was Jin Qingyue¡¯s turn, An Xiaoning said to her, ¡°Introduce yourself to him.¡± ¡°Brother, I¡¯m Qingyue, your biological sister.¡± Not only was Jin Qingyan shocked out of his senses, so were Bu Xianxian and her parents. Pointing at An Xiaoning, Bu Xianxian questioned, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you were Qingyue, his sister? Why is she...¡± Bewilderment was written all over their faces. Mei Yangyang snorted withughter and said to An Xiaoning, ¡°Sis, why did you say that?¡± An Xiaoning began to peel her mask off slowly. Jin Qingyan, Bu Xianxian, and her parents were dumbfounded at the sight of her revealing her true identity. The shock robbed Bu Xianxian of her speech. Staring at the mask in her hands, Bu Xianxian spluttered, ¡°You... you lied to us? You¡¯re An Xiaoning, not his sister!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m his wife, An Xiaoning. Ms. Bu, let me tell you here in front of everyone else: in my world, no woman is fit to snatch my man away from me. Don¡¯t think I¡¯m giving you a chance by allowing you toe back with us.¡± An Xiaoning then instructed Fan Shixin, ¡°Go to this inn and retrieve my luggage from the room on the fourth floor. Let¡¯s rush back to S Nation immediately.¡± ¡°Yes, Young Madam!¡± Bu Xianxian got the chills upon hearing Fan Shixin address An Xiaoning as ¡°Young Madam.¡± An Xiaoning stared at her husband and chuckled. ¡°Why? Are you too shocked at the realization that you¡¯ve got such a beautiful wife?¡± Jin Qingyan began to blush slightly. Truth be told, An Xiaoning had rarely seen him being shy in all the years that she had known him. She witnessed it with her own eyes this time. She held onto his hand and said, ¡°Get inside the jet and change into a fresh set of clothes.¡± Jin Qingyan was dragged onto the jet by An Xiaoning, who then instructed Fan Shixin to bring him a set of clothes to change into inside the cubicle. ¡°You may change here.¡± ¡°Could you please... go outside first?¡± Realizing that he was shy and embarrassed, An Xiaoning said, ¡°We¡¯ve already gotten intimate with each other countless times and even have a child together.¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s ears turned red as he blushed uncontrobly. An Xiaoning could not help but smile in joy at the adorable sight of him being shy. Why is he acting like a child? ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go out now. You may dress yourself.¡± An Xiaoning exited the cubicle as requested and waited for him by the door. Fan Shixin handed her her purse and asked, ¡°Young Madam, what¡¯s up with that family you¡¯ve brought along?¡± ¡°They¡¯re the ones who saved your Young Sir.¡± ¡°Why do I feel like that woman...¡± Fan Shixin paused in his speech, unsure if he should speak his mind. Chapter 429 - The Secret About the Past (47)

Chapter 429: The Secret About the Past (47)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Shixin, you¡¯ll continue to follow my instructions until your Young Sir regains his memory, right?¡± ¡°That goes without saying.¡± ¡°For the sake of maintaining the harmony within Wei Ni Estate, arrange for the three of them to work in the garden once we¡¯re back home. Give them five million dors too. From now onwards, do not let them appear in front of us unless instructed by me.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Fan Shixin nodded and finally broke into smiles. ¡°Young Madam, just how did you manage to find him? I seriously take my hats off you.¡± ¡°Then follow my instructions.¡± ¡°Hehe, yes!¡± An Xiaoning waited for a while before yelling into the cubicle, ¡°Are you done?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She entered the cubicle and closed the door behind her before locking it from inside. She then stripped down to nothing in front of Jin Qingyan and changed into a fresh set of clothes that she took out from her bag. Throughout the entire process, Jin Qingyan cocked his head towards the side and did not dare to take a single look at her. After changing into her dress, An Xiaoning sat down beside him and said, ¡°Hubby, do you know? You weren¡¯t like this before you lost your memory. You used to lose control of yourself and jump at the chance to get intimate with me every time you watched me change. It¡¯s totally unlike you to not want to grope me at all. Why have you suddenly be like a pure and innocent teenager after suffering from amnesia? I¡¯m really not used to you being like this.¡± Jin Qingyan turned to face her slowly and asked, ¡°Are you really my wife?¡± ¡°Our certificate of marriage is at home. You may have a lookter if you don¡¯t believe me. Otherwise, you may also check with the Civil Administration Office.¡± An Xiaoning sat on hisp and put her arms around his neck. He was greatly aroused by her suggestive actions and could not help but feel his erection growing. Noticing the bulge in his pants, An Xiaoning¡¯s lips curled into a smirk and decided to strike the iron while it¡¯s hot. She put one leg over hisp and began straddling him. Just as she was about to unbutton his pants, he grabbed her hand and stopped her. ¡°Don¡¯t...¡± An Xiaoning retracted her hands and ced her arms back onto his shoulders around his neck before nting a kiss on his lips. She had caught himpletely off guard. Jin Qingyan felt his blood gushing through his veins continuously in excitement and arousal while she continued to smooch him. His mind went nk,pletely rid of any thoughts. All he could think about was her pleasant scent lingering right in front of him. Perhaps due to his primal instincts and hormones, he gradually began to take the initiative to take things a step further. He was no longer in control of his hands, which wandered about her body passionately. However, when it reached her bosom, he quickly retracted his hand, as if he had gotten an electric shock. An Xiaoning burst intoughter at the amusing sight. She let go of him and ced his hand back onto her chest. Jin Qingyan was a little afraid to look at her. At this moment, there seemed to be a role reversal between the two, which was particrly amusing. An Xiaoning suddenly felt like it was not too bad of an idea after all, since she could tease him a little every day. She ced her head on his chest and her hand on his shoulder. ¡°Qingyan, I¡¯m so, so happy. In fact, I¡¯m exhrated. I¡¯ve never been so ted before. I really feel like I¡¯ve been blessed by Heaven, which returned you to me,¡± she eximed smilingly. Jin Qingyan gazed at her with a tinge of aloofness in his eyes. An Xiaoning could feel intensely the emotional distance between them. At this point, she was no more than a stranger to him, whom he had just begun to know. As much as they used to be so familiar with each other¡¯s bodies. Indeed, they did feel just like strangers. But it did not matter to An Xiaoning. She had an abundance of patience and time, even if she had to make him fall in love with her again. She was confident that she would seed. ¡°It¡¯ll take us three hours to reach home. Shall we have a few drinks?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± She stood up and exited the cabin. All eyes were on her as she grabbed a bottle of wine and two empty sses before returning inside the cabin and locking the door behind her. Bu Xianxian kept her eyes fixed on the door and felt a strong urge to barge in and take a look at what was going on inside. Yet, she was in no ce to make anyments since they were awfully married couple. She could only stare on helplessly. An Xiaoning poured two sses of red wine and handed him one. They sat there and sipped on the wine in silence. An Xiaoning was well aware of his liquor tolerance. They stared at each other quietly and enjoyed the wine. A deafening silence filled the air. At this very moment, someone began to knock on the door. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± said Bu Xianxian. An Xiaoning stood up to open the door and stared at her. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to have a word with Nick.¡± ¡°Sure,e in.¡± An Xiaoning then turned around and walked back to her seat. After entering, Bu Xianxian made another request, ¡°Um... could you please go out for a while?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the big secret? Why can¡¯t you let me hear it?¡± An Xiaoning scoffed. ¡°Just excuse us for a while. I¡¯lle out after a few words,¡± said Bu Xianxian. ¡°Alright.¡± What¡¯s there to fear since there are voice recorders and surveince cameras in here? An Xiaoning walked out of the cabin straight away and even closed the door for them. Staring at Bu Xianxian, Jin Qingyan asked, ¡°What would you like to tell me?¡± ¡°Nick, we¡¯ve been living together for more than a month and I¡¯ve always treated you as the most important person to me. Do you feel the same way about me?¡± Jin Qingyan nodded and said, ¡°You¡¯re very important to me too. If it weren¡¯t for you, I would¡¯ve probably died long ago.¡± ¡°cing the fact that I saved you aside, how do you feel about me? Nick, I fell in love with you the moment I first saw you, before I even knew that you had a wife and a son. What are your feelings towards me?¡± ¡°I like you too, but in the brotherly way. I see you as my sister,¡± Jin Qingyan said bluntly. Bu Xianxian¡¯s initial smile and joy vanished at the instant that he said he only treated her like his sister. ¡°Did you say that only because you¡¯re now aware that you have a wife and son?¡± ¡°No, I said that because it¡¯s precisely how I feel.¡± Bu Xianxian was struck with a sudden blow. ¡°Why don¡¯t I find it believable at all?¡± ¡°Xianxian, I¡¯m already married with a child. These are just facts that won¡¯t change even if I¡¯ve lost my memory. So please, get your feelings sorted out,¡± Jin Qingyan said calmly, as if her words did not have an impact on him at all. Bu Xianxian felt incredibly upset and swallowed the rest of the thoughts in her mind, which she was no longer in the mood to say. She did not utter another word and walked out of the cabin. An Xiaoning raised her brows in bewilderment and surprise at the sight of Bu Xianxian exiting so soon. She zoomed back inside and asked Jin Qingyan, ¡°What did she talk to you about?¡± ¡°Oh, nothing much.¡± Noticing that he was rather reluctant to speak up, An Xiaoning did not probe further. Three hours passed by in the blink of an eye. It was one o¡¯clock in the afternoon when they arrived home. Jin Yiheng was carrying his schoolbag on his shoulders and preparing to go to school. He caught sight of a limousine approaching slowly from afar. He stopped in his tracks and watched as the limousine pulled over in front of him. The doors opened and the passengers alighted one by one. Jin Yiheng¡¯s eyes lit up at the sight of An Xiaoning and he leaped towards her joyfully. ¡°Mommy!¡± An Xiaoning felt as if he was a little tornado that sped towards her and hugged her legs in no time. Chapter 430 - The Secret About the Past (48)

Chapter 430: The Secret About the Past (48)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She looked down and bent forward to pick her son up in her arms. ¡°Look who¡¯s back.¡± Jin Yiheng looked in the direction An Xiaoning was looking at and instantly beamed with euphoria. ¡°Daddy!¡± he eximed in excitement. Jin Qingyan looked at him and extended his arms for a hug. ¡°Let me hug you.¡± Jin Yiheng pounced on him and threw his arms around his neck. Rubbing his face against Jin Qingyan¡¯s face affectionately, Jin Yiheng said, ¡°Daddy, you¡¯re really still alive. That¡¯s awesome. Mommy and I missed you so much.¡± Jin Qingyan smiled warmly and caressed Jin Yiheng¡¯s head dotingly. ¡°Are you going to school?¡± he asked. ¡°Yes, I am.¡± ¡°Would you like Daddy to send you?¡± ¡°That¡¯d be great, of course.¡± Jin Qingyan carried him and walked towards the car while Fan Shixin followed closely behind. ¡°Shixin, bring Wenlun and Xiaoxi along with you,¡± Mei Yangyang called. ¡°Okay!¡± Fan Shixin responded without turning behind to look at her. Bu Xianxian and her parents marvelled in awe at the magnificent and luxurious mansion before them. They were overwhelmed with shock and green with envy. Bu Xianxian was awestruck the moment sheid her eyes upon the spacious living room. The decor of the house wasvish and extravagant. She had never seen such a luxurious mansion in her life before. Upon sight of their return, Auntie Chen craned her neck to take a look and asked, ¡°Young Madam, I heard Chief Fan say that Young Sir has been found. Where is he, though?¡± ¡°He¡¯s off to send Little Sir to school. Auntie Chen, we¡¯ve all yet to have lunch. Please prepare a sumptuous spread, there are many of us today,¡± An Xiaoning said smilingly. ¡°Okay, sure. I¡¯ll go right away,¡± said an extremely agitated Auntie Chen, who then put on her apron and headed towards the kitchen. ¡°I¡¯m going upstairs to take a shower and change into a fresh set of clothes. Please make yourselves at home,¡± said An Xiaoning as she put on her home slippers and made her way upstairs. Bu Xianxian was rather curious and wanted to take a look upstairs. However, she knew that it would be rude to do so out of the blue and thus remained still and sat on the couch quietly while her eyes darted around her surroundings. Long Tianze finally felt a huge sense of relief. He plonked himself down onto the couch and ced his legs on top of the coffee table before turning to face Ling Ciye. ¡°What¡¯s the matter between you and Song Yan? It¡¯s all over the news,¡± he asked. ¡°Yeah, we made up again.¡± ¡°I knew it¡± was written all over Long Tianze¡¯s face. He chuckled and said, ¡°That¡¯s always the case between you two. I¡¯ve already gotten used to it. Who initiated it this time?¡± ¡°She¡¯s pregnant.¡± ¡°Is the child yours?¡± ¡°Duh. Is it yours, otherwise?¡± ¡°If it is, I¡¯ll be in serious trouble,¡± said Long Tianze. Upon seeing their light-hearted banter, Mei Yangyang said, ¡°I guess you two are finally at ease now that Mr. Jin is back. It¡¯s been a tough and draining timetely. But great, everything¡¯s well now. Ms. Jin, have you informed your mother yet?¡± Shaking her head, Jin Qingyue answered, ¡°I haven¡¯t told her yet. I¡¯m nning to take my brother to see herter after lunch and give her a huge surprise. She¡¯s going to be over the moon.¡± ¡°Great idea. That¡¯s better than breaking the news to her over the phone. You¡¯ll be able to give her a bigger surprise.¡± ¡°...¡± By the time Jin Qingyan and Fan Shixin returned, Auntie Chen had already prepared all the dishes andid them down onto the table. Everyone sat down at the dining table. Jin Qingyan would usually sit in between An Xiaoning and Jin Yiheng, sometimes Jin Qingyue if Jin Yiheng was not around. However, Bu Xianxian rushed to sit down beside Jin Qingyan, thus leaving Jin Qingyue with no choice but to sit next to Mei Yangyang. An Xiaoning was the only one missing. ¡°Let me go upstairs to get my Sis,¡± said Mei Yangyang. Just as she stood up, she heard footsteps approaching from the staircase. Mei Yangyang sat down again. All eyes were on An Xiaoning when she made her way down the stairs. Jin Qingyan was stunned and kept his eyes peeled on An Xiaoning while she walked towards the dining table slowly. She was dressed in a Qipao, her face full of immacte makeup. She exuded a charming elegance from head to toe. Jin Qingyan swallowed his saliva and stared at her petite figure, up until she sat down beside him. ¡°Let¡¯s eat. You must all be starving.¡± Everyone then picked up their chopsticks and began to tuck in. Sensing that Bu Xianxian was staring at her intensely, An Xiaoning put on a smile and asked sarcastically, ¡°Ms. Bu, is there something on my face? Why do you keep looking at me?¡± The situation was extremely awkward... ¡°You¡¯re too gorgeous,¡± Bu Xianxian said smilingly. ¡°Thank you. Help yourself to the food. Don¡¯t stand on ceremony.¡± An Xiaoning red at Bu Xianxian and recalled the audio-enabled footage from the surveince camera in the cabin of the jet, which she had just watched upstairs. This woman is not a simple one ... she thought to herself. An Xiaoning put on a pair of disposable gloves out of habit and began peeling some prawns, after which she ced the peeled prawns into Jin Qingyan¡¯s bowl. ¡°Nick doesn¡¯t like having prawns,¡± Bu Xianxian reminded. ¡°You don¡¯t like eating prawns?¡± An Xiaoning asked. Jin Qingyan nodded and answered, ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t.¡± Without another word, An Xiaoning reached out to pick up the peeled prawns and ced them into Ling Ciye¡¯s bowl instead. ¡°I know you like prawns.¡± Ling Ciye shoved the prawn into his mouth and eximed in delight, ¡°Delicious.¡± An Xiaoning continued to peel more prawns for Ling Ciye. Jin Qingyan felt a strange and sudden rush of jealousy upon noticing that An Xiaoning had stopped peeling prawns for him. ¡°I want some too,¡± said Jin Qingyan. Everyone turned to stare at him while Ling Ciye burst intoughter. He knew Jin Qingyan inside out. ¡°But you don¡¯t like having prawns.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to give it a try.¡± ¡°Okay, sure,¡± said An Xiaoning. She peeled another prawn and fed it to Jin Qingyan, who began chewing slowly. It was such a simple yet heartwarming act of affection. Bu Xianxian¡¯s spirits were dampened at the sight before her. However, An Xiaoning was not in the least bit concerned about how she felt. After lunch ended, Fan Shixin brought Bu Xianxian and her parents to their ce of aodation. An Xiaoning took a look at the time on her wristwatch and decided that it was an appropriate timing to give the Jin and Lin families a call. The weather was perfect for the acknowledgment ceremony to be held in the afternoon. They had already made all the necessary preparations. All that was missing was her presence. An Xiaoning did not bring Jin Qingyan along for the ceremony, since he was suffering from amnesia at the moment. After she left, Ling Ciye, Long Tianze, and Mei Yangyang proceeded to take their leave while Jin Qingyue brought Jin Qingyan to see Mrs. Jin. Jin Qingyue parked the car at the entrance of Mrs. Jin¡¯s ce and alighted. ¡°This was the bridal chamber you and Sis-inw lived in the first time you two got married. You allowed Mother to move in here afterwards,¡± Jin Qingyue said smilingly. ¡°Mother is living here alone? How about Father?¡± ¡°Father¡¯s living in the old mansion. They¡¯re divorced.¡± Jin Qingyue then entered through the gate. Jin Qingyan followed suit. Upon sight of him, the bodyguards and servants inside the mansion quickly greeted him, ¡°Young Sir.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Jin Qingyue scurried into the house, after which Mrs. Jin soon came rushing out. She froze in shock at the instant that she saw Jin Qingyan. She stood rooted to the ground and asked in disbelief, ¡°I¡¯m dreaming, aren¡¯t I? Is this a dream?¡± ¡°Mother, you¡¯re not dreaming. This is all real. This really is Brother. Brother is still alive.¡± Mrs. Jin burst into tears of joy and sprinted towards Jin Qingyan to hug him tightly. ¡°Qingyan, my dear son. It¡¯s great that you¡¯re still alive! Have you got any idea that I was worried sick about you!?!¡± she cried. ¡°Mother, I¡¯m sorry.¡± Mrs. Jin stopped bawling and stared at him, teary-eyed. ¡°What did you say?¡± ¡°Sorry, Mother.¡± Mrs. Jin was greatly taken aback by her son¡¯s unusual behavior. Chapter 431 - The Secret About the Past (49) Chapter 431: The Secret About the Past (49) Trantor:As Studios Editor:As Studios They used to share a close mother-and-son rtionship in the past. However, after all the unhappy events, they had grown rather distant from each other. It was truly rare to hear him apologize to her. "You silly child. I really don''t know what to say about you. Why did you make a will at such a young age? You''ve bequeathed all your assets andpany shares to your wife and son, yet you only left your mother with an entitlement to a meager amount of monthly maintenance fees. Are your brains fried?" Mrs. Jin chided. Jin Qingyan was stunned to hear that he had bequeathed all of his assets to his wife and son. He began to wonder how much he actually loved his wife and son to have decided to make such an extreme decision. "Why aren''t you speaking?" Mrs. Jin asked with a frown. "Mother, Brother is suffering from amnesia," Jin Qingyue blurted. Mrs. Jin broke down into tears again and began bawling even more loudly. There was no end to her tears and she could not get a grip on her emotions. Jin Qingyue could not tolerate her overly-dramatic mother any further and interjected, "Mother, do you think you''re a waterfall? Are you done crying yet? It''s time to let Brother speak." Mrs. Jin wiped the tears off her face with her hand and asked, "Okay, I''ll stop crying. When did youe back? Quick, tell Mother, how did you survive and escape death?" "¡­" "¡­" ¡ª An Xiaoning had earned herself two more sets of parents, two brothers, and a sister after acknowledging the Jin and Lin families. Once the ceremony ended, she continued to chat with them for an extended period of time since there were a lot to catch up on after not seeing them in so long. Jin Qingyan and Jin Qingyue stayed behind at Mrs. Jin''s ce for a long while. Even by the time An Xiaoning arrived home, they had still not returned yet. "Young Madam, here''s an invitation sent by Mr. Gu." An Xiaoning grabbed the invitation to see that it was a wedding invitation. The wedding was to be held a few dayster. If she remembered correctly, his wedding date was very close to that of Gu Dongcheng''s. The Gu family would be weing two daughters-inw very soon. It seemed they would be making the headlines. An Xiaoning heaved a sigh as she sat on the swing with the invitation card in her hands. She could only truly rx when she was alone. She sat on the swing all by herself, with no one around to disturb her peace. She looked up at the sun, which disappeared gradually. She watched as the sky turned dark slowly. Yet another day passed. Jin Qingyan only returned home at night. "Where have you been?" "I went to Mother''s ce and had dinner there." "Why didn''t you give me a call? Have you lost your intelligence along with your memory?" An Xiaoning chided. "I don''t have a mobile phone." An Xiaoning turned around and made her way upstairs. He hurriedly chased after her, thinking that she was angry. To his surprise, he entered the bedroom to see An Xiaoning retrieving a brand new mobile handset from the drawer. It was the exact same model as the one he used previously. "Here, your favorite mobile phone model." Jin Qingyan took the mobile phone from her hand and took a look at it before asking her, "Have you had your dinner?" "No, because I was waiting for you. Apany me to have dinner," An Xiaoning said with raised brows. "I''ve already eaten." "I said, apany me," she reiterated. He had no choice but to follow her downstairs while holding the mobile phone in his hands. He sat down opposite her and stared at her while she ate. An Xiaoning mixed her beloved dish, fermented beancurd in chili sauce, together with some white rice, which caught Jin Qingyan by surprise. "Does that even taste nice?" "Would I eat it if it doesn''t? Auntie Chen prepared these for me because she knows it''s my favorite dish. It''s delicious." "It doesn''t look delicious at all. By the way, where''s Yiheng?" "He''s ying opposite." "Opposite?" "Tianze''s ce." An Xiaoning wolfed the food down hastily and choked on the food all of a sudden as a result of eating too quickly. Jin Qingyan hurriedly fed her some milk while patting her back to help her relieve the difort. She drank the milk and gazed at him while he continued to pat her back gently. "Easy does it. Eat slowly." An Xiaoning pouted her lips and closed her eyes. Jin Qingyan hesitated for a long while and did not reciprocate her invitation for a kiss. She opened her eyes and continued to eat her food without uttering another word, as if nothing had happened at all. However, she felt a tinge of sadness deep down in her heart. If it had been in the past when he was not suffering from amnesia, he would have definitely kissed her back passionately at the sight of her asking for a kiss, instead of reacting the way he did earlier ¡ª hesitant and afraid, though she was not sure if he was afraid or simply unwilling to kiss her. However, she was understanding towards his aloof behavior since things were different now. Jin Qingyan returned to his seat and stared at An Xiaoning, who appeared rather upset. He wondered if she was disappointed because he did not kiss her earlier. Thus, he continued to sit in his seat and watched her eat. When she was done with her meal, he realized that there were several grains of rice stuck on the corners of her lips. He reached out to pinch the grains off her face, after which she stood up to bring her bowl and chopsticks to the kitchen. She clutched her chest while standing by the kitchen cab. Why did such a small gesture of his seem to take me back to the initial days of our rtionship?she wondered to herself. Since he doesn''t know who I am right now, I might as well take it that I''ve just met him. It''s not too bad an idea to start from ground zero, is it? An Xiaoning smiled at the thought of her new perspective and turned around to exit the kitchen. "Mommy, I''m home!" Jin Yiheng eximed gleefully and skipped towards the couch, where he sat down beside Jin Qingyan. "Daddy, shall we continue ying that game?" he asked excitedly,pletely unaware of his father''s memory loss. "What game?" "This one. You were the one who taught me how to y it," said Jin Yiheng, handing him the gaming console. "Oh, this." Jin Qingyan turned on the console instinctively and began pressing on the buttons to begin ying the first round of the game. "I''m going upstairs to get some rest. Yiheng still has school to attend tomorrow morning," said An Xiaoning. "Got it!" Jin Qingyan and Jin Yiheng chorused. After watching An Xiaoning''s figure vanish from the stairwell, Jin Qingyan asked softly, "Do you think your Mommy and I get along well?" "No." "No?" Jin Qingyan asked in astonishment. "Yeah, you make Mommy cry every night and there''ll always be a pile of tissues on the floor afterwards. I even hear Mommy begging you for mercy at midnight." Jin Qingyan was greatly taken aback and began to wonder if he used to be a violent man. "How does your Mommy beg for mercy?" "Mommy always yells, ''Don''t continue anymore¡­ stop, I''m dying.''" Jin Qingyan was shocked beyond words. Didn''t they all say that our rtionship was going well? Otherwise, how could I have possibly bequeathed all my assets and shares to her and our son? What was going on? "Did we argue often?" "No," Jin Yiheng answered while staring at the screen of the console. They got into a physical fight without arguing? Did I use to only resort to violence? The puzzled and confused Jin Qingyan was filled with questions. An Xiaoning had been waiting for Jin Qingyan toe upstairs so they could go to bed together. However, he had still yet to return to the bedroom even after a long time. Thus, she decided to go downstairs to call them. "It''s gettingte. Yiheng, go back to your room. Time for bed." "Mommy, I want to sleep together with you tonight. May I?" asked Jin Yiheng. "No," An Xiaoning refuted. "Why?" "Because I want to sleep with Daddy tonight. You can''t sleep with us." "Why do you ever only sleep with Daddy and not me¡­" "No whys. Hurry and go to bed. Don''t forget, you still have school tomorrow morning." Chapter 432 - The Secret About the Past (50)

Chapter 432: The Secret About the Past (50)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Yiheng put his gaming console down and asked, ¡°Can Daddy put me to bed then?¡± Before An Xiaoning even responded, Jin Qingyan agreed, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Yay, awesome!¡± Jin Yiheng held his father¡¯s hand and returned to the bedroom. Jin Yihengid down in bed. ¡°Shall I tell you a story?¡± Jin Qingyan suggested, in a bid to tuck him to sleep. ¡°No, no, no! I¡¯ve had a traumatic experience with Daddy¡¯s stories,¡± Jin Yiheng refuted vehemently. Jin Qingyan expressed his disappointment, hurt and dejected by his son¡¯s refusal before even giving him the chance to tell a bedtime story. ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t then. Go to bed, quick.¡± ¡°Daddy, I can¡¯t sleep. Daddy, shall we y a game for a while?¡± asked Jin Yiheng, who was tugging at Jin Qingyan¡¯s sleeve. ¡°What game?¡± ¡°Up and down.¡± Thus, Jin Qingyanid on the bed and allowed his son to sit on top of his legs while he raised him up and down in the air. After ying for a while, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°It¡¯s gettingte. You should really go to bed.¡± ¡°But I just can¡¯t sleep, Daddy. I¡¯m too happy that you¡¯re back.¡± ¡°Okay then, what else do you want to y?¡± ¡°I want to y ¡®Horse riding.¡¯¡± Jin Qingyan proceeded to kneel on the bed while Jin Yiheng rode on his back and yelled continuously, ¡°Go!¡± Jin Qingyan went on to y with Jin Yiheng non-stop, game after game. The exhausted Jin Yiheng finally fell asleep at ten o¡¯clock in the evening. Jin Qingyan tucked him under the duvet and switched off the lights before tiptoeing out of the room. He went back to his bedroom, thinking that An Xiaoning had already fallen asleep. To his surprise, she was leaning against the headboard with her eyes wide open and seemed to be in deep thoughts. ¡°Has he fallen asleep?¡± she asked. ¡°Yes, he has. He kept insisting that I y games with him.¡± He walked towards the bed slowly, only to realize that her shoulders were bare. His imagination began to run wild. Is she naked beneath the nket ... The thought of it sent his blood gushing through his veins as his heart began to race. ¡°I¡¯ll go take a shower.¡± He turned around and walked towards the bathroom. An Xiaoning stared at his figure from behind before shifting her gaze to the life-sized teddy bear. She had once snuck inside the teddy bear to scare Jin Qingyan. This time, she decided to do it again. An Xiaoning swiftly removed the stuffing of the life-sized teddy bear and stepped inside the casing before zipping it up. She leaned against the wall quietly. It was impossible to tell that something was different with the teddy bear as long as she remained still. Jin Qingyan came out of the shower to find that An Xiaoning was missing. Thinking that she had gone out, Jin Qingyan decided to lie on the bed in his bathrobe. ¡°Oh my god!¡± Jin Qingyan shrieked in horror as he sprung up immediately. An Xiaoning unzipped the casing and popped her head out. ¡°Hubby, how¡¯s the surprise I gave you?¡± she teased with a sheepish grin. ¡°Surprise? More like a horrible shock.¡± ¡°You answered exactly the same as you didst time,¡± An Xiaoning said in surprise. ¡°You¡¯ve done this before?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Jin Qingyan was shocked speechless the moment he saw An Xiaoninging out of the life-sized teddy bear, stark naked. She sat on the bed and put the stuffing back inside the teddy bear before lifting the duvet andying back down beside him. She held his arm and put an arm around his waist. Does she not know that his hormones were raging intensely!?!?! Or... Was she doing it on purpose!?! ¡°Hubby, take off your bathrobe.¡± ¡°No...¡± She sat up straight and reached a hand out to tug his bathrobe off. He clenched his hands tightly around the bathrobe and refused to budge. An Xiaoning continued to try and tug it off while he tightened his grip. They stared at each other, both refusing to let go. Atst, An Xiaoning released her grip on his bathrobe and ced one leg over hisp to straddle him while he had his guard down. Jin Qingyan winced in pain because of how rough and forceful An Xiaoning was. ¡°You¡¯re crushing me!¡± An Xiaoning looked down at him from above and said, ¡°If you keep being so stubborn, I¡¯m going to have to resort to extreme and forceful means. Do you know what that means?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, you¡¯ll find out very soon,¡± she said with an innocent and docile smile. However, it sent a shiver down Jin Qingyan¡¯s spine. ¡°Although we¡¯re husband and wife, I¡¯m still not quite used to it yet. Could you give us some time and wait ¡¯til we get used to each other...?¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan, not only have you lost your IQ and your personality together with your memory, you¡¯ve even lost your male instincts. As your wife, I think I have the responsibility to make you regain your memory as soon as possible. I¡¯ll take you to the hospital tomorrow.¡± ¡°Could you get off of me first?¡± An Xiaoning did as instructed. She got down from the bed to grab herptop. She opened theptop and leaned against the headboard. After scrolling through the video library, she picked an erotic film and began ying it. She began watching it casually while he looked on, dumbfounded. He could barely suppress his hormones just by hearing the audio from the film. He was aroused beyond control. Jin Qingyan froze in panic and remained still as a statue the moment he felt her delicate hand against his skin. She untied his bathrobe and straddled him again. Jin Qingyan had lost all control of his rationality. He abruptly reached out to switch the lights off. The bedroom turned pitch dark immediately while both of them panted heavily as their breaths quickened. He lifted her gently by her waist, desperately trying to find the opening. An Xiaoning sat down on him and began caressing his skin, causing him to feel as if he had gotten an electric shock. The night belonging to the two of them had only just begun. It was a long and endless night... From the bed to the balcony, then to the window, followed by the bathroom, and finally on the ground. Traces and markings of their love were left in every corner. An Xiaoning went to every length to please him. She even serviced and pleasured him with her mouth. Jin Qingyan waspletely subdued. At two o¡¯clock in the morning, it finally ended. The exhausted pair of lovebirds snuggled up in each other¡¯s arms. Jin Qingyan was still wide awake when An Xiaoning had already fallen asleep. She had finally managed to tantalize him to the point that he allowed his hormones to get the better of him. This was his wife, indeed. How willful and capricious. Just the way I like it. Goodnight, Honey. ¡ª Jin Yiheng had a peaceful sleep throughout the night and woke up only in the morning. After breakfast, he carried his school bag on his shoulders and headed opposite out of habit. He only remembered that he no longer had to tag along in Long Tianze¡¯s car to go to school when he reached the door. ¡°Uncle Shixin, I¡¯ll be going opposite for a while. Be right back.¡± ¡°Okay, sure,¡± Fan Shixin agreed and watched him enter the gate of the house opposite before looking away. ¡°Godma, where¡¯s Xiaoxi and Wenlun?¡± ¡°They haven¡¯t woken up yet. Bunch ofzy bums.¡± Noticing the sumptuous breakfast spread Mei Yangyang had prepared, Jin Yiheng praised, ¡°Godma, you¡¯re such a virtuous wife. I¡¯ll go wake Xiaoxi and Wenlun up.¡± He skipped upstairs merrily. While passing by Long Tianze¡¯s bedroom, he chanced upon the sight of Long Tianze, who was still asleep, through the crack of the door, which was left ajar. An idea crossed Jin Yiheng¡¯s mind as he proceeded to tiptoe inside the room. Staring at his Godfather¡¯s thick and muscr arm, he reached out to pinch his nose. Long Tianze felt his breathing being obstructed and turned to the side before continuing to sleep. Jin Yiheng suppressed hisughter and cast his bag aside before removing his shoes. He then climbed onto the bed toy down beside Long Tianze beneath the duvet. Still sleepy and in a daze, Long Tianze mistook him for Mei Yangyang and reached out to fondle him. Chapter 433 - The Secret About the Past (51)

Chapter 433: The Secret About the Past (51)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Long Tianze¡¯s hand was positioned right on Jin Yiheng¡¯s chest. Jin Yiheng widened his eyes in shock and pinched his nose again without letting go this time, causing Long Tianze to wake up due to his breathing being obstructed. ¡°Oh gosh, why is it you!?!¡± Long Tianze was jolted awake immediately and sprung up in shock. ¡°Godpa, you¡¯re so timid. Why are you so frightened?¡± ¡°Little imp, how dare you say that Daddy is timid. Are you that brave yourself?¡± Long Tianze put on his clothes and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s your father?¡± ¡°He¡¯s still in bed. You adults just love beingzy and sleeping all day,¡± said Jin Yiheng as he got down from the bed. Amused by the look of seriousness on his face, Long Tianze jested, ¡°What a mischievous child you are.¡± Jin Yiheng gently pushed the door of Long Xiaoxi¡¯s bedroom open. Staring at the little princess who was still sound asleep, he stepped forward and reached a hand under his duvet. Long Xiaoxi opened her eyes slowly and sat up straight immediately at the sight of him, bumping her head against his. Rubbing her head in pain, she eximed excitedly, ¡°Brother Yiheng!¡± ¡°Get up quick, it¡¯s time for school. I¡¯ve already had my breakfast.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Long Xiaoxi got out of bed in her pajamas and picked out two dresses which she then showed to Jin Yiheng. ¡°Brother Yiheng, which one of these two is nicer?¡± Pointing at one of the dresses, he answered, ¡°I prefer this one.¡± ¡°Alright, I shall wear this then.¡± ¡ª Mrs. Jin headed to the park for some exercise early in the morning. The older she got, the more she enjoyed hanging out with people around her age. Just as she finished her morning workout, a handsome youngd began walking towards them while carrying a bag in his hands. ¡°Hello, Uncles and Aunties, here¡¯s a set of elderly magazine for each and every one of you. This is an incentive under the ¡®The Science Behind Living to a Hundred Years Old by Leading a Healthy Lifestyle¡¯ campaign organized by the Elderly Care Association. It¡¯s a national campaign targeted at the silver generation of the country 1 . You guys may take a look at the brochure. This campaign is extremely beneficial to your health. Many other Uncles and Aunties like yourselves have already signed up to participate. If you wish to sign up, feel free to drop us a call at this number to indicate your interest in participating. My name is Xiaotian. I wish you all to be in good health!¡± he exined. After reading through the magazine, Mrs. Jin stopped him in his tracks, ¡°Xiaotian, wait a minute.¡± ¡°Auntie, do you have any questions for me?¡± ¡°Does this cost any money?¡± ¡°It¡¯spletely free of charge. You may sign up for it. If you don¡¯t mind me asking, how old are you, Auntie?¡± Xiaotian said with a grin. ¡°I¡¯m 58 years old,¡± said Mrs. Jin. ¡°Auntie, you look really young for your age. I thought you were in your forties. How¡¯s your health condition? Do you have hypertension or high blood glucose issues?¡± asked Xiaotian, who was dressed in a presentable attire and sounded extremely mellow and gentle. ¡°My blood glucose is a little on the high side.¡± ¡°You ought to be mindful of your health then. It¡¯s not good for senior citizens to be suffering from high blood glucose, which might lead to various heart diseases. Health is wealth. You have to take good care of your body. This is the time where you should be enjoying life,¡± Xiaotian cautioned. His words had hit the nail on the head. ¡°Where is this program held? Could you take me there?¡± asked Mrs. Jin. ¡°I happen to be going there now, let¡¯s go together. It¡¯s not that far away, just right ahead,¡± said Xiaotian, pointing in front. ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°Auntie, do you take any health supplements regrly?¡± Xiaotian asked while walking. Mrs. Jin shook her head and answered, ¡°I do take some nucleic acid and fish oil supplements.¡± ¡°Auntie, ourpany offers some other health supplements too. The nucleic acid supplement you¡¯re taking helps to boost your immune system while the products sold by ourpany are meant for treating conditions like anemia and anoxia, boost the repair and recement of damaged cells, restoring the functions of vital organs, and revitalizing youth. The uses are all very different. The effects are the same as a facial session at the beauty salon. You have to maintain good health in order to slow down aging.¡± Mrs. Jin was apprehensive towards his words and followed him to his office, only to find that there were many elderly citizens in the lobby. ¡°Auntie, have a seat. I¡¯ll pour you some drink.¡± ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t have to...¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Xiaotian proceeded to pour some tea into a disposable cup and sat down beside her. He then began exining the different products to her patiently. After hearing the boastful exnation given by the soft-spoken and persuasive handsome youth, Mrs. Jin ended up going home with a big bag of health supplements, though her initial intention was to sign up for the free health program. She had racked up a bill of more than 20 thousand dors on her credit card. ¡ª Along the journey home after sending Jin Bao¡¯er to school, Jin Qingyue received a phone call from an unknown number. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± ¡°It¡¯s me, let¡¯s meet up,¡± said Shi Shaochuan. ¡°There¡¯s no need for us to meet. I have nothing to say to you,¡± said Jin Qingyue, who did not wish to see him at all. ¡°Jin Qingyue, I hope we cane to a consensus regarding Bao¡¯er. You don¡¯t wish to see me showing up to snatch the child every other day, do you?¡± said Shi Shaochuan, who verbalized Jin Qingyue¡¯s exact sentiments. ¡°Okay, where would you like to meet?¡± After ending the call, Shi Shaochuan brought his bodyguards along to meet up with her. They agreed to meet at an upscale cafe. They sat down opposite each other, after which Jin Qingyue asked, ¡°Just what do you want?¡± ¡°Nothing, I just wanted to have a proper discussion with you regarding this issue. You did raise the child, but isn¡¯t it your duty to do so? You caused her father to be imprisoned for five years. I want to do my part in raising her too, but I didn¡¯t get the chance to. The custody of the child was given to you, but that doesn¡¯t mean that I¡¯m no longer rted to her,¡± said Shi Shaochuan, keeping his eyes fixed on her. ¡°Shi Shaochuan, I know you bear a strong grudge against me, but let me tell you, the misdeeds you¡¯vemitted back then had made me resent you even more. You¡¯ve ruined my lifepletely. The biggestpromise I can make is to allow you to see her once a week,¡± said Jin Qingyue. ¡°You¡¯ll spend weekdays with her and I¡¯ll take her with me on the weekend.¡± At the thought that Jin Bao¡¯er was a descendant of his bloodline, he emphasized, ¡°No matter what you think of me, I¡¯m going to be a good father from now on.¡± ¡°I refuse to take you at your word. How many times have you taken a look at her when she was just born? Don¡¯t you feel ashamed at all to be saying this now? I¡¯m allowing you to see her once a week, only under the condition that I¡¯m present.¡± ¡°I want to see her twice a week. Jin Qingyue, if you refuse topromise, I¡¯m really going to have to resort to forceful means. When that happens, I¡¯m not going to let you see her at all, not even once a week,¡± Shi Shaochuan warned with a sullen expression on his face. ¡°I have the rightful custody of the child. What rights have you got to stop me?¡± ¡°Precisely because of that. So, you shall take care of her five days a week and leave the weekends to me.¡± Jin Qingyue agreed reluctantly for the sake of peace and harmony. Before leaving, Shi Shaochuan added, ¡°I see you¡¯ve been living a good life the past few years. But sadly, you haven¡¯t had any man at all. Looks like no man would want you anymore.¡± ¡°You did a check on me? It¡¯s none of your concern whether any man wants me or not. Mind your own business,¡± Jin Qingyue retorted. Shi Shaochuan snorted withughter and gibed, ¡°You were really revolting back then when you were fat and chubby. The sight of you just made me want to throw up.¡± Chapter 434 - The Secret About the Past (52)

Chapter 434: The Secret About the Past (52)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I would rather be by myself than have a hundred scumbags like you. Who was the one who made me gain that much weight? If you think you¡¯re so high and mighty, forget about seeing Bao¡¯er. You¡¯re just a rotten piece of trash with a gilded exterior. What¡¯s there to be proud of?¡± Jin Qingyue carried her purse and stormed off in her sky-high heels, unable to tolerate another second of being in his presence. Shi Shaochuan watched as her figure vanished from the entrance of the cafe, an icy cold stare in his eyes. ¡ª It was eight o¡¯clock in the morning when An Xiaoning woke up. She got out of bed and drew the curtains open to allow the bright rays of the sun to shine inside her room. Brows furrowed, Jin Qingyan struggled to open his eyes. Staring at her bare body, he could not help but feel a strange sense of sentiment at the thought of the crazy night they just had. An Xiaoning entered the dressing room to get dressed before going back inside the bedroom. Noticing that he wasying still in bed with his eyes wide open, she asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you getting up?¡± ¡°I¡¯m getting up right now.¡± An Xiaoning leaned forward and whispered into his ear, ¡°You were superbst night.¡± Jin Qingyan gazed at her with a look of happiness in his eyes and began blushing red. It was such a great feeling to receive such apliment from a woman! ¡°I¡¯ll go downstairs first. Get up quick ande down for breakfast,¡± said An Xiaoning. As soon as she exited the bedroom, he lifted the duvet and got out of bed stark naked. To his astonishment, An Xiaoning opened the door again all of a sudden and caught an amusing sight of him standing with his hands ced in front of his crotch. He looked absolutelyical. How innocent and pure! ¡°I¡¯m going downstairs for real this time.¡± After she closed the door, Jin Qingyan zoomed inside the dressing room quickly. In high spirits, An Xiaoning sat down at the dining table and waited for him toe down for breakfast. Two minutester, he arrived downstairs dressed in summer clothing, giving him a fresh and youthful look. He paired a short-sleeved light blue shirt with a pair of bleached denim shorts and slippers. He then sat down at the dining table. Sensing that she was staring at him intently, he said, ¡°Let¡¯s eat.¡± ¡°Okay. We¡¯ll go to the hospital after breakfast.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning picked up her ss of milk and took a sip slowly while still staring at him. She managed to make his heart race with just one nce, causing images of the night before to sh through his mind. She tore a slice of bread into pieces and ate it bit by bit. ¡°Are you thinking ofst night¡¯s events?¡± Jin Qingyan was momentarily stunned. Was it that obvious? She saw right through me so easily, he thought to himself. ¡°No,¡± he denied. ¡°Last night, Yiheng told me that I used to abuse you physically all the time. Was I really like that in the past?¡± ¡°How did he phrase it?¡± Jin Qingyan repeated Jin Yiheng¡¯s words to An Xiaoning, who then snorted and burst intoughter. ¡°Yiheng may be very sensible, but there are still some things he doesn¡¯t quite understand. The things that he mentioned were just evidence of us getting intimate every night in the past.¡± ¡°How did we get to know each other?¡± Jin Qingyan asked. ¡°Our story goes way back in time. Let me recall. It was a night where a thunder storm was raging on. I showed up at your doorstep with my luggage, and you happened to have just arrived home in your car...¡± An Xiaoning sunk into a trance as she recalled the past. The unforgettable memory of their rtionship felt as if it had just happened yesterday. He listened attentively without interrupting her. ¡°We got married so quickly even though we just met?¡± he asked in utter disbelief. ¡°Yes. Ever since then, we slept together every day.¡± ¡°...¡± After breakfast, the married couple made their way to the hospital, where Jin Qingyan underwent a physical examination for his head injury. After taking a look at the X-ray film, the doctor looked at them and said bluntly, ¡°There are still some blood clots present in Mr. Jin¡¯s head. ording to the X-ray, the injury wasn¡¯t treated properly. Don¡¯t be so eager to regain your memory, recovery is a process that would require some time. Mrs. Jin, I suggest you take Mr. Jin to ces where he used to be familiar with or were significant to him frequently. That would aid him greatly in regaining his memory.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± An Xiaoning acknowledged with a nod. ¡°I¡¯ll prescribe him with some anticoagnts to dissipate the blood clots as well as other kinds of medicine. Do take the medicine together.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± After collecting the medicine, they drove towards the Jin Corporation Office Tower. As soon as they alighted, the security officers at the entrance widened their eyes in shock while the manager at the lobby eximed, ¡°Mr. CEO is here!¡± The employees on the first floor immediately arranged themselves into two rows and stood uniformly with their backs as straight as a ruler. Everyone broke into curious gossip and discussion at the sight of An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan showing up at the entrance together. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Didn¡¯t they say that Mr. CEO had gone missing?¡± Woman A muttered. ¡°Are you blind? He¡¯s obviously back,¡± said Woman B. ¡°Exactly. Who¡¯s in charge of thepany now? Mr. or Mrs. CEO?¡± Woman C responded. The manager immediately shot them a nce and chastised, ¡°I¡¯m going to dock a hundred dors from each of your sries. me it on yourselves for gossiping about. Hush!¡± As soon as he finished speaking, the manager said to the head security officer, ¡°Why are Mr. CEO and Madam still standing there instead of entering?¡± Women A, B, and C fell silent. When An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan entered slowly, the two rows of employees immediately bent forward to bow to them. ¡°Greetings, Mr. CEO and Madam!¡± they chorused. ¡°Yes. As you can see, your CEO is alive and well, except he needs to recuperate for a while. Go ahead and proceed to work,¡± An Xiaoning instructed. ¡°Go back to work, everyone,¡± said the manager, gesturing for them to leave. An Xiaoning entered the special elevator and pressed a button on the panel. ¡°Regardless of who it may be, tell them that you¡¯ve been ill recently when they ask about your condition. Leave it to me to handle thepany for the time being. I¡¯ll hand the duties back to you once you regain your memory.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± he agreed with a nod. An Xiaoning held his hand and headed to the office. The secretary was dumbstruck at the sight of him. ¡°Mr.... Mr.... M-M-Mr. CEO, is that really you?¡± the secretary spluttered in astonishment. ¡°Of course. Do you think you¡¯re staring at a ghost otherwise?¡± Jin Qingyan answered without hesitation. He too was rather taken aback by how quickly those words rolled off his tongue, as if he had not been in control of his speech at all. ¡°That¡¯s great. Mr. Jin, it¡¯s awesome that you¡¯re still alive, I missed you so much!¡± the secretary eximed, hugging him tightly. ¡°How absurd for two men to be hugging each other, go away!¡± Jin Qingyan admonished with a look of disdain as he pushed the secretary away. ¡°Madam has been handling thepany matters when you weren¡¯t around. It¡¯s been really hard on her. There was a period of time where she practically lived in the office. She had lost so much weight,¡± said the delighted secretary. Jin Qingyan turned to look at An Xiaoning and said, ¡°It¡¯s been hard on you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing much.¡± They then entered the office together. After closing the door, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°This is where you used to work. Does it seem familiar to you?¡± Jin Qingyan scanned his surroundings carefully before answering with a nod, ¡°Yes, it feels like I¡¯ve seen this ce before.¡± An Xiaoning shoved him towards the office chair and said, ¡°Have a seat and see if it feels familiar to you.¡± Chapter 435 - The Secret About the Past (53)

Chapter 435: The Secret About the Past (53)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Just as he sat down, he heard a knock on the door of the office. ¡°Mr. CEO, your father would like to see you.¡± An Xiaoning was not afraid to see Jin Qingyan¡¯s father at all. However, she was just nning to romance Jin Qingyan at the moment. Thus, she quickly dug underneath the desk. Noticing her actions, Jin Qingyan instructed, ¡°Let him in.¡± Mr. Jin entered hurriedly and broke down in tears at the instant that he saw him. ¡°I really didn¡¯t expect you to still be alive. I heard your sister mention that you¡¯ve lost your memory. But what¡¯s important is that you¡¯re alive and well.¡± He sat down opposite Jin Qingyan and continued, ¡°During the time that you were away, An Xiaoning encroached on your position and stripped me of my Chairman title. Now that you¡¯re back, you definitely can¡¯t let her take charge of thepany anymore.¡± ¡°Why?¡± asked Jin Qingyan as he looked down at the petite woman below him. ¡°What other reason could there be? Obviously because you¡¯re going to lose your position if you let her take charge!¡± ¡°Why would that happen?¡± ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t it? It¡¯s written on your will that all of your assets and shares are going to be bequeathed to her and your son in the event that you meet with a mishap.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t I alive now? She¡¯s my wife and my son¡¯s mother. I feel that I can trust herpletely,¡± Jin Qingyan retorted. An Xiaoning was deeply touched by his words. ¡°Why are you such a stubborn child? You can have plenty of other women. You only truly possess something when you own it all to yourself,¡± Mr. Jin admonished. ¡°Enough, I¡¯m not in the mood to talk about this.¡± He felt a hand unzipping his pants all of a sudden. Jin Qingyan¡¯s heart clenched in shock, and he ced both hands onto the desk. Looking at Mr. Jin in the eye, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, you may leave.¡± Mr. Jin had no choice but to leave, boiling with anger. Jin Qingyan heaved a sigh of relief at the instant that the door closed. ¡°Are you really that deprived in that aspect?¡± he said to An Xiaoning, who was kneeling below the desk. ¡°Which aspect?¡± She got up slowly and sat on hisp. ¡°Tell me.¡± ¡°In that aspect, you know what I mean.¡± Shaking her head, she answered, ¡°No, I don¡¯t know which aspect you¡¯re referring to.¡± ¡°Sex.¡± ¡°I only have such strong sexual desires towards you. No other man can beat your charm, regardless of how muscr or handsome and outstanding they may be,¡± she said solemnly. Her words had greatly enticed him. He took the initiative and nted a kiss on her lips. An Xiaoning reciprocated. He then kissed her again. And so did she. They continued to kiss each other back and forth, again and again in utmost pleasure. ¡ª ¡°Xianxian, where are you going?¡± asked Mrs. Bu, grabbing Bu Xianxian to stop her in her tracks. ¡°I¡¯m going to look for Nick.¡± ¡°What for? He must be apanying his wife and child right now. Are you still thinking of getting him to spend time with you all day every day?¡± Mrs. Bu admonished. Bu Xianxian sat down on the chair and said, ¡°Mother, just what does that woman take me for? They¡¯re trying to brush me off with just five million dors. I admit, five million dors is a huge sum to us, but it¡¯s only peanuts to them. I came all the way here solely because of him.¡± ¡°You¡¯d better stop your nonsense and give up on Nick. Didn¡¯t you see how many young and handsomeds there are here? I think it¡¯d be a good idea to find one for yourself.¡± ¡°Mother, you don¡¯t understand what I¡¯m thinking at all.¡± ¡°I gave birth to you. How could I not know what you¡¯re thinking? We did save his life, but we shouldn¡¯t harbor any ill thoughts. You¡¯ve already seen how beautiful his wife, Young Madam, is, and they even have a son together. Xianxian, heed my advice, don¡¯t keep trying toe in between them. Otherwise, you¡¯ll only bring trouble upon yourself. I heard from one of the female gardeners that Young Madam¡¯s extremely skilled in martial arts. She calls the shots here. Don¡¯t infuriate her and incur her wrath, lest she chases us away. Aren¡¯t the living conditions here way better than back home? Although your father and I can¡¯t quitemunicate clearly with the people here due to thenguage barrier, we¡¯ll pick the nativenguage up in due time.¡± ¡°I want to see Nick,¡± Bu Xianxianmented, hanging her head low forlornly. ¡°He¡¯ll naturallye looking for you if he¡¯d like to see you too.¡± Bu Xianxian began to realize that things were not as she had expected at the start. After sitting on the chair and pondering for a while, she decided to leave the courtyard, only to be stopped by the guards at the entrance. ¡°I want to go out.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not allowed,¡± the guard said in a foreignnguage, which took Bu Xianxian by surprise. Evidently, he was specially assigned to guard the courtyard. ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°This is Madam¡¯s instruction. If you insist on leaving, you can¡¯t enter again after you leave. What I meant is you can¡¯t step foot inside the entire Wei Ni Estate.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t leave the estate. But can¡¯t I move about freely within the estate?¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re only allowed to roam around this restricted area.¡± ¡°...¡± Bu Xianxian was overwhelmed with frustration. How is this any different from prison? ¡°Could I have a mobile phone?¡± she asked. ¡°It¡¯s not up to me to decide. You¡¯ll have to ask our Chief,¡± the guard answered. ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll tell your Young Sir when I see him.¡± She then turned around to leave. ¡°As if our Young Sir would evene to see you,¡± the guard muttered under his breath. In reality, Jin Qingyan did do so. An Xiaoning stayed behind at the office while he went home alone. He headed straight to the courtyard in a bid to visit Bu Xianxian and her family. Bu Xianxian rose from her seat agitatedly upon sight of him. She immediatelyined, ¡°We¡¯re not allowed to leave this ce at all. It¡¯s as good as being imprisoned. Your wife was the one who instructed this. Seems like she really has her guard up against me.¡± ¡°She¡¯s just worried about your safety. I¡¯ll allow you to go out, but you can only remain within the estate. You¡¯re not allowed to run elsewhere on your own, okay?¡± Bu Xianxian nodded in agreement and asked, ¡°Could you give me a mobile phone?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll settle that. Where are your parents?¡± Jin Qingyan asked. ¡°They¡¯re off to work with the gardeners. They mentioned that they would be getting paid to work.¡± ¡°What do you think about the living conditions here, apart from the freedom bit?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. Are you busy now?¡± Bu Xianxian asked smilingly. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Come chat with me for a while. Sit down,¡± she said, patting the empty chair beside her. Jin Qingyan sat down and asked, ¡°What do you want to chat about?¡± ¡°Did you sleep together with herst night?¡± Jin Qingyan had be more alert and mindful of his words after discovering Bu Xianxian¡¯s feelings towards him. ¡°Is there a problem with that?¡± ¡°No... you two are a married couple anyway,¡± said Bu Xianxian, sounding extremely dejected. ¡°Continue to live here with peace of mind. Tell me if you need anything. I¡¯ll agree to it as long as it¡¯s within my means.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not going to agree to this. You are my greatest need.¡± ¡°Xianxian, it¡¯s impossible between us. I¡¯m already married with a family of my own. Besides... cing the fact that you saved my life aside, you can¡¯t hold a candle to her in every other aspect. There¡¯s no reason I¡¯d pick you over her. Not to mention, she and I share a son, and it¡¯s only a matter of truth that we were very loving towards each other in the past,¡± Jin Qingyan said bluntly, in a bid to make Bu Xianxian give up. Chapter 436 - The Secret About the Past (54)

Chapter 436: The Secret About the Past (54)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios His words were like a million daggers piercing through her heart. ¡°You men are so superficial. She may be prettier, more outstanding, and have better skin than I do, but you¡¯ve spent more than a month with me. Do you really not have, in the least bit, any feelings for me at all?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°...¡± Bu Xianxian could not take his cold and nonchnt reply. ¡°Nick...¡± ¡°Xianxian, I¡¯m utterly grateful to you for saving my life, but that doesn¡¯t mean I have to go against my morals and values in order to repay you. I hope you¡¯ll understand.¡± Bu Xianxian fell silent, at aplete loss for words. ¡ª An Xiaoning attended Gu Dongcheng¡¯s wedding just days after attending Gu Beicheng¡¯s. Their wedding dates were closely apart. An Xiaoning had prepared two red packets for each of them, though the amount inside each red packet was different. Between the two brothers who have different mothers, An Xiaoning was much closer to Gu Beicheng. Not to mention, Gu Dongcheng¡¯s fianc¨¦e was Xu Youran, her arch enemy. The entire Gu family gathered around the dining table for a meal. An Xiaoning waspletely unaffected by Xu Youran and remained poised and rxed throughout. Well, because she knew Gu Dongcheng was the only one in the family who was on Xu Youran¡¯s side. What appeared to be a simple meal on the surface was, in reality, an exchange of sarcastic remarks and words with hidden barbs. An Xiaoning made it a point to state things clearly beforehand, so as to give Gu Dongcheng and Xu Youran a warning. ¡°Father, Mother, we found some supernatural beings in the ancestral hall previously. From now onwards, we must install surveince cameras in every corner of the house, be it the kitchen or the water supply nt. Now that there are more people around in this house, we have to be wary in case someone tries to tamper with anything. Prevention is better than cure.¡± ¡°What are you saying, Sis-inw?¡± Xu Youran said smilingly. ¡°By the way, Father and Mother, I¡¯m not sure if you¡¯re aware of this, but Xu Youran is Qingyan¡¯s half-sister. Am I supposed to address her as my sister-inw in the future, or should it be the other way around?¡± An Xiaoning added. ¡°Xiaoning, we wouldn¡¯t have known if you didn¡¯t mention it. Youran, are you really Qingyan¡¯s half-sister?¡± Mrs. Gu asked. ¡°How is that possible? I¡¯m afraid Sis-inw might be mistaken,¡± Xu Youran denied. ¡°I think I may have gotten the wrong person too. Why don¡¯t you do a DNA test with Qingyan?¡± An Xiaoning turned to her husband, who was sitting beside her, and asked, ¡°Hubby, what do you think of this idea?¡± ¡°Great.¡± A sullen look formed on Xu Youran¡¯s face immediately. Of course, she wouldn¡¯t want to carry out the test. ¡°Mr. Jin¡¯s father has already looked me up before, iming that I was his daughter. It was so out of the blue and peculiar though. I have my own parents, why would I be a member of the Jin family? Quit ttering me.¡± ¡°In that case, just go get a DNA test done. Wouldn¡¯t everything be clear then? Besides, we wouldn¡¯t have to keep making wild guesses anymore,¡± An Xiaoning said with a smile, which was getting on Xu Youran¡¯s nerves. ¡°What if I don¡¯t want to get the test done?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re getting afraid? It¡¯s fine if you¡¯d like to keep denying it. It doesn¡¯t matter to the Jin family whether or not you choose to admit it anyway,¡± An Xiaoning answered, pursing her lips. An icy cold re formed in Xu Youran¡¯s eyes. Staring at An Xiaoning, she gibed, ¡°You seem to be in a very good mood now that your husband is back.¡± ¡°Of course, who wouldn¡¯t be?¡± ¡°People with three sets of parents are just so different.¡± ¡°I only have one more than you, you don¡¯t have to be so modest. Regardless of how many sets of parents I may have, I definitely wouldn¡¯t sponge off my father and bring shame to my entire family, unlike someone over here. I¡¯m really worried for Elder Brother. I¡¯m afraid he¡¯ll have to live his life quaking with fear every day after marrying a wicked pest like you,¡± An Xiaoning scorned. Clearly, she did not bother giving Gu Dongcheng any face by criticizing his wife in front of everyone. ¡°An Xiaoning, do you think Jin Qingyan¡¯s that fortunate to have married you? He almost died while on a vacation with you, yet you still have the cheek to criticize me.¡± ¡°Hubby, do you agree with what she just said?¡± An Xiaoning asked Jin Qingyan with a grin. ¡°Definitely not. Marrying you was the best of the best decisions I¡¯ve ever made, no doubt,¡± Jin Qingyan said solemnly while putting down his chopsticks. Smiling widely from ear to ear, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Hubby, you¡¯re the best.¡± Xu Youran was boiling with rage as anger rushed through her veins. Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi remained silent throughout the meal in which An Xiaoning and Xu Youran were the only ones bickering with each other. After the meal was over, Xu Youran immediately left together with Gu Dongcheng and drove away from the Gu family mansion. Xu Youran finally vented all her pent-up anger the moment she got into the car. ¡°Who does she think she is? How dare she talk to me like that! All she did was get herself affiliated to the Jin and Lin families, what¡¯s there to be proud of?¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say that straight to her face earlier?¡± said Gu Dongcheng, keeping his eyes fixed on the road ahead with both hands on the steering wheel. ¡°I was trying not to embarrass you.¡± ¡°Did I tell you to do so? She¡¯s alreadypletely disregarded my presence and disrespected me earlier, why did you even bother saving face? I don¡¯t know what feud there is between you two, but could you tell me, just what¡¯s with you and the Jin family? Was what Xiaoning said just now true?¡± Gu Dongcheng remarked. ¡°Of course not,¡± Xu Youran denied. She decided that it would be better to keep her true identity a secret, since she could no longer get what she wanted from the Jin family. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you dare to get the DNA test done then?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t afraid, I just thought it was silly and absolutely redundant,¡± Xu Youran answered, staring out of the window. ¡°Where do you want to go now?¡± ¡°Where else can I go? Home, obviously. I won¡¯t be staying at your ce tonight. I¡¯ll pack my luggage and move in tomorrow instead,¡± said Xu Youran, who was in low spirits. ¡°Alright.¡± As soon as they arrived at the Xu family mansion, Xu Youran caught sight of a car she had never seen before. ¡°Who¡¯s here?¡± she asked the butler. ¡°Sir has invited Commander-in-Chief home for a meal.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Xu Youran quickly strode towards the entrance and entered the house. ¡°You¡¯re back, Youran. Have you eaten?¡± Madam Xu asked. ¡°I¡¯ve already eaten at my mother-inw¡¯s ce. Is this Uncle Jin? Nice to meet you, I¡¯m Youran,¡± Xu Youran greeted. ¡°Is this your daughter? I rarely see her,¡± the Commander-in-Chief said to Military Commander Xu. ¡°Yes, she loves creating trouble for me all the time. Thankfully, I¡¯ve married her off. I finally get to have my peace.¡± The Commander-in-Chief chuckled and said, ¡°Who says that about their daughter? It¡¯s nice having a daughter, actually, unlike me. I only have a son. But I¡¯ve recently acknowledged a Goddaughter.¡± ¡°Is she Jin Qingyan¡¯s wife, An Xiaoning?¡± Madam Xu asked. ¡°Yes. I didn¡¯t know Xiaoning personally at first. It was my wife who met her at a social event and told me that Xiaoning was very urate in her predictions when ites to fortune-telling. In the end, the Lin family testified that it was true. Without Xiaoning, Old Lin¡¯s daughter Shishi would¡¯ve lost her life,¡± the Commander-in-Chief exined. ¡°What actually happened? I¡¯ve heard about it briefly, but I don¡¯t quite know the exact details,¡± Madam Xu asked curiously. The Commander-in-Chief exined the scenario briefly before eximing, ¡°She¡¯s such an incredible spiritual being with extraordinary abilities. I¡¯m really proud to have such a daughter who¡¯ll bring me glory.¡± Chapter 437 - The Secret About the Past (55)

Chapter 437: The Secret About the Past (55)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Madam Xu smiled and nodded in agreement. ¡°After hearing what you said, I find it truly incredible too. I bumped into her once when I was buying some joss sticks previously. She was buying some things too.¡± ¡°Has your daughter spoken about my family before?¡± Military Commander Xu asked. ¡°About your family? No, she hasn¡¯t brought anything up before,¡± Commander-in-Chief answered. Military Commander Xu felt an immediate sense of relief upon hearing his answer. ¡°Youran has had some conflicts with your daughter. It¡¯s a long story.¡± ¡°Oh, really? I see,¡± the Commander-in-Chief replied, slightly taken aback. Xu Youran put on an awkward smile and said while sitting beside her mother, ¡°I saw her just now at my mother-inw¡¯s ce. We¡¯re sisters-inw now.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no point in taking trivial matters and conflicts to heart. If there¡¯s any misunderstanding between you two, just talk things out and you¡¯ll be fine.¡± Pretending to be sensible, Xu Youran nodded abidingly and said, ¡°Yeah, I thought so too.¡± ¡°Commander-in-Chief, since she¡¯s so urate in fortune-telling, have you ever consulted her to read your fortune?¡± Madam Xu asked. ¡°Yes, I have. She¡¯s indeed very urate,¡± said the Commander-in-Chief, beaming with limitless joy. ¡°Is she naturally gifted or was she taught by a master?¡± Madam Xu asked out of sheer curiosity. Recalling the answer An Xiaoning had given him when he asked the same question, the Commander-in-Chief exined, ¡°She said that she was a natural and her skills were further improved under the guidance of her master. She¡¯s had a very arduous and difficult childhood, which was far from the luxurious life she¡¯s living now. She was abandoned at her vige when she was a child, and her adoptive parents took her in for a few years. However, 20 years ago, some of the vigers were extremely superstitious and imed that she was a jinx. Thinking that she was an unlucky child who would bring about misfortune, her adoptive parents decided to abandon her at the temple belonging to her master, who then took her in.¡± ¡°I see,¡± said Madam Xu, who felt rather moved. Xu Youran stood up and said, ¡°Mother, I¡¯m going back to my room to pack my belongings.¡± ¡°Alright, go ahead.¡± At the thought of his Goddaughter, the Commander-in-Chief could not help but bber on continuously about her, ¡°As the saying goes, when there¡¯s a will, there¡¯s a way. See how well she¡¯s getting on with life now.¡± ¡°Exactly. But, she seems pretty young. She should be a lot younger than Youran,¡± said Madam Xu. After a moment of silence, the Commander-in-Chief said, ¡°She¡¯s 29 years old this year. In fact, she¡¯s turning 30 in July.¡± ¡°Twenty-nine? She¡¯s as old as Youran then. What a coincidence, Youran is also born in July.¡± ¡°Is that so? She¡¯s born in the middle of July, on the first day of the Hungry Ghost Festival,¡± the Commander-in-Chief said in astonishment. Madam Xu¡¯s jaw dropped, and she turned to look at her husband before eximing in astonishment, ¡°They actually share the same birthday.¡± ¡°That¡¯s very coincidental, indeed,¡± said the Commander-in-Chief, who was greatly taken aback as well. ¡°But wasn¡¯t she abandoned? Was her birth date written on the nket she was wrapped in?¡± Madam Xu questioned. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Her master was the one who told her that her birthday was in mid-July. Her master is even more skilled than she is, she would have been speaking the truth.¡± Madam Xu was perplexed and in disbelief of how such a coincidence actually existed. After the Commander-in-Chief left, she said to her husband softly, ¡°How do you think something so coincidental could actually happen?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the big deal about sharing the same birthday? There are many people in this world who have the same birthday,¡± said Military Commander Xu, who was unimpressed. Madam Xu stood up and returned to her bedroom to take out an old photograph from her drawer. It was a precious photograph of herself carrying her newborn daughter in her arms, the one and only photo they had together, which she held dearly to her heart. Madam Xu was filled with agony upon recalling the days of searching for her missing daughter. She could finally be at peace now that her daughter had already gotten married and would be building a family of her own with her husband. ¡ª Lin Mingxi returned to her maiden home only to find that her sister and brother-inw were present too. ¡°Did Beicheng note home with you?¡± Mrs. Lin asked. ¡°Yeah, he went to the office. I came back to get something.¡± Lin Mingxi made her way inside her bedroom to collect her things and exited again. Just as she was about to leave the house, she was stopped by Mrs. Lin. ¡°Mingxi, take a seat. I¡¯d like to talk to you about something.¡± Lin Mingxi sat down as instructed and asked, ¡°Mother, what would you like to talk about?¡± ¡°Does Beicheng treat you well?¡± ¡°Yes, there¡¯s nothing I can pick on at all.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. Your sister told me just now that Beicheng used to adore Xiaoning a lot...¡± Mrs. Lin said worriedly. ¡°Mother, An Xiaoning is married to Jin Qingyan, and they already have a son together. Beicheng only sees her as his younger sister. We¡¯re a family. We don¡¯t have any issues of that sort. Sister is just making mountains out of molehills,¡± Lin Mingxi exined. Mrs. Lin nodded and said, ¡°I just told your sister to arrange a position for you at thepany. You may begin work tomorrow.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Lin Mingxi agreed, having understood her mother¡¯s intentions. ¡°Are you really nning to give up your fitness career? I can help you open a gym,¡± said Lin Mingyuan. ¡°You don¡¯t have to. If I want to set up a gym, Beicheng will help me do so. I think I should focus on helping you out at thepany for now, Sis. You¡¯ve been shouldering the heavy responsibilities of running thepany all along. It¡¯s time I stop cking off and give you a hand. Only then can Father and Mother rest their minds,¡± Lin Mingxi answered with a look of indifference. ¡°It¡¯s only my duty to do so. Mingxi, I still think you should stick to doing the things you enjoy. You¡¯ve already married Gu Beicheng now anyway. The Gu Corporation will belong to you guys sooner orter,¡± said Lin Mingyuan, remaining unfazed. ¡°I did marry Gu Beicheng, but didn¡¯t you marry Brother-inw too? The Gu Corporation belongs to Beicheng and his brother, not me. We¡¯re the only daughters Mother has. It would really be inappropriate for me to continue sitting back and leaving you to handle thepany alone. You don¡¯t have to say anything more, Sis. I¡¯ll be going to the office tomorrow.¡± Noticing how firm in her decision Lin Mingxi was, Lin Mingyuan did not continue insisting and instead said, ¡°Since you¡¯re willing, you may report to the office tomorrow. I¡¯ll arrange for you to take over the position of Deputy CEO.¡± ¡°Alright, it¡¯s settled then.¡± Lin Mingxi patted her mother¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Mother, I¡¯m going back now.¡± ¡°Alright, drive safe.¡± Noticing that she was about to leave, Lin Mingyuan and her husband stood up one after another and exited through the door. Once they were out of the house, Lin Mingyuan stopped Lin Mingxi in her tracks, ¡°Mingxi, I think you haven¡¯t gotten a clear idea of where you stand.¡± ¡°Enlighten me then, Sis.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not suited to run apany.¡± ¡°Quit beating around the bush and bbering on and on about that nonsense. I know you just don¡¯t wish to let me begin working in thepany. Thepany belongs to Father and Mother, not you. Just like you, I¡¯m also their daughter, and that makes us equal. Save your pretentious words and high-sounding excuses, I¡¯m not interested in hearing them,¡± said Lin Mingxi, not mincing her words at all. ¡°Don¡¯t think you can get up to anything funny just because you¡¯re in thepany. Everyone in thepany works for me and abides by my instructions. You¡¯re just walking right into the trap.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Lin Mingxi said with a smirk. Lin Mingyuan put on a confident smile and scoffed, ¡°Just you wait and see.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, Lin Mingxi and her husband returned inside their car and drove off quickly. Lin Mingxi got inside her own car and left. At this very moment, Mrs. Lin showed up at the entrance, clearly having heard the conversation between her daughters. She closed the door and returned inside with disappointment written all over her face. Chapter 438 - The Secret About the Past (56)

Chapter 438: The Secret About the Past (56)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Just as An Xiaoning was about to get off from work, she was informed by the secretary that someone was looking for her. The secretary told her it was Sun Weiwei. Why did Sun Weiweie to see her out of nowhere? ¡°Let her in.¡± Minutester, Sun Weiwei, who was dressed in shabby clothes, showed up at the door of An Xiaoning¡¯s office. She was worlds apart from when she enjoyed fame and sess years ago. Little did An Xiaoning know that Sun Weiwei had just bought the outfit she was wearing. She purchased a new set of clothes especially because she was going to see An Xiaoning. ¡°Ms. An.¡± ¡°What are you here for? I¡¯m going home soon, I don¡¯t have much time. Please get straight to the point,¡± said An Xiaoning as she looked down at the time on her watch. ¡°Ms. An, I¡¯d like to discuss a deal with you.¡± ¡°A deal? You and me? From what I¡¯ve heard, you¡¯re down and out now. What have you got to exchange with me for a deal?¡± An Xiaoning asked in astonishment. ¡°I have time. I¡¯m willing to work for you for 20 years, as long as you allow me to live a better life,¡± said Sun Weiwei. An Xiaoning stared at her solemnly and said, ¡°Sun Weiwei, your reputation is down the drain and everyone knows that you¡¯re a drug addict. You¡¯re no longer at the peak of your youth and beauty...¡± ¡°I know, I understand. I know that there¡¯ll never be a chance for me to stage aeback again in this life. But I¡¯d like to repent for all the mistakes I¡¯ve made in the past. I¡¯ve harbored feelings for the wrong person and caused harm to many others. Right now, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anyone other than you who can help me redeem myself.¡± ¡°I have no interest in the 20 years you have to offer. Besides, I¡¯ve heard enough about you to understand your true colors, though I don¡¯t quite know you personally. I¡¯m sorry,¡± An Xiaoning said bluntly. Disappointment was written all over Sun Weiwei¡¯s face, although she had already expected such an oue, more or less. ¡°Sorry to have imposed on you.¡± Sun Weiwei then turned around to leave the office. An Xiaoning switched off theputer and grabbed her purse before leaving. She was eager to see Jin Qingyan even before she arrived home. She was overwhelmed with excitement. Along the journey home, she drove past a fermented beancurd stall, which caught her attention. She alighted to buy two boxes of fermented beancurd before continuing to drive home. She arrived at the courtyard, only to be greeted with the sight of Bu Xianxian. Carrying the two boxes of fermented beancurd in her hand, she approached Bu Xianxian and questioned, ¡°Who allowed you to roam freely around here?¡± ¡°Nick, of course. Were you thinking of treating my family and me like prisoners by locking us up in that yard?¡± ¡°Do prisoners enjoy such welfare benefits?¡± An Xiaoning retorted and gestured for Xiao Huang toe forth. Xiao Huang hurriedly scurried towards her and greeted, ¡°Young Madam.¡± ¡°From now on, she¡¯s allowed to roam around anywhere else except the main mansion.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± An Xiaoning proceeded to leave as soon as she gave her instructions. Staring at the bag of fermented beancurd in An Xiaoning¡¯s hands while thinking of what she just said, Bu Xianxian was incredibly peeved and frustrated. But then again, she was stepping on someone else¡¯s territory and thus had no choice but to abide by the rules and regtions. Contrary to her expectations, she did not see much of an improvement in her life even after moving in with them. An Xiaoning arrived at the door and peeked inside to find that the living room was empty. She changed into her home slippers and asked Auntie Chen, ¡°Where¡¯s Qingyan?¡± ¡°Young Sir is upstairs.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning made her way upstairs with the bag of fermented beancurd. She slowed down upon approaching the bedroom door and gently pushed it open, making sure not to cause too much noise. Sounds of the tap running could be hearding from inside the bathroom. To her surprise, he was taking a shower. She ced the fermented beancurd onto the table and stood right beside the bathroom door. The tap was switched off, and the bathroom door opened. Jin Qingyan exited the bathroom d in nothing, not even a bathrobe. He was greatly taken aback by An Xiaoning, who was standing by the door. He then zoomed back inside the bathroom and slipped into a bathrobe beforeing out again. He was blushing as red as a tomato. ¡°Why didn¡¯t I hear youing back at all?¡± ¡°I wanted to scare you. I bought some fermented beancurd. It¡¯s tasty,¡± she answered, handing him the bag of fermented beancurd. He grabbed the bag and picked up a piece of fermented beancurd with a toothpick before cing it inside his mouth. ¡°It does taste pretty good.¡± ¡°What were you up to at home today?¡± ¡°Nothing much, I was rather bored.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take you out to rx and have some fun tonight. Are you in?¡± ¡°Where to?¡± ¡°A nightclub. Would you like to go?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± An Xiaoning decided to impress him tonight and had all the activities nned out. ¡°Just us two?¡± ¡°That¡¯d be too boring, let¡¯s call some of our friends along.¡± After finishing the fermented beancurd, she picked out a sexy and revealing dress from her closet. Staring at the dress, Jin Qingyan asked, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re nning to wear this tonight?¡± ¡°Am I not allowed to?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± A frown formed on Jin Qingyan¡¯s forehead as soon as he picked up the dress to take a closer look. ¡°What kind of dress is this? It¡¯s revealing and way too short. I give it a thumbs down,¡± he remarked distastefully. ¡°You¡¯re not the one wearing it anyway.¡± An Xiaoning snatched the dress back and put it on right in front of him before striking a sexy and alluring pose. He was instantly aroused. She put on a long trench coat and buttoned it up, keeping her outfit fully obscured. ¡°I¡¯m not going if you¡¯re wearing this to the nightclub.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you want to let me wear this dress?¡± An Xiaoning asked on purpose. ¡°Why are you asking when you already know the answer?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, that¡¯s why I¡¯m asking you. Why?¡± ¡°Because I don¡¯t want other men ogling you.¡± He then reached out to unbutton the buttons on her trench coat, one by one. An Xiaoning remained still and allowed him to keep unbuttoning. He removed the trench coat and subconsciously caressed her skin. ¡°Let¡¯s not go to the nightclub tonight. If you want to dance for me, you may do it right here and now.¡± ¡°How did you know that I wanted to dance?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re obviously dressed to dance. I¡¯m not allowing it,¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°Can I dance for you alone then?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± He let go of her and sat on the bed while supporting himself with his hands that were ced behind him. He gazed at her while maintaining hisposure. An Xiaoning turned on the stereo speakers in the bedroom and yed a song belonging to the electronic dance music genre. She began dancing gracefully on the bedroom floor. She was as beautiful and delicate as a butterfly. Jin Qingyan was greatly enticed by her alluring dance routine. An Xiaoning went to such great lengths to please him, solely because she wanted to make him fall head-over-heels in love with her again, even though he had lost his memory. She believed that she had the ability to do so. He was destined to be in love with her for the rest of his life. She was just that confident! When she finished performing the dance, she broke into smiles and walked towards him slowly. She leaned forward and pinned him down beneath her. ¡°It¡¯s time to shave,¡± she said, gently caressing his stubble. ¡°Help me shave, will you?¡± ¡°Come with me.¡± Once they entered the bathroom, Jin Qingyan washed the area to be shaved while An Xiaoning took out the razor and washed her own hands. She applied some shaving cream onto his stubble. She then proceeded to shave him gently while he remained still and looked down at her. Due to the fact that he was towering over her, she had to stand on tiptoes to reach him. Both of them remained silent throughout, though a warm and fuzzy feeling filled their hearts. It felt as if they had just begun their rtionship. ¡°Jin Qingyan, we¡¯re just like a fresh couple in the honeymoon stage. Shall we go on a date tomorrow night?¡± An Xiaoning suggested. Chapter 439 - The Secret About the Past (57)

Chapter 439: The Secret About the Past (57)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°A date?¡± ¡°Yes, a date. I have to go to the office tomorrow. Shall we meet somewhere outside for dinner and a movie?¡± ¡°Sure, it¡¯s settled then,¡± said Jin Qingyan, who thought it was a great idea. They made their way downstairs, only to see that Jin Qingyue was sitting alone on the couch and staring into space. ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± ¡°Shi Shaochuan and I havee to an agreement. He¡¯ll be allowed to take care of Bao¡¯er on the weekends,¡± said Jin Qingyue. ¡°Did he threaten you again?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Yes, to some extent. Besides, Bao¡¯er has been pestering me to let her be with her father. Sis-inw, I feel like my future is hopeless.¡± ¡°Why would you feel so? Did he say something to you?¡± An Xiaoning asked, noticing that Jin Qingyue appeared rather upset. ¡°You said that in April, I¡¯d be meeting the man I ought to seize the opportunity to get together with. But after thinking it through thoroughly, I really don¡¯t know who it is. I initially thought it was Brother Ciye, but Song Yan is pregnant and they¡¯re getting married soon, which means he definitely isn¡¯t the one. I guess I¡¯m going to be left on the shelves for the rest of my life. Who else would want to marry me?¡± Jin Qingyuemented. ¡°Don¡¯t think that way. Believe me, I¡¯ve never made any mistakes or blunders in my predictions. You really are destined to be married twice in your life. Your second marriage will be a blissful one. Apart from the fact that he¡¯s ill-tempered, he¡¯s going to dote on you a lot.¡± Jin Qingyue nodded and said, ¡°Yes, I believe you. Forget it, I¡¯m not going to dwell on it anymore. The more I think about it, the more frustrated I get. Oh, and, it¡¯s going to be summer break soon.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡ª Mo Li was discharged from the hospital. On the way home in the car, neither she nor Ye Xiaotian uttered a single word. They remained silent throughout the journey. As soon as they arrived home, the first thing Mrs. Ye asked was, ¡°Is it a boy or a girl?¡± ¡°Mother, it doesn¡¯t matter to me whether it¡¯s a girl or a boy,¡± said Ye Xiaotian. A sullen expression formed on Mrs. Ye¡¯s face upon hearing his answer. ¡°What do you mean it doesn¡¯t matter? It may not matter to you, but it does to me. So is it a girl or a boy?¡± she urged. ¡°It¡¯s a girl. Both the hospitals we visited have verified that it¡¯s a girl. There shouldn¡¯t be a mistake since the fetus is nearing full term and the organs can be seen clearly,¡± Mo Li said, revealing the truth right away. Mrs. Ye was so upset she seemed as if she was about to faint. ¡°Ever since you gave birth to Jiani, you¡¯ve been having a hard time trying to conceive again. Now that you managed to get pregnant again, I was seriously hoping that it would be a boy. Yet, it turned out to be a girl again! Why is your womb so useless?¡± Mrs. Ye admonished. ¡°The baby¡¯s gender all depends on Xiaotian¡¯s genes. Mother, don¡¯t you understand such a simple logic?¡± Mo Li retorted in disdain. ¡°What genes? It¡¯s clearly because your womb iscking. Great, you have two daughters now. Is your third child going to be a girl again?¡± Mrs. Ye hissed. ¡°How would I know if it¡¯d be a girl again? Anyway, Xiaotian and I have already discussed this before. We decided that we¡¯ll be stopping at two, regardless of whether this one¡¯s a girl or a boy.¡± ¡°Are you trying to put an end to our Ye family¡¯s bloodline and leave us with no heir? Your brother gave birth to two daughters and your sister-inw can no longer conceive. If you don¡¯t end up giving birth to a son, your father and I are only going to be driven to our graves!¡± Mrs. Ye snapped angrily. Ye Xiaotian quickly tried to cate her, ¡°Mother, after giving birth to this child, we¡¯ll just try our best for a son when the opportunityes. Wouldn¡¯t that do?¡± ¡°You must give birth to a son no matter what. Once you give birth to this child, I¡¯m going to look for an expert to prescribe some medicine to make you bear a son,¡± said Mrs. Ye. Mo Li stood rooted to the ground, at aplete loss for words. She felt as if she was being treated like a baby-making machine. She waspelled to give birth and had no say in anything at all. Thus, she turned around and returned to her house without even bidding Mrs. Ye goodbye. ¡°Look how rude and horrendous your wife is. I told you not to marry her in the first ce, but you were bent on going against me. I just can¡¯t tolerate her at all!¡± ¡°Enough, Mother, let the matter rest for now. We¡¯ll talk about this again after she gives birth to this child, alright?¡± said Ye Xiaotian, who was put in a spot. ¡°Okay.¡± Ye Xiaotian returned to his house, only to see that Mo Li was crying while sitting on the bed. He sighed and said, ¡°After you deliver, let¡¯s try for another baby.¡± ¡°What if it¡¯s a girl again? Are we supposed to abort it or continue to try for another one?¡± Mo Li asked rhetorically. Ye Xiaotian was at a loss for words. ¡°It¡¯s true that it¡¯d be an embarrassment to the Ye family if we don¡¯t have a male heir. Who¡¯s going to be the sessor of our family business?¡± Mo Li understood his concerns and wanted to have a son too. However, it was not up to her to decide the child¡¯s gender, and there was nothing she could do about the fact that she was carrying a baby girl again. Ye Xiaotian was extremely troubled and vexed as well. He sat beside her and held onto her hand before saying, ¡°It¡¯s just going to be hard on you.¡± Staring at him, Mo Li asked, ¡°Let me ask you, if I keep getting pregnant again and again but they all end up being girls, will you divorce me because of that?¡± ¡°Of course not... I can¡¯t be that unlucky to get a daughter every single time.¡± ¡°I¡¯m saying what if? What if I really can¡¯t give birth to a son? Are you going to divorce me for the sake of the Ye family bloodline?¡± asked Mo Li, keeping her eyes fixed on him. ¡°No, I¡¯ve never thought of divorcing you before. Mo Li, you know that I love you. You should be very clear about how I feel towards you.¡± Of course, Mo Li was well aware. Ever since they got married, her resentment towards him had been vanishing bit by bit. In fact, she had even fallen for him again. That was precisely why she went through painstaking means to conceive a second time, in hopes that it would be a son. She prayed fervently in her heart every single day that she would be blessed with a baby boy. Yet, it still turned out to be a girl in the end. She knew that would be the oue. She knew it... Even ordinary people were prejudiced against daughters and favored sons, what more wealthy families like Ye Xiaotian¡¯s? What they wanted were pride and glory. But then again, what could she do... Ever since she married Ye Xiaotian, Mo Li had rarely interacted with anyone else other than her maiden family. Due to the fact that the Ye Corporation had boycotted the Jin Corporation while taking advantage of Jin Qingyan¡¯s mishap previously, she could no longer contact An Xiaoning and had cut off all ties with her and Jin Qingyan. After all, she was Ye Xiaotian¡¯s wife. ¡°Mo Li, don¡¯t stress yourself out. Just give birth to this child you¡¯re carrying now. We¡¯ll talk about having a third child when the timees.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s abort this child,¡± said Mo Li. ¡°What are you talking about... you¡¯re already almost five months pregnant.¡± ¡°You and I had an agreement that we¡¯d stop at two children, regardless of whether it¡¯s a girl or a boy. Now that we know it¡¯s a girl, what¡¯s the point of giving birth to her? Do you want her to suffer the same criticism from your mother that Jiani does? Is the baby¡¯s gender up to me to decide? Weren¡¯t your brother and sister-inw spared for also not giving birth to a son? Why do we have to take the pressure of giving birth to a son?¡± Mo Li groused, suddenly bursting into tears. Ye Xiaotian hugged her while remaining silent, not knowing what to say. Being a male chauvinist by nature, he too felt that it would be embarrassing not to have a son. However, he did not wish to drive her into a corner. Thus, there was no way he could have the best of both worlds. ¡°Do you really want to abort this child?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She was filled with misery and agony herself. She could not help but wonder, if she were to undergo another abortion, would she fall pregnant with a daughter again? She did not have an answer. People often covet the opportunity to marry a wealthy man for they would be able to live a life of riches. Yet, what many did not understand was the suffering a woman had to go through if she¡¯s struck with the misfortune of giving birth to one daughter after another. Chapter 440 - The Secret About the Past (58)

Chapter 440: The Secret About the Past (58)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Staring at herrge baby bump, Ye Xiaotian said, ¡°I think we¡¯d better keep it. You¡¯re already halfway into your pregnancy. It¡¯s not like we can¡¯t afford to raise another child anyway. We¡¯ll just find a way to give birth to a son in the future. Besides, technology is so advanced nowadays. What¡¯s there to be afraid of?¡± Mo Li remained silent and ced her hand on her baby bump, overwhelmed with a mix of emotions. ¡ª It was already past nine o¡¯clock in the evening, yet Ling Ciye had still not returned. Song Yan returned home to find that he was nowhere in sight. She immediately tried to call him, only to realize that he had switched off his mobile phone. She sat down and began boiling with rage. After waiting for him for a while, but to no avail, she had no choice but to go upstairs to get some rest by herself. Ling Ciye was vexed and exhausted after a busy and hectic day. It was already ten o¡¯clock in the evening by the time he returned home. He had drunk some liquor to ease his fatigue. Thus, Song Yan could smell that he reeked of alcohol when he sat down by the bed. ¡°You didn¡¯t answer all my calls. Where did you go drinking?¡± ¡°My phone was out of battery and I left my portable charger at home. I drank a few sips of liquor at the office. When do you think we should register our marriage?¡± Ling Ciye asked sluggishly. ¡°I¡¯m rather busytely. We¡¯ll register it some time in the future,¡± Song Yan answered casually, thinking that he would give her a lengthy response. To her surprise, he merely expressed his assent. Song Yan turned to her side and asked, ¡°Would you like to register it earlier?¡± ¡°It depends on you. If you think you¡¯re so busy that you don¡¯t even have the time to make a trip down to the Civil Administration Office, what more can I say? It¡¯s all up to you,¡± Ling Ciye answered whileying down in bed slowly after removing his clothes. ¡°You don¡¯t care about me at all nowadays.¡± ¡°How else do you want me to care about you? You know that I don¡¯t have much patience,¡± Ling Ciye retorted, his temples throbbing uncontrobly. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for the fact that I was pregnant, would you be reluctant to even see me?¡± she asked, stating the obvious. He did not answer, for silence meant consent. ¡°Ciye...¡± ¡°I¡¯m tired. If there¡¯s anything else you¡¯d like to say, leave it for tomorrow.¡± Song Yan gave him the side-eye, filled with frustration. ¡°Ciye, we were getting along well at the start. Why have we be like this now? Are you getting sick of me because we¡¯ve been together for too long? You¡¯re making me feel like I was wrong to initiate a makeup. Also, I¡¯m starting to wonder if we shouldn¡¯t have kept the child in the first ce,¡± Song Yan groused. Ling Ciye cocked his head towards the side and said, ¡°Just what are you trying to say?¡± ¡°Do you still love me?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you know the answer?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t. I don¡¯t know at all right now,¡± Song Yan answered truthfully. Unsure how he should exin, Ling Ciye held her gaze and said, ¡°Song Yan, you have to think through every decision you make carefully. Don¡¯t end up doing something that you¡¯ll regret. If you want to marry me, then prepare yourself mentally. If you don¡¯t think it¡¯s worth giving up your career to marry me, then please weigh the consequences yourself. I really don¡¯t need a career-minded woman. I need a family-oriented wife who¡¯ll strive to take good care of her husband and child.¡± ¡°I¡¯m asking you if you love me or not!¡± Ling Ciye admitted, ¡°I don¡¯t know. So please make all your future decisions on your own. I¡¯ll respect your choices.¡± ¡°Your uncertainty just goes to show that you no longer love me.¡± Song Yan took a deep breath before continuing to speak, ¡°I think I¡¯ve been forcing you into this all along.¡± ¡°Do you love me then? What¡¯s the point of condemning me when you only love yourself, Song Yan?¡± Ling Ciye retorted. Tears began to well up in her eyes. ¡°But I want to be with you. Why can¡¯t you just support my career? Can¡¯t we just leave the child to the nanny?¡± ¡°That¡¯s how you always are, making me feel physically and emotionally exhausted. The longer I¡¯m with you, the more sick and tired I grow. I can never find a way tomunicate with you calmly and happily,¡± Ling Ciye said while closing his eyes. Tears streamed down from Song Yan¡¯s face and she quickly wiped them away. Sheid down in bed quietly and turned to her side to face away from him. A lot went through Song Yan¡¯s mind that night. She was still half-awake when he left in the morning of the next day. Not long after she had just fallen asleep, her manager and assistant showed up at her house. ¡°Oh gosh, why are you still sleeping at this hour?¡± her manager, Huahua, eximed. Song Yan opened her eyes and answered, ¡°I didn¡¯t sleep wellst night. I¡¯ve been constantly thinking about something.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Song Yan sat up slowly and said, ¡°I was thinking if I should really give up arge part of my career for the sake of my family and ce my family as my top priority.¡± Upon hearing her words, Huahua immediately berated, ¡°Song Yan, are you out of your mind? You had a hard time getting to where you are today, are you really going to give it up so easily? A man will only look down on a woman if she doesn¡¯t have her own career. I know you¡¯re not cash-strapped, but a career gives a woman confidence. You obviously can¡¯t give that up. If Ling Ciye can¡¯t even be understanding towards you in this aspect, is he really fit to be your husband?¡± ¡°But, the wife he wants is not one who¡¯s so busy and can only see him in the morning and at night.¡± ¡°By the time your baby bump gets even bigger in a few more months, you¡¯ll be able to spend every day with him for a long while. What¡¯s the hurry? Ever since you two made up this time, I think your rtionship is not as strong as it used to be,¡± Huahua said, trying to persuade her. Song Yan looked up and asked, ¡°You can tell?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not blind, of course I can. Those young girls out there are all very straightforward nowadays. They love making the first move on men. You have to keep a close eye on him, don¡¯t let him be seduced by those girls.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not that kind of man,¡± Song Yan refuted, knowing clearly that Ling Ciye was not a phnderer. ¡°Men are never loyal. Also, you may be busy with work but you have to put in more effort into spending time with him and keeping him tied to you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not in the mood for that now. Last night, he asked me when I wanted to get our marriage registered. I told him that I was busytely and that we should wait a while more...¡± Song Yan said unhurriedly. ¡°Are you a fool? You should have agreed right away. It doesn¡¯t take that long to make a trip down to the Civil Administration Office. I can¡¯t believe you told him to wait... your brains must be fried...¡± ¡°I thought he would get eager, but who¡¯d have thought, he wasn¡¯t at all. I wouldn¡¯t have said that had I known earlier,¡± Song Yan said, expressing her regrets. Huahua was utterly shocked at how absurd Song Yan was. ¡°If you¡¯re not even eager, why would he be? Since you¡¯re already pregnant now, why don¡¯t you just give him a call and quickly get your marriage registered first?¡± ¡°I already told him to waitst night. Wouldn¡¯t I be losing face by calling him now?¡± said Song Yan, who was stuck in a dilemma. Huahua handed her the mobile phone and prompted, ¡°Why do you need to care about your pride in front of your boyfriend? Call him quick and tell him that you want to register your marriage now.¡± Finding that Huahua did make sense, Song Yan proceeded to give Ling Ciye a call. He did not pick up. Thus, she called him again, but she still could not reach him. ¡°Call himter then.¡± Song Yan threw a fit and said, ¡°If he doesn¡¯t call me back, I¡¯m not going to call him again.¡± ¡°Filming for the variety program begins today. Fortunately, it¡¯s in the afternoon. Hurry and get up for breakfast before putting on some makeup. It¡¯ll be noontime by the time you finish packing your luggage. Our flight is scheduled in the afternoon.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that we¡¯ll be filming locally?¡± ¡°We¡¯re filming the publicity videos here and the actual program in L City. We¡¯ll be there for a week this time.¡± Chapter 441 - The Secret About the Past (59)

Chapter 441: The Secret About the Past (59)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Song Yan asked as she put on her clothes, ¡°How many days will he be gone?¡± ¡°Three or four days,¡± Huahua answered. ¡°So give him a callter. Before his flight, the two of you can go and collect your marriage certificate. This would save matters.¡± ¡°If he doesn¡¯t call me, I won¡¯t call him first.¡± ¡°...¡± In reality, Ling Ciye had left his phone on the car and did not return her call for the whole day. It was not until the afternoon that he saw the two missed calls from her. By then, Song Yan had gone to L City to film a reality TV show and was no longer in A City. As she wanted to preserve her dignity, Song Yan ultimately did not talk about collecting their marriage certificate. She intended to talk about the matter after she had returned from L City. ¡ª Yesterday, she and Jin Qingyan had agreed to go on a date today. When An Xiaoning went to thepany in the morning, she had brought the clothes and shoes she had prepared in the evening to wear. Before five, she had already changed in the lounge and put on a pair of crystal high heels as well as a fresh new makeup on her face. At half past five, she carried the bag that contained her gown out of thepany and called Fan Shixin to send someone to drive her car back. She then took a taxi to the location of their date. The location was a certain luxurious restaurant. When she arrived at the entrance, she saw that the table by the window was already upied by someone. There was no doubt that it was obviously Jin Qingyan. Carrying her bag, she merrily went up the tform and entered. After pushing the door open, she took light and carefree steps, arriving in front of him. The two smiled as they locked eyes, and the waiter served them their beef, as well as the red wine that had been prepared in advance. ¡°We arranged to meet between 5:30 and 6:00 here. But actually, I was already somewhat expectant at around one in the afternoon.¡± ¡°What were you expecting?¡± ¡°To see you, of course.¡± Her eyes were glowing warmly. ¡°Now, my heart rate is elerating again. For you only.¡± Such lovey-dovey words were unusuallyfortable and pleasing to his ears. All of a sudden, the lights went out. An Xiaoning did not move at all. When she had gotten ustomed to the dark, the lights went on again. Jin Qingyan appeared in front of her with a huge bouquet of roses. She could tell that he was slightly nervous. ¡°Honey, this is for you.¡± An Xiaoning received the bouquet from him. ¡°Thank you, Honey. I like it so much.¡± ¡°All that matters is that you like it.¡± The two ate a simple meal like that, along with those flowers as a gift. That was all, but it was enough to make An Xiaoning extremely delighted. After the meal, they got onto his car hand-in-hand. As they sat in the car, Jin Qingyan confessed, ¡°I didn¡¯t know what else to do on a date. I could only think of giving you flowers...¡± An Xiaoning turned and looked at him. ¡°I¡¯m already very happy. Truly very happy.¡± He started the engine, changed gears, and reversed the car slightly. Then, the car started to roar and zoom forward. An Xiaoning opened the car window, allowing the breeze to blow on her face. It waspletely rxing. While the car was driving forward, it suddenly stopped by the side of the road. She was puzzled. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± His eyes sparkled under the glow of the streetlights. ¡°I want to kiss you.¡± An Xiaoning curled her lips. ¡°Kiss me.¡± He hugged her tightly and eagerly pressed his lips onto hers. It was a deep and passionate kiss. An Xiaoning felt that perhaps in his memories, he had not done this before. So, after this action was triggered, he was deeply consumed in it and enjoyed it. ¡°You lived and ate with Bu Xianxian. Did you do anything that you shouldn¡¯t have done with her?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Did you really not feel anything for her?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Really.¡± An Xiaoning just leaned on her side as she hugged his neck. ¡°Let¡¯s do something more exciting.¡± Jin Qingyan gulped. ¡°What?¡± Her gaze lowered. ¡°Take off your pants.¡± He did exactly as she said. She slowly turned her back to him and sat on his legs, turning over slightly as she asked him, ¡°What do you say we drive as we have some fun, is that alright?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that slightly dangerous?¡± ¡°As long as we like it, what¡¯s the harm?¡± She pulled up her skirt and Jin Qingyan realized that she was not wearing anything underneath. ¡°You...¡± ¡°For convenience.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning turned the car keys. ¡°Step on the gas pedal.¡± The car went forward at an extremely slow pace. His two hands went around her chest area while his chin rested on her neck area to fix his gaze ahead. For a drive that would have taken a little more than ten minutes, they took more than half an hour to arrive. When An Xiaoning got up, he grabbed onto her wrist. ¡°I haven¡¯t had enough...¡± An Xiaoning retracted the seat beside the driver¡¯s and turned to him. ¡°Pull down the curtains ande here.¡± He pressed the button and all the curtains in the car came down. He slowly moved from the seat beside the driver¡¯s to the back seats. The three-hundred-sixty-degree empty area in the car was satisfying for the two of them. When they got down from the car, An Xiaoning¡¯s legs had gone weak. He had a face full of satisfaction and looked refreshed. ¡°My feet are weak. Carry me on your back.¡± Jin Qingyan decisively bent down while she hugged his neck and got onto his back, pleased. With that, he carried her out of the car garage. Bu Xianxian, who coincidentally passed by, saw theming out of the car garage like that from afar. As she watched Jin Qingyan carry An Xiaoning and head towards the living room, her eyes sank and she fell into a terrible mood. ¡°Auntie Chen, is Yiheng upstairs?¡± ¡°No, Little Sir is still ying at the house opposite.¡± ¡°It¡¯s already so dark and he¡¯s still not returning. I¡¯ll go and call him.¡± An Xiaoning went down from Jin Qingyan¡¯s back and was about to go and find her son, but Jin Qingyan held onto her. ¡°Let¡¯s go together.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The couple arrived at the opposite house, where Mei Yangyang and Long Tianze were watching a movie on the sofa. Seeing that they were here together, they knew at once that the couple was here to fetch Yiheng. Mei Yangyang immediately got up and said, ¡°They¡¯re ying at the third floor. I¡¯ll go and call them.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± A whileter, Mei Yangyang came back after she had gone upstairs. With one hand covering her mouth, she said in a rather surprised tone, ¡°The three of you should go up and see what the children are doing.¡± Carrying their curiosity, the four adults went upstairs with light footsteps. At Long Xiaoxi¡¯s door, the four heard the conversation as described below. Xiaoxi: ¡°Brother Yiheng, why isn¡¯t our child crying or talking and is refusing to drink milk? How can it grow like that? Quick, think of something.¡± Yiheng: ¡°Maybe it¡¯s sick. We should bring it to the hospital for an injection.¡± Xiaoxi: ¡°Then quickly carry it to get an injection. Doctor Long, our child is sick. Can you quickly give it an injection?¡± Wenlun: ¡°Alright, let me see the situation. This is not good, your child has gotten a rather serious flu virus. I¡¯m afraid it won¡¯t live.¡± Xiaoxi: ¡°Then, what should we do?¡± Wenlun: ¡°I think, the only solution is to have another child.¡± Xiaoxi: ¡°Brother Yiheng, then we can only have another child. Oh no, our poor child, why did you get sick?¡± Yiheng: ¡°Xiaoxi, lie on the bed, quickly. We¡¯ll have another child...¡± The four adults stood at the door with their heads stretched in and saw Jin Yiheng and Long Xiaoxi lying on the bed side by side, the nket over them. They justy therepletely still and did not move at all. After a few moments, the two sat upright again and cheered merrily, ¡°The child is out. Ha, we have another child now. How great!¡± ¡°Yes, we should never let our child get sick again. Brother Yiheng, don¡¯t you think so?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The four at the door: ¡°...¡± Chapter 442 - The Secret About the Past (60)

Chapter 442: The Secret About the Past (60)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Without disturbing the children, the four adults went downstairs again. Long Tianze stared at Jin Qingyan. ¡°Your son is taking advantage of my daughter now. He needs to take responsibility when he grows up.¡± Jin Qingyan rebutted, ¡°Didn¡¯t you see that your daughter was a willing party? Who asked for my son to be so naturally handsome?¡± Long Tianze was about to spit blood. ¡°Our Xiaoxi may be slightly plump, but look at her, she¡¯s so adorable.¡± ¡°Right. If our children really get married in the future, our families will be doubly rted.¡± Jin Qingyan beamed. ¡°Fat hope! If your son wants to marry my daughter, he¡¯ll have to get through me first.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not you he¡¯d be marrying anyway, why would he have to get through you?¡± An Xiaoning, on the other hand, was speechless. ¡°Are the two of you in the right mind? They¡¯re only this old and you¡¯re already here talking about marriage.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I say, Sister-inw.¡± Long Tianze¡¯s gaze shifted to her neck. ¡°Your strawberry patch looks rather serious...¡± An Xiaoning hurriedly used her hand to cover it. ¡°Go and die.¡± Mei Yangyang pped Long Tianze. ¡°Where are you looking at? Be more serious.¡± Long Tianze chuckled. ¡°Now, our two families are doing great, but Ling Ciye is about to get unlucky.¡± An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Why? Isn¡¯t Song Yan pregnant? They¡¯ll be getting married soon, why will he get unlucky?¡± Long Tianze shook his head helplessly. ¡°You don¡¯t know how during these five to six years, they¡¯ve had so many tiffs and turns that I couldn¡¯t bear to watch. If not for the child, Ling Ciye wouldn¡¯t have mentioned marriage to her. With the situation between them, so what if they get married? I¡¯m saying there¡¯s a high chance they won¡¯t even be able to get married.¡± Mei Yangyangined, ¡°Your mouth stinks.¡± ¡°I¡¯m only saying it in front of a few people. Moreover, if my mouth really stinks, why would you still kiss me so deeply at night?¡± Mei Yangyang turned red and hit him. ¡°Let me beat you to death!¡± When the children were done ying, Jin Yiheng came downstairs and saw his parents. Knowing that they were here to look for him, he raised his radiant little face and spoke in his tender, charming voice, ¡°Daddy, Mommy, let¡¯s go home.¡± Once the family of three had left, Long Tianze called his precious daughter downstairs. Looking at the little face that looked exactly like that of his wife¡¯s, Long Tianze really could not bear to question her. ¡°Xiaoxi, tell Daddy. Do you like your Brother Yiheng...?¡± Without waiting for him to finish asking, Long Xiaoxi raised her thick arms as she shouted, ¡°I do!¡± ¡°How much do you like him?¡± Long Xiaoxi turned silent. After some deep contemtion, she answered her Daddy. ¡°When I grow up, I must marry Brother Yiheng!¡± ¡°But, what if your Brother Yiheng doesn¡¯t like you when you grow up? What Daddy means is, when the two of you grow up, what if he only sees you as a sister?¡± Long Xiaoxi¡¯s face scrunched up into a ball and she was visibly upset. ¡°Daddy is just stating an example 1 .¡± ¡°Daddy, who is Bifang? Why do you have to hit it?¡± ¡°It just means that I¡¯m stating an example. Daddy means, if it¡¯s like that, what would you do?¡± Long Tianze attempted to question her again. ¡°Daddy, Brother Yiheng has already slept with me. He dares to not like me? Who wants to be his sister? I want to be his wife.¡± Watching his daughter¡¯s courageous confession, Long Tianze was really at a loss for words. ¡°Xiaoxi, Mommy supports you!¡± Mei Yangyang felt that it was great. One must always have ambitions. If her daughter¡¯s ambition was to make Jin Yiheng fall for her and to marry him in the future, she would do everything to support her. ¡°But, there¡¯s something I¡¯m not very happy about right now,¡± Long Xiaoxi decided to confess to her parents. Hearing this, Long Tianze asked in a panic, ¡°What?¡± ¡°Brother Yiheng¡¯s deskmate is called Wen Yuechan. She keeps sticking to Brother Yiheng. During lessons, when I look out the window, I always see the two of them ying together. Brother Yiheng likes her a lot too. I¡¯m unhappy.¡± Long Tianze exchanged nces with Mei Yangyang. There was a love rival in the picture? ¡°Xiaoxi, maybe your Brother Yiheng really treats you as a sister only...¡± Long Xiaoxi did not believe his words. ¡°Daddy, why are you always out to get me? Is that all the confidence you have in me?¡± ¡°No...¡± ¡°Daddy, I¡¯m going to go up to sleep. Sleepingte is not good for my skin. If my skin isn¡¯t good, I won¡¯t look pretty anymore. Goodnight, Daddy and Mommy.¡± With that, Long Xiaoxi turned and headed upstairs. Long Tianze sighed. ¡°They say daughters can¡¯t be relied on when they grow older. But even right now, when she¡¯s so young, she can¡¯t be relied on. She hasn¡¯t even grown up and she could fly off anytime.¡± Mei Yangyang grinned. ¡°This is a good thing. It¡¯s called booking a man in advance. I think Yiheng will beparable to his father when he grows up, what¡¯s so bad about that?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not worried about that. I¡¯m worried that the children don¡¯t know anything and they¡¯ll change their minds when they grow older. When Mo Li was young, she loved to y with Qingyan and was even his bride. But it wasn¡¯t the same when we grew up.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve liked Jin Qingyue when you were young, and didn¡¯t you still like her when you were older? Are you afraid your daughter will follow your old ways? If you¡¯re just scared of something and won¡¯t try it out, what is the meaning of life?¡± ¡°Honey...¡± ¡°The dishes haven¡¯t been washed yet, go and wash them.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t the maids around?¡± ¡°I let them clock out already. You go and wash them.¡± ¡°Yes, Madam.¡± ¡ª The following day was a Friday. It was also thest day of school, as the holidays would start thereafter. The three children came down from the car and saw Wen Yuechan carrying her bag as she stood at the school gate. She had two pigtails tied, and flowers decorated her hair. With her pretty skirt on, she looked extra pretty. Seeing the three of them, Wen Yuechan ran over. ¡°Yiheng, isn¡¯t your house at Wei Ni Estate?¡± ¡°Yes, the three of us all live there.¡± Wen Yuechan chuckled. ¡°If it¡¯s like that, we may be able to y together during the holidays. My parents say my family will be moving into Wei Ni Estate.¡± Long Xiaoxi was upset. She was originally already annoyed with Wen Yuechan, but the holidays were here atst. Who¡¯d have thought she¡¯d still linger around them. She did not want to see her at all. Wenlun nced at his sister and said, ¡°Oh, I see.¡± ¡°Wenlun, let¡¯s y together during the holidays.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Long Xiaoxi just went off carrying her school bag while Long Wenlun pulled Jin Yiheng¡¯s arm. ¡°Let¡¯s go in now.¡± The three of them went into the same ss while Long Xiaoxi went into her ss herself. Her face showed she was evidently upset. But despite that, her ssmate Zhang Xiaopang still bothered her. ¡°Long Xiaoxi, something of yours has dropped.¡± She bent down and looked only to feel someone p her on the head. She looked up and asked, ¡°Who hit me?¡± The ssmates around her covered their mouths as they giggled, but nobody spoke. Long Xiaoxi was boiling with rage. ¡°Who on earth hit me? Don¡¯t you know my brother is in the upper ss? Zhang Xiaopang, was it you who hit me?¡± Zhang Xiaopang chuckled as he had his way. ¡°It wasn¡¯t me.¡± The more Long Xiaoxi looked, the more she felt it was him. ¡°You said something of mine dropped, where is it?¡± Zhang Xiaopang pointed under the table. ¡°Isn¡¯t it there? You just didn¡¯t see it.¡± Chapter 443 - The Secret About the Past (61)

Chapter 443: The Secret About the Past (61)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios This time, Long Xiaoxi did not bend downpletely but took a few steps back and nced underneath the table. She realized that there was nothing underneath at all. ¡°You liar!¡± Long Xiaoxi red at him. ¡°It must have been you who hit me.¡± Zhang Xiaopang burst intoughter. ¡°Long Xiaoxi, you¡¯re so stupid. Your brain is really so slow.¡± Long Xiaoxi¡¯s face scrunched up in anger. She got down from her chair and went beside Zhang Xiaopang, exerting all her force to push his unguarded self onto the floor. Caught off guard, Zhang Xiaopang was pushed onto the floor. He got up thereafter, frowning furiously. ¡°Long Xiaoxi, you dare to push me?!¡± ¡°You dare to hit me, why won¡¯t I dare to push you? Is it fun to tease me? Zhang Xiaopang, you¡¯re too much!¡± Zhang Xiaopang reached out to push her as well. Long Xiaoxi took a few steps back and almost fell. ¡°You wait, I¡¯ll go and get my brother here!¡± Long Xiaoxi turned and ran out. A few momentster, Long Wenlun came over. Long Xiaoxi pointed at Zhang Xiaopang and said gruffly, ¡°Brother, it¡¯s him.¡± Long Wenlun asked, ¡°Why did you hit our Xiaoxi?¡± ¡°She pushed me too.¡± ¡°You hit me first, that¡¯s why I hit you. Then, you pushed me again.¡± Long Xiaoxiined to her brother, ¡°It¡¯s not the first time he¡¯s bullying me, it¡¯s been many times already. Brother, you have to help me take it out on him.¡± Long Wenlun nodded, thinking of how this fatso dared to bully her precious little sister. He instantly kicked him with his leg, and before Zhang Xiaopang could get up, he was kicked a few more times by him again. All of these kicks were specifically targeted to his face. It was a short match, but the results were obvious. Zhang Xiaopang already had a chubby face. With those beatings, even his mother would probably be unable to recognize him. His nose was also bleeding from the beatings. He watched as Long Wenlunpletely towered over him and did not dare to fight back. He merely stood there and told the Long siblings, ¡°I¡¯ll go and get the teacher, both of you just wait!¡± Before long, the teacher arrived and brought Xiaopang to apply medication. Long Xiaoxi looked at her brother and said in a low voice, ¡°Brother, if Xiaopang calls his parents here, then you should call ours too.¡± Long Wenlun reached out and held her hand. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Brother is here. I won¡¯t let anyone bully you.¡± Long Xiaoxi nodded. ¡°Brother, you¡¯re amazing.¡± A whileter, Zhang Xiaopang returned with the teacher leading him. Following beside him was his mother, a plump middle-aged woman who had extremely permed curly hair. Looking at Long Wenlun, Xiaopang¡¯s mother questioned brusquely, ¡°So, it was you who beat up my son?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, it was me. Who asked him to bully my sister?¡± Long Wenlun looked up at the woman. ¡°How did he bully your sister?¡± ¡°He hit her head.¡± ¡°He hit your sister¡¯s head, so you beat him up until his nose bled? What an uncultured child you are! Get your parents here immediately!¡± Zhang Xiaopang¡¯s mother put on an air. ¡°Today, I must get even for our Xiaopang. Teacher, call his parents now!¡± The teacher nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve already called his parent, she¡¯s making her way over now.¡± ¡°Let me tell the two of you ¨C for putting our Xiaopang in this state, I will definitely demandpensation for his physical and emotional injuries. Medicalpensation, as wellpensation for bullying the weak will be required! If not, this incident will not end here!¡± Long Wenlun retorted, ¡°Compensation for bullying the weak? Look at your son¡¯s physique, who on earth is the bully? I haven¡¯t even asked forpensation. Auntie, you actually have the nerve to ask for it first.¡± ¡°Wow, you¡¯re not that old, but you sure can talk well. You¡¯ve beaten up our Xiaopang to this state, and you can still talk so righteously like that. Do you think I won¡¯t be able to throw you into the river to drown?¡± ¡°Auntie, if you throw me into the river to drown, I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t be able to pay for it even if you sell all your assets.¡± Long Wenlun tightened his grip on his sister¡¯s hand. ¡°We¡¯re already nice enough to not ask forpensation. To think you¡¯d have the nerve to do so.¡± Zhang Xiaopang¡¯s mother was seething with rage. ¡°You wantpensation? For what?¡± ¡°There¡¯s too many to name.¡± Long Wenlun started slowly, ¡°There¡¯spensation for bullying the weak, emotional hurt, intentional harm, and insult. I hit your son only because he bullied my sister. This is justified as an act of vengeance. Auntie, you want us topensate you? State a price.¡± Zhang Xiaopang¡¯s mother dered, ¡°A hundred thousand!¡± Long Wenlun grinned as he replied, ¡°Sure. We¡¯llpensate you a hundred thousand. You¡¯ll have topensate us one million. That way, after cancelling a hundred thousand away, you still owe us nine hundred thousand.¡± Zhang Xiaopang¡¯s mother widened her eyes in disbelief, simply dumbstruck by his words. The teacher stood aside and watched silently. She knew the status of the Long siblings, so she did not dare to say anything either. She could only wait for their parent toe. After over twenty minutes, Mei Yangyang arrived. After rifying the situation, Mei Yangyang looked at Xiaopang¡¯s mother and said frankly, ¡°My son was indeed not right to hit your son, but was your son right in hitting my daughter? Even though there¡¯s a difference in severity, your sonpletely deserved it. Is my son not supposed to help his sister, is he supposed to watch as your son bullies her? Your son is a human being, but my daughter isn¡¯t?¡± ¡°I say...¡± Zhang Xiaopang looked at Mei Yangyang, who was d in branded goods and had a beautiful demeanor, and instantly realized she was not one to be trifled with. She offered, ¡°Forget it, we¡¯re magnanimous people, we won¡¯t hold it against you.¡± Mei Yangyang felt annoyed hearing her words. ¡°What do you mean by ¡®magnanimous people¡¯? Zhang Xiaopang¡¯s mother, it¡¯s not only physical wounds that are considered injuries. Your son bullied my daughter, do you know how much hurt he has caused? Do you know the trauma my daughter has suffered because of this? Don¡¯t talk rubbish with me. If you want to settle, then do so. If not, then forget it.¡± Zhang Xiaopang¡¯s mother obviously had her imposing manner weakened. She muttered, ¡°I already said forget it, what else do you want?¡± With that, she pulled Zhang Xiaopang and turned to leave. After having a talk with her children, Mei Yangyang left as well. After walking a short distance away, Zhang Xiaopang¡¯s mother returned again. She directly went to ask the teacher, ¡°What do the parents of those two children do?¡± The teacher replied in a low voice, ¡°I heard they live in Wei Ni Estate. The father is the boss of an entertainmentpany, I¡¯m not so sure about the mother. I think she¡¯s An Xiaoning¡¯s sister.¡± Zhang Xiaopang¡¯s mother was stunned. ¡°No wonder she spoke in such a bold manner. We¡±ll be going back first then.¡± ¡°Alright, goodbye, Xiaopang¡¯s mother.¡± After the mother and son left the school gate, Zhang Xiaopang¡¯s grumbled, ¡°Mummy, do we just let the Long siblings off like that? My nose hurts so bad.¡± ¡°Bear with the pain then. Who asked you to start it first?¡± ¡°Mommy...¡± ¡°Shut up...¡± ¡ª Jin Qingyue had just reached her mother¡¯s residence when she saw Mrs. Jin carrying her bag, preparing to go out. ¡°Mother, where are you going?¡± ¡°I have something on, I¡¯m going out.¡± Jin Qingyue stopped her. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°I just have something to settle. If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll leave first.¡± Jin Qingyue had originallye to chat with her, thinking that she might be lonely. She never thought that despite hering over, her mother would be busy with other things. Chapter 444 - The Secret About the Past (62)

Chapter 444: The Secret About the Past (62)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Seeing her go farther away, Jin Qingyue went into the house and asked the maid, ¡°Where is my mother going?¡± ¡°Madam has gone to take part in an elderly activity.¡± The maid continued, ¡°She wentst time and brought back a bunch of medicine.¡± ¡°What medicine? Let me take a look.¡± The maid hurriedly took them out for her. Upon seeing the medicine, Jin Qingyue realized those were the healthcare products her mother had bought. ¡°How much are these?¡± ¡°Madam didn¡¯t say.¡± Jin Qingyue called her mother, but her call was not picked up. She then instructed the maid, ¡°When my mother returns, please give me a call.¡± ¡°Alright, Missy.¡± Jin Qingyue was slightly worried as she knew that many healthcare products in the market were not reliable. They were not effective, but not to the extent that they would cost one¡¯s life. It was simply a waste of money. She then drove back to Wei Ni Estate. She had been staying at Jin Qingyan¡¯s ce for some time and had not returned to her own house in the meantime. Upon arriving, she spotted and immediately recognized Ling Ciye¡¯s car in the courtyard. Jin Qingyue got down from the car and entered the house, carrying her bag. While she didn¡¯t see her brother, she saw Ling Ciye alone lying on the sofa with his eyes closed. ¡°Brother Ciye.¡± ¡°Ah... Qingyue.¡± He turned over and asked as heid on one side, ¡°Where have you been?¡± ¡°I went to my mother¡¯s. Where¡¯s my brother?¡± ¡°He¡¯s not up yet. Still sleeping in.¡± ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Jin Qingyue sat opposite him and yed with her phone. She asked while staring at her phone screen, ¡°I heard you¡¯re getting married?¡± ¡°Maybe.¡± His answer was vague. ¡°There¡¯s a chance.¡± ¡°Congrattions.¡± Ling Ciye thanked her, then added, ¡°It¡¯s time for you to find one as well.¡± ¡°Would it be that easy to find one? Moreover, for a woman like me whose reputation is tarnished, it¡¯s too difficult.¡± Jin Qingyueughed. ¡°This is what I think: if I can¡¯t find one soon, I¡¯ll have to choose one from my brother¡¯s underlings.¡± ¡°How about Shixin?¡± ¡°We¡¯re too familiar with each other already.¡± Jin Qingyue went on, ¡°I¡¯ll just let nature take its course. Anyway, I¡¯m still young and not in a hurry.¡± ¡°Umm, that¡¯s true.¡± Ling Ciye ced his arms under his head and started staring at the ceiling. The two stopped talking, and there was silence in the living room. A sudden chime of a ringtone broke the silence, causing Jin Qingyue to raise her head in surprise. It was Ling Ciye¡¯s phone. He nced at the caller ID and took the call. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you would be back in a few days?¡± Ling Ciye questioned. ¡°Why would it take so long?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Alright, I know. Be careful over there and don¡¯t do activities that are too strenuous.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Hmm? Just speak.¡± ¡°...¡± Ling Ciye suddenly sat upright. ¡°Sure, I agree about us getting married sooner, but you have to be back for us to collect the marriage certificate. I¡¯ll wait for you toe back then.¡± ¡°...¡± After hanging up the call, Ling Ciye¡¯s mood worsened. ¡°Where has she gone?¡± ¡°She went to take part in a reality TV show. Originally, she said she would be back after filming one episode. Now, she says that she¡¯ll need to film three episodes.¡± Ling Ciye shrugged, then showed a look of helplessness. ¡°I¡¯ll just let her do as she wishes then.¡± Jin Qingyue remarked after some hesitation, ¡°The first trimester of pregnancy is the critical period, so she needs to take extra precaution.¡± ¡°I told her to rest at home, but she disagreed. She insisted on finishing the filming, then reducing her workload. She¡¯s just a workaholic.¡± ¡°Brother Ciye, you should instruct the people around her to take extra care of her, just in case.¡± ¡°Qingyue, if it was you, would you put your career first?¡± Jin Qingyue said frankly, ¡°I don¡¯t have a job now anyway. But, I¡¯m someone who¡¯s easily satisfied and who doesn¡¯t have much ambition in my career. I just think the savings I have now are enough tost me for the rest of my life. I¡¯ll just focus on living well with my child. As for other things, I haven¡¯t thought of them yet. But honestly, if I were Song Yan, I¡¯d cut down on my workload now. It doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯d quitpletely, but I¡¯ll reduce it by a lot, or even not work during the pregnancy. After giving birth, I¡¯d still be able to continue working.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I think too, but she doesn¡¯t agree. We¡¯ve discussed this issue many times already, but it still ends up nowhere every time. She has her own way of thinking, and I have mine. What I need is a wife, not a career woman.¡± Ling Ciye grew more upset as he talked. ¡°Sometimes, I think we don¡¯t have anything inmon anymore. If not for the child, maybe...¡± He stopped there in his sentence and did not go on. But, Jin Qingyue already understood what he meant. In this aspect, she felt that he was a responsible man. But why had she herself met an irresponsible man? Jin Qingyue gazed at him as she spoke. ¡°Brother Ciye, when two people get together, it¡¯s a process of trying to make things work. Since the two of you are getting married, then you¡¯ll have to amodate each other and bear with each other¡¯s ws. I think Song Yancks security, and that¡¯s why she¡¯s like this. You should give her a stronger sense of security. Maybe then she would think that her career can¡¯t match up to yours and will try to bnce it better. ¡± These words went straight at Ling Ciye¡¯s heart, and he nodded as he acknowledged what she said. ¡ª Mei Yangyang felt that it had been some time since she had gone home, so she drove back there. If she had not gone back, she would not have known how overboard Mei Shuanshuang had gone. The moment she entered her house, she heard Mei Shuangshuang¡¯s shouts from her parents¡¯ bedroom as she asked for money. ¡°Faster!¡± she snapped. ¡°Get out of this house!¡± Mr. Mei¡¯s voice was full of rage. ¡°Give me the money and I¡¯ll scram.¡± ¡°...¡± Mei Yangyang pushed the bedroom door open and entered. Seeing that she had suddenly returned, Mei Shuangshuang remarked sarcastically, ¡°Oh, the richest one in the house is back?¡± Without any hesitation, she dragged Mei Shuangshuang out of the room. ¡°A 25-year-old is still asking for money shamelessly? If you want money, go earn it yourself.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t ask you anyway, you¡¯re a rich man¡¯s wife now. After bing rich, the way you speak has indeed be different.¡± Mei Yangyang could not be bothered to entertain her. ¡°Father, you and mother should sell this house and move to my ce. Let her survive on her own.¡± Mr. Mei was really quite infuriated by her younger daughter, but he could not bear to sell the house, so he responded, ¡°I¡¯ll move to your ce for some time with your mother first. We¡¯ve lived in this house for so many years, I really can¡¯t bear to sell it. Just leave it like that first.¡± Mei Shuangshuang turned silent, and Mei Yangyang could tell what thoughts she was harboring. She warned Mei Shuangshuang sternly, ¡°If you dare to sell Father and Mother¡¯s things away, I¡¯ll send you to jail.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you just shoot me? Mei Yangyang, just because you have some money now, don¡¯t think you can look down on others. No matter how rich you are, I won¡¯t butter up to you.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Mei Yangyang scorned ruthlessly. ¡°Even if you butter up to me, I won¡¯t be generous enough to give you a single cent.¡± She turned and left, carrying her parents¡¯ suitcase filled up with their belongings and cing it in the boot of the car. Mr. Mei carried his wife and sat at the backseat of the car, and Mei Yangyang drove the car away. Only Mei Shuangshuang was left in the house. She went back to search around her parents¡¯ bedroom, but she could not find a single cent. Chapter 445 - The Secret About the Past (63)

Chapter 445: The Secret About the Past (63)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Infuriated, she decided topletely break off ties with her family. She sold everything she could in the house, yet, because their house was old, there was no certificate of ownership. She simply went all in and secretly sold the house in the name of its owner. The price was pathetically low, and she personally signed the papers. Within a day, she sold the house she had been living in all this while. Bringing the money and luggage with her, shepletely disappeared. Mei Yangyang only realized it to her surprise a few dayster when her father instructed her toe back to get something. All the anger was boiled up inside her. She insisted on canceling the selling of the house, but the buyer said that if she wanted the house back, Mei Shuangshuang would have to be sued for fraud. Mei Shuangshuang would then really face the possibility of going to prison. After discussing with her father, they eventually did not pursue the matter. It was fine that the house was sold, since her parents would no longer have to face Mei Shuangshuang¡¯s constant extortion. Mei Yangyang felt that it was good as well, but her parents did not have an appetite for two consecutive days and only cried. Mei Yangyang was infuriated with Mei Shuangshuang but also worried about her at the same time. She was extremely reluctant to find her sister as she had long lost any bond with this biological sister of hers. But seeing the state her parents were in, she simply had no choice. She decided to ask her mother directly. ¡°Do the two of you still want to see her before you every day?¡± ¡°Yangyang, no matter what, she¡¯s still your sister... We don¡¯t know where she¡¯s gone with the money, what if she runs into bad people?¡± Mei Yangyang turned to her father. ¡°Father, what do you think?¡± ¡°Let her be. Whatever happens to her is her fate. An unrepentant child like her, we¡¯re better off without.¡± Mrs. Mei retorted, ¡°How can we just cut off ties with her? She¡¯s a piece of flesh that came from me as well. It¡¯s our fault for not teaching her well, it¡¯s our responsibility.¡± Mei Yangyang could not stand the attitude of her teary-eyed mother. ¡°Because you¡¯ve spoiled her like this, that¡¯s why she dared to sell the house. Do you believe this or not? If you and Father can be exchanged for money, she would sell the two of you too.¡± ¡°Yangyang...¡± ¡°I¡¯m just perplexed. Both of you are getting on in years already and still worry about her like that. Let her do whatever she wants to. She¡¯s 25 already, not 15. She¡¯s an adult now, she¡¯ll have to face the consequences of whatever she does. For how long more do the two of you have to bear with her already? Not everyone in society would treat her like the two of you do and can forgive her endlessly,¡± Mei Yangyangmented honestly. ¡°I don¡¯t want to see her or let her stay here.¡± Mr. Mei felt that what her daughter said made sense. ¡°Yangyang, Father thinks what you said is right. Let¡¯s not find her anymore. No matter how she leads her life, it¡¯s her own issue. As parents, we¡¯ve done everything we could by raising her up. As for other things, it¡¯s out of our control already.¡± ¡°She¡¯s already an adult, both of you should stop worrying so much about her. While you¡¯re here worrying about her, she¡¯s probably somewhere else enjoying life with the money from selling your house.¡± With that, Mei Yangyang turned and left the house. ¡°Young Mistress, the opposite house asked you and Young Sir to go over and eat tonight.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡ª Although An Xiaoning was exhausted from spending a busy day at the office, from eight in the morning to past six in the evening, the thought of being able to see Jin Qingyan when she reached home cleared all her exhaustion. As her car drove into the garage and pulled over, she got down from it and entered the living room in her high heels. Before she even entered, she could hear the house bustling with noise. Everyone was around except Jin Qingyan. ¡°Where is he?¡± ¡°Not sure, he was still around just now, but he went out after a call,¡± Mei Yangyang responded. An Xiaoning turned and went out, running right into Xiao Huang. ¡°Have you seen Young Sir?¡± ¡°He¡¯s gone over there.¡± Xiao Huang pointed towards the direction he had returned from. ¡°Umm.¡± She went towards the direction he had pointed at. After walking for a while, she saw his back view at the wooden bench not far away. From her point of view, he was the only one there. She pressed her lips down into a sweet smile and walked over in high spirits. When she had about a small path left between them, she suddenly realized that there was another pair of legs under the bench. It was apparent that next to Jin Qingyan, the other pair of legs belonged to a woman. Even more apparent was that the reason she could only see him sitting there from afar was because the woman was leaning over the bench or his legs. To find out which was the case, she slowed down her footsteps and went forward slowly, approaching them discreetly. She then observed their tightly linked legs under the bench. After careful observation, An Xiaoning realized that the woman was leaning over the bench. For some reason, An Xiaoning heaved a sigh of relief. She intentionally lightened her footsteps and stretched her neck to look. She saw that the woman was indeed leaning over the bench but was closely holding onto him. Her shoulders were shaking as well. It seemed like she was crying. That woman was not just anyone; it was Bu Xianxian. An Xiaoning stood behind the tree and saw that the two did not speak for a long while. It felt rather ridiculous. She lowered her head as she switched her phone to vibration mode, then called Jin Qingyan. Unexpectedly, he actually hung up her call and did not pick it up. An Xiaoning was now dissatisfied. She called him another time and watched as he hung up her call again. If she went over there so abruptly, it would be very awkward for him. Which was why she just turned and left immediately. Pretending as if nothing had happened, she returned and entered the house. After changing her shoes, she merrily chatted with everyone. ¡°Sis, you didn¡¯t find Brother-inw?¡± Mei Yangyang inquired under her voice. ¡°I didn¡¯t see him, but I reckon he didn¡¯t go too far.¡± An Xiaoning turned to Auntie Chen. ¡°Serve the dishes now, let¡¯s not wait anymore.¡± ¡°Sure, Young Madam.¡± Everyone was seated at the dining table, and An Xiaoning instructed Fan Shixin to get the best wine from the wine cer. Fan Shixin did as he was told and got the wine, pouring it into everyone¡¯s sses. Even when the dishes were served, Jin Qingyan still had yet to return. Ling Ciye remarked as he called him, ¡°Why isn¡¯t he picking up?¡± ¡°He probably had something on and went out. Let¡¯s not wait for him. Come, let me give a toast to everyone.¡± Everyone got up and shouted in unison, ¡°Cheers!¡± They raised their sses and took a sip, cing it back down as they started to eat. ¡°Qingyue, where¡¯s Bao¡¯er? I haven¡¯t seen her in the house when I came back.¡± ¡°Her father fetched her away.¡± Jin Qingyue continued, ¡°It¡¯s good that way, since she wants her Daddy so badly. I¡¯ll just let her have her wish then. I can rx for two days as well.¡± An Xiaoning nodded. ¡°Even though Shi Shaochuan isn¡¯t such a good person, no matter what, he¡¯s her biological father. He¡¯d probably treat her quite well.¡± ¡°That, we wouldn¡¯t know.¡± Jin Qingyue raised her ss and drank two mouthfuls, the sharp taste of the wine piercing through her throat. ¡°When the child was born, he didn¡¯t look after her much either. I was the one who raised her. She¡¯s now past five already, and only now is he so eager to spend time with her. I only agreed to him because I had no choice, so he¡¯ll take her for two days in a week. I won¡¯t have to face his constant threatening and bombarding anymore as well.¡± As this point, Jin Qingyue smiled bitterly as she confessed, ¡°The thing I regret the most in my life was not listening to your words, Sister-inw. Really, this has made me so regretful. If I had listened to you, it would have been great. But when we¡¯re young, we always don¡¯t know better and insist on our own ways. Only when we get a memorable lesson learned will we know who¡¯s truly concerned about us.¡± Chapter 446 - The Secret About the Past (64)

Chapter 446: The Secret About the Past (64)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning raised her ss and clinked it against hers. ¡°It¡¯s all in the past. We ought to look forward to the future. What¡¯s important is that you¡¯ve learned from your mistakes.¡± ¡°Since you¡¯re so urate in your predictions, would you help read my fortune?¡± Ling Ciye asked An Xiaoning. ¡°Of course. Tell me your birth characters. To make things clear beforehand, I only ever tell the truth without sugar-coating my words. Don¡¯t get angry if you hear something you don¡¯t like. But of course, it¡¯s entirely up to you to decide if you want to believe me. I think you have good judgment, though,¡± An Xiaoning reminded. Ling Ciye chuckled and said, ¡°Are you afraid I¡¯ll get angry? I believe you, and I believe in my future too. Perhaps your words might give me a clearer idea of what to expect. I was born on the 22nd of February, at ten o¡¯clock in the morning. You know my address.¡± A grave expression formed on An Xiaoning¡¯s face as soon as she heard his answer. Noticing how stern she looked, Ling Ciye asked calmly, ¡°Is my fortune bad?¡± ¡°Which aspect would you like to know about?¡± ¡°My marriage. I¡¯d like to know if I¡¯ll have a blissful marriage.¡± An Xiaoning burst intoughter and asked, ¡°Were you frightened by how austere I looked?¡± ¡°A little... did you do it on purpose?¡± An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°Congrats, you got the right answer. You¡¯re destined to be married once and have two children, but... I think I¡¯d better tell you this privately.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, there are no outsiders here. Go ahead.¡± ¡°Your first child will pass away at the end of this month.¡± Everyone was instantly dumbfounded. End of this month? It¡¯s the child Song Yan was carrying, wasn¡¯t it? Ling Ciye stared at An Xiaoning and asked, ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Yes. Do you know what Song Yan¡¯s birth characters are? I can help predict the marriage prospects of you two,¡± An Xiaoning asked. Ling Ciye nodded and said, ¡°Yes, she¡¯s told me before. She was born in the same year as me, on the 9th of August at four o¡¯clock in the afternoon. I remember it very clearly.¡± An Xiaoning smiled and said firmly, ¡°Your birth characters sh with each other. You two won¡¯t end up getting married.¡± Everyone gasped in shock. Ling Ciye was rather confused upon hearing her words. ¡°But you said that I¡¯d be getting married...¡± he said in bewilderment. ¡°You will, but not to her. That¡¯s all I can reveal. It¡¯s mainly up to you to decide.¡± Ling Ciye did not have much of a reaction and instead said, ¡°Indeed. I¡¯ve gotten a better idea about my life now after hearing from you. Actually, I¡¯ve been constantly asking myself this questiontely. If she wasn¡¯t pregnant, would I have continued staying in a rtionship with her and end up marrying her? But in fact, my heart has been telling me ¡®No¡¯ time and time again. After all these years of being in a rtionship with her, I¡¯ve had enough of her fickleness and her unreasonable personality. I also can¡¯t stand how much of a workaholic she is. Since it¡¯s all destined, I won¡¯t force it and just let nature take its course then.¡± An Xiaoning admired him for his open-mindedness. ¡°If you don¡¯t know what you want, just ask yourself what you don¡¯t want. If there¡¯s something or someone who¡¯s causing you endless misery, you might as well let it and let him or her go. Only then can you live in peace and joy.¡± ¡°I finally understand why Qingyan loves you so much. Xiaoning, not only are you beautiful and great at fortune-telling, you have an excellent mindset too,¡± Ling Ciye said in a moment of enlightenment. ¡°Did you only realize it now? Ling Ciye, you¡¯ve crossed the line. Have you always been skeptical toward our rtionship before this?¡± An Xiaoning humphed. ¡°Of course not...¡± The moment Jin Qingyan entered, he was greeted with the sight of everyone engaged in joyous conversation while gathered around the dining table. Turns out, everyone had already begun eating and drinking without him. He sat in his seat and poured himself half a ss of wine. ¡°Where did you go? You didn¡¯t answer my calls.¡± ¡°I went out to take a walk.¡± Jin Qingyan raised his ss and said, ¡°Cheers.¡± Everyone conceded and clinked their sses against his. An Xiaoning continued to eat and drink while maintaining herposure, as if she had not witnessed what happened earlier at all. By the time they were almost done with the meal, Ling Ciye grabbed his phone and left the room. Even the blind could tell that he had gone out to make a call. To the astonishment of all, he returned with a sullen expression on his face. He grabbed a bottle of liquor and chugged it down in one go. Everyone could tell that he was upset. ¡°That¡¯s how she always is...¡± Sitting on the couch with his head hung low, he said feebly, ¡°She always puts her career before everything else, nothing is more important than work to her...¡± ¡°Being a celebrity has always been a stressful job. Once she signs the contract, she¡¯ll have to adhere to every instruction and arrangements made by the production unit,¡± An Xiaoning said, trying tofort him. ¡°I told her I would pay thepensation sum for breaching the contract... Although, in the past... we¡¯d been together for a few years, and the time we spent together was never as much as the time she spent with the staff of her artiste management agency or her colleagues. Xiaoning, I actually already guessed the oue when you were reading my fortune, because I can¡¯t see a future with her at all. Thankfully, you said that I would get married and have two children. I saw hope in my life after hearing your words,¡± Ling Ciye murmured with his eyes ssed over. An Xiaoning remained silent while Jin Qingyan dragged her upstairs. ¡°You read his fortune?¡± ¡°Yeah, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Why did you do that?¡± ¡°He was the one who asked me to. I¡¯m not the type to lie, and I always tell the truth anyway. So, I told him straight that there¡¯d be no future for him and Song Yan¡¯s rtionship. What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t you be more tactful with your words?¡± ¡°No.¡± An Xiaoning was actually already angry at him for hanging up on her. Yet, he still had the cheek to me her for telling Ling Ciye¡¯s fortune instead of giving her an appropriate exnation. ¡°An Xiaoning...¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan... what do you want?¡± she retorted, staring at him fearlessly. ¡°Nothing.¡± An Xiaoning pulled the door open and made her way downstairs. Ling Ciye had had one too many to drink. An Xiaoning instructed Fan Shixin and Long Tianze to help him into the guest room, followed by getting Auntie Chen to brew him some broth in a bid to help ease his hangover. ¡°Sis, we shall take our leave then,¡± said Mei Yangyang, waving goodbye at her. ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning returned upstairs and entered the bathroom straight away,pletely ignoring Jin Qingyan, who was sitting on the bed. As she was showering, he pushed the door open and barged in. An Xiaoning ignored him and continued to bathe herself. Jin Qingyan stood beside her to shower himself. He then tried to hug her, only to have her push him away. ¡°Are you angry? I was just asking you a casual question. Do you have to get so upset?¡± He said, trying to coax her. ¡°I¡¯m not angry,¡± she said calmly. ¡°Your expression gave it all away, yet you¡¯re still trying to deny that you¡¯re angry.¡± An Xiaoning did not respond and exited the shower immediately after she was done. She draped a towel across herself and proceeded to dry her hair, leaving him alone in the bathroom. He then quickened his pace and exited soon after. An Xiaoning put on a sleeveless silk nightdress and sat in front of the dressing table while spreading a sheet of facial mask across her face. He did not bother drying his hair and instead just walked towards her in a bid to hug her again from behind. To his surprise, An Xiaoning¡¯s elbow hit him right in his crotch forcefully, preventing him from advancing forward. Chapter 447 - The Secret About the Past (65)

Chapter 447: The Secret About the Past (65)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Ouch!¡± Jin Qingyan shrieked in pain and immediately ced his hand on his crotch. ¡°You¡¯ll suffer for the rest of your life if you cripple my manhood,¡± he said to An Xiaoning. ¡°Of course I won¡¯t. I¡¯m not going to be a widow with a living husband just because I have one less man.¡± She stood up all of a sudden and walked toward the bed while smacking some lotion onto her face. ¡°What do you mean? Are you telling me that you¡¯re going to look for other men in front of me?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not impossible either. I¡¯m young, beautiful, and rich. It shouldn¡¯t be too difficult for me to find as many young and handsome chaps as I¡¯d like, should it?¡± Jin Qingyan felt as if his pride as her husband was being challenged. She was not to be spared. He lifted the duvet andid down beside her before saying, ¡°I was just casually asking you a question. Must you really treat me like this? Honey, I know I was wrong.¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re not wrong at all. You¡¯re very right, you¡¯re absolutely right, you¡¯re the most correct!¡± Jin Qingyan reached out to hold her hand and coaxed, ¡°It¡¯s not worth getting upset at me because of this.¡± An Xiaoning shrugged his hand away and asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you answer my call?¡± ¡°Because...¡± He knew that she would definitely hit the roof if he were to tell her that he was with Bu Xianxian at the time, since he was aware that she disliked Bu Xianxian. ¡°Because I was just at home and didn¡¯t stray too far away. I was thinking that it wasn¡¯t necessary to answer, lest I waste any money on the phone bills.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s anger grew upon hearing how he still refused toe clean. She kicked him off the bed and hissed, ¡°Go sleep in the study.¡± ¡°Why!?! I don¡¯t want to sleep in the study,¡± Jin Qingyan protested while climbing onto his feet. She got down from the bed and continued to kick him, though he refused to budge. He grabbed the headboard tightly for dear life and refused to let go no matter how hard she kicked. An Xiaoning had no choice but to walk to the dressing room and pick out her outfit for tomorrow before exiting the bedroom. Jin Qingyan stared at the empty bedroom, unsure why she had gotten so infuriated. In his opinion, she was simply being too petty. Heid on the bed alone, bored out of his wits. He continued to toss and turn in bed but simply could not fall asleep. He decided to put on his home slippers and go out to find out which room his wife had gone to sleep in. He headed to the study to find that it was empty. He then checked the guestroom, only to find that she was not there either. Could she have gone outside? he wondered. ¡°Fan Shixin.¡± Fan Shixin hurried towards him and asked, ¡°Young Sir, what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Have you seen Young Madam?¡± ¡°No, I haven¡¯t.¡± Jin Qingyan turned around and chanced upon the sight of An Xiaoninging out of the kitchen with a ss of milk in her hand. She pretended not to notice his presence and went straight to the guest room. Jin Qingyan instantly felt rather embarrassed. He did not chase after her and made his way upstairs instead. An Xiaoning locked the door andid down in bed after finishing her milk. At the same time, Auntie Chen came out of the kitchen with the freshly-brewed broth and said to Jin Qingyue, who was sitting on the couch, ¡°Missy, would you like to bring the broth to Mr. Ling?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Jin Qingyue stood up to take the bowl from Auntie Chen¡¯s hands and brought it to Ling Ciye¡¯s room. Just as she ced the bowl onto the table, his phone began to ring. Jin Qingyue took a look at the caller disy and dared not pick up the call without his permission, in fear of causing any misunderstanding. ¡°Brother Ciye, your phone is ringing.¡± ¡°Oh... pass it to me.¡± He struggled to open his eyes and extended an arm out to grab his phone. Jin Qingyue hurriedly handed the phone to him, after which he swiped on the screen and answered the call. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I fell asleep and didn¡¯t hear my phone ringing.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s true. Why would I lie to you?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I¡¯m at Qingyan¡¯s ce right now. I had too much to drink earlier. I¡¯ll be spending the night here.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°We¡¯ll talk when you¡¯re back.¡± He ended the call. Jin Qingyue then handed him the broth and said, ¡°Brother Ciye, Auntie Chen made this. Have some, it¡¯ll ease your difort.¡± ¡°Alright, thanks.¡± He flung his phone onto the bed and grabbed the bowl. ¡°I¡¯m going back to my room then.¡± Jin Qingyue left his room but did not close the door. Ling Ciye finished the broth and ced the bowl onto the table beforeying down again. His head began to ache immensely while he kept his eyes wide open. He had a nagging difort in his stomach too. After much thought, he decided to call Song Yan again. The first thing he said was, ¡°Song Yan, I¡¯ve gotten our fortunes told.¡± ¡°What was the oue?¡± Song Yan asked. ¡°It said that our unborn child will pass away at the end of this month. So, could you withdraw from filming? I¡¯ll pay thepensation fees.¡± Song Yan snorted and sneered, ¡°If the child is destined to die, I would still suffer a miscarriage if I stop filming and stay at home. Since it¡¯s all fated, what more can I say? Are you telling me this on purpose because you don¡¯t want to marry me?¡± ¡°No...¡± ¡°The fortune-teller must¡¯ve told you that there wouldn¡¯t be a future for us too, right? Don¡¯t tell me you sought An Xiaoning to read our fortunes,¡± said Song Yan. ¡°Yes. She¡¯s always been well known for her urate predictions. What really irks me is, shouldn¡¯t you being back now to register our marriage right away?¡± Ling Ciye asked. ¡°I already told you I won¡¯t be going back for the time being. I believe it wouldn¡¯t be toote to wait ¡¯til Ie back to register our marriage. It¡¯s only going to be a few extra days anyway. If you really want to marry me, a few days wouldn¡¯t make a difference, would it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m really finding it harder and harder tomunicate with you.¡± Song Yan¡¯s hackles began to rise. ¡°Ling Ciye, what do you mean? You actually went to get the child¡¯s and our fortunes told. Just tell me straight if you don¡¯t want to marry me. It¡¯s not like I must marry you anyway!¡± she snapped. ¡°What I mean is the child might really pass away at the end of this month and I just wanted you to be careful not to move about vigorously. Song Yan, is work really more important to you than our child and I are?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve really had enough...¡± Ling Ciye was extremely frustrated and disappointed to hear her hang up on him. His eyelids were getting heavier and heavier. Yet, he still could not fall asleep. He was incredibly upset and in utter difort. Soon, his stomach began to twist and turn. He threw up onto the ground immediately, not even making it to the rubbish bin. He stood up and walked towards the bathroom on an unsteady gait to rinse his mouth. He finally felt much more relieved. Aftering out of the room, he sat on the couch and said to the servant, ¡°Please clean up the room. I threw up in there.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± The servant immediately proceeded to clean up. Not long after, the servant returned and said, ¡°Mr. Ling, I¡¯ve cleaned up everything. Please take the other guest room instead, there¡¯s still a pungent odor in the one I just cleaned up.¡± ¡°Sure, thank you.¡± He stood up slowly and declined the servant¡¯s offer to help him. He scrambled unsteadily towards the guest room. He pushed the door open and entered straight away since the door was not locked. Thinking that it was the guest room the servant was referring to because the lights were on in the room, he closed the door and locked it from the inside. He then walked toward the bathroom in a bid to answer nature¡¯s call. In a drunken stupor, he subconsciously pushed the bathroom door open. As soon as the door opened, Jin Qingyue, who had just taken off her clothes for a shower, was shocked out of her senses. He stood by the door and was greeted with the sight of her standing below the shower head, stark naked. He gazed at her petite and slender figure and at her fair, porcin skin, dumbfounded and shocked. Chapter 448 - The Secret About the Past (66)

Chapter 448: The Secret About the Past (66)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After holding eye contact for several seconds, Jin Qingyue snapped back to reality and let out a shriek of terror before wrapping the towel around herself quickly. Ling Ciye turned so his back was facing her; the shock had sobered him up a little. ¡°Um... Qingyue, I¡¯m sorry, I entered the wrong room...¡± he spluttered nervously. Jin Qingyue understood that he did not mean to walk in on her showering since he had had one too many to drink. Although she was incredibly embarrassed, she still walked out of the bathroom nheless and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, go get some rest.¡± ¡°Okay...¡± Ling Ciye exited the room, feeling a strong urge to just bury himself underground. Jin Qingyue locked the door from the inside, overwhelmed with a mix of emotions. At the thought of the scene earlier... She could not sleep well for the rest of the night and woke up extremely early in the morning. Who¡¯d have known? So did Ling Ciye. He didn¡¯t seem to have had a good sleep either. They were both rather awkward and embarrassed when they bumped into each other again in the morning. Ling Ciye was a man after all and ought to be able to stoop or stand. Thus, he greeted her calmly, ¡°Good morning.¡± ¡°Good morning. Are you leaving now, Brother Ciye?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Drive safe along the roads.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± He suddenly stopped in his tracks and apologized, ¡°Qingyue, I¡¯m so sorry.¡± Jin Qingyue smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯m not a maiden anyway. Besides, you didn¡¯t do it on purpose. I don¡¯t hold it against you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be taking my leave now then.¡± Just as he left, Jin Qingyue saw An Xiaoninging out from another guest room. ¡°Sis-inw... did you sleep in the guest roomst night?¡± An Xiaoning stifled a yawn and answered, ¡°Yes. Why are you up so early?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t sleep wellst night. I couldn¡¯t fall asleep. Did you have an argument with Brother?¡± An Xiaoning sat down beside her and leaned back against the couch sluggishly. ¡°Your brother infuriated me.¡± ¡°Teach him a lesson then, see if he dares to incur your wrath again.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, her phone began to ring all of a sudden. It was a call from the servant at Mrs. Jin¡¯s ce. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°What? She came back sote? She bought health supplements again?¡± Jin Qingyue asked in disgruntlement. ¡°...¡± ¡°Got it, I¡¯ll go over when I¡¯m done eating.¡± After ending the call, Jin Qingyue hissed in contempt, ¡°Mother must be bewitched.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°She spent tens of thousands on a bunch of health supplements. I bet she got scammed. I found many identical supplements online that are sold at a much cheaper price. When I first found out about it a few days ago, I told the servants to inform me as soon as she returns home. I then went over to her ce and gave her ashing. Yet, she actually went to buy more supplements and she didn¡¯t even go homest night. Mother is seriously getting more and more muddled up the older she gets. I¡¯m going to tell her off again when I go there after lunch,¡± said Jin Qingyue. Upon hearing her words, An Xiaoning said, ¡°There¡¯s no use in scolding her.¡± ¡°Sis-inw, what do you think I should do then? I¡¯m afraid she¡¯ll ruin her health by taking those dubious supplements. We have to find a way to stop her,¡± Jin Qingyue said worriedly. An Xiaoning turned to face her and said, ¡°I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll change even if you keep lecturing her, because she probably knows she¡¯s in good health and doesn¡¯t need to take those supplements at all. If that¡¯s really the case, I doubt she¡¯s buying them for the sake of improving her health.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Go shadow her today and find out what else she¡¯s up to apart from purchasing those health supplements. We¡¯ll discuss our next move afterward,¡± said An Xiaoning, who actually did not wish to meddle with Mrs. Jin¡¯s matters. However, she did not want to see her mother-inw ruin her own health either. ¡°Will do,¡± Jin Qingyue agreed with a nod. ¡ª Jin Qingyan woke up in the morning to find that An Xiaoning was not around. He then headed to the guest room to check again. ¡°Brother, don¡¯t bother looking for Sis-inw. She¡¯s already left for the office.¡± ¡°I was just checking if Ciye was up yet,¡± Jin Qingyan denied, refusing to admit that he was looking for An Xiaoning. Having seen right through his lie, Jin Qingyue chuckled and said, ¡°Drop the act. Do you really think I can¡¯t tell that you were looking for Sis-inw? How did you make her upset?¡± ¡°It was a trivial matter,¡± said Jin Qingyan as he took a seat. ¡°Sis-inw looks really infuriated. She seemed sulky and in low spirits. Lovers¡¯ quarrels are soon mended. Buy her a presentter to coax her,¡± Jin Qingyue suggested. ¡°No.¡± Staring at him, Jin Qingyue eximed, ¡°Seems like you really lost your memory. Otherwise, Sis-inw would never sleep in the guest room.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because you wouldn¡¯t have allowed it. I have something to attend to, I¡¯m leaving now,¡± said Jin Qingyue as she stood up to leave. Staring at the breakfast spread before him, Jin Qingyan suddenly lost his appetite at the thought of what Jin Qingyue had just said. ¡°Young Sir, if the dishes are not to your liking, shall I fix you something else?¡± Auntie Chen asked meticulously. ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯m not hungry. You may take your leave. Do we have surveince cameras at home?¡± ¡°Of course we do. There¡¯s a room meant for monitoring the footages from all the surveince cameras. It¡¯s right upstairs.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± He made his way upstairs and arrived at the monitoring room. To his surprise, he discovered that there were still some footages from a long time ago. Jin Qingyan was bewildered to find that there were still footages of An Xiaoning from a few years ago, but there were none of Jin Yiheng. What was going on? Filled with questions and confusion, he decided to ask Fan Shixin about it. Fan Shixin was slightly taken aback by his question and answered truthfully, ¡°Previously, Young Madam lived in M Nation for five years together with Little Sir. The woman in the footage who looks exactly like Young Madam isn¡¯t actually her.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Fan Shixin looked at him and exined everything bit by bit, starting from when they first got married, up until the present. Fan Shixin was parched from all that talking, and his thirst could not be quenched even after drinking several cups of water. He spent the entire afternoon doing nothing except tell Jin Qingyan about the past. After hearing Fan Shixin out, Jin Qingyan was in utter disbelief of everything that had happened, though he knew that Fan Shixin would not lie to him. Jin Qingyan could tell from the way Fan Shixin had spoken that thetter had a great ton of respect for An Xiaoning. He could also tell what kind of a person An Xiaoning was. Thus, he learned that An Xiaoning was not the type to get upset at him over trivial matters. Could it be that she wasn¡¯t angry at me for ming her for telling Ling Ciye¡¯s fortune? he wondered. What else could it be then? Could it be that she had seen me talking to Bu Xianxian? After recalling her words, he deduced that that was very likely to be the case. I shouldn¡¯t have kept it from her. Jin Qingyan instantly regretted his actions. He tried to call her repeatedly but to no avail. Thus, he had no choice but to drive to the office to look for her. Just as he drove out of the garage, he was stopped by Jin Yiheng. ¡°Daddy, where are you going?¡± ¡°To look for your Mommy.¡± ¡°Could you bring me along?¡± Thinking that bringing his son along would get in the way of him exining things to her clearly, Jin Qingyan decided to turn him down. ¡°No, stay at home.¡± ¡°Daddy, I want toe along too.¡± ¡°Be good at home. I¡¯ll y with you when I return.¡± ¡°...¡± Jin Yiheng watched as his father drove away. He stomped his foot in annoyance and returned inside the house. Jin Qingyan went to the office only to find that An Xiaoning was not around as she had gone out for a meeting. He had no choice but to wait for her in the office. An Xiaoning finally returned to the office hourster, at four o¡¯clock in the afternoon. m Chapter 449 - The Secret About the Past (67)

Chapter 449: The Secret About the Past (67)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As soon as she arrived at the door, the secretary informed her that Jin Qingyan came by during noon and had been waiting for her inside for hours. She pushed the door open and was immediately greeted with the sight of him sitting on the couch quietly. After closing the door, she walked inside and asked, ¡°What are you here for?¡± He sprung up immediately and walked towards her. To his surprise, An Xiaoning walked past him and hung her purse onto the clothes hook before taking a seat on her chair. Jin Qingyan approached her once again and supported himself against the desk. He looked down at her and said, ¡°Are you still angry?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not angry, why would I be?¡± He reached out to grab her chin, forcing her to maintain eye contact with him. ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me. I know you¡¯re still angry. I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not your fault. Why are you apologizing? You¡¯re never wrong or at fault.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have kept it from you. Xianxian called me yesterday to say that her mother had pped her. I went to see her andforted her while she was bawling and weeping. You happened to call me at that time so I didn¡¯t answer. I didn¡¯t tell you about it because I knew that you disliked her and you¡¯d definitely hit the roof if you found out that I didn¡¯t pick up your call because I was with her at the time. Had I known that you¡¯d get so upset, I would¡¯ve told you the truth right from the start. Besides... ¡± He continued, ¡°I wasn¡¯t ming you for the matter regarding Ciye. Telling him the truth wasn¡¯t your fault since he was the one who wanted to know.¡± Noticing that she was not answering him, Jin Qingyan cocked his head sideways to look at her before saying, ¡°Are you really that angry? How can I make you feel better? Tell me.¡± In fact, his words were already enough to make her anger dissipate. Pouting her lips, she answered, ¡°I¡¯m not that petty. I wouldn¡¯t have gotten angry if you¡¯d decided to be honest from the start.¡± He immediately rushed forward to hug her and said, ¡°I haven¡¯t had my lunch because I was waiting for you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not the only one who hasn¡¯t eaten, I haven¡¯t either.¡± ¡°Shall we go and eat together then?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± As soon as she stood up, he hugged her by her waist and gave her a kiss before saying, ¡°You¡¯re finally not upset anymore. Great!¡± ¡ª After shadowing her mother for a day, Jin Qingyue realized that the situation was far more serious than she had imagined. She did not make a sound throughout and instead followed Mrs. Jin all the way home. ¡°Why have youe back at this time?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been following you the entire day. Mother, is that 20-something-year-old the man who sold you those health supplements?¡± ¡°I was the one who initiated the purchase because I took pity on him,¡± Mrs. Jin answered. ¡°You¡¯re in the pink of health, what are you taking those supplements for?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not taking them anyway.¡± ¡°Why did you buy them in the first ce then? Do you think you¡¯re doing charity? That gigolo is obviously out to cheat you out of your money,¡± Jin Qingyue snapped. ¡°Why do you have to put it that way? Xiaotian is really having a hard time working as a salesman, why do you have to call him a gigolo?¡± ¡°I¡¯m already being kind by calling him a gigolo. Mother, have you got too much money to spend? Do you want me to tell Sis-inw to cut back on your allowance from now on?¡± Jin Qingyue threatened. ¡°I¡¯ll strangle you if you dare breathe a word about this to her. Are you trying to make life hard for me? Stay out of my matters and just mind your own business,¡± Mrs. Jin snapped. ¡°Mother, I¡¯m just sparing a thought for you. Why can¡¯t you understand where I¡¯ming from? You¡¯re being so stubborn.¡± ¡°I¡¯m already such an old adult. Do you really think I need you to teach me what to do? You actually followed me for the entire day. Seems like you have a lot of time on your hands. Since you¡¯re so free, just go find yourself a man,¡± Mrs. Jin scorned before turning around to walk away. Jin Qingyue stood rooted to the ground and remained silent. She got inside the car. Suddenly reminded of Jin Bao¡¯er, she decided to give Shi Shaochuan a call. Shi Shaochuan put Jin Bao¡¯er on the phone to speak with Jin Qingyue. ¡°Mommy, I¡¯m on summer break now. I¡¯d like to spend the whole summer with Daddy.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you miss Mommy then?¡± asked Jin Qingyue, exceptionally disappointed to hear her daughter¡¯s request. ¡°I used to spend all day with you, Mommy. I¡¯m enjoying myself with Daddy now and I want to spend more time together with him. I¡¯lle back to you when school starts again.¡± ¡°Did Daddy teach you to say that?¡± Jin Qingyue could not help but feel that way. ¡°Mommy misses you dearly,¡± she added. ¡°I miss you too, but, Mommy, Daddy brings me out to y every day. I still want to be with Daddy. I¡¯m going out to have some fun now. I¡¯ll call you again next time, bye.¡± Tears welled up in Jin Qingyue¡¯s eyes as soon as her daughter hung up on her. Soon, her tears began to roll down her cheek. She felt as if there was no more hope in life and she could no longer see the light of day. Jin Qingyue got a grip on her emotions and began driving back to Wei Ni Estate. Upon arriving at the entrance, she caught sight of her nephew sitting on top of the wall. She wound down the windows and craned a neck out to ask, ¡°Yiheng, what are you doing up there?¡± ¡°I¡¯m ying.¡± ¡°Come down, quick. Mind your step and be careful not to fall.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t fall, don¡¯t worry, Auntie.¡± Jin Qingyue drove her car inside and walked towards thedder, only to see that he had a paintbrush in hand, along with a palette of multi-colored paint beside him. Everyone was crowding around the wall and watching him closely, in case he falls off. ¡°What are you drawing?¡± ¡°He¡¯s drawing Young Sir. Little Sir seems to be angry. Young Sir said he¡¯de home to y with him but he¡¯s yet to return home,¡± said Xiao Huang. Jin Qingyue burst intoughter and said, ¡°Watch him closely and make sure he doesn¡¯t fall. Just let him keep drawing.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡ª Gu Beicheng showed up at the Lin Corporation office building at 5:20 PM sharp. He managed to enter sessfully while wearing a pair of shades and a surgical mask. The moment he stepped foot into Lin Mingxi¡¯s office, he heard a heated argument going on inside. It was Lin Mingyuan and Lin Mingxi arguing with each other. He pushed the door open and entered. They immediately stopped arguing at the sight of him. Lin Mingxi got a grip on her emotions and asked, ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°I¡¯m here to pick you up, why are you guys arguing?¡± asked Gu Beicheng, slowly shifting his gaze to Lin Mingyuan. ¡°What other reason could there be? Thepany belongs to Father and Mother, no one is allowed to have it all to themselves. I¡¯m not going topromise even if you keep finding trouble with me,¡± said Lin Mingxi as he switched off theputer. ¡°You¡¯re ipetent yet you still refuse to take criticism? Don¡¯t try to butt in and interfere if you don¡¯t have what it takes to run a business. You gave up your passion in order to do something you can¡¯t manage. Aren¡¯t you just causing unnecessary misery for yourself?¡± Lin Mingyuan sneered. ¡°I¡¯m ipetent? You know clearly whether I¡¯m ipetent or whether you¡¯re simply finding fault with me. I know you¡¯re trying to drive me out of thepany, but I refuse to let you have your way,¡± Lin Mingxi retorted with an austere expression on her face. Lin Mingyuan did not utter another word and left straight away. Noticing that she was upset, Gu Beicheng reached out to hold her hand and walked out of the office. After entering the elevator, he pressed the button for the first storey and said, ¡°Since you sisters can¡¯t get along, why don¡¯t you convert your portion of thepany shares into cash and invest it in something you like doing?¡± ¡°Is that really a good idea?¡± ¡°What¡¯s so bad about it? Once you convert your shares into cash, you can do anything you want. I¡¯ll support your decision, be it to open a gym or anything else. You¡¯ll be happier and have something to do. What do you think?¡± Lin Mingxi smiled and said, ¡°I think that sounds great. Actually, I don¡¯t quite like running thepany either. I hate seeing that face of hers.¡± Chapter 450 - The Secret About the Past (68)

Chapter 450: The Secret About the Past (68)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Don¡¯t see her if you hate it then. We¡¯re not in need of money anyway. Besides, I don¡¯t want you to tire yourself out. What¡¯s the point of going toe to toe against her in the office? You two are biological sisters after all. Although you may not get along well with each other, there¡¯s no need to make things worse. Besides, you still have me,¡± said Gu Beicheng. Lin Mingxi nodded in agreement. ¡°I¡¯ll heed your advice then.¡± ¡°What would you like to eat? Let¡¯s go together.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have any special cravings, I¡¯m fine with eating anywhere.¡± Gu Beicheng brought her to a restaurant. ¡°Xiaoning and I dined here before. The food¡¯s pretty delectable. Here¡¯s the menu.¡± Lin Mingxi took the menu from his hands and ordered a few dishes before handing the menu back to the waiter. Scanning her surroundings, she said, ¡°What an artistic restaurant.¡± ¡°Yeah, the food is tasty too. I¡¯m going on an overseas business trip tomorrow to discuss a major deal. I¡¯ll only be back a monthter.¡± ¡°Do you have to be away for so long? Since it¡¯s for business, go ahead, bute back as soon as possible,¡± said Lin Mingxi, sounding rather reluctant to let him leave. ¡°Will you miss me?¡± he asked with raised brows. ¡°Of course I will, you¡¯re my Hubby,¡± Lin Mingxi answered, blushing slightly. ¡°I¡¯ll be going together with Xiaoning, though. Ourpanies are cooperating to clinch a deal with an overseas client,¡± Gu Beicheng told her truthfully. ¡°Is that so?¡± Lin Mingxi asked, sounding extremely disgruntled. She was not exactly thrilled about the idea, especially since she knew that Gu Beicheng loved An Xiaoning deeply. She also knew that it would be impossible to make him forget about An Xiaoning within a short period of time. Noticing that she had gotten upset, Gu Beicheng looked down and asked, ¡°Are you overthinking again?¡± ¡°No,¡± she denied. ¡°You are. Xiaoning is forever my closest kin. She has been and always will be,¡± he said slowly. ¡°I understand. However, I can¡¯t help but get reminded of the fact that she¡¯s more important to you than I am, which upsets me every time,¡± Lin Mingximented in a mellow voice. ¡°I know, I¡¯ll try to adjust slowly. Trust me, alright?¡± said Gu Beicheng, who was apprehensive toward his own promise. Lin Mingxi nodded in agreement. She had the patience to wait for the day that she would finally conquer his heart. It was only a matter of time. ¡ª An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan drove home in the evening. Upon arriving at the entrance, they both turned in sync to look out of the window at the wallmp, only to see that there were caricatures of them drawn on the wall. After driving into the courtyard, Jin Qingyan asked, ¡°Who drew those on the wall?¡± ¡°Little Sir did.¡± ¡°That imp... wash the drawings off immediately. They¡¯re hideous,¡± Jin Qingyan instructed. ¡°Yes, Young Sir.¡± Fan Shixin burst intoughter and immediately instructed the servants to get rid of the drawings. ¡°This silly child must be angry at me. It¡¯s tough being a man, a husband, and a father. I¡¯ll go try cajoling him,¡± Jin Qingyanmented with a sigh. An Xiaoning smiled and headed inside together with him. Upon arriving at the door of Jin Yiheng¡¯s bedroom, Jin Qingyan stuck his head inside to take a peek. He realized that his son was lying in bed with the bedmp on. He walked in stealthily and said, ¡°Son, Daddy¡¯s home.¡± Jin Yiheng continued to lie in bed and remained still. ¡°Son?¡± Jin Qingyan inched forward to take a closer look, only to find that his son was crying. ¡°Daddy and Mommy went to handle some matters. That¡¯s why we were homete. I¡¯m sorry for not being able to y with you like I had promised earlier. But from tomorrow onwards, I shall y with you every day for the entire summer break, okay?¡± ¡°Really? You can¡¯t lie to me,¡± Jin Yiheng asked in between sobs while staring at him. ¡°Of course. I promise I won¡¯t lie to you.¡± Jin Yiheng burst into smiles and said, ¡°Bad Daddy. You didn¡¯t keep your promises. I almost didn¡¯t want to trust you again.¡± ¡°Mommy is going on a business trip tomorrow. Daddy will bring you out to y while she¡¯s away. Tell me where you¡¯d like to go, I¡¯ll agree to anything you suggest,¡± Jin Qingyan whispered. Jin Yiheng jumped for joy and eximed gleefully, ¡°Awesome! Daddy, I want to go fishing and visit the Pce Museum. There are so many things I wanna do, I can¡¯t remember all of them!¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, take your time to recall. Write them down once you¡¯ve thought of them. We¡¯llplete each activity one by one. Sounds good?¡± Jin Yiheng threw his arms around his neck and eximed, ¡°Daddy, you¡¯re my good Daddy. You¡¯re awesome!¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say I was a bad Daddy earlier? You even made me be a wallflower. You were the one behind those drawings on the wall, weren¡¯t you?¡± Jin Qingyan questioned, poking his son in his forehead. ¡°Yes, I was the one who drew them. Daddy, were my drawings nice?¡± ¡°Yes. I was just asking Uncle Shixin who the great artist behind such a beautiful piece was. Turns out it was my son. Daddy is so proud of you. Alright, go to bed, quick. We¡¯ll set off tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°Okay! Goodnight, Daddy.¡± ¡°Alright, goodnight.¡± Jin Qingyan switched off the lights and exited the room. Jin Qingyan swiftly made his way back inside his own bedroom. An Xiaoning was removing her makeup while sitting in front of the dressing table. Upon sight of him, she remarked, ¡°You¡¯re smiling so widely your jaw is about to drop. What¡¯s the joyous asion?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve settled matters with our son. I didn¡¯t sleep wellst night, did you know?¡± asked Jin Qingyan while taking off his clothes in an exaggerated manner. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°I¡¯m telling you now then.¡± He walked towards her and hugged her tightly from behind. ¡°You¡¯re leaving for your business trip tomorrow and you¡¯re going to be away for such a long time. What am I supposed to do?¡± ¡°What do you mean? Are you a child who hasn¡¯t been weaned?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t, but I am now.¡± He began fondling her and nibbling her earlobe gently. ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to sleep tonight,¡± he murmured. An Xiaoning rolled her eyes at him and said, ¡°I have work tomorrow.¡± ¡°Work is not as important as I am. During your business trip, you¡¯re not allowed to speak to other men for more than two sentences, unless it¡¯s for work-rted matters; you¡¯re not allowed to look at other men for more than two seconds or have any physical contact with them at all.¡± ¡°I should be the one telling you that. Jin Qingyan, I can do it if you can. If you can¡¯t do it, don¡¯t think of restricting me or ordering me to do so,¡± An Xiaoning scoffed. ¡°I can do it.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe you.¡± She shrugged his hand away and stood up before saying, ¡°If you can really exercise such good self-control and discipline, I¡¯ll reward you by serving you well when Ie back from my trip.¡± ¡°An Xiaoning, you¡¯d better keep your word. Don¡¯t regret what you said. I¡¯m going to make you serve me well!¡± he eximed confidently. ¡°No problem. What if you can¡¯t do it? What¡¯s going to happen then?¡± ¡°If I can¡¯t do it, I won¡¯t make such requests anymore. Because, well, if I can¡¯t do it myself, how am I supposed to expect you to do the same?¡± An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°I won¡¯t make anyone keep tabs on you. It¡¯ll all depend on yourself. Now that you¡¯re home most of the time since you¡¯re not working, you¡¯re not allowed to talk to any females for more than two sentences, look at any females for more than two seconds, ore into physical contact with any females except Auntie Chen, Qingyue, and your mother!¡± ¡°Deal!¡± They made eye contact and made sure to bear each other¡¯s words in mind. Chapter 451 - The Secret About the Past (69)

Chapter 451: The Secret About the Past (69)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning was kept awake all night by Jin Qingyan. In fact, she could be described as having had a close shave with death. He was full of vigor and energy, like a young chap in his twenties. Ever since they came back from N Nation, they had not been taking any contraceptive measures. An Xiaoning wanted to give birth to a second child. Thus, she¡¯d decided to let nature take its course. She was willing to go through all the pain and suffering again to bear him another child, simply because she loved him too much. She wanted to let him be there throughout the entire course of her pregnancy and witness the growth of their child after it was born. Yiheng¡¯s childhood was what he missed out on. Knowing that it would be hard to conceive again, she did not get her expectations up too high and instead just tried what she could and hoped for the best. She woke up the next morning right after daybreak. She felt his arm wrapped around her body tightly as they snuggled up to each other beneath the nket. His unique scent lingered around her nose. She closed her eyes and opened them again before resting her head on his chest, letting the sounds of his rhythmic heartbeat fill her ear. After lying in that position quietly for a moment, she kissed his chin and moved her body upwards to give him a peck on his cheek. She then began kissing his lips, nose, and forehead repeatedly until he was awake. ¡°Let¡¯s sleep in a little longer, it¡¯s still early,¡± said Jin Qingyan, sounding a little hoarse. ¡°I can¡¯t fall asleep anymore.¡± With a smile on his face, he tucked her hair behind her ear and said, ¡°Are you afraid that you won¡¯t be able to see me when you wake upter and you¡¯d like to see me for longer?¡± ¡°How shameless of you. Of course not.¡± He hugged her even more tightly and said, ¡°But that¡¯s the case for me. You¡¯re so beautiful, I just can¡¯t get enough of you. Since when did you start being so pretty? If only I¡¯d known you earlier. It would have been best if I had known you since we were young. That way, I could have admired every inch of your beauty all the way until we¡¯re adults.¡± He then began kissing An Xiaoning¡¯s cheeks affectionately while she closed her eyes to enjoy the moment. ¡°Take care of Yiheng while I¡¯m not home.¡± ¡°You can rest assured with me around,¡± he said confidently. ¡°It¡¯s better to be safe than sorry.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± He then lifted her up and ced her on top of him. ¡°What are you doing?¡± An Xiaoning asked, lying on top of him. ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± He smiled widely, causing the dimples on his face to show clearly. An Xiaoning poked his dimple with her index finger and said, ¡°Stop smiling.¡± ¡°Do I look ugly when I smile?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s precisely because you look too handsome when you smile that I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able to bear to get out of bed and leave you.¡± He smiled even wider and said, ¡°Don¡¯t get out then.¡± ¡°Have you got a heart? I¡¯m going out to work for your sake. I really hope you¡¯ll regain your memory soon. I can then hand over the duties to you and finally take a break.¡± He kissed her finger and said, ¡°I¡¯ll try my best to recall everything. It¡¯s been hard on you, my dearest Honey.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s heart melted upon hearing his words. Shey atop him, wishing that time would stop for the two of them at that very moment. After procrastinating for a long while, they finally decided to get out of bed. Just as she was about to put on some lipstick, he smooched her on the lips again before allowing her to continue. An Xiaoning made her way downstairs with her luggage after having breakfast. Fan Shixin took the luggage from her while Jin Yiheng held her hand and said, ¡°Mommy, you muste back soon. I¡¯ll miss you.¡± ¡°Yes, be good at home. Don¡¯t be mischievous. Otherwise, Daddy will smack your buttocks.¡± ¡°Rest assured, Mommy, I¡¯ll be very very very obedient.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t I believe you?¡± ¡°Hey, Mommy, I¡¯m being serious.¡± An Xiaoning giggled and said, ¡°Alright, Mommy shall get going now.¡± Jin Qingyan and Jin Yiheng waved her goodbye. They watched as An Xiaoning got into the car and embarked on her journey toward the airport. Jin Qingyan looked down and asked his son, ¡°Did your mommy give you any special instructions?¡± ¡°No. Daddy, did your wife give you any special instructions?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What was it?¡± ¡°She told me that I was free to beat you if you get naughty. I¡¯m allowed to beat your buttocks too,¡± Jin Qingyan answered, staring at him calmly. ¡°Mommy is so cruel.¡± ¡°Who do you think is better? Mommy or Daddy?¡± ¡°Daddy, of course,¡± Jin Yiheng answered smilingly, looking up at him. Jin Qingyan reached out to caress his son¡¯s head and said, ¡°Yes, good boy.¡± ¡°Daddy, you said you¡¯d bring me out to y today.¡± ¡°Yes, let¡¯s get ready and set off immediately,¡± Jin Qingyan held his son¡¯s hand and returned inside the house. ¡°Shall we go fishing first?¡± ¡°No problem.¡± ¡ª Ling Ciye made a trip to L City. He had set off early in the morning. Since it was a neighboring city, the flight there was rather short. As soon as hended, he hailed a taxi and went straight to the hotel Song Yan was staying in. He tried to call Song Yan a few times but she did not answer. Thus, he had no choice but to call her colleagues instead. After obtaining their exact filming location, he immediately proceeded to look for her there. Not wanting to be recognized by the paparazzi, he decided to put on a cap, a pair of shades, and a surgical mask. Although he was not a celebrity, he had quite a bit of entertainment value, which made him almost as newsworthy as celebrities. It was better to be safe than sorry, even though he rarely appeared on the news. There were a bunch of onlookers crowding around the outdoor filming location. He recognized Song Yan amongst the crowd. She was dressed in a uniform consisting of a short-sleeved shirt, a pair of shorts, and sports shoes. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and she clearly had some makeup on. Ling Ciye watched her quietly and thought to himself that her actions were too vigorous. She was running about almost continuously. It seemed his instructions had fallen on deaf ears. After watching for a while, he decided to return to the hotel. It was almost noon by the time she wrapped up and returned to the hotel. The production unit decided to take a break due to the overbearing sun and scheduled for filming to resume in the afternoon. Song Yan was thrilled to see him and frantically chucked her card into the slot and entered the hotel room. ¡°What brings you here?¡± ¡°I was amongst the crowd watching you during the filming,¡± Ling Ciye answered as he took a seat by the bed. Noticing the sullen expression on his face, Song Yan¡¯s smile began to vanish. ¡°What are you trying to say this time?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± ¡°Did An Xiaoning really say that our baby will die at the end of the month?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What if it doesn¡¯t? If it doesn¡¯t, will you get her to apologize to me?¡± Song Yan hissed. After a moment of silence, Ling Ciye retorted, ¡°Whether or not your baby dies has nothing to do with her. What right have you got to make her apologize? I was the one who asked her to read our fortunes.¡± ¡°Have you got too much time on your hands? Why did you have to get our baby¡¯s fortune told? I¡¯ve already applied for leave from work for the end of this month. I¡¯ll resume filming next month. I shall see if our baby will really die even when I¡¯m resting in the hospital.¡± ¡°Are you tired?¡± Ling Ciye asked. ¡°A little. But it¡¯s pretty fun filming together with everyone. I enjoy working in such an environment.¡± Song Yan sat down beside him and continued, ¡°Ciye, let¡¯s both control our temper and stop arguing, okay? I get so upset every time we quarrel.¡± ¡°Have you eaten?¡± he asked, trying to avoid the subject. ¡°Yes, have you? If you haven¡¯t, I¡¯ll get my assistant to buy you some food.¡± ¡°Not yet.¡± Song Yan immediately called her assistant and instructed her to buy some food for Ling Ciye. Chapter 452 - The Secret About the Past (70)

Chapter 452: The Secret About the Past (70)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Song Yan missed him since they¡¯d not seen each other for a few days. Song Yan took the initiative to hold his hand and said, ¡°Rest assured, I¡¯m not that silly. I¡¯ll take good care of myself. The child means a lot to me too. I¡¯ve already had it all nned out. Let¡¯s register our marriage at the end of the month. I¡¯ll rest at home after the filming for this program ends and only appear every now and then. I¡¯ve already taken a huge step back. Will this do?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m just afraid Xiaoning¡¯s predictions woulde true.¡± ¡°It all depends on the individual, she might not be entirely correct either.¡± Song Yan gave him a kiss and said, ¡°Stop dwelling on it, lest you make yourself more frustrated. Now I understand what they mean by ¡®absence makes the heart grow fonder.¡¯ I¡¯ve really missed you after not seeing you for days. You¡¯re not leaving tonight, are you?¡± ¡°I was nning to leave tonight.¡± ¡°Go back tomorrow instead. Stay here to apany me tonight. Okay?¡± Song Yan asked with a look of hopefulness. He felt as if she had be the Song Yan he knew at the start of their rtionship. ¡°Alright.¡± ¡ª Xu Youran and Gu Dongcheng had their very first argument after they got married. The reason was because Xu Youran wanted to go on a vacation but Gu Dongcheng was not free. Afterparing their schedules, they realized that the earliest they could go on a vacation would be three monthster. Being the spoiled brat she was, Xu Youran threw a petty tantrum and blurted many callous things. However, Gu Dongcheng still refused to give in to her. After the argument, she stormed off and headed straight back to the Xu family mansion. She aired her grievances to her mother and even mentioned that she regretted marrying him. Madam Xu had no choice but to cate her and advise her to keep her temper in check. ¡°Mother, he doesn¡¯t give in to me at all. I was already making sacrifices and settling for less by marrying him. This is only my first marriage, but he¡¯s already divorced once.¡± ¡°Regardless of whether it¡¯s your first marriage or not, you two ought topromise and be understanding towards each other since you¡¯re already husband and wife. Couples argue all the time. Don¡¯t take such petty quarrels and trivial matters to heart. Since he doesn¡¯t have the time now, can¡¯t you just wait three more months to go on a vacation? It¡¯s not a must to go now, is it?¡± Madam Xu said in a calm and gentle voice. ¡°It¡¯s summer now, the perfect season for a vacation. Am I really supposed to wait until it¡¯s autumn to go?¡± ¡°The weather is cool and breezy in autumn. That¡¯s much better than the zing temperatures in summer. If you go now, you¡¯re only going to end up being drenched in sweat wherever you go. Youran, listen to me. Don¡¯t keep harping on the minor issues. To subdue a man, you need to use your brains, not berate him continuously. It¡¯s not going to work that way,¡± Madam Xu said smilingly. Xu Youran found that her mother had indeed made a lot of sense. ¡°Mother, I wish I could be like you. Even if you don¡¯t see eye to eye with Father on some things, you¡¯re always so forgiving and ready topromise. If only I could learn to be half as patient and understanding as you are.¡± ¡°Take it slow, one step at a time. It takes time to learn everything. You haven¡¯t been creating any more troubletely, have you?¡± Madam Xu asked inquisitively. ¡°I haven¡¯t.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. Youran, I¡¯ve been on the edge and worried about you all day. Don¡¯t mess with Ms. An anymore. Seems like she has very powerful backers now.¡± ¡°I know, I won¡¯t cause any more trouble for Father. An Xiaoning is really something now. Who¡¯d dare mess with her again? Why does she get to enjoy the best of all worlds?¡± Xu Youran sneered begrudgingly with a look disdain. ¡°Don¡¯t say that. Like what the Reverend mentioned, everything happens for a karmic reason. I guess she got to where she is today because it¡¯s all written in her fate.¡± Xu Youran stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯m almost bored to death. I¡¯m going to go fishing.¡± ¡°Where at?¡± ¡°The Southern River. There are a lot of trees there, it¡¯ll be cooling.¡± Madam Xu watched her leave, suddenly overwhelmed with an inexplicable uneasiness. Perhaps because Xu Youran was notorious for wreaking havoc, Madam Xu could not help but feel paranoid. She had initially thought that everything would be better after Xu Youran was married. However, it seemed she can never be at peace or stop worrying about her daughter, regardless of whether thetter was married or not. Xu Youran made her way to the Southern River in her car. Just as she found a spot to sit down at, she caught sight of a familiar silhouette on the bridge. She squinted to find that it was Jin Qingyan. What a coincidence. She pulled over at the start of the bridge and alighted from the car. She then began walking towards Jin Qingyan and Jin Yiheng while carrying the bucket in her hands. Jin Qingyan and Jin Yiheng were sitting on chairs, each holding a fishing rod. There were already a few fishes in Jin Qingyan¡¯s bucket and none in Jin Yiheng¡¯s so far, unfortunately. ¡°You¡¯re fishing too?¡± Jin Qingyan red at her and looked away without answering. Realizing that he was ignoring her, Xu Youran did not bother continuing to speak to him and began fishing on her own. ¡°Daddy, I can¡¯t seem to catch any fish at all. Seems like I have toe up with a better solution,¡± said Jin Yiheng. ¡°What solution?¡± Jin Yiheng stood up and took out a piece of paper and a pen from his bag. He then wrote a few words on the piece of paper before showing it to his father. Jin Qingyan almost burst intoughter after reading the message he had written. ¡°Dear fishes, Daddy and I are going home soon. Rest assured and enjoy eating the bait in peace.¡± ¡°Is this the solution you came up with?¡± ¡°Yes, let me try.¡± Jin Yiheng hooked the piece of paper onto the fishing rod and dipped it into the water slowly. Needless to say, it obviously wouldn¡¯t work. After fishing for a while, Jin Yiheng pulled his rod out of the water, disappointed by his futile efforts. ¡°Daddy, let¡¯s stop fishing. I¡¯m hungry, I want to go home.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Jin Qingyan packed the fishing equipment and carried them to the car along with the chair and bucket. ¡°Daddy, can we keep the fishes you caught in the bathtub? I don¡¯t want to eat them. I want to take care of them and watch them grow up.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± ¡°...¡± Xu Youran watched the pair of father and son get into the car. She continued to stare until Jin Qingyan¡¯s car had left. She then stopped looking. All of a sudden, she was reminded of her childhood. Jin Qingyan and his friends used to secretly bring her along on their fishing trips when they were younger. Jin Qingyan was a year older than she was and would often hold onto her hand. He was afraid that she would fall since she was thin and frail because of how little she was given to eat at the Jin family. To be honest, Xu Youran was aware that her half-brother had treated her rather well. He had never once bullied her and would often bring her delicious food every other day. However, she absolutely detested the entire Jin family. Gradually, she began to resent him too. Even until today, shbacks of her tormenting past would pop up in her mind every time she closed her eyes. She would be reminded of her mother¡¯s death. Those unforgettable days of suffering were deeply etched in her mind. She would die with regrets if she did not get the revenge she wanted. The Jin family was indebted to her and her mother and she was determined to get revenge where it was due. However, if she could endure it for so many years, she could definitely wait a little longer before taking her revenge. Tears began to roll down Xu Youran¡¯s cheeks. She wiped her tears away and stared at the surface of the water by the river. All of a sudden, her phone began ringing in her pocket. She whipped her phone out and took a look at the caller disy before swiping to answer. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you want to know where your mother¡¯s grave is?¡± Mr. Jin asked over the phone. Of course, Xu Youran wanted to know where it was. However,pared to that, she had a greater desire to cut off all ties with Mr. Jin, who could not bring her any benefits she needed. Chapter 453 - The Secret About the Past (71)

Chapter 453: The Secret About the Past (71)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I said we¡¯re not rted to each other at all. I don¡¯t wish to know about the rest.¡± Xu Youran ended the call right away. Just after she hung up, she received another call from Mr. Jin. Instead of answering the call, she decided to just switch off her mobile phone. Mr. Jin was disappointed at how adamant she was. However, he was still very certain that she was his daughter, solely because she resembled her mother greatly. Mr. Jin thought that making a trip to the Xu family home would be a better way to verify her identity. Besides, it would be difficult to get a sample of her hair. Mr. Jin¡¯s purpose for telling her about her mother¡¯s grave was because he felt guilty toward them both and wanted her to visit her mother¡¯s grave. To his disappointment, she actually turned him down. After much consideration, Mr. Jin decided to drive to the Xu family mansion. His sudden visit had caught Military Commander Xu and Madam Xu by surprise. ¡°What brings you here, Mr. Jin?¡± ¡°May I have a look at Youran¡¯s childhood photos?¡± Mr. Jin requested. Military Commander Xu and Madam Xu looked at each other in puzzlement, bewildered by Mr. Jin¡¯s peculiar request. ¡°Why do you want to see the photos of Youran when she was young?¡± Madam Xu asked in confusion. ¡°Here¡¯s what happened. I had a daughter who went missing when she was 12 years old. I¡¯ve been feeling very guilty toward her and her mother. I¡¯ve never tried looking for her before either. However, my family members have been telling me that Youran is that daughter of mine who went missing. Youran had also looked me up previously, iming that she was my long-lost daughter. But all of a sudden, she refused to acknowledge me again. Military Commander Xu and Madam Xu, please don¡¯t be mistaken. I¡¯m not trying to acknowledge her again. I merely want to find out if it¡¯s true that she¡¯s my daughter,¡± Mr. Jin exined truthfully. Madam Xu guffawed and said, ¡°Mr. Jin, we can show you photos of her when she was younger. But we¡¯re very certain that she¡¯s our biological daughter, not yours. That¡¯s because we¡¯ve run a DNA test before when we found her again years ago.¡± ¡°May I take a look at the photos?¡± Mr. Jin insisted. ¡°Alright, give me a moment. I¡¯ll go bring it here for you.¡± ¡°Thank you, Madam.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± Madam Xu stood up and walked towards her bedroom. ¡°Did your daughter go missing when she was 12 years old? How did she go missing?¡± Military Commander Xu asked. ¡°I feel so ashamed and guilty to talk about this, but she was my illegitimate daughter. We maltreated her in the past and she ran away from home. In hindsight, I¡¯ve really failed to perform my duty as her father. I¡¯m really guilty for letting her and her mother down, and I¡¯d like to make it up to her in whichever way I can,¡± Mr. Jin exined, filled with regret. Military Commander Xu gave a nod of understanding and said, ¡°I lost my daughter shortly after she was born too. We only managed to find her again muchter. After we found her, we got a DNA test done, and it¡¯s confirmed that she¡¯s indeed our daughter.¡± Mr. Jin was even more perplexed upon hearing Military Commander Xu¡¯s words but still refused to leave before seeing the photos for himself. Madam Xu returned with a photo album and sat down smilingly. ¡°This entire album consists of photos of Youran when she was younger.¡± To be exact, they were photos taken after they found Xu Youran again and brought her back home. She handed the photo album to Mr. Jin, who quickly opened it to flip through the pages. After taking a look at the photos, he stared at Madam Xu in astonishment and said, ¡°Madam, she¡¯s indeed my daughter.¡± Military Commander Xu and Madam Xu¡¯s jaws dropped in shock and confusion. Mr. Jin whipped out a photo from his pocket and handed it to Madam Xu. ¡°Look.¡± Madam Xu took the photo from his hands, only to find that the girl in the photo looked identical to Xu Youran. She frantically passed it to her husband so he could take a look. ¡°This is the only photo I have of her. It was taken on the year that she went missing.¡± Mr. Jin continued to flip through the photo album and realized that she was really his daughter. Military Commander Xu and Madam Xu were bbergasted. ¡°What¡¯s going on? I remember clearly that the DNA test proved that she was our biological daughter. How did it...¡± Madam Xu eximed in bewilderment as her temples began to throb vigorously. Mr. Jin closed the photo album and handed it back to Madam Xu. ¡°How about we carry out another DNA test without informing her, Military Commander and Madam Xu?¡± The couple felt strongly that it was necessary to do so. ¡°Sure.¡± Madam Xu was ill at ease after Mr. Jin left. A deafening silence filled the air in the living room. With a sullen expression on his face, Military Commander Xu said to his wife beside him, ¡°You shall take care of obtaining a sample of Youran¡¯s hair. We¡¯ll get the test done together tomorrow.¡± ¡°Alright. But, what if Youran turns out to really not be our daughter? What are we supposed to do then?¡± ¡°If she isn¡¯t our daughter, there¡¯s no need to let her stay in this family anymore,¡± Military Commander Xu answered without hesitation. ¡°If she¡¯s not our daughter, just what went wrong with the DNA test back then? I¡¯m really starting to sense something amiss the more I think about it,¡± Madam Xu said with a heavy heart. ¡°Why do you say so?¡± ¡°Look how much Xu Yang and Xu Cai take after you and me, whereas Youran doesn¡¯t resemble us at all. Furthermore, I¡¯ve sought help from the Reverend and asked him to tell me about Youran¡¯s fortune. However, his description did not match Youran¡¯s traits at all. The Reverend enjoys high prestige and is known for his extremely urate readings. Thus, there¡¯s no way that there¡¯ll be such a huge difference. The girl in the photo Mr. Jin showed us earlier is indeed Youran. It¡¯s very unlikely that she has a doppelganger. The more I think about it, the more I¡¯m getting the chills.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t let Youran find out about this. Keep it from her for the time being. We¡¯ll discuss what to do next after the DNA test results are out. Maybe they just look really alike. This time, let¡¯s run the test a few more times,¡± Military Commander Xu instructed. ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll go with your n. I¡¯ll call Youran now,¡± said Madam Xu as she took out her mobile phone. However, Xu Youran¡¯s mobile phone was switched off. Madam Xu proceeded to call Xu Youran multiple times throughout the day and only managed to get through to her in the evening. Upon hearing that it was an urgent matter, Xu Youran immediately returned to the Xu family mansion. ¡°Mother, what¡¯s the urgent matter?¡± ¡°Take a seat first,¡± Madam Xu said gently like her usual soft-spoken self. She sat down beside Madam Xu and asked eagerly, ¡°Just what is the matter? Tell me, quick.¡± ¡°I heard from your father that the government is going to take severe measures against high-ranking civil officers who abuse their authority, so I gave you a call immediately to warn you. Youran, you¡¯d really better not get yourself into any trouble again.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I already say that I¡¯ll be turning over a new leaf? Why don¡¯t you trust me at all, Mother?¡± Xu Youran retorted. Contrary to her expectations, it was not as much of an urgent matter as she thought. ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t trust you. It¡¯s just that you¡¯ve repeated the same mistake over and over again.¡± She raised her hand and said, ¡°Mother, I promise I won¡¯t do it again. Rest assured.¡± Staring at her hair, Madam Xu said, ¡°You¡¯re only 29 years old. Why have you got white hairs already? Let Mother pluck them out for you.¡± Xu Youran hurriedly moved her head towards her mother and said, ¡°Hurry and pluck them out.¡± Madam Xu took the chance to pluck a few strands of hair from Xu Youran¡¯s scalp. She pretended to cast the hair away without showing it to Xu Youran. ¡°It¡¯s done.¡± ¡°Mother, if there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll get going now.¡± ¡°Bear my words in mind.¡± ¡°Okay, got it.¡± After she vanished from the entrance, Madam Xu opened her palm on whichy the few strands of Xu Youran¡¯s hair. Madam Xu was overwhelmed with anxiety and uncertainty while staring at the strands of hair. Chapter 454 - The Secret About the Past (72)

Chapter 454: The Secret About the Past (72)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyan was jolted awake from his sleep by the sudden ringing of his phone. After taking a look at the caller disy, he answered the call. ¡°Xianxian, what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I¡¯m already in bed. Let¡¯s talk tomorrow.¡± ¡°...¡± Realizing that she sounded rather urgent and eager, Jin Qingyan decided to put on his pajamas and make his way downstairs. Upon arriving at the door, he was suddenly reminded of the promise he made to his wife. He was stuck in a dilemma. Nheless, he proceeded to the courtyard in the end. Jin Qingyan caught sight of Bu Xianxian, who was not too far away. He then walked towards her with his head hung low in order to avoid looking at her. ¡°Nick, I heard your wife is away on a business trip.¡± He nodded. ¡°Why are you asleep so early?¡± He nodded again. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you talking?¡± ¡°I promised my wife that I wouldn¡¯t talk to another woman for more than two sentences. I¡¯ve already reached the limit, so I can¡¯t talk anymore. If there¡¯s anything you need to tell me, say it right now. Otherwise, I¡¯m going back to bed now,¡± Jin Qingyan said in one breath. Bu Xianxian chuckled in amusement and said, ¡°You¡¯re already a grown man, yet you¡¯re still so henpecked. She won¡¯t be able to see you talking to me since she¡¯s not around anyway.¡± Jin Qingyan turned around and left straight away. Bu Xianxian watched as his figure faded, at aplete loss for words. ¡°Ms. Bu, you¡¯re not allowed to go near the master mansion,¡± Fan Shixin warned. ¡°Got it.¡± She then turned around to walk away. Momentster, she stopped in her tracks and turned to say to Fan Shixin, ¡°Your Young Sir is so henpecked, what a wimp.¡± Fan Shixin smiled and said, ¡°You¡¯re just trying to say that our Young Sir is not as abiding toward you. Do you need some help with easing your jealousy?¡± ¡°Psht...¡± ¡°Ms. Bu...¡± Fan Shixin stepped forward and said, ¡°Forget about vying with Young Madam for her man. You¡¯re no match for her at all. It¡¯s a piece of cake for Madam to destroy you whenever she¡¯d like.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a crime to kill.¡± ¡°No, not in Wei Ni Estate. She calls the shots here.¡± ¡°How arrogant,¡± Bu Xianxian scoffed. ¡°It¡¯s called having what it takes.¡± ¡°...¡± Bu Xianxian returned to her abode, boiling with rage. ¡°Did you go look for Nick again?¡± Mrs. Bu asked. ¡°He¡¯s already be his wife¡¯s ve. He even said that he promised his wife not to speak more than two sentences to another woman. He must be nuts.¡± ¡°Since he¡¯s already said that, it¡¯s time you stop harboring designs on him. Why can¡¯t you understand the situation at all? Your Father and I havee to a consensus. If you keep behaving this way, we¡¯ll return to our country. Anyway, we have five million dors now. We can¡¯t keep imposing on others and causing them unnecessary trouble after taking their money,¡± Mrs. Bu said helplessly. ¡°I¡¯m not going back. What¡¯s the point of doing that?¡± Bu Xianxian refuted. ¡°If you don¡¯t wish to go back, will you stop behaving so atrociously? Don¡¯t think we have the right to be greedy just because we saved his life. That¡¯ll only make others look down on us. You even tried to stop him from acknowledging his family, they had toe and find him themselves. Xianxian, you must have a conscience and morals. Nick is already married with a child of his own. Will youe to your senses and face reality?¡± Mrs. Bu admonished in utter frustration. ¡°I know... but I just adore him to bits. What can I do?¡± Bu Xianxianmented, hanging her head low. ¡°Since you don¡¯t want to go back to our country, I shall try and arrange a marriage for you so you can forget about Nick sooner. I know you like good-looking men. I¡¯ll find one that¡¯s pleasing to your eyes, okay?¡± said a determined Mrs. Bu. Bu Xianxian remained silent while sitting on the bed. ¡°I¡¯ll take your silence as consent.¡± ¡ª ¡°I¡¯m home, you may go.¡± Mrs. Jin waved Xiaotian goodbye smilingly. ¡°See you again soon, Auntie.¡± Xiaotian turned around and walked away, grinning from ear to ear. Mrs. Jin returned inside her house only after watching Xiaotian walk farther away. Jin Qingyue drove slowly behind Xiaotian and continued to shadow him. She pulled over beside him and wound down the window. ¡°Hop in.¡± ¡°You are?¡± ¡°I have something to talk to you about.¡± ¡°Who are you? Why do I have to get into your car?¡± ¡°I¡¯m the daughter of that Auntie you just sent home! Get in now!¡± Jin Qingyue hollered sternly. Upon hearing her words, Xiaotian grew even more reluctant to get inside her car. Having already prepared beforehand, Jin Qingyue gestured for her bodyguards toe forth in another car behind. Realizing what was going on, Xiaotian hurriedly got into her car. ¡°Sis, let¡¯s talk things calmly. Don¡¯t get violent.¡± Jin Qingyue began driving straight ahead. ¡°Were you the one who manipted my mother into buying those health supplements?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t manipte her. Auntie was the one who bought them herself willingly. Actually, I¡¯ve already hinted and told her before that the supplements might not really be effective, and I suggested that she take them with precaution,¡± Xiaotian exined. Jin Qingyue obviously did not believe him. ¡°How much has my mother spent on your products so far?¡± ¡°More than a hundred thousand dors.¡± ¡°Do you know who my mother is? Do you?¡± Jin Qingyue questioned. ¡°She¡¯s your mother...¡± ¡°I¡¯m Jin Qingyan¡¯s sister. Listen up, if you make my mother buy any supplements from you again, I¡¯ll send my people to destroy yourpany. I mean what I say. Try going against my instructions if you don¡¯t believe me. Also, if you dare contact my mother again, I¡¯ll break your legs. Try me.¡± ¡°Sis, I won¡¯t contact Auntie again. I mean it. If Auntie wants to purchase any supplements again, I¡¯ll try to stop her from doing so. But, there¡¯s nothing much I can do if shees looking for me out of her own ord. I¡¯m only a salesperson. The best I can do is to refrain from taking the initiative to contact her. I can¡¯t say no to business,¡± said Xiaotian, who was frightened by her warning. ¡°Seems like my warning fell on deaf ears. Why don¡¯t I try breaking your legs now?¡± Jin Qingyue threatened, ring at him. ¡°No, no, please don¡¯t. Sis, I¡¯ve heard everything you said. From now on, I¡¯ll shun Auntie whenever I see her and stop selling her any more supplements. Will that do?¡± ¡°You said that yourself. Don¡¯t me me for being nasty if you don¡¯t keep your word. Get out now.¡± Xiaotian hurriedly alighted and scurried away after closing the door shut. Jin Qingyue then began driving home. Before she even arrived home, she received a call from Mrs. Jin, whoshed out at her. Jin Qingyue felt a strong urge to beat Xiaotian into a pulp upon realizing that he hadined to Mrs. Jin. However, she relented after hearing Mrs. Jin promise not to purchase any more health supplements in a bid to get her to stop looking for trouble with Xiaotian. She should have promised earlier , Jin Qingyue thought to herself. Jin Qingyue heaved a sigh of relief and walked to the balcony with a ss of red wine in her hand. The tranquility of the serene night was extremely rxing. She leaned against the railing and looked down below at the ground under the dim rays of sunset. She could not help but feel rather lonely. At this very moment, all she wanted was a shoulder to lean on. Wealth and status did not matter to her as long as he treated her well. Yet, why was it so difficult? Recalling the past and thinking about the present, Jin Qingyue felt as if she had constantly been missing opportunities she should have taken. She used to think that Long Tianze was immature and was someone who¡¯s often messing about when she was younger, yet she only began to realize how great of a catch he was when it was all toote. When she was muddled up and head-over-heels in love with Shi Shaochuan, she used to think that he was the one she could depend on for the rest of her life. However, she now realized that he was nothing but a despicable scumbag. Chapter 455 - The Secret About the Past (73)

Chapter 455: The Secret About the Past (73)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Humans tend to fail to grab the opportunity when it¡¯s right in front of them. Things might just turn out differently if she were allowed to turn back time. ¡ª It was the day after. It was yet another bright and sunny day. The sky was filled with fluffy white clouds and the sun rose high above from the east. The Xu family and Mr. Jin headed to the DNA test center early in the morning. They got the test done twice at two separate prestigious DNA test centers. Under normal circumstances, the DNA results would only be ready a week after the test was carried out. However, in order to obtain the results as soon as possible, the Xu family had offered to pay ten times the original price and requested to collect the results within a few hours¡¯ time. They did not wish to wait a second longer to get to the bottom of the matter. As the saying goes, 90% of the problems in this world can be solved with money. However, some also say that the remaining 10% can be solved with even more money. From eight o¡¯clock in the morning to almost noontime, they waited patiently for the results. The results were released by both test centers at about the same time. Military Commander Xu and Madam Xu were devastated and disappointed after collecting the first set of results. The results showed that Xu Youran and Military Commander Xu were not biologically rted and that Xu Youran and Mr. Jin were confirmed to be father and daughter. Mr. Jin was saddened to see the results. On the other hand, Madam Xu burst into tears and began bawling loudly, unlike her usual calm andposed self who rarely lost control of her emotions in public. The second set of results from the other test center came off as another blow to Madam Xu. ¡°Why is this the case? Didn¡¯t the test we carried out back then prove that she¡¯s our biological daughter? Why are the results different now!?! Why!?!¡± Madam Xu cried in agony. Although Military Commander Xu was upset as well, he remained much calmer than his bawling wife, whom he constantly tried to cate. After all, he was a man who had experienced all sorts of incidents and thus had better control of his emotions. Madam Xu finally got a grip on herself after hearing her husband¡¯sforting words. Mr. Jin was ill at ease after receiving the answer. ¡°I initially thought you guys adopted her. After our conversation yesterday, I again began to wonder if I had made a mistake. But it seems like... it¡¯s real now.¡± Military Commander Xu did not have much toment and instead said, ¡°Whatever it is, Youran is already married now. If you want to acknowledge her, please have a talk with her yourself. She has nothing to do with us now.¡± He then waved Mr. Jin goodbye and led Madam Xu to the car while holding her hand. Along the journey home, Madam Xu sobbed continuously throughout as she could not seem to verbalize her thoughts. After pondering for a long while, she turned to face her husband and said, ¡°I thought we could finally end our regrets after having found Youran. Turns out it¡¯s not the case. Hubby, we can¡¯t give up on finding our daughter. We have to keep searching for her.¡± Military Commander Xu nodded and said, ¡°We must find her, but it¡¯s already been so many years. I doubt it¡¯d be easy.¡± ¡°Do we really have to chase Youran out of the family?¡± ¡°Yes. How well have we been treating her all these years? Given her mean-spirited character, she¡¯s bound to wreak even more havoc. Since she¡¯s not our biological daughter and is already married anyway, we should just cut off all ties with her, lest we create unnecessary trouble for ourselves.¡± ¡°But I can¡¯t bear to leave her... I¡¯ve been treating her as my own throughout all these years. Shall we forget about cutting ties and continue treating her as our daughter? It¡¯ll be enough to know that she isn¡¯t. If she finds out that she isn¡¯t our biological daughter, she might just behave herself and stop getting herself into trouble. Why must we really cut all ties with her?¡± Madam Xu said with a sigh. Military Commander Xu remained silent, feeling bbergasted about the fact that the daughter he had been raising for years turned out not to be his flesh and blood. ¡°Just how did the DNA test go wrong? There usually wouldn¡¯t be mistakes in such stringent and precise tests,¡± Military Commander Xu said to his wife. ¡°Who knows? It¡¯s already happened so long ago. There¡¯s no point in pursuing the matter anymore. Since things have alreadye to this, what else can we say?¡± Madam Xu answered. ¡°Give Youran and our sons a call immediately. We have to rify this matter in front of all of them.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Half an hourter, the Xu family siblings arrived at the living room of the Xu family mansion. Noticing that Madam Xu was teary-eyed, Xu Cai asked, ¡°Mother, what¡¯s the matter with you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine, listen to what your father has to say,¡± said Madam Xu, wiping her tears away with her hands. ¡°I¡¯m going to retire very soon, and I was just thinking that I could finally enjoy my retirement. Yet, who knew something like that would crop up all of a sudden? Your mother and I are going to have our peace disturbed again,¡± Military Commander Xu said solemnly. ¡°Did Youran get into trouble again?¡± Xu Yang asked. ¡°Elder Brother, I didn¡¯tnd myself in any trouble at all, don¡¯t try and use me!¡± Xu Youran retorted immediately. Military Commander Xu gestured for them to stop. ¡°Hear me out first.¡± They quietened down and stared at their father anxiously, unsure of what to expect. ¡°Jin Qingyan¡¯s father came by our house yesterday.¡± Xu Youran¡¯s heart dropped the moment she heard his words, seemingly having guessed what was going on. ¡°He said that Youran seemed to be his long-lost daughter and requested to see Youran¡¯s childhood photos. Thus, your mother showed them to him. To our surprise, Youran looked exactly like the girl in the photo he showed us. Yesterday, we were still...¡± Before he could even finish speaking, Xu Youran interrupted, ¡°Father, there are many people in this world who look alike.¡± ¡°Stop talking,¡± Military Commander Xu ordered. Xu Youran dared not utter another word. ¡°Yesterday, I got your mother to call Youran home and retrieve a sample of her hair, which we brought for a DNA test this morning. In order to prevent any mistakes from urring in the test results again, we specifically went to get two tests done, each at a separate test center. Here are the results,¡± Military Commander exined before handing Xu Yang the test report. After perusing the content, Xu Yang handed it to Xu Cai, who then passed it to Xu Youran after taking his turn to read the report. The results spoke for itself. ¡°Youran is Jin Qingyan¡¯s sister and not one of us. That also means your biological sister hasn¡¯t been found yet, Xu Yang and Xu Cai.¡± The brothers were momentarily stunned beyond words. ¡°Father, didn¡¯t we already run a DNA test when we found her back then? Did something go wrong with the results?¡± Xu Cai asked in utter disbelief. ¡°The test center we went to back then no longer exists today, which means there¡¯s no way we can find out what went wrong.¡± Military Commander Xu sighed deeply before continuing to speak, ¡°Your mother has been crying non-stop ever since she received the results.¡± Xu Youran felt like killing herself at this very moment. She deeply regretted looking up Mr. Jin and telling him about her true identity. In the end, not only did she stand to gain nothing from the Jin family, she was about to be chased out from the Xu family very soon. She waspletely dejected and disheartened for she did not expect for this day toe so soon. She had not prepared herself fully ore up with a backup n. Yet, it happened just like that. Was this what it means to never be able to conceal the truth? Xu Youran broke down into tears at the thought of no longer being able to have the support of the Xu family whom she was about to sever ties with very soon. She dropped to her knees and pleaded, ¡°Father, Mother, please don¡¯t chase me away. I¡¯ve long treated you guys as my own parents.¡± Staring at her, Military Commander Xu said, ¡°I heard from Mr. Jin that you were 12 years old when you went missing. You should¡¯ve already been sensible enough to know what was going on at 12 years old. You knew who your biological parents were at the time, didn¡¯t you? And yet, you still kept mum about the truth even though there was a clear mistake with the DNA test results, which you were aware of. No wonder you were so strongly against the Jin family and An Xiaoning. It¡¯s precisely because you know you belong to the Jin family and wanted to avenge your biological mother instead of your adoptive mother like you imed previously, isn¡¯t it?¡± Chapter 456 - The Secret About the Past (74)

Chapter 456: The Secret About the Past (74)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xu Youranid her head onto the ground; she was shivering from head to toe uncontrobly and at aplete loss for words. Because she knew that Military Commander Xu was speaking the truth. Although there was no way she could deny the truth anymore, she still tried to defend herself, ¡°Father, regardless of what happened, I really did treat the Xu family as my own. I saw all of you as my closest kin. This is absolutely true. I¡¯ve been treated poorly since young by the Jin family, far worse than how they would treat a servant. My life was practically a living hell. Why would I want to continue living with them? Father, I promise I won¡¯t bring any more trouble and disaster to the Xu family. Please believe me, I won¡¯t dare to do that ever again. I really won¡¯t!¡± Madam Xu had almost lost her voice from all the crying. ¡°Youran, get up,¡± Madam Xu said in between sobs. ¡°Mother...¡± ¡°Get up on your feet, no one¡¯s chasing you out,¡± said Madam Xu, whose words did not sit well with Xu Cai. ¡°Mother, since Youran is not a part of our family, what¡¯s the point of keeping her here? She¡¯s already married and no longer rted to us anyway. We have to continue searching for Sister,¡± Xu Cai protested. ¡°That may be so, but Youran has been living with us for so many years. She may have gotten into a lot of trouble, but we¡¯ve already developed feelings. To make things clear beforehand, Youran, you may continue being a part of our family, but you have to promise never to create trouble again. Otherwise, your Father, your brothers, and I will never help you again. Just bear that in mind.¡± Madam Xu then stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯m tired, I¡¯m going to get some rest.¡± ¡°Thank you, Mother!¡± Xu Youran eximed with tears flowing freely from her eyes like a tap. No one knew just how terrified she was to be chased out of the Xu family. It was an unprecedented fear within herself that she only discovered moments ago. Military Commander Xu stood up and ced both hands behind him before returning to his bedroom as well. Xu Yang and Xu Cai looked at each other in dismay and rose from their seats one after another. ¡°We used to be so tolerant toward your brazen and atrocious deeds in the past only because we thought you were really a part of our family. But from now on, no one will clean up the mess you create if you dare stir up any more trouble. Xu Youran, you¡¯d better watch out and know your limits,¡± Xu Cai warned. Xu Youran froze in terror, unable to recover from the shock. She did not even know how she made it out of the mansion and into her car, from where she stared intently at the entrance. Her mind had sunk into a trance. Why did the unhappy events of the past, which she did not wish to be reminded of, cross her mind all of a sudden? She recalled herself scrambling out of the Jin family mansion, after which she quickly took flight and expended every bit of energy in her to flee far, far away. Her utmost fear was being caught and locked up again by the Jin family. Fortunately for her, she almost bumped into the car of Madam Xu, who initially thought that she was a beggar. Upon hearing that she had been held captive and had escaped on her own, Madam Xu decided to bring her back to thetter¡¯s own home. In order to gain the sympathy of Madam Xu, Xu Youran lied about being an orphan and imed that she had snuck out of the Jin family mansion after her adoptive mother, who was a servant for the Jin family, was beaten to death by them. Furthermore, the Jin family did not go about searching for her and instead pretended as if nothing had happened at all. Even though Jin Qingyan had also been conducting a search for her, he could only do it secretly for he feared that he would upset his mother. Afterward, she went on to live with the Xu family for a long while. One day, she identally overheard the conversation between Military Commander Xu and Madam Xu about their missing daughter, whom they had been searching for fervently. An idea crossed her mind since. She took the initiative to remark that she saw Madam Xu as her own mother and imed that she had never enjoyed any parental love since she was young. To make matters worse, there were several rtives who had pointed out the possibility of Xu Youran being their missing daughter and suggested that they get a DNA test done. The Xu family had proceeded to carry out a DNA test, thinking that there was no harm in doing so. Xu Youran could still clearly remember everything that had happened, even until this day. On the day that the DNA test was going to be carried out, she snuck inside Xu Yang¡¯s room and found a strand of his hair on his pillow. In order to make herself be a true-blue member of the Xu family, she had stealthily swapped the strand of Xu Yang¡¯s hair with the sample of hair her mother had plucked from her scalp. No one had seen through her devious scheme because her hair was as short as a boy¡¯s back then. The Xu family would definitely chase her out if they were to find out that the error in the DNA test results was not due to a mistakemitted by the test center but because she had swapped the hair samples. Without a doubt. However, she still did not find any fault with herself for she felt that there was nothing wrong with wanting to be protected by a family. Xu Youran could not help but feel disappointed now that she had been exposed. Perhaps it was because she knew that the Xu family would no longer treat her like their own from now on. They would be a family only on the surface. ¡ª Madam Xu decided to visit the mountains after waking up from her nap. Military Commander Xu apanied her because he was too worried. Madam Xu visited the Reverend again and told him that Xu Youran was not her biological daughter but that the set of birth characters she had given him previously indeed belonged to her biological daughter. The Reverend let out a long sigh and said, ¡°This is your destiny. If fate allows, you will be reunited with her again. Otherwise, it just means that you two are not fated to be mother and daughter in this life. It all depends on Heaven¡¯s wishes.¡± ¡°Reverend, can you tell if she¡¯s living well now from her birth characters?¡± ¡°Madam, your daughter may be born in an inauspicious month, but she¡¯s destined to have a blessed life full of riches. She¡¯s going to enjoy wealth and authority, as well as a significant other who dotes on her dearly. In addition, I can tell her personality traits based on her birth characters. She¡¯s a strong-headed person who¡¯s also kind and passionate about upholding justice. She¡¯ll meet many eminent people who would aid her greatly in her life.¡± Madam Xu continued to ask several other questions about her daughter, which the Reverend refused to answer. Madam Xu and her husband then left the mountains, remaining silent throughout. Once they arrived home, Madam Xu said, ¡°I¡¯m really so much more at ease now after hearing the Reverend say that our daughter is leading a good life. Well, at least she¡¯s still alive, which means it¡¯s only a matter of time before we find her.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t dwell on it anymore,¡± Military Commander Xu said. ¡°By the way, do you think An Xiaoning could be...¡± said Madam Xu as an idea crossed her mind. ¡°How could it be...¡± Military Commander Xu answered. ¡°Why not? Didn¡¯t Commander-in-Chief Jin say that she¡¯s also born on the 15th of July? It¡¯s not every day that something so coincidental happens. Look how well she¡¯s living now. Maybe she really is our daughter. Besides, she¡¯s also an orphan who hasn¡¯t found her biological parents yet. That¡¯s another coincidence. Now that I think about it, it really seems very likely,¡± said Madam Xu. ¡°Do you know that An Xiaoning hates our family to the core?¡± Military Commander remarked, hitting the nail on the head. ¡°That¡¯s a separate matter. Shall we look her up and try getting a DNA test done with her samples?¡± Madam Xu suggested. ¡°That¡¯ll only work if she¡¯s willing to cooperate. I doubt she will though.¡± ¡°We have to try no matter what. Let me give Xu Yang a call to ask for An Xiaoning¡¯s mobile phone number.¡± Madam Xu hurriedly alighted from the car and gave Xu Yang a phone call. After obtaining her phone number, Madam Xu immediately gave An Xiaoning a call, which managed to get through. Madam Xu was filled with nervousness the moment An Xiaoning answered. ¡°Hello, is this Ms. An?¡± ¡°You are...?¡± An Xiaoning asked, finding that Madam Xu¡¯s voice was rather familiar though she could not figure out who it was. ¡°I¡¯m Xu Yang¡¯s mother.¡± Upon realizing who it was, An Xiaoning¡¯s tone became colder and more stern. ¡°May I ask what you called me for, Madam Xu?¡± ¡°Here¡¯s what happened. We conducted a DNA test using your father-inw¡¯s and Youran¡¯s samples today. The results proved that Youran is not our daughter.¡± Chapter 457 - The Secret About the Past (75)

Chapter 457: The Secret About the Past (75)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I knew since long ago that she was Qingyan¡¯s half-sister,¡± said An Xiaoning, who had already discovered the truth earlier on. ¡°Oh, you already knew it... I heard from Commander-in-Chief that you were born on the 15th of July in the year XXXX and that you¡¯re 29 years old this year. Is that so?¡± Madam Xu got straight to the point. Clenching her mobile phone in her hands tightly, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m 29 years old this year.¡± ¡°My daughter was born on the exact same birthdate as you. I know you don¡¯t know who your biological parents are so... I just wanted to ask when you¡¯d be free for a DNA test...¡± An Xiaoning was taken aback, not expecting Madam Xu to bring that up. ¡°I¡¯m overseas right now and I¡¯ll only be back in a month¡¯s time,¡± she answered. ¡°We¡¯ll do it when you¡¯re back then, alright?¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll call Head-of-Office Yang and get him to inform you when I¡¯m back.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell you the phone number of myndline and you may call it directly when you¡¯re back. Alright?¡± ¡°That¡¯ll do, too.¡± ¡°Alright, note down the number...¡± An Xiaoning ended the call, filled with puzzlement. Born on the same day, month, and year? How could there be such a coincidence? It had never once crossed her mind to search for her biological parents. After all, she had been living rather well on her own throughout all these years even without her biological parents. Besides, she now had three sets of Godparents and no longercked parental love. However, An Xiaoning was vaguely worried after receiving such a call from Madam Xu out of the blue. If... if she was really Madam Xu¡¯s biological daughter, what was she supposed to do? She did not want to step foot into the Xu family at all. They had left a bad impression on her. In fact, they had once caused her to live in immense fear for her safety because of how blindly they defended Xu Youran and how they¡¯d repeatedly forgiven her for her mistakes. However, she felt that it was unlikely that she would be their daughter, though it was indeed rather coincidental that she shared the same birth date as their daughter. She thought that her appearance... An Xiaoning sprung up abruptly as a sudden thought crossed her mind. She picked up the mirror and began scrutinizing her features. To her dismay, she suddenly began to find that her eyes and eyebrows resembled that of Madam Xu¡¯s. Are my eyes ying tricks on me? Why haven¡¯t I noticed the resemnce before? Staring at her own reflection in the mirror, an ominous feeling began to grow within An Xiaoning. Gu Beicheng entered the room. Noticing the grave expression on her face, he asked, ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Have you met Madam Xu?¡± ¡°Which Madam Xu?¡± ¡°Xu Youran¡¯s mother.¡± After some careful thought, Gu Beicheng answered, ¡°I have, what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Beicheng, take a good look at my features. Do I resemble Madam Xu a little?¡± Gu Beicheng leaned forward to take a closer look at her. They held each other¡¯s gazes, both remaining silent. ¡°You do look a little like her...¡± ¡°In which aspect?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t quite put a finger on it, but I just find that you two look a little alike somehow. What¡¯s the matter?¡± An Xiaoning told him about what Madam Xu said over the phone, after which Gu Beicheng squinted and said, ¡°It can¡¯t be, can it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible either. It shouldn¡¯t be the case.¡± ¡°So what if it is or not? If it turns out to be the case, then you must really be something. Look how powerful your background is. I¡¯d really be amazed though,¡± Gu Beicheng jested, chuckling. ¡°No, I really hope not. I don¡¯t feel good about the Xu family at all, not even a little bit. Whatever it is, I¡¯ll find out the truth after taking the DNA test when I get back.¡± An Xiaoning exined. ¡°Oh crap!¡± She turned to face him all of a sudden with a look of horror on her face. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? You seem really shocked.¡± ¡°Qingyan and I made an agreement not to speak more than two sentences to the opposite gender unless it was work-rted. We¡¯re not allowed to stare at the opposite gender for more than two seconds either. But look, we¡¯ve already talked and stared at each other for so long,¡± An Xiaoningmented. Gu Beicheng was speechless. He smacked her head yfully and said, ¡°Forget about that agreement. I¡¯m your brother, remember?¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, he¡¯s allowed to speak freely to his mother, sister, and Auntie Chen. I should be allowed to talk to you as a family member too. He won¡¯t know anyway, don¡¯t tell him about it.¡± ¡°Do you think I¡¯m stupid?¡± ¡°Hahaha.¡± Rubbing her aching temples, An Xiaoning groused, ¡°I really hope I¡¯m not the Xu family¡¯s daughter. I seriously hope not. It¡¯d better not be, please.¡± ¡°Look how petrified you are. Is it really such a big deal? Actually, I think there won¡¯t be a disadvantage to you even if you really turn out to be their daughter. You¡¯ll at most have another set of parents and family. That¡¯s at least better than having one more enemy, isn¡¯t it?¡± Gu Beicheng pointed out. ¡°But to me, they¡¯re my enemy now.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all because of Xu Youran. Think about it, would the Xu family have done those things to hurt you if not for Xu Youran?¡± He did make sense... The knotty situation was giving An Xiaoning a major headache. ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk about this anymore. I¡¯ll worry about it when we return home. You and Lin Mingxi have gotten married not long ago, yet you¡¯re already being separated from each other. Don¡¯t you miss her?¡± Staring at her, Gu Beicheng said, ¡°The person I want to see most is right in front of me right now.¡± An Xiaoning rolled her eyes and scorned, ¡°Screw you.¡± ¡°Just kidding... we may not get to meet, but we¡¯ve been talking over the phone and video-calling each other every day.¡± ¡°I¡¯m d to see that you¡¯re happy. I¡¯ve always been feeling rather guilty towards you. Beicheng, you¡¯re a good man,¡± said An Xiaoning, who wasying her head on the table. ¡°You actually know that I¡¯m a good man?¡± ¡°Of course, I¡¯ve known it all along. We¡¯ve known each other for ages. I¡¯m very clear about what kind of a person you are,¡± An Xiaoning said smilingly. Gu Beicheng gazed at her and asked in a mellow voice, ¡°Are you tired?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯d like to take a nap,¡± she said, closing her eyes. ¡°Go ahead.¡± Gu Beicheng gazed at her while she closed her eyes, overwhelmed with a tingling misery in his heart. Perhaps it¡¯s true that one would always want what they can¡¯t have. Despite it having been so many years, his love for her did not lessen and instead grew even deeper. His marriage did not change anything at all. He was merely trying to fulfill his mother¡¯s wishes and carry on the bloodline of the Gu family. Indeed, he was being unfair towards Lin Mingxi in this aspect. Well, because she could only have him but not his heart. His feelings for An Xiaoning had never once faded ever since he decided to give her his heart. He had always kept his love for her to himself and rarely expressed his feelings tantly. Gu Beicheng went to the restroom to retrieve a nket, which he thenid across her gently. He then sat down slowly and continued to gaze at her. He had no clue if he would ever love another woman so passionately again in his life. He really had no clue at all... Sometimes, love is about letting go. He was willing to let go of her and allow her to seek her true happiness. However, he hoped that he could find the courage and power to fall in love with someone else one day. ¡ª Little did An Xiaoning know, Madam Xu had been sitting by the telephone at home to wait for her call ever since the conversation they had over the phone that day, though she was aware that An Xiaoning would only be back a monthter. She would not go out of the house and instead spend all day waiting by the telephone. She refused to budge despite her husband and sons¡¯ persuasion. ¡°She already said that she¡¯d only be back in a month¡¯s time. What¡¯s the point of waiting near the telephone all day? Rest assured, we¡¯ll get the test done once she¡¯s back,¡± Xu Yang advised. ¡°Xu Yang, I have a strong hunch that the Reverend was referring to Ms. An. The more I think about it, the more it seems to be the case. I¡¯ve met her a few times, and I couldn¡¯t help but feel a strange sense of familiarity with her every single time.¡± ¡°Mother, that¡¯s just your own imagination. Why don¡¯t I feel that way when I see her?¡± Xu Yang scoffed with skepticism. Chapter 458 - The Secret About the Past (76)

Chapter 458: The Secret About the Past (76)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shaking her head, Madam Xu answered, ¡°I don¡¯t know either, I just have such a feeling.¡± ¡°...¡± Xu Youran froze in shock the moment she heard what Madam Xu said through her headphones. She had left a hidden hearing device in the living room instead of her parents¡¯ bedroom, which was not quite appropriate for her to enter alone. The conversation she just overheard had greatly caught her by surprise. She knew exactly who her mother was referring to by ¡°Ms. An.¡± How could An Xiaoning possibly be the biological daughter of the Xu family? She refused to believe it. Xu Youran was rather flustered at the thought of the disaster that would be brought upon her if An Xiaoning turned out to really be their biological daughter. An Xiaoning already had three sets of Godparents. She would definitely exact her revenge on Xu Youran if she were to acknowledge her biological parents. Xu Youran¡¯s hands began to tremble uncontrobly as she could not contain her emotions. She revved up the engine and stepped on the reverse pedal before speeding away from the Xu family mansion. Throughout the journey, Xu Youran could not manage to calm down at all. She arrived back at the Gu family mansion to see that Mrs. Gu was sitting in the living room. She stepped forward to greet her, ¡°Mother, what are you doing?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just ying ¡®Fighting the Landlord¡¯ on my phone because I¡¯m bored.¡± ¡°Mother, when is Xiaoning¡¯s birthday?¡± The alert and cautious Mrs. Gu stared at her and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Realizing that Mrs. Gu did not want to tell her, Xu Youran did not continue to probe further. She stood up and made her way upstairs. She was ill at ease even until she returned to her bedroom. If An Xiaoning were to decide to carry out the DNA test when shees back a monthter and it turns out she¡¯s the biological daughter of the Xu family, what¡¯s going to happen me... The more she thought about it, the more frustrated she got. She was filled with growing uneasiness. Shey in bed and began imagining An Xiaoning¡¯s face in her head, trying to find some clues from thetter¡¯s features. The more she thought about it, the more she sensed something amiss. She found a photo of An Xiaoning¡¯s front profile online. After scrutinizing the photo on her screen, she suddenly realized that An Xiaoning indeed resembled Madam Xu. Xu Youran was utterly dejected at this very moment. After taking a closer look, she realized that An Xiaoning¡¯s lips looked very simr to that of Military Commander Xu¡¯s. An Xiaoning¡¯s features put together did not resemble a particr person. However, one would find that every feature of hers was simr to the Xu family members if singled out. Xu Youran felt a shiver down her spine. She dared not imagine just how An Xiaoning would exact revenge on her if she really turned out to be a member of the Xu family. She was petrified at this very moment. Xu Youran sat on her bed, overwhelmed with fear and uneasiness. After much thought, Xu Youran decided to hire a private investigator to find out An Xiaoning¡¯s current whereabouts. The private investigator was highly efficient and very soon provided her with the information she wanted. She was told that An Xiaoning was currently living in a hotel in the capital of M Nation. She was handling some business matters together with Gu Beicheng. After obtaining the information, an idea popped up in Xu Youran¡¯s mind. Xu Youran and Lin Mingxi were the only ones left at the dining table when Mr. and Mrs. Gu took their leave after dinner. ¡°Mingxi, I heard that Beicheng and Xiaoning went on an overseas business trip together.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right,¡± Lin Mingxi acknowledged while eating her food. ¡°Do you really find that safe?¡± Xu Youran asked smilingly. ¡°Of course, they¡¯re family. They can look out for each other.¡± ¡°Well, Sis-inw, there¡¯s something on my mind that I¡¯m not sure I should tell you about.¡± Xu Youran lowered her voice and said, ¡°I heard from Dongcheng that Beicheng has been carrying a torch for Xiaoning for years, ever since Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan first got married. Although they may be family on the surface, they¡¯re still not biologically rted, after all. You have to be extra careful now that they¡¯re alone together overseas.¡± Lin Mingxi smiled and said, ¡°They¡¯re both married individuals. I doubt anything would happen. Beicheng only sees Xiaoning as his kin now. I trust him.¡± Although she said that on the surface, she had in fact registered everything Xu Youran said. ¡°Don¡¯t mind me for being nosy, but it¡¯s only normal for men to fall head-over-heels in love with such an outstanding woman like Xiaoning. Beicheng has had a crush on her for years. He¡¯s a man, after all. Men are all visual creatures who act on their hormonal impulses. Even if something really happens, you wouldn¡¯t find out about it since you¡¯re not there with them. So I think you should really go there to apany him, lest he gets lonely,¡± said Xu Youran. Although Lin Mingxi found that her words made sense, she nheless still had her guard up against Xu Youran and knew not to trust her words easily since she was well aware that thetter did not get along well with An Xiaoning. Besides, it would not be toote to wait until the matters with her shares in her parents¡¯pany had been settled before flying there to meet him. Lin Mingxi decided to go to the study to pick out some books to read since she had trouble sleeping that night. Just as she casually picked up a book at the bottom of the shelf, she discovered that there was a photo slid in between the pages of the book. It was a photo of An Xiaoning. Although only her back view could be seen, Lin Mingxi managed to recognize it right away. She could tell with just a nce that the photo was taken sneakily without An Xiaoning¡¯s knowledge. Lin Mingxi was suddenly overwhelmed with an inexplicable feeling of uneasiness. She looked down and continued to stare at the photo for a long time. She then ced the photo back inside the book and returned the book to its original position before going back to her bedroom. Her imagination began to run wild while a million thoughts filled her mind. Atst, she decided to give Gu Beicheng a phone call. It was only daytime in M Nation while it was already nighttime in S Nation. Gu Beicheng was having a busy time and had set his mobile phone to silent mode. Lin Mingxi called him repeatedly but failed to reach him. Thus, she decided to give his assistant a call, only to find that he was busy at the moment. She finally rxed a little upon hearing the assistant¡¯s answer. Although she was well aware that the person An Xiaoning loved was not Gu Beicheng but Jin Qingyan, whom she even had a son with, Lin Mingxi could not help but overthink and let her imaginations run wild, perhaps because she felt insecure. It was precisely because she knew that her husband did not truly love her. Hugging her knees while sitting on the bed, Lin Mingxi ced her head on her knees and remained silent. Gu Beicheng returned her calls when he finally had the chance to take a break from work. ¡°I was busy earlier and my phone was set to silent mode.¡± Lin Mingxi ced the phone beside her ear and said softly, ¡°Oh, I¡¯m settling the procedures regarding thepany shares now. I¡¯ll go to M Nation to look for you when I¡¯m done, okay?¡± ¡°Sure. You sound a little upset. What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Nothing, I just miss you.¡± Gu Beicheng chuckled and said, ¡°Really?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t believe me?¡± ¡°I do. Go to bed early, I have to get back to work now.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Lin Mingxi was rather disappointed because he did not tell her that he missed her too. Ever since they got married, she had known all along that he was not the type to sweet talk and give mushypliments all the time. However, she was not sure if he did not like saying them or he simply did not want to say them to her. The more she dwelled on it, the more frustrated she got. Lin Mingxi¡¯s mind was sent into a whirlwind, and she decided to hurry and settle thepany matters before flying off to see him as soon as possible. In reality, she had truly read too much into things. If An Xiaoning had harbored any feelings for Gu Beicheng at all, she would have long gotten into a rtionship with him. Why would she wait until they were both married to other people, to start an extramarital affair with him? To An Xiaoning, Gu Beicheng will forever be her kin, a truth that could never be changed. Unfortunately, Lin Mingxi was not too convinced by that fact. Chapter 459 - The Secret About the Past (77)

Chapter 459: The Secret About the Past (77)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Daddy, Mommy said that I can¡¯t sleep naked anymore and that I¡¯d have to put on some clothes when I sleep now that I¡¯m five years old,¡± said Jin Bao¡¯er. ¡°Did your Mommy say that you have to sleep alone in your own room too?¡± Shi Shaochuan asked. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You¡¯re only five years old. You¡¯re still so young, aren¡¯t you afraid to sleep by yourself in your own room? Isn¡¯t it not scary anymore with Daddy around to apany you to sleep? Don¡¯t listen to Mommy, Daddy¡¯s here. Just listen to me, okay?¡± said Shi Shaochuan, caressing her hair. Jin Bao¡¯er nodded and eximed, ¡°Daddy, must I really take my clothes off to sleep!?!¡± Shi Shaochuan nodded before answering, ¡°The weather is so warm. It¡¯d be so much morefortable to sleep without clothes on.¡± Shi Shaochuan did not find it much of a big deal since she was his own daughter. Jin Bao¡¯er removed her clothes andy down beside him under the duvet. ¡°Daddy, why did you divorce Mommy?¡± she asked. ¡°Your Mommy was the one who wanted a divorce, not me. Your Mommy even caused me to be locked up in a tiny room and stopped me froming out to see you. If not for her, Daddy would have been by your side long ago,¡± Shi Shaochuan exined. ¡°Why did Mommy want to divorce you then?¡± Jin Bao¡¯er asked. After thinking it through for a while, Shi Shaochuan answered, ¡°Because your Mommy stopped fancying me. Bao¡¯er, tell Daddy, has Mommy ever brought any other men home in the past few years?¡± ¡°No, but Mommy brought Uncle Ciye along to attend the parent-teacher meeting at my school previously.¡± ¡°Then, who do you think is more handsome, Daddy or Uncle Ciye?¡± Jin Bao¡¯er chuckled and said, ¡°Daddy, of course.¡± Shi Shaochuan gave her a peck on her cheek andplimented her, ¡°Bao¡¯er is so obedient.¡± ¡°Daddy, your stubble is poking me,¡± Jin Bao¡¯erined with a look of disdain. ¡°Shall I shave my beard tomorrow then?¡± ¡°Yes, you must shave. Daddy, I want to be with you every day. May I return to Mommy only when school reopens?¡± ¡°What if your Mommy disapproves?¡± Shi Shaochuan asked softly. ¡°Mommy will agree for sure. Can she say no if I refuse to go home with her? Daddy, I want to watch some cartoons,¡± said Jin Bao¡¯er, who could not fall asleep. ¡°There aren¡¯t any more cartoons being aired on TV at this hour. There is a pile of video discs there, pick one that you like and ce it inside the DVD yer.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Completely naked, Jin Bao¡¯er got out of bed and ran towards the end of the bed. She kneeled onto the ground and began browsing through the discs to find one she preferred. Shi Shaochuan took a look at the time to find that it was already past nine o¡¯clock in the evening. He put on his home slippers and said, ¡°Daddy¡¯s going to take a shower now.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Jin Bao¡¯er acknowledged without even looking at him. To his astonishment, Shi Shaochuan heard strange noisesing from the television when he came out of the shower in a bathrobe. He took a look at the LED disy, only to realize that a film unsuitable for children was ying. He got the chills all of a sudden. As soon as she saw him, Jin Bao¡¯er eximed, ¡°Daddy, look at what they¡¯re doing. So shameful!¡± Just as he was about to switch off the television, Jin Bao¡¯er grabbed his arm to stop him, ¡°Daddy, don¡¯t switch it off. I still want to continue watching.¡± Shi Shaochuan switched it off anyway and said, ¡°These films are meant for adults. Children aren¡¯t allowed to watch them.¡± Jin Bao¡¯er climbed onto the bed grumpily andy down before asking, ¡°Why can¡¯t I watch them?¡± ¡°No particr reason. It¡¯s solely because you¡¯re a child.¡± Jin Bao¡¯er expressed assent. Noticing that Shi Shaochuan hadin down too, she hugged his waist and said, ¡°Daddy, marry Mommy again.¡± ¡°You want us to get married again?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°But I don¡¯t want to,¡± Shi Shaochuan refuted, for he absolutely detested Jin Qingyue and vice versa. Thest thing he wanted was to marry her again, and he knew that it was the case for her as well. ¡°Are you going to find me a stepmother too in the future? Mommy¡¯s also going to find me a stepfather, and then you guys will have more children of your own...¡± said Jin Bao¡¯er as she suddenly began sobbing. ¡°No matter what happens between Daddy and Mommy, I¡¯ll always love you and you¡¯ll always be Daddy¡¯s precious baby.¡± ¡°No, I want to be your and Mommy¡¯s only baby. Daddy, don¡¯t find me a stepmother and give birth to any more children, okay?¡± Jin Bao¡¯er pleaded, hugging him tightly. How was that possible? Shi Shaochuan was the only heir left of the Shi family. If he does not bear a son, the Shi family bloodline would really cease to exist after his death. Jin Bao¡¯er flew into a rage upon noticing that he refused to answer her. She sprung up and said, ¡°Daddy, I¡¯m talking to you. Why aren¡¯t you answering me?¡± ¡°Bao¡¯er. Daddy is the only male heir left in our family. If I don¡¯t bear any son, our family¡¯s bloodline is going to cease. Besides, you¡¯ve also taken your Mommy¡¯sst name, haven¡¯t you?¡± Shi Shaochuan said patiently. ¡°No! No! No! I don¡¯t want a stepmother and a younger brother!¡± ¡°...¡± This was Shi Shaochuan¡¯s first encounter with his daughter¡¯s tantrum and temper, which could not be tamed or cated once she was infuriated. Atst, he had no choice but to make a pact with her that he knew would be impossible to fulfill. ¡°If you can persuade Mommy to marry me again, Daddy and Mommy shall give you a younger brother instead. I won¡¯t look for a stepmother for you anymore then, okay?¡± Jin Bao¡¯er found that it was a better ideapared to having a stepmother, although she didn¡¯t want a younger brother at all. ¡°Okay, if Mommy agrees to marry you again, you¡¯re not to find me a stepmother.¡± ¡°That goes without saying.¡± Needless to say, Jin Bao¡¯er had no idea what her father¡¯s n was. Shi Shaochuan knew that it was impossible for that to happen. Besides, it would be good news for him even if Jin Qingyue really were to agree to marry him again. That way, he would have the chance to torture Jin Qingyue and take revenge on her for plotting a scheme against him! It seemed like a good idea to him, regardless of the oue, though he did not wish to marry Jin Qingyue again at all. However, the thought of possibly getting to give her a hard time and making her life a living hell openly tempted him greatly. He did not have much to his name now anyway, and Jin Qingyue should still have a lot of money left from the assets she had taken away from him. A smirk formed on Shi Shaochuan¡¯s face, thinking that his daughter might just be the catalyst for the reconciliation of their marriage. That would truly be the beginning of Jin Qingyue¡¯s nightmare! ¡ª Jin Qingyue was jolted awake from her sleep by a bad dream. She dreamed of the torturous days she¡¯d spent in the past living in the Shi family home. She felt shivers from head to toe. She did not feel safe at all. After taking a look at the time, Jin Qingyuey in bed and let out a long sigh. All of a sudden, her mobile phone screen lit up and her ringtone went off. She was greatly startled by the dream such that she thought it was a call from Shi Shaochuan. After taking a look at the caller disy, she finally felt a sense of relief and answered the call. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Hello, we are calling from a nightclub, and this mister has gotten drunk here. He¡¯spletely knocked out. Are you his friend? Pleasee and bring him away.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Jin Qingyue immediately got out of bed to put on some clothes before hurrying out of the house without even bothering tob her hair. She got into her car and quickly drove out of Wei Ni Estate. Chapter 460 - The Secret About the Past (78)

Chapter 460: The Secret About the Past (78)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Upon arriving at the nightclub, she parked her car by the entrance and alighted to go inside. ¡°Were you the one who called me?¡± ¡°Yes, yes. He¡¯s over there,¡± said the waiter, pointing at a couch. Jin Qingyue stepped forward to see that Ling Ciye was lying on the couch, reeking of alcohol and drunk out of his senses. ¡°I realized that he was unconscious and thus decided to search him for his mobile phone. I then called a random number from his contacts list. Miss, please pay for his alcohol bill.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Jin Qingyue whipped out her purse to get the tab with her credit card. The waiter then assisted her in helping him into the backseat of her car. Jin Qingyue was exhausted and panting heavily from supporting the weight of Ling Ciye, who was rather heavy due to his 1.85-meter stature. Jin Qingyue was at a sudden loss of where to take him to. Thinking it would be a little inappropriate to bring him to Wei Ni Estate, she decided to send him back to his ce after much consideration. Jin Qingyue was aware that he had a few houses in the city and thus decided to bring him to the one nearest to the nightclub. She parked the car below the estate. Jin Qingyue alighted and opened the back doors. ¡°Brother Ciye?¡± she called softly. He refused to budge, not an inch at all. Why did he even drink so much? There¡¯s no need to get this drunk even if he¡¯s upset... Just as she was about to help him out of her car, she lost her bnce and sprawled herself across his body. Jin Qingyue froze in shock and remained still as a statue. She got up slowly and dragged him out of the car by his arm with all her might. She then mmed the door shut and walked him towards the lobby slowly, taking one step at a time. Jin Qingyue was already exhausted and panting heavily by the time she entered the elevator. They reached his doorstep when they exited the elevator. The door was locked with a passcode. Thus, she had no choice but to shake him vigorously to wake him up. ¡°Brother Ciye, what¡¯s the passcode to your door?¡± Ling Ciye was in a trance with his eyes ssed over. He murmured a few numbers in a drunken stupor. She punched the numbers onto the keypad and found that it was indeed the passcode. Jin Qingyue was dog-tired by the time she finally helped him onto his bed. She was breathing heavily and gasping for air. There was nothing in his kitchen at all, and the refrigerator was empty as well. It seemed he rarely returned to this apartment. Jin Qingyue proceeded to boil some water. After taking a few sips, she poured him a ss of water and left it to cool on the table beside his bed. She switched on the air conditioner and helped him remove his shoes before tucking him into afortable position in the bed and pulling the duvet over him. ¡°Brother Ciye, you¡¯ve had too much to drink. You¡¯ll feel better after having some water...¡± Jin Qingyue said softly while kneeling beside his bed. She thought that he had already fallen asleep. To her surprise, he opened his eyes. Jin Qingyue straightened her back and muttered, ¡°Um... the tea is still a little hot, wait for it to cool before drinking some. I¡¯m going back now.¡± ¡°Drive safe on the road,¡± he said sluggishly in a hoarse voice. Jin Qingyue nodded and turned around to close the bedroom door before leaving his ce. Once she got into the car, she cocked her head sideways and began blushing upon recalling the scene earlier. Having seen all sorts of liberal forms of affection when she was abroad, she was not innocent and inexperienced in rtionships. Besides, she had once been married and had a child of her own. By right, it should not have been a big deal to her at all. The scene earlier ran through her mind continuously. It had indeed frightened her. Could it be that she had begun harboring feelings for him? She had known him for so long already, ever since they were children. Recalling what her sister-inw said, Jin Qingyue tightened her grip on her steering wheel while her heart began to race. She was not feeling like her usual self. It was abnormal to be feeling this way. ¡ª ¡°Daddy, the fishes in the bathtub have grown bigger,¡± said Jin Yiheng, staring at the bathtub while continually turning around to look at Jin Qingyan, who was sitting on the couch. ¡°It¡¯s only been a few days, there¡¯s no way the growth would be so obvious.¡± Jin Qingyan stood up and took a look at the fishes he had caught. He realized that they had indeed grown much bigger. ¡°What kind of breed do these fishes belong to?¡± Jin Qingyan questioned in puzzlement. He would usually be able to tell the breed of fishes with just one nce, but this time was an exception. ¡°Daddy, these fishes look a little strange.¡± ¡°I think so too. Let¡¯s observe for a few more days.¡± Jin Qingyan handed him some fish food and said, ¡°Feed the fishes.¡± After feeding the fishes, Jin Yiheng went out to y merrily. He arrived at the door to find that Jin Bao¡¯er had returned. Jin Qingyue walked towards him while holding Jin Bao¡¯er¡¯s hand. ¡°Yiheng, where are you going?¡± ¡°Auntie, I¡¯m going to go y with Wenlun and Xiaoxi.¡± ¡°Would you like to y with Bao¡¯er too?¡± Before Jin Yiheng even answered, Jin Bao¡¯er said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to y with them.¡± Jin Yiheng retorted, ¡°I don¡¯t want to y with you either.¡± He then ran away as soon as he finished speaking. Noticing Jin Bao¡¯er¡¯s nonchnt attitude, Jin Qingyue chided, ¡°Why don¡¯t you want to y with them?¡± ¡°I just don¡¯t want to, there¡¯s no reason why.¡± Jin Bao¡¯er looked up at her mother and said, ¡°Mommy, I may havee back today, but I¡¯m going to look for Daddy again tomorrow.¡± Jin Qingyue was displeased to hear what her daughter had just said. She initially thought that Jin Bao¡¯er was sick of ying with Shi Shaochuan after receiving a call from him in the morning, iming that Jin Bao¡¯er wanted her toe and pick her up. Contrary to her expectations, Jin Bao¡¯er actually wanted to see him again so soon. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because I want to spend the whole summer with Daddy.¡± Jin Qingyue let go of her hand and said, ¡°Just how well does he treat you? Why are you always thinking about spending time with him?¡± ¡°Daddy hugs me to sleep at night because he doesn¡¯t want me to be scared. He ys with me every day and feeds me delicious food. Being with Daddy makes me so happy.¡± Jin Qingyue was infuriated beyond limits. ¡°I raised you up singlehandedly. Didn¡¯t I treat you the same as he did whenever you were on school breaks in the past?¡± ¡°That¡¯s different.¡± Jin Qingyue turned around and left for the living room while Jin Bao¡¯er hurriedly chased after her. ¡°Mommy, I came home today because I wanted to tell you about something.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Jin Qingyue asked while taking a seat. ¡°Mommy, can you marry Daddy again?¡± Jin Bao¡¯er asked, staring at her. ¡°Did Daddy make you say that to me?¡± Jin Qingyue asked. ¡°Of course not, I wanted to say it myself.¡± Jin Qingyue obviously did not believe her. ¡°Your father and I will never get married again.¡± ¡°Why? Are you thinking of finding me a stepfather and making Daddy find me a stepmother?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t stop your father from finding you a stepmother. But I want to find my happiness too. You don¡¯t wish for Mommy to die alone, do you?¡± Upon hearing her words, Jin Bao¡¯er said immediately, ¡°Mommy, if you don¡¯t marry Daddy again, I¡¯m nevering back to you! You¡¯ll lose me forever!¡± Jin Qingyue¡¯s temples began throbbing continuously upon hearing her words. ¡°Why are you such an insensible child? Your Mommy didn¡¯t raise you up so painstakingly to have you threaten her like this. Do you know why your parents got a divorce? Your mother had a tough time escaping from hell. Are you really going to push her back in?¡± Jin Qingyan interjected. ¡°Uncle, you don¡¯t understand how much I want Daddy and Mommy to get back together! Why are adults so selfish!?! If she can¡¯t give me aplete family, why did she even give birth to me in the first ce!?!¡± Chapter 461 - The Secret About the Past (79)

Chapter 461: The Secret About the Past (79)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyue¡¯s eyes reddened suddenly. If she had known this would happen, she would never have given birth to this child. But now, it was toote to say anything. She had her own limits. Rather than remarry Shi Shaochuan, she would rather go and die. ¡°Mommy will never marry your Daddy again.¡± After only muttering this sentence, she got up and returned to her room. She locked herself up in her room and started to bawl uncontrobly. Even her own child had learned how to threaten her. It was the child she had given birth to and raised by herself. It was the child she had prepared to devote all her love to! What a joke... Knock, knock, knock! Jin Qingyan¡¯s voice sounded from outside the door. ¡°Qingyue, open up.¡± She wiped her tears dry in a panic and immediately opened the door. ¡°Brother.¡± ¡°Brother doesn¡¯t know if you¡¯ll listen to my words, but I feel I still have to say them.¡± He looked at his sister before him and continued, ¡°A woman can¡¯t live for her child forever, because there is bound to be a day when your child will leave you. I hope you can be happy. Truly happy, and not justpromising. I know you¡¯re different from who you were before, and you¡¯ll make the most urate judgment for yourself.¡± ¡°Brother...¡± Jin Qingyue was astonished. ¡°Why do I feel like you¡¯ve regained your memory?¡± ¡°Do it seem that way?¡± He curved his lips. ¡°You think about it yourself.¡± Inside Jin Qingyue¡¯s heart, she suddenly had a feeling of being released. This feeling seemed to have given her a sense of direction. ¡ª When Mrs. Jin went out, she specifically instructed the servants that she would be heading to the mahjong house for a few games and wouldn¡¯t be back at night. She did not let the driver send her there either. Instead, she chose to put on a pair of sunsses and mask, hailing a taxi herself. When she reached the hotel, she entered the room that had been booked beforehand online. Only then did she take off her mask and sunsses. She let out a long breath. Looking at the clock, she saw that it was still a few minutes before the arranged time. Thus, she opened her bag and took out her foundation, touching up her face slightly. When it was about done, she ced the foundation back into her bag and waited for the person she had arranged to meet. Not long after, the doorbell rang and she went to open the door. Xiaotian¡¯s nervous hands were sweating as he muttered, ¡°Auntie, if your daughter finds out I¡¯m still seeing you, she would break my legs.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see if she dares. Moreover, I was the one who found you first, not the other way round.¡± Mrs. Jin grinned as she went on, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I told her I don¡¯t buy healthcare products anymore. Isn¡¯t it fine if we just don¡¯t let her find out?¡± Hearing her words, Xiaotian was much more assured. ¡°I¡¯m just afraid that she¡¯ll find out. She really scared mest time.¡± Xiaotian timidly suggested, ¡°Auntie, why don¡¯t we stop meeting after this?¡± ¡°Xiaotian, rest assured. Auntie will definitely not let her find out.¡± Mrs. Jin sat by the bedside and told him, ¡°Today, I arranged to meet you because...¡± She paused, finding it hard to go on for a moment. Xiaotian probed further, ¡°Because what?¡± ¡°Auntie doesn¡¯t know if this will sound like I¡¯m taking advantage of your weakness, but I think you can just judge the situation yourself.¡± Mrs. Jin looked at him seriously. ¡°I know your mother has been treating her illness, and you¡¯re a filial child. So, I¡¯m willing to provide you the money for your mother¡¯s medical treatment, but...¡± Xiaotian could guess what she was about to say, so he interjected, ¡°You want to keep me as your lover?¡± Mrs. Jin was afraid she was about to be rejected. She nced at him. ¡°What do you think?¡± Xiaotian was a man in his twenties. His family was poor and his mother was seriously ill, plus he had broken up with his girlfriend. He looked at Mrs. Jin, who indeed appeared quite young. But, because of money, he had to... He was really put in a difficult spot... But at the thought of his mother and of the meager sry he was receiving now... ¡°How much can you give me?¡± ¡°I can fork out your mother¡¯s medical expenses. Apart from that, I can give you an additional amount every month. I¡¯ll definitely not let you suffer.¡± ¡°Why...¡± Xiaotian asked, ¡°Auntie, why do you want to keep me as your lover?¡± ¡°To be honest, my ex-husband has found a younger girl and I¡¯m alone all day. I don¡¯t even have someone to talk to as my children are all grown up. Truthfully, my son is even older than you are. But, so what? How long more do I have to live? I just want to live a happy life.¡± Talking about this, Mrs. Jin felt that this situation was rather ironic. ¡°You can¡¯t tell anyone about our matter, promise?¡± Xiaotian indeed felt tempted by her terms. After much consideration, he agreed. ¡°Today, you should quit your job and be my chauffeur. As for my daughter¡¯s side, don¡¯t worry.¡± Mrs. Jin borated, ¡°That way, it¡¯ll be more convenient too.¡± Xiaotian was rather fearful of their family. He knew what kind of family the Jin family was and that they were very wealthy. Mrs. Jin took out fifty thousand from her bag and passed it to him. ¡°Keep this first.¡± Xiaotian took it from her. He knew that from this moment on, he was to be trampled on by her. But because his family was poor and he had broken up with his girlfriend, as well as his mother being sick, he epted the money. Because of the butler¡¯s passing, Mrs. Jin was emotionally empty. But now, because of Xiaotian, she found a new source of happiness. A happiness that could be bought with money was fine to her as well. As long as she could buy it. She had never expected this boy, who was much younger than she was, to devote his true feelings to her anyway. ¡ª When Jin Qingyue saw Xiaotian, she was instantly furious. Without waiting for her to say anything, Mrs. Jin said, ¡°Xiaotian¡¯s not selling healthcare products anymore. His mother is seriously ill at the hospital. So, I¡¯m not buying healthcare products either. I¡¯m just letting him be my chauffeur. Isn¡¯t this good?¡± If Jin Qingyue had known that her mother would be using this method to keep Xiaotian as her lover, she would have thought that it would have been better for her to continue buying healthcare products from him! ¡°Why does this name sound so familiar?¡± Jin Qingyue pondered for a moment, then eximed, ¡°Ah, isn¡¯t this the same name as Ye Xiaotian? What¡¯s his surname?¡± ¡°His surname is Fang.¡± Jin Qingyue would never have thought that this pure-looking man in front of her had an intimate rtionship with his mother beneath the surface. ¡°Fang Xiaotian... the name Xiaotian is really amon one. What a coincidence.¡± Jin Qingyue did not want to spoil her mother¡¯s mood either, so she remarked, ¡°It¡¯s fine if he¡¯s your chauffeur, but don¡¯t follow Father¡¯s ways. Otherwise, if Brother learns about it, I don¡¯t know what he¡¯d do.¡± Fang Xiaotian¡¯s nerves tightened as he looked at Mrs. Jin. Mrs. Jin casually responded, ¡°How am I the same as him? Don¡¯t worry. I see you¡¯reing over here so frequently these days. If you have time, you should think about your own matters. Qingyue, it¡¯s about time you find another man.¡± ¡°Mother, you don¡¯t have to meddle in this. I¡¯ll handle it myself.¡± Jin Qingyue raised her wrist and looked at her watch. ¡°I¡¯ll get going first.¡± ¡°Wait.¡± Mrs. Jin stopped her. ¡°Has your sister-inw been at hometely?¡± ¡°She¡¯s overseas for work. Why?¡± ¡°Nothing, just asking randomly. Hurry and go back then.¡± Jin Qingyue put on her sunsses and got into her car before driving away. Only when she was gone did Fang Xiaotian heave a long sigh of relief. He was obviously scared out of his wits earlier. Seeing the expression on his face, Mrs. Jin consoled him, ¡°I¡¯m here, what¡¯s there to be afraid of? Don¡¯t be scared.¡± ¡°Umm. I was just nervous.¡± Mrs. Jin looked at him andughed. ¡°My children don¡¯t usuallye over. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s with her recently that she¡¯sing over once in a few days. But, it¡¯s fine.¡± Chapter 462 - The Secret About the Past (80)

Chapter 462: The Secret About the Past (80)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios A weekter... The deal between Gu Beicheng and An Xiaoning was finally signed. Everyone was ted about this news. It was a deal that, after the final details have been taken care of, would have only beenpleted within a month. But presently, it had been settled in about twenty days. The two met up for wine and dinner, and both of them drank quite a lot. Butparing their tolerance for alcohol, An Xiaoning was drunk while Gu Beicheng only had his face flushed. Under the apaniment of their assistant and bodyguards, the two got onto the car and back to the hotel they were staying at. The car drove all the way back to their hotel entrance, and the two got down from the car at about the same time. As An Xiaoning could not even stand properly, Gu Beicheng had to help her. The two began bursting into chatter along the way. At the hotel corridor, Gu Beicheng saw a figure standing before his door from afar. Narrowing his eyes, he realized it was Lin Mingxi. Lin Mingxi saw that he was supporting An Xiaoning, so she rushed over and asked, ¡°The two of you drank?¡± ¡°Umm. Why didn¡¯t you call me beforeing over?¡± ¡°I wanted to give you a surprise.¡± Although An Xiaoning was drunk, she was notpletely unconscious either. She waved them away as she muttered, ¡°Both of you go. I want to have a bath and sleep too. I¡¯m so dizzy.¡± Her assistant hurriedly helped her into the room. Gu Beicheng used the room card to open the door while Lin Mingxi closed the door shut. ¡°How long more do you have to stay here?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have to stay for much longer, the deal has been signed already.¡± Gu Beicheng sat at the bedside and took out his phone to call the hotel reception. ¡°Hi, please send a bowl of hangover soup to room 1288.¡± Lin Mingxi knew that this room was 1289. Room 1288 was evidently An Xiaoning¡¯s room. While she knew that there was nothing going on between them, she still felt ufortable hearing it. After he hung up the call, she asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you send one for yourself too?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not really drunk.¡± He reached out and hugged her waist. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say anything beforeing over? You¡¯re ying mysterious now.¡± With his strength, Lin Mingxi was pushed closer to him and just sat on hisp directly. Her gaze was calm andposed. ¡°Did I give you a scare instead of a surprise?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± he questioned. ¡°You understand.¡± Gu Beicheng lowered his head and grinned. ¡°No wonder you came over so secretly. So, you¡¯re here to spy on me?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t I?¡± She raised her chin slightly. ¡°Of course you can, you¡¯re my wife.¡± He hugged her as they bothy down; his voice was soothing to the ear. ¡°Do you want to bathe together?¡± Lin Mingxi answered, ¡°Yes.¡± Before their marriage, they had no feelings between them. But ever since she married him, Lin Mingxi¡¯s heart was gradually growing closer to his. Since he came to M Nation, she could not sleep properly at night and her imagination could not help but run wild. That night, after what Xu Youran had said to her, she even lost her focus for a few days consecutively. She decided to simply settle things bying over herself. Gu Beicheng got up slowly from the bed and pulled her up as well, holding onto her hand as they entered the bathroom together. Lin Mingxi used to be a gym coach and, although she no longer worked at the gym, she still kept the habit of working out. As such, her body was extremely fit and stunning. It was a pretty hot figure she possessed. Adding that to her special attempts to stir him up, Gu Beicheng could not resist and immediately carried her onto the washbasin. She kissed him once and wanted to continue, but he turned his head to the other side. Unless it was to fulfill his physical needs, Gu Beicheng rarely kissed her. But tonight, Lin Mingxi made a small fuss. ¡°Kiss me.¡± Gu Beicheng kissed her shortly. ¡°Done.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not enough, I want a French kiss.¡± He satisfied her as well, which made Lin Mingxi so caught up in it that she hugged his neck tightly and trapped his waist between her legs. ¡°These days when you weren¡¯t at home, I¡¯ve missed you every day.¡± He did not answer her but lowered his head to kiss her from her corbone and all the way down. At the peak of her arousal, Lin Mingxi made some groans. But just as she was about to squeal outfortably, she realized he stopped moving. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Keep it down slightly.¡± Lin Mingxi turned jealous instantly. ¡°It can¡¯t be that you¡¯re afraid she would hear from her room?¡± Gu Beicheng felt slightly displeased as she always had to harp on this, but he did not want to show it. Maintaining a faint smile on his face, he asked, ¡°Are you really that unassured about me?¡± ¡°If it were someone else you were with, I wouldn¡¯t be.¡± ¡°Xiaoning¡¯s married and has a child already. I¡¯m married as well. What do you think could happen between us?¡± Gu Beicheng was perplexed. ¡°Are you not assured about me or her? Or is it that you really feel that inferior about yourself inside? Youck that much confidence about yourself?¡± The passion that was in the air waspletely put out. Lin Mingxi also wanted to talk about this issue thoroughly once and for all. ¡°My husband has another woman in his heart. Even if it was any other woman, do you think they would feel confident about themselves?¡± Lin Mingxi questioned him. ¡°Tell me, isn¡¯t it you who cannot let me rest assured? If you didn¡¯t have her in your heart, would I be like this?¡± Gu Beicheng did not answer her and turned to go under the showerhead as he started to bathe. Lin Mingxi sat at the washbasin, feeling rather sour inside. She just watched as he finished bathing and went out. Only then did she slowlye down from the washbasin and started to bathe. As she was in a terribly ufortable state, An Xiaoning, who was next door, waspletely unaware that the couple in the room beside hers had gone into a cold war because of her. Whenever she drank too much, her stomach would feel ufortable. Especially when she felt like puking but nothing woulde out, that was the hardest part for her. As she leaned over the toilet bowl, she could feel the acidic sensation in her stomach. Her assistant had a bottle of water in hand and watched her in that state, not daring to make a sound. Only after she¡¯d been staying in that ufortable state for some time did she finally puke. With everything out, she felt much better. She reached out, took the bottle of water from her assistant, and rinsed her mouth, then drank down the hangover soup. ¡°Young Madam, it¡¯s a call from Young Sir.¡± ¡°Give it to me.¡± She reached out and took the phone. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Jin Qingyan could sense something was not right from her voice. ¡°We¡¯ve signed the deal. Because it was a happy asion, I drank too much and just puked.¡± Hearing this, Jin Qingyan¡¯s heart ached badly for her. ¡°You¡¯re not a good drinker, why did you drink so much? Fool, couldn¡¯t you have drunk less?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the fool,¡± An Xiaoning retorted as she walked towards the balcony. Looking at the neon lights beneath her, sheughed. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Missing you.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I know you didn¡¯t miss me.¡± ¡°I am now.¡± She switched her standing position and leaned against the railing. ¡°I really am. I missed you every day, everywhere I went.¡± Jin Qingyan basked in enjoyment of these sweetened words and said under his voice, ¡°If not for our son, I really want to fly over now to see you, but I still have to look after this kid. I can¡¯t do anything at all. Never mind, both of us will be quietly waiting for you to return.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be back very soon. Did you honestly carry out what you promised me?¡± ¡°Of course, I¡¯m very honest. I¡¯ve done everything as you said. Who am I working so hard for?¡± An Xiaoning chuckled. ¡°For yourself, of course. Isn¡¯t it because you want me to do that for you? You¡¯re still asking me for whom you¡¯re working hard for? You should ask yourself that.¡± They both burst intoughter. An Xiaoning was simply exhausted. ¡°I won¡¯t talk any longer, I¡¯m sleepy. I want to turn in.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Chapter 463 - The Secret About the Past (81)

Chapter 463: The Secret About the Past (81)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After hanging up the call, An Xiaoning was about to return into the room when she vaguely heard some quarreling. Listening to it more carefully, she confirmed that it was indeed Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi arguing. However, she could not make out the reason for their argument. Lying down on the bed, An Xiaoning felt her head spinning terribly. Upon closing her eyes, she gradually fell into a deep sleep. When she opened her eyes again, the sky was already bright. Taking a look at the time, she saw it was already eight o¡¯clock. Why didn¡¯t her assistant wake her? After taking a rinse and putting on some light makeup, she opened her door to see her assistant and bodyguard before her. Seeing that she was out, her assistant greeted her, ¡°Young Madam.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you wake me?¡± ¡°I wanted to, but Mr. Gu said you drank a lotst night and that we should let you sleep a little longer. You¡¯re heading to the cafeteria to eat now, right?¡± ¡°Mmm.¡± They arrived at the second-floor cafeteria. An Xiaoning carried a tray on which she¡¯d ced her breakfast while her assistant took a ss of fruit juice for her, cing it at the seat beside Gu Beicheng. She leisurely walked over with her tray of breakfast, slowing sitting down. ¡°Did you drink that bowl of hangover soup yesterday?¡± Gu Beicheng asked. ¡°Yes.¡± Noticing that both he and Lin Mingxi were scowling, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you both? You don¡¯t look happy seeing each other.¡± Gu Beicheng twitched his lips and answered simply, ¡°Nothing.¡± Lin Mingxi looked like she wanted to say something but did not. She merely kept her head low and ate, not uttering a word. An Xiaoning appeared tired as she ate her breakfast slowly, unconsciously turning to look at Lin Mingxi a few times. She somehow felt that she had a lot to say but was keeping everything inside. Gu Beicheng sat there keeping silent as well, and he did not look like he was in a good mood either. With no appetite for breakfast, An Xiaoning ate only a little and wiped her mouth. Just as she was about to get up, Lin Mingxi stopped her. ¡°Xiaoning.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Do you know that Beicheng still loves you now?¡± Once these words came out of Lin Mingxi¡¯s mouth, Gu Beicheng¡¯s face changed. He was evidently furious. An Xiaoning thought of their argumentst night and suddenly understood that she was the cause of it. ¡°You¡¯re overthinking.¡± An Xiaoning looked at her seriously. ¡°You¡¯re his wife now. Since he¡¯s willing to marry you, it means that he wants to lead a new life. You should give him time and not grab onto him so tightly. I think you¡¯ve really misunderstood. Beicheng and I are forever like family. Our rtionship will never be anything more than that. Both of you are mature adults, not kids. You should settle your issues more rationally. Starting a cold war or arguing can never solve anything.¡± Hearing her words, Lin Mingxi was rather ashamed. ¡°I might really be overthinking. And also, with Sister-inw¡¯s words, it¡¯s hard for me not to think about it. But hearing you say these, I can rest assured now.¡± An Xiaoning responded inly, ¡°It¡¯s good that everything is out now then. If you listen to what Xu Youran says, she¡¯ll only mislead you. Furthermore, I¡¯m someone with boundaries and morals. If you really can¡¯t rest assured, then other than for work matters, I won¡¯t see Beicheng anymore in the future. Will that do?¡± Lin Mingxi was startled by her response and hurriedly replied, ¡°No, no, I¡¯m already assured. Don¡¯t ruin the rtionship between you both because of me. It¡¯s me who¡¯s being too petty. Although I¡¯m well aware that it¡¯s impossible between the two of you, I still can¡¯t help but allow my thoughts to run wild. Sorry.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. Anyway, it stilles down to Beicheng not giving you a stronger sense of security.¡± An Xiaoning turned to the man at one side who kept silent. ¡°Your wife¡¯s worries are notpletely unreasonable, but I know you¡¯re someone who¡¯s disciplined and upright. Hopefully, you¡¯ll let Mingxi understand it clearer. That way, she¡¯ll be more assured. You both have a good talk, I¡¯ll be heading over there.¡± Gu Beicheng nodded and nced at his wife, letting out a sigh. ¡°You¡¯ve asked what you wanted and she¡¯s given you your answer. Do you have any other worries?¡± Lin Mingxi got up and went to sit beside him. ¡°No, Honey. I¡¯m sorry. I apologize to you. I was being unreasonable.¡± Gu Beicheng held onto her hand. ¡°Let¡¯s not bring up this matter anymore in the future, lest we all get unhappy. What would Xiaoning have thought of what you said to her just now? We were originally like family to begin with and got along well. Because of what you said, there would definitely be some awkwardness between us from now on. We won¡¯t be at ease with each other as well.¡± ¡°I regret what I said earlier too. Honey, don¡¯t be angry anymore, okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯m already not angry. Xiaoning¡¯s right. It¡¯s me who didn¡¯t give you a stronger sense of security.¡± Gu Beicheng somehow felt it was hard for him to get over matters of his heart, but he had to try hard. He had to try to get over An Xiaoning. Try... ¡ª Jin Qingyue kept Jin Bao¡¯er with her for a few days, but eventually, she still could not handle her tantrums. When Shi Shaochuan came to fetch her, Jin Qingyue expressed that she wanted to have a talk with him. Shi Shaochuan then made Bao¡¯er get onto the car first. With one hand in his pocket, he appeared cold and detached. ¡°What do you want to say?¡± ¡°Shi Shaochuan, the child is five going on six this year already. Can you let her wear something when she sleeps beside you at night?¡± ¡°So what if she¡¯s five going on six years old? The weather is so hot, what¡¯s wrong with sleeping naked? She can sleep in whatever way she likes, why are you being so strict on her?¡± Jin Qingyue retorted, ¡°She¡¯s a girl, do you get it? Also, Shi Shaochuan, I will never remarry you again. Even if I die, I won¡¯t. So, stop asking the child to tell me those things. It¡¯s impossible for us to ever get married again.¡± ¡°Do you think I want to remarry you?¡± Shi Shaochuan already expected she would say this. With his lips tightly pursed together, he went on, ¡°Do you still think you¡¯re still an innocent young girl? You¡¯re like a torn shoe that I¡¯ve discarded. Do you think I would consider reusing something I¡¯ve discarded? That¡¯s just what the child thinks. It doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s my idea, okay?¡± Being insulted this badly by him, Jin Qingyue tried her best to retaliate. ¡°If I¡¯m an old shoe that¡¯s been discarded, what are you? You¡¯ve yed with so many women, aren¡¯t you a smelly drain? To think you still have the face to insult me. What kind of branded good do you think you are? My whole life has been ruined by you already. I must have been blind and stupid in the past, getting married to you was the worst decision I¡¯ve ever made in my whole life!¡± ¡°Really? But reality has proven that no matter how many women we men have yed with, it¡¯ll still be a piece of cake for us to find women. How about you? There¡¯s no brave man who¡¯d dare to marry you, right? Your indecent deeds have already been exposed to the whole world.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that all thanks to you?!¡± Jin Qingyue was seething with rage as she breathed heavily. ¡°Shi Shaochuan, you¡¯re the most shameless person in this whole world.¡± ¡°So what if I am? Look at the child you¡¯ve raised.¡± He lowered his voice and went on, ¡°The child you¡¯ve raised isn¡¯t even willing to be with you. Jin Qingyue, this is your biggest failure. Do you get it?¡± Jin Qingyue had her hands clenched tightly as she watched him turn and get onto the car smugly. mes were spurting out of her eyes. With all the rage, grievance, and regret kept inside her, she waspletely overwhelmed inside and had nowhere to vent it out. Chapter 464 - The Secret About the Past (82)

Chapter 464: The Secret About the Past (82)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyue bent down and buried her head between her legs, her shoulders shaking. When Long Tianze went out of his house, he witnessed this sight right before him. With his hands folded into his pockets, he went before her and asked, ¡°It¡¯s bright daylight now, why are you crying at your front gate?¡± Jin Qingyue raised her head and slowly got up. ¡°Nothing. Tianze...¡± ¡°Umm?¡± ¡°There¡¯s something I actually wanted to tell you for a very long while. It¡¯s just that I didn¡¯t have the courage to.¡± Jin Qingyue continued in a low voice, ¡°Last time, for all the terrible things that I¡¯ve said and for everything, I¡¯m sorry. Seeing you so happy now, I¡¯m actually rather happy for you. Last time, I went way overboard. I hope you¡¯re not angry with me.¡± Long Tianze was rather surprised but appeared unaffected. ¡°It¡¯s been so long already, I¡¯ve long forgotten.¡± Jin Qingyue¡¯s eyes reddened and, choking on her tears, she forced a bright smile at him. ¡°Thank you.¡± With that, she turned and entered her house. Long Tianze stood there, feeling somewhat affected emotionally. Jin Qingyue was someone whom he liked since he was young, and he used to go to the old residence they lived in to see her, using the excuse of finding Jin Qingyan. In a blink of an eye, they were all grown up, and these memories seemed like something that had just happened yesterday. But, the past was all in the past. Hearing her words just now, Long Tianze really felt that Jin Qingyue had grown up. She was no longer that girl she used to be. Coming out from the house, Mei Yangyang saw him staring at Jin Qingyue¡¯s back. She immediately went on her toes and pinched his ear. ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Long Tianze grabbed onto her hand at once. ¡°Honey, we¡¯re outside now. Can you save me some face? How would it appear if other people saw this?¡± ¡°I asked you what you were thinking of as you were watching Jin Qingyue¡¯s back? Did you think back to the time when you were in love with her?¡± He wrapped his hands around her waist and led her back into the house as he told him what had happened earlier. ¡°She apologized to you?¡± ¡°Umm, she did.¡± Mei Yangyang pouted her lips as she thought about it. ¡°My sis said she¡¯s different from before. Looks like it¡¯s true?¡± ¡°People grow and change constantly.¡± Long Tianze leaned in and kissed her forehead. ¡°Honey, you look so pretty today.¡± Mei Yangyang broke into a bright grin. ¡°Do I?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not someone that petty either. Since she¡¯s already said that, we should get along well with her from now on. Make some small talk or something when we see her, and not ignore each other¡¯s existence.¡± Long Tianze chuckled. ¡°Oh, my wife¡¯s words are so nice to hear.¡± ¡°That¡¯s definitely true.¡± She widened her grin. ¡°Go and call those two fellows down for lunch.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go and call them now.¡± Long Tianze went upstairs and realized the two children were lying on the bed and reading aic book. ¡°Wenlun, Xiaoxi,e down and eat.¡± ¡°Alright, Daddy. We¡¯lle right now,¡± Xiaoxi responded. Long Tianze went forward and asked curiously, ¡°What are you looking at that you¡¯re so deeply engrossed?¡± ¡°Aic book.¡± ¡°Go down and eat first.¡± The siblings put on their shoes and went down while Long Tianze took a look at theic book and sat at the bedside reading it carefully. He realized it was really quite interesting. No wonder his two children were so engrossed in it. ¡°Where¡¯s Daddy?¡± ¡°He¡¯s upstairs,¡± Long Wenlun replied. ¡°He went to call us just now.¡± Mei Yangyang dished out the rice and ced it before them. But, after waiting for some time, the three still did not see hime down. Mei Yangyang could only go upstairs to call him. Entering the room, she found himpletely immersed in aic book. ¡°I told you to call the kids down to eat, now why are you the one immersed in it?¡± Upon hearing Mei Yangyang¡¯s voice, Long Tianze immediately ced the book down. ¡°It¡¯s quite interesting.¡± ¡°How old are you already? Come down quickly.¡± ¡°Alright,ing now.¡± ¡ª ¡°Daddy, the fish grew bigger again!¡± Jin Yiheng eximed as he watched the fish swimming around in the tank. Jin Qingyan took a nce and realized that the other fishes that were caught along with it did not change much in size while this one looked like it had eaten some medicine that elerated its growth. Within a few days, it had expanded quite a lot in size. ¡°Wow, you¡¯re right. Call your Uncle Shixin over, let him take a picture of it and check what breed of fish this is.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Jin Yiheng ran out like the wind. After taking a picture of the fish and checking, Fan Shixin was instantly dumbfounded. ¡°Young Sir, where did you catch this fish?¡± ¡°In the Southern River.¡± Fan Shixin uttered in astonishment, ¡°The Southern River is connected to the sea. Young Sir, this isn¡¯t an ordinary fish. It¡¯s a kind of whale.¡± The father and son exchanged looks of shock. Jin Qingyan then responded, ¡°Did you check wrongly? A whale that¡¯s just born should be at least a few meters long right? Don¡¯t joke with me.¡± ¡°Young Sir, this is a special breed of whale. The mother whale gives birth to quite a few whales and they¡¯ll grow rapidly in a short time, so you might not know of it. I haven¡¯t seen it before either. It¡¯s a rather rare breed. Some time from now, this tank will definitely be unable to fit it.¡± ¡°...¡± Hearing this, Jin Qingyan immediately remarked, ¡°Then what are you waiting for? Release it back to the sea for me.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Fan Shixinughed. ¡°Young Sir, you¡¯re really talented.¡± ¡°If you didn¡¯t check, who would have known that something that looks around the size of a fish isn¡¯t from the same species?¡± Jin Qingyan remarked, perplexed. ¡°Such unusual things can even happen to me. How weird.¡± Fan Shixin hurriedly went to release the whale into the ocean, and when he returned, he ran into Mrs. Bu. ¡°Chief Fan, where have you been?¡± ¡°I went out to take care of something. How is your stay here, Auntie?¡± ¡°Pretty good.¡± Mrs. Bu carefully asked, ¡°Chief Fan, are you married?¡± ¡°No.¡± Fan Shixin answered cautiously, somewhat realizing why she had asked him this. ¡°Then, do you have a girlfriend?¡± He joked, ¡°My girlfriend¡¯s parents wouldn¡¯t allow her to start a rtionship yet, so I¡¯m still single.¡± ¡°Chief Fan¡¯s really humorous.¡± Mrs. Bu scanned her surroundings before asking, ¡°What do you think of our Xianxian?¡± Fan Shixin was spot on. He responded politely, ¡°Auntie, Ms. Bu is a nice girl who saved our Young Sir. But, you see, the reason why I¡¯m not married yet is because I¡¯m too picky. I want to find someone I really like. Ms. Bu isn¡¯t the type of girl I like.¡± Mrs. Bu was slightly disappointed. It had taken her great courage to say this to him. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m just asking casually. Don¡¯t take it to heart.¡± ¡°Umm, I won¡¯t.¡± Only after seeing that she was gone did Fan Shixin put his hand at his heart as he muttered to himself, ¡°I¡¯ve gone for so long without someone just to find the best, and you¡¯re pushing someone like that to me? Wouldn¡¯t I have waited in vain all along?¡± Following this, he told this incident to Jin Qingyan, who instantly had an idea. He got Fan Shixin to ask all of his underlings about who would be willing to marry Bu Xianxian. By then, he would let Mrs. Bu and Bu Xianxian pick one. That would not only settle her problem but also his. It would be killing two birds with one stone. He instructed Fan Shixin to get the matter done as soon as possible. Fan Shixin understood and went to carry it out at once. But what was truly disappointing was that not a single soul was willing to marry her. ¡°Why are all of them not willing?¡± Chapter 465 - The Secret About the Past (83)

Chapter 465: The Secret About the Past (83)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Fan Shixin stammered for a moment before replying, ¡°Some feel there¡¯s amunication barrier while others think Ms. Bu¡¯s skin color is too dark or ugly. There are all sorts of reasons.¡± Jin Qingyan had no choice and could only wait and see. Actually, he felt that Bu Xianxian was not a bad catch. While her skin color was slightly darker, she was still pleasant-looking. However, she¡¯d indeed pale inparison to his own wife. ¡°Then, forget it,¡± Jin Qingyan joked, ¡°When Xianxian¡¯s mother asked you, did you already guess what she was getting at?¡± ¡°Could I not when it was that obvious?¡± Fan Shixin remarked frankly, ¡°I think my looks are not that bad and I earn a considerable amount of sry as well. At the very least, I should find someone I really like. Young Sir, I don¡¯t really fancy Ms. Bu.¡± Jin Qingyan probed further, ¡°Then, what type of women do you like? I¡¯ll name you a few types. Is it the kind like Xiaoning, Yangyang, Qingyue, or Mo Li?¡± ¡°Young Sir, I don¡¯t dare to answer your question.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°I just don¡¯t. You can name it as the bright, shy, or capable type of women. But if you use real people as examples for me to choose, I¡¯m flustered.¡± Jin Qingyan knew what he was concerned about. ¡°There¡¯s only the two of us here, what are you afraid of? I¡¯m just asking you to choose your ideal type. Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s not one of those?¡± Fan Shixin sounded him out. ¡°Young Sir, you really want me to say it?¡± ¡°Just say it. Even if you say that your ideal type is like Young Madam, I won¡¯t get angry.¡± Hearing this, Fan Shixin bravely answered, ¡°I like the type of women like Young Madam.¡± Jin Qingyan had already guessed it. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because Young Madam is not only pretty but also has her own ideas. Also, she¡¯s extremely loyal to you. Think about it, Young Sir, Young Madam was alone abroad and Mr. Gu is also someone outstanding. But, her feelings towards you never wavered. That shows that Young Madam is someone who¡¯s devoted. She¡¯s rich, pretty, and devoted, who wouldn¡¯t like this kind of woman?¡± This bootlicker. Jin Qingyan gave a meaningful nod of his head. ¡°Makes sense. Shixin, I¡¯m afraid you would be lonely ¡¯til old age. After all, women like your Young Madam are really rare.¡± Fan Shixin appeared unbothered. ¡°Young Sir, I¡¯d rather be alone than to make do with someone substandard. If I can¡¯t meet someone I like, I¡¯d rather be alone. I believe I¡¯ll meet that person someday, it¡¯s just a matter of time.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been with me for so many years and hanging around men all the time. Now, I feel like I¡¯ve done you wrong for not giving you personal time.¡± ¡°Young Sir, don¡¯t say that...¡± ¡°If you really meet someone you like, tell me. I¡¯ll take charge of your wedding in the future.¡± Fan Shixin was suddenly taken aback. ¡°Young Sir, why do I feel like you¡¯ve regained your memory?¡± Jin Qingyan did not answer his question. ¡°Alright, you can go now.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± When he went out the door, Fan Shixin was still pondering. Young Sir¡¯s tone did not sound right. Why did it sound like how he used to talk in the past? Or was he just overthinking? ¡°Chief!¡± Xiao Huang called out to him from afar. Fan Shixin briskly walked over. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a little girl at the door who says she¡¯s looking for Little Sir. She says she¡¯s his table mate.¡± Fan Shixin went to the door and realized that standing there was a young little girl who looked rather pretty. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Uncle, I¡¯m Wen Yuechan. I¡¯m looking for Yiheng, is he at home?¡± ¡°He is. Come in with me.¡± Fan Shixin asked as they walked in, ¡°How did youe here?¡± ¡°I live just nearby. We live in the same estate.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Little Sir, your table mate is here to find you,¡± Fan Shixin called out at the door. Following that, Jin Yiheng ran out immediately. With his eyes widened, he remarked as he grinned, ¡°It¡¯s you, Yue Chan.¡± ¡°Yiheng, your house is so big. It¡¯s many times bigger than mine.¡± Jin Yihengughed. ¡°Come in.¡± ¡°Umm.¡± She was wearing a white princess dress. Her hair was pinned up and had a pretty flower essory on it. She appeared especially pretty. Jin Yiheng brought her to his yroom and they started ying with his toys. After ying for a while, Wen Yuechan suggested, ¡°Can I see your room?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± He brought her to the room he had for himself. Standing at the doorway, Wen Yuechan eximed as she looked inside, ¡°Yiheng, your house is amazing. I love your house.¡± ¡°You cane here and y with me often from now on. It¡¯s the holidays anyway.¡± ¡°Umm.¡± Wen Yuechan broke into a grin. ¡°Let¡¯s go out and y.¡± ¡°It¡¯s very hot outside. If you¡¯re fine with the heat, then let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Then, how about we watch television together?¡± Wen Yuechan suggested. ¡°Alright. I have a tablet here, youe over.¡± He took the tablet on his table and the two sat together. They found an animation to watch and became engrossed in it, letting out sounds ofughter asionally. When Long Xiaoxi arrived at his doorway, the sound ofughtering from inside made her stop in her tracks. She peeped through a gap in the door and saw Wen Yuechan there, dressed in a beautiful princess dress. She then took a look at herself. She had casually put on slippers and a shoulder-strap dress. She immediately turned and went back home. Mei Yangyang saw that she had returned when she just went out, so she asked, ¡°Xiaoxi, didn¡¯t you go and look for Brother Yiheng to y?¡± ¡°Mommy, didn¡¯t you make me a cheongsam dress? The very stunning one. Can I change into that?¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be hot if you put that on?¡± ¡°But, Mommy, I want to wear something nicer to find Brother Yiheng.¡± Mei Yangyang immediately understood her and helped put on the pink cheongsam dress that had just been tailor-made. She then helped her pair it with a pair of nice sandals of the same color. After changing, Long Xiaoxi ran upstairs again. She ran to Mei Yangyang¡¯s dressing table and imitated how she put on her makeup. But, after all, she was young and had never put on makeup before. The results were barely satisfactory, but she felt that it looked good. She had put on blue eyeshadow on her eyelids and applied a red lipstick. Before her mother could take notice, she hurriedly ran out. The moment she pushed open Jin Yiheng¡¯s bedroom door, the two children inside were stupefied. Wen Yuechan looked at her and started giggling. ¡°You look like a robot cat! Why didn¡¯t you just wear a blue outfit from top to toe?¡± Long Xiaoxi stood at the doorway with both hands grabbing the sides of her dress. She could hear from Wen Yuechan¡¯s words that she was implying that her outfit was ugly. Entering the room, she stood before Jin Yiheng and asked, ¡°Brother Yiheng, do I really look like a robot cat?¡± Jin Yiheng nodded. ¡°A little.¡± Her heart immediately sank into a bottomless pit. However, thereafter, he consoled her with a positive attitude, ¡°But I think a robot cat is really cute.¡± Wen Yuechan burst intoughter. ¡°You were already quite plump to begin with. With the blue eyeshadow on your eyes, you look even more so. Did you secretly use your mother¡¯s cosmetics? My Mommy said that children are not allowed to put on makeup.¡± Long Xiaoxi pursed her lips tightly. ¡°So what if I did?¡± Wen Yuechan covered her mouth to suppress herughter. ¡°Nothing.¡± Chapter 466 - The Secret About the Past (84)

Chapter 466: The Secret About the Past (84)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°If it¡¯s nothing, why are youughing?¡± ¡°Am I getting in your way byughing?¡± Wen Yuechan then turned to look at Jin Yiheng before saying, ¡°Let¡¯s continue watching the cartoon. It¡¯s so funny.¡± Long Xiaoxi turned around to run away at the sight of him lowering his head. Realizing that Jin Yiheng didn¡¯t chase after her at all, she began tearing up while running back home. Mei Yangyang came out of the kitchen only to see that her daughter had sped upstairs. ¡°Xiaoxi.¡± Long Xiaoxi did not answer her mother and instead ran back inside her bedroom. She turned on the tap and began rinsing her face under the water continuously until her face waspletely rid of any makeup. She then sprawled across the bed and began bawling loudly. Sensing that something was amiss, Mei Yangyang approached her and found that she was crying. She quickly sat by her bed and asked, ¡°Xiaoxi, what¡¯s the matter? Tell Mommy, who made you upset?¡± Long Xiaoxi sat up straight and answered, ¡°Mommy, Brother Yiheng¡¯s table partner said I¡¯m as fat as Doraemon. I need to lose weight.¡± ¡°You¡¯re still so young, you don¡¯t need to lose weight. You¡¯re not fat at all, you only have some baby fats on you. You¡¯re not that chubby. You¡¯ll slim down when you¡¯re older,¡± said Mei Yangyang. ¡°Mother, I think Brother Yiheng won¡¯t marry me when we grow up,¡± Long Xiaoximented, sounding devastated. ¡°You¡¯re all still children right now. Xiaoxi, when you get older, you¡¯ll realize that you¡¯re just making sillyments. But, why do you think so? I feel like your Brother Yiheng adores you.¡± Long Xiaoxi burst into tears again and said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to see Brother Yiheng again anytime soon.¡± ¡°Alright, don¡¯t see him if you don¡¯t wish to then. Don¡¯t coop yourself up at home. Go out and y with the other children in our estate if you don¡¯t want to y with your Brother Yiheng.¡± Long Xiaoxi got down from her bed slowly and gave a nod in agreement. ¡°Mommy, I¡¯m going out now.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Long Xiaoxi did not go out and instead began walking towards the backyard of her house alone. There was a floral bed ahead,prising of all sorts of beautiful flowers. She plucked a stalk of flower and sat by the floral bed. All of sudden, she heard sounds of crying. Long Xiaoxi stood up and looked around. She caught sight of a group of children bullying another child. Thus, she sped towards them and asked at the top of her voice, ¡°What are you guys doing!?!¡± ¡°Missy.¡± They were the children of the vegetable farmers working for An Xiaoning and Mei Yangyang on therge patch ofnd in their backyard, which was used for growing various types of vegetables and fruits. They decided to grow their own produce because it was environmental-friendly and void of pollution. Long Xiaoxi stared at the boy on the ground whom she had never seen before. She took a closer look to realize that his arms were missing. She immediately bent forward to help him up before berating the other children, ¡°You¡¯re not to bully him again!¡± The bunch of children nodded and zoomed away quickly. Long Xiaoxi was left alone with the boy who had missing arms. ¡°Why don¡¯t you have any arms?¡± The boy looked frail and weak, though his overall appearance was neat and tidy. He was extremely thin and had rosy lips along with straight rows of pearly white teeth. ¡°I lost my arms in a car ident,¡± he answered in a feeble voice. ¡°How old are you?¡± Long Xiaoxi asked, staring at him with a look of pity in her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m six years old.¡± ¡°I¡¯m three and a half. What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°My name is Minhe, Zhong Minhe.¡± Long Xiaoxi smiled widely and said, ¡°Shall I call you Brother Minhe then?¡± ¡°Missy, I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be appropriate if Sir and Madam find out.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, my parents won¡¯t mind. Do you have any friends?¡± ¡°No,¡± he answered, shaking his head. ¡°I don¡¯t either. I only have a brother. But he went out with Daddy and I don¡¯t have anyone to y with now,¡± Long Xiaoxi said with much disappointment. ¡°I often see you ying with the Young Sir living opposite. How is it possible that you don¡¯t have any friends?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t talk about Brother Yiheng. I don¡¯t feel like talking about him. You said you¡¯ve seen me, but why haven¡¯t I seen you around before?¡± Long Xiaoxi asked with a look of disappointment on her face. He looked down and said, ¡°My parents don¡¯t allow me toe out. I usually stay in my own room. I saw you through the window.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t they let you out?¡± ¡°They¡¯re worried about my safety because I don¡¯t have arms.¡± Long Xiaoxi tugged on his clothes and said, ¡°They don¡¯t have to worry anymore in the future. You¡¯ll be ying with me. I¡¯ll tell your parents that I¡¯ll take you out to y every day, okay?¡± Even after many years had passed, Zhong Minhe could still remember the look of purity and innocence on Long Xiaoxi¡¯s face when she asked him that question. ¡°Okay,¡± he agreed with a nod. ¡ª Song Yan admitted herself to the hospital a few days before the end of the month. She underwent a full body checkup, and the doctor concluded that she was generally healthy with no signs of a miscarriage at all. Song Yan felt a huge sense of relief. Although she thought that An Xiaoning¡¯s predictions were definitely inurate, she still admitted herself to the hospital to be safe, especially since thetter enjoyed a prestigious reputation for being urate. Song Yan thought it would be better to be safe than sorry. On the other hand, she also wanted to prove An Xiaoning wrong. Due to the extremely warm weather, the air conditioner was turned on in the VIP ward and adjusted to afortable temperature, neither too hot nor too cold. Shey in bed and began ying with her mobile phone. While scrolling through Weibo, she came across a discussion page where there were ims of her being photographed as she was admitted to the hospital. She hurriedly called for the doctor to bring a drip and syringe, which she then pasted onto the back of her hand with some adhesive tape. She ensured that the needle head was obscured before snapping a photo of her hand, which she then uploaded to Weibo, iming that she had caught a cold. A bunch ofizens hurriedly leftments on her post, telling her to take care of herself and get some good rest. Song Yan could not help but burst intoughter upon reading theizens¡¯ well wishes. ¡°Why are youughing?¡± her manager, Huahua, asked. ¡°The moment I uploaded a photo of myself on the drip, all these fans immediately leftments to tell me to take care of myself and stuff like that. But...¡± A sudden tinge of disappointment formed in her tone as she continued, ¡°But, once I make a teeny weeny mistake, they¡¯re always so quick tosh out at me and criticize me online. When I¡¯m doing well, they¡¯ll shower me with all sorts ofpliments, praising me for my beauty, my melodious voice, and my superb acting skills. Yet, when there are minor slip-ups, they¡¯ll start using me of having a stic face and make snide remarks about my singing, saying that I sound like nails on a chalkboard.¡± ¡°Many of your fans are young and childish. Don¡¯t bother stooping to their level. In order to survive in the entertainment industry, you have to adopt the mindset of ¡®I will not get my head in the clouds when you criticize me, neither will I get angry when you criticize me.¡¯ You¡¯ll lose out if you take everything too personally and seriously in this industry,¡± Huahua said as she tried tofort her. ¡°I understand what you mean. But sometimes, I just can¡¯t bear to give up my fame and wealth. asionally, I¡¯d think that it¡¯d be a good idea to marry Ciye and be his dutiful wife. Being a full-time housewife is a lifestyle coveted by many women, so why should I be so hard on myself? Am I being too stubborn and overachieving?¡± ¡°Song Yan, don¡¯t think that way. I¡¯ve only heard of men despising their wives who don¡¯t go out to work and stay at home all day waiting for their husbands to bring home the bacon. I¡¯ve never heard of men resenting their wives for being hardworking in their careers.¡± Chapter 467 - The Secret About the Past (85)

Chapter 467: The Secret About the Past (85)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Song Yan put her phone away and said, ¡°But he and I always end up arguing every other day. It¡¯s a never-ending cycle that I¡¯m starting to get sick and tired of.¡± ¡°You two are too obstinate, that¡¯s why you always end up in a conflict. You may be dominant in your career, but you shouldn¡¯t be too domineering towards your man. Otherwise, it¡¯s only going to backfire,¡± Huahua advised. ¡°I really think he wouldn¡¯t bother about me if it weren¡¯t because of our baby. I really hope our baby will be fine.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. Didn¡¯t you already go for a checkup?¡± Song Yan nodded and said, ¡°I really hope that¡¯s the case.¡± Ling Ciye made his way to the hospital to apany her after learning that she had been hospitalized. They both tried their best not to bring up any topics that would lead to an argument and made an effort to talk about joyous matters instead. Several days passed by peacefully without conflict. On thest day of the month, Song Yan went for another checkup in the morning, only to find that the fetus appeared to be rather unstable this time. The doctor instructed her to stay in bed all day for further observations. She was also prescribed with dosages of tocolytic. Extremely worried for her fetus, Song Yan abided by the doctor¡¯s instruction andy in bed to rest. She spent the entire day in bed where she had all her meals. She managed to pull through until the evening. Staring at the window, she said to Ling Ciye, ¡°Today is thest day of the month. It¡¯ll be a fresh month in a few hours¡¯ time. Do you think I can call An Xiaoning to tick her off if it turns out that her predictions were wrong?¡± ¡°The doctor already mentioned this morning that the fetus is unstable. Didn¡¯t you hear what he said? Besides, I was the one who consulted her about this. So what if she really turns out to be wrong?¡± ¡°It just doesn¡¯t sit well with me. How could something happen within these few hours when I¡¯ve already been lying in bed all day? If nothing happens tonight, shall we register our marriage tomorrow morning?¡± Song Yan said with a smirk. Staring at her, Ling Ciye answered, ¡°I think there are still many issues we¡¯ve yet to straighten out between us. I think we can wait until we¡¯ve made things clear. We have to face these problems sooner orter anyway.¡± ¡°Stop... I¡¯m not going to listen if you¡¯re going to bring up anything that would make both of us unhappy again.¡± Thus, Ling Ciye stopped talking. However, he knew that keeping silent would not solve the problem and they would still have to face those issues in the end. Sweeping things under the carpet was not a viable solution. Both of them remained silent while Song Yan continued to immerse herself in her mobile phone. Song Yan¡¯s mobile phone broke the silence in the hospital ward when it began to ring all of a sudden. After taking a look at the caller disy, she immediately answered, ¡°Hello, Mr. Jiang.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I¡¯m in the city today, but I¡¯m not feeling too well. I¡¯m currently hospitalized. I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able to make it tonight.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I¡¯d love to be there too, but I really can¡¯t make it. I have a variety program filming session scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, you don¡¯t have toe here especially to see me, really. I¡¯m fine, I truly appreciate your concern.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Mr. Jiang, I¡¯m not trying to turn you down on purpose, but how can I have the cheek to expect you toe see me personally when I can¡¯t make it to your event?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Oh, I see.¡± ¡°...¡± Song Yan stared at Ling Ciye and said, ¡°Alright then, since you¡¯ve already put it that way, it would really be too much of me to not show up. But I¡¯ll only be able to stay for a short while. Is that okay?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Alright, it¡¯s settled then.¡± After hanging up the phone, Song Yan said to Ling Ciye, ¡°The deputy CEO of my agency would like to see me. He initially wanted me to turn up for an event, but after hearing that I was hospitalized, he insisted oning here to see me personally. He also said that he wanted to discuss the details of my contract with an overseas artiste agency. I have no choice but to go see him for a while.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you were going to spend the rest of the night lying in bed? Once you step out of here, Xiaoning¡¯s prediction might reallye true. Song Yan, is meeting your boss really more important than our baby?¡± Ling Ciye questioned. ¡°Both are important to me. I¡¯m only going to go for a short while. I think it should be fine. I¡¯ll get Huahua to look out for me all the way. You maye along too. Okay?¡± ¡°You¡¯d better not go. I¡¯ll stay here with you tonight. Leave the discussion about the contract with the overseas agency for tomorrow. You can always meet your boss tomorrow too. I¡¯m just really afraid that the prophecy woulde true,¡± Ling Ciye insisted. ¡°But I¡¯ve already promised him just now...¡± ¡°Give me the phone, I¡¯ll talk to him,¡± said Ling Ciye, extending his arm to get her phone. Song Yan handed her phone to him, filled with nervousness. Just as Ling Ciye was about to ce the call, Song Yan snatched the phone back from him and gripped it tightly in her hand. ¡°I just promised him I would be there. He¡¯d definitely hit the roof if I back out again now. He might just condemn me. Forget it, I¡¯ll just go for a short while. I¡¯ll be fine with you by my side,¡± said Song Yan, who was stuck in a dilemma. ¡°Song Yan, why are you so stubborn? Just listen to me this once, okay? Those aren¡¯t important at all. I¡¯ve already thought about it. Since you enjoy being a celebrity, I¡¯ll open an artiste management agency for you, alright?¡± Ling Ciye said with a sullen expression on his face. ¡°But, I don¡¯t want to rely on you...¡± ¡°Why not? Why do you have to be so obstinate? Once we¡¯re married, what¡¯s mine will be yours,¡± Ling Ciye retorted, boiling with anger. Song Yan took a deep breath and said, ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll call him again then.¡± She dialed Mr. Jiang¡¯s number and put the phone beside her ear. Once the call got through, she said, ¡°Mr. Jiang, I¡¯m so sorry, but I really can¡¯t make it tonight. I¡¯ll see you tomorrow instead. Will that do?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Alright, it¡¯s settled then.¡± After hanging up the call, she said to Ling Ciye, ¡°I could tell from Mr. Jiang¡¯s tone that he was upset.¡± ¡°So be it. His opinion doesn¡¯t matter to me.¡± ¡°But he¡¯s my superior...¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough. Lie in bed and rest properly. Don¡¯t think about anything else. Song Yan, I¡¯ll finally be at peace if we can pull through this peacefully. Nothing¡¯s more important to me than you and our baby right now, do you understand?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the baby that¡¯s important to you, isn¡¯t it? I know clearly whether or not I¡¯m important to you.¡± ¡°...¡± Time passed slowly bit by bit. Ling Ciyey beside her. The two of them were not in the least bit sleepy and waited for time to crawl by. Ling Ciye would help Song Yan to the washroom, afraid that a mishap would ur. Finally, it was half past eleven at night. Noticing that it was almost twelve midnight, Song Yan said to him, ¡°See, it¡¯s almost twelve midnight. An Xiaoning¡¯s predictions are not urate at all. Do you think she¡¯s just trying to sow seeds of discord between us?¡± Ling Ciye remained silent. ¡°I¡¯ll just lie here and not move an inch. Half an hour is going to pass by very quickly. What could possibly happen? This is going to prove her so wrong,¡± Song Yan continued. In fact, even Ling Ciye began to doubt the uracy of An Xiaoning¡¯s prophecy. Thus, he did not respond to Song Yan at all regardless of what she was bbering on about. Song Yan stopped talking after realizing that she was talking to the wall. Shortly after, she felt a sudden acute difort in her abdomen. She froze in shock the moment she felt fluids flowing out of her body. ¡°What time is it?¡± she asked worriedly. ¡°11:45 PM.¡± Chapter 468 - The Secret About the Past (86)

Chapter 468: The Secret About the Past (86)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Pangs of panic engulfed Song Yan, who was clutching the bedsheets tightly. She then sat up slowly and knelt on the bed before removing her pants. She turned pale as a sheet at the sight of a brownish-red bloodstain on her underwear. Ling Ciye immediately called the doctor into the ward to conduct a check on the fetus. After checking the fetus¡¯ heartbeat with the stethoscope, the doctor said with a grave expression, ¡°The fetus¡¯ heart has stopped beating. Moreover, you¡¯ve just bled. From the looks of it, you must¡¯ve had a miscarriage.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª ¡°Mommy, can I ask something from you?¡± Long Xiaoxi asked, snuggling up to Mei Yangyang. ¡°You have something to ask of me? What is it? Speak up.¡± ¡°One of our gardeners has a son called Brother Minhe. He¡¯s older than I am. However, he lost both his arms in a car ident. No one wants to y with him, and his parents don¡¯t allow him to leave the house. He¡¯s not allowed to go to school either, although he really wants to attend school. Could you tell his parents to let him attend school together with me once school reopens? I really want to help him.¡± Mei Yangyang was rather astonished for she had never heard about the matter before. ¡°Is that so? Could you bring me to see his parents then? Mommy shall help him since Xiaoxi is so kind-hearted.¡± Long Xiaoxi broke into smiles and said, ¡°Thank you, Mommy. Mommy, you¡¯re awesome.¡± Mei Yangyang gave her a kiss, after which they proceeded to look up Zhong Minhe¡¯s parents together, hand in hand. It was noontime where all the gardeners were busy working. Pointing at a couple in front of them, Long Xiaoxi said, ¡°Mommy, they¡¯re Minhe¡¯s parents.¡± Mei Yangyang stepped forward and asked, ¡°Are you Minhe¡¯s parents?¡± The couple turned around to see that it was Mei Yangyang. In a moment of panic and nervousness, they asked, ¡°Yes. Young Madam, did Minhe do something wrong?¡± ¡°Why would you think that way? Rx, I heard from Xiaoxi that your son lost his arms in a car ident and you¡¯ve stopped him from leaving the house. You don¡¯t allow him to attend school either...¡± ¡°We¡¯re not trying to stop him from leaving the house. We just don¡¯t want him to continue being bullied by other children who have been giving him names. It¡¯s tough for him to attend school without arms too. Thus, we decided not to let him go to school,¡± Mrs. Zhong exined. Mei Yangyang smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s tragic enough that he has lost his arms. If you still continue to iste him from the outside world, it¡¯s going to be detrimental to his mental health. Just let hime out to y whenever he likes. All children love ying. He¡¯ll be too bored all cooped up at home. I can guarantee that no one will dare bully him in my house. One more thing, let him attend school together with Xiaoxi when school reopens. If he does well in school and makes it to university, we¡¯ll continue to pay for his school fees. What do you guys think of this suggestion?¡± Mr. and Mrs. Zhong were at a sudden loss for words. ¡°Young Madam, how can we ept such a huge favor...¡± Mr. Zhong spluttered. Long Xiaoxi looked up and said, ¡°Uncle, I¡¯ll help Brother Minhe, don¡¯t treat him that way anymore. He¡¯s so pitiful.¡± Teary-eyed, Mr. Zhong nodded and said, ¡°Thank you, Missy.¡± The matter was brought to a sessful close. Zhong Minhe was over the moon to know that he could attend school together with Xiaoxi when school reopens. He had be much more outgoing as well and would go out to y with Xiaoxi every day. Now that she had a new ymate, Long Xiaoxi did not look Jin Yiheng up for several consecutive days. Meanwhile, Jin Yiheng did not find it much of a big deal since he had been ying with Wen Yuechan most of the time. However, he immediately understood why Long Xiaoxi had not been asking him to y together for the past few days as soon as he saw Long Xiaoxi and Long Wenlun ying happily with Zhong Minhe. ¡°Xiaoxi,¡± Jin Yiheng ran towards her and called out. Long Xiaoxi turned around to run away without even looking at him. Noticing that she was ignoring him, Jin Yiheng immediately chased after her to stop her. ¡°Xiaoxi, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± ¡°Nothing, I¡¯m going to go y.¡± ¡°Xiaoxi, let¡¯s y together.¡± Long Xiaoxi turned him down immediately, ¡°Nah, go y with your table mate. I have someone to y with.¡± Jin Yiheng stood rooted and watched as she vanished from his sight. He then returned home in low spirits. ¡°Daddy, what time is Mommying home?¡± ¡°Soon. What¡¯s the matter with you?¡± Jin Qingyan asked, noticing that he was hanging his head low. ¡°Daddy, Xiaoxi doesn¡¯t want to y with me anymore. I think she¡¯s angry because I often y with Yuechan. How do I make her happy again?¡± ¡°You may give her some flowers.¡± Shaking his head, Jin Yiheng said, ¡°I¡¯ve done that a lot of times before.¡± ¡°You may give her a gift too, like a pretty hairclip or other toys.¡± Finding his father¡¯s suggestion to be a good idea, Jin Yiheng immediately asked Fan Shixin to bring him out to buy some hair essories. He meticulously picked out the best-looking hair clip and brought it to Long Xiaoxi¡¯s house. ¡°Godma, where¡¯s Xiaoxi?¡± ¡°She¡¯s reading someics upstairs.¡± He skipped upstairs excitedly, eager to see Long Xiaoxi¡¯s reaction, thinking that she would be ted to receive the gift from him. He pushed the door open and greeted her smilingly, ¡°Xiaoxi.¡± Long Xiaoxi shot him a nce before looking away. Noticing that she was still reluctant to talk to him, Jin Yiheng entered the room and said, ¡°Xiaoxi, I bought you a present.¡± Long Xiaoxi got down from the bed and walked towards him slowly. ¡°What is it?¡± He opened his palm to reveal an exquisite hair clip and said, ¡°I especially got Uncle Shixin to go with me to buy this for you. I picked it out myself. Do you like it?¡± Being the child she was, Long Xiaoxi¡¯s initial grumpiness immediately vanished at the sight of such a beautiful hair clip given to her by the Brother Yiheng she adored. She took the hair clip from his hand and said, ¡°Thank you, Brother Yiheng. The hair clip is so pretty, I like it a lot.¡± Jin Yiheng heaved a sigh of relief. He held her hand and said, ¡°Come with me, I have something to say to you.¡± Long Xiaoxi was then brought to Long Wenlun¡¯s room. ¡°Tell me, are you angry because I yed with Yuechan?¡± Jin Yiheng asked. ¡°Yes. You didn¡¯t even defend me when she made such mean remarks about me. Brother Yiheng, I think you don¡¯t like me. Do you mind that I¡¯m chubby and ugly too?¡± said Long Xiaoxi, who had already forgiven him, deep down. ¡°I don¡¯t mind that you¡¯re chubby. I think you¡¯re really cute that way. Xiaoxi, don¡¯t be angry at me anymore. I¡¯ll protect you and stand up to her if she criticizes you again,¡± Jin Yiheng answered, pinching her cheeks. A smile finally formed on Long Xiaoxi¡¯s face. She inched forward to hug him and said, ¡°Brother Yiheng, you¡¯re mine.¡± ¡°If I¡¯m yours, then who do you belong to?¡± Jin Yiheng asked. ¡°You, of course. When we grow up, I want to bear your children,¡± Long Xiaoxi said confidently, looking up at him. ¡°Alright, when we¡¯re older, you¡¯ll be the only person who gets to bear my children.¡± Long Xiaoxi nodded, blushing red with shyness. ¡ª An Xiaoning was more than eager and excited to return home tomorrow after being on a 20-day business trip, although it was already cut short from the initial duration of one month. She instructed her assistant to pack the luggage and prepare for the flight home scheduled for the next morning. Chapter 469 - The Secret About the Past (87)

Chapter 469: The Secret About the Past (87)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The assistant returned to her own room after packing the luggage. An Xiaoning was left alone in her room. Although she was a little bored, she did not feel like going out either. She sipped on some liquor by herself andy in bed to watch a movie. She was extremely rxed, knowing that there were bodyguards on duty guarding outside her room round the clock. It was already eleven o¡¯clock at night by the time she finished watching the movie. Thinking that she would be getting to meet her husband and son when she returns home the next morning, An Xiaoning switched off the lights and went to bed. Just as she was about to fall asleep, she heard a sudden noiseing from the balcony. She opened her eyes and listened closely, only to find that there were no longer any noises. She looked up and stared at the balcony door which was left ajar in order to allow the natural breeze to enter because she did not enjoy being in an air-conditioned environment since she was susceptible to cold temperatures. A sudden feeling of panic began to overwhelm her. It had been a while since she got such an ominous feeling, which was often a forewarning of an impending mishap. She reached out to press the assistance bell on the table, after which the bodyguards outside the door immediately entered using the spare room key card. ¡°Young Madam, do you have any orders for us?¡± She switched on the lights and said, ¡°Go take a look if there¡¯s anyone on the balcony.¡± The bodyguard hurriedly stood in front of the balcony to take a look before answering, ¡°No, there isn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Close the door properly,¡± An Xiaoning said sternly. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You guys may go out first. I¡¯ll call you in again if there¡¯s anythingter.¡± The bodyguards left her room one after another and closed the door after them. An Xiaoning was never one to be paranoid. However, she trusted her instinctspletely. Thus, she was no longer in the mood to sleep as she felt as if there was a heavy rock on her chest. Since she was not sleepy anymore, An Xiaoning got up to change into afortable attire that would ease her in moving about. She put on a cored short-sleeved blouse made ofce, a pair of denim shorts, and heeled sandals. She armed herself with the necessary weapons andy down in bed to continue watching movies. She spent the entire night watching movies on television. Her eyelids were heavy and she was extremely sleepy. However, she persisted until daybreak. Her assistant entered the room to collect her luggage before exiting again. ¡°Have Mr. Gu and Mingxi gone downstairs?¡± she asked her assistant. ¡°Not yet, I didn¡¯t see them at the lobby. I reckon they must still be sleeping.¡± An Xiaoning proceeded to Gu Beicheng¡¯s room and pressed his doorbell. ¡°Beicheng, Mingxi, I¡¯m going downstairs.¡± To her surprise, there was no response from them. An Xiaoning called out again, ¡°Beicheng? Mingxi?¡± Are they really sleeping that soundly? An Xiaoning quickly pressed the doorbell repeatedly and raised her voice, ¡°Beicheng?¡± ¡°Young Madam, don¡¯t call them anymore. Maybe they¡¯re getting dressed.¡± ¡°They would respond even if that¡¯s the case.¡± An Xiaoning then whipped her phone out to give Gu Beicheng a call, which went through. However, he did not answer the phone, despite the sounds of his phone ringing that could be heard from outside. Reminded of the sudden panic she feltst night, she quickly instructed her assistant, ¡°Hurry to the administration desk and ask for the key card to this room.¡± ¡°Young Madam, aren¡¯t you overreacting a little?¡± An Xiaoning rolled her eyes at her and scorned, ¡°I told you to go, so do it now. Cut the crap.¡± The assistant dared not utter another word and immediately ran down to the lobby. Two minutester, the assistant returned with the key card, which An Xiaoning immediately used to unlock the door. Due to the fact that the curtains were drawn, it was rather dark in the room. She chucked the key card into the slot, after which the lights in the room were switched on immediately. ¡°Beicheng?¡± she called, but again, there was no response. An Xiaoning walked inside without hesitation, only to find that there was not a single soul in the room. All of Gu Beicheng¡¯s belongings were intact, though, including his luggage, mobile phone, and watch. An Xiaoning turned to look at the other end of the bed and saw that there was a mobile phone, which obviously belonged to Lin Mingxi. Everything else was present in the room except them. An Xiaoning was gued with an ominous feeling upon sight of the situation. She walked towards the balcony door and discovered that it was closed but not locked. ¡°Young Madam...¡± the assistant called out carefully. ¡°Find the hotel manager and bring me the footage from the surveince cameras along the corridor and balcony. I want to view the footage recorded from the time that they entered their roomst night until now.¡± ¡°Young Madam, they might have gone down to have breakfast.¡± An Xiaoning red at her and berated, ¡°Can you stop saying such redundant and irrelevant things whenever I tell you to do something? We were scheduled to leave this morning. They would¡¯ve brought their luggage along even if they went for breakfast. Besides, why would they leave their mobile phones and watches behind in the room as well?¡± An Xiaoning understood Gu Beicheng¡¯s habits inside out, and thus, she knew that he would definitely bring his mobile phone and watch with him wherever he goes. The assistant quickly proceeded to do as she instructed. An Xiaoning opened the door and stood on the balcony. She turned to her left and realized that the balconies of the adjacent rooms were about two meters apart from each other, neither too long nor too short a distance. Lin Mingxi possessesbat skills and didn¡¯t train at the martial arts boot camp for no reason. If she were to have been met with danger, ordinary people would not be a match for her. Besides, I was up all nightst night. How could I have not heard any sounds of amotion when I was just next door? An Xiaoning thought to herself. Unless they were drugged and knocked unconscious... Pangs of panic engulfed An Xiaoning and she dared not imagine any further. ¡°Young Madam, I¡¯ve found the footage.¡± An Xiaoning quickly strode outside. Upon reaching the door, she instructed two of the bodyguards, ¡°Stay put here. No one is allowed to enter. I¡¯ll be right back.¡± ¡°Yes, Young Madam.¡± She then headed to the surveince camera monitor room with her assistant and the rest of the bodyguards. ¡°Fast forward the footage.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid you might miss some things out by fast-forwarding,¡± said the hotel manager. ¡°It¡¯s fine, hurry.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning kept her eyes fixed on the screen. Finally, at about 11 o¡¯clock on the timestamp, a figure was seen crawling into Gu Beicheng¡¯s balcony from the balcony of the room next to his. The figure was dressed in ck from head to toe, revealing only his eyes. An Xiaoning deduced that they must have spread some incense into the room via the window in order to knock Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi unconscious. There were four people in the act. From the looks of it, they must have split the tasks amongst themselves. The footage showed that two of the perpetrators had also tried to climb into An Xiaoning¡¯s balcony through thedder but to no avail as she switched on the lights and called for the bodyguards to enter all of a sudden. Recalling the events of the night before, she realized that they did not get the chance to act on her because she had shut the windows tightly and locked the balcony door. Not to mention, she also stayed up all night. The masked men then brought the unconscious Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi away via a parachute. Judging from the fluidity of their motions, they must have been well trained in using parachutes. The hotel manager was frightened out of his senses after watching the footage. ¡°Mrs. Jin, let¡¯s call the police,¡± the manager suggested. An Xiaoning stared at him coldly and refuted, ¡°News of them missing is going to spread across the media the moment we call the police. That won¡¯t be good for the reputation of your hotel. Listen to my instructions, go find the information of the guests living in the room next to Beicheng¡¯s and bring me the footage of the surveince cameras outside that room. I want the quality of the footage to be in high definition. Blow it up and give them to me as printed screenshots.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning was flustered beyond limits. She instructed her assistant to pack Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi¡¯s luggage. She then sat down on the chair and remained silent. Needless to say, she could not allow news of the matter to be spread to the public. Not only might the business deal they just clinched painstakingly fall through, but news of the CEO of the Gu Corporation going missing would also definitely spark chaos within thepany, just like what happened to the Jin Corporation when Jin Qingyan went missing previously. Chapter 470 - The Secret About the Past (88)

Chapter 470: The Secret About the Past (88)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Not to forget, she was a member of the Gu family too. An Xiaoning racked her brains toe up with a possible suspect who instigated the abduction. After pondering it through thoroughly, the only names she could think of was Xu Youran and Gu Dongcheng. Who would stand to gain the most if Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi went missing? It was none other than Gu Dongcheng. Without them around, he would have the Gu Corporation all to himself. Who would benefit the most if An Xiaoning went missing? Xu Youran, of course. Perhaps Xu Youran has already found out about the possibility of me belonging to the Xu family, that¡¯s why... A grave expression formed on An Xiaoning¡¯s face. Indeed, if you don¡¯t eradicate the root causepletely, there was bound to be more trouble in the future. While she knew that the two of them were the greatest suspects behind the act, she could not make any usations without concrete evidence. Neither could she interrogate them both immediately, lest she alerts the enemy unnecessarily. It would be the most foolish decision to do so. Upon knowing that such a serious incident had urred, the hotel worked at top efficiency and quickly settled the matters An Xiaoning instructed them to. An Xiaoning immediately understood what she had to do next after looking at the screenshots of the footage as well as the registered details of the guests belonging to that room. She instructed her assistant and bodyguards to stay behind in the hotel while she headed to the address on the personal identification card used for registration. To her disappointment, the personal identification card was robbed from the original owner, who exined the situation to An Xiaoning. The victim had been frightened by the robbery as well. An Xiaoning had lost her lead. An Xiaoning knew that the perpetrators would have definitely fled the country using a private boat or jet instead of boarding amercial ne or ferry. The greatest likelihood was that they had left on their private ferry. After all, they were bringing two other people with them. She again thought of the possibility that the mastermind was probably not after Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi¡¯s lives, for they would have taken the chance to kill them right away when they were drugged unconscious instead of going through the hassle of taking them away. Xu Youran would definitely be more ruthless than to spare their lives, which meant it was likely that Gu Dongcheng was the one behind it. At this point, An Xiaoning had already pinned the two of them as the main suspects. She then hailed a taxi to the nearest ferry terminal. She managed to obtain the information she needed after bribing the workers at the terminal. ording to the staff in charge, there was a private ferry that left the terminal at midnight and headed in the Southwest direction. The staff also immediately verified that the ferry belonged to the people in the photos An Xiaoning had shown him. It would be toote to take chase now since the ferry had departed at midnight, which was several hours ago. Nheless, An Xiaoning decided to still chase after them. Without hesitation, she ordered for the helicopter to pick her up. She then embarked on a journey towards the direction given by the staff in charge while looking out of the helicopter with a pair of binocrs. The helicopter did not soar too high above the sea, though it was advancing at top speed. Needless to say, it was traveling much faster than a ferry would. On the helicopter, An Xiaoning instructed the bodyguards and assistant to keep mum and ensure that no news of Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi missing were leaked to the public. She warned that they would face severe punishment should they fail to keep the news secret. An Xiaoning constantly pondered about where she would take the two of them if put in the shoes of the mastermind. Since they can¡¯t die, the mastermind would definitely take them somewhere far away from home, such that it was impossible to go back. She then began to wonder just what ce that could be. ¡°Where¡¯s the furthest we can head to in this direction?¡± she asked the pilot. ¡°F Nation. It¡¯s an extremely underdeveloped country that is not only the furthest from where we are but also known to be primitive. I heard that the citizens in that country are all aboriginals who aren¡¯t exposed to technology at all. There¡¯s no inte connection there either.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s head towards F Nation while following the route taken by sea.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± She sat in her seat with a heavy heart. If she guessed correctly, they would definitely be able to stop the ferry before they make it to F Nation, given the vast difference in speeds of the ferry and the helicopter. But then again, that¡¯s only if her assumptions were correct. An Xiaoning was filled with anxiety and uneasiness. She sent Jin Qingyan a text message to inform him that there would be a dy in her return due to an urgent matter that cropped up at thest minute. Not wanting to worry him, she decided not to tell him the real reason for the dy. It was not because she did not trust him but rather because she was worried sick about the safety of Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi. Although she knew that they were likely to still be alive, she could not help but worry that they might have broken their legs or something of the sort... She thought it would be better not to make Jin Qingyan worry about her as well, because she understood how terrible it felt to be worried. Jin Qingyan gave her a call upon learning that she would be dying her return to S Nation. ¡°Why is there a dy? Do you know that I didn¡¯t sleep well at allst night because I was excited about youing back today?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t catch a wink at allst night either. I initially nned to go home today too but something cropped up all of a sudden. I¡¯ll be back very soon,¡± said An Xiaoning, forcing herself to sound rxed. ¡°Don¡¯t forget our pact,¡± Jin Qingyan said in his alluring voice. An Xiaoning could guess his expression from the way he sounded over the phone, as much as they were miles apart from each other at the moment. ¡°I won¡¯t. I remember it very clearly. Okay, I have to get to work,¡± she said, staring out at the window of the helicopter. ¡°Alright.¡± After hanging up the phone, An Xiaoning leaned against the window. She was extremely sleepy and fatigued, yet she did not dare to close her eyes to fall asleep. Noticing how tired she was, the pilot said, ¡°Young Madam, take a short nap. Even though we might really catch up with them halfway, it¡¯ll still be quite some time before we do.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± She then instructed her subordinates to help her keep a lookout. She was incredibly tired and fell asleep as soon as she closed her eyes. __ ¡°Rascal, why are you taking so long!¡± the malicious-looking man hollered at the other man steering the ferry. ¡°Boss, it¡¯s not that I¡¯m slow. Our boat is just too old and there seems to be a malfunction again.¡± ¡°It¡¯s already broken down so many times throughout our journey! I¡¯ve seriously had enough. Let¡¯s get a new ferry once we get paid. Stop the boat somewhere and repair the faulty parts before continuing,¡± the leader instructed. ¡°Alright.¡± The leader of the gang then turned around to enter the cabin. Staring at the couple before him, he squatted down in front of Lin Mingxi and said, ¡°You¡¯ve got such a pretty face. What do you say I do you right in front of your husband?¡± Lin Mingxi struggled with all her might to unleash herself from the ropes, but to no avail despite having tried for so long. Not wanting to create unnecessary trouble, she hung her head low and stared at the ground while remaining silent. ¡°Don¡¯t think I won¡¯t do anything to you just because you¡¯re keeping mum.¡± The leader grabbed her chin and moved his lips closer towards her. ring daggers at him, Gu Beicheng bellowed, ¡°I dare you toy a finger on her!¡± Chapter 471 - The Secret About the Past (89)

Chapter 471: The Secret About the Past (89)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°So what if I do? Do you really think I don¡¯t have the guts to?¡± the leader retorted, inching closer towards Lin Mingxi¡¯s lips. To his astonishment, Lin Mingxi used her head as a weapon and headbutted him forcefully, causing him to fall back onto the ground. ¡°Ouch! You¡¯re such a violent girl,¡± the leader hissed while clutching his head, red with anger and embarrassment. He turned and said to his underling, ¡°Bring me the scissors.¡± ¡°Yes, boss.¡± Lin Mingxi and Gu Beicheng felt their stomachs twist into knots, not knowing what he nned to do with the scissors. ¡°Since I can¡¯t let you two die, I shall cripple you however I want. I don¡¯t have anything else to do anyway. Why don¡¯t I have some fun with you right in front of your husband? It¡¯ll definitely be thrilling.¡± The leader chuckled and asked his aplices, ¡°Are you guys interested in joining in too?¡± ¡°Boss, of course we are. We haven¡¯t gotten intimate with a woman in so long. Besides, this one¡¯s so pretty and it¡¯s free of charge. It¡¯d be a waste to let such a rare opportunity go.¡± ¡°Exactly. Boss, hurry and get it on. Let us take over once you¡¯re done having your fun.¡± ¡°Boss, why don¡¯t we film the process for you while you¡¯re at it? At least you¡¯ll have something to look at and reminiscence about in the future.¡± The leader lit up gleefully upon hearing their suggestions. ¡°Good idea. Bring the camera here and begin filming!¡± ¡°Got it.¡± One of his underlings came forth with the camera and aimed it at them. cing the scissors near her shorts, the leader warned, ¡°Don¡¯t move,dy. I won¡¯t be liable if you get hurt.¡± Lin Mingxi bit her lip and stared wide-eyed at him. She had long turned as pale as a sheet. She would rather die than be humiliated and vited by another man right in front of her husband! Lin Mingxi felt beyond helpless as she watched her shorts being cut open. There was no way she could resist with her arms tied behind her and her legs roped together. However, she could not just do nothing and watch herself get vited no matter what. Even if she had to die in the end, she refused to die sumbing to malice. She supported herself against the wall and raised her knees to throw a kick in the leader¡¯s face. Just as the leader was in the midst of cutting her shorts open merrily, he was thrown off guard and onto the ground by her sudden attack. He immediately crawled onto his feet and instructed his aplices, ¡°You two, grab one of her legs each. Let¡¯s see if she can still kick me again.¡± ¡°Yes, boss.¡± They immediately did as instructed and separated Lin Mingxi¡¯s legs, each holding onto one. The leader then leisurely began cutting her shorts open again. Gu Beicheng flew into an uncontroble rage. He did a somersault in the direction of the leader and pinned thetter down beneath himself. He separated his legs slightly and sped the leader¡¯s head tightly between his legs with all his might. ¡°Pull him away from me!¡± the leader hollered with his breathing being restricted. The three aplices rushed forward and tried to pull Gu Beicheng away, giving Lin Mingxi the chance to move about. Her legs were a little more free now that there was no one to grasp them. Instead of kicking them again straight away, she moved towards the side with her hands behind her back, and tried to pick up the pair of scissors thrown onto the ground by the leader. Unfortunately, things did not go as nned. One of the aplices immediately picked up the pair of scissors and stabbed it into Gu Beicheng¡¯s back in a bid to get him to stop struggling. Gu Beicheng groaned in pain as blood began to flow freely from his back, staining his shirt. Lin Mingxi burst into tears at the sight before her. She turned her anger into power and kicked the man onto the ground with tremendous force. She then leaped onto him and sunk her teeth into his neck with all her might. The man shrieked in pain and yelled, ¡°Brother, help me!¡± One of the two men tugging Gu Beicheng stood up immediately and grabbed Lin Mingxi¡¯s hair to pull her away. By the time she was dragged away from him, the man¡¯s neck was covered in blood and he had stopped breathing. Blood was flowing from the corners of Lin Mingxi¡¯s mouth. ¡°Brother!¡± The aplice red at Lin Mingxi angrily and gave her a few tight ps across her face while stomping his foot onto the ground continuously. He beat Lin Mingxi into a pulp until she passed out. Upon sight of Lin Mingxi lying motionless on the ground, the two other men proceeded to deal with Gu Beicheng. ¡°Mingxi!¡± Gu Beicheng tried to crawl over to check on Lin Mingxi, only to be stopped by the three brothers, who kept kicking him. They only stopped when Gu Beicheng no longer resisted. ¡°Boss, that bitch killed one of us. Why don¡¯t we just kill them both now? That¡¯ll save us a lot of trouble.¡± ¡°His death just means that there¡¯s one less person we¡¯ll have to split the money with. The people who hired us already said that we have to take a video of them being conscious when we arrive at the destination. How are we supposed to film the video now that they¡¯ve passed out? Have you got any brains at all? Bury him and leave after we repair the boat.¡± ¡°Boss, are you still going to toy with her?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do that when they bothe to. It¡¯ll be more thrilling that way. Tie them up tightly with the rope.¡± ¡°Yes, boss!¡± ¡ª Xu Youran and Gu Dongcheng were getting intimate with each other in the resting room. Moaning and panting heavily, Xu Youran looked at her husband who was on top of her and said, ¡°Hubby, we¡¯ve finally gotten rid of them all thanks to your brilliant idea. But, why didn¡¯t we just kill them on the spot? We won¡¯t have to worry about any future issues if they¡¯re dead.¡± ¡°No. If we kill them, An Xiaoning would be able to crack the case immediately. Don¡¯t forget, she¡¯s psychic and canmunicate with the dead,¡± Gu Dongcheng exined. ¡°That¡¯s true. If only we managed to get rid of An Xiaoning too. She got lucky this time. But, it¡¯s a good thing to send your brother and sister-inw to a faraway ce such that they¡¯ll never be able toe back. Thepany will belong to you from now on. Hubby, I¡¯m so happy for you,¡± said Xu Youran. ¡°Father and Mother don¡¯t know about this yet. Don¡¯t let the cat out of the bag when An Xiaoning breaks the news to them. Let¡¯s just pretend that we don¡¯t know anything.¡± ¡°I know what to do. Your stepmother¡¯s going to weep when she finds out. Hahaha,¡± Xu Youran gloated, wrapping her legs around Gu Dongcheng¡¯s waist. ¡°That¡¯s her problem, not mine.¡± ¡°...¡± After a long and hard battle in bed, the couple snuggled up to each other andy down in bed. Xu Youran let out a sigh of satisfaction, as if she had gotten rid of all her woes. ¡°Hubby, there¡¯s actually something I haven¡¯t told you about.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Do you know that I really want An Xiaoning to die now?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that because you hate the entire Jin family?¡± Gu Dongcheng answered. ¡°That¡¯s one of the reasons. Another reason is that An Xiaoning could very likely be my parents¡¯ biological daughter.¡± Xu Youran decided to tell him the truth since he would find out sooner orter. ¡°What!?! How did you know?¡± Gu Dongcheng asked in astonishment. ¡°My parents are waiting for her to return to the country so that they can get a DNA test done.¡± ¡°What if she isn¡¯t their daughter?¡± Shaking her head, Xu Youran answered, ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s a cebo effect or what but I feel like An Xiaoning resembles my parents to a certain extent. Think about it carefully, don¡¯t you think they look really alike?¡± Chapter 472 - The Secret About the Past (90)

Chapter 472: The Secret About the Past (90)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Gu Dongcheng recalled their features carefully and said, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have realized it earlier, but now that I think about it, they really do look a little simr.¡± ¡°Hubby, I really don¡¯t want An Xiaoning toe back. Could you lend me a hand?¡± Xu Youran asked, gazing at him. ¡°How am I supposed to help you? Are you thinking of getting me to hire someone to kill her? Let¡¯s not forget that she¡¯s well trained in martial arts and always armed with weapons. She even brings her bodyguards along everywhere she goes, how would we get the chance to kill her? You¡¯ve already seen for yourself how sharp and vignt she was when we tried to drug herst night. Besides, she¡¯s of utmost importance to the Gu family. I¡¯ve already tried to help you get rid of herst night. But since she¡¯s easily rmed, we¡¯d better not try anything funny with her,¡± Gu Dongcheng refuted. ¡°But...¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough, no more buts. So what if she really turns out to be a member of the Xu family?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just scared that she¡¯ll take revenge on me.¡± ¡°If we don¡¯t touch her now, she won¡¯te looking for trouble. Actually, I think she¡¯s not that bad of a person. It would¡¯ve been best if she¡¯d chosen to stand on my side. But clearly, she¡¯s much closer to Beicheng.¡± ¡°Yes...¡± ¡ª Song Yany on the hospital bed without uttering a single word. Upon sight of Ling Ciye entering, the manager, Huahua, took the initiative to leave the ward. ¡°The procedures for the discharge from the hospital have been settled. Go home and recuperate for a while.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. I¡¯ve already dyed filming for so many times. I must report back to the unit to resume filming for the variety program as soon as possible.¡± Song Yan sat up and got dressed immediately. ¡°You just suffered a miscarriage. Your health is of utmost importance.¡± ¡°You must be very happy now that An Xiaoning was proven to be right, aren¡¯t you? After all, you wouldn¡¯t have wanted to reconcile with me if it weren¡¯t for the baby, let alone marry me. Now that our baby is really gone, aren¡¯t you finally free? Are you nning to break up with me soon?¡± Song Yan scorned while staring at him. Ling Ciye knew that she was just babbling about callously because she was upset, though she was indeed stating facts. ¡°I¡¯m not happy.¡± ¡°How would I know if you are or not? I can¡¯t read your mind anyway. Maybe you¡¯re just saying it on the surface. Are you thinking of breaking up with me?¡± Song Yan asked straightforwardly. Ling Ciye did not wish to pop the question directly, in fear of upsetting her further and rubbing salt into her wound since she had just suffered a miscarriage. To his surprise, she actually forced him to answer her. ¡°I¡¯m talking to you, why aren¡¯t you answering me? Are you really going to break up with me?¡± ¡°Can we talk about this another time?¡± ¡°No. I want an answer right now. I want nothing but the truth, so don¡¯t lie to me,¡± Song Yan insisted, keeping her eyes fixed on him. He avoided eye contact with her and said calmly, ¡°I wanted to take responsibility because you were pregnant. I haven¡¯t rxed one bit since the moment you told me that you were pregnant. Ever since the day we got back together, I¡¯ve been mentally exhausted and sick of all of our petty arguments. There are so many existing issues between us that can never be resolved. Since the baby is gone, I don¡¯t see a point in continuing our rtionship. Why don¡¯t we just end things amicably?¡± He then took a card out of his wallet and handed it to her, ¡°There¡¯s 30 million dors in here. Take it aspensation from me to you.¡± Staring at the bank card, Song Yan asked, ¡°Is there no way we can salvage this?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Okay then, I ept yourpensation,¡± said Song Yan as she reached out to take the card. After a moment of silence, Ling Ciye said, ¡°I hope you¡¯ll understand what you really want one day.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve always known what I wanted. You don¡¯t have to especially remind me. Ciye, this time, we¡¯re breaking up for real. This will be thest time we¡¯re breaking up.¡± ¡°Yes, thest breakup.¡± Tears began to well up in Song Yan¡¯s eyes before she turned away from him. With her back facing him, she said, ¡°Leave.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll help you bring your luggage down.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need for that.¡± ¡°Well... I¡¯m leaving then.¡± Ling Ciye then strode out of the hospital ward. Upon noticing that he had left, Huahua hurriedly ran back inside the ward, only to hear Song Yan bawling loudly the moment she entered. ¡°Oh gosh, what¡¯s the matter with you?¡± Song Yan continued to weep without uttering a word. ¡°Say something, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Huahua asked worriedly. ¡°We broke up.¡± ¡°Again? It¡¯s fine, you guys will get back together again in a few days anyway,¡± said Huahua, who had long gotten used to their fickle rtionship. Shaking her head, Song Yan said, ¡°We won¡¯t. He was very firm in his decision this time. We won¡¯t get back together anymore.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what you say after every breakup. You just had a miscarriage. Stop crying, it¡¯s bad for your health,¡± Huahua tried tofort her. ¡°Huahua, why is it that we end up arguing every single time I try tomunicate with him properly? I know I have many ws and shorings, but I really love him a lot. It¡¯s been so many years since we met and I¡¯ve never forgotten about him even after high school. But things are really over for us now. I can tell that he doesn¡¯t love me anymore from the way he looks at me. He said it¡¯s draining and exhausting to be in a rtionship with me. I don¡¯t know when our rtionship began turning sour either. I don¡¯t know...¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t I told you before? It¡¯s because both of you are too dominant and prideful. Furthermore...¡± Huahua paused in her speech, unsure if she should continue. ¡°Furthermore what?¡± ¡°Women shouldn¡¯t be too pretentious. Which couple breaks up and reconciles as many times as you two have? Your rtionship is so fickle and fragile. Even if you argue all the time, you shouldn¡¯t be mentioning a break up so casually. You need to put in the effort to nurture your rtionship. There¡¯s bound to be ack of passion once you two have gotten too used to each other after being together for so long. But, you have to learn how to spice things up and give him a little surprise every now and then. Song Yan, you¡¯ve starred in so many romance dramas and films before, don¡¯t you understand the basic rules of maintaining a rtionship?¡± Tears streamed down Song Yan¡¯s face uncontrobly. ¡°We¡¯ve already made things final just now. But I absolutely regret it now. I don¡¯t want to break up with him.¡± Huahua was speechless. ¡°You regret it every single time you two break up. Why don¡¯t you just forget it since you¡¯ve already made things clear and final with each other just now? Besides, I doubt you can swallow your pride. If it¡¯s not meant to be, there¡¯s no point forcing it. Neither of you will be happy that way.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so sad right now. He gave me this card that contains 30 million dors. He said it¡¯s apensation fee for me,¡± said Song Yan, showing Huahua the card. ¡°Song Yan, Mr. Ling has treated you the best he could, seriously. You¡¯ve already broken up and yet he¡¯s still willing to give you such a hugepensatory sum. Many divorced men nowadays aren¡¯t even willing to pay for alimony and their children¡¯s maintenance fees. Besides, you two aren¡¯t even married yet.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t talk about it anymore...¡± Ling Ciye drove home immediately after leaving the hospital. He sat on the couch alone and calmed himself down. At this point, he felt like he had finally freed himself by ending the toxic rtionship with Song Yan. He decided to only get into a rtionship with someone with whom he feltfortable around and could get along amicably. Strangely, he needed someforting and decided to give Long Tianze a call to ask him out for a drink at ck Genie bar. Long Tianze agreed straight away and suggested that they invite a few more friends along to add to the fun. Chapter 473 - The Secret About the Past (91)

Chapter 473: The Secret About the Past (91)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Ling Ciye left it to him to decide and began driving towards the bar. He instructed the waiters to tell their boss, Long Tianze, to go straight to the private room upstairs where he would be waiting. He ordered some liquor and drank alone while waiting for his friends to arrive. By the time Long Tianze and the rest arrived, Ling Ciye was already slightly tipsy. ¡°Where¡¯s the fun in drinking alone without us? You seem upset. Don¡¯t tell me you argued with Song Yan again?¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t argue, we just broke up.¡± Everyone else looked at each other in dismay while the unsurprised Long Tianze said, ¡°Well... what should I say about you two...¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to say anything. Today is the day your buddy is finally set free. Let¡¯s drink to the joyous asion. From today onwards, I¡¯m going to be a bachelor again... Let me toast to everyone,¡± said Ling Ciye, raising his ss. Long Tianze stopped him and said, ¡°Don¡¯t drink yet and tell us the reason behind your breakup first. Feed our curiosity and hunger for gossip.¡± Ling Ciye shot him a nce and scorned, ¡°Are you gloating over my misfortune?¡± ¡°Of course not. We¡¯re just adding fuel to the fire.¡± Ling Ciye red at him with a look of disdain and said, ¡°Xiaoning¡¯s prediction was right. Song Yan suffered a miscarriage on thest night of the month.¡± Jin Qingyue was delighted to hear the news, not because Song Yan had suffered a miscarriage but because the matter had proven that her sister-inw was urate in her predictions, which also meant that she would really meet her Mr. Right. Although she was happy to hear the news, she spared a thought for Ling Ciye¡¯s feelings and thus remained silent without interrupting. ¡°Did you break up with her because she had a miscarriage?¡± Long Tianze probed. ¡°I didn¡¯t bring it up immediately. I was nning to mention it to her another time but she forced me to answer. Well, I didn¡¯t want to drag things along further and decided to tell her the truth about how I felt. I gave her apensatory sum of about 30 million dors too,¡± said Ling Ciye before chugging down his ss of liquor. ¡°No wonder you asked us out for drinks. There are too many differences and issues between you two. Good that you broke up, lest you bring more pain and suffering to each other.¡± Long Tianze poured some more liquor into Ling Ciye¡¯s ss and filled it to the brim before saying, ¡°Let¡¯s drink to our hearts¡¯ content tonight. We¡¯ll apany you throughout. We must have a whole lot of fun tonight. C¡¯mon guys, who would like to volunteer to sing the first song for tonight?¡± ¡°Let me have the honor,¡± Jin Qingyue volunteered. She stood up and walked towards the song selection system to select a song named ¡°Tell Me You Won¡¯t Go.¡± Dressed in a long floral dress, Jin Qingyue stood there with the microphone in hand. She had some exquisite makeup on her face and she let her hair drape across her shoulders. She then began singing slowly once the music began ying, ¡°I never thought you would leave, this day arrived so soon. Time passed, minute by minute, every single text from you is about breaking up, there are no ¡®if¡¯s¡¯, no ending at all, I know you lied to me by saying that there¡¯s no happiness in being with me... you left after you were done toying with my feelings, how could I believe that you used to be so gentle? I ask myself, what¡¯s there left of me to offer, what else can I do to move you, what can I do to make youe back to me and stay for me, how can I make you hug me and tell me you won¡¯t go...¡± As she approached the ending of the song, Jin Qingyue stared ahead nkly with the microphone in hand, as if all the people in front of her had disappeared. The room was silent apart from her singing. Everyone apuded loudly after the song ended. Slightly shy and embarrassed, Jin Qingyue took a seat on the sofa while Long Tianze took his turn to select another song. After a round of taking turns to sing, Jin Qingyan suggested that they y some games. ¡°What games? How about Truth or Dare?¡± Long Tianze suggested. ¡°Sure, game on.¡± Jin Qingyan picked up a beer bottle and ced it onto the table. ¡°Spin the bottle, and whoever the opening of the bottle points to would have to answer a question from everyone. How does that sound?¡± ¡°One person would have to answer a question each from everyone?¡± Long Tianze asked in astonishment, ¡°Of course. Are you afraid?¡± Jin Qingyan asked smilingly with raised brows. ¡°Of course not, let¡¯s go ahead. I¡¯m game enough,¡± Long Tianze said in a high-pitched voice after being baited by Jin Qingyan. ¡°Sure, let¡¯s go.¡± Jin Qingyan stared at his friends and said, ¡°Let¡¯s gather in a circle. Okay, I¡¯m going to start now.¡± ¡°Wait, let¡¯sy the rules down first. Are we allowed to ask any kind of question?¡± Jin Qingyue asked. ¡°Of course. That¡¯s what Truth or Dare is about. You can ask all sorts of questions,¡± Jin Qingyan answered. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s begin.¡± Jin Qingyan spun the bottle lightly and it began spinning quickly beforeing to a halt very soon. The bottle pointed right at Jin Qingyan. ¡°Ha, this is going to be fun. Do you know what I¡¯m going to ask you?¡± Long Tianze asked gleefully while keeping his eyes fixed on Jin Qingyan. ¡°Go ahead and fire your questions.¡± ¡°Fool, how many women have you gotten intimate with other than Sis-inw?¡± What a juicy question! Everyone turned to stare at Jin Qingyan, who answered with a straight face, ¡°None.¡± ¡°So you gave your virginity to Sis-inw?¡± Long Tianze asked again. ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯ve already answered your question,¡± Jin Qingyan said smilingly. ¡°Ciye, hurry and ask him that question,¡± Long Tianze prompted Ling Ciye. Ling Ciye ignored his suggestion and said, ¡°I have my own question to ask. Tianze, are you stupid? Qingyan¡¯s answer has already spoken for itself. Why do you have to bother asking about his virginity?¡± Everyone burst intoughter. Ling Ciye cleared his throat and asked, ¡°Qingyan, who¡¯s more important to you? Your friends or your wife?¡± ¡°You must¡¯ve asked that on purpose.¡± Without hesitation, Jin Qingyan answered, ¡°My wife, of course. Tianze would answer the same if he were me.¡± Would he have dared to say that his friends were more important than his wife? Had he done so, word about his answer would definitely reach his wife¡¯s ears in no time... Of course he did not dare to say so. However, deep down, he indeed valued his wife more than his friends. ¡°It¡¯s my turn. Brother-inw, what¡¯s the one decision that you regret making the most?¡± Mei Yangyang asked, grinning widely. ¡°Divorcing your sister.¡± When it was Jin Qingyue¡¯s turn, she decided to spare her brother since she did not really have any questions and thus asked a question to which she already knew the answer. ¡°Brother, how far are you willing to sacrifice for love?¡± ¡°I¡¯m willing to sacrifice everything I have for love.¡± After the first round of questions, they proceeded to the next round of spinning the bottle. This time, the bottle pointed towards Jin Qingyue. ¡°What would you do if you bumped into your ex-husband while you were out with the person you adore?¡± Long Tianze asked. Jin Qingyue answered solemnly, ¡°In the event that something like that happens, I¡¯ll ignore his presence if he doesn¡¯t approach me. I¡¯ll do the same even if he does. I won¡¯t even bother patronizing such a revolting person whom I cannot stand. That¡¯s the best I can do.¡± ¡°If you could have another go at life, what would you like to be? A human or a nt or an animal?¡± Mei Yangyang questioned. ¡°If I could have another go at life, I would want to reincarnate as an aged tree and sink my roots deep below the ground so I can enjoy basking in the rays of the sun every day and absorb the water cast down onto me by the rain. During wintertime, I¡¯ll wee the cold and continue being myself, with no love or resentment towards anything else.¡± Her answer had caught everyone by surprise. When it was Ling Ciye¡¯s turn, he stared at Jin Qingyue and decided to pass the chance to Jin Qingyan for he had nothing to ask her. Chapter 474 - The Secret About the Past (92) Chapter 474: The Secret About the Past (92) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°What¡¯s your greatest wish right now?¡± Jin Qingyan asked. ¡°I¡¯d like to find a husband who loves and cares about me,¡± Jin Qingyue answered truthfully. ¡°Your turn, Ciye.¡± Ling Ciye ced his legs onto the coffee table and stared at Jin Qingyue before asking a jaw-dropping question. ¡°What would you do if I told you one day that I had fallen in love with you?¡± Jin Qingyue was momentarily stunned and at a loss for words for it had never urred to her that he would ask such a question. ¡°You don¡¯t have to answer if you find it awkward,¡± said Ling Ciye, who was asking a casual question. ¡°No, not at all.¡± Jin Qingyue did not dare to make eye contact with him. She was again reminded of that night where he stood outside the bathroom and chanced upon her naked self. All eyes were on her, including Ling Ciye¡¯s. ¡°If you were to tell me one day that you had fallen for me, I would feel lucky to be loved by such an outstanding man like you; it¡¯s a chance that I would¡¯ve never dreamed of. I¡¯ll stutter and speak incoherently out of nervousness when I see you. I¡¯ll be so worked up and agitated such that I won¡¯t be able to sleep at night.¡± Her answer had brought much glory to Ling Ciye. However, no one thought much of her answer and instead continued ying games. Yet, Jin Qingyue had taken his question to heart and poured herself a ss of liquor, which she chugged down in one sitting. She had several drinks that night, though she rarely touched alcohol. Ling Ciye had had plenty to drink as well. The two of them were the ones who drank the most amongst the group of five. Jin Qingyan went home earlier because Jin Yiheng called to look for him, leaving the four of them in the room. Jin Qingyue was ecstatic after having too much to drink. She seemed like a whole different person and began tapping her feet to the upbeat music, appearing much more sporting than her usual self. She jumped onto the coffee table and began singing and dancing vigorously, adding to the mood. Having had her fun, the exhausted Jin Qingyuey down on the couch afterwards and closed her eyes. ¡°Let¡¯s go home,¡± Long Tianze said to Ling Ciye. ¡°Where?¡± ¡°Home.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to go home. Tianze, let¡¯s go to your ce.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Long Tianze held onto him while Mei Yangyang helped Jin Qingyue into the backseat. Mei Yangyang drove home in her own car while Long Tianze searched Ling Ciye for the car keys and drove thetter¡¯s car. Jin Qingyue and Ling Ciye sat in the backseat, extremely tipsy. However, they were not drunk out of their senses and would steal a nce at each other every now and then. Jin Qingyue turned to the side and moved closer towards him before closing her eyes again. Upon arriving home, Long Tianze opened the car door and asked, ¡°Ciye, would you like to go sleep in the guest room?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll just lie here for a while.¡± Long Tianze lowered his head into the backseat to find that Jin Qingyue had fallen asleep. He then closed the door and went back home with Mei Yangyang. Ling Ciye was still sober. He gazed at Jin Qingyue and broke into smiles at the thought of her answer to his question earlier. In reality, Jin Qingyue was not asleep at all. After all, she was the type to get high off alcohol and thus would not fall asleep so easily. She merely had her eyes closed. Throughout the journey from the bar to the house, she constantly pondered about why he asked her such a question. She knew he was being serious because she was aware that he was not the kind to y pranks and joke about such things. Thus, she made a brave decision to lean her head against his shoulder. He did not push her away. Jin Qingyue felt her breath quicken and became extremely excited just by leaning against him. She dared not move an inch and remained still while inhaling his scent. In fact, she decided to make such a bold move not only because of his question but also because of what An Xiaoning had said. She was told that, in the month of April, she would meet her Mr. Right, who was a man she had known for a long time. She could not think of anyone else apart from Ling Ciye. Ling Ciye definitely fit the description of having a bad temper, just like her brother and Long Tianze. Furthermore, her sister-inw also mentioned that his rtionship with Song Yan woulde to naught. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that Ling Ciye was the one! Since it was so likely that he was the one, she obviously had to seize the opportunity. Thus, she decided to make the first move and leaned against his shoulder. Jin Qingyue had a hard time trying to remain still since she was not really asleep. After persisting for a while, she opened her eyes slowly and sat up straight. ¡°Brother Ciye...¡± she murmured softly. ¡°Yes...¡± ¡°Why did you ask me such a question earlier?¡± ¡°I was just casually asking.¡± ¡°But... I wasn¡¯t just casually listening,¡± Jin Qingyue stared at him, her eyes glistening with joy. ¡°Qingyue... you might¡¯ve been mistaken...¡± said Ling Ciye, feeling a little uneasy. A look of disappointment formed on Jin Qingyue¡¯s face after realizing that things might be awkward between them in the future. Thus, she decided to go all out and gave him a kiss on his lips. Ling Ciye stared wide-eyed at her,pletely caught off guard. Jin Qingyue straddled him and forced another kiss on him. She made the first move on him. Ling Ciye then struggled to push her away forcefully. ¡°Qingyue... what are you doing...¡± he spluttered in bewilderment. ¡°Brother Ciye... I... I...¡± Jin Qingyue stammered, blushing as red as a tomato. She avoided eye contact and continued to sit on hisp. She felt a sudden bulge poking her from below. She knew clearly what it was. ¡°Get off me...¡± Ling Ciye said, feeling extremely awkward. Jin Qingyue moved her body a little but did not get off of him. ¡°Qingyue, get off me!¡± Jin Qingyue felt the bulge beneath her expanding and she could not help but feel ted. That just means he feels something for me, doesn¡¯t it? she thought to herself. She refused to get off of him even after noticing the sullen expression on his face. In fact, she even burst into smiles, which was much to the bewilderment of Ling Ciye. ¡°Stop smiling and get off me.¡± ¡°Brother Ciye. You reacted greatly to my move,¡± Jin Qingyue said smilingly. Was she flirting with him and trying to get him aroused? ¡°Be good, get down,¡± he said, mellowing his tone. Jin Qingyue lifted herself off of hisp slowly before plonking herself down again. He let out a grunt and stared at her in disbelief. Jin Qingyue smiled even more joyfully. This time, she really got down from hisp. However, she went on to make an even bolder move. Ling Ciye froze in shock and quickly smacked her hand away. What a brazen littless! She needs to be taught a lesson. Noticing that he was about to open the door to alight, Jin Qingyue grabbed his arm and confessed, ¡°Brother Ciye, I adore you.¡± Ling Ciye paused and said, ¡°Qingyue, we¡¯re... not suitable for each other.¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t tried it before, how would you know that we¡¯re notpatible? If you¡¯d like to find out if we¡¯re suited for each other, why don¡¯t I look for you tonight and we¡¯ll give it a try?¡± I was referring to our personalities being ipatible! What was she thinking about!?! Noticing that he abruptly alighted from the car, Jin Qingyue hurriedly chased after him in high spirits. Chapter 475 - The Secret About the Past (93)

Chapter 475: The Secret About the Past (93)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning was ill at ease throughout the flight. She began to wonder if she had made a mistake in her judgment and analysis. ¡°Young Madam, there¡¯s a ferry not too far ahead. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s the one we¡¯re looking for.¡± An Xiaoning picked up her binocrs to take a look and immediately said to the pilot, ¡°I¡¯ll get down from the helicopter once we overtake the ferry a little. You guys wait for me at a secret area.¡± ¡°Young Madam, there are quite a few of them. Be careful.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, don¡¯t worry about me. Let me first verify if they¡¯re the ones we¡¯re looking for.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The helicopter sped towards the ferry. The aplices in the ferry cabin immediately looked up upon hearing the sounds of the helicopter. ¡°Boss, is this helicopter here to save them?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I doubt it, though. No matter how brilliant they may be, they can¡¯t possibly know our exact route.¡± ¡°But, Boss, we have to be on our guard.¡± ¡°Look, it flew right past us. I told you it wasn¡¯t.¡± The three of them heaved a sigh of relief. Lin Mingxi and Gu Beicheng initially got rather worked up upon hearing the helicopter. However, all their hopes were dashed after hearing them say that it flew past them. Gu Beicheng knew that An Xiaoning would definitelye up with a n to save them as soon as she found out that they were missing, though he was not sure if she could really find them. They were overwhelmed with a mix of emotions. To make matters worse, they were both injured. Not to mention, they were restrained by ropes and could not move at all, as if they were fishes waiting to be ughtered. The ferry began advancing forward continuously. The helicopternded on a in field after overtaking the boat. An Xiaoning alighted and plunged into the sea immediately. Being a brilliant swimmer, she found swimming in the sea to be a piece of cake. A few minutester, the ferry approached and she quickly submerged below the sea. Once the ferry was near her, she quicklytched onto the back of the ferry with a rope and boarded the ferry in one fluid motion. She was extremely nimble and careful with her step. She merely wanted to check if Lin Mingxi and Gu Beicheng were on the ferry. If they were not on it, she would immediately get off. But clearly, she got on the right ferry. She climbed towards the top and peeked through the small window to find that Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi were inside. They were severely injured and restrained by ropes tightly. An Xiaoning immediately sent the pilot a text message and instructed him to follow the ferry. She did not bring any bodyguards with her. Thus, if there were not too many of the aplices inside the ferry, she would be able to save Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi sessfully. However, to be safe, she did not act rashly and instead stealthily entered a room that seemed to be a storage room. An Xiaoning got down slowly and tiptoed towards the door, her heart palpitating against her chest. She gently pushed the door open slightly and peeked inside. Just as she expected, it was indeed where Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi were being held captive, with three men guarding them closely. An Xiaoning slowly took out two small silencers from her chest. She pushed the door further open and squinted at her targets before aiming her silencers at two men who were sitting opposite each other. Given the short distance, it was very likely that her bullet would hit them in the right spot. She pulled the trigger and bent forward slightly. The bullet surged out of the gun and struck the two of them in their heads in no time. They then copsed to the ground immediately without even making a single sound. An Xiaoning quickly took the chance to shoot the leader, who was flustered and at a loss for what to do, in his stomach. Just as he was about to flee, she shot him again in his thigh. At this moment, she pushed the door wide open and began shooting him continuously in non-fatal spots. The leader sprawled onto the ground, covered in a pool of blood. Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi were rather agitated to see An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning stared at the leader on the ground before proceeding to cut the ropes coiled around Lin Mingxi and Gu Beicheng. She then ordered the captain to steer the ferry towards the beach and stop there. The helicopter came to a halt near the ferry while An Xiaoning¡¯s bodyguards got down from the helicopter. An Xiaoning handed the captain and the bloodied leader to her bodyguards. She then helped Lin Mingxi onto the helicopter before returning to help Gu Beicheng. Gu Beicheng was more severely injured than Lin Mingxi. He could not stand steadily on his feet when An Xiaoning helped him up. ¡°Can I ask two more bodyguards here to carry you?¡± He shook his head in refusal and said, ¡°I can manage on my own.¡± Gu Beicheng tried his best to get up while cing an arm over An Xiaoning¡¯s shoulders to support his weight. They moved forward and made their way from the coast to the entrance of the helicopter, one step at a time. Although it was only a short distance, it was an arduous process for Gu Beicheng. Every step required a great deal of effort. However, he insisted on walking on his own feet despite how slowly he could manage to walk. ¡°Xiaoning...¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Did you know? I felt that you were just like a female superheroing to save us the moment I saw you just now. I never thought... that I would need you to save me one day. It really never urred to me before.¡± An Xiaoning chuckled and said, ¡°You went missing out of the blue. Who¡¯s going to save you if not me? We¡¯re in this together. But I¡¯m really happy to hear you call me a hero for the first time.¡± Gu Beicheng nced at her and said with a faint smile, ¡°From the very first time I met you, I felt that you were different from other girls, and this feeling grew deeper after we got to know each other better. Xiaoning...¡± An Xiaoning answered softly, ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan is so lucky to have you. I may not be as fortunate as he is but I¡¯m contented enough to be your family. You¡¯re very important to me and I¡¯ll forever hold you close to my heart. I¡¯m afraid I may never have the chance to tell you these again.¡± Tears welled up in An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes all of a sudden. She gripped his waist tightly while he held onto her shoulders. Together, they slowly made their way towards the front. Lin Mingxi stared at the scene before her while sitting by the entrance of the helicopter. She teared up immediately at the sight of Gu Beicheng gazing at An Xiaoning smilingly, though she did not know what they were talking about. She then wiped her tears away and put on a smile. After helping Gu Beicheng onto the helicopter, An Xiaoning ced a nket on the chair on which she lowered Gu Beicheng. Lin Mingxi sat down beside him. ¡°Let¡¯s go back,¡± An Xiaoning instructed the pilot. ¡°Young Madam, do we head back to S Nation or M Nation?¡± ¡°M Nation.¡± She then turned and asked Lin Mingxi, ¡°Are you hungry? Would you like to have some water?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Good sister. I¡¯m almost parched to death. Give me some, quick,¡± Gu Beicheng urged, extending his hand. An Xiaoning burst intoughter and immediately gave them a bottle of mineral water each as well as some food that she had brought along with her. She then stood up and walked towards the leader. ¡°Who made you do that?¡± she asked coldly. The leader stared wide-eyed at her while remaining tight-lipped and appeared to be on the verge of passing out. ¡°If you refuse to speak, I¡¯ll throw you down from this helicopter. Are you going to speak up or not?¡± she prompted. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you if you promise to spare my life and send me to get medical treatment,¡± the leader bargained. Chapter 476 - The Secret About the Past (94)

Chapter 476: The Secret About the Past (94)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Seems like you¡¯re asking to be dealt with the hard way.¡± An Xiaoning whipped out a dagger and continued, ¡°If you still choose to remain tight-lipped, I¡¯m going to have to skin you alive and stab you to death. Do you know what it feels like to be in a living hell?¡± The leader began shivering from head to toe, clearly frightened and traumatized. ¡°Could you please spare my life? My three brothers are already dead. My wife, children, and parents are all waiting for me toe home. I don¡¯t want to die,¡± he pleaded with a trembling voice. ¡°Then hurry ande clean.¡± ¡°I really don¡¯t know the identity of the person behind it. It was a man, though. He first gave me a deposit sum and an address along with some photos. He said I would be given another five million dors once the task ispleted.¡± ¡°I guess you won¡¯t shed a tear until you see your coffin. Do you really think I¡¯d believe what you just said?¡± ¡°I was speaking nothing but the truth. How would I dare to lie to you at this point?¡± The leader was terrorized beyond limits. An Xiaoning turned to the captain of the boat and asked, ¡°Are you in cahoots with them?¡± ¡°No, no. They hired me to maneuver the ferry at an agreed-upon price of 50 thousand dors. Yet, they died after I received only 20 thousand dors.¡± An Xiaoning looked away and warned them, ¡°You¡¯d better hush. Otherwise, I¡¯m going to kill you.¡± She then gave Gu Dongcheng a call, which went through very quickly. She turned on the voice recording function and said casually, ¡°Hello, is this Elder Brother?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°We still have to stay here for a little while longer. Are Father and Mother alright at home?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. I was just casually asking, everything¡¯s fine. I¡¯m hanging up then.¡± ¡°...¡± She then yed the voice recording and squatted down beside the leader. ¡°Listen to the recording. Is this the voice of the person who hired you?¡± The leader shook his head and answered, ¡°No.¡± Maybe it was Gu Dongcheng¡¯s subordinate then. An Xiaoning thought to herself, extremely convinced that Gu Dongcheng was the culprit. She paused the recording and stood up straight before instructing her bodyguards, ¡°Throw him down from the helicopter.¡± ¡°Young Madam, please spare my life, please!¡± An Xiaoning ignored him and took a seat. Soon, a sudden shriek could be hearding from afar. He must have died from such a high fall. Not to mention, he was already heavily injured after being shot by a gun repeatedly. At this juncture, as long as it was within her means, An Xiaoning would never spare the life of anyone who tries to harm or kill her. The captain froze in terror and remained as still as a statue. An Xiaoning felt a huge sense of relief. She looked out of the window and said to the pilot, ¡°You did a good job this time. You¡¯ll be handsomely rewarded when we¡¯re back.¡± ¡°Young Madam, it¡¯s only my duty.¡± ¡°You ought to be rewarded nheless. Keep flying properly.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Xiaoning,¡± said Lin Mingxi. An Xiaoning turned around and responded, ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Thank you. I was too petty in the past. I¡¯m really sorry for my mistakes,¡± Lin Mingxi apologized, looking at her earnestly. ¡°It¡¯s nothing, I didn¡¯t take it to heart. I¡¯ll be d as long as you and Beicheng are alive and well. Actually, he really is a good man. Mingxi, you¡¯ve found a great catch,¡± said An Xiaoning, pointing her index finger at Gu Beicheng. Ling Mingxi looked at her husband beside her and said with a smile, ¡°Yes.¡± An Xiaoning noticed that they were both heavily injured. Worried that they would have a hard time enduring the pain throughout the rest of the journey, which would take a few more hours, An Xiaoning said, ¡°I was in a hurry to look for you guys. Thus, I didn¡¯t bring any medical supplies or first-aid kits with me onto the helicopter. I¡¯ll get the doctor to treat you guys as soon as we return. There¡¯ll still be another few hours to go though. Let¡¯s chat if you can¡¯t fall asleep. ¡± Lin Mingxi nodded and said, ¡°How could we possibly fall asleep? It¡¯s as if we just went through a nightmare. Last night, we switched the lights off and were nning to go to bed. Yet, we felt really sleepy all of a sudden and the next thing we knew, we passed out. We were really confused when we woke up on the boat and only realized that we were drugged by a toxic incense after thinking through what happened.¡± ¡°I heard some strange noisesing from the balcony too when I was about to go to bedst night. I sensed that something was amiss, but I didn¡¯t expect anyone to actually risk their life climbing across the balcony on such a high floor for the sake of money. They climbed into my balcony from yours using adder. How brazen of them. Weren¡¯t they afraid of falling to their deaths at all? Seems like they valued money over their lives. Actually, I didn¡¯t sleep at allst night and was watching movies throughout.¡± ¡°How did you know we went missing then?¡± Lin Mingxi asked curiously. ¡°I went out of my room to knock on your door and called your names but I didn¡¯t get any response. Thus, I had a feeling that something was wrong and I quickly got my assistant to ask for the key card to your room from the administration desk. The moment I entered your room, I realized that all of your mobile phones and luggage were still around. So was Beicheng¡¯s watch, but you two were no longer in the room. I also noticed that the balcony door was closed shut. So I decided to view the footage from the surveince cameras around your room and balcony.¡± ¡°How did you manage to find out their exact route and track us down?¡± An Xiaoning chuckled and answered, ¡°Would you believe me if I told you that it was merely a wild guess? I didn¡¯t have a clue or a backup n at all. But I figured that they probably wouldn¡¯t have boarded amercial ne or ferry, lest they get caught by the customs officers. Thus, I went to the private terminal and bribed the staff in charge to find out that a private ferry had set off from that terminal at night. After some consideration, I also thought that they definitely weren¡¯t after your lives since they¡¯ve gone through such a hassle to take you onto the boat. Otherwise, they could¡¯ve just killed you two there and then at the hotel. I reckoned that they must have been nning to take you guys somewhere really far away, such that you will never be able to make it back home. Thus, I told my pilot to fly along this route to the farthest country possible.¡± ¡°Xiaoning, you¡¯re really so intelligent. I¡¯m no match for you at all,¡± Lin Mingxi eximed in awe. ¡°Don¡¯t say that, I just got lucky and happened to make the right guess. I¡¯ve already informed the hotel not to spread the word about this matter. After all, it would be disadvantageous to the Gu Corporation as well as the business deal we just clinched. Let¡¯s stay here for a while until you recover from your injuries before heading back home,¡± said An Xiaoning. Lin Mingxi nodded and said, ¡°That works too. I¡¯ve already sold my shares in my parents¡¯pany anyway. The cash is in my hands now.¡± ¡°Why did you sell them?¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t get along with my sister.¡± ¡°Do you have any ns for the future then?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°I¡¯m thinking of setting up arge-scale fitness gym.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good idea since you¡¯re not in dire need of money anyway. It¡¯s great to be able to do something you¡¯re passionate about. Actually, I was thinking of handing the management duties of thepany back to Qingyan once he regains his memory. After that, I¡¯ll be a film producer and invest in a television drama series since I¡¯ve already tried investing in a movie before,¡± said An Xiaoning, leaning back against the chair. ¡°I watched that movie that you invested in a few years ago. It was a blockbuster hit. Xiaoning, what do you say we both invest in another one?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re interested, why not?¡± An Xiaoning agreed right away. ¡°I don¡¯t know much about investments. You shall make the decisions and we¡¯ll discuss any major matters together.¡± ¡°I¡¯m really surprised at how willing you are to cooperate with me, Sis-inw. Do you remember our boot camp days? We used to get into so much conflict with each other. I managed to survive ¡¯til the end. I really didn¡¯t expect for you to also make it.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t call me Sister-inw, that makes me sound so old. You may just address me by my name. Let¡¯s not mention the boot camp anymore. In hindsight, I was seriously too childish and immature.¡± Chapter 477 - The Secret About the Past (95)

Chapter 477: The Secret About the Past (95)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning giggled and said, ¡°You actually know you were childish.¡± ¡°Of course...¡± ¡ª Mo Li went for a prenatal checkup in the morning and returned to the hospital to collect her results in the afternoon. She was there alone since Ye Xiaotian was busy with work and could not apany her. When Mo Li arrived at the gynecologist¡¯s office, the gynecologist looked at her with a grave expression and said, ¡°Ms. Mo, the results show that your fetus has a facial deformity known as a cleft lip.¡± Mo Li was dumbfounded to hear the news. ¡°Is it urate, Doctor?¡± ¡°Yes. I suggest you abort the fetus. With the current medical technology in the country, we still can¡¯t treat the fetus¡¯ conditionpletely. But, we will have to seek your agreement before going ahead with the abortion.¡± ¡°I want to get an abortion. I don¡¯t want to keep the baby,¡± Mo Li said straight away. She was firm and steadfast in her decision. ¡°Alright, the fetus is growing bigger day by day. When would you like to undergo the abortion?¡± ¡°As soon as possible. Please make the arrangements, Doctor.¡± After discussing with the gynecologist, Mo Li decided to undergo the surgery tomorrow. Her heart was heavy throughout the entire journey home. She felt like she was almost suffocated. Mrs. Ye waited at home for her to return from the checkup. Upon realizing that Mo Li had gone back to her own house instead of hers, Mrs. Ye had no choice but to go look for her. ¡°How did the checkup go?¡± Staring at her, Mo Li answered, ¡°The fetus has a cleft lip. I¡¯ve already arranged with the doctor for an abortion surgery. It¡¯s scheduled for tomorrow.¡± Mrs. Ye rolled her eyes as soon as she heard the news. ¡°Since it¡¯s a girl, there¡¯s no harm in aborting it. A cleft lip is going to be hideous anyway. Rest and recuperate for a while before trying for another baby. I¡¯ve already sought help from someone to help me find the secret to falling pregnant with a son. Once I get some news, follow the prescription and take the medicine regrly. I heard it¡¯s very effective.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t look so grumpy all the time. Look how well you¡¯re living after marrying Xiaotian. Be more understanding and caring towards Xiaotian. He has a hard time handling the matters at thepany every day. Don¡¯t just leech off him and spend money mindlessly without doing your part for the family. You¡¯ll be rewarded if you give birth to a son,¡± Mrs. Ye further instructed. ¡°Mother, I¡¯m human, not a baby-making machine. I can¡¯t give birth to a son alone. Don¡¯t keep putting the me on me for not being able to bear a son, I don¡¯t get to decide the gender.¡± ¡°Mo Li, get your facts straight and please be reminded of your status. Don¡¯t think you can do whatever you want just because Xiaotian dotes on you. Don¡¯t forget, I only agreed to let Xiaotian marry a divorcee like you because he fancies you.¡± Mo Li let out a long sigh and retorted, ¡°Don¡¯t you know that your son was once divorced too?¡± ¡°Will you stop talking back to me?¡± ¡°Mother, I¡¯m not talking back to you. I¡¯m just stating facts. Stop exaggerating things. I¡¯m not in a good mood, please leave if there¡¯s nothing else.¡± Mo Li turned around to return to her bedroom and closed the door shut. Mrs. Ye was boiling with anger. To her, Mo Li will never be good enough to deserve her son. Mo Li sat by her bed, filled with misery upon hearing Mrs. Ye¡¯s snide remarks and grumbling outside the room. She looked down at her baby bump with tears in her eyes. A whileter, Ye Jiani entered the room and said, ¡°Mommy,e y with me.¡± ¡°Jiani, go y by yourself. Mommy would like to take a nap.¡± ¡°Hey, Mommy, don¡¯t take a nap. You spend every day sleeping. You don¡¯t even y with me at all. Let¡¯s go, apany me to go y,¡± Ye Jiani whined, tugging her hand. Mo Li had no choice but to go with her. After ying with her daughter for a while, Mo Li grew vexed and frustrated. She decided to call her mother to tell her about the abortion surgery she would be undergoing tomorrow. Mrs. Mo immediately rushed to Mo Li¡¯s ce and pulled thetter into the bedroom before asking softly, ¡°Is the diagnosis urate?¡± ¡°Yes, Mother. The baby has a deformity. I must abort it.¡± ¡°I shall apany you to the hospital tomorrow then.¡± ¡°Alright. Mother, I¡¯m so stressed. Mother-inw stated very clearly just now that I must give birth to a son.¡± Mrs. Mo humphed and remarked in contempt, ¡°It¡¯s not up to you to decide the baby¡¯s gender, is it? His mother¡¯s making a fuss out of nothing, just ignore her. Rest well and nurse your body back to health after the surgery tomorrow. We¡¯ll talk about the rest after your body recovers. Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯re still young.¡± Mo Li felt much more relieved andforted after hearing her mother¡¯s words. ¡ª It was alreadyte at night by the time they returned to the hotel. Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxiy down on the bed in their hotel room where the doctors came by for a visit to check up on their condition. Being well aware of who they were, the owner of the hotel came by personally to apologize to them, offering them a lifetime gold membership card, which would grant them an unlimited number of free stays at the hotel as a token of apology. Gu Beicheng and An Xiaoning epted the cards. An Xiaoning took a shower as soon as she returned to her room. Before she even came out of the shower, the assistant knocked on the door from outside and reported, ¡°Young Madam, Young Sir is calling you.¡± ¡°Got it, leave it there first. I¡¯ll answer it when I¡¯m done showering. Go get me something to eat.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± the assistant acknowledged before exiting the hotel room. Unbeknownst to An Xiaoning, Jin Qingyan had already called her more than twenty times throughout the short period of time she took to shower. By the time she came out of the shower, her phone was almost blowing up. She was greatly taken aback to see the huge number of missed calls from him. When Jin Qingyan called again, she immediately answered the phone, thinking that it was something urgent. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°What were you doing? You took so long to answer the phone!¡± Jin Qingyan hollered, startling An Xiaoning. ¡°I was showering,¡± she said calmly. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to call you since afternoon but I couldn¡¯t reach you at all. It finally went through just now. Yet, you didn¡¯t answer. I was worried sick about you. I thought something happened to you. An Xiaoning, have you gotten that brazen without me around!?! Why don¡¯t you tell me anything at all? I wouldn¡¯t have known about the mishap Gu Beicheng and his wife had met with if I didn¡¯t ask your assistant. But of course, their safety is not what I¡¯m concerned about. I was mainly worried about you!¡± An Xiaoning was at a sudden loss for words, stunned by his bombardment of questions. However, she was also ted to see that he was extremely concerned about her. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you speaking?¡± Jin Qingyan prompted. ¡°Because I was thinking about how I should exin to you. We¡¯ve already made it back safely. I didn¡¯t tell you because I didn¡¯t want you to be worried.¡± ¡°You¡¯re really going to be the death of me!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to dry my hair now. I¡¯ll be hanging up.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± An Xiaoning was drying her hair when the assistant entered the room with some food. ¡°Who allowed you to call Young Sir?¡± ¡°It¡¯s because Young Sir... kept questioning me. I told him that you were busy but he insisted on making you answer the phone. I had no choice but to tell him the truth.¡± After a moment of silence, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Okay, you may go out.¡± ¡°Alright, Young Madam.¡± An Xiaoning sat on the chair and began digging in on an empty stomach. She was famished from not eating the entire day and thus wolfed the food down hungrily. Within 10 minutes, he managed to finish eating her food, which would originally require 15 minutes to finish. After having her meal, she brushed her teeth and shut the balcony door and windows tightly. Just as she was about to go to bed for afortable sleep, she was interrupted by the doorbell as soon as she closed her eyes. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± There was no response. It can¡¯t be a stranger who pressed the doorbell since there were bodyguards keeping watch outside the door. Thinking that it might be Gu Beicheng or Lin Mingxi, she got out of bed and began walking towards the door. Chapter 478 - The Secret About the Past (96)

Chapter 478: The Secret About the Past (96)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As soon as An Xiaoning opened the door, she was greeted with the sight of Jin Qingyan, who carried her inside the room before she could even react. He mmed the door shut with his foot. Jin Qingyan lifted her in his arms and flung her onto the bed. ¡°How did you get here?¡± ¡°By ne, of course,¡± Jin Qingyan answered. ¡°You know I wasn¡¯t referring to that...¡± Without another word, Jin Qingyan removed his clothes straight away and pinned her down beneath him. He then pinched An Xiaoning¡¯s nose, causing her tears to flow out of her eyes. ¡°You really scared me.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning burst intoughter and said, ¡°Was it really that bad?¡± ¡°Yes. Don¡¯tugh, this is a serious matter,¡± said Jin Qingyan, staring at her sternly. However, not only did she not stop, she also continued to guffaw even more merrily. Jin Qingyan watched as she continued tough. ¡°We didn¡¯t see each other for so long. I missed you so much.¡± ¡°I missed you too, but you really caught me by surprise bying here all of a sudden,¡± said An Xiaoning, who could already foresee what would happen next. Jin Qingyan slowly untied the ribbon holding her nightdress together and began caressing her thigh. She reciprocated. ¡°I couldn¡¯t sleep well every night without you at home.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Why are you asking when you already know the answer?¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning gazed at him and hooked one leg across his waist while draping her arms around his neck to give him a kiss on his lips. Jin Qingyan looked down to receive her kiss and began smooching her. ¡°Why didn¡¯t Yihenge along with you?¡± ¡°I obviously couldn¡¯t bring him along. Otherwise, we wouldn¡¯t be able to get down to business with him around...¡± Clearly, ¡°business¡± had meant something else. An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°He¡¯s a child, after all.¡± ¡°He¡¯s an adult trapped in a child¡¯s body. We caught a whale when we went fishing previously.¡± ¡°Do you think I was born yesterday? A whale? Seriously... how big of a rod did you need to be able to fish a whale?¡± ¡°It was the same size as average fishes. It¡¯s a special breed of whale. I only found out after getting Shixin to check on it after Yiheng realized that it was growing abnormally fast. It really shocked me though.¡± ¡°As if I¡¯d believe you...¡± ¡°Have you been eating irregrly again? Why haven¡¯t you gained weight at all?¡± ¡°I do eat normally.¡± ¡°Eat more and get chubbier.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll feel nicer to touch you that way.¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan, get lost...¡± Throughout the endless night, they continued to cuddle and kiss each other affectionately, just like a pair of newlyweds in the honeymoon phase of their rtionship. Even until midnight, they were still chatting continuously in bed while remaining wide awake, snuggled up in each other¡¯s arms. All of a sudden, An Xiaoning realized that Jin Qingyan had begun speaking to her with fervor and assurance like his old self again. ¡°Have you beenmitting any shameless acts with your life savior during the time that I was away?¡± she questioned. ¡°No, I¡¯ve always been abiding by your instructions. By the way, you haven¡¯t fulfilled the promise you made to me. Xiaoning...¡± Jin Qingyan said, staring at her with sparkly eyes. ¡°I¡¯m asleep.¡± ¡°You¡¯re asleep but you can still speak? Hurry...¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you tired at all? Go take a shower...¡± ¡°Alright.¡± He got out of bed and strode towards the bathroom quickly. An Xiaoningy in bed to wait for him. Jin Qingyan purposefully switched on all of the lights when he came out of the shower. ¡°Switch off the lights.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± He removed the towel wrapped around his waist andy down delightfully. ¡°You may begin.¡± An Xiaoning had no choice but to fulfill the promise she had made to him before and began pleasuring him with her mouth. She broke into smiles upon noticing how eager and aroused he was. They did not stop to take a break at all throughout the night. Jin Qingyan was full of vigor and energy, almost too overwhelming for An Xiaoning. After the deed was done, they hugged each other to sleep. Meanwhile, Jin Yiheng flew into a rage because his father had left without a word. At this very moment, it was still daytime in S Nation. Upon realizing that his father was missing, Jin Yiheng decided to ask Fan Shixin about him, only to find that his Daddy had left him alone at home to go look for his Mommy! ¡°Uncle Shixin, tell me honestly. Am I really my Daddy¡¯s child?¡± he asked with an austere expression on his face. Fan Shixin burst intoughter and said, ¡°Little Sir, look how much your features resemble your Daddy¡¯s. You¡¯re practically a chip off the old block. How could you not be his biological son?¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t he bring me along then?¡± ¡°He has some important things to handle. It won¡¯t be convenient to take you with him.¡± ¡°I may be young but I¡¯m very sensible. I don¡¯t throw silly tantrums either. What¡¯s so inconvenient about that?¡± Jin Yiheng groused in disgruntlement. ¡°Little Sir, your Daddy is going to be back very soon. Didn¡¯t you say you wanted to go y with Xiaoxi? Hurry along,¡± Fan Shixin asked softly. Jin Yiheng nodded and left grumpily. He arrived at the house opposite to find that Long Xiaoxi was sitting on the swing. He walked towards her in a manner that was rather sophisticated for his age and greeted her, ¡°Xiaoxi.¡± ¡°Brother Yiheng, what¡¯s the matter? Why are you upset?¡± Long Xiaoxi asked smilingly as she got down from the swing. ¡°I was abandoned by Daddy.¡± ¡°Oh... where did Godpa go?¡± Long Xiaoxi asked. ¡°He went to look for Mommy and left me alone at home. Xiaoxi, we¡¯re orphans now.¡± ¡°!!!¡± Long Xiaoxi held his hand and said, ¡°Brother Yiheng, it¡¯s alright, you still have me. I¡¯ll apany you. Let¡¯s go watch some cartoons.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s watch at my ce.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Long Xiaoxi and Jin Yiheng left the former¡¯s house hand in hand. Just as they arrived at the master¡¯s bedroom upstairs, Jin Yiheng decided to sleep in his parents¡¯ room that night. ¡°Let¡¯s watch in my Daddy¡¯s room.¡± Long Xiaoxi followed him inside. Jin Yiheng took out a drawing book while rummaging through the drawer for the mobile tablet. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± He flipped through the book casually and immediately blushed red upon sight of the drawings on the book. He then quickly chucked the book back inside the drawer. ¡°Brother Yiheng, let me see.¡± ¡°Children aren¡¯t allowed to look at those drawings.¡± His words had further piqued the curiosity of Long Xiaoxi, who said, ¡°I¡¯m just going to take one nce. What is it?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s watch some cartoons on my parents¡¯puter. I¡¯ll go get it from my room.¡± He turned around and scurried away. Long Xiaoxi opened the drawer and took out the drawing book to browse through it. After looking at the illustrations, Long Xiaoxi did not put the book down and instead continued to flip through the pages. Jin Yiheng returned inside the room, only to see that she was holding the book in her hands. ¡°Xiaoxi...¡± Jin Yiheng immediately snatched the book away from her. Long Xiaoxi gripped onto it tightly and refused to budge. ¡°Brother Yiheng, I¡¯m not finished yet.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t look anymore.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s take a look together.¡± Long Xiaoxi kicked him, causing him to release his grip. She then pulled him onto the couch. Noticing how insistent she was, Jin Yiheng decided to give in to her. They sat side by side and began flipping through the book all the way until the end. Atst, Long Xiaoxi returned the book to him and said excitedly, ¡°Brother Yiheng, will we be allowed to do those things on the book when we¡¯re older?¡± Blushing as red as a tomato, Jin Yiheng stood up and ced the book back inside the drawer while remaining silent. Chapter 479 - The Secret About the Past (97)

Chapter 479: The Secret About the Past (97)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Long Xiaoxi began to panic. ¡°Brother Yiheng, why aren¡¯t you speaking?¡± ¡°I... I... Xiaoxi, let¡¯s go out to y.¡± Long Xiaoxi hugged him and said, ¡°I¡¯m asking you. Do we get to do those things drawn on the book when we¡¯re older?¡± ¡°Yes...¡± Long Xiaoxi looked up at him and chuckled before saying, ¡°Brother Yiheng, you¡¯re blushing like a tomato. Are you getting shy?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± ¡°You¡¯re still trying to deny it.¡± She tiptoed to kiss him and said, ¡°Brother Yiheng, from now onwards, I¡¯ve reserved you.¡± He reached out to touch his lips and looked down at her in astonishment. Long Xiaoxi smiled at him and said, ¡°I just remembered that Brother Minhe is still waiting for me. I¡¯m going home first.¡± She left the room, swaying her chubby body from side to side. Jin Yiheng stood rooted to the ground, the shock robbing him of his senses. Long Xiaoxi entered her house to see that Zhong Minhe was sitting on the swing alone. She scurried towards him and eximed, ¡°Brother Minhe!¡± ¡°Xiaoxi, where did you go?¡± ¡°I went to Brother Yiheng¡¯s house.¡± Long Xiaoxi sat down beside him, grinning widely as she could not contain her happiness. ¡°What¡¯s the joyous asion?¡± Zhong Minhe asked in puzzlement. ¡°I... I kissed Brother Yiheng. He was dumbstruck,¡± she said softly. Zhong Minhe stared wide-eyed at her in astonishment. ¡°Xiaoxi, do you fancy him a lot?¡± Long Xiaoxi nodded without hesitation and answered, ¡°Of course, I¡¯m going to bear Brother Yiheng¡¯s children when I grow up. I¡¯ve thought about it. I want to give birth to ten children.¡± Being a naturally introverted and emotionally sensitive, Zhong Minhe was at a loss for words and remained silent upon hearing her words, which had upset him. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Shaking his head, he said, ¡°Nothing. If only I was able-bodied, I¡¯d be able to hold your hand too. I can also protect you from bullies and beat them up for you.¡± ¡°Brother Minhe, you¡¯re so nice to me. But my brother will stand up for me when I get bullied. He dotes on me the most.¡± ¡°That¡¯s different.¡± ¡°...¡± __ Two days flew by quickly. Jin Qingyue began to calm her emotions gradually. The two of them had yet to meet again, ever since the time she tried to seduce Ling Ciye in a drunken stupor. They did not contact each other either. Jin Qingyue thought to herself that Ling Ciye must have detested her and despised her for being a superficial woman. After she truly got a grip on her emotions and thought the matter through with a clear mind, Jin Qingyue realized that she had been too casual, though she did not regret it at all. She sat on the couch, hugging her knees as a million thoughts filled her mind. Her phone began to ring all of a sudden while she was deep in her thoughts. To her surprise, it was a call from Ling Ciye. Her heart began to race immediately and she stared at the caller disy, a little afraid to answer. After the mobile phone rang for a while, Jin Qingyue mustered up the courage to answer the call. She swiped her finger across the screen gently and said, ¡°Brother Ciye...¡± A moment of silenceter, Ling Ciye asked, ¡°Are you free now?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s have dinner together.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Jin Qingyue was immensely agitated and overwhelmed with a mix of emotions. What does this mean? This... The more she thought about it, the more it seemed like a good sign. She hurriedly proceeded to take a shower, after which she dried her hair, applied some makeup, put on a dress along with a pair of matching heels, and left the house merrily with her purse in hand. She decided not to drive, thinking that it would be better to let him send her home instead. Thus, she hailed a taxi and headed towards the restaurant they agreed to meet at. It began pouring right after she arrived at the door of the restaurant. Jin Qingyue counted her blessings, feeling lucky to have escaped the rain. She calmed herself down while standing by the door. Although they had known each other for ages, she had never been on a proper date with him before. After rehearsing her smile for a couple of times, she pushed the door open and entered. She scanned her surroundings as soon as she entered andid her eyes on a spot near the window where Ling Ciye was sitting with his back facing her. She put on a smile and strutted towards him in her heels. ¡°Brother Ciye!¡± She sat down opposite him and greeted smilingly. ¡°You¡¯re here. Come, sit next to me,¡± he said calmly, remaining much moreposed than Jin Qingyue, who could barely contain her excitement. ¡°Huh?¡± Jin Qingyue began blushing with shyness and stood up slowly to move to the seat beside him. Soon, the steak and wine were served and they went on to have a peaceful meal. Jin Qingyue was in high spirits throughout while Ling Ciye¡¯s expression remained more or less the same. He kept quiet during the meal and did not speak to her at all. Jin Qingyue began to sense that something was wrong. Why is he not saying anything at all? she wondered. It was not like him to ask her out and remain silent throughout. ¡°Brother Ciye, don¡¯t you have anything to say to me?¡± ¡°I only asked you out for a meal,¡± Ling Ciye answered. Jin Qingyue gazed at his side profile in awe, finding it strange that she had never noticed how charming he was in the past. She did not say anything further, and the rain began to pour even more heavily. They enjoyed their steaks and wine in an unhurried manner. They wiped their mouths after finishing their food. Ling Ciye proceeded to get the tab before leaving the restaurant together with her. He happened to chance upon the sight of people snapping photos of him when he turned around, after which he quickly looked away without uttering a word. ¡°It¡¯s raining heavily. Did you drive today?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll send you home then.¡± He then removed his lightweight, three-quarter-sleeved zer and draped it over her head before scurrying towards his car. Once they got inside the car, he began wiping the rainwater off her face with a towel. Charmed by his warm gesture, Jin Qingyue ced his zer in the backseat and ced both hands on herp, feeling a little awkward. She stared out of the window, only to realize that there were several people pointing their cameras at them outside the restaurant. ¡°I think there are people snapping photos of us.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Jin Qingyue was taken aback by his answer. Did he discover the paparazzi long ago? It can¡¯t be. How could there be such a coincidence? We don¡¯t work in the entertainment industry, why would there be paparazzi following us every day? Noticing that he did not seem too keen on exining the situation, Jin Qingyue did not probe further and instead looked in front. Ling Ciye revved up the engine, set the gear, reversed out of the parking lot, and quickly drove away from the restaurant. He was driving towards Wei Ni Estate. Realizing that she was getting closer and closer to home, Jin Qingyue thought to herself that there should be at least some progress since he initiated having dinner together, though he could also have had other intentions. However, she simply could not wrap her head around what he was thinking. ¡°Brother Ciye, I haven¡¯t been sleeping well at night since thest time we parted.¡± He did not respond. Feeling a little panicky, Jin Qingyue decided to go all out and popped the question, ¡°Brother Ciye, is it really impossible between us?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± His words were like a stab to her heart. Since he thinks it¡¯s impossible between us, what¡¯s the point of asking me out for dinner? Jin Qingyue thought to herself. She felt a strong urge to voice her burning question, though she did not end up doing so. Jin Qingyue got rather upset but chose to remain silent while suppressing her displeasure. Soon, they arrived at the entrance of Wei Ni Estate. Jin Qingyue cocked her head towards the side to look at him. To her surprise, he spoke up before she did. ¡°I asked you out for dinner this evening because Song Yan has hired someone to shadow me. She would very likely be putting a halt to her actions after seeing that I went to dinner with you. I know she¡¯s up to her old tricks again. Thus, I thought it would be good to make her give up her hopespletely.¡± Chapter 480 - The Secret About the Past (98)

Chapter 480: The Secret About the Past (98)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyue¡¯s heart shattered as she came to a sudden realization. Did he just make use of me? ¡°Since you¡¯re using me, you should fake it until the end,¡± said Jin Qingyue, inching closer towards him. Ling Ciye retreated backwards and said, ¡°Qingyue...¡± ¡°I¡¯m here. My brother left to look for my sister-inw. Would you like toe in for some drinks?¡± ¡°No...¡± ¡°Brother Ciye, what is a man like you afraid of? Are you seriously worried that a woman like me is going to eat you up?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the case...¡± Noticing how reluctant he was, Jin Qingyue said, ¡°Look how heavy the rain is pouring outside. I don¡¯t quite feel like alighting from the car now.¡± Ling Ciye was at a momentary loss for words. He felt the temperature rising in the car. Since the lights were switched off in the car, Jin Qingyue took the chance to tackle his crotch again while he was not paying attention, greatly shocking him. If he was attached now, she definitely would not have had the guts to do so. However, she decided to make the first move since she felt really good about him and they were now both single anyway. Besides, there was no harm since he was someone she had known for years. ¡°Qingyue!¡± She unzipped his pants in one fluid motion... Ling Ciye wanted to push her hand away, yet his body did not respond to his brain. Jin Qingyue became even more courageous at the sight of him remaining still and thus continued to tighten and release her grip on his crotch repeatedly. Ling Ciye took a deep breath, finding it hard to resist his urges though he could usually control himself very well. She was far too bold and brazen. Was she truly not afraid of losing the friendship between them? However, the feeling of being fondled by her... was just too... euphoric. By the time he recovered from the shock and snapped back to reality, he had already climaxed. She pulled out a few sheets of tissue paper and helped him clean up. How dauntless of her to have touched his private area and made him climax. ¡°My sis-inw said that I would meet my Mr. Right in April. She told me that he was someone I¡¯ve known for a very long time and that he¡¯s ill-tempered. After thinking it through carefully, I realized that you were the only man I¡¯ve been interacting with in April. Brother Ciye, I didn¡¯t get Sis-inw to foretell our marriage prospects, but I¡¯d like to seize the opportunity with you. Please give me a chance too. Don¡¯t reject me without even giving me a chance, okay?¡± ¡°Let me think about it.¡± Jin Qingyue smiled gleefully at the possibility of a budding romance with him. ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll wait for your call.¡± She pushed the door open and ran out of the car. He tried to stop her and tell her that it was still raining outside. Ling Ciye was still stuck in bewilderment at the thought of what just happened before him. He was a little lost after realizing that she had genuinely developed feelings for him. He was greeted with the sight of a figure standing by the stairs when he arrived home at night. He walked forward only to realize that it was Song Yan. ¡°What are you here for? We¡¯ve already broken up for real.¡± ¡°Just because we broke up doesn¡¯t mean we can¡¯t be friends. Are you in a rtionship with Qingyue?¡± she asked, staring at him. ¡°That doesn¡¯t seem to be any of your business.¡± ¡°Ciye, I can¡¯t believe you actually fancy a divorced woman like Jin Qingyue who even has a child. Are you blind?¡± Song Yan scoffed in disgruntlement. ¡°So she¡¯s not allowed to pursue her own happiness just because she¡¯s divorced and has a child? Who set that rule?¡± ¡°You got together with her right after we broke up. Have you ever spared a thought for my feelings?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve already broken up. I don¡¯t care about how you feel,¡± Ling Ciye said coldly. ¡°You...¡± ¡°It¡¯s true that we¡¯ve broken uppletely. Although I don¡¯t wish topletely cut off contact with you, I don¡¯t want to continue being friends with you either. We were in a rtionship with each other for so long, how could we still possibly remain friends after all that had happened? So, focus on your entertainment career for now and find a man who¡¯ll tolerate you and give in to you. Let¡¯s live our lives well separately.¡± Just as he was about to leave, he added, ¡°Qingyue may be divorced and has a child, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯m any purer than she is. I¡¯ve also had a woman and a child before. I just haven¡¯t gotten married.¡± Song Yan hugged him tightly and said, ¡°Ciye, I love you. I still love you...¡± ¡°You¡¯re acting up again. Don¡¯t forget what we agreed on when we broke up. Song Yan, you¡¯re an arrogant person, don¡¯t stoop below your pride.¡± He pushed her hands away and left without even looking back. It was too draining and torturous to be in a rtionship with her. He would only be creating more trouble for himself if he fails to make the right decision. Since they had already agreed to break up, he ought to put an end to their pastpletely. ¡°Song Yan, you heard him. Mr. Ling seems to have really given up this time. You¡¯re such a prideful person yourself. Stop bringing pain and suffering to each other,¡± said Huahua, who had been hiding. ¡°Huahua, just how did thingse to this? I still love him so much, though. You¡¯ve seen it for yourself. It almost drove me crazy to see him being together with another woman. It¡¯s only been a few days since we broke up, yet he¡¯s already so eager to look for someone new. I would shut up and admit defeat if I was inferior to her. But of all people, it had to be Jin Qingyue.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t admit defeat even if he found someone more outstanding than you. In fact, it¡¯d even drive you up the wall. Besides, Song Yan... you should think about why he¡¯d rather be with Jin Qingyue than with you,¡± said Huahua. ¡°She must be good in bed.¡± ¡°I doubt it. It¡¯s really time you change your attitude...¡± ¡°...¡± Ling Ciye did not sleep well that night as images of Jin Qingyue¡¯s brazen move flooded his mind. Having known her since he was young, it had never urred to him that she would... A rabbit doesn¡¯t eat the grass by its own burrow. Yet, they... However, they could now be considered to be friends with benefits. To think, she was indeed not too bad of a catch... He had never thought of being someone else¡¯s stepfather though. He kept tossing and turning in bed, unable to fall asleep. Ling Ciye regretted not stopping her in time when they were in the car. But now... He truly did not know what to do next. Why don¡¯t he just try dating her? After much thought, he decided to give Jin Qingyan a call. ¡°I heard you¡¯re with your wife now.¡± ¡°Yes, I am.¡± ¡°Get your wife to read my marriage prospects.¡± Jin Qingyan was taken aback by his request. ¡°Again? Your marriage with Song Yan?¡± ¡°Mine and your sister¡¯s.¡± ¡°Qingyue...¡± Jin Qingyan put Ling Ciye on hold and said softly to An Xiaoning, ¡°Help Ciye read his marriage prospects with Qingyue.¡± ¡°The two of them? Sure, I still remember their birth characters very clearly,¡± An Xiaoning said smilingly. Ling Ciyey in bed with his mobile phone in hand, waiting for an answer. Soon, An Xiaoning spoke to him on the phone, after which Ling Ciye thanked her and ended the call. He sat up again and got dressed before leaving his house with an umbre. He drove back to Wei Ni Estate again. ¡°Mr. Ling, why are you here at this hour? Young Sir has gone overseas, he¡¯s not home.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not looking for him,¡± Ling Ciye answered, entering the house with his umbre. Fan Shixin did not stop him and instead allowed him to proceed. Chapter 481 - The Secret About the Past (99)

Chapter 481: The Secret About the Past (99)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Ling Ciye ced the umbre by the door of the living room. He then changed into a pair of home slippers before walking towards the corridor where the guest room was located. The corridor was dimly lit with a warm, yellow light. When he arrived at the door of Jin Qingyue¡¯s room, he stopped in his tracks and headed inside the guest room next to hers instead. He did not quite know how to put it across to her. Auntie Chen entered Jin Qingyue¡¯s room with a ss of milk and said, ¡°I saw Mr. Ling walking towards here just now. Seems like he¡¯s staying here tonight.¡± Jin Qingyue raised her brows in surprise and asked, ¡°Who? You mean Brother Ciye?¡± ¡°Yes, I just saw him.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Jin Qingyue finished the ss of milk and left the door slightly ajar before heading to the bathroom to shower and brush her teeth. She came out of the shower with a towel wrapped around her body and found that Ling Ciye was not in her room. She smiled and put on her clothes before switching the lights off as she exited the room. Noticing that the lights were on in the room adjacent to hers, she stepped forward and pushed the door open gently. They made eye contact with each other, both feeling a little awkward. ¡°Brother Ciye, didn¡¯t you already go home? I saw you driving away. Why did youe back again?¡± asked Jin Qingyue, who stood by the door to watch him leave before entering the house earlier on. ¡°I¡¯m here to tell you something.¡± Ling Ciye patted the seat next to him and said, ¡°Come here.¡± Jin Qingyue walked towards him slowly and sat down. Noticing how shy she had gotten, he chuckled and said, ¡°You were much bolder than this when we were in the car this evening. Why have you be like a shy teenage girl again?¡± ¡°I was so bold because I mustered up the courage to do it. I know you don¡¯t have any designs on me since we¡¯ve known each other for ages already. Thus, I realized that the only way to close the gap between us is for me to take the initiative and make the first move. You said you wanted to tell me something. What was it?¡± Jin Qingyue asked, rather surprised by his words. ¡°Let¡¯s give it a try. What do you think?¡± Ling Ciye asked, turning to face her. ¡°Are... are you for real?¡± Jin Qingyue spluttered in bewilderment. Ling Ciye held her hand and said, ¡°Of course I am. But I have two boundaries. I hope you¡¯ll understand from now onwards.¡± ¡°Speak.¡± ¡°Firstly, I¡¯m not ready to be a stepfather yet. So, I hope we¡¯ll only be giving dating each other a try, don¡¯t get Bao¡¯er involved. Secondly, I hope we can keep our rtionship secret for now and just see if we¡¯repatible in terms of personality. We¡¯ll then announce our rtionship to everyone if we can get along well with each other in a rxed manner. What do you think?¡± Jin Qingyue nodded and agreed, ¡°Sure, I agree. But, I think you¡¯re usually busier than I am in the day, so we¡¯d have to live together in order to find out if we¡¯re truly suitable for each other. Brother Ciye, what are your thoughts on this?¡± ¡°Are you suggesting that we start cohabiting?¡± ¡°Um... if you don¡¯t like that idea, we can put it on hold for now. We¡¯ll just continue staying in adjacent rooms. But of course, if you have any physical needs, I¡¯ll be there to fulfill them,¡± said Jin Qingyue, her candidness making Ling Ciye a little awkward. ¡°Well... I have a three-bedder in Wei Ni Estate. Shall we try living there together for a period of time?¡± ¡°Oh, turns out you have a house here too. Sure, I¡¯ll go tidy the house in the next few days,¡± Jin Qingyue said excitedly, her heart ricocheting vigorously against her chest. ¡°Alright, go back to bed.¡± Jin Qingyue stood up and let go of his hand. That night, neither of them could sleep well. Whatpelled him to make that decision was not the incident that took ce in the car that night, but rather, An Xiaoning¡¯s words. He believed that her predictions were urate and, thus, decided to give it a try while cutting ties with Song Yan at the same time. ¡ª ¡°Mother, did Beicheng say anything when he came home?¡± Gu Dongcheng asked. ¡°He calledst night to say that he¡¯d only be back in another eight to ten days because he had some matters to handle.¡± Gu Dongcheng felt his stomach twist into a knot, dismayed to hear the news. He finally realized why he could not reach the gang of aplices he had hired to abduct Lin Mingxi and Gu Beicheng, who had managed to escape. His spirits were instantly dampened at the thought of how there would be no way to nab them again since they must have taken safety precautions after the incident. Had he known earlier, he would have just ordered for the couple to be killed on the spot. He realized that he should have been more ruthless. Gu Dongcheng returned to the bedroom forlornly to see that Xu Youran was watching aedy andughing her heart out. ¡°Hubby, you¡¯re back.¡± Reeking of alcohol, Gu Dongcheng removed his clothes and flung them onto the couch. Noticing that he was about to lie down, Xu Youran quickly stopped him and said, ¡°Go take a shower. You reek of alcohol, it smells so bad.¡± He pushed her leg away and dragged her toward the side of the bed. ¡°So what if I don¡¯t want to take a shower?¡± he taunted, looking down at her from above. Xu Youran finally noticed that he appeared to be unlike his usual self. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± she asked. ¡°They managed to escape,¡± said Gu Dongcheng, pushing himself inside her without any forey. ¡°Ouch, it hurts,¡± Xu Youran shrieked, grimacing in pain. Gu Dongchengpletely disregarded her feelings. ¡°If only I listened to you earlier and killed them on the spot. I guess I won¡¯t get the chance to do so again.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not toote to do so now.¡± ¡°It¡¯s impossible.¡± ¡°Hubby... did you know that chaos is breaking out overseas again? I guess you won¡¯t know since you don¡¯t read global news at all. Terrorists are on the loose again. If you could make their murder seem like a terrorist attack, how would anyone possibly suspect you?¡± ¡°Do you really think those terrorists are fools?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if they¡¯re fools or not, but our main objective is to make the murder realistic and convincing. We can just work with them. Money is what they need most. That Xi Bi person, whom Jin Qingyan killed previously, was the head of the SU organization. Didn¡¯t he go around looking for financial help from severalpanies too? They¡¯ll hit you and stir trouble if you don¡¯t pay up. Those people won¡¯t reason with you at all. Who¡¯s in ce to enforce rules in the dark side of society?¡± ¡°You know, it¡¯ll just be like falling into a ck hole once we get involved with those people. They¡¯re just going to keep sucking our money dry.¡± After a moment of hesitation, Gu Dongcheng continued, ¡°I don¡¯t want to incur the wrath of those people and bring more trouble for myself.¡± ¡°But, Hubby, your brother is already 32 years old this year and he¡¯s already been in charge of thepany for years. Most of the employees in thepany are loyal to him. From the looks of it, he¡¯s going to continue being in power and enjoy high authority. By then, you¡¯d at most rise to the General Manager position, which is way less powerfulpared to his. He can easily kick you out of thepany as and when he pleases. Do you think he¡¯d let you off if he happens to find out that you were the mastermind behind the abduction? Besides, do you really think he won¡¯t get to the bottom of the truth in such a serious matter?¡± said Xu Youran, hitting the nail on the head. The things she mentioned were exactly his greatest concerns. Gu Dongcheng paused in his motions as a million thoughts filled his mind. Noticing that he had stopped moving, Xu Youran urged, ¡°Hurry and continue.¡± Gu Dongcheng stopped entirely and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to go take a shower.¡± ¡°You...¡± Xu Youran returned to her initial position andy down in bed with much frustration. When Gu Dongcheng came out of the shower, she asked again, ¡°Have you thought about it yet?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What are your ns?¡± Chapter 482 - The Secret About the Past (100)

Chapter 482: The Secret About the Past (100)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°That¡¯s none of your concern. I have my own ns,¡± said Gu Dongcheng, lying down beside her. ¡°Could you tell me about it? Let me give you some tips.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need for it.¡± Gu Dongcheng lit up a cigarette and took a deep puff before continuing, ¡°If we really kill the two of them, I¡¯m afraid Xiaoning would...¡± ¡°Hubby, An Xiaoning may be psychic and good at fortune-telling but that doesn¡¯t matter. Wouldn¡¯t you be rid of woes once you kill the three of them?¡± ¡°But...¡± Gu Dongcheng was getting more and more vexed and frustrated. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to hesitate about. An Xiaoning is going to be a disaster to us sooner orter. An Xiaoning must¡¯ve been the one who saved them. This is more than obvious.¡± Xu Youran lowered her voice and said, ¡°Why do you think she¡¯s so lucky to have survived one ordeal after another? She¡¯s just like a cockroach who can¡¯t be killed. I really wonder if she¡¯s immortal.¡± ¡°She¡¯s human, after all. How could she not die? No matter how capable a person may be, slip-ups will still be inevitable. Humans are wed, and there¡¯s no way one can take precautions against everything. I¡¯ve already asked Mother just now. She said that they¡¯d only be back in about ten days. Things will get tricky once they¡¯re back. It¡¯s best if they don¡¯te back at all.¡± ¡°My sentiments, exactly. My mother has been sitting by the telephone every day to wait for An Xiaoning¡¯s call. Do you know how upset I get to see her sitting there whenever I go home? I just feel like I¡¯ll be chased out as soon as An Xiaoning is proven to be a member of the Xu family. Although Mother said that she can¡¯t bear to let me go since she¡¯s already nurtured feelings for me after all these years, I doubt she¡¯d turn down the requests of her biological daughter,¡± Xu Youran said, hugging his waist. ¡°Nothing¡¯s set in stone yet. Don¡¯t worry about things unnecessarily.¡± Xu Youran did not know if her fears were groundless, but she was truly afraid that her imaginings would be reality. ¡ª An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan were spending each day happily in M Nation. The only reason they had been dying their return was because they were waiting for Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi to recover from their injuries. They waited for a total of twelve days. She realized that she had not seen her son in more than a month. She was indeed missing him dearly. After much consideration, An Xiaoning decided to suggest returning home that day since Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi were almost recovered. They agreed right away. After all, there wasn¡¯t much left for them to do in M Nation. ¡°Xiaowen, hurry and pack the luggage.¡± The assistant immediately did as instructed and asked, ¡°Young Madam, are we leaving tomorrow?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll leaveter today.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t hear you mention about leaving today.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you just hear it now? Hurry and pack up.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, An Xiaoning told Jin Qingyan to prepare the flight. She was filled with excitement at the thought of being able to see her son very soon. After packing the luggage, they exited the hotel. The hotel manager walked them to the car personally and apologized once again. They then drove toward the airport and arrived about 20 minutester, after which they headed straight to the VIP immigrationne. ¡°Mr. and Mrs. Jin, our superiors just informed us that the situation is rather chaotic now and no private nes are allowed to depart or touch down at all. So, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯d have to board ourmercial ne if you¡¯d like to return home. I¡¯m very sorry about that,¡± a female uniformed airport staff informed them. ¡°Who was the one who sent out such orders? Our private jet has alreadynded at the airport. All we have to do is go through thisne and we¡¯ll be able to board our flight home. What do you mean we have to board yourmercial ne?¡± Jin Qingyan questioned sternly with a sullen expression on his face. Since when did such rules exist? ¡°I¡¯m very sorry, Mr. Jin, but this is a rule and order handed down from the higher-ups, which we have to abide by. I¡¯m merely an employee working for the airport. It¡¯s not in my power to make exceptions or special arrangements for you guys.¡± Noticing that Jin Qingyan was about to re up, An Xiaoning nudged him and said, ¡°Forget it, we¡¯ll just board theirmercial ne.¡± ¡°How much longer will such a lousy rule be implemented for?¡± Jin Qingyan questioned once again, keeping his eyes fixed on the female employee. ¡°That... I¡¯m not too sure. Also, helicopters are not allowed to enter and leave the country freely from today onwards.¡± An Xiaoning interlocked her fingers with his and said, ¡°That¡¯s enough, let¡¯s just take theirmercial ne.¡± Thus, they had no choice but to purchase first-ss tickets for the next flight, which was scheduled to take off one hourter since the current flight avable was fully booked. ¡°Young Madam, why don¡¯t we go back tomorrow instead?¡± said the assistant, Xiaowen. ¡°We¡¯ll still have to wait even if we go back tomorrow, don¡¯t we? We¡¯ll wait for boarding after passing the security screening,¡± An Xiaoning instructed. However, An Xiaoning¡¯s weapons, which included guns, daggers, and whips, would definitely not pass the security screening. She would have to remove all of them since they were prohibited items. She had no choice but to abide by the rules and regtions. They then entered the lounge to wait for boarding. After waiting for an hour, they finally boarded the airne. The first-ss cabin of the airne was almost full of passengers, including themselves as well as others who booked their tickets online. The airne took off half an hour after boarding. However, everyone began to sense something amiss after the airne took off. One hourter, the air stewardesses began handing out a meal set to each passenger. An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan would never eat airne food, whereas Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi were both not hungry. Thus, none of them touched the food and beverages, unlike their bodyguards, who passed out after having their meals. On the surface, they seemed to just be sleeping. An Xiaoning turned around only to see that her bodyguards were all lying motionless in their seats. Such tricks worked all the time, regardless of how many times they¡¯d been used. An Xiaoning and Lin Mingxi looked at each other quietly before pretending to drink the fruit juice provided. In reality, they did not touch a single drop of the juice at all. They then proceeded to feign passing out and closed their eyes. Soon, a bunch of people emerged from the economy cabin. An Xiaoning opened her eyes slightly to take a peek and realized that all the people disguised as passengers in fact had a hidden agenda. They had clearly been set up. It was ast-minute decision to return to the country. It was unlikely that they would happen to be stopped right as they were about to pass through the VIP passageway, even if there were people waiting for them at the airport. An Xiaoning deduced that there must have been a mole amongst their entourage, though she could not put a finger on who it was just yet. In hindsight, the one hour they were made to wait for boarding was more than enough for the enemy to devise their scheme and make the necessary arrangements. It was indeed a careless misjudgment on her part. To make matters worse, they had already surrendered all their weapons, including guns and knives. At this point, they did not have any weapons except their bare fists. Fortunately, An Xiaoning had something else which could possibly save them. It was her brooch as well as the hair clip Jin Qingyan had given her, which was embedded with a secret needle-darting contraption. Those were going toe in handy. ¡°We don¡¯t have much time. Hurry and do it. None of them are to be spared,¡± said one of the men. All of a sudden, sounds of gunfire could be hearding from behind them. Just as An Xiaoning was about to make a move, Jin Qingyan quickly held her down. An Xiaoning remained still in the face of such a dangerous situation. At this very moment, another man said in a flustered voice, ¡°Boss, bad news. There are two aircraft chasing us. One private jet and one helicopter.¡± ¡°What aircraft are those?¡± ¡°I think they belong to Jin Qingyan. Seems like we¡¯re going to die.¡± Chapter 483 - The Secret About the Past (101)

Chapter 483: The Secret About the Past (101)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°We have to kill them first no matter what. Even if we die, we must die in glory. The organization will reward our country. Quick, do it,¡± the leader instructed. ¡°But, Boss... we don¡¯t want to die,¡± the underlings said, sounding petrified. ¡°Cut the crap. Do you think you¡¯ll get to make it out of this ne alive even if you don¡¯t kill them? If you don¡¯t follow my instructions, I¡¯ll send you to hell right now!¡± the leader hollered, ring at them menacingly. The underlings dared not utter another word. ¡°Begin. Finish them off and we¡¯ll be rewarded handsomely!¡± As soon as he finished speaking, a gun was aimed right at his head in godlike speed. An Xiaoning opened her eyes, only to see that the person holding the gun against the leader¡¯s temple was Jin Qingyan. She was bewildered to find that he still had a gun with him since she remembered seeing him removing his gun during the security screening. How did he... ¡°Back down all of you!¡± The leader broke out in cold sweat and motioned for his underlings to retreat. ¡°Hurry and back down. Didn¡¯t you hear me!?!¡± The gang retreated backward while still holding the guns in their hands. Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi, too, opened their eyes and stood up. Unfortunately, they did not have any weapons on them to defend themselves. Jin Qingyan was clearly outnumbered since it was one against many guns in front of him. ¡°Put your guns down. Otherwise, I¡¯ll shoot him,¡± Jin Qingyan warned fearlessly. Everyone looked at each other in dismay and remained still as a statue. ¡°What are you waiting for? Put your guns down!¡± the leader snapped, overwhelmed with panic. ¡°Boss, didn¡¯t you say that we must die in glory even if we have to die? Rest in peace, we will tell the organization of your remarkable sacrifice if we make it out alive.¡± ¡°Bastard! Put your guns down!¡± the leader hollered in exasperation and anxiety. The underlings still refused to budge, perhaps because they knew that they might very likely die if they were to put their weapons down. Yet, they did not wish to die so soon. The leader was flustered and bbergasted. Jin Qingyan walked towards the bunch of underlings while still holding the gun against the leader¡¯s head. Upon sight of the situation, An Xiaoning reached a hand out to touch the hair clip on her head. Who knew such an unassuming action would be sufficient to pierce one of the underlings in his eyes, causing him to shriek in pain and drop the gun in his hands. Tension filled the underlings. Yet, they still did not dare to open fire. The more Jin Qingyan advanced towards them, the more they retreated. Soon, he made it past the man who had his eyes pierced. An Xiaoning walked towards him and picked up the pistol to find that the round was full. Not bad. Initially, they only had one gun. Now, they had two. This increased their chances of survival. Instead of pointing the gun at them together with Jin Qingyan, An Xiaoning headed to the cockpit. Pointing the gun at the pilot, she instructed, ¡°Land the ne immediately.¡± ¡°But there¡¯s no appropriatending ground here,¡± said the pilot, frightened out of his wits. ¡°I don¡¯t care. Land it right now. Touch down in a field or whatever. Otherwise, I¡¯ll shoot you.¡± ¡°Do you think you¡¯d make it out alive if you kill me?¡± the pilot retorted boldly. ¡°There¡¯s a co-pilot here too. Are younding it or not!?!¡± ¡°I am... but I¡¯ll have to fly to the nearest airport. I can¡¯t justnd in the middle of nowhere.¡± ¡°Then head to the nearest airport.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± An Xiaoning felt a slight sense of relief. After a long while, the ne arrived at an airport nearby and touched down slowly onto the runway. Soon, the other two aircraftnded as well. As soon as the doors opened, Jin Qingyan rushed into the airne at godlike speed. They initially had the upper hand. However, they missed the best timing and failed to seize the opportunity. Now, the tables had turned and there was a shift in power. In order to avoid driving them into desperation, Jin Qingyan warned, ¡°You decide yourselves if you want to continue living or die in here. If you raise the white g, I¡¯ll spare your lives.¡± Upon hearing his words, the gang put down their guns slowly and hurriedly exited the airne one after another. ¡°Could you let me go too?¡± the leader asked. ¡°No.¡± Jin Qingyan pushed the leader to his men and instructed, ¡°Take him onto our aircraft. Bring along the rest as well. I want all of them onto the ne.¡± ¡°Yes, Young Sir!¡± Everyone¡¯s tension was relieved after boarding Jin Qingyan¡¯s ne. Gu Beicheng broke out in cold sweat due to overwhelming nervousness and anxiety. Lin Mingxi was no exception as well. They were utterly amazed and in awe of Jin Qingyan¡¯s and An Xiaoning¡¯s intelligence. ¡°Mr. Jin, didn¡¯t you say that you were going to spare our lives?!¡± ¡°Yeah, why did you take us onto your ne?¡± ¡°I did mention that I was going to spare your lives, but I didn¡¯t say that I was going to let you go. Besides, I¡¯m only sparing your lives under the condition that you people speak the honest truth. I¡¯ll be giving you a few pieces of paper now. Sit far, far apart from each other and write down the answer to the questions I ask on the paper. If your answers are different, you shall face dire consequences,¡± Jin Qingyan warned sternly. He then instructed his subordinates, ¡°Give them a pen and a piece of paper each.¡± The subordinates did as instructed. After which, Jin Qingyan asked the first question straight away, ¡°What organization do you belong to?¡± Everyone began writing their answers on the paper. ¡°Don¡¯t try to buy time. If your answer is different from the rest, I¡¯ll kill you immediately.¡± They lowered their heads and began scribbling onto the paper. Jin Qingyan screened their answers one by one, only to find that the majority of the answers were the same ¡ª DK. He immediately knew which organization was behind the plot. DK was an abbreviation for ¡°Darkness.¡± ¡°Darkness¡± was the main organization behind the terrorist attacks that had sparked chaos in M Nation recently. They were notorious formitting atrocious and terrifying acts with the purpose of challenging society¡¯s limits. The organization was extremely menacing and ruthless in their behavior. Jin Qingyan also knew that all members of the DK organization had matching tattoos on them. He grabbed one of the men by his cor and ripped his shirt apart, only to find that the man did not have a special tattoo on his chest. Jin Qingyan continued to do the same to a few other men but they too did not have any unique markings on their body. ring at them coldly, Jin Qingyan hollered, ¡°Are you trying to lie to me? Every member of the DK organization has a unique marking on their bodies. But you guys don¡¯t. Although most of you gave the same answer, I have no choice but to go against my promise.¡± He then said to his subordinate, ¡°Execute them now.¡± ¡°Please have mercy on us!¡± ¡°We¡¯re telling the truth.¡± ¡°We¡¯re new recruits of the organization. We were sent on this mission before we were even tattooed. Our leader has a tattoo.¡± ¡°Yes, our leader does.¡± A grave expression formed on the leader¡¯s face as he red daggers at the bunch of underlings who sold him out. ¡°Take off your shirt,¡± Jin Qingyan ordered, staring at the leader. He did as instructed. Indeed, there was a clear marking on his chest which did not seem to be freshly imprinted. After looking at the answer on his paper, Jin Qingyan grabbed a gun from his subordinate and shot the leader to death. Everyone was terrorized beyond words at the sight of their leader being shot to death. At this point, they deeply regretted not killing Jin Qingyan and the rest immediately on the ne. Chapter 484 - The Secret About the Past (102)

Chapter 484: The Secret About the Past (102)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios If they¡¯d chosen to shoot him and sacrifice their leader back then, they would at least have had the chance to live on. Yet, they had now be sheep waiting to be ughtered, despite their leader still being sacrificed in the end. This was human nature. When everyone around remains still, rarely would one sacrifice himself for the sake of his teammates. An Xiaoning recalled a story she once read in history books about no one daring to retaliate when thousands of people were held at gunpoint by two invaders. That was because it was human nature to fear death and sacrifice. However, if everyone chose to stand together to retaliate, they would be able to defeat even a hundred invaders, let alone just two. Within the hearts of everyoney two separate versions of themselves ¡ª one strong and the other weak. The weaker one shines when it manages to blur the vision of the stronger one. The weak are the prey of the strong. They would be able to escape the ordeal as long as they take advantage of human folly and frailty. ¡°Who sent you?¡± Everyone shook their heads in unison. One of them spoke up bravely, ¡°We don¡¯t know, there are many higher-ups within the hierarchy of our organization. Our leader might not even know who the instigator is.¡± Jin Qingyan did not ask any more questions and sat down beside An Xiaoning. Holding her hand gently, he said, ¡°Your hands are so cold. You must¡¯ve gotten a great shock.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t frightened, I was just worried. After all, I¡¯m a mother now and I can¡¯t help but be afraid of meeting with any mishap. Why is it that I can never guard against any dangers fully? Why are there always so many things happening one after another?¡± she said, interlocking fingers with him. Jin Qingyan stared at her pale and colorless face and kissed her right in front of everyone. He cupped her face in his hands while she threw her arms around his neck. They began kissing each other passionately, as if there was no one else around. At this moment, the only way they could cate their fear and anxiety was through physical romantic gestures. The airne took off again and An Xiaoning fell asleep in his arms. Although she had already fallen asleep, she was still gripping onto his shirt tightly and refusing to let go. He continued to hug her in his arms and barely moved throughout the next few hours. His arm had already gone numb by the time they arrived at the hangar in Wei Ni Estate. Fan Shixin had been waiting for them there ever since he heard about the mishap they met with. Everyone exited from the airne while An Xiaoning was still asleep. Fan Shixin stepped forward and asked softly, ¡°Young Sir, what do we do with those people?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already killed the leader. Snap a photo of his bare body and go on to take the photos of the rest of them. Kill them afterward.¡± ¡°Young Sir, I heard that you were going to spare their lives.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t mean it though. They¡¯re terrorists who deserve to die, lest they continue to harm more people and take the lives of the innocent.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Fan Shixin then turned around and left. Jin Qingyan looked at An Xiaoning, who was lying in his embrace, and called her name softly, ¡°Xiaoning?¡± An Xiaoning opened her eyes to find that they were the only ones left in the airne. She woke up immediately and said, ¡°Are we home?¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯re home.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you wake me up earlier?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not thatte now.¡± He pulled her up from the seat, after which they exited through the door. They made their way down the stairs. Due to the time difference and the duration of the flight, it was still noontime in S Nation. An Xiaoning was a little giddy, though she felt a huge sense of relief at this point. Because she was standing right on her own territory. ¡°I feel a little dizzy...¡± ¡°You must¡¯ve slept for too long,¡± said Jin Qingyan, who squatted down all of a sudden, An Xiaoning smiled and asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t we taking the car back?¡± ¡°I want to carry you on my shoulders and make our way back together slowly while admiring the scenic beauty around our estate.¡± She leaned against him and put her arms around his neck, her chin resting on his shoulder. The journey from the hangar to the main mansion would require at least ten minutes by car. They strolled leisurely along the route for half an hour. ¡°Will you continue to carry me even when we¡¯re old and gray?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°If I die before you, are you going to carry other women?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Why not? Just make another clone to rece me.¡± He remained silent. An Xiaoning cocked her head sideways and stared at him. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you speaking?¡± ¡°Even if I made a clone out of you, it¡¯s only because I love you too much. This may sound pretentious, but have you ever thought about how I¡¯m going to spend the rest of my life alone without you if you were really gone from this world? I can¡¯t drop everything and shirk off all my responsibilities to go die with you.¡± ¡°But you really did do that before.¡± Knowing that he was suffering from amnesia, An Xiaoning reminded him, ¡°You¡¯ve once poisoned yourself for me. Although you did that in a moment of recklessness because you had too much to drink, it really made me feel touched. I wouldn¡¯t rmend you do it again though. But it really happened and you managed to be rescued. I¡¯d forever remember what you¡¯ve done for me. I¡¯ve also thought about how I¡¯d be the subject of resentment and everyone would put the me on me if you were to kick the bucket. I would live the rest of my life in guilt and regret.¡± With a faint smile on his face, he said, ¡°Killing oneself over love is such a silly action. Don¡¯t try to fool me with such a far-fetched story.¡± Upon hearing his response, she reached out to grab his hair and retorted, ¡°How dare you say that I¡¯m fooling you! I was speaking the truth, alright?!¡± Jin Qingyan winced in pain and shrieked, ¡°I believe you, I believe you!¡± An Xiaoning let go of his hair and whispered into his ear, ¡°Of course you wouldn¡¯t remember what you did or said in the past. But I do.¡± ¡°Tell me then, how many times have I done it in total?¡± Jin Qingyan asked casually. ¡°How many times have you done what?¡± ¡°Made love.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t remember...¡± ¡°Your memory is not as brilliant as you made it out to be.¡± ¡°Who would remember something like that? You¡¯ve lost your memory. You¡¯re in no ce to tell me that my memory is poor. It¡¯s better than yours anyway,¡± An Xiaoning retorted, leaning her head against his back. A smile formed on his face and his eyes glistened with joy. Just as they were about to reach the main mansion, An Xiaoning got down from him. ¡°My back¡¯s about to break...¡± he groused, rubbing his sore back. ¡°I told you to take the car but you insisted on putting on a brave front.¡± ¡°I¡¯m pleased to carry you.¡± ¡°Nick!!!¡± Bu Xianxian ran towards them with happiness written all over her face, as if she had already forgotten about the unhappy incidents previously. ¡°Xianxian.¡± ¡°Nick, I haven¡¯t seen you at alltely. I¡¯ve missed you.¡± She leaped forward to hug Jin Qingyan. Jin Qingyan pushed her away and said, ¡°Just speak normally while standing. You don¡¯t have to hug me.¡± ¡°Nick... before you left to go overseas, we¡¯ve been chatting and drinking together every night. What¡¯s wrong with hugging you now?¡± An Xiaoning shot a menacing re at Jin Qingyan. ¡°Since when did I chat and drink with you at night?¡± Jin Qingyan questioned coldly. ¡°Just before you left. Did you forget so soon?¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning smiled and grabbed Jin Qingyan¡¯s hand before saying, ¡°Darling, didn¡¯t we talk about trying for a second child? It¡¯s time to get down to business.¡± Jin Qingyan grinned at her, after which they walked away from Bu Xianxian together. Chapter 485 - The Secret About the Past (103)

Chapter 485: The Secret About the Past (103)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Bu Xianxian was dumbfounded. Trying for a second child? What in the world? Time to get down to business? Did that mean they were going to get intimate? Bu Xianxian turned around and stared at their receding figures. All of a sudden, she began to find that An Xiaoning was no ordinary woman, for thetter did not seem to get angry even after hearing her spiteful words. Little did she know, An Xiaoning was suppressing her anger. The moment she entered the living room, she changed into her home slippers and shrugged Jin Qingyan¡¯s hand away. Jin Qingyan was dumbfounded. It had never urred to him that Bu Xianxian would blurt something so atrocious that would upset her. ¡°I¡¯ve been keeping the promise I made to you and I didn¡¯t speak more than two sentences to her, except those three lines I said to her in front of you just now. I swear to Heaven, the surveince cameras can vouch for me.¡± An Xiaoning made her way upstairs straight away and ignored him. ¡°Xiaoning...¡± ¡°Honey...¡± ¡°Oh Heaven...¡± ¡°My ancestor...¡± An Xiaoning turned around to look at him and said, ¡°I believe you. But have you ever thought about why she said that in front of me purposely? You were the one who allowed her toe home with us. I seriously think there¡¯s a major issue with her. You¡¯d better think of a way to get rid of her as soon as possible, and make sure she doesn¡¯t show up in front of me.¡± Jin Qingyan refuted, ¡°She and her family are my life saviors. I can¡¯t bring myself to chase them away.¡± An Xiaoning expressed assent and scorned, ¡°Okay then, don¡¯t touch me ever again. Otherwise, I¡¯ll kill you.¡± ¡°Honey, you¡¯re putting me in a spot...¡± ¡°I¡¯m not, you are.¡± She stormed off angrily into the bedroom and closed the door on him, leaving him outside. Jin Qingyan turned around and happened to see his son walking past him. Jin Yihengpletely ignored his father¡¯s presence and did not even bother greeting him. Am I invisible? he thought to himself. ¡°Yiheng.¡± Jin Yiheng headed straight inside his own room without even looking at him. This silly child... He hurriedly chased after him. ¡°You didn¡¯t see Daddy for so long. Don¡¯t you miss me?¡± Jin Yiheng ignored him and pulled a long face, as if to tell his father, ¡°Do not disturb me.¡± ¡°Are you angry at Daddy?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± he finally responded. ¡°How can I appease you then?¡± Jin Yiheng stuck a finger out and said, ¡°Promise to grant me a wish of mine.¡± ¡°Speak.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll take my room tonight while I¡¯ll go sleep in your bedroom.¡± The meaning behind his words was more than obvious: ¡°I want to sleep with your wife tonight. You shall sleep in my room and get a taste of what it feels like to sleep alone.¡± ¡°What if I don¡¯t agree?¡± ¡°Then what¡¯s the point of talking to me? Get out.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Just for tonight, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Daddy shall promise you.¡± Jin Yiheng broke into smiles and raised his chin to ask him, ¡°Daddy, let me ask you, am I your biological son?¡± ¡°Duh, whose son could you be if not mine?¡± ¡°Then, why didn¡¯t you bring me along to look for Mommy? Ever since Mommy left, I¡¯ve been living as a child in a single-parent family. Little did I expect that you would sneakily abandon me too. Even Xiaoxi has a huge teddy bear to hug to sleep. What about me? I¡¯m just like an orphan yearning to grow up as soon as possible. I want to be an adult so that I won¡¯t need Daddy and Mommy anymore. I can finally do everything by myself then,¡± said Jin Yiheng. Jin Qingyan was speechless. He cleared his throat and said, ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t you need Daddy and Mommy anymore when you¡¯re older? Why do you get to do what you want only when you¡¯re older?¡± ¡°Because I can marry a wife and bear children only when I¡¯m grown up,¡± Jin Yiheng answered self-righteously. ¡°Stop watching those cartoons and readingics. You¡¯re bing more mature than you should be.¡± ¡°Daddy, how dare you have the cheek to criticize me? You don¡¯t allow me to watch them, yet you watch them yourself secretly.¡± ¡°Since when did I do that?¡± Jin Qingyan snorted withughter and continued, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t bother watching those animated films you kids enjoy.¡± ¡°Who said so? I saw the drawing book in your drawer...¡± Jin Qingyan was suddenly reminded of the Kama Sutra that Long Tianze had given him earlier, which he had casually chucked inside the drawer. Could his son havee across it!?! ¡°You... you¡¯ve seen it?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Jin Yiheng felt a sudden urge to hammer Long Tianze to death. As soon as he exited Jin Yiheng¡¯s bedroom, he was greatly startled by An Xiaoning¡¯s sudden screech. ¡°Jin Qingyan!!!¡± ¡°Here, Honey, I¡¯m here.¡± An Xiaoning flung the illustration book at him and said, ¡°How could you leave this in the drawer? What if Yiheng sees it?¡± ¡°He already has...¡± Jin Qingyan murmured. ¡°What did you just say!?! You mean Yiheng has already seen it?¡± An Xiaoning gasped. ¡°Yes...¡± An Xiaoning flew into an uncontroble rage and began ring daggers at Jin Qingyan, who quickly tried to exin, ¡°Tianze was the one who gave it to me. I didn¡¯t read it and just chucked it inside the drawer. Didn¡¯t I go look for you afterward? That¡¯s how I forgot about it. I wouldn¡¯t have remembered if Yiheng hadn¡¯t mentioned it earlier.¡± An Xiaoning was exasperated, thinking to herself that her son would definitely be extremely curious about the content he chanced upon since he was still so young and yet to grasp the clear concept of the rtionship between opposite genders. She was dismayed for she thought that it would be detrimental to her son¡¯s upbringing. Reminded of the matter pertaining Bu Xianxian, An Xiaoning stormed back inside her bedroom angrily. Jin Qingyan opened the door with the spare key but was soon kicked out by her. He even got physical with her in order to force his way inside. However, due to the fact that he was exhausted, he was still chased out of the room in the end, clearly no match for her. Jin Qingyan made his way to the living room and sat cross-legged on the couch. He then began reflecting on himself and pondering over his thoughts. ¡°Brother, you look so bitter and upset. What¡¯s the matter?¡± Jin Qingyue asked as soon as she entered, after which she took a seat opposite him. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you in days and you¡¯ve be so radiant. Your skin¡¯s in better condition too. Did you juste back from the hair salon?¡± ¡°No. Actually, it¡¯s because I¡¯m dating someone right now.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Ciye, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°How... did you know? Did he tell you?¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t, I was just making a wild guess. Because he asked your Sis-inw about his marriage prospects with you and she told him the answer,¡± said Jin Qingyan, leaning backward. ¡°Brother, what did Sis-inw say?¡± ¡°Do you want to know? Beg me,¡± he goaded with a smirk. ¡°Brother!¡± ¡°Your Sis-inw is angry with me. I¡¯ll tell you the answer if you can help me appease her.¡± Clearly not going to give in to his tricks, Jin Qingyue stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯m just going to ask Sis-inw myself.¡± ¡°Qingyue, did you forget how I helped you in the past? How could you treat me like that?¡± ¡°Why is Sis-inw angry at you?¡± Jin Qingyan briefly exined the situation to her. ¡°Yiheng is still so young. It¡¯s really not that good to expose him to adult material at such a tender age. But then again, children tend to forget easily, he won¡¯t remember it in due time. Oh, but Ms. Bu is pretty annoying, though,¡± Jin Qingyue remarked. ¡°Your Sis-inw is angry at me. Go up and coax her for me, quick. I¡¯ll then try to cajole her once most of her anger has subsided, okay?¡± ¡°Okay, deal,¡± Jin Qingyue agreed with a nod. Chapter 486 - The Secret About the Past (104)

Chapter 486: The Secret About the Past (104)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyue made her way upstairs and knocked on An Xiaoning¡¯s door. ¡°Sis-inw, it¡¯s me, Qingyue.¡± An Xiaoning opened the door. ¡°Sis-inw, I¡¯m here to ask you about something.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Jin Qingyue smiled and said, ¡°I heard from Brother that you¡¯ve read my marriage prospects with Brother Ciye. What are the results? Sis-inw, tell me quick.¡± ¡°Do you really want to know?¡± An Xiaoning patted the couch and said, ¡°Have a seat.¡± The two of them sat down one after another. Hugging her knees, An Xiaoning turned to look at her and said, ¡°You two are verypatible with each other in terms of marriage, but I can¡¯t give you an ultimate answer since Heaven¡¯s n is not to be leaked. However, I¡¯m already telling you more than I should. Qingyue, although you two have a bright marriage prospect, the process wouldn¡¯t be very smooth and there¡¯d be many obstacles in between.¡± ¡°I think I understand what you mean. Sis-inw, we¡¯ve just agreed to try dating each other, and we¡¯re sort of cohabiting now in a three-bedder he owns in Wei Ni Estate. We won¡¯t be sharing the same room, though. We¡¯re just going to try living that way for a while. You know, I feel as if I¡¯m a teenager again. I¡¯m so excited to see him every day. Besides, I¡¯m able to get this far today all because of you. If it weren¡¯t for what you said to me, I wouldn¡¯t have had the courage to make the first move. I¡¯ll cherish this opportunity to pursue my own happiness.¡± An Xiaoning saw the immense joy in Jin Qingyue¡¯s eyes when thetter was speaking, as if she could already tell how blissful she would be in the future. ¡°You two have known each other for ages. I suppose you should already know him very well, in terms of personality. No matter what, you should always take the initiative whenever possible in order to truly grasp your happiness. Ling Ciye is way better than Shi Shaochuan,¡± said An Xiaoning, who was happy for her. ¡°Way better? He¡¯s a million times better. I don¡¯t even feel like bringing up that scumbag, You know, Bao¡¯er has even tried to threaten me into marrying him again. I can¡¯t get back together with him for her sake. It¡¯s impossible.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve spoiled your daughter rotten. In fact, she¡¯s a little like your past self,¡± An Xiaoning said frankly. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what I¡¯m most worried about. I don¡¯t want her to end up like me precisely because I know how atrocious I used to be in the past. But, I would rather she take after me than her father. I definitely have better moralspared to her imbecile of a father.¡± An Xiaoning was strangely amused by her words and said smilingly, ¡°Bao¡¯er is still young. Some things have to be taught since a young age, otherwise, it¡¯d really be impossible to change her character once it¡¯s fixed.¡± ¡°By the way, Brother told me about him upsetting you. He was sitting on the couch alone to reflect on himself quietly when I came back just now. He was so serious.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe that he¡¯d reflect on his mistakes.¡± ¡°It¡¯s true. Sis-inw, I think Brother really loves you a lot. Even though he has lost his memory, he still loves you as much as he used to. But, Sis-inw, there¡¯s something I¡¯m not sure if I should tell you about...¡± ¡°Speak your mind,¡± said An Xiaoning, listening attentively. Jin Qingyue quickly said, ¡°Something tells me that Brother has already regained his memory. Maybe I¡¯m just making a wild guess, but he feels just like the Brother I used to know. He¡¯s nothing like the quiet and reserved Brother I met who was suffering from amnesia when he came back from N Nation...¡± ¡°Indeed, he was really shy too. I feel the same way as you do. But, there¡¯s no way he would keep it from us if he¡¯s really regained his memory.¡± Jin Qingyue nodded earnestly and said, ¡°That¡¯s why I said I might just be making a wild guess.¡± An Xiaoning recalled Jin Qingyan¡¯s recent actions carefully. She began to think about the austere expression on his face when he was holding the terrorist at gunpoint on the airne... After recalling their recent conversations, she realized that he had be much more talkative with her and more aloof towards others. ¡°I¡¯ll test himter to find out if he¡¯s really regained his memory. Shall we put on an act together?¡± An Xiaoning asked Jin Qingyue with a grimace. ¡°How?¡± ¡°Come closer.¡± Jin Qingyue leaned forward, after which An Xiaoning whispered something to her. Jin Qingyue¡¯s eyes lit up and she remarked, ¡°Sis-inw, you¡¯re so ruthless.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll just take it as a game.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll y along.¡± Jin Qingyue made her way downstairs to find that Jin Qingyan was still sitting on the couch and remaining as still as a statue, as if he was meditating. ¡°Brother.¡± He looked up and asked, ¡°Why were you gone for so long?¡± ¡°I was having a chat with Sis-inw. She seems really upset and angry at you though. Do you want to go upstairs to check on her?¡± Jin Qingyan immediately zoomed upstairs upon hearing her words. Jin Qingyue smiled and followed suit. She then stood by their bedroom door quietly to watch what was happening. Jin Qingyan entered the bedroom to find that An Xiaoning was lying in bed with her hands on her stomach. She waspletely motionless, as if she had already fallen asleep. He stepped forward and caught sight of a syringe beside the bed. He picked it up before taking a look at a small vial next to it. Jin Qingyan turned as pale as a sheet the moment he read the words on thebel of the vial. ¡°Xiaoning?¡± ¡°Xiaoning?¡± He reached out to give her a little push but she remained still. There¡¯s no need to kill herself over such a trivial matter, is there? Jin Qingyan thought to himself. ¡°Enough, stop pretending,¡± he said, tickling her. An Xiaoning opened her eyes and flinched before saying, ¡°Who¡¯s pretending?¡± ¡°If you weren¡¯t pretending, why did you leave the syringe and vial of poison here? Weren¡¯t you trying to scare me? You think I don¡¯t know you well enough?¡± ¡°What do you know about me?¡± ¡°I know your character very well.¡± An Xiaoning sat up straight and asked with a smile, ¡°What about my character? What am I like to you?¡± ¡°You would never resort to suicide.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°Because that¡¯s just how you are.¡± An Xiaoning squinted and said, ¡°I¡¯m hungry. Go get Auntie Chen to prepare me my favorite meal. I want to see those two dishes on the dining tableter.¡± He made an OK sign and said, ¡°Got it. Fermented beancurd and chili sauce, right?¡± An Xiaoning smirked and said, ¡°Yes. Bring me some liquor from the cer too. I¡¯d like to have a few drinks.¡± ¡°Why do I have to go to the cer? Don¡¯t we have Dreamyanghe in our bedroom?¡± An Xiaoning smiled widely and said, ¡°That¡¯s true, why didn¡¯t I think of that? It¡¯s your unique concoction.¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s your favorite...¡± Jin Qingyan hushed immediately upon realizing that he had let his tongue slip. ¡°Brother, when did you regain your memory?¡± asked Jin Qingyue, who entered the bedroom slowly. ¡°Regain my memory? Since when? I haven¡¯t remembered anything yet. Tell Auntie Chen that your Sis-inw is hungry and get her to begin preparing lunch,¡± Jin Qingyan said to his sister. Jin Qingyue and An Xiaoning shot each other a tacit look of understanding. ¡°I thought you¡¯ve already regained your memory. Turns out you haven¡¯t. Alright, I¡¯ll go down to tell Auntie Chen now.¡± Chapter 487 - The Secret About the Past (105)

Chapter 487: The Secret About the Past (105)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning were left alone in their bedroom. An Xiaoning already knew what was going on, yet she did not want to expose him. She disposed the syringe and vial into the rubbish bin before lying downfortably in bed. ¡°Hubby,e sit here.¡± Noticing that her initial anger had already subsided, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°Once I get my hands on Tianze, I¡¯ll teach him a good lesson. Honey, don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°What are you teaching him a lesson for? It¡¯s your fault for dumping it inside the drawer carelessly.¡± ¡°Yes, Honey, you¡¯re right. I agree absolutely. It¡¯s all my fault.¡± An Xiaoning snorted withughter and teased, ¡°You silly.¡± Jin Qingyan smiled at the sight of how gleeful she was. After taking a warm shower, An Xiaoning applied some makeup, changed into a fresh set of clothes, and proceeded to have a satisfying meal. Xu Yang called all of a sudden. Upon hearing that she had already returned to the country, Xu Yang immediately prompted her to carry out the DNA test. An Xiaoning decided to tell him that she would be driving to the Xu family mansionter that day upon seeing how eager he was. Xu Yang agreed delightedly. All of the members of the Xu family returned to the mansion except Xu Youran, because Madam Xu did not want her to find out about the matter. They all waited anxiously in the living room for An Xiaoning¡¯s arrival. An Xiaoning was dressed in a white embroidered dress that would go well with a pair of stilettos. However, she was not exactly a fan of heels, though it wouldplement her outfit. Thus, she decided to put on a pair of wedge sandals instead. She alighted from her car while carrying her purse in hand. She truly was not too pleased to step foot into the home of the Xu family, whom she simply could not tolerate, including Xu Yang. Other than Madam Xu, whom she had a better impression of, she did not feel good about any of them at all. She used to think that Xu Yang was an upright person who did notck integrity. However, he ruined her impression of him ever since the Xu Youran incident. The sun was shining brightly that afternoon. An Xiaoning followed the servants to the living room slowly. Although it was not her first time visiting the Xu family mansion, she felt contrastingly different from the previous time she stepped foot into their home. The Xu family members stood up to wee her upon sight of her arrival. Madam Xu hurriedly walked toward her and grabbed her arm agitatedly. ¡°Ms. An, you¡¯re finally here. I¡¯ve been waiting for your call ever since the conversation we had over the phone that day.¡± ¡°My mother has been waiting by the telephone every day for your call,¡± said Xu Yang. An Xiaoning was rather surprised to hear his words, after which she said, ¡°I just came back today. Let¡¯s go get the test done now.¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go,¡± said Madam Xu, holding her hand tightly, as if she had already confirmed that An Xiaoning was her daughter. An Xiaoning was a little ufortable. They set off in two cars. An Xiaoning, Madam Xu, and Xu Yang took the backseat of one of the cars. Along the journey, An Xiaoning said, ¡°We only share the same birthday. There are lots of people in this world who were born on the same day, month, and year. I doubt it¡¯d be that coincidental that I¡¯m your biological daughter.¡± ¡°I understand. I¡¯m just trying my luck. Maybe you really are my daughter.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and asked, ¡°How did you lose your daughter?¡± Madam Xu teared up upon recalling the time when her daughter went missing. She reached out to wipe her tears before exining, ¡°She went missing not long after she was born. That¡¯s why I only have one photo of her when she was a newborn. I¡¯ve been keeping that photo with me until now. Technology was far less advanced back then and we didn¡¯t have any surveince cameras at home. Old Xu wasn¡¯t the Military Commander yet either. He was merely a member of the military who held a minor position. Back then, we arrived home from a gathering, only to find that the nanny had been assassinated and our daughter had gone missing. We didn¡¯t have any servants, nor could we afford to live in a big house. On a regr day, Old Xu would report to the military while I stayed home with the nanny and the children. We¡¯ve yet to uncover the truth even until today. We couldn¡¯t get to the bottom of the nanny¡¯s death either, even after all these years.¡± An Xiaoning was rather astonished to hear how their daughter had gone missing. ¡°Could the perpetrator be someone you had a feud with?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not too sure. We¡¯ve always been polite and kind toward others. We¡¯ve never had any conflict or feud with anyone before.¡± An Xiaoning refused to believe that they did not get into a conflict with anyone. Otherwise, why would the nanny be killed and their daughter be abducted for no rhyme or reason at all? ¡°Your sons must¡¯ve been already grown up when your daughter was born, haven¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Yes. But neither of them were at home. One was living with his grandmother while the other was in boarding school.¡± ¡°That¡¯s lucky. May I ask something a little more personal?¡± An Xiaoning asked, staring at the roads ahead. ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°May I ask if there are any extraordinary persons in your family tree or amongst your ancestors?¡± The answer was crucial to An Xiaoning, for there was no way ordinary people could give birth to extraordinary descendants. Take Jin Qingyan for instance. An Xiaoning used to be puzzled about why she could not read his fortune and only realized muchter that it was because he was a descendant of the Dragon. She was another example herself. Her precise fortune-telling ability did not merely stem from the remarkable skills that her master had imparted to her but also because she was extraordinary. Furthermore, the fact that she was psychic proved her to be nothing near ordinary. If there were no extraordinary persons amongst the Xu family bloodline, the chances of her being a descendant of theirs would be much slimmer. ¡±Do you mean extraordinary abilities?¡± ¡°Yes. For example, any supernatural and absurd abilities?¡± Shaking her head, Madam Xu said, ¡°If you¡¯re talking about supernatural abilities, I doubt there are any. Everyone in the Xu family is an ordinary person. Besides, I don¡¯t believe in the existence of supernatural beings and entities.¡± An Xiaoning begged to differ. ¡°Just because you don¡¯t believe in its existence and it doesn¡¯t ur to the people around you, doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s non-existent. Humans are constantly affected and influenced by the people around them since the day they are born. We are constantly imbued with so-called knowledge and ideologies. But aren¡¯t all of these simply figments of human creation? I think anything can happen in this vast universe, and there are many mysteries science has yet to prove. There will definitely be the presence of extraordinary elements. Madam Xu, I don¡¯t know why, but I have a hunch that I¡¯m not the daughter you¡¯re looking for even though I share the same birthday as her and was abandoned when I was an infant too. So, don¡¯t get your hopes up too high.¡± Madam Xu felt a tinge of disappointment upon hearing her words. ¡°It¡¯s alright, even if you¡¯re not our daughter, I¡¯ll still continue searching for her. I believe that we will find her one day as long as we don¡¯t give up.¡± ¡°I hope the results of the testter are promising. After taking a close look at your features, I still feel that you do resemble me a little, Ms. An,¡± Madam Xu continued. ¡°Is that so? Maybe just a little. But then again, there are also many people who resemble each other in this world. Take thoseizens for example. Some of them could seriously pass off as the siblings of celebrities. So, it¡¯s not too big of a deal that we look alike.¡± ¡°Ms. An, why does it sound like... you¡¯re not that keen on bing a part of our family? I know we let you down in the past, especially for what Youran has done to you... but, Ms. An, it won¡¯t happen again. Rest assured, we¡¯ve already berated Youran sternly.¡± Chapter 488 - The Secret About the Past (106)

Chapter 488: The Secret About the Past (106)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°How should I exin this? Hmm, I just find that all the matches in description are purely coincidental,¡± said An Xiaoning, voicing her thought. Madam Xu smiled and said, ¡°We¡¯ll know after the results are out.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± This time, they again chose to run the tests with two separate centers. Everyone was filled with anxiety while waiting for the results of the test conducted using their hair samples. Needless to say, the Xu family hoped that the results would prove An Xiaoning to be part of them. On the other hand, An Xiaoning prayed fervently that the results would prove otherwise. After several hours, the results they had all been waiting for anxiously were finally out. An Xiaoning felt a huge sense of relief the moment the results from the first center were out. She was proven to be biologically unrted to the Xu family and was not their daughter. The results from the second center were identical. Madam Xu refused to ept the truth. Although she had already prepared herself mentally beforehand, she could not help but feel utterly disappointed the moment they received the results. ¡°That can¡¯t be right, Ms. An. I once consulted the Reverend and he said that although my daughter¡¯s birth characters were inauspicious, she¡¯s fated to enjoy a fortunate life. There may be some ws in her life, but the other aspects would make up for it. I was told that she¡¯s very lucky and is popr with the opposite gender. Her spouse is devoted to her and dotes on her fairly. You fit all of these descriptions. How could it be that you¡¯re not my daughter?¡± Madam Xu asked in bewilderment, holding An Xiaoning¡¯s hands tightly. An Xiaoning gazed at her and said, ¡°Madam Xu, everything that you described really does sound like me. But, the truth is that I¡¯m not your biological daughter. I would¡¯ve really thought that I was too, if it weren¡¯t for this DNA test. I¡¯m very sorry, though.¡± Madam Xu burst into tears and stumbled sideways unsteadily while Military Commander Xu hurriedly held onto her. An Xiaoning bowed down to Madam Xu courteously before saying, ¡°I¡¯ve never thought of searching for my biological parents before in the past. But I¡¯ve now decided to begin doing so. Perhaps, they¡¯re also searching for me continuously like you guys are.¡± She turned around and left. Madam Xu stared at her silhouette with tears flowing freely from her eyes. ¡°I really wonder if I¡¯ll get to see my daughter again before I die,¡± shemented. ¡°You definitely will,¡± Military Commander Xuforted her, holding back his tears. An Xiaoning was filled with thoughts about her biological parents while she was driving home. She was indeed affected by Madam Xu, who seemed to be missing her daughter dearly. She constantly wondered if her own parents were that worried about her too. If she had also been separated from her parents for a simr reason, shouldn¡¯t she find out the truth? Upon arriving home, she had her dinner and proceeded to tell Jin Qingyan about the ideas she had in mind. Jin Qingyan fully supported her decision to search for her biological parents. ¡°Shixin, go settle the matter about the DNA gic database. It¡¯d be easier when we can get the police to help process the gic matches.¡± ¡°Yes, Young Madam.¡± After much thought, An Xiaoning said, ¡°I¡¯ll make a trip down to my adoptive parents¡¯ ce tomorrow. Although I don¡¯t quite want to, it¡¯d be better to find out more from them.¡± ¡°Let me apany you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. Go back to the office and resume your duties. Let Shixin follow you,¡± An Xiaoning said firmly. ¡°Alright.¡± Jin Qingyan tucked her hair behind her ear and said, ¡°The Xu family got their hopes up for nothing. They must be thinking of how to make it up to you and atone for their misdeeds had it turned out that you were really their daughter. Yet, it turns out that you¡¯re not. Xu Youran will definitely be over the moon.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care if she¡¯s happy or not, but I¡¯m certain that she won¡¯t be able tough anymore one day.¡± ¡°How are you so sure?¡± ¡°A leopard never changes its spots.¡± Jin Qingyan stared at her and pinched her cheek. ¡°Don¡¯t be so serious, give me a smile.¡± An Xiaoningy on hisp and said, ¡°I really feel like going to live in the woods where no one knows me for a while. Oh, by the way.¡± She sat up straight to look at Jin Qingyan solemnly before continuing, ¡°I once went to live in the mountains with a noble Master for a month. He was really incredible though. Not only could he tell that you were still alive, he even said that your family was a descendant of the Dragon. Did you know?¡± Jin Qingyan squinted and asked, ¡°Descendant of the Dragon?¡± ¡°Seems like you didn¡¯t know.¡± An Xiaoning then exined the entire process of her moving in with the elderly man and the reason why she did so. She also told him what the elderly man said as well as the incident of the missing wooden house. Jin Qingyan fell silent after hearing her story. ¡°I suddenly thought of something which might aid you in finding your parents. Since you can¡¯t read my fortune and yours, that just means we¡¯re both extraordinary people, ording to what you just said. That also means that your parents are definitely extraordinary. Maybe they¡¯re just the same as you and you must¡¯ve inherited your psychic traits from them. So, perhaps it¡¯d be faster to find them with this information. Now that we¡¯re at this, I¡¯m suddenly worried about our son...¡± ¡°Yiheng shares the same birthday as me. He was born on the 15th of July at 8:46 PM. But I haven¡¯t observed anything special about him so far. Now that I think about it, Yiheng would definitely possess supernatural abilities since we¡¯re both non-ordinary. I¡¯ve never tried to read his fortune though. Will you allow me to?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and tried to read Jin Yiheng¡¯s fortune. However, she could not manage to, no matter how hard she tried. Noticing the look of dismay on her face, Jin Qingyan asked, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s just like us?¡± ¡°Yeah, I can¡¯t read his fortune.¡± Jin Qingyan lowered his voice and said, ¡°Let¡¯s keep this a secret between us. No one else is to hear about this.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡ª Xu Youran broke into smiles after hanging up the phone. ¡°What¡¯s the joyous asion?¡± Gu Dongcheng asked, staring at her with a book in his hand. ¡°An Xiaoning is back. My mother brought her to conduct a DNA test and it turns out that she¡¯s not their biological daughter. I¡¯ve really scared myself for nothing.¡± ¡°There were so many coincidences. Yet, she turned out not to be their daughter? Could it be that you bribed the staff at the DNA center?¡± Gu Dongcheng asked. ¡°Screw you, I didn¡¯t bribe them. It¡¯s great that she really isn¡¯t their daughter. But what pisses me off is that she actually survived so many ordeals. Just how kind of a deed did she do in her past life to enjoy such great fortune now? Not only does she have nine lives, she even managed to get herself a husband like Jin Qingyan who¡¯s so devoted to her. It really saddens me to think about it,¡± said Xu Youran, lying down in bed. ¡°What are you sad about? Don¡¯t I treat you well enough?¡± ¡°You do, but you don¡¯t give me your all. You don¡¯t love me enough to sacrifice your life for me.¡± Gu Dongcheng was speechless. ¡°How many men in this world could possibly do that?¡± ¡°That¡¯s precisely why it¡¯s rare and precious. Now that your brother and sister-inw have made it back safely, your brother definitely wouldn¡¯t let the matter about the airne rest.¡± ¡°It¡¯s up to him to do whatever he wants. There¡¯s not much he can find out anyway.¡± ¡°He may not be able to find out anything, but don¡¯t spill any clues at all. Be cautious at all times,¡± said Xu Youran. Chapter 489 - The Secret About the Past (107)

Chapter 489: The Secret About the Past (107)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Do you think I need you to teach me what to do?¡± Gu Dongcheng hissed before putting the book away and reaching a hand inside her pajamas. ¡°I¡¯m not getting any younger, and neither are you. We¡¯re both married too. It¡¯s time we bear a child. You¡¯ll be at higher risk if you choose to wait another few years and give birth at an older age.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to give birth to a child. Women tend to gain weight and develop poorer skin conditions when they¡¯re pregnant. I don¡¯t want to be hideous.¡± ¡°You can always just lose the extra weight. I don¡¯t mind you being chubbier anyway. Besides, I can¡¯t be childless. What do you think?¡± said Gu Dongcheng, giving her a pinch. ¡°But I don¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll just have to find another woman to bear me a child then.¡± ¡°How dare you!¡± Xu Youran snapped. ¡°Why not? Since you don¡¯t want to bear me a child, why can¡¯t I look for another woman to do it? It¡¯s not like you¡¯re infertile, you just don¡¯t want to. Am I supposed to remain childless for the rest of my life?¡± Xu Youran rolled her eyes and said, ¡°I was just making a casual remark. Did you take me for real? I don¡¯t want to end up being childless either. Although I really don¡¯t want to go through pregnancy, we have to give birth to a child no matter what, be it a girl or a boy.¡± The tension on Gu Dongcheng¡¯s face finally eased up as he answered, ¡°That¡¯s more like it. If you really n on not bearing me a child for the rest of our lives, I would¡¯ve married you for nothing.¡± Xu Youran kissed him and said, ¡°I want to bear you a child. Let¡¯s do it right now. From today onwards, let¡¯s stop taking any contraceptive measures until I fall pregnant, alright?¡± ¡°You said it yourself,¡± said Gu Dongcheng, grinning from ear to ear. ¡°Yes...¡± ¡ª The next morning, An Xiaoning drove to the vige near the mountains and river together with her bodyguards. She alighted from the car to ask the vigers about her adoptive parents, only to find that the business they set up a few years ago had failed. Thus, they ended up having to pay arge sum ofpensation. They initially nned to buy a house in the city but had no choice but to move back to the vige and rebuild a house because they could not afford the expensive property in the city. Their son got marriedst year and are getting on pretty well, except An Xiaoning¡¯s adoptive mother constantly got into arguments with her daughter-inw. Of course they would live well with the two million dors they took from An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning was not emotionally attached to her adoptive parents at all. She would never bother stepping foot into the vige again if it weren¡¯t because she wanted to know more about what happened when she was abandoned as an infant. She brought her three bodyguards to the entrance of the newly-built home and entered. The moment she stepped foot inside the yard, she could hear sounds of an ongoingmotioning from inside. ¡°If you think it¡¯s dirty, why don¡¯t you cook it yourself? You¡¯re toozy to cook your own meals and yet you still want toin. Seriously.¡± ¡°Since you built this house for me, shouldn¡¯t you and Father move out of here? Why are you so insistent on living with us and getting in our way!?!¡± a voice, clearly belonging to the daughter-inw, hollered. ¡°The money used to build this house came from us, not Xiaonan. Don¡¯t think the house has be yours just because you married Xiaonan. You¡¯ve been married to him for less than two years and you¡¯re already thinking of chasing us out. Dream on!¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning stood rooted to the ground in bewilderment. She waited for the argument to be over before entering the living room. Both Mrs. An and her daughter-inw were dumbfounded to see An Xiaoning. ¡°Xiaoning?¡± Mrs. An questioned in astonishment. An Xiaoning stepped forward and said, ¡°I¡¯m here to ask you about something.¡± ¡°Come in first,¡± said Mrs. An as she turned around to enter the house. It was the first time An Xiaonan¡¯s wife was seeing An Xiaoning in the flesh. She was aware that her husband had a sister with whom he had lost touch. ¡°Sis, please take a seat,¡± she offered politely, knowing fully that An Xiaoning was a person of status. The greeting rolled off her tongue smoothly, as if she had already rehearsed it countless times before. An Xiaoning did not respond and asked Mrs. An straight away, ¡°Where¡¯s... Uncle?¡± Needless to say, she would never address him as ¡°Father¡± again. ¡°He went to the field. He should be back soon.¡± Mrs. An quickly instructed her daughter-inw, ¡°Go call your father-inw toe home.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The daughter-inw hurriedly rushed out. ¡°Have you guys been getting on well the past few years?¡± An Xiaoning asked calmly. ¡°We¡¯re fine, except Xiaonan has gotten married and I¡¯m always arguing with my daughter-inw. We just don¡¯t see eye to eye.¡± ¡°I heard everything when I was at the door outside. Since you don¡¯t enjoy living here, why don¡¯t you build another house? You¡¯ll be morefortable that way.¡± ¡°Xiaonan is my only son. Besides, this house is so big and there are so many rooms. It¡¯s more than enough for the two of them. Xiaonan always reads about you on the news. You¡¯re more famous than a celebrity. I heard you got divorced and married again,¡± said Mrs. An. ¡°Yes.¡± Refusing to discuss her personal life with Mrs. An, An Xiaoning cut to the chase and said, ¡°I came back this time with the main purpose of asking you about the exact details of what happened when you adopted me. I¡¯m nning to search for my biological parents. I won¡¯t make you tell me for free. Rest assured, I¡¯ll be paying you a sum of money in exchange for the information.¡± Mrs. An lit up with joy upon hearing that she would be offered money. ¡°We¡¯ll tell you everything when your Unclees home,¡± Mrs. An said excitedly. ¡°Okay,¡± An Xiaoning agreed. Less than twenty minutester, Mr. An returned, appearing to have rushed back home. So did An Xiaonan, who was working in another vige. They used to be a family of four. However, they werepletely unrted to each other. ¡°Sis, I missed you,¡± An Xiaonan eximed. An Xiaoning acknowledged him with a nod, feeling slightly heartened even though she did not know if he truly meant it or not. She then repeated everything she told Mrs. An, after which Mr. An said, ¡°I saw you along the roadside back then and you were wrapped inside a nket. I took pity on you and decided to bring you home with me.¡± ¡°Were there any special items inside the nket?¡± ¡°No, there was nothing at all, not even a single piece of paper.¡± Feeling a little disappointed, An Xiaoning continued to ask, ¡°What color was the towel?¡± ¡°It was a white-colored nket that was rather thin. You were dumped along the streets while wrapped inside the nket without any clothes at all. Your hands were sticking out of the nket, and your face and lips were almost purplish due to the freezing temperature. Hubby, it was the day after a heavy storm, right?¡± Mrs. An answered. After trying to recall what happened back then, Mr. An said, ¡°It¡¯s already been so many years. How could I possibly remember so clearly? But I remember it was freezing that day.¡± ¡°Yeah. Anyway, it was really cold that day. If it weren¡¯t for us, you would¡¯ve frozen to death on the streets. When we brought you home, you were so hungry that you didn¡¯t even have the energy to bawl. I then got your uncle to buy some milk form to feed you. Xiaoning, you¡¯ve now be a person of status and wealth. To be frank, those two million dors you gave us are just peanuts to you. Although it¡¯s true that your uncle and I didn¡¯t exactly treat you very well when you were young, we didn¡¯t starve you or subject you to poor living conditions either. We even raised you for a few years. We may have sent you to live in the mountains afterward, but...¡± Mrs. An did not know what else to say next. ¡°I know. Other than that, are there any more special features about the nket?¡± Mr. and Mrs. An shook their heads in unison and said, ¡°No.¡± Seemed like she had made a wasted trip today. Chapter 490 - The Secret About the Past (108)

Chapter 490: The Secret About the Past (108)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Noticing the look of disappointment on her face, Mrs. An stood up all of a sudden and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go check if the nket is still around.¡± Mr. An really did manage to find the old nket from the bottom of the closet. She showed it to An Xiaoning happily and said, ¡°This was the nket wrapped around you back then. I kept it because I found that the fabric seemed to be of superior quality. I could tell that it was expensive with just one nce.¡± An Xiaoning reached out to take the nket from her and nodded in acknowledgment. ¡°I¡¯m taking this with me,¡± she said. She then took out two wads of cash from her purse and said, ¡°Here¡¯s 20 thousand dors, take it. I¡¯m leaving now.¡± Mrs. An hurriedly epted it. An Xiaoning left with the nket, and the An family watched as her car vanished gradually. ¡°Mother-inw and Father-inw, you guys have such poor foresight. How could you mistreat such a capable daughter and send her to live in the mountains? If you hadn¡¯t done that, both of you would be enjoying a luxurious life now. Xiaonan and I would be able to livefortably too. Look how youthful and radiant she looks. She¡¯s almost 30 years old but she looks even younger than me,¡± An Xiaonan¡¯s wife remarked, green with envy. ¡°If that had really happened, do you really think we¡¯d have let Xiaonan marry you? There¡¯d have been a long line of women waiting to marry him and your turn would have nevere,¡± Mrs. An scoffed. An Xiaonan¡¯s wife turned around and left. Mrs. An humphed andmented, ¡°I really regret sending her away.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the point of regretting it now? Don¡¯t dwell on it any further. We¡¯ve long cut ties with her,¡± said Mr. An, who was standing beside her. ¡°Yeah...¡± ¡ª After a long night of dreams, Ling Ciye woke up at almost eight o¡¯clock in the morning. The aroma of a delicious breakfast wafted up to his nose. He put on his clothes in an orderly manner and proceeded to freshen up. He came out of the bedroom to see that there was a sumptuous breakfast spread on the dining table. Ever since he began cohabiting with Jin Qingyue, she had been preparing breakfast for him every morning. Although she did not have the best culinary skills, she had her own style of cooking. He knew that she had never known how to cook but decided to pick it up for his sake. On several asions, he¡¯d chanced upon the sight of her reading through cooking recipes while lying in bed. He could feel her efforts and sincerity. ¡°Good morning, Brother Ciye,¡± Jin Qingyue greeted him while exiting from the kitchen with the ss of milk. ¡°Good morning.¡± Jin Qingyue had her hair tied up into a half-ponytail. She removed her apron and sat down opposite him. Both of them remained silent while having breakfast. Halfway into the meal, Ling Ciye spoke up. ¡°Do we have any ns for today?¡± ¡°I made an appointment with a five-star chef yesterday and I¡¯m going to begin culinary lessons with him today. I used to find cooking such a hassle, but I¡¯ve recently developed a sudden liking toward it.¡± ¡°I was just thinking of suggesting to you that we hire a servant if you find cooking too troublesome.¡± Jin Qingyue waved and refuted, ¡°It¡¯s alright, I don¡¯t have much to do since I¡¯m unemployed. It¡¯s not good to be idling about every day either. Don¡¯t stop me now that I¡¯ve actually found a hobby I like.¡± ¡°Alright then. Since you enjoy cooking, I¡¯ll support you fully.¡± ¡°Ever since you agreed to try dating me, I surprisingly fell in love with cooking after the first time I cooked for you. Brother Ciye, I know you¡¯re a picky eater and have better culinary skills than I do, but being able to cook for you makes me so happy. Whenever it gets closer to the time that you¡¯re about toe home in the evening, it seems... it seems I would get exceptionally excited and ted,¡± she said, staring at him intently. Ling Ciye nodded, feeling rather moved by her heartfelt effort. For the past few days, he had been going home early and returning homete. Yet, the lights would always be on at home. He was heartened to know that he would always have a woman toe home to. They smiled at each other and began digging in. Ling Ciye left for work after breakfast while Jin Qingyue proceeded to wash the dishes. She then applied some makeup and went downstairs with her car keys and purse. She rarely cooked or did the dishes ever since she was young. Neither had she ever done any household chores. However, ever since they began dating officially, she was more than willing to do them for the sake of bing his better half. Perhaps she truly had fallen for him. Although she knew that it was not love yet, her feelings for him were genuine. Ever since they were young, she had always had a good impression of him. Thus, it did not take much for her to begin seeing him in a romantic light. She arrived at the kitchen of the five-star hotel. The first thing she learned was the proper way of cutting vegetables under the guidance of the top chef. After practicing for the entire afternoon, she finally picked up some skills. During noontime, she received a sudden call from Ling Ciye¡¯s mother. In her memory, she had never received any calls from Mrs. Ling and only met her a few times before. The very few asions when Mrs. Ling was present included her wedding, the time when she gave birth to Bao¡¯er, as well as during a meal at the hotel. Although Jin Qingyue was not surprised that Mrs. Ling had her mobile number, she nheless could not help but feel nervous upon receiving a sudden call from thetter. ¡°Hello, Auntie.¡± ¡°Qingyue, do you have time now to grab some coffee?¡± ¡°Yes... yes, I do,¡± she stammered nervously. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be waiting for you at XX Caf¨¦.¡± After ending the call, Jin Qingyue took out her cosmetic products from her purse to touch up her makeup and tidy her hair before driving to the caf¨¦ to meet Mrs. Ling. She had a hunch that Mrs. Ling had something to say to her by randomly asking her out. Could it be that she wanted to talk about our rtionship? Did Brother Ciye tell her about it? she wondered. When Jin Qingyue arrived at the caf¨¦, she remained in the car to ponder for a while before finally alighting. The 56-year-old Mrs. Ling had fair, porcin skin with barely any wrinkles on her face, looking much younger than her actual age. Jin Qingyue took the seat opposite hers while the waiter served the two cups of coffee they ordered. After thanking the waiter, Jin Qingyue asked Mrs. Ling, ¡°Auntie, why did you call me all of a sudden?¡± Mrs. Ling put on a courteous smile and said, ¡°Qingyue, I heard some rumors about Ciye cohabiting with you now. Are they true?¡± Jin Qingyue was reminded of the promise she made to Ling Ciye about keeping their rtionship secret for now. Her face stiffened with awkwardness, after which she answered, ¡°Auntie, where did you hear those false rumors from?¡± ¡°Are you denying it?¡± Mrs. Ling asked, heaving a sigh of relief. ¡°I¡¯m currently living with my brother in Wei Ni Estate. Brother Ciye has an apartment there too, which he has been living in recently. Sometimes, we¡¯d have a meal or some drinks together at my brother¡¯s ce.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. I heard that Ciye and Song Yan have broken up, that¡¯s why I thought...¡± Mrs. Ling said in a moment of epiphany. She suddenly paused in her speech and continued awkwardly, ¡°I thought he would be upset and depressed for some time. But seems like he¡¯s doing fine since he often gathers and chats with you guys.¡± A sullen expression formed on Jin Qingyue¡¯s face, for she could tell what Mrs. Ling wanted to say earlier. She was trying to imply that beggars can¡¯t be choosers and that¡¯s why Ling Ciye would settle for her, wasn¡¯t she? Noticing that she was remaining silent, Mrs. Ling picked up her coffee mug to take a sip before saying, ¡°Qingyue, you¡¯re 28 years old, right? It¡¯s tough being a single parent. It¡¯s time you find a partner for yourself.¡± Chapter 491 - The Secret About the Past (109)

Chapter 491: The Secret About the Past (109)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I¡¯ll be despised by men for being a divorcee and a single mother.¡± ¡°It¡¯s already the 21st century, it¡¯s way toomon for people to find another partner after they¡¯re divorced. Don¡¯t let the social stigma of being a divorcee hinder you from pursuing your happiness. Uncle and I don¡¯t mind those at all,¡± Mrs. Ling said smilingly. Upon hearing her words, Jin Qingyue said, ¡°Auntie, will you and Uncle really be willing to ept it if Ciye gets into a rtionship with a divorced single mother?¡± The smile on Mrs. Ling¡¯s face faded. ¡°Ciye? I doubt he¡¯d do that.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you understand your Brother Ciye well enough? He¡¯s always been arrogant and prideful. I was puzzled when I first heard the rumors about you two and I found it really hard to believe. That¡¯s why I decided toe and ask you about it. After hearing your answer, I¡¯m assured that I can trust his taste.¡± ¡°Auntie, so you think it¡¯s okay for anyone else to be in a rtionship with a divorced single mother so long as it doesn¡¯t concern you, but you and Uncle wouldn¡¯t hear of it if it were to happen to your son, is that so?¡± ¡°Um...¡± Mrs. Ling smiled wryly and said, ¡°Qingyue, it¡¯s not that I discriminate against divorced women like you, I just think that such an outstanding man like your Brother Ciye ought to find a better woman who¡¯spatible with him. Besides, I wouldn¡¯t allow my son to be someone else¡¯s stepfather even if he¡¯s willing to do so. But not all mothers share the same mentality as I do. Qingyue, you¡¯ll definitely find a man who dotes on you, don¡¯t worry.¡± Jin Qingyue¡¯s spirits were greatly dampened. At this moment, she felt as if Mrs. Ling has already eliminated her as a potential daughter-inw simply because she was once married and had a child. After Mrs. Ling left, Jin Qingyue continued to sit there alone and finished her coffee before leaving the caf¨¦. ¡ª An Xiaoning brought the nket to the most prestigious textile store in the city and asked about which fabric the nket was made of. After taking a look at the nket, the textile designer stared at An Xiaoning in astonishment and said, ¡°Mrs. Jin, we don¡¯t sell such fabric on the market.¡± ¡°Why not? Has it been discontinued?¡± ¡°No, such fabric is specially imported and only people from the Autumn Pce are allowed to use them. I¡¯m afraid even a person of high status like you may not be allowed to enjoy such fabric, Mrs. Jin. May I ask how you got hold of this nket?¡± A look of bewilderment formed on An Xiaoning¡¯s face. ¡°I picked it up somewhere by ident. I realized that it was of superior quality and thus decided to show it to you.¡± An Xiaoning remained silent when she returned inside the car. Everyone knew what the Autumn Pce was. It was the present-day presidential pce. An Xiaoning looked down at the white-colored nket, which was rather small and barely enough to wrap around a newborn. This very piece of fabric gave her many ideas that she dared not imagine. Since time immemorial, ces like the Autumn Pce were full of tricks and hidden schemes. It had never urred to her that she would one day be rted to such a ce. Neither had she ever thought of reuniting with her biological parents in the past. However, she was now rather eager to find them. That¡¯s how peculiar humanity is. As soon as she returned home, she sat on her bed and began searching for information online regarding the Autumn Pce. However, she could not seem to find any personal information other than the official news released about the pce. Evidently, no one ever dared to discuss about the ce, and even if anyone did, any relevant data and forums would definitely have been removed from the inte. There were far too many personnel within the pce, thus making it a tall order to find out who her parents were. An Xiaoning felt as if her path was being obstructed by a massive mountain. She was perplexed and did not have a single clue about how she should start searching for them. ¡°Sis,¡± Mei Yangyang greeted, popping her head into the bedroom through the crack of the door. ¡°Yes? You¡¯re here, Yangyang.¡± Mei Yangyang strode in and asked, ¡°What are you thinking about? You seem so engrossed in your thoughts.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been rather troubledtely. Yangyang, I¡¯d like to start searching for my biological parents.¡± ¡°Sis, didn¡¯t you say earlier that you don¡¯t want to look for them anymore? Why have you suddenly...¡± ¡°Because it just so happens that I share the exact same birth date as the Xu family¡¯s long-lost daughter, and Madam Xu asked me to carry out a DNA test previously. In the end, the results proved that I wasn¡¯t their daughter. The moment I saw Madam Xu bawling in agony and her endless determination to find her daughter, I realized that perhaps my parents had an underlying reason for abandoning me. Maybe they¡¯re also constantly searching for me like how Madam Xu is searching for her daughter. Yangyang, do you think that¡¯s possible?¡± An Xiaoning exined. ¡°Yes, anything¡¯s possible before the truth is finalized. Sis, I support your decision. Go ahead and search for them. Sis, where do you n to start, though?¡± Mei Yangyang asked. An Xiaoning looked at her solemnly and said, ¡°Yangyang, I went back to my adoptive parents¡¯ ce today and they told me that there was only a white nket wrapped around me when they first picked me up. I went to the textile store with the nket, and guess what the textile designer told me.¡± ¡°What did he say? Sis, tell me, quick.¡± ¡°He said that such fabric is priceless and not sold on the market at all, because only those who belong to the Autumn Pce are allowed to wear them.¡± ¡°You mean the royals?¡± Mei Yangyang asked in astonishment. ¡°Yes. Since it¡¯s not sold on the market, I doubt ordinary people are allowed to use such fabric. It must¡¯ve belonged to the Majesties.¡± Mei Yangyang was shocked beyond words. ¡°Sis, could you be...¡± An Xiaoning hushed her and said, ¡°We can¡¯t deduce anything without any evidence. Remember, don¡¯t tell anyone else about this other than Tianze.¡± ¡°That goes without saying. You can trust me, Sis,¡± said Mei Yangyang, patting her own chest. ¡°I really don¡¯t know where to begin searching for my family. The pce is not somewhere we can enter freely.¡± ¡°Sis, we may not be allowed to enter the pce freely, but it¡¯s not impossible if you try toe up with another solution. Don¡¯t forget, you still have the human skin mask. You can just try sneaking in as a servant. But Sis, I doubt you¡¯d have the time to do that since you¡¯re so busytely,¡± said Mei Yangyang. An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°Let me think about it carefully.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡ª Not wanting Mr. and Mrs. Gu to be worried, Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi decided not to tell them about the mishaps they¡¯d met with in M Nation. They appeared rather rxed and at ease while gathering around the dining table during dinner, as if nothing had happened at all. ¡°Mingxi, do you have any ns for the future now that you sold your shares in thepany?¡± asked Mrs. Gu. ¡°Yes, Mother, I¡¯m nning to open arge-scale fitness center and also invest in a television drama with Xiaoning. But none of these are set in stone yet. Xiaoning has already agreed though. We¡¯ll be partners if she¡¯s interested.¡± ¡°I think that¡¯s a good idea. Xiaoning made a huge sum from investing in the movie previously. You¡¯ll be in safe hands by following her,¡± Mrs. Gu said in utmost approval. Lin Mingxi took a casual nce at Xu Youran before saying to Mrs. Gu smilingly, ¡°Mother, I admire Xiaoning more and more nowadays. It¡¯s really a blessing for the Xu family to have her as your Goddaughter, Father and Mother.¡± Chapter 492 - The Secret About the Past (110)

Chapter 492: The Secret About the Past (110)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mrs. Gu nodded with a smile and said, ¡°Yeah, I think so too.¡± Xu Youran subconsciously gave Lin Mingxi the side-eye and continued to eat her food quietly. After the meal, Lin Mingxi¡¯s phone began to ring all of a sudden. It was a call from the Lin family¡¯s butler, who informed her that Lin Mingyuan and her husband had got into a heated argument with her parents. Lin Mingxi and Gu Beicheng then drove back to the Lin family home to check up on the situation. Just as they reached the door, they heard Lin Mingyuan hollering at the top of her lungs. It must have been a grave situation since the argument seemed rather austere. As soon as she entered, Lin Mingxi red at Lin Mingyuan and bellowed, ¡°You know that Mother¡¯s in poor health, yet you¡¯re still arguing with her. Are you trying to drive her to her grave!?!¡± ¡°You came home just at the right time. Saves me the trouble of calling you here! Father and Mother helped you sell your shares to thepany without my permission, and you guys have been hiding it from me all along. Because of that, we¡¯re faced with financial difficulties because there aren¡¯t sufficient funds in thepany! Yes, you may be their biological daughter while I¡¯m just an adopted nobody! But how am I supposed to deal with the situation now that thepany is stuck in a rut!?!¡± Mrs. Lin flew into an uncontroble rage and snapped in exasperation, ¡°Thepany belongs to your Father and me. You and your sister own the same portion of shares each, yet you keep discriminating and making life hard for her while she¡¯s at the office. One of you wants thepany while the other wants money. I know you¡¯re eyeing thepany, and since you can¡¯t tolerate your sister being in the office, what¡¯s wrong with her selling her portion of the shares? Why? Are you thinking of pocketing Mingxi¡¯s shares too? Mingyuan, I didn¡¯t act before asking for your opinion, you were the one who chose this yourself. Besides, you may just sell thepany if it¡¯s facing financial difficulties. Your Father and I don¡¯t have the energy to manage it anymore. Since we don¡¯t have any sons, thepany will belong to the two of you sooner orter!¡± Lin Mingxi thought that Lin Mingyuan was aware of the matter, but it seemed her parents had been keeping it from her and she had just found out about it. No wonder the procedure went so smoothly. Indeed, Lin Mingyuan wouldn¡¯t have agreed to it had she known earlier. She would have definitelyshed out at Lin Mingxi if that were the case. After all, thepany still belonged to Mr. and Mrs. Lin. Although they had already handed over the management duties to their daughter, they still had some say in thepany¡¯s matters. ¡°Lin Mingyuan!¡± Lin Mingxi simply could not bring herself to call her her sister again. ¡°I own half of thepany¡¯s shares. I¡¯ve taken what¡¯s mine, and there¡¯s no way I¡¯m giving it back because it¡¯s what I¡¯m entitled to. I won¡¯t talk about how you used to pocket my share of thepany¡¯s revenue back when I was working as a fitness trainer at the gym. I should at least be receiving some interest. At the end of the day, both of our shares still belong to Father and Mother. Do you know how much money your shares are worth? How dare you still raise your voice at Father and Mother!?! Who do you think you are!?!¡± ¡°Since Father and Mother are so biased toward you, just take care of them yourself,¡± Lin Mingyuan scoffed. ¡°Since you¡¯ve already said that, could you still have the cheek to covet Father and Mother¡¯s assets? Why don¡¯t you just return everything? That¡¯s what you ought to do. Do you know how shameless you are to have said that?¡± Pointing a finger at Lin Mingxi, Lin Mingyuan hissed, ¡°The ownership of thepany has already been transferred to me. From now onwards, we¡¯re no longer sisters. And you two...¡± She then pointed at Mr. and Mrs. Lin and continued, ¡°We¡¯re no longer parent and child. I¡¯m severing ties with all of you! You two can rely on Lin Mingxi to be filial toward you!¡± ¡°You, get lost now! Get lost!¡± Mrs. Lin hollered, seething with exasperation. ¡°I¡¯m going to get lost right now. I¡¯m nevering back to this family ever again!¡± As soon as she finished speaking, Lin Mingxi turned around and left with her husband. Silence filled the air in the living room as the two of them left. ¡°It¡¯s all my fault. I¡¯ve put you guys in a spot,¡± Lin Mingxi apologized, hugging her parents. Mrs. Lin began crying while leaning against her shoulder. ¡°What¡¯s the point of having so much money? If I knew earlier that things woulde to this, we wouldn¡¯t have worked so hard to earn so much money. Money is the root of all sins and evil...¡± Lin Mingxi was filled with agony and regret. ¡°Father, Mother, I reckon Sis-inw must¡¯ve thought about severing ties with you guys long ago. Otherwise, it couldn¡¯t have rolled off her tongue so callously. She was probably just looking for an appropriate timing to break it to you. You still have Mingxi and me. Since you don¡¯t have a son, I¡¯ll be your son from now onwards. Mingxi and I will be filial to you,¡± Gu Beicheng said to Mr. and Mrs. Lin. His heartwarming words had touched both of them greatly. The teary-eyed Mrs. Lin nodded in acknowledgment. Lin Mingxi looked up at her husband with a look of surprise and gratitude in her eyes. They decided to spend the night in the Lin family mansion. cing both his hands behind his head while lying in bed, Gu Beicheng suggested, ¡°If you¡¯re feeling upset... why don¡¯t I sing you a song?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Gu Beicheng stared out of the window and began crooning an English song, hitting all the notes perfectly with his alluring voice. Lin Mingxi listened quietly until the end of the song. In the pitch-dark bedroom, she held his hand and said, ¡°Beicheng, humans always want what they can¡¯t have. Did you know? I used to be so envious and jealous of Xiaoning, not because of how outstanding, charming, and beautiful she is but because she could enjoy the unconditional love given by Jin Qingyan as well as your devotion towards her. But I realized muchter that her hardworking attitude and her outstanding capabilities are precisely what makes her so charming. When we were abducted in M Nation, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to locate us if I were her. Not only did she manage to find us, she even saved us from the ordeal. In that moment, I immediately understood why you couldn¡¯t forget her.¡± ¡°Mingxi...¡± ¡°Shh, let me finish my words. I aspire to be someone like her and conquer your heart someday. I won¡¯t try and rece her, but I¡¯ll do my best to be someone like her and gain your affection and admiration. I¡¯m no longer the petty person I used to be. I truly have the highest esteem and gratitude for Xiaoning now.¡± Gu Beicheng smiled and said, ¡°Mingxi, Xiaoning and I had a heart-to-heart talk when we were getting down from the ferry. She and I will forever be family while you¡¯ll always be my wife. Since I¡¯ve married you, I¡¯ll have to be responsible toward you for the rest of my life.¡± Lin Mingxi snuggled into his embrace and said, ¡°Beicheng, it¡¯s a blessing to have met and married you when we¡¯re both at a marriageable age. I guess waiting really paid off and you are worth my while. If it had been a few years ago, you definitely wouldn¡¯t have bothered paying attention to me and I would¡¯ve just ignored you too. Well, because I was still smitten with Jin Qingyan back then. But right now, it¡¯s wonderful that we¡¯re husband and wife.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go to bed,¡± said Gu Beicheng, giving her a kiss on her forehead. Chapter 493 - The Secret About the Past (111)

Chapter 493: The Secret About the Past (111)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°How was handling the duties at the office today? Did youe across any difficulties?¡± Jin Qingyan immediately said, ¡°With Shixin and your team of elites around, even an idiot can handle them well.¡± ¡°Alright, you shall manage thepany from now on. I have something else to dotely,¡± An Xiaoning said with a straight face. ¡°What is it? Searching for your biological parents?¡± An Xiaoning nodded and proceeded to tell him about the fabric. Staring at her, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°But we can¡¯t enter the pce freely.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and replied, ¡°I know, but since we have a lead now, I¡¯d like to give it a try.¡± ¡°I support your decision to look for them. But, let¡¯s do it slowly. You¡¯ll need more than just a few days to find your parents anyway. The situation at thepany is a little unstabletely, could you begin searching after everything has stabilized?¡± Thinking that his words made sense, An Xiaoning held onto his arm and asked, ¡°Do you have any ways to help me enter the pce?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll help you make the necessary arrangements when the timees.¡± ¡°How should I thank you for your help?¡± ¡°Give me a kiss,¡± said Jin Qingyan, pointing at his face. She immediately kissed him and said, ¡°I¡¯m surprised that you¡¯ve made such a simple request.¡± ¡°I like the way you are.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I like the way you are now. Xiaoning, you¡¯ve proven your capabilities to me time and time again,¡± he said, smiling. ¡°Give me an example.¡± ¡°Your business management skills. Did you pick them up yourself?¡± ¡°No, I waspelled to do it. I repeatedly told myself that I have to help you secure your business in order to deserve being your wife,¡± said An Xiaoning, staring at him. Cupping her face in his hands, Jin Qingyan closed the distance between their bodies and said, ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°What for? We¡¯re family.¡± ¡°Thank you, Heaven, for blessing me with such a good woman.¡± ¡°Qingyan, how would you punish me if I were to lie to you?¡± After a moment of silence, he answered, ¡°That¡¯ll depend on the severity of the lie. If it¡¯s a minor, white lie, I¡¯ll make sure you can¡¯t get off the bed for one whole night, one month if it¡¯s a big lie.¡± ¡°Would you like to guess how I¡¯d punish you if you lied to me? Can you guess it?¡± she asked. Jin Qingyan took a quick breath and said, ¡°What did I... lie about?¡± Noticing that he was refusing to admit it, An Xiaoning said, ¡°I¡¯m going to punish you if you still refuse to admit it.¡± ¡°Honey, I didn¡¯t lie to you...¡± An Xiaoning pushed him away and stared at him sternly while sitting cross-legged. Disappointed, she smacked his head and said, ¡°Do you take me for a fool?¡± ¡°No, I wouldn¡¯t dare to. I¡¯d rather treat you as a loony than a fool.¡± An Xiaoning bit her lip and raised her chin to stare at him. ¡°When did you regain your memory?¡± she questioned. ¡°I haven¡¯t.¡± An Xiaoning decided to expose him. ¡°Jin Qingyan, drop the pretense. Do you really think I can¡¯t tell? Before you regained your memory, you were as pure and reserved as a teenage boy. Yet, you¡¯re like a predator full of vigor and hunger right now. Don¡¯t try to put on an act, you¡¯re only asking for trouble,¡± she scorned. Jin Qingyan hugged her and said, ¡°Why are you so smart and sharp? I guess it¡¯s true that you¡¯re the product of your environment. You must¡¯ve been influenced by my brilliance after being together with me for so long.¡± ¡°Have you got any shame at all? How could you even bring yourself to say something so narcissistic?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m shameless.¡± ¡°Get away from me then. I¡¯m superficial and I have high standards for men. I¡¯m a visual creature who cares about appearance. Since you¡¯re shameless, I don¡¯t want you,¡± she hissed with a humph. ¡°An Xiaoning, how dare you tell me to go away...¡± ¡°Yeah, I did tell you to get lost, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Seems like you¡¯re asking to be punished.¡± He leaned toward the side and pinned her down beneath him. ¡°Jin Qingyan, you¡¯re crushing me!¡± ¡°Be thankful that I am. There are plenty of people vying for a chance to be in your position.¡± ¡°No...¡± ¡ª The weather was gloomy the next day. The skies were covered by gray skies, without a single ray of sun in sight. An Xiaoning was just about to make a trip down to the police station when she was told by Fan Shixin that someone was looking for her. ¡°Who is it?¡± ¡°Song Yan.¡± ¡°What is she looking for me for?¡± An Xiaoning asked in puzzlement. ¡°I don¡¯t know. She¡¯s waiting at the door.¡± ¡°Let her in.¡± An Xiaoning then instructed the servants to prepare some tea while she sat on the couch to wait for Song Yan. Two minutester, a figure dressed in pink showed up at the door. Song Yan walked toward An Xiaoning and sat down opposite her. An Xiaoning slid her a cup of tea served by the servant and said, ¡°Please have some tea.¡± ¡°Thank you, Ms. An.¡± Song Yang did not touch the tea and instead continued speaking. ¡°I know I came by all too sudden this morning, but I¡¯ve been feeling rather troubled and I have some qualms which I¡¯d like Ms. An to help answer.¡± ¡°Feel free to speak your mind. ¡± ¡°I heard Ciye mention that you¡¯ve read his fortune as well as our deceased fetus¡¯. You were indeed very urate... about the fetus. But I¡¯d like to know, are Ciye and I really not destined to be together in this life?¡± An Xiaoning looked at her and asked, ¡°Since you¡¯vee to ask me about this, that just means you haven¡¯t gotten over him, have you?¡± ¡°Please answer me, Ms. An.¡± An Xiaoning chuckled and said, ¡°I don¡¯t just answer anyone¡¯s questions. I¡¯ve heard a little about your rtionship with Mr. Ling. Actually, haven¡¯t you heard of this saying?¡± ¡°What saying?¡± ¡°People who often mention breaking up or getting a divorce way too casually usually won¡¯t make it ¡¯til the end. Threatening to end your rtionship is arge taboo between lovers. Don¡¯t think it wouldn¡¯t matter just because you only said it a few times. It might juste true one day if you keep threatening to break up every now and then,¡± said An Xiaoning, taking a sip out of her teacup. ¡°Ms. An, what does it take to make you tell me? I¡¯d really like to know the answer,¡± Song Yan pleaded anxiously. ¡°One million dors. Ms. Song, I don¡¯t know you well enough to do it for free. Reading the marriage prospects of others is detrimental to my health. Although I¡¯m not short of cash, I can¡¯t do it for you without a cost either,¡± said An Xiaoning, staring at her. ¡°A million dors? Must it be so expensive?¡± Song Yan asked in astonishment. ¡°Ms. Song, you can¡¯t be expecting me to read your fortune for free, can you? Mr. Ling is a very close friend of ours. But since you two aren¡¯t a couple anymore and I don¡¯t know you very well either, I can at most consider you to be an acquaintance. Under normal circumstances, I¡¯d usually be reluctant to read others¡¯ fortunes. Why can¡¯t I ask for something in return when you¡¯ve even had the cheek to think of getting me to read your fortune for free?¡± ¡°Can I pay by card?¡± Song Yan asked with a sullen expression on her face. ¡°Sure, I have everything at home.¡± An Xiaoning gestured for Auntie Chen toe forth and instructed her, ¡°Bring the card reader here.¡± ¡°Alright, Young Madam.¡± Auntie Chen returned with the card reader, after which Song Yan took out her bank debit card and swiped it along the reader. ¡°It¡¯s done, can you tell me now?¡± Song Yan asked impatiently. An Xiaoning stared at her solemnly and said, ¡°I don¡¯t like the tone you¡¯re using to speak to me. Why don¡¯t I refund you your money and just not read your fortune anymore?¡± Knowing that An Xiaoning was not in need of money, Song Yan had no choice but to mellow her tone reluctantly in a bid to find out the answer to her burning question. Chapter 494 - The Secret About the Past (112)

Chapter 494:

The Secret About the Past (112)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Ms. An, I¡¯m not in a good mood. Thus, I may sound a little impatient. Please don¡¯t take it to heart.¡± ¡°Tell me your birth characters again. I still remember Mr. Ling¡¯s clearly but I¡¯ve already forgotten yours,¡± An Xiaoning inquired. ¡°Alright.¡± Song Yan then told An Xiaoning her birth characters and timing of birth. ¡°Ms. Song, you and Mr. Ling don¡¯t have a future together. Don¡¯t bother clinging onto any hopes of getting back together anymore.¡± ¡°Did you only say that because Ciye is dating your sister-inw?¡± Her words had infuriated An Xiaoning, who retorted, ¡°Since you¡¯re so doubtful, why did you even bother looking me up?¡± Song Yan was at a loss for words. ¡°Is it really impossible between us?¡± ¡°Yes, impossible.¡± ¡°How about him and Jin Qingyue?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but this is a separate matter that I can¡¯t divulge. Do you have any more questions pertaining to yourself?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Will I have a blissful marriage in the future?¡± An Xiaoning was not sure how she should answer her question. Although she would always speak the truth, she felt that it¡¯d be better to sugar-coat the truth and tell a white lie. However, she could not risk tarnishing her reputation as an urate and honest fortune-teller. She began to regret her decision to read Song Yan¡¯s fortune. She would have turned her down straight away had she known earlier. ¡°The definition of a blissful marriage is different for everyone. What¡¯s considered a blissful marriage to you?¡± ¡°Of course I¡¯d want a husband who dotes on me and happy, adorable children of our own,¡± Song Yan answered. An Xiaoning avoided disclosing the harsh truth and answered tactfully, ¡°You¡¯ll have a husband and children.¡± ¡°Is it... not going to be blissful?¡± Song Yan asked, seemingly sensing that something was amiss. ¡°It¡¯s not too bad, but it won¡¯t be your ideal marriage.¡± ¡°Can I alter my fate?¡± Song Yan asked dejectedly. ¡°Alter your fate? There¡¯s no definite answer to that. Some may seed while others fail no matter how hard they try. It all depends on the individual.¡± ¡°Could you help me alter my fate then?¡± ¡°Which aspect would you like to tweak?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°I want to continue being in a rtionship with Ciye.¡± An Xiaoning was speechless, bbergasted by her absurdity. ¡°I¡¯ve heard about your rtionship with him before as well as the countless times you¡¯ve broken up and reconciled over and over again. Ms. Song, I suggest you stop dragging this on stubbornly,¡± said An Xiaoning. After pondering for a while, Song Yan said, ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m going to act in ordance with what fate has in store for me. But anyway, thank you for your time today.¡± An Xiaoning stood up at the same time as her and said, ¡°Goodbye.¡± An Xiaoning was merely being tactful with her words earlier. In fact, Song Yan was not destined to lead a blissful life. Sometimes, it is true that one¡¯s personality decides his or her fate. As soon as she exited the main entrance, she was greeted with the sight of Jin Qingyue, who hurried toward her and asked, ¡°Sis-inw, was that Song Yan?¡± ¡°Yes, she came to have her fortune told.¡± ¡°Did you do it for her?¡± ¡°Yes, but not for free. She paid me a million dors.¡± ¡°Sis-inw, what did she ask about?¡± Jin Qingyue asked softly. ¡°She asked about her future marriage prospects and whether she would have a blissful marriage. I avoided breaking the cold hard truth to her and instead answered her vaguely. But, she indicated her interest in altering her fate. From the looks of it, she¡¯s nning to marry Mr. Ling.¡± ¡°Sis-inw, is it really possible to alter one¡¯s fate?¡± Jin Qingyue asked worriedly. ¡°It works for some, but there are also those whose painstaking efforts end up being futile. She seems very determined to seed though. But then again, everyone wants to lead a joyous life. She asked me to help her alter her fate, but I didn¡¯t agree to it. However, I think it¡¯s very likely that she¡¯ll seek the help of another fortune-teller. Qingyue...¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Seize the opportunity to pursue your happiness and don¡¯t ever falter in the face of failure or obstacles,¡± An Xiaoning encouraged, giving Jin Qingyue a pat on her shoulder. ¡°Thank you, Sis-inw,¡± Jin Qingyue eximed, full of gratitude. ¡°I¡¯m heading to the police station now. Go ahead with your day.¡± ¡°Sis-inw, are you free this afternoon?¡± ¡°This afternoon? Is there something important?¡± Jin Qingyue looked down and chuckled slightly before answering, ¡°Sis-inw, I¡¯d like to buy some nice men¡¯s clothing, could you help me pick a few...¡± An Xiaoning immediately understood her intentions. ¡°We¡¯ll y it by ear. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll be free in the afternoon, but I¡¯ll give you a call if I have some time to spare.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get going first.¡± ¡°Alright, drive safe, Sis-inw.¡± Jin Qingyue waved her goodbye. An Xiaoning quickened her pace and got into her car. She buckled up and set off from Wei Ni Estate. It had been way too long since she reported to the police station. Since she no longer had to tend to business matters at thepany, she decided to continue doing some meaningful things, apart from searching for her biological parents. To An Xiaoning¡¯s astonishment, there was a new team leader who reced her in the Special Investigations Unit. The police officers were dumbfounded at the sight of her sudden appearance and frantically reported the matter to Pan Zhenghui. A look of dismay formed on An Xiaoning¡¯s face the moment she saw the new female team leader sitting in her office. Everyone in the office quickly stood up while Ma Jianguo eximed, ¡°Xiaoning, why have youe by all of a sudden?¡± ¡°Am I not allowed to?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I meant. Didn¡¯t you take charge of managing operations at the Jin Corporation? We all thought you¡¯d nevere back again,¡± Ma Jianguo frantically exined, breaking out in cold sweat due to the overwhelming anxiety he felt at the sight of the sullen expression on An Xiaoning¡¯s face. An Xiaoning realized that the woman who took her ce seemed rather unfamiliar. However, she must be a capable person to have been able to rece An Xiaoning. ¡°Nice to meet you, I¡¯m Yuan Mingzhu, the newly-appointed leader of the Special Investigations Unit.¡± ¡°An Xiaoning.¡± Ding Liang hurriedly served An Xiaoning a cup of tea. ¡°Sis Xiaoning, please have some tea.¡± ¡°Thank you. How have all of you been so far? I haven¡¯t seen you guys in such a long time.¡± ¡°Great,¡± they chorused. At this very moment, An Xiaoning could not help but feel like her presence was redundant. Although she was aware that the decision to rece her was made because she could not report to duty for a period of time, she was rather peeved by the fact that they did not even bother informing her of the changes. That was what she was upset about. Pan Zhenghui soon arrived. At the instance that he saw An Xiaoning, he smiled wryly and greeted, ¡°You¡¯re here, Xiaoning.¡± ¡°Otherwise, how else could I¡¯ve found out that I was reced without any prior notice?¡± ¡°Well... we all knew that you were far too busy with running such a major corporation. Thus, we thought you wouldn¡¯t have the time to help out in cracking cases at the police station anymore. We didn¡¯t inform you about it because we thought you wouldn¡¯t mind and we were afraid of imposing on you,¡± Pan Zhenghui exined. ¡°A simple phone call is not going to disturb me. You could¡¯ve just informed me about the recement. Initially, I was still rather reluctant to take on the duty of solving cases, but you guys were the one who kept urging me to ept the offer. Wasn¡¯t that the case, Bureau Chief Pan?¡± An Xiaoning retorted. ¡°Yes, yes, it was. Xiaoning, this is a mistake on our part. If you¡¯d like to continue working with the Special Investigations Unit, the leader position will still belong to you...¡± Before he could even finish speaking, Yuan Mingzhu interrupted, ¡°Bureau Chief, I was transferred here by the higher-ups. Besides, I possess the same abilities as Ms. An. I can tell the oue of things just by reading birth characters as well. We¡¯re the same.¡± ¡°You¡¯re psychic?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Yes, why else do you think I¡¯d be able to rise to this position?¡± Yuan Mingzhu said in admittance. Chapter 495 - The Secret About the Past (113)

Chapter 495: The Secret About the Past (113)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning was aware that she herself was not the only one who couldmunicate with spirits in this world. She was at a momentary loss for words. Noticing the awful expression on her face, Pan Zhenghui was exceptionally careful with his words and said, ¡°Xiaoning, if you¡¯d really like to resume your duties, I¡¯ll speak to my superiors about it.¡± ¡°Was it Head-of-Office Xu who made the arrangements?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Yes,¡± Pan Zhenghui acknowledged with a nod. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. Why should I still continue to stay here when you don¡¯t even bother informing me of such a major change? I still have more important things to do. Goodbye.¡± She ced her teacup down onto the table and turned around to leave. ¡°Xiaoning, Xiaoning, don¡¯t be in such a hurry to leave.¡± Pan Zhenghui hurriedly tried to stop her. An Xiaoning stopped in her tracks and turned around. ¡°Chief Pan, it¡¯s true that I¡¯m always absent from duty. Thus, I think it¡¯s not too bad of an idea that Team Leader Yuan is now in charge of the Special Investigations Unit. Since she¡¯s also psychic, there¡¯s no need for me to stay here any longer. I agreed toe help you guys out back then only because I was keen on doing some meaningful things.¡± Pan Zhenghui nodded and said, ¡°If you¡¯re willing, you¡¯ll always be wee toe back.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± An Xiaoning acknowledged with a smile. ¡°Xiaoning, don¡¯t delete my contact from your mobile phone,¡± said Ma Jianguo. ¡°I won¡¯t, I¡¯ll save all of your mobile numbers.¡± Ma Jianguo smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s great. I just want to say, we really admired you and trusted your abilities while you were in charge of us previously, although you¡¯re a lot younger than I am.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all I need to hear.¡± An Xiaoning bumped into Team Leader Zhang from the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit when she exited the office. Upon sight of her, Team Leader Zhang greeted smilingly, ¡°Long time no see, Team Leader An.¡± ¡°Yeah, haven¡¯t seen you in a while.¡± She did not bother engaging in any frivolous talk with him. Pan Zhenghui and the members of the Special Investigations Unit walked her to her car. ¡°That¡¯s enough, you¡¯re acting as if it¡¯s a farewell for good. Get back to work,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Drive safe on the road,¡± said Pan Zhenghui, waving her goodbye. An Xiaoning drove away from the police station. Sometimes, one may not always have the time and energy to do everything he or she would like. Thus, it would not matter as long one had already tried their best and that their conscience was clear. ¡°I guess she really won¡¯te back again this time, will she?¡± said Pan Zhenghui, watching as An Xiaoning¡¯s car left the police station. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you inform her about it, Chief? She was so upset to see Team Leader Yuan just now,¡± Ma Jianguo asked, feeling a little mncholic. ¡°You think I didn¡¯t want to? The higher-ups instructed me not to.¡± ¡°Bureau Chief, I came across a rumor on a discussion forum previously about Xiaoning acknowledging the Chief of Staff and Commander-in-chief as her godparents. Is that true?¡± ¡°Why haven¡¯t I seen that on the news before?¡± Pan Zhenghui questioned. ¡°Chief, Old Ma told us about it that day. We saw the post about the rumor too. Ding Liang has even found an article regarding the piece of news online,¡± said Zu Dong. ¡°Let me verify it,¡± said Pan Zhenghui, whipping his phone out to make a call. He then called An Xiaoning, who picked up and told him the truth. Pan Zhenghui turned as pale as a sheet the moment he ended the call. ¡°Bureau Chief, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Gong Le asked. ¡°She said that it¡¯s true that she has acknowledged them as her godparents for quite some time now.¡± Everyone looked at each other in shock and puzzlement. Ma Jianguo quickly said, ¡°Chief, look how humble Xiaoning is about her impressive background. She¡¯s so wealthy and powerful now. I guess she really won¡¯te back again in the future. I can¡¯t believe the higher-ups actually told you not to inform her. How silly.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough, hurry and get back to work. You guys must solve the case handed to you today soon,¡± Pan Zhenghui prompted. ¡ª Jin Yiheng witnessed his parents feeding and kissing each other during lunch, as if he was transparent. He initially thought that he had already gotten used to their public disys of affection. However, he could not tolerate it any further upon noticing his father smooching his mother every now and then. ¡°Daddy, you didn¡¯t even brush your teeth after lunch, yet you keep kissing my Mommy. Aren¡¯t you being too unhygienic?¡± ¡°What do you know, Little Imp? This is my way of showing your Mommy affection. Besides, your Mommy doesn¡¯t think I¡¯m being unhygienic. So, stop being jealous and green with envy. You must be like me when you¡¯re older and dote on your future wife. You have to be a role model for other men and the perfect husband, got it?¡± said Jin Qingyan. Jin Yiheng rolled his eyes in contempt and criticized, ¡°Daddy, your method and tricks are outdated. Those are not in trend anymore. What¡¯s so great about kissing Mommy all the time like a woodpecker?¡± ¡°Wow, my son is all grown up now and knows all about thetest courting tips and tricks. Why don¡¯t you teach Daddy how to be a role model for other men?¡± Staring at his father, Jin Yiheng walked towards An Xiaoning and said to him, ¡°Watch me.¡± An Xiaoning looked at her son quietly. ¡°Are you not wearing makeup?¡± Jin Yiheng asked. An Xiaoning nodded and asked, ¡°Do I look ugly without makeup?¡± Shaking his head, Jin Yiheng answered, ¡°How many times must I repeat myself? You look good with or without makeup.¡± An Xiaoning was speechless. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you speaking?¡± he asked in his baby voice. ¡°I just took a selfie earlier. Do you think I look good?¡± An Xiaoning asked, handing him her mobile phone. Jin Yiheng opened the photo to take a look before shaking his head. ¡°Not really,¡± he answered. ¡°I don¡¯t?¡± An Xiaoning asked while Jin Qingyan watched them act out the scene. ¡°Yes, you don¡¯t look good. You don¡¯t look as pretty as you are now without makeup,¡± he answered glibly. ¡°Son, where did you learn all this sweet talk?¡± An Xiaoning asked, smiling. ¡°Mommy, some things are self-taught. I¡¯m not like Daddy, he¡¯s already thirty-odd years old, yet all he knows is to kiss and smooch. How corny and old-fashioned.¡± Jin Qingyan was speechless. His son actually despised him! Indeed, he had surpassed his father! ¡°Son, do you want a younger brother?¡± ¡°I only want a younger sister, not a brother.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Jin Qingyan asked, thinking that his son probably wants to be a heroic older brother to his younger sister whom he wanted to protect. In reality, he was utterly wrong. ¡°If Mommy gives birth to another son again, there¡¯ll be three men and only one woman in the house. I already can¡¯t stand having to share Mommy with you. If I have to share her with another brother, I¡¯ll have even lesser alone time with Mommy,¡± Jin Yiheng answered. ¡°You won¡¯t get the chance to spend time alone with your Mommy even without another brother. Go look for Xiaoxi and the rest to y with you.¡± Upon sight of him standing up, Jin Yiheng asked, ¡°Daddy, are you and Mommy going to have your private time in your bedroom again?¡± Jin Qingyan turned around and shot his son a nce, as if to say: ¡°Daddy has some important business to get down to. You¡¯re not allowed to tag along, otherwise, you shall face dire consequences.¡± Jin Yiheng stared nkly as his father dragged his Mommy upstairs while he sat alone on the couch, bored out of his wits. He felt as if his presence was not significant to his parents at all. Chapter 496 - The Secret About the Past (114)

Chapter 496: The Secret About the Past (114)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning apanied Jin Qingyue to go shopping in the afternoon. An Xiaoning picked out a few outfits for her, one of which was a white long dress paired with a thin cardigan, appearing exceptionally ethereal. Theirst stop was the lingerie store. ¡°Do you have any extremely sexy lingerie?¡± Jin Qingyue asked the sales assistant shyly. ¡°Yes, we do.¡± The sales assistant then showed her a few sets of lingerie. Jin Qingyue began blushing red as she imagined herself donning the sexy lingerie. She turned to ask An Xiaoning, ¡°Sis-inw, would you like to get a few for yourself?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± After exiting the lingerie store, Jin Qingyue again asked, ¡°Should I get a new haircut?¡± ¡°A new haircut?¡± An Xiaoning scanned her from head to toe before answering, ¡°Hmm, dye your hair ck and get it straightened. That¡¯ll be a perfect match for your dress.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll heed your advice. It¡¯s going to take a long time to get my hair done. Sis-inw, you may go ahead if you still have something on. You don¡¯t have to wait for me.¡± ¡°Okay then, go home after you¡¯re done.¡± ¡°Got it,¡± said Jin Qingyue, making an OK sign. It was already evening by the time Jin Qingyue was done getting a makeover for her hair. She was pleased with her new hairdo, which made her feel like a brand new person. After dropping by the supermarket to buy some groceries, she returned to Wei Ni Estate. She took a look at the time and realized that it was already past six o¡¯clock in the evening. She immediately washed her hands and began preparing dinner. She decided to cook Ling Ciye the new dish she had just learned from the top chef. Dinner consisted of three dishes and a bowl of soup, all of which she put her heart and soul into preparing. He had yet to return home, however. She removed her apron and headed inside the bathroom. She put on a shower cap to prevent her hair from getting wet before proceeding to take a shower. Aftering out of the shower, she put on her newly bought lingerie and the long white dress. She stood in front of the mirror to admire her own reflection. Jin Qingyue then put on some makeup on her face. As soon as she finished applying some lip gloss on her lips, she heard noisesing from outside. She hurriedly cast her cosmetic pouch aside and stood in front of the mirror to take onest nce before walking towards the bedroom door. She was suddenly a little afraid to open the door. ¡°Qingyue...¡± Ling Ciye called from outside. ¡°Coming!¡± She opened the door and exited the bedroom. ¡°You got a new haircut?¡± Ling Ciye asked in surprise. ¡°Yes, quickly go and wash your hands. Dinner is ready.¡± Ling Ciye returned to the bedroom while Jin Qingyue ced the empty sses and liquor on the table and waited patiently for him toe out. Her palms were sweaty from feeling nervous. She was jittery and unable to calm herself down, probably because she knew that she was going to make the first move on him tonight. Thus, she decided to drink some liquor to ease her anxiety. She felt the burn in her throat as she picked up a ss of liquor and gulped it down in one go. Realizing that it didn¡¯t do much to calm her nerves, Jin Qingyue decided to down another ss of liquor. By the time Ling Ciye came out of the bedroom dressed in a T-shirt and baggy pants, she had already chugged a few sses of liquor. Her face was all flushed red. ¡°Brother Ciye... take a seat.¡± ¡°Why have you started drinking alone?¡± he asked, picking up a pair of chopsticks. ¡°Let me pour you a ss.¡± She burped and poured him a full ss of liquor. ¡°Let¡¯s... toast.¡± She smiled widely and raised her ss. Ling Ciye clinked sses with her and said, ¡°Watch your alcohol intake. Don¡¯t get drunk.¡± ¡°Brother Ciye... did you know? Women be braver when they¡¯re drunk,¡± she murmured after chugging the ss of liquor. ¡°You¡¯re just as brazen when you¡¯re sober.¡± ¡°Sometimes, I really feel like I¡¯m not good enough for you,¡± she said while picking up some food with her chopsticks. Ling Ciye remained silent and listened to her speak. ¡°I actually didn¡¯t tell you that Auntie came to look for me before.¡± ¡°My mother?¡± ¡°Yeah. She asked me if you and I were dating. She seemed really relieved the moment she heard me denying it. Brother Ciye, do you think your mother will kill me if she finds out that I lied?¡± ¡°No.¡± Jin Qingyue giggled and continued eating slowly. They drank and ate their fill. Ling Ciye had a few sses of liquor too but still remained sober. On the other hand, Jin Qingyue was rather tipsy though she was not drunk out of her senses. Resting her face in her hand, she gazed at Ling Ciye dreamily. Ling Ciye was a little disturbed by her intense stare. ¡°Go to bed, let me do the dishes.¡± She stood up and returned to the bedroom, not to sleep but rather to brush her teeth. After brushing her teeth, she touched up her makeup. She thenid on the bed to ponder over her thoughts quietly for a long while before standing up to go out of the bedroom again. Ling Ciye happened to have just finished brushing his teeth. Upon hearing knocking sounds, he opened the door. As soon as he did, she leaned against him and hugged his waist tightly. ¡°Brother Ciye...¡± Startled by her sudden embrace, he looked down at her and said, ¡°Qingyue, you¡¯re drunk.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not. I¡¯m very sober. I want to sleep with you tonight,¡± she looked up and smiled at him. ¡°Um, Qingyue, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s the right time for us to advance to that stage yet.¡± ¡°Why not? I¡¯ve already fondled you and made out with you... I don¡¯t care, I want to sleep with you,¡± she whined, refusing to let go of him. ¡°No...¡± ¡°I won¡¯t touch you and just lie down beside you. I won¡¯t try anything funny. Okay?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Okay then.¡± She let go of him and turned around to leave. Ling Ciye closed the door after watching her return to her room. Jin Qingyue closed her eyes and sprawled herself across the bed. She remained lying there without even turning on the lights. She continued to remain still in that position for three hours and finally had no choice but to get up to answer nature¡¯s call. She took a look at the time on her mobile phone to find that it was only past nine o¡¯clock in the evening. She thought to herself that he must still be awake. She wouldn¡¯t be able to get over it if she didn¡¯t show him her sexy lingerie. I¡¯d better wait for a while more... She then waited all the way until past eleven o¡¯clock. Finally, at half-past eleven, she decided that the time was right. She sneakily unlocked his bedroom door with the spare keys. She zoomed inside, barefooted. The lights turned on all of a sudden when she was approaching his bed stealthily, before she even made it to the bed. They held each other¡¯s gazes. Jin Qingyue stood rooted to the ground, feeling as if she had been caught red-handed. ¡°You... you¡¯re still awake?¡± she stammered with a tinge of guilt. ¡°I was just about to go to bed but I heard some noises,¡± he said, remaining unusuallyposed, seemingly unsurprised by her actions. Jin Qingyue felt as if her legs were stuck to the ground as she looked him in the eye. Atst, she tried to cover up. ¡°I came in to check if you were tucked properly beneath the duvet. I was nning to help you if you weren¡¯t. Um... I¡¯m going back to my room to sleep then.¡± ¡°Okay...¡± Jin Qingyue closed the door and returned to her own room with a look of disappointment on her face. She removed her makeup and went to bed, not wishing to dwell further on anything else. Her n failed even before she got to show him the lingerie she was wearing. However, she was notpletely disheartened and instead came up with another idea to show him her lingerie in a different manner. Jin Qingyue was filled with joy at the thought of her new idea and went to sleep peacefully. Chapter 497 - The Secret About the Past (115)

Chapter 497: The Secret About the Past (115)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Ling Ciye was going about his usual practice of having breakfast after waking up, he was greeted with the sight of Jin Qingyue sitting by the table dressed in a white, translucent dress. Due to the sheer fabric of the dress, with just one nce, he could see clearly the lingerie she was wearing beneath. He remembered that she had worn the exact same dress the previous night, though the material was not as thin before. ¡°Good morning.¡± ¡°You... you¡¯re nning to wear this dress out today?¡± Ling Ciye asked, appearing a little ill at ease. Jin Qingyue smiled and answered, ¡°Why would I do that... I¡¯ll only ever wear this dress in front of you, never in front of anyone else.¡± There were initially twoyers of fabric to the dress with the inneryer serving as a shield to prevent light from prating through and causing it to be too see-through. However, she removed the inneryer, leaving behind only the thin, outeryer. It was rather cooling, though. Ling Ciye did not object to her decision since there was no one else in the house except them. After they were done with breakfast, he frantically cocked his head toward the side at the instant that she stood up. Jin Qingyue giggled and proceeded to bring the empty dishes and crockery to the kitchen. Ling Ciye felt his face burning and blushing red with shyness, his throat bing dry and parched all of a sudden. Ring... Ring... He looked through the peephole to find that it was Song Yan. Ling Ciye was displeased to see her for he was utterly sick and tired of breaking up and reconciling. Fed up with her overbearing habit of repeatedly looking him up again after breaking up, he decided not to open the door. Jin Qingyue came out of the kitchen to find that he was standing by the door while the doorbell was ringing continuously. Just as she was about to open the door, he grabbed her hand to stop her before dragging her into the bedroom. ¡°It¡¯s Song Yan.¡± ¡°She must be here to look for you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to see her,¡± said Ling Ciye, which was to the joy of Jin Qingyue. All smiles, she draped her arms over his neck and suggested, ¡°Let¡¯s not open the door since you don¡¯t wish to see her. If she refuses to leave, we shall just stay home the entire day, okay?¡± Ling Ciye agreed with a nod. Jin Qingyue thought to herself that Ling Ciye must have really dreaded seeing his ex-girlfriend, Song Yan, since he would rather stay at home than show his face to her. Song Yan stood by the door and pressed the doorbell continuously but to no avail. She found it puzzling that no one came to answer the door since she clearly remembered seeing his car when she arrived, which meant that he was definitely at home. Does he refuse to open because he doesn¡¯t want to see me? She decided to persist and continue waiting for him, thinking that he would definitelye out of the house sooner orter. She refused to believe that he would stay in all day. Contrary to her expectations, she had still yet to see him despite having waited the entire morning. Feeling panicky and anxious, Song Yan yelled, ¡°Ling Ciye, do you think I won¡¯t know that you¡¯re at home just because you refuse toe out? Open up!¡± As soon as she said her piece, the door opened. Jin Qingyue appeared at the door and asked, ¡°Ms. Song, may I ask why you¡¯re looking for my boyfriend?¡± ¡°Boyfriend...¡± Song Yan pushed her away and barged inside, only to make eye contact with Ling Ciye, who was sitting on the couch, causing her to grow speechless all of a sudden. ¡°What are you here for?¡± he asked calmly. ¡°May I have a word with you privately?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything much to talk about between us. We¡¯ve already said whatever there is to say to each other. Besides, we¡¯ve longe to a consensus that we¡¯ve broken uppletely this time. Song Yan, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s silly and pointless to keep looking me up after we already broke up?¡± ¡°Will you give me five minutes of your time? Just five minutes,¡± she pleaded. Ling Ciye nodded and said, ¡°Qingyue, go back to your room first.¡± ¡°Get her to go out of the house,¡± Song Yan hissed, ring at Jin Qingyue with an icy, cold stare. ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll do as you say and go outside, Ms. Song. I¡¯ll be watching the time. Five minutes,¡± Jin Qingyue said sarcastically with a smile. She changed into the doubleyered dress and went outside in her slippers. She stood by the door and waited patiently. It¡¯s only going to be five minutes. She could afford that tad bit of patience. Somehow, five minutes seemed to be an arduous wait. Time crawled by at a snail¡¯s pace and each minute felt like an hour. At this very moment, Jin Qingyue received a call from her ex-husband. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you seem to miss Bao¡¯er at all?¡± Leaning against the wall, Jin Qingyue hissed, ¡°Is it any of your business whether or not I miss her?¡± ¡°Did you swallow gunpowder or something? Bao¡¯er wants to speak to you,¡± said Shi Shaochuan. He then handed his mobile phone to his daughter. ¡°Mommy,¡± Jin Bao¡¯er greeted. ¡°Bao¡¯er, do you miss Mommy?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯m having fun with Daddy at the amusement park. Could youe here to y with me?¡± ¡°Mommy¡¯s not feeling too well. I won¡¯t be going. Would you like toe home?¡± ¡°Everyone has their Daddy and Mommy to apany them to the amusement park. Yet, only Daddy is here with me. Since you¡¯ve turned me down, forget it, Daddy and I will just y alone.¡± Jin Bao¡¯er hung up the phone as soon as she finished speaking. Jin Qingyue let out a long sigh and took a look at the time to find that only two minutes have passed. There were three more minutes to go. At this very moment, Song Yan and Ling Ciye were staring at each other outside his bedroom. After two minutes, Song Yan finally broke her silence. ¡°Ciye, I¡¯ve thought about it carefully. I¡¯m willing topromise on everything we couldn¡¯t agree on in the past. I¡¯m willing to give up my entertainment career for your sake and be a family-oriented woman, because I love you too much. I regret my decision every single time we break up.¡± ¡°Do you mean what you said?¡± Ling Ciye asked in surprise, not expecting her to have made such apromise. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Even if what you said is true, I don¡¯t want to get back together with you again. As you can see, I already have a new girlfriend,¡± he said bluntly. ¡°You mean Jin Qingyue? How am I any worse than her? She¡¯s a divorced single mother while I¡¯m still unmarried and childless. Besides, we were together for so long. You ought to weigh your options and consider carefully,¡± Song Yan said in a moment of panic. Ling Ciye stared at her and said, ¡°But my love for you has already vanishedpletely.¡± ¡°Your love has vanished? We dated and broke up in high school, but didn¡¯t you still love me the same after so many years? Are you all muddled up because she¡¯s good in bed!?!¡± Song Yan sneered. A sullen expression formed on Ling Ciye¡¯s face as his tone grew harsher. ¡°There¡¯s no turning back for us now. You don¡¯t have to waste your time here anymore. Leave.¡± ¡°Ciye, you¡¯ll definitelye back to me one day!¡± ¡°Song Yan, I will never get back together with you again. If I still had any feelings for you, I wouldn¡¯t have got into a rtionship with Qingyue.¡± ¡°Is that so? I don¡¯t believe you.¡± Song Yan left as soon as she finished her sentence and bumped into Jin Qingyue while on her way out. She then entered the elevator without uttering a word. Jin Qingyue frantically entered the apartment and closed the door. ¡°What did she say?¡± ¡°Nothing much,¡± said Ling Ciye, not wishing to reveal much about the matter. Jin Qingyue did not probe any further and said instead, ¡°What would you like to eat? I¡¯ll make lunch.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine with anything. Just fix something.¡± Jin Qingyue nodded and walked toward the kitchen. Although she was busy preparing lunch, she could not help but be distracted by the millions of thoughts that filled her mind. Actually, she could already guess that Song Yan must have asked him to get back together with her. Otherwise, there was no reason she would havee all the way here to insist on seeing him. Jin Qingyue was rather worried about Song Yan¡¯s persistence. After all, thetter and Ling Ciye had been in a rtionship for years, whereas he and she had barely begun dating each other. Thus, their fresh rtionship was still rather unstable and could easily crumble. Chapter 498 - The Secret About the Past (116)

Chapter 498: The Secret About the Past (116)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios It finally began to pour in the morning after two days of gloomy weather. Realizing that it was already past seven o¡¯clock, An Xiaoning struggled to get out of bed. However, Jin Qingyan hugged her waist tightly and refused to let her get up. She reached out to nudge Jin Qingyan, who sprung up abruptly. ¡°Why did you nudge me?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m good at it,¡± she answered, getting out of bed calmly. ¡°What an absurd answer...¡± ¡°Stop wasting time andzing around. It¡¯s already half-past seven. You¡¯ll almost bete by the time you finish breakfast,¡± she urged, cing the outfit she picked for him from the closet in the dressing room onto the bed. ¡°It¡¯s mypany. I may report to work at whatever time I want. No one would dare to reprimand me for beingte.¡± ¡°As a leader, how are you supposed to earn the respect of your subordinates if you can¡¯t even be punctual yourself?¡± said An Xiaoning. Jin Qingyan put on his clothes, after which he and An Xiaoning proceeded to the bathroom to brush their teeth. She squeezed some toothpaste onto his toothbrush and handed it to him before doing the same for herself. Being able to go to bed and wake up next to the woman he loved every day was a life he had always dreamed off. He felt that life was full of joy and happiness. ¡°Why are you smiling so widely when we¡¯re just brushing our teeth?¡± she asked in puzzlement, nudging him with her elbow. ¡°I¡¯m really d to be able to see such a beautiful wife every morning.¡± An Xiaoning giggled and said, ¡°Do you really think so?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to the police station anymore from now on.¡± ¡°Why? Don¡¯t you enjoy investigating cases? Why aren¡¯t you going anymore?¡± Jin Qingyan asked. ¡°The police headquarters have found someone to rece me during my prolonged absence. She¡¯s psychic and canmunicate with spirits too. So, I¡¯m not going to report to the police station anymore. Well, it doesn¡¯t matter since there are other things I have to do now, like searching for my biological parents. Qingyan, it never really mattered much to me in the past, but now that I¡¯ve decided to search for them, I¡¯d really like to find out the truth sooner.¡± Jin Qingyan hurriedly rinsed his mouth before saying to her, ¡°I don¡¯t want you to enter the pce so quickly, because it won¡¯t be easy toe out again once you¡¯re inside. I¡¯ll miss you so much. I don¡¯t want to be separated from you.¡± An Xiaoning ced her toothbrush into the mug and hugged him tightly. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be away from you either.¡± Jin Qingyan headed downstairs while embracing her throughout. ¡°Although I don¡¯t wish to part from you, I¡¯ll still support you in searching for your parents like how I support all your decisions. Seize the opportunity while you can and don¡¯t leave any regrets for yourself.¡± ¡°Hubby, you¡¯re the best. Will you always be so good to me?¡± An Xiaoning asked coquettishly, which was rather rare of her. ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll treat you well forever and always.¡± ¡°Young Sir, Young Madam, Sir is here,¡± Fan Shixin reported. ¡°Okay, let him in,¡± Jin Qingyan instructed as he took a seat. Mr. Jin entered with heavy footsteps. Noticing that they were all present, Mr. Jin said straight away, ¡°Qingyan, I have something to discuss with you.¡± ¡°There are no outsiders here. You may just speak your mind now,¡± said Jin Qingyan, showing no signs of standing up. Mr. Jin took a nce at An Xiaoning, who did not even bother looking at him. ¡°Since Youran is a member of our family, I¡¯m nning to announce the truth to the public. I¡¯m also nning to transfer all my shares in thepany to her, although it¡¯s only a small portion. This is what the Jin family owes her,¡± said Mr. Jin, clearly having thought it through carefully before breaking the news to them. ¡°You¡¯re the one who¡¯s indebted to her, not the Jin family. I don¡¯t care who she is. I won¡¯t forgive anyone who tries to kill Xiaoning, neither will I acknowledge her as my sister. As for your portion of the shares, you may have the right to decide who to transfer them to, but to make things clear beforehand, you¡¯ll only have yourself to me if you realize that you¡¯ve made a stupid decision after transferring them to her,¡± Jin Qingyan warned. ¡°I know that, of course. I was just informing you in advance,¡± Mr. Jin retorted. ¡°What¡¯s the point of telling me about the decision you¡¯ve already made yourself? Do you really think she¡¯lle back to you and acknowledge you as her dearest father just because you gave her your shares? She¡¯s long detested you to the core. She¡¯ll forever bear a grudge against you for her mother¡¯s death. I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll lose more than you gain when she overrides you.¡± Mr. Jin was shocked speechless by his snark remark. Feeling rather infuriated, he said, ¡°She¡¯s still your sister at the end of the day. If you could dote on Qingyue so dearly, why can¡¯t you be more forgiving toward Youran?¡± ¡°I once treated her as my sister. How did she treat me in the end? Forgiving? Forgiving someone who tried to kill you is just giving them the chance to harm you a second time!¡± Jin Qingyan hollered. ¡°It¡¯s understandable that she would bear such a strong resentment toward us.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough! You may leave if there¡¯s nothing else. It¡¯s up to you to decide what you want to do with your portion of the shares,¡± Jin Qingyan snapped angrily, not wishing to hear him out any further. Mr. Jin turned red with anger, clearly agitated by Jin Qingyan¡¯s adamant attitude. Mr. Jin stood up and left without uttering another word. Jin Qingyan did not react and instead said to An Xiaoning smilingly, ¡°Don¡¯t keep standing there. Let¡¯s go have breakfast.¡± ¡°Your father seems really infuriated.¡± ¡°Old people tend to be nostalgic the more they dwell on the past. Why can¡¯t he seem to understand that Xu Youran will never let go of the grudge she bears against the Jin family no matter how he tries to make it up to her now? After all, there¡¯s no way her mother cane back to life, can she?¡± ¡°Father-inw must¡¯ve regretted his actions back then. Why do you think men would cheat on their spouses?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Men aren¡¯t the only ones who cheat. There are plenty of women who are unfaithful to their marriages. In conclusion, I despise all cheaters and they should never be forgiven, regardless of what reason they may have for their infidelity.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and asked, ¡°Will you ever be unfaithful to me?¡± ¡°No, because I¡¯m not shameless. I didn¡¯t even touch your clone, Gu Xiaoning, at all throughout the five years that she was by my side. Doesn¡¯t that already prove my loyalty toward you?¡± ¡°Qingyan, you¡¯re so nice to me.¡± ¡°How else am I supposed to make you devoted to me then?¡± he said, smiling. Well, if he didn¡¯t prove his love for her through his actions, she would have long eloped with Gu Beicheng. ¡°You¡¯re doing well today. I¡¯ll remember it,¡± An Xiaoning said while eating her porridge. Herpliment set him in high spirits, as if he was an elementary schooler being praised by his teacher. Jin Yiheng, who had been silently eating his breakfast, waspletely disregarded by his parents. He felt as if he was non-existent at all. He could not help but feel sad and dejected about their nonchnt attitudes. ¡°Mommy, you and Daddy have been inseparable ever since you two returned from abroad. Do you still remember that you have me as your son?¡± An Xiaoning peeled a boiled egg and ced it onto Jin Yiheng¡¯s te. ¡°Of course I do. You and your Daddy hold different positions in my heart. You¡¯ll always be Mommy¡¯s little baby.¡± ¡°But why do I feel like he¡¯s your baby and I¡¯m only an insignificant passerby to you now?¡± An Xiaoning burst intoughter and said, ¡°Is it really that severe? You¡¯ve actually gotten jealous of your Daddy.¡± ¡°Daddy is too tyrannical and overbearing. He hogs you all day and night. I don¡¯t even get to interrupt at all...¡± Chapter 499 - The Secret About the Past (117)

Chapter 499: The Secret About the Past (117)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°If you can¡¯t even interrupt, who are you talking to right now, then? You¡¯re so young yet so full of ideas,¡± Jin Qingyan scoffed. Jin Yiheng grimaced at Jin Qingyan with pouted lips and continued having breakfast. ¡ª After thinking it through thoroughly once more, Mr. Jin decided to change his mind at the thought of having to support himself through his retirement. Although he felt indebted to Xu Youran, he knew that she would not change her attitude towards him for the better. What was the point of making such a redundant sacrifice? The portion of shares he had would ensure afortable life ahead and he would not have to ask his son for money. He received a call from Xu Youran, which snapped him out of his thoughts. She requested to move her mother¡¯s grave elsewhere. Mr. Jin agreed without hesitation. They agreed to meet at the Jin family¡¯s old mansion. Mr. Jin waited at home for Xu Youran, who only arrived more than an hourter. She brought along a bunch of men with her who carried tools with them, clearly there to move the tomb. Xu Youran showed up in front of him while donning a pair of shades. ¡°Where¡¯s my mother¡¯s grave?¡± she asked coldly. ¡°Have you found a suitable graveyard?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that. If it weren¡¯t because of you people, my mother probably wouldn¡¯t have died,¡± Xu Youran hissed in contempt. ¡°Your mother killed herself, we didn¡¯t force her to die. I know I let you and your mother down, but it¡¯s all toote to say anything now. Follow me.¡± Mr. Jin took the lead and walked towards the Jin family ancestral graveyard. Xu Youran¡¯s mother¡¯s corpse was not buried within the ancestral graveyard and had instead been lowered into the ground nearby. All of the coffins buried in the Jin family graveyard belonged to the rightful members of the Jin family, and those who did not have a status, like Xu Youran¡¯s biological mother, were not allowed to be buried there. Mrs. Jin was dead against the idea of burying her within the yard of the mansion back then. She initially wanted to bury her somewhere on the mountains instead. However, the conscience-stricken Mr. Jin did not allow it. Thus, Mr. and Mrs. Jin had a cold war over the matter that hadsted for a long period of time back then. Mrs. Jin was utterly disappointed in Mr. Jin at that time. After walking for ten minutes, they arrived at a secluded area in the mansion of the yard. A tombstone was set in the ground in the middle of nowhere. ¡°This is your mother¡¯s grave.¡± Tears welled up in Xu Youran¡¯s eyes, though they were kept obscure beneath her shades, which she refused to take off, for she did not want to reveal her true emotions to anyone. She stepped forward quietly and got onto her knees before kowtowing thrice. ¡°Mother, it¡¯s me, your daughter. I¡¯m here to take you away with me. You insisted on remaining in the Jin family mansion while you were still alive, but at the end of the day, he still refused to give you a proper status. You¡¯ve stayed here long enough. It¡¯s too lonely for you to be here all by yourself. Isn¡¯t it better to move you next to Grandma and Grandpa? That way, you can watch over them too,¡± she said. After finishing her words, she stood up and instructed the men, ¡°Dig out the coffin.¡± The bunch of eight men began digging the soil on top of the coffin toward the side while Mr. Jin and Xu Youran stood by the side to wait. The coffin began to show gradually after more than ten minutes of continuous digging. Once all the soil was removed from the top of the coffin, the men then lifted the coffin up from the ground with some tools and ced it onto the ground above. Xu Youran stepped forward and took a look at the coffin to find that it was still intact and in pristine condition with no signs of decay, though there was slight discoloration. After all, it was not easy for a coffin to be maintained so well throughout the vast number of years. After the men removed the nails which held the lid and the coffin together, Xu Youran reached out to open the coffin slowly, her hands trembling slightly. In the coffiny a skeleton, which reminded Xu Youran of her wed childhood. She recalled how vain her mother was and how thetter would make it a point to dress immactely and doll herself up every day. She remembered her mother to be a feisty and short-tempered woman who possessed an unyielding character. ¡°Remove the skeleton from the coffin.¡± The few men were rather brave and proceeded to retrieve the skeleton from the coffin with their bare hands without hesitation, perhaps because they were paid a hefty sum. As soon as the skeleton was retrieved, Xu Youran turned around to leave without saying a single word to Mr. Jin. Mr. Jin stood rooted to the ground and stared at the debris of the empty coffin. He then instructed the servants to set the coffin on fire and fill the hole in the ground before leaving. Xu Youran proceeded to bury her mother¡¯s skeleton together with her grandparents. She knelt onto the ground and burnt stack after stack of paper money as an offering to her deceased mother. She continued to remain there for a long while before leaving. At the thought of her mother¡¯s wrongful death, she could not bring herself to forgive the Jin family. In fact, it caused her resentment toward them to grow deeper within her. ¡ª Mo Li had been in low spirits for several consecutive days ever since she underwent the abortion surgery. She remained alone at home most of the time. Ye Xiaotian was too busy to apany her for long, and she did not have many friends either. She made a trip to her mother¡¯s ce in the morning. She felt a sudden urge to chat with someone. However, after pondering for a long while, the only person that came to her mind was Long Tianze. Long Tianze took a day off from work and initially nned to apany Mei Yangyang to go swimming at home but changed his mind after receiving a sudden call from Mo Li. Mo Li had rarely visited him at his house. This time, she came by with her daughter, Ye Jiani. ¡°Jiani is already so grown up, yet she¡¯s never been to my ce before.¡± Long Tianze bent forward and said coaxingly, ¡°Wenlun and Xiaoxi are ying in the backyard, go y with them.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± she agreed with a nod and strode toward the backyard to y with the other children. ¡°Come in and take a seat. Would you like to have some tea or fruit juice? Or would you prefer some beer?¡± Mei Yangyang asked. ¡°I¡¯ll have juice. No ice, please,¡± Mo Li requested. She sat down and said to Long Tianze, who was sitting opposite her, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you in a while. Have you been busytely?¡± ¡°It¡¯s still manageable. I¡¯ve already reduced my workload and am trying my best to spend more time with Yangyang and the kids.¡± Noticing the paleness of Mo Li¡¯splexion, he asked out of concern, ¡°Why do you look so sickly? Have you been ill?¡± ¡°I just had an abortion.¡± ¡°An abortion?¡± the couple asked in astonishment. ¡°Yes, because the fetus is deformed. We didn¡¯t really want to keep it when we found out that it was a girl at first, but I couldn¡¯t quite bear to get rid of it. However, I found outter during a prenatal checkup that it was deformed. Thus, I decided to abort it.¡± Mo Li spoke softly in a feeble voice, sounding as if she was struggling to speak. ¡°Isn¡¯t it great to have a daughter? Daughters are very popr nowadays.¡± ¡°Xiaotian¡¯s older brother only has two daughters. Wouldn¡¯t the Ye family¡¯s bloodlinee to an end if we don¡¯t give birth to a son too? My mother-inw is dying for me to give birth to a son as soon as possible. I had an abortion not long ago, yet she¡¯s already gone around searching for herbal remedies and prescriptions to raise the chances of me giving birth to a boy. I¡¯m really envious of you two for having a son and a daughter,¡± said Mo Li, smiling wryly. ¡°What¡¯s there to envy about? Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll definitely give birth to a son,¡± Mei Yangyangforted her. Staring at the surface of the coffee table, Mo Li said, ¡°I really hope so. I¡¯ve been so bored, staying at home all day with nothing to do. Yangyang, what have you been up totely?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been staying at home every day like you. I¡¯d spend most of my free time cooking or ying with the children. It¡¯s such a carefree lifestyle. Perhaps you can try picking up some hobbies you enjoy to make use of your time. You wouldn¡¯t feel so bored in that case,¡± Mei Yangyang suggested. Just as Mo Li was thinking of picking up the cup of fruit juice, she hesitated and asked, ¡°I read about Brother Qingyan suffering from amnesia on the news previously. Has he really lost his memory?¡± Long Tianze was about to answer her when Mei Yangyang pinched him with a straight face before answering, ¡°Seems like he¡¯s already regained his memory. I didn¡¯t specifically ask my sister about it.¡± Mo Li nodded and said, ¡°I was initially nning to give him a call to ask about his condition. But I was too embarrassed to do it.¡± Chapter 500 - The Secret About the Past (118)

Chapter 500: The Secret About the Past (118)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mei Yangyang chuckled mirthlessly and said, ¡°They¡¯re doing pretty well now.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± said Mo Li as she took a sip of her fruit juice, appearing rather glum. ¡°Does Ye Xiaotian treat you well now?¡± Long Tianze asked, seeing the gloomy expression on her face. ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s just too busy, way too busy...¡± Mo Li answered. ¡°How busy can he possibly be? He¡¯s not the only busy person in the world. You have to keep an eye on men. Don¡¯t just stay at home all day. Do apany him at the office more often,¡± said Long Tianze. ¡°I¡¯ll only be getting in the way of his work. I¡¯ve visited him at the office before. You two have been married for so long. Do you ever get sick of each other?¡± Mo Li asked. Shaking his head, Long Tianze answered, ¡°No, why would I ever get tired of her? In fact, I can never get enough of her although we see each other every day.¡± His reply made Mei Yangyang¡¯s heart flutter, causing her to brim with joy. This was practically another form of a heartfelt confession. ¡°Great,¡± Mo Li murmured softly, so much so that they could not even hear her faint voice. Noticing that she did not seem too well, Long Tianze said, ¡°Feel free to tell me if you¡¯re upset about anything. I¡¯ll give you some advice.¡± ¡°Tianze, I¡¯m really scared...¡± ¡°About what?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid my next child will be a daughter again.¡± Long Tianze shot Mei Yangyang a nce and said, ¡°So what if it¡¯s a daughter again? In today¡¯s society, daughters can be heiresses to family businesses too. It doesn¡¯t necessarily have to be a male. Besides, technology is so advanced nowadays. It¡¯s not that hard to conceive a son. If you keep dwelling on this matter every day, you¡¯ll be driven into despair sooner orter. Whereas, you¡¯ll feel much more rxed if you don¡¯t think about it.¡± ¡°Tianze, I suddenly feel like getting a fortune-teller to read my fortune and tell me if I¡¯d end up with a son one day. After much consideration, I still think that Xiaoning is the best fortune-teller I know. Could you talk to her for me and get her to read my fortune?¡± ¡°Actually, Yangyang...¡± Before he could even finish, Mei Yangyang pinched him again forcefully, causing Long Tianze to pause in his speech. ¡°What about Yangyang?¡± ¡°Actually, Yangyang... was nning to have her fortune told too, but she didn¡¯t go ahead with it,¡± Long Tianze answered, chuckling wryly. ¡°Mo Li, pardon me for being blunt, but youpletely ignored Sis the previous time you saw her alighting from her car at the entrance of our house. Ever since Mr. Jin met with the mishap, your husband¡¯spany has been going against the Jin Corporation. I doubt Sis would agree to help you...¡± ¡°I know, but I can¡¯t control what happens at thepany,¡± Mo Li said with disappointment written all over her face. ¡°We understand that. So, you¡¯d better not seek help from my sister. Well, sometimes, ignorance is bliss. Just because you know what fate has in store for you doesn¡¯t necessarily mean you will be free of worry. I suggest you stop thinking about this matter, lest you bring yourself more woes and uneasiness.¡± ¡°I know. I feel so much better after chatting with you two,¡± Mo Li said with a smile. ¡°Don¡¯t coop yourself up at home all day either. Go out and breathe some fresh air more often. You¡¯ll feel much more rxed.¡± Mo Li stayed around for three hours before leaving with her daughter. She felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders when she left. ¡°Don¡¯t you know how to read fortunes as well? Why didn¡¯t you want to help her?¡± Long Tianze asked. ¡°I do, but how am I supposed to break it to her if she¡¯s really not destined to have a son? Do you know what her birth characters are?¡± Mei Yangyang asked. ¡°Yes. We grew up together and I¡¯ve heard my mother mention it before. Hurry and read her fortune. See if she¡¯s destined to have a son,¡± said Long Tianze before telling her Mo Li¡¯s birth characters. Mei Yangyang dragged him upstairs and took out a book from her treasure chest before saying, ¡°This is a miraculous book. It¡¯s very urate. Let me take a look.¡± Long Tianze sat beside her and watched as she flipped through the book continuously. After a long while, he got a little impatient and prompted, ¡°Why are you taking so long?¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I touched these. I¡¯m obviously going to be a little out of touch. I¡¯m not like Sis who can read a person¡¯s fortune as soon as she knows their birth characters. I¡¯m not naturally gifted, that¡¯s why I¡¯m much slower. Okay, I found it,¡± Mei Yangyang answered without even raising her head to look at him. She flipped to a certain page. Staring at the illustration on the page she stopped at, Long Tianze asked, ¡°What does this mean?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what it means, but you can¡¯t tell Mo Li.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll definitely let her know about it if she has a son so that she can rest her mind. But if not, why would I tell her about it and crush her hopes?¡± Pressing his hands on his thighs, Long Tianze urged her, ¡°Quick, tell me what it means.¡± ¡°Look at this picture and count the number of children there are in it.¡± Not having to count since he could already tell at one nce, Long Tianze answered straight away, ¡°Four.¡± ¡°There are four, indeed. But did you notice that all four are girls?¡± Long Tianze squinted and asked, ¡°I really couldn¡¯t tell that they are girls if you hadn¡¯t pointed it out. You can¡¯t be serious, all four are girls? Do you mean she¡¯s going to have four daughters?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what it means, but the four include those which she had aborted as well. She¡¯s destined to have no sons in her life. I didn¡¯t want to read her fortune in the first ce. It¡¯s all your fault for insisting that I do it. See, now we¡¯re both upset for her,¡± Mei Yangyang groused, giving him a hard pinch. Clutching his arm in pain, Long Tianze said, ¡°Ow... I was just being curious, okay?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not curious anymore, are you? The Ye family is going to end up with no male heir. I wonder if Ye Xiaotian will still treat her as well as he does now if she keeps falling pregnant with a daughter over and over again,¡± said Mei Yangyang as she put away the book. ¡°Everyone is fated to lead a life of their own. Let¡¯s not bother about them and focus on ourselves. I don¡¯t wish to know how Ye Xiaotian will react, but I definitely wouldn¡¯t be like him. I¡¯ll be as d even if you gave birth to four daughters.¡± ¡°Hmph, you only said that because I already gave you a son. Would you have said the same if we didn¡¯t have Wenlun?¡± she questioned apprehensively. ¡°Of course. Honey, I love you to the moon and back. The stars can vouch for me.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then kneel down and sing me ¡®Persuade¡¯ by Na Ying,¡± said Mei Yangyang, staring at him calmly with her hands behind her back. ¡°What¡¯s so hard about that? I¡¯ll sing it.¡± Long Tianze walked toward her and got down on one knee. He looked up at her with passion burning in his eyes and skipped right to the chorus, ¡°I was thus persuaded by you and brought myself to a dead end. My feelings are firm, but I made a silly decision. I was persuaded by you and I took the poison well hidden by you. My ending is here, and my love and resentment have been buried with me. If you ever visit my grave, you may put your hands together and pray for me...¡± After finishing the song, he asked, ¡°Honey, after hearing me sing this song for the 184th time, do you think I sound better than the original singer?¡± ¡°Seems like the 180-odd times paid off well. But I¡¯m not sick of hearing it yet. Keep up the good work next time.¡± ¡°Got it, my Queen.¡± Beaming with joy, Mei Yangyang hopped onto his back and said, ¡°Little Eunuch Long, bring me to take a walk in the Imperial Garden.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Chapter 501 - The Secret About the Past (119)

Chapter 501: The Secret About the Past (119)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In the evening, the rain was pouring down heavily and continued to wash the ground. An Xiaoning was actually very fond of the sound of rain. Seeing the sky grow darker, she stood at the door, rather worried. She was wondering why Jin Qingyan had not returned and was about to call him to ask. Once she whipped out her phone, a familiar car came driving through the front gate. She ced her phone into her pocket and swiftly hid around the doorway. After Jin Qingyan kept the umbre aside and came in, she abruptly jumped out, giving him a huge scare. ¡°Honey.¡± He reached out to pinch her cheeks. ¡°Do you have nothing better to do than scare me?¡± ¡°How do you know? Why are you sote today?¡± ¡°I worked overtime for an hour.¡± He naturally held onto her hand. ¡°I must say, you really deserve some praise.¡± ¡°Your Highness, whatpliments do you have for your servant? Please speak.¡± He couldn¡¯t help but break into a grin. ¡°The young and talented team that assisted you is really capable.¡± ¡°Yangyang helped me find them. Without them, I would not have been able to tide through the hurdle. I promised them quite generous terms. You know, if you give people what they need most, they will do their utmost to help you. It¡¯s a logic that¡¯s never changed.¡± An Xiaoning held onto his arm. ¡°Do you have something else to tell me?¡± ¡°Your eyes are really sharp.¡± Jin Qingyan sat down. ¡°I want to hear your honest opinion. Do you really want to enter the Autumn Pce to search for your parents?¡± Seeing the look of seriousness on his face, An Xiaoning nodded her head earnestly. ¡°Qingyan, if you don¡¯t find out the truth for some matters, it might really be a lifetime regret. Only after I¡¯ve tried will I not regret it.¡± He held onto both her hands, his fingers lightly rubbing against her skin. ¡°I¡¯d wanted to wait for a few days or even some time more to go in. But now, there¡¯s a very good chance for you to get near to the members of the royal family.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes brightened up upon hearing his words. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Umm. But I don¡¯t dare think about the consequences.¡± He visibly hesitated for a while. ¡°If you go in, you must wear a mask or you¡¯d be easily recognized. If you wear a mask and sessfully get near to the royal family, the consequences if you were to be exposed would be severe. It¡¯s heavily guarded inside, and there¡¯s lesser freedom aspared to outside the pce. Moreover, we won¡¯t be able to see each other for a long time.¡± Hearing him say this, An Xiaoning suddenly had thoughts against entering the Autumn Pce. Noticing that she was silent, Jin Qingyan added, ¡°Do what you want to. I know you¡¯ll be very careful and the chances of you being exposed will be very small. You¡¯ll be able to protect yourself well too, so I¡¯m still quite assured about it.¡± ¡°Qingyan, I somehow feel that the presidential pce is like the Royal Pce of the ancient days. Going in to find out about my past will indeed be tough. But as you¡¯ve said, for you, for Yiheng, and for myself, I will do my utmost best to protect myself. No matter what, we ought to do something really meaningful in our lives. That way, we wouldn¡¯t have lived in vain.¡± Jin Qingyan pulled her into his arms tightly. ¡°Alright, you¡¯ll go tomorrow night then. From tonight until tomorrow, I¡¯ll exin the rules there to you to prevent you from getting into trouble there.¡± ¡°You know the rules inside?¡± ¡°What does your husband not know? Apart from carrying a child.¡± An Xiaoning was utterly amused by his remark. After dinner, Fan Shixin brought over a book that contained all the rules of the Autumn Pce. Reading the content of the book, An Xiaoning was really in for a shock. ¡°Why are there so many rules? There¡¯s just too many.¡± ¡°Just remember them in your heart after reading through them. Watch what the people around you do, and don¡¯t be too impetuous.¡± Jin Qingyan read the rules with her. ¡°Our President is about to step down soon, it¡¯s still uncertain who bes the new President. You must be extremely cautious inside.¡± ¡°I got it.¡± An Xiaoning was like a student, obeying every word of the teacher beside her. ¡°Also, look at this. It clearly states that servants and bodyguards are not allowed to wear revealing clothes. I¡¯mpletely assured with you about this. I know you won¡¯t wear them.¡± ¡°Of course, I only wear them in front of you. Right, what position am I going in as?¡± ¡°A bodyguard.¡± Once Jin Qingyan answered, the corner of An Xiaoning¡¯s lips twitched. ¡°You¡¯re sending me in as a female bodyguard?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you want to be a servant who has to be tirelessly cleaning all the time?¡± She brightened her smile. ¡°Of course not. Honey, you¡¯re the best. I love being a bodyguard. Right, whose bodyguard will I be?¡± ¡°The Royal Princess¡¯ bodyguard.¡± Jin Qingyan had it all clearly set. ¡°I won¡¯t arrange for you to work for the Prince. What if he falls in love with you, what will happen to me?¡± ¡°What a worrywart.¡± The following day, when An Xiaoning saw the mask Fan Shixin had brought, she sniggered at Jin Qingyan for a while. ¡°With this looks, you think the Prince would fall for me? I think even the Uncle who cleans won¡¯t take a fancy to me.¡± An Xiaoning was slightly disgusted with the mask. ¡°Isn¡¯t it a little too ugly?¡± ¡°The uglier you look, the safer you will be.¡± ¡°What kind of logic is that?¡± An Xiaoning tried putting on the mask. ¡°When I look like this, will you still be able to kiss me?¡± Without any hesitation, he kissed her lips. ¡°Of course!¡± An Xiaoning pushed him away. ¡°That¡¯s only because you know how I really look like. However, it¡¯s different for others. This mask is so exquisite, it looks too real.¡± ¡°Of course, I made the best for you, lest you get exposed. I don¡¯t want a single problem to crop up for you.¡± ¡°Why aren¡¯t you going to work today?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going, I¡¯ll apany you at home.¡± He stretched out his body, pressing her body right down onto the sofa. Witnessing this scene at the door, Jin Yiheng had his eyes covered as he turned around, running away sensibly. In the afternoon, An Xiaoning hosted a banquet at home, inviting the Jin, Lin, and Gu families over. As she would not be able to see them for some time, An Xiaoning decided to hold this banquet to have a good catch-up with them. The families had all arrived and brought gifts. ¡°Father, Mother, it¡¯s enough that both of you are here. What¡¯s with the gifts?¡± Madam Jinughed. ¡°It¡¯s fine, Mother didn¡¯t buy anything expensive. It¡¯s just a token of sincerity.¡± ¡°Then, I¡¯ll ept them,¡± An Xiaoning replied with a bright grin. ¡°Sister.¡± Lin Shishi went forward and remarked heartily, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you for so long. I told Mother I wanted to find you to y, but Mother said you were busy and not to disturb you.¡± ¡°I was indeed rather busy recently. Today, I called everyone here because I won¡¯t be at home for a few months. I thought since I wouldn¡¯t be able to see all of you for a few months, I would miss all of you. So, everyone please take a seat. Let¡¯s talk as we eat.¡± The group of people moved to the dining area and got seated one after another. Thereafter, Auntie Chen and the maids served the sumptuous dishes onto the dining table. It was a generous feast, with a wide variety of delicacies that filled up the long table. Jin Qingyan stood up and spoke. ¡°Since all of you are Xiaoning¡¯s family, you¡¯re my family too. Here¡¯s a toast to all of you, as a part of this family.¡± Seeing him stand up, everyone started standing up in session and raised their sses to the toast. Everyone was in an especially ecstatic mood given the lively atmosphere. Chapter 502 - The Secret About the Past (120)

Chapter 502: The Secret About the Past (120)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios From the Gu family, only Mr. and Mrs. Gu, Gu Beicheng, and Lin Mingxi came. As for Gu Dongcheng and Xu Youran, An Xiaoning did not invite them. She did not use to harbor any grudge against Gu Dongcheng, but after what happened in M Nation, she felt that this couple really got on one¡¯s nerves and it was better to not invite them. This lunch brought everyone closer to each other. It was the first time the Commander-in-chief¡¯s only son Jin Minxing hade along with his parents to see his godsister. Towards this goddaughter his parents had acknowledged, he had no objections, but he was utterly unfamiliar with her. While he was usually quite outgoing, he was unusually quiet at the dining table and did not speak a lot. An Xiaoning noticed him as well. ¡°Minxing, why aren¡¯t you talking?¡± Madam Jin exined, ¡°He¡¯s rather shy with strangers. This child is usually not like that, he¡¯s extremely lively. But it¡¯s the first time he¡¯s seeing you, so he¡¯s shy.¡± An Xiaoningughed lightly. ¡°What¡¯s there to be shy about? We¡¯re all family.¡± Madam Jin turned to her son. ¡°You heard that? Your sister said we¡¯re all family. Family for life. Come, have a ss with your sister.¡± Jin Minxing got up. ¡°Sister, this toast is to you.¡± ¡°Umm, alright.¡± She clinked her ss with his, and both emptied the ss in one gulp. The gathering this time made An Xiaoning extremely happy. They were all family not rted by blood. But to be able to be one family, wasn¡¯t it all the work of fate? In addition, they could satisfy each other¡¯s needs. An Xiaoning was also clear about how important it was to sincerely put oneself in another¡¯s shoe. When the gathering had ended, Lin Shishi in particr could not bear to leave. ¡°Sister, I like you so much.¡± An Xiaoning hugged her tightly. ¡°I like you very much as well. Shishi, you¡¯re in university now, are you staying in the dormitory?¡± ¡°Yes, my mother says it¡¯s not safe to go back and forth every day.¡± ¡°There can be a lot of disputes in school as well. You ought to be careful in everything you do,¡± An Xiaoning reminded her. ¡°Always be wary of the people around you.¡± ¡°Umm, I understand.¡± After sending all the guests out, An Xiaoning turned and hugged onto Jin Qingyan¡¯s waist tightly. There was still a few hours before nightfall, but she was already unwilling to part with him. ¡°Honey, when I¡¯m not around, you better not be smitten by other young girls.¡± He had his hand around her as they walked back into the house. ¡°I¡¯m already smitten so badly by you, other people don¡¯t stand a chance.¡± An Xiaoning reached out and used her leg to touch his leg lightly from behind while he did the same. The two were like children, hugging each other tightly as they merrily skipped back into the main house. Fan Shixin stood afar, touching his chin as he chuckled non-stop. ¡°Chief, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Xiao Bai popped his head out and asked. ¡°Nothing much. Have you prepared everything I told you to?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Umm, very good. You¡¯ve worked hard.¡± He patted Xiao Bai on his shoulders and briskly walked away. ¡ª ¡°Ms. Jin, there¡¯s a parcel for you.¡± As Jin Qingyue came back from the market, she ran into a worker from the district who casually told this to her. ¡°Parcel? For me? But I haven¡¯t bought anything online.¡± ¡°It¡¯s indeed yours.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll sign on it.¡± Jin Qingyue followed him to the office and quickly signed on the paper, receiving her parcel. When she reached home, she nced at the address from the sender. It was from the same city. Jin Qingyue took a pair of scissors and cut the parcel open. The moment the parcel was opened, she let out a high-pitched scream. A fake rubber snake popped out from the box, giving her a huge scare. After observing it carefully and realizing it was fake, Jin Qingyue was no longer in a good state. She suddenly remembered that time when she had sent a dead rat to her sister-inw. She was probably feeling the same as her sister-inw did at that time. She silently threw the parcel into the rubbish bin. At this point, Jin Qingyue did not wish to know who had sent it. She only knew that this person did not want her to be happy. Because back then, she had sent those dead rats to An Xiaoning with that thought as well. It dawned upon her that she had really gone overboard back then. If the sender wanted her to be upset, why would she go ording to that person¡¯s wish? She would not let the sender of the parcel get their way. She was bent on being happy. She boiling some soup at home, then changed into an exquisite outfit to meet Ling Ciye. After she arrived at his ce, the doorbell rang. The first thought that came to her mind was ¡ª Could it be Song Yan again? As she looked out the peephole, she realized it wasn¡¯t. It was actually Mrs. Ling. They had only met each other briefly. If she were to see her here like this, wouldn¡¯t that be akin to admitting to her rtionship with Ling Ciye? She hurriedly went into the house and called Ling Ciye. She then ced the soup on the kitchen cab, then closed the door of the kitchen, returning back to her room discreetly and locking the door from inside. The doorbell continued to ring, but Jin Qingyue was so stupefied that she did not dare toe out. She continued to wait until Ling Ciye returned. Seeing his mother at the door, Ling Ciye asked, ¡°Mother, why are you here?¡± ¡°Nothing much, just came over to look. I heard you have a new girlfriend, is that true?¡± Ling Ciyeughed. ¡°Who did you hear this from?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to care about that. I¡¯ve pressed the doorbell for so long and the person inside still hasn¡¯t opened the door. Don¡¯t tell me I¡¯m being kept out on purpose?¡± ¡°But there¡¯s nobody inside.¡± Ling Ciye opened the door, entering the house with his mother. After entering, Mrs. Ling instantly smelled the fragrant smell of soup. She immediately went to the kitchen to check and opened the lunch box on the kitchen cab to discover that it was filled with piping-hot soup. ¡°Isn¡¯t this cooked by a woman? You¡¯re still lying to me?¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t I have been the one who made it?¡± Ling Ciye did not want to let his parents know about his rtionship yet. He wasn¡¯t sure if he and Jin Qingyue were really suitable, so it was best to keep it from his parents first. ¡°Ciye, I went to look for Song Yan in the afternoon. She said you have a new girlfriend. I asked her who it was, but she didn¡¯t tell me. What on earth are you thinking?¡± Ling Ciye did not understand what she meant. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been with Song Yan for so many years. I see she¡¯s quite a nice person. Why did you break up with her?¡± ¡°We¡¯re unsuitable for marriage, so I broke up with her.¡± ¡°Then who¡¯s suitable for marriage with you?¡± ¡°Your son is still in the process of finding the person.¡± Ling Ciye knew Jin Qingyue was still in the house, so he remarked, ¡°Alright, Mother. If you have nothing else, I have things to do.¡± However, Mrs. Ling nced at him and could see through his motive. She turned and headed out of the kitchen, checking his bedroom. Seeing that there were no women¡¯s things there, she went to the room next door, but the door was locked. ¡°Is she inside?¡± ¡°Mother, this room is a storage room. I keep all the things I don¡¯t use inside.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe you, open it to show me.¡± ¡°Mother...¡± Ling Ciye saw that his mother was extremely keen on finding out, so he said, ¡°Then, you can stay here. I have other things to do, I¡¯m going out.¡± She watched as he took the lunch box from the kitchen and was about to leave, but Mrs. Ling stood there not moving an inch. He walked to the door, then turned back. ¡°Mother, I won¡¯t be back tonight. If there¡¯s food in the refrigerator, you can stay here tonight.¡± Mrs. Ling waved him away. ¡°I¡¯m confident that there¡¯s a woman inside. You, don¡¯t lie to me, just go. Go where you have to, don¡¯t bother about me.¡± Ling Ciye nodded and really shut the door as he left. On the other hand, Jin Qingyue was in for a hard time. She had thought that Mrs. Ling would leave after some time. Who knew that even after a very long time, she would not leave. The bedroom only had one window, but it had an anti-theft function and it was pretty far from the ground floor. It was evident that she could not sneak out from the window and could only wait on like that. Chapter 503 - The Secret About the Past (121)

Chapter 503: The Secret About the Past (121)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She had no choice but to let his mother believe that there was indeed nobody inside. Jin Qingyue had not eaten her lunch and had intended to send Ling Ciye the soup she made, then buy some food on the street for herself as well. But it seemed like everything had gone down the drain now. She could only lie down on the bed and get a good sleep. But before she could get to sleep, she heard Mrs. Ling outside the door calling the locksmithpany. This was not a good sign. After much thought, Jin Qingyue could only switch off her phone first so that she would not give herself away. Then, she put all her clothes and belongings into a suitcase, cing it into the cab, where she hid it under stacks of nkets. She also put away all the female products in the room. Then what about herself? She lifted the bed up and found there was a nk in the middle that had a narrow space that separated the bed from the ground. It was impossible for a person to hide in it, but in this room, there was nowhere else for her to hide in, and it was even more embarrassing for her to hide in the wardrobe as she would be easily exposed. After contemting, Jin Qingyue lifted the bed up lightly and slowlyy down on the wooden board in the bed. She then slowly moved toward the head of the bed. Because she was thin, lying there was just fine for her. However, the gap in between was too small and her nose was stuck closely to the surface on top such that she could not even breathe smoothly. The locksmithpany that Mrs. Ling hired arrived very soon. When they opened the door, witnessing the scene inside made Mrs. Lingpletely stunned. It was a very clean room that did not look like a storage room, but there was indeed no belongings of a woman. There wasn¡¯t even a woman in sight. She suddenly suspected if she had made a wrong spection. After searching the bathroom and wardrobe, she found that there was indeed nobody. But she discovered Jin Qingyue¡¯s clothes. Thinking about it, Mrs. Ling realized that those could have been Song Yan¡¯s belongings. But since the two had broken up, her belongings were kept aside here. Little did she know that, when Ling Ciye and Song Yan were together, she had never moved into Wei Ni Estate. Surveying her surroundings, she bent down and looked at the bed. She realized it was separated by partitions. She instantly turned and told the locksmith to ce a new lock for the door. Meanwhile, Ling Ciye was still in his car downstairs and had not left. He had sent messages to Jin Qingyue, all of which had not been replied to. Heter saw someone who resembled a locksmith carrying a case into the stairway. Ling Ciye sat there for some time and finally could not take it and went back upstairs with the soup in hand. When he went back, he saw that the door had been opened and the locksmith was putting on a new lock. ¡°Mother, what are you doing?¡± Mrs. Ling replied, embarrassed, ¡°You didn¡¯t want to let Mother see, so I had to think of a way, right? Fine, I¡¯ve seen that there¡¯s nobody inside. I believe you.¡± Nobody? Where had Jin Qingyue gone to? He suppressed the doubts he had inside and did not dare to look in. After sending away the locksmith and witnessing his mother¡¯s car drive far away, he finally ran back upstairs. Dashing right into Jin Qingyue¡¯s room, he made a call to her but her phone was switched off. ¡°Qingyue? My mother¡¯s gone.¡± ¡°Umm...¡± A soft murmur came from under the bed. Ling Ciye lifted the bed up and saw that her face had turned green from her not breathing properly. He was instantly guilty as he asked her, ¡°Why did you hide in such a small ce? I thought you would tell my mother the truth.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you didn¡¯t want to let so many people know about us for now? Since you didn¡¯t want to, I didn¡¯t want to upset you as well.¡± Ling Ciye¡¯s heart was stirred up for a moment as he helped her up and moved the bed back down. ¡°Where are your things?¡± ¡°In the wardrobe.¡± When she turned and opened the wardrobe, she realized that the luggage had been rummaged through. ¡°Your mother knows there are women¡¯s clothes in here.¡± ¡°She probably thought these were Song Yan¡¯s things,¡± Ling Ciye replied as he helped her carry her luggage out, cing it on the floor. ¡°So she really didn¡¯t realize, right?¡± ¡°No. It¡¯s been hard on you.¡± Jin Qingyue shook her head. ¡°No, what¡¯s hard about it? Actually, I¡¯m really rather afraid to face Auntie. If she found out it was me, she would have been furious.¡± ¡°You shoulde out.¡± Ling Ciye turned around and headed towards the door while she followed behind. After making lunch, Jin Qingyue passed him the bowl of food with utensils. ¡°I¡¯d wanted to go out and eat and send you the soup, but our ns obviously can¡¯t happen anymore. Let¡¯s just eat at home then.¡± ¡°Actually, the food outside is probably not as good as what you make.¡± Jin Qingyue raised her head abruptly and nced at him, her cheeks flushing slightly. ¡°Beingplimented by you like that actually makes me very happy.¡± She did not bother covering up her true emotions. There was no need to. As they ate their lunch idly, Ling Ciye felt that during this period of time he had spent with her, he saw another side of her he had never seen before. Although they grew up together and had a certain level of understanding about each other, it was all from the perspective of siblings and not between a man and a woman. After the change in their rtionship, he realized that she was much more mature than he had imagined. Maybe because she had gained more experiences, the current person she was allowed him to see a tender and feminine side of her. It was exactly the kind of wife he wanted ¡ª a domestic woman who could assist her husband and raise her children. He did not want a career woman as a wife, since both of them would be busy and would not have enough time to spend with each other. Wasn¡¯t that so? While Jin Qingyue was eating, she realized he was smiling as he looked at her. She rapidly lowered her head, her heart rate elerating profusely. ¡°Next time, if such a thing happens again, don¡¯t hide underneath the bed anymore.¡± ¡°Umm?¡± Jin Qingyue never expected he would say that. ¡°Didn¡¯t you not want...¡± ¡°That¡¯s still better than you hiding under the bed.¡± ¡°Brother Ciye, no wonder I¡¯m getting more fond of you now. You¡¯re so nice.¡± ¡°Quickly, eat...¡± Jin Qingyue was exceptionally pleased inside. After their meal, Jin Qingyue went to wash the bowls. On the other hand, he just stood by the door and watched her. ¡°Brother Ciye, you can go to the sofa to rest.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not tired, why should I rest? Later, let¡¯s go for a drive?¡± ¡°Really?¡± Her eyes sparkled with excitement. ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± ¡°Umm. I¡¯ll go and change first.¡± Jin Qingyue watched as his figure went further away from the kitchen door, her heart stirring with excitement in that moment. She speedily washed the cutlery and took off her apron, running back into the room to rearrange her things. She then put on some makeup and got ready to leave the house with him. Jin Qingyue felt like she had turned back into a young girl all of a sudden. That feeling was like she going out with one¡¯s first love for the very first time. It was refreshing, exhrating, and delightful. It was just a drive. However, it did not stop her heart from bursting with joy. ¡°Where do you want to go?¡± ¡°Anywhere is fine. As long as it¡¯s with you, I¡¯m happy.¡± Hearing her say this, Ling Ciye could feel his heart skip a beat. The corner of his lips curled into a smile. ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll decide.¡± The car speedily drove out of Wei Ni Estate, and the car roof of the convertible slowly opened up. The wind blew past their ears, and the weather was exceptionally cooling after the rain. In thisfortable atmosphere, Jin Qingyue raised both her hands up, all pumped up as she shouted, ¡°It¡¯s been such a long time since I¡¯ve felt so happy.¡± ¡°What¡¯s there to be happy about this?¡± ¡°Of course, this may be nothing to you, but it¡¯s different for me. I feel like I¡¯ve turned younger by so many years. It feels like I¡¯ve found who I was when I was younger. Brother Ciye, thank you for giving me this chance.¡± ¡°Rather than say I¡¯ve given you this chance, it¡¯s more like you¡¯ve given me a chance as well.¡± The two exchanged meaningful looks and broke into wide smiles. Chapter 504 - The Secret About the Past (122)

Chapter 504: The Secret About the Past (122)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The couple acted lovey-dovey for the whole afternoon. When evening finally came near, Jin Qingyan started nagging her about all sorts of things. ¡°You love eating spicy food, you should cut down on it. Eating too much will make your body heaty. Eat more light-tasting food. Also, you need to keep that temper of yours in control there. It¡¯s best not to start any trouble. The President has two sons and a daughter. While you¡¯re working around his daughter, you must be extra careful of his two sons.¡± ¡°Careful of what?¡± An Xiaoning asked the obvious. ¡°Be careful to make sure they don¡¯t fall for you, of course.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning felt that he was really overthinking! ¡°Didn¡¯t I already say, with that mask that you made for me, no one will fall for me. Don¡¯t worry, with such an ordinary-looking face, the Prince will only fall for me if he¡¯s blind.¡± ¡°You still have to be careful, because you have a good character.¡± He still looked as if he could not rest assured. ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯ll be careful, I¡¯ll take extra caution, okay?¡± Jin Qingyan was really unwilling to let her go, but he knew well and clear that when An Xiaoning wanted to do something, it meant that she had a strong desire burning within her to do it. That was who she was. ¡°Young Sir, Young Madam, it¡¯s time,¡± Fan Shixin reminded them from the door. Jin Qingyan replied, ¡°Got it.¡± He took out a few head essories from his pocket and a ball of very thin string for her. ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate the thinness of the string. It¡¯s not only strong but also very powerful. I¡¯ve let people try it out. Even if you pull it from three storeys down, it wouldn¡¯t break. The head essories are the same as the ones I gave you before. There¡¯re needles inside. They will definitely do a body check when you go in, so knives and guns are forbidden. Only the Princess herself can equip you with it.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± She took the things from him. Jin Qingyan got up and took her hand in his. ¡°Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll drive you there.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and followed him downstairs. They ran into Jin Yiheng at that moment. ¡°Daddy, Mommy, where are you both going?¡± ¡°Mommy¡¯s going on a business trip, you must listen to Daddy at home.¡± ¡°Mommy, why are you going on a business trip again when you just came back from one?¡± Jin Yiheng was evidently unhappy. ¡°No wonder Daddy has been clinging to you every day since you were back. So he already knew that you were going on another business trip.¡± An Xiaoning went forward and bent down to kiss his cheek. ¡°Mommy will be back very soon. Sweetie, don¡¯t be naughty at home. Remember everything that Mommy taught you before.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan boarded the car together and it slowly drove out of their front gate, leaving Wei Ni Estate. The car headed towards B City, the capital city of S Nation, at a steady pace. A City was not the capital city but a prosperous urban city in S Nation. They did not take a ne there but chose to drive because not only was it only a short distance away but he also wanted to spend a little more time with her. The two sat in the back row of the car, tightly gripping onto each other¡¯s hands. The few hours¡¯ journey there seemed exceptionally fast. It had not felt that quick usually, but at this point, Jin Qingyan felt that these few hours had gone by in just a few minutes. It was so quick that he was rather taken by surprise. Unless time froze at a particr second, how could he prevent them from reaching their destination? When they reached B City at 10 o¡¯clock in the evening, it was also time for the couple to part with each other. ¡°Right, I almost forgot to ask. What name am I using inside?¡± ¡°Mu Ning. It¡¯s the ¡®Ning¡¯ from your original name. What do you think?¡± An Xiaoning felt that it was fine. ¡°Alright, Mu Ning it will be then.¡± ¡°Your age and background are all on this piece of paper.¡± He took out the paper to show her. As the lights in the car lit up, An Xiaoning read the content on the piece of paper. It was all easy to remember. ¡°Umm. I got it.¡± When the car arrived before a huge gate, it slowly pulled over. Jin Qingyan kissed her ferociously. ¡°You aren¡¯t allowed to get hurt or let anything happen to you. If you really can¡¯t find them, give me a call. I¡¯lle and fetch you home.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± she answered, almost choking on her emotions. ¡°Believe me, I¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°Of course I believe you. Go on, that¡¯s the person who will help you.¡± He looked out the window and saw a man who was already standing there, waiting for her. ¡°Okay.¡± After showing him affection for thest time, An Xiaoning finally got down from the car. Fan Shixin drove the car away, and it slowly disappeared from An Xiaoning¡¯s line of sight. ¡°Young Madam, I¡¯m Xiao Chi. I¡¯m the secret agent that Young Sir has ced here. I work as a bodyguard for the Prince. Although there are other people of ours inside, for now, only I know of your identity so you should trust only me. Don¡¯t worry, Young Madam, Young Sir has already told me. I will help you.¡± An Xiaoning nodded. ¡°Call me Mu Ning from here on.¡± ¡°Alright,e in with me.¡± An Xiaoning followed him inside and was searched by a woman. Only after she cleared the search for any sharp objects or weapons was she allowed in. After entering the room, An Xiaoning first felt that something about the atmosphere there made it exceptionally dreary, perhaps because it was nighttime. Under the illumination of themps, the ce was boundless and appeared magnificent like an ancient royal pce. The paths inside were also especially confusing, which made her lose her sense of direction. It felt like she would really get lost at this ce because all the paths converged in numerous ways. Xiao Chi brought her to a door of a room and said, ¡°Mu Ning, you¡¯ll be staying here tonight first. Tomorrow morning, I¡¯ll bring you to see the Princess.¡± ¡°Alright, it¡¯s been hard on you.¡± ¡°Not at all.¡± Xiao Chi switched on the lights for her and left after closing the door shut. An Xiaoningy down and sent a text message to Jin Qingyan before turning in for the night. Maybe because she¡¯d just arrived in an unfamiliar environment, she did not have a good sleep the whole night. Fortunately, the night passed in the blink of an eye. After waking up, she felt her arms and back aching as the bed was too hard. Early in the morning, Xiao Chi arrived outside her door and knocked on it. Lugging her suitcase, An Xiaoning followed him to find the Princess. Watching the environment here in the day, she felt rather moved. The scenery was nice, with greenery surrounding her everywhere she went. It was also why the crisp morning air was filled with pure freshness. With her mask on, An Xiaoning walked a very long way with him before arriving before a door. ¡°This is where the Princess lives. Follow me.¡± She nodded and passed through the door. The house was designed in a European style and was rather spacious. Following him to the entrance of the living room, he stopped and told a maid, ¡°Sister Zhi Yin, please tell Her Highness that the new bodyguard has arrived.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Zhi Yin worked for the Princess ¡ª Tuoba Danxue. To put it nicely, she was her trusted servant. To put it bluntly, she was but a maid. Zhi Yin turned and headed upstairs to inform the Princess but came back down very soon. ¡°Xiao Chi, you can return. As for you, Her Highness has not woken up yet.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Xiao Chi took a nce at An Xiaoning before leaving. An Xiaoning, on the other hand, just stood there to continue waiting. It was only after two hours that Tuoba Danxue finally got up. Wearing a long, white dress with artistic prints and a small piece of outerwear, she sat down at the dining table, her face dolled up with exquisite makeup. An Xiaoning entered with her luggage, appearing before her. ¡°You¡¯re the new bodyguard?¡± Chapter 505 - The Secret About the Past (123)

Chapter 505: The Secret About the Past (123)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your name? Introduce yourself.¡± Tuoba Danxue raised her eyebrows and nced at her. ¡°I¡¯m Mu Ning, I¡¯m 24 this year. I have an ordinary family and once trained at the devil training camp for a long time, so I know how to use a gun and a knife. My skills are good as well, so I¡¯ll have no problem protecting Your Highness.¡± ¡°Umm, not bad. Do you know whose position you¡¯re recing?¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s gaze was fixed slightly downwards at the ground. ¡°No.¡± ¡°It was a female bodyguard as well. She left without staying for too long. Do you know why she couldn¡¯t continue working here?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t.¡± An Xiaoning thought to herself, Is this Princess stupid? Of course I wouldn¡¯t know, isn¡¯t she asking the obvious? ¡°It¡¯s because she went to give birth, of course.¡± An Xiaoning remained silent, at a loss for words. ¡°You¡¯re probably thinking that I bullied her and drove her away right?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t dare to have such thoughts.¡± Tuoba Danxueughed lightly. ¡°Even if you do, I won¡¯t know. But seeing how you look, I think you¡¯ll be fine. You can stay then. Zhi Yin, arrange her lodging. The room beside mine will do.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± An Xiaoning looked at how she acted as if she was her only bodyguard. Otherwise, why would she let her live in the room next to hers? Or perhaps, she was the only bodyguard that followed her around everywhere. The other bodyguards might only be on duty when she goes out. The room was huge. One look and she knew she was being treated well. The windows were not attached with an anti-theft detector, so An Xiaoning was particrly pleased with this. Because it meant that if she had something urgent, she could just go out from the windows. After stowing her luggage, An Xiaoning immediately went out again. Zhi Yin passed her a gun and a dagger. Looking at the gun, An Xiaoning realized it did not have a silencer. How she missed her silent pistol! ¡°You have never seen a real gun, have you? Not everyone can touch this. Stop looking at it like that, I¡¯m going outter. Youe with me.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± She stood there, arming herself with the gun and dagger. Tuoba Danxue was satisfied with this ordinary-looking female bodyguard. The people around her were mostly in-looking other than Zhi Yin, her trusted servant, who had refreshing and refined looks. No one looked better than she herself did. It was typical of a woman to not want the people around her to look better than herself. It was understandably human nature, after all. After her meal, Tuoba Danxue brought Zhi Yin and An Xiaoning out. She was not actually going out of the Autumn Pce. Simply out of her own house. The Autumn Pce was not somewhere she could just leave anytime. As the outside was too dangerous, she had to report to her parents whenever she went out. ¡°Your Highness, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re going to Second Prince¡¯s ce?¡± Zhi Yin stuttered slightly as she spoke. ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Your Highness, because you keep going over there, there¡¯re rumors spreading already.¡± Tuoba Danxue appearedpletely unbothered. ¡°What rumors can there be when I¡¯m looking for my second brother? Whoever dares to start these rumors, I will make them suffer.¡± ¡°Your Highness, you don¡¯t have to keep it from me. There¡¯s only the three of us here and no outsiders. Mu Ning definitely won¡¯t dare to let it out. You¡¯re going to find Feng right? Your Highness, I really can¡¯t see you go on like this. If the President finds out about this, he will definitely not let me off easily.¡± Zhi Yin added, ¡°If the President and Madam learn about this, they definitely won¡¯t allow you to be with Feng.¡± Tuoba Danxue remained indifferent. ¡°It¡¯s still too early for that. Even if I¡¯m willing, he might not be. What are you worried about?¡± ¡°Your Highness has such pretty looks, it¡¯s only a matter of time before Feng gives in to your aggressive chasing.¡± Tuoba Danxue enjoyed hearing her words. She reached out her hand and hung it around Zhi Yin¡¯s neck. ¡°I¡¯m 22 already. It¡¯s the age for me to get into a rtionship. People already start falling in love at university, but I have no dating experience at all, isn¡¯t it absurd?¡± ¡°But, Your Highness, you haven¡¯t been in a rtionship. Neither have I.¡± ¡°Then are you dying to fall in love right now?¡± Tuoba Danxueughed. ¡°If you take a fancy to someone, I¡¯ll help you. Although I may not be able to decide for myself, I can definitely do so for you. I¡¯ll allow you to start a rtionship.¡± Zhi Yin broke into a wide grin. ¡°But, Your Highness, you can¡¯t decide for the person I like.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve fallen for the President?¡± ¡°Your Highness!¡± Zhi Yin stomped her foot in surprise. ¡°If someone were to hear that, both you and I will be punished! It¡¯s your father that you¡¯re talking about.¡± Tuoba Danxue couldn¡¯t stop giggling in delight. ¡°It¡¯s just a joke. Look at you, getting all serious and worked up.¡± ¡°Of course I have to be serious.¡± ¡°Then, who have you taken a fancy to?¡± Zhi Yin shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t want to say.¡± ¡°Tell me, I can help you.¡± ¡°Then you have to keep it a secret. You as well...¡± She turned to An Xiaoning. ¡°Don¡¯t tell a single soul.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± An Xiaoning nodded in acknowledgment, her face extremely sincere. ¡°Quick, tell me.¡± ¡°Your Highness, it¡¯s the First Prince.¡± Tuoba Danxue was taken aback. ¡°My eldest brother?¡± ¡°Umm. I told you, you can¡¯t help me. But, Your Highness, I don¡¯t harbor any thoughts. I just simply like him. His Highness is so handsome, I¡¯m sure very few girls here don¡¯t like him.¡± ¡°But, don¡¯t they like my second brother more? My eldest brother is so serious...¡± ¡°I like the Second Prince as well...¡± Tuoba Danxue immediately disregarded her words,menting inly, ¡°The kind of feelings you¡¯re talking about isn¡¯t love, then. Find someone you really like. I really can¡¯t help you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just saying it for fun. It¡¯s purely admiration.¡± Tuoba Danxue noticed An Xiaoning wasn¡¯t speaking, so she asked, ¡°Have you been in a rtionship?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°How does it feel?¡± ¡°Feel?¡± An Xiaoning slowly exined, ¡°Although I went through and suffered a lot being with him, I still love life and harbor expectations for the future.¡± ¡°I like how you put it.¡± Tuoba Danxue fixed her gaze on her. ¡°Have the two of you broken up now?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Very good,¡± she remarked frankly. ¡°Then I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about you being like Zhi Yin and the other girls who have a crush on my brothers.¡± Although An Xiaoning kept a calm smile on her face, the thoughts that filled up her mind made her heart race like the scene of a battlefield. Having a crush on men? What kind of handsome men had she not seen before? Putting aside the fact that her husband Jin Qingyan was remarkably handsome, Gu Beicheng had the charming look of a bad boy while Ye Xiaotian, Ling Ciye, and Long Tianze wereparably good-looking as well. Did she really think that just because she had an ordinary-looking face, she was a country bumpkin? She really underestimated An Xiaoning, didn¡¯t she? ¡°Your Highness, with Mu Ning¡¯s looks, I¡¯m sure her boyfriend couldn¡¯t possibly be handsome as well.¡± Tuoba Danxue onlyughed and did not reply to her, obviously agreeing with what she had said. An Xiaoning pretended that she had not heard it and fixed her gaze forward, following behind them. After walking for about half an hour, they finally reached the ce where Tuoba Gucheng lived. The three entered one after another. Looking at this house, An Xiaoning noticed that there was a huge amount of trees nted everywhere. It made one feel serene and peaceful at heart. Reaching the entrance of the living room, Tuoba Danxue then called out, ¡°Second Brother, you¡¯re actually at home?¡± Chapter 506 - The Secret About the Past (124)

Chapter 506: The Secret About the Past (124)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°What¡¯s wrong... are you very disappointed to see me? Who are you here to look for if not me?¡± Upon hearing the alluring male voice, An Xiaoning turned around to see a figure in red standing up. His features were perfectly chiseled, and he was dashingly handsome. ¡°Of course I¡¯m here to look for you. I¡¯ve missed you, Brother.¡± ¡°Save it, Feng is not around. You¡¯re going to be disappointed,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng, clearly unconvinced. ¡°He¡¯s not around? Where did he go?¡± Tuoba Danxue asked eagerly. ¡°He took leave and went home.¡± ¡°When did he apply for leave? When did he go home? Why did he do that?¡± Tuoba Gucheng snorted withughter and said, ¡°Look how concerned you are. I wonder if I¡¯ll drive you nuts if I don¡¯t tell you.¡± ¡°Brother, tell me quick.¡± ¡°He said that his parents called him home for an urgent matter which he did not mention explicitly. I didn¡¯t ask him in detail either.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you ask him?¡± Tuoba Danxue asked, pulling a long face. A sudden thought crossed her mind and she quickly blurted, ¡°Could he have gone home for a matchmaking session?¡± ¡°Maybe he did,¡± Tuoba Gucheng said with a sheepish grin. ¡°Brother, I want to go out of the pce.¡± ¡°Go ahead, I¡¯m not stopping you anyway. Just don¡¯t let Father and Mother find out.¡± Tuoba Danxue sat down and said, ¡°You know that¡¯s impossible... Brother, give Feng a call and ask him what he went home for.¡± ¡°No,¡± he refused, not wishing to meddle with her matters. However, he knew that a romance between his sister and his bodyguard would be impossible. ¡°Brother, I¡¯m begging you.¡± ¡°Danxue, I¡¯m begging you too. Don¡¯t put me in a spot.¡± Tuoba Danxue remained in her seat sulkily without uttering another word. An Xiaoning looked down and avoided eye contact with anyone while standing there quietly. Little did she expect to be sized up by someone. ¡°Is this country bumpkin the new bodyguard Xiao Chi hired for you?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Just like what I expected. You really only ever hire ugly bodyguards. The pretty ones are never to your liking,¡± he remarked with a faint smile. I know the features of this mask may be average, but it¡¯s not to the extent of being ugly, is it...? An Xiaoning thought to herself. She looked up at Tuoba Gucheng and subconsciously rolled her eyes at him, causing him to be momentarily stunned. He stared at her again, only to find that she was looking down at the ground, as if he had just hallucinated. He could not help but take a few more nces at An Xiaoning. ¡°Hey, country bumpkin, what¡¯s your name?¡± As much as An Xiaoning did not wish to answer him, she knew she ought to do so in order not tond herself in trouble. She looked up at him and said while smiling, ¡°Your Highness, my name is Mu Ning.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so ugly yet you have such an unfitting name. Your parents must really be oblivious.¡± An Xiaoning did not have a good impression of him at all. How could he be so rude and callous? ¡°Your Highness, looks are only superficial. Personality and character are what matter most.¡± ¡°But who would be so retarded as to approach and discover the personality of an ugly person?¡± ¡°If people only judged others based on appearance, how are you going to be so sure that someone loves you for who you are and not for your looks?¡± An Xiaoning retorted. Startled by her bold response, Tuoba Gucheng walked toward her slowly and stared at her with fierce eyes, after which he scoffed, ¡°Tell me then, how are you supposed to find out if someone loves you for who you are and not for your appearance?¡± An Xiaoning held his gaze fearlessly, with no signs of attraction towards him at all. Tuoba Gucheng was taken aback, for he could make most women in the Autumn Pce blush and make their hearts race with just one look. Yet, An Xiaoning managed to make eye contact with him while maintaining herposure. ¡°When you fall in love with someone for who they are, you would be willing to do anything for them, even if being together with them would bring about a great deal of suffering and pain. You won¡¯t let any tough ordeals or obstacles hinder you from loving them unconditionally. Meanwhile, if you only love someone for their looks, you definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to do so much for them. Superficial love can never stand strong in the face of life¡¯s challenges and difficulties,¡± An Xiaoning said, voicing her opinion. Tuoba Danxue stared at An Xiaoning in astonishment and said, ¡°Brother, I think Mu Ning makes a lot of sense.¡± ¡°You sound as if you¡¯ve experienced a lot in love. You must¡¯ve had tons of chicken soup, eh?¡± Tuoba Gucheng remarked. An Xiaoning did not answer and remained quiet. She cocked her head sideways to find that Zhi Yin was staring at her with a look of disgruntlement. An Xiaoning immediately understood the reason for her reaction upon recalling what Tuoba Danxue told her while on their way to the pce. Having made a wasted trip since she did not get to see the person she wanted, Tuoba Danxue decided to leave after sitting around for a short while. Zhi Yin could no longer suppress her dissatisfaction andshed out at An Xiaoning. ¡°Did you do that on purpose?¡± ¡°Did what on purpose?¡± ¡°You purposely tried to grasp the attention of His Highness by bringing up the topic about love to him, didn¡¯t you?¡± Zhi Yin questioned with a straight face and widened eyes. ¡°You call that attention-seeking? Aren¡¯t you reading too much into things, Sister Zhi Yin? The royals will never be attracted to people like us.¡± Tuoba Danxue agreed with An Xiaoning, ¡°Zhi Yin, you are thinking too far...¡± ¡°Your Highness, I think she¡¯s outright doing it on purpose,¡± Zhi Yin groused. Tuoba Danxue chuckled and said, ¡°Even if she¡¯s really doing it on purpose, do you seriously think my brother would fall for her? He¡¯s not even attracted to a ravishing beauty like you, let alone Mu Ning, whom he calls a country bumpkin.¡± Zhi Yin instantly felt more relieved andforted as she found that Tuoba Danxue did make sense. ¡ª Lin Mingxi began spreading the word about her ns to open arge-scale fitness center. She happened to bump into Xu Youran while on her way out in the morning. ¡°Sister-inw, where are you going?¡± ¡°Thank you for the concern, Sister-inw. I¡¯m going out for a walk.¡± Lin Mingxi greeted her exceptionally politely. ¡°Oh, I see. Go ahead then,¡± Xu Youran chirped merrily with a wide grin. Lin Mingxi left right away, not sure why Xu Youran was in such a good mood. Xu Youran entered the living room to see that Mrs. Gu was sipping on some tea. Xu Youran skipped forward gleefully and eximed, ¡°Mother, I have good news for you. I¡¯m pregnant!¡± ¡°You¡¯re pregnant?¡± Mrs. Gu asked in astonishment. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m expecting. Dongcheng and I were just nning to try for a baby recently. Turns out I¡¯m already pregnant for more than a month,¡± Xu Youran said delightfully. Mrs. Gu smiled courteously and said, ¡°That¡¯s indeed worth celebrating. Have you told your parents yet?¡± ¡°Yes, my mother¡¯s over the moon.¡± ¡°So am I. Youran, women ought to be more kind-hearted and benevolent once they¡¯re pregnant. You have to umte good karma for your child, lest you end up in a sorry plight like Chi Rui¡¯er. Do you know how Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s son died?¡± ¡°I do.¡± ¡°What you know is only the partial truth. I heard from Xiaoning that her son was the reincarnation of the fetus she aborted previously and he was here to seek revenge from her. That child suffered chronic health issues just months after he was born. In the end, he still couldn¡¯t pull through and passed on way too early.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Xu Youran asked in shock. ¡°Of course it¡¯s real. Dongcheng probably only knows a little about it too.¡± ¡°There¡¯s seriously such a logic?¡± Xu Youran thought that Mrs. Gu was exaggerating and being far too superstitious. Chapter 507 - The Secret About the Past (125)

Chapter 507: The Secret About the Past (125)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Mother, I do believe in the existence of supernatural beings, but isn¡¯t this a little too far-fetched?¡± ¡°There are many things in this world that you can¡¯t assume don¡¯t exist simply because you haven¡¯t seen them with your own eyes. Everything we¡¯ve learned about since the day we were born are merely concepts and ideologies conjured by the human mind. There are many uncertainties in life that humans have yet to discover. Nheless, we ought to be kind-hearted and do good deeds in order to umte merit for ourselves and our family,¡± Mrs. Gu said, smiling. Her words sent a shiver down Xu Youran¡¯s spine. ¡°Yes, I agree with you.¡± They smiled at each other courteously, each having different ideas of their own deep down. From Mrs. Gu¡¯s perspective, Xu Youran and Gu Dongcheng definitely did not matter as much to her as An Xiaoning and Gu Beicheng did. It was merely a genuine feeling of emotional distance she felt towards the former. On the other hand, Xu Youran did not even consider Mrs. Gu to be her mother-inw and did not treat her like her kin at all. Both of them had always been harmonious only on the surface. In fact, they each had their own precautions and thoughts about each other. ¡°Mother, what did Xiaoning call you and Father to go to her ce for?¡± ¡°She just wanted me to meet her two sets of godparents and have a casual chat to know each other better over a meal,¡± Mrs. Gu answered. ¡°Oh, I see. Xiaoning is really fortunate to have three sets of godparents. I¡¯m really envious of her.¡± ¡°What¡¯s there to be envious about? Don¡¯t you have three sets of parents yourself too? You have your biological parents, your adoptive parents, and your parents-inw. You say that you¡¯re envious of Xiaoning, but maybe Xiaoning envies you too?¡± Mrs. Gu said earnestly. ¡°Me? What¡¯s... there to envy about me?¡± ¡°You always have your family to defend and clean up after the mess you¡¯ve created whenever you stir trouble,¡± Mrs. Gu replied. A sullen look formed on Xu Youran¡¯s face at the instant that she heard her answer. ¡°Um, Mother, I¡¯m going upstairs first.¡± ¡°Okay, go ahead.¡± Mrs. Gu did not change her tone throughout and her smile only vanished after Xu Youran had made her way upstairs. ¡ª ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t this Ms. Sun?¡± Bai Duocai gibed with a sheepish grin while stroking his bald head. Sun Weiwei was working as a waitress at a restaurant and did not expect to bump into Bai Duocai there. ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s me.¡± ¡°Why have you resorted to bing a waitress here? Your life is in such a sorry state... what¡¯s the point of suffering here? Are you willing to leave with me? I promise you¡¯ll lead a better life than this,¡± Bai Duocai gloated. Sun Weiwei had had no choice but to take on the job as a waitress. After all, life has to go on. Having grown ustomed to being a spendthrift and having a ton of money tovish away, her current life of struggling to make ends meet was indeed a torture for her. She was surprised to hear the offer he made. ¡°Mr. Bai, how much are you willing to pay me a month?¡± Bai Duocai looked her up and down before answering, ¡°Based on the state you are in now... you¡¯re at most worth this much.¡± He stuck a finger out. ¡°100 thousand dors?¡± ¡°Do you really think you¡¯re worth that much? I meant 10 thousand dors. Don¡¯t you remember how haughty and arrogant you were when I tried to ask you out for a meal back then? Didn¡¯t you end up being raped by me anyway? My decision is final. I¡¯m willing to offer you 10 thousand dors only because you used to be a famous celebrity,¡± Bai Duocai scorned. ¡°I¡¯m willing to go with you, but you have to provide for my meals and amodation as well as my clothes and cosmetic products,¡± Sun Weiwei agreed, thinking that 10 thousand dors was still better than the peanuts she was making as a waitress now. She had been struggling with her drug addiction because she could not afford to keep up with her doping needs. Yet, she was not willing to be a prostitute to earn quick money for drugs. Thus, she had no choice but to suck it up and cope with the withdrawal symptoms. Although life was a living hell during her period of staying clean, she managed to pull through in the end. She sessfully kicked her addiction to drugs. ¡°Sure,¡± Bai Duocai agreed straight away, not bothered by the meager sum of money. Sun Weiwei thus left with him. Once they got inside the car, Bai Duocai could not contain his eagerness and reached out to squeeze her bosom. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you in way too long. Didn¡¯t expect to see you ending up in such a pathetic plight. Ye Xiaotian must¡¯ve condemned you severely back then.¡± Smiling wryly, Sun Weiwei answered, ¡°Yeah, life is torturous for me now.¡± ¡°Do you want to continue being an actress?¡± ¡°Can you help me with that?¡± ¡°Of course I can, it¡¯ll just depend on whether you¡¯re willing to do it or not. Are you willing to star in erotic films?¡± Bai Duocai asked. ¡°Those... how much will I be paid per film?¡± Sun Weiwei asked. ¡°On ount that you¡¯re living so pathetically now, I¡¯m willing to offer you 200 thousand dors for each film.¡± ¡°Only 200 thousand?¡± Sun Weiwei asked with furrowed brows. If it was in the past, she would never agree to star in such films even if she were offered 100 million dors. ¡°I won¡¯t force you if you¡¯re not willing to,¡± said Bai Duocai, knowing that she would definitely agree given how sorry of a plight she was in now. Thus, hiring her to star in the film would be value for money since it would surely be a hit due to the fact that she used to be an A-lister. Sun Weiwei was indeed in desperate need for cash because life was way too arduous now that she was penniless. ¡°Brother Bai, could you offer me a little more?¡± ¡°220 thousand dors. That¡¯s the highest I can offer.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯m up for it.¡± Bai Duocai caressed her hair and said, ¡°Sure, it¡¯s a deal, then. Come here, baby.¡± Sun Weiwei leaned into his embrace reluctantly. However, she still forced herself toply since he was going to be her cash cow very soon. In fact, Sun Weiwei felt rather uneasy every time she saw anyone from the Bai family, mostly because she was afraid that she would be exposed for indirectly causing Bai Ranran¡¯s death. She was terrified and dreaded it, although it had already been years since the incident had taken ce. In hindsight, Sun Weiwei actually regretted killing Bai Ranran, for Mo Li would not have stood a chance with Ye Xiaotian if Bai Ranran were to have married him back then. Yet, she ended up gaining nothing while Mo Li benefited from Bai Ranran¡¯s death. The more she thought about it, the more foolish she felt. ¡°I¡¯m a little curious, why did Ye Xiaotian destroy your career back then? Weren¡¯t you his godsister?¡± ¡°I did something wrong so I was punished for my mistake.¡± Sun Weiwei recalled the past where Ye Xiaotian supported her and shot her to fame. During the peak of her career, she would be signing film contracts one after another and taking on offers to film variety programs and reality shows continuously. Money was flowing freely into her pocket non-stop. Back then, it had never urred to her that she would ever be reduced to a life of rags. Had she known earlier, she would have saved more money instead ofvishing them away, thinking that money would never be a problem for her since her career would only continue to improve in the future. She could not help but feel overwhelmed with misery and regret at the thought of her glorious past. Yet, there was no one to me for she had brought all these upon herself. Bai Duocai was pleased to see the had-been A-lister, whom he used to put on a pedestal, trying to butter him up and bring him pleasure. In the evening, Bai Duocai brought her to the nightclub. As soon as they entered, they were greeted with the sight of Ye Xiaotian. ¡°Look who¡¯s there.¡± Sun Weiwei immediately stopped in her tracks at the instant that she saw Ye Xiaotian. ¡°I see him here rather often without his wife. Do you think he¡¯s stopped paying attention to her?¡± Shaking her head, Sun Weiwei said, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Would you like to go chat with him?¡± ¡°No.¡± Sun Weiwei was too embarrassed to bring herself to face Ye Xiaotian and talk to him. ¡°What are you afraid of? Come with me.¡± Bai Duocai dragged her towards Ye Xiaotian. Despite not seeing Sun Weiwei for ages, Ye Xiaotian managed to remain cold and aloof at the sight of her and Bai Duocai. ¡°Long time no see, Mr. Ye.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Chapter 508 - The Secret About the Past (126)

Chapter 508: The Secret About the Past (126)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°This is my new chick. You two used to know each other, didn¡¯t you?¡± said Bai Duocai, sounding like he was unting his new possession, as if to say, ¡°Your had-been godsister has now be my partner in bed.¡± ¡°No, we didn¡¯t,¡± Ye Xiaotian said casually. Sun Weiwei remained silent throughout and stood quietly beside Bai Duocai. ¡°Where¡¯s your wife?¡± ¡°That¡¯s none of your business,¡± Ye Xiaotian hissed before standing up to leave. Ye Xiaotianpletely disregarded him even though he was Bai Ranran¡¯s brother. Bai Duocai stared at Ye Xiaotian¡¯s receding figure and scoffed, ¡°That damned bastard. My sister sacrificed so much for him back then. How dare he speak to me like that. What a heartless jerk.¡± Sun Weiwei did not chime in and instead watched as Ye Xiaotian left. ¡ª Jin Qingyue forcefully dragged Jin Bao¡¯er home a few dayster. That was her only resort because she realized that calling her daughter toe home did not work at all. She missed her daughter dearly. Yet, thetter had been brainwashed by Shi Shaochuan into forgetting about her mother. Jin Qingyue had no choice but to go down to Shi Shaochuan¡¯s ce personally to bring Jin Bao¡¯er home. Meanwhile, Shi Shaochuan only allowed her to do so because he was getting a little sick of taking care of her. However, Jin Bao¡¯er did not speak a word to Jin Qingyue at all aftering home. She did not wish to eat either. The helpless Jin Qingyue decided to try and coax her nicely, ¡°Bao¡¯er, you won¡¯t be healthy if you don¡¯t eat, and if you¡¯re unhealthy, you won¡¯t be pretty. Do you want that to happen?¡± Jin Bao¡¯er stared at her and said, ¡°I want to be with Daddy.¡± ¡°Tell me why you want to be with Daddy so badly and not with Mommy. I was the one who raised you single-handedly. Did you forget that?¡± ¡°Because I want Daddy to make up for all the lost paternal love. Besides, Mommy, I¡¯m happier with Daddy than I am with you. Daddy takes me out to y every day. You don¡¯t. Daddy also said that girls don¡¯t have to attend school and receive an education. He said that I can live well as long as I¡¯m pretty.¡± Jin Qingyue was dumbfounded by the absurdity of what she had just heard. ¡°Your father is wrong. How are you going to learn how to read and write or receive formal education if you don¡¯t go to school? You can¡¯t get away with being a bimbo who has empty brains, no matter how pretty you may be,¡± Jin Qingyue retorted, infuriated by the twisted ideology Shi Shaochuan had instilled within their daughter. ¡°Mommy, why don¡¯t you want to marry Daddy again? Are you thinking of finding another man?¡± ¡°Even if I remain single for the rest of my life, I will never marry your Daddy again.¡± Jin Qingyue did not quite know how to exin someplicated matters to her young daughter since thetter would not understand them anyway. Jin Bao¡¯er hung her head low and remained quiet. ¡°Go eat with me,¡± said Jin Qingyue, dragging Jin Bao¡¯er by her hand to the dining table. Jin Yiheng was almost finished with his meal when he saw Jin Bao¡¯er walking toward the dining table reluctantly. ¡°Auntie, since Bao¡¯er doesn¡¯t wish to eat, just leave her be and let her starve,¡± said Jin Yiheng. Jin Bao¡¯er stared at him wide-eyed and scorned, ¡°Are you trying to starve me to death?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one who doesn¡¯t want to eat anyway. What else could happen other than starvation?¡± ¡°Who said I¡¯m not eating? I¡¯m going to eat a lot,¡± Jin Bao¡¯er retorted, after which she picked up her chopsticks and began helping herself to some dumplings. Just as Jin Qingyue heaved a sigh of relief, Jin Bao¡¯er said, ¡°Mommy, after I¡¯m done eating, send me back to Daddy¡¯s ce.¡± ¡°What if I don¡¯t?¡± ¡°Then I won¡¯t like you anymore, Mommy.¡± ¡°...¡± Jin Qingyue turned around and ignored her. Jin Yiheng and Jin Bao¡¯er were left alone at the dining table. Jin Yiheng wiped his mouth after finishing his food. Just as he was about to get down from his chair, Jin Bao¡¯er yelled to stop him. ¡°Hey, stand right there.¡± ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°Could you bring me to find my Daddy?¡± ¡°Your Mommy was the one who raised you and your Daddy has only taken care of you for a few days. Why are you so attached to him?¡± Jin Yiheng questioned. ¡°That¡¯s none of your business.¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t ask me to bring you out. It¡¯s none of my business either,¡± Jin Yiheng sneered and left the dining table. Jin Bao¡¯er remained in her seat to finish her food, after which she stealthily went to the living room and dialed Shi Shaochuan¡¯s number, which she had already memorized. The call was picked up in no time. ¡°Daddy, it¡¯s me.¡± Surprised to hear that it was his daughter who called, Shi Shaochuan answered, ¡°Bao¡¯er, have you had your meal?¡± ¡°Yes. Daddy, bring me away. Not only did Mommy scold me, she even hit me too. I want to be together with you.¡± Shi Shaochuan hit the roof upon hearing her words. ¡°Your Mommy scolded and hit you?¡± ¡°Yes, she pped my face several times.¡± ¡°Okay, Daddy wille now to bring you home. Wait for me.¡± Jin Bao¡¯er expressed assent and hung up the phone. Jin Qingyue came out of her room to see that Jin Bao¡¯er was sitting quietly on the couch. ¡°Have you eaten?¡± she asked. Jin Bao¡¯er nodded. Noticing that she seemed to have snapped out of her tantrum, Jin Qingyue said softly, ¡°Bao¡¯er, you¡¯re Mommy¡¯s little baby. I don¡¯t want to marry your Daddy again because we don¡¯t have feelings for each other anymore. There¡¯s no way we can go back to being husband and wife. But we¡¯re still your parents, and that¡¯s a fact that will never be changed. My love for you will never change either. Do you understand?¡± Jin Bao¡¯er nodded again. Jin Qingyue lifted her up and ced her onto herp. ¡°My Bao¡¯er is five and a half years old now. You¡¯re almost too heavy for Mommy to carry.¡± They then sat there quietly for a while. Momentster, Jin Qingyue¡¯s phone began to ring. After taking a look at the caller disy, she put her daughter down and went outside to answer the call. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Jin Qingyue, I¡¯m right outside your gate. Bring Bao¡¯er out.¡± ¡°Why should I do that?¡± ¡°Are you still fit to be a mother? Bao¡¯er is still so young, yet you actually had the heart to hit and berate her. Are you even human?¡± Shi Shaochuan snapped in a tone of disdain. ¡°I didn¡¯t do that. Who did you hear it from? Shi Shaochuan, I¡¯ve yet to question you. What are you teaching our daughter? Why did you tell her that she doesn¡¯t have to attend school as long as she¡¯s pretty? Are your brains fried?¡± ¡°Hah... who did I hear it from? I heard it straight from the horse¡¯s mouth when Bao¡¯er called me just now. Cut the crap and bring her out. I¡¯m right by the entrance,¡± Shi Shaochuan scorned. ¡°Keep waiting then.¡± Jin Qingyue hung up the phone and strode back inside quickly. She sat down beside thendline telephone in the living room and picked up the handset to see the previous dialed number, only to find that it indeed belonged to Shi Shaochuan. At this very moment, she was utterly disappointed. ¡°You¡¯re only five years old, yet you already know how to lie and frame your mother! You actually told your Daddy that I hit and scolded you? Since when did I do that?¡± Jin Qingyue hollered, staring at the daughter she gave birth to and raised single-handedly, tears welling up in her eyes. ¡°Who told you to forbid me from looking for Daddy?¡± ¡°You...¡± Jin Qingyue did not know what else to say and thus stood up and returned inside the guest room without uttering another word. Jin Bao¡¯er followed suit. She stood by the door and craned her neck through the crack to take a peek. Realizing that she had upset her mother by lying to her, Jin Bao¡¯er called out softly, ¡°Mommy...¡± Chapter 509 - The Secret About the Past (127)

Chapter 509: The Secret About the Past (127)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyue looked at her with misery written all over her face. She walked towards the door and asked Jin Bao¡¯er, ¡°Do you really want to live with Daddy?¡± She nodded fervently and answered, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Do you not want to live with Mommy anymore?¡± Jin Qingyue again asked. ¡°No... I¡¯lle back to stay with you when school reopens.¡± Jin Qingyue held her hand and walked outside, all the way toward the entrance. Shi Shaochuan was still waiting by the entrance. As soon as he saw theming out, he stepped forward to snatch Jin Bao¡¯er away from her and picked her up in his arms. ¡°Jin Qingyue, I¡¯m warning you, if you ever dare to scold and hit Bao¡¯er again, I¡¯ll teach you a lesson.¡± ¡°Shi Shaochuan, I¡¯m warning you too. If you teach her any twisted beliefs again, you¡¯ll get it from me. Also, you¡¯d better ask your daughter clearly whether I really hit or scolded her. Bao¡¯er is so young and yet she already knows how to lie. Seems like she¡¯s inherited your habit of lying!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t be bothered to talk to you,¡± Shi Shaochuan said nonchntly with a look of frustration. He lifted his daughter up in his arms and drove away. Jin Qingyue returned inside to grab her purse before going back to Ling Ciye¡¯s apartment. Since there were no servants in the apartment, she had no choice but to do the household chores by herself and tidy the house until it was spick and span. She then showered and took a nap in her pajamas. By the time she woke up, it was already dark outside. She switched on the lights to find that Ling Ciye had yet to return home. Could he have thought that I was at Brother¡¯s ce now that Bao¡¯er was home? While she was in the midst of preparing dinner in the kitchen, she heard a knocking on the door. Jin Qingyue stepped out of the kitchen to see that Ling Ciye had returned with a bag of food. Surprised to see her at home, he said, ¡°I saw that the lights were switched on when I was downstairs so I knew you were home.¡± ¡°Shi Shaochuan took Bao¡¯er away with him so I came back here. What¡¯s this?¡± she asked, picking the bag of food from his hands. ¡°I had dinner with Qingyan outside and there was this particr dish that tasted delicious that I ordered another portion for takeout. I was nning to ask Qingyan to bring it home for you, but I decided to bring it to you myself after noticing that the lights were on. Have you eaten?¡± ¡°I made some in porridge. I¡¯ll pair it with the food you¡¯ve brought home.¡± Jin Qingyue scooped the food onto a te and ced it on the table. ¡°Why are your eyes so swollen?¡± Ling Ciye asked. ¡°Um... maybe I didn¡¯t sleep well. I took a nap in the afternoon.¡± ¡°Let me go check on the porridge,¡± she continued, turning around to walk to the kitchen. Ling Ciye could tell that she was in low spirits and followed her into the kitchen. ¡°Brother Ciye, would you like to have some porridge too?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Leaning against the kitchen cab, he leaned his head closer toward her and asked, ¡°Have you been crying?¡± ¡°No. Why would I cry? Don¡¯t you know that I¡¯m very strong? I will never tear up,¡± she denied, forcing a smile. ¡°I only know that you¡¯re very brazen. I didn¡¯t know you were good at lying too.¡± He grabbed her wrists and stared at her solemnly. ¡°Don¡¯t try to fool me. Why did you cry? Did that scoundrel incur your wrath?¡± Jin Qingyue burst intoughter and said, ¡°That scoundrel?¡± ¡°Shi Shaochuan. Did he say something to upset you?¡± Jin Qingyue had no choice but to admit, ¡°It was Bao¡¯er.¡± ¡°Bao¡¯er? What did she do?¡± Jin Qingyue exined everything to Ling Ciye, after which she said, ¡°She¡¯s my biological daughter. I gained so much weight and became as chubby as a pig just to give birth to her. I was the one who raised her single-handedly. Just how did she turn out to be such a scheming child who only wants her Daddy? I find human rtionships really puzzling sometimes. Could it really be because she¡¯s deprived of paternal love?¡± ¡°Maybe. She¡¯s still young and insensible.¡± ¡°Sometimes, you really can¡¯t give up everything for your child. I really ought to live for myself. I¡¯ve already made a decision.¡± ¡°What decision?¡± ¡°I want to live for myself and pursue my own happiness. I want a blissful and warm family. Brother Ciye, don¡¯t you want the same thing as I do?¡± ¡°I do share simr sentiments.¡± She turned off the stove and scooped some porridge into two bowls, one for herself and the other for him. They then exited the kitchen with some utensils and sat down opposite each other. ¡°I feel like I¡¯ve experienced what it¡¯s like to have a family after spending all this time with you. This is the ideal family I¡¯ve always dreamed of. Waiting for you toe home every day is like waiting for my husband,¡± Jin Qingyue said while eating her porridge. Ling Ciye did not utter a word, though he would in fact first take a look at the window of his apartment from downstairs when he¡¯d return home every day. Whenever he saw that the lights were on, he would feel as if he had a wife waiting for him at home. They coincidentally shared the same thoughts. Ling Ciye reached out to hold her trembling hand while they held each other¡¯s gazes. ¡°I¡¯ve been really happy throughout this short amount of time that we¡¯ve been together. I hope we¡¯ll continue remaining that way and keep each other happy for the rest of our rtionship. After all, that¡¯s what dating is about, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I thought so too,¡± she agreed with a nod. ¡°The porridge tastes really good.¡± Jin Qingyue was filled with joy and looked at him with happiness written all over her face. ¡ª Bu Xianxian stood by the garage and waited for a long while before Jin Qingyan finally showed up. ¡°Xianxian, what are you doing here?¡± Jin Qingyan asked while locking his car with the automatic car key. ¡°Um, Nick, I haven¡¯t spoken to you in a long time so I just wanted to chat with you.¡± ¡°A few days isn¡¯t that long.¡± ¡°But it feels way too long for me. I heard your wife is away on a business trip again.¡± cing his hands behind his back, Jin Qingyan answered, ¡°Yes, she is. What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Nothing...¡± ¡°Xianxian!¡± Mrs. Bu hurried towards them and chided, ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you not to wander about at night?¡± ¡°Mother, I¡¯m human, not a bird. I don¡¯t have to be caged whenever the sky turns dark.¡± Mrs. Bu poked her in her forehead and said, ¡°I¡¯m merely chiding you and yet you¡¯re talking back to me so rudely. Nick, could I ask something of you?¡± ¡°Go ahead, Auntie.¡± ¡°We were lucky enough to be able to move here into the city thanks to you, but we¡¯re still experiencing somemunication issues due to thenguage barrier. Nick, could you help us hire anguage tutor to teach us some conversational S Nationnguage? Well, Xianxian is going to get married here after all. Uncle and I hopenguage won¡¯t be a hindrance for her,¡± Mrs. Bu said earnestly. ¡°Sure, no problem. I¡¯ll arrange that for you tomorrow,¡± Jin Qingyan agreed without hesitation. ¡°Nick, thank you so much.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, Auntie. I should be the one thanking you guys.¡± Mrs. Bu was overwhelmed with a mix of emotions. She nodded and pulled Bu Xianxian away before saying, ¡°Xianxian and I are going back to get some rest. You should too. You must be tired after a long day of work.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Mrs. Bu only let go of Bu Xianxian once they returned inside their room. Chapter 510 - The Secret About the Past (128)

Chapter 510: The Secret About the Past (128)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°What did I say before? I told you to stop clinging onto Nick. He¡¯s very nice and kind toward us, don¡¯t keep testing his patience.¡± ¡°Mother, how am I clinging onto him? I was merely talking to him for a bit. It¡¯s not that serious,¡± Bu Xianxian protested. Mrs. Bu exposed her, ¡°Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re thinking. Nick will never develop any feelings for you. Look how outstanding his wife is. Do you really think he¡¯d be so blind as to fall for you?¡± ¡°Mother... I¡¯m very outstanding too, okay?¡± ¡°How are you in any way outstanding? Why don¡¯t I see it at all?¡± Mrs. Bu chastised. ¡°Is this how a mother should be? You¡¯re so biased towards others and prejudiced against me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m giving you my honest, objective opinion precisely because I¡¯m your mother. You were already being very selfish by hindering Nick¡¯s family from bringing him home when they came to look for him on the mountains back then, yet you still have the cheek to try ande between him and his wife now. Do you really think what you¡¯re doing is right? I¡¯ve discussed it with your father and we¡¯ve agreed to find you a husband once we¡¯ve mastered the localnguage, lest you create any trouble and make us worry further,¡± Mrs. Bu said firmly. Bu Xianxian dared not rebut or talk back to her mother. In fact, she was well aware deep down that Jin Qingyan did not fancy her at all. If only I knew earlier and made him mine back when we were in N Nation, perhaps everything would be better now. Yet, there was no longer much she could do now... ¡°Mother, average men are not my cup of tea.¡± ¡°Take a good look at yourself before criticizing others. Be thankful if someone actually epts you. What¡¯s there to be picky about?¡± ¡°Mother, don¡¯t you want me to marry a good man? Marriage is not child¡¯s y. I¡¯m not going to end up like you and Father. Didn¡¯t you two get married and give birth to a child hastily just because you felt good about each other?¡± ¡°What kind of attributes must a man possess in order to deserve a shot with you, then? Don¡¯t take Nick as an example. Outstanding men like him will never fall for you unless he¡¯s really blind.¡± ¡°He should at least be as good-looking and hold a simr position as Chief Fan.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already asked Chief Fan before. He doesn¡¯t fancy you,¡± said Mrs. Bu. Bu Xianxian was speechless. ¡°Even Chief Fan doesn¡¯t like you, let alone Nick. Xianxian, don¡¯t raise your standards and expectations too high.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough, Mother. I¡¯m still young, it won¡¯t be toote even if I got married at 30 years old. I¡¯ve got plenty of time to find a husband slowly,¡± Bu Xianxian eximed in frustration. Mr. and Mrs. Bu shot each other a nce and stopped speaking. ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning was about to go to bed after texting Jin Qingyan when she heard a knock on the door. ¡°Mu Ning,e out for a while,¡± said Zhi Yin. ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning got out of bed and opened the door. ¡°Her Highness has an order for you.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Just as she entered Tuoba Danxue¡¯s room, Zhi Yin handed her a note and said, ¡°Her Highness would like you to hand this to Feng.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you send him a text message or give him a call, Your Highness?¡± ¡°I guess you didn¡¯t know this, but all of the text messages and calls we ce are closely monitored. I won¡¯t be allowed to contact him,¡± said Tuoba Danxue. An Xiaoning immediately understood. ¡°Alright.¡± She had seen Feng before. He was a shy and youthful youngd who was just as old as Tuoba Danxue. However, his fair skin and slender figure made him appear much younger than his actual age. ¡°Your Highness, may I know where his bedroom is?¡± ¡°To the left of my second brother¡¯s bedroom. Rest assured and go ahead. I¡¯ve already informed the guards there. They won¡¯t be stopping you.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go now.¡± An Xiaoning turned around to leave. She took a look at the time to find that it was already past ten o¡¯clock. There were not many people outside apart from the guards on patrol duty. She ran all the way toward Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s door before stopping to catch her breath. Just like what Tuoba Danxue said, the guards outside acted as if they did not see An Xiaoning at all when she entered through the main entrance. Clearly, they had already received special instructions. An Xiaoning proceeded to make her way upstairs to the second floor. To her astonishment, she realized that she had no idea which room belonged to Tuoba Gucheng and thus would not be able to find the room on his left. She was vexed and at a loss for what to do. She scanned the second floor to find that there were fortunately not too many rooms. She eliminated the room on the outermost right and began searching, starting from the second room from the right. She took light footsteps and tried to open the doors of each room, only to find that they were all locked from inside. Thus, she had no choice but to ask the guards on duty downstairs, ¡°The Princess has ordered me to look for Feng. Which room does he stay in?¡± ¡°The third one from the left. But, the door might be locked and knocking on the door will rm others easily. Here¡¯s the key to his door,¡± the guard answered. ¡°Alright, thanks.¡± An Xiaoning grabbed the key and made her way upstairs again. After counting the number of rooms from the left, she proceeded to unlock the door of the third room. To An Xiaoning¡¯s surprise, there was no strange odor in the room. She had always imagined male dormitories to be unhygienic and reeking of pungent odors. However, it seemed that that was not the case. Shining the light from her torchlight around the room, she realized that it was neat and tidy with two bunk beds for four. Since the loweryers of both bunk beds did not belong to him, his bed should be on the upperyers. An Xiaoning climbed up thedder of the bed while holding the torchlight to guide herself. To her dismay, his head was facing the other end of the bed instead. She had no choice but to climb onto the bed and move to the other end. She shone her torchlight at him, only to be greeted with the sight of the person staring at her wide-eyed. To make matters worse, the person was not Feng but Tuoba Gucheng. ¡°Why is it you...¡± An Xiaoning spluttered in astonishment. Just as she was about to retreat backward, the person on the loweryer woke up all of a sudden. She quickly ducked and fell onto Tuoba Gucheng, who let out a grunt of difort. She finally heaved a sigh of relief after watching the man on the lower bed leave the room to visit the washroom. To her surprise, Tuoba Gucheng did not yell for the guards toe in at all. While he was still patient, she hurriedly exined, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Your Highness, Her Highness was the one who told me toe here and hand something to Feng. I didn¡¯t know you¡¯d be here.¡± Tuoba Gucheng continued to stare at her while remaining quiet and still. ¡°I¡¯ll excuse myself then.¡± An Xiaoning was about to leave when the man who went to the washroom returned. She hurriedly ducked again, sprawling herself across Tuoba Gucheng for the second time. The scent of her shampoo wafted up to his nose while she buried her head in his chest. This damned country bumpkin! An Xiaoningy there for a full five minutes and only got up after sensing that the man below had already fallen asleep. ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯m genuinely sorry for causing you great disturbance and shock. I¡¯m so sorry,¡± An Xiaoning apologized. He finally broke his silence and eximed, ¡°You¡¯re the one who received a great shock!¡± An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°Yes, yes, yes, I was shocked too. I¡¯ll scram right away.¡± She hurriedly climbed down thedder and walked to another bed to find that it was Feng. She felt a huge sense of relief. ¡°Feng?¡± she called, nudging him. Jiang Feng opened his eyes only to receive a great shock. Just as he was about to shriek, she quickly covered his mouth and said, ¡°Don¡¯t shout. I was sent by Her Highness to give you this note.¡± She let go only after he acknowledged it with a nod. She then stuffed the note into his hands before dismissing herself immediately. She swiftly vanished without a trace. Chapter 511 - The Secret About the Past (129)

Chapter 511: The Secret About the Past (129)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Being sharp and vignt, Tuoba Gucheng had already woken up the moment he heard her open the door. He was startled to see her and instantly understood that it was his sister who had sent An Xiaoning. Strangely, he just watched as she climbed toward his bed and exchanged nces with her. If she had been another woman, he would have given her a tight p right from the start. Yet, he did not feel the urge to hit this damned woman at all, although he found her to be exceptionally ugly. Could it be that I wanted to be more merciful towards her precisely because I pity her for being ugly? Tuoba Gucheng felt that he was too kind-hearted at the thought of that possibility. What a silly woman. She didn¡¯t even try to keep her volume down when entering. Heaven made the right decision to give her low IQ to match her hideous looks , he thought to himself. An Xiaoning ran back to Tuoba Danxue¡¯s room to see that Zhi Yin was waiting for her by the door. ¡°Have you settled everything?¡± An Xiaoning nodded and answered, ¡°I handed it to him personally.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good, you may go back to bed.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± She could finally get some rest on her bed. Dog-tired, An Xiaoning fell asleep as soon as she closed her eyes. ¡ª The next morning, Fan Shixin came forth to report to Jin Qingyan, who had yet to get out of bed, ¡°Young Sir, Ye Xiaotian has finally fallen into the trap youid for him. Looks like the Ye Corporation is going to be in chaos this time.¡± Jin Qingyan immediately woke up and was no longer sleepy. The absence of his beloved wife made it much easier for him to get out of bed. ¡°That¡¯s great. I¡¯m going to let Ye Xiaotian know what it means to be taken advantage of when you¡¯re stuck in a disastrous situation,¡± said Jin Qingyan, who entered the bathroom to freshen up before leaving the bedroom. Fan Shixin followed behind and chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to your brilliant idea, Young Sir.¡± ¡°Desperate times call for desperate measures. Let¡¯s wait and watch him be driven to desperate action,¡± said Jin Qingyan, sitting on the couch to wait patiently for breakfast to be ready. ¡°Young Sir, I feel like there are lesser things for me to worry about with you around. I¡¯m not getting any younger. It¡¯s time for me to look for a prospective marriage partner.¡± ¡°Are you yearning to fall in love?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just envious of you and Young Madam. I¡¯d also like to find a woman whom I love and loves me too,¡± Fan Shixin answered, blushing slightly. ¡°I¡¯ve really gotten in the way of your personal life by making you follow me around for so many years. It¡¯s time you look for a suitable partner.¡± ¡°Young Sir, where am I supposed to find one? I don¡¯t even have the time nor opportunity to get to know any women.¡± ¡°Create your own opportunity then.¡± After some thought, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°You may try going on online chatting tforms and dating sites to get to know some women, but watch out for con artists though. There are some men who are out to cheat other men for their money by pretending to be female online.¡± ¡°Those are non-issues to me. Do you really think I¡¯d fall for those scams?¡± ¡°In any case, just be careful. Has there been any new updates from the Autumn Pcetely?¡± Jin Qingyan asked. ¡°No, but I think there¡¯s going to be a major change brought about by this year¡¯s presidential re-election. I¡¯m afraid our current president is going to have to give up his position for good.¡± ¡°I think so too. But then again, there are changes every year and we can¡¯t be too sure if he¡¯ll continue being the president yet. You must make sure that the matter about Xiaoning going to work in the pce stays secret. No one is to hear about it.¡± ¡°Young Sir, you can trust me to keep the secret safe.¡± Jin Qingyan nodded and continued, ¡°By the way, do arrange for anguage tutor toe by and teach Xianxian and her family our localnguage. Since they¡¯ve decided to settle down here, it¡¯s only appropriate for them to pick it up.¡± ¡°Alright, leave it to me to handle.¡± ¡°Actually, Shixin, Xianxian is really not too bad of a catch...¡± Fan Shixin hurriedly tried to rid his head of any ideas and said, ¡°Young Sir, please spare me. I will never harbor any designs on her. We just don¡¯t see eye to eye in terms of values and morals. We¡¯re ipatible with each other.¡± Noticing how reluctant he was, Jin Qingyan nodded earnestly and said, ¡°Okay, go find someone whom you truly fancy then.¡± ¡°Thank you for your blessings, Big Boss.¡± Just as he finished speaking, Xiao Huang showed up at the door and reported, ¡°Young Sir, Ye Xiaotian is at the entrance and he¡¯d like to see you.¡± ¡°Let him in.¡± Jin Qingyan nced at Fan Shixin and said, ¡°He¡¯s here quicker than I expected.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to sit back and watch the good show. I¡¯m going to pop some popcorn and watch him get tortured by you,¡± said Fan Shixin with a tone of vengeance. Jin Qingyan leaned against the couch, resting his legs on the coffee table and his hands on his abdomen. He waited calmly for Ye Xiaotian to enter. He heard his footsteps approaching. Ye Xiaotian had brought Mo Li along with him. ¡°Have a seat.¡± They sat down opposite Jin Qingyan and made eye contact with him. ¡°What are you here for this bright and early in the morning?¡± Jin Qingyan asked, although he already knew the answer. ¡°Jin Qingyan, didn¡¯t you lose your memory? Why doesn¡¯t it seem like the case to me at all?¡± Ye Xiaotian asked, staring at him with piercing eyes. ¡°Why does it have to seem so to you? Does your opinion really matter? Sorry to disappoint you, but I¡¯ve long regained my memory,¡± Jin Qingyan said sarcastically with a sly smile, which invoked pangs of terror within Mo Li. Ye Xiaotian sneered and cut straight to the chase, ¡°What must I do to make you let the Ye Corporation off? Lay your conditions.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but there¡¯s nothing of yours that Ick. I don¡¯t wish toy any conditions. Didn¡¯t you start this game first? You ought to finish what you started, then. You took the chance to attack the Jin Corporation during the time that I was suffering from amnesia and stirred chaos within mypany. What¡¯s the matter now? Are you upset to have gotten a taste of your own medicine? I knew clearly from the start what kind of a person you are, Ye Xiaotian. You¡¯ve made a wasted trip today,¡± Jin Qingyan scoffed. ¡°Brother Qingyan...¡± said Mo Li, who was interrupted before she could even finish. ¡°Mo Li! Don¡¯t meddle with the affairs between men,¡± he hissed. Mo Li fell silent and dared not utter another word. Jin Qingyan was pleased to see the sullen expression on Ye Xiaotian¡¯s face. ¡°Ye Xiaotian, even if I don¡¯t take charge of thepany, my wife can very well deal with your little tricks just the same. You¡¯re actually trying to go toe to toe against me when you can¡¯t even deal with a woman?¡± Jin Qingyan sneered unhurriedly. Ye Xiaotian stood up abruptly and said, ¡°Seems like I made the wrong choice toe here today.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t be seeing you out,¡± said Jin Qingyan, who stood up as well but walked toward the hall to have his breakfast instead. After the couple left, Fan Shixin gave him a thumbs up and chirped, ¡°Young Sir, excellent job! Look how awful Ye Xiaotian looked. He must¡¯ve been so angry.¡± ¡°Well, he deserves it. Who does he think he is?¡± ¡°Exactly, who does he think he is?¡± Auntie Chen served the breakfast spread, after which Jin Qingyan said, ¡°Shixin, join me.¡± ¡°Young Sir, how could I...¡± ¡°Drop the act and sit down.¡± ¡°I shall abide by your instruction then.¡± Fan Shixin plonked himself down onto the chair. ¡°That¡¯s my wife¡¯s seat. Sit there instead.¡± Fan Shixin immediately stood up and moved to another seat. ¡°Young Sir, you¡¯re so anal.¡± ¡°I¡¯m pleased to be.¡± ¡°Okay, you¡¯re the boss. You call the shots.¡± ¡°Hush and eat your breakfast...¡± Chapter 512 - The Secret About the Past (130)

Chapter 512: The Secret About the Past (130)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Daddy!¡± Jin Yiheng eximed while running downstairs with tears in his eyes. Jin Qingyan sprung up from his seat and hurried toward the stairwell. Jin Yiheng leaped onto him and cried, ¡°Daddy! Daddy!¡± He was bawling and trembling from head to toe at the same time, seemingly having suffered a great shock. ¡°Son, what¡¯s wrong? Tell Daddy, what happened? Did you have a nightmare?¡± He turned around and carried Jin Yiheng toward the dining table. Jin Yiheng turned as pale as a sheet with tears streaming down his face uncontrobly. He buried his head in Jin Qingyan¡¯s shoulder and wailed in agony. Jin Qingyan and Fan Shixin had never seen him bawling so intensely before. ¡°Little Sir, just what happened? Hurry, tell Uncle Shixin and Daddy.¡± Pointing at the stairwell, Jin Yiheng yelled, ¡°Chase that person away quickly!¡± The two of them looked toward the stairwell, only to find that there was not a single soul in sight. ¡°Little Sir, there¡¯s no one there.¡± ¡°There is! Daddy, there¡¯s a hole on her face and she¡¯s bleeding. Daddy, I¡¯m scared, I¡¯m scared!¡± Jin Yiheng screeched, clutching tightly onto his father¡¯s cor. Fan Shixin and Jin Qingyan were greatly taken aback by his words, and so was Auntie Chen. Jin Yiheng handed his son over to Fan Shixin and walked toward the stairwell. ¡°If you don¡¯t leave my home now, I¡¯ll hire a Master to perform a ritual and get rid of you. Scram!¡± Jin Qingyan yelled into thin air. Fan Shixin shifted his gaze to where Jin Yiheng was staring and asked, ¡°Is she gone?¡± ¡°She¡¯s... gone.¡± Jin Yiheng nodded in between sobs and said, ¡°It was so scary. It was too horrifying.¡± Noticing how petrified Jin Yiheng was, Jin Qingyan believed that his son was not lying even though he could not see the spirit himself. He went upstairs to retrieve the amulet An Xiaoning had left for them and ced it inside Jin Yiheng¡¯s pocket. ¡°Keep this properly. With this, you won¡¯t have to be afraid anymore. You won¡¯t be able to see those spirits again. You may sleep with Daddy from now on too,¡± he instructed. Jin Yiheng hugged his father¡¯s neck and said, ¡°Daddy, I was really terrified just now.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Jin Yiheng then asked, ¡°Daddy, why couldn¡¯t you see it?¡± ¡°Because you inherited your Mommy¡¯s genes and her psychic powers. Your Mommy can see spirits too,¡± Jin Qingyan exined patiently. Jin Qingyan was rather perplexed at the thought of his son sharing the same birthday as his wife. He did not know that psychic powers could be passed down to the next generation. But now it seemed... He was unsure if it was a good thing or not. After breakfast, he instructed Fan Shixin to take Jin Yiheng outside to y while he sent An Xiaoning a text message and briefly exined what happened. It was An Xiaoning¡¯s first time hearing about Jin Yiheng being able to see spirits, just like herself. She had been taking care of her son ever since the day he was born, and he had never met with such an encounter. Could it be that his supernatural powers would only begin to show gradually as he grew older? She did not have an answer. In her reply to the text message, she especially instructed Jin Qingyan to make sure that Jin Yiheng keeps the amulet properly with him. She also mentioned that she would be giving him a few more special amulets the next time they met. She was not exactly pleased about the fact that her son had taken after her. Well, because, that would mean that she would not be able to read his fortune based on his birth characters should he turn out to be an extraordinary person. Moreover, An Xiaoning remembered that she used to be gued with the fear of seeing spirits every day, which she would pretend did not exist, when she was younger. Fortunately, she managed to ward off evil and mask her Third Eye temporarily with the aid of the amulets her Master had given her every day. In fact, the thought of the terrifying spirits she used to see would still give her the chills. She was allowed to take one day off from duty each month. Thus, she decided to wait two months before going back home. ¡°Mu Ning! What are you doing? Her Highness is calling for you,¡± Zhi Yin yelled. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ming.¡± She chucked her mobile phone inside her pocket and quickly walked toward them. ¡°Your Highness.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to the agreed meeting location in a while. You and Zhi Yin will keep a lookout for me. Inform me immediately if you see someone going over.¡± ¡°Got it, Your Highness.¡± Tuoba Danxue stood up from the dressing table and made her way downstairs merrily with the two of them. After passing by the sidewalk and making several turns and bends, they finally arrived at a bogus cave opening. The three of them were punctual for the rendezvous while Feng had yet to show up. Thus, they stood there and waited patiently. Noticing that he still did not arrive even after ten minutes, Tuoba Danxue asked, ¡°Did you really hand him the note?¡± ¡°Yes, I gave it to him myself.¡± ¡°Why isn¡¯t he here yet? Is he busy?¡± Tuoba Danxue wondered out loud, growing impatient as her excitement began to fade. No one answered her, and they continued to stand under the scorching sun, which was rather overbearing. An Xiaoning felt incredibly ufortable and suffocated, especially since she was wearing the mask. She could not help but wonder if she would eventually be disfigured if she did not remove the mask every night to allow her skin to breathe. After waiting for another ten minutes, they finally heard footsteps approaching. Tuoba Danxue craned her neck to take a look. She beamed with joy at the instant that she caught a glimpse of her crush. ¡°Feng...¡± She rushed forward and tried to hold his hand. To her disappointment, Jiang Feng pushed her hand away relentlessly and said, ¡°Your Highness, please respect yourself.¡± ¡°Come with me, I have something to tell you.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. I understand my status and background. I¡¯m not worthy of your love, Your Highness. Please stop avoiding reality and obstinately persist in going about things the wrong way. I went home this time to be engaged to someone my family has set me up with. I¡¯ve also tendered my resignation to His Highness. Being thin and frail, I¡¯m not suited to continue being a bodyguard. Thank you for your understanding,¡± Jiang Feng said calmly. As soon as he finished speaking, he bowed down to Tuoba Danxue and turned around in a bid to leave. Tuoba Danxue quickly grabbed him and asked in disbelief, ¡°What? Did you say that you¡¯re engaged?¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯ve already settled on a date for the wedding and I¡¯ve already tendered my resignation. I¡¯m afraid we won¡¯t be able to see each other anymore from now on. I hope you¡¯ll find a man whom you can rely on for the rest of your life soon, Your Highness.¡± ¡°But I adore you. Am I not pretty enough? Why won¡¯t you ept me? Is it because of my status? I can talk to my parents about it!¡± Tuoba Danxue pleaded anxiously. ¡°Your Highness!¡± Jiang Feng¡¯s tone grew harsher as he continued, ¡°It¡¯s impossible between us. I have no romantic feelings for you at all, Your Highness. Please stop pestering me incessantly, Princess. You¡¯ll only be overbearing if you keep insisting.¡± He turned around to leave with a stern expression on his face. Tears began to well up in Tuoba Danxue¡¯s eyes at the thought of his heartless remark and how he left without looking back. Her pride told her not to cling onto him anymore. ¡°Your Highness... he¡¯s not worth your tears. Who does he think he is? He just doesn¡¯t know better. It¡¯s his blessing to be able to gain your admiration and affection, Your Highness,¡± Zhi Yin interjected. ¡°I know he doesn¡¯t have the guts to fancy me and ept me. He¡¯s just afraid of bringing trouble to his family. Let¡¯s head back,¡± Tuoba Danxue said after taking a deep breath. Tuoba Danxue remained silent throughout the journey and locked herself in her room upon returning home, refusing to allow anyone to enter. Afraid that she would let her imagination run wild, Zhi Yin decided to barge in tofort her. An Xiaoning guarded by the door. Having experienced a great deal in life, she felt that Jiang Feng had made the right decision. For someone like Tuoba Danxue, who did not even have the power to decide her own destiny, how could she possibly possess the ability to protect the person who¡¯s worlds apart from her in terms of status? Jiang Feng was merely protecting himself and his family by making the right decision to get engaged with another woman from his hometown. Chapter 513 - The Secret About the Past (131)

Chapter 513: The Secret About the Past (131)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Apart from Tuoba Gucheng, An Xiaoning had never stumbled upon any other members of the royal family throughout the past few days of following Tuoba Danxue around. However, she was not in a hurry since she realized that she would see the other members sooner orter as long as she stayed close by the princess. They initially thought that Tuoba Danxue would get over Feng once she epts the situation and moves on. However, she seemed to be getting worse than before. For the following consecutive days, Tuoba Danxue hadpletely lost her appetite and could not sleep well at night. It was tough on An Xiaoning, having to apany her throughout the day and night. A few dayster, she still could not sleep or eat well. Thus, both An Xiaoning and Zhi Yin remained put and continued to stay by her side. That morning, An Xiaoning was summoned by Zhi Yin as soon as she put on her mask. ¡°Her Highness is throwing a tantrum and demanding to see Mr. and Mrs. President at all costs. The situation seems to be getting out of hand. Go with me to apany her,¡± Zhi Yin exined. An Xiaoning agreed right away without another word. Tuoba Danxue appeared extremely haggard and weary, seemingly having suffered a great blow. An Xiaoning simply could not figure out why she would put herself through such torment for a man who does not love her at all. No one could stop her if she wanted to go down the path of self-destruction. An Xiaoning could sense that Tuoba Danxue must be thinking of bringing up the matter about Feng to her parents. However, it was indeed rather inconsiderate of Tuoba Danxue to insist on acting impulsively despite knowing clearly the reason behind Jiang Feng¡¯s reluctance to ept her. An Xiaoning did not try and stop her since she could not do so anyway. Besides, she wanted to take the opportunity to meet the president and his wife. This time, they decided to set off by car instead of on foot. They soon arrived five minutester. Upon alighting from the car, Tuoba Danxue quickened her pace and sprinted toward the entrance. No one dared to stop her. An Xiaoning scanned her surroundings while proceeding toward the door. There was arge piece of barend next to thewn as well as a basketball hoop. There was barely any greenery in sight. After much thought, Zhi Yin decided to speak up, ¡°Your Highness, don¡¯t act rashly. Otherwise, I¡¯m afraid we might implicate Feng and his family.¡± ¡°I know what to do.¡± Tuoba Danxue entered through the door to see that her parents were sitting on the couch. She walked toward them and said, ¡°Father, Mother, I have something to talk to you about today.¡± Upon noticing the haggardness of her daughter¡¯s face, the president¡¯s wife, Shi Xiaoyu, asked worriedly, ¡°Danxue, why do you look so awful? Sit down and tell us what you have in mind.¡± Tuoba Danxue sat down and stared at her parents. ¡°I want to start dating.¡± ¡°You¡¯re 22 years old this year. It¡¯s indeed time to start dating. Do you have anyone in mind?¡± asked an unsurprised Shi Xiaoyu. ¡°Will you and Father agree to it if I¡¯m interested in a servant or a bodyguard?¡± A sullen expression formed on their faces upon hearing their daughter¡¯s words. An Xiaoning could tell clearly that they were displeased. After a moment of silence, the president, Tuoba Rui, answered, ¡°Are there no other handsome and outstanding youths who arepatible with you?¡± ¡°No...¡± ¡°Danxue, you¡¯re already a grownup. Why are you still so insensible and muddled up? We will never allow you to marry someone whose family background is so much more inferior than ours. Don¡¯t even think about it,¡± Tuoba Rui said, brushing her off bluntly. Having already expected her father to react that way, Tuoba Danxue said, ¡°More inferior to us? Father, didn¡¯t you read the news? The only male heir of the Jin family married an orphan who grew up in the mountains. Why can¡¯t I be in a rtionship with the person I love?¡± An Xiaoning was surprised that Tuoba Danxue had used her and Jin Qingyan as an example. ¡°She may be an orphan, but did you know that she¡¯s the goddaughter of the Gu family? I¡¯ve even heard that the Chief of Staff and the Commander-in-chief are her godparents too. She may have humble beginnings, but she has a powerful backing to make her worthy of marrying into the Jin family. Tell me, just who is it that you fancy!?!¡± Tuoba Danxue shivered in shock from her father¡¯s sudden outburst. ¡°I don¡¯t have anyone I fancy.¡± Clearly unconvinced, Tuoba Rui said, ¡°Would you havee forth to talk to us about this if you didn¡¯t already have someone in mind? Drop any ideas about this. We will never agree to it.¡± Tuoba Danxue stood up abruptly and stared at her parents before saying, ¡°I do fancy him, but he doesn¡¯t wish to ept me precisely because I¡¯m your daughter. He¡¯ll definitely reciprocate my feelings for him as long as you two agree to it. But from the way things are now, he¡¯ll never ept me again. I¡¯ve given up all hope on marrying him too. I¡¯ll just live the rest of my life following your orders. I really wonder what I¡¯ve done to be born in such a family. I can¡¯t even have a say in my own marriage!¡± She turned around to leave right after she said her piece. Tuoba Rui yelled for her to stop in her tracks but to no avail as she ignored him and left straight away with Zhi Yin and An Xiaoning. ¡°Hubby, what do we do about this?¡± Shi Xiaoyu asked. ¡°What do we do...¡± Tuoba Danxue had indeed hit the nail on the head. Being born in a royal family meant that she had to adhere to the life arrangements made by her elders, and marriage was merely an institution mandatory for broadening her family¡¯s connections. It was no different from ancient political marriages. Well, that was the case for the majority of the upper-ss society. One will never be allowed to date freely or marry just anyone they liked. Noticing that her husband was remaining quiet, Shi Xiaoyu said, ¡°Let me handle this matter. I can guarantee that Danxue will never bring up anything like this again. I promise I¡¯ll make her ept reality.¡± Seemingly having already guessed what she nned to do, Tuoba Rui waved his hand and refuted, ¡°There¡¯s no need to go to such extremes. He¡¯s not at fault at all, why must you implicate the innocent?¡± ¡°It¡¯s his fault for making Danxue fall for him.¡± Shi Xiaoyu stood up and gestured for the servants toe forth, after which she whispered something into their ears. ¡°What¡¯s the point of doing that?¡± Tuoba Rui objected, realizing how stubborn his wife was. ¡°I¡¯m going to punish him to warn others. By the way, I¡¯ve long heard about the Jin family¡¯s Young Madam, An Xiaoning, and her splendid fortune-telling skills. She¡¯s known to be highly urate in her readings. Shall we hire her to read our fortunes?¡± ¡°No. Did my words fall on deaf ears? I said that no one in our family is allowed to have their fortunes told!¡± Tuoba Rui refuted vehemently in a harsh tone. Shi Xiaoyu quickly looked away and said, ¡°Fine, we just won¡¯t go ahead with it, then. You don¡¯t have to be so uptight.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough, I¡¯m going to look through the documents now,¡± Tuoba Rui hissed in annoyance. Shi Xiaoyu was boiling with anger as she watched his figure recede. She knew clearly the reason behind his insistence on forbidding fortune-telling in the house. Even after all these years, he still could not forget that woman in the end. Pursing her lips, she returned to her bedroom. She activated the secret contraption below the bed and made her way down the stairs. There were several lustrous night-luminescent pearls along the stairs. After reaching the bottom, Shi Xiaoyu slowly walked toward a woman whose arms and legs were shackled to chains. As she approached the woman, she grimaced maliciously and sneered, ¡°Rui is still as smitten with you even until now. Don¡¯t you feel very honored?¡± The woman remained silent while kneeling on the ground, appearing extremely disheveled. ¡°But so what if he hasn¡¯t forgotten about you? To his knowledge, you¡¯ve already died long ago. I gave birth to two sons and a daughter with him. We¡¯re the real family.¡± Shi Xiaoyu would repeat such snide remarks to that woman every now and then. She would never get sick of repeating herself for she enjoyed watching the woman tremble uncontrobly every single time thetter heard her words. Chapter 514 - The Secret About the Past (132)

Chapter 514: The Secret About the Past (132)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios It was no exception this time. Shi Xiaoyu was exceptionally thrilled to see the woman quiver without uttering a single word. She then turned to the guards watching the woman and instructed, ¡°Guard her closely and make sure she eats and drinks. Don¡¯t let her die.¡± ¡°Madam, she tried to kill herself on several asions by biting her tongue. I had no choice but to dislocate her jaw...¡± ¡°Fix her jaw, I want to speak to her. I can guarantee that she won¡¯t try to kill herself again after hearing what I have to say.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The first thing Shi Xiaoyu said the moment they fixed her jaw was, ¡°You¡¯d better not think of attempting suicide. You are to remain in this living hell for the rest of your life. Your daughter...¡± The woman raised her head abruptly to look at her as soon as she heard her words. ¡°She¡¯s still alive. You don¡¯t feel like dying anymore now, do you?¡± Shi Xiaoyu taunted with raised brows. ¡°I don¡¯t believe it. How could such a vicious woman like you possibly let her live?¡± the woman answered. ¡°Sister...¡± Shi Xiaoyu had never addressed her that way in a long time. ¡°Although we¡¯re half-sisters who have different mothers, I¡¯m not that ruthless as to kill your child straight away. I instructed someone to abandon her instead. Your daughter is still alive and she¡¯s living well.¡± ¡°Shi Xiaoyu, do you really think I¡¯d believe you?¡± Shi Xiaoyu picked up her mobile phone and found some photos of An Xiaoning online, which she then showed the woman. ¡°See, she resembles you greatly. It¡¯d be so hard to keep her identity as your daughter under wraps.¡± The woman believed her words the moment she saw the photo of An Xiaoning, who seemed just like the spitting image of her younger self. ¡°Thank you for letting her off...¡± ¡°Why? Am I not a vicious woman now? You can¡¯t bear to try and take your own life anymore now that you know your daughter is alive, huh?¡± Shi Xiaoyu scoffed. ¡°Does Rui know about this?¡± ¡°He does.¡± In fact, if it weren¡¯t because of Tuoba Rui¡¯s instructions to keep An Xiaoning safe, Shi Xiaoyu would long have plotted a scheme to kill An Xiaoning. ¡°Where is she now?¡± ¡°Your daughter is really something. I don¡¯t know how she managed to do it, but she actually married the heir of the Jin family. You must know how wealthy and powerful they are. She¡¯s a glorious Young Madam now. Both you and your daughter yearn so much to cling to the wealthy and powerful, yet why aren¡¯t you as lucky as your daughter? Or is it because you¡¯re no match for me at all?¡± Shi Xiaoyu sneered. ¡°What¡¯s the point of saying this now? If it weren¡¯t because of how shrewd and scheming you are, how could I have possibly been defeated by you?¡± the woman retorted. ¡°Quit putting the me on me. If Rui loved you deeply enough, I wouldn¡¯t have been able toe in between you two.¡± Shi Xiaoyu was overwhelmed with a sudden sadness at this very moment, for she knew that she could never rece the supposedly-dead woman¡¯s position in her husband¡¯s heart despite having given him a daughter and two sons. Staring at her, the woman requested, ¡°Xiaoyu, could you show me a photo of my daughter?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll show you if you beg me,¡± she taunted, ring at the woman condescendingly. ¡°Please, I¡¯m begging you, Xiaoyu, I¡¯m begging you.¡± ¡°Hahaha, I really didn¡¯t expect someone so strong-headed like you to one day be begging me for the sake of looking at a photo. Shi Qingzhou, it had never urred to me that you would ever beg me. I shall show it to you then.¡± She took a look at the other door of the basement before instructing the two guards, ¡°Watch her closely ande see me in the living room this evening.¡± ¡°Yes, Madam.¡± After she left, Shi Qingzhou began bawling loudly with tears. She had long lost her mobility after being locked in the basement throughout all these years. In the initial years, she had a strong thirst for revenge, and it was that very thirst for vengeance that had kept her alive until today. However, she began to lose her desire and hope for escaping as she realized that she was getting on in her years. She felt that she was better off dead. Yet, her hope was again awakened. Now that she knew that her daughter was still alive and had be the Young Madam of the Jin family, she was more than determined to escape this hell hole. As long as she could do so, she would be allowed a new leash in life and finally see the light of day again! Thinking about her daughter who resembled her greatly, Shi Qingzhou clenched her jaw as a burning desire began to ignite in her heart. ¡ª While apanying Tuoba Danxue back, a thought kept running through An Xiaoning¡¯s mind: The president and his wife would definitely try and find out who their daughter fancied. It was highly likely that Jiang Feng and his family would be implicated and thus receive a punishment they did not deserve. They were truly innocent and undeserving of such trouble. Yet, she was in no ce to interfere. Such cases were rampant amongst wealthy families, what more the royals. Besides, she had her own troubles to worry about that she, unfortunately, had no clue where to start resolving. The three of them arrived back from the President¡¯s mansion. As soon as they stepped foot inside, they were greeted with the sight of Tuoba Gucheng, who seemed to be waiting for his sister. ¡°Brother.¡± ¡°I heard you went to look for Father and Mother so I decided to drop by. Were you really so silly as to ask them for their opinion?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve foolishly done that, indeed. It turned out to be just like I had expected,¡± she answered, utterly dejected. Tuoba Gucheng pointed out, ¡°You¡¯ll only bending Jiang Feng in trouble by doing that. Father and Mother will definitely send people to find out who your crush is. It¡¯s not within my means to help you and Jiang Feng cover up either. Jiang Feng has already submitted his resignation letter to me, which I¡¯ve already approved, though I¡¯m not sure if there¡¯ll now be any changes.¡± Teary-eyed, Tuoba Danxue asked, ¡°Brother, if you were put into my shoes and fell in love with a woman whose status and background do not match yours, will you fight for the chance to marry her?¡± ¡°I will never fall in love with a woman who¡¯s ipatible with me, because I know clearly what I should and should not do. I¡¯m well aware that there are some thoughts I cannot harbor. So, I¡¯m certain that I won¡¯t make such blunders. You¡¯re too young and insensible now. You¡¯ll understand it in a few years when you¡¯re older,¡± he answered calmly. ¡°If I could choose, I would rather be born in a poor family, where I¡¯m allowed to decide my own life, than in such a family where my freedom is restricted!¡± Tuoba Danxue eximed in disgruntlement. Tuoba Gucheng did not utter a single word, for he was just like his sister, forever forbidden from having the freedom of choice. ¡°Mu Ning, I¡¯m really envious of you,¡± Tuoba Danxue blurted abruptly. ¡°What do you envy about me, Your Highness?¡± ¡°Why are you asking when you already know the answer?¡± An Xiaoning was slightly peeved by her blunt reply. All of a sudden, she felt a vibration in her pocket and her phone began to ring before she could even take it out. ¡°Boss, someone is calling you again!¡± The three pairs of eyes were on An Xiaoning, who frantically whipped her buzzing mobile phone out from her pocket. After taking a look at the caller disy, she immediately said, ¡°It¡¯s a call from my family. Let me answer it.¡± She exited the room and ced the mobile phone beside her ear. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Where are you?¡± ¡°Where else could I be? I¡¯m at home.¡± Gu Beicheng called to invite her for dinner. ¡°There¡¯s a newly opened restaurant which serves delectable French delicacies. Would you like to bring your family along for dinner together?¡± ¡°Why are you always so informed about new restaurants? You glutton.¡± ¡°Well, life is boring and mundane. It¡¯d be so tasteless if you don¡¯t indulge in sumptuous treats every now and then. Are you in for dinner this evening?¡± Chapter 515 - The Secret About the Past (133)

Chapter 515: The Secret About the Past (133)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I¡¯ll pass. I have something important to attend to tonight.¡± Upon sight of Tuoba Gucheng exiting from the room, she hurriedly ended the call and greeted him, ¡°Goodbye, Your Highness.¡± Tuoba Gucheng rolled his eyes and walked past her. Once he reached the door, he turned around to take a nce at her back view and muttered under his breath, ¡°The back view of a woman is always deceptive...¡± ¡ª Xu Youran sprung up abruptly as cold sweat broke out on her forehead. She opened her palms to find that they were sweaty too. She had an endless nightmare during her one-hour nap. It had been a long time since shest dreamed of her biological mother. In fact, it had been so long that she could not even remember when thest time was. In the nightmare, her mother died exactly the way she had witnessed when she was younger ¡ª she poisoned herself and blood was gushing out of every crevice of her body. Xu Youran clutched her chest while trying to recover from the shock. Throughout all these years, she dared not recall the gory scene, which had appeared once again in her nightmare. It was so livid that she felt as if it had just happened yesterday. She lifted the duvet and got out of bed to pour herself some in water, which she gulped down in one go. She then mmed the empty cup onto the table with a loud thud. She would never stop until she got her revenge! After some thought, she changed into a fresh set of clothes and headed to the ck market while wearing a surgical mask and a pair of shades. There were an array of items sold in the ck market that were not avable on the open market. Xu Youran bought five syringes that contained an expensive liquid. She spent a hefty sum to purchase them. She then quickly left the ck market with the items she had just bought. Along the way home in her car, she brainstormed for a way to execute her perfect n. This time, she must not let the cat out of the bag. Neither could she tell her husband about the n she had devised. She had to keep everything secret and ensure that everything would be carried out seamlessly. She contacted Yuan Mingzhu. Being extremely busy, Yuan Mingzhu would usually turn down requests from strangers asking to meet her. However, she agreed this time upon hearing that she was Xu Yang¡¯s sister. ¡°May I know what you¡¯re asking to see me for, Ms. Xu?¡± ¡°Hello, Police Officer Yuan. I heard that you¡¯re the only other female police officer who canmunicate with spirits apart from An Xiaoning. Is that true?¡± Yuan Mingzhu smiled and answered, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I¡¯m rather curious about this, Police Officer Yuan. What are you able to tell when you¡¯re psychic?¡± ¡°I can tell the cause of a person¡¯s death by reading their birth characters. Those who have higher powers may also summon spirits andmunicate with them...¡± ¡°How do you tell the cause of death by reading their birth characters?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll only be able to tell the final oue. For example, if a person was stabbed in his chest, I¡¯d only be able to tell that they died of heart failure and not because he was stabbed by a knife,¡± Yuan Mingzhu said frankly. Xu Youran immediately understood what she meant. ¡°That means if someone fell to their death, a psychic medium wouldn¡¯t be able to deduce the exact cause of death and instead can only tell which organ led to the fatality.¡± ¡°You may say so.¡± ¡°Will you be able to see the spirits of the dead then? Are all spirits visible to psychic mediums like you?¡± Xu Youran asked. Shaking her head, Yuan Mingzhu answered, ¡°Not necessarily. There are very few people in this world who canmunicate with spirits, and those who can do so usually inherit their gift from their parents, though not all. The child will definitely be psychic if both parents carry the trait. Besides, the psychic powers vary from person to person. Those whose powers are weak usually can¡¯t see ormunicate with spirits. Also, spirits won¡¯t be around forever, and many of them would vanish to reincarnate.¡± ¡°Ms. Yuan, did you inherit your powers from your parents?¡± ¡°Yes, I inherited it from my father, but he¡¯s no longer around. So is my grandfather, from whom my father inherited his psychic powers.¡± Her words nted ideas in Xu Youran¡¯s head. ¡°Pardon me for being blunt, but do all psychic humans die an early death?¡± Yuan Mingzhu shook her head and exined, ¡°No, my father and grandfather passed away due to fatal idents. Everyone¡¯s health condition is different. Thus, the longevity of the psychic varies, as do ordinary humans.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. Do you know if An Xiaoning¡¯s powers are potent?¡± Yuan Mingzhu chuckled and said, ¡°I¡¯m not too sure about that since I haven¡¯t worked with her before. But young mediums like us are usually not that powerful.¡± ¡°I¡¯m always so curious about such stuff. Sorry to have imposed on you, Ms. Yuan. How old are you this year?¡± Xu Youran asked with a grin. ¡°I¡¯m 26.¡± ¡°I¡¯m 31, five years older than you are. Are you married?¡± Yuan Mingzhu chuckled before answering, ¡°I don¡¯t even have a boyfriend yet. Maybe I¡¯ve set my standards too high, that¡¯s why it¡¯s harder to find my cup of tea.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your type? Maybe I can help you,¡± said Xu Youran, boasting about her broadwork of connections. ¡°I want a handsome man who has a car and a house. That¡¯s all I¡¯m asking,¡± Yuan Mingzhu said in admittance. ¡°That¡¯s not a tall order. With your beauty, you¡¯ll definitely find the man of your dreams. Well, I¡¯m really bored now that I¡¯m pregnant. I don¡¯t have many friends either. Are you willing to be my friend?¡± Yuan Mingzhu was startled to hear her offer and answered after recovering from the shock, ¡°Sure, that¡¯d be great. I don¡¯t have many friends either.¡± Xu Youran smiled and said, ¡°Feel free to approach me for help should you ever face any difficulties. We¡¯ll be friends from now on.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Yuan Mingzhu did not understand Xu Youran well and merely thought that it¡¯d be great to establish a friendship with her since she was the daughter and daughter-inw of the Xu family and Gu family, respectively, both of which were rich and powerful. Thus, Xu Youran¡¯s help might reallye in handy one day. However, she understood that there was no free lunch in this world and knew that she ought to keep her guard up against those who treat her well for no rhyme or reason. ¡°Where are you staying in now?¡± ¡°The dormitory in the police station.¡± ¡°How could you live in such a cramped ce with poor living conditions? Since we¡¯re friends now, I can¡¯t sit still and watch my friend suffer. I have an apartment near the police station. Why don¡¯t I just give it to you? You may live there from now on,¡± Xu Youran said with a frown. Yuan Mingzhu was taken aback by her generous offer and quickly declined politely, ¡°No, houses are so expensive. I can¡¯t ept such a hefty gift from you, Ms. Xu.¡± ¡°We¡¯re already friends, why are you still addressing me as ¡®Ms. Xu¡¯? You may just call me Youran. Since we¡¯re friends now, I ought to show my sincerity. I don¡¯t need a house anyway. I¡¯ll just transfer it to youter.¡± Her generosity had truly caught Yuan Mingzhu by surprise. Yuan Mingzhu¡¯s impression of her improved tremendously and she began to find Xu Youran to be rather genuine. ¡°You¡¯re so nice to me. How am I going to repay you for your kindness?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not asking for anything in return. Friends ought to be genuine to each other, isn¡¯t that so? Mingzhu, I asked you out today mainly because I was very curious about you and your psychic powers. Such psychic humans like you are few and far in between. The very fact that you could rece An Xiaoning just goes to show that you¡¯re a capable person. After meeting you today, I realized that I really admire your personality, that¡¯s why I wanted to be friends with you. Don¡¯t read too much into it,¡± said Xu Youran, smiling widely from ear to ear. Yuan Mingzhu nodded, filled with immense joy and euphoria. Chapter 516 - The Secret About the Past (134)

Chapter 516: The Secret About the Past (134)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios To Yuan Mingzhu¡¯s astonishment, Xu Youran¡¯s efficiency was far higher than she had expected. Not long after they parted ways, Xu Youran proceeded to settle the administrative procedures required for the handover of the apartment and transferred it to Yuan Mingzhu. Located within close proximity to the police station, the apartment, which consisted of three bedrooms and one hall, must have cost at least a million dors or more. Yet, Xu Youran gave it to her so easily. Yuan Mingzhu was ted and thrilled to finally have her own home, which she had always dreamed of. She had always wanted to let her mother move in with her so she could take care of thetter. Were her wishes going toe true all of a sudden? Yuan Mingzhu returned to the office, as happy as ark. Happiness was written all over her face as she could not contain her excitement, which her colleagues had noticed. ¡°Team Leader, what has gotten into you?¡± Ma Jianguo asked in curiosity. ¡®¡±Nothing much. By the way, let me ask you guys, how strong are An Xiaoning¡¯s psychic powers? I still don¡¯t quite know what she has achieved in the past when she was in my position.¡± Everyone looked at one another, after which Ma Jianguo answered solemnly, ¡°We can¡¯tment about her powers because she has never told us about her abilities explicitly. But she can tell someone¡¯s fortune instantly just by reading their birth characters. She can also see andmunicate with spirits. I¡¯m not too sure about the rest, though.¡± Yuan Mingzhu had more or less already understood where An Xiaoning¡¯s strengthsid. To her dismay, An Xiaoning was far morepetent than she had imagined. ¡°Did she treat you guys well?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± they answered in chorus. ¡°What¡¯s the point of that, though? She¡¯s just a dog in the manger. She may enjoy the glory of being the Team Leader on the surface, but in reality, she¡¯s cracked only a few cases. Not to mention, she¡¯s always absent as well,¡± Mingzhu sneered. ¡°Yeah, Team Leader An isn¡¯t asmitted to this job as you are. Well, this is not her main upation anyway. After all, you¡¯re here every day because there¡¯s nothing else for you to attend to, unlike her,¡± Gong Le remarked. Staring at him, Yuan Mingzhu questioned, ¡°Are you giving me apliment or criticizing me?¡± ¡°Team Leader, I¡¯m praising you, of course.¡± ¡°Yes, I may not have anything else to do apart from solving cases, unlike her who has a busy schedule. But, I¡¯m a graduate of the Police Academy. How about her? I heard she¡¯s barely received any formal education. I bet she¡¯s illiterate.¡± ¡°Team Leader, I heard Sis Xiaoning mention before that her Master did teach her how to read and write, although she has never attended school...¡± Zu Dong exined. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Filled with rage and displeasure, Yuan Mingzhu did not utter another word. ¡ª¡ª It began to drizzle in the evening in B City. Tuoba Danxue finally decided to eat something after several days of barely eating anything. After watching her fall asleep, Zhi Yin motioned for An Xiaoning to leave. An Xiaoning hurriedly dismissed herself. She returned to her room, after which she received a text message that she initially thought was sent by Jin Qingyan. To her surprise, it was from Xiao Chi. The contents of the message sent a shiver down her spine. She was informed that Jiang Feng was implicated, as expected, and had been taken away forcefully to an unknown location. Judging from how Tuoba Gucheng seemed to be nonchnt about the matter, Jiang Feng was very likely to be executed. An Xiaoning had never expected Tuoba Gucheng to be so heartless as to sit back and leave his bodyguard, Jiang Feng, in the lurch. He could have easily intervened but he did not do so. Jiang Feng was innocent. At this moment, An Xiaoning was certain that death would be the only thing that awaited Jiang Feng. Society was far more cruel and twisted than she had imagined. Things turned out to be just like she had expected in the end. However, she knew that there was no point in telling Tuoba Danxue about the matter since nothing could be done about it. Besides, she was in no ce to intervene, nor did she have the means to do so since the Autumn Pce was a heavily-guarded ce where security was tight. If she were to step in and end up being captured by the surveince cameras, she would only be bringing a hard time on herself should her identity be exposed. Yet, An Xiaoning could not help but find it hard to watch an innocent man die before her eyes. She put herself in the shoes of Jiang Feng¡¯s mother and imagined what it would be like to watch her son being tortured and killed for no reason. If Jiang Feng¡¯s mother were to find out about her son¡¯s death, needless to say... But then again, she would not make it in time to save him even if she tried to rush there now. An Xiaoning hurriedly replied to Xiao Chi¡¯s text message and asked if she could leave the pce. Xiao Chi answered with a ¡°No.¡± An Xiaoning decided to try her luck anyway. Thus, she climbed out and down from the window using a rope, to which she then gave a little tug to retrieve. She then sprinted towards Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s mansion with all her might. Due to the rain, she waspletely drenched from head to toe. At this moment, she thought to herself that she would try and rescue him if he had yet to be executed by the time she arrived. However, they could only me it on fate and Heaven¡¯s will if she does not make it in the nick of time. She did not get her hopes up and instead took it as a casual stroll out of boredom. In fact, it really did be like an actual stroll for the territory was way toorge and she had no idea where Jiang Feng had been taken to at all. After searching around a vast area, she still could not find him. Her hopes were diminishing as time passed by. She was momentarily overwhelmed with an inexplicable feeling. She felt sorry for Jiang Feng who was innocent, unlike those terrorists who took the lives of many. All he did was to unwillingly be the subject of Tuoba Danxue¡¯s adoration. He did not do anything wrong at all. Furthermore, his rights as a human ought to be respected. An Xiaoning could not quite exin how she felt about his plight. She decided to return slowly. All of a sudden, she was stopped in her tracks by a male voice, ¡°Hold it right there.¡± She turned around to see a figure standing in the rain with a ck umbre in hand. It was none other than Tuoba Gucheng. ¡°Your Highness.¡± Drops of rainwater trickled down her face when she nodded her head to greet him. She was almostpletely drenched. ¡°What are you doing here in the middle of the night?¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t fall asleep so I came out for a jog.¡± ¡°You¡¯re jogging on a rainy day? You must be really bored, huh?¡± he questioned apprehensively, clearly not buying her excuse. ¡°Yes, Mu Ning is different from others. It¡¯s quiet only when it rains. I like the rain.¡± ¡°Freak...¡± ¡°I¡¯m heading back to get some rest. Please go to bed early too, Your Highness.¡± She turned around and took flight immediately. Tuoba Gucheng did not dwell much on the matter, thinking that An Xiaoning must have been sent by his sister. Upon returning to her room, An Xiaoning took a warm shower and removed her mask to finally allow her skin to breathe. Staring at her reflection in the mirror, she patted her face a few times to boost cirction. She was still ill at ease even after lying on the bed. Buzz... She opened the text message from Jin Qingyan while still lying in bed. It was a daily routine for them to text each other at night, and he would rarely call or text her in the day unless absolutely necessary. After sending several messages to each other back and forth, An Xiaoning put her phone away and prepared to go to bed. She could not seem to sleep in peace for the rest of the night. She woke up at six o¡¯clock the next morning, as soon as daybreak arrived. After putting on the mask, she proceeded to get dressed and exited her room. Zhi Yin scurried downstairs hastily and zoomed inside Tuoba Danxue¡¯s room. Noticing the sight before her, An Xiaoning reckoned that Zhi Yin must have heard about the matter about Jiang Feng. As expected, Tuoba Danxue ran out of her room, sloppily dressed and appearing unkempt. Zhi Yin hurriedly took chase and eximed, ¡°Mu Ning, stop Her Highness!¡± An Xiaoning swiftly stepped forward to hold her down and said, ¡°Your Highness, please get dressed first.¡± ¡°No, move aside!¡± Tears streamed down Tuoba Danxue¡¯s face uncontrobly and she seemed to be on the verge of despair. Chapter 517 - The Secret About the Past (135)

Chapter 517: The Secret About the Past (135)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Zhi Yin frantically helped her put her clothes on and persuaded her, ¡°Your Highness, get dressed before going, lest you attract unnecessary attention and snide remarks from gossipmongers.¡± Tuoba Danxue relented and got dressed in the end. Tears were flowing continuously from her eyes like a broken tap as she refused to believe what she had heard. She had just gone to see her parents yesterday and now she was receiving the news of Jiang Feng passing away this morning while trying to protect her brother. Only a fool would believe that! Tuoba Danxue was incapable of tears the moment she saw Jiang Feng lying motionless in the coffin with his eyes closed, his face as pale as a sheet. She stood rooted to the ground, dumbfounded. She had killed him with her foolishness. Jiang Feng was innocent. Tuoba Danxue stared at the ground and abruptly got onto her knees, greatly shocking everyone who was present. As a princess, she was defying the rules and customs by kneeling down to a bodyguard. When everyone tried to pull her up, Tuoba Danxue screeched at the top of her lungs, ¡°No one is to touch me!¡± The crowd backed off slowly and no one dared to reach out to touch her again. ¡°I¡¯m just doing what I should.¡± She kowtowed to his coffin thrice before saying to Tuoba Gucheng, ¡°Do make it up to his parents. But... Brother, you¡¯ve really disappointed me.¡± Tuoba Gucheng understood what she meant, and so did everyone else present. ¡°Danxue, some things can¡¯t be changed even if I intervene. I¡¯m just as helpless as you are,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng, staring at his sister. Tuoba Danxue held her tears back with all her might and turned around to leave without looking back or uttering another word. ¡ª ¡°Mingxi, didn¡¯t you already sell the shares for money long ago? Why is it only being reported on now?¡± Mrs. Gu asked, handing her the newspapers. Lin Mingxi grabbed the newspapers and took a look before saying, ¡°I don¡¯t know. But it¡¯s very likely that my sister paid the media to ster this piece of old news all over the newspapers.¡± After some thought, Mrs. Gu said, ¡°Read the content of the article. She¡¯s obviously pointing fingers at you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, whatever. I don¡¯t wish to take such irrelevant matters to heart and let it trouble Beicheng and me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the right mindset. Didn¡¯t you want to set up arge-scale fitness gym? Have you started preparing for it?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve bought over a storefront near an office building. There¡¯ll be a greater crowd since there are severalpanies around the area with many office workers. It¡¯s in the midst of renovation.¡± Mrs. Gu reached out to hold her hand and said, ¡°Mingxi, Xu Youran is already expecting now. You and Beicheng should step on it and quickly give birth to a child.¡± ¡°Mother, that¡¯s what I¡¯m nning to do too.¡± ¡°It¡¯s great that you think that way. A woman¡¯s greatest safe haven will always be her family. We¡¯re not in need of money so go ahead and do what you enjoy, but remember to put your family as your top priority.¡± ¡°I understand. Don¡¯t worry, Mother, I¡¯m not too ambitious or career-minded. Oh, I have to go view the storefront now. Mother, I¡¯ll be taking my leave.¡± ¡°Alright, go ahead. Drive safe.¡± ¡°Okay, I will.¡± Standing by a window on the second floor, Xu Youran watched as Lin Mingxi¡¯s car left before looking away with a sly and malicious smirk hanging from her lips. Her mobile phone began vibrating all of a sudden. She turned to the side to pick it up. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll transfer you the money immediately. Continue to keep close tabs and send me the photos now.¡± ¡°...¡± After ending the call, she plonked down onto the chair and switched on herputer. Soon, she received several photos on her newly-created ount on a certain messaging tform. The photos showed Mrs. Jin and Fang Xiaotian entering a hotel room together, along with the details of their hotel room booking. The booking information included their personal identification card details as well. Staring at the information on the photos, Xu Youran quickly brainstormed for her next step. After much consideration, she decided to kill without bloodshed. That way, there would be no way for the evidence to trace back to her. Fang Xiaotian was still deep in his sleep when he was jolted awake by the sudden ringing of his mobile phone. He instantly woke up upon hearing what the caller said. He quickly put on his clothes and rushed out of the house. Upon arriving at a cafe, Fang Xiaotian asked a man in front of him, ¡°Were you the one who called me?¡± ¡°Yes. Would you like me to spread this to the media? Do you think your mother can recuperate in peace if she finds out that you earned the money for her treatment by being a gigolo? Do you reckon Jin Qingyan will let you off if the Jin family finds out about this matter?¡± the man threatened, showing him the photos. Being a young chap from an average family, Fang Xiaotian was instantly frightened by his threat. ¡°Boss, I don¡¯t have any money, but please don¡¯t expose this.¡± ¡°Do something for me and I promise I won¡¯t,¡± the man said leisurely while lighting up a cigarette. ¡°What is it about?¡± The man chuckled and said, ¡°It¡¯s not too tall of an order actually. I just want to know the details of Mrs. Jin¡¯s birth such as her exact birthdate and the timing she was born. I also want a few samples of her hair and some of her clothing. Can you do that?¡± Fang Xiaotian heaved a huge sigh of relief. Unlike what he had expected, it turned out it was an easy task. ¡°It¡¯s a piece of cake.¡± ¡°Okay, it¡¯s settled then. I¡¯m giving you two days. Don¡¯t me me for being ruthless if you give me the wrong birth date and time. Also, her clothes have to be the one she¡¯s wearing on the day you retrieve them and her hair must be plucked from her head.¡± ¡°Got it. You¡¯re not going to ckmail me with the photos again?¡± Fang Xiaotian asked in fear. ¡°I¡¯m a man of my word. Rest assured.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± After their meeting, the man exited from the cafe and quickly got into a car by the roadside. ¡°It¡¯s all settled. We¡¯ll be meeting again in the cafe two dayster.¡± ¡°Yes, good job. This is your pay for this time. I¡¯ll hand you the rest next time,¡± Xu Youran said, handing him a paper envelope. ¡°Thank you, Sis.¡± Xu Youran was wearing a cap and a pair of shades to conceal her identity. The man was someone she had hired online. The car she drove was a rented one, and she made sure to be careful with every step. She ensured that she would not leak any clues about her scheme. From now onwards, she would be finishing the battle she started. ¡ª Ever since thest time she was attacked by Mrs. Ling, she had nevere by again. Jin Qingyue and Ling Ciye had since then begun their carefree life rid of any disturbances. Jin Qingyue was not eager to get intimate with him for she realized that she could not be too impatient about certain things. Slow and steady wins the race. Thus, whenever it was just the two of them at home, she would put on all sorts of sexy dresses while acting nonchntly, as if she had no intentions to entice him at all. ¡°I¡¯m going to discuss a huge firearms deal tonight and I won¡¯t being home. You don¡¯t have to prepare dinner for me,¡± said Ling Ciye. ¡°Watch out for your safety.¡± Jin Qingyue had never pried into his matters for she was fully aware of which industry he was in. ¡°Yes.¡± Jin Qingyue had dinner at her brother¡¯s ce that evening and took the chance to ask her brother about the firearms deal since she barely had a clue about those stuff and wanted to understand the truth from her brother. Chapter 518 - The Secret About the Past (136)

Chapter 518: The Secret About the Past (136)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Noticing how worried she seemed, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°Ciye is considered to be rather merciless amongst the Triads. He¡¯ll never partake in any illegal activity, but there are some things that he has no choice but to go ahead with doing.¡± Jin Qingyue did not quite understand what her brother meant, and neither was she too sure about what Ling Ciye was doing on a regr basis since it was tooplicated. He would often take the initiative to tell her. She did not feel the need to tell each other about every detail of their lives since they had yet to progress to that stage yet. ¡°Brother, will the discussion be dangerous?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no certainty to that, but it¡¯ll usually be safe as long as there are no moles to rat on them to the police. Take the incident of when your sister-inw and I came back from M Nation as an example. We were ambushed probably because a snitchid a trap for us to fall into. However, we couldn¡¯t find the culprit since there were no clues even after a long time. This is not Ciye¡¯s first time dealing with this anyway. He has sufficient experience in handling unexpected twists of the situation.¡± Jin Qingyue nodded and changed the subject. ¡°Brother, tell me honestly, do you think I¡¯mpatible with Brother Ciye?¡± ¡°I used to think that you weren¡¯t, but I¡¯m really d to see that you¡¯ve now matured and turned over a new leaf.¡± Resting her face in her hands, Jin Qingyue stared at her brother and asked, ¡°Brother, is Song Yan the only girl Brother Ciye has ever dated since he was young?¡± ¡°She¡¯s the only girlfriend we¡¯ve heard about, but he usually wouldn¡¯t hide such stuff from us, so she¡¯s probably the only one. But he hasn¡¯t mentioned you to us yet, even ¡¯til now. You have to press on and work hard. I want to see you settling down one day too.¡± ¡°Brother, I think you¡¯re bing more and more gentle. Have you been influenced by Sis-inw?¡± ¡°Why are you asking when you already know the answer?¡± They smiled at each other and continued eating. After dinner, Jin Qingyue returned to the apartment and took afortable shower. Shey in bed, wide awake and unable to fall asleep. Time passed slowly bit by bit. She was a little sleepy by the time it was past ten o¡¯clock. Just as she was about to go to bed, her mobile phone rang all of a sudden. She got a great shock and was instantly no longer sleepy. She picked up the phone. ¡°Brother.¡± ¡°Something went wrong with Ciye¡¯s discussion tonight and we don¡¯t know where he is now. The police probably haven¡¯t found out that he was involved, but he was shot by a gun. He¡¯s very likely to have gone home, I¡¯m going out to look for him now.¡± ¡°Okay, Brother, can I go with you?¡± ¡°No, stay at home.¡± Jin Qingyue ended the call and hurriedly rushed out while wearing her pajamas and a cardigan. The door of the apartment could be unlocked with just a passcode. She boarded the elevator and soon arrived at the lobby. Gripping her mobile phone tightly in her hand, she was overwhelmed with anxiety. Yet, she dared not give him a call. However, she still decided to dial his number in the end. As expected, his mobile phone was switched off and the call could not go through. Pangs of panic engulfed Jin Qingyue upon hearing that he was injured. No wonder she had a hunch that something ominous was going to happen that night. She paced back and forth by the lobby with the cardigan draped across her shoulders. She pinched her fingers tightly and prayed silently in her head while walking. She wanted to drive out to search for him but was also afraid that he woulde home since he would not dare to go to the hospital, lest he gets arrested. At this point, Jin Qingyue was flustered beyond limits. She had no choice but to wait patiently by the corridor of the lobby. She waited from ten something all the way until one o¡¯clock in the morning. Finally, Jin Qingyan returned home in his car. Jin Qingyue¡¯s eyes lit up at the sight of the car and sprinted toward it. The car pulled over quickly, after which Jin Qingyue asked anxiously, ¡°Brother, have you found him?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t know exactly where he went. Shixin and the rest are still looking for him,¡± Jin Qingyan answered with disappointment written all over his face. Jin Qingyue burst into tears and spluttered, ¡°Brother, could something have happened to Brother Ciye? He got shot by a gun. Could he have been arrested by the police?¡± ¡°No, don¡¯t imagine things. He must¡¯ve gone elsewhere. Have faith in his ability. Not everyone can handle everything when an unexpected twist crops up at thest minute, but I believe he wouldn¡¯t be so weak as to sumb to failure.¡± ¡°Okay...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t keep standing here, go home and wait.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. Brother, you can go home first.¡± Jin Qingyan nodded and wound up the car windows before driving home. Jin Qingyue squatted down and began to feel increasingly worried the more she thought about it. To her knowledge, he must have shed some blood from the gunshot, though she had no idea how many bullets he had taken and where they had struck him. Her greatest worry was for the bullet to hit a fatal spot. However, she constantlyforted herself with An Xiaoning¡¯s words about a highly-possible marriage between them and reassured herself that he would be fine. During times of anxiety, the only way out was to encourage oneself to press on with such thoughts of determination. Her hands trembled uncontrobly while she continued to squat on the ground. She remained in that position all the way until daybreak. After waiting for an entire night, she was fatigued and exhausted but refused to allow herself to sleep. She hung her head low and stared at the ground. She did not move an inch away from the spot even after the sun had already risen high above her. Jin Qingyue buried her face into herp and hugged her knees. During thest few moments of her consciousness, she heard a familiar voice from above. ¡°Why are you squatting here?¡± asked a deep yet gentle voice. She immediately looked up and met his gaze. Jin Qingyue sprung up and leaped forward to hug him tightly. ¡°You¡¯re home!¡± ¡°Ouch...¡± She immediately let go of him and asked, ¡°Did I touch your wound?¡± ¡°Yes, let¡¯s talk upstairs.¡± Jin Qingyue noticed that his face was pale and colorless and that he had already changed into a new set of clothes. She supported him with her arms and helped him into the lobby. Once they returned to the apartment, Ling Ciyey down in bed slowly. Finally, the frown on his forehead vanished and he said to her, ¡°Bring me some water.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Jin Qingyue immediately proceeded to bring him some water. She felt as if a weight had been lifted off her chest the very moment that she saw him. She entered the room and handed him a mug of water. ¡°I heard my brother say that you were injured. Just where did you get injured?¡± ¡°I was shot in my stomach and my arm.¡± Noticing that he picked up the mug with his left hand, she guessed that his right arm must have been the one that got shot. ¡°Where did you go yesterday? My brother went to look for you but he didn¡¯t manage to. Have the bullets been removed?¡± ¡°I went back to one of my territories. The bullets were removedst night.¡± ¡°Look how pale you are. You must¡¯ve lost an excessive amount of blood. You have to nourish your body from now on. Have you eaten?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Lie here first. I haven¡¯t had my meal yet. I¡¯ll go fix something to eat and brew you some soup to help replenish your blood,¡± said Jin Qingyue as she hurriedly exited his bedroom. His lips curled into a smile at the sight of her anxious self. When he saw her upon alighting from his car earlier, he thought to himself that she must have been squatting there for a long while. At that very moment, a strange feeling had filled him. He felt as if they were a family. He instantly regretted not getting someone to call and tell her that he was safe, just so she could stop being worried. Jin Qingyue cooked some red date and yam ck glutinous porridge along with a dish of pig¡¯s liver. She served it to him in bed and ced the dishes onto a wooden bed table. She then helped him up and allowed him to lean back against a pillow. He wanted to feed himself but she refused to let him do so. ¡°Your arm is injured right now. You¡¯re going to tear the wound if you raise your arm. Let me feed you instead.¡± ¡°Are you not going to eat some?¡± Chapter 519 - The Secret About the Past (137)

Chapter 519: The Secret About the Past (137)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Go ahead and eat first. I¡¯ll eatter.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need for that... I¡¯m not that fragile. Hurry and eat up then get some sleep,¡± he said, noticing how tired she seemed. Needless to say, Jin Qingyue refused. ¡°You¡¯re my man. Now that you¡¯re injured, who¡¯s going to take care of you if I don¡¯t? I¡¯ll eat and sleep after I¡¯ve fed you. It¡¯s not too much trouble, it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± She picked up the bowl and fed him a spoonful of porridge. He opened his mouth abidingly to let her feed him. Jin Qingyue had never cajoled anyone that way before, apart from her own daughter. Yet, she was willing to do so for him. She fed him spoonful after spoonful of the porridge along with some pig¡¯s liver before finishing another bowl of porridge herself. She then brought the crockery and utensils to the kitchen to wash them. ¡°Let me see your wound.¡± He lifted his shirt to let her take a look. The bandage wrapped around his abdomen was already drenched in bright red blood. It was the same for the wound on his arm, which required a lot of effort for him to lift up. Jin Qingyue did not probe about the firearms deal and helped undress him. She stifled a yawn and initially nned to tell him that she would be going to take a nap and to call her if he needed anything. However, she changed her mind the moment she saw the look in his eyes. ¡°You¡¯re injured, I think it¡¯d be better for me to sleep next to you.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, she lifted the duvet and climbed onto the bed to lie down beside him. She then quickly closed her eyes. At this moment, she could finally go to sleep in peace. ¡°Qingyue...¡± Ling Ciye called, staring at her. She soon fell asleep and began snoring. Gazing at her face, Ling Ciye lifted his left arm slightly and ced his palm onto the back of her right hand quietly while the sound-asleep Jin Qingyue waspletely unaware. ¡ª After sorting her feelings out for the entire day, Tuoba Danxue decided to go look for Tuoba Rui and Shi Xiaoyu again. This time, Tuoba Danxue was much harsher with her tone when she spoke to her parents. ¡°I know Mother was the one behind Jiang Feng¡¯s murder. Father may be strict and austere but he¡¯s not one to abuse his authority and kill the innocent. I take your silence as consent. I don¡¯t know if my guess is right or not, but I don¡¯t wish to talk about that matter now. I just want to say, it¡¯s too torturous being born in a family like this, having no freedom to decide my own marriage at all. I can¡¯t even be with the person I adore. It¡¯s no different from feudalism...¡± Her words had hit the nail on the head. Tuoba Rui remained silent. A grave expression formed on Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s face and she interrupted her daughter, ¡°Danxue, I¡¯m doing it for your own good. What¡¯s the good in fancying a bodyguard?¡± ¡°I fancy him, but he didn¡¯t reciprocate my feelings for him. He¡¯d even tendered his resignation to Brother and got engaged with a girl his parents had set him up with. What rights have you got to take his life!?! He¡¯s only an innocent person, what has he done wrong!?!¡± Tuoba Danxue snapped angrily. Shi Xiaoyu ignored her feelings and bellowed, ¡°He¡¯s innocent. But the only mistake hemitted is to make you fall for him. Danxue, listen up, I didn¡¯t give birth to you to have you treat me this way. Since you want to start dating and get married, your father and I have already decided to find you an outstanding prospective marriage partner whose background and status matches yours. When you finally see a brilliant bachelor for yourself, you¡¯ll realize that Jiang Feng is only a small fry who doesn¡¯t deserve you!¡± ¡°You took away the life of an innocent and yet you don¡¯t show the slightest tinge of guilt or remorse at all. I can¡¯t believe I have such a cruel and relentless woman as my mother. Sure, hurry and find me an outstanding man as soon as possible. I want to leave this house as soon as I can!¡± she barked, after which she left with Zhi Yin and An Xiaoning. Pointing at Tuoba Danxue, Shi Xiaoyu said to her husband, ¡°See, if I didn¡¯t kill him as a warning to others, who knows what she might do on impulse?¡± ¡°Set her up with a man whom you find outstanding, then. I¡¯m staying out of this.¡± ¡°You¡¯re her father, of course you have to meddle with this. Which bachelor do you think ispatible with Danxue?¡± Shi Xiaoyu asked. ¡°Danxue is still young, there¡¯s no hurry in marrying her off. If you must, just go ahead with the arrangements.¡± ¡°Since you don¡¯t want toment on this, I shall decide by myself. Commander-in-chief Jin has a son named Jin Minxing who¡¯s about the same age as Danxue. I¡¯ve seen that chap before. He¡¯s very handsome. What do you think?¡± ¡°Sure, let him meet Danxue one day.¡± Shi Xiaoyu nodded upon gaining his approval. Tuoba Danxue had really suffered a huge blow. Ever since she returned from her parents¡¯ mansion, she did not step foot outside again. An Xiaoning had to stay by her side since she refused to go out. This was a great hindrance to An Xiaoning¡¯s n to search for her parents. Finding out the truth was much harder than she had imagined. At this rate, it would definitely take more than just a few months to find her parents. Perhaps it¡¯d be extremely difficult. But she did not n to give up at all. An Xiaoning could hear the sounds of Tuoba Danxue crying while she was lying in bed. She turned to the side and gave Jin Qingyan a text to briefly exin what had happened that day. As expected, Jin Qingyan told her not to embroil herself in the matter since it did not involve her, lest she gets into trouble. An Xiaoning agreed with him. Having already taken a great risk by entering the Pce, she naturally knew better than to create unnecessary trouble for herself. She was not allowed to send voice messages though she could receive them. Thus, she put on her headphones to listen to his messages while she replied with a text. Both of them made it a point to chat with each other every night before they could go to sleep in peace. ¡°Honey, I feel so cold, empty, and alone at home...¡± ¡°Just bear with it for a while. We¡¯ll meet again soon.¡± ¡°Honey, I have a gift for you.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± she asked. ¡°I have a chromosome passed down from my ancestors, do you want it?¡± An Xiaoning burst intoughter and quickly replied, ¡°Sure, sure, I must want it. I want it, definitely. Hubby, I¡¯m going to bed.¡± ¡°Send me a photo before you go to bed. I miss you.¡± She sat up straight and removed her clothes to send him a photo of her topless self. She never grew sick of it even though she had done it countless times before. After receiving the photo, Jin Qingyany in bed and stared at his screen, unable to take his eyes off her. He felt a tension forming in his pants as his hormones raged. It¡¯s only been a few days, yet he was already so enticed by a mere photo. He would never be able to get over her for the rest of his life. He tried to call her again, only to find that her mobile phone had been switched off. Since he could not fulfill his desire, he had no choice but to hug his son to sleep. Chapter 520 - The Secret About the Past (138)

Chapter 520: The Secret About the Past (138)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Yuan Mingzhu and Xu Youran agreed to meet at a private room in a teahouse. ¡°Youran, you looked for me so urgently. Did something happen?¡± Xu Youran picked up her teacup and said with a smile, ¡°Am I not allowed to ask you out when all is peaceful and well? I¡¯d like to ask something of you. I know I might be putting you in a spot, but I can¡¯t trust anyone else.¡± ¡°You need my help? How can I help you? Feel free to tell me, I¡¯ll definitely lend you a hand as long as it¡¯s within my means.¡± Xu Youran exined her request in a calm and unhurried manner, for she had already rehearsed it in her head. ¡°Well, my biological mother was driven to her death by someone.¡± ¡°And?¡± Yuan Mingzhu asked. ¡°The people who drove her to her grave are still alive and well. I¡¯m aw-abiding citizen, but I¡¯d really like to avenge my mother, so...¡± Yuan Mingzhu instantly understood what she meant. No wonder she was so generous as to give me an entire apartment. Indeed, there was no free lunch in this world. Turns out she had an ulterior motive for getting close to me. Yuan Mingzhu was rather at ease since she knew that they would still have to follow the books where personal benefits were involved, although they could remain friends on the surface. ¡°Youran, I think I¡¯ll return you the apartment...¡± ¡°Mingzhu, why are you saying that? I don¡¯t n on shortchanging you by asking for your help. Apart from this apartment, I¡¯ll give you another two million dors. How does that sound?¡± Yuan Mingzhu was indeed tempted by the hefty sum at the thought of having to slog her guts out at the police station for a meager amount of sry. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Of course, I will never mistreat my friends. I only came up with this solution because I know it¡¯s the only way to take my revenge without implicating you and me,¡± said Xu Youran. ¡°Um... to what extent would you like to exact revenge?¡± ¡°I want them dead,¡± Xu Youran said calmly without hesitation. ¡°Death?¡± Yuan Mingzhu asked in astonishment. ¡°But she knows a psychic medium like yourself. There¡¯s no way topletely harm her unless she¡¯s dead.¡± Xu Youran took a seat beside Yuan Mingzhu and held her hand tightly before continuing, ¡°Mingzhu, this may only be the second time we¡¯re meeting, but I already consider you as my close friend. You¡¯ll help me, won¡¯t you?¡± Yuan Mingzhu stared at her and said, ¡°If you want her dead, I¡¯ll settle it for you on the condition that you give me another three million dors.¡± Xu Youran did not bargain with her and agreed right away, ¡°Alright, but you are to keep this between us.¡± ¡°That goes without saying. But I need a possession of hers that she oftenes into contact with, like her clothes and other simr items.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve brought her birth characters, clothing, and hair samples with me.¡± She stood up to grab her purse and handed the items to Yuan Mingzhu. ¡°It¡¯s all here. Her name is written on it too.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Yuan Mingzhu took a look and grabbed it from her. ¡°Three million dors,¡± said Xu Youran, handing her a check. ¡°You really trust me that much?¡± Yuan Mingzhu asked, taking the check from her. ¡°I believe you, absolutely.¡± Xu Youran had once sought help from another medium to put a curse on Mrs. Gu. However, it seemed neither she nor Gu Dongcheng would be allowed to enter the ancestral hall now. Feeling a little uncertain, Yuan Mingzhu said, ¡°I¡¯ve never done anything like this before, if I fail to...¡± ¡°Even if you fail, I¡¯ll still let you keep the money,¡± said Xu Youran. Yuan Mingzhu was strangely touched by her words. At this very moment, she forgot that she was receiving such kindness at the expense of someone else¡¯s life. ¡°Since you have so much faith in me, I shall give it a try.¡± ¡°By the way, will the curse still work if she has an amulet given by temples?¡± ¡°Amulets can only protect someone temporarily,¡± Yuan Mingzhu answered. After they parted ways, Yuan Mingzhu went to the bank to deposit the three-million-dor check into her bank ount. She then proceeded to buy some furniture for her new apartment, which was already renovated. She arranged all the furniture into ce after they were delivered to her doorstep. Taking a look at her new home, she felt like she finally had a safe haven. She turned one of the rooms into a room meant for performing rituals. Sheid some offerings and a joss urn on the altar before picking up a red brush to scribble the information given by Xu Youran onto a yellow-colored joss paper. She then ced the paper onto the altar and allowed it to dry. Without even taking a break, she proceeded to take out a few pieces of fabric and sewed them together to make a puppet. Half an hourter, she was done sewing. All the preparations had been made. She then lit an incense stick and stuck it into a joss urn, after which she ced the dry joss paper beside the urn. Atst, she ced the puppet into the metal te, which wasid atop the piece of joss paper. The setup was ced on an incline. She then set the clothes and hair samples on fire. After they had gone up in mes, she knelt down onto a praying mat and began kowtowing solemnly while chanting a spell. She kowtowed a total of thirty times. She felt a sense of relief upon sight of the puppet abruptly jerking inside the metal te. Yuan Mingzhu left the apartment after performing the ritual. Wrapping herself inyers of clothes, she made her way to the ck market. She bought some oil derived from corpses. The oil came at a hefty price tag, costing tens of thousands for a small vial. However, she purchased it without hesitation, for she knew that it would boost the effects of the ritual. Upon returning home, she poured the oil over the puppet before chanting another spell. Yuan Mingzhu exited the room and sat on the couch in the living room. She took a good look around the house before giving her mother a call. ¡°Mother, would you like to move in with me?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Well, then take care of yourself at home. Call me if you ever need anything. I¡¯lle home to visit you often.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Sure.¡± After hanging up the phone, Yuan Mingzhu sank into a trance while hugging her knees. She was initially ill at ease about the entire situation, but her uneasiness soon vanished at the thought of the apartment and the three million dors she received as a reward. ¡ª The next morning, Jin Qingyan visited Ling Ciye at his apartment. ¡°Why did you bother discussing the deal yourself when you could¡¯ve just gotten someone else to do it for you?¡± said Jin Qingyan, staring at Ling Ciye, who was lying on the bed. ¡°This is a huge deal, I had to discuss it myself. But fortunately, the contract has already been signed, although I had to suffer two gunshot wounds. By the way, I forgot to tell you about something,¡± Ling Ciye said, smiling. Jin Qingyan sat on the chair and asked, ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°My employees at my underground gambling den told me that they saw your father there.¡± ¡°Which gambling den?¡± Jin Qingyan asked. ¡°The one at Yangxia Road.¡± ¡°Oh, okay. Ciye, as Qingyue¡¯s brother, I¡¯d like to know how you truly feel about her.¡± ¡°We¡¯re already dating, what do you think?¡± Ling Ciye answered in a rxed manner. ¡°Your parents...¡± ¡°I¡¯ll find a time to tell them about it once our rtionship is stable.¡± Chapter 521 - The Secret About the Past (139)

Chapter 521: The Secret About the Past (139)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyan nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s good. I believe you¡¯ve seen for yourself how much Qingyue has changed over the years. But of course, everyone has the right to pursue their own happiness. You two have my blessing.¡± Ling Ciye reached his hand out to give him a fist bump. Jin Qingyan then drove to Ling Ciye¡¯s gambling den in Yangxia Road, which he knew was thriving. He had instructed thetter years ago to inform him if any of his family members visited the den to gamble. Upon arriving, he asked Sister Hong, the manager of the gambling den, about his father. She told him that Mr. Jin had visited the den on several asions and would often ce high bets and stakes, though she was not sure if he won or lost. Jin Qingyan then instructed her to inform him immediately the next time Mr. Jin shows up. Sister Hong agreed. Just as Jin Qingyan exited from the room, he was stopped by Sister Hong. ¡°Mr. Jin, your father is here.¡± Jin Qingyan stared at the surveince cameras¡¯ monitors on the wall and caught sight of his father on one of the screens. ¡°Send your best con artist as well as a few other yers to gamble with him. Don¡¯t allow him to gamble with anyone else. I¡¯ll pay for the costs.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Sister Hong immediately proceeded to make the arrangements. Jin Qingyan left after giving her a sum of money. Sister Hong dared not procrastinate since she knew how authoritative he was. Besides, she had also received instructions from her employer. Jin Qingyan got inside his car after exiting the gambling den. He received a call from Jin Qingyue just as he was about to return to the office. As soon as he heard what she said, he immediately drove to the mansion Mrs. Jin was living in. Jin Qingyan heard the sounds of Mrs. Jin shrieking and grunting in unbearable pain even before he reached her bedroom. His face stiff with dismay, he pushed the door open forcefully. Upon sight of him, Jin Qingyue stood up immediately and said, ¡°Brother, I just came back from the hospital with Mother. The doctor said that there¡¯s nothing wrong with her at all, but she ims to be feeling immense pain all over. She said it¡¯s the same type of pain she felt when a spirit mounted her calf back then. I suspect it¡¯s the same case this time. Call Sister-inw over to take a look.¡± ¡°Your Sister-inw won¡¯t be able toe here for a period of time. I¡¯ll get Shixin to find another medium to take a look right away.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Jin Qingyan exited the room and gave Fan Shixin a call. By the time he returned inside, Mrs. Jin had already passed out from the unbearable pain. A silence filled the room. ¡°Did you ask Mother what she has been doingtely?¡± ¡°She said she had been going about her usual routine like visiting the beauty salon and mahjong dens...¡± Jin Qingyan sighed in perplexity. After much thought, he decided to give An Xiaoning a text message to exin the situation to her in detail. However, An Xiaoning replied saying that she tried to apply for leave but was not approved by Tuoba Danxue, who was in low spirits at the moment. She instructed him to try giving Mrs. Jin an amulet and observe if the situation improves. Being highly efficient as usual, Fan Shixin soon hired a medium and brought the amulets to them. After taking a look at Mrs. Jin¡¯s condition, the medium shook his head and said, ¡°There aren¡¯t any spirits mounting on her, but I can¡¯t tell what it is that¡¯s causing the pain. I don¡¯t possess superior skills.¡± Pangs of panic filled Jin Qingyan, who felt helpless at his inability to ease his mother¡¯s pain. An Xiaoning¡¯s amulet had no effect on Mrs. Jin¡¯s condition either. Currently, the only possible solution was to get An Xiaoning toe out of the Autumn Pce to take a look at Mrs. Jin¡¯s condition. ¡°Search for another medium.¡± ¡°By the way, I heard there¡¯s a new psychic police officer who took over Young Madam¡¯s position at the police station. Shall we ask her over to have a look?¡± Fan Shixin suggested. ¡°Sure. Step on it,¡± Jin Qingyan urged. ¡°Alright.¡± Jin Qingyue stood beside Mrs. Jin and watched as she tossed and turned in bed due to the overwhelming pain, which could not be alleviated even with anesthetic injections. She could not help but feel sorry for her mother. Fang Xiaotian stood outside the door, his legs trembling uncontrobly. He had a hunch that Mrs. Jin¡¯s condition had something to do with the person who ckmailed him two days ago. Although he did feel that way, he would never spill the beans for he would die a horrible death if he were to expose the truth. The more he thought about it, the more petrified he was. Half an hourter, Yuan Mingzhu turned up at the mansion, rather surprised that Jin Qingyan decided to seek help from her. ¡°Mr. Jin, why did you look for me for help? I know that your wife is a very powerful medium herself.¡± ¡°She¡¯s away on a business trip and can¡¯t make it back home. I wouldn¡¯t have called you here otherwise. Sorry to have caused you trouble, Police Officer Yuan.¡± Yuan Mingzhu shook her head and said, ¡°Let me take a look first.¡± She walked toward Mrs. Jin¡¯s bed and nced at Mrs. Jin, who was grimacing in pain. ¡°Madam Jin isn¡¯t being harassed by spirits. From the looks of it, she seems to be receiving karmic retribution.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Karmic retribution refers to Heaven¡¯s punishment for the sins she hadmitted in the past. Well, I can¡¯t see any spirits or supernatural beings on her body. Maybe it¡¯s because my skills are not superior enough.¡± Upon hearing her words, Mrs. Jin protested vehemently while breaking out into cold sweat, ¡°I didn¡¯tmit any evil. Heaven is not going to punish me!¡± ¡°Madam Jin, I¡¯m not too sure about that. I suggest you hire another medium to have a look or get Mrs. Jin toe back. I¡¯ll be taking my leave,¡± Yuan Mingzhu said with a bow. Mrs. Jin clutched onto the sheets tightly, clenching her toes tightly due to the acute pain. She felt as if a million bugs were chewing on her body from head to toe. ¡°Qingyan, call Xiaoning home, hurry. Why is she still not home yet when I¡¯m stuck in such a dire situation? Are money and thepany more important than I am!?!¡± Mrs. Jin hollered. ¡°Mother, it¡¯s not that she doesn¡¯t want toe home, but rather, she¡¯s not allowed to.¡± ¡°Brother, just where is Sister-inw at now?¡± Jin Qingyue asked. ¡°A ce where none of us can control her freedom. If she was allowed toe home, she would already be on her way back now,¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°We can¡¯t just watch Mother suffer in so much pain either. Continue searching for another medium,¡± Jin Qingyue urged anxiously. ¡°Fan Shixin has already sent his subordinates to keep searching. Take care of Mother while I think of a way to get your sister-inw toe home,¡± Jin Qingyan said as a frown creased on his forehead. ¡°Alright,¡± Jin Qingyue agreed with a nod. Without another word, Jin Qingyan returned to Wei Ni Estate and informed Long Tianze and Mei Yangyang about the situation. Staring at Mei Yangyang solemnly, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°Yangyang, you¡¯re skilled in martial arts. I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be exposed if you temporarily switch ces with your Sis and cover her for a night. Let your Sise home to take a look at my mother¡¯s condition.¡± Mei Yangyang agreed right away without hesitation. ¡°I¡¯m about the same height and size as Sis. Although my face is a little bigger than hers, it shouldn¡¯t be too obvious. I¡¯ll go with you.¡± ¡°Thank you so much. You may switch ces with your Sis again once she¡¯s done looking at my mother¡¯s condition.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± Chapter 522 - The Secret About the Past (140)

Chapter 522: The Secret About the Past (140)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Yangyang, you must be careful at all times. Call me if anything happens,¡± Long Tianze reminded her worriedly. ¡°Got it, rest assured. Take care of everything at home. I¡¯ll be on my guard at all times,¡± said Mei Yangyang as she tiptoed to give him a kiss. Long Tianze nodded earnestly. Jin Qingyan and Mei Yangyang set off to B City in his car. Jin Qingyan had also instructed for his private jet to tag along, so as to shorten the duration needed for the journey home. It was noontime when they arrived in B City. He immediately sent An Xiaoning a text message to inform her about their n to switch ces. However, thetter had yet to reply. Naturally, there was no way she could make it out of the pce during the daytime, especially since security was tight in the Autumn Pce. Servants and bodyguards would only be allowed to leave when they were told to do so by their masters or superiors. They waited near the entrance of the Autumn Pce for a long while, during which Jin Qingyue called to inform that Mrs. Jin fainted and came to repeatedly. The pain was so unbearable that Mrs. Jin expressed her desire to die and end her suffering. She was practically in a living hell. As much as Jin Qingyan was panicky and anxious, he nheless continued to wait patiently for nighttime to arrive. They had to reduce the chances of getting exposed during the switch in order to let An Xiaoning make a trip back home. However, An Xiaoning still did not reply to the text message he had sent her during noon. At almost seven o¡¯clock in the evening, she finally replied, saying that she coulde out of the pce immediately. Jin Qingyan drove toward the main gate. Shortly after, An Xiaoning showed up and zoomed toward the car. ¡°Let¡¯s go back,¡± she said, panting heavily. ¡°Let Yangyang take over your duties.¡± An Xiaoning refuted, ¡°No need for that. I¡¯ve already applied for leave, which was approved by Her Highness. I¡¯m supposedly allowed to take a day off every month, but Her Highness has been in a bad mood recently and initially refused to let me go home. I had no choice but to lie to her.¡± ¡°How did you lie to her?¡± Jin Qingyan asked while speeding toward the airport. ¡°I said that my boyfriend was on the brink of death.¡± Jin Qingyan turned to re at her abruptly. ¡°Do you think I won¡¯t beat you up into a pulp?¡± ¡°I said my boyfriend was dying, not my husband. Why are you getting so worked up? A bodyguard whom her Her Highness carries a torch for was secretly executed. She only agreed to let mee out because I lied to her. I have to make it back to the pce by tomorrow evening, though,¡± An Xiaoning exined after taking a few sips of mineral water. ¡°That¡¯s good. I activated the private jet while on my way here. We¡¯ll fly home instead. I¡¯ll get someone to drive the car back,¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°What exactly is the situation? Tell me about it again,¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Let¡¯s talk on the ne,¡± Jin Qingyan answered, keeping his eyes fixed on the roads ahead as he raced toward the airport. As soon as they arrived at the airport, they hurriedly boarded the private jet back to A City. Jin Qingyan exined the situation to An Xiaoning again on the jet, after which he asked, ¡°What do you think is going on?¡± ¡°Both the mediums you consulted said that it wasn¡¯t a spirit¡¯s doing?¡± After pondering for a moment, she continued, ¡°Maybe they¡¯re not skilled enough to tell, or perhaps it could be because of another reason. I¡¯ll know exactly what it is once I go back to take a look. But, who told you to look for Yuan Mingzhu?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t want to find that woman who reced your position either, but I really didn¡¯t have another choice.¡± ¡°Sis, how could you hide it from me? If Brother-inw didn¡¯t ask me to switch ces with you, Tianze and I wouldn¡¯t have guessed that you¡¯d be so brazen as to step foot into the Autumn Pce. But, is it even possible to find any clues in such a huge ce?¡± Mei Yangyang asked. Shaking her head while leaning back against the seat, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°I don¡¯t know, but searching for my parents would be akin to finding a needle in the haystack if I don¡¯t go inside. So, I must give it a try no matter how slim the chances may be.¡± ¡°Sis, I believe you¡¯ll definitely find them someday. But it¡¯s really way too dangerous in there. Besides, you¡¯re under the disguise of a mask, so you must be very, very careful at all times,¡± said Mei Yangyang. ¡°Got it, I¡¯ll be on my guard.¡± They arrived at the airport in Wei Ni Estate half an hourter. Instead of heading to the mansion straight away, An Xiaoning returned to the vi to retrieve the necessary items as well as some amulets before leaving with Jin Qingyan. Mei Yangyang tagged along out of curiosity. As soon as they arrived at the living room of the mansion, they heard Mrs. Jin¡¯s shrieks. She was bawling in agony, as if she was being stabbed by a million daggers. An Xiaoning felt her stomach twist into a knot and proceeded to enter the bedroom together with the two of them. Upon sight of her, Jin Qingyue hurriedly said, ¡°Sis-inw, quicklye and take a look at Mother.¡± Mrs. Jin reached her hands out and eximed in misery, ¡°Xiaoning, hurry and save me. Mother... is dying because of the pain!¡± Regardless of what she said or did to An Xiaoning in the past, this 58-year-old woman in front of her was her mother-inw, after all. ¡°Mother, what are your birth characters?¡± An Xiaoning asked. Mrs. Jin immediately revealed the details of her birth. An Xiaoning again asked, ¡°Who else did you reveal this information to?¡± Just as Mrs. Jin was about to answer, she began shivering uncontrobly and soon turned as pale as a sheet. An Xiaoning hurriedly took out the amulets and chanted a spell, after which the amulets abruptly flew toward Mrs. Jin and glued themselves onto her face, leaving only her nose exposed. Mrs. Jin instantly stopped quivering so vigorously and appeared to be sedated. An Xiaoning held her breath throughout. Noticing that Mrs. Jin had cked out, An Xiaoning said to Jin Qingyan, ¡°The condition is not optimistic. Someone has put a death curse on her.¡± Jin Qingyan and Jin Qingyue were instantly dumbfounded. ¡°Sis-inw, save Mother. You must save Mother,¡± Jin Qingyue spluttered incoherently. ¡°Qingyue, I just read her birth characters. I don¡¯t know how to exin it to you, but the curse is extremely sinister and evil. Let me try and think of a solution,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°There are no outsiders here. Were you able to tell Mother¡¯s destiny by reading her birth characters?¡± Jin Qingyan asked. ¡°Yes, I analyzed the aspects of her fate and I¡¯m afraid she won¡¯t be able to survive this ordeal. The curse was too sudden and overpowering. The curse should¡¯ve been put on her yesterday. The effects of such death curses are rapid and menacing. Besides, we¡¯ve already procrastinated for an entire night... I reckon the curse is potent not only because the perpetrator has gotten hold of Mother¡¯s birth characters, but also because they have her personal belongings. The usage of unholy substances must¡¯ve been involved as well.¡± Jin Qingyue burst into tears upon hearing her words. A deafening silence filled the room as they plunged into a somber mood. ¡ª At the same time, Yuan Mingzhu could sense that the effects of her curse had been suppressed. She thought to herself that it was probably because they had sought the help of another medium. She was not flustered at all, however. She proceeded to bring a kettle of boiling water into the ritual room. She walked toward the altar and poured the boiling water over the puppet, drenching it from head to toe while chanting a spell. She only stopped when the puppet was fully submerged in the boiling water, which was still fuming with steam. After cing the kettle back inside the kitchen, Yuan Mingzhu knelt onto the praying mat and began chanting incessantly. She did not stop until she deemed it appropriate. Coincidentally, she received a call from Xu Youran. Chapter 523 - The Secret About the Past (141)

Chapter 523: The Secret About the Past (141)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°How¡¯s it going?¡± Yuan Mingzhu exined briefly and said, ¡°There¡¯s no turning back now even if An Xiaoning performs a ritual herself.¡± ¡°Good job, Mingzhu. The previous mediums I sought in the past are nowhere as efficient or capable as you are. I knew I could count on you,¡± Xu Youran thanked agitatedly. ¡°I only managed toplete the ritual using an extremely sinister method.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter which method you used as long as it¡¯s done. Mingzhu, you¡¯re really incredible. It¡¯s such a blessing to be able to befriend you. I came across two dresses from a luxurybel when I went shopping today. I think they¡¯d suit you very well. I¡¯ll send them over to youter.¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t cost much anyway. Wait for me toe over. By the way, have you eaten? If you haven¡¯t, I¡¯ll buy some food and bring it over to your ce.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t... I bought some groceries though, I¡¯ll just fix a simple meal.¡± Xu Youran objected vehemently, ¡°You aplished a great task today. Don¡¯t bother cooking, I¡¯ll just buy some food and send it to you personally.¡± Yuan Mingzhu smiled and said, ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll be waiting for you.¡± Yuan Mingzhu was rather d to receive such kind treatment as a reward for her efforts. Xu Youran showed up half an hourter with several bags in hand. ¡°Here are the two dresses. Put them on and see if they fit, quick. This is a bag I bought along the way, and these are the food I bought for you...¡± ¡°You really shouldn¡¯t have spent so much on me.¡± ¡°Mingzhu, it¡¯s not a lot. Have some food first before you try on the dresses.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Xu Youran sat down on a chair beside the dining table and asked again, ¡°Has it really been settled?¡± ¡°Of course. Rest assured, no one can save her, not even An Xiaoning,¡± Yuan Mingzhu said, smiling. ¡°I can rest my mind then. Hurry and eat before the food turns cold,¡± said Xu Youran, grinning from ear to ear. ¡°Yeah, the Jin family will definitely not report Madam Jin¡¯s death to the police. They¡¯ll probably just find an excuse to bury her.¡± Xu Youran was well aware of that fact. After all, face and pride still mattered to the Jin family. ¡ª Mrs. Jin did note to again ever since she slipped into unconsciousness. Initially, the amulets could still dy the effects of the curse. However, everyone began to realize that something was amiss as the amulets on Mrs. Jin¡¯s face began to turn wet gradually. Soon, they werepletely soaked. ¡°The person who put the hex has poured water onto the puppet. The amulets have be impotent. I¡¯m afraid the puppet might¡¯ve been submerged into water.¡± She let out a sigh at the thought of Mrs. Jin¡¯s fate in the end, which she had read based on thetter¡¯s birth characters. She then ced a finger below Mrs. Jin¡¯s nose and discovered that she was no longer breathing. There was no way she could be saved even if they sent her to the hospital. ¡°Qingyan...¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Her life is almosting to an end.¡± An Xiaoning tried to summon Mrs. Jin¡¯s spirit, only to find that her spirit had been trapped as well. An Xiaoning was not powerful enough to free her spirit. At this point, An Xiaoning had a moment of epiphany and realized that one would have to constantly increase their powers in order to ovee all problems. Otherwise, they would only be putting themselves at risk of being subdued. Jin Qingyue began bawling loudly in agony while covering her mouth. Tears streamed down Jin Qingyan¡¯s face as he stared at his mother, who was lying motionless on the bed. ¡°Sister-inw, is it really impossible for Mother to be saved?¡± ¡°Yes, the curse is fatal and we found out way toote. My skills are not powerful enough to get rid of the curse either. I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Sister-inw, you don¡¯t have to be sorry. Brother and I both know you¡¯ve done your best,¡± Jin Qingyue said softly. She walked towards the bed and called, ¡°Mother...¡± There was no response from Mrs. Jin, whose eyes were closed. Jin Qingyue held onto her mother¡¯s hand, tears flowing from her eyes like a broken tap. An Xiaoning removed the amulets from her face to reveal a pair of tightly shut eyes and purplish lips. ¡°Tell Shixin to remove all information regarding the birthday of our closest friends, family, and subordinates from the Inte,¡± An Xiaoning instructed Jin Qingyan. Jin Qingyan shot Fan Shixin a knowing nce, after which thetter responded by making an OK sign with his hand. He then turned around to call his subordinates at Wei Ni Estate. Everyone stood rooted to the ground like a statue and remained silent for several minutes. ¡°Mother has left us,¡± An Xiaoning dered. Jin Qingyue wailed in agony while Jin Qingyan teared up silently. Tears welled up in An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes as she stared at the ground. At this moment, she realized that both she and Jin Qingyan had to work harder in order to achieve a peaceful life. Clearly, her own abilities were not sufficient to ensure the safety of the people around her. Their enemy was hiding in the dark while they were in the open, susceptible to all possible attacks. While it¡¯s true that there are some things that simply cannot be guarded against, An Xiaoning ought to still do her best to strengthen her power. ¡°Yangyang, follow me to buy a shroud.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Mei Yangyang agreed. The two of them left to buy a shroud from a shroud garment store before driving back to the mansion. They arrived home to find that there was already a coffin. It was made of wood of the best quality. An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyue helped Mrs. Jin put on the shroud. Jin Qingyan then lowered Mrs. Jin¡¯s body into the coffin. Fang Xiaotian could not recover from the shock of what was happening. He wanted to leave but was not allowed to. In less than an hour, they managed to prepare all the necessary items for a funeral and ced Mrs. Jin¡¯s coffin in the living room. ¡°Young Sir, do we inform the media about Madam¡¯s death?¡± ¡°They¡¯ll find out even if we don¡¯t tell them. There¡¯s no way we can keep this under wraps. Release a statement to say that she passed away due to an illness.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Fan Shixin strode out quickly. An Xiaoning reached out to hold his hand and asked, ¡°Do we hold an extravagant funeral?¡± ¡°No, Mother died a painful death. I don¡¯t want anyone else to disturb her. I¡¯ll definitely get to the bottom of this matter. I won¡¯t spare the culprit¡¯s life, no matter who it may be,¡± Jin Qingyan said sternly with a sullen expression on his face, almost as austere as Hades. ¡°Where do you n to bury her?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°I doubt we can bury her in the ancestral graveyard. Mother was the one who caused Grandma¡¯s death, after all. Father will never agree to it. Let¡¯s bury her in the mountains.¡± ¡°The burial can only proceed three days from now, ording to customs.¡± ¡°No need for three days. We¡¯ll bury her tomorrow since you have to return to the Autumn Pce tomorrow evening. Yo wouldn¡¯t be able to attend the burial ceremony if we wait three days. By then, the media will definitely make an issue out of your absence. I don¡¯t wish to see any negativity about you being spread online,¡± said Jin Qingyan. She was heartened to see that he was still sparing a thought for her despite the grave situation. An Xiaoning expressed assent and said, ¡°Let¡¯s take this opportunity to find out who Mother had been seeing and where she had gely.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already instructed Shixin to carry out the investigation. Mother is getting on in her years, she doesn¡¯t really go anywhere else apart from the garden, mahjong dens, or beauty salons. It should be easy to find out what she had been up to recently.¡± ¡°Brother, do we call Father?¡± asked a teary-eyed Jin Qingyue. ¡°Go ahead.¡± Jin Qingyue nodded and whipped her phone out to give Mr. Jin a call. Mr. Jin was at a sudden loss for what to do the moment he heard the shocking piece of news. However, he stated clearly over the phone that he would not be attending the burial ceremony and that they could forget about burying her in the ancestral graveyard. Jin Qingyue ended the call. She did not hold it against Mr. Jin for making such a harsh decision. Somehow, she could not help but feel disappointed and heartbroken. It was hard to pinpoint who to me, for it seemed that everyone was at fault for their mistakes. Chapter 524 - The Secret About the Past (142)

Chapter 524: The Secret About the Past (142)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mei Yangyang left at midnight while Jin Qingyan, An Xiaoning, and Jin Qingyue continued to stay up and watch the coffin throughout the rest of the night. They decided to leave Jin Yiheng and only bring him to the burial ceremony the day after, since he was still too young. The three of them stacked the paper ingots while kneeling down on the praying mat side by side. In the darkness of the night, it began to pour heavily. For the rest of the night, Fan Shixin and Fang Xiaotian did not catch any shuteye either and instead stayed up wide awake all the way ¡¯til daybreak. Fang Xiaotian was terrified and ill at ease. It was the first time in his life that he ever witnessed such an absurd supernatural phenomenon, which frightened him out of his senses. At this point, he knew clearly that Mrs. Jin¡¯s death had to do with the fact that he had given her birth characters away, as well as her hair samples and clothes. From the looks of it, he was definitely going to be investigated on. Fang Xiaotian was filled with deep regret and constantly med himself for agreeing to Mrs. Jin¡¯s request at the start. He regretted losing his morals and being blinded by money. Not only did he fail to gain anything from Mrs. Jin, he even implicated himself into such a knotty situation. His only wish was for the evidence to not trace back to him. He heard a knocking on his door soon after daybreak. ¡°Who?¡± ¡°Fang Xiaotian, Young Madam is calling for you.¡± Fang Xiaotian¡¯s stomach twisted into a knot, though he felt a little relieved to hear that it was Young Madam who called and not the formidable Young Sir. He put on his clothes and immediately followed them to the mansion. The three of them were sitting on the couch in the living room, appearing haggard and listless due to the sleepless night. To make matters worse, they had also heard about additional details of the matter. Fan Shixin gestured for the bodyguards to leave after they brought Fang Xiaotian in. There were six people in the living room, including Mrs. Jin, who was lying inside the coffin. Boiling with rage, Jin Qingyue attempted to stand up but was held down by An Xiaoning. Thetter then rose slowly and walked toward Fang Xiaotian, leaving a one-meter gap between them. ¡°Let me ask you, how are you rted to my mother-inw?¡± ¡°Young Madam, I... I... I¡¯m only Madam¡¯s chauffeur,¡± Fang Xiaotian stammered nervously. ¡°If you¡¯re only her chauffeur, why did you book a room with her at XX Hotel so many times? The footage of the surveince cameras along the corridor all show that the two of you often enter the room one after another. Don¡¯t tell me you were just chatting about life inside the room? Speak up,¡± An Xiaoning questioned sternly. Fang Xiaotian held his hands together tightly in fear and nervousness. He was well aware that denying vehemently would not help solve the issue now that they¡¯d already found out. ¡°Here¡¯s what happened. I met Madam in a park at the start and she began buying health supplements from me regrly ever since. Ms. Jin found out about it and brought me inside her car, threatening to beat me into a pulp if I don¡¯t stop selling those products to Madam. I was terrified at the time and so I told Madam to stop looking me up. She asked me for the reason and I told her that Ms. Jin had discovered it and so I told her that we should stop contacting each other. But afterward...¡± Fang Xiaotian hung his head low in shame and continued, ¡°Afterward, she kepting to look for me and asked me to go to the hotel with her. She wanted to make me her boy toy and offered to pay me a sum of money each month. Due to my mother¡¯s illness, I was really cash-strapped, and thus, I agreed to her request. Madam then made me pose as her chauffeur in order to avoid suspicion and allow me to follow her everywhere openly.¡± He had no idea that things woulde to this. ¡°Were you the one who gave her birth characters and clothing away?¡± An Xiaoning asked. Fang Xiaotian shook his head fervently and denied, ¡°I didn¡¯t do that, I really didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Come with me.¡± An Xiaoning walked toward the couch andpelled him to sit down. Fang Xiaotian dared not do so. His legs were wobbling incessantly. ¡°Sit down.¡± Fang Xiaotian did as instructed. An Xiaoning slid the lie detector on the coffee table toward him and said, ¡°ce both of your hands on top of this.¡± ¡°What¡¯s... this?¡± ¡°A lie detector.¡± Fang Xiaotian froze in fear at the sight of the lie detector, unable to move an inch at all, as if his hands had been glued together. ¡°Put your hands on top of it! Only then can you prove your innocence,¡± An Xiaoning barked. Fang Xiaotian reached out to ce his trembling hands on top of the lie detector gently. His heart was pounding quickly, overwhelmed with nervousness, which caused him to jerk and jitter involuntarily. ¡°Raise your head, look me in the eye, and answer my questions,¡± said An Xiaoning, who was standing beside him. Fang Xiaotian raised his head slowly to look at her. ¡°Were you the one who gave my mother-inw¡¯s birth characters and clothing to the instigator? Answer me.¡± Fang Xiaotian bit his lip tightly, robbed of his ability to speak. ¡°Speak up!¡± Jin Qingyan hollered. At this very moment, anger and fury were rushing through his veins. He was in utter shock and disbelief that the young chap before him turned out to have had an affair with his mother. Mrs. Jin was no different from Mr. Jin, who was obsessed with Chi Rui¡¯er, who was much younger than him. In fact, Mrs. Jin had even lost her life because of her boy toy! ¡°No... no,¡± Fang Xiaotian stuttered while still trembling uncontrobly. As soon as he answered, the lie detector buzzed vigorously and gave him an electric shock. ¡°Ahh!¡± Fang Xiaotian shrieked, quickly retracting his hand in shock. The truth spoke for itself. ¡°Seems like you lied... The lie detector has already told us the answer. Are you still refusing to admit at this point?¡± An Xiaoning questioned. ¡°This lie detector is not urate at all. I didn¡¯t do it, it wasn¡¯t me.¡± ¡°Shixin, bring him to the yard and tie him to the tree,¡± An Xiaoning instructed relentlessly. ¡°Yes.¡± Fang Xiaotian stepped forward to pick Fang Xiaotian up and dragged him out forcefully before tying him to a tree with the assistance of the other bodyguards. An Xiaoning was standing not too far away from him. Aiming a dart at him, she said, ¡°Stay still. This dart is very sharp. I may just make you bleed, should I miss and the dart strikes any part of your body.¡± She aimed the dart at the spot beside his ear and squinted beforeunching the dart, whichnded right beside his ear, leaving barely a centimeter in between. Fang Xiaotian stood rooted to the ground and peed himself in terror. Urine was dripping from his pants. Soon after, An Xiaoning proceeded tounch the second dart, followed by the third, then the fourth... Every strike of hers made his heart jump out of his chest. They missed his body by only a few millimeters. Yet, he was still bent on denying. Although the truth was already clear as day, An Xiaoning still wanted to hear it from the horse¡¯s mouth and, at the same time, find out more information from him. She did not n to kill him yet at the moment. Jin Qingyan strode toward them and threw a dart at him, whichnded directly on his abdomen. Fang Xiaotian shrieked in pain. ¡°Listen up, if you still refuse to speak up, I¡¯ll bring your parents here right now. I¡¯ll then kill them in front of you before skinning you alive!¡± Jin Qingyan warned. Jin Qingyan had struck his Achilles¡¯ heel. Realizing that Jin Qingyan was dead serious, Fang Xiaotian immediately owned up, ¡°Mr. Jin, I¡¯ll speak up, I¡¯ll tell you everything. Please don¡¯t hurt my parents, they¡¯re innocent. A few days ago, a man came to look for me and ckmailed me with some photos of Madam and me checking in to a hotel room. He threated to put the photos up online if I didn¡¯t agree to his request. So, I asked him what he wanted and he told me to give him Madam¡¯s birth characters, a piece of her clothing, as well as a sample of her hair. Well, I didn¡¯t know that those things could cause so much harm. I conceded to his request because I thought that it was an easy solution to solve the issue.¡± Chapter 525 - The Secret About the Past (143)

Chapter 525: The Secret About the Past (143)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Which cafe did you meet the man at?¡± Fang Xiaotian reported the address of the cafe, after which Jin Qingyan instructed Fan Shixin to head there to collect the footage from the surveince cameras in and outside the cafe. ¡°Mr. Jin, I know I¡¯ve made an unforgivable mistake, but I didn¡¯t wish for this to happen either. I didn¡¯t know that I would be indirectly causing Madam¡¯s death by doing that. Please don¡¯t kill me, I¡¯m the only son my parents have. My mother is still gued with a severe illness and is currently hospitalized. She¡¯ll die without me.¡± Clenching his fists tightly while ring at Fang Xiaotian, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°I will foot your mother¡¯s medical bills and take care of your parents¡¯ financial needs. However, you must die.¡± Fang Xiaotian had never expected him to say that. At this moment, he suddenly realized that he should have begged Jin Qingyan to save his mother from the start. Perhaps then, Jin Qingyan would have been magnanimous and agreed to his request. Yet, he had dug his own grave. He did not wish to die at such a young age. ¡°I¡¯m only in my twenties, I don¡¯t want to die yet. Please spare my life, Mr. Jin, I¡¯m begging you!¡± the petrified Fang Xiaotian begged, bursting into tears. Jin Qingyan held An Xiaoning¡¯s hand and turned around to leave. He did not answer him at all. The sky began to brighten gradually. There was a bunch of reporters camping outside the mansion after receiving the news of Mrs. Jin¡¯s death the day before. News regarding the Jin family was worth much more than that of top celebrities in the entertainment industry. Mrs. Jin¡¯s coffin was transported to a graveyard on the mountains at about ten o¡¯clock in the morning. There were several staff members tending to the graveyard where many famous individuals and celebrities were buried. The tombstone for Mrs. Jin was initially already bought and reserved by someone else. Moreover, it would usually take at least a few days to purchase a tomb. However, it was a non-issue that could be settled with money, just like many other problems in this world. Dressed in ck from head to toe, they stood before the grave in an orderly manner. During the burial, everyone burst into tears, with Jin Qingyue bawling the most loudly while Jin Qingyan was tearing uncontrobly in silence. So did the five-year-old Jin Yiheng, who had only met his grandmother a few times. Although he was not close to her at all, he could not help but tear up upon the sight of his grief-stricken family. Mrs. Jin was not cremated because both Jin Qingyan and his sister knew that she had feared fire the most. The crying continued as the soil piled up and only stopped when the tombstone was installed. Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning were surrounded by a swarm of reporters the moment they came down from the mountains, before they could even get into their car. ¡°Mr. Jin, please make somements.¡± ¡°Mr. Jin, why is Madam buried so soon when her death was only announced yesterday?¡± ¡°Mr. Jin, why isn¡¯t Madam¡¯s coffin buried in the Jin family¡¯s ancestral ground? Why did you choose to bury her here instead?¡± ¡°Mr. Jin...¡± Although Jin Qingyan was not in the mood to ept any interviews, he decided to still answer the questions he was bombarded with, lest the reporters make any spections and fabricate stories. ¡°My mother passed away very suddenly, and we decided to adhere to her wishes of not holding a funeral. That¡¯s why we buried her today. As for why she wasn¡¯t buried in the ancestral graveyard, it¡¯s solely because our family rule strictly states that only the masters of the Jin family are allowed to buried there. Since my parents have already gotten a divorce a long time ago, I decided to bury her here instead. I won¡¯t be answering any other questions, thank you.¡± He pushed the cameras, which the reporters were shoving into their faces, away to the side and held onto An Xiaoning¡¯s hand while escaping from the crowd. They hurriedly got into the car and drove away from the burial ground. Fan Shixin followed suit while carrying Jin Yiheng in his arms. On the way home, Jin Qingyan put an arm over An Xiaoning¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°You didn¡¯t catch a wink at allst night. Take a nap now.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t either.¡± ¡°Catch some sleep first, I¡¯ll sleepter. I still have some arrangements to make.¡± She nodded and fell asleep in his embrace. Due to the overwhelming fatigue, she slipped into deep slumber as soon as she closed her eyes. Upon arriving at the mansion Mrs. Jin had been living in, Jin Qingyan instructed Fan Shixin, ¡°After sending Little Sir back to Wei Ni Estate,e back here to execute Fang Xiaotian. Cremate him and send his ashes to his parents, ande up with a random excuse to give them five million dors. That should be more than enough for medical bills and tost them through their retirement years. Get Xiao Huang toe here immediately to take over the chauffeuring duties. You haven¡¯t been getting any rest either. I¡¯ll settle the rest of the matters when I¡¯m back. Wait for my further instructions. Go get some rest too.¡± ¡°Yes, Young Sir.¡± Fan Shixin alighted from the car with Jin Yiheng and closed the car door after him. After staring at An Xiaoning, who was sound asleep in his arms, he bent down and kissed her gently on her forehead. Half an hourter, Xiao Huang arrived and got into the driver¡¯s seat straight away. ¡°Young Sir, where would you like to go?¡± ¡°The Autumn Pce in B City.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Xiao Huang put on the safety belt, turned the car key, and stepped onto the elerator while gripping onto the steering wheel tightly to set off in the direction of the expressway. Jin Qingyan closed his eyes and soon fell asleep too. The two of them snoozed off in each other¡¯s embrace throughout the journey and did not wake up even until they reached B City. ¡°Young Sir... we¡¯re here.¡± Jin Qingyan opened his eyes slowly to see that his wife was still asleep, all cuddled up in his arms. He whipped out a few hundred dors and handed it to Xiao Huang. ¡°Go to a caf¨¦ nearby for an hour. I¡¯d like to have some alone time. Draw the curtains too.¡± ¡°Yes, Young Sir.¡± Xiao Huang pressed the automatic window button before alighting from the car. It became much dimmer inside the car, where Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning were left alone. Jin Qingyan did not wake her up and instead allowed her to continue sleeping while hugging her quietly. Half an hourter, Jin Qingyan took a look at the time and realized that he had to wake her up. However, instead of waking her up verbally, he decided to kiss her until she was awake. She opened her eyes to stare at the handsome face in front of her sleepily. ¡°All you do is take advantage of me when I¡¯m sleeping,¡± she chided teasingly. ¡°You¡¯re wee to take advantage of me too.¡± An Xiaoning sat up straight and looked out of the window to find that she was already near the entrance of the Autumn Pce. She was extremely reluctant and could not bear to part with him again. She snuggled into his embrace again and draped her arms around his neck. ¡°Hubby, I can¡¯t bear to leave you,¡± she said, raising her head to gaze at him. ¡°Neither can I.¡± ¡°I took a day off shortly after I began working in the Autumn Pce. Seems like it¡¯ll be long before we meet again. I¡¯m only allowed one day off each month, but Her Highness might not let me take a leave again because she hasn¡¯t been in a good moodtely. Hubby, I know you¡¯re in low spirits too. Actually, I¡¯d really like to stay by your side during this tough period,¡± she said coaxingly. He tucked her hair behind her ear and said softly, ¡°I was really disappointed in Mother when I found out that she was the one behind Grandma¡¯s death. Yet, she actually disappointed me again this time. But I think her death is a form of atonement for her sins and the misdeeds she had done to Grandma. However, I¡¯ll definitely find out who the person behind such an evil curse is and give Mother her peace in theherworld.¡± Chapter 526 - The Secret About the Past (144)

Chapter 526: The Secret About the Past (144)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°That goes without saying.¡± An Xiaoning initiated a kiss, which he reciprocated. He gently lowered her onto the seat while they smooched each other passionately. They would soon have to be apart again for a long time. At the thought of not being able to meet again until several dayster, they kissed each other zealously and did not let go despite the heavy panting. Love and passion were in the air. Gradually, they began to lose control of themselves in the car. It was hard to keep their hormones in check once their passion was ignited. Thus, they could only let their passion burn until they¡¯d both satisfied their needs. An Xiaoning broke out in sweat while straddling him, panting heavily with her cheeks flushed red. Finally, Jin Qingyan gave her onest kiss and said, ¡°It¡¯s almost time for you to go.¡± Burying her chin in his shoulder, An Xiaoning hugged him tightly while trying to catch her breath before getting off of him. She handed him some tissue paper and briefly cleaned herself. They did not take any contraceptive measures. The reason being that it was difficult for her to conceive and they both wanted to try for a second child. Thus, they decided to let nature take its course. She also wanted to give Jin Yiheng a younger sibling, fearing that he¡¯d be too lonely as the only child. Besides, it was better for a wealthy family like the Jin family to have more children. All in all, it was still up to Heaven to decide if she would be blessed with another child. Xiao Huang could sense something unusual about the air in the car the moment he returned inside. Needless to say, he knew the very reason why his Young Sir had wanted him to make himself scarce. Upon sight of Xiao Huang¡¯s return, An Xiaoning put on the mask and alighted from the car. She returned to the Autumn Pce. Tuoba Danxue happened to be going out with Zhi Yin when she returned. ¡°Your boyfriend must be severely ill to be at hisst breath. How is he now?¡± Tuoba Danxue asked. An Xiaoning blinked and put on a look of grief on her face before answering, ¡°Thank you for allowing me to go see him during hisst few moments, Your Highness. He¡¯s now... no longer around.¡± Tuoba Danxue gave her a pat on her shoulder andforted her, ¡°I know you¡¯re devastated. I understand. Now that your boyfriend is gone, it must be hard to find another person who¡¯ll love you in the future, given how mediocre your looks are. But take it easy, it doesn¡¯t matter if you¡¯re ugly. Maybe there are good men who are blind enough to ept you.¡± An Xiaoning instantly raged in her head. Is she trying tofort me or mock and criticize me!?! she thought to herself furiously. Fortunately, she did not actually have a boyfriend who passed away. Otherwise, she would have definitely been driven to her grave by Tuoba Danxue¡¯s callous remark! ¡°Okay, get a grip on yourself. I¡¯m going for a matchmaking session now. Come along with us. Go change into a fresh set of clothes, Zhi Yin and I will wait for you.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± An Xiaoning headed upstairs to change into a set of ck inclothes before making her way downstairs again. Along the journey, she asked curiously, ¡°Your Highness, who are you being introduced to?¡± ¡°Jin Minxing, the Commander-in-chief¡¯s only son.¡± An Xiaoning was momentarily stunned. Jin Minxing... was her godbrother. She ought to keep quiet throughout the matchmaking sessionter, for she would let the cat out of the bag once he hears her voice. ¡°Your Highness, my throat feels a little ufortable.¡± ¡°Refrain from talking then. I¡¯ll get Zhi Yin to bring you some medicine when we go backter.¡± ¡°Alright, thank you, Your Highness.¡± They arrived at their destination half an hourter. Tuoba Danxue had obviously dolled herself up for the date ¡ª she had on a face full of exquisite makeup and was dressed in a long white dress, giving off an ethereal aura. Her long, ck hair was cascading down her back, exuding a refined elegance. Upon arriving at the door, Tuoba Danxue said straight away, ¡°You and Zhi Yin may just wait for me at the door.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Highness,¡± they acknowledged in unison and stood by the entrance. An Xiaoning felt a sense of relief since she did not have to go in with her. ¡°Mu Ning, which illness was your boyfriend suffering from?¡± ¡°Cancer,¡± An Xiaoning answered without hesitation. ¡°Which type of cancer?¡± ¡°Leukemia.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t there a lot of viable treatment options for leukemia nowadays?¡± Zhi Yin asked. ¡°How are we supposed to get him treated without money or a suitable bone marrow? Sister Zhi Yin, you must be unaware of how it¡¯s like to live in poverty.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right... I feel so sorry for you though. It¡¯s rare that a man would fancy you and yet you lost him just like that.¡± Why did she sound like she was gloating at my misfortune? ¡°It¡¯s alright, if the old doesn¡¯t go, the new won¡¯te. I ought to keep looking forward to the future. I don¡¯t think I¡¯m ugly. In fact, the more you look at me, the prettier I get. I believe there¡¯ll still be many good catches who¡¯ll fall for me.¡± Zhi Yin shot her an apprehensive nce as she was doubtful of An Xiaoning¡¯s words. However, her opinion did not matter to An Xiaoning at all. What matters was that she already had a marvelous husband. Besides, whaty below her mask was a beautiful and not-hideous face. ¡°If you could get an outstanding man to fall for you, it must be even easier for me. Just when will my Prince Charming appear?¡± Zhi Yinmented with a sigh. ¡°Sister Zhi Yin, forget about His Highness, His Highness...¡± Before she could even finish speaking, Zhi Yin quickly covered her mouth and chided, ¡°You sillyss, are you trying to get me into trouble? Didn¡¯t you see what happened to Feng in the end? If Madam finds out that I¡¯m carrying a torch for His Highness, I¡¯ll definitely suffer the same fate as Feng.¡± Mu Ning nodded and said, ¡°Got it. Are you trying to suffocate me? Let go.¡± Zhi Yin released her and said, ¡°You really need to watch your words from now on. Like most girls, I just really admire His Highness, though I know it¡¯s impossible between us. Ever since Feng¡¯s incident, I dared not harbor any more designs on him.¡± ¡°Actually, such strict restrictions probably only happen in here. Take those wealthy and promising bachelors of the business world as an example. Although they do ce emphasis on finding a partner of simr background and status, they¡¯re not as stringent and uptight about itpared to the royal family,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°That¡¯s why I say An Xiaoning is lucky. I¡¯ve read once on the tabloids online that An Xiaoning was a divorcee and hasn¡¯t acknowledged the Gu family as her godparents at the time of her marriage with Jin Qingyan. Oh, and her best friend Mei Yangyang has also married into a wealthy family. That Mei Yangyang is said to havee from an extremely poor family. How enviable...¡± An Xiaoning did not know what else to say other than, ¡°It all depends on fate.¡± The two of them chatted idly by the entrance for almost an hour before the matchmaking session was over. An Xiaoning witnessed the five members if the Tuoba family and all three members of the Jin family exiting from the door. They seemed to be discussing something while walking. An Xiaoning raised her head and looked in their direction, only to exchange nces with Tuoba Gucheng. She did not avoid eye contact and instead continued to stare at him in a rxed manner. Tuoba Gucheng shot her a nce before looking away. Fortunately, the Jin family did not seem to notice her. The Tuoba family returned after seeing the Jin family off. This time, An Xiaoning and Zhi Yin tagged along to go inside. ¡°Danxue, look how suave and handsome Minxing is. He¡¯s also the same age as you are and the Commander-in-chief¡¯s only son. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll have a blissful life if you choose to marry him,¡± said Shi Xiaoyu. ¡°I saw all of that for myself. Since Father and Mother have already decided on a wedding date together with the Commander-in-chief and his family, I don¡¯t have any objections. I can¡¯t wait to leave the Autumn Pce!¡± Tuoba Danxue gibed without hesitation. Chapter 527 - The Secret About the Past (145)

Chapter 527: The Secret About the Past (145)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°You... you¡¯ll understand that your parents have your interests at heart when you¡¯re older. You¡¯re young and insensible, and you always act on impulse, you don¡¯t think twice before you act. Even if you resent me and your father now, we¡¯ll still insist on going ahead with our decision. It¡¯s all for your own good,¡± said Shi Xiaoyu, pointing at her. Tuoba Danxue sneered, ¡°Don¡¯t lecture me under the facade of having my best interests at heart. I know clearly whether or not you¡¯re doing this for my own good. If Jin Minxing wasn¡¯t the only son of Commander-in-chief Jin and the godbrother of An Xiaoning who¡¯s affiliated to Jin Qingyan¡¯s family, would you have wanted me to marry him!?! If you truly have my best interests at heart, you¡¯d respect my rights and allow me the freedom to choose my own marriage partner. You wouldn¡¯t have killed the innocent man I carried a torch for to serve as a warning to others. Congrats, Mother, you¡¯ve seeded. Jiang Feng¡¯s death will continue to haunt me for the rest of my life!¡± Shi Xiaoyu was at a loss for words. After suppressing her anger for a while, she hollered, ¡°You¡¯re not the only one who has to adhere to such rules. Both your brothers share the same fate as you. Everyone in the family has been subjected to this custom ever since our ancestors¡¯ era. You¡¯re not the only ones!¡± ¡°So that¡¯s why you and Father have also epted that rule. You even want to force it upon the seeding generations. I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t know what¡¯s so glorious about a family like ours. It¡¯s worse than that of lower ss citizens, in fact,¡± Tuoba Danxue retorted. ¡°Don¡¯t speak about those. Your wedding with Minxing is set to be held half a year from now. Use these six months before your wedding to get to know each other better.¡± ¡°Half a year is too much time to wait. Let¡¯s just hold the wedding three days from now,¡± Tuoba Danxue suggested with a mirthless smile. Shi Xiaoyu snapped angrily, ¡°Atrocious! Danxue, stop testing my patience. The wedding is to be held in half a year¡¯s time. You may leave if there¡¯s nothing else you¡¯d like to say.¡± Tuoba Rui shot her a nce, motioning for her to go. Tuoba Danxue then left with An Xiaoning and Zhi Yin. The living room quietened down just as they left. Staring at his sons, Tuoba Rui asked, ¡°What do you two think of this marriage to the Jin family?¡± ¡°The Jin family is indeed not too bad. I think it¡¯s a great idea,¡± said Tuoba Hancheng. ¡°Just like what Danxue said, he¡¯s the Commander-in-chief¡¯s only son and they¡¯re associated with the Young Madam of the Jin family. I think it¡¯s a good option for Danxue to marry him,¡± Tuoba Gucheng answered nonchntly while picking at his fingernails. ¡°Gucheng, I¡¯ve already spoken to your father. The Chief of Staff¡¯s daughter should be a good match for you.¡± Tuoba Gucheng looked up at her and asked, ¡°You mean Lin Shishi?¡± ¡°Why? Are you reluctant?¡± ¡°Mother, she¡¯s barely 20, isn¡¯t she? She¡¯s probably still in university.¡± ¡°Exactly, that¡¯s why you¡¯re benefiting from this. You¡¯re already 26 years old. Isn¡¯t it great to marry someone who¡¯s barely 20? I¡¯ve met Shishi before. She¡¯s pretty and adorable.¡± ¡°Mother, why don¡¯t you find a partner for Brother first? He¡¯s a year older than I am. I¡¯m not in a hurry.¡± ¡°Your brother can¡¯t escape either. I¡¯m in the midst of finding him a prospective partner too. All of you have to prepare yourselves mentally,¡± Shi Xiaoyu said with a chuckle. The two brothers left with a sullen expression on their faces. Although they knew the day woulde sooner orter, no one would be happy to have their parents arrange their marriage without their consent. Tuoba Gucheng returned to his mansion and grew into an uncontroble rage. In a moment of pique, he kicked arge vase, causing it to crash to the ground with a loud, cracking sound. All the bodyguards and servants were shocked out of their senses. Soon after, he left again. He headed straight to his sister¡¯s ce. Upon sight of the look of dejection on Tuoba Danxue¡¯s face, he sat down beside her and said, ¡°Mother told me that she¡¯s going to set me up with the daughter of the Lin family. She¡¯s still in university, and yet Mother already wants to reserve her for me.¡± An Xiaoning pursed her lips in bewilderment. At this rate, she would be rtives with the President¡¯s family very soon. ¡°Brother, people like us who were born in such families should just forget about marrying the people we fancy. Besides, there¡¯s no harm in epting that arrangement since there isn¡¯t anyone you fancy at the moment.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t drunk in a long time. Will you have a few drinks with your brother?¡± Tuoba Gucheng suggested, overwhelmed with frustration. ¡°Sure. Brother, shall we drink to our hearts¡¯ content today?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Zhi Yin, bring me the best liquor in the cer. Brother and I would like to have some. Hurry,¡± she instructed Zhi Yin. ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± Zhi Yin shot An Xiaoning a nce in a bid to ask her to tag along. An Xiaoning had no choice but to proceed ordingly. They carried two bottles of liquor each and ced them onto the table. ¡°It¡¯s boring for the two of us to drink alone. You two, sit down and drink with us,¡± said Tuoba Danxue, pointing at the chair. ¡°Your Highness, I can¡¯t hold my liquor,¡± An Xiaoning hurriedly refused. ¡°You still have to drink a little. Come, sit down!¡± An Xiaoning was bewildered by their absurdity but had no choice but to sit down beside Tuoba Gucheng. The four of them gathered around the table and began drinking. There were no dishes to be paired with the liquor at all. An Xiaoning felt a strong difort in her throat after downing her first ss of liquor, which was way too strong for her liking, causing her to grimace. The liquor was worlds apart from Jin Qingyan¡¯s personal concoction, Dreamyanghe. The taste was nowhereparable to Dreamyanghe. Thus, An Xiaoning decided to feign drunkenness and rested her head onto the table. Since she did not sleep much the night before, she could take the chance to catch some shuteye openly. Tuoba Danxue guffawed and said, ¡°Mu Ning is drunk. Hahaha, such an amateur. Come, let¡¯s continue drinking!¡± Thinking that An Xiaoning had really gotten drunk, Zhi Yin said, ¡°Mu Ning¡¯s boyfriend died from leukemia. She must be devastated. She must¡¯ve courted him for a long time. Yet, he¡¯s gone just like that. How unfortunate for her.¡± ¡°She has a boyfriend?¡± Tuoba Gucheng asked. ¡°Yeah, she used to. He¡¯s dead now.¡± ¡°See, even Mu Ning has a boyfriend and is allowed to date whoever she wants. What about us, Brother? We don¡¯t even enjoy such freedom. But to be honest, that Jin Minxing is indeed very handsome and I¡¯m willing to marry him too. Because then, I won¡¯t have to stay here anymore. Great, I¡¯ll finally be free in half a year¡¯s time,¡± Tuoba Danxue remarked, her face flushed red. ¡°Come, cheers...¡± ¡°Bottoms up...¡± The next thing An Xiaoning knew, it was already dark outside and she was jolted awake by someone who threw her onto the bed. Before she could even react ande to her senses, she was pinned onto the bed by a figure in ck. She let out a grunt of difort, feeling as if her bones were about to break. A masculine scent lingered around her nose. He reeked of alcohol and his temperature was burning. An Xiaoning pushed him away onto the bed and crawled down, panting heavily. She switched on the lights, only to be startled and dumbfounded at the sight of Tuoba Gucheng. Just as she stepped foot out of the door, she bumped into Zhi Yin. ¡°Sister Zhi Yin, His Highness...¡± Chapter 528 - The Secret About the Past (146)

Chapter 528: The Secret About the Past (146)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She casually pointed toward the room next to An Xiaoning¡¯s. ¡°What if hees inside my room?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°I helped him into his room before helping you into yours. I only went downstairs for a short while. Besides, he¡¯s already so drunk, how... how could he possibly go inside your room? Don¡¯t read too much into things. The only way he could end up in your room is if you bring him in. Her Highness is already asleep, I¡¯ll go make His Highness some tea to cure his hangover. Hurry and go to bed.¡± Zhi Yin left as soon as she finished speaking. An Xiaoning was dumbstruck and at a loss for words. Since Zhi Yin thought she was drunk, An Xiaoning would definitely not be believed if she told her that Tuoba Gucheng was in her room. The only solution now was to take Tuoba Gucheng to his room herself. An Xiaoning waspletely awake at this point. The consequences would be dire if Zhi Yin was to discover that he was not in his room when she returnster. She hurriedly ran inside her room and forced Tuoba Gucheng to wake up. She then carried him on her shoulders with all her might and slowly moved him against the wall. Being tall and muscr, he weighed a ton although he was not fat, especially since all of his weight was on An Xiaoning. She was almost crushed to death. An Xiaoning clenched her jaw and struggled to help him into the room next door. Fortunately, no one else passed by. She closed the door and moved him toward the bed. As they were about to reach the bed, An Xiaoning could no longer support his weight and threw him onto the bed, forgetting that his arm was still around her shoulder. As a result, she fell onto the bed together with him. She fell straight onto his chest, jolting him awake. However, he was notpletely sober yet. ¡°Who are you?¡± he asked, staring at her in the darkness. ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯m Mu Ning. You¡¯re drunk, I was the one who helped you back inside your room.¡± She tried to get up but slid back onto the bed when he flipped to the side, pinning her down with his thigh. He began acting hysterically before she began to struggle. He ced his hands onto her waist and shifted his gaze to her lower body. An Xiaoning reached out to move his hand aside and tried to flee with all her might. To her astonishment, Tuoba Gucheng pulled her by the back of her cor, causing her to fall again. An Xiaoning was exasperated. What an absurd person... Yet, she could not be violent with him. Otherwise, he would definitely get to the bottom of the matter once he was sober. If it were someone else, she would definitely beat them into a pulp. However, she could noty a finger on Tuoba Gucheng. ¡°Do you really dare to flee? Where are you going to run to?¡± ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯m Mu Ning. Take a good look at who I am.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care... I don¡¯t care who you are. It doesn¡¯t matter. I feel so warm, it¡¯s killing me,¡± he murmured with his eyes closed, his breath reeking of alcohol. He then sat up and pinned An Xiaoning beneath him, greatly startling her. In the pitch darkness, he opened his eyes and stared at the woman beneath her. ¡°I can¡¯t tell clearly... your appearance...¡± ¡°Your Highness...¡± An Xiaoning was ill at ease, though she did not know exactly what he might do out of drunkenness. ¡°Shut up.¡± He straddled her and sat up straight, reaching out to undress her. Shocked beyond words, An Xiaoning grabbed his hand and reminded him, ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯m Mu Ning, the ugly country bumpkin.¡± ¡°If... you... dare speak... another word, I¡¯ll... call my guards... and say... say that you seduced me. You¡¯ll be executed,¡± he warned. An Xiaoning widened her eyes in shock. This shameless bastard! She was surprised that he¡¯d even have designs on the ugly Mu Ning she was posing as, with the mask on. Indeed, her husband¡¯s concerns were not uncalled for. An Xiaoning thought to herself that he was probably too drunk to tell who she was. In fact, his judgment was so impaired that even a hideous flower would seem beautiful to him. An Xiaoning closed her mouth and did not utter another word. She wished she could punch him to knock him out. She felt a hard, rod-like bulge propped up against her; she knew exactly what it was. Tuoba Gucheng reached out to undress An Xiaoning, who clutched on her clothes tightly to prevent him from seeding. His hands were unusually warm to the touch. As she was holding onto her top, he proceeded to take her pants off. She was furious and anxious, trembling from head to toe and seething with anger. ¡°If you still refuse to stop, I¡¯m going to have to deal with you the hard way, Your Highness!¡± ¡°Guards!¡± he yelled at the door abruptly, causing tension to arise within An Xiaoning. ¡°Your Highness, I won¡¯t talk anymore, please don¡¯t yell...¡± Seemingly in high spirits, he repeatedly murmured incoherently in a drunken stupor. An Xiaoning could not make out what he was saying at all. He sat on top of her and stripped down to nothing. She watched as he began kissing her corbones passionately, breathing heavily with overwhelming eagerness. An Xiaoning could sense that there was something amiss about him. However, he had already pushed her to the end of her boundaries. Yet, it was impossible to force her way out of his room. Suppressing her anger, she said coaxingly, ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯ll let you have your pleasure and fun with me. Just lie on top of me properly, alright?¡± ¡°It¡¯s too hot, hurry up, quick...¡± He flipped to the side and got off of her, after which An Xiaoning hurriedly pulled her pants up. She noticed that he was trying to get up just as she sat up straight. She then hurriedly made him lie down again and said, ¡°Be good, just lie down.¡± Noticing that he did as he was told, An Xiaoning immediately jumped off the bed and tried to run outside. To her dismay, she was grabbed by an arm forcefully just as she took a few steps. ¡°How dare you lie to me, you damned woman. I feel like I¡¯m about to be burned alive! Are you asking for death!?!¡± An Xiaoning was puzzled by his sudden outburst. Why would he feel like he was on fire after just having some alcohol? Could it be... An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes lit up, and she seemed to have guessed something. But then again, who has the audacity to do something like that? she wondered. She was afraid that she would never be able to leave the room and arouse unnecessary suspicion and attention should she dy any further. As fate would have it, what she dreaded the most still happened in the end. At this very moment, she heard Zhi Yin yelling from outside, ¡°Your Highness, are you awake?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± His eyes were bloodshot and his jaw was clenched tightly together. He grabbed An Xiaoning by her neck and forced her onto the bed. ¡°I¡¯m here to send you some hangover tea. May Ie in?¡± An Xiaoning felt as if her heart was going to jump out of her chest as pangs of panic engulfed her. He bent over and began kissing An Xiaoning¡¯s face while she grabbed the bedsheets tightly with her face cocked towards the side, not daring to make a single sound. ¡°Your Highness?¡± Zhi Yin called again. ¡°Get lost!!!¡± he bellowed angrily. Instead of leaving right away, Zhi Yin held her breath and listened closely for sounds of what was going on inside the room. The frown on An Xiaoning¡¯s forehead did not vanish, for she did not hear any footsteps leaving. Chapter 529 - The Secret About the Past (147)

Chapter 529: The Secret About the Past (147)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When he tried to unbutton her pants, she had no choice but to let him do so since she could not make a sound. An Xiaoning grabbed his hand to stop him when he was about to reach for her underwear. ¡°Are you asking for death!?!¡± Zhi Yin hurriedly rushed downstairs with the tea, thinking that Tuoba Gucheng had discovered her presence. An Xiaoning heaved a sigh of relief and kicked him away, causing him to fall to the ground with a thud. He did not make a sound afterward. She hurriedly reached for her mobile phone and shone the torchlight at him, only to find that he had passed out. How fragile. Without hesitation, An Xiaoning picked him up and ced him back onto the bed again, causing her to perspire uncontrobly. Once she caught her breath, she picked up her clothes and hurriedly put them on. ¡°It¡¯s warm, so warm...¡± he murmured with his eyes closed, appearing to be extremely ufortable. An Xiaoning shone the shlight of her mobile phone at him, unsure if he had alreadye to. She quickly turned off the shlight. She then pushed the duvet toward him slowly in a bid to climb toward the end of the bed. However, she froze in shock at the sight before her. Tuoba Gucheng was hugging the duvet tightly and moaning with his eyes closed. He tossed and turned in bed, stark naked. An Xiaoning was afraid of touching him identally due to how small the bed was. Thus, she curled into a ball and stared at the scene before her. There was definitely something wrong with him. A drunk person would at most fall asleep or throw a drunken fit, unlike his current unusual behavior. He was exhibiting the ssic symptoms of being drugged with aphrodisiacs. Question is, who drugged him? There was no way Tuoba Danxue would have spiked her brother¡¯s drink. Could it be... Zhi Yin, then? An Xiaoning was making a wild guess since she could not think of another possible suspect. Noticing that his condition was getting worse, An Xiaoning decided to show him some erotic clips she had saved in a secret folder on her mobile phone. She fast-forwarded it to the climax of the clip, switched her mobile phone to screensaver mode, and ced it beside his ear. Although the volume was not too loud, it did arouse him enough topel him to begin masturbating. Soon, he was moaning and grunting in immense pleasure. To the astonishment of An Xiaoning, one orgasm was not enough to satisfy him. She witnessed with her own eyes how he continued to climax for another four times before calling it a day. Noticing that he was lying motionless on the bed, An Xiaoning stopped the video clip and shone her bright screen at him, only to find that his eyes were closed and he seemed to have passed out. She then climbed down from the bed with her mobile phone in hand. Reminded of the white substance all over him, she decided to pull the duvet over his body to cover his crotch. She then switched on the lights and wiped his semen off his abdomen with some tissue paper before disposing of the soiled tissues. Afterward, she returned to her own room. After taking a shower and drying her hair, An Xiaoningy in bed, still shaken and unable to recover from the incident that just took ce. Men are indeed terrifying when they lose control of their hormones and sanity. But he probably would not remember anything when he wakes up the next day. An Xiaoning barely slept that night and woke up at past five o¡¯clock in the morning. She went about her usual routine of putting on her face mask and getting dressed for work. At half past six, she left her room and stood by the door to wait for Tuoba Danxue to wake up. ¡°Mu Ning, did His Highness behave strangelyst night?¡± asked Zhi Yin. ¡°Behave strangely? What¡¯s considered a strange behavior?¡± ¡°Like running to your room to knock on your door and sounding extremely eager?¡± ¡°No, I was dead asleep like a log. I didn¡¯t hear anything unusual,¡± An Xiaoning answeredposedly. Zhi Yin nodded and said, ¡°His Highness was very drunkst night. I brought him some hangover tea, but he refused to have any.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°He fell asleep.¡± Zhi Yin then knocked on Tuoba Danxue¡¯s door and called out, ¡°Your Highness, time to rise and shine!¡± Tuoba Danxue expressed her assent. A long whileter, Tuoba Danxue still did not get out of bed, yet the door to Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s room opened. With a sullen expression on his face, he red at them and walked away. Noticing that he had gone downstairs, Zhi Yin frantically scurried toward his room while An Xiaoning followed closely behind. A peculiar whiff of air wafted up to her nose the moment she stepped foot inside. Zhi Yin quickly walked toward the bed and lifted his duvet to take a look. ¡°Tsk, tsk, what¡¯s this on his duvet?¡± ¡°Could it be his mucus?¡± said An Xiaoning, feigning ignorance. ¡°You¡¯ve already had a boyfriend. How could you not know what this is? But I¡¯m not surprised, actually. I doubt your boyfriend would be in the mood to get intimate with that face of yours.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning rolled her eyes and exited the door. After breakfast, Xiao Chi showed up all of a sudden. ¡°Xiao Chi, did something happen?¡± Tuoba Danxue asked. ¡°His Highness told me to bring Mu Ning over. He wants his bodyguards to share some of their tips and experience with Mu Ning so as to allow her to protect you better, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Oh, I see, go ahead then, Mu Ning.¡± An Xiaoning bowed and conceded, ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± After exiting the door, An Xiaoning asked softly, ¡°Does he really want me to learn from his bodyguards?¡± ¡°No, His Highness wants to see you for something. I¡¯m not too sure what it¡¯s about,¡± Xiao Chi answered. ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning had a hunch that it was rted tost night¡¯s event. After all, how could he have not recalled a single thing at all? An Xiaoning was filled with anxiety and uneasiness at the thought of having to have her lips sealed. Once they arrived at the backyard of Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s mansion, Xiao Chi told her that Tuoba Gucheng was waiting for her upstairs. She was told to go up alone. An Xiaoning made her way up the stairs to the second floor. She gently pushed open the door of Gucheng¡¯s room. She poked her head through the crack to see that he was standing by the window with his back facing her, remaining still like a statue. An Xiaoning entered and closed the door before greeting him softly, ¡°Your Highness.¡± Tuoba Gucheng turned around and said, ¡°Come here.¡± An Xiaoning stepped forward and was a little afraid to make eye contact with him. He¡¯ll definitely hold it against me for kicking him off the bedst night, won¡¯t he? she thought to herself. The thought of what she didst night invoked a tinge of guilt within her, though it was not exactly her fault. ¡°Have you taken the pill?¡± Tuoba Gucheng asked. ¡°What pill?¡± An Xiaoning asked in puzzlement since she was not ill and there was thus no need for her to take any medicine. ¡°Stop feigning ignorance. The contraceptive pill.¡± An Xiaoning felt as if she¡¯d just been struck by thunder and lightning. Dumbfounded, she looked up at him in bewilderment and said, ¡°Your Highness...¡± ¡°I apologize for causing something inappropriate to happen between usst night. But, I want you to keep this to yourself forever. Otherwise, I can¡¯t save you if my mother finds out.¡± An Xiaoning was shocked beyond her senses. Something inappropriate happened between them? Did the aphrodisiac mess with his wit? He actually thought... He was the one who masturbated, what has it got to do with me at all? ¡°Your Highness, nothing intimate happened between usst night. You must¡¯ve remembered wrongly,¡± she answered, staring at the ground. ¡°I know you don¡¯t wish to admit it. It¡¯s best if you don¡¯t, actually. Remember, take the pill when you go back.¡± ¡°Your Highness, we really didn¡¯t...¡± ¡°There¡¯s no one else here except us. You don¡¯t have to deny it. I know clearly whether we did it or not.¡± No, you¡¯re not clear at all! It had never urred to An Xiaoning before that she would ever encounter such a bizarre incident. Not wishing to exin herself further, she said, ¡°Um, Your Highness, you were behaving strangelyst night. I reckon someone must¡¯ve spiked your drink...¡± Chapter 530 - The Secret About the Past (148)

Chapter 530: The Secret About the Past (148)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°You got drunk right from the start. The three of us were the only ones left drinking. The person who brought the liquor inside the room was one of the three of us as well. I already know who it is without having to spell it out loud. Let¡¯s just take it that this never happened. I don¡¯t wish to pursue the matter any further.¡± For the first time, An Xiaoning felt that he was not as vicious as he seemed to be on the surface. However, she never thought that Zhi Yin would have the audacity tomit such a brazen act. It was truly unexpected. Tuoba Gucheng handed her a thick envelope. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°There are 50 thousand dors in there. It¡¯s for you.¡± Shaking her head, An Xiaoning said, ¡°I don¡¯t want it. If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll be going back now.¡± She bowed and turned around to leave. Tuoba Gucheng was filled with an inexplicable feeling as he watched her leave. He was bewildered by his own actions that night, finding it hard to believe that he would actually resort to getting intimate with such a dull-looking girl out of desperation. But then again, his judgment must have been impaired because of the aphrodisiac. His memories ofst night¡¯s events were vague, and he could not recall in detail what exactly happened. All he could remember was that he had definitely gotten intimate with her. The mere thought of the incident gave him a major headache. The conversation An Xiaoning and Tuoba Gucheng just had flooded her mind when she left his mansion. She initially thought that he would be questioning her and holding her liable for knocking him out. Yet, it turned out that not only did he forget what happened, but he also even mistook the situation and thought that they had gotten intimate. Recalling the constipated look on his face earlier, An Xiaoning felt a strong urge to hurl vulgarities at him. Her reputation as a pure and demuredy was going to be tainted by him forever. Fortunately, the matter would be kept a secret between the two of them. He definitely would not breathe a single word of it to another person, and neither would she. Besides, it did not matter what he thought since she knew that her conscience was clear. ¡ª ¡°Young Sir, we can¡¯t get the footage from the surveince cameras at the caf¨¦.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°Because the surveince cameras inside and outside of the caf¨¦ have all been destroyed. Actually, I think the mastermind must¡¯ve realized that it was necessary to destroy the surveince cameras. Otherwise, they would¡¯ve been caught by us easily. So, I guess it¡¯d be rather difficult to find any clues from here. But, Young Sir, do you think it might be Ye Xiaotian¡¯s doing as a form of revenge against us?¡± Fan Shixin said softly. ¡°That¡¯s one possibility. Well, forget it if we can¡¯t get the surveince camera footages of the caf¨¦. There are three people I suspect now.¡± Fan Shixin knew who he was referring to. ¡°Xu Youran and Ye Xiaotian are amongst the three, am I right?¡± ¡°It might be the DK terrorist organization too. We can¡¯t exactly pinpoint who it is yet, at the moment. Have you executed Fang Xiaotian?¡± ¡°Not yet.¡± ¡°Get a simtion portrait sketch done ording to Fang Xiaotian¡¯s description of the man he met before killing him.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Fan Shixin did as instructed. Just as he left, Long Tianze showed up. Noticing that Jin Qingyan was sitting alone, Long Tianze took lighter steps in a bid to scare him. Yet, he received a great shock himself instead when Jin Qingyan sprung up from his seat all of a sudden before the former could even take action. ¡°Trying to scare me?¡± ¡°No, since when? You know that I¡¯m never that childish. How are you?¡± Long Tianze asked, taking a seat beside him. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I felt so ashamed when the truth was out though,¡± said Jin Qingyan, sounding a little mncholic. Long Tianze gave him a pat on his shoulder and said, ¡°It¡¯s all over now. But Uncle...¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already called to warn him. He knows how to weigh the pros and cons. I¡¯m sure he wouldn¡¯t leak it.¡± ¡°I think you ought to instruct your men to keep a close eye on him. There are various methods that could influence someone to leak secrets, such as hypnosis or hallucinogens.¡± Jin Qingyan agreed, ¡°It¡¯s really impossible to guard against those evil, supernatural stuff. The most important thing now is to nab the mastermind. That¡¯s the only way to truly get rid of the root cause.¡± ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be that easy to catch hold of the mastermind. He or she would definitely lie low for the time being and make sure to conceal their identity even further. Do you still remember that anonymous instigator who hired top assassins with a hefty amount of money to kill you, and even abducted Qingyue and Sis-inw? You still haven¡¯t managed to get to the bottom of that matter even until now, have you? You¡¯re in the open while the enemy is in the dark. That naturally makes it harder to find out who the mastermind really is.¡± ¡°Even then, I still have to continue investigating. If I ever find out who the culprit behind these acts of malice is, I¡¯ll make sure to shred them into pieces, regardless of what it may take.¡± Jin Yiheng ran upstairs with an amulet in hand. ¡°Daddy, I saw some unholy beings again,¡± he said with a look of seriousness. ¡°What unholy beings?¡± Long Tianze asked in astonishment. ¡°Ghosts.¡± ¡°Where did you see them?¡± Long Tianze asked. Pointing at Long Tianze, Jin Yiheng answered, ¡°Behind you...¡± ¡°Ahh!!!¡± Long Tianze shrieked in terror and took flight in no time. Staring dumbfounded at the door, Jin Yiheng turned around and asked, ¡°Why is Godpa even more timid than I am? Daddy, I saw the spirit again when I went to the bathroom. But I hurriedly reached for the amulet and couldn¡¯t see them anymore afterward.¡± ¡°Was it the same one you saw previously?¡± ¡°It was different.¡± Jin Yiheng had bawled loudly during his first encounter with spirits, shivered uncontrobly in fear during his second, and was much less afraid during the third. This time, he had actually reached for an amulet calmly. ¡°Just ignore those beings. They don¡¯t exist in the same dimension as we do. Everything will be fine after Mommy performs a ritual to get rid of them once shees back,¡± Jin Qingyan said tofort him. ¡°Daddy... Grandma may have passed away but you still have me and Mommy. Daddy, don¡¯t be sad, we¡¯ll be by your side,¡± said Jin Yiheng, snuggling up to him. ¡°Little rascal, you actually know how tofort your Daddy now. I didn¡¯t dote on you for nothing,¡± said Jin Qingyan, caressing his son¡¯s hair. ¡°Daddy, why do you always insult yourself?¡± Jin Yiheng asked in a tone of dissatisfaction. ¡°Since when did I do that?¡± ¡°You¡¯re still denying it. Since you called me a little rascal, doesn¡¯t that make you a big rascal?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Why hasn¡¯t Xiaoxi been inviting you to y with her recently?¡± Jin Qingyan asked, walking toward the dining table while holding his hand. ¡°Women are fickle-minded creatures. All she does now is y with her Brother Minhe. She¡¯s going to forget me very soon if I don¡¯t look her up,¡± Jin Yiheng said in a mature manner while sitting on the chair. Pursing his lips, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°Go look her up and y with her then.¡± ¡°Why should I do that when she doesn¡¯t even want toe and find me? Even if she does, I¡¯ll ignore her and let her know that I don¡¯t just y with anyone who looks me up.¡± Such an arrogant and temperamental child. Just who did he take after? The pair of father and son began having their breakfast. Halfway through the meal, a sweet voice chirped near the door, ¡°Brother Yiheng!¡± ¡°I¡¯m here...¡± Long Xiaoxi skipped to the dining table merrily and said, ¡°Brother Yiheng, you haven¡¯t had breakfast?¡± ¡°Yeah. Have you eaten?¡± ¡°Yes, I have. Brother Yiheng, shall we go y together after you finish eating?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°...¡± Jin Qingyan almost choked at the sight of his son grinning widely from ear to ear. Didn¡¯t he say that women were fickle-minded creatures? What happened to wanting to ignore Xiaoxi? Yet... Little rascal, you ought to keep your word. You don¡¯t have a backbone at all... Jin Qingyan thought to himself. Chapter 531 - The Secret About the Past (149)

Chapter 531: The Secret About the Past (149)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Yangyang, your mother has been having a ravenous appetite recently. It¡¯s not a good sign to have such a huge appetite all of a sudden. Moreover, your mother seems to be getting more and more listless. She often appears to be in a daze,¡± Mr. Mei said worriedly. ¡°Shall we admit Mother to the hospital, then?¡± Mei Yangyang suggested. ¡°Okay.¡± They proceeded to send Mrs. Mei to the People¡¯s Hospital in the city. After conducting a physical examination, the doctor said earnestly to Mei Yangyang and Mr. Mei, ¡°To be frank, it¡¯s already a miracle for Auntie to have managed to survive until today. She must¡¯ve been well taken care of and did not suffer from any colds or flu. However, her health is deteriorating and her body is not going to endure for much longer. You ought to prepare yourselves mentally.¡± They both felt their hearts sink upon hearing the doctor¡¯s words. However, to Mei Yangyang, it was indeed a miracle for her mother, who had been bedridden for close to eight years, to be able to make it ¡¯til this day. ¡°Doctor, tell us truthfully. How much longer does my mother have to live?¡± ¡°Just a while more, at the very most. I can¡¯t tell you exactly how long, however. She doesn¡¯t have to be admitted anymore. You may get her discharged and bring her home. Just allow her to eat whatever she wants to.¡± The doctor¡¯s words ran through Mei Yangyang¡¯s mind repeatedly along the way home from the hospital. In actual fact, she had already prepared herself mentally several years ago. Nheless, she still hoped to prolong her mother¡¯s life because it would mean that their fate would havee to an end when thetter was no longer around. Seemingly having known that her days were numbered, Mrs. Mei remained silent throughout the journey all the way until they returned home. She then broke her silence, ¡°Yangyang.¡± ¡°Mother.¡± ¡°Shuangshuang may be an ingrate who doesn¡¯t know any better, but she¡¯s still your sister at the end of the day. I don¡¯t know where she ran off to again now, but after all, she¡¯s my own daughter. Your father and I are still worried and concerned about her. Help me find her and bring her home.¡± Staring at the look of eagerness and desire in her mother¡¯s eyes, Mei Yangyang was beyond helpless. She did not wish to see Mei Shuangshuang ever again for the rest of her life. However, on ount that her mother did not have much time left, she had no choice but to agree, so as to allow her mother to pass on with no regrets. ¡°I¡¯ll try looking for her,¡± she answered. ¡°Yangyang, I¡¯m so d to have such an obedient and kind daughter like you. I¡¯m sorry to burden you, however,¡± Mrs. Mei said with a heartened smile. ¡°Don¡¯t mention anything about being a burden. Mother, get some rest while I instruct my subordinates to look for Shuangshuang.¡± Mrs. Mei nodded. Mei Yangyang was filled with an inexplicable feeling when she left her parents¡¯ ce. She then ordered her subordinates to embark on a search for Mei Shuangshuang and bring thetter to her parents¡¯ house once they have found her. They took several days to find Mei Shuangshuang, who was, fortunately, still in A City. Otherwise, it would have been a tall order to sessfully find her if she had gone overseas. When Mei Shuangshuang was brought home, she had a nonchnt expression on her face and sneered, ¡°Young Madam, why did you get your men to bring me here? Forget it if you¡¯re thinking of asking me for money. I¡¯ve already spent all of it.¡± ¡°Mother¡¯s days are numbered and she¡¯d like to see you. Come with me,¡± Mei Yangyang said calmly. Rather taken aback by her words, the disgruntled Mei Shuangshuang followed her to see Mrs. Mei. Upon arriving at the door, Mei Yangyang did not enter together with Mei Shuangshuang. Mrs. Mei¡¯s initial anger and resentment vanished at the sight of Mei Shuangshuang, whom she had not seen in a long time. All that was left of her emotions was heartache. ¡°Why have you gotten so thin?¡± Mrs. Mei asked worriedly. ¡°I haven¡¯t been eating well.¡± Staring at her bedridden mother, Mei Shuangshuang mellowed her tone and said, ¡°Mother, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ve already sold the house.¡± ¡°So be it, then. Shuangshuang, you¡¯re already 25 years old. It¡¯s time you settled down with a good man. Stop wasting your life away and living each day aimlessly,¡± said Mrs. Mei. ¡°Where am I supposed to find a good man? I¡¯m willing to live properly and settle down as long as Sister agrees to introduce me to some good catches.¡± Mrs. Mei immediately yelled, ¡°Yangyang,e in.¡± Mei Yangyang entered and listened to what her mother had to say without interrupting. ¡°See if you know any suitable prospective marriage partners for Shuangshuang and set her up with them. She¡¯ll change her ways and turn over a new leaf once she has a family of her own,¡± said Mrs. Mei. ¡°A leopard never changes its spots. She¡¯ll only bring harm to the person she marries, whoever it may be,¡± Mei Yangyang answered bluntly. ¡°Mother, did you see that? She doesn¡¯t wish for me to have a good life at all. Is this how my own sister should be treating me? Others would do their best to help their sisters, but look at her,¡± Mei Shuangshuang sneered. ¡°Reflect on yourself and take a look at what you¡¯ve done before you criticize me for not treating you like my own sister! Don¡¯t bother making such irrelevantments,¡± Mei Yangyang snapped, seething with anger. Mr. Mei remained silent while standing by the side. He had long given up on his younger daughter, who disappointed him time and time again. ¡°Yangyang... Shuangshuang is still your biological sister, no matter what. When I¡¯m no longer around, who¡¯s going to take care of her if you don¡¯t? Are you really going to watch her continue going about her wayward behavior? I believe Shuangshuang isn¡¯t evil-natured and had merely been misled and influenced by those delinquents she hangs out with. Yangyang, just help Mother and find her a good man. Perhaps she¡¯ll really mature and be more sensible once she¡¯s married and has children of her own,¡± Mrs. Mei pleaded. ring daggers at Mei Shuangshuang, Mei Yangyang said, ¡°She¡¯s already squandered away all the money from the sale of the house. Which man can tolerate and afford to provide for a spendthrift like you? I really don¡¯t wish to see a good man being ruined by you. What is your ideal type of man?¡± With a sullen expression on her face, Mei Shuangshuang answered, ¡°He doesn¡¯t have to be as rich as Brother-inw, but he can¡¯t be a broke pauper either. He must have a house and a car, and also dote on me. That¡¯s all I expect.¡± Mei Yangyang did not wish to disappoint her mother and thus had no choice but to concede, ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll keep a lookout.¡± A smile formed on Mrs. Mei¡¯s face upon hearing her words. ¡°Yangyang, Shuangshuang definitely doesn¡¯t have a ce to live now. Let her move in with us,¡± Mrs. Mei continued. A fresh swell of rage rose within Mei Yangyang. Just why can¡¯t Mother spare a thought for me and put herself in my shoes? ¡°She may live with you two.¡± Mei Yangyang turned around to leave. ¡°Mother, if you didn¡¯t say those things to persuade Sis, she definitely would leave me in a lurch.¡± Unable to tolerate her atrocity any longer, Mr. Mei broke his silence and hollered, ¡°Why don¡¯t you think about what you¡¯ve done wrong in the past!?! You¡¯re already grown up and yet you¡¯ve got no brains at all!¡± ring at her father with anger surging through her, she retorted, ¡°Father, have you had enough? I¡¯ll scram right now if you don¡¯t wish to see me.¡± Mrs. Mei waved her hand at Mr. Mei in a bid to get him to stop berating their daughter. Mr. Mei turned around to leave as well. Mrs. Mei and Mei Shuangshuang were left alone in the room. Mrs. Mei sighed and said, ¡°Shuangshuang, it¡¯s not that your sister is bent on leaving you in a lurch and washing her hands off your matters. It¡¯s just that you¡¯ve really gone overboard in the past and hurt your sister¡¯s feelings deeply. I don¡¯t have much longer to live. Shuangshuang, heed my advice and stop getting yourself into trouble. Your sister is getting on so well now, she¡¯ll definitely lend you a hand. Talk to your sister nicely. How could she possibly leave you alone once her heart has softened?¡± Mei Shuangshuang remained silent. Mrs. Mei then continued to give her more instructions, all of which she listened to quietly. Perhaps she did not wish to anger her mother by retorting, knowing that her days were numbered. Noticing that Mrs. Mei had fallen asleep, Mei Shuangshuang gently tucked her mother beneath the nket before leaving the room. She hurriedly zoomed towards Mei Yangyang¡¯s mansion, where thetter and Long Tianze were sitting on the couch while watching a movie. Upon sight of her arrival, Mei Yangyang turned to the side and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Sis, I¡¯d like to talk to you about something,¡± said Mei Shuangshuang. ¡°About what?¡± Suppressing her annoyance and dissatisfaction, Mei Shuangshuang walked toward Mei Yangyang and sat down opposite her before saying, ¡°Sis, I¡¯ve made a lot of mistakes in the past. Please forgive me, I¡¯ll repent and change my ways from now on...¡± Chapter 532 - The Secret About the Past (150)

Chapter 532: The Secret About the Past (150)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mei Yangyang did not believe a word she said at all. Having grown up together with her, she was more than clear about what Mei Shuangshuang¡¯s character was like. However, Mei Yangyang did not expose her directly for having a hidden agenda behind her sudden kindness. ¡°You¡¯re not getting any younger, it¡¯s time you had a life of your own. Since I¡¯ve promised Mother to help set you up with a suitable prospective partner, I shall keep my word. However, you¡¯d better kick all your bad habits.¡± ¡°Yes, got it.¡± Staring at the screen at Long Tianze, who did not even bother ncing up at her, Mei Shuangshuang asked, ¡°Brother-inw, I know you own apany. Are there any avable job positions that are suitable for me in yourpany?¡± Long Tianze then turned his head to look at her and answered, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What kind of job is it?¡± Mei Shuangshuang asked, her eyes brimming with joy. ¡°A janitor.¡± A sullen expression formed on Mei Shuangshuang¡¯s face immediately. ¡°A janitor?¡± ¡°Ourpany ces emphasis on the education level of our employees. Even if you don¡¯t have high academic qualifications, you¡¯d have to have some experience in rted jobs in order to qualify for the position. But you¡¯re neither highly educated nor experienced, so...¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t see the harm in being a janitor. You¡¯d be able to work hard to earn your own keep. Would you like to take on the offer? I¡¯ll get your brother-inw to make the arrangements if you¡¯re keen,¡± Mei Yangyang asked. ¡°Nah, I can¡¯t handle the duties of a janitor,¡± Mei Shuangshuang answered in disappointment. ¡°It¡¯s not that you can¡¯t handle it, you just don¡¯t have the motivation or drive to do so. You¡¯d even be willing to clean toilets for a living when you¡¯re driven to desperation and can¡¯t even afford your own meals. I¡¯ve worked all sorts of jobs in the past to make ends meet when Father had to stay home to take care of our bedridden Mother and you had to attend school. Every job has its meaningful purpose, it all depends on whether you¡¯re willing to do it or not.¡± Upon hearing her sister¡¯s words, Mei Shuangshuang indeed felt a tinge of guilt and remorse. ¡ª After several days of trying to sort her feelings out, Tuoba Danxue was in a significantly better mood. Although it appeared that she had returned to her usual self on the surface, Jiang Feng¡¯s incident had truly traumatized her and would have a lifelong impact on her. She no longer dared to speak to any males at all, not even her servants or bodyguards. She was afraid that they would be implicated by just speaking to her. An Xiaoning felt that Tuoba Danxue had developed a psychological disorder. ¡°Your Highness, shall we go out for a walk? You can¡¯t just coop yourself up at home all day,¡± Zhi Yin suggested in a gentle voice. ¡°There¡¯s nowhere to go,¡± Tuoba Danxue answered feebly. ¡°Your Highness, why don¡¯t you call Mr. Jin Minxing here to take a walk with you? You two may get to know each other better and nurture your feelings for each other. Not only will Mr. and Mrs. President find it a good idea, they¡¯ll definitely be overjoyed,¡± Zhi Yin again suggested. ¡°Hand me my mobile phone, I¡¯ll give him a call,¡± said Tuoba Danxue, reaching a hand out. Zhi Yin frantically handed her the mobile phone. Jin Minxing made a trip down to her mansion as soon as he received her call. By the time he arrived, Tuoba Danxue had already put on her makeup and changed into a beautiful dress. They took the lead and walked in front while Zhi Yin and An Xiaoning followed behind. ¡°Look how gentlemanly this Mr. Jin Minxing is, he¡¯s such a good match for Her Highness.¡± ¡°Yeah, they¡¯repatible in terms of socio-economic background and status. And they¡¯re both such good-looking individuals,¡± An Xiaoning agreed while staring at the road ahead. ¡°Sadly, people like us are destined to never be able to marry a wealthy heir. That¡¯s just how pragmatic the world is,¡± Zhi Yinmented forlornly. An Xiaoning kept her eyes fixed on the couple in front of them and did not respond to Zhi Yin¡¯s words. After walking for a distance, they gradually began advancing in the direction of theke. They continued to stroll along theke. ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t that His Highness over there? Who¡¯s that girl beside him?¡± Zhi Yin questioned, pointing toward the front. An Xiaoning took a look to find that it was Lin Shishi beside Tuoba Gucheng. One was her godsister and the other, her godbrother. An Xiaoning would definitely let the cat out of the bag and risk having her true identity exposed if they were to hear her voice. What a very small world, indeed. Tuoba Gucheng and Lin Shishi began walking toward them. An Xiaoning slowed down in her steps whereas Zhi Yin quickened her pace, causing An Xiaoning to fall behind. ¡°Brother, is this my future sister-inw?¡± Tuoba Danxue asked while smiling. ¡°Nice to meet you, I¡¯m Lin Shishi,¡± Lin Shishi greeted. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of you before. You¡¯re really pretty, sopatible with my brother.¡± Lin Shishi blushed shyly and said, ¡°You¡¯re verypatible with Minxing too. I grew up with Minxing and we¡¯re about the same age. He¡¯s a very reliable person.¡± Tuoba Danxue nced at Jin Minxing and said, ¡°I heard you¡¯re inws, is that true?¡± ¡°No, our families are longtime friends and we¡¯ve always been very close. But An Xiaoning is both our godsister.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. I heard that the Young Madam of the Jin family is superb at fortune-telling. I¡¯d really like to meet her someday.¡± An Xiaoning stopped in her tracks upon hearing their words. I really don¡¯t get why they always have to mention me in their conversations, she thought to herself. She walked in front slowly and Tuoba Gucheng casually nced at her from not too far away. An Xiaoning did not flinch at all since her conscience was clear. ¡°If you¡¯d like to meet my sister, I can speak to her for you, Your Highness.¡± Tuoba Danxue nodded and suggested, ¡°Sure. It¡¯s a little boring to keep strolling about aimlessly. Why don¡¯t we go sing some karaoke?¡± ¡°Where?¡± ¡°My brother has a special karaoke room. The soundproofing system is very effective.¡± ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go together if everyone agrees,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng. ¡°Sure, sounds great,¡± Lin Shishi agreed. Everyone shifted their gaze to Jin Minxing, who answered, ¡°I don¡¯t have any objections.¡± The four of them walked toward the front while An Xiaoning and Zhi Yin followed behind, leaving a short distance in between. An Xiaoning felt ill at ease. At the rate that things were developing, her identity would be exposed sooner orter. The best she could do now was to be extra careful. She initially thought that she and Zhi Yin would be waiting outside the door while the four of them were inside the karaoke room. To her surprise, Tuoba Danxue invited the two of them to join in the crowd as well. Zhi Yin was first told to sing a song to boost the joyous mood, after which An Xiaoning¡¯s greatest worry finally arrived. ¡°Mu Ning,e sing a song,¡± said Tuoba Danxue, handing her the microphone. An Xiaoning stepped forward and whispered to Tuoba Danxue, ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯m really bad at singing. My throat feels ufortable today too. How about I perform a dance instead?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Tuoba Danxue pped her hands and eximed, ¡°Come, let¡¯s wee Mu Ning to dance for us!¡± ¡°You know how to dance?¡± Zhi Yin asked apprehensively. An Xiaoning walked towards the song selection system and picked an electrifying song. As the music started ying, An Xiaoning began dancing gracefully and letting her hair down boldly. She looked exceptionally alluring. Every move of hers exuded a feminine charm. The crowd in the room was impressed by her marvelous dancing skills and watched in awe, despite her unaesthetic physical appearance. With a ss of liquor in hand, Tuoba Gucheng stared at the woman before him. All of a sudden, he discovered that she possessed a unique charm thatpensated for her mediocre looks. He felt a little surreal at the thought of what happened the night before ¡ª the pleasure he felt while in a delirium and the moans of passion ringing in his ear. It all seemed like just a dream. An Xiaoning perspired greatly after performing the dance. Once the song ended, she bowed to her audience and moved toward the side. Chapter 533 - The Secret About the Past (151)

Chapter 533: The Secret About the Past (151)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Have we met somewhere before?¡± Lin Shishi asked, staring at An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning shook her head in denial. ¡°That¡¯s strange, I have a feeling I¡¯ve seen you somewhere before. But I can¡¯t remember where. I feel like your silhouette looks rather familiar,¡± said Lin Shishi, racking her brains in a bid to recall where she had seen An Xiaoning before. ¡°She has a verymon face. It¡¯s no surprise that you find her familiar,¡± Tuoba Gucheng remarked. An Xiaoning stood rooted to the ground and remained standing for the next two hours, during which they had a whale of a time. After sending Jin Minxing and Lin Shishi out, Tuoba Danxue said, ¡°Brother, Lin Shishi seems like a nice and candid person. She¡¯s really pretty too. I think she¡¯d be a good choice for your wife.¡± ¡°Indeed. I think she¡¯s a great girl too.¡± However, he did not love her and all he could say was that he neither fancied nor disliked her. ¡°Brother...¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°There¡¯ll be a presidential election this year and our country¡¯s politics follow a hereditary system. It¡¯ll either be you or Big Brother who seeds Father¡¯s position. Brother, if you be the next president, I hope you won¡¯tpel your children to suffer the same fate as us and have their freedom restricted. Okay?¡± Tuoba Danxue asked, her eyes brimming with tears. Tuoba Gucheng ced his hands on her shoulders and said, ¡°I won¡¯t allow that to happen, if I be the next president.¡± While Tuoba Gucheng was facing his sister, he managed to look past her andid his eyes upon An Xiaoning, who was standing behind Tuoba Danxue. They made eye contact, and An Xiaoning continued to hold his gaze, looking straight into his eyes calmly without fear. Atst, he looked away and turned around to leave with Tuoba Danxue. After dinner, An Xiaoningy down in bed and did not feel like moving an inch at all. She was vexed at the fact that there was no progress in her investigation at all since she had been wasting each day following Tuoba Danxue around and aplishing nothing. She pondered the matter thoroughly and realized that she could not continue maintaining this status quo. She decided to try and sound Tuoba Danxue out. Perhaps then, she could really find out some clues. In the dead of the night, An Xiaoning knocked on Tuoba Danxue¡¯s room and asked, ¡°Your Highness, are you asleep yet?¡± ¡°No, you maye in.¡± An Xiaoning entered and closed the door after her. ¡°Do you feel like you¡¯re in a better mood today, Your Highness?¡± she asked, smiling. ¡°I feel so much better and rxed. Mu Ning, you danced really well today. Did you especially learn how to dance before?¡± ¡°No, I used to learn casually from dance videos online, which I would watch during my free time when I was training in martial arts.¡± An Xiaoning sat down beside her and continued, ¡°Your Highness, I overheard you telling His Highness that there¡¯d be a newly-elected president this year. How long has our current Mr. President been in power?¡± ¡°More than 30 years now. There¡¯ll be a presidential election every 30 years or so. If the citizens feel that Father can still continue being the President this year, then he will remain in his position. However, if they vote for Father to step down, then one of my two brothers will be the next president,¡± Tuoba Danxue exined. An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°I dare not make anyments about Mr. and Mrs. President, but I¡¯m really curious about why they¡¯re so strict with you and His Highness¡¯s marriages. Didn¡¯t they have anyone they fancied when they were younger?¡± Shaking her head, Tuoba Danxue answered, ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I feel like they definitely did. I heard that my uncle was severely punished for insisting on marrying the woman he loved back in the day. Being a devoted and loyal person, he decided to remain single and became a monk after the woman he wanted to marry passed away.¡± ¡°Your Highness, does the President only have one brother?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never seen any information about your uncle online before.¡± ¡°There should be some information about him on Wikipedia as well as some news from the past. But I don¡¯t think there is any recent news about him. Actually,moners like you enjoy so much more freedom than we do,¡± said Tuoba Danxue. ¡°Your Highness, you have no idea how many girls out there envy you and the life you lead. Well, because, their dream is to marry into powerful families like the Commander-in-chief¡¯s or other wealthy ones. Those girls would rather live without freedom than to remain in poverty. Everyone has a different perspective of things since we¡¯re all in a different predicament.¡± ¡°Mu Ning, I think you¡¯re really knowledgeable. Have you attended many years of education?¡± Tuoba Danxue asked with a smile. ¡°Not really. I just stepped into society at a younger age, so I have more insights. Your Highness, where is your uncle¡¯s monastery?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Right by the front gate. One of the houses there belongs to him. He¡¯s been living there for years and never once stepped foot out before. He really got on the nerves of my grandparents. I think you can still find those news about him in the past online.¡± ¡°I see. Get some rest, Your Highness. I won¡¯t impose on you any further,¡± An Xiaoning said as she rose from her seat. ¡°Alright.¡± Tuoba Danxue did not think much of it and merely treated it as a casual conversation, which she did not take to heart. It was a different case for An Xiaoning, however. Once she returned to her room next door, she took a shower and removed her mask before lying in bed to search for news about Tuoba Rui¡¯s brother. Tuoba Rui¡¯s brother was named Tuoba Shuo and was three years younger than the former. There was indeed news of him from the past on the inte, though not much. After reading the news, An Xiaoning realized that it was exactly like what Tuoba Danxue had told her. However, there were no photos of him attached to the news articles. An Xiaoning immediately contacted Jin Qingyan to inform him of the new clue she had found. She requested him to search for photos of Tuoba Shuo as well as the woman whom thetter loved back then. Regardless of the situation, she must get a hold of the photos. Jin Qingyan immediately did as requested and ordered for his subordinates to begin looking. He told her to wait for his news patiently. ¡ª ¡°Auntie, why did you look me up?¡± Song Yan asked gently. Mrs. Ling nodded and said, ¡°You said Ciye has gotten himself a new girlfriend. Could you tell me who she is?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t Ciye... tell you himself?¡± ¡°No.¡± A strange sense of joy filled Song Yan. He actually didn¡¯t tell his mother about his new rtionship. What does that say? ¡°Ciye didn¡¯t tell me. I didn¡¯t want to be nosy and probe further either, lest he resents me.¡± Song Yan put on a look of dismay on her face, as if she was being put in a spot. ¡°Auntie, I think you¡¯d better ask him about it yourself.¡± ¡°Song Yan, I just won¡¯t tell him that you were the one who told me about it, alright? You must know who she is. Tell me her name, I want to know what she looks like,¡± Mrs. Ling probed. ¡°Since you really want to know, I shall tell you then. Ciye got into a rtionship with a divorced, single mother right after we just broke up. Actually, I don¡¯t know if they began dating while we were still together, but Ciye was very serious and firm about our breakup this time.¡± ¡°She¡¯s divorced and has a child?¡± Mrs. Ling asked. The first person who came to her mind was Jin Qingyue. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s Qingyue?¡± Mrs. Ling questioned. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s her.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be the case. I specifically looked her up to ask about it before. She said she wasn¡¯t dating Ciye. Could it be that she lied to me?¡± Mrs. Ling said with a frown. ¡°I dare guarantee that she¡¯s definitely lying to you. Auntie, everything I said was the truth.¡± Song Yan sucked on some fruit juice with a straw and continued, ¡°I still don¡¯t know how a divorced and single mother is any better than I am. I really wonder what Ciye is thinking. He actually picked a secondhand good over our rtionship, which had spanned across years.¡± Chapter 534 - The Secret About the Past (152)

Chapter 534: The Secret About the Past (152)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Staring at Song Yan, Mrs. Ling said agitatedly, ¡°I think you¡¯re a much better option too. You¡¯re unmarried and childless. I too think it¡¯s a shame that you and Ciye are no longer together. Song Yan, that¡¯s all for today. I¡¯ll go look for Ciye now.¡± ¡°Auntie, don¡¯t get angry. Talk things over with him calmly.¡± Mrs. Ling nodded and rushed out with her purse in hand. Song Yan remained in her seat and stared out of the window at Mrs. Ling¡¯s figure, a malicious look in her eyes. She sought help from a fortune-teller to change her fate, but to no avail. Yet, Song Yan still refused to resign herself to fate even until now. She really did not want to. She seemed to be able to imagine what Mrs. Ling¡¯s confrontation with Ling Ciye would be like. In fact, she hoped that Mrs. Ling¡¯s intervention would give him some pressure. Things did turn out the way she hoped for them to, actually. Mrs. Ling called Ling Ciye directly. However, he lied and imed to be away from A City at the moment due to the fact that his wounds had yet to recover. Mrs. Ling questioned him about his rtionship with Jin Qingyue. He told her that he would exin when they meet. Mrs. Ling could already guess what was going on after hearing his answer. He ended the call before she could evensh out at him. Mrs. Ling was boiling with rage. Not only was she angry at the fact that her son was dating Jin Qingyue, but she was also furious that Jin Qingyue actually lied to her! Since her son was not in the city, she decided to call Jin Qingyue and vent some of her anger on thetter. Little did she expect that Jin Qingyue had switched off her mobile phone. She had no choice but to head home, overwhelmed with exasperation. She obviously did not know that it was her son who told Jin Qingyue to switch off her mobile phone. Jin Qingyue put her mobile phone away and asked, ¡°Will your mother show up here all of a sudden?¡± ¡°No, I already told her that I¡¯m not in town.¡± Ling Ciye let out a long sigh and continued, ¡°I¡¯ll go back ande clean with her once my wounds heal in another few days.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Reminded of the lie she told Mrs. Ling, Jin Qingyue said, ¡°I should¡¯ve just told her the truth right from the start, at least she wouldn¡¯t think that I lied to her.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not your fault. I¡¯ll exin it to her clearly,¡± Ling Ciyeforted her. Gazing at him, Jin Qingyue said, ¡°Brother Ciye, you seem to have changed...¡± ¡°How did I change?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve be much manlier, but... I like it,¡± Jin Qingyue answered with a smile. Ling Ciye raised his brows and asked, ¡°So I wasn¡¯t originally manly?¡± ¡°You were, but you¡¯re so much manlier now.¡± She climbed onto the bed naturally, just like she had been doing for the past few days. Although they had not made any actual progress despite sharing the same bed, Jin Qingyue felt that they were only one step away from progression. After pulling the nket over herself, Jin Qingyue leaned against the headboard and whipped out her mobile phone to find that she had received an unread text message. It was from Shi Shaochuan. She opened the text message to read its contents, which sounded as if he was ordering her around. ¡°I¡¯ll be visiting my parents¡¯ and Grandma¡¯s graves tomorrow. I don¡¯t want to worry them, soe along with me and Bao¡¯er.¡± Jin Qingyue quickly replied, ¡°What right have you got to make me visit your family¡¯s graves just because you don¡¯t want them to worry? I¡¯m not going.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll wait for you at my doorstep at eight o¡¯clock tomorrow morning. If you don¡¯t turn up, forget about seeing Bao¡¯er ever again. Even if you hold the rights to her custody, what can you do if I don¡¯t return her to you?¡± Jin Qingyue immediately typed her reply: ¡°If you don¡¯t give her back to me, you may just raise her yourself.¡± Just as she was about to send the text, Ling Ciye snatched her mobile phone away and said, ¡°Don¡¯t send that. What is Bao¡¯er going to think if he shows it to her?¡± ¡°Look how shameless he is. Why must I show up with him at his family¡¯s graves? I can¡¯t stand the sight of him at all,¡± said Jin Qingyue. Ling Ciye chuckled and said, ¡°Listen, just go if he wants you to. But I¡¯ll apany you.¡± Jin Qingyue looked at him in surprise and asked, ¡°You... you¡¯re going with me?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll apany you. At the same time, I¡¯ll show him my prowess just so he knows he can¡¯te looking for trouble as and when he pleases.¡± ¡°Really? But your wounds have yet to heal,¡± said Jin Qingyue, staring at his stomach. ¡°It won¡¯t be visible with clothes on. It won¡¯t matter.¡± ¡°Brother Ciye... why do you treat me so well now?¡± Jin Qingyue asked coquettishly. ¡°This is also considered treating you well?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re my woman now.¡± How domineering! Because you¡¯re my woman now! Pouting her lips, Jin Qingyue said, ¡°Had I known earlier, I would¡¯ve reserved you for myself ever since we were young. I was blind to have married Shi Shaochuan. If only I reserved you long ago, that would¡¯ve been great.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not toote now. If you tried to reserve me when we were younger, you wouldn¡¯t have seeded because I used to only treat you as my younger sister. Besides, Tianze was so smitten and devoted to you but you broke his heart,¡± Ling Ciye blurted. ¡°I¡¯ve already apologized to him. I did him wrong in the past, be it the things I said to him or what not. But I actually feel rather heartened and d to see that he has a loving wife and two adorable children now,¡± Jin Qingyue bared her heart and soul, reflecting on her past. ¡°You really didn¡¯t know better in the past. Tianze was so nice to you ever since we were young, but you never realized his worth. But you managed tond in my hands in the end, precisely because you didn¡¯t know better, isn¡¯t that so?¡± Ling Ciye remarked. Jin Qingyue nodded fervently and answered, ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right, very right.¡± Ling Ciye handed her mobile phone back to her and said, ¡°Reply to him.¡± ¡°How should I reply?¡± Jin Qingyue asked. ¡°You have to tell him proudly: ¡®I¡¯ll be bringing my boyfriend along to visit your family¡¯s grave.¡¯¡± Jin Qingyue immediately did as he said. Soon, she received an iing call from Shi Shaochuan. ¡°Answer it,¡± said Ling Ciye. Jin Qingyue swiped to answer and turned on the speaker. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°You got a boyfriend? Which blind man has fallen for you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s none of your business. Don¡¯t you want me to go with you to visit your family¡¯s graves? I¡¯ll be bringing my boyfriend along,¡± Jin Qingyue answered smugly. Shi Shaochuan scoffed and threatened, ¡°Jin Qingyue, you¡¯d bettere alone. If you dare bring your boyfriend, don¡¯t think of seeing Bao¡¯er again.¡± ¡°Shi Shaochuan, don¡¯t try to threaten me with the child. I have the rights to her custody. Don¡¯t think I won¡¯t know what to do with you if you dare hide her from me! Don¡¯t forget who my brother is!¡± Jin Qingyue said with much gusto, perhaps because Ling Ciye¡¯s presence had given her the courage to do so. ¡°Nice, you¡¯ve got the guts. I¡¯d really like to see who your boyfriend is, actually. Meet me at my doorstep tomorrow morning, eight o¡¯clock sharp. Be there or be square!¡± Shi Shaochuan hollered before ending the call abruptly. Jin Qingyue cast her phone aside and said, ¡°It¡¯s not toote to regret it now.¡± ¡°I think he¡¯s the one who¡¯s going to regret it. Trust me,¡± he said confidently. Chapter 535 - The Secret About the Past (153)

Chapter 535: The Secret About the Past (153)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The weather was fair the next day. The skies were clear and the sun was shining brightly. Jin Qingyue and Ling Ciye showed up in their car at the Shi family mansion at eight o¡¯clock sharp. Shi Shaochuan was standing at the entrance with Jin Bao¡¯er, whose hand he was holding. Upon sight of the luxury car, he immediately brought Jin Bao¡¯er into his car and took the lead in heading toward the graveyard. Jin Qingyue and Ling Ciye followed closely behind. They soon arrived at their destination. Shi Shaochuan alighted from the car with Jin Bao¡¯er. Upon sight of Ling Ciye, Shi Shaochuan snorted withughter and sneered, ¡°Jin Qingyue, you really can¡¯t find another man eh? You actually resorted to getting your childhood friend to pose as your boyfriend.¡± ¡°Shi Shaochuan, Qingyue and I have been dating for a while now. You must be mistaken. I, Ling Ciye, will never pose as anyone¡¯s boyfriend,¡± said Ling Ciye. ¡°Just what do you see in her?¡± Shi Shaochuan asked in disbelief as the smile on his face stiffened. ¡°Hmm, what do I see in her... she¡¯s pretty, meticulous, gentle, adorable, caring, understanding, elegant, and virtuous. There are too many attributes of hers, I can¡¯t list them all at once,¡± Ling Ciye said leisurely. Shi Shaochuan was fuming with anger all of a sudden. He was annoyed to see his ex-wife dating another man who was much more outstanding than him. ¡°All I can say is that you probably should get your eyesight checked, Mr. Ling. I¡¯ve known her for so many years, ever since we started dating until we got married and then divorced. I know clearly what kind of a person she is. Mr. Ling, don¡¯t get fooled by her facade. Otherwise, you¡¯ll suffer the same fate I did and regret it for the rest of your life.¡± Jin Qingyue did not expect him to insult her to her face. Just as she was about to retort, she was held back by Ling Ciye, who grabbed her hand tightly. ¡°My vision is perfect in both eyes. You don¡¯t have to worry about my eyesight, Mr. Shi. Actually, I think you¡¯re the one who needs to visit the optometrist. You were so careless as to let such a good woman down. Do you have cataracts?¡± Shi Shaochuan was at a loss for words to rebut him. Thus, he grabbed Jin Bao¡¯er¡¯s hand and walked toward the graveyard. Jin Qingyue smirked and let go of Ling Ciye¡¯s hand to hold onto his arm instead and continued to follow them. All of a sudden, Shi Shaochuan stopped in his tracks and turned around to look at them. ¡°Are you hoping to let my parents and Grandmother see you two being affectionate with each other? You don¡¯t have to go up,¡± he hissed. ¡°How will that do? Didn¡¯t you ask me toe here with you yesterday? You even threatened me when I said I didn¡¯t want to turn up. It¡¯s time I meet your family again. I¡¯ve got so much to tell them.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to go anymore! You¡¯re getting on my nerves!¡± Shi Shaochuan hollered, seething with anger and ring daggers at her. As soon as he finished speaking, he picked Jin Bao¡¯er up in his arms and stormed off. Jin Qingyue and Ling Ciye stayed put and did not follow them. ¡°Let¡¯s go home,¡± said Ling Ciye. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡± ¡ª ¡°Young Sir, I¡¯ve already found the man described by Fang Xiaotian and nabbed him. But he imed that he doesn¡¯t know who the instigator was since she was wearing a mask and a pair of shades. He said that she recruited him via an online tform,¡± Fan Shixin reported. ¡°Since she recruited him online, does the ount she used to find him still exist?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ve already checked. The ount has been deleted long ago. Seems like the mastermind had a well-thought-ou n and made all the necessary preparations,¡± said Fan Shixin. ¡°He should still be able to remember and identify the mastermind¡¯s voice... but I don¡¯t think it¡¯d be easy to find out. Let¡¯s start from her attire. Ask him carefully about the type of clothes, mask, and shades she was wearing, as well as any special features about her. We¡¯ll then investigate from there. Perhaps we¡¯ll be able to find out something. Also, hurry up on investigating the photos I told you as well.¡± ¡°Got it. There should be news of it very soon.¡± Jin Qingyan nodded, feeling rather ill at ease. He would never be able to rest his mind as long as An Xiaoning was still in the Autumn Pce. He looked up at the photos hanging on the wall and instantly felt much more rxed. At the end of the day, he believed that she would definitely protect herself well, given her intelligence and wit. ¡°Nick!¡± Jin Qingyan looked up and said, ¡°Xianxian, didn¡¯t I say that you¡¯re not allowed to go near the main mansion?¡± ¡°I sneaked in when the guards weren¡¯t paying attention. So what if I¡¯m inside here now? It¡¯s my birthday today. You won¡¯t hold it against me, will you?¡± Bu Xianxian said, smiling. Raising his brows in apprehension, he answered, ¡°It¡¯s your birthday? Happy Birthday.¡± ¡°Thank you. Nick, do you have time for dinner with me this evening?¡± ¡°Xianxian, I¡¯m very busy. I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t have the time to eat with you,¡± he rejected her straight away. ¡°It¡¯s only a meal...¡± Bu Xianxian said dejectedly. ¡°Another day then. How¡¯s thenguage tutor I hired for you guys?¡± ¡°The tutor¡¯s very good at teaching. We¡¯ve managed to learn some basic conversational phrases within such a short period of time. I believe we¡¯ll be able tomunicate fluently with everyone here very soon.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great. I still have something to attend to at the office. I¡¯ll get going first,¡± Jin Qingyan said as he rose from his seat. Bu Xianxian watched as he left, feeling a little upset and disappointed. She was no fool and could obviously tell that he often made it a point to keep a distance between them, which hindered her from getting closer to him. She stared at the photos on the wall before scanning her surroundings, only to find that there was no one else in the living room. Thus, she felt an urge to go upstairs to take a look too. To her surprise, she was stopped by Auntie Chen, who came out of the kitchen. ¡°Miss... Bu, you¡¯re not allowed to go upstairs,¡± Auntie Chen said politely with a grin. Bu Xianxian turned around and smiled wryly at her. ¡°I¡¯d like to take a tour upstairs, is that not allowed?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°How about if you go with me?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not allowed either. Young Madam ordered you to stay away from the main mansion. Yet, you¡¯ve already crossed the line by barging in. Ms. Bu, please bear in mind that you¡¯re in someone else¡¯s house. This is not your own home where you can roam freely without restrictions,¡± Auntie Chen refused, gesturing for her to leave. Bu Xianxian had no choice but to leave. She had been idling about all day every day, and no one would reprimand her even if she did not wish to do the chores. She was on the verge of being bored to death with no one around her age to talk to while being confined to the boundaries of the estate. Feeling lonely and bored out of her wits, she walked toward the guardroom by the main entrance and peeked in through the door to look at Xiao Lu. ¡°Hi,¡± she greeted. Xiao Lu nced at her before resuming his duty of staring at the monitor,pletely ignoring her. Bu Xianxian turned around to see that Xiao Huang was walking In her direction. She smiled and again greeted, ¡°Hi, Xiao Huang.¡± Xiao Huang acknowledged her with a nod and walked past her straight away to enter the guardroom. Bu Xianxian was getting slightly infuriated, thinking to herself that she must find a way to get out of this ce and see what the outside world had to offer. She felt trapped and suffocated, just like a caged bird. This can¡¯t go on any longer! However,nguage was still an issue for her at the moment. Once I¡¯ve mastered thenguage of S Nation well, I¡¯ll leave this ce right away! She no longer wanted to be restricted within this estate. She was not an animal, she was a human who enjoyed her rights to freedom. Chapter 536 - The Secret About the Past (154)

Chapter 536: The Secret About the Past (154)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios It was two o¡¯clock in the morning. ¡°Sister Hong, old Mr. Jin lost everything he bet again,¡± said the waiter, handing her the money. ¡°So be it. If hees by again tomorrow, continue making him lose. This is an order from our boss,¡± Sister Hong instructed, holding a cigarette between her fingers. She was dressed in a short dress that ended at her thighs, exuding a sultry charm. ¡°But wouldn¡¯t we arouse suspicion if we put him on a losing streak?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to care about that. If he wants to change the yers, just send another one of us.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± The waiter turned around to go out. Sister Hong scanned the surveince camera monitors on the wall andid her eyes upon a particr figure. She snubbed her cigarette butt into the ashtray and walked out coquettishly. Shortly after, she walked toward the table at which the man she had been eying was sitting. She approached him and said, ¡°Wow, Mr. Ye, you actually have the time to drop by for a game of cards?¡± ¡°Why? Am I not wee here?¡± Ye Xiaotian answered without turning to look at her. ¡°You¡¯re most wee. It¡¯s just so rare to see you here,¡± said Sister Hong, gazing at him while leaning against the table. ¡°I rarely have the time to gamble a little.¡± Sister Hong smiled and shifted her gaze to a woman who was not too far away from them.¡±Is that your wife?¡± she asked. Ye Xiaotian turned to take a look before turning back to finish his game and collect his winnings. He then turned around to leave immediately. Mo Li noticed that he was walking toward her while her eyes were darting around to look for him. ¡°Xiaotian.¡± ¡°Why did youe here?¡± ¡°To look for you.¡± He held her hand and walked out. ¡°How did you know I was here?¡± Mo Li was at a loss for an answer. She obviously could not tell him that she had secretly installed a GPS tracker on his mobile phone so as to receive updates of his whereabouts at all times. Although he had the fingerprint tracker function embedded within his mobile phone, she long knew exactly how to delete her fingerprints from the database. After all, she had been by his side for years. ¡°My ssmate told me that she saw you at the entrance.¡± ¡°Which ssmate?¡± ¡°Um... just a former ssmate of mine whom I rarely keep in touch with. It¡¯s already past midnight. Why are you here at the casino instead of going home?¡± Mo Li questioned, feeling a little fatigued. ¡°I came to have a few games. I¡¯ve always won when ites to gambling.¡± After exiting the casino and getting into the car, Mo Li could not help but say, ¡°I know you¡¯re unhappy because things haven¡¯t been running smoothly at thepany, but could you stoping home sote?¡± Ye Xiaotian did not respond and continued to drive home. Mo Li turned to look at him, feeling rather frustrated and upset. They remained silent throughout the rest of the journey, and Ye Xiaotian went to bed immediately upon arriving home. ¡°Xiaotian, go take a shower.¡± He closed his eyes and refused to budge. Mo Li took his shoes off his feet and climbed onto the bed to lie down beside him. He seemed to have nothing to say to her. Mo Li did not probe any further either. After switching off the lights, shey in bed and, in the pitch darkness of the room, stared nkly at the ceiling above. She felt her eyes getting a little dry. She then turned to lie on her side, facing the window. Mo Li did not sleep well for the rest of the night. She repeatedly woke up and fell asleep before waking up again. Atst, she woke up to find that it was already bright outside and that he was no longer beside her. Mo Li felt lost and upset. She could empathize with his feelings and had been very understanding toward him. Knowing that she could not be of any help to him, she tried her best not to get in his way or be a stumbling block. However, she had feelings too. She was only human, after all. Mo Li sat by the bed, feeling a strong urge to cry all of a sudden, but she could not manage to. Mrs. Ye pushed the door open and instructed, ¡°Why are you just sitting here and staring into space? I bought you some Chinese herbal medicine. I¡¯ve already instructed the kitchen helpers to brew them for you, hurry and finish it.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She stood up from the bed and proceeded to freshen up before making her way downstairs. There was arge bowl of herbal medicine on the dining table. ¡°You have to drink a bowl of this daily for half a month. I¡¯ve already made the calctions. It¡¯ll be nearing your ovtion window by the time you finish the medicine. There¡¯ll be a 95% chance that you¡¯ll carry a baby boy then.¡± Mo Li did not utter a single word and chugged the bowl of medicine down in one sitting. ¡°Very good. You must drink it consistently,¡± Mrs. Ye said in delight. ¡°Xiaotian ought to drink it too, doesn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s especially meant for you. It¡¯s said to alter the pH levels of your blood and the environment inside your body. It¡¯ll be easier to give birth to a boy that way.¡± Mo Li took a gulp of in water to wash down the bitterness in her mouth. She did not know if the medicine would really work, but she yearned greatly to give birth to a son soon, so as to please her mother-inw and her husband. ¡ª ¡°I noticed that you¡¯ve been in high spirits the past few days. Is it because Jin Qingyan¡¯s mother is dead?¡± Gu Dongcheng asked while cing a ss of milk on the table. Xu Youran looked at him and eximed, ¡°Of course. If it weren¡¯t because of her, would my mother have died back then? She¡¯s the cause of it all!¡± ¡°It¡¯s her retribution, I guess. She died of an illness.¡± Xu Youran let out a sly, mysterious smile and said, ¡°That¡¯s just an excuse Jin Qingyan gave to avoid making his mother look bad.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°His mother didn¡¯t die of an illness. Hubby, you must¡¯ve never expected this, but his mother died in my hands,¡± said Xu Youran, taking a few sips of milk. ¡°Why do you say so?¡± Gu Dongcheng asked in astonishment. Xu Youran exined everything to him unhurriedly, after which she chuckled maliciously and said, ¡°Hubby, it¡¯s a tried-and-tested, foolproof method to harm the people you want to deal with. We¡¯ll be able to get rid of the thorns in our flesh without arousing suspicion at all.¡± Gu Dongcheng was greatly taken aback. ¡°Is it really that potent?¡± ¡°Of course. I tried to seek the help of a medium to put a hex on your stepmother back then, but An Xiaoning managed to break the curse because the ritual was too short and simple. But things are different now. This method is way faster, and it has the ability to make one die a horrible and excruciating death in no time.¡± Gu Dongcheng swallowed his breath and remarked, ¡°That¡¯s incredible. I used to think that such curses would only bring about pain and difort to the victim. I never knew they could be used to end lives.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I call killing without a trace.¡± Xu Youran finished her milk slowly and mmed the empty ss onto the table before saying, ¡°I already have my next target.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s An Xiaoning?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not her turn yet.¡± Xu Youran stood up and ced both arms around his neck. ¡°Hubby, the next in line is my father.¡± ¡°Put your father on hold for now. How about making Beicheng your next target? Kill your father after we¡¯ve gotten rid of Beicheng and Lin Mingxi. Will that do?¡± Gu Dongcheng asked eagerly. ¡°That works too. After all, the Gu Corporation will belong to you once they¡¯re gone,¡± Xu Youran agreed. Gu Dongcheng gave her a peck on her cheek, all worked up and excited. ¡°Honey, just how are you so capable?¡± ¡°Did you forget who I am? I¡¯m your wife. Hubby, do you know your brother¡¯s birth characters?¡± Shaking his head, Gu Dongcheng answered, ¡°I don¡¯t. I suppose only my parents know about it. I¡¯m only three years older than him. I don¡¯t have any recollection of when he was born at all.¡± ¡°Okay, then your task now is toe up with a way to find out his birth characters. Your stepmother definitely wouldn¡¯t reveal them to you. It¡¯s time to dupe your father now. Ask him out for a few drinks together, get him drunk, and then sound him out. Once we have his exact birth timing and birth characters, it¡¯ll be easy to get hold of his clothes,¡± Xu Youran suggested. ¡°Alright. I was wondering why you called me home. Turns out it¡¯s because of this. Fortunately, I didn¡¯t make a wasted trip,¡± said a pleased Gu Dongcheng. Chapter 537 - The Secret About the Past (155)

Chapter 537: The Secret About the Past (155)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Hubby, this is a guaranteed sess. Have you got any rewards for me?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Gu Dongcheng picked her up in his arms and lowered her onto the bed. ¡°I¡¯m going to make you beg for more.¡± ¡°I¡¯m pregnant now!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be gentle.¡± ¡°...¡± After discussing their n thoroughly, Gu Dongcheng began taking action in the evening. He specially invited his father for a meal outside. It was just the two of them alone. To sugarcoat and put things nicely, they were merely having a heart-to-heart talk and a casual conversation about their family matters. However, Mr. Gu still had his guard up against Gu Dongcheng since he knew that his son was the culprit behind the incident at the ancestral hall. Noticing that his father was still sober, Gu Dongcheng dared not mention a word about Gu Beicheng¡¯s birth characters. Instead, they returned to the Gu family mansion right after the meal. Xu Youran initially thought that he would seed. However, she was struck with disappointment upon seeing him shake his head. Mrs. Gu instructed the kitchen helpers to prepare some hangover broth for Mr. Gu and Gu Dongcheng before joining everyone else in the living room. ¡°Don¡¯t we have enough liquor for you two at home?¡± Mrs. Gu handed Mr. Gu a bowl of broth and said, ¡°Drink up. You¡¯re not in the pink of health, avoid consuming so much alcohol.¡± ¡°Mother, Father only had a little to drink. I wouldn¡¯t dare to let him drink that much,¡± Gu Dongcheng said while smiling. Mrs. Gu naturally did not feel good about Gu Dongcheng, for she still bore a resentment toward him for the incident in the ancestral hall. ¡°Good that you know.¡± ¡°By the way, Mother, where¡¯s our household register?¡± Gu Dongcheng asked. ¡°What do you need it for?¡± ¡°I need it for some matters,¡± Gu Dongcheng answered briefly. ¡°I¡¯ll go get it for you.¡± Mrs. Gu immediately proceeded to her bedroom to retrieve the household register and handed it to him. ¡°Here¡¯s the new register, which was reced yesterday. The old one is no longer in use.¡± Gu Dongcheng took it from her hands and flipped through the pages of the register, only to discover that the birthdays of every member of the family were no longer stated on the register, leaving only the year of birth. ¡°Huh? Mother, are our birthdays no longer stated on the household register?¡± ¡°Yes. They¡¯ve changed the information in the database ordingly too. Xiaoning was the one who called the Civil Administration office to instruct them to do so. This is to prevent those shameless scoundrels from using our birth dates for evil purposes. How revolting.¡± A look of dismay formed on Gu Dongcheng¡¯s face, which quickly vanished afterward. He then feigned ignorance and asked, ¡°What evil purposes can birth dates be used for?¡± ¡°Who knows? Anything is possible in this world, and you can never read someone else¡¯s mind. You¡¯ll never know what ill thoughts one may harbor deep down. But Heaven will definitely punish one for their misdeeds at the end of the day. Heaven will never let such malicious people off.¡± Gu Dongcheng could not help but feel like Mrs. Gu seemed to be referring to him. He returned the household register to Mrs. Gu, who then took it back to her bedroom. ¡ª An Xiaoning received a call from Jin Qingyan at night. She knew that it must have been an urgent matter since he chose to call directly instead of sending her a text message. She ran toward the bathroom and answered softly, ¡°Hello, did you manage to find out about the thing I asked you to?¡± ¡°Yes, Honey, hear me out. I¡¯ve already gotten a hold of the photos, I¡¯ll send them to you immediately. But I¡¯m letting you know beforehand, the woman in the photos looks almost identical to you. I almost mistook her for you,¡± Jin Qingyan said agitatedly. ¡°Really?¡± An Xiaoning asked in astonishment. ¡°Yes, really. But, the president¡¯s brother doesn¡¯t seem to resemble you much. I can¡¯t really tell since the photos are too blurry. Take a look for yourselfter.¡± ¡°Send me the photos now.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± After ending the call, An Xiaoning exited the washroom, perplexed and bewildered. If her mother was really the woman Tuoba Shuo loved, then that meant her mother was already dead. Did that also mean her father was Tuoba Shuo? Ding-Dong. She tapped on thetest notification and zoomed in onto the photo. Although it was a little blurry, she could tell with just one nce. Although the woman in the photo resembled her greatly, they were not the same person. The woman had long, curly locks that cascaded down her back, a pair of smiley eyes, and rosy, upturned lips. She was a ravishing beauty. In the photo, she was dressed in a bright, red Qipao. Tears welled up in An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes as she stared at the photo. Soon, her teardrops rolled down her cheeks. At this very moment, she was certain that the woman must be her mother! After piecing the puzzle together based on the information given by Tuoba Danxue, she was sure that Tuoba Shuo was her father, without a doubt. She took another look at the only photo of Tuoba Shuo she could find online. Although it was rather blurry, she could still manage to see his features. An Xiaoning decided to go to the front yard tonight to visit him using her true identity. She especially put on afortable pair of ts, tied the rope around her waist, and put on the needle-embedded hair clip. Little did she expect to bump into Zhi Yin as soon as she exited her room. ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°I decided to go out for a walk since I can¡¯t fall asleep.¡± ¡°Chat with Her Highness if you can¡¯t sleep. Come with me,¡± said Zhi Yin, walking toward Tuoba Danxue¡¯s room. An Xiaoning had no choice but to follow her into Tuoba Danxue¡¯s room. ¡°Your Highness, here¡¯s your juice. Mu Ning said that she had trouble sleeping so I asked her toe in and chat with you,¡± said Zhi Yin, handing her the ss. ¡°Yes, take a seat, both of you.¡± Tuoba Danxuey in bed and gulped the entire ss of juice down in one go. Zhi Yin grabbed the empty ss from her and ced it onto the table. ¡°Mu Ning, are you troubled? Why can¡¯t you fall asleep?¡± Tuoba Danxue asked. ¡°Maybe she misses her boyfriend. After all, she¡¯s definitely going to feel sad about his death deep down, though I can¡¯t tell at all that she¡¯s upset,¡± Zhi Yin interrupted. An Xiaoning was peeved by Zhi Yin¡¯s sarcastic tone. ¡°Why do I have to let you see that I¡¯m upset? I just don¡¯t want to affect Her Highness with my negativity,¡± she retorted. Tuoba Danxue nodded and asked, ¡°Mu Ning, are you really only 24 years old?¡± ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Although you¡¯re only two years older than me, I feel like you¡¯re much more mature than I am. I also find you to be very different from Zhi Yin and the rest.¡± ¡°Your Highness, how is she different from us? Are you referring to her appearance?¡± Zhi Yin asked in puzzlement. ¡°Sister Zhi Yin, why do you always have to be so crude and harsh with your words? You¡¯re speaking as if you¡¯re the most beautiful. I really can¡¯t stand your personal attacks,¡± An Xiaoning castigated. ¡°But I was just stating facts. Mu Ning, any girl in this pce is easily prettier than you are.¡± Tuoba Danxue burst intoughter and said, ¡°That¡¯s enough, don¡¯t keep insulting Mu Ning about her appearance. I have my reasons for saying that Mu Ning is different from you guys.¡± ¡°Your Highness, how is she different from us? Tell us, quick,¡± said Zhi Yin, listening attentively. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen Mu Ning swooning over good-looking men or admiring them.¡± An Xiaoning was surprised to realize that Tuoba Danxue had been observing her. ¡°That¡¯s true... Mu Ning, do you keep all your feelings of admiration to yourself?¡± Zhi Yin turned to ask her. ¡°No.¡± Chapter 538 - The Secret About the Past (156)

Chapter 538: The Secret About the Past (156)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Why then?¡± ¡°I just don¡¯t fancy them.¡± Tuoba Danxue nodded and said, ¡°See? That¡¯s one reason why she¡¯s so different from you guys. Just take my handsome brothers as an example. My eldest brother may be more in-looking, but my elder brother is such a dreamboat that even men could fall in love with a heartthrob like him. Yet, Mu Ning is not in the least bit attracted to him at all.¡± ¡°Your Highness, I understand why,¡± Zhi Yin rushed to answer. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s because Mu Ning has self-awareness. She knows very well that no outstanding men would ever fall for her. So, she always has her walls up like a hedgehog. She doesn¡¯t have the guts to develop feelings for men, in fear that they would reject her,¡± Zhi Yin answered. An Xiaoning took a deep breath and said, ¡°Your Highness, see, all she does is make use of every opportunity to insult and criticize me.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen it. Zhi Yin, why are you always mocking Mu Ning? I really have to chide you for this. Mu Ning already has an inferiorityplex. You¡¯re only going to make things worse for her by shaming her all the time. What if she decides to stay single for the rest of her life?¡± An Xiaoning was speechless. She could not tolerate them at all... Fortunately, she was not overly sensitive. Otherwise, her heart would have shattered into pieces long ago. ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯m d to see that you¡¯re in a better mood now. Zhi Yin and I were worried sick about you when you were so upset back then,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t have a choice. I¡¯m getting married in half a year¡¯s time anyway. They won¡¯t be able to restrict me anymore by then. I think that¡¯s how the rest of my life is going to be,¡± Tuoba Danxue said helplessly. ¡°Mr. Jin seems to be a good catch. He¡¯s very handsome too. Don¡¯t worry, Your Highness. He¡¯ll definitely treat you well,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°How are you so sure that he¡¯ll treat me well? You sound as if you know him personally.¡± ¡°I may not know him, but I have a feeling that he¡¯s a good man.¡± Tuoba Danxue nodded and said, ¡°I think he¡¯s a good choice too. Actually, I think he feels just as helpless as I do.¡± ¡°Your Highness, why do you feel so?¡± ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s because we¡¯ve only met a few times and don¡¯t know each other very well yet. He¡¯s about the same age as me. Maybe there¡¯s a girl he fancies too. However, he has no choice but to abide by his parents¡¯ wishes and marry me. But there¡¯s nothing I can do about that anyway.¡± An Xiaoning had only met Jin Minxing once before she entered the Autumn Pce. She did not know him too well and thus was not sure if he carried a torch for anyone else. ¡°Your Highness, I actually find Mr. Jin to be very outstanding in every aspect too. If only I was as fortunate to be able to marry such a good man,¡± said Zhi Yin, blushing shyly. ¡°I know you fancy those good-looking men. Zhi Yin, you¡¯ve been following me around for too long. It¡¯s indeed time you started dating someone. If you fall for someone I can help you with, I¡¯ll give you a hand. However, if you fall in love with someone you¡¯re not supposed to harbor feelings for, I¡¯m afraid there¡¯s nothing I can do to help you,¡± Tuoba Danxue said calmly. ¡°Your Highness... I know I¡¯m destined to marry and settle down with a mediocre, average citizen. So, I¡¯ve never dared to harbor any designs on those wealthy men who belong on the same upper-ss status as you,¡± Zhi Yin said with a sigh. An Xiaoning sneered, thinking to herself: You were already brazen enough to spike Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s drink, yet you still have the cheek to say that you dare not harbor any designs. Even until now, An Xiaoning could not figure out what Zhi Yin¡¯s real motive was. Could it be that she really only wanted to have a one night stand with Tuoba Gucheng? Or was she thinking of taking the risk to get herself pregnant with Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s child and then force him to marry her for that very reason? An Xiaoning was clueless. However, she felt that Zhi Yin¡¯s chances were bleak. After experiencing such an absurd night, how could Tuoba Gucheng allow her another opportunity to drug him? ¡°Your Highness, may I go out to take a walk?¡± An Xiaoning asked, still eager to go to the front yard to have a look. ¡°Sure, but don¡¯t stray too far away.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m only going to take a casual walk.¡± An Xiaoning then stood up and left. She closed the door and remained still instead of moving off immediately. ¡°Your Highness, making Mu Ning your bodyguard is only going to make your beauty stand out more. When she stands beside you, you instantly be as vibrant as a flower while she¡¯s the lush, green leaves thatplement you,¡± Zhi Yin remarked. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Of course, Your Highness. I think Mr. Jin does fancy you. He gazes at you with so much passion in his eyes...¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning walked away slowly, beginning to despise Zhi Yin. Since when did Jin Minxing gaze at Tuoba Danxue with burning passion in his eyes? I couldn¡¯t tell at all. All she does is exaggerate things and curry favor. No wonder she could be Tuoba Danxue¡¯s trusted confidante. Turns out, she was merely a bootlicker who butters Tuoba Danxue up all day. Deep down, Zhi Yin was nothing like the quiet and reserved, demuredy she appeared to be on the surface. An Xiaoning swiftly strode out of the entrance. There were streetmps to light up the road, though they were a little dim. She quickened her pace and treaded along the sidewalk. Having already red the area in the day and mapped out a clear route, An Xiaoning found it an easy feat to make her way there. Usually, it would take about half an hour of walking at an average pace to get to the front yard from where An Xiaoning set off. However, she would be able to shorten the duration by running there instead. She ran continuously along the sidewalk, which was fortunately not too painstaking, thanks to the vigorous training she had undergone at the exercise boot camp in the past. Nheless, she began to pant heavily after running a distance. She soon arrived 15 minutester. It was a bungalow with guards watching by the entrance, though they did not pose as a hindrance to An Xiaoning. Having trained in rock climbing before, scaling walls was a piece of cake for her. Although she could not climb over the walls of the Autumn Pce because they were too high, she could easily manage this one, which was much lower. An Xiaoning swiftly crept toward the bottom of a particr wall and threw her rope up, which quicklytched onto the top of the wall. She tugged on the rope and quickly made her way up in one fluid motion. Sitting on top of the wall, she cast the rope down the other side and slowly climbed downward. The pair of night vision spectacles she was wearing enabled her to see clearly in the pitch darkness of the night. Her first impression of the ce was that it was very deste. The entire yard appeared extremely empty and lonely, with no trees, grass, or flowers in sight. An Xiaoning scanned her surroundings to find that it was surprisingly nothing like the Autumn Pce at all. Instead, it reminded her of the woods. She walked inside slowly. An Xiaoning¡¯s heart palpitated even more vigorously with each step she took. She wanted to find out the truth and wanted to know if the person inside was her biological father. Just as she made her way up the flight of stairs, An Xiaoning noticed that the lights were still on inside the house. She took lighter steps and approached slowly. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± a man asked loudly from inside the house. ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± An Xiaoning reached a hand out to remove her human mask and speedily put on a surgical mask, leaving only her eyes exposed. ¡°You are?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know once you open the door.¡± An Xiaoning was on edge while waiting for him to open the door. Chapter 539 - The Secret About the Past (157)

Chapter 539: The Secret About the Past (157)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Finally, the tightly-shut door opened. To An Xiaoning¡¯s surprise, the man whom she imagined to be a monk waspletely different from her expectations. He was fairly handsome and slim, with a full head of hair. He appeared rather youthful with radiant and healthy skin, perhaps due to his long-term vegetarian diet. Tuoba Shuo was momentarily stunned to see the pair of eyes before him. He squinted and asked in an extremely faint voice, ¡°Qingzhou?¡± An Xiaoning knew who he was referring to. ¡°May I enter?¡± ¡°Please,e in.¡± He was in a state of confusion and seemed to be in a trance. The instant that the door was shut, An Xiaoning felt him embrace her tightly from behind. ¡°Qingzhou, you¡¯re still alive, aren¡¯t you?¡± he asked agitatedly in disbelief. An Xiaoning remained still and asked, ¡°Why did you stay here for so many years?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re no longer around.¡± He must have loved her mother dearly and mistook An Xiaoning for her mother due to the striking resemnce between the two. An Xiaoning struggled to break free from his embrace and turned around to face him. Looking him in the eye, she said, ¡°The Qingzhou you mentioned is my mother.¡± She removed the surgical mask to reveal her youthful beauty. Tuoba Shuo stared at the face in front of him in utter bewilderment. Logically speaking, there was indeed no way that the beautiful woman whom he knew back then would still look so young and brimming with youth, considering the fact that she would have aged too since they were about the same age. ¡°What... what did you say?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been searching for my biological parents recently because I was abandoned as an infant. I was wrapped in a small nket when my adoptive parents found me on the streets, and the nket was made with a fabric that was only meant for use in the Autumn Pce. That¡¯s why I came here to search for them,¡± An Xiaoning exined. Tears welled up in Tuoba Shuo¡¯s eyes upon hearing her words. ¡°ording to what you said, Qingzhou didn¡¯t die back then...¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if she was pregnant when she passed away, but I know for sure that she didn¡¯t have a child. Besides, I don¡¯t believe that doppelgangers who aren¡¯t rted by blood exist in this world. You resemble your mother tremendously, be it appearance, voice, or frame and stature,¡± said Tuoba Shuo, keeping his eyes fixed on An Xiaoning. ¡°Are you my father then?¡± An Xiaoning asked eagerly. Shaking his head, he answered, ¡°I¡¯m not too sure about that, because I¡¯ve always thought that she was already dead all along. In fact, I don¡¯t even know if she¡¯s still alive now.¡± ¡°Give me a few strands of your hair. I¡¯d like to run a DNA test.¡± He immediately plucked a few strands of hair from his head and handed it to An Xiaoning, who then wrapped the hair in tissue paper and ced it inside her pocket. ¡°What is your name?¡± ¡°My name is Xiaoning.¡± An Xiaoning suddenly thought of a crucial question and asked, ¡°May I ask if you have any supernatural powers?¡± ¡°Supernatural powers? I don¡¯t possess any, but your mother has the ability to read fortunes,¡± he said bluntly. At this point, An Xiaoning was a hundred percent sure that the woman was her mother. She whipped out her human mask and said, ¡°I¡¯m currently disguising as the princess¡¯ bodyguard because I wanted to sneak in to find my parents, so...¡± An Xiaoning continued to ask about his living conditions, ¡°How many years have you been living here?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been living here for ages, I don¡¯t know exactly how many years. It¡¯s been too long since I stepped out of this yard. In the past, I¡¯ve been thinking that your mother was dead. But now it seems to be otherwise. Well, after all, it¡¯s tough for a woman to ovee great scourges.¡± Although he did not say so, his actions proved that he loved Shi Qingzhou dearly. Tuoba Shuo had managed to earn An Xiaoning¡¯s admiration and respect. She felt that her mother was exceptionally fortunate to have a man devote himself to her and love her eternally. ¡°Were you and my mother deeply in love with each other back then?¡± ¡°Yes, we adored each other to bits. So, I¡¯m quite certain that you¡¯re highly likely to be my daughter. But I¡¯m a little unsure since I don¡¯t know what she had experienced back then.¡± An Xiaoning leaned closer toward him and gave him a hug. ¡°Regardless of whether she¡¯s still alive or not, I¡¯m going to get to the bottom of the truth. I¡¯m determined to find her if she¡¯s still alive and retrieve her ashes if she¡¯s dead.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll help you with this. I¡¯ve cooped myself up in here for so many years. It¡¯s time I went out to face reality. By the way, the current Mrs. President is your mother¡¯s half-sister.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning was already wearing the human mask when she made her way back. While she was heading upstairs, she stumbled across Zhi Yin, who was making her way downstairs. It was inevitable for her to be questioned again. ¡°Did you go for a night jog? Why were you out for so long?¡± ¡°Yeah, I went for a jog.¡± An Xiaoning pushed the door open and entered the bathroom to take a shower. She was filled with panic and fright when she came out of the bathroom. She hurriedly sent Jin Qingyan a long text message to inform him of her progress. Jin Qingyan was delighted upon reading her message. An Xiaoning told him that she would be instructing Xiao Chi to send the hair samples belonging to her and Tuoba Shuo over to him tomorrow night. She wanted him to get a DNA test run at two separate test centers using the hair samples. Jin Qingyan agreed. An Xiaoning theny t on the bed, both her calves and abdomen aching with acute soreness. She had sprinted too quickly while on her way back. She rested her hands behind her head, thinking to herself that it definitely would not be easy to unravel the truth. It was unknown to her whether or nor her mother was still alive. However, like she said, she would get to the bottom of the truth, regardless of whether her mother was dead or alive. An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes brimmed with tears at the thought of Tuoba Shuo, who was a royal heir. Yet, he was willing to give up everything he had and be a monk for the sake of the woman he loved. His courage and bravery were indeed worthy of respect. An Xiaoning had no idea what his motivation was, but she knew that such devoted men were rare toe by in today¡¯s society. The next morning, An Xiaoning discovered that Tuoba Danxue had woken up bright and early in the morning, unlike her usual self who enjoyed sleeping in andzing in bed before getting up. ¡°Your Highness, why didn¡¯t you sleep in a little more today?¡± ¡°Mu Ning, do you remember what I told you about my uncle? I don¡¯t know what had gotten into him, but he went to look for my father this morning, before daybreak even arrived. My brothers and I tagged along too. It was my first time meeting my uncle in the flesh. He¡¯s very handsome and nowhere inferior to my father.¡± ¡°Why did he look for your father all of a sudden?¡± An Xiaoning asked with a face full of astonishment. ¡°He said that he was getting sick of staying in the bungalow by the main entrance and did not wish to live there anymore. He¡¯s already so old and yet he¡¯s still unmarried and childless. My father would naturally agree to let hime out and even offered to let him move into a superior mansion by himself. Yet, he refused and strangely insisted on living in one near us. My father conceded to his request,¡± said the naive and simple-minded Tuoba Danxue. ¡°Your Highness, I guess your uncle must be getting too lonely after living alone by the entrance for so many years. He¡¯s finally thought it through,¡± Zhi Yin said with a chuckle. ¡°I guess so. My father even mentioned that he won¡¯t stop my uncle from marrying anyone he fancies, if he ever wants to get married. What a thing to say when he¡¯s alreadye to this age,¡± Tuoba Danxue said light-heartedly. ¡°What did your uncle say then?¡± An Xiaoning asked. Chapter 540 - The Secret About the Past (158)

Chapter 540: The Secret About the Past (158)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°He only responded with a nod. Well, what else can he say? Actually, I really like people like my uncle. He¡¯s so devoted and loyal,¡± Tuoba Danxue remarked. ¡°Who wouldn¡¯t fancy a man like him? Your Highness, all women love men who are loyal,¡± Zhi Yin said while smiling. ¡°Zhi Yin, would you be willing to marry my uncle?¡± An Xiaoning looked at Zhi Yin to find that she was all smiles. ¡°Your Highness, you¡¯re making fun of me again. How am I in any way worthy of your uncle?¡± said Zhi Yin. ¡°He doesn¡¯t care about status and background.¡± ¡°Your Highness, wouldn¡¯t you have to address Sister Zhi Yin as your auntie if she were to marry your uncle?¡± An Xiaoning asked with a mirthless smile. ¡°That¡¯s right. This damnedss would stand to gain,¡± said Tuoba Danxue, poking Zhi Yin in her forehead. ¡°You two are indeed too ipatible in terms of age. But, my uncle looks really young and fair. My grandmother probably hasn¡¯t heard about this yet,¡± she continued. An Xiaoning stared at the ground without uttering a single word. ¡ª ¡°Hubby, seems like getting your father drunk didn¡¯t work. Have you thought of another solution yet?¡± Xu Youran asked while getting out of bed. ¡°I haven¡¯t thought of something yet.¡± ¡°Actually, I¡¯vee up with two solutions, but they¡¯re very risky and dangerous. We can¡¯t take the risk unless absolutely necessary.¡± ¡°What ideas have you got?¡± Gu Dongcheng asked, greatly enticed by her words. ¡°Drugs.¡± ¡°What!?! You want my father to abuse drugs?¡± ¡°Drugs possess the ability to severely impair one¡¯s nervous system and cause hallucinations. When a drug addict is experiencing withdrawal symptoms, they¡¯d do anything for a chance to alleviate their suffering, even if you tell them to kowtow to you,¡± said Xu Youran. Gu Dongcheng immediately shot her idea down, ¡°No, it¡¯s hard to kick the addiction once one is addicted to drugs. My father is already so old, I can¡¯t risk it. What¡¯s the other solution?¡± ¡°Stage a kidnapping.¡± ¡°And then force them to reveal the answer? Do you really think Father and Mother will tell us? They¡¯d know clearly the purpose of our question. They would definitely rather die than reveal Beicheng¡¯s birth characters,¡± Gu Dongcheng again refused, thinking that her suggestion was not feasible. ¡°I really can¡¯t think of anything else,¡± Xu Youranmented. ¡°Then let¡¯s not take any action for now. We¡¯ll continue when we¡¯vee up with an appropriate solution. Safetyes first.¡± Xu Youran leaned in closer toward him and said, ¡°Hubby... why don¡¯t we make your stepmother be a drug addict? Don¡¯t you detest her anyway? I don¡¯t like her either, she¡¯s not your biological mother, after all. She¡¯s Gu Beicheng¡¯s mother, which means she¡¯d definitely know her own son¡¯s birth characters and time of birth. Your father might have forgotten, but she definitely wouldn¡¯t.¡± Gu Dongcheng looked at her and said, ¡°There are surveince cameras at home.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so silly. How did such an intelligent woman like me marry a fool like you? I can easily tamper with the surveince cameras. I just have to be extra careful and make sure no one finds out. We¡¯ll be able to kill her and her son in one go. When that happens, the Gu Corporation will belong to you alone,¡± she said with a squint. Gu Dongcheng had actually had ns of his own. After much consideration, he said, ¡°Be careful then.¡± ¡°Yes, you can count on me,¡± Xu Youran said confidently. When they went downstairs for breakfast, Xu Youran asked with a smile, ¡°Mother, have you got any ns for today?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere, it¡¯s too hot outside. I¡¯ll be staying at home instead.¡± Xu Youran chuckled and said, ¡°You can¡¯t keep cooping yourself up at home all the time, Mother. Why don¡¯t you look for your friends to have some fun and chit-chat about life? Wouldn¡¯t that be at least more interesting than staying at home?¡± ¡°I just aired my woes to them yesterday. I¡¯d prefer to rest at home today,¡± said Mrs. Gu, who had initially nned to go out today. However, she quickly changed her mind upon hearing Xu Youran¡¯s question, perhaps because she was extremely paranoid and cautious of thetter. Needless to say, Xu Youran had no idea what Mrs. Gu was thinking in her head. Breakfast finally ended after a morning of frivolous conversations. Gu Dongcheng and Gu Beicheng headed to the office while Lin Mingxi proceeded to the fitness center to supervise renovations, and Mr. Gu went out to have a few games of chess over tea with his friends, leaving Mrs. Gu and Xu Youran alone at home. On the surface, they were mother and daughter-inw. However, in actual fact, they both knew deep down that neither of them acknowledged that rtionship between each other. Mrs. Gu sat on the couch while ying a farming game on her mobile phone. Xu Youran hesitated at the thought of the surveince cameras at home, though she wanted to execute her n as soon as possible. After thinking twice, she decided to be careful and wait until Mrs. Gu was not at home to take action. A whileter, Mrs. Gu returned to her bedroom and locked the door from inside before proceeding to give An Xiaoning a call. An Xiaoning picked up very soon. ¡°Xiaoning, it¡¯s me.¡± ¡°Mother, why is your voice so shaky?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but I¡¯m feeling flustered all of a sudden. Where are you now?¡± Mrs. Gu asked softly. ¡°I¡¯m attending to some matters overseas. What are you feeling flustered about? Tell me about it,¡± said An Xiaoning, sensing that Mrs. Gu was ill at ease. Mrs. Gu said upfront, ¡°I just find something really strange about the way Xu Youran looked at me today. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m being paranoid ever since the incident about the ancestral hall. Xiaoning, when are youing back?¡± ¡°Mother, tell me your birth characters. I¡¯ll tell you about your fortune for the uing month.¡± Mrs. Gu frantically revealed her birth characters and said, ¡°Dongcheng must know about my birth characters and time of birth. Otherwise, how would the ancestral hall incident havee about?¡± Recalling the incident in M Nation, An Xiaoning reminded her, ¡°Mother, no matter what, don¡¯t reveal Beicheng and Mingxi¡¯s characters to just anyone. On the surface, my mother-inw is said to have passed away due to a fatal illness, but she actually died because of a death curse.¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t die of an illness? I was rather puzzled when I heard the news too. I remember meeting your mother-inw several times and she seemed pretty healthy and fine. I was wondering why she passed away all of a sudden. Xiaoning, what¡¯s a death curse?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a sinister ritual performed using one¡¯s birth characters and clothing. My mother-inw died shortly after the hex was put on her. Mother, don¡¯t tell anyone else about this matter.¡± ¡°I know, rest assured. By the way, hurry and help me read my fortune for this month,¡± Mrs. Gu urged eagerly. ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning was momentarily stunned beyond words after analyzing and reading Mrs. Gu¡¯s birth characters. ¡°Mother...¡± Noticing the shift in her tone, Mrs. Gu asked worriedly, ¡°Xiaoning, tell Mother honestly, am I going to meet with mishaps recently?¡± ¡°Mother, tell me Father¡¯s birth characters. I¡¯ll exin it to you after I¡¯ve read his.¡± Mrs. Gu hurriedly revealed Mr. Gu¡¯s birth characters, ¡°Sure, your father¡¯s birth characters are...¡± After reading them, An Xiaoning said straight away, ¡°Mother, you¡¯ll be facing a major mishap in the next month or so, so listen to my instructions now. Pack your bags immediately and move in with me at Wei Ni Estate. I¡¯ll call Qingyan and inform him about it. Stay in Wei Ni Estate for an entire month and don¡¯t step out of the estate at all. Listen to me.¡± Mrs. Gu frantically replied, ¡°Yes, yes, alright. I¡¯ll go pack my luggage now. But your father...¡± ¡°Father will be fine, don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°Xiaoning, do read Beicheng and Mingxi¡¯s fortunes too. I¡¯m really worried for them,¡± Mrs. Gu said anxiously, overwhelmed with fear and panic. ¡°I¡¯ll give Beicheng a callter. Rest assured. By the way, Mother, use the telephones in Wei Ni Estate if you¡¯d like to call me again from now on. I¡¯m just afraid that there may be monitors nted on your mobile phone.¡± Chapter 541 - The Secret About the Past (159)

Chapter 541: The Secret About the Past (159)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Okay.¡± After hanging up the call, Mrs. Gu immediately started packing up some belongings into a suitcase while calling Mr. Gu. She mentioned only that she would be going to Wei Ni Estate to apany Xiaoning and did not say anything else so that Mr. Gu would not have a knot in his heart as well. When she arrived at the entrance of Wei Ni Estate, Fan Shixin weed her politely, ¡°Auntie, Young Madam has already called to inform me. Come with me.¡± ¡°Alright. Thank you, Chief Fan.¡± ¡°No worries, I¡¯m just doing what I should.¡± Fan Shixin arranged a room for her, then told her, ¡°Auntie, if you need to contact anyone, you can use the phone in the living room. You can rest assured when you call anyone, the phone is very safe to use.¡± ¡°Umm. Xiaoning¡¯s too considerate.¡± Mrs. Gu¡¯s heart was finally more at ease and, after a while, she used the phone in the living room to give Gu Beicheng a call. Gu Beicheng sounded worried when he picked up. ¡°Mother, I¡¯ve heard from Xiaoning.¡± ¡°Then, did you get Xiaoning to read for you and Mingxi?¡± ¡°She¡¯s helped us read our fortunes as well. All should be well in a month. Mother, listen to Xiaoning. Don¡¯t go out for one month and stay at Wei Ni Estate. She says it¡¯s rather dangerous.¡± ¡°Beicheng, help me to tidy up my clothes at home.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there are surveince cameras everywhere at home. Anyone who touches them can be easily spotted.¡± Gu Beicheng tried to soothe her worries. ¡°Mother, did you call Xiaoning first?¡± ¡°Umm. I called her first. My heart felt oddly ill at ease and I was rather anxious, so I called her to read my fortune. Xiaoning is busy too and can¡¯t possibly take care of everyone. Her mother-inw also had a death curse put on her, did you know that?¡± Gu Beicheng replied, ¡°Umm, I know about that.¡± ¡°If Xiaoning¡¯s mother-inw had gotten her to read her fortune beforehand, she might have escaped by a close shave. It was probably beyond anyone¡¯s expectations, and that was why the other party could take advantage of the opportunity. I feel like such spiritual things are too scary.¡± Thinking back to the incident at the ancestral hall, Mrs. Gu was still shuddering with fear. ¡°It¡¯s just like what you said, Xiaoning¡¯s very busy and can¡¯t possibly take care of everyone. Moreover, reading others¡¯ fortunes harms her body, she can¡¯t possibly read it for everyone. I suddenly understand Grandfather¡¯s words.¡± Gu Beicheng was suddenly enlightened upon the thought of those words. ¡°¡®The Gu family would definitely need Xiaoning¡¯s help in some way or another in the future.¡¯ Grandfather wouldn¡¯t have said this back then. It was Xiaoning¡¯s Master who¡¯d told Grandfather that, it could not have been wrong.¡± ¡°I really don¡¯t dare to think anymore. Beicheng, Mother has no other wishes but for you and your father to be well. It¡¯s the biggest wish in my whole life.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mother, I¡¯ll be fine. Rest assured and stay well there. I¡¯ll make time to visit you.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After he hung up the call, a look shed on Gu Beicheng¡¯s eyes and his expression turned dull. He felt that the danger that Xiaoning imed his mother was facing was certainly rted to someone. There were some things that he knew even without saying them out loud, but it did not mean that he would continue bearing with it. He was only waiting for an opportune moment to show his trump card. ¡ª As An Xiaoning came down, Tuoba Danxue asked, ¡°Why did you take so long just to use the toilet?¡± ¡°I had a stomach upset and I picked up a call from my mother.¡± An Xiaoning asked politely, ¡°Your Highness, next month, may I take a day off?¡± ¡°Why, did something happen to your family?¡± ¡°My mother hasn¡¯t been in good health so, since I have a day off next month, I was thinking if I could use it to pay her a visit.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see then. If there¡¯s nothing much happening, I¡¯ll let you take a day off.¡± Tuoba Danxue asked directly, ¡°You¡¯re very close to your mother, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Umm. We¡¯re very close,¡± An Xiaoning answered frankly. ¡°That¡¯s nice.¡± Tuoba Danxue went on, ¡°My mother and I have been distant since I was young. I¡¯ve been living here by myself since I was a few years old.¡± ¡°So Your Highness rarely left this ce? How about school?¡± ¡°There were specialized teachers who came to teach me. My brother was much better than me, I seldom left the Autumn Pce.¡± An Xiaoning looked at her with slight pity. Honestly, she would never enjoy a life like hers. Although she lived with her master in the mountains since she was young as well, she was free. And because she was disciplined, she never ran far and only yed near the temple. Butparatively, she still had much more freedom than Tuoba Danxue. ¡°Your Highness!¡± Zhi Yin came running in while panting profusely as she tried to catch her breath. ¡°Madam¡¯s here.¡± ¡°My mother?¡± Tuoba Danxue asked in astonishment. ¡°What¡¯s she doing here?¡± Before Zhi Yin could reply, Shi Xiaoyu came strutting in. ¡°Nothing much, I just decided to check on you as I was nearby.¡± An Xiaoning nced up and was rather stupefied. Prior to this, she had seen Shi Xiaoyu a couple of times with exquisite makeup on her face, which made her look very young. But today, she did not appear to be in a very good state, and her makeup was light as well. She looked much older than she had looked previously. Thinking of what Tuoba Shuo had said, that she was her mother¡¯s half-sister, An Xiaoning observed her carefully and actually realized that this woman was rather simr to herself in someway. ¡°What¡¯s there to check? I¡¯m neither dead nor paralyzed.¡± There was already an invisible obstacle that could not be removed between Tuoba Danxue and Shi Xiaoyu because of Jiang Feng¡¯s matter. ¡°This child, how can you speak like that?¡± Shi Xiaoyu was quite infuriated. ¡°If you¡¯re still mad at me over Jiang Feng, then Danxue, you¡¯re really making a huge mistake. Look at Commander-in-chief Jin¡¯s son, in what way is he notparable to Jiang Feng? Let me tell you, you¡¯re young and ignorant so your judgment is not good. Your second brother is even being introduced to Lin Shishi, these two families are extremely important to us.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to listen to you say all these. If there¡¯s nothing else, please go back.¡± Tuoba Danxue was evidently not listening to her and did not take her words to heart at all. Shi Xiaoyu was sessfully left speechless and could only turn to leave haughtily. Leaving her daughter¡¯s ce, Shi Xiaoyu went to Tuoba Shuo¡¯s house, which was not far away. She had originally intended toe here anyway and only went to see her daughter since it was on the way. Entering the house, she saw a figure sitting inside with a cup of green tea ced on the table. He was sipping his teacup in a slow, leisurely manner. ¡°Ah Shuo.¡± ¡°Sis-inw, you¡¯re here,¡± he said in a in tone. ¡°It¡¯s been so many years, you¡¯re finally not hung up over it anymore. Sis-inw is very happy for you. My sister will be relieved to know it as well. After all, if she knew that you were brooding over it all this while, she would not possibly be at ease.¡± He replied without a tinge of change in his voice, ¡°Let all these remain in the past. Who knows how much longer I have to live? I don¡¯t want to live life like that anymore.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the right way of thinking. Your brother asked me toe and ask you if you wanted to see your mother, and about getting Father a proper burial ground as well.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Tuoba Shuo was very decisive. ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any need to. I¡¯ll just live here for some time, then I¡¯ll leave the pce to live my own life in the future.¡± ¡°Actually, Mother is in deep regret over this. She¡¯s getting on in years as well, how many more chances do you think you have to see her?¡± Tuoba Shuo did not show any sign of hesitation at all. ¡°Sis-inw, you don¡¯t have to say anything further. Where¡¯s Qingzhou¡¯s grave? I want to go and see it.¡± ¡°There isn¡¯t any grave,¡± Shi Xiaoyu responded in a dejected tone. ¡°Back then, after Sister was cremated, her remains were scattered in the sea, so she doesn¡¯t have a grave.¡± Chapter 542 - The Secret About the Past (160)

Chapter 542: The Secret About the Past (160)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He remained silent. The day that he found out that she had died, he left home to live in that house and had never once asked for news about her. If that child that looked so much like she did had not appeared, he would probably have died by himself in that house. The child had taken the risk to go there herself to search for her family, giving him a huge source of strength. To his knowledge, when Shi Qingzhou died, she did not have a child at all. There was only one possibility ¡ª her death back then had been faked. She did not actually die and was possibly still alive. ¡°Where is Big Brother?¡± ¡°He¡¯s working. If you¡¯re going to find him, both of you brothers can have dinner together in the evening.¡± ¡°Umm.¡± Shi Xiaoyu left after sitting for a while and especially made coffee to serve into Tuoba Rui¡¯s office. ¡°I just came over from Ah Shuo¡¯s ce.¡± ¡°What did you tell him?¡± ¡°I asked him if he wanted to see Mother and give Father a proper burial ce. He refused. What a stubborn person, I think he¡¯s still not over it.¡± Shi Xiaoyu continued as she observed his expression, ¡°He said he¡¯ll live here for some time and then leave this ce to live his own life.¡± ¡°Let him be then.¡± Tuoba Rui disyed an indifferent attitude. ¡°Although you both have been living in the same ce for so long, you¡¯ve rarely ever seen each other. I¡¯ll make arrangements with the kitchen, why don¡¯t the two of you have dinner together in the evening?¡± Tuoba Rui nodded. ¡°Umm. As long as he¡¯s willing to.¡± Shi Xiaoyu ced the coffee in front of him and tactfully stopped there without saying anything further. With that, she left. The moment the door was closed shut, the pen grasped in Tuoba Rui¡¯s hands froze. He stared at the table, appearing to be deep in thought. For the rest of the time, he seemed out of sorts. It appeared like he had gone extremely deep into his memories of the past. Those memories that were originally very distant were still fresh when he recalled them. That woman who wore a striking red dress always had thatfortable smile on her face. He still remembered the first time he met her. It was that moment that had made his gaze fix on her. That petite figure and fluttering red dress, which had been raised by the wind, as well as her long hair, which overflowed onto her shoulders... He had wondered who she was, only to find outter that she was not only the mentor of the priest but also his younger brother¡¯s girlfriend. Tuoba Rui could still remember the moment when he found out she was his brother¡¯s girlfriend. His heart was wrenched tightly. He had not seen such a slender woman with an aura like hers. It was the first time he had been that desperate to understand someone. Through their interaction that had followed, he came to grow increasingly fond of her. It was to the extent that things could have gone out of hand. However, he had always abided by the rules his parents had set and knew clearly that there were some things he could not just simply go against. Unexpectedly, while he did not go against those rules, his younger brother had done so. In order to marry her, he did not hesitate on going all out against his parents. The result was as can be imagined. She was secretly brought before a church altar to be burned to death, and he risked everything to join hands with her master to save her. He had thought that everything would change for the better and, when he had taken over the reins, that she would be able to live openly and aboveboard. However, she¡¯d escaped. Through news that followed, it was known that she had been caught and killed on the spot. Thest sight he had of her was an image of her in a blood-stained red dress. That scene had been deeply engraved on his mind for a very long time. When Tuoba Rui came out of his trance, his eyes were glistening with tears as he gazed at some corner in a daze. He continued to stay in a listless state, and time passed quickly like that. Evening came. The two brothers finally sat together on the same dining table. Shi Xiaoyu had wanted to join them, but Tuoba Rui used his eyes to signal her against it. Thinking that they could have some things they wanted to talk about in private, she obediently left. Tuoba Shuo said directly, ¡°I¡¯ll be living here only for some time, then I will leave.¡± ¡°Umm. You can do as you like.¡± Tuoba Rui observed him seriously. ¡°You¡¯re still so skinny and energetic.¡± ¡°I¡¯m still the same old person. But I¡¯m not as patient as you are. You listened to our parents, so you¡¯re the positive example. Meanwhile, I went against them, so I became the bad example.¡± His tone was self-mocking. ¡°But so what?¡± ¡°All for the sake of Qingzhou. Is it worth it?¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s worth it,¡± he responded bluntly as he watched his brother seated opposite him. ¡°Don¡¯t think I didn¡¯t know, you liked her too. Although you never said it.¡± Tuoba Rui¡¯s hand, which held his chopsticks, froze for a moment, and he did not deny it either. ¡°We can only be morepliant so that we won¡¯t suffer.¡± ¡°Yes, Brother¡¯s very happy now and leading a smooth-sailing life. You have three children and have been the President for so many years. You have everything one could possibly want.¡± Tuoba Rui broke into a bitter smile. ¡°I¡¯m just like you, we bothck one thing.¡± ¡°How could you possibly be like me?¡± ¡°We¡¯re the same. Let¡¯s not talk about the past anymore. You didn¡¯t appear when Father died, I know you haven¡¯t forgiven him. But the dead are gone, and Mother is getting on in years too. You should console her, go and see her.¡± Tuoba Shuo did not answer. His eyes were bent fixedly before him, and his attitude was made quite clear. Seeing him like that, Tuoba Rui could not say anything as well. After a few decades, the two brothers finally ate a meal together. After the meal, Tuoba Shuo got up and muttered, ¡°I¡¯ll go and see her.¡± Tuoba Rui nodded. ¡°Go, she¡¯ll be very happy.¡± Tuoba Shuo swiftly left the ce and headed toward his mother¡¯s ce. In the blink of an eye, he arrived at her door. The guard at the door was rather astonished to see that it was him and hurriedly weed him inside. Old Madam Tuoba was getting ready to rest, but hearing footsteps approaching, she nced up. With her eyes full of longing for her son, she abruptly stood up, her hands trembling. ¡°Is it Ah Shuo?¡± ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± Old Madam Tuoba let out a scream of agitation and instantly hurried toward him, throwing herself on him as she burst into loud wails. ¡°You¡¯re finally willing to see me! Ah Shuo, Mother has let you down!¡± Tuoba Shuo¡¯s eyes reddened, but he did not move or answer. After the Old Madam was finally done crying, she pulled him to the bed to sit down, saying bitterly to him in tears, ¡°Before your father died, he was still angry with you. But while he was angry, he was full of regret at the same time. Mother is regretful as well. I mean, this child, how can you be so stubborn? Aren¡¯t you torturing yourself and hurting your father¡¯s heart and mine as well?¡± ¡°Back then, when the two of you put my heart in misery, wasn¡¯t I in despair too?¡± Old Madam Tuoba responded, ¡°If I had known, I would¡¯ve agreed to the two of you being together. Things wouldn¡¯t havended in this state as well. But now, it¡¯s toote to say anything.¡± ¡°Mother, don¡¯t talk about these things already.¡± Every time Tuoba Shuo recalled those past memories, it was like a scar was being reopened, leaving a bloody mess. Old Madam Tuoba¡¯s eyes reddened. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s not talk about it...¡± The mother and son sat together and talked about a lot of things. Most of the time, it was Old Madam Tuoba talking while Tuoba Shuo did the listening. Having not seen his own mother for a long time, he found that her beautiful looks had ultimately faded away with the passing of time, turning her into an old, gray-haireddy. Tuoba Shuo could only sigh deeply in his heart at the sight of his mother. Chapter 543 - The Secret About the Past (161)

Chapter 543: The Secret About the Past (161)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When he left his mother¡¯s ce, he coincidentally ran into An Xiaoning, who was passing by. With her mask on, he almost did not recognize her. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± The tone of his voice had turned much gentler unconsciously. ¡°Waiting for you.¡± An Xiaoning went on in a low voice, ¡°I¡¯ve already sent the hair to carry out a paternity test. Actually, I don¡¯t really want to know the results.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because whether you are my father or not, it¡¯s not important to me anymore. I will still respect you very much in my heart and treat you like my father. I¡¯m really thankful to you for everything you¡¯ve done for my mother.¡± Listening to her words, Tuoba Shuo felt a slight stir in his heart. Seeing that he was moved, An Xiaoning whispered, ¡°When the results are out, I¡¯ll tell you first thing. Don¡¯t be too pressured and think too much. Please rest well.¡± After walking past him, she briskly walked back. Tuoba Shuo stood there looking at her back, a broad grin surfacing on his face. Before An Xiaoning had walked too far, she saw Tuoba Gucheng standing at a corner with his arms folded. When he saw her, he immediately remarked, ¡°Did I just see you talking to my second uncle?¡± ¡°Yes, I talked to him.¡± ¡°It looked like you were waiting for him?¡± An Xiaoning denied, ¡°Your Highness, you¡¯ve misunderstood. I just came out for a walk as I was too full. I just ran into him coincidentally. Is he your second uncle? I¡¯ve never seen him before, it¡¯s actually the first time I¡¯ve met him. I¡¯ve only heard about him from the Princess.¡± The look of surprise on her face was extremely natural. Tuoba Gucheng had his arms sped behind his back as he asked, ¡°Have you taken the pill I told you to?¡± An Xiaoning thought for a moment and responded in a serious manner, ¡°Truly, Your Highness, that night, nothing happened between us. Since nothing happened, there¡¯s no need for me to take a pill.¡± Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s face turned stern instantly. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m an idiot? Wouldn¡¯t I know if anything happened between us?¡± An Xiaoning felt like she was never going to clear her own name. She became speechless and only spoke after a while. ¡°That night, you weren¡¯t in the right state of mind because of the aphrodisiac.¡± ¡°Would I not know if I was in the right state of mind or not? You actually refuse to take the pill when I asked you to? What if you actually get pregnant?!¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning was having a huge headache because of this man. Was there something wrong with his brain? Nothing had even happened between them. Even if she got pregnant, the child wouldn¡¯t even be his. ¡°Your Highness, don¡¯t think too much. I¡¯ll head back to rest now.¡± She had just nodded to him and was about to leave when he grabbed onto her arm. ¡°Who said you could leave?¡± ¡°Then what else do you want, Your Highness?¡± An Xiaoning was rather irritated. ¡°That night, I was the conscious one. Whether or not anything had happened between us, I know it well and clear.¡± ¡°I know you¡¯re afraid of being implicated, but you really don¡¯t have to act like that in front of me, I won¡¯t let it get out.¡± He raised his eyebrows. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be grateful? You have such ugly and old-fashioned looks, it¡¯s your honor for me to have slept with you.¡± ¡°Have you always been this narcissistic, Your Highness?¡± An Xiaoning was really dumbfounded. ¡°What honor? Does Your Highness think we¡¯re still in the ancient dynasty? I may look ugly and old-fashioned, but I don¡¯t think Your Highness looks that handsome either. Your Highness, you really should stop overthinking.¡± With that, she was gone like a gust of wind. Tuoba Gucheng looked at the back of her figure leaving and was thrown into a mess. How dare that country bumpkin speak to him like this? Something had probably gone wrong with her brain, right? ¡ª After eating, Long Xiaoxi went to find Zhong Minhe to y but could not find him at his house. She went around everywhere to find him and finally saw his figure at an isted ce. He was sitting there by himself and she could vaguely hear him sobbing. ¡°Brother Minhe!¡± She ran over at the speed of light. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? I couldn¡¯t find you anywhere.¡± ¡°Xiaoxi.¡± He raised his head to look at her. ¡°Am I very useless?¡± As Long Xiaoxi was still young, she did not really understand the meaning of being useless. ¡°Of course not. To me, you¡¯re very useful.¡± ¡°Then, tell me, how am I useful?¡± Long Xiaoxi hesitated for a moment, then replied, ¡°You can make me happy, so you¡¯re useful. Brother Minhe, did your parents scold you?¡± He nodded. ¡°Because I don¡¯t have arms, I can¡¯t do anything properly.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not your fault.¡± Long Xiaoxi used her sweet, piping voice to console him. ¡°You don¡¯t have arms, but don¡¯t you still have legs? There was a day when Mommy and I saw on television people who don¡¯t have both arms and legs. Those people have it worse than you. Everything will get better for you in the future.¡± Zhong Minhe turned and looked at her. ¡°Umm. Xiaoxi, let¡¯s go back. Or else, your mother wille to find you.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Long Xiaoxi reached out and held onto the hem of his clothing. ¡°Brother Minhe, even if no one ys with you next time, I will.¡± Zhong Minhe looked at her. ¡°But when we grow up, you¡¯ll get married. I¡¯ll still be alone.¡± ¡°Married?¡± Long Xiaoxi asked, puzzled, ¡°Can¡¯t I still be good friends with you after I get married?¡± ¡°Of course you can.¡± ¡°Then, that¡¯s good enough.¡± He and Long Xiaoxi walked back together. Mei Yangyang hade out to look for her daughter, as expected. Seeing her daughter grabbing onto the hem of Zhong Minhe¡¯s clothing as they returned together, she asked, ¡°Xiaoxi, it¡¯ste already and you still ran around by yourself.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, I was just in our own house.¡± She and Mei Yangyang sent Zhong Minhe back before returning together. ¡°Xiaoxi, Mommy realized you especially love ying with your Brother Minhe these days. Do you like him a lot?¡± ¡°Umm, I like Brother Minhe because he¡¯s too pitiful. Also, he¡¯s nice to me and always stands on my side.¡± ¡°What do you mean by stand on your side?¡± Mei Yangyang probed as they held hands. ¡°When other people called me a fat little girl, he always defended me and said that I¡¯m not fat. When his mother makes him nice food, he always leaves a share for me.¡± Mei Yangyang¡¯s lips curled into a smile. That child is actually quite decent, I must say. ¡°Then, between your Brother Yiheng and Brother Minhe, who do you like more?¡± Long Xiaoxi was still a child, ultimately, and was simple-minded when she spoke. ¡°Of course it¡¯s Brother Yiheng. I want to give birth to children for him when I grow up.¡± ¡°Will your Brother Minhe be upset if he knows about this?¡± ¡°Mommy, then let¡¯s make a pinky promise to not tell Brother Minhe about it.¡± ¡°Umm. A pinky promise that is not allowed to change for a hundred years.¡± After putting her daughter to sleep, Mei Yangyang returned to her own bedroom and went headfirst into Long Tianze¡¯s arms. ¡°Honey, is the game more important than I am? From the moment I entered, you haven¡¯t set your eyes on me at all. You don¡¯t love me anymore!¡± Long Tianze ced the tablet aside and scooped up her face to kiss it all over. ¡°I love you the most. The game means nothing at all. You¡¯re worth my whole life. If I don¡¯t love you, who will I love? Even though I didn¡¯t look at you, my heart is always looking at you.¡± Mei Yangyang burst intoughter. ¡°When did you be so good at saying such mushy stuff?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you like hearing me say these things?¡± He dragged her onto the bed. ¡°Honey, shall we y a round tonight?¡± Chapter 544 - The Secret About the Past (162)

Chapter 544: The Secret About the Past (162)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Sure, who¡¯s scared?¡± She took off her shoes, then brought out their favorite chess set. The two leaned over on the bed as they yed a round of chess. While they yed, he asked, ¡°How¡¯s it going with finding someone for your sister?¡± ¡°I found two, but she wasn¡¯t satisfied with either.¡± She sniggered. ¡°She said as long as the other party has a house and a car and is nice to her, that¡¯ll be enough for her. But she still expects the person to be a hunk. Why would an eligible person with such good qualities take a fancy to her? They¡¯re not blind.¡± ¡°Your sister is really a big source of annoyance.¡± Long Tianze directly showed his look of disapproval. ¡°People who have something wrong in their brain, I don¡¯t like them.¡± Mei Yangyang couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. ¡°I don¡¯t like her either, but I don¡¯t have a choice.¡± ¡°When Mother¡¯s incident is settled, let¡¯s not let her stay here anymore. Even if she has nowhere to stay in, I still have houses elsewhere, she can live there. But when she hangs around in front of me, I will get reminded of everything she¡¯s done.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Mei Yangyang agreed. After one round of chess, the couple decisively put away the chess set. ¡°Honey, why don¡¯t we y something else?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Hmm... something fun.¡± ¡°Can you be more specific?¡± Mei Yangyang asked. ¡°Wait a moment.¡± He got down from the bed and merrily skipped to the dressing room. After a while, Long Tianze came out carrying a box that was adorned by a pink ribbon. Mei Yangyang immediately guessed what it was. ¡°Is it lingerie?¡± He shook his head. ¡°No, keep guessing.¡± ¡°Sex toys?¡± He shook his head again, then ced the box on the bed before opening it slowly. Mei Yangyang watched as he uncovered a specially-designed nurse¡¯s uniform. ¡°You want me to act as a nurse?¡± ¡°You¡¯re acting as the doctor, I¡¯m the patient.¡± Mei Yangyang instantly understood what he wanted to do. ¡°So, you want to do role-y with me?¡± ¡°Ummhmm. Are you willing to?¡± Mei Yangyang nodded. ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll be a female doctor that treats male diseases.¡± ¡°Smart.¡± She nodded and removed her hair band, allowing her hair to overflow past her shoulders. Then, she took the uniform to the dressing room to change. She could see the effort that had been put in designing this uniform. It revealed her slender legs perfectly, and the upper part of the uniform was low cut as well. ¡°Honey, I can only wear this uniform in front of you.¡± ¡°Of course, do you still have to say it? I bought it so you could wear it in front of me only. Who else do you want to wear it in front of? My judgment is still quite good, it looks fitting on you. Great, let¡¯s begin.¡± Mei Yangyang sat by the bedside, crossing her leg. Long Tianze was about two meters away from her. As it began, he walked toward her. ¡°Doctor, I have many problems with my urine, can you help me check?¡± Mei Yangyang pouted her lips as she looked at him in a serious manner. ¡°Take off your pants and lie there. I¡¯ll check for you personally.¡± Long Tianze stood there and did not move an inch. ¡°Doctor, actually, you can just help me prescribe some medicine. You don¡¯t have to check it yourself.¡± ¡°If I don¡¯t check it with my own eyes, how would I know your condition? Look at a man like you being wishy-washy. I haven¡¯t evenined about it as a female doctor, so just take it off.¡± He appeared extremely hesitant and eventually took off his pants slowly. It was not just his pants, he basically stripped offpletely. Mei Yangyang stared at a certain spot on him and remarked, ¡°Mr. Long, what you have are symptoms of the typical prostatitis. I need to prescribe some medicine for you.¡± ¡°Alright, Doctor, please do so.¡± Mei Yangyang went nearer to him. ¡°Mr. Long, the infection is actually just a small matter. I realized you have a more serious illness.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Impotence.¡± Long Tianze could not hold it in and snorted out loud. Thereafter, he suppressed hisughter and continued, ¡°Then what should I do?¡± ¡°Looks like only my miraculous hands can help bring it back to life.¡± She slowly bent over and, as Long Tianze watched her cleavage being revealed in front of him, he could no longer bear it and turned her over, pressing her down beneath him. ¡°I¡¯m not done acting yet.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need to. My impotence has been cured by you.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª ¡°Father, where has Mother gone? I haven¡¯t seen her sincest night,¡± Xu Youran asked. ¡°She¡¯s gone to apany Xiaoning. She¡¯ll be living in her house for some time,¡± Mr. Gu answered. Xu Youran and Gu Dongcheng exchanged nces, then she casually remarked, ¡°We¡¯re so near each other, why does she need to apany her?¡± ¡°Xiaoning called her over. Although they aren¡¯t biological mother and daughter, they have a very close rtionship. Since there¡¯s nothing much going on at home, I just let her go.¡± Gu Beicheng lowered his head as he ate breakfast and said, ¡°Brother, that new project for the piece ofnd, will you feel burdened if I hand it over to you?¡± ¡°You¡¯re really handing it over to me?¡± Gu Dongcheng appeared overjoyed. ¡°Of course there¡¯s no problem.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good then. I¡¯ll let you be solely in charge of it.¡± ¡°Lately, Ye Xiaotian¡¯spany is in a lot of trouble. Since you¡¯re so close to him, you¡¯ll help him right?¡± Gu Dongcheng asked. ¡°What do you think?¡± Gu Beicheng looked at his brother. ¡°Since Jin Qingyan is out to make things difficult for him, what can I do? When there¡¯s a need to, I¡¯ll lend him a hand. If he can handle it, then there¡¯s no need for me to intervene.¡± ¡°Umm. It¡¯s good that you think that way. No matter how close you two are, whenpared to business matters, that won¡¯t be as important.¡± ¡°When a friend is in need, I will definitely lend a hand. If the friend doesn¡¯t need my help, I definitely won¡¯t pose as a hindrance.¡± He ced his soupdle down and took a napkin to wipe his mouth. ¡°I¡¯m done, I¡¯ll head to thepany first.¡± Not long after he left, Gu Dongcheng and Xu Youran stood up to leave the dining table as well. On the car, Xu Youran asked, ¡°Did your mother find out about something?¡± ¡°What can she possibly find out?¡± Gu Dongcheng helped her put on her seatbelt. ¡°She¡¯s probably just going over to stay for a few days.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t forget, An Xiaoning is a fortune-teller. She might have read something in advance, which was why she fetched your mother over to stay.¡± Gu Dongcheng thought what she said made sense. ¡°She can¡¯t always stay in Wei Ni Estate anyway, she¡¯lle back eventually. There¡¯s no rush about this. Where are you going?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to my mother¡¯s ce.¡± ¡°Have your parents found their biological daughter?¡± Gu Dongcheng drove her to her mother¡¯s house. ¡°How can it be that easy? It¡¯s been so many years already, it would be bizarre if they actually found her.¡± Xu Youran was evidently not hopeful about this. ¡°Then what if one day, this bizarre thing actually happens?¡± ¡°If it does, then so be it. But really, if my parents were to find their biological daughter, I will really have no one. When they¡¯ve found their biological daughter, why would they still want me?¡± From her tone, it was evident that she indeed did not want her parents to find their biological daughter. It would be best if they never found her ultimately. ¡°So, you should take the time now to soothe the rtionship between you and your parents. No matter what, they¡¯re influential and powerful people that may be useful to us.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Xu Youran leaned back against the car seat. ¡°Ever since I got pregnant, I feel like I¡¯m always tired. I just got up not long ago, but I feel kind of sleepy now. Dongcheng, no matter whether it¡¯s a son or a daughter, let¡¯s just have one. Okay?¡± Chapter 545 - The Secret About the Past (163)

Chapter 545: The Secret About the Past (163)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°If it¡¯s a daughter, then we¡¯ll have another child. But if it¡¯s a son, we¡¯ll just stop at one.¡± ¡°What if both are daughters, then?¡± ¡°Then two are enough.¡± He answered simply as he did not want to pressure her. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll fix it like that then.¡± Xu Youran remarked as she closed her eyes, ¡°If we don¡¯t talk about our family backgrounds, this is your second marriage while it¡¯s my first, so I¡¯m considered as marrying beneath me.¡± ¡°Wow, you really dare to say such things. But what¡¯s the reality?¡± Gu Dongcheng mercilessly exposed her. ¡°Your ce in the Xu family has fallen. The Jin family doesn¡¯t even have a ce for you. In reality, you have no family background at all now. And you say you¡¯re marrying beneath you? Think it over for yourself.¡± Xu Youran looked up. ¡°I admit this. We¡¯re considered even. But now, I¡¯ll be your greatest assistant. Do you believe that? Without me, if you want to get back thepany from your brother in the future, it¡¯ll require a miracle.¡± ¡°You¡¯re that confident?¡± Gu Dongcheng asked. ¡°Of course, as long as your brother, sister-inw, and stepmother die, the Gu Corporation will belong to you solely. Isn¡¯t this obvious enough?¡± Xu Youran lowered her head and dug into her nails, saying leisurely, ¡°You¡¯re my husband, I¡¯ll definitely help you. After settling Gu Beicheng and the rest, we¡¯ll handle the Jin family. Think about it, when you have control over the Gu Corporation, then we¡¯ll get rid of my father, brother, sister-inw, and nephew. Then, I¡¯ll be the only one left among the bloodline of the Jin family. That way, you¡¯ll have control over the Gu Corporation while I¡¯ll be controlling the Jin Corporation. Once we join forces as a couple, no one in this world will be our match.¡± Just thinking about it made one pumped up with excitement. Gu Dongcheng responded, ¡°However, the Jin family and the Gu family are different. Let¡¯s put aside Jin Qingyan. How can getting rid of An Xiaoning be that easy?¡± ¡°No matter how hard a stone is, if you throw it into the sea, it¡¯ll still sink. We¡¯ll have to n it properly and not rush into it. Let¡¯s take it slowly and crush them when they¡¯re unprepared.¡± Gu Dongcheng turned to her andughed. ¡°And they say I¡¯m ruthless, you¡¯re much more ruthless than I am.¡± ¡°Me? I¡¯ve always been kind, who says I¡¯m ruthless? I don¡¯t admit to it.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª The DNA results came out and An Xiaoning found out about it a dayter. It was Jin Qingyan who personally called to inform her. An Xiaoning kept her volume minimal. ¡°How is it?¡± ¡°The test was done multiple times ¡ª the result remained the same. The two of you are rted by blood.¡± A smile appeared on An Xiaoning¡¯s face. ¡°He¡¯s my father?¡± ¡°That isn¡¯t the case.¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s wordspletely burst her bubble. ¡°You are rted to him by blood, but he isn¡¯t your father.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s mind went nk. ¡°So, we¡¯re just rtives?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s like that.¡± ¡°Then...¡± She seemed to have not recovered herself. ¡°That means, my father is...¡± She did notplete her sentence, but Jin Qingyan was already clear on who she was referring to. ¡°If the two of them are indeed just brothers, then it would be true. However, I think we still have to confirm it. You should try to get a strand of the President¡¯s hair, then we¡¯ll run a test again. It would be pretty clear then.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Her voice was full of disappointment. At this moment, she suddenly could guess something. Her heart was wrenching for that man who loved her mother for so many years, to the extent that he was willing to go against his family. ¡°Qingyan!¡± ¡°Umm?¡± ¡°I suddenly don¡¯t want to tell him this cruel truth.¡± An Xiaoning was close to tears. ¡°I¡¯ve never wanted to lie, but he probably is sure that I¡¯m his daughter. But I think something must have happened back then. My mother must have been forced. A woman who loves someone so deeply would not do that out of her own ord.¡± ¡°Since it¡¯s like that, then we shouldn¡¯t tell him the results of the DNA test. If he asks, just say you lost the strand of hair.¡± ¡°Umm, I know.¡± An Xiaoning then hung up the call. Just to confirm, she had to get a strand of the President¡¯s hair, even though the truth was quite clear to her already. After hanging up the call, An Xiaoning¡¯s mind was rather fuzzy. She was not even sure if her mother was dead or alive. But looking at the situation, the one beside the President was her mother¡¯s half-sister, so it was evident that her mother was likely not around anymore. If that man who loved her mother for most of his life knew she wasn¡¯t his child, it would definitely be hard for him to take it in. Would he regret his decision to persevere? An Xiaoning walked over to the bed andy down. As she stared nkly at the ceiling, the muscles in her temple were suddenly twitching. ¡°Mu Ning!¡± Zhi Yin knocked on her door. ¡°Her Highness is going out.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ming.¡± She sprung up from the bed and hurriedly went out. When she went down, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Your Highness, where are you going?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going out of the Autumn Pce, of course.¡± Tuoba Danxue¡¯s voice was full of enthusiasm. ¡°My father has allowed me along with my brothers and Second Uncle to go to the beach to have fun for two days. It¡¯s a secret trip, how rare.¡± ¡°Then, Your Highness, do Sister Zhi Yin and I need to bring an extra set of clothes?¡± ¡°Of course. Both of you bring a set of clothes and follow me to the beach to stay for one day and one night. Because of me, you two will get to enjoy.¡± Zhi Yin remarked eagerly, ¡°Thank you so much, Your Highness. I¡¯ll go and pack my clothes immediately.¡± An Xiaoning didn¡¯t have much to pack, actually. She went back to the room and took all the things she would need. As for clothing, she only brought a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, which would be more convenient for physical activity. While she only carried a small bag, Zhi Yin lugged a few big bags as she came down. ¡°We¡¯re only going to y for a day, we¡¯re not moving house. Why did you bring so many things?¡± Tuoba Danxueined. ¡°Two sets of clothes will do.¡± ¡°Your Highness, may I bring three sets?¡± ¡°Alright, hurry. If you dilly-dally some more, we won¡¯t wait for you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll put some things back immediately. Wait for me, Your Highness.¡± Zhi Yin anxiously lugged her bags back to her room. ¡°Your Highness, your second uncle will be going as well?¡± ¡°Of course. We¡¯re only going to y because of Second Uncle.¡± She looked rather excited indeed. An Xiaoning nodded. When Zhiyin came out, they finally left together. A long vehicle was already waiting for them at the door. The three got into the car one after another. A few people were already seated inside. It was Tuoba Gucheng and his brother, along with Tuoba Shuo and a few bodyguards. As An Xiaoning coincidentally sat beside Tuoba Shuo, she felt rather restrained. Opposite her was Tuoba Hancheng and Tuoba Gucheng. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be boring if only us few went? Second Brother, why don¡¯t you call the Lin family¡¯s missy?¡± Tuoba Gucheng chimed in, ¡°And call Mr. Jin as well, it would be merrier.¡± Tuoba Danxue nodded. ¡°Right, call him as well.¡± ¡°They were long informed already, they¡¯re probably on their way there already.¡± Tuoba Gucheng continued, ¡°Don¡¯t think it was me who considered so much, it was Mother who instructed this.¡± ¡°Zzz...¡± A sudden vibration came from An Xiaoning¡¯s pocket. She had especially switched her phone to vibration mode. After fishing her phone out, she nced at the screen and saw the caller ID. It was a call from Gu Beicheng. Figuring that it must be something important, she swiped the answer button and put her phone to her ear. ¡°Hello.¡± Chapter 546 - The Secret About the Past (164)

Chapter 546: The Secret About the Past (164)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°After much pondering, I still think I ought to give you a call to express my sincerity. Xiaoning, you¡¯re our family¡¯s lucky star. Thank you so much.¡± An Xiaoning guffawed and said, ¡°You called just to tell me this? There¡¯s no need to thank me. Like I said before, we¡¯ll forever be family. And since we¡¯re family, why is there a need to thank each other?¡± Gu Beicheng decided to speak his mind, ¡°Xiaoning, could I ask you to read Father, Mother, and Mingxi¡¯s fortunes regrly from now on? I know it¡¯s detrimental to your health so I found it a little hard to break it to you, but I...¡± He did not know how to put it across to her appropriately. ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll include yours too. It was negligence on my part. I¡¯ll bear this in mind.¡± Gu Beicheng was relieved to hear her words. After ending the call, An Xiaoning chucked her mobile phone into her pocket, after which Tuoba Danxue, who was beside her, asked, ¡°Who called you?¡± ¡°My brother.¡± ¡°Your brother must still be a bachelor, isn¡¯t he?¡± Zhi Yin asked. ¡°He¡¯s married,¡± An Xiaoning answered, knowing clearly what she was implying. ¡°Does your brother look like you?¡± Zhi Yin asked. An Xiaoning smiled sarcastically and hissed, ¡°It¡¯s none of your business.¡± Zhi Yin stuck her tongue out with a grimace and said, ¡°I was just asking.¡± ¡°Forget it, you think I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re thinking of saying? If I were to have told you that he wasn¡¯t married yet, you were going to say that my brother must still be a bachelor because he¡¯s as ugly as I am. You asked me if I resemble my brother, but it seems you¡¯ll get to insult me no matter what my answer is.¡± Tuoba Danxue chuckled and remarked, ¡°Mu Ning has really gotten smarter.¡± ¡°I had no choice but to do so.¡± ¡°Is he your biological brother?¡± Tuoba Shuo asked. An Xiaoning shook her head and answered, ¡°We¡¯re not rted by blood, but he¡¯s even closer to me than my biological kin.¡± Tuoba Shuo gazed at her with a look of gentleness and a warm smile on his face. ¡°I could tell from the way you spoke to him over the phone that you two get along very well with each other.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Which beach are we going to?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°The Southern Beach,¡± Tuoba Danxue answered. An Xiaoning raised her brows upon hearing her answer. The Southern Beach was near Nanshan Mountain and was the closest to B City. She apanied them to the beach resort near the Southern ocean, remaining quiet throughout the entire journey. It was a secret outing. Initially, they wanted to request the authorities of the beach to close it from the public, so as to prevent their identities from being recognized. However, they decided not to in the end after realizing that doing so might just garner unnecessary attention instead. It was already four o¡¯clock in the afternoon when they arrived at the hotel. Their rooms were adjacent to each other. Zhi Yin and Mu Ning shared a room. The bodyguards, too, shared rooms in pairs while the remaining people had a room to themselves each. After cing their luggage in their respective rooms, An Xiaoning immediately called Jin Qingyan to inform him of her current location. She also instructed him not toe forth, lest they risk having her identity exposed. Although Jin Qingyan agreed verbally, he immediately instructed Fan Shixin to check the guest records of the hotel and booked a room beside An Xiaoning¡¯s. It was rather rare for them to meet each other. They only got to meet each other at most once a month. Why would he let such a good opportunity to meet her slip so easily? One month was perhaps nothing to others. However, it was way too long for him. After an arduous journey by car that took more than an hour, he finally arrived at the Southern Beach at past five o¡¯clock in the evening. The sun sets at ater time during summer. Donning a surgical mask and a pair of shades, he made his way to the hotel room immediately and called for room service. He patiently waited for the sky to turn pitch dark while enjoying his food and sipping on some liquor. He came alone without any bodyguards. After having eaten and drunk his fill, he stood on the balcony and stared at the beach through a pair of binocrs. He caught sight of An Xiaoning in no time while casually ncing around. There was a bunch of people having dinner under a porch on the beach. The superiors gathered around one table while the subordinates took another. Jin Qingyan squinted and scanned the superiors from head to toe before shifting his gaze to the subordinates. He then put his binocrs down and picked up a goblet beside him. He gently swirled the red liquid in his goblet. Jin Qingyan turned around and leaned against the railing with both arms resting on it, tapping his fingers gently on the metal bar. The ocean breeze caressed his face gently, just like her kiss. Jin Qingyan stood there for a long while before picking up his binocrs again to take another look. He then sent her a text message: ¡°I¡¯m watching you, eat slowly.¡± An Xiaoning almost choked on her tea the instant that she read his message. She immediately scanned her surroundings but did not manage to see him. Atst, her eyesnded upon a balcony on the higher floor of the hotel, which was quite a distance away. She could vaguely notice a familiar figure. Suppressing her joy and excitement, An Xiaoning replied to his text message and asked him for his room number. After getting his answer, she then told him to wait for her toe looking for him at midnight. That was exactly what Jin Qingyan wanted to hear. Thus, he decided to watch some movies in his room while waiting patiently for her to show up after she was done chaperoning her superiors during a stroll on the beach. He knew that they would only be getting to spend a few hours with each other this time. However, it was better than nothing and he would dly endure the arduous wait. He would feel as if they were meeting for thest time every single time they parted ways. Thus, he treasured time spent with her dearly. After dinner, Tuoba Gucheng and Jin Minxing walked alongside Lin Shishi and Tuoba Danxue, respectively, with two bodyguards following closely behind each couple. Meanwhile, Tuoba Hancheng and Tuoba Shuo also got up to take a stroll along the coastline. An Xiaoning suggested to Zhi Yin that they head back to their room first, to which thetter refused and asked her to go back alone instead. An Xiaoning was just hoping for her to reject her suggestion. ¡°I¡¯m heading back to get some rest then.¡± ring at her wide-eyed, Zhi Yin chided, ¡°Mu Ning, are you really going to go back alone just because I told you to? Although Her Highness doesn¡¯t need ourpany for now, why do you think she invited you along? You¡¯re actually going to give up the rare opportunity to have some fun at the beach and go back to the room instead. Sillyss.¡± She then grabbed An Xiaoning¡¯s hand and dragged her to the seaside. In reality, An Xiaoning was still a little paranoid and phobic when ites to oceans due to her traumatic memory of the tsunami she encountered. She¡¯ll never be able to forget the very scene of the tsunami approaching back then. Yet, Zhi Yin still dragged her toward the ocean and was bent on getting her to y. She tried to struggle and break free from Zhi Yin¡¯s grip by running toward the sand, but to no avail. ¡°It¡¯d be so boring for me to y alone without you,¡± said Zhi Yin. ¡°Let go of me, I don¡¯t like ying in the waters,¡± An Xiaoning refused. ¡°Mu Ning, are you really a country bumpkin? What are you here for if you refuse to have some fun!?!¡± An Xiaoning shrugged her hand away and said, ¡°It¡¯s none of your concern, just have fun on your own. I¡¯m going to go look for Her Highness.¡± Noticing that An Xiaoning had left without turning back, the thick-skinned Zhi Yin hurriedly took chase and eximed, ¡°I¡¯ll go with you!¡± ¡°Do as you please.¡± ¡°Mu Ning, your attitude toward me has be ruder noways. Please mind your tone,¡± Zhi Yin chided with displeasure. ¡°Sorry, but that¡¯s just the way I am,¡± An Xiaoning retorted, beginning to dislike Zhi Yin more and more. ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯d badmouth you to Her Highness and make life difficult for you?¡± ¡°Her Highness is an intelligent person with a mind of her own, not a puppet who can be easily manipted by you. Zhi Yin, I used to call you Sister all along, solely because I respected you. However, not only are you not worthy of respect, you¡¯re boorish and rude as well. You¡¯re indeed very beautiful, but yourck of manners and ss don¡¯t match your beauty at all. Do you understand?¡± Chapter 547 - The Secret About the Past (165)

Chapter 547: The Secret About the Past (165)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Anger and shock consumed Zhi Yin as she stared at An Xiaoning, momentarily at a loss for words. ¡°You... Mu Ning, how dare you criticize me?¡± An Xiaoning did not bother responding to her and left straight away. Tongue-tied, Zhi Yin watched as An Xiaoning walked away before quickening her pace to catch up with thetter. ¡°Mu Ning, what right have you got to criticize me? Does your personality match your looks too? Why don¡¯t you take a look in the mirror and see how hideous you are? It¡¯s not your fault to be born with such grotesque looks, but you ought to be med for not epting criticism. ¡°You even called me rude and ill-mannered. Are you that well-mannered yourself!?!¡± Zhi Yin added, seething with exasperation. ¡°I¡¯m talking to you, did you hear me?¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning remained silent and unaffected by every snide remark made by Zhi Yin. She continued in her tracks without stopping,pletely disregarding Zhi Yin¡¯s presence. Rage flowed through Zhi Yin like moltenva. Yet, she was powerless and at her wits¡¯ end. They walked around the beach to find that Jin Minxing and Tuoba Danxue were not in sight. Thus, they returned to the porch and sat on the chairs, both ignoring each other. The two couples finally returned after a long while. Upon sight of Tuoba Danxue, Zhi Yin immediatelyined, ¡°Your Highness, I don¡¯t want to share a room with Mu Ning.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Zhi Yin pulled Tuoba Danxue aside and murmured something to her, after which a sullen expression formed on Tuoba Danxue¡¯s face. ¡°Mu Ning, you¡¯ve really gone overboard. How could you say that about Zhi Yin? She¡¯s a candid and straightforward person. What¡¯s the point of being petty and making a big fuss about her remarks?¡± she chided. An Xiaoning could not utter a word since Lin Shishi and Jin Minxing were present. Yet, remaining silent would seem like she was admitting to being at fault. Without hesitation, Tuoba Danxue said, ¡°I¡¯ll book another roomter, the two of you shall stay in separate rooms.¡± An Xiaoning hung her head low while still remaining silent. In fact, she had not nned to exin herself to Tuoba Danxue privately at all. After all, Zhi Yin had been by Tuoba Danxue¡¯s side for way too long, and nothing An Xiaoning could say would change anything. Thus, she decided it would be a better choice not to. They finally called it a day at past ten o¡¯clock in the evening. An Xiaoning could finally return to her room to get some rest. However, her ns were disrupted when Tuoba Danxue assigned her with the task of going out to buy supper, allowing her to return to her room only after they were done eating. She took the money meant for supper from Tuoba Danxue and immediately proceeded to do as she was told. Less than half an hourter, she returned with several bags of food, though she did not buy any for herself. She did not have an appetite for supper that night. After An Xiaoning ced the food down, Tuoba Danxue noticed that An Xiaoning did not buy a portion for herself and asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you get some for yourself? Was the money not enough?¡± An Xiaoning shook her head. ¡°Since you don¡¯t feel like eating, you may go back and rest. You don¡¯t have to wait for us,¡± said Tuoba Shuo. Tuoba Danxue looked at him in bewilderment and said, ¡°Uncle, how can she go back without me? She¡¯s my bodyguard. She has to follow me back, no matter what.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you together with us now? Just let her go back first.¡± Tuoba Shuo waved at An Xiaoning and said, ¡°You may head back to your room.¡± An Xiaoning stayed put, knowing that Tuoba Danxue would definitely hit the roof if she were to really go back to her room. Thus, she decided to remain still. Noticing that she did not move off, Tuoba Shuo seemed to have understood her reasons. Tuoba Danxue then picked up her chopsticks and began eating leisurely. Half an hour had already passed by the time they were done with supper. Everyone stood up one after another and returned to their hotel rooms. An Xiaoning did not speak a single word throughout. Upon entering the elevator, she stood at the back and stered herself against the elevator walls with Tuoba Gucheng standing in front of her. It was rather cramped inside the elevator since all of them had boarded the same one together. Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s back was pressing against An Xiaoning tightly, leaving no space in between at all. Feeling as if she was about to be crushed to death if he were to take another step back, she decided to poke his back with an index finger. He turned around abruptly and seemed to have understood what she meant. However, instead of moving forward, he took a step back and pushed her further against the wall on purpose. An Xiaoning threw her knee into the back of his thigh in a moment of pique, causing him to lose his bnce and stumble forward. He bnced himself again and turned around to nce at her nonchntly while she hung her head low, as if she had nothing to do with it at all. Ding! The elevator doors opened and they exited in a single file. They then returned to their respective rooms. An Xiaoning dared not go look for Jin Qingyan immediately, fearing that she would bump into someone while entering his room. Thus, she decided to take a shower and change into a fresh set of clothes. She waited for more than an hour before sneaking into Jin Qingyan¡¯s room swiftly. As soon as the door closed, she leaped forward and threw her arms around his neck while wrapping her legs around his waist. Without another word, they immediately began smooching each other passionately. The temperature in the room was cooled to the perfect temperature, thanks to the air conditioner. Jin Qingyan switched off the lights and picked her up in his arms before lowering her onto the window ledge. In the darkness of the night, he cupped her face with his hands and said, ¡°We were apart for only a few days and yet I already miss you to bits. After hearing that you came here, I dropped everything I was handling at the moment and rushed here just to see you, little seductress.¡± An Xiaoning leaned her head on his shoulder and said, ¡°I was really upset about something.¡± ¡°Tell me about it.¡± She exined briefly and said, ¡°I would¡¯ve alreadyshed out and gotten rid of such a woman, if it was in the past. I¡¯ve really never encountered anyone like her who enjoys criticizing someone¡¯s appearance so openly all the time.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bother taking it to heart. It¡¯s just a mask anyway. One day, you¡¯ll blind her with your stunning beauty and show her what it really is to be gorgeous.¡± An Xiaoning removed her mask and put it aside. ¡°The temperatures are at their warmest this season. It¡¯s really ufortable wearing this mask all day.¡± He hugged her waist and gave her a kiss before saying, ¡°Once you¡¯ve found out everything about your biological parents, you are to be obedient and stay at home as my Young Madam. I won¡¯t allow you to take such risks and put yourself through so much hardship again.¡± An Xiaoning enjoyed hearing those words from him, which never failed to make her feel like a precious gem whom he put on a pedestal and loved dearly. ¡°Hubby, will you love me like this forever?¡± ¡°Of course I will.¡± ¡°Why do you love me so much?¡± ¡°What do you mean why? You don¡¯t need a reason to love someone.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning had a long battle in bed with him that night. She realized that Jin Qingyan seemed to have endless energy and vigor, just like a zealous and passionate youth. He would only stop when she begged for mercy, every single time they got intimate. He was so skilled in bed that An Xiaoningplimented him before going to sleep, ¡°If you weren¡¯t my husband, you¡¯d definitely be a good friend with benefits.¡± ¡°Do you think I¡¯d be friends with benefits with just anyone?¡± ¡°Of course, not everyone is qualified. In fact, I¡¯m the only one who has the right to be one. You may be my friend with benefits for the rest of my life,¡± she teased, burying her face in his chest. ¡°You¡¯re just so alluring.¡± She chuckled and said, ¡°Good that you admit it.¡± Jin Qingyan hugged her tightly and said, ¡°I love you.¡± An Xiaoning closed her eyes. At this very moment, she was in utmost bliss, peace, and joy, all thanks to him. However, time always flies when you¡¯re with your loved ones. They got to spend only a few hours together, and the next thing they knew, An Xiaoning¡¯s rm was going off, jolting her awake right before daybreak. She hurriedly put on her clothes and returned to her room. Not long after, Jin Qingyan also left the hotel and headed home. No one knew that the couple had spent an exuberant and blissful night together. Chapter 548 - The Secret About the Past (166)

Chapter 548: The Secret About the Past (166)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Just as Jin Qingyan was about to leave the house after having breakfast, Fan Shixin entered and informed him, ¡°Young Sir, Madam Ling is here and she¡¯d like to see you.¡± ¡°Let her in.¡± Secondster, Mrs. Ling strode in quickly with her purse in hand. ¡°Qingyan, I¡¯m not imposing on you, am I?¡± ¡°No. Are you here for something urgent, Auntie?¡± ¡°Well, I heard that Ciye and Qingyue are dating each other. I think Ciye was still single despite already being 31 years old entirely because he¡¯s waiting for the best woman to show up in his life,¡± said Mrs. Ling. Although she did not put it across tantly, it was more than obvious what she was implying. ¡°Auntie, are you trying to say that Qingyue is not good enough for Ciye? As a parent, I think you ought to have a good talk with Ciye and hear what he has to say. Perhaps you may also try to find out how he feels about Qingyue, maybe then you¡¯ll change your mindset and opinion toward her, as well as their rtionship,¡± Jin Qingyan said in a tone of vehemence. ¡°Qingyan, I think Qingyue¡¯s a great girl too. I know she didn¡¯t wish to end up in a divorce either, but Qingyan, you¡¯re a father yourself now. Can¡¯t you put yourself in my shoes and consider things from my perspective?¡± ¡°I may have a son, but I definitely wouldn¡¯t interfere with his decisions when ites to marriage in the future. Besides, both of them are willing parties and there won¡¯t be any good thates out of meddling with their business. As their family members, we ought to stay out of it.¡± ¡°Qingyan, does this mean that you¡¯re not going to step in to interfere?¡± Mrs. Ling asked. ¡°They¡¯re both adults who should be responsible for their own actions. I believe Ciye and Qingyue must have carefully considered the possible consequences and weighed the pros and cons before deciding to get into a rtionship with each other. They definitely didn¡¯t get together by chance. Besides, Auntie, Qingyue may have a child and have been married before, but Ciye has also cohabited with his former girlfriend for several years. Not to mention, they even had a child together too, except his former girlfriend suffered a miscarriage in the end. They¡¯re both victims of a failed rtionship, so why do you have topare them against each other?¡± Jin Qingyan answered frankly, giving her his honest opinion. Mrs. Ling sprung up from her seat and hollered, ¡°Seems like I made a wasted trip today!¡± ¡°Take your leave, I won¡¯t be seeing you out!¡± Mrs. Ling stormed off in a huff. As soon as she got inside the car and drove off, she coincidentally caught sight of Jin Qingyue exiting from the supermarket. She immediately ordered her chauffeur to step on the brakes and alighted from the car. Jin Qingyue was at the supermarket to purchase some daily necessities. She did not see Mrs. Ling at all initially and only noticed her presence when thetter was approaching her. There was no time to avoid her. She had no choice but to put on a wry smile and greet her, ¡°Auntie...¡± With an austere expression on her face, Mrs. Ling pointed toward her car and said, ¡°Hop in, I have something to ask you about.¡± Although Jin Qingyue had already prepared herself mentally for this day beforehand, she could nheless not help but feel tense and nervous when the moment actually arrived. Waves of anxiety overwhelmed her as she got inside Mrs. Ling¡¯s car and sat down beside her in the backseat. ¡°I tried to call you so many times these past few days but I couldn¡¯t reach you because your mobile phone had been switched off. Qingyue, you¡¯ve really let me down by lying to me.¡± ¡°Auntie, I didn¡¯t admit it earlier because Brother Ciye and I have agreed to keep our rtionship secret before things be stable.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re saying that it¡¯s stable now? Do you really think you¡¯re good enough for Ciye?¡± Mrs. Ling hissed, ring at her coldly. Jin Qingyue plucked up her courage and answered, ¡°I do think I¡¯m good enough for him. Auntie, give me a chance. I¡¯ll treat Ciye well and be a good wife and mother. I won¡¯t bring shame to the Ling family.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re already being a disgrace now! Aren¡¯t you aware of your past at all? Let¡¯s put the fact that you¡¯re a divorced single mother aside and talk about the controversial news and scandals you were involved in. The whole world knows about the issues you¡¯ve had with your ex-husband! I really don¡¯t understand how you actually have the cheek to say that you¡¯re good enough for Ciye!¡± Mrs. Ling hollered with bloodshot eyes. Jin Qingyue clenched her fists tightly and did not retort, for she knew that she could not deny the existence of those scandalous news, although they were all from the past. ¡°Auntie, we ought to put the past behind us and focus on the present and the future, which are what matter most. Auntie, if you agree to let me continue dating Brother Ciye, I promise I¡¯ll bring him happiness and bliss,¡± said Jin Qingyue, turning to the side to face her. ¡°What rights have you got to be so confident? The very fact that you have a daughter... My son may have had a girlfriend in the past, but he¡¯s still unmarried at the end of the day. If he continues to be with you, he¡¯s going to be someone else¡¯s stepfather... Are you thinking of making my son raise your daughter?¡± Mrs. Ling questioned apprehensively. ¡°I have my own means and financial abilities to raise my child on my own. Besides, I¡¯ll go dutch with Brother Ciye and not spend a single cent of his. My savings are sufficient tost me a lifetime,¡± Jin Qingyue said boldly with confidence. Mrs. Ling was at a loss for words. ¡°Is Ciye back yet?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Jin Qingyue decided that the crucial thing to do now was to handle the matter properly since Mrs. Ling had already found out about it. Mrs. Ling alighted from the car and walked toward Ling Ciye¡¯s apartment. Jin Qingyue followed closely behind and entered the house together with her. However, she remained outside the bedroom and allowed Mrs. Ling and her son some space to have a private discussion. Ling Ciye was not at all shocked to see his mother. ¡°Mother, you¡¯re back.¡± Mrs. Ling was further enraged to see how calm he was. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m here. When did youe back?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve always been home.¡± ¡°Then why did you tell me that...¡± Before she could even finish her sentence, Ling Ciye hurriedly exined, ¡°Because I was severely wounded and I didn¡¯t want to worry you. I¡¯ve been resting and recuperating at home all this while.¡± ¡°Where and how did you get wounded? I¡¯ve always reminded you to look out for your safety and protect yourself at all times, but you simply refuse to listen! Show me your wounds,¡± Mrs. Ling eximed worriedly. He lifted his shirt and said, ¡°I was shot twice, once in my abdomen and once in my arm.¡± Mrs. Ling stared at his wounds and grew speechless, filled with immense heartache. ¡°Mother, Qingyue has been the one taking care of me dearly during the time that I was healing my wounds.¡± ¡°If you told me about it, I would¡¯ve taken care of you dearly too. Anyone can do the same, there¡¯s nothing great about it,¡± Mrs. Ling scoffed. ¡°Mother, I¡¯m not a child anymore, I know what I¡¯m doing. So, Mother, could you please be more kind and understanding toward Qingyue for my sake?¡± Ling Ciye asked softly. ¡°No, I can¡¯t. Ciye, why are you so muddled up? There are plenty of better fishes in the sea. Are you blind?¡± Mrs. Ling scorned as she took a seat by the bed. ¡°I just want to be with a woman who makes me feelfortable and at ease. Well, she just happens to be one.¡± ¡°Comfortable in which aspect?¡± Mrs. Ling asked. ¡°Emotionallyfortable,¡± Ling Ciye answered. ¡°I don¡¯t care, your father and I both don¡¯t agree to this. I can¡¯t tolerate others criticizing and castigating you and our family,¡± said Mrs. Ling, staring at the ground. ¡°Mother, if I could make Qingyue¡¯s reputation improve gradually, will you and Father change your attitudes toward our rtionship?¡± Mrs. Ling did not answer his question and instead asked, ¡°Do you really want to date her?¡± ¡°We¡¯re already in a rtionship.¡± Mrs. Ling was at aplete loss for what to do. She was peeved by how disobedient her son was, although she knew that she could not keep him by her side forever, now that he was already a grown-up. ¡°If you can really do that, I can¡¯t say if your father¡¯s attitude will change but mine will, for sure.¡± Ling Ciye broke into smiles and said, ¡°Mother, I¡¯m taking your word for it. Don¡¯t go home just yet. I¡¯ll ask Qingyue to prepare a sumptuous meal for you to try.¡± Mrs. Ling red at him and scoffed, ¡°Do I look like I haven¡¯t eaten before?¡± She then added, ¡°Rest well and refrain from moving about unnecessarily. I¡¯ll visit you again another day.¡± ¡°Mother, take care.¡± Chapter 549 - The Secret About the Past (167)

Chapter 549: The Secret About the Past (167)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyue immediately stood up from the couch upon sight of Mrs. Ling exiting. ¡°Auntie, are you leaving already?¡± Mrs. Ling expressed assent and left. She did not wish to ignore Jin Qingyue since she had watched thetter grow up, after all. Jin Qingyue entered the bedroom and asked, ¡°What did you and Auntie talk about?¡± ¡°Nothing much, she just agreed to change her attitude toward you if I could make your reputation improve.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a celebrity and can¡¯t clean up my reputation. How are you going to clear my name?¡± Jin Qingyue asked in surprise. ¡°You may not be a celebrity but you can enjoy media exposure as celebrities do. Leave it to me to handle, you don¡¯t have to care about this.¡± ¡°Brother Ciye...¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Jin Qingyue sat beside him and grabbed his hand affectionately. ¡°I¡¯ll treat you well for the rest of my life.¡± Although it was not a mushy sweet nothing or a solemn pledge of love, it was still as heartwarming to Ling Ciye. He held her hand and said, ¡°I hope you¡¯ll keep your promise.¡± ¡°Of course I will.¡± ¡ª It was already almost evening by the time they arrived back at the Autumn Pce. Under Tuoba Danxue¡¯s strong persuasion, her two brothers finally agreed not to tell their parents about her falling into the ocean. They could tell that she was worried that Tuoba Rui and Shi Xiaoyu would forbid her from leaving the pce again in the next few months before her wedding. After dinner, An Xiaoning headed back inside her room and opened her palm to read the note on it. There was only a single line written on the note, which read: ¡°Meet me at my yard tonight.¡± It was a note written to her by Tuoba Shuo. An Xiaoning was ill at ease at the thought of the DNA test results. It¡¯s only human nature to insist on further confirming facts despite already knowing the truth, seemingly searching for a teeny bit of impossibility within the truth. She wanted a sample of Tuoba Rui¡¯s hair to further verify the truth. Once the night fell quiet, An Xiaoning headed to the mansion not too far away. Tuoba Shuo was already waiting for her in the yard. Upon hearing her footsteps, he turned around to wee her. ¡°You¡¯re here?¡± An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°The DNA test results...¡± ¡°Are they out?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± she answered with a nod. ¡°Let¡¯s talk inside.¡± They entered the house one after another and sat down opposite each other. An Xiaoning was rather hesitant about telling him the truth. However, he¡¯s already in so much pain. Wouldn¡¯t it be cruel to hide the truth from him for the rest of his life? He had every right to find out the truth, as much as it may be cold and harsh. As the thought crossed her mind, An Xiaoning stood up abruptly and knelt down before him to kowtow. ¡°I only ever kneel to Heaven and my parents. I¡¯ve never knelt in front of outsiders before.¡± Beaming with joy, he asked, ¡°Does that mean we are...¡± ¡°No, we¡¯re not father and daughter,¡± said An Xiaoning, witnessing clearly the look of dejection on his face. ¡°We¡¯re not?¡± ¡°We are rted by blood, but we¡¯re not father and daughter. Do you understand what I mean? I think I already know the truth, but I¡¯d like to further verify it,¡± An Xiaoning said frankly. Tuoba Shuo was overwhelmed with shock upon hearing her words. ¡°We¡¯re not father and daughter but we¡¯re biologically rted? Do you mean you¡¯re...¡± Tuoba Shuo asked agitatedly, his hands quivering tremendously. An Xiaoning remained silent, allowing her attitude to speak for itself. Tuoba Shuo turned as pale as a sheet as his mind was sent into a whirlwind. An Xiaoning held onto his shoulders and said, ¡°But to me, you¡¯re my father. I still don¡¯t know if my mother is alive, but it¡¯s very likely that she isn¡¯t. If you and my mother were deeply in love back then, she probably died against her wishes. Like I said, I¡¯m going to find her if she¡¯s alive and her ashes if she¡¯s dead.¡± ¡°Shi Xiaoyu said that your mother¡¯s ashes have already been scattered into the ocean.¡± Shaking her head, An Xiaoning said, ¡°But I refuse to believe that, and I want to continue finding out the truth. So, I need your help with something now.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Help me obtain Mr. President¡¯s hair samples. I¡¯d like to verify this fact even further. Once the truth is confirmed, I¡¯ll know what to do next.¡± Tears welled up in her eyes as she continued to speak, ¡°I actually wanted to keep this piece of news from you because the truth is too harsh for you. But I mustn¡¯t lie to you even after you¡¯ve sacrificed so much for my mother. I was abandoned in the vige when I was an infant, and my adoptive parents sent me to live with my master in the mountains when I was just a few years old. When I reached adulthood, I actually never thought of searching for my biological parents before. I only decided to do so muchter. I already treat you like my father now. Are you also willing to consider me as your daughter?¡± A unique look of masculinity formed in his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m willing to. I¡¯ll help you with the hair samples,¡± he agreed with a nod. ¡°Do you know what my mother¡¯s birth characters are?¡± ¡°Yes, she told me before. What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Tell me her birth characters.¡± An Xiaoning knew that it may very likely be impossible to read her mother¡¯s birth characters. However, she still wanted to give it a try before seeking help from the elderly forteller who read Jin Qingyan¡¯s fortune. ¡°She was born on the 4th of April in the year XXXX on the lunar calendar. Her time of birth was four o¡¯clock in the morning.¡± ¡°Are those birth characters... real?¡± An Xiaoning asked in astonishment. ¡°They¡¯re real, that¡¯s why I remember them so clearly.¡± An Xiaoning proceeded to try and read the birth characters. Just like she had expected, she could not manage to do so. ¡°I¡¯ve been out for quite some time, I ought to go back now. Contact me again if you manage to get hold of the President¡¯s hair samples.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning did not let him see her out and instead strode back hastily. She felt as if a heavy rock had been lifted off her chest after telling him the truth. Shey down in bed and gave Fan Shixin a call. ¡°Young Madam?¡± ¡°Hello, do you remember the time when we went to the woods?¡± ¡°Yes, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Fan Shixin asked. ¡°Make a trip down there again and see if the elderly man is still there.¡± ¡°Young Madam, didn¡¯t we realize that he was no longer there when we went back again the second time?¡± said Fan Shixin. ¡°Go take a look again. We¡¯ll meet if fate allows. I won¡¯t force Heaven¡¯s will,¡± said An Xiaoning, not getting her hopes up. ¡°By the way, Young Madam, Xu Youran came by this afternoon.¡± ¡°What for? Was she there to see my mother?¡± An Xiaoning asked, having already guessed the answer, more or less. ¡°Yes, she said she came to visit Madam Gu and also asked about where you went. I told her that you were away. I was watching her closely throughout her entire visit. She left shortly after talking to Madam Gu for a while in the living room.¡± ¡°Alright. Don¡¯t let her in again the next time shees by, even if she ims to be here to visit my mother. She¡¯s a devious one.¡± ¡°Yes, got it.¡± After ending the call, An Xiaoning ced her mobile phone beside her pillow. She did not feel sleepy at all. It began pouring in the middle of the night. Strangely, it seemed to be heavier during summer. It was still raining cats and dogs in the morning. Fan Shixin was far more efficient than she had imagined. She received a message from him right after she woke up. He informed her that he did not manage to find the house in the woods or the elderly man. Chapter 550 - The Secret About the Past (168)

Chapter 550: The Secret About the Past (168)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning had no choice but to drop the idea. Things were progressing much slower than she had imagined. She only managed to obtain Tuoba Rui¡¯s hair samples from Tuoba Shuo a monthter. It then took another few days to send the hair samples out of the Autumn Pce for a DNA test to be carried out. An Xiaoning finally received the results several dayster. An Xiaoning let out a sigh when Jin Qingyan informed her of the test results. She rarely sighed. She only ever reacted that way when she feltpletely helpless about a truth that can never be changed. The results proved that she was indeed Tuoba Rui¡¯s biological daughter. It was an undebatable truth. Although Tuoba Rui was already in his fifties, he was still handsome and suave. One can only imagine how much of a heartthrob he was back in the day. However, An Xiaoning did not feel like she took after him at all. Perhaps it was because she bore too strong of a resemnce to her mother. An Xiaoning was certain that Tuoba Rui must have seen photos of her before. After all, she was the Young Madam of the Jin family and often made it on the news. Besides, there were tons of photos of her on the inte as well. Has he never been curious about why I look so much like Shi Qingzhou? If he knows the reason, why has he nevere to look for me before? Could it be that he wanted to bury the truth with the past and never let me find out that I¡¯m his daughter? An Xiaoning had no idea exactly what the reason was. She did not wish to know either, for she had far more important things to do from now onward. As for her biological father, she had no ns to acknowledge and reunite with him at all. She decided not to disrupt his life and intervene, on the ount that he already had a wife and children now. Needless to say, she could already vaguely guess what he had done to her mother. She put on a short-sleeved chiffon top, a pair of shorts, and a pair of sneakers before heading downstairs. Tuoba Danxue was leaning against the couch, appearing rather morose. ¡°Mu Ning,e here and massage my shoulders and head, hurry. I feel like I¡¯m about to faint very soon.¡± ¡°Your Highness, did you have a poor night¡¯s sleep?¡± An Xiaoning asked as she walked behind the couch and reached out to massage Tuoba Danxue¡¯s shoulders. ¡°I talked to Minxing over the phone all night long.¡± ¡°But don¡¯t you usually refrain from calling or usingmunication tforms?¡± ¡°Yes, because my mobile phone is closely monitored, be it phone calls or text messages. But it wouldn¡¯t matter since I was chatting with him. Besides, that¡¯s what my mother wishes to see anyway,¡± said Tuoba Danxue. ¡°Since your mobile phone is being monitored, why don¡¯t you just secretly buy another handset?¡± An Xiaoning asked. With half-closed eyes, Tuoba Danxue answered, ¡°It¡¯s not that simple.¡± ¡°Your Highness, you and Mr. Jin seem to hit it off really well. I think you two are verypatible with each other.¡± Tuoba Danxue did not answer, seemingly having sunk deep into a trance. Noticing that she was no longer moving, An Xiaoning craned her neck to take a look, only to find that she had fallen asleep. Thus, she stopped massaging her and instead covered her with a nket. During breakfast, An Xiaoning had no appetite at all. The food was nd and tasteless to her, although Zhi Yin seemed to be enjoying every bite of it. An Xiaoning stopped eating altogether after having a few mouthfuls. Noticing that she did not seem to be eating much, Zhi Yin asked, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you eating anymore?¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to lose weight.¡± ¡°You¡¯re already skin and bones, what else is there to lose? You¡¯re only going to be uglier when you look all shriveled up and scrawny.¡± ¡°You really jump at every chance to attack me personally, don¡¯t you? I only look thin when I have clothes on and chubbier when I¡¯m naked, unlike you. You look the same from every angle, inside and out. It¡¯s such a waste that you¡¯re blessed with a pretty face,¡± An Xiaoning sneered nonchntly. Zhi Yin rolled her eyes and retorted, ¡°I know you¡¯re just trying tofort yourself. I can understand why.¡± An Xiaoning put her spoon down and walked toward the backyard, where she took a seat on the swing. The morning air was fresh and clear. She leaned against the chain of the swing, swaying her body back and forth. ¡°Mu Ning, where¡¯s Her Highness!?!¡± Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s servant hurriedly asked. ¡°She¡¯s in the living room. What¡¯s the matter, Sister?¡± ¡°Madam specially instructed me to tell Her Highness to make a trip down to see Madam.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go and call her.¡± An Xiaoning got up from the swing and proceeded to call Tuoba Danxue. Tuoba Danxue was jolted awake from her slumber by An Xiaoning. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± she asked in frustration. ¡°Your Highness, Madam wants me to tell you to go see her. The Lin family will be paying a visitter to discuss His Highness¡¯s marriage.¡± ¡°What has that got to do with me? I¡¯m not going,¡± Tuoba Danxue refused vehemently. ¡°Madam said that everyone has to be present as a form of respect.¡± Tuoba Danxue got up from the couch and headed upstairs to change into a fresh set of clothes. She came down half an hourter after putting on some makeup. An Xiaoning did not expect for Tuoba Gucheng to be engaged to Lin Shishi so soon. Although they did not progress as quickly as Tuoba Danxue and Jin Minxing, they were not far behind either. This time, Tuoba Danxue did not bring Zhi Yin along and instead only went with An Xiaoning. They arrived at the president¡¯s mansion to find that the Lin family had yet to arrive. Tuoba Danxue struggled to open her eyes and took a seat before saying, ¡°I¡¯m very tired.¡± Shi Xiaoyu nced at her and said, ¡°You and Minxing chatted for the whole ofst night. You two really have a lot to talk about, huh? I tried to call you just now but your mobile phone was switched off.¡± An Xiaoning was truly surprised to hear that Shi Xiaoyu was indeed aware of Tuoba Danxue and Jin Minxing¡¯s conversation. No wonder Tuoba Danxue was saying that she was being monitored. ¡°We could chat for such a long while obviously because we have a lot inmon. You can¡¯t force a conversation if there¡¯s nothing to talk about,¡± Tuoba Danxue remarked with her eyes closed. ¡°You¡¯d better freshen up when the Lin family gets hereter. I¡¯ve already discussed this with your father. Your brother¡¯s wedding has to be scheduled before yours,¡± Shi Xiaoyu instructed. ¡°So if Elder Brother gets engaged too in the meantime, does his wedding have to be scheduled before Brother¡¯s too?¡± ¡°That¡¯s for sure. The problem is, your elder brother doesn¡¯t have a suitable marriage partner yet,¡± said Shi Xiaoyu. Tuoba Danxue smiled sarcastically and sneered, ¡°Isn¡¯t it your forte to casually arrange marriages for your children? Hurry and find Brother a wife too.¡± Shi Xiaoyu was infuriated by her words. ¡°Didn¡¯t I find you and your brother a good catch each? You ought to count your blessings. You don¡¯t know how fortunate you really are.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you so much for your care and concern, Mother. It¡¯s only thanks to you that I¡¯m getting the chance to marry such a good man.¡± An Xiaoning looked up at Shi Xiaoyu, who was so furious that she had turned pale. She then turned to look at the man beside Shi Xiaoyu. So that was her biological father, hah... She felt her stomach twist into a knot. However, she suppressed the difort with all her might and continued to stand beside Tuoba Danxue while straightening her back. Ten minutester, the Lin family arrived. Chief of Staff Lin, Madam Lin, Lin Junnan, and Lin Shishi were all present. After greeting each other formally, they sat down and got straight to the discussion. ¡°Since we all agree to their marriage, why don¡¯t we settle on a suitable date for the wedding? Chief-of-Staff Lin and Madam Lin, what do you think of my suggestion?¡± Shi Xiaoyu asked, smiling. Chief-of-Staff Lin nodded and said, ¡°Sounds great. When do you think would be an appropriate time for the wedding to be held, Madam?¡± ¡°Danxue and Minxing¡¯s wedding is to be held in December. Since Gucheng is Danxue¡¯s elder brother, we think that it¡¯d be better to hold his wedding before hers. I¡¯ve already checked the Lunar calendar. The 6th of August is an auspicious date. Why don¡¯t we hold it on that day then? It so happens that the weather is fair this month too.¡± ¡°Sure, that date it shall be, then,¡± Chief-of-Staff Lin agreed. Chapter 551 - The Secret About the Past (169)

Chapter 551: The Secret About the Past (169)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Madam Lin remained silent throughout since she was, in fact, rather reluctant to let her daughter marry into the Tuoba family. However, she was not allowed to have a say in this matter. An Xiaoning could not help but feel like Tuoba Gucheng did not seem to fancy Lin Shishi much, somehow. He appeared cool and collected, hiding all his emotions beneath an expressionless face. Compared to the elusive Tuoba Gucheng, Lin Shishi wore her heart on her sleeve. Happiness was written all over her face, and even the blind could tell that she was thrilled about the engagement. An Xiaoning looked at Tuoba Danxue, who was continuously pinching her own thigh to keep herself awake. They initially thought that the Lin family would leave right after the discussion was over. Contrary to their expectations, the Lin family stayed behind for lunch and only left during noontime. Tuoba Danxue could not take the fatigue any longer, despite pinching herself with all her might. Thus, she had no choice but to excuse herself, ¡°Mother, I didn¡¯t sleep wellst night. I¡¯m really sleepy now. I¡¯lle by againter in the afternoon.¡± Hiding her displeasure beneath a mirthless smile, Shi Xiaoyu said pretentiously, ¡°Go ahead. Remember toe back in the afternoon. This silly child spent the entire night chatting with Minxing over the phone. Young people nowadays are so negligent toward their health. Do Shishi and Gucheng have such long conversations too?¡± ¡°We do chat a bit every now and then,¡± Lin Shishi answered. In actual fact, Tuoba Gucheng rarely spoke to her and often kept their conversations short and concise. They would only ever make small talk and chat about casual topics. For example, ¡°Have you eaten?¡± ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Go to bed early¡± and such. However, Lin Shishi was not too bothered by their mundane conversations, thinking that it was probably just the way Tuoba Gucheng was by nature. ¡ª An Xiaoning immediately ran toward the trashcan to vomit as soon as she stepped out of the mansion. She threw up everything she had for breakfast, together with some stomach acid. Tuoba Danxue squinted and asked, ¡°Did you have too much for breakfast?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t eat much...¡± An Xiaoning whipped out a piece of tissue to wipe her mouth, feeling much more relieved after puking. ¡°Are you getting the runs?¡± ¡°No,¡± An Xiaoning answered, catching up with Tuoba Danxue. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, you¡¯re pregnant?¡± It was merely a mindless remark that Tuoba Danxue blurted. However, An Xiaoning immediately realized what was going on upon recalling the date of her previous menstrual cycle. Noticing that she remained silent, Tuoba Danxue stopped in her tracks and stared at her. ¡°You¡¯re not seriously pregnant, are you?¡± ¡°How could that be? Your Highness, don¡¯t frighten me. I don¡¯t even have a boyfriend now. Why would I be pregnant?¡± An Xiaoning denied. ¡°Haven¡¯t you ever gotten intimate with your boyfriend before, while he was still alive?¡± ¡°No,¡± An Xiaoning said firmly. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Really.¡± Tuoba Danxue burst intoughter upon hearing her answer, greatly puzzling An Xiaoning. ¡°Your Highness, what are youughing about?¡± ¡°How long were you in a rtionship with your boyfriend?¡± she asked curiously. ¡°Hmm, a few months.¡± Tuoba Danxue raised her brows in apprehension and remarked, ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s really strange for a man and a woman to not get intimate at all despite having been in a rtionship for months? It¡¯s already the 21st century.¡± ¡°What¡¯s so strange about that? We¡¯re both very pure!¡± An Xiaoning defended herself. Her eyes darted around her surroundings, obviously feeling guilty for lying. ¡°Since you¡¯re not pregnant and neither did you overstuff yourself, why did you throw up so badly, then?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t have much of an appetite this morning, but I ate too muchst night. Could it be because of that...¡± she answered, trying to find an appropriate and convincing excuse. ¡°Go take some medicer.¡± ¡°Alright, Your Highness,¡± An Xiaoning agreed with a nod. ¡°Um, Mu Ning, Zhi Yin may be callous and crude with her words sometimes but she doesn¡¯t mean to be rude. She¡¯s merely joking most of the time, don¡¯t take it to heart.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± said An Xiaoning, who thought that Zhi Yin had a low EQ. Besides, she did not see a point in getting upset over Zhi Yin¡¯s snide remarks since she did not actually look like the mask. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Tuoba Danxue headed straight to her room to take a nap as soon as she returned to her mansion. An Xiaoning was at a sudden loss for what to do. Under normal circumstances, she could easily go out to buy a pregnancy test kit from the pharmacy without being recognized. However, things were different now that she was working in the Autumn Pce. She did not wish to purchase a pregnancy test kit from the drug store in the pce, in fear of getting recognized and sparking rumors unnecessarily. After thinking it through thoroughly, An Xiaoning decided to steal one tonight. She decided to steal it from a pharmacy near the Autumn Pce. Havinge to a decision, all she had to do now was wait for nighttime to arrive. Little did she expect that she would throw up everything she had for lunch, even before her food had been digested. It was the same case for dinner as well. In fact, she barely ingested anything throughout the entire day, other than some water. ¡°Have you not gone to buy some medicine like I told you to?¡± Tuoba Danxue asked. ¡°Not yet.¡± ¡°Your Highness, I think she¡¯s be bulimic. She¡¯s already so thin, and yet she still wants to lose some more weight. She¡¯s seriously asking for death,¡± Zhi Yin blurted. ¡°Trying to lose weight!?! Mu Ning, are you trying to lose weight?¡± asked the bbergasted Tuoba Danxue. Realizing that she would probably continue to throw up again in the future, An Xiaoning had no choice but to admit, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Mu Ning, you¡¯re only giving yourself a hard time. How silly of you. Drink some porridge to warm your stomach for the time being. You¡¯re not fat at all, why are you trying to lose weight? Don¡¯t think about starving yourself and trying to lose weight anymore. You¡¯re so much slimmer than me and Zhi Yin right now,¡± Tuoba Danxue said in bewilderment. ¡°Exactly, your ugliness has nothing to do with your figure at all. You¡¯ll look even more hideous if you be gaunt and sickly-looking,¡± Zhi Yin scorned. An Xiaoning was faint and feeble from an entire day of throwing up everything she ate and, thus, did not bother wasting her energy to argue with Zhi Yin. ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯m going to get some rest upstairs.¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t taken any medicine yet, have you? Go buy some first.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do that tomorrow instead.¡± ¡°That works too. Go get some rest then.¡± An Xiaoningy down in bed, feeling famished since her stomach was practically empty. However, she did not have any cravings for food at all. She set an rm for twelve midnight on her mobile phone. ¡ª Mrs. Gu lived in Wei Ni Estate for an entire month, during which she felt exceptionally safe and at ease. Although she would more or less allow her imagination to run wild when it was dark and quiet at night, the month fortunately passed by very quickly. Mrs. Gu returned to the Gu family mansion in the afternoon. The first thing she did when she arrived home was to tell Mr. Gu about her ns to get Gu Dongcheng and Xu Youran to move out of the house. Mrs. Gu only revealed the reason behind her decision to move to Wei Ni Estate for a month when Mr. Gu asked. Shock and terror consumed Mr. Gu after hearing what she said, particrly the mishap Mrs. Jin had met with. ¡°I¡¯ll bring it up to Dongcheng,¡± said Mr. Gu. Recalling the incident about the ancestral hall, Mr. Gu realized that his wife¡¯s concerns were not groundless. ¡°Alright, then. Although we don¡¯t know who the culprit behind Mrs. Jin¡¯s death is, I still find those things way too sinister and horrifying. Besides, I¡¯ve been traumatized by the misdeeds the two of them are notorious for.¡± Mr. Gu nodded and gave her a pat on her hand. ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll make things clear during dinnerter.¡± During dinner in the evening, Mr. Gu rehearsed his lines in his head before saying, ¡°Dongcheng, since you and Youran are married and she¡¯s pregnant now, I think it¡¯s time you two move out into a mansion on your own. It¡¯ll be more convenient for everyone that way.¡± Chapter 552 - The Secret About the Past (170)

Chapter 552: The Secret About the Past (170)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Father, didn¡¯t you use to nag me and Beicheng toe home more often? Isn¡¯t it great that wee home all the time now and we get to see each other every day? It¡¯s so lively. Besides, Youran and I don¡¯t n on moving out. Youran too thinks it¡¯s great living together with you guys,¡± said Gu Dongcheng. ¡°Yeah, Father and Mother, Dongcheng is right. We don¡¯t have any ns to move out,¡± Xu Youran chimed in. Mr. Gu did not know what to say next. Not wishing to let the matter drag on, Mrs. Gu said bluntly, ¡°Youran may enjoy living with us, but we don¡¯t feelfortable living with you two at all. That¡¯s why it¡¯s better that you move out.¡± Gu Dongcheng and Xu Youran ced their chopsticks onto the table. ¡°Mother, are you trying to chase us out now?¡± ¡°Yes, I am chasing you out, all right. Dongcheng, I should¡¯ve done that earlier. I should¡¯ve chased you out of the Gu family from the very moment that you asked your father for the key to the ancestral hall and ced a piece of bone in the joss urn to put a hex on me!¡± Even ¡¯til this day, Mrs. Gu would still get the chills whenever she recalled the incident. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for Xiaoning¡¯s timely discovery and intervention, I probably would¡¯ve died long ago. Do you dare deny that you¡¯re the culprit behind this!?!¡± Mrs. Gu hollered. Gu Dongcheng refused to admit it and stood up with his hands in the pockets of his trousers. ¡°You don¡¯t necessarily need a key to enter the ancestral hall. What evidence have you got to put the me on me? You¡¯re using me out of the blue, but I have nothing to say if you insist on putting it that way.¡± ¡°Mother, Dongcheng may not be your biological son, but aren¡¯t you going overboard? This is the Gu family we¡¯re talking about. As the matriarch of the family, isn¡¯t it too inappropriate of you to treat your stepson this way?¡± Xu Youran scoffed. Unable to tolerate it any further, Mrs. Gu snapped, ¡°I¡¯ve been treating you a million times betterpared to the way you two treat me! You actually put a hex on me in the ancestral hall. If it weren¡¯t for Xiaoning, I would¡¯ve died long ago. Xu Youran, don¡¯t you know how malicious and scheming you are? You tried to harm our Xiaoning time and time again. You look just like a human, but why are you always up to such inhumane acts!?!¡± Xu Youran chuckled sarcastically and retorted, ¡°Do you have any evidence of me harming her?¡± ¡°I have plenty. Listen up, Xu Youran, you¡¯re not the biological daughter of the Xu family. You¡¯d better umte more merit for your parents. Don¡¯t keep stirring trouble and leaving your parents to clean up the mess you¡¯ve created! Not only will you disgust others, but you¡¯ll also be bringing shame to yourself.¡± Mrs. Gu had been suppressing her emotions for way too long. Now that she no longer had to keep up with the pretense, she finally felt relieved and at ease after releasing all her pent up anger and resentment toward them. ¡°You... what has it got to do with you whether or not I¡¯m the biological daughter of the Xu family? It¡¯s none of your business!¡± Xu Youran barked, feeling exasperated and humiliated. ¡°I don¡¯t care, it¡¯s none of my business anyway. But stop showing up in front of me, I can¡¯t stand the sight of you.¡± ¡°...¡± Xu Youran stared at Gu Dongcheng, who was biting his lip with a malevolent expression on his face. ¡°Hubby...¡± ¡°Pack your bags, we¡¯ll move out immediately.¡± ring at Mr. and Mrs. Gu, Gu Dongcheng hissed, ¡°Are you happy now?¡± Xu Youran immediately headed upstairs to pack her luggage and quickly left the Gu family mansion together with Gu Dongcheng. ¡°Let¡¯s continue eating. I instantly feel so much more relieved without the two of them around,¡± said Mrs. Gu, appearing much more rxed. ¡°Mother, Mingxi and I have actually been hiding something from you and Father,¡± said Gu Beicheng, who decided to tell them about the incident in M Nation. ¡°What is it?¡± Mrs. Gu asked. ¡°Do you remember when Mingxi tagged along during the business trip to M Nation that Xiaoning and I had gone on? Mingxi and I were abducted and taken onto a boat. The instigator didn¡¯t have the intention to kill us but instead was nning to send us to a faraway ce, such that it¡¯d be impossible for us toe back ever again.¡± Mr. and Mrs. Gu looked at each other in dismay as they both got the chills. ¡°What next?¡± ¡°Afterward, Xiaoning went to save us along the way. I only learnedter that they were nning to abduct her too but failed to do so due to the fact that she was too sharp and highly vignt. Xiaoning and I have analyzed the situation. Who would stand to gain the most if Xiaoning, Mingxi, and I all don¡¯t make it back? We really couldn¡¯t think of any other possible suspects other than the two of them.¡± ¡°How vicious and ruthless! It¡¯s so obvious that they were the ones behind it. I knew they were up to no good. Do they really think we won¡¯t hold it against them for the incident about the ancestral hall just because they refuse to admit it? They¡¯re too simple-minded!¡± Mrs. Gu eximed agitatedly, clenching her jaw in anger. ¡°So, Mother, what you did was right. It¡¯ll be a piece of cake for them to harm us again if we continue letting them live together with us. We have to eliminate that possibility,¡± Lin Mingxi said in approval. ¡°Seems like I did the right thing by mustering the courage to chase them out today. We have to be extra careful from now onwards. After all, it does pay to be cautious and it¡¯s better to be safe than sorry,¡± Mrs. Gu cautioned. ¡°...¡± ¡ª The clock struck twelve at midnight. An Xiaoning was woken up by her rm. She changed into a casual outfit and left the pce. She then treaded along the sidewalk and sprinted toward the pharmacy. After observing her surroundings, An Xiaoning climbed over the wall and went in through the entrance. As expected, the door was not locked. Thinking that there might be a guard on duty supervising the pharmacy at night, An Xiaoning slowed down her pace and tiptoed inside. She entered the room while wearing her night vision spectacles and found that there was indeed someone sleeping inside one of the smaller rooms. She stealthily made her way toward the medication counter. Scanning the disy ss up and down, she finally caught sight of the pregnancy test kits. There were two sets in total. Filled with joy, An Xiaoning gently opened the ss door and reached a hand in to grab the two pregnancy test kits, which she then ced inside her pocket. She then closed the door of the ss cab and ced five dors on top of the counter. She again tiptoed out of the pharmacy. To her surprise, everything went ording to n smoothly. An Xiaoning hurriedly climbed over the wall with much finesse and sneaked away. She quickly embarked on her journey back to the pce. Little did she know, Tuoba Gucheng had been standing behind a tree ever since she climbed over the wall from outside and had witnessed her entire act of stealth. cing both hands behind his back, Tuoba Gucheng squinted to stare at the road where An Xiaoning had long vanished from. He wondered what she sneaked into the pharmacy at midnight for. Was she there to steal money? It can¡¯t be, bodyguards were paid high wages. There¡¯s no need for her to steal at all. Could it be that she was there to steal some medicine? It must be something secretive, mustn¡¯t it? Otherwise, she could¡¯ve just bought it openly. The matter had managed to pique his curiosity. Tuoba Gucheng walked toward the entrance of the pharmacy and knocked on the door. ¡°Who¡¯s here in the wee hours of the night?¡± ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± Upon hearing his voice, the sleepy-eyed pharmacy owner instantly sobered up and asked in surprise, ¡°Your... Your Highness, why are you here at this hour?¡± ¡°I just happened to pass by and chanced upon someone climbing over the wall after exiting your store. Check and see if anything¡¯s missing.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± The pharmacy owner first took a look at his cash register to find that none of the money or loose change was missing. He discovered that the locks were all intact and nothing else had gone missing either. ¡°Check if any of the medical supplies are missing. I suspect the person came to steal some medicine,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng. Chapter 553 - The Secret About the Past (171)

Chapter 553: The Secret About the Past (171)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Medicine?¡± The pharmacy owner was getting a major headache. There was no way he could tell if anything was missing within such a short period of time since the supplies were fully stocked. However, as soon as he caught sight of the five dors on the cab, he suddenly recalled that there wasn¡¯t any money on the countertop when he switched off the lights. After taking a look at the area below the cash, the owner eximed in shock, ¡°The two pregnancy test kits that were here earlier are now missing. Maybe the perpetrator came for this. He or she has left five dors here too. Actually, the kits only cost a dor each.¡± ¡°Are pregnancy test kits... used to verify if someone is pregnant?¡± Tuoba Gucheng asked. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°How does it work?¡± ¡°Pregnancy test kits are urine tests. Two red lines on the indicator would mean positive while a single line would mean negative.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. Good that nothing¡¯s missing. But don¡¯t spread the word about this matter. The person probably did what they did because they¡¯re too embarrassed to buy the kit openly,¡± he said with a straight face. ¡°I know, thank you so much, Your Highness.¡± ¡°You¡¯re wee. You may continue resting.¡± He then turned around to leave. Tuoba Gucheng was filled with panic. Could it be that she was pregnant? Otherwise, why would she have sneaked in to buy this? The question ran through his mind constantly when he returned to his mansion. Tuoba Gucheng endured his burning desire to resolve his qualms and waited until the next morning to visit his sister¡¯s ce after breakfast. Coincidentally, his sister and both her bodyguards had gone out, giving him the perfect chance to take action. Tuoba Gucheng proceeded to An Xiaoning¡¯s room. He headed straight to the bathroom and shifted his gaze to the rubbish bin. This time, he made an exception and did something he had never once done in his life ¡ª rummaging through the trash! As expected, he found two pregnancy test kits that were broken into halves. Tuoba Gucheng fumbled in astonishment when he inched forward to take a closer look. Both the indicators showed two red, solid lines. She was pregnant! The child must be his! Tuoba Gucheng did not doubt his belief, not a single bit at all! The reason being, he had also heard that her boyfriend had passed away previously. Besides, no ordinary man would want to get intimate with such an ugly girl like her so casually. Well, he was indeed no ordinary man! Tuoba Gucheng picked up the two broken kits and ced them inside his pocket. After leaving her room, he kept staring at the test kits over and over again. The urge to question her directly grew deeper within him the more he stared at the kits. ¡°Xiao Chi, go to Danxue¡¯s mansion and wait for Mu Ning to appear. Bring her to me immediately once you see her. Tell her that I¡¯m looking for her urgently.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± Xiao Chi dared not probe further, although he did not know what Tuoba Gucheng wanted to see his Young Madam for. Tuoba Gucheng ced the kits back inside his pocket and a grave expression formed on his face. In this case, there was no way he could allow her to keep the child. If his mother were to find out about this matter, the consequences would be dire and he would have no means to save her at all. Tuoba Gucheng was rather infuriated. Why didn¡¯t she take the contraceptive pill as soon as possible when I told her to? If she could think of sneaking into the pharmacy to steal the pregnancy test kits, why couldn¡¯t she do the same for the contraceptive pills? Did this woman have other ns in mind? Was she thinking of making me marry her after giving birth to the child secretly? His anger grew stronger the more he thought about it. Not only was she putting her own life at risk, but she was causing him trouble as well. An Xiaoning arrived half an hourter. Noticing how sickly she appeared, Tuoba Gucheng said, ¡°Come with me, I have something to ask you.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± They headed to his bedroom upstairs. After locking the door from the inside, Tuoba Gucheng walked toward her and asked with a menacing look in his eyes, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you take the contraceptive pill when I told you to?¡± ¡°How did you know I didn¡¯t?¡± ¡°You sneaked into the pharmacy in the middle ofst night to steal some pregnancy test kits. Do you really think no one found out? I happened to witness you in the act. I went to ask the pharmacy owner and discovered that two pregnancy test kits were missing. You even left five dors on the counter,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng, keeping his eyes fixed on her. An Xiaoning¡¯s heart wrenched in panic and anxiety. However, she still admitted it, nheless, ¡°Yes, I was the one who did it.¡± He whipped out the pregnancy test kits and said, ¡°I found these in the rubbish bin inside your bathroom.¡± Staring at the kits in disbelief, she gasped and questioned, ¡°You rummaged through my rubbish bin?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with stooping below my level once in a while? Since you¡¯re pregnant, the only way out now is to abort it,¡± he said coldly. ¡°Why do I have to abort it when it¡¯s my child?¡± ¡°Turns out you really have a hidden agenda. Do you really think I¡¯ll give you a proper status even if you give birth to the child secretly?¡± he questioned. Anger surged through An Xiaoning¡¯s veins. ¡°What has the child got to do with you? It¡¯s mine, not yours. Your Highness, I already told you long ago that nothing happened between us that night. You were the one who masturbated. Did you lose your memory or something?¡± However, he was clearly unconvinced by her exnation. ¡°Mu Ning, I guess you¡¯re really getting carried away by your wishful thinking.¡± What he was obviously trying to say was that she was thinking of marrying him. ¡°I¡¯ve never harbored any designs on you before! Your Highness, please recall carefully what happened that night!¡± Tuoba Gucheng reached a hand out to grab her chin and gave it a little squeeze, causing her to feel an acute pain. ¡°What are you doing!?!¡± she screeched. ¡°Seems like you¡¯re asking for a hard time. Do you really think there¡¯s nothing I can do about you, just because you don¡¯t wish to abort this disaster child?¡± Tuoba Gucheng threatened, ring at her menacingly. An Xiaoning was tongue-tied. It was her first time encountering such a knotty situation where she could not exin herself clearly. ¡°Once the child is born, we¡¯ll run a DNA test between you and the child. If it really belongs to you, we¡¯ll both die in your hands. Will that do?¡± ¡°Hah... why? Are you thinking of threatening me? You know clearly that I can¡¯t kill the child once it¡¯s born, neither can I kill you, his mother. By then, everything will be set in stone and there¡¯ll be nothing else I can do. That¡¯s what you¡¯re nning, right?¡± he scoffed. ¡°...¡± She did not know what else to say. She had already miscarried twice before giving birth to Jin Yiheng, which meant this was her fourth time getting pregnant. It was difficult for her to conceive and have a stable pregnancy. Thus, she did not inform Jin Qingyan immediately after finding out that she was pregnant, precisely because she knew Jin Qingyan would not allow her to continue remaining in the pce. However, she had yet to find out the truth about her mother. Such an opportunity would be hard toe by again, should she let it slip. Hence, she had been nning to find out the truth as soon as possible. Yet, Tuoba Gucheng had found out about her pregnancy, thwarting her ns and catching her by surprise. At this point, she was truly at a loss for what to do. Given the way the royal family usually handled matters, Tuoba Gucheng would definitely bear a grudge against her if she were to flee without warning. He would find her at all costs, without a doubt. Besides, given his powerful authority, things would definitely be much moreplicated if he were to discover that her true identity was An Xiaoning. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you talking?¡± ¡°Because Your Highness wouldn¡¯t believe anything I say.¡± Chapter 554 - The Secret About the Past (172)

Chapter 554: The Secret About the Past (172)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He released his grip on her chin and said, ¡°Get rid of the child and I¡¯ll guarantee that your life won¡¯t be in danger. I¡¯ll also give you a sum of money enough tost you a lifetime and give you a carefree life. Leave this ce and start life anew.¡± Sounds great. But the child she was carrying belongs to her and her husband, Jin Qingyan. What has it got to do with him at all!?! She decided that deceiving him would be a better choice. ¡°I¡¯ll abort it. Will that do?¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Don¡¯t think you can fool me. I¡¯ll supervise the process myself and send someone to perform the surgery on you.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll leave the Autumn Pce and not show up in front of you ever again. Okay?¡± ¡°Do you really think I¡¯d believe you? Cut the crap, I don¡¯t want to hear any of your nonsense. I¡¯m giving you two options now. You either abort the child or die. Take your pick,¡± he scorned. An Xiaoning felt a strong need to leave the pce tonight. Although she had yet to uncover the truth, it seemed she could no longer continue to remain there. ¡°Don¡¯t keep quiet, speak up!¡± ¡°Your Highness... could you give me a little bit of time?¡± ¡°You want me to give you the time for the baby bump to grow bigger and bigger with each passing day?¡± An Xiaoning shook her head and exined, ¡°I¡¯ve always been in poor health and I was once stabbed in my womb. Thus, the doctor said that it¡¯d be difficult for me to be impregnated, and even if I manage to get pregnant, it¡¯s almost impossible to keep the child since I¡¯ll very likely suffer a miscarriage. If I suffer a miscarriage within a month, this matter woulde to an end.¡± ¡°What if you don¡¯t?¡± ¡°If I fortunately don¡¯t suffer a natural miscarriage, I¡¯ll disappear from your sight forever.¡± ¡°What does that mean? What do you mean disappear from my sight forever? Do you mean you¡¯ll die?¡± Tuoba Gucheng questioned. ¡°Yes. If I don¡¯t suffer a miscarriage a month from now, I¡¯ll kill myself and die together with the child.¡± Needless to say, An Xiaoning did not mean what she said since she definitely would not die. She was merely trying to stall for time. ¡°Are your brains fried? Is the child really more important than your life? You¡¯d actually rather die together with the child than stay alive,¡± Tuoba Gucheng remarked in bewilderment. It was his first encounter with such an oundish woman. ¡°How about this, then? We¡¯ll close this case if I suffer a miscarriage within a month¡¯s time. But if I don¡¯t, it¡¯s up to you to do whatever you want with me. I¡¯m only a bodyguard, it¡¯s impossible for me to escape from your hands easily,¡± An Xiaoning suggested. ¡°What rights have you got to bargain with me?¡± Tuoba Gucheng was adamant about not giving in to her request, for he would live in uneasiness as long as the fetus was still alive. ¡°I¡¯m not in any ce to bargain with you, but I¡¯d like to keep it for another month,¡± said An Xiaoning, staring at the ground. ¡°But the oue will still be the same.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t. I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be the same,¡± An Xiaoning protested, shaking her head. Tuoba Gucheng could not wrap his head around what she was thinking at all. ¡°The child has to die in the end, is there any difference at all? Or do you think you¡¯d be able to make me fall in love with you within a short period of time and then allow you to give birth to the child because of that? I don¡¯t wish to brood over this matter any further. This is the end of discussion. You must abort this child now.¡± Realizing how adamant he was, An Xiaoning clenched her fists tightly and dropped onto her knees in front of him. She burst into tears and pleaded, ¡°Your Highness, please give me a month¡¯s time. Even though I know that the oue will be the same, I¡¯d still like to wait another month. Your Highness, I¡¯m begging you!¡± Tuoba Gucheng looked down at her and noticed a teardrop on her nose bridge. He wavered a little. ¡°Half a month. I¡¯ll give you half a month¡¯s time. Regardless of whether you suffer a miscarriage or not, I¡¯ll watch you undergo an abortion myself. The oue will not change, no matter what,¡± he conceded. At the end of the day, he still felt a slight tinge of guilt. Half a month was better than nothing, anyway. An Xiaoning got onto her feet immediately and stared at him with tears in her eyes. ¡°Thank you, Your Highness! Half a month it shall be, then.¡± Tuoba Gucheng raised his chin slightly and said, ¡°I¡¯ll instruct the guards to forbid you from leaving the Autumn Pce without my permission, so don¡¯t think of trying to flee.¡± ¡°You¡¯re worrying too much, Your Highness. I may have trained in martial arts, but I¡¯m not capable enough to leave the Autumn Pce on my own yet.¡± ¡°Good that you¡¯re self-aware. You may leave.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and turned around to leave. She only had half a month¡¯s time to find out the truth. Once she returned, Tuoba Danxue asked curiously, ¡°What did my brother call you over for?¡± ¡°Nothing much, he just thinks I need to brush up on mybat skills and learn from his bodyguards, so as to protect you better.¡± Tuoba Danxue broke into smiles and said, ¡°Is that so? Seems like my brother is very concerned about my safety.¡± ¡°That¡¯s for sure.¡± ¡°Your Highness,¡± Zhi Yin greeted as she entered with a female bodyguard from Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s team of bodyguards. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°His Highness said that Mu Ning¡¯sbat skills are nowhereparable to Bai Zhi¡¯s. He wants Mu Ning to train with his bodyguards for a month.¡± Upon hearing her words, Tuoba Danxue immediately said, ¡°Brother is so considerate and caring toward me. Mu Ning, go ahead and train at my brother¡¯s ce. We¡¯ll switch you back with Bai Zhi after a month is up.¡± An Xiaoning knew clearly what Tuoba Gucheng was up to. He was trying to keep her around him so that he could monitor her closely, wasn¡¯t he? ¡°Alright.¡± She headed upstairs to pack her belongings before making her way to Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s mansion with her luggage. ¡°You shall take the room beside mine. Go upstairs and unpack your luggage,¡± Tuoba Gucheng instructed. ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning felt like things were getting far too serious and stringent. With him keeping an eye on her all day, how was she supposed to continue investigating on her mother in secret? Yet, she was not willing to give up just like that. After unzipping her luggage and cing it onto the floor, she took out her daily necessities and did not bother hanging her clothes inside the closet. An Xiaoning felt a little giddy but had no choice but to head downstairs again since she was not allowed to take a nap. ¡°Your Highness, you don¡¯t actually have to transfer me here.¡± ¡°But I want to.¡± ¡°Um, Your Highness, regarding my visit to the pharmacyst night...¡± ¡°No one will leak a word about it. I¡¯ve also instructed someone to delete the surveince camera footages.¡± ¡°Alright...¡± ¡ª Sun Weiwei took on the offer to star in Bai Duocai¡¯s film. It was an erotic, adult film. Filming had already ended because the process was quick, mainly due to the fact that it was a low production film with a corny storyline that did not require much brainstorming. It would be in theaters very soon. Such adult films have always been allowed to air in theaters in S Nation. However, only adults aged 18 and above were allowed to purchase tickets for the film. Minors were forbidden from entering as well. Sun Weiwei appeared on the news again, thanks to the film. Although she did not make the headlines, the news nheless sparked various discussions and gossip about her amongstizens online, due to the fact that she used to be an influential top celebrity. Basically, she received more criticism than praises. She was mmed and bashed with all sorts of snide remarks and castigations. Heavy criticism and controversialments were particrly rampant on Sun Weiwei¡¯s Weibo page. She used to receive variouspliments and praises in thements section during the peak of her career. However, once her promising career sank into the doldrums, she stopped using Weibo altogether due to the floodingments of malice and hate she received. Chapter 555 - The Secret About the Past (173)

Chapter 555: The Secret About the Past (173)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios However, she would have to start using Weibo again in order to publicize the film. As soon as she logged into her ount, tons of private messages popped up on Sun Weiwei¡¯s screen, all of which consisted of heavy criticism and disparagement from angryizens. The relentless and maliciousments greatly dampened her spirits. One would easily be upset if they were to allow the opinions of others to affect themselves. But of course, those who are thick-skinned would be exceptions. She exited the Weibo page and gulped down an entire ss of in water before mming the empty ss onto the table with a loud thud. ¡°Knock, knock!¡± ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± There was no response. Sun Weiwei peeked through the peephole to find that the person outside had covered it. ¡°Just who are you? I¡¯m not opening if you refuse to speak.¡± ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± Sun Weiwei was startled to hear the familiar voice that she had not heard in a long time. ¡°What are you here for?¡± ¡°To have a good chat with you, of course. Open up.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing for us to talk about.¡± ¡°Do you think Bai Duocai will not destroy you if he finds out that you¡¯re the one who caused his sister¡¯s death?¡± Sun Weiwei pulled the door open abruptly and red at her former assistant. ¡°You¡¯re too shameless,¡± she hissed. ¡°I¡¯m nowhere as shameless or despicable as you are. Although you were the one who instigated me to do those things, I¡¯ve already pulled my connections and requested the hospital to delete all the surveince camera footages, including those outside the hospital. We may have been codependent in the past, but, Sun Weiwei, I now have evidence against you while you have nothing against me.¡± Sun Weiwei was astonished and dumbfounded. She initially thought that she was already malicious enough. Yet, she did not expect her former assistant to be far worse than her. ¡°What do you want?¡± Sun Weiwei questioned. ¡°I heard that you¡¯re Bai Duocai¡¯s woman now and he¡¯s even made you the female lead of a film. I don¡¯t quite have a job now too. Let me be your manager and we¡¯ll split your earnings between us.¡± Sun Weiwei humphed and scoffed, ¡°Dream on. I don¡¯t have many jobs on hand now, I don¡¯t need a manager.¡± ¡°You must have a manager regardless of whether you need one or not! Isn¡¯t this how you used to treat me in the past when I was your manager? Besides, I¡¯m cash-strapped now. It¡¯s time you work for me now that I have a hold on you. When you¡¯re not filming, I can help you take on jobs as a social escort. Spend a night with men at a luxurious hotel and you¡¯ll easily earn tens of thousands. Isn¡¯t that how it is?¡± ¡°You... I won¡¯t allow you to be my manager,¡± Sun Weiwei refused vehemently. ¡°Well, then, I¡¯ll have no choice but to tell Mr. Ye and Bai Duocai the huge secret you¡¯ve been hiding. Bai Duocai would probably beat you into a pulp when he finds out. Do you really think he¡¯ll still support you through your career? Mr. Ye wouldn¡¯t let you off either. You have to consider carefully,¡± said the former assistant, sounding rather confident that Sun Weiwei would give in. Sun Weiwei recalled the times when she used to be controlled by her former assistant. It was practically a living hell. ring at the woman before her, Sun Weiwei conceded, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll give in. Let¡¯s have a meal together this evening.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the way to go. I¡¯ll see you tonight, then?¡± The assistant left as soon as she finished speaking, smiling widely from ear to ear. Yet, Sun Weiwei could not bring herself to smile at all. She stared at the ground, pursing her lips tightly. She was initially already in a bad mood after reading thements on her Weibo page. However, being in a bad mood was now an understatement after hearing her assistant¡¯s threats. She was on the verge of despair. After having tolerated her former assistant for so long, she thought that she could finally break free from her clutches. However, there will never be a day that she would truly be free, so long as the assistant had a hold against her. She was driving her into the corner! Sun Weiwei bit her lip and clenched her fists tightly. She then began preparing the necessary items she needed. Finally, the sun had set and evening arrived. She left the house with the items she had prepared beforehand and arrived at the restaurant. The former assistant had yet to arrive. Sun Weiwei booked a private room in the restaurant. She proceeded to smear some colorless and odorless liquid on the goblet. The substance was none other than the SIA virus. It was the same virus that had caused Bai Ranran¡¯s death back then. Bai Ranran was infected with the fatal virus due to a contaminated syringe that came into contact with her bloodstream. Although it would be faster for the SIA virus to kill the infected if it were injected directly into the bloodstream, ingesting the virus would still result in hallucinations and severe heart palpitations. Besides, the virus might very likely cause the assistant to suffer a sudden heart attack, especially since she was diagnosed with a heart disease. By the time the assistant arrived, the liquid inside the goblet had already dried up. She poured herself half a goblet of wine while Sun Weiwei handed her the menu and said, ¡°Order the dishes.¡± She looked down at the menu and called for the waiter toe forth. She then ordered all her favorite dishes. After the food was served, the assistant said, ¡°I¡¯ll ept more jobs on your behalf once I be your manager. The past shall remain a secret between you and me. So, don¡¯t incur my wrath and we¡¯ll get along harmoniously. Okay?¡± ¡°I helped you earn so much money in the past. Did you forget that?¡± ¡°Yes, but that¡¯s history now. Did you also forget how you used to order me around like I was your dog and trampled on my dignity?¡± Sun Weiwei nodded and raised her ss. ¡°Cheers.¡± They clinked sses, after which Sun Weiwei watched as the assistant finished the liquor in her goblet until the veryst drop. A menacing smile of vengeance hung from the corner of Sun Weiwei¡¯s lips. The meal went on rather peacefully. When it was time to leave, after footing the bill, Sun Weiwei offered to give her a lift home. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a ride.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, I can manage on my own.¡± Sun Weiwei waved and said, ¡°Drive carefully then.¡± The assistant expressed assent and got into her car. Sun Weiwei watched as the assistant¡¯s car left and then hailed a taxi to return home. She brought the goblet home and smashed it before flushing the broken bits of ss down the toilet bowl. She had already devised a n before making her way to the restaurant. She brought her own goblet beforehand and took the chance to swap the goblets while the assistant went the washroom, so as to avoid leaving any clues or evidence. Sun Weiwei was at her wits¡¯ end at this point. Just as she was about to go to bed, she received a call from the assistant. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Sun Weiwei, did you spike my drink or food?¡± ¡°No, what could I possibly spike you with?¡± ¡°Why do I feel so ufortable then!?!¡± ¡°How would I know?¡± Clutching her chest in utter difort, the assistant quickly hung up and drove to the hospital while panting heavily. After conducting a physical examination, the doctor discovered that her condition was rather serious. The assistant then revealed that she was suffering from heart disease, though it had notpsed for a long time. The doctor hurriedly prescribed her with a cardiac stimnt and some other medication, all of which were of no help in alleviating her difort. The more she dwelt on the matter, the more she sensed something fishy about the meal they just had earlier. Thus, she dialed Sun Weiwei¡¯s number again and bellowed, ¡°I¡¯m almost dying, what did you spike my food and drink with!?!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything. Tell me which hospital you¡¯re at right now, I¡¯ll go look for you.¡± ¡°Save it!¡± The virus took effect much faster than Sun Weiwei had imagined. She headed to the nearest hospital and, after asking the information desk, discovered that the assistant was indeed there. Chapter 556 - The Secret About the Past (174)

Chapter 556: The Secret About the Past (174)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Sun Weiwei quickened her pace to search for the assistant. Soon, she caught sight of the assistant in no time due to the fact that it was nighttime and, therefore, the crowd along the corridor was sparse. The assistant was lying down on the hospital bed and staring wide-eyed at the ceiling above, her face as pale as a sheet. Sun Weiwei stepped forward and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± ¡°Sun Weiwei! You still have the audacity to say that you didn¡¯t spike my food or drink? As if I¡¯d believe you!¡± she hollered, ring at Sun Weiwei while gritting her teeth in anger. Sun Weiwei drew the curtains around the bed and said patiently, ¡°Could you stop suspecting me for everything? Don¡¯t you know that you¡¯re suffering from heart disease? You¡¯re so paranoid.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already done a blood test. We¡¯ll know very soon whether or not you drugged me.¡± Sun Weiwei nodded and asked, ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll wait with you for the test results, okay?¡± The assistant began to wonder if she was reading too much into things upon noticing how calm andposed Sun Weiwei was, as if her conscience was clear. As the pain became debilitating, she screeched, ¡°Go call the doctor here!¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Sun Weiwei turned around and exited the ward. However, she did not call the doctor and instead paced back and forth around the corridor aimlessly. After loitering about for a long while, she headed back to the assistant¡¯s ward. ¡°Doctor, hurry and save me!¡± Sun Weiwei knew that the assistant had begun hallucinating. Thus, sheforted her softly, ¡°I¡¯ll give you an injection right away. Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll feel better after I just do it once.¡± ¡°Hurry and switch on the lights.¡± Sun Weiwei whipped out a syringe from her pocket and gently poked it into her vein. At this very moment, she was not in the least bit flustered at all. Just as she poked half the needle in, the assistant came to her senses again. Noticing that Sun Weiwei was the one giving her the injection, the assistant stuck a leg out and kicked her away. Sun Weiwei¡¯s syringe fell onto the ground, after which she frantically picked it up and chucked it inside her pocket. ¡°So you were really the one who tampered with my food and drink!¡± the assistant barked, quivering uncontrobly from head to toe. Since things had alreadye to this, Sun Weiwei decided not to hide it anymore. ¡°Do you still remember how Ms. Bai died? Since you tried to test my limits and drive me into the corner time and time again, I decided to give it my all this time. You¡¯ve brought all of this upon yourself. I¡¯ve never thought of dealing with you using this method, but you were the one who forced me to do it!¡± ¡°Sun Weiwei, since you¡¯re bent on making life hard for me, I¡¯ll make sure you die a horrible death!¡± ¡°Are you sure? You¡¯d better report to Hades first,¡± Sun Weiwei hissed fearlessly. The assistant was gripping her mobile phone tightly beneath the nket. She stopped retorting and instead closed her eyes and feigned death. In fact, the SIA virus would usually only take effect a few dayster. However, the assistant¡¯s heart disease was the catalyst of her heart attack. Thinking that she was about to die, Sun Weiwei hurriedly left the ward upon noticing that the doctors were approaching. The assistant waited for her to leave before proceeding to send a text message to Ye Xiaotian and Bai Duocai immediately, all while enduring the pain. On top of that, she speedily logged into her personal Weibo ount and wrote a long post. She then tagged the official Weibo ounts of various tabloids and entertainment news agencies before posting it. ¡°You¡¯re still ying with your mobile phone when you¡¯re already in this state? Do you even care about your health at all? You¡¯re infected with the SIA virus,¡± the doctor chided, handing her the test report. To the doctor¡¯s surprise, she did not ask about what the SIA virus was and instead only said, ¡°Got it.¡± The doctor stared at her with a look of pity in his eyes and said, ¡°There are no medical solutions to ovee this virus at the moment, be it locally or overseas.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She felt as if her heart was on fire, and her breathing had be extremely irregr. She was taking deep breaths and struggling to breath, as if her airways had been blocked. Nheless, she still got down from the bed to send her family a text message. Upon sight of her exiting the ward, Sun Weiwei asked, ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°It¡¯s none of your business! You monster!¡± ¡°If I¡¯m a monster, what does that make you? Are you any better than I am?¡± Sun Weiwei questioned softly. The assistant ignored her and scurried out of the hospital to get into her car. She pushed through the difort and forced herself to bear with the excruciating pain while driving home. However, she stepped on the emergency brakes halfway through the journey and stopped breathing altogether. Sun Weiwei knew that the assistant would die for sure. Yet, she did not expect herself to make such a foolish blunder again this time. She was arrested by the police the very moment she arrived home. The assistant¡¯s post on Weibo caused a major uproar in the evening. The cause of Bai Ranran¡¯s death was finally revealed years after she passed away. Both the Ye family and Bai family were bbergasted when they heard about the news. Ye Xiaotian was overwhelmed with guilt as he read through the post on Weibo over and over again. When Bai Ranran died, he was not as upset as he was now. He was in the worst possible mood. After visiting Sun Weiwei at the police station, he returned home and cooped himself up in the wine cer. He chugged liquor continuously in a bid to drown his sorrows. He felt guilty for not investigating how Bai Ranran got infected with the SIA virus back then and instead just watched as she died. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that the assistant had suffered the same fate, the truth will have probably never been unraveled. Sun Weiweimitted all of these misdeeds for her own selfish reasons. In fact, that was what the media reported as well¡ª iming that Sun Weiwei had plotted a scheme to kill Bai Ranran, all because of Ye Xiaotian! Ye Xiaotian was branded as a shameless jerk as a result. However, there was also a minority who defended Ye Xiaotian, saying that the matter urred solely because of Sun Weiwei¡¯s malicious intentions and evil thoughts and that Ye Xiaotian did not deserve to be called a shameless jerk since he did not force Sun Weiwei into doing what she had done. In conclusion, the piece of news be a hot topic for discussion online. Mo Li had also read everyone¡¯sments about the matter, particrly about Ye Xiaotian. Thus, she walked toward the wine cer and pushed the door open. ¡°Xiaotian.¡± Ye Xiaotian did not bother looking at her and instead continued to drink incessantly. Mo Li entered the cer and squatted down in front of him. ¡°Stop drinking,¡± she said, snatching his bottle of liquor away. ¡°Give it to me.¡± He snatched it back from her. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault, you don¡¯t have to hold it against yourself. You didn¡¯t wish for this to happen either. It was all Sun Weiwei¡¯s evil doing.¡± ¡°When Ranran died... I actually felt a little relieved to be free, because I¡¯d have had to marry her if she hadn¡¯t died. That was a token of gratitude to thank her for donating a kidney to my mother. But I really didn¡¯t expect her to have died because of someone else¡¯s doing. I never knew she died a wrongful death all along. She died all because of me, because of me!¡± Teary-eyed, Mo Li said, ¡°Sun Weiwei is now arrested. Ms. Bai would definitely be at ease if she knows about this. Ms. Bai won¡¯t bear a grudge against you.¡± Ye Xiaotian turned to make eye contact with her and said, ¡°Have you any idea how much I wanted to break Sun Weiwei¡¯s neck when I saw her at the police station today?¡± Mo Li nodded and said, ¡°I know.¡± Without uttering another word, he raised his neck and continued to drink until he was drunk out of his senses. Mo Li then helped him back inside the room. ¡°Ranran... I should¡¯ve given you a wedding...¡± Ye Xiaotian murmured. Mo Li stood by the bed, slightly upset to hear his words. However, she did not wish to vie with a dead person for his love. Chapter 557 - The Secret About the Past (175)

Chapter 557: The Secret About the Past (175)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios During dinner, An Xiaoning ate exceptionally little. However, she still threw up everything in the end. She had never experienced such severe nausea when she was pregnant with Jin Yiheng. Noticing how badly she was vomiting, Tuoba Gucheng instructed the kitchen helpers, ¡°Mu Ning has an upset stomach. Cook her some lean pork porridge with century egg.¡± The head chef acknowledged him immediately. An Xiaoning sat down on the couch feebly after rinsing her mouth. Coincidentally, she received a text message from Jin Qingyan at this very moment. She had set her mobile phone to silent mode. Thus, she could feel it clearly when her mobile phone vibrated in her pocket. However, she did not look at her mobile phone immediately because Tuoba Gucheng was sitting right opposite her. Soon, the porridge was served. She took her time to savor the porridge because it was still piping hot. She prayed fervently that she would not throw up again. After finishing the entire bowl of porridge, she dared not eat anymore even though she was not full yet. Fortunately, she did not experience any nausea after having the porridge. ¡°Go up to get some rest,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng, who stood up to head upstairs. An Xiaoning followed him closely. The first thing she did when she returned to her room was to open the text message from her husband. An Xiaoning sprawled herself across the bed and told him everything about the situation except her pregnancy. Jin Qingyan was filled with anxiety upon hearing that she had been transferred to work under Tuoba Gucheng. An Xiaoning was pleased to see him getting jealous and anxious. Fancy him being so worried even though Tuoba Gucheng and Lin Shishi were going to get married in August. After chatting for a while, An Xiaoning proceeded to remove her mask. She then applied a beauty serum facial mask over her real skin. She began to ponder about how she should go about finding out the truth, given the current situation. Security was much tighter around Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s mansionpared to Tuoba Danxue¡¯s. There were many guards on duty round the clock. That meant that it would be extremely difficult for her to go out as and when she¡¯d like at night. Feeling sleepy and fatigued, she decided not to go out and to get a good night¡¯s sleep instead. Meanwhile, Tuoba Gucheng was suffering from insomnia in the room next to hers. He tossed and turned in bed, experiencing great trouble falling asleep. He began to wonder just how many times he had ejacted in her that night to have gotten her pregnant so easily. He was overwhelmed with worry at the thought of her growing fetus, which he must get rid of in half a month. He had never gotten intimate with another woman before, which also meant he had given his virginity to this country bumpkin, the first woman he impregnated. Or so he thought. An Xiaoning would definitely roll her eyes if she were to hear his thoughts. She would also scoff and retort: ¡°You snatched my virginity too!¡± Your first child has yet to arrive in this world! An Xiaoning had no idea at all that he was letting his imagination run wild. He tossed and turned for two whole hours, yet he was still not in the least bit sleepy at all. It was the same even after another two hours... He only fell asleep at four o¡¯clock in the morning. An Xiaoning woke up at past six o¡¯clock in the morning, only to find that the weather had turned gloomy with strong gusts of wind. She got out of bed to freshen up and put on her mask before having breakfast. Tuoba Gucheng had yet toe downstairs even after she was done with her breakfast. Recalling what he mentioned about having to pick up a friend from overseas this morning, An Xiaoning decided to go upstairs to call him. Realizing that the door was unlocked, she pushed it open and entered. This was her first time entering Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s bedroom, which was furnished ording to a monochrome color scheme. There was a huge, eye-catching portrait photo of him above the headboard of his head. But... Where is he? He was, strangely, not on his bed. Did he sleep in the bodyguards¡¯ room again? What an oddball. He¡¯d actually rather sleep on a bunk bed than his big,fortable bed. An Xiaoning held her breath the moment she turned around. It turned out, Tuoba Gucheng was standing right behind her. ¡°What are you doing inside my room?¡± ¡°I thought... you were still in bed so I came to wake you up.¡± ¡°I have an rm, why do I need you to wake me up?¡± Staring at his eyes, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Your Highness... your dark eye circles...¡± ¡°Wait for me downstairs. I¡¯m going out to attend to something very soon.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± An Xiaoning dismissed herself quietly. Once she left, Tuoba Gucheng kicked the door shut and stood in front of the mirror immediately to look at his eye bags. He then quietly took out his own cosmetic products... When he headed downstairs, An Xiaoning realized that his initial dark eye circles hadpletely vanished. His skin was fair and bright, as if he had applied something on his face. Men, too, were allowed to use makeup. It was not a privilege exclusive only to women. He was dressed in an exceptionally formal attire ¡ª a full-ck suit that brought out his suaveness. An Xiaoning and Xiao Chi followed him to the arrival hall, along with two other bodyguards. She finally had a chance to go out of the pce again. They soon arrived at the arrival hall to wait for Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s friend from overseas. Noticing that her eyes were darting all around, Tuoba Gucheng chided, ¡°Don¡¯t act like a country bumpkin who has never seen the outside world before. What¡¯s there to see around here?¡± Although she was feeling disgruntled, An Xiaoning kept her feelings to herself and said, ¡°Yes... Your Highness, when will your friend be arriving?¡± ¡°He alreadynded and checked into a hotel yesterday. He should be here any time soon.¡± Just like he said, a group of people entered through the gate slowly in a single file minutester. An Xiaoning was greatly taken aback the moment she caught sight of them. ¡°Huh...¡± Tuoba Gucheng looked up to take a nce at her. To him, she didn¡¯t seem shocked and was reacting like how one usually would when a handsome man appears. The friend was none other than Prince Byron of Y Nation, who brought along his gay partner, Lance, and some bodyguards. ¡°Hello,¡± Tuoba Gucheng greeted fluently in the nativenguage of Y Nation. Byron reached out for a handshake and said, ¡°Long time no see.¡± ¡°Have a seat.¡± An Xiaoning looked up at Byron, only to realize that he was still as dashing and charming as ever, despite her having not seen him in years. He seemed to have barely aged at all. After hearing their conversation, An Xiaoning discovered that Tuoba Gucheng and Byron were close friends who had met several times. Not long after, reporters from both S Nation and Y Nation came forth to snap some photos. Dressed in the bodyguard¡¯s uniform, An Xiaoning stood with her back as straight as a ruler. The bulk of their discussion were mainly issues regarding trading between both nations. The discussion ended in less than an hour. They then proceeded to have a meal together. That exined why Tuoba Gucheng had skipped breakfast. The bodyguards waited outside the door while Tuoba Gucheng and Byron had lunch together. An Xiaoning realized that it was not easy being a bodyguard. Although it seemed to be a rxing job on the surface, it was in fact beyond exhausting. A bodyguard would have to stay vignt and be on guard at all times and remain standing throughout the day. After the luncheon, Byron invited Tuoba Gucheng to go hiking the next morning, to which Tuoba Gucheng agreed. Dog-tired, Tuoba Gucheng headed back to his mansion right away after Byron left. ¡°Your Highness, did you not sleep wellst night?¡± An Xiaoning asked. He rolled his eyes at her and said, ¡°I obviously didn¡¯t. When you saw Prince Byron, you were staring so hard at him that your eyeballs seemed like they were almost going to fall out. Why didn¡¯t you react that way when you first saw me?¡± Chapter 558 - The Secret About the Past (176)

Chapter 558: The Secret About the Past (176)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning forced a smile and said, ¡°I reacted that way too when I first saw you.¡± ¡°Liar.¡± An Xiaoning remained silent and followed closely behind him. Upon arriving home, he instructed the kitchen helpers to prepare some food that he then told An Xiaoning to send upstairs. She was puzzled by his actions. Didn¡¯t he just have lunch with Byron? Did he not have enough to eat? she wondered. After the kitchen helpers were done preparing the food, An Xiaoning proceeded to bring it to him upstairs. She initially thought that he was already sleeping. To her surprise, she entered his room to find that he was ying with his mobile phone while sitting on the bed. ¡°Your Highness, the food is ready.¡± She ced the bowl on the cab beside the bed and turned around to leave. However, she was stopped in her tracks. ¡°Hold it.¡± Noticing the stern expression on his face, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Sit here,¡± he said, pointing at the bed. An Xiaoning did not know what he was up to, though she sat down abidingly. What happened nextpletely caught her by surprise. Pointing at the screen of his mobile phone, he asked, ¡°Out of all these men, who do you find the most handsome?¡± An Xiaoning took a look to find that it was a photo coge of Ling Ciye, a famous male celebrity, a sports champion, Ye Xiaotian, Byron, and Jin Qingyan. There were six of them in total. Yet, Tuoba Gucheng was not included in the coge. ¡°Your Highness, why isn¡¯t your photo up there?¡± ¡°I¡¯m asking you, who do you think is the most good-looking out of all of them?¡± he reiterated. An Xiaoning swallowed her saliva and asked, ¡°Um, why isn¡¯t Long Tianze included?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s Long Tianze? Is he better-looking than all the men in this coge?¡± It seemed like Long Tianze was not as well known as Ling Ciye, despite being the owner of an entertainmentpany. ¡°Nah, I just heard of his name before. Actually, all the men here are pretty good-looking...¡± Noticing the frown on his face, she continued, ¡°But! They¡¯re not as handsome as you, Your Highness!¡± Surprisingly, there was actually such an immature side to him. Was he really a 26-year-old man? Why did he seem like he was only 16? ¡°Good that you know. Alright, you may go out.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Tuoba Gucheng was rather annoyed and regretted asking her to pick the most handsome one out of those men. This silly country bumpkin would find anyone handsome. How unloyal. ¡ª ¡°Daddy, who¡¯s that ugly woman? Why does she have the same hairstyle as Mommy?¡± Jin Yiheng asked, pointing at a photo of An Xiaoning standing behind Tuoba Gucheng, which was published on the news. ¡°Is she really ugly? Daddy thinks she¡¯s quite pretty.¡± Jin Yiheng nced at him apprehensively and remarked, ¡°Daddy, has your vision been getting worsetely?¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± Jin Qingyan answered, resting both his arms on the couch and crossing his legs while staring at the television screen. ¡°Daddy, you¡¯ve changed.¡± ¡°How did I change?¡± ¡°You used to call only Mommy pretty, yet now, you actuallyplimented such an ugly woman. I¡¯m definitely telling on you when Mommyes back.¡± ¡°Since you¡¯ve said that, let Daddy ask you a question. Between Wen Yuechan and Long Xiaoxi, who do you think is prettier? Tell me honestly.¡± Jin Yiheng seemed to be stuck in a dilemma. He pulled a long face and answered, ¡°But they¡¯re two different people. How am I supposed to decide?¡± ¡°Purely based on looks, who¡¯s prettier?¡± ¡°Daddy, Xiaoxi once got upset at me for a really long time because of this question.¡± ¡°Seems like you said Xiaoxi wasn¡¯t pretty back then.¡± Jin Yiheng let out a sigh and said, ¡°But I was just stating facts... judging purely based on looks, Yuechan is prettier.¡± ¡°Jin Yiheng!¡± yelled a voiceing from the door. The two of them turned around to find that Long Xiaoxi was standing right by the door. Needless to say, she had heard everything they said! Jin Qingyan switched off the television and stood up to say to Long Xiaoxi, ¡°Xiaoxi, Godpa is going to the office now. Have fun, you two.¡± Jin Yiheng stepped forward slowly and said, ¡°Xiaoxi...¡± Long Xiaoxi stood rooted to the ground with tears in her eyes. ¡°I thought I was the prettiest to you, but it seems I was wrong. I won¡¯t give birth to your child anymore when we¡¯re older. Get Wen Yuechan to give birth for you!¡± Jin Yiheng was dumbfounded. By the time he recovered from the shock, Long Xiaoxi had already run far, far away. Long Xiaoxi returned home and burst into tears while covering her eyes with her arm. She was bawling in agony, devastated to hear the same few wordsing out of his mouth twice. ¡°Xiaoxi... who made you cry?¡± Zhong Minhe asked. The teary-eyed Long Xiaoxi put her arm down and answered, ¡°Do you remember the girl I pointed out to you the other day?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Do you think she¡¯s prettier than I am?¡± ¡°Do you want to hear the truth?¡± Zhong Minhe asked. ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°In my eyes, she¡¯s not as pretty as you. Hush and stop crying, you won¡¯t be beautiful anymore if your eyes be swollen from all that crying.¡± Long Xiaoxi stepped forward and tugged on his shirt. ¡°Let¡¯s go have some popsicles. I made them myself under Mommy¡¯s guidance. I¡¯ll treat you to some.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± They then began walking toward the living room. As soon as they stepped foot inside, Long Xiaoxi was greeted with the sight of her mother tearing uncontrobly. ¡°Mother...¡± ¡°Xiaoxi, my Mommy is gone,¡± Mei Yangyang said in between sobs, after which she immediately set off to her mother¡¯s ce. After returning from the hospital, Mei Yangyang had continued to help her mother administer the medication imported from overseas. Ten days ago, Mrs. Mei slipped into a partially-conscious state and would wince and shriek in pain all day. One can only imagine how much difort and misery she had been experiencing. She passed away in the end. Mei Yangyang wondered if death meant that her mother would now be free from suffering. Once she entered, she leaned against Mrs. Mei¡¯s bed and broke down into tears. Mei Shuangshuang too was bawling in misery. After all, she was her biological mother. The grief-stricken Mr. Mei had a look of moroseness and agony in his eyes. A somber mood filled their hearts instantly. However, the funeral would still have to go on. Mei Yangyang proceeded to buy a shroud personally while Long Tianze rushed back from the office to help her arrange the funeral. Tears welled up in Long Xiaoxi¡¯s eyes upon hearing about her grandmother¡¯s death, and she stood rooted to the ground in shock next to Zhong Minhe and Long Wenlun with a popsicle in her hand. An Xiaoning had also received Mei Yangyang¡¯s text message. Unfortunately, she could not step foot out of the Autumn Pce. She expressed her condolences in her reply and apologized to Mei Yangyang for being unable to attend the funeral. Mei Yangyang did not hold it against her. Thinking to herself that Mei Yangyang must be in extremely low spirits and yet she could not be there for her, An Xiaoning instructed Jin Qingyan to tell Long Tianze to apany Mei Yangyang throughout this tough time. Jin Qingyan, too, gave her a set of instructions. He reminded her that it would be hers and Jin Yiheng¡¯s birthday on the 15th of July, which was only a few days away, something that she had always remembered. On the 15th of July in a previous year, she had fallen ill and feeble, allowing the female spirit to possess her body. This time, Jin Qingyan vehemently instructed her to be extra careful and mindful of her health. Although An Xiaoning agreed verbally, she actually did not have a concrete n to guard against those evil spirits. After all, it was not something within her control. She told him to take good care of their son on his birthday. An Xiaoning could not help but feel ill at ease at the thought of the 15th of July. Ever since the first time she was possessed by the spirit of the female teenager, she would feel exceptionally weak and feeble at twelve midnight on her subsequent birthdays. Fortunately, she would often prepare herself mentally beforehand and thus made it through her past few birthdays peacefully, partially also because there were no wandering spirits around. Chapter 559 - The Secret About the Past (177)

Chapter 559: The Secret About the Past (177)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios However, An Xiaoning knew that the Autumn Pce was different from her home. It was where the ancient pce used to be and where many bloody incidents and deaths had taken ce. Thus, it was a dismal ce full of spirits and unholy presences. However, therge number of people within the pce helped suppress the negative energies. She was supposedly allowed a day off that month, though she was not sure if Tuoba Gucheng would grant her request for leave. During dinner, An Xiaoning pondered over the matter for a long while and decided to ask him after they had finished eating. Unexpectedly, he had decided to go to Tuoba Danxue¡¯s ce in the evening. Thinking that it would be difficult to pop the question with the other bodyguards around, An Xiaoning realized that it would be a better choice to ask him when they were back from Tuoba Danxue¡¯s mansion. Tuoba Danxue and Jin Minxing¡¯s rtionship took off rapidly, and they would chat with each other over the phone for hours daily. Tuoba Danxue was initially still greatly traumatized by Jiang Feng¡¯s death. However, she was no longer bothered by the incident now, though she could never forget about it, deep down. Tuoba Danxue was in the midst of a phone call with Jin Minxing when they reached her ce. Noticing their arrival, she immediately ended the call. ¡°Brother, what brings you here?¡± ¡°I tried to call you so many times but your line was always engaged. I¡¯m going hiking with Prince Byron tomorrow. Would you like toe along?¡± ¡°Sure, of course. It¡¯s such a great opportunity to take a breather. Why wouldn¡¯t I? But, Brother, can I ask Minxing along?¡± Having already expected her to say that, Tuoba Gucheng conceded, ¡°Alright, if you want to. We¡¯ll meet him at the foot of the mountain.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Tuoba Danxue looked at An Xiaoning and asked her brother, ¡°Is she doing fine over at your side?¡± ¡°She¡¯s alright. Come over to mine for breakfast tomorrow morning. Don¡¯t bete.¡± ¡°Brother, you could¡¯ve just asked someone to ry the message to me. You didn¡¯t have to make a trip down here personally.¡± ¡°I obviously didn¡¯te here to see you. I¡¯m here to look for Uncle, he asked to see me.¡± ¡°Uncle? Why is he looking for you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, I¡¯m going over now.¡± Tuoba Gucheng arrived at Tuoba Shuo¡¯s mansion to see that thetter was standing right at the door. Tuoba Shuo was staring in their direction and had both his hands by his side out of habit. ¡°Uncle.¡± ¡°You¡¯re here, Gucheng. Come in and have a seat,¡± said Tuoba Shuo, gesturing for him to enter. Tuoba Gucheng took the lead and entered while An Xiaoning went inst. She was not surprised at all when Tuoba Shuo shoved a piece of paper into her hands. They made eye contact with each other and entered one after another. ¡°I heard that Prince Byron arrived here today. How did the discussion go?¡± Tuoba Shuo asked. ¡°Great. We even agreed to go mountain hiking tomorrow morning,¡± Tuoba Gucheng said with a smile. ¡°May I join in the fun with you young people?¡± he asked, also smiling. ¡°Of course you may.¡± Tuoba Gucheng thought it would be a great idea to let his uncle join in the crowd since thetter had always been by himself during the past few years. He must have felt lonely even though he was allowed to go out of the Autumn Pce as and when he pleased. ¡°I called you over simply because I¡¯m too bored. So, I¡¯d like to have a chat with you.¡± Tuoba Shuo then waved his hands and said, ¡°You guys may go out first. I¡¯d like to have a private conversation with Gucheng.¡± Tuoba Gucheng shot them a nce, hinting for them to leave. An Xiaoning and the bodyguards exited ordingly and waited by the door. She had been clutching the note given to her by Tuoba Shuo tightly in her hand and never once opened it to read. She wondered what the two of them were chatting about in the room. More than half an hourter, Tuoba Gucheng came out of the room. Noticing that there was no change in his expression, An Xiaoning was certain that they did not chat about anything unusual. Upon arriving upstairs in Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s mansion, An Xiaoning finally popped her burning question, ¡°Your Highness, I have something to say to you.¡± ¡°Come in.¡± He opened the door for her and headed back inside his room. An Xiaoning hurriedly followed and closed the door after her. ¡°What do you want to say?¡± ¡°Well, aren¡¯t we allowed a day off every month?¡± Raising his brows, he asked, ¡°You¡¯d like to take a break?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t had a day off this month. May I take one on the 15th of July?¡± ¡°The 15th of July will arrive in a few days. That¡¯s within the half-month period we agreed on, so no, you¡¯re not allowed to. If you really want to take a break, get rid of the child tomorrow and I¡¯ll grant you unlimited leave.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning was not surprised since she had already expected him to turn her down. ¡°Am I really not allowed to?¡± ¡°End of discussion. Are you trying to escape?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not, really. You¡¯re the prince of S Nation, where could I possibly escape to? I still have that bit of self-awareness,¡± said An Xiaoning, trying to sound as sincere as possible. ¡°I won¡¯t allow you to leave the Autumn Pce before you get an abortion. Weren¡¯t you the one who pleaded desperately for me to let you keep the child for half a month longer? The time will be up very soon,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng, ncing sideways at her. An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯ll head back to my room first then.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Upon returning to her room, An Xiaoning opened the note to read that Tuoba Shuo wanted her to find an opportunity to meet him privately. ¡ª During the dead of night... Tuoba Rui decided to sleep in the study while Shi Xiaoyu opened the door to the secret basement below her bed and made her way down the stairs. ¡°I haven¡¯t beening down to see youtely. How have you been?¡± Shi Qingzhou looked up with her long and unkempt hair covering her face, thus obstructing her view. ¡°Don¡¯t beat around the bush and make redundant remarks. How well could I possibly be, living down here?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. After all, making your life a living hell is the only thing I¡¯m most passionate about. Shuo has already moved out of the mansion that he had been cooping himself up in for years,¡± said Shi Xiaoyu. ¡°Really?¡± Shi Qingzhou asked agitatedly. ¡°He actually went against his parents¡¯ wishes, gave up the President¡¯s throne, and moved into a dpidated mansion to be a monk for so many years, all for the sake of a disloyal and filthy woman like you...¡± Before she could even finish her sentence, Shi Qingzhou lost control of her emotions all of a sudden and hollered, ¡°Shut up!¡± ¡°Go ahead, scream and shout all you want. The soundproofing system around here is perfect. No one¡¯s going to hear you even if you yell at the top of your lungs. You had the cheek to do something so shameless and yet you won¡¯t allow me to talk about it. Is this your tender spot? Well, I just want to rub salt in your wound and cause you immense pain!¡± Shi Xiaoyu screeched, full of resentment toward her. ¡°Shi Xiaoyu, it¡¯s already been so many years. Haven¡¯t you had enough yet?¡± ¡°Of course not. I¡¯ve barely had enough. I particrly hate seeing how well your precious daughter is living now. Just how is she so damned lucky? I don¡¯t think she deserves such fortune. Since she resembles you so much, she ought to suffer the same fate as you did,¡± Shi Xiaoyu said with a mirthless smile, her words like a million daggers piercing through Shi Qingzhou¡¯s heart. ¡°Don¡¯t you darey a finger on her.¡± ¡°Who would dare do so? Rui is protecting her dearly. She looks so much like you, it¡¯d be hard for him not to discover that she¡¯s your daughter. But, you know me, I¡¯ve always hated dealing with things openly.¡± She walked toward Shi Qingzhou and grabbed her by her hair, forcing thetter to make eye contact with her. Shi Qingzhou felt an acute pain in her scalp. Nheless, she retorted, ¡°How many times have you grabbed my hair throughout all these decades? Shi Xiaoyu, if you¡¯re here this time to insult, humiliate, and torment me again, I¡¯m telling you there¡¯s no point because I¡¯ve already grown numb to all of it.¡± Chapter 560 - The Secret About the Past (178)

Chapter 560: The Secret About the Past (178)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shi Xiaoyu let go of her hair and took two steps back. Looking her up and down, Shi Xiaoyu said, ¡°Did you know? I feel exceptionally thrilled every single time I see you being in so much agony. In fact, I get even more exhrated than I was when I became the president¡¯s wife. Shi Qingzhou, I admit, you¡¯ve always been the prettier one between the two of us, ever since we were young. But you can¡¯t deny that I¡¯m the ultimate winner at the end of the day. As for you, I believe your daughter will suffer the same fate as you did. She¡¯ll enjoy days of glory when she¡¯s young, but her life will end up in a dire state when she¡¯s older. Isn¡¯t that the case for you and your mother? Do you really think your daughter can escape the destiny of your family?¡± Shi Qingzhou¡¯s heart was ricocheting vigorously against her chest, as if Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s words had struck a sour note within her. ¡°I forbid you from saying that!¡± ¡°So what if you forbid me? You¡¯re only a paper tiger now. There¡¯s nothing you can really do to me. Well, I¡¯m just speaking the truth. You¡¯re merely a dead person in the eyes of everyone now. You must really hate me, don¡¯t you? That was how much I detested you back in the day too. I¡¯ve never once buried the hatchet or let go of the grudge I bear against you. You and your mother will forever be the sinners of the Shi family!¡± Shi Xiaoyu bellowed in exasperation and agitation. ¡°Shut up! What rights have you got to criticize my mother? You¡¯re not fit!¡± Shi Qingzhou yelled at the top of her lungs. ¡°Why don¡¯t I have any rights to criticize her? Because of your mother, my parents and I have never dared to return to our hometown and acknowledge our extended family members, even until today. Calling her a sinner is an understatement!¡± Shi Qingzhou glowered at her, her eyes brimming with resentment that soon vanished as she seemed to be getting a grip on her anger and emotions. ¡°There isn¡¯t anyone else here. Shi Xiaoyu, drop the act. I know clearly whether my mother implicated the Shi family or the other way around. You don¡¯t have to try and brainwash me all the time.¡± Shi Qingzhou raised her hand to point a finger at Shi Xiaoyu, dragging the heavy chains across the floor, causing a metallic nking sound. ¡°Scram and get lost now!!! Get lost and continue being the president¡¯s wife!¡± ¡°Look how worked up you are.¡± Shi Xiaoyu looked at the guards nonchntly and ordered, ¡°Give her 50shes with the whip tonight. I¡¯ll see how she yells when that happens.¡± ¡°Yes, Madam,¡± the guards chorused. Shi Xiaoyu humphed and walked away slowly to leave the basement. ¡°Hais...¡± One of the guards sighed and said, ¡°Why do you always ask for trouble and bring suffering upon yourself?¡± ¡°Exactly, you¡¯re not self-aware at all. How obstinate of you. Seriously... c¡¯mon, let¡¯s do it,¡± said the other. The two guards picked up arge, thick whip and stared at each other in unison. They then lifted their arms with all their might and whipped her forcefully. The moment the whipnded on Shi Qingzhou¡¯s frail and petite body, she let out an agonized shriek that filled every corner of the basement. The guards put the whip down aftershing her for less than twenty times. The reason being that that was already immense torture for a woman whose health was in poor condition. She had already run out of breath and passed out. ¡°Shall we apply some medicine for her?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Shi Qingzhouy on the ground with her head cocked toward the side. All she could think about was her mother. Her mother was a ravishing beauty back in her days. Yet, she was branded as an ominous person and burned alive by the uneducated, simply because she was psychic. The person who spread the word about her supernatural abilities was none other than her own mother-inw, Shi Qingzhou¡¯s grandmother. Afterward, Shi Qingzhou¡¯s mother managed to escape. In order to shun and hide from the people, she fled to an ancient graveyard. The graveyard was exceptionally spacious, with a night-luminescent pearl hung inside and a coffin ced in the middle. She opened the coffin to find that there was a corpse inside and a booklet beside it. It was that very booklet that had given her mother the courage to return and kill everyone who tried to force her into a corner. However, that resulted in more peopleing after her life. In Shi Qingzhou¡¯s memory, she had never seen her mother cry before. Yet, she witnessed her mother bawling uncontrobly for the very first time when her father chased thetter out of the house. She remembered how those people would resort to extreme means in order to kill her mother. They used her to threaten her mother. In order to keep her alive, her mother had been willing to be subdued and allowed them to tie her to firewood, after which they drenched her in kerosene and set her on mes. Back then, her mother had secretly handed her the booklet before her father divorced her and before she was chased out of the house. Tears welled up in Shi Qingzhou¡¯s eyes. She was told only that the booklet was precious and that she had to safeguard it at all costs. Shi Qingzhou only came to know about what it was when she was much older. It was a book about witchcraft. It allowed one to obtain formidable power within a short period of time, which would enable them to live just like an immortal without having to eat and drink or answer nature¡¯s call. After her mother¡¯s death, the Shi family relocated and moved away from their hometown. They had never once returned ever since. Shi Qingzhou had sneaked out of the house to visit her mother¡¯s grave in the middle of the night a few times before, though she rarely got the chance to. Her mother had been wrongly used of being a demon and was branded as an evil witch by her father and family members. They called her an evil witch capable of casting sinister spells and curses. Being an adolescent of tender age at the time, she spilled the beans about the booklet in order to prove that her mother was not an evil witch. Her father then interrogated her about where the booklet was. However, she never once gave him the answer, although he¡¯d tried to force it out of her. Shi Xiaoyu only had the audacity to lock her up in the basement simply because she knew that Shi Qingzhou¡¯s mother was not capable of witchcraft. She had forgotten how many times she tried to torture her. In order to agitate her, Shi Xiaoyu once said to her that their father felt a huge sense of relief upon hearing about her death. She constantly told her that she was better off dead since that would mean that she could no longer bring disaster upon their family. Although she knew that her father was heartless, she was still devastated and upset to hear those words since he was still her biological father, after all. She entered the Autumn Pce with the sole purpose of seeking revenge for her mother against the people who ordered her mother killed back then. Those people were none other than Tuoba Rui¡¯s parents. Little did she expect to have fallen in love with Tuoba Shuo and allowed herself to end up in such a pathetic plight. Life was as such, things would more likely than not turn out to be a far cry from what you had intended. She initially thought that she no longer had any kin left in this world, but now... She found out that she still had a daughter. Shi Qingzhou closed her eyes and allowed her tears to flow freely, clenching her bloodied fists tightly with anger and resentment brewing within her. ¡ª An Xiaoning did not sleep well at all that night, which was a night full of dreams. Yet, she could not remember what she had dreamed of when she woke up in the morning. She took a look at the time to find that it was already half past six in the morning. Reminded of the hiking appointment with Tuoba Gucheng, she hurriedly got out of bed to wash up and put on her human skin mask. She arrived downstairs, only to be greeted with the sight of Tuoba Gucheng leaning against the couch with folded arms. ¡°Your Highness, am Ite?¡± ¡°You¡¯re half an hourte. Hurry and go have your breakfast. We¡¯re setting off very soon.¡± ¡°Yes, yes,¡± she said as she scurried toward the dining table. She finished the ss of milk in one go and grabbed a sandwich before leaving. He walked in front while she followed behind, taking huge bites of the sandwich. Noticing how unsightly she looked when she was eating, Tuoba Gucheng stared at her with a look of disdain and hissed, ¡°You look so hideous when you¡¯re eating.¡± Chapter 561 - The Secret About the Past (179)

Chapter 561: The Secret About the Past (179)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Upon hearing his snide remark, An Xiaoning began taking smaller bites and followed him quietly. Tuoba Gucheng chucked a hand inside his pocket and strode forward quickly. Once they reached the car, Tuoba Gucheng turned around abruptly and instructed his bodyguards, ¡°You don¡¯t have toe along.¡± ¡°Your Highness...¡± ¡°I¡¯ll bring just Mu Ning along. We¡¯ll be attracting unnecessary attention if there are too many of us.¡± They then got into the car and set off to Tuoba Danxue¡¯s mansion to pick Tuoba Danxue, Zhi Yin, and Tuoba Shuo up. After everyone got inside the car, they proceeded to meet Byron at the foot of the mountain. As expected, Byron only brought Lance along. Together, they all made their way up the stairs to the peak of the mountain. The air was exceptionally fresh and the cool breeze made the weather much more enjoyable. They took more than one hour to reach the summit. Upon arriving at the peak of the mountain, everyone took a deep breath and took some photos together. However, An Xiaoning chose not to take any photos. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you taking any photos? Didn¡¯t you bring your mobile phone along with you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel like taking any. Your Highness, you didn¡¯t take any photos either,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°I dislike taking photos.¡± ¡°Me too.¡± There were no photos at all in the mobile phone An Xiaoning had brought. She was so careful that she did not save anyone¡¯s phone numbers to her contacts list, seeing as she could tell who it was just by the mobile numbers of the people she contacted regrly. She made it a point to erase her call history and delete all text messages once she finished reading them, including allmunication software and chatting apps, lest she create any trouble for herself if she were to lose the mobile phone. Apart from them, there were only very few passersby at the peak of the mountain. An Xiaoning casually took a nce at Byron and Lance, only to find that they seemed to be having a whale of a time while snapping photos. Byron was acting like a youngd, even though he was already in his forties. He and Lance took several photos of just the two of them. Once she looked away, she was gued with a familiar, ominous feeling, which caused a grave expression to form on her face. She would often feel flustered out of nowhere before every mishap she met with. It was a phenomenon that had been proven time and time again. ¡°Your Highness, shall we hurry and leave the mountain?¡± ¡°Why? We just arrived a while ago,¡± Tuoba Gucheng asked in puzzlement. ¡°My sixth sense has always been exceptionally spot on. I have an ominous feeling now. Trust me,¡± she whispered. ¡°Psht... only a fool would believe you,¡± he retorted, clearly not taking her words into consideration. Noticing how doubtful he was, An Xiaoning sulked and said, ¡°Prince Byron is here for a vacation in S Nation. The ties between both nations would definitely be affected, should anything happen to him here. I¡¯m not trying to jinx anything, but I really feel uneasy right now. Something disastrous would follow every single time I felt this way.¡± Tuoba Gucheng was half-believing toward her words upon realizing that she seemed to be speaking the truth. Indeed, she probably would not dare to joke about such stuff casually. At this point, he found that her concerns were not uncalled for, especially since they did not bring too many bodyguards with them. Thus, Tuoba Gucheng waved at everyone and said, ¡°Shall we head back now?¡± ¡°Brother, are we leaving so soon? We just reached the peak a while ago. Isn¡¯t it a little too early to leave?¡± Tuoba Danxue whined in displeasure. After a moment of silence, Tuoba Gucheng said, ¡°We only brought a few bodyguards with us, so it¡¯s safer not to stay too long. Let¡¯s head back.¡± An Xiaoning had decided to inform Tuoba Gucheng of her ominous hunch solely because she was the only bodyguard amongst all of them there and she was not confident that she could protect all of them. She was sparing a thought for only herself. Although they were rather reluctant to leave and wanted to stay a little longer, they nheless heeded Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s advice and headed to the bottom of the mountain. Clearly, it was much easier to descend the mountain than to hike it. Tuoba Gucheng could tell clearly that An Xiaoning was ill at ease. Noticing the look of dismay on her face, he slowed down his pace and asked, ¡°Are you feeling queasy again?¡± Shaking her head, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°Thank you for your concern, Your Highness, but no, I¡¯m not.¡± Recalling what she said earlier, Tuoba Gucheng asked, ¡°Is your sixth sense really urate?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± An Xiaoning raised her head to look at him and said, ¡°It¡¯s extremely spot on. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have dared to tell you those things.¡± ¡°How should I punish you if what you said isn¡¯t true?¡± ¡°If it¡¯s true, how are you going to reward me? How about you stop forcing me to abort the fetus?¡± An Xiaoning questioned in response. Although she did not know how much longer she would have to remain in the Autumn Pce before she could find out the truth about her mother, she did not wish to give up easily. Neither did she want to give up the child she was carrying. ¡°No, ask for something else,¡± he refused. ¡°Give me a day off then,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Not within these two weeks.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning was speechless. ¡°Can¡¯t you ask for money or a house or something simr?¡± he questioned in bewilderment. This was his first time encountering someone who did not ask for a mary reward. ¡°Those are just material possessions to me. I don¡¯t care for them.¡± ¡°You¡¯re truly such a weirdo,¡± Tuoba Gucheng muttered under his breath. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. I¡¯ve gotten too used to being peculiar since a young age.¡± ¡°...¡± Tuoba Gucheng had never encountered any bodyguards or servants who had the audacity to speak to him so freely without restrictions. Yet, she sounded casual and at ease when she spoke to him, seemingly treating him like an ordinary man for she did not appear to be afraid of him at all. The point is... she was a hideous and unsightly woman with boorish mannerisms, despite having a killer figure! To make matters worse, he even had a passionate night with such a woman before. He felt aggrieved at the mere thought of it. He could not feel any more wronged. They did not see any other hikers along the way. However, an elderly man began to approach them slowly with a straw hat in hand when they covered a quarter of the distance. Being sharp and vignt, An Xiaoning hurried toward the front and scrutinized the elderly man. But clearly, there was nothing suspicious about him. Tuoba Danxue chuckled and said, ¡°Mu Ning, you¡¯re too paranoid and tensed up.¡± An Xiaoning responded with a smile and did not say anything else. They continued walking. When they were halfway through the journey down, a man and a woman walked toward them, dressed in casual clothes and holding hands with each other. They were definitely a couple. The couple was chatting merrily while walking, both donning sun hats. To the rest of them, there was nothing particrly unusual about the couple. However, their feet had caught An Xiaoning¡¯s attention. There were soil stains on the bottom of the woven shoes they were wearing on their feet. The path from the bottom of the mountain to where they were was all cemented. Besides, the soil on the mountains was of a different color. An Xiaoning turned around to shoot Tuoba Gucheng a knowing nce, after which she stood in front of Tuoba Danxue when the couple approached. The couple walked past them normally, showing no suspicious signs while An Xiaoning hurriedly followed behind them. Seemingly having realized that An Xiaoning was exceptionally vignt, the couple continued to walk forward, hand in hand. When they approached Byron, a ck object appeared in the woman¡¯s left hand. An Xiaoning rushed forward immediately and kicked her hand, causing the woman to be thrown off bnce by the sudden, unexpected attack. The gun in her hand immediately fell to the ground and fired off with a cackling sound. Tuoba Gucheng immediately whipped his gun out to shoot the man. Chapter 562 - The Secret About the Past (180)

Chapter 562: The Secret About the Past (180)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Although the man was shot by the gun, his movements were not at all hindered by his bleeding wound. Instead, he swiftly picked up his gun and aimed it at Tuoba Gucheng. An Xiaoning and the woman got into a scuffle as they both tried to pick up the gun on the ground. The fight was intense and unstoppable. The rest of them were greatly startled by the gunshot and turned around to take a look. Tuoba Gucheng waved at them and yelled, ¡°You guys, flee now!¡± The woman was no match for An Xiaoning at all. She sessfully picked up the woman¡¯s gun from the ground and shot her in the temple without hesitation, causing instant death. Noticing that the woman had died, the man had a gun in each hand and aimed both his guns at An Xiaoning and Tuoba Gucheng. However, they managed to subdue and kill him before he could even manage to fire a bullet at them. Just as they were heaving a sigh of relief, An Xiaoning looked up to discover that someone was aiming a gun at Tuoba Gucheng from the mountain behind him. ¡°Watch your back!¡± An Xiaoning fired a bullet in the direction of the mountain above and immediately leaped forward to push him away. In the midst of trying to do so, An Xiaoning took a shot to her body. Once he recovered from the shock, Tuoba Gucheng fired a few bullets at the spot high above, none of which managed to strike his target. At this moment, a few other people suddenly came down from the mountain via a rope. An Xiaoning tried to bear with the pain in her back. Realizing how dangerous the situation was, she knew that the consequences would be dire if they were to go toe-to-toe against them. She whipped out her rope from her waist andtched it onto a tree beside her. She then grabbed Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s hand and eximed, ¡°Grab it!¡± Tuoba Gucheng immediately did as told and the two of them slid down the rope from the edge of the sidewalk. Once they got to the bottom, An Xiaoning gave the rope a tug and retracted her rope before the assassins made their way down. They leaned closely against the wall of the mountain and ran sideways. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Tuoba Gucheng asked, turning as pale as a sheet while staring at her back, which was drenched in blood. ¡°I¡¯m fine, hurry and run.¡± An Xiaoning broke out in cold sweat, though she still appeared to be cool and calm. At this moment, all she thought about was ensuring his and her own safety. If Tuoba Gucheng were to die, she would not get a chance to live either. They were a team. Thus, there was nothing else she could think about at this point and she instead continuously sprinted ahead. At the same time, there were people chasing them from above and below. There were only two directions they could go. Thus, the people at the top would have to kill Tuoba Gucheng before the rescue team arrived. Their mission today was to kill either one of Byron or Tuoba Gucheng. Only then could they cause a conflict to arise so as to cease rtions and all trading activity between both nations. Noticing that no one was chasing them from behind, An Xiaoning knew for sure that there must be people chasing them from above. In a moment of wit, she turned and said to Tuoba Gucheng, ¡°There are people chasing us from above. There¡¯s a bend ahead. Let¡¯s not run toward the foot of the mountainter.¡± ¡°You call the shots.¡± An Xiaoning was rather surprised to hear his answer. ¡°I wonder how Her Highness and the rest are now.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have time to worry about them now. They should be fine, however. Byron will definitely call his bodyguards and send some men over in a helicopter. His bodyguards should be here very soon.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and sped up. Although she was barely able to catch her breath, she dared not slow down at all. Once they reached the bend ahead, An Xiaoning and Tuoba Gucheng proceeded on another route that led to neither the peak nor the foot of the mountain directly. They would have to walk on the t ground for a long while before they could reach the bottom. They proceeded along the path and ran toward the woods. Both of them were exhausted after covering a great distance. An Xiaoning leaned against a tree and said, panting heavily, ¡°I can¡¯t go on anymore.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll piggyback you, hop on,¡± he said, squatting down in front of her. ¡°You don¡¯t have to...¡± ¡°Do you want them to catch up with us? Get up, I¡¯ll piggyback you,¡± he urged, noticing that she seemed to be on the verge of fainting. ¡°You¡¯re exhausted yourself, are you sure you can manage?¡± ¡°Cut the crap!¡± he hollered. An Xiaoning could no longer walk, especially since she was wounded. Thus, she leaned against his back and allowed him to piggyback her. Feeling like her eyelids were getting heavy, An Xiaoning sighed and said, ¡°I kinda feel like sleeping.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t fall asleep...¡± ¡°But I¡¯m so sleepy...¡± ¡°Even then, don¡¯t sleep! Otherwise, I¡¯ll dump you here alone!¡± he snapped. ¡°You¡¯re so heartless. I didn¡¯t run away without you earlier. You¡¯re being too much... I may be your subordinate, but I¡¯m also human.¡± ¡°Are your brains full of feces? Can¡¯t you tell that I¡¯m joking?¡± Leaning her head against his shoulder, An Xiaoning closed her eyes and murmured, ¡°Your brains are full of...¡± He turned around and identally allowed his lips to touch her face. ¡°Country bumpkin?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Ugly country bumpkin?¡± There was no response. Tuoba Gucheng did not call her again and continued to move down the mountain while carrying her on his back. Throughout the entire journey, he was filled with worry and fear that the hitmen would catch up with them. He finally heaved a sigh of relief upon sight of the people from the Autumn Pce and Byron¡¯s bodyguards. ¡°Your Highness!¡± ¡°Brother!¡± ¡°Gucheng!¡± They hurried toward him. ¡°Brother, what happened to Mu Ning?¡± ¡°She got wounded and passed out. She was the one who led me down the mountain.¡± He then instructed the bodyguards to carry her into the car. ¡°Are any of you injured?¡± he asked. ¡°No.¡± Tuoba Shuo¡¯s heart sank at the sight An Xiaoning¡¯s tightly-shut eyes. ¡°Fortunately, we left the mountains in advance. Otherwise, if we¡¯d been trapped on the peak...¡± ¡°Mu Ning was the one who told me to go back earlier. She said that her sixth sense was spot on and that she was feeling flustered out of nowhere. I was rather apprehensive at first, but seems like it¡¯s true...¡± Zhi Yin refused to believe it and said, ¡°Your Highness, her sixth sense can¡¯t be that urate. I don¡¯t mean anything else, but I just wanted to say, could it be that Mu Ning is in cahoots with those people?¡± All eyes were on her as soon as she finished speaking. ¡°Zhi Yin, how could you think that way? Why would she bother ganging up with others to harm my brother? If she really wanted to kill my brother, there are plenty of other chances for her to do so,¡± Tuoba Danxue chided. ¡°I was just making a casual remark, don¡¯t take me seriously...¡± ¡°Can I casually use you of being in cahoots with those hitmen then?¡± Tuoba Gucheng questioned, ring at her coldly. Tongue-tied, Zhi Yin hung her head low. ¡°Brother, don¡¯t be bothered by her. This littless speaks without thinking. I believe Mu Ning is innocent. But, Brother, how did you guys manage to escape? Our bodyguards couldn¡¯t find those people on the mountain earlier. I reckon they must have discovered that we were here and thus decided to flee,¡± said Tuoba Danxue. Tuoba Gucheng exined briefly and said, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a woman who can run faster than me even though she¡¯s injured.¡± ¡°She¡¯s an impressive child,¡± said Tuoba Shuo. Tuoba Gucheng and Tuoba Danxue stared at him in astonishment, slightly surprised by his remark. However, they remained silent. Chapter 563 - The Secret About the Past (181)

Chapter 563: The Secret About the Past (181)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Upon arriving at the Autumn Pce, An Xiaoning was immediately sent back to her room while Tuoba Gucheng ordered the doctors to remove the bullet from her body. Xiao Chi asked Zhi Yin for the reason behind his Young Madam¡¯s wounds, after which he hurriedly sent a text message to his Young Sir using the special mobile phone. He ryed everything he heard from Zhi Yin to Jin Qingyan. Due to the fact that the hiking attack involved the ties between both nations, Byron specially instructed for the incident to be kept under wraps, especially since he knew clearly what the perpetrators¡¯ motive was. Since there were no reports of the incident on the news, Jin Qingyan naturally would not have had a clue about it. Jin Qingyan sprung up from his seat in shock and agitation when he received the sudden text message from Xiao Chi. He stood rooted to the ground and hurriedly probed about An Xiaoning¡¯s current condition. Xiao Chi informed him that the doctors would be arriving soon to remove the bullets and treat her wounds and that her life was not in danger. Jin Qingyan felt a slight sense of relief and instructed Xiao Chi to take a video of An Xiaoning and send it to him. Xiao Chi understood what he meant and took the chance to install a pinhole surveince camera in An Xiaoning¡¯s room stealthily while he was there alone. The surveince camera would be connected to Jin Qingyan¡¯s cell phone and he could then receive a live feed of what was going on in her room. Considering that An Xiaoning would need her privacy, Xiao Chi connected the surveince camera directly to Jin Qingyan¡¯s device. In other words, Jin Qingyan could observe her current situation from hisputer via the audio-enabled surveince camera in her room. The doctors soon arrived and administered An Xiaoning with a local anesthetic before removing the bullet. Once the bullet was removed, Tuoba Gucheng instructed the female servants to help An Xiaoning change into a fresh set of clothes and rece the bedsheets. Just as he left the room to wait outside, the door opened and the female servant said nervously, ¡°Your Highness, hurry and go in to take a look.¡± Tuoba Gucheng entered the room again, only to see that An Xiaoning had her shorts removed and that there was blood all over her legs, which had already dried up and stained her skin. Her underwear was stained the most with blood. ¡°Go out first,¡± said the quick-witted Tuoba Gucheng. ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± Once the female servant left the room, Tuoba Gucheng helped An Xiaoning put on her pants and carried her out. Jin Qingyan immediately instructed Xiao Chi to follow Tuoba Gucheng and observe the situation. He was filled with anxiety and uneasiness. He absolutely hated the fact that he could not be beside her when she was injured. Meanwhile, Tuoba Gucheng brought An Xiaoning to the hospital in the Autumn Pce. She was first sent for an ultrasound scan. Tuoba Gucheng was overwhelmed with an inexplicable feeling the moment he heard that she had indeed suffered a miscarriage. Although he would have definitely not let her keep the child, he could not help but feel a little upset now that she really suffered a miscarriage. He waited outside while the doctor performed a surgery to remove the remaining fetal tissue. Xiao Chi stood beside him, not daring to utter a single word. The surgery was brief. The anesthetic had yet to wear off and An Xiaoning was still in deep sleep when Tuoba Gucheng saw her again. Afraid that his mother would find out, he specially instructed the hospital staff to keep mum about the matter before bringing An Xiaoning back. Upon hearing that she had suffered a miscarriage, Jin Qingyan wished that he could rush there immediately to take her home. However, there was no way he could do so. That was because the security was too tight around the Autumn Pce and he would be easily pinned as a suspect should there be any hups during the execution of his n. The situation would then be blown out of proportion. He knew the pros and cons of the matter. Fortunately, he could monitor her condition at all times. It was a huge relief for him. An Xiaoning was changed into a fresh set of clothes and undergarments. The bedsheets were all reced as well. Tuoba Gucheng remained in his own room in order to avoid arousing suspicion. All he could think about now was ¡ª Is she going to me me when she finds out after waking up that she had suffered a miscarriage? Will she mistake me for aborting her child while she was unconscious? The thought of it made him feel ill at ease. Thus, he instructed the servants to tend to her and to inform him immediately when An Xiaoninges to. An Xiaoning woke up an hourter. Tuoba Gucheng looked down at her from above and said, ¡°You ought to rest and recuperate for the time being, until your body recovers fully. Also... you suffered a miscarriage.¡± An Xiaoning was initially lying on her side. However, she turned to re at him abruptly as soon as she heard his words. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. It was a natural miscarriage. I didn¡¯t force a surgery on you.¡± She did not suspect him of putting her through an abortion without her consent. The idea did not cross her mind at all. It was because she had thought through the situation carefully and realized that it was very likely for her to have suffered a miscarriage since she was shot in her lower back by a gun. Furthermore, she had also performed strenuous activities that included climbing down the rope and sprinting with all her might while trying to escape together with him on the mountains. How could she possibly not suffer a miscarriage? ¡°Why... aren¡¯t you speaking...¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never suspected you of putting me through an abortion while I was unconscious... I mentioned before that it would be very difficult for me to conceive, and even if I managed to fall pregnant, it¡¯d be tough to keep the baby. So, you don¡¯t have to exin, Your Highness.¡± Tears welled up in her eyes and a look of sorrow began to form on her face. ¡°I¡¯d like to be alone for a while. Please go out, Your Highness.¡± Tuoba Gucheng turned around to leave upon noticing that she had teared up. So did Jin Qingyan, who was sitting in front of hisputer screen. Clearly, both An Xiaoning and Tuoba Gucheng were aware of her pregnancy. But why didn¡¯t she tell me about it? Was she afraid that I wouldn¡¯t allow her to continue remaining in the Autumn Pce once I found out? Was that the case? Fan Shixin entered and reported, ¡°Young Sir... just as you had expected, there¡¯s no way to enter or exit from the Autumn Pce right now.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± Fan Shixin asked eagerly. ¡°Your Young Madam has suffered a miscarriage.¡± Fan Shixin¡¯s jaw dropped in shock. ¡°A miscarriage...¡± ¡°Yes, since there¡¯s no way to enter now, we¡¯ll just have to wait until security bes morex beforeing up with a solution to enter.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Jin Qingyan then instructed him, ¡°I have nted a surveince camera in her room and it¡¯s connected to myptop. Help me watch her while I¡¯m away at the office tomorrow. Report to me immediately if there are any unusual situations.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± ¡°Alright, you may go out now.¡± Fan Shixin turned around to leave. Jin Qingyan tried to call An Xiaoning but her mobile phone was switched off. He wanted to give her a tight hug andfort her, telling her it¡¯s alright and that they could always try for another child in the future. However, all he could do at the moment was to get Xiao Chi to ry his message to her and tell her to call him. Xiao Chi tried to sneak in when he had the chance. ¡°Young Madam, Young Sir would like you to call him. He said that your mobile phone is switched off,¡± Xiao Chi said softly. An Xiaoning exined, ¡°I lost my phone when we were escaping from the mountains. Lend me your phone.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Xiao Chi closed the surveince camera footage window before handing her the mobile phone. She managed to reach Jin Qingyan¡¯s mobile phone sessfully. ¡°I lost my phone.¡± ¡°Use Xiao Chi¡¯s phone to contact me from now onwards then. Don¡¯t be affected by the miscarriage. Rest well and nurse your body back to health. It¡¯s hard to enter and exit the Autumn Pce at the moment. I¡¯ll find an opportunity to get you out once you¡¯ve recovered.¡± Chapter 564 - The Secret About the Past (182)

Chapter 564: The Secret About the Past (182)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°No... I¡¯d like to continue staying here,¡± said An Xiaoning, who thought that she could continue searching for the truth about her mother without having to worry about anything else since she was no longer pregnant. ¡°Xiaoning.¡± ¡°Qingyan, you don¡¯t have to say anything else. I only had one chance toe in here and I¡¯ll let the cat out of the bag once I start speaking. So, I¡¯ll try my best to avoid getting injured in the future. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Knowing how obstinate and determined she was, Jin Qingyan decided to give in. ¡°I hope you won¡¯t get hurt again then.¡± An Xiaoning held her tears back and apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°What are you sorry about?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry to have made you worried. Don¡¯t tell Yiheng.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Jin Qingyan was finally relieved after hanging up the phone. However, it was not the case for An Xiaoning. After returning the mobile phone to Xiao Chi, she continued to lie on her side in bed, staring nkly into space. After exiting the room, Xiao Chi again connected the surveince camera to Jin Qingyan¡¯sptop. ¡ª ¡°Where¡¯s Gucheng?¡± Shi Xiaoyu asked with a sullen expression on her face. ¡°His Highness is in his room,¡± Xiao Chi answered nervously. ¡°Call him toe down immediately,¡± Shi Xiaoyu instructed as she took a seat on the couch, appearing austere and stern, as if she were the Empress Dowager. ¡°Yes, Madam.¡± Xiao Chi frantically proceeded to call Tuoba Gucheng, who had an ominous feeling upon hearing that his mother had arrived. He immediately made his way downstairs. Noticing how uptight she seemed, he stepped forward and asked, ¡°Mother, what brings you here?¡± ¡°Sit down.¡± Tuoba Gucheng sat down as instructed and leaned forward slightly, holding his hands together. ¡°You brought your female bodyguard to the hospital for an abortion today. What¡¯s the matter? Does the child belong to you?¡± ¡°Of course not. It¡¯s because we both met with a sudden attack while we were in the mountains. If it weren¡¯t for her, you probably wouldn¡¯t be able to see me here now, Mother. She took a bullet for me and ended up suffering a miscarriage. I don¡¯t see anything wrong in sending her over to the hospital,¡± Tuoba Gucheng exined. At this very moment, he was extremely dismayed to find out that his mother had still learned about the matter, even though he had already instructed the hospital staff to remain tight-lipped. ¡°Well, I doubt you¡¯d be attracted to your bodyguard either. She¡¯s really not in the least bit good-looking. Besides, you and Shishi are getting married next month. I believe you¡¯re not that atrocious.¡± The frown on Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s forehead faded as she continued, ¡°Gucheng, I know you¡¯re a sensible child who knows what to do and what not to. Fortunately, you¡¯re already engaged now. I was really frightened when I heard the news about you bringing your female bodyguard to the hospital for an abortion today. Good that everything is fine.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sorry to have made you worried, Mother.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be going back now,¡± said Shi Xiaoyu as she stood up to leave. Tuoba Gucheng remained seated, all tensed up and nervous beyond words. An Xiaoningy in bed for the entire day and all her meals were served to her by the servants. It began pouring heavily in the evening. The initially warm weather turned cool gradually. An Xiaoning¡¯s body temperature began to rise slowly since evening. Shey in bed, feeling weak and feeble from head to toe while her consciousness slowly began to fade. Feeling an ache in her head, she reached out to touch her forehead, only to find that she was running a fever. She then hurriedly called for Tuoba Gucheng, who was in the room beside hers. ¡°Your Highness...¡± Upon hearing her call, Tuoba Gucheng entered and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°I think I¡¯m running a fever.¡± ¡°Hold on, I¡¯ll measure your temperature with a thermometer.¡± He turned around to zoom out of the room and returned shortly after with a thermometer, which he then handed her. An Xiaoning ced it under her armpit. Her face was flushed red like an apple. Tuoba Gucheng ced a hand on her forehead and found that her temperature was indeed burning. He immediately called for the doctor toe forth with some medicine. An Xiaoning removed the thermometer minutester and Tuoba Gucheng squinted at the disy to find that her temperature had shot up to 39 degrees Celsius. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you call me earlier if you¡¯re not feeling well?¡± She looked down and remained quiet. The doctor soon arrived and prescribed some medication based on her condition. He then prepared to put her on the drip. An Xiaoningy there with her eyes gently shut. After she was attached to the drip, the doctor again instructed Tuoba Gucheng, ¡°After this bottle is emptied, rece it with this one and give her some medicine. The fever will definitely subside by tonight.¡± ¡°Alright, I got it. Thank you.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± After the doctor left, An Xiaoning thought that Tuoba Gucheng would instruct some servants to keep watch by her bed. To her surprise, he actually closed the door and sat down on the chair to monitor the drip himself. ¡°Your Highness, go back to your room. You may just get Xiao Chi to tend to the drip.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯ll do it myself.¡± He held his breath and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Your Highness, you didn¡¯t do me any wrong, what happened today was merely an ident...¡± His voice was neither too loud nor soft and was rather crisp and clear. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for that night.¡± Clearly not wanting to talk about the incident, An Xiaoning feigned ignorance and said, ¡°I forgot all about it.¡± ¡°You may have forgotten but I haven¡¯t. If I didn¡¯t lose control of myself that night and vited you, the child wouldn¡¯t havee about and you wouldn¡¯t have had to suffer the pain of a miscarriage...¡± An Xiaoning could not be bothered to exin herself again and her consciousness began to fade. However, her silence came off as consent to Jin Qingyan. Bang! Fan Shixin heard a deafening noiseing from the bedroom. He hurriedly pushed the door open and asked, ¡°Young Sir, what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Get lost!!!¡± Fan Shixin was greeted with the sight of a teary-eyed Jin Qingyan, who had a menacing and terrifying expression on his face. Noticing theptop, which was smashed into pieces, on the ground, Fan Shixin boldly walked toward him slowly. ¡°Young Sir, just what¡¯s the matter? Don¡¯t behave like this.¡± ¡°Did you not hear my instructions? I told you to get out!¡± Jin Qingyan bellowed angrily, staring at Fan Shixin while seething with anger. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go out right now.¡± Fan Shixin picked up the brokenptop and left the bedroom. He brought anotherptop and stood by the door of the bedroom, only to hear noises of items being smashed and thrown onto the ground. Fan Shixin dared not enter. He thought that his Young Sir was throwing a fit because he was frustrated at the fact that he could not help An Xiaoning, who was injured. He only dared to enter after waiting outside the bedroom for more than twenty minutes. ¡°Young Sir, here¡¯s a newptop. Don¡¯t smash it again. Otherwise, how are you going to watch Young Madam? I¡¯ll leave it here for you.¡± Noticing that he was remaining still, Fan Shixin opened the newptop and ordered the servants to clean up the mess and debris of the items Jin Qingyan had wrecked. Theputer was reconnected to the surveince camera. Fan Shixin was dumbfounded as well the moment he saw the man on the screen. His Young Madam could clearly be seen grabbing onto the man¡¯s hand tightly. He turned to look at his Young Sir, who was smoldering with rage. ¡°I¡¯m sorry... I¡¯m sorry...¡± An Xiaoning murmured in her sleep, sobbing while tears flowed from her eyes uncontrobly. She was holding onto Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s hand tightly. Tuoba Gucheng reckoned that she must have been dreaming. ¡°Mu Ning, wake up...¡± he called out softly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry...¡± ¡°What are you sorry about?¡± Tuoba Gucheng asked. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I couldn¡¯t protect our child...¡± Chapter 565 - The Secret About the Past (183)

Chapter 565: The Secret About the Past (183)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At this very moment, Tuoba Gucheng felt touched all of a sudden. He gazed at her solemnly and held her hand, seemingly trying to empower her. On the other hand, Jin Qingyan seemed to have been struck with a massive blow while Fan Shixin was sent into a state of frenzy. ¡°Young Sir...¡± he asked in a trembling voice, ¡°Get out,¡± said Jin Qingyan, sounding much calmer than before. ¡°Alright.¡± Fan Shixin took onest nce at him before leaving the room. He stood by the door, thinking that there would soon be rattling sounds of items being smashed again. Yet, there was nothing. Fan Shixin shook his head and recalled what he had just seen and heard. I didn¡¯t expect Young Madam to have actually... It was simply unbelievable. Jin Qingyan remained unusually silent inside the room, as if he were an injured wolf, quietly nursing his own wounds. He recalled her apology over the phone call earlier. Did she apologize because she had gotten intimate with another man? He could not tolerate... nor ept something like that. Jin Qingyan felt a major headache. His temples were throbbing uncontrobly. He reached for the mouse and closed the surveince camera window, which disappeared instantly. Jin Qingyan walked towards the couch and sat down, his hands trembling with anger and disbelief. He could not control it at all. He felt as if he was stabbed in his heart and bleeding profusely. In fact, he was even struggling to breathe. The situation was just as grave and upsetting as the time where he thought she had died back then. He had lost all faith in his ability to feel love. He was well aware that it would be impossible for another man to vite her, given how skilled she was inbat defense. Besides, she had weapons with her too. She must havepromised in order to continue remaining in the Autumn Pce. If he did not witness and hear it with his own eyes and ears, he would not have believed it at all! And yet, reality seemed to have just given him a tight p. So much for being worried about her. Jin Qingyan leaned back against the couch, as if he had lost his backbone. A million thoughts went through his mind that night. He remained seated on the couch throughout, unable to fall asleep at all. At the same time, An Xiaoning woke up in the middle of a dream and stared nkly at the ceiling above. ¡°You¡¯re awake? Would you like to eat something?¡± An Xiaoning cocked her head toward the side to look at Tuoba Gucheng and refused. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Did you have a bad dream?¡± ¡°How did you know?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°You kept murmuring incoherently in your sleep.¡± ¡°What did I say?¡± An Xiaoning asked eagerly. ¡°Nothing much, you just kept apologizing.¡± ¡°Is that all?¡± An Xiaoning asked again. Noticing how worked up she was, Tuoba Gucheng chuckled and said, ¡°Nothing else.¡± She heaved a sigh of relief. Indeed, she had dreamt about telling Jin Qingyan about the miscarriage and constantly apologized for failing to protect their child. She apologized for keeping her pregnancy from him. ¡°The drip is almost finished. Your Highness, you may go back to get some rest.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll remove the needle and tube for you once the drip is finished,¡± he insisted. An Xiaoning nodded in agreement. The pain in her back was still as painful as before and would be excruciating with every slight movement she made. She was extremely sober and clear-headed, perhaps because her fever had subsided. ¡°Your Highness, may I ask something of you?¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°After my wounds are healed and I¡¯ve recuperated, could you allow me to continue remaining in the Autumn Pce and not chase me away?¡± An Xiaoning requested, seemingly having guessed his uing ns. ¡°Why do you want to stay here so much? Do you know that some people wish dearly for a chance to leave this ce?¡± he asked. ¡°No reason, I just want to stay here.¡± Tuoba Gucheng nodded and said, ¡°I can agree to your request but you have to promise me something too.¡± ¡°Is it about keeping the miscarriage a secret? I never nned to tell anyone about it from the start.¡± ¡°No. I¡¯m not asking you to promise me that,¡± he negated. ¡°What is it, then?¡± she asked in puzzlement, unsure what else there was for her to promise him. ¡°Share the same room as me at night.¡± An Xiaoning stared at him in astonishment. ¡°Your Highness...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be mistaken, I don¡¯t have any designs on you. I just want you to guard my room when I¡¯m sleeping at night. You may rest in the day instead of following me around.¡± An Xiaoning was rather reluctant to agree since it was much easier to go out at night, unlike in the day where there were many people around. However, he wanted her to take over the night duties clearly because he felt paranoid andcked a sense of security ever since the incident. ¡°Are you unwilling to do so?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare to be. I¡¯ll do as you say, Your Highness,¡± An Xiaoning agreed with a nod. Tuoba Gucheng removed the needle from her body and pushed the intravenous drip stand to the side before exiting the room. An Xiaoning got up and locked the door. Just as she was about to go to the bathroom, the surveince camera in a particr spot on the wall caught her attention. She stepped forward and tiptoed to remove it. As she stared at the camera in her hand, the only person she could think of behind the act was Tuoba Gucheng. I can¡¯t believe he actually put a surveince camera in my room, she thought to herself. She scanned her surroundings closely once more and headed to the bathroom to remove her mask, only after ensuring that there were no other cameras. She opened a fresh pack of beauty serum facial mask andid it across her face before lying down in the bed again. An Xiaoning set an rm and continued to lie in bed, not in the least bit sleepy at all. She opened her eyes and waited for the facial mask to dry up. She then ced her human skin mask on the headboard and forced herself to sleep. At four o¡¯clock in the morning, she heard a gentle knocking on the door. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± a voice answered softly. However, An Xiaoning could recognize it right away. It was Xiao Chi. She put on the mask and hurriedly opened the door. ¡°Why did youe at this hour?¡± ¡°Young Sir wants you to call him,¡± he answered, handing her the mobile phone. An Xiaoning allowed him to enter the room, after which she sat down on the bed again. ¡°Did he mention what it¡¯s about?¡± she asked while dialing Jin Qingyan¡¯s number. ¡°No.¡± Once the call went through, she ced the mobile phone beside her ear and said, ¡°Hello.¡± After a moment of silence, Jin Qingyan answered in an extremely hoarse voice, ¡°Are you hiding something from me?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Are you really not?¡± ¡°I really am not. Qingyan, what¡¯s wrong with your voice?¡± An Xiaoning asked, seemingly having sensed that he was in low spirits. Tears streamed down Jin Qingyan¡¯s face as hey on the couch. ¡°You lied to me. An Xiaoning, how dare you lie to me? Don¡¯t you know how well I treat you!?! How could you treat me like this!?!¡± he snapped. An Xiaoning quivered in shock, puzzled about why he flew into such an immense rage. Just what did I lie to him about? Although she did hide her pregnancy from him, she did not lie to him about anything else. ¡°Qingyan, I really didn¡¯t lie to you. Don¡¯t you trust me at all?¡± ¡°Yeah... I trusted you too much. You were allowed the chance tomit such atrocity, precisely because I trusted you unconditionally. An Xiaoning, you¡¯ve really let me down greatly,¡± he hissed, sounding extremely disappointed. Chapter 566 - The Secret About the Past (184)

Chapter 566: The Secret About the Past (184)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Panic engulfed An Xiaoning the moment she heard his words. ¡°Why would you say that? Tell me exactly, just what are you unhappy about? Tell me everything. Let¡¯s talk things through properly.¡± Jin Qingyan was not in the mood to discuss his grievances with her patiently. He briefly said, ¡°Regarding the child...¡± ¡°What about the child? Are you upset because I hid the pregnancy from you? I just didn¡¯t want to worry you, and I was afraid that you wouldn¡¯t allow me to stay here anymore after you¡¯ve found out about the child.¡± ¡°Is that so? Will youe home if I want you to right now?¡± he questioned, utterly disappointed. ¡°Qingyan, didn¡¯t I already say this before? It¡¯d be difficult for me toe back in here again once I leave. No matter what, I have to continue staying here to find out the truth about my mother. Besides... there¡¯s no way for me to leave the pce right now,¡± she said in a gentle voice. ¡°As long as you¡¯re willing, I¡¯ll do whatever it takes to get you out.¡± ¡°But I don¡¯t wish to leave. It¡¯ll be my greatest regret if I don¡¯t ever find out the truth about this matter,¡± she admitted frankly. ¡°Do you still love me? Why do I feel like you don¡¯t love me anymore? Did you meet another man who¡¯s much better than me?¡± he questioned, his tears blurring his vision. ¡°What are you talking about? Of course I love you. You¡¯re the one and only person I love,¡± An Xiaoning answered. ¡°I refuse to believe you.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°I got Xiao Chi to nt a surveince camera in your room. Did you know that?¡± ¡°I saw it just now. So it was you. I thought it was Tuoba Gucheng who left it there.¡± Jin Qingyan scoffed and said, ¡°Why would he do that? Does he need to watch and supervise you?¡± ¡°No, I was just making a guess. Hubby, it¡¯s not like you to beat around the bush. Just tell me straight, what are you upset about?¡± An Xiaoning urged, puzzled and confused. ¡°You still refuse to own up even until now. An Xiaoning, do you really think I wouldn¡¯t know about it just because you choose not to admit it? You slept with Tuoba Gucheng and the child belongs to him. Do you think I didn¡¯t know!?!¡± An Xiaoning finally realized what he was referring to. ¡°I didn¡¯t get intimate with him. There¡¯s nothing between us at all. The child is yours.¡± ¡°Can you prove that?¡± Jin Qingyan asked. ¡°I can¡¯t, but I¡¯m speaking the truth. Qingyan, trust me.¡± He was on the verge of losing his sanity. ¡°I can¡¯t trust you. He wouldn¡¯t have said that if nothing happened between you two. An Xiaoning, don¡¯t treat me like a fool, don¡¯t you dare!¡± ¡°The thing is, he¡¯s mistaken too.¡± ¡°How could he possibly be mistaken about something like that? Do you think I was born yesterday!?!¡± Jin Qingyan hollered in exasperation. ¡°No, he was...¡± Jin Qingyan hung up before she could even exin. She looked down and hurriedly sent him a text message to tell him that Tuoba Gucheng had been drugged with an aphrodisiac. Little did she know, Jin Qingyan got even more upset after reading her message. He knew clearly how it felt to be drugged with an aphrodisiac. An Xiaoning tried to call him again and again but he refused to answer. An Xiaoning then handed the mobile phone back to Xiao Chi. She was left alone in the room after Xiao Chi exited. She remained seated in silence. Initially, she thought that she could not exin herself clearly to Tuoba Gucheng. Yet, it was the same for Jin Qingyan. For the very first time, she felt more helpless than ever. For the very first time, she felt extremely aggrieved and powerless. She could imagine how distraught Jin Qingyan must be at the moment. But, wasn¡¯t it the same for her? Wasn¡¯t she just as devastated? Just what did I do wrong!?! She continued to sit on the bed for another two hours. The sky began to turn bright at past six o¡¯clock in the morning. Filled with immense sorrow and excruciating agony, An Xiaoning began to bawl loudly in misery. She wailed incessantly with no scruples. Tuoba Gucheng stopped in his tracks upon hearing her loud crying as soon as he stepped out of his room. He then opened the door of her room with the spare key. He immediately caught sight of her sitting on the bed, tears strewn all over her face. He stepped forward and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you?¡± An Xiaoning reached out to grab a piece of tissue paper from the headboard and wiped her tears with it. ¡°Nothing,¡± she answered, choking with sobs. ¡°Why are you crying if it¡¯s nothing?¡± She looked up at him and said, ¡°So what if I cried? I just feel like crying today, am I not allowed to, Your Highness?¡± ¡°Do as you please.¡± He turned around and left. An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes were red and swollen from crying. Shey down on her side, heartbroken and distressed. ¡ª Mrs. Gu went to the beauty salon for a facial and a haircut in the morning, followed by a high tea session with her friends in the afternoon. She had an entire list of activities lined up for the day. During her facial session at the beauty salon, Mrs. Gu declined politely with a smile when the beauty therapist offered her some tea, iming that she had brought her own. She was now extremely cautious and on her guard at all times. Thus, she would avoid drinking or eating anything as far as possible whenever she was outside. She even decided to hold the high tea session in her own teahouse, just to be safe. Xu Youran had initially begun shadowing her in the morning, all the way until the afternoon. However, she grew extremely frustrated when she realized that there would be no opportunities for her to take action as long as Mrs. Gu did not leave her house. She repeatedly told herself not to get too impatient. The opportunity wille sooner orter. However, her ns backfired again and again. She continued to wait for five consecutive days. Mrs. Gu had already left the house a few times. Yet, she still did not get the chance to act. Xu Youran¡¯s patience was wearing thin and she had no choice but to think of another solution. However, it seemed difficult toe up with a feasible n. After racking her brains, Xu Youran decided to look for Yuan Mingzhu again. Instead of visiting thetter at her apartment, she chose to meet her outside. ¡°Is there a way to control someone and force them to reveal something they don¡¯t wish to, just with their birth characters and clothing?¡± Shaking her head, Yuan Mingzhu answered, ¡°That¡¯s impossible.¡± Xu Youran sighed andmented, ¡°I guess there¡¯s really no way out then.¡± ¡°If that were possible, the world would be in chaos.¡± ¡°Is performing rituals detrimental to your health?¡± Xu Youran asked. ¡°That¡¯s for sure. One¡¯s lifespan would be shortened if they perform too many rituals.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. I used to read in books that some people are naturally born with an abundance of Yang (positive) energy while some are born with excessive Yin (negative) energy. Is that true?¡± she asked curiously. ¡°That¡¯s true. Those whose Yang energy is abundant would usually be unaffected by evil spirits. Those whock in Yang energy and have more Yin energy would usually be the targets of spirits who possess their bodies. That¡¯s how some of the mysteries in casese about,¡± Yuan Mingzhu exined truthfully. ¡°Could you summon spirits to possess others then?¡± Lin Mingxi asked softly, widening her eyes. Chapter 567 - The Secret About the Past (185)

Chapter 567: The Secret About the Past (185)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Rather taken aback by her absurd request, Yuan Mingzhu answered, ¡°It¡¯d be easy to summon such spirits intentionally, but it¡¯s far too difficult to send them away. Do you understand what I mean? Usually, summoning evil child spirits to work for you would result in dire consequences. I will never perform any rituals like those.¡± Xu Youran decided not to insist further upon hearing about the possible dangers. ¡°Turns out it¡¯s very powerful. Forget it, then.¡± ¡°Are you thinking of harming someone again?¡± ¡°Yes, but there¡¯s no way for me to find out his birth characters, so...¡± ¡°Youran, you¡¯re pregnant right now. Hence, I suggest that you refrain frommitting such sins. Not only will it be detrimental to me, but it¡¯d also be harmful to you and your child too.¡± ¡°I understand,¡± said Xu Youran, smiling wryly as she looked down to sip on some juice. Yuan Mingzhu¡¯s mobile phone began to ring all of a sudden. After taking a look at the caller disy, she said, ¡°It¡¯s someone from the police station. I gotta head back now. We¡¯re in the midst of investigations for a case. Drive safely while on your way back.¡± ¡°Alright, hurry along,¡± Xu Youran said with a smile that vanished once Yuan Mingzhu hurried out of the door. She was peeved about the fact that she could note up with a better solution. She decided to stick to her original n, refusing to believe that she would forever not have the chance to take action! The tension within her vanished when she caressed her slightly raised baby bump. After finishing her fruit juice, she grabbed her purse and drove back to her parents¡¯ ce. Madam Xu was knitting a sweater while sitting on the couch. Upon sight of her arrival, Madam Xu asked, ¡°The weather is really warm today. What brings you home?¡± ¡°I was just bored. Mother, how many times have I told you? Sweaters are sold in stores everywhere, why do you bother knitting them yourself?¡± ¡°I have nothing else to do anyway. This is a great activity to kill time,¡± said Madam Xu, continuing to knit. ¡°Where¡¯s Father?¡± ¡°He went out.¡± ¡°Mother, which was the best hospital in town during your time?¡± Xu Youran asked, leaning closer toward her. ¡°It was the First People¡¯s Hospital, of course. Poor families would usually give birth at home with the help of midwives while the wealthy would go intobor at the hospital. There were very few hospitals at that time. The First People¡¯s Hospital has always been the best one, be it in the past or in the present.¡± ¡°I see.¡± The hospital must have the records of all the births that took ce there. Could I find out more from there? Xu Youran wondered to herself. ¡°By the way, has there been any results from the search?¡± Madam Xu shook her head and answered, ¡°No, it¡¯s already been so many years. Why would it be that easy to find her? There haven¡¯t been any matches in the DNA gic database either. Your father and I are really anxious. I really wonder if we can ever find her.¡± ¡°Mother, you¡¯ll definitely find her one day.¡± ¡°I hope so. I get so upset every time I think of her.¡± Xu Youran hoped that they would never be able to find their missing daughter because only then can she secure her footing in the Xu family. Wouldn¡¯t her presence be redundant once their biological daughter returns? Thus, she had always prayed fervently in her heart that she would never be found. Shortly after, Xu Youran left the Xu family mansion and headed to the First People¡¯s Hospital while wearing a surgical mask and a pair of shades. Once she reached the front desk, she asked straight away, ¡°Hello, may I ask if you could check the birth records of a child who was born here in the past?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Could you help me check then?¡± Xu Youran asked gleefully. ¡°Yes, please tell me the name of the child.¡± ¡°Gu Beicheng.¡± The staff at the front desk checked the database and answered, ¡°Yes, there are records of such a person being delivered here.¡± ¡°May I ask what his date of birth is?¡± Xu Youran asked agitatedly. ¡°I¡¯m very sorry about that but there are no records of his birth date here.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you guys save the date of birth in the records?¡± ¡°No, we don¡¯t.¡± Xu Youran had no choice but to leave. Just as she left, the staff members of the hospital immediately reported her visit to Gu Beicheng and sent him the footages from the surveince cameras. Gu Beicheng recognized that it was Xu Youran right away. He stared at the screenshots of the surveince camera footage with a look of disappointment in his eyes. He immediately picked up the telephone beside him and dialed a single digit. ¡°Come in.¡± The secretary swiftly entered and asked, ¡°Mr. Gu, do you have any orders for me?¡± ¡°Send some people to shadow my sister-inw, Xu Youran, 24/7 round the clock. Tail her in secret and make sure not to expose yourselves. I want to receive reports and updates of who she contacts, every single day.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°Okay, you can take your leave.¡± ¡ª Ling Ciye pushed the door open and entered. ¡°Qingyan, I heard from Shixin that you¡¯ve been in a terrible mood recently and that you¡¯ve been staying in bed for three days. Did something happen?¡± he asked. ¡°Nothing much. I just feel upset,¡± Jin Qingyan said in a feeble voice, resting his arm on his forehead. ¡°What are you upset about? Tell me about it so I can rejoice.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not in the mood for jokes.¡± He put his arm down and rolled his eyes at Ling Ciye. ¡°I¡¯m not joking with you either.¡± ¡°Get lost...¡± Clucking his tongue against the roof of his mouth, Ling Ciye said, ¡°Qingyue said that I¡¯m more ill-tempered than you are. But why does it seem like you¡¯re ten times worse than I am?¡± Jin Qingyan ignored him. Noticing the deadpan expression on his face, Ling Ciye said, ¡°Tell me what you¡¯re upset about. Speak up. Don¡¯t bottle up your emotions.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t bring myself to say it. Would you and Tianze be shocked if I divorced Xiaoning?¡± ¡°Of course. If you two get a divorce, Xiaoning would definitely be the one who initiated it. But, did you have a tiff with Xiaoning? Otherwise, why would you ask such a question?¡± ¡°It¡¯s worse than just a tiff.¡± ¡°What is it, then? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re really thinking of getting a divorce?¡± Ling Ciye probed. ¡°It¡¯s a long story.¡± ¡°Then just take your time to tell me. Anyway, I¡¯m not in a rush to go anywhere. I have all day to hear you out.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel like talking about it. Ciye, I feel like I¡¯m about to die,¡± said Jin Qingyan as he turned to lie on his side. ¡°Go ahead and die then. Tianze and I will bury you when you¡¯re dead.¡± ¡°...¡± Jin Qingyan stared at him and said, ¡°Brother-inw, are you here to piss me off?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t married your sister yet. Don¡¯t be too quick to call me your brother-inw.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell Qingyue that you don¡¯t wish to marry her.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t... Go ahead and call me what you want. Whatever,¡± Ling Ciye said nonchntly. Jin Qingyan closed his eyes andmented, ¡°I love her so much, and yet, she still let me down. She disappointed me and ruined the trust I gave her.¡± ¡°What exactly happened? Just tell me first.¡± He refused to speak. Ling Ciye was growing impatient, extremely curious about what had happened. Thus, Ling Ciye had no choice but to say, ¡°You asked me if Tianze and I would be shocked should you ever divorce Xiaoning. Let me tell you, we¡¯ll be more than just shocked. We all know how much you love her. If you were the one who initiated a divorce, it¡¯d definitely be because she made you give up on her and she disappointed you far too greatly. Otherwise, given your character, I doubt you¡¯d initiate a divorce.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t given up on her yet, but I just feel like I won¡¯t be able to give up everything for her unconditionally anymore, like I would in the past. I won¡¯t be able to restrict myself vehemently for her sake and continue to live life blissfully with her...¡± Chapter 568 - The Secret About the Past (186)

Chapter 568: The Secret About the Past (186)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Seems like she hadmitted a grave mistake.¡± Ling Ciye gave him a pat on his back and said, ¡°Try not to dwell on it.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± Noticing Jin Yiheng¡¯s head between the crack of the door, Ling Ciye waved at him and said, ¡°Little Imp,e in andfort your father, quick.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my Daddy?¡± Jin Yiheng asked as he entered the room. ¡°Your father is lovesick.¡± ¡°Uncle, can that be treated? Which hospital can treat his condition?¡± Ling Ciye patted his head and said, ¡°Only your Mommy can fix him. Hurry andfort your Daddy. Uncle is going home now.¡± After Ling Ciye left, Jin Yiheng leaned towards his father and said, ¡°Daddy, are you feeling ufortable in your heart? You¡¯ll be fine after I massage you.¡± Jin Qingyany down again and said, ¡°Give Daddy a massage then.¡± He reached out his tiny hand and sat near his father¡¯s chest to give it a gentle rub. ¡°Why did Uncle say that only Mommy can fix you? Daddy, are you missing Mommy already? She¡¯ll be home very soon.¡± Jin Qingyan remained silent, feeling as if his son¡¯s words hadforted him greatly. Staring at his son who looked almost identical to him, he picked him up and pulled him into an embrace. ¡°It¡¯s your birthday tomorrow. Do you remember the instructions I gave you?¡± ¡°I have to spend the entire day with you,¡± Jin Yiheng answered. ¡°Yes, you have to stay by my side throughout the entire day tomorrow morning. Daddy will apany you.¡± ¡°What about Mommy? It¡¯s Mommy¡¯s birthday tomorrow too. Who will apany her?¡± Jin Yiheng asked. ¡°Someone will be there to apany her,¡± said Jin Qingyan, striking a sour note within himself. ¡°Who is it?¡± ¡°I have no idea either.¡± Just as he finished speaking, he received a text message on his mobile phone. He picked up his mobile phone to see that it was a message from Xiao Chi¡¯s mobile number. Ever since theirst conversation, An Xiaoning had tried to call him multiple times but to no avail. Although he had read all the messages she sent him, he did not change his mind about the matter. Well, to him, she was just trying to cover up by exining. This time, An Xiaoning was not the one who sent the message, but rather, Xiao Chi. He reported something to Jin Qingyan. The text message read: ¡°I just received thetest news. From tomorrow night onwards, His Highness wants Young Madam to guard his room every night instead of following him around in the day. Also, Young Madam¡¯s wound in her back has not healed yet.¡± Jin Qingyan pursed his lips tightly and stared at his screen before replying to Xiao Chi: ¡°You don¡¯t have to report to me about your Young Madam anymore from now onwards. You don¡¯t have to let her use your phone to contact me either.¡± Soon, Xiaochi replied: ¡°Yes.¡± Jin Qingyan put his phone away and closed his eyes with a heavy heart. However, he was not the only one being devastated about the fact that their marriage was on the rocks. During the past five days, An Xiaoning had never once rested well, especially since she could not reach him at all. Panic and anxiety consumed her. She had no appetite and could not sleep well at night either. However, she did not regret entering the Autumn Pce even though her decision to do so had caused her to be mistaken and wounded, because she had never actually crossed the line. Why doesn¡¯t he believe me? Doesn¡¯t he understand what kind of person I am? It was An Xiaoning and Jin Yiheng¡¯s birthday tomorrow, right smack in the middle of July. She got out of bed and stood in front of the window before opening them. She craned her neck outside to take a look and happened to make eye contact with Tuoba Gucheng, who was sticking his head out of his window next door. An Xiaoning greeted, ¡°Your Highness...¡± ¡°Hey,¡± he answered. ¡°May I go out for a walk?¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± Thus, she did not say anything else and closed the windows before going out of her room. After exiting the mansion, she subconsciously turned around to look at the window on the second floor and discovered that he was still there. An Xiaoning looked away and continued walking slowly. She was wearing a long dress and a long-lined cotton cardigan, paired with some sandals. She left Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s yard and headed to Tuoba Shuo¡¯s mansion. An Xiaoning had yet to meet him privately as he had requested in the note he¡¯d given her previously. An Xiaoning realized that this evening would be herst chance to meet up with Tuoba Shuo privately since she would have to begin her night duties in Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s room tomorrow. Thus, she arrived at Tuoba Shuo¡¯s mansion. The guards outside the mansion allowed her to enter, as if they did not see her at all. ¡°How¡¯s your wound?¡± Tuoba Shuo asked. ¡°There¡¯s nothing too serious about it now, except it hasn¡¯t healedpletely yet. I only had the chance toe see you today. From tomorrow onward, I¡¯ll have to be on duty at night. I¡¯ll be taking the night shift and resting in the day.¡± ¡°Night shift? You¡¯ll be on duty at night?¡± Tuoba Shuo asked. ¡°Yes, in His Highness¡¯s room.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. Are you able to sit?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She sat down slowly onto the praying mat opposite him. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your eyes? Are your eyes swollen?¡± ¡°You could tell? But it¡¯s nothing much, I just haven¡¯t slept welltely.¡± ¡°I can tell even when you¡¯re wearing a mask. I reckon you must be clueless about where to begin now, but I received an important piece of news a few days ago,¡± said Tuoba Shuo. ¡°What news?¡± ¡°My mother said that I was aware of Qingzhou¡¯s execution. But now, it seems your mother was...¡± He paused and continued only after noticing that An Xiaoning did not have a change of expression. ¡°Your mother was saved by your father and gave birth to you. It¡¯s very likely that she¡¯s still alive. Maybe, she¡¯s just locked up somewhere. After all, her death can¡¯t be announced. Thus, we can¡¯t eliminate the possibility that she¡¯s not dead. Also, we can¡¯t question your father about this yet at the moment. It won¡¯t help in finding Qingzhou since he might possibly hide her even more obscurely once he knows that I still suspect that she¡¯s alive.¡± ¡°You have a point. Where could they possibly hide her if she¡¯s still alive?¡± An Xiaoning asked in confusion. He answered without hesitation, ¡°A secret chamber. I¡¯m sure your father wasn¡¯t the one who sent you away back then.¡± ¡°How are you so sure?¡± ¡°He¡¯s not that heartless. So, I¡¯m guessing that Shi Xiaoyu knows about this too. She said that your mother¡¯s ashes have been scattered into the sea after she was cremated. That could be true or false. We can¡¯t be too sure about that yet.¡± ¡°If he wasn¡¯t the one who sent me out of the pce, why didn¡¯t hee looking for me? He should be well aware that he has a child.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about that.¡± ¡°What color of clothes did my mother enjoy wearing the most?¡± Tuoba Shuo recalled his memories and answered, ¡°Red. She had a penchant for red-colored clothing. She had fair, porcin skin, a svelte figure, and an average stature. She looked exceptionally vibrant and lively whenever she was dressed in red. From what I remember, red was her favorite color.¡± Chapter 569 - The Secret About the Past (187)

Chapter 569: The Secret About the Past (187)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Did you mistake me for my mother when I removed my mask that night?¡± ¡°Yes, you resemble her too much.¡± ¡°Does he read the news?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I often appear on the news. Do you think he really hasn¡¯t seen photos of me before? Wouldn¡¯t he find it strange to see that my mother and I look so alike? If he really didn¡¯t see any of those photos, why don¡¯t you bring my photo to him and ask him about it?¡± Thinking that it was a good idea, Tuoba Shuo agreed, ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°I just want to know if he¡¯s aware of my existence. If he is, why hasn¡¯t hee and look for me yet? Shouldn¡¯t he at least verify if I¡¯m the daughter he lost? Or did he give me away willingly? You said he wasn¡¯t a heartless person, but it seems like the royals are the most heartless creatures ever. Perhaps he had already changed long ago,¡± An Xiaoning said with a gloomy expression. ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll ask him, because I¡¯d like to know the reason too,¡± said an upset Tuoba Shuo. ¡°Do sketch me the floor n of his study, bedroom, and the mansion he and his wife are living in. Tell me where the guards are at night too. I¡¯d like to make some progress in this matter even though it may be dangerous. By the way, do you have any hallucinogens?¡± ¡°Hallucinogens?¡± ¡°Yes. I need some. Since I have to be on night duty, I definitely wouldn¡¯t have the chance to sneak out in the day to search for clues. But if I manage to drug His Highness unconscious, it would be much easier, although there¡¯ll still be guards on duty.¡± ¡°I do have some.¡± He stood up to bring her a few packets of the drug and said, ¡°A low dosage is enough to make him sleep for three to four hours.¡± ¡°Alright, I have to get going now. I can¡¯t be out for too long.¡± He helped her up and said, ¡°Be careful at all times. Don¡¯t get too eager, it would take time for the truth to be out.¡± ¡°I know, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be very careful.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning left and returned to Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s mansion. Upon sight of Xiao Chi standing by on duty alone, she said to him, ¡°Lend me your phone.¡± ¡°Well, Young Madam, Young Sir instructed me not to lend you my phone again. He also said... that I don¡¯t have to report to him about you anymore.¡± An Xiaoning felt as if her heart was stabbed by a dagger. She froze in shock and stood rooted to the ground. Just what must she do to make him believe that she was innocent? What did he want her to do? What did he want? ¡°Okay.¡± She walked away. Xiao Chi let out a sigh at the sight of how forlorn she looked. An Xiaoning made her way up the stairs,pletely sunk into a trance. She really wanted to go out of the Autumn Pce to exin herself clearly. However, she would be giving up the best opportunity to search for the truth about her mother if she were to just leave. Besides, even if she were to leave now, he might not necessarily hear her out. She had never felt so physically and emotionally exhausted before. She felt extremely drained. My conscience is clear, I¡¯m innocent! But then again, who could hear her innermost thoughts? Once An Xiaoning returned to her room, shey down in bed. Her eyes felt ufortably dry and sore. The moment she closed her eyes, images of her sweet memories with Jin Qingyan flooded her mind. Yet, they felt just like sharp knives slitting her heart and inflicting pain on her. She must find out the truth about her mother as soon as possible and leave the Autumn Pce! She felt more empowered at the thought of her determination. She believed that her husband¡¯s misunderstanding toward her would just be temporary and that things would return to their original state very soon. ¡ª It was the 15th of July. The start of the Hungry Ghost Festival. The weather was gloomy and the sky was covered by gray clouds, not allowing a single ray of sunlight to prate at all. Tuoba Shuo and Tuoba Rui were sitting opposite each other in thetter¡¯s study. ¡°What¡¯s the important thing you wanted to tell me about?¡± Remaining calm andposed, Tuoba Shuo took out a photo from his pocket and ced it onto the table. ¡°I saw this online. Have a look.¡± Tuoba Rui picked up the photo and was unsurprised at all to see the woman on it. ¡°Isn¡¯t this the Young Madam of the Jin family?¡± Tuoba Shuo knew immediately that Tuoba Rui must have seen photos of An Xiaoning before and was aware of her existence. ¡°Don¡¯t you think she looks a lot like Qingzhou?¡± Tuoba Rui chuckled and said, ¡°There are plenty of people who look alike. What¡¯s the big deal?¡± ¡°I find it way too strange. It¡¯s my first time seeing two people who resemble each other so much. Brother, did you get a shock when you first saw the Young Madam of the Jin family?¡± Tuoba Rui nodded and said, ¡°Yes, there¡¯s indeed an uncanny, striking resemnce between them. But there¡¯s no way she¡¯ll be rted to Qingzhou. Qingzhou has long been dead.¡± Tuoba Shuo red at him with an icy cold stare in his eyes. However, he tried to suppress his emotions. ¡°I too know that Qingzhou isn¡¯t around. However, I still think about her every now and then, especially since I saw someone who resembles her so greatly.¡± Tuoba Rui did not respond. A deafening silence filled the room. Tuoba Shuo then stood up and excused himself, ¡°Brother, I¡¯ll be going back now then.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He turned around and exited the study, leaving Tuoba Rui alone to stare at An Xiaoning¡¯s photo quietly. She resembled her mother so strikingly, such that it would be easy to mistake her for her mother. Her smile, in particr, was almost identical to her mother¡¯s. He caressed the photo gently, feeling a sudden twitch in his heart. He had only seen her once ever since she was born. After almost thirty years, she had grown into a beautiful woman, just like her mother. He had also heard that she had a simr temperament and character as her mother. It seemed to him now that he had made the right decision by sending her away from the Autumn Pce to grow up on her own. Wasn¡¯t it great to enjoy the freedom of living the life of her choice and marrying the person she truly loved without any restrictions? ¡°Rui.¡± Shi Xiaoyu entered. He quickly ced the photo inside the drawer, though Shi Xiaoyu had noticed his actions. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Why did Shuoe to find you?¡± ¡°He came to ask me why the Young Madam of the Jin family resembled Qingzhou so greatly. Perhaps he¡¯s just being curious,¡± Tuoba Rui answered casually. ¡°How did you answer him?¡± ¡°Must you really ask in such detail? You¡¯d better not poke your nose into things you shouldn¡¯t be asking about,¡± he hissed, giving her the side eye. ¡°I was just being curious, that¡¯s all. I¡¯m guessing Shuo must be thinking of meeting An Xiaoning. Given his character, he¡¯ll definitely go and look her up.¡± ¡°So what if he does?¡± After a moment of silence, Tuoba Rui answered, ¡°It¡¯d be good for him to meet her, actually. He would be able to rify his doubts. Besides, he wouldn¡¯t necessarily go meet her since he knows clearly that she isn¡¯t Qingzhou.¡± ¡°Sister is so fortunate. She managed to gain the affection and love of your brother and yours. Even though I¡¯ve given birth to two sons and a daughter for you, she still has a greater ce in your heart than I do,¡± said Shi Xiaoyu, seemingly hinting at something, ¡°Are you vying with a dead person? She¡¯s passed away so many years ago already. Don¡¯t keep bringing her up,¡± he chided coldly. Chapter 570 - The Secret About the Past (188)

Chapter 570: The Secret About the Past (188)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I¡¯m not brooding over a dead person, I¡¯m just very envious of her. I¡¯d be willing to die too if I could remain on a pedestal in your heart for so many years, even after I¡¯m dead.¡± Tuoba Rui red at her and said, ¡°You¡¯ll never be the same as her.¡± Shi Xiaoyu swallowed her anger and displeasure before asking, ¡°Rui, have you ever thought about how An Xiaoning would feel if she were to ever find out one day that you¡¯re her biological father?¡± ¡°That day will nevere, unless you get up to any tricks. Xiaoyu, I¡¯ve warned you before, haven¡¯t I? Don¡¯t push my limits ever again,¡± he said sternly. Shi Xiaoyu nodded and said in disgruntlement, ¡°You¡¯re always like this.¡± ¡°Get out if there¡¯s nothing else you want to tell me.¡± Shi Xiaoyu turned around and left, after which she stood by the door with a menacing re in her eyes. Hmph, once my son bes the president... An Xiaoning was gued with woes and sunk in low spirits ever since she woke up in the morning. As usual, she ate exceptionally little for breakfast since she did not have much of an appetite. It was mainly because she was distraught and gloomy. Food had be nd and tasteless to her. Noticing that she appeared to be in a daze, Tuoba Gucheng asked, ¡°Did you have a sleepless night?¡± ¡°I did catch some sleep.¡± ¡°Why are you so sluggish and lethargic, then?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t sleep too well.¡± He raised his wrist to look at the time and said, ¡°You may continue to rest in the day and go on duty at night.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± After Tuoba Gucheng left, she picked up a flowering can and watered the nts. The colorful and vibrant flowers, which blossomed beautifully, managed to lift her spirits a little. After watering the flowers, she continued to sit down on the chair, feeling a sharp pain in her back whenever she bent it slightly. She was filled with uneasiness at the thought of the impending evening. Having just suffered a miscarriage and a gunshot to her back a few days ago, her immune system was still weak and her body was still in a state of feebleness. Not to mention, it was the night when the gates of Hell would open. She wondered if she would get possessed by any spirits in the Autumn Pce. If that were to really happen, she would no longer be in control of her body. She did not wish for that to happen. Yet, the only thing she could do was to prevent it from happening by praying that she would be able to tide through the night in peace. However, time seemed to crawl by slowly even in the day, perhaps because she was extremely troubled and gued with woes. The thunder rumbled with a loud, cackling sound. She looked up at the sky to find that it was about to pour very soon. She hurriedly got up and returned to her room with the chair. Just as she arrived upstairs, it began pouring immediately without warning, the raindrops crashing onto the ground violently. An Xiaoning closed the windows andy down in bed to read some newspapers. She had picked up a thick pile of newspapers from downstairs, which consisted of various daily newspapers from the past few days. Since she did not have a mobile phone with her, she could only resort to upying her time by reading newspapers. After reading newspapers for the entire morning, An Xiaoning took a nap in the afternoon. That was her usual daily routine. Finally, evening arrived. It was still raining cats and dogs. After having her dinner, An Xiaoning packed up and headed to Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s room. He happened to have juste out of the bathroom, dressed in a bathrobe. Noticing that she was standing by the door, he said, ¡°Why are you just standing there? Isn¡¯t there a couch here? Come in and sit down.¡± ¡°Thank you, Your Highness.¡± She stepped forward and took a seat on the couch near his bed. Afterward, the two of them did not make any conversation with each other at all. She sat on the couch quietly while he leaned against the headboard of the bed to use hisptop. A whileter, he put hisptop away and looked at her calmly. ¡°Let¡¯s chat, shall we?¡± ¡°What would you like to chat about, Your Highness?¡± ¡°I heard you had a boyfriend but he passed away...¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Was your boyfriend handsome?¡± An Xiaoning shook her head and asked rhetorically, ¡°No. Why would handsome men fall for someone so mediocre like me?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Although she had already taken a nap in the afternoon, An Xiaoning felt her eyelids getting heavy again. She widened her eyes and said, ¡°If I fall asleep, you must wake me up, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you catch up on your sleep in the day?¡± ¡°I did, but I somehow feel a little sleepy again now. Your Highness, do you know what day it is today?¡± she asked. ¡°The middle of July, the start of the Hungry Ghost Festival.¡± ¡°I really dread the Qingming Festival and Hungry Ghost Festival because, well, my immune system has always been poor ever since I was young.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you really believe in these made-up theories and festivals? Do you actually believe that they were meant for ghosts? There are no ghosts in this world, only evil human beings.¡± Due to the overwhelming sleepiness, An Xiaoning sprung up from her seat abruptly, causing her wound to be stretched a little. She clenched her jaw in pain and winced while putting an arm on her back. ¡°It really hurts so God damn badly.¡± ¡°Must you get up so vigorously?¡± ¡°Your Highness, let¡¯s continue chatting,¡± said An Xiaoning, thinking to herself that she won¡¯t fall asleep as long as they kept talking. ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Your Highness, is there anyone you¡¯ve been carrying a torch for, ever since you were young? You don¡¯t have to spell her name out, just tell me if there is.¡± ¡°No.¡± She giggled and sneered, ¡°Psht... I don¡¯t believe you.¡± ¡°There really isn¡¯t any girl I fancy. I knew since a young age that these are mistakes I ought not to make. Isn¡¯t Jiang Feng a ssic example?¡± ¡°What do you mean mistake? I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a mistake at all. Isn¡¯t it only human to fall in love with others? Why does one have to be restricted by others when ites to love? You either adore someone or you don¡¯t. Only cowards would be afraid of harboring any feelings for the person they fancy. I heard that there¡¯ll be a presidential election this year. If you be the president...¡± She paused in her speech and stared at him nkly. ¡°What if I be the president?¡± ¡°If you be the president, you ought to do what Her Highness has said, don¡¯t let your children suffer the same fate as you. Because, well, it¡¯s extremely torturous to be denied the freedom to love,¡± An Xiaoning remarked. Tuoba Gucheng raised his brows and said, ¡°You¡¯re really brazen. You have the guts to say anything.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯m different from others. I¡¯m uniquely me.¡± ¡°No wonder you had a boyfriend.¡± He eased himself into afortable position. ¡°You, Your Highness, and Zhi Yin all think that it¡¯s strange for me to have had a boyfriend who loves me. That just goes to show that you guys don¡¯t know what a person¡¯s greatest charm is. If looks are the deciding factor for a first impression, then personal charm is what determines if your rtionship willst. After all, beauty really is in the eye of the beholder.¡± Tuoba Gucheng could not help but admit that having a conversation with her felt just like he was chatting with a friend. It felt like they were on an equal level with no hierarchy. ¡°Are you really that tired?¡± ¡°Your Highness, I feel like I¡¯m about to copse soon.¡± ¡°Are you pretending? You¡¯re being so exaggerated.¡± An Xiaoning cked out and immediately fell onto his bed. ¡°Mu Ning?¡± he called. Noticing that she was motionless, Tuoba Gucheng sat up straight and reached out to give her a little push. However, she did not respond. He got down from the bed and said, ¡°If you still refuse to wake up, I¡¯m going to call the doctor.¡± ¡°...¡± He proceeded to call the doctor over to check on her situation, after which the doctor deduced that she had merely fallen asleep and did not pass out. Chapter 571 - The Secret About the Past (189)

Chapter 571: The Secret About the Past (189)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s heart was racing nervously. Why couldn¡¯t she be awakened if she was just sleeping? She was that deeply asleep? But since the doctor had already said that, he could only put her on the sofa and let her be. She was supposed to be on duty to protect him, but now it was the opposite... He stood there, looking down at her as she slept. Perhaps it was because of something that they had done, something that should not have happened between them, his attitude toward her had improved drastically. Also, as he looked at her now, she did not seem that ugly, after all. Or could it be that his eyesight was declining? Throughout the night, he asionally woke up to check on her and realized she was sleeping all well and fine. He¡¯d thought that she would wake up the following day. However, the reality was that she didn¡¯t. Even the doctor did not know what was going on. Tuoba Gucheng searched online and got a wide variety of answers. There were even some people who just slept on for many years like that. Just looking at such answers made his jaw drop in horror. For the whole day, he was thinking of this strange incident. Before he slept on the night of the 16th of July, he was still wondering if this woman would actually not wake up for many years. Yet, in the middle of the night, he felt something licking his face and two arms wrapping around him tightly. Opening his eyes, he received a near-death shock. He turned on the lights. Seeing An Xiaoning right next to him, he was mortified. ¡°Why... did you climb onto my bed? Are you tired of living? Get down now!¡± ¡°Woof woof woof...¡± Tuoba Gucheng reached out and pressed her face. ¡°Are you a dog? You still dare to bark at me? Get down now!¡± ¡°Woof woof woof woof...¡± All the thoughts in his mind crumbled as he immediately dragged her to the sofa. ¡°Mu Ning, since you¡¯re awake, stop acting crazy. Do your guard duty properly.¡± He watched as she sat on the sofa, her sparkling eyes staring right at him, emitting an innocent gaze. ¡°Say something.¡± ¡°...¡± Tuoba Gucheng was going mad. He went closer to her. ¡°Have you gone dumb from sleeping?¡± ¡°Woof woof... ow...¡± Seeing her act in an abnormal way, Tuoba Gucheng hurriedly put on his clothes and went to consult a witch. The witch came over with him and immediately diagnosed, ¡°She¡¯s been possessed by the spirit of a yellow Labrador.¡± ¡°A yellow Labrador?¡± Tuoba Gucheng instantly thought of the favorite dog he had a few years ago. It was exactly a yellow Labrador, but it died of an illness eventually. He suddenly felt the weight of the problem he was facing. ¡°Is there a way to make her go back to normal?¡± The witch responded, ¡°We usually have to wait ¡¯til October to do a ritual to scare the spirit away. Her body is too weak at the moment, so even a dog can possess her.¡± ¡°October is too far away, is there a faster method?¡± ¡°No, unless the dog is willing to get out of her body before that.¡± This was really an eye-opener for Tuoba Gucheng. If he had not witnessed it himself, he would never have believed that such things could actually happen in this world. ¡°Then, how can we make it leave by itself?¡± ¡°Satisfy its wishes. Maybe if you satisfy its wishes, it will leave without regrets.¡± Tuoba Gucheng especially instructed the witch, ¡°You mustn¡¯t let this get out.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Your Highness, I know what to do.¡± ¡°Alright, you may go.¡± Tuoba Gucheng sent the witch out of the door. ¡°Your Highness, what is a witch doing here?¡± Xiao Chi inquired. ¡°Nothing much, I just wanted her to see if there¡¯s something dirty inside.¡± ¡°So, is there?¡± ¡°No.¡± He muttered, then sped his hands behind his back and returned to his room. He immediately locked the door after he closed it shut. This incident was far too knotty for him to handle. There were still two to three months to October, and he was about to get married next month. How was he supposed to protect her until October? He sat on the sofa beside her. ¡°Da Huang, I know you¡¯re very intelligent. I¡¯ll satisfy anything you want, but you need to promise me that you won¡¯t stay in others¡¯ body and refuse to leave, okay?¡± ¡°Woof.¡± ¡°Very good. I can¡¯t believe that you¡¯re still by my side in another form even when you¡¯re dead. I¡¯m very touched.¡± He patted its head just like how he used to before, just that instead of Da Huang¡¯s head, it was now An Xiaoning¡¯s head. At the thought of the beloved dog he once owned, his heart felt rather heavy. When he first had Da Huang, it was only a little puppy, but he spent time around it every day. It was a malebrador, and he personally bathed it every day and injected it with its vine. When he slept at night, Da Huang slept with him as well. When it saw him, it would excitedly lick its face and wag its tail frantically. However, when it turned ill and died eventually, he remained in low spirits for a very long time. Now that he had finally moved on, he couldn¡¯t believe that he could see it again in this form. It was reallypletely beyond his expectations. When hey down, An Xiaoning merrily jumped onto the bed. That¡¯s right, she literally jumped. Shey down right beside him, positioning herself exactly like how Da Huang used to sleep beside him. Although Tuoba Gucheng knew that she was Da Huang now, a part of him was still torn inside and felt that she was still Mu Ning. It was very difficult for him to get used to, despite the two of them not using the same nket. The thought of a woman¡¯s body lying right beside him made it hard for him to fall asleep. Moreover, in his memory, it was the woman whom he had slept with before. The feelings he had were simply indescribable. From this day onwards, Tuoba Gucheng never let An Xiaoning leave his room. He even locked the door from the outside whenever he left the mansion. The bodyguards all wanted to know where An Xiaoning had gone, but nobody dared to ask. Everyone was specting whether or not His Highness was keeping An Xiaoning as his lover. If it were true, his taste was far too unique. Although everyone had spections, nobody dared to make any outright guesses. Xiao Chi never saw An Xiaoning as well, but he knew that An Xiaoning was being kept in Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s room as he had gone to An Xiaoning¡¯s room to check before and found no one inside. He had also eavesdropped on His Highness while thetter was conversing with someone in his room. The situation could not be any more obvious. Thinking about his Young Sir, Xiao Chi felt that it was a huge shock to his morals. Was his Young Madam actually having an affair? Could she have fallen for His Highness? The Prince was about to hold his wedding in August, though, so what exactly was going on? It was simply iprehensible. Finally, another week had passed. Xiao Chi received Fan Shixin¡¯s call, asking about An Xiaoning¡¯s situation. Xiao Chi divulged everything that he knew to him. Fan Shixin reconfirmed in an incredulous tone, ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t dare to lie to you, Chief. The bodyguards here all know about it. Young Madam and His Highness are living together now.¡± Fan Shixin felt that things werepletely doomed. There was no longer any room for salvation. When he hung up the call, Fan Shixin nced at his Young Sir beside him, suddenly at a loss for words. ¡°Fan Shixin, you do know the consequences of lying to me, right?¡± Jin Qingyan went right into it. ¡°Tell me what is going on.¡± ¡°Yes, Young Sir...¡± He did not dare to look at Jin Qingyan¡¯s face as he repeated everything Xiao Chi had told him. Chapter 572 - The Secret About the Past (190)

Chapter 572: The Secret About the Past (190)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After hearing his words, Jin Qingyan¡¯s body waspletely frozen in shock. A momentter, he finally spoke. ¡°Go and prepare the divorce agreement.¡± ¡°Young Sir, maybe you¡¯ve really misunderstood Young Madam...¡± Fan Shixin was still in disbelief. ¡°I don¡¯t think Young Madam is that kind of person.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not deceive myself and others. Is it fun doing that?¡± He cast a nce toward Fan Shixin and continued, ¡°I want to let her know the consequences of betraying me. Aren¡¯t you going to go and prepare it now?!¡± Fan Shixin¡¯s body shook and he did not dare say another word further. He immediately turned and went out. ¡ª ¡°What is this?¡± Jin Qingyue looked at a piece of paper that Ling Ciye had brought. ¡°Take a look.¡± She took it and her jaw dropped as she asked, ¡°This is the n you¡¯re implementing to change my reputation?¡± ¡°Umm. We¡¯ll do what this n says.¡± He went on in a serious tone, ¡°I¡¯ll make everyone¡¯s impression of you change, and I¡¯ve already hidden all the search results of the news you were involved inst time.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do as you say.¡± She looked at the piece of paper again and memorized its contents by heart. ¡°Your brother and sister-inw are having some problems between them, do you know about it?¡± ¡°What problem? They have such a good rtionship and they still have problems?¡± Jin Qingyue did not take his words to heart. ¡°The problem doesn¡¯t seem small. I heard from Tianze, your brother intends to get a divorce.¡± Jin Qingyue waspletely rmed. ¡°What on earth happened for them to get to a state of divorce?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but I think it was your sister-inw who was in the wrong,¡± Ling Ciye replied idly. ¡°Otherwise, given your brother¡¯s character, would he initiate a divorce?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. Back then, after my sister-inw and brother divorced, he even drank poison tomit suicide.¡± A sudden sh of worry overwhelmed Jin Qingyue. ¡°No, this won¡¯t do. I have to go to my brother¡¯s ce to take a look.¡± Ling Ciye held her back. ¡°Don¡¯t go, your brother has been in a particrly bad moodtely.¡± ¡°Why are you only telling me now?¡± ¡°I thought it wasn¡¯t that serious. But now, it seems like that isn¡¯t the case.¡± ¡°What do we do, then?¡± Jin Qingyue pondered. ¡°If we know what it is about, then it¡¯d be easier to handle. But right now, we don¡¯t even know the reason, and that¡¯s the most tricky part. I don¡¯t want them to split up.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not about whether you want it or not.¡± Ling Ciye¡¯s point hit the nail on the head. ¡°It¡¯s about whether your brother wants it or not.¡± ¡°They¡¯ve gone through so much together, why have thingse to this state?¡± Jin Qingyue was simply unable toprehend it. ¡°No matter what, they¡¯re both adults. Let them settle their own issues, I believe they can handle it properly.¡± Hearing his words, Jin Qingyue felt that it made sense. ¡°I¡¯ll go and fetch Bao¡¯er back in a while. It¡¯s just that, this child has been spoiled by me since birth and she can be quite rude. If she says anything out of line, don¡¯t take it to heart. Don¡¯t bother arguing with her.¡± Ling Ciye grinned. ¡°I know. I¡¯ll go and fetch her with you.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re willing to, I won¡¯t hold you back.¡± She smirked. ¡°Since you¡¯re doing it of your own ord.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Ling Ciye then drove Jin Qingyue to the Shi residence. He waited in the car while Jin Qingyue got off by herself. When she entered the house, the butler Uncle Lin saw her and walked over. ¡°Uncle Lin, where¡¯s the child?¡± ¡°She¡¯s ying with Young Sir upstairs.¡± ¡°Alright, I know. I¡¯ll go up myself.¡± Uncle Lin nodded. ¡°Sure.¡± Entering the Shi family¡¯s living room once more, Jin Qingyue somehow still felt a sense of loss. Fortunately, it was because she used to live there as thedy of the house, not because she had a tinge of longing for this ce. Without even changing her shoes, she climbed up the stairs to the bedroom. Arriving at the doorway of the bedroom, she pushed the door open. The sight before her changed Jin Qingyue¡¯s expressionpletely. She went forward fiercely and carried apletely naked Jin Bao¡¯er from the bed, putting on her clothes while berating Shi Shaochuan, ¡°Bao¡¯er will be turning six next January, what kind of a father are you?!¡± ¡°She¡¯s just a child who¡¯s over five years old, what¡¯s wrong with being naked? Why¡¯re you making such a big fuss? She¡¯s just my daughter in my eyes, just like how she is to you.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Jin Qingyue was so furious she could feel her liver aching. ¡°She¡¯ll still be a daughter to you when she¡¯s thirty years old. Will she still bepletely naked like that in front of you when she¡¯s thirty?!¡± ¡°Jin Qingyue, don¡¯t go overboard. Did I say that?¡± ¡°Shi Shaochuan, why don¡¯t you just go and die?!¡± After putting on clothes for Jin Bao¡¯er, Jin Qingyue carried her out without even putting on her shoes. ¡°Mommy, where are you carrying me?¡± ¡°Go home with Mommy. Mommy¡¯s here especially to fetch you home.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I say I¡¯ll go back only when school starts?¡± ¡°School¡¯s about to start soon anyway. If you stay with your father longer, I think you¡¯ll gopletely wild!¡± As she spoke, she was about to leave the front gate. On the other hand, Shi Shaochuan had gotten down from the bed and chased after them to the first floor. ¡°Jin Qingyue, I¡¯m warning you. Bao¡¯er is my little sweetheart. If you dare to scold her or eveny a finger on her, you¡¯ll be answering to me.¡± She waspletely fearless as she rebutted, ¡°Shi Shaochuan, let me tell you as well. Don¡¯t act like a saint here. What gives you the right to say these things to me?¡± Jin Bao¡¯er, on the other hand, kept struggling in Jin Qingyue¡¯s arms. ¡°Mommy, put me down.¡± Jin Qingyue just kept on walking briskly out of the house. Shi Shaochuan did not stop her either. The child clung to him every day and, honestly, as time went on, he indeed felt that his freedom was being restricted. Jin Qingyue sessfully brought Jin Bao¡¯er onto the car. Looking at Ling Ciye seated in the driver¡¯s seat, Jin Bao¡¯er asked, ¡°Mommy, will this be my stepfather in the future?¡± ¡°Umm.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want a stepfather.¡± Jin Bao¡¯er pouted and turned her face out the window. ¡°This is not something for you to decide.¡± Jin Qingyue closed the car door shut. Ling Ciye fired the engine and drove the car without saying a word. ¡°Mommy, you¡¯re too overboard.¡± ¡°Oh, Mommy has gone too overboard indeed.¡± Jin Qingyue looked at her daughter solemnly. ¡°That¡¯s why, from today onwards, Mommy won¡¯t let you do everything as you please. All of your bad habits ¡ª Mommy will correct them properly.¡± Hearing her mother say that, tears started flowing out of Jin Bao¡¯er¡¯s eyes. ¡°I already said that I want to be with Daddy. Why did you stille and fetch me?¡± Jin Qingyue did not answer her. ¡°Mommy...¡± ¡°Mommy...¡± ¡°In the future...¡± Jin Qingyue gazed at her daughter. ¡°I won¡¯t let you be with your Daddy anymore. I have your custody rights, so I¡¯ll take care of you.¡± Jin Bao¡¯er pouted her lips wilfully. ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°You can refuse, but there¡¯s nothing you can do about it.¡± ¡°Mommy, I hate you!¡± ¡°Whatever.¡± Seeing that her method was not working, Jin Bao¡¯er started throwing a huge tantrum. She cried, screamed, and made a huge fuss. However, what was different from usual was that Jin Qingyue did not even make eye contact with her and merely allowed her to continue her tantrum. After a while, Jin Bao¡¯er ran out of energy and stopped. She could only obediently follow them back to Wei Ni Estate. After packing up the bedroom, Jin Qingyue slept with her daughter in one room at night while Ling Ciye slept in another room by himself. Ever since he was injured, they had slept together in one room. However, nothing happened between them. Now that she was sleeping in the room next to his all of a sudden, Ling Ciye could not get used to it. But fortunately, he was someone who could adapt well to his environment. Chapter 573 - The Secret About the Past (191)

Chapter 573: The Secret About the Past (191)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After more than a week of getting ustomed to it, Tuoba Gucheng was no longer affected by the fact that he slept beside a woman every day. This was because she only made barking noises to him every day and evidently possessed no human consciousness at all, nor did she know how to speak. All her actions were exactly the same as Da Huang¡¯s when it was still alive. This was why hepletely treated her as Da Huang in a human form. There was an indescribable scent on her. When he went near her, he could always smell it. It was a faint floral scent, but as to what kind of flower it was, he simply could not tell. That night, seeing that she had gone to sleep early again, he locked the door from the inside. He went to the bathroom to take a shower. Putting on his bathrobe, hey down on the bed as usual. Looking at the way she slept, he casually took out his camera from the drawer and took a few pictures of her. He felt that the pictures came out pretty decent as well. When he ced the camera aside, Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s gazended on her face. Never would he have imagined that she would be possessed by Da Huang¡¯s spirit and end up sleeping on his bed. This was something he would never have imagined in the past. At the thought of his own wedding next month, Tuoba Gucheng turned rather gloomy. Hey down and turned to his side to sleep. However, he justy still like that, without feeling sleepy at all. After lying there for two whole hours, he was still unable to fall asleep. At the thought that he still had important things to handle tomorrow, he had no choice but to force himself to sleep. He reached out to switch the lights off. When he slept, he unconsciously wrapped her arms around her while she justy still. Despite having insomnia, he was always the first to wake up. But today, things were different. When he opened his eyes in the morning, An Xiaoning was already awake. She was staring nkly right at him. He grinned and reached out to caress her hair. ¡°Da Huang, how are you so obedient today after you¡¯ve woken up?¡± An Xiaoning slowly sat upright, her heart rate elerating. Tuoba Gucheng realized something unusual about her and called out, ¡°Da Huang?¡± When he watched her get down from the bed and stand upright, Tuoba Gucheng instantly realized that she was no longer his beloved dog Da Huang but Mu Ning. ¡°Your Highness...¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you, Mu Ning. I thought you were still Da Huang. You were possessed by the favorite dog I once owned. It was a Labrador...¡± ¡°I know.¡± Of course she knew. From the moment her weak body was possessed by that Labrador, she existed like a shadow as she watched her own body being controlled by that dog. She even watched as the dog licked his face using her body and barked all day. She was extremely depressed in that state. ¡°You really knew?¡± ¡°Of course. My soul has been watching how your beloved dog treated my body. If it were a real dog in its physical state, I would have broken its legs.¡± She then requested, ¡°Can I get a day off today? I want to go home to take a look at something.¡± ¡°Okay, but you have to return tomorrow morning. I¡¯ll call the people at the entrance to inform them.¡± ¡°Alright, thank you, Your Highness.¡± When she returned to her room, An Xiaoning locked the door from the inside and immediately went into the bathroom. She removed her face mask and ced it on the wash basin. She then took a hot bath. As she bathed, she had still not gotten used to being back in her own body. Putting on a pair of denim shorts and a t-shirt, she slipped into a pair of white cloth shoes and looked at her real self in the mirror. An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes reddened slightly. She put on her face mask as she had always done. When she went downstairs, she did not even take a nce at Tuoba Gucheng, who was eating, and just left. Xiao Chi came in just then and saw her. He nodded at her slightly and did not intend to say anything but was stopped by An Xiaoning. ¡°Did he call you?¡± ¡°No, but the Chief called me.¡± ¡°What did you say?¡± An Xiaoning questioned him. ¡°I... I just spoke the truth.¡± ¡°What truth are you referring to...?¡± ¡°I said that Young Madam, you, and His Highness were sleeping together.¡± After answering, Xiao Chi did not dare to make eye contact with An Xiaoning. Hearing this, An Xiaoning simply gave him a kick. Xiao Chi was caught off guard and fell on the floor. Without making a single grumble, he immediately got up. Fortunately, no one had passed by to witness it either. ¡°Young Madam,¡± Xiao Chi said in a low voice. ¡°This is a fact that everyone in this house is already aware of. I¡¯ve been to your room to see it with my own eyes as well. You¡¯ve stayed in the Prince¡¯s room for more than one week withouting out. You¡¯re telling me the two of you aren¡¯t living together? Do you think Young Sir is an idiot?¡± ¡°You shut up!¡± An Xiaoning was so furious that her expression turned cold. But she could not deny that what Xiao Chi said seemed true on the surface. For the past one week, she was indeed living with Tuoba Gucheng. But he only knew part of the truth and not the whole. Seeing that he had conveyed what he saw here, it would, beyond doubt, worsen her rtionship with Jin Qingyan. She could imagine the state Jin Qingyan was in right now. Hence, she wasted no time in heading out of the Autumn Pce. She figured that Tuoba Shuo might have already gotten the structural map of Tuoba Rui and Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s house drawn, so she took a longer detour to his ce. She collected the map as expected. Then, she hurriedly left the Autumn Pce. After she left the front gate, An Xiaoning stood there and heaved a long sigh of relief. She immediately got on a taxi and headed toward the airport. The flight from B to A City merely took a little more than half an hour. Before she boarded the ne, she went to the airport toilet to remove her face mask. So when she arrived at the airport of A City, she had a pair of sunsses and a disposable mask on her face. Her footsteps quickened as she arrived onnd. There was no other reason for that than wanting to see him as soon as possible. She only wanted to tell him the whole truth clearly. She thought that as long as she exined everything to him clearly and honestly, this incident would conclude just like that. It was what she really believed. In reality, things were more serious than she had thought. This incident was also not to be as easily resolved as she thought. It was the signal of a red light in their marriage. When the taxi she took reached the house at Wei Ni Estate, Fan Shixin personally came to open the door for her. Having not seen him for days, she could predict the look on Jin Qingyan¡¯s face just from seeing how bleak Fan Shixin¡¯s face looked. An Xiaoning did not say a word and entered with her chest upright and head held high. She did not do anything wrong so she was not afraid at all! When she entered the living room, a familiar figure was sitting in there. She was about to change her shoes when she realized that the shoe rack no longer had any of her shoes. It was not just her slippers that were gone, but all of her shoes. An Xiaoning stood there watching his back view, her gaze turning dull and gloomy. She finally went to the sofa and sat opposite him. She had thought of the scene of her meeting him and the expression that would be on his face. But she was thoroughly disappointed by what she saw. From his face, there was no hint of anger or disappointment, only a look of coldness and indifference. Was it because he had already thoroughly believed what appeared to be the truth? So he was already determined to put an end to their rtionship? If the truth was really what he saw or heard, she had nothing to say. But in reality, everything on the surface was not true. She refused to take the me for it. Nor was she capable of doing so either. Chapter 574 - The Secret About the Past (192)

Chapter 574: The Secret About the Past (192)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I¡¯m on leave today, so I came back.¡± An Xiaoning tried to keep her tone normal, but her expression had already betrayed her. She could not bring herself to smile at all. Jin Qingyan looked at her, then turned to Fan Shixin, who was standing by the door. ¡°Bring the agreement.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s heart sank. ¡°What agreement?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know when you see it.¡± His tone was icy cold, as if the woman seated opposite him was not the woman he loved most but an ordinary person, a mere stranger. An Xiaoning stared at him anxiously. ¡°Qingyan, we can talk things out clearly. I¡¯ve never done you any wrong.¡± ¡°Really?¡± His tone was overflowing with sarcasm. ¡°Yes.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes watered as she spoke. ¡°I thought that in this world, anyone can misunderstand me but you. You love me so much that you definitely won¡¯t misunderstand me. I thought you were the one who understands me most in this world ¡ª my character, my principles, my values, and who I am as a person. But it turns out, you¡¯re not. You aren¡¯t even willing to listen to the exnation of the truth that I want to tell you and came to such a conclusion by yourself. Qingyan, you¡¯re not only being irresponsible to yourself but to me as well!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think your exnation is too weak?¡± He spoke as if all the evil forces in him were acting up. ¡°If I didn¡¯t see and hear it myself, how long more were you going to deceive me? You think I wouldn¡¯t hear about you and Tuoba Gucheng living in one room? What do you treat me as? Am I so cheap as to love a woman like you who deserves to die?!¡± An Xiaoning choked on her tears as she cried out, ¡°But... it isn¡¯t like that. Nothing happened between us, he¡¯s just my half-brother. The child was yours. I only shared a room with him because I was possessed by his favorite dog¡¯s spirit during the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month. Why won¡¯t you believe me?¡± ¡°That¡¯s just it. Because he¡¯s your half-brother, the fact that both of you actually... actually slept together makes me disgusted. I don¡¯t believe a man and a woman can sleep in one room without anything happening when he said something like that to you.¡± Fan Shixin entered and ced the agreement on the table. It was evident that the agreement had been prepared in advance. An Xiaoning gazed at the words printed on the piece of paper. She suddenly felt that she would never be able to clear her name. Getting up, she went around the coffee table and sat beside him. As she was about to wrap her arms around his arm, he pushed her away. rmed, An Xiaoning whimpered, ¡°Qingyan...¡± ¡°Take a look at the agreement and sign it as soon as possible.¡± An Xiaoning felt like she was given a good p in the face. She picked up the agreement. As she browsed through the contents, she felt like her heart was being pierced through by a knife. The child¡¯s custody would go to him. She was not allowed to visit at all in the future. She would also not get a single asset of his, but her assets will still remain hers. She was also to report about the divorce to the media. To her, every single term listed was fatal. This was her third marriage. She never thought that, after collecting her marriage certificate in April, she would be signing a divorce agreement in July. It seemed that their marriage never manages tost for more than two years. Their first marriage was that way, and this one was even shorter. Was it wrong of her to have gone to the Autumn Pce to find her mother? Or was it that their marriage itself was never strong to begin with? It seemed that the trust between them was not firmly built at all. That was why it only took a single incident topletely destroy it. She looked at him with reddened eyes. ¡°Must we really get a divorce?¡± ¡°Yes, we must.¡± His words were like a heavy bomb that weighted down in her heart. Fan Shixin watched as An Xiaoning sat there. She was on the verge of copsing any moment, a state where he had never seen her in before. But thinking of what she had done, he pushed away all his thoughts and feelings of sympathy for her. An Xiaoning did not want to sign the agreement. But on the other hand, she could not produce any physical evidence to prove that she was innocent. Whaty in between them was the biggest taboo in marriage. ¡°I haven¡¯t done anything wrong. Qingyan, you can¡¯t do this to me. I don¡¯t want us to let each other slip away because of this misunderstanding. We love each other and have a child together. Can you calm down and think through this properly?¡± ¡°Please sign this as soon as possible, then get out of my sight!¡± His veins were popping in his forehead as he went on furiously, ¡°I don¡¯t want to see you at all anymore.¡± The tears brimming in An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes were suppressed firmly to protect thest inch of her dignity. She stood up and raised her head as she looked at him. ¡°Jin Qingyan, I won¡¯t give up my child¡¯s custody.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just press charges if you won¡¯t give up. I can even reveal the surveince camera footage as evidence. I believe the court will make the best judgment!¡± ¡°You...¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s hands were trembling non-stop and her heart was already filled with holes from being pierced through. There was not a portion of it still intact. Everything was pressing down in her head. And they were bing particrly difficult to handle. Especially because she knew she hadn¡¯t done anything wrong, she was not as decisive in getting a divorce as she was the previous time. As she was carrying a me that should not be carried by her, it made her want to salvage this marriage even more. Because she loved him, she did not want them to part because of an incident that seemed ridiculous in her eyes. Because of all of these reasons above, she wanted to do something to change the situation, but she was powerless to do so. She picked up the pen and was about to sign the agreement when she added, ¡°I hope you¡¯ll really be like what you said and have no regrets in the future. I¡¯m someone who loves and hates outright. If something¡¯s not mine, I won¡¯t force it.¡± With that, she signed her name on both copies of the agreement. After signing, she looked at the hanging wall clock in the living room. ¡°The timing¡¯s just perfect. Let¡¯s head to the Civil Administrations Bureau to get the divorce officially done. How lucky am I, to be able to divorce you twice.¡± As she finished speaking, it was as if she had rapidly regained her energy. She nced at Fan Shixin. ¡°I¡¯m sure my things have already been packed up. Get them out for me, I¡¯ll get someone to take them away.¡± She then went to thendline and gave Gu Beicheng a call. When the line went through, she still sounded calm as she spoke. ¡°Drive here to Wei Ni Estate now.¡± Without waiting for Gu Beicheng to answer, she put down the phone. When Fan Shixin dragged out her things, An Xiaoning remarked, ¡°When Beichenges, get him to bring these back to the Gu residence for me. Mr. Jin, let¡¯s get the divorce documents done. I have noments about your agreement.¡± After she finished speaking, she headed out of the house first. Jin Qingyan followed her out as well, a cold look on his face. The two arrived at the Civil Administrations Bureau. They had just opened for the day. Thus, there were not many people in sight. The two got the process done swiftly. After they handed in the divorce agreement, household register, and personal identification cards, their divorce certificate was produced very soon. Despite being recognized by the workers there, the two remained calm. In reality, they were both feeling upset. Jin Qingyan¡¯s inner state was far from hisposed appearance on the surface. When he was signing the document, it took a few tries for him to sign his name right. Because his hand could not grip onto the pen properly. When they left the front entrance of the Civil Administrations Bureau, An Xiaoning¡¯s heart waspletely broken. They sat together in the car during the drive back to Wei Ni Estate. When the car arrived at their front gate, Gu Beicheng stood leaning by his car, wearing a pair of sunsses. The blue diamond on his ear was sparkling brightly. It had been some time since he had seen both of them. When he heard the absurd reason for their divorce from Fan Shixin, there was rage boiling up within him, waiting to burst out like volcanova. Chapter 575 - The Secret About the Past (193)

Chapter 575: The Secret About the Past (193)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The moment Jin Qingyan got down from the car, Gu Beichengnded a punch right on his face. Jin Qingyan was caught off guard, and the corner of his mouth started bleeding. ¡°Young Sir!¡± Fan Shixin eximed in rm. ¡°Beicheng!¡± An Xiaoning yelled as she pulled him back. Gu Beicheng stared at Jin Qingyan with cold eyes and pointed his finger usingly at him. ¡°Fan Shixin showed me that surveince camera footage as well. Do you think what you see with your eyes and hear with your ears are always true? I don¡¯t think Xiaoning has such poor self-control, otherwise... when she came back from M Nation, she would have found someone new already. She loved you for so many years and this is how you treat her, Jin Qingyan?!¡± Jin Qingyan answered in a cold and persistent tone, ¡°There¡¯s no need for an outsider like you to interfere in our matters. What do you know? You¡¯ll never know how I feel!¡± With that, he went past Gu Beicheng and An Xiaoning, entering the house by himself. At the front gate, only the two were left. The front gate opposite opened slowly and Jin Yiheng walked out. Seeing the two of them, Jin Yiheng skipped toward them merrily. ¡°Daddy, Mommy!¡± The moment An Xiaoning saw her son, she could no longer suppress her tears, which came running down rapidly. ¡°Mommy, why are you crying?¡± She bent down and pulled her son into her arms. ¡°That¡¯s because Mommy missed you.¡± ¡°I missed you too.¡± He wrapped his arms around her neck. ¡°Mommy, where have you been recently? I haven¡¯t seen you in so long.¡± ¡°Mommy went to work. I¡¯ve been very, very busy.¡± She said in a gentle tone, ¡°Son, in the future, you might not be able to see Mommy for a very long time. However, as long as you know that Mommy loves you the most, it¡¯ll be okay.¡± ¡°Mommy...¡± Jin Yiheng was flustered and his eyes reddened. ¡°Did you and Daddy fight? Daddy hasn¡¯t eaten muchtely and can¡¯t fall asleep. Uncle said he¡¯s feeling troubled inside.¡± ¡°Daddy and Mommy are getting divorced.¡± Since he was bound to know sooner orter, she did not want to hide it from him. ¡°Your Daddy has been given your custody.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to, I want to be with Mommy...¡± Jin Yiheng started bawling and grabbed onto her neck tightly. ¡°Mommy, don¡¯t go.¡± Gu Beicheng, who was standing aside, had tears brimming in his eyes. He turned his head aside, not uttering a word. An Xiaoning held onto her son¡¯s little hand and slowly replied, ¡°Yiheng, no matter what other people say, Mommy just wants you to know that I¡¯ve not done anything wrong. Mommy will not do anything to make my son ashamed. Do you believe Mommy?¡± Jin Yiheng nodded his head. ¡°I believe you.¡± ¡°Then, that¡¯s good. Your fifth birthday has passed, so you¡¯re already a five-year-old boy. Even if Mommy is not with you, you must promise me that you¡¯ll eat, sleep, and study well. Mommy will definitelye and see you again.¡± Although on the divorce agreement, Jin Qingyan had ordered that she was not to visit him in the future, this was something she could notply to. Tears kept flowing down Jin Yiheng¡¯s cheeks, and his nose turned red from crying. An Xiaoning took out a ring from her bag. It was the wedding ring that she and Jin Qingyan hadter bought. After the tsunami incident, she came back from N Nation to find out that he had already collected their marriage certificate. When he returned from N Nation, he produced two heart-shaped jewelry boxes in front of her one evening. They contained a pair of wedding rings. They had originally agreed to put them on when they carry out their wedding another time. But the two could not resist and put them on immediately. Along with that ruby ne, she ced the jewelry in her son¡¯s hands. ¡°Pass these to your Daddy. Next time, if you miss Mommy, call your grandmother¡¯s house. I remember you copied down the phone number.¡± He nodded without speaking. ¡°Go back in, then.¡± An Xiaoning used all the remaining effort she had to stand up. Jin Yiheng reluctantly walked back to the front gate. While he turned to look at her a few times, he eventually still went in. Looking at Gu Beicheng in a corner, An Xiaoning revealed a smile more bitter than tears. ¡°I actually got married three times, twice to the same person. Some kind of bullshit marriage is! I won¡¯t care for it from now on!¡± Gu Beicheng opened the car door as he remarked, ¡°The front gate of my house will always be open for you. No matter where it is that you can¡¯t stay anymore, my house will always have a ce for you.¡± With tears brimming in her eyes, An Xiaoning forced a smile. ¡°Thank you.¡± With that, she got into the car and sat beside the driver¡¯s seat. Gu Beicheng went around the front of the car and got in. The car left Wei Ni Estate very soon and headed to the old Gu residence. An Xiaoning rolled down the car windows and allowed the strong breeze to blow on her hair. She kept silent throughout the ride, appearing to be deep in thought. When the car finally pulled into the front gate of the Gu residence, she then turned to Gu Beicheng beside her and said, ¡°A woman can covet everything a man has, but never expect a man to believe, protect, and be nice to you forever. Because when he no longer does, you¡¯ll have nothing. I guess this saying refers to my situation now.¡± Gu Beicheng turned and watched as her tears flowed down like a river. He felt equally upset inside as An Xiaoning had seldom broken down in front of him. This time, the blow she suffered must have been too huge. He remained silent. When An Xiaoning pushed the car door open and got down from the car, Gu Beicheng followed her as well and helped her drag her luggage down. Watching the two of them return together, carrying luggage, Mr. and Mrs. Gu thought that Gu Beicheng had gone to the airport to fetch An Xiaoning. When they found out that An Xiaoning had actually gotten divorced, the two elders were extremely astonished. After they had gotten over the shock, Mrs. Gu expressed, ¡°Xiaoning, rest assured and just stay here. We have so many houses, you can stay in whichever one you like.¡± An Xiaoning nodded. ¡°Regarding what exactly happened, I still want to tell all of you.¡± She sat there and exined the details of what happened from when she had decided to enter the Autumn Pce until today. After exining, she remarked, ¡°This is what happened. He doesn¡¯t believe it, so I have no choice either. Anyway, I won¡¯t be able to clear my name anymore.¡± Mrs. Gu said in a heart-broken manner, ¡°Look at your haggard face. We all believe you.¡± An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Beicheng, can you give me the contact of the most powerful media team in the country? I¡¯ll honor my word on revealing my divorce.¡± ¡°Okay...¡± After Gu Beicheng had given her the contact, she did not hesitate in contacting them and revealing her divorce, but she did not provide the exact reason. Though she had just contacted them, the news report of it emerged not long after. The nation waspletely rocked by this news. Everyone knew that An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan had gotten married for the second time. Although they did not hold their wedding, they were officially married. This second marriage had ended just like before. The general sentiment was that the rich liked to treat marriage as a game. With money, they could be willful and get married and divorced as they wished. An Xiaoning did not bother to read thements online. After gathering herself, she bought a new red Ferrari. As she had grown used to driving this series of car models, it was particrly smooth for her. Her bedroom was right opposite Gu Beicheng¡¯s. In the afternoon, she and Lin Mingxi went to shop for things to decorate her room. She decorated her room to her favorite artistic style, cing her favorite flowers on the balcony, as well as a long sofa and a small coffee table. In the evening, shey down on the sofa while swirling a ss of red wine in her hand, enjoying the special pleasing quality about it. Chapter 576 - The Secret About the Past (194)

Chapter 576: The Secret About the Past (194)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lin Mingxi leaned against the railing and looked at her. ¡°Xiaoning, after you¡¯ve experienced so much, could you tell me what you think about marriage now?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve asked the right person. From now on, I won¡¯t allow him the chance to put me down again, even after he has found out the truth and regrets his decisions. What right does he have to register our marriage sneakily behind my back and then force me to sign a cruel agreement when he decides to get a divorce? There¡¯s no way I¡¯m getting married again. I¡¯ve been married thrice, and I¡¯m really so sick and tired of this. Perhaps I¡¯m really destined to end up in a divorce, regardless of how many times I get married. Why should I put myself through such torment again?¡± An Xiaoning answered. ¡°Women are creatures who need men. What are you going to do when you need men?¡± An Xiaoning got up and sat cross-legged on the couch. ¡°What happens if I need a man...? There are so many nightclubs where I can find all sorts of men,¡± An Xiaoning said solemnly. ¡°Psht...¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Aren¡¯t women allowed to look for men when they¡¯re lonely and bored? I¡¯m single anyway, I can do whatever I want.¡± ¡°Try it if you dare...¡± said a voiceing from the bedroom. It was Gu Beicheng, who walked toward the balcony door. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I dare to? I¡¯ve already been used of adultery. Why can¡¯t I go look for men openly?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll really make Jin Qingyan despise you if you actually go ahead with that. Besides, it¡¯ll prove further that what he thinks is the truth. Anyway, I know you¡¯re just making a casual remark. Here¡¯s a new mobile phone I bought for you. It¡¯s a waterproof and shockproof smartphone in which surveince functions cannot be embedded,¡± said Gu Beicheng, striking the nail on its head. ¡°How much did that cost?¡± An Xiaoning asked as she took the mobile phone from him. ¡°120 thousand dors.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll transfer the money to your ountter,¡± An Xiaoning said while opening the box. ¡°No. Who said you¡¯d have to pay me back?¡± An Xiaoning looked up and teased, ¡°Sis-inw is standing right here. She¡¯ll be giving me a hard time if she gets jealous again.¡± Lin Mingxi burst intoughter and said, ¡°Am I that petty?¡± ¡°Are you not?¡± ¡°Not anymore, I trust youpletely.¡± An Xiaoning shook her head and jested, ¡°Women just love saying one thing when they mean another.¡± ¡°I really am not. Why don¡¯t you believe me?¡± Lin Mingxi protested, stomping her foot on the ground. ¡°I was just teasing you, don¡¯t take me for real. Seems like you¡¯re really very petty, eh?¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning opened the box to find that it was her favorite mobile phone model. It was pink in color, boasting of youthful femininity. It was from a renowned overseas brand, which was patronized mostly by tycoons and politicians. The average citizen would usually be unable to afford them. ¡°What about the SIM card?¡± ¡°I registered a new SIM card with your personal identification card, the mobile number is pretty easy to remember. They¡¯re a string of nines,¡± said Gu Beicheng, handing her the mobile SIM card. An Xiaoning widened her eyes to take a look at her new mobile number: 187999999XX. What a strange and catchy number. Just to her liking. She proceeded to download the ringtone she had been using all along. After having a few drinks with the couple, she decided to go to bed. At this very moment, a servant stood by the door and said, ¡°Missy, your friend is here to visit you.¡± ¡°My friend?¡± An Xiaoning made her way downstairs, only to be greeted with a familiar silhouette immediately. ¡°Yangyang?¡± Mei Yangyang scurried toward her and gave her a tight hug. ¡°Sis, are you alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Mei Yangyang let go of her and stared at her face before saying, ¡°You¡¯re lying. Your eyes are already swollen.¡± An Xiaoning dragged her outside to take a slow walk in the yard. They were walking hand in hand, just like they used to in the past. ¡°Regardless of what difficulties and challenges I may be faced with, don¡¯t forget, I am An Xiaoning. There¡¯s nothing in this world that can defeat me, unless I choose to surrender. So, don¡¯t worry about me. Yangyang, you know me best,¡± An Xiaoning said calmly. Mei Yangyang held her arm and said, ¡°Sis, feel free to tell me whenever you need my help. You may share your grievances and innermost thoughts with me too. I¡¯m definitely trustworthy!¡± ¡°I know, I don¡¯t have time to waste anymore. I have to drive back to B City at around two o¡¯clock in the morning. Yangyang, I¡¯d like to ask something of you.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Help me take good care of Yiheng.¡± ¡°Sis, rest assured, I will.¡± An Xiaoning whipped out her mobile phone and said, ¡°This is my newly-bought mobile phone. Note down my new number. Also, do you have photos of Yiheng on your phone?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Mei Yangyang saved her mobile number and sent her a few photos of Jin Yiheng. Mei Yangyang left after speaking to her for a while more. An Xiaoning returned to her room andy down in bed to stare at photos of her son on her mobile phone while filled with misery and helplessness. She had saved the contact numbers of Mei Yangyang and the Gu family members, as well as set a passcode for all her messaging apps, call history, and photo album. Her screensaver was a photo of her son¡¯s back view. After sleeping for almost six hours, she woke up and began driving away. Due to the fact that she was driving a new car, she could only use a temporary license te given by the automotive store. It would take some time before the actual license te could be collected. She could wait until her next day off. She drove along the expressway and headed to B City. After parking her car in the carpark of a hotel nearby, she hurriedly rushed back to the Autumn Pce. Since it was much faster to travel on the expressway, it was only past five o¡¯clock in the morning when she arrived back at the Autumn Pce. Dawn had yet toe. Once she returned to her room, she began scrutinizing the floor ns andyout of Tuoba Rui and Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s mansion instead of catching up on sleep. The sketches included the positions of the guards on duty, as well as the locations of the surveince cameras. It was clearly mapped out. Having already lost her marriage and her son¡¯s custody rights, she could now only channel all her energy and focus onto finding out the truth about her mother¡¯s incident. She was determined to get to the bottom of the matter, regardless of what it takes! The sky began to turn bright gradually. An Xiaoning put away the sketches of the floor ns and exited her room after brushing her hair. Tuoba Gucheng was already having his breakfast when she made her way downstairs. She bowed slightly and greeted him, ¡°Good Morning, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Come, sit down and have breakfast together.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare. I¡¯ll go to the other table.¡± She walked toward the servants and bodyguards¡¯ table and sat down quietly to have her breakfast. Tuoba Gucheng was overwhelmed with an inexplicable feeling of disappointment at how distant she was acting in order to avoid suspicion. ¡°Come with meter to try on some suits.¡± ¡°Alright, but aren¡¯t I supposed to be on duty at night?¡± ¡°Come back to catch up on sleep after trying on the suits. You¡¯ll begin your duty at night.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Noticing that she sounded a little hoarse, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your voice?¡± ¡°My temperature¡¯s feeling a little too hightely.¡± ¡°Go get some medicine from the pharmacy.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After breakfast, she followed Tuoba Gucheng to try on some suits for his wedding, which was to be held on the 6th of the next month. The attire was designed and tailored personally by a prestigious designer. After putting on the suit, Tuoba Gucheng appeared even more suave and dashing. ¡°Your Highness, we¡¯ve already sent the wedding gown over to Ms. Lin.¡± Chapter 577 - The Secret About the Past (195)

Chapter 577: The Secret About the Past (195)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Okay.¡± He turned around and asked An Xiaoning, ¡°How do I look?¡± ¡°You look amazing,¡± she answered with a straight face. Tuoba Gucheng was pleased with the suit and instructed for it to be delivered to him. She was the only bodyguard he had brought along. An Xiaoning initially thought that he would return home straight after trying on the suit. Yet, to her surprise, he actually brought her to the garden instead. There were floral beds in front of them, consisting of all sorts of flowers that have bloomed beautifully. The pleasant fragrance of the alluring flowers wafted up to their noses. ¡°They¡¯re so beautiful!¡± An Xiaoning eximed in awe. ¡°What kind of flowers do you like?¡± ¡°I used to think that I liked all types of flowers, but somehow, I feel like I¡¯ve developed a liking for lilies.¡± ¡°Come with me.¡± He took the lead and walked in front while An Xiaoning hurriedly chased after him. After making several turns here and there, they were greeted with the sight of a lily field. An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes lit up with joy and excitement. She bent forward to sniff the flowers and asked, ¡°Which type of lilies are these?¡± ¡°A type that can adapt to all seasons, including the freezing cold winter. It¡¯ll still blossom even if you keep them indoors.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great. Your Highness, may I move some into a pot and ce them in my room?¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll get someone to do that and send it over to you,¡± he agreed without hesitation. Well, to him, what¡¯s so difficult about gifting her with a pot of lilies? ¡°Thank you,¡± she thanked with a look of gentleness. She whipped her mobile phone out and handed it to him. ¡°Could you help me take a photo?¡± He took the mobile phone from her hands and unlocked it to see that her wallpaper was a photo of a child¡¯s back view, though he did not find anything unusual with it. He then opened the camera function and snapped a few photos of her. After taking a look at the end results, An Xiaoning praised, ¡°You really know the right angles, Your Highness. The photos look great. You must enjoy photography during your free time, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°All photos taken by me are beautiful.¡± An Xiaoning pouted her lips in distaste. How full of himself, I merely gave him apliment and he¡¯s already so arrogant. Tuoba Danxue and Zhi Yin were walking toward the entrance when An Xiaoning and Tuoba Gucheng returned. Upon sight of them, Tuoba Danxue asked, ¡°How¡¯s Mu Ning¡¯s training going so far?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Brother, I¡¯d like to transfer Mu Ning back to my ce.¡± ¡°Does Bai Zhi not make the cut? Bai Zhi is very skilled in martial arts too,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng. ¡°She is very skilled, but she¡¯s too thick-skinned and argues with Zhi Yin all day. Although Mu Ning and Zhi Yin don¡¯t get along well either, at least they don¡¯t get into such heated conflicts every day. Besides, Bai Zhi can¡¯t swim at all. I don¡¯t think it¡¯d be safe when we go nearkes,¡± Tuoba Danxue said, expressing her disdain for Bai Zhi. An Xiaoning thought that he would agree to let her be transferred back immediately. To her surprise, he said, ¡°Ever since the attack we¡¯d met with previously, I haven¡¯t been able to sleep in peace at night. I¡¯ve instructed Mu Ning to take over duties at night. I¡¯ll transfer her back to you after my wedding.¡± Tuoba Danxue snorted withughter and said, ¡°Brother, can¡¯t you just let a male bodyguard take over the night shift? You won¡¯t feel unsafe at night anymore once you marry Sis-inw.¡± ¡°Littless.¡± ¡°Okay, fine. You may transfer Mu Ning back to her original position after your wedding, Brother.¡± Tuoba Danxue then instructed An Xiaoning, ¡°Mu Ning, protect my brother well.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± ¡°By the way, Brother, did you read the news? Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning have gotten a divorce, they made the headlines!¡± ¡°What¡¯s there to fuss about?¡± Tuoba Gucheng hissed nonchntly. ¡°Of course there¡¯s a lot to fuss over. When Minxinges by again, I must ask him why they had gotten a divorce.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be such a gossipmonger. You guys may go back, I¡¯m heading inside now,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng, waving his hands. ¡°Alright.¡± Tuoba Danxue and Zhi Yin left immediately. Noticing theck of expression on An Xiaoning¡¯s face, he asked, ¡°Do you like working under Danxue or me?¡± ¡°To me, there¡¯s no difference between working for Her Highness and for Your Highness.¡± ¡°You¡¯re really much more normal after bing human again.¡± Those words of his... Why did they sound so crude? ¡ª Ever since the news of An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan¡¯s divorce broke out, the matter was discussed repeatedly across all tforms. Events from the past were rehashed, including An Xiaoning and Shi Shaochuan¡¯s marriage in the past, as well as the matter about Jin Qingyan carrying a torch for Chi Rui¡¯er. Netizens were enjoying the gossip and actively engaging in hot discussions about them. Due to the fact that An Xiaoning did not bother reading the news andments, she was not too affected by the opinions of everyone else, though she was not exactly in the best mood. However, it was a different case for Jin Qingyan. He was no longer in the mood for work and spent all day on hisputer, looking at thements made byizens online. He used to be apathetic toward others¡¯ opinions of him. Yet, he was now rather affected by the maliciousments on the inte. He could not help but wonder if he had made the right decision by making her announce the divorce herself. Aizen who goes by the username of ¡°To the zing summer that finally killed us¡±mented: ¡°An Xiaoning has already married thrice before. Seems like she has already found her next target since she took the initiative to announce her divorce. What a ssic example of a shameless bitch. Why don¡¯t you just die, horrid woman!?!¡± Anotherizen with the username ¡°What¡¯s the point of being invincible?¡±mented: ¡°I heard An Xiaoning has three sets of godparents and they¡¯re all from wealthy and authoritative families. This woman actually married Jin Qingyan twice. She must be a scheming woman who devises plots to get what she wants. Average people would be no match for her. Has she any idea how many women are yearning to marry Jin Qingyan? She¡¯s already married him twice and yet she¡¯s still so discontented and decided to divorce him a second time. God knows how much of the Jin family¡¯s assets she gets to take with her. Heaven, why don¡¯t you just strike her with lightning and kill her!?!¡± ¡°A cowardly hero¡±mented: ¡°Why does everyone say that she¡¯s pretty? She looks pretty average and mediocre to me. You guys must be blind and have inferior beauty standards. In fact, I think I look even better than her. Aren¡¯t there several forums and discussions about her practicing witchcraft? I reckon she must¡¯ve put a spell on Jin Qingyan to make him marry her twice. Otherwise, how could he possibly be so blind as to do that?¡± There were several other maliciousments like these. Needless to say, there were also spections made byizens, saying that one of them must have been unfaithful toward the other. There were various remarks andments all over the inte. The topic had initially gone viral. However, Jin Qingyan soon realized that all discussions regarding the topic had been deleted from the sphere of the Inte. Any information regarding An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan could no longer be found on Weibo, although he did not instruct anyone to remove them. Clearly, someone else must have spent a huge sum of money to get the information erased. The gem ne and wedding band were ced on the table. After giving her the gem ne time and time again, it returned into his hands again at the end of the day. So did the wedding band. The things he had given her would often return to him ultimately. She was the one who initiated their first divorce. This time, it was him instead. I¡¯ll be fine for the rest of my life. Take care too. If we¡¯re not fated to be, so be it. Since he had decided to get a divorce, he will not give up his life again for the sake of a woman who had betrayed his love and trust, regardless of how upset he may be. ¡°Young Sir, I heard that Gu Beicheng had paid a hefty sum to remove your and... Ms. An¡¯s information online,¡± Fan Shixin reported. ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°I got Auntie Chen to fix you some food. Go downstairs and have some. You still have to go to the office tomorrow. How are you supposed to work if you don¡¯t nourish yourself properly with some food?¡± Fan Shixin said, trying to persuade him. Chapter 578 - The Secret About the Past (196)

Chapter 578: The Secret About the Past (196)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyan stood up immediately and walked toward the door. Fan Shixin shifted his gaze to theputer screen, feeling a little dismayed at the sight of the unrefreshed webpage. He clicked the refresh button, after which the web page vanished, as expected. He then went out of the room as well. ¡°Has Little Sir eaten?¡± ¡°No, he refuses to eat.¡± ¡°Let him go hungry then. He¡¯ll eat once he¡¯s hungry enough,¡± Jin Qingyan said coldly. ¡°Go coax him a little. Little Sir is still a child, after all,¡± Fan Shixin suggested. ¡°No.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°How¡¯s my father been doing at the casino?¡± he asked nonchntly while cutting himself some steak with a fork and knife. ¡°Old Sir has been on a losing streak. He has already lost a ton of money, which Sister Hong had sent over,¡± Fan Shixin answered while standing beside him. ¡°Keep a close eye on him and make sure he loses, regardless of which casino or gambling den he visits. There¡¯ll definitely be a day when he loses everything.¡± ¡°Yes. The reporters will definitely hound you tomorrow. Young Sir, do you n to rify matters?¡± Fan Shixin asked. ¡°No, there¡¯s no need for that. Forbid her from seeing Yiheng from now onwards,¡± he instructed Fan Shixin with an icy cold stare in his eyes. ¡°Okay.¡± He then left the living room and bumped into Bu Xianxian, who asked, ¡°Chief Fan, is Nick in the living room?¡± ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± ¡°I want to look for him.¡± ¡°Did you forget that you¡¯re not allowed to enter the main mansion?¡± Fan Shixin reminded her. ¡°Is it true that Nick and An Xiaoning have gotten a divorce?¡± ¡°What has that got to do with you?¡± Fan Shixin hissed before turning around to leave. Bu Xianxian sneaked inside the mansion while no one was looking. She ran toward Jin Qingyan and called, ¡°Nick.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I already forbid you from entering?¡± After a moment of silence, she answered, ¡°I just came by to verify something. Did you two really get a divorce?¡± ¡°Yes. Can you go out now?¡± Bu Xianxian smiled and asked, ¡°Nick, why did you two get a divorce?¡± He mmed the knife down onto the table and bellowed, ¡°I told you to get out, do you not understand humannguage!?!¡± The smile on Bu Xianxian¡¯s face vanished as she quivered in shock and fright. ¡°Okay, simmer down. I¡¯ll go out right now.¡± Jin Qingyan did not look at her and continued eating. ¡ª Jin Qingyue resisted the urge to look for her brother and stayed home for the entire day. Upon realizing that there was no longer any news of them online, she said to Ling Ciye, ¡°Someone must¡¯ve been behind this.¡± ¡°That¡¯s obviously the case. I can¡¯t believe they really got a divorce. I still find it so surreal right now. However, I think Qingyan must¡¯ve been mistaken about something,¡± said Ling Ciye, leaning against the headboard. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I heard from Tianze that Xiaoning had entered the Autumn Pce to search for her parents. I can¡¯t really exin the details, but I think it¡¯s something along the lines of your brother getting hold of some evidence. I asked Fan Shixin to let me have a look at the evidence, but he refused to show it to me and Tianze. I reckon it must be something rather severe.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me my sister-inw was unfaithful toward my brother?¡± Jin Qingyue shook her head and continued, ¡°I think my brother is already an excellent catch. I doubt Sis-inw would be so heartless as to do something like that.¡± ¡°Who knows? After all, we don¡¯t know what actually happened. Perhaps your brother will tell us out of his own ord once he gets over it.¡± ¡°Will that affect your perspective toward marriage?¡± Jin Qingyue asked. ¡°A little, I guess. Even a pair of lovebirds like them would end up in a divorce. I¡¯m really starting to wonder, is there still true love in this world?¡± ¡°Of course there is. Aren¡¯t Tianze and Yangyang a perfect example?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. Go rest in your room. Bao¡¯er is waiting for you.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± She got up from the bed and returned to her own room. Just as Ling Ciye was about to switch off the lights, he heard a loud shrieking from the room beside his. He immediately got out of bed and scrambled outside. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Bao¡¯er is missing,¡± Jin Qingyue cried. Ling Ciye searched the entire house for Jin Bao¡¯er, but to no avail. ¡°Perhaps she had gone outside,¡± said Ling Ciye. ¡°Maybe.¡± Jin Qingyue and Ling Ciye then scurried out of the house. They boarded the elevator and went downstairs, after which Jin Qingyue immediately proceeded to ask the security guards at the guardhouse if they had seen Jin Bao¡¯er. After checking the surveince camera footage, they found that Jin Bao¡¯er was hiding behind a car. By the time they made their way there, Jin Bao¡¯er was still squatting behind the car. ¡°Bao¡¯er...¡± Realizing that she had been exposed, Jin Bao¡¯er stood up calmly and asked, ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°Why are you hiding in here? Didn¡¯t you know how worried I would be?¡± Jin Qingyue questioned indignantly. Jin Bao¡¯er did not answer her. Instead, she walked past her and headed toward the staircase. Jin Qingyue stood rooted to the ground and stared at Ling Ciye. All of a sudden, she leaned against his chest and buried her head in his shoulder. ¡°I was really frightened just now.¡± ¡°She¡¯s protesting against you.¡± Ling Ciye held onto her shoulders and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go back. She doesn¡¯t know the passcode. I¡¯m afraid she can¡¯t enter.¡± ¡°Okay...¡± They exited from the elevator to see that Jin Bao¡¯er was indeed standing by the door. Ling Ciye unlocked the door with the passcode, after which the three of them entered and returned to their respective rooms. Jin Qingyue and Jin Bao¡¯ery down on the same bed. Jin Qingyue then held her hand and said, ¡°Bao¡¯er, you¡¯re still so young and yet you¡¯re already so heartless. What¡¯s going to be of you when you¡¯re older?¡± ¡°I just want Daddy and Mommy to be together. That¡¯s my biggest wish. I don¡¯t want Daddy to find me a stepmother and Mommy to find me a stepfather. Do you know what I¡¯m thinking?¡± ¡°What are you thinking? Tell me about it,¡± said Jin Qingyue. ¡°I want aplete family. Daddy has never brought another woman home before. But what have you done, Mommy?¡± ¡°Mommy and Uncle can give you aplete family too. Uncle is a very nice man. Mommy just wants you to know that Daddy and I will never get married again,¡± Jin Qingyue said patiently. ¡°No matter how nice Uncle may be, he still isn¡¯t my biological father. Anyway, I won¡¯t matter anymore since you and Daddy won¡¯t be getting married again. You may go ahead and marry Uncle and give birth to a child with him. Daddy might also find me a stepmother and give birth to a younger brother in the future. You adults really know how to have fun,¡± Jin Bao¡¯er hissed. Jin Qingyue knew that it would take some time for Jin Bao¡¯er to ept reality and, thus, decided to take things slowly. ¡°Mommy, since you won¡¯t marry Daddy again, can you not find me a stepfather too?¡± she asked. ¡°Do you think it¡¯s good to let Mommy be alone all the way until she¡¯s old?¡± ¡°You can find another man when I¡¯m older.¡± Jin Qingyue was at a loss for words. She did not answer her daughter, clearly not going to take thetter¡¯s opinion into consideration. She yearned for happiness and wanted to be loved and treasured by a man. Such things would nevere by again if she were to miss them. ¡ª It was nighttime. An Xiaoning ced a ss of milk beside the bed and said, ¡°Your Highness, you¡¯ll sleep better after having some milk.¡± He grabbed the ss of milk and chugged it down in one go. He then brushed his teeth andy down in bed to sleep. An Xiaoning switched off the lights and took a seat on the couch. Chapter 579 - The Secret About the Past (197)

Chapter 579: The Secret About the Past (197)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Half an hourter, she switched off the lights again and rinsed the ss with some water. She then exited his room and brought the ss downstairs before returning to Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s room. She knew that there was a window in his dressing room. There were several trees outside the window, making it a blind spot of the surveince cameras. It was the best ce she could sneak out of. However, there was an anti-theft system installed on the window. But it would not pose as a problem since she had already bought the necessary tools during her day off. She removed the screws with a hex socket and pulled out the bolts with a pair of pliers. She managed to get rid of the anti-theft system of the window effortlessly. In order to avoid suspicion, she decided to remove the bottom of the anti-theft window while leaving the top intact. She would put it back on when she gets back. She then made her way down from the window using the rope. An Xiaoning was wearing a surgical mask, a cap, and night-vision goggles. She sped off hastily. She also managed to hide from the guards on patrol duty sessfully. It was more than difficult to execute her ns in the Autumn Pce. Thus, she was naturally much more careful and alert. She arrived in Tuoba Rui and Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s mansion ording to n. The lights were still on, and there were several guards standing around the door. She had alreadye up with a strategic n beforehand. She walked toward a spot that was a distance away from the guards on duty and moved into the darkness beforetching the hook of her rope onto the wall. She then climbed up the rope and onto the balcony in a fluid motion. However, her leg was scratched by the sharp, pointed ends of the balcony railing when she was climbing inside. An Xiaoning could feel her blood flowing out of her wound. She wiped her wound clean with a tissue paper and waited until the bleeding stopped before walking to the side of the balcony. ording to theyout sketch, she was standing on the balcony of a room belonging to the bodyguards on the night shift. Thus, the room was indeed empty when she entered. That made it much easier for her to go about her n. Considering the fact that there would be surveince cameras along the corridor, An Xiaoning decided to return to the balcony. What she had to do now was to turn off the master switch and enter Tuoba Rui¡¯s study or Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s room within the shortest possible time. However, it was obviously not quite possible to turn off the master switch herself since security was tight around the pce, which meant that there would definitely be people guarding it. Besides, the master control room must definitely be a distance away. Thus, the quickest solution at the moment would be to tamper with the electricity flow within the mansion. That was an easy task. After scrutinizing and analyzing theyout sketch, she walked toward the edge of the balcony and caught sight of a few electrical wires. She took out a pair of electrical instor gloves from the pocket of her shorts and sliced open the outeryer of the electrical wire before cutting the copper wires in half, sessfully causing a power trip. An Xiaoning immediately entered the room to see that the lights were all switched off along the corridors. However, there were infrared detection beams everywhere. During her training at the exercise boot camp, not only did she learnbat defense and rock climbing skills, but she had also learned how to get past infrared detection beams. She ought to get her money¡¯s worth, after all. After evading the beams, An Xiaoning began approaching Tuoba Rui¡¯s study. The door of his study was left ajar. She peeked in through the crack to see that the room was empty. An Xiaoning then nted the listening device bug beneath his office desk, right against the leather seat, before hurrying out immediately. She then proceeded to Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s bedroom. An Xiaoning would have to go down the stairs to make her way to the first floor where Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s bedroom was located. However, she was afraid that the power supply would be restored very soon. By then, she would be doomed when they find out that the wires had been cut, and she¡¯d end up being trapped inside the mansion. An Xiaoning sprinted toward the first floor. Fortunately, she did not bump into anyone else along the way. By the time she sessfully nted the listening device bug in Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s bedroom, An Xiaoning realized that there was no way she could make it out of the mansion. That was because she could hear footsteps approaching from outside the door. An Xiaoning opened the closet and climbed inside abruptly. There would be no risk since she had already set her mobile phone to silent mode. Once the door opened, Shi Xiaoyu entered and said to the guards, ¡°Keep watch by the door. I¡¯m going to get some rest.¡± ¡°Yes, Madam.¡± An Xiaoning held her breath and heard the door close, followed by sounds of footsteps approaching the bed and the duvet being lifted up... The room was dead quiet, such that she would even hear a pin drop. An Xiaoning thought that Shi Xiaoyu would fall asleep immediately and nned to leave the room once thetter was asleep. Yet, things did not go ording to n. She could hear Shi Xiaoyu talking to someone over the phone. ¡°You must find An Xiaoning. Report to me immediately once you¡¯ve found her whereabouts. But don¡¯t rm her without my permission. Just shadow her in secret. She may have divorced Jin Qingyan, but she¡¯ll definitely show up in Wei Ni Estate and the Gu family mansion. Keep close tabs on those areas,¡± Shi Xiaoyu instructed. ¡°...¡± ¡°Yes, got it. You don¡¯t have to report to me if there¡¯s no progress.¡± ¡°...¡± Pangs of panic engulfed An Xiaoning, who was hiding in the closet. Shi Xiaoyu actually hired someone to search for and follow me. Could it be that she also knows I¡¯m Tuoba Rui¡¯s daughter? Since both she and Tuoba Rui knew, just what was she trying to do? An Xiaoning was not clear about what Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s motive was, though she made sure to be on her guard. An Xiaoning was feeling rather suffocated inside the closet since she could not move an inch or take deep breaths. She remained that way for a long time. She gently pushed the closet door open only after realizing that it was silent outside. Noticing that it was already dark outside, An Xiaoning reckoned that Shi Xiaoyu must have fallen asleep. She decided to remain in the closet ande up with a solution to escape once Shi Xiaoyu was sound asleep. She continued to wait quietly. After a long while, she finally came out of the closet carefully. Fortunately, she did not rm Shi Xiaoyu, who was lying on the bed. An Xiaoning realized that there were people watching outside the door. She then peeked out the window to see that there were people guarding by the balcony. It was impossible to leave via the door and the window. Clearly, there wasn¡¯t another way out. She managed to sneak in stealthily. Yet, there was no way she could leave now. She could not help but feel frustrated. The consequences would be dire, should she not be able to make it back before Tuoba Gucheng wakes up. She shifted her gaze to the bathroom. Upon entering, she noticed that there was a small window in the bathroom that was also facing the guards. It was impossible to leave from the bathroom as well. An Xiaoning was filled with panic and anxiety. Thus, she had no choice but to resort to extreme measures out of desperation. She picked up a piece of paper from the desk and tiptoed toward the door. The door was left slightly ajar. She ced the piece of paper in the crack and chanted a spell incessantly, after which the paper began drifting away into the corridor. The two guards by the door were terrified at the sight of the paper moving on its own. They looked at each other in dismay and frantically proceeded to call for help. An Xiaoning removed the hair clip from her hair and aimed it at the lightbulb. Soon, a needle darted out from the hairclip and caused the lights to go out with a loud bang. The corridor became pitch dark all of a sudden. Chapter 580 - The Secret About the Past (198)

Chapter 580: The Secret About the Past (198)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning swiftly zoomed out and broke a few moremps using the same method. Leaving from the main entrance would undoubtedly be a foolish decision. However, she would have to ovee several obstacles if she were to leave from upstairs. Besides, it was not a guaranteed sess. She did not have the best solution either. Before she could even decide where to escape from, a bunch of bodyguards entered and walked toward Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s bedroom. An Xiaoning took the risk and shot anothermp along the staircase with the needle. Fortunately, she had brought enough hairclips with her so as to give herself an advantage in such situations. Once she arrived at a blind spot on the second floor, she caught sight of a group of patrolling guards who were walking toward her direction in a single file. An Xiaoning felt her stomach twist into a knot. She stered herself against the wall, hoping that no one would discover her. When the patrolling guards walked past her, she dared not exit at all. Fortunately, none of them turned around, allowing her to make a sessful escape. Since there would definitely be guards around the window she had entered from, she would have to activate the emergency exit in order to leave. She had meticulously nned the position to enter from. It was on the third floor. To her astonishment, she heard footsteps approaching just as she arrived on the third floor. The fat was in the fire. Needless to say, they must have already checked the surveince cameras and found clues along the broken ceilingmps. In a moment of panic, An Xiaoning swiftly slid down the rope from the third floor and tugged the rope to retract it. There were several torchlights shining at her from above. However, she managed to stay obscure thanks to the bushes and trees, as well as her all-ck attire. On the way back, she tripped and fell several times because she had sprinted too quickly. However, An Xiaoning could no longer be bothered. An Xiaoning was panting heavily when she climbed back up into Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s dressing room from his window. She sat down on the floor, perspiring uncontrobly. Upon finding that Tuoba Gucheng was still asleep, she reinstalled the anti-theft window and returned to her own room to take a shower and clean her wounds. Being careful as ever, she set the pair of shoes she was wearing on fire with a lighter in the bathroom, along with her cap, surgical mask, and clothing. She was not afraid that she¡¯d left fingerprints behind since she had been wearing gloves throughout. However, the surveince cameras might have managed to capture her in the dimly-lit room. But then again, it would be difficult to identify her since she was wearing the night-vision goggles as well as a surgical mask and a cap. After drying her hair, An Xiaoning returned to Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s room and sat on the couch to wait for the night to past. Throughout the rest of the night, she could hear security teams and guards on patrol outside. An Xiaoning heaved a sigh of relief and continued to sit on the couch until daybreak. Tuoba Gucheng finally woke up. He supported himself and sat up, only to be greeted with the sight of her sitting on the couch with her back straightened, appearing rather awake and clear. ¡°Go back to your room to get some rest,¡± he said, gesturing for her to leave. ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± An Xiaoning returned to her room. Tuoba Gucheng freshened up and got dressed before making his way downstairs for breakfast, during which he heard that there had been a trespasser in the president¡¯s mansion the night before. ¡°Who had the audacity to do something like that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, they¡¯re still in the midst of investigations.¡± ¡°Did anyone get injured?¡± ¡°No, the trespasser clearly didn¡¯t seed. The surveince cameras could only manage to capture a blurry figure.¡± ¡°Can the gender of the trespasser be identified?¡± ¡°Not at all.¡± Tuoba Gucheng nodded and said, ¡°Seems like the trespasser was after something. Fortunately, Mu Ning was there to guard my room at night. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to sleep in peace.¡± ¡°Your Highness...¡± After some thought, Xiao Chi decided to speak his mind, ¡°Previously, Mu Ning had been remaining inside your room all day... Tongues have been wagging about this matter.¡± ¡°Tongues have been wagging? What have people been saying?¡± Tuoba Gucheng asked with raised brows. ¡°Well...¡± Xiao Chi paused in his speech. ¡°Speak.¡± ¡°They¡¯re saying that you may have fallen for Mu Ning, Your Highness.¡± ¡°If my mother hears about this, such frivolous gossip is going to cause many lives to be taken again. Call everyone here, I¡¯d like to give out some instructions. You don¡¯t have to call Mu Ning, she¡¯s resting.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± After having his breakfast, Tuoba Gucheng stared at the people in front of him with a stern expression on his face. cing his hands behind his back, he said, ¡°I heard you guys have been talking privately about Mu Ning and me. Is that true?¡± ¡°We wouldn¡¯t dare to,¡± they answered in unison. ¡°I don¡¯t care if you really dare or dare not. But I hope you¡¯ll understand this: don¡¯t allow your wagging tongues to cause Mu Ning to end up in the same plight as Jiang Feng. Mu Ning is going to be transferred back to Danxue soon. By then, Bai Zhi will resume her duties here. Is there any wrong in letting Mu Ning rest in peace after she¡¯s suffered such a severe injury because of me? If any of you were in her ce, you would be treated the same as well! Besides, do you guys really think Mu Ning is prettier than Ms. Lin?¡± Everyone looked at each other in puzzlement and answered while smiling, ¡°Ms. Lin is prettier, obviously. Mu Ning is really hideous.¡± ¡°If you had to choose between Ms. Lin and Mu Ning, who would you pick to be your wife?¡± ¡°Well...¡± ¡°I¡¯m just saying what if. I want to hear the truth.¡± ¡°Ms. Lin, of course...¡± ¡°Even you guys have chosen Ms. Lin, would I be so blind as to fall for Mu Ning? Don¡¯t make any spections on your own. I believe I don¡¯t have to exin why a loose tongue causes trouble. Hasn¡¯t there been enough losses of innocent lives?¡± Tuoba Gucheng hissed sternly. Everyone remained silent. ¡°Answer me, will you behave like this again?¡± ¡°No!¡± Staring at his subordinates, Tuoba Gucheng instructed, ¡°Alright, you¡¯re dismissed. You may go back to performing your respective tasks.¡± He turned around subconsciously to see that An Xiaoning was standing by the staircase. At this moment, Tuoba Gucheng felt a little awkward and afraid to make eye contact with her. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you to rest? Why did youe downstairs?¡± ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡± Upon hearing her voice, the subordinates immediately fled the mansion. Needless to say, An Xiaoning had already heard everything Tuoba Gucheng had said. However, there was no change in her expression, as if it did not concern her at all. She calmly proceeded to have her meal. Although Tuoba Gucheng kept a straight face, he was filled with awkwardness. He felt as if he had been exposed for badmouthing others. ¡ª Sun Weiwei was sentenced to death immediately. After so many years, the truth about Bai Ranran¡¯s death, which was caused by Sun Weiwei¡¯s injection of the virus, was finally unraveled. Due to the fact that her assistant had also died that night for the same reason, Sun Weiwei was charged for the murder of two lives. Her execution took ce on the 16th of July. The weather was exceptionally fair, with fluffy white clouds in the clear blue sky. News of the matter was broadcast across all media tforms online and on television. The tabloids released several articles that documented the entire course of her career, from her rise to her fall. No one would have expected to see the once-famous megacelebrity, who was Ye Xiaotian¡¯s had-been godsister, ending up in such a pathetic plight. Now that it had actually happened, everyone began to think that the entertainment and showbiz industry was not as morous as they had imagined. Chapter 581 - The Secret About the Past (199)

Chapter 581: The Secret About the Past (199)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mrs. Ye¡¯s kidney donor, Bai Ranran, popped up again on the inte. Mrs. Ye headed out bright and early in the morning to buy some items as an offering to Bai Ranran. She then told Ye Xiaotian to bring her to Bai Ranran¡¯s grave. Ye Xiaotian did as instructed and brought his mother to the graveyard. There were traces of burnt offerings on the ground, which were obviously left by the Bai family. Mrs. Ye squatted down onto the ground and set the offerings on fire before saying, ¡°Ranran, I¡¯ve burnt you lots of money. Don¡¯t suffer down there. Buy yourself anything you¡¯d like to eat or drink and go ahead and do whatever you want. Find me in my dreams when you run out of money, I¡¯ll burn you more. What a poor child, you suffered so much when you were still alive. I hope you¡¯ll live a better life in theherworld. Xiaotian and I are here to be with you today. I¡¯m really sorry we didn¡¯te by earlier.¡± Mrs. Ye said her piece while Ye Xiaotian remained silent and bowed to her grave thrice. Just as they were about to set off, Ye Xiaotian said, ¡°Mother, wait for me in the car.¡± Thinking that he must have something to say to Bai Ranran, Mrs. Ye agreed with a nod, ¡°Alright.¡± After watching his mother leave, Ye Xiaotian looked away and stared at the photo on the tombstone. Bai Ranran was pretty and elegant in the photo. Time seemed to have stopped during the peak of her beauty. ¡°Ranran, I¡¯m sorry. Don¡¯t fall in love with me again in your next life. I don¡¯t deserve your love,¡± he said gently. After he finished speaking, he left without looking back. While on the way home in the car, Mrs. Ye asked, ¡°Has there been any progress with Mo Li¡¯s stomach?¡± ¡°How could it possibly be so quick? Mother, she just had a miscarriage not long ago, yet you want her to get pregnant again so soon. Do you really think that¡¯s possible? She¡¯s not a baby-making machine.¡± ¡°If she gave birth to a son from the beginning, would I be rushing her to give birth to a second child? Look how grumpy she is all the time. She looks as if the world owes her a living. Ever since you married her, she¡¯s been enjoying a carefree life at home. You¡¯re the sole breadwinner while she just spends freely. To make matters worse, she even got pregnant with a baby girl twice in a row. Good that she didn¡¯t give birth to the second one. Let¡¯s see how her third pregnancy goes,¡± Mrs. Ye scorned in disdain toward Mo Li. ¡°We¡¯re both still young, there¡¯s no rush for another child.¡± ¡°You¡¯re already 31 years old this year. Do you think you¡¯re still 26? She¡¯s almost 30 too. She¡¯ll be past her prime in another few years. I¡¯ve heard about an elderly woman who¡¯s a very urate fortune-teller. I¡¯ll go consult herter and find out if you¡¯re destined to have a son.¡± ¡°Mother. Don¡¯t just give my birth characters to anyone, especially not to those fortune-tellers. What did I tell you before?¡± Ye Xiaotian warned. ¡°Fine, can I read Mo Li¡¯s fortune then? When is Mo Li¡¯s birthday?¡± Mrs. Ye asked. ¡°Don¡¯t get her fortune read. It¡¯ll feel really strange after I know the results,¡± Ye Xiaotian objected. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with reading Mo Li¡¯s fortune? She¡¯s not you. No one¡¯s going to harm her. So what is it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to have her fortune read,¡± Ye Xiaotian refused. ¡°You stubborn child... Fine, I¡¯ll have my fortune read and find out if I¡¯m destined to have a grandson,¡± Mrs. Ye scorned in disgruntlement. Ye Xiaotian did not respond and drove her home instead. Once Mrs. Ye alighted from his car, she instructed her chauffeur to bring her to an alley. She had heard from her mahjong ymates that the elderlydy in the alley was great at fortune-telling and did not charge much for her services. Thus, Mrs. Ye decided toe and take a look. She made her way to the fortune-teller¡¯s home based on directions she had asked for from passersby along the way. The door was wide open. Mrs. Ye entered and called out, ¡°Is anyone in?¡± ¡°Come in,¡± said the elderlydy, who was inside the house. Mrs. Ye entered to see that a seventy-year-olddy was standing by the door. ¡°Sis, may I ask if you provide fortune-telling services?¡± ¡°Yes, I do. You maye here.¡± Mrs. Ye went forward with her purse in hand. She entered the dimly-lit room to find that it was filled with the aroma of incense. In fact, the fumes were a little overbearing. The wall fan was blowing continuously. There were several women in the room, some young, some older. There was a queue for fortune-telling. Mrs. Ye wasst in line and, thus, had to wait patiently for her turn. She sat on a chair and her eyes darted around the room. There were several pieces of red fabric hanging on the wall, which appeared rather vibrant and bright due to the dim lights. The elderlydy was sitting by the table on which there were several statues of deities and Gods. Mrs. Ye continued to wait quietly for her turn. Noticing that the people before her had obtained urate readings, Mrs. Ye instantly felt a glimmer of hope. Forty minutester, it was finally her turn. Mrs. Ye and the elderly woman were left alone in the room. She kneeled down onto the praying mats like the women before her. ¡°What would you like to ask about?¡± the elderlydy asked. ¡°I¡¯d like to know if I¡¯m destined to have any grandsons.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± The elderlydy put on her sses and picked up a pen to begin writing. Mrs. Ye revealed her full name and birth characters. She then looked at the elderly woman quietly. After reading her birth characters, the elderlydy said, ¡°Kowtow six times.¡± While Mrs. Ye was kowtowing, the elderlydy lit up an incense stick and ced it inside the joss urn. She knelt down again and began speaking. ¡°You have three children, am I right?¡± Mrs. Ye nodded and said, ¡°Yes, two sons and a daughter.¡± The elderlydy acknowledged this with a nod and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be honest with you. Your eldest son has two daughters, and he¡¯s not going to have another son. As for your younger son, all I can say is that he and your current daughter-inw will have four girls.¡± Mrs. Ye was instantly dumbfounded. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t understand? Your son and your current daughter-inw will have four daughters, including the ones who were miscarried.¡± ¡°You... you mean I won¡¯t have any grandsons? Can I beg for a grandson? Without a grandson, our family¡¯s bloodline will cease and we will have no heir.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t suggest you do that. You would have to make a deal with Heaven in exchange for a child. Daughters aren¡¯t that bad, they¡¯re considered heirs too. Usually, there are bound to be dire consequences if you ask Heaven for another child when you already have one,¡± the elderlydy said frankly. ¡°How about if I have a change of daughter-inw? What I mean is that I¡¯ll get my son to find another woman.¡± Bewildered by Mrs. Ye¡¯s question, the elderlydy answered, ¡°The male parent is the deciding factor of the child¡¯s gender. It has nothing to do with your daughter-inw at all. Do you have any other questions?¡± ¡°I gave birth to two sons myself, why can¡¯t any of them give birth to a boy?¡± ¡°Its all fated. Just because you gave birth to a son doesn¡¯t mean your son will have a son of his own too,¡± said the elderlydy,pletely dismissing Mrs. Ye¡¯s question. ¡°Your readings are not urate at all. It¡¯splete rubbish.¡± Mrs. Ye ced a hundred dors on the table before leaving the ce. The elderlydy¡¯s words ran through Mrs. Ye¡¯s mind constantly while she was on her way back. The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt. She then decided to go to another fortune-teller instead of heading home. Chapter 582 - The Secret About the Past (200)

Chapter 582: The Secret About the Past (200)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The answers she had gotten from other fortune-tellers were the same as that from the elderlydy in the alley. Mrs. Ye was immediately disheartened and dejected. On the way home, she called Ye Xiaotian to tell him about the matter, to which he answered that there was nothing much to talk about since it was all written in fate. Mrs. Ye hung up angrily and headed straight to Mo Li¡¯s mansion upon returning home. Mo Li was supervising Ye Jiani, who was doing her homework for the summer break. School would be reopening on the 1st of September, and yet, she still had notpleted all her assignments. Upon sight of her mother-inw storming into the house in a pique, Mo Li stood up and stared at her calmly. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter? I went to visit two separate fortune-tellers today and they both said the same thing. They said that I¡¯m not destined to have a grandson in my life.¡± Mo Li was rather taken aback but continued to remain silent. ¡°You¡¯re just like your sister-inw. Both of you are incapable of giving birth to a son!¡± Mrs. Ye hollered in exasperation, clearly having been struck with a huge blow. She could not tolerate the thought of having to hear the criticism about her family¡¯s misfortune of having no male heir. Mo Li had long gotten used to her scoldings and was no longer affected. ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else you¡¯d like to say, I have to go back to helping Jiani with her homework,¡± she said. ¡°Of course there¡¯s more I¡¯d like to say.¡± Mrs. Ye sat down and pointed at the couch opposite. ¡°Get Jiani to go upstairs, I have something important to say to you privately.¡± Noticing that Mrs. Ye seemed to really have something to say, Mo Li immediately said to her daughter, ¡°Mommy would like to have a word with Grandma. Go upstairs and do your homework. I¡¯ll be checking your workter after you¡¯re done, okay?¡± Ye Jiani nodded and ran upstairs with her workbook. After making sure that her granddaughter had already gone upstairs, Mrs. Ye said, ¡°I think what those fortune-tellers said must be real. There¡¯s no way their readings would be so simr if they were just shams. They said that you and Xiaotian are destined to have four daughters, including the one you¡¯ve miscarried. You won¡¯t have any sons at all. Mo Li, if Jiani was a son, I definitely wouldn¡¯t force you to have another child. But there are only two options now. You make the decision yourself.¡± ¡°What?¡± Mo Li asked, filled with a vague, ominous feeling. ¡°I¡¯m giving you two options now. One is to divorce Xiaotian and let him get another woman pregnant. If the woman falls pregnant with a daughter, we¡¯ll just abort it until we get a boy. You may take Jiani away with you, we¡¯ll pay you more alimony. Or, I¡¯ll look for some masters to perform a ritual so that you and Xiaotian may have a son. However, there may be unexpected oues, and you are to bear the consequences.¡± Mo Li was bbergasted and furious to hear her mother-inw¡¯s absurd words. ¡°Mother... why don¡¯t you understand even until now, the gender of the child all depends on the father...¡± ¡°I understand that! Of course I do! But can I really force you to give birth again and again? It¡¯s so difficult for you to even get pregnant. Your brother-inw and his wife will never give birth again. If Xiaotian doesn¡¯t have a son either, what are others going to think of our family in the future!?! Don¡¯t talk to me about adopting a child, that¡¯s impossible!¡± Mrs. Ye bellowed, glowering at her. Mo Li ced her right hand on top of her left. Her palm was resting right on top of the wedding band on her ring finger. She felt her heart wrenching in pain. Regardless of which option she picks, she would be miserable. ¡°What are the unexpected oues...?¡± she asked. ¡°How would I know? Those masters and fortune-tellers made it sound rather far-fetched. They said that you¡¯d have to strike a deal with Heaven in exchange for a son. That¡¯s why I told you to pick from the options, lest you say that I forced you into it,¡± said Mrs. Ye, who was clueless about what the unexpected consequences would be. Biting her lip, Mo Li answered, ¡°Mother, aren¡¯t you already forcing me by making me pick one out of the two options you¡¯ve given me? If I¡¯m not destined to have a son, why must we insist on going against Heaven¡¯s will? Is it worth sacrificing aplete family for the sake of pride and continuing the family bloodline? We¡¯re already in a modern era, why do you still have to favor boys over girls?¡± ¡°Sons are the most important, regardless of which era we¡¯re in! Take a look at all the big tycoons in the business world. Do any of them not have sons? It¡¯s an embarrassment to not have a male heir!¡± Mo Li felt that it was impossible tomunicate with her. ¡°I won¡¯t pick any of the options,¡± she said in refusal. ¡°Sure, since you won¡¯t make a decision, I¡¯ll pick for you! I gave you the option of taking your own pick but you simply refuse to. I¡¯m going to let Xiaotian find another woman.¡± ¡°Mother! Since you care so much about the Ye family¡¯s bloodline, why don¡¯t you let Father-inw find another woman to give birth to a few more sons for the family!?! Let Brother-inw do that too. Why must it be Xiaotian!?!¡± Mo Li yelled at the top of her lungs. Mrs. Ye stepped forward and gave her a tight p. ¡°Bitch!¡± Mo Li ced a hand on her face and scoffed, ¡°You were so disapproving of me before Xiaotian and I got married, yet you still continue to find trouble with me all the time after we got married. It¡¯s really just my luck to be cursed with such a horrid mother-inw like you!¡± She turned around and stormed upstairs. Mrs. Ye was just as exasperated, though she was at a loss for words. Instead of leaving, she waited in the mansion for Ye Xiaotian to return from the office. She nned to have a serious talk with him about the matter, which was extremely important to her. She felt the need toe up with a concrete n and execute it as soon as possible. Ye Xiaotian arrived home at past six o¡¯clock in the evening. He had already had an arduous day at work, which gave him a major headache. And yet, he still had to face the music when he returned home. Appearing fatigued and weary, Ye Xiaotian lit up a cigarette and asked, ¡°Mother, just put this matter on hold for now. Can we talk about it another time?¡± ¡°What do you mean talk about it another time? The more I think about it, the more I realize that I won¡¯t be able to die in peace unless I settle it properly while I¡¯m still alive.¡± With a glum and sullen expression on his face, he said, ¡°Mother... don¡¯t talk about death, you¡¯ll live a long life.¡± ¡°I know exactly what my health condition is. Xiaotian, I¡¯m giving you two options as well. Take your pick. You either divorce Mo Li and find another woman or seek help from masters and beg for a son using ck magic.¡± ¡°Since we¡¯re not destined to have a son, why should we go against Heaven¡¯s will? Mo Li and I already have a daughter now. Am I still fit to be a man if I divorce her simply because of that?¡± said Ye Xiaotian, flicking some ash off his cigarette. ¡°How about you don¡¯t divorce her and still proceed with finding another woman...¡± ¡°Is this what a mother should be saying? Let¡¯s talk about this another day. I¡¯m exhausted, I¡¯m going upstairs to get some rest now.¡± ¡°Have your dinner before you go upstairs.¡± ¡°I¡¯lle down for dinner after I take a shower,¡± he answered, loosening his tie while going upstairs. Noticing how adamant he was, Mrs. Ye thought to herself that she probably should not put her son in a spot since it won¡¯t be good for her reputation. It seemed she ought to handle the matter on her own. After havinge to a decision, Mrs. Ye returned to her own mansion. Ye Xiaotian pushed the door of the bedroom open to see that Mo Li was lying down on the couch with an empty liquor bottle beside her on the table. Since it was a liquor with high alcohol content, Mo Li must have gotten drunk out of her senses after chugging the entire bottle. He walked toward her and took away the goblet, which was resting on her abdomen. He then bent forward and carried her onto the bed before lying down beside her. Mo Li opened her eyes and giggled a little. She reached a hand out to smack his face lightly and said, ¡°Who¡¯s this? Why do you look so much like my husband?¡± Ye Xiaotian stared at her and answered feebly, ¡°I¡¯m your husband.¡± Chapter 583 - The Secret About the Past (201)

Chapter 583: The Secret About the Past (201)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mo Li shook her head profusely and said, ¡°No, you¡¯re not my husband. My husband doesn¡¯t speak in this tone. You just... just look like him.¡± Realizing that she was beginning to murmur incoherently in a drunken stupor, Ye Xiaotian asked, ¡°Do you regret marrying your husband?¡± ¡°Do I have a choice? I¡¯ve never had the freedom to choose right from the beginning. I guess it¡¯ll remain that way for the rest of my life,¡± Mo Li said with a mirthless chuckle. Ye Xiaotian was perturbed to hear her words. He had gotten into a rtionship with her when he was 20 years old and she, 18. In the blink of an eye, he was already 31 and she was 29 years old. So many years had passed without them even realizing. Perhaps it was just like what she said, the decision will forever lie in his hands. ¡°My husband is like an emperor while I¡¯m just a servant who serves him in his pce. I thought I could finally leave life in peace after giving birth to Jiani and marrying you. But in reality... a woman who can¡¯t be independent is bound to be at the beck and call of others for the rest of her life,¡± said Mo Li, forcing a lopsided smile while tearing up. ¡°...¡± ¡ª In the dead of the night, Jin Yiheng returned to his bedroom to sleep, leaving Jin Qingyan alone on the bed in the master¡¯s bedroom. Fan Shixin¡¯s words about thetest situation were still ringing in his ears. ¡°Young Sir, we received an update today. It¡¯s said that someone had trespassed on the president¡¯s office. They¡¯re in the midst of catching the trespasser...¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care, you don¡¯t have to tell me about it.¡± ¡°Young Sir, haven¡¯t you always been concerned about the country¡¯s current affairs? I didn¡¯t mean anything else,¡± Fan Shixin said solemnly. ¡°Did I say that you meant something else?¡± Fan Shixin was at a loss for words. Jin Qingyan knew exactly what he meant, and that the trespasser must have been An Xiaoning. Why should I miss sleep over this matter? Jin Qingyan closed his eyes, anger surging through him. They were no longer husband and wife now. I treated her so well, yet how did she treat me!?! The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. He told himself again and again that she wasn¡¯t worth his while! However, his heart refused to listen to his consciousness and he simply could not get his mind off her. Jin Qingyan felt like he was holding himself cheap. He was well aware that any progress between Tuoba Gucheng and An Xiaoning would be impossible, especially since they were half-siblings. Furthermore, Tuoba Gucheng would be getting married very soon. Waves of disappointment hit him at the thought of her tacit approval in the video. Jin Qingyan sprung up from his bed, picked up the ss of Dreamyanghe he had poured earlier, and began drinking sluggishly. He was not in the least bit sleepy at all. He had sunk deep into a trance. He was put through such emotional torment, all because of this damned woman. There was no way one could empathize with someone else¡¯s pain unless they had been put into their shoes. In the pitch darkness of the room, he stood alone in a corner. All of a sudden, there were noises that disrupted the silence. Jin Qingyan remained still while the door of his bedroom opened gently. A silhouette belonging to a woman entered the room, a tiny torchlight in her hand. She tiptoed inside and walked toward the bed. To her astonishment, there was no one on the bed. She then scanned her surroundings using the torchlight and got a great shock when her eyesnded upon the window. ¡°Ahh!¡± Bu Xianxian flinched and shrieked in terror, clutching her chest. ¡°What are you doing in my room in the middle of the night?¡± He reached out for the remote control of the automatic window and pressed it gently, after which the room lit up in no time. ¡°I¡¯m... I¡¯m here to patrol...¡± What an absurd excuse. Jin Qingyan knew her motive. He was initially already in a bad mood, yet she had made things worse. ¡°Put the keys down and get out immediately.¡± She plucked up her courage and confessed, ¡°Nick... I really, really adore you. I fell in love with you the moment I first saw you. Could you just give me a chance?¡± Staring at her, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°I remember having said this to you countless times. Xianxian, I¡¯m warning you onest time. If you behave like this again, I¡¯ll send you back to N Nation. We¡¯ll have nothing to do with each other from then on.¡± A gloomy expression formed on Bu Xianxian¡¯s face immediately as the look of hope in her eyes vanished. ¡°Okay.¡± She swiftly exited his bedroom. Jin Qingyan grabbed the inte handset and instructed, ¡°Come up immediately.¡± After putting down the handset, Jin Qingyan sat down on the bed, appearing forlorn and depressed. Fan Shixin bumped into Bu Xianxian leaving when he rushed back. He cursed her in his head and immediately knew why Jin Qingyan had called for him. Thus, the first thing he did when he entered the room was to apologize. ¡°Young Sir, I saw Ms. Bu exiting when I arrived moments ago. When did shee upstairs?¡± ¡°I should be asking you that! Just how do you guard the house? Do you know that she has the keys to my bedroom?¡± Fan Shixin was shocked out of his wits when he caught sight of the keys on the table. ¡°Young Sir, I really don¡¯t know how she managed to get a hold of them. This Ms. Bu is not a simple woman.¡± ¡°Rece the lock of my bedroom door with a biometric one tomorrow,¡± Jin Qingyan instructed. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll definitely do that tomorrow.¡± ¡°Alright, you may go and rest.¡± ¡°Young Sir, didn¡¯t you go to bed earlier? Why don¡¯t you seem sleepy at all?¡± Jin Qingyan sniffed and said, ¡°I¡¯m suffering from insomnia. Bring me some medicine.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Fan Shixin immediately rushed downstairs. He returned less than ten minutester and handed Jin Qingyan a small paper bag containing sleeping pills with a light dosage. After taking the pills, Jin Qingyan felt a little dizzy and finally fell asleep. ¡ª It was the day of the wedding photoshoot. An Xiaoning had been on duty all night. Just as she was about to catch up on some rest after having her breakfast, Tuoba Gucheng instructed her to tag along with him. An Xiaoning felt a strong urge to roll her eyes at him. I didn¡¯t get to sleep at allst night and he¡¯s still thinking of upying my time in the day. Isn¡¯t he being too inhumane? But then again, which subordinate would dare disobey their employer¡¯s instructions? The wedding photoshoot was to be held at a renowned bridal store in B City. Lin Shishi had yet to arrive when Tuoba Gucheng and his entourage did. Donning a uniform, the store manager greeted with a smile, ¡°Your Highness, the attire for the photoshoot has been prepared for you, would you like to take a look?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Alright, pleasee with me.¡± The store manager then led him upstairs. She pushed a white door open to reveal two stacks of garments, which were in thetest designs, carefully tailored to his measurements. The bunch of bodyguards waited downstairs while Tuoba Gucheng headed upstairs with An Xiaoning and one other bodyguard. Staring at the twenty-odd sets of suits, he asked An Xiaoning, ¡°What do you think of them?¡± An Xiaoning nodded and answered, ¡°They all look amazing, but I think these few would suits you better.¡± She pointed at a few sets, which he coincidentally happened to fancy as well. ¡°We don¡¯t have to take too many wedding photos. Just one outdoor shoot and three indoor backdrops will do,¡± Tuoba Gucheng said to the bridal store manager. Chapter 584 - The Secret About the Past (202)

Chapter 584: The Secret About the Past (202)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Your Highness, wouldn¡¯t that be a little too few?¡± the store manager asked. He had never encountered a royal who requested for very few wedding photos to be taken. ¡°No, I don¡¯t like taking photos.¡± An Xiaoning was puzzled to hear his words, for she felt that he enjoyed photography quite a bit. Could it be that he didn¡¯t like having photos of himself taken? ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll do as you say, Your Highness.¡± ¡°The shoot has to bepleted by this morning. I have other important things to attend to in the afternoon.¡± ¡°Yes, don¡¯t worry, Your Highness, everything will go ording to your instructions. Your Highness, please change into your suit first. Ms. Lin should be arriving soon. I¡¯ll go downstairs to wee her,¡± the store manager said politely. ¡°Alright, go ahead.¡± The store manager left hurriedly. An Xiaoning stood by the door with another bodyguard. When he came out of the fitting room in the bridal suit, An Xiaoning gazed at him and remarked, ¡°You look dashing.¡± His lips curled into a smile, seemingly extremely pleased to hear herpliment. An Xiaoning¡¯s eyelids were heavy, and all she wanted to do was get some sleep. She proceeded downstairs with Tuoba Gucheng and happened to see Lin Shishi entering with her subordinates. Noticing that he had already changed into the suit, Lin Shishi said, smiling, ¡°This outfit looks great on you.¡± ¡°Mhm, tell the store manager to show you the wedding gowns. I¡¯ll be waiting for you in the studio.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Lin Shishi headed upstairs with the store manager leading the way. Meanwhile, Tuoba Gucheng headed to the photoshoot studio. An Xiaoning had initially wanted to wait on the couch. However, he insisted that she follow him. ¡°Come along with me.¡± She had no choice but to follow him into the studio. The photographer was already inside. Tuoba Gucheng took a look around the studio with his hands in his pockets and asked the photographer, ¡°What poses do people usually strike during the photoshoot?¡± The photographer briefly exined it verbally. Tuoba Gucheng intentionally tried to demonstrate and act out the instructions by standing beside An Xiaoning and cing a hand around her waist. He looked at the photographer and asked, ¡°Like this?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± the photographer answered while smiling. He let go of her and continued to wait nonchntly, as if nothing had happened at all. An Xiaoning repeatedly told herself, ¡°Don¡¯t mind it, don¡¯t take it to heart, don¡¯t be bothered by it!¡± Lin Shishi finally showed up in the studio forty minutester, dressed in a white, tube-top wedding gown. She took such a long time to get ready because of the makeup. The exquisite makeup enhanced her dainty features perfectly. She was brought to the studio under the escort of the bridal store manager and other staff members. Tuoba Gucheng reached a hand out while Lin Shishi ced her hand in his, after which they began shooting in earnest. An Xiaoning, the store manager, and the other staff members stood by the side to watch the shoot proceed. Given both their captivating good looks, they looked stunning in the photos from every angle. They were so ravishing that it was almost too dazzling. The female staff members¡¯ eyes lit up in awe as they held their hands tightly together and watched the two of them with overwhelming excitement. They were mainly gazing at Tuoba Gucheng. Although the bridal store was located in the capital of the city, it was, nheless, a once-in-a-blue-moon opportunity to be able to see Tuoba Gucheng in the flesh. An Xiaoning continued to apany them while they proceeded with the photoshoot, which went on for the entire morning. After changing out of the gown at the end of the shoot, Lin Shishi asked, ¡°Are we taking more photos in the afternoon?¡± ¡°No, aren¡¯t these enough?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t these a bit too few?¡± Lin Shishi asked, thinking to herself that the photoshoot ought to go on for at least an entire day. ¡°Not at all, we took quite a lot, actually. You may select a few more out of all the ones we¡¯ve taken. I have other matters to attend to in the afternoon, so I won¡¯t be able to apany you.¡± ¡°Alright, go ahead with what you¡¯re busy with. Leave the photos to me.¡± Tuoba Gucheng nodded and left with his bodyguards while Lin Shishi stayed behind to pick out the wedding photos. On the way back, the chauffeur, Tuoba Gucheng, An Xiaoning, and another bodyguard took the same car. An Xiaoning was sitting beside Tuoba Gucheng and soon fell asleep due to the overwhelming fatigue. Tuoba Gucheng knew that she had dozed off and thus did not wake her up. They arrived in the garage of Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s mansion in the Autumn Pce. ¡°Your Highness, we¡¯re here.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The chauffeur and the bodyguard alighted from the car, leaving Tuoba Gucheng and An Xiaoning alone in the car. ¡°Mu Ning, we¡¯re here,¡± he said. An Xiaoning did not move an inch. He cocked his head slightly toward her, shifting his gaze onto her rosy lips. He continued to move closer to her lips while staring at her. When there were barely a few inches between them, he snapped back into reality and abruptly sat up straight, feeling a little out of breath. He was extremely muddled up, thinking to himself that he must have been out of his mind. ¡°Mu Ning,¡± he called again, raising his voice a little this time. An Xiaoning opened her eyes slightly and murmured, ¡°Yes... Your Highness.¡± ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± She opened the door and fumbled out of the car. Although she was extremely weary, An Xiaoning nheless proceeded to the bathroom to remove her mask and wash her face when she arrived upstairs, before lying down in bed to catch up on sleep. Tuoba Gucheng would usually take a nap after lunch before going out to handle some official matters. However, he could not seem to fall asleep today. He realized that he seemed to have taken more notice of Mu Ning and be much nicer to hertely. It was not a good sign. He could not fathom just why he had been paying increasingly more attention to her, especially since she was extremely unattractive. Could it be because they had gotten intimate before? He was clueless, unsure, and puzzled. After much thought, he deduced that that must have been the case. Well, after all, that was his first intimate encounter with a woman... It was only normal to pay more attention to her. Only someone like him coulde up with such an excuse for himself. ¡ª ¡°What do you think of him?¡± Mei Yangyang asked, handing a photograph to Mei Shuangshuang. After taking a look at the photos, Mei Shuangshuang thought to herself that he was rather good-looking. ¡°Not bad, what does his family do?¡± ¡°His family runs a gold jewelry shop. Hees from a wealthy background and is pretty handsome too. He¡¯s two years older than you. But...¡± Mei Yangyang paused in her speech. ¡°But what?¡± ¡°But he¡¯s crippled in one leg.¡± Mei Shuangshuang immediately pulled a long face and hissed, ¡°He¡¯s going to look so hideous when he walks. There¡¯s no need to meet him then.¡± Having already expected her to be intolerant toward the man¡¯s w, Mei Yangyang snapped, ¡°You¡¯d better know your limits. How many men have I already introduced you to? Didn¡¯t you say that you¡¯d be willing as long as they own a house and a car? So many of them fit the standards you¡¯ve listed. Mei Shuangshuang, he may be crippled, but he¡¯s not a dimwit. His family is so well-to-do. If he treats you well, that¡¯d be a bonus. What more can you ask for? Take a good look at yourself before you pick on others. If it weren¡¯t for the connections I pulled, his parents wouldn¡¯t be interested in you even if you threw yourself at them!¡± ¡°If he¡¯s such a great catch, why don¡¯t you take him instead? Why don¡¯t we trade partners? Let me have Brother-inw while you marry that cripple. Will that do? Talk is cheap.¡± With an austere expression on his face, Mr. Mei hollered, ¡°Bastard child! What are you saying!?! I think your sister has a point. So what if he has a minor disability? Why don¡¯t you take a look at your own attributes before you pick on him!?!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like him. Find me another one. Why can¡¯t you just find me a man who¡¯s outstanding in every aspect? All you do is introduce me to men who are ugly or disabled,¡± Mei Shuangshuang scorned in disdain. Chapter 585 - The Secret About the Past (203)

Chapter 585: The Secret About the Past (203)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I already tried to matchmake you with men, ording to Mother¡¯s wishes. I doubt I should continue introducing men to such a wless young girl like you. Go ahead and find the man of your dreams. I¡¯ve already done as Mother instructed. Well, it¡¯s up to you to decide now if you¡¯d like to look for a job or a partner of your choice. However, stop appearing in front of me. I can¡¯t afford to provide for you,¡± Mei Yangyang sneered. ¡°Why? Are you trying to chase me away now?¡± Mei Shuangshuang asked, seemingly having guessed what she meant. ¡°I was just thinking that it¡¯d be better not to meet again since we can¡¯t stand the sight of each other. It¡¯s up to you to visit Father in the future too, but I¡¯m washing my hands off of your affairs from now on,¡± Mei Yangyang said frankly. ¡°I bet you were just brushing me off previously and setting me up with random men. There are clearly good catches who are outstanding in every aspect, yet why didn¡¯t you set me up with them? Fancy you saying that the ones you picked are allpatible with me and my qualities. Why can¡¯t I tell at all?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve taken my goodwill for evil intentions. Yes, the men I¡¯ve found are indeed way too ipatible with you, because they¡¯re a far greater catch than you are. You don¡¯t own a house, neither are you financially self-sufficient. Furthermore, you¡¯ve even had many boyfriends in the past. Go ahead and be with whoever you¡¯d like in the future. Since you said I was setting you up with men perfunctorily, I shall stop doing it altogether. You may search for a suitable partner by yourself, alright?¡± ¡°Hah... Fine, I¡¯ll look for one myself,¡± Mei Shuangshuang scoffed. ¡°Go ahead.¡± Mei Yangyang then left. Mei Shuangshuang and Mr. Mei were left alone in the room. ¡°Why do you have to be so stubborn? I find the men with whom your sister set you up to be pretty good choices. You just have overly-high expectations. Don¡¯t you know how inferior those boyfriends you¡¯ve had in the past were?¡± Mr. Mei chided. ¡°I just don¡¯t like them. But of course, I would be more than willing if she could find me someone like Brother-inw.¡± Mr. Mei was speechless. ¡°Like what your sister said, go ahead and find another man who fits your standards. I¡¯ll see what you cane up with.¡± Although Mei Shuangshuang sounded extremely confident, she did not actually have a concrete n. ¡°Father, give me some money.¡± ¡°What happened to your own?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have any. Didn¡¯t I tell you long ago that I¡¯ve already spent all the money from the sale of the house?¡± Mei Shuangshuang extended her arm and said, ¡°Give me two thousand dors.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have that much,¡± Mr. Mei said, rejecting her request. ¡°One thousand then.¡± Mr. Mei gave her five hundred dors and said, ¡°Here¡¯s your allowance for ten days. You¡¯d better spend frugally.¡± ¡°Ten days!?!¡± Mei Shuangshuang eximed, bbergasted. Five hundred dors were barely enough tost her a day. ¡°Ten days. Go look for a job. You¡¯re already a grown woman and you¡¯ve squandered away all the money from the sale of the house, yet you still have the cheek to ask me for money. Have you got any shame at all?¡± Mr. Mei chastised. Mei Shuangshuang returned to her room to apply some makeup and put on a short-sleeved blouse paired with a mini skirt. She then took the money and left the house, though she did not know where to go. Thus, she decided to go to the nightclub. Taking the five hundred dors with her, Mei Shuangshuang ordered a ss of liquor and sipped on it quietly while watching from her seat the people dancing enthusiastically on the dance floor. She sat by the table, scanning the crowd before her. All of a sudden, she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to look, only to find that it was a man with blonde hair. ¡°Hey, gorgeous, are you alone?¡± he asked. ¡°Yeah, what¡¯s up?¡± she answered, finding him to be rather good-looking. ¡°I¡¯d like to buy you a drink.¡± He turned his head and pointed to a table not too far away before continuing to speak, ¡°My buddy is over there. Would you like to go over and join us?¡± Mei Shuangshuang looked over to see that the buddy the man was referring to turned out to be a chubby man. Thus, she immediately refused, ¡°No thanks.¡± The blonde-haired man sat down and said, ¡°I guess I¡¯ll have to sit here and drink with you, gorgeous.¡± He waved at the waiter, who soon served the liquor. The man slid her a ss while he held another in his hand. ¡°Here, gorgeous, let¡¯s toast.¡± She clinked sses with him andmented, ¡°I¡¯m feeling under the weather.¡± ¡°What are you troubled about?¡± ¡°Nothing much, what¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Xiaozong. What about you?¡± ¡°Shuangshuang.¡± He nodded and shifted his gaze onto her thigh. ¡°Your skirt is really short, huh?¡± Mei Shuangshuang tucked her hair behind her ear and winked at him while saying, ¡°It¡¯s intentional.¡± Xiaozong chuckled and asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid of being taken advantage of?¡± She chugged the ss of liquor in one go and mmed the ss of wine onto the table before standing up. ¡°Let¡¯s dance.¡± Xiaozong followed her and joined the crowd. ¡°What¡¯s your upation?¡± Mei Shuangshuang asked loudly, though her voice was still drowned out by the deafening electronic dance music yed by the DJ. ¡°I¡¯m currently helping my father out with his business. I¡¯ll be taking over hispany very soon.¡± Mei Shuangshuang¡¯s eyes glistened upon hearing his answer and probed, ¡°What kind of a business does your family own?¡± ¡°Real estate.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a very lucrative business.¡± Xiaozong smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Mei Shuangshuang thought to herself that Lady Luck must have been smiling at her for such a handsome man to flirt with her. Not only was he good-looking, but he was also the heir of a promising family business. Heaven must be blessing me! She was determined to seize the rare opportunity. Thus, she kept clinging onto Xiaozong while they were dancing. Exhausted from dancing, they decided to have a couple more drinks before leaving the nightclub. Xiaozong then led Mei Shuangshuang to a luxury car, which she immediately recognized to be a Mercedes-Benz. Xiaozong took out his car keys and said to her while smiling, ¡°Hop on.¡± ¡°Okay, sure.¡± Just as Xiaozong was about to begin driving, she asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to wait for your buddy?¡± ¡°Nah, he can go back on his own. You¡¯re more important.¡± He revved up the engine and drove away from the nightclub. ¡°Where are we going?¡± Mei Shuangshuang asked awkwardly. ¡°Somewhere we can be free,¡± he answered, keeping his eyes fixed on the road ahead. He then drove toward a secluded area where human traffic was scarce. Once he pulled over, he reached out to hold Mei Shuangshuang¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Shuangshuang, when I firstid my eyes on you from afar in the nightclub, you looked just like a vibrant flower. You were gorgeous. I fell in love with you at first sight.¡± ¡°I like you too,¡± Mei Shuangshuang said gleefully. He reached out to lower her seat and leaned forward to kiss her. He immediately lifted her skirt and began feeling his way up to her crotch. Mei Shuangshuang had lost her virginity long ago. Thus, she was extremely experienced when it came to hooking up. She went along with him enthusiastically. The pair transformed the car into their private enclosed space. Mei Shuangshuang continued to exude her prowess in bed and exhibited the various skills in her repertoire. Atst, sheid her head on his chest, panting heavily in exhaustion. ¡°How many boyfriends have you had in the past?¡± ¡°One,¡± Mei Shuangshuang answered. ¡°Just one?¡± Mei Shuangshuang raised her head to look at him and said, ¡°Yes, just one. How about you? How many girlfriends have you had?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve only had one too.¡± ¡°What? As if I¡¯d believe you. You were so great in bed. You must¡¯ve had a lot of experience,¡± Mei Shuangshuang scoffed apprehensively. ¡°I really haven¡¯t. Why would I lie to you?¡± he answered gently, holding her in his embrace. Mei Shuangshuang smiled and said, ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Where do you live? I¡¯ll send you home,¡± he asked, handing her her clothes. ¡°Um... I live in Wei Ni Estate,¡± Mei Shuangshuang answered with a grin. Chapter 586 - The Secret About the Past (204)

Chapter 586: The Secret About the Past (204)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Wei Ni Estate? Do youe from a wealthy family?¡± Xiaozong asked in surprise. ¡°We¡¯refortable,¡± the materialistic Mei Shuangshuang answered, feeling glorious. ¡°Is that so?¡± Xiaozong exchanged mobile numbers with her and sent her to the entrance of Wei Ni Estate. Mei Shuangshuang skipped home merrily while Xiaozong drove back to his house. However, he did not live in a luxurious estate or avish mansion. Instead, he lived in a humble abode, which was a rented apartment in a secluded area. He returned the car to the car rental store before walking back home. The chubby friend of his who went to the nightclub together with him was already waiting at home. Upon sight of him, the chubby friend hissed in disgruntlement, ¡°Have you any idea how outrageous you were? You went off to have fun with a gorgeous babe on your own and left me alone in the club. Do you know how I came back? I took the bus home.¡± ¡°I wanted to ask her to sit down together at your table but she didn¡¯t want to. That chick tonight was gorgeous, wasn¡¯t she?¡± The chubby man chuckled and asked, ¡°Yes, her skin was fair like porcin. I wonder what she feels like.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve tried it. Not too bad. She seems to be from a wealthy family,¡± Xiaozong answered as hey down on the bed. ¡°How did you know?¡± ¡°She lives in Wei Ni Estate. That¡¯s such a luxurious district,¡± Xiaozong answered while looking at him. ¡°Go ahead and make a move on her then. I¡¯ve never seeded when I go with you anyway. In today¡¯s society, I guess looks still doe first. I tried to flirt with a few but none of it worked out. Oh well,¡± the chubby manmented, sitting on the bed and enjoying a supper of fried chicken and beer. ¡°I told you to cooperate with me but you insist on going alone. You only have yourself to me.¡± ¡°Xiaozong, I¡¯ll cooperate with you, but will you let me have some fun with that girl someday?¡± ¡°What¡¯s so hard about that? You can enjoy yourself to your heart¡¯s content,¡± Xiaozong agreed nonchntly. The chubby man chuckled and said in delight, ¡°I¡¯ll hold you to your word. Great buddy.¡± Xiaozong grabbed a can of beer and opened it to take a few sips. ¡°I just want money anyway. I¡¯m not interested in anything else.¡± ¡ª For a few consecutive nights, An Xiaoning had been listening to the recordings from the listening device bugs she had nted in the rooms, all the way until the 1st of August. She did not manage to hear anything from the first listening device bug, which she had nted in the president¡¯s study. An Xiaoning guessed that the bug must have been discovered by detectors. Fortunately, the bug that she had painstakingly nted in Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s bedroom was still intact. She could hear all sorts of noises from the device, including footsteps, Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s conversations over the phone, as well as sounds of items dropping. However, she heard a different noise tonight. It was rather soft and onlysted for less than twenty seconds. However, it sounded extremely unusual to An Xiaoning. It was a crisp, ringing sound, which faded very quickly. Strangely, the room fell silent after the ringing sound. Could it be that Shi Xiaoyu had fallen asleep in bed? An Xiaoning thought to herself. She continued to listen closely but did not hear any other noises. Nheless, she continued to sit there with her earphones on. The night was dead silent, which amplified each and every noise clearly. Half an hourter, An Xiaoning heard another ringing sound. An Xiaoning paid closer attention to the noise and soon began to hear Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s footsteps on the ground. What in the world? What was that ringing sound? But I didn¡¯t hear any of that ringing noise even when Shi Xiaoyu had gone to bed, when I was hiding in the closet that night. An Xiaoning was puzzled and confused. Just as she was in the midst of figuring out what it was, Shi Xiaoyu gave someone a call and instructed the person to hurry over as quick as possible. Not long after, she heard sounds of the door being unlocked with a key, followed by footsteps... ¡°What¡¯s the urgent matter?¡± Tuoba Rui asked. ¡°Come, sit down here. I have something important to discuss with you.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Tuoba Rui asked. ¡°Gucheng is getting married in four days. There¡¯s definitely going to be lots of people on his big day. I was going to ask you if we should invite the Jin family since they¡¯re a powerhouse in our country¡¯s business industry.¡± ¡°That goes without saying,¡± Tuoba Rui answered. ¡°An Xiaoning has already divorced him. But she¡¯s the goddaughter of the Gu, Lin, and Jin families. We still ought to invite her, right? After all, we¡¯re bing inws with the Jin and the Lin families. It would be a little inappropriate not to invite her,¡± said Shi Xiaoyu, staring at him. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, we shall invite her then,¡± Tuoba Rui agreed. ¡°Sure. That child looks so much like Sister. Don¡¯t lose yourposure when you see her on that day,¡± said Shi Xiaoyu. ¡°Why would I lose myposure? Is there a need to? What did I tell you before? That child has nothing to do with the Tuoba family,¡± Tuoba Rui hissed. An Xiaoning¡¯s heart sank as she continued to listen attentively. ¡°Let¡¯s drop the subject. Since you¡¯ve agreed to it, I¡¯ll have her name be included on the guest list then. I¡¯d really like to meet her, though. You¡¯ve been so busytely, you rarelye to my bedroom to rest. You¡¯ve been sleeping in the study every night. Stay behind tonight, I¡¯ve missed you,¡± Shi Xiaoyu said with a smile. Tuoba Rui expressed assent coldly. An Xiaoning did not remove her earphones, thinking that they would continue to talk further. However, they did not say anything else. Thus, she removed her earphones and remained seated quietly. It seemed she would be invited to the wedding on the 6th of August. Would turning down an invite to a royal wedding, using the excuse of being somewhere too far away, be usible? Impossible. However, her voice would definitely let the cat out of the bag if she were to attend the wedding using her true identity. By then, everything she had meticulously nned would go down the drain and her efforts would be wasted. In fact, she might even suffer a greater loss. It would be much more difficult to get to the bottom of the truth about her mother. She only had a few days left. It would be the 2nd of August tomorrow, what was she supposed to do? An Xiaoning thought that it would be a good idea to discuss with her family and turn down the invite with the excuse of being severely injured. She took a look at the time and returned to her room immediately. She then headed inside the bathroom to call the Gu family and told Mr. and Mrs. Gu about the matter, to which they agreed. However, they would still have to try and see if the excuse would work. They came to a consensus and decided to take things as theye. An Xiaoning returned to the room next door after ending the call. She was still overwhelmed with anxiety and filled with a myriad of thoughts when she sat on the couch. She had already established some truths by now. Tuoba Rui and Shi Xiaoyu both know that she, An Xiaoning, was still alive and well and knew whose daughter she was. From their conversation, she had also learned that Tuoba Rui had never thought of acknowledging her. In fact, it had never crossed his mind to meet her at all. Was he the one who abandoned her? She dared not jump to conclusions before getting to know the absolute truth. Regardless of whether her mother was dead or alive, she wanted to find out the truth anyway. This was her ultimate agenda for entering the Autumn Pce! An Xiaoning had only one goal in mind now, which was the only thing that¡¯s keeping her determined in continuing to search for clues and find out the truth. Chapter 587 - The Secret About the Past (205)

Chapter 587: The Secret About the Past (205)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mrs. Ye arrived at Ye Xiaotian¡¯s mansion bright and early in the morning, before he left for the office. Upon sight of her, Mo Lipletely disregarded her presence and ignored her. ¡°Mother, you¡¯re here so early. Is there something important?¡± Ye Xiaotian asked, taking a seat by the dining table. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about it the past few days. On ount that Mo Li has been in a rtionship with you for so many years and you both already have Jiani, I¡¯ve decided to go ahead with the second solution, and that is to strike a deal with Heaven. So, you two have to cooperate with me,¡± said Mrs. Ye, who had alreadye to a decision. ¡°How do we cooperate with you?¡±Ye Xiaotian asked. ¡°I¡¯ve already asked around. The medium will write a talisman, which we would have to burn then let Mo Li drink the ashes with some water.¡± Ye Xiaotian looked at Mo Li to find that she appeared rather calm. ¡°Mother, forget about it. We¡¯ll just let nature take its course,¡± said Ye Xiaotian. ¡°What do you mean let nature take its course!?! I¡¯ve already consulted various fortune-tellers. They said that you¡¯re destined to have four daughters and no son. Xiaotian, if you don¡¯t have a son, the Ye family is really going to have no heir! Do you really think you can count on your daughter? Daughters will belong to others once they¡¯ve gotten married!¡± Mrs. Ye barked. Ye Jiani blinked and asked, ¡°Grandma, aren¡¯t you a woman too?¡± Mrs. Ye was startled by her granddaughter¡¯s random question, which she simply ignored. Instead, she said to Ye Xiaotian, ¡°I¡¯ve already asked the medium. He said that the consequences are not certain and, perhaps, there may be no harm in it at all. Xiaotian, let¡¯s just beg for one son, just one will do.¡± Ye Xiaotian did not answer her and continued to eat his breakfast quietly. Mo Li realized that Ye Xiaotian kept ncing at her. However, she pretended not to take notice and remained silent. Mrs. Ye stood rooted to the ground, eager and furious. ¡°Xiaotian, say something, will you?¡± ¡°Let me find out more about this matter. Give me the medium¡¯s address, I¡¯ll ask him about it,¡± Ye Xiaotian answered. He picked up a ss of milk and downed it in one gulp before wiping his mouth. ¡°You don¡¯t have to find out more, I¡¯ve already understood everything. Xiaotian, do you actually think I¡¯d harm you?¡± Mrs. Ye dismissed his idea impatiently, extremely eager to have a grandson. Being a decisive person who had a mind of his own, Ye Xiaotian insisted, ¡°I want toe to a decision only after I¡¯ve learned more about this matter. There¡¯s no rush.¡± ¡°Alright, then, I¡¯ll hire the medium and get him toe over. You may ask him anything you¡¯d like.¡± With a hefty sum of money, Mrs. Ye immediately hired a conman to pose as a medium upon leaving her son¡¯s house. She made him memorize the answers to every possible question Ye Xiaotian would ask before bringing him to the Ye Corporation office building in the afternoon. The only reason she decided to do that was because the actual medium would tell the truth and list out the pros and cons clearly beforehand. Well, it was only ethical to do so anyway. A genuine medium would usually draft an agreement that clearly states all the pros and possible consequences. This ritual would only be performed after the willing party has agreed to the conditions. Would the government of S Nation take legal actions against such rituals? Absolutely not. The reason was that many government officials were also afraid ofnding themselves in hot soup. In the event that those psychic mediums put a spell on them, they would have to suffer dire consequences. Thus, the government would usually stay out of the affairs of psychic mediums who possess genuine supernatural abilities. Mo Li had been brooding over the matter the past few days, and her mother-inw¡¯s words this morning had spited her even further. After breakfast, she sat alone in silence inside the bedroom. With no one to confide in, she could only bottle up her feelings and keep her innermost thoughts to herself. Atst, she could not tolerate it any further and decided to give Long Tianze a call. Long Tianze¡¯s jaw dropped in shock upon hearing herints. Little did he expect that Mrs. Ye would go to such extreme means. After consoling her, Long Tianze told her to toughen up and insist on refusing to get a divorce or go ahead with the ritual. As long as Ye Xiaotian did notpel her to concede, she did not have to abide by her mother-inw¡¯s instructions. Mo Li¡¯s spirits were lifted after airing her grievances to Long Tianze. She decided to water the flowers and get some sun. The morning passed just like that. Ye Xiaotian returned home for lunch and brought the matter up to her. ¡°Mother brought the medium to the office today.¡± The tension within Mo Li grew as she asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°The medium said that the harm would be minor and wouldn¡¯t pose as a huge problem. He also mentioned that he would do his best to minimize the risk of any idents as far as possible so there wouldn¡¯t be any significant consequences.¡± ¡°So... you gave in,¡± said Mo Li, filled with an inexplicable feeling. ¡°Li Li, we can¡¯t be without a male heir...¡± After a moment of silence, Mo Li raised her head and objected, ¡°I don¡¯t agree to it.¡± ¡°I know you¡¯re reluctant, I don¡¯t wish for it to happen either. But if we don¡¯t agree to Mother¡¯s request, she¡¯s definitely not going to take no for an answer. Besides, it¡¯s true that it¡¯d be very embarrassing for me to have no son,¡± said Ye Xiaotian. Mo Li turned around and headed upstairs. Watching as her figure receded, Ye Xiaotian put down his chopsticks, for he had instantly lost his appetite. Little did he know, Mrs. Ye had shown up at his mansion with some bodyguards right after he left for work. She was holding a ss of murky, tarry water, which contained the dregs from the burnt talisman. ¡°Where¡¯s your Young Madam?¡± Mrs. Ye asked a servant. ¡°She¡¯s upstairs.¡± Mrs. Ye brought the medium upstairs and pushed the bedroom door open to see that Mo Li was in the midst of an afternoon nap. However, she was jolted awake by the loud noise of the door being opened. She sat up immediately at the sight of Mrs. Ye and the bodyguards. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°Drink this.¡± Mo Li knew what it was at the instant that she saw the ss. ¡°I¡¯m not having any.¡± Mrs. Ye humphed in disdain and eximed, ¡°I¡¯ve discussed this with Xiaotian and he¡¯s already agreed to it. Your opinions don¡¯t matter at all.¡± She then instructed her bodyguards, ¡°Hold her down and make sure she finishes this talisman water to the veryst drop!¡± Several strong and burly men stepped forward and pinned Mo Li down while forcing her mouth open. ¡°Mommy!¡± Ye Jiani barged in, bursting into tears at the sight of her mother being held down forcefully. ¡°Carry her out,¡± Mrs. Ye instructed. Thus, Ye Jiani was dragged out by the men, and the sounds of her bawling began to fade. Try as she did, Mo Li could not ovee the strength of the men. In the end, they still managed to force the entire ss of water down her throat. Her stomach began to toss and turn in difort, making her feel extremely nauseous. However, Mrs. Ye instructed the bodyguards to continue restraining her and forbid her from throwing up. Afraid that Mo Li would stick a finger down her throat to induce vomit, Mrs. Ye ordered for her bodyguards to watch Mo Li for the rest of the afternoon while she left the mansion. Mo Li had never felt so hopeless to the point that she wanted to cry but had no tears left to do so. She had initially thought that her mother-inw would stop being so prejudiced against her once she got married to Ye Xiaotian and gave birth to his child. She also initially thought that she could enjoy the luxurious life of a wealthy man¡¯s wife. She initially thought that Ye Xiaotian loved her and would protect her at all costs. She initially thought, she thought... It was all merely wishful thinking on her part. If a man was incapable of protecting his own wife, what sets him apart from a good-for-nothing? Not only did he fail to protect her, he even joined in and catalyzed her torment. The rest of the afternoon felt like a century to Mo Li. She was forced to lie still in bed, denied of her rights to even visit the bathroom. Thus, she had no choice but to answer nature¡¯s call there and then, causing the entire bedroom to reek of the odor of urine. Her pants were soaked. All of that happened right in front of the many bodyguards. Her pride and shame were trampled on relentlessly. She had no idea how she managed to pull through those few hours, which were practically a living hell. Chapter 588 - The Secret About the Past (206)

Chapter 588: The Secret About the Past (206)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The bodyguards left half an hour before Ye Xiaotian¡¯s return. Mo Liy in bed, staring nkly at the ceiling. She remained still like a statue. Ye Jiani was sprawled across the bed, wailing in agony. Ye Xiaotian was greeted with that very sight when he appeared at the bedroom door. The room reeked of urine while shey in bed like a corpse. ¡°Lili?¡± Mo Li ignored him, as if she didn¡¯t hear him at all. At the same time, Ye Jiani was bawling continuously and choking with sobs. ¡°Daddy, Grandma came and made Mommy drink some dirty water...¡± Ye Xiaotian caressed her head and said softly, ¡°Nini, go out first. Daddy would like to speak to Mommy for a little bit.¡± Ye Jiani exited the bedroom while still sobbing. Ye Xiaotian stepped forward and called out softly, ¡°Lili?¡± Mo Li sat up and removed all the pillowcases as well as the bedsheets, which she then threw onto the ground with a straight face. She then grabbed a new set of bedsheets and reced it with the old ones before heading to the washroom,pletely ignoring Ye Xiaotian throughout. He watched as she changed the sheets. After she came out of the shower and dried her hair, Ye Xiaotian stepped forward to hug her and said, ¡°I know you¡¯re feeling awful, but I promise you, this will be thest time. Alright?¡± Mo Li had a grave expression on her face and kept mum. Ye Xiaotian was rather upset as well. The matter had taken a great toll on their rtionship and marriage, which was now on the rocks. Neither of them could sleep well that night. ¡ª In the evening, Tuoba Gucheng came out for a walk in the evening after dinner while An Xiaoning apanied him. The two of them were walking together at an unhurried pace. ¡°Why did you agree toe to the Autumn Pce to work as a bodyguard?¡± Tuoba Gucheng asked out of the blue. ¡°Because it pays well,¡± she answered without hesitation. ¡°When would you like to get married?¡± An Xiaoning found him to be behaving rather strangelytely, for he would often pop such random and personal questions every now and then. ¡°I don¡¯t wish to get married again for the rest of my life,¡± she answered softly. Tuoba Gucheng did not quite catch what she meant, and neither did he ask her what she meant by ¡°again.¡± However, he was rather shocked to hear that she did not wish to marry anyone for the rest of her life. ¡°Why?¡± An Xiaoning sighed and answered, ¡°I don¡¯t think a man whom I can depend on and trusts mepletely exists in this world.¡± ¡°Have you lost faith in men because your boyfriend died?¡± She shook her head and answered, ¡°No, that¡¯s not the case. If it weren¡¯t for my inferiorityplex, I¡¯m actually rather pretty.¡± He snorted withughter. ¡°What are youughing about? I really am pretty,¡± she retorted. ¡°Yes, I can tell.¡± An Xiaoning did not take his words to heart, thinking that he was merely patronizing her. ¡°Anyway, I don¡¯t care what others think of me. I¡¯m different from everyone else. I¡¯ll continue to live my life the way I want and I won¡¯t change regardless of whoever¡¯s opinions. I¡¯m not going to betray myself for the sake of pleasing others or because of what they say about me. That¡¯s just how I am. I¡¯m a woman who¡¯s full of energy,¡± she said. Tuoba Gucheng was taken aback by her reply. They walked along the sidewalk slowly. After having covered a distance, they heard sounds of a man and a woman getting it oning from inside the woods ahead. They were both feeling a little awkward and turned around to walk back unanimously. They did not talk much for the rest of the journey. Hey down in bed after washing up while she sat on the couch. As long as she was not nning to sneak out at night, she would not spike his milk with sleeping pills. Once Tuoba Gucheng had fallen sound asleep, she put on her earphones and began listening for noises. Ding Dong... It was the sound of a text message notification. An Xiaoning opened the text message, which was sent by Gu Beicheng, who informed her that the Gu family had received a call from the Autumn Pce in the afternoon. Mr. and Mrs. Gu answered by saying that An Xiaoning could not attend the wedding due to a severe injury she had sustained abroad. The people from the Autumn Pce did not insist that she turn up and, thus, they managed to decline the invite sessfully. An Xiaoning felt a huge sense of relief. She felt more at ease, now that she had one less problem to worry about. She immediately replied to Gu Beicheng¡¯s text message. An Xiaoningy down on the couch and began tearing up as she stared at the photo on her wallpaper. From her very first pregnancy to herst miscarriage, she had gotten pregnant a total of four times but only managed to keep Jin Yiheng. Yet, the rights to Jin Yiheng¡¯s custody were no longer hers. After so many pregnancies, would Heaven give me the chance to get pregnant a fifth time? I doubt so , she thought. Besides, she could not manage to deal with any more devastation. She¡¯d broken all ties with Jin Qingyan as well. At the end of the day, she still had to face everything and brave through all the odds on her own. The only reliable person one can depend on is ultimately oneself. Once you¡¯ve decided to love, you¡¯d have to be ready to lose everything one day. Wasn¡¯t that so? At four o¡¯clock in the morning, there was a sudden knocking on Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s bedroom door. ¡°Your Highness, bad news. A fire broke out in Her Highness¡¯s mansion!¡± Shocked beyond words, An Xiaoning immediately switched on the lights and opened the door. ¡°Just what¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how but a fire broke out all of a sudden. They¡¯re in the midst of putting out the fire.¡± ¡°How¡¯s Her Highness?¡± ¡°She hasn¡¯t been rescued yet...¡± An Xiaoning turned around to see that Tuoba Gucheng was getting out of bed anxiously, after which they hurried toward Tuoba Danxue¡¯s mansion immediately. A bright burning me could be seen from afar, before they even reached the mansion. By the time they arrived, Tuoba Danxue had already been rescued by Bai Zhi. She had merely passed out and fortunately did not sustain any injuries. ¡°Has everyone been rescued?¡± Tuoba Gucheng asked with a grave expression. ¡°Not all have been rescued. They¡¯re still investigating the cause of the fire.¡± ¡°Send Danxue to my mansion,¡± Tuoba Gucheng instructed. ¡°Yes.¡± The zing fire was soon put out gradually, thanks to the advanced emergency firefighting amenities in the Autumn Pce. Tuoba Rui, Shi Xiaoyu, Tuoba Shuo, and Tuoba Hancheng had all rushed down to the site. Everyone felt a sense of relief upon hearing that Tuoba Danxue was safe and sound. After the fire was put out, they began cleaning up the scene and checking for the number of casualties. There were not many people living in Tuoba Danxue¡¯s mansion, to begin with. Thus, it was extremely easy to verify the casualties. Atst, they found two casualties; one was the head cook and the other was Zhi Yin. Tuoba Gucheng instructed his subordinates to find the corpses, after which he returned to his own mansion with An Xiaoning. Tuoba Danxue was lying in bed with a needle inserted into the back of her hand and her eyes tightly shut. Bai Zhi was sitting beside her, her face as pale as a sheet. Upon sight of them, she greeted, ¡°Your Highness...¡± ¡°So what exactly happened?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know either. I was woken up by the thick fumes. Upon realizing that a fire had broken out, I immediately opened the door and rushed to rescue Her Highness, only to find that she had lost her consciousness.¡± Tuoba Gucheng nodded and said, ¡°Danxue managed to make it out safely, all thanks to you.¡± ¡°This is only my duty.¡± ¡°Look after her properly and call me when shees to.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Tuoba Gucheng was no longer sleepy, even though he did not sleep well. ¡°You may go back to sleep. I¡¯ll take the rest of them with me to my parents¡¯ ce.¡± An Xiaoning agreed with a nod, ¡°Alright.¡± She sped back to her room after watching him leave. She took a shower, dried her hair, put on a sheet of beauty serum facial mask, watered the pot of lilies on the window ledge, and went to bed. Those matters were none of her concern. Neither should she be worrying about them. Chapter 589 - The Secret About the Past (207)

Chapter 589: The Secret About the Past (207)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Ling Ciye hired highly-reputable paparazzi to snap some photos of Jin Qingyue taking Jin Bao¡¯er out for a day of fun and do a writeup about Jin Qingyue raising her daughter single-handedly since birth. Well, it was merely the truth anyway. Soon, the article and photos were published. There was then a highly-influential Weibo ount that released a statement, describing how Jin Qingyue had put Shi Shaochuan behind bars. Clearly, Shi Shaochuan was behind the act. In no time, several immoralizens began defending the scoundrel that was Shi Shaochuan, saying that there was no way he could have raised his daughter since he was sent to prison by his former wife. There were also other simrments. Once the influential Weibo ount had garnered enough support, it began sparking false rumors and usations against Jin Qingyue. Although it did not mention her name explicitly, it was more than obvious that the posts and statements were referring to her. It imed that she had been unfaithful toward her husband and had snatched the rights to the custody of their child. It added that she¡¯d even abused her family¡¯s authoritative power and devised a cunning scheme to get her husband imprisoned, so as to divorce him. Jin Qingyue was greatly taken aback when she read the ongoing discussions on Weibo. ¡°How could theseizens jump to conclusions and attack a stranger with such maliciousments when they don¡¯t even know a thing about the truth?¡± Jin Qingyue remarked in astonishment. ¡°Some people just have a false sense of nobility and think that they are saints by cing themselves on the highest pedestal of moral. Hence, they go about releasing callous and irresponsiblements without thinking twice. You don¡¯t have to bother about them,¡± Ling Ciye said tofort her. ¡°I doubt I can regain the reputation I have ruined previously,¡± Jin Qingyuemented dejectedly. ¡°It¡¯s obvious that Shi Shaochuan is the one behind the controversy. Are you really just going to let him have his way? It may not be easy, but I believe more and more people are realizing that you¡¯ve turned over a new leaf. Time will prove everything,¡± Ling Ciye said solemnly. Jin Qingyan smiled and grabbed his hand. Staring at him with glistening eyes, she asked, ¡°When are we going to sleep on the same bed?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you alreadye to sleep on my bed in the middle ofst night?¡± ¡°That was purely sleeping. I don¡¯t just purely want to sleep with you,¡± she answered, giggling shyly. ¡°I¡¯m a man and I didn¡¯t even mention it. How did you even bring yourself to say something like that?¡± Ling Ciye questioned with raised brows. ¡°I said it with my mouth.¡± She lowered her head to kiss him and said, ¡°Brother Ciye, will you ever regret dating me one day?¡± ¡°Since when have I done anything I regretted? Shall we go camping tonight?¡± he suggested, caressing her face. ¡°Just us two?¡± ¡°Yes, just us. Leave Bao¡¯er at your brother¡¯s ce for a night.¡± ¡°Why do you want to go camping?¡± Jin Qingyue asked, beaming with joy. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you don¡¯t want to just purely sleep with me? I¡¯ll satisfy your wish,¡± Ling Ciye answered with a smirk. Jin Qingyue immediately blushed red with shyness. She was just like a young teenager in love. She was especially smitten with the way this handsome, mature, and charming man was gazing right into her eyes. He pulled her into his embrace and said, ¡°If you¡¯re already craving it so badly now, what¡¯s going to happen in the future?¡± ¡°Since when...¡± Jin Qingyue denied vehemently. ¡°You¡¯re still denying it. I can see right through you.¡± Jin Qingyue¡¯s heart began to race as she finally understood what it meant to be a smitten little woman, head over heels in love. She enjoyed being in a rtionship with him more and more. In fact, she even thought that she had already fallen in love with him. Although she knew that perhaps he only adored her for now, it was already enough for her. She would often give it her all in every rtionship she gets into. However, she did not wish to know the oue, even though her failed marriage did not kill her faith in the existence of true love. After Ling Ciye left in the afternoon, Jin Qingyue began preparing the necessary items for their camping trip tonight. In high spirits, she was humming merrily to an upbeat tune while packing her bags. She ced all of the bags inside the car. She then sent Jin Bao¡¯er, who had just woken up from a nap, to Jin Qingyan¡¯s mansion and instructed Fan Shixin to take good care of her while she was away for the night. Next, she returned home to freshen up. She proceeded to take a thorough and cleansing shower. Jin Qingyue would usually only take about 15 to 30 minutes for a shower, sometimes an hour. However, this time, she took one and a half hours. She then began to put on some exquisite makeup. Afterward, she proceeded to pick out her outfit. Finally, it was time for her lingerie to shine. What a joyous asion worth celebrating. She had a penchant for long dresses. She stood in front of the mirror and admired her reflection. As soon as she put her makeup remover into her bag and zipped it, the bedroom door opened. Standing by the door, Ling Ciye peeked in at her and smiled. ¡°Seems like our private night means a lot to you.¡± ¡°Why? Does it not mean anything to you?¡± ¡°Of course it does.¡± He raised his wrist to look at the time on his watch and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go. It¡¯ll almost be evening by the time we arrive there.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± She stepped forward and held his arm while heading downstairs merrily. Ling Ciye was wearing a pair of shades and drove her to the beach. He had already reserved an area on the coast, which was to be emptied at night. Thus, there would be no one to disturb their private time together. He was d to see that she was enjoying herself. It was indeed almost evening time when they arrived at the beach. They set up the barbecue pit and barbecued some skewers, which they paired with beer. They sat side by side and enjoyed the food and drinks merrily. They had also fixed the tent by themselves and tidied up their sleeping area. ¡°The weather is so cooling and I feel so rxed. I remember we used toe here together when we were children,¡± said Jin Qingyue, taking a few sips of beer. ¡°Yeah, Tianze even tried to scare you the other time by telling you that there were ghosts around. You were so frightened that you tripped and fell and hurt your head. He was the one who helped you bandage your bleeding wound. So many years have passed in the blink of an eye. Nothing about this ce changed, except us. We grew up,¡± Ling Ciye reminisced the past with a sigh. ¡°He loved ying pranks on me when we were younger. Life is like that. Sometimes, you fall into a pit unexpectedly, but, fortunately, there¡¯s still a chance to get back up on your feet. It doesn¡¯t matter if you¡¯re insensible and foolish when you¡¯re young. What¡¯s crucial is that you don¡¯t remain willful and insensible for the rest of your life,¡± said Jin Qingyue, hugging her knees. ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Ling Ciye crushed the empty beer can and discarded it. He then wiped his mouth with a piece of tissue paper and stood up to go brush his teeth. Jin Qingyue finished the rest of the food and proceeded to brush her teeth as well. Her heart was pounding strongly against her chest while she was brushing her teeth. Well, because she knew that something exciting was going to happen tonight. She allowed her imagination to run wild while looking forward to it. After brushing her teeth, she removed her shoes, climbed back inside the tent, and zipped it close. They were kneeling on the mat facing each other. ¡°Brother Ciye... I¡¯m a little nervous.¡± He leaned forward to hold her hands and kissed her on her lips. Jin Qingyue put her arms around his neck and her nervousness instantly vanished. Everything hade to fruition. They began smooching each other passionately. The tent became pitch dark the moment she switched off themp. She decided to make the first move and pounced on him, pinning him below her. Jin Qingyue straightened her back and took her skirt off before reaching out to unbutton his clothes. Ling Ciye remained still and allowed her to continue. However, Jin Qingyue stopped all of a sudden just as things were getting racy. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± he asked. ¡°Does me being on top make you feel embarrassed?¡± Chapter 590 - The Secret About the Past (208)

Chapter 590: The Secret About the Past (208)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He smiled and answered, ¡°No.¡± Jin Qingyue was relieved to hear his answer. She got up andy atop him before lowering her head to kiss him gently. Ling Ciye¡¯s lips were cold, and his breath reeked of alcohol even though he had already brushed his teeth. The deep, passionate smooching sent both of their hormones raging uncontrobly. She supported herself on both arms, which she ced on either side of Ling Ciye¡¯s body. She then pressed her body against his chest, after which he grabbed her breasts and began fondling them gently. Jin Qingyue opened her mouth slightly and moaned in pleasure. Both of their breathing began to quicken. Once the forey was done and they were both in the mood, Ling Ciye held her waist with both hands and thrust his hips upward, prating her instantly. Jin Qingyue gasped in shock and was moved into a different position involuntarily. Shey below while he flipped his body and pinned her beneath him. ¡°Brother...¡± she called coquettishly. ¡°Call me that again,¡± Ling Ciye, pleased to hear her address him that way. ¡°Brother.¡± ¡°Again.¡± ¡°Brother...¡± The beach was breezy while it was hot and steamy inside the tent as they held each other with a burning passion. After climaxing several times, Jin Qingyue was exhausted beyond imagination and could not close her legs. He finally decided to stop. As it turned out, he was amazing in bed. She removed her makeup and snuggled up into his arms to sleep. ¡ª ¡°Where did Qingyue go after leaving Bao¡¯er here?¡± ¡°Young Sir, Missy said that she went camping with Mr. Ling and she won¡¯t be picking Bao¡¯er up tonight. Mr. Ling¡¯s love life is blooming,¡± Fan Shixin said with a chuckle. Jin Qingyan rolled his eyes and asked, ¡°Why are you happy about his love life? I read about the news of a fire breaking out in the Autumn Pcest night. What exactly happened?¡± ¡°I heard that the fire broke out in Tuoba Danxue¡¯s mansion. There were two casualties, one was the head cook and the other was her servant. The cause of the fire was said to be a kerosene explosion.¡± ¡°Is that so? I¡¯ll be attending Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s wedding at the Autumn Pce in a few more days. Is my suit ready yet?¡± Jin Qingyan asked. ¡°We¡¯re preparing it, it¡¯ll be ready by tomorrow.¡± Jin Qingyan stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to bed.¡± ¡°Young Sir, you¡¯re going to bed so soon? It¡¯s only eight o¡¯clock now. Don¡¯t you usually only go to bed after nine o¡¯clock?¡± Fan Shixin asked in puzzlement. ¡°We¡¯ll be going to the Autumn Pce in a few days. Do you want to see me looking weary and haggard? I don¡¯t want others to think that I¡¯m in bad shape just because I¡¯m twice-divorced. I want them to know that I¡¯m still living well even though I¡¯ve already gotten a divorce.¡± ¡°Young Sir, by ¡®others,¡¯ do you mean Ms. An?¡± Fan Shixin exposed him cruelly. Jin Qingyan squinted and eximed, ¡°You¡¯re reading too much into things!¡± Fan Shixin pursed his lips while watching Jin Qingyan make his way upstairs hurriedly. He was bent on the fact that thetter was referring to An Xiaoning. Upon returning to his room, Jin Qingyan took out a pack of sleeping pills from the drawer, popped a few into his mouth, and washed them down with cold water. Hey down in bed and began sleeping. He initially thought that he would sleep peacefully all the way until daybreak. Yet, he woke up abruptly in the middle of the night, feeling a strange ache from head to toe. He could not quite put a finger on which spot the pain wasing from. However, it was so acute and sharp that he shelled up and curled into a ball. The excruciating pain caused him to break out in cold sweat. He tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep. When daybreak arrived, he immediately proceeded to visit a doctor. Strangely enough, all the tests and physical examinations showed that there were no abnormalities. The doctor also mentioned that he was perfectly fine with no ailments or illnesses. However, he was still frightened and bewildered by the sudden pain he experiencedst night. Atst, he finally decided to visit the psychiatrist after much persuasion from the doctor. Jin Qingyan stopped in his tracks when he reached the door of the psychiatrist¡¯s office. ¡°Young Sir, why aren¡¯t you entering?¡± Fan Shixin asked softly. ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything wrong with my mental health.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no harm in asking.¡± ¡°True.¡± Jin Qingyan strode inside the office. After hearing his precise exnation, the psychiatrist asked, ¡°Mr. Jin, have you beencking sleep and suffering from headachestely?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°ording to your description of what happenedst night and the symptoms you¡¯re experiencing, it¡¯s clear that you¡¯re suffering from a psychological illness. There¡¯s nothing wrong with your physical health or your nervous system, but rather, it¡¯s an issue with your mental health. In such cases, not only will you suffer from insomnia, but you¡¯ll also experience sudden bouts of acute pain, anxiety, and frustration, as well as constantly feel like you¡¯re in low spirits. Have you dealt with anything that gave you a huge emotional blowtely? I think you¡¯d need time to adjust slowly. These are the precursory symptoms of depression. Feeling pain all over your body is only a psychological warning, which is actually rather healthy.¡± Fan Shixin was perturbed by the psychiatrist¡¯s words. His Young Sir has been diagnosed with a psychological disorder... ¡°It¡¯s impossible that I have depression... maybe the pain was caused by an upset stomach,¡± Jin Qingyan murmured in denial as he rose from his seat. He then turned around to leave. Fan Shixin hurriedly followed him, not daring to utter a single word. While driving, Fan Shixin would asionally take a glimpse of Jin Qingyan in the rearview mirror. Atst, he finally spoke up, ¡°Young Sir, you¡¯ve been grumpy and under the weathertely. I really think you should sort your emotions out. You can¡¯t give up and stop believing in true love just because a woman had let you down. Young Sir, I heard that you¡¯d have to fall in love with another person in order to forget someone. If Ms. An is not destined to be the person you¡¯ll grow old with, I think you should really go ahead and find the one for you, Young Sir.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already forgotten her,¡± Jin Qingyan said with his eyes ssed over. ¡°Young Sir, stop putting on a brave front,¡± said Fan Shixin, clearly refusing to believe him. ¡°Why must I remember a woman who betrayed me!?! There are countless women in this world who are dying for a chance to be with me. Why must I insist on being with her? We¡¯ve already divorced each other. I don¡¯t wish to see her again for the rest of my life!¡± Jin Qingyan snapped agitatedly. ¡°Young Sir, don¡¯t get so worked up...¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t!¡± Fan Shixin dared not say anything else. Jin Qingyan stared out of the window to see that the traffic was heavy and the roads were extremely crowded with pedestrians. The happiness he once thought he had grasped was vanishing gradually like the dispersing crowd. The thought of how he loved her genuinely with all his heart never failed to fill him with misery. Tears began to well up in Jin Qingyan¡¯s eyes. He felt as if a million daggers were piercing through his heart. No one knew exactly how he was feeling now. No one will ever understand. ¡ª Zhi Yin was burned alive and had passed away. Tuoba Danxue was consumed by horror at the sight of Zhi Yin¡¯s charred corpse. Yet, there was nothing she could do. The results of the investigation proved that the cause of the fire was a gas leak, which had led to an explosion. However, it was unknown if the explosion was idental or was sparked off intentionally. The surveince cameras in the house had all been destroyed by the fire. After cremating Zhi Yin, Tuoba Danxue allowed her family members to bring her ashes home and gave them a sum of money as well. Ever since the incident, she had be much closer to Bai Zhi and thanked her for saving her life. She also requested for Bai Zhi to continue remaining by her side. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you wanted to swap Bai Zhi with Mu Ning again after my wedding?¡± Tuoba Gucheng asked. ¡°Bai Zhi will follow me around from now on. Mu Ning doesn¡¯t have toe back to me,¡± said Tuoba Danxue. Mu Ning remained silent and shifted her gaze to Bai Zhi. Bai Zhi was tall andnky with a killer figure. However, she often appeared reserved and aloof. Mu Ning had spoken to her a mere few times and did not quite know what she was like as a person. Chapter 591 - The Secret About the Past (209)

Chapter 591: The Secret About the Past (209)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios However, An Xiaoning felt like Bai Zhi was one to keep her thoughts to herself, based on her appearance. ¡°Since you want Bai Zhi instead, I¡¯ll let Mu Ning continue staying by my side.¡± Tuoba Gucheng seemed to be extremely pleased with the arrangement. An Xiaoning had never seen such a genuine smile on his face before. However, she was not at all interested to know just what he was ted about since it was not important to her at all. Yet, what he said next caught her by surprise. ¡°Mu Ning, from tomorrow onwards, you don¡¯t have to be on duty at night anymore. Let someone else do that instead. You shall take the day shift because I want you to be around me at all times on the day of my wedding.¡± This was what An Xiaoning absolutely dreaded. If she had to be around him at all times during his wedding, she would definitely let the cat out of the bag the moment she starts to speak. Besides, not only will Jin Qingyan, Ye Xiaotian, the Jin family, and the Lin family be present, but the Xu family will definitely show up at the wedding as well. If she blew her own cover, clearly... But then again, she was in no ce to refuse his orders. ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± An Xiaoning was filled with uneasiness and dismay. After racking her brains for an appropriate excuse, she decided to feign losing her voice and keep mum on that day. That was the only way she could appear normal while refusing to speak. Once Tuoba Gucheng and Lin Shishi get married, the chances of her getting exposed would increase significantly since she would be in close proximity to Lin Shishi. Hence, she ought to step on it and find out the truth about her mother as soon as possible. Otherwise, she would risk exposing her true identity the longer she stayed in the pce. ¡°Mu Ning?¡± She snapped out of her thoughts and answered, ¡°Yes, Your Highness?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going out now, let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡ª ¡°Madam, this is the gown you¡¯ll be wearing to attend the wedding,¡± said the butler, handing her a Qipao dress. Madam Xu took a look and said, ¡°Leave it here.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± The butler then left. Not long after, Military Commander Xu returned with Xu Youran, who was following closely behind him. ¡°How did you two end uping home together?¡± ¡°I bumped into her at the door.¡± Military Commander Xu sat down and continued, ¡°His Highness¡¯s wedding is going to bring the Lin family more authoritative power. If His Highness bes the next president, we can only imagine...¡± Madam Xu nodded and said, ¡°Furthermore, Her Highness is going to marry into the Commander-in-chief¡¯s family. Both the Jin and Lin families are only going to benefit from the marriages.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the most important bit. An Xiaoning may have divorced Jin Qingyan, but the Jin and Lin families are still her godparents. I really hope she¡¯ll be magnanimous and bury the hatchet with Youran and the Xu family. I hope she won¡¯t hold it against us for all the misdeeds we¡¯ve done to her in the past. But, I read on the news that An Xiaoning won¡¯t be able to attend the wedding because she sustained a major injury overseas, though her name is on the guest list,¡± said Military Commander Xu. ¡°I really wonder what tricks An Xiaoning used to get the Jin and Lin families to acknowledge her as their goddaughter. If the Jin and Lin families are enticed by her fortune-telling abilities, there are actually several other fortune-tellers in this world. Any other psychic medium could have easily saved Lin Shishi¡¯s life too,¡± Xu Youran remarked. ¡°Timing is crucial, there¡¯s no use being a genius in retrospect. An Xiaoning is no ordinary person. If it weren¡¯t because of the trouble and mess you created back then, would the Xu family have offended her?¡± Military Commander Xu rebuked. ¡°I married way too early. If I wasn¡¯t married yet, I might just be the one marrying into the Tuoba family. Who knows? Isn¡¯t that Tuoba Hancheng still a bachelor?¡± Xu Youran said with a sigh. ¡°Even if you¡¯re not married now, it might not necessarily be you.¡± Military Commander Xu then turned to his wife and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t we agree to go over today? Shall we set off now?¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°Father, Mother, where are you guys going?¡± Xu Youran frantically asked. ¡°We have something to attend to,¡± Madam brushed her off briefly, refraining from exining to her in detail. Xu Youran left too after watching them step out of the door. In reality, Military Commander and Madam Xu were off to meet a prestigious fortune-teller whom they had booked an appointment with half a month in advance. They dared not make any dys at all, lest they miss their appointment. The fortune-telling master was rmended by the Reverend whom Madam Xu frequently visited on the mountains. She was said to be well versed in fortune-telling and divination. The main purpose of their visit was to ask about their daughter¡¯s whereabouts. They decided to seek help from the master, in an attempt to find their daughter as soon as possible. It was their veryst resort since they could not afford to waste any more time in searching slowly. They soon arrived at their destination by car. The ce was called Beijia Bay. It was rather secluded and remote. After alighting from the car, Military Commander and Madam Xu walked side by side toward a wooden door. They then banged on the door forcefully. Not long after, they began to hear footsteps approaching. The door opened abruptly and an eighty-year-old elderly woman appeared at the door. Upon sight of them, the elderly asked while smiling, ¡°You guys are here based on the referral, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Come in.¡± The elderlydy moved aside and weed them in before closing the door once they¡¯d entered. It was a minimalistic room in which all of the furniture was made of wood. They would have never expected a capable person who possessed such powerful abilities to be living in such a shabby ce. The elderlydy did not beat around the bush and got straight to the point. ¡°What would you like to know about?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to find out about my daughter. She was abducted not long after she was born. We still have no news of her even until today. Master, please help us,¡± Madam Xu exined eagerly. ¡°Please give me her birth characters.¡± Madam Xu immediately revealed the relevant information and kept her eyes fixed on the elderlydy. ¡°Is it really the 15th of July?¡± the elderlydy asked apprehensively. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°It¡¯s an inauspicious day to be born on. There are many people who were born on this day, but at different timings. Thus, they would each have a different fate. However, most will likely suffer failed marriages and be faced with various obstacles in life. There are only very few who will have a smooth-sailing journey throughout their lifetime. I¡¯ve already read your daughter¡¯s birth characters,¡± said the elderlydy. Holding their breaths, both of them listened attentively with a solemn expression. ¡°She¡¯s destined to enjoy a blessed life. Although she may not get along well with people of the same gender, she¡¯s extremely popr with the opposite gender. She¡¯s not the type to stir trouble and is much calmer than people her age. There aren¡¯t any major problems, judging from her birth characters. But, strangely, all of her blessings are beginning to take a turn.¡± Madam Xu was astonished to hear her words and frantically asked, ¡°Master, what do you mean?¡± ¡°Under normal circumstances, the fate of every person has already been set in stone and would be very unlikely to change. Life will proceed in its supposed course as arranged by destiny. However, your child¡¯s life seems to have taken a different direction recently. From what I can tell, she¡¯s slowly stepping onto a path that leads her to a dead end,¡± the elderlydy exined. ¡°Master, I don¡¯t get it...¡± ¡°You¡¯ll understand if I put it this way. Her destiny has been altered. She was initially blessed with a perfect life. However, she¡¯s blindly altered her fate and even seeded... so, her initial blessings are beginning to fade,¡± said the elderlydy, shaking her head in dismay. Military Commander and Madam Xu both broke out in cold sweat and pleaded frantically, ¡°Master, please tell us where she is. I¡¯m begging you. We must bring her back on track as soon as possible.¡± ¡°ording to what I see, she¡¯s currently in the North direction, about a hundred kilometers away from here...¡± Chapter 592 - The Secret About the Past (210)

Chapter 592: The Secret About the Past (210)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Do you mean the Autumn Pce?¡± Military Commander Xu asked in bewilderment. The elderlydy nodded and answered, ¡°Yes, your daughter is there now. I can¡¯t reveal the details.¡± ¡°Thank you, Master.¡± ¡°Master, can you tell if she¡¯s married now?¡± Madam Xu probed. ¡°She¡¯s already married and her other half treats her extremely well. However, now that her fate has been altered, there is a direct impact on her marriage, which is now on the rocks...¡± ¡°Thank you very much, Master, thank you...¡± They hurriedly left the ce. Along the way, Madam Xu was jittery and filled with anxiety. ¡°Hubby, hurry and ask to meet the president. We have to draw the blood of all female servants and run a DNA test. We¡¯ll definitely find her that way,¡± she said. Military Commander Xu frowned and answered, ¡°How could it possibly be so easy? Do you know how difficult it would be for Mr. President to give the green light?¡± ¡°But we can¡¯t just sit back now that we know where she is. No matter what, we must find her and alter her fate.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll head to B City today. Regardless of what the oue may be, I¡¯ll try meeting the president first.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Madam Xu consented with a grave expression, at aplete loss of what to do. She insisted on tagging along when Military Commander Xu headed to B City. Military Commander Xu could not persuade her and had no choice but to give in. It was almost evening when they arrived in B City. They decided that it would be more appropriate to visit the president the next morning instead. ¡ª As soon as Mei Yangyang reached the entrance of her home, she caught sight of Mei Shuangshuang alighting from a Mercedes-Benz, which pulled up right outside her door. She nced inside to see that a blonde-haired hunk was riding in the driver¡¯s seat. Mei Shuangshuang waved him goodbye and said to her sister with a smile, ¡°Did you see that? He¡¯s the dreamboat I¡¯ve just found, he¡¯s extremely wealthy.¡± Mei Yangyang rolled her eyes and said, ¡°He¡¯s wealthy just because he drives a Mercedes-Benz?¡± Mei Shuangshuang scoffed and entered the house gleefully. Mei Yangyang followed and closed the door. ¡°What does that man do?¡± she asked. ¡°He helps his father out with their family¡¯s real estate business.¡± ¡°What¡¯s his name? I¡¯m going to check if he¡¯s a conman,¡± Mei Yangyang asked. Mei Shuangshuang flew into a rage and snapped, ¡°What do you mean? Why must I let you verify if he¡¯s a conman or not? Who do you think you are!?!¡± ¡°Fine, I don¡¯t care and I won¡¯t ask again. Suit yourself.¡± Mei Yangyang told her husband about the matter as soon as she returned to her room. Long Tianze chuckled and sneered, ¡°Which man is so blind to fancy her?¡± ¡°I saw him earlier on. He seems to be rather good-looking. He dyed his hair blonde and drives a Mercedes-Benz.¡± ¡°No wonder she doesn¡¯t fancy the men you introduced her to. She¡¯s already found herself another boyfriend. Just wash your hands off of her affairs from now on. She doesn¡¯t know any better.¡± ¡°Yes. I don¡¯t wish to care about her anymore either. She can¡¯t tell right from wrong at all.¡± ¡°I read on the news today that your Sis is severely injured...¡± ¡°It must be fake. To be honest, I really feel the injustice suffered by Sis,¡± Mei Yangyang remarked, lying on hisp while chewing an apple. ¡°I feel the injustice for Qingyan too.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t understand. I know exactly what kind of a person my Sis is. She will never sleep with anyone casually, let alonepromise her chastity in order to investigate her mother¡¯s incident. She¡¯s willing to endure and sacrifice anything except that,¡± said Mei Yangyang. ¡°Are you that confident?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m just that confident. I met her at the Gu family home previously and she looked really haggard. She must¡¯ve been distraught. Nowadays, most people choose to believe their own eyes and ears but not their heart.¡± He looked down at her and answered, ¡°If you were put in his shoes, you¡¯d probably react the same way too. Humans are not God, there¡¯s no way one can ever handle everything perfectly. Qingyan has gone to visit a psychiatrist because of this matter. He¡¯s on the brink of depression.¡± Mei Yangyang sat up straight and asked, ¡°Is it really that serious? How did it turn out that way?¡± ¡°God knows.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª Military Commander and Madam Xu could not fall asleep the entire night and stayed awake until daybreak. They immediately headed to the Autumn Pce once the sky turned bright. After having a wee meal, they proceeded to meet Tuoba Rui. Tuoba Rui thought that it was a serious matter upon hearing how eagerly they wanted to see him. However, he was extremely taken aback after realizing the truth. ¡°Your daughter is in the Autumn Pce?¡± ¡°Yes. She was abducted soon after she was born. It has been 29 years since then. Please lend me a hand, Mr. President,¡± Military Commander Xu pleaded earnestly. ¡°In that case, I¡¯m willing to give you a helping hand. Military Commander Xu, you¡¯ve done your best to serve the country all these years. A little help from me is nothing,¡± Tuoba Rui agreed without hesitation, which was to the surprise of both of them. They initially thought that it would require a lot of effort to persuade Tuoba Rui. Unlike what they had expected, thetter had agreed right away. ¡°Thank you so much, Mr. President,¡± they thanked him agitatedly. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡± Tuoba Rui summoned his secretary and instructed, ¡°Retrieve the blood samples of all the females in the pce, aged 20 to 40 years old. Then, send the samples to the DNA gic database center and carry out matches with Commander and Madam Xu.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°The results will probably need some time to process, so please wait patiently. I¡¯ll inform you immediately once the results are out,¡± said Tuoba Rui. ¡°Alright, thank you so much,¡± Madam Xu thanked profusely in agitation. Tuoba Rui stood by the window after they left. The reason why he agreed to their request was not only because of what Military Commander Xu had done for the country over the years but also because he could empathize with how they felt, being separated from their daughter. However, what set him apart from them was the fact that he knew about his daughter¡¯s current living situation, though he could not acknowledge her. He initially thought that he could finally see her in the flesh on his son¡¯s wedding day. Yet, she was unable to attend the wedding. Good that she wasn¡¯t, though. In that case, he would not have to see that face of hers that resembled her mother¡¯s greatly. That was not too bad of an idea. ¡°What¡¯s on your mind?¡± Shi Xiaoyu asked as she entered the room. Tuoba Rui turned around and answered, ¡°Nothing much.¡± ¡°Military Commander Xu and his wife came by so early in the morning. Was there something urgent?¡± ¡°Just a trivial matter. Has reconstruction for Danxue¡¯s mansion begun?¡± he answered calmly. ¡°They began works yesterday.¡± He picked up the teacup to take a few sips of tea before saying, ¡°I¡¯m going out to take a walk.¡± ¡°Shall I apany you?¡± Shi Xiaoyu suggested. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that,¡± he declined. Shi Xiaoyu was slightly disappointed in his answer. She decided to visit her son¡¯s mansion since she did not wish to remain in her room. She caught sight of Tuoba Rui as soon as she arrived. ¡°Why did you follow me here?¡± Tuoba Rui questioned with a frown. ¡°I¡¯m here to visit my son and daughter. How is that following you?¡± He turned around and continued to walk forward. Tuoba Danxue and Tuoba Gucheng were in the midst of a game of chess in the living room. Upon sight of their parents, they immediately stopped ying. ¡°Not bad,¡± Tuoba Rui remarked as he took a seat. ¡°Father, Mother, what brings you here?¡± Tuoba Gucheng asked. ¡°Can¡¯t we visit you even when nothing has happened? You¡¯re getting married very soon. Why haven¡¯t you changed the furniture and renovated your ce yet?¡± Tuoba Rui asked with raised brows.

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Chapter 593: The Secret About the Past (211)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°There¡¯s no rush. It won¡¯t be toote to start tomorrow,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng, who thought that it would be alright even if things remained as they were. Tuoba Rui looked at An Xiaoning and asked, ¡°I heard that you were the one who saved Gucheng on the mountains and even got wounded during the process. Is that true?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± An Xiaoning answered, looking down at the ground. ¡°Has Gucheng rewarded you yet?¡± An Xiaoning nced at Tuoba Gucheng and answered, ¡°Yes, he already has.¡± ¡°What did he reward you with?¡± ¡°Well...¡± An Xiaoning did not expect Tuoba Rui to ask for further details. Thus, she answered, ¡°He knows that I adore lilies so he gave me a pot of lilies.¡± A look of astonishment formed on Tuoba Rui¡¯s face, and Shi Xiaoyu was just as bewildered. ¡°Didn¡¯t he reward you with money?¡± ¡°She said that she was merely performing her duties and thus did not want any money...¡± said Tuoba Gucheng. Tuoba Rui took a few more nces at An Xiaoning and said, ¡°Oh, I see. Do stay by Gucheng¡¯s side and protect him well then.¡± ¡°I will.¡± Tuoba Rui and Shi Xiaoyu left a short whileter. Just as they stepped out of the door, Tuoba Danxue guffawed and mocked, ¡°Mu Ning, are you silly? Why would you pick a pot of lilies over money?¡± An Xiaoning remained silent. How could she possibly expose Tuoba Gucheng for failing to reward her with money after she had sustained injuries for the sake of saving him? The only time she turned his money down was when he gave her 50 thousand dors in a bid to get her to undergo an abortion. That happened ages ago. Well, lilies could be taken as a reward too, I suppose , An Xiaoning thought to herself. Lilies given by His Highness can¡¯t possibly be the same as those sold on the market. That was the only way she couldfort herself. She was called to his room as soon as she arrived upstairs. They were the only ones in the room. ¡°That pot of lilies was a gift for you, not a reward,¡± he said. ¡°I know.¡± ¡°What would you like as a reward? I¡¯ll make it up to you.¡± An Xiaoning could not think of an appropriate reward. Since he could not afford to give her what she wanted, what was the point of asking for something she did not need? ¡°I don¡¯t need anypensation. Just like you said, it was only part of my duty. Thus, it was something I was supposed to do anyway.¡± ¡°You¡¯re really the strangest woman I¡¯ve ever met.¡± He inched closer toward her and asked again, ¡°Is there really nothing you want in particr?¡± An Xiaoning looked up at him abruptly and questioned, ¡°Can I really ask for anything?¡± ¡°Anything except me.¡± An Xiaoning snorted withughter. Why would he think that I would actually want him as a reward? Was it really that obvious? That idea has never crossed my mind, okay! However, she felt a sudden urge to prank him. After all, if it weren¡¯t for him, there wouldn¡¯t be such a huge misunderstanding between her and Jin Qingyan, although he did not have intentions to sow discord between them. What was the harm in teasing him a little? An Xiaoning leaned closer toward him, leaving only inches between them. She raised her head and said, ¡°But I do want you, Your Highness.¡± Tuoba Gucheng felt his breathing slow down. ¡°I already said anything except me.¡± An Xiaoning reached a hand out to push him, causing him to fall onto the bed. She then pounced on him and supported herself up with her arms. Staring at him from above, she said, ¡°Your Highness...¡± Tuoba Gucheng was dumbfounded and froze in shock, not daring to look at her at all. An Xiaoning initially thought he would push her away since she was invading his personal space. Yet, to her surprise, he remained still as a statue. They continued to stare at each other. An Xiaoning began to feel a little awkward. After all, she knew that this man before him was her half-brother from another mother. He was 26 years old while she was 29. Forget it, I won¡¯t tease him anymore. Just as she was about to get off of him, he grabbed her wrist all of a sudden, catching her off guard. She was thrown off bnce and fell onto his chest. She could hear his heart beating rapidly. An Xiaoning regained her senses and said, ¡°Your Highness...¡± ¡°Yes... don¡¯t move,¡± he spluttered. She ignored him and tried to sit up straight, but to no avail, for he pulled her into his arms once again. Damn it, I¡¯ve crossed the line this time by ying with fire and getting myself burned , An Xiaoning thought to herself. She had merely wanted to tease him. Little did she expect to end up stirring such unnecessary trouble. ¡°Your Highness, I was just kidding just now. You don¡¯t have to take it to heart.¡± ¡°Stop talking, I know what you¡¯re thinking.¡± You know nothing at all! We¡¯re not even on the same page. He finally let go of her a whileter and said, ¡°You may go out.¡± An Xiaoning nced at him and nodded before leaving. Tuoba Guchengy down in bed, thinking to himself that something must have gone wrong with his esthetic standards. He actually thought that that country bumpkin was pretty. I must have lost my mind. I actually even thought of hugging her and not letting her go. What was wrong with him!?! Could it be that I had fallen for her? Nah, it can¡¯t be. Impossible... How could he possibly fall for such an ugly face? But then again, why... A whirlpool of questions flooded his mind. Tuoba Gucheng leaped up and headed to the bathroom to wash his face. After staring at his reflection in the mirror, Tuoba Gucheng looked away and walked out of the bathroom. An Xiaoning made herself a cup of tea to give herself a little boost. However, she was again caught by surprise by an uninvited guest before she could even manage to take a sip. Tuoba Gucheng closed the door and turned the lock from the inside. Sitting on the bed, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Your Highness, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± ¡°Was what you said earlier true?¡± An Xiaoning shook her head and answered, ¡°No, I was just trying to tease you.¡± He stared at her solemnly and said, ¡°Regardless of whether it¡¯s true or not, don¡¯t spout such things again, lest you implicate yourself in unnecessary trouble. Got it?¡± ¡°Yes, Sir! I wouldn¡¯t dare to y such a prank anymore in the future. Please rest assured, Your Highness!¡± An Xiaoning answered earnestly. Tuoba Gucheng scanned her from head to toe, thinking to himself that she seemed to be a little neurotic. He picked up her teacup in a bid to take a sip. She hurriedly stopped him, ¡°Your Highness, this is my cup of tea. If you¡¯d like to have tea, I¡¯ll make you some using your cup.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind that you¡¯re dirty, how dare you be saliva-conscious with me?¡± ¡°No... aren¡¯t you mysophobic? I¡¯m merely sparing a thought for you,¡± she exined. He ignored her and downed her entire cup of tea. He then left her room, just like that... An Xiaoning had no choice but to brew another cup of tea. She sat down again quietly, holding the teacup in her hands as she sank deep in thought. ¡ª It was the 6th of August. Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s wedding was reported across all media tforms. They had even filmed a live-stream of the wedding. It was a joyous asion for the Royal Family, and the entire nation rejoiced along. An Xiaoning was dressed in a full-ck uniform, just like the other bodyguards. Being the only female bodyguard by Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s side, she naturally appeared in most of the photos and videos of the wedding. The first thing she did in the morning was to inform Tuoba Gucheng that she had a sore throat and thus would not be speaking much that day. Moreover, she had also called the Lin family to inform that while she would not be able to attend the wedding, she would still be sending the mary wedding gift. She told Gu Beicheng to deliver it on her behalf. The Lin family told her that it was alright and instructed her to rest well. Ever since she woke up in the morning, An Xiaoning had never once stopped walking and constantly followed Tuoba Gucheng throughout the rest of the day. She would tag along wherever he went. When it was time to wee the guests, it was only inevitable to bump into some people. Such as Gu Beicheng, Lin Mingxi, and Mr. and Mrs. Gu. Such as the Xu family, Xu Youran, and Gu Dongcheng. Such as... Jin Qingyan. Chapter 593 - The Secret About the Past (211)

Chapter 593: The Secret About the Past (211)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°There¡¯s no rush. It won¡¯t be toote to start tomorrow,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng, who thought that it would be alright even if things remained as they were. Tuoba Rui looked at An Xiaoning and asked, ¡°I heard that you were the one who saved Gucheng on the mountains and even got wounded during the process. Is that true?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± An Xiaoning answered, looking down at the ground. ¡°Has Gucheng rewarded you yet?¡± An Xiaoning nced at Tuoba Gucheng and answered, ¡°Yes, he already has.¡± ¡°What did he reward you with?¡± ¡°Well...¡± An Xiaoning did not expect Tuoba Rui to ask for further details. Thus, she answered, ¡°He knows that I adore lilies so he gave me a pot of lilies.¡± A look of astonishment formed on Tuoba Rui¡¯s face, and Shi Xiaoyu was just as bewildered. ¡°Didn¡¯t he reward you with money?¡± ¡°She said that she was merely performing her duties and thus did not want any money...¡± said Tuoba Gucheng. Tuoba Rui took a few more nces at An Xiaoning and said, ¡°Oh, I see. Do stay by Gucheng¡¯s side and protect him well then.¡± ¡°I will.¡± Tuoba Rui and Shi Xiaoyu left a short whileter. Just as they stepped out of the door, Tuoba Danxue guffawed and mocked, ¡°Mu Ning, are you silly? Why would you pick a pot of lilies over money?¡± An Xiaoning remained silent. How could she possibly expose Tuoba Gucheng for failing to reward her with money after she had sustained injuries for the sake of saving him? The only time she turned his money down was when he gave her 50 thousand dors in a bid to get her to undergo an abortion. That happened ages ago. Well, lilies could be taken as a reward too, I suppose , An Xiaoning thought to herself. Lilies given by His Highness can¡¯t possibly be the same as those sold on the market. That was the only way she couldfort herself. She was called to his room as soon as she arrived upstairs. They were the only ones in the room. ¡°That pot of lilies was a gift for you, not a reward,¡± he said. ¡°I know.¡± ¡°What would you like as a reward? I¡¯ll make it up to you.¡± An Xiaoning could not think of an appropriate reward. Since he could not afford to give her what she wanted, what was the point of asking for something she did not need? ¡°I don¡¯t need anypensation. Just like you said, it was only part of my duty. Thus, it was something I was supposed to do anyway.¡± ¡°You¡¯re really the strangest woman I¡¯ve ever met.¡± He inched closer toward her and asked again, ¡°Is there really nothing you want in particr?¡± An Xiaoning looked up at him abruptly and questioned, ¡°Can I really ask for anything?¡± ¡°Anything except me.¡± An Xiaoning snorted withughter. Why would he think that I would actually want him as a reward? Was it really that obvious? That idea has never crossed my mind, okay! However, she felt a sudden urge to prank him. After all, if it weren¡¯t for him, there wouldn¡¯t be such a huge misunderstanding between her and Jin Qingyan, although he did not have intentions to sow discord between them. What was the harm in teasing him a little? An Xiaoning leaned closer toward him, leaving only inches between them. She raised her head and said, ¡°But I do want you, Your Highness.¡± Tuoba Gucheng felt his breathing slow down. ¡°I already said anything except me.¡± An Xiaoning reached a hand out to push him, causing him to fall onto the bed. She then pounced on him and supported herself up with her arms. Staring at him from above, she said, ¡°Your Highness...¡± Tuoba Gucheng was dumbfounded and froze in shock, not daring to look at her at all. An Xiaoning initially thought he would push her away since she was invading his personal space. Yet, to her surprise, he remained still as a statue. They continued to stare at each other. An Xiaoning began to feel a little awkward. After all, she knew that this man before him was her half-brother from another mother. He was 26 years old while she was 29. Forget it, I won¡¯t tease him anymore. Just as she was about to get off of him, he grabbed her wrist all of a sudden, catching her off guard. She was thrown off bnce and fell onto his chest. She could hear his heart beating rapidly. An Xiaoning regained her senses and said, ¡°Your Highness...¡± ¡°Yes... don¡¯t move,¡± he spluttered. She ignored him and tried to sit up straight, but to no avail, for he pulled her into his arms once again. Damn it, I¡¯ve crossed the line this time by ying with fire and getting myself burned , An Xiaoning thought to herself. She had merely wanted to tease him. Little did she expect to end up stirring such unnecessary trouble. ¡°Your Highness, I was just kidding just now. You don¡¯t have to take it to heart.¡± ¡°Stop talking, I know what you¡¯re thinking.¡± You know nothing at all! We¡¯re not even on the same page. He finally let go of her a whileter and said, ¡°You may go out.¡± An Xiaoning nced at him and nodded before leaving. Tuoba Guchengy down in bed, thinking to himself that something must have gone wrong with his esthetic standards. He actually thought that that country bumpkin was pretty. I must have lost my mind. I actually even thought of hugging her and not letting her go. What was wrong with him!?! Could it be that I had fallen for her? Nah, it can¡¯t be. Impossible... How could he possibly fall for such an ugly face? But then again, why... A whirlpool of questions flooded his mind. Tuoba Gucheng leaped up and headed to the bathroom to wash his face. After staring at his reflection in the mirror, Tuoba Gucheng looked away and walked out of the bathroom. An Xiaoning made herself a cup of tea to give herself a little boost. However, she was again caught by surprise by an uninvited guest before she could even manage to take a sip. Tuoba Gucheng closed the door and turned the lock from the inside. Sitting on the bed, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Your Highness, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± ¡°Was what you said earlier true?¡± An Xiaoning shook her head and answered, ¡°No, I was just trying to tease you.¡± He stared at her solemnly and said, ¡°Regardless of whether it¡¯s true or not, don¡¯t spout such things again, lest you implicate yourself in unnecessary trouble. Got it?¡± ¡°Yes, Sir! I wouldn¡¯t dare to y such a prank anymore in the future. Please rest assured, Your Highness!¡± An Xiaoning answered earnestly. Tuoba Gucheng scanned her from head to toe, thinking to himself that she seemed to be a little neurotic. He picked up her teacup in a bid to take a sip. She hurriedly stopped him, ¡°Your Highness, this is my cup of tea. If you¡¯d like to have tea, I¡¯ll make you some using your cup.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind that you¡¯re dirty, how dare you be saliva-conscious with me?¡± ¡°No... aren¡¯t you mysophobic? I¡¯m merely sparing a thought for you,¡± she exined. He ignored her and downed her entire cup of tea. He then left her room, just like that... An Xiaoning had no choice but to brew another cup of tea. She sat down again quietly, holding the teacup in her hands as she sank deep in thought. ¡ª It was the 6th of August. Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s wedding was reported across all media tforms. They had even filmed a live-stream of the wedding. It was a joyous asion for the Royal Family, and the entire nation rejoiced along. An Xiaoning was dressed in a full-ck uniform, just like the other bodyguards. Being the only female bodyguard by Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s side, she naturally appeared in most of the photos and videos of the wedding. The first thing she did in the morning was to inform Tuoba Gucheng that she had a sore throat and thus would not be speaking much that day. Moreover, she had also called the Lin family to inform that while she would not be able to attend the wedding, she would still be sending the mary wedding gift. She told Gu Beicheng to deliver it on her behalf. The Lin family told her that it was alright and instructed her to rest well. Ever since she woke up in the morning, An Xiaoning had never once stopped walking and constantly followed Tuoba Gucheng throughout the rest of the day. She would tag along wherever he went. When it was time to wee the guests, it was only inevitable to bump into some people. Such as Gu Beicheng, Lin Mingxi, and Mr. and Mrs. Gu. Such as the Xu family, Xu Youran, and Gu Dongcheng. Such as... Jin Qingyan. Chapter 594 - The Secret About the Past (212)

Chapter 594: The Secret About the Past (212)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios It had been days since theyst met. He was still as charming and suave as ever, catching the attention of zealous reporters and photographers with every action of his. They would vie for the chance to snap a bunch of photos of him. In fact, he was almost as newsworthy as the royals. Although he had married and divorced the same woman twice, he was still a highly-coveted and swoon-worthy bachelor. An Xiaoning looked at him while he shook Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s hand, only to find that he did not take a single nce at her. It felt as if they were truly strangers. He seemed rather energized and full of vitality, with no under-eye circles at all. He must have enjoyed a lot of sleep. Seems like the divorce did not quite have an impact on him. Well, he was the one who initiated it, after all. Perhaps to him, I¡¯ve already be a highly-detestable woman whom he no longer wanted to have anything to do with , a dejected An Xiaoning thought to herself. The mere thought of it never failed to make her feel miserable. They were so in love with each other. Just how did thingse to this? Jin Qingyan casually nced at An Xiaoning, who was standing behind Tuoba Gucheng with her head hung low. Due to the fact that she was wearing a mask that concealed her expressions, he could not quite tell what her true emotions were. By the time she looked up, he had already walked past her and left. An Xiaoning felt like she was just stabbed in her heart. She stared at Jin Qingyan¡¯s receding back view with tears in her eyes, overwhelmed with a mix of emotions. They were no longer rted to each other. That was the case, without a doubt. ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Tuoba Gucheng asked, noticing that her eyes had turned red. ¡°Nothing.¡± She hurriedly looked away. Tuoba Gucheng walked behind and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go over there.¡± An Xiaoning quickly followed behind him. On this day, An Xiaoning had to put on a pair of heels because it was a special asion, causing an unbearable difort in her feet. As much as she detested wearing stilettos, she had to don them for an entire day. By the time the wedding ended at night, her feet were already hurting immensely. Blisters had already formed on her soles and the back of her feet. She dragged her feet back to the mansion in excruciating pain, which caused her to almost tear up as she stared at therge, redntern on the door. Once she returned to her room, An Xiaoning kicked off her heels right away, without even locking the door. She walked around the room barefooted. At this very moment, she felt a true sense of relief. Having perspired profusely, she grabbed a fresh set of clothes and headed to the bathroom. After taking afortable shower, An Xiaoning dried her hair with a hairdryer and exited from the bathroom, d in a long, white dress. She sat on the bed and stared at the blisters on both her feet. She then poked the blisters with a needle, wiped the fluids with some tissue paper, applied some ointment, and covered them with sters. After lying down in bed to get some rest, she decided that she ought to make a trip to Tuoba Shuo¡¯s mansion since the situation was different tonight. She immediately went to the bathroom to put on her mask again and exited with the necessary self-defense tools. The moment she stepped foot out of the door, she was greeted with the sight of Tuoba Gucheng and Lin Shishi making their way upstairs. He had drunk quite a fair bit of alcohol today, though he seemed to be rather sober since he had drunk some hangover broth in the afternoon. However, his voice was extremely hoarse. Noticing that she was wearing a white dress, he asked, ¡°Where are you going?¡± An Xiaoning remained silent since Lin Shishi was right beside him. Instead, she nodded and went downstairs. ¡°Your bodyguard is so peculiar. I¡¯ve never heard her speak before. Is she mute?¡± Tuoba Gucheng shook his head and answered, ¡°No.¡± They then entered the newly-decorated and refurbished bedroom, which was very much to the liking of Lin Shishi. The decor of the room suited her preferences. Their wedding photos were hung on the wall. There were double happiness stickers pasted onto the wall as well. ¡°I fell in love with the theme of the room when I came in earlier on to change into a different gown. Who was the one who decorated it?¡± asked Lin Shishi, who was dressed in a red gown and beaming with joy. She thought he would say that he was the one. To her surprise, he answered, ¡°It was my bodyguard.¡± ¡°Wow, she did a surprisingly-splendid job,¡± Lin Shishi eximed in a tone of satisfaction. ¡°Go take a shower. The bathroom¡¯s over there,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng, pointing at the bathroom. Blushing red with shyness, Lin Shishi picked up her silk pajamas and entered the bathroom. He sat on the bed, feeling a little jittery. Though he was a normal, straight man, he was not in the least bit aroused at all, despite hearing his wife take a shower. Was this abnormal? Tuoba Gucheng was filled with an inexplicable feeling at the thought of what was going to happen tonight. ¡°Your Highness.¡± The servant entered with a ss of milk. He would down a ss of milk every night. It had already be his nightly routine. In the past, he would never drink milk at night. However, he had developed a habit of doing so, ever since An Xiaoning began serving him milk while she was on duty every night. He stared at the ss of milk. Tuoba Gucheng walked toward the dressing room and returned with a white substance, which he then poured into the milk. He picked up the ss and gave it a few swirls. By the time he came out of the shower, Lin Shishi had already chugged the ss of milk out of her own ord and fell asleep on the bed. He stepped forward to pull the duvet over her and put on his clothes before switching off the lights. He then subconsciously headed to An Xiaoning¡¯s room next door. The room was empty and she was nowhere in sight. Instead of leaving, he stood by the window and waited for An Xiaoning to return. An Xiaoning was greatly taken aback by the sight of him inside her room. ¡°Your Highness, you should be consummating your marriage tonight. What are you doing here in my room?¡± ¡°Come here,¡± he instructed, gesturing for her toe forth. An Xiaoning stood in front of him and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± He grabbed her by her arm and pulled her onto hisp. bbergasted, An Xiaoning sprung up and eximed, ¡°Your Highness, please respect yourself, the Princess Consort is just next door!¡± She then struggled to break free from his embrace and stared at him. Today was the day of his wedding, what was he trying to do now? ¡°So what if she is? Would you like to have a few drinks together?¡± he asked nonchntly with raised brows. ¡°Your Highness, you¡¯ve already had too much to drink in the day. Besides, I can¡¯t hold my liquor well. It¡¯s better that we abstain from drinking. The Princess Consort is still waiting for you in your room. It¡¯s not very appropriate of you to be in my room,¡± An Xiaoning said coldly. ¡°I¡¯m just asking you to have a couple of drinks with me. Why are you getting so worked up? Don¡¯t forget, you¡¯re my subordinate and you are to do whatever I tell you to.¡± Tuoba Gucheng then walked out of the room. An Xiaoning thought that he was going to return to his own room and thus followed behind in a bid to lock the door after he left. To her astonishment, he warned, ¡°I¡¯m going to get some liquor. I¡¯ll be right back.¡± An Xiaoning stayed put on the ground. There was no way she could defy his orders. He returned a minuteter with a bottle of liquor and two goblets. He poured half a ss of liquor for her and a full one for himself. An Xiaoning took a look at thebel on the liquor bottle to find that the alcohol content was rather high. Although she was not weak to the point of being knocked out after downing just a ss of liquor, her alcohol tolerance was indeed rather mediocre. If they were to share the entire bottle between themselves, she would probably pass out before he even got tipsy. Thus, she stopped drinking after half a ss. Noticing that she was no longer drinking, Tuoba Gucheng thought that it would be rather boring and pointless to drink alone. Thus, he put the bottle down and just gazed at her. The way he was staring at her sent a shiver down her spine. She could not figure out exactly what was on his mind. Just as she thought he was about to speak up, he stood up to leave without saying another word instead. An Xiaoning hurriedly locked the door from the inside, filled with anxiety. He can¡¯t possibly have fallen for me, can he? If not, why did he pull me onto hisp? But that can¡¯t be the case. Lin Shishi was so much prettier than her mask. He was not blind either. An Xiaoning was perplexed and bewildered. She put on her earphones and closed her heavy eyelids. Chapter 595 - The Secret About the Past (213)

Chapter 595: The Secret About the Past (213)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Just as she closed her eyes, she heard a ringing sound in her ears. An Xiaoning listened closely, only to find that there were no longer any noises. As much as she was extremely weary, she dared not catch a wink of sleep, for fear that she would miss out on anything important. She did not hear the ringing sound for the next consecutive days. However, she heard it again a whileter, along with a string of other noises. Being an intelligent and quick-witted person, An Xiaoning could not help but be reminded of the possibility of a secret chamber after hearing the same, peculiar sound twice. Could there be a secret chamber in Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s bedroom? An Xiaoning¡¯s mind began buzzing with ideas at the thought of the likely situation. Tuoba Shuo was in love with Mother, and so was Tuoba Rui. Given that Shi Xiaoyu fancied Tuoba Rui and was Mother¡¯s half-sister, could it be that... After some careful thought, she felt a little horrified at the likely possibility. Besides, she had never eliminated the likelihood of such a situation. After all, Mei Yangyang and Mei Shuangshuang were always at loggerheads and could not see eye to eye with each other, despite sharing the same biological parents. Thus, it was not impossible that Shi Xiaoyu would harm her mother. An Xiaoning¡¯s initial fatigue vanished without a trace as she brainstormed for the possible oues, though she was unsure if she was overthinking. After tossing and turning in bed, she decided to sit up, put on her shoes, and make her way downstairs. The temperature was a little chilly at night. After pacing about the mansion for a while, she bumped into Tuoba Gucheng unexpectedly. Unlike what she had thought, he did not return to his room to sleep earlier on. Feelings of tension and awkwardness filled the air. However, An Xiaoning took the initiative to greet him first. ¡°Your Highness, why haven¡¯t you gone to bed yet?¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t either, have you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s your big day today, Your Highness. Why do you seem so troubled?¡± ¡°Do you know why I¡¯m troubled and upset?¡± he asked, staring at her calmly. ¡°No.¡± How could I possibly know why he¡¯s feeling that way? It¡¯s not like I can read his mind. Tuoba Gucheng gazed at herposedly and said, ¡°I can¡¯t sleep. Take a walk with me.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± An Xiaoning agreed with a nod. He came just at the right time since she had the intention to try and sound him out, in a bid to find out more information. The two exited the mansion and strolled along the sidewalk. ¡°Make a guess. Why do you think the Princess Consort didn¡¯te looking for me even though I¡¯m out sote at night?¡± An Xiaoning nced at him and answered, ¡°Did the Princess Consort fall asleep?¡± ¡°She did,¡± he answered unhurriedly, sounding rather unconcerned about Lin Shishi. An Xiaoning was puzzled. Which newlywed bride would be so dull and dense as to go to bed early, alone, on the night of her wedding? Well, unless... ¡°Are you very surprised? Do you know what it feels like to marry a woman whom you neither fancy nor detest?¡± asked Tuoba Gucheng, who rarely poured his feelings out to others. ¡°Please don¡¯t ever say something like that again in the future, Your Highness. Most rtionships have to be nurtured. After some time, you would definitely develop feelings for them and change the way you think. The Princess Consort seems like a pure and innocent girl who¡¯s also rather nice. Your Highness, you¡¯ll perhaps see her in a different light once you¡¯ve spent enough time with her,¡± An Xiaoning advised. ¡°Are there really any innocent women in the Autumn Pce? Even if they were pure and naive in the beginning, they would be bound to be scheming once they¡¯ve been around here long enough,¡± he scoffed. An Xiaoning cocked her head toward the side, feeling a little guilty since she could not deny that she was indeed a scheming woman like he had mentioned. She was neither innocent nor naive, and could never be that way. If she had still remained innocent and ignorant even until this day, she would have probably died long ago. ¡°Your Highness, so you¡¯re troubled because you had to marry beyond your own will, that¡¯s why...¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the only reason.¡± Not wishing to continue talking about his rtionship, An Xiaoning changed the subject and asked, ¡°Your Highness, is there a secret chamber in your mansion?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Perhaps I¡¯ve been watching too much television, but I¡¯ve always found secret chambers to be particrly mysterious.¡± ¡°You¡¯re such a bumpkin,¡± he jested withughter, which was rare toe by. An Xiaoning smirked and said, ¡°Don¡¯t you always call me a country bumpkin? Well, I¡¯m indeed a hillbilly who has never seen much of what the world has to offer.¡± ¡°At least you¡¯re self-aware.¡± He added, ¡°Mu Ning, have you ever loved someone before?¡± Slightly startled, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°Yes, I have.¡± ¡°Was it that boyfriend of yours who died?¡± ¡°Yes, he¡¯s already passed away. He¡¯s dead in my heart too.¡± ¡°What does it feel like to love someone?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you know at all, Your Highness?¡± she asked in astonishment. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Firstly, when you fall in love with someone, you¡¯d focus all your attention on them. Your feelings and mood would bergely affected by theirs. When they¡¯re happy, you¡¯re happy. The same goes for when they¡¯re upset. You tend to miss them dearly whenever they¡¯re not around, and when you finally get to be with them, you¡¯d wish for time to just slow down a little, or better yet, to stoppletely. You¡¯d want to meet them again and again, hug and kiss them infinitely, and just be by each other¡¯s side ¡¯til you¡¯re old and gray,¡± An Xiaoning exined, feeling as if she was an extremely experienced teacher who was imparting her knowledge to her clueless student. An Xiaoning began to tear up as a lump formed in her throat. She continued, ¡°It¡¯s not only you who have your own reasons and the desire to be with a person you truly love, I also do too. But then again, isn¡¯t that the case for everyone?¡± The next thing she knew, she was pulled into his embrace forcefully, causing her heart to almost jump out of her chest. She tried to break free and murmured in astonishment, ¡°Your Highness...¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mean anything else, just let me hug you for a while.¡± An Xiaoning stood rooted to the ground and teased half-jokingly all of a sudden, ¡°Your Highness, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve fallen for me.¡± He let go of her and said sternly, ¡°Have you forgotten who you are just because I¡¯m treating you a little nicer?¡± An Xiaoning guffawed upon hearing his words and said, ¡°I¡¯d really be mistaken.¡± In the darkness of the night, Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s eyes lit up with joy at the sight of her sweet, alluring smile. Staring at her, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll do whatever I can to protect you in this Autumn Pce andpensate you for all the pain I¡¯ve caused you. Mu Ning, I¡¯m the only person in here whom you can trust and rely on. Do you understand?¡± An Xiaoning stopped smiling and answered him with a look of seriousness, ¡°Your Highness, you didn¡¯t cause me any harm or pain and suffering. Neither do I really think that you¡¯re being nice to me because you¡¯ve fallen in love with me. I¡¯ll never harbor such thoughts. I know very well what my qualities are and where I stand. I¡¯d be thest person you fancy. Don¡¯t worry, Your Highness, I won¡¯t ask you such questions anymore in the future. As for relying on you...¡± She looked down and continued, ¡°Mu Ning dare not rely on anyone, especially men. I¡¯m forever the only person I can depend on, and I¡¯m my best bet. However, I¡¯m very touched to hear these words from you. Thank you, Your Highness.¡± Tuoba Gucheng could not wrap his head around what kind of a woman she was, to be able to blurt out such words of bravery and independence. However, there was one thing he was extremely certain of. That is, she did not trust men at all and only believed in herself. ¡ª Lin Shishi woke up the next morning to find that her husband had already gotten dressed and was putting on his tie. Reminded of the fact that she had fallen asleep right after showeringst night, she felt a little awkward and called out, ¡°Hubby.¡± He smiled and said, ¡°Hurry and go downstairs for breakfast.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Lin Shishi proceeded to wash up and change into a fresh set of clothes before making her way downstairs. There was only her and Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s breakfast on the dining table while the bodyguards sat at a separate table to have their meal. Chapter 596 - The Secret About the Past (214)

Chapter 596: The Secret About the Past (214)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lin Shishi had a face full of exquisite makeup and was dressed in a red Qipao that exuded her unique charm. She sat down by the dining table to have her meal, her long and slender figure making her appear ethereal, as if she¡¯d just walked straight out of a painting. After breakfast, the pair of newlyweds paid Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s parents a visit at their mansion, then did the same for Tuoba Shuo. Those were just formalities that were a part of the traditional customs. An Xiaoning and the other bodyguards tagged along. Shi Xiaoyu was particrly fond of Lin Shishi, evident from the fact that she constantly held onto thetter¡¯s hand while grinning from ear to ear. ¡°How did you sleepst night?¡± Shi Xiaoyu asked, seemingly hinting at something. ¡°Very well,¡± Lin Shishi answered. Shi Xiaoyu nodded and said, ¡°Gucheng may be quiet and reserved but he¡¯ll treat you extremely well. I¡¯m very certain about that. Am I right, Son?¡± She shifted her gaze onto Tuoba Gucheng while asking the rhetorical question. ¡°That goes without saying,¡± Tuoba Gucheng answered. ¡°Hurry and try for a child. I know I¡¯m being a little impatient since you two just got married yesterday, but you¡¯d have to give birth sooner orter anyway. I¡¯ll help you take care of the child once he¡¯s born. You two may continue to do whatever you¡¯d like afterward,¡± Shi Xiaoyu said, smiling. ¡°I¡¯d like for us to spend some time together alone for a while before trying for a child,¡± Tuoba Gucheng refused. ¡°My thoughts exactly. I¡¯d like to first nurture my feelings with Hubby and allow us to get to know each other better,¡± Lin Shishi chimed in. ¡°Alright then. Okay, you don¡¯t have to apany me anymore, you two may go ahead to visit your uncle,¡± Shi Xiaoyu said with a grin. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll get going then, Mother.¡± ¡°Hurry along.¡± Once they exited the mansion, Lin Shishi held onto Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s arm abruptly and said, ¡°Hubby, Mother is so pushy. We just got married and yet she already wants us to give birth to a child.¡± ¡°She just has the mentality of an old person.¡± ¡°Mother isn¡¯t that old. She¡¯s going to get infuriated if she hears what you said.¡± ¡°She¡¯s not here now anyway, she can¡¯t hear me,¡± he answered calmly. ¡°Hubby, you¡¯re so mean...¡± Lin Shishi eximed coquettishly while Tuoba Gucheng kept his eyes fixed on the road ahead with a straight face. Once they arrived at Tuoba Shuo¡¯s mansion, An Xiaoning quickly slid Tuoba Shuo a piece of note while no one was paying attention. She requested Tuoba Shuo to sketch her a detailed drawing of Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s bedroom and its floor n. Tuoba Shuo gave her a nod after reading the message on the note, allowing An Xiaoning to feel much more at ease. ¡ª Mo Li had been suffering from a poor appetite ever since she was forced to drink the talisman water. She lost weight rapidly within just a few days. Due to the fact that she was severely malnourished, she had to be put on an intravenous drip. Mrs. Mo came over to apany her daughter whom she took pity on and felt sorry for while resenting Mrs. Ye at the same time. Yet, there was nothing she could do to help. All she could do was to give her daughter sound advice. Mo Li changed into a fresh set of clothes and put on some makeup bright and early in the morning, then informed her mother that she would be going out. Sensing that something was amiss, Mrs. Mo said, ¡°Mo Li, don¡¯t do anything foolish.¡± ¡°Mother, if I really wanted tomit a foolish act, I would have done it long ago. I wouldn¡¯t have waited until now. I just finally saw through some things and decided to go out to take a breather. It¡¯s really boring to stay at home all day.¡± ¡°I can rest my mind then. Remember, you still have Jiani.¡± ¡°I know. Mother, things are busy at the bistro. You don¡¯t have to apany me, I¡¯ll be fine. You may go back first, lest you get upset at the sight of that evil old hag.¡± The amused Mrs. Mo burst intoughter upon hearing Mo Libel Mrs. Ye as an evil old hag. ¡°She¡¯s an evil, old hag all right. Okay, I¡¯m much more at ease to know that you¡¯ve gotten over it. Make sure you air any grievances you have. Don¡¯t bottle them up.¡± Mo Li nodded and left the house with her purse. In actual fact, Mo Li did not know where to go since she did not have a social circle or any friends at all. She had no choice but to stroll around aimlessly on the streets, in a bid to get rid of her negative emotions. However, there was no way she could snap herself out of her gloomy mood. She felt just like she had reached the dead end of a road, having nowhere to escape to for her enemy was standing at the only exit with a lethal weapon, threatening to take her life. Mo Li was in low spirits, often feeling mncholic and morose. She felt that she would not be able to live a long life. Mo Li absolutely regretted ignoring An Xiaoning, who had been kind toward and of so much help to her in the past. There should be a clear boundary between friends and family. Wasn¡¯t that so? Mo Li hailed a taxi and headed to Wei Ni Estate. It was the only ce she could go to anyway. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you, Mo Li. Tianze has already left for the office,¡± said Mei Yangyang. The first thing that came to her mind was that Mo Li was here to look for her husband. ¡°Yangyang, I¡¯m here to look for you, not Tianze.¡± ¡°Come in.¡± Mei Yangyang turned around and instructed the servants to serve some tea. ¡°Do you have something to ask of me?¡± ¡°Could you give me Xiaoning¡¯s mobile number?¡± Mo Li asked. ¡°My Sis¡¯? What do you want her phone number for?¡± ¡°Yangyang, I¡¯m not intending to ask her to read my fortune. I¡¯d just like to be friends with her again and apologize to her for not acknowledging her presence the previous time we met,¡± Mo Li said softly. Slightly taken aback, Mei Yangyang asked, ¡°Is it because... my Sis is no longer married to Jin Qingyan and there would thus no longer be any conflicting interests between your husband¡¯s, is that why...¡± Shaking her head, Mo Li answered, ¡°It used to be that way in the past because I used to feel like I was put in a spot. But I don¡¯t think that way anymore. Even if she¡¯s still Jin Qingyan¡¯s wife, I¡¯d nevertheless continue to be friends with her. Well, because, I think it¡¯d be my loss to lose a friend like her.¡± Noticing that Mo Li seemed to be rather sickly despite having makeup on, Mei Yangyang asked, ¡°Mo Li, did something happen to you?¡± ¡°Yangyang, could you give me Xiaoning¡¯s number first? I¡¯ll tell you what happened to me afterward.¡± Mei Yangyang nodded and gave her An Xiaoning¡¯s number before saying, ¡°My Sis is not in A City now.¡± ¡°Where is she then?¡± ¡°You may ask her yourself.¡± Mo Li tried to give An Xiaoning a call, which went through very quickly. An Xiaoning was surprised to receive a call from Mo Li. ¡°Why did you call me?¡± ¡°Xiaoning, I¡¯m sorry.¡± An Xiaoning was taken aback by her sudden apology, not sure what it was for. ¡°Why are you apologizing to me? I don¡¯t think you did anything to let me down, did you?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say hi the previous time I saw you.¡± ¡°That happened ages ago. I didn¡¯t take it to heart. Well, I wasn¡¯t surprised by the way you acted since your husband and my ex are rivals in business. It¡¯s only normal that you would refrain from speaking to me. Did you call me just to apologize?¡± An Xiaoning said casually. ¡°No. Xiaoning, may I continue being friends with you?¡± Mo Li asked. ¡°Of course you may,¡± An Xiaoning answered. For An Xiaoning, friends could be ssified into several categories. There were those she could confide in, as well as some who were only tonic. ¡°Thank you. Whenever I think about the past, I can¡¯t help but feel grateful yet guilty toward you. I¡¯ve always aspired to be an independent woman like you but never managed to do so. Xiaoning, where are you now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m overseas.¡± ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t disturb you any further then. By the way, I got your number from Yangyang.¡± ¡°Okay, don¡¯t take those trivial matters to heart. I¡¯ve long forgotten about them. We¡¯ll still be friends from now on,¡± An Xiaoningforted Mo Li, seemingly able to tell from her voice that she was in low spirits. ¡°Alright.¡± After ending the call, Mo Li looked at Mei Yangyang while tears welled up in her eyes. She poured her heart out to Mei Yangyang. Mei Yangyang felt extremely indignant for Mo Li after hearing her story. ¡°What the heck, why is your mother-inw such a tyrant?¡± Mei Yangyang scorned in disdain toward Mrs. Ye. Chapter 597 - The Secret About the Past (215)

Chapter 597: The Secret About the Past (215)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mo Li nodded and said, ¡°Yangyang, I have no choice but to bear with it.¡± ¡°I guess your life will probably get better once she passes on. At least Ye Xiaotian still defends you to a certain extent, otherwise, things will definitely be much worse. It¡¯s true that wealthy families like Ye Xiaotian¡¯s would need a male heir to carry on the bloodline. But Mo Li, do you know that doing so would be akin to altering your fate? You¡¯re destined to have four daughters in your life. You¡¯ll very likely bring about unwanted consequences by insisting on begging for a son,¡± Mei Yangyang said with a sigh. ¡°I understand, but I don¡¯t have a choice. If we were childless, I would initiate a divorce with him. But Jiani is almost six years old now. Even if his mother lets me have the custody, Xiaotian won¡¯t agree to it either. So, I can¡¯t kill myself or get a divorce now,¡± Mo Li said with a forlorn expression. Mei Yangyang gazed at her with a look of pity and said, ¡°I really hope you¡¯ll give birth to a baby boy safely after your fate has been altered. But I don¡¯t think you¡¯ve hit rock bottom yet. When one is truly at their wits¡¯ end, their personality will changepletely. You told my Sis earlier that you aspire to be like her, but she¡¯s suffered far more hardship and torment than you have. Although she¡¯s naturally independent and tough, the many obstacles in her life have crushed her hopes over and over again. In order to be someone like her, you¡¯d have to possess grit and tenacity from within. I don¡¯t suggest you take your own life, but do you really think you can continue sitting back and swallowing your pride for the sake of your child? Do you really think you can tolerate it ¡¯til the day your mother-inw dies?¡± Mo Li shook her head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I have no idea if I¡¯ll even be able to give birth to a son either.¡± ¡°I suppose you¡¯ve heard about Jin Qingyan divorcing my sister. But I bet you didn¡¯t know, my sister walked out of the marriage without taking any material possessions with her, and she¡¯s even allowed Mr. Jin to have the rights to their son¡¯s custody...¡± Mo Li gasped in shock and asked, ¡°Brother Qingyan has the custody of their child?¡± ¡°Yes, think again before saying that you want to be a woman like her. Do you have that kind of bravery?¡± ¡°Did Xiaoning do something wrong or did Brother force her to?¡± Mo Li asked. Needless to say, Mei Yangyang would not answer her directly. Instead, she said, ¡°They came to a mutual agreement. My Sis has her own money and assets under her name anyway. As for her son, I don¡¯t really know what ns she has in mind.¡± ¡°Maybe you¡¯re right. Perhaps I¡¯m not really on the verge of despair, nor have I given uppletely yet,¡± Mo Li said with a wry smile. ¡°You¡¯ve had a hard time being in a rtionship with Ye Xiaotian throughout all these years too. I¡¯ve heard from Tianze about the hardship you¡¯ve endured all along. Mo Li, you ought to look forward to the future and live on well.¡± ¡°Yangyang, thank you for hearing me out and giving me advice. I feel so much better now.¡± Mei Yangyang smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, that¡¯s what friends are for. You¡¯re Tianze¡¯s childhood buddy, and that makes you my friend too.¡± After Mo Li left, Mr. Mei frantically entered and said, ¡°Yangyang, the jade piece you bought me has gone missing.¡± ¡°How did it go missing? Did you misce it somewhere?¡± Mei Yangyang asked. ¡°How could I possibly leave such a valuable item you¡¯ve given me lying around? I¡¯ve always hung it around my neck. It was still there when I went to bedst night. I just noticed that it had gone missing.¡± ¡°Let me check the surveince cameras.¡± Mei Yangyang then brought him to the surveince cameras monitor room. Both of them got a great shock after watching the footage. During midnight, Mei Shuangshuang sneaked into Mr. Mei¡¯s room. It was obvious what happened after. ¡°Father, did you drink anything before you went to bed?¡± ¡°I was about to go to sleep after showering but she came inside my room saying that she wanted to have a chat with me. She brought some beer too. I reckon... she must have taken it away from me,¡± said Mr. Mei, anger surging through his veins. Mei Yangyang did not expect Mei Shuangshuang to steal Mr. Mei¡¯s jade pendant, which cost her more than a million dors. She was told that the jade would be more and more psychic with extended wear. Little did she expect... She immediately tried to call Mei Shuangshuang, who had switched off her phone. ¡°Seems like she knew we would find out about it sooner orter, so she switched off her phone. Let¡¯s see if her luggage is still around.¡± Mei Yangyang and her father zoomed toward Mei Shuangshuang¡¯s room, only to find that all her clothes, cosmetics, and other belongings were missing. However, she did not bring her luggage with her, perhaps because she was afraid of making too much of a noise. ¡°Shuangshuang has really gone overboard! Don¡¯t bother looking for her, just let her die outside! We really shouldn¡¯t have let here back. She even had the guts to sell the house without our consent. Is there anything she wouldn¡¯t dare to do? From now on, let¡¯s not search for her at all, Yangyang. I don¡¯t want to see her again even if shees home,¡± Mr. Mei hollered in exasperation. Mr. Mei was seething with anger. ¡°Father, simmer down. I¡¯ll just buy you another jade pendant. Since she¡¯s disregarded us as her family and hurt us time and time again, there¡¯s no reason we should keeppromising and giving in to her unconditionally.¡± ¡°Yangyang, don¡¯t buy me another one. It¡¯s too expensive. What if I lose it again?¡± Mei Yangyang patted his hand and said, ¡°I¡¯ll buy you another one if it goes missing again. It¡¯s alright, the price doesn¡¯t matter to me.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve be such a burden to you, Yangyang. I feel really guilty toward you. You¡¯ve constantly had to worry about Shuangshuang and your mother,¡± said Mr. Mei, filled with immense guilt. ¡°Don¡¯t say that again, Father. Aren¡¯t we getting on just fine now?¡± Mr. Mei nodded as tears streamed down his face uncontrobly. After leaving the house, Mei Yangyang headed straight to the jewelry store to buy a simr-looking jade pendant for her father; it also cost more than a million dors. She brought the matter up to her husband when he returned home in the afternoon. ¡°What a horrible wretch... I really wonder if your sister was adopted. Why is she so different from you?¡± Long Tianze remarked. ¡°How would I know? Maybe she had a gic mutation when she was in my mother¡¯s womb,¡± Mei Yangyang jested with a chuckle. ¡°At the end of the day, children should never be pampered, regardless of gender. They can¡¯t be spoiled rotten!¡± ¡°I agree with you...¡± Just as he finished speaking, Long Xiaoxi ran down the stairs and said, ¡°Daddy, Mommy, I want some ice cream...¡± ¡°No, you¡¯ve already had some this morning. You¡¯re still really small in size, you¡¯re going to fall ill if you eat too much ice cream,¡± Mei Yangyang refused immediately. Pouting her lips, Long Xiaoxi walked toward Long Tianze and tugged his arm with her chubby hands while whining, ¡°Daddy, look how mean Mommy is to me. I want to have some ice cream, Daddy, will you let me?¡± ¡°Yes, yes. There¡¯s ice cream in the freezer, go get it yourself...¡± said Long Tianze. ¡°Yay, thank you, Daddy. Daddy, you¡¯re the best Daddy...¡± Long Xiaoxi eximed gleefully. She gave him a peck on his cheek and skipped away merrily. ¡°Long. Tian. Ze!!! What you were saying just now...¡± Mei Yangyang bellowed, glowering at him. ¡°What did I say? I just said that I agree with your theory that your sister had undergone a gic mutation while she was still a fetus in your mother¡¯s womb. I didn¡¯t say anything else.¡± Mei Yangyang was furious beyond words. ¡°Weren¡¯t you referring to what I said about not spoiling our children rotten?¡± Chapter 598 - The Secret About the Past (216)

Chapter 598:

The Secret About the Past (216)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Of course not. I love our Xiaoxi the most, look how adorable she is with those chubby cheeks of hers, just like her mother. I feel like pinching them every time I see her. Who am I going to spoil if I don¡¯t pamper Xiaoxi?¡± he said with a look of innocence. ¡°...¡± ¡ª As per normal, An Xiaoning headed upstairs after dinner to take a shower, apply a facial mask, and go to bed. This had be An Xiaoning¡¯s nightly routine before going to bed. Just as shey down in bed in her pajamas after applying her facial mask, she heard a sudden knocking on the door. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± ¡°Me,¡± Tuoba Gucheng said in his deep, alluring voice. An Xiaoning removed the facial mask and put on the human skin mask before opening the door. ¡°Your Highness, do you have any orders for me?¡± He took a look at her pajamas and entered straight away. ¡°Close the door.¡± An Xiaoning did not know what his intentions were. Could it be that he wants to have a chat with me likest night? she wondered. Is he a lunatic? Why did hee looking for a bodyguard like me when he has such a beautiful bride? ¡°Highness, please tell me straight what you¡¯d like to say. The Princess Consort is waiting for you next door.¡± ¡°She¡¯s asleep.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning stood rooted to the ground, feeling a little uneasy. ¡°Your Highness, if you keep acting like this, the Princess Consort is going to find out sooner orter that you¡¯ve spiked your drink.¡± ¡°I just want to have a chat with you,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng, seemingly having lowered the facade of a cool front he¡¯d usually put up in the day. An Xiaoning nodded and moved a chair to sit down opposite him. ¡°Okay, what would you like to chat about, then?¡± ¡°If that incident didn¡¯t happen and I canceled that two-week agreement, you¡¯d definitely give birth to the child, wouldn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Your Highness, why did you bring that matter up again out of the blue?¡± said An Xiaoning, who did not quite wish to talk about it since it was the reason her rtionship with Jin Qingyan had turned sour. The matter was just like an ugly scar that never fails to make her feel devastated to the point of suffocation whenever she was reminded of it. ¡°It¡¯s just a casual question because I¡¯m bored.¡± ¡°Yes, I will never have aborted the child no matter what. I¡¯d have done my best to keep him, as long as he wanted to be my child. I¡¯ll have risked everything I had to give birth to him. But in the end, it seems he doesn¡¯t want to be my child, and he thus left,¡± An Xiaoning said with a look of dejection in her eyes. ¡°Why are you bent on giving birth to him? Is it because it¡¯s difficult for you to conceive?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the only reason. It¡¯s because I love his father too,¡± she said, hanging her head low. ¡°You love the child¡¯s father...¡± An Xiaoning snapped back to reality and said, ¡°Your Highness, the child is not yours. We¡¯ve never gotten intimate before either. So please, stop being mistaken.¡± From gazing at her, Tuoba Gucheng reached out to cup her face forcefully, in a bid to kiss her. However, An Xiaoning cocked her head to the side, causing his lips to touch her cheek. ¡°I know clearly or not whether I¡¯ve misunderstood. I know you harbor feelings for me. I knew it was the case.¡± An Xiaoning stared at him in bewilderment and said, ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯m going to repeat myself. I don¡¯t harbor any designs on you. Neither do I dare to fancy you. Please don¡¯t misunderstand, Your Highness.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t misunderstand. I know what¡¯s on your mind without even having to guess,¡± he said with unhappiness written all over his face. You¡¯re not clear at all. Why do you keep thwarting my words and creating misunderstandings!?! An Xiaoning cursed in her head. She had repeated herself countless times. ¡°From now onwards, please don¡¯t speak about this anymore, Your Highness. You have no idea how much I¡¯ve suffered because of this, and neither will you understand what I lost as a result. This matter is like a knife stabbed deep inside my heart. Every single time you mention this, you remind me of it. So, let¡¯s both not bring this up again,¡± An Xiaoning said solemnly. He expressed assent and said, ¡°We won¡¯t mention a word about this again then. Also, I was merely being impulsive when I tried to kiss you just now...¡± ¡°Your Highness, your vision seems to be getting worse. Consult an optometrist tomorrow to get your eyes checked.¡± He chuckled and said, ¡°You¡¯re much more humorous than the Princess Consort.¡± He then left as soon as he finished speaking. An Xiaoning felt that Tuoba Gucheng came to visit her in the middle of the night on purpose. She could tell that her half-brother had, more likely than not, fallen for her. It was giving her a major headache. It seemed she ought to step up and find out the information she wanted as soon as possible and then leave the Autumn Pce. While she was troubled, Tuoba Gucheng was in a great mood. He felt a tinge of guilt when he stared at his wife, who was sleeping beside him. It was not the ideal marriage he wanted, yet he did not have a choice and could not defy his parents¡¯ arrangements. To think, life truly is full of helpless situations. He would have a say over his own life only if he bes the president. A look of mncholy formed in Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s eyes at the thought of it. ¡ª Jin Yiheng was jolted awake by a sudden cold air on his neck. He switched on the lights and caught sight of a terrifying ghost sitting by his bed. Glowering at it in frustration, Jin Yiheng hissed, ¡°You¡¯re so annoying, why do you keep blowing air at me when I¡¯m not feeling warm at all?¡± The ghost was greatly taken aback, surprised to see that the young child was not afraid of it at all. It then inched closer toward Jin Yiheng, who whipped out an amulet from underneath his pillow and pasted it onto the ghost¡¯s head. ¡°Get lost,¡± he scorned. The ghost vanished instantly, after which Jin Yiheng picked up the amulet and ced it beneath his pillow again. After having seen countless supernatural beings, Jin Yiheng was no longer afraid of them. Most of the time, he would choose topletely disregard their presence. In fact, he actually shocked those beings with his unusually calm reaction, often causing them to flee swiftly. Jin Yiheng was on the verge of tears when he stared at the photo frame above the bed. He missed his Mommy dearly. He got down from the bed, put on his shoes, and walked out of his room to see that the lights in the corridor were still on. He then knocked on his father¡¯s bedroom door. ¡°Daddy.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t sleep.¡± ¡°Run ten rounds around the backyard.¡± ¡°...¡± Jin Yiheng turned around to return to his own room while Jin Qingyan popped some sleeping pills, after which hey down in bed and shut his eyes tightly. His head felt giddy and heavy, as if he was about to sink into the bed continuously. Jin Qingyan felt as if he was stuck in a foggy maze where he continuously walked forward until his feet began to hurt. Yet, there seemed to be no end to it. Some timeter, the fog began to dissipate. He jumped for joy and picked up his tracks. Finally, he broke out of the fog and, after being in the clear, stopped by a river. All of a sudden, a head popped up from the surface of the river, giving him a great shock. He took a closer look to find that it was An Xiaoning. She seemed to be in her adolescent, teenage years, appearing much more youthful than she did in real life. Her tresses were exceptionally long and she was gazing up at him with a smile. Under the bright rays of the sun, she squinted and called out, ¡°Brother Qin..¡± He reached a hand out subconsciously for her to grab. She then leaped up and stood up straight before hugging him. ¡°Where have you been? I¡¯ve been waiting for you here all this while. You¡¯re finally back.¡± Yet, Jin Qingyan could not seem to bring himself to speak his mind. The more he could not utter the words, the greater his desire to speak was. Chapter 599 - The Secret About the Past (217)

Chapter 599: The Secret About the Past (217)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He felt just as if a chain was tied around his neck, making it difficult for him to even breathe. Her face began to fade before him as he felt as if he had fallen into a ck hole. All of a sudden, his bubble burst. He sprang up immediately and opened his eyes. Jin Qingyan took a deep breath while scanning his surroundings. Fortunately, it was just a nightmare, thank God... He could not help but feel puzzled to have dreamt of such a strange dream. Jin Qingyan felt much better after taking a sip of water from the ss on the table. ¡ª It was the 8th of August, the first day of the ninth month of the lunar calendar. It was the day that school reopened. Jin Yiheng was dressed in a white buttoned shirt paired with a ck vest and a pair of ck trousers. He then headed to school with his schoolbag on his shoulders. This time, Jin Yiheng and Long Wenlun would be attending their first day in primary school while Long Xiaoxi would be promoted to higher kindergarten. However, Long Xiaoxi was reluctant to do so. She insisted on attending first grade with her brothers. That was impossible, however. How could she run before she even learns to walk? Mei Yangyang would never allow it. Instead, she wanted her daughter to follow the standard grading system and advance to primary school only after she hadpleted kindergarten. Besides, Long Xiaoxi was only three and a half years old, way too young to be attending primary school. Yet, Long Xiaoxi was bent on having it her way. She cried and threw a tantrum. ¡°Mommy, you¡¯re discriminating against me just because I¡¯m young. I want to go to the same ss as Brother.¡± ¡°How are you supposed to attend first grade when you don¡¯t know anything at all?¡± ¡°Mommy, I¡¯ll learn. Hire a private tutor to give me tuition after school, I¡¯ll definitely catch up.¡± ¡°You¡¯re too young, it won¡¯t be appropriate,¡± Mei Yangyang refuted vehemently. Mei Yangyang refused to give in, no matter how many tantrums Long Xiaoxi threw. Thus, Jin Yiheng and Long Wenlun proceeded to attend first grade while Long Xiaoxi attended kindergarten with Zhong Minhe. Being three years older than Long Xiaoxi, Zhong Minhe would have already been a primary schooler if he had started receiving formal education earlier. He was much taller than Long Xiaoxi as well as the other children in kindergarten. Thus, he was teased and bullied by the children in ss when the teacher led him to the rostrum to introduce himself. ¡°Look, this fool has no arms.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, he¡¯s so strange.¡± ¡°Did his arms fall off?¡± ¡°He looks hideous without arms.¡± ¡°...¡± Zhong Minhe hung his head low dejectedly. Before the teacher even spoke up, Long Xiaoxi red daggers at the children and barked, ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to say that about my friend!¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough, Minhe will be one of us from now on. You guys are to get along harmoniously with your new ssmate,¡± said the teacher, who specially arranged for Zhong Minhe to sit beside Long Xiaoxi, knowing that the two were already friends. When he came down from the rostrum, Long Xiaoxi pulled the chair out for him and said smiling, ¡°You don¡¯t have to bother about them. Just y with me.¡± Zhong Minhe nodded and eximed, ¡°Okay!¡± For the rest of the morning, Long Xiaoxi noticed that Zhong Minhe was paying attention to the words written on the ckboard by the teacher while she was busy being distracted. He seemed to be extremely attentive and studious, and thus, Long Xiaoxi too was motivated and influenced by him. During dismissal time in the afternoon, Zhang Xiaopang chuckled and mocked, ¡°Hey, armless hero.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°It means you have no arms. Fool.¡± Long Xiaoxi glowered at him and hissed, ¡°Nothing good everes out of your mouth.¡± ¡°Long Xiaoxi, your brother has gone to attend primary school, there¡¯s no one here to help you now. You¡¯d better watch your words,¡± Zhang Xiaopang warned smugly. Long Xiaoxi rolled her eyes and retorted, ¡°Zhang Xiaopang, you should be the one minding your words.¡± ¡°Xiaoxi, I¡¯d like to use the washroom.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll call Teacher.¡± She carried her bag on her shoulders and left together with him. Zhang Xiaopang noticed that they had left and hurriedly took chase. Once the teacher arrived, she entered the washroom to help Zhong Minhe remove his pants and put them on again before leaving. Long Xiaoxi stood outside by the door to wait for him. However, he did not show up even after a long while. ¡°Brother Minhe!¡± Long Xiaoxi called out. There was no response. Long Xiaoxi hurriedly zoomed inside at the thought of Zhang Xiaopang also being in the bathroom. She was greeted with the sight of Zhang Xiaopang removing Zhong Minhe¡¯s pants, which was why there was no response from him when she called his name. Upon sight of her, Zhong Minhe stood rooted to the ground helplessly, blushing with utter embarrassment. Yet, there was nothing he could do to help himself. ¡°Zhang Xiaopang!¡± Long Xiaoxi flew into an uncontroble rage and rushed forward to help Zhong Minhe pull his pants up while Zhang Xiaopang took the chance to flee. She hurriedly chased after him. Being a chubby child, Zhang Xiaopang was exceptionally slow when it came to running. Hence, Long Xiaoxi could catch up with him in no time. Long Xiaoxi kicked his buttocks, causing him to fall onto the ground immediately. He slipped and fell hard due to the fact that the cemented floor was extremely slippery. ¡°Long Xiaoxi!¡± Zhang Xiaopang clenched his jaw in pain and stood up in a bid to hit Long Xiaoxi. To his astonishment, Long Xiaoxi removed her sandals and hit him on his head with the sole of her sandal. Raging like a bull, Zhang Xiaopang charged forward in an attempt to kick her. However, he was immediately held back by the teacher. ¡°What¡¯s going on!?!¡± Long Xiaoxi immediately burst into tears and exined the situation to the teacher while sobbing. The teacher immediately reprimanded Zhang Xiaopang for his actions. Zhang Xiaopang left in a huff after being scolded by the teacher. When they returned home, Long Xiaoxi tried to console Zhong Minhe, ¡°Brother Minhe, Zhang Xiaopang is a cad. He used to bully me in the past too, so don¡¯t get angry. Didn¡¯t you see? Teacher ticked him off too.¡± ¡°I¡¯m alright, thank you, Xiaoxi.¡± His eyes were as dazzling as stars in the sky. Long Xiaoxi felt relieved to see that he was feeling fine. ¡ª Three dayster, An Xiaoning managed to get her hands on the sketch of Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s bedroom. After scrutinizing the detailed sketch in her room for a long while, she finally figured out the floor n. There were rooms in the Northeast direction of her bedroom, all of which had doors and windows. It was obviously not where the secret chamber would be. There were guards on duty near the window facing the East. Facing the West of the room was the corridor. An Xiaoning thought to herself that if there was a secret chamber, it must be located underground. Images of Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s bedroom, which she saw that night through her night vision goggles, began to pop up in her mind. The bed, the closet, the needle drawers, the dressing table... Those were merely her guesses. She was not yet a hundred percent certain if there was a secret chamber in the bedroom, at this point. However, if there really was one, what would a woman like Shi Xiaoyu need a secret chamber for? It was very suspicious. An Xiaoning felt a strong urge to verify it for herself. Unfortunately, it would be more than difficult for her to enter the mansion again, especially since she had already rmed them previously. ¡°What are you thinking about? Follow me out.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning stood up and hurriedly followed closely behind him. ¡°Your Highness, where are we going?¡± ¡°My parents¡¯ ce.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes lit up with joy. ¡°Do you mean Mr. President¡¯s office?¡± ¡°Duh.¡± An Xiaoning took a deep breath. She was just fretting over how she was supposed to sneak in again. Yet, the opportunity had fallen from the sky. ¡°Why are you so happy?¡± An Xiaoning chuckled and answered, ¡°Because I¡¯m in a good mood.¡± ¡°Stop smiling, you look like an idiot.¡± ¡°...¡± Halfway through their journey, Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s phone began to ring. ¡°Hello, hello, alright, got it,¡± he answered while walking. He then stopped in his tracks. An Xiaoning looked at him and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Your Highness?¡± Chapter 600 - The Secret About the Past (218)

Chapter 600: The Secret About the Past (218)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°My father has to attend an urgent meeting that cropped up at thest minute. We don¡¯t have to go anymore.¡± An Xiaoning immediately pulled a long face and asked, ¡°What did Mr. President want to see you for?¡± ¡°He probably just wanted to brief me about the elections, what else could it possibly be about? I already know what to do even without his instructions. Great, now I don¡¯t have to go listen to his lecture. C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go back.¡± An Xiaoning was speechless. ¡°Why are you upset again?¡± ¡°I initially thought I could take a tour around Mr. President¡¯s office. But I guess I don¡¯t have the chance to now.¡± ¡°Take a tour? Do you think this is a tourist attraction? There¡¯s no way you¡¯ll be allowed to take a tour around the office freely like you¡¯re at home. There¡¯ll be people following you the moment you enter the mansion. The same goes for me too, I¡¯m no exception,¡± he said solemnly. Upon hearing his words, An Xiaoning could not help but feel like she was being too naive before. In the Autumn Pce where security was tight, no one else could give her a helping hand except Tuoba Shuo. It was quite a tall order. Although she wanted to find out the truth about her mother as soon as possible, she had no choice but to take things one step at a time. She ought to be extremely careful at all times while going about her investigation if she did not want her identity to be exposed. Just as they entered the yard of Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s mansion, they were greeted with the sight of two bodyguards walking alongside Bai Zhi, each holding some heavy training equipment in hand. Bai Zhi¡¯s hands were empty, however. Clearly, Bai Zhi was the one who was tasked with carrying the equipment. However, the two men could not bear to let such a gorgeous babe exert herself and thus offered to give her a hand. An Xiaoning was immediately reminded of the treatment she was subjected to a few days ago. She could not help but remark bitterly, ¡°Looks are truly of utmost importance in today¡¯s society. No one hase forth to help me whenever I¡¯m struggling to carry heavy items.¡± The bodyguards beside Bai Zhi chuckled awkwardly, not daring to utter anything callous in front of Tuoba Gucheng. Thus, they said politely, ¡°Mu Ning, if you¡¯re tasked with carrying heavy items again in the future, feel free to call us for help.¡± An Xiaoning gave a courteous smile but did not answer. After waiting for the three of them to leave, Tuoba Gucheng turned around abruptly and stared at An Xiaoning intently. ¡°Bai Zhi may be able to gain some perks because of her good looks, but she won¡¯t stand to gain as much as you.¡± ¡°What do you mean, Your Highness?¡± ¡°Figure it out yourself,¡± he answered vaguely. An Xiaoning could not be bothered to waste her time trying to figure out what he meant and, thus, just let it slip. ¡°Your Highness!¡± a voice yelled from the entrance. An Xiaoning and Tuoba Gucheng turned to look. They caught sight of one of Tuoba Rui¡¯s bodyguards running toward them and eximing, ¡°The results from the blood DNA test are out. Military Commander Xu¡¯s daughter is Bai Zhi.¡± Tuoba Gucheng and An Xiaoning looked at each other in astonishment, both greatly taken aback by the news. ¡°Is that so? Bring Bai Zhi over then. She¡¯s headed to the training ground.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± A grave expression formed on An Xiaoning¡¯s face. She¡¯d had a gut feeling that Bai Zhi was not a simple person, though she¡¯d been unsure if she was thinking too much. ¡°Your Highness, is this the reason for the blood drawing exercise that was conducted a few days ago?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a little confused. How was Military Commander Xu so sure that his biological daughter was in the Autumn Pce?¡± An Xiaoning questioned in puzzlement. ¡°Nothing is impossible in this world. I heard he found out about it after a special visit to a fortune-teller. Turns out it¡¯s really the case,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng, after which he entered the mansion right away. It did take some special abilities to be able to urately tell a person¡¯s whereabouts based on their birth characters. However, An Xiaoning knew that there was no way she could read her mother¡¯s birth characters. Unless she sought help from the elderly man in the mountains again. However, it was unclear if fate would allow her to meet him again. ¡ª Bai Zhi was brought to Military Commander and Madam Xu. Tears welled up in her eyes the moment she saw them. ¡°Are you guys my biological parents?¡± Bai Zhi asked. Madam Xu rushed forward to hug her and burst into tears. ¡°My daughter, I¡¯ve finally found you!¡± she cried. Military Commander Xu stepped forward to pull the two of them into an embrace. A somber mood filled the air all of a sudden. Unlike her parents, who were extremely agitated, Bai Zhi was at a sudden loss for what to do, seemingly unable to recover from the shock of the abrupt news. Tears streamed down Madam Xu¡¯s face uncontrobly. She wiped her tears with her hand and said between sobs, ¡°It¡¯s wonderful now that we¡¯ve found you. Pack your bags ande home with us, alright?¡± Bai Zhi nodded and said calmly, ¡°Okay.¡± After thanking Tuoba Rui and Shi Xiaoyu, Military Commander and Madam Xu brought her to their car and headed back to A City. Bai Zhi had a million questions on her mind. Yet, she did not know where and how to begin asking. Madam Xu then took the initiative to exin to her about how she had gone missing when she was an infant. ¡°When we lost you back then, your father and I were so anxious that we almost lost our minds. The nanny was murdered and you disappeared without a trace. There were many times when we thought that you were probably no longer around in this world. Afterward, we went to consult a fortune-teller who told us that you¡¯d be living an exceptionally-blessed life. But, why did you alter your fate?¡± ¡°Alter my fate? I didn¡¯t,¡± Bai Zhi asked in bewilderment. ¡°That can¡¯t be the case. We managed to find you this time, all thanks to an elderlydy in Beijia Bay who managed to tell us your whereabouts. She said that your fate has been altered. You were initially destined to live a life of blessings, but your life has taken a turn for the worse after you altered it,¡± Madam Xu said firmly. Bai Zhi shook her head and said, ¡°That¡¯s impossible. I didn¡¯t alter my fate. I don¡¯t even know when my birthday is, how could I possibly go about altering it?¡± Military Commander and Madam Xu looked at each other in dismay, breaking out in cold sweat. ¡°When you were abducted back then, the nanny was murdered but nothing was missing from our home. We were certain that someone was out to wreak havoc within our family. We used to think that it might¡¯ve been someone we knew. But now, it seems the person also knew what your birth characters are. I¡¯m afraid...¡± Madam Xu frantically said to her husband, ¡°Let¡¯s rush to see the elderlydy in Beijia Bay once we arrive back in the city and get her to restore our daughter¡¯s fate.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Military Commander Xu agreed with a nod. Bai Zhi felt a shiver down her spine upon hearing their words. After a moment of silence, she said, ¡°It¡¯s already been so many years since it happened. I¡¯m afraid it¡¯d be extremely difficult to get to the bottom of the truth now.¡± ¡°Even then, we still ought to continue investigating. You were abducted and separated from us for so many years. We¡¯ve never done our part as your parents. Bai Zhi, have you ever resented us for that?¡± Madam Xu asked. Bai Zhi shook her head and answered, ¡°No, I¡¯ve always thought that my parents were already dead and that I was an orphan.¡± Military Commander and Madam Xu were incredibly upset to hear her words. ¡°Quick, tell Mother, how did you manage to survive all these years?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been living like a zombie. There has never been a day that I lived as a normal person,¡± Bai Zhi answered with a sigh. ¡°Your father and I heard from the fortune-teller that you¡¯re married and that your husband treats you exceptionally well. Is that true?¡± She nodded and answered, ¡°Yes, but what¡¯s the point of treating me well? He can¡¯t protect me anyway.¡± ¡°What does he do for a living?¡± Bai Zhi hesitated for a moment before answering bitterly, ¡°He has the same job as I do. If only you guys had found me earlier...¡± ¡°We¡¯ve always been searching for you, but it was extremely difficult since the world is so huge. We even mistook another girl for you and doted on her for nothing throughout all these years. She posed as you and lied to us,¡± Military Commander Xu exined. Chapter 601 - The Secret About the Past (219)

Chapter 601: The Secret About the Past (219)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Bai Zhi looked at him and asked, ¡°What exactly happened?¡± Military Commander Xu exined the matter about Xu Youran to her, after which he said, ¡°After all, she¡¯s been living with us since she was a teenager and we¡¯ve already developed feelings for her. Your mother couldn¡¯t bear to cut off all ties with her, but there¡¯s no way things will ever be the same again. We were greatly disappointed in her from the very moment we found out that she had assumed your identity.¡± Bai Zhi looked at them and said firmly, ¡°You must sever all ties with her. Now that I¡¯m back, I don¡¯t want her around in the family.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll do as you say. Although she has apanied your father and me throughout all these years, she has created a ton of trouble for us and squandered away lots of money. We didn¡¯t let her down at all,¡± said Madam Xu. ¡°Shall we change your name?¡± Military Commander Xu suggested. ¡°What should we change it to?¡± Bai Zhi asked. ¡°I supposed you must¡¯ve already gotten used to your name. How about we add Xu in front of your current name?¡± Bai Zhi agreed. ¡°Xu Bai Zhi... Sure, but it¡¯d be difficult to make the amendments on the household register...¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have to make amendments. Your household register has been registered with ours ever since you were born. We just have to change the name on your register,¡± said Military Commander Xu. ¡°Sure. How many children do you have?¡± ¡°You have two elder brothers. Your eldest brother is the Head Officer of the Police Bureau while your second brother runs apany,¡± Madam Xu answered. Xu Baizhi was stunned to hear how outstanding her brothers were, just like her father. How great would it have been if I wasn¡¯t abducted and had grown up in such a brilliant family ever since I was born? A look of dejection formed in her eyes. There was no turning back now. All she could do now was to advance forward. ¡°By the way, when¡¯s my birthday?¡± ¡°15th of July. I initially thought that An Xiaoning was you because she was born on the exact same day, month, and year as you. But we realized that she wasn¡¯t after running the DNA test,¡± Madam Xu said agitatedly. ¡°What a coincidence. From what Father said about Xu Youran, doesn¡¯t that mean Xu Youran is Jin Qingyan¡¯s half-sister and An Xiaoning¡¯s sister-inw?¡± Xu Baizhi asked. ¡°That¡¯s right, but the Jin family will never acknowledge her. Besides, An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan have already gotten a divorce.¡± Xu Baizhi nodded and said, ¡°Oh, I see.¡± ¡°By the way, since you¡¯re already back, call your husband home too. Do you guys have children yet?¡± Xu Baizhi shook her head and answered, ¡°No. There¡¯s no need to call him home. He¡¯s overseas right now.¡± ¡°Forget it then, but we ought to meet him one day.¡± Xu Baizhi expressed assent. Although she had now been reunited with her biological parents, she was filled with an inexplicable feeling. She was surprised, conflicted, worried, and helpless all at the same time. The strange mix of emotions sent her mind into a state of frenzy and confusion. They arrived home to see that Xu Yang, Xu Cai, as well as the other members of the Xu family, were all waiting to wee them at the entrance. ¡°This is your eldest brother, this is your second brother,¡± Madam Xu introduced with red and swollen eyes. Xu Yang and Xu Cai stepped forward to hug Xu Baizhi one after another. Just as they were about to enter, a car pulled over abruptly and everyone turned their heads to see Xu Youran alighting from the car. She quickly strode toward them and called out, ¡°Father, Mother!¡± Madam Xu acknowledged her coldly while Military Commander Xu remained silent. Xu Baizhi stared at her with a sullen expression and asked bluntly, ¡°Are you that Xu Youran who assumed my identity and stayed in the Xu family for so many years?¡± The smile on Xu Youran¡¯s face faded, taken aback by the abrupt question for she did not expect to be questioned at the doorstep of her house. ¡°I am Xu Youran,¡± she said. ¡°Since I¡¯m already back, there¡¯s no need for you to step foot into this house again from now on.¡± Xu Baizhi¡¯s tone was cold and austere, sounding extremely firm. Xu Youran stared at Military Commander and Madam Xu, hoping for them to say something. However, they did not utter a single word at all. Realizing that the situation seemed to be rather awkward with everyone standing around, Madam Xu had no choice but to say to Xu Youran, ¡°I¡¯ll get your father to move your household register back under your own name. You shall have an independent register. How does that sound?¡± ¡°Mother... are you guys thinking of abandoning me now that you¡¯ve found your biological daughter? I know I was at fault for lying and creating so much trouble for you guys, but I¡¯ve really considered you guys to be my parents,¡± said Xu Youran. ¡°But you¡¯re still not our biological child at the end of the day. Youran, regardless of what you¡¯ve done over the years, it has alle to a bnce. You may have filled the voids in our hearts that came from losing our daughter, but at the same time, you¡¯ve also hindered us from finding her sooner. Touch your heart and ask yourself, how well have we been treating you over the years? You¡¯d better know your limits,¡± said Madam Xu, after which she entered the house with Xu Baizhi, hand in hand. Everyone else followed suit, leaving Xu Youran to stand there alone. From behind, turning as pale as a sheet, she watched as their figures faded into nothingness gradually. In that moment, she knew that she would no longer have anything to do with the Xu family. Xu Youran sat down quietly the moment she reached home. She felt as if her heart was being stabbed a million times at the thought of Military Commander and Madam Xu¡¯s aloofness, as well as Xu Baizhi¡¯s hostile attitude toward her. At the same time, she was also deeply filled with regret. She¡¯d thought to herself that, perhaps, she could have still remained as the Xu family¡¯s daughter if she had not exposed her true identity to Mr. Jin back then, which had led to the Xu family finding out about her being an impostor. However, there was no antidote for regret in this world. If she had been kicked out of the Xu family, so be it. No one would be able to belittle her once she bes the matriarch of the Gu family! ¡ª As much as Lin Shishi was innocent and naive, she could not help but begin to find something unusual about the fact that she had been strangely falling asleep right after taking a shower every night, ever since the day of her wedding. They had never once gotten intimate with each other ever since they were married. Lin Shishi was ill at ease. Why is Tuoba Gucheng reluctant to touch me? Was it only because she was often asleep? After much thought, she decided that she would do her best to stay awake at all costs tonight. Thus, she did not drink any milk after taking a shower. Tuoba Gucheng noticed that the ss of milk was left untouched on the table when he came out of the shower. He maintained hisposure and proceeded to lie down beside her as per normal. After a long while of silence, Lin Shishi could no longer endure and leaned closer to hug him. ¡°Hubby, we haven¡¯t consummated our marriage ever since the day of our wedding. It¡¯s all my fault for falling asleep way too early every night. I¡¯ve decided not to sleep tonight and instead experience what it¡¯s like to get intimate with my husband. Also, I¡¯ll let you do whatever you want with me.¡± Tuoba Gucheng was not at all enticed or aroused by her words. However, he knew that this day would arrive sooner orter. The only reason he would concede was because she was the wife he had wedded through an arranged marriage. She was the daughter of the Lin family, and he could not neglect her even though he neither fancied nor detested her. Thus, he lowered his head to give her a kiss on her forehead and turned to pin her beneath himself. Lin Shishi¡¯s long locks cascaded between the pillows, exposing her exquisite and delicate shoulders. She gazed at him coyly with a look of pure innocence in her eyes. ¡°Do you fancy me?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Lin Shishi answered with a nod. ¡°What do you like about me?¡± Chapter 602 - The Secret About the Past (220)

Chapter 602: The Secret About the Past (220)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I like everything about you. Hubby, I want to give birth to your child,¡± she said, draping her arms around his neck. Tuoba Gucheng lowered his head and began kissing her neck, the warmth of his lips spreading down her body. Lin Shishi was quivering with a stiff tension in her body. A fire was burning within her. She opened her mouth slightly, trying to catch her breath as it quickened. She took a deep breath at the instant that he lifted her pajamas. ¡°Are you feeling nervous?¡± he asked. Lin Shishi nodded and answered, ¡°A little.¡± ¡°Have you ever had a boyfriend?¡± ¡°No... I haven¡¯t.¡± She could not stop flinching and quivering while his fingers wandered all over her body. Under the dim, yellow light, he gazed at her face without a single tinge of desire or lust in his eyes. All of a sudden, themp was switched off. ¡°Why did you turn off the lights?¡± Lin Shishi asked. ¡°I don¡¯t like having the lights on.¡± He spread her legs open and moved closer toward her. Lin Shishi clutched onto the sheets tightly, preparing herself both physically and mentally. She flinched in immense pain the moment he entered her. Tuoba Gucheng thrust his hips forward once more, causing her to shriek loudly. It was almost deafening. Clearly, it must have been excruciating for her. Having heard the agonizing shriek from next door, An Xiaoning thought that something had happened and hurriedly tiptoed out of her room toward Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s door, where she stood quietly to listen. She turned red with embarrassment the moment she heard the noisesing from inside and returned to her own room. Thinking that Tuoba Gucheng would definitely have a long night, she decided to sneak out, using the excuse of taking a breather. She continued to stroll along thepound and gradually made her way toward Tuoba Shuo¡¯s door. She entered stealthily. He had yet to go to bed. Upon sight of her, he smiled widely and asked, ¡°Why have youe at this hour?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m only free at times like this. I¡¯m not sure if there¡¯s a secret chamber in Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s room so I¡¯d like to seek the opportunity to verify it. I haven¡¯t taken a day off yet this month. Do you have a solution to help me enter the room again?¡± she asked, sitting cross-legged on the praying mat. Tuoba Shuo answered, ¡°You took a huge risk by sneaking in the previous time. I¡¯m afraid it¡¯d be a Herculean task to try and enter again. We don¡¯t know if your mother is alive or dead at present. But regardless of whether she¡¯s alive or not, I reckon only your father and Shi Xiaoyu know the truth. We have toe up with another solution to make them speak up about something that happened so long ago. I think the only way for you to get a shot at finding out the truth is to enter the mansion again. Your chances would be slim if you simply stay by Gucheng¡¯s side all day and wait for an opportunity toe by. Well...¡± He took out a book from his pocket and handed it to her. ¡°Keep this with you properly, perhaps it¡¯lle in handy when the time is right.¡± An Xiaoning took a close look to see that it was a book about hypnosis. After flipping through the content of the book, she was greatly taken aback since it definitely could not be found on the market. ¡°How did you get your hands on such a book?¡± ¡°I used to have a very close friend whom I¡¯ve been secretly trying to find ever since I moved out of the mansion at the entrance. He is an expert in hypnosis. Decades have passed since I first knew him. I reckon he must have broadened his knowledge in the field even further. I requested for him to give this book to me. He said that the book is a quick fix, which is to be used on someone when they¡¯re sleeping.¡± An Xiaoning browsed through the book agitatedly and looked at him again. ¡°Awesome, I¡¯ll definitely pick up the skills taught in this book.¡± Tuoba Shuo looked at her and said with a smile, ¡°That friend of mine initially refused to give me the book. I had no choice but to tell him that I needed it because I was trying to find out the truth about your mother. We were extremely close in the past and he¡¯s very clear about my situation as well. I guess he gave it to me because he took pity on me. He also instructed me to burn the book after I¡¯ve mastered the techniques of hypnosis, so as to prevent it fromnding in the hands of others. After all, the techniques taught in this book are very different from that of those sold on the market.¡± ¡°I understand, rest assured.¡± An Xiaoning held the book tightly in her hands, as if she had just attained a precious gem. Why didn¡¯t I ever think of picking up hypnotic skills in the past? Seems like it was the most feasible solution for now. ¡°Once you¡¯ve mastered the techniques of hypnosis, I¡¯ll find a chance to send you in. I¡¯ll leave the rest to you afterward.¡± She nodded earnestly and said, ¡°I understand.¡± ¡ª When An Xiaoning woke up the next morning, the pair of newlyweds were already having breakfast. They woke up exceptionally early that morning. Lin Shishi was glowing with her radiant, rosy cheeks, and she allowed her hair to drape down her shoulders. She was dressed in a long, blue dress and continually helped Tuoba Gucheng to the dishes. Upon An Xiaoning¡¯s arrival, Tuoba Gucheng looked up to nce at her before continuing to have his breakfast. An Xiaoning had spent the whole ofst night reading the book and barely caught any shuteye. She was dragging her feet across the room, haggard and weary. However, her under-eye circles could not be seen since she was wearing the skin mask. While she was out with Tuoba Gucheng, she was so fatigued that she hung her head low throughout and bumped into him identally as a result. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Your Highness,¡± she apologized as soon as she snapped out of her trance. ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± He scanned her from head to toe. The male bodyguard burst intoughter and asked, ¡°Mu Ning, what did you dost night? Why are you so sleepy?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t sleep too wellst night,¡± said An Xiaoning, causing Tuoba Gucheng to steal a few more nces at her. ¡°Why not?¡± asked Tuoba Gucheng. Since she could not tell him that she had been reading the hypnosis book, An Xiaoning had no choice but to answer, ¡°No particr reason. I just had insomnia and didn¡¯t sleep well.¡± ¡°Why did you have trouble sleeping?¡± An Xiaoning did not know how to answer him and thus remained silent. Surprisingly, he did not probe further. After achieving his agenda, Tuoba Gucheng suggested that they take a boat trip around theke. ¡°You guys may go back first. Mu Ning is a good swimmer, she can stay behind with me.¡± The male bodyguards looked at each other in puzzlement and answered in unison, ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no harm in asking one or two more bodyguards along, Your Highness,¡± An Xiaoning suggested. ¡°No need for that. Can¡¯t you see that there are only two seats on the boat?¡± An Xiaoning had no choice but to follow him onto the boat alone. The boat was manually powered and would require both people to pedal at the same time. They were supposedly required to wear a safety life vest. However, the stubborn and willful Tuoba Gucheng refused to do so because he felt that it looked hideous. Being a good swimmer, An Xiaoning decided to follow suit since a life vest wouldn¡¯t make a difference for her anyway. After boarding the boat, they began pedaling and surged toward the middle of theke. ¡°I think such boats are meant for couples or siblings.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s not meant for us? I¡¯d like to have some time alone by myself and a bodyguard to apany me. What¡¯s wrong with that?¡± he asked with raised brows. ¡°That¡¯s a valid reason, but why do I feel like you¡¯re not looking to just spend some time alone by yourself? Your Highness, you have something to say to me, don¡¯t you?¡± she questioned, turning to look at him. ¡°Did you... hear somethingst night?¡± he asked, pursing his lips. An Xiaoning chuckled and answered, ¡°Yeah, are you referring to the sounds of you and the Princess Consort getting intimate with each other?¡± Noticing the sullen expression on his face, as if he were about to fly into a rage, An Xiaoning stopped smiling and added, ¡°I didn¡¯t eavesdrop on purpose, the soundproofing system of the walls are just not that great.¡± ¡°Did you lose sleep because of this?¡± he probed. An Xiaoning was at a sudden loss for words. Did he seriously think I lost sleep because I could hear them getting intimate...? Chapter 603 - The Secret About the Past (221)

Chapter 603: The Secret About the Past (221)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°No. It¡¯s because of something else,¡± An Xiaoning answered. ¡°You don¡¯t ever tell me the truth.¡± ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯ve always been speaking nothing but the truth. You just don¡¯t ever choose to believe me. Your Highness, don¡¯t you find that you¡¯re acting really strangely ofte? You¡¯re always asking such random questions,¡± An Xiaoning said frankly. Tuoba Gucheng did not respond. ¡°Your Highness, you often remind me to watch my words and mannerisms, telling me not to harbor any wishful designs on you, and I¡¯ve been doing as you instructed. I¡¯ve never dared to harbor any designs on you. Please remember your words too, Your Highness,¡± An Xiaoning added. ¡°I know what to do. I¡¯m just testing to see if you¡¯ve really done as you were told. Do you really think I¡¯d develop feelings for such an ugly person like you? You¡¯re only my bodyguard,¡± he said coldly. ¡°I¡¯ve always kept your words in mind,¡± An Xiaoning said with a faint smile. Tuoba Gucheng was infuriated to see her nonchnt attitude, though he had no idea why. In the end, Tuoba Gucheng was pulling a long face ever since they disembarked from the boat and gave her a hard time for the next consecutive days. ¡ª Mei Shuangshuang sold her father¡¯s jade pendant to a pawn shop at a price lower than the original value. Mei Shuangshuang was over the moon upon receiving the cash she got in exchange. She rented a studio apartment in a luxurious estate, bought some furniture, and began cohabiting with her new boyfriend, Xiaozong. Several dayster, she began to sense something unusual about Xiaozong. ¡°Why don¡¯t you go to work?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m staying home to apany you. It won¡¯t matter even if I don¡¯t show up at the office. My family owns the business anyway. Don¡¯t you want me to stay home and spend time with you?¡± Xiaozong answered, giving her a kiss. Mei Shuangshuang shook her head and said, ¡°Of course I do.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. Otherwise, I¡¯m going to think that you¡¯re just a money-grubber like those gold-digging women out there.¡± Upon hearing his words, she hurriedly retorted, ¡°Of course I¡¯m not like them.¡± Xiaozong pulled her into an embrace and said, ¡°Good that you¡¯re not. By the way, did you see my friend at the nightclub that night?¡± ¡°You mean that chubby guy?¡± Mei Yangyang asked. ¡°Yes. He may be chubby, but he¡¯s really wealthy. His family runs a business too. He mentioned that he¡¯d like toe over to our ce for dinner tonight and discuss some matters with me.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you guys go have dinner outside?¡± Mei Shuangshuang asked in displeasure, for she was superficial and detested the sight of chubby people. ¡°But he¡¯s my friend and I¡¯d like to take the chance to introduce him to my girlfriend. Don¡¯t you want to be a part of my social circle and get to know more about my life? I was thinking of taking you to meet my parents sometime after introducing you to my friends,¡± he said, smiling. Mei Shuangshuang beamed with joy and said, ¡°Alright, he maye over then. Go outside and buy some takeout, I don¡¯t really know how to cook.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± In the evening, Xiaozong proceeded to buy six different dishes and a carton of beer. The chubby friend arrived with some gifts, which Mei Shuangshuang epted while saying with a smiling, ¡°Oh, you shouldn¡¯t have.¡± ¡°It¡¯s for you. It doesn¡¯t cost that much.¡± ¡°Thank you, then. Take a seat, we¡¯re about to have dinner soon.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Xiaozong came out of the kitchen with three sses. He then opened a can of beer and poured it into the sses, one for each of them. The three then began eating and drinking together. During dinner, Xiaozong emptied a packet of powder into Mei Shuangshuang¡¯s ss while she left the table to go to the bathroom. He swirled the ss gently. The two friends then chuckled in unison. As expected, Mei Shuangshuang was knocked unconscious a whileter andid her head against the table. Realizing that their n had worked, the chubby friend immediately stood up and stuck both hands beneath her armpit to fondle her breasts. Meanwhile, Xiaozong continued with his meal and entered the bedroom after having had his fill, leaving his friend to continue groping and raping Mei Shuangshuang. Turning a blind eye to what was going on, he proceeded to rummage through Mei Yangyang¡¯s purse and took out her mobile phone, bank card, and personal identification card. He then sat down in front of theputer and logged on to her online banking ount, transferred all her money to a virtual payment system, and transferred it back to his own ount. Such major cash transactions would usually require one to two working days to process. Thus, he was not in a hurry. He then sat by the side and began filming a video of Mei Shuangshuang getting drug-raped using his mobile phone. It was already past midnight by the time Mei Shuangshuang came to. She was lying stark naked on the bed beside her boyfriend. Feeling sore and achy from head to toe, Mei Shuangshuang struggled to help herself up and got out of bed to pour herself a ss of water, which she chugged down before going to sleep. She continued to sleep until the afternoon of the next day and woke up to the aroma of fresh food. ¡°Xiaozong...¡± Upon hearing her call, Xiaozong zoomed toward the bedroom from the living room and said, ¡°Hurry and get up. I¡¯ve already bought us some food. You must be hungry, aren¡¯t you?¡± Mei Shuangshuang nodded and proceeded to wash up while cing a hand on her aching back. She then went out of the room to have lunch. It felt as if nothing had happened before. ¡°How many times did we go at itst night? My entire back is sore and aching.¡± ¡°Several times. Who told you to be so beautiful? I can¡¯t control myself at all when we are in bed,¡± he said with a chuckle. Feeling extremely ttered, Mei Shuangshuang said, ¡°It¡¯s a widely-recognized fact that I¡¯m beautiful. What time did your friend leavest night?¡± ¡°You got drunk so I helped you onto the bed and he left afterward. You really can¡¯t hold your liquor well. You were knocked out after just a couple of drinks,¡± Xiaozong said solemnly. ¡°I can usually handle my liquor rather well. But I don¡¯t know what happenedst night. I didn¡¯t even drink that much. Let¡¯s go out to buy some clothester,¡± said Mei Shuangshuang, rubbing her temples, which were hurting. Thinking to himself that she would definitely pay for the clothes by card since she did not have much cash on her, Xiaozong hurriedly countered, ¡°I don¡¯t really feel like going out. Let¡¯s just stay home. Oh no, you had a hard timest night, Baby. You ought to get some rest today.¡± Mei Shuangshuang snorted withughter and said, ¡°That¡¯s all your fault, isn¡¯t it? You made me so sore all over. By the way, you mentioned that your friend¡¯s family runs a business. But why does he seem so much like a country bumpkin to me? He doesn¡¯t give off the vibe of a wealthy man¡¯s son at all.¡± ¡°Heirs of wealthy families all prefer to keep a low profile these days. Which rich person would still unt his wealth like a boorish nouveau riche? It¡¯d be too ostentatious and attention-seeking to wear thick gold chain across your neck,¡± said Xiaozong. ¡°I could tell from the way you acted. You¡¯ve kept a really low profile. I wouldn¡¯t have thought that you were a wealthy heir if I didn¡¯t know that you drove a Mercedes,¡± she said with a smile, resting her chin on her hand. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because there isn¡¯t a single piece of designer clothing on you at all. The entire outfit you were wearing when we first met probably cost less than 2000 dors. None of it was from a luxurybel either,¡± said Mei Shuangshuang, hitting the nail on its head. ¡°You¡¯re not dressed in designer clothing either,¡± said Xiaozong, who was surprised to hear how brand-conscious she was. What he meant was, just like him, she wasn¡¯t dressed in any designer clothing, although she was supposedly affluent. Mei Shuangshuang continued to puff herself up and put on a facade. ¡°Seems like we both don¡¯t enjoy dressing ourselves in luxurybels.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Xiaozong said with a chuckle. They both had an ulterior motive of their own. She was looking to marry Xiaozong, who she thought was an actual heir of a wealthy family, while he was simply after her money. Chapter 604 - The Secret About the Past (222)

Chapter 604: The Secret About the Past (222)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Reports about couples getting a divorce are rampant in the entertainment industry and would often be a hot topic for discussion amongstizens online. Just a while ago, there was a sudden post on Weibo that had caused an uproar across various tforms online. It¡¯s said the person behind the release of the statement is Jin Qingyue¡¯s ex-husband, Shi Shaochuan. Below is the content of the post. I won¡¯t go into detail about what was written and, instead, I¡¯ll tell you guys briefly about the main takeaways from the post. Shi Shaochuan imed that Jin Qingyue was the one behind the Jin Corporation¡¯s acquisition of hispany and that she had abused her family¡¯s authority to put him behind bars, so as to snatch away the rights to their daughter¡¯s custody. Their daughter was allegedly being physically and verbally abused by Jin Qingyue while under her care. He now demands the custody of his daughter, Jin Bao¡¯er, and has raised awsuit against Jin Qingyue. Besides, he has also uploaded a video of his daughter admitting to being abused by her mother...¡± Jin Qingyue and Ling Ciye watched the video, in which Shi Shaochuan was seen asking Jin Bao¡¯er, ¡°Did Mommy hit you a lot when you were living with her?¡± ¡°Yes, Mommy would hit me every day and forbid me from having my meals whenever I was being disobedient. She would evensh out at me.¡± ¡°Do you prefer to live with Daddy or with Mommy?¡± ¡°I prefer to live with Daddy. Daddy is so nice to me. He brings me out to y every day, buys me beautiful dresses, and takes me out to eat whatever I want.¡± ¡°...¡± Jin Qingyue was seething with exasperation upon hearing what her daughter said in the video. She mmed her hand down onto the table and sprung up from her seat. ¡°Bullshit!¡± she bellowed, raging with fury. ¡°He¡¯s making use of the child to y the sympathy card and then snatch away the custody rights from you. Indeed, he¡¯s getting a head start because Bao¡¯er prefers her father to you,¡± Ling Ciye said with a sullen expression. Jin Qingyue hugged him andmented, ¡°I doubt there¡¯s any way to clear my name and regain my reputation. This entire Weibo incident is only going to make matters worse.¡± ¡°So what even if we can¡¯t clear your name? If your reputation is tarnished, I¡¯ll face the controversy together with you,¡± Ling Ciye said in his alluring voice. ¡°But your parents...¡± ¡°When Tianze and Yangyang got married, Tianze¡¯s parents were disapproving toward Yangyang at first too. Do you know how they overcame that obstacle?¡± ¡°They acted first and reportedter. Mei Yangyang got pregnant beforehand,¡± Jin Qingyue answered without hesitation. ¡°Yes. It¡¯ll work the same for my parents too. It just depends on whether you¡¯re willing to do it or not.¡± Jin Qingyue held his gaze and tiptoed to give him a kiss. ¡°I¡¯m willing.¡± Ling Ciye swept her off her feet and carried her toward the bedroom. Jin Qingyue¡¯s mood was instantly lifted. ¡°Shall I take a shower first?¡± she asked softly. ¡°No need for that.¡± He began smooching her lips and swiftly slipped a hand beneath her skirt to pull her underwear down to her ankles. At this crucial juncture, she sat up straight. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Let me do it.¡± She looked down and unbuckled his belt. She then unzipped his trousers slowly while he stood beside the bed and stared at her from above, smiling widely from ear to ear. The temperature in the room began to rise bit by bit. The two of them continued to pant heavily for an entire hour before finally calling it quits. ¡°Brother Ciye, I don¡¯t want to let Shi Shaochuan have the rights to Bao¡¯er¡¯s custody,¡± said Jin Qingyue, lying in his arms while trying to catch her breath. ¡°I understand. Bao¡¯er is probably too deprived of paternal love. Maybe that¡¯s why she wants to be with her biological father so badly, now that she has reunited with him. I won¡¯t allow him to snatch away the rights to her custody. I think you¡¯d better reinforce the initial routine of only allowing him to look after her during weekends,¡± said Ling Ciye, holding her hand. ¡°Yeah, I think so too.¡± ¡°She¡¯s still too young to tell right from wrong. She¡¯ll understand who really has her best interests at heart when she¡¯s older.¡± ¡°I really hope so...¡± Ding-dong... ding-dong... ding-dong... The doorbell began to ring all of a sudden. The two of them sprung up and hurriedly put their clothes on. Once they got dressed, Ling Ciye proceeded to open the door while Jin Qingyue picked up the used tissues on the floor and disposed of them. Jin Qingyue initially thought that it was Mrs. Ling who hade by. To her surprise, it was Song Yan instead. ¡°What are you here for?¡± Ling Ciye questioned with a look of disdain. ¡°I happened to pass by while on my way back from filming. It¡¯s been long since we met. I just wanted to pop by to see how you¡¯re doing,¡± Song Yan said in a mellow tone. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry, I¡¯m doing very well,¡± Ling Ciye answered coldly, clearly not wanting to have anything to do with her. In fact, he did not even bother talking to her nicely. Song Yan shifted her gaze to Jin Qingyue, who was standing by the door, and said with a smile, ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± The smile on her face vanished at the instant that she turned around to leave. She seemed to have really dropped by just to say hello. Ling Ciye closed the door and turned around to make eye contact with Jin Qingyue. ¡°Are you hungry?¡± he asked. ¡°A little.¡± ¡°What would you like to eat? I¡¯ll cook it for you.¡± Supporting herself against the door frame, she answered, smiling, ¡°I¡¯ll eat anything you cook.¡± He strode toward her and nted a kiss on her lips before walking toward the kitchen. Jin Qingyue felt a warm fuzzy feeling in her heart, which was fluttering with sweetness. ¡ª The book Tuoba Shuo had given An Xiaoning was not too thick and could be finished very quickly. However, reading was one thing and memorizing its content was another, and thetter would require quite a bit of time. An Xiaoning desperately wanted to find out what she needed to know. Thus, she sacrificed most of her sleep to peruse the book. Since she had to be on duty during the day, she ought to treasure the free time she had at night to finish reading the book as soon as possible. Otherwise, she would run out of time very soon. The presidential election would be taking ce in less than a month. She decided that she would master the techniques of hypnosis taught in the book before the election. By then, she would put them to use and execute her n. That would be happening next month. She still had one day off for this month. An Xiaoning decided to use it to go out of the Autumn Pce to take a breather. When she raised her request for a day off to Tuoba Gucheng, he did not bother looking up at her and instead simply answered, ¡°Go ahead and take a break since you¡¯re allowed one day off every month.¡± ¡°Thank you, Your Highness.¡± An Xiaoning bowed to him and turned around to leave. A look of dismay formed in Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s eyes as he watched her leave hastily. An Xiaoning exited the Autumn Pce. She collected her car from the carpark in the basement of the hotel nearby. She removed the mask on her face and changed into the other beautiful mask she owned. She remembered that Shi Xiaoyu had hired people to station themselves near the Gu family mansion and Wei Ni Estate in order to keep a close eye on her. Besides, she had already made an appearance on the news and imed to be overseas at the moment. Thus, she could not go about using her real identity for the time being. Furthermore, she was not nning to head to the Gu family mansion or to Wei Ni Estate to see her son. Thus, Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s men may keep watch for all she cares. Upon reaching A City, she called Mei Yangyang and instructed her to book a hotel room. They then headed to the room after collecting the key card. An Xiaoning could finally rx and unwind. She sprawled herself across the huge bed and said to Mei Yangyang, ¡°I now own a book that gives instructions on how to hypnotize someone when they¡¯re asleep.¡± Chapter 605 - The Secret About the Past (223)

Chapter 605: The Secret About the Past (223)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Really? Sis, where did you buy this?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t buy it. It can¡¯t be bought from stores.¡± An Xiaoning removed her mask and put on a beauty serum facial mask onto her actual skin. ¡°It was given to me by someone in the Autumn Pce, the only person there who can help me. This is a good solution. I¡¯ll get to find out everything I need to, as long as I can get near Tuoba Rui and Shi Xiaoyu when they¡¯re asleep. However, I would first have to be able to enter their sleeping area. So, my n is to take action during the presidential election next month,¡± she continued, sitting cross-legged on the bed. ¡°Sis, there are so many infrared beam detectors and surveince cameras in there. You have to be very careful. Be cautious at all times,¡± Mei Yangyang cautioned worriedly. ¡°I know. By the way, Mo Li gave me a call the other day. It was so bizarre and out of the blue.¡± Mei Yangyang exined briefly about Mo Li¡¯s situation and looked at An Xiaoning calmly. ¡°I wonder if she can really conceive a boy by altering her fate. I doubt it, though.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that easy to alter your fate. Besides, Yangyang, do you know what it means if she manages to alter it sessfully?¡± An Xiaoning asked, hugging her knees. Mei Yangyang immediately tensed up upon hearing her words. ¡°It¡¯s difficult for Mo Li to conceive because of her poor health, but I don¡¯t know if it has gotten better now after treatment and proper nourishment. Heaven has blessed her with four daughters in her life, including the one she had aborted due to a deformity. Heaven will forgive her for that since it was necessary. However, now that she has altered her fate to beg for a son, she would have to strike a deal with Heaven and give up something in exchange.¡± Greatly taken aback, Mei Yangyang asked, ¡°Sis, what are the conditions for exchanging a son?¡± ¡°Make a guess.¡± An Xiaoningy down in bed with two pillows beside her and continued, ¡°There are many infertile couples who go to the temple to beg for a child. Those are truly childless, unlike her. Heaven will be displeased at her greedy request since she¡¯s already blessed with so many children in her life.¡± Mei Yangyang could not guess what the conditions were, though she had a hunch that it would be ominous. ¡°Sis, Mo Li seems really pitiful. Could you give her a hand?¡± An Xiaoning looked up and said, ¡°How am I supposed to help her? Not to mention, we¡¯re only tonic friends. Even if we were really close, there¡¯s no way since she¡¯s too soft-hearted and submissive. She doesn¡¯t want a divorce and yet she can¡¯t give birth to a son. It¡¯s inevitable for her to be treated that way by her mother-inw. People always say that your personality decides your destiny. I find that that saying does make a lot of sense. Do you know how many women in this world are like Mo Li?¡± Shaking her head, Mei Yangyang answered, ¡°No.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a minority of women in this world who are just like Mo Li. This is not a family issue or a political problem. She¡¯s one of those women who forgive their abusive husbands easily after being coaxed and sweet-talked. They tend to give in to their husbands¡¯ tyrannical ways and choose to forgive them time after time for the sake of their children. Whenever they threaten to get a divorce, they¡¯ll be soft-hearted and drop the idea once their husbands show a tinge of remorse and guilt. The oue is always the same. This is amon problem amongst these women,¡± An Xiaoning said indifferently. ¡°She doesn¡¯t have a choice, actually. Ye Xiaotian was so restrictive toward her before they got married...¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about the past. Take the current situation for example. She has the option to divorce him now, but why didn¡¯t she do so? It¡¯s precisely because she had already fallen in love with Ye Xiaotian and can¡¯t bear to give her child up.¡± Mei Yangyangy down beside her and put one leg over another. ¡°Sis, you love Mr. Jin and Yiheng too. How did you manage to just divorce him so straightforwardly? Was Mr. Jin just as unhesitant too?¡± ¡°He insisted on getting a divorce, like how I did during our first divorce. I understand how he feels. But I can¡¯t forgive him for it.¡± Tears began to well up in her eyes instantly. She turned to look at Mei Yangyang and said, ¡°I used to think that our rtionship was strong enough to ovee any obstacle and withstand the test of whateveres our way. But I guess that was just wishful thinking on my part. Since he doesn¡¯t trust me, there¡¯s no point in forcing it. Besides, I¡¯ve never needed a man to feel safe. I can continue to live well even without him.¡± Mei Yangyang held her hand andid her head on her shoulder. ¡°Sis, I doubt you¡¯d believe in marriage again, right?¡± ¡°If I ever meet a man in the future whom I adore, we¡¯ll just date and live together. Don¡¯t talk to me about marriage again. I don¡¯t need it.¡± A teardrop streamed down An Xiaoning¡¯s face as she continued, ¡°I¡¯ve thought about it carefully before. Humans are creatures who yearn and need to be loved. I still do believe in true love and hope to meet a man who truly understands me. He doesn¡¯t have to be wealthy or extremely good-looking. As long as I fancy him and he knows me well, it¡¯s good enough.¡± ¡°I thought you wouldn¡¯t believe in men anymore, Sis.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that drastic yet. You can¡¯t possibly develop a fear of walking just because you stepped on some poop along the way, can you?¡± said An Xiaoning, sounding much more rxed. When she got a divorce with Jin Qingyan, she initially thought that she would remain alone for the rest of her life. But then again, how sad would that be... She did not wish to live like that. Amused by her words, Mei Yangyang chirped, ¡°You¡¯re right, Sis. I¡¯m d to know that you think that way. One should always look forward in life. Take Qingyue, for example. She¡¯s getting along so well with Mr. Ling. She¡¯s finally found her true love.¡± An Xiaoning wiped away the teardrop on her face and looked at Mei Yangyang while smiling. ¡°If I ever look for a man again, I¡¯m not going to be with an intelligent one. Smart men are tooplicated to deal with.¡± ¡°Mr. Gu ultimately failed to win your heart despite having carried a torch for you for so many years. Will there really be another man who can win you over in the future?¡± ¡°There will be, for sure. My life is not going to stop advancing after Jin Qingyan. I believe in fate. What¡¯s destined to be mine wille to me sooner orter,¡± An Xiaoning said unwaveringly. ¡°...¡± Mei Yangyang had made Long Tianze jealous by ditching him and their children to hang out with her sworn sister. Upon hearing that Mei Yangyang and An Xiaoning were nning to visit the ck Genie Bar that night, Long Tianze immediately persuaded his friends, Jin Qingyan, and Ling Ciye to go together with him. Meanwhile, he left the children at home to read someics or y some video games. Thus, the three men stepped into the ck Genie Bar, where the pair of sworn sisters were leaning against the railing on the second floor to watch the ongoing pole dance performance on stage on the first floor. They sat down naturally at their usual spot the moment they entered. The waiter soon served the drinks. Long Tianze scanned his surroundings and finallyid his eyes upon the railing area on the second floor. The two women were standing there, each with a ss of liquor in their hands, and were yet to discover their presence. Long Tianze ced his arms on the couch and said with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t stand on ceremony with me. There¡¯s plenty of alcohol here. Drink to your hearts¡¯ content.¡± ¡°No one¡¯s standing on ceremony with you. Qingyan, order the most expensive alcohol and make him feel the pinch,¡± Ling Ciye teased while filling their sses to the brim. They clinked sses with each other and chugged the liquor down in one sitting. Just as they raised their sses, Jin Qingyan pause and shifted his gaze to the silhouette on the second floor, which belonged to a familiar woman. He could recognize her right away even though she was wearing a mask. The moment he put down his ss, Jin Qingyan turned to Long Tianze and said, ¡°I heard you have some pretty and innocent-looking babes here. Call a few here to apany us.¡± Chapter 606 - The Secret About the Past (224)

Chapter 606: The Secret About the Past (224)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I don¡¯t want one. It¡¯s going to cause a misunderstanding and spark a familial conflict,¡± Ling Ciye objected without hesitation. ¡°Mr. Ling has really changed his ways. How rare of you to turn down thepany of pretty babes. Alright, it¡¯s up to you. You¡¯re single anyway.¡± Long Tianze then waved at the bar manager, who immediately rushed over onmand. ¡°Brother Long, how may I help you?¡± ¡°Call the purest girls here and let Mr. Jin take his pick.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°Just how pure are they? Are they still virgins?¡± Ling Ciye asked curiously. Long Tianze assented and said, ¡°Of course, they¡¯ve all undergone thorough checks. This is one of the greatest features of our bar that we¡¯ve justunched. They¡¯re hostesses who only apany customers and never sleep with them. Not only are their bodies pure, but they look really innocent as well. They¡¯d definitely be over the moon to know that Qingyan had picked them.¡± ¡°Since you have girls of such high quality here, tell us honestly, have you ever tried them yourself?¡± Ling Ciye asked. ¡°Of course not. I wouldn¡¯t dare to. Yangyang would kill me for sure,¡± Long Tianze said earnestly. Ling Ciye burst intoughter and said, ¡°I knew you would say that.¡± ¡°Why did you bother asking then? Silly,¡± Long Tianze hissed, rolling his eyes. Not long after, the manager led five innocent-looking babes to their table. The girls appeared extremely young and seemed to be only in theirte teens. They were all slender and thin, with dainty and exquisite features on their tiny faces. They were all sporting different hairstyles; some had curly long locks, some straight, while others had short haircuts. They were all dressed in short skirts that ended at their tights, paired with a revealing, thin-strapped tank top and a pair of heels on their feet. They were indeed rather eye-catching. Upon sight of the three men in front of them, the five girls smiled widely and stood uniformly in a row. ¡°What do you think? Mr. Jin, take your pick,¡± said Long Tianze, pointing at the row of girls. Jin Qingyan scanned the girls before him before saying unhurriedly, ¡°There¡¯s no need to pick. All of you may stay.¡± Long Tianze and Ling Ciye looked at each other in delight and broke into smiles. ¡°Sure!¡± Long Tianze then motioned for the manager to leave. ¡°You may go first.¡± ¡°Yes, Brother Long.¡± The five girls were grinning joyfully. Two of them were quick to make a move and immediately sat down beside Jin Qingyan, sandwiching him in between themselves while the other three proceeded to sit down along the sides. It was such a rare opportunity for the girls to meet Jin Qingyan. Thus, they leaned closely against him and spoke in a gentle voice, all smiles. He nced up at the second floor to find that An Xiaoning had caught sight of everything, just like he had expected. Thus, he put an arm around a girl beside him and pressed his face against her ear affectionately, causing the girl to blush shyly. Needless to say, An Xiaoning witnessed the scene taking ce before her. She looked away calmly and said to Mei Yangyang, ¡°Your husband is here.¡± ¡°Where is he?¡± ¡°Right there.¡± Mei Yangyang looked in the direction of An Xiaoning¡¯s gaze, only to find that Long Tianze was indeed there. On top of that, she also saw that Jin Qingyan was surrounded by a bunch of girls. ¡°Sis, are you okay?¡± she asked inquisitively. An Xiaoning maintained herposure and answered, ¡°Of course I am. Since we¡¯re out tonight, we ought to have as much fun as we can. I¡¯ll have to drive back to B City at midnight. Yangyang, get me a dance dress and a young, dashingd to be my partner. I want to dance on the dance floor downstairs.¡± Mei Yangyang¡¯s eyes lit up with joy and immediately did as An Xiaoning requested, knowing what thetter was nning to do. An Xiaoning was holding a ss of red liquor in her hand with a look ofposure. A smirk formed on her face as she shifted her gaze to a corner. He seems to be living a carefree life of fun after our divorce. I obviously can¡¯t lose out to him! Just you wait and see! Long Tianze looked up again at the second floor to find that the two women had gone missing. He scanned his surroundings again in a bid to search for them in the crowd, but to no avail. ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Ling Ciye asked. ¡°I saw my wife here earlier. How did she disappear so soon?¡± ¡°She¡¯s not going to go missing. Look how unnecessarily anxious and worried you are.¡± Just as Ling Ciye finished speaking, the music ying from the stage came to an abrupt stop. All eyes were on the woman who was walking slowly on the elevated stage. It was none other than Mei Yangyang. Holding the microphone in her hand, she announced with a smile, ¡°Tonight, we have a mysteriousdy who¡¯s going to perform a pole dance with her male partner. Let¡¯s wee them with a round of apuse!¡± The crowd surrounding the stage began pping and cheering loudly. The three men looked over to see a woman who was donning a butterfly mask walking toward the stage slowly, hand in hand with a handsome young man who had a killer body. Ling Ciye was bbergasted to recognize the familiar figure on stage. He looked at Long Tianze and asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t that...¡± Long Tianze responded with just a nod. An Xiaoning was scantily d and appeared extremely sexy and appealing. She was dressed in a red bustier top, which pushed her bosom together, coupled with a red boxer shorts that barely covered anything. On her feet were a pair of sandaled heels. The audience below roared and cheered in exhration at the instant that she leaned against the pole and raised one leg up to wrap around it. Smiling widely, An Xiaoning began dancing sensually and gracefully like a ravishing seductress the moment the music began to y. No one could take their eyes off her. Whenever she busted out intimate moves with her male dance partner, which appeared extremely racy, the male audience below the stage would get extremely thrilled and aroused. In fact, she had even caught the attention of Long Tianze and Ling Ciye with her visually-appealing moves. It was simply too breathtakingly stunning. While everyone was in the midst of enjoying a fascinating performance, a sullen expression had taken over Jin Qingyan¡¯s face as he grew increasingly indignant... The menacing look on his face terrorized the women beside him. After the song ended, An Xiaoning was lifted off the ground by her male dance partner, who then carried her in his arms, away from the crowd. Long Tianze turned around and feigned ignorance. ¡°This woman is such a great dancer. Perhaps she¡¯s new. Otherwise, why haven¡¯t I seen her before?¡± ¡°Tianze, why don¡¯t you get the manager to send that woman here to apany me?¡± Ling Ciye chimed in. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you don¡¯t want to risk causing any unnecessary misunderstanding and conflict?¡± Ling Ciye shot him a nce and said, ¡°She¡¯s not here, it won¡¯t matter.¡± He and Long Tianze looked at each other in unison and chuckled, after which Long Tianze did as instructed and proceeded to inform the manager. If even they could recognize her, how could Jin Qingyan have possibly failed to do so? However, he remained silent and instead chugged liquor continuously. Neither of his friends tried to stop him, and they watched as he drank to his heart¡¯s content, knocking himself drunk out of his senses. By the time An Xiaoning and Mei Yangyang approached, Jin Qingyan had already gotten drunk and was leaning against the couch with his eyes closed. ¡°Mr. Ling, I heard you asked for mypany?¡± said An Xiaoning, who was wearing the mask. Ling Ciye expressed assent and said, ¡°Are you not willing to?¡± An Xiaoning nodded and sat down beside him. She handed him a ss of liquor before pouring herself another ss. She then clinked sses with him and said, ¡°Let me first toast to you.¡± Ling Ciye held the ss in his hand and watched as she finished hers. ¡°When you drink, you¡¯re just as graceful as when you¡¯re dancing. What a pleasurable sight,¡± he praised. An Xiaoning ced her legs up onto the coffee table, showing off her sandaled heels, which were embellished with sparkling crystals¡ª absolutely gorgeous. Chapter 607 - The Secret About the Past (225)

Chapter 607: The Secret About the Past (225)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The girls beside Jin Qingyan were surprised to see how bold An Xiaoning was, to actually have the audacity to act that way in front of the wealthy men. It seemed to them that she must be close friends with the boss¡¯ wife, Mei Yangyang. ¡°How are things with Qingyuetely?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Very good.¡± ¡°Inform me when you two are getting married. I¡¯ll give you guys a huge red packet.¡± An Xiaoning was sitting right opposite Jin Qingyan. She would often make eye contact with him every now and then, though she did not make a conscious effort to stare at him. ¡°I must invite you, without a doubt. You¡¯re the great matchmaker who pulled us together. You must be present no matter what,¡± Ling Ciye said with a chuckle. An Xiaoning nodded and asked, ¡°When did you recognize me?¡± ¡°When you were on stage. With that figure of yours, anyone can recognize you after meeting you a few times,¡± Ling Ciye answered bluntly. ¡°Ahh...¡± the girl sitting beside Jin Qingyan purred, surprised and ttered to be pulled into his embrace tightly. The girl was flushed red with shyness as she leaned against his chest gently, beaming with bliss and joy. Everyone stared at each other awkwardly. Noticing how calm and still An Xiaoning was, Mei Yangyang red at her husband sternly. Long Tianze immediately stretched his back and pretended not to notice anything. An inexplicable and strange tension filled the air. ¡°Boss, someone is calling you again!¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s ringtone crooned all of a sudden, greatly startling Ling Ciye, who was seated beside her. An Xiaoning whipped her phone out leisurely to take a look before standing up to leave straight away. Mei Yangyang hurriedly took chase. Upon reaching the entrance, she chucked her mobile phone inside her pocket while Mei Yangyang asked, ¡°Sis, why didn¡¯t you answer the call?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just an rm I set. I¡¯m going to go back to the hotel to get some rest now. Help me inform them that I¡¯m leaving.¡± ¡°Sis, I¡¯ll go with you...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t make your husband jealous. What if he forbids you from seeing me again in the future?¡± An Xiaoning jested, smiling at her. ¡°He wouldn¡¯t dare to.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯m driving back now. I have to set off for B City at about three in the morning. I had a whale of a time tonight, all thanks to you.¡± ¡°Well then... be careful on the roads, Sis.¡± ¡°Yes, I will.¡± An Xiaoning turned around and walked toward her car. She took her phone out again the moment she got inside the car. Her phone screen lit up immediately. Smiling wryly, she stared at the rm she had set earlier on. When the manager called for her to apany the men, she headed to the washroom to set an rm on her phone in order to create an excuse for her to leave. Well, it wasn¡¯t like her to avoid them. It was almost twenty days since they had gotten a divorce. Yet, it felt like it happened only yesterday. Every inch of her was filled with pain and misery, which stemmed from the fact that they had lost each other, something that she had never expected to happen again. She thought that they could ovee all challenges and withstand all tests, so long as they truly loved each other. Yet, that was not the case. When she drove back to the hotel, An Xiaoning was filled with an inexplicable feeling of oppression. She dared not recall the scenes involving him in the bar earlier. She could tell that he was canoodling that girl on purpose in order to spite her. She also knew that he was trying to make her feel awkward and awful. She simply did not want him to get away with it, thinking that she dared not face him because she had a guilty conscience. Tears welled up in her eyes. The more she tried to hold them back, the harder they seemed to fall. Atst, she had no choice but to let them flow freely. Meanwhile, Mei Yangyang returned to sit down on the couch. ¡°Where did she go?¡± Ling Ciye asked. ¡°She left because she had something urgent to attend to.¡± Mei Yangyang then stood in front of Long Tianze and bent forward, smiling. ¡°Hubby,e with me. I have something to say to you.¡± ¡°Say it here,¡± said Long Tianze, seemingly having guessed something. ¡°Forget it, we¡¯ll talk when we¡¯re home,¡± Mei Yangyang answered, since she was not in a hurry anyway. Staring at the girls cozying up to Jin Qingyan, Mei Yangyang instructed sternly, ¡°Leave.¡± The girls looked at each other in dismay and stood up to leave reluctantly. Jin Qingyan straightened his back slowly and took out a box of cigarettes from his pocket. He then retrieved a cigarette and lit it up. After taking a puff from the cigarette he held between his fingers, he said indifferently, ¡°Were you guys in cahoots tonight?¡± Mei Yangyang sat down and answered, ¡°You thought we were in cahoots with each other? No, we¡¯re here purely to have fun.¡± Long Tianze admitted, ¡°I dragged you and Ciye here because I heard from Yangyang that she would be here tonight too. I just thought...¡± ¡°Thought we ought to have a good talk, right?¡± Jin Qingyan finished his sentence. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing to talk about.¡± Jin Qingyan was feeling a little giddy; he had drunk a lot of alcohol that night, though he was still a tad bit sober. Ling Ciye took a few sips of his drink and asked, ¡°Do you still love her?¡± ¡°Not anymore,¡± Jin Qingyan answered calmly without hesitation, as if he had already rehearsed it in his head a million times before. ¡°You still haven¡¯t told us what exactly happened between you two. Although it¡¯s your personal matter, Qingyan, you¡¯ll feel better after telling us about it, lest we make blind guesses. It¡¯s so frustrating. I suppose you¡¯re aware that we¡¯re all very concerned about each other¡¯s private lives,¡± said Ling Ciye. ¡°There¡¯s nothing much to tell you guys about. I don¡¯t wish to bring up anything about her anymore. It no longer has anything to do with me either. She¡¯s already lost her ce in my heart. I¡¯m going to begin my new life from now onwards too.¡± Everyone decided not to force him since he was reluctant to speak up. Mei Yangyang was devastated. Staring at the man opposite her, she said, ¡°You and my Sis have been through thick and thin and ovee so many obstacles together. I thought you would be the one who understands her best. When you met with the tsunami, Sis spent all her days at the office. She said that she wanted to take on all the responsibilities of managing thepany for your sake and that she could not allow anything to happen to the Jin Corporation. I know how much she loves you. Although she hasn¡¯t told me how your rtionship hade to this, I¡¯m very certain that you¡¯re mistaken about something. If my Sis wanted to be unfaithful toward you, she would¡¯ve long gotten into a rtionship with Mr. Gu. She wouldn¡¯t have agreed to reconcile and marry you again. Mr. Jin, Mr. Gu is nowhere inferior to you in every aspect. You only managed to trump him because she loves you. I understand Tianze¡¯s intentions for asking you out tonight. But since you¡¯ve already decided, we onlookers can only wish the best for you guys.¡± A silence filled the air and no one dared to speak. Atst, Mei Yangyang added, ¡°During my conversation with Sis today, she mentioned that she would no longer have any fantasies about marriage. However, she hasn¡¯t given up or lost her ability to love someone yet. She still hopes to meet a man who truly understands her. The hardest thing in life to aplish is to meet the right person at the right time.¡± Ling Ciye drove Jin Qingyan home while Long Tianze and Mei Yangyang returned in their own car. ¡°Honey, are you going to beat me when we¡¯re home?¡± ¡°I was nning to do so, but now that I think about it, you did it merely out of good intentions. Fortunately, Mr. Jin didn¡¯t get to gain the upper hand tonight. My Sis managed to get back at him,¡± Mei Yangyang said with a sigh. Chapter 608 - The Secret About the Past (226)

Chapter 608: The Secret About the Past (226)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Seriously speaking, your Sis¡¯ dance performance tonight was way too sensual and racy.¡± Mei Yangyang red at him and questioned, ¡°Were you enticed too?¡± ¡°Of course not,¡± Long Tianze blurted without hesitation. ¡°You¡¯re the only woman in this world who can entice me. No one else has the ability to attract me, alright? But Qingyan looked so cross tonight.¡± ¡°If he can canoodle pretty girls, why can¡¯t my Sis be allowed to dance with a hunk? They¡¯re both free and single now. No one is to restrict them,¡± Mei Yangyang retorted. ¡°What a shame... You have a point though. I wonder if he registered what you said earlier on,¡± said Long Tianze, clutching the steering wheel. ¡°It¡¯s up to him to listen to me. I¡¯ve already said what I should.¡± ¡°...¡± A deafening silence filled the air in the other car. Ling Ciye was behind the wheel while Jin Qingyan rode in the passenger seat with his eyes tightly shut, though it was unclear if he had fallen asleep or not. The cars drove into Wei Ni Estate one after another. ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± Noticing that Jin Qingyan opened his eyes immediately, Ling Ciye knew that he did not fall asleep during the journey at all. He alighted from the car and headed straight into his mansion. Ling Ciye parked the car at the side and followed Jin Qingyan in. ¡°Auntie Chen, Qingyan had a lot to drink. Please brew some hangover broth and send it to himter.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± After making the necessary arrangements, Ling Ciye left. Jin Qingyan proceeded to take a shower once he arrived upstairs. Images of the events that took ce in the ck Genie Bar tonight shed through his mind while he stood beneath the shower head. The proud and willful An Xiaoning seemed to have weaved herself into the crevices of his flesh and bone and had long since be a part of him. He thought that he could break free from her after the divorce. However, in reality, he had already been shackled to her for life and the divorce was merely a formality that served no actual purpose for him. He heard a knocking on his door when he came out of the shower, d in a bathrobe. ¡°Young Sir, here¡¯s some hangover broth.¡± He opened the door and received it from her hands. ¡°Thank you, Auntie Chen.¡± ¡°Rest well, Young Sir.¡± Auntie Chen bowed and headed downstairs. After closing the door, he downed the broth andy down in bed. However, he had trouble sleeping as usual. Thus, he had no choice but to rely on sleeping pills to help send him off to dreand. ¡ª Xiaozong refused to go anywhere else and remained at home to apany Mei Shuangshuang. Mei Shuangshuang realized that she was feeling sleepy and lethargic every single day and would spend most of her time sleeping, as if she could never get enough rest no matter how much she slept. She was not born yesterday and knew that something must have gone amiss. She woke up in the middle of the night to find that the man beside her was still sound asleep. Mei Shuangshuang heard a notification tone from a messaging tform. She reached for his mobile phone, which was lying on the headboard, and opened the new message he had received. She immediately flew into an uncontroble rage the moment she scrolled upwards to view his chat history. Xiaozong had been having extremely flirtatious conversations with other girls. Feeling betrayed, Mei Shuangshuang proceeded to check his other message history, after which she immediately switched on the lights and shook Xiaozong to wake him up. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Darling?¡± He sat up straight, sleepy-eyed. ¡°Who¡¯s this? Your conversations are so explicitly sexual and flirtatious. How dare you engage in such suggestive conservations with another woman behind my back!?!¡± Mei Shuangshuang hollered in pique, showing him the chat messages. ¡°I didn¡¯t send those messages. Fatty was the one who did it using my mobile phone,¡± he exined. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Of course. Why would I dare to do that?¡± he answered, putting an arm around her shoulder. Mei Shuangshuang forced herself to believe him. ¡°I¡¯m going to take a shower.¡± ¡°Alright, go ahead.¡± Once she entered the bathroom, Xiaozong took out a separate mobile phone from beneath his pillow and sent Mei Shuangshuang a text message, which he had already typed beforehand. He then switched off his mobile phone and went back to sleep. Mei Shuangshuang was no longer sleepy by the time she came out of the shower. She picked up her mobile phone and leaned against the headboard out of habit. Noticing that she had received a new text message, she tapped to open it, only to receive a great shock. She immediately shrieked in exasperation. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? What happened? You gave me a scare,¡± Xiaozong asked. ¡°Someone has made a fraudulent and unauthorized transaction with my card! I just received a notification from the bank moments ago. It¡¯s said that all my money has been transferred away from my ount. I must hurry and make a police report,¡± she said anxiously, showing him the text message. She then got up in an attempt to get dressed. Xiaozong immediately grabbed her and said, ¡°Calm down, I¡¯ll call the police right now.¡± He whipped out his mobile phone and turned to the side to dial a number with his back facing her. ¡°Hello, is this the police station? There has been an unauthorized transaction made using my girlfriend¡¯s bank card just a short while ago. She was robbed of more than 500 thousand dors. Her name is Mei Shuangshuang. Her identification number and bank ount number...¡± He waved at Mei Shuangshuang and gestured for her to bring her personal identification card and bank card to him. Mei Shuangshuang hurriedly proceeded to do so. Xiaozong finally ended the call after going through the motions. In fact, the number he had dialed actually belonged to his friend, who yed along to fabricate a seamless phone call. As for the text message she received from ¡°the bank,¡± it was sent using a mere scam software he had bought, which allowed any number to be set as the sender ID. Mei Shuangshuang felt a sense of relief after knowing that a police report had been made. Or so she thought. She began cursing and bawling in agony while Xiaozong chimed in. ¡°I wonder if my money can be recovered. How am I supposed to live without money?¡± Mei Shuangshuangmented with a glum and gloomy expression. ¡°Your family is so wealthy, it doesn¡¯t matter. Just ask your parents for more.¡± Mei Shuangshuang decided to put down her facade and said, ¡°My mother passed away not long ago. My sister is currently taking care of my father. He¡¯s penniless.¡± ¡°Where did you get those hundreds of thousands then?¡± Xiaozong asked with a slight change in his tone. ¡°I sold my father¡¯s jade pendant that my sister had bought for him. I can¡¯t return to that home either. What am I supposed to do now, Xiaozong? I¡¯ll have to depend on you from now on,¡± said Mei Shuangshuang with dejection written all over her face. A look of dismay formed on Xiaozong¡¯s face. He sighed and said, ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve been hiding this from you, but I¡¯ve been staying with you these past few days because I fell out with my father.¡± ¡°What!?!¡± Mei Shuangshuang gasped in shock and stared at him in disbelief, as if his words were salt being rubbed into her wound. ¡°Why did you guys fall out?¡± she asked. ¡°My father wants me to marry the daughter of a family friend. But since you and I are already dating, I ought to take responsibility for you. So, I had a tiff with my father and he kicked me out of the house.¡± Mei Shuangshuang was moved to tears upon hearing his words. ¡°Xiaozong... you¡¯re so nice to me,¡± she said, throwing herself into his arms. ¡°Silly, you¡¯re my woman, of course I¡¯m going to be nice to you.¡± ¡°But how are we supposed to continue with life now that both of us are penniless? I feel so hopeless now,¡± Mei Shuangshuangmented in misery. ¡°From what you¡¯ve said, your sister seems to be very wealthy. Why don¡¯t we ask her for some money? I doubt she¡¯d watch you starve to death, would she?¡± ¡°She must be furious at me for selling my father¡¯s jade pendant. I reckon she won¡¯t allow me to step foot into her house,¡± said Mei Shuangshuang, who understood Mei Yangyang too well. Chapter 609 - The Secret About the Past (227)

Chapter 609: The Secret About the Past (227)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Your sister lives in Wei Ni Estate and she can even afford to buy your father such an expensive piece of jade. What exactly does she do for a living?¡± Xiaozong asked. ¡°My brother-inw is the owner of an entertainmentpany while my sister is a housewife.¡± ¡°What is your brother-inw¡¯s name?¡± ¡°Long Tianze.¡± Xiaozong lit up in surprise. ¡°Long Tianze?¡± ¡°Yes, his name is Long Tianze.¡± ¡°Do your sister and your brother-inw share a close rtionship?¡± ¡°Yes, they do,¡± Mei Shuangshuang answered with a nod. ¡°If we could dupe your sister, lure her out, and then extort money from your brother-inw, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll give it to you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll then be sent to prison after I get my hands on the money,¡± Mei Shuangshuang said feebly. ¡°Are you silly? How could you do it yourself? Don¡¯t you know how to hire someone else to do it?¡± said Xiaozong. ¡°I don¡¯t even have money to hire someone to do it for me. All you do is just talk.¡± ¡°I can borrow some from my friends,¡± said Xiaozong. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it. But I¡¯m still hoping that the police can help recover my money.¡± ¡°Alright, give it some thought. Anyway, this will not be an easy task and we¡¯ll have toe up with a seamless n.¡± ¡ª An Xiaoning could very clearly sense the drastic change in Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s attitude. Apart from giving her official instructions, he had never spoken to her about anything else ever since. An Xiaoning would often remain quiet and, sometimes, stay silent without uttering a word for several consecutive days. He perpetually had a sullen expression on his face, which only eased up in front of Lin Shishi. Everyone knew that the pair of newlyweds were bing increasingly loving toward each other ever since they got married. Lin Shishi was just like a teenager who fell hopelessly in love, for she was beaming with joy every single day. An Xiaoning was d to see how well Tuoba Gucheng was treating Lin Shishi, and she was happy for thetter. Don¡¯t most women just yearn to have a husband who dotes on them? Time passed by, day after day. It was the end of August when a piece of groundbreaking news erupted online. Tuoba Hancheng was photographed entering a popr gay nightclub and did not leave until the next day, causing a major uproar amongst the public. Without a doubt, such controversial news would definitely be disadvantageous, especially since there was only a short period of time until the presidential election. Although the piece of news was revoked very soon, the public nevertheless still continued to engage in incessant gossip about the matter, as if they had witnessed it with their own eyes. Besides, Tuoba Hancheng was the only bachelor amongst his siblings, since Tuoba Gucheng was already married and Tuoba Danxue¡¯s wedding was to be held in December. Tuoba Hancheng was a stern and reserved man who had dashing good looks and a superb figure. Everyone began specting and deducing that he must be a homosexual. There were all sorts ofments and opinions. Tuoba Rui and Shi Xiaoyu hit the roof when the news went out. They immediately released a statement, iming that Tuoba Hancheng was not a homosexual. However, there was no way to reverse the adverse effects brought about by the piece of news, regardless of their statement. Come September, the entire nation would be casting their votes to elect the next president. The presidential election was held once every eight years. However, all of the presidential candidates would perpetually be from the Tuoba family. After all, how could an outsider be elected as the president in a nation whose political system was based on royal inheritance? An Xiaoning had a little less than a month to go before the election when she arrived back at the Autumn Pce from A City. She would hear the fishy ringing sound once every few days. After having heard it several times, she was certain that there was definitely a secret chamber in the room. An Xiaoning was exceptionally eager to enter Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s bedroom again to find out more. The election was scheduled for mid-September. It would be in autumn when the weather was cool and breezy. There were voting stations in every province, county, and city of S Nation. Citizens were allowed to cast their votes online too, though every personal identification number was allowed to vote only once. There would be staff personnel to check for void votes. Since it was a national affair, every citizen in S Nation was prepared to make a vote. Of course, there were only three candidates. They were the current president, Tuoba Rui, Tuoba Hancheng, and Tuoba Gucheng. The citizens¡¯ votes would decide if Tuoba Rui could continue being the president or would have to give up his position for the next generation of young blood. While outsiders were not allowed to partake in running for the president, the citizens were, however, the deciding factor of who bes the next president. Thus, it could be said that S Nation was a partially-democratic country. The election would go on for two months, all the way until mid-November. However, the people¡¯s choice will not be immediately installed as the new president, and he would still have to undergo another round of voting by the ministers and members of the cab. In the past, Tuoba Rui would often continue his position as the president, for the other two candidates were still young adolescents who were definitely incapable of running a country. But, things are different now since they¡¯ve already reached adulthood and thus were suitable candidates. An Xiaoning had been following Tuoba Gucheng around in the day incessantly as his bodyguard. After a long, arduous day of work, it was only right that she finally get some rest at night. However, that was not the case. Her n was to find a way to enter Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s room during the election period. After all, what else was the purpose of her disguising as a bodyguard in the Autumn Pce? To find out the ultimate truth about her mother, of course. She would never find it tiring, regardless of how physically exhausted she may be. Thus, when she and Tuoba Gucheng returned to the mansion at past ten o¡¯clock in the evening, An Xiaoning did not rest even though her legs were already aching. She had already finished memorizing the content of the bookst night and had mastered all the techniques of hypnosis to awaken one¡¯s innermost consciousness when they¡¯re asleep. She even ran a trial with Tuoba Shuo to test her skills, and the oue proved that she had indeed mastered them well. All she had to do now was wait for the chance to take action on Tuoba Rui and Shi Xiaoyu. After resting for two hours, she got up at twelve midnight and dragged herself out, dog-tired. The guards on duty outside were not surprised to see her since she would frequently go out at night for a walk. She headed to Tuoba Shuo¡¯s mansion as agreed upon earlier. Upon sight of him, An Xiaoning said, ¡°I¡¯ve thought about it carefully. It¡¯d be too dangerous for you to send me to Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s bedroom. Your safety will be at stake. So, I¡¯ve decided toe up with a better solution on my own.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be easier for me to bring you in?¡± Shaking her head, An Xiaoning exined, ¡°You¡¯d be risking everything if you bring me inside the mansion when they¡¯re both in the bedroom. I don¡¯t want you topromise your safety and risk losing the chance to live a peaceful life in the future. After all, we don¡¯t know if my mother is still alive.¡± ¡°How do you n to enter, then? Security is extremely tight around the mansion. Even if you manage to enter by luck, how are you going to make it out of there? You¡¯ll be caught very easily,¡± said Tuoba Shuo. ¡°I don¡¯t want to think about what will happen if I get caught, because it¡¯s going to make me hesitate and shy away from executing my n out of fear. Please believe me. I care most about my own safety.¡± Tuoba Shuo stared at her earnestly and said, ¡°Your mother will be very heartened to know that she has a daughter like you.¡± Even if she were to unfortunately get caught, he woulde clean about everything and keep her safe. An Xiaoning looked at him and stepped forward to give him a hug before saying, ¡°I¡¯m going now.¡± ¡°Go on.¡± An Xiaoning soon vanished into the darkness. Tuoba Shuo felt his stomach twist into a knot as he continued to pace back and forth around his room, feeling nervous and tensed up. At the same time, An Xiaoning approached her destination. This was her second visit to the mansion. Chapter 610 - The Secret About the Past (228)

Chapter 610: The Secret About the Past (228)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The problem was, how was she going to enter? The route she adopted previously was definitely a no-go. She could not rm anyone else before she made her way in. Otherwise, should she get caught, she would probably lose her life before she could even find out the truth she wanted to know. Since she had already decided to sneak in at night, she made all the necessary preparations. An Xiaoning did not choose to climb the wall because she had already observed the circumstances. For every ten steps she took, there would be a guard on duty, leaving her with no chance at all. Thus, she chose an unexpected path. The trees around the mansion would be her greatest tool. An Xiaoning climbed up a tall tree andtched her rope onto a thick branch. She was rather agile and nimble since she did not weigh much, making it easier for her to move about. It was an extremely dangerous act to leap from one tree to another using the rope, especially at night. However, it was a far safer optionpared to trying to make it past the bunch of guards on duty below the trees. Courage and bravery were indeed necessary to carry out such a dangerous act. The guards below the tree merely thought that the trees were swaying in the wind. It had never urred to them that a woman would have such audacity tomit something so dangerous. By the time An Xiaoning reached the roof of the third floor, her legs had already turned to jelly. She retracted her rope and sat on the ground, panting heavily in exhaustion. She had already expected there to be guards at the stairwell of the third floor. An Xiaoning was dressed in ck from head to toe; her head was wrapped with a ck cloth, and she was wearing a ck-colored surgical mask and a pair of shades. She retrieved a pencil-thin steel wire from her waist in an unhurried manner. The moment she cut the power circuit to switch off all the lights, she swiftly looped the wire around the guard¡¯s neck in godlike speed. He was killed instantly. She dragged him onto the rooftop and took away the gun attached to him. An Xiaoning headed to the master control on the second floor and whipped out a small bottle of fuel she had prepared beforehand. She then poured the fuel onto the stic box of the master switch and set it on fire with a lighter, causing the box to go up in mes instantly. The entire area became pitch dark all of a sudden. She removed her shades and put on the night vision goggles before zooming toward the first floor while holding her shoes in hand. An Xiaoning swiftly ducked below the stairwell when she caught sight of a bunch of bodyguards rushing up the stairs with handheldmps. After waiting for them to go upstairs, she quickly took the chance to zoom toward another corner, only to see Shi Xiaoyu exiting her room with bodyguards. It was a godsend opportunity for her. It had always been her agenda to enter Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s bedroom again. She finally had the chance to do so again after a great deal of painstaking effort. She opened the closet and began fumbling about in an attempt to find the switch from which the ringing sound came about. However, she heard footsteps approaching the room again before she had even managed to find it. An Xiaoning again hurried to hide. Being inside the room was already advantageous for her. Once Shi Xiaoyu falls asleep, An Xiaoning can then begin to hypnotize her and find out everything she wanted. Unfortunately, Shi Xiaoyu clearly did not have any intentions to sleep. Instead, she was leaning against the headboard of the bed while holding her mobile phone in hand. Knock! Knock! Knock! ¡°Come in.¡± A bodyguard entered the room and reported, ¡°Madam, the master switch was set on fire by someone. We¡¯ve checked the surveince camera footages and found that there was another trespasser again tonight. However, we couldn¡¯t find the trespasser after checking all the rooms. He or she has probably already escaped.¡± ¡°Bastard! There are so many guards around, and yet, a trespasser still managed to sneak in. Worse still, none of you could manage to catch the trespasser. A bunch of useless garbage! Seal the passageway leading to the rooftop on the third floor!¡± Shi Xiaoyu hollered in exasperation. ¡°Yes. Mr. President is already making the necessary arrangements.¡± ¡°Are there any missing items?¡± Shi Xiaoyu questioned, quivering in anger. ¡°One of the guards was strangled to death by a steel wire. The gun attached to him is missing as well.¡± ¡°Continue to investigate until you get to the bottom of the matter. This is already the second time this has happened! I don¡¯t want to see this happen for a third time!¡± Shi Xiaoyu warned sternly. ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°You may go down now.¡± An Xiaoning heard the sounds of footsteps leaving and the door being closed gently. Not long after, the lights were switched on again, which meant the master switch had been repaired. Shi Xiaoyu picked up the telephone on the headboard and dialed a number before saying, ¡°Bring me a cup of in water.¡± Soon, the door opened gently and a female servant entered with a ss of in water, which she ced beside the bed. ¡°I¡¯m going to get some rest now. No one is allowed to disturb me,¡± Shi Xiaoyu instructed. ¡°Yes, Madam.¡± After the female servant left, Shi Xiaoyu got down from the bed and locked the door from the inside. She then took a few sips of water and ced the ss onto the table. Finally, shey down in bed, seemingly much more rxed. However, the lights were not switched off yet. An Xiaoning remained still as a statue in the closet and peeked out of the closet through the tiny crack. Although Shi Xiaoyu was lying down, she could not fall asleep. An Xiaoning had no choice but to wait for Shi Xiaoyu to fall asleep before exiting the closet. Thus, she continued to wait until it was two hours past midnight. Shi Xiaoyu finally dozed off. An Xiaoning supported herself up, despite her limbs having already gone numb, and climbed out of the closet. Under the rays of the light, she stared at Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s face and inched closer toward the bed. One would only lose control of their consciousness when they¡¯re in deep sleep. During the initial stages of the sleep cycle, five percent of people are resistant toward hypnosis. Such people would never be susceptible no matter how hard you try to hypnotize them. Majority of those who have been hypnotized would not remember anything that happened during the span of the hypnosis after they snap out of it. It would be rather difficult to hypnotize someone when they¡¯re asleep, not only because consent is not granted, but also due to the fact that hypnosis would fail to ur if the subject is notpletely asleep yet. Thus, such hypnotic techniques could only be used during light sleep. An Xiaoning was feeling rather nervous and jittery since she had no idea if Shi Xiaoyu belonged to that five percent of the human poption. She bent forward and leaned closer toward Shi Xiaoyu. She first murmured some profound hypnotguage that she had learned from the book and proceeded to turn on the video function on her mobile phone once she noticed that Shi Xiaoyu hadpletely rxed her mind. ¡°There are no sounds here to disturb you now. Apart from my voice, there¡¯s nothing you can hear and it¡¯spletely silent around you. Imagine that you¡¯re floating on the surface of the ocean, how peaceful and rxing. You¡¯re paddling along the waves using your hands...¡± Shi Xiaoyu extended her arms and began paddling while lying on the bed, as if she were a puppet. An Xiaoning lit up with joy and said, ¡°Is the ocean vast?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Shi Xiaoyu answered. Upon hearing her answer, An Xiaoning continued to guide her, ¡°Continue to paddle forward and you¡¯ll see your family calling out to you from another boat. Take a look at them, who do you see?¡± ¡°Father, Mother...¡± ¡°Is your sister there too?¡± ¡°She¡¯s not my sister!¡± Shi Xiaoyu eximed agitatedly, though it was not too loud since her voice was faint. ¡°Could you tell me what she looks like now?¡± Shi Xiaoyu chuckled with her eyes tightly shut and said, ¡°Her clothes are tattered and torn, with bloodstains all over them. She¡¯s shackled to chains and her hair is unkempt and dry like weed. She hasn¡¯t brushed her hair in ages. What¡¯s the use of being pretty...¡± Chapter 611 - The Secret About the Past (229)

Chapter 611: The Secret About the Past (229)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Pressing her lips together, An Xiaoning continued to ask her in a gentle voice, ¡°Can you see where the chains are?¡± ¡°In my dungeon. She¡¯ll never be able to escape for the rest of her life. How pathetic and sad is it that she¡¯s currently in a living hell?¡± said Shi Xiaoyu, grabbing onto the bedsheets tightly. ¡°Where¡¯s the dungeon?¡± ¡°Below me... who would¡¯ve thought that there¡¯d be a dungeon below me?¡± Shi Xiaoyu muttered. An Xiaoning sat down and asked, ¡°Does your husband know about this?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m the only one who knows about this dungeon. He thinks she¡¯s dead. Hahahaha, everyone thinks she¡¯s already dead...¡± An Xiaoning again gave her a scene to imagine, ¡°The person you¡¯ve put in a living hell is standing right in front of you right now. She¡¯s lying on top of a float with your husband and roaming about leisurely on the surface of the ocean...¡± ¡°Rui is mine, Rui is mine! I want you to die, I¡¯m going to kill you...¡± Shi Xiaoyu murmured, iling her arms about in the air with a grimace on her face. She was seething with anger and resentment. ¡°Shi Qingzhou was washed away by the massive waves all of a sudden...¡± Shi Xiaoyu let out a maliciousugh and sneered, ¡°You deserve it. I hope you drown to death. That way, Rui will never be able to see you again...¡± ¡°Shi Qingzhou has been rescued and you return to the Autumn Pce together. Tuoba Shuo requests to marry Shi Qingzhou, but your parents-inw have decided to execute Shi Qingzhou. Who saved Shi Qingzhou...?¡± An Xiaoning asked, trying to sound Shi Xiaoyu out by telling her a story based on the events she had roughly heard about from Tuoba Shuo. ¡°Rui and Shi Qingzhou¡¯s Teacher who¡¯s a high priest were the ones who saved her together. She doesn¡¯t love Rui at all. Yet, Rui is so madly in love with her, to the extent that he raped her in order to get her pregnant. That¡¯s how much he loves that woman. Why, oh why, can¡¯t he just give me some of his love?¡± ¡°The child is born...¡± An Xiaoning continued. ¡°I can¡¯t allow Shi Qingzhou to snatch my position away, so I took a huge risk and locked her up forcefully. I finally got to vent all my pent-up anger and beat her into a pulp...¡± ¡°How did you answer your beloved Rui when he asked about why she had gone missing?¡± ¡°I told him that she had fled after abandoning the child and was executed in secret by his parents. I then showed him a photo I took of her while she was unconscious. Rui then thought she had died...¡± Anger surged through An Xiaoning¡¯s veins, and she curbed her urge to kill Shi Xiaoyu before asking, ¡°What did you do to the child in the end?¡± ¡°Rui told me to send the child out of the Autumn Pce. I knew he wouldn¡¯t see the child again, and I thus instructed my people to abandon her and let her fend for herself. If I¡¯d known earlier that the child would be who she is today, I would¡¯ve definitely strangled her to death back then...¡± Atst, An Xiaoning said, ¡°The ocean is really vast and you¡¯re bursting with euphoria. You want to continue drifting on the surface...¡± As soon as she finished speaking, An Xiaoning saved the recording and did not snap Shi Xiaoyu out of hypnosis immediately. If Shi Xiaoyu was not broken out of her trance via verbalmand, she would fall into a deep sleep one hourter. By the time she woke up again, she would not remember anything at all. An Xiaoning squinted and scrutinized Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s bed. An Xiaoning was very certain that the basement of Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s room was a secret chamber, based on thetter¡¯s description. The switch was just below the bed. It was a piece of cake to find it. The moment An Xiaoning pressed a button, which was deeply obscured beneath the bed, the mattress sprung up gently with a faint, ringing sound. An Xiaoning did not jump in immediately and instead tried to see if the secret passageway would be sealed automatically. As expected, the opening to the secret chamber was closed automatically after 30 seconds and the bedsheets were still intact, leaving no trace at all. A fruit knife on the dressing table caught An Xiaoning¡¯s attention. She walked toward the dressing table, picked up the fruit knife, and walked toward the bed. Just as she was about to stab Shi Xiaoyu in her chest, Tuoba Rui appeared by the door at an untimely juncture. ¡°Xiaoyu, why aren¡¯t you asleep yet?¡± An Xiaoning immediately switched off the tablemp. She thought that Tuoba Rui would leave after realizing that there was no response from Shi Xiaoyu. To her astonishment, he instructed his bodyguards, ¡°Bring me the spare keys.¡± An Xiaoning hurriedly returned the fruit knife to its original position and frantically pressed the switch below the bed. She plunged inside immediately, and the crack was sealed again within thirty seconds. An Xiaoning touched the bed frame to find that there was more there than meets the eye. What seemed to be an ordinary wooden nk turned out to be a top-quality soundproofing material. As she continued to walk into the chamber slowly, a few nks began to move closer toward each other all of a sudden, in order to seal the opening. It was obviously for soundproofing purposes. Thus, she was relieved to know that they could not hear her from upstairs. The glow from the night luminescent pearl lit up the basement, allowing her to guide herself down the stairs slowly. While walking, she then whipped out the gun she had stolen from the guard earlier. Once she reached a corner, she caught sight of two men guarding the dungeon, just like she had expected. The two male guards did not suspect anything when they heard the sounds of her footsteps since they thought it was merely Shi Xiaoyu. The moment they realized that it was a trespasser, they were instantly shot to death by An Xiaoning, who fired a bullet at each of them in their temple and chest, respectively. There was no time for them to even react or shriek. An Xiaoning was a sharpshooter. Noticing that the guards had been shot to death, Shi Qingzhou asked softly, ¡°You... you are?¡± Standing at only a short distance away, An Xiaoning looked at the woman in front of her who had a disheveled appearance and asked, ¡°Were they the only ones guarding you?¡± ¡°Yes... who... are you...¡± An Xiaoning walked toward Shi Qingzhou, who was kneeling on the ground, and squatted down slowly. She then removed the surgical mask and the ck headscarf, followed by her human skin mask. Shi Qingzhou burst into tears at the instant that she saw An Xiaoning¡¯s true appearance after the mask was removed, her lips quivering uncontrobly. She tried to hug thetter but to no avail, since her wrists were bound to chains, which produced a loud and crisp metallic screech every time she tried to move. The sounds were exceptionally loud, for Shi Qingzhou was struggling with great force. An Xiaoning extended her arms to hug her. ¡°Mother, it¡¯s me,¡± she said with tears streaming down her face. Shi Qingzhou bawled and wailed loudly in agony. ¡°Baby...¡± she cried, choking with sobs. ¡°Mother, let me get you out of here. Are the keys to the chains with those two guards?¡± ¡°Yes, they would unchain me every day during mealtimes or when I had to use the washroom.¡± An Xiaoning immediately zoomed toward the men she had just shot and fumbled about their clothing for the keys. After finding the keys, she used them to unlock the chains on Shi Qingzhou¡¯s arms and legs. Due to the fact that she had been shackled and trapped in the basement for so many years, Shi Qingzhou could no longer manage to stand straight on both feet. An Xiaoning supported her weight and asked, ¡°Are there any other passageways here apart from the one that leads upstairs?¡± An Xiaoning asked. Shi Qingzhou answered softly, ¡°Yes, the two guards would take turns to keep an eye on me. Sometimes, one of them will remain here while the other goes out to have his meal. There¡¯s a door on that wall. Baby, let¡¯s go out from there.¡± An Xiaoning sped toward the spot her mother was pointing at and asked, ¡°Is this the brick?¡± ¡°Yes, just give it a little push.¡± An Xiaoning did as instructed and pushed the brick inwards. Soon, a narrow door opened abruptly. Chapter 612 - The Secret About the Past (230)

Chapter 612: The Secret About the Past (230)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios It would be a tall order to make it through the door. Thinking that it would be difficult for the two of them to walk together, An Xiaoning squatted onto the ground and said, ¡°Mother, let me piggyback you, it¡¯ll be faster that way.¡± Shi Qingzhou conceded, well aware that she would cause a dy in their escape since she could barely walk. Thus, shetched onto An Xiaoning¡¯s back and allowed thetter to carry her. The door on the stone wall closed automatically, after which the two walked along the narrow passageway. There were no lights in the pitch-dark passageway. However, the darkness did not pose a problem to An Xiaoning since she was wearing the night vision goggles. Having already followed Tuoba Gucheng around throughout the day, An Xiaoning was long since exhausted. However, she had never once loosened up, perhaps because she was rather motivated. She strode forward extremely quickly while carrying her emaciated mother on her back. The passageway was not a straight path and instead had a lot of bends along the way. Fortunately, it was not too long. They had already been walking for more than ten minutes by the time they reached the entrance. An Xiaoning first let Shi Qingzhou down and put on her mask again before whipping out the pistol, which she gently pushed against the convex spot on the wall. Another door soon opened. There was not a single soul outside. An Xiaoning helped Shi Qingzhou out before the door closed again. She scanned her surroundings in the room. It was obviously a kitchen. They could not afford to waste any time idling about and peeked through the crack of the door to look outside. To their surprise, it was where the gardeners were lodging in. It seemed that they had prepared themselves fully, to have stayed undiscovered for more than a few decades. The night was dead silent, and humans were scarce, giving An Xiaoning the perfect chance to leave with her mother. An Xiaoning exited the door with her back facing Shi Qingzhou and hurriedly ran toward Tuoba Shuo¡¯s mansion. Tuoba Shuo had been anticipating An Xiaoning¡¯s return, filled with worry and anxiety as he paced back and forth around the mansion to check if An Xiaoning was back yet. He immediately rushed forward to wee them the moment she saw a figure appearing from the darkness. In that very moment, he burst into tears of joy and surprise. Thisss actually has the capability to rescue her mother , he thought to himself. It had never urred to him that Shi Qingzhou would still be alive. ¡°Qingzhou...¡± Shi Qingzhou could not believe her eyes. ¡°S... Shuo...¡± ¡°It¡¯s me. Let¡¯s go inside first.¡± The three of them hurriedly entered Tuoba Shuo¡¯s mansion, after which Tuoba Shuo said to An Xiaoning, ¡°Carry your mother onto the bed.¡± ¡°No, my clothes are soiled and I smell horrid. Don¡¯t...¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think you do,¡± said Tuoba Shuo. Shi Qingzhou refused vehemently and got down from An Xiaoning¡¯s back before saying, ¡°I¡¯d like to take a shower.¡± Tuoba Shuo was rather surprised to see what his lover had be after years of not seeing each other. She could not bring herself to face him for she was ashamed of how disheveled she looked, a stark contrast to what she used to be like during her younger days. She had always been vain and conscious of her appearance. Tuoba Shuo gazed at her with a look of pity in his eyes. He took a deep breath and said to An Xiaoning, ¡°The bathroom is over there. Bring her to take a shower. I¡¯ll prepare a set of clothes for her.¡± An Xiaoning agreed with a nod, ¡°Alright.¡± The two of them entered the bathroom while Tuoba Shuo walked toward his closet, in which there was a wooden crate at the bottom. The crate contained the clothes that belonged to Shi Qingzhou thirty years ago. He had been keeping them intact throughout all these years. Tuoba Shuo picked out a set of clothes from his closet and handed it to An Xiaoning. Shi Qingzhou looked like a whole new person when she came out of the shower. Her initially unkempt tresses had been washed thoroughly and were now cascading down her back. Her face had also been rid of soot and dirt, allowing her delicate features to be seen clearly. However, her skin was abnormally pale and fair due to the fact that she had been locked underground for decades, with no exposure to the sun at all. During her days in the secret chamber, she had barely had enough to eat or wear. The temperatures during summer were still tolerable since the basement would not get too warm or humid. However, the weather would be unbearably chilly and freezing during wintertime. She was now in her fifties and suffering from a string of health issues and ailments. She had lost so much weight, such that the clothes that used to fit her seamlessly were now way too loose on her thin frame. An Xiaoning helped her onto the bed and said, ¡°When he first heard the news of your death, he decided to be a monk and lived alone, until I found him.¡± Upon hearing her words, Shi Qingzhou was moved to tears and gazed at Tuoba Shuo longingly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Tuoba Shuo pulled her into an embrace and said, ¡°I should be the one saying sorry. You¡¯ve been suffering for so many years, and yet I was clueless about the torment you had been subjected to. Thank Heavens you¡¯re still alive and for allowing me the chance to see you again.¡± An Xiaoning felt as if a huge rock had been lifted off her chest. She whipped her mobile phone out to look at the time, only to realize that it was already past four o¡¯clock in the morning. ¡°I have to head back now. It¡¯s going to be daybreak very soon.¡± ¡°You had a long day at work and haven¡¯t rested even until now. Hurry and go back to get some rest. Now that your mother has been rescued, I¡¯ll take good care of her while she¡¯s here with me. I¡¯ll take your mother with me and leave this ce when the time has ripened. We¡¯ll discuss that further when the timees,¡± Tuoba Shuo said gently. ¡°Quick, go back and get some sleep,¡± Shi Qingzhou chimed in. Staring at them, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Father, I shall leave Mother in your care then.¡± This was the very first time she addressed Tuoba Shuo as her father, causing him to tear up for he was deeply moved. ¡°Alright, rest assured.¡± After watching An Xiaoning vanish out of the door, Shi Qingzhou exined, ¡°Actually, this child...¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t belong to me,¡± Tuoba Shuo finished her sentence. Shi Qingzhou was rather taken aback to see that he had already found out. ¡°Turns out you already knew...¡± she said, feeling ashamed and guilty. ¡°I can¡¯t decide if I should resent my brother for viting you or thank him for saving your life. While I detest him for putting you through so much pain and suffering, I¡¯m still rather grateful to him for choosing to spare your life. At the end of the day, it¡¯s all my fault for being unable to protect you well.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not your fault, but mine. Everything happened because of me. But regardless of what happened, you have been and always will be the only person I truly love. No one can rece your status in my heart, no one...¡± Shi Qingzhou said, sobbing. Tuoba Shuo hugged her andid her down in bed before covering her with the nket and lying down beside her. He had dreamt of this day countless times before. Yet, this time, it was real. Shi Qingzhou had an endless spew of questions, and Tuoba Shuo would answer all of them patiently, showing no signs of fatigue at all. Shi Qingzhou was incredibly upset to hear that An Xiaoning had been divorced thrice and felt immense pity for her daughter. Be it in the present or the past, divorce would inevitably have a detrimental effect on women. On top of that, she also felt sorry for An Xiaoning, who had yet to meet a man who can truly bring her happiness. After hearing that her daughter walked out of all three marriages without any material possessions or property and had even given up the rights to her son¡¯s custody to her ex-husband, Shi Qingzhou sighed and said, ¡°Be it me, my mother, or Xiaoning, none of us could escape our destiny of failed marriages.¡± ¡°Xiaoning¡¯s plight is not that bad. She¡¯s a strong, independent, and clever girl. She¡¯s only thirty years old now anyway, things are going to get better for her.¡± Shi Qingzhou was still gued with woes, despite having heard his words offort. ¡°Shi Xiaoyu will definitely carry out detailed investigations once she finds out that I¡¯ve escaped. Besides, the election is going to take ce very soon. I¡¯m afraid it won¡¯t be easy for us to leave this ce since security is going to be tightened around the pce. I don¡¯t wish to stay here a second longer,¡± said Shi Qingzhou. Chapter 613 - The Secret About the Past (231)

Chapter 613: The Secret About the Past (231)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I¡¯ll definitely take you out of here and bring you to a ce where nobody knows us, so we can start life afresh. However, will you be able to put down your vengeance? Put all the hatred behind you and move on,¡± Tuoba Shuo said in a gentle and mellow voice. ¡°So what if I can¡¯t? I can¡¯t possibly send myself back into that living hell. Even if it¡¯s just for Xiaoning¡¯s sake, I can¡¯t act on impulse and behave recklessly,¡± she said with a wry smile. Tuoba Shuo nodded upon hearing her words. In fact, Shi Xiaoyu had yet to discover that Shi Qingzhou had already escaped her clutches. After all, she did not go down to the basement to check on her daily. Besides, it was the election period and her main focus for now was not Shi Qingzhou. Thus, things were peaceful in the Autumn Pce for the time being. An Xiaoning did not n to leave right away. Instead, she thought it would be more appropriate to send her mother away first before leaving the pce herself. Tuoba Shuo could not request to leave the Autumn Pce now, for he was well aware that Shi Xiaoyu will definitely pin him as a suspect when she finds out that Shi Qingzhou had gone missing at the same time that he was leaving. By then, how could they possibly live a peaceful life? In fact, it may even bring another disaster upon Shi Qingzhou. Hence, all he could do now was to endure and wait patiently. An Xiaoning could not leave the pce in peace unless they had done so before she does. Thus, An Xiaoning continued to stay by Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s side while Tuoba Shuo and Shi Qingzhou lived together in bliss, despite having to be on their guard at all times. An Xiaoning would asionally visit her mother to chat with her at night or have a meal together with her and Tuoba Shuo. She could not help but feel envious every time she noticed the look of bliss and endearment in their eyes whenever they stared at each other. How many people were there in this world who could be understanding toward her unconditionally? Somehow, Jin Qingyan popped up in her mind. I guess there¡¯s no way to clear the misunderstanding that had caused our marriage to turn sour. Especially since I don¡¯t have any substantial evidence to prove my innocence. What else could she say if even Tuoba Gucheng, the only evidence she had, was bent on insisting that they had gotten intimate with each other? Noticing that he had be much colder toward hertely, An Xiaoning decided not to be thick-skinned and thus did not take the initiative to strike a conversation with him. The two of them were getting along with each other cordially like how an employer and his employee should be, maintaining an appropriate distance. She would tag along wherever he goes and follow him to attend various meetings and events where she met all sorts of people. Fortunately, Lin Shishi had yet to hear her voice even until now. An Xiaoning had been ying dumb in front of her. She managed to pull the act off rather sessfully. Time continued to pass incessantly. In the blink of an eye, it was already the 16th of October. It was Jin Qingyan¡¯s thirty-third birthday. However, time seemed to have forgotten to leave a trace on his face. He looked as if he had stopped aging at the age of twenty-six. However, he exuded a mature charm from head to toe. He was no longer an inexperienced, young chap and was now a promising and sessful businessman who had an established career. Putting aside the fact that he had divorced An Xiaoning twice, he could basically be considered perfect. On this day, his friends were preparing to throw him a birthday bash. They decided to celebrate his birthday with him at Wei Ni Estate. Everyone was in a celebratory mood and gathered together to eat and drink merrily while catching up with each other. When they approached the topic about the presidential election, Long Tianze remarked bluntly, ¡°I reckon Tuoba Hancheng is going to lose this time. The controversy about his sexual orientation has tainted his reputation greatly. Even if he really isn¡¯t a homosexual, there¡¯s no way to clear his name now.¡± ¡°Well, the only possible oue is either for the president to run another term or to hand his position down to Tuoba Gucheng. Tuoba Gucheng does seem to be a great fit, actually. Besides, he has the backing of his father,¡± Ling Ciye said with a chuckle. Jin Qingyan remained quiet and refused toment. Although it was his birthday, he did not seem to be in a good mood. However, this was the most rxed he had ever been in a long time. He would not go to the extent of pulling a long face in front of his family and friends. ¡°Regardless of who bes the next president, it¡¯ll still be someone from the Tuoba family. It has nothing to do with us outsiders at all. Let¡¯s just live life every day like it¡¯s ourst and enjoy while we can. Shouldn¡¯t we?¡± said Long Tianze, who was flushed red and tipsy. ¡°You have it the easiest amongst the three of us,¡± said Ling Ciye. ¡°You¡¯re not that bad yourself. When are you and Qingyue getting married?¡± Long Tianze asked. ¡°I¡¯m thinking of knocking her up before having a shotgun wedding...¡± ¡°Watch out, Qingyan¡¯s going to beat you to a pulp,¡± said Long Tianze, bursting intoughter. ¡°I¡¯m not knocking him up, what would he beat me for?¡± Ling Ciye retorted, rolling his eyes at him. ¡°I promised my mother that I would clear Qingyue¡¯s tarnished reputation. However, Shi Shaochuan has beaten us to it andunched his attack against Qingyue. I really feel like shooting that bastard to death,¡± Ling Ciye continued. Long Tianze chuckled and asked, ¡°Seriously speaking, what does it feel like to be someone else¡¯s stepfather? Is it thrilling?¡± ¡°Long Tianze, how dare you mock me? Well, at least I got the girl, unlike you. You carried a torch for Qingyue for so many years and you didn¡¯t even get the chance to be her child¡¯s stepfather,¡± Ling Ciye hissed. ¡°Well, at least I got to be the biological father of my own child.¡± ¡°That day wille for me too. Just you wait and see.¡± ¡°...¡± Jin Qingyan watched as they continued to bicker incessantly. He then interjected, ¡°Have you guys ever considered my feelings? There¡¯ll be a woman bing my son¡¯s stepmother one day too.¡± The two of them looked at each other in shock and dismay. Long Tianze cleared his throat and asked, ¡°Have you really set your mind to it?¡± ¡°What do you think? Otherwise, am I supposed to stay single until I die?¡± Jin Qingyan retorted with a sullen expression. ¡°When do you n to look for another wife? What type of woman are you going to go for? A mature and demuredy? An adorable Lolita? Or a domineering careerwoman? Or would you prefer a family-oriented and virtuous woman?¡± Long Tianze probed inquisitively. ¡°I¡¯ll let fate decide,¡± Jin Qingyan answered without hesitation. ¡°Seems like you really have the ns to begin a new rtionship,¡± Long Tianze remarked in awe. ¡°Otherwise, do you expect him to continue being a bachelor? He has his sexual needs and desires too. Given how great of a catch Qingyan is, it¡¯s a piece of cake for him to get any woman he wishes. Besides, getting into a new rtionship will make you glow and radiate from within. I¡¯m speaking from experience,¡± Ling Ciye chimed in. ¡°Thing is, all he does now is go home after working at the office. Where is he supposed to look for a potential wife? Qingyan should really interact with more women,¡± said Long Tianze, hitting the nail on the head. ¡°I¡¯m not a child, I don¡¯t need you two to teach me what to do. I¡¯m going upstairs to take a short nap. Suit yourselves.¡± He turned around and headed straight upstairs. Once he reached his bedroom door, he pressed his fingerprint onto the biometric lock to unlock the door, which closed automatically after he entered. No one else could unlock the door to his bedroom except him. While lying in bed, Jin Qingyan felt as if his soul had left his body, as was the case every time he was alone by himself. Yet, his mind would often wander off beyond his control, reminding him of the person he should not be thinking about. He often found himself imagining a future that did not belong to him and thinking about things he shouldn¡¯t. His memory of what happened in July became blurry with each passing day. He had no idea how he had managed to ovee it and how he could blow his top so furiously back then. It felt as if he was not the one who experienced those events at all and was simply a bystander, witnessing everything that happened before him. He closed his eyes andy on his side, struck with a sudden, excruciating wave of pain, which escted quickly and spread all over his body. He was feeling the unbearable pain in every fiber of his body... Chapter 614 - The Secret About the Past (232)

Chapter 614: The Secret About the Past (232)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He did not wish to continue being trapped in her dungeon any longer and yearned to escape this agonizing purgatory. He wanted to be freed from the sorrow and misery she had caused him to feel as soon as possible. Every second of the mere ten minutes of pain felt like years. Jin Qingyan slowly began to ease up as the pain he felt gradually faded. Jin Qingyan took a deep breath and sat up straight. It seemed his ns to take an afternoon nap had been foiled. ¡ª Tuoba Rui was in high spirits over finally being able to sit down for a meal with all his family members. Shi Xiaoyu had been extremely troubled because of the fact that Shi Qingzhou had been rescued. She had no choice but to send her subordinates to investigate in secret. However, there had yet to be any news even until now. Her prisoner actually managed to escape right under her nose. I wonder which capable fellow had managed to carry out such a difficult act , Shi Xiaoyu thought. Shi Xiaoyu found it hard to bring herself to smile with joy, since she was gued with woes that weighed her heart down. During the meal, Tuoba Shuo said, ¡°I mentioned a couple of months ago that I¡¯m nning to move out to life live on my own after staying here for a while. Brother, Sister-inw, do you guys still remember?¡± Shi Xiaoyu nodded and asked, ¡°Shuo, are you thinking of leaving now?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve been living in the Autumn Pce for so many years and I¡¯m not getting any younger either. How much longer do I have to live an idle and carefree life? I¡¯d like to go out and experience life the way I want to,¡± Tuoba Shuo said calmly. ¡°Since that¡¯s what you want, you may leave the pce. I¡¯ll cover all your expenses for the rest of your life,¡± Tuoba Rui agreed. ¡°Thank you so much then, Brother,¡± thanked Tuoba Shuo, who did not think that Tuoba Rui was doing him a favor by covering his living expenses since the money was what he rightfully deserved. ¡°Shuo, where are you thinking of going?¡± Shi Xiaoyu asked. ¡°I¡¯d like to go to a ce near the mountains andkes where I shall spend the rest of my life,¡± Tuoba Shuo answered with a smile. At this juncture, Shi Xiaoyu was not suspecting that Tuoba Shuo was the one who had rescued Shi Qingzhou. That was because she was well aware of where Tuoba Shuo¡¯s abilitiesy. If he was truly so capable, he would¡¯ve managed to rescue Shi Qingzhou right from the start. Secondly, she knew that Tuoba Shuo had already informed them of his ns to leave the pce a few months ago, when he moved out of the mansion at the entrance. Thus, it was not too sudden for him to bring it up again. Besides, it had been more than a month since Shi Qingzhou was rescued. Hence, Shi Xiaoyu was not in the least bit suspicious. ¡°Uncle, when do you n to move out?¡± Tuoba Danxue asked. ¡°Within the next two days. I¡¯m getting sick of living in here,¡± Tuoba Shuo answered. ¡°Uncle, will you attend my wedding in December?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you a red packet for your wedding in advance. I¡¯ll attend the wedding if I can make it, but I¡¯ll be giving it a miss if I¡¯m too far away,¡± Tuoba Shuo answered. In fact, he did not n on returning to the Autumn Pce again, unless absolutely necessary. There was indeed nothing in the pce worth reminiscing about. ¡°Will youe back when Grandma passes away?¡± ¡°Of course. Do you think I¡¯m such a heartless creature?¡± said Tuoba Shuo, who knew his priorities. ¡°Then you must attend my wedding too. I won¡¯t allow it if you¡¯re absent,¡± Tuoba Danxue insisted. Tuoba Shuo nodded and conceded, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll juste back, alright?¡± ¡°Yes. Now that I think about it, it¡¯s going to happen very soon. There¡¯s only about less than two months left until the wedding.¡± An Xiaoning felt more relieved after eavesdropping while standing by the door. Once Tuoba Shuo and her mother had left, it would be her turn next. She wanted to get a ce ready for them to move into once they were out of the pce. She had yet to take a day off in October. Reminded of that fact, An Xiaoning took the opportunity to request for a day off from Tuoba Gucheng after his meal. Tuoba Gucheng answered with the same reply, ¡°Go ahead since you¡¯re allowed one day off every month.¡± An Xiaoning had long gotten used to his coldness and aloofness. ¡°Thank you, Your Highness,¡± she said while smiling at him, which was rather rare of her. Tuoba Gucheng was bewildered. It¡¯s just a day off, must she really get so thrilled about it? ¡°Yes.¡± He walked in front while An Xiaoning followed behind. After walking a distance, he asked abruptly, ¡°What do you guys think of my rtionship with the Princess Consort?¡± The bodyguards were quick to answer. ¡°Great!¡± ¡°Very loving!¡± ¡°Your Highness and the Princess Consort are verypatible, especially since both of you are so good-looking.¡± ¡°You guys are a perfect match.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning was the only one who did not give her opinion. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you saying anything?¡± he asked. ¡°They¡¯ve answered with everything I wanted to say. My vocabry is limited, I have no otherments.¡± In fact, she did not want to make anyments on their rtionship. What did their personal life have to do with her? Her opinions were not that important. Tuoba Gucheng looked away into the distance and did not probe further. ¡ª¡ª The next day, An Xiaoning drove toward A City after exiting the Autumn Pce. She parked her car in the car park of the Gu Corporation office building and hitched a ride in Gu Beicheng¡¯s car back to the Gu family mansion. Well aware that Shi Xiaoyu had nted moles to keep watch around the Gu family mansion, An Xiaoning ducked her head low when the car approached the mansion. Mrs. Gu had prepared a sumptuous spread for lunch to wee her home after a long time. Everyone was d to hear that An Xiaoning had managed to find and rescue her mother. She was about to leave the Autumn Pce very soon. But before that, she requested Gu Beicheng to help her with something. ¡°Speak.¡± ¡°Find a standalone mansion in a district in M Nation where security is tightest. Get one thates with a garden or yard suitable for growing flowers and veggies. I¡¯d like to let them move there. Do also arrange for twenty-odd bodyguards to protect them. Could you help me with that?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Easy peasy. I¡¯ll get it settled for you within two days. Whose name do you want the house to be registered under?¡± Gu Beicheng asked. After some thought, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°Yours.¡± Just as he was about to agree, An Xiaoning changed her mind and said, ¡°Forget it, we¡¯ll leave it forter to settle the name. Let¡¯s buy the house first and transfer it under Tuoba Shuo¡¯s name after they¡¯ve moved in. Otherwise, it¡¯s going to implicate the Gu family if Shi Xiaoyu finds out about it. The only reason I want them to move overseas is because it¡¯s much safer there, since Shi Xiaoyu is the president¡¯s wife. She can¡¯t go about her tyrannical ways overseas.¡± ¡°You have a point. But she¡¯s way too vicious. If only you killed her that night.¡± ¡°Perhaps it was Heaven¡¯s will. I didn¡¯t have enough time to kill her. It¡¯d be hard toy a finger on her again in the future. But I don¡¯t have ns to deal with her just yet. I¡¯m really exhausted after staying in the Autumn Pce for so many months. I¡¯d like to get some good rest once I¡¯m out of there,¡± An Xiaoning said frankly. ¡°It¡¯s really time you get some rest. Look how thin you¡¯ve gotten. You must¡¯ve had a tough timetely, with so much for you to worry about constantly. It¡¯s a blessing to be able to acknowledge you as our daughter. Your Grandpa really had impable foresight, now that I think about it,¡± said Mrs. Gu, helping An Xiaoning to the food. An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°You¡¯re ttering me, Mother. I¡¯m only doing what I should.¡± ¡°In my eyes, you¡¯re splendid. It¡¯s tough being a woman,¡± said Mrs. Gu. After lunch, An Xiaoning and Gu Beicheng sat on high chairs on the balcony, each holding a ss of wine in their hands. They clinked sses to produce a crisp sound. ¡°What has Sis-inw been busy withtely?¡± ¡°The fitness gym has officially opened. She¡¯s been extremely busy ever since and we¡¯ve been seeing each other just once a day. You may be smiling, but you don¡¯t seem to actually be happy,¡± said Gu Beicheng. An Xiaoning swallowed the wine in her mouth, which strangely burned her throat. ¡°Misery is only temporary. It¡¯ll pass very soon. When you¡¯re older, you tend to lower your standards and expectations when ites to men,¡± said An Xiaoning, unsure if she was merelyforting herself. Chapter 615 - The Secret About the Past (233)

Chapter 615: The Secret About the Past (233)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Gu Beicheng had rarely heard her bring up such topics. He turned to the side to face her and asked, ¡°How have your expectations changedpared to the past?¡± She put down the wine ss and rested her face on her elbow, appearing to be glowing a little. ¡°I used to yearn for love. In this superficial society, what are the odds of finding true love? Isn¡¯t wanting true love already a high expectation per se? Don¡¯t ever assume that casual dating fits the bill. That¡¯s just an insult to love,¡± said An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning¡¯s lips curled into a smile as she continued, ¡°There are so many people in this big, big world, and yet, how many amongst the vast poption can actually find true love? Thus, I no longer have expectations when ites to love and rtionships.¡± ¡°What are your expectations now?¡± ¡°For now, I just have to feel good about him, doesn¡¯t matter if I don¡¯t love or adore him that much. But the catch is, he has to understand me well and not try to tie me down with marriage. I just want us both to be free people and date each other in a carefree manner. Don¡¯t you find that great?¡± ¡°I kinda regret it now,¡± said Gu Beicheng. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I kinda regret getting married so early. I should¡¯ve waited a while more,¡± he said, avoiding eye contact with her. An Xiaoning tried to y it off as a joke and smacked him yfully. ¡°Why are you spouting such nonsense? Sister-inw is going to be devastated if she hears this.¡± ¡°The saddest thing in life is not to have separated after having loved each other dearly before. But rather, it¡¯s never getting a shot with the person you adore. You never actually let go of the things you thought you¡¯ve already gotten over. Instead, they¡¯re merely hidden and concealed in a certain corner of your heart. Not only did he let you down and betrayed your love for him, he¡¯s also disappointed me. He made me sacrifice and give you up for nothing.¡± An Xiaoning felt a strange and sudden urge to tear up upon hearing his words. In fact, tears had begun to well up in her eyes. She looked up to gaze at the fluffy white clouds in the clear blue sky. The sun was shining brightly with a soothing, gentle breeze in the air. Tears began to roll down her cheek slowly. It was one o¡¯clock in the afternoon. She again headed to the Gu Corporation office building in Gu Beicheng¡¯s car. After collecting her car from the carpark, she felt a strong urge to go to Wei Ni Estate and visit Jin Yiheng, whom she had missed dearly. However, it was clearly not the time to do so yet at present. Once she finally leaves the Autumn Pce for good, she would visit Mei Yangyang¡¯s ce openly and get thetter to bring Jin Yiheng to her house where they would meet. She¡¯d had enough of living with a mask on every day. She just had to endure and bear with it for a few more days. An Xiaoning went to take a look at the newly-built estate in the city. After all, she couldn¡¯t keep living in the Gu family mansion and ought to have a property of her own. Moreover, she had other ns in mind by purchasing a house. The newly-constructed estate, Sanqiao Mansion Garden, was only a stone¡¯s throw away from Wei Ni Estate. The main reason she was eyeing the estate was so she could be nearer to her son. The estate was recently put up for sale. The mansions had an exquisite design and a spacious yard. The location was convenient as well. However, some mansions were already furnished and renovated while others were left untouched. Thus, there was a wide price range. After taking a tour around several units, An Xiaoning set her eyes on arge mansion that came withvish interior design and paid for it in full with cash. It was much easier and convenient since she would not have to go through the hassle of hiring an interior designer and contractor to renovate the house. The more she looked at her new home, the more pleased she was with it. An Xiaoning scanned her surroundings, after which ideas began to pop up in her head. She already had a rough n about how she was going to further expand her home. She would now need a bunch of subordinates who were loyal and willing to work for her. After all that she had been through, she finally realized the importance of money and manpower. It was already evening by the time she settled all the procedures of the purchase of the mansion. She would now have to leave the recruitment of manpower for ater date since she would have to drive back to the pcee midnight. An Xiaoning parked her car near a Western restaurant and alighted from her car while wearing the gorgeous mask. With her purse in hand and a pair of ts on her feet, she made her way up the stairs and entered the restaurant. She then looked for a window seat and sat down. Melodious ssical music filled her ears. A waitress dressed in a white shirt and ck trousers walked toward her with the menu and said, ¡°Miss, what would you like to have today?¡± ¡°May I have an American-style T-bone steak, a cup oftte, and a bowl of Bird¡¯s Nest Soup? Thank you,¡± said An Xiaoning, handing the menu back to the waitress. ¡°Alright, please give me a moment.¡± She stared out of the window and caught sight of a familiar-looking car. An Xiaoning was sitting with her back as straight as a ruler and stared at the man who was alighting from the car. He was dressed in an immacte suit and did not allow his natural charm to be drowned by the darkness of the night. A little imp was standing beside him, simrly dressed in a suit tailored to fit his tiny stature. The two then began walking toward the restaurant. An Xiaoning looked away and held her breath. What a coincidence. It had been too long since she¡¯dst seen her son. She hurriedly stood up and scurried toward the washroom. She removed the mask and retrieved her makeup pouch from her handbag to put on some light makeup. She then stuffed her belongings back inside her bag and hurried out of the washroom. An Xiaoning could sense someone staring at her. She raised her head and made eye contact with him. Upon sight of her face, Jin Yiheng eximed excitedly, ¡°Mommy!¡± An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°Yiheng.¡± He zoomed toward her and hugged her thigh tightly. An Xiaoning caressed his head, overwhelmed with emotions. Meanwhile, Jin Qingyan stood rooted to the ground like a statue. It was such a rare chance to meet her son. Of course, she could not abide by the terms stated on the divorce agreement. ¡°Will you have dinner with Mommy?¡± she asked Jin Yiheng softly. ¡°Sure,¡± he answered obediently. She held Jin Yiheng¡¯s hand and walked toward the dining table. She initially thought that he would bring their son away forcefully. To her surprise, not only did he not do so, he even sat down opposite her. He then gestured for the waiter toe forth and ordered two sets of steak. A strange and somber ambiance filled the air. Being way too mature for his age, Jin Yiheng was exceptionally great at observing his parents¡¯ expressions. Noticing that his parents were facing each other without speaking a word, Jin Yiheng said, ¡°Mommy, I haven¡¯t seen you in such a long time. I missed you so much. Are you really going to stop seeing me just because Daddy forbids you from doing so?¡± ¡°Mommy misses you too. Do you really think I¡¯m afraid of your Daddy? I¡¯m not,¡± An Xiaoning exined. ¡°Mommy, Daddy is going to find me a stepmother,¡± Jin Yiheng blurted, greatly startling his parents with his words. ¡°How did you know?¡± An Xiaoning asked calmly. ¡°I overheard his conversation with Godpa. Will you find me a stepfather too?¡± An Xiaoning caressed his head and said sarcastically, ¡°Since Daddy is finding you a stepmother, I ought to find you a stepfather as well. Son, look how fortunate you are to be blessed with two sets of parents who¡¯ll shower you with love.¡± ¡°But I don¡¯t want to have four parents. You and Daddy are enough for me.¡± An Xiaoning held her tears back and concealed her feelings of dejection. ¡°No matter what happens, Mommy will still love you. I won¡¯t do anything to embarrass you, Yiheng.¡± Although she was talking to her son, she seemed to be saying it on purpose and directing it at Jin Qingyan. Jin Qingyan looked up at An Xiaoning to see that she had grown visibly thinner, evident from her sunken cheeks. A waiter soon served the steak,tte, and soup that An Xiaoning had ordered. An Xiaoning picked up a fork with her left hand and a knife with her right and began cutting her steak into smaller pieces. She then picked up a piece and fed it to Jin Yiheng. ¡°Eat up.¡± Chapter 616 - The Secret About the Past (234)

Chapter 616: The Secret About the Past (234)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Yiheng picked up the cutlery and began eating. The disturbing silence invoked an urge to speak within the two of them, who unfortunately did not have anything to say. An Xiaoning had no idea what Jin Qingyan had on his mind. They both remained silent while she sipped on her coffee slowly. There were sounds of ongoing conversationsing from the other tables, footsteps walking about, as well as all sorts of misceneous noises in the background, a stark contrast to the dead silence on their table. Deep down, An Xiaoning actually wanted to exin things to him thoroughly. However, no amount of exining could clear the misunderstanding since it was a knotty situation. Since they had already gotten the divorce, he probably would not wish to hear about the matter anymore. Thus, she decided not to bring it up again. Once the steaks were served, An Xiaoning began eating slowly. She stretched her leg beneath the table and coincidentally touched his by ident, causing her to look up and make eye contact with him for a second. She retracted her leg and continued having her meal with a straight face. Throughout the meal, neither of them broke their silence. When it was time to leave, An Xiaoning stared at her son longingly, reluctant to part with him. ¡°Be good and listen to Daddy. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll grow taller when we meet again next time.¡± Jin Yiheng wrapped his arms around her thigh and whined, ¡°Mommy, I don¡¯t want to be away from you.¡± An Xiaoning felt her heart wrench in agony while she remained standing and caressed her son¡¯s face. Atst, she looked at Jin Qingyan and said, ¡°Give me ten minutes. Let¡¯s talk privately.¡± ¡°About what? The rights to Yiheng¡¯s custody? I don¡¯t see the need for a discussion,¡± he said coldly. ¡°No, it¡¯s not about that. Just give me ten minutes,¡± said An Xiaoning, staring at him. At this moment, Jin Qingyan¡¯s heart softened. He instructed Jin Yiheng to get inside the car while he stood outside, facing An Xiaoning, leaving an appropriate distance between them. ¡°Although it¡¯s stated on the divorce agreement that I¡¯m not allowed to see our son at all, I¡¯m still his biological mother at the end of the day. No amount of paternal love from you can undermine my position in his heart. Can you allow me to see him twice a month?¡± An Xiaoning requested. ¡°Do you even have time to see him twice a month?¡± Jin Qingyan asked sarcastically, mocking the fact that she would not be allowed to leave the Autumn Pce twice a month. ¡°My mother has already been rescued. I¡¯ll be tendering my resignation from the Autumn Pce within the next few days. Besides, I¡¯ve already bought a house in Sanqiao Estate. I¡¯ll definitely have ample time,¡± she answered, sounding a little weary. ¡°Is that so?¡± he asked with a look of surprise, which vanished within a split second. An Xiaoning walked closer toward him and stopped when she was one step away. She looked up and said gently, ¡°Although I think that there¡¯s no need to mention some things again since I don¡¯t have evidence to prove my innocence, I still hope for you to stop misunderstanding me. I¡¯m still going to say what I have to, even if it doesn¡¯t change your mind or the way you think.¡± He stared at her quietly and allowed her to continue speaking. ¡°Tuoba Gucheng is my half-brother, and we¡¯re rted by blood. I will never fall for him. You should be well aware of how skilled I am inbat defense. In fact, you might not necessarily beat me in a physical fight. Tuoba Gucheng is no match for me. There¡¯s no need for me to make such a huge sacrifice for the sake of finding out the truth about my mother.¡± An Xiaoning took a deep breath and continued, ¡°I know you must¡¯ve been mad when you first found out, but a few months have passed since then and I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ve reallypletely cooled off. I don¡¯t find it a shame to have divorced you, but rather, I find it a pity that our rtionship was ruined by a sheer and absurd misunderstanding. If you say that you only believe what you see, Qingyan, you must¡¯ve forgotten how I chose to trust you even when I caught you naked in bed with Chi Rui¡¯er, who drugged and stripped your clothes off of you. To love is easy, but it¡¯s difficult to live with each other. I won¡¯t bring this matter up again in the future. Apart from the fact that we¡¯re both Yiheng¡¯s parents, we¡¯ll truly have nothing to do with each other from now on. I¡¯ll take it that you¡¯ve agreed to let me meet Yiheng twice a month.¡± After having said her piece, An Xiaoning turned around to leave straight away. Jin Qingyan watched as she left, feeling as if he had been hit in the face. He stood rooted to the ground in bewilderment, overwhelmed with misery. Upon returning home with his son, Jin Qingyan called for Fan Shixin to enter his bedroom. ¡°Do you think I¡¯ve really misunderstood her?¡± ¡°Young Sir, why would you say that all of a sudden?¡± Fan Shixin asked, noticing how awful and depressed he looked. Jin Qingyan repeated what An Xiaoning had said to him earlier. Fan Shixin then said, ¡°Young Sir, I think you really overreacted this time and let your anger get the better of you. How could Ms. An possibly fall in love with Tuoba Gucheng when she knows that he¡¯s her half-brother? Besides, he was already engaged at the time. Ms. An is not that silly.¡± ¡°Get straight to the point.¡± ¡°Since Ms. An doesn¡¯t love Tuoba Gucheng, there¡¯s no way she would¡¯ve slept with him. Think about it. Like what Ms. An said, he¡¯s no match for her when ites to martial arts, and thus, he couldn¡¯t have vited her against her will. If she doesn¡¯t love him, why would she allow him to get intimate with her? If you think that she turned a blind eye for the sake of her mother¡¯s matter, then I beg to differ. I doubt she wouldpromise her morals because she¡¯s such an upright person. I think you should read those messages Ms. An had sent you previously to exin herself. Young Sir, there¡¯s something I¡¯d like to say but I¡¯m not sure if I should.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Back then, Ms. An refused to believe that you had died in the tsunami even though everyone else around her thought so. Young Sir, I¡¯ve also given it some thought during the past three months. How could you be so sure that the child Ms. An was carrying did not belong to you, simply because you heard what Tuoba Gucheng said? Did you make sure to take contraceptive measures every single time? ¡± Jin Qingyan looked at him abruptly and answered, ¡°No, I didn¡¯t.¡± After pursing his lips, Fan Shixin said, ¡°Young Sir, do consider carefully whether you¡¯d like to believe yourself, Ms. An, or Tuoba Gucheng.¡± Fan Shixin then excused himself, leaving Jin Qingyan alone in the room. His mind was filled with images and thoughts about her. Jin Qingyany down in bed, and the scene of his very first encounter with An Xiaoning popped up in his head. It was a night of thundery showers and she was standing right at his doorstep,pletely drenched from head to toe. She was carrying her heavy luggage in hand. Back then, he was twenty-five years old while she was twenty-two. In the blink of an eye, he was already thirty-three years old while she was thirty. ¡°I don¡¯t find it a shame to have divorced you, but rather, I find it a pity that our rtionship was ruined by a sheer and absurd misunderstanding...¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s eyelids began to twitch and his heart began to ricochet vigorously as he recalled what she said earlier on. He felt a strange sense of panic, and a voice within him was questioning him continuously, asking him if he was regretting his choices. He would have said confidently that he did not regret his decision at the time that he signed the agreement. However, he had now begun to waver. He was unsure if he would really not have any regrets. He was overwhelmed with perplexity. For the rest of the night, Jin Qingyan began to ponder over the matter again and again. He continued to stay up until midnight, for he had trouble falling asleep. Atst, he had no choice but to rely on the sleeping pills again. Chapter 617 - The Secret About the Past (235)

Chapter 617: The Secret About the Past (235)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Bai Zhi had been living a carefree life ever since she moved back to the Xu family mansion and became Xu Baizhi. Apart from the fact that her fate could not be restored to its original path, the other aspects of her life had been great so far. Military Commander and Madam Xu had been trying to search for a medium to alter Xu Baizhi¡¯s fate. However, all of the mediums they sought had all told them that it would be impossible. Both of them were extremely troubled and worried for their daughter. Madam Xu suddenly thought of An Xiaoning. She tried to call An Xiaoning¡¯s previous mobile number, only to find that it was no longer in use. Since she had already divorced Jin Qingyan, Madam Xu had to contact An Xiaoning¡¯s godparents in order to obtain her new mobile number. Madam Xu then gave An Xiaoning a phone call, which thetter answered. Upon hearing Madam Xu¡¯s request, An Xiaoning immediately rejected her, ¡°Since so many mediums and fortune-tellers can¡¯t alter her fate, I doubt I¡¯ll have the ability to do it.¡± ¡°Ms. An, we¡¯ll concede to any request of yours as long as you¡¯re willing to help. This concerns my daughter¡¯s happiness, so please help us.¡± An Xiaoning had no choice but to say, ¡°I¡¯ll visit you in a few days and decide after taking a look.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be waiting for your call. You muste by,¡± said Madam Xu, after which she ended the call. Just as An Xiaoning hung up the phone, she heard the door of her bedroom being opened. She then exited the bathroom and was greeted with the sight of Xiao Chi. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± she asked coldly. She had been rather aloof and hostile toward Xiao Chi ever since she divorced Jin Qingyan. ¡°His Highness wants you to go downstairs.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± An Xiaoning exited her room and made her way downstairs. Tuoba Gucheng and Lin Shishi were standing together in the living room, hand in hand. Upon sight of her arrival, Tuoba Gucheng pulled Lin Shishi away and began walking out of the door. An Xiaoning and the other bodyguards automatically followed behind. Happiness was written all over Lin Shishi¡¯s face. ¡°I wonder if it¡¯s real. I¡¯m so nervous.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve already taken a test, it has to be real,¡± he said in a gentle voice. An Xiaoning had a hunch that Lin Shishi was pregnant. As expected, they headed to the hospital. Lin Shishi was put through an ultrasound scan. The results proved that An Xiaoning¡¯s guess was right. Lin Shishi jumped for joy the moment the gynecologist informed them that Lin Shishi was more than two months pregnant, although she had already prepared herself mentally. She threw her arms around Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s neck merrily, as happy as ark. Although Tuoba Gucheng was smiling widely, he was not exactly over the moon, unlike her. They immediately headed to Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s mansion after leaving the hospital. Tuoba Rui and Shi Xiaoyu were both delighted to hear about Lin Shishi¡¯s pregnancy. They instructed Lin Shishi to take good care of her health and even told Tuoba Gucheng to make sure that all her food cravings were satisfied. They basically gave out instructions that elders would give their juniors. An Xiaoning stood by the door to listen to their conversation, feeling fatigued and weary. After having seen Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s true colors, An Xiaoning could not be bothered to even look at her. It was indeed a shame to not have killed Shi Xiaoyu that night. An Xiaoning was feeling much more at ease since she was going to leave the pce in a few more days. While they were on their way back to Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s mansion, Lin Shishi hurriedly gave her family a call to inform them of the good news. Noticing how ted she was, Tuoba Gucheng asked, ¡°Is there anywhere you¡¯d like to go to have some fun?¡± ¡°No, the fetus is still young, I want to focus on nursing my pregnancy,¡± Lin Shishi refused. ¡°Actually, there¡¯s someone I¡¯d like to see right now,¡± she continued. ¡°Who is it?¡± Tuoba Gucheng asked. ¡°My godsister.¡± An Xiaoning was startled upon hearing her answer. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for her help, I would¡¯ve died long ago. She suffered a serious injury overseas and could not attend our wedding. I haven¡¯t had the chance to visit her yet. I wonder if she¡¯s already back in the country,¡± said Lin Shishi. ¡°If you really want to see her, I¡¯ll get someone to invite her over to apany you once she¡¯s back in the country,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng, giving An Xiaoning the chills. Lin Shishi nodded and said, ¡°Sure. You have no idea how beautiful my Sis is. Unfortunately, her love life hasn¡¯t been smooth sailing.¡± ¡°Is that so? I¡¯ve only seen photos of her online. I¡¯ve never met her in the flesh before. In my eyes, there are only a small handful of women who are actually pretty,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng, casually ncing at An Xiaoning, who was a little confused by his bizarre action. ¡°Am I one of them?¡± Lin Shishi asked. ¡°Yes, you are.¡± An Xiaoning felt like Tuoba Gucheng was just answering perfunctorily, though Lin Shishi actually took his answer seriously and was filled with joy. After all, she was rather young and naive. Once they reached the mansion, Xiao Chi came forth to report to them, ¡°Your Highness, Princess Consort, Master Tuoba Shuo has already left the pce.¡± ¡°When did he leave?¡± ¡°I just heard the news that he had left.¡± ¡°Got it,¡± Tuoba Gucheng acknowledged with a nod. An Xiaoning felt like a boulder had been lifted off her chest the moment she heard the news. A smile formed on her face as she kept her innermost emotions to herself. For the next few days, An Xiaoning had been in a happy and rxed mood. Upon learning that Tuoba Shuo and Shi Qingzhou have settled down sessfully in M Nation in the mansion registered under Tuoba Shuo¡¯s name and had an entourage of bodyguards to protect them, An Xiaoning realized that she had made the right decision to drop everything ande to the Autumn Pce back then. She used to think that she did not have any intentions of reuniting with her biological parents who abandoned her. However, she began to wonder if her parents had missed her just as dearly when she saw the look of desperation on Madam Xu¡¯s face when thetter was searching for her daughter. An Xiaoning finally understood what the saying ¡°You¡¯ll never know the truth unless you try and discover it¡± meant. As for her biological father, Tuoba Rui, she had no ns to acknowledge him. It was impossible for her to do so anyway. Now was the perfect opportunity for her to leave the Autumn Pce. After another exhausting day of following Tuoba Gucheng around, An Xiaoning took a shower and put on a sheet of beauty serum facial mask. She then began packing her bags. She folded her clothes and ced them inside the luggage, after which she left the bodyguard uniform on the bed. It was soon to be November in a few more days. Winter had arrived. The temperatures were freezing. An Xiaoning took out a pair of ck, extra-thick leggings and a long sweater that ended at her knees, followed by her favorite thick cardigan. It had been long since she was dressed in her own clothing. An Xiaoning had an exceptionally peaceful sleep that night. She slept all the way until daybreak. She put on the mask again and got dressed in the outfit she had prepared the night before. Lastly, she put on a pair of riding boots and made her way downstairs with her luggage in hand. Everyone else was already having breakfast, except Lin Shishi, who was still sleeping. A look of dismay formed on Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s face as soon as he saw An Xiaoning. ¡°Where are you headed to?¡± An Xiaoning bowed and said, ¡°Your Highness, pardon me for not informing you beforehand, but I¡¯m leaving the pce. Please approve of my resignation.¡± Tuoba Gucheng tightened his grip on the spoon before cing it down onto the table. He then stood up and said to her, ¡°Come with me.¡± An Xiaoning ced her luggage down and followed him inside a room. They were the only ones inside the room. ¡°Why are you leaving so abruptly?¡± Tuoba Gucheng asked. ¡°It¡¯s not that abrupt, I just didn¡¯t inform you earlier. I¡¯ve actually already had ns to leave long ago. I don¡¯t think I like staying here, and I¡¯d like to go out to live life the way I want,¡± An Xiaoning answered, staring at him calmly. Chapter 618 - The Secret About the Past (236)

Chapter 618: The Secret About the Past (236)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Keeping his eyes fixed on her face, Tuoba Gucheng asked, ¡°Are you angry because the Princess Consort is pregnant?¡± Um, what? An Xiaoning could not fathom how silly he was. Does he seriously think that I¡¯m leaving because I¡¯m jealous? ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re mistaken, Your Highness. The Princess Consort¡¯s pregnancy is an extremely joyous piece of news worth celebrating. How could I possibly be upset about that?¡± An Xiaoning answered calmly. ¡°I¡¯m not allowing you to leave,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng. Greatly taken aback by his answer, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯m not the only bodyguard in the pce. There are thousands of people waiting in line to be your bodyguard. You don¡¯t have to worry about a shortage of manpower.¡± ¡°Who said I was worried about that?¡± Not wanting to discuss that matter again, An Xiaoning said, ¡°I¡¯ve already made up my mind. Please grant me my wishes, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Mu Ning...¡± An Xiaoning looked at him earnestly and said, ¡°You once mentioned that you would protect me as far as possible. However, I don¡¯t need you to do that. All I¡¯m asking is for you to fulfill this one wish of mine, that is, to allow me to resign and live life the way I want.¡± ¡°Forget about it, I¡¯ll never agree.¡± Tuoba Gucheng left as soon as he finished speaking. An Xiaoning was filled with dismay, not expecting him to be such a tough nut to crack. He¡¯s not allowing her to resign? Although it was a tall order to leave the Autumn Pce, it was not entirely impossible. An Xiaoning exited from the room, after which the bodyguards began bombarding her with questions. ¡°What did His Highness say to you?¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing.¡± ¡°Did he forbid you from leaving?¡± ¡°How is it any of your business?¡± An Xiaoning hissed, rolling her eyes at them. She then turned around and made her way upstairs with her luggage. She locked the door from the inside once she entered her room. She knew that Tuoba Gucheng would definitely hand down instructions to the guards to forbid her from leaving the Autumn Pce. An Xiaoning opened her luggage again and took all her important belongings and valuables with her, nning to leave her clothes and shoes in the room. She initially thought that she could leave as soon as she informed him of her resignation. Yet, to her astonishment, he did not allow it. Seemed like she had no choice but toe up with another solution. Thus, An Xiaoning decided to go on a strike, though her efforts were futile. Tuoba Gucheng still knocked on her door to get her toe out, nheless. She did not bother changing into the bodyguard¡¯s uniform. Instead, she just put on a pair of trainers and followed Tuoba Gucheng around. ¡°Are you really that reluctant to follow me?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± An Xiaoning answered without hesitation. Contrary to her expectations, he did not get angry and instead chuckled. ¡°You still have to continue working for me even if you¡¯re unwilling to. Doesn¡¯t this feel horrible? Forget about trying to escape. It¡¯s impossible. I¡¯ve already instructed all the guards,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng. An Xiaoning felt like she was choking and at a loss for words. ¡°Why are you acting this way, Your Highness?¡± ¡°No reason. I¡¯m just used to having you as my bodyguard. I don¡¯t want someone else following me around,¡± he answered, looking in front. ¡°It¡¯s only been a few months, what do you mean you¡¯re already used to it?¡± ¡°I just am. So, be obedient and stay by my side. I¡¯ll be doubling your wage, what do you think of that?¡± ¡°I want to go out of the pce.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll pay you triple of your current wage.¡± ¡°...¡± She could notmunicate with him at all. Noticing that she was remaining quiet, he said, ¡°I won¡¯t be so distant and cold toward you again. So don¡¯t leave.¡± An Xiaoning did not answer him, making him think that her silence meant consent. In reality, An Xiaoning had actually thought of another solution to leave the Autumn Pce at that very moment. There was argeke that connected the pce to the rest of the city. However, that was precisely the reason why there were also guards around the area to prevent trespassers from entering. There must be a barrier in theke. However, An Xiaoning found no harm in giving it a try. By evening, she had already prepared a snorkeling tube and several other tools, in a bid to leave via theke. Before departing, she left a note on the table. It read: ¡°I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t promise you to stay. I wish you a life of happiness and bliss. Hope you¡¯ll win the presidential election.¡± If she failed to escape, she would keep the note once she returned. However, if she managed to seed, the note shall be her veryst words for Tuoba Gucheng as Mu Ning. This time, she did not leave by the main entrance or climb through the window. Instead, she headed to the middle of the second floor. To be exact, it was higher than the second floor but lower than the third. It was a tiny room that was only a meter in height. The windows were sealed and the top was made of wooden nks and tiles. She carefully removed the wooden nks and lifted up the tiles. She then pulled herself up and made it onto the top. She returned the nks and tiles to their original position. Then, shetched her rope onto a nearby tree and tugged it with all her might. After confirming that the rope was secure and tight, she took a leap andnded on the tree, wrapping herself around the trunk. She then climbed down the tree slowly using the rope. She treaded along the obscure sidewalk toward theke. She hurriedly approached the area that connected theke to the outside world. An Xiaoning stepped into the freezing water, which was stinging due to the bitter winter. Once she was fully submerged in theke, she felt as if she had plunged into a Wintend full of snow and hail. With a long breathing tube in her mouth, she swam around theke continuously and soon approached the barrier between the pce and the outside world. The barrier in theke was constructed from awork of sturdy steel wires. On top of that, there was also a cemented wall that had a tiny crack, making it impossible to swim out through theke. It seemed like she had made a wasted trip this time. An Xiaoning swam back to where she came from and climbed up ashore, shivering uncontrobly due to the biting cold. It was impossible to leave from the other fences either. The only way out was to leave by the main entrance. ¡°Mu Ning, why are you drenched?¡± ¡°I fell into the water,¡± she answered. ¡°When did you go out?¡± the bodyguard on duty asked. ¡°None of your business.¡± She was still feeling chilly even after taking a warm shower. She wrapped a nket around herself and sat on the bed. Just my luck to be so unfortunate! But was I one to give up easily? Of course not. If it didn¡¯t work this time, I¡¯ll juste up with another solution next time. An Xiaoning began to feel giddy and fell asleep while leaning against the wall. When Tuoba Gucheng knocked on her door in the morning, she nevertheless remembered to put on her mask, her most powerful tool. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you up yet?¡± Tuoba Gucheng asked, noticing that she was flushed red and her eyes were ssed over. ¡°I¡¯m feeling feeble and lethargic all over. Can I take a break?¡± As soon as she finished speaking, she turned around and sprawled herself across the bed again. ¡°Did you catch a cold?¡± ¡°I think so,¡± An Xiaoning answered feebly. ¡°Take your temperature.¡± ¡°Please help me get the thermometer, Your Highness. Sorry to trouble you.¡± He did not find it a hassle, however, and proceeded to bring her the thermometer. ¡°Go and apany the Princess Consort, Your Highness,¡± An Xiaoning said with half-closed eyes. ¡°She has gone back to her parents¡¯ home.¡± ¡°Oh...¡± She did not utter anything else ever since. Ten minutester, Tuoba Gucheng entered the room again and said, ¡°Hand me the thermometer.¡± An Xiaoning opened her eyes and slowly removed the thermometer from under her armpit before handing it to him. Tuoba Gucheng took a look to see that she was running a high fever of 39 degrees Celsius. The previous time she ran such a high fever was during her miscarriage. Yet, it was happening again this time. Tuoba Gucheng could not help but feel rather worried at the sight of how weak and ill she was. Chapter 619 - The Secret About the Past (237)

Chapter 619: The Secret About the Past (237)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Tuoba Gucheng hurriedly called for the doctor to prescribe some medicine and put her on the drip. Due to the fact that he had to leave because of an urgent matter, he specifically instructed Xiao Chi, ¡°Look after her and change the bottle once the drip runs out.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Xiao Chi closed the door and sat on the chair to monitor An Xiaoning¡¯s condition while she was put on an intravenous drip. He sighed at the thought of how his Young Sir and Young Madam¡¯s rtionship had turned sour. At this very moment, he received a call from Fan Shixin. ¡°Hello,¡± Xiao Chi answered softly. ¡°Um... I heard that Ms. An is about to leave the Autumn Pce soon. Has she left yet?¡± Fan Shixin asked. ¡°She was initially going to resign but His Highness didn¡¯t allow her to. I heard from a friend who was on dutyst night that Ms. An went out in the middle of the night and returned soaking wet. She imed to have fallen into the river. So, I reckon Ms. An had a failed attempt at escaping through theke,¡± Xiao Chi exined. ¡°Oh, I see. Get that bodyguard to remain tight-lipped about the matter.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already instructed him not to spread a word about it,¡± Xiao Chi said immediately. After a moment of silence, Fan Shixin asked, ¡°Has Ms. An been exceptionally close to His Highnesstely?¡± ¡°No, His Highness has been rather cold and aloof toward Ms. An recently. He only changed his attitude slightly when he heard about Ms. An¡¯s intention to leave. I also heard that His Highness has instructed everyone to guard all the exits and entrances closely and forbid her from leaving.¡± Fan Shixin immediately understood Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s intentions and said, ¡°I¡¯ll inform Young Sir about it. Wait for my news.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Xiao Chi then hung up the phone, puzzled and confused. Weren¡¯t they already divorced? What else did he want? ¡°Ms. An wants to leave the pce right now but Tuoba Gucheng won¡¯t allow her to. Young Sir, do you want to lend her a hand?¡± Fan Shixin said to Jin Qingyan. ¡°She doesn¡¯t need any help.¡± ¡°Ms. An tried to swim away from the pce through thekest night but she didn¡¯t manage to seed. She¡¯s running a high fever now. Xiao Chi is monitoring her condition while she¡¯s put on the drip.¡± Jin Qingyan immediately red at Fan Shixin and hissed, ¡°I only asked you to find out if she had left the pce. What are you telling me these for?¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll tell Xiao Chi not to bother about the other matters.¡± Just as he was walking toward the door, Jin Qingyan ordered him to stop. ¡°Hold it.¡± Fan Shixin turned to look at him in puzzlement and asked, ¡°Yes? What¡¯s the matter, Young Sir?¡± Jin Qingyan snapped out of his thoughts and said, ¡°Nothing, you may leave.¡± Fan Shixin left the room while Jin Qingyan began to let his imagination run wild as a million questions flooded his mind. Why didn¡¯t Tuoba Gucheng allow her to leave? He¡¯s already married, why wouldn¡¯t he let such an ugly female bodyguard resign? Besides, he doesn¡¯t know that An Xiaoning is his half-sister. Could it be... The more Jin Qingyan dwelled on it, the more frustrated he got. It¡¯s all your fault, Tuoba Gucheng! Jin Qingyan wished he could rip him into shreds and skin him alive. After getting a grip on his emotions, he again thought to himself, With the tight security in the Autumn Pce, can she really make it out on her own? Would she be trapped inside for a really long time? Should I render her some help on ount of our son? After much thought, Jin Qingyan walked toward the door and waved at Fan Shixin. ¡°Young Sir, what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°I heard that there¡¯s a new noise-reduction technology on the market that allows a vehicle to inte immediately with the push of a button, without making a single noise. It¡¯ll then propel up into the sky like a hot air balloon. Is there really such a thing?¡± Fan Shixin nodded and answered, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve heard about it too. It¡¯s said to be a newly-developed aircraft that ispletely silent and rid of any static noises while being resistant to wind at the same time. What about it?¡± ¡°Get one for me.¡± ¡°Young Sir, what do you need it for?¡± Fan Shixin asked. ¡°None of your business. Just do as I instructed.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯te at a cheap price though.¡± ¡°Do I seem like I can¡¯t afford it? Hurry and get one,¡± Jin Qingyan ordered. ¡°Okay. I guess I understand why you want that, Young Sir,¡± said Fan Shixin, chuckling after giving it some serious thought. ¡°Procrastinate further and I¡¯ll break your legs. Believe it or not.¡± ¡°I believe you, absolutely. I¡¯ll go ahead with it now.¡± ¡ª¡ª As evening approached, Mei Yangyang had already prepared dinner and said to Long Wenlun, ¡°Go look for Xiaoxi in the backyard and tell her toe inside for dinner.¡± ¡°Yes, Mommy.¡± Long Wenlun headed to the backyard to search for Long Xiaoxi, who was nowhere to be found. He then tried his luck at Zhong Minhe¡¯s house, but to no avail. ¡°She¡¯s not there? She must have gone opposite. Go there and look for her. Xiaoxi wouldn¡¯t wander off too far.¡± ¡°Mommy, I¡¯ve already gone opposite to look for her. She¡¯s not there,¡± said Long Wenlun. Mei Yangyang put down her chopsticks and immediately removed her apron. ¡°I¡¯ll go look for her.¡± She knew that her daughter wouldn¡¯t run out of Wei Ni Estate. Besides, security was tight around the estate and only residents were allowed to enter. Visitors would have to register their names at the guards¡¯ office and there were surveince cameras everywhere in the estate. Who would have the audacity to abduct a child here? But in fact, Long Xiaoxi had really gone missing. Atst, after checking the surveince camera footage, Mei Yangyang discovered that Xiaoxi had been led to another lobby by a little girl of simr age. Long Xiaoxi was then seen following the girl into an apartment on the second floor and did not leave since. The apartment building was only a stone¡¯s throw away from Mei Yangyang¡¯s mansion. Mei Yangyang heaved a sigh of relief. Coincidentally, Long Tianze returned home at this time and the pair proceeded to look for Long Xiaoxi together. Once they reached the second floor of the building, Long Tianze pressed the doorbell of the apartment and ady answered the door. Upon sight of them, she said while smiling, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you guys, Mr. and Mrs. Long. Xiaoxi is ying with my daughter, Xiaohua.¡± Mei Yangyang grinned and said, ¡°We were wondering why she hasn¡¯te home yet even though it was already almost evening. We only discovered that she was here after checking the surveince camera footage.¡± Long Xiaoxi ran toward them and greeted, ¡°Daddy, Mommy.¡± Long Tianze picked her up in his arms and said to Xiaohua¡¯s mother, ¡°We¡¯ll get going now. Sorry for imposing on you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing, goodbye.¡± An austere expression formed on Mei Yangyang¡¯s face at the instant that they entered the elevator. Noticing that her mother seemed irate, Long Xiaoxi threw her arms around her father¡¯s neck and said, ¡°Daddy, Mommy is so fierce.¡± ¡°Do you know how worried your Mommy was when she couldn¡¯t find you? Why didn¡¯t you go home even though it was alreadyte?¡± Long Tianze chided, clearly riled up. ¡°Daddy, I know I was wrong. I wouldn¡¯t dare to do it again,¡± Long Xiaoxi apologized, utterly melting Long Tianze¡¯s heart with the look of innocence on her face. Pinching his daughter¡¯s cheeks affectionately, Long Tianze said, ¡°Okay... don¡¯t do that again next time. Mommy¡¯s angry too. Go console and appease her.¡± Long Xiaoxi smiled and said, ¡°Ah, Mommy, you¡¯re just like the moon in the sky, so beautiful and bright. Mommy, you¡¯re just like the spring breeze, gently caressing my heart. Mommy is so pretty, beautiful, adorable, and gentle. Mommy is forever eighteen years old.¡± Mei Yangyang was speechless. ¡°If you wander off on your own again and get kidnapped by a vicious crook who sells you away, you won¡¯t be able toe home again. The bad guys will gouge your eyes out and remove all your organs. Children shouldn¡¯t stray too far away and run off on their own. Do you think you can outrun an adult if you get abducted?¡± Mei Yangyang warned sternly. ¡°Mommy is always right. I¡¯ll always obey your instructions. I won¡¯t wander off on my own again. Mommy, you are the best Mommy,¡± Long Xiaoxi answered, hugging Mei Yangyang. Mei Yangyang and Long Tianze¡¯s anger vanished, and the family of three headed home for dinner. Chapter 620 - The Secret About the Past (238)

Chapter 620: The Secret About the Past (238)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning had been searching for an opportunity to leave the pce at night. However, she had yet to seed. It was indeed not a ce where one coulde and go as they pleased. She initially nned to find another chance to escape tonight. However, Xiao Chi secretly stuffed her a note. It read: ¡°Don¡¯t close your door at two o¡¯clock in the morning.¡± An Xiaoning did not know what he meant but still went ahead and left the door ajar. At two hours after midnight, Xiao Chi showed up at her door. ¡°Mu Ning?¡± Leaning against the headboard, she reached out to switch on the lights and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Xiao Chi ced a ck stic bag on the ground and instructed softly, ¡°Young Sir said that he¡¯d like to show you some kindness on ount of your son. He sent you this prop, lest you die here.¡± An Xiaoning smirked and said, ¡°Is that so? I really have to thank your Young Sir then. Please also tell him that this is what he should be doing, I won¡¯t be grateful toward him.¡± ¡°Okay, I will tell him exactly what you said,¡± Xiao Chi answered, slightly peeved. ¡°You may get lost now.¡± An Xiaoning got down from the bed to close the door. She then squatted down and opened the ck stic bag, which came with an instruction manual. She perused the instructions before taking a look at the contents of the bag. After memorizing the instructions given, she burned the manual and flushed it down the toilet bowl. She changed into her favorite outfit and ced her other clothing into her luggage. After checking it through thoroughly to ensure that she did not leave any evidence behind, she took out a piece of paper and pen to write another note. The content of the message was slightly different from the previous one she¡¯d left behind. This time, she wrote: ¡°I¡¯m leaving now. I initially wanted to bid you a proper farewell a few days ago, but you didn¡¯t allow me to. I have no choice but to resort to this. I guess you¡¯ll be infuriated, but it¡¯s not worth blowing your top over such a small fry like me. Take care, we won¡¯t meet again. ¡ªMu Ning.¡± An Xiaoning then ced the note on the table. She brought the pile of items and made her way to the middle of the second floor while wearing her night vision goggles. She did not manage to escape after sneaking out of the window toward theke, but it seemed like it will be a sess this time. When she sessfully reached the top, An Xiaoning turned on the switch on the deted, lightweight balloon-like item. To her surprise, it began inting automatically and propelled her upwards toward the sky. There was only a slight breeze, leaving no trace at all. An Xiaoning stared at the world below her while rising up slowly into the sky. A smirk formed on her face as she thought to herself, Goodbye, Autumn Pce. Goodbye, Tuoba Gucheng. Goodbye to everything here. She knew that from this moment onwards, she would never be Mu Ning again. Since the moment An Xiaoning flew out of the pce, the air security system of the Autumn Pce had already been activated and they had begun trying to track her down. Once An Xiaoningnded outside the pce, she hurriedly packed her belongings and proceeded to collect her car from the car park. She then sped along the expressway toward A City, after which she got inside Mei Yangyang¡¯s car and stuffed the items into the trunk. She instructed Mei Yangyang to return the items to Jin Qingyan while she drove off to check into another hotel. An Xiaoning did not care even if the sky came crashing down on her. She decided to have a good night¡¯s sleep, despite knowing that the security personnel in the Autumn Pce were probably searching for her. As expected, the security team of the Autumn Pce had already begun searching for her around B City soon after she left. Tuoba Gucheng was informed about the situation at three o¡¯clock in the morning. When he first heard that someone had sneaked out of the Autumn Pce, he did not suspect that it was An Xiaoning at all. However, he instructed his bodyguards to call for An Xiaoning when he realized that she had yet toe downstairs even after breakfast. ¡°Your Highness, Mu Ning is not in her room. She probably went out.¡± Tuoba Gucheng nodded and waited for a while more before instructing his bodyguards to look for her. They did not manage to find her anywhere else. Atst, Xiao Chi said intentionally, ¡°I heard that someone fled the Autumn Pcest night using an unconventional method. It can¡¯t possibly be Mu Ning, can it?¡± A sullen expression formed on Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s face as soon as Xiao Chi stopped speaking, and he immediately headed upstairs. He pushed open the door of her bedroom, only to find that everything in the room was organized and tidy. The pot of lilies on the window ledge had already withered. When he approached the bed, the note left on the table caught his attention. Tuoba Gucheng held the note in his hand and looked down to read the message written on it, overwhelmed with panic and dismay. Last night... it was her, indeed! That damned wretch actually escaped without his permission. Did she really abhor being his bodyguard? Tuoba Gucheng crushed the note in his hands and proceeded to unzip the luggage she had left behind. The luggage contained her clothes and shoes. There was no other news about her. Tuoba Gucheng made his way downstairs. ¡°Xiao Chi.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Highness. Do you have any orders for me?¡± Xiao Chi asked, feeling jittery and nervous. ¡°You were the one who got Mu Ning into the pce back then, right? Where does she live?¡± asked Tuoba Gucheng. Xiao Chi had already prepared an answer to such questions way beforehand. ¡°Your Highness, it was a friend who introduced me to her. I decided to bring her to work in the pce after noticing that she was rather proficient in martial arts. I¡¯ve tried asking about the details of her personal life but she refused to reveal much.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s that friend of yours now?¡± ¡°He¡¯s already sacrificed his own life,¡± Xiao Chi answered with a look of agony. Clenching the note tightly in his fists, Tuoba Gucheng instructed, ¡°Bring me the personal identification documents Mu Ning submitted when she applied for the bodyguard position.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± A few minutester, Xiao Chi returned with a copy of An Xiaoning¡¯s personal identification card and details. Tuoba Gucheng did not open the document immediately and instead held it tightly in his hands while remaining in his seat quietly, seemingly deep in his thought. He had a deep frown on his forehead and a menacing look on his face. After pondering for a long while, he leaned against the couch and opened the document. After reading the information written on the document, he waved at Xiao Chi and dismissed him, ¡°You may leave first.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Noticing the austere expression on his face when she made her way downstairs, Lin Shishi asked, ¡°Hubby, did something happen?¡± He put the document away and said calmly, ¡°Nothing much, it¡¯s just, Mu Ning has already left. Let¡¯s go have breakfast.¡± Lin Shishi did not dwell much on the matter since Mu Ning was merely a bodyguard. ¡°Just bringing me a ss of milk will do, I don¡¯t feel like eating anything else,¡± she instructed the servant. ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± Lin Shishi sat down beside him and said, ¡°You seem really troubled. Mind sharing what¡¯s on your mind?¡± He smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s really nothing major. By the way, I haven¡¯t been spending much time with you because I¡¯ve been so busytely. Would you like me to make a trip down to A City together with you?¡± ¡°Do you really have the time to go with me? The elections are still ongoing. But I really am getting extremely bored in here,¡± said Lin Shishi, pleased to hear his suggestion. ¡°I can take a couple of days off and apany you to visit your parents. It won¡¯t matter.¡± ¡°When would you like to go?¡± Lin Shishi asked, beaming with joy. ¡°We shall goter. I¡¯ll instruct my subordinates to prepare some gifts.¡± ¡°Alright then. I¡¯ll go change into a fresh set of clothes now,¡± said Lin Shishi, after which she skipped upstairs merrily. Chapter 621 - The Secret About the Past (239)

Chapter 621: The Secret About the Past (239)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She came down only after about half an hour. Wearing a new set of clothes and fresh makeup on her face, she looked especially alluring. The maid passed her the milk. ¡°Princess Consort, your ss of milk.¡± Lin Shishi took the ss from her and finished the milk in one gulp. As they were about to leave, Tuoba Danxue asked as she entered the house, ¡°Brother, Sister-inw, where are you both going?¡± ¡°We¡¯re going back to A City.¡± Tuoba Danxue immediately asked, ¡°May I tag along?¡± Lin Shishi covered her mouth as she grinned. ¡°Are you going to see Minxing?¡± Tuoba Danxue¡¯s face flushed into a bright beetroot color. ¡°Umm. Anyway, I want to go out as well. I don¡¯t want to be cooped up here.¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go together.¡± Tuoba Danxue immediately followed the couple out in high spirits. A total of three cars left the Autumn Pce one after another. In the car, Tuoba Gucheng enquired, ¡°I seldom go to A City, are there any fun ces there?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Shishi chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m the most familiar with that ce, there are many fun ces there.¡± ¡°The university you previously went to was in A City?¡± ¡°Umm. But then I married you, right? So I won¡¯t be going back to the university in the future. A teacher will being to give me private lessons from now on. I can¡¯t let my studies rot away.¡± Lin Shishi rolled down the car window slightly, allowing some wind to enter. ¡°Look at the weather, it¡¯s turning cold. If only it was spring or summer. With all that greenery and flowers blooming, everywhere will be bursting with life.¡± As she did not get an answer, Lin Shishi turned and noticed that he was looking out the window, appearing to be troubled. She nudged his elbow and asked, ¡°Why do you look upset today?¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I wanted to get out, to ease my mind.¡± Lin Shishi showed a look of understanding. ¡°I¡¯ll show you around when we arrive.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡ª An Xiaoning destroyed that ugly-looking face mask. To be more specific, she burned it. Amongst everything that must be burned, that was the first on her list. At the present moment, she still had the beautiful face mask that resembled human skin. When it was needed, she would still use it. But right now, she still wanted to go out in her actual looks. She wanted to be in her actual skin, enjoying the sunlight, the air, the breeze ¡ª to experience everything. After eating, she went to get a full package at the beauty parlor, then went to get her hair done. This took up her whole morning. With her newly-permed hair flowing over her shoulders, along with her dainty face and exquisite features, nobody could guess that she was already a thirty-year-old woman. No matter who it was who guesses her age when meeting her for the first time, the oldest age they would guess of her was always about twenty-three to twenty-four years old. Having visited the beauty parlor and hair salon, she proceeded to go shopping for furniture, lifestyle products, and clothing in the afternoon. She only gave herself one afternoon¡¯s time to finish shopping for everything. With money, things were easily done. This saying was very true. She went to the furniture store to pick out all the furniture she needed in one go and instructed for them to be delivered to her house. Even though everything had been taken care of, she did not intend to move into her new house at the present moment. Since she had not seen her other set of godparents for quite a long time, An Xiaoning headed to the Jin family in the evening carrying gifts in her hands. Upon seeing her sudden arrival, Commander-in-chief Jin and Madam Jin were at first shocked, then ted by her presence. ¡°Wow, Xiaoning¡¯s here.¡± The couple weed her heartily, and Madam Jin remarked when she saw the gifts she was carrying, ¡°Why did you buy things when you¡¯re back home? It¡¯s a waste of money.¡± ¡°They¡¯re not worth much anyway. I bought them to show some respect to Father and Mother.¡± She grinned as she scanned the living room. ¡°Minxing¡¯s not at home?¡± ¡°No, the Second Prince and Princess Consort have returned home, and the Princess came over as well. Minxing went along.¡± Madam Jin dragged her to sit down and continued, ¡°Your father and I were going to head over, but since you¡¯re here, it¡¯s fine if we go there a bitter to have a chat.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll head over in a few days as well. I haven¡¯t seen the two of you in so long, I actually missed you all quite a bit.¡± The couple was overjoyed upon hearing her words and, at the thought of her divorce, Madam Jin carefully said, ¡°We wanted to visit you when you were overseas, but you refused. Xiaoning, are you feeling alright now?¡± An Xiaoning understood what Madam Jin was referring to. She nodded. ¡°I¡¯m fine now. I¡¯m still young, such setbacks don¡¯t amount to anything.¡± ¡°You have a strong heart, that¡¯s good. I think you don¡¯t have to head over there tomorrow. You cane along with your father and meter. You didn¡¯t attend the Second Prince¡¯s wedding. Since the Princess Consort is also back, the two of you can have a chat.¡± An Xiaoning rejected her immediately. ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll go there another day.¡± She was not stupid. She had juste out of the Autumn Pce, and if she had to run into Tuoba Gucheng and her sister now, wouldn¡¯t she be asking for death? ¡°Alright, sure. Since you didn¡¯t attend the Second Prince¡¯s wedding, you must make sure to attend Minxing and the Princess¡¯ wedding in December.¡± Hearing this, An Xiaoning sighed heavily inside. It was only a matter of time for her to have to see the Tuoba family. She nodded. ¡°Alright, if I¡¯m well and fine, I¡¯ll definitely attend.¡± ¡°What are you talking about? Of course you have to be well and fine. Your father and I would hate to see anything happen to you.¡± Madam Jin stood up. ¡°Wait a moment, Mother has something to give you.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know in a moment.¡± Madam Jin hurriedly ran into her bedroom and came out very soon. She held a box in one hand and broke into a warm smile as she passed it to An Xiaoning. ¡°Quick, open it and see if you like it.¡± An Xiaoning took the box and exerted some force to open it. Contained inside was a Buddha figure made from a crystal clear piece of jade. It was of an azure green color, and attached to it was a piece of red string so it could be worn as a charm ne. ¡°Xiaoning, do you like it?¡± ¡°I like it.¡± She nodded and removed the piece of jade Buddha from the box, asking, ¡°Mother, where did you buy this?¡± Madam Jin grinned. ¡°This jade Buddha may look the same as any ordinary piece of jade stone, but it¡¯s a birthday gift I received. When I saw it, I told your father that it didn¡¯t suit me but it would suit you, so I kept it for you. I saw you wearing a jade bangle before, I think this matches that bangle quite well.¡± ¡°This is a birthday gift you received, Mother, how can I take it?¡± An Xiaoning felt that it was not right. Madam Jin held onto her hand. ¡°Mother doesn¡¯t have much to give you, but I just think this suits you. Xiaoning, you must ept Mother¡¯s sincerity. They say jades have a spiritual aura to them. If you wear it long enough, it will be no different from a protection charm. Mother hopes that this piece of jade will keep you safe.¡± ¡°Mother, thank you.¡± An Xiaoning hugged her tightly. ¡°I¡¯ll ept it then. Can you put it on for me?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Madam Jin took the jade Buddha and hung it around An Xiaoning¡¯s neck, then she turned to ask her husband, ¡°Do you think it looks good on our daughter?¡± ¡°Naturally,¡± Commander-in-chief Jin answered heartily. ¡°I told you my judgment won¡¯t be wrong,¡± Madam Jin said with augh. ¡°...¡± After leaving the Jin residence, An Xiaoning headed back to the Gu residence. She took out the jade bangle she had carefully stored and looked at it, deep in thought. Chapter 622 - The Secret About the Past (240)

Chapter 622: The Secret About the Past (240)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios If she had not experienced it herself, never would she have believed that such a powerful jade bangle existed in this world. Wearing it on her wrist again, An Xiaoning raised her arm to admire it. The more she looked at it, the more she loved it. That bangle was really a precious gift from Gu Beicheng. Meanwhile, the Lin family¡¯s living room was bursting with happiness. Commander-in-chief Jin and Madam Jin arrived almost an hourte because of An Xiaoning¡¯s sudden visit. ¡°Look at all of you having such a great time chatting.¡± Madam Jin narrowed her eyes as she arrived, talking as she walked in, ¡°We¡¯re terribly sorry for beingte.¡± Madam Linughed softly. ¡°Is it because your son wasn¡¯t at home, so the two of you were spending some quality time together?¡± ¡°Sister Mei, you¡¯re really great at cracking jokes. We¡¯ve been a couple for so many years already.¡± Madam Jin sat beside her and went on, ¡°Xiaoning came back, so we chatted for some time. She said she¡¯de and visit another day.¡± Upon hearing this, Lin Shishi immediately asked, ¡°Auntie, why didn¡¯t you ask my sister toe along as well?¡± ¡°I asked, but she said she would visit another day.¡± Lin Shishi responded disappointedly, ¡°But we¡¯re going back tomorrow afternoon.¡± ¡°Since everyone is around, why don¡¯t you ask your mother to give Xiaoning a call?¡± Chief of Staff Lin suggested. ¡°I¡¯ll call her.¡± Lin Shishi took out her phone. ¡°Is her number still the same?¡± ¡°She¡¯s changed her number.¡± Madam Lin passed her own phone to her. ¡°This is her new number.¡± Lin Shishi keyed in the number and dialed it. Shemented while frowning, ¡°Why did she switch off her phone? Where¡¯s Sister living now?¡± ¡°She¡¯s living at the Gu residence right now.¡± Madam Jin added, ¡°I heard she bought a new house at Sanqiao Estate, but she hasn¡¯t moved there yet.¡± At the thought that she would be going out to walk around with her husband and Sister-inw, Lin Shishi was worried she wouldn¡¯t have time to meet An Xiaoning, so she replied, ¡°Mother, can you get someone to head to the Gu residence to call my sister here? Tomorrow, all of us are going out to y for the whole morning, then we¡¯ll be going back in the afternoon.¡± Madam Lin nodded and made the arrangement hurriedly. Never would An Xiaoning have expected that the Lin family would actually send someone to call her over. She had thought that by turning off her phone, she would be able to escape the situation. Now, it seemed like she had to face it sooner rather thanter. It was fine anyway. If she refused to admit it ¡¯til the end, what could they do to her just from identifying her voice? She picked an outfit again. For the top, she chose a white long-sleeved t-shirt with an irregrly-tailored small ck jacket. As for the bottom, she wore a pair of long ck pants with pointed high-heels. The outfit entuated her height and gave her a clean look. Though she had just removed her makeup and was about to rest, she began to re-apply makeup on her face. With her fiery bright red lipstick and makeup, she exuded the aura of a queen. When she had finished preparing, she was all ready to face her torture. Carrying such a mindset with her, An Xiaoning drove over to the Lin residence. She was still praying that her identity would not be discovered. The distance between the old Gu residence and the Lin residence took only about a fifteen-minute drive. However, it took her more than half an hour to arrive. In the end, she still drove toward the Lin residence. As she got down from the car while carrying her handbag, she gazed at the brightly-lit living room entrance and took a deep breath. Then, she followed the butler into the house. Everyone in the living room was still over the top as they were chatting merrily when the butler entered and announced, ¡°Old Master, Madam, Big Missy is back.¡± Everyone¡¯s gaze turned to the entrance, and they watched An Xiaoning walk through the door. As he was looking at her figure, Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s eyes were fixed on her, and he could not help but cast a few more nces at her. This woman standing not far away was indeed very beautiful, to the extent that the sight of her was breathtaking. ¡°Wow, Xiaoning, you¡¯re finally back. I heard from Shishi that you came back from overseas. Since she¡¯s at home now, she wanted to see you badly. But she couldn¡¯t get through to your phone so we sent someone to call you.¡± Madam Lin stood up and held onto An Xiaoning, bringing her in. An Xiaoning followed her and grinned, her face remaining calm andposed. ¡°I¡¯d wanted toe and visit another day...¡± The moment she spoke, Tuoba Danxue was astonished while Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s face changed instantly. This voice was extremely familiar to them. Upon looking at her figure and height, they found that those were rather familiar as well. Even her hairstyle and its length did not differ much from those of the person they knew. The only thing that vastly differed was her face. Their faces were on opposite ends of a scale. Tuoba Danxue immediately stood up in shock and went before An Xiaoning, sizing her up carefully. ¡°Why do you sound exactly like the female bodyguard, Mu Ning, from my brother¡¯s house?¡± An Xiaoning let out a softugh and gazed at her. ¡°This must be the Princess whom Minxing is getting married to soon, right? You¡¯re great at cracking jokes.¡± Tuoba Danxue turned to her second brother. ¡°This voice sounds exactly like hers right, Brother?¡± Tuoba Gucheng gazed deeply at An Xiaoning, making her nervous to the point that her palms were sweating. After a moment of silence, he replied, ¡°It does sound a bit simr...¡± ¡°It¡¯s not just simr, it¡¯s exactly the same. How in this world are there two voices that sound so extremely identical? I¡¯m not even able to differentiate them. It¡¯s amazing. If not for how Mu Ning has already left, I¡¯d have really wanted topare the two of you in front of everyone.¡± Both the Lin and Jin families were puzzled by her words. Madam Jin was still more quick-witted to reply, ¡°All sorts of magical and strange things happen in this world. I even saw online that there are people who look exactly like biological family members. Having simr voices is a much moremon urrence.¡± She then cast a nce to her son to signal him. Receiving his mother¡¯s signaling nce, Jin Minxing immediately added, ¡°I¡¯ve seen that female bodyguard Mu Ning. She looks nothing like my sister...¡± Tuoba Danxue was young and naive, after all, and immediately responded, ¡°That¡¯s exactly right. Mu Ning¡¯s horribly ugly. When she was working under me, weined about it all the time. She¡¯s on apletely different level as Ms. An. If Ms. An is a tiger lily growing in the skies, then Mu Ning¡¯s just a bunch of grass growing on the ground.¡± An Xiaoning kept a faint smile on her face throughout and did not reveal any hint of an unusual expression. ¡°Thank you for thepliment, Princess. You¡¯ve made me rather embarrassed, actually.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just stating the truth,¡± Tuoba Danxue replied while returning to her seat. ¡°Sister, sit down.¡± Lin Shishi pointed to an empty spot on the sofa. After she sat down, An Xiaoning apologized to Lin Shishi, ¡°I couldn¡¯t attend your and the Second Prince¡¯s wedding, I¡¯m so sorry about that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, I heard from Mother that you were injured and couldn¡¯t rush back. Sister, are you feeling better now?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve long recovered. I think it¡¯s been too long since I¡¯vest seen you, you¡¯ve be more feminine after getting married.¡± Madam Lin broke into a wide grin. ¡°She¡¯s pregnant for more than two months already.¡± An Xiaoning put on a pretense of being shocked by the news. ¡°Really? That¡¯s great. I wasn¡¯t able to attend your wedding, but when you give birth, I¡¯ll definitely be there.¡± Tuoba Gucheng did not speak to her throughout but held onto his teacup and listened to her chat with the others. While Tuoba Danxue realized only that their voices were simr and did not connect Mu Ning to An Xiaoning, Tuoba Gucheng, on the other hand, was instantly enlightened by many things. Even though the person in question ¡ª An Xiaoning ¡ª could feel his intense gaze on her, so what? So what if he had guessed something? Chapter 623 - The Secret About the Past (241)

Chapter 623: The Secret About the Past (241)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He was probably curious about why she had to put on a mask to enter the Autumn Pce, right? And he probably had many questions he wanted to ask her as well, hadn¡¯t he? ¡°Sister Xiaoning,e with me. I have something to ask you.¡± Lin Shishi dragged her upstairs. When they arrived at her bedroom, An Xiaoning asked once they went in, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Lin Shishi made her sit down and asked with her warm smiling eyes, ¡°My wonderful sister, will you help me see how my marriage will turn out?¡± An Xiaoning looked at her in a serious manner. ¡°Shishi, I don¡¯t suggest that you have it read. Because if it turns out that it¡¯s good, you¡¯ll be happy, but if it¡¯s not, you¡¯ll be hung up about it. Life is meant to be experienced. It¡¯s only after you¡¯ve experienced it that you won¡¯te to regret it. Right?¡± ¡°I was just curious. But since Sister said this, then I won¡¯t ask anymore.¡± ¡°Is His Highness good to you?¡± Lin Shishi nodded shyly. ¡°Yes, he¡¯s wonderfully obedient to me in every way.¡± ¡°Then what do you have to worry about? Live well with him and don¡¯t overthink.¡± Her reassurance indeed made Lin Shishi feel much better. ¡°Umm, I¡¯ll listen to you, Sister.¡± ¡°I think the Prince is a decent person, and you¡¯re such a sensible and cute person, so there won¡¯t be much problem.¡± ¡°I hope so. For now, we¡¯re getting along quite well, and there¡¯s a child in my stomach as well, which also puts me in a better position.¡± As she spoke of this, her face was glowing up in evident happiness. ¡°That¡¯s good. Sister is happy for you.¡± An Xiaoning took a look at the time and remarked, ¡°It¡¯s gettingte, I¡¯ll be going back first. The next time youe back, we¡¯ll catch up again, okay?¡± ¡°Alright. Drive safely on the road, Sister.¡± ¡°I will.¡± When An Xiaoning went downstairs, she did not see Tuoba Gucheng and thought that it was the perfect moment to leave. After greeting everyone goodbye and rejecting her parents¡¯ offers to send her home, she carried her bag and walked out. Quickening her pace as she walked toward her car, she could then finally heave a sigh of relief after she got inside. Her car slowly pulled out of the Lin residence¡¯s front gate. When she had driven a distance away, she noticed through the rear mirror that a car was following behind. An Xiaoning slowed down her car speed, and when the car behind did the same, she could suddenly guess who was seated in the car. She began to step harder on the gas pedal to elerate the car. The car behind started elerating as well and, not long after, a car ahead sessfully blocked An Xiaoning¡¯s car from speeding away while the car behind quickly blocked her. Her Ferrari became sandwiched between two cars. An Xiaoning immediately pushed her car door open and got down. She nced at the car ahead and headed toward it. The car door opened, and Tuoba Gucheng, who was seated inside, said in his deep voice, ¡°Get on.¡± An Xiaoning did not move and merely uttered, ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a need. Your Highness, what is the reason you are blocking my car at this time of the night?¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t mind talking to me like this, I can stay here to talk with you until dawn.¡± An Xiaoning remained fearless and remarked, ¡°Then I can only get my godparents and Shishi here, just to find out what exactly Your Highness wants.¡± She fished out her phone and was about to make a call. Tuoba Gucheng did not expect that she¡¯d really dare to do so and warned her, ¡°If you dare to make this call, you¡¯ll be the nation¡¯s most wanted fugitive tomorrow. You hid your identity to enter the Autumn Pce and lurked around me. I was just about to ask you, what were your intentions? You¡¯ll be branded as a spy. What do you think about that?¡± An Xiaoning gripped her phone tightly. She knew he was no merciful goddess. It seemed that evil people were all equally bad in this world. She bent over and sat down in the car. The driver had gotten off the car, so only the two of them were left inside at this point. Tuoba Gucheng turned and looked at her. The streetmps outside reflected in the car, so there was some light amidst the darkness. While he could not see her vividly, the distance between them was close enough to him. ¡°Never would I have thought that you¡¯re actually An Xiaoning. No wonder the background information you left at the Autumn Pce were all fake. Your identity was forged, so was your name and face. What do you have that wasn¡¯t forged?¡± An Xiaoning was afraid that there were surveince cameras in the car, so she spoke extremely carefully as she had to take some precaution. ¡°I don¡¯t quite understand what you¡¯re talking about, Brother-inw.¡± She sat in a serious posture. ¡°There¡¯s nobody else here, I¡¯ll just call you more casually. It feels too distant if I call you Your Highness.¡± ¡°Who told you... to call me Brother-inw?¡± He gritted his teeth in anger as he spoke coldly. ¡°Then, shall I still call you Your Highness?¡± ¡°Call my name.¡± An Xiaoning did not know what he was up to. ¡°I don¡¯t dare to.¡± ¡°You¡¯re such a bold woman, what do you not dare to do?¡± He sniggered and went on in his smooth and pleasing voice, ¡°No wonder when you were in the Autumn Pce, you never spoke when you saw Shishi and Minxing. You were afraid they would recognize your voice, right? Throughout thesest few months, you actually carried things out wlessly without exposing your identity. What on earth was the reason behind these great lengths you took to enter the Autumn Pce?¡± An Xiaoning had already guessed that he would ask her this. However, whether he knew about it was one thing and whether she wanted to answer him was another. ¡°Your Highness, if there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll be going back.¡± As she finished speaking, she could feel a razor-sharp gaze fixed on her. There wasplete silence in the car. Just when An Xiaoning was still pondering how long she had to stay in the car, he spoke. ¡°I don¡¯t care what motives you had. As long as you¡¯re willing to return to being my bodyguard, I¡¯ll pretend that this thing never happened.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s brain was about to explode. Was he mad? Or was there something wrong with his brain? What on earth did he want? Since he already knew who she was, wasn¡¯t it pointless for him to do this? For a man to do something like this, the reason was far too obvious. Since he had already said something like this, An Xiaoning figured that there was probably no device set up to record their conversation. She let out a sigh and said, ¡°Your Highness, if I¡¯ve done anything to make you misunderstand, I apologize for it. But please, don¡¯t say anything like that anymore. Your Highness and Shishi are a harmonious couple now and are even having a child together. Please don¡¯t create unnecessaryplications or overthink things, that wouldn¡¯t be good for either of us. Moreover, if everyone knows about what I did, there¡¯d be harsh criticisms fromizens everywhere. My life is already bad enough, please let me off, Your Highness.¡± Hearing this, he reached out his hand and held onto hers. An Xiaoning was rmed and immediately tried to retract her hand, but she did not expect that he had so much strength. ¡°Then, you have to promise to be friends with me. Otherwise, I won¡¯t let you off easily.¡± ¡°Since Your Highness already said it like this, I naturally have to obey. Given the kind of person Your Highness is, to be able to be friends with you is naturally my honor.¡± He loosened his grip of her hand abruptly. ¡°Then, you may get off.¡± With that, An Xiaoning hurriedly got down from the car. She did not hesitate for a moment at all. The car door was shut, and only Tuoba Gucheng was left inside the car. Nobody would have known how much courage he had taken earlier to ask her to be friends with him. For fear that she would not agree, he had added thest line to threaten her. He had given her a chance by backing off simply so that he would have the chance to meet her again. He only knew that, at this moment, he was feeling an unexinable sense of happiness inside. Chapter 624 - The Secret About the Past (242)

Chapter 624: The Secret About the Past (242)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Never would he have expected that a woman could make him this stunned. With that face of hers previously, when she was still called Mu Ning, he had gradually felt that with her around, he had the power to do anything. Now, even with her face changed, she was still the same person. It was a delightful fact. The chauffeur got onto the car again and drove it back to the Lin residence. Lin Shishi had juste out from a shower. Seeing him return, she asked with a grin, ¡°When I went down just now, the butler said you went out. Where were you?¡± ¡°I went to admire the night view here.¡± Looking at the gentle expression on his face, Lin Shishi held onto his hand. ¡°You finally look rxed now. That¡¯s wonderful. Go and take a shower.¡± ¡°Umm, okay.¡± Lin Shishi sat on the bed, ying with her phone and waiting for him toe out. But little did she expect that she¡¯d be waiting for such a long time. Only after more than an hour did Tuoba Gucheng finallye out from the shower. When he came out, Lin Shishi¡¯s eyelids were already getting heavy. ¡°Why did you take so long?¡± ¡°I soaked for too long.¡± Hey down and casually asked, ¡°Tonight, the one that came... that sister of yours is Jin Qingyan¡¯s ex-wife?¡± ¡°Yup.¡± At the mention of An Xiaoning, Lin Shishi became energetic again. ¡°Now that we¡¯re talking about this, I feel that it¡¯s really such a shame. I heard my ex-brother-inw and my sister were a really loving couple.¡± ¡°Then why did they get divorced?¡± He used his arms to rest his head on. ¡°I¡¯m not very sure, and neither are my parents. My sister didn¡¯t tell us. This is her second divorce with my ex-brother-inw already. They have a five- or six-year-old son as well. However, my sister¡¯s really amazing. If not for her, I would have long been dead. She gave me the chance to live again, so I like her especially much and I¡¯m really full of admiration for her.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t I hear you talk about her before, then? How did she save your life, care to share?¡± Lin Shishi chuckled. ¡°When I talk about her, there¡¯s just too many things to say. I feel like it¡¯ll take forever to finish. We met at a gathering...¡± She exined the whole process of her meeting An Xiaoning and how she saved her. Tuoba Gucheng was listening to her story in awe. ¡°She can see and talk to spirits, does that mean her body¡¯s weak during the Ghost Festival?¡± ¡°Probably. I¡¯m not too sure about that, but her birthday is during the Ghost Festival.¡± Tuoba Gucheng probed, ¡°Ghost Festival? Which one?¡± ¡°The fifteenth day of the seventh Lunar month.¡± No wonder she was possessed by his beloved Labrador during the day of the Ghost Festival. That exined it. What a mysterious woman. Regardless of whether she had a beautiful face or not, she was a woman with an attractive character. Her beautiful looks were just a bonus. ¡°After hearing all these things, don¡¯t you think my sister is amazing?¡± A smile appeared on Lin Shishi¡¯s face. ¡°That¡¯s why she is the person I admire most. However, her married life is really not smooth sailing. I really don¡¯t understand, why is such a great woman always facing so many obstacles when ites to marriage?¡± ¡°How old is she now?¡± Tuoba Gucheng suddenly asked. Lin Shishi replied, ¡°She¡¯s thirty.¡± Tuoba Gucheng thought of the photocopied document of her background information. It stated that she was twenty-four. Hmm, she had a fake surname, name, age, family background, and face. What an expert forger. She was really something. She was already thirty, but it really did not look like it. It was indeed believable if she imed she was twenty-four. He himself had just passed his twenty-seventh birthday and was only three years younger than she was. The gap was not that huge at all. Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s mind was in a mess. So why exactly did she sneak into the Autumn Pce? And why did she leave after staying in there for only a few months? Xiao Chi had said that a friend rmended her to enter the Autumn Pce. Since Xiao Chi¡¯s friend was sacrificed, he must have been killed by An Xiaoning. Then why on earth did she sneak in?! He naturally would not have known that Xiao Chi had only said that casually as an excuse. ¡°Honey?¡± ¡°Umm.¡± Tuoba Gucheng recovered from his trance and reached out to hug her. ¡°Go to sleep earlier.¡± Lin Shishiy in his arms and closed her eyes. Tuoba Gucheng, on the other hand, simply could not fall asleep. His whole head was full of problems he was bugged with. These problems needed answers desperately. He had gone to find her address stated on the photocopied document of her background information. When he realized that it was fake, he was beyond disappointed. Never would he have expected that things would change by night. It was really true that every cloud has a silver lining. Nobody would have known that, at that moment when he heard her voice, his heart was bursting with happiness. It was a most magnificent scene of flowers blossoming inside his heart, and he even felt the atmosphere turning warmer than ever. Even though Tuoba Gucheng never revealed the reason why he was so bothered about her, the answer in his heart was a constant reminder to him. Before he had gotten married, he had already fallen for her. No, more specifically, even before he had a child or gotten married, he had fallen deeply for her in a short period of time. Since he was young, he did not dare to fall for someone easily. It was only when it really happened did he finally understand that some things were beyond one¡¯s control. Moreover, it was something like love. Something that was, by itself, uncontroble. He could not remember when he had started caring for her, or how many times he had waited for her to go out when she waste. Come to think of it, he was being selfish. He had only wanted to use her identity as a bodyguard to keep her by his side. He was even fine with the way they got along with each other now and did not think of anything else, not even the original face she had. With his wifepletely asleep beside him, Tuoba Gucheng gazed at her face, his eyes filled with guilt toward her. Their marriage was only due to political reasons. He did not love her, and he could only y his role well as her husband and their child¡¯s father. As for other things, it was not within his ability to do it. With the room dimly lit, the night was as quiet as ever. Tuoba Gucheng reached out and took Lin Shishi¡¯s phone from the table. He essed her call records and noted down An Xiaoning¡¯s phone number. After looking at her phone number, Tuoba Gucheng saved it into his own phone. All the electronic devices in the Autumn Pce were tapped. Not even his siblings¡¯ and his were spared. He had two phones. One that everyone knew about, and a secret one that no one knew of. He used the former phone to contact his parents, siblings, and the people in the Autumn Pce. As for the secret phone, it was equipped with an advanced anti-surveince system and was purely for private use. Even for his wife, Lin Shishi, he only provided the phone number that everyone knew of. Compared to his discreet ways, Tuoba Danxue used only one phone in the Autumn Pce. Her rtionship with Jiang Feng, which ended before anything could happen, was to her, not a big deal. Tuoba Hancheng, meanwhile, had a secret phone just like Tuoba Gucheng did. His reason for not revealing the private phone number to his family was because he was afraid it would get tapped as well if his mother found out. Moreover, at the present moment, his secret phone was unlocked by his fingerprint. The system also prevented one from resetting this fingerprint function, so only his most trusted underlings had this number. As for women, An Xiaoning was the first one. He used this private phone number to send An Xiaoning a text message. There was only one line in the text: ¡°This is my personal phone number, take note of it. ¡ªTuoba Gucheng¡± Chapter 625 - The Secret About the Past (243)

Chapter 625: The Secret About the Past (243)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mo Li sat quietly by the bedside, a pregnancy test stick in her hand. The two red lines on it revealed that she had already hit the jackpot. However, she remained expressionless and did not look happy at all. On the contrary, she felt somewhat afraid. Afraid of what, she had no idea either. Knock, knock, knock. A few knocks sounded on the bedroom door, followed by the voice of a maid, ¡°Young Madam, Madam is downstairs and calling for you.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Mo Li threw the thing in her hand into the rubbish bin, then straightened her clothes before going down to see Mrs. Ye. She was sitting on the sofa, scrutinizing Mo Li with a swift and fierce gaze when she came down. She cut straight to the chase and asked impatiently, ¡°How long has it been already, is there anything happening in your stomach?¡± ¡°I¡¯m pregnant,¡± she replied matter-of-factly. Mrs. Ye¡¯s face lit up in happiness. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡± ¡°I just found out. My dearest Mother-inw, may I know if you have any other instructions?¡± ¡°Go to the hospital to do a test.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Mo Li answeredzily. After receiving this great news, Mrs. Ye¡¯s attitude changedpletely. ¡°Tell me the results after you¡¯ve gotten checked. If everything¡¯s well, rest well at home. I¡¯m sure this time around, the child will be a boy.¡± Mo Li did not answer. As she watched a delighted Mrs. Ye leave, she could feel her heart growing heavy instead. She went to the hospital to check, and it was confirmed that she was more than one month pregnant. After doing a checkup at the hospital, she walked all the way to her parents¡¯ breakfast shop. Seeing her there, Mrs. Mo immediately asked, ¡°Lili, where have you just been to?¡± ¡°I just went to the hospital. Mother, I¡¯m pregnant.¡± Noticing that she was not happy with the news, Mrs. Mo dragged her into the house and poured a cup of tea for her. ¡°Since you¡¯re pregnant, don¡¯t think too much about other things. Give birth to the child and raise it properly. For all you know, this child might be a boy.¡± ¡°Mother, I feel uneasy inside.¡± Mo Li revealed her innermost thoughts to her mother. ¡°The moment I think of the price I have to pay for changing my fate to get a son, I feel afraid.¡± Mrs. Mo understood how upset she was and consoled her, ¡°Why don¡¯t you call that Ms. An? Isn¡¯t she very urate at reading such things? You should hear what she has to say.¡± Mo Li agreed and responded, ¡°We were quite close in the past. Butter on, because Xiaotian and Qingyan¡¯spanies became rivals, I didn¡¯t even greet her when I saw her. But I did call to apologize to her recently.¡± ¡°You...¡± Mrs. Mo gently advised her, ¡°Don¡¯t interfere in matters between men. No matter what, she saved you before, how can you not talk to her when you see her? Lili, I really think this Ms. An is a nice person. You have no rtion to her whatsoever, but she still helped you back then. Don¡¯t ever do this again in the future.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Mo Li fished out her phone to call An Xiaoning. Upon knowing that she was at the Gu residence, Mo Li¡¯s face lit up, and she wanted to find her immediately. Mrs. Mo wanted to apany her, but she insisted that it wasn¡¯t needed and took a taxi there by herself. An Xiaoning had finished her breakfast and was lying on a chair in the courtyard to get some sunlight. She had wanted to rest properly for a few days since she hadbored so tirelessly at the Autumn Pce for so long and was utterly exhausted. Since she had the chance to rx properly, she wanted to treat herself well, of course. When Mo Li arrived, she noticed that An Xiaoning was in a white blouse with a denim jacket as outerwear, apanied by an elegant ck fishtail skirt. As for her legs that were resting on the chair, they were tucked in a pair of pointed ts. Her eyes were closed as she enjoyed the energy from the sunlight. Mo Li went forward and sat beside her. ¡°The weather¡¯s great today.¡± An Xiaoning opened her eyes and slowly sat upright. ¡°That¡¯s why we shouldn¡¯t waste away such good sunlight, right? Tell me, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Mo Li smiled awkwardly. ¡°How did you know... I had something to ask you?¡± An Xiaoning smiled faintly. ¡°Well, if there¡¯s nothing, you wouldn¡¯t have to find me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s like this, today, I found out that I¡¯m pregnant.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s gazended on her t stomach. ¡°This child that you¡¯re carrying was conceived because your mother-inw changed your fate?¡± ¡°Most probably. Because I¡¯m really not sure if I was destined to conceive it or only because my fate was changed.¡± ¡°Tell me your birth characters, I¡¯ll check if your fate has been changed.¡± Mo Li hurriedly told her, and she pondered for a moment while Mo Li couldn¡¯t help but get nervous. ¡°Has it really been changed?¡± An Xiaoning turned to face her and gazed at her haggard face, which could not even be concealed by makeup. She did not answer her question yet but asked, ¡°Mo Li, have you been losing sleep and not eating welltely?¡± ¡°How did you know?¡± ¡°Just from seeing your face.¡± She frowned. ¡°Your fate can be controlled, but only you can control it. Some people can change their own fate just from working hard, this is the most remarkable thing about fortune-telling. Not everyone¡¯s fate stays the same, only those who go on the same path, despite knowing that it¡¯s wrong, and not stop their ways in time have their fates sealed. You¡¯re around the same age as me, why have you made yourself suffer like this?¡± Mo Li was visibly moved as she stared at the face before her, then thought about herself. She admitted that what An Xiaoning said was right. They were both thirty years old. An Xiaoning had gotten divorced thrice but was still living a vibrant life. As for herself, she did not even have the power to make her own life choices. Was that not pathetic? ¡°Has it really changed?¡± ¡°It looks like your mother-inw has spent a lot on this.¡± An Xiaoning went on, ¡°It seems that the child in your stomach must be a boy.¡± Hearing this news, Mo Li was not only not happy, but her face also looked even paler. ¡°Xiaoning, do I have to pay the same price to keep this son?¡± An Xiaoning fixed her gaze on her. ¡°I don¡¯t quite get what you mean. Are you worried that there¡¯s a heavy price to pay for this or just want to know the price you need to pay to keep this son?¡± ¡°The former, of course. I want to know what kind of price I may have to pay.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not very sure about this either, because there¡¯s no urate answer.¡± She pondered for a moment, then replied, ¡°I think it might not be a light consequence. It¡¯s very possible that this punishment may be inflicted on someone dear to you. After all, you were the one who drank the water with the amulet, so the punishment will target you. Your mother-inw wouldn¡¯t possibly have taken the risk with her son¡¯s birth characters.¡± Mo Li suddenlypsed into a state of panic. ¡°Is there any way to change this punishment?¡± ¡°If there is... do you want to do it?¡± An Xiaoning asked in a serious manner. ¡°Even though I don¡¯t have a deep understanding of you, I do know your character quite well.¡± ¡°What ways are there to avoid such punishment? Xiaoning, please tell me quickly.¡± ¡°Get rid of the child now, then do a ritual. Everything should be fine after that.¡± An Xiaoning was reluctant to tell her the solution, but the final choice was in her hands. ¡°What?¡± It was as if Mo Li received a head-on blow and would faint anytime. ¡°Get rid of it? My mother-inw would force me to drink another time.¡± Chapter 626 - The Secret About the Past (244)

Chapter 626: The Secret About the Past (244)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I think your life is really pathetic. You don¡¯t have a mind of your own, and all you do is follow your husband and mother-inw¡¯s orders. Why are you fussing over things when you don¡¯t even have the guts to do anything?¡± An Xiaoning remarked bluntly, not mincing her words at all. Mo Li looked down and said, ¡°I¡¯d like to live independently like you do too...¡± ¡°You¡¯d first need to be courageous enough.¡± An Xiaoning sighed and continued, ¡°You probably haven¡¯t experienced what it¡¯s like to be truly hopeless. I believe that in every human soul lies two strikingly contrasting forms of one¡¯s self. Sometimes, one of the two would bepletely subdued and suppressed by the other. Thus, when you meet with difficulties, the form that has been suppressed will rebound like a boomerang. Perhaps that¡¯s the case for you. You¡¯ve gotten too used to taking things in your own stride and swallowing your pain and grievances that you¡¯ve be weak and submissive.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, I agree with you.¡± ¡°I think you should discuss this properly with Ye Xiaotian. After all, you two are a married couple. He actually has the final say in your family matters. Regardless of how vicious and cunning your mother-inw may be, she can¡¯t override her son. Your husband¡¯s opinion is critical. It depends on you to decide if you want to heed the advice of others. You have to take charge of your own life,¡± An Xiaoning advised. ¡°I understand.¡± Mo Li then left and set off to the Ye Corporation. Mo Li¡¯s sudden visit caught Ye Xiaotian by surprise, for she rarely goes to the office to look for him. ¡°Are you busy now?¡± ¡°Not quite, at the moment. I heard from Mother that you¡¯re pregnant,¡± Ye Xiaotian said, smiling. ¡°I just came from Xiaoning¡¯s ce. I sought her help to see if my fate has been altered,¡± Mo Li exined as she took a seat opposite his desk. ¡°What did she say?¡± Ye Xiaotian asked. ¡°She said, it seems like your mother had really spent a bomb trying to alter my fate. The fetus in my womb now is a boy, without a doubt.¡± ¡°Is that so? If it¡¯s true, my mother will finally stop harping on this matter once the baby is born,¡± Ye Xiaotian eximed gleefully, smiling from ear to ear. Mo Li was a little disappointed to see how ted he was. ¡°Must you really be that happy?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t rejoice too soon, for we¡¯ll have to ept another form of punishment before we get to keep the child. Hubby, will you still be happy even though we have to face some dire consequences?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t they say that it won¡¯t necessarily happen? Maybe we¡¯ll get lucky, don¡¯t worry,¡± said Ye Xiaotian. ¡°Xiaoning has already told me firmly that there¡¯ll definitely be grave consequences to face. It might also implicate one of our family members.¡± The smile on Ye Xiaotian¡¯s face faded. ¡°Did she really say that?¡± ¡°Yes. Since when do Xiaoning¡¯s words lie? I asked her if there was a way to avoid the punishment, and she told me that we¡¯ll have to abort the baby and perform a ritual,¡± Mo Li answered anxiously. A frown creased Ye Xiaotian¡¯s forehead. ¡°We can¡¯t abort the child, no matter what. Otherwise, my mother will kick up another fuss and get up to another funny idea. By then, it¡¯ll impact us directly. Shall we look for another medium and see if he has a solution to our problem?¡± Ye Xiaotian asked carefully, afraid to upset Mo Li, who did not speak to him for days after being forced to drink the talisman water. Mo Li was filled with disappointment upon hearing his words. She was both mentally and physically tired from the entire baby-making saga, in order to carry on the Ye family¡¯s bloodline. She no longer saw hope in her life or marriage. ¡°Honey?¡± Ye Xiaotian stood up to hug her from behind and continued, ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much about it, I don¡¯t want to cause any unnecessary aftermath problems because of this matter either, but you went through painstaking means to conceive this child, and my mother is so desperately eager for you to carry on the Ye family bloodline. I don¡¯t know if I can strike a bnce between the two. Besides, those absurd, superstitious beliefs might not actually be real. Don¡¯t they always say that your destiny lies in your own hands?¡± ¡°Xiaotian, let me ask you a question. If the person facing the punishment has to be me or Jiani, would you still want to keep this son? Would you still try to bnce the pros and cons?¡± ¡°Of course not,¡± Ye Xiaotian answered. Mo Li stood up and eximed agitatedly, ¡°We have no idea what awaits us next. Can¡¯t we just avoid the possibility of suffering any consequences altogether? Is giving birth to a son really that important? Don¡¯t you see how several wealthy families only have one daughter for their heir? Is it really worth sacrificing our future peace and happiness because of the family bloodline!?!¡± ¡°Will you let me think through it carefully? I¡¯ll look for an opportunity to talk to Mother about this,¡± said Ye Xiaotian, who did note to a decision immediately. Staring at him, Mo Li said, ¡°I feel I already know the oue.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª¡ª After basking in the sun for an entire morning, An Xiaoning headed to the gynecologist¡¯s office in the People¡¯s Hospital at two o¡¯clock in the afternoon. She was wearing the pretty mask. She did not wish for her health condition to be leaked online. Since she was an unfamiliar face, the gynecologist proceeded to tell her about her condition exactly as it was, without mincing her words. After the checkup, the doctor took a close look at the diagnosis report of her womb, birth canal, cervix canal, and ovaries. ¡°How many children do you have?¡± asked the gynecologist. ¡°One.¡± ¡°How many have you aborted?¡± An Xiaoning ced her hands on the table and answered after some thought, ¡°My uterus was severely wounded during my first pregnancy, so I¡¯ve had three natural miscarriages in total. I¡¯ve never aborted any intentionally.¡± Staring at her calmly, the doctor answered, ¡°So you¡¯ve had four pregnancies but only managed to give birth to one and suffered three miscarriages. You really don¡¯t take care of your body, do you?¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s heart sank and she asked, ¡°Doctor, what do you mean...¡± ¡°Your uterus can no longer hold a fetus, so stop thinking of trying to conceive again. Even if you manage to fall pregnant by chance, you¡¯ll suffer a miscarriage in the end and possibly lose your life as well. But of course, medical technology overseas is far more advanced than what we currently have in the country. Perhaps there¡¯ll be some hope if you seek help from a prestigious doctor overseas. But I suggest you don¡¯t hold your hopes too high.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have ns to get pregnant anyway,¡± An Xiaoning answered with a nod. ¡°That¡¯s good. Good that you¡¯ve epted it with an open mind. You already have a child anyway. Women ought to treasure themselves and their body. You¡¯re anemic. You should nourish yourself properly and nurse yourself back to health. Otherwise, you¡¯re going to suffer from ailments when you¡¯re older. I¡¯ve prescribed you some medicine. I suggest you look for an experience traditional Chinese medical physician to get your pulse checked and ask for some traditional Chinese medicine to aid your condition,¡± the gynecologist said while scribbling with a pen. ¡°Alright, thank you, Doctor.¡± An Xiaoning proceeded to collect her medicine with the prescription slip before heading to a Chinese traditional medicine clinic. She was again prescribed with traditional Chinese medicine. While on her way home, she stared at the packet of medicine on the passenger¡¯s seat and said with a wry smile, ¡°I¡¯ve already be heavily reliant on medicine at such a young age. Great.¡± An Xiaoning removed her mask and chewed on some chewing gum. Once she arrived at the entrance of the Gu family mansion, her car was stopped by the bodyguards on duty. One of them scurried toward her car and said, ¡°Missy, Madam Xu is here and she¡¯s looking for you.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± She drove inside the mansion. She alighted from the car with the bag of medicine. As soon as she entered the living room, she was greeted with the sight of Madam Xu sitting on the couch and having a conversation with Mrs. Gu. Both of them quickly stood up at the sight of An Xiaoning¡¯s arrival. ¡°Madam Xu has been waiting for you for a long time. I tried to call you but your mobile phone was switched off.¡± Noticing the bag of medicine in her hands, Mrs. Gu asked worriedly, ¡°Are you feeling unwell? Why did you buy so much medicine?¡± Chapter 627 - The Secret About the Past (245)

Chapter 627: The Secret About the Past (245)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning handed her a pack of traditional herbal medicine and said, ¡°Mother, this is meant for nourishing my body. The physician said that I¡¯m anemic. Instruct the kitchen helpers to brew me a single serving every day, which is to be split into two doses, once in the morning and once at night. Each serving will have to be soaked for two hours before brewing.¡± Mrs. Gu took the pack of medicine from her and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll inform the head cook. Have a chat with Madam Xu first.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and took a seat. Crossing one leg over another naturally, she asked calmly, ¡°Madam Xu, are you here again to talk to me about your daughter?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s about altering her fate. I only just found out that Bai Zhi entered the Autumn Pce after seeking the help of an elderlydy who could read fortunes. However, she refused to render us any more help when we went to consult her again. We tried to seek help from other fortune-tellers, but to no avail. I thought of you and decided to ask if you can see if her fate can be altered again,¡± said Madam Xu. ¡°Tell me her birth characters.¡± ¡°She shares the same birth date as you.¡± ¡°What¡¯s her exact birth timing?¡± Madam Xu revealed the timing, after which An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Before I answer your question, may I ask you something, Madam Xu?¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°You mentioned earlier that the elderlydy in Beijia Bay could exactly pinpoint your daughter¡¯s whereabouts. Is that true?¡± Madam Xu nodded and answered, ¡°Absolutely. Otherwise, how could her father and I have possibly found her in this big, big world? Perhaps we wouldn¡¯t have been able to reunite with her even until we¡¯re dead.¡± ¡°What happens to Xu Youran now that your biological daughter has returned?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve already severed all ties with her. In hindsight, we¡¯ve really let you down for everything Youran had done to you in the past,¡± said Madam Xu, feeling a little guilty. ¡°It¡¯s alright. Although it¡¯s already in the past, I¡¯m not one to forgive and forget. It¡¯s in me to exact revenge where it¡¯s due. Since you guys are no longer rted to her, that just makes it easier for me to deal with her in the future,¡± An Xiaoning said bluntly with raised brows. She seemed to have blurted her answer without hesitation. Massaging her right shoulder with her left hand, An Xiaoning exined, ¡°Your daughter was born with a blessed life, although she was born on an inauspicious day, just like me. But that doesn¡¯t mean that her life would be full of hardship. Hers was initially rather smooth sailing. However, her fate has taken a turn for the worse ever since it was altered.¡± ¡°Xiaoning, tell me quick, can you restore her fate to its original path?¡± ¡°To be honest, I can¡¯t.¡± Madam Xu¡¯s hopes were instantly diminished. ¡°You can¡¯t either?¡± ¡°Yes, I can¡¯t. I don¡¯t think any fortune-teller would be willing to risk losing their own life in order to help someone else alter their fate.¡± ¡°You mean... it¡¯s possible to change her fate but no one¡¯s willing to do it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly right. People like me treasure their lives dearly. The lives of fortune-tellers are just as valuable as your daughter¡¯s, Madam Xu. So, there¡¯s no way I can help,¡± said An Xiaoning, taking the cup of coffee from Mrs. Gu¡¯s hands. ¡°Am I really supposed to just watch her walk onto a path to hell?¡± Madam Xu remarked with a look of dejection. Madam Xu then stood up and got down on her knees in front of An Xiaoning. ¡°Madam Xu, what are you doing?¡± An Xiaoning questioned in astonishment as she put her cup down and helped Madam Xu up together with Mrs. Gu. ¡°She was abducted when she was an infant. We only just found her again after thirty years. Ms. An, please think of another solution. As long as you¡¯re willing to help alter her fate, I¡¯m willing to be your ve,¡± Madam Xu pleaded. ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to help your daughter. Neither do I need you to be my ve. It¡¯s just, there¡¯s too huge of a price to pay for altering her fate. Madam Xu, I understand that you want the best for your daughter and you¡¯d like to make things up to her, but you can¡¯t put me in a spot either. I think you should seek help from the elderlydy at Beijia Bay. She¡¯s older and probably more experienced than I am. There should be more hope in that.¡± The upset Madam Xu rose from her seat, lookingpletely exhausted and worn out. Clearly, she had been extremely worried about the matter. ¡°Okay.¡± After she left, Mrs. Gu remarked, ¡°This Madam Xu has really gone all out for her child.¡± An Xiaoning picked up her cup of coffee and took a few sips before saying, ¡°Her biological daughter is no ordinary person...¡± ¡°Is she a psychic like you?¡± ¡°No. Neither Military Commander Xu nor Madam Xu is psychic, there¡¯s no way their daughter would be. What I mean is, this Xu Baizhi could very likely be a greater troublemaker than Xu Youran. If it was within my means to alter her fate, I would definitely do it even without Madam Xu¡¯s request, so as to avoid letting her harm others. However, I¡¯m incapable of doing so. I¡¯m not willing to risk losing my life in order to save her,¡± An Xiaoning exined. ¡°Yes, your health is of the utmost importance. There¡¯s no need to make such a big sacrifice for her. Besides, she¡¯s not an acquaintance of yours, neither does she have any feud with you. Even if she¡¯s a troublemaker, she probably wouldn¡¯t harm you,¡± said Mrs. Gu. ¡°Mother, you never know what could happen in this world. But I heard Madam Xu mention this elderlydy in Beijia Bay. She seems to be very experienced and skilled in fortune-telling. Seems like there are masters of the trade everywhere.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª¡ª When Tuoba Gucheng brought Lin Shishi and Tuoba Danxue home, he instructed both of them to board a separate car while he rode in another one alone. The bodyguard sitting in the driver¡¯s seat handed him a yellow document envelope when they were about to set off. ¡°Your Highness, this is all the information we¡¯ve found after investigating.¡± Tuoba Gucheng reached to grab the envelope and opened it to begin browsing through the pages of content, which were stapled together. All of the information pertained to An Xiaoning. It was rather detailed and precise. After perusing the documents, he did not seem to find anything about her that was rted to the Autumn Pce. Included were various details about her love life and marriage as well. Thest time she got a divorce was on the 24th of July. Tuoba Gucheng recalled that that happened to be the same date Mu Ning had taken a day off. It turns out she took a day off... to get a divorce. The reason for her divorce was not stated, however, which was to the puzzlement of Tuoba Gucheng. Having been through a total of three divorces, how could she possibly still believe in marriage? ¡°Didn¡¯t you find out why she divorced Jin Qingyan?¡± The driver immediately answered, ¡°Your Highness, we couldn¡¯t find any information about that, though I dide across somements and discussions regarding their divorce online. When she announced her divorce, there were severalizens whomented that An Xiaoning must have fallen for another man. That¡¯s why...¡± Tuoba Gucheng raised his brows in surprise and asked, ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes, but I can¡¯t find any data rted to her name online now. Seems like someone had spent a hefty sum to remove and block all information rted to the keyword on the inte.¡± ¡°That¡¯s really something a wealthy person would do...¡± said Tuoba Gucheng, stroking the ring on his finger as a particr line on the document caught his attention. ¡°An Xiaoning is a straightforward and brave person. Not only does she have a mind of her own and is decisive, but she also strikes the iron while it¡¯s hot. A few years ago, she invested in a low-production film and amassed hundreds of millions from box office sales...¡± What kind of woman would have such drive and motivation? What kind of woman was she to be so capricious? What exactly made her decide to go undercover as a bodyguard in the Autumn Pce who had to be at the beck and call of her employer? Tuoba Gucheng was as curious as a cat, filled with questions. Chapter 628 - The Secret About the Past (246)

Chapter 628: The Secret About the Past (246)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios From the moment she returned home all the way until the beginning of November of the lunar calendar, An Xiaoning knew that she was constantly being shadowed whenever she left the house. She was also well aware of who was behind the act. However, she would not be bothered by it as long as it did not get in her way. She would avoid wearing the mask whenever she wanted them to follow her and wear it when she did not want to be shadowed. She had a lot of freedom to switch between the two. She wanted to go out for a walk tonight. Thus, she put on the mask and began strolling on the sidewalk in a carefree manner. There was a gentle breeze in the chilly air, which was piercingly cold. An Xiaoning was dressed in a casual attire paired with a small red bag draped over her shoulders. It began snowing all of a sudden while she was walking. Although the kes of snow were tiny, she could feel every bit of it on her face. She continued to stroll along the streets merrily. The sounds of passing cars and ongoing conversations between pedestrians made the streets feel much livelier. When she passed by the entrance of an expensive restaurant, she caught sight of a familiar figure entering together with a young girl. The familiar figure was none other than Jin Qingyan. The girl, too, seemed rather familiar to An Xiaoning, who had a good memory. But this girl... ¡°Boss, someone is calling you again...¡± An Xiaoning looked down to see that it was Mei Yangyang who called. ¡°Hello, Yangyang.¡± ¡°Sis, where are you now?¡± Mei Yangyang asked. ¡°I¡¯m outside, what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Well, there¡¯s something I¡¯m not sure if I should tell you about,¡± Mei Yangyang stammered. ¡°Just tell me... go ahead,¡± An Xiaoning said smilingly. ¡°I just heard from Tianze that there¡¯s a young and pure-looking girl working in ck Genie called Hu Xin. She¡¯s twenty years old this year, and I¡¯m not sure how she managed to get a hold of Mr. Jin¡¯s mobile number, but she called him and asked him out for a meal. Mr. Jin agreed...¡± An Xiaoning immediately realized that she had previously seen the girl who was entering the restaurant with Jin Qingyan just now at the ck Genie Bar. ¡°Don¡¯t men all love dating really young women? I should try finding a youngd someday too.¡± Mei Yangyang knew that she was joking. ¡°Sis, don¡¯t get upset, but isn¡¯t there a saying about how you have to get into a new rtionship in order to forget your old love? Do you think Mr. Jin is trying to do just that...¡± ¡°I¡¯m not upset, actually. After all, I¡¯ve already made things clear the previous time we met. I told him that apart from the fact that we¡¯re both Yiheng¡¯s parents, we shall have nothing to do with each other from now on. It¡¯s only normal that he¡¯s begun dating other women. We¡¯re both free to date whoever we want now.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really know what to say now after hearing your words. Sis, what are you doing outside?¡± ¡°I¡¯m taking a stroll. Yangyang, it¡¯s snowing for the very first time this year.¡± ¡°Yes...¡± After hanging up the phone, An Xiaoning froze in shock and stood rooted to the ground. ¡°You used and wronged me for being unfaithful toward our marriage, yet you¡¯re living such a carefree life now. You must¡¯ve wanted to date a younger babe since a long time ago, haven¡¯t you? You just couldn¡¯t find an excuse yet... You¡¯re already a thirty-three-year-old old fogy and you still have the cheek to date a twenty-year-old. How shameless...¡± An Xiaoning knew she would feel extremely ufortable if she did not vent all her anger and pent-up emotions. She subconsciously walked into the expensive restaurant. ¡°Miss, would you like to sit in the main hall or a private dining room?¡± ¡°Nah, I¡¯m here to look for someone. May I know where Jin Qingyan is?¡± ¡°Mr. Jin is in Room 208, which is on the second floor. Let me show you the way.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, I can manage on my own,¡± An Xiaoning declined. An Xiaoning then boarded the elevator to the second floor. Once she exited the elevator, she stretched her back and walked toward Room 208 slowly. However, she did not enter and instead stopped in her tracks when she reached the entrance, simply because she could not find an appropriate reason to. After waiting for a while, she quickly sneaked inside the room together with a waiter who was serving up some dishes. The washroom was nearest to the door while the dining table was further inside the room. Once the waiter served the dishes to the table, she quickly zoomed inside the bathroom. An Xiaoning waited for the waiter to exit the room before opening the washroom door, leaving it slightly ajar. ¡°Mr. Jin, let me toast to you.¡± She heard the sounds of sses clinking. ¡°How did you get a hold of my personal mobile number?¡± he asked calmly. ¡°Um... will you get angry if I tell you the reason?¡± Hu Xin answered. Her voice was soothing and alluring, greatly exuding her youth and bubbly nature. ¡°I¡¯m not such a petty person.¡± ¡°I only began working at Brother Long¡¯s bar a while ago, and I mostly just apany clients to drink and dance. So, I often interact with wealthy businessmen and one of them gave me your number. He imed to be a business associate of yours. Actually, I¡¯ve already mentioned to you over the phone that I¡¯d like to strike a deal with you. But I¡¯m honored that you actually asked to meet me personally, Mr. Jin,¡± said Hu Xin. An Xiaoning continued to eavesdrop, greatly taken aback. ¡°I only decided to have a meal with you because I¡¯m after the thing you mentioned. Did you bring it?¡± Jin Qingyan asked. ¡°Yes. There are a lot of video clips in here, which are all evidence of wealthy businessmen, politicians, and other authoritative figures fooling around with women in private rooms. You may insert the drive into your mobile phone to take a look at the content,¡± said Hu Xin, taking out a USB drive from her bag. Jin Qingyan immediately inserted the drive into the USB port on his mobile phone and browsed through the content to find that she was speaking the truth. He then said to Hu Xin, ¡°You may be young, but you¡¯ve got the brains and a ir for business. Name your price.¡± ¡°I dare not be greedy. How does a million dors sound to you, Mr. Jin?¡± Jin Qingyan immediately agreed without bargaining, ¡°Alright, a million dors, it shall be. I hope you¡¯re clear, it¡¯s not because you asked for too low a sum that I didn¡¯t bargain.¡± Hu Xin nodded and said, ¡°I understand clearly. Thank you very much, Mr. Jin.¡± ¡°Could you tell me how you thought about earning money through such a method?¡± Hu Xin exined, ¡°My grandmother is seriously ill and I need arge sum of money to cover her medical expenses. Although I can earn quick money by working as a hostess at the ck Genie, it¡¯s still not enough to pay for all of Grandma¡¯s hospital bills. So, I have toe up with another solution and I thought of this idea. I was only hoping it would work, but as it turns out, it really did. Thank you, though.¡± ¡°Why did you decide to look for me? Didn¡¯t you mention that you know many wealthy businessmen and tycoons?¡± ¡°Because I didn¡¯t think they needed that information, and those who needed it are way too stingy. Those who are in need yet generous own only a small business. So, I¡¯m very careful not to leave any clues and cause myself unnecessary trouble.¡± Jin Qingyan nodded and said, ¡°Are you going to continue doing this in the future?¡± Shaking her head, she answered, ¡°Nah, I¡¯m still young and have plenty of other things to do. I can¡¯t possibly work at the bar forever. The one million you¡¯ve given me is enough to repay my debts and cover the expenses for my grandmother¡¯s treatment.¡± ¡°Many people can¡¯t resist the temptation of money. I have to say, you¡¯re rather ethical and upright,¡± Jin Qingyanplimented, staring at her in awe. ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning, who was standing inside the washroom, was impressed as well by the girl¡¯s words. Chapter 629 - The Secret About the Past (247)

Chapter 629: The Secret About the Past (247)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning stood there to ponder over the matter. ¡°Seems like I¡¯ve been overthinking.¡± The disgruntlement and frustration within her instantly vanished without a trace. She felt exceptionally at ease. Just as she was about to exit, she heard Jin Qingyan say, ¡°Excuse me while I go to the washroom.¡± There was no time for her to leave now. She scanned her surroundings in the washroom, only to find that there was nowhere for her to hide. An Xiaoning quickly tried to brainstorm for a suitable excuse and exnation she could give him. Before she could even manage toe up with any, the door was pushed open and the lights were switched on immediately, filling every corner of the room. Both of them were at a sudden loss for what to do the moment their eyes met. Staring at the woman before him, the icy cold look of aloofness in his eyes instantly vanished and he lit up with surprise. Instead of leaving, he closed the door of the washroom. What happened nextpletely caught An Xiaoning by surprise. He stood in front of the toilet bowl and unzipped his pants to relieve nature¡¯s call, right before her eyes. An Xiaoning cocked her head toward the side as a strange awkwardness filled the air. Pressing both hands against the marble basin, An Xiaoning felt as if she was about to pass out. She could no longer think straight at this moment. After finishing his business, Jin Qingyan zipped his pants and buckled his belt unhurriedly. He then turned around and stood beside her while washing his hands under the tap of the basin. To An Xiaoning¡¯s surprise, he did not leave the washroom immediately after washing his hands. Instead, he slowly leaned closer toward her and said in an exceptionally deep voice, ¡°I seem to know why you showed up here.¡± ¡°No, you don¡¯t. I was here before you, I just haven¡¯t gone outside yet...¡± An Xiaoning defended herself. ¡°Oh, is that so?¡± he questioned rhetorically, clearly not convinced by her words. An Xiaoning red at him and said, ¡°Yes.¡± He did not say anything further and walked out of the bathroom straight away. The moment the door closed, Jin Qingyan smiled unknowingly. ¡°You seem to be in high spirits, Mr. Jin.¡± ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll be happy in such greatpany.¡± He knew clearly who he was referring to by ¡°greatpany.¡± However, Hu Xin smiled shyly and continued with her meal. An Xiaoning was overwhelmed with regret when she left the restaurant, though she was utterly impressed by her own acting chops. An Xiaoning was a little bewildered at the thought of his eyes. Such a deceiving pair of eyes. She could not figure out what the look in his eyes meant. Whatever, doesn¡¯t matter, we¡¯re no longer rted to each other anyway , she thought. Jin Qingyan left the restaurant and returned home to take a shower, after which he leaned against a pillow while d in a bathroom, sinking deep into thought. He had watched the surveince camera footage of the restaurant before he left. Logically speaking, there was actually no need to watch the surveince camera footage at all. However, he still did so, nheless. The footage showed An Xiaoning entering the restaurant not long after Jin Qingyan and Hu Xin did. She then loitered around the entrance of the dining room for a while and took the chance to sneak in when the waiter entered to serve the dishes. A ripple formed in his heart the moment he saw that very scene in the footage. His mood was instantly lifted. Clutching his chest, he asked himself earnestly, ¡°Just what¡¯s wrong with me?¡± He was supposed to be infuriated with her, yet he could not help but feel moved. However, that incident had be his greatest woe. He recalled what she said to him after the meal they had together with their son previously. Jin Qingyan began to wonder if he had really wrongly used her. After much thought, he sat up and called for Fan Shixin toe upstairs again. As his closest confidante, Fan Shixin knew that Jin Qingyan would usually call him to go upstairs at night for personal matters. As expected, the first thing Jin Qingyan said when he saw him was, ¡°Help me arrange an appointment with a psychological specialist.¡± ¡°Young Sir, you...¡± Fan Shixin asked with a look of bewilderment and shock. ¡°I just want to ask a few questions. There¡¯s nothing wrong with my mental health.¡± ¡°What questions?¡± ¡°Just help me arrange an appointment first,¡± said Jin Qingyan, clearly not wanting to divulge. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Bring my easel here.¡± Fan Shixin had no idea what Jin Qingyan was thinking of getting up to in the middle of the night, but he immediately did as instructed, nheless. After Fan Shixin left the room, Jin Qingyan sat by the bed and, using a pencil, quickly began sketching a scene on a piece of paper attached to the easel. In the drawing, a woman was leaning against the basin while a man was standing beside her. It was the exact scene that had taken ce in the bathroom of the restaurant tonight. Jin Qingyan had a ir for drawing and broke into smiles as he admired his masterpiece. That night, he managed to sleep extremely well without having to take any sleeping pills. Feeling refreshed and energized the next morning, he headed to a hospital in the city together with Fan Shixin. Fan Shixin had already arranged an appointment with the expert psychiatrist the night before. Thus, they could consult the doctor immediately upon arriving. ¡°Nice to meet you, Mr. Jin,¡± the psychiatrist greeted, reaching out for a handshake. ¡°Nice to meet you. I¡¯d like to ask a few questions, Doctor,¡± said Jin Qingyan as he took a seat. ¡°What questions do you have?¡± After a moment of silence, Jin Qingyan asked, ¡°You won¡¯t disclose the details of our conversation, right?¡± ¡°That goes without saying. Please rest assured, Mr. Jin.¡± ¡°Will a man begin to hallucinate if he¡¯s drugged with aphrodisiacs?¡± Noticing the look of puzzlement on the psychiatrist¡¯s face, Jin Qingyan rephrased his question, ¡°For example, if a man ingested aphrodisiacs, will he begin to hallucinate about getting intimate with a woman even though it did not actually happen in real life? Is there such a possibility?¡± After having understood what he meant, the psychiatrist answered, ¡°That¡¯s indeed a type of hallucination. Aphrodisiacs, if taken inrge amounts, can lead to hallucinations and temporary reckless behavior. However, hallucinations under the influence of drugs are not considered to be a mental disorder.¡± Jin Qingyan got a great shock upon hearing the psychiatrist¡¯s words. He then looked up at Fan Shixin before continuing to ask, ¡°Can such hallucinations be triggered through hypnosis?¡± Shaking his head, the psychiatrist answered, ¡°Hypnosis will only trigger memories of events that have actually already taken ce. If it¡¯s merely a fantastical imagination, it can¡¯t be triggered again.¡± ¡°Thank you, Doctor.¡± Fan Shixin followed Jin Qingyan out of the hospital, not uttering a single word throughout. Once they got inside the car, Fan Shixin asked, ¡°Young Sir, what do you think now?¡± ¡°Why haven¡¯t I thought of this before? I was too thick in the head and stubborn before,¡± said Jin Qingyan, sounding regretful and forlorn. ¡°Young Sir, there¡¯s no way to investigate this matter. It all depends on what you think. You have to decide whether to trust her or not.¡± ¡°Yes... but it¡¯s all toote now, isn¡¯t it?¡± said Jin Qingyan. Fan Shixin answered, ¡°No, Young Sir, it¡¯s not toote yet. Young Sir, even if you refuse to admit it, I know you¡¯ve been missing Ms. An dearly ever since you divorced her. I think you acted on impulse, precisely because you love her too much. Ms. An is not an unreasonable person either. If you talk things over calmly with her and show her that you¡¯ve changed your attitude, perhaps...¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t understood how stubborn she really is.¡± Chapter 630 - The Secret About the Past (248)

Chapter 630: The Secret About the Past (248)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°She¡¯s an extremely domineering and independent woman. After we got our first divorce, she was insistent on not carrying any hopes toward marriage. This time, I¡¯m afraid she won¡¯t want to get married again.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not exactly your fault, Young Sir... When you first saw the live feed from the surveince camera, it felt as if the world hade crashing down on you. Although you appeared to be trying to cool off those few days, I don¡¯t think you¡¯ve actually thought through the matter calmly,¡± said Fan Shixin. Jin Qingyan murmured assent and instructed, ¡°Find out her new mobile number for me in the afternoon. We¡¯ll head to the office now.¡± ¡ª¡ª The answers Ye Xiaotian had gotten from other fortune-tellers were simr to what An Xiaoning had told Mo Li. He pointedly brought the matter up to Mrs. Ye and had a serious talk with her, in a bid to persuade her mother to allow Mo Li to abort the child. He also tried to convince her to stoppelling Mo Li to give birth to a son. But how could Mrs. Ye possibly give up? She even threated Ye Xiaotian with her life, telling him that she would kill herself in front of him, should he have the audacity to bring Mo Li for an abortion. Ye Xiaotian was vexed and perturbed. It had never urred to him that the matter would be a disaster for his family. Afterying all the cards on the table with Ye Xiaotian, Mrs. Ye called Mo Li to her mansion. They red at each other coldly. ¡°Mo Li, the child you¡¯re expecting now is definitely a boy. Don¡¯t you dare think of aborting him. Otherwise, I¡¯ll definitely give you a hard time,¡± Mrs. Ye warned. ¡°Do you still want this grandson if ites at the expense of your son¡¯s life? Don¡¯t forget, the consequences will be borne by someone in the family.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be someone from the Ye family,¡± said Mrs. Ye, remaining unfazed. Mrs. Ye put down her teacup and had a sullen expression on her face, as menacing as that of Ye Xiaotian¡¯s. ¡°If anyone has to suffer the consequences, it will be your next-of-kin,¡± she continued. ¡°How are you so sure?¡± Mo Li asked, clutching the armrest tightly. ¡°How could I possiblynd my own son in trouble? From now onwards, you are to move into the ancestral hall. You¡¯ll be provided with full meals and anything you need, but you¡¯re not to step foot out of the ancestral hall until you give birth to the child.¡± Mo Li¡¯s eyes widened in astonishment. ¡°I beg your pardon?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear what I said?¡± ¡°You¡¯re trying to hold me under house arrest. Does Xiaotian know about this!?!¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing he can do even if he knows about it. Mo Li, don¡¯t think that Xiaotian will concede to all your requests just because you¡¯ve married him. As long as I¡¯m still around, don¡¯t ever think of bing the true Young Madam of the Ye family. You came from such a poor family, but you got to enjoy a few years of living in luxury after marrying into the Ye family. It¡¯s time you did your part for our family. All I¡¯m asking is for you to give birth to a child, why are you acting like I¡¯m going to ughter you?¡± Mrs. Ye said nonchntly. Biting her lip, Mo Li questioned, ¡°Will you only stop all this nonsense after I die?¡± ¡°If you die, so be it. Will the world stop revolving just because you¡¯re dead? Is Xiaotian going to be a widower just because you¡¯re dead? Will Jiani not have a mother just because you¡¯re dead?¡± Mo Li turned as pale as a sheet, tears streaming down her face uncontrobly. She was then dragged to the ancestral hall forcibly by the bodyguards and was locked inside. She wished that her husband could rescue her as soon as possible. She yearned to leave this dark and cold ce. However, reality disappointed her. No one came forth even after six consecutive days. Mo Li was no longer capable of tears after bawling in agony for an entire week. Sitting on her bed while hugging her knees, she wondered how her life had been reduced to such a pathetic state. Her love for Ye Xiaotian once grew into resentment, which again turned into love eventually. Mo Li suddenly realized that she had been in love with him from the very moment they got together when she was eighteen years old. From eighteen to thirty. It had been more than a decade. She had given up all her youth to this stunningly charming yet vicious man. However, how did he pay her back in return? He said he loves me but how did he prove his love? Mo Li thought that her heart had already gone numb. However, she was gued with excruciating pain at this very moment. She initially thought that she could finally live a peaceful life after having ovee so many obstacles and braving through all odds to marry him. However, reality gave her a tight p. It told her that women can only depend on themselves. When someone loves you deeply, you¡¯ll be the moon in their sky, a blooming bouquet of flowers, and their most precious gem. However, once they stop loving you, you¡¯ll be a nonexistent reflection of the moon, a bunch of withered flowers, and a worthless ything. ¡ª¡ª A week had passed since thest time An Xiaoning saw Jin Qingyan. She happened to be driving when she received a sudden call from him. Thus, she put on her earpiece and answered the call. ¡°May I know why you called me all of a sudden, Mr. Jin?¡± ¡°Where are you now?¡± he asked, sounding rather hoarse and nasal, seemingly having caught a cold. ¡°I¡¯m driving on the roads. Please speak what¡¯s on your mind, Mr. Jin.¡± ¡°Shall we meet?¡± Before she could even answer, he added, ¡°Come down to Wei Ni Estate in the afternoon.¡± ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯m not free in the afternoon.¡± ¡°Come at night then.¡± ¡°What do you want to talk to me about? I think... there¡¯s nothing for us to talk about anymore.¡± ¡°Why not? I¡¯ll be waiting for you at home at night,¡± he answered calmly. He then hung up before she could respond. She removed her earpiece and muttered in annoyance, ¡°How rude.¡± Indeed, manners did not have a ce in Jin Qingyan¡¯s world. Manners were not worth a single cent to him. She drove to the Jin family mansion 1 . Once she alighted, she scanned the car beside hers to find that it belonged to the military. She walked toward the living room and was greeted with the sight of Commander-in-chief Jin and Madam having a conversation with a tall and slender young man. The man had his back facing An Xiaoning and turned around upon hearing her footsteps. She stopped in his tracks to observe his features. He had a pair of sparkling eyes, which seemed like they were smiling, and a chiseled face. He looked extremely dashing and suave in the military uniform. ¡°Xiaoning, you¡¯re here. Come over here, hurry,¡± said Madam Jin, stepping forward to hold her hand smilingly, after which she walked inside the living room. ¡°Let me introduce him. This is Ji Yu, the youngest Major in your father¡¯s toon. He¡¯s thirty-two years old this year and is still a bachelor,¡± Madam Jin continued. An Xiaoning immediately realized that her mother had set her up for a matchmaking session. Ji Yu stood upposedly, looking a little shy and awkward. He then reached out a hand and greeted, ¡°Nice to meet you, I¡¯m Ji Yu.¡± An Xiaoning shook his hand said, ¡°Hello. An Xiaoning.¡± Everyone sat down again. Madam Jin then said to An Xiaoning, ¡°Xiaoning, Ji Yu had been spending most of his time in the military and has a squeaky clean image as well as a neat private life. Your father suggested that we introduce him to you. Both of you didn¡¯t know about it beforehand.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, let¡¯s have a private conversation.¡± Madam Jin and Commander-in-chief Jin smiled and said to her, ¡°Go out and have a walk together.¡± An Xiaoning and Ji Yu both stood up and left the living room one after another. Chapter 631 - The Secret About the Past (249)

Chapter 631: The Secret About the Past (249)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mrs. Jin leaned against the door to watch the two of them leave. She then turned and said to her husband, ¡°Hubby, I think they¡¯re a good match. This Ji Yu is really dashing, and he¡¯s a military officer too. Such a responsible man like him will definitely give Xiaoning a sense of responsibility. Splendid.¡± ¡°I think they¡¯re a great match too, they¡¯re both good-looking individuals.¡± ¡°...¡± Neither of them said a word to each other while walking. ¡°How old are you?¡± Ji Yu broke the silence. An Xiaoning slowed down and answered, ¡°Thirty.¡± ¡°I¡¯m two years older than you. You look so much prettier in real life than you do in those photos online,¡± he said, smiling at An Xiaoning. ¡°Thank you, you¡¯re very handsome too. You didn¡¯t expect my Father to invite you home for a matchmaking session, did you?¡± An Xiaoning asked as she took a seat on a bench. ¡°You didn¡¯t expect it either, right?¡± She smiled and said, ¡°Tell me the truth, did you feel like leaving immediately when you first found out that I was your blind date?¡± ¡°Why would I feel that way?¡± he asked, his voice sounding crisp and clear. He then sat down beside her. ¡°I¡¯m divorced thrice and I have a son.¡± ¡°I know, but so what?¡± An Xiaoning was taken aback by his answer. ¡°How many siblings do you have, Mr. Ji?¡± ¡°Two. I have an elder brother. He¡¯s already married and has children. You don¡¯t look like you¡¯re thirty years old at all,¡± he said, staring at her face. ¡°How old do I look then?¡± ¡°Twenty.¡± An Xiaoning was filled with joy upon hearing his answer. ¡°Any thirty-year-old woman would be pleased to hear that answer.¡± ¡°I mean it. This is my first time meeting you, and I have a great impression of you. What do you think about me?¡± he asked, staring at her calmly. An Xiaoning did not avoid his question and instead answered, ¡°I feel good about you too. To be honest, I didn¡¯t expect toe home to a matchmaking session. I¡¯ve already divorced thrice and I have a child too. Besides...¡± She paused and pursed her lips before continuing, ¡°I might not be able to conceive anymore in the future.¡± An Xiaoning felt that no man would be interested in her, given her current predicament, unless they were a fool. Not to mention, Ji Yu was a promising bachelor who was too good for her. Thus, she felt that there was no chance of a budding romance between them. In fact, she decided toe clean with him precisely because she wanted him to tell her godparents himself that he wasn¡¯t interested in a rtionship with her. After all, her godparents had good intentions; thus, it would be more appropriate for him to break the news to them. Ji Yu was utterly shocked by her words. ¡°Are you unable to conceive or are you infertile?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t hold a pregnancy, but there doesn¡¯t seem to be a problem with my fertility,¡± An Xiaoning answered truthfully. He heaved a sigh of relief and said, ¡°Medical technology is so advanced nowadays. If you can¡¯t give birth, we can always look for a surrogate mother.¡± ¡°...¡± Greatly taken aback by his words, An Xiaoning was at a sudden loss for words. ¡°I¡¯ve been spending most of my time in the military and only had one girlfriend in the past. But who doesn¡¯t have a past? We ought to just let bygones be bygones. After all, those things happened before we met each other. Ms. An, you seem to have no ns of getting married again. Am I right?¡± An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°I indeed don¡¯t n on getting married.¡± ¡°Ms. An, have you lost all faith in men?¡± cing her hands on herp, An Xiaoning answered after a moment of silence, ¡°I haven¡¯t lost the ability to love, and I still do carry hopes for finding true love.¡± He had never felt such a strong urge to protect a woman like this before. ¡°That¡¯s great. Although they always say that the point of matchmaking is marriage, adults still have the freedom and right to choose how they want the rtionship to go,¡± he said with a smile. ¡°Would you be able to ept it if your other half doesn¡¯t wish to get married for the rest of her life?¡± ¡°I would be willing to if you were my other half. I like being frank and straightforward. I always speak what¡¯s on my mind, and I never force myself to say things I don¡¯t mean. I mean every word I say from the bottom of my heart,¡± he said, smiling with his teeth showing. ¡°I believe you. I believe that everything you said is true. I¡¯m willing to give myself a fresh start in life too,¡± she said, appearing much more rxed. He was two years older than her, a military Major, handsome and suave and was never married. He could even ept the fact that she was thrice-divorced with a child and could not conceive. He was the prospective marriage partner whom her godparents had carefully selected for her. They probably hid it from her beforehand because they were afraid that she would object to a matchmaking session. However, there seemed to be no reason for her to turn it down. Life had to go on anyway. She would one day forget the person residing in her heart now. Even if it takes years. She would forever be unable to exin what exactly led to their divorce. Even though he was not dating the girl she saw him withst week, he would one day get into a rtionship with another woman. It was only a matter of time. Because he had already chosen to believe that she had been unfaithful and, as he said, he did not want to see her again. He probably wouldn¡¯t have wanted to see me if it weren¡¯t for the fact that he had something to discuss with me tonight , she thought to herself. Ji Yu broke into smiles upon hearing her answer. An Xiaoning held his gaze, feeling a slight ripple in her heart. The warm rays of the sun cast down on them in the cool winter. As their conversation proceeded, An Xiaoning began to find that he was a decisive man who had his own ideas and thoughts. Hours passed by before they even realized it. Thus, they decided to stay behind for dinner at the Jin family mansion. When Madam Jin asked about how they felt toward each other during dinner, both of themplimented one another unanimously whileughing merrily. Madam Jin was pleased to see how well they got along with each other. After dinner, she even pulled An Xiaoning to her room to have a chat with her privately. ¡°Xiaoning, so what do you think of him?¡± ¡°Mother, I can tell that he¡¯s very outstanding.¡± ¡°That goes without saying. How could your father and I not pick an outstanding man for you? Xiaoning, listen to me, you must grasp and seize the opportunity while you can, for such a great catch won¡¯te by again. I can tell that he fancies you too. Do keep in touch with him in private and interact more often. Have you exchanged numbers yet?¡± An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°Yes, we have. But we¡¯re nning to start off as friends first. After all, we¡¯ve just met, and there¡¯s still a lot that we don¡¯t know about each other.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you get to know each other better while you¡¯re dating?¡± Clearly, Madam Jin wanted An Xiaoning to hurry and grab the opportunity to be in a rtionship with Ji Yu. An Xiaoning burst intoughter and said, ¡°Mother, I¡¯ve already given both of us a chance. We¡¯ll see how he performs.¡± Aware that she was a sensible person who knows what she¡¯s doing, Madam Jin agreed, ¡°Alright, it¡¯s also good that you get to know each other better first. We¡¯ll decide in the future whether or not you¡¯re suitable for each other.¡± ¡°Mother, don¡¯t think that I¡¯m not jumping into it because I¡¯m afraid that I would regret it. I¡¯m also fearful that he¡¯ll regret his decision,¡± said An Xiaoning, chuckling. ¡°You silly child...¡± Chapter 632 - The Secret About the Past (250)

Chapter 632: The Secret About the Past (250)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At the thought of having to go to Wei Ni Estate that night, she decided to leave the Jin family mansion soon after. On the way there, she put on her earphones and called Mei Yangyang to tell her about the matchmaking session. Thetter was extremely excited and proceeded to bombard An Xiaoning with questions. An Xiaoning told her about everything that happened and said that she was arriving at Wei Ni Estate soon because Jin Qingyan had asked to meet her. She then told Mei Yangyang that she would meet herter. Although she had drunk a bit of liquor at the Jin family mansion, she was still rather sober and could drive properly. Once she arrived at Wei Ni Estate, she stood by the entrance to adjust her zer before striding in. ¡°Ms. An, you¡¯re here. Young Sir has been waiting for you for a long time,¡± said Fan Shixin. ¡°It¡¯s only eight o¡¯clock in the evening,¡± said An Xiaoning. She then swiftly walked toward the door of the mansion. She took a look at the shoe rack out of habit and caught sight of a pair of female slippers. It was the pair she used to wear at home. She ought to pay attention to the formalities now that she¡¯s at someone else¡¯s house. She changed into the pair of slippers and asked Fan Shixin, ¡°Where is he?¡± ¡°In the bedroom.¡± ¡°Ask him toe downstairs. I can¡¯t possibly chat with him inside the bedroom. It won¡¯t be appropriate.¡± ¡°Young Sir says that it¡¯s quieter inside the bedroom.¡± An Xiaoning ced her bag onto the couch and said, ¡°Since your Young Sir is sox with the formalities, I won¡¯t be too formal then.¡± Fan Shixin smiled and watched her go upstairs before leaving. Upon sight of the biometric lock on the door when she arrived on the second floor, she raised a hand to knock on the door. Jin Qingyan opened the door the next second. ¡°So fast?¡± An Xiaoning blurted. It seemed as if he had been waiting for her by the door for a long time. She entered the bedroom to see that nothing had changed at all and the arrangement of the furniture was still the same as when they were living together. Even the photos of them were still hung on the wall. ¡°Why did youe sote?¡± An Xiaoning turned around and made eye contact with him. ¡°I went to my godmother¡¯s house in the afternoon for a matchmaking session and we had dinner together.¡± A sullen expression formed on his face immediately. ¡°Matchmaking session?¡± he blurted. ¡°Yes, an unfaithful woman like me is going to feel empty and lonely without a man by my side,¡± An Xiaoning said sarcastically. Her self-deprecating sarcasm did not sit well with him. Pointing at the couch, he said, ¡°Have a seat.¡± An Xiaoning did as told while he sat down beside her. Jin Qingyan filled two sses with some red-colored liquor and handed her one. ¡°This is mytest concoction. Give it a try.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t possibly have poisoned my drink, can you?¡± An Xiaoning asked, staring at the ss. ¡°If I really wanted you dead, you wouldn¡¯t be here now.¡± She then took the ss from his hand and gave it a little swirl before finishing the liquor in one sitting. The liquor slid down her throat slowly. She ced the empty ss onto the table and stared at the man in front of her. ¡°Don¡¯t you have something to talk to me about? Why aren¡¯t you saying anything?¡± ¡°Xiaoning, I¡¯m sorry.¡± An Xiaoning stared at himposedly and said, ¡°Jin Qingyan...¡± ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have doubted you. Anyone can distrust you, except me,¡± he continued in an extremely hoarse voice, for he had really caught a cold. ¡°Could you tell me what made you say such words to me?¡± ¡°I consulted a psychiatrist and he mentioned that aphrodisiacs would indeed result in hallucinations. But that¡¯s not the main reason. The main reason is that I¡¯ve genuinely cooled down and thought about everything.¡± ¡°Hah... really?¡± She once thought that she would be wrongfully branded as a cheater for the rest of her life. Yet, she did not expect the misunderstanding to be cleared so soon. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I should thank the psychiatrist or thank you for finally having figured everything out. But no matter what, it¡¯s good that the misunderstanding between us has been cleared, lest you keep thinking that I¡¯ve done you wrong and get infuriated at the thought of me. If there¡¯s nothing else you¡¯d like to say, I¡¯ll get going now.¡± Just as she stood up, he grabbed her wrist forcefully and pinned her down onto the couch before she could even react. ¡°Jin Qingyan, we¡¯re already divorced,¡± said An Xiaoning, her breath quickening. ¡°I know.¡± His scent was lingering around her nose. ¡°What are you waiting for, then? Let go of me,¡± she hissed, ring at him. Staring at her intensely, he said, ¡°You initiated a divorce once and so did I. That makes us even now.¡± What twisted and absurd logic was that? Must the scores be even when ites to divorce? ¡°I¡¯m going to get angry if you still refuse to let go of me,¡± An Xiaoning retorted coldly. ¡°Get angry... do you think you¡¯ll be able to exit Wei Ni Estate without my permission?¡± He quickly and urately kissed her on her lips while grabbing her wiggling neck tightly. He did not let go even after she bit his lips tightly in defense, causing him to bleed profusely. An Xiaoning decided to stop resisting since she could not struggle to break free. Sensing that she had stopped struggling, Jin Qingyan grabbed a piece of tissue paper from the table to wipe his mouth before proceeding to wipe hers slowly and gently. A deafening silence filled the air. An Xiaoning then said, ¡°I¡¯ve decided to get into a rtionship with the man I went on a blind date with today.¡± ¡°When did you make that decision?¡± ¡°Just now. Jin Qingyan, I¡¯m already thirty years old. I can¡¯t afford to waste any more time with you. Neither do I harbor any more designs on you. At least we can both be at ease now that the misunderstanding has been cleared. You ought to look for a new partner, and so do I. From now onwards, we¡¯ll go our separate ways and not get in the way of each other¡¯s lives,¡± she said, looking up at him. ¡°I admit, I was too hot-headed and let my anger get the better of me. I was too irrational to jump to conclusions and think that you had been unfaithful toward me. Hence, I¡¯ve been thinking about how to talk to you about this for the past week...¡± he exined, flushing unusually red while his voice turned even hoarser. An Xiaoning stared at him, finding it extremely ironic. ¡°Are you finished yet?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Please continue until you¡¯ve said everything on your mind.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t wish to continue.¡± He leaned closer toward her and caressed her face lightly with his long, slender fingers. ¡°I just want you.¡± An Xiaoning froze in shock as tension began to fill up within her. ¡°Jin Qingyan, I¡¯ll repeat myself: we¡¯re already divorced.¡± ¡°So what if we¡¯re divorced? If I say you¡¯re my woman, you are my woman,¡± he said, looking down at her, leaving barely an inch between them. They were so close to each other physically that An Xiaoning felt as if she was about to lose her mind. ¡°You¡¯ve always been so tyrannical. You insist on getting your hands on me when you want me, then cast me aside when you don¡¯t. Just what do you take me for?¡± ¡°Tell me, what am I supposed to do before you¡¯ll forgive me?¡± Teary-eyed, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°I¡¯ll never forgive you, ever.¡± He let out a long sigh, as if he had already expected the oue. He sprung up from the couch and walked toward the bathroom while saying, ¡°I¡¯ll give you two minutes to leave this ce. Otherwise, you shall bear the consequences.¡± Chapter 633 - The Secret About the Past (251)

Chapter 633: The Secret About the Past (251)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning immediately stood up. Just as she was about to go out, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°If you don¡¯t wish your blind date to be skinned alive, you should know what to do.¡± She looked up and said, ¡°Jin Qingyan, you have no right to threaten me. Don¡¯t forget, you¡¯re only my ex-husband. You have no right to decide what I do or who I get together with.¡± The biometric lock didn¡¯t require a thumbprint for the door to unlock when she was exiting the room. The moment the door closed, Jin Qingyan was so depressed that he was on the verge of tears. God knows how much he¡¯d wanted to strangle her to death the moment he heard that she had gone for a matchmaking session. The result of his impulsive decision was misery and grief. Since he had brought all of this upon himself, he only had himself to me for having to bear the negative consequences. Knock, knock, knock... Jin Qingyan strode toward the door and flung it open to see that it was Fan Shixin, after which he turned around to walk away immediately. ¡°Young Sir, did you think that Ms. An hade back? How did the talk with her go?¡± Fan Shixin asked, entering the room while smiling. ¡°She said that she¡¯ll never forgive me no matter what I do. She even went for a matchmaking session, and she said that she¡¯d like to get together with her blind date. Go and find out immediately who her blind date was.¡± ¡°How do I go about that? How am I supposed to know who she met in the afternoon?¡± Fan Shixin asked in puzzlement. ¡°Are you stupid? Send someone to shadow her for the next few days and check which man she¡¯s been meeting. Transfer the information to me then.¡± ¡°Yes, I promise the task will be aplished. Young Sir, how did you let Ms. An leave so easily?¡± Fan Shixin asked. ¡°Do you really think there won¡¯t be a chance for her toe here again?¡± Fan Shixin chuckled and said, ¡°That¡¯s true. You have Little Sir together with you, she¡¯lle whenever you want her to.¡± He rolled his eyes at Fan Shixin and said, ¡°You make it sound as if my son is a tool. You may go out.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Jin Qingyan entered the bathroom and turned on the tap, after which the water began flowing continuously. After removing his clothes, he supported himself against the basin and stared at his reflection in the mirror. Jin Qingyan had a sullen expression on his face. He finally admitted that he was to me for everything. He knew the situation the moment he saw her reaction. In hindsight, he was acting rather unusual at the thought of how he allowed anger to consume him and mess with his rationality. With his bare hands, he pushed away the happiness that he should have treasured. Such bliss would probably be hard toe by again. ¡ª¡ª It was raining today. The weather was cold and chilly in the winter. When it was time for dismissal in the afternoon, Long Xiaoxi was asked to meet the teacher. As soon as she reached the entrance of the school, she was greeted with the rare sight of Mei Shuangshuang. ¡°Xiaoxi, is thisdy your biological aunt?¡± Long Xiaoxi looked up at Mei Shuangshuang and nodded. ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, you may follow your aunt home. She¡¯s here to pick you up.¡± ¡°Teacher, have you called my mother to verify?¡± Long Xiaoxi asked. ¡°No, I¡¯ll do that right now. Please wait for me here while I go get my mobile phone,¡± said the teacher. Mei Shuangshuang nodded and said, ¡°Go ahead, Teacher.¡± Once the teacher entered the office, Mei Shuangshuang looked down and said, ¡°There¡¯s a small provision store outside. Auntie will buy you some tasty snacks and fun toys. Shall we wait there for Teacher toe?¡± Long Xiaoxi agreed to go with her without thinking twice. After all, she was still only a four-year-old child. Once they exited the school, Mei Shuangshuang picked her up and boarded a van. Long Xiaoxi immediately tried to shriek. However, Mei Shuangshuang covered Long Xiaoxi¡¯s mouth and warned, ¡°If you dare make a single sound, I¡¯ll throw you down from the van and make you fall to your death.¡± Long Xiaoxi dared not utter a word and stared at Mei Shuangshuang with tears in her eyes. Mei Shuangshuang then retracted her hand. ¡°Auntie... where are you taking me?¡± Mei Shuangshuang looked at her and said, ¡°I¡¯m only going to take you to my ce to have fun for a few days. I¡¯ll treat you well if you obey me. But if you misbehave, I¡¯ll beat you.¡± ¡°Yes, Auntie, I¡¯ll be good. Don¡¯t hit me,¡± said Long Xiaoxi, staring at the window and pouting her lips, not daring to burst into tears. Mei Shuangshuang stared at her, overwhelmed with nervousness and anxiety. She had tried to look for an opportunity to take action countless times before. However, she never found the chance to approach Mei Yangyang or the children. After racking her brains, she decided to take the risk of abducting Long Xiaoxi. Mei Shuangshuang decided to call Mei Yangyang to stop her from calling the police. Yet, just as she was about to do so, her mobile phone rang. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Mei Shuangshuang, what are you trying to do? Where have you taken Xiaoxi to!?!¡± Mei Yangyang hollered in exasperation, wishing she could shred her into pieces. ¡°Sis, hear me out. I won¡¯t hurt her. But I¡¯m penniless now, so transfer me some money and I¡¯ll release her immediately. Don¡¯t call the cops on me, deal?¡± ¡°How much do you want?¡± Mei Yangyang asked. ¡°Ten million.¡± ¡°What!?! Ten million dors!?!¡± Mei Yangyang screeched, seething with uncontroble anger. ¡°Do you think your daughter¡¯s life isn¡¯t worth ten million dors? Sis, I know you must be thinking of calling the police, but let me make things clear to you beforehand. If you dare call the police, I¡¯ll go all out and kill Xiaoxi before killing myself. If you transfer me the money and promise me not to call the police, I¡¯ll release Xiaoxi immediately,¡± Mei Shuangshuang warned. Gripping her phone tightly, Mei Yangyang said, ¡°Fine, I won¡¯t call the police. Tell me your bank ount number. I¡¯ll tell your brother-inw to transfer the money to you immediately. Mei Shuangshuang, if you darey a finger on Xiaoxi, you¡¯ll get it from me.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Mei Yangyang ended the call and said to Xiaozong, ¡°My sis has agreed, send my bank ount number to her now.¡± ¡°Great. You¡¯re her biological sister and this amount of money is peanuts to her. She won¡¯t call the cops,¡± said Xiaozong, beaming with joy while sending the text message. ¡°I thought so too. She can¡¯t possibly let me get arrested and put behind bars. Even if she does, Father wouldn¡¯t agree to it. Seems like there¡¯s no way to recover those hundreds of thousands I¡¯ve lost through unauthorized transactions. Once I get the money, I¡¯ll make it a fixed deposit ount so that no one can make fraudulent purchases with my card.¡± Xiaozong squinted and said, ¡°Great idea.¡± ¡°Where are we going now?¡± ¡°To a safe ce, of course. Fatty has already made all the necessary arrangements. They won¡¯t be able to find us,¡± Xiaozong said, smiling. The safe ce he was referring to was a cave in the mountains. They had already prepared food and water supplies, as well as some necessities. Staying inside the cave for a week or more wouldn¡¯t be an issue. Once they arrived, Mei Shuangshuang carried her down from the van. Staring at the pitch darkness of the cave, Long Xiaoxi stopped in her tracks and dared not take another step forward. ¡°I don¡¯t want to go inside. I¡¯m scared.¡± ¡°What are you afraid of? Do you really think a snake will eat you up?¡± Mei Shuangshuang questioned with raised brows. Long Xiaoxi quivered in fear and said, ¡°Auntie, shall we go home?¡± Chapter 634 - The Secret About the Past (252)

Chapter 634: The Secret About the Past (252)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Your mother will be here to pick you up in a few days.¡± Mei Shuangshuang then said to Xiaozong, ¡°Tell Xiaozong to drive the van away. The three of us will remain here.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She then walked inside the cave with Long Xiaoxi. The cave was pitch dark and rather small. Xiaozong entered and covered the opening with some tree branches. The cave was lit up by an electricmp. Long Xiaoxi sat still on the mattress, not daring to move an inch. ¡°Why does this chubby girl not look like your sister or your brother-inw at all?¡± ¡°She does, she resembles my sister greatly. Just look at that face of hers. She just got too chubby,¡± said Mei Shuangshuang. She then took out some snacks from her bag and handed them to Long Xiaoxi. ¡°There you go.¡± Long Xiaoxi took the snacks from her and began eating them quietly. After waiting for an hour, Xiaozong still did not receive a notification of received payment on his mobile phone. ¡°Why is it taking so long? Give your sister a call to rush her,¡± he said with a frown. Mei Shuangshuang nodded and called Mei Yangyang, who answered very soon. The first thing she said was, ¡°Has the money been transferred?¡± ¡°Your brother-inw is in the midst of transferring it,¡± said Mei Yangyang. ¡°Hurry up.¡± Mei Shuangshuang heaved a sigh of relief after ending the call and said to Xiaozong, ¡°They¡¯re transferring it now.¡± Bored out of his wits, Xiaozong whipped out a pair of scissors from his bag. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Mei Shuangshuang asked. ¡°I¡¯d like to kill some time and have some fun. What do you say I cut off all of this littless¡¯ hair and make her bald?¡± he said with an evil chuckle. ¡°Must you really do that? She¡¯s already chubby enough. She¡¯s going to look even more hideous if you make her bald. Don¡¯t do it,¡± Mei Shuangshuang objected. Xiaozong ced the scissors in front of Long Xiaoxi and taunted, ¡°Are you afraid?¡± Long Xiaoxi nodded fervently and stared at him, ¡°Yes.¡± However, her answer tempted Xiaozong even more. Atst, he walked toward Long Xiaoxi, grabbed her hair, and snipped it all off. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Mei Shuangshuang asked with a frown. ¡°I¡¯m ying. I just cut her hair, I didn¡¯t hurt her.¡± Long Xiaoxi burst into tears. Just as she was about to struggle, Xiaozong warned, ¡°Littless, don¡¯t move about unnecessarily. Otherwise, you¡¯re going to bleed if the scissors touch your head.¡± Long Xiaoxi remained seated, shuddering uncontrobly in fear. Mei Shuangshuang rolled her eyes and allowed him to continue since she could not seem to persuade him to stop. Soon, all of Long Xiaoxi¡¯s hair was snipped off. The pair of scissors used were not meant for cutting hair, and neither was Xiaozong a barber. Thus, Long Xiaoxi¡¯s hairdo was entirely messed up, making her look hideous in no time. Her braids were all cut off and she became bald. ¡°Have you got too much time on your hands?¡± Mei Shuangshuang hissed. ¡°Haha, yes, I do. I¡¯m just trying my hands at giving a haircut.¡± Xiaozong then put the pair of scissors back inside his bag and said, ¡°Do you think your sister and brother-inw will ughter me when they see what I had done to their daughter?¡± ¡°They will for sure.¡± Mei Shuangshuang red at him and continued, ¡°Is there any reception in here?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s just weaker.¡± Soon, they received a text message on the mobile phone. After reading the message, Xiaozong immediately said, ¡°Awesome, the money has been transferred.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s hurry and leave,¡± said Mei Shuangshuang, beaming with joy. ¡°Of course. Dump the child here and let them find her themselves,¡± said Xiaozong. ¡°What if they can¡¯t find her? Get Fatty to send Xiaoxi to the city.¡± ¡°Do you know how dangerous that is? We must leave immediately once Fatty is here,¡± Xiaozong refused, pulling Mei Shuangshuang up. Mei Shuangshuang turned around and said to Long Xiaoxi, ¡°I¡¯ll call your Mommyter and get your parents to pick you up. Just be good and stay here. Don¡¯t wander off on your own. Wait for your parents to arrive, got it?¡± Long Xiaoxi nodded, though she was scared out of her wits. The loose hairs on her neck were poking her and making her ufortably itchy. However, Long Xiaoxi bit her lip and dared not speak up. A whileter, the two of them left, leaving Long Xiaoxi alone in the cave. She sat on the mattress and stared at her surroundings in the darkness, overwhelmed with fear. Afraid to even move an inch, she rubbed her eyes and cried silently. She continued to wait for a long time. Yet, her parents still did not show up. She supported herself up and walked toward the opening of the cave to see that there was not a single soul outside. Long Xiaoxi sat by the opening and waited, hugging her knees. She soon began to feel chilly due to the strong breeze on the mountains. She returned inside the cave. Finally, she heard a familiar voice yelling. Upon hearing her mother¡¯s voice, Long Xiaoxi hurriedly sprinted toward the cave opening, crying tears of joy. ¡°Mommy!¡± It was the best sound Mei Yangyang had ever heard. She burst into tears at the sight of her daughter and rushed forward to hug her. Long Xiaoxi was bawling loudly as well while in her mother¡¯s embrace. Long Tianze quickly strode toward them and pulled Long Xiaoxi into his embrace before they all headed back together. On the way home, Mei Yangyang asked, ¡°Xiaoxi, who was the one who cut your hair off?¡± ¡°The bad uncle who was together with Auntie. Auntie seems to have found a backing. That uncle was so mean. Auntie told him not to cut my hair but he did so anyway,¡± Long Xiaoxi answered. Filled with heartache and pity for her daughter, Mei Yangyang reached a hand out to wipe Long Xiaoxi¡¯s tears. ¡°It¡¯s been hard on you, Baby.¡± Long Xiaoxi tugged on Long Tianze¡¯s shirt tightly and said, ¡°Daddy, I was so afraid that the Bad Uncle would kill me.¡± ¡°Everything¡¯s fine now.¡± Long Tianze hugged her tightly, overwhelmed with sadness at the sight of his daughter¡¯s hair. He felt as if the sky was falling down the moment he heard that Mei Shuangshuang had kidnapped Long Xiaoxi to ckmail them for money. At that very moment, he was willing to pay the price no matter how much the kidnappers had asked for. He was willing to even lose his life, so long as Xiaoxi was safe! He was infuriated and med himself for failing to protect his children well, thus allowing for such situations to happen. Noticing the teardrops on Long Xiaoxi¡¯s face while she was asleep in his arms, Long Tianze said to his wife, ¡°I¡¯ve already decided.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if Xiaoxi does badly in school. Anyway, I can provide for her for the rest of her life even if she¡¯s jobless. I just want her to be safe and healthy, both physically and mentally.¡± ¡°Are you thinking of spoiling Xiaoxi and making her bewless?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve already spoiled her mother rotten. It¡¯s only right that I pamper her too. I¡¯d like to send her to the exercise boot camp,¡± said Long Tianze, staring at Mei Yangyang. ¡°What!?!¡± Mei Yangyang gasped in astonishment. Having gone through the boot camp with An Xiaoning before, she knew exactly how tough and arduous the training was. If Xiaoxi had to be put through it as well... ¡°They don¡¯t recruit such young members.¡± ¡°Qingyan has already acquired the boot camp, they¡¯ll allow it with his instructions.¡± ¡°She¡¯s just a child, do you really think she can take the strenuous training?¡± said Mei Yangyang. ¡°Who said she¡¯d be going alone? We¡¯ll send Wenlun and Yiheng there too. Qingyan will definitely agree to it,¡± Long Tianze insisted. Chapter 635 - The Secret About the Past (253)

Chapter 635: The Secret About the Past (253)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°They¡¯re both in first grade. The boot camp is only going to get in the way of their education.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll hire a tutor for them! They may train while attending school at the same time. It won¡¯t get in the way of anything. Even if they¡¯re slower in their studies, they¡¯ll catch up sooner orter.¡± Mei Yangyang thought that it would be necessary to put the children through the training since it would help them developbat skills, which woulde in handy when defending themselves at critical junctures. However, they would be put through a hard time. But then again, you only truly grow after going through hardship. ¡°I support your decision,¡± Mei Yangyang agreed with a nod. Just as they arrived home, they received a phone call from the police, who told them to make a trip to the police station, iming that Mei Shuangshuang and her aplices had been arrested. Mr. Mei flew into a rage the moment he heard about the matter and followed them to the police station. As soon as she saw Mei Yangyang, Mei Shuangshuang sneered, ¡°Mei Yangyang, didn¡¯t you say that you wouldn¡¯t call the cops?¡± ¡°Of course I had to. Or was I supposed to allow you another opportunity to kidnap my children in the future?¡± Mei Yangyang hissed, glowering at her. Mei Shuangshuang was speechless. Atst, she snapped, ¡°You failed to keep your promise, you snitch!¡± ¡°We both know who the vile one is. You sold our parents¡¯ home and stole Father¡¯s jade pendant, which you then pawned. Not long after, you even resorted to kidnapping my daughter to ckmail me for ten million dors. Mei Shuangshuang, do you really think I transferred you the money?¡± Astonishment was written all over Mei Shuangshuang¡¯s face, as if to say, ¡°Did you not?¡± ¡°I only sent you a pseudo text message using a special software. You went for wool and came back shorn, didn¡¯t you?¡± Mei Yangyang said with a smirk. ¡°Mei Yangyang, you...¡± ¡°You tried to harm others, but you harmed yourself in the end. Not only did you disappoint Father, but you¡¯ve let me, your biological sister, down as well. We¡¯re no longer sisters from now onwards,¡± Mei Yangyang chastised, ring at her. ¡°You¡¯ve long stopped considering me as your sister. Quit being a hypocrite. I admit I¡¯ve lost and got arrested.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing you can do even if you deny it. Have fun spending the rest of your life in prison. I¡¯ll take good care of Father.¡± Mei Shuangshuang scoffed, ¡°Do you really think I¡¯ll be given a lifelong jail term? Extortion and ckmail usually only warrants a jail term of less than three years, and less than ten years in the case of extortion of a major sum. That wouldn¡¯t take up the rest of my life.¡± ¡°Did you know? What you did was not purely ckmail. ording to thew, kidnapping with the intentions of ckmail warrants a jail term exceeding ten years, or perhaps even a lifetime, including the confiscation of assets. Do you really think your brother-inw and I will let you get away with a ten-year jail term?¡± Mei Yangyang retorted. Upon hearing her words, Mei Shuangshuang was filled with fear and dismay at the thought of having to spend the rest of her life in prison. ¡°Sis, Sis, please spare me this time, okay? I¡¯m barely twenty-six years old and I¡¯ve yet to get married or bear any children. Sis, please let me off this time. I was wrong. I didn¡¯t hurt Xiaoxi, did I?¡± Mei Shuangshuang pleaded. Mei Yangyang kept a straight face and said, ¡°Mei Shuangshuang, it¡¯s toote now. You¡¯vepletely hurt and let me down this time. I¡¯m utterly disappointed in you, and I won¡¯t forgive you ever again.¡± She stood up and took onest nce at Mei Shuangshuang before leaving. Mr. Mei entered next. Upon sight of Mei Shuangshuang, he gave her a tight p across her face forcefully in a moment of pique. Mei Shuangshuang was giddy from the impact and swayed unsteadily, trying to support herself by grabbing onto the table. ¡°Father...¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a daughter like you. You¡¯ve been causing us so much trouble ever since you began attending school when you were young. How many times has your sister gone to find you whenever you ran away from home? You¡¯re both my daughters, yet why are you so different from your sister? Your sister dropped out of school early to work and provide for the family while I stayed home to look after your bedridden mother, cook your meals, and take care of the household chores. What about you? Just how did you repay me and your sister? Shuangshuang, how many times do you have to hurt and disappoint us before it¡¯s enough for you?¡± Mr. Mei chided, staring at her with tears in his eyes. ¡°Father, I was wrong. Could you ask Sis to spare me this time?¡± Shaking his head, Mr. Mei answered, ¡°Your sister is not the only one who won¡¯t spare you. I can¡¯t let you off either. Remain in prison and take the time to change your ways so as to turn over a new leaf. Actually, I feel rather safe about you being imprisoned. At least I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about you being killed on the streets when you wander off alone outside. At least I¡¯ll know that you¡¯re still alive in prison. Shuangshuang, putting all the people you¡¯ve let down aside, touch your heart and ask yourself, have you done yourself enough justice?¡± Mei Shuangshuang remained silent. After Mr. Mei left, the police informed Long Tianze that Xiaozong and his chubby friend had both pleaded guilty. Xiaozong also owned up to cheating Mei Shuangshuang out of her money, which amounted to hundreds of thousands of dors. ¡°Mrs. Long, would you like to tell your sister that she has been conned?¡± the police officer asked. ¡°Nah, you guys may tell her instead,¡± said Mei Yangyang, filled with an inexplicable feeling. Mei Yangyang felt that Mei Shuangshuang was a willful and insensible person who did not know what was best for her. If she had decided to marry one of the many men Mei Yangyang had introduced her to back then, she would be living a blissful life now. She often bit off more than she can chew. Not long after they left the police station, the police officer informed Mei Shuangshuang in the interrogation room about Xiaozong devising a n to dupe her. Mei Shuangshuang broke down in despair the moment she heard his words and began screaming and bawling. She felt dejected and empty like a deted balloon. Hanging her head low, she began tearing up uncontrobly. At this moment, she realized that the ten million dors would have gone to their pockets too, should she have really managed to get hold of the money. She would really have be a tool someone else used for cash. ¡°How long will I be imprisoned for?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll only know that when the verdictes out after you attend a trial in court.¡± Mei Shuangshuang stared at the ground forlornly, well aware that prison awaits her. She was overwhelmed with regret. She deeply regretted her actions. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Young Sir, here¡¯s a detailed report and some photos that were taken today,¡± said Fan Shixin, handing him a document. Jin Qingyan took the document from his hands, and the first thing he did was to look through the photos. The man and An Xiaoning were walking on the streets while chatting with each other merrily. An Xiaoning was smiling and appearing rather rxed. On the other hand, the man was dressed formally in a suit. He was tall and handsome, exuding a unique charm. An increasingly gloomy expression formed on Jin Qingyan¡¯s face as he proceeded to look at the other photos. He then ced the photos onto the couch beside him and began reading the details of the report slowly. It was a file. There was a photo of the man, which was taken against a red background. ¡°Major... Ji Yu?¡± Jin Qingyan questioned with a frown. ¡°Yes. This is Commander-in-chief Jin¡¯s subordinate whom he introduced to Ms. An. I heard that they had an enjoyable conversation for the whole ofst afternoon. They even had dinner together at Commander-in-chief Jin¡¯s home in the evening. Young Sir, Ms. An seems to have taken a liking to him too,¡± Fan Shixin answered. Jin Qingyan rolled his eyes and hissed, ¡°You¡¯re too talkative.¡± Chapter 636 - The Secret About the Past (254)

Chapter 636: The Secret About the Past (254)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He shifted his gaze onto the content written on the report and began perusing the information, line by line. The room was silent, and the only sounds that could be heard were of him flipping through the pages. After reading through everything, he handed the report back to Fan Shixin and said, ¡°Burn it.¡± Fan Shixin took it from him and asked, ¡°Young Sir, how do you n to win Ms. An¡¯s heart again?¡± ¡°I have my own ns and ideas,¡± he answered confidently. Once Fan Shixin left the room, Jin Qingyan leaned back and picked up the photo beside him again. He continued to stare at it for a long time. Images of her smiling at another man, having a meal with another man, and possibly, in the future... He dared not let his imagination run wild. The more he thought about it, the more disgruntled he felt. ¡°Qingyan, you¡¯re home.¡± Long Tianze strode toward him. Jin Qingyan immediately covered the photo with his hands but to no avail, for Long Tianze had already caught sight of it. ¡°Whose photo is that?¡± Long Tianze asked. ¡°Don¡¯t be nosy.¡± ¡°Show me,¡± said Long Tianze, extending his arm in a bid to grab the photo. ¡°No.¡± The quick-witted Long Tianze immediately pounced on Jin Qingyan and snatched the photo away from his hands. Jin Qingyan immediately pushed him away and scorned, ¡°Are you asking for death?¡± ¡°Yes,e kill me.¡± Staring at the photo, Long Tianze asked in astonishment, ¡°Is this your ex-wife¡¯s blind date?¡± ¡°How did you know?¡± Clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth, Long Tianze said, ¡°I heard from Yangyang that she had gone for a matchmaking session. He¡¯s pretty handsome. Seems like she¡¯s embarking on a new rtionship. You ought to step on it too. No, wait, how are things between you and Hu Xin, the girl working at my bar? Any progress?¡± ¡°What progress?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve already asked her out on a date. How could there be no progress? She¡¯s even tendered her resignation. Didn¡¯t she quit because of you?¡± Long Tianze questioned, blinking his eyes. ¡°Nonsense. That girl met me to hand me some videos she took while she was being a hostess. It¡¯s not what you think,¡± Jin Qingyan retorted. ¡°Videos she filmed while being a hostess? Were you involved? Is that why she ckmailed you?¡± ¡°Long Tianze, do you think I won¡¯t break your neck if you continue to spout nonsense?¡± Jin Qingyan warned. ¡°Fine, fine, I won¡¯t tease you anymore. What videos are those, though?¡± ¡°Some videos I need to engage inpany politics. Do you think it¡¯s possible to install some hidden surveince cameras in your bar?¡± ¡°That¡¯s against business ethics. My business is going to fold if news of me installing a camera in the bar gets leaked,¡± Long Tianze objected. He then handed the photo back to Jin Qingyan and took a seat, crossing one leg over another. ¡°Just don¡¯t let anyone find out. How about I help you install the most obscure pinhole camera?¡± Jin Qingyan suggested. ¡°No, I¡¯d like to be a moral and ethical bar owner,¡± Long Tianze refused. ¡°...¡± ¡°I came to discuss something with you, actually,¡± said Long Tianze, after which he exined his daughter¡¯s kidnapping incident, as well as his ns to send the children to the exercise boot camp at the martial arts academy. ¡°You¡¯re nning to enroll the three children in the boot camp? But they¡¯re still so young,¡± Jin Qingyan remarked. ¡°Yes, I do have such ns. I¡¯m going to pull them out from school and let them be home-schooled by a private tutor, all the way until high school. I¡¯ll then send them back to public schools. What do you think of my suggestion?¡± Long Tianze answered earnestly. Jin Qingyan expressed assent and said, ¡°Sounds like a great idea, but don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a little lonely with just the three of them? Children ought to spend more time with ymates their age.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll just have two other kids join them. Five should be enough, right?¡± ¡°I think you have a point. Seems like you¡¯re really afraid that another abduction would happen.¡± ¡°That¡¯s for sure. The more I think about it, the more furious I get,¡± Long Tianze bellowed. ¡°I¡¯m angrier than you are.¡± ¡°What for? Your son wasn¡¯t kidnapped, was he?¡± Jin Qingyan turned to the side and said, ¡°Tianze, I regret it.¡± ¡°Regret what? Getting a divorce?¡± Long Tianze blurted unknowingly. Jin Qingyan took a look at the time on his watch and said, ¡°Call Ciye over. Let¡¯s have dinner together tonight.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Long Tianze was an avid fan of hearing the gossip about Jin Qingyan¡¯s life. Once Ling Ciye arrived, they both sat down on the dining table and kept their ears open to hear the juicy details. ¡°You¡¯ve kept it in for so long. Seems like you made the decision to tell us all about it tonight,¡± said Ling Ciye. ¡°I don¡¯t know where to begin.¡± He took a small sip of wine and continued in a crisp and clear voice, ¡°Oh, right, starting from when she got wounded...¡± Long Tianze and Ling Ciye remained silent throughout to listen to him attentively while eating. After Jin Qingyan finished telling the story, Long Tianze wiped his mouth and stared at him while smiling. ¡°I was right to call you a fool. You really are one,¡± Long Tianze remarked. ¡°Tianze, how could you call Qingyan a fool? Calling him a fool is an understatement. ¡®Moron¡¯ would suit him better,¡± Ling Ciye chimed in. Jin Qingyan was speechless. ¡°Am I really that foolish?¡± he asked. ¡°Actually, we both did guess that it had something to do with infidelity. But after hearing your story, Qingyan, I seriously think that you were being too irrational and rash. I can understand the reason behind your despair and exasperation, as well as all the other emotions you felt at the time. However, couldn¡¯t you also consider Ms. An¡¯s feelings? How do you think she felt, having the man whom she loved most not trust her and even initiate a divorce? Her brains would have to be fried for her to agree to marry you again. You¡¯d better prepare yourself to be a bachelor for the rest of your life,¡± Ling Ciye chastised. ¡°Don¡¯t be too harsh on him. Actually, from the way I see it, you still have a chance to win her back, Qingyan,¡± said Long Tianze. ¡°Go on.¡± Long Tianze chuckled and said, ¡°It¡¯s only been less than a few months since you two got a divorce. Although you¡¯ve hurt her deeply, I think she still has feelings for you. Maybe, she still loves you. At this point, you have to heal the wounds and the scars you¡¯ve left in her heart, bit by bit. As long as you do that, you¡¯ll still have a shot.¡± ¡°But there¡¯s something I¡¯m puzzled about. Ms. An knows clearly that that man is her half-brother... Tell me, do you seriously think Ms. An would have been incapable of resisting and stopping her brother, who was drugged, from viting her? You were well aware of her feelings toward you at the time too. So, in a nutshell, you brought all of this upon yourself because you had been overthinking. I really feel like beating you into a pulp. You should¡¯ve told us about it when it first happened and allowed us to help you analyze the situation. How could you bottle it up and keep it all to yourself?¡± he continued. ¡°I regret it too.¡± ¡°Women are strange creatures. They¡¯re willing to give up everything and go through all sorts of hardship when they love you, on the condition that you show her the possibility of a future together. However, things will get tough once she gives up on you. Don¡¯t you still have a final trump card in your hands? I think there¡¯s still a chance for you to win her back so long as you use it to your advantage.¡± A peculiar and mysterious smile formed on Jin Qingyan¡¯s face as soon as Long Tianze finished speaking. ¡°What are you smiling for?¡± ¡°She still loves me. I can feel it. But I still need to work on it. Anyway, what¡¯s meant to be mine will be mine at the end of the day. No one can take her away from me. The Major she went on a blind date with is no match to me,¡± he said leisurely. Long Tianze raised his ss and said sarcastically, ¡°You¡¯re a new person now eh, Mr. Jin? You¡¯ve be so much more shameless and thick-skinned. No one in S Nation canpare to you.¡± Jin Qingyan clinked sses with him. ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Chapter 637 - The Secret About the Past (255)

Chapter 637: The Secret About the Past (255)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When the other residents of Wei Ni Estate heard about Long Tianze and Jin Qingyan¡¯s interest in enrolling their children in the martial arts academy together with two other children, Wen Yuechan¡¯s mother asked her carefully, ¡°Did you know about this?¡± Wen Yuechan nodded and said, ¡°Mommy, I¡¯ve heard about it. Yiheng¡¯s family owns the academy. They won¡¯t go to the same school as me anymore once they¡¯re enrolled in the boot camp.¡± ¡°Would you like to go too? Didn¡¯t you tell Mommy that you wanted to y with Yiheng? Do you want to go together with him?¡± Mrs. Wen asked softly. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Tell him at school today that you¡¯d like to join him for the boot camp and ask him to inform his father about it.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Wen Yuechan did as instructed and told Jin Yiheng about the matter once she arrived in school. After hearing her out, Jin Yiheng said, ¡°I heard from Daddy that training there is tough. Since we¡¯re still young and can¡¯t allow training to hinder us from receiving an education, it¡¯s going to take much longer.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of hardship. I enjoy ying with Yiheng,¡± Wen Yuechan said with a grin. Staring at her bright, sparkling eyes, Jin Yiheng nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯ll tell my father about it, then.¡± ¡°Alright. I really want to go with you,¡± she added. Jin Yiheng brought the matter up to his father once he got home that day. Needless to say, Jin Qingyan would not turn down his son¡¯s request. However, it was impossible for Zhong Minhe to join the boot camp since he did not have any arms. Thus, Long Tianze decided to select another boy who lived in the same estate. The little boy, who seemed rather dull, was five years old this year, just like Long Wenlun. ¡°Xiaoxi, this little boy here is Ji Gui. He lives in the same estate as us. You¡¯ll have a ymate when he tags along with you guys to the boot camp.¡± d in a cap, Long Xiaoxi walked toward Ji Gui and reached her chubby hand out. ¡°Why do you seem so dull? Shall I call you a dimwit from now on?¡± ¡°Xiaoxi...¡± said Long Tianze, ring at her. Ji Gui stared at her hand for a few seconds before shaking it. ¡°Sure,¡± he agreed. From then on, Long Xiaoxi never addressed him by his full name, all the way throughout their childhood. In fact, she had even forgotten what his real name was and he was the first boy amongst the older children whom she did not address as ¡°Brother.¡± ¡°Xiaoxi, your Brother Yiheng and his ssmate will being overter. The five of you shall y and interact with each other. Come tomorrow, Daddy and your Brother will go and settle the administrative withdrawal procedures,¡± Long Tianze said before leaving. ¡°You¡¯re so fair-skinned,¡± Long Xiaoxi remarked, extending her arm andparing it against his. Ji Gui remained standing and stared at her quietly. He was introverted and reserved, almost antisocial. ¡°Xiaoxi!¡± a voice eximed from afar. Long Xiaoxi stared into the distance to see that her brother, Jin Yiheng, and Wen Yuechan were walking side by side toward her. Long Xiaoxi was displeased at the sight of Wen Yuechan together with Jin Yiheng. ¡°Xiaoxi, who is he?¡± Long Wenlun asked. ¡°He¡¯s our neighbor from the same estate. Daddy said his name is Ji Gui, and he¡¯s going to the boot camp together with us.¡± Pointing at Wen Yuechan, Long Xiaoxi asked, ¡°Is she that ssmate of Brother Yiheng¡¯s whom Daddy was referring to?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Long Wenlun answered with a nod. Long Xiaoxi was instantly infuriated. ¡°I don¡¯t want her toe along,¡± she said frankly. ¡°Why? Xiaoxi, Yuechan wants to go with us very badly,¡± Jin Yiheng asked. ¡°But I don¡¯t want her toe with us. Brother Yiheng, do you want me or her to go? Pick one!¡± Long Xiaoxi eximed furiously, throwing a fit. Jin Yiheng feared such questions the most, for he would be at fault no matter whom he picked. Thus, he remained silent. Afraid that she really wouldn¡¯t be allowed to go upon realizing how much Long Xiaoxi abhorred her, Wen Yuechan pleaded, ¡°Xiaoxi, I really want to go. Just let mee along with you guys, will you?¡± ¡°No,¡± Long Xiaoxi refused vehemently. Noticing how aggrieved Wen Yuechan looked, Jin Yiheng interjected, ¡°Xiaoxi, tell us, why are you so insistent on refusing to let Yuechane along?¡± ¡°Because she called me fat in the past,¡± Long Xiaoxi said without hesitation. After all, she was only a four-year-old child who doesn¡¯t think twice before she speaks. ¡°Was she wrong about that?¡± Jin Yiheng blurted, which was the to the shock of everyone, including himself. It seemed like it was toote to try tofort her. Dumbfounded, Long Xiaoxi stood rooted to the ground, staring at Jin Yiheng in disbelief while being at a loss for words. Her sudden silence caused an awkward tension to fill the air. Wen Yuechan was the only one who was as happy as ark. Jin Yiheng was defending me just now, wasn¡¯t he? she thought to herself. ¡°Xiaoxi, you¡¯re forever Brother¡¯s little princess. I don¡¯t find you fat at all,¡± Long Wenlun said, breaking the silence. Long Xiaoxi nodded as tears streamed down her face uncontrobly. ¡°I¡¯m going to go look for Mommy.¡± She turned around and scurried away. Due to the fact that she was running too quickly, the hat on her head flew away, exposing her bald head. Although the hair salon had already turned her hair into a buzz cut, a chubby girl like her really did not look great with a bald head. Apart from Long Wenlun and Zhong Minhe, it was everyone else¡¯s first time seeing her bald. Jin Yiheng had never seen it either. However, he finally saw it now. Long Xiaoxi bent forward to pick up her hat, which she put back onto her head. This time, she did not sprint away and instead walked back home slowly. As soon as she stepped foot inside the living room, Mei Yangyang saw the tears on her face and asked in astonishment, ¡°Baby, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Nothing,¡± Long Xiaoxi answered dejectedly. She returned to her room, where she sprawled herself across the bed and began bawling loudly. Mei Yangyang only understood the situation after asking her son. Thus, she constantly tried to console Long Xiaoxi. ¡°Mommy will tell Daddy not to allow that girl to go.¡± ¡°No, if you don¡¯t let her go, Brother Yiheng is going to think that I was the one behind it. Mommy, Brother Yiheng doesn¡¯t like me anymore,¡± said Long Xiaoxi, choking with sobs. ¡°Why not? Our Xiaoxi is so cute and adorable.¡± Long Xiaoxi shook her head in disagreement. ¡°Mommy, get out, please. I¡¯d like to take a nap.¡± ¡°Alright, be good, don¡¯t brood over it.¡± Once Mei Yangyang left, Long Xiaoxi leaned against the window and stared at the backyard. The children were having a joyous game of ser in the backyard, seemingly having a whale of a time. At this moment, she continued to stare quietly for a long time. The four-year-old child experienced her first heartbreak. ¡ª¡ª In Sanqiao Estate, An Xiaoning sat cross-legged on the couch with the new proposal file in hand. Lin Mingxi was seated beside her, opposite the film director, Jing Tian. A deafening silence filled the living room as An Xiaoning kept her eyes fixed on the document she was holding. After half an hour, An Xiaoning finally put the proposal away and looked at Jing Tian in awe. ¡°I can¡¯t help but say that you¡¯ve always been a splendid director. You¡¯ve always had the eye for selecting great films. I¡¯m particrly interested in one of the few scripts you¡¯ve mentioned in the proposal,¡± she said. Chapter 638 - The Secret About the Past (256)

Chapter 638: The Secret About the Past (256)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Which one is it?¡± ¡°The only one that has a storyline set in ancient times. This historical drama isn¡¯t based on a story written by a famous author, is it?¡± said An Xiaoning. Jing Tian acknowledged her with a nod. ¡°Yes, I picked that one because it¡¯s not purely a typical historical drama and has a fresh concept. The storyline is captivating and exciting as well. Although the author who wrote it isn¡¯t exactly famous, he¡¯s not a rookie either. He¡¯s rather experienced in this field, and the novel he wrote was widely received after it was published online.¡± ¡°How long do you think the filming of this drama will take? Give me a rough estimate,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°The costumes for the drama are rather borate, and the actors would have to undergo special training to familiarize themselves with the ancient etiquette and formalities. I don¡¯t think three months would be enough. It would probably take about half a year or so.¡± An Xiaoning thought so too. She then asked Lin Mingxi, ¡°Have you read the original story?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve read all the original stories for the pitched dramas. The ancient historical drama caught my attention the most as well. But the most important thing is the casting of the actors,¡± Lin Mingxi answered. ¡°I think we should cast actors who are closely simr to the characters of the drama,¡± An Xiaoning agreed. ¡°So, we¡¯re settling on this historical drama, then?¡± Jing Tian asked. ¡°Yes, this one it shall be. Settle the script and storyline with a suitable scriptwriter. We¡¯ll leave the casting forter.¡± Jing Tian nodded and left. Leaning against the couch, Lin Mingxi said, ¡°I noticed something earlier on.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°There are tons of things we both intend to do. We¡¯re actually two peas in a pod.¡± ¡°But obviously... your life is better than mine,¡± An Xiaoning said with a smile. ¡°Why so?¡± Lin Mingxi asked, not finding her life to be any better than An Xiaoning¡¯s. ¡°You were born into a wealthy family. Although you don¡¯t get along well with your sister, I¡¯m sure your parents dote on you greatly. You got to receive education at prestigious institutions, and you¡¯re now happily married with a stable and blissful marriage. Isn¡¯t that much better than my lot?¡± ¡°But he doesn¡¯t love me. From before and even until now, no one has truly loved me, apart from my parents. Do you really think you¡¯re worse than me?¡± Lin Mingxi said with a faint smile. An Xiaoning stared at her calmly and said, ¡°Even if no one loves you, your life is still better than mine. I don¡¯t even love myself. Who has it worse?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t tell that you don¡¯t love yourself, though.¡± ¡°If I genuinely loved myself, would I allow myself to be hurt by the same man time and time again? Self-love is about protecting yourself well, both physically and emotionally. Loving yourself means you won¡¯t allow anyone to hurt you at all. I do love myself physically, but I don¡¯t think I care for my emotions enough,¡± said An Xiaoning, shaking her head. ¡°I can tell.¡± Lin Mingxi paused for a moment before continuing, ¡°It¡¯s really difficult to find a man who¡¯s willing to love you with all his heart nowadays.¡± ¡°I¡¯m no longer a teenager anyway. No matter who I get into a rtionship with again in the future, I won¡¯t give it my all anymore.¡± ¡°Boss, someone is calling you again!¡± An Xiaoning answered the call, ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Alright, see youter.¡± She then proceeded to put on her shoes soon as she ended the call. ¡°Who called you?¡± ¡°A friend.¡± An Xiaoning ran upstairs to change into a fresh set of clothes and returned downstairs with a purse in hand. ¡°Was it the guy you went on a blind date with?¡± ¡°Yes. We¡¯re friends now, but I think he¡¯s a pretty good catch. He seems to be very cultured and refined. I¡¯m thinking that I¡¯ll consider getting into a rtionship with him if I find that he¡¯s a really great man after getting to know each other better,¡± An Xiaoning said, smiling. ¡°I thought you had lost all hope in marriage.¡± An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°I indeed don¡¯t bear any hopes for marriage, but one ought to have a life partner. I can¡¯t possibly lose hope in love too. That¡¯d be too pathetic and sad. I¡¯m giving myself a chance at the same time that I¡¯m giving someone else a chance. What¡¯s the point of life if you only ever remain where you are and refuse to advance forward?¡± She and Lin Mingxi then left Sanqiao Estate in their respective cars. An Xiaoning arrived at the entrance of a cinema in the city center where she and Ji Yu had agreed to meet and parked her car before alighting. She then walked toward the entrance with a scarf wrapped around her neck and both hands in the pocket of her coat. The ss door seemed like a barrier between spring and winter. The temperature inside was warm andfortable, as opposed to the biting cold of the harsh and breezy winter outside. Upon sight of a tall and slender silhouette, An Xiaoning walked forward and pat him on his shoulder gently. ¡°Hi.¡± He turned around with two cups of hot coffee in his hands. ¡°You¡¯re here. It¡¯ll warm you up,¡± he said, handing her one. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°The movie¡¯s about to begin soon, let¡¯s go in.¡± She nodded and entered the theater together with him. Most of the seats in the theater were unupied since it was an art and literature film, which was not exactly popr. Before the movie began, the pair sipped on their coffee and chatted with each other softly. An Xiaoning realized that they could practically have a conversation about any topic and that she felt extremely rxed while chatting with him. There were no feelings of awkwardness at all. How rare. It felt as if they were old friends. Even though they had only known each other for a few days. Once the movie began, An Xiaoning could sense someone staring at her intensely. She felt as if she was a prey being targeted by an armed poacher. She scanned her surroundings from left to right, only to find that no one was looking at her directly. Was she being paranoid? An Xiaoning kept her eyes fixed on the big screen. When the scene of the male and female lead engaged in a passionate kiss, which was followed by an intimate bed scene, came on, An Xiaoning would shift her gaze elsewhere while Ji Yu remained seated with his back as straight as a ruler. She stole a few nces at the thirty-two-year-old military Major to find that he was struggling to control his emotions. ¡°Wasn¡¯t this supposed to be an art film?¡± He rubbed his nose awkwardly and answered, ¡°Exactly. I thought it was an art film.¡± Apart from that intimate bed scene, there were no other scenes throughout the movie that caught them by surprise. Just as the movie was about to end, An Xiaoning turned her head to take a nce behind her subconsciously, only to receive a great shock that instantly filled her with tension. It was her first time turning around to take a look throughout the movie. The person sitting behind her was none other than Jin Qingyan. An Xiaoning was displeased at the thought of Jin Qingyan having witnessed the entire process of her watching the movie with Ji Yu, which included their conversations and joyous banter. It was such a paradox to abruptly discover that your ex-husband had been sitting right behind you and keeping his eyes fixed on you throughout your movie date with a friend. An Xiaoning hurriedly looked away, as if she did not see him at all. She tried to contain her emotions and continued to remain seated properly. The movie finally ended. She turned around again to find that the seat behind her was already empty. It felt as if she was hallucinating earlier on. She then heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°I need to use the washroom.¡± ¡°Go ahead, I¡¯ll wait for you by the entrance,¡± he said merrily, clearly overjoyed to be out on a movie date with her. Chapter 639 - A Million Times for You (1)

Chapter 639: A Million Times for You (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning did not see him around after exiting the washroom. Filled with an ominous feeling and uneasiness, she ran toward the entrance and yelled, ¡°Ji Yu!¡± There was no response. She suddenly recalled Jin Qingyan¡¯s words that evening. Could it be... Just as she was thinking that Jin Qingyan had abducted Ji Yu, a tall and slender figure began walking toward her. ¡°I saw a store nearby and decided to go there to get you a pair of gloves since you seem rather chilly,¡± Ji Yu exined, handing her the pair of gloves he had bought. An Xiaoning was surprised to see how meticulous he was. Staring at the pair of gloves in his hands, she epted it and thanked him, not wanting to turn down his kind gesture. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s gettingte. Go back and rest early. I drove here today,¡± An Xiaoning said while smiling. ¡°Seems like I won¡¯t have the honor of escorting you home tonight then. Alright, drive safely.¡± ¡°You too,¡± she acknowledged with a nod. An Xiaoning got inside the car and drove away after starting the engine. It was almost nine o¡¯clock in the evening. The breeze was blowing strongly outside. With her hands on the steering wheel and her foot on the elerator pedal, she continued to drive along the roads, slow and steady. Not long after, An Xiaoning pulled over at a supermarket. She entered the supermarket to buy a pack ofdy¡¯s cigarettes and a lighter before returning to her car. An Xiaoning had never smoked a cigarette before in her life. However, she now wanted to have a try at smoking, just to see what it feels like. She opened the pack of cigarettes, pulled out a slim cigarette, and lit it up with the lighter. A me was soon ignited on one end of the cigarette, which she held between her fingers. She wound down the car windows. Instead of taking a puff immediately, An Xiaoning rested her hand on the window, holding the cigarette outside the car. After some thought, she decided to take a puff. Since it was her first time smoking, the smoke infiltrated her senses immediately, greatly taking her by surprise. Not only did she not enjoy her first puff, she actually found it torturous. She then coughed vigorously out of reflex and only stopped after a long while. An Xiaoning stared at the cigarette between her fingers and thought to herself ¡ª Why do seasoned smokers seem to enjoy smoking so much? Could it be that I¡¯m just not used to it yet since it¡¯s my first time? She then tried to take another puff, which was significantly more bearable than her first. Perhaps you just never really needed much technique, to begin with, when ites to smoking. When she was halfway through the cigarette, it was flicked away from her hand forcefully before she even noticed. It all happened so quickly that the cigarette was already on the ground by the time she realized who did it. He was standing next to her car, right by the window, dressing in an all-ck suit. The cor of his coat was wrapped around his neck tightly. An Xiaoning stared at him and hissed, ¡°How could the CEO of the Jin Corporation be so ill-mannered as to snatch someone else¡¯s belongings away from their hands?¡± ¡°Get down.¡± ¡°Why do I have to listen to you?¡± An Xiaoning retorted. Just as she was about to turn the car key and start the engine, he reached a hand inside the window to unlock the car doors. An Xiaoning was then forcefully dragged out of the driver¡¯s seat. ¡°Jin Qingyan!¡± An Xiaoning hollered, shrugging his hands away with all her might. ¡°Just what are you trying to do?¡± He moved closer toward An Xiaoning, who leaned back against the front bo of her car. He then pinned her down forcefully onto the bo, leaving her with no means to move or struggle at all. Where did he get such strength from? An Xiaoning tried to push him away with both hands, only to have him grab her wrists and raise them above her head. Jin Qingyan then ced his other hand on her waist to press her body against his. She was then wrapped in his embrace with his coat. Not wanting to get into a scuffle with him in public, An Xiaoning did not struggle and instead allowed her face to be pressed against his chest. ¡°Xiaoning, let¡¯s start afresh. Yiheng misses you. I miss you too.¡± ¡°Do you take me for a ball that you can kick away when you detest it and that you expect to roll back to you whenever you want it back?¡± ¡°You know that¡¯s not what I meant...¡± ¡°But your actions are implying that.¡± Although they were pressed against each other physically, he could not help but feel more emotionally distant from her than ever. Their words were like daggers to each others¡¯ hearts. ¡°Do you really not want Yiheng anymore?¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t you the one who forced me to give up the rights to his custody? How dare you have the cheek to ask me that question?¡± An Xiaoning scoffed. ¡°You¡¯re not willing toe back to me for the sake of our son...¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan, don¡¯t think you can use our son to threaten me just because you own the rights to his custody. I can¡¯t force myself to suffer in silence for the sake of our son,¡± An Xiaoning insisted. ¡°What about the warning I gave you earlier? Seems like you didn¡¯t bear my words in mind. Even if you refuse to forgive me for the rest of your life, I¡¯m not going to stop. I¡¯ll continue to pester you for the rest of our lives,¡± he said, staring at her intently. ¡°You¡¯re a loony...¡± ¡°That¡¯s all because of you!¡± Jin Qingyan snapped. ¡°An Xiaoning, I¡¯ll win your heart again, no matter what it takes. I¡¯m going topensate and take responsibility for all the mistakes I¡¯ve made.¡± Jin Qingyan removed his coat and stood beneath the dimly-lit light. An Xiaoning leaned against the car bo, noticing that he had an icy cold stare in his eyes. She looked down at the ground and caught sight of the half-burned cigarette butt. After standing there quietly for several minutes, she raised her head again and got back inside the car. At that moment, she suddenly figured it all out. Since he wants to win me back, I shall let him go ahead. No one can stop him anyway. Let¡¯s see how long he can keep at it! She returned to the Gu family mansion. An Xiaoning alighted and entered the living room to see that the four of them were in the midst of a conversation. ¡°Xiaoning, you¡¯re back. I heard from Mingxi that you went on a date with that Major. How are things between you two?¡± Mrs. Gu asked. An Xiaoning sat down beside Mrs. Gu and said, ¡°We¡¯re just friends right now, and we¡¯d like to get to know each other better.¡± ¡°Do you have a photo of him? Let me take a look.¡± An Xiaoning whipped her phone out and said, ¡°I have one.¡± As soon as she saw the photo on An Xiaoning¡¯s mobile phone screen, Mrs. Gu eximed in astonishment, ¡°He¡¯s so suave and handsome. Extremely dashing.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Mr. Gu agreed. Lin Mingxi also took a look before handing it to Gu Beicheng. ¡°Take a look.¡± After ncing at the screen, Gu Beicheng remarked nonchntly, ¡°What? He¡¯s nowhere as handsome as me.¡± ¡°He looks so suave, and he¡¯s a Major in the military. One look and you can tell he¡¯s a responsible and reliable man,¡± said Mrs. Gu. ¡°How can you possibly tell that just from his appearance? Men are scheming nowadays. Why would they wear their hearts on their sleeves?¡± said a skeptical Gu Beicheng. ¡°Time will tell.¡± After some thought, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Jin Qingyan...¡± All eyes were on her the moment they heard his name. ¡°Jin Qingyan... apologized to me,¡± she continued. ¡°What? It¡¯s such a mess. What are your thoughts on the matter?¡± Mrs. Gu asked. ¡°I¡¯ll never forgive him. It¡¯s up to him to do whatever he wants. I¡¯m tired, I¡¯m going upstairs to get some rest.¡± ¡°Go ahead,¡± Mrs. Gu said gently, motioning for her to proceed. Chapter 640 - A Million Times for You (2)

Chapter 640: A Million Times for You (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When she was lying in bed, she casually picked up her mobile phone to take a look. The instant that she did so, her screen was lit up by an iing text message notification. It was a text message from Jin Qingyan, which read: ¡°Yiheng is going to attend the boot camp at the martial arts academy tomorrow, let¡¯s send him there together.¡± An Xiaoning had already heard about the matter from Mei Yangyang, who told her about Long Xiaoxi¡¯s kidnapping incident. An Xiaoning too was terrified of the possible dangers of having her son kidnapped. Thus, she did not make anyment as long as Jin Yiheng was willing to attend the boot camp. Holding her phone in hand, she typed her reply, which was short and simple ¡ª¡±Okay.¡± Little did she know, Jin Qingyan had been waiting eagerly for her reply and felt a strong sense offort the moment he read her answer. He felt as if his senses were rxed and that he could finally go to bed. ¡ª¡ª After washing up, Lin Mingxi came out of the shower and sat by the bed. Taking a nce at Gu Beicheng, she said, ¡°You seemed to be upset about Xiaoning¡¯s matchmaking partner.¡± Gu Beicheng looked at her and answered, ¡°Why should I be happy about it? Hasn¡¯t she been hurt by men enough? I can¡¯t be heartened or ted until she truly finds her Mr. Right.¡± ¡°Do you regret marrying me too early?¡± Lin Mingxi asked half-jokingly. The idea had indeed crossed Gu Beicheng¡¯s mind once, though he had no ns to act on it. ¡°We¡¯re already married.¡± Lin Mingxi crawled onto the bed and sat down beside him before saying, ¡°Women like Xiaoning tend to make others fall head-over-heels in love with them easily. But at the same time, it¡¯s also really easy to detest her to the core.¡± Gu Beicheng turned to the side and asked, ¡°What¡¯s your impression of her now?¡± ¡°Now... I naturally feel different about herpared to the past. I admire, respect, and envy her, because I roughly know why her admirers love her that much and why her haters detest and resent her so tremendously. But what¡¯s rare is that she doesn¡¯t seem to be bothered by others¡¯ opinions of her at all. Hubby, I know you still love her even now. I don¡¯t expect you to stop loving herpletely, but may I ask that you give me some of your love too?¡± Lin Mingxi answered with a smile. Gu Beicheng pulled her into his embrace and said, ¡°Mingxi, I¡¯ll be good to you.¡± Lin Mingxi raised her head to kiss his chin and asked, ¡°When should we have children?¡± ¡°We can try for one now if you¡¯d like.¡± ¡°I want to,¡± Lin Mingxi answered with a nod, as meek as amb. Just as he was about to switch on the lights, his mobile phone rang all of a sudden. After taking a look at the caller disy, Gu Beicheng immediately answered the call without hesitation. ¡°Speak.¡± ¡°Young Sir, you instructed me to keep a close eye on Xu Youran, and she had been behaving normally recently. But when I tailed her car earlier, I discovered that she had gone to visit the doctor who delivered you during your birth...¡± Gu Beicheng sat up straight, though he showed no signs of being frantic, and answered, ¡°Got it, continue to watch her closely.¡± After ending the call, Gu Beicheng said to his wife, ¡°Xu Youran had gone to visit at his home the doctor who delivered me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s already been more than three decades. I doubt he can remember your birth date, no matter how great his memory may be. There are plenty of women going intobor every day. I don¡¯t think he can remember the birth dates of all infants without checking the archived documents. Besides, it happened so long ago. In my opinion, she made a wasted trip this time,¡± Lin Mingxi voiced her thoughts. ¡°Nheless, we can¡¯t let our guard down. Seems like she won¡¯t stop until she gets a hold of my birth characters.¡± ¡°It¡¯s obvious what Xu Youran is thinking. She and her husband are clearly nning to harm you using your birth characters, and if something disastrous really happens to you, the Gu Corporation will belong solely to Gu Dongcheng. Hubby, I think it¡¯s rather pointless for us to just sit back and be on our guard. Why don¡¯t we beat them to it and make the first move? The two of them are definitely the culprits behind our abduction. Since your brother has already made his mind up to kill you, we¡¯ll have peace once we get rid of him and Xu Youran. They¡¯re aware of both Father and Mother¡¯s birth characters. I¡¯m afraid they¡¯d start by harming Father and Mother first,¡± Lin Mingxi exined. She did make some sense. Shaking his head, Gu Beicheng answered, ¡°Do you think Father would tell us Brother¡¯s exact birth timing? I¡¯m sure he wouldn¡¯t. We¡¯re both his sons. Of course he¡¯d want the both of us to be alive and well.¡± ¡°I think Father will make a decision under special circumstances where he¡¯s forced to pick between two options. We¡¯ll just have to brainstorm about how to make the conditions special. I don¡¯t want anything to happen to you,¡± said Lin Mingxi, hugging his arm. ¡°Mingxi, do you n to get Xiaoning to put the curse on them in the event that we actually manage to get hold of Brother¡¯s birth characters and timing? From what I know about her, she would more likely than not turn us down. If we hire another medium to do it, we¡¯ll then risk having the matter leaked. Things are going to getplicated by then,¡± Gu Beicheng exined. ¡°We¡¯ll just have to y it by ear then. If they¡¯ve both decided to kill us at all costs, we can¡¯t just sit back and wait for them to harm us.¡± ¡°That goes without saying. Let¡¯s see what funny ideas they cane up with,¡± Gu Beicheng said with an austere expression. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s drop the subject. Hubby, let me show you the plot for a drama. Who do you think should be cast as the male and female leads?¡± Gu Beichengy down again with her in his arms. ¡°I think...¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°I think Xiaoning should star as the female lead.¡± Lin Mingxi¡¯s eyes widened in shock as she asked, ¡°You mean you think Xiaoning should partake in the acting herself?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think the female lead¡¯s personality is very simr to Xiaoning¡¯s? She doesn¡¯t even have to act or get into the role, she just has to be herself,¡± Gu Beicheng said truthfully. ¡°She definitely wouldn¡¯t agree to it. How about the male lead?¡± Lin Mingxi asked again. ¡°The male lead should be a tall and handsome actor who¡¯ll look good in ancient costumes. He has to possess great acting chops too. Otherwise, he won¡¯t be able to y the role well and unleash the drama to its greatest potential. The drama would be halfway to sess once the storyline is perfected and the casting is done properly with the right actors.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. But we can only decide which actors to cast after interacting with them and getting to know them better. I¡¯ll look Xiaoning up to discuss this matter another day.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª¡ª At past seven o¡¯clock in the morning, Long Xiaoxi put on a pink-colored feathered jacket and her hat before going out to look for Zhong Minhe. As soon as she entered through the gate, Long Xiaoxi called, ¡°Auntie, where¡¯s Brother Minhe?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Saturday today, he¡¯s not up yet.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll call Brother Minhe to wake him up.¡± She then scurried toward Zhong Minhe¡¯s room. To her surprise, Zhong Minhe was sitting on the bed and staring nkly into space when she entered his room. ¡°Brother Minhe. Let me tell you a piece of good news,¡± Long Xiaoxi eximed, running toward him. ¡°What news?¡± Long Xiaoxi smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯ve already asked Daddy to help you get prosthetic arms. Daddy said that you¡¯ll be able to write and put on your clothes on your own once you have prosthetic arms. You¡¯d no longer need Teacher to help you unbutton your pants when you use the bathroom. Things are going to be much more convenient.¡± Zhong Minhe lit up in surprise and looked at her excitedly. ¡°Xiaoxi, is that true?¡± ¡°Yes. Daddy told me that himself. But, Daddy said that you¡¯d have to change your prosthetic arms regrly as you grow up since you¡¯re still young now. It may be a bit of a hassle, but it can¡¯t be as troublesome as not having any arms at all, right?¡± ¡°Xiaoxi, thank you,¡± he eximed in joy and euphoria. Chapter 641 - A Million Times for You (3)

Chapter 641: A Million Times for You (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°You don¡¯t have to thank me. We¡¯re friends, it¡¯s only right that I help you. I¡¯m going to attend the exercise boot campter and I won¡¯t be able toe by frequently throughout it. But I promise I¡¯ll y with you again when I¡¯m back,¡± Long Xiaoxi said with a smile. He nodded earnestly and said, ¡°That¡¯s a deal, then.¡± ¡°Yes, deal.¡± The two of them giggled while looking at each other. After leaving Zhong Minhe¡¯s house, Long Xiaoxi quickly strode back home. Once she approached the swing, she caught sight of Xiaohua and Wen Yuechan sitting on the swing. She walked towards them, thinking that Xiaohua hade to y with her. ¡°Did you know that Xiaoxi¡¯s hair had been snipped off by a bad uncle?¡± Wen Yuechan asked Xiaohua. ¡°I know, her hair is all gone. It¡¯s hideous. I feel so sorry for Xiaoxi,¡± said Xiaohua, holding onto the ropes of the swing. ¡°She can wear a hat now that it¡¯s winter. But if it were summertime, she definitely wouldn¡¯t dare to step foot out of the house,¡± Wen Yuechan remarked with a snicker. Herughter was particrly harsh-sounding to Long Xiaoxi. Long Xiaoxi stepped forward and glowered at her. ¡°Is it really that funny?¡± Wen Yuechan and Xiaohua were both surprised to find that she was standing behind them. Xiaohua got down from the swing and said, ¡°Xiaoxi.¡± Long Xiaoxi red at Wen Yuechan and scorned, ¡°Who said you could sit on my swing? Get down now.¡± Wen Yuechan stood up and scoffed, ¡°It¡¯s just a swing. How petty.¡± ¡°So what if I¡¯m petty? Is it any of your business? My hair will always grow back. What¡¯s wrong? I¡¯ll still go out as usual even if it were summer.¡± Wen Yuechan chuckled without uttering another word. Long Xiaoxi looked at Xiaohua and said, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with being hideous? I¡¯m not pitiful at all, I¡¯m doing very well. If you want to y with her, don¡¯te and y with me ever again.¡± ¡°Xiaoxi...¡± Long Xiaoxi then stormed off in a huff. Being young and prideful, she could not tolerate the criticism and snide remarks of others. Upon sight of Ji Gui, Jin Yiheng, and Long Wenluning out of the door, Xiaohua got inside the car immediately without saying a word. Long Wenlun and the rest got inside the car and asked Long Xiaoxi, ¡°Xiaoxi, why are you angry again? Daddy promised to let Minhe get prosthetic arms. Weren¡¯t you happy about that?¡± Long Xiaoxi grabbed his hand and eximed, ¡°Brother, I really hate Wen Yuechan. I detest her so, so much. I don¡¯t want to see her at all!¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t like her, I¡¯ll dislike her too. I¡¯ll definitely stand on your side,¡± said Long Wenlun. ¡°Brother, you¡¯re so good to me. So much better than Brother Yiheng.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re my biological sister, of course I¡¯d have to treat you well.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning finally saw Long Tianze¡¯s car after waiting outside the academy for a long time. Once the car pulled over at the entrance, the five children alighted, one after another. Jin Yiheng scrambled toward An Xiaoning gleefully upon sight of her. ¡°Mommy!¡± An Xiaoning held his hand and asked softly, ¡°Did Daddy tell you what you¡¯re here for?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯m not intimidated at all,¡± he answered. An Xiaoning smiled joyously and said, ¡°Will you show Mommy your determination then? If you persevere through the camp, Mommy will visit you every month.¡± ¡°Really? Awesome, I¡¯ll push through it to the end,¡± Jin Yiheng eximed, raising his chin merrily. ¡°Hello, Auntie,¡± Wen Yuechan greeted. ¡°Hello.¡± An Xiaoning then walked toward Long Xiaoxi and bent forward to ask, ¡°What happened to you, Xiaoxi? Why do you seem so upset?¡± ¡°I¡¯m happy to see you, Godma. Godma, I really missed you,¡± Long Xiaoxi said coquettishly, draping her arms around An Xiaoning¡¯s neck. An Xiaoning picked her up in her arms and said to Mei Yangyang, ¡°Look how glib of a tongue she¡¯s got.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Mei Yangyang agreed, smiling. Jin Qingyan and Long Tianze walked at the back together with the other parents. The instructors, Chen Xu and Jin Shan, stood by the door to wee them. Everyone greeted each other enthusiastically after having not seen each other in a long time. ¡°Xiaoning, time has left its trace on all of us, but why do you look like you haven¡¯t aged one bit at all?¡± Jin Shan remarked with raised brows. ¡°I¡¯m a natural beauty. What¡¯s so strange about that?¡± Jin Shan burst intoughter and said, ¡°Not bad, you¡¯re still the Xiaoning I know from years ago.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll trouble you and Instructor Chen to take care of these five kids. I know you guys haven¡¯t handled children before, but there¡¯s a first for everything. I¡¯ll make things clear beforehand. You have to be strict with them. I hope to see a great change in them after they¡¯re done with the boot camp. You guys will then be highly-esteemed benefactors,¡± An Xiaoning said truthfully. ¡°Look how much you¡¯re ttering us. Rest assured, we¡¯ll know what to do. I¡¯ll arrange an appropriate schedule for them, which includes breaks and time slots for studying. They¡¯ll enjoy a carefree childhood while also receiving a proper education,¡± Chen Xu said with a smile. ¡°I have faith in you guys.¡± They then handed the children over to the instructors, along with some bodyguards and servants to look after them, giving the parents peace of mind. Mei Yangyang and An Xiaoning were filled with a mix of emotions when they stepped foot into the academy again after so many years. Back then, they stayed at the academy for a substantial amount of time. They lived a disciplined and routine-based life of going to bed on time, waking up on time, and showing up at the training ground on time every day. ¡°Sis, I was really terrified when I first heard about the exercise boot camp. However, our fear vanished when we began the training proper. I think this is a ce where one can put their minds and bodies through vigorous and essential training. Well, at least, it was a ce that yed a part in our growth,¡± said Mei Yangyang. An Xiaoning agreed with a nod, ¡°Indeed. This is the very reason why I agreed to let Yiheng enroll in the boot camp. Even if he can¡¯t persist until the end, it¡¯s necessary for him to develop grit and tenacity.¡± ¡°Sis, what do you n to work ontely?¡± ¡°A television drama that Mingxi and I have invested in together. We just discussed it recently, and Director Jing has also given us the ybook. We¡¯ve settled on a historical drama.¡± ¡°Since you n to invest in films, dramas, as well as media productions, why don¡¯t you set up a studio? You can hire people to manage the studio while you make all the major decisions and collect the earnings. It won¡¯t be tiring either, though you¡¯d have to be worried,¡± Mei Yangyang suggested. ¡°There are very few people I can trust.¡± An Xiaoning stopped in her tracks and held onto the railing before continuing, ¡°Why don¡¯t you take charge? You¡¯ll have ample time since the kids happen to be at the academy right now.¡± ¡°Are you serious about it?¡± Mei Yangyang asked. ¡°Yes, if you take over the managing duties, I¡¯ll ept your suggestion and we¡¯ll set up an entertainment studio. We¡¯ll recruit directors, scriptwriters, authors, actors, and models...¡± Mei Yangyang chuckled and said, ¡°Just so happens that Tianze deals with the entertainment industry, we can cooperate with him too...¡± ¡°Correct. Mingxi and I split the revenue from the investment in the television drama. If you and I work together, we shall split the earnings equally too. What do you think?¡± ¡°It¡¯s settled then. Juste up with half the capital and I¡¯ll handle the rest. I¡¯ll discuss all major decisions with you,¡± Mei Yangyang agreed. ¡°Where else could I possibly find such a great partner like you? You have to put in both money and effort,¡± said An Xiaoning, grinning widely. ¡°I¡¯m willing as long as I get to work with you, Sis.¡± Chapter 642 - A Million Times for You (4)

Chapter 642: A Million Times for You (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After leaving the martial arts academy, Long Tianze suggested, ¡°Ms. An,e to my ce for lunch.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t make it today. I have something to attend toter. Let¡¯s postpone it to another day,¡± she declined politely. ¡°Sure, another day then. We¡¯ll get going now,¡± said Long Tianze, interlocking fingers with Mei Yangyang. ¡°I¡¯m leaving too,¡± said An Xiaoning, walking toward her car with her car keys. She then opened the door and got inside her car. Actually, she had been wanting to make a trip to M Nation to visit her mother. However, it seemed that there was no chance to do so tonight. With Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s men shadowing her every day, boarding a flight would immediately expose her desired destination. She had no choice but tomunicate with them over the phone. Besides, she could not make time at all since she had a pile of work to do. She eagerly wanted to strengthen herself and continuously make herself more powerful. She did not say a single word to Jin Qingyan at all when she sent her son off to the boot camp. He did not try to stop her from leaving the academy either. An Xiaoning could depart smoothly. While on her way home, she received a call from Madam Xu. Madam Xu sounded rather anxious and pleaded to see An Xiaoning, despite thetter iming to be unavable. Although An Xiaoning reiterated that there was nothing she could do to help Xu Baizhi, Madam Xu still insisted on meeting her. The destination An Xiaoning was headed to happened to be near the Xu family mansion. Thus, she decided to just drop by. Less than twenty minutester, she arrived at the entrance of the Xu family mansion. Military Commander Xu and Madam Xu were already waiting for her by the door. ¡°Ms. An, thank you for making a trip down here. It wasn¡¯t appropriate to tell you this over the phone earlier, but I¡¯ll tell you straight now. The elderly fortune-tellingdy in Beijia Bay says that she¡¯d like to see you.¡± ¡°What has this got to do with altering your daughter¡¯s fate?¡± An Xiaoning asked in puzzlement. ¡°The elderlydy said that she¡¯d have to meet you before deciding whether or not to help me.¡± ¡°...¡± Thinking that the elderlydy must be more skilled than she was at fortune-telling since she could urately pinpoint Madam Xu¡¯s biological daughter¡¯s whereabouts, An Xiaoning decided that there would be no harm in meeting her. ¡°Hop inside my car.¡± ¡°Thank you, Ms. An, thank you so much. Please give me a moment,¡± Madam Xu thanked profusely in agitation. Madam Xu then hurriedly walked toward the backyard and returned soon after with Xu Baizhi and Xu Yang. The family of four got inside the car, after which An Xiaoning began driving toward Beijia Bay. ¡°How many times have you visited the elderlydy?¡± An Xiaoning asked. A frown creased Xu Baizhi¡¯s forehead the moment she heard An Xiaoning¡¯s voice. ¡°Your voice sounds so familiar. You sound so much like a woman I know,¡± she said. ¡°There are many people who share simr looks, what more voices?¡± An Xiaoning answeredposedly. Xu Baizhi took a look at her face and agreed with her. ¡°We¡¯ve visited her thrice,¡± Madam Xu answered truthfully. ¡°Why does that elderlydy want to see me? Did you guys tell her about me?¡± An Xiaoning questioned, despite already knowing the answer. ¡°Yes. I told her that we had no choice but to resort to seeking her help since you can¡¯t help us even though you¡¯re so skilled. The elderlydy then asked us about you,¡± Madam Xu exined, appearing ill at ease. ¡°Oh, I see.¡± An Xiaoning did not utter another word and focused on driving. Once they arrived at the elderlydy¡¯s home in Beijia Bay, An Xiaoning alighted from the car and stood by the entrance. With a frown on her forehead, she kept her eyes fixed on the wooden door for a long time. ¡°Ms. An, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Madam Xu asked softly. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Let¡¯s knock on the door.¡± The frown on An Xiaoning¡¯s forehead disappeared as she stepped forward. The moment she saw the eighty-year-old elderlydy, An Xiaoning¡¯s first impression of thetter was that she looked extremely tidy and energized. She was short and hunchbacked, with her silvery, shiny hairbed neatly. She was dressed in a brick-red cotton cardigan and had a benevolent smile on her face. ¡°Old Madam, this is Ms. An, the young and capable fortune-teller I mentioned to you about,¡± Madam Xu introduced. ¡°Nice to meet you, Old Madam,¡± An Xiaoning greeted, sensing that the elderlydy was scanning her from head to toe. ¡°Hello, pleasee in.¡± The five of them entered the house. The elderlydy sat on a high chair while the rest of them sat down in their respective seats, except An Xiaoning, who stood in front of the elderlydy with her back as straight as a ruler. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you taking a seat?¡± the elderlydy asked. ¡°I¡¯m here as a guest. How can I sit down before being told to do so by the host?¡± The elderlydy squinted and remarked, ¡°What a polite youngdy. It¡¯s not a bad thing that you¡¯re standing either. You¡¯ll be nearer to me when we talk. Who was your teacher?¡± ¡°Nun Jingxin.¡± Shock was written all over the elderlydy¡¯s face. ¡°Turns out you¡¯re her disciple. Do you know who I am?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°I¡¯m your teacher¡¯s senior. Your teacher and I didn¡¯t get along when we were younger, and we stopped contacting each other afterward. I haven¡¯t heard any news about her ever since. I heard that she has already passed on,¡± said the elderlydy. Although An Xiaoning was mindful of her manners, she still defended her teacher nheless, ¡°Old Madam, since you said that you haven¡¯t heard any news about her since you lost contact with her, how did you know that she had passed away? My teacher raised me since I was young, but I¡¯ve never heard her mention you before.¡± The elderlydy was not peeved by her words and instead chuckled. ¡°You¡¯ve got a temper like your teacher¡¯s. Do you know why I asked to meet you?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°My curiosity was piqued when I heard that you were young and skilled in fortune-telling. I¡¯d like to look for a sessor.¡± Upon hearing her words, the members of the Xu family looked at each other in astonishment before turning to look at An Xiaoning and the elderlydy. ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll be disappointed, Old Madam. After all, I¡¯m the disciple of your rival.¡± ¡°No. I¡¯m not disappointed at all. I actually feel rather heartened. Although she and I used to be at loggerheads, she¡¯s no longer around in this world and I¡¯m d that she has a disciple. That means you¡¯re from the same n as us.¡± Just as the Xu family were getting their hopes up at the possibility of having Xu Baizhi¡¯s fate altered, An Xiaoning rejected the elderlydy¡¯s offer, ¡°But I don¡¯t wish to acknowledge you as my teacher.¡± Everyone was taken aback by An Xiaoning¡¯s refusal, including the elderlydy. ¡°You¡¯re not willing to? If you be my disciple, I¡¯ll impart greater skills and knowledge to you,¡± the elderlydy said, smiling. ¡°I probably would¡¯ve agreed if I didn¡¯t know that you were my teacher¡¯s senior and rival. But now that I do, I can¡¯t act on my wishes. My teacher is going to be upset when she finds out in theherworld.¡± ¡°You may ask your teacher and ask her to give you an answer in your dreams. How does that sound? I reckon your teacher will definitely agree to this,¡± the elderlydy answered patiently. ¡°How are you so sure, Old Madam?¡± ¡°The skills and knowledge imparted to you will forever be yours, and you may use them to your advantage. Why would she object to such a good thing? I¡¯ve never had a disciple in my life, and I¡¯m already advanced in my years. It¡¯s time I acknowledged a disciple, and I think you¡¯re the best option. Go ahead and consider it carefully,¡± said the elderlydy. After some thought, An Xiaoning said, ¡°I¡¯ll take your words into consideration, Old Madam. If Teacher agrees and gives me the green light when she visits me in my dream, I¡¯ll thene to a decision. Chapter 643 - A Million Times for You (5)

Chapter 643: A Million Times for You (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°She¡¯ll definitely visit you in your dreams,¡± the elderlydy said confidently. Madam Xu rose from her seat and stood beside An Xiaoning. ¡°Old Madam, since you¡¯re looking for a disciple, will you take our Bai Zhi under your wing too? She was born on the exact same day, month, and year as Ms. An,¡± Madam Xu asked. The elderlydy responded with a courteous chuckle that sent chills down Madam Xu¡¯s back. ¡°Madam Xu, I¡¯m already eighty years old and I¡¯ve never taken in any disciple. How could I possibly take an inexperienced disciple, who isn¡¯t naturally gifted, under my wing? Most fortune-tellers who tell fortunes for a living are possessed either by the fox or the horse¡¯s spirit. Those beings give them the ability to earn money, at the expense of their own health. People who are naturally gifted with fortune-telling abilities are one in a million,¡± the elderlydy answered, ncing at Xu Baizhi. ¡°I was getting my hopes up too high, I got too engrossed in wanting to alter my daughter¡¯s fate. Old Madam, you said that you would help me if I brought Ms. An to see you...¡± Madam Xu asked. Madam Xu then paused in her speech on purpose and waited for the elderlydy to respond. To her surprise, the elderlydy did not answer and instead stared at Xu Baizhi, sinking deep into thought. After pondering quietly for two minutes, the elderlydy said, ¡°Your daughter¡¯s fate has been heavily altered. If you¡¯d like to restore it to its original state, not only does it depend on the skills of the medium, but her determination is key as well.¡± Realizing that there was some hope, Madam Xu immediately said, ¡°She¡¯s very determined for sure. We shall follow your arrangements, Old Madam.¡± ¡°Your answer doesn¡¯t count.¡± The elderlydy stared at Xu Baizhi and said, ¡°Answer me, do you really want your fate to be altered?¡± Xu Baizhi nodded and answered, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Are you determined to?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t see the determination or willingness in your eyes.¡± The elderlydy got off from the high chair and walked toward Xu Baizhi. Pacing one round around Xu Baizhi, the elderlydy continued straightforwardly, ¡°To be honest, if you continue on the path you¡¯re now on, you¡¯ll end up in dire straits. I¡¯m not trying to scare you. You should know clearly what I¡¯m talking about. The decision lies with you. It all depends on whether you¡¯re genuinely willing to have your fate altered or not. My words don¡¯t count, yours do.¡± Staring at the elderlydy, Xu Baizhi answered, ¡°I¡¯m willing to rewrite my fate. Please help me, Old Madam.¡± ¡°I¡¯m willing to help you this time, but to make things clear beforehand, you have to persevere and truly change from within after I help you with it. However, if you give up soon after and ruin all the progress, don¡¯t show up in front of me ever again.¡± Upon hearing her words, Madam Xu immediately eximed, ¡°Thank you so much, Old Madam!¡± She then tugged onto Xu Baizhi¡¯s clothes, after which Xu Baizhi frantically chimed in, ¡°Thank you, Old Madam.¡± ¡°You, stay behind. Your family members may leave.¡± ¡°Old Madam, may I stay behind to apany her?¡± Madam Xu asked. ¡°You don¡¯t have to stay behind, she alone will do. You maye by to visit her once a week,¡± the elderlydy said sternly. She then put on a benevolent smile and said to An Xiaoning, ¡°Visit your teacher¡¯s grave today and ask for her permission, thene to me as soon as possible.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll get going now,¡± An Xiaoning said apathetically. ¡°Alright.¡± Xu Baizhi stayed behind while the rest of them got inside An Xiaoning¡¯s car. ¡°Thank you very much, Ms. An. But I still don¡¯t quite understand what the elderlydy meant by the things she said before we were about to leave.¡± ¡°That¡¯s simple. What she meant was she¡¯ll help your daughter restore her original fate, but that doesn¡¯t mean that your daughter will be pulled out of her current predicament. The elderlydy seems to be saying that your daughter is currently on the path toward evil, and whether or not she¡¯ll continue on it will have to depend on herself and her willpower. If she could resist her sinister temptations and choose to go on the right path, all will be well. However, if her determination is only temporary and she shies away toward a ruined path again, even the gods can¡¯t save her,¡± An Xiaoning exined. Madam Xu acknowledged with a nod, ¡°I understand now.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t look for me to seek my help for anything rted to the Xu family again. I have plenty of things to do on my own. I don¡¯t have the time or energy to continue helping your family,¡± An Xiaoning said bluntly. ¡°Alright. You¡¯ve been of such great help, Ms. An. Why don¡¯t youe over to our ce for lunch today?¡± said Madam Xu, feeling a little embarrassed. ¡°No, thank you. I still have something to attend toter,¡± An Xiaoning answeredposedly. Madam Xu dared not utter another word upon hearing her answer. An Xiaoning dropped them off at the entrance of the Xu family mansion. They alighted and watched as An Xiaoning¡¯s car quickly disappeared near a turn. An Xiaoning bought arge bag of items for offerings and carried it with her onto the mountains. It had been a long time since herst visit. The tombstone was kept spick and span, thanks to the graveyard-keeper who was in charge of the maintenance of the graves. She squatted down onto the ground and ced the bag of items at the side before reaching a hand in to take the items out. ¡°Teacher, I¡¯m here to see you. How are you and old Mr. Gu doing?¡± An Xiaoning flicked the lighter and ignited a bright, yellow re, which she then used to set the pile of gold paper ingots on fire. The ingots soon went up in mes. An Xiaoning then took out a wad of paper money and cast it into the mes. ¡°Today, I was called by the Xu family to visit an elderly fortune-teller in Beijia Bay. I didn¡¯t expect her to turn out to be your senior. She said that she wanted to take me in as her disciple, but I turned down her offer. She told me to ask for your opinion. Teacher, please visit me in my dreams to inform me of your answer, regardless of whether you agree or disagree to it. I miss you. I¡¯ve been really busytely and haven¡¯t had the chance toe visit you. Please don¡¯t hold it against me, Teacher. ¡°I¡¯ve also found my biological mother and rescued her... ¡°I¡¯m doing very well now, don¡¯t worry about me, Teacher... ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning briefly informed her teacher of the good news and things that had happened to her recently, making sure not to mention a word about the unfortunate incidents she had met with. She decided to leave the mountains half an hourter. Once she headed back inside her car, An Xiaoning recalled every decision she¡¯d made ever since she was young and could not help but feel like everything seemed to be destined. In fact, her fate and destiny had indeed already been arranged by Heaven beforehand. How her life turns out would still ultimately depend on her. If she lives life by following her heart, nothing should go wrong. ¡ª¡ª It was Saturday, the day Shi Shaochuan was supposed to look after Jin Bao¡¯er. Thus, he showed up at Wei Ni Estate with a document in hand. Staring at the document he handed her, Jin Qingyue asked coldly, ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°What else could it be? The letter of notice of a court trial sent by the courts. I¡¯m delivering it to you personally,¡± Shi Shaochuan answered, appearing cool and collected. Jin Qingyue took the document from him and flipped through a few pages. With a sullen expression on her face, she hissed, ¡°Shi Shaochuan, I¡¯m not going to let you have the child.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not up to you to decide. I¡¯ll definitely get hold of the rights to her custody again,¡± he said arrogantly. ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll sit back and do nothing while you manipte Bao¡¯er into lying for the video that you uploaded online in order to tarnish my reputation? Shi Shaochuan, if you want to go against me, I¡¯m all up for it. I still have the videos of you fooling around with women at nightclubs. Shall I spread them online too?¡± Jin Qingyue retorted with a humph. Chapter 644 - A Million Times for You (6)

Chapter 644: A Million Times for You (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Suit yourself. I¡¯m single now, it¡¯s only understandable for me to do that,¡± he scoffed nonchntly. Clenching her jaw and gritting her teeth in anger, Jin Qingyue said, ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Jin Qingyue, so what if you¡¯ve found yourself a backup tire now? Even then, you can¡¯t erase the fact that you were once my wife. Bao¡¯er can tell clearly who between us treats her well. She won¡¯t be happy under your care. So, just give me the custody rights while you continue being in love with your childhood sweetheart.¡± ¡°Who are you to say that Bao¡¯er won¡¯t be happy under my care? Do you think she¡¯ll be happy with you?¡± Shi Shaochuan waved his hand and said, ¡°I don¡¯t wish to argue with you at your doorstep. Let¡¯s settle it in court and allow the judge to make the final decision.¡± He appeared extremely confident, as if he would definitely get the rights to his daughter¡¯s custody. ¡°Daddy, where are you taking me to have fun today?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll go anywhere you¡¯d like, Baby.¡± ¡°I want to go snow skiing. Daddy, I don¡¯t want to do my homework.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not do homework if you don¡¯t want to, then. I¡¯ll take you out to y.¡± ¡°...¡± Shi Shaochuan held Jin Bao¡¯er¡¯s hand and walked toward the elevator. Jin Qingyue was overwhelmed with a mix of emotions as she watched the elevator doors close. She took a look at the court notice again before heading back inside her house. She plonked herself down onto the chair, feeling flustered and anxious. She did not wish to give up her daughter¡¯s custody, and yet, she felt extremely helpless. Shi Shaochuan had be Jin Bao¡¯er¡¯s favorite person, despite having done nothing to raise her since she was born. Ironically, she now saw Jin Qingyue as the evil mother who abuses her, although thetter was the one who raised her single-handedly. Fortunately, Jin Qingyue was not alone in this battle. She hurriedly changed into a fresh set of clothes, put on some makeup, and ced the document inside her bag before proceeding to look for Ling Ciye. Just as she arrived at his entrance, one of his subordinates came forth to open the door for her. ¡°Hello, Boss¡¯ wife!¡± the subordinate greeted. Jin Qingyue was pleased to hear how she was being addressed. She nodded while smiling and asked, ¡°Is Brother Ciye in?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She nodded and entered with her bag on her shoulder. Upon reaching the door, Jin Qingyue gently pushed it open and peeked in through the small gap to see Ling Ciye sitting by his office desk, his back as straight as a ruler. The rays of the sun were casting into his office. Just how did she manage to gain his devotion and sincere love, despite being divorced? She must have been blessed to be able to meet him. Jin Qingyue then pushed the door wide open to enter. Ling Ciye smiled at the sight of her. ¡°Are you missing me already?¡± ¡°Yes, I missed you.¡± Jin Qingyue closed the door and walked toward him. She then sat down onto hisp and put her arms around his neck. Ling Ciye ced his pen down onto the table and gave her a kiss on her lips before saying, ¡°You seem a little troubled. Is there something you need my help with?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got bionic eyes, don¡¯t you? I can¡¯t seem to hide anything from you,¡± Jin Qingyue said with a chuckle. ¡°Who told you to write your emotions on your face? I could tell that you were upset with just one nce.¡± ¡°Yes. Shi Shaochuan gave me this when he came to pick Bao¡¯er up,¡± said Jin Qingyue. She got down from hisp and handed him the court notice that she took out from her bag. ¡°He¡¯s filed for a request for full custody of Bao¡¯er. The court trial will take ce in a few days¡¯ time.¡± After taking a look at the letter, Ling Ciye asked, ¡°You don¡¯t want him to get hold of the custody, do you?¡± He sounded firm and certain. ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because I spoiled Bao¡¯er rotten since she was young or she has inherited her father¡¯s heartless nature. She detests the thought of being in my custody, but I still don¡¯t want to give her up to him. I know very well what kind of a scoundrel Shi Shaochuan is. What¡¯s going to happen to Bao¡¯er when he gets married again in the future? At least you wouldn¡¯t maltreat her if she remains in my custody,¡± said Jin Qingyue, voicing her thoughts. Ling Ciye stared at her in an unruffled manner and questioned, ¡°How are you so sure that I¡¯ll be good to her?¡± ¡°I just know you will. Brother Ciye, I¡¯ve never asked you this before, but does Bao¡¯er¡¯s existence make you feel ufortable? If it does, I¡¯m willing to give up the rights to her custody.¡± Ling Ciye was truly appalled to hear her words for he had never expected her to say something like that. ¡°If I really don¡¯t want you to fight for her custody, will you really give it up?¡± ¡°Yes, I will, because I don¡¯t want you to be unhappy.¡± ¡°But I don¡¯t want you to be unhappy either.¡± He stood up and stared at her earnestly. ¡°No man would want to be someone else¡¯s stepfather willingly. They usually only concede for the sake of the woman they love. Since Shi Shaochuan wants to take the matter to court to fight for the custody rights, we¡¯ll go ahead and take him on.¡± Tears welled up in Jin Qingyue¡¯s eyes as she said, ¡°Brother Ciye, why are you so nice to me? I¡¯m not perfect, and I have an extremely wed and embarrassing past.¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re nice to me, and you treat me with sincerity too. Let bygones be bygones and let¡¯s leave the past behind. The present and the future are of utmost importance. We still have a long way ahead of us. Slow and steady wins the race,¡± said Ling Ciye, hugging her tightly. Greatly moved to tears, she nodded fervently and agreed, ¡°Okay.¡± ¡ª¡ª As evening approached, the warm, yellowmp lit up in the elderlydy¡¯s backyard in Beijia Bay. Xu Baizhi and the elderlydy were having dinner together while sitting by the dining table. There were more dishes than rice. The food prepared by the elderlydy was nd and tasteless. Xu Baizhi lost her appetite and stopped eating after a few mouthfuls. She put down her chopsticks and remained silent while sitting opposite the elderlydy, who was eating unhurriedly. Noticing that she had stopped eating, the elderlydy asked, ¡°You¡¯re not used to the food, are you?¡± ¡°A little.¡± ¡°But it can¡¯t be helped. You¡¯ll be staying here for more than just a few days. If you think the food I prepare is unappetizing, you shall cook our meals from tomorrow onwards.¡± Bai Zhi agreed with a nod, ¡°Sure.¡± The elderlydy¡¯s eyes lit up in surprise. ¡°Do you know where the difference between you and Ms. An lies?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Xu Baizhi answered respectfully, well aware of how highly skilled the elderlydy was. ¡°You¡¯re both very popr with men, and your other halves arepletely devoted to you. You don¡¯t enjoy stirring unnecessary trouble, and you both are blessed with fortune. But you¡¯re not different from her simply because your fate has been altered. You have to understand why the lives of everyone go on different paths. At the end of the day, it all boils down to your individual personality and willpower. Altering your fate will only change the rough path and direction that your life will follow. If you obstinately hold on to your core personality and mindset, it¡¯d be difficult to alter your fate. The world would be in chaos if everyone¡¯s destiny could be changed so easily. I¡¯ll help you this once, but if you insist on going back to your former ways and continue being ignorant about how you should protect yourself, even Heaven can¡¯t help you.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± However, the elderlydy shook her head and said, ¡°No, you don¡¯t. If you understood, you wouldn¡¯t still be thinking that you ended up in this plight because of someone else¡¯s doing. Instead, you¡¯d be reflecting on yourself and trying to find out where your mistakes lie.¡± Xu Baizhi was astonished and perturbed to find that the elderlydy could read her mind clearly. She could not help but feel a little guilty. ¡°Your husband genuinely loves you. If you¡¯re true to him, do pull him out of this predicament too. Don¡¯t treat him half-heartedly. The circumstances are different now. You definitely have the ability to help him.¡± ¡°Got it,¡± Xu Baizhi answered with a straight face. The elderlydy put her chopsticks down and said, ¡°Go and do the dishes, thene inside my room once you¡¯re done.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Chapter 645 - A Million Times for You (7)

Chapter 645: A Million Times for You (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xu Baizhi proceeded to wash the dishes. Instead of entering the elderlydy¡¯s room immediately, she walked toward the backyard to answer a call on her mobile phone. She leaned against the wall and ced the phone beside her ear. ¡°Have youpleted the task I told you to?¡± the man asked coldly over the phone. ¡°Not yet,¡± Xu Baizhi answered softly. ¡°Why are you so useless? Don¡¯t forget who you are. You¡¯ve already failed your duty by leaving the Autumn Pce without permission. The organization has decided to spare you on ount of you being Military Commander Xu¡¯s daughter, yet you can¡¯t even aplish the task we¡¯ve handed you. Bai Zhi, don¡¯t think you can ignore the organization¡¯s instructions just because you¡¯ve got a strong and authoritative backer now. Would you like us to hand the evidence of you setting Tuoba Danxue¡¯s mansion on fire to the Autumn Pce? Or would you prefer that we leak the videos of youmitting murder to the public? Or do you want us to expose your identity as one of the members of our organization? I¡¯ll leave you to imagine what the consequences will be once all this information is leaked. You¡¯ll probably be the most wanted criminal in S Nation, won¡¯t you? By then, you¡¯ll never lead a peaceful life...¡± the man hollered. ¡°Enough! Am I even living a peaceful life right now?¡± Xu Baizhi bellowed. ¡°I don¡¯t wish to argue with you about this. If you don¡¯t aplish the task within the next six months, prepare to face the consequences!¡± The man ended the call as soon as he finished speaking. Xu Baizhi¡¯s heart sank the moment the line was cut off. She entered the house again with the mobile phone in hand and headed inside the elderlydy¡¯s room after closing the door. The room was dimly lit but bright enough for one to see clearly. There was a high chair next to the elderlydy¡¯s bed. The elderlydy was organizing her things when Xu Baizhi entered, after which she instructed, ¡°Remove your shoes and lie down in the bed.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Xu Baizhi did as instructed. The elderlydy took out a long and sharp needle and poked it into Xu Baizhi¡¯s middle finger. Xu Baizhi felt a sudden, sharp pain in her finger but did not dare to utter a single word and instead watched as the drops of blood trickled down from the wound. The elderlydy squeezed Xu Baizhi¡¯s blood onto an amulet, on which thetter¡¯s birth characters were written. She squeezed a total of three drops of blood onto the amulet. She then pressed a cotton ball onto Xu Baizhi¡¯s finger and said, ¡°Press on it yourself.¡± Xu Baizhi hurriedly pressed the cotton swab onto her middle finger with another hand to stop the bleeding. ¡°I think the person who altered your fate is trying to control you using this method. Your fate has been altered for only a few years.¡± ¡°Old Madam, please help me change it back. Please.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no use begging me, I¡¯m not a hundred percent certain that I can help you either. I already said that it partially depends on your determination and willpower too. Close your eyes and stop dwelling on it,¡± the elderlydy answered frankly. Xu Baizhi closed her eyes abidingly while the elderlydy proceeded to paste the amulet on her forehead. Xu Baizhi could hear the sounds of the elderlydy doing something else. As much as she was curious, she dared not open her eyes and instead continued toy quietly in bed. Xu Baizhi felt her eyelids growing heavy, and she was feeling a strong urge to fall asleep when she heard the elderlydy murmuring incoherently. However, she knew that she could not fall asleep on the elderlydy¡¯s bed. Thus, she clutched onto the bedsheets tightly and waited for the elderlydy to allow her to open her eyes. She finally heard themand after about an hourter. ¡°You may open your eyes now.¡± Xu Baizhi opened her eyes slowly, for the sudden light source caused her eyes to feel ufortable, though it was not ring. The elderlydy removed the amulet. She supported herself down from the bed and put on her shoes. ¡°Do you feel any difort?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Alright, go back to sleep in the Eastern room.¡± Xu Baizhi nodded and left the room. She thought that the ritual had already ended. In reality, the elderlydy proceeded to enter an altar room after Xu Baizhi left. She stayed in the room for two hours before leaving. The initially energized elderlydy seemed to have lost some of her vitality when she exited the altar room. Inexperienced and lowly-skilled fortune-tellers would undoubtedly risk losing their life by helping Xu Baizhi alter her fate, just like An Xiaoning mentioned. In fact, even veteran fortune-tellers like the elderlydy would be affected by the ritual. Besides, the elderlydy was already getting on in her years and did not have much longevity left. ¡ª¡ª The heater was switched on in the room while it snowed heavily outside. It was an extremely freezing winter. d in a bathroom, An Xiaoning stood by the window in the pitch-dark room and stared out at the beautiful snowkes, which appeared mesmerizing beneath the streetmp. The roads would definitely be covered in white the next morning. It was already ten o¡¯clock at night. Yet, she was not in the least bit sleepy at all. She continued to stand there quietly to admire the snowfall. Knock, knock! ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± ¡°It¡¯s me. Are you asleep yet?¡± Lin Mingxi asked. ¡°No.¡± An Xiaoning switched on the lights and opened the door. Lin Mingxi entered and locked the door. Noticing that she was mad with fury, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Who made you upset this time? You seem to be really angry.¡± ¡°Who else could it be? Your good brother did. Can I sleep in the same bed as you tonight?¡± Lin Mingxi asked. ¡°You want to sleep with me? Seems like someone is going to sleep alone tonight, then,¡± An Xiaoning remarked, clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth. ¡°Yes. Someone else wants to sleep with you, but he¡¯ll never get the chance to for the rest of his life,¡± said Lin Mingxi, crawling onto An Xiaoning¡¯s bed to lie down. ¡°Who does ¡®someone else¡¯ refer to? Why do I smell jealousying from a green-eyed monster beside me?¡± An Xiaoning remarked, lying down next to her. ¡°Are you angry at me?¡± Lin Mingxi asked with a humph. ¡°Why would I be?¡± ¡°Because I said that in front of you on purpose.¡± An Xiaoning chuckled and said, ¡°You seem to be rather intelligent, but why do you also seem so foolish sometimes? If I really wanted to get into a rtionship with him, you wouldn¡¯t be here today.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true... I was just kidding,¡± Lin Mingxi agreed. ¡°Why did you two have a tiff?¡± ¡°Because of the heater. The weather is so cold nowadays, but he wouldn¡¯t allow me to switch on the heater. He then switched it off when I tried to turn it on. I asked him if he would allow the heater to be switched on if you were in the room with him instead, but he ignored my question,¡± Lin Mingxiined in disgruntlement. ¡°You two are really something to be able to argue about something so silly,¡± An Xiaoning remarked, dumbfounded. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s why I came to find you. The heater is indeed switched on in your room, just like I expected.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid of the cold. My body is frail to begin with, I always wrap myself up in thick clothing during winter,¡± An Xiaoning said candidly. ¡°Great, I¡¯m afraid of the cold too. I have a love-hate rtionship with you now. What do you think I should do?¡± Lin Mingxi asked, hugging her waist. An Xiaoning rolled her eyes and said, ¡°Don¡¯t keep getting me involved in your petty quarrels. You¡¯re already married to him, what else do you want?¡± ¡°I know...¡± ¡°You know and yet you still keep getting wild ideas. Forget it, let him sleep alone while we cuddle each other to sleep. You shall live a blissful life with me from now onwards,¡± An Xiaoning jested teasingly. ¡°Xiaoning... do you mean it? I¡¯ll really take your words seriously,¡± said Lin Mingxi, staring at her intently. ¡°...¡± They held each other¡¯s gaze and burst intoughter. An Xiaoning flicked her forehead and said, ¡°It¡¯s gettingte, let¡¯s go to bed, my beloved Consort.¡± Lin Mingxi was snapped out of her grumpy mood and yed along, ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± Chapter 646 - A Million Times for You (8)

Chapter 646: A Million Times for You (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning did not sleep peacefully that night. Nun Jingxin really did appear in her dreams, making An Xiaoning feel overjoyed even during her sleep. During the dream, Nun Jingxin was still the same as when she was alive, and so was her tone. Just like the elderlydy mentioned, Nun Jingxin gave her a nod of approval regarding the matter of An Xiaoning bing her protege. She thought that it would be a good idea for An Xiaoning to further her skills and abilities. It was already daybreak by the time An Xiaoning woke up. She took a look at her watch to discover that it was already past six o¡¯clock in the morning. Days were shorter and nights were longer during the winter. She decided to get out of bed since she was no longer sleepy. After washing up, she sat by the dressing table to put on some makeup. Lin Mingxi, too, woke up soon after. Lin Mingxi moved her body upwards and leaned against the headboard. Staring at An Xiaoning, the sleepy-eyed Lin Mingxi asked, ¡°Why are you up so early?¡± ¡°It¡¯s already past six o¡¯clock. Keep sleeping for a while longer if you¡¯re still tired,¡± An Xiaoning answered, looking at her reflection in the mirror while drawing her eyebrows. ¡°I¡¯m not going to sleep anymore. It was snowing so heavilyst night, there must be plenty of snow outside, enough to build a snowman,¡± said Lin Mingxi as she lifted the duvet and got out of bed. ¡°Go downstairs and build one then. I¡¯ll go down once I¡¯m done with my makeup.¡± ¡°Wait for me, I¡¯ll go back to my room to change and freshen up.¡± Lin Mingxi then skipped out of the room merrily. An Xiaoning finished doing her makeup soon. By the time she was standing on the snow with some tools for building a snowman, Lin Mingxi was still yet toe downstairs. Thus, An Xiaoning began piling the snow on her own with the shovel. A few minutester, Lin Mingxi came forth together with Gu Beicheng. ¡°Xiaoning, let¡¯spete and see who can build the best snowman in the shortest possible time,¡± Lin Mingxi suggested. ¡°But whoeverpletes it in the quickest time will still lose if his or her snowman is the uglier one. I think we shouldpete for the best-looking snowman. How will the winner be rewarded?¡± An Xiaoning asked while squatting on the ground. ¡°He or she shall be rewarded with a kiss.¡± An Xiaoning stood up and looked at Gu Beicheng while smiling. ¡°Did you see that? Your wife keeps wanting to take liberties with me after sleeping with mest night. Aren¡¯t you going to take her in hand?¡± she jested. ¡°If she falls for a man, I¡¯ll definitely beat her into a pulp. But if her lover is a woman, how am I supposed to intervene? I think I¡¯ll cry for a long time instead,¡± Gu Beicheng answered. Staring at the couple, An Xiaoning said, ¡°If my snowman turns out to be the best-looking one, you two shall treat me to some hotpot tonight. I¡¯m sure Beicheng knows which restaurant to go to for the best hotpot in town since he¡¯s a glutton. If I lose, I¡¯ll treat you guys instead. You¡¯ll pick the ce.¡± That was not a reward at all... Gu Beicheng smiled and said, ¡°You make it sound as if I don¡¯t already treat you to meals regrly...¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t we just ying a game? The process is the most important. What matters is we have fun,¡± said An Xiaoning, blinking her eyes. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s begin.¡± An Xiaoning took a long time to build her snowman. However, she did not build a typical snowman and instead sculpted the balls of snow into the figure of a youngdy. She used the vegetables that she had brought to decorate her snow sculpture, giving it a nose, mouth, a pair of eyes, and eyebrows. It looked incredibly realistic. On the other hand, Lin Mingxi built an unsightly snow sculpture that looked nothing like a snowman at all. As expected, she lost. However, the three of them thoroughly enjoyed themselves and even took several pictures together while standing in front of their masterpieces. They then proceeded to have breakfast after having had their fun. Recalling the petty argument Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi hadst night, An Xiaoning mocked, ¡°You two are really something. You actually slept in separate rooms all because of an argument over the heater.¡± ¡°In hindsight, it was indeed a little petty and childish... it was merely a trivial matter,¡± said Lin Mingxi, turning to look at her husband. ¡°This is life, I guess.¡± An Xiaoning tied her hair up into a bun, revealing her bright and clean forehead. She was dressed in a long, feathered jacket with a scarf wrapped around her neck and a pair of ck boots on her feet. She looked extremely eye-catching. ¡°Do you have any idea who you¡¯d like to cast as the male and female lead for the uing television drama?¡± An Xiaoning asked Lin Mingxi. ¡°Beicheng thinks you should take on the role as the female lead,¡± Lin Mingxi answered while scooping some porridge into her bowl. ¡°Me?¡± An Xiaoning questioned, pointing at herself. ¡°I¡¯ve never thought of casting myself in the role.¡± ¡°Why not? I think the female lead¡¯s character is very simr to yours. I¡¯ve read the script, it¡¯s marvelous. If you n to film a seamless drama, then you have to pay attention to every detail, especially the casting of the actors. There shouldn¡¯t be any w or blunder in that,¡± Gu Beicheng said while eating slowly. ¡°Of course the drama has to be an excellent piece of work. Otherwise, Mingxi and I wouldn¡¯t have invested in it. Since we¡¯ve decided to join the filming production, we ought to make it the best. I¡¯m not interested in starring as the female lead, but I¡¯ll pick an actress who¡¯s closely simr to the main female character.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not as good as you when ites to judging people. You shall decide who to cast for the main roles and I¡¯ll just take a brief look at the candidates you¡¯ve chosen.¡± An Xiaoning agreed with a nod, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll make a trip down to the theater arts academy when I¡¯m free.¡± ¡°I think you should hire a famous and capable male actor for the main role,¡± Gu Beicheng suggested. ¡°I think so too. The male lead has to be suave and charming enough. I¡¯ve decided to cast a newbie for the female lead,¡± An Xiaoning agreed. After breakfast, An Xiaoning drove toward Beijia Bay. This was her second visit to the elderlydy¡¯s home. The elderlydy was not surprised at all to hear that she was agreeing to be her disciple. ¡°Follow me inside.¡± The elderlydy led the way while An Xiaoning followed closely behind her. They entered the ritual room. Beside the praying matsid a small wooden table, on which there were necessities for the acknowledgment ceremony, which were prepared beforehand. ¡°Seems like you¡¯ve already gotten everything ready beforehand.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because your mentor also visited me in my dreamsst night. How rare of her to bury the hatchet and allow me to take you as my disciple. Well, you belong to the same n as us anyway. Some skills just can¡¯t be leaked to outsiders. Being able to keep it within the n is something worth celebrating as well.¡± ¡°Oh, I see,¡± said An Xiaoning, staring at her in astonishment. ¡°We¡¯ll just hold a simple acknowledgment ceremony.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± An Xiaoning was familiar with the procedure since she had gone through a simr ceremony when Nun Jingxin first took her under her wing. An Xiaoning knelt down onto the praying mat and kowtowed thrice to the Buddha statue before saying earnestly, ¡°I, An Xiaoning, shall formally be the apprentice of my new master, Nun Jingyu. To my dear ancestors and deities, please be the witness of this ceremony where I sincerely take Nun Jingyu to be my master. A teacher for a day, a mother forever. Nun Jingyu will forever be my mother.¡± An Xiaoning then picked up the incense stick from the wooden table and walked toward the high altar, after which she lit up the incense stick and ced it inside the joss urn. She then bowed thrice. The elderlydy helped her up and said, ¡°From now onward, I¡¯ll be your mentor. The very fact that you can¡¯t read your own fortune is Heaven¡¯s way of telling you that you¡¯re not invincible ¡ª you may be able to read others¡¯ fortunes and even help them alter their fate, but you can¡¯t make any changes to your own. But I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware thatmitting more kind deeds will definitely help improve your luck. Since you¡¯ve acknowledged me as your mentor, I shall hereby emphasize that moral ethicse first in fortune-telling. You¡¯re not tomit any hical deeds, but, of course, exceptions can be made when ites to defending yourself against those who do evil to you.¡± An Xiaoning straightened her back and said, ¡°I have a lot of things I¡¯m going to be busy with. I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t stay by your side all the time, Teacher.¡± Chapter 647 - A Million Times for You (9)

Chapter 647: A Million Times for You (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, you just have to stay here for two hours every day.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± An Xiaoning agreed. She could manage to free up two hours of her time each day. ¡°By the way, I don¡¯t know if your teacher has mentioned this to you before or not, but you should refrain from reading your family and friends¡¯ fortunes as far as possible,¡± said the elderlydy. ¡°Yes, Master has told me before to avoid doing so whenever I can.¡± ¡°She probably means you should only do it once in a while. I suggest you turn down your family and friends¡¯ fortune-telling requests whenever possible. If you keep helping them read their fortunes and give them the idea of changing their unfortunate fates, you¡¯ll face the consequences of leaking Heaven¡¯s secret and going against Heaven¡¯s will.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°I understand, Teacher.¡± After staying for two hours, An Xiaoning drove away from her second teacher¡¯s home. She knew that the elderlydy was extremely experienced. However, thetter¡¯s true abilitiespletely exceeded An Xiaoning¡¯s expectations. No wonder Master wanted me to be Teacher¡¯s disciple. Seems like the decision was correct , An Xiaoning thought to herself. ¡°Boss, someone is calling you again!¡± An Xiaoning pulled over by the roadside and answered the call, ¡°Director Jing, what¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Ms. An, the screenwriter has already begun working on the drama, and I¡¯ve already discussed it with the co-director. It¡¯s wintertime now, it just so happens to match the weather in the storyline. I n to begin filming in December. We still have about twenty-odd days to make preparations. Once everything is ready, we¡¯ll let the drama air while filming at the same time. What are your thoughts on this?¡± ¡°Sounds good. I¡¯ll confirm the main cast soon.¡± ¡°How about the supporting cast?¡± Jing Tian asked. ¡°I¡¯ll leave that to you, Jing Tian. I read online that several directors often resort to underhanded means and coerce actors for sexual favors during the casting of actors for films and dramas. I hope that that won¡¯t happen in our production unit. So, just go ahead and select the actors whom you think would be suitable for the supporting roles. I trust your taste and judgment. It¡¯s not our first time working together anyway. I ce utmost importance on this drama, and my goal is to produce a superior-quality drama while keeping things ethical,¡± An Xiaoning said solemnly. Upon hearing her words, Jing Tian immediately said, ¡°Ms. An, rest assured, those scandalous acts will not ur in our production unit. I¡¯ll fire whoever gets up to those lewd and sordid deeds immediately, if I find out about it. I¡¯ll alsopensate the victim. On top of that, all of the crew members would have to sign a non-disclosure agreement before joining the production team, as well as other agreements that prohibit misconduct and the urrence of those situations you¡¯ve mentioned.¡± ¡°Good to hear. Regardless of whether it¡¯s for a minor or major role, I demand that the actors must first have superb acting skills,¡± An Xiaoning reiterated. ¡°That goes without saying. It¡¯s my main concern as well.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll proceed to select the actors for the main roles. You and the co-director shall settle the rest. Thanks for the hard work.¡± ¡°Not at all.¡± After hanging up the phone, An Xiaoning drove toward a theater arts academy. It was one of the most prestigious theatrical arts institutions in the country. The academy, from which various famous actors, directors, dancers, and artists graduated from, was located in A City. Upon arriving at the entrance of the academy, An Xiaoning called a performing arts teacher whose number was given to her by Lin Mingxi in the morning. The teacher immediately came forth as soon as she heard An Xiaoning¡¯s purpose of visit. An Xiaoning parked her car near the entrance and walked forward. Less than a few minutester, a female teacher appeared at the door and greeted her, ¡°Hello, you must be Ms. An.¡± ¡°Yes, nice to meet you.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± After a friendly handshake, the teacher showed her inside the academy. While walking, the teacher asked, ¡°Ms. An, why didn¡¯t you think of casting a famous actress for the role?¡± ¡°Simrity and resemnce to the main character¡¯s personality matter more to me than fame does. I¡¯m looking for an actress who can be both quiet and tame like a virgin and as wild as a buck whenever necessary,¡± An Xiaoning answered frankly. ¡°Most high-production teams would often avoid selecting fresh faces for the main roles and would usually prefer casting famous actresses. Don¡¯t you realize that we always see the same few actresses on-screen? Many of those who possess great acting chops often go unnoticed simply because they¡¯re not given the opportunity to shine,¡± the teacher said with a look of astonishment. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m here, to save those newbies...¡± The female teacher eased up upon hearing her words. She was surprised to see that An Xiaoning was candid and affable and did not put on airs at all. ¡°There are a few outstanding students in my ss. You may have a look at themter. If they¡¯re not to your liking, I¡¯ll take you to view the students from other sses.¡± ¡°Alright, sorry for the trouble, Miss.¡± ¡°Not at all. I¡¯m taking the ss for the next period, I¡¯ll show you the photos of the students whom I think are outstanding and get them to act out a scene during sster.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning followed her to the office to take a look at the photos and profiles of the shortlisted students. An Xiaoning could remember all their faces clearly after just browsing through the files. The few female students were all pleasant-looking with immacte features, and each possessed a unique charm of their own. But their acting chops have yet to be put to the test. During ss, the female students immediately became refreshed and attentive upon hearing that An Xiaoning was here to select a female actress for the main role of an uing drama. They kept their eyes fixed on An Xiaoning intently. An Xiaoning could see all sorts of emotions in their eyes, which reflected their innermost thoughts. ¡°Just rx and take it as a normal lesson. You guys don¡¯t have to get tensed up or nervous,¡± An Xiaoning said, showing a smile. The female teacher then shot the students a nce, as if to cheer them on, and instructed them to act out the roles they¡¯d been practicing on the regr. An Xiaoning took a seat on a chair and watched attentively. After watching each of their performances, An Xiaoning realized that none of the female students had made the cut, for they all fell way below her expectations. However, An Xiaoning thought it would be awkward to voice her opinions openly and instead tactfully said that she would go on to look at the other students and did not need the teacher¡¯spany. The female teacher was too embarrassed to say anything else upon realizing that An Xiaoning was not impressed by any of her students. An Xiaoning proceeded to stroll slowly along the corridor while wearing a surgical face mask. She would stop in her tracks and peek through the window whenever she walked past a ssroom where an acting ss was going on. After making several rounds around the academy, she still did not chance upon any budding actress who caught her attention. Not only were the female students¡¯ acting skills not up to par by An Xiaoning¡¯s standards, but none of them had an image or looks that fit those of the main female character¡¯s either. It was not a fruitful trip for An Xiaoning, who¡¯d headed to the academy with high hopes. She then called Lin Mingxi to inform her that she could not manage to find a suitable actress for the female lead in the theater arts academy. Lin Mingxi then told her to settle on a male actor first since famous actors usually had tight schedules. Thus, the selected actor would be able to make it for filming by December, if they were to confirm their choice now. An Xiaoning agreed. While sitting inside her car, An Xiaoning stared at a photo of a male celebrity on her mobile phone. The male celebrity was famous and handsome, and he was a splendid actor. He was none other than Yan Ge, the thirty-three-year-old, unmarried actor who could pull off an ancient costume best. Standing at 1.83 meters, he had once been awarded the prestigious de of Most Popr Actor in the country¡¯s showbiz industry. Yan Ge was the first person that came to An Xiaoning¡¯s mind when she imagined the main male character in her head. She had watched the films and dramas Yan Ge had starred in before and found that his acting chops were superb and wless. An Xiaoning reckoned that the results would be beyond excellent if they could cast him in the drama. Thus, she requested Gu Beicheng to send her the mobile numbers of Yan Ge as well as of his manager. Gu Beicheng was quick to act, and she received the information she needed just minutester. She then proceeded to call them, only to find that they had switched off their mobile phones. An Xiaoning went on to find out the location of the artiste managementpany Yan Ge was signed to, as well as his residential address, both of which were in C City. She also tried to locate Yan Ge¡¯s current whereabouts and discovered that he was currently filming for a movie in C City, which was to be wrapped up soon. Chapter 648 - A Million Times for You (10)

Chapter 648: A Million Times for You (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Hence, she decided to fly over to C City in a bid to meet Yan Ge and his manager personally. Whether or not the deal could be clinched sessfully would have to depend on her sincerity. Once she arrived at the airport, she parked her car in the car park and immediately boarded a flight towards C City. Within two hours, the ne touched down in the airport of C City. An Xiaoning hailed a taxi and headed to the television studio. As soon as she reached her destination, she gave Yan Ge a call, which went through quickly. ¡°Hello, is this Mr. Yan?¡± ¡°You are...?¡± ¡°Hi, I¡¯m An Xiaoning, and I would like to discuss an uing drama with you personally.¡± ¡°An Xiaoning? You mean Jin Qingyan¡¯s ex-wife, An Xiaoning?¡± Yan Ge asked. An Xiaoning felt a sudden sense of awkwardness and answered, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°May I ask where you are now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m at the entrance of the hotel you¡¯re staying in.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯lle down to fetch you right away.¡± Not long after Yan Ge ended the call, a nanny van drove toward An Xiaoning. The door opened, and Yan Ge and his manager alighted. As soon as Yan Ge alighted, a swarm of fans, who had been waiting for him outside the hotel, rushed toward him and surrounded them, though they were soon stopped from advancing forward by the bodyguards. Yan Ge was much more dashing in person. An Xiaoning reached a hand out for a handshake and greeted while smiling, ¡°Nice to meet you, Mr. Yan.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you, Ms. An. Let¡¯s talk upstairs,¡± said Yan Ge, shaking her hand. ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning proceeded to enter the lobby of the hotel together with Yan Ge and his entourage. ¡°I saw on the news that you¡¯re currently in the midst of filming for a movie. Is productioning to an end soon?¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯re more or less finished with filming. I heard that a few years ago, Ms. An invested in a movie that became a hit with booming box office sales. I thought you would continue to invest in subsequent films but, surprisingly, I haven¡¯t heard any more news since,¡± said Yan Ge. An Xiaoning chuckled and said, ¡°I¡¯ve been making it onto the news because of my private life. I haven¡¯t invested in any new films or production since then, though.¡± Amused by her self-mockery, Yan Ge smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s the media for you. They tend to amplify every little detail of others¡¯ private lives that they manage to get their hands on.¡± Once they entered the elevator, An Xiaoning got straight to the point, ¡°I personally came to look you up because I¡¯d like to discuss a new project with you. We¡¯re in the midst of preparations for an uing drama, and I think you¡¯re the only suitable choice for the male lead.¡± ¡°Is the story set in ancient times or present day?¡± ¡°Ancient times. But the storyline is different from those ancient historical dramas you¡¯ve filmed in the past. I¡¯ll get my subordinates to send you the character writeup, as well as the rough plot of the drama,ter. You may take a look at it first,¡± said An Xiaoning, knowing that he had starred in various dramas in the past. ¡°Alright.¡± Once they entered Yan Ge¡¯s hotel room, the manager gave An Xiaoning his email address, after which she immediately told Jing Tian to send the documents to it. An Xiaoning also took the chance to ask about Yan Ge¡¯s schedule for the next month. An Xiaoning was relieved to hear that Yan Ge was nning to take a two-month break after the filming of the movie ended. His schedule would not sh with the filming of the drama, which was stipted to begin in December, leaving Yan Ge with a month to rest. ¡°Ms. An, you two go ahead with the discussion. We¡¯ll excuse ourselves first,¡± said the manager. ¡°Alright.¡± After the door closed, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°When ites to selecting dramas, do your manager and bosses make the decision or do you get to have the final say in which productions you¡¯d like to star in?¡± ¡°Thetter, of course. I¡¯m not an actor who can be easily manipted and controlled. So the contract I signed with my artiste managementpany is slightly different from those of other actors. I get to decide entirely which drama or film I¡¯ll be starring in,¡± he answered. An Xiaoning smiled and remarked, ¡°How assertive. You¡¯ll get to select the best drama to star in, then.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s going to y the female lead?¡± ¡°We haven¡¯t decided on an actress yet. Are there any actresses you¡¯d like to work with, in particr?¡± Shaking his head, Yan Ge answered, ¡°No.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve worked with so many actresses before. Are there any that you¡¯d like to cooperate with again?¡± ¡°There aren¡¯t any, actually,¡± he said. After receiving the email from Jing Tian, Yan Ge began perusing its contents, which included the synopsis, setting, and character map of the drama. Meanwhile, An Xiaoning remained seated quietly and waited for Yan Ge to say something. ¡°I¡¯m very interested in this drama. I believe the drama will be a hit with such a rich plot, as well as your production team. I¡¯ve watched the movie that you invested in several times, and I find it to be amazing. So, I do aspire to work with Director Jing Tian,¡± Yan Ge said candidly. Realizing that there was a glimmer of hope, An Xiaoning immediately asked, ¡°May you quote your price?¡± ¡°Five hundred thousand dors per episode for a drama. But we can discuss the price again if you¡¯d like to bargain. I mainly decide based on the quality of the drama. I don¡¯t mind getting paid less if I¡¯mfortable with the script, the cast members, and the production team,¡± he said with a smile. ¡°There¡¯s no need to bargain. You¡¯re definitely worth that price,¡± said An Xiaoning. Yan Ge grinned widely upon hearing her words. He had never worked with such a generous producer or investor before, for most of them would usually bargain with him for a lower price. ¡°I have one more request. The female lead must be yed by an actress who has adequate acting chops and ispetent enough,¡± Yan Ge added. ¡°Rest assured, I¡¯ll seek your opinion beforeing to a decision.¡± Relieved to hear her words, Yan Ge said, ¡°Alright, I agree to take on the main role of this drama. You¡¯re the only investor so far who havee forth to meet me personally, and you¡¯re so sincere about hiring me as well. I¡¯ve long heard that you were uniquely different, but now, it seems like you¡¯re a person of great tact as well. I¡¯m really d to be able to work with you, Ms. An.¡± ¡°Is this also the shortest time you took to ept an offer for filming?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± An Xiaoning chuckled and said, ¡°Seems like I didn¡¯t make a wasted trip, after all. Lunch is on me today.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Due to how famous Yan Ge was, he would practically make it onto the entertainment news all the time. The paparazzi and fans of Yan Ge had snapped photos of An Xiaoning waiting for Yan Ge at the hotel lobby, followed by the two of them spending two hours in the hotel room alone together after the manager and assistant had left, and,stly, their luncheon. Although the paparazzi knew An Xiaoning¡¯s purpose for meeting him, they neverthelessbeled the piece of news with a juicy title: ¡°Yan Ge and An Xiaoning Have a Rendezvous at a Hotel, the Two Are Suspected to Be Dating,¡± all for the sake of attracting attention and gossip. ¡°Hotel¡± was a word that was bound to spark gossip and rumors of a flirtatious rtionship. The news instantly caused a major uproar on the inte, where heaps of Yan Ge¡¯s female fans aired their grievances and disdain toward An Xiaoning. They berated her and called her a thrice-divorced and shameless wretch who¡¯s trying to implicate their idol. On the other hand, there were also several rational fans who did their analysis of the situation, iming that if there was really something between them, Yan Ge wouldn¡¯t have agreed to meet An Xiaoning and shake her hand in broad daylight, or walk into the hotel together openly with no means of hiding their faces beneath a mask. There were also some insiders who said that An Xiaoning was looking for Yan Ge in a bid to cast him in the uing drama she had invested in. The matter was soon blown out of proportion. The Gu family found the piece of news amusingly absurd, for they obviously knew what was really going on. But then again, there was always bound to be mindlessizens who run their mouths before even getting their facts right, as well as those who are clueless about the actual situation. For example, Ji Yu, Tuoba Gucheng, and Jin Qingyan. At this point, it was not that Jin Qingyan did not trust her, but rather, he thought that it was very likely for her to date a male idol since she had already begun searching for her next prospective partner. It was her freedom, anyway. Chapter 649 - A Million Times for You (11) Chapter 649: A Million Times for You (11) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios However, his rationality repeatedly told him that she must have met him for business matters. Atst, Fan Shixin told him, ¡°Young Sir, Yan Ge is confirmed to be ying the male lead in the uing television drama Ms. An has invested in.¡± ¡°Did I ask?¡± Jin Qingyan hissed nonchntly. Fan Shixin pursed his lips and quipped, ¡°Young Sir, why do you insist on denying it? You obviously wanted to know...¡± What a lunatic! he cursed in his head. ¡°Shixin... I reckon you haven¡¯t been exercising or training vigorouslytely. Your health is important. Go and run ten rounds around the estate,¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°Young Sir, I was wrong. I shouldn¡¯t have been so talkative...¡± ¡°No, you weren¡¯t. I¡¯m genuinely concerned about your health. Hurry along.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Fan Shixin conceded with a grimace. Jin Qingyan went on Weibo and browsed through Yan Ge¡¯s Weibo page. Clearly, thetter was extremely famous and influential, as evidenced by the hundreds of millions of fans he had. After refreshing the Weibo page, he saw thetest news pop up on his screen. There was a photo of An Xiaoning and Yan Ge attached to thetest post, which was titled: ¡°Ms. An personally invited me to take on the lead role in the new drama she has invested in. She was extremely sincere, and I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll have a joyous cooperation.¡± The Weibo post immediately shut down all rumors of a possible romance between the two of them. Numerous fans quickly leftments on his Weibo page. ¡°You¡¯ve scared us! Thank god you two aren¡¯t really a couple.¡± ¡°I knew it wasn¡¯t real. Our Yan Ge has better taste in women. A thrice-divorced woman doesn¡¯t deserve my idol at all.¡± ¡°This An Xiaoning is investing in a television drama again. Why is she so rich? She must¡¯ve gotten all that money from Jin Qingyan after their divorce. She must be paid a hefty sum for alimony fees. An Xiaoning is indeed a scheming wretch...¡± ¡°My beloved idol has shown that he doesn¡¯t want to be involved in a scandal with An Xiaoning by jumping out immediately to rify that there¡¯s nothing between them...¡± ¡°I really wonder what about An Xiaoning is so charming and attractive. Just what does Jin Qingyan like about her?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t get it either. Outrageous.¡± ¡°...¡± Jin Qingyan felt a strange urge to immediately break the necks of thoseizens who were spreading maliciousments online. He closed the Weibo page and leaned against the couch to rest his eyes. Ji Yu did not take the matter to heart since he saw the news of Yan Ge rifying their rtionship shortly after he had first read about the rumors. On the other hand, Tuoba Gucheng was instantly snapped out of his mood to work the moment he read about the rumors. After reading Yan Ge¡¯stest Weibo post, he finally felt relieved, as if a boulder had been lifted off his shoulders. He then proceeded to do what he was supposed to. An Xiaoning had not gone on the inte ever since she announced her divorce online; thus, she had not read any of thements about her left byizens. She finally read thements regarding the rumors about her and Yan Ge. Every singlement and remark made affected her greatly. Gossip is a fearful thing. Many keyboard warriors hide behind their screens to anonymously vent online their pent-up frustration toward their daily lives. They do so by leaving malicious and nastyments on every discussion forum and tform regarding thetest news. This just goes to show that one¡¯s words and remarks do reflect their manners and character. Some people leave suchments as a form of venting their anger and displeasure, while others were simply brainless fans of celebrities. Most of these fans were young and insensible teenagers who value their idols more than their own parents. They had never once regarded their family so highly before, and yet, they were willing to put in all their efforts for a celebrity who had no idea of their existence. Realizing that all information that included her name had been blocked on the inte, An Xiaoning decided to search the Hanyu Pinyin of her name. She let out a long sigh upon reading thements about her online. I don¡¯t even know theseizens personally. Must they detest a stranger to such a great extent? she thought to herself. How amusing. As expected, her mood was affected after reading thosements. She was no saint, after all. Thus, she decided to stop reading them altogether. Instead of leaving C City immediately, she decided to board a flight back to A City the next morning. She decided to spend the rest of the afternoon and evening exploring the television studio. She checked into a hotel room and embarked on her search for an actress who fit the characteristics of the female lead as closely as possible. Since she could not find a suitable actress in the theater arts academy, she decided to shift her attention to other actresses in the showbiz industry. She would definitely not consider popr actresses who often appear in several television dramas and films, since the viewers were probably already sick of seeing those familiar faces. She had no choice but to look for an actress who appealed to her. Yet, the more she yearned to find a suitable actress, the harder it was. She spent the entire afternoon browsing through photos and articles and videos of actresses starring in dramas. However, her efforts were futile, as usual. After having dinner, An Xiaoning put on a surgical mask and began strolling around the television studio. She passed by several film sets, one after another. She could tell with just one look that they were highly unprofessional and sloppy with the production. When she passed by a pond, she chanced upon the sight of a poorly-equipped production team, consisting of only some basic filming equipment, one lighting technician, and one director. There were also a bunch of onlookers surrounding them. There was a pathetically-small number of crew members and a mismatched backdrop. An Xiaoning stepped forward to see that a young girl was shivering uncontrobly in the pond, due to the freezing temperature. ¡°Director, can this take make the cut?¡± the girl asked fearfully. ¡°Obviously not, didn¡¯t you see how unsightly you looked when you were jumping into the pond? Fang En, how many times have I corrected you? Why are you so stupid? Come up and retake this scene!¡± the director hollered. An Xiaoning watched as the girl got up from the pond, still quivering from the cold. She was clearly a rookie actress since she did not even have an assistant; neither did anyone bother to give her a towel. She changed into a fresh set of clothing and dried her hair with a hairdryer while standing by the pond. She then took a deep breath while holding her hands tightly together. The pond must be freezing cold in the winter, especially since there¡¯d been a snowfall not long ago. An Xiaoning stared at her quietly from a distance away. She noticed the look of determination and perseverance on Fang En¡¯s face. Once the director cued for the cameras to start rolling, Fang En jumped into the pond gracefully, plunging in headfirst. An Xiaoning was thoroughly impressed by Fang En¡¯s acting chops. However, the director seemed to be making things difficult for her on purpose by being perpetually unsatisfied andshing out at her for no apparent reason. Fang En was finally spared after retaking the scene multiple times, over and over again. Due to the fact that she had to continuously plunge into the freezing waters, Fang En was so cold and mmy that she could not even manage to stand on her feet steadily. She then scurried toward the changing room on an unsteady gait. Just as An Xiaoning was about to leave, she noticed that the director had also entered the changing room. Sensing that something was amiss, An Xiaoning subconsciously walked forward and followed suit. As soon as she reached the door, she heard shrieking soundsing from inside the room. She reached out to push the door open, but to no avail. Thus, she had no choice but to knock on the door instead. The door was not opened, however. Instead, An Xiaoning heard another loud screech from inside. To An Xiaoning¡¯s surprise, the wail of anguish came from the director. Soon, the door opened and out came a terrorized Fang En, who was gripping onto the hanger tightly. An Xiaoning immediately understood what had happened when she peeked inside the room to take a look at the director. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Fang En nodded and looked inside the room fearfully. ¡°Fang En, you must be tired of living!¡± the director hollered. An Xiaoning guffawed sneeringly and hissed, ¡°Lewd directors must be the ck sheep who give directors a bad reputation. You¡¯re just a despicable and utterly shameless scoundrel with a gilded exterior!¡± Chapter 650 - A Million Times for You (12) Chapter 650: A Million Times for You (12) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°You... what are you saying? Who the heck are you!?!¡± the director bellowed, glowering at her. An Xiaoning removed her mask casually and answered, ¡°Just a passerby.¡± The director¡¯s initial fury vanished without a trace upon the sight of her face. ¡°Turns out... it¡¯s Ms. An. I was just kidding, I didn¡¯t bully her,¡± he hurriedly exined himself. ¡°I¡¯m not blind, I can tell whether or not you bullied her.¡± An Xiaoning then asked Fang En, ¡°What role do you y in the drama?¡± ¡°I¡¯m the eighth female supporting character,¡± Fang En said in surprise, well aware of who An Xiaoning was. ¡°Did you sign a contract with the production team?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Pack your belongings ande with me,¡± An Xiaoning said calmly. ¡°Alright.¡± It had never urred to Fang En that she would one day meet her greatest benefactor, An Xiaoning, in such a ce. Fang En remained silent throughout the walk back to the hotel together with An Xiaoning. Once they reached the hotel, An Xiaoning instructed Fang En to take a warm shower. An Xiaoning then scrutinized Fang En from head to toe after she came out of the shower. Although she was not exactly gorgeous, she was rather pleasant-looking and able to withstand careful appreciation. She exuded the aura of a pretty girl from a humble family. She was extremely easy on the eyes. ¡°Come sit down here,¡± said An Xiaoning, patting the spot beside her. Fang En sat down politely and said, ¡°Thank you, Ms. An.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. Is your name Fang En?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°How old are you this year?¡± ¡°Twenty-three years old.¡± ¡°Which institution did you graduate from?¡± An Xiaoning asked with raised brows. ¡°The Theater Arts Academy.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°If given the chance, would you be willing to sign an artiste contract with my studio?¡± ¡°Of course I am. I¡¯m willing even if I¡¯m not getting paid,¡± Fang En eximed with joy and surprise written all over her face. An Xiaoning did not expect her to be so straightforward and decisive. ¡°Only capitalists would expect you to work for free. I¡¯m no capitalist. Okay, in this case,e with me to A City tomorrow.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± There were two beds in the room. Fang En could not fall asleep at all that night. She was both caught by surprise and overjoyed and found that An Xiaoning seemed to be different from what theizens made her out to be. Fang En stayed up, wide awake for the rest of the night for she was too excited to fall asleep. An Xiaoning woke up to find that Fang En was sitting on the bed, already dressed in her outfit for the day. An Xiaoning burst intoughter and asked, ¡°Why are you up so early?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t sleep at allst night. This feels just like a dream. Sis, thank you so much.¡± An Xiaoning looked at her in astonishment, appalled to see how agitated she was. ¡°How could you go without any sleep? Take a nap on theer after breakfast.¡± ¡°Yes, alright.¡± Mei Yangyang came over with the contract personally and sessfully signed Fang En as their first artiste. After the contract was signed, Mei Yangyang pulled An Xiaoning aside and remarked, ¡°Sis, you¡¯re offering her too much and paying her way too well for a newbie.¡± ¡°You would need sincerity to buy someone¡¯s loyalty and genuine efforts. No one would slog their guts out for you willingly if you don¡¯t pay them enough and provide them with necessary incentives,¡± said An Xiaoning. Mei Yangyang gave her a thumbs-up and said, ¡°You¡¯re the brainy one, indeed. I think she¡¯s rather pretty, actually. She¡¯ll be a ravishing beauty once we put some makeup on her.¡± ¡°Yes, we should never share our benefits with outsiders. I n to make her the female lead of the drama.¡± ¡°That works too. Does Lin Mingxi agree to it?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve informed her and Yan Ge about it, though Yan Ge is still rather apprehensive about working with a newbie. So, do search for a professional acting coach to give her some tips and guidance. Try your best to make Yan Ge get rid of his doubtful attitude during the audition.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± An Xiaoning stretched her back and said, ¡°Since there¡¯s nothing else, let¡¯s get back to what we¡¯re each supposed to be doing. I don¡¯t have to worry much about the television drama now. How are preparations for the studio going?¡± ¡°It¡¯s been settled. I¡¯ve recruited a few employees, and I¡¯m looking to poach some behind-the-scene workers fromrge entertainmentpanies. They¡¯re definitely going to be an asset to our team.¡± ¡°I knew I could count on you. I was supposed to have a dinner of hotpot with Beicheng and Mingxist evening, but it was postponed to this evening instead. I¡¯m really craving some,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°We haven¡¯t had a meal together in a long time too. Come over to my ce someday.¡± An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t forget about you.¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°Madam, there are still no news so far.¡± ¡°A bunch of idiots! You can¡¯t even find one person. What did I even hire you for!?!¡± Shi Xiaoyu hollered, grimacing in exasperation while standing in the secret chamber. Her subordinates dared not utter a single word and instead hung their heads low, standing with their backs as straight as a ruler. ¡°What¡¯s the situation with An Xiaoningtely?¡± ¡°An Xiaoning has recently invested in the production of an uing television drama series. Besides, she had also gone twice to visit an elderly fortune-tellingdy in Beijia Bay, once with the Xu family and the other by herself. I have no idea what she went there for.¡± After a moment of silence, Shi Xiaoyu instructed, ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll call you again when I have new orders for you guys. Continue to find out about Shi Qingzhou¡¯s whereabouts and report to me immediately once you have a lead.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She paced up the stairs slowly and exited the secret chamber, followed by her room. She appeared rxed and at ease, as if she hadn¡¯t been screeching and seething in fury just minutes ago. As she exited, the bodyguard immediately whispered into her ear, after which she instantly beamed with joy. ¡°Really?¡± she asked. ¡°Absolutely, without a doubt. It¡¯s thetest update I¡¯d just received. Mr. President is currently in the midst of an election meeting. I believe we¡¯ll know the results by today.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Shi Xiaoyu began smiling smugly. Her greatest wish was for her son to one day gain more votes than her husband and win the presidential election. Only then can she have the power and rights to do what she had always wanted but never dared to before. Things would be different once her husband hands the authority over to her son. Since she had two sons, she would be pleased to have either of them be the next president, be it Tuoba Gucheng or Tuoba Hancheng. Either way, both of them were still her sons, weren¡¯t they? Her fury instantly vanished at this very moment. Shi Qingzhou¡¯s escape had initially sunk her spirits, for she feared that Shi Qingzhou would one day appear in front of Tuoba Rui and tell him about all the misdeeds she had done. Yet, to her surprise, there was about to be a major political change in the nation. Shi Xiaoyu had been disgruntled and ill at ease ever since the day she found out that An Xiaoning had managed to reach adulthood by chance and achieved the sess that had gotten her to where she was today. In other words, An Xiaoning was just like a thorn in her flesh. Her husband¡¯s constant protection over An Xiaoning hindered her from getting rid of thetter. Shi Xiaoyu felt that An Xiaoning was a ticking time bomb that she needed to get rid of as soon as possible, along with Shi Qingzhou, lest she never gets the chance to annihte them in the future. It was only the beginning of an exciting show. While she was deep in her thoughts, her mobile phone began to ring all of a sudden. Shi Xiaoyu took a look at the caller disy, stunned to see that there was no number disyed. ¡°Hello.¡± A familiar, menacingughter filled her ears. Shi Xiaoyu returned inside her bedroom and shrieked under her breath, ¡°Shi Qingzhou!¡± Chapter 651 - A Million Times for You (13) Chapter 651: A Million Times for You (13) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shi Qingzhou stoppedughing and said coldly, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me. I bet you never thought I would be able to escape your clutches, did you? I bet you never expected that we would bemunicating with each other through the phone, did you? Shi Xiaoyu, I know you¡¯re sending your people to search for me desperately. But I¡¯m telling you outrightly, since I¡¯ve managed to escape, it¡¯s impossible that I¡¯ll return to your hands.¡± ¡°Shi Qingzhou... don¡¯t forget, you¡¯re not alone. You still have a biological daughter,¡± said Shi Xiaoyu, still keeping her volume down. ¡°I called you precisely because I wanted to tell you this. If you continue to search for me incessantly and harbor any funny ideas of harming my daughter, Tuoba Rui will hear of all your evil acts and misdeedse tomorrow, believe it or not. Just you wait and see.¡± A grave expression formed on Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s face the moment she ended the call. Needless to say, Shi Qingzhou was trying to threaten her. But did it work? Not at all. I, Shi Xiaoyu, have never allowed anyone to threaten me before, especially not Shi Qingzhou , Shi Xiaoyu thought to herself with a sinister chuckle. She would definitely be anxious and flustered if Tuoba Rui were to continue his position as the president. However, things were different now that she had received the news of her son winning the majority of the votes. Shi Qingzhou, you¡¯ve never been able to defeat me in the past. Neither will you be able to do so now or in the future! ¡ª¡ª The three of them gathered around the dining table in a hotpot restaurant at seven o¡¯clock in the evening. Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi were giving An Xiaoning a treat tonight. An Xiaoning was eating merrily. Spicy foods were her absolute favorite. ¡°Only you¡¯d have the capability to settle the casting for both the male and the female leads in one day. Here, let me toast to you,¡± said Lin Mingxi, raising her ss. An Xiaoning clinked her ss against hers and said, ¡°Do pay more attention to the matters regarding the film set and the production team. I still have far more important things to handle.¡± ¡°No problem, I understand that you have to oversee major matters regarding the country¡¯s welfare, Your Majesty. Rest assured and leave the harem to me, Your Majesty,¡± Lin Mingxi jested. ¡°Thank you for being so understanding toward me, my beloved Consort. You¡¯ll be greatly rewarded tonight.¡± Gu Beicheng burst intoughter and said, ¡°What does that make me, then?¡± ¡°Hmm... you may pick between a physician and a eunuch. Which one of the two would you like to be?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°...¡± ¡°I just acknowledged a new teacher who¡¯s the senior of my first teacher,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°That¡¯s great. Here¡¯s to our fortune-teller broadening her skills,¡± Lin Mingxi eximed with a smile. ¡°Teacher told me to avoid helping my family and friends read their fortunes, whenever possible, for I¡¯ll face severe consequences for exposing Heaven¡¯s secret and going against His will. So, I can¡¯t read your fortunes every month anymore from now on. At the very least, it can¡¯t be so frequent,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°I understand. I¡¯ve also heard that fortune-tellers aren¡¯t supposed to read fortunes so often,¡± Gu Beicheng agreed, not wanting An Xiaoning to suffer any mishaps because of fortune-telling. ¡°I¡¯ll do it for you guys once more tonight when we get home, but the next time will have to be a long timeter. I¡¯ll try my best to read as far ahead as possible.¡± ¡°Alright, your health is of the utmost importance. We managed to survive so many ordeals, all thanks to you. Xiaoning, you have to prioritize your health; otherwise, we¡¯ll be very worried about you,¡± Gu Beicheng said unhurriedly. An Xiaoning smiled and nodded. The three of them left the restaurant after finishing their meal. They headed home together since they arrived in the same car. Once they arrived home, the family of five sat on the couch. After reading Mr. and Mrs. Gu¡¯s birth characters, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Father, you will be safe, but you have to cut down on your smoking because your lungs are going to be ufortable. Mother, you still have to avoid leaving the house whenever you go out. Do bring along more bodyguards with you even if you¡¯re just going out to take a breather.¡± Mr. and Mrs. Gu were relieved to hear her words. An Xiaoning then read Lin Mingxi¡¯s birth characters, after which she stared at thetter with a grave expression on her face. ¡°Xiaoning, don¡¯t look at me like that, it¡¯s intimidating. Am I going to meet with a rocky path soon?¡± Lin Mingxi asked, feeling ill at ease. An Xiaoning remained silent and stared at the table, seemingly thinking about something. Seemingly having guessed something, Gu Beicheng said, ¡°Xiaoning, there are no outsiders here. Just tell us straight about what¡¯s on your mind. We¡¯ve prepared ourselves mentally.¡± ¡°I have good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?¡± After a moment of silence, Lin Mingxi answered, ¡°Bad news first.¡± ¡°The bad news is, I couldn¡¯t read your fortune based on your birth characters. Your fate has been altered not long ago. Military Commander Xu¡¯s daughter Xu Baizhi¡¯s fate has been altered too. She¡¯s currently staying with my teacher in hopes of changing her fate back, though we¡¯re not sure if it¡¯s feasible. I could read that your fate has been altered just a few days ago,¡± An Xiaoning exined solemnly. Lin Mingxi felt a shiver down her spine as her heart sank to rock bottom. ¡°Then... Xiaoning, can my fate be restored?¡± ¡°For now, yes, because yours has only been altered a few days. Seems like the person who¡¯s trying to harm you is aware of your birth characters and is trying to lead you onto a path toward ruin. If you hadn¡¯t found out this soon, a less severe oue would have been a mental disorder while the worst would have been death.¡± ¡°I know who¡¯s trying to harm me. It¡¯s my sister, without a doubt. I told my parents to keep their lips sealed about my birth characters, but my sister knows what they are. It must be her, for sure,¡± said Lin Mingxi, turning as pale as a sheet. ¡°Or it could also be Xu Youran and her husband. Regardless of who it may be, I¡¯ll first help you restore your fate, after which I¡¯ll consult my teacher about how to prevent it from being rewritten again,¡± said a petrified An Xiaoning. If she had not nned on reading her family¡¯s birth characters again tonight, Lin Mingxi would have definitely suffered dire consequences in due time. By then... The oue would have been unimaginable. ¡°How evil and vicious of the perpetrator to harm others through such sinister means. If not for Xiaoning, we probably would have died without knowing why,¡± Mrs. Gumented, pounding her chest. ¡°Let me tell you the good news now. You¡¯ll get pregnant within the next six months,¡± An Xiaoning continued. The four members of the Gu family jumped for joy upon hearing her words. ¡°Xiaoning, is that real?¡± Lin Mingxi asked agitatedly. ¡°Absolutely. Let me take a look at Beicheng¡¯s fortune.¡± She then continued with a look of ease, ¡°You¡¯ll be fine for the uing days. Continue to be on your guard at all times against those who are up to no good.¡± ¡°Xiaoning... could you help me restore my fate? You said that it¡¯d be easy to do so since it has only been a few days, right?¡± Lin Mingxi asked, clearly terrified. Noticing how terrorized she was, An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯ll give it a try. Come with me.¡± An Xiaoning stood up while the rest of them followed suit. Mr. and Mrs. Gu and Gu Beicheng stood outside his bedroom to wait patiently for An Xiaoning and Lin Mingxi, who were inside. ¡°Thank god. Thank Heavens Xiaoning managed to discover it in time tonight. Otherwise, the consequences would have been disastrous,¡± Mrs. Gu said softly. ¡°Exactly. The more I think about it, the more spooked I am. We don¡¯t even know when her fate was altered. Isn¡¯t that terrifying?¡± Mr. Gu chimed in. Chapter 652 - A Million Times for You (14) Chapter 652: A Million Times for You (14) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Gu Beicheng tried tofort his parents, ¡°Let¡¯s wait for Xiaoning to consult her mentor and see if there are any special ways to prevent our fates from being altered. Xiaoning¡¯s mentor is highly skilled, there should be a way out.¡± ¡°...¡± The three of them waited outside the room for more than an hour before An Xiaoning finally opened the door. The rosy flush on An Xiaoning¡¯s face was no longer present. She appeared pale and sickly, as if she¡¯d been struck with a sudden illness. Noticing that she could not stand steadily on her feet, Gu Beicheng hurriedly supported her and asked, ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°Yes, everything is fine now. She just hasn¡¯te to yet, don¡¯t disturb her,¡± An Xiaoning said feebly with a look of extreme fatigue and weariness. Mrs. Gu helped her back into her room right away,id her down in bed, and tucked her beneath the nket. ¡°Xiaoning, get a good rest,¡± said Mrs. Gu, holding her hand while sitting on the bed. An Xiaoning gave a faint nod. Mrs. Gu switched off the lights and tiptoed out of the room quietly. She then proceeded to the bedroom opposite to take a look at Lin Mingxi, who had three amulets pasted on her body: one on her forehead and two others on her feet. Her forehead was covered in cold sweat. Her eyes were tightly shut as shey motionless in bed, seemingly having fallen asleep. ¡°Don¡¯t cover her with the duvet, just leave the heater on. Your father and I are going downstairs to sleep now. Mingxi will definitely be thirsty when she wakes up. Prepare some water for her beforehand,¡± Mrs. Gu instructed Gu Beicheng softly. ¡°Mother, I know what to do. Go get some rest,¡± said Gu Beicheng. Mrs. Gu nodded and left the room together with Mr. Gu. Gu Beicheng then ordered the servants to bring a kettle of warm water to the room and ce it on the table beside the bed. A look of fear and terror formed in his eyes at the thought of what An Xiaoning had said earlier that night. Having received such grave news, the Gu family naturally couldn¡¯t be bothered to pay attention to the presidential election. An Xiaoning¡¯s mobile phone rang continuously in the pocket of her feathered jacket while she was already fast asleep. However, it was muffled and much softer than usual since the mobile phone was inside her pocket. The incessant ringing of her phone disrupted the silence of the night. ¡ª¡ª After garnering the most number of votes from the citizens and gaining the nod of approval from the members of the Cab, Tuoba Gucheng was sessfully appointed as the next president. The former president, Tuoba Rui, handed his position over to his son. All media and broadcastingpanies in the nation were actively reporting about thetest news of the election. The results had also caused a major uproar amongstizens online. Tuoba Gucheng was especially outstanding because he was barely twenty-seven years old yet he was already well versed and proficient in several foreignnguages. Not to mention, he was extremely dashing as well. Although he was already married, numerous femaleizens nheless termed him as the most brilliant political leader in history. Tuoba Gucheng, who had been extremely busy throughout the day, stared at his mobile phone screen with a sullen expression, for he did not receive any phone calls or text messages. Sincest night, he had been trying to call An Xiaoning dozens of times, but she did not respond at all. What does that mean? He could not figure if she did not reply because she had fallen asleep or because she simply did not want to answer his call. He constantly pondered over the matter, which greatly distracted him. He grew increasingly anxious and frustrated with each passing minute. Noticing that it was almost nine o¡¯clock, Tuoba Gucheng gripped his mobile phone tightly in his hands while sitting in the car toward his next destination, wondering if he should try giving her another call. Ding-Dong. It was the sound of a text message notification he received on his mobile phone. He quickly took a look at his mobile phone screen to see that it was indeed a message sent by her. Tuoba Gucheng eagerly opened the text message which read: ¡°Congrattions, Your Majesty.¡± Tuoba Gucheng read the simple congrattory text over and over again for more than twenty times. He felt a strange urge to see her, which soon grew uncontrobly stronger. At this juncture, he could not just do whatever he wanted. Needless to say, An Xiaoning had no idea what he was thinking at this moment. She got a great shock the moment she saw that there were thirty-eight missed calls from him. She then thought that he probably called her to tell her about his victory in the election. It was only understandable for her to wake upter than usual since altering Lin Mingxi¡¯s fate yesterday had made her extremely fatigued and feeble. ¡°Mother, where¡¯s Mingxi?¡± ¡°She went back to her parents¡¯ home. How do you feel? Do you feel any difort?¡± Mrs. Gu asked. ¡°I feel fine. Why did she go back to her parents¡¯ home?¡± An Xiaoning asked. She took a seat while the servant hurriedly served her breakfast. ¡°What else could she have gone back for? She went home to tell her parents about this matter. She suspects that her sister was the culprit.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t use anyone without concrete evidence. I¡¯ll be driving to Teacher¡¯s ceter,¡± said An Xiaoning, enjoying her breakfast slowly. ¡°Xiaoning, you must ask your mentor what we can do to prevent our fates from being altered. Your Father and I couldn¡¯t sleep wellst night. It¡¯s really intimidating, and we¡¯re both very afraid.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll definitely ask her about it, rest assured.¡± ¡ª¡ª Xu Youran and Gu Dongcheng were still yet to find out Gu Beicheng¡¯s birth characters even after a long time. Hence, they decided to take action on Lin Mingxi first, lest she gets pregnant and creates more trouble for them. The reason they could get hold of Lin Mingxi¡¯s clothing, as well as her birth characters and precise birth timing, was all thanks to her sister, Lin Mingyuan. Lin Mingxi had guessed correctly. However, without any solid proof, there was no use in knowing who the culprit was, just like what had An Xiaoning said. Yuan Mingzhu called Xu Youran first thing in the morning to inform her that Lin Mingxi¡¯s fate was not changed sessfully. Xu Youran was initially in high spirits at the thought of having finally gotten Lin Mingxi¡¯s fate rewritten, and she had just been waiting to watch thetter either go berserk or die. Yet, she did not expect things to not go ording to n. ¡°Howe? Didn¡¯t you say that Lin Mingxi would go onto a path toward ruin without even realizing it herself?¡± Xu Youran asked in displeasure. Yuan Mingzhu was also unhappy to hear Xu Youran admonish her. ¡°It¡¯s obviously because someone else had changed it back for her. Ms. An is by her side every day, it¡¯s not that difficult to guess that she must have found out,¡± Yuan Mingzhu retorted. Noticing the tone of disgruntlement in her voice, Xu Youran immediately chuckled pretentiously and said, ¡°I was just a little impatient, don¡¯t take it to heart, Mingzhu. I¡¯m not trying to put the me on you. You do make sense. An Xiaoning must¡¯ve altered her fate again. What should we do now, then? Can we proceed with the n, still?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll talk about this another time,¡± said Yuan Mingzhu. ¡°Alright then.¡± Xu Youran decided not topel Yuan Mingzhu since she still needed thetter to work for her. Thus, she obviously could not risk putting her off by being too pushy. ¡°I have to get going to the police station. I¡¯m hanging up now.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± After ending the call, Yuan Mingzhu picked up her bag and left for the door. Just as she opened the door, she was greatly startled by the burly, armed men standing in front of her. ¡°Who... are you people?¡± she asked anxiously. ¡°Ms. Yuan, our Young Sir would like you to go over to see him.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s your Young Sir?¡± One of the men showed her a photo of Jin Qingyan, giving Yuan Mingzhu a shock that sent shivers down her spine. ¡°What does he want to see me for?¡± she asked, her palms beginning to get sweaty. ¡°For something, of course.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to go, I have to attend work now,¡± Yuan Mingzhu refused. ¡°You don¡¯t have a choice.¡± The man then motioned for the other bodyguards toe forth. The bunch of men approached, after which Yuan Mingzhu frantically retreated and conceded, ¡°I¡¯ll walk on my own, I¡¯ll walk on my own.¡± Chapter 653 - A Million Times for You (15) Chapter 653: A Million Times for You (15) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The men stopped and allowed Yuan Mingzhu to walk in front. She wanted to escape, but there was no chance at all. She was so petrified that her legs had turned to jelly, and thus, she had no choice but to allow herself to be brought away forcefully to Wei Ni Estate. Once they arrived at the estate, Yuan Mingzhu constantly wondered why Jin Qingyan had sent his men to bring her to him. Could it be that he had found out that I was the culprit behind his mother¡¯s death? She could not help but feel terrified at the thought of that possibility. Pangs of panic engulfed her. She was afraid that Jin Qingyan would punish her physically. At the same time, she tried to curb her fear and get a grip on her emotions by reassuring herself that there was no way Jin Qingyan could put the me on her since he did not have any proof of her being the culprit. She constantly tried to convince herself that everything would be fine, so as to calm herself down slowly. The car drove toward the entrance of Jin Qingyan¡¯s mansion and gradually pulled over. Fan Shixin opened the door and stood outside the car. ¡°Ms. Yuan, please get out of the car,¡± he said to Yuan Mingzhu. Yuan Mingzhu jumped out of the car and questioned haughtily, ¡°Just what did you call me here for? I still have to go to work. Are you going to be responsible if I¡¯mte?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know the reason when you go in.¡± Fan Shixin led the way while Yuan Mingzhu followed him. The temperature was drastically different in the living room. It was freezing cold outside. As soon as Yuan Mingzhu entered, she was greeted with the sight of Jin Qingyan standing in a corner, giving her the chills. She stepped forward, pinching her fingers. ¡°Young Sir, she¡¯s here.¡± Jin Qingyan turned around and red at Yuan Mingzhu coldly while remaining silent. The menacing look in his eyes was daunting enough to make Yuan Mingzhu lose herposure and be consumed by her anxiety. ¡°Mr. Jin, did you call me here just to stare at me?¡± she spoke up. ¡°Of course not. I just have a few questions for you, Officer Yuan. Please answer me truthfully,¡± Jin Qingyan said politely in an austere tone. ¡°Go ahead and ask.¡± ¡°When did you get to know Xu Youran personally?¡± Yuan Mingzhu¡¯s eyelid began to twitch as she answered solemnly, ¡°A long time ago. What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°How long exactly?¡± he questioned further. ¡°A few months. What are you asking this for?¡± Yuan Mingzhu answered. ¡°You¡¯ve known each other for mere months, and yet, she¡¯s already gifted you with an expensive apartment as well as a few million dors. May I ask, what have you done to deserve such a handsome reward?¡± ¡°That¡¯s my personal matter. I have no obligation to divulge any details,¡± said Yuan Mingzhu, constantly reminding herself not to let the cat out of the bag. However, she was, in fact, so tensed up that she was on the verge of a mental breakdown. ¡°Personal matter? Ever since my mother¡¯s death, I haven¡¯t stopped investigating to find out the truth. Yuan Mingzhu, how do you think I should punish people like you?¡± Jin Qingyan questioned sternly. Paralyzed by fear, Yuan Mingzhu vehemently denied, ¡°What rights have you got to use me of being in cahoots with Xu Youran? I¡¯ll admit it willingly if you can show me the evidence.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need you to admit it willingly. It doesn¡¯t matter if you keep denying it anyway. It¡¯s enough for me to learn after the investigations that you¡¯re one of the aplices,¡± Jin Qingyan said with a humph. Yuan Mingzhu suddenly realized what he was going to do with her. ¡°Jin Qingyan, you called me here out of the blue without even finding out the truth. If I don¡¯t report to work at the police station, my parents and colleagues are definitely going to pursue the matter.¡± ¡°Ms. Yuan, why weren¡¯t you this concerned about the police checking up on you when you used ck magic to harm others? Did you really think that no one else in the police station, except you, can find out anything about the matter?¡± Fan Shixin scoffed. ¡°I already said I didn¡¯t do it! Stop trying to malign me!¡± ¡°Yuan Mingzhu, don¡¯t try to challenge our intelligence or overestimate your capabilities. Do you think all the investigations we¡¯ve carried out thus far are all for nothing? Would we have rmed you if we didn¡¯t have any solid proof? None of the aplices involved in this matter will be able to escape unscathed, regardless of who it may be,¡± Jin Qingyan warned with a gloomy look in his eyes. Fear was written all over Yuan Mingzhu¡¯s face, which had already turned as pale as a sheet. She could sense that her end was near. There was no way she could escape this ordeal. Even though things had alreadye to this juncture, she still refused to admit anything. ¡°Then show me the evidence. Only then will I concede willingly.¡± ¡°Do you think I care about your willingness? Must I show you the evidence before I can deal with you? It¡¯s enough to know that you¡¯re the one behind it!¡± Jin Qingyan bellowed. ¡°You...¡± Jin Qingyan did not bother arguing with her further and motioned for Fan Shixin to take her away. Finding herself being dragged away forcefully, Yuan Mingzhu grew even more flustered and anxious. ¡°Where are you taking me? Let go of me! Let go!¡± she eximed in panic. Unfortunately for her, her efforts were proven futile, for the bodyguards refused to budge, despite her yelling her lungs out. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Teacher, is there any way to prevent one¡¯s fate from being altered? We found outst night that my sister-inw¡¯s fate has been rewritten by an evildoer. I immediately changed it back for her. Such incidents are really unsettling.¡± Shaking her head, the elderlydy answered, ¡°There aren¡¯t any effective solutions to that. It doesn¡¯t matter if others know your birthday, but things will be dangerous once they know the exact birth timing too. Don¡¯t you realize that there are plenty of people who go berserk for no reason, as well as mysterious murdersmitted by murderers who have no clear motive at all? The worst thing that can happen is bing someone else¡¯s scapegoat and tool for murder. Human willpower is too weak to ward against and fend off these evil sources. By the way, you look really pale and unwell, you have to eat more nutritious food to nourish your body.¡± An Xiaoning asked again softly, ¡°I¡¯ve always been curious about this. It must be extremely draining to help someone like Xu Baizhi, whose altered fate is difficult to restore. Since it¡¯ll take a toll on your health, why did you still agree to help her change her fate, Teacher?¡± ¡°Would you believe me if I said that I wanted to do a kind deed? Anyway, I¡¯m not entirely sure if I can help her change it back sessfully. Her determination is key. If she doesn¡¯t truly set her mind to it, not only will she let my good intentions down, she¡¯ll also be causing her parents¡¯ efforts to go down the drain. Or you could also say...¡± She paused to look at An Xiaoning before continuing, ¡°I¡¯d like to minimize the number of victims as far as possible. Her wayward behavior is going to cause harm to those around her.¡± ¡°Well then, Teacher, can you tell if she knows how to perform ck magic?¡± ¡°She definitely doesn¡¯t have such abilities. After all, she wouldn¡¯t be here if she had such powers. She¡¯s not psychic, and neither is she gifted with supernatural abilities. Has your mentor given you her book?¡± ¡°Old Mr. Gu has given me the book Master had left behind before her death. I¡¯ve already finished reading it and internalizing all the content, which had aided me in furthering my abilities. I¡¯ve already destroyed the book, though.¡± ¡°Good that you have, lest we risk anyone using the information in the book for unscrupulous means. I¡¯ve written the summary of everything I know into a book. I¡¯ll hand it to you.¡± The elderlydy headed inside her room to retrieve a small journal that she treasured dearly. ¡°I wrote this myself. Destroy it too once you¡¯ve finished reading it. It¡¯ll be of great help to you, for sure,¡± she exined, handing the journal to An Xiaoning. ¡°Alright, thank you, Teacher.¡± An Xiaoning took the journal from her hands and stowed it away in her bag. An Xiaoning was greeted with the sight of Xu Baizhi washing some clothes in the backyard when she exited the house. She stepped forward and took the initiative to greet her, ¡°Hello, Ms. Xu.¡± Xu Baizhi stopped what she was doing and answered, ¡°Ms. An.¡± Chapter 654 - A Million Times for You (16) Chapter 654: A Million Times for You (16) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°How are you adapting to life here?¡± ¡°Not too bad. I¡¯ve lived under harsh living conditions for a long period of time before, so I don¡¯t have any trouble adapting to life here,¡± Xu Baizhi answered, appearing much more gentle and warm, as opposed to the aloof attitude she had when they met in the Autumn Pce back then. An Xiaoning chucked her hands inside her pocket and said, ¡°That¡¯s good. I can¡¯t apany Teacher every day. But with you around, I¡¯m much less worried. Note down my mobile number. Contact me whenever Teacher is not feeling well during the times that I¡¯m not around.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Xu Baizhi saved An Xiaoning¡¯s number in her own mobile phone and sent her number to thetter as well. An Xiaoning saved Xu Baizhi¡¯s number in her contacts. ¡°I¡¯ll be taking my leave now then.¡± Xu Baizhi nodded and stared at An Xiaoning¡¯s silhouette from behind. If it weren¡¯t for thetter¡¯s facial features, Xu Baizhi would have really suspected her to be Mu Ning. However, they looked far too different from each other to be the same person. Apart from their voices, stature, and figure, they did not resemble each other at all. Besides, how could An Xiaoning, a person of status, possibly be a bodyguard in the Autumn Pce? Bai Zhi looked away and continued to do theundry. ¡ª¡ª Upon hearing footsteps approaching the dead-silent ancestral hall, Mo Li looked up to see a figure appearing at the door, which was opened. It was none other than Ye Xiaotian. She looked down at the ground, her eyes swollen and sore. Ye Xiaotian walked toward her and said with a sigh, ¡°Come home with me.¡± Mo Li remained still and asked, ¡°Are you going to make me give birth to the child?¡± ¡°Mo Li, Mother will hit the roof and go mad if you abort the child. You can tell just from the fact that she¡¯s locked you up in here. I¡¯m stuck in a difficult position, like how I was when she threatened me against marrying you back then. She¡¯s been feeling ashamed about the fact that she doesn¡¯t have a single grandson at all. Years ago, my mother was diagnosed with uremia and had to have a kidney transnt. Her body seems to be experiencing tissue rejection now; her health is deteriorating, and so is her emotional health. I¡¯m really afraid that she¡¯ll take her life because of this matter. If that happens, I¡¯ll have to live the rest of my life in regret. So, I¡¯d like to fulfill her wishes now,¡± said Ye Xiaotian. His words were like daggers to Mo Li¡¯s heart. ¡°You¡¯ve chosen to abide by your mother¡¯s wishes, but what¡¯s going to happen to me? I thought we could finally live a peaceful life after we got married. In hindsight, we did have a blissful honeymoon phase, but that¡¯s about it. Things just went downhill afterward. If I¡¯d known earlier, I wouldn¡¯t have agreed toe back and marry you,¡± Mo Li retorted. Ye Xiaotian¡¯s heart wrenched in misery. ¡°Are you regretting it now?¡± ¡°You force me to give in to you every single time. Am I allowed the rights to regret at all?¡± ¡°Come home with me,¡± he repeated. As soon as he finished speaking, Mrs. Ye showed up at the door. She entered and said, ¡°Xiaotian, let her stay here until the child is born. I¡¯ll feed her and provide her with everything she needs. What¡¯s going to happen if you bring her home and she tries to abort the child?¡± ¡°Mother... I¡¯ll talk to Mo Li about it properly.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t do either! That¡¯s not as safe as keeping her here with my guards watching her round the clock,¡± Mrs. Ye objected vehemently. Mo Li remained silent since there was nothing she could say. In the end, she continued to be locked up in the ancestral hall while Ye Xiaotian left. ¡°You¡¯d better be good and stay here to nurse your pregnancy. I won¡¯t force you against your will anymore once you give birth to the child,¡± said Mrs. Ye, trying to cate Mo Li¡¯s feelings. Mrs. Ye took her silence for consent. She then instructed the bodyguards to watch Mo Li closely before leaving. Mo Li sat on the bed and stared nkly into space. Why were my blissful days so short-lived? she wondered. Peace was bliss to her. Don¡¯t all normal families lead a peaceful life? She was even deprived of the freedom of calling her parents. There was no one for her to confide in at all in this ancestral hall. Mo Li¡¯s lips curled into a lopsided smile. She yearned to have a man who will protect her. However, it seemed she could only depend on herself. She envied An Xiaoning for being able to live well even without Jin Qingyan. Yet, she did not have the courage or bravery to divorce her husband. Mo Li recalled the cheerful and bubbly girl she used to be before she met Ye Xiaotian. She used to be a chatterbox who could not stop talking. However, she had be apletely different person once she met Ye Xiaotian. Reality had shaped her into the person she was today. She did not like her present self at all. Pathetic and deplorable. Mo Li¡¯s vision began to turn blurry. She hugged her legs and buried her face in her knees while tearing up silently. ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning proceeded to have lunch after leaving Beijia Bay, followed by returning to Sanqiao Estate. Gu Beicheng had rmended two renowned interior designers to An Xiaoning, and they came up with a design sketch of a secret chamber based on theyout of her mansion in less than an hour. They were highly efficient. An Xiaoning was pleased after taking a look at the sketch and immediately transferred their due wages to their bank ounts. An Xiaoning then began her search for a team of contractors and finally settled on a prestigious construction team after meticulously browsing through her choices. She handed the sketch to the construction team, who asked for a hefty sum, though they promised to build the secret chamber ording to her demands and expectations. However, they would require some time since it was tougher to work in the winter. An Xiaoning did not give them a time limit and merely demanded to see the results she wanted once construction was over. Needless to say, she had her own reasons for building the chamber. After having dinner, An Xiaoning began taking a stroll along the streets. She shopped around and bought some trinkets she fancied. She passed by a stall, which had on disy thick cardigans made of a plethora of fabrics and designs. They were all exquisite and pleasant. However, she already had several simr ones at home and did not need any for the time being. She would usually refrain from buying things she did not need. Thus, she left after taking a few nces. After walking around for a while, An Xiaoning realized that there was nothing much left to look at. Thus, she walked past a stall and returned via another route. She was exceptionally slow in her pace while window-shopping. Being the sharp and alert person she was, she turned around abruptly to take a look the moment she sensed that someone was shadowing her. Was it Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s bodyguards? They would usually tail me from a distance away, why are they so close by this time? Could it be... She picked up her tracks and continued walking quickly. Just as An Xiaoning was about to walk toward her car when she reached the end of the street, she turned around again to see a few men dressed in inclothes walking in her direction. However, upon noticing that she had turned her head, the men hurriedly zoomed toward a nearby stall and pretended to be buying something. She frantically whipped out her car keys, which were soon snatched away from her forcefully. ¡°Get in,¡± said a deep-sounding voice. Greatly taken aback, An Xiaoning stared at the man beside her who popped out of nowhere and got into the backseat. He then got into the driver¡¯s seat and began driving away. Chapter 655 - A Million Times for You (17) Chapter 655: A Million Times for You (17) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning stared out of the window to see that there were more than ten of Jin Qingyan¡¯s bodyguards standing outside while the people who were shadowing her were no longer in sight. She looked away and stared at Jin Qingyan. ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°I happened to pass by.¡± ¡°Thanks for that. You may stop at the entrance of your ce in Wei Ni Estate, I¡¯ll drive home myself afterwards,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°I don¡¯t need a woman to send me home,¡± he said, holding onto the steering wheel. ¡°Suit yourself then.¡± A silence filled the air in the car. He then turned on the stereo to y some music. The song that came on was ¡°Pian Pian Xi Huan Ni¡± 1 An Xiaoning felt a strange sense of awkwardness the moment the song began ying. ¡°Your taste in music is still the same,¡± he remarked in amusement. ¡°My taste can¡¯t bepared to yours, Mr. Jin. I just prefer listening to old school music. I¡¯ll never get sick of them.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you tell that I was praising you?¡± ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m dense, I couldn¡¯t.¡± Jin Qingyan stepped on the brakes abruptly, causing An Xiaoning to fall forward and knock her head against the seat in front, giving her a dizzy spell. By the time she¡¯d sat up straight again, he¡¯d opened the door of the backseat and was standing closely in front of her. An Xiaoning thought that he was going to say something. To her surprise, he remained quiet and reached into his pocket to take out a cardigan, which he then draped across her shoulders before walking away. She got out of the backseat and watched as he hopped inside his car, which was parked just nearby. She then got into the driver¡¯s seat of her car and drove away. Upon arriving at the Gu family mansion, she switched on the lights in the car and removed the cardigan to finally take a good look at it. It happened to be one of the cardigans that had caught her attention when she was shopping along the streets. It was a red-colored, rose-patterned cardigan, which was extremely exquisite. An Xiaoning then realized that he had been tailing her since long ago. Otherwise, there couldn¡¯t have been such a coincidence. She brushed her fingers across the smooth and soft fabric and brought it with her when she alighted from the car. The family of four was waiting for her. Upon the sight of them, An Xiaoning smiled and made sure not to mention a word about bumping into Jin Qingyan. ¡°Xiaoning, have you asked your mentor?¡± ¡°Yes. Teacher said that there¡¯s no effective solution to stop it. I agree with her,¡± said An Xiaoning as she took a seat. ¡°Since there¡¯s no feasible solution, let¡¯s forget it then. We¡¯ll just be more cautious from now on.¡± An Xiaoning looked at Lin Mingxi and asked, ¡°Did you manage to get anything out of your trip back to your parents¡¯ ce?¡± ¡°My parents didn¡¯t believe that my sister would harm me. They think that she wouldn¡¯t be so ruthless to me since we¡¯re still sisters at the end of the day. However, Beicheng¡¯s subordinates have already found out that my sister had met with some gangsters a while ago. They even met more than once. Doesn¡¯t that already say something?¡± Lin Mingxi exined with a mirthless chuckle. ¡°You mean, Gu Dongcheng and Lin Mingyuan have gotten into cahoots with each other? That¡¯s terrible,¡± An Xiaoning said with a frown. ¡°I¡¯ve already moved all my belongings out of my parents¡¯ home. Xiaoning, what do you think we should do if they attempt to harm me again?¡± Lin Mingxi asked worriedly, clearly extremely tensed up. An Xiaoning could entirely empathize with her feelings of anxiety. ¡°Although we don¡¯t have a good solution for now, it doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯ll be susceptible to hexes and ck magic just because those people have your birth characters. I¡¯ll give each of you an amuletter. Keep it with you at all times, it¡¯ll help ward off evil,¡± said An Xiaoning. Lin Mingxi hugged An Xiaoning and eximed, ¡°How am I supposed to thank you?¡± ¡°Devote yourself to me? Ditch Beicheng,¡± An Xiaoning jested. ¡°Sure.¡± Mr. and Mrs. Gu burst intoughter, lifting the somber mood in the air. An Xiaoning headed upstairs to scribble on the amulets before chanting a spell. She then gave her family members one amulet each and instructed, ¡°Remember not to let the amulet get wet. It¡¯ll be impotent once it touches water. This will help keep the situation under control for a certain amount of time.¡± Everyone kept their amulets, after which Mr. and Mrs. Gu headed downstairs to get some rest. Gu Beicheng entered with a tray in his hands, on which there were three sses of milk. One for each of them. An Xiaoning picked up a ss of milk and began sipping on it slowly. ¡°Gu Dongcheng and Lin Mingyuan have ganged up against you two. Have you guys thought of a strategy to retaliate?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll deal ordingly with whateveres our way. Besides... I¡¯ve alreadyid a trap long ago, I¡¯m just waiting for Brother to fall into it. No hurry. An eye for an eye,¡± said Gu Beicheng, his eyes glistening. ¡°People always say that you ought to have mercy whenever possible. However, showing mercy to those who try to harm you time and time again is only being cruel to yourself.¡± An Xiaoning finished her milk to the veryst drop and put the ss down before standing up. ¡°I¡¯ve always known that I am no saint. I¡¯d treat those who have been gracious to me with equal kindness. At the same time, I won¡¯t forgive nor forget anyone who tries to harm me,¡± she continued. ¡°Xu Youran tried to harm you to such a great extent in the past. You can¡¯t be bothered to deal with her now, can you?¡± ¡°Of course not. I just haven¡¯t had the time to think about her recently. I¡¯m going back to my room to sleep,¡± said An Xiaoning. An Xiaoningy down in bed and tucked herself beneath the duvet before shifting her gaze to the cardigan on the hanger. Images of the event that took ce that night shed in her mind. When he snatched her car keys away from her hands, Jin Qingyan was dressed in a blue suit with a blue fur scarf around his neck. She closed her eyes and began recalling the memories they had ¡ª the good, the bad, and the ugly. He was the only man whom she had ever loved so deeply in her life... The more she thought about it, the more upset she felt. Thus, she decided not to sleep altogether. Instead, she reached into her bag for the small journal her mentor had given her and began reading it from the first page with all her attention. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Nick!¡± Bu Xianxian eximed upon the sight of Jin Qingyan alighting from his car. ¡°Why haven¡¯t you gone to bed yet?¡± ¡°I was waiting for you. My parents wanted me to tell you toe over to our ce for a while if you¡¯re free. They¡¯d like to talk to you about something,¡± said Bu Xianxian. Jin Qingyan took a look at the time on his watch and followed her to meet Mr. and Mrs. Bu. Upon the sight of his arrival, Mrs. Gu said, ¡°So sorry to have troubled you toe over at such ate hour.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, it¡¯s not thatte yet. Auntie, feel free to speak your mind.¡± ¡°The three of us have been getting on rather well ever since we came back here with you. It¡¯s just, Xianxian has been pestering us to let her go out to work and make some friends. Now that we¡¯ve managed to pick up the nativenguage of S Nation andmunicate in it fluently, do you think you can allow her to leave and enter Wei Ni Estate whenever she pleases?¡± Mrs. Bu asked. ¡°Sure, she¡¯s already in her twenties and no longer a child. I can help you look for a job that you¡¯re interested in,¡± said Jin Qingyan, staring at Bu Xianxian calmly. Putting the fact that she was carrying a torch for him, Jin Qingyan did not forget that she was also his life savior. ¡°I don¡¯t need your help, I can find a job on my own,¡± Bu Xianxian refused. ¡°Okay. It¡¯s a dangerous world out there, you must learn how to protect yourself, especially since you¡¯re a girl. Do you need me to send a few bodyguards to escort you around?¡± ¡°No.¡± Bu Xianxian obviously would not want a bodyguard to follow her around since that would get in the way of her freedom. Jin Qingyan cautioned, ¡°Be careful when you¡¯re on your own, then. Is there anything else I can help you with?¡± Mrs. Bu waved her hand and said, ¡°No, there¡¯s nothing else.¡± Chapter 656 - A Million Times for You (18) Chapter 656: A Million Times for You (18) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Umm.¡± Hisck of expression made him appear distant. After sending him back to his doorstep, the family of three went back. Mrs. Bu remarked in admiration, ¡°Look at how handsome Nick is, no wonder this girl liked him for so long.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Bu Xianxian raised her chin. ¡°My judgment is the best. But then again, I¡¯ve finally given up on him.¡± Her voice carried some despair. ¡°He¡¯s like a stone-bricked wall. For an egg like me to want to break through this wall, it¡¯s simply impossible.¡± ¡°It¡¯s good that you realized it. With his status, is he even someone within our family¡¯s reach? How many times have we told you, one must have self-awareness. You should know well and clear about his attitude toward you already,¡± Mrs. Bu reminded her. ¡°It¡¯s impossible between the two of you. You should look for other people with your keen sense of judgment.¡± ¡°Why did I ask the two of you to tell him to give me some freedom then? Isn¡¯t it to meet more people and not get cooped up in here all day? The men here all don¡¯t take a fancy to me, but I¡¯m not ugly, right?¡± ¡°Of course you¡¯re not. How can my daughter be ugly? Your skin is just tanner than most girls. Xianxian, you should follow those girls who love beauty and use more masks and do beauty treatments.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t give me money, how do I do beauty treatments?¡± Mrs. Bu took her wallet from under her pillow and fished out two thousand dors for her. ¡°Here, money for you.¡± Bu Xianxian took it from her and counted it before cing it into her own bag. ¡°Mother, what do you think of me doing stic surgery?¡± ¡°stic surgery?¡± Mrs. Bu disagreed. ¡°You have to spend money and suffer, so why do such things?¡± ¡°To be prettier.¡± Bu Xianxian grabbed the mirror and looked at her reflection. ¡°My eyes have single eyelids. If I go under the knife and make them double eyelids, then make my nose sharper and my cheekbones higher, I¡¯ll look better. Mother, didn¡¯t Nick give you five million dors? Can¡¯t you fork out a few hundred thousand as an investment for me? Moreover, I was the one who saved Nick, half of the money should go to me. Will giving me two thousand dors to do beauty treatments actually make me be prettier?¡± ¡°A few hundred thousand...¡± Mrs. Bu was evidently shocked. She was used to living a life of poverty, and both she and her husband felt that to be able to follow Jin Qingyan to live at Wei Ni Estate was already a privilege. The money they had received from him was also left unspent as they were especially frugal. Spend a few hundred thousand in one go was something they definitely could not bear to do. Bu Xianxian put down the mirror and looked at her parents in a serious manner. ¡°Father, Mother, let¡¯s not talk about other things. However, the reason Nick, and even his other subordinates here, doesn¡¯t like me, isn¡¯t it because my skin isn¡¯t fair and my features are ordinary as well? If I were to look like An Xiaoning, wouldn¡¯t I have plenty of men fighting to marry me?¡± Mrs. Bu was taken aback and turned to her husband. ¡°Actually, what Xianxian says makes sense. Looks are everything in society, it¡¯s how this world works.¡± Mr. Bu said with a cigarette in his mouth, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re really investing a huge sum for her to do stic surgery?¡± Bu Xianxian watched as her mother slightly hesitated and immediately butted in, ¡°Mother, both of you only have me as your only daughter. If you have so much money and don¡¯t invest it on me, then what would you need the money for? The two of you won¡¯t be able to spend so much money away anyway, don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t want me to find an eligible man to spend the rest of my life with, Mother?¡± Mrs. Bu¡¯s heart wavered. ¡°Xianxian, you really want to do stic surgery?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Bu Xianxian lit up in joy immediately. ¡°Mother, I want to be prettier and well liked as well. Mother, please agree.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t we go to the stic surgery hospital to take a look tomorrow?¡± Mrs. Bu sounded her out. ¡°Alright, alright...¡± Bu Xianxian happily agreed and became exceptionally delighted. ¡°Mother, I love you!¡± Seeing her so excited, Mrs. Bu suddenly asked anxiously, ¡°Will there be any risks, though?¡± ¡°Mother, if I want to do stic surgery, I¡¯ll go to a more renowned hospital. The doctors there have more experience and are more reliable.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true...¡± Bu Xianxian, who usually slept ¡¯til noon, was up early today and all prepared to go out. After eating breakfast with Mrs. Bu, she eagerly brought her to a renowned stic surgery hospital in A City. After they entered, a beautiful nurse showed them the list of different procedures avable. ¡°How much does it cost to get eyelid surgery?¡± ¡°Three thousand five hundred dors. For you, if you extend the corner of your eyes, it would make them look prettier andrger. Of course, they would cost an extra amount.¡± Bu Xianxian looked at the pictures on the temte board and suddenly felt excited, as if the picture of the pair of eyes on the board were hers. ¡°How about making my nose sharper?¡± ¡°Five thousand dors.¡± ¡°Making my chin sharper?¡± ¡°Over ten thousand dors.¡± ¡°And breast enhancement?¡± ¡°The cost differs depending on the material. A better-quality material naturally costs more.¡± The nurse grinned. ¡°For a normal material, it would cost ten thousand dors. A better-quality material can range from thirty to fifty thousand dors and a few hundred thousand dors.¡± Bu Xianxian nodded. ¡°Then if I do all of these procedures, will there be discounts offered?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Mrs. Bu felt that the price was not as high as she had imagined and she only had this daughter. If she wanted to be prettier, she would definitely support her as her mother. ¡°I want to do eyelid surgery, extend my eye corner, sharpen my nose, cheeks, and do breast enhancement.¡± ¡°Alright. Please follow me, Miss.¡± The nurse¡¯s attitude became even better when she realized she was doing so many procedures. ¡°May I ask if there are risks here at your hospital?¡± ¡°Auntie, the risks here are exceptionally minute. Our hospital here is recognized by the country, and our stic surgeons all studied abroad. We also haven¡¯t had any case of a failed stic surgery. Please rest assured.¡± Both mother and daughter then followed the nurse into the stic surgeon¡¯s office. Seeing that she wanted to do so many procedures, the stic surgeon suggested for her to take it step by step. ¡°How do you want your double eyelids to turn out? Recently, those who visit our hospital have various requests to have their double eyelids done like a certain female celebrity or something of the sort. Do you have any requests regarding this?¡± ¡°Doctor, do you know of An Xiaoning?¡± ¡°Of course I do. Recently, there have been some females who¡¯ve requested for their noses to be done like hers too...¡± ¡°I want to have my eyes done like hers.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Mrs. Bu also felt that An Xiaoning¡¯s facial features were very exquisite, but wasn¡¯t this rather inappropriate? ¡°Xiaoning, if Nick seester that your eyes were done like An Xiaoning¡¯s, won¡¯t he get angry?¡± ¡°Why would he get angry? If there¡¯re people who do stic surgery to resemble An Xiaoning, shouldn¡¯t he be happy? Moreover, I only want my eyes done like hers. It¡¯s not like I want my whole face to look like hers.¡± Hearing this, Mrs. Bu did not say anything further. After arranging things with the stic surgeon, Mrs. Bu paid the bill while Bu Xianxian stayed over at the hospital to prepare for her first round of stic surgery. ¡ª ¡°Boss, someone is calling you again!¡± An Xiaoning pulled open the zipper of her down coat and took her phone from inside. The caller ID disyed that it was from thendline at the police station. She immediately picked up the call. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Xiaoning, Team Leader Yuan is dead.¡± Ma Jianguo¡¯s voice sounded from the other end. ¡°Her body was found floating in the river by someone.¡± Chapter 657 - A Million Times for You (19) Chapter 657: A Million Times for You (19) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Ma Jianguo continued, ¡°The surveince footage that she appeared in was destroyed, but we found her acting quite normaltely and ruled out the possibility of suicide. The Bureau Chief was too embarrassed to call you, so he made me call to ask if you coulde back to take this case.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s nerves tightened. Yuan Mingzhu was dead. The psychic person who took over her position was dead... Why did it happen so suddenly? Who was the one who murdered her? ¡°Xiaoning...¡± Since she didn¡¯t answer, Ma Jianguo called out to her again. ¡°No,¡± she rejected him directly. ¡°All of you should solve this case on your own.¡± ¡°Xiaoning... Team Leader Yuan is dead. All the members of our team are uneasy about it. We¡¯re not sure whether her death is a result of someone taking revenge because we unintentionally offended someone when we were solving previous cases.¡± Ma Jianguo went on, ¡°Or whether it is due to some unknown reason. Now, there¡¯s no one to lead the Special Investigations Unit anymore, and the Bureau Chief can¡¯t find someone like you or Team Leader Yuan to take over in such a short time. Can¡¯t you juste over and help, please?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve something on today, so I¡¯m not free. Leave this issue to Bureau Chief Pan to pass on to Team Leader Zhang of the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit.¡± Since she was unwilling to help, Ma Jianguo had no choice but to end the call. He conveyed her exact words to Pan Zhenghui. ¡°She really said that?¡± ¡°Yes, she did.¡± Ma Jianguo confessed frankly, ¡°Chief, when you got Team Leader Yuan to take over Team Leader An¡¯s position, you didn¡¯t even give her a heads up...¡± ¡°I made a mistake in handling that matter. However, back then, I wasn¡¯t even sure of Xiao Yuan¡¯s level of capability...¡± Pan Zhenghui continued, ¡°I¡¯ll pass Xiao Yuan¡¯s case to the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit to investigate whether it was a suicide or something else. We¡¯ll wait for the coroner¡¯s report first.¡± ¡°Chief, do you still intend to arrange a team leader for our special team?¡± Pan Zhenghui remained silent for a moment before replying, ¡°Of course, there has to be a team leader, but we¡¯ll keep the position empty for the moment. We¡¯ll wait for a suitable candidate to appear before arranging it.¡± Ma Jianguo returned to the office and nced at the team leader¡¯s seat, his face a shade of gloom. ¡°From what all of you have seen, was the team leader acting normal recently?¡± ¡°She was, there didn¡¯t seem to be anything unusual about her,¡± Gong Le replied. ¡°That¡¯s my exact sentiments. To say shemitted suicide... I don¡¯t think it¡¯s even possible at all. She didn¡¯t seem like someone who didn¡¯t want to live that much,¡± Zu Dong chimed in. ¡°Xiao Ding, what do you think?¡± Ding Liang thought for a moment. ¡°Lao Ma, I don¡¯t feel the same. Team Leader Yuan said she recently bought a house nearby, I think that¡¯s rather unusual. With our sry, how was she able to afford a house? If we didn¡¯t know Team Leader Yuan¡¯s family situation, then it¡¯s fine. But we know her family doesn¡¯t have much money, and we also know the average price of houses near the station. Where did she get the money to buy a house and a car?¡± ¡°Right, this point is rather strange. We¡¯ll update the Serious Crimes Investigation Unitter and get them to check this suspicious point.¡± ¡°...¡± Yuan Mingzhu¡¯s mother took a taxi from her house to the station. After seeing Yuan Mingzhu¡¯s body, Mrs. Yuan wept in devastation and could not make out why her child was gone just like that. Moreover, the fact that she had lost her only daughter was definitely a huge blow to her. After understanding the situation from her, the police brought her to Yuan Mingzhu¡¯s house. This was also the main investigation scene. Yuan Mingzhu was unmarried and had no children. She was only twenty-six years old, so her mary assets and house were naturally inherited by her mother solely. After investigating the ce, the police officers found it too creepy. There was a room specifically for doing rituals that had many things disyed in it, which made one wonder: was it some ritual she did that had caused her to invite trouble to herself? But a spection remained a spection, and they still had to start from somewhere else. Yuan Mingzhu¡¯s phone was sent for repair and, after the telmunicationspany hadpiled the list of her frequent contacts, they realized that she had frequent contact with a certain number. The person who owned this number was none other than Xu Youran. The other numbers she contacted, other than Yuan Mingzhu¡¯s mother, was the officers from the station. Xu Youran was called to the police station. Her stomach was bulging, and she was wearing loose clothing. After she sat down on the chair in the interrogation room, the police officer started interrogating her. ¡°What was your rtionship with Yuan Mingzhu?¡± ¡°We were good friends.¡± Xu Youran¡¯s expression was slightly sorrowful, and she raised her hand to wipe the tears on the corner of her eye. ¡°This was really unexpected, it¡¯s so upsetting.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve found out that you transferred ownership of a house to Yuan Mingzhu and even transferred a few million dors to her bank ount. What was your reason for transferring a house and money to her?¡± Xu Youran had long since prepared for such questions during the interrogation. When she was asked this, her face remained unchanged and she replied, ¡°Mingzhu was a remarkable person; she can do fortune-telling, so I asked her to read my fortune and that of my husband. I¡¯m carrying a child as well, so I intended to ask her to help read the fortune of my child when he or she is bornter on. If there¡¯s to be any disaster, then we¡¯ll be able to ovee it. I gave her the house and money as she¡¯s alone here and still has to live in a dormitory. Since I have a house that¡¯s vacant, I just gave it to her.¡± The police officer recorded her statement and continued asking, ¡°The two of you just spoke on the phone yesterday, did you find anything unusual about her?¡± Xu Youran shook her head. ¡°No, she sounded normal when she spoke on the phone with me.¡± The police officer then asked her a few more questions, and Xu Youran answered them one by one. After answering all the questions, she left the interrogation room. Her sorrowful facepletely faded away after she returned to her car and sat inside. Xu Youran could never have expected Yuan Mingzhu to actually get killed for some unexinable reason. She was rather confident that Yuan Mingzhu did notmit suicide because she no longer wanted to live. She had be acquainted with Yuan Mingzhu not long ago, and the two of them had a certain level of understanding about each other. She could not have possibly done something so cowardly. When she learned of this news this morning, Xu Youran thought that she was dreaming. It was not until Gu Dongcheng affirmed this that she copsed weakly on the bed. From what she knew, Yuan Mingzhu¡¯s death was definitely rted to herself somehow. She could vaguely guess who was the one who wanted her dead, but she wasn¡¯t a hundred percent sure. She just ended up dead like that without any warning beforehand. Xu Youran lost a huge chess piece who assisted her. Where was she supposed to find such a capable psychic? The person who¡¯d had her killed must have found out something. So, was it Gu Beicheng, Lin Mingxi, or Jin Qingyan? Or was it An Xiaoning, who used ck magic to cause her death? She did not dare to think... In that moment, Xu Youran¡¯s head felt numb and her palms were sweating. A thickyer of heavy clouds enveloped Xu Youran¡¯s head. It was also as if a heavy stone weighted down on her heart, making her out of breath. At this moment, Lin Mingyuan¡¯s call came. Xu Youran put on her earpiece and drove out of the police station. ¡°How did she die?¡± Lin Mingyuan suppressed her anger as she asked this on the other end. ¡°We haven¡¯t even gotten that thing done and now she¡¯s dead already. What kind of rubbish is this?¡± ¡°She was murdered.¡± Xu Youran went on, ¡°For now, we¡¯re still unable to find the person behind her death. However, our cooperation remains, and I¡¯ll find someone to rece her as soon as possible.¡± Chapter 658 - A Million Times for You (20) Chapter 658: A Million Times for You (20) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I don¡¯t care about the process, I just want the results,¡± Lin Mingyuan remarked. ¡°Contact me when you find someone.¡± Xu Youran threw her earpiece aside and fixed her gaze ahead. ¡ª Mei Shuangshuang, Xiaozong, and his friend¡¯s case would have its court hearing conducted very soon. During the court hearing, Mei Yangyang and her father went despite it all to sit in and hear the judgment. At the same time, Xiaozong¡¯s friend¡¯s family went as well. Only Xiaozong¡¯s family did not attend. He had gotten into trouble so many times that his family was already thoroughly disappointed with him and did not even attend. Xiaozong¡¯s fatso friend was absolutely regretful that he had not only not gotten the money, but had alsonded himself with charges for a crime. Compared to his remorse, Xiaozong acted fearlessly, as if there was nothing that could worsen the situation he was already in. Mei Shuangshuang looked at him and felt that his rotten character did not live up to his good looks. His handsome face was really for nothing. While she med others, she herself knew that she was thoroughly stupid as well. At this point, she still held ast bit of hope in her heart that the court would lighten her sentence. She genuinely hoped for this. However, she was destined to be disappointed. While the fat friend was sentenced to twelve years in prison, she and Xiaozong were sentenced to life imprisonment. This result was like being struck by lightning. No matter how prepared she was, hearing it still made her feel there was no more meaning in life. She turned around to look at her sister and father and realized that both of them had no expression on their faces. She suddenly felt a sense of despair in her heart. Thinking of the things she had once done, Mei Shuangshuang knew that it was because of what she had done that her sister no longer wanted to even see her. This would probably be thest time she and her sister would see each other in this lifetime. With Mei Yangyang¡¯s capabilities, she definitely could help her fight for a lighter sentence of ten or so years in prison or even lesser. But it was evident that she didn¡¯t want to help her. Mei Shuangshuang stood there like a zombie and persisted ¡¯til the end of the court hearing. With handcuffs around her wrists, she was brought back by the prison officers. What awaited her was a life of being imprisoned. Was she regretful? Mei Shuangshuang thought about it. Most criminals would regret what they have done after being sentenced, right? Even though she regretted it badly, that did not help things at all. She realized that one had to think of the consequences of everything they do. Relying on luck to survive would only leave one sighing in regret in the end. After leaving the court, Mei Yangyang held onto her father¡¯s arm. ¡°Father, talk to me if you¡¯re upset.¡± Mr. Mei shook his head. ¡°It¡¯ll be fake if I said I¡¯m not upset. What is really upsetting is that since she was young, your mother and I have spoiled Shuangshuang to this state. For her tond in this state, we as her parents have a responsibility that we cannot shirk. Since time cannot rewind, at least now, both you and I don¡¯t have to worry about what trouble she will stir up in the future, and we¡¯ll have more peace as well. Your mother isn¡¯t around anymore, but if she were still here, she would have been crying her eyes out.¡± Mei Yangyang helped her father onto the car. During the drive back, she did not say anything further. When Mei Shuangshuang was still in school, she¡¯d still tried to discipline her sister. But the more she disciplined her, the more disappointed she grew with her. As time passed, the sisterly bond between them faded as well. Up until sheid her hands on Xiaoxi. If anything had happened to Xiaoxi, she didn¡¯t know what she would have done. Also, if she were to be softhearted and spare her this time, with her fearless character and spending problem, it was a matter of time before she got into other trouble. Mei Shuangshuang was a bottomless pit that she could never fill up. Hence, she simply just washed her hands off this matter. She and her father did not meddle in it and left the matter to thew. Wasn¡¯t this good, in a way? But why was it that while she had maintained herposed manner in court, she suddenly felt a stinging pain in her eyes and some liquid flow out? ¡ª For two consecutive days, there was no progress in Yuan Mingzhu¡¯s case at all. The coroner¡¯s report came out, and there were no traces of any poisonous substance in her body, nor any injury on any part of her body. The members of the special team knew that Yuan Mingzhu could swim. Although her swimming skills were not the most excellent, if she¡¯d fallen into a river, she would have had the basic ability to save herself. Other than theck of valuable leads from the surveince camera footage, there was also no leads elsewhere. Everyone¡¯s hopes were ced on the data in Yuan Mingzhu¡¯s phone. It would have been fixed by today. In the afternoon, the officers retrieved the phone. Officer Zhang from the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit went through the phone for any important information. But there was nothing from Yuan Mingzhu¡¯smunication applications. Her call and text message records and phone album were also gone through. There was nothing. It could be said that repairing the phone was a futile effort. Pan Zhenghui had his attention closely on this case. ¡°How is it? Is there any progress with the investigation?¡± ¡°Bureau Chief, I think that Yuan Mingzhumitted suicide.¡± ¡°For what reason?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve investigated so many areas already and still can¡¯t find anything. Yuan Mingzhu has psychic abilities. I¡¯m sure Chief has heard of those evil spirits. When they want revenge, who can stop them unless you¡¯re a professional? So, there¡¯s a high possibility that Yuan Mingzhu¡¯s death was the same as what happened to Shi Shaochuan¡¯s mother. Does Chief remember how Shi Shaochuan¡¯s mother died in Ya Long Wan Hotel and appeared to have gone there tomit suicide? Yuan Mingzhu¡¯s death seems simr in that way. So, I specte that her suicide is simr to that case.¡± Pan Zhenghui felt that it made sense. ¡°That¡¯s true, but I still think that something is amiss.¡± Once Pan Zhenghui finished speaking, Team Leader Zhang beside him suggested, ¡°Bureau Chief, why don¡¯t we let the powerful Team Leader An take a look at this case? She isn¡¯t willing toe back to take the position as team leader, but she canmunicate with spirits. Wouldn¡¯t everything be clear if she just asks Yuan Mingzhu¡¯s spirit? Chief, if you go and ask her yourself, Team Leader An might give you some face.¡± ¡°Give me face?¡± Pan Zhenghui remarked. ¡°In her eyes, my face has no value at all. Back then, the one who invited her to help out at the station was the Head Officer, and he personally went to ask her. I can only me myself for not informing her about getting Yuan Mingzhu to take over her position. Thinking about it just makes me feel foolish.¡± ¡°Then, Chief, you should go and ask Team Leader An personally. You should just try.¡± Pan Zhenghui nodded. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go and see her.¡± He was afraid that if he called An Xiaoning, he would get rejected by her over the phone. Thus, he did not call her and instead went to the Gu residence to find her. Other than in the morning and night, An Xiaoning was usually not around at the Gu residence throughout the day. Realizing this, Pan Zhenghui told Mrs. Gu that he would return at night. After he left, Mrs. Gu called An Xiaoning. Hearing it from her, An Xiaoning immediately understood why Pan Zhenghui went personally to find her and did not simply call her. She was fine with it and did not mind meeting him at night when he visited. Visiting Beijia Bay daily was a habit she wanted to keep. When she was at her teacher¡¯s ce, she received an invitation from Ji Yu to go fishing at the frozen stream by carving a hole in the ice. Since she was in a leisurely mood as well, she agreed. At past one in the afternoon, Ji Yu drove over to meet her. Chapter 659 - A Million Times for You (21)

Chapter 659: A Million Times for You (21)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning wore a white hat made of rabbit fur. It had two cat ears poking out of it as well, which gave her an adorable and lively look. With her hands tucked in the pockets of her cotton-padded coat, she skipped to the front of his car, shing a wide grin. ¡°Why are you so free today?¡± ¡°I¡¯m free just for today. Tomorrow, I¡¯ll be going overseas for a mission. It¡¯s cold out here, get on quickly.¡± An Xiaoning went round the front of the car and pulled open the door beside the driver¡¯s seat before hopping onto the car. ¡°Did you bring all the tools for fishing?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± He turned the steering wheel and the car also turned, heading toward another direction. ¡°I saw the news. You invested in a television drama?¡± He turned to nce at her. ¡°Umm. The shooting starts in December, and the cast has been fixed. I chose them personally.¡± An Xiaoning asked with a grin, ¡°Did you see that news?¡± ¡°The news about you and that male actor Yan Ge? I saw it. I was rather surprised when I saw it, but it has been proven to be just fake news created by the media.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright if the media creates fake news because it¡¯s for publicity. Some artistes need such publicity, but I don¡¯t,¡± An Xiaoning said helplessly. ¡°Look at how all thoseizens have berated me, they¡¯ve called me all sorts of horrible names.¡± ¡°Theizens only know you on the surface and have never interacted with you. They know nothing about you.¡± His voice turned much gentler. ¡°Don¡¯t take it to heart. Why care about how people whom you don¡¯t care about feel? That¡¯s not important.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes were full of smiles. ¡°If I can¡¯t even take this much of stress, I¡¯d long havended in a state of depression countless of times.¡± ¡°...¡± On the way, the two chatted as they drove. Ji Yu told her about many interesting stories in the army force, which delighted An Xiaoning. She had always thought that the army was a strict environment. But after listening to him, she realized that even though social life was restricted for those in the army, there was still something about it that captured people¡¯s hearts. Hearing him speak, An Xiaoning could tell that he had strong faith in the army, its officers, and the country in general. His discipline, his attitude of abiding by principles and keeping secrets, made An Xiaoning impressed with him. ¡°I don¡¯t believe a man like you has no admirers in the army.¡± His face flushed slightly and he coughed. ¡°Although there are few women in there, there were indeed some admirers. It¡¯s just that I didn¡¯t like them.¡± ¡°What kind of women do you like?¡± ¡°Last time, I had many requirements like pretty looks, a good figure, being knowledgeable and refined, etc. But now, that isn¡¯t the case anymore.¡± ¡°So what is it now?¡± ¡°I can express it in one word ¡ª feeling.¡± His ck pupils were sparkling and fixed on her as he answered. ¡°But feelings are developed based on one¡¯s physical looks too. If it was a short, fat, and ugly woman, would you still have feelings for her?¡± He gave an answer that was ambiguous. ¡°That depends. Such a person may not make someone fall for her at first sight, but over time, this may change. One such couple in our army is like that. The guy is tall and handsome while the girl has average looks and is rather fat, but the guy still loves her so absolutely much. I guess this is what they call ¡®beauty is in the eye of the beholder.¡¯ When you meet someone you like, all your requirements will automatically be less important than your feelings.¡± ¡°Then, if you were to like someone and if she has some w that you dislike or even absolutely hate, will you concede?¡± ¡°If I like her a lot, I would.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª The fountain pen in Jin Qingyan¡¯s grip suddenly stopped. Because of this sudden movement, the signature on the document was left with an additional stroke. He looked up at Fan Shixin opposite him. ¡°Repeat yourself.¡± ¡°Ms. An and Major Ji Yu have gone to Luo Er Lake. Winter this year has been exceptionally cold. The ice frozen on theke is probably very thick. I think they went fishing...¡± Seeing that his face was gloomy and he did not speak, Fan Shixin was unsure of what Jin Qingyan was thinking of. After what felt like an eternity, he finally replied, ¡°Continue to keep an eye on them.¡± ¡°Yes...¡± Fan Shixin went out, greatly relieved. Jin Qingyan thought of how he went fishing with his friends back then and always brought a tent because it was exceptionally cold by theke during winter. They would just sit in the tent to fish. Thinking of how An Xiaoning and Ji Yu were like that now as well, the image of a man and a woman on a desteke by themselves surfaced in his head... Ji Yu would hold onto her hand as he says, ¡°Your ex-husband not only did not trust you, but he also asked to divorce you. He made you leave with no assets and even took away the custody of your child. He¡¯s really inhumane. From now on, let me stay by your side. I will treat you well.¡± An Xiaoning would look at him lovingly and reply, ¡°Honey, I believe you will treat me well.¡± Ji Yu would lean closer to her and the two would kiss. After picturing such a scene in his head, Jin Qingyan sprung up from his seat, gripping his pen tightly in his hand. He became instantly troubled. How could he put his mind to work at thepany? cing the pen onto his desk, he grabbed his coat hanging on the clothes stand and left his office hurriedly. Seeing hime out suddenly, Fan Shixin, who was standing outside, remarked, ¡°Young Sir.¡± ¡°You can go home first.¡± After he finished speaking, he briskly went into the elevator. Fan Shixin did not even need to make a guess. He already had an idea of where his Young Sir was going. The situation was giving him a headache. What on earth was he going to do? Jin Qingyan drove to Luo Er Lake. The area of theke was too huge, so he parked his car at an empty spot and used his binocrs to look ahead at the figures he could vaguely make out a distance away. He realized it was indeed the two of them. The two appeared happy and were chatting away merrily. Despite watching them from a distance away, one could already sense that the atmosphere between them was pleasant. Jin Qingyan pursed his lips tightly and stomped back and forth. This feeling was like being thrown into a hot pan to be deep fried. Especially when he saw the two skating on the ice cheerfully. Although he could not hear what they were saying, he could see from the binocrs that she was smiling. She was smiling. She was smiling... He was exceptionally unwilling to see her smile at another man. After twelve, twenty, thirty, forty minutes, and even until one hour had passed, the two did not seem like they were about to leave. Jin Qingyan got into his car and speeded toward their direction. An Xiaoning never would have guessed that Jin Qingyan would suddenly appear. They had intended to grill some fish before heading back. When Jin Qingyan suddenly appeared in front of them, An Xiaoning was at first stupefied. Thereafter, she could immediately guess something and the smile on her face faded away. She turned to look at Ji Yu. ¡°Looks like we won¡¯t be able to eat the fish in peace today, let¡¯s carry the things into the car.¡± Ji Yu looked at her, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. He was surprised not because of anything else, but because of what she said. He nodded. ¡°Alright.¡± When he went to pack up the things, Jin Qingyan walked nearer toward An Xiaoning, stopping just one foot before her. It was really a very close distance. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°If you wanted to fish here, why didn¡¯t you call me?¡± He did not question why she came with Ji Yu, maybe because he clearly knew that he did not have the right to. Chapter 660 - A Million Times for You (22)

Chapter 660: A Million Times for You (22)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Why should I call you?¡± Her tone was slightly sarcastic. ¡°Who do you think you are?¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s heart was about to explode. But on the surface, he remainedposed like still water. ¡°Do you want to verify in front of that major who exactly I am to you...?¡± His voice was filled with agitation and threat, which he could not suppress. He started moving even closer to her. An Xiaoning stood there motionless and just watched as he gradually neared her. Even when their bodies were stuck close to each others¡¯, she did not back off at all. ¡°Jin Qingyan, don¡¯t push your luck.¡± ¡°To you, every inch I go forward is probably enjoyable.¡± After he said that, An Xiaoning jerked her knee upward at his fatal spot. In that moment, Jin Qingyan felt that it was almost the end of the world. An Xiaoning then turned to leave immediately and did not look back at all. Jin Qingyan clenched his teeth and straightened his body. Watching her go farther away, he shouted through his hands, which he curved around his mouth, ¡°An Xiaoning, you just wait, I¡¯ll have you tonight!¡± Across the whole mile of thatnd, the three were the only ones around. An Xiaoning, who had just reached the car, quivered slightly with his scream. She abruptly turned around and red furiously at him, who stood not far away. ¡°Jin Qingyan, you may be shameless, but I still want my face!¡± He ignored her fury and leisurely headed toward his own car. When he reached his car door, he alluringly used his hand to send her a flying kiss. ¡°Be good, I¡¯ll make tea for you to drink at night.¡± An Xiaoning stood there in the wind,pletely shaken up. How she wished she could strangle this rotten man to death! She got onto the car, feeling extremely awkward. It was impossible that Ji Yu in the car did not hear what Jin Qingyan had said earlier. Her whole face was full of embarrassment. What made her more depressed was that she had no way of exining it. She was still just friends with Ji Yu at the moment and did not know how to broach the subject. There wasplete silence in the car. Neither of them spoke first. Afterposing her emotions, An Xiaoning turned to look at him and realized that he was looking ahead, seeming to be deep in thought. ¡°Havinge here with you this afternoon, I¡¯m very happy. Although there was an unpleasant intruder, I¡¯m still very thankful to you.¡± Hearing her mention ¡°an unpleasant intruder,¡± Ji Yu¡¯s lips curled into a grin and he replied, ¡°What¡¯s there to thank? I¡¯d have been very bored if I¡¯de alone anyway, so I¡¯m delighted to have you apany me.¡± An Xiaoning joked casually, ¡°My chauffeur Oppa, please drive.¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t put on your seat belt.¡± He was about to reach out to fasten her seat belt when An Xiaoning hurriedly said, ¡°I¡¯ll do it myself.¡± Ji Yu retracted his hands. He then fired the engine and concentrated on driving. ¡°Why did hee over?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not too sure.¡± In her heart, An Xiaoning knew that the only possibility was that Jin Qingyan had gotten someone to follow her tracks. The same thing had happened when she was walking on the streets previously. ¡°He¡¯s very concerned about you. He probably knew that you were with me, and that¡¯s why he came over.¡± ¡°It¡¯s impossible for us to get back together.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s tone was full of determination. ¡°I¡¯ve fallen hard for the same man twice, it already won¡¯t happen a third time.¡± ¡°I saw the news online. You were the one who revealed the divorce. Did you initiate it?¡± ¡°No, your guess is wrong. He initiated it.¡± An Xiaoning rolled up the car window slightly, allowing the cool air to blow into the car. As the chilly breeze blew onto her face, it felt remarkablyfortable to her. ¡°He initiated it? Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯splicated.¡± She was rather unwilling to exin the whole situation that had caused her and Jin Qingyan to split. ¡°No matter how much two people love each other, who can be so sure that there isplete and unconditional trust between each other? There¡¯s no such person who exists in this world. This is basically the main reason for our divorce.¡± Ji Yu seemed to have understood and replied, ¡°Someone like Jin Qingyan is considered unattainable to many women.¡± ¡°He may be unattainable, but when I was with him, I didn¡¯t think that I wasn¡¯t worthy of him.¡± An Xiaoning looked out the window. ¡°Just thinking about it is upsetting.¡± ¡°You¡¯re meeting him tonight?¡± Hearing him ask this, An Xiaoning knew that what Jin Qingyan said earlier had gotten to him. ¡°Have you really taken his words for real?¡± She felt that Jin Qingyan had said those words earlier intentionally for him. He just casually mentioned things that he didn¡¯t intend to carry out at night. ¡°Don¡¯t go.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve really taken it seriously?¡± An Xiaoningughed. ¡°I haven¡¯t.¡± Ji Yu stopped the car and turned to look at her seriously. ¡°I know you treat me like a normal friend, but it isn¡¯t the same for me. From the day of our blind date, I¡¯ve treated you as my other half already. You¡¯re not perfect, but neither am I. It¡¯s exactly this kind of imperfection that allows me to see the genuine side of you each time I meet you. We don¡¯t meet a lot, but each time we do, it¡¯s just like a date to me. You don¡¯t have to feel pressured, I just wanted to tell you what I really think.¡± A look of surprise shed in An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes. They had seen each other only a few times and he had not even fully understood who she was, yet he was already saying this... After giving it more thought, during the first time she had married Jin Qingyan, the progress between them was much faster than this. Hence, this isn¡¯t that surprising, after all. ¡°The person you see now may not be the real me,¡± An Xiaoning said frankly. ¡°I think you¡¯re great in every way too. But perhaps because I¡¯ve grown older and have seen more things, I¡¯m more careful now and don¡¯t have the adventurous spirit I had when I was in my twenties. However, I still stand by my words that my fate isn¡¯t sealed. Before I get to realize that someone really understands me, I won¡¯t begin a rtionship that easily.¡± His dark pupils were shining as he replied with a grin, ¡°I know. Our rtionship right now is good as well.¡± Seeing that he was smiling, An Xiaoning immediately remarked, ¡°From now onwards, you¡¯re not allowed to treat me as your other half but just a friend.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡ª ¡°Sister Yangyang, is the male lead really Yan Ge?¡± ¡°Of course. Sister Xiaoning went to sign the contract personally.¡± Mei Yangyang went on delightedly, ¡°En, you¡¯re the very first artiste our studio signed on, you must work hard and cherish this rare opportunity. Don¡¯t let down the hopes your Sister Xiaoning and I have for you.¡± ¡°Sister Yangyang, don¡¯t worry, I will work hard. I¡¯m rather worried, though. if an A-list actor like Yan Ge finds out that I¡¯m the female lead, will he refuse to act or request to change the female lead?¡± ¡°That won¡¯t happen. Sister and I think quite highly of your acting, and the director thinks you¡¯re not bad either. They¡¯ve told Yan Ge on their side already, just that we didn¡¯t send a photo of you yet. You don¡¯t have any works or any information on you online, so he doesn¡¯t know what you look like. Recently, I¡¯ve gotten people to create a page for you online already. So now, we just have to wait for the audition day. Perform well, and Yan Ge will think highly of you as a new artiste as well.¡± Fang En ced her hand on her heart and said, ¡°I haven¡¯t been sleeping well these few days, I feel like all of this is just a dream. Sister Yangyang, when will the teacher who will guide me in acting my role be here?¡± ¡°Probably a few more days. For these few days, you should just analyze the character yourself and also rest well. I¡¯m leaving.¡± Chapter 661 - A Million Times for You (23)

Chapter 661: A Million Times for You (23)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Yes, be careful when driving, Sister Yangyang,¡± said Fang En, who theny in bed and began searching for information about Yan Ge on the inte using her mobile phone. She was filled with anxiousness after reading all about him online. ording to the discussion forums, Yan Ge was said to be a splendid actor who was famous yet polite. However, he was also imed to be a tad bit arrogant and temperamental. Fang En thought that she would definitely be inferior to experienced actresses since she was a newbie in the showbiz industry. Since Yan Ge was the male lead, she would surely act alongside him in various scenes. Shall I go and try to get to know him better and prepare myself mentally? That¡¯ll help make working together much more harmonious and smooth , she thought to herself. After taking a look at the time on her mobile phone, Fang En got out of bed, picked up her bag, and quickly set off to the railway station in a taxi. It was already evening by the time she arrived in C City. Having filmed in the same television studio as Yan Ge before in the past, Fang En naturally knew which hotel he was staying at. Along the way, she was contemting whether or not it was a good idea to look him up, fearing that her sudden visit would put him off. She decided not to approach him and instead just observe him from afar. However, she arrived at the film set, only to find that the filming of the movie Yan Ge was starring in had already ended. Fang En lit up with joy and surprise, since the fact that filming hade to an end meant that there would be a celebratory dinner tonight. She hurriedly returned to the hotel. Her gut feeling had told her that the production team would definitely throw a bash in the hotel. She headed to the lobby on the second floor of the hotel to discover that her guess was correct. Such urate instincts! She zoomed toward an artificial tree and hid behind it to scan the crowd, amongst which she spotted Yan Ge. He seemed to be in high spirits while drinking and taking photos with the crew members. In those moments, Fang En suddenly felt like he seemed to be rather personable and down-to-earth. The reason was that she noticed that he was not in the least bit annoyed whenever he was asked to take a photo together with another actor or crew member and instead cooperated nicely. The more she observed the situation, the more she thought that theizens were merely spouting nonsense online. How is he at all temperamental and arrogant? Isn¡¯t he just a nice and friendly person? Feeling a huge sense of relief, Fang En turned around and began searching for the washroom. She¡¯d nned to check into a motel nearby aftering out of the washroom and return to A City the next morning. However, things did not go ording to n. A stranger began flirting with her the moment she exited the washroom. ¡°Lady, what¡¯s your mobile number?¡± Fang En nced at him apprehensively and tried to walk away quickly. To her astonishment, the man took chase and grabbed her by her arm. ¡°Pretty babe, don¡¯t leave just yet.¡± ¡°What are you trying to do!?!¡± Fang En snapped, feeling a little flustered as she shrugged his hand away and glowered at him. ¡°What¡¯s your mobile number?¡± ¡°Why must I tell you?¡± Fang En retreated backward slightly while the man stepped forward and scanned her from head to toe. ¡°You¡¯d better tell me,¡± he taunted. ¡°139XXXXXXXX.¡± Fang En gave him a random mobile number for she could not be bothered to talk to him any further. She thought that she could leave after giving him the number. Unlike what she had expected, the man immediately dialed the number, only to find that it was not a registered number at all. He grabbed her again forcefully and hollered, ¡°How dare you lie to me!¡± ¡°Just what are you trying to do!?! I don¡¯t know you at all!¡± Fang En tried to struggle out of his grip again, but to no avail, for he was too strong for her. The man immediately covered her mouth and dragged her toward the Gents¡¯ without another word. Fang En was horrified and consumed by terror, her heart almost jumping out of her chest. ¡°Let go of me, I¡¯ll tell you my real mobile number. Let go of me first!¡± ¡°I gave you a chance earlier but you turned it down. It¡¯s toote now!¡± the man bellowed. She wanted to yell for help but her mouth had already been covered. Thus, all she could do was move her legs about. At this very moment, she picked her legs up and kicked the man with all her might,nding a strike on his knees, which caught him off guard. He winced in pain and immediately loosened his grip on her. Fang En quickly took the chance to flee. The man took chase. Fang En could sprint with great speed since she was wearing afortable pair of fabric ts. She did not take the elevator, for it took too long to arrive. Instead, she zoomed toward the staircase and sped upstairs, thinking that she could fool the man into running downstairs. Yet, he took her by surprise and followed her upstairs. After running up several flights of stairs, Fang En exited the staircase lobby to find that she had arrived on a floor full of hotel rooms. She rushed forward and made a turn, nning to knock on a random door and hide inside a room temporarily. The moment she caught sight of a door that was left ajar, her eyes lit up in joy and she zoomed inside straight away. She then closed the door and leaned against it. Her heart was beating so loudly that she could even hear it herself. Boom... boom... boom... Her heart was almost ricocheting out of her chest, and her legs had already turned into jelly. She med herself for making the trip here to see Yan Ge. She absolutely regretted it! Panting heavily and taking deep breaths, she shifted her attention to the bathroom upon hearing the sounds of music ying loudly from inside. There were also noises of water flowing out of the tap. She could tell right away that the guest of the room was currently taking a shower. However, there was no way she could go out of the room now. What if that stranger is still outside...? She stood rooted to the ground, unsure if she should stay put in the room or take the chance to leave before the guest of the room discovers her presence. While she was stuck in a dilemma, the noisesing from the bathroom came to a halt and she could hear footsteps approaching. Fang En froze in shock and tried to zoom out of the door. However, it was clearly toote. ¡°Ah...¡± A tall and slender man exited from the bathroom and stopped in his tracks as soon as he saw her. Fang En blushed red with embarrassment and dared not make eye contact with the man the moment she saw that he was wearing nothing except a towel wrapped around his waist. To make things more awkward, he was Yan Ge. It had never urred to Yan Ge that he would encounter an uninvited guest in his room, one who popped out of nowhere! The first thing that came to his mind was that it was probably a crazy fan of his. One can only imagine how he felt to be met with a trespassing fan right after he took a shower in his room ¡ª absolutely horrid! ¡°How did you manage to sneak in!?!¡± He hollered in agitation. She¡¯s seen every inch of my body, that damned wretch! he cursed in his head. ¡°I... I... I... the door was left ajar so I opened it and entered,¡± Fang En spluttered nervously. Her words sent Yan Ge into an uncontroble rage. Noticing that he was about to dial a number on his phone, Fang En hurriedly rushed forward in a bid to stop him. To her astonishment, Yan Ge raised his arm, causing her to slip into his embrace and knocking them both off bnce as they fell onto the bed together. A deafening silence filled the air. Before Fang En could even react, she was thrown off of him and her headnded against the wall with a loud thud. The pain was so excruciating that she was on the brink of passing out. Nheless, she frantically tried to exin herself, ¡°Yan Ge, please don¡¯t get the wrong idea and hear my exnation first, will you? I was chased by a stranger who almost dragged me away. I managed to flee, but he chased after me and I barged into your room in a moment of panic when I saw that your door was left ajar. There are surveince cameras in the corridor, you may check the footage to verify if I¡¯m telling the truth. I didn¡¯t do it on purpose. Please forgive me.¡± He remained silent with a sneer on his face, which showed that he did not believe a single word she said at all. ¡°You may get lost now. But let me warn you, regarding the incident of you barging into my room tonight... if you dare breathe a word about it to anyone at all, I¡¯ll call the cops on you and have you arrested for trespassing,¡± he warned, ring at her menacingly. Chapter 662 - A Million Times for You (24)

Chapter 662: A Million Times for You (24)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Fang En remained seated on the carpeted floor and said, ¡°I guarantee I won¡¯t speak a word about this matter. I was nning to check into a motel for tonight, but I don¡¯t dare to go out alone now. Could you please let me stay the night in your room? I promise I¡¯ll scram immediately by daybreak.¡± Another reason Fang En wanted to stay in his room was that she wanted to take the chance to interact with him, as well as exin herself to him clearly. After all, they were the lead actor and actress in the uing drama that they were about to begin filming for. The consequences would be grave if they were to fall out because of such a minor misunderstanding and, in turn, cause her to lose the golden opportunity of ying the female lead. ¡°Trust you to want a mile when you¡¯re given an inch. Out of the question. Scram, now!¡± he hollered. Fang En bit her lip and rushed forward to grab onto his leg. ¡°Yan Ge, will you just let me stay here for tonight, please? I¡¯m begging you,¡± she pleaded. ¡°No. I¡¯m really going to call the police if you still refuse to get lost,¡± he warned, glowering at her while clenching his jaw in exasperation. Fang En dared not allow herself to be handed over to the police. Once the news of her getting arrested makes it onto the tabloids, how was she going to survive in the entertainment industry? ¡°If you call the police, I¡¯ll tell them that you raped me.¡± ¡°You...¡± Yan Ge was at a momentary loss for words, consumed by anger. Noticing that he was incapable of speech, Fang En stood up while rubbing the aching spot on her head. She lowered her voice and said, ¡°I really don¡¯t have any evil intentions. Neither did I know that you were staying in this room. It was purely a coincidence. Rest assured, I won¡¯t spread a word about... what happened just now,¡± she said, her face turning red and warm. Noticing that he still did not seem too convinced, Fang En continued, ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, I¡¯ll write you a guarantee note. I promise topensate you with a sum of money if I dare spread a word about the matter. You shall decide the amount. You may also sue me until I go bankrupt if I were to leak any information regarding this matter. Will that do?¡± He opened the drawer and took out a piece of paper and pen, which he then handed to her. ¡°Write.¡± Fang En hurriedly did so and handed it to him frantically after she was done. ¡°Take a look.¡± Yan Ge gave her the side eye, a look of dismay and frustration on his face. After putting the piece of paper away, he pointed at the couch and said, ¡°You shall sleep there tonight.¡± ¡°Alright. Don¡¯t switch off the heater, please,¡± Fang En requested, for she would freeze to death without a duvet if the heater was to be switched off. Fang En obedientlyy down on the couch with noints since she knew that she had asked for it. Being highly vignt and paranoid, Yan Ge could not go to sleep peacefully at all with a random, suspicious female stranger in his room. It seemed like he would be staying up for the rest of the night. Fortunately for him, the filming for the movie had already ended and he would be checking out of the hotele tomorrow morning. He felt as if everything that had just happened was a nightmare. Thank Heavens it was just a woman who barged in. God knows how dangerous it would¡¯ve been if it were someone who¡¯s trying to harm me. It¡¯s all my fault for being careless and leaving the door open , he thought to himself. ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning entered the Gu family mansion at about eight o¡¯clock to see that there was a police car parked in the yard. She carried her purse and alighted from her car before walking toward the door on steady feet. Having waited for her for half an hour, Pan Zhenghui hurriedly stood up upon the sight of her return and said, ¡°Xiaoning, you¡¯re finally back. I waited so long for you.¡± An Xiaoning ced her purse onto the couch and took a seat, crossing one leg over the other. ¡°Bureau Chief Pan, do get straight to the point.¡± ¡°Hehe, I just like how straightforward you are, Xiaoning. I know you don¡¯t wish to resume your duties as the team leader of the Special Investigations Unit, but could I ask that you summon Yuan Mingzhu¡¯s spirit and find out how she died?¡± said Pan Zhenghui. ¡°It¡¯s already been a couple of days. Do you guys still not have a clue at all?¡± ¡°Yeah. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have dared toe here to trouble you. The forensic pathologist has already carried out an autopsy, but there were no wounds or welts on her body at all, and the final conclusion was that she had drowned to death. However, we couldn¡¯t find anything despite having carried out detailed investigations. Xiaoning, there¡¯s a room in Mingzhu¡¯s apartment that is reserved especially for rituals to be performed in. Could you go take a look and see if those supernatural beings have something to do with her death? We ordinary people can¡¯t see those entities with our naked eye.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I shall go take a look now on your ount.¡± ¡°Ah, Xiaoning, you¡¯re the best,¡± Pan Zhenghui eximed in joy. ¡°Wait for me in the car while I go retrieve something from upstairs,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Sure.¡± An Xiaoning made her way upstairs with her purse and returned shortly after with a ck stic bag in hand. She swiftly walked out of the door and got inside the police car. ¡°I won¡¯t be driving today, you guys shall ferry me back hometer.¡± ¡°It¡¯s only right for us to do so. Xiaoning, I¡¯m really sorry about what happened before. It was all my fault. Please don¡¯t take it to heart. Well, it¡¯s actually because you were absent for a long time, and I didn¡¯t know where Yuan Mingzhu¡¯s abilitiesid. I was thinking that things would be worse if there was no one to take your ce at all while you were away,¡± Pan Zhenghui hurriedly exined. An Xiaoning nced at him calmly and said, ¡°Forget it, I didn¡¯t take it to heart anyway. You don¡¯t have to exin any further.¡± ¡°Great, if that¡¯s the case.¡± ¡°Do be more careful when you make decisions in the future, Bureau Chief Pan.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve learned my lesson this time. It won¡¯t happen again. I heard from Yuan Mingzhu in the past that she had inherited her psychic powers from her father, who inherited his from her grandfather. Both her father and grandfather are no longer around. Pardon me for my ignorance, Xiaoning, but do psychic people like you live...¡± ¡°Are you asking if we live shorter lives than ordinary people?¡± An Xiaoning did not mind approaching the topic at all. ¡°How should I put it? Well, longevity varies from person to person, just like ordinary people. Don¡¯t you realize that some ordinary people die at a young age too? There isn¡¯t much of a difference actually. But there¡¯s something everyone ought to know, regardless of whether they¡¯re psychic or not.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Life is not always a stagnant journey that remains unchanged. Ny percent of humans will lead their lives ording to Heaven¡¯s n, which allows genuinely capable fortune-tellers to be able to urately predict one¡¯s longevity, impending mishaps and cmities, as well as luck and fortune. Only a minority can have their fates rewritten, be it on purpose or unintentionally. The unintentional altering of fate urs when one has umted enough merit by doing kind deeds, without them even knowing.¡± Pan Zhenghui was immediately enlightened. ¡°I see. I often stumble across fortune-tellers who sell their craft in stalls on the streets. Do they have genuine abilities or are they just a bunch of con artists?¡± he asked. An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°We can never be too sure about that. Some manage to make pseudo-urate predictions simply because they got lucky while making wild guesses, in a bid to cheat a small sum of money out of others. But it all varies from person to person. If you¡¯d like to put a supposed fortune-teller¡¯s abilities to the test, you may try doing so with this method.¡± ¡°What method is it?¡± Pan Zhenghui asked out of curiosity. ¡°Go to the fortune-teller and tell him or her your birth characters, birth timing, and location. Then, don¡¯t divulge any other details and tell them that you¡¯d like to know about your health or career and marriage prospects. Pay attention and listen to what they have to say without interrupting. Many con artists resort to ying mind games. By the way, tell me what you¡¯ve investigated and found out so far.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not too sure about that actually. Team Leader Zhang is currently waiting for the investigation reports. I¡¯ll get him to exin things to you once he gets hold of them.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Once they reached Yuan Mingzhu¡¯s apartment, which was within the vicinity of the police station, An Xiaoning and Pan Zhenghui alighted from the car while Team Leader Zhang scurried toward them. Upon the sight of An Xiaoning, he greeted while smiling, ¡°Team Leader An, I trust you have been well since you parted with us.¡± Chapter 663 - A Million Times for You (25)

Chapter 663: A Million Times for You (25)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Team Leader Zhang, don¡¯t address me that way anymore. I¡¯m no longer a team leader.¡± ¡°Ah, you can resume your duties any moment if you wish to,¡± said Team Leader Zhang. Pan Zhenghui nudged Team Leader Zhang with his elbow and prompted, ¡°Brief Xiaoning about the details of the investigations we¡¯ve carried out for the past couple of days.¡± Thus, Team Leader Zhang began telling her about the investigations while walking. When he finished speaking, An Xiaoning stopped in her tracks and asked, ¡°You mean, Xu Youran gave her this apartment?¡± ¡°Yes, Xu Youran had even transferred a few million dors to her ount.¡± Mrs. Jin¡¯s death immediately came to An Xiaoning¡¯s mind. After being dumbstruck for a few moments, she nodded and continued walking. ¡°Okay. Is Yuan Mingzhu¡¯s mother residing in the apartment alone?¡± ¡°Yes, Yuan Mingzhu¡¯s mother has already asked for our help to sell the apartment after the investigations are over. She wants to move back to her own home.¡± The three of them exited the elevator. Team Leader Zhang pressed the doorbell of the apartment, after which a middle-aged woman who resembled Yuan Mingzhu quickly opened the door. She was obviously Yuan Mingzhu¡¯s mother. Her eyes were swollen from crying, and she appeared extremely haggard. ¡°Hello, Auntie. This is Ms. An, whom we specially requested to make a trip here. She¡¯s psychic, just like your daughter.¡± ¡°Pleasee in, quick.¡± The three of them entered the apartment. An Xiaoning¡¯s first impression of the apartment was that it felt rather stuffy and that the air was stale. ¡°Which one is the ritual room?¡± ¡°This one.¡± Mrs. Yuan led them to one of the rooms and entered. Everything in the room could be seen clearly the moment she switched on the lights. An Xiaoning walked toward the altar and took a look at the items ced on it. An Xiaoning picked up a small pot and emptied it. She then bent down and squinted to look at the liquid that flowed onto the ground, after which a sullen expression formed on her face immediately. ¡°Is this some kind of oil? It¡¯s still glistening,¡± Team Leader Zhang questioned, staring at the ground. ¡°It¡¯s oil derived from corpses.¡± Team Leader Zhang immediately sprung up and asked, ¡°What is it used for?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? This will help catalyze the effects exponentially if one uses it to harm others,¡± An Xiaoning said frankly, right in front of Mrs. Yuan. ¡°It... it¡¯s impossible. Mingzhu wouldn¡¯t intentionally cause harm to others,¡± Mrs. Yuan protested, shaking her head fervently. An Xiaoning stood up and said to her calmly, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, how do you exin the oil? If your daughter didn¡¯t n to harm to others, where did this apartment and the millions of dors in her bank ounte from? Do you seriously think someone would give those to her for free?¡± ¡°ording to the investigations, it was said that Xu Youran was the one who gave her those things as a reward for her fortune-telling services,¡± Team Leader Zhang exined. An Xiaoning did not buy his exnation at all. ¡°I know clearly what kind of a sordid person Xu Youran is,¡± An Xiaoning retorted, rolling her eyes at him before scanning her surroundings in the room once more. She then proceeded to Yuan Mingzhu¡¯s bedroom, where she rummaged through her closet, only to discover that there weren¡¯t any bizarre or suspicious items inside. An Xiaoning then picked up therge teddy bear on the bed and casually unzipped the outer casing to take a peek inside. To her astonishment, the teddy bear was filled with a bunch of smaller puppets instead of wool. ¡°Why are there so many of those?¡± Pan Zhenghui questioned in bewilderment. ¡°Bureau Chief Pan and Team Leader Zhang, do you know what these puppets are used for?¡± An Xiaoning asked, dumping the puppets aside and getting onto her feet. ¡°No.¡± ¡°These things are used when putting a hex on others. Usually, the birth characters, name, and home address of the victim would be written on the puppet, after which the medium will chant a curse. When a medium pokes a certain spot on the puppet with a needle, the victim will feel a sharp pain in the exact same spot on his or her body. That¡¯s one way to torture the victim,¡± An Xiaoning exined. ¡°Bullshit!¡± Mrs. Yuan snapped, refusing to allow her daughter to be branded as an evildoer. ¡°Mingzhu has always enjoyed sewing her own puppets ever since she was a child. That¡¯s just her hobby. It¡¯s definitely not like what you said. Are you really a psychic? You look just like a conman who¡¯s spouting nonsense,¡± she hissed. An Xiaoning¡¯s face stiffened in anger. ¡°I¡¯m spouting nonsense? With just one nce at the items she had disyed in that room, anyone who¡¯s learned about rituals can tell that your daughter was up to no good. Auntie, I know you miss your daughter, so I won¡¯t hold it against you, but you¡¯d better not try to cover up and defend your daughter when you¡¯re just an ignorant person who knows nothing about ck magic,¡± she retorted. Team Leader Zhang interjected, ¡°Auntie, Ms. An is way more skilled than your daughter was. How could you say that she was spouting nonsense...¡± An Xiaoning nced at him and thought to herself, You¡¯re finally saying something that makes sense... ¡°Boss, someone is calling you again!¡± She whipped her mobile phone out to see that it was a call from Jin Qingyan. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± she asked over the phone while walking out of the room. ¡°Yuan Mingzhu is one of the aplices involved in causing my mother¡¯s death. I was the one who killed her. Don¡¯t interfere in this matter,¡± said Jin Qingyan. An Xiaoning stopped in her tracks and answered, ¡°Got it.¡± She ended the call and took a look around the other rooms calmly. An Xiaoning then stared at Mrs. Yuan and said, ¡°Auntie, I suggest you take the money from the sale of the house and return to the countryside to enjoy your retirement. Your daughter ended up in such a plight entirely because she took someone else¡¯s life.¡± An Xiaoning shifted her gaze onto Pan Zhenghui and Team Leader Zhang. ¡°There¡¯s no need to investigate about Yuan Mingzhu¡¯s death any further. Let¡¯s put an end to this case.¡± While on the way back, Pan Zhenghui asked, ¡°Xiaoning, what you meant earlier was that the vengeful spirit of the victim Yuan Mingzhu killed hade back to take her life for revenge, right?¡± ¡°I noticed that the items and amulets she ced on the table in the ritual room were all used to ce death curses. That just proves that she had caused the death of someone. I don¡¯t know if the spirit took revenge by killing her, nor did I witness it with my own eyes.¡± Certain that his guess was correct, Pan Zhenghui instructed Team Leader Zhang, ¡°We¡¯ll close the caseter and tell them that Yuan Mingzhu had died due to suicide.¡± ¡°Yes, Chief.¡± An Xiaoning remained quiet and stared out of the window. Since Yuan Mingzhu was one of the culprits behind Mrs. Jin¡¯s death, it was more than obvious who the other culprit was. She knew the answer exactly without having to spell it out loud. After all, Yuan Mingzhu did not have a feud or bear a grudge against Mrs. Jin. Moreover, she had also epted such expensive gifts from Xu Youran. She wasn¡¯t rewarded for nothing... If Yuan Mingzhu had known earlier that this would happen, she definitely wouldn¡¯t have given in to the temptations of epting Xu Youran¡¯s mary gifts, would she? Xu Youran is truly a troublemaker... An Xiaoning alighted from the car when they arrived at the Gu family mansion and waved them goodbye. Just as she was about to knock on the door, she was stopped by a man who grabbed onto her wrist. She turned around to meet a pair of eyes that were beaming with joy. ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to invite you over to my ce for some tea.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have time for that.¡± She tried to break free from his grip but to no avail. All of a sudden, he picked her up in his arms and lifted her off the ground. An Xiaoning¡¯s face contorted into an angry grimace. ¡°Let go of me!¡± He did not budge at all and carried her into the car. He got into the driver¡¯s seat and ced her on hisp. An Xiaoning felt like hitting him with her heels. She tried to struggle out of his embrace by twisting her body from side to side. Chapter 664 - A Million Times for You (26)

Chapter 664: A Million Times for You (26)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She felt an erging bulge against her hips, causing her to blush red with embarrassment as she fell silent. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you moving anymore?¡± he asked in a deep and hoarse voice with a smirk on his face. An Xiaoning took a deep breath and said, ¡°Let¡¯s talk things over calmly. Will you let go of me first?¡± ¡°I tried talking to you calmly, but you refused to listen so I have no choice but to treat you to a cup of hot tea I made.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t I believe you at all?¡± ¡°My priority is to treat you to some tea, followed by...¡± he paused in his speech on purpose. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it.¡± He twisted the car keys and buried his chin in her neck. ¡°Don¡¯t move about randomly. Our lives are in your hands.¡± He began driving slowly and steadily. She sat ufortably in his embrace, all the way until the entrance of Wei Ni Estate. The car finally came to a halt. ¡°Get down.¡± An Xiaoning pushed the door open. As soon as she stuck one leg out of the car, she felt a smack on her buttocks, which threw her off bnce and caused her to stumble forward. She turned around to glower at him. ¡°Do you have any shame at all?¡± she hissed. ¡°No, I don¡¯t,¡± he answered self-righteously. ¡°You¡¯re nuts,¡± An Xiaoning scorned. ¡°How did you know?¡± He closed the door and continued, ¡°Ever since we got divorced, I¡¯ve been diagnosed with a mental disorder. The psychiatrist said that I¡¯m clinically depressed. So, I have to rely on sleeping pills to fall asleep at night because you¡¯re not by my side.¡± ¡°What... what did you say?¡± Her blood was gushing through her veins and rushed to the top of her head. ¡°Because of you, I haven¡¯t been able to sleep well at night.¡± An Xiaoning did not doubt his words, for one¡¯s mental health was not to be joked about. ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll forgive you just because of that?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never thought of that. I just wanted to let you know. As the saying goes, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. How would you have known about my condition if I didn¡¯t tell you about it? It¡¯ll be best if it could tug at your heartstrings a little and make you feel guilty toward me,¡± Jin Qingyan said with glistening eyes. ¡°Psht... who¡¯s the heartless one between us two? The pot calling the kettle ck. People usually mature and grow more sensible with age. Why is it the opposite for you?¡± she chastised, raising her chin to glower at him. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that I was only three years old?¡± ¡°Since when did I say that?¡± ¡°You forgot. Do you want me to carry you in or would you like to walk on your own?¡± he questioned, pointing at the door. ¡°I¡¯ll walk on my own.¡± She got out and began walking toward the door of the mansion while he followed closely behind. The bodyguards on duty turned their heads and stared wide-eyed at the ongoing situation. Xiao Huang: ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Xiao Lu: ¡°Have they made up with each other?¡± Xiao Bai: ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem like it, but look how widely Young Sir is smiling. He definitely took liberties with her.¡± Xiao Huang: ¡°They came home together at such ate hour. Don¡¯t tell me, they¡¯re nning to spend a blissful night together?¡± Xiao Lu: ¡°Young Sir brought Ms. An home, hehehe...¡± Xiao Bai: ¡°Wow, so graphic.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning sat on the carpet in his bedroom, leaving a small wooden table in between them. He followed suit and sat onto the thick carpet, dressed in a white buttoned shirt and a pair of trousers. He folded his sleeves and began brewing some tea. ¡°Jin Qingyan, I¡¯m really repulsed by how you¡¯re forcing me.¡± He looked up at her and said, ¡°I¡¯ll send you home after we finish the tea.¡± ¡°What did you add in the tea?¡± ¡°Poison. It won¡¯t kill you, though,¡± he teased. She was still vignt and on her guard at all times. Her only worry was that he would spike her drink. ¡°About Yuan Mingzhu... did you find out that she was the one who put a death curse on your mother?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He nced at her and continued, ¡°I called you tonight because I heard that you had gone to visit Yuan Mingzhu¡¯s apartment with the police. What did you tell them about it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s none of your concern. But sending your people to watch and tail me at all times does seem like something you would do.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just trying to protect you.¡± She scoffed and said, ¡°And monitor me at the same time.¡± ¡°You may do the same to me too, I don¡¯t mind it.¡± He poured the brewed tea into a teacup and handed it to her. ¡°Give it a try, others don¡¯t enjoy the privilege of drinking tea I brewed myself.¡± An Xiaoning took the teacup from his hands and took a few sips slowly, only to find that it was indeed very fragrant. ¡°You knew I had eyes on you, yet you still had the audacity to go out on a date with another man. Aren¡¯t you afraid that you¡¯ll bring disaster to others because of your willful behavior?¡± ¡°What has me going out with a friend got to do with you? Don¡¯t be such a tyrant and kill whoever you detest. I don¡¯t have anyments if you want to date other women either. It¡¯s up to you to do whatever you want,¡± An Xiaoning said in disgruntlement, cing the teacup onto the table. ¡°I¡¯d definitely do that if you really betrayed me and stopped loving me. I¡¯ll find another woman. But I know you weren¡¯t unfaithful toward me and you still love me. I was just reading too much into things before,¡± he said, staring at her longingly. ¡°You guessed correctly. I did betray you, and I don¡¯t love you anymore.¡± ¡°An Xiaoning, do you think I¡¯d believe you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s really strange. You refused to believe me when I denied ever being unfaithful toward you and tried to exin myself over and over again. Now that I¡¯ve admitted that I no longer love you and have fallen for another man, you still don¡¯t believe me. Just what do you want?¡± ¡°Hmph! If you dare say that again, don¡¯t me me for forcing you to do something against your will again,¡± he warned, sounding extremely upset. ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s drop the subject and have some tea.¡± She picked up her teacup again and began drinking the tea. ¡°Aren¡¯t you curious about how I¡¯m nning to deal with Xu Youran?¡± ¡°That¡¯s your business...¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t forgotten about the fact that she tried to kill you time and time again.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me... you¡¯re thinking of taking revenge for me while also avenging your mother¡¯s death?¡± she asked with a smile. He was pleased to see the gentle smile on her face. ¡°I must let her know what it feels like to be in a living hell and to wish she were dead instead.¡± ¡°Seems like I don¡¯t have to take any action myself since a benevolent Samaritan is going to help me get rid of this malicious troublemaker. Mr. Jin, let me toast to you with tea in ce of wine,¡± she said, holding a cup of tea with both hands and handing it to him. Jin Qingyan smiled and clinked his cup against hers, producing a loud and crisp sound. Once she returned to the Gu family mansion andy down in bed, An Xiaoning recalled the scene earlier. He had really sent her home after having tea, contrary to the ungentlemanly behavior he exhibited when he brought her to Wei Ni Estate. Seems like pigs were going to fly. ¡ª¡ª Shi Shaochuan and Jin Qingyue went to court to battle over the rights to Jin Bao¡¯er¡¯s custody. During the court trial, the two of them were adamant about not giving in to each other. There was an intermission halfway through the trial. In the end, Jin Qingyue managed to keep the rights to Jin Bao¡¯er¡¯s custody while Shi Shaochuan lost the case. A grave expression formed on his face. Shi Shaochuan stopped Jin Qingyue in her tracks when they exited the court. Chapter 665 - A Million Times for You (27)

Chapter 665: A Million Times for You (27)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Don¡¯t think this will end just because you abused your authority to make the judge grant you the custody rights.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t, I¡¯m not like you. You exploited a young child¡¯s innocence and gullibility to manipte her into telling all sorts of lies. How dare you have the cheek to criticize me when you¡¯re so despicable and shameless? Shi Shaochuan, don¡¯t think of seeing Bao¡¯er again, not even during the weekends. I won¡¯t give you the chance to lead her astray again!¡± ¡°We shall wait and see then! You may have Bao¡¯er¡¯s custody, but she¡¯ll still be closest to me. Jin Qingyue, I bet you don¡¯t have the capability to keep her away from me forever!¡± Shi Shaochuan hollered, glowering at her. ¡°Sure, I¡¯m not afraid of you!¡± Jin Qingyue was filled with frustration after pondering it over. She then red at Jin Bao¡¯er and asked, ¡°Why did you say those things during the court trial?¡± ¡°I just prefer being with Daddy right from the start, but you insisted that I stay with you. I was just speaking the truth.¡± ¡°What I mean is, why did you say that I hit and reprimanded you?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you do that before?¡± Jin Qingyue was at a loss for words. Of course she had hit and scolded her before. After all, which parent hasn¡¯t punished their child before? In her memory, she had never been able to bring herself toy a finger on her child. She only ever hit Bao¡¯er when thetter had something wrong that drove Jin Qingyue to her wits¡¯ end. ¡°You want to be with your Daddy so badly but I just won¡¯t allow you to. He¡¯s led you astray.¡± ¡°I think you¡¯re the one who¡¯s leading me astray! Mommy, why don¡¯t you respect my decisions at all? I don¡¯t want to live with you at all. I don¡¯t want to, I don¡¯t want to!¡± Jin Bao¡¯er snapped in disgruntlement. Jin Qingyue ignored her and said to the chauffeur, ¡°Start driving.¡± Jin Bao¡¯er had no choice but to bite her lip and warn, ¡°Mommy, don¡¯t regret your choices in the future.¡± Jin Qingyue could not help but get goosebumps upon hearing those words from her six-year-old daughter. ¡°What am I supposed to regret? You don¡¯t know any better, foolish child. Will Mommy possibly harm you?¡± Jin Qingyue questioned. ¡°I just prefer Daddy. Daddy¡¯s not like you at all. Daddy has never brought a woman home. All you do is date other men. Mommy, you¡¯re a disgrace to me!¡± ¡°I was the one who gave birth to you and raised you single-handedly. Don¡¯t I deserve to pursue my own happiness too? You¡¯re still young, you won¡¯t understand no matter how I exin it to you,¡± Jin Qingyue snapped angrily. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I understand? I understand everything!¡± Jin Qingyue ignored her and brought her back to Wei Ni Estate. She was greatly astonished to see that her daughter had be aplete devil before she even realized. Moreover, it was just the beginning of her evil and wayward behavior. Just as Jin Qingyue finished preparing dinner and set the dishes onto the table, Ling Ciye returned. He was not at all surprised to see Jin Bao¡¯er, since he had already expected Jin Qingyue to be granted the rights to her custody. ¡°Hurry, wash your hands and begin eating.¡± Ling Ciye proceeded to wash his hands and sat down on his chair. He looked at the spread on the table before turning to look at Jin Bao¡¯er, who was sitting on the couch. ¡°Bao¡¯er, why aren¡¯t youing here to eat?¡± he asked. ¡°I don¡¯t feel like eating.¡± Jin Qingyue removed her apron and said, ¡°Don¡¯t bother caring about her. She doesn¡¯t want to eat because she¡¯s not hungry. She¡¯ll eat once she¡¯s starved for a few meals.¡± Jin Bao¡¯er¡¯s anger and resentment toward her mother grew deeper the moment she heard her words. She stared at the two of them while they tucked into the food, secretly filled with delight. Ling Ciye caught sight of a peculiar object in the pot of tomato and egg soup when he was trying to scoop some into his bowl. ¡°Qingyue, what¡¯s this?¡± he asked in bewilderment. Jin Qingyue took a closer look and brought the pot of soup toward the kitchen without uttering a word. Ling Ciye could tell what it was even though Jin Qingyue had kept quiet and, thus, instantly lost his appetite. The object he had scooped up was the carcass of their pet bird, which they kept on the balcony. Jin Bao¡¯er was the one who¡¯d insisted on rearing that bird. Ling Ciye had previously agreed to ce the bird into a cage, which was to be kept on the balcony. The bird was still alive and well earlier in the day. Yet, it actually appeared in the pot of soup that evening. It was obvious who had killed it. Noticing that he was visibly upset, Jin Qingyue asked softly, ¡°Brother Ciye, are you alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± He returned to his room after having just taken a few mouthfuls. Jin Qingyue stared at the dishes on the table and lost her appetite as well. She immediately dragged Jin Bao¡¯er out of the house and red at her coldly from above. Jin Bao¡¯er hung her head low before looking up at her with a sinister smile. ¡°Mommy, if you don¡¯t let me stay with Daddy, I¡¯ll wreak havoc in your lives from now onwards.¡± Jin Qingyue was instantly reminded of her younger self, who was bent on marrying Shi Shaochuan regardless of her family¡¯s objection. She partly had herself to me for the way her daughter had turned out. Jin Bao¡¯er was behaving that way precisely because she wanted to spite Jin Qingyue into sending her back to Shi Shaochuan. Yet, Jin Qingyue refused to let her have her way. She decided to endure it and continued to stare at Jin Bao¡¯er. Finally, Jin Bao¡¯er stopped smiling smugly and kept a straight face. Ling Ciye opened the door all of a sudden and said calmly, ¡°Don¡¯t hit her,e in.¡± Jin Qingyue dragged Jin Bao¡¯er back inside the house before entering Ling Ciye¡¯s bedroom alone. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Ling Ciye held her hand and said, ¡°Why are you apologizing?¡± ¡°It¡¯s my fault for failing to take her in hand and educate her properly. It¡¯s all my fault for turning her into an ill-mannered and spoiled brat.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a child who¡¯s so severely deprived of paternal love that she¡¯s be so extreme. Since she wants to live with her father so badly, why don¡¯t you just let her have her wish? Anyway, you have the rights to her custody. Once she¡¯s sick of spending time with her father, she¡¯ll start to miss you, her mother,¡± Ling Ciye suggested. ¡°Shall I get Shi Shaochuan to take her home with him tomorrow?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± For the rest of the night, the two of them discussed what to do tomorrow. Needless to say, Jin Qingyue was afraid that her daughter woulde between her rtionship with Ling Ciye, though thetter was not at all concerned about that. What he feared was the possible hazards and dangers Jin Bao¡¯er posed. She had already attempted to disrupt their peace at such a tender age. One can only imagine what might happen if she tries to poison him to death when she¡¯s older. Wouldn¡¯t his life be at risk then? He was greatly concerned about his own safety and did not wish to live each day in fear. Besides, the idea of bing an up-to-standard stepfather had never crossed his mind. If she were a sensible child, he would have no qualms about living together with her so long as she did not stir any trouble. However, it was now out of the question since she was clearly an abhorrent loose cannon. After all, it was hard to ept her unruly behavior, especially since she was not his flesh and blood. The two of them thought that everything would be fine after sending her away to Shi Shaochuan the next morning. However, it seemed they had both underestimated Jin Bao¡¯er¡¯s capriciousness. Ling Ciye was shaken awake by Jin Qingyue. The smell of gas infiltrated his senses as he felt weak and feeble all over. Coughing ufortably, he murmured, ¡°Qingyue...¡± Jin Qingyue was almost losing control of her limbs. ¡°Brother Ciye, hurry and go outside...¡± She struggled to get down from the bed and opened the windows before walking toward the door, swaying unsteadily from side to side. After turning off the gas stove in the kitchen, Jin Qingyue sat on the ground and leaned against the kitchen cab to take a deep breath. Pangs of panic engulfed Jin Qingyue the moment she thought of her daughter. She helped herself up and scurried into the room next door, only to find that it was empty and that Jin Bao¡¯er was nowhere in sight. ¡°Bao¡¯er!?!¡± she yelled frantically. Chapter 666 - A Million Times for You (28)

Chapter 666: A Million Times for You (28)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios No one answered. Ling Ciye exited the room and said sluggishly, ¡°Did she sneak out again?¡± Jin Qingyue opened the door. Just as she was about to go down to search for Jin Bao¡¯er, she was greeted with the sight of thetter squatting by the door, giving her a huge sense of relief. Jin Bao¡¯er had already dozed off while squatting. Jin Qingyue carried her into the room and opened all the windows to let the air in. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you turn off the stove after preparing dinnerst evening?¡± ¡°I remember having turned it off properly. Or did I forget to?¡± Ling Ciye set hisptop down on the coffee table in the living room and opened it to watch the surveince camera footage. The two of them instantly got the chills after watching. The footage showed that Jin Bao¡¯er came out of her bedroom at two o¡¯clock in the morning while Jin Qingyue and Ling Ciye were both asleep and entered the kitchen. She then left the house and never came back since then. Clearly, Jin Bao¡¯er was the one who turned on the gas stove. Ling Ciye had never felt so exasperated before, not even when he found out that she was the culprit behind the bird carcass in the tomato soup. It had never urred to him that Jin Bao¡¯er would be brazen enough to try and kill them both. Grabbing his hand with both her hands, Jin Qingyue looked at him nervously and said, ¡°Brother Ciye, don¡¯t get angry. Let me handle this matter. I promise this won¡¯t happen again. Trust me, alright?¡± She was extremely worried, fearing that he would break up with her because of the incident. Ling Ciye rubbed his throbbing temples and asked earnestly, ¡°Is Bao¡¯er really only six years old?¡± ¡°She¡¯ll turn six on the 20th of January next year.¡± He stood up and said with a sigh, ¡°She¡¯s not just a mischievous and detestable child. I actually fear living with her. I think you should think through it carefully and weigh the pros and cons on your own. I¡¯ll be going to your brother¡¯s ce for a while.¡± Jin Qingyue was overwhelmed with dejection, and her heart sank as she watched the door close. She folded her arms and a sullen expression formed on her face. She recalled gaining a tremendous amount of weight when she was pregnant with Jin Bao¡¯er and insisting on keeping the fetus despite the countless number of times Shi Shaochuan had been unfaithful toward her. She even raised Jin Bao¡¯er single-handedly and showered her with all the love she could offer. Would Jin Bao¡¯er have turned on the gas stove if she hadn¡¯t known that it could kill? She was so young, yet already so relentless... Jin Qingyue was overwhelmed with misery, and tears began streaming down her face uncontrobly, like a broken string of beads. She remained seated on the couch all the way until daybreak. Jin Bao¡¯er woke up to find that she was already lying on the bed. She then sat up straight and caught sight of her mother packing her luggage. ¡°Mommy, I¡¯m hungry,¡± she said,pletely forgetting about what had happened the night before. After sorting the luggage, Jin Qingyue dumped a set of clothing onto the bed and said, ¡°Change into this and freshen up. I¡¯ll send you to your father¡¯s ce afterward.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Jin Bao¡¯er jumped for joy and hurriedly proceeded to put on her clothes. ¡°Are you aware of the consequences of leaving the gas stove on?¡± Jin Qingyue asked calmly. ¡°I... I just wanted to stay with Daddy but you refused to let me,¡± said Jin Bao¡¯er. ¡°So you decided to kill me and Uncle Ciye by causing a gas leak.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t die from gas poisoning. Daddy said it¡¯ll at most teach you a lesson, how is it possible that you would die?¡± Jin Bao¡¯er asked in puzzlement, staring at her mother with her eyes wide open. Jin Qingyue took a deep breath. Shi Shaochuan was indeed the instigator! she cursed in her head. ¡°Your Daddy lied to you. Inhaling an excessive amount of gas will lead to poisoning, which would ultimately be fatal. We¡¯ll all die.¡± Shi Shaochuan must have been thinking of using his daughter to poison Jin Qingyue and Ling Ciye to death, just so he could be granted the rights to Jin Bao¡¯er¡¯s custody. ¡°Hmph, I don¡¯t believe you. Daddy wouldn¡¯t lie to me.¡± Jin Qingyue took another deep breath and said, ¡°Since you trust your father so much and desperately want to stay with him, I¡¯ll fulfill your wishes. You may go live with him from today onwards.¡± Jin Bao¡¯er skipped to the bathroom merrily to wash up. Little did she know, Jin Qingyue felt as if her heart had been stabbed a million times. She was anguished and miserable. Half an hourter, Jin Qingyue and Jin Bao¡¯er showed up at the Shi family mansion. Shi Shaochuan was pleased to be greeted with the sight of a sulky Jin Qingyue. ¡°Wow, what¡¯s going on this morning? You were just granted full custody yesterday and yet you¡¯re now here to drop her off,¡± Shi Shaochuan sneered with a smirk. ¡°Shi Shaochuan, didn¡¯t you want Bao¡¯er to be under your care? She wants to stay with you too. Hence, I shall fulfill both of your wishes.¡± Jin Qingyue walked toward her car and took the luggage out of the trunk. ¡°This is Bao¡¯er¡¯s luggage.¡± ¡°Bao¡¯er, be good and listen to Daddy. Go inside the house first, I¡¯ll go back in to look for you after I¡¯m done talking to Mommy,¡± Shi Shaochuan instructed coaxingly. Jin Bao¡¯er nodded and zoomed toward the mansion without looking back at all. Shi Shaochuan leaned closer toward Jin Qingyue and purposely lowered his voice. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say we would wait and see who gets thestugh? It¡¯s only been a night and you already can¡¯t stand it?¡± he taunted. ¡°Despicable! You tried to make use of Bao¡¯er to kill me. Dream on! Since she¡¯s so supportive of you and wants nothing more than to live with you, you¡¯d better raise her well. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll grow to understand who really has her best interests at heart when she¡¯s older. I shall see for how much longer a hypocrite like you can keep up with the pretense,¡± Jin Qingyue snapped scornfully. ¡°I¡¯m true to Bao¡¯er, she¡¯s my flesh and blood. Forget about letting her acknowledge someone else as her father. I will never agree to it. But you¡¯d better watch out. Who knows? You might just die in your daughter¡¯s hands one day. That¡¯d be really pathetic.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you the custody since you want it so badly. You¡¯re right, I¡¯m still young and I shouldn¡¯t be letting you and the child affect my happiness for the rest of my life,¡± said Jin Qingyue, who had already thought it through carefully. Shi Shaochuan did not expect her to havee round to the idea of letting him have the custody so soon, given how adamant she was the day before. ¡°It¡¯s best if you think that way. I¡¯ll change Bao¡¯er¡¯s surname. Since she¡¯s my child, she obviously has to take my family name.¡± ¡°Suit yourself.¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°Ah!¡± Xu Youran shrieked as she was jolted awake from her nightmare. She clutched her chest and began panting heavily. Gu Dongcheng struggled to open his eyes and asked with a frown, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I had a nightmare.¡± Xu Youran got out of bed and picked up the kettle on the table to pour herself a ss of warm water, which she then downed in one go. Pursing her lips, she continued, ¡°I dreamed of Yuan Mingzhu.¡± Gu Dongcheng picked up the remote control and switched on the heater. ¡°What happened to her in the dream?¡± ¡°I dreamed that she was trying to strangle me to death. She said that I caused her to die. Dongcheng, I think it was either Gu Beicheng or Jin Qingyan who killed her. What are we supposed to do now?¡± eximed a flustered and panicky Xu Youran. ¡°Come here, let¡¯s have a good talk,¡± said Gu Dongcheng, patting the spot beside him. Xu Youran snuggled up into his embrace and said worriedly, ¡°I feel really unsafe now.¡± ¡°Are you afraid that one of them would try and kill you too? I¡¯ll send more bodyguards to escort you around. No one would dare to be so brazen as to take your life,¡± he reassured her, cing an arm around her shoulder. Recalling Yuan Mingzhu¡¯s appearance in her dream, Xu Youran closed her eyes and said, ¡°Dongcheng, getting rid of Jin Qingyan and Gu Beicheng would greatly put my mind at ease.¡± ¡°You want to get rid of both of them at the same time?¡± Gu Dongcheng questioned apprehensively, thinking that it was a far-fetched idea and a near-impossible task. Chapter 667 - A Million Times for You (29)

Chapter 667: A Million Times for You (29)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°It¡¯s difficult to take action on any of them, especially Jin Qingyan. Otherwise, you would¡¯ve managed to harm him long ago. You¡¯ve been nning it for so many years, and yet you still haven¡¯t gotten a single chance toy a finger on him.¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to think of someone far more capable than Yuan Mingzhu to take her ce. Once I find that person...¡± Xu Youran immediately felt much more rxed at the thought of it. ¡°How could it possibly be that easy to find someone like that? Don¡¯t you know that those who possess psychic powers are few and far in between?¡± Gu Dongcheng shot her idea down. ¡°Yuan Mingzhu¡¯s death is such a pity. I wonder how the investigations are going,¡± Xu Youranmented. ¡°Give them a call to ask about it.¡± Finding his suggestion to be a good idea, Xu Youran proceeded to call the police station. After hearing that she was a close friend of Yuan Mingzhu¡¯s, the police told her that the case about Yuan Mingzhu¡¯s death had already been closed. ¡°Why has it been closed so soon? What is the oue?¡± ¡°The cause of her death was suicide. Her corpse is going to be cremated today, and her mother will be bringing her ashes home.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Xu Youran ended the call dejectedly and said to her husband, ¡°They said that she hadmitted suicide, but I don¡¯t believe it.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that good? Would you rather the police find out that you were the one who instigated Yuan Mingzhu to do those stuff? I reckon someone must have intervened secretly, but there¡¯s no point wasting time to investigate this matter any further. It¡¯s better to just leave it be,¡± said Gu Dongcheng as he sat up straight to put on his clothes. Xu Youran sunk deep into thought but could note up with a usible exnation. ¡ª¡ª Fang En was still deep in her sleep when her legs were lifted up above her head forcefully by Yan Ge, causing her head to be pressed down against the carpeted floor. He then dragged her out of the room as if she were a dead corpse. By the time she opened her eyes, she was already feeling giddy and faint. Staring at the handsome man standing by the door, Fang En quickly put on her shoes and apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for causing you trouble and imposing on youst night. We¡¯ll meet again next time.¡± ¡°Wrong, we¡¯ll never meet again. Don¡¯t show up in front of me ever again in the future. If you dare breathe a word to anyone at all, I won¡¯t let you off,¡± he warned. Yan Ge mmed the door shut with a loud thud andy back down in bed. He did not manage to catch a wink at allst night, unlike Fang En, who had slept soundly, as if she were in her own home. Recalling the incidentst night, Yan Ge decided to verify if he had really left the door ajar or if she had trespassed with a spare key card. Thus, he immediately instructed his personal assistant, Xiao Li, to bring him the surveince camera footage of the hotel, starting from the time he returned from the lobby until Fang En barged into his room. Atst, the footage showed that he had indeed failed to close the door properly and that she had barged inside his room in order to seek refuge and hide from a man who was chasing her continuously. ¡°Brother, did this woman really barge into your roomst night?¡± ¡°Show me the footages from the other surveince cameras. I want all the footages starting from the moment she entered the hotel.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go right away.¡± Yan Ge leaned against the headboard and stared at the footage ying on hisputer screen while his heart began to sink continuously. His assistant soon sent him the footage of Fang En entering the hotel and watched it together with Yan Ge. ¡°Brother, this woman seems to be a fan of yours. Notice how she had been secretly staring at you for a long time on the second floor. But she was stuck in a rather dangerous situation when the man was harassing her outside the toilet. I was so nervous for her. Fortunately, she managed to escape,¡± said Xiao Li. Yan Ge instructed calmly, ¡°Erase all of the surveince camera footages and inform the management staff that a woman was almost dragged away and vited within the hotel premises. Warn them that I¡¯ll take action and expose them to the media if they continue being so ipetent andx with security.¡± ¡°Yes. Brother, you look really tired. Would you like to get some rest before leaving?¡± ¡°Nah, let¡¯s leave in a bit.¡± ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning put on her feathered jacket and headed downstairs with her purse to see that Lin Mingxi was in the midst of having her breakfast. Upon the sight of An Xiaoning, Lin Mingxi smiled mysteriously and said, ¡°I saw Jin Qingyan at our doorst night. Was he waiting for you?¡± An Xiaoning sat down and looked at her before answering, ¡°I bumped into him outside the door when I came home from a visit to Yuan Mingzhu¡¯s apartment. He insisted on treating me to some tea so I went over to his house beforeing home again.¡± ¡°Tea? Are you two going to get back together?¡± Lin Mingxi questioned apprehensively. ¡°Not a chance,¡± An Xiaoning answered with a straight face. ¡°How are things between you and that military Major?¡± Lin Mingxi asked. ¡°I treat him as a friend, but he says he considers me as his girlfriend.¡± Lin Mingxi burst intoughter and asked, ¡°How do you feel about him, then?¡± An Xiaoning drank her ss of milk with a straw. ¡°We¡¯ve only met a few times, and we don¡¯t know each other too well yet. I can¡¯t treat him as my boyfriend. He¡¯s a really meticulous and caring man, though.¡± Lin Mingxi was thrown into a stage of agitation the moment she heard her words. ¡°Grasp onto him, then. He must have a strong sense of responsibility since he¡¯s a military officer.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see how it goes.¡± ¡°Xiaoning... how¡¯s the case regarding Yuan Mingzhu?¡± Mrs. Gu asked. ¡°There¡¯s no need for further investigation. The case is closed, and suicide is imed to be the cause of Yuan Mingzhu¡¯s death. Also, you guys don¡¯t have to worry for the time being. Yuan Mingzhu¡¯s apartment and money were all given to her by Xu Youran. I¡¯ve seen the items Yuan Mingzhu used to perform her rituals. She was the one behind the change in Mingxi¡¯s fate and Jin Qingyan¡¯s mother¡¯s death. To put it simply, it was all rted to Xu Youran. Now that Yuan Mingzhu is dead, Xu Youran wouldn¡¯t be able to find anyone to rece her for the time being. Besides, I don¡¯t think she would be getting her way easily from now on,¡± she answered calmly. ¡°I knew it was someone else¡¯s doing right from the start,¡± said the intelligent Gu Beicheng. It was obvious who ¡°someone else¡± referred to. ¡°No matter what, Xu Youran is ourmon enemy,¡± said An Xiaoning. That was a fact that everyone was well aware of. ¡°Beicheng, since you¡¯re so close to Ye Xiaotian, could you try to persuade him and his mother to stop being so uptight about carrying on their family bloodline? Does the child¡¯s gender really matter so much that they have to put Mo Li through so much torment? I wonder if the child has been aborted yet,¡± said An Xiaoning, letting out a long sigh. ¡°Of course not.¡± Gu Beicheng peeled off a small piece of dough fritter and shoved it inside his mouth before continuing, ¡°Mo Li has been confined to the four walls of the ancestral hall, and Xiaotian¡¯s mother has instructed her bodyguards to keep a close eye on her round the clock.¡± ¡°What exactly happened?¡± Mrs. Gu asked. An Xiaoning exined the situation briefly. ¡°What a great sin. Since Heaven has blessed her with four daughters in her life, what¡¯s the point of going against His will? Aren¡¯t they afraid of receiving a punishment that they¡¯ll regret for the rest of their lives?¡± Mrs. Gu remarked in distaste. ¡°Mrs. Ye is too obsessed with having a grandson and doesn¡¯t want others to look down on the Ye family. So, she obviously couldn¡¯t care less about the consequences. I¡¯m just afraid it¡¯ll be too huge of a price for them to pay. There¡¯s no turning back. Refusing to ept a daughter and begging for a sones with a set of conditions. Mo Li was just too unlucky to have met Ye Xiaotian in this life,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Actually, he does love Mo Li,¡± said Gu Beicheng, who was bosom buddies with Ye Xiaotian. Chapter 668 - A Million Times for You (30)

Chapter 668: A Million Times for You (30)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mr. and Mrs. Gu stood up after having had their fill, leaving the three of them alone at the dining table. An Xiaoning shrugged and sneered in contempt, ¡°He loves her, yet he still puts her through so much suffering. She¡¯s better off without a love like his.¡± ¡°The thing is, Mo Li is too weak. Ye Xiaotian is just a coward, to begin with. When we got married back then, it felt as if we weren¡¯t a married couple at all. I thought he was deeply in love with Mo Li, for he acted like he was so furiously loyal toward her. But from the looks of it, he doesn¡¯t seem to love her that much, after all. I totally agree with Xiaoning. He can¡¯t bepared to Beicheng at all,¡± said Lin Mingxi, expressing her disdain toward her former husband. An Xiaoning wiped her mouth and said, ¡°Don¡¯t you think your life is very exciting and full of surprises? You were once matchmade with Long Tianze, tried to court Jin Qingyan, and married Ye Xiaotian, followed by Beicheng.¡± ¡°Ahem... it¡¯s all in the past now,¡± said Lin Mingxi, blushing red with embarrassment. ¡°Hahahaha...¡± An Xiaoning guffawed at the sight of how awkward and embarrassed Lin Mingxi was. She poked Gu Beicheng, who was sitting beside her, and said, ¡°Look how red your wife has gotten.¡± Gu Beicheng smiled in amusement. The three of them had an enjoyable breakfast, during which they chatted merrily and cracked jokes with each other. After breakfast, Lin Mingxi headed to the fitness gym while Gu Beicheng went to the office and An Xiaoning drove to her mentor¡¯s ce in Beijia Bay. They each had their own things to do. An Xiaoning obviously reported to Beijia Bay first thing in the morning. She would listen to her mentor¡¯s lecture and teachings for two hours every single day. She did not find her mentor long-winded at all. Thetter would often get straight to the point and avoid talking about unnecessary things, perhaps because she knew An Xiaoning¡¯s time was limited. Xu Baizhi would usually wait outside and do theundry or perform other household chores while An Xiaoning and her mentor talked softly in the room. ¡°Teacher, how many more days to go does she have?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°About a week or so. I¡¯ve already done my best. I really wonder which wicked person has altered her fate so heavily. The greatest fear of this industry is those who put their strong powers to unscrupulous uses and harm others with their abilities,¡± the elderlydy said unhurriedly. ¡°You¡¯re willing to help her because you¡¯re kind, Teacher. I really hope she¡¯ll remember your graciousness and stay on the right track from now onward.¡± ¡°I hope so too.¡± The elderlydy asked, ¡°Have you been reading the summary I gave you?¡± ¡°I read it every night and memorize the teachings by heart.¡± ¡°Good to hear. My days are numbered, I¡¯ll teach you everything I know while I can,¡± the elderlydy said with a long sigh. An Xiaoning¡¯s heart dropped upon hearing her words and said, ¡°Don¡¯t say that, Teacher. You¡¯re still very healthy and strong. You¡¯ll definitely live beyond a hundred years old.¡± The elderlydy responded with a smile. ¡°In hindsight, I¡¯ve lived such a tasteless and mundane life. I¡¯m all alone by myself, lonely and childless. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because fortune-tellers are bound to live a miserable life. None of the psychic people I know have had blissful marriages and an abundance of children. I¡¯m not trying to scare you. I¡¯m just stating facts. There are still some who do have a few children, though the children hardly ever live past adulthood. Sometimes, I really wonder if it¡¯s the price we have to pay for divulging Heaven¡¯s secrets and revealing to others about how their fate would turn out,¡± said the elderlydy. ¡°Teacher, even if that¡¯s the case, we still ought to pursue the happiness we deserve. It doesn¡¯t matter even if it doesn¡¯t turn out well. All three of my marriages have ended up in a divorce, and I¡¯ve also suffered three... miscarriages, though I managed to give birth to one. Now that I think about it, I¡¯m just like those people you know.¡± ¡°I think you¡¯re different from them. You have a strong backbone, and you¡¯re opinionated in a good way. You know clearly what you want and don¡¯t want,¡± said the elderlydy, leaning against the bed with her eyes half-closed. An Xiaoning remained silent for a few moments before saying, ¡°Maybe I had an unfortunate life in my previous lifetime. Perhaps that¡¯s why I¡¯m not blessed this lifetime either.¡± ¡°Your destiny lies in your own hands. Your fate can also take a different path, depending on the choices and decisions you make.¡± ¡°I bought a house recently. Would you like to move in with me, Teacher? You¡¯re getting on in your years. It¡¯ll be easier for me to take care of you if we live together.¡± The elderlydy declined immediately, ¡°Nah, I¡¯ve been living here for many, many years. I¡¯m not moving elsewhere.¡± An Xiaoning had no choice but to respect her decision. She then bumped into Madam Xu when she exited the elderlydy¡¯s room. Thetter happened to be speaking to Bai Zhi in the yard. Upon sight of An Xiaoning, Madam Xu said with a smile, ¡°Are you leaving already?¡± ¡°Yes. When did you arrive, Madam Xu?¡± ¡°A few minutes ago.¡± Not having much to say to her, An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°You guys continue chatting, I¡¯ll get going now.¡± ¡°Alright, drive safely.¡± Just as she got inside the car, she took a casual nce at the rearview mirror, only to see a figure shing past. Someone was tailing her again. Thinking that it was not too safe for her mentor to be living alone in such a dpidated area, An Xiaoning decided to call Gu Beicheng to inform him to send a dozen bodyguards to guard her house. Gu Beicheng agreed to her request right away. An Xiaoning could finally rx and leave. ¡ª¡ª ¡°You¡¯re staring at me so intensely. Are you thinking of eating me up?¡± Shi Xiaoyu questioned furiously, finding her husband¡¯s re extremely disturbing. Tuoba Rui stared at her with a look of disdain and said, ¡°What did I tell you? I warned you not toy a finger on her, but how dare you send your people to shadow her. You¡¯re even thinking of harming her. Just why did you do that?¡± Tuoba Rui did not raise his voice, though he sounded stern and austere. Shi Xiaoyu had no idea how he had found out about the matter. Considering the circumstances she was in, Shi Xiaoyu answered, ¡°I merely hired someone to shadow her. I didn¡¯ty a finger on her at all.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be a smart aleck and end up shooting yourself in the foot. Also, don¡¯t think you have the rights to do whatever you want, just because Gucheng has be the president now,¡± Tuoba Rui warned, clearly refusing to believe her. Shi Xiaoyu was further enraged by his words. ¡°If I really did whatever I wanted, she wouldn¡¯t still be alive today.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t wish to talk about this anymore. You¡¯d better know your limits and keep yourself in check. Don¡¯t think I have no clue about what you¡¯re up to.¡± Shi Xiaoyu humphed and remained silent. Noticing that he was about to leave, Shi Xiaoyu stepped forward to grab him and said, ¡°Before you stepped down, you were busy with handling political matters every day. Now that Gucheng has seeded your position, can¡¯t you move back in with me?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel like doing that. It¡¯s better that we live separately.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll definitely have to invite An Xiaoning to Danxue¡¯s wedding. As An Xiaoning¡¯s biological father, don¡¯t you want to meet her in person?¡± ¡°I know clearly what ideas you¡¯re getting. Xiaoyu, if I ever find out that you¡¯veid a finger on her, I won¡¯t be letting you off for sure. I mean what I say!¡± Tuoba Rui warned. Pinching her fingers tightly, Shi Xiaoyu clenched her jaw in anger and questioned, ¡°Have you ever loved our three children that dearly?¡± ¡°Stop trying to challenge me. Bear that in mind! You may invite her to Danxue¡¯s wedding, but forget about trying to touch her.¡± Shi Xiaoyu turned around to leave with anger rushing through her veins uncontrobly. Chapter 669 - A Million Times for You (31)

Chapter 669: A Million Times for You (31)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shi Xiaoyu bumped into her elder son, Tuoba Hancheng, the moment she made her way downstairs. ¡°Are you looking for your father?¡± she asked. ¡°Yes. Mother, I¡¯d like to move out of the Autumn Pce,¡± said Tuoba Hancheng, who seemed to be in low spirits. He felt that there was no longer a need to be trapped in this pce since there was no chance of him bing the president anyway. ¡°Where are you moving to?¡± ¡°Anywhere but here.¡± Shi Xiaoyu could not be bothered to intervene and said simply, ¡°Go inform your father about it. I¡¯m staying out of your decision.¡± Tuoba Hancheng headed upstairs and soon disappeared out of sight. Shi Xiaoyu was troubled and gued with woes. Decades have passed since she married Tuoba Rui. Yet, they had slept on the same bed for only a pathetically small number of times. Surprisingly, they actually gave birth to three children. She had never once in her life managed to win his heart. There were barely any feelings of love and graciousness, which a married couple ought to have, between them at all. Shi Qingzhou was undeniably a huge thorn in Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s flesh that would forever bring her pain, anger, and misery. She initially thought that Shi Qingzhou would never be able to escape her clutches for the rest of her life, yet... Had she known earlier, she would have just killed Shi Qingzhou right away, instead of putting her through years of physical and mental torment. Seems like she had overestimated her own abilities. Since Shi Qingzhou had already escaped, it would be difficult to nab her again. Shi Xiaoyu was incredibly frustrated and perturbed. ¡ª¡ª When he followed him to the office in the morning, Fan Shixin discovered that Jin Qingyan was behaving differently than before. He was different in the sense that he seemed to be extremely focused and preupied with something. In Fan Shixin¡¯s memory, there was only one person who could manage to be such a great distraction to Jin Qingyan. ¡°Young Sir...¡± Jin Qingyan looked at him and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Are you thinking of Ms. An?¡± ¡°Do you really think I¡¯ll be distracted by an irrelevant person during work hours?¡± Jin Qingyan asked. ¡°Of course not. Young Sir, you¡¯ve always been attentive and focused when ites to work. You¡¯re definitely not one to be distracted.¡± ¡°Has there been any progress in the matter I told you to check up on?¡± Jin Qingyan asked, keeping his eyes fixed on theputer screen while punching his fingers on the keyboard furiously. ¡°Yes. I was nning to report to you after getting all the details.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, just tell me everything you know now.¡± ¡°The auction is to be held in D City tonight, though the authenticity of the auctioned items is still unknown. However, this piece of news has already managed to entice a huge bunch of people. I believe there¡¯ll be a bloodbath in D City tonight. Young Sir, would you like to make a trip there?¡± ¡°It¡¯s unlikely that the items would be authentic. Those stuff are priceless items that money can¡¯t buy. We¡¯ll just watch them make a fool of themselves,¡± Jin Qingyan said calmly, not at all tempted by the news. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s genuine?¡± ¡°It couldn¡¯t be found despite years of searching, and yet they im to have found it so out of the blue. I doubt it¡¯d be genuine. Now that I think about it, the truth could really be just baseless. I¡¯m almost losing all my interest in this matter.¡± Fan Shixin received an iing call from his subordinate, after which he frantically reported to Jin Qingyan, ¡°Ms. An has booked a flight to D City.¡± Jin Qingyan stopped what he was doing and asked, ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s D City?¡± ¡°Yes. But I don¡¯t think she¡¯s there for the auction. Besides, even if it¡¯s real, I doubt Ms. An would be able to buy it. After all, she can¡¯t afford such priceless items anyway. I reckon she must have something else to attend to in D City.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me Ji Yu is in D City too?¡± Stunned by his random question, Fan Shixin answered, ¡°No, he¡¯s not. I¡¯ve already checked, Major Ji is currently on a mission elsewhere.¡± ¡°Continue to tail her and see if she wears a mask to D City.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± ¡°Young Sir... why didn¡¯t you make Ms. An stay after your tea session with herst night?¡± Fan Shixin asked curiously. ¡°It¡¯s not like you don¡¯t know what her temper is like. She¡¯s so sharp and obstinate. I¡¯ll only be making her detest me more by forcing her to stay. Don¡¯t they always say that absence makes the heart grow fonder? Hmm, don¡¯t you think I¡¯ve gotten much better at curbing my urges and controlling my emotions?¡± Although he thought otherwise, Fan Shixin had no choice but to agree with his employer, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Shixin, you¡¯ve been working for me for so many years. In your eyes, how do Ipare to other men?¡± ¡°Well, other men can¡¯t bepared to you at all, Young Sir. You¡¯re a godly existence to me.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Jin Qingyan asked, filled with delight. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°If only she thought the same as you.¡± However, Jin Qingyan felt a little as if he was deceiving himself. He rose from his seat and put on his zer, which was hanging from the coat hanger. Noticing what he was doing, Fan Shixin asked, ¡°Young Sir, aren¡¯t you going to continue working?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to go out for a walk alone.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go back to Wei Ni Estate first then.¡± ¡°Mmm-hmm.¡± Jin Qingyan got inside his car and headed to a luxury cosmetic store alone. The store assistants did a double take the moment they saw him, only to realize that it was indeed Jin Qingyan. It was only normal for men to use cosmetic products that were specially designed for males. There was nothing too peculiar about that. ¡°Mr. Jin, is there anything you¡¯re looking for?¡± ¡°Facial masks.¡± Upon hearing his answer, the store assistant immediately led him to a counter, which had on disy a wide range of facial masks specially meant for men. ¡°These are all products designed for men. Mr. Jin, are you looking for a refreshing facial mask or a skin-whitening one?¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking for those meant fordies,¡± he answered briefly. The store assistant immediately understood what he meant and said, ¡°The products fordies are over here.¡± Jin Qingyan stared at the plethora of facial masks from various brands and took his pick carefully while the store assistant continuously exined the products to him. Atst, he picked out five boxes of masks that were the most expensive and of the best quality. He swiftly made his way back to his car with the shopping bag in his hand. ¡ª¡ª The only reason An Xiaoning decided to make a trip to D City was that she heard from Gu Beicheng that there was a ce in the city where the upper-ss folks would often make business deals. It was a shady ce that was akin to the ck market in A City. She heard that it was a good location to buy some capable bodyguards. She nned to buy a few people who would be fiercely loyal to her. She initially thought that the bodyguards and servants she had bought previously would leave her home after her ¡°death.¡± However, it turned out that they ended up settling down in Jin Qingyan¡¯s home. Thus, she decided to leave them be. Now that she had bought a new mansion in Sanqiao Estate, it was only necessary to have some bodyguards and servants to guard and upkeep the house. Besides, she had also wanted to have two able assistants. Thus, she obviously had to carefully handpick every single person she was going to buy. It was already past five o¡¯clock in the afternoon by the time she arrived in D City. She managed to shirk off Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s people by wearing the human skin mask, thus allowing her to get around freely with no qualms or worry. Days were shorter while nights were longer in the winter. The sky had already turned dark by six o¡¯clock. An Xiaoning proceeded to her desired destination. It was inside a tall building. She had heard from Gu Beicheng that the building was a transaction hub well known amongst the businessmunity. Several ck markets and auctions were often held in the said building. He had also reminded her to wait a few days before heading there, though he did not exin the reason. However, An Xiaoning did not think much of it and decided to head to the city straight since she was a little bored and did not have much to do anyway. It was not a fair weather day in D City, for the gloomy skies had begun drizzling when she alighted from the taxi. Although the rain was not heavy at all, it added to the biting cold of the winter. An Xiaoning walked inside the building and boarded the elevator to the third floor. As soon as the elevator doors opened, An Xiaoning entered to see that the elevator was almost full. What a crowd , she thought to herself. Chapter 670 - A Million Times for You (32)

Chapter 670: A Million Times for You (32)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios There was a far greater number of people there than in the ck market of A City. The ce was extremely spacious. The hub where illegal and hical transactions took ce was yet another example of the dark side of society. Only the wealthy and powerful would be aware of the existence of such a ce. An Xiaoning slowed down in her tracks and walked inside. After having walked a distance, she reached a small door in the middle and opened it, only to be greeted with an appalling sight. What stood in front of her wasplete chaos. A sudden, deafening shriek filled her ears all of a sudden. She walked forward to discover that the wailing wasing from a woman who was rigidly shackled and tied up, stark naked and drenched in blood. A man was standing beside her with a whip in his hand. An Xiaoning immediately retreated, the shock robbing her of her senses. This is a really dark and twisted ce , she thought to herself. Indeed, such cruel business deals ought to be kept behind closed doors. She stopped in her tracks when she walked past a tall and handsome-looking man. She then shifted her gaze onto a signboard next to him, which read: ¡°Trained under a warrior since a young age, absolutely loyal, in the pink of health, grew up in an orphanage...¡± An Xiaoning was well aware that most of the ves on sale at such markets were orphans who have undergone rigorous training to be warriors. They were all abandoned by their masters, usually because of a mistake made or various other reasons. How was it possible to tell whether one was healthy or not, simply based on appearance? ¡°Get them to remove all their clothes except their shorts,¡± An Xiaoning instructed. ¡°No problem.¡± The boss immediately waved at them and ordered, ¡°Do as thisdy here instructed.¡± Although there was a heater in the basement, it was still rather chilly because of how spacious the area was. They stood in a single file and began removing their clothes. An Xiaoning took a close look at each of their bodies to discover that they were all covered in wounds and scars, which were traces left behind by the severe physical torture they had been subjected to. An Xiaoning could not help but feel sympathy for the young men standing before her. It was hard to believe that harsh very still exists in the modern society of today. ¡°You may put on your clothes.¡± An Xiaoning turned to the seller and asked, ¡°For how much are they going at?¡± ¡°To be honest with you, each of them is sold at a different price.¡± The seller rubbed his hands together and pointed at the most handsome man amongst the group. ¡°Look at this one, he¡¯s tall, handsome, and very fit and agile...¡± It sounded as if she was looking to buy a boy toy. She interrupted, ¡°Tell me how much each of them costs.¡± ¡°Two million, 1.5 million, 2 million, 1 million, 3 million, 2.8 million, 1.5 million, 2.4 million...¡± ¡°Ten million dors. Sell them all to me for ten million dors,¡± said An Xiaoning, ncing at the seller. ¡°Goodness gracious, are you kidding me,dy? We¡¯re talking about fourteen people, not fourteen objects!¡± the seller eximed with a look of disbelief. ¡°Aren¡¯t you selling them like they¡¯re inanimate objects? Don¡¯t think I haven¡¯t bought ves before. Are you trying to fool me? They can¡¯t be healthy with so many wounds and scars on them. I might even have to pay for their medical bills if they turn out to be ill-stricken with a long list of diseases. I¡¯m buying all of them for ten million dors. Take it or leave it,¡± An Xiaoning insisted. Well aware of the health condition of the young men, the seller sighed and said, ¡°I¡¯ve really made a huge loss this time. But I shall sell them to you, on ount of how gorgeous you are. They¡¯re all well trained and proficient in martial arts. They would¡¯ve long fled if it weren¡¯t because I had their indentures.¡± An Xiaoning remained silent. She knew how important those indentures were in the world of ck markets, though they were not legally recognized. Apart from those who were sent to training camps when they were infants, the rest of them had all willingly begun training from a young age. An Xiaoning was handed the indentures of the fourteen men she had just bought after making payment with her bank card. After checking through all the relevant documents, she stowed them away in her bag and said to the men calmly, ¡°Come with me.¡± They picked up their few pieces of small luggage, which were not worth much, and followed her outside. Due to the fact that there were too many of them to fit into the elevator, they had to split up into two groups. No one dared to ask about her purpose for buying them. Neither did they dare to ask where she would be taking them to next. Instead, they all remained quiet and followed closely behind her. Once they arrived at the hotel, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Do you guys not have any personal identification documents at all?¡± ¡°No,¡± they chorused. She nodded and motioned for them to follow her. ¡°Come on inside.¡± The hotel they were at belonged to a franchise under the Gu Corporation. Instead of booking the rooms with her personal identification card, she gave Gu Beicheng a call to inform him of her visit, after which the administration concierge immediately received orders to arrange eight rooms for them. An Xiaoning stayed in one room alone while the seven other rooms were to be shared amongst the fourteen men. An Xiaoning entered her room with the key card and closed the door after all of them were inside. Instead of handing them the key cards to their respective rooms right away, she ced the cards onto the table and scrutinized each of the men who were standing uniformly in a row. ¡°Tell me your names and age.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have a name of our own. We¡¯re all addressed by serial numbers,¡± said one of them. ¡°Oh... we shall stick to that then. I¡¯ll give you guys a new number each, starting from 1 to 14. The oldest one amongst you will be number 1 and the youngest will be number 14. Number yourselves ordingly.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± they answered in unison. Recalling the wounds on their bodies that she had seen earlier, An Xiaoning said, ¡°You guys should be well aware of your own health conditions. Since I¡¯ve already bought all of you, it¡¯s time youe clean. Do any of you have terminal illnesses?¡± They shook their heads fervently. ¡°The first rule of thumb when ites to working for me is to be honest at all times. You can¡¯t hide your illnesses at the end of the day. If you¡¯re ill, I won¡¯t sell you away to someone else. Instead, I¡¯ll be paying for your medical treatment. So, don¡¯t try and hide anything for me. Apart from those who are only physically injured, the rest of you who are diagnosed with diseases,e forth,¡± she continued. As soon as she finished speaking, eight of them took a step forward. An Xiaoning had already expected there to be ill-stricken ves amongst the fourteen of them. Otherwise, the seller wouldn¡¯t have agreed to let them go for ten million dors. In fact, she already knew that there must have been something wrong with them the moment she saw their wounds and scars, for their masters wouldn¡¯t have abandoned them if they were perfectly healthy. She maintained herposure and continued to probe, ¡°Tell me what illnesses and health problems you¡¯re suffering from.¡± Noticing how calm she looked, everyone looked at each other in surprise and proceeded toe clean, one after another. ¡°I¡¯m suffering from rheumatism due to the excessive and vigorous training I was put through when I was younger. It gets excruciatingly painful whenever the temperatures turn cold, especially during winter. However, I¡¯ve never gone to get it treated at a hospital before.¡± ¡°I... I¡¯m asthmatic.¡± ¡°I almost died during a mission I underwent in the past. Sometimes, I get weak in my legs.¡± ¡°I have tuberculosis, but I¡¯ve never gone to the hospital for treatment...¡± ¡°My condition is simr to No. 4. I sustained a severe injury during a mission too. During surgery, one of my legs was stuck beneath a strong pressure after being injected with a local anesthetic. As a result, I can¡¯t walk fast with that leg... My master abandoned me after he found out about my condition.¡± ¡°I have gastritis.¡± ¡°I was born with a heart disease.¡± Last but not least, it was No. 8¡¯s turn. He was the most handsome one out of the fourteen men. ¡°I... I¡¯m impotent.¡± Chapter 671 - A Million Times for You (33)

Chapter 671: A Million Times for You (33)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As soon as he answered, everyone turned to stare at him in bewilderment, as if he were a bizarre object. An Xiaoning stared at the handsome young man who was standing at a towering 1.8 meters and who had broad shoulders and a narrow waist. He was the best-looking one out of all of them. She kept quiet as a strange silence filled the room. ¡°Master, do you doubt my words...?¡± No. 8 asked, not daring to make eye contact with her. ¡°I do believe you. Did you use to be a boy toy of a female gangster? Or were you a gigolo at a nightclub?¡± An Xiaoning asked. It was hard not to guess that that was his previous profession, given his dashing good looks as well as his confession about his impotence. ¡°Yes, I used to be a female gangster¡¯s ything. She abandoned me after I became impotent,¡± he admitted. An Xiaoning felt that he sounded as if he had already given up on himself. ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll send you for treatment.¡± She continued, ¡°I¡¯ll do my best to get the eight of you treated. Even if you can¡¯t fully recover, I¡¯ll ensure that your health is stabilized. However, those of you who have heart disease, asthma, and a crippled leg, you¡¯ll have to stay at home to clean the house and cook our meals. You don¡¯t have to worry about the rest. Just focus on keeping the house neat and tidy.¡± Shock was written all over their faces, thinking to themselves that she could have easily just hired maids and cooks to tend to the housekeeping affairs of her home, which was a much cheaper option. Seemingly having guessed what they were thinking, An Xiaoning exined, ¡°Everyone that I hire has to be proficient inbat defense skills, regardless of whether you¡¯re in charge of security or housekeeping. Also, I need my people to be loyal to me. You shall face the consequences if you ever dare to betray me. All of you have undergone training since you were children. I believe you should understand what I¡¯m talking about. I won¡¯t exin further, then.¡± ¡°Rest assured, Master. We definitely wouldn¡¯t do anything to betray you. Since you¡¯ve bought us, we belong to you forever.¡± ¡°Each room is to be shared between two of you. Collect your key cards and go get some rest. Gather at the lobby at seven o¡¯clock tomorrow morning.¡± Everyone nodded and exited the room with their respective key cards. An Xiaoning then received a call from Gu Beicheng. She hurried out of the hotel after answering. Minutester, a car appeared before her. She opened the door and got into the car. ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°I came by to take a look. There¡¯s said to be a special auction going on tonight in the building where you bought your servants. Can you guess what kind of an auction it is?¡± Gu Beicheng asked while driving. ¡°How am I supposed to know?¡± She removed the mask on her head. ¡°It¡¯s for a painting. It¡¯s said to be a legendary treasure map,¡± Gu Beicheng answered, staring at her. ¡°People still believe such legends and rumors in today¡¯s society? A treasure map? What kind of a treasure map is it?¡± An Xiaoning asked apprehensively. ¡°There¡¯s no way to authenticate it, but why would a treasure map be put up for auction? The person who found the map probably decided to auction it off because he or she couldn¡¯t find any of the treasures or got lost while following the map. Rumor has it that the map is invaluable and highly coveted by every country.¡± ¡°Sounds ridiculous. All of these people are already wealthy enough, yet they¡¯re still wasting their time and efforts on something so far-fetched.¡± Seeing how indifferent and skeptical she was, Gu Beicheng said, ¡°They¡¯re probably just very curious. Not everyone is after the map. The rumors might not be real either. Jin Qingyan has been searching for it every year too. I wonder if he¡¯ll be there tonight.¡± ¡°Are you going alone?¡± ¡°You¡¯re here with me, aren¡¯t you?¡± An Xiaoning shot him a nce and refuted, ¡°I don¡¯t want to take part in such an absurd activity.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not asking you to partake, I¡¯m just taking you along to broaden your knowledge.¡± After parking the car at a spot near the building, the pair alighted and walked inside the building, side by side. The auction was to be held on the fourth floor of the basement. They thought that it would be freezing since it was so deep below the ground. To their surprise, they were greeted with a warm stream of air the moment the elevator doors opened. It was rather warm andfortable in the basement. Most of the guests were already seated. An Xiaoning did not expect there to really be so many business magnates from all across the globe. Gu Beicheng took the lead and brought her to a seat beside Ye Xiaotian. Upon the sight of her, Ye Xiaotian looked up to take a nce and asked, ¡°What brings you here, Ms. An?¡± She smiled and answered, ¡°I¡¯m here to have an eye-opener and to broaden my knowledge with my brother. Am I not allowed to?¡± Ye Xiaotian did not say anything else and instead leaned his head against Gu Beicheng¡¯s while they murmured something to each other softly. Soon, all the seats were filled as guests continued to enter. However, there was an empty seat beside An Xiaoning. ¡°The auction is about to begin soon?¡± ¡°Why isn¡¯t Jin Qingyan here yet? Is he too high and mighty to bother ying such games with us?¡± Ye Xiaotian remarked sarcastically. ¡°No idea,¡± Gu Beicheng answered calmly. ¡°Speak of the devil, here hees,¡± said Ye Xiaotian, turning around to take a look. Gu Beicheng and An Xiaoning looked over in his direction, only to see Jin Qingyan rushing over hastily. He was approaching them gradually. Finally, he took a seat beside An Xiaoning. Jin Qingyan turned to face her and said, right in front of Gu Beicheng and Ye Xiaotian, ¡°I knew you¡¯d be here.¡± An Xiaoning ignored him, as if she did not hear him at all. However, he did not feel awkward or embarrassed at all and eased himself into afortable position. They were facing the stage, and the auction finallymenced. A man stepped forward and walked toward the table, where he stood and spoke into the microphone. ¡°To all the guests, thank you for making the effort toe all the way here from abroad. We just found this treasure map recently, and we can¡¯t decipher the writings on it. After some serious consideration, we¡¯ve decided to let someone else have it instead. That¡¯s why we brought it here to be auctioned.¡± He then pped his hands, after which a beautifuldy walked onto the stage with a wooden box in hand, causing an uproar amongst the seated guests as they craned their necks to take a look. ¡°Silence, please. Let us follow the standard protocol of an auction. This box contains the item for today¡¯s auction. The starting bid is fifty million dors. Please ce your bids now.¡± ¡°One hundred million!¡± ¡°One hundred fifty million!¡± ¡°Two hundred million!¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning and the people beside her kept quiet while the other guests were thrown into a state of frenzy. She took a look to her left and right to see that they were perfectly calm andposed. The crowd finally quieted down. Atst, the auction ended when the map was sold to an overseas corporation, which ced the final, winning bid of eight hundred million dors. No one wanted to call for a higher bid because it was way too expensive. Besides, they had also noticed that there was a minority who remained silent throughout, including Gu Beicheng and Jin Qingyan, who were just there to watch a show. They had no interest in bidding for the map at all. The enthusiasm of the other guests soon died down. Once the hammer was struck for thest time, the beautiful assistant of the auctioneer proceeded to carry the wooden box to the winner of the auction. At this very moment, Jin Qingyan grabbed An Xiaoning¡¯s wrist and said, ¡°Let¡¯s leave immediately.¡± An Xiaoning broke free from his grip. ¡°I can walk on my own.¡± Gu Beicheng and Ye Xiaotian stood up immediately and proceeded to enter the elevator. At the instant that the doors closed, the winner of the auction smashed the wooden box onto the ground furiously, causing chaos to break out immediately. Chapter 672 - A Million Times for You (34)

Chapter 672: A Million Times for You (34)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She then looked at Jin Qingyan, wondering to herself, Just how did he know that the item in the box was a sham without even taking a look? If it were a counterfeit, the auctioneer wouldn¡¯t be able to escape scot-free. An Xiaoning¡¯s mind was filled with questions. Once they exited the elevator, Ye Xiaotian hopped inside his car to leave. ¡°Would you like to go home together with me?¡± Gu Beicheng asked. ¡°I¡¯ll go back tomorrow morning. Those people I bought are still in the hotel.¡± Gu Beicheng red at Jin Qingyan, who was standing beside her, and said, ¡°Forget it, I don¡¯t feel safe leaving you here. I¡¯ll go back with you tomorrow morning. I¡¯ll just check into the hotel tonight.¡± Jin Qingyan gave him the side eye and stood with his hands behind his back while waiting for Fan Shixin to drive the car over. The pair of siblings entered the hotel, leaving Jin Qingyan alone by the roadside. ¡°Heartless creature,¡± he scoffed. The car stopped beside Jin Qingyan swiftly, and he opened the door to get inside. ¡°Young Sir, was it another sham again tonight?¡± ¡°The auctioneers are getting more and more horrid and substandard with their acting chops... I knew it¡¯d be a wasted trip tonight. There wasn¡¯t any improvement at all,¡± he said with much disdain, crossing one leg over another. ¡°I saw Ms. An and Mr. Gu entering the hotel together just now. Why didn¡¯t you tag along with them, Young Sir?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the point of doing that? Didn¡¯t you see how Gu Beicheng was staring at me just now? He was acting as if I were a predator hunting for prey,¡± Jin Qingyan remarked scornfully, sounding rather disgruntled. Fan Shixin could not contain his amusement and burst intoughter. ¡°Going home without doing anything else doesn¡¯t seem like something you¡¯d do, Young Sir,¡± he teased. ¡°Whatever, that hotel belongs to the Gu Corporation. I won¡¯t be able to get up to anything.¡± Fan Shixin remained quiet and continued to drive steadily. ... ¡°Do you have any questions for me?¡± Gu Beicheng asked, handing her a cup of warm tea. An Xiaoning ced the cup on the headboard and switched on the heater in the room. ¡°What¡¯s the point of such an auction? If the auctioneer knew the item was inauthentic, why did he have the audacity to put it up for auction when he knows he¡¯d have to cough up the money he swindled?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t understand. It¡¯s because this item has been auctioned multiple times before and, ultimately, there¡¯s always someone who falls for it every single time. In the end, only half the amount of money lost will be recovered. But the very fact that everyone still rushes to attend such auctions just goes to show that they¡¯re willing to be cheated out of their time and money rather than miss the golden opportunity,¡± Gu Beicheng exined. ¡°But no one has seen it before. How would they know if it¡¯s authentic or not?¡± ¡°Those people who are bent on acquiring it have all brought an authenticator with them. A treasure map from decades ago would be examined first for paper quality, followed by the other aspects. However, none of the maps put on auction have ever passed the paper authentication.¡± ¡°Does such a map really exist?¡± ¡°It probably does. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t be so highly coveted. I could tell that Jin Qingyan¡¯s attitude toward the auction was simr to mine. He was just there to take a look,¡± Gu Beicheng said truthfully. ¡°Well, to me, it¡¯s as good as a mythical object that only exists in fantasies. Aren¡¯t they just a bunch of lunatics to be vying with each other over a treasure map that no one has ever seen before?¡± Gu Beicheng decided to change the subject and asked, ¡°How many people have you bought?¡± ¡°Fourteen in total. Eight of them have serious illnesses. I bought them for ten million dors,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Usually, those who have been sent to training camps from a young age wouldn¡¯t be abandoned unless they¡¯ve fallen ill or made some mistakes. What diseases are they gued with...?¡± ¡°All sorts of diseases and ailments. But... do you know of any gangs or mafia organizations that are led by a female leader?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°I do, but there are only very few female leaders. Women are mostly too soft-hearted to be leaders. There¡¯s only a small minority who are ruthless and firm enough in their decisions.¡± ¡°One of the men I bought used to be a boy toy of a female triad leader. He was severely sexually abused...¡± ¡°He even divulged that to you? Could it be that he was afraid that you¡¯d need those services too?¡± Gu Beicheng asked in astonishment. Blushing red with embarrassment, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°I don¡¯t need those.¡± He chuckled and said, ¡°He probably told you that because he was worried that you¡¯d need him to serve you sexually. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have had toe clean about his condition. After all, being impotent doesn¡¯t get in the way of guarding your house or working for you.¡± He did make some sense. ¡°He was worrying too much.¡± ¡°I think so too.¡± Gu Beicheng ced his teacup down and said, ¡°I¡¯m going back to my room next door. I¡¯ll make the transport arrangements for you tomorrow morning. You don¡¯t have to worry about it. Go to bed and get a good rest. Goodnight.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and answered, ¡°Goodnight.¡± He closed the door, after which An Xiaoning took a look at the time to find that it was already eleven o¡¯clock at night. So much time had passed without her realizing it. Just as she lifted the duvet and was about to lie down in bed, an object on the bedsheets caught her attention. She was greatly taken aback by the item, which had been obscured under the thick duvet earlier on. She knelt on the bed and emptied the bag, which contained a few boxes of facial masks. They were from expensive and luxurious brands. There was a note in between the boxes. She picked it up to read the message written on it: ¡°Here¡¯s a present I got while I was here for a tour around the ce. You don¡¯t have to thank me.¡± She could recognize the handwriting right away. It belonged to none other than Jin Qingyan. She crushed the note into a ball and dumped it into the rubbish bin before cing the boxes of masks onto the table. She thought it would be a waste to throw the masks away, too, given that they were expensive and of top quality. Thus, she decided to give it a try and put on a sheet of facial mask before bed. To her surprise, she discovered that the serum was indeed very effective when she was washing her face at six o¡¯clock in the morning. Not only did it brighten herplexion, but her skin had also be lustrous and dewy. Indeed, they weren¡¯t expensive for no reason. She left her room at 6:50 AM and chanced upon Gu Beicheng, who happened to be exiting his room as well. The two of them then headed downstairs together. The fourteen men were already waiting in the hotel lobby. So was the car outside. An Xiaoning instructed them to get inside a van while she got into the same car as Gu Beicheng. She took a nap along the journey to catch up on some of the sleep she had missed the night before. Gu Beicheng drove her home personally to Sanqiao Estate before leaving. ¡°This is my house. You guys will be living here too from now onward. Come in. There¡¯s ongoing construction in the mansion and the backyard for a basement to be built. So, there¡¯ll be some construction noise,¡± said An Xiaoning. The fourteen men entered one after another, not daring to utter a single word. She removed the mask on her face as soon as she entered the living room, revealing her true identity. Their jaws dropped, and they stared at her in astonishment, clearing dumbstruck. ¡°You didn¡¯t guess that I¡¯d be An Xiaoning, did you? I haven¡¯t purchased your daily necessities and supplies. Those of you who mentionedst night that you were ill are to be hospitalized from today onward. You may only return after you¡¯ve received treatment andpletely recovered, or if your condition has stabilized, in the event that your illness can¡¯t be treated. The remaining six of you, please take a step forward,¡± An Xiaoning said with a faint smile. They were No. 5, No. 6, No.7, No. 9, No. 10, and No. 11. ¡°Two of you shall remain at hometer while the other four shall follow me to the furniture mall. I¡¯ll get the furniture store to deliver the furniture to our doorstep after the purchase. Those of you who are at home will supervise the staff of the furniture store when they¡¯re moving the furniture into the house. Let¡¯s strive to purchase and settle everything we need by today. Supervise the construction workers as well.¡± ¡°Yes, Master.¡± Chapter 673 - A Million Times for You (35)

Chapter 673: A Million Times for You (35)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Without further dy, An Xiaoning gave the eight of them a medical card each, which contained credit that could only be used for footing medical bills. On top of that, she also gave them another cash card that contained five thousand dors for their food expenses. The money would be sufficient tost them for months, if they did not splurge on anything else except food and necessities. She then brought the four other servants to purchase some daily necessities, beds, nkets, undergarments, clothing, shoes, hats, scarves, food and beverages, as well as several other household supplies. On the way home, No. 11 said, ¡°Master, you¡¯re the first person who¡¯s treated us like humans.¡± To An Xiaoning, perceiving her servants as humans were the basics of being a good employer. ¡°Since I¡¯ve bought your indentures, you guys belong to me now. Of course I¡¯d treat you well.¡± ¡°Master, now that the eight of them have been hospitalized, what else do the six of us have to do at home apart from supervising the construction?¡± No. 5 asked. ¡°You don¡¯t have to do anything else. I¡¯ve noticed that all of you are wounded and injured. Just rest and recuperate for the time being. I can¡¯te home every single day, so take good care of yourselves and nourish your bodies properly with nutritious food.¡± The four of them were deeply touched to hear her heartwarming words. They had been subjected to inhumane treatment ever since they were young and had never carried hopes for a good life. However, they were beginning to see a glimmer of hope now. There were three floors in the mansion. An Xiaoning allowed them to live on the third floor while she took the second, leaving the ground floor empty. After handing them the instructions, she drove toward Beijia Bay. When she passed by the junction, she stopped and waited for the red light to turn green. All of a sudden, she felt another car ramming against hers from behind, greatly taking her by surprise. However, she was unscathed since she had her safety belt on. She unbuckled her safety belt and alighted to take a look. Unfortunately for her, the paint on the bo of her car had chipped off. She then turned around, only to see that the driver of the car was Shi Shaochuan. Raging with fury at the sight of him refusing to alight despite having rammed into someone else¡¯s car, An Xiaoning stormed toward his car and knocked on his window. Shi Shaochuan alighted and said, ¡°I¡¯ll pay for the repair.¡± An Xiaoning squinted at him and said, ¡°Money is not the issue. The problem is, you¡¯re dying my time.¡± ¡°Are you trying to extort me? An Xiaoning, I¡¯m no pushover. It doesn¡¯t cost much to retouch the paint of your car. It¡¯s not that serious,¡± Shi Shaochuan scoffed, sizing her up. ¡°It¡¯s indeed not too serious, but as I¡¯ve said, you¡¯ve hindered me from going about what I¡¯m supposed to. There are so many cars behind us. Don¡¯t get in the way of traffic and justpensate me with triple the repair costs.¡± ¡°You... are you trying to rip me off?¡± Shi Shaochuan questioned, ring at her angrily. An Xiaoning whipped her phone out and sneered, ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll call the police and leave them to handle this. I reckon having my ex-husband run into my car on purpose would be a newsworthy topic, wouldn¡¯t it? I just happen to have invested in a drama that is about to begin filming soon. Why don¡¯t you help me publicize it?¡± ¡°An Xiaoning! I didn¡¯t do it on purpose!¡± Shi Shaochuan hollered, gritting his teeth in anger. ¡°Stop wasting time and give me the money.¡± An Xiaoning felt the need to get back at him at the thought of the two years of her youth that she had wasted on this damned jerk. ¡°How much do you want?¡± ¡°Hmm, the retouching of the paint should cost around one hundred thousand dors. You may give me three hundred thousand dors.¡± The snake-like queue of cars behind them began sounding their horns incessantly. He rolled his eyes at An Xiaoning and said, ¡°Give me your bank ount number, I¡¯ll transfer you the money now.¡± An Xiaoning immediately gave him her ount number, and she received the three hundred thousand dors less than a minuteter. How quick. An Xiaoning smirked and said, ¡°Please drive carefully in the future. It¡¯s okay if you run into my car, but it¡¯d be dire if you run into a big shot whom you can¡¯t afford to offend. Anyway, it¡¯s only three hundred thousand dors, it¡¯s not worth getting all riled up because of it.¡± Before he could even respond, she turned around and got inside her car to drive away. Shi Shaochuan was filled with exasperation. I must¡¯ve been cursed in my past life! Just my luck to have bumped into a jinx. He had never felt good about An Xiaoning before. In fact, he had begun detesting her ever since they got married. He would rather interact with a pig than touch her. Shi Shaochuan found it rather amusing and ridiculous that Jin Qingyan would marry such a woman twice, thinking to himself that thetter must have been out of his mind. He got back inside his car and proceeded along his intended path. Staring at the red Ferrari in front of him, he muttered under his breath, ¡°No wonder you¡¯re left on the shelf. You deserve it!¡± ¡ª¡ª Jin Yiheng was down with a fever and a cold. Naturally, the first person whom the coaches contacted was Jin Qingyan. Jin Qingyan instructed Fan Shixin to take Jin Yiheng to the clinic for an injection. It was only normal for children to fall sick. Fan Shixin then brought Jin Yiheng to the pediatric clinic in the People¡¯s Hospital. The female pediatrician first took Jin Yiheng¡¯s temperature with a thermometer. She then checked his throat and did a simple check with a stethoscope. ¡°He¡¯s down with a tonsil infection. The weather is getting coldtely, do remember to keep him warm and let him wear more clothes.¡± ¡°Doctor, does he need an injection or is taking some medicine sufficient?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll administer him with an injection to let the fever go down and prescribe some medicine for him. Your son is really handsome,¡± the pediatrician answered while scribbling on the prescription slip. Fan Shixin smiled and said, ¡°He¡¯s not my son.¡± ¡°Oh, please proceed to make payment and collect the medicine,¡± the pediatrician answered, handing him the slip. He immediately did as he was told and soon returned with two stic bags full of medicine. The pediatrician took a look and handed him the bag of medicine that was meant for oral consumption. She then proceeded to inject Jin Yiheng with a small medicine. ¡°Please remove his pants and let him lie on yourp,¡± the female pediatrician instructed Fan Shixin. Jin Yihengy on Fan Shixin¡¯sp abidingly, greatly surprising the pediatrician for she had rarely seen such obedient children who were not afraid of injections. ¡°You¡¯re so strong, little kid. You¡¯re not intimidated at all,¡± she praised. She rubbed Jin Yiheng¡¯s buttocks with an alcohol swab gently and said, ¡°Kid, I¡¯ll be giving you an injection now. It¡¯s going to hurt a little. Do bear with it.¡± ¡°Auntie, just do it if you¡¯re going to. You¡¯ve already touched and seen everything, why are you taking so long?¡± said Jin Yiheng. The female pediatrician was appalled by his response and immediately injected him with the syringe. Jin Yiheng did not shriek at all. Fan Shixin waited for Jin Yiheng to put on his own pants before bringing him out of the clinic. Once they got inside the car, Jin Yiheng¡¯s initial face of calmness turned into a grimace. Hey down on his side against the chair and rubbed his buttocks before saying, ¡°Uncle, could you take revenge on that doctor for me? She was ruthless. Ah, ouch, it really hurts.¡± Tears began streaming down his face. Fan Shixin cracked up and put on his safety belt. ¡°Didn¡¯t you urge her to hurry up? I thought you really weren¡¯t afraid of pain.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of pain, she was just being too rough. Uncle, can you take me to see Daddy?¡± ¡°Do you miss him already?¡± ¡°Yes. I wonder if that old fogy misses me too.¡± Fan Shixin burst intoughter and said, ¡°Your father is going to be furious if he hears what you called him.¡± Chapter 674 - A Million Times for You (36)

Chapter 674: A Million Times for You (36)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°He chased Mommy away and yet he still has the cheek to be angry? I¡¯ve been suppressing my anger all this while,¡± said Jin Yiheng. ¡°Tell me then, what emotions have you been bottling up? You¡¯re still young, you have to speak up whenever you¡¯re upset. Don¡¯t be like your father, all he does is keep his feelings to himself. One day, he¡¯s going to implode,¡± said Fan Shixin. ¡°But I¡¯m different from him. I¡¯m going to be the one to protect Mommy when I grow up, unlike Daddy. All he does is bully Mommy. I¡¯m still young now, and I¡¯m no match for him yet. Once I grow up, no one will dare to bully my Mommy.¡± Fan Shixin chuckled at the look of seriousness on his face. ¡°Your Mommy will be very heartened to know how much you want to protect her.¡± ¡°Uncle, could you hide this from Daddy? If not, he¡¯s going to be upset when he finds out that I stand on Mommy¡¯s side against him.¡± ¡°You¡¯re such a sensible child, you actually spare a thought for your father¡¯s feelings...¡± ¡°I¡¯m mainly afraid that he¡¯ll beat me up.¡± Fan Shixin was speechless. Soon, they arrived at the Jin Corporation office building. Upon the sight of his son, Jin Qingyan paused the work he was doing and asked worriedly, ¡°Does your head still hurt?¡± ¡°Not anymore.¡± ¡°Here¡¯s Little Sir¡¯s medicine. He received an injection just now too,¡± said Fan Shixin. ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t cry at all during the injection. The doctor even praised me for being brave and handsome. Right, Uncle?¡± Jin Yiheng looked up and stared at Fan Shixin with his eyes wide open. ¡°Yes.¡± Jin Yiheng then grabbed his father¡¯s arm and muttered, ¡°I dreamt of Mommyst night. Ah, children who don¡¯t have mothers are so pitiful.¡± He obviously said it on purpose and was directing it at Jin Qingyan. ¡°Do you miss Mommy already?¡± Jin Qingyan asked softly. Tears welled up in Jin Yiheng¡¯s eyes, and he answered with a nod, ¡°Daddy, I know you¡¯ve been put in a difficult position. After all, you and Mommy have already divorced each other. It¡¯s alright, I¡¯ll be fine, really. Having Daddy by my side is enough. I¡¯ll be content with seeing Mommy once every couple of months.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all my fault,¡± Jin Qingyanmented, filled with regret and guilt. ¡°I don¡¯t me you, Daddy.¡± Staring at the heartwarming sight of the pair of father and sonforting each other, Fan Shixin could not help but feel like he had hallucinated hearing Jin Yiheng address his father as an ¡°Old Fogy¡± earlier in the car. He left the room quietly. ¡°Tell Daddy, is training at the boot camp tough?¡± Jin Qingyan asked. ¡°Not at all for me. But...¡± Jin Yiheng hesitated for a moment before continuing, ¡°I had a fight with Wenlun.¡± ¡°Why? Aren¡¯t you two best friends?¡± ¡°Well, it started because of Xiaoxi and Yuechan. They were both bickering with each other, so Wenlun and I tried to stop them both. During the process, Xiaoxi hit me, and I got angry so I pushed her back. Wenlun then came forward to hit me. That¡¯s how we started fighting with each other. I know I shouldn¡¯t have pushed Sister Xiaoxi.¡± ¡°Have you guys made up with each other?¡± ¡°Yes, we have. Daddy, have you ever lost during a fight when you were younger?¡± ¡°Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. I admit, I¡¯ve lost to others during a fight before.¡± Jin Yiheng¡¯s eyes lit up in surprise and he asked curiously, ¡°Daddy, were you beaten up into a pulp?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t too bad.¡± ¡°Daddy, if only you called me to back you up during those times. I¡¯d have definitely stood up for you!¡± Jin Yiheng eximed. Jin Qingyan sighed and said, ¡°Son, you didn¡¯t even exist back then.¡± ¡°Where was I then?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª¡ª More than ten days had passed since the auction. However, Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning had yet to contact each other. She would not take the initiative to call him unless he contacted her first. They both stopped themselves from contacting each other for the next consecutive days. Jin Qingyan finally caved in, for he could not tolerate it any longer. He decided to send An Xiaoning a text message, which read: ¡°Do you enjoy using the facial masks?¡± ¡°I threw them all away,¡± she replied. Jin Qingyan almost choked when he read her message. This damned wretch just loves wasting money, eh? I bought all of those with cold hard cash, and they didn¡¯te cheap. How could she just dump them into the trash!?! he thought to himself, bbergasted. After staring nkly at her reply, Jin Qingyan finally stood up and ced his clenched fists onto the table. He then gave Fan Shixin a call. ¡°Where is An Xiaoning now?¡± ¡°Give me a moment, I¡¯ll check up on that.¡± Fan Shixin hurriedly questioned his subordinates before answering, ¡°Ms. An is currently ying a game of pool at the club.¡± ¡°Who is she with?¡± ¡°Major Ji.¡± ¡°She must have a ton of time on her hands, huh?¡± ¡°Young Sir, do you want to go there?¡± ¡°No, what for?¡± After ending the call, Jin Qingyan frantically put on his coat and headed downstairs. As if he would really not go and keep an eye on her. Who said I¡¯m not allowed to y pool just because she¡¯s there? She doesn¡¯t own the club anyway, Jin Qingyan thought to himself. He then arrived at the pool club, which was much more crowded in the eveningpared to the daytime. Although there were a lot of people in the room, he could spot her amongst the crowd right away. To his disgruntlement, Ji Yu was standing closely behind An Xiaoning with his arms around her while teaching her how to correctly position the cue stick. To Jin Qingyan, any man who makes physical contact with An Xiaoning would be crossing the line. However, in reality, An Xiaoning and Ji Yu were entirely focused on ying pool and did not think much of the physical contact. Ji Yu gave An Xiaoning a few tips while she was holding the cue stick, appearing to be in a good mood. Jin Qingyan¡¯s heart melted at the sight of the bright smile on her face, although she was not smiling because of him. He did not enter the room and instead remained outside. An Xiaoning did not realize that he was staring at her from outside at all. She continued to have a whale of a time with Ji Yu. The pair then went for supper after they were finished with the game. There was a food stall near the pool club. They sat down facing each other and ordered some beer and barbecue skewers. ¡°You were guiding me most of the time while we were ying pool. Is your right arm injured?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°I tried to hide it so badly, but you still found out in the end.¡± He chuckled and shrugged his right arm. ¡°I sustained a minor injury when I was on a mission. Fortunately, it¡¯s nothing too serious.¡± ¡°Missions will always be dangerous. Regardless, you should be careful at all times.¡± ¡°Okay, I will.¡± Suppersted for about an hour, which passed by without them noticing, for they were focused on having an enjoyable conversation. An Xiaoning did not need him to send her home since she drove her own car. When it was time to leave, they proceeded to walk toward their respective cars. As she was approaching her car, she took a closer look to discover that there was another car blocking hers. What a familiar-looking car! She walked forward and peeked inside the window of Jin Qingyan¡¯s car, only to make eye contact with him. An Xiaoning opened the door andmanded, ¡°Move your car away.¡± All of a sudden, he grabbed her forcefully by her arm and threw her off bnce, causing her to fall t onto him. Seething with anger, An Xiaoning tried to stand up but was pulled back inside the car by Jin Qingyan, who wrapped his arms tightly around her waist. The shameless bastard! ¡°Jin Qingyan!¡± ¡°I can hear you, you don¡¯t have to be so loud.¡± ¡°Let go of me.¡± ¡°Will you hit me if I don¡¯t?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Seems like the masks were very effective. You look so much more youthful now, just like a teenager,¡± he said in an alluring voice, his breath warming her ears. ¡°I threw them away long ago.¡± Chapter 675 - A Million Times for You (37)

Chapter 675: A Million Times for You (37)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After giving it some thought, Jin Qingyan was still rather apprehensive and said, ¡°When I first heard your reply, I was certain that you had let the masks go to waste. But now that I think about it, how could a penny-pincher like you bear to throw them away?¡± An Xiaoning was not at all guilty over having her lie exposed. She changed the subject and struggled to break free from his grip. ¡°Let go of me.¡± However, he vehemently refused to budge, displeased and annoyed at the thought of her having gone on several dates with Ji Yu. He lowered his head and nted an electrifying kiss on An Xiaoning¡¯s neck that sent chills down her spine, causing her to tense up and freeze in shock. She continued to be stuck in his embrace, unable to struggle at all. ¡°I don¡¯t want to let go of you anymore. Our son was running a fever, and Shixin brought him to the hospital to get an injection today. When he came home, he told me that he had dreamed of you and that he finds children who don¡¯t have mothers are the most pitiful.¡± All of a sudden, he slipped an arm beneath An Xiaoning¡¯s knees and carried her into the car before closing the door, greatly startling her. ¡°Don¡¯t provoke me any further,¡± she warned. He did not answer and instead ced his warm fingers onto her face and caressed her brows gently. An Xiaoning remained quiet. She felt a strong urge to escape the small space they were confined in. She could not help but find it hard to breathe, especially since their bodies were in such a position. An Xiaoning was extremely ill at ease. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me that our son was running a fever? What do you mean motherless children are pitiful...? He has a mother, of course,¡± said An Xiaoning, filled with misery at the thought of her son. Noticing that a lump had formed in her throat and she was about to tear up, Jin Qingyan regretted telling her what Jin Yiheng had said. ¡°Shall we reconcile?¡± he asked. An Xiaoning looked up at him, overwhelmed with a mix of emotions. ¡°I can¡¯t... let the rest of my life be in doldrums for the sake of our son. Jin Qingyan, I¡¯ve already lost all faith in our rtionship; neither do I still have any more hope in our marriage. I¡¯ve been deprived of love and a sense of security to begin with, and I¡¯ve always been the only one for myself. Even when I was married to you, I was still aware of the possibility of losing you one day and no longer getting to rely on you for love andfort. You told me to scram without taking a single cent from you, and you even forced me to give up the custody of our son. Don¡¯t make empty promises and tell me that that won¡¯t happen again. I¡¯m already thirty years old, no longer a naive and gullible twenty-year-old hopeless romantic. I hope you¡¯ll face reality and recognize the issues that exist between us. Once you¡¯ve broken my trust, there¡¯ll be cracks in our rtionship, like a broken mirror that cannot be repaired.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, he stopped moving his fingers and retracted his hand. Clearly, he had made sense of everything she said. ¡°I¡¯m willing to give you everything I have to offer if it can change your mind. If you don¡¯t feel secure, I¡¯ll bequeath all my assets and possessions to you. I don¡¯t want anything at all. Will that do?¡± he said solemnly. Tears began to flow from An Xiaoning¡¯s reddened eyes, and her teardrops rolled down her face and toward her neck. ¡°No,¡± she answered coldly. Filled with panic and anxiety, Jin Qingyan grabbed her hand tightly and said, ¡°I won¡¯t take no for an answer. I¡¯ll prove to you that I¡¯ll never distrust you again. Xiaoning, trust me.¡± An Xiaoning pulled her hand out of his and remained silent. Noticing her reaction, Jin Qingyan tried to give himself an out and said, ¡°I won¡¯t force you orpel you to do anything against your wishes anymore, but could you treat me like a friend and allow me to go out for meals with you? We could y pool or just hang out.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t treat you the same as I do others.¡± Jin Qingyan was not sure if he should feel happy or devastated to hear her answer. Before he could even respond, An Xiaoning continued, ¡°You¡¯re the father of my child. That fact alone makes you different from others. From now on, I¡¯ll always just see you as the father of my child, nothing more. So please, do just treat me as the mother of your child. Don¡¯t harbor any ideas or carry hopes for something more.¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s heart sank to rock bottom. Her words meant clearly that she had already given up on him and had no ns to reconcile with him again. ¡°Seems like there¡¯s still a long way for me to go. Since you¡¯re not willing to be friends with me again, don¡¯t me me for forcing myself on you. You¡¯ll forever be mine.¡± An Xiaoning scoffed and retorted, ¡°How are you any different from Ye Xiaotian? You may see yourself as Ye Xiaotian, but I¡¯ll never be like Mo Li. Jin Qingyan, I just can¡¯t be bothered to fight you physically. It won¡¯t be nice if the paparazzi snap some photos of us and write an article about a twice-divorced couple getting into a brawl on the streets.¡± He chuckled sarcastically and said, ¡°I was just making a casual remark. Honestly, how many times have Ipelled you? If I really wanted to force myself on you, we would¡¯ve gotten intimate several times by now.¡± ¡°What a shameless scoundrel.¡± ¡°I¡¯m only like that when ites to you. I¡¯m a gentleman to other women.¡± ¡°As if I¡¯d believe you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m serious, you¡¯re the only person I force myself on.¡± An Xiaoning felt her face turn red and hot with embarrassment. She glowered at him and said, ¡°I¡¯m going back now, let go.¡± He let go of her and allowed her to alight. He then drove his car away while staring at the reflection of her red Ferrari on his rearview mirror. He then looked down at the hand he used to touch her waist with earlier. God knows how desperately he¡¯d wanted to reach his hand beneath her clothes. Yet, he¡¯d curbed his urges and suffered in silence. It¡¯s tough being a man. That night, Jin Qingyan had an erotic dream, during which he and An Xiaoning were getting intimate in the car with a burning passion. He then woke up to realize that he had wet his bed with his ejaction and stared nkly in shock before getting out of bed to clean up. Call it telepathy, or perhaps even a coincidence. An Xiaoning, too, had a dream about Jin Qingyan. She could not remember the exact details of the dream, though she knew that it revolved around him. By the time she woke up in the morning, she felt like her mind was exhausted. Although she had gotten eight hours of sleepst night, she was still sleepy and fatigued, as if she did not catch a wink at all. She dragged her heavy feet around the house while walking on an unsteady gait. ¡°Did you catch a cold?¡± Lin Mingxi asked, noticing that she seemed unwell. After putting a hand on her forehead, Lin Mingxi continued, ¡°You¡¯re not running a fever, though.¡± ¡°I had a long dreamst night, and my brain couldn¡¯t rest at all. I guess that¡¯s why I¡¯m still tired.¡± ¡°What did you dream of? Spill it, quick,¡± the gossipy Lin Mingxi probed, as curious as a cat. ¡°I forgot,¡± An Xiaoning answered, holding a cup of warm water in her hand. ¡°You went on a date with Major Jist night. Has there been any progress between you two yet?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a date, it was just a casual outing between friends. We just went for dinner and a game of pool. I never fail to bump into Jin Qingyan whenever I¡¯m out with Ji Yu. That was the case at the cinemas and at Luo Er Lake. It happened against night too,¡± An Xiaoning said in an unhurried manner while leaning against the table. Lin Mingxi¡¯s jaw dropped in shock. ¡°You mean he popped up out of nowhere whenever you were in the midst of enjoying yourself with Ji Yu?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You¡¯re finished. That¡¯s the first move men make when they want you back. He¡¯s thinking of courting you all over again,¡± Lin Mingxi said in all seriousness. Chapter 676 - A Million Times for You (38)

Chapter 676: A Million Times for You (38)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Who does he think he is? I told him that I had lost all faith in him, and he said that he would give me everything he has. I was touched to hear his words at first, but my rationality soon kicked in.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the only person who would think that way. If other women were in your position, they¡¯d jump at the chance and throw themselves at him immediately. But that just goes to show that he loves you for the genuine and non-materialistic woman you are,¡± said Lin Mingxi, green with envy. ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about him anymore.¡± An Xiaoning took a seat on the couch and continued, ¡°Let¡¯s have dinner with the directors, producers, screenwriters, and actors tonight.¡± ¡°Filming is about to begin soon. I¡¯ve read the plot and script for the first ten episodes of the drama. It¡¯s great. This screenwriter is really something.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve read through it once a few days ago too. It¡¯s pretty impressive, I can rest my mind now. I have a hunch.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll make big earnings from our investment in this drama series. I trust my judgment.¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± ¡°Missy, here¡¯s a parcel for you.¡± The butler hurriedly handed her a package. ¡°For me?¡± An Xiaoning opened the parcel to see that it contained a wedding invite. She then nced at Lin Mingxi and said, ¡°It¡¯s from the Autumn Pce.¡± ¡°You turned down Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s wedding invitation previously with the excuse of being severely injured. I doubt you can shun it this time.¡± An Xiaoning scrutinized the wedding invite and said fearlessly, ¡°I¡¯ll turn up for it then. What¡¯s there to be afraid of?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that your voice would be recognized?¡± ¡°Tuoba Gucheng has already recognized my voice, but Tuoba Danxue merely found it to be a coincidence. As for Tuoba Rui and Shi Xiaoyu, they¡¯ve both heard me speak when I was a bodyguard at the Autumn Pce. However, I don¡¯t know if they can remember it. But even if they do, there¡¯s no evidence to prove that I¡¯m Mu Ning. I¡¯ll just let nature take its course.¡± ¡°You¡¯re really calm and fearless, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Of course. I¡¯ve always been like this. Didn¡¯t you know, my beloved Consort?¡± An Xiaoning jested. Lin Mingxi poked her forehead and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go, it¡¯s time for breakfast.¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°The acting coach has given you enough tips for now, the rest will have to depend on you. There¡¯s a dinner tonight with the directors, screenwriter, and main actors. It¡¯ll be your first time meeting the production team members. Remember, talk less and pay attention to what they say for the most bit,¡± Mei Yangyang instructed. ¡°Got it. Sis, what if Yan Ge dislikes me?¡± Fang En asked. She had yet to tell Mei Yangyang that she had already met Yan Ge on her own. Mei Yangyang reassured her, ¡°The contracts have already been signed. There¡¯s nothing he can do even if he dislikes you. I don¡¯t think he will, though. Sis and I both think you¡¯re great. Yan Ge may be arrogant, but he¡¯s definitely not unreasonable.¡± Fang En felt like a heavy rock had been lifted off her chest. She had been familiarizing herself with the character she would be ying in the drama, thus making it much easier for her to get into the role, along with the help of the acting coach. Besides, she had also memorized her lines for the first ten episodes of the drama. This is an opportunity of a lifetime for me, I must treasure it and do my best! she thought to herself, filled with confidence. ¡°I¡¯ll get someone to deliver you some clothes from a luxurybelter. I¡¯ll also send an assistant to help you out.¡± ¡°Thank you, Sis Yangyang.¡± ¡°It¡¯s only my duty. I¡¯m going out now,¡± said Mei Yangyang, waving her goodbye. ¡°Alright.¡± After taking a warm shower, Fang En exited the bathroom, d in a bathrobe. Soon, she heard a knock on the door. ¡°Who is it?¡± ¡°Hello, Sis En. I¡¯m Xiao Yue, your assistant.¡± Fang En hurriedly opened the door to see a short-haired girl who then entered with a few sets of clothing. ¡°Sis Yangyang told me to deliver these to you. They¡¯re all brand new. She wants you to pick one to wear to the dinner tonight,¡± she said with a smile. ¡°Alright.¡± After closing the door, Fang En again asked, ¡°Are you really my assistant?¡± ¡°Of course I am.¡± Fang En was from a humble background and had always been cast for minor or insignificant roles in films and drama series, ever since she graduated from the theater arts academy. Hence, she was thrilled and overjoyed to have a personal assistant for the first time. ¡°How old are you?¡± Fang En asked. ¡°I¡¯m twenty years old.¡± ¡°I¡¯m three years older than you.¡± Fang En picked out one of the outfits and said, ¡°I shall wear this tonight.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll hang the rest in the closet.¡± Fang En was pleased to see how hardworking Xiao Yue was as thetter proceeded to tidy up the ce after hanging the clothes inside the closet. She had taken a genuine liking to her new assistant. At about six o¡¯clock in the evening, Mei Yangyang sent Fang En the dinner location and instructed her to make her way there herself. Fang En did not bring her assistant along and instead headed to the agreed upon location in a taxi. The skies were gloomy. She was the first one to arrive at the private dining room of the hotel restaurant. Due to the heavy traffic, the rest of the invited guests had yet to arrive. Thus, Fang En had no choice but to keep waiting alone. More than ten minutester, the door opened and Yan Ge entered with his assistant, Xiao Li. Upon the sight of Fang En, they looked at each other in bewilderment, after which Xiao Li chastised, ¡°We let you off the previous time you barged into Yan Ge¡¯s room. Trust you to have the cheek to show up here. Just how did you know that Yan Ge would be here tonight?¡± Fang En rose from her seat and greeted with a smile, ¡°Nice to meet you, Yan Ge.¡± Yan Ge was extremely perturbed and found her behavior rather strange. Not wanting to embarrass orsh out at his fan, Yan Ge said, ¡°This is not where you should be. There¡¯ll be other peopleing inter. Hurry and leave before they arrive.¡± ¡°Hello, Yan Ge, I¡¯m Fang En. I¡¯m the lead actress who¡¯ll be working with you this time,¡± she introduced herself. Xiao Li was instantly dumbfounded. He looked up at Yan Ge to see that he was pursing his lips in perplexity. ¡°How are you rted to the investors?¡± One can only imagine how awful Fang En must have felt when she heard his question. Pointing at Xiao Li, she requested, ¡°Please go outside. I¡¯d like to have a word with him privately.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Xiao Li exited the room, leaving the two of them alone. They took seats facing each other. Fang En exined, ¡°I was acting out the scenes for a minor role at the television studio in C City when I met Sis Xiaoning. She happened to be there to look for you at that time. She then decided to cast me as the female lead for the uing drama. I graduated from the theater arts academy, but because of the fact that I don¡¯t have a strong background or a wealthy family to back me up, I¡¯ve only ever been offered minor and insignificant roles in film productions. Hence, I obviously have to treasure this golden opportunity that Sis Xiaoning has kindly given me. I knew you were a big shot who¡¯s known to have a bad temper, so I decided to go watch you from afar and see if you¡¯re really like what theizens have made you out to be. Yet, I was unexpectedly chased by a crook and almost got abducted. I¡¯m very sorry to have barged into your room by ident. I didn¡¯t do it on purpose. Please forgive me. I¡¯ve been rehearsing my lines and trying to get into the role the past few days. I know you don¡¯t wish to see me now, but I¡¯ll work hard and do my best!¡± She was parched from saying so much in one go. Yan Ge did not, even once, interrupt her, and he had understood what she meant. She was afraid that he would make life difficult for her because of the incident. Am I really such a petty person? I actually thought she was a crazy fan of mine. Damn it, how embarrassing! Seems like it was my wishful thinking. ¡°How old are you?¡± Yan Ge asked. ¡°Twenty-three.¡± She¡¯s ten years younger than me. ¡°Since you said that you graduated from the theater arts academy, your acting chops should be rather substantial. I hope you won¡¯t disappoint me. But... have you any idea how much of a disturbance you had caused me when you barged into my room?¡± Yan Ge said solemnly. Chapter 677 - A Million Times for You (39)

Chapter 677: A Million Times for You (39)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Fang En was clueless, for she was just a newbie in the showbiz industry. ¡°No.¡± ¡°There are surveince cameras everywhere in the corridor of the hotel. Who¡¯s going to be held responsible if the hotel management staff disseminate the surveince camera footages to the media or circte them online? Is there nothing you¡¯d like to do to make it up to me?¡± he teased. ¡°H... How? What am I supposed to do?¡± Fang En stammered. ¡°That¡¯ll depend on you,¡± he answered vaguely. Fang En got the wrong idea. Is he thinking of making me sacrifice my chastity? Given how handsome he is, he probably has a girlfriend and definitely wouldn¡¯t go for someone like me. So just what did he mean? Fang En was perplexed. She walked behind him slowly and gently massaged his shoulders. ¡°I don¡¯t know how I should express my apology. How about I give you a shoulder massage?¡± Yan Ge¡¯s body stiffened, and he remained still in his seat while allowing her to continue. Although her hands were tiny, they were rather strong. Yan Ge felt an instant relief after her massage. Minutester, he motioned for her to stop and said, ¡°Since you¡¯re so sincere, why don¡¯t you be my masseuse and give me a massage whenever I ask for one during filming hours?¡± Fang En retracted her hands and returned to her seat. ¡°You mean for the entire period of filming?¡± ¡°Yes. Do you have any objections?¡± Fang En knew that it¡¯d be better to build a rapport with the lead actor since it was her first time starring as the female lead in a drama series. Besides, he was a big shot who was not to be offended. After all, she managed to escape an ordeal by hiding in his room that night. After persuading herself, she decided to agree. A massage wouldn¡¯t cost her much anyway. ¡°Alright, but have you settled the surveince camera footages...?¡± He shrugged his shoulders. Duh, I¡¯ve done that long ago , he thought to himself. The door opened again. Jing Tian and the screenwriter entered the room and shook the hands of Fang En and Yan Ge. They then waited patiently for An Xiaoning and Lin Mingxi to arrive. All the guests were finally present more than twenty minutester. Noticing that everyone had introduced themselves to each other, An Xiaoning made the first speech, ¡°This drama series will be the second production I¡¯m working on with Director Jing. We had an enjoyable time working with each other previously, it should be the same this time. My goal is to strive for the best for every production, be it a drama series or a movie. If the previous production we cooperated on is said to be a low-production film, then we can consider this uing drama series to be of high production. Mingxi and I have invested more than a hundred billion dors in the production, and we want to make the best out of it. I hope everyone will stand together and work toward filming the ideal drama series of our dreams. Let me hereby toast to all of you!¡± She rose from her seat and raised her ss while everyone else followed suit. They clinked sses with each other and chugged the liquor ¡¯til the veryst drop. ¡°I¡¯ve long wanted to work with Yan Ge, and I¡¯ve finally gotten the chance to fulfill my wish now. I hope everyone will put their best foot forward and work toward ourmon goal. I have high expectations of you, Yan Ge,¡± said Jing Tian. ¡°You¡¯re being too kind, Director,¡± Yan Ge said with a smile. During dinner, the ongoing conversations were mostly rted to the filming and the script of the drama series. To An Xiaoning¡¯s surprise, Yan Ge did not mention a thing about Fang En starring as the female lead. An Xiaoning was relieved. She initially feared that Yan Ge would be upset at the fact that Fang En was a newbie and would be doubtful toward her acting chops. In a nutshell, the meal was rather enjoyable and went pretty smoothly. All of the crew members and actors would have to join the production team since filming was about to begin very soon at the television studio. Having worked with Jing Tian before, An Xiaoning naturally knew that he was capable and serious about work. Hence, after making the major decisions, she left the rest of the matters for him to handle. ¨D Jin Qingyue had been feeling a mix of emotions ever since she sent Jin Bao¡¯er back to Shi Shaochuan and gave him the custody. After all, it was only normal to feel empty since she had raised her daughter single-handedly since her birth. Jin Qingyue cooped herself up at home and refused to go out after learning that Shi Shaochuan had changed her name to Shi Bao¡¯er. On top of that, Ling Ciye had been extremely busytely and never once returned to Wei Ni Estate, though they would make it a point to talk over the phone every day. Over the span of those few days, Jin Qingyue had lost a significant amount of weight. She thought that her daughter had caused a strain on her rtionship with Ling Ciye. However, she was simply reading too much into things, for Ling Ciye thought otherwise. The ideal situation for her would be for Jin Bao¡¯er to be sensible and for their rtionship to be stable. When thingse to fruition, she would marry Ling Ciye and give birth to his child. The family of four would then live happily ever after and forget all about Shi Shaochuan. However, the reality was far from her expectations. There was nothing she could do since her willful daughter was bent on staying with Shi Shaochuan. Aftering out of the shower, Jin Qingyuey in bed and stared nkly into space. The moment she heard the door opening outside, she immediately got out of bed and scurried toward the door, barefooted. Jin Qingyue leaped forward at the instant that she saw Ling Ciye and wrapped her arms around his neck like an octopus. He picked her up in his arms and lowered her onto the couch. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you asleep yet?¡± he asked in a hoarse voice. Jin Qingyue buried her head in his decolletage and answered, ¡°I¡¯ve been having trouble sleeping every night because you weren¡¯t at home.¡± He chuckled and said, ¡°Did you miss me too much?¡± Noticing that his tone sounded the same as before, Jin Qingyue looked up to meet his eyes and said, ¡°I thought you were angry at me and didn¡¯t want to be in a rtionship with me anymore.¡± He carried her into the bedroom and pinned her beneath him. He began smooching her before answering her. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you answer me?¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better to let my actions do the talking?¡± He cupped her face in his hands and lowered his head to kiss her, causing her eyes to ss over soon after. Extremely swift with his actions, he managed to strip down to nothing and untied Jin Qingyue¡¯s bathrobe in less than a minute. ¡°Were you overthinking again when I wasn¡¯t around?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Jin Qingyue answered, biting her lip. ¡°I wasn¡¯t angry at you. I just think we can¡¯t live with Bao¡¯er in the future.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already given up her custody to Shi Shaochuan.¡± Upon hearing her words, Ling Ciye paused in his actions and asked, ¡°When did you do that?¡± ¡°A few days ago. I allowed him to remove Bao¡¯er¡¯s name from my household register and change herst name. Since she wants to stay with her father so badly, I shouldn¡¯t stop her. It wouldn¡¯t be fair to you and her. Things are good this way; at least you don¡¯t have to live in fear and worry from now on. Although Bao¡¯er is still important to me, you¡¯re the one I can depend on for the rest of my life,¡± said Jin Qingyue, baring her innermost thoughts. ¡°Do you really think so?¡± he asked, filled with joy and euphoria. ¡°Yes, I do,¡± she answered, cing her thin and delicate arm around his neck. Staring at her from above, Ling Ciye assured her, ¡°I¡¯ll be good to you and make sure you don¡¯t suffer any grievances.¡± It was the best sweet-nothing that Jin Qingyue had ever heard. After an exciting battle in bed, Jin Qingyue snuggled up in his embrace and frolicked in her post-coital mood. ¡°Tell me honestly, did you miss me when you were away?¡± ¡°Of course I did, every single day.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes, I only tell the truth. Come with me to visit my parents at their home tomorrow,¡± he said, holding her hand Chapter 678 - A Million Times for You (40)

Chapter 678: A Million Times for You (40)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyue looked up and gazed at his chiseled features under the dim light. She knew exactly what he meant. ¡°My reputation is still tarnished. In fact, it¡¯s far worse than before. Auntie wouldn¡¯t agree to our rtionship.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve thought about it carefully. It¡¯ll take a long time topletely clear your name. There are all kinds of people on the inte. We¡¯d be too idealistic if we¡¯re hoping for thoseizens to change their attitude toward youpletely. I¡¯ll talk to my parents about it.¡± Jin Qingyue obviously wanted to marry him, though she was anxious and uncertain. She remained silent. The two of them had a peaceful sleep that night. The next morning, Jin Qingyue ced the outfit she chose onto the bed and asked, ¡°Brother Ciye, what do you think of this?¡± ¡°Not bad,¡± he answered, giving her a nod of approval. ¡°How about this one?¡± ¡°Looks good too.¡± ¡°Which one looks better?¡± Seeing that she was stuck in a dilemma, Ling Ciye decided to just pick one out for her. ¡°Wear this.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Jin Qingyue hurriedly changed into the outfit and put on some makeup meticulously. Although she was not as good-looking as her brother, she still looked rather pretty with the help of makeup, which enhanced her features. She was filled with nervousness throughout the entire journey to the Ling family mansion. It was the first time Ling Ciye was bringing her home to meet his parents. Although she had known them since she was young, she was now visiting them as his girlfriend and prospective partner. After buying some gifts along the way, they soon arrived at the Ling family mansion. However, she was so jittery that she refused to alight from the car. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m here with you,¡± said Ling Ciye, holding her hand tofort her. She nodded and entered the house together with him. ¡°You¡¯re home, Young Sir. Hello, Ms. Jin,¡± the butler greeted as soon as he saw them. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Sir and Madam happen to be at home too. Hurry and go inside,¡± said the butler, who did not tag along. Mrs. Ling and Mr. Ling had just finished their breakfast and were in the midst of a conversation while sitting on the couch when Ling Ciye and Jin Qingyue entered. They immediately stopped talking and turned to look at Ling Ciye and Jin Qingyue. ¡°What is this?¡± Mrs. Ling questioned. Ling Ciye ced the gifts on the coffee table and said, smiling, ¡°Mother, I brought Qingyue home to visit you and Father.¡± Mr. and Mrs. Ling knew exactly what their son was thinking. ¡°We¡¯re doing fine, still alive and kicking. You don¡¯t have to especiallye home to visit us.¡± Jin Qingyue had more or less already expected the situation to turn out that way, for she was well aware that Mr. and Mrs. Ling were adamant about not letting her be their daughter-inw. However, she was determined to try her best, regardless of the situation. She used to address Mr. and Mrs. Ling as Uncle and Auntie in the past. However, she decided to address them differently today. ¡°Father, Mother, I¡¯d like to marry Ciye. I hope you two will ept me and agree to let us get married. I¡¯ll definitely be a dutiful wife and daughter-inw in the future,¡± said Jin Qingyue. Mrs. Ling was bbergasted. ¡°Qingyue, it¡¯s very inappropriate of you to be calling us Father and Mother when you¡¯ve yet to marry Ciye.¡± Although Ling Ciye was rather surprised by her gesture, he remainedposed and said, ¡°I came back today to discuss my marriage with you guys. Qingyue and I have been cohabiting for such a long time, and we both aren¡¯t getting any younger. Aren¡¯t you two really eager for me to get married and bear children? I¡¯m now going to fulfill your wishes.¡± Mrs. Ling was at a momentary loss for words. After a few seconds of silence, she blurted without hesitation, ¡°Your father and I do want you to get married and bear children, but that has to happen with the right woman who deserves you. I don¡¯t have to surf the inte to know that Qingyue¡¯s reputation is horrible at present.¡± Ling Ciye held Jin Qingyue¡¯s hand and sat down on the couch. ¡°Mother, I take my words back. It indeed isn¡¯t easy to clear a bad reputation, but that¡¯s not my focus. Qingyue is my woman now, and I have ns to settle down with her. Even if you and Father are against it, we¡¯ll still continue being in a rtionship with each other. Father, Mother, please consider things from a broader perspective.¡± ¡°You rascal!¡± Mrs. Ling hollered, seething with exasperation. ¡°Ah... aren¡¯t you berating yourself and Father by calling me that?¡± Ling Ciye said sarcastically. ¡°Will it kill you not to talk back to me? You¡¯ve been going against me for so many years,¡± Mrs. Ling chided. ¡°I obviously wouldn¡¯t do things that are against my will.¡± ¡°Have you really thought it through carefully?¡± Mr. Ling asked. ¡°Of course I have.¡± ¡°Give him his household register booklet,¡± Mr. Ling said to Mrs. Ling. Mrs. Ling remained seated and stared wide-eyed at her husband in shock, seemingly saying: ¡°Great, you¡¯re ying the good person now and leaving me to be the vile character!¡± She shifted her gaze onto Jin Qingyue and said, ¡°I watched you grow up, and I know clearly what kind of a person you are. Will you really honor the promise you made earlier?¡± ¡°Of course I will. I¡¯ll do my best to be a good wife, mother, and daughter-inw. I¡¯m already preparing myself to get pregnant anytime. Carrying on the Ling family¡¯s bloodline is my top priority,¡± Jin Qingyue answered. She knew clearly what Ling Ciye¡¯s parents wanted. At the end of the day, they just wanted grandchildren... ¡°Hurry along, bring the household register booklet here,¡± Mr. Ling instructed, motioning for Mrs. Ling to proceed. Without uttering another word, Mrs. Ling rose from her seat slowly and headed to the bedroom to retrieve the household register booklet, which she then handed to her son. ¡°Thank you, Father and Mother.¡± Ling Ciye broke into smiles and hurriedly took the booklet from her hands. As happy as ark, Jin Qingyue eximed, ¡°Father, Mother, rest assured, I¡¯ll be good to Ciye and to you two. We¡¯ll be filial toward you.¡± ¡°I hope that¡¯ll really be the case. If I¡¯d known earlier, I would¡¯ve given birth to another daughter. At least I¡¯ll get to depend on her if you two are unfilial in the future,¡± said Mrs. Ling. ¡°Mother, you can give birth now if you want to. Didn¡¯t you see the news about an elderlydy who gave birth to twins despite already being in her sixties? You may try artificial insemination as well.¡± Blushing red with embarrassment, Mrs. Ling answered, ¡°I¡¯m already in my fifties, how can I possibly give birth again? Even if I really manage to get pregnant again, I¡¯m just going to be aughingstock. Others may have that courage and bravery, but I can¡¯t afford to bring myself such shame.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll break the legs of whoever dares to make fun of you,¡± Ling Ciye jested. ¡°That¡¯s enough, stop buttering me up. I¡¯ve given you the household register. It¡¯s up to you two to decide when you¡¯d like to register your marriage. Do you need me and your father to help you with the wedding?¡± ¡°Not at all, I can manage it on my own. Thank you, Mother,¡± said Ling Ciye, bending forward to give Mrs. Ling a peck on her cheek. Mrs. Ling rolled her eyes at him and said, ¡°You may leave with Qingyue now. Allow me to soak in my sadness.¡± ¡°Father, Mother, we¡¯ll get going now then.¡± Mr. Ling waved them goodbye. The living room fell silent again. Leaning against the couch, Mrs. Ling sighed and said, ¡°The son whom I raised painstakingly is gone, just like that.¡± ¡°What are you talking about? He¡¯s just getting married. Marriage is merely part and parcel of life.¡± Chapter 679 - A Million Times for You (41)

Chapter 679: A Million Times for You (41)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°It¡¯s all your fault for making me give him the household register. Why did you have to rush me? It¡¯s not like the booklet is going to turn moldy if we wait a few more days,¡± Mrs. Ling grumbled in annoyance. ¡°I just think that it¡¯s time for Ciye to settle down since he¡¯s already thirty-two years old. Now that there¡¯s someone he wants to marry, do you really think we have a say in his decision? Besides, we watched Qingyue grow up. She was just unlucky to have met with a jerk whom she misjudged. It¡¯s all in the past now, and there¡¯s no point in harping on it. Didn¡¯t you hear how she had already addressed us as her inws?¡± said Mr. Ling. ¡°If she falls pregnant now, we¡¯ll get to have a grandchild by next year. Forget it, I¡¯ll just let them get married.¡± Unlike what Mr. and Mrs. Ling had expected, Jin Qingyue and Ling Ciye did not proceed to register their marriage immediately. They decided to wait another few days to do it and to n their wedding. ¡°I thought they would be dead against it. All is well now. I feel like a rock had been lifted off my chest,¡± said Jin Qingyue, feeling a huge sense of relief. ¡°Where would you like to live after we get married? We¡¯ll settle down in wherever you decide,¡± Ling Ciye said, asking for her opinion. ¡°Wei Ni Estate, of course. I don¡¯t exactly know why, but I feel much safer living near Brother. Besides, isn¡¯t it great for you too? You¡¯ll get to live in the same estate as Tianze and my brother. Since they¡¯re your best friends, it¡¯d be much easier to contact each other that way.¡± ¡°You have a point. Would you like to have a mansion like Tianze¡¯s? Or do you prefer something else?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just stay in the apartment we¡¯re living in now. We don¡¯t have to move anywhere. I own a mansion that I lived in after divorcing Shi Shaochuan, and I¡¯m nning to sell it. There¡¯s no point in owning so many houses anyway.¡± ¡°I own other properties elsewhere too. Shall I sell them as well?¡± he asked. ¡°Sell them if they¡¯re located in the city. In the future, your only ce for refuge will be our love nest here.¡± ¡°Great idea, I¡¯ll do just that, then,¡± Ling Ciye agreed. ¡ª¡ª As usual, An Xiaoning drove to Beijia Bay. She alighted from her car, after which the guard standing by the door whispered something into her ear. An Xiaoning frowned slightly and instructed, ¡°Continue to guard the house and look after her. Call me directly if anything happens when I¡¯m not around in the future.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± She entered the door to see that Xu Baizhi was sweeping the floor. Upon the sight of her arrival, thetter said, ¡°I¡¯m leaving this ce today. Old Madam is already advanced in her years. Why don¡¯t you hire a caretaker to look after her?¡± Before An Xiaoning even responded, the elderlydy interjected, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. I¡¯m still healthy and able-bodied. Some exercise will be good for my health.¡± ¡°Teacher, is she... good to go?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve altered her fatepletely. The only thing I¡¯m afraid of now is that the person who harmed her in the first ce will continue to do so after they find out. So, she has to strengthen her will and determination to stay on the right track. Only then will she not be led astray.¡± An Xiaoning knew what her mentor meant. She looked at Xu Baizhi and said, ¡°My mentor can only help you this once. You¡¯ve seen for yourself how much of a toll altering your fate has taken on her health. If you can¡¯t even keep yourself in check, no one else can help you from now on. I hope you¡¯ll know and do what¡¯s best for you.¡± ¡°I do, of course. Thank you for helping me, Old Madam. I¡¯ll always remember your graciousness and forever be grateful to you,¡± Xu Baizhi answered with a nod. ¡°Will Madam Xu being over to pick you up?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Yes, but she¡¯s not here yet. I¡¯ll just wait for her here.¡± An Xiaoning expressed assent and returned inside the house with the elderlydy. ¡°Teacher, why don¡¯t you move in with me in the city? The guards told me that there were some suspicious persons loitering around the vicinity of your house when I was away. I¡¯m afraid that your safety will bepromised.¡± Remaining unfazed, the elderlydy answered, ¡°I understand that you mean well, but I can¡¯t leave this ce. I¡¯ve been living here ever since I settled down in this ce. I¡¯ve never once left Beijia Bay throughout all these years, and I can¡¯t bear to leave now. Xiaoning, I¡¯m just like your first mentor, Nun Jingxin. We both remained unmarried and childless all our lives. There was a ton of things I wanted to do when I was younger. I had so many dreams and aspirations I wanted to achieve, but I got it all figured out when I was much older. I rarely read others¡¯ fortunes and lived all by myself, up until now. I have many regrets, and not establishing a happy family of my own is one of them. However, there¡¯s no way I can fulfill that anymore.¡± An Xiaoning was suddenly flustered upon hearing her words. Although it had only been a short while since she became the elderlydy¡¯s protege, thetter did her very best to teach her everything she knew. At the end of the day, the elderlydy was just hoping to fulfill her wishes vicariously through An Xiaoning. ¡°Apart from building a family, another aspiration I had was to save people. Ever since I became middle-aged, I began refraining from reading others¡¯ fortunes because fortune-telling was detrimental to my health and I can¡¯t do it continuously. However, I would often soften up and give in to the requests of those who seek help from me. Sometimes, I would reject them at the start but end up changing my mind when they beg me a second time. I can only tell you this: in the future, do render help to save someone¡¯s life whenever you can, as long as it doesn¡¯t cause too much of an issue to your health. It does pay to be kind.¡± ¡°Got it,¡± An Xiaoning acknowledged with a nod. The elderlydy reached out to hold her hand and said, ¡°You¡¯re such a fast learner. You pick up everything almost instantly. How¡¯s your progress with the summary?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already memorized everything by heart and burned the journal.¡± ¡°Very good.¡± The elderlydy turned around to retrieve another book from her bed and handed it to An Xiaoning. ¡°Your grandmaster left me this. I didn¡¯t burn it after I mastered the techniques taught inside the book. Fortunately, I kept it with me ¡¯til now. You must safeguard this and memorize its content, like you did with the previous one I gave you. You may burn it after you¡¯ve finished memorizing it too.¡± An Xiaoning took the book from her hands, only to realize that it was much thicker and that the handwriting was vastly different from the one before. ¡°I¡¯ll do as per usual,¡± An Xiaoning answered. ¡°There¡¯s nothing much left for me to teach you. Your skills will be taken to greater heights once you¡¯ve finished internalizing the content of this book.¡± An Xiaoning held the elderlydy¡¯s hand, which was cold and covered in calluses. ¡°Teacher, why do I feel like there¡¯s something odd about the way you¡¯re behaving? Did you get a hunch that something is about to happen?¡± Noticing the grave expression on An Xiaoning¡¯s face, the elderlydy answered, ¡°My time is almost up.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s stomach twisted into a knot as she continued to ask, ¡°Teacher, when¡¯s your birthday?¡± Well aware that her days were numbered, the elderlydy decided to reveal her birth characters to An Xiaoning. After reading her mentor¡¯s birth characters, An Xiaoning stared at thetter in utter shock and dismay. The elderlydy was initially supposed to have about half a year more to live. However, her lifespan had been shortened greatly because of Xu Baizhi... She now had only a few more days to live. An Xiaoning was filled with an inexplicable feeling. After pondering for a few seconds, An Xiaoning looked up at the elderlydy and said, ¡°Let me apany you for the rest of your days, alright?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need for that, this is such a remote area of the suburbs, you...¡± An Xiaoning interrupted her and insisted, ¡°Teacher, you¡¯ll forever be just like my mother. I can¡¯t leave you alone now that I know that your days are numbered and you¡¯ll no longer be by my side in the future. Besides, I¡¯d like to spend more time with you as well.¡± Chapter 680 - A Million Times for You (42) Chapter 680: A Million Times for You (42) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The elderlydy remained quiet, feeling heartened. ¡°Old Madam, we¡¯ll get going now,¡± said Madam Xu, poking her head in through the crack. ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning and the elderlydy saw them out of the door. After some consideration, An Xiaoning decided to get into the Xu family¡¯s car and stared at Xu Baizhi solemnly inside the car. ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡± Xu Baizhi asked. An Xiaoning lowered her voice and said, ¡°My mentor only has a few days left to live. She initially had half a year more to go, but her lifespan has shortened because of you. I¡¯m not trying to me you, I simply hope you won¡¯t let my mentor¡¯s efforts go in vain. Please bear my words in mind.¡± ¡°You mean Old Madam is about to...?¡± said a dumbfounded Xu Baizhi. An Xiaoning continued, ¡°I¡¯ll be staying behind to apany my mentor for the next few days. Go home and get your life sorted out.¡± Overwhelmed with a mix of emotions, Xu Baizhi nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯ll bear your words in mind.¡± An Xiaoning got out of the car and waved them goodbye before helping the elderlydy back inside the house. She then proceeded to drive her car in. On the way home, Madam Xu asked, ¡°What did Ms. An say to you in the car just now?¡± ¡°She said that Old Madam will be passing away in a few days.¡± ¡°What!?!¡± Madam Xu gasped in shock. ¡°Is that for real?¡± ¡°Seems like it. She said that she¡¯ll be staying here for the next few days to apany Old Madam. She came to tell me this mainly because she wanted me to know that Old Madam¡¯s lifespan has been shortened because of me and she doesn¡¯t want me to... let Old Madam down.¡± Madam Xu nodded and said, ¡°This elderlydy is really a kind soul. Baizhi, I can finally rest my mind now that your fate has been restored.¡± ¡°Father, Mother, can I discuss something with you guys?¡± ¡°What is it? Speak your mind.¡± After pondering for a moment, Xu Baizhi asked, ¡°Father, Mother, do you know what the elderlydy meant when she said that my life had gone onto an evil path after my fate was first altered?¡± Military Commander Xu and Madam Xu shook their heads in denial. ¡°I grew up in a dark and deste ce ever since I was a child and was put through brutal and vigorous training together with other children my age. I lived life like a zombie, and I was practically a ve put up for sale. All the other children around me were orphans, and I felt like I was no different from them. I never had enough to eat or wear, and I couldn¡¯t even keep myself warm. To make things worse, I had to undergo endless training, which was both physically and mentally exhausting. I waspletely denied of my pride and dignity. When I grew older, I was assigned toplete missions and perform tasks for the organization. My life was worth nothing at all. It¡¯s been a few years since I began carrying out missions. This was what the elderlydy meant by an evil path. I married the man with whom I trained. Although life was tough, it was still very blissful, nheless. But things are different now. Our feelings for each other have faded, and our rtionship has gone stale. He still works for the organization and risks his life toplete missions. Just like me, there¡¯s no way for him to escape the clutches of the devil-like organization unless he¡¯s dead,¡± Xu Baizhi exined. Both of them were filled with misery the moment they heard her story. ¡°Can we fake your death? We¡¯ll just pretend that you¡¯re dead and report it to the media so they can broadcast it all over the news. Will that help you escape their power? Or we could send you to prison and give you an indefinite sentence. Will they give you up then?¡± Madam Xu asked. Military Commander Xu shook his head and said, ¡°That obviously won¡¯t work. Didn¡¯t you hear Baizhi mention that the elderlydy only has a few days left to live? Even An Xiaoning could tell. Since the organization could alter Baizhi¡¯s fate, they probably can tell whether she¡¯s alive or not and how long her lifespan is.¡± ¡°What are we supposed to do, then? I really wonder which wicked soul was behind this cruel and relentless act. Not only did they take you away from us and put you through so much hardship, but they¡¯ve also done something so horrid to you. My poor daughter,¡± Madam Xu eximed, tears streaming down her face like a broken faucet. Xu Baizhi was beyond upset and felt that Heaven was being unfair to her since she did not deserve this at all. Military Commander Xu asked, ¡°Baizhi, do you know what it¡¯ll take for the head of the terrorist organization to let you off? We¡¯ll agree to the conditions heys, as long as it¡¯s within our means.¡± ¡°The organization has spent years training each one of its members since they were children. There¡¯s no way the organization would give them up so easily. I¡¯ve never asked about exchanging a deal, but I suppose, even if they were willing toy the conditions, it¡¯d be a huge price to pay. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible for them to ever let me off unless I¡¯m dead. Otherwise, they would exploit me for whatever I¡¯m worth and use me until my veryst breath. That¡¯s their ultimate purpose for training their members.¡± Xu Baizhi¡¯s answer made her parents feel extremely distraught yet helpless, for there was nothing they could do to help. A bizarre and unsettling silence filled the air in the car. ¡°Hubby, how about you report this to the Autumn Pce and request for the chieftains of all the terrorist organizations in the country to be executed? That way, not only can we save Baizhi and other assassins like her, we can also uphold justice and punish those evildoers,¡± said Madam Xu. Madam Xu finally said what her daughter wanted to hear. It was the only solution Xu Baizhi could think of as well. Since there was no way she could break free from the organization¡¯s control, she could only rely on the government to annihte them. ¡°Father, do discuss this with Chief of Staff Lin and Commander-in-chief Jin.¡± ¡°Which terrorist organization is this? Tell me clearly,¡± said Military Commander Xu. ¡°It¡¯s the DK organization.¡± Military Commander Xu sighed and said, ¡°Forget it, this is a widespread terrorist organization that our country cannot eliminate on its own. Other countries are also looking to annihte them, but there hasn¡¯t been an effective solution yet. I can¡¯t do anything to help.¡± Well aware of how formidable and overpowering the organization was, Xu Baizhi felt even more helpless upon hearing her father¡¯s words. ¡°No matter what, I won¡¯t continue with the missions,¡± said Xu Baizhi. ¡°Baizhi, I still think you ought tomunicate properly with the chieftain and find out what it takes for them to let you off. Maybe they¡¯ll reallyy some conditions.¡± Xu Baizhi remained quiet, feeling utterly dejected and hopeless. What she dreaded and feared most appeared again. Staring at her blinking phone screen, Xu Baizhi answered, ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Your time is going to be up today.¡± ¡°I want to withdraw from the organization.¡± ¡°Seems like you¡¯re tired of living, Baizhi. You didn¡¯t aplish the task, did you?¡± the man said sternly. ¡°Is there another way to leave the organization apart from death? Ry my request to the higher-ups,¡± said Xu Baizhi,pletely ignoring his words. After a few seconds of silence, the man answered, ¡°Wait for my call.¡± Xu Baizhi hung up the phone and said to her parents, ¡°Maybe there¡¯ll really be a miracle. He¡¯s gone to ask the higher-ups about my request.¡± cing her hands together, Madam Xu eximed, ¡°Let¡¯s hope a miracle really happens. Heaven, please bless us.¡± The car drove toward the Xu family mansion slowly. The family of three were filled with anxiety and nervousness, unsure if there¡¯ll actually be a miracle... ¡ª¡ª The expectant Xu Youran headed to the hospital for a prenatal checkup with some bodyguards, for Gu Dongcheng was too busy with work to apany her. She did not have to queue up and could proceed to undergo the checkup upon arriving because she had already made an appointment with the specialist beforehand. The results showed that the fetus was perfectly healthy and stable. Xu Youran returned home after the checkup in high spirits. She initially nned to watch a movie. However, her eyelids got heavy all of a sudden, and she dozed off right away as soon as shey down in bed. Time continued to feel as if it was crawling by. By the time she woke up again, she felt extremely weak and feeble all over. She opened her eyes to find that she was in an unfamiliar ce. Xu Youran sprung up in shock and sat up straight to scan her surroundings. Chapter 681 - A Million Times for You (43) Chapter 681: A Million Times for You (43) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios There was only a tiny and extremely narrow window and a concrete iron door. In a corner, there was also a small door, presumably to a toilet. She sat on a bed made of cement, which wasid with dirty bedding. Everything before her felt like a hallucination. Her head swayed; she closed and opened her eyes, but what she saw before her remained unchanged. She had obviously been on her bed at home, but why was she here now? Pinching her own face to check if these were all real, she felt a sudden pain overwhelming her. Who had imprisoned her here then? Xu Youran thought of Yuan Mingzhu¡¯s death and was instantly gripped by fear. She moved her hands to her stomach, which was bulging slightly. She got down from the bed and went to the door, calling out for someone. But nobody replied. She still did not give up and called out a few more times. Yet, there was still no answer, nor were there any sounds of footsteps. Xu Youran was absolutely terrified. She was unsure of what she would be facing. She continued to walk back and forth in the room until the sky outside the window had turned dark and the room had be pitch ck. Only then did she sit down by the bed, on tenterhooks. She thought about it carefully and concluded that the person who captured her here could only be either Gu Beicheng or Jin Qingyan. Between the two, it was difficult to tell which one it was. But after analyzing it in detail, she could still guess which one of them had a higher likelihood of being the culprit. It was more probable that it was Jin Qingyan rather than Gu Beicheng. If it was Jin Qingyan, Xu Youran was all prepared. To save her own life, she could stoop to a low level by begging him to spare her on ount of them being half-siblings and by insisting on her innocence regarding Mrs. Jin¡¯s death. That way, she should have a chance of keeping her own life, right? But deep down, she was still not confident. She was extremely unsure. Just as she was being overwhelmed by all sorts of thoughts, there came the sound of footsteps approaching. There was more than one person. Xu Youran listened carefully and had her hands gripping onto the sturdy bed. The lights suddenly came on. Having grown ustomed to the dark, the sudden shine of the lights was ring to her eyes. She narrowed her eyes and looked toward the door. The door was opened, and a few figures entered, one of them being Jin Qingyan indeed. Xu Youran sat there and stared at him. She asked, ¡°Why did you bring me here? What do you want?¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s brows were furrowed tightly, and he looked at her in a frustrated manner, remarking, ¡°You already know the answer, do you still have to ask me?¡± Xu Youran said past clenched teeth, ¡°I¡¯ve done nothing against my conscience. I don¡¯t know what exactly this is about.¡± ¡°You¡¯re ying dumb?¡± He darted a cold nce at her. ¡°I¡¯ve long wanted to do something to you. I¡¯ve waited this long because I wanted to find a suitable opportunity. Your husband¡¯s gone overseas today and will only be back in a few days. I can make you suffer these few days, what do you think?¡± Xu Youran stood up from the bed and simply kneeled down. ¡°Brother, please spare me this once.¡± This act of hers surprised Jin Qingyan. However, it was a pointless one. Toward this sister, the guilt and familial bond he had waspletely destroyed and had turned into hatred. ¡°Before you harmed my mother, these words would have worked on me. But now, they¡¯d no longer do.¡± She raised her head, clearly realizing that denying it would be of no help to her. Her eyes reddened and her voice was hysterical. ¡°How did your mother treat my mother? Don¡¯t you know what kind of life I led when I was young? I was blinded by hatred, can¡¯t you just forgive me this once?¡± ¡°Hmph...¡± He sneered, treating her words as a joke. ¡°You were blinded by hatred? Is your target just my mother alone? No, she¡¯s just the first one you got rid of. Your next targets are the rest of the Jin family members. Back then, you tried many means and ways to harm Xiaoning as well. Rest assured, I won¡¯t take your life away right now.¡± She was taken aback. ¡°Then, will you set me free?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t finished my words. I won¡¯t take your life away right now, but I will make you suffer a fate worse than death.¡± His cold eyes were fixed on her. ¡°I will make you truly understand this feeling of pain.¡± Xu Youran sprawled onto the ground, terrified. The man before her was no longer human and was someone who was about to send her to a living hell. She shook her head and went forward, hugging Jin Qingyan tightly as she choked on her tears. ¡°No, spare me this once. I remember when you were nice to me. When we were young, you sent me food, I remember all that... The child in my stomach is only a few months old. Brother, please spare me this once. I won¡¯t dare to do it ever again... please give me a way out...¡± Jin Qingyan remained unmoved. He looked down at her and replied coldly, ¡°A bug that leaps always thinks it¡¯s able to leap very high. But in reality, in front of humans, they simply look ridiculous. I won¡¯t give you a single chance.¡± ¡°We¡¯re both Father¡¯s children!!!¡± She released her hands from him and stood up unsteadily, her face as pale as a sheet. ¡°How is it fair that we were treated so differently!!! I¡¯m Father¡¯s child, too, but since you were born, you were fed with a silver spoon. How about me? I was treated worse than a servant! What have I done wrong to receive such a treatment?! The Heavens were unfair to me. If I had the same kind of treatment as you when you were young, or even just a tinge of it, would I have resorted to this today? Your mother deserved to die, I don¡¯t regret getting rid of her. I never will!¡± Jin Qingyan just looked at her like that and turned silent for a few minutes before responding, ¡°Don¡¯t you deserve to die, then?¡± With that, he turned to leave. Xu Youran watched as the door was closed again. She backed off a few steps and rested against the bed, her face covered with cold sweat. She did not know what awaited her, but she had a feeling that even if she could live on, there would not be good days ahead for her. The lights were kept on for the whole night, and she kept her eyes wide open through the night as well. Jin Qingyan did not know that she did not get any sleep the whole night. After leaving the ce, he went home andy down on his bed, staring at that old picture for a very long time. It was the only picture he had with Xu Youran when they were young. There were five of them in the picture: Long Tianze, Mo Li, Ling Ciye, Xu Youran, and him. Jin Qingyue was not inside. At that time, he was about ten years old. It was a rather young age. The picture brought back many of the childhood memories he had with them. Just thinking of it made Jin Qingyan full of emotion even now. Everyone had their own destiny. However, how one¡¯s life turns out ultimately still depended on their character. He gripped the picture tightly in his left hand while using a lighter in his other hand to burn it. With the me engulfing the picture, he threw it into the rubbish bin, and watched a picture that he had preserved for years turn into ashes. Knock, knock, knock. From outside the door came the sound of Fan Shixin. ¡°Young Sir, I have something to report.¡± Jin Qingyan went to open the door to let him enter. ¡°Speak.¡± ¡°For Tuoba Danxue¡¯s wedding, it¡¯s confirmed that Ms. An¡¯s name is on the guest list. Those people who¡¯ve followed Ms. An previously have suddenly vanished as well, I¡¯m not sure why.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t those people working under Shi Xiaoyu? If they¡¯ve vanished, it must mean there¡¯ll be peace from now on. Where is she now?¡± ¡°Beijia Bay.¡± ¡°She¡¯s so diligent, I must say, heading there every day.¡± Chapter 682 - A Million Times for You (44) Chapter 682: A Million Times for You (44) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°It¡¯s not far from here, but not near either. Young Sir, rest early.¡± Fan Shixin turned and went out. ¡ª Meanwhile, at the Autumn Pce... Lin Shishi pushed open the door of the study and nced at the figure standing by the window. She then gently called out, ¡°Honey.¡± Tuoba Gucheng turned. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you sleeping yet?¡± ¡°Since you weren¡¯t back, I came to see if you were still busy.¡± He reached out to grab her shoulders before following her back to the bedroom. The coupley down on the bed, and Lin Shishi rested against his arms. ¡°Have you been too tiredtely? You seem rather troubled.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just too busy. If I¡¯ve neglected you, please understand.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel neglected.¡± Sheughed lightly. ¡°You¡¯re working hard, I know that. Danxue¡¯s wedding is taking ce soon. Although wedding traditions usually call for the groom¡¯s side to take charge, Mother said that Danxue¡¯s wedding will take ce here.¡± ¡°Umm, she told me.¡± Tuoba Gucheng continued, ¡°I saw the wedding invitation list as well.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so looking forward to it.¡± Lin Shishi went on excitedly, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen my family for some time already. I¡¯ll be able to see them during Danxue¡¯s wedding. I really can¡¯t wait for that day toe.¡± Tuoba Gucheng thought of a name on the list and added, ¡°I¡¯m excited too.¡± Lin Shishi merrily acknowledged his reply, ¡°You¡¯ve been so busy during the day, you should sleep soon.¡± He did not reply. Even after Lin Shishi had fallen asleep, he was still wide awake. Since he still had his clothes on, it was easy for him to get out of bed. Ever since he had taken over the position of president, he had moved to another residence. The ce he had lived in previously was now emptied out and had no one guarding it. It was chilly outsidete at night. He was wearing a leather coat and thick leather boots as he arrived at the ce he had lived in previously. After going up the stairs, he entered the room An Xiaoning had once stayed in. His fingers flicked the switch on the wall, and the pitch-ck room was instantly illuminated. Tuoba Gucheng closed the door shut, his eyesnding on her suitcase. He had not bothered to check such details in the past, but now that he noticed, the suitcase was a designer brand, and even all the clothes were from various established overseas brands. He reached out and touched the clothes inside her suitcase, idly letting out a sigh. It was no wonder that such a woman would make him interested even when she had an ordinary face. In Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s knowledge, having pretty looks was the first step to making a man interested in a woman. But making a man fall deeply in love with her depended on whether the woman was knowledgeable. A woman who was pretty and smart at the same time was the most lovable and rare. Some women had good looks but empty brains and questionable morals. Such ws instantly eliminate the superficial beauty they possess, and anyone who interacts with them will eventually keep a distance from them. Since he was young, Tuoba Gucheng had seen many of thetter kind of women. Usually, these women would make him disgusted just at the thought of them. It was impossible for him to even like them. An Xiaoning was by far the one woman who had made him the most surprised amongst all the women he had met in his life. When he had grown interested in her, she only had an ordinary-looking face. Later, when he found out her true appearance, he was beyond astonished. He had always known that it was difficult for one to live ording to their own will. But still, he could not help but stop for her. Even just thinking of her name made him feel pleased inside for some time. Lying on the bed she had once slept on, Tuoba Gucheng thought of the short period of time in the seventh lunar month when she was possessed by his favorite dog. During that time, he was able to sleep on the same bed as her and could see her face the moment he woke up. To him, that was the happiest time of his life. That was then, and he would not be able to experience it again. Yet, he yearned for it desperately. Since he was born to the Tuoba family, he was already fully prepared to not be able to be with the person he liked. At the same time that he had gained power, he lost his precious freedom. Was it considered a fortunate thing or not? Tuoba Gucheng lightly touched the bedsheet by his face. It was akin to touching her face. He closed his eyes andy there quietly for a while before fishing his phone out and selecting her number on his disy screen. He did not make a call to her but clicked on the text message function instead. Tuoba Gucheng sent a text to her that had only four words: ¡°I¡¯m missing you already.¡± He knew she would not reply. And indeed, she didn¡¯t. He could only wonder how she was doing before they were to actually meet in a few days. ¡ª Gu Dongcheng, who was overseas, received a call from a bodyguard iming that Xu Youran had gone missing. He immediately berated the bodyguard before hurriedly taking a flight back. Even after making a police report, he still did not find any clue about Xu Youran¡¯s whereabouts. Gu Dongcheng did not sleep well the whole night, given that Xu Youran was pregnant and had gone missing for no reason. An adult who was doing well and fine had suddenly just vanished into thin air. How could he not be startled? He could vaguely guess who was behind this, but since he had no proof, he did not dare to just intrude and demand for Xu Youran. There was no choice for him but to wait anxiously. He was hoping the police would do an efficient job and find some clues. But very evidently, he was about to be disappointed. There were no leads on the investigation at all. Gu Dongcheng was not in any mood to think about his work as he was in a huge mess. Eventually, he could only seek help from DK organization. But even then, his effort was futile too. Gu Dongcheng was sent into a state of helplessness for a few days consecutively. In the end, he could only take the risk of paying a visit to Jin Qingyan. Upon seeing him, Jin Qingyan still asked the obvious, ¡°Mr. Gu, may I know what is the matter?¡± ¡°Mr. Jin, whatever it is that you want, as long as I can give it to you, I will. Don¡¯t make things hard for my wife, she¡¯s pregnant.¡± He could no longer hold it in and just went straight to the point. Jin Qingyan, on the other hand, appearedposed. ¡°Mr. Gu, I don¡¯t understand what you are saying. Why could I make things hard for your wife? You have no proof at all. Saying such things can make one understandably displeased.¡± ¡°Straightforward people shouldn¡¯t resort to making insinuations. Mr. Jin, if you dare to do it, why can¡¯t you own up to it?¡± Gu Dongcheng had originally felt that it was either Gu Beicheng or Jin Qingyan behind it. After further thought, he concluded that Gu Beicheng was someone who was used to collecting all the avable evidence before delivering the fatal blow to his opponent. He did not seem like someone who wouldnd a blow without being fully prepared. Moreover, considering what had happened to Mrs. Jin, the more Gu Dongcheng thought of it, the more he felt that it was Jin Qingyan. Of course, he did not have evidence. It was just his pure spection. He had wanted to trap Jin Qingyan into revealing something, but he obviously failed as Jin Qingyan did not give away even a slight hint. ¡°What have I done that I need to own up to?¡± Jin Qingyanughed coldly. ¡°Don¡¯t you know that you could be put to jail for nder?¡± Gu Dongcheng turned speechless and clearly knew that it was pointless for him to havee. He then left angrily. ¡°Young Sir, he has already guessed that it¡¯s you.¡± ¡°If relying on pure spection can put one in jail, what is evidence for?¡± Jin Qingyan sniggered. ¡°Who does he think he is? He even dares toe and question me.¡± ¡°Exactly.¡± Fan Shixin brought a set of clothes over. ¡°This is your suit for the wedding tomorrow. Young Sir, you should try it.¡± ¡°Just put it there, I have to go somewhere now.¡± ¡°Where are you going?¡± He did not answer and took his car keys with him as he left. Fan Shixin could vaguely make a guess, and the corner of his lips curled into a grin. Chapter 683 - A Million Times for You (45) Chapter 683: A Million Times for You (45) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios It was drizzling outside when Jin Qingyan drove out of Wei Ni Estate. He went out alone without any bodyguards with him. The car was headed toward Beijia Bay. When he arrived, the rain had gotten heavier. He parked his car at a distance away and turned to grab a ck umbre before getting down from the car. After locking his car, he leisurely walked toward the wooden door. The door was unlocked. Jin Qingyan pushed open the door, and what came to sight was a whitentern hung before the door of the main house. It was a solemn and respectful sight. A man came out and, upon seeing that it was him, immediately turned and went back into the house, presumably to report his arrival. An Xiaoning was kneeling down before the coffin and folding paper gold ingots. Jin Qingyan kneeled down before her and asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you call me?¡± ¡°What for?¡± ¡°For me to fold these with you.¡± ¡°I feel that Mr. Jin¡¯s body and hands are much more precious. There¡¯s no need to trouble you with such things.¡± He brought over a cushion and kneeled there together with her, naturally taking a piece of golden paper to fold the ingots with her. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t be this distanced.¡± There was a slight pause after his clear voice sounded. ¡°After all, we¡¯re very familiar with each other.¡± An Xiaoning did not bother much about him and continued to fold her gold ingots while he helped her out as well. During these past few days, An Xiaoning lived with the olddy, apanying her to live the final days of her life. Once humans depart from this world, they no longer leave their mark around. Nothing else matters anymore as well. She epted her teacher¡¯sst words and buried her within the house. The ce for the burial had already been dug. Unfortunately, it started raining, and they could bury her only after the rain had stopped. Who could have expected that instead of stopping, the rain would grow heavier? They could only wait on in silence. The elderlydy had just passed away, and An Xiaoning did not call the Xu family, so they were unaware of it. This was part of the elderlydy¡¯s instructions. She did not want those unimportant people disturbing her. ¡°Before I came here, Gu Dongcheng went to find me.¡± ¡°What did he find you for?¡± Jin Qingyan stared at her with his eyes twinkling. ¡°Make a guess.¡± An Xiaoning answered, ¡°Youid a blow.¡± Her statement was a derative one. As to what it was that she was referring to, both of them knew it well and clear. He blinked his eyes at her a few times, and An Xiaoning retracted her gaze, lowering her head as she continued folding. ¡°You can buy a lot of these with just a bit of money, why do you have to fold them one by one yourself?¡± ¡°Sincerity.¡± She was still rather curious and asked, ¡°How did you handle it?¡± ¡°Give me a kiss and I¡¯ll tell you.¡± ¡°You can tell or not, it¡¯s up to you.¡± He naturally could not hold it in and exined it to her in detail. An Xiaoning did not expect that he would be so prudent in handling this matter, leaving no loopholes at all. ¡°You¡¯re indeed an expert, after all.¡± ¡°You¡¯replimenting me?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Although he knew that she was just patronizing him, he was still pleased inside. ¡°I¡¯m going to the Autumn Pce as well.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°Shall we go there together?¡± An Xiaoning responded bluntly, ¡°So that we can appear on the news together?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Boss, someone is calling you again!¡± Her phone, which was ced on the table, started ringing, and since it was nearer to Jin Qingyan, he picked it up before she could. Looking at the name on the disy screen, his face turned very ugly. ¡°Give it to me.¡± He immediately slid the ¡°answer¡± button and ced the phone by his ear. ¡°Hello.¡± An Xiaoning went forward to snatch the phone from him, but Jin Qingyan nimbly switched the phone to answer with his other ear. ¡°Speak.¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking for Xiaoning, pass the phone to her.¡± ¡°Alright, wait a moment.¡± He then passed the phone to An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning red at him ferociously before answering, ¡°Hi, it¡¯s me.¡± ¡°Are the two of you together?¡± An Xiaoning darted a nce at Jin Qingyan beside her and replied, ¡°I¡¯m at Teacher¡¯s ce. He came over on his own.¡± These words were not soothing to Jin Qingyan, so he purposely added, ¡°Look at how you¡¯ve made my face full of lipstick marks, I have to wash it away.¡± An Xiaoning got annoyed and threw a kick at his leg. She only chatted briefly with Ji Yu before ending the call quickly. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want anything. I just don¡¯t want to see you talking to other men apart from me.¡± ¡°Is this something you can interfere with?¡± She started chasing him away. ¡°This ce is not somewhere you should be, you should go if there¡¯s nothing else.¡± However, Jin Qingyan kneeled down again instead and started folding the paper gold ingots quietly. Seeing him like this, An Xiaoning did not say anything further as well. When the rain outside gradually became lighter, it was already two hourster. An Xiaoning got her men to remove the stic wrap over the burial hole and properly lower the coffin into the grave. Finally, they covered the coffin with soil. She watched as the soil slowly covered the coffin until it could no longer be seen. Atst, the grave was finally made. When her mentor was alive, she had said that death was like amp being extinguished. As such, she saw no need for graveyard-keepers to watch over her grave since the location was already isted. She had enjoyed peace for thetter half of her life and, hopefully, after her death, she would be able to continue enjoying this peace. An Xiaoning helped her fulfill her wish by allowing her to rest quietly in her own home. After burying the elderlydy, she took away the thick book she had given her. She locked the main gate and drove out of the ce. The two cars left Beijia Bay one after another. An Xiaoning returned to the Gu residence while Jin Qingyan returned to Wei Ni Estate. She ced the book in her room and took a nice warm bath. After changing into a new set of clothes, she went downstairs and had dinner with the rest. After dinner, Lin Mingxi dragged her into her bedroom, presenting to her the clothes and shoes that were arranged nicely on her bed. ¡°Dang dang dang dang! Quick, look, these are specially prepared for you.¡± An Xiaoning took a closer look. There was a bright red fur coat, a pair of ck leather pants, and wine-red high heels. ¡°They¡¯re getting married, and you¡¯re asking me to wear such a bright red color? I¡¯ll steal the limelight away from them.¡± Lin Mingxiughed, ¡°Red symbolizes prosperity. I really think you look great in red. Other people may look shy in it, but I think you look elegant.¡± ¡°You¡¯re praising me to the skies like that, what if I get blown into outer space?¡± [1. ¡°Praise¡± and ¡°blow¡± have the same pronunciation in Chinese.] ¡°I¡¯m serious about it. Quick, try it on.¡± An Xiaoning tried on the coat, and it was absolutely fitting. Lin Mingxi remarked as she touched her chin, ¡°Beicheng and I have good judgment indeed. You look absolutely stunning in it.¡± Gu Beicheng came in at just this moment and, seeing that she had tried it on, chimed in, ¡°It looks nice indeed.¡± The pants brought out the perfect proportions of her legs as well. As for the shoes, An Xiaoning pointed to them and said, ¡°These are too high, I really don¡¯t like wearing high heels.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s absolutely ugly if you don¡¯t wear high heels with a coat.¡± Lin Mingxi pointed to the shoes. ¡°I¡¯ve tried on these shoes. They don¡¯t hurt your feet at all. It¡¯s very steady when you walk as well. Try it on if you don¡¯t believe me.¡± An Xiaoning listened to her and put on the shoes while sitting on the sofa. With the high heels on, she felt like she had grown taller. She walked a few steps and found that they were indeedfortable. ¡°Not bad.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°I appreciate it. Our Majesty hereby thanks our beloved Consort.¡± She changed her shoes back. ¡°Let me tell you both a piece of good news.¡± ¡°What good news?¡± An Xiaoning said in a low voice, ¡°All of us know that it¡¯s very likely that the one who changed your fate was Yuan Mingzhu. After all, Gu Dongcheng is cooperating with your sister, Mingxi. Gu Dongcheng and his wife gave Yuan Mingzhu so many rewards, it was obvious enough already. Now, Xu Youran...¡± Chapter 684 - A Million Times for You (46) Chapter 684: A Million Times for You (46) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Without waiting for her to finish her sentence, Lin Mingxi broke out, ¡°Has gone missing! Beicheng and I intended to tell you as well. Gu Dongcheng has gone mad these few days. He can¡¯t find any leads at all.¡± ¡°I can tell the two of you for sure, she¡¯s done this time. There is no way she can get back on her feet anymore.¡± Gu Beicheng narrowed her eyes, a smile forming on his face. ¡°That¡¯s true. If that person doesn¡¯t strike a blow, it¡¯s fine. But when he does, he leaves his opponent with nowhere to escape to.¡± An Xiaoning frowned. ¡°Which person are you referring to?¡± ¡°Which do you think?¡± Lin Mingxi stretched her backzily. ¡°The two of you can continue ying riddle games like this, but we all know who did it without even speaking his name. Since some person has struck a blow, it¡¯s a good thing. The threat toward all of us will finally be eliminated for good.¡± The three broke intoughter as they all understood everything that was left unsaid. An Xiaoning brought the clothes and shoes that Lin Mingxi had bought for her into her own room. She did not rest immediately as it was still early. Thinking of the eight people who were hospitalized, she then decided to pay them a visit. She put on her mask and drove to the hospital. Considering that they had to be hospitalized for some time, An Xiaoning arranged for the group to stay in two big wards. Each ward had four beds, which was convenient for them as they could spend time together and help each other out. An Xiaoning arrived on the ninth floor of the hospital ward department and searched for each room by their room number. When she reached the entrance of the ward, she heard a woman¡¯s voiceing from inside. Thinking that it was just a female doctor speaking, she didn¡¯t think much about it and pushed open the door before entering the ward. Standing at the edge of the bed was a woman dressed in a coat made of leopard skin and high boots. She had short hair and looked like she was about the age of thirty-eight or thirty-nine years old. Her eyes looked like she had just cried, and in between her fingers was a cigarette. Behind her stood a tall and sturdy man with a scar on his face. He had rather nasty looks, especially those huge eyes of his. Upon hearing the sound of the door being pushed open, the two turned to look. It was not only those two who¡¯d shifted their attention over; even the four on the hospital beds also had their eyes fixed on the door. Seeing that it was An Xiaoning who came, the four men on the hospital beds greeted her ¡°Master¡± in an orderly manner. An Xiaoning watched as the master and servant duo stood by No. 8¡¯s bedside, then noticed that No. 8¡¯s expression looked particrly ugly. At that moment, she seemed to have understood something. She simply walked past these two and enquired, ¡°What did the doctor say?¡± No. 1 answered, ¡°The doctor said that we just have to be warded for some time and we¡¯ll be able to recover fully. No. 3¡¯s gastric problem needs more nursing while No. 2 and No. 13¡¯s are old ailments. Their condition will also be more stable after treatment for some time. No. 12 and No. 14¡¯s problems are congenital, so they can only take medication to maintain their condition.¡± He had updated her on everyone¡¯s condition, with No. 8¡¯s being the only exception. An Xiaoning nodded. ¡°That¡¯s good. All of you must get treatment properly.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve seen our Boss here and don¡¯t even greet her? You¡¯re quite unreasonable, aren¡¯t you?¡± The man standing behind the woman finally spoke. An Xiaoning tucked her hair behind her ears and said with a grin, ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯ve always been like a crab. In A City, I get my way like that. Whoever your Boss is, I haven¡¯t heard of it. 1¡± Seeing that the man was about to strike a blow, the woman spoke. ¡°Ah Liang, don¡¯t act rashly.¡± The man called Ah Liang seemed like he was itching to have a go. ¡°Boss, I¡¯m not acting rashly. I really want to have this woman, she actually looks quite pretty.¡± His words had justnded when No. 3 could not help but remark, ¡°Who do you think you are? You dare to act so arrogantly in front of our master?!¡± Ah Liang was about to head toward No. 3 to teach him a lesson, but he had just taken two steps forward when he felt a sharp pain on his abdomen and, before he could recover, his sturdy body fell t on the ground. Shortly after, a shoe was pressed against his face. He wanted to get back up but he was rendered motionless. The people in the hospital ward turned pale with fright. Even Ah Liang¡¯s master, Sister Zhang, frowned. An Xiaoning looked down at the man from her height and uttered coldly, ¡°You¡¯re asking for death, aren¡¯t you?¡± Ah Liang would never have expected that a grown man like him would lose to a small and petite woman. Furthermore, he had not even gotten the chance to return a blow. It was a huge humiliation for him. ¡°Please spare him, it was my underling who¡¯d acted rashly,¡± Sister Zhang requested. An Xiaoning rolled her eyes at her before lifting her leg. Ah Liang sulkily crawled up and rubbed the mark from the shoe left on his face while immediately hiding behind Sister Zhang. ¡°May I know what your name is, Miss?¡± An Xiaoning seemed as if she was unwilling to even give her the slightest amount of face. ¡°You don¡¯t deserve to know.¡± Sister Zhang was at a loss for words. She had been used to calling the shots, and, seeing that her opponent was also not someone to be trifled with, she went straight to the point. ¡°This man is mine. Name a price, I¡¯ll buy him from you.¡± The person she was referring to was none other than No. 8. An Xiaoning could notprehend. ¡°How are you rted to him?¡± ¡°I used to be his Master.¡± An Xiaoning finally understood what was going on. Seeing that No. 8¡¯s face had turned as white as a sheet, she replied, ¡°What is the situation? You¡¯ve sold him away andnded him in this state, now why are you buying him back?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to be concerned about this. Just name a price.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s lips curled into a smirk. ¡°I simply have no intention of selling him. If there¡¯s anything Ick, it isn¡¯t money.¡± ¡°You...¡± Sister Zhang did not expect her to be so unreasonable. ¡°It¡¯s just a man, and an insignificant one at that. It¡¯s better if you sell him back to me.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± Sister Zhang signaled Ah Liang behind her to excuse himself. ¡°Go out and wait.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After he had gone out, Sister Zhang finally replied, ¡°Yun Chen is the man I love.¡± It was the first time An Xiaoning had heard of this name, which No. 8 was supposedly called. Yun Chen? ¡°Why did you abandon him, then?¡± ¡°He infuriated me. I was just acting out of anger.¡± It seemed that Sister Zhang was really concerned about No. 8. An Xiaoning sat by No. 8¡¯s bed and enquired, ¡°Are you willing to be redeemed by her? If you are, I¡¯ll naturally let you have your wish. If you aren¡¯t, even if it¡¯s by a heavenly god, I won¡¯t let you be taken away.¡± No. 8 looked up at her, his handsome face visibly moved. ¡°I¡¯m naturally unwilling to.¡± ¡°Then, there¡¯s nothing left to say. Since he¡¯s unwilling, you can go now.¡± ¡°I heard you spent ten million to buy fourteen people. I¡¯ll give you twenty million.¡± Sister Zhang was persistent. ¡°How about that?¡± The four men on the hospital bed, including No. 8, turned to look at An Xiaoning. His hands were clenched tightly onto the bottom of the covers, and he was on tenterhooks. An Xiaoning stood up and nced at Sister Zhang with her arms crossed. ¡°If he¡¯s willing to leave with you, I¡¯d let him leave without receiving a single cent. However, since he¡¯s unwilling, even if you give me two billion dors, I wouldn¡¯t agree. I¡¯m a person with dignity. Since you abandoned him back then, no matter the reason, you now won¡¯t get to have him back anymore. You seem like a rich person as well, just that you may have yed with too many men before, most probably those youngds out there. But your health is the most important, so take care.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve really got the nerve!¡± Sister Zhang clenched her teeth and red at her furiously before turning to leave. The door was mmed shut, and the other three in the ward immediately cheer out loud. No.8 also muttered, ¡°Thank you, Master.¡± An Xiaoning sat on the chair and responded, ¡°What¡¯s there to thank? I¡¯m just doing what I should. Then again, who exactly is she?¡± Footnotes: Ch 684 Footnote 1 ¡°Being unreasonable¡± and ¡°walking sideways¡± have the same pronunciation in Chinese. Chapter 685 - A Million Times for You (47) Chapter 685: A Million Times for You (47) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°She¡¯s called Sister Zhang. She¡¯s thirty-eight years old and the head of a small gang. She doesn¡¯t have a lot of underlings, but she earns a living by doing despicable deeds.¡± ¡°I see.¡± An Xiaoning then remarked as she went deep in thought, ¡°I wonder if she will stir up more trouble? If shees back again, call me. Right, about your problem... what did the doctor say?¡± ¡°The doctor said my body suffered too much damage in the past, but it can be treated.¡± An Xiaoning answered, ¡°That¡¯s good. The eight of you should get treatment properly here. Those whose problems can be quickly treated should do so now before you go back. Those whose problems can¡¯t be treated should at least stabilize your condition first. When you think you are well enough to go, feel free to do so. I let all of you stay in one ward so that you can keep a lookout for each other. Although all of you aren¡¯t biological brothers, you should stay close like real brothers moving forward.¡± ¡°What Master says makes sense. We think the same too,¡± No. 1 replied with a grin. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll go back once we have been more or less properly treated.¡± ¡°Umm. I took some free time toe and visit all of you, but now I¡¯ve got to go back. All of you rest early.¡± ¡°Be careful on the road, Master.¡± She waved goodbye to them and left the ward. No. 2 got up and locked the door from the inside before going back to his bed. He eximed, ¡°Wow, it¡¯s no wonder she¡¯s our Master. She¡¯s really remarkable.¡± ¡°Of course, it¡¯s really wonderful.¡± As the youngest member, No. 14 remarked earnestly, ¡°Looking at a woman like Master makes me want to fall in love.¡± Once his wordsnded, the other three burst intoughter. No. 8 replied, ¡°A woman like that isn¡¯t attainable for anyone.¡± ¡°I know.¡± No. 14 turned over and looked at No. 8 on the bed beside him. ¡°That woman says she loves you, did you love her before?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°What did you do wrong, for her to...¡± No. 8 actually did not mind exining it to them. ¡°In the gang, some brutal methods were trending. Using drugs to control people were one of them. I set free a few boys who were under the influence of drugs.¡± ¡°What you did was correct,¡± No. 14 remarked. ¡°However, maybe from their point of view, youmitted a huge sin.¡± ¡°That was exactly it.¡± ¡°Brother Ba, you¡¯re so good-looking. No wonder she couldn¡¯t help bute back to find you. By the way, is Yun Chen your real name?¡± ¡°Mmm.¡± An Xiaoning did not know that after this incident, the four staying in the ward told the other four what had happened. Very soon, the other six in Sanqiao Estate also got news of it. Everyone grew even more loyal to An Xiaoning as a result. ¡ª At five o¡¯clock in the morning, Gu Beicheng drove the Gu family to B City. An Xiaoning was toozy to drive so she took a free ride from them. She slept throughout on the way there and waspletely energized when they arrived at B City. Gu Beicheng had slept early the previous night, so even after driving for a few hours, he did not feel tired. The hotel beside the Autumn Pce was extremely packed. If they had not booked the rooms in advance, they would not have been able to stay there. After the wedding was to end today, it would bete afternoon already. By then, they would be dead beat. Hence, wouldn¡¯t staying in the hotel for a night and returning the next morning be a good idea? That was exactly what they intended to do. Both Lin Mingxi and An Xiaoning did not put on makeup and intended to let the makeup artist help them when they arrived at the hotel. However, the Heavens were not helping them. Not only did it rain yesterday, but the weather was also gloomy today. The sun did not appear at all. At eight o¡¯clock, as everyone was entering the Autumn Pce, the international media stationed there started taking pictures. It was the first time An Xiaoning was openly entering the Autumn Pce as an invited guest. Previously, she had lived here with a mask on her face for a few months. Aspared to then, the situation waspletely different now. She walked across the red carpet hand in hand with Lin Mingxi, following along with the Gu family to send their red packet before they reached the area where the wedding ceremony would take ce. There were namesbeled on each guest seat so there was no free seating. An Xiaoning found her own name and realized that beside her was Tuoba Gucheng while Lin Shishi was on his other side. Also seated beside Lin Shishi was Lin Junnan. At the thought that she would have to sit beside Tuoba Guchengter, An Xiaoning had inexplicable emotions arising within her. He was the president now, and during the wedding ceremony, the camera would probablynd on him for a longer time. Since she was seated beside him, it would be impossible for her to appear unhappy during the wedding. She had to maintain a smile on her face at all times. Moreover, it was a happy asion, so it would not look good for her to be sulking. Luckily, Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi were seated behind her. As for Jin Qingyan... An Xiaoning took a closer look and realized he was seated on the second row of the other side, which was not exactly far away from her either. She retracted her gaze and sat there in an extremely poised manner. Her legs were stuck closely side by side, and her body was extremely upright. Her wallet was clutched in her hands, and an elegant smile was stered on her face. It was the whole aura of a demuredy. But anyone would have known that amongst those women who were deemed as demure, An Xiaoning was definitely not one. It was all just for show. Within half an hour, almost all the guests had arrived. Only the seats beside and in front of An Xiaoning were still empty. Jin Qingyan had arrived as well and had his gaze constantly fixed on An Xiaoning. This act of spying on An Xiaoning was captured by someone and put onto the inte, bing a hot topic of discussion. There were evenizens who made it into a moving picture of the side view of Jin Qingyan¡¯s handsome face looking at An Xiaoning, thereafter shing a grin. Throughout, An Xiaoning did not turn at all. Such a moving picture continued to be spread byizens even after a long time. While someizens were astonished at how Jin Qingyan still had feelings for his old me, others berated An Xiaoning. The gist of what they were berating her about was how remarkable a woman she was to be able to be deeply loved by Jin Qingyan. To them, the word ¡°remarkable¡± was a form of insult. Three minutes before the wedding ceremony began, the most important guests finally arrived. Tuoba Rui, Shi Xiaoyu, Commander-in-chief Jin, and Madam Jin entered. Following closely behind was Tuoba Gucheng and Lin Shishi. An Xiaoning and the other guests turned to look at them. Tuoba Rui¡¯s gazended on her, his face unable to hide his agitation. His eyes gradually moistened as this was the first time he had seen her all grown up. Her facial features looked extremely simr to her mother¡¯s. Looking at her, Tuoba Rui felt like he was seeing a young Shi Qingzhou from a few decades ago. Shi Xiaoyu, who was standing aside and had noticed his strange behavior, concealed her anger and continued moving ahead slowly. Ever since Tuoba Gucheng had entered the wedding venue, his eyes had been in search of the person he wanted to see. When his gazended on the figure in red, his expression became full of joy. d in a ssic suit, his slender figure was entuated. His hair wasbed upwards, revealing his handsome facial features. His deep eyes were like that of a clear stream that attracts people¡¯s attention, while under his straight nose were his lips that were tightly pursed. At a huge event like this, putting on makeup was a must. Tuoba Gucheng with makeup on had even more outstanding looks that attracted people¡¯s attention. As the President of the nation, his presence made all the cameras turn to him. Both the bride¡¯s and the groom¡¯s parents sat down at the row before An Xiaoning. Shortly after, Tuoba Gucheng and Lin Shishi took their seats as well. Chapter 686 - A Million Times for You (48) Chapter 686: A Million Times for You (48) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Tuoba Gucheng casually nced with longing at the woman beside him. An Xiaoning felt a little disturbed by the way he was looking at her. Nheless, she took the initiative to greet him politely, ¡°Greetings, Mr. President.¡± ¡°Hello, Ms. An.¡± An Xiaoning nned to put an end to their conversation right then and there. However, he clearly nned otherwise. How could he possibly give up the chance to have a conversation with her openly? Noticing that An Xiaoning was engrossed in watching the newlyweds exchange their vows, Tuoba Gucheng asked softly, ¡°Are you thinking of getting married too?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m sick and tired of marriage. I don¡¯t have ns to get married again in the future.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°Are you doubting my words, Your Majesty?¡± ¡°I believe you, of course. Because you were the one who said it,¡± he answered softly, so softly that they were the only ones who could hear it. She suddenly recalled the text message she received from him that night. ¡°I¡¯m missing you already.¡± An Xiaoning felt nothing but fear the moment she read the message. In fact, it made her feel extremely ill at ease. She dared not reply to him and, instead, deleted the text message right away. She was unsure if he had sent that text when he was sober or muddled up, though she hoped that he would never say anything of the sort again. After all, it would be disadvantageous for both of them. Yet, she could not tell him off directly and instead just hoped that he had that bit of awareness. Somehow, images of the innocent Jiang Feng, who had died because of Tuoba Danxue, popped up in An Xiaoning¡¯s mind when she watched Tuoba Danxue smiling blissfully in her gorgeous wedding gown. A few days ago, she thought that Tuoba Danxue had really walked out of the trauma of Jiang Feng¡¯s incident. However, it seemed not to be the case. Sometimes, it¡¯s not too bad of a thing to sugar-coat one¡¯s sadness and misery by covering it up with smiles of happiness. After the wedding ceremony, the guests moved off to the banquet area to enjoy the food prepared. Apart from the newlyweds and their respective parents, everyone took their seats casually. An Xiaoning, Gu Beicheng, and Lin Mingxi sat down together, alongside Lin Junnan and Jin Qingyan, who ¡°tactfully¡± sat down opposite An Xiaoning. Although he did not sit next to her, he constantly yed footsie with her underneath the table. During the meal, An Xiaoning constantly felt a sinister nce of malice opposite her. He reached his leg out toward her and hooked it around her leg. She feigned ignorance and kept a straight face while continuing to enjoy the food and chatting with the other guests at the table. Unfortunately... Her tolerance allowed him to push his limits. She could not tolerate it any further. Thus, she lifted her foot and stomped her stiletto down onto his foot without hesitation. A piercing shriek filled the air, though it did note from Jin Qingyan. Unlike what she had expected, it came from Gu Beicheng instead. An Xiaoning peeked below the table, only to find that she had stepped on the wrong foot. Gu Beicheng could feel Jin Qingyan wiggling his foot inappropriately under the table during the meal. Hence, he¡¯d reached his foot out in an attempt to kick Jin Qingyan away, only to receive such an excruciating experience. An Xiaoning nced at him with a look of guilt and remorse. One can only imagine how much pain Gu Beicheng must have felt, especially since she was wearing stilettos that had sharp heels and had driven her foot down with so much force. Lin Mingxi burst intoughter and continued to eat her food leisurely. When Jin Minxing and Tuoba Danxue approached their table to toast to them, An Xiaoning raised her ss of liquor and said, ¡°I wish you a blissful marriage that¡¯llst forever.¡± ¡°Thanks, Sis.¡± Jin Minxing clinked sses with her, after which they both downed their drinks in one go. So did everyone else at the table. Well aware that she could not hold her liquor well, An Xiaoning refrained from drinking too much and limited her intake to just three sses of liquor. When the wedding banquet ended, all the guests proceeded to leave the venue. Due to the fact that she was wearing stilettos, An Xiaoning found it difficult to walk and missed a step while going down the stairs, causing her to stumble forward. At this very moment, she was saved by two arms, which had grabbed her just in the nick of time. One belonged to Gu Beicheng, and the other, Jin Qingyan. An Xiaoning heaved a huge sigh of relief. She was so close to publicly embarrassing herself. ¡°Thanks.¡± She thanked them both. ¡°Mind your step,¡± Gu Beicheng said softly. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Xiaoning,¡± Lin Junnan called. She turned around calmly and asked, ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Father and Mother would like you to go over.¡± He was referring to Commander-in-chief Jin and Madam Jin. ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°We shall wait for you at the hotel then,¡± said Lin Mingxi. ¡°Sure.¡± An Xiaoning walked down the stairs and turned around to proceed on another path. Jin Qingyan did not stop her and, instead, watched her from afar, feeling a little upset. Perhaps it was because he had clearly witnessed Tuoba Gucheng whispering something to her during the ceremony. Jin Qingyan stood rooted to the ground for a while before walking away. An Xiaoning arrived at a room where the Tuoba family and the Jin family were having a conversation. As soon as she entered, she caught sight of Tuoba Shuo, who was not present earlier during the solemnization. She reckoned that he must have arrived at ater time. Madam Jin approached An Xiaoning while smiling and held her hand. ¡°This is my daughter, Xiaoning. Danxue has met her before.¡± Tuoba Rui shifted his gaze onto An Xiaoning. Meanwhile, Shi Xiaoyu stared at An Xiaoning so intensely that it was as if she wished she could drill a hole through her. An Xiaoning pretended not to notice and greeted, ¡°Nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Tuoba.¡± Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s forehead creased into a frown the moment she heard An Xiaoning¡¯s voice, which sounded rather familiar to her. ¡°You must be the legendary Ms. An. You¡¯re really beautiful. Although we¡¯ve never met previously, I¡¯ve heard about you several times before. I heard that you were precise and urate with your fortune-telling. Is that true?¡± said Shi Xiaoyu. ¡°I do know a thing or two about fortune-telling,¡± An Xiaoning answered softly. ¡°You¡¯re being too modest, Ms. An. Hurry and have a seat,¡± said Shi Xiaoyu, motioning for her to sit down. An Xiaoning sat down together with Madam Jin, facing Tuoba Gucheng, Lin Shishi, and the newlyweds. ¡°How old are you this year, Ms. An?¡± Shi Xiaoyu asked. ¡°Thirty years old.¡± Shi Xiaoyu burst into peculiar and bizarreughter that was rather hair-raising. ¡°You look so young, though.¡± ¡°Madam, you look very youthful too,¡± An Xiaoning said to patronize her. ¡°I heard you¡¯re still single now. Do you need me to introduce you to some handsome and outstanding young chaps?¡± Tuoba Rui shot her a nce, seemingly trying to tell her to watch her mouth. Madam Jin tactfully avoided the topic and said, ¡°Madam, Old Jin and I have already set Xiaoning up with a prospective partner a while ago. He¡¯s a young Major and an eligible bachelor. They¡¯re in the midst of dating and getting to know each other better.¡± Tuoba Gucheng looked at the ground abruptly upon hearing her words. ¡°Oh, so he¡¯s a military officer. Sounds like a good catch. Ms. An, I know you have three sets of godparents, but do you still keep in touch with your adoptive parents?¡± An Xiaoning was peeved. Why is Shi Xiaoyu asking when she obviously knows the answer? Since she¡¯s asking, I shall answer her, then. At the same time, she decided to let her biological father learn about how Shi Xiaoyu had dumped her outside the pce. He would have never expected that Shi Xiaoyu had left me to fend for myself, would he? Chapter 687 - A Million Times for You (49) Chapter 687: A Million Times for You (49) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I was abandoned in the countryside when I was a child. My adoptive parents brought me home and took me under their care when they found me by the roadside, freezing and almost starved to death. Unfortunately, my days of peace were short-lived. My adoptive parents began despising me when I was only a few years old and abandoned me in the mountains. Thanks to the benevolence of my master who took me in, I was cared for and taken care of until I reached adulthood. After my master passed away, I moved back in with my adoptive parents, who agreed to marry me off to the Shi family behind my back, all for the sake of therge sum of betrothal money. Throughout the two years of that marriage, Shi Shaochuan and I were merely married in name, and we only saw each other as strangers. Atst, I divorced Shi Shaochuan and married Jin Qingyan. My adoptive parents then asked the Jin family for another huge sum of betrothal money behind my back. I severed all ties with them ever since then,¡± An Xiaoning exined. A sullen expression formed on Tuoba Rui¡¯s face as soon as she finished speaking. He then turned to re at Shi Xiaoyu, seething with anger that he tried hard to suppress. Shi Xiaoyu did not expect An Xiaoning to talk about her childhood in so much detail. Turning as pale as a sheet, she continued to pretend like she was concerned about An Xiaoning and said, ¡°What a pitiful child. But at least everything is going well for you now.¡± An Xiaoning looked down and said, ¡°Yes, Heaven didn¡¯t shower me with the love from my biological parents, though I was blessed to enjoy the tender affection from all three sets of my godparents. I¡¯ve always been grateful for that. I guess you¡¯ll always receive some sort ofpensation for what you¡¯recking in.¡± Tuoba Shuo understood her intentions for saying the things she said. He smiled and looked at her, proud and pleased to see how outstanding she was. If only she was his biological daughter. However, he was contented enough. She had brains, brawn, beauty, and bravery. Tuoba Rui finally broke his silence and said, ¡°Do you resent your biological parents?¡± ¡°No, they probably abandoned me because of some difficulties they faced. I don¡¯t resent them at all,¡± An Xiaoning answered frankly. Teary-eyed, Tuoba Rui held his emotions back and said, ¡°You¡¯re such a sensible child.¡± Tuoba Danxue did not understand why the conversation constantly revolved around An Xiaoning and was puzzled to see the strange expressions on her parents¡¯ faces. What was happening? She asked her brother softly, ¡°The ambiance feels a little off, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°I¡¯m exhausted. Father, Mother, Minxing and I are going back to get some rest,¡± said Tuoba Danxue. ¡°Hurry along.¡± They then continued to speak for a while more. Just as An Xiaoning was about to leave the Autumn Pce after the end of everything, Lin Shishi called her to her room. ¡°Sister, you look so beautiful in red. The color really enhances the beauty of your fair, porcin skin,¡± said Lin Shishi. ¡°You look great too. How have things been for you so far, living in here?¡± An Xiaoning asked. Lin Shishi took a seat and answered, ¡°I¡¯ve been well. The fetus is healthy too.¡± An Xiaoning could tell that she was getting on well with life from the radiance on her face. After they¡¯d been chatting with each other merrily for a while, a servant entered to serve them a ss of fruit juice each. Feeling a little thirsty, An Xiaoning decided to take a few sips of it. ¡°I¡¯ve been really into sour foods and drinkstely,¡± said Lin Shishi, who gulped the entire ss of juice in one go, seemingly having a penchant for the sour-tasting fruit juice. ¡°I heard that you¡¯d be giving birth to a boy if you crave sour foods and a girl if you crave spicy foods.¡± Lin Shishi was delighted to hear her words. ¡°It¡¯d be wonderful if that¡¯s true. I do want to give birth to a boy,¡± she eximed. ¡°Your wishes will definitelye true.¡± Not long after, Lin Shishi said, ¡°I have to take an afternoon nap every day. I¡¯m actually feeling a little sleepy now.¡± ¡°Go take a short nap, then. I¡¯m feeling a bit weary too, I¡¯ll be going back to the hotel to get some rest.¡± ¡°There are spare rooms here. Sister, if you¡¯re tired, you may take a rest before leaving,¡± said Lin Shishi. ¡°It¡¯s fine, go take a nap.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, Lin Shishiy in bed and stopped moving with her eyes tightly shut. Feeling weary, An Xiaoning felt her eyes close all of a sudden and dozed off instantly. Tuoba Gucheng entered the room to see that his wife was lying in bed while An Xiaoning was sitting on the carpet with her head against the bed. He had never seen her again ever since he left A City. He missed her dearly. He locked the door from the inside. Upon the sight of the two sses of juice, he knew that the empty cup must have belonged to Lin Shishi while the half-filled one belonged to An Xiaoning. Tuoba Gucheng bent forward and carried An Xiaoning onto the couch. He then embraced her from behind. At this very moment, he could feel his heart beating vigorously. It was a feeling he had never felt toward other women before. She had a perpetual floral scent that was exceptionally fragrant. Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s heart raced, and he decided to just hug her for a while since he did not know what else he should do. Time flew by. To him, hugging her for a day would not even be enough, let alone ten-odd minutes. An Xiaoning woke up from her nap. She was greatly taken aback the moment she realized that he was embracing her, and she tried to struggle to break free, but to no avail. After all, men were naturally stronger than women. Even scrawny men were capable of great strength, let alone Tuoba Gucheng, who trained hard six days a week. He would find the time to hit the gym despite his busy schedule. One can only imagine how strong his arms were. ¡°Let me hug you for a while more, alright?¡± ¡°No, let go.¡± He did as he was told. An Xiaoning stood up and adjusted her clothes. She finally understood what had happened. ¡°Did you get someone to spike the fruit juices?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°You¡¯re too brazen, aren¡¯t you? What if Shishi finds out...¡± ¡°She won¡¯t, I¡¯m very sure of that.¡± ¡°She¡¯s pregnant! Have you never spared a thought for your child?¡± An Xiaoning questioned, trying hard to keep her volume down. ¡°Those drugs won¡¯t have any adverse effects on the fetus.¡± ¡°Why did you do that? As the country¡¯s president, do you really think it¡¯s appropriate to be acting this way?¡± An Xiaoning said sternly. ¡°I had already developed feelings for you before I got married. You were the one who made me fall in love with you, yet you¡¯re still asking why I¡¯m behaving this way. How would I know why? You can¡¯t control how you feel about someone.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you agree that we¡¯d remain friends? I agreed to it too,¡± An Xiaoning said in frustration. ¡°I don¡¯t just want to be friends with you. Are you willing to be my woman? We¡¯ll keep it between us. Be my woman and I¡¯ll give you everything you want. I can promise that I won¡¯t touch any other woman too. I¡¯ve never gotten intimate with Shishi ever since she got pregnant.¡± An Xiaoning was about to lose her mind. Putting the fact that they were half-siblings aside, it was impossible between them even if they were not rted by blood, for he was undeniably Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s son. Yet, she could not tell him of her status yet, at least not now. An Xiaoning took a deep breath and said, ¡°Your Majesty... Please don¡¯t say such things again. It¡¯ll never work out between us. It¡¯s impossible, even if I¡¯m dead.¡± She decided not to give him any more hopes, in a bid to get him to understand that a rtionship between them was impossible. ¡°Is it because of the Major whom Commander-in-chief Jin and Madam Jin introduced you to?¡± he asked. An Xiaoning¡¯s stomach twisted into a knot, afraid that she would implicate Ji Yu. After all, it was a piece of cake for Tuoba Gucheng, who was now the president, to execute and get rid of a military Major. ¡°Don¡¯t get any wild ideas, Your Majesty. Major Ji and I are just friends. My godparents would naturally want to set me up with him since they find him to be a great catch, but we¡¯re really just tonic friends.¡± Chapter 688 - A Million Times for You (50) Chapter 688: A Million Times for You (50) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Noticing how apprehensive he seemed, An Xiaoning continued, ¡°Your Majesty, you¡¯re such a great catch, especially since you¡¯re now the president. Why would I reject you because of a military Major?¡± ¡°Why not? He can marry you and make you hiswful wife but I can¡¯t. I can only have a ndestine rtionship with you and treat you well in secret. I can only give you a status when I be a full-fledged president. Tell me, what must I do to make you agree?¡± he asked with a gloomy look in his eyes. ¡°Your Majesty, are you out of your mind? How could I deserve such affection from you? You¡¯re just infatuated and muddled up for the time being. You¡¯ll realize that I¡¯m not worth your attention at all once you get your thoughts straightened out and see everything clearly. Shishi is a great girl, please don¡¯t let her down or break her heart, Your Majesty,¡± said An Xiaoning, filled with shock and bewilderment. ¡°I know clearly whether I¡¯m muddled up or not. Do you think I was born yesterday?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare to think that way.¡± After pondering for a moment, she continued, ¡°I don¡¯t harbor any designs on you at all. I had never once done so and never will in the future.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe you.¡± An Xiaoning felt more helpless than ever. There was nothing she could do if he refuses to believe the truth. She remained silent and kept her eyes fixed on the ground. After staring at her for a long while, he finally said, ¡°I won¡¯t force you anymore.¡± She heaved a sigh of relief and nced at Lin Shishi, who was lying on the bed, sound asleep. ¡°Shishi is carrying your child now. Please treat her well, Your Majesty. She¡¯s a very pure and innocent girl.¡± ¡°As I mentioned before, any woman who stays in the Autumn Pce will gradually be scheming, regardless of how innocent they may be at the start. I¡¯ll treat her well, for sure. Like what you said, she¡¯s the mother of my child,¡± he answered, seemingly knowing what she was concerned about. ¡°It¡¯s gettingte, I have to get going.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and turned around to walk away. The door was closed gently. Tuoba Gucheng remained in his seat quietly for a long time. An Xiaoning felt much more rxed only after leaving the Autumn Pce. She stood by the entrance and took a deep breath. The thought of Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s words earlier made her feel burdened and stressed. She felt as if a heavy rock was weighing her chest down. She began walking toward the hotel, which was just a short distance away. Just as she was about to reach the entrance, she caught sight of Lin Mingxi standing at the door, seemingly waiting for her, ¡°You¡¯re finally back. What took you so long?¡± ¡°I was chatting with Shishi.¡± An Xiaoning then returned to her hotel room together with Lin Mingxi. The moment she entered the room, she removed her shoes and left her socks on, feeling much morefortable. Shey down in bed and let out a long sigh. ¡°I can finally get some rest.¡± Lin Mingxi sprawled herself across the bed and said, ¡°I noticed something during the wedding ceremony just now.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°The way that the president looked at you was pretty strange,¡± Lin Mingxi answered with a sheepish smile. ¡°What do you mean?¡± An Xiaoning asked, feeling a little anxious. ¡°He was staring at you as if you were his woman.¡± An Xiaoning denied vehemently, ¡°Nothing of that sort, don¡¯t spout nonsense.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not spouting nonsense. That¡¯s the way Beicheng looks at you, so I can definitely tell,¡± Lin Mingxi said with open frankness. An Xiaoning pretended to strangle her neck and chided teasingly, ¡°There you go again. Aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯ll banish you to the forbidden pce?¡± ¡°Well, apart from the two of them, there was also Jin Qingyan, who was staring at you the most intently. He looked like he wanted to devour you then and there.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t I notice it at all? Did you focus all your attention on the way other men were looking at me?¡± An Xiaoning quipped, poking her forehead. ¡°I wasn¡¯t the only one who could tell that there was something unusual about the way Mr. President was looking at you. Beicheng discovered it too. We were sitting right behind you two, so we could see everything very clearly.¡± Lin Mingxi turned to lie on her back and stared at the ceiling above. ¡°I feel so frustrated for you. Sometimes, it¡¯s not necessarily a good thing to be too popr with men,¡± she added. ¡°The president is my half-brother. You know that as well. Jin Qingyan is my ex-husband whom I¡¯ve divorced twice, and Gu Beicheng is your husband. What could possibly happen between us with you around? My poprity with men has brought nothing but trouble to me.¡± Lin Mingxi chuckled and said, ¡°If you want to live with Beicheng happily ever after, I¡¯m willing to grant you your wish.¡± An Xiaoning rolled her eyes and jested, ¡°You¡¯re asking to be punished!¡± ¡°I¡¯m being serious. Beicheng and I are married only in name, and we¡¯re genuinely nice and caring toward each other. It¡¯s a great feeling, actually, even though there¡¯s no love between us.¡± ¡°You two will be giving birth to a child in the next half of the year. Just live your life properly and stop getting any wild ideas. There¡¯s nothing between me and Beicheng. If I really harbored any feelings for him, you wouldn¡¯t have had the chance to go on a matchmaking session with him. Some men are just thickheaded and take longer to realize some things. Give him some time and be patient, he¡¯ll fall in love with you eventually,¡± said An Xiaoning, staring at her earnestly. ¡°Okay...¡± ¡ª¡ª Bam! Tuoba Rui pped his hand across Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s face forcefully, almost throwing her off bnce. ¡°How dare you hit me!¡± she eximed angrily, cing a hand on her face. Tuoba Rui glowered at her and said sternly, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you had sent her to a good family? Turns out you dumped her in the countryside to let her fend for herself.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t she alive and well now? What¡¯s the matter? Are you feeling sorry for her? She seems to have nine lives though. If I¡¯d been cruel enough, I would¡¯ve strangled her to death and you wouldn¡¯t even have known about it. Didn¡¯t I still give her a way out in the end?¡± Shi Xiaoyu retorted upfront. ¡°Shi Xiaoyu!¡± Tuoba Rui hollered, his hands trembling out of anger. ¡°I noticed how agitated you were when you finally met her in the flesh today. Did you feel like you were looking at Sister¡¯s shadow? They do resemble each other greatly, and she was even dressed in red. Tuoba Rui, it¡¯s already been so many years. She would¡¯ve died long ago if I really wanted to kill her. How dare you hit me because of her. Do you dare believe that I won¡¯t kill her?¡± Tuoba Rui stepped forward and strangled her neck. ¡°Then I shall kill you right now.¡± Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s legs were lifted off the ground and she felt her breath shortening. ¡°You... let go!¡± she struggled to say, turning as red as a tomato. ¡°Do you still dare to think of killing her?¡± Afraid that he would strangle her to death, Shi Xiaoyu immediately answered, ¡°No.¡± He then let go of Shi Xiaoyu, who was scared out of her wits. Staring at him with tears in her eyes while trying to catch her breath, she eximed, ¡°You¡¯re treating me like this all because of her. As if Shi Qingzhou wasn¡¯t already a huge hindrance to me, you even ce her daughter above me. I¡¯m yourwful wife who gave birth to three of your children. You actually thought of killing me because of her! Tuoba Rui, I¡¯ve been married to you for so many years, and yet I still mean so little to you. My ce in your heart can¡¯t even bepared to that of Shi Qingzhou and her daughter!¡± ¡°Seems like all the warnings I gave you previously had fallen on deaf ears. I won¡¯t warn you anymore from now on. Xiaoyu, be careful not to be too relentless. I¡¯ve never intervened with the way you disciplined our children in the past, but you¡¯d better know your limits. Don¡¯t go poking your nose into the business of someone else who isn¡¯t your child; otherwise, I¡¯ll make sure you get a hard time.¡± Chapter 689 - A Million Times for You (51) Chapter 689: A Million Times for You (51) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Okay.¡± Tuoba Rui turned around to leave without saying another word to her. Shi Xiaoyu sat by the bed and reached a hand out to stroke her own face with a menacing look of vengeance in her eyes. ¡°Someone,e in!¡± ¡°Madam.¡± The bodyguards standing by the door immediately entered. ¡°Bring me an ice pack.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡ª¡ª The filming of the drama series officially began. All the actors and crew members had joined the production unit, and the first day of filming will take ce on the next day. The lead actor and actress were staying in two adjacent rooms in the hotel. They arrived at the television filming studio and would have to check into the hotel at night. After lunch, Yan Ge instructed his assistant, Xiao Li, to call Fang En over for a massage. Xiao Li immediately proceeded to do as instructed. Two minutester, Fang En entered while Xiao Li returned to his own room. Since it was rather warm inside the room due to the heater, Fang En removed her quilt jacket and left her buttoned shirt on. Staring at Yan Ge, who was lying on the bed, she said, ¡°Don¡¯t you want a shoulder massage? Sit up straight.¡± ¡°Just do it while I¡¯m lying down. Give me a back rub too. Do it with more strength.¡± He has so many requests, Fang En thought to herself, pouting her lips in annoyance. She walked toward the bed in her slippers and reached out to begin massaging him with great force. She began rubbing his shoulders with her tiny hands before making her way down his back. She could feel his body tensing up the moment she pressed down on his lower back. ¡°Was I using too much strength?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s just perfect. Keep going,¡± said Yan Ge, lying on his stomach with his eyes tightly shut in immense pleasure. Thus, Fang En continued to massage him with brute force. ¡°Did you specifically take up massaging lessons?¡± ¡°No, I just picked it up and got better after massaging my grandmother several times.¡± ¡°Continue to massage me until I tell you to stop. Got it?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Yan Ge felt his eyelids getting heavier as a sudden weariness began to set in. After massaging him for about half an hour or so, Fang En discovered that he had already dozed off. However, she did not stop and continued massaging him, but with much lesser strength than before. Yan Ge woke up after the hour-long nap, only to find that she was still standing beside the bed. To the shock of Fang En, he turned his body over abruptly, causing her hands tond just below his abdomen. Further below would be his... She swiftly retracted her hand, blushing red with embarrassment, ¡°You¡¯ve already massaged me for so long, you may stop now.¡± Fang En gave her aching hands a little shake and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be returning to my room, then.¡± ¡°Since there¡¯s nothing else for us to do and filming is about to begin tomorrow, why don¡¯t we rehearse our lines together right now?¡± he suggested, leaning against the headboard sluggishly. He then instructed, ¡°Bring me the scripts on the table.¡± She turned around to do as instructed. ¡°Bring yours here too.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. I¡¯ve already memorized all my lines for the first ten episodes.¡± Shock and surprise were written all over Yan Ge¡¯s face. Unlike Fang En, who had memorized all ten episodes in one go, actors and actresses would usually just skim through the script and memorize only their respective lines right before the filming of each scene. Besides, it was a tough feat since she was the lead actress and would have a lot more lines to memorize. However, he soon thought that it was understandable for her to put in extra effort since it was her first time being cast as the female lead. He casually nced through the script for the scene where he would be starring alongside her, before putting the script away and beginning to rehearse the lines with her. Indeed, he did not fall short of her expectations. Soon, they both got into their roles and rehearsed the scene smoothly. At the end of it, Fang En asked, ¡°I¡¯ve watched the historical dramas you starred in previously. I also read about you on discussion forums, and theizens im that you only stage kiss your co-actors during kissing scenes. Is that true?¡± ¡°Not all the time,¡± Yan Ge answered with raised brows. Fang En thought to herself immediately, I reckon you only choose to kiss the actresses who you think are attractive and easy on the eyes. I bet you¡¯d definitely stage kiss those who don¡¯t appeal to you or have stinky breath. ¡°There are a lot of kissing scenes in this drama series that we¡¯re starring in. Do you think I¡¯ll stage kiss you?¡± ¡°That goes without saying,¡± Fang En answered without hesitation. He smiled and said, ¡°Go back to your room to rest.¡± Fang En left his room while rubbing her aching wrists. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Baizhi, has there been news from that person?¡± The ¡°person¡± whom Madam Xu was referring to was none other than the chieftain of the organization Xu Baizhi belonged to. However, the man had yet to call her again after telling her that he would inform the chieftain of her request. Several days had passed since then. However, Xu Baizhi was not at all eager or impatient, since not receiving a call of rejection meant that there was still a chance. ¡°Not yet.¡± Madam Xu was much more worriedpared to Xu Baizhi. ¡°I really don¡¯t know what we¡¯re supposed to do now,¡± Madam Xu said anxiously. ¡°Mother, we¡¯ll cross that bridge when wee to it. Don¡¯t worry about it now.¡± Madam Xu nodded and asked, ¡°I¡¯m going to the mountainster to offer some incense. Would you like toe with me?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± The butler entered the room hastily and greeted, ¡°Madam.¡± ¡°How¡¯s it?¡± ¡°The people we sent to Beijia Bay have returned and they said that the main door is already locked. They climbed up the wall and discovered that there was a newly erected tombstone in the backyard.¡± Madam Xu sighed and said, ¡°That just means the elderlydy has passed on then.¡± The butler did not utter a single word and retreated to the living room quietly. ¡°An Xiaoning was right. The elderlydy really had only a few days left to live,¡± Xu Baizhi remarked. ¡°Yeah. This elderlydy is really capable. It¡¯s a pity that she decided to take An Xiaoning as her apprentice instead. If only she were willing to teach you a thing or two,¡± Madam Xumented. ¡°An Xiaoning is naturally gifted. I¡¯m not psychic either.¡± ¡°So what if you¡¯re not? I heard that many non-psychic people have sessfully managed to master the techniques of fortune-telling too.¡± ¡°The elderlydy told me that those fortune-tellers who don¡¯t possess any psychic powers are mostly just swindlers. Even those who have internalized the fortune-telling techniques taught by their mentors only possess limited knowledge. At the same time, there are also those who rely on supernatural beings to gain their powers.¡± ¡°Spirits and supernatural beings usually possess humans with the purpose of gaining something. If we manage to garner the help of spirits by fulfilling their wishes, we wouldn¡¯t have to be afraid of anything. Aren¡¯t I right, Baizhi?¡± said Madam Xu. ¡°Yes, but that¡¯s such a far-fetched idea. What can we possibly do for the spirits, and how am I supposed to encounter them in the first ce? Also, don¡¯t get any ideas about things like that. The elderlydy said that it¡¯d bring about karmic retribution,¡± Xu Baizhi said, objecting to her mother¡¯s suggestion. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Xu Baizhi¡¯s mobile phone began vibrating all of a sudden. She whipped it out and said to her mother, ¡°It¡¯s the higher-ups.¡± ¡°Hurry and answer then.¡± Xu Baizhi swiped her finger across the screen to answer and ced the phone beside her ear. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a reply from the higher-ups. Our organization has always had a rule that states that none of the members are allowed to leave the organization unless they¡¯re dead. However, you¡¯re an exception, and the higher-ups are willing to let you off on one condition. If you can fulfill it, you¡¯ll be allowed to leave and we won¡¯t look for you again,¡± the man answered, sounding cold and aloof as usual. Xu Baizhi¡¯s eyes lit up in surprise and she quickly asked, ¡°What¡¯s the condition?¡± ¡°Find out An Xiaoning¡¯s birth characters and time of birth.¡± Shocked beyond her senses, Xu Baizhi answered, ¡°An Xiaoning? She¡¯s a psychic herself and she knows the importance of birth characters and timing. How could she possibly tell me hers?¡± Chapter 690 - A Million Times for You (52) Chapter 690: A Million Times for You (52) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°You¡¯ll have toe up with your own solution for that. On top of that, if you manage to break An Xiaoning¡¯s arms and send her out of the country, the organization will be so kind as to offer your husband a chance to leave together with you.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Of course. This is what the higher-ups said exactly. If you manage to aplish this mission, the two of you will no longer be rted to the organization.¡± ¡°Got it. Is there a time limit?¡± Bai Zhi asked earnestly. ¡°We¡¯ll be allowing you a time frame of six months. If you don¡¯t manage toplete the mission within six months, you may forget about leaving and continue to take on missions. If you refuse to abide by the instructions, you¡¯ll be subjected to section 108 of the penal code. I¡¯m sure you know very clearly what it is.¡± The 108th section of the organization¡¯s penal code was death. ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll do my best to aplish it,¡± Bai Zhi answered, her voice trembling a little. ¡°Do as you deem fit. You¡¯re on your own.¡± After ending the call, Xu Baizhi looked at Madam Xu and eximed gleefully, ¡°Mother, they¡¯ve given me half a years¡¯ time.¡± ¡°What do they want you to do?¡± Madam Xu asked eagerly. ¡°Don¡¯t let anyone else know about this, except Father. Not even my brothers.¡± Xu Baizhi then leaned closer toward Madam Xu and whispered into her ears. A grave expression formed on Madam Xu¡¯s face the moment she heard her words. ¡°That¡¯s not very appropriate, I suppose?¡± ¡°What¡¯s so inappropriate about it? I don¡¯t have a choice either, I¡¯m just trying to save myself. This is the first time I¡¯ve heard of the organization allowing their members to leave so long as they fulfill the conditions stated. Is this the miraculous change that¡¯s going to turn my life around after the elderlydy had changed my fate?¡± ¡°Baizhi, do you still remember what the elderlydy said?¡± Madam Xu asked in apprehension. ¡°What did she say?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t remember her exact words, but she said something along the lines of your destiny being in your own hands, despite the fact that she had already restored your fate. How your life progresses in the future will still ultimately depend on you. From the way I see it, striking a deal and making this exchange with the organization is akin to harming others. That way, you¡¯ll still be going about evil ways.¡± Completely disagreeing with her train of thought, Xu Baizhi rebutted, ¡°Mother, if I seed in this mission, my husband and I will get to leave the organization for good. We¡¯ll then get to live a peaceful life. I won¡¯t be going on a ruined path. They merely said that they wanted me to find out An Xiaoning¡¯s birth characters and send her abroad. They didn¡¯t mention anything about killing her. If they really wanted to take her life, wouldn¡¯t they have just told me to kill her straight away? Clearly, they¡¯re not out to kill An Xiaoning and they just want to use her to the organization¡¯s advantage.¡± Madam Xu was muddled and confused after hearing her words, thinking that her daughter did make some sense. ¡°Mother, didn¡¯t you say that An Xiaoning shares the exact same birthdate as me? That makes things much easier then. I just need to find out her exact birth timing now. You and Father are longtime friends of Commander-in-chief Jin¡¯s family. I suppose it¡¯d be easy for you to find out her birth timing from them,¡± said Xu Baizhi, who could vaguely see a glimmer of hope in leaving the organization together with her husband. Madam Xu immediately recalled visiting An Xiaoning at the Gu family mansion and pleading for her to help alter Xu Baizhi¡¯s fate, during which she informed An Xiaoning of Xu Baizhi¡¯s exact birth characters and timing. ¡°Ms. An knows your birth characters too. What if she harms you after finding out what you n to do to her?¡± Madam Xu asked worriedly, filled with fear and uneasiness. ¡°She won¡¯t. Old Madam said that ethical psychic mediums will only use their powers to help others. She wouldn¡¯t use it to do evil,¡± said Xu Baizhi. Madam Xu thought otherwise, however. Who would just sit back and not take revenge on someone who tries to harm them? ¡°I doubt Ms. An will be able to retaliate as long as you don¡¯t let her find out that you were the one behind it. Well, but, the elderlydy used up the rest of her remaining lifespan to help you change your fate. I don¡¯t feel good about doing this. It feels like we¡¯re being ingrates and biting the hand that fed us. Baizhi, why don¡¯t we think of another solution?¡± said Madam Xu, holding her hand tightly. ¡°The only other way out is death or bing a vegetable.¡± Needless to say, Madam Xu would not bear to let her daughter be reduced to such a state. ¡°How could I bear to watch you die or be crippled? That¡¯s much more painful for me than death. But Ms. An is not one to be trifled with...¡± ¡°No matter how capable she may be, she¡¯s still a woman at the end of the day. Mother, once my husband and I manage to leave the organization, we¡¯ll be filial toward you and Father,¡± Xu Baizhi said reassuringly, staring at her. ¡°Your father and I will be contented as long as you two are safe and sound.¡± Xu Baizhi again instructed, ¡°You mustn¡¯t let my brothers hear of this.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± ¡ª¡ª Ah... Ah... Choo! An Xiaoning sneezed and wiped her nose with a tissue. Staring at the pool of tissues in the dustbin, she thought to herself, Am I catching a cold? Did someone talk about me behind my back? Feeling weak and feeble, shey in bed and switched off the lights at past eight o¡¯clock in the evening. She decided to get a good night¡¯s rest. Yet, she heard the door being opened all of a sudden a while after she had fallen asleep. An Xiaoning sat up straight and switched on the lights, only to see a man walking toward her. ¡°How did you get the key card?¡± she questioned. ¡°I got it from the concierge.¡± An Xiaoning recalled the name of the hotel and immediately realized that it was one of the hotels belonging to a franchise owned by the Jin Corporation. Shey back down and asked with half-closed eyes, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? Did you catch a cold?¡± Jin Qingyan ced a hand on her forehead and continued, ¡°Your forehead feels a little warm. Seems like you¡¯re about to get a fever.¡± An Xiaoning did not respond while Jin Qingyan quickly sent his bodyguard, Xiao Huang, a text message. Shortly after, Xiao Huang appeared with a bag of medicine and a pot of hot tea. ¡°Sit up and take some medicine,¡± said Jin Qingyan. An Xiaoning opened her eyes and stared at the medicine on the headboard and at the cup of piping-hot tea. She sat up straight and took the medicine abidingly. However, it did not mean that she was willing to get closer to Jin Qingyan, but rather, it was because she was really feeling unwell and dizzy. She did not wish to trouble anyone else to help her buy some medicine and, thus, decided to ept his kind and timely gesture of bringing her medicine. Jin Qingyan felt relieved to see how cooperative she was. ¡°Very obedient of you.¡± An Xiaoning ced her cup down onto the table and rolled her eyes at him. ¡°Thanks, you may leave now.¡± ¡°You¡¯re burning the bridge once you¡¯ve crossed it,¡± he said before switching off the lights. An Xiaoning thought that he would be a gentleman and leave straight away. To her astonishment, he lifted the duvet, kicked his shoes off, andy on the bed, spooning her from behind. ¡°Jin Qingyan, you¡¯re crossing the line.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just going to lie here and do nothing else. Be good and go to bed.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll prove it to you then.¡± ¡°Men and women shouldn¡¯t have so much physical contact. Go away.¡± ¡°Psht...¡± He chuckled, which was to her annoyance. ¡°What are youughing about?¡± she questioned. ¡°There¡¯s no such thing as no physical contact between us. I can touch you whenever I want to.¡± ¡°You¡¯re such a narcissist. I want to take a good rest. Hurry and leave.¡± He hugged her tighter, despite her incessant struggling. He then patted her back gently, as if he were cajoling an infant. ¡°I¡¯ll leave once you fall asleep. I mean what I say.¡± An Xiaoning closed her eyes and soon fell asleep, due to the drowsy effects of the medicine. Jin Qingyan held her in his embrace, his heart fluttering with overwhelming joy. He could not help but sneak a few kisses on her face while she was asleep. Chapter 691 - A Million Times for You (53) Chapter 691: A Million Times for You (53) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He then left the bed reluctantly. An Xiaoning slept soundly for the rest of the night. By the time she woke up again, it was already the morning of the next day. She felt much more refreshed and energized,pletely devoid of the drowsiness she felt the night before. An Xiaoning sat on the bed, stared at the spot beside her, then got out of bed. After washing up, she put on some makeup and left her room with her purse in hand. The Gu family was already waiting for her in the restaurant of the hotel. They then returned home after finishing the buffet breakfast. Jin Qingyan arrived in B City via his private jet, which he boarded on the way back. Hence, he arrived back in A City much earlier than they did. Hended on the private hangar of Wei Ni Estate and soon arrived at the garage of his mansion minutester. ¡°Young Sir, Sir is here.¡± ¡°How long has he been here for?¡± Fan Shixin raised his finger and said, ¡°It¡¯s been an hour since he arrived. He seems to be very angry.¡± Jin Qingyan handed his car keys to Fan Shixin and walked toward the mansion. Mr. Jin was sitting on the couch and turned around to take a look when he heard footsteps approaching. ¡°You¡¯re finally back. Were you the one behind Youran¡¯s incident?¡± Mr. Jin asked with a sullen expression on his face. Jin Qingyan kept a straight face and said, ¡°Who did you hear that from?¡± ¡°Gu Dongcheng came to look for me personally. If you were the one who did it, release her immediately. She¡¯s still your sister at the end of the day. Just spare her this once.¡± ¡°What did he say to you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s none of your concern.¡± Jin Qingyan sneered and said, ¡°You came here to find your daughter without any concrete evidence. You don¡¯t have to go to such extremes even if you want to make it up to her. You need evidence for everything.¡± ¡°I heard that she was the culprit behind your mother¡¯s death, but since your mother is dead, so be it. Although I¡¯ve let her down, I didn¡¯t divorce her because of Youran¡¯s mother. After Youran¡¯s mother died, I didn¡¯t show Youran any concern either. How about your mother? She had an illicit affair with the butler behind my back and lied to me about Qingyue. I raised and doted on someone else¡¯s daughter for nothing. Just forget it now that she¡¯s dead and let Youran off,¡± Mr. Jin said straightforwardly. Just forget it now that she¡¯s dead... Jin Qingyan rubbed his temples. When his mother was alive, she was very promiscuous with her rtionships... Especially that young chap she bought supplements from. However... at the end of the day, she was still his birth mother. He still ought to avenge his mother and exact revenge on the person who caused her death. Besides, Xu Youran had also tried to kill An Xiaoning as well as the entire Jin family... A cmity would ensue if he were to let her off. ¡°As I said,e and question me only after you¡¯ve got the evidence. I¡¯m not obligated to answer these questions of yours.¡± Mr. Jin was at a loss for words. To make matters worse, he had been losing all his money at the gambling den, causing him to be in a foul mood. ¡°Give me some money.¡± ¡°Where did your money go?¡± Jin Qingyan questioned even though he already knew the answer. ¡°I don¡¯t have much money to begin with.¡± ¡°How much do you need?¡± ¡°One hundred million dors.¡± ¡°Got it, five million dors.¡± ¡°One hundred million,¡± Mr. Jin reiterated. ¡°Three million.¡± ¡°Fine, five million. Why are you so stingy with your own father?¡± Mr. Jin chastised, glowering at him angrily. ¡°That can¡¯t be helped, I need money to marry a wife and feed my family.¡± ¡°...¡± After Mr. Jin left, Jin Qingyan rested his legs on the coffee table and leaned against the couch to ponder over his thoughts. Fan Shixin entered to see that his eyes were tightly shut, seemingly sleep deprived. ¡°What did Sire to see you for?¡± ¡°Gu Dongcheng told him toe to me for Xu Youran.¡± ¡°What did you tell him, Young Sir?¡± ¡°I told him exactly what I told others. I can¡¯t possibly admit to it. He¡¯s lost almost all his money during gambling. I gave him five million dors.¡± Fan Shixin snorted withughter and said, ¡°Sir would definitely hit the roof if he finds out that all the money he had lost had gone to you. You¡¯ve got him wrapped around your finger and have yed him like a fool. He actually came here to ask you for money that he¡¯s going to end up losing to you again.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll live in peace, because he will never find out about it,¡± said Jin Qingyan, who opened his eyes. ¡°Young Sir, did you not sleep wellst night?¡± ¡°I was suffering from insomnia the whole ofst night. I ran out of sleeping pills.¡± Fan Shixin took a seat beside him and said, ¡°Young Sir, don¡¯t keep taking sleeping pills, they¡¯re bad for your health.¡± ¡°If you have the ability to let her sleep by my side every night, I¡¯ll stop taking them.¡± Fan Shixin was well aware of who he was referring to by ¡°her.¡± ¡°I have no means to bring An Xiaoning here to sleep with you every night. But I do have a solution to make another her apany you every day.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Fan Shixin chuckled and said, ¡°Young Sir, I¡¯ll get someone to construct a life-sized intable, based on Ms. An¡¯s exact measurements. You can hug, touch, and use it to satisfy your needs...¡± ¡°Do you dare assume that I won¡¯t beat you up? The clone we made previously already gave me enough trouble. Are you thinking of giving me a fake clone this time?¡± Jin Qingyan chastised. Pursing his lips, Fan Shixin answered, ¡°What¡¯s wrong withforting yourself with a cebo?¡± ¡°Go ahead with what you¡¯re supposed to do. I¡¯m going upstairs to get some rest.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Fan Shixin exited, after which Xiao Huang scurried towards him and reported, ¡°Chief, that woman has gone on a hunger strike.¡± ¡°Hah, leave her be. Doesn¡¯t matter even if she starves to death,¡± said Fan Shixin, who nheless continued to make his way to the basement. After cing the food outside Xu Youran¡¯s door, Fan Shixin entered and said in contempt, ¡°You¡¯re being treated very well, aren¡¯t you? You¡¯re getting fed and provided for. You don¡¯t even have to pay rent. Xu Youran, enjoy whatever you get to eat and drink while you can. After all, you¡¯re going to be faced with a hard time very soon.¡± ¡°Just let me die peacefully.¡± ¡°Dream on. Young Sir couldn¡¯t even bear to shoot you dead right away because he thinks that¡¯s too quick and painless. Since you refuse to eat or drink, you won¡¯t get to do so from now onward. You¡¯re on your own now,¡± Fan Shixin sneered. Xu Youran was feeling famished, and her stomach was growling uncontrobly. Contrary to her expectations, going on a hunger strike did not work at all. Noticing that the dishes were about to be taken away, she hurriedly yelled for them to stop, ¡°I¡¯ll eat!¡± Fan Shixin could not be bothered to waste time talking to her and left the basement. Xiao Huang hurriedly followed him and asked, ¡°What does Young Sir n to do with her?¡± ¡°Nothing too kind. Where¡¯s that tan-looking shrew?¡± Fan Shixin asked, curious about the woman whom he had not seen in a long time. Amused by his words, Xiao Huang could not help but crack up and answered, ¡°I heard that she had gone to the hospital for stic surgery ever since Young Sir allowed her to leave the mansion freely.¡± ¡°It¡¯s true that she needs to get some work done on her face. I guess everyone has different standards when ites to beauty, but I really can¡¯t appreciate hers. No wonder my eyes have been extremelyfortabletely. Turns out it¡¯s because that eyesore is gone. Awesome.¡± ¡°Chief, you¡¯ve got such a vicious tongue...¡± ¡°That depends on who we¡¯re talking about,¡± Fan Shixin answered with a smirk. ¡ª¡ª The sweet and loving married couple, Long Tianze and Mei Yangyang, had been inseparable after work each day, now that the children were away at the boot camp. Although they had been in a rtionship for years already, they were not sick of each other at all and instead were still head-over-heels in love, as if they were still in their honeymoon phase. Chapter 692 - A Million Times for You (54) Chapter 692: A Million Times for You (54) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As soon as An Xiaoning entered the backyard, she was greeted with the sight of Mei Yangyang and Long Tianze on the swing. Mei Yangyang was sitting on Long Tianze¡¯sp while his arms were wrapped around her, and they were sharing an apple with each other. The heartwarming sight was much to the envy of An Xiaoning, who was now single. She stepped forward and quipped, ¡°Do you two ever consider the feelings of singletons like me?¡± Mei Yangyang swiftly got down from Long Tianze¡¯sp and gave An Xiaoning a big hug. ¡°Sis, you¡¯re mywful wife, he¡¯s only a concubine,¡± she jested. Long Tianze looked up into the sky and let out a long sigh. ¡°Oh Heaven, please take me far, far away. I don¡¯t wish to see such a devastating sight.¡± ¡°Heaven is very busy, he doesn¡¯t have time for you.¡± An Xiaoning burst intoughter at the sight of the overly dramatic Long Tianze. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s enough. You two are really such clowns. I just came back from B City.¡± ¡°Have lunch at my ceter. What would you like to eat, Sis? I¡¯ll get the kitchen to prepare it for you,¡± said Mei Yangyang, dragging her into the house. ¡°I¡¯m fine with anything. Your life is the mostfortable,¡± said An Xiaoning, taking a seat on the couch together with Mei Yangyang. ¡°You can easily live a life like that too, if you¡¯d like. It¡¯s just so peaceful and non-eventful, and we stick to each other every day.¡± An Xiaoning turned to lie on her side, supporting herself on one arm. ¡°I don¡¯t actually have many ambitious aspirations. I can¡¯t help it that things havee to this.¡± ¡°Sis, why do you sound so troubled?¡± An Xiaoning sighed and said, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about those unhappy matters. Filming has officially begun. How¡¯s En coping?¡± ¡°She¡¯s doing great. Her acting chops were already up to standard to begin with since she¡¯s a graduate from the theater arts academy. She¡¯s doing a very good job, especially with the help of the acting coach. Yan Ge seems to be quite pleased with her performance too.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. I hope we won¡¯t incur a loss from this investment.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t. The storyline is interesting, and the cast is superb. You won¡¯t incur losses. By the way, I heard from Tianze that Mr. Ling and Jin Qingyue are getting married very soon.¡± ¡°Is that so? They¡¯re destined to be together. What a rare coincidence,¡± said An Xiaoning, who was not too surprised. Mei Yangyang stretched her back and said, ¡°There¡¯s a video clip circting online right now. Have you seen it yet?¡± ¡°Which video?¡± ¡°That means you haven¡¯t seen it yet.¡± Mei Yangyang unlocked her mobile phone and searched for the video clip online, which she then showed to An Xiaoning. ¡°Take a look.¡± An Xiaoning took the phone from her hand and said, ¡°Wasn¡¯t this taken during the wedding ceremony?¡± ¡°Yeah. I wonder who took the video and posted it online? Tianze and I watched it again and again several timesst night. The more we watch it, the more we think... that he still loves you very much.¡± An Xiaoning put the mobile phone down and said calmly, ¡°How could you tell from just a video?¡± ¡°Young Madam, it¡¯s time for lunch,¡± said the head cook, who served the dishes and ced them onto the table. Mei Yangyang stood up and called Long Tianze toe in for lunch before taking a seat with An Xiaoning. ¡°I¡¯ve been craving for fish a lottely. Sis, have a taste of Auntie¡¯s cooking,¡± said Mei Yangyang. An Xiaoning waited for Long Tianze to take a seat before picking up her chopsticks to pick up a small piece of fish. After tasting it, sheplimented, ¡°Not bad, it tastes fresh and delicious.¡± ¡°Of course. I was the one who caught that fish while fishing,¡± Long Tianze remarked smugly. ¡°Hah... It tastes delicious just because you were the one who caught it?¡± ¡°I fished it with my precious, beautiful hands. My painstaking efforts are going to be in vain if they don¡¯t taste good.¡± Mei Yangyang put a few pieces of fish onto his te and said, ¡°You¡¯re hopeless. Have more since you¡¯re the one who caught it.¡± ¡°I fished it for you, Honey. Have more,¡± he said, helping her to the fish. Mei Yangyang was beaming with happiness as they proceed to enjoy a delightful meal. An Xiaoning was green with envy. ¡°By the way, I came across a piece of news when I was surfing the inte on my mobile phone earlier. It¡¯s about a group of archeologists from our country discovering a coffin in a cave on a dpidated mountain.¡± ¡°What else? Did they find something unusual with the coffin?¡± Mei Yangyang probed. ¡°Yes, they did. That¡¯s why they went there as a team to find out more. Unfortunately, they only peeked at the coffin from the opening of the cave. No one dared to enter.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t they dare to enter?¡± An Xiaoning asked in puzzlement. ¡°I don¡¯t know, it wasn¡¯t mentioned in the news article. It sounds pretty absurd though,¡± said Long Tianze. ¡°People nowadays are really pathetic. How could they have the cheek to dig up a dead person¡¯s grave using the excuse of doing it in the name of research? They¡¯re just disturbing the dead and hindering them from resting in peace. Trust them to go all the way to a remote mountain area for the sake of finding something about an abandoned coffin.¡± ¡°Exactly. Seems like cremation isn¡¯t too bad of an idea now that I think about it.¡± ¡°...¡± Just as they had their fill, Fan Shixin arrived. ¡°Herees the dummy. What¡¯s the matter?¡± Long Tianze quipped. Fan Shixin squinted and said, ¡°Mr. Long, can you stop giving me random nicknames?¡± ¡°No, I just enjoy doing so.¡± Fan Shixin answered helplessly, ¡°Whatever, as long as you¡¯re happy. Ms. An, Young Sir asks if you¡¯d like to see that person?¡± Having immediately understood what he meant, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°That goes without saying. Why would I give up such a great opportunity? I¡¯ll go over right now.¡± Fan Shixin followed closely behind, beaming with joy. As soon as she entered the gate of the mansion opposite, An Xiaoning was greeted with the sight of a tall and slender figure standing in the backyard, dressed in a white suit. He was leaning against the car and seemed to be waiting for her. She stepped forward and asked, ¡°Where is she?¡± ¡°In the basement.¡± ¡°How do you n to deal with her?¡± An Xiaoning asked while walking to the basement. ¡°How do you think I should?¡± ¡°Get rid of her as soon as possible so you can stop worrying about it. Don¡¯t end up like Shi Xiaoyu, who probably regrets not killing my mother earlier. There¡¯s no way she can catch my mother again easily now that she has already been rescued,¡± said An Xiaoning, taking reference from her mother¡¯s incident. ¡°Do you really think just anyone can enter my territory and rescue her?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think your ce is any harder to trespass than Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s secret basement in her bedroom. But of course, it¡¯s up to you to decide how you¡¯d like to deal with her,¡± An Xiaoning said, smiling. ¡°No, you call the shots. I was thinking of torturing her severely before finishing her off. But I¡¯ve changed my mind after hearing what you¡¯ve said,¡± Jin Qingyan answered. ¡°Why are you so easily influenced?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ve always been determined and firm with my decisions. I only changed my mind so quickly because of you.¡± An Xiaoning ignored him and continued walking toward the basement. The secret chamber was rather clean and had a small window. She opened the door and entered slowly, only to be greeted with the sight of Xu Youran, whom she had not seen in a long time. ¡°Seems like you¡¯re treating her far better than I had imagined. I thought she¡¯d be beaten into a pulp and covered in wounds by now, but that¡¯s not the case, apparently.¡± Jin Qingyan stood beside her quietly. Xu Youran did not look at them and continued to lie t on the bed, staring nkly at the ceiling above, as if they werepletely non-existent. ¡°I really pity the fetus in her stomach. It¡¯s reincarnated in the wrong ce.¡± Upon hearing her words, Xu Youran sat up straight and said, ¡°An Xiaoning, you¡¯re a mother yourself. How could you bear to watch my unborn child suffer such a horrible fate?¡± Chapter 693 - A Million Times for You (55) Chapter 693: A Million Times for You (55) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Ms. Xu Youran, you¡¯re a mother-to-be too. May I ask how you¡¯d brought yourself to attempt to take my life time and time again? Were you nning to watch my son be motherless?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t outargue you. If you¡¯re here to see how pathetic of a plight I¡¯m in, you may leave after you¡¯re done.¡± In high spirits, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°Of course I came to see how pathetic you are. I have to take a good look since it¡¯s thest time I¡¯ll be seeing you. I¡¯m sure that even if you weren¡¯t here right now, you¡¯d be dying by my hands sooner orter. It¡¯s only a matter of time. We¡¯ve decided to be kind and spare you from a torturous punishment. How would you like to die?¡± ¡°Peacefully,¡± Xu Youran muttered. ¡°That doesn¡¯t seem to suit you.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you ask me how I wanted to die?¡± ¡°I did ask you that question, but I didn¡¯t say that you¡¯d be allowed to die in the way you prefer. How about thering you in oil? At least there won¡¯t be any blood or wounds.¡± An Xiaoning turned around and said to Jin Qingyan, ¡°How does that sound?¡± ¡°Great.¡± An Xiaoning turned around to leave while Jin Qingyan followed closely behind. The door was closed shut with a loud thud. Youran felt her body turn to jelly, with her limbs, which were tied to the bed, being the only thing supporting her sluggish body. She could sense that her death was near. The fear sent shivers down her spine and caused her to shudder in terror. At this very moment, Xu Youran was filled with immense regret. If only she didn¡¯t provoke Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning at the start and remained in the Xu family as their obedient daughter, she could then have continued enjoying the clout of being their daughter and her real identity would never have been exposed. She would then have gotten to live life in peace. Yet, she was blinded by her desire for revenge. In the end, not only did she not get the revenge she wanted, but she also evennded herself in such a dire plight and was about to lose her life. She only understood now that being alive was the most important and that material possessions, wealth, status, and power were only secondary. However, it was all toote now. There was no longer a chance for her to start afresh again. Bam! The door, which had been mmed shut earlier, was flung open again, after which eight men entered. Xu Youran turned as pale as a sheet at the sight of them and retreated back in fear. Keeping her body stered against the wall, she yelled, ¡°What are you trying to do!?!¡± Fan Shixin entered the room and interjected, ¡°Ms. Xu, what else do you think we¡¯re going to do? We¡¯re obviously not going to continue letting you enjoy staying here without paying rent. Enjoy your death.¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to die!¡± It was only normal for one to be filled with immense fear when on the brink of death. No one would be able to face death fearlessly. Xu Youran¡¯s struggling and resisting were proven to be futile. Soon, she was pinned onto the bed with her limbs tied to the four corners of the bed frame and a sheet of paper that was drenched in oil covering her face. Her head was tightly restrained, not allowing her to move an inch at all. She was initially still struggling with all her might. However, the oxygen she could breathe began to decrease gradually and she was soon deprived of it altogether. She struggled hard to breathe, but to no avail since the oiled paper was covering her nostrils and mouth. Xu Youran was in extreme difort, and she wanted badly to cry, but there were no tears. She began to lose consciousness slowly, and several images began shing through her mind. She recalled the times when she painstakingly tried to harm An Xiaoning, the time when her subordinate reported to her about throwing Chi Rui¡¯er down a high building, as well as the time when she and Yuan Mingzhu were discussing Mrs. Jin¡¯s death merrily... Everything seemed like a blur now. If she could have another shot at life, she wouldn¡¯t be so calctive and bent on seeking revenge. She would just enjoy life peacefully... But will there be another life? Xu Youran had no idea; neither did she have the chance to ponder over anything else, for she was already on her veryst breath. ¡°Chief, she has stopped breathing.¡± ¡°Okay, cremate her in secret and scatter her ashes into the river,¡± Fan Shixin instructed. ¡°Yes.¡± Fan Shixin then left the basement and scurried toward Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning, who were walking away. ¡°Young Sir, done deal.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Boss, someone is calling you again!¡± An Xiaoning whipped her mobile phone out from her bag, and a frown creased her forehead the moment she saw the caller disy. Pan Zhenghui would usually only call her for work-rted matters. ¡°Bureau Chief Pan.¡± ¡°Xiaoning, are you busytely?¡± Pan Zhenghui asked inquisitively. ¡°I¡¯m very busy every day.¡± ¡°Here¡¯s the thing. I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ve read about this on the news, but a team of archeologists from our country has found a coffin inside a cave that they chanced upon. They did not dare to enter the cave, and you came to their minds so they called the police station in a bid to contact you. Do you think it¡¯s possible for you to go down and have a look?¡± An Xiaoning knew that it was not something good. ¡°Why are they afraid to enter the cave? Could you tell me the exact situation?¡± ¡°Xiaoning, do drop by the police station if you¡¯re free now. They¡¯re here, and they¡¯d like to meet you to talk about the situation in detail. We wouldn¡¯t have dared to contact you if it was just a tall story. Why don¡¯t you tell me your address and I¡¯ll send someone to pick you up?¡± said Pan Zhenghui. ¡°I have my own car. Forget it, I¡¯ll just make a trip down.¡± Upon hearing her words, Pan Zhenghui answered gleefully, ¡°Okay, okay, we¡¯ll be waiting for you.¡± After she ended the call, Jin Qingyan asked, ¡°Did the police call you to assist in solving cases?¡± ¡°No, the archeological team found a coffin in a cave on a mountain that seemed spooky. They were too afraid to enter the cave and would like me to go down to the police station to assist them. I don¡¯t really feel like getting involved in such matters,¡± An Xiaoning muttered. ¡°Leave them alone then, don¡¯t wear yourself out.¡± An Xiaoning strode out of the door and entered her car. Jin Qingyan stood rooted to the ground and watched as her car left. Fan Shixin then said leisurely, ¡°Young Sir, Ms. An seems to have mellowed her tone when speaking to you. You definitely have hope in courting her and winning her heart again. You have to step on it.¡± Jin Qingyan shot him a nce and said, ¡°I¡¯m not in a hurry.¡± ¡°Huh? Why not?¡± Fan Shixin asked in puzzlement. ¡°You have to savor your favorite food slowly, mouthful by mouthful. If you wolf your food down too quickly, you might just risk choking to death.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª¡ª Once she arrived at the police station, Pan Zhenghui strode forward to wee her. No one else in the police station could enjoy such treatment from him. ¡°It¡¯s cold out here, hurry and get inside,¡± said Pan Zhenghui, rubbing his hands together. ¡°What exactly is going on?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°They¡¯re all in the office now, let them answer your questions.¡± An Xiaoning followed him to the office and greeted the team of archeologists, giving each of them a handshake. ¡°I don¡¯t have to introduce much. This is Ms. An. Xiaoning, they¡¯re the national archeologists. Let them tell you about the situation in detail,¡± said Pan Zhenghui. Chapter 694 - A Million Times for You (56) Chapter 694: A Million Times for You (56) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios A young chap stood up and exined, ¡°Ms. An, here¡¯s what happened. An herb farmer went to the mountains to pick some herbs during the cold winter, and he happened to stumble across that cave opening in which there was a coffin. The herb farmer then entered the cave but ended up dying mysteriously. His family tried to search for him in the cave, but they too lost their lives the moment they entered. The other farmers in his vige were then rmed and decided to call the police, who then called us. None of us dared to enter the cave. It¡¯s really spooky and terrifying. There seems to be the presence of supernatural beings inside the cave. We also heard sounds of footstepsing from inside the cave, but there was not a single soul in sight at all.¡± Just his description alone was enough to give Pan Zhenghui the chills and goosebumps. ¡°Does everyone die as long as they enter the cave? Did you see them dying with your own eyes or did youe up with that conclusion purely based on a wild guess?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°It was just a conjecture. Well, after all, none of us was brave enough to take the risk and enter. We heard that you were psychic and can see supernatural beings that we ordinary people can¡¯t. So we thought of seeking your help to go take a look and see if there really are any spirits or supernatural beings in the cave,¡± said the man. After hearing his description, An Xiaoning decided that there was no harm in going to take a look. ¡°Which mountain is that?¡± she asked. ¡°Somewhere between Mount Heyuan and Mount Nanshan. There isn¡¯t a specific name for it, but it¡¯s situated above a river.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go with you guys to take a look then,¡± An Xiaoning agreed, since it wasn¡¯t too far away. Everyone was surprised to hear her answer. ¡°Ms. An, our team members are still waiting within the vicinity of the cave. Shall we head there now?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s curiosity was the main reason why she agreed to go with them. She, too, wanted to find out why there was an empty coffin in the cave. Pan Zhenghui dared not tag along and thus instructed the members of the Special Investigation Unit to follow them. ¡°Is the coffin still inside the cave?¡± ¡°Yes, no one has dared to enter the cave.¡± An Xiaoning leaned her head against the window, finding the entire situation rather mind-boggling. Why would a person just die for no rhyme or reason after entering the cave? Could it really be because of a supernatural being? ¡°I suppose you guys have seen lots of coffins and corpses before, since you¡¯re archeologists. Have you ever encountered any unusual events?¡± she asked. They shook their heads in unison and answered, ¡°No, actually... we¡¯re atheists who don¡¯t believe in the afterlife.¡± ¡°Has this incident changed your mindset a little?¡± Everyone turned to look at each other before saying, ¡°Just a little. We still don¡¯t quite believe in such superstitions now.¡± ¡°How long will we take to arrive?¡± ¡°About two hours if we take the expressway.¡± An Xiaoning closed her eyes and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to take a short nap now, wake me up when we¡¯re there.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± The car proceeded along the expressway steadily. They finally arrived at the foot of the mountain after two hours. One of the archeologists gave An Xiaoning a nudge and said, ¡°Ms. An, we¡¯re here.¡± ¡°Okay...¡± She opened her eyes and looked out of the window. The two cars were parked one before the other. Ma Jianguo and his colleagues approached and said, ¡°We¡¯d better hurry. The sky seems to be getting gloomy. I read the weather forecast and it¡¯s very likely to snow today.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go up from here.¡± The archeologists led the way while they followed behind. The path to the mountain is uneven, and there were no stairs. They had to trek up the rocky road. Mountain trekking was already an extremely exhausting task to begin with, what more trekking one with an uneven road surface. An Xiaoning¡¯s calves began to ache halfway through the journey. However, she noticed that no one had requested to stop for a break and thus continued to proceed forward without uttering a word. Fortunately, the mountain was not too high, and the cave was situated near the peak. They could already see a bunch of people waiting outside the cave before reaching the summit. They proceeded forward unhurriedly. An Xiaoning then turned around to scan her surroundings. A vast river caught her attention. Although it was her first visit to the ce, she could not help but find it somehow familiar. She was filled with bewilderment. ¡°You must be Ms. An.¡± An Xiaoning turned around to see a man, who seemed to be in his fifties, and shook his hand. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m An Xiaoning.¡± ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Wang Jinsheng, the captain of the archeological team. You may call me Wang.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and followed him to the cave opening. ¡°We observed the situation here for a really long time just now but we didn¡¯t dare to enter. Ms. An, please take a look from the cave opening.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± She stepped on the pebbles on the ground and approached the opening. Although the sky was gloomy, it was only three o¡¯clock in the afternoon. Thus, she could still see inside the cave clearly, especially since it was facing the north. The cave was brightly lit, and several corpses could be seen on the ground. However, there were no stains of blood or any traces of a physical brawl at all. An Xiaoning shifted her gaze onto the other areas of the cave and realized that there was nothing around except the corpses. To their puzzlement, the cave opening wasrge, though the space inside the cave was rather small. ¡°Ms. An, did you see anything?¡± Shaking her head, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°Just like you guys, I didn¡¯t see anything supernatural. Perhaps it¡¯s because it¡¯s daytime now... Did you guys carry out any investigations even though you didn¡¯t dare to enter?¡± Wang Jinsheng answered softly, ¡°The corpse on the extreme right doesn¡¯t belong to their family member. It belongs to one of their fellow vigers who was said to be the bravest person in the vige. He entered the cave right in front of the other vigers. Once he entered the cave, he died and never came out again...¡± ¡°In that case, bring me a live chicken and release it into the cave. I¡¯d like to take a look and see what happens,¡± said An Xiaoning. Wang Jinsheng found her idea to be rather sound. The vigers then took the initiative to bring one of the chickens they reared. The vige was situated near the foot of the mountain. While waiting for the vigers to return with the chicken, An Xiaoning asked the other vigers, ¡°Why isn¡¯t there an official name for the mountain?¡± An elderly viger answered, ¡°We don¡¯t have a clue about that. No one knows what the mountain is called. Usually, we wouldn¡¯t allow the younger vigers toe to this mountain to collect herbs.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°For one, it¡¯s because the path leading to this mountain is very narrow, which makes walking extremely difficult. People who live in the mountains don¡¯t find it a big deal since they¡¯re not afraid of hardship. Secondly, when we were younger, we used to hear an old folk¡¯s tale about there being spirits and supernatural beings in the mountains. We were told not to go to these mountains all year round. Yet, there were mischievous children who were bent oning here to take a look. However, they realized that nothing disastrous ever happened. Besides, there would always be herbs avable for picking, which would fetch high prices, regardless of whether it¡¯s summer or winter. That¡¯s why... who would¡¯ve thought that a mishap would actually happen? How pitiful.¡± ¡°Uncle, do you believe in the existence of spirits and supernatural beings?¡± Chapter 695 - A Million Times for You (57) Chapter 695: A Million Times for You (57) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Of course I do. I¡¯ve always forbidden my children froming to this mountain. I¡¯m still a little paranoid and cautious. I¡¯m afraid that what my ancestors said would turn out to be true.¡± An Xiaoning continued to wait patiently. Half an hourter, the viger returned with a rooster, which he held with both hands and threw inside the cave right before everyone¡¯s eyes. The rooster, which was initially pping its wings and moving about, died and copsed onto the ground within just seconds. Everyone¡¯s faces turned as pale as a sheet at the sight of the scene before them. A sudden shriek sounded from nowhere, and the vigers frantically retreated back a great distance. An Xiaoning could strongly sense that something was amiss. She was certain that she did not see any supernatural beings in the cave. Why did that happen? A hair-raising eeriness filled the air. The people around An Xiaoning held their breaths in fear. The gray clouds were getting heavier. Everything seemed to gradually be much more surreal. An Xiaoning stepped forward and inched closer toward the cave opening. Wang Jinsheng yelled to stop her in her tracks. ¡°Ms. An, why don¡¯t we head back first and refrain froming here for the time being?¡± She waved and said, ¡°I¡¯m not going in.¡± An Xiaoning stopped at the cave opening and craned her neck to peek inside. All of a sudden, her eyes widened and a grave expression formed on her face. The rosiness of her cheeks instantly disappeared as her face turned pale and colorless. She took a deep breath and said to the vigers, ¡°This ce seems somewhat cursed and eerie. Tell your fellow vigers not toe to this mountain ever again in the future. As for the corpses stuck inside, we¡¯ll think of a solution to move them out and bury them. You guys may go descend the mountain first.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± The vigers proceeded to leave the mountains as advised. After all, it was already past three o¡¯clock in the afternoon, and the sun would be setting very soon in another couple of hours, especially since the days were shorter during winter. It would be difficult to make their descent down the mountain once the sky has turned dark. After the vigers left, An Xiaoning said to the archeologists, ¡°Let¡¯s try and pull the corpses out with a rope.¡± ¡°Will that work?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s give it a try.¡± An Xiaoning unzipped her quilt jacket to reveal the rope that was tied around her waist, causing their jaws to drop as they stared wide-eyed in shock. ¡°Ms. An, will this rope really work? It seems a little thin.¡± ¡°It may be thin, but it¡¯s very sturdy. There won¡¯t be a problem.¡± An Xiaoning held onto the end of the rope, which had a hook, and flung it toward one of the corpses inside the cave, allowing the hook totch onto the corpse¡¯s clothing. It did work ording to her n. She looked at the dumbfounded men and prompted, ¡°What are you still standing there for? Hurry and help me pull the other end of the rope. How can I manage to pull the corpse out on my own?¡± ¡°Yes, yes, we¡¯ll hurry.¡± The men then pulled the rope outward with all their might and dragged the corpse of a man out of the cave. They managed to pull the remaining corpses out using the same method. Everyone surrounded the corpses that were lying motionless on the ground and observed their faces, only to find that there was nothing unusual about them. Although they seemed to be just asleep, they were, in fact, already dead. Their bodies had turned stiff and mmy. ¡°Bring them down the mountains and get the vigers to bury them.¡± Wang Jinsheng hurriedly instructed his subordinates to proceed ordingly. There was barely anyone left after the bunch of people had set off. ¡°Wang, you guys should stop investigating further on this matter. Don¡¯t disturb the owner of the coffin.¡± Noticing the grave expression on her face, Wang Jinsheng seemed to have understood what was going on. ¡°Alright, we won¡¯te here to impose on the coffin¡¯s owner anymore. It¡¯s gettingte and it looks like it¡¯s about to snow soon. Let¡¯s get going.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning took onest nce at the cave opening before leaving. However, she almost lost her bnce due to the fact that her legs had turned to jelly. Ma Jianguo hurriedly held her and asked, ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine, let¡¯s go.¡± They got inside the car and waited for the archeologists to return. ¡°Ms. An, what did you see just now? We¡¯d all like to know,¡± Wang Jinsheng asked, unable to contain his curiosity. An Xiaoning exined with a look of dismay, ¡°I actually didn¡¯t discover any supernatural presence in the beginning. However, when I stuck my head in to take a closer look... I realized that there were actually spirits inside. We couldn¡¯t see anything from the opening because the spirits were on the ceiling of the cave. As long as we don¡¯t go near them, they won¡¯t harm us. You and your team don¡¯t have to bother finding out what lies within the coffin. Wang, I think your lives are more important than uncovering the truth behind those supernatural phenomenons.¡± ¡°You have a point. It¡¯s the mysterious element of such an enigma that tempts archeologists to find out more about it. Do you think the problem can be solved with the help of a medium?¡± An Xiaoning looked at him with a sullen expression and warned sternly, ¡°I¡¯ve already warned you of the possible dangers, yet you¡¯re still thinking of hiring a medium to destroy the spirits just so you can find out what the coffin is about. Seems like you¡¯re not thinking from the perspective of an archeologist; rather, you¡¯re intending to do it because of your own selfish reason. I don¡¯t have the audacity to guarantee that there would be a solution to solve the problem. May I ask what kind of a medium you are thinking of hiring? Don¡¯t end up causing more casualties because of this matter. That¡¯ll be a great sin.¡± Wang Jinsheng¡¯s face stiffened with displeasure and retorted, ¡°I was just asking you a casual question, I¡¯m not actually going to go ahead with it. I won¡¯t act recklessly without having a clear idea of the situation.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a very sinister ce. I hope you¡¯ll bear my words in mind, Captain Wang.¡± ¡°That goes without saying.¡± An Xiaoning did not utter another word, and images of the spirits she had seen earlier shed through her mind. Judging from the way they were dressed, they did not seem to belong to the modern era and had probably died ages ago. To her astonishment, they smiled at her. Yet, they did not seem to be harboring any ill intentions towards her, though she was not sure if her hunch was off. After all, they were spirits of the dead. It was only understandable that she would get goosebumps from the way they smiled at her. An Xiaoning constantly pondered over the matter while on the way back. She was extremely perturbed by the unsettling situation. What made her ill at ease was the fear that Captain Wang of the archeological team would not give up easily. The bizarre incident had managed to pique the interest of an outsider like An Xiaoning, what more the archeologists? She returned to the Gu family mansion and ryed the incident to them at the dining table. Although the members of the Gu family had not been there to witness the incident in person, they were nheless extremely creeped out. Gu Beicheng deduced, ¡°The archeological team would definitely hire a medium to perform a ritual at the cave. There¡¯ll probably be casualties then.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know... Humans shouldn¡¯t be going against the dead. I think those spirits are extremely menacing and not to be provoked. They could kill humans directly within just seconds. Most mediums wouldn¡¯t be able to deal with them. It¡¯s best to stay away from such spirits,¡± An Xiaoning said in frustration. Lin Mingxi tried tofort her, ¡°Don¡¯t dwell on it anymore. No one can stop those archeologists if they¡¯re bent on risking their lives.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just afraid that the situation will blow out of proportion and end up being sttered across the news. By then, the government will definitely hire more people to deal with the situation. They might even end up looking for me again. It¡¯ll be hard to clean up the mess then. I really hope to avoid any casualties,¡± An Xiaoning said worriedly. ¡°I¡¯ll send some people to keep close tabs on this matter and contact you immediately once there¡¯s news of the archeologists showing up at the cave again.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Chapter 696 - A Million Times for You (58) Chapter 696: A Million Times for You (58) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning was still ill at ease when shey in bed after taking a shower. She constantly pondered the incident over and over again. Since she had trouble sleeping, she decided to read the book her mentor had given to her, all the way until half past eleven that night. Realizing that it was gettingte, she switched off the lights and went to bed. She had a dream. In her dream, she was standing right outside the cave opening while the spirits inside were inviting her to enter. She mustered up the courage and went inside boldly. As soon as she stepped foot inside, she was surrounded by an eerie, chilly air, and she proceeded to walk toward the coffin slowly. She wanted to open the coffin and see what was inside. However, the coffin was tightly shut, and she could not manage to open it at all. She turned around and asked the spirits, ¡°Who¡¯s in there?¡± The spirit did not answer her and, instead, continued to stare at her while smiling. ¡°Miss Jin, why don¡¯t you open it and take a look at it yourself, if you¡¯d like to know?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t open it.¡± ¡°You can.¡± An Xiaoning turned back around and scrutinized the coffin. She then exited the cave to grab some tools, which she then used to pry the coffin open. She ced her hands firmly onto the coffin cover and pushed it with all her might. Bright rays emitted from the coffin, and An Xiaoning woke up before she could even see clearly what was inside it. Panting heavily, she fumbled about the side table for the switch and turned on the bedsidemp. She leaned against the headboard, trying to calm herself down. The dream felt too realistic. She rarely dreamed, and all her dreams were either a form of premonition or simply meaningless. She would have a meaningless dream only once in a blue moon. The mere thought of the possibility of it being a premonition caused her hands to turn cold and mmy. Recalling the way the spirits had addressed her in the dream, An Xiaoning muttered to herself, ¡°Miss Jin?¡± Although she knew that she ought not to go to that ce again, An Xiaoning could not contain her curiosity and was extremely tempted to make a trip there. She was both amazed and afraid. She took a look at the time to see that it was already four o¡¯clock in the morning. Her dream actually took up so much time. She did not feel like sleeping anymore. Thus, she got out of bed and picked out a winter outfit from her closet, one that would allow her to move about easily. She then took out a pair of anti-slip woven ts from the shoe cab and put them on. After washing up, she quickly put on some makeup and knocked on the door of the bedroom opposite hers. Half awake, Lin Mingxi stared at the fully-dressed An Xiaoning and asked, ¡°It¡¯s not even daybreak yet. Where are you nning to go?¡± ¡°That spooky cave on the mountain.¡± Lin Mingxi rubbed her eyes and became much more awake. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I had a dream about it, so I¡¯d like to go there to take a look.¡± ¡°Are you out of your mind? It¡¯s such a spooky and dangerous ce. You¡¯d better not go. What if something happens to you?¡± said Lin Mingxi, who was trying to talk her out of it. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m asking you to go with me. I¡¯m too timid to go alone.¡± Terror was written all over Lin Mingxi¡¯s face. ¡°Nah, I¡¯m too scared. I¡¯m ten times more timid than you when ites to such stuff. Let Beicheng apany you instead.¡± ¡°Get him to wake up.¡± Lin Mingxi turned around to wake Gu Beicheng up. Twenty minutester, Gu Beicheng arrived downstairs with Lin Mingxi. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to sleep for a while longer?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve thought about it. I think it¡¯s better that I tag along with you guys. Although I¡¯m really timid, there¡¯s nothing... nothing to be afraid of with you two around,¡± said Lin Mingxi. An Xiaoning gave her a pat on her shoulder and said, ¡°Don¡¯t force yourself.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not... I¡¯ll go with you guys. I can¡¯t be scared since you two aren¡¯t.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t end up crying because you¡¯re too scared. I won¡¯t be giving you any tissues when that happens,¡± An Xiaoning teased with a smirk. ¡°Let¡¯s go, I¡¯m not such a coward.¡± The trio set off to the mountain by car. While on the way there, An Xiaoning nced at Gu Beicheng, who was driving, and said, ¡°Don¡¯t you wanna know what I dreamed aboutst night?¡± ¡°Tell us about it.¡± An Xiaoning told them exactly what she had dreamed about. Gu Beicheng then said, ¡°It sounds like they¡¯re visiting you in your dreams to tell you something.¡± Lin Mingxi inched forward and remarked, ¡°I¡¯m getting goosebumps from hearing what you said.¡± An Xiaoning answered calmly, ¡°No matter what it may be, I¡¯ll just go take another look. Perhaps I¡¯ll find something different this time. By the way, Mingxi, has your sister¡¯s rtionship with your parents improved yet?¡± Shaking her head, Lin Mingxi answered, ¡°No, she has never once returned to my parents¡¯ home since the tiff. She¡¯s ruthless enough to try and take my life. Why would she care about my parents? I¡¯m sure she¡¯s being serious about severing ties with them. She¡¯s hurt them deeply and broke their hearts. But my parents simply refuse to believe that she would harm me because we¡¯re still sisters at the end of the day.¡± ¡°Well, she¡¯s still their biological child after all. Your parents must be devastated.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all my sister¡¯s fault for being too greedy. She was nning to pocket everything else and just give me a little benefit. What rights does she have to do that? I¡¯m my parents¡¯ daughter too. We ought to split the assets equally.¡± ¡°Your parents are very fair, though. That¡¯s very remarkable,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Yeah, but my sister still thinks that my parents are biased toward me.¡± An Xiaoning checked the weather forecast on her mobile phone and said, ¡°The weather forecast mentioned that it would snow yesterday but it didn¡¯t. It¡¯s predicted to snow again today, but I wonder if it really will.¡± ¡°I think it will. It¡¯s been snowing for the past few days.¡± As expected, it began snowing when they were halfway through the journey. It was already past six o¡¯clock by the time they arrived at their destination. The sky had turned bright, and the three of them alighted after parking the car at the foot of the mountain. An Xiaoning carried a ck stic bag in her hand and proceeded along the path toward the mountain together with them. ¡°This road is too uneven and narrow,¡± Lin Mingxi criticized. ¡°It¡¯s not very high either, we should reach the top soon enough.¡± Noticing that Lin Mingxi was walking on an unsteady gait, Gu Beicheng grabbed her wrist and walked together with her slowly. By the time they arrived at the peak, the sky was already brightly lit at past seven o¡¯clock. However, it was still pitch dark in the cave. An Xiaoning whipped out a torchlight while still carrying the bag of items and walked toward the cave opening slowly. ¡°Sorry to disturb, but I came here this time because I had a dream about youst night. I came here with the hope ofmunicating with you. Are you willing to show yourself?¡± She was not sure if she would get a response and was merely trying her luck. Lin Mingxi held her breath and grabbed onto Gu Beicheng¡¯s arm with her trembling hands, not daring to move an inch at all. A cool breeze blew past, after which a male voice said calmly, ¡°Pleasee in, Miss Jin.¡± Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi stared at each other in astonishment as they both simultaneously recalled An Xiaoning¡¯s description of her dream, for that was exactly the way they had addressed her. An Xiaoning was bewildered and could not tell if she was dreaming or not. Lin Mingxi grabbed her arm and said softly, ¡°Everyone who went inside ended up dead. You¡¯d better not go in.¡± An Xiaoning was stuck in a dilemma. It was understandable for her to be petrified since she was only human after all. ¡°I believe they won¡¯t harm me.¡± It was just her gut feeling, which made her feel particrly at ease. Lin Mingxi refused to let go of her arm. ¡°What if...¡± An Xiaoning pushed Lin Mingxi¡¯s hand away and entered the cave slowly without uttering a word. Chapter 697 - A Million Times for You (59) Chapter 697: A Million Times for You (59) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Cold sweat broke out on her forehead as two of her inner selves were in the midst of a debate. You can¡¯t go in, don¡¯t go in... Go in, they won¡¯t harm you... You can¡¯t go in... Go ahead and enter... The voices in her head instantly vanished the moment she stepped foot inside the cave. Her palms were sweaty, and she clenched her fists tightly. By the time she was inside the cave, she felt an overwhelming stream of cold air that sent her shivering from head to toe. It was truly a test of courage and bravery. She had to put on a brave front despite the immense fear she felt. An Xiaoning raised her head slowly and caught sight of a few translucent figures. They were all looking down at her. The cave was dimly lit, and she could not quite see clearly. At this very moment, An Xiaoning was much less fearful than before. ¡°Why did you call me ¡®Miss Jin¡¯?¡± she asked. The figures showed up in front of her abruptly and answered, ¡°You must¡¯ve forgotten about it, but we haven¡¯t. We¡¯ve waited for you for so many years. You¡¯re finally here. We¡¯re very heartened to see you.¡± An Xiaoning was filled with questions. However, she knew that she had to keep calm and be patient. ¡°Did you guys visit me in my dreamsst night?¡± ¡°Yes, we were afraid that you wouldn¡¯te again.¡± She heaved a huge sigh of relief and felt much more rxed. She took another few steps forward and asked, ¡°Who... is that inside the coffin?¡± ¡°Our master.¡± ¡°Did you kill all those people who entered the cave in order to stop them from getting near the coffin?¡± she asked in puzzlement. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Now that the coffin has already been discovered, those people who came by yesterday might visit again. It¡¯s very likely that they would bring a medium with them to get rid of you guys. I don¡¯t think this ce is safe for you guys anymore.¡± ¡°We figured that they would do so. We¡¯ve been watching over this ce for centuries and never once left to harm others. However, we have no choice but to kill those who trespass. Our only goal is to wait for you toe one day.¡± ¡°What if I never showed up for the rest of my life?¡± ¡°Then we¡¯ll wait for the next lifetime. We¡¯ll keep waiting until you show up one day.¡± How stubborn. ¡°Why are you guys so insistent on waiting for me?¡± The spirits did not answer and the air turned colder. ¡°Why must you wait until I show up!?!¡± An Xiaoning asked again. ¡°Miss Jin, aren¡¯t you also very curious about who lies in this coffin? Why don¡¯t you take a look first?¡± An Xiaoningid her eyes on the coffin, which was not too far away. Since the person lying inside the coffin was their master, he must have died centuries ago, meaning that what was left of him would probably be just bones. How was she supposed to tell what he looked like? Noticing how hesitant she was, the spirits said, ¡°Our master has been waiting for you for so long. Miss Jin, please open the coffin.¡± Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi stood outside the cave and watched as An Xiaoning stood in front of the coffin. Although she did not know the exact material of the coffin, she could tell that it was made of superior-quality wood. There were no signs of dposition or wreckage, and it was extremely clean. An Xiaoning ced her hands on the coffin and turned to look at the spirits beside her, who gave her a nod. An Xiaoning pushed the lid of the coffin lightly, and it opened with a loud thud. A faint fragrance wafted up to her nose. It was the scent of the wood of the coffin. A bright, white ray emitted from a night luminescent pearl ced inside the coffin. After her eyes had adjusted to the sudden brightness, she shifted her gaze to the body lying inside the coffin. Unlike what she had imagined, it was not a skeleton. Instead, it was the body of a tall and slender man. He was dressed in a white, long-sleeved shirt, which was made of dragon fabric, and a pair of ck boots. His long, jet-ck tresses wereid across the pillow supporting his head. An Xiaoning would have thought that the corpse belonged to a woman if she had not noticed his build and his hands. His face was covered by a golden handkerchief. She would have to remove the handkerchief in order to see his features. An Xiaoning was filled with nervousness, which made her feel as if her heart was about to jump out of her chest. Both her hands reached inside the coffin. All she had to do was to bend forward and the handkerchief would be removed. She was extremely gentle with her movements and was shivering slightly. Standing on tiptoes, she bent forward and pinched the handkerchief. The sight of the man¡¯s face gave her a terrible shock, which threw her off bnce, causing her to fall to the ground. She winced and grimaced in pain. ¡°Xiaoning!¡± Gu Beicheng screeched. ¡°Xiaoning, are you alright?¡± Lin Mingxi eximed worriedly. Breaking out in cold sweat, she answered, ¡°I¡¯m alright, don¡¯t worry.¡± Her legs turned to jelly, and she tried to stand up on her feet with all her might. She stood next to the coffin and took another nce at the man inside. Her lips were quivering, and her heart was ricocheting vigorously against her chest. Her heartbeat was terribly fast. The man was extremely pale and no longer breathing. Surprisingly, his features were exactly identical to Jin Qingyan¡¯s. An Xiaoning was bewildered, for the man had already been dead for centuries. A man belonging to the ancient times looked identical to Jin Qingyan. Just what was going on? Moreover, she could not figure out why she had teared up involuntarily and uncontrobly. Her tears flowed from her eyes like a broken faucet. She could not wrap her head around why she had lost her grip on her emotions. There was nothing she could do apart from crying. Yet, she was crying uncontrobly, despite her rationality constantly telling her to stop. After she¡¯d been crying for a long time, the sky turnedpletely bright outside the cave. There were a million burning questions in her head. Yet, it did not seem to be the right time to ask. An uproar would definitely arise, should the archeologistse by again and discover that the corpse looked exactly like Jin Qingyan. After much consideration, she decided to seek the opinion of the spirits. ¡°The archeological team might very likelye by again with a medium. That¡¯ll be very dangerous for you. Are you guys willing to leave with me?¡± ¡°Of course we are, but Master...¡± ¡°I¡¯lle up with a solution.¡± An Xiaoning then said to Gu Beicheng, ¡°Beicheng,e in and lend me a hand.¡± Despite being petrified and consumed by terror, Lin Mingxi nheless proceeded to enter the cave together with Gu Beicheng while shuddering in fear from head to toe. By the time they entered, An Xiaoning had already ced her cap onto the corpse¡¯s head to mask his face. ¡°What do we do?¡± ¡°Carry him into the car.¡± ¡°Carrying a corpse...¡± Lin Mingxi spluttered. Gu Beicheng was taken aback as well. After all, carrying a corpse down the mountain was extremely terrifying. Coincidentally, Gu Beicheng¡¯s phone rang. After ending the call, a grave expression formed on Gu Beicheng¡¯s face. ¡°The people keeping close tabs on the archeologists said that the archeologists have gone to search for a medium.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s hurry, then. Don¡¯t be afraid, you just have to carry him to the bottom,¡± said An Xiaoning, trying tofort him. After all, Gu Beicheng was a prideful man who did not want to appear cowardly in front of the women. Chapter 698 - A Million Times for You (60) Chapter 698: A Million Times for You (60) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Thus, he clenched his jaw and picked the corpse up. Gu Beicheng carried the corpse on his back and descended the mountain together with Lin Mingxi, leaving An Xiaoning alone in the cave with the spirits. Apart from the night luminescent pearl, there was nothing else inside the coffin. An Xiaoning then put the lid back on. ¡°What must you guys do in order to leave this ce?¡± ¡°We can leave anytime we¡¯d like.¡± ¡°I thought it¡¯d be impossible for you to leave...¡± An Xiaoning murmured in shock. ¡°No, we were just abiding by Master¡¯smands.¡± ¡°Come with me then,¡± said An Xiaoning. On the way back, Gu Beicheng took over the wheel while Lin Mingxi rode in the passenger¡¯s seat, paralyzed by fear and anxiety. An Xiaoning sat in the back seat, next to the corpse. The cap had managed to keep his entire face obscured. ¡°Xiaoning, do we head back to the family mansion straight?¡± Gu Beicheng asked. ¡°No, go to Wei Ni Estate,¡± she answered, staring at the front. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I have my own ns.¡± A silence filled the air. This can¡¯t be a coincidence. This man is very likely to be Jin Qingyan¡¯s incarnate in his previous lifetime, and the spirits probably called me ¡°Miss Jin¡± because I knew Jin Qingyan in his previous life... An Xiaoning thought to herself. She could not wrap her head around such an absurd and unbelievable phenomenon. It truly felt like a dream. They soon arrived in the center of the city. An Xiaoning took out her mobile phone and dialed Jin Qingyan¡¯s mobile number, which she knew like the back of her hand. Jin Qingyan was in the midst of having breakfast when he received the unexpected call from An Xiaoning. After staring at his mobile phone for a few seconds to make sure that he wasn¡¯t seeing things, he answered, ¡°Miss me already?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be arriving at Wei Ni Estate in about fifteen minutes. I hope your doors will be wide open when I arrive.¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s eyes lit up in surprise and joy. ¡°Not only will the doors of my house be open, but the doors to my heart will also be open for you.¡± Beep... Beep... Beep... She hung up on me? Jin Qingyan sprung up from his seat and left the house gleefully. ¡°Hurry and open the gate.¡± ¡°Yes, Young Sir.¡± Jin Qingyan stretched his arms above his head, grinning widely from ear to ear. ¡°Young Sir, weren¡¯t you nning to rest at home today? Are you going out again?¡± asked Fan Shixin, who was in the midst of his morning jog. ¡°No, Xiaoning called me just now to say that she would be arriving at Wei Ni Estate soon. She wants me to open the gate and doors.¡± ¡°Hehehe. Is Ms. An ying a prank on you?¡± Fan Shixin said with a chuckle. ¡°Would you like to have a bet with me? If she¡¯s not pranking me, you shall run another ten rounds around the estate.¡± Shaking his head profusely, Fan Shixin refused, ¡°I¡¯m not going to make such a bet. I¡¯m sure Ms. An has better things to do than to y a prank on you.¡± ¡°Hmph, if she dares to fool me, I¡¯ll behead her.¡± ¡°...¡± Less than twenty minutester, Jin Qingyan caught sight of a car entering his yard. Why was it Gu Beicheng¡¯s car? He strode toward the car quickly, after which An Xiaoning alighted and stared at him with her mouth gaping and her eyes wide open. ¡°Is there something on my face?¡± he asked, giving his nose a light rub. ¡°No...¡± An Xiaoning saw the spiritstching onto Jin Qingyan¡¯s body... ¡°Why are you here at my doorstep early in the morning, and with your family?¡± Jin Qingyan asked with a smile. ¡°Ahem...¡± She waved at the spirits and said, ¡°Come down, you guys.¡± ¡°You guys?¡± Jin Qingyan questioned with a squint. ¡°There are a few spiritstching onto your body.¡± ¡°Get down,¡± Jin Qingyan bellowed. It worked. An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°How obedient.¡± Jin Qingyan was filled with joy at the sight of her smile. ¡°Just what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a corpse in the car. Get your men to bring it to the living room.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear what I said?¡± ¡°My house is not a funeral parlor.¡± ¡°I know. I¡¯ll tell you the restter. Hurry and instruct your subordinates to do as I instructed.¡± Without another word, Jin Qingyan waved at Xiao Huang and ordered, ¡°Bring two men here.¡± Two other bodyguards scurried toward him and asked, ¡°Young Sir, what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Carry the corpse in the car to the living room.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± The two bodyguards proceeded ordingly. ¡°ce it on the couch,¡± An Xiaoning instructed. ¡°On the carpet.¡± Jin Qingyan did not wish to have a corpse lying on his couch. ¡°The couch. Hurry, put it here,¡± An Xiaoning insisted, patting the couch. Although he was peeved, Jin Qingyan decided to let it go and let her have her way so long as she was happy. After all, it was just a couch that could easily be reced after the corpse was removed. He had no idea why she decided to move the corpse to his house. What has it got to do with me? Xiao Huang and Xiao Bai moved the corpse onto the couch, wondering if it belonged to an actor acting in a historical drama due to the fact that it was dressed in ancient clothing. They dared not space out and immediately proceeded out of the living room. ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡± Jin Qingyan asked. ¡°You¡¯ll know after taking a look. Take that away,¡± said An Xiaoning, pointing at the cap on the corpse¡¯s head. Jin Qingyan was not afraid at all and removed the cap without hesitation. A silence filled the air in the living room all of a sudden. Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi were dumbfounded. So was Jin Qingyan. ¡°This...¡± he muttered, tongue-tied and bbergasted. ¡°He¡¯s the owner of the coffin that the archeological team wanted me to have a look at. He looks exactly identical to you. I think he¡¯s your incarnate from you previous lifetime. Another version of you from centuries ago. We didn¡¯t manage to enter the cavest night, but the spirits visited me in my dreams. I then headed to the mountain together with Beicheng and Mingxi before daybreak.¡± Without uttering a word, Jin Qingyan stood beside the couch and scrutinized the corpse, which was a mirror of him. After careful observation, Jin Qingyan looked at Gu Beicheng and said, ¡°I hope you won¡¯t spread a word about this.¡± ¡°Rest assured, I won¡¯t do that. Xiaoning trusts uspletely.¡± Jin Qingyan smiled and said, ¡°You do have a conscience, after all.¡± Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi finally understood why An Xiaoning wanted to bring the corpse to Jin Qingyan¡¯s ce. In the event that the archeologists were to manage to destroy the spirits with the help of a medium, they¡¯ll definitely discover the corpse inside the coffin. Given how the millennium-old coffin was perfectly intact and how the corpse looked identical to Jin Qingyan, the incident would surely be groundbreaking news. By then, there would inevitably be all sorts of spections. That would attract unnecessary attention and bring about trouble. An Xiaoning had made the right decision. ¡°I¡¯ll leave it to you guys to handle the rest of the matter, we¡¯ll get going first,¡± said Gu Beicheng. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s snowing. Drive carefully,¡± An Xiaoning cautioned. Gu Beicheng nodded and left together with Lin Mingxi, hand in hand. Fan Shixin recovered from the shock he received and asked An Xiaoning, ¡°What do we do if ites back to life?¡± ¡°The spirit of the corpse has already reincarnated into this person over here. How could it possiblye back to life?¡± said An Xiaoning, pointing at Jin Qingyan. ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± ¡°Shixin, go get a coffin that¡¯s of superior quality. Now. Immediately,¡± Jin Qingyan instructed. ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°His subordinates have been guarding his coffin. They¡¯re those spirits who weretching onto you earlier. They¡¯re standing right here,¡± said An Xiaoning, pointing at the coffee table. Although Jin Qingyan saw no one in sight, he knew that they existed, simply because An Xiaoning had said so. Chapter 699 - A Million Times for You (61) Chapter 699: A Million Times for You (61) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°How could the corpse remain in such a good condition even after so many years?¡± Jin Qingyan asked. Noticing that the spirits were too agitated to speak, An Xiaoning prompted, ¡°He¡¯s asking you a question.¡± ¡°M... Master, it¡¯s because you swallowed a piece of jade when you died back then. The jade ensured that your body wouldn¡¯t dpose and remain intact. On top of that, it¡¯s also because the wood that the coffin was made of was of the best quality.¡± Upon hearing their answer, Jin Qingyan asked, ¡°Did you think that I¡¯m the reincarnation of this person just because we look exactly identical?¡± ¡°We wouldn¡¯t mistake someone else for our Master. Not only do you look identical to him, but you also happen to know Miss Jin. We¡¯ve waited for Miss Jin in the cave for ages. We finally got to see her.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s Miss Jin?¡± Jin Qingyan asked, momentarily stunned. ¡°Thedy beside you...¡± Smiling, Jin Qingyan turned to look at An Xiaoning. ¡°Why were you waiting for her?¡± he asked. An Xiaoning wanted to know the answer to that question too. The spirits answered in a tone of admiration and respect, ¡°That cave was the very ce at which you sealed your love. Master, you didn¡¯t get to see Miss Jin for thest time before your death. You said that she would definitelye to see you and you were determined to wait for her arrival. Master, you then went to reincarnate while we stayed behind in the cave to wait for Miss Jin. It¡¯s been so many years and she finally came. I guess that¡¯s the end of our lifelong mission.¡± Sealed their love? That means the two of them were in love with each other in their previous lifetime. They did not know if they should feel happy or sad about that answer. They were entangled with each other their previous lifetime; it was also the case now. What great sin did Imit to deserve this? An Xiaoning thought to herself. Jin Qingyan was strangely perturbed after hearing the spirits¡¯ words. He could vaguely guess that although he and An Xiaoning were in love with each other in their previous lifetime, they did not end up together. In fact, she did not even visit him after his death... Although he could not see the spirits, he was greatly moved by their loyalty. ¡°Thank you for guarding me for so many years and giving up the chance to reincarnate,¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°We were panic-stricken. Master, you were very kind to us when you were alive. We¡¯ll never be able to repay our gratitude. Since you and Miss Jin know each other in this lifetime, how are you rted to each other now?¡± ¡°She¡¯s my wife and we have a son together.¡± The spirits cheered merrily in joy before An Xiaoning could even retort. Noticing how delighted they were, she could not bear to say what was on her mind. ¡°That¡¯s wonderful. We¡¯ll have no regrets so long as Master¡¯s wishes to be together with Miss Jin, are fulfilled.¡± Jin Qingyan sighed and said, ¡°Seems like we had a hard time in our previous lifetime. Do you guys have to leave now?¡± ¡°Yes, we can¡¯t keep imposing on you since you¡¯re living very well now, Master. We can finally go and reincarnate. We¡¯ve been hiding inside the cave because we were afraid that the death reapers would see us.¡± ¡°I heard from the vigers that the mountain doesn¡¯t have a name. In the past... was it really unnamed?¡± An Xiaoning asked curiously. ¡°It used to be called Mount Yihua 1¡± ¡°What was my name in my previous lifetime?¡± ¡°Hua Jin.¡± ¡°What about him?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Master used to be called... Xi Houqin.¡± Recalling a dream he once had, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°We can¡¯t keep the corpse. Let¡¯s cremate it.¡± ¡°You call the shots, Master. We¡¯re leaving now.¡± Jin Qingyan could not bear to see the spirits leave after hearing about the unbelievable story. He was incredibly touched by their unyielding loyalty. ¡°You¡¯re leaving now... I... I¡¯ll allow you totch onto my body for a while...¡± said Jin Qingyan. As soon as he finished speaking, the male spirits immediately surged forward andtched onto Jin Qingyan. How unsightly... However, tears began to well up in her eyes. It was such a pity that these loyal subordinates were just spirits. Seeing how reluctant they were to leave their master, An Xiaoning wanted greatly to make them stay. However, there was no way she could. After a long while, Jin Qingyan asked, ¡°Are they still here?¡± Shaking her head, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°Not anymore.¡± Jin Qingyan turned around to have his back face her as he grew teary-eyed. The living room fell silent once again. An Xiaoning walked toward him in a bid to give him a pat on his shoulder tofort him. To her astonishment, he turned around and pulled her into his arms abruptly. ¡°Did you see that? We were already in love with each other in our previous lifetime, but we didn¡¯t end up together. I¡¯m not going to let you leave my side again this lifetime, Hua Jin,¡± he said softly. An Xiaoning felt a little strange to hear the name she used in her previous lifetime. ¡°My name is An Xiaoning.¡± ¡°But I want to call you Hua Jin. Can you stop me?¡± ¡°You¡¯re so thick-skinned.¡± ¡°Why did they call you Miss Jin if your name used to be Hua Jin? Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s because ¡®Miss Hua¡¯ sounded awful?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it a little toote to ask this now that they¡¯re already gone? It¡¯s no wonder that I didn¡¯t end up with you in our previous lifetime. Although the story about our previous life was rather touching, I¡¯m sorry but I can clearly differentiate between this lifetime and the previous one,¡± An Xiaoning said scornfully. ¡°How is it different? I reincarnated into the Jin family, which is the same as your name in your previous life. Didn¡¯t you hear them say that you didn¡¯t evene to see me on my deathbed? I was still waiting for you toe after my death. You were so heartless and cruel,¡± Jin Qingyan retorted in disgruntlement. ¡°Why didn¡¯t they mention the reason for my absence?¡± An Xiaoning struggled to break free from his embrace and stared at the corpse on the couch before saying, ¡°Hurry and cremate the corpse, then store the ashes in an urn and bury it. I¡¯m going to leave now.¡± Jin Qingyan grabbed her hand to stop her from leaving. ¡°This corpse has been waiting for you for so many years. You should at least take a few more nces and bury him together with me.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s heart softened and she agreed with a nod, ¡°Alright.¡± He let go of her and said, ¡°Why do I look exactly the same as I did in my previous life? Why do others reincarnate once every century while we took a millennium? Did we reincarnate into beasts during the lifetimes in between?¡± ¡°I can tell with one nce that you used to be a beast in your past life. But I wasn¡¯t. We¡¯re not the same,¡± An Xiaoning said with a smirk. ¡°Regardless of whether you admit it or not, we¡¯re just that... fated to be together.¡± ¡°I was ill-fated.¡± ¡°Whatever you say. That exins why we got married in a sh in this life. It was all predestined,¡± Jin Qingyan said with glistening eyes. An Xiaoning ignored him and kept her eyes fixed on the corpse on the couch. He appeared extremely well-tempered and gentlemanly. And yet, his soul did not match his appearance at all. After some thought, An Xiaoning said, ¡°I agreed to marry you so quickly the first time partly because you seemed rather gentle and well-tempered. I only realized how drastically different you were from my expectations after getting to know you better. Everything you appeared to be on the surface was merely a deception.¡± Jin Qingyan raised his brows and asked, ¡°What do you think I¡¯m really like then?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the pettiest and most jealous person I know.¡± ¡°I¡¯m only petty because I care about you. I wouldn¡¯t bother if it were another woman.¡± An Xiaoning sat down on the couch and said, ¡°I don¡¯t need your care now.¡± Chapter 700 - A Million Times for You (62)

Chapter 700: A Million Times for You (62)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I¡¯ve once dreamed of our previous lifetime. In the dream, I was stuck in a haze and the road ahead seemed to be endless. I continued walking forward, and soon, the haze began to dissipate. I then stopped by a river to take a break, and all of a sudden, a head popped up from the surface of the water, which seemed to belong to a young teenager. Her features were pronounced and youthful. In fact, she looked exactly like you. Her hair was extremely long, and she was smiling at me while calling me ¡®Brother Qin.¡¯ I reached a hand out to you, and you jumped up from the river to hug me, asking me where I had gone. You said that you had been waiting for me to show up for a really long time. Shortly after, I woke up, and I thought it was just a bizarre dream. In hindsight, it was a shback from our previous lifetime. I must have loved you to bits back then too. An Xiaoning, you¡¯re really lucky to be able to gain my love for both of your lifetimes.¡± ¡°I¡¯m really lucky? Are you not lucky too? Did I not treat you wholeheartedly? You were the one who let me down. The fact that I didn¡¯t visit you on your deathbed in our previous lives just goes to show that you must¡¯ve done something to break my heart. Otherwise, would I have been so heartless? Seems like you¡¯re no different from your past life.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t give you up no matter what in this lifetime.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t, Mr. Jin. May you be so kind and benevolent as to spare me from your affection,¡± she said relentlessly. ¡°...¡± After the corpse was cremated, they stored the remaining ashes into an urn. However, the jade piece was still intact despite the huge fire. Fan Shixin brought the jade piece to them and said, ¡°This piece of jade was inside his stomach.¡± It was a small piece of jade, about the size of a thumb. The sparkling and translucent jade had already been stained with blood and lost its emerald color. Fan Shixin put a red thread through the pendant. He picked up the thread and allowed the pendant to dangle lightly in mid-air. Staring at the piece of jade, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°It¡¯s already extraordinary for a piece of jade to be able to keep his entire body from dposing. They always say that jades of premium quality are spiritual. I reckon this piece must be godly.¡± ¡°Young Sir, you must keep such a priceless item with you properly.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need you to remind me. I¡¯ll definitely keep such a meaningful item with me at all times. I shall wear it on my neck.¡± ¡°I saw Ms. An smiling... when she left just now,¡± Fan Shixin said with a chuckle. Jin Qingyan rubbed the jade piece with his fingers and remained quiet. ¡ª¡ª Madam Xu made it a point to ask Madam Jin and Madam Lin out for a mahjong session. The mahjong parlor was within the vicinity of their homes and was an upscale venue where average citizens would not be permitted entry. Madam Xu decided that it would be great to catch up with her bosom friends since she was bored at home. They booked a private room in the parlor and decided to invite another friend, who was also a wealthydy, to fill in as the fourth yer, which was needed for the game to begin. ¡°It¡¯s such an honor to be able to y a game of mahjong with the inws of the royal family,¡± the wealthydy remarked, smiling. Madam Jin shot her a nce and said, ¡°Hush, we¡¯ve been friends and mahjong mates for so many years. You don¡¯t have to be so formal. As parents, don¡¯t we all just want the best for our children and see them happy?¡± ¡°Yes, yes. I haven¡¯t seen you guys in a long while. I heard that your goddaughter, An Xiaoning, is particrly urate with her fortune-telling and predictions. Get her to read my fortune someday too,¡± said the wealthydy. ¡°It¡¯s not up to me and Sis Mei to decide,¡± Madam Jin answered. ¡°Ms. An previously acknowledged a new mentor who was extremely skilled. However, she was very advanced in her years and had already passed on. Before I found Baizhi, I was so sure that Ms. An was my daughter because they both share the exact same birthdate. Look how coincidental that is,¡± said Madam Xu, who concealed her hidden agenda seamlessly. ¡°What a coincidence for them to be born on the exact same day, month, and year. How about their birth timings? Were they close to each other too?¡± the wealthydy asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Madam Xu chuckled and asked, ¡°Madam Jin, what was Xiaoning¡¯s birth timing?¡± ¡°No idea. She wouldn¡¯t tell us about these things,¡± Madam Jin said truthfully. Madam Xu was rather disappointed and did not know if Madam Jin was just keeping it from her on purpose. ¡°I heard Ms. An is an orphan. Perhaps she doesn¡¯t know it herself either.¡± ¡°We never know. She¡¯s a fortune-teller and knows the importance of birth characters. Even if she knew her exact birth timing, she probably wouldn¡¯t tell us,¡± said Madam Lin. ¡°Has Ms. An never thought of finding her biological parents? Isn¡¯t she curious about them at all?¡± the wealthydy questioned curiously. ¡°She seems to be really nonchnt about it. I¡¯ve never heard her talk about her biological parents before.¡± The wealthydy took a puff of her cigarette, which she held in between her fingers, and asked, ¡°Madam Xu, how did you manage to find your daughter?¡± ¡°As I mentioned, I found her based on the directions given by Ms. An¡¯s mentor. My daughter had been through so much hardship throughout all these years. It saddens me to think about it.¡± ¡°Yeah, your daughter is your flesh and blood. It¡¯s great that you¡¯ve reunited with her again after having been separated from her for so many years,¡± said Madam Lin, who was picking her mahjong tiles slowly. Madam Xu did not probe further and continued with the game. After the mahjong session ended, she headed back to the Xu family mansion. Xu Baizhi was waiting for her at home. Upon sight of her arrival, she immediately rushed forward and asked, ¡°Mother, how did it go?¡± Shaking her head, Madam Xu answered, ¡°I didn¡¯t get to find out anything at all. I wonder if they really don¡¯t know or if they¡¯re just keeping it from me on purpose.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll never know. An Xiaoning has always been stringent and tight-lipped with her birth characters and timing. I¡¯ve asked around. Even those highly-skilled fortune-tellers and irvoyants can only tell her birth characters and not the exact timing,¡± said Xu Baizhi, who was stuck in a spot. ¡°What do we do, then? Well, the organization wouldn¡¯t have tasked you with this mission if it were really that easy.¡± ¡°Let me think of something else.¡± Xu Baizhi returned to her room and sat down on the chair to brainstorm for a better solution. The quick-witted Xu Baizhi soon thought of another idea. She zoomed out of the door and headed straight to a hypnotist¡¯s clinic, beaming with joy and excitement. ¡°Doctor, may I ask if it¡¯s possible to make someone divulge a secret she usually wouldn¡¯t via hypnosis?¡± Xu Baizhi asked, staring at the hypnotist intensely, hoping to hear a ¡°yes¡± from him. The hypnotist sneered, ¡°You must¡¯ve watched too much television. It¡¯s impossible to force someone to divulge a secret against their will by hypnotizing them. You cannot control someone¡¯s mind and consciousness using hypnosis. People usually only get hypnotized under consent or during the initial stages of the sleep cycle. You can only induce hypnosis within someone who¡¯s not resistant to influence. A hypnotist has his ethical boundaries too. We won¡¯t force the subject to divulge a secret against their wishes using hypnosis.¡± ¡°Does that mean hypnosis can be induced in someone who¡¯s in light sleep?¡± Xu Baizhi asked inquisitively. Chapter 701 - A Million Times for You (63)

Chapter 701: A Million Times for You (63)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°It can be induced during light sleep, but it all depends on the subject¡¯s susceptibility to prompts and hypnosis. There¡¯s a self-defense mechanism in every human brain. Those who possess a very strong willpower won¡¯t be hypnotized.¡± The hypnotherapist¡¯s words alone were enough to lift her spirits. ¡°Doctor, may I hire you privately?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but we¡¯re not allowed to be hired for private practice. If there¡¯s a need for hypnosis, it can only be done so within the clinic.¡± Slightly taken aback, Xu Baizhi continued, ¡°I can pay you more.¡± ¡°Sorry, Miss, but from what you said earlier, I have a hunch that you¡¯re trying to use hypnosis to extract a secret from someone else. I won¡¯t ept such an hical task.¡± ¡°How about if I offer you three hundred thousand dors? Or five hundred thousand?¡± The hypnotherapist ignored herpletely, as if he did not hear her at all. Xu Baizhi did not expect the hypnotherapist to be so ethical and thus had no choice but to leave dejectedly. But not all hypnotherapists would be that ethical, right? There¡¯s bound to be greedy ones who wouldpromise moral ethics for money. She believed that she would be able to find an hical hypnotherapist who was willing to help her. ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning took a nap once she arrived back at the Gu family mansion, after which she chatted with Lin Mingxi for a while. Just as she finished drinking a cup of coffee, she received a call from Pan Zhenghui. ¡°I just received an update. The archeological team headed to the remote mountain again with a medium. The medium said that there were no spirits or other supernatural beings in sight. Moreover, there was also a brave soul who entered the cave. There turned out to be nothing inside the coffin,¡± said Pan Zhenghui. ¡°That goes without saying. The spirits must¡¯ve left after the disturbance we caused them yesterday.¡± ¡°I thought so too. Xiaoning, Yuan Mingzhu¡¯s position is still vacant. Since you don¡¯t wish to resume your duties, could you rmend someone who possesses the same abilities as you?¡± Pan Zhenghui asked. ¡°Bureau Chief, I don¡¯t actually know anyone who¡¯s like me. I think you¡¯d better look for someone to fill the slot yourself. I believe you¡¯ll find an appropriate candidate.¡± Pan Zhenghui sighed and said, ¡°Alright, then. Xiaoning, the doors will always be open for you if you¡¯re willing toe back anytime.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± After ending the call, An Xiaoning decided to stay in bed and watch a movie instead of going out that day. She stared at her mobile phone screen as a million thoughts filled her distracted mind. In fact, she had not yetpletely processed everything that had happened today. After recalling the events carefully, An Xiaoning had a sudden realization that fate and destiny were such an incredible and unfathomable concept. Mrs. Gu opened the door and called gently, ¡°Xiaoning, there¡¯s a female celebrity who came to see you.¡± ¡°A female celebrity?¡± An Xiaoning put on her slippers and headed downstairs together with Mrs. Gu. It was not to her surprise that the female celebrity was none other than Song Yan. It had been a long while since she saw her. ¡°Please take a seat. Ms. Song, what would you like to see me for?¡± An Xiaoning asked while sitting down on the couch, Song Yan sat down facing her and thanked the servant who served her a cup of tea. Holding up the teacup with a wide smile on her face, Song Yan said, ¡°I¡¯m here to ask for your help in reading my career prospects, Ms. An.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ve made a wasted trip today. I can¡¯t read your fortune,¡± An Xiaoning rejected straight away. ¡°I can offer you a higher price if you find a million dors to be too little.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not about money. I don¡¯t rely on fortune-telling to make a living. I only read fortunes selectively, based on my mood. No amount of money canpel me to do it if I don¡¯t wish to,¡± An Xiaoning answered calmly. The smile on Song Yan¡¯s face faded slightly, and she continued, ¡°Ms. An, we¡¯ve known each other for quite some time now. Can¡¯t you just do me the honor and read my fortune?¡± ¡°Ms. Song, you and I barely have any ties with each other. Please leave if there¡¯s nothing else you¡¯d like to say,¡± said An Xiaoning, maintaining herposure. A sullen expression formed on Song Yan¡¯s face the moment she heard her answer. She rose from her seat and left straight away without uttering another word. Once she got inside the nanny van, her manager, Huahua, asked, ¡°You¡¯re done so soon?¡± ¡°No, she didn¡¯t want to read my fortune at all,¡± said Song Yan, leaning against the seat with her eyes closed. ¡°Why not? Did she think the price you offered was too low?¡± ¡°No, she said that she only reads fortunes based on her mood and that no amount of money can make her do it if she doesn¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°I reckon she must¡¯ve found the money to be too little. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll concede if you offer her ten million dors.¡± ¡°Forget it, she¡¯s not the only fortune-teller around anyway. I¡¯ll just look for someone else. Who would reject free money? She¡¯s so haughty and arrogant,¡± Song Yan dissed in a high-pitched voice, feeling extremely peeved and disgruntled. ¡°Exactly. Who does she think she is? She¡¯s just a shrew whose marriages are bound to fail. What¡¯s there to be arrogant about?¡± Huahua chimed in. The chauffeur turned around and said, ¡°Sis, cut it out.¡± ¡°Why? Are you trying to control my freedom of speech? Are you tired of living?¡± Song Yan rebuked, glowering at him. ¡°No, look outside the window,¡± said the chauffeur. Song Yan and her manager looked out of the window, only to see that An Xiaoning had appeared out of nowhere and was standing right in front of the car window. Needless to say, she had heard their conversation. It was more awkward than ever. Song Yan kicked her feet against the chauffeur¡¯s seat rest, motioning for him to drive away. However, the door was swung open before he could even begin driving. An Xiaoning stared at them while smiling and said, ¡°Who do I think I am? I¡¯m just a shrew whose marriages have failed. What¡¯s there to be arrogant about?¡± An Xiaoning repeated their words sarcastically. Feeling flustered and regretful for not minding her words, Huahua frantically rified, ¡°Ms. An, I wasn¡¯t talking about you.¡± ¡°Who were you talking about then?¡± ¡°I was talking about myself, myself...¡± ¡°But that¡¯s not what I heard?¡± An Xiaoning said with a smirk. The wider she smiled, the more terrorized Huahua was. On the other hand, Song Yan was much moreposed, thinking to herself that it didn¡¯t matter since she and An Xiaoning were just acquaintances. Noticing how frightened her manager was, Song Yan chided, ¡°Huahua, what¡¯s wrong with you? Since we¡¯ve said it, we ought to admit to it. An Xiaoning, you¡¯re just like Jin Qingyue...¡± ¡°Song Yan...¡± Huahua tugged her arm, motioning for her to stop talking. ¡°No wonder Ling Ciye would rather be with Qingyue than with you,¡± An Xiaoning said with a sarcastic smile, striking a sour note within Song Yan. Song Yan turned pale immediately and stared at An Xiaoning¡¯s receding figure, boiling with anger. ¡°Huahua, did you hear what she said about me!?!¡± she hollered. ¡°Song Yan, we were wrong to badmouth her behind her back in the first ce. We even made the mistake of letting her overhear us. She¡¯s powerful and authoritative. Let¡¯s simmer down and not stoop to her level.¡± Unable to contain her anger, Song Yan pushed the door open and stormed off toward An Xiaoning. Seeing that the situation was about to go out of hand, Huahua frantically jumped out of the car to stop her. ¡°An Xiaoning, what right have you got to say that about me!?! If you¡¯re so high and mighty, why did all your husbands end up divorcing you? You¡¯re a thrice-divorced wretch, and yet you still have the cheek to criticize. You only got to where you are by riding on your husband¡¯s coattails. Who do you think you are...¡± Huahua hurriedly covered Song Yan¡¯s mouth and dragged her into the car. ¡°Oh goodness gracious, stop it!¡± Huahua eximed. An Xiaoning stopped in her tracks and turned around with a menacing re in her eyes. Riding on my husband¡¯s coattails? An Xiaoning initially did not bother arguing with her any longer. However, Song Yan¡¯s words had triggered her greatly. An Xiaoning walked back toward them. Noticing that An Xiaoning was approaching, Huahua frantically shoved Song Yan inside the car. Chapter 702 - A Million Times for You (64)

Chapter 702: A Million Times for You (64)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Huahua then got out of the card and apologized to An Xiaoning in a polite tone with her hands put together, ¡°Ms. An, please be magnanimous and forgive us. Don¡¯t stoop to our level. We¡¯re very, very sorry.¡± An Xiaoning sneered, ¡°I¡¯m a moral and upright person. I don¡¯t need to ride on a man¡¯s coattails to rise to power and get to where I am today. Ms. Song has had a hard time achieving the sess she has today. Don¡¯t let that sess and your efforts go down the drain because of something you said without thinking. That¡¯ll be a much greater loss. I truly saw Ms. Song¡¯s true colors when I read her fortune previously. Does she really think she canpel me to read her fortune by badmouthing me after I rejected her? Don¡¯t cross the line since I¡¯ve decided not to argue with you. I¡¯m afraid Ms. Song won¡¯t be able to bear the consequences if she goes overboard and provoke me!¡± Her volume was rather loud, and everyone inside the car could hear her clearly. It was clear what An Xiaoning meant ¡ª¡±I can¡¯t be bothered to argue with you, so don¡¯t incur my wrath. Otherwise, you shall bear the dire consequences!¡± An Xiaoning was just that shrewd and suave. Huahua finally heaved a huge sigh of relief after An Xiaoning left. She got back inside the car and gave herself a tight p. ¡°It¡¯s all my fault for being so talkative! Song Yan, you were too rash just now. You won¡¯t stand to gain anything from incurring her wrath. Do you think we can afford to provoke someone so powerful like her? It¡¯s fine if you grouse and curse her behind her back to vent your frustration, but we¡¯ll be doomed if she hears us.¡± Song Yan began bawling loudly. Overwhelmed with fear and anxiety, the chauffeur dared not utter a single word and began driving away. An Xiaoning watched with a sullen expression on her face as the nanny van drove away. She then began walking along the snowy roads with a heat pack and umbre in hand. She did not feel like driving and merely wanted toe out to enjoy the cool air. She felt much more clear-headed after getting some fresh air. Pedestrians were scarce on the road, and the snow was falling from the sky, forming a thickyer on the ground. Creaking sounds could be heard when she stepped on the snow. She continued treading along her path and decided to set her footprints all over the ground for in, mindless fun. ¡ª¡ª The office was dead silent, apart from the sounds of fingers clicking on the keyboard. The heater was switched on in the room. However, it could not warm the heart of the person furiously typing away. The temperature outside was jarring, as juxtaposed against that of the room. ¡°Mr. Ye, bad news!¡± Ye Xiaotian¡¯s heart sank. ¡°Look how frantic and jittery you are, what¡¯s the matter?¡± he questioned. ¡°The inspectors from the Tax and Revenue Bureau are here.¡± A frown creased Ye Xiaotian¡¯s forehead and he asked, ¡°What are they here for?¡± ¡°They said that they had received an anonymous report and they¡¯re here to check on the Ye Corporation headquarters.¡± Ye Xiaotian sprung up from his seat and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go take a look.¡± ¡°By the way, Mr. Ye, here¡¯s another letter for you.¡± Ye Xiaotian took the envelope from the secretary¡¯s hands and opened it to find that there was a note inside. It read: ¡°I¡¯ll return to you double of what you¡¯ve done wrong to me.¡± He squinted and crushed the note in his hands before striding out of his office. He mmed the door shut after him. Half an hourter, Ye Xiaotian returned to his office, raging with fury as evidenced by the bulging veins on his forehead. He could guess who the anonymous informant was without even thinking about it. Ye Xiaotian clenched his fists tightly in exasperation. Jin Qingyan had been going toe to toe against the Ye Corporation ever since he returned abroad and snatching thetter¡¯s business deals openly. However, it had never urred to Ye Xiaotian that Jin Qingyan would report him to the Tax and Revenue Bureau with the evidence he had. To make matters worse, the Human Resource Department also informed him that a total of ten veteran employees had tendered their resignation today. ording to insider news, all of those employees had been poached by the Jin Corporation. The fact that the employees were poached sessfully just went to show that they were promised greater career prospects and better employee treatment by the Jin Corporation. Every piece of news was fuel added to the fire burning within Ye Xiaotian, whose temples were throbbing uncontrobly. He was driven into a corner and on the verge of a mental breakdown because of the knotty situation at hand. There was no one he could turn to to discuss the problem at all. Ye Xiaotian was filled with immense misery at the thought of his own wife. Mo Li had no idea what he was thinking, nor did she bother guessing what was on his mind. Missing her daughter, whom she had not seen in days, Mo Li decided to get the guards to bring Ye Jiani to visit her. ¡°Mommy!¡± Ye Jiani eximed excitedly while scurrying toward her. Mo Li stepped forward to hug her and said, ¡°Nini, do you miss Mommy?¡± ¡°Yes. Mommy, why are you here? I haven¡¯t seen you in so long,e home with me,¡± Ye Jiani said agitatedly, throwing her arms around her mother. ¡°You maye and visit me when you miss me. Have you done your homework yet?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ll do it tomorrow.¡± Mo Li caressed Ye Jiani¡¯s hair and said, ¡°Since you have to do it sooner orter, you might as well justplete it as soon as possible.¡± ¡°Mommy, are your hands cold? Why don¡¯t you apply some hand cream?¡± Ye Jiani asked, checking Mo Li¡¯s hands. ¡°I forgot to do so.¡± Ye Jiani ced her hand on her face and asked, ¡°Grandma said that you¡¯re pregnant with my little brother now and she told me not to disturb you. Mommy, will you still love me after you give birth to my little brother?¡± ¡°Of course I will. You¡¯ll forever be Mommy¡¯s precious baby,¡± Mo Li answered, her voice trembling a little. Ye Jiani broke into smiles and said, ¡°I knew it.¡± Mo Li felt much more at ease after looking at the blissful smile on her daughter¡¯s face. Not long after, Mrs. Ye arrived. She brought Ye Jiani away with her and chided, ¡°What did I say to you previously? Your mommy is carrying your little brother in her stomach now. Don¡¯t keep going to disturb her. She¡¯ll go home once she gives birth to him. Just why are you so disobedient?¡± ¡°Why did you make Mommy stay there? My ssmate¡¯s mommy still sends her to school despite being pregnant. I haven¡¯t seen Mommy in a really long time. Why won¡¯t you allow me to see her?¡± Ye Jiani questioned. ¡°Your mommy doesn¡¯t want the little brother she¡¯s carrying, that¡¯s why I made her stay there until she gives birth to him. Once he¡¯s born, you¡¯ll get to see her every day. From now on, you¡¯re not allowed to go visit her without my permission. Otherwise, I¡¯ll punish you. You hear me?¡± Ye Jiani bit her lip and remained quiet while following Mrs. Ye to her mansion. ¡°Madam, your sister is here. She¡¯s waiting for you in the living room.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Mrs. Ye held Ye Jiani¡¯s hand and headed home. The moment they entered the house, a female voice asked, ¡°Hey, Nini, you didn¡¯t go to school today?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Saturday. She doesn¡¯t have to go to school today,¡± said Mrs. Ye. ¡°Oh, right. The school should really grant them a break. Look how heavy the snow has been gettingtely. Sis, where did you two go just now?¡± Mrs. Ye¡¯s sister asked. ¡°Her mother asked to see her, but I brought her back home.¡± Mrs. Ye took a seat and instructed Ye Jiani, ¡°You haven¡¯t done your homework yet. Go upstairs and finish it.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Ye Jiani answered softly and made her way upstairs. ¡°In my opinion, the temperature during the winter is really freezing. It¡¯s not very appropriate for you to lock Jiani¡¯s mother up in the ancestral hall in such weather. Why don¡¯t you just move her to your mansion? There¡¯s at least a heater in the room.¡± Chapter 703 - A Million Times for You (65)

Chapter 703: A Million Times for You (65)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mrs. Ye humphed and said, ¡°There¡¯s a heating nket in the ancestral hall, she won¡¯t freeze. We¡¯re feeding her well too. I won¡¯t treat her harshly on ount of Xiaotian and also because she¡¯s carrying my grandson in her womb.¡± ¡°I can tell she¡¯s really stubborn. Sis, you¡¯re causing a strain on their rtionship.¡± ¡°Whatever, it might just be a blessing in disguise. Could that shameless wretch have married Xiaotian if she wasn¡¯t pregnant with Jiani back then? She couldn¡¯t conceive a son so I went around looking for ways to help her give birth to one. Yet, she was still so worried and afraid of everything. What¡¯s the use of having such a stubborn and uncooperative daughter-inw? He didn¡¯t marry her solely to give her a good life,¡± Mrs. Ye said nonchntly. ¡°...¡± ¡°If she doesn¡¯t give birth to the son she¡¯s carrying now, I¡¯ll make sure Xiaotian divorces her and kick her out of this house! There are plenty of women waiting to marry Xiaotian,¡± she added. ¡°...¡± Having overheard their conversation, Ye Jiani gripped onto the railing tightly while standing in the corridor. She was old enough to understand what her grandmother had meant. She then slowly made her way upstairs, hanging her head low in dejection. She finished her homework, wrote in her diary, and headed downstairs for dinner while remaining quiet throughout. After dinner, Ye Jiani finally broke her silence and said, ¡°Grandma, I want to sleep with Daddy tonight.¡± ¡°Your daddy has had a long and tiring day at work, don¡¯t disturb him from getting his rest. Be good and go upstairs to sleep,¡± Mrs. Ye refused. ¡°No, I just want to sleep with Daddy tonight. I¡¯m going to wait for him at the door.¡± She wanted to tell her father not to divorce her mother even if she doesn¡¯t give birth to her little brother. Mrs. Ye did not bother restraining her granddaughter and watched her walk out of the door. Ye Jiani made her way to her parents¡¯ mansion and waited in the living room for Ye Xiaotian. However, he did not show up even after a long time. Atst, she had no choice but to call Ye Xiaotian using the handset. ¡°Daddy, what time will you being home?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t be going home tonight. I have to work overtime today, so I¡¯ll be sleeping in the office. Do you miss Daddy already?¡± ¡°Yes, I miss you. I want to sleep together with you, Daddy. I have something to say to you too,¡± Ye Jiani said softly. Despite being extremely troubled and vexed, Ye Xiaotian nheless spoke to her patiently, ¡°What would you like to say to me?¡± ¡°Daddy... could you stay married to Mommy forever and never divorce her? Don¡¯t ever abandon her, okay?¡± Taken aback by her words, Ye Xiaotian answered, ¡°I¡¯m not thinking of divorcing your mommy or abandoning her.¡± Ye Jiani felt relieved to hear his answer and said in her puerile voice, ¡°That¡¯s good. Daddy, don¡¯t tire yourself out. You must sleep early, okay?¡± Her caring words warmed Ye Xiaotian¡¯s heart. ¡°Okay, I know. Go to bed early too. I¡¯ll bring you out for good food tomorrow.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Ye Jiani¡¯s mood was lifted after ending the call, and she skipped back to her grandmother¡¯s mansion merrily. Ye Jiani slowed down in her tracks while treading on the slippery snow. Just as she was about to reach Mrs. Ye¡¯s mansion, she caught sight of a snowman nearby. The light from the streetmp made the snowman appear much more appealing. Her eyes glistened, and she scurried toward the snowman merrily. Due to the fact that the ground was rather slippery, Ye Jiani slipped and fell onto the ground just before she reached the snowman, and the impact sent her gliding across the snow-covered ground toward the swimming pool. The tiles near the pool were much more slippery than those of the other paths. She supported her weight and struggled to get up on her feet, wincing in pain. She blew some air onto her hands to soothe and alleviate the pain. However, she lost her bnce yet again and fell onto the ground once more the moment she took a step forward. This time, she fell straight inside the pool. There was only a small amount of water inside the pool at the moment. Due to the fact that it was wintertime, the pool was already emptied long ago. The water left in the pool was from the snowy showers and had umted to a knee-deep depth. Ye Jiani let out a piercing shriek when she plunged inside and soon fell silent right after. It snowed heavily that evening, and no servants passed by the pool. Noticing that it was gettingte, Mrs. Ye asked the servants if Ye Xiaotian was home yet, to which they answered no. Mrs. Ye decided to give Ye Xiaotian a call, only to hear that he would not be going home that night. She did not think much about it and instructed the servants to bring Ye Jiani home. The servants soon returned to tell her that Ye Jiani was not around while Ye Xiaotian¡¯s servant reported that Ye Jiani had left after speaking to Ye Xiaotian on the phone. Sensing that something was amiss, Mrs. Ye immediately instructed the servants to search for Ye Jiani. After confirming that her granddaughter did not leave the premises of the mansion, she ordered them to search within the Ye family mansion. However, Ye Jiani was nowhere to be found. Thus, they had no choice but to watch the footage of the surveince cameras in the backyard. They were greeted with a terrorizing sight. Mrs. Ye frantically rushed to the pool and yelled her granddaughter¡¯s name while trying to search for her with a torchlight. She had a feeling that her granddaughter had fallen inside and suffered an injury that was hindering her from crawling back up. Yet, she almost fainted in shock the moment she shone her torchlight on the pool. To her astonishment, Ye Jiani was lying t in a pool of blood. ¡°What are you waiting for? Carry her out!¡± Mrs. Ye screeched. Her loud shriek snapped the terrorized servants out of their trance as they hurriedly proceeded to carry Ye Jiani out of the pool. ¡°Jiani! Jiani! Don¡¯t scare Grandma!¡± Mrs. Ye cried, patting Ye Jiani¡¯s face. Mr. Ye hurriedly rushed forward and tried to perform cardiac-pulmonary resuscitation on his granddaughter, but to no avail. She had already stopped breathing. ¡°Hurry and call Xiaotian!¡± he hollered. Mrs. Ye snapped back to reality and immediately ordered the servants to call Ye Xiaotian. Ye Xiaotian could not believe what he had just heard. He could not believe that his daughter had already left this world, despite having just spoken to him over the phone not long ago. He rushed home like a madman and stared at Ye Jiani, whose face had turned purple and whose head was covered in blood. He simply could not believe his eyes. He held her lifeless body in his embrace and wept in overwhelming agony. Ye Xiaotian sunk into despair after watching the surveince camera footage. ¡°Daddy... could you stay married to Mommy forever and never divorce her? Don¡¯t ever abandon her, okay?¡± ¡°Daddy, don¡¯t tire yourself out. Go to bed early.¡± Mrs. Ye hung her head low and wailed uncontrobly. Ye Xiaotian¡¯s brother, sister-inw, and niece had also made their way there. A somber mood filled the air. Yet, Mo Li was still being kept in the dark about the matter. Mrs. Ye did not n to let her know for the time being. However, Ye Xiaotian ignored her instructions and told the servants to bring Mo Li to the scene, though he was not going to tell her what had happened yet. Thus, Mo Li still did not know what had happened to her daughter when she arrived at the door. She was greeted with the sight of Ye Jiani drenched in blood and soaked from head to toe, her eyes tightly shut and her face purple. Mo Li froze in shock and rubbed her eyes hard to ensure that she was not seeing things. She stumbled slightly and yelled, ¡°Nini!¡± She sprinted forward and screeched, ¡°Just what¡¯s going on? What happened to Nini? What happened to my daughter? Ye Xiaotian! Speak up!¡± ¡°Nini has fallen into the pool... ording to the surveince camera footage, she sprinted toward a snowman near the pool and slipped...¡± Ye Xiaotian said in a hoarse voice. ¡°Wasn¡¯t there no water inside the pool?¡± Chapter 704 - A Million Times for You (66)

Chapter 704: A Million Times for You (66)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°It¡¯s been snowing and raining heavilytely, so we emptied the pool. The rainwater umted until a knee-deep depth. I reckon she must¡¯ve hit her head on the floor when she fell inside and ended up drowning.¡± Mo Li listened to him, dumbfounded as the shock robbed her of her senses. ¡°This is Heaven¡¯s way of punishing me...¡± she murmured feebly. ¡°You must¡¯ve said something to Nini when you called her to the ancestral hall this afternoon, whichpelled her to wait for Xiaotian toe home because she wanted to sleep with him tonight. If it wasn¡¯t because of that, why would she go to your mansion!?! You jinx!¡± Mrs. Ye barked. Mo Li turned to face her abruptly and glowered at her. ¡°I didn¡¯t say anything to her at all. It¡¯s you, it¡¯s all your fault for forcing me to drink the talisman water so as to fall pregnant with a baby boy. The fortune-teller has already said that I¡¯m not destined to have any sons, only daughters. Yet you insisted that we alter my fate, which resulted in a punishment from Heaven. A life for a life. Heaven decided to take my daughter away after giving me a son. You, return my daughter to me! Return Nini to me!¡± she retorted. She leaped toward Mrs. Ye and grabbed thetter by her hair, catching her off guard and causing her to fall onto the couch. Everyone hurriedly rushed forward to pull them apart. Mo Li finally released all her pent-up anger and strangled Mrs. Ye¡¯s neck forcefully. Ye Xiaotian put his daughter¡¯s body down and stepped forward to give her a tight p. Mo Li¡¯s face was flung toward the side, and her ears began to ring while blood flowed from the corner of her lips. A deafening silence filled the living room. Mo Li let go of Mrs. Ye, then fell back into Ye Xiaotian¡¯s arms. Ye Xiaotian held onto Mo Li¡¯s hand and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry... we¡¯re all devastated and deeply agonized. Don¡¯t be like this.¡± Mo Li sat on hisp, and tears streamed down her face uncontrobly, unable to recover from the shock. Once she¡¯d regained her senses, she sprung up abruptly and shrugged his hand away. Sheughed loudly and said, ¡°Ye Xiaotian, I started dating you when I was eighteen, and we¡¯ve been together for more than a decade. Yet what kind of a life have you given me? I thought I could really live happily after marrying you, but it turns out, all I got was pain and torment. All you do is listen to your mother and indulge her for fear that she would kill herself. Aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯d kill myself and our child too? You want a son, right? You want a son, don¡¯t you? You want a son...¡± Mo Li was no longer acting like herself and had been thrown into a state of frenzy. In a moment of pique and anguish, she picked up a fruit knife from the fruit basket and stabbed herself in the womb while everyone else watched in horror. She continued to stab herself repeatedly. By the time Ye Xiaotian¡¯s brother had snatched the knife away from her, her abdominal area was already drenched in blood. Seemingly unable to feel the pain at all, she guffawed, ¡°I¡¯ll let you have the son, I¡¯ll let you have him. Now that Nini is gone, I don¡¯t want anything else!¡± As soon as she finished speaking, she passed out. Tears streamed down Ye Xiaotian¡¯s face like a broken faucet. He hurriedly picked her up in his arms and sent her to the hospital. ¡ª¡ª Anything newsworthy that happens within wealthy families would immediately be the media¡¯s focus, as with celebrities in the entertainment industry. The death of Ye Xiaotian¡¯s daughter and Mo Li being admitted to the hospital for emergency rescue had be the most groundbreaking news of that evening. Long Tianze and Mei Yangyang immediately headed to the hospital. Long Tianze flew into an immense rage upon hearing the detailed exnation of the situation and immediately punched Ye Xiaotian, who was not in any mood to retaliate. Mrs. Ye and Ye Xiaotian¡¯s brother hurriedly held Long Tianze back. ¡°Who are you to hit my son!?!¡± Mrs. Ye bellowed, her eyes red and swollen from crying. However, what Long Tianze said next caused her to stand rooted to the ground in utter shock. ¡°You old demoness! I don¡¯t just want to hit your son, I want to hit you too!¡± ¡°You... tryying a finger on me if you dare!¡± Mrs. Ye retorted. Mei Yangyang grabbed Long Tianze and persuaded him, ¡°Hubby, don¡¯t be rash.¡± Long Tianze took a deep breath. His face had turned beet red from the anger that was gushing through his veins. Given how well he understood Mo Li, he knew that she must have given up hope on living this time. Mo Li¡¯s family burst into tears the moment they arrived, causing the silence in the corridor to be disrupted once more. Mrs. Mo had not seen her daughter in a long time. Yet, something like that had happened all of a sudden. The faces of Mo Li¡¯s grief-stricken family members had turned as pale as a sheet. They prayed that Mo Li would pull through. The lights of the operating theater were switched off more than an hourter. Mo Li was pushed out of the theater by a nurse. Her eyes were tightly shut, and she looked pale and lifeless with her purplish lips, due to the excessive amount of blood she had lost. ¡°Doctor, how¡¯s my wife now?¡± Ye Xiaotian asked worriedly. ¡°She has suffered a miscarriage, and her womb is heavily wounded. Her life is not in danger now.¡± Everyone heaved a sigh of relief after hearing the surgeon¡¯s words. Long Tianze was overwhelmed with agony as he stared at the unconscious Mo Li. He felt exceptionally upset to see the sorry state that his childhood friend had ended up in. Long Tianze remained quiet throughout the journey back and constantly smoked cigarettes, stick after stick. Mei Yangyang took over the wheel and rolled down the windows to let the smoke out. Upon arriving home, Long Tianze switched on the heater in the room and removed his jacket. He then sat on the bed and snubbed his cigarette into the ashtray. Mei Yangyang handed him a ss of warm water and said, ¡°Have some water, simmer down.¡± He took two gulps of the water before saying, ¡°She was such an adorable child, and yet she¡¯s gone just like that. I really don¡¯t understand, how did thingse to this?¡± ¡°Sis and I have talked about Mo Li before. One is bound to pay a huge price in exchange for something they¡¯re not fated to have.¡± Long Tianze ced the ss onto the table and pulled Mei Yangyang into his embrace. ¡°If it were me, I definitely wouldn¡¯t put you through such torment,¡± he said. She stroked his hair and said, ¡°I know, you wouldn¡¯t let me be aggrieved at all.¡± Just as they fell asleep, Mo Li came to in the hospital. Her lips were dry and cracked, and she squinted while scanning her surroundings. The smell of antiseptic solution wafted up to her nose, and she was surrounded by white walls. Her parents were apanying her by her bed. None of the Ye family members were in sight. Mo Li teared up and choked with sobs at the thought of her daughter. ¡°Mother...¡± Upon hearing her daughter¡¯s hoarse voice, Mrs. Mo looked up and stepped forward together with Mr. Mo. ¡°Mo Li, don¡¯t cry. Father and Mother are here with you.¡± Her parents wereforting her in the same way that they did whenever she fell ill as a child. Mo Li held Mrs. Mo¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Nini is gone.¡± Teary-eyed, Mrs. Mo nodded and answered, ¡°I know.¡± Mo Li could not contain her sadness and burst into tears again, causing her body to tense up and her wound to stretch. ¡°Don¡¯t cry.¡± Mrs. Mo reached a hand out to wipe her tears. After weeping for a while, Mo Li stopped crying and said, ¡°I really don¡¯t want to live anymore.¡± Mrs. Mo felt as if she had been stabbed in her heart a million times. ¡°What¡¯s going to happen to me and your father if you¡¯re dead? No matter what, we won¡¯t let you continue living with Ye Xiaotian, regardless of what it takes. Once you¡¯ve recovered, divorce him immediately and free yourself from such a torturous life.¡± Staring nkly into space, Mo Limented, ¡°I really regret it too. I regret marrying him after giving birth to Nini. I thought that he could give us aplete family. Seems like I was wrong.¡± Although there were days of bliss, they were nothingpared to the pain and hardship she had had to endure. She¡¯d been struck with a huge blow. She hadpletely given up on Ye Xiaotian and no longer wanted to see him ever again. Chapter 705 - A Million Times for You (67)

Chapter 705: A Million Times for You (67)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios If they hadn¡¯t locked her up in the ancestral hall and had allowed her to abort the fetus, Ye Jiani probably would not have met with the mishap. This was Heaven¡¯s way of punishing Mo Li for life. It was an unforgettable punishment that would mar her for the rest of her life. Staring at her parents, whose eyes were red and swollen, Mo Li said softly, ¡°Lie down on the bed and get some rest.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll apany you, let your father rest.¡± Mrs. Mo was afraid that her daughter would do something foolish and thus refused to fall asleep no matter how tired she was. Mr. Moy on the bed, unable to fall asleep despite the fatigue. However, he tried to force himself to do so. Mrs. Mo held onto Mo Li¡¯s hand and constantly tried tofort and counsel her. She did not want Mo Li to give up on life. After all, she was only thirty years old and could not afford to waste her life away. No way... ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning heard about the incident from Lin Mingxi only during breakfast the next morning. However, she was not exactly surprised, although she took pity on Ye Jiani. Since Gu Beicheng and Ye Xiaotian were close friends, An Xiaoning decided to go with Gu Beicheng to visit Mo Li in the hospital. Lin Mingxi had to tend to matters at her fitness center and thus did not have the time to make a trip there. An Xiaoning and Gu Beicheng headed to the hospital on their own. As soon as they arrived at the VIP wards, they caught sight of Mr. and Mrs. Ye waiting outside the ward while Ye Xiaotian appeared shortly after, seemingly having been chased out. Thest time they met Ye Xiaotian was during the auction in D City. After just days of not seeing each other, Gu Beicheng was shocked to see how haggard Ye Xiaotian had be. His eyes were bloodshot, and he had clearly just suffered a huge blow. Gu Beicheng stepped forward and gave him a pat on his shoulder tofort him while An Xiaoning entered the ward. Mrs. Mo took the fruit basket from her hands. Upon the sight of An Xiaoning, Mo Li lost control of her emotions and began bawling loudly again. ¡°Xiaoning...¡± ¡°Take good care of your body and health. No one wanted this to happen,¡± An Xiaoning consoled her softly. ¡°Ms. An, could you please perform a ritual for Nini? She must be terrified... I¡¯d like her to leave peacefully.¡± ¡°Alright, focus on recuperating for now. Once you¡¯ve almost recovered, I¡¯ll perform a ritual for the child together with you.¡± Mo Li nodded and said in between sobs, ¡°Thank you foring to visit me.¡± ¡°One is bound to meet with troubles and obstacles in life. Life has its ups and downs. You¡¯ve suffered enough hardship, and I wonder, have you started to see everything and thought through it carefully? Do you now know what you want?¡± ¡°If I still haven¡¯t got it figured out even until today, I would¡¯ve lived my life in vain. When I first heard that Nini had passed away, I felt such a strong urge to kill myself and die together with her because I felt that I would be better off dead. After thinking through it for an entire night, I realized that I can¡¯t do that because I still have my parents with me and I¡¯ve yet to repay them for raising me. I can¡¯t leave before them. No matter what, I must live on well. I must give myself hope even if I¡¯ve lost all of it,¡± said Mo Li, keeping her eyes fixed on An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning bent forward and gave her a tight hug. The weak woman who could not retaliate against Ye Xiaotian must have seen everything clearly now that she had already brought herself this far. An Xiaoning was rather heartened. It was never toote to realize what was best for oneself. ¡°Hope you¡¯ll get better soon,¡± said Gu Beicheng. ¡°Thank you.¡± Mo Li told her mother to call Ye Xiaotian into the ward after An Xiaoning and Gu Beicheng had left. Ye Xiaotian, who was chased out of the ward previously, stepped foot inside again together with his parents. Mo Li did not know who she should put the me on. In fact, she resented herself for being weak and indecisive much more than she resented Ye Xiaotian and her mother-inw. She could barely stand the sight of the Ye family. However, she ought to discuss some serious matters with Ye Xiaotian now. ¡°We must get a divorce. I don¡¯t want anything else. I just want to be free.¡± Ye Xiaotian was well aware that this day woulde. He was weighed down by the woes of his family and business. ¡°Nini gave me a callst night, and she pleaded for me to never divorce you. She asked if I could stay with you forever and never abandon you. I agreed to her request,¡± said Ye Xiaotian. Tears welled up in Mo Li¡¯s eyes and she scoffed, ¡°Do you really think we can continue living together? Ye Xiaotian, I¡¯ll never continue being in a rtionship with you even if I¡¯m dead. We must get a divorce no matter what. I¡¯m willing to do whatever it takes to divorce you.¡± Ye Xiaotian did not answer. Staring at the man who ruined half of her life, Mo Li was filled with pain and agony. He was just like her greatest nightmare, which she had now woken up from. Now that she was awake, she no longer wanted anything to do with him. She was determined to leave this hell hole, even if it meant that she would have to be alone for the rest of her life. Noticing that her son was remaining silent, Mrs. Ye decided to answer on his behalf. ¡°Get a divorce! You and Xiaotian shall get a divorce as you said. Nini is gone now, so is the fetus you were carrying. I doubt you can ever conceive again after stabbing yourself in your abdomen so many times. Fancy you initiating a divorce even before Xiaotian does. You two shall divorce each other today!¡± she barked. ¡°Mother!¡± Ye Xiaotian snapped, glowering at his mother, seemingly trying to tell her to stop. ¡°We¡¯ll get a divorce today. Sorry for the trouble, but I¡¯ll need you to bring me the divorce agreement.¡± ¡°Mo Li... let¡¯s talk about this another day. Your health is of the utmost importance now,¡± said the mentally and physically exhausted Ye Xiaotian. ¡°No, nothing is more important than this right now. Ye Xiaotian, are you still unwilling to let me off even when things have alreadye to this!?! I don¡¯t want anything but a divorce now. Please grant my wish, will you!?!¡± Mo Li yelled, her eyes red and swollen. The ambiance turned grave and cold. Mr. Ye sighed and left the ward. Noticing how reluctant Ye Xiaotian was in getting a divorce, Mrs. Ye could not help but say, ¡°I¡¯ll bring you the divorce agreementter.¡± Mo Li closed her eyes and said, ¡°That¡¯d better be the case. You can scram now.¡± Ye Xiaotian clenched his fists tightly and left the hospital ward while grabbing Mrs. Ye by her arm and pulling her along. ¡ª¡ª The car pulled over slowly at the Civil Administrations Office. Jin Qingyue alighted from the car merrily, d in a cap, while Ling Ciye got out of the car from the other door. She stopped in her tracks and waited for him toe forth. She then grabbed his arm quickly and entered the office with him, all smiles. It was the 8th of December, an auspicious day. It was the day that they had nned to register their marriage. They were both in high spirits and proceeded to take a photo together against the red backdrop, exchanged vows, and collected their red-colored marriage certificate booklet. Ling Ciye looked at their newly-minted certificate and kissed it a few times. He tucked her bangs to the side while smiling and grabbed her hand as they made their exit. The weather wasfortably warm today after the snowstorm the day before. The sun had risen from the East and was casting its rays down onto the earth below. Jin Qingyue squinted and turned to the side to hug his waist, snuggling up into his embrace while beaming with joy. Chapter 706 - A Million Times for You (68)

Chapter 706: A Million Times for You (68)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I wish I could tell the world that I¡¯m now your wife, Mrs. Ling!¡± she eximed excitedly. He allowed her to go about her brazen ways in broad daylight and lowered his head to kiss her forehead. ¡°You have my permission.¡± Jin Qingyue raised her chin and tiptoed to kiss him on his cheek. They got into a hot and passionate kiss right outside the Civil Administrations Office. That was bound to make the news. Once they got inside the car, Jin Qingyue announced the news of her marriage on her social media page. There was a discussion on a forum, which was titled: ¡°Even a woman like Jin Qingyue can get married again. Did you know?¡± The content read: ¡°Jin Qingyue is just riding on the coattails of her brother, Jin Qingyan. The whole world knows about her scandalous past and feud with her ex-husband. She dumped her daughter back to her ex-husband and married Ling Ciye. How atrocious! Is she the only woman left in this world? Ling Ciye has such poor taste in women. I can¡¯t believe he¡¯d fancy a secondhand good like Jin Qingyue. I really wonder what men are thinking. I¡¯m a pure and demure virgin, yet I¡¯m still alone and can¡¯t find myself a boyfriend!¡± However, there were two schools of thoughts amongstizens. Someizens who stood against the discussion thread owner said, ¡°Just because a woman is divorced doesn¡¯t mean she can¡¯t marry again. Do you really expect her to follow ancient traditions and be a nun for the rest of her life just because her reputation is tarnished? Is she supposed to willingly ept being berated, as well as to ept the criticisms from you people? This is too unfair for women! They¡¯re a good-looking couple and a match made in heaven. What rights have you devils got to oppose to their rtionship!?!¡± Thoseizens who showed their support for the discussion forum felt that such an eligible bachelor like Ling Ciye deserved a better woman. They thought that Jin Qingyue was obviously ipatible with Ling Ciye and did not deserve him at all! The discussion thread owner gradually garnered more ¡°likes¡± for his or her opinion, and a heated argument soon broke out online on the discussion forum. Jin Qingyue had already read all thements left by theizens. Although she despised the maliciousments left by unruly and snobbishizens, their negativity did not manage to be a wet nket to her immense joy. Regardless of what theizens said, she and Ling Ciye were already married and, thus, the opinions of outsiders wouldn¡¯t matter as long as Ling Ciye adored her and did not mind her past. In order to prevent her mood from being ruined, she decided to stop looking at thements. Instead, she packed her luggage into the trunk and headed to the airport. They had already nned to go on a romantic honeymoon trip at a selected destination, to return only after the New Year. Just as she was about to switch her mobile phone off after boarding the ne, she received an iing call from Shi Shaochuan. ¡°You may have given me Bao¡¯er¡¯s custody, but shouldn¡¯t you also contribute to her maintenance fees?¡± said Shi Shaochuan. ¡°How much do you want?¡± she asked calmly. ¡°Ten thousand dors every month.¡± Jin Qingyue and Ling Ciye were sitting in the first ss cabin. Leaning her head against Ling Ciye¡¯s shoulder, Jin Qingyue answered, ¡°Did you ever pay a single cent throughout the years I raised her single-handedly? Shi Shaochuan, your skin is getting as thick as a dictionary. If you can¡¯t afford to raise her, don¡¯t keep vying with me for her custody. I¡¯ve already given you the custody rights and yet you still have the cheek to ask me for maintenance fees. Haha, I¡¯ll give you three thousand dors a month, no more than that. Give me your bank ount number.¡± ¡°Fine, three thousand it is. I just saw the news. Did you and Ling Ciye get married?¡± ¡°Yes we did, you must be disappointed, aren¡¯t you? Did you really think that I would be left on the shelf?¡± Jin Qingyue taunted, filled with immense joy. ¡°Are you washing your hands off Bao¡¯er just because you¡¯ve given me the rights to her custody? Bao¡¯er said that she¡¯d like to go to your ce for a few days.¡± Jin Qingyue knew that Jin Bao¡¯er would not have said that, especially since thetter was so insistent on staying with Shi Shaochuan previously. She reckoned that he only said that for the sake of keeping her from living a peaceful life. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m on my way to my honeymoon trip right now. Since you and Bao¡¯er yearn to stay with each other so greatly, you two shall get along with each other properly. By the way, I forgot to tell you that I¡¯ll only start paying you the three-thousand-dor monthly maintenance fee five years from now. Well, that¡¯s because you didn¡¯t fork out a single cent to provide for her ever since she was born. I¡¯ll stop paying for her maintenance once she reaches the age of eighteen. That¡¯s all I have to say to you.¡± She immediately ended the call, not giving Shi Shaochuan the chance to retort at all. She switched her phone off straight away and hugged her man¡¯s arm blissfully, grazing her face against his clothes affectionately. ¡°Trust him to have the cheek to ask you for maintenance fees,¡± Ling Ciye remarked. ¡°He¡¯s just trying to upset me. I can¡¯t be bothered, though,¡± said Jin Qingyue, sitting up straight. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± He put an arm around her shoulder and smiled. ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning could finally take a day off. Although the weather was fair that day, it was still as cold as before, which was to the dismay of An Xiaoning, who was susceptible to cold temperatures. She decided to drive alone to a renowned hot spring center on the mountain. An Xiaoning nned to soak in the hot spring for a few hours and check into the in-house hotel for the night before leaving the next morning. The hot spring was situated on the middle part of the mountain, and the pool was made of stones piled together. Thick fumes of steam were streaming from the hot water. The pools were avable in two sizes; therger one was made for public sharing while the smaller one was meant for individuals who wanted to have a pool to themselves. Needless to say, it was much costlier than the public pool. An Xiaoning decided to opt for the smaller pool. In fact, it was not exactly very small and had a length of about five meters, spanning across a width of two to three meters. It also had a depth of one and a half meters. She changed into her swimsuit in the hotel room and exited with just a long quilt jacket that ended right below her calf. The small pool was separated from the other areas with a sturdy wooden partition wall. There was also a dragon sculpture made of stone, which doubled as a water feature ¡ª water continuously spouted from the dragon¡¯s mouth and into the pool. Once she entered the room, she removed her quilt jacket and hung her towel at the side before walking down the stairs to enter the pool. She immediately felt a strong sense of relief andfort the moment she submerged her body into the warm water. An Xiaoning rinsed her face with the water and leaned back against the stone wall of the tub with her mouth slightly open, resting her arms on the edge of the tub while enjoying the rxing moment. In hindsight, she had never quite gotten such a good rest. When she was still married to Jin Qingyan in the past, she used to soak in the hot spring in Wei Ni Estate every other day during winter to warm herself up. One would be wasting one¡¯s life if one did not livefortably. The air was fresh on the mountain, and An Xiaoning took in deep whiffs of the fresh air while soaking in the hot spring. She felt extremely rxed and at ease without the disturbance of annoying souls. Yet, someone showed up and disrupted her peace. An Xiaoning turned her head to the side and met the eyes of the ill-intentioned Jin Qingyan. ¡°Why are you here?¡± she questioned, glowering at him. ¡°Do you own this ce? Am I not allowed to patronize it?¡± he retorted. He removed his coat and plunged into the middle of the hot spring tub. ¡°You just don¡¯t stop shadowing me, do you? Jin Qingyan, why don¡¯t you go and die?¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you have to spend the rest of your life alone if I¡¯m dead? Life would be so boring without mypany.¡± An Xiaoning guffawed sarcastically and scoffed, ¡°Do you actually think I wouldn¡¯t be able to carry on with life just because you¡¯re not around? Life goes on, and the earth will never stop revolving, regardless of whether you¡¯re present or now. Would we have bumped into each other here if you weren¡¯t shadowing me?¡± He leaned against An Xiaoning, who turned around gracefully and moved to the seat opposite him, clearly not wanting to be beside him at all. Chapter 707 - A Million Times for You (69)

Chapter 707: A Million Times for You (69)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyan remained still and wiggled his fingers underwater. ¡°That¡¯s right, I came here precisely because I knew you were here. I heard that you came here for the hot spring. I couldn¡¯t help but be reminded of the few times that we got intimate inside the hot spring at home, back in the day. The thought of it still makes me smile,¡± he said in his unique, alluring voice. An Xiaoning was flushed red, though she was unsure if it was because of the hot water or the anger she felt toward Jin Qingyan. ¡°You¡¯re so used to spouting such lewd things without hesitation. Seems like you¡¯ve really attained the highest level of shamelessness.¡± ¡°I only share these thoughts with you. Outsiders will never get to hear me say such things,¡± said Jin Qingyan, staring at her with glistening eyes. He wished he could cup her face in his hands and kiss her cherry lips. However, she would definitely kick him out of the pool, given her headstrong character. What a wet nket. An Xiaoning was sizing him up at the same time that he was gazing at her and forming ideas in his head. He was dressed in a white buttoned shirt and a pair of ck trousers. He appeared clean and graceful in the water. ¡°Qingyue and Mr. Ling have registered their marriage. What are you doing here instead of going to congratte them and celebrating with them?¡± ¡°The two of them have gone on a honeymoon trip. It¡¯s not toote to celebrate when they return for their wedding after the New Year. They¡¯re different from others. People usually hold a wedding first before going on their honeymoon trip, yet they¡¯re the opposite.¡± Jin Qingyan unbuttoned his shirt and said, ¡°My interest lies wherever you are.¡± ¡°Are you... going to soak yourself here? I¡¯ll go elsewhere, then,¡± said An Xiaoning, who stood up immediately. Jin Qingyan shifted his gaze onto her swimsuit that was wrapped tightly around her petite and slender body, which was enticing enough to cause a tension to form in his crotch. An Xiaoning began to feel ufortable and disturbed by his intense stare. Just as she was about to step out of the tub, she shrieked at the top of her lungs and kicked him. Jin Qingyan knew that herbat defense skills were formidable and had long prepared himself for her attack. He was on his guard and defended against her strike. However, right after she broke free from his grip, she struck him again ruthlessly right in his crotch while he was not noticing. ¡°Can¡¯t you kick another area? How am I supposed to pleasure you if you damage me down there? Spare a thought for yourself even if you don¡¯t care about me. Ah!¡± he said, clenching his jaw in pain and staring at her. While he was speaking, he was attacked once again. Jin Qingyan clutched his crotch in pain and exasperation. ¡°I¡¯ve been training in my free timetely, just so I could deal with you. Watch how I¡¯m going to punish you!¡± An Xiaoning did not have the upper hand since it was hard to move about in the water due to the resistance. Jin Qingyan hugged her tightly from behind and grabbed her bosom, causing An Xiaoning to freeze in shock. She then moved her head back forcefully and headbutted him right smack in his forehead, catching him off guard and causing him to retreat backward. An Xiaoning quickly took the chance to slip out of the tub. She was fuming with anger. I can¡¯t even have a peaceful time in the hot spring! Jin Qingyan yelled for her to stop and said, ¡°Let¡¯s soak in the hot spring properly. I won¡¯t touch you again.¡± An Xiaoning stopped in her tracks and retorted, ¡°Are you sure I can believe your words?¡± ¡°Yes, I won¡¯t touch you anymore. Didn¡¯t youe out specifically for the hot spring? Your body is frail and susceptible to cold temperatures. Let us both get along peacefully, alright?¡± An Xiaoning turned around and sat back inside the tub. They indeed continued to soak in the hot spring peacefully. Jin Qingyan stared at his mobile phone and did not talk to her. An Xiaoning did the same. The two of them hung their heads low and yed with their... mobile phones. Neither of them provoked each other. The seemingly peaceful and rxing afternoon passed just like that. As evening approached, An Xiaoning exited the hotel in a fresh set of clothes and proceeded to have dinner. She heaved a sigh of relief when she noticed that Jin Qingyan was no longer around, thinking to herself that he must have left the ce. After enjoying a leisurely dinner on her own, she proceeded to take a stroll and let her food digest before heading back to her room to get some rest. Since it was still early, An Xiaoning decided to watch a movie before going to bed. Not long after she dozed off, her phone began ringing continuously. She subconsciously reached a hand out in a bid to switch on the lights. However, she did not manage toplete her action because she suddenly realized that she was unable to move. She opened her eyes, only to be greeted with the sight of a bizarre pair of eyes and face that were staring at her with its head tilted. An Xiaoning¡¯s heart almost jumped out of her chest, for she was not expecting to see a supernatural being so abruptly. She did not notice any spirits when she first entered the room. She could not even manage to move an inch or make a sound, and she felt incredibly oppressed by the weight on top of her, which made it hard for her to even breathe. An Xiaoning closed her eyes again, and she held her breath with all her might. She finally woke uppletely all of a sudden. Cold sweat broke out on An Xiaoning¡¯s forehead, and she took deep breaths of fresh air the moment she switched on the lights. She sat up straight and stared at the ghost, which was standing by the door. ¡°How dare you lie on top of me!?!¡± The ghost¡¯s eyes widened in shock, surprised to find out that she could see it. Thus, it tried to scare her again and taunted with a chuckle, ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid?¡± An Xiaoning grabbed her bag and retrieved an amulet. ¡°Let¡¯s see who¡¯s going to be afraid,¡± she said. She then chanted a spell, after which the amulet darted toward the ghost. A piercing shriek filled the air, and the ghost instantly vanished. An Xiaoning got down from the bed and picked up the amulet. No longer in the mood to sleep, she put on her clothes and left the room with her bag. It was extremely chilly at night on the mountain. Just as she was about to reach her car, she stopped in her tracks and stared at the man beside her car. ¡°Why are you still here?¡± she asked. He squinted and said, ¡°I was getting ready to leave. Why did youe out again?¡± ¡°I was pinned onto the bed by a spirit. It killed my mood for sleep.¡± Jin Qingyan burst intoughter and said, ¡°The scientific term for that is ¡®sleep paralysis.¡¯¡± ¡°I really saw a ghost. It¡¯s not sleep paralysis.¡± She unlocked her car with the key. Just as she was about to get inside the car, she stopped and turned to meet his eyes. ¡°Can you stop getting your bodyguards to shadow me?¡± ¡°But I¡¯d like to know your whereabouts all the time.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like being watched and monitored all the time. It makes me really ufortable.¡± After all, who would enjoy not having any privacy or freedom at all? She did not wish to live her days under his surveince. It was too stressful and oppressive. She felt as if she could not escape his clutches at all. Noticing that he was not answering, An Xiaoning thought to herself that he definitely wouldn¡¯t agree to it. Yet, she heard his voice just as she was about to enter her car. ¡°Your wishes will be granted.¡± An Xiaoning did not answer and instead got inside her car straight away. He followed suit, and their cars left the ce, one after another. Chapter 708 - A Million Times for You (70)

Chapter 708: A Million Times for You (70)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Right after the news broke about the Ye family¡¯s incident, Ye Xiaotian and Mo Li¡¯s divorce became the media¡¯s focal point. A huge bunch of journalists, reporters, and paparazzi were squatting outside the hospital in a bid to snap a few shots. Two dayster, the news finally toned down. An Xiaoning received an unexpected call from Xu Baizhi in the morning. ¡°It¡¯s the seventh day since Old Madam¡¯s death. I wasn¡¯t there when she passed away. It¡¯s only right that I burn her some offerings today. Come along with me,¡± said Xu Baizhi. An Xiaoning thought it would be inappropriate not to go burn some offerings for her master when even an outsider like Xu Baizhi had decided to do so. Thus, she agreed. However, she felt ill at ease before leaving the house and decided to put away the jade bangle on her wrist and the jade pendant on her neck. After purchasing two big bags of paper ingots and paper money, An Xiaoning drove to Beijia Bay. Xu Baizhi had arrived before she did. It was not only Xu Baizhi who was there, but also Madam Xu and two other big and burly bodyguards. ¡°Ms. An, you¡¯re here.¡± Holding the paper offerings in one hand, An Xiaoning unlocked the door of the house with the keys and said, ¡°From now on, you guys don¡¯t have to burn offerings for my mentor. I¡¯ll do it myself.¡± ¡°Alright. Baizhi was just thinking that we shoulde by this time because we weren¡¯t present during her passing, and also because the elderlydy was a great benefactor to us,¡± Madam Xu said with a smile. An Xiaoning did not answer. She could never feel happy whenever she was around the Xu family. She thought to herself that she¡¯d better limit contact with the Xu family as far as possible in the future. An Xiaoning squatted down and ced the paper ingots in front of the tombstone. Madam Xu then ced the paper money she had brought beside the paper ingots while An Xiaoning set the offerings on fire with a lighter. She was overwhelmed with an ominous feeling of panic and anxiety. Just as she was about to stand up, she felt a sudden excruciating pain in the nape of her neck. Before she could turn around, she was attacked once more, causing her to ck out and fall onto the ground. Thest thing that came to her mind before she lost consciousness was: ¡°Nowadays, you can never really guard against everything. Damn it...¡± ¡°What are you waiting for? Carry her into the car,¡± Xu Baizhi ordered the bodyguards. The two bodyguards hurriedly rushed forward to carry An Xiaoning away. Madam Xu stood rooted to the ground in shock, which made her turn pale. Thinking to herself that it was disrespectful to do that to An Xiaoning right in front of the elderlydy¡¯s grave, Madam Xu frantically put her hands together and bowed apologetically. ¡°Old Madam, we didn¡¯t have a choice either. I¡¯m so, so sorry. We¡¯ve let you down,¡± she murmured. She seemed to only be able to put her mind at ease and rid herself of any fear and panic after saying those words to the elderlydy¡¯s grave. After burning all the offerings, Madam Xu and Xu Baizhi hurriedly locked the door and took away the keys. Xu Baizhi and Madam Xu got inside An Xiaoning¡¯s car while the bodyguards drove away in the Xu family car. Both cars were traveling closely together. Xu Baizhi drove An Xiaoning¡¯s car to an abandoned factory where she had already made all the necessary preparations beforehand. She was just waiting for the chance to take action when she met An Xiaoning. She then got inside her own car with her mother and drove back to the Xu family mansion before heading out again in another car. This time, Madam Xu did not tag along with Xu Baizhi, who had set off with just one bodyguard in charge of driving. An Xiaoning was dumped in the trunk of the car with her arms and limbs restrained by handcuffs and her mouth sealed with duct tape. She was still unconscious. Xu Baizhi had already searched An Xiaoning¡¯s body, thinking that she could find her mobile phone. To Xu Baizhi¡¯s astonishment, thetter surprisingly did not carry her mobile phone and wallet with her. However, Xu Baizhi managed to find the rope that was coiled around her waist and the small pistol she hid inside her bra. The car drove slowly toward the beach, where a helicopter was waiting for their arrival. The arrangements were seamless. Xu Baizhi got inside the helicopter and instructed the bodyguards to drive the car home. There was also a hypnotist waiting inside the helicopter. Since it was impossible to carry out hypnosis when one was unconscious, they had to wait for An Xiaoning to regain consciousness and fall asleep in order to hypnotize her. I¡¯m so close topleting the mission handed to me by the organization. Once I do so, my husband and I will be able to leave the organization for good. I¡¯ll be killing two birds with one stone , Xu Baizhi thought to herself. The mere thought of it sent her into a state of agitation and excitement. Once they leave the organization, they wouldn¡¯t have to bepelled and restricted by the higher-ups and could finally live a peaceful life in the open. There was nothing more she wanted than to live the life of her dreams. Three hours into the flight, An Xiaoning finally came to. She remained still and observed her surroundings with her eyes squinted. An Xiaoning recognized the sounds of the helicopter engine right away. She cocked her head sideways and caught sight of Xu Baizhi. She was filled with disappointment. Realizing that her limbs were restrained and her mouth was sealed with tape, An Xiaoning understood what was going on. If herte mentor were to know about this, she would definitely regret helping such an ingrate alter her fate. I was too careless to have allowed myself tond in her hands. She¡¯d better pray I don¡¯t make it out of here, otherwise... An Xiaoning could not help but feel extremely unlucky. It was onlyst night that she told Jin Qingyan to stop sending his bodyguards to keep tabs on her, and yet she had met with a mishap the following day. In that very moment, she absolutely regretted her decisionst night. I was being monitored for so long, why did something happen to me right after I told him to stop? It¡¯s all fate... She closed her eyes again and continued to feign unconsciousness. ¡°Why isn¡¯t she awake yet?¡± Xu Baizhi asked, staring at An Xiaoning. ¡°She shoulde to anytime soon. Please be a little more patient, Ms. Xu.¡± ¡°Okay...¡± After waiting quietly for a long time, Xu Baizhi¡¯s patience had worn thin and she could no longer tolerate it anymore. Thus, she removed the tape on An Xiaoning¡¯s mouth and covered her mouth and nose. An Xiaoning had no choice but to open her eyes. ¡°She¡¯s finallye to.¡± An Xiaoning stared at Xu Baizhi with her eyes wide open, sending thetter a cold shiver down her spine. Nheless, Xu Baizhi said, ¡°It¡¯s just your luck to end up in my hands. I¡¯m only going to ask you this, what¡¯s your exact birth timing?¡± ¡°How would I know? Don¡¯t you know that I was raised by my mentor and I have no idea who my biological parents are? How am I supposed to know when I was born?¡± An Xiaoning gibed. Xu Baizhi did not say anything else. She would find out the truth once An Xiaoning was hypnotized. ¡°Make a guess, where do you think I¡¯m sending you to?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to guess. I have no interest in your silly games.¡± ¡°Psht... An Xiaoning, you¡¯re probably the only person who can still remain this calm in such a situation,¡± Xu Baizhi said with raised brows. ¡°What else am I supposed to do? Cry, weep, and beg for you to let me off?¡± Xu Baizhi would never let her off. ¡°You do have some self-awareness.¡± An Xiaoning closed her eyes and remained quiet, not wishing to argue with Xu Baizhi, for she knew that angering thetter would not do her any good. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you speaking?¡± Xu Baizhi taunted. ¡°I have nothing to say to you.¡± She closed her eyes and continued, ¡°Teacher agreed to help you change your fate with the hopes of letting you go back on the right path. I bet she never expected that you would return to your evil and immoral ways just days after having your fate altered. Seems like you weren¡¯t determined to turn over a new leaf at all. You¡¯ve really wasted Teacher¡¯s efforts. She sacrificed her lifespan to help you, and yet you let that sacrifice go down the drain. I once asked Teacher why she was willing to help you, and she told me that it was because she hoped to limit the number of people whom you¡¯d cause harm to. Seems like her hopes have all been let down.¡± Chapter 709 - A Million Times for You (71)

Chapter 709: A Million Times for You (71)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xu Baizhi felt as if she was stabbed in the heart. For a split second, she wondered to herself if she had really made the wrong decision. However, she soon reassured herself that An Xiaoning would soon be sent to the Organization and that everything would be perfect once the hypnotist manages to hypnotize her and extract her birth timing while she was asleep. Even if the organization couldn¡¯t do anything with An Xiaoning¡¯s birth characters and timing, they would probably show mercy and let her off. Xu Baizhi felt much more at ease after talking to herself in her head. ¡°I think differently from you. In my opinion, your mentor has helped me break free from my current predicament by changing my fate. Perhaps she didn¡¯t expect that the person needed to get me out of my predicament would be you,¡± she said, beaming with joy. An Xiaoning could not help but be a wet nket and answered, ¡°Xu Baizhi... do you know what happened to Xu Youran in the end?¡± The smile on Xu Baizhi¡¯s face stiffened the moment she heard her words. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, she¡¯s missing because of you?¡± she asked worriedly. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Who was it then?¡± ¡°Do you really think I¡¯d tell you? Xu Yourannded herself in the sorry plight she¡¯s in today simply because she had done too much evil. Do you think you¡¯re any smarter than she was? The Xu family must be really unfortunate to have you two disrupt their peace. Madam Xu has really gone against her morals for the sake of making it up to you. Or maybe she doesn¡¯t have any boundaries at all. Perhaps she¡¯s just pretending to be kind. Birds of the same feather really do flock together. I shall wait for the day your family meets your doom.¡± ¡°Do you think you can wait until then? Perhaps our family will never be doomed,¡± Xu Baizhi said with a menacing re in her eyes. ¡°With someone like you in the Xu family, it¡¯s only a matter of time before the family falls apart.¡± An Xiaoning did not wish to continue speaking to her, for she found her extremely repulsive and nauseating. Xu Baizhi¡¯s spirits were immediately dampened. She decided to stop talking as well. The ne continued to fly in the air continuously and finally arrived at their destination. An Xiaoning was dragged out of the airne by Xu Baizhi, who then pushed her onto a boat. It began cruising along the designated route on the ocean. ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning¡¯s mobile phone, which had been left charging in her room, began ringing continuously. Mei Yangyang constantly tried to call her, but there was no response. Mei Yangyang decided to continue calling her in the afternoon but still could not get through to her. Thus, she decided to make a trip down to the Gu family home personally. ¡°Is Sis at home?¡± Mei Yangyang asked. ¡°Missy left early in the morning,¡± the guard answered. ¡°Do you know where she went?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± After some thought, Mei Yangyang asked, ¡°May I see Mrs. Gu? I¡¯d like to ask her about where Sis went.¡± The guard knew that Mei Yangyang and An Xiaoning were sworn sisters and thus allowed her to enter. ¡°It¡¯s the seventh day since Xiaoning¡¯s mentor died. She headed to Beijia Bay this morning to burn some offerings for her mentor. It¡¯s already sote now, I doubt she¡¯s still at Beijia Bay. Ms. Mei, are you looking for her for an urgent matter?¡± ¡°Yes, I need to ask her something about our studio. I tried to call her multiple times but I couldn¡¯t get through. Did she leave her mobile phone at home?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go take a look in her bedroom.¡± Mrs. Gu headed to An Xiaoning¡¯s bedroom and returned downstairs. ¡°Yeah, she left it to charge in her bedroom. I removed the charger because the battery is full.¡± ¡°That exins it. Mrs. Gu, please ask Sis to give me a call when shees hometer.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± However, Mei Yangyang did not receive a call even until night came. She took a look at the time to see that it was already past ten o¡¯clock. An Xiaoning ought to have gone home to rest by this time. Did Mrs. Gu forget to inform her? Mei Yangyang wondered. Feeling worried, she decided to go to the Gu family mansion again, only to find out that An Xiaoning was still not home yet. She continued to wait until eleven o¡¯clock at night. Mei Yangyang was getting worried and jittery. ¡°Did something happen to Sis?¡± Upon hearing her words, Mrs. Gu could not help but feel a little worried. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Xiaoning is no ordinary person, but she would usually be home by this time, and she would inform us whenever she¡¯s noting home for the night. But then again, she can¡¯t contact us because she didn¡¯t bring her mobile phone.¡± Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi had gone to bed early and thus were not aware of the situation. It was half-past eleven when Mrs. Gu woke them up. Lin Mingxi tried to dial An Xiaoning¡¯sndline in Sanqiao Estate, only to discover that An Xiaoning was not there either. Gu Beicheng called the police station and requested for them to find out where An Xiaoning¡¯s car wasst seen. Half an hourter, the police informed Gu Beicheng that there were no records of An Xiaoning¡¯s car today in the surveince camera footages. Gu Beicheng immediately guessed that something must have happened to An Xiaoning. There were surveince cameras in every corner of the streets. Thus, it would be impossible for An Xiaoning¡¯s car to not be captured by any. Unless someone had erased all the footages. The Gu family was sent into a state of panic. Mrs. Gu said, ¡°Beicheng, since someone had intentionally erased the surveince camera footages, go to Commander-in-chief Jin and Chief of Staff Lin¡¯s homes to inform them of this matter. They¡¯ll definitely be able to find out who had deleted it. Xiaoning is their goddaughter too, they won¡¯t leave her in the lurch.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s split up. Beicheng, go to Commander-in-chief Jin¡¯s house while I go visit Chief of Staff Lin,¡± said Mei Yangyang. ¡°Hubby, hurry. I¡¯ll go with you.¡± Lin Mingxi grabbed her car keys and pulled Gu Beicheng out of the door frantically. Mr. and Mrs. Gu stayed at home and prayed fervently for everything to be fine. The Jin and Lin families were both shocked and angry after hearing about the incident. They immediately instructed their subordinates to find out who the culprit was. It was easy for the police to investigate since there was an abundance of manpower at the police station. Besides, there were only a small number of staff members in charge of controlling the surveince camera monitors. Thus, someone must have erased the footages of An Xiaoning¡¯s car passing by. Commander-in-chief Jin and Chief of Staff Lin headed to the police station at night with their wives. After taking attendance of the police officers in the surveince camera control room, they discovered that one of them was missing. They then found the missing police officer dead in his rented apartment. He was fatally stabbed with a knife in his chest. They decided to pin him as the prime suspect behind the act. The bunch of police officers would usually be on duty together in the day. However, he was the only one left remaining inside the monitor control room when his colleagues left for lunch in the afternoon. In other words, he was the most suspicious one. Clearly, that police officer was instigated andpelled to erase the footages. He was not the mastermind who had intentions to harm An Xiaoning. There were too many possible suspects who could order him around. Yet, they could not find any clues or recently-contacted persons in the deceased policeman¡¯s mobile phone. Thus, it would be difficult to find out who the real mastermind was in a short period of time. The two political figures were exasperated beyond limits. Yet, they could not abuse their authority in broad daylight. After having a discussion, they decided to call Lin Shishi in the morning. They instructed Lin Shishi to tell Tuoba Gucheng to investigate the matter thoroughly. Chapter 710 - A Million Times for You (72)

Chapter 710: A Million Times for You (72)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Upon hearing how serious the matter was, Lin Shishi immediately proceeded to look for Tuoba Gucheng without dy, before even having her breakfast. ¡°First Lady, why are you still so mindless and reckless when you move about? What¡¯s going to happen if you fall down?¡± Shi Xiaoyu said teasingly with a smile. ¡°Mother, do you know where Gucheng is now?¡± she asked worriedly. ¡°He¡¯s having a meeting. What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°I have something important to tell him.¡± Shi Xiaoyu walked with her and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? You seem really flustered.¡± ¡°Something has happened to my godsister. She went missing all of a sudden, we can¡¯t find her at all.¡± Shi Xiaoyu lit up with surprise and asked, ¡°You mean An Xiaoning?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Shishi hurriedly left, leaving Shi Xiaoyu in high spirits. It seems to be Heaven¡¯s will. An Xiaoning had met with a mishap even before I took action on her. Ever since her husband¡¯s stern warning, Shi Xiaoyu had instructed her subordinates to stop shadowing An Xiaoning. Yet, she had unexpectedly gone missing. Shi Xiaoyu was bursting with joy and euphoria. However, she knew that she ought to stay out of this matter, lest she gets caught by Tuoba Rui again. Besides, it had nothing to do with her anyway. She had a clear conscience. Lin Shishi arrived at the door of the meeting room and peeked inside to see that Tuoba Gucheng was indeed there. Although she desperately needed to see him, she knew that it would be inappropriate to barge in at this timing. Thus, she had no choice but to wait outside quietly. Half an hourter, the meeting finally ended. Lin Shishi zoomed inside the room and called, ¡°Hubby.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter? You seem so flustered.¡± ¡°Something has happened to my sister,¡± Lin Shishi tiptoed to whisper into his ear. A grave expression formed on Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s face immediately and he answered, ¡°Got it, go back and wait for news patiently. Leave the rest to me.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Lin Shishi agreed with a nod. After Lin Shishi left, Tuoba Gucheng immediately instructed his secretary to send an investigation team from B City and find out about the situation, regardless of whatever it takes. She had actually gone missing. Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s heart sank at the thought of it. The culprit better pray I don¡¯t find out who he or she is. Otherwise, I¡¯m going to make sure he dies a horrible death! The Xu family was in a constant state of anxiousness. They monitored the situation via the live feed from the surveince cameras. Peace was disrupted, and they were filled with immense tension. Jin Qingyan was the only one who did not yet know about the incident. There were no reports about it on the news either. Naturally, he wouldn¡¯t have known about it. He was in the midst of having his breakfast when Long Tianze showed up. ¡°Are you kidding me? You¡¯re still in the mood for breakfast? Don¡¯t tell me you haven¡¯t heard about it yet?¡± said Long Tianze. ¡°About what?¡± Jin Qingyan asked, having his porridge slowly. ¡°Ms. An went missingst night. My wife didn¡¯t sleep at all throughout the night. The Jin and Lin families have both caused a stir in the police station and informed the government in B City. The President has sent an investigation team over to check on this matter.¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s initialposure grew into an uncontroble rage. An austere and menacing expression formed on his face as he threw the spoon onto the table, producing a loud and crisp sound. ¡°Why are you only telling me this now!?!¡± ¡°Well, I thought you already knew! You¡¯ve always been well informed about everything. How would I know that you haven¡¯t heard about it yet?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know at all. I initially had my people shadowing her in secret and keeping close tabs on her but I told them to stopst night!¡± Jin Qingyan absolutely regretted his decision. Why did I even agree to let her have her wishes!?! He stormed off and exited the door like a raging bull. By the time Long Tianze reached the door, Jin Qingyan had already driven away. ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning had been on a long flight and spent a night on the cruise ship. They finally arrived in R Nation. Extremely relieved, Xu Baizhi contacted her family, only to hear that the President had sent people on a search for An Xiaoning. However, she remained unfazed andforted her family, as well as herself, that nothing woulde out of their investigation. Due to the twelve-hour time difference, it was evening time in R Nation and morning in S Nation. The bunch of people checked into a holiday inn together with An Xiaoning. They fed her some food and gave her some water. ¡°Are you really not sleepy at all? I won¡¯t touch you, just sleep if you want,¡± said Xu Baizhi. An Xiaoning was indeed very fatigued from all the tension within her throughout the journey. Thus, she closed her eyes without uttering another word. Noticing that she had fallen asleep, Xu Baizhi and the hypnotist shot each other a nce and continued to eat quietly. A whileter, Xu Baizhi nced at the hypnotist again, signaling for him to take action. The hypnotist walked toward An Xiaoning and waited for a few minutes before beginning the hypnosis. ¡°You¡¯repletely rxed now, and you¡¯ve slipped into a slumber. You won¡¯t be able to hear anything from the outside world, all except my voice. Stay on the line with me and follow my instructions. You can¡¯t move your body anymore now, neither do you feel like moving. You¡¯re feeling veryfortable...¡± The hypnotist paused in his speech and asked, ¡°Were you born on the 15th of July?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± An Xiaoning answered. Xu Baizhi watched the hypnosis ur, filled with delight and excitement. ¡°What was your birth timing?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± The hypnotist and Xu Baizhi looked at each other, after which Xu Baizhi handed him a note and instructed him to ask the questions written on the paper. ¡°Who are your biological parents?¡± the hypnotist asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± After taking another look at the note, the hypnotist went on to ask, ¡°Do you n to search for your biological parents?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Did your adoptive parents tell you anything about your biological parents?¡± ¡°No.¡± The hypnotist put the note away and sat on the bed to talk to Xu Baizhi softly. ¡°Seems like she really doesn¡¯t know the exact timing of her birth or who her biological parents are. She¡¯s never thought of searching for them either.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Xu Baizhi gave him the side-eye and said, ¡°I¡¯ll transfer the remaining three million dors to your ountter. You may leave in peace tomorrow.¡± ¡°Thank you, Ms. Xu. I¡¯ll go next door to catch some sleep now.¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± An icy cold stare formed in Xu Baizhi¡¯s eyes. She was extremely fatigued because she did not catch a wink at all throughout the entire journey. She could finally get a good rest now. The instant that the lights were switched off, An Xiaoning, who had been pretending to be asleep, opened her eyes immediately. She had been curious about who the petite, gentle-tempered-looking man was. To her surprise, he was a hypnotist. They actually tried to hypnotize me. They didn¡¯t know that I possess hypnotism skills myself, did they? I may not be an expert, but so what? I know everything there is to know about hypnosis, and I know all the right techniques. I can finally rx now. I wonder if my family has discovered that I had gone missing yet. An Xiaoning closed her heavy eyelids and drifted off to dreand. There was a huge crowd on both sides of the narrow sidewalk. There was a countless number of people, and all she could see were their heads. She was wearing a white prisoner¡¯s uniform, and all four of her limbs were shackled to chains. She was barely ten years old. Her tiny face was stained with blood, and there was nothing except hopelessness in her eyes, for she had already resigned herself to fate. She was held down by the soldiers and guards, who were pushing her forward. Chapter 711 - A Million Times for You (73)

Chapter 711: A Million Times for You (73)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios It wasn¡¯t a carriage, since there was no cage. She just went forward barefooted with the chains around her legs weighing heavily on her. Looking at the clothing of the audience that was gathered around, she saw that everyone was dressed in branded clothes and shoes. She looked back at herself, who was d in her thin prisoner clothing and was freezing ¡¯til her face was shaking badly. Yet, she had no form of power to resist at all. An Xiaoning was like a spirit watching all these unfold from one side. As she watched on, she felt like she was heading toward the small figure and entering her body. She felt pain all over and was hungry and thirsty. Her legs hurt until she could no longer move ahead. As she walked on, her gazended on a corner of the audience. There was a figure standing with folded arms. With a white robe on and handsome features, the figure looked at her with a cold gaze. Jin Qingyan looked like a version of Yiheng that was fourteen or fifteen years old. When An Xiaoning met Jin Qingyan, she was twenty-two while he was twenty-five. In real life, it was not possible for them to have met at such a young age. Surveying her surroundings, she realized that it seemed like a scene from their previous lives. This dream had An Xiaoning¡¯s face overflowing with tears when she woke up. ¡°Wow, you have a sharp mouth when you¡¯re awake but you actually cried out of fear because of a dream?¡± Xu Baizhi¡¯s voice pierced through her ears. An Xiaoning did not bother to exin and allowed her to think whatever she wanted. She did not have the freedom to wipe her own tears either. Xu Baizhi dragged her up. ¡°We¡¯re leaving.¡± An Xiaoning thought that the skies were bright already, but as she looked out the window, she realized it was still pitch dark. ¡°What time is it?¡± ¡°Past 4 am.¡± Xu Baizhi asked, ¡°Do you need the toilet?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I still have to wait for you.¡± An Xiaoning did not answer and slowly headed toward the bathroom. After she was done, they went out of the inn together. There were only the two of them. The hypnotist was probably not following them anymore. ¡°Where is this?¡± ¡°What are you asking so many questions for?¡± Xu Baizhi was obviously displeased. ¡°Xu Baizhi, you brought me to this damn ce and are giving me to someone. No matter what, my teacher had helped you before, but you¡¯re still so bent on seeing me die here? You¡¯re about the same age as me and is a woman as well, why are you so wicked?¡± ¡°R Nation,¡± Xu Baizhi replied coldly. ¡°I have no choice myself either. My leader had said that if I hand you over, I can be free. So don¡¯t me me. What happens to you in the future all depends on yourself.¡± ¡°Your leader, what does he do?¡± An Xiaoning still felt it was better to understand more. ¡°An Xiaoning, don¡¯t think abouting out once you¡¯re inside. You won¡¯t be able to. I¡¯m not sure, but perhaps you¡¯ve heard of ¡®Darkness¡¯?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the DK Organization, right?¡± An Xiaoning thought of the incident with Gu Beicheng, Lin Mingxi, and Jin Qingyan during their flight back from M Nation where she had almost gotten killed by that bunch of people. Those people wereter dealt with. ¡°That¡¯s smart of you.¡± ¡°May I ask, is this group a terrorist organization? What exactly is it that your group is after? To rule the world?¡± Xu Baizhi was actually unable to answer her. ¡°Only the ultimate leader of the group will know. How would a small chess piece like me know this?¡± ¡°Who is your ultimate leader?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know when we get there. I think you¡¯ll probably be able to see him.¡± Xu Baizhi was annoyed by her questioning. ¡°If you ask anything more, I¡¯ll tape your mouth.¡± Once her wordsnded, a car sped over and pulled over in front of them. The car door was pulled open, and Xu Baizhi got on with An Xiaoning. A few fierce-looking men were seated in the car. They even had guns held in their hands. One look and it was obvious that they were not good people. The DK Organization¡¯s headquarters was definitely in M Nation. It seemed like it was only a branch they had here in R Nation. Their people were all around the globe. There were probably a lot of them in S Nation as well. While one may expect people to feel helpless about life, who would have expected that national leaders would feel helpless about being unable topletely eliminate such evil in society? Winning a war against such people was not something that could be aplished in a short period of time. The car drove on for three hours before arriving at a point on a hill. It drove into a house and pulled over abruptly. Shortly after, Xu Baizhi got down from the car herself and did not bother about her. On the other hand, An Xiaoning was dragged down roughly by a few men and fell onto the ground. Her knee was in pain. Before even waiting for her to get up, one of the men pulled her forward by her arm. It appeared like he was dragging a little chick. An Xiaoning surveyed her surroundings. Security was tight like in the Autumn Pce, with an armed man on guard duty every few meters. Just within her line of sight, she could already spot many men guarding the ce. Not one of them looked kind. At the thought of the ultimate leader, An Xiaoning felt that he must be someone more brutal than any one of them. In An Xiaoning¡¯s head, the image of this leader was that of a ferocious-looking man with a beer belly and a bald head. Just thinking of it made her knees go weak. She was not afraid of much else other than getting raped. Of course, she was afraid of death too. They had spent so much effort just to get her there, but they were evidently not after her life. If they were, they could have just made Xu Baizhi kill her at Beijia Bay. They probably wanted to use her for other purposes. When she recovered herself, she had already passed through many passageways and was in an elevator. ¡°When you see our leader, you better speak nothing but the truth if you don¡¯t want to suffer...¡± a man started saying in his foreignnguage. An Xiaoning understood what he said and could speak in hisnguage. After all, she lived with her son in M Nation for a few years. She shook her head and replied in S Nation¡¯snguage, ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying.¡± The other party could tell as much and simply stopped speaking. The elevator continued rising up the floors, and An Xiaoning watched as it stopped on the eighth floor. She was once again dragged before a room door. The man knocked on the door, and it was pulled open by a woman. She looked at An Xiaoning and uttered coldly, ¡°Bring her in.¡± The fierce-looking man brought her into the room, and, before An Xiaoning could even survey her surroundings, she was harshly thrown onto the floor. This left An Xiaoning seeing stars before her eyes. After using all her strength to sit upright, she looked at the woman¡¯s surveying gaze and asked, ¡°Why did you have me brought here?¡± The woman answered in S Nation¡¯snguage, ¡°I believe you are mentally prepared already, aren¡¯t you? It isn¡¯t S Nation here, I suggest that Ms. An use ournguage here tomunicate.¡± ¡°Ms. Qin, she doesn¡¯t know how to speak ournguage,¡± the man who had retreated to one side said. His words were received with a cold nce by Qin Guo. ¡°Idiot, why would a woman who has lived in M Nation for five years not know how to speak ournguage?¡± The man was infuriated and threw a kick at An Xiaoning¡¯s back. ¡°You dare to lie to me?!¡± An Xiaoning felt that her back was about to be crushed by this man. She said in between clenched teeth, ¡°Only a fool like you would believe it. As expected, you¡¯re exactly like how you look. Utterly disgusting.¡± The man was about to strike another blow at her but was stopped by Qin Guo. ¡°Alright, all of you can go out. Leave her to me.¡± The men sulkily went out, leaving the room in aplete state of silence. The woman directly told An Xiaoning that she was not the ultimate leader of the group. Chapter 712 - A Million Times for You (74)

Chapter 712: A Million Times for You (74)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qin Guo squatted down, reducing the gap between her and An Xiaoning even more. With her face full of makeup, she smirked as she remarked, ¡°Ms. An, this is not a ce where you can still act tough. I know you¡¯re incredible, but now that you¡¯re in our hands, you have no power at all, of any sort. You should act wisely and listen to us for your own sake, to prevent any suffering.¡± An Xiaoning did not answer. She knew clearly that she had no freedom now and could only allow herself to be controlled by others. Seeing that she had taken in her words, Qin Guo stood up and sat on a corner of the sofa, crossing her legs. She seemed to be waiting for something. An Xiaoning, on the other hand, sat on the floor. Her back was still aching vaguely from that kick she received. The room was exceptionally cold, and there was no heater at all. Furthermore, the icy cold floor had no carpet. She was freezing after she had sat there for a long time. Her legs were even going numb. The room was exceptionally quiet, and there was not even a bit of sound. In that manner, she continued to wait. After waiting for around a few hours, a phone in the room started ringing. Qin Guo immediately went to answer it. While An Xiaoning did not know what the person on the other line had instructed her, she was brought to another room on the eighth floor. After she swiped her thumbprint on it, the door opened automatically. An Xiaoning followed her in. Aspared to the previous room they were in, this room was much more extravagant. A thick carpet wasid on the floor starting from the door. The heater in the room was also switched on, and it felt like a warm summer¡¯s day inside. With the heater blowing on their face, they felt extremely warm. Qin Guo made her sit on the sofa. ¡°Wait here, our Boss will be here soon.¡± An Xiaoning did not answer her, as usual, and only sat there to wait. Thereafter, Qin Guo went out of the room. Surveying the room, she realized that there were quite a few surveince cameras installed. The room was like a suite, and there was another door at the side. It was possible that it was a bedroom. She stopped surveying the room and fixed her gaze on the coffee table before her. The ¡°Boss¡± that the woman referred to finally arrived. She indeed did not wait very long for him. The sound of footsteps approaching came from outside. A tapping sound came from the door lock thereafter, and the door was slowly opened. An Xiaoning nced at the direction of the door. The leader was rather different from how she had expected him to be. He had neither a bald head nor a beer belly, and much less did he have fierce looks. On the contrary, he stood tall at a height of at least 1.8 meters and had a good figure. As for his looks, An Xiaoning¡¯s brain could only produce two words to describe it: devilish-looking. As expected, the most evil people could not be recognized from just the surface. If a man like this went on the streets, who would ever think that he was the ultimate leader of the terrorist group, DK Organization? The man entered and closed the door behind him. His gaze immediately met An Xiaoning¡¯s. Although his looks were quite outstanding, there was no smile on his face at all. It was stern-looking and cold. ¡°You look much prettier than you did in the picture.¡± These were the first words he said to An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning replied, ¡°My looks can¡¯t bepared with yours. You look much prettier than I do.¡± After her words came out, she immediately regretted them. Her words were obviously marked with sarcasm, and it was not wise of her to provoke him now. Which man would like hearing someone say that he looks like a woman? He was no exception either. All these while, the people who¡¯d dared to talk about his looks had been dragged out to be killed. But this woman, while fully aware of her circumstances, actually dared to say something like this. On the contrary, it did not make him feel irritated. Seeing that he did not speak and only sized her up, An Xiaoning was rather worried that if he got upset, he would take it out on her and make her suffer. She hurriedly asked, ¡°I have no feud with you, why did you expend so much effort to get me here?¡± ¡°No feud?¡± He sat down and was about two feet away from her. With his body turned to her, he remarked, ¡°You and Jin Qingyan killed many of my men previously, have you forgotten?¡± ¡°That was because you sent your men to kill us on the ne. We were just defending ourselves. It¡¯s perfectly reasonable. Speaking of this, I actually want to ask, why did you do that?¡± The man raised his brows. ¡°Just for my own gains, what other reason could there be?¡± ¡°You sent your men to bring me here from a long distance away. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s not to kill me, so I still have a use to you. What do you want me to do? Just tell me.¡± ¡°My name is Pei Yi.¡± He went on, ¡°You¡¯re very smart. I brought you here because you have some use to me indeed. I¡¯ve long heard about how that idiot Xi Bi kidnapped you just to extort money from Jin Qingyan. In the end, he was killed by Jin Qingyan. Why do you think I brought you here?¡± An evil man like that not only had good looks, but his name also even sounded so humane. What a huge disappointment. ¡°Just like what you said, for your own gains. As to what gains specifically, how would I know? For Mr. Pei to be in this position, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s not something a woman like me can guess. However, you can just tell me what you want me to do. Whether I go along with what you want depends on whether I still want this life of mine.¡± Pei Yi¡¯s wide eyes narrowed slightly. ¡°In the past, I¡¯ve only gotten to know about you from the news and didn¡¯t feel interested in you. I only felt that a woman like you must be pretty and have some brains to be able to get Jin Qingyan¡¯s love. From my investigation, Jin Qingyan is not even the only one that adores you. For a woman, particrly one that has been married and has a child, to be able to make more than one man fall head over heels for her, it¡¯s really quite a feat. Too many women have good looks but no brains. However, seeing you today made me change my impression of you.¡± An Xiaoning did not speak and simply allowed him to continue talking. ¡°If you act ording to what I say, you won¡¯t suffer at all. As to what exactly I want you to do, you¡¯ll know soon enough.¡± He suddenly stood up. ¡°Come with me.¡± An Xiaoning slowly stood up before following behind him. They went into his other room within the hotel suite. It was indeed a bedroom. And a rather huge one. It even led to another small room inside. Which was none other than a bathroom and a dressing area. Pei Yi took out a key from the drawer and stood before her. ¡°There are surveince cameras everywhere here, I believe you¡¯ve seen them. I¡¯ll unlock your handcuffs to give you some freedom, but you better not do anything to disappoint me. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for not being gentle toward a woman.¡± ¡°I got it.¡± She could tell that the key in his hand was one that could open almost any kind of lock. When the handcuffs were unlocked, her restrained hands were finally released and she could feel her wrists aching badly. She could not help but frown as she swung her hands back and forth. He threw the key back into the drawer and took out a pair of scissors. An Xiaoning¡¯s heart tightened. ¡°What... what are you doing?¡± His lips pursed as he zipped open her feathered coat and simply took it off of her. With his every movement, An Xiaoning could feel her heart tightening with fear. With his slender hands, he then used the scissors to cut her pants from her thighs all the way down by following a line. Chapter 713 - A Million Times for You (75)

Chapter 713: A Million Times for You (75)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios With that, her pants were cut apart by him. This pair of pants was feathered inside to keep her warm. An Xiaoning only had this pair of pants on. Without her pants on, she ended up revealing her long and slender legs, as well as her undergarments. She closed her legs tightly together, not knowing what on earth he was about to do. Pei Yi ced the pair of scissors inside a drawer that required his fingerprint to unlock. Pointing to the bathroom, he uttered, ¡°Go in and take a bath. I¡¯ll send someone to bring you clothes.¡± After getting startled for a moment, An Xiaoning immediately nodded. ¡°Alright.¡± The chains on her legs prevented her from taking big steps, so she could only move forward a small step at a time. The bathroom was big as well, and after locking the door from inside, she turned on the shower head. The cooling water spurted out from it instantly. Inside the bathroom, it waspletely spick and span. When the water that came out from the shower head had finally turned warm, there came a knock on the door of the bathroom. ¡°Your clothes.¡± It was the voice belonging to that woman. An Xiaoning went forward to open the door, and the woman passed her the clothing. Her gaze was razor sharp, as if she could turn her into minced meat with it. An Xiaoning pretended as though she had not seen it and took the clothes from her before going back into the shower. After she had locked the door again, she slowly went inside. She noticed that the clothes were designed with consideration of her every need. Considering that her legs were chained, even the undergarments could be put on with a hook. She scanned the toilet and did not find any surveince cameras installed. She was then finally assured to start showering. After she was done, she took off her wet undergarments and put on the new ones. She then put on a thick white skirt, going through it from her head until it reached her waist. For her top, she put on the white blouse that she had received. She did not have a warm sweater to wear. But it was fine since it was rather warm in the room, and she was likely to not be let out. After she had gotten changed, she toweled her hair and threw her wet clothes into the bin before going out atst. He was nowhere to be seen in the bedroom, so An Xiaoning walked out and saw him sitting on the sofa. On the coffee table, a wide spread of delicacies had already been arranged. Seeing here out, Pei Yi gestured for her toe over with his hand by patting the seat beside him. ¡°Come and sit here.¡± She went forward and sat down beside him. He then passed her a pair of chopsticks. ¡°Have a meal with me.¡± An Xiaoning had not eaten anything much in the morning and had woken up before the sun was even up. She was naturally starving, so she did not stand on ceremony and started eating in an orderly manner. The way she ate was never demure or refined. Especially under such circumstances where she was hungry, she naturally ate quite hurriedly. This made Pei Yi, who was chewing slowly beside her, rather astonished. ¡°The way you eat doesn¡¯t quite match your looks.¡± ¡°I¡¯m used to it. I¡¯m sure Mr. Pei is probably used to seeing women who have their meal in small mouthfuls. You definitely won¡¯t be used to seeing women who eat like me. But I already can¡¯t change it. I¡¯m thirty, and many habits of mine have long been formed. Do excuse this, Mr. Pei.¡± He did not answer and merely continued eating. He did not eat much and was soon full already, unlike her, who continued eating until she was fully bloated. Only then did she stop. She was just afraid that he would not let her have any food after this. After she waspletely satiated, the food items on the table were cleared. ¡°Come with me.¡± He got up, headed to the desk, and sat down. An Xiaoning followed him and stood before the desk. Pei Yi crossed his leg as he sat on the chair and told her frankly, ¡°The news of your disappearance has reached S Nation already. They¡¯ve carried out an investigation and have even banned the media from reporting rumors of you being kidnapped. Even the President has been rmed by the news.¡± An Xiaoning kept silent and continued listening to what he had to say. ¡°I believe that in just a short time, the Xu family will be implicated. Xu Baizhi thinks that she can be free of DK, but she¡¯s just jumping into another fiery pit and even dragging her family along with her.¡± ¡°Mr. Pei is ingenious, as expected,¡± An Xiaoningplimented him. ¡°I¡¯ve long ago heard that those who enter your organization either end up paralyzed or dead. Otherwise, there¡¯s no way they can get out. By using such a method, you not only got to kidnap me here, but you also made Xu Baizhi unable to go scot-free. She¡¯s an unlucky person, I must say. From a young age, she was sent to your organization. She not only never received the proper love from her biological parents, but she also has to bear with such things. But even then, she should never have used me to end her misfortune. She doesn¡¯t deserve any pity at all.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care about her life or death. Anyway, I¡¯ve now let her and her husband quit DK together. I had not intended to let her husband be free, but I reckoned I¡¯ll let it go just this once. It¡¯s rare for me to be softhearted like this. Then again, I¡¯m rather hesitant about whether I should reveal the matter of how we¡¯ve kidnapped you or not. If I don¡¯t, how else could I let the people of S Nation be engulfed in a wild debate about it? But then, it may be detrimental to the reputation of our organization. Tell me, what should I do?¡± An Xiaoning knew he already had an idea in his head, and he was asking her this only to make a fool out of her. ¡°Does the DK Organization still have a reputation? I don¡¯t think your organization cares anything about having a good reputation. From what I see, Mr. Pei will definitely not allow there to be peace in S Nation. Even if the media does not report anything about me, Mr. Pei will definitely make news about me spread like wildfire in S Nation. Only then will it be fun for you. Am I right?¡± He broke intoughter, making his exquisite features appear even more attractive. But An Xiaoning was not attracted by it at all. She had seen plenty of handsome men, and no matter how handsome a man was, if he had an evil heart, there was no way for her to admire the beauty of his face. ¡°Indeed. This is the effect I want to achieve. I just want to see if the newly-appointed President of S Nation will be willing to negotiate your release with me, in consideration of the citizens of his nation.¡± ¡°What will you ask for in return? Money?¡± ¡°Do you think I¡¯m like Xi Bi and only want money? What can money count for? I don¡¯t care for it,¡± He sneered. ¡°What I want is something else.¡± ¡°I think what you want is definitely not something simple. If kidnapping any one citizen of S Nation can get what you wish for, then you must really underestimate the President¡¯s ability to consider the big picture. Also, it¡¯s too easy for you to get any ordinary citizen of S Nation.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I kidnapped you. You¡¯re not an ordinary citizen. If it was an ordinary citizen, it won¡¯t really stir up a huge wave.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid Mr. Pei will be disappointed. I don¡¯t have much value either. In the eyes of the people in my country, I¡¯m just a used good who has been married thrice. The inte is full of criticisms about me. If, because of me, the President will be willing to reach apromise, then the citizens will definitely be disappointed in him. I¡¯ve never overestimated the power I hold, and I know Mr. Pei is a farsighted man. I just want to know an answer to one question, just so I can be mentally prepared.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°If kidnapping me unexpectedly does not get anything that Mr. Pei wants in the end, how will Mr. Pei deal with me?¡± ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I get anything?¡± He raised his brows. ¡°Even if the negotiation isn¡¯t sessful, I¡¯m sure someizens will be disappointed with your newly-appointed President. After all, their citizen is in our hands. If the President can¡¯t save his own citizen, theizens will be furious. As to how I¡¯ll deal with you...¡± Chapter 714 - A Million Times for You (76)

Chapter 714: A Million Times for You (76)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He purposely stopped here to make her tense. But obviously, Pei Yi was in for a disappointment as An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes were clear like water and showed no change in emotion at all. ¡°There are many possibilities, and they all depend on my mood. I might kill you, or I might not and just keep you here. That¡¯ll depend on your level of cooperativeness and attitude. However, there¡¯s one thing I have to repeat to you. Unless I personally agree to it, it¡¯s impossible for you to leave this ce. Even a housefly won¡¯t be able to fly out of here, much less a living human adult. You¡¯d better throw that thought away because I won¡¯t give you that chance to do so.¡± An Xiaoning maintained a respectful attitude toward him. ¡°Mr. Pei, I think your worries are unfounded. When I arrived, I saw as well how strict your security here is. I won¡¯t pick a losing battle and ask for trouble for myself.¡± Toward her words, he remained half-skeptical. ¡°The bookshelves here have all kinds of books. You can pick any if you want to read to relieve boredom.¡± After his wordsnded, he flipped open hisptop and started working. She then picked a book to read. It was really warm in the room and exceptionally quiet. The two just sat there doing their own things. Honestly speaking, this treatment was far better than An Xiaoning had imagined. She was not raped or given a beating, nor was she locked up in a smelly and stuffy ce. That was already a great thing to her. However, her circumstances were not in the least optimistic. For him, killing her was as easy as pinching an ant dead. Now, she could only try her best to keep her life. As long as she was alive, she had the hope to do other things. Without her life, there was nothing else to speak of. While the situation in this room was like that, it was a different one in another room. ¡°Sister Qin, what is Boss trying to do? He¡¯s not locking up that woman in the basement but brought her into the ce he stays in, and they¡¯re noting out from there.¡± Qin Guo darted a cold nce at him and uttered in an irritated tone, ¡°How would I know? Why don¡¯t you just ask Boss if you really want to know?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t dare to.¡± ¡°Hmph.¡± Qin Guo sneered as she asked, ¡°How¡¯s the matter that I¡¯ve asked you to handle going?¡± ¡°It¡¯s already done. Now, all the discussion tforms online in S Nation have the news spreading already. They¡¯ve continued to delete the news while we¡¯re continuing to spread it. Sooner orter, they won¡¯t be able to delete all of them. It¡¯s already causing some discussion now. I believe that in just a while, the news will go wild.¡± ¡°Very good. You can go.¡± Qin Guo took out a bottle of nail polish and started applying it to her toenails on the sofa. When the door was closed shut, she stretched out her legs, whose toes had already been fully applied with the nail polish, and put the bottle of nail polish aside. She was feeling rather upset inside. Never would she have thought that Pei Yi, who did not even allow herself to enter his bedroom usually, actually let that woman bathe in his bathroom and even gave her new clothes. His treatment toward her was far better than she had imagined it would be. This was not like his usual style. Through the information from the investigations, Qin Guo already knew that more than one men liked An Xiaoning. Not only was there Jin Qingyan and Gu Beicheng, but there was also some Major. But no matter what, she attracted so much disaster and was infertile. She could not possibly gain Pei Yi¡¯s interest. It was probably just so that he could better control her, she thought. ¡ª The investigation team that Tuoba Gucheng had sent was ultimately fast and urate. In just two days, their investigation produced results. The one who had requested the deletion of the surveince footage was actually the Head-of-Office, Xu Yang. Head Officer Xu was detained for investigation, and the Xu family waspletely flustered. On the one hand, Mrs. Xu was worried that Xu Yang would be greatly affected by this. On the other hand, she did not want Xu Yang to reveal the truth. But how could that be possible? Between their son and their daughter, they could only protect one. The matter of Xu Yang abusing his power could not be escaped for sure. No matter what the reason was, he would face suspension from work and had to be sentenced in court. But, even then! The motive behind what Xu Yang did had to be investigated. No matter how much the Xu family wanted to prevent this, they could not do so. Xu Yang came clean during the interrogation at the detention center. He was full of pity toward the little sister that had just returned home. Now that things had gone wrong, his mother had even made him seal his lips and not take on the full responsibility. However, how many people would actually be willing to do so? Moreover, if he came clean, his sentence would be lighter. His position as Head Officer had now been reduced to that of a prisoner, and his life would be ruined already anyway. Was it possible that the truth would not be discovered just because he hid it? Hence, Xu Yang decided to just reveal everything. In consideration of his own parents, Xu Yang ultimately did not reveal that they were the ones who¡¯d instructed him to do so. Xu Baizhi now became the new target the police were hunting for. She and her husband were overseas and had not returned. After receiving news of them being wanted by the police, she and her husband went into hiding. They did not dare to return home. Nevertheless, justice prevailed as even escaping overseas did not make them safe. The police in the country they were at also cooperated in hunting them down. Xu Baizhi and her husband were suddenly in a state of panic as they hid everywhere they could, praying that they would not get arrested. This was not all. The matter about An Xiaoning getting kidnapped by Xu Baizhi and being passed to the terrorist organization had be a hot topic of discussion. The debate online suddenly could no longer be suppressed. Everyone took this incident very seriously. Even in the middle of the night, the waves of discussion online did not disappear. Everyone was still eagerly debating about how the country would handle this kidnapping incident. During these two days, he did not have any proper sleep at all. There was no choice for him but to consume sleeping pills. Otherwise, there was no way for him to fall asleep. His heart was full of worry. Such an extremist group, which did not flinch when they killed people, waspletely inhumane. They could simply kill the hostage if they liked. He had just received news that they were going to negotiate with Tuoba Gucheng. Now, everything would depend on the negotiation. He could only quietly wait for the result of the negotiation. ¡°Young Sir, do we continue?¡± ¡°Of course. In case the negotiation does not go well, execute the n to save her immediately.¡± Fan Shixin hesitated to speak. ¡°At present, the news of Ms. An being kidnapped has spread across the nation. It seems like there are people behind this who keep spreading the news. It can¡¯t even be suppressed now. Theizens take joy in watching the show and don¡¯t seem to think anything about it.¡± ¡°If it can¡¯t be suppressed, then don¡¯t bother. Every time something happens in the nation, a bunch of theseizens will start creating trouble and harangue each other. All of those keyboard warriors have endless enthusiasm for this. If we get them to actually go to the battlefield, I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll pee in their pants out of fear!¡± His voice was full of the frustration he had suppressed. ¡°The other party is bent on disrupting the unity of our nation.¡± Fan Shixin looked at the bottle of pills on the table and knew he had consumed some. ¡°Young Sir, you should go and rest.¡± ¡°Umm.¡± Jin Qingyan rested against the end of the bed, his head in excruciating pain. He wondered how she was doing. It was gettingte in the night, and he eventually turned off the lights. He barely managed to fall asleep. But at this time, another person was still up in the Autumn Pce. Ever since Tuoba Gucheng had received the conditions of the other party, he was in an utterly confused state. Pei Yi¡¯s conditions were none other than to ask for the release of a few of their terrorist group¡¯s members. These few people were spies who¡¯d been detained even before he had taken on the position of the President. If he were to release them, the dire consequences of this were unimaginable. Moreover, releasing them was not a decision he could make on his own. This decision still had to go through the Cab. Toward this matter, a vote had been carried out during a Cab meeting in the afternoon, and 98% voted against releasing these people in exchange for An Xiaoning. Chapter 715 - A Million Times for You (77)

Chapter 715: A Million Times for You (77)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios If the other party had demanded money, they would unquestionably have agreed to give it in exchange for her. But at present, this wasn¡¯t the case. Tuoba Gucheng also knew that if he were to allow such an exchange, it would be difficult to capture these people again. With the whole world fighting against such extremist organizations, S Nation could not set a precedent over this. He sat there silently for about two hours. But still, he could not think of a solution to this. He wanted to save this woman. But this time around, it seemed more difficult than ever. As the leader of the nation, he needed to be responsible not only toward a single citizen but also toward thousands of others. The moment he makes apromise with Pei Yi, it would mean that in the future, people will be more daring to carry out such cases like that of An Xiaoning¡¯s this time around. Lin Shishi entered the room. She knew well and clear how difficult of a spot he was ced in. ¡°Honey, although saving my sister is important, I¡¯m more unwilling to make you into a person disloyal toward the nation. If a leader of the nation makes the citizens disappointed, he will be the greatest enemy. With this issue bing a hot topic of discussion online, the other party has intentionally used this method to put you in a spot. From the big picture, I believe our nation¡¯s citizens will understand you. If you reallypromise and get my sister back in exchange, then any citizen of our nation can be a target to be threatened. My sister may also be a hostage a second time. My sister should be extremely clear about this. I¡¯m sure she won¡¯t me you.¡± Tuoba Gucheng looked up at her. ¡°Do you know what this means? If the negotiation is unsessful, there¡¯s a high possibility that she will be shot dead by those people, just to demonstrate their strength.¡± Lin Shishi¡¯s eyes faltered. ¡°If those people had held her hostage like that, I believe it¡¯s because of the rtionship she has with the Jin and Lin families, as well as the fact that I¡¯m your wife. That¡¯s why things have be like this. If wepromise this time, then next time, they may hold other people rted to you hostage. If they don¡¯t seed this time, they¡¯ll know your temper and naturally not do such things again.¡± ¡°The DK Organization has people all over the globe, and the amount of people they have is massive. They also have such firm beliefs as well. Right now, we don¡¯t even know where exactly in R Nation she has been brought to. Only if we catch Xu Baizhi will we gain more understanding about this. However, at this critical moment, Xu Baizhi just had to hide overseas, making us unable to catch her anytime soon. The deadline they¡¯ve given us is three days.¡± He appeared to be struggling with many emotions. ¡°If I could, I would not want any citizen of my nation to suffer any harm. I don¡¯t want to receive news of An Xiaoning having suffered a cruel death overseas.¡± Lin Shishi was not in any better state either. Something that even Tuoba Gucheng could not handle, she was even more helpless about. ¡°Honey, nobody wants such a thing to happen. Sister Xiaoning has saved my life before. I don¡¯t want this to happen as well. During the cab meeting, nobody, including my father and Uncle Jin, approved of this. From the point of view of a bystander, it¡¯s better to give up the chance to negotiate to minimize our losses. You just got appointed to this position and don¡¯t have a stable foundation yet, you can¡¯t let such an incident make the people lose faith in you. Everyone wants to see the government¡¯s stand on this issue, but more than this, they want to see if the government can secure the safety of the majority of the citizens. No one wants to see their own country give in to the threat from an insidious force.¡± ¡°I suppose your stand is the same as those ministers?¡± Lin Shishi nodded. ¡°Yes. Aspared to my godsister, you are more important to me.¡± Tuoba Gucheng gazed at her, but there was no hint of him being moved from his eyes. He let out a huge sigh. ¡°You go and rest first. I¡¯ll go to sleepter.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Tuoba Gucheng watched as she walked out the door, a wave of sadness overwhelming him. Her bright and charming face popped up in his mind, but it appeared blurry, as if there was a thickyer of snow covering it. It was so cold he could not feel a tinge of warmth at all. It made this night feel even colder than it was. ¡ª After seeing the news online, Ji Yu tried to call An Xiaoning, but his calls never went through. He was in a frantic state as well. Despite panicking, he had no solution in mind at all. He had juste back from a mission that night. Without even sleeping, he went straight to the Jin residence at daybreak to understand the situation. Seeing him here, Madam Jin knew what he came to ask about. ¡°Is the Commander-in-chief at home?¡± Madam Jin shook her head. ¡°No, he¡¯s at B City now.¡± ¡°The thing about Ms. An...¡± Madam Jin let out a huge sigh. ¡°The terrorist group made a demand toward our country to ask for the release of their group¡¯s members in exchange for Xiaoning. At yesterday¡¯s cab meeting, this was objected to. There¡¯s not much hope left already, they¡¯re only giving us three days.¡± Ji Yu was highly rmed, and his face turned solemn. ¡°That means... Ms. An will most probably...¡± ¡°This is not something that can be settled with money. If the other party actually wanted money, this will have been so much easier to handle. I think the odds are against us. Thinking about it is just upsetting.¡± Madam Jin¡¯s eyes watered. ¡°Xiaoning is a good child.¡± When Ji Yu came out from the Jin residence, his face was gloomy. He waspletely helpless about this matter. Something that his country had no way of handling was even more impossible for him given his limited power. In such a short time, something as unexpected as this happening was simply heartbreaking. He raised his head and looked up at the overcast sky, his gaze turning dull. Thinking about the time he spent with her ¡ª watching a movie, fishing on the ice at Luo Er Lake, ying pool and eating supper ¡ª all these scenes were like a fishbone that pricked at his throat. He would not be able to find another woman like that for the rest of his life. It would be a great pity. ¡ª Tuoba Rui had been waiting in anxiety for his son¡¯s decision. However, Tuoba Gucheng did not give him an answer in person. On Pei Yi¡¯s side, they only gave them three days to decide. As one day and another had passed, it was already the third day. Tuoba Rui could not sit still anymore and went to find Tuoba Gucheng directly. He told him loud and clear, ¡°Agree to their condition and get An Xiaoning back in exchange.¡± Shi Xiaoyu had been closely watching her husband¡¯s every move. Realizing that he had gone to find their son, she hurriedly arrived as well and entered the room hearing what he had said. She frowned tightly and retorted, ¡°No way! If the terrorist group members were released, they will pose a greater threat to society. Gucheng has just taken his position as President, do you want the people to see a president that will onlypromise to others¡¯ demands?!¡± ¡°Shi Xiaoyu, you get out!¡± Tuoba Rui red at her coldly. ¡°Get out!¡± ¡°Tuoba Rui, why should I get out?¡± Shi Xiaoyu looked at her son earnestly. ¡°Gucheng, you absolutely can¡¯t ruin an important matter because of an insignificant woman. You should look at the big picture. The cab didn¡¯t approve it either. If you listen to your father, those ministers will have something against you inside. That will not be good for you. Moreover, when we arrested these few terrorist group members, how many soldiers on our side were lost? Aren¡¯t those lives human lives too?¡± Tuoba Rui¡¯s eyes reddened. He could obviously see that his wife was going against him. With such a rare opportunity to get rid of the thorn in her flesh, she would definitely not miss it. He could feel thest bit of affection he had left for his wife rapidly declining. With his hand clenched tightly, he found that the rage in his heart could not be smoothed. As he could not allow it to be released, he could only forcefully suppress it. He wanted to say something, but anything that maye out felt extremely devoid of power. Chapter 716 - A Million Times for You (78)

Chapter 716: A Million Times for You (78)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Tuoba Rui would have done everything in his power to help if he were still the president. Unfortunately, he was no longer the president. Thus, he had no say in the major political decisions of the nation. Lin Shishi, who was sitting beside Tuoba Gucheng, realized that her parents-inw had fallen out because of the matter. Not wanting them to be upset, she said, ¡°Father, Mother, my family and I know how serious this matter is, but no matter what, we have to consider Gucheng¡¯s interests first above everything else. I¡¯ve already spoken to my parents and persuaded them. We¡¯re all supportive of the nation¡¯s decision. That way, Gucheng won¡¯t be put in a spot.¡± Tuoba Gucheng stared at Lin Shishi, filled with a mix of emotions. Shi Xiaoyu smiled and praised, ¡°Shishi is so understanding. It¡¯s a blessing to have you as our daughter-inw.¡± Pursing her lips, Lin Shishi said, ¡°This is only my duty. Since I¡¯ve married Gucheng, his interests should be my first priority.¡± Tuoba Rui turned beet red and stormed off in a huff. ¡°Mother, why does Father look so...¡± Lin Shishi blurted, finally popping the burning question she had. ¡°He¡¯s just too used to being the president and having a say in everything. He¡¯s just afraid of facing criticism from the public for leaving a citizen in the lurch. However, I¡¯m sure most people can tell what¡¯s best for the nation. Things will blow over soon enough and the tongues will stop wagging online. Gucheng, don¡¯t make an exchange with those terrorists. You¡¯re the nation¡¯s leader now, and the nation¡¯s interests should be your top priority,¡± Shi Xiaoyu said. He was sick of being told that he had to look at the bigger picture and consider the nation¡¯s interests first. He had heard it umpteen times in the past few days. He had a strong urge to curse back at them, ¡°To hell with the nation¡¯s interests!¡± However, being the mature adult he was, he couldpletely control his emotions and keep his thoughts to himself. He would never allow his heart to rule his head. It was practically a torment to have no choice but to force himself to make a decision against his wishes. He had a heavy burden on his shoulders and was the only hope the nation had. He ought not to disappoint his citizens and to make every decision with the nation¡¯s best interests at heart. ¡°Gucheng, you¡¯ll make the correct decision, won¡¯t you?¡± Shi Xiaoyu asked. ¡°Yes.¡± He had forced that answer out of himself reluctantly with all his might. Shi Xiaoyu smiled and said, ¡°I knew you wouldn¡¯t disappoint us.¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°Young Sir, we¡¯ve nabbed Xu Baizhi and her husband, they¡¯re on a flight back now. We caught them at about five o¡¯clock in the morning. The ne will arrive in our hangar at about four o¡¯clock in the afternoon.¡± Jin Qingyan lit up with joy and asked, ¡°Awesome, did you manage to find out anything from them?¡± ¡°No, they refuse to speak up.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll interrogate them myself.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll inform you once the ne touches down,¡± said Fan Shixin. ¡°Okay.¡± Jin Qingyan waited patiently for the ne to arrive. At the same time, he was also waiting for the results of the negotiation. Although the wait was grueling, he knew not to act rashly before receiving news of the results. Time crawled by bit by bit. There were only a few hours before the afternoon was to arrive. The media finally reported thetest news of the results at three o¡¯clock in the afternoon. The news report was titled: ¡°The president stands firm on his decision and decides not to sumb to terrorism. The negotiation has failed.¡± It was clearly a carefully-curated article written by a professional. The article was a detailed writeup that described the challenges and difficulties faced during the negotiation with the terrorists, the vast number of soldiers sacrificed in the process, as well as the possible consequences the country will have to bear if they were to give in to the conditionsid by the terrorists. After the article was released, all the easily-influencedizens immediately went with the crowd and showed their strong support for the nation¡¯s decision. At the same time, they did not forget to take pity on An Xiaoning. Everyone was certain that An Xiaoning would not be able to make it back alive. Manyizens took to Weibo to show their pity and concern toward An Xiaoning, seemingly having ced much less emphasis on the controversial issue of her three marriages. However, there were still some maliciousizens who repulsively gloated over An Xiaoning¡¯s mishap, saying that she had deserved it for making all other women jealous of her while she was alive. They thought that it was only right for her to lose as much as she had gained. They made everyment and statement in shameless self-righteousness. While a major uproar was breaking out all over the inte, Xu Baizhi and her husband were brought to the secret basement obscured within Wei Ni Estate. They were kneeling on the ground with their limbs tied together, appearing extremely pale and disheveled. Jin Qingyan and Fan Shixin were standing right in front of them. ¡°Are you still not going to speak up? Xu Baizhi, you¡¯d better speak up while I¡¯m still patient. Don¡¯t wait until I decide to give you a hard time,¡± Jin Qingyan scorned sternly with a menacing look in his eyes. ¡°Will you let me go after I speak up? You won¡¯t, right?¡± Xu Baizhi asked. ¡°I will,¡± said Jin Qingyan, desperately wanting to know An Xiaoning¡¯s whereabouts. ¡°You will? Why do I feel like you¡¯re lying to me?¡± Xu Baizhi asked apprehensively. ¡°Of course, you may choose not to believe me, but do you really have a choice right now? Where is An Xiaoning?¡± Jin Qingyan questioned again. ¡°Let my husband go and I¡¯ll tell you. He¡¯s innocent,¡± said Xu Baizhi, taking a look at the man beside her. ¡°Okay.¡± Jin Qingyan then instructed Fan Shixin, ¡°Release her husband.¡± ¡°Baizhi...¡± Just as Xu Baizhi¡¯s husband was about to say something, she interrupted him, ¡°Hush, don¡¯t say anything. I did this alone. It has nothing to do with you. I probably won¡¯t be able to make it out of here. Get out and carry on with life. You shouldn¡¯t even have been implicated in this. This is the end of our fate as a couple.¡± The man wanted to say something but ended up remaining quiet and exiting together with Fan Shixin. After they left, Jin Qingyan asked again, ¡°Can you speak up now?¡± ¡°I was the only person behind this. I did it because I wanted to leave the organization together with my husband, that¡¯s why...¡± Before she could even finish, he interjected, ¡°Don¡¯t waste my time, get straight to the point! Where is she now!?!¡± Xu Baizhi shivered in shock and fear and answered without hesitation, ¡°She¡¯s on Mount Qingping in R Nation. That mountain is much steeper than average mountains and has many obstacles. Average people usually won¡¯t be able to get near it at all.¡± ¡°Young Sir!¡± Fan Shixin scurried in and whispered into his ear. Jin Qingyan flew into an uncontroble rage after hearing Fan Shixin¡¯s words and immediately grabbed a thick steel rod, which he swung toward Xu Baizhi¡¯s head. ¡°Ah!¡± Xu Baizhi shrieked in pain and passed out soon after. Fan Shixin watched as Xu Baizhi fell onto the ground and stopped moving after a few shivers. Blood began to flow from her head and seeped into the cement floor. Her brain had also fallen out of her skull. Although she was already dead, Jin Qingyan was still not appeased and continued to hit her lifeless body with the rod several times more. Chapter 717 - A Million Times for You (79)

Chapter 717: A Million Times for You (79)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°She¡¯s on Mount Qingping in R Nation. Contact the people there immediately, I¡¯d like to speak to them directly over the phone.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Fan Shixin acknowledged. ¡°Where¡¯s that man?¡± ¡°Waiting in another room. We didn¡¯t let him out.¡± ¡°Very good. Tell Xiao Huang to take him here to see the sorry plight his wife is in now. Then, get rid of him.¡± ¡°Yes, Young Sir. Do we hand them over to the government?¡± ¡°Kill them then move their bodies overseas. Dump them in front of the police station abroad.¡± ¡°Yes...¡± ¡ª¡ª It was 4 pm in S Nation and 4 am in R Nation. At this very moment, both Pei Yi and An Xiaoning were still sound asleep. For the past few nights, her hands would be handcuffed behind her back whenever it was time for bed, and they would only be unlocked the next morning. It had be a nightly routine. An Xiaoning did not struggle or try to provoke him and instead just sumbed abidingly. She would lie on her stomach to sleep every night, since it would be extremely ufortable to lie on her back with her hands cuffed behind her. She went to bed early and rose early. The lights went out at eight o¡¯clock in the evening the day before. However, she would be woken up by every sound she heard from outside. At about five o¡¯clock, the doorbell began ringing incessantly and the bedroom door was swung open forcefully. Pei Yi switched on the lights and walked toward the door. An Xiaoning remained still with her eyes shut and continued to pretend to be asleep. ¡°Ancestor, S Nation has released a piece of news saying that they¡¯re giving up the negotiation with us one-sidedly. Besides, Jin Qingyan had also asked to meet you and speak to you privately. Are you amenable to his request?¡± ¡°Get him on the line, I¡¯d like to hear what he has to say.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Pei Yi closed the door and stared at An Xiaoning, who was lying on her stomach. ¡°Since you¡¯re already awake, what¡¯s the point of pretending to be asleep?¡± he said sluggishly. An Xiaoning turned around and said with a smile, ¡°You knew?¡± ¡°I was just bluffing you. Turns out you were really pretending.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning knelt on the couch in difort and stared at him, not allowing her dejection to be revealed. The handset on the desk rang all of a sudden. Pei Yi proceeded to answer the call while leaning against the desk, with one hand holding the telephone while the other supporting was himself against the edge of the desk. ¡°Is that Mr. Jin?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°But I¡¯m not in need of any money. You¡¯ve seen it yourself, your nation¡¯s leaders have already rejected my request. If you could persuade your leaders to change their minds, perhaps there¡¯d be a chance...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped then. You people are not sincere enough. There are only two things we do to the hostages we¡¯ve abducted. One is to return them based on a condition, and two is to kill them. I believe you don¡¯t need me to exin what¡¯s going to happen to her.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I won¡¯t concede no matter how much money you offer me. Would I have made that request if money was what I¡¯m after? You¡¯ve belittled me.¡± Pei Yi did not say anything else and hung up straight away. An Xiaoning¡¯s heart sank the moment the call ended. She had heard that she would either be redeemed or die... Tuoba Gucheng had given her up by rejecting the request Pei Yi had offered in exchange for her life. ¡°Seems like your ex-husband is really devoted to you. He¡¯s willing to pay one billion dors for your ransom. I¡¯m really tempted by the huge sum of money. I didn¡¯t know you were worth this much,¡± said Pei Yi. ¡°Mister... Pei, why did you reject him if you were tempted? Isn¡¯t it better to exchange me for money instead of killing me?¡± He walked toward the couch and taunted with a squint, ¡°Are you getting nervous? Afraid that I¡¯d kill you?¡± An Xiaoning did not snap back and answered in a delicate and alluring voice, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m very afraid. I¡¯m still young, and there are so many things I still want to do but haven¡¯t had the chance to. I want to stay alive.¡± After a moment of silence, Pei Yi answered, ¡°You¡¯ve heard it yourself, your nation has already given up on you. You now have two ways out. Would you like to pick one out of the two?¡± ¡°What are these two?¡± ¡°Stay here forever or die.¡± Was there a need to choose? The answer was more than obvious. ¡°Of course I¡¯d pick the first. Someone like me who¡¯s so afraid of death would naturally pick the first option. If I die at such a young age, it¡¯d be the world¡¯s loss.¡± Although these were heartfelt words for her, Pei Yi was rather amused by them. ¡°Are you sure you know what staying here forever means?¡± He grabbed her chin and stared at her condescendingly. ¡°It means you¡¯ll forever belong to me and you¡¯ll have to abide by all my instructions. You¡¯ll have to concede willingly even if I make you a sex ve and throw you to my subordinates.¡± An Xiaoning made eye contact with him and forced a smile. ¡°I understand,¡± she answered. He let go of her and said, ¡°Alright then, the first thing I¡¯ll need you to cooperate with is to feign being dead. Those people will never give up until you¡¯re dead. Since that¡¯s the case, we shall film a video and send it to the president of S Nation and to Jin Qingyan, so as to make them give up all their hopes.¡± Not daring to disobey him, An Xiaoning agreed, ¡°Alright.¡± Pei Yi was extremely pleased with her meek andpliant attitude. He retrieved the remote control from his pocket and pressed a button on it. Soon, Qin Guo entered and asked, ¡°Do you have any orders for me?¡± ¡°Film a video of her being shot to death. Stage the execution, but make it appear as realistic as possible. I¡¯ll supervise it myself. Bring her to get her makeup done and change into an appropriate set of clothes.¡± ¡°Ancestor... why don¡¯t you just kill her straight for real?¡± Qin Guo asked after some hesitation. ¡°This is my decision, you don¡¯t have to interfere. What are you waiting for? Take her out.¡± ¡°Yes...¡± Qin Guo did as instructed and brought her out of the room. The room was rather warm with the heater on, and thus, they dressed her in thin fabric. However, it was freezing outside, and she immediately got the goosebumps once she left the room, causing her neck to shiver in the cold. They smeared some dirt onto her face and made her change into a set of filthy clothes, which reeked of a pungent odor. She appeared as if she had been abused physically. They then brought her to the execution ground and made her kneel onto the ground while Pei Yi was arriving. He was d in a leopard print suit and had a pair of shades on, exuding the aura of a boorish gang leader, especially since he had a cigarette in his mouth as well. The sky was still rather dark, and the white light shone on him from above created an elongated shadow. A man, who was dressed in ck from head to toe with a bva on his head, stood behind An Xiaoning while carrying a gun in his hands. An Xiaoning was filled with immense fear and anxiety. While she was changing into the set of clothes earlier, Qin Guo instructed her in a loud and angry tone to say a few words during the filming of the video. A bag of blood was hidden beneath her clothes in order to make the act appear much more realistic, so as to satisfy Pei Yi. During the filming of the video, An Xiaoning acted ording to their instructions and gave a convincing performance. Even Pei Yi found the shriek of agony that she let out when the gun was pointed at her to be extremely realistic. Pei Yi watched as An Xiaoningy motionlessly on the ground like a dead person covered in blood. He was extremely pleased with the results of the staged act. Chapter 718 - A Million Times for You (80)

Chapter 718: A Million Times for You (80)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After the filming was done, An Xiaoning took a shower and changed into a fresh set of clothes. Her wrists were no longer handcuffed either. She even watched the video of her staged execution together with Pei Yi. Everyone is going to think that I died , she thought to herself while staring at the video. Pei Yi watched the video twice to confirm that there were no errors before instructing Qin Guo to send the video to Tuoba Gucheng and Jin Qingyan. ¡°Ancestor, do we let the citizens of S Nation know about it?¡± Qin Guo asked. ¡°No, just them both will do. Just leave those citizens guessing. Otherwise, it¡¯s going to affect us negatively. I doubt Tuoba Gucheng will show it to his citizens anyway. Hurry and get my breakfast served. I¡¯m hungry.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Qin Guo did as instructed. The door closed slowly. Pei Yiy onto the couch sluggishly and looked at An Xiaoning from head to toe before saying, ¡°I fancy women who smile.¡± An Xiaoning suddenly realized that she must have an awful expression on her face at the time. Thus, she hurriedly smiled and said in a thick-skinned manner, ¡°I love smiling. You¡¯ll be the only person I smile at from now on, Master Pei. No one else has the right to make me smile for them.¡± He ced his hand on her neck and caressed her skin gently. ¡°You must keep your promise even if you don¡¯t mean it.¡± His cold fingertips made her feel a little ticklish. However, An Xiaoning remained still and allowed him to continue grazing his fingers across her neck. She apanied him for breakfast as usual. She focused on eating and dared not let her imagination run wild. After breakfast, he sat at his office desk to work while she sat on a chair facing him. There was a ss bottle on the table that was full of paper cranes. She decided to fold some paper cranes to kill time. An Xiaoning had always found her time to be extremely precious and not to be wasted. It had never urred to her that she would one day end up folding paper origami in order to kill time. It was all she could do since he did not allow her to touch any electronic devices capable of disseminating information and keeping in contact with the outside world. She ought to find a way to bring some joy to her otherwise mundane life. She would go crazy just sitting around and doing nothing. If Xi Bi was considered to be intelligent, Pei Yi would be a prodigy who was ten times more ingenious than him. Ten Xi Bis wouldn¡¯t even be a match for Pei Yi. Xi Bi once abducted her with the clear motive of wanting to make her his property and getting his hands on a huge sum of money. However, that was not the case for Pei Yi, who turned down an offer of one billion dors. Evidently, he was not in need of money and was firm on his decisions. It also proved that he was a willful man who sometimes made decisions based on his emotions. I¡¯d be in a safe position, so long as I don¡¯t provoke him. There¡¯s hope in escaping as long as I stay alive. It¡¯s only a matter of time. I can¡¯t be too rash or impatient, lest I provoke him and end up losing my life. After all, no matter how invincible one may be, there¡¯ll always be someone who possesses greater power. So what if she had to swallow her pride and stoop to pleasuring him with flowery words she did not mean? There would be a chance to escape as long as she stayed alive. It was not worth dying for at all! ¡ª¡ª Not long after Pei Yi instructed the video to be disseminated, the national secretary of S Nation received the video in his digital mailbox and frantically reported it to Tuoba Gucheng. ¡°Your Majesty, the terrorists have sent us a video, it¡¯s about...¡± The secretary paused and looked at Lin Shishi before continuing, ¡°about Ms. An.¡± ¡°What video is it?¡± Tuoba Gucheng asked. The secretary ced theptop onto the table and said, ¡°Please take a look, Your Majesty.¡± Tuoba Gucheng clicked the ¡°y¡± button with the mouse while Lin Shishi leaned in to watch it with him. They watched the video that depicted An Xiaoning kneeling on the ground with her limbs tied together and a man standing behind her with a gun. ¡°Your nation has already given up on you. Do you have anyst words?¡± ¡°Yes. Mommy... loves you,¡± said a pale and distraught An Xiaoning, who was speaking in a foreignnguage. Bang! Bang! The man fired away, after which An Xiaoning fell to the ground with her eyes tightly shut. Blood flowed from her wounds continuously, and she soon became motionless, drenched in blood. ¡°Cremate her and scatter her ashes.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Tuoba Gucheng stared at the screen nkly, the shock robbing him of his senses. Lin Shishi covered her mouth and burst into tears. She had been picking up foreignnguagestely, for it was only appropriate for her to be proficient in foreignnguages since she was now the First Lady. Hence, shepletely understood the conversation in the video. The secretary stood rooted to the ground while holding his breath in fear. A whileter, Tuoba Gucheng said, ¡°Delete the video.¡± The secretary hurriedly grabbed theptop and deleted the video before leaving the office. ¡°Hubby...¡± ¡°Go out first,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng, standing by the window with his back facing Lin Shishi. Lin Shishi did not utter another word and hurriedly returned to her room to inform her family of the matter. Tuoba Gucheng was left alone in the office. Tuoba Gucheng ced his elbow against his desk as he began to tear up. It was all his fault for not choosing to save her. She could have had a chance to stay alive. Yet, he sent her to her death by choosing to put the nation¡¯s interests first. He knew that this day woulde the moment he allowed the press to release the news about calling off the negotiation. He initially thought that he had already prepared himself mentally. Yet, he could not help but feel overwhelmed with misery and despair when the moment finally arrived. He could only hide her in the abyss of his heart for the rest of his life. She must hate me a lot now. I said that I would protect her at all costs, yet I failed to keep my promise. She must regret getting to know me. I¡¯m sure she resents me now. At this very moment, he began to feel immense regret for putting the nation¡¯s interests first and ensuring that he would not let his citizens down. He regretted letting himself be bothered by the Cab¡¯s objection... He could not even protect the woman he loved most... Tuoba Gucheng stood up from his seat. Just as he was about to leave, anger suddenly rose within him and exasperation gushed through his veins as he clenched his fist and threw it against the window. The ss window immediately shattered into pieces, which scattered all over the ground. The bodyguards immediately rushed in and gasped in shock. Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s hand was bleeding profusely. Tear-eyed, he hollered, ¡°Get lost, all of you!¡± The bunch of bodyguards looked at each other in fear and dismay. Noticing the terrifying expression on his face, they had no choice but to retreat and inform Lin Shishi. By the time Lin Shishi entered the office, there was already a pool of blood on the ground. ¡°Hubby, what¡¯s the matter with you?¡± Lin Shishi was bbergasted and frantically summoned the doctor toe forth and bandage his wound. Tuoba Gucheng did not utter a single word throughout. Lin Shishi had thought all along that Tuoba Gucheng was merely showing concern for the matter on ount of An Xiaoning being her godsister. She reckoned that he must be exasperated because the foreign terrorists had executed one of his citizens. To her knowledge, her husband and An Xiaoning had never met or spoken to each other before. Little did she know, Tuoba Gucheng had already fallen for An Xiaoning long before they got married. Chapter 719 - A Million Times for You (81)

Chapter 719: A Million Times for You (81)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Hubby, don¡¯t hold it against yourself. My family and I don¡¯t me you at all. Look how much thoseizens support you. They¡¯re all expressing their approval of your decision after the news was released.¡± Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s initial annoyance turned into greater fury upon hearing her words. Unable to tolerate the sight of her, he said coldly, ¡°I¡¯d like to get some rest. Get out.¡± ¡°Hubby...¡± ¡°Get out!¡± he barked, breaking out of his usualposure. Lin Shishi had no choice but to leave and stop bothering him. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Young... Young Sir...¡± Fan Shixin called out softly, almost inaudibly. Jin Qingyan did not respond. His silence had invoked a newly-found fear in Fan Shixin. Jin Qingyan had already been diagnosed with depression due to the divorce and had had to rely on sleeping pills to sleep every night. This time, hey on the couch and stared nkly at the ceiling above after watching the video of An Xiaoning¡¯s execution. Fan Shixin would feel less worried if he actually tried to vent his frustration by smashing objects onto the ground or drowning his sorrows in alcohol. Fan Shixin squatted down beside the couch and said in a gentle and delicate voice, ¡°Young Sir, you haven¡¯t had your dinner yet. Why don¡¯t you have something to eat before I apany you to see Little Sir?¡± Jin Qingyan turned to face him and muttered, ¡°Shixin...¡± ¡°Yes, Young Sir? Feel free to speak your mind. I¡¯m all ears. Don¡¯t bottle up your feelings.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not real, is it?¡± Fan Shixin felt a lump in his throat and remained quiet instead, for he did not know if it would be appropriate to answer. ¡°It can¡¯t be real. Tell me it¡¯s not real. Shixin, continue to investigate on it...¡± ¡°Young Sir, it¡¯s real. I¡¯ve watched the video too. The person in it is indeed Ms. An, and the voice belongs to her as well. Pei Yi rejected your billion-dor offer, just so he could terrorize our nation and give us a huge warning. Otherwise, why would he have chosen to kill her instead of taking the money? It doesn¡¯t make sense to do that... Ms. An¡¯sst words could mean two things. One could be that she said it to Young Sir, and the other could be that she was directing it to her biological mother. Clearly, she knew that she didn¡¯t have much time left to live when the video was being filmed. The video wasn¡¯t circted online, so I guess their main purpose was just to send it to us. I reckon the Autumn Pce must¡¯ve received it too. Should we send the Gu family a copy of the video too?¡± said Fan Shixin, who shared his analysis of the situation. ¡°Go ahead,¡± Jin Qingyan answered feebly. Time seemed to crawl by that day, and it felt as if it was the end of the world for him. He felt like there was a ton of weight on his chest that hindered him from breathing. Fan Shixin then instructed Xiao Huang to forward the video to the Gu family. ¡°Chief, hurry ande to the entrance. Mr. and Mrs. Long have gotten into a brawl at the main gate,¡± Xiao Bai reported frantically. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Fan Shixin hurriedly scrambled out of the door. ¡°I think Mrs. Long wanted to look for Ms. An, but Mr. Long tried to stop her so they just...¡± Fan Shixin stepped out of the door to see that the couple were tugging at each other¡¯s sleeves under the streetmp. Mei Yangyang appeared to be very agitated and began getting physical with Long Tianze, who was merely trying to defend himself from her attack. ¡°Mrs. Long, you don¡¯t have to go anymore.¡± Mei Yangyang paused in her actions and asked, ¡°What... do you mean?¡± ¡°Come in with me, I have something to show you both.¡± Mei Yangyang nced at her husband, after which the two of them entered the house together with Fan Shixin. Fan Shixin showed them the video of An Xiaoning¡¯s execution. Before the video even ended, Mei Yangyang lost control of her emotions and fell to the ground. ¡°I don¡¯t believe that it¡¯s real!¡± she cried, bawling loudly. ¡°We hate to believe it too, but it¡¯s real.¡± Fan Shixin took a deep breath and said, ¡°Young Sir has already tried to negotiate with the leader of the DK Organization and offered to pay a ransom of one billion dors. However, the leader rejected his offer. Young Sir was still trying toe up with another solution when she was executed so soon.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s Qingyan?¡± Long Tianze asked. ¡°He¡¯s in his room. Young Sir had initially already suffered a huge emotional blow because of the divorce, yet this has to happen just as his mood was picking up. I¡¯m afraid that he won¡¯t be able to get over it. Mr. Long, please go take a look at him...¡± said Fan Shixin. ¡°Alright.¡± Long Tianze grabbed Mei Yangyang¡¯s hand and pulled her along. Mei Yangyang shrugged his hand away and said, ¡°Let me cool down alone.¡± Feeling worried, Long Tianze reminded her, ¡°You can¡¯t act rashly. You¡¯ve already seen the video for yourself. That¡¯s not a ce you can afford to enter. It¡¯s muchrger andplex than Xi Bi¡¯s tiny den. Yangyang, don¡¯t forget, you¡¯re not alone. You still have two children. I can¡¯t let you take that risk. Do you understand?¡± ¡°Why would I go when I¡¯ve already watched the video...? I can tell that it¡¯s indeed Sis in that video. I just want to cool off and take a breather alone, don¡¯t worry. Go home first,¡± said Mei Yangyang, who was not so foolish as to send herself to a lion¡¯s den. Long Tianze remained quiet and watched as she turned around to leave. Tears welled up in Long Tianze¡¯s eyes the moment he saw Jin Qingyan lying on the couch. He stood behind the couch and bent forward. Waving a hand above Jin Qingyan¡¯s face, he said, ¡°Ciye said that he¡¯ll be rushing home in the afternoon. He should be back anytime soon. Let¡¯s go out for some drinks when he¡¯s here, okay?¡± Jin Qingyan sat up slowly and agreed, ¡°Alright.¡± Long Tianze heaved a sigh of relief and gave him a pat on his shoulder quietly. Ling Ciye and Jin Qingyue arrived home at past nine o¡¯clock in the evening. Despite having had a long-haul flight, Ling Ciye immediately rushed to see Jin Qingyan without stopping to take a break. Noticing that the guys were chatting with each other over some drinks, Jin Qingyue decided not to interrupt and remained seated on the couch to y with her mobile phone. Long Tianze and Ling Ciye had too much to drink while apanying Jin Qingyan and ended up vomiting. Jin Qingyanpletely lost hisposure after having a few too many to drink. However, that was their exact purpose for asking him out for drinks ¡ª to allow him to vent all his frustration and air his grievances. He only stopped at two o¡¯clock in the morning when he was drunk out of his senses. Fan Shixin carried him up into his bedroom while Jin Qingyue took care of Ling Ciye in the guest room and Long Tianze went home. ¡ª¡ª One week had passed since Mo Li was hospitalized and they had both signed the divorce papers. All that was left to do was to settle the remaining procedures at the Civil Administrations Office. She had thought things through thoroughly the past week. Although her wounds still ached dully, she could manage to walk. Mrs. Mo apanied Mo Li to the Civil Administrations Office where they waited for Ye Xiaotian. Not long after, Ye Xiaotian arrived. He alighted from the car, appearing haggard and disheveled. He and Mo Li proceeded to enter the administrations office while Mrs. Mo waited for them outside. The procedures were swiftly processed after they¡¯d handed the staff their household register and divorce agreement document. Tears welled up in Mo Li¡¯s eyes the moment they received their divorce certificate. She hade a long way for this day to arrive. ¡°Mo Li....¡± Mo Li turned around to stare at him. ¡°Is there anything else?¡± she asked coldly. Noticing that she had grown much thinner over the span of just a week, Ye Xiaotian apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry to have let you down. Please take good care of yourself from now on. I¡¯ve already helped you pack your belongings. Get Mo Xun to bring them back for you...¡± ¡°I will ask Mo Xun to collect them. By the way, thank you for finally letting me off and freeing me of the grueling torment you¡¯ve put me through. I can finally stop being manipted by you, and I no longer have to endure the hardship the Ye family subjects me to. Although it¡¯s a littlete now...¡± Chapter 720 - A Million Times for You (82)

Chapter 720: A Million Times for You (82)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mo Li continued, ¡°In hindsight, I¡¯ve been suffering most of the time throughout the past one decade or so that I¡¯ve been in a rtionship with you. We did live blissfully for a short while after Nini was born, but it was too short-lived, so much so that all I remember about you is the pain and torment you¡¯ve put me through. In fact, I even distanced myself from my friends because of you. I already had a very small social circle to begin with, yet I almost became like a loner for your sake. It¡¯s really amusing now that I think about how pathetic my life was. I regret it so much...¡± Mo Li then walked away while Ye Xiaotian watched her figure vanish slowly out of sight. He hung his head low feebly and stared at his hand. At the end of the day, nothing went his way. His daughter had passed away and his wife had divorced him. To make matters worse, things at thepany had been going downhilltely as well. He only had himself to me for failing to keep his family together. He waspletely sick and tired of his mother¡¯s overbearing tyranny. Upon returning home, Ye Xiaotian sat down on the couch, feeling chilly from head to toe. Mr. and Mrs. Ye entered. ¡°Xiaotian, has it been settled?¡± Mrs. Ye asked as she took a seat. Ye Xiaotian ignored her question and stared at his father with exhaustion written all over his face. ¡°Father, it¡¯s been hard on you all this while. Your life must be tough.¡± Mr. Ye was bewildered by his words and remained quiet. ¡°Xiaotian, why did you say something like that out of the blue?¡± asked Mrs. Ye, who did not understand what he was getting at. ¡°Mother, are you happy? Are you happy now that your son hasnded himself in such a sorry plight? Do you still want a grandson?¡± Ye Xiaotian questioned sarcastically. ¡°Even if Mo Li doesn¡¯t want you anymore, there are still plenty of women who want to marry you. You can just marry one of them, no big deal!¡± Mrs. Ye retorted. Mr. Ye hurriedly grabbed her in a bid to get her to stop talking. Ye Xiaotian scoffed and barked, ¡°No big deal? Can my deceased daughtere back to life!?! No wonder people always say that you can be filial to your parents but you can¡¯t give in to them blindly out of filial piety all the time. Mother, I didn¡¯t want to make you sad and worried because I was concerned about your ailing health. I didn¡¯t want you to kill yourself over theck of a grandson. I was so understanding toward you, yet how did you treat me!?!¡± Mrs. Ye was momentarily at a loss for words to rebut him. ¡°I did it all for the Ye family and your own good...¡± ¡°You did it for my own good? Did I ask for you to do that? For the sake of the Ye family? What has the Ye family got to do with you? Yourst name is not Ye anyway. Father didn¡¯t even mention anything about carrying on the bloodline of the family, so why do you keep forcing me? I don¡¯t me anyone but myself for indulging you and giving in to your unreasonable requests time and time again. I allowed you to force Mo Li to drink the talisman water and lock her up in the ancestral hall. I didn¡¯t want to divorce Mo Li at all. In hindsight, I¡¯ve really deprived her of a blissful life all these years and made her go through so much pain and suffering. I doubt she can ever conceive again, and her health is ruined now. I don¡¯t want her to lose hope in life altogether. Neither do I want her to continue being subjected to the horrible treatment from you. I won¡¯t marry another woman again for the rest of my life. Perhaps the reason why the Ye family has no heir is simply because you¡¯vemitted too many sins, Mother. This is the retribution for all the evil you¡¯ve done.¡± Mrs. Ye burst into tears and eximed agitatedly, ¡°I beg your pardon, because of me? Xiaotian, how could you say that!?! If you remain single for the rest of your life, what¡¯s going to happen when you¡¯re old? You won¡¯t have a wife or children. Who¡¯s going to take care of you!?!¡± ¡°Mother, worry about yourself. You may stay out of my matters from now onward. I¡¯m going to move out,¡± said Ye Xiaotian. ¡°Xiaotian!¡± Ye Xiaotian ignored her and stood up to go upstairs and pack his belongings. Mo Li had been feeling calm throughout the journey back to the hospital with her mother. Upon arriving at the hospital, she chanced upon Long Tianze, who came to visit her, and they both began chatting about An Xiaoning. Mo Li let out a long sigh of misery. However, Long Tianze did not mention a thing about the video of An Xiaoning¡¯s execution. After all, he was not such a bbermouth and knew not to spread it around unnecessarily. ¡°Once you¡¯ve recovered, find a proper job and start working. Your life will get better. Let bygones be bygones,¡± said Long Tianze, tucking her hair behind her year. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll do my best to get over this chapter in my life.¡± ¡°Feel free to look for me whenever you need help,¡± Long Tianze said with a gentle smile. ¡°Thank you, Tianze.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to thank me, we¡¯re close friends.¡± Mo Li nodded at him with tears in her eyes. ¡ª¡ª A somber mood had filled the hearts of the Gu family members. Laughter had be scarce, and everyone often appeared austere. No one dared to touch An Xiaoning¡¯s belongings in her room, including her mobile phone, which had been left on the table. However, the battery in her mobile phone had run out since it had not been charged in days, and thus, it switched off automatically. Lin Mingxi did not feel in the least bit happy, even though it meant that she no longer had a rival in love now that An Xiaoning was gone. She was well aware that Gu Beicheng would never forget An Xiaoning regardless of whether she was dead or alive. She had already gotten over it when An Xiaoning was still alive. When Lin Mingxi first met An Xiaoning, she detested her straight away, for she saw thetter as her rival in love and a stumbling block in her hot pursuit for Jin Qingyan. She had resorted to all means to go toe-to-toe against An Xiaoning. Yet, An Xiaoning was still her rival in love even after she got married to Gu Beicheng. She had even once gotten extremely jealous about the fact that Gu Beicheng had carried a torch for An Xiaoning. However, she no longer felt jealousy or resentment toward An Xiaoning, and her initial disgruntlement had turned into envy. In fact, she even saw An Xiaoning as her close friend and confidante. Sometimes, she would even think to herself that she was probably the only person in this world who could be bosom friends with the woman her husband loved. It was indeed so. She had somehow taken a liking to the overweening, self-righteous, and obstinate An Xiaoning. She had even understood why Gu Beicheng loved her dearly throughout all these years. She was green with envy, though there was no point in feeling that way. Gu Beicheng did not even know her yet when he fell in love with An Xiaoning! They weren¡¯t even married at that point in time. An Xiaoning had shown up in his life way before she did. Before the mishap took ce, An Xiaoning and Gu Beicheng were just like a pair of bosom friends and kin who shared a strong camaraderie. Despite how much he loved An Xiaoning deep down, he would often make sure to keep things tonic with her and get along well with her. Lin Mingxi could feel every bit of that. Yet, now that An Xiaoning was no longer around, all Lin Mingxi felt was grief and agony, for she wished that the mishap did not ur at all. They¡¯ve invested more than 100 million dors in total in the production of the television drama series. An Xiaoning had long transferred her share of the money to their joint bank ount, which was meant to be used to cover the filming expenses. Now that An Xiaoning was no longer around, Lin Mingxi definitely had to monitor and oversee all the matters regarding the television drama series herself. At nine o¡¯clock in the morning, Lin Mingxi arrived at the television studio by car. The production team were in the midst of a productive filming session and were not affected by An Xiaoning¡¯s incident at all. Dressed in a thick blue coat, a pair of thick leggings, and a pair of diamond-heeled boots, Lin Mingxi stood at a short distance away from the set and watched as the filming took ce. She decided to approach them after watching two scenes. Upon the sight of her arrival, Jing Tian immediately put the script he was holding down onto the chair and greeted, ¡°You¡¯re here, Ms. Lin.¡± Chapter 721 - A Million Times for You (83)

Chapter 721: A Million Times for You (83)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lin Mingxi nodded and asked, ¡°Which episode are we filming now?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been following the filming schedule and we¡¯ve already filmed two episodes.¡± ¡°Alright, do as you deem fit. You don¡¯t have to rush the progress, just ensure that the quality is satisfactory. I believe in your abilities, Director Jing.¡± Jing Tian smiled and asked softly, ¡°About... Ms. An...¡± Staring at him, Lin Mingxi asked, ¡°Did the crew members mention anything about her the past few days?¡± ¡°No, no one dares to talk about her openly, but online... I¡¯ve seen the news about the negotiation falling through. Will Ms. An be alright?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know yet for now, but I¡¯m sure Xiaoning will be able to ovee all odds with her strong abilities. You don¡¯t have to worry about the funds. Xiaoning has already transferred the money she¡¯s investing to our joint bank ount previously. You just have to focus on filming. Don¡¯t worry about the rest,¡± Lin Mingxi answered calmly. Jing Tian nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯m not worried about the funds, I¡¯m just worried about Ms. An. But I feel much more relieved after hearing what you¡¯ve said.¡± Not wanting to tell him the truth, Lin Mingxi said, ¡°I understand that you and Ms. An have worked on a film together before and you two are close friends. How should I put it? Well, Xiaoning is stuck in a bit of a knotty situation now. Get the crew members to stop making guesses and spections. The most important thing to do now is to focus on filming the drama properly. I¡¯ll inform you if there¡¯s any progress.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°I was observing the filming earlier, and the lead actress seems to be doing a great job. She doesn¡¯t have the acting chops of a newbie at all. I have a ton of faith in this drama series.¡± ¡°Yes, En is a very skilled actress, although she¡¯s young and has freshly graduated from the theater arts academy. It feels like she¡¯s one with the character she¡¯s ying. Even the male lead thinks so and has been pretty satisfied with her so far.¡± Pointing at a speaker, Lin Mingxi said, ¡°Bring that to me, I¡¯d like to have a few words with everyone.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Jing Tian stepped forward to hand her the speaker. ¡°Hey, everyone,e here. Stop what you¡¯re doing and listen to me while I say a few words to you guys,¡± Lin Mingxi yelled into the speaker. Everyone stopped what they were doing and listened to her quietly. ¡°I¡¯m Lin Mingxi, one of the investors of this drama series. This is a multi-million-dor production, and I hope to produce a splendid and impressive drama series. All of you are members of this production team, and I hereby guarantee that the funds avable are more than enough. We won¡¯t dy the payment of every actor and crew member. All of you must possess moral work ethics and keep the image of the team squeaky clean. If you find out about any hical behavior going on within the team, please inform me by sending me an email. I¡¯ll fire anyone who gets up to any sordid business immediately after investigating and verifying the culprit. My email address is...¡± Everyone began apuding boisterously at the end of her speech. There were rarely any investors who would make such a huge promise to the production team. Hence, the crew members were all at ease and determined to put their best foot forward in their respective work areas. ¡°Stop looking, she¡¯s already left,¡± said Yan Ge, smacking Fang En¡¯s head with the script booklet. She looked up to see that he was standing beside her with his eyes fixed on her. Fang En immediately looked away and hung her head low to read her script. Yan Ge took a seat on the chair beside her and asked, ¡°Do you have any scenes for this afternoon?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ll get to rest for half a day. What about you?¡± ¡°Me neither. But I won¡¯t be getting a break, I have to film amercial in the city.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it tiring to filmmercials?¡± Fang En asked curiously. Yan Ge could tell that she had been living a cloistered life. ¡°Have you never starred in amercial before?¡± ¡°Are you mocking me?¡± ¡°Since you don¡¯t have any scenes to film for this afternoon, would you like to follow me to the set? You¡¯ll get to see for yourself what filming amercial really is like.¡± ¡°May I?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Beaming with joy, Fang En answered, ¡°Alright then, call me when you¡¯re setting off in the afternoon.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be heading to the set immediately by car once I¡¯m done filming my scene for this morning. Just get inside my car after you¡¯re done changing into your clothes.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± The only reason Yan Ge agreed was because he wanted a massage during the journey there and back, which would take more than an hour. Ever since filmingmenced, she would give him a long massage every day, which helped relieve the pain and soreness in his back, allowing him to film with much more ease. Well, wouldn¡¯t it be a waste not to make use of a free masseuse? After filming for the day ended, his assistant Xiao Li asked worriedly, ¡°Brother, the paparazzi have been keeping close tabs on you incessantly. What if they see you bringing Ms. Fang along and mistake you two for being in a rtionship?¡± ¡°It so happens that we¡¯re both acting as a couple in this drama series. I reckon Director will be pleased if the paparazzi were to snap photos of us together. It¡¯d be free publicity. Well, it¡¯s not real anyway, whatever,¡± Yan Ge answered nonchntly. As soon as they got inside the nanny van, Yan Ge immediately caught sight of tworge bags of items in the back seat. A frown creased his forehead and he asked, ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°They¡¯re all presents for you from your fans. I told them to stop giving you things because you don¡¯t ept gifts. However, I couldn¡¯t seem to stop their enthusiasm, and they ran away immediately after leaving the presents here. I had no choice but to ept them on your behalf.¡± Yan Ge sat down and did not say anything else. Xiao Li grabbed the two bags and handed it to him. ¡°Brother, look, these are what your fans made for you.¡± Yan Ge took the item from his hands to see that it was arge scrapbook that contained an array of photos of himself, as well as some handwritten messages. He could tell that the person who made the scrapbook was extremely meticulous and had put in a great ton of effort. He decided to read all the messages since they were heartfelt notes written by his loyal fans. But! While there were pure and loyal fans, there were also those who were twisted! Yan Ge was thrown into a state of frenzy and exasperation the moment he opened a gift bag and saw a used sanitary pad inside. At the same time, Fang En happened to open the door of the van, only to be greeted with that bewildering sight before her. She was bbergasted. Yan Ge immediately flung the gift bag away. An awkward tension filled the air as he continued to pretend as if everything was fine. Fang En opened the door, picked up the gift bag, and got out of the car again. Yan Ge craned his neck to see that she had disposed of the gift bag into the trashcan nearby before walking back to the car. She got up the car again and closed the door while Xiao Li began driving. Fang En took a look at therge bags of gifts and asked, ¡°Are they all from your fans?¡± ¡°Yes...¡± Yan Ge answered. Reminded of her daily mandatory task, Fang En said gleefully, ¡°Let me give you a massage.¡± He reclined his seat backward and leaned back against it. ¡°Here.¡± There was a gap between Fang En and his seat and it would be ufortable to stretch her arms out that far. Thus, she bent forward and attempted to stand up, only to have him hold her down. Yan Ge had been enjoying a massage from her every day and closed his eyes infort. ¡°Harder please.¡± Fang En tightened her grip on his shoulders and massaged him with all her might. All of a sudden, Xiao Li mmed the brakes and the car came to an immediate halt. Fang En lost her bnce and fell forward onto the back of Yan Ge¡¯s seat. ¡°Ugh...¡± Xiao Li grunted with a frown on his forehead. Fang En frantically stood up. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± she asked Xiao Li, slightly displeased. Chapter 722 - A Million Times for You (84)

Chapter 722: A Million Times for You (84)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°The fans are blocking the way.¡± Yan Ge sat up straight and peeked out of the window. ¡°These kids are out of their minds. Why aren¡¯t they afraid of danger at all?¡± he remarked in disdain. Xiao Li sounded the horn, after which the fans finally made way for the car to pass. ¡°Seems like you have too many female fans. They¡¯re all hopelessly in love with you,¡± Fang En eximed in awe. Yang Gey back down with a smug smirk on his face and said, ¡°That goes without saying. I¡¯m not surprised at all. Do you idolize any male celebrities?¡± ¡°Yeah, I do,¡± said Fang En, who continued to massage him. ¡°Who?¡± ¡°The supporting actor who once starred alongside you in a historical drama. He¡¯s actually shot to fame and risen to the level of an A-lister now,¡± Fang En answered while loosening her grip on Yan Ge¡¯s shoulders for she was getting distracted by the thought of her beloved idol. ¡°There are so many supporting actors who have worked with me before. There are also several among them who have be A-listers.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Jing Yang,¡± Fang En blurted bashfully, her face turning red with shyness. ¡°You like male idols like Jing Yang? Seems like you¡¯ve got a poor taste in men,¡± Yan Ge remarked in distaste. ¡°You¡¯re not to insult my idol!¡± Fang En vehemently defended her godlike idol. Yan Ge chuckled in amusement and asked, ¡°How long have you been idolizing him for?¡± ¡°Five years.¡± Noticing the sly and mysteriousughter he let out, Fang En stopped massaging him and questioned, ¡°What are youughing at?¡± Yan Ge avoided her question while Xiao Li answered on his behalf, ¡°Brother isughing at your poor taste in men.¡± Blushing red in embarrassment, Fang En argued, ¡°I¡¯ve been a fan of Jing Yang ever since he was just a model. He came from a humble background and hands all his wages over to his mother. He¡¯s very thrifty as well. Just like many other fans of his, I¡¯ve been with him since he debuted as a model to when he transitioned to a supporting actor, all the way until he finally became a male lead. It¡¯s been so hard on him throughout his journey to stardom. Well, you can also say that he had inspired me to be an actress. My dream is to one day star alongside him in a film or drama.¡± Yan Ge kept quiet and watched her speak with a smile on his face. Fang En could sense that he was mocking her and found her words to be extremely ridiculous. Feeling a little peeved, she continued, ¡°Well, famous celebrities like you wouldn¡¯t understand how fans like me feel. What may seem amusing to you actually means a lot to us.¡± ¡°Silly girl. You¡¯ve been idolizing him for five years but does he even know of your existence?¡± Yan Ge remarked with a chuckle. ¡°He doesn¡¯t need to. He has so many fans. It¡¯d be extremely tiring for him to get to know every single one of them. If my dream reallyes true one day and I get to act in the same production as him, I¡¯ll tell him who I am. He¡¯ll know me then,¡± Fang En said with a hopeful smile. ¡°Seems like you¡¯re a true blue fan of his. Well, it just so happens that there are three celebrities involved in themercial we¡¯re filming today, including me, Song Yan, and, coincidentally, Jing Yang. You¡¯ll get a chance to meet your idol up close and personalter.¡± ¡°Are you kidding me!?! That¡¯s wonderful!¡± Fang En eximed excitedly, as happy as ark. Yan Ge recalled the Jing Yang he knew and could not help but feel an urge to tease Fang En, the devoted fan of Jing Yang¡¯s. ¡°I can give you a hand. When we reach the film set, would you like to take the opportunity to speak to your idol?¡± ¡°Sure!¡± Fang En was beyond excited, for she would be able to meet and talk to her idol. She subconsciously massaged Yan Ge with greater strength as a token of gratitude. She was filled with excitement and enthusiasm. ¡°I¡¯ve never idolized any celebrities before. What thoughts do you fans harbor toward your favorite celebrities?¡± ¡°I¡¯m much shier than those crazy fans of yours who went to the extremes of sending you used sanitary pads, or those who have wild fantasies of dating you and stripping you naked. Old fogies like you who used to be young and charming hunks are bound to appeal to female fans. But like I said earlier, I¡¯m much more decent, and I don¡¯t harbor such thoughts at all. The most I¡¯ve done is watch all the videos of Jing Yang avable online...¡± ¡°Who are you calling an old fogy!?!¡± Yan Ge snapped in displeasure. ¡°I mean, heartthrobs!¡± Fang En hurriedly exined. ¡°I¡¯m only thirty-three years old, how am I an old fogy!?!¡± Yan Ge questioned, glowering at her. ¡°I was wrong. I mean, you¡¯re a young hunk.¡± His frown turned into a smile of satisfaction and he said, ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡± ¡°I really can¡¯t bring myself to call a thirty-three-year-old like you a young hunk. You¡¯re just like expired preserved meat...¡± ¡°Fang En!¡± ¡°...¡± They only arrived on set one hourter. In order to avoid making it onto the tabloids, Fang En intentionally waited for Yan Ge to enter first before alighting from the nanny van stealthily thirty minutester, d in a surgical mask to hide her face. Xiao Li waited for her at the studio and brought her inside. That was the only way she could gain ess to the premises. Yan Ge had already gotten his makeup done and had changed into the outfit he had to wear for the filming, which made him appear much more dashing and suave. Staring at him, Fang En remarked casually, ¡°Wow, clothes really do make a man. You look so much better after a makeover.¡± Fang En was merely muttering her opinion to herself. However, the sharp-eared Yan Ge heard her and shot her a menacing nce with his long, narrow eyes. ¡°What did you say?¡± ¡°I... didn¡¯t say anything.¡± ¡°I heard you.¡± ¡°What I meant was...¡± The quick-witted Fang En smiled at him and answered, ¡°You¡¯re already very handsome when you¡¯re barefaced. You look so much more charming and dashing with makeup.¡± Yan Ge rolled his eyes at her, clearly not convinced by her exnation. He shifted his gaze onto Jing Yang and said to Fang En, ¡°Your idol¡¯s over there.¡± Fang En looked over to see the person she had yearned to meet for years. Just as she was about to walk toward him, Yan Ge grabbed her and said, ¡°You¡¯re not thinking of asking him for an autograph right away, are you...?¡± ¡°How did you know? That¡¯s exactly what I was thinking. I¡¯m nning to get his autograph first. I don¡¯t have a pen with me, help me find one.¡± Yan Ge let go of her and said, ¡°Whatever, I¡¯m staying out of this. I have to start filming now.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, he swaggered toward the cameras. Fang En scanned the dressing table a few times before finally catching sight of a pen and a piece of paper. She then walked toward her idol agitatedly. Jing Yang had just had his makeup done and was ying with his mobile phone while sitting on the chair. Fang En approached him and removed her surgical mask, which she then put away in her pocket. Handing him the piece of paper and pen, she asked, ¡°Jing Yang, could you give me your autograph?¡± Fang En had never been this meek and gentle, except when she was acting. She had never been so demure! She had never spoken in such a soft voice! Yet, what happened next made her feel more awkward than ever. Jing Yang nced at her before looking down at his mobile phone again. ¡°No,¡± he rejected coldly. His answer was just like a wet nket that dampened Fang En¡¯s spirits immediately. Chapter 723 - A Million Times for You (85)

Chapter 723: A Million Times for You (85)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Her impression of the idol she had fiercely idolized for five yearspletely changed at this moment. Sensing that all eyes were on her, she put her pen and paper down. Just as she was about to leave, Jing Yang¡¯s assistant asked, ¡°Do you work here?¡± ¡°No.¡± The assistant immediately thought that she was just a fan who sneaked in and pushed her haughtily. ¡°Get lost and scram to wherever you came from. This is not a ce where you should be. Why are there all sorts of people in here?¡± he chastised in a hostile manner. Unable to tolerate his unruly behavior any further, Fang En retorted, ¡°Why are you so nasty with your words?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the way I am. Hurry and get lost, quick...¡± Fang En snorted withughter and kept quiet. She ced the paper and pen onto the dressing table before returning to the filming area. Yan Ge had a few sets of solo photos taken before proceeding to shoot a few more shots together with Song Yan and Jing Yang. The filming director checked and approved of the photos before beginning to film the videomercial. It was a short video; however, it required way too many takes, for the director was constantly unsatisfied with the results. Fang En used to think that filming amercial would be much easier than filming a movie or television series. However, she had truly gained an eye-opener and realized that the standards formercials were extremely high and that the production team would usually strive for perfection. Fang En noticed that Yan Ge had already begun getting impatient. However, he maintained his professionalism and cooperated with the director, who constantly requested a new take. Despite themercial being extremely short, filming still took more than two hours. Three hours passed just like that, including the time taken for makeup and for the fitting of clothes. Everyone heaved a huge sigh of relief once the director called it a day. ¡°Ms. Fang, hand this to Brother while I go collect the car. Let¡¯s leave immediately,¡± said Xiao Li. ¡°Alright.¡± Fang En took the bottle of mineral water from him and walked toward Yan Ge. Before she even reached him, Jing Yang¡¯s assistant scurried toward her and again grabbed her forcefully. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? Why haven¡¯t you left yet?¡± Everyone could hear him and turned to look at them. Yan Ge approached and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Upon the sight of him, Jing Yang¡¯s assistant immediately put on a smile and exined, ¡°Here¡¯s what happened. She¡¯s a fan of Jing Yang¡¯s, and I don¡¯t know how she managed to sneak in but I made her leave. Yet, she didn¡¯t and even tried toe near us again.¡± Fang En felt rather embarrassed and awkward, especially because Yan Ge was staring at her with a look of amusement. To make matters worse, Jing Yang approached and stared at her with a look of disdain before she could even say anything. ¡°Just ignore her,¡± he said to his assistant. Fang En was bbergasted to see how different her idol was from what she had imagined him to be. That exins Yan Ge¡¯s reaction in the car. She felt extremely embarrassed to idolize such an obnoxious celebrity and wronged to be treated this way. She handed the bottle of mineral water to Yan Ge and said, ¡°Xiao Li wanted me to give this to you.¡± Yan Ge took the bottle from her and chuckled. ¡°Seems like there¡¯s been a misunderstanding.¡± Jing Yang turned pale upon hearing Fang En¡¯s words, filled with shock and disbelief. In order to save herself some face, Fang En took a look at the time on her mobile phone and stepped forward to grab Yan Ge¡¯s arm. ¡°Let¡¯s return to the production unit after dinner.¡± ¡°You call the shots,¡± said Yan Ge, allowing her to hold onto his arm while they left the set with all eyes on them. Jing Yang and his assistant stood rooted to the ground, feeling as if everyone was mocking them. Boiling with rage, he hurriedly left the set together with his assistant. Once they got inside the nanny van, he finally let out all his pent-up anger and hollered, ¡°Who the heck was that woman!?!¡± His assistant hurriedly searched online for a clue before answering, ¡°That woman is the lead actress who¡¯s starring alongside Yan Ge in the uing television series. She¡¯s currently the only artiste who¡¯s signed to the entertainment studio opened by Long Tianze¡¯s wife.¡± Jing Yang leaned his head against the seat with his hand on his forehead, overwhelmed with exasperation. He absolutely regretted acting so rashly earlier on. What¡¯s going to happen if it spreads to the public? he wondered. Clearly, he had been overthinking. Fang En did not wish to mention a word about him at all, for he hadpletely ruined her impression of him as an idol. Fang En had been remaining silent after getting inside the van with Yan Ge. In fact, she felt extremely embarrassed. She cocked her head toward the window and stiffened her body while sitting up straight, unsure of what she should say. Meanwhile, Yan Ge finally burst intoughter, unable to contain his amusement any further. Upon hearing hisughter, she turned to face him and said, ¡°I find it amusing too. What¡¯s funnier is that he was still my beloved idol when we first arrived on set, yet I no longer idolize him anymore.¡± ¡°You¡¯re really fickle.¡± ¡°Women are all fickle-minded. Didn¡¯t you know that?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t make such a sweeping statement and condemn all other women in order to make up for your w. Not all women are like you.¡± Yan Ge stopped smiling and continued sternly, ¡°Perhaps like what you said, Jing Yang used toe from a humble background and is thrifty but also a money-grubber. However, not all artistes are as lucky as you to have bumped into An Xiaoning who was willing to give you a shot at being the lead actress. Many artistes in the entertainment industry, especially those like Jing Yang who don¡¯t have a wealthy family to pull strings for them, have to depend solely on themselves. Not to mention, luck is not on his side and he doesn¡¯t have any true capabilities either. If not for the support given by his cash cow, how could he have be the male lead and be offered the chance to star inmercials?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s his cash cow?¡± Yan Ge again told her another cruel truth, ¡°His cash cow is a man. Several people in the industry know about this too.¡± Fang En waspletely bbergasted. She actually idolized a homosexual gigolo for five full years! ¡°Oh my,ing out with you has really been such an eye-opener.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just like a country bumpkin on a tour in the city.¡± She did not deny it since he had stated a fact. ¡ª¡ª When it was almost daybreak, An Xiaoning was woken up by a sudden urge to use the washroom. She stood up from the couch slowly and walked toward Pei Yi¡¯s bedroom. ¡°Master Pei, could you please help me unlock my handcuff?¡± she asked. ¡°Why?¡± he asked sluggishly. ¡°I¡¯d like to go to the washroom.¡± He switched on the tablemp. He then sat up and waved at her sleepily. ¡°Come here.¡± An Xiaoning hurriedly rushed over to allow him to unlock her handcuffs with his keys before proceeding to the washroom. After she was done answering nature¡¯s call, An Xiaoning rinsed her face and exited the washroom to see that he was leaning against the headboard with his eyes wide open. ¡°Master Pei, you may continue sleeping. I¡¯ll go outside.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to. Bring me some water,¡± he instructed. ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning walked to the water dispenser and filled a ss halfway with water, which she then ced on the cab beside his bed. ¡°Sit here,¡± he said, pointing at the bed. An Xiaoning did as instructed and asked, ¡°What time is it now?¡± Chapter 724 - A Million Times for You (86)

Chapter 724: A Million Times for You (86)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°It¡¯s already six o¡¯clock. I can¡¯t sleep, let¡¯s chat,¡± said Pei Yi, resting his arms behind his head. ¡°I can¡¯t fall asleep either. I¡¯ve been sleeping at eight or nine o¡¯clock in the evening every night. I¡¯ve already gotten more than enough sleep.¡± ¡°What time did you use to sleep at?¡± ¡°I used to sleep after ten o¡¯clock. I¡¯d usually take some time to catch up on reading at night after a long day of work,¡± An Xiaoning answered gently. ¡°What were you usually busy with during the day?¡± After a moment of silence, she smiled and said, ¡°There were a lot of things I had to do. I had to handle the matters regarding a television series that I had invested in, as well as supervise and oversee the renovation works at the mansion I had newly bought.¡± ¡°You invested in a television series? Weren¡¯t you afraid of the huge risks involved? What if you incur a huge loss and never end up recouping your capital?¡± ¡°Since I¡¯ve already decided to invest in it, I ought to do my best and make sure the production goes smoothly. Being afraid of taking risks will only hinder me from making the crucial first step. There won¡¯t be losses because the storyline is interesting, the actors are all very skilled, and we¡¯ve already done all the necessary publicity works. I invested in the television series with the sole intention of making money. Although it may take a long time, we¡¯ll make a huge earning so long as the end product is excellent. I invested in it together with my sister-inw so that I could have someone else to bear the risks with.¡± ¡°I heard that you and Jin Qingyan had married and divorced each other twice, yet he¡¯s still willing to pay so much for your ransom. Seems like he still can¡¯t forget you. Why did you get a divorce?¡± Not sure why he asked such a question, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°Why do you think we got divorced, Master Pei?¡± ¡°From the looks of it, you must have been the one who¡¯d initiated the divorce since you announced the news of it online. Don¡¯t tell me you divorced him because you don¡¯t love him anymore?¡± ¡°You were wrong, Master Pei. I did initiate our first divorce, but Jin Qingyan was the one who initiated the second one. The reason was that he doesn¡¯t trust mepletely. Well, for me, I can¡¯t tolerate the fact that he doesn¡¯t trust me. We got divorced very quickly though. We didn¡¯t drag things on at all,¡± An Xiaoning exined in an intentional casual tone. ¡°Do you still love him, then?¡± ¡°No.¡± Although she had a smile on her face, she was filled with misery. She was the only person who knew if she still loved him deep down. She would not let just anyone know about her innermost feelings, let alone Pei Yi, her enemy. ¡°You really don¡¯t love him anymore?¡± An Xiaoning looked him in the eye calmly and answered, ¡°I really don¡¯t love him anymore. Master Pei, do you really think that he was willing to offer such a high ransom because he still has feelings for me? It¡¯s because we share a child and he doesn¡¯t want me to die in a foreignnd. One billion dors is indeed a huge sum, but it¡¯s only peanuts to Jin Qingyan.¡± In order to make him believe her, she continued, ¡°If two people were really in love with each other, they wouldn¡¯t let go of each other easily. Master Pei, don¡¯t you think so?¡± Pei Yi reached out to grab the teacup and took a few sips before saying, ¡°Don¡¯t try and put humanity to the test. Humanity can never withstand tests, especially when ites to love, which crumbles easily. I don¡¯t believe in true love at all.¡± ¡°Seems like you haven¡¯t met a woman whom you really love, Master Pei.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve belittled me. I¡¯m a year older than you. I¡¯ll be turning thirty-one this year, not twenty-one. I¡¯ve seen a great deal of what the world has to offer. I¡¯ve also been in love several times with different women. It just doesn¡¯t seem like a big deal to me,¡± said Pei Yi, sitting up straight. An Xiaoning smiled at him quietly. She had to put her acting skills to the test every single day. It was tough and miserable for her to force herself to lie and grin pretentiously at the man whom she detested. Although she disliked having to behave that way, she had no choice but to keep up with the pretense in order to stay alive. On top of that, she had to butter him up continuously, solely because her life lies in his hands. ¡°Master Pei, if you don¡¯t mind, I can pretend to be your girlfriend so you can have a taste of what it¡¯s like to be in a rtionship.¡± An Xiaoning was filled with panic and anxiety as soon as she finished speaking, for she was constantly testing his boundaries. She was hoping that he could continue to allow her to stay alive even if she can¡¯t escape. In fact, she even hoped that he could let his guard down against her and allow her to sleep without handcuffs, which were rather ufortable. She knew clearly that she had no other redeeming qualities that could attract him except that pretty face of hers. However, she was even more aware that the only way she could get out of such a knotty predicament was to please him and get into his good books. That was the only way she could get out of the room and have a chance of escaping! She wanted to leave this ce forever. Otherwise, leaving his clutches would only be a far-fetched idea. Pei Yi was slightly startled to hear her words. With a squint, he questioned, ¡°Do you know what you¡¯re talking about?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll just be ying pretend. You don¡¯t have to take it too seriously, Master Pei.¡± ¡°I¡¯m germophobic,¡± he blurted without hesitation. An Xiaoning understood what he meant ¡ª he found her to be filthy and did not wish to act as a couple with her. He must have mistaken her intentions. She did not n on sleeping with him or kissing him at all. I¡¯m afraid of filth too! Was there a need for him to say that? An Xiaoning snorted withughter and said, ¡°Master Pei, do you really think the only things couples do are getting intimate and making out with each other?¡± ¡°Is that not the case? Is there still pure innocence in the world of adults?¡± ¡°Of course there is. Don¡¯t judge me just because I¡¯m thirty-one years old. I¡¯m still an eighteen-year-old teenager at heart. Since you¡¯re a germaphobe, I naturally wouldn¡¯t dare to touch you inappropriately. Rest assured, Master Pei.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like you can¡¯t touch me at all... My condition isn¡¯t that serious,¡± he said, trying not to seem like a petty coward. An Xiaoning was relieved since it meant that he wouldn¡¯t harbor any designs on her. That was great. ¡°Master Pei, are you willing to roley with me, then?¡± ¡°Sure, I shall see what tricks you cane up with.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be your girlfriend today, then,¡± said An Xiaoning, who did not really n to y any tricks. Pei Yi expressed assent indifferently. An Xiaoning smiled in response. She had never once put in effort in courting men. In fact, she never understood how Gu Beicheng and Tuoba Gucheng had fallen in love with her. She should be able to win his heart easily with the added effort. A little sacrifice wouldn¡¯t matter as long as she could stay alive and escape. Just as Pei Yi was about to get up, An Xiaoning hugged him and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go to the dressing room to help pick out your outfit for today. Are you going out?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Thus, he remained still and waited for her to bring the outfit. Chapter 725 - A Million Times for You (87)

Chapter 725: A Million Times for You (87)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She made her way to the spacious dressing room and meticulously picked out a set of clothes and shoes for him. She selected a ck cored sweater and a bright red thick coat. She matched it with a pair of ck trousers and leather boots of the same color scheme. Pei Yi¡¯s forehead creased into a frown upon the sight of the outfit she had chosen. ¡°A full ck outfit?¡± ¡°The coat is red, isn¡¯t it? I think you¡¯ll look really dashing in this outfit.¡± He actually heeded her advice and put it on. He looked even more charming with the bright red coat. When it was time to wash up, An Xiaoning squeezed some toothpaste onto the toothbrush before handing it to him. He stood next to her by the basin and began brushing his teeth. An Xiaoning had been barefaced throughout since she did not have her cosmetic products with her. However, things are different now that they were roleying as a couple. Thus, she obviously had to put on some makeup. ¡°Master Pei, could you talk to Ms. Qin and ask her to lend me some cosmetic products?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll ask her to bring a new set.¡± He didn¡¯t think much of it since he was a man and men were usually less petty. However, Qin Guo was infuriated. Not only did An Xiaoning, the supposed hostage, get to spend every waking moment with Pei Yi, she even get to eat with him, use his bathroom, stay by his side, and wear beautiful clothes. And now, she¡¯d even get to put on makeup. Was this how hostages ought to be treated? Was it? This was practically the way one would treat his girlfriend! Despite having served Pei Yi for so many years, Qin Guo had never once been allowed to use his bathroom or sleep on his couch. However, she had no choice but to obey his instructions and bring aplete set of cosmetic products, including makeup, skincare products, and facial masks, for An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning sat on the couch and began doing her makeup, which she spent twenty minutes on meticulously, as opposed to the mere ten minutes she usually took at home. Pei Yi happened to look in her direction just as she stood up from the couch. He knew that An Xiaoning looked better in person, even without makeup. Yet, to his surprise, her beauty was further enhanced with some makeup. ¡°Not bad,¡± heplimented with a nod of satisfaction. After breakfast, she asked, ¡°Have you ever cooked up a meal?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never tried my hand at cooking.¡± ¡°That¡¯s such a shame. I rarely enter the kitchen either, mostly because my culinary skills are rather mediocre and the food I make isn¡¯t delicious. Why don¡¯t we learn how to cook together in the afternoon? It¡¯s amon couple activity.¡± ¡°Are you trying to disrupt my usual routine?¡± ¡°I¡¯m your girlfriend now.¡± ¡°...¡± He consented with silence. While he was busy and engrossed in staring at hisputer screen during work hours, An Xiaoning would sit opposite him to gaze at him while resting her chin in her hands. She was aplete distraction to him, for he would take his eyes off the screen to nce at her every now and then. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that...¡± An Xiaoning rested her head on the table and said with a sigh, ¡°Who can resist such a handsome boyfriend?¡± Pei Yi let out a rare chuckle. Noticing the change in his expression, An Xiaoning added, ¡°I reckon I must have be the subject of envy and grudge of the women here. You must protect me properly. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll be skinned alive by those jealous women when you¡¯re not around one day.¡± ¡°Who¡¯d dare toy a finger on you without my permission? I¡¯m the only one who can skin you alive,¡± Pei Yi said reassuringly. An Xiaoning brazenly held his hand and stared at him intently. ¡°How charmingly domineering of you to say that.¡± Greatly taken aback by her sudden gesture, Pei Yi quickly retracted his hand. Not bothered by his reaction, An Xiaoning took out a square piece of paper and began folding a paper crane quietly. She was thoroughly impressed by her own flirting techniques, for she did not expect herself to be so smooth at it. Pei Yi took more than just a few nces at her throughout the morning. However, she was deeply engrossed in folding paper cranes, just like she had been the past few days. Therge stic bottle was almost fully filled with paper cranes. At half-past eleven, Pei Yi switched off theputer and headed to the kitchen together with An Xiaoning. Since the temperatures were freezing, Pei Yi instructed his servants to bring a long hoodie for An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning put on the hoodie and buttoned the rest of it, revealing only her pretty face. They were both dressed in matching red-colored coats. Pei Yi had personal chefs to cook his daily meals. At this very moment, they were the only ones together in the kitchen. Pointing at the meat on the chopping board, Pei Yi remarked scornfully, ¡°The pieces you¡¯ve cut are toorge. Even a culinary newbie like me can tell.¡± ¡°You may cut it again then...¡± Pei Yi had no choice but to do so. ¡°You¡¯re not following a recipe at all. What are you trying to cook?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll knowter,¡± said An Xiaoning, who had already thought about cooking a dish he had never eaten before while she was folding the paper cranes. After much thought, she decided to cook the dish she and her mentor used to eat when she was younger. Macaroni soup. There was no meat in the dish, and it only required carrots and some flour. Now that they had more ingredients to work with, it should turn out to be much more delicious. An Xiaoning¡¯s face was covered in flour after she was done making the macaroni from scratch. Staring at her unaesthetic-looking masterpiece, An Xiaoning exined, ¡°This is a dish I used to eat ever since I was a child. It doesn¡¯t look appetizing, but it tastes delicious. Give it a try.¡± Noticing that he did not touch the food at all, An Xiaoning scooped some of the soup with a spoon and gave it a few huffs to cool it down before feeding it to him. He swallowed it and found that it indeed tasted pretty good. ¡°It tastes alright.¡± An Xiaoning ced the bowl in front of him and scooped herself another bowl, which she polished off delightfully. Standing by the kitchen door, Qin Guo stared at them grudgingly from behind with a look of disbelief. She gritted her teeth, thinking to herself that An Xiaoning was an expert seductress. It¡¯s only been such a short time... The more Qin Guo dwelled on it, the more threatened she felt. She can¡¯t touch An Xioaning openly since she was merely Pei Yi¡¯s servant and her doing so would greatly infuriate him. She might even end up harming herself instead. After breakfast, Pei Yi was in high spirits and brought An Xiaoning to sunbathe on the balcony for the first time. They felt extremelyfortable basking in the warm sun while lying on the reclined sunbed. An Xiaoning opened her eyes slightly and said while staring at the ring sun, ¡°This is the ideal life that I yearn to live every single day. I enjoy peaceful days like this without any unnecessary drama.¡± However, things don¡¯t always go ording to her wishes and there will always be troublemakers who are out to disrupt peace , she thought to herself. ¡°As long as you¡¯re obedient and obey my instructions, I won¡¯t kill you for the time being.¡± As long as I¡¯m obedient, he won¡¯t kill me for the time being? His emotions were now the deciding factor of her life. He might just dump her aside when he gets tired of her one day. He seemed to have given her the chance to live on the surface. However, he was the same person who robbed her of her human rights. Withoutparison with another, the positive attributes of someone wouldn¡¯t stand out. She finally realized how great of a person Jin Qingyan was when she juxtaposed him against Pei Yi. Chapter 726 - A Million Times for You (88)

Chapter 726: A Million Times for You (88)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Since she was considered to be dead by Jin Qingyan, she could only rely on her own abilities to escape. It was an arduous task to have to constantly please the person whom she detested. She was waiting for a suitable time and opportunity to leave this ce. ¡ª¡ª In the pitch-dark room, Jin Qingyan continuously iled his arms about in the air involuntarily, after which he frantically switched on the lights, which lit the room up immediately. Jin Qingyan broke out into a cold sweat and sat up straight, his heart palpitating vigorously. He rarely had such realistic dreams. It felt as if it was happening in real life. In fact, he even felt surreal the moment he woke up. He could not help but begin pondering over the scene in the dream. After getting a grip on his emotions, he called Fan Shixin into the room. Fan Shixin was extremely reluctant to crawl out of his warm andfortable bed, especially since he was in the midst of a peaceful slumber in the freezing winter. However, he dared not disobey Jin Qingyan¡¯s instructions. He got dressed and headed to Jin Qingyan¡¯s room, where the door was intentionally left ajar. ¡°Young Sir,¡± Fan Shixin greeted. ¡°Find a way to show me the photos of Pei Yi¡¯s territory in R Nation.¡± ¡°Young Sir, why do you want to see those photos?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask why, just show me their photos, as soon as possible.¡± Fan Shixin had no choice but to obey. ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°Go ahead immediately. It¡¯s very important, step on it.¡± He nodded and proceeded immediately. Jin Qingyan sat on the bed alone with a somber expression on his face. Jin Qingyan was filled with anxiety at the thought of the dream he had and waited for the photos to be ready. Hey in bed until daybreak. After breakfast, Fan Shixin handed him some photos and said, ¡°Here are some high-definition photos of his mansion, which were taken by the satellite system. It¡¯s confirmed to be his.¡± Jin Qingyan took the photos from him and began scrutinizing them while the smile on his face widened. Puzzled to see his bizarre smile, Fan Shixin asked worriedly, ¡°Young Sir, why are you so happy?¡± ¡°Shixin,e with me.¡± After looking at all the photos, Jin Qingyan headed to his bedroom upstairs while Fan Shixin followed closely behind him. ¡°Do you know why I wanted these photos?¡± ¡°Why...¡± ¡°I had a dreamst night, during which I flew here. Guess what I saw?¡± Having witnessed several incredible and fantastical incidents, especially the absurd one about his Young Sir¡¯s incarnate from his previous life, Fan Shixin did not doubt Jin Qingyan¡¯s words at all. ¡°Young Sir, what did you see?¡± ¡°I saw Xiaoning and that Pei Yi lying together on a chair on the rooftop. I¡¯ve seen photos of Pei Yi before, I can¡¯t be wrong. They were both dressed in red, and Xiaoning¡¯s legs were bound to thick and heavy chains. I yelled at the top of my lungs in an attempt to grab her but I just couldn¡¯t. I couldn¡¯t tell what they were talking about either. Shixin, Xiaoning must still be alive. I¡¯ve never seen that ce before I had this dream, and I found it so incredible after seeing these photos. Do you believe my words?¡± said Jin Qingyan, cing his hands on Fan Shixin¡¯s shoulders. ¡°I do.¡± Fan Shixin would naturally be happy to hear what Jin Qingyan said, for thetter had been listless and dejected ever since An Xiaoning¡¯s mishap. Hence, it was rare to see him smile again. ¡°It felt too real. My soul had definitely drifted there, without a doubt. Shixin, I knew she wouldn¡¯t die. She¡¯s like a cat with nine lives. How could she have died so easily? She wouldn¡¯t. She definitely came up with a solution to stay alive. This is wonderful. No, I must rescue her out of that ce!¡± Noticing how worked up he got, Fan Shixin hurriedly said, ¡°Young Sir, calm down. I believe that your dream was real, but we first have to verify if what happened in your dream really did take ce in real life before jumping to conclusions.¡± ¡°You still don¡¯t believe that my dream was real!¡± ¡°I do, I absolutely do! I suggested that you investigate it further, precisely because I believe you. Nothing will go wrong if we take action after verifying the truth.¡± Jin Qingyan let go of his shoulder and said, ¡°We did that previously but ended up missing the right opportunity. Who knows what¡¯ll happen again this time if we wait until you¡¯ve verified the truth? Find me a chance and solution now, I¡¯m going in there myself.¡± ¡°Young Sir, you can¡¯t do that. We¡¯ll send some people there. It¡¯s too dangerous for you to go there yourself!¡± Fan Shixin refused worriedly. ¡°You silly, do you really think I¡¯ll go in using my true identity? I have my own ways. Just do as I instructed,¡± said Jin Qingyan, cing his hands behind him. Fan Shixin was stuck in a tough dilemma because of his stubborn and obstinate employer. While he believed that Jin Qingyan¡¯s words were real, his rationality reminded him that it was merely a dream and it can¡¯t be confirmed to be real yet. It seemed to him that Jin Qingyan was just asking for death. ¡°Young Sir, don¡¯t act rashly.¡± ¡°Dummy! I¡¯ll verify for myself whether or not it¡¯s real. You just have to follow the instructions I¡¯ve given you. That¡¯ll do,¡± Jin Qingyan reiterated. ¡°Yes...¡± ¡°Call Little Sir hometer, I miss my son.¡± Fan Shixin could not help but chastise, ¡°I was just asking you yesterday if you¡¯d like to see Little Sir but you ignored me. Yet you feel like giving him some paternal love now that you¡¯re reminded of him. Young Sir, you¡¯re so capricious.¡± Feeling like his spirits had been lifted, Jin Qingyan smiled and said, ¡°You¡¯re so full of nonsense. Hurry and do as you¡¯re told.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll get to it right away.¡± An hourter, Jin Yiheng alighted from the car, dressed in a leather suit and thick quilted garments, coupled with a pair of leather boots and shades. He then began walking toward Jin Qingyan, who was dressed in blue. Fan Shixin hurriedly followed behind. ¡°Daddy, why have you aged so much within just days?¡± ¡°In your eyes, I¡¯ll forever be aged. That¡¯s how the term ¡®Lao Zi¡¯ 1 came about. There... I¡¯m your Lao Zi,¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°Daddy, you¡¯re lying. Lao Zi was a Chinese philosopher during 500 B.C.!¡± Jin Qingyan was speechless. He held his son¡¯s hand and asked, ¡°What would you like to have for lunch? I¡¯ll ask Granny Chen to make it for you. Training at the boot camp must be tough, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°No, not at all.¡± ¡°Wow, you¡¯re all grown up now, eh? Uncle Shixin told me that you¡¯ve never once mentioned that you wanted to withdraw from the academy. Well done, my son,¡± Jin Qingyan praised gleefully. ¡°That goes without saying. I¡¯m An Xiaoning¡¯s son. Mommy is my pride and joy, as well as my greatest role model. I can¡¯t give up and withdraw.¡± Staring at Jin Yiheng in displeasure, Jin Qingyan retorted, ¡°I¡¯m not that far off. Why didn¡¯t you say that I¡¯m your role model too? Would you be here without me?¡± Hah, what a joke. Would An Xiaoning have been able to give birth to such a brilliant and bright son without my marvelous genes? Jin Qingyan thought to himself. Seemingly having guessed his thoughts, Jin Yiheng raised his chin and walked through the gate while saying, ¡°You may have yed a part in giving birth to me but you didn¡¯t raise me.¡± Jin Qingyan was on the verge of vomiting blood. ¡°He¡¯s definitely your son, no doubt, Young Sir. He¡¯s really got your genes.¡± Fan Shixin then said to Jin Yiheng, ¡°Little Sir, I¡¯ll send you back to the training ground tomorrow morning. You may spend the rest of today with your Daddy.¡± Chapter 727 - A Million Times for You (89)

Chapter 727: A Million Times for You (89)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s real. Since when have I ever lied to you?¡± said Fan Shixin, who thought that Jin Yiheng would be over the moon. ¡°Can you send me back this afternoon instead?¡± Jin Yiheng asked. Jin Qingyan and Fan Shixin¡¯s jaws dropped in shock the moment they heard his words. ¡°Why? Don¡¯t you want to spend time with me?¡± Jin Qingyan questioned in bewilderment. Jin Yiheng answered solemnly, ¡°No, I want to spend time with both Daddy and Mommy. Spending time alone with you is too boring. You don¡¯t understand the joy of spending time with me at all. Daddy, you¡¯re so boring.¡± Jin Qingyan could not help but feel embarrassed by his son¡¯s criticism, which greatly took him by surprise. He had never expected for his son to feel that way about him. ¡°What must I do to be fun and interesting, then? Daddy has no clue at all. Teach me.¡± Jin Yiheng sighed and dismissed him, ¡°You¡¯re too old to learn.¡± He was again despised and looked down upon! Ugh! Jin Qingyan suddenly realized that he had not visited Jin Yiheng in a long time. Could that be the reason why we have grown distant? Clearly, things had be different after the divorce. ¡°You finally get to take a day off today. Tell me, where would you like to go to have fun?¡± ¡°Can we go anywhere?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I want to go to outer space.¡± ¡°...¡± There was no way they couldmunicate! Noticing the grimace on his father¡¯s face, Jin Yiheng burst intoughter and said, ¡°Daddy, I was just teasing you.¡± ¡°I... figured that.¡± ¡ª¡ª In the confined space of the room, Lin Mingyuan and Gu Dongcheng sat facing each other; a table on which there was some coffee that neither of them touched was in between them. After a long while of silence, Lin Mingyuan finally spoke, ¡°What¡¯s on your mind, Mr. Gu?¡± ¡°I¡¯m wondering if you¡¯re really that sincere, Ms. Lin. From the looks of it, I believe you are, though,¡± Gu Dongcheng said with a grin. ¡°I¡¯m always sincere when ites to working with others. That¡¯s just my motto. Are there still no news of your wife yet?¡± Her question had struck a sour note within Gu Dongcheng. Xu Youran was pregnant with their child, and he was yet to know if she¡¯s dead or alive right now. There were two voices in his head, one telling him that Xu Youran wouldn¡¯t have been allowed to survive and the other telling him to keep hoping for a miracle. ¡°No,¡± he answered, shaking his head. Not wishing to talk about that topic any further, Lin Mingyuan said, ¡°Once you¡¯ve found another medium, bring him to me immediately. I won¡¯t let the cat out of the bag at all. I hope we¡¯ll have a joyous cooperation.¡± ¡°That¡¯s for sure,¡± said Gu Dongcheng, reaching his hand out to her. Lin Mingyuan shook his hand and they both came to a consensus. They did not speak any further and parted ways soon after. After Lin Mingyuan left, Gu Dongcheng remained in his seat instead of leaving immediately. He was riddled with problems. Now that he had been kicked out of the family mansion by his parents, it would be tough for him to secure a footing in thepany, especially since Gu Beicheng was in charge of it. To make matters worse, his wife was now missing with no news of whether she was dead or alive, causing him to be exceptionally cautious when he was in the Gu Corporation. Who could understand the woes he had deep down? He resented his father for being biased against him and allowing Gu Beicheng to be in charge of thepany when they were both his sons. He did not feel any lesspetent than Gu Beicheng! He resented Heaven for being unfair and taking away his mother¡¯s life way too early. If she had not passed away early, Mr. Gu wouldn¡¯t have married Mrs. Gu and Gu Beicheng would have never existed. He detested everyone! Gu Dongcheng picked up his cup of coffee and began sipping on it slowly. At the same time, he began devising a seamless n for his next move. Without An Xiaoning, Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi are going to be helpless once I find another medium. Let¡¯s see who can rescue them when that happens! Even though Jin Qingyan refused to admit, Gu Dongcheng was certain that he was the one who took Xu Youran away. If Youran is dead, I must avenge her and our child! A menacing look of vengeance formed in Gu Dongcheng¡¯s eyes. He whipped his phone out and dialed the string of numbers in his call history. ¡ª¡ª It was sunny the day before yesterday. However, it began pouring yesterday and the skies were still gloomy. The full ss window in the room was facing the South, which caused it to be dimly lit. ¡°You¡¯ve folded enough paper cranes. What are you folding so many of them for?¡± Pei Yi remarked calmly. ¡°Well, I have nothing to do anyway. I¡¯m bored so I need this to kill time,¡± said An Xiaoning, who did not find it pointless at all, for she would ponder over many things while folding the paper cranes. Pei Yi did not say anything else after hearing her answer. After folding for a long while, she stopped and asked, ¡°Do you believe in past and present lifetimes?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Life is short and you turn to ashes once you¡¯re dead. There¡¯s no such thing as an afterlife or past lifetimes.¡± ¡°I believe there is,¡± said An Xiaoning, massaging her hands and fingers. ¡°Why?¡± An Xiaoning smiled and answered, ¡°Because I believe I have a previous life.¡± ¡°What logic is that...?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just like your belief in the existence of certain entities.¡± An Xiaoning knew that these people were loyal to amon religion that they were willing to die for. ¡°Would you like to follow my religious faith?¡± An Xiaoning turned him down tactfully, for she knew that those terrorists valued their religion far greater than their own lives. Although she had utterly detested their extreme religious beliefs, she couldn¡¯t reject him bluntly. She was well aware of the consequences that it entailed if she were to do that. ¡°I¡¯d like to join too, but I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t. When I acknowledged my mentor and joined her n, we took an oath to be atheists. My mentor raised me since I was a child, and though she may not be around anymore, I don¡¯t wish to rebel against the rules and instructions she left me,¡± said An Xiaoning, pretending to appear disappointed. It was a smart decision to mention her mentor at this critical juncture. ¡°I won¡¯t force you,¡± said Pei Yi, who did not n on making her convert to his religion. Knock-knock! Qin Guo knocked on the door and reported, ¡°Ancestor, Ms. Tian is here.¡± Pei Yi did not answer, as if he did not hear her at all. ¡°Ancestor... Ms. Tian would like to see you,¡± Qin Guo repeated. He stopped what he was doing and said to An Xiaoning, ¡°Return to the bedroom first.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning immediately stood up and returned to his bedroom. She sat on the couch and waited. Not long after, she heard a female voiceing from outside. An Xiaoning leaned against the door and peeked through the gap. It was a woman who had a simr frame as she did and was dressedvishly from head to toe in a set of clothes that seemed exorbitantly priced. Her voice was crisp and clear, and it was so loud that An Xiaoning could hear her effortlessly. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like you to keep a hostage around instead of killing her or exchanging her for money.¡± ¡°Is that any of your business? You¡¯re in no ce to interfere with my matters,¡± Pei Yi clipped coldly. Chapter 728 - A Million Times for You (90)

Chapter 728: A Million Times for You (90)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Pei Yi... just how did you end up like this? Have you gotten tired of toying with those clean virgins? I can¡¯t believe you¡¯ve actually acquired a taste for filthy women like her. Your taste has really gotten from bad to worse!¡± ¡°Tian Tian! I didn¡¯t agree to see you to have you insult me,¡± Pei Yi snapped angrily. The woman walked toward Pei Yi and stopped when she was about a meter¡¯s length away from him. She raised her chin and questioned, ¡°You¡¯re still infuriated with me, aren¡¯t you? That¡¯s why you¡¯re using such a woman to spite and insult me, right?¡± ¡°You¡¯re reading too much into things. That¡¯s not what I meant at all.¡± ¡°But it seems like it to me. You¡¯re doing all of this to show me that you¡¯d rather tolerate being with such a woman than forgive me. Didn¡¯t you say that you were extremely intolerant toward filth? Why have you changed your mindset when ites to her? Have you stopped being a germaphobe? You don¡¯t mind filthy women anymore?¡± Exasperated beyond limits, Pei Yi hollered, ¡°Tian Tian, you¡¯re getting way out of hand and unruly. You¡¯re just an outsider. Who are you to interfere with my decisions? Do you really think you have the rights to tell me what to do just because I¡¯ve shown you some kindness? Get off your high horse, you¡¯ve overestimated yourself! Go back if there¡¯s nothing else you¡¯d like to say. I¡¯m very busy.¡± Pei Yi was chasing her away. Tian Tian pouted her lips. Women are not to be trifled with, for the consequences are bound to be dire once they¡¯re provoked. Tian Tian shifted her gaze onto the bedroom door not too far away while An Xiaoning hurriedly closed it shut. She remained still by the sofa upon hearing footsteps approaching. Noticing that Tian Tian was running toward his bedroom, Pei Yi tried to stop her but failed to do so in time. Tian Tian opened the door and entered the moment she caught sight of An Xiaoning. Just as she was about to give An Xiaoning a tight p, An Xiaoning grabbed her wrist tightly, hindering her from moving an inch. ¡°You don¡¯t know me at all and yet you¡¯re trying to hit me. Aren¡¯t you being unreasonable?¡± An Xiaoning scorned. Pei Yi heaved a sigh of relief when he reached the door and ordered, ¡°Tian Tian, get out.¡± An Xiaoning let go of her. To her astonishment, Tian Tian immediately kicked her in the knee. An Xiaoning winced in pain but nheless rebuked, ¡°What a shrew. Fancy you bullying another woman when you¡¯re a woman yourself.¡± Boiling with anger, Tian Tian tried to attack An Xiaoning again, only to be dragged outside by Pei Yi. An Xiaoning bent forward to rub her aching knee. ¡°Just my luck,¡± she muttered under her breath. It was understandable for there to be a bunch of jealous women throwing themselves at Pei Yi, given how handsome he was. She just had to get used to it. An Xiaoning exited the room slowly, only to see Qin Guo kneeling on the ground with her head hung low. An Xiaoning could sense the deep resentment in her eyes. An Xiaoning shot Qin Guo a dirty look relentlessly, whichpletely caught the other woman off guard while she continued to kneel quietly. Pei Yi could not help but feel amused by her expression. He did not find her obnoxious and, instead, felt like he could not wrap his head around what An Xiaoning was really like. He felt that she was sometimes as timid as a mouse and, at other times, as brave as a lion. She was both bold and brazen, yet afraid of death. An Xiaoning stepped forward slowly to see that he was much less upset than before. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she apologized slowly. ¡°Why are you apologizing?¡± ¡°Because I put you in a spot by refusing to resign myself to fate and struggling to stay alive.¡± ¡°I¡¯m d you know. Are you giving up already?¡± ¡°No, no, no. I want to keep living, I don¡¯t wish to die. It¡¯s my blessing to have you as my benefactor, Master Pei. I¡¯ll be much more obedient from now on and abide by your instructions.¡± I wish I couldsh out at you, you unscrupulous scoundrel! she cursed in her head. If it weren¡¯t because of him, she wouldn¡¯t have had to suffer in silence so as to stay alive. He was clearly the one who locked her up, yet she still had to thank him for sparing her life... Her words were like music to Pei Yi¡¯s ears, despite knowing that she did not mean what she said. He did not answer her and instead looked at Qin Guo, who was kneeling on the ground. ¡°It¡¯s not like you don¡¯t know the rules here. How dare you tell on me to Tian Tian? You¡¯re really brazen, eh? Why? Are you getting sick of living here?¡± he questioned coldly. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare to. Ancestor, I was wrong! Please spare me this once, I wouldn¡¯t dare do it again!¡± Qin Guo pleaded anxiously, kowtowing to him. Pei Yi hissed and said, ¡°Continue kneeling here for two hours, I¡¯m going out to handle some matters.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He exited, leaving the two women alone together. There was three times the number of surveince cameras in the living room, aspared to his bedroom. Thus, Qin Guo would not have the audacity to do anything atrocious. She straightened her back and sneered at An Xiaoning, ¡°Don¡¯t think Ancestor will really fall for you. He¡¯ll never fancy a withered flower like you. He¡¯s once said before that he can never tolerate tainted and filthy women.¡± An Xiaoning sat on the couch calmly and said, ¡°Everyone¡¯s standards change with time. Change is often unexpected and inevitable. I won¡¯t ask for Master Pei to fall in love with me. All I¡¯m asking is for him to spare my life so long as I¡¯m obedient.¡± ¡°I thought you really had a strong backbone. Turns out I was wrong.¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯m afraid of death and I cherish my life too dearly. No one can take my life away except Heaven. I¡¯ll do my best and strive to survive,¡± said An Xiaoning, who was intentionally trying to spite Qin Guo. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard someone talk about being afraid of death so candidly!¡± ¡°There¡¯s always a first. I am a coward who¡¯s afraid of death.¡± ¡°You... you¡¯re really sharp-tongued!¡± Qin Guo snapped, her stern grimace almost ruining the thickyer of makeup on her face. ¡°I¡¯m nothingpared to you.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª¡ª Madam Xu buried the ashes of Xu Baizhi and her husband. Xu Yang was charged and imprisoned for encroaching on his position and abusing his authority. Military Commander Xu only had a while to go before his retirement. However, he received a notice from the higher authority, which informed him that he would be stripped of his position as the Military Commander. Apart from Xu Cai, the entire Xu family was implicated and suffered grave consequences. Grief-stricken and devastated because of her family¡¯s downfall, Madam Xu fell severely ill and became bedridden. She could not eat or sleep in peace and did not leave the house for days. She had also grown visibly thinner. Both Madam Xu and her husband deeply regretted agreeing to go ahead with Xu Baizhi¡¯s n. If they had turned her down right from the start, Xu Baizhi wouldn¡¯t have died and Xu Yang also wouldn¡¯t have been implicated. Moreover, the Xu family¡¯s reputation would not have been tarnished by the rumors either. However, it was all toote now. The Xu family had no idea how their long-lost daughter, with whom they had reunited just a while back, had died overseas. The police did not provide any further information either. After all, Xu Baizhi would have been sentenced to death for the major crime she hadmitted anyway. Thus, there was no point in further investigation. Madam Xu and Mr. Xuy in bed with nothing to say to each other. They soon heard footsteps shuffling and approaching their room. The butler opened the door and reported, ¡°Sir, Madam, the police are here.¡± ¡°The police? What¡¯s going on?¡± they asked frantically as they rushed toward the living room. ¡°Mr. Xu, Madam Xu, we¡¯ve received an insider report about Mr. Xu abusing his authority to cause harm to others. We¡¯ll now have to bring Mr. Xu back to the police station for further investigation.¡± Madam Xu grabbed her husband¡¯s arm and defended him vehemently, ¡°My husband didn¡¯t abuse his power and authority, don¡¯t take him away.¡± Chapter 729 - A Million Times for You (91)

Chapter 729: A Million Times for You (91)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Madam Xu, we¡¯re just following the orders given by our superiors. Please don¡¯t make things difficult for us.¡± The former Military Commander Xu waved his hand and said, ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll just go with them.¡± Madam Xu had no choice but to watch her husband being taken away while her legs turned to jelly. Just as she was about to stumble over, the butler hurriedly held her and said, ¡°Madam, are you alright?¡± She regained her bnced and burst into tears, her hands trembling uncontrobly. There were no further news after Mr. Xu was arrested, causing Madam Xu and Xu Cai to be flustered and worried. After much consideration, Madam Xu decided to visit Commander-in-chief Jin, whom she had been on good terms with all along. She intended to seek their help in finding out more about the current situation, in hopes that they would agree to help her on ount of their ties. Upon hearing her purpose of visit, Madam Jin snapped relentlessly, ¡°Trust you to have the cheek to show up here yourself. No wonder you randomly asked Sis Mei and I out for a game of mahjong that day. Turns out you were beating around the bush and trying to sound us out to find out Xiaoning¡¯s exact birth timing. You¡¯re really a vicious shrew. You seem to be so kind and benevolent on the surface, such a pious Buddhist. And yet, you¡¯re so evil and ill-intentioned deep down. If it weren¡¯t because of your family, Xiaoning wouldn¡¯t have ended up in such a plight. How dare you have the cheek to ask us for help? You¡¯re really thick-skinned and shameless!¡± Madam Xu turned pale and looked at Madam Jin with tears in her red and swollen eyes. ¡°Please just help Old Xu. It¡¯s been days since he was arrested and I¡¯ve been worried sick. We absolutely regret what we had done to Ms. An too, but it¡¯s toote for regret now. What¡¯s done cannot be undone,¡± she pleaded. With a frown, Commander-in-chief Jin declined politely, ¡°I really can¡¯t interfere with this matter, please go back, Madam Xu.¡± However, Madam Xu refused to give up and knelt on the ground to beg him once more, ¡°Please, I¡¯m begging you!¡± Raging with fury, Madam Jin snapped, ¡°Seems like you have no shame. Hurry and get out of my house. Your family deserved the retribution you got. You brought it all upon yourselves. Just how did Xiaoning offend you in any way? Why did you have to do that to her? You caused her so much harm, yet you still have the cheek to say such shameless things. Hurry and scram!¡± Commander-in-chief Jin stood up and said, ¡°Hurry and leave, we won¡¯t get involved in this matter.¡± Madam Xu left in the end, after making a wasted trip. She returned home to see that her son was already waiting for her at home. Upon hearing that she had gone to visit the Jin family, Xu Cai chastised bluntly, ¡°Aren¡¯t you looking to be humiliated by visiting them at such a juncture?¡± ¡°But I was just hoping there would be some hope.¡± ¡°Investigations will take more than just a few days for Father¡¯s case. Just wait patiently. Mother, just rest well at home and recuperate. I¡¯ll inform you right away if there are any news of Father,¡± said Xu Cai, the only person who was not implicated. At this point, he was not quite sure what else to say, especially since he knew what his parents had done. Madam Xu expressed assent feebly andy on the couch to get some rest. ¡ª¡ª At past ten o¡¯clock at night, the winds were chilly on Mount Qingping. The main gate opened all of a sudden, and another car drove in. The car came to a halt steadily, and four burly men, who appeared to be foreigners, alighted. The four men were transferred here from the headquarters in M Nation. Minutester, another man, who was the leader, strode in. The man took out his valid documents and said to them sternly, ¡°Leave with me.¡± The four men followed him in a single file. Their paces were in sync and they kept an appropriate distance between each other. The man walking behindst had a much better-proportioned figure and was more good-lookingpared to the rest. Although they were all dressed in the same uniform, he still stood out strikingly from his peers. He scanned his surroundings while walking. The man was none other than Jin Qingyan, who had sneaked in. In order to blend in with them, he¡¯d instructed Fan Shixin to find out more about the system. Thetter then discovered that the headquarters in M Nation would often recruit three to four men to add on to their manpower. Fan Shixin managed to get hold of the photo of one of the men who was about to be transferred there this month and who had a simr figure to Jin Qingyan. They then went through painstaking means to make a mask that was identical to the man¡¯s features in order to sessfully swap him with Jin Qingyan. The fact that the four men did not belong to the same team gave Jin Qingyan a marvelous opportunity. Well, at least, his voice wouldn¡¯t let the cat out of the bag. Moreover, he was not at all worried about thenguage barrier. The regime within the system of the organization was much stricterpared to the rules he had enforced amongst his subordinates in Wei Ni Estate. Sneaking in would allow him to pick up the strengths of others and apply them to his own ruling system when he returned home. After walking for a while and having passed by several barriers, the leader stopped in his tracks and took a break at a spot while the rest followed suit. ¡°Since you guys were transferred here from the headquarters, I believe you know the basic rules. However, there are some rules here that are different from what you¡¯re ustomed to. I hope you¡¯ll understand and bear them in mind. I¡¯ll briefly exin them to you now.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± they answered in unison. ¡°When you¡¯re on duty, you must keep your eyes fixed on what¡¯s in front of you and you¡¯re not allowed to multi-task or let yourself be distracted. Anyone who¡¯s caught being inattentive will be served with a penalty of twenty strokes of the whip. Whenever you see our Ancestor, you must hang your heads low and avoid eye contact with him, lest you infuriate him and trigger him to have you executed,¡± said the leader, staring at the men before him. Upon hearing his words, the three other men immediately shivered in fear and shock. Jin Qingyan finally understood what it meant to be cruel and violent. Compared to this Ancestor, Jin Qingyan was much more merciful. One of them could not help but ask curiously, ¡°Why aren¡¯t we allowed to look at him?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re not allowed to. Just look down at the ground whenever you see him. Why are you asking so many questions? Are you asking for death? Or would you like to ask Ancestor personally?¡± the leader chided. ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°This is a huge taboo. Just stay put in your respective units and follow the orders given. Don¡¯t ask so many irrelevant questions. Come, introduce yourselves.¡± ¡°My name is Beck.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Colin.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Eden.¡± When it was Jin Qingyan¡¯s turn to answer, he remained quiet. All of a sudden, a shriek could be hearding from afar. Peeved and displeased, the leader rebuked, ¡°What are you yelling for!?!¡± ¡°No, Boss, Ancestor ising.¡± Upon hearing his words, the leader asked, ¡°Where is he going at this hour?¡± ¡°To the hot spring.¡± The man then whispered softly, ¡°With a woman.¡± Jin Qingyan heard his words clearly, and his heart began to race as he looked over in their direction. He caught sight of two figures walking toward them. ¡°What are all of you looking at? Hurry and look down.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± They all then proceeded to stare at the ground. The few minutes of looking down felt extremely grueling and torturous for Jin Qingyan. Finally, they heard the sounds of footsteps approaching and of chains being dragged across the ground. All Jin Qingyan could see was that the woman who had chains on her feet was wearing a dress. However, he could not see what the chains looked like. He tried as hard as he could to resist the urge of looking up, but to no avail. While everyone was hanging their heads low, Jin Qingyan raised his head slightly to look at the woman before him. It was none other than An Xiaoning. She was wearing a hat and a long, bright red cardigan. She appeared exactly as she did in his dream. Jin Qingyan was immediately agitated beyond limits. At this very moment, only God knew how much he yearned to pull her into his embrace and bring her out of this ce at all costs. Chapter 730 - Million Times for You (92)

Chapter 730: A Million Times for You (92)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios However, he could not do that. He looked away reluctantly. He prayed fervently in his heart that she would turn her head around. Perhaps he had been wishing for it so hard that An Xiaoning really stopped in her tracks. She turned around for a split second and continued walking forward. The leader heaved a long sigh. Just as he raised his head, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°I haven¡¯t introduced myself yet. My name is Walker.¡± An Xiaoning again stopped walking abruptly and turned to stare at Jin Qingyan in shock. Although he looked like aplete stranger, she felt that his voice was all too familiar! Tears welled up in An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes the moment she saw his figure. She then stared at him longingly before continuing in her path. Jin Qingyan purposefully lowered his voice when he spoke, so as to make it sound much deeper. Having gotten used to hearing his voice long ago, An Xiaoning could recognize his voice right away, regardless of how much he tried to keep it low. However, it was different for Pei Yi, who had only spoken to Jin Qingyan once over the phone. Although he found it a little familiar, he did not dwell much on it. He thought to himself that Jin Qingyan must be thinking that An Xiaoning was dead and wouldn¡¯t have the audacity to risk his life by sneaking in here. After they left, the petrified leader yelled, ¡°Who told you to report your name earlier? You dimwit. Can¡¯t you wait for Ancestor to leave before you speak!?! You idiot!¡± Jin Qingyan did not respond and hung his head low, as if he were a humble greenhorn getting reprimanded silently. The leader did not stop and instead took a deep breath before warning him again, ¡°You must be cautious and watch every move of yours here. Otherwise, you¡¯ll die really soon. You must learn to act appropriately and think twice before you speak. Fortunately, Ancestor did not get riled up just now. Otherwise, you¡¯ll have a hard time,d.¡± Jin Qingyan expressed assent. ¡°Okay, follow me to your dormitory now.¡± Jin Qingyan looked behind him again to see that they had already left. Is she going to the hot spring with Pei Yi? he wondered to himself. Would that man touch her? What was he trying to do by falsifying the video of her staged execution? Did he fall for her? At this point, Jin Qingyan truly realized that nothing else mattered more than her being alive. There were two tubs in the hot spring, which were separated by a pearl partition blind. While getting inside the water, An Xiaoning constantly recalled the event that just took ce earlier. It felt just like a dream. She had heard his voice and seen his figure. He¡¯s here. He must havee here for me. How did he know that my death was staged and falsified? An Xiaoning could not help but feel overwhelmed with a mix of emotions. God knows how ted she was the moment she heard his voice. For the first time after their divorce, An Xiaoning wanted to hug him and thank him for taking the risk to enter and rescue her. They were so close, yet so far. However, would he get upset and leave after seeing me walk with Pei Yi? Well, he¡¯s so petty and jealous all the time. An Xiaoning thought that it was entirely possible for him to do so. However, another voice within her assured her that Jin Qingyan was not that foolish and would still save her on ount of her being the mother of his child. An Xiaoning felt much more relieved at the thought of it. Once the lights were switched off after they returned from the hot spring, An Xiaoning stayed awake with her eyes wide open. She thought that it was mandatory for her to try and ry a message to Jin Qingyan. However, the problem was how? After racking her brains, she decided that the only way was to pass him a written note, although it was not guaranteed that she could hand it to him. However, there would be no other way to contact him apart from writing him notes. Since he¡¯s alreadye all the way here to save me, he¡¯ll definitely think of a way to get near me. After much thought, she decided to write him a message on a piece of paper and find an opportunity to hand it to him. An Xiaoning sprawled herself across the couch and looked out of the window to see that the moon was absent tonight and it was pitch dark outside. She closed her eyes. Although she was still stuck in the same circumstances and predicament, she felt... much more relieved. She quietly slipped into a deep slumber. She enjoyed a good night¡¯s sleep with no dreams. In fact, she even woke upter the next morning, which was rather rare of her. The sky had already turned bright, and Pei Yi was sitting quietly by the study desk, staring at hisputer. Noticing that she was supporting herself up, he said, ¡°Seems like you had a great sleepst night.¡± ¡°Thank you for bringing me with you to the hot spring. That was what allowed me to sleep so soundly. What time is it now?¡± An Xiaoning asked with a smile. ¡°Eight something.¡± He then pressed the assistance bell and instructed, ¡°Serve us breakfast now.¡± ¡°Actually... you could¡¯ve eaten first. You didn¡¯t have to wait for me.¡± ¡°I was just too busy with work. Do you really think I was waiting for you?¡± Thinking to herself that he couldn¡¯t have been waiting for her, An Xiaoning chuckled and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go freshen up now. Please help me unlock my handcuffs.¡± ¡°You seem really happy today, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yeah, I strangely feel really happy.¡± Pei Yi picked up the key and stood behind An Xiaoning to unlock her handcuffs. An Xiaoning stretched and shook her sore arms to ease the soreness. She then turned around and said coquettishly, ¡°My arms are going to be crippled soon. When can I stop wearing handcuffs to sleep? I can only sleep on my stomach nowadays. My breasts are going to be so t.¡± Pei Yi shifted his gaze to her chest immediately and said, ¡°No, they still seem pretty big.¡± In fact, An Xiaoning¡¯sst sentence had rolled off her tongue mindlessly. As soon as she heard herself, she immediately felt an urge to bite her tongue off. His answer made her feel embarrassed; she chuckled awkwardly and proceeded to wash up. Pei Yi could not help but feel amused upon recalling her words. During breakfast, he gave her a well-thought-out answer to her question. ¡°I can unlock your handcuffs, but...¡± ¡°But what?¡± ¡°But on one condition. From now onward, you... must pretend to be my girlfriend every day.¡± An Xiaoning was surprised to hear his unexpected request. Did he forget that I would do as he instructed, even without this request to have my handcuffs unlocked? How would I dare to disobey him? ¡°Since you¡¯ve said that, I won¡¯t hold back anymore, Master Pei. Please don¡¯t hold it against me if I do something to offend you. Do you know what kind of a person I am?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I¡¯m one who¡¯s easily satisfied and cherish everything I have. From now onward, I¡¯ll treat each day I spend with you like it¡¯s thest day of my life. I¡¯ll treasure it and treat you well,¡± An Xiaoning said gently. Feeling a little thirsty, she took a sip of milk, in a bid to cover up her lie at the same time. She had be increasingly better at lying through her teeth to Pei Yi. Sweet nothings would roll out of her glib tongue without any premeditation at all! However, they both knew what each other were thinking, especially Pei Yi, who had once survived a massacre. Needless to say, he could read people easily and knew exactly what she was thinking. Yet, he did not expose her lies and pretended as if he thought that she had meant everything she said. Chapter 731 - A Million Times for You (93)

Chapter 731: A Million Times for You (93)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°That¡¯ll depend on your behavior.¡± She patted her chest and said, ¡°Rest assured, Master Pei. I won¡¯t let you down.¡± ¡°I hope so.¡± After breakfast, Pei Yi answered a call and headed out. An Xiaoning sat in front of the desk and began scribbling on a square piece of paper. Afraid that Pei Yi would find out when he watched the surveince camera footage, she purposely wrote several other lines of well wishes for Pei Yi. She only stopped when her hands began to ache. She then folded them into cranes one by one and dumped them inside therge stic bottle. Pei Yi had yet to return by the time she was done. Thus, she decided to grab a few books from the bookshelf and catch up on some reading. She would usually be able to get engrossed in any book she read. However, today was an exception. Although her eyes were fixed onto the words on the pages, her mind had drifted elsewhere and she could not help but feel incredibly distracted. She put the book away andy on the couch quietly. She decided that she would ask Pei Yi to bring her out once he was back. Pei Yi had yet to return even when it was already in the afternoon. She opened the door to see that the guards on duty were standing outside the room. They red at her coldly and said, ¡°Ancestor has already ordered us not to let you out.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not trying to go out. I just wanted to ask, what time is Master Peiing home?¡± ¡°How would we know? Master Pei will never tell us about his agenda and whereabouts.¡± An Xiaoning closed the door and continued to wait. She was bored out of her wits. She was hoping that he would bring her out for a spin when he came back in the afternoon. However, her wishes did note true because Pei Yi returned home only at seven o¡¯clock in the evening. As soon as he entered, he caught sight of her staring nkly into space on the couch. ¡°You¡¯re back?¡± She sprung up abruptly and lost her bnce, causing her to almost fall onto the coffee table. Fortunately, he managed to rush forward in the nick of time and grabbed her to prevent her from falling. ¡°Be careful.¡± ¡°What made you so upset? I¡¯m so bored at home without you around. I was thinking that you¡¯de home in the morning but you didn¡¯t, so I thought to myself that you¡¯d definitelye by in the afternoon. But you didn¡¯t either,¡± An Xiaoning said gently. Pei Yi¡¯s mood was instantly lifted upon hearing her words. ¡°Have you eaten?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He sat down and said, ¡°I went for a matchmaking session.¡± An Xiaoning snorted withughter as soon as she heard him. She did not expect him to tell her that; neither did she see a need for him to go for a matchmaking session. Is he kidding me? ¡°What are youughing at?¡± he asked with raised brows. ¡°You¡¯re so handsome and dashing, Mr. Pei. The luckydy who got to go on a blind date with you must have been extremely blessed. Master Pei, what did she look like? How¡¯s her temper and personality like? Do you fancy her?¡± An Xiaoning asked curiously. ¡°Tian Tian. It¡¯s that woman you saw previously.¡± ¡°I understand why you¡¯re so upset now. That exins it. Since you both already know each other, is it really still considered a blind date?¡± ¡°Yeah, my mother is rather fond of her and wants me to marry her. That¡¯s how the elderly are like. They get too eager to have a grandchild,¡± he said with a frown. ¡°Master Pei, you don¡¯t have to force yourself to marry a woman you don¡¯t love. Wouldn¡¯t it be a piece of cake for you to fulfill your mother¡¯s wishes of having a grandchild?¡± ¡°How do you know that I don¡¯t love her?¡± Dumbfounded, she asked, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, you love her?¡± ¡°Not anymore.¡± So he used to love her? ¡°Is Ms. Tian your ex-girlfriend?¡± He did not answer immediately. Just as An Xiaoning thought he was going to ignore her, he answered, ¡°No, I did love her in the past when I had nothing to my name. She was different from me though. I was inferior to her in every aspect. I was much younger and reckless back then. I tried to woo her, but all I got in the end... was humiliation and animosity from her. Later on, she took the initiative to court me and requested for me to be in a rtionship with her several times. I turned her down every single time, for I had already lost all feelings for her. She was smart enough to butter my mother up instead. My mother was so fond of her that she even made her her goddaughter.¡± ¡°She¡¯s a ssic example of a mercenary gold-digger. You must have had a tough time to get to where you are today, going from rags to riches. I thought you were wealthy right from the start,¡± An Xiaoning remarked. Thinking that there was no way An Xiaoning could escape, he decided that there would be no harm in telling her about his past, which he rarely mentioned to others. ¡°No. My mother and I have always only had each other to rely on ever since I was a child. I wasn¡¯t the founder of DK. DK was established long ago, and my ce here is only one of its branches. I began training here ever since I was an adolescent. Training back then was much more arduous and grueling than it is now. A bunch of kids would be thrown into a room with the task of killing each other. Those who survived the battle would get to stay.¡± An Xiaoning got goosebumps just from hearing his story. He must have had several close shaves with death and survived all odds in order to get to where he was today. ¡°Will you adhere to your mother¡¯s wishes and marry Ms. Tian?¡± ¡°No, I can¡¯t bring myself to marry a woman I don¡¯t love, let alone give birth to a child together with her. I can only bear a child with a woman whom I love and treasure greatly. Not every woman deserves the right to bear my child.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. You never know when thest day of your life will be. Marrying and bearing children with a woman you don¡¯t love is only being irresponsible toward yourself, your other half, as well as your child. When you finally meet the woman you love, she might not want to be together with you since you¡¯re already married. Even if you could bring her back with you forcefully, it wouldn¡¯t feel great since she wasn¡¯t a willing party.¡± Although she had nothing to do with whom he marries, she did not wish for him to marry Tian Tian, who might just kill her before she even gets to escape. For the sake of my safety, it¡¯d be best if he remains single for the time being until I escape! ¡°You have a point. Are you such a person too?¡± She decided to use herself as an example and tell him about the woes of marrying someone without love. ¡°I married my first husband when we barely knew each other at all. We never got intimate at all throughout the two years of our marriage. Not even once.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°He¡¯d rather touch any other woman but me. But I have to thank him for keeping his hands off me, although he wasted two years of my youth. Otherwise, I would have been really devastated,¡± said An Xiaoning, who felt peeved and speechless at the thought of the shameless scoundrel, Shi Shaochuan. Pei Yi guffawed and remarked, ¡°Was that man a fool? How about you and Jin Qingyan...?¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan... well, I don¡¯t know why, but I might have been bewitched or something. I didn¡¯t learn from my mistakes during my first failed marriage and went on to get married to Jin Qingyan in a sh. When we first got married, we didn¡¯t love each other at all. In fact, he was still harboring feelings for someone else at the time. Perhaps I was fooled by his appearance!¡± ¡°Fooled by his appearance? Did you find him to be handsome?¡± Pei Yi asked. ¡°That¡¯s one of the reasons, but the main thing that influenced my decision was that he appeared to be extremely gentlemanly, mild-mannered, and well tempered...¡± Chapter 732 - A Million Times for You (94)

Chapter 732: A Million Times for You (94)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios A joyful smile formed on An Xiaoning¡¯s face the moment she recalled her first encounter with Jin Qingyan. She continued, ¡°I only realizedter that I was duped and deceived by his appearance. He¡¯s nothing like what he appears to be on the surface at all.¡± ¡°What kind of a man is he really like, then?¡± An Xiaoning looked down as she tried to hold her tears back. She knew clearly that no man wanted to hear a woman praise andpliment another man in front of him. It didn¡¯t matter even if she was praising her husband, her ex-husband, or her man! Hence, she ought to think twice before she speaks. Speaking recklessly without filtering her words would only warrant an early death. An Xiaoning knew what kind of a man Jin Qingyan really was. How could she have possibly fallen in love with a jerk and even given birth to his child? However, it was enough to know it for herself deep down. There was no point in telling the truth to Pei Yi. Hence, she answered, ¡°He¡¯s a far cry from the gentle and well-tempered person he appears to be on the surface.¡± ¡°What kind of a man do you think I am, then?¡± Pei Yi asked. ¡°After spending time with you these past few days, I feel like you¡¯re the exact opposite of Jin Qingyan. You seem rather aloof and unapproachable on the surface, but in reality, you¡¯re kind and good-natured.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because you have no idea how many people I¡¯ve killed.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter to me. I don¡¯t care how many people you¡¯ve killed, that¡¯s just my impression of you,¡± An Xiaoning answered without blinking at all. Pei Yi chuckled and said, ¡°You¡¯ve got such a glib tongue. That exins why he was still willing to sacrifice everything for you even though you¡¯re already divorced. Who knows how you sing praises about him when you¡¯re with him? But that¡¯s not the point. Since you had such an enjoyable time at the hot spring yesterday, would you like to go again tonight?¡± ¡°Yes, yes, yes,¡± An Xiaoning agreed excitedly, for she would finally be allowed to go out. Seems like her prayers had been heard. She would definitely stand to gain from cajoling him and keeping him happy. Noticing how delighted he was, Pei Yi appeared much more gentle and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± They entered the elevator and made their way downstairs slowly. An Xiaoning prayed silently in her heart that she could bump into Jin Qingyan. She prayed that he would be taking the night shift. She prayed that she could see him. Thus, she walked at an exceptionally slow pace. Her eyes darted all around her surroundings while walking. She was extremely tensed up while trying not to make it too obvious that she was looking out for Jin Qingyan. After having walked a distance, An Xiaoning caught sight of a few guards on duty, one of whom had a familiar-looking silhouette. Overwhelmed with joy, she clenched the piece of written note tighter in her fist. Her panic and anxiety heightened with each step she took. The guards were all standing a few meters away from each other with their heads hung low. Jin Qingyan was no exception. He hurriedly stepped on the piece of note, which was crumpled into a ball, the moment he saw itnding near his feet. He waited for them to leave before bending forward to pick the note up. Holding the note in his hand, he made up an excuse to go to the washroom, in a bid to open and read the note. The paper was rather small, but it was covered in words on both sides. He first took a look at the side facing up, on which An Xiaoning had sketched the route from the living room to Pei Yi¡¯s bedroom. She had even annotated the location of the surveince cameras as well as the positions of the guards on duty. Although she had done a bad job at sketching, Jin Qingyan could still roughly tell what it was. He then flipped it to the other side to see that she had written: ¡°I¡¯ve been clean and untouched so far.¡± Jin Qingyan was overjoyed upon reading what she had written. Was she worried that I would misunderstand her again? That¡¯s why she went out of her way... Jin Qingyan whipped out a pen and a piece of paper, then began scribbling on it. When An Xiaoning and Pei Yi returned, An Xiaoning still chose to walk near Jin Qingyan. Unlike Pei Yi, who always kept his eyes fixed on the path ahead, An Xiaoning would often look down and stare at the ground when she walked. Just as she was about to reach Jin Qingyan, she noticed a small ball of paper on the ground, which was clearly different from the one she had given him. Quick-witted as usual, she pretended to have lost her bnce and fell forward, right onto the ball of paper. ¡°Ouch...¡± she groaned in pain, gritting her teeth. Pei Yi hurriedly rushed to help her up. ¡°Be more careful with your step.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine, thank you, Master Pei.¡± She hurriedly picked up the ball of paper and held it tightly in her palm. After having walked a distance, An Xiaoning turned around to meet the eyes of Jin Qingyan, who happened to be staring at her too. Her lips curled into a smile, which was all-too-familiar to Jin Qingyan. It was a smile that was deeply etched in his mind. Once she returned to the bedroom, she proceeded to the bathroom and opened the note carefully. The size of the paper was muchrger than the one she had given him. He wrote: ¡°I trust you. I¡¯m here with you, you don¡¯t have to be afraid. I love you.¡± Tears welled up in An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes as she stared at the words written on the note. She then tore the piece of paper into shreds and flushed them down the toilet bowl. After washing her face, she returned to the living room andy down on the couch. She then tucked herself beneath the duvet and closed her eyes. Finally, she could lie on her back to sleep. What a great feeling. ¡ª¡ª Mo Li was sent home as soon as she was discharged from the hospital. Mo Xun had also brought her luggage home from the Ye family mansion. Business had been picking up at the breakfast bistro that Mo Li had helped her parents set up using the money she got from selling her jewelry. Hence, they had a steady ie and could live ratherfortably. When Mo Xun got married the year before, his fianc¨¦e¡¯s family only allowed them to get married on the condition that he buys a house in the city. Hence, Mr. and Mrs. Mo bought a house in an estate near the breakfast bistro using all their lifelong savings, as well as some extra money Mo Li had contributed. There were three bedrooms and one bathroom in the apartment, which had a simple interior design. Mr. and Mrs. Mo would usually stay in the house behind the breakfast bistro while Mo Xun and his wife lived in the apartment. Things had been peaceful all along. Now that Mo Li was back, Mrs. Mo did not want to let her daughter suffer and thus decided to arrange Mo Li to move into Mo Xun¡¯s apartment after having had a discussion with him. There was no harm in letting Mo Li move in with them temporarily since there were spare rooms and they did not have any children yet either. Mo Xun agreed with his parents¡¯ suggestion, for he knew clearly how much his sister had helped him in the past. However, Mo Xun¡¯s wife had other thoughts. She found it extremely inconvenient and ufortable to live with an extra person in the house. She was still against the idea, although Mo Li would spend most of her time resting in her room and rarely came out. Mo Li could sense her sister-inw¡¯s displeasure ever since she moved in. One morning, Mo Li overheard her brother and sister-inw arguing in their bedroom when she exited from the toilet. ¡°You¡¯re a man, of course you wouldn¡¯t know that women are not supposed to move back to their parents¡¯ home after having had a miscarriage. It¡¯s inauspicious and would jinx her family members. I can¡¯t believe your parents brought your sister home and made her move in with us without hesitation. We still don¡¯t have any children yet. What if she affects us?¡± Mo Xun gave her a tight p across her face and hollered while trying to keep his volume down, ¡°My sister is already in such a sorry plight, yet you¡¯re still spouting such nonsense. This apartment was bought by my parents and my sister. I didn¡¯t fork out a single cent at all. Although they had bought it for me, they¡¯re all still wee to move in whenever they¡¯d like.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t all parents buy houses for their son!?! It¡¯s only right that they do so. The apartment belongs to you now since they bought it for you, and now that we¡¯re married, I own half of this ce too. Mo Xun, you jerk! How could you hit me because of your sister!?! Since you¡¯re so close to your sister, why don¡¯t you live with her instead!?!¡± Chapter 733 - A Million Times for You (95)

Chapter 733: A Million Times for You (95)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mo Li opened the door abruptly and stood rooted to the ground with an austere expression on her face. Turning as pale as a sheet, Mo Xun hurriedly said, ¡°Sis, don¡¯t listen to her nonsense. This is our home, you may live here for as long as you¡¯d like. I¡¯m here to protect you. If she dares speak callously again, I¡¯ll divorce her!¡± ¡°Mo Xun! Let¡¯s get divorced!¡± Suppressing her anger, Mo Li entered the room and interrupted their argument. ¡°Is there a need for that? Sister-inw, you may just tell me straight to my face that you don¡¯t wish for me to live here. You don¡¯t have to put Mo Xun in a spot and make things difficult for him because of this. Mo Xun definitely wouldn¡¯t chase me out of his house, I¡¯m still his biological sister at the end of the day. Don¡¯t argue because of me. I¡¯ll move to my parents¡¯ ceter. It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t have anywhere to go.¡± ¡°Sis...¡± Mo Xun glowered at his wife beforeforting Mo Li, ¡°Just rx and live here at my ce peacefully. I call the shots here. No one will dare to chase you out.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to put you in a spot. Neither Sister-inw nor I will be happy if I continue living here. Forget it.¡± Mo Li then turned around to grab her luggage. Not wanting to let her leave, Mo Xun tried to stop her from taking her luggage. Atst, Mo Li added, ¡°Mo Xun, I have nothing to my name now. I didn¡¯t ask for a single cent from Ye Xiaotian. It¡¯s not because I¡¯m high and mighty or prideful. I just don¡¯t want him to be at peace just because he¡¯s giving me money. All that I have left is my pride and dignity.¡± Mo Xun let go and said, ¡°Well then... Sis, I¡¯ll bring it over for you.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Mo Li and Mo Xun left the estate. Noticing how worried he seemed, sheforted, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t let Father and Mother reprimand you.¡± Tears welled up in Mo Xun¡¯s eyes. He pulled her into his embrace and apologized, ¡°Sis, I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. I can¡¯t possibly make you two get a divorce because of such a trivial matter. Marriage is not just child¡¯s y.¡± The two of them arrived at the breakfast bistro. Business was busy at the bistro at this time, with arge crowd of customers. Since Mrs. Mo did not allow Mo Li to help out, she had no choice but to go back inside the house and lie down to rest. Hourster, Mrs. Mo finally finished up with work. She entered the house to see that her daughter seemed to be deep in her thoughts. She then closed the door and asked, ¡°Did Chunling say that she didn¡¯t want you to live with them?¡± ¡°Mother, it¡¯s inappropriate for me to be living with my brother and his wife. I¡¯m thinking of renting an apartment elsewhere. It¡¯s so much morefortable to live alone. Once I find a ce to move in to, I¡¯ll find a job and go to work.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bother going out to work. Just help out at the bistro. We¡¯ll give you a fixed sry every month too. How does that sound?¡± ¡°No, Mother, Sister-inw is going to be upset about it again. I don¡¯t want to disrupt the peace and harmony within the family. I know you¡¯re worried that working would be difficult for me since I¡¯ve never worked a day in my life before. But Mother, the toughest part of my life is now over. No matter what I do now, I¡¯ll no longer find it arduous.¡± Mrs. Mo took out a savings passbook from the cab and said, ¡°This is the umtion of the money you¡¯ve been giving me in the past. I¡¯m handing it to you now. Mo Li, you¡¯re still young and you still have a long way to go. Don¡¯t keep brooding over the past. One should always look forward to the future. I want you to live well and lead a blissful life.¡± Mo Li took the passbook from her hands and said, ¡°I¡¯m not brooding over the past, but I can¡¯t forget it easily either.¡± ¡°Okay. Should I get your brother to help ask around about an apartment avable for rent?¡± Mo Li declined, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that, Mother. I¡¯ve got a bunch of free time on my hands, I¡¯ll go out to look for one myself. I¡¯m thinking of renting an apartment in a location I prefer.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve yet to fully recover. Leave it to after you¡¯ve recuperated.¡± ¡°Nah, I¡¯ll go out to search for er after lunch.¡± ¡°Let your brother apany you then. Otherwise, I¡¯ll be worried. Mo Li, the first thing you should consider when renting an apartment is its safety. You must find a location where security is the tightest. Don¡¯tpromise your safety in order to scrimp and save money.¡± ¡°Mother, I know what to do. Just rest assured.¡± After lunch, Mo Li and Mo Xun proceeded to look for an apartment. However, they did not manage to find any that they prefer after visiting several property agencies. Mo Li was suddenly reminded of Sanqiao Estate where An Xiaoning¡¯s mansion was situated in. The security there must be safe and secure , Mo Li thought to herself. ¡°Mo Xun, shall we take a look in Sanqiao Mansion Garden?¡± ¡°Sis, the houses in that estate are all mansions.¡± ¡°I doubt so. Let¡¯s go take a look. We¡¯ll find another ce if they¡¯re really all just mansions.¡± Mo Xun decided to concede to her request. After asking the sales counter, they found out that it wasn¡¯t just mansions in Sanqiao Estate. The female sales assistant exined while smiling, ¡°The properties in the estate are indeed mostly mansions, though not all are. After much consideration, the developers have decided tounch two 32-floor apartment buildings for sale. There¡¯s an array of apartments avable; namely, one-bedders, two-bedders, three-bedders, four-bedders, as well as penthouses. However, most of these apartments have already been sold. There are only a few left for now. Miss, what size of an apartment are you looking for?¡± ¡°May I rent an apartment?¡± ¡°Miss, you may not. All the apartments in the estate are only avable for sale and not rent.¡± ¡°Are there any one-bedders avable now?¡± ¡°Let me check on that.¡± The sales assistant, who was wearing stilettos, then turned around and walked to the counter. ¡°Sis, if there really is one, are you going to buy it?¡± Mo Xun asked. Mo Li gave him a pat on his shoulder and said, ¡°I gave Mother some money in the past and she¡¯s returned them to me today. It should be enough for a one-bedder, since it¡¯s a pretty small apartment. If there¡¯s an avable one, I¡¯ll just buy it. It¡¯s good to have a ce of my own. I don¡¯t like moving here and there all the time anyway.¡± ¡°Sis, you don¡¯t have to exin it to me. I know you left some money with Mother. I won¡¯t be calctive with you, I just hope to see you live well.¡± ¡°I¡¯m exining it to you not because I¡¯m afraid that you¡¯d talk behind my back but rather, I just think it¡¯d be easier for you to exin it to Chunling if she asks about it. That way, you wouldn¡¯t be put in a spot or be misunderstood by her.¡± Teary-eyed, Mo Xun stared at his pale and sickly-looking sister and answered, ¡°Okay.¡± The sales assistant walked toward them and said with a grin, ¡°Miss, Mister, there¡¯s still a one-bedder avable for sale. However, it¡¯s on the 32nd floor. Thus, it¡¯s naturally cheaperpared to the other floors. Would you like to go have a look beforeing to a decision?¡± ¡°The highest floor? Wouldn¡¯t that increase the risk of leaks and sewage problems? Besides, it¡¯s going to be much warmer in the summer and colder during winter. The water pressure is very low too. It¡¯s going to be really troublesome if the elevator stalls or breaks down,¡± Mo Xun criticized, expressing his displeasure. ¡°That¡¯s why it¡¯s much cheaper than the apartments on the other floors. It¡¯s up to you guys to decide. But the floor n is not too bad. I suggest you take a look before deciding. To be honest, most of the units in our estate have already been sold. It¡¯s just harder to find customers who are willing to purchase the ones on the highest floor. Besides, it¡¯s also a one-bedder, which is not the generally-preferred size. Although it¡¯s a little small, you should also view it from a different perspective. Other simr apartments of the same size are much more expensive just because they¡¯re situated on a lower floor, but it all depends on your decision. Not to mention, this is a posh estate where power trips rarely happen.¡± ¡°Bring us there to take a look,¡± said Mo Li. ¡°Alright, pleasee with me.¡± Mo Li and Mo Xun followed the assistant into the estate, which was behind the sales office. Mo Li immediately took a liking to the environment in the estate. They boarded the elevator and arrived at the one-bedder apartment on the 32nd floor. Mo Li instantly fell in love with the apartment, which had a simple floor n and consisted of one bedroom and one bathroom. Chapter 734 - A Million Times for You (96)

Chapter 734: A Million Times for You (96)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The balcony was situated right before the living room. One could enjoy some fresh air and a bird¡¯s-eye view of the surroundings while standing on the spacious balcony. There was also a full-length mirror in the bedroom, which Mo Li was particrly fond of. The interior design of the apartment was simple, and Mo Li could move in immediately after buying some furniture. ¡°What is the floor area of this apartment?¡± Mo Li asked. ¡°Forty-five square feet. Miss, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware that our estate is located in a prime location in the city center, which makes traveling around so much more convenient. There are only a few one-bedder apartments in the estate, and they¡¯re usually sold for fifty thousand dors per square foot, ording to market prices. A one-bedder like this one would cost more than two million dors on other floors,¡± the sales assistant exined with a smile. Mo Li gasped in shock. ¡°It¡¯s that expensive?¡± ¡°Of course. Our city is very well developed. Other properties in the suburbs would definitely be much cheaper. The designs would be simr too. Well, two million is the price of one-bedders on other floors. The ones on the highest floors are usually much cheaper. ording to current prices, this one costs 1.8 million dors.¡± I can¡¯t afford that... Mo Li thought to herself. I only have hundreds of thousands right now. How am I supposed to afford a 1.8-million-dor apartment? Seemingly having guessed what Mo Li was thinking, the sales assistant added, ¡°You may purchase it in installments and pay a fixed amount every month.¡± ¡°Let me consider it first,¡± said Mo Li, who then made up an excuse to leave. Sitting on the bench in the estate with Mo Xun, she turned to him and asked, ¡°Mo Xun, what do you think about this ce?¡± ¡°Apart from the tight security, attractive location, and pleasant environment, there¡¯s nothing too great about that apartment. Not only is it situated on such a high floor, but it¡¯s also really exorbitantly priced. We¡¯re talking about 1.8 million dors. Sis, do you know how great of a burden you have to shoulder by taking on a house loan? I want you to live an easier and much more rxed life. I think you should stick with renting an apartment instead. You can easily move again once you¡¯re sick of the ce you¡¯re living in. No matter what, just don¡¯t be a ve to mortgage. Let¡¯s look for another apartment in a high-security location.¡± Mo Li found her brother¡¯s words to make a ton of sense. As much as she fancied theyout of the apartment on the 32nd floor, it seemed she was not fated to live there. ¡°Sis, why are those people crowding around there?¡± Mo Xun asked, pointing at an area behind them. ¡°Seems like someone fell down,¡± said Mo Li, who stood up and walked toward the crowd with her brother. They were greeted with the sight of an elderlydy sprawled across the ground with blood flowing from her head and her walking stick beside her. No one amongst the crowd dared to step forward to give her a hand, although there were some who called the ambnce. Mo Li noticed that the elderlydy was extending her hand toward her and saying, ¡°Miss, please give me a hand. I¡¯m in so much pain right now.¡± Just as Mo Li was about to step forth, Mo Xun hurriedly stopped her and said softly, ¡°Sis, there are many elderly con artists who are out to ckmail people.¡± ¡°If she¡¯s a swindler, so be it.¡± Mo Li bent forward and knelt on one knee to help the elderlydy up. ¡°Old Madam, are you alright?¡± The elderlydy swayed unsteadily and answered, ¡°I... I¡¯m fine. Young man, could you pass my walking stick to me?¡± Mo Xun hurriedly handed her her walking stick, after which she calmly wiped her blood away. Smiling at Mo Li, she said, ¡°I¡¯m not out to ckmail anyone. It¡¯s only a minor scratch. I don¡¯t have to go to the hospital. Miss, could you please help me home? It¡¯s just right there.¡± She then pointed at the gate nearby. ¡°Alright.¡± Mo Li stepped forward and shot her brother a nce. ¡°Mo Xun,e and give me a hand.¡± The crowd of onlookers gradually dissipated while the two of them helped the elderlydy to the mansion and entered together with her. A middle-aged man, who was all decked out in branded apparel, hurriedly came forth to receive his mother. ¡°Mother, what happened to you?¡± ¡°I slipped and fell when I went out for a walk. Someone called the ambnce, but there¡¯s no need for it, I¡¯m fine now, all thanks to the help of these two young people. No one dared to help me up because they were all afraid that I would be a con artist. But the two of them helped me up and sent me home.¡± ¡°Thank you so much,¡± said the man. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it,¡± Mo Li answered as she helped the elderlydy into the room. ¡°Are you guys residents of this estate?¡± ¡°No, we¡¯re here to view an apartment.¡± ¡°Did you see any ones that you liked?¡± The elderlydy then looked at her son and said, ¡°Give thisdy a discount.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to go to that trouble at all. I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able to afford it even with a discount. It¡¯s way too expensive. We¡¯re nning to view other houses elsewhere,¡± Mo Li declined. ¡°There are only a few apartments left for sale in the estate. Which was the one that you were interested in?¡± the middle-aged man asked. ¡°The one on the 32nd floor.¡± ¡°Oh, that one. I¡¯m the owner of this estate. I¡¯m willing to give you a 90% discount as a token of gratitude toward you for helping my mother home,¡± he said straightforwardly. Mo Li remained silent while Mo Xun asked excitedly, ¡°Are you really willing to sell it to us at a 90% discount?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Thank you so much. My sister really likes the one-bedder and the estate, but it was too expensive. We don¡¯t have that much money and we¡¯re nning to view other cheaper houses.¡± Their family doctor helped the elderlydy clean and dress her wound while she said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to do that anymore. You¡¯re very kind-hearted. Take it as a token of gratitude from us.¡± Mo Li and Mo Xun had yet to recover from the shock even as they collected the keys to the apartment on the 32nd floor. ¡°Sis, Lady Luck is really smiling on you. You saved more than a million dors just by helping her up.¡± ¡°Great, Mo Xun, this is my house from now on. Your sister has her own home now,¡± Mo Li eximed in tion. Mo Xun nodded and said, ¡°It was your reward for being kind. I bet no one expected that elderlydy to be the mother of the estate¡¯s developer.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to her then. I must go and visit her frequently in the future.¡± ¡°Sis, what are you waiting for? It¡¯s still early now. Let¡¯s go and purchase some furniture and decorate the house. The furnishing seems to be splendid. There¡¯s no need to renovate it any further. I¡¯ll go with you to purchase some furniture.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°Xu Baizhi and her husband are both dead. I truly didn¡¯t expect that,¡± said Pei Yi. ¡°How long have they been dead?¡± ¡°They¡¯ve been dead for quite some time now. Guess how they died?¡± ¡°How would I know? I haven¡¯t had the chance to touch any electronic devices ever since I was brought here. Did the police arrest them and execute them in secret?¡± she answered. ¡°Jin Qingyan was the one who did it. He nabbed them from R Nation and killed them before dumping their corpses in front of the police station here. He¡¯s the only person who¡¯d be willing to spend so much money to do that.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. What happened next?¡± An Xiaoning asked calmly. ¡°There¡¯s no aftermath. The Xu family has been implicated because of Xu Baizhi. Her brother was sacked and put behind bars while her father is currently going through investigations. I doubt he¡¯d be able to escape scot-free.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all expected. It¡¯s only a matter of time. Why did you tell me these out of your own ord?¡± An Xiaoning asked, cing both her hands on his desk to support herself. ¡°I wanted to see your reaction,¡± Pei Yi answered, knocking his slender and bony fingers on the desk. ¡°Are you disappointed?¡± ¡°A little. You didn¡¯t react the same way as I had imagined. I thought you would go ballistic, yet you turned out to be so calm. Don¡¯t you resent them at all?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll only be wasting my time by resenting her. She¡¯s already received her retribution now anyway. However, there¡¯s something I¡¯m really curious about. Could you exin it to me?¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Chapter 735 - A Million Times for You (97)

Chapter 735: A Million Times for You (97)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I heard from Xu Baizhi¡¯s mother that she was abducted when she was an infant. Her nanny was killed too. Who was the one who brought her here?¡± ¡°That¡¯s three decades ago, I was only a year old at that time. The leaders here are always changing. I don¡¯t think anyone knows the answer to your question. There¡¯s no way to find out now,¡± said Pei Yi, who had no interest in Xu Baizhi¡¯s affairs at all. ¡°I guess that¡¯s what they mean by there¡¯s always something detestable about a pitiful person.¡± An Xiaoning sat down and tapped on the half-filled stic bottle. ¡°I¡¯ve written some words on most of the paper cranes in here. Wishes onlye true when you write them on paper cranes. From now on, I¡¯m going to write my wishes on every paper crane that I fold.¡± ¡°What wishes?¡± ¡°My well wishes for you.¡± She picked up a ck pen and wrote a message on the square piece of origami paper. She waited for the ink to dry before folding the paper into a crane and cing it inside the bottle. ¡°Aren¡¯t you bored of folding paper cranes? You¡¯ve already folded almost two full bottles of them.¡± ¡°The second bottle will be full soon. I¡¯ll stop folding them once it¡¯s full. My fingers are hurting anyway.¡± cing her arms on the desk while folding the paper cranes, she asked, ¡°Master Pei, the weather is so fair today. Would you like to go out for a walk?¡± ¡°Nah, I have to attend a gathering with my friendster...¡± Before he had even finished speaking, An Xiaoning sprung up from her seat as pangs of panic engulfed her all of a sudden. She turned pale immediately and murmured, ¡°Master Pei...¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°My sixth sense has always been very urate. I would feel unusually flustered every single time a mishap is about to happen to me. The anxiety varies from time to time. I had an ominous feeling just now too. Could you please instruct your subordinates not to kill me? I¡¯m afraid they would when you¡¯re not around...¡± Pei Yi chuckled and said, ¡°Who¡¯d darey a finger on you without my permission?¡± ¡°I know, but...¡± An Xiaoning really did feel the panic and anxiety. ¡°Calm down, are you getting too paranoid? You¡¯ll be the safest in here. No one would dare to touch you without my permission,¡± said Pei Yi, who did not believe in a sixth sense at all. An Xiaoning stared at him, feeling helpless upon seeing how confident he was about it being safe. Her forehead creased into a frown as she felt ill at ease. I¡¯ve already experienced such a feeling countless times before! How could I not know what it means? I would get this feeling every single time I¡¯m about to be met with danger. ¡°Master Pei, could you give me a dagger to keep myself safe?¡± ¡°Do you think... I¡¯d let you carry a weapon when you¡¯re around me all the time?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give it back to you once you¡¯re back.¡± He immediately refused, ¡°No! As I¡¯ve said, this is the safest ce you can be. What are you worried about? No one can stop me if I want you to die. Likewise, no one will dare to kill you if I don¡¯t want you to die.¡± An Xiaoning returned to her seat, not daring to utter another word. Noticing the awful expression on her face, Pei Yi went out straight away. She continued to fold paper cranes and filled the second bottle to the brim. She then put the lid on the bottle and stared at the paper cranes while her heart palpitated vigorously. An Xiaoning could not help but feel dismayed and terrorized by the overbearing ominous feeling. She returned to the bedroom and locked the door from the inside. She seemed to feel a little more at ease. However, the sense of security she felt was short-lived. Less than 20 minutester, she heard the door being opened from outside, followed by a conversation between two women. Shortly after, they opened the door with the spare keys, which took An Xiaoning by surprise. Standing by the door was Qin Guo and an elderlydy who appeared to be in her sixties and resembled Pei Yi greatly. After hearing Qin Guo address her as ¡°Madam,¡± An Xiaoning immediately figured that she was Pei Yi¡¯s mother. The ominous feeling she felt had proven to be true. Pei Yi had greatly overestimated himself by saying that no one would dare to touch An Xiaoning without his permission. However, he had forgotten about his mother. Everyone in his mansion would obey his instructions. Everyone except his mother. In fact, he might even have to abide by his mother¡¯s orders. ¡°Are you An Xiaoning?¡± the elderlydy asked. She was dressed invish clothing, and her hair was pulled back behind her head. She appeared younger than her age and was well groomed, with a pair of crystal jade earrings on her ears and a simr ring on her finger. Clearly, she was not one to be trifled with! ¡°Yes, Madam,¡± An Xiaoning answered as politely as she could. The elderlydy entered and scanned An Xiaoning from head to toe. ¡°You¡¯re just another pretty face. You must really be something to make my son spare your life,¡± she sneered. Qin Guo brazenly interjected, ¡°Madam, we can¡¯t let this woman stay. She¡¯s already caused so much trouble for Ancestor in such a short amount of time. Who knows what¡¯ll happen in the future?¡± The elderlydy gave her the side-eye and said, ¡°I don¡¯t need you to tell me what to do. Get the servants to bring her away to be executed in secret. It¡¯d be toote for Pei Yi to save her when hees backter. Hurry and step on it.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Qin Guo acknowledged gleefully and turned to instruct the bodyguards. Not long after, two men entered in an attempt to drag An Xiaoning away. However, she naturally refused to budge. She grabbed onto Pei Yi¡¯s couch tightly and vehemently refused to let go. The men had no choice but to carry her out by holding her head and legs up. An Xiaoning could not put herbat skills to use since her legs were chained together and her mouth was sealed by duct tape. She could not help but shiver in the biting cold when she was dragged out of the room, especially since she was dressed in thin fabric. The location of execution was in the underground dungeon. In order to get to the dungeon, they would have to use the elevator and pass by the area where Jin Qingyan was on duty. An Xiaoning felt less petrified at the thought of it and stopped struggling. However, she immediately felt anxious again upon recalling that Jin Qingyan was in charge of the night shift and, thus, was probably sleeping. She began struggling again in order to stall for some time. Once they arrived at the dungeon, the men tied her to a cement panel and aimed a rifle at her. An Xiaoning¡¯s heart was ricocheting against her chest, overwhelmed with fear. She had pinned all her hopes on Jin Qingyan. Will he risk his life to save me? Was it worth him doing that? Was it worth it at all? The man squinted and began moving his fingers. Just as he was about to pull the trigger after aiming the gun at An Xiaoning¡¯s forehead, a deafening explosion urred. The dungeon immediately copsed and dust and ashes filled the air. A pungent odor infiltrated An Xiaoning¡¯s senses and sent her coughing vigorously. At this very moment, a piece of wet towel was ced over her mouth. An Xiaoning turned around and struggled to open her eyes. She raised a hand to hold the towel in ce. Still wearing his mask, Jin Qingyan cut the ropes that were tied around her. Before she could even recover from the shock, he picked her up in his arms and carried her out. Despite the chaotic situation, Jin Qingyan could still move steadily in one direction. At this very moment, the sounds of explosions began ringing in their ears again. However, the sounds seemed toe from somewhere else nearby. The sounds of explosions and guns firing were incessant, causing An Xiaoning to feel as if she was in the midst of a war. Chapter 736 - A Million Times for You (98)

Chapter 736: A Million Times for You (98)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Since her legs were restrained, she had no choice but to let him carry her while she draped her arms around his neck. At this very moment, she could not deny that she indeed respected Jin Qingyan even more. She was incredibly touched as well by his actions, which set a warm, fuzzy feeling in her heart. She admitted that the only person she could rely on was him. When he noticed that she was as meek as amb and no longer as resistant toward him, a smile formed on his face and he held her closely in his embrace while sprinting away. An Xiaoning closed her eyes and leaned her head against his chest. She could clearly hear the sound of his heart beating rapidly. After passing through theyers of ash and dust, An Xiaoning opened her eyes a long whileter to see that they were no longer on Pei Yi¡¯s territory and were now in a jungle. It suddenly hit her that Jin Qingyan had rescued her from the dungeon. After catching his breath, Jin Qingyan picked her up again and tread along the path, not allowing her the time to look around her surroundings at all. He continued to walk uphill. An Xiaoning thought to herself that there must be someone waiting for them at the top. She was not so foolish as to request for him to put her down either, knowing clearly that she would only be wasting more time since her legs were chained together and she could thus not walk with ease. ¡°Are you tired?¡± she asked. Beads of perspiration trickled down his forehead as he answered, ¡°I won¡¯t find it tiring when I see you in my arms. You haven¡¯t looked at me like this in a long time. Xiaoning, you¡¯re really beautiful.¡± She rolled her eyes and chided, ¡°You¡¯re still flirting with me at this juncture.¡± ¡°I mean it.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe you.¡± She knew clearly that her face was covered in soot and she appeared extremely disheveled at the moment. How could that be beautiful? ¡°No matter what you look like, you¡¯ll always be beautiful to me.¡± An Xiaoning looked up and made eye contact with him. They kept quiet and held each other¡¯s gazes in silence. After walking for more than twenty minutes, they finally arrived at a barend. There happened to be a helicopter waiting for them there. There were a few people inside the helicopter. Jin Qingyan was beyond exhausted the moment he put An Xiaoning down. He took deep breaths of air while the pilot immediately took off. An Xiaoning grabbed a bottle of mineral water from the table and opened it. Jin Qingyan¡¯s arms were so sore that he could not even lift it. Thus, An Xiaoning held the bottle and fed him some water. He gulped half the bottle of water down in one go. She capped the bottle of water again and ced it back onto the table. The helicopter soared above rapidly and began hovering in mid-air. An Xiaoning peeked out of the window with a pair of binocrs, only to see that Pei Yi¡¯s territory had gone up in mes, with thick fumes spreading from the site. However, only a small area around the dungeon was affected. Jin Qingyan had taken a huge risk by doing this. Several nations across the globe dared not provoke such an intimidating terrorist organization like DK. Besides, Pei Yi¡¯s territory was merely a small part of the organization, which meant that the headquarters must be harder to deal with. Hence, it would be more than difficult to eliminate the organization entirely. No country could manage to do it for the past few decades, let alone Jin Qingyan. After all, he only did it to rescue An Xiaoning. He was not afraid either. Once he returned to his turf, A City, the DK Organization wouldn¡¯t dare to send their subordinates to deal with Jin Qingyan. A few hitmen would be no match for Jin Qingyan¡¯s security team. Every nation would strictly prohibit members of terrorist organizations from entering the country, although there were asional slip-ups. The terrorist organizations have already begun nurturing and training locals in every nation to work for them. Thus, it was extremely difficult to arrest every single member. The organization was highly obscure and secretive. An Xiaoning put the binocrs away while he turned to lie on his side and embraced her. ¡°I can finally sleep in peace,¡± he said in a deep and hoarse voice. An Xiaoning did not struggle and allowed him to continue holding her in his arms. She leaned back against the chair, filled with joy and relief. Her return had caused a major uproar in S Nation. How would those people who wished that I was dead feel upon knowing that I have returned? Would Pei Yi hit the roof and resort to every means to nab and then kill me when he finds out that I had escaped? He may be powerful and capable, but I doubt he¡¯d waste his time and manpower on me, no matter how angry he may be. After all, I¡¯m only a small fry to him. Just like she had predicted, Pei Yi was boiling with exasperation the moment he heard that she had been rescued and that his dungeon had been bombed. He was infuriated with himself for ignoring An Xiaoning¡¯s premonition. After checking the surveince camera footage, he discovered that his mother hade by and taken An Xiaoning away forcefully. Even if she was not rescued, she would have been dead by the time he came home. Indeed, everyone in his territory had to obey his orders, all except his mother. His mother had been his only kin whom he relied on ever since he was a child. He would obey all her instructions and never dare to rebel against her wishes, apart from marrying Tian Tian. Perhaps Mother did that because she thought I didn¡¯t want to marry Tian Tian, all because of An Xiaoning? How could that be? Pei Yi headed home immediately even before he reached the gathering. Exasperated beyond limits, Pei Yi headed to the backyard where all his subordinates were kneeling on the ground. Qin Guo was taking the lead. It never urred to her that An Xiaoning would be rescued and that the dungeon would be bombed. Staring at Pei Yi, she grew breathless and dared not move an inch at all, clearly frightened out of her wits. ¡°You locked An Xiaoning up in the dungeon and attempted to kill her without my permission. Even if you were just following my mother¡¯s orders, why didn¡¯t you tell me about it? Hmm?¡± he questioned coldly, glowering at Qin Guo. ¡°Madam didn¡¯t allow me to. Madam forbade me from informing you. Ancestor, she¡¯s your mother. I didn¡¯t dare to disobey her,¡± said Qin Guo, who had already thought of an excuse long ago. Having expected her to shift the me to his mother, Pei Yi squatted down onto the ground and grabbed her hair forcefully. Feeling as if her scalp was about to be ripped off, Qin Guo pleaded, ¡°Ancestor, I was speaking nothing but the truth. I wouldn¡¯t dare to hide anything at all.¡± He let go of her and stood up again. He then instructed his subordinates, ¡°Give each of them fifty strokes of the whip. From now onward, anyone who tries to act without my permission will be executed immediately.¡± What he meant was, they could ignore his mother¡¯s instructions as well. Qin Guo froze in shock as her body turned to jelly. Fifty strokes of the whip were enough to kill her. ¡°Ancestor...¡± While Qin Guo yelled, Pei Yi ignored her and walked away. She wanted to call out to him once more but did not have the energy to do so. Pei Yi headed to the eighth floor. He was in a terrible mood the moment he exited the elevator. He opened the door of his bedroom to see that it was dead silent. The room was empty, with no woman in sight. She was no longer sitting on the couch or by the desk to wait for him. There were tworge stic bottles on the table that were filled with paper cranes. They were the ones she had folded to kill time. He casually unfolded one of the paper cranes to see a neatly-written line, which read: ¡°Hope you will give birth to a child soon.¡± Chapter 737 - A Million Times for You (99)

Chapter 737: A Million Times for You (99)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He then opened another one, which read: ¡°Hope you¡¯ll find true love.¡± ¡°Hope you¡¯ll find kindness in your heart.¡± He continued to unfold all of the paper cranes, only to find that none of them had well wishes about his health and longevity written on them. Pei Yi could not help but feel like he had suffered a huge loss. The paper cranes, which he usually deemed to be useless, were giving him a headache now. He was flustered and puzzled as his mind was sent into a whirlwind. Just how did Jin Qingyan know that she is still alive? Did he find the video to be imusible? Or did he have her fortune told? But isn¡¯t An Xiaoning incapable of reading her own fortune? If that were the case, it would have been impossible for other fortune-tellers to read her fortune too, wouldn¡¯t it? Just how did he find out, then? Was it just his gut feeling? Did he just choose to trust his instincts? Pei Yi sank deep into thought as a million questions filled his mind. He continued to watch the surveince cameras¡¯ footages over and over again but did not find anything unusual with An Xiaoning¡¯s behavior when she was in the room. He really did not expect for An Xiaoning to have managed to escape, just as he thought she waspletely in his control. It had been less than twenty days since he caught her. It seemed like Jin Qingyan had gone through painstaking efforts and resorted to extreme means in order to rescue her. Clearly, she had meant a great deal to him and was not merely just his ex-wife. Pei Yi was appalled by how much Jin Qingyan loved her. Sitting by the office desk with the mouse in his hand, he kept his eyes glued onto the surveince camera footage that was ying on the screen. Atst, he saw his mother and Qin Guo standing by the side in his bedroom while the subordinates dragged An Xiaoning away forcefully. He could not help but feel his heart wrench at the sight of An Xiaoning struggling to break free from their grip. However, she was still taken away forcefully in the end. He switched off theputer and returned to his bedroom. Staring at the scratch marks she had left behind on the couch, Pei Yi bit his lip tightly in anger and eximed in his head, An Xiaoning, we¡¯ll meet again, for sure. Just you wait and see! ¡ª¡ª Halfway through the journey, they alighted from the helicopter and boarded the private jet instead. It was already five o¡¯clock in the morning by the time they reached S Nation. There was a 12-hour time difference. Jin Qingyan woke up feeling refreshed and energized after having slept throughout the entire journey. Meanwhile, An Xiaoning had just fallen asleep not long ago. She was the opposite of him. Not long after, the jet touched down in the private hangar of Wei Ni Estate. Everyone alighted, leaving the two of them alone in the ne. Jin Qingyan gestured for his subordinates to leave and instructed them not to wake her up. Yet, he felt an urge to do so himself. After days of not seeing the woman in his embrace, he found that she was still as thin as before. She did not weigh much and it was extremely easy to carry her in his arms. Unable to resist his urge, Jin Qingyan lowered his head and nted a kiss on her soft, pillowy lips, which sent a shiver down his spine and left him desiring for more. An Xiaoning was in the midst of a deep sleep. She felt as if she had plunged into a ball of cotton and felt weak all over. She moaned lightly and opened her eyes slowly. She woke up to the sight of Jin Qingyan¡¯s immacte features right before her. Under the dim lights, she could clearly see hisplexion. Noticing that she had opened her eyes, Jin Qingyan became more brazen with his actions. He stuck his tongue deep inside her mouth and gave her a deep, passionate French kiss. An Xiaoning¡¯s mind went nk, filled with utter shock and disbelief. As she slowly regained her senses, she subconsciously tried to push him away, only to have him grab her wrist. He then turned onto his side and pinned her down beneath him gently. He began licking and nibbling her earlobe while saying in a tender voice, ¡°Xiaoning, I still love you as much as I did before. I¡¯m willing to give up everything I have for you...¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s heart melted upon hearing his words. Tears welled up in her eyes as she thought about everything that he had done for her to save her from the predicament she¡¯d been stuck in. She began tearing up and extended her arms to hug him tightly. Jin Qingyan lit up in joy and surprise and kissed her on her neck. ¡°I won¡¯t dare to distrust you again. Please give me another chance...¡± An Xiaoning burst into tears. She had rarely shown her vulnerability in front of men, especially Jin Qingyan. She began bawling loudly, for she finally had an outlet to release all the pent-up fear, worry, grievances, and emotions she had bottled up for the past twenty days. He patted her shoulders gently and did not utter a single word. They¡¯d grown emotionally closer since the divorce. After she was done weeping, she let go of him and wiped her tears with a piece of tissue paper. Staring at him with reddened eyes, she said gently, ¡°Thank you for saving me. I know you don¡¯t like to hear me thanking you but...¡± He interjected, ¡°Why did you still do it, then? You¡¯re going to be punished for breaking a rule you¡¯re aware of.¡± ¡°Even then, I still have to thank you. Jin Qingyan, I¡¯m not a fool. I understand how you feel about me...¡± ¡°You¡¯d be a fool if you don¡¯t reciprocate my feelings for you.¡± He had sessfully made her speechless and broke her train of thought. She smiled and said, ¡°Could you be less of a tyrant? But you did very well this time. I¡¯m incredibly touched. This time is different from the incident in the Autumn Pce. Don¡¯t string the two together.¡± He held her hand and said, ¡°I won¡¯tpel you. Xiaoning, you¡¯d better not show your face for the time being. Move in with me for a while to avoid suspicion. Sometimeter, I¡¯ll n an appropriate chance for you to appear in public.¡± ¡°Well, I could stay in the Gu family mansion and just put on my mask...¡± ¡°Are you out to upset me?¡± ¡°Since when did I...¡± ¡°You¡¯re still refusing to admit it. You obviously know how much I yearn to see you every single day! I believe you¡¯re not that heartless.¡± ¡°...¡± What else could she say? ¡°I¡¯ll go ahead with your suggestion.¡± Jin Qingyan broke into smiles and held her hand in his. ¡°Follow me, I¡¯ll bring you to the room you¡¯ll be staying in.¡± An Xiaoning alighted from the ne together with him and arrived at the main mansion after a car ride thatsted several minutes. Fan Shixin scurried toward them and exined, ¡°Congrattions for making it home in one piece, Young Sir and Ms. An!¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Jin Qingyan shot him a nce. Fan Shixin immediately yelled again, ¡°Congrattions for making it home in one piece, Young Sir and Young Madam!¡± ¡°You may just call me ¡®Ms. An,¡¯¡± said An Xiaoning. Thinking to himself that he ought to be Jin Qingyan¡¯s wingman, Fan Shixin followed closely behind and said, ¡°No. It¡¯s been really hard on Young Sir. During the time that you were not around, Young Sir would go to sleep while holding your photo in his hand. He almost tried to kill himself again for you. If it weren¡¯t for me, you probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to see him again, Young Madam!¡± Fan Shixin even began tearing up as he spoke. Jin Qingyan was thoroughly impressed by his acting chops. An Xiaoning was immediately flustered, for she believed Fan Shixin¡¯s words. Perhaps he did indeed exaggerate a little. But Jin Qingyan was definitely upset about me. ¡°It¡¯s been hard on you too, Chief.¡± An Xiaoning then turned to Jin Qingyan and said, ¡°You must reward Chief Fan with a bonus this month.¡± ¡°You call the shots. I¡¯ll double his sry for this month.¡± Jin Qingyan then said to Fan Shixin, ¡°What are you waiting for? Get out.¡± ¡°Thank you so much, Young Sir and Young Madam. I¡¯ll leave right now!¡± Fan Shixin eximed excitedly, grinning widely from ear to ear. An Xiaoning turned around and walked toward the guest room, only to be stopped by Jin Qingyan, who said, ¡°Why are you going there? The room you¡¯re going to stay in is upstairs.¡± Thinking that he must be referring to Jin Yiheng¡¯s room, she proceeded to make her way upstairs. She could not tolerate it further when he dragged her into the master¡¯s bedroom and finally questioned, ¡°Are you thinking of making me sleep with you at night?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re not willing to, I promise I won¡¯t touch you. I mean what I say. I won¡¯t force you at all.¡± Chapter 738 - A Million Times for You (100)

Chapter 738: A Million Times for You (100)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Jin Qingyan...¡± ¡°If I break my promise, you may leave any time.¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan...¡± ¡°Will that do? Xiaoning...¡± he said with a pitiful expression on his face, which An Xiaoning could not resist! She was entirely subdued by him. An Xiaoning was not a virgin and had first gotten intimate with him long ago. Thus, she did not mind cohabiting with him at all. ¡°You said that yourself. If you dare to touch me without my permission, I¡¯ll move out of your ce immediately.¡± ¡°Of course! You can take my word for it. I promise I won¡¯t touch you at all while you¡¯re here,¡± he swore solemnly. ¡°Give me your mobile phone. I¡¯m calling Beicheng to tell him to bring my phone here, along with a few sets of clothes. My mother must be worried sick. She probably thought I was dead too. I ought to put her mind at ease.¡± He handed her his mobile phone. ¡°Here.¡± She dialed Gu Beicheng¡¯s number and called him directly. Gu Beicheng was not in the mood to answer Jin Qingyan¡¯s call at all, especially since it was not even daybreak yet. After staring at the screen for several seconds, he swiped his finger across slowly and answered, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Beicheng, it¡¯s me,¡± said An Xiaoning, which caused Gu Beicheng to spring up in agitation. ¡°Xiaoning!?!¡± Upon hearing his shriek, Lin Mingxi thought that he had had a nightmare and turned to see that he was in the midst of a phone call. She listened quietly. ¡°It¡¯s me. Jin Qingyan had managed to rescue me. Please bring my mobile phone, clothing, and shoes to Wei Ni Estate. I¡¯ll be staying here for a while to lie low for the time being,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Alright.¡± Gu Beicheng ended the call and immediately switched on the lights and got out of bed to get dressed. Lin Mingxi quickly sat up straight and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± He exined the situation to her while getting dressed. Lin Mingxi was over the moon and got out of bed as well. The pair then packed An Xiaoning¡¯s belongings into a suitcase and drove to Wei Ni Estate. As soon as they saw An Xiaoning in the living room, they rushed forward to hug her tightly. ¡°This is... wonderful!¡± Gu Beicheng eximed, bursting with euphoria. As soon as he finished speaking, Jin Qingyan pulled him away and hissed, ¡°Your wife is allowed to hug her, but you¡¯re not.¡± Gu Beicheng scoffed and retorted sneeringly, ¡°Hah... I¡¯m not just her brother, I¡¯m also the godfather of your son. What¡¯s wrong with hugging her?¡± ¡°You¡¯re only her godbrother and my son¡¯s godfather. You¡¯re not rted by blood at all...¡± said Jin Qingyan. An Xiaoning could not stand how jealous and petty Jin Qingyan was, although she knew that he was merely doing it on purpose. However, she decided not to make a fuss, on ount of him being her life savior. ¡°Actually, we ought to thank Jin Qingyan. Without him, I would have already died in there,¡± said An Xiaoning, giving Jin Qingyan the credit he was due. ¡°Yes, thank you for saving our Xiaoning, Mr. Jin,¡± said Gu Beicheng. Jin Qingyan put on a mirthless smile and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to thank me. As her man and the father of our child, it¡¯s only my duty to do so.¡± Lin Mingxi burst intoughter and said, ¡°Xiaoning, quick, tell us everything that happened since you were taken away. Beicheng and I are both very curious about what happened.¡± ¡°Have a seat first,¡± said An Xiaoning. Jin Qingyan also sat down. He wanted to hear about the parts he was not involved in. She exined in detail everything that had happened, starting from when she burned some offerings to her mentor in Beijia Bay to being abducted and sent to R Nation, and then facing Pei Yi every day, all the way until she had been rescued. Puzzled, Gu Beicheng asked, ¡°Jin Qingyan, how did you know that Xiaoning was still alive? You were the one who sent us the video of her supposed execution. We watched it too and it didn¡¯t seem to be fake.¡± ¡°If I said that it was because I had dreamed of her being alive, would you believe me?¡± ¡°What dream was it?¡± Filled with emotions upon recalling the dream he had, Jin Qingyan exined, ¡°I dreamed of Xiaoning dressed in a bright red coat, sunbathing alongside Pei Yi on the rooftop. The dream felt all too real and so I decided to go look for her.¡± The three of them were appalled and baffled. ¡°I was really wearing a red coat and sunbathing on the rooftop together with Pei Yi during one of those days.¡± That was the day that she and Pei Yi had pretended to be a couple. She remembered it very clearly. That means, what happened in his dream was real... ¡°Oh, I see. Xiaoning, how long will you be staying here for? I don¡¯t feel safe leaving you with Jin Qingyan. He harbors lewd designs on you,¡± Gu Beicheng asked. Jin Qingyan sneered and said, ¡°So what if I do? Isn¡¯t it only normal to harbor designs on the woman you love? Do you really think Pei Yi will leave things as they are now that Xiaoning has escaped from his territory and returned home? Staying in my ce for the time being is the safest option. I don¡¯t n to let her appear in public anytime soon.¡± Gu Beicheng ignored him, though he found thetter¡¯s suggestion to have made sense. ¡°Xiaoning, what ns do you have in mind?¡± he asked An Xiaoning. ¡°Like what Jin Qingyan said, I won¡¯t appear in public for the time being. It¡¯s going to be the New Year very soon. I¡¯d like to live life peacefully for a while too,¡± said An Xiaoning. It was what she truly wanted deep down. She wanted to take the time to nurse her body back to health and apany her son. She wanted to lead a carefree life for a while, without having to feel like she was stepping on eggshells every single day. Considering that she ought to lie low for the time being, Gu Beicheng said, ¡°That¡¯s good. We¡¯ll keep your return from others temporarily, including the Jin and Lin families. I heard...¡± A frown creased his forehead as he contemted whether or not to continue telling her the truth. ¡°What did you hear?¡± An Xiaoning probed. ¡°I heard that during the negotiation between Pei Yi and Mr. President, Lin Shishi tried with all her might to convince Tuoba Gucheng to put the nation¡¯s interests first and consider things from a bigger picture. She even said that the Lin family supported the decision of giving you up...¡± An Xiaoning understood that it was only human nature of Lin Shishi to pick her husband over her godsister. However, she could not help but feel rather upset to hear it. ¡°From her standpoint, she did the right thing. Everyone has something they want to defend. When there are conflicting interests, one would naturally choose to make the decision that¡¯ll benefit them more.¡± Gu Beicheng was relieved to see how calm she was. ¡°You ought to get some rest since you just came back. Mingxi and I will get going for now,¡± he said. ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan walked them to the yard and watched as Gu Beicheng drove out of the gate. She turned around and met Jin Qingyan¡¯s eyes. ¡°Ah!¡± Before she could even speak, Jin Qingyan picked her up in his arms and carried her inside. He carried her all the way upstairs and lowered her onto the bed. He then knelt down on one knee and scrutinized the chains on her ankles. After checking it through, he called Fan Shixin and instructed thetter to bring some cutting tools, as well as the luggage in the living room. While waiting for Fan Shixin to arrive, Jin Qingyan proceeded to remove her socks. He held her cold and mmy feet in his warm hands. An Xiaoning tried to retract her feet, to no avail. ¡°I haven¡¯t washed my feet yet... Don¡¯t you find it filthy at all?¡± He did not answer and instead stood up to switch on the heater. Chapter 739 - A Million Times for You (101)

Chapter 739: A Million Times for You (101)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Ten minutester, Fan Shixin entered with a small saw and An Xiaoning¡¯s luggage in hand. The chains on her ankles were severed by the saw and she could finally move about freely again. An Xiaoning stretched her aching legs and could not quite get used to being able to move them freely. She squatted down in front of the luggage and took out her mobile phone and charger, after which she immediately put her phone to charge. ¡°I¡¯m going to take a shower. You¡¯re not allowed toe in,¡± she ordered. She then rummaged through her luggage to find her pajamas, only to discover that Gu Beicheng did not pack any pajamas into her bag at all. However, she figured that he could only fit her outerwear and garments into the suitcase, which was rather small. ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°Do you have any pajamas here?¡± she asked. It was extremelyfortable to sleep in long-sleeved clothing during the freezing winter. Yet, Jin Qingyan deciphered her words differently and got the wrong idea. ¡°There¡¯s one in the bathroom,¡± he answered. She did not quite believe him and walked toward the bathroom. She entered to discover that there were two matching toothbrushes, two towels, two bathrobes, and two matching pajamas. He had sneakily prepared those items. She then locked the bathroom door from the inside and began showering. She wouldn¡¯t have realized what was hidden in the pajamas if she had not taken a closer look at it. Although it seemed like a set of pajamas that consisted of a long-sleeved top and pants, it was, in reality, a long-sleeved night dress. What an ingenious way of hanging the pajamas. Unfortunately for her, she had forgotten to bring her undergarments in. She then took a look at the underwear she had ced on the basin earlier to see that it had already been hand-washed. She had no choice but to put on the pajamas before going out to take her undergarment. She dried her hair in the bathroom before exiting. An Xiaoning exited the bathroom with the washed underwear in hand and proceeded to hang it on the clothes rack on the balcony. It was freezing cold outside and she hurriedly scurried back in, after which she closed the balcony door. When she squatted beside her luggage to search for her undergarments, she abruptly discovered that they had gone missing, even though she had just seen them earlier! They just vanished without a trace! An Xiaoning knew for sure that Jin Qingyan was the one behind it. She stood up and stared at Jin Qingyan, who was sipping on some liquor. ¡°Where are my undergarments?¡± ¡°How would I know? Didn¡¯t you bring any?¡± he asked with a look of innocence. ¡°Of course I did. They were just in my luggage earlier, yet they had gone missing all of a sudden. Did you hide them while I was in the shower?¡± ¡°Do you take me for a thief? I really didn¡¯t see it,¡± he denied vehemently. ¡°Drop the act,¡± she chastised. Jin Qingyan chuckled in high spirits. He ced the goblet onto the table and said, ¡°You can¡¯t even tell that I was just teasing you. Yes, I did hide your undergarments. Do you know why I did that?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re sick in the head. I know what you¡¯re thinking without having to rack my brains.¡± Jin Qingyan stood up leisurely and undressed himself, as if she wasn¡¯t talking about him at all. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Taking my clothes off. Isn¡¯t that obvious? Must you really ask?¡± he gibed, batting an eyelid at her. ¡°You said you wouldn¡¯tpel me without my permission.¡± He nodded and said earnestly, ¡°Yes, I did say that and I¡¯ll keep to my word. Rest assured, Madam. I won¡¯t touch you at all without your consent.¡± Still, I¡¯d do what I can to seduce you! At all costs! Which woman in this world could enjoy such meticulous treatment from him? She was the only one. An Xiaoning stood rooted to the ground and watched as Jin Qingyan stripped down to nothing. He then began pacing back and forth in front of her. Being a thirty-year-old woman who had long since matured, An Xiaoning could not help but feel a little enticed by him. Should this go on, it was only a matter of time before things go out of hand! He was indeed notpelling her. However, he was continuously trying to seduce her! ¡°Jin Qingyan, I think it¡¯s better that I move to the guest room.¡± ¡°Is your willpower really that weak? Or are you afraid that you¡¯d lose control of your hormones and pounce on me one day?¡± he teased with a smirk, which caused his dimples to show clearly. ¡°Who has weak willpower? I really don¡¯t know what we are now. If you didn¡¯t save my life, I wouldn¡¯t have allowed you toe so near me,¡± she said, crawling onto the bed. In other words, she only agreed to move in with him because he had risked everything to rescue her. She wondered if she was warning him orforting him. ¡°The decision lies in your hands. You call the shots. You can consider yourself my wife or Yiheng¡¯s mother. I¡¯d be willing, even if you only see us as friends with benefits.¡± ¡°You... what do you take me for!?!¡± An Xiaoning snapped. ¡°You may take me for anything. I¡¯m willing to ept any role. Well, I¡¯m just sparing a thought for you. Don¡¯t you find it glorious to be friends with benefits with me? I¡¯m wealthy, authoritative, clean, and Ist long in bed. I¡¯m such a dreamboat. You won¡¯t be taking a loss.¡± An Xiaoning immediately blushed red with shyness upon hearing his enticing words. She could not help but recall the revelry they had one night, wherein they both went all out in bed. It felt as if it took ce only yesterday. This shameless scoundrel! she thought to herself. She flipped to her side and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t sleep well on the ne. I¡¯m turning in now. Don¡¯t disturb me.¡± His hormones began raging as he watched her turn over. He could only look at but not touch her. What a terrible feeling it was! He could not hold himself back at all. He was a normal man who had sexual desires. Yet, he¡¯d remained chaste for months, all for her sake! He only got to kiss her on the ne. That was barely enough! Jin Qingyan could not resist his urges and began moving his hands toward her. He tried hard to hold himself back with all his might, to no avail. Jin Qingyan moved closer toward her and ced his arm below her head forcefully. An Xiaoning turned around and chided, ¡°Are you going back on your word now?¡± Jin Qingyan embraced her tightly from behind and said, ¡°Xiaoning, I can¡¯t seem to control myself...¡± Upon sensing his warm, bare chest against her back, An Xiaoning¡¯s body stiffened; she was unable to keep her cool. ¡°Are you really going to go back on your word, then?¡± As soon as she finished speaking, Jin Qingyan moved his body away from her. An Xiaoning smiled and closed her eyes. The sky began to brighten gradually. Jin Qingyan could not fall asleep at all and thus took the time to ponder over how he could satisfy his desires while at the same time appear to be keeping his promise... After much thought, he put on his clothes and tiptoed out of the bedroom. Fan Shixin was in the midst of his morning jog when he chanced upon the shocking sight of Jin Qingyan. He ran toward him and asked, ¡°Young Sir, you went through painstaking means to bring Young Madam home and yet you came out here early in the morning. Are you silly? You should be getting down to business in the room now. Aren¡¯t you missing out on a great chance bying out here?¡± Chapter 740 - A Million Times for You (102)

Chapter 740: A Million Times for You (102)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyan rolled his eyes at him and chided, ¡°You¡¯re bing more brazen with your words.¡± ¡°Hehe, it¡¯s because I know you won¡¯t punish me, Young Sir.¡± ¡°Who said so?¡± Jin Qingyan purposely put on an austere expression on his face and continued, ¡°Shixin, how does twenty more rounds around the estate sound?¡± ¡°Young Sir, please don¡¯t make me do that. I¡¯ve already run a lot. I¡¯m exhausted,¡± Fan Shixin pleaded with a look of moroseness. ¡°I¡¯ll spare you if you cane up with a feasible solution for me.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Ahem... well...¡± Jin Qingyan felt a little embarrassed but continued to tell him the problem, nheless. Fan Shixin thought that it would be a major problem, but it turned out... He had no choice but to contain his amusement and refrain fromughing, fearing that Jin Qingyan would be peeved and punish him. Thus, he kept his emotions to himself with all his might and put on a serious front. ¡°Young Sir, can promises really be kept when ites to getting intimate with each other? It¡¯d be questionable and strange for a man and woman to purely sleep together without touching each other. It¡¯s only normal to get intimate. Besides, you and Young Madam have already given birth to Little Sir... In my opinion, there are two ways you could go about keeping your promise and, at the same time, satisfying your desires.¡± ¡°Which two?¡± ¡°For one, you may spike Young Madam¡¯s drink with an aphrodisiac. She¡¯ll then take the initiative to get intimate with you.¡± ¡°Are your brains fried? Given Xiaoning¡¯s character, she¡¯d definitely move out immediately once the effects of the drug wear off,¡± Jin Qingyan rebuked. ¡°There¡¯s another solution, Young Sir. You may drug her with a sleeping pill and knock her unconscious. By then, you can do whatever you want to her without her realizing. That¡¯s all I cane up with for now. I think it¡¯s the most feasible solution too. It¡¯s the best of both worlds. As for keeping to your promise, you only have to let Young Madam know that you honored it. You don¡¯t have to be bothered by your own promises since you were the one who made it. It¡¯s entirely up to you to decide whether or not to stick to it,¡± said Fan Shixin, who had been single for years and had no experience in dating. Thinking that he made sense, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°Find me some drugs that won¡¯t be harmful to her health.¡± ¡°All incapacitating agents are harmful when ingested. How about incense instead? Not only is it fragrant, it has no harmful effects either.¡± ¡°Yes...¡± As Jin Qingyan¡¯s able assistant, Fan Shixin had alwayspleted the tasks Jin Qingyan handed him with uracy and efficiency. Jin Qingyan lit up the incense and found that it had an extremely mild yet fragrant scent. He then left the room. After the incense stick had burned out, Jin Qingyan entered the room again to find that there was no longer the scent of the incense. He then wiped the ashes off the table. As curious as a cat, Jin Qingyan tried to test the potency of the incense stick. He theny in bed and called An Xiaoning¡¯s name several times, but she did not respond. Jin Qingyan was overjoyed. He pulled An Xiaoning into his embrace with no qualms. He then kicked the duvet away and ced his hand beneath her nightdress to feel her smooth and supple skin. He simply could not keep his hands off of her. He then looked down and began kissing her ears. He continued to move his lips to her brows and removed his hands from below her head. He then turned over and ced his arms beside her body to support his weight. At this moment, Jin Qingyan was filled with immense pleasure. His hormones began raging, and he only stopped after climaxing thrice. Jin Qingyan was extra meticulous and careful when cleaning up, and he made sure to wipe the fluids off her lower body. Filled with satisfaction, Jin Qingyan put her nightdress back onto her and pulled the duvet over their bodies. He theny down beside her and basked in his post-coital mood. An Xiaoning had a long night¡¯s sleep and only woke up at eleven o¡¯clock the next morning. The golden rays of sun cast in through the window. An Xiaoning felt a little ufortable the moment she opened her eyes. She felt a sore ache in her back. She sat up straight and looked to the side to see that the spot beside her was empty. She hurriedly proceeded to change into her clothes. She got out of bed and opened her luggage to pick out her outfit. Just as she removed her nightdress, the door opened. An Xiaoning quickly covered her body with the clothes. Jin Qingyan chuckled and said, ¡°I¡¯ve seen every part of your body before. Must you really hide yourself?¡± She did not answer him and instead said, ¡°Go out first.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°Wait a minute, where did you hide my undergarments?¡± ¡°In the cab beside the bed.¡± He turned around and left with a sly smile on his face. After watching him leave, An Xiaoning took her undergarments out from the cab and put them on. She put on the baby-blue wool leggings, which she paired with a long rainbow sweater that ended at her knees. She then grabbed her thick cardigan and headed to the bathroom. After applying some makeup, she took a look at her mobile phone, only to discover that the charging cable had already been plugged out and that her mobile phone was fully charged. She immediately dialed her mother¡¯s mobile number without hesitation. Shi Qingzhou only answered after An Xiaoning called her several times. ¡°Hello,¡± she answered in a hoarse and feeble voice. ¡°Mother, it¡¯s me.¡± ¡°Xiaoning!¡± She immediately raised her voice agitatedly. Choking between sobs, Shi Qingzhou continued, ¡°Is that you? Tell Mother, is it really you?¡± ¡°Yes, yes, it¡¯s me. I made it back alive.¡± ¡°You really scared me! I almost couldn¡¯t make it...¡± said Shi Qingzhou, who soon burst into tears, unable to contain her emotions. Tears streamed down An Xiaoning¡¯s face as she answered, ¡°I¡¯m sorry to have made you worried.¡± ¡°No, Baby, do you know what the greatest blessing in life is? It¡¯s finding out that your death was a false rm. To me, it¡¯s the best thing I can hear. Thank you for still being alive. When I first heard about your mishap, I almost gave up on life. I kept wondering to myself, just how did something like that happen to you? You left me before we could even spend some time together properly. I was wondering, just what wrong did I do for Heaven to punish me that way? But it¡¯s all good now.¡± An Xiaoning nodded profusely,pletely agreeing with what her mother said. ¡°I¡¯m fine now... Mother, you don¡¯t have to worry anymore. I¡¯ll do my best to prevent history from repeating itself. Okay?¡± ¡°Tell me, how did you make it out of there?¡± After some thought, An Xiaoning told her the truth about everything that had happened. She did not hide or leave out a single detail. Chapter 741 - A Million Times for You (103)

Chapter 741: A Million Times for You (103)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After hearing her words, Shi Qingzhou sighed and said, ¡°I think he¡¯s very devoted to you. Xiaoning, you two already have a child together anyway. If you still have feelings for him, you should consider reconciling with him. But the decision lies with you. I won¡¯t give you any pressure. Your happiness shoulde first.¡± ¡°Mother, don¡¯t worry. I have ns of my own. I¡¯d like to live a peaceful life from now on. As for marriage... I dare not carry any more hopes in it. I¡¯m very touched by what he has done for me too, but I just can¡¯t forget about that incident. I guess I¡¯ll just let nature take its course.¡± ¡°You¡¯re still young and you¡¯ve got plenty of time. There¡¯s no hurry. Xiaoning, I miss you so much, it¡¯s driving me crazy. I want to go back to S Nation to see you.¡± ¡°I want to see you too, but I can¡¯t do that right now. I have to lie low for a period of time. Shi Xiaoyu doesn¡¯t know yet that I¡¯m still alive. Neither does she know where you are. Now that her son has be the president, it¡¯d be hard for you to leave S Nation again if youe back, even if you do it stealthily. I¡¯ll go abroad to visit you when I have the chance to, alright?¡± ¡°Alright, my mind will be put at ease as long as you¡¯re alive and well,¡± said Shi Qingzhou, who understood her predicament. ¡°Okay, I will.¡± After ending the call, An Xiaoning headed downstairs. As she was making her way down the flight of stairs, she strangely felt a sudden weakness in her legs, which she suspected to be the sequ of having her ankles bound in chains. Upon seeing An Xiaoning, Auntie Chen immediately instructed the servants to serve the dishes that had already been prepared. ¡°Young Madam, here are all your favorite dishes.¡± ¡°Auntie Chen... don¡¯t call me ¡®Young Madam,¡¯ I¡¯m no longer the Young Madam of this house. You may just call me Xiaoning.¡± Auntie Chen smiled and said, ¡°How can I do that? I wouldn¡¯t dare to address you by your name without Young Sir¡¯s permission. Besides, you used to be Young Madam and you will continue to be Young Madam again in the future, even if you¡¯re not now.¡± An Xiaoning was speechless. ¡°You may address me however you¡¯d like then, Auntie Chen,¡± An Xiaoning said with a grin. She then pulled the chair and took a few sniffs of the food. ¡°Auntie Chen, you make the best dishes. I¡¯ll savor them slowly,¡± An Xiaoning eximed in delight. ¡°Young Madam, you must tell me which dishes you¡¯d like to eat in the future. I¡¯ll prepare them for you. Also...¡± Auntie Chen lowered her voice and whispered, ¡°Young Sir has been very concerned about youtely. When you were not around, Young Sir would go to the martial arts academy. The house would be empty most of the time. Young Sir lost his sense of humor and would be extremely stern all day. I finally saw Young Sir giggling a few times today now that you¡¯re back. That¡¯s really great.¡± Slightly taken aback, An Xiaoning smiled and asked, ¡°Where did he go?¡± ¡°Young Sir has gone to fetch Little Sir.¡± ¡°They should be home soon then. I reckon Yiheng hasn¡¯t had his lunch yet. I¡¯ll wait for him toe home before eating.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you dig in first, Young Madam? Little Sir will make it home in time.¡± ¡°Sounds good too. Auntie Chen, you may go get some rest. You don¡¯t have to apany me.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll excuse myself then.¡± Auntie Chen turned around and handed her apron to the servants. ¡°Sis!¡± Mei Yangyang¡¯s voice could be heard even before she showed up. Mei Yangyang zoomed inside the living room while the rest of them hurriedly chased after her. There were two married couples. ¡°We thought we heard Qingyan wrongly. Turns out he was telling the truth. Look at the way she¡¯s holding her chopsticks, she¡¯s alive!¡± Long Tianze eximed. Mei Yangyang smacked him and chided, ¡°Of course she¡¯s alive.¡± ¡°Have you guys eaten yet? If you haven¡¯t,e join me. There are so many dishes on the table,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Hehe, I won¡¯t stand on ceremony then,¡± said Long Tianze, who took a seat immediately. Jin Qingyue and Ling Ciye followed suit. ¡°My brother told Tianze about it over the phone, after which Tianze ryed the message to us. We met up beforeing here. Indeed, we really received a great shock. Xiaoning, you were really lucky to have survived. You have no idea how ted Brother Ciye and I were when we heard that you were still alive,¡± said Jin Qingyue, keeping her eyes fixed on An Xiaoning. ¡°Exactly. I don¡¯t know how I got so dead lucky either. I guess I¡¯m just like a cat with nine lives,¡± An Xiaoning said in self-mockery. ¡°You must be.¡± Mei Yangyang¡¯s cheeks were flushed red as she put her fist in the air agitatedly and eximed, ¡°Here, let¡¯s toast to my Sis and celebrate her return!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Cheers.¡± ¡°Cheers!¡± An Xiaoning clinked sses with them and downed hers in one go. Just as everyone was in the midst of boisterous fun, Jin Qingyan arrived home with Jin Yiheng. Jin Yiheng was practically a chip off the old block. The two of them even had the same expression and were in sync with each other¡¯s paces. ¡°Mommy!¡± Jin Yiheng¡¯s eyes lit up and leaped toward her. An Xiaoning put her chopsticks down and turned to face him. Jin Yiheng threw his arms around her neck and said, ¡°Mommy, I missed you so much.¡± An Xiaoning could not help but kiss her son¡¯s face. ¡°Mommy missed you too. Quick, sit down and eat.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Jin Yiheng tiptoed to kiss her back and sat down beside her. While everyone was in high spirits, Long Tianze began cooking up an exaggerated story about how badly Jin Qingyan had missed her, which cracked everyone up. It had been long since An Xiaoningst had such a joyous gathering with her family and friends, during which they would chat and crack jokes with each other. ¡°Ciye and Qingyue, when will your wedding be held?¡± An Xiaoning asked. Jin Qingyue nced at her husband before answering with a smile, ¡°We¡¯re nning to hold our wedding on New Year¡¯s Eve.¡± ¡°Great! It¡¯ll be the New Year the day after your wedding,¡± said Mei Yangyang, who initiated a round of apuse. ¡°Have you done all the necessary preparations for your wedding?¡± ¡°We¡¯re in the midst of it now.¡± ¡°...¡± After the gathering ended, Jin Qingyan sent Jin Yiheng back to the academy. However, thetter was extremely reluctant and threw a little tantrum. He only conceded when Jin Qingyan promised to pick him up again next week. On the other hand, Mei Yangyang and An Xiaoningy on the couch in the backyard to sunbathe, during which they chatted and caught up with each other. Gradually, the topic of discussion drifted to Mo Li. An Xiaoning felt happy for Mo Li upon hearing Mei Yangyang mention that she had bought an apartment in Sanqiao Estate. ¡°She went through so much hardship. Things are going to get better now that she has her own home,¡± An Xiaoning remarked. ¡°Tianze and I have high hopes for her too. We told her toe work as a waitress at the ck Genie once she¡¯s recuperated and that we would be offering her twice the usual wages, as a form of taking care of her. Besides, Tianze can rest assured since no one will dare to bully her when she¡¯s working there.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. Mo Li can finally live life on her own. Her apartment should be quite near to my ce. I¡¯ll go visit her when I move back to Sanqiao Estate.¡± ¡°She does have a lot of backbone, though. She didn¡¯t ask for any alimony from Ye Xiaotian during their divorce. I reckon she¡¯ll definitely change a lot after having suffered such a huge blow. By the way, I¡¯ve never seen such a manly side to Mr. Jin before. He¡¯s really outdone himself this time. Sis, aren¡¯t you going to reciprocate to it a little?¡± said Mei Yangyang. Chapter 742 - A Million Times for You (104)

Chapter 742: A Million Times for You (104)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°How do you think I should show my gratitude?¡± ¡°Sis, you should just fulfill his wishes.¡± ¡°No,¡± An Xiaoning immediately refused. There were too many things he wanted! No way could she satisfy every single one of them. Seemingly having guessed something, Mei Yangyang said, ¡°I¡¯m not asking you to give yourself to him. What I meant was, you can continue to live with him amicably and harmoniously. Make happiness your priority, and just go ahead with doing whatever you two enjoy doing. Developing a cordial rtionship with him would be advantageous to Yiheng too.¡± An Xiaoning agreed with what she said. They soon grew sluggish after basking in theforting warmth of the sun. An Xiaoning was left alone on the couch after Long Tianze called Mei Yangyang to go home. An Xiaoningy t on the couch with her eyes closed and only opened them when a shadownded across her face. She looked him in the eye and remarked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you make a sound at all?¡± ¡°I did it on purpose. I thought you were asleep.¡± An Xiaoning sat up straight and said, ¡°Take a seat, let¡¯s have a chat.¡± Jin Qingyan sat down beside her excitedly and asked, ¡°What would you like to chat about?¡± ¡°How do you n to let me appear in public sometimeter?¡± ¡°Do you already have ns of your own?¡± he asked in a deep yet mellow voice. ¡°No, when I asked you that question moments ago, an idea popped up in my head. Maybe you don¡¯t have to intentionally make arrangements. When I feel like stepping out of the house in the future, I¡¯ll just do it openly. I¡¯ve thought about it before. Wearing a mask when I¡¯m out may help conceal my identity, though not for long. Manyizens have been specting that I¡¯m already dead and I think only a few people have received the video of my ¡®execution.¡¯ The public probably doesn¡¯t know if I¡¯m dead or alive and are merely making guesses based on the fact that I was held hostage, so I don¡¯t think it¡¯d be inappropriate if I just show up in public one day. I don¡¯t feel like exining much either, people can see it for themselves. The reason I could show up in front of everyone again is that I had been saved, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Even if you don¡¯t feel like exining yourself, you might just bepelled to do it in the end. Gossip is a fearful thing. The more you don¡¯t wish others to find out about something, the further they would try and probe. For the time being, I¡¯ll release some news to say that you had had a close shave with death and managed to escape on your own. That would benefit both you and me. The DK Organization must already know that I was the one who saved you. I¡¯m afraid they¡¯ve already cklisted the Jin Corporation. If we dere openly that I was the one who rescued you, we¡¯re bound to be resented globally. Don¡¯t forget, there is more than one terrorist organization all over the world. Those terrorists absolutely detest people like me. We ought to avoid provoking them whenever we can. I don¡¯t wish to stir any trouble, though I¡¯m not intimidated at all.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll go ahead with your suggestion then. When I was first sent to R Nation by Xu Baizhi, I stayed in a motel for one night. That night, I dreamed of us...¡± said An Xiaoning, hugging her knees. ¡°What happened in the dream?¡± Recalling the scenario in the dream she had, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°I was less than ten years old during the dream, and I was dressed in prisoner¡¯s clothes. There were chains shackled around my ankles, and I was walking along the streets barefooted with the soldiers holding me down. I was freezing and starving while you were standing in the crowd. You were a teenager then and looked exactly like what Yiheng would look like when he turns fourteen. You were dressed in a set of white clothing and staring at me coldly. I don¡¯t know why but my face was covered in tears when I woke up. I guess this must be a recollection from our previous life.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never dreamed of that before,¡± said Jin Qingyan, who was rather upset to hear her description. ¡°It¡¯s rather incredible that you managed to dream of the scene of me and Pei Yi sunbathing on the rooftop. Jin Qingyan, Yangyang said that she¡¯s never seen such a manly and heroic side to you before. She thinks I should thank you properly. How would you like me to express my gratitude?¡± ¡°No form of gratitude can be better than giving me your love.¡± An Xiaoning remained silent, as if she had not heard him at all. He did not probe further and continued to bask in the sun beside her. ¡ª¡ª Ding-Dong... Ding-Dong... The doorbell rang several times before Ling Ciye and Jin Qingyue woke up from their afternoon nap. They took a look at the surveince camera monitor to see that it was Shi Shaochuan and Jin Bao¡¯er. Jin Qingyue had no idea how Shi Shaochuan had managed to enter the estate and decided not to open the door, thinking to herself that he must havee to stir trouble. To her surprise, Shi Shaochuan did not leave and instead began yelling at her door, ¡°Jin Qingyue, don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know that you¡¯re at home just because you refuse to open the door. Open up.¡± Jin Qingyue had no choice but to open the door. As soon as she saw her detestable ex-husband, she snapped, ¡°I was in the midst of taking an afternoon nap. What are you here for?¡± ¡°Bao¡¯er said she misses you and wants to see you, so I brought her here. I may have her full custody but you¡¯re her biological mother. You can¡¯t possibly ignore Bao¡¯er¡¯s request to see you or give her the cold shoulder, can you?¡± said Shi Shaochuan, who clearly had an ulterior motive for bringing Jin Bao¡¯er to her. ¡°Bao¡¯er is closer to you and she was bent on living with you while she was under my care. How could she possibly miss me now? Shi Shaochuan, I¡¯ve already given the child to you. If you¡¯re thinking of wreaking havoc in my life, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll be disappointed,¡± said Jin Qingyue, clearly not believing him. Shi Shaochuan then looked down and said to Jin Bao¡¯er, ¡°Did you see that? Your mother thinks you¡¯re a burden now because she has a new husband. I was right, wasn¡¯t I? She doesn¡¯t want you at all.¡± Boiling with anger, Jin Qingyue snapped and gave Shi Shaochuan a tight p across his face, catching him off guard. He red at Jin Qingyue menacingly and bellowed, ¡°How dare you hit me!?!¡± ¡°I just did. You shameless scum! When I still had the rights to Bao¡¯er¡¯s custody, you manipted her time and time again and even instigated her to kill us by leaving the gas stove on. You went toe-to-toe against me for her custody and I gave it to you, yet now you¡¯re here again to stir trouble. Shi Shaochuan, you¡¯re bloody repulsive! I¡¯m utterly disgusted by you!¡± Jin Qingyue hollered in exasperation. As soon as she finished speaking, she mmed the door shut without hesitation, leaving Shi Shaochuan and Jin Bao¡¯er outside. Jin Qingyue returned inside to see that Ling Ciye was looking at her in amusement. Recalling the words she had just said, she leaped onto Ling Ciye and wrapped herself around his body before saying gently, ¡°I only dared to do that because I knew you were at home. You gave me the courage to do so.¡± ¡°About Bao¡¯er, can you really bear to...?¡± said Ling Ciye, walking back inside with his arms around her waist. ¡°I can¡¯t bear to. She¡¯s my flesh and blood whom I gave birth to and raised single-handedly. However, I can¡¯t have the best of both worlds. I¡¯ve once thought of trying to let you two live together with me harmoniously, but she only ever listens to her father¡¯s instructions. If I allow myself to be soft-hearted and give in, it¡¯d be toote to regret when she really does something outrageous. In order to avoid taking that risk, I decided that I have to stay firm to my decision and toughen up. I¡¯m not going to stop seeing herpletely, she¡¯s still my daughter after all. I¡¯ll just take her out for meals and y with her asionally in the future, but I won¡¯t let her be a threat to your safety and existence anymore.¡± Chapter 743 - A Million Times for You (105)

Chapter 743: A Million Times for You (105)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Before Ling Ciye could even carry her into the bedroom, the doorbell began ringing again. It was ringing incessantly. Jin Qingyue slid down from his body in a bid to walk toward the door. Ling Ciye hurriedly grabbed her to stop her and said, ¡°I¡¯ll call the estate¡¯s security office.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± The security officers soon showed up at their doorstep and chased Shi Shaochuan and Jin Bao¡¯er out of the estate. Peace was then restored. Shortly after Shi Shaochuan left, the doorbell began ringing again. This time, it was a courier who pressed the doorbell. ¡°Mr. Ling, there¡¯s a parcel for you. Please sign and ept it,¡± said the courier, who handed the parcel and a pen to him. Ling Ciye signed his name without hesitation. ¡°What parcel is that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, it¡¯s from Song Yan, apparently.¡± He returned inside the house with the parcel while Jin Qingyue leaned in to take a closer look. It turned out to be a bright red wedding invitation card. The invitation included a bridal photo of Song Yan and her fianc¨¦. Jin Qingyue opened the invitation and said, ¡°Oh, she¡¯s getting married. The wedding is to be held three days from now. Do you know who the groom is?¡± ¡°He¡¯s the owner of the artiste managementpany she¡¯s signed to. He¡¯s once divorced but doesn¡¯t have a child yet. She probably just wants me to attend her wedding to see how glorious her life is now,¡± Ling Ciye answered calmly with a straight face. After a moment of hesitation, Jin Qingyue asked, ¡°Will you be attending?¡± Ling Ciye smiled at her and said, ¡°Of course, why not? At the same time, we can also send her an invitation to our wedding on New Year¡¯s Eve. She won¡¯t be too embarrassed to turn up for ours.¡± Jin Qingyue knew what his smile meant. He no longer harbored any lingering feelings for Song Yan, which was why he could face the news of her marriage so calmly. Jin Qingyue ced the invitation card onto the couch and hugged his waist. ¡°Are we returning her courtesy?¡± ¡°You may say so.¡± ¡°Hubby...¡± Jin Qingyue tiptoed and kissed his chin, feeling a little tickled by his stubble. She then began moving her tiny hand below his abdomen. She was trying to arouse him. Needless to say, Ling Ciye knew what she was trying to do. ¡°Do you want it?¡± ¡°Yes...¡± ¡°I¡¯ll satisfy you right away.¡± ¡°Ah!¡± He swept her off her feet and carried her into the bedroom. He then closed the door immediately while passion burned fiercely in the air. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll continue with basic training for today. Remain in the horse stance for half an hour. As with yesterday, whoever persists ¡¯til the end will get to enjoy an hour¡¯s break. Those who can¡¯t will be denied a break. Let¡¯s begin,¡± said Chen Xu, staring at the children sternly. The five children separated their legs, shoulder width apart, and squatted slightly. It was a mandatory aspect of their daily training regime. Apart from attending arts and culture lessons, they would practice the horse¡¯s stance and go on jogs. The children got into position quickly, and all of them were going strong for the first ten minutes. However, they soon began struggling to keep in position. Especially Long Xiaoxi, the youngest and chubbiest out of all the children. Her body was swaying unsteadily from side to side. Noticing how Long Xiaoxi was moving about like a roly-poly toy, Wen Yuechan burst intoughter and sneered, ¡°Xiaoxi, just give up if you can¡¯t persist. Coach is not going to me you.¡± ¡°Who said I can¡¯t? I¡¯ll persist until the end,¡± Long Xiaoxi snapped in disgruntlement. She knew that Wen Yuechan enjoyed poking fun at her and making her look bad. Thus, she bit her lip and continued to hang on with all her might. Long Xiaoxi really managed to push through the full thirty minutes. When Chen Xu finally allowed them to stop, Long Xiaoxi lost her bnce and fell onto the ground, after which everyone beganughing at her. She glowered at Wen Yuechan, who wasughing the most merrily, and got back up on her feet before heading to the washroom. Just as she stepped foot inside, Wen Yuechan entered, her hair pulled back into a high braid on which there was a beautiful floral hair clip. She had a pink hairclip on the crown of her head as well. Her eyes were big and sparkly, and she was tall and slender, a stark contrast from Long Xiaoxi. Long Xiaoxi was no match for her at all. Whenever they stood side by side in front of the basin, Long Xiaoxi would always be the first to walk away. This time, it was no exception. After washing her hands, Long Xiaoxi began walking away. ¡°Long Xiaoxi,¡± Wen Yuechan yelled to stop her in her tracks. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°I have something to ask you about.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Wen Yuechan recalled the question her mother had wanted her to ask. She had been putting it off for days and dared not pop the question to Jin Yiheng, for she was afraid that he would be upset. After much thought, she decided to ask Long Xiaoxi instead. ¡°When I went home a few days ago, I heard from some outsiders that Yiheng¡¯s mother is dead. Is that true?¡± Long Xiaoxi hit the roof as soon as she heard her question. She widened her eyes and yelled at the top of her voice, ¡°Your mother is dead! My Godma can¡¯t be dead!¡± ¡°I heard it from others so I just wanted to ask if it was true. Why did you have to curse my mother!?!¡± ¡°Well then, I also heard that your mother is dead. Why can¡¯t I say that based on hearsay?¡± Wen Yuechan was exasperated. ¡°I was just casually asking, why do you have to react that way? No wonder Yiheng doesn¡¯t like you at all, you¡¯re ill-mannered,¡± she scorned. Boiling with fury, Long Xiaoxi leaped toward Wen Yuechan and pinned her onto the ground. Wen Yuechan was caught off guard and thrown off bnce. She then suffered multiple strikes from Long Xiaoxi, who was mounting her. Jin Yiheng barged in and pulled them apart. Noticing that it was Jin Yiheng, Long Xiaoxi hurriedly spluttered and tried to exin herself, ¡°She was the one who provoked me first, otherwise... I... I wouldn¡¯t have hit her.¡± The more flustered Long Xiaoxi was, the more incoherent she was, and she even appeared as if she was trying to defend her mistake. On the other hand, Wen Yuechan hung her head low while sobbing without uttering a single word. Long Xiaoxi was overwhelmed with panic as she noticed that Jin Yiheng was not talking. ¡°Brother Yiheng, please believe me!¡± she pleaded anxiously. Although she had gotten into various conflicts with Jin Yiheng, she would often still hope that he would believe her. However, Jin Yiheng would always choose to side with Wen Yuechan whenever she got into a conflict with her. Long Xiaoxi was insecure and immediately thought of Wen Yuechan¡¯s unsettling words. ¡°No wonder Yiheng doesn¡¯t like you.¡± Long Xiaoxi hung her head low. Wen Yuechan felt rather relieved and assured. Just as she thought Jin Yiheng was going to berate Long Xiaoxi, he grabbed thetter¡¯s hand and walked away with her. Even Long Xiaoxi was dumbfounded. She looked at Jin Yiheng before turning to nce at Wen Yuechan. Wen Yuechan stood rooted to the ground in shock and watched them leave. After having walked a distance, Long Xiaoxi finally plucked up her courage and asked, ¡°Brother Yiheng, are you angry with me again?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± Jin Yiheng let go of her hand and adjusted her hat for her. ¡°I heard everything when I was outside. Xiaoxi, Daddy brought me home this afternoon to meet Mommy,¡± he continued. Chapter 744 - A Million Times for You (106)

Chapter 744: A Million Times for You (106)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Really? I knew it, Godma couldn¡¯t have been as what Wen Yuechan said!¡± Jin Yiheng pinched her chubby face and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Long Xiaoxi reached out to grab his arm and said, ¡°Brother Yiheng, I¡¯m going to stop calling you ¡®Brother¡¯ from now on. I want to address you by your name too. If Wen Yuechan is allowed to do that, I should be too.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°I brought a lot of snacks along when Daddy sent me back here. I¡¯ll give you someter.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll stop eating snacks from now on,¡± said Long Xiaoxi. ¡°Why?¡± Jin Yiheng asked with a look of puzzlement in his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m going to go on a diet and lose weight.¡± ¡°Actually, you¡¯re not very fat, you don¡¯t have to lose weight...¡± Pouting her lips, Long Xiaoxi chastised, ¡°You boys just love telling lies. When you asked me why I didn¡¯t want to let Wen Yuechan tag along to the boot camp, I told you that it was because she made fun of me and called me ¡®fat.¡¯ Yet all you said was, ¡®Was she wrong?¡¯ I still remember it clearly. You im that you don¡¯t think I need to lose any weight but you called me fat indirectly. How harsh of you.¡± ¡°You still remember that. It¡¯s my fault for not thinking twice before I speak,¡± he said with a look of embarrassment. ¡°My mother said that you actually mean the things you blurt out mindlessly. I must lose weight. My mother also said that I¡¯ll start to lose weight slowly as long as I stop snacking,¡± said a determined Long Xiaoxi. ¡°Xiaoxi, will you really be able to resist the temptation of the delicious snacks I brought? I¡¯ve brought your favorite beef jerky and egg tarts. They won¡¯t be fresh anymore by tomorrow.¡± Stuck in a dilemma, Long Xiaoxi could not help but ask, ¡°You can¡¯t finish them alone, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She took a deep breath and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll just have a bit of everything. It¡¯s my pleasure to help you solve your difficulties.¡± Jin Yiheng smiled and brought her back to the dormitory. Staring at the ravenous Long Xiaoxi, who was eagerly shoving an egg tart into her mouth, he handed her a piece of tissue and said, ¡°Slow down. I won¡¯t eat any, you may have all of them.¡± ¡°How can I do that? That¡¯s too much for me, I have to lose weight.¡± ¡°How are you going to have the energy to lose weight if you don¡¯t eat?¡± Long Xiaoxi nodded fervently like a woodpecker and chirped, ¡°Yes, yes, you¡¯re right.¡± Smiling widely from ear to ear, Jin Yiheng watched as Long Xiaoxi wolfed the snacks down furiously and polished off all the food in no time. After all, Long Xiaoxi was much younger and smaller in size than Wen Yuechan. Hence, she was kicked in the head by Wen Yuechan, who was trying to defend herself when she was pinned on the ground. Long Xiaoxi winced in pain and blew her top. Seething with exasperation, she bit down into Wen Yuechan¡¯s leg, causing thetter to bawl loudly in pain. ¡ª¡ª At five o¡¯clock in the evening, An Xiaoning stared at Jin Qingyan, who was typing away on hisputer, and asked earnestly, ¡°What do you say I take charge of fixing dinner tonight?¡± Jin Qingyan paused in his actions and stared at her apprehensively. ¡°Aren¡¯t you an amateur at cooking?¡± ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s just cooking, it can¡¯t be that hard. There are recipes avable all over the inte. I¡¯ll just follow the instructions while preparing the meal.¡± ¡°Why did you suddenly decide to cook?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯d like to express my gratitude toward you.¡± An Xiaoning stood up and continued, ¡°I¡¯m going to the kitchen now. You¡¯re not allowed toe in. Wait here patiently for the sumptuous feast!¡± ¡°Sure.¡± An Xiaoning put on her apron and asked, ¡°What would you like to eat, though?¡± Jin Qingyan looked down and said with a chuckle, ¡°You.¡± ¡°Shall I boil and serve myself to you? You may have a spread of steamed human flesh,¡± she said with a grin. ¡°No need for that. I can just devour you raw. It must taste really fresh and decadent. Shall we give it a try tonight?¡± he teased, batting his eyshes. An Xiaoning shivered at the sight of how intensely he was staring at her and said, ¡°Hmph, I¡¯m not going to talk to you anymore. I¡¯m going to prepare dinner now. I promise it won¡¯t kill you, but you must polish everything off regardless of how it tastes.¡± She turned around and strode toward the kitchen while Jin Qingyan stared at her in delight. He could not take his eyes off of her at all, for he simply loved and adored her to bits. Standing beside the refrigerator, Auntie Chen said, ¡°Young Madam, what would you like to eat? I¡¯ll cook it for you. The kitchen reeks of the odor of oil. Go outside and rest instead.¡± ¡°Auntie Chen, I¡¯m going to cook dinner for Qingyan myself. He¡¯s already agreed to let me do so. Go outside and let me prepare the dishes in the kitchen on my own, alright?¡± Seeing how serious she was, Auntie Chen stopped trying to persuade her and exited the kitchen. An Xiaoning took out the fresh ingredients from the refrigerator, only to find that she wascking some ingredients that were required by the recipes she had found online. Thus, she put her mobile phone away inside her pocket and decided to do it her way. Soon, Jin Qingyan began to hear sounds of food being deep fried,dles and utensils being dropped onto the ground, as well as that of tes being smashed. Not long after, thick fumes of smoke began spreading from inside the kitchen. Auntie Chen peeked inside the kitchen through the door, filled with panic and worry. However, she dared not enter to intervene. Jin Qingyan stood up and walked toward the kitchen door. Staring at the chaotic scene taking ce before him inside the kitchen, he could not help but burst intoughter. He had prepared dinner together with An Xiaoning before back in Dongpo Road. Yet, he did not expect her to create such a mess when she¡¯s left alone in the kitchen. He strode inside and stood beside An Xiaoning. ¡°Why don¡¯t you turn on the kitchen hood?¡± ¡°Ah, I forgot... I was just telling myself to switch on the kitchen hood when I was turning on the gas stove, yet I forgot it in a sh,¡± said An Xiaoning while scooping the food in the wok onto a te. Staring at the stir-fried corn with orange on the te, Jin Qingyan asked, ¡°Is this a new dish you came up with?¡± ¡°I think it should taste delicious, give it a try,¡± she said, handing him a pair of chopsticks. Jin Qingyan picked up a piece of orange with his chopsticks and put it inside his mouth. It was so sour that his forehead had creased into a frown. ¡°Very unique.¡± ¡°Since you¡¯ve said that, you shall finish this entire te,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°... Alright.¡± Pointing at two other dishes, An Xiaoning said, ¡°There are still two more. It should be enough for you.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you having any?¡± ¡°I... I¡¯ll get Auntie Chen to cook my dinner.¡± ¡°What!?!¡± Jin Qingyan gasped and questioned, ¡°You definitely aren¡¯t trying to repay me for saving your life. Tell me honestly, are you trying to take revenge on me?¡± ¡°What do you mean? I genuinely wanted to cook for you, it¡¯s just that my culinary skills are ratherckluster and I have a lot to improve on.¡± Jin Qingyan immediately thought of a saying he used to hear ¡ª In this world, there are two types of women who can¡¯t cook; there are those who are unwilling to learn and practice, and the other type was those who are insistent on practicing despite being horrible at cooking. Just which type did she belong to? Jin Qingyan was perplexed by the dinner she had prepared. Apart from the stir-fried corn with orange, she had also prepared cucumber and milk soup, as well as a stir-fried banana with tomato. They were all innovative dishes that she hade up with. As a result, Jin Qingyan got the runs before he was even finished with the meal. An Xiaoning had a feeling that he had gotten diarrhea because of the food she prepared. Thus, in order to express her apology, she instructed Auntie Chen to cook some porridge and serve it to him. Chapter 745 - A Million Times for You (107)

Chapter 745: A Million Times for You (107)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning stood outside the bathroom and asked, ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°...¡± There was no response. ¡°Qingyan?¡± ¡°...¡± He still did not answer. Did he faint from getting the runs? She pushed the door of the bathroom open and made eye contact with Jin Qingyan, who was sitting on the toilet bowl. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you answer me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m dying.¡± Smiling wryly, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Continue with your business...¡± She swiftly exited and waited outside the door. Jin Qingyan came out of the bathroom a few minutester. An Xiaoning pointed at the porridge and said, ¡°Auntie Chen made that. Rest assured and eat it.¡± His stomach was empty and ufortable. He felt much better after taking a few mouthfuls of the porridge. He guffawed and said, ¡°You almost killed me with your cooking. I was in so much pain and difort.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, lie down here,¡± said Jin Qingyan, patting the spot beside him. ¡°I haven¡¯t removed my makeup or taken a shower yet,¡± said An Xiaoning, who then poured some makeup remover solution on a cotton pad and began cleaning the makeup off her face. Afterward, she picked up her pajamas and headed to the bathroom. Hey in bed and closed his eyes. Knock, knock, knock. ¡°Young Sir, it¡¯s me,¡± said Fan Shixin. Jin Qingyan got out of bed slowly and opened the door, after which Fan Shixin handed him a paper bag. ¡°Here, Young Sir.¡± Jin Qingyan took the bag from him and closed the door. He peeked inside the bag and ced it onto the table before lying back down in bed. An Xiaoning came out of the shower and dried her hair with a hairdryer. Noticing the paper bag on the table, she asked, ¡°Masks?¡± ¡°I got Shixin to buy it for you specially.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t finished using the ones you got me previously...¡± She hurriedly paused in her speech. Jin Qingyan smirked and stared at her. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you had already thrown them away?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t, actually. It¡¯s such a waste to throw them away. I decided to just use them instead,¡± said An Xiaoning, pretending to maintain herposure. ¡°Try this, it¡¯s from a newlyunched brand. See if you like it.¡± An Xiaoning stepped forward and took out the box of serum facial masks from theced packaging. It was from a prestigious brand. She then took out a sheet andid it across her face. ¡°Give me one too.¡± He had rarely asked for a facial mask. Thus, she took another one out and spread it across his face. While lying beside him, An Xiaoning nced at him and said, ¡°This reminds me of when we first got married. We used to lie in bed beside each other and apply facial masks together, just like what we¡¯re doing now.¡± ¡°So many years have passed in the blink of an eye. It feels as if it just happened yesterday.¡± ¡°I was too careless in my decision to marry you. If I could turn back time, I definitely wouldn¡¯t have married you so soon.¡± ¡°If I could turn back time... I would still marry you,¡± he said, beaming with joy. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It may have been a careless and impulsive decision to marry you back then, but I¡¯ve never once regretted it. In fact, when I turn old and gray, I¡¯d even feel thankful and lucky to have had the honor of being in love with you. That¡¯s a privilege that other men will never get to enjoy.¡± ¡°Who said so? I¡¯ll still continue to look for a boyfriend in the future,¡± she said on purpose. ¡°I won¡¯t allow you that chance.¡± ¡°Who are you to tell me what to do...?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the mother of my child, of course I¡¯d have to keep you in check.¡± ¡°...¡± After switching off the lights, both of them soon dozed off. In the middle of the night, An Xiaoning was jolted awake by the sudden shriek of agony that came from Jin Qingyan. ¡°Qingyan... Jin Qingyan...¡± She pushed him forcefully in a bid to wake him up but to no avail. She flipped him over to the side and switched on the bedsidemp, which was rather ring. She finally had a clearer view of him. He was trembling uncontrobly from head to toe with his body curled into a ball. Is he having a nightmare? An Xiaoning wondered. ¡°It hurts...¡± An Xiaoning was filled with panic as soon as she heard his murmur. She hurriedly leaned closer toward him and asked, ¡°Where? What hurts?¡± ¡°It hurts everywhere.¡± An Xiaoning immediately thought of the dinner she had prepared and thought of it as the cause of his pain. She med herself for preparing such horrendous food. She was instantly filled with guilt and regret. ¡°Does your stomach hurt?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll help you rub your tummy, alright?¡± she said in a gentle and mellow voice, as if she were coaxing a child. ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoningy back down beside him and began massaging his stomach slowly. Gradually, the frown on his forehead began to ease up. He stared at her with squinted eyes and muttered, ¡°Xiaoning...¡± ¡°Yes?¡± He hugged her tightly in his arms. Overwhelmed with a mix of emotions as her heart began to flutter, An Xiaoningid her head against his chest and said, ¡°Jin Qingyan...¡± ¡°I love you.¡± ¡°Qingyan...¡± ¡°I love you very much.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning remained quiet and took a whiff of his unique scent, which was all too familiar to her. She did not struggle to break free from his embrace. He continued to hold her in his arms and slept peacefully for the rest of the night. To An Xiaoning¡¯s surprise, Jin Qingyan¡¯s condition became a recurring problem. After spending a few days with him, she discovered that he had trouble sleeping on three separate nights. She insisted that he go to the hospital for a physical examination, in order to find out if there was something wrong with his health. However, he vehemently refused to go. An Xiaoning had no choice but to ask Fan Shixin about it in private. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your Young Sir¡¯s health?¡± she questioned. ¡°What... what do you mean?¡± ¡°Heined of experiencing acute pain all over his body. It has already happened more than once. I initially thought that it was because of the food I cooked for him, but it¡¯s happened thrice so far. I doubt it¡¯s because of the food. Has something gone wrong with his health? Why doesn¡¯t he want to visit the hospital for a checkup?¡± Fan Shixin immediately understood what she was referring to. ¡°Young Sir has already gone to the hospital and gotten some checkups done.¡± ¡°What... did the doctor say?¡± ¡°The doctor said that he¡¯s suffering from a psychological disorder. The pain didn¡¯t stem from his nervous system, but rather, the onset of pain is a result of his psychological issues. He¡¯s imagining the pain. His condition...¡± After much thought, Fan Shixin decided to tell her the truth. He continued, ¡°Is caused by the impact left on him after your divorce with him. Young Sir has consistently been experiencing trouble with sleeping and would have to rely on sleeping pills to fall asleep almost every night. The doctor also said that he¡¯s experiencing the precursor symptoms of depression. Young Madam, Young Sir flew all the way to R Nation to rescue you all because he had a dream about you. Doesn¡¯t that show how much he loves you? Is it not enough? He was so mad previously, precisely because he loves you too much. That¡¯s why he can¡¯t stand the thought of you being unfaithful toward him and having another man touch you. After inquiring about aphrodisiacs from the psychiatrist, he was relieved yet regretful at the same time. Well, what he did really wasn¡¯t unforgivable. I know you have your own set of principles, Young Madam. Consider my words carefully.¡± An Xiaoning could tell from Fan Shixin¡¯s tone that he was upset at her for causing Jin Qingyan to end up that way. ¡°Thank you, Chief Fan. Thank you for telling me the things I wouldn¡¯t have known otherwise.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say that, Young Madam... I only said it for Young Sir¡¯s sake...¡± said Fan Shixin, scratching his head. ¡°Got it. Okay, you may go out first.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Fan Shixin exited the living room. She picked up her mobile phone and sent Jin Qingyan a text message, which read: ¡°I¡¯d like to drink some tea. Could youe over in the afternoon to make me some?¡± Jin Qingyan was in the midst of a meeting when he saw the message. Beaming with joy, he broke the rules and openly replied to An Xiaoning¡¯s message while he was still in the meeting room. Chapter 746 - A Million Times for You (108)

Chapter 746: A Million Times for You (108)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He had always imposed a strict rule of not using mobile phones during a meeting. Yet, he was the first one to break that rule by bringing a mobile phone into the meeting room and replying to a text message openly. What he did next was way more outrageous. After reading the message, he stared at his phone screen and began smiling widely from ear to ear. That¡¯s a first! After the meeting ended, he walked out of the meeting room and said to his secretary, ¡°I won¡¯t being over in the afternoon.¡± Dumbfounded, the secretary said, ¡°Mr. Jin, we¡¯ve already arranged an interview with the reporters from the financial news channel. Wouldn¡¯t you be standing them up by pulling a no-show? That¡¯s not very appropriate, is it?¡± ¡°Postpone it until tomorrow.¡± ¡°Mr. Jin... they¡¯re going to say that you¡¯re putting on airs like a big shot.¡± ¡°I¡¯m indeed a big shot to begin with. Must I really put on airs? I have something important to attend to in the afternoon,¡± Jin Qingyan said fearlessly. ¡°Mr. Jin, could you tell me what¡¯s so important?¡± the secretary could not help but ask. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Are you in love, Mr. Jin?¡± Jin Qingyan red at him solemnly and asked, ¡°How could you tell?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t the only one who could tell. I believe all the other staff members saw it during the meeting. Mr. Jin, you were being too obvious.¡± Jin Qingyan did not say anything else and returned to his office to pick up his coat before leaving. Noticing how eager he was to leave, the secretary could not help but wonder to himself, Mr. Jin must be in love, right? Judging from the fact that he did not deny it, that does seem to be the case. The secretary chuckled at the thought of the rare sight of a cheery Jin Qingyan. It happened to be noontime when all students were dismissed from school and working adults were getting off work, thus causing the traffic to be extremely congested while he was driving home. It was indeed a test of his patience. Jin Qingyan gripped the steering wheel tightly and stared at the snake-like queue of cars in front of him. It didn¡¯t seem like it would clear up anytime soon. He looked down at the text message on his screen as a warm, fuzzy feeling filled his heart. It¡¯s almost the New Year soon. I¡¯ll get to spend New Year¡¯s Eve with her this year. Awesome. A smile formed on his face immediately at the thought of it. In high spirits, he did not find the heavy traffic in front of him to be an eyesore at all. The traffic jamsted for half an hour. It was already twelve noon by the time he arrived home. An Xiaoning was practicing yoga on the yoga mat in the living room. Upon the sight of him, she immediately stopped and put the yoga mat aside before putting on her slippers. She walked toward him and said, ¡°Don¡¯t you get off work at 11:30 am? Why did you take so long toe home?¡± She sounded like a wife waiting for her husband toe home. She was wearing a long woolen sweater. The air in the room was filled with warmth, which made her cheeks appear red and flushed. She¡¯d pinned her thin bangs to the side with a hair clip. Unable to contain his happiness, Jin Qingyan smiled and said, ¡°There was a traffic jam along the way that hadsted for thirty minutes. That¡¯s why I¡¯m backte.¡± ¡°You¡¯re notte. Auntie Chen has already prepared lunch. Wash your hands and start eating.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± During lunch, Jin Qingyan sensed that something was unusual with her behavior. She continuously helped him to the dishes and grinned at him every now and then. It was like a dream. ¡°Xiaoning...¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Why are you so nice to me all of a sudden?¡± ¡°What do you mean? It¡¯s because you¡¯re nice to me. Isn¡¯t it only right for me to treat you well too? Besides, haven¡¯t I been nice to you in the past?¡± she scorned. ¡°No, you¡¯re just treating me much better now. In fact, it makes me... ted.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a foolish woman who doesn¡¯t know what¡¯s good for her. I know clearly who treats me well and who doesn¡¯t. Qingyan, did you know? The Autumn Pce incident made me detest you to the extremes, solely because you didn¡¯t trust me at all. I was still feeling guilty for failing to protect our baby, yet you misunderstood me. I used to think that I could never forgive you for not trusting me, but I think differently now,¡± said An Xiaoning, peeling some prawns while wearing a pair of disposable gloves. He gazed at her quietly and continued to listen to her speak. ¡°If I told you earlier about Tuoba Gucheng being drugged with an aphrodisiac that night, you probably wouldn¡¯t have gotten the wrong idea. At the end of the day, it¡¯s all because we failed to inform each other immediately about the incidents we encountered, isn¡¯t it?¡± An Xiaoning had indeed realized that fact. She did not wish for him to hold a grudge against the matter either, although she could tell that he regretted maligning her. She decided to talk about the matter openly because she wanted him to put the incident behind him for good. He ced his hand on top of hers and held it gently. ¡°I¡¯m very d to hear that from you.¡± ¡°Hurry and eat before the food turns cold.¡± They smiled at each other and began eating harmoniously. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Sis En... Jing Yang¡¯s assistant would like to see you,¡± said Xiao Yue, who had no choice but to enter Yan Ge¡¯s room, since Fang En did not bring her mobile phone and there was no way to contact her. ¡°I¡¯m not free. I don¡¯t want to see them, tell them to leave,¡± said Fang En, who did not even bother turning around. ¡°Alright.¡± After Xiao Yue left, Yan Ge asked, ¡°Your idol must have something to tell you since he sent his assistant to look for you. Aren¡¯t you going to see him?¡± ¡°I already said he¡¯s no longer my idol,¡± said Fang En. The mere thought of Jing Yang was enough to dampen her spirits. ¡°Yes, decent and upright male celebrities like me are rare toe by these days.¡± ¡°Quit blowing your own trumpet. You¡¯re still a far cry from your fans¡¯ impression of you,¡± Fang En objected. ¡°It¡¯s only because they¡¯ve formed overly-idealistic impressions of me. Although I¡¯m already very outstanding, still...¡± His nonchnt attitude gave Fang En the urge to beat him into a pulp. ¡°How¡¯s the massage today?¡± ¡°Too light?¡± ¡°Still too light? I¡¯ve already used up all of my strength. Seems like you¡¯re really thick-skinned,¡± said Fang En, poking his spine. ¡°You¡¯re the one who¡¯s weak. Don¡¯t me it on me.¡± Fang En ced a hand on his waist and pinched it gently, causing him to feel ticklish. He sprung up and said, ¡°I can¡¯t stand it when people touch me there.¡± ¡°Hah, you¡¯re just like most people. I¡¯m not ticklish at all.¡± He reached out to pinch her waist, only to see that she remained still and kept a straight face. It was indeed so. ¡°You¡¯re a different species.¡± ¡°Psht...¡± Fang En let go of him and picked up the script. ¡°Well... let¡¯s rehearse our scenes.¡± Although filming had begun only recently, they had already developed a habit of rehearsing their scenes together beforehand in order to minimize the number of bad takes and allow the process to run smoothly. ¡°The scene we¡¯re filming in the afternoon involves horse riding. Have you ridden a horse before?¡± ¡°No, but I¡¯ve already told Xiao Yue to inform the crew members to arrange a docile and tamer horse. I¡¯ll just train and practice with it for a while before filming begins. It should be fine. I have two scenes to film from afternoon ¡¯til evening today. How many do you have?¡± ¡°Three.¡± ¡°I heard that the co-director had just returned from an advanced studies course abroad. Is it true that he¡¯ll be joining us today?¡± Chapter 747 - A Million Times for You (109)

Chapter 747: A Million Times for You (109)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Yes, he¡¯s Director Jing¡¯s younger brother. They recruited him at thest minute. I heard that he¡¯s verypetent and has received various des for the productions he had filmed previously.¡± ¡°Brother, the Director would like you two to go to the makeup room now,¡± said Xiao Li, interrupting their conversation. ¡°Got it.¡± Yan Ge picked up the script and said, ¡°Seems like we don¡¯t have time to rehearse. Let¡¯s go.¡± Fang En picked hers up and proceeded to the makeup room together with him. While they were having their makeup done, Jing Tian exined to them in detail the pointers to look out for during the filming of the scenes, which would be taking ce in the afternoon. Yan Ge was pleased with how meticulous and precise Jing Tian was in his exnation for each scene. By the time Jing Tian had finished speaking, they were almost done with the makeup. After changing into their costumes, they exited from the dressing room, only to be greeted with the sight of a tall man standing next to Jing Tian. He had bushy brows and big eyes, and he resembled Jing Tian a little. ¡°This is Jing Shui, the new co-director who has just returned from abroad to join our team,¡± Jing Tian introduced, refraining from mentioning the fact that Jing Shui was his brother. ¡°Hello, nice to meet you,¡± Yan Ge took the initiative to greet him with a handshake. ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± Jing Shui subconsciously reached his hand out to Fang En, who shook his hand courteously. They formally greeted each other. Somehow, Fang En felt that there was something peculiar with the way Jing Shui was looking at her, though she was not sure if she was reading too much into things. They proceeded to the film set, after which Yan Ge¡¯s scene was filmed first. When Fang En was sitting on the chair to wait for her turn, Xiao Yue sneakily slid her a piece of note. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°Sis, this is from the new co-director.¡± She opened it to see that there was a string of numbers written on the note, which seemed to be a mobile number. Fang En turned to look in the direction of the camera, only to see that Jing Shui was smiling at her. Although he was dashing and suave, Fang En felt a strange shiver down her spine. She had a bad impression of Jing Shui, though she was unsure if she was simply reading too much into things or if she was traumatized by the director of the previous film she starred in, who tried to vite her. However, she still saved his contact number into her mobile phone. After all, there was no harm in doing so since he was the co-director of the television series and the brother of Jing Tian. Shortly after she had saved his number, she immediately received a text message from him. She opened the text message, which read: ¡°I¡¯m treating everyone to a meal after filming ends tonight. Would you like toe along too?¡± Thinking that everyone else would be present, Fang En agreed. Yan Ge proceeded to film the second scene, which Fang En was involved in, right after he finished filming his first scene. The two of them rehearsed their lines once more before beginning. ¡°En, this is a mild-mannered female pony, which we specially chose for you. Get on top of her and try riding for a bit while I guide you,¡± said Jing Tian, walking toward them while holding onto the pony¡¯s leash. ¡°Alright.¡± The pony was indeed very tame and docile. Fang En could sense its temperament while riding it. Even when it was galloping around, it would go about it in a calm and unhurried manner, causing Fang En to find it to be extremely well behaved. She had picked it up, more or less, after practicing for a few rounds. The crew member pped the pperboard while the rest of the team got into their respective positions. ¡°1, 2, 3... action!¡± Jing Tian cued. Fang En sat on the pony and gripped onto the reins tightly with both hands. She began saying her lines to Yan Ge, who was beside her, and they both got into their roles quickly. After saying her lines, she whipped the pony, which then strutted forward. The entire process was rather smooth. Just as they were in the midst of a smooth filming procedure, the pony neighed loudly all of a sudden and began sprinting toward a certain direction, causing Fang En to shriek in terror. Greatly taken aback, Jing Tian immediately instructed the crew members to chase the pony, in a bid to tame it. Yan Ge immediately yelled, ¡°Fang En, grip onto the reins tightly!¡± Pangs of panic and anxiety engulfed Fang En, who turned as pale as a sheet, feeling as if her heart was about to jump out of her chest. She was frightened out of her wits and held onto the reins for dear life. The film set was at the foot of a mountain within the television studio. The terrorized pony strutted onto the sidewalk and began galloping toward the peak of the mountain. The crew members hurriedly alighted from the car and began chasing the pony. Yan Ge hurriedly whipped his horse and took chase as well. Soon, the crew members could no longer catch up with the horses. Fang En squeezed her legs tightly around the pony¡¯s stomach as she began to feel nauseated from the rocky ride. She felt as if she was about to throw up the undigested bits of her lunch. After having galloped for a long distance, the pony gradually began to slow down its pace and finally came to a halt when it reached a jungle. Fang En then got down from the pony and began throwing up immediately. Yan Ge immediately tied his horse and the pony¡¯s reins around a tree trunk and squatted down beside her. Patting her on her back, he asked worriedly, ¡°Do you feel better?¡± ¡°Yeah...¡± Fang En answered, feeling dizzy and extremely ufortable. ¡°Everything¡¯s fine now.¡± She stood up on unsteady feet and almost fell onto the ground again. However, Yan Ge hurriedly extended his arm and prevented her from falling in the nick of time. Fang En thanked him and waited patiently for the other crew members to arrive. They sat beside each other on a withered tree root to take a break. Fang En gradually felt better. ¡°Do you find something unusual with the new co-director?¡± ¡°Unusual? How?¡± he asked in puzzlement. ¡°Maybe I was reading too much into things, but I feel like he¡¯s different from Jing Tian. When he looks at me... I don¡¯t know how to exin it, but it just feels different,¡± Fang En exined. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me... you think that he has fallen in love with you at first sight?¡± Fang En blushed red immediately as soon as she heard his words and felt an urge to bury herself underground. ¡°I didn¡¯t say that.¡± He did not say anything else and waited quietly for the crew members. Half an hourter, everyone returned to the film set. After gargling some water to rinse her mouth, Fang En heard from a crew member that the pony was frightened and sent into a frenzy because it had stepped onto a sharp nail. Fang En and Yan Ge continued with the filming after taking an hour¡¯s break, so as to avoid jeopardizing the filming schedule. It was sessful in the end. Fang En filmed two scenes in one go and returned to the hotel to take a bath and get some rest after having her makeup removed. ¡°Sis En, I didn¡¯t dare to tell you this earlier, but the director turned pale immediately after the pony went berserk. He was obviously frightened. Fortunately, you¡¯re unharmed.¡± ¡°I know. Filming would be affected if I get injured.¡± Noticing that she had a facial mask on and was about to go to sleep, Xiao Yue reminded her, ¡°Sis, did you forget about the dinner with the new co-director tonight?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t. It¡¯s still early now, isn¡¯t it? Yan Ge¡¯s third scene is to be filmed at night. The dinner will probably onlymence after Yan Ge is done with his scene. I¡¯ll take a nap now first. Wake me up when they call you.¡± Xiao Yue agreed upon seeing how tired she was. Fang En took a nap for more than two hours straight, after which Xiao Yue woke her up. Chapter 748 - A Million Times for You (110)

Chapter 748: A Million Times for You (110)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She put on her clothes in a bid to leave immediately. Xiao Yue hurriedly held her back and said, ¡°Sis En, you can¡¯t just go out looking like that. There are tons of paparazzi outside. You¡¯ll be having dinner with Yan Ge, and they¡¯ll definitely snap photos of you. You wouldn¡¯t want photos of you being barefaced to be circted online, would you? Did you forget what Sis Yangyang instructed you? You must be mindful of your image at all times, especially in public. Put on some makeup before going. At most, just remove it again when youe back.¡± Fang En expressed assent and did as instructed. ¡°Alright, I can go on my own. You¡¯ve had a long day, you don¡¯t have to follow me. Go get some rest, I¡¯ll be fine with Yan Ge and the rest around. It¡¯s just downstairs anyway.¡± ¡°Alright then, don¡¯t drink too much, Sis En.¡± ¡°Of course, I know my limits.¡± Fang En did not proceed to meet Jing Shui immediately and instead gave Yan Ge a call, which was answered by Xiao Li. ¡°Is Yan Ge done with filming?¡± ¡°We just arrived at the hotel. Aren¡¯t we going for dinner tonight? Brother would like you toe here.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll head there right away.¡± She ended the call and took a look at the time to see that it was already half past nine. Fang En picked up in her tracks and entered the elevator. She arrived at the highest floor where they¡¯d agreed to meet. As soon as she reached the door of the private dining room, she heard the sounds of an ongoing conversationing from inside. The moment she entered, Jing Tian greeted, ¡°You¡¯re here, En. Come have a seat here.¡± She stepped forward and sat down on a chair. Apart from Yan Ge, Jing Tian, and the host, Jing Shui, the other co-director, the supporting actors, the lighting technician, cameramen, as well as other crew members were also present. The conversation mostly revolved around the television series. Fang En kept Mei Yangyang¡¯s words in mind and refrained from speaking too much or drinking too much alcohol and instead continued to eat. She avoided drinking as much as possible, especially since she could not hold her liquor well. After chatting with each other, they began ying some games with a dice, which Jing Tian and Fang En were both reluctant to join in. However, the enthusiastic Jing Shui could not contain his excitement and insisted on having Fang En join in on the fun. Thus, she had no choice but to y a few rounds, all of which she lost. After having lost three consecutive rounds and downing three sses of liquor, Fang En decided to stop ying. She was already getting dizzy spells and felt like leaving. However, she dared not utter another word upon seeing how thrilled everyone was. The dinner finally came to an end when it was almost eleven o¡¯clock. Fang En heaved a sigh of relief, and everyone exited the private room. Fang En¡¯s mobile phone began ringing all of a sudden while she was walking along the corridor. She whipped it out to see that it was a call from Jing Shui. She looked up to nce at Jing Shui, who was walking away, and did not pick up. She soon received another text message, which read: ¡°My room number is 628. Come overter, I have something to say to you.¡± Fang En could tell that something was fishy, even if she was slow-witted. She immediately understood what he meant. She replied: ¡°Let¡¯s talk tomorrow instead. It¡¯s gettingte, I¡¯d like to rest now.¡± Yan Ge had already read the text messages on her mobile phone while walking beside her. He quickly looked away and entered the elevator together with her, as if he did not see anything at all. Fang En entered the elevator and stood in front of Jing Shui. Yan Ge subconsciously switched ces with her and nudged her toward the wall of the elevator. The elevator stopped at the sixth floor, after which Jing Tian, Jing Shui, and the other crew members exited, leaving the actors inside the elevator. The elevator continued to ascend. It came to a halt again on the eighth floor, and they all exited together. They returned to their rooms one after another. Fang En changed into her slippers andy onto the bed. Upon recalling the text message she¡¯d received, she cursed in her head, Is this co-director blind or something? My gut instincts were right, I knew he was eyeing me ever since day one. Does he think I¡¯m a pushover? Calling me to his room at such ate hour to ¡°talk about something¡±? ¡°Cut that bullshit,¡± Fang En cursed out loud before tucking herself beneath the nket. Her phone began ringing all of a sudden. She took a look at the caller disy to see that it was from Jing Shui. Fang En did not answer and instead allowed her phone to keep ringing. She thought that that would be the end of it all. To her surprise, the doorbell began to ring a few minutester. She tiptoed toward the door and peeked through the peephole. It was none other than Jing Shui! Shocked out of her senses, she immediately switched off the lights and sneaked beneath her duvet to call Yan Ge, who was staying in the room beside hers. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Yan Ge, the co-director just tried to call me but I didn¡¯t answer. He¡¯s standing outside my door and pressing on my doorbell now. What am I supposed to do?¡± ¡°Oh, I see... don¡¯t open the door and just leave him be,¡± said Yan Ge, who was smoking while leaning against the headboard. A look of dismay had formed in his eyes upon hearing her words. ¡°What if he keeps pressing?¡± ¡°He won¡¯t. He¡¯ll leave after a while.¡± ¡°Yes, but I¡¯m a little scared. He even texted me when we came out of the dining room and asked me to go over to his room. I immediately turned him down, yet he actually showed up at my door. Yan Ge, I told you he was looking at me weirdly. I¡¯m a little afraid.¡± ¡°Have you guys met before?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ve never seen him before. This is my first time hearing his name. I¡¯m being serious.¡± ¡°Alright, go to bed first and observe the situation. If he acts inappropriately again, call the studio directly. They¡¯ll handle it from there.¡± ¡°Okay, I understand.¡± After ending the call, Fang En crawled out of her duvet with sweat trickling down her forehead. Jing Shui was still pressing the doorbell. Shey in bed and tucked herself beneath the duvet. Fortunately, the ringing stopped after a while. She could finally fall asleep in peace. ¡ª¡ª In the darkness of the night, An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan were lying in bed to watch a movie in the dimly-lit bedroom. The end credits scene came on, signifying the end of the movie. An Xiaoning stretched her back and said, ¡°I hate watching horror flicks. It makes me so tensed and jittery all the time.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you have anything else to say about this movie?¡± he asked, switching off the television with the remote control. Shey down and turned to lie on her side to face him. ¡°Abortions are bad. I know that even without having to watch horror flicks about ghost fetuses. Suffering a miscarriage is different from going through an abortion.¡± ¡°How so?¡± Jin Qingyan asked. ¡°Take this movie that we just watched for an example. The female lead is only a student, and she identally got pregnant after ying with fire and trying to taste the forbidden fruit. She didn¡¯t have the guts to give birth to the baby so she decided to abort it after having a discussion with her boyfriend, who was another student. It would be a different case if she¡¯d suffered a natural miscarriage.¡± ¡°They¡¯re just kids, after all. Even if they didn¡¯t abort the fetus, they wouldn¡¯t have had the financial ability to raise the child.¡± ¡°Since they were aware that they were incapable of raising a child, why did they have to be so ignorant as to get pregnant identally? Sensibility is not linearly rted to age. To be frank, there¡¯s a predestined number of children every person will bear in their lives. It counts even if the child is aborted. Not only does abortion bring about karmic retribution, but it¡¯s also harmful to one¡¯s health. Some people would kill to have a child, yet some intentionally get rid of them. In fact, there are even those who abandon their child as soon as it¡¯s born. Even if these people don¡¯t receive their retribution in this lifetime, they¡¯re bound to be punished in their next one.¡± Chapter 749 - A Million Times for You (111)

Chapter 749: A Million Times for You (111)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Cupping her face in her hands, An Xiaoning added, ¡°That¡¯s how the karmic cycle has always been.¡± ¡°If the children we had didn¡¯t end up being miscarried, would you have given birth to all of them?¡± She answered firmly, ¡°Yes. Since I was impregnated, I would definitely give birth to them. I had been through four pregnancies and yet I only managed to give birth to Yiheng. With this ruined and damaged body of mine, I probably won¡¯t be able to bear any more children for the rest of my life.¡± Jin Qingyan grabbed her hand and said, ¡°I¡¯ll ask Auntie Chen to cook you more nutritious food and tonic for you to nourish your health. Your body is frail and you must nurse your body back to health while you¡¯re still young.¡± ¡°Thank you for your tender affection, Mr. Jin.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like hearing you call me that. It sounds too formal and distant,¡± said Jin Qingyan, poking her forehead with his finger. ¡°What do you like hearing then?¡± ¡°Call me Hubby.¡± An Xiaoning turned to lie t on her back and broke eye contact with him. ¡°Something else.¡± ¡°Darling.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Baby.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so fussy, why don¡¯t youe up with one?¡± ¡°Piggy?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you let me pick?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you find it extremely childish?¡± How dare she call a 33-year-old man ¡®Piggy¡¯!?! ¡°I guess I¡¯d better address you by your name then...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t, we¡¯ll just stick with this. You¡¯re only allowed to address me that way when we¡¯re alone with each other. No one else is to hear it. Shall I give you a pet name too?¡± said Jin Qingyan, cocking his head to the side as he felt a little embarrassed. An Xiaoning rested her chin on her arm and asked, ¡°What?¡± ¡°Good girl.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Okay, it¡¯s settled then,¡± he added. Did I agree to it? An Xiaoning thought in her head. He handed his mobile phone to her and said, ¡°Here.¡± ¡°What are you giving me this for?¡± ¡°Record something with your voice and make it my rm. Anything will do. That way, I¡¯ll be able to hear your voice every morning.¡± An Xiaoning opened the voice recording app and began singing into the microphone after some thought, ¡°Wake up, Piggy, stop sleeping. It¡¯s gettingte, time to rise and shine. You¡¯re almost runningte. Hurry and wake up. Put on your clothes, brush your teeth, wash your face, and have your breakfast. Rise and shine, Piggy, the sun is out. Oh, the air is so fresh outside...¡± She immediately saved the recording and yed it once more. Staring at him smugly, she asked, ¡°What do you think?¡± He took his mobile phone from her hands and said with a nod of satisfaction, ¡°I like it a lot.¡± ¡°Good that you do. I¡¯m tired.¡± She pulled the duvet up and eased herself into afortable position before closing her eyes. He set the voice recording as his rm, ringtone, text tone, as well as all the other notification tones on his mobile phone. He then went to sleep peacefully. He was woken up the next morning by An Xiaoning¡¯s melodious voice. Having had a good night¡¯s sleep, he proceeded to the television broadcasting studio for an interview. He arrived at the filming studio. ¡°Mr. Jin, the interview was supposedly scheduled for yesterday afternoon, but you stood us up at thest minute. We didn¡¯t have anything to air for yesterday¡¯s program, and thus, we released an official statement to inform our viewers that the interview would be postponed until today. Here¡¯s the topic of discussion for the interviewter. Please take a look,¡± said the journalist. Jin Qingyan took the script from her and nced through the questions before handing it back to the journalist. ¡°Can we begin now?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The journalist had long memorized the questions. After touching up her appearance, she sat down opposite Jin Qingyan and began the interview. The live-stream began officially, and the reporter said to the camera, ¡°Good morning,dies and gentlemen. Wee to ¡®Business Legends,¡¯ a program brought to you by the Finance Channel. We¡¯ve invited a special guest today, and he¡¯s none other than the CEO of the Jin Corporation, Mr. Jin Qingyan. Nice to meet you, Mr. Jin.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you,¡± Jin Qingyan greeted aloofly. ¡°The property market is akin to the stock market nowadays. Property prices in well-developed cities are soaring tremendously. As a businessman and a property magnate, what are your thoughts on such a phenomenon? Could you share with us your insights about the changes in property prices for the next ten years?¡± ¡°Well-developed cities are bound to be more densely popted. I think that property prices will continue to rise throughout the next ten years, since it has yet to reach the saturation point. The continuous surge in property prices signifies a stable growth in the city¡¯s economy. As long as the economy continues to be stable, the prices may slow down in their increment but they definitely wouldn¡¯t plunge.¡± ¡°I believe it¡¯s a well-known fact that the Jin Corporation is a multi-national corporation that owns several other sisterpanies abroad. As the leader of such an established enterprise with a countless number of employees, are you concerned about the possible unemployment issues that could prevail due to an economic downturn?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never dwelt on issues and problems that have yet to exist. I believe I¡¯ll be able to solve the problem with appropriate measures when the day arrives.¡± The reporter then changed the subject and asked, ¡°Many of our viewers have indicated their interest in your personal life, Mr. Jin. Could you tell us about your current rtionship status?¡± In the past, Jin Qingyan would usually decline to answer or say that he had noments. However, he did not evade the question during the live-stream this time. He decided that he ought to dere his rtionship status openly and, at the same time, clear the name of his beloved woman. ¡°There¡¯s a woman whom I love.¡± ¡°Could you tell us more about that luckydy?¡± All the viewers watched as the quiet and reserved Jin Qingyan broke into smiles and answered, ¡°She... she¡¯s sometimes as stubborn as a rock and as tough as nails. Other times, she¡¯s soft-spoken and gentle, as meek as amb. Yet, there are also times when she¡¯d scratch you with her sharp ws. Sometimes, she¡¯s hyperactive, sometimes, she¡¯s as quiet as a mouse. That¡¯s just who she is.¡± The reporter looked at Jin Qingyan and said, ¡°We¡¯re all so envious of this luckydy who has managed to capture your heart, Mr. Jin. I believe all our viewers must be eager to find out who she is. However, this is Mr. Jin¡¯s privacy.¡± She dared not jump to conclusions and say that it was An Xiaoning, for she would be digging her own grave if it turned out to be otherwise. As an experienced reporter, she knew better than to do that. She then continued to ask him a few more business-rted questions. Just as the session was about to end, his phone began to ring all of a sudden while filming was still ongoing. A gentle, crisp voice filled the air. ¡°Wake up, Piggy, stop sleeping. It¡¯s gettingte, time to rise and shine. You¡¯re almost runningte. Hurry and wake up. Put on your clothes, brush your teeth, wash your face, and have your breakfast. Rise and shine, Piggy, the sun is out...¡± Jin Qingyan immediately lost hisposure and frantically whipped his mobile phone out to end the call at once. He was doomed now that his ringtone had been exposed. Chapter 750 - A Million Times for You (112)

Chapter 750: A Million Times for You (112)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios From back when Jin Qingyan had met with the tsunami, the video of the press conference that An Xiaoning had held while she was in charge of the Jin Corporation could still be found online. Thus, Jin Qingyan practically announced to the public that the woman he loved was still An Xiaoning. The slip-up had caused a stir amongst the public, who was greatly concerned about the incident about An Xiaoning¡¯s abduction. Everyone knew that the status of her life was unknown and she could very likely have already been killed by the terrorists. Yet, Jin Qingyan was grinning widely when asked about the woman he loved. That was not how a grief-stricken man would behave while mourning the death of his beloved woman. No one knew if his ringtone was recorded recently or when they were still married. An Xiaoning was sitting on the couch and watching the live-stream. When she heard his ringtone, she subconsciously turned to look at Fan Shixin. Fan Shixin rubbed his nose and chuckled incessantly. I¡¯m doomed , she thought to herself. She was still nning to lie low for a period of time. Yet, he had identally exposed her in just a few days. However, even if my voice had been recognized, most people would probably think that the ring tone was recorded when we were still married. She felt much more at ease after reassuring herself. After the live-stream ended, Jin Qingyan headed straight back to the office. ¡°Mr. Jin, everyone is guessing who thedy in your ringtone is after watching the live-stream.¡± ¡°Do you guys have a clue yet?¡± ¡°Ms. An...¡± Jin Qingyan red at him and said, ¡°Yes.¡± Dumbfounded, the secretary thought to himself in utter shock, Did he admit it? Did he just admit it so tantly? Does this mean that the woman he loves is still An Xiaoning? Oh gosh! The secretary was appalled and bewildered, for Jin Qingyan had rarely talked to him about his private life. I can¡¯t believe he still loves her despite having divorced her twice. Most tycoons and business magnates are known to be promiscuous when ites to rtionships. Such loyal men were few and far in between! The secretary had a newfound respect for Jin Qingyan. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Xu Cai, has there been any progress yet?¡± Madam Xu asked frantically. Shaking his head, Xu Cai answered, ¡°No, the prison doesn¡¯t allow us to visit Father. The higher authority are still in the midst of investigations and collecting evidence.¡± Madam Xu appeared extremely haggard, for she had barely gotten any peaceful sleep recently. The gravity of her daughter¡¯s death and her husband and son¡¯s arrests had weighed her down, and she felt as if there was a huge rock on her chest. ¡°I doubt your father will survive this ordeal,¡± said Madam Xu. Xu Cai also had a feeling that that would be the case. He dared not bribe the officials involved, for fear that he would be implicated. Thus, he could only rely on his connections and find out some insider news. Madam Xu and Xu Cai sat opposite each other with grave expressions on their faces. ¡°I watched an interview involving Jin Qingyan today. It seems like An Xiaoning is still alive.¡± Madam Xu looked up and asked, ¡°Really?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but we¡¯ll know in due time. She must detest us to the core. She¡¯s going to bear a strong grudge against us.¡± ¡°So what if she does? Baizhi has already paid the price by losing her life. Our family has suffered such a great blow too. To be honest, I really regret my decision. If I¡¯d known earlier that this would happen, I wouldn¡¯t have gone to search for your sister. If we hadn¡¯t done that, that imposter Xu Youran wouldn¡¯t havee about and we wouldn¡¯t have had to deal with the trouble she brought upon us. We¡¯re indebted to them,¡± said Madam Xu, wiping her tears with her hand. ¡°It¡¯s toote to say these now. Mother, you still have me, don¡¯t you?¡± Madam Xu let out a helpless sigh. The butler scurried toward them frantically and said, ¡°Madam, Young Sir, there¡¯s someone at the door who¡¯s waiting to see Madam. She said she¡¯s an old acquaintance of yours.¡± ¡°An old acquaintance?¡± Madam Xu immediately stood up and said, ¡°Let her in, I¡¯d like to see who she is.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± The butler turned around and allowed the person to enter. Not long after, the butler entered with a middle-aged woman who appeared to be in her forties. She was dressed in simple clothes. Madam Xu found her to be rather familiar-looking. However, she could not recall who the woman was at all. ¡°You are?¡± The middle-aged woman introduced herself, ¡°I guess you don¡¯t know who I am, Madam Xu. My name is Li Mei, and I visited your home once a few years ago. I¡¯ve been feeling a nagging need to visit you again, but your family is wealthy and authoritative, so I didn¡¯t dare toe by again for fear that you would exact revenge on me.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Madam Xu asked with a frown, feeling perplexed about the woman¡¯s words. ¡°I wonder if you still remember who Li Changde is, Madam?¡± Madam Xu tried to recall the name she mentioned and finally thought of someone. ¡°Li Changde? I remember him. Isn¡¯t he...¡± ¡°Dead?¡± Li Mei continued her sentence. ¡°Madam, I guessed it correctly and you were thinking of saying that, weren¡¯t you?¡± Madam Xu¡¯s heart dropped as she asked, ¡°You mean he¡¯s not dead?¡± ¡°He is, but my uncle didn¡¯t die three decades ago. He died a few years ago because of cancer.¡± ¡°What!?!¡± Madam Xu¡¯s mind was sent into a whirlwind. She remembered clearly that Li Changde was executed in secret back then. How did he... Li Mei guffawed sarcastically and said, ¡°My uncle has always been an upright person who¡¯s fond of upholding justice. He wanted to expose Military Commander Xu for epting bribes, yet you guys tried to execute him in secret. I bet you didn¡¯t expect him to have survived that execution back then! Not only did you malign him, you even stained his reputation. How atrocious! My uncle remained single for the rest of his life, all because of you!¡± With a sullen expression on her face, Madam Xu retorted, ¡°Back then, the organization was carrying out investigations on him. How could you say that I maligned him? Your uncle maligned my husband too. Did he have any evidence to im that my husband had epted bribes!?!¡± ¡°There¡¯s no point in arguing with me, Madam Xu. You know clearly whether or not Military Commander Xu had epted bribes back then. You tried to kill my uncle, but you didn¡¯t expect him to survive, did you? My uncle was well connected and had earned the respect of all his peers. Everyone believed that he was not like what you imed him to be. The people whom you instructed to kill him have all decided to release him because they didn¡¯t think that he was such a person. Yet...¡± Li Mei sneered and continued, ¡°My uncle had never nned to pursue the matter or get his revenge. Military Commander Xu tried to annihte us and drove our family into a corner, simply because he was afraid that we would expose his secret to the higher authority. Fortunately, I¡¯ve been living with my grandmother and managed to escape the ordeal because my name wasn¡¯t registered on the household register. I bet you didn¡¯t expect for my uncle to have been the one who killed your nanny and abducted your daughter, did you, Madam Xu?¡± Chapter 751 - A Million Times for You (113)

Chapter 751: A Million Times for You (113)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°What!?!¡± Madam Xu stumbled backward while Xu Cai hurriedly held her with a sullen expression on his face. ¡°My uncle is dead anyway. I¡¯ve been wanting to tell you guys these things since years ago, but I haven¡¯t had the chance to. I just want to say that your family had brought all of these upon yourselves. You deserve it. I do take pity on your daughter, however. She¡¯d had to atone for the sins her parents hadmitted. I heard that you often go to the mountains to burn and offer incense. Madam Xu, do you really think you¡¯ll be able to erase all the misdeeds you and your husband have done by doing so?¡± Feeling much better after saying everything she had been bottling up, Li Mei continued, ¡°I¡¯ve already informed my uncle of the good news. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be over the moon when he hears about it. It¡¯s a shame he didn¡¯t get to see your family¡¯s downfall while he was still alive, but I suppose he can put his mind at ease now.¡± ¡°You... you...¡± Madam Xu spluttered, clutching her chest that was in excruciating pain. Li Changde¡¯s incident had taken ce way too long ago, and the Xu family all thought that Li Changde and his family had already died. Hence, Madam Xu was still grief-stricken and wondered who the abductor of her daughter was back then. It seemed like she had reallymitted a great sin. ¡°I¡¯ve already informed the inspection unit about this matter. There¡¯s no need to pursue anything further since my uncle is already dead. Your family totally deserves to end up in such a plight today! I¡¯ve already said everything I wanted to! I¡¯m not at all afraid that you would take revenge on me. If I ever get murdered, I would know that your family was behind it. The higher authorities would also easily find out that you people are guilty of my murder. Your son is the only one left who isn¡¯t implicated. Madam Xu, you¡¯d better not let your family¡¯s bloodline cease. Otherwise, that¡¯d be the retribution you get for all the sins you¡¯vemitted! Hahaha.¡± Li Mei turned around to leave as soon as she finished speaking. Overwhelmed with agitation and pique, Madam Xu passed out straight away. ¡°Mother!¡± Xu Cai hurriedly carried her to her bedroom and called for the family doctor to attach her to an intravenous drip. Madam Xu only came to an hourter and began weeping immediately with tears streaming down her face. ¡°Was what she said true?¡± Xu Cai asked with a frown. ¡°It¡¯s true. I¡¯ve always known about this. Your father was young and full of rigor back then. He only annihted Li Changde and his family because he was afraid that they would exact revenge on us. I didn¡¯t expect them to really have done it.¡± After a moment of silence, Xu Cai said, ¡°That means, our familynded in this plight because of that incident. If Father didn¡¯t ept bribes back then, Li Changde wouldn¡¯t have caught him in the act and Father wouldn¡¯t have tried to kill Li Changde and his family. Baizhi wouldn¡¯t have been abducted and Xu Youran wouldn¡¯t havee to our family. Everything would have been fine...¡± Madam Xu¡¯s lips were cracked, and shey in bed quietly with tears streaming down her face. ¡°If I¡¯d known earlier, I would¡¯ve done everything I could to stop your father. It¡¯s my fault for failing to stop him. It¡¯s all my fault.¡± ¡°Things have alreadye to this, there¡¯s no point in bringing up the past anymore. Everything happens in this world for a reason,¡± Xu Cai said with a sigh. ¡°Thank Heavens. Fortunately, you didn¡¯t heed your father¡¯s advice and delve into politics. Otherwise, you¡¯d be implicated as well. Xu Cai, you must live as an upright person. Don¡¯t end up like your father and brother. You¡¯re the Xu family¡¯sst hope,¡± said Madam Xu, staring at him. ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± ¡ª¡ª After filming a scene in the morning, Fang En proceeded to wait in the studio for the next scene in the afternoon. She sat on the chair and watched Yan Ge rehearse the scenes with the supporting actors. Xiao Yue instantly felt disgusted toward Jing Shui after hearing about what happenedst night. Thus, as soon as she saw Jing Shui, Xiao Yue hurriedly said to Fang En, ¡°Sis, he¡¯s here.¡± Fang En knew who she was referring to without even looking up. ¡°He¡¯s walking toward you.¡± Fang En looked up to see that Jing Shui, dressed in his work attire, was walking toward them. She could not help but feel ufortable about the way he was looking at her. She kept a straight face despite feeling jittery. Jing Shui stopped in front of her and said, ¡°I really had something to discuss with youst night. Must you do that?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know what you wanted to talk to me about, Co-director. You may tell me now, there are no outsiders here,¡± she said in a cold and aloof manner. Jing Shui¡¯s face stiffened as he asked, ¡°Did you get the wrong idea?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t...¡± Fang En sneered in her head, How could I possibly misunderstand this? He was being so obvious! I bet he harbors ill intentions. Seemingly having guessed what she was thinking, Jing Shui chuckled and said, ¡°I¡¯ve been looking for a chance to chat with you privately, but it seems you¡¯ve mistaken me for a crook. Have you really forgotten who I am?¡± Slightly taken aback, Fang En stood up and took a closer look at him. However, she had no recollection of him before and was sure that she had met him for the first time yesterday. ¡°Co-director, have you met me in the past?¡± Jing Shui nodded and answered, ¡°I lived with Auntie for a few months when I was ten years old. You were only about five years old back then and you loved ying with me. You look exactly the same as you did when you were younger, especially the teardrop mole right below your eye.¡± Fang En finally remembered a vague memory of the scene he described. Feeling a little guilty for mistaking him for someone who was trying to vite her, Fang En quickly apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I... I...¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. It¡¯s always good to be wary of others and be on your guard at all times. I know what you thought I was trying to do. I can tell that you¡¯re a decent girl,¡± Jing Shui said with a chuckle. ¡°No wonder I sensed something peculiar about the way you were looking at me yesterday. Actually, you should¡¯ve just told me directly when you saw me yesterday. You didn¡¯t have to do that...¡± Fang En said awkwardly. ¡°Well, I wanted to have a private chat with you. I¡¯m sorry for failing to consider the consequences.¡± Fang En smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, the misunderstanding is cleared now.¡± As soon as Yan Ge approached after filming his scene, he caught sight of Fang En and Jing Shui chatting merrily with each other. He walked toward them, after which Jing Shui casually greeted him and left. Yan Ge stared at his back view with raised brows and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the situation now?¡± ¡°I thought he was harboring ill intentions, but he told me that he stayed with his auntie for a few months when he was ten years old. His auntie and Ie from the same vige. I was only about five years old then and I loved ying with him. But I was still young back then. I wouldn¡¯t have remembered if he hadn¡¯t mentioned it. It happened way too long ago.¡± Greatly taken aback, Yan Ge remarked, ¡°What? That¡¯s a scenario straight out of a television series.¡± ¡°I was just too suspecting and paranoid. But then again, he was acting too strangely and anyone would¡¯ve gotten the wrong idea. Everything¡¯s fine now. I no longer have to be on my guard against him,¡± Fang En said with a smile. ¡ª¡ª After dinner, An Xiaoning sat up and rubbed her belly. ¡°I¡¯m so full, I¡¯m going out for a walk.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡± ¡°Carry on eating.¡± ¡°I¡¯m full too,¡± said Jin Qingyan, who then put down his chopsticks and began wiping his mouth with a handkerchief. An Xiaoning had no choice but to wait for him. ¡°Shall we go to the hot spring after taking a walk? I know you love soaking in hot springs and it¡¯s winter now too. Shall we?¡± Chapter 752 - A Million Times for You (114)

Chapter 752: A Million Times for You (114)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I¡¯ve already soaked in the hot spring when you left for work in the afternoon.¡± Why didn¡¯t you wait for me? Jin Qingyan thought in his head. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s snowing.¡± An Xiaoning looked up at the sky and twirled around merrily. ¡°The weather was fair for a few days and yet it¡¯s snowing again.¡± ¡°I doubt it¡¯d be heavy. I¡¯ve already read the weather forecast.¡± Noticing that he did not mention a word about the interview, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°I¡¯ve watched the interview. Why didn¡¯t you switch your mobile phone to silent mode during the live-stream?¡± Jin Qingyan chucked his hands inside the pockets of his coat and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t find it to be a disturbance.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I meant, the slip-up that had happened during the live-stream today didn¡¯t bring about any disturbances to me.¡± An Xiaoning began to feel a little jittery when he stared at her intently. It was that exact look in his eyes that had bewitched her ever since the first time they met, although he did not say anything verbally. ¡°I thought you would find it awkward and even get upset after the filming of the live-stream ended.¡± He held her hand and asked, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you wearing any gloves?¡± ¡°We¡¯re just out for a walk, there¡¯s no need to bring so many thermal necessities.¡± Thus, Jin Qingyan took the chance to hold her hand in his. The warmth of his touch reminded An Xiaoning of the happy past they used to have. They were pacing slowly along their path, just like an old married couple. At this point, An Xiaoning could not decide what their rtionship was. However, she decided to be willful and follow her heart. ¡°From now on, stop seeing that Major,¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°We¡¯re only ordinary friends.¡± ¡°Do you really think he only sees you as an ordinary friend? As a man, I know clearly what he¡¯s thinking,¡± Jin Qingyan remarked in displeasure. ¡°What do you know? Indeed, when Godma introduced him to me during a matchmaking session, I didn¡¯t eliminate the possibility of getting into a rtionship with him in the future. It¡¯s not like I had given up on love either. He really has a great personality.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve only known him for days and yet you already find him to be a great person?¡± ¡°Does time really matter? Sometimes, you can tell a person¡¯s character after having just a simple meal with them. Besides, on the day of the matchmaking session, I revealed to him that I would be unable to conceive from now on. Yet he actually said that he didn¡¯t mind it.¡± Jin Qingyan immediately retorted, ¡°He was just trying to dupe you into falling for him first.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think so badly of everyone, alright? Perhaps he really doesn¡¯t mind at all.¡± Jin Qingyan let go of her hand and scoffed, ¡°If he¡¯s that great, why didn¡¯t you just ept him right away? Wouldn¡¯t that have made things easy?¡± Noticing the tone of disgruntlement in his voice, An Xiaoning teased, ¡°Piggy, you should be called the ¡®S Nation¡¯s King of Jealousy.¡¯¡± Jin Qingyan felt slightly better to hear the unique pet name she had for him. ¡°I just don¡¯t like hearing you praise other men. It upsets me.¡± ¡°What if I¡¯m praising our son?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a male too.¡± An Xiaoning was momentarily speechless. She sighed and remarked, ¡°Not only do you get jealous over the slightest things, but you¡¯re also exceptionally petty. You¡¯re hopeless.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why you¡¯d better know your ce and limits. Don¡¯t think you¡¯re free to date anyone just because we¡¯re no longer married. You¡¯ve long be my property. No one can think of having you. You¡¯re mine and mine alone.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the only person who treasures me this much. I don¡¯t mean that much to others at all.¡± ¡°You know that, yet you¡¯re still so discontented.¡± He squatted down in front of her and said, ¡°Hop on.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a cripple, I have legs and can walk on my own.¡± ¡°Hop on.¡± Seeing how sincere and insistent he was on piggybacking her, An Xiaoning decided to concede. She bent forward and got on his back. Fan Shixin stealthily stuck his head out from behind arge tree and began snapping several photos of the scene before him. He was exceptionally pleased and delighted to see his masterpieces. Snowkes were floating in the air beneath the streetmp while Jin Qingyan carried An Xiaoning on his back. What a beautiful sight. Fan Shixin was hoping that he could snap some shots of them kissing, yet his cover was soon blown when he caught up with them. An Xiaoning slid down from Jin Qingyan¡¯s back and stood with her back straight. ¡°The weather tonight seems splendid. Young Sir, what a coincidence,¡± said Fan Shixin, smiling awkwardly and pointing at the sky. ¡°Leave the camera behind and scram immediately.¡± How dare he sneakily snap photos of me! He¡¯d better watch how I¡¯ll punish him! Jin Qingyan thought to himself. The tall and masculine Fan Shixin handed the camera to Jin Qingyan reluctantly in a wishy-washy manner, like an indecisive woman. He then hurriedly sprinted away and vanished out of sight in no time. Jin Qingyan looked down at the disy on the camera and remarked, ¡°Not bad, let¡¯s keep the photos.¡± An Xiaoning craned her neck to take a look and chimed in, ¡°It does look pretty good.¡± Jin Qingyan caught sight of a tiny drop of snow on the top of her head, which he then removed gently. ¡°Let¡¯s go back in.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°Young Sir, the president is here with his subordinates!¡± Fan Shixin yelled into the walkie-talkie. An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan turned to look at each other in shock and bewilderment as soon as they heard it. Without hesitation, they immediately turned around and began walking inside. Just as she¡¯d taken a few steps forward, Jin Qingyan grabbed her hand and asked, ¡°Would you like to hide first?¡± ¡°He must¡¯vee here out of the blue because he knows I¡¯m staying at your ce. Since we¡¯re nning to reveal the fact that I¡¯m alive in the meantime, there¡¯s no harm in letting him know now. Furthermore, that¡¯ll prevent him from abusing his authority to bring you trouble. I don¡¯t want to see that happening.¡± ¡°Not bad, you¡¯re sparing a thought for me.¡± Blushing shyly, An Xiaoning said, ¡°I just don¡¯t want to implicate anyone else because of me.¡± The two of them returned to the living room, only to see that Tuoba Gucheng was sitting on the couch with a cup of piping hot tea on the table in front of him. His bodyguards were all standing and waiting outside. He was alone in the living room. Upon the sight of them entering together, Tuoba Gucheng kept his eyes fixed on An Xiaoning. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that you were here, Mr. President. I¡¯m sorry to have kept you waiting,¡± said Jin Qingyan, ignoring the expression on An Xiaoning¡¯s face. Tuoba Gucheng walked toward them and extended his left hand out for a handshake. ¡°Nice to meet you, Mr. Jin. Sorry to be imposing on you at such ate hour.¡± Jin Qingyan shook his hand and said politely, ¡°Not at all.¡± Tuoba Gucheng ced his right hand on top of Jin Qingyan¡¯s and said, ¡°You ought to be given credit for saving the hostage, Mr. Jin. I hereby thank you on behalf of the nation.¡± Jin Qingyan ced his right hand on Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s arm calmly and said, ¡°You¡¯ve ttered me, Mr. President. Please take a seat.¡± An Xiaoning watched them let go of each other as she felt a cold shiver down her spine. Each of them was seated on a separate side of the couch. An Xiaoning held her hands together and remained silent. ¡°Xiaoning is in a safe circumstance for now, but I reckon the terrorists definitely wouldn¡¯t let us off so easily. I¡¯m nning to announce the news of Xiaoning¡¯s return sometimeter when the matter has died down a little,¡± Jin Qingyan exined. Tuoba Gucheng turned to look at An Xiaoning, who was seated to his left. ¡°Do you share simr sentiments?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯d like to live peacefully for a while.¡± Chapter 753 - A Million Times for You (115)

Chapter 753: A Million Times for You (115)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°In terms of safety, the Autumn Pce would be a better ce. Shishi knows that you¡¯re still alive, so she specifically instructed me to bring you back to the pce and arrange for you to stay there for the time being. She said that she wants to see you, but it¡¯s inconvenient for her toe with me today since she¡¯s pregnant. So, pack your belongings and follow me,¡± Tuoba Gucheng said to An Xiaoning. A gloomy expression formed on Jin Qingyan¡¯s face as soon as Tuoba Gucheng finished speaking. He¡¯s snatching her away openly, isn¡¯t he? In fact, An Xiaoning, too, was displeased with his suggestion, and she immediately refused, ¡°It¡¯s almost the New Year and my son is going to be on holiday in another few days. I¡¯d like to spend some time with him. I¡¯ll definitely go to the Autumn Pce when I have the time to in the future.¡± Tuoba Gucheng had no reason to dismiss her exnation. However, he was determined to spend some time alone with her. ¡°Do you think it¡¯d be better for the nation to release an official statement regarding your return, or would you prefer to have the article include that it was Mr. Jin who rescued you?¡± Tuoba Gucheng asked. Needless to say, An Xiaoning knew what he meant. After all, Jin Qingyan was a businessman and the owner of a multinational corporation. He and the entire corporation would definitely be affected negatively if news of him meddling with the nation¡¯s affairs were exposed. By then, he¡¯d be the target of all terrorist organizations across the globe. But! An Xiaoning really did not wish to return to the Autumn Pce together with Tuoba Gucheng at this juncture. Once she steps foot inside, she would have to seek Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s approval in order to leave again. She¡¯d have no rights to freedom at all. However, neither An Xiaoning nor Jin Qingyan had the right to turn him down. After all, Tuoba Gucheng was the nation¡¯s leader. ¡°Mr. President, you may release an official statement on the nation¡¯s behalf, since it would only benefit the nation and gain the approval of citizens. Well, to me, it¡¯s not that important. As a citizen of the nation, the nation¡¯s image is of the utmost importance to me,¡± said Jin Qingyan. What Jin Qingyan meant was, he was perfectly fine with the government robbing him of the credit he ought to deserve for rescuing An Xiaoning, for he thought that it would be great for the nation to take the chance to sculpt a better image and increase the citizens¡¯ confidence in the nation. To put it across bluntly, what Jin Qingyan was trying to say was: ¡°I¡¯m already willing to sacrifice myself for the sake of the country¡¯s pride and yet you still have the cheek to be spouting rubbish right now. If you don¡¯t want to take credit for this, you may just give it up. Anyway, I have my own ways to let An Xiaoning appear in public again.¡± Upon hearing Jin Qingyan¡¯s answer, An Xiaoning immediately turned to look at Tuoba Gucheng whose face had stiffened, clearly peeved and upset about Jin Qingyan¡¯s words. Jin Qingyan was probably the only businessman in S Nation who dared to speak to the president that way. ¡°I¡¯m very heartened by your graciousness, Mr. Jin. Regardless, this matter is extremely beneficial to both the nation and you, Mr. Jin. If you release a statement to say that you had rescued An Xiaoning, the citizens would definitely hold you with greater respect. However, you¡¯d be the enemy of those malicious terrorists. That¡¯d be extremely disadvantageous to you. So, allowing the country to im the credit would be killing two birds with one stone,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng, taking a sip out of the teacup after blowing it gently to cool it down. ¡°You made a trip all the way here at such ate hour. If you don¡¯t mind, you may stay the night. How does that sound, Mr. President?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to impose on you then, Mr. Jin. Thank you for going through the trouble.¡± ¡°It¡¯s only my duty.¡± An Xiaoning felt relieved that they had ingeniously managed to evade the topic of her moving to the Autumn Pce. ¡°I¡¯d like to have a few words with Xiaoning in private. May I?¡± Jin Qingyan obviously wouldn¡¯t dare to turn down the president¡¯s request. ¡°I¡¯ll head back to my room first,¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°Shall we go outside for a walk?¡± Tuoba Gucheng suggested as he rose from his seat. An Xiaoning followed suit and walked out of the door together with him. The snowfall was not as heavy as before. An Xiaoning walked behind Tuoba Gucheng, who took the lead. After having walked a distance, he stopped in his tracks and turned around to wait for her. None of his bodyguards followed them. An Xiaoning walked alongside him and met his eyes, which were as dark as ink. ¡°Your Majesty, what do you wish to say to me?¡± ¡°Do you resent me?¡± Knowing what he was referring to, An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°Not at all, Your Majesty. You¡¯re the nation¡¯s leader and it¡¯s only natural that you¡¯d put the nation¡¯s interests as your first priority. I¡¯m only an ordinary citizen. It¡¯s an honor to sacrifice myself for the nation.¡± ¡°I¡¯m very happy to know that you¡¯re still alive,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng, walking forward slowly. An Xiaoning followed closely behind and listened to him speak. ¡°When I first received the offer of negotiation, I naturally wanted to save you and I was stuck in a dilemma for a prolonged period of time. Indeed, I¡¯m not as brave as Jin Qingyan, who risked his life to rescue you. I have a newfound respect for him. You and he...¡± Instead of letting himplete his sentence, An Xiaoning changed the subject and asked, ¡°Does Shishi really know about youing here at this hour?¡± ¡°Yes, she initially wanted to tag along too but I didn¡¯t allow it.¡± He continued, ¡°Let me ask you, have you reconciled with Jin Qingyan?¡± ¡°That¡¯s my personal issue. I don¡¯t think it¡¯d be appropriate to talk about it.¡± Tuoba Gucheng squinted and probed, ¡°Does that mean you¡¯re nning to marry him again?¡± ¡°Do you think marriage still matters to me now? Your Majesty, what¡¯s the point of probing so much? Regardless of what happens to me and Jin Qingyan in the future, it has nothing to do with you at all. You¡¯ll always be the president, Lin Shishi¡¯s husband, and the father of the fetus she¡¯s carrying. Please don¡¯t forget that, Mr. President.¡± Tuoba Gucheng stared at her, although her features could not be seen clearly in the dim light. ¡°I won¡¯t allow you to continue living with him. You may stay here temporarily to lie low for the time being, but if you¡¯re thinking of rekindling your rtionship with him because he had saved you, please consider the consequences carefully, An Xiaoning.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what consequences there may be. Please enlighten me, Your Majesty,¡± said An Xiaoning, keeping her eyes fixed on the road ahead. ¡°An Xiaoning!¡± She did not wish to fall out with him, for she knew that it would not be advantageous to her at all. After all, she knew clearly what kind of a person he was! She sighed and said in a mellow voice, ¡°Your Majesty, you¡¯re really such a tyrant. You¡¯re allowed to get married and have children, but you forbid me from living a blissful life. Your Majesty, do you really hate seeing me happy? What logic is that? There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll ever cut ties with Jin Qingyanpletely for the rest of my life. He¡¯s the father of my child, and keeping a close rtionship with him would be beneficial to our son¡¯s growth. As for reconciling my marriage with him, it has never crossed my mind before.¡± ¡°Do you still love him, then?¡± She recalled Pei Yi asking her the same question. What¡¯s the harm in saying that I don¡¯t love Jin Qingyan anymore if it could keep him safe? she thought to herself. ¡°I¡¯ve already lost all feelings for him when we got divorced. I don¡¯t love him anymore.¡± Tuoba Gucheng smiled the instant that he heard her answer. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± ¡°Your Majesty, like what I always say, it¡¯s impossible between us. Even if I don¡¯t love Jin Qingyan anymore or refrain from getting into a rtionship with another man, I¡¯ll never agree to be together with you.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± he asked apprehensively, clearly doubtful of her words. Chapter 754 - A Million Times for You (116)

Chapter 754: A Million Times for You (116)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Yes, please know your limits, Your Majesty. It¡¯d be very disadvantageous to you if there were to be rumors about us. Your status is different from mine. You ought to think twice and be careful before you act.¡± In high spirits, he answered, ¡°I understand that you¡¯re being concerned about me. I¡¯ll be more mindful in the future. I¡¯m really so happy.¡± An Xiaoning was perturbed and helpless. She truly did not know what to say to such a smitten and stubborn man who refused to take any of her exnations. At this moment, she wanted nothing more than to kill him, for she felt like it was a torment to be in his grasp. ¡°Are you feeling unwell?¡± Tuoba Gucheng asked, noticing the look of agony written all over her face. ¡°Yeah, I feel a little dizzy, let¡¯s head back.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ... ¡°Are you staying upstairs?¡± asked Tuoba Gucheng, who would be staying in the guest room on the first floor. ¡°I¡¯m staying in my son¡¯s bedroom.¡± He nodded and headed to the guest room. Just as An Xiaoning reached the master bedroom, the door opened from inside, even before she pressed the doorbell. Jin Qingyan was visibly upset as he stood by the door. Noticing how sulky and miserable she seemed, he pursed his lips and pulled her into the bedroom before closing the door. He held her tightly in his embrace and bit down into her neck fiercely. ¡°Ah!¡± She pushed him away and screeched, ¡°Are you a dog? Why did you bite me?¡± He ignored her question and pulled her into his arms again like a child throwing a tantrum. Afraid that he¡¯d bite her again, An Xiaoning covered her neck tightly with her hands. Jin Qingyan picked her up and lowered her onto the bed. Staring at her, he said, ¡°I¡¯m so infuriated.¡± ¡°Who knew he¡¯d show up out of the blue?¡± said An Xiaoning, who knew what he was upset about. He got off her and reached a hand inside her pocket to retrieve a small voice recorder. An Xiaoning immediately realized that he had heard every bit of her conversation with Tuoba Gucheng. ¡°You were monitoring me?¡± ¡°I had no choice but to do that! I knew that he would want to chat with you one-on-one so I slid the recorder into your pocket when we came back.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t know you were a irvoyant,¡± said An Xiaoning, who was not at all angry. ¡°I knew he harbored ill intentions from the start. How would a busy political leader like him have the time to visit me when he has a ton of things to handle? He obviously came for you. I was even more furious after hearing your conversation! Who does he think he is? He¡¯s actually vying with me for a woman. He¡¯s long lost his rights to do that ever since he got married and had children. How dare he still threaten you? I really want to kill him!¡± Jin Qingyan hollered, seething with anger. An Xiaoning was amused by how riled up he was. ¡°Seems like you¡¯re really angry.¡± ¡°Of course! Well, he won¡¯t have a chance anyway, since he¡¯s your half-brother. It¡¯s just wishful thinking on his part. But you! You actually told him that you don¡¯t love me anymore,¡± said Jin Qingyan, glowering at her. ¡°I told Pei Yi the same thing too. Think about it, would they have been appeased if I hadn¡¯t said that? Won¡¯t you be on the losing end if they get upset and decide to deal with you?¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s anger vanished instantly as he ced her head onto hisp and looked down at her from above. ¡°I knew it, you still love me.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say that.¡± ¡°Quit denying it, I can feel it. I won¡¯t hold it against you because I knew you¡¯re sparing a thought for me. Since Tuoba Gucheng is so adamant about you getting back together with me, there¡¯s no harm in pretending like there¡¯s nothing between us,¡± said Jin Qingyan, cupping her face in his hands. ¡°When I was heading upstairs earlier, he asked me why I was doing that and I told him that I¡¯m staying in our son¡¯s room, which is upstairs.¡± ¡°I heard it. I almost forgot.¡± Jin Qingyan immediately got out of bed and walked outside. ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°To stage the scene.¡± He soon vanished without a trace. By the time An Xiaoning hadin down in bed, Jin Qingyan returned smiling and said, ¡°I¡¯m guessing he¡¯s definitely going to do a spot check next morning to see if we slept in the same room.¡± ¡°He can¡¯t be thatme, can he? Besides, you¡¯re making it seem like we¡¯re having an illicit affair and he¡¯s mywful husband. In reality, we¡¯re not rted to each other at all, except the fact that he¡¯s my brother.¡± ¡°What do you know? He has no idea that you two are rted by blood. I really wonder how he¡¯ll react when he finds out one day that you¡¯re his half-sister.¡± ¡°Whatever, I¡¯m going to bed.¡± An Xiaoning turned over and closed her eyes. Jin Qingyan stripped down to nothing and pressed his bare body against An Xiaoning¡¯s back. ¡°Are you being a tyrant again? If you keep being like this, I¡¯m really going to move to Yiheng¡¯s room!¡± she warned, ring at him. ¡°I¡¯m not touching you anyway, you have no right to interfere with whether or not I¡¯m wearing any clothes. If you think it¡¯s unfair, you may remove your clothes too, I won¡¯t reprimand you.¡± ¡°...¡± After the lights were switched off, An Xiaoning could not fall asleep at all, especially since he was lying naked beside her. This shameless bastard is really getting out of hand! She had no choice but to pretend like she knew nothing. The lingering scent of her shampoo wafted up into Jin Qingyan¡¯s nose and greatly mesmerized him, just like how she usually would. ¡°Xiaoning...¡± ¡°Shoot.¡± ¡°Help me satisfy my urges, alright?¡± he asked, gently nibbling her ear. ¡°Get lost.¡± ¡°Xiaoning...¡± ¡°Scram!¡± His spirits were dampened. Hmph, since you won¡¯t allow me to, I¡¯ll have to use my own solution , he thought to himself. An Xiaoning finally went to sleep in peace half an hourter, upon noticing that Jin Qingyan had stopped moving. Little did she know, he began lighting up the incense after she fell asleep. He hid inside the bathroom alone and only exited after the incense had burned out. At this moment, An Xiaoning had already been knocked unconscious. Jin Qingyan looked down at his erect package and lifted the duvet. He grabbed An Xiaoning¡¯s slender legs and pulled her to the side of the bed. His eyes lit up with joy and passion as he soon burst with euphoria. An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes were tightly shut as she remained still without making a single sound. She could not feel anything at all while Jin Qingyan was filling himself with pleasure. He looked down and kissed her passionately. All that went through his mind was, ¡°She¡¯s mine, she¡¯s mine!¡± However, he soon regretted his decision after having had his fun. Well, because, he had left hickeys all over her fair, porcin skin. That would let the cat out of the bag! Jin Qingyan immediately med himself for being impulsive and letting his hormones rule his head. After satisfying his urges, he cleaned up the mess he had created. Jin Qingyan then took out An Xiaoning¡¯s foundation powder and began patting it gently all over her body, which surprisingly managed to conceal the hickeys to a reasonable extent. Chapter 755 - A Million Times for You (117)

Chapter 755: A Million Times for You (117)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He then hugged her to sleep peacefully. After a good night¡¯s sleep, they woke up to a terrible disaster. As Jin Qingyan had expected, Tuoba Gucheng proceeded to knock on An Xiaoning¡¯s door early in the morning but did not get any response despite having knocked for a long while. Thus, he pushed open the door of Jin Yiheng¡¯s bedroom, only to discover that the bed was empty. He subconsciously headed to the master¡¯s bedroom and pressed on the doorbell. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± Jin Qingyan answered with his eyes shut. ¡°Mr. Jin, it¡¯s me.¡± Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning abruptly opened their eyes in shock while thetter instinctively jumped down from the bed and onto the carpeted floor. She hurriedly put on her slippers and sneaked toward the balcony. She zoomed there at godlike speed! Jin Qingyan was much calmerpared to her. Maintaining hisposure, he said, ¡°Please give me a moment, Mr. President, I¡¯ll get up immediately.¡± He took a look at the time to discover that it was only six o¡¯clock in the morning! After putting on his clothes, he opened the door to see that Tuoba Gucheng was waiting there. Tuoba Gucheng barged in immediately instead of waiting for Jin Qingyan¡¯s invite. No one else would dare to barge into Jin Qingyan¡¯s bedroom so brazenly! Fortunately, An Xiaoning¡¯s luggage was in the dressing room and the only trace of her presence was the clothes she took offst night and left on the couch. Jin Qingyan immediately noticed it. Before Tuoba Gucheng could take a closer look, he heard a female voiceing from the bedroom door. ¡°Your Majesty?¡± Tuoba Gucheng turned around to see An Xiaoning standing outside, dressed in a set of long-sleeved pajamas and pants. ¡°Where did you go?¡± ¡°I went out for a morning workout session. What are you doing in Jin Qingyan¡¯s bedroom?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± He walked out of the bedroom calmly and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be setting off to B City now.¡± ¡°So early?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan shot each other a nce and headed downstairs together to walk Tuoba Gucheng to his car. An Xiaoning watched as Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s car left and waved him goodbye. She then covered her face with her hands and walked back toward the house. ¡°How did you manage to go outside?¡± ¡°I jumped down from the balcony... and sprained my ankle. I¡¯ve been forcing myself to bear with the pain,¡± An Xiaoning exined, pointing at her right ankle. Jin Qingyan wouldn¡¯t have noticed anything unusual with her gait if she had not mentioned it. His forehead creased into a frown and he sneered, ¡°Are you stupid?¡± ¡°Luckily, I jumped down, otherwise, if he¡¯d found out about us...¡± Jin Qingyan scoffed, ¡°So what if he does? Does he really think he can act like this just because he¡¯s the president? He¡¯s a lunatic!¡± ¡°Okay, don¡¯t bother holding it against him.¡± Jin Qingyan picked her up in his arms and carried her back inside the bedroom. He lowered her onto the bed and removed her slippers and socks, only to see that her ankle was rather red and swollen. He then proceeded to grab the medicine kit and knelt on one knee to apply some ointment on her ankle. An Xiaoning remained seated and watched him. Her heart waspletely melted. ¡°Does it hurt?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He red at her and chided, ¡°You even managed to charm him with that mask of yours when you entered the Autumn Pce back then. You little seductress!¡± ¡°Do you really think I wanted my half-brother to fall in love with me?¡± said An Xiaoning, who had no idea how Tuoba Gucheng had even fallen in love with her hideous looks. How bizarre. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault.¡± Jin Qingyan handed her the clothes she left on the couch and said, ¡°Get dressed and we¡¯ll go have breakfast.¡± ¡°Go outside.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Just as he stepped out of the door, he was greatly startled by the sudden bellow that came from inside the room. ¡°Jin Qingyan! Get yourself in here!¡± He immediately entered and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Turning beet-red with fury, An Xiaoning scowled and questioned, ¡°What happened to my chest!?!¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°You were obviously the one who did it! I have no recollection of what happened at all. Did you drug me?¡± she asked, taking a deep breath. Waving his hands frantically, Jin Qingyan denied, ¡°No, no. How is that possible? I didn¡¯t do it.¡± ¡°Who did it, then? I can¡¯t possibly have done it myself, can I?¡± Jin Qingyan chuckled and said, ¡°How would I know?¡± Seeing that he was refusing to admit it, the quick-witted An Xiaoning switched tactics and began bawling loudly. ¡°You took advantage of me and yet you¡¯re still refusing to admit it. Jin Qingyan, what do you take me for!?!¡± What an attitude! Jin Qingyan hurriedly rushed forward and tried to cate her. ¡°Xiaoning, simmer down. It¡¯s all my fault, I was wrong. You weren¡¯t willing, so I had no choice but to light some incense...¡± ¡°Turns out you really did!¡± An Xiaoning bent forward and picked up the slipper on the floor, which she then smacked onto his neck. ¡°You lying scum! How could you go back on your word!?!¡± ¡°Xiaoning...¡± ¡°How many times have you done it!?!¡± He stuck two fingers out and answered, ¡°Twice. I swear, only twice.¡± An Xiaoning humphed and barked, ¡°You said you wouldn¡¯t force me but you broke your promise. Jin Qingyan, I¡¯m moving out! Jin Qingyan panicked and hurriedly tried to coax her, ¡°Please don¡¯t. I won¡¯t do it again anymore, Alright? I really won¡¯t force you again.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe you.¡± ¡°I mean it. If I dare drug you with the incense, I¡¯ll suffer from erectile dysfunction!¡± he swore solemnly. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you, get out.¡± With a sullen expression on his face, Jin Qingyan snapped, ¡°An Xiaoning, why are you being like this!?! I¡¯m a man in my thirties and I¡¯ve never gotten intimate with any other woman except you. In fact, I don¡¯t even masturbate, let alone use any intable sex dolls. Yet, you won¡¯t aid me in satisfying my urges. Are you out to kill me? Just because you¡¯re asexual doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m the same as you.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s asexual? I¡¯m not,¡± she vehemently retorted. ¡°If you¡¯re not asexual, why are you so reluctant to get intimate? Or are you just unwilling to do it with me?¡± Jin Qingyan questioned. ¡°I¡¯m not!¡± ¡°You are!¡± He pinned her down onto the bed and said, ¡°I shall see if you¡¯re asexual or if you just have no feelings for me.¡± An Xiaoning could not kick him since her ankle was hurting and her other leg was stuck beneath him. ¡°Jin Qingyan... get lost... hmph...¡± Jin Qingyan soon covered her mouth to stop her from talking. Men tend to be unpredictable once they lose control of their emotions. The veins on Jin Qingyan¡¯s hands were bulging as he grabbed her struggling arms and raised them above her head. An Xiaoning continued to fidget about continuously, worlds apart from her tame and motionless selfst night. His hormones were raging like crazy. He let go of her wrists and stood up. An Xiaoning¡¯s pants were ripped off, which was to the joy of Jin Qingyan. She widened her eyes and her body gradually began to turn to jelly. An Xiaoning felt a sudden warmth in her abdomen. She ced her hands on her sides and raised her head slightly, panting heavily. Noticing that she had stopped struggling, Jin Qingyan moved his hands away from her legs and began caressing her skin affectionately. Every touch of his sent electrifying waves through her, greatly triggering her senses. Chapter 756 - A Million Times for You (118)

Chapter 756: A Million Times for You (118)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Jin Qingyan...¡± ¡°Mm...¡± ¡°You¡¯re...¡± Before An Xiaoning couldplete her sentence, she was stopped by him. How did he do it? By biting her... Down there... ¡°Ah!¡± An Xiaoning shrieked in terror. ¡°If you continue to say things that I hate hearing, don¡¯t think of getting out of bed today.¡± She stared at the ceiling with her mouth slightly open. She still could not quite process the fact that he had stealthily drug-raped her two nights in a row. ¡°Be gentle.¡± Jin Qingyan did as he was told and chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re so sensitive...¡± Blushing red with shyness, An Xiaoning retorted, ¡°It¡¯s all because of you...¡± ¡°I¡¯m not finished yet, I like it.¡± ¡°Scram!¡± She appeared extremely reluctant and refused to face him. He stopped teasing her and began getting down to business. ¡°Mm...¡± ¡°Good girl, moan for me,¡± he goaded. ¡°No...¡± Jin Qingyan thrust his hips vigorously and said, ¡°Go on and moan, I like hearing it.¡± She closed her eyes and allowed him to pleasure her and himself, finally letting her walls down. An Xiaoning had no idea where he had gotten all that rigor and energy from. He tried every position in every angle, causing her to bepletely exhausted, and only stopped when she was panting heavily. ¡°I didn¡¯t use any protection,¡± said Jin Qingyan. She put a hand on her waist and supported herself up. ¡°I know. I won¡¯t get pregnant anyway. Contraception won¡¯t make a difference,¡± she said feebly. ¡°I¡¯ve been doing all the work, how are you so exhausted?¡± he teased. An Xiaoning got out of bed slowly and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to take a shower.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll join you.¡± He again lifted her off the ground and carried her into the bathroom. An Xiaoning sat on a stool to take a shower, for her ankle was hurting too much for her to support her own weight. She would have to apply some ointment on it againter. Upon hearing Jin Qingyan humming merrily while showering, she pinched him and scorned, ¡°Why are you so happy?¡± ¡°Ouch...¡± He gritted his teeth in pain and retorted, ¡°Why can¡¯t I be happy? I had to get intimate with you sneakily thest two times but it was different this time. Xiaoning, shall we have a discussion?¡± ¡°About what?¡± ¡°Since we¡¯ve already done it, shall we reconcile our marriage?¡± ¡°Impossible.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s be a happy pair of friends with benefits. Anyway, you¡¯re the only one I want and vice versa. Let¡¯s juste to a consensus, shall we?¡± He thought that she would either pinch or strangle him. To his surprise, An Xiaoning did not respond and instead stood up slowly to turn off the faucet, after which she took the towel from his hands and began wiping herself with it. Jin Qingyan rinsed himself and carried her out of the bathroom. She was still remaining silent even while getting dressed. Noticing that she was behaving strangely, Jin Qingyan cocked his head sideways to look at her and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Staring at him, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Qingyan, you¡¯re just like poison coated with honey, you can only be admired from afar but are inedible. Shall we just let nature take its course?¡± ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t mention it again in the future, we¡¯ll let nature take its course. You call the shots,¡± said Jin Qingyan, giving her a kiss on her cheek. Jin Qingyan felt much more relieved and secure. No man could be a match for him, not Ji Yu nor her half-brother, Tuoba Gucheng. Did they forget who I am? They¡¯re no match for me at all. The true victory goes to whoever wins her heart, isn¡¯t it? Xiaoning is mine! ¡ª¡ª Three days had passed since Ling Ciye received the invitation to Song Yan¡¯s wedding. It was thetter¡¯s big day. Jin Qingyue was dressed to the nines and apanied him to the wedding. News of Song Yan¡¯s marriage to the owner of the entertainmentpany broke too abruptly and had shocked her fans who all thought that Song Yan was too good of a catch for her husband-to-be. After all, the history of her rtionship with Ling Ciye had long been exposed all over the inte. Song Yan¡¯s fianc¨¦¡¯s worth was nowhereparable to Ling Ciye¡¯s. Not only was he not as wealthy as Ling Ciye, but he was alsocking in appearance. However, many of her fans reckoned that Song Yan must have given up on hunks and decided to marry an average-looking man to spend the rest of her life with. Regardless of the controversial opinions, the wedding still proceeded ording to n. Although they imed to be holding a low-profile wedding, it was impossible to really do so, especially since Song Yan was an A-list celebrity. Thus, some media reporters were still invited to the wedding. The wedding banquet was to be held in a hotel while the solemnization ceremony took ce in the church. Song Yan had already changed into her white wedding gown and was sitting in the dressing room. Her manager Huahua informed her softly, ¡°Song Yan, the guests are already here.¡± ¡°Is he here too?¡± Knowing exactly who she was referring to, Huahua answered, ¡°He¡¯s here with his wife.¡± A sullen expression formed on Song Yan¡¯s face. Despite being the bride for today, she did not feel happy at all and instead appeared rather mncholic. ¡°It¡¯s your big day, you should feel happy,¡± said her assistant, Xiao Ru. ¡°Yeah, you don¡¯t want Ling Ciye and his wife to see you being unhappy on your wedding day, do you? Smile and show them that you¡¯re blissful.¡± ¡°You guys may go out first. I¡¯d like to have some time alone,¡± said Song Yan. Huahua and Xiao Ru looked at each other in dismay and left the room. Song Yan was left alone in the dressing room. She stared at her own reflection in the mirror, filled with sadness. It was the day of her wedding, the day when she would be the most beautiful version of herself. It was the day when she was supposed to be smiling and feeling ted. Yet, she did not feel like smiling, nor was she in the least bit happy. She felt extremely upset and empty on the inside. There was a void in her heart that could not be filled, despite the fact that she was getting married today. Now that things had alreadye to this, there was no turning back for her. When the auspicious hour arrived, Song Yan held onto her father¡¯s arm and walked into the sacred church hall. Her groom was dressed in a matching white suit and was waiting for her at the other end of the aisle. As the wedding march yed, Song Yan shifted her gaze to the guests and forced herself to smile with all her might. Song Yan tightened her grip on the bouquet of flowers in her hand and walked toward the pastor slowly. ¡°Mr. Chen Liang, do you take Ms. Song Yan to be your true and wedded wife, and do you solemnly promise before God and these witnesses to love, cherish, honor, and protect her, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, ¡¯til death do you part?¡± said the pastor. A smile formed on Chen Liang¡¯s chubby face and he eximed gleefully, ¡°I do!¡± The pastor then looked at Song Yan and asked, ¡°Ms. Song Yan, do you take Mr. Chen Liang to be your true and wedded husband, and do you solemnly promise before God and these witnesses to love, cherish, honor, and protect him, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, ¡¯til death do you part?¡± After a moment of hesitation, Song Yan answered, ¡°I do.¡± ¡°Please exchange your wedding bands now.¡± Chapter 757 - A Million Times for You (119)

Chapter 757: A Million Times for You (119)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Facing each other, Song Yan and Chen Liang put the wedding bands onto each other¡¯s ring finger and pulled each other into an embrace in front of their dearest family and friends. The crowd broke into boisterous apuse and began cheering loudly. Song Yan stealthily turned around and looked at the guests, only to see that Ling Ciye and Jin Qingyue were murmuring between themselves. They were not looking at her at all. Filled with immense sorrow, Song Yan pulled a long face throughout the process of changing into her next gown together with her husband. However, Chen Liang had noticed the change in her expression, despite it being ever so slight. He simply pretended not to notice. Chen Liang nned to have a few more drinks with Ling Ciye during the toasting ceremony. However, Ling Ciye and Jin Qingyue did not attend the wedding banquet. Song Yan scanned the crowd, only to discover that they were not there. Meanwhile, Ling Ciye and Jin Qingyue were discussing what to have for lunch while on their way home. ¡°There was a feast avable at the banquet, yet you insist on having lunch at home,¡± said Ling Ciye, staring at her affectionately. ¡°We¡¯ve already given them their wedding gift and watched the solemnization ceremony. There¡¯s no need to stay for the banquet. Hubby, what would you like to have for lunch?¡± Jin Qingyue asked, leaning her head against his shoulder. ¡°You.¡± Jin Qingyue nced at him bashfully and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you have enoughst night?¡± ¡°Not at all. You almost sucked me dry.¡± ¡°Since when did I... You were the one who kept bugging me,¡± Jin Qingyue retorted. ¡°I was the one who initiated the first time, but who was the one who wanted to go again?¡± As soon as he finished speaking, Jin Qingyue punched him yfully. They looked at each other and smiled gleefully. ¡ª¡ª ¡°¡®I¡¯ve thought about it and I feel that it¡¯d be inappropriate for you and Jin Qingyan to live in the same house, even if you¡¯re not sharing the same room. After all, you two are divorced. You either move back to your own mansion or move back in with your family at the Gu family mansion. Don¡¯t live with him anymore. I¡¯ll send my people to protect you in secret. You can lie low anywhere,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng. ¡°Aren¡¯t you just getting your people to monitor me that way?¡± An Xiaoning questioned. ¡°I¡¯m worried about your safety.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. It makes me feel ufortable. Your Majesty, I think it¡¯s very safe for me to live in Wei Ni Estate for the time being,¡± An Xiaoning said calmly. Tuoba Gucheng was ill at ease, for he was worried that An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan would rekindle their feelings for each other over time, especially since they were once in love and even had a child together. In fact, Jin Qingyan had even saved her life. Thus, after much thought, he decided that it would be better for An Xiaoning to move out of his house. His heart sank after hearing An Xiaoning¡¯s words. ¡°You either move out of his house ore to the Autumn Pce. Pick one.¡± He refused to give in at all. After a moment of silence, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°Got it. You must also promise not to send people to monitor me.¡± ¡°Are you exchanging conditions with me?¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I?¡± Tuoba Gucheng chuckled lightly and said, ¡°You should. I promise. There¡¯s also another thing I¡¯d like to tell you...¡± ¡°What is it? Feel free to speak your mind.¡± ¡°There¡¯s only one rule I have for you to follow. Don¡¯t let me find out that you¡¯re seeing anyone. I¡¯d rather ruin you than let anyone else have you.¡± Greatly taken aback, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°You¡¯re being unreasonable. I¡¯m only thirty years old. Am I supposed to remain single for the rest of my life?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you still have me?¡± ¡°You?¡± An Xiaoning scoffed and continued, ¡°It¡¯s absolutely impossible between you and me, Your Majesty. Why do you always forget my words?¡± ¡°Even if it¡¯s impossible, you can¡¯t break this rule! If I don¡¯t care about you, would I be concerned about whether you¡¯re dead or alive? And since I care for you, you¡¯re not allowed to rebel against me. I won¡¯t repeat myself again. Bear my words in mind!¡± he snapped. After ending the call, An Xiaoning put her phone away. She turned around and sat down on the couch, after which she picked up the bottle of blue liquor and began pouring some Dreamyanghe into a goblet slowly. She gulped the liquor down in one sitting, and a familiar taste infiltrated her senses. It was Jin Qingyan¡¯s personal concoction. ording to him, the special liquor came at an exorbitant price. Vexed and frustrated, An Xiaoning decided to chug the entire bottle of liquor. She downed the liquor that had such a high alcohol content despite having a weak alcohol tolerance. One can only imagine the effects it would have on her body. Shey on the couch, all flushed red with her eyes ssed over. Jin Qingyan came home from work at half past five, only to see that she had sprawled herself across the couch and was counting numbers like a fool. ¡°35267, 35268... hey... you¡¯re back?¡± She stood up on an unsteady gait and stared at him through her blurry vision. ¡°Why are there so many of you, Jin Qingyan? One, two, three...¡± She began pointing her finger at him and counting incessantly while reeking strongly of alcohol. Amused by the sight of an intoxicated An Xiaoning, Jin Qingyan asked, ¡°Just how much did you drink?¡± ¡°One bottle! I finished all your liquor,¡± she answered while chuckling. ¡°I concocted it especially for you. I¡¯ve already gotten sick of it. Why did you drink so much? You can always just tell me your troubles,¡± said Jin Qingyan, leaning closer toward her. An Xiaoning tried to open her eyes wider with all her might. She draped her arms around his neck and leaped up slowly. He straightened his back while she leaned against him, murmuring incoherently in a drunken stupor. ¡°Qingyan...¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m here.¡± ¡°Do you love me?¡± ¡°Of course I do. Isn¡¯t it obvious enough?¡± He carried her onto the bed while she straddled him and leaned her head against his shoulder. ¡°I love you too.¡± Her voice was extremely faint and soft, so much so that Jin Qingyan almost thought she had fallen asleep. Her confession was like music to his ears. ¡°What did you say?¡± ¡°I said, I love you.¡± She repeated herself, ¡°Jin Qingyan, I love you.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°No, you don¡¯t.¡± She let go of him, sat up straight, and stared at him. ¡°How would you know? If you knew that I love you, you wouldn¡¯t have distrusted me.¡± ¡°I was wrong, I won¡¯t dare to distrust you again,¡± he said in a tender and delicate voice, trying to coax her. Tears began to stream down An Xiaoning¡¯s face. Women would usually let their hearts rule their heads once they get drunk and reveal their vulnerable side. He wiped her tears gently and asked, ¡°Just what happened? Don¡¯t cry.¡± ¡°If only we didn¡¯t get divorced. If we didn¡¯t get divorced, we would still be awfully-married couple. Who¡¯d dare to break us up openly? Who would?¡± ¡°We can just get married again and register our marriage at the Civil Administration Office whenever we¡¯d like.¡± Shaking her head fervently, she refused, ¡°I don¡¯t have the guts to do it. Qingyan, I dare not marry you again, I dare not...¡± ¡°Xiaoning, it¡¯s all my fault,¡± said Jin Qingyan, overwhelmed with misery at the sight of her bawling like a child. Cupping his face in her hands, she stared at him solemnly and said, ¡°Qingyan, let¡¯s discuss something.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± His heart sank as soon as he noticed the austere expression on her face. Don¡¯t tell me she doesn¡¯t want to see me again? No way! I¡¯ll never agree to it! An Xiaoning extended a hand out to unbuckle his belt while he watched her proceed to untuck his shirt from his trousers. She then pointed at his erect member and eximed, ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to put this inside other women!¡± Chapter 758 - A Million Times for You (120) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He was instantly dumbfounded. Since when have I ever stuck it in other women? She''s always been the only one! "I''ve never done that before. Don''t you know that I''ve always kept my chastity? Ever since I gave you my virginity, you have been and always will be the only one I''ve gotten intimate with," said Jin Qingyan. "I''m putting a seal on it then. It''s mine from now on." Jin Qingyan burst intoughter and watched as she went through the motions of putting a seal on his member. She seemed to be in high spirits again and pinned him down onto the bed before kissing him. Jin Qingyany motionless and yed dead while enjoying the process of her taking the initiative. "Good girl." "Yes?" she answered. "You''re drunk." "Don''t you¡­ like¡­ like me when I''m drunk?" She batted hershes at him, causing him to be incredibly aroused. "Are you possessed by a spirit?" Jin Qingyan asked, finding it to be extremely likely. She pped his crotch and rebuked, "You''re the one who''s possessed." "Ah!" he shrieked in pain. Frowning in displeasure, he chided teasingly, "You''re not supposed to hit that spot. What are you going to do if you damage it?" She removed his shorts and pulled his underwear downward before grabbing his package and stroking it gently. He was enthralled by the mere touch of her fingers. An Xiaoningid her head against his arm while rubbing him slowly. All of a sudden, he flipped her around with her back facing him. He then entered her from behind, after which they both let out a moan of pleasure simultaneously. An Xiaoning turned her head to kiss him. She allowed her heart and hormones to take over her mind. She was overwhelmed with pleasure and satisfaction every time he filled her. Her throat had gone dry from the incessant moaning. However, the soundproofing system in the bedroom was of superior quality and, thus, they did not have to worry about being heard by others. A frown creased her forehead at the instant that she flipped over andy on her stomach, feeling as if her bones were about to break apart. Yet, neither of them wanted to stop. When they finally called it quits, shey t on the bed and panted heavily while trying to catch her breath, unable to close her legs at all. "You''re fantastic," she remarked, giving him a rarepliment. "Of course, don''t ever belittle me," Jin Qingyan said smugly. It was a remarkable honor for men to be praised for their skills in bed. It was a form of affirmation for him. By the time he came out of the shower, she was already sound asleep. Jin Qingyan could not help but feel like she was troubled at the thought of her unusual behavior at night. It was immoral to check others'' mobile phones behind their backs. However, it was never his concern to be an upright person. Jin Qingyan scrolled through her call history and stared at thest number she had contacted, as well as the duration of the call. Given his intelligence, it was a piece of cake for him to guess the content of their conversation. He ced his arms behind his head, feeling rather at ease and no longer worried. What could be more reassuring than to hear her say that she loved him? It was enough to know that she still loved him and for them to have a son together. An Xiaoning slept through the evening, all the way until the next morning. Feeling famished in the morning was the consequence of skipping dinner. She felt an overwhelming urge to eat. Just as she sat up straight, he hugged her waist and said, "It''s still early." "I''m hungry." He, too, sat up and teased, "Seems like I didn''t satisfy your hungerst night." She chuckled and answered, "Get up, I was very satisfied. You almost killed me." "Let''s get out of bed, I''ll apany you to have breakfast."please visit "You should sleep in." "Nah." The sky had already turned bright. They washed up together and headed downstairs for breakfast. During breakfast, she said, "I have something to tell you." Having had a hunch about what she was going to say, he answered, "Go ahead." "I want to move to Sanqiao Estate." He did not probe further and agreed, "Okay." An Xiaoning was puzzled to see that he did not get upset and had instead conceded without hesitation. "You actually agreed? Are you no longer afraid of losing me because you already got me?" Jin Qingyan chuckled and said, "Where did you get that idea from? I''m no longer worried because I know that this is the decision you wanted to make, not because you already gave yourself to me. Besides, is there much of a difference? I can see you as and when I''d like. The two estates are so near to each other anyway." An Xiaoning did not mention anything else and said, "I''ll move after breakfast." "Alright. I''ll send you," he said slowly. "There''s no need for that. By the way, my car¡­" "I''ve found it. Xu Baizhi drove it to an abandoned factory previously. It''s intact and is currently parked in my garage. I''ve already checked, there''s nothing wrong with it." "Got it," she answered, sipping on her ss of milk with a straw. They sat together and enjoyed a peaceful meal at the dining table. After breakfast, An Xiaoning packed her luggage, which Jin Qingyan then helped her carry into the trunk of her car. When they were inside the car, he handed her a long, red box. "What''s this?" "See if you like it." An Xiaoning opened it to see that there was an exquisite diamond ne inside. "When did you buy this?" "Yesterday. I was nning to give it to you during dinnerst night, but you began molesting me the moment I entered the house. I had no choice but to wait until now." "Help me put it on." She had epted his gift. He took out the ne and hung it around her neck. "It''s beautiful." "How much did it cost?" "Not much. What matters is that you like it," said Jin Qingyan, clearly not wanting to tell her. She did not believe him at all. "Now that I think about it, I''ve returned to you all the gifts you''ve given me ever since we first got married. I wonder how long I can keep this on me." He red at her and chided, "That''s the problem with you, you just enjoy returning to me the gifts I''ve given you. I won''t take back whatever I''ve gifted you with. If you don''t like it, you may throw it away in the future." "You know I won''t bear to, it''s too valuable. Why would I throw it away? Wouldn''t it be wiser to sell it for money?" "You¡­" "Hah." Her spirits were lifted as she stroked the diamond on her neck. "The bodyguards you''ve bought are all so frail and sickly. I''ll send you another batch." An Xiaoning turned him down, "Nah, that''s too obvious. I''ll call you if I need help with anything." "I''ll send some people to protect you in secret." "As I''ve said, I''ll call you if I''m facing any issues." Noticing how adamant she was, he had no choice but to give her a set of wearable technology that she could adorn her wrist with. "What''s this?" "A GPS tracker. You won''t let me send my bodyguards to watch you but I''m still very worried. I''ll only get to know your whereabouts, I won''t be able to know what you''re doing. So¡­" "Can I remove it after putting it on?" "Of course you can, but it can only be unlocked with my thumbprint." "How about when I take a shower? What happens if ites into contact with water?" An Xiaoning asked. "It''spletely waterproof. Shixin has already put it to the test by soaking it in water for an entire week. There are no issues at all." Chapter 759 - A Million Times for You (121)

Chapter 759: A Million Times for You (121)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Okay then. Help me put it on,¡± she said, extending her wrist. Jin Qingyan helped her put on the device, which fit perfectly around her wrist. ¡°Give Yiheng one of these too,¡± said An Xiaoning, who found it to be rather useful. He smiled and said, ¡°I already have.¡± Feeling much assured, she said, ¡°Alright, you may leave. I¡¯ll drive to Sanqiao Estate now.¡± She then took out her mask and put it on. Jin Qingyan got down from the car and waved her goodbye. She sped out of the garage and drove out of the gate quickly. Seemingly deep in thought, Fan Shixin asked, ¡°Young Sir, why did Young Madam leave with her luggage?¡± ¡°She¡¯s moving back to her mansion in Sanqiao Estate.¡± ¡°I mean, why did you let her go?¡± Jin Qingyan looked at him earnestly and said, ¡°She told me that she loves me, and since she loves me, it doesn¡¯t matter where she goes.¡± ¡°Oh? That means you¡¯re feeling much more secure now, Young Sir.¡± ¡°Duh. I¡¯ve already put the bracelet on her. Instruct someone to keep tabs on her whereabouts and report to me daily.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning arrived at Sanqiao Estate minutester. She alighted from the car and pressed the doorbell. Soon after, the door was opened. No. 5 hade forth to answer the door. His eyes lit up upon the sight of her and he asked, ¡°Is that you, Madam?¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s me. Open the gate and let my car pass through.¡± ¡°Yes, yes.¡± No. 5 immediately did as instructed, overwhelmed with agitation. An Xiaoning drove inside and opened the trunk, after which No. 5 hurriedly took the luggage out and said, ¡°Madam, for the past few weeks... we haven¡¯t been able to contact you and we were all extremely worried about your safety. We were all so anxious.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. Bring the luggage to my room,¡± she said calmly. ¡°Alright.¡± She headed inside with her car keys and asked, ¡°How are the rest doing at the hospital?¡± ¡°They¡¯ve all been discharged and they¡¯re taking their medicine consistently.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± No. 5 walked in front agitatedly and yelled as soon as they entered the living room, ¡°Lads, look who¡¯s back.¡± All of her servants stood up one after another and broke into smiles of joy and surprise. ¡°Madam!¡± they chorused. An Xiaoning removed her mask and said, ¡°Not bad, I thought you guys were going to flee after hearing that something had happened to me.¡± ¡°We wouldn¡¯t dare to. Our lives will always belong to you, regardless of whether you¡¯re dead or alive,¡± No. 1 answered. With a nod, she crossed one leg over the other and asked, ¡°I¡¯ll be moving back here from now on. How¡¯s the construction of the basement going?¡± ¡°It¡¯s still ongoing, it wasn¡¯t affected at all. But, Madam, No. 8¡¯s previous master came by several times because the news of your mishap had spread like wildfire and that woman came here with her people. They tried to take No. 8 away forcefully, but we all managed to stop her, fortunately. However, she said that she¡¯s going toe again with more people and kill us all,¡± No. 6 exined. An Xiaoning scoffed and remarked, ¡°If she has the gall, she may try doing that.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know where she heard it from, but she knew that you were wearing a mask when you went to the hospital previously so she took the chance to... I guess that¡¯s the reason,¡± said No. 1. ¡°There¡¯s nothing she can do anyway. No. 8, how¡¯s your treatment going?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°The doctor said that I¡¯ll recover as long as I continue to take his medication regrly. My condition has improved greatly. I can... can get an erection now...¡± he said awkwardly, feeling shy and embarrassed. ¡°Continue to take your medicine then, you must recover fully, so as to have a normal sex life. How about the rest of you?¡± An Xiaoning asked again. ¡°We¡¯re all fine too. No. 3¡¯s gastric issues have improved greatly, and No. 12¡¯s heart disease and No. 14¡¯s asthma have been stabilized. I¡¯ve fully recovered too. However, No. 4 and No. 13 are suffering from old ailments in their legs, which will take longer to heal.¡± ¡°Yes, then just keep recuperating. You guys have done a great job tidying the house,¡± said An Xiaoning, scanning her surroundings to see that the floor was squeaky clean. ¡°We didn¡¯t have much to do apart from cleaning the house. So, we split the tasks amongst ourselves every day and started mowing thewn too. We¡¯re nning to grow some natural and organic veggies once Spring arrives. Madam, we really couldn¡¯t sleep or eat well when you were not around. We were worried sick about you. We were wondering if the terrorists had taken you away. How did you manage toe back?¡± asked No. 3. An Xiaoning exined, ¡°A big hero saved me. I was lucky to have met him; otherwise, you guys wouldn¡¯t have seen me again.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all our fault for not following you. From now on, you should bring more bodyguards with you wherever you go, Madam. It¡¯s safer that way.¡± She rested her legs on the coffee table and said, ¡°I don¡¯t n on going out much, for the time being. I¡¯m just going to stay home and rest. I¡¯ll assign you to your tasks now.¡± Everyone hurriedly stood in a single file with their feet apart and ced their hands behind their backs while staring at An Xiaoning attentively. ¡°Who was in charge of cooking your meals when I wasn¡¯t around?¡± ¡°When the eight of them were hospitalized, No. 9 was in charge of cooking. After they returned home, No. 13 took over while No. 14 became his assistant. They have both begun trying out new recipes anding up with innovative dishes that all taste rather delicious.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°From now on, No. 13 and No. 14 shall be in charge of cooking all our meals, alright?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± ¡°I shall then assign No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, and No. 10 to housekeeping. You four split the chores amongst yourselves and decide who does what, okay?¡± The four of them agreed. ¡°The rest of you, listen up. You shall be in charge of general security. Once the basement is fully constructed, I¡¯ll hire a professional coach to train you in various forms of martial arts and skills. Apart from training, you¡¯ll have to be on duty or follow me around. May I know which ones among you are better at martial arts?¡± ¡°No. 5 and No. 8.¡± ¡°Yes, they¡¯re both more skilledpared to the rest of us.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°...¡± They began chattering and singing the praises of No. 5 and No. 8. ¡°Okay then, No. 5 and No. 8, you two shall be my bodyguards and follow me around whenever I¡¯m out. When I¡¯m at home, you may go around helping your peers whenever they need assistance. No. 1, No. 6, No. 7, No. 9, No. 10, and No. 11, the six of you shall split yourselves into two groups of three. Each group will take one shift, be it night or day. You are to guard the entrance, the main gate, as well as my bedroom door. Take turns and sort the shifts out amongst yourselves. That¡¯ll be the arrangement for now. When I buy another batch of servants, I¡¯ll need you guys to guide them along. On top of that, I¡¯d like to talk about a problem.¡± An Xiaoning smiled and continued, ¡°Although you have to be on duty, you¡¯re still given the rights to look for a girlfriend or get married. You may bring your prospective partners home for me to have a look. It¡¯s only human nature, you¡¯re allowed to date freely.¡± Chapter 760 - A Million Times for You (122)

Chapter 760: A Million Times for You (122)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios They instantly beamed with joy upon hearing her words, all except No. 8, who kept a straight face, as if he did not have ns on getting married at all. ¡°The weather looks good today. Why don¡¯t we go out to bathe in the sun and have a chat?¡± An Xiaoning suggested. After all, she did not know them quite well yet and, thus, wanted to get to know them better by having a chat with them. Everyone looked at each other in puzzlement. Such a kind employer , they thought. ¡°Why? Are you unwilling?¡± she asked with a smile. ¡°No, no, no, of course I¡¯m willing. Madam, go outside first, we¡¯ll bring the chairs out,¡± No. 11 said excitedly, waving his hands at her. ¡°Alright.¡± Everyone sat together in a circle as the sun began to rise above them gradually. They were all sitting up straight, prim and proper, unlike An Xiaoning, who was sitting with her legs crossed and smiling at them. ¡°Why are you guys so serious? By the way, you don¡¯t have to call me ¡®Madam¡¯ from now on. Some of you are older than I am. You may just call me ¡®Xiaoning¡¯ or ¡®Sis Xiaoning¡¯ if you¡¯re younger than me. We¡¯re going to be living together from now on. We don¡¯t have to be so formal with each other.¡± Everyone was rather stunned by her words. ¡°Can we really address you that way?¡± No. 13 asked. ¡°Of course you may. You just have to perform your tasks properly, be it housekeeping or guarding the house. I hope I won¡¯t hear anyints, and I hope to see all of you living harmoniously. That¡¯s the only way we can deal with whateveres our way, together. There mustn¡¯t be any internal conflicts. Hear me?¡± said An Xiaoning, raising her index finger. ¡°Yes, we won¡¯t. How old are you this year?¡± asked No. 1, who was the oldest amongst all of them. ¡°Thirty years old.¡± ¡°No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, and I will just address you by your name then.¡± ¡°Alright, that makes things morefortable for everyone too. I¡¯d like to have a taste of No. 13 and No. 14¡¯s cooking this afternoon. Let¡¯s have a reunion lunch,¡± An Xiaoning said smiling. ¡°Alright!!!¡± they chorused. An Xiaoning was d to see the smiles on their faces. She had never been the type to ill-treat her subordinates. ¡ª¡ª Ding-Dong... Ding-Dong... Mo Li peeked through the peephole and quickly opened the door upon the sight of her. ¡°Xiaoning? It¡¯s really you!¡± she eximed in shock and surprise. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me. I heard that you¡¯ve moved here so I went to the management desk to ask about which unit you were living in. Turns out our ces are so near each other.¡± ¡°Hurry ande on in.¡± Mo Li held onto her arm and they both entered the apartment, closing the door after them. An Xiaoning¡¯s first impression of the apartment was that it felt rather heartwarming even though it was not exactly spacious. ¡°Your home feels so warm and cozy.¡± Mo Li brewed her a cup of coffee and said, ¡°I decided to use my free time to decorate the house a little. I have nothing much to do while recuperating anyway.¡± ¡°Not bad. Thank you,¡± said An Xiaoning as she took the cup of coffee from Mo Li¡¯s hands. Mo Li sat down beside her and said, ¡°I heard from Tianze that you were abducted by the terrorists back then. Thank Heavens you¡¯re alright. You really survived a great ordeal.¡± ¡°It was Qingyan who rescued me.¡± Mo Li smiled gleefully and held her hand. ¡°Brother Qingyan is really impressive. Xiaoning, he truly loves you.¡± An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°So-so.¡± ¡°What do you mean so-so? He treats you really well. I really envy the way Brother Qingyan loves you. How many men can really love a woman so dearly?¡± ¡°He¡¯s not the only good man around,¡± said An Xiaoning, although she could not stop smiling. ¡°How are you adapting to living here?¡± ¡°Great. Ever since I divorced Ye Xiaotian, I¡¯ve been wanting to live like a normal person. This is the ideal lifestyle I¡¯ve been dreaming about,¡± said Mo Li, sounding rather bittersweet. ¡°Where¡¯s your daughter buried? I promised you before that I would perform a ritual for her. I haven¡¯t forgotten it yet.¡± ¡°You still remember,¡± said Mo Li, feeling touched. ¡°Of course I do.¡± An Xiaoning found it to be a great pity for Ye Jiani to have passed away so soon, at such a tender age. If her spirit was still around, An Xiaoning would be willing to perform a ritual for her. ¡°Jiani was too young and she couldn¡¯t be buried in the Ye family ancestral graveyard. Ye Xiaotian bought her a tombstone and buried her on the mountains.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t we go take a look now? We still have to buy some items for offerings. It¡¯s getting dark soon.¡± Mo Li agreed, ¡°Alright, give me a moment while I go change into a fresh set of clothes.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Mo Li returned to her room to change into a long, ck-colored woolen sweater and pulled her messy hair back into a ponytail, revealing her bare face. An Xiaoning took her mask out from her pocket and put it on. She had brought her two bodyguards along. They then drove to the mall where An Xiaoning waited inside the car while Mo Li proceeded to buy two sets of children¡¯s clothing, consisting of socks, hats, garments, and two pairs of shoes. ¡°I wonder if she¡¯s still around or if she has already gone to reincarnate. If she has already reincarnated, she won¡¯t be able to receive these items even if we burn them for her,¡± said An Xiaoning. Mo Li was not bothered and said, ¡°I¡¯d still like to burn them as an offering to her.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning had also bought some items that would be required for the ritual before heading to Ye Jiani¡¯s grave together with Mo Li. A photo of Ye Jiani smiling cheerily was stered on the small tombstone. The sky began to turn dark gradually. An Xiaoning squatted down and arranged the items properly with the help of Mo Li. No. 5 and No. 8 stood rooted with their backs as straight as rulers. They had both thought that it was just a normal offering session, until... An Xiaoning ced a piece of yellow-colored paper onto the ground and began scribbling on it with a red marker to make an amulet. She made three of those on the spot. By the time the ink on the amulets werepletely dry, the sky had already turned pitch dark. No. 5 and No. 8 carriedmps to provide a light source. The graveyard felt much more chilly and creepy in the evening. Although they had developed bravery and courage after having gone through the toughest challenges in life, they nheless could not help but feel a little spooked by what was happening before them. ¡°Let me take a look if Jiani has gone to reincarnate yet...¡± An Xiaoning picked up an amulet and faced it toward the tombstone, after which she closed her eyes and began chanting incessantly. In no time, the amulet flew out of her hands and stered itself onto the tombstone, greatly startling the three onlookers whose jaws dropped in shock. A sudden chilly breeze disrupted the stale air of the night, at the instant that the amulet came into contact with the tombstone. ¡°She hasn¡¯t gone to reincarnate yet. Hurry and call for your daughter,¡± said An Xiaoning, grabbing onto Mo Li. Unable to contain her emotions, Mo Li began tearing up uncontrobly. ¡°Nini? It¡¯s Mommy. Nini, are you here?¡± A sudden, mncholic weeping filled the air. ¡°Mommy...¡± Ye Jiani¡¯s spirit wailed. No. 5 and No. 8 immediately got the chills from the hair-raising scene taking ce right before them, and their legs soon turned to jelly. It was their first time witnessing such an unbelievable incident! ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Nini, it¡¯s all my fault. Mommy...¡± Mo Li paused in her speech and covered her mouth, unable to speak further for she felt a lump forming in her throat. ¡°Mommy, I miss you. I really miss you so much. I¡¯ve been waiting for you for so long. Why did you onlye now? The reapers said that they won¡¯t let me stay if you still didn¡¯t show up...¡± Chapter 761 - A Million Times for You (123)

Chapter 761: A Million Times for You (123)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°It¡¯s Mommy¡¯s fault, I was wrong. Nini, Mommy bought you a lot of pretty clothes and shoes, as well as your favorite hair essories. I¡¯ll burn them for you now. Put on the pretty clothes and reincarnate into a better family,¡± said Mo Li, lighting up the offerings frantically with a lighter. After casting the paper ingots and paper money into the fire, Mo Li knelt onto the ground and began kowtowing incessantly. ¡°Heibai, Wuchang, thank you so much. Please don¡¯t let Jiani suffer along her way to reincarnation. Thank you so much, thank you...¡± ¡°Mommy!¡± Ye Jiani bawled before continuing, ¡°Mommy, don¡¯t cry, you must be happy...¡± In order not to let her daughter worry, Mo Li said coaxingly, ¡°Okay, okay. Go ahead and reincarnate in peace. I¡¯ll be happy from now onward, I promise you.¡± ¡°Mommy, let me sing you a song. Spring, where are you? Where is the Spring at? Spring is in the lush greenery of the mountains...¡± Ye Jiani¡¯s voice soon began to fade slowly along with the mes that were dying out. Mo Li was bawling and gasping for air. She was weeping so intensely that she almost fainted. An Xiaoning helped her up and said, ¡°This child is not fated to be yours. She¡¯s so sensible to have waited here for you for so many days. She even hopes for you to be happy before she left. Don¡¯t be sad, don¡¯t let her hopes down.¡± ¡°Thank you, Xiaoning. Thank you so much,¡± Mo Li said in a faint and hoarse voice. ¡°No problem, I did it out of my own will.¡± An Xiaoning turned around and cracked up upon the sight of her bodyguards who had frozen in shock. ¡°Were you frightened?¡± ¡°Sis... Give me a hand, I¡¯m falling,¡± said No. 5, who was on the verge of tears. ¡°Look how much of a wimp you are,¡± she jested, giving him a hand. No. 5 stumbled forward while No. 8 swayed unsteadily before standing straight. The four of them trod down the mountain and headed back. Mo Li insisted that An Xiaoning have lunch at her ce. However, thetter declined the offer because No. 13 and No. 14 had already prepared a spread for lunch when they arrived back at Sanqiao Estate. ¡°Don¡¯t go home,e over to my ce for lunch together. It¡¯s so boring for you to eat alone,¡± said An Xiaoning, who pulled Mo Li into her house without waiting for her to respond. It was Mo Li¡¯s first visit to An Xiaoning¡¯s mansion. She felt rather tense and awkward upon the sight of so many men sitting around the dining table. ¡°Let me introduce you guys. This is Mo Li, my friend who lives in an apartment opposite.¡± ¡°Hello, everyone,¡± greeted a haggard-looking Mo Li, whose eyes were red and swollen. They greeted her one after another, and she proceeded to take a seat. ¡°No. 5, No. 8, what¡¯s wrong with you two? Why do you look so terrorized?¡± No. 6 asked with a cheerful grin. No. 5 exined briefly about what happened at the graveyard, which sent cold shivers down all their spines. They did not doubt his story at all. It was indeed rather frightening. Noticing that everyone was afraid of asking the questions they had in mind, An Xiaoning said calmly, ¡°It¡¯s true, but No. 5 and No. 8 will get used to it after a few more times. You two will be following me around a lot in the future anyway.¡± She then picked up her chopsticks and said, ¡°Let¡¯s dig in.¡± Everyone looked at the two of them with a look of sympathy. ¡°Yeah, Sis Xiaoning is a woman and she¡¯s not even afraid. What¡¯s there to be intimidated about, especially since we are men? Right, No. 8?¡± said No. 5, patting his chest. ¡°Yes,¡± No. 8 answered. Mo Li put on a lopsided smile despite feeling mncholic, for she did not want to be a killjoy and dampen the spirits of the others around her. After having lunch, they proceeded to resume their respective duties, such as doing the dishes, going on patrol, or resting upstairs. No. 8 stood on the balcony and stared at Mo Li, who was sitting on a bench by the stairwell of the apartment building opposite. Under the light of the streetmp, she could be seen clearly, sitting on the bench with her legs crossed and her arms beside her. ¡°Yun Chen, what are you looking at?¡± No. 5 asked, patting him on his shoulder. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing.¡± No. 5 looked opposite and said, ¡°That woman is Ye Xiaotian¡¯s ex-wife.¡± ¡°Ye Xiaotian?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± No. 5 whipped his mobile phone out and showed No. 8 a photo of Ye Xiaotian, which he had found online. ¡°There you go. See, that¡¯s a photo they took together in the past. They only got divorced recently. It¡¯s reported on the news that their daughter is dead. The grave we visited today belongs to their daughter.¡± No. 8 looked at him calmly and asked, ¡°How did she die?¡± ¡°I heard she dropped into the pool and fell to her death. I read through news articles about Mo Li while I was using the washroom just now. It¡¯s said that she had been dating Ye Xiaotian ever since she was a teenager, but somehow, she¡¯d gone on to marry Prince Byron of Y Nation whom she then divorced before marrying Ye Xiaotian. They then ended up in a divorce. It was a process of her blossoming and withering. She¡¯s really pitiful, though,¡± No. 5 exined. Upon hearing his words, No. 8 took another nce at Mo Li and understood why she had a look of mncholy in her eyes when he saw her earlier. It turned out she had a past. But then again, who didn¡¯t? No. 8 knocked his fingers against the railing with a look of moroseness. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Shishi, was what you said real?¡± Shi Xiaoyu asked, suppressing her anger. ¡°Yes, Mother, Gucheng said it himself. Jin Qingyan was the one who saved her. However, they¡¯ve decided to release a statement after the New Year, for the sake of the nation¡¯s image. I was still rather anxious and ill at ease at the start, but fortunately, she¡¯s alive,¡± said Lin Shishi, who did not find anything unusual about Shi Xiaoyu. Shi Xiaoyu smiled and said, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s truly such a blessing. It¡¯s gettingte, you should go back and get some rest. You¡¯re pregnant, sleep early.¡± Lin Shishi stood up and ced a hand on her four-month baby bump. ¡°Mother, I¡¯ll get going then.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± After she left, Shi Xiaoyu began gritting her teeth in anger. She initially thought that she would be able to overturn the situation once she finds out about Shi Qingzhou¡¯s whereabouts now that An Xiaoning was dead and could not get in the way of her ns. Yet, An Xiaoning managed to survive! This wretchedss is so lucky to have survived such a huge ordeal! Shi Xiaoyu cursed in her head, filled with exasperation. She hurriedly returned to her bedroom, locked the door, and eagerly gave her subordinates a call. ¡°It¡¯s already been so long. Do you still not have a clue yet?¡± ¡°Madam, we¡¯ve already found out that she¡¯s currently situated in M Nation, though we¡¯re still in the midst of finding out her exact address.¡± Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s anger dissipated a little and she said, ¡°Okay, keep going. Call me immediately once you have news.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She heaved a sigh of relief after ending the call. Lin Shishi returned to the mansion she was residing in to discover that Tuoba Gucheng was reading a book in bed. Upon seeing her return, he asked, ¡°Where have you been?¡± ¡°Mother¡¯s ce. I had a chat with her.¡± ¡°Seems like you get along rather well with my mother. You¡¯re closer to her than I am,¡± he said calmly. ¡°What are you saying? She¡¯s your mother, of course I¡¯d have to build a good rtionship with her, lest you get sandwiched between us and be put in a spot. Only when there¡¯s harmony at home can you then work in peace,¡± said Lin Shishi, removing her shoes and crawling onto the bed. Chapter 762 - A Million Times for You (124) Chapter 762: A Million Times for You (124) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Tuoba Gucheng did not look at her and instead kept his eyes fixed on the lines of the book he was reading. ¡°It¡¯s my parents¡¯ blessing to have such a sensible daughter-inw like you.¡± Lin Shishi snorted withughter and said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you say that you¡¯re the most blessed to have me as your wife?¡± ¡°It¡¯s my blessing too,¡± he answered perfunctorily, seemingly trying to brush her off. ¡°When I called home this afternoon, my parents said that Sis Xiaoning didn¡¯t inform them nor the Jin family of the fact that she¡¯s still alive. Since we¡¯re family, shouldn¡¯t she have informed us firsthand?¡± ¡°Are your parents upset about that?¡± he asked, cing his book onto the headboard. ¡°A little. My parents and the Jin family were worried sick and devastated when they heard about her execution. Yet, she didn¡¯t even tell us that she was alive. They treat her like their daughter, but what about her? Does she even see them as her parents?¡± ¡°That goes without saying. She obviously treats you guys as her family. Why else would she bother acknowledging them as her godparents? It¡¯s not like shecks parents.¡± Lin Shishi sneered and said, ¡°Hubby, you have no idea. She obviously acknowledged my parents as her godparents because of my family¡¯s status in society; likewise for the Jin family. If we were just average citizens, would Sis Xiaoning bother acknowledging us? It¡¯d be impossible.¡± ¡°You said that she¡¯s after the clout of being associated with your family, but didn¡¯t you guys harbor an ulterior motive too? Didn¡¯t you say that she was the one who did everything she could to save your life when she first predicted your impending death? Even if she¡¯s after the benefits your family¡¯s connections can bring her, aren¡¯t you guys after her fortune-telling abilities too? Besides, didn¡¯t you also say that she hasn¡¯t requested any help from you guys even until now?¡± said Tuoba Gucheng. Lin Shishi was at a momentary loss for words. Feeling rather peeved and disgruntled, she retorted, ¡°Hubby, why do I feel like you¡¯re speaking up for Sis Xiaoning?¡± ¡°I was just stating facts. To put it bluntly, you people are just making use of each other, and since that¡¯s the case, how could you possibly expect her to treat you guys like her own family? Besides, you guys don¡¯t see her as your blood kin anyway.¡± ¡°We do see her as a part of our family. My parents have always treated her as their daughter, just like how I do see her as my own sister,¡± Lin Shishi said in defense of herself. Tuoba Gucheng could not be bothered to continue arguing with her and instead said, ¡°It¡¯s gettingte. Let¡¯s go to bed early.¡± ¡°Hubby...¡± Lin Shishi struggled to sit up and turned to look at him. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Tell me honestly, do you think Sis Xiaoning is pretty?¡± ¡°Why did you ask me that out of the blue?¡± Tuoba Gucheng asked with raised brows. ¡°I want to know what you feel about her. Tell me, quick,¡± Lin Shishi urged, swinging his arm. ¡°How do you want me to exin? I can¡¯t,¡± he said sternly. ¡°What do you mean? All you have to tell me is whether you find her pretty or not.¡± Seeing how insistent she was, he had no choice but to answer, ¡°Objectively, she¡¯s quite pretty, indeed.¡± ¡°How about whenpared to me?¡± ¡°Compared to you?¡± Noticing the look of hope on Lin Shishi¡¯s face, he continued, ¡°She can¡¯t bepared to you.¡± Beaming with joy and confidence, Lin Shishi asked, ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± There were two ways that his words could be deciphered. One would be none other than that they were two strikingly different individuals who could not bepared the same way. The other would be that An Xiaoning was nowhere nearparable to Lin Shishi in terms of appearance. Hence, Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s answer was rather intelligent, for he had actually meant thetter, though Lin Shishi had understood his words to mean the former. Lin Shishiy down in bed and said, ¡°Hubby, you haven¡¯t gotten intimate with me ever since I got pregnant. The doctor said that we could resume our normal sex life once I¡¯ve passed my first trimester. It¡¯ll be fine as long as we¡¯re careful.¡± He ced a hand on her stomach and said, ¡°Safety should be our priority. You¡¯re still pregnant.¡± ¡°But it won¡¯t matter...¡± She grabbed his hand and ced it on her chest. ¡°I want it.¡± Without hesitation, he retracted his hand and ced it on her back instead. ¡°Be good and listen to me. What are we supposed to do if aplication urs? Go to bed.¡± Seeing how concerned he was for the safety of their fetus, Lin Shishi did not insist further and went to bed in peace. He was still wide awake even when she had already fallen asleep. All he could think about was An Xiaoning¡¯s face and voice. Thus, he could not curb his temptation and got out of bed to give her a call. An Xiaoning was woken up from her sleep by the sudden ringing of her mobile phone. She answered his call in a daze, ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Are you asleep already?¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t gone to bed yet, Your Majesty?¡± ¡°I miss you.¡± An Xiaoning immediately fell speechless and opened her eyes. She leaned against the headboard and said helplessly, ¡°Your Majesty...¡± He chuckled and said, ¡°Fine, I won¡¯t tease you anymore. Go to bed, quick.¡± ¡°Okay, goodnight.¡± ¡°Goodnight.¡± An Xiaoning ended the call and looked at her phone screen to see that she had an unread message. She opened it to read its content and hurriedly called the sender. ¡°I went to bed early tonight and I just saw your text.¡± ¡°I¡¯m right outside your door,¡± Jin Qingyan said in his captivating voice. An Xiaoning immediately ended the call. She was not wearing any pajamas and instead just put on a long feathered jacket, which ended at her knees. She pulled the zipper and opened the bedroom door. No. 9 happened to be on duty. Upon the sight of her, he immediately asked, ¡°Sis, do you want some water?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m going out for a while.¡± ¡°Do you want me to call No. 5 and No. 8?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s just right outside.¡± She then headed downstairs in her slippers. The temperatures were freezing outside, with the chilly winter breeze. She walked out of the entrance with her hands in her pocket, only to see that there was not a single soul in sight. Was he just ying a prank on me? An Xiaoning took a closer look to confirm that there was no one. Just as she was about to return inside her house, she heard a whistleing from afar. She looked over to see that a figure was standing at the stairwell opposite. She scurried toward him and burst intoughter. ¡°Why are you so stealthy like a thief?¡± ¡°Because I didn¡¯t want to put you in a spot.¡± He took out his mobile phone and pointed at the time on the screen. ¡°If you¡¯d taken any longer to reply to me, I would¡¯ve really gone home.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you call?¡± ¡°I was thinking that you were probably in the shower or asleep. If you were taking a shower, you¡¯d reply to me once you were done. But if you were asleep, wouldn¡¯t I be waking you up by calling you?¡± She looked at him and smiled widely from ear to ear. ¡°Since when have you been so caring and understanding toward me?¡± ¡°That all depends on my mood.¡± He ced his mobile phone back inside his pocket and extended his arms to hug her. He continued, ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of anyone, but I just don¡¯t want you to be put in a difficult predicament. Being able to see you every day is enough to make me happy, even if we can only meet in secret.¡± An Xiaoning leaned her head against his shoulder and did not utter another word. They embraced each other in the darkness of the corridor. ¡°How did youe here?¡± ¡°Would you believe me if I said that I walked here?¡± ¡°Yes...¡± Although he wasn¡¯t afraid of anyone, An Xiaoning was still intimidated by Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s authority, deep down. Chapter 763 - A Million Times for You (125)

Chapter 763: A Million Times for You (125)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios No matter how established his business may be, he¡¯s still just a businessman at the end of the day. It would be a piece of cake for Tuoba Gucheng, the president of the nation, to deal with him via political means. That was not what she wanted to happen. Acting recklessly on impulse will only make things worse. In fact, Jin Qingyan was well aware of that as well. ¡ª¡ª It was the 30th of December, the day of Jin Qingyue and Ling Ciye¡¯s wedding. The bride-to-be had woken up early in the morning at five o¡¯clock to change into her wedding gown and have her makeup done. She was in high spirits and thoroughly enjoyed the process, despite being extremely busy. The groom, too, was dressing up and getting ready. Long Tianze stifled a yawn and said mockingly, ¡°Once Ciye gets married, Qingyan will be the only bachelor left amongst us. Like what they always say, whoever gets married first is more likely to end up in a divorce. You¡¯re a true-blue singleton.¡± Jin Qingyan remained calm and ignored his sarcastic remark. ¡°I stepped into the grave of marriage and climbed out of it again, unlike you two. You¡¯ll only be able to remain inside that grave for life. You can¡¯t evene out to take a breather,¡± he retorted. ¡°Oh, wow, you¡¯re making it sound as if you¡¯re not going to bind yourself to the shackles of marriage ever again for the rest of your life. We all know how much you want to get married again, but things just haven¡¯t been going your way. I really hope Sis-inw won¡¯t fall into your hands again. I hope you die of desperation,¡± Long Tianze gibed, shaking his leg. ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll have to be disappointed. I¡¯m not in a hurry at all. It¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t been married before.¡± Amused by their banter, Ling Ciye hit the nail on its head and said, ¡°Tianze, stop trying to spite him. There¡¯s no use no matter how hard you try to spite him. It¡¯s not up to him to decide whether or not he gets married again anyway.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to throw you both into outer space. Quit acting so smugly in front of me.¡± Jin Qingyan shifted his gaze onto Ling Ciye and continued, ¡°You, especially, Brother-inw.¡± Long Tianze guffawed hysterically and eximed, ¡°Ciye, hurry and call him your Brother. Let him give you a huge red packet!¡± ¡°Sure, no big deal. We¡¯re already family, after all. Right, Brother?¡± said Ling Ciye. ¡°Be good to Qingyue from now on. After all...¡± Jin Qingyan stared at Long Tianze with a sneer and continued, ¡°Someone over here didn¡¯t manage to win her heart despite having given his all.¡± ¡°Exactly. What a glorious past,¡± Ling Ciye chimed in. Long Tianze clutched his chest and said, ¡°How could you two bear to stab me in my heart?¡± ¡°An eye for an eye.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what buddies are for.¡± Long Tianze was speechless. ¡°Qingyan, did you know? Song Yan got married a few days ago and Ciye attended her wedding. Ciye has also invited her to his wedding today. Do you think the media willbel them as the best ex-couple of S Nation?¡± Long Tianze jested. ¡°Maybe they will.¡± Pretending to be deep in thought, Long Tianze asked, ¡°Ciye, don¡¯t tell me you invited Shi Shaochuan too?¡± ¡°How did you know? I really did invite that wimpy rascal, but I wonder if he¡¯ll dare to show up?¡± Ling Ciye said with a grin. ¡°He¡¯lle for sure, just you wait and see. He¡¯ll definitely bring Bao¡¯er along to wreak havoc.¡± ¡°Do you think he won¡¯t stir trouble even if we don¡¯t invite him? Now that we¡¯ve already let him have her full custody, he still brought Bao¡¯er to my ce shamelessly to disrupt our peace. I¡¯d be surprised if he doesn¡¯t take this opportunity to create trouble at my wedding.¡± ¡°Why did you still invite him, then?¡± ¡°I have my own ns.¡± ¡°Hahahaha!¡± Long Tianze burst intoughter all of a sudden, smacking his thigh. Jin Qingyan and Ling Ciye stared at him in puzzlement and asked, ¡°What are youughing about?¡± ¡°I just realized that Shi Shaochuan is the ex-husband of both your women. He¡¯s really something, eh? Hahahaha.¡± ¡°...¡± When it was time to fetch the bride, Jin Qingyue was picked up from Jin Qingyan¡¯s home in Wei Ni Estate and escorted to Ling Ciye¡¯s doorstep. The bridal cars filled the streets, and many curious onlookers craned their necks to take a closer look. Jin Qingyue was seated inside the car in her wedding gown, her hands trembling uncontrobly in nervousness. She instantly felt more rxed and at ease the moment Ling Ciye opened the car door and gave her his hand. She held onto it and alighted from the bridal car. Ling Ciye scooped her up and walked inside while the surrounding guests began apuding and cheering enthusiastically. They walked down the red carpet toward the ceremony stage. The emcee was none other than Long Tianze, who had willingly volunteered to take on the role. Dressed in a formal suit with a huge smile on his face, Long Tianze stood in front of a microphone stand and waited for all the guests to be seated before making his speech, ¡°Ladies and Gentlemen, a very warm wee to Mr. Ling Ciye and Ms. Jin Qingyue¡¯s wedding ceremony, which you have all taken the time out of your busy schedules to attend and to witness this beautiful moment. I hereby dere that the solemnization ceremony will now begin.¡± The crowd began apuding zealously. Long Tianze continued, ¡°Mr. Ling Ciye, will you promise to love, cherish, and honor your wife, Ms. Jin Qingyue, even when she¡¯s be old and gray, ill-stricken, plump, and a nagging old hag?¡± ¡°I will.¡± To everyone¡¯s surprise, Long Tianze did not pose the same question to Jin Qingyue and instead asked simply, ¡°Ms. Jin Qingyue, do you love Mr. Ling Ciye?¡± ¡°I love him!¡± Jin Qingyue eximed. ¡°You may now exchange wedding bands and express your love for each other.¡± The wedding bands were not only bound around their fingers but also their hearts. The newlyweds held each other¡¯s gazes in front of the crowd. Time seemed to have stopped in its tracks. So did the air. All eyes were on them. ¡°Thank you for appearing in my life at the right time, and for allowing me to enter your world. I¡¯ve been extremely blissful during the time I¡¯ve spent with you. From now onward, I¡¯ll do my best to be your dutiful wife, Father and Mother¡¯s daughter-inw, and the mother of your child. I¡¯ll apany you forever, ¡¯til death do us part,¡± said Jin Qingyue, her heart racing continuously. It was Ling Ciye¡¯s turn to speak. ¡°I¡¯ve been enjoying myself every single day that I spent with you. I enjoy being together with you, and I¡¯m willing to spend the rest of my life with you as your husband. I¡¯ll forever be loyal toward you and dote on you.¡± Jin Qingyue burst into tears and they pulled each other in for a kiss. Shi Shaochuan was sitting together with Jin Bao¡¯er in the guests¡¯ area. He looked down and whispered something to Jin Bao¡¯er, who nodded and remained seated quietly. Song Yan and her husband were sitting beside each other. Chen Liang wanted to leave before the banquet, like what Ling Ciye did during their wedding. However, Song Yan was against the idea and Chen Liang had no choice but to concede, for he could not outargue his wife. The wedding banquet was to be held in a hotel nearby. Jin Qingyue proceeded to the venue together with Ling Ciye after changing into her next gown. When the toasting ceremony began, Shi Shaochuan immediately approached them and eximed, ¡°I went to the bathroom and realized that Bao¡¯er had gone missing!¡± As soon as he finished speaking, Ling Ciye sneered and pointed at a spot a distance away. ¡°Isn¡¯t she right there?¡± Chapter 764 - A Million Times for You (126)

Chapter 764: A Million Times for You (126)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Indeed, the bodyguard then brought Jin Bao¡¯er over to them. Although Jin Bao¡¯er was struggling and resisting with all her might, there was nothing she could do since she was small and weak. Shi Shaochuan turned around furiously to hold his daughter¡¯s hand before returning to their seats. Noticing that her father was upset, Jin Bao¡¯er lowered her head and said, ¡°Daddy, I followed your instructions and remained inside the Ladies¡¯ throughout, but that uncle dragged me out. I didn¡¯t want to follow him.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t me you.¡± Shi Shaochuan then whispered into her ear again before saying, ¡°Got it?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± When it was time to toast to the guests at Shi Shaochuan¡¯s table, Jin Bao¡¯er addressed Jin Qingyue as her mother loudly before bawling and wailing, greatly catching the attention of all the other guests. Although Jin Qingyue had already mentally prepared herself for trouble, she was nheless infuriated. ¡°Mommy, you don¡¯t want me anymore, do you!?!¡± Jin Bao¡¯er eximed. ¡°Of course not, but what can I do if you¡¯re not willing to stay with me?¡± said Jin Qingyue, remainingposed. She wiped her daughter¡¯s tears and continued, ¡°Don¡¯t cry, baby. You won¡¯t look pretty anymore if you keep crying.¡± ¡°Mommy, you...¡± Before she could even finish speaking, Jin Qingyue gently covered her mouth and said softly, ¡°Mommy has a gift for you.¡± Jin Qingyue then struggled to pick her daughter up in her arms before scurrying away hurriedly. Ling Ciye looked at Shi Shaochuan with a smile and said, ¡°Here, let me toast to you.¡± Shi Shaochuan clinked sses with him. Although they were both smiling, they were, in fact, cursing at each other deep down. There were no mishaps or slip-ups throughout the wedding, and everything seemed to be in Ling Ciye¡¯s control. News of their wedding had caused the knotty situation that Jin Qingyue was embroiled in with Shi Shaochuan to be overturned, which was also Ling Ciye¡¯s ultimate motive. Shi Shaochuan had initially wanted to use his daughter to make a fool out of the newlyweds. Yet, not only did his n backfire, he was even used by Ling Ciye! ¡ª¡ª Although An Xiaoning did not attend their wedding, she nheless gave them a huge red packet as their wedding gift. After all, it was only appropriate to make sure they receive her gift despite her absence. It would be the New Year tomorrow. An Xiaoning assigned her subordinates to perform some errands in preparation for ushering in the new year. They were each given a title. Everyone gathered together to make some dumplings while An Xiaoningy on the couch quietly to read a book and listen to their chatty conversations. She felt like her team of subordinates was just like a family. They seemed to be much more optimistic about life and often had smiles on their faces, now that they had broken free from very and human trafficking. They began boiling the dumplings after they were done wrapping them and served the first bowl of fresh dumplings to An Xiaoning. ¡°Sis, give it a try and tell us your opinion,¡± said No. 14, handing her the bowl of piping-hot dumplings. She sat up straight and put her book aside before taking the bowl from his hands. ¡°I bet it¡¯s going to be delicious. Let me try it,¡± she said with a smile. She picked up a dumpling with her chopsticks and ced it inside her mouth. ¡°It¡¯s pretty good.¡± No. 14 smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯ll scoop you another bowl after you finish this one, Sis.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t finish so many dumplings. One bowl is enough for me,¡± said An Xiaoning, sitting cross-legged on the couch. Just as she finished thest dumpling, No. 7 scrambled in frantically with a look of terror. ¡°Bad news, Sis. That woman is here again with a huge bunch of people!¡± he reported anxiously. A grave expression formed on An Xiaoning¡¯s face as she put on her slippers and rose from her seat. ¡°So what if she¡¯s here? What are you worried about?¡± ¡°No, Sis, she¡¯s here with a lot of gangsters.¡± An Xiaoning whipped her phone out and quickly dialed the police station¡¯s number. ¡°Hello, is Ma Jianguo in?¡± ¡°Ah... Xiaoning!?!¡± Ma Jianguo eximed in shock and took a look at the caller disy before continuing, ¡°You¡¯re still alive!?!¡± ¡°Duh, do you think a ghost called you otherwise? Are you in the police station now?¡± ¡°No...¡± ¡°There¡¯s a bunch of gangsters from the triads crowding my doorstep in Sanqiao Estate. Please contact Chief Pan and help me settle this.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you call Chief directly?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have time, hurry!¡± She hung up immediately. She chucked her mobile phone inside her pocket, pulled the zipper, and walked outside while all her subordinates followed closely behind. She opened the door slowly to see that there were twenty-odd gangsters standing by the entrance, along with five cars. Each and every one of them was holding a steel rod in their hands. An Xiaoning looked up at the shell-shocked Sister Zhang and said, ¡°It¡¯s New Year¡¯s Eve, what brings you and your men to my doorstep on such an asion, Ms. Zhang?¡± ¡°You¡¯re still alive?¡± Raising her chin slightly, An Xiaoning quipped, ¡°Are you very disappointed? Ms. Zhang, you and I barely know each other. Even if you¡¯re a gang leader, we still have to follow the rules. I¡¯m not selling my person back to you. Just what are you trying to do by showing up here time and time again? Are you trying to bully my people just because I wasn¡¯t around?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one who doesn¡¯t know any better. I¡¯m willing to pay such a high price to buy him back. His absence won¡¯t make a difference to you anyway. I only resorted to this because I didn¡¯t have another option. Like what I said before, name your price. I hope you¡¯ll consider it carefully,¡± said Sister Zhang, taking a puff out of her cigarette. An Xiaoning turned around to look at No. 8, who was visibly frightened and intimidated. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± she said to him softly. ¡°Thank you,¡± No. 8 said with a look of immense gratitude. A sullen expression formed on Sister Zhang¡¯s face upon the sight of their exchange. She red at An Xiaoning and sneered, ¡°Ms. An, you¡¯re really different from others, huh? Why? Have you gotten sick of toying with outstanding men like Jin Qingyan and Gu Beicheng, such that you¡¯ve resorted to toying with a ve? Or did you decided to buy so many men at once because two aren¡¯t enough to satisfy your needs in bed?¡± ¡°Shut your trap! Who are you to insult our master? Mind your words!¡± No. 8 hollered in exasperation. ¡°Rip her mouth into shreds!¡± ¡°Exactly, she¡¯s going overboard!¡± An Xiaoning motioned for them to stop. ¡°Hush.¡± Just as they quietened down, Sister Zhang scoffed and said, ¡°Yun Chen, you¡¯re such a shameless wimp. You¡¯re just herpdog.¡± An Xiaoning interjected, ¡°Talking to you would be an insult to my intelligence. Did you drink so much alcohol that your brains got fried? It has nothing to do with you whether or not he¡¯s apdog. You¡¯re just a toad lusting for men. Take a look at yourself in the mirror. Even the best beauty salon in the world can¡¯t save your face. How dare youe out here and provoke me, you vicious wretch? Who do you think you are? Do you really think you¡¯re in any ce to buy my subordinate?¡± ¡°Seems like you¡¯re asking for a hard time.¡± Sister Zhang threw her cigarette onto the ground and snubbed it with her feet. She then waved at the bunch of gangsters behind her, after which the tall and burly men began approaching An Xiaoning. Remaining calm andposed, An Xiaoning swiftly pulled a rope out from her waist and cast it toward Sister Zhang. The rope coiled itself around thetter¡¯s neck in no time. An Xiaoning tugged it forcefully, pulling Sister Zhang toward her. The gangsters immediately stopped in their tracks. Chapter 765 - A Million Times for You (127) Chapter 765: A Million Times for You (127) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Get your asses here!¡± Sister Zhang screeched. An Xiaoning pointed a gun to Sister Zhang¡¯s temple and bellowed menacingly, ¡°If you dare take another step forward, I¡¯ll kill her immediately!¡± Panting heavily, Sister Zhang yelled at her subordinates, ¡°Stay back!¡± Soon, the sound of the police sirens could be heard. The gangsters immediately tried to take flight and sprint toward their cars, leaving their boss behind. However, it was toote. A fleet of police cars was driving into the estate. No one could escape. ¡°Team Leader Zhang, bring her men back with you. I¡¯ll send her over to the police station myselfter. Will that do?¡± said An Xiaoning. Team Leader Zhang answered unhurriedly, ¡°Of course, Ms. An. I summoned my team immediately upon receiving Chief¡¯s orders. Alright, I¡¯ll bring them back with me first.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± After dragging Sister Zhang to the backyard, An Xiaoning instructed her subordinates to tie thetter¡¯s limbs up. They then brought her to the guardroom, which An Xiaoning had constructed the day before. The room became rather cramped after the ten-odd people entered. Staring at the aged woman who was forced to kneel onto the ground, An Xiaoning squinted and stomped her foot on Sister Zhang¡¯s wrinkly face. ¡°Have you stopped wailing? I thought you were a capable and invincible gang leader who had the guts to show up at my house with your men. Not only did you insult me and my subordinates, but you also even insulted Gu Beicheng and Jin Qingyan. Yet, you¡¯re still thinking of stirring trouble in my territory. How bold of you!¡± ¡°Ms. An, I was wrong, please let me off this once, I wouldn¡¯t dare to do this anymore...¡± Sister Zhang pleaded, a stark contrast with the haughty and obnoxious gang leader she was moments ago. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t dare anymore? You¡¯re Sister Zhang, is there anything you wouldn¡¯t dare to do? Weren¡¯t you very confident and smug earlier?¡± ¡°I really didn¡¯t know that you were still alive. I had no choice but to ask for your subordinate forcefully. Ms. An, please be magnanimous and let me off.¡± ¡°Let you off? Don¡¯t think I have no idea what you¡¯re thinking. If I really spare you and let you go, you¡¯ll rack your brains ande up with a way to exact revenge on me, won¡¯t you?¡± She then said to No. 8 and the rest, ¡°I¡¯ll give you guys a chance to vent your anger and frustration now. Go ahead.¡± They immediately walked toward Sister Zhang and began throwing punches and kicks at her. Soon, she began gasping for breath and wincing in excruciating pain. ¡°Enough. Move her into the car. I¡¯m making a trip to the police station.¡± After beating Sister Zhang into a pulp, they dragged her out and shoved her into the car, after which No. 5 and No. 8 followed An Xiaoning to the police station. ¡°Team Leader An, have a seat, quick,¡± Team Leader Zhang greeted enthusiastically. ¡°Team Leader Zhang, are you on shift duty even on New Year¡¯s Eve?¡± ¡°Of course, policemen like us don¡¯t work conventional jobs. It¡¯s our duty to serve the citizens. Ms. An, how did you have a feud with those people?¡± Team Leader Zhang asked, handing An Xiaoning a cup of hot tea. ¡°That¡¯s not the point. The point is, will they be given a sentence for stirring trouble?¡± ¡°That¡¯ll depend on the severity of the offense they hadmitted. But... I know I can¡¯t hide anything from you so I shall just be frank. Just as we brought them back, we received a call from the higher-ups. Apparently, this gang is led by a more powerful triad known as the ¡®Flying Tigers.¡¯ I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard about them, right, Team Leader An?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°They¡¯d like to strike a deal with you.¡± ¡°That gang has got such a great significance.¡± Ring-ring... Team Leader Zhang immediately answered the call. He handed the phone to An Xiaoning, who had already guessed who the caller was. ¡°Hello,¡± she answered. ¡°Ms. An, we are indeed to me for this incident. I promise you, we won¡¯t be bringing you trouble again. On top of that, we¡¯re willing topensate you with 10 million dors as a token of apology and to express our sincerity,¡± the man said over the phone. ¡°What if it happens again?¡± ¡°You may then handle them as you please. We will not interfere.¡± An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll hold you to your word, then.¡± She ended the call immediately. ¡°That¡¯s right, Team Leader An, don¡¯t make those people your enemy. The ¡®Flying Tigers¡¯ do have a broadwork of connections at present.¡± Staring at him calmly, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°Team Leader Zhang... It has nothing to do with me whether or not he has a broadwork of connections. Fortunately, there are no casualties or losses on my side tonight. I¡¯m willing to make a truce with them, not because I¡¯m afraid of their power, but because I don¡¯t wish to cause so much trouble on New Year¡¯s Eve. I¡¯ll just drop the matter now.¡± She turned around to leave immediately, not giving Team Leader Zhang a chance to speak at all. On the way back, An Xiaoning received a text message on her mobile phone, which was a notification from the bank to inform her that she had just received a payment of 10 million dors. They¡¯re really so nonchnt. They transferred the money to me without even asking for my bank ount number. Aren¡¯t they afraid of sending the money to the wrong ount at all? She then decided to call the police station to inquire about the matter, only to discover that the police were the ones who gave them the bank ount number that An Xiaoning had provided when she worked for the police previously. She drove back to Sanqiao Estate. Just as she was about to reach the entrance, she caught sight of two figures. ¡°Mommy!¡± Jin Yiheng scurried toward her gleefully and threw his arms around her. ¡°Where did you go?¡± ¡°I went to settle some things. Why did youe here with Daddy at such ate hour?¡± An Xiaoning asked while holding his hand. ¡°Daddy said that it¡¯s New Year¡¯s Eve today and we must spend it with you.¡± She handed her car keys to No. 8 and instructed, ¡°Drive the car inside.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± No. 8 took the keys and drove the car into the yard of her mansion. They had already hung rednterns and couplets by the entrance, along with some cackling firecrackers, all of which added to the festive mood of the season. Jin Yiheng stood in between his parents and held their hands. ¡°Mommy, Daddy said that you¡¯re living here. Did you buy this mansion?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Can I stay with you here from now on?¡± ¡°Of course you may.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go in,¡± said Jin Yiheng, skipping merrily alongside his parents. Jin Qingyan was dressed in a white shirt with a knitted sweater and a ck, woolen coat. He appeared dashing as usual. It was An Xiaoning¡¯s subordinates¡¯ first time meeting Jin Qingyan. Jin Qingyan was much more suave in person and had an authoritative aura, aspared with the photos of him online. With one hand in his pocket, he scanned his surroundings and said, ¡°This mansion looks great.¡± ¡°Daddy, what do you mean ¡®great¡¯? It¡¯s splendid!¡± Chapter 766 - A Million Times for You (128) Chapter 766: A Million Times for You (128) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyan looked down at her and asked An Xiaoning, ¡°Which floor are you staying on?¡± ¡°The second floor.¡± Jin Qingyan went toward the staircase, in a bid to check out the second floor. An Xiaoning followed behind him. As soon as she opened the bedroom door, she was greeted with the sight of him patting the bed and saying, ¡°This bed is bad.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not too bad, it¡¯s veryfortable for me.¡± He nced at her and said, ¡°It¡¯s too soft, it won¡¯t befortable for your knees when you kneel on the bed.¡± An Xiaoning began blushing red with shyness. ¡°It¡¯s used for sleeping, why... why... would I be kneeling for no reason?¡± He knew that she enjoyed asking the obvious and did not retort. Instead, he darted his eyes around the room and said, ¡°The soundproofing effects are bad too.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°We still have to make a trip down to the old mansion. I¡¯lle over againter.¡± ¡°You... you¡¯reing again? Don¡¯t,¡± she refused. He did not answer and instead walked out of the room while An Xiaoning followed him downstairs. Jin Yiheng was displeased about having to leave so soon even though they had just arrived. ¡°Daddy, I want to stay with Mommy,¡± he said with a frown. ¡°I¡¯ll let you y with Mommy all day tomorrow.¡± ¡°I wanna be with Mommy tonight too.¡± Jin Qingyan tried to tempt him by saying, ¡°How about I take you to y with firecrackers? I don¡¯t usually allow you to light up firecrackers.¡± ¡°Well...¡± said Jin Yiheng, seemingly stuck in a dilemma. After hesitating for a long while, he looked up and said earnestly, ¡°Mommy, I¡¯lle and look for you again tomorrow.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°Okay, Mommy will be waiting for you at home tomorrow.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a deal then!¡± Jin Qingyan and Jin Yiheng got inside the car and left. An Xiaoning returned inside the living room and had a festive dinner with her subordinates to celebrate the uing New Year. She theny in bed to read a book. It was the book her mentor had left her. She read it through carefully and paid attention to the content for four hours straight. Feeling a little tired, she put a bookmark in the book and ced it back inside the drawer. It was past eleven o¡¯clock at night. She switched off the lights and heater before drifting off to dreand. Just as she was about to fall asleep, she felt as if her body was floating in the air. An Xiaoning tried to open her eyes with all her might. However, the supposedly simple action seemed extremely painstaking and difficult. The sounds of firecrackers cackling faded, and voices began to fill her ear. ¡°There¡¯s so much blood, why is the blood not stopping...¡± ¡°What do we do? What do we do...¡± ¡°She¡¯s had a miscarriage, is she going to die...¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, do we call the physician...¡± ¡°No, that¡¯ll cost us money. Who¡¯s going to pay for it? It¡¯s none of my business anyway. I¡¯ll just pretend that I don¡¯t know...¡± ¡°Hurry, let¡¯s leave, quick. I don¡¯t want to stay here anymore. Let¡¯s just leave, lest we get implicated...¡± ¡°...¡± The sounds were loud and incessant. An Xiaoning wanted to tell them to stop, but she could not seem to make a single sound. She tried to open her eyes again; this time, she seeded with much more ease. She was greeted with the sight of a few women leaving. She felt a sudden acute pain in her stomach and struggled to sit up straight while trying to bear with the pain. As soon as she tried to move, the unbearable pain caused her to feel almost on the verge of death. She took deep breaths and gasped for air while coughing continuously, causing her wound to ache even more. It felt as if half a century had passed. ¡°Ah!¡± A girl hurried inside with a bowl of ck herbal soup in her hands. An Xiaoning took a closer look at the girl¡¯s face, only to discover that she looked extremely young and thin. Her features resembled those of Mei Yangyang¡¯s greatly. ¡°Miss... Here, drink this medicine,¡± the girl said with tears in her eyes. She then helped An Xiaoning up while thetter opened her mouth to drink the bitter and horrible-tasting medicine. Despite feeling extremely queasy, she curbed her nausea and forced herself to chug it all in one go. She theny back down in bed and murmured. The girl reached out to hold her hand while putting the bowl down onto the old and tattered table. ¡°What would you like to say, Miss?¡± She ced her ear beside An Xiaoning¡¯s lips while thetter struggled to speak again and again, but to no avail. Mei Yangyang appeared to be an emaciated, malnourished little girl while An Xiaoning seemed to be terminally ill and on the verge of death. There was no other way she could exin it. At the instant that she woke up, she stared nkly into space in the darkness of the night. An Xiaoning reached for her mobile phone on the headboard and unlocked it. The ring brightness of her phone screen made it difficult for her to open her eyes. It was past twelve midnight. She no longer felt sleepy all of a sudden. However, she felt exceptionally lucid, as if her consciousness had been rebooted. She switched on the lights and headed downstairs after adjusting her clothes. As soon as she opened the door of the living room, she was greeted with the sight of Jin Qingyan walking toward her from the entrance. She squinted and asked, ¡°Did you climb over the wall?¡± ¡°Am I not allowed to?¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you enter through the main entrance?¡± ¡°Because someone¡¯s watching us. I already know who sent those pests without having to guess.¡± ¡°He promised me that he wouldn¡¯t monitor me. Seems like he¡¯s sending his people to keep close tabs on you. Didn¡¯t I tell you not toe tonight?¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°My legs refused to listen to me. What can I do?¡± he said, staring at her calmly. ¡°Shall we climb over the wall together?¡± she suggested. He grabbed her hand and led her to the back of a wall. ¡°The wall is so high. How did you manage to climb in? Is there adder outside?¡± An Xiaoning asked apprehensively, staring at the four-meter-high wall. ¡°Do you think you¡¯re the only one who¡¯s good with ropes?¡± he answered, retrieving a rope from his pocket, which was thin and had a hooked end. She was not doubtful of the rope¡¯s durability, for her own rope was almost just as thin as his. He climbed to the top of the wall and said, ¡°Come up.¡± ¡°What if everyone climbs over the wall to my mansion like you? I¡¯m contemting if I should mount some ss shards onto the top of the wall with some cement.¡± ¡°How dare you.¡± By the time she made her way up, he was already on the other side of the wall. ¡°Come down,¡± he said, extending his hands. Without hesitation, she jumped down and fell straight into his buff arms. He then carried her and walked outside. ¡°You told me not toe and yet you¡¯re all dressed up. Where are you going at such ate hour?¡± ¡°Nowhere. I just wanted to enjoy the breeze in the yard.¡± ¡°Where do you want to go?¡± ¡°Somewhere only we know. This makes me feel like we¡¯re going on a ndestine rendezvous,¡± she teased. ¡°I¡¯m willing to go along with it if that¡¯s what you think.¡± He put her down and held her hand while walking. Both of them remained quiet until they reached the car. Upon the sight of an unfamiliar car that clearly did not belong to Jin Qingyan, she asked, ¡°Whose car is this?¡± ¡°My newly-bought Mercedes-Benz.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you prefer driving sports cars?¡± ¡°You may take this on a drive asionally. I¡¯ll bring you to a ce where no one can find us,¡± said Jin Qingyan, helping her put on the safety belt. Chapter 767 - A Million Times for You (129) Chapter 767: A Million Times for You (129) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Being an excellent driver, Jin Qingyan drove at a quick but steady pace, making the ride smooth and jerk-free. An Xiaoning had no idea where he was headed to, especially since it was nighttime and she had a poor sense of direction. Once they arrived at their destination, she rolled down the windows and peeked out at a spot that was lit up by the headlights of the car. ¡°Luo Er Lake?¡± she asked in astonishment. ¡°Yes, the sameke that you and Ji Yu visited. Does it seem familiar to you?¡± ¡°...¡± It was rather quiet and secluded. There was not a single soul in sight in the wee hours of the night. The night breeze was chilly and the air was exceptionally fresh. She hurriedly rolled up the windows, leaving only a tiny crack that was enough to let some air into the car. Just as she turned her head around, he eagerly nted a kiss on her lips. He then unbuckled her safety belt and unzipped her jacket smoothly, after which they pulled each other in for a passionate kiss. He reclined her car seat and pinned her beneath him while stripping her naked with both hands. Meanwhile, he only removed his coat, leaving his trousers and shirt still neat and untouched. He seemed to be a gentleman on the outside, yet... He chuckled gently on purpose, causing her to blush shyly. ¡°Don¡¯tugh.¡± Seeing that he had begunughing even more loudly, she bit his mmy lips to stop him. Their senses were filled with each other¡¯s scents. After a long, passionate kiss, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°I like the way you are now. So sensual and flirtatious.¡± Turning as red as a tomato, An Xiaoning gibed, ¡°Stop feigning ignorance!¡± He pressed his hand against her waist, not allowing her to speak any further. She supported herself by cing her hands on his shoulders and began thrusting her hips to match his rhythm. She moaned in immense pleasure and euphoria every single time he hit a sweet spot inside her. They were both drenched in sweat at the end of the session. She got off him and began cleaning up. ¡°You¡¯re so much randier than I am. You were moaning so loudly too...¡± An Xiaoning remarked. He zipped his pants and began driving away. An Xiaoning put her clothes on slowly and was fully clothed by the time they reached Wei Ni Estate. She hugged her knees and sat on the edge of the passenger¡¯s seat. On the surface, it really seemed like he drove home alone. Once he reached the garage, he alighted from the car and carried her inside the house, despite her reluctance. He carried her straight to the bed in the master¡¯s bedroom. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to take a shower?¡± he asked. ¡°I don¡¯t feel like doing it...¡± ¡°I¡¯ll help you.¡± Thus, shey there sluggishly and allowed him to serve her, as if she was incapable of handling herself. He meticulously removed her clothes and showered her, after which he wiped her body dry with a towel and carried her back to the bed. ¡°Why do you think it¡¯s possible for us to dream of our previous lifetimes?¡± she asked while fiddling with his fingers. ¡°Maybe we¡¯re just different from others.¡± Recalling the scenario in the dream she had earlier, An Xiaoning described it to Jin Qingyan, ¡°I slept for a while earlier tonight and I dreamed of Yangyang. I was suffering a miscarriage in the dream and I was bleeding excessively. There was an excruciating pain in my abdomen, and Yangyang brought me a bowl of medicine while weeping continuously. She seemed to be very young then...¡± He clenched his fist and said, ¡°We didn¡¯t end up together in our previous lifetime, but I¡¯m more than determined to be with you even until the day we die in this lifetime. I¡¯ll never let go of you again.¡± An Xiaoning hugged his waist and remained quiet. She decided not to get her hopes up, for huge expectations often led to greater disappointment. Hence, she was not at all affected by his promise and decided to follow her heart when ites to making decisions. She once thought from the bottom of her heart that she would never be able to forgive him again. Yet, she had gained a different perspective and felt differently toward him now. ¡°Jin Qingyan, you and I are really fated to be embroiled with each other in these two lifetimes.¡± ¡°No wonder I ended up in your hands in this lifetime. Turns out I already loved you in my past life.¡± ¡°Hah.¡± She smiled, thinking to herself that fate was truly an incredible entity that had bound them together for two whole lifetimes. ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning was woken up from her sleep when she felt a pinch on her nose. She opened her eyes to see that Jin Yiheng was gazing at her with his big, sparkly eyes while lying next to her in bed. ¡°Mommy, weren¡¯t you staying in your own mansion? Why did I wake up to find you sleeping on Daddy¡¯s bed?¡± What a question... She peeked beneath the duvet at her own body to see that she was stark naked, for she had gone to bed after the showerst night. She grasped the bedsheets tightly and put on an awkward smile. ¡°Well... go ask... Daddy. I don¡¯t know how I ended up here either.¡± ¡°Hmph! Do you take me for a three-year-old? Daddy sneaked out to see you when I was asleepst night, didn¡¯t he? You didn¡¯t even bring me along. Do you guys care about me at all?¡± Jin Yiheng groused in displeasure. ¡°Of course we do.¡± ¡°Well then, Mommy, if Daddy and I fell into the water, who would you save first?¡± ¡°You. Your daddy can swim, he doesn¡¯t need me to save him.¡± He got out of bed and stood up straight with a distraught look. ¡°Mommy, I could tell right from the start that Daddyes first in your heart. You¡¯re his first priority too. I¡¯ll always be second to you two. In that case, why did you two still want to give birth to me?¡± ¡°Why would you think that way?¡± ¡°Mommy, you¡¯re in first ce in my heart. But I¡¯m not your number one priority,¡± he said sulkily with a long sigh. ¡°How did youe in?¡± The door was supposedly locked with a biometric security lock that could only be opened by Jin Qingyan¡¯s thumbprint. ¡°I woke up before daybreak and woke Daddy up to get him to open the door for me.¡± ¡°Okay. Son, go downstairs and wait for Mommy. I¡¯m getting out of bed soon.¡± He exited obediently and closed the door after him. An Xiaoning headed downstairs to see that Jin Qingyan was using hisptop while sitting on the couch. On the other hand, Jin Yiheng was ying a video game on the tablet. ¡°Would you like to have dumplings or something else for breakfast?¡± Jin Yiheng humphed as soon as he heard Jin Qingyan¡¯s words, because thetter had brushed him off earlier by saying, ¡°Look for Granny Chen if you¡¯d like to eat something.¡± He did not sound this gentle at all! There was a drastic difference in treatment! Hmph, am I even Daddy and Mommy¡¯s biological son? ¡°I¡¯d like to have some dumplings.¡± ¡°Auntie Chen, please cook some vegetarian dumplings for Xiaoning. Don¡¯t forget to add the chili and vinegar,¡± he instructed Auntie Chen. ¡°I know, I¡¯m very clear about Young Madam¡¯s food preferences,¡± Auntie Chen said, smiling as she turned around to enter the kitchen. Chapter 768 - A Million Times for You (130)

Chapter 768: A Million Times for You (130)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning was sitting in between Jin Qingyan and Jin Yiheng on the couch while having her bowl of dumplings. Both father and son vied with each other for her attention and demanded her to feed them. In the end, she only got to have a morsel of the dumplings for she had fed the rest to them. ¡°Mommy, you don¡¯t have to feed him anymore, he¡¯s already had his breakfast!¡± Jin Yiheng protested. ¡°You¡¯ve already eaten too, haven¡¯t you?¡± Jin Qingyan bellowed, warning him not to be a troublemaker. ¡°I¡¯m not full yet. Mommy, look, he¡¯s ring at me!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Auntie Chen, please prepare another bowl of dumplings, we don¡¯t have enough...¡± ¡°Alright.¡± After breakfast, An Xiaoning decided to bring Jin Yiheng to the Gu, Jin, and Lin families¡¯ homes to pay them a visit to celebrate the New Year. However, Jin Qingyan instructed her to leave first and meet up with them at ater time outside. ¡°What¡¯s the difference?¡± ¡°The difference is huge,e with me.¡± Jin Qingyan grabbed her wrist in a bid to pull her away. Yet, An Xiaoning was stopped by her son, who pulled her other wrist. ¡°Daddy, where are you taking my Mommy?¡± ¡°Let go,¡± Jin Qingyan said sternly. ¡°No.¡± Jin Yiheng closed his eyes, pretending not to notice his expression. ¡°Yiheng, I have to go settle something with Daddy. Wait for us here, we¡¯ll meet againter,¡± said An Xiaoning. Jin Yiheng then let go of her and watched as his father brought his dearest mother away. Jin Qingyan took An Xiaoning to the wine cer in the house. ¡°What are we here for?¡± He smiled and kept quiet. He then gave one of the shelves a little push, after which an opening to a passageway appeared all of a sudden. Jin Qingyan held his torchlight up and led her inside. They made their way down the stairs slowly and An Xiaoning discovered that there was a whole new world in the basement. It was a secret passageway. Anyone could tell. ¡°Where does this passageway lead to?¡± ¡°Outside of Wei Ni Estate. No one else knows about this secret passageway. You maye in from here when you miss me in the future.¡± ¡°Who¡¯d miss you?¡± He was in high spirits and felt as if their rtionship had returned to the way it was during their blissful days. An Xiaoning followed closely behind him as they paced out of the passageway. After about twenty minutes, they finally made it out. He gave one of the bricks in the seamless wall a little push to open the hidden door, which led to a washroom that was used as a facade. However, the washroom was dead silent and required a passcode to be essed. If she didn¡¯t witness it with her own eyes, she wouldn¡¯t have known that the washroom was an opening to a secret passageway. After exiting the washroom, An Xiaoning scanned her surroundings to see that it was extremely near Sanqiao Estate. We must¡¯ve walked for such a long distance because we had to pass by Wei Ni Estate , she thought to herself. The washroom was facing the main road. An Xiaoning walked back to her mansion to change into a fresh set of clothing and put on some makeup. Jin Qingyan then drove to Sanqiao Estate again, bringing Jin Yiheng along this time. He left again after dropping his son off. An Xiaoning proceeded to bring him out to visit her godparents. She first headed to the Gu family¡¯s home, followed by the Jin family, and,stly, the Lin family. Despite having already prepared herself mentally beforehand, she could not help but feel emotional when she showed up at the Lin family home again using her true identity. ¡°Great timing, we¡¯ll have lunch together when Shishi and Gucheng arriveter,¡± said Madam Lin. An Xiaoning felt like turning the offer down, but she did not have a suitable excuse. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t they being home on the second day of the New Year instead?¡± Madam Lin smiled and said, ¡°Well, they¡¯ve decided toe home today because Gucheng has something important to attend to tomorrow. Shishi called to tell us that she wanted to invite you to the Autumn Pce to apany her, but that didn¡¯t work out. It¡¯s great that you happen to be back today. You haven¡¯t seen each other in a long while, it¡¯s time you have a good chat and catch up with each other.¡± ¡°Alright, I was initially nning to drop by again tomorrow because I thought that they wouldn¡¯t be home until then. It¡¯s great that they¡¯reing home today,¡± An Xiaoning answered with a grin. At past eleven o¡¯clock, the butler eagerly reported, ¡°Sir, Madam, they¡¯re home. Their car has arrived.¡± The entire family proceeded to wee them at the entrance. An Xiaoning tagged along with Jin Yiheng. She had no choice but to go with the flow. However, she chose to stand all the way at the back instead. Tuoba Gucheng alighted from the car, immactely dressed in a formal attire, which made him look extremely dashing. On the other hand, Lin Shishi alighted from the other side of the car slowly while supporting her baby bump. There were professional photographers who hade along with them. Extremely concerned about his image, Tuoba Gucheng walked toward Lin Shishi and held her hand before proceeding to greet his parents-inw and send them his good wishes. Tuoba Gucheng lit up with joy when he casually nced at the back of the crowd and caught sight of An Xiaoning. The photography and videography team took several photos and a few video clips of the festive asion before calling it a day. No one dared to continue filming once they stepped foot inside the living room. The Lin family could finally feel much more relieved. After all, no one would feelfortable with a camera facing them all day, especially since they were aware that the content would be sttered across the news. Tuoba Gucheng had already noticed Jin Yiheng earlier on, though he couldn¡¯t catch a clear glimpse of his features. Tuoba Gucheng took a seat and shifted his gaze onto Jin Yiheng before asking An Xiaoning in slight disbelief, ¡°This kid is really handsome. Is he your son, Ms. An?¡± ¡°Yes, Your Majesty, he is my son,¡± An Xiaoning answered calmly. He let out a chuckle that sent shivers down An Xiaoning¡¯s spine. ¡°He¡¯s already so suave now, I bet he¡¯s going to be a heartthrob when he¡¯s older,¡± said Lin Shishi, who was leaning against the couch to ease her pregnant self into afortable position. An Xiaoning did not quite know how to answer and, thus, said, ¡°He¡¯s still young. Who knows what he¡¯ll look like in the future?¡± Lin Shishi smiled and said, ¡°Sis, don¡¯t say that. He has inherited both yours and his father¡¯s genes. He wouldn¡¯t look too bad when he¡¯s older. When I heard about your return earlier, I initially wanted toe home together with Gucheng to visit you, but I couldn¡¯t since I was pregnant. I¡¯m so d you¡¯re safe and sound, Sis. You have no idea how devastated we all were when we first heard about your mishap. Gucheng was rather helpless too since the parliament wouldn¡¯t support his decision.¡± Having already seen through everything, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°I understand. Besides, aren¡¯t I alive and kicking now? I was blessed and fortunate to have escaped the ordeal.¡± ¡°We were terrified at the start, but it¡¯s all good now. Where are you staying, Sis?¡± ¡°I bought a mansion in Sanqiao Estate and I¡¯ll be living there for the time being.¡± Lin Shishi nodded and said to Madam Lin, ¡°Mother, please get the kitchen helpers to serve lunch, I¡¯m hungry.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Madam Lin agreed with a nod and quickly stood up to enter the kitchen before returning again soon after. Everyone proceeded to take a seat around the dining table. Noticing how prim and proper the obedient Jin Yiheng waspared to other children his age, Lin Shishi remarked in surprise and awe, ¡°I¡¯ve seen other children his age misbehaving and throwing tantrums all the time. Yet, he¡¯s so obedient and not in the least bit mischievous at all. I can tell that you raised him well to be a good-mannered child.¡± ¡°He¡¯s very mischievous sometimes, he¡¯s just being shy right now because he hasn¡¯t met you guys before,¡± said An Xiaoning, who felt rather ufortable, especially because of Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s overbearing presence, which made her feel suffocated and oppressed. Chapter 769 - A Million Times for You (131)

Chapter 769: A Million Times for You (131)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning did not talk or eat much during the meal and put her chopsticks down rather early. She said that she was full when Madam Lin told her to eat more. However, no one dared to leave without Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s go-ahead, including Jin Yiheng, who put on his best behavior and remained seated quietly while waiting for the dinner to end. The hour-long meal felt like a grueling million years for both of them. Fortunately, there had to be an end to it, regardless of how long it mayst. Just as An Xiaoning was about to leave, Lin Shishi suggested that they go out for a walk to aid their digestion. It was impossible for her to turn it down. An Xiaoning instructed Jin Yiheng not to wander off on his own before proceeding to take a walk around the Lin family mansion together with Lin Shishi. ¡°We were worried sick when we first heard about your mishap. Pei Yi had proposed a negotiation, iming that he would let you off on the condition that we release all the terrorists currently imprisoned. However, we sacrificed a lot of our civil servants in order to nab those prisoners, and releasing them would only increase the number of citizens in danger of their attacks. During the congress, both mine and Minxing¡¯s father voted for the negotiation to pass. However, there was nothing Gucheng could do because the rest of the parliament had voted against it.¡± An Xiaoning reassured her, ¡°I don¡¯t me him at all. As the nation¡¯s leader, it¡¯s only right that he considers the nation¡¯s interests first.¡± Lin Shishi nodded and said, ¡°It¡¯s good that you understand, Sister.¡± ¡°How far along are you?¡± ¡°More than four months now. I initially wanted to undergo a scan to find out the baby¡¯s gender but Gucheng didn¡¯t allow me to. He said that he¡¯d love the child regardless of its gender and doesn¡¯t want me to feel pressured,¡± said Lin Shishi. ¡°Seems like he really dotes on you.¡± ¡°He¡¯s always been that way. Although I feel like I can¡¯t figure him out sometimes, he¡¯s nheless really good to me and never lets me suffer. Besides... he hasn¡¯t gotten intimate with me ever since I got pregnant, for fear that he would injure the fetus,¡± said Lin Shishi. After all, she was still young and had no sense of how much she should divulge to others. An Xiaoning was greatly taken aback by her revtion. However, she knew that men would only refrain from getting intimate with their wives when they don¡¯t actually have feelings for them. Men who truly love their spouses would jump at every chance to do so, even when she¡¯s on her period. Before An Xiaoning could even answer, Lin Shishi continued while smiling, ¡°He¡¯d stick to his principles even when I sometimes request for him to get intimate with me. Sister, I¡¯ve already had a good impression of him before we got married. Frankly speaking, I¡¯ve already fallen in love with him and I¡¯d like to bear a few more children for him.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve yet to deliver and you¡¯re already thinking of conceiving again?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯d like to have a few more children of our own.¡± An Xiaoning was overwhelmed with a mix of emotions upon seeing how blissful and ted Lin Shishi seemed to be. Would Shishi resent me if she finds out one day that her husband doesn¡¯t love her at all and only doted on her out of responsibility? She probably would, wouldn¡¯t she? Who wouldn¡¯t resent their rival in love? As much as An Xiaoning did not want toe in between them, she also wanted nothing to do with Tuoba Gucheng. She just didn¡¯t have a choice. After having walked a distance, An Xiaoning chanced upon a shocking sight that stopped her in her tracks and caused her palms to turn sweaty. Tuoba Gucheng was carrying Jin Yiheng in his arms and walking toward them. The point was, Jin Yiheng was already six years old and would require a great deal of effort to carry. No ordinary person would want to carry him for no reason, wouldn¡¯t they? Lin Shishi was also surprised, for it was her first time seeing her husband carry a child in his arms. An Xiaoning frantically rushed forward to carry Jin Yiheng and said, ¡°Your Majesty, put him down. He¡¯s very heavy.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not too bad.¡± Tuoba Gucheng then put Jin Yiheng down slowly and allowed An Xiaoning to take him away. ¡°Mommy, I want to go home and y with the other children.¡± On her cue, Jin Yiheng had finally blurted the words that An Xiaoning had instructed him to earlier. ¡°Your Majesty, Shishi, we¡¯ll get going.¡± ¡°Alright, be careful along the way.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and finally got a huge sense of relief. She held Jin Yiheng¡¯s hand and swiftly made her way out of the ce. ¡°Hubby, seems like you¡¯re very fond of Sister¡¯s son.¡± ¡°I am. Don¡¯t you find him very adorable?¡± he said with a chuckle. ¡°No matter how adorable he may be, he¡¯s still someone else¡¯s child. Our baby is going to be very adorable too. I was just telling Sister earlier that I¡¯m nning to bear more children in the future. How does four sound?¡± Lin Shishi asked, holding onto his arm. ¡°That¡¯s too many.¡± ¡°How about three? Are three too many?¡± Lin Shishi asked, cocking her head to the side to face him. He kept his eyes fixed on the road ahead and answered perfunctorily, ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Three it shall be, then. It¡¯s best if we end up having two sons and one daughter, just like Mother-inw did. That¡¯ll be perfect.¡± ¡°...¡± Once they got inside the car, An Xiaoning and Jin Yiheng looked at each other. While helping him buckle up, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Did that Uncle ask you about anything just now?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What did he ask about?¡± An Xiaoning probed anxiously. ¡°Uncle¡¯s questions were so strange. He asked me if you and I have stayed together recently.¡± ¡°How... did you answer him?¡± ¡°I told him truthfully that you didn¡¯t stay with me...¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. What else did he ask you?¡± she asked, feeling slightly relieved. ¡°He asked about why I wasn¡¯t staying with you and I said it was because you slept with Daddy.¡± An Xiaoning was robbed of her speech as she turned pale immediately. ¡°Did you really say that?¡± she questioned, her voice quivering a little. ¡°Yes.¡± Noticing that she seemed infuriated, Jin Yiheng lowered his voice gradually and said, ¡°He even asked when was it that you slept with Daddy and I told him that you didst night.¡± An Xiaoning flew into a rage. How could he betray his parents like that!?! ¡°Mommy, you¡¯re angry...¡± ¡°Did I teach you to reveal such private matters to others?¡± ¡°Mommy, I¡¯m sorry,¡± Jin Yiheng apologized, staring at her with a look of grievance in his eyes. ¡°Will apologizing turn back time?¡± she snapped, giving him the side eye. ¡°No.¡± She absolutely regretted sleeping over at Wei Ni Estatest night. What she regretted most was not heeding Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s warning. I wonder what he¡¯s going to do to me. But it¡¯s all toote now. Displeasure was written all over An Xiaoning¡¯s face when they arrived back in Wei Ni Estate, for her fury had yet to fade. Jin Qingyan walked toward her and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Why do you look so cross?¡± An Xiaoning nced at her son before exining, ¡°We visited the Lin family and the people from the Autumn Pce happened to be there too. I then went out for a walk with Lin Shishi, after which I saw Tuoba Gucheng carrying Yiheng in his arms. On the way home, I asked Yiheng if Tuoba Gucheng had asked him about anything. Get Yiheng to exin the rest, I¡¯m going home now.¡± ... ¡°Ah! Daddy, I won¡¯t dare to do it again!¡± ¡°Daddy¡¯s going to murder me! Help!¡± ¡°Ah! Daddy!!!¡± ¡°It hurts, Daddy, please have mercy on me!¡± ¡°Ow...¡± After the interrogation, Jin Qingyan dragged Jin Yiheng into the master¡¯s bedroom on the second floor and began caning him. Despite having caned him brutally, he still refused to stop, causing thetter to bawl loudly with tears. Chapter 770 - A Million Times for You (132)

Chapter 770: A Million Times for You (132)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyan finally stopped and asked austerely, ¡°Have you learned your lesson yet?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± the teary-eyed Jin Yiheng answered with a nod. Jin Qingyan then took out the medical kit and began applying some ointment for him. ¡°Ouch, it hurts. Daddy, be gentler.¡± ¡°d you know it hurts. You deserve a beating for running your mouth without thinking.¡± Tears streamed down Jin Yiheng¡¯s face as he answered, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have told you guys if I¡¯d known earlier that this would happen.¡± After applying the ointment, Jin Qingyan chided, ¡°You¡¯ll have been beaten up worse if you¡¯d hidden it from us.¡± ¡°Daddy, I¡¯m your biological son. How could you bear to beat my buttocks?¡± Jin Qingyan rolled his eyes and said, ¡°I punished you only with a beating precisely because you¡¯re my son. If you weren¡¯t my child, I would¡¯ve fed you to the wolves.¡± ¡°Daddy, don¡¯t try to frighten me, I won¡¯t be intimidated.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not afraid eh? Should I throw you into a wolves¡¯ den, then?¡± Jin Yiheng shivered and scurried out of the door while clutching his buttocks. ¡°I¡¯m going back to my room!¡± Jin Qingyan whipped his phone out to call An Xiaoning but could not reach her. Hey in bed, filled with worry about his sex life. After this incident, she definitely wouldn¡¯t let me get intimate with her again. She probably wouldn¡¯t want to see me anytime soon too. How troubling. Jin Qingyan had to bear the consequences brought about by his son¡¯s mistake. ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning stayed home in Sanqiao Estate for the rest of the afternoon. She initially thought that Tuoba Gucheng would call her at night. However, that was not the case. She was perturbed and anxious. After much thought, she decided to take the initiative to call him. She managed to reach him sessfully. ¡°Are you asleep yet?¡± ¡°No,¡± he answered, sounding extremely disgruntled. ¡°Have you guys gone home yet?¡± she asked randomly, in a bid to get the conversation going. ¡°No, we¡¯re heading home tomorrow morning.¡± Seemingly having already guessed what was on her mind, he asked, ¡°Do you have something to say to me?¡± She denied, ¡°No... I won¡¯t disturb your rest, then. I¡¯ll be hanging up now.¡± ¡°Who said I was resting? I was nning to meet you privately and it just so happened that you called. I won¡¯t go over to your ce then. Come to mine,¡± he said, suppressing his anger. ¡°Where are you now?¡± she asked, gripping her phone nervously. ¡°Shishi is staying the night in her parents¡¯ home. I¡¯m staying at a hotel along Mingyuan Road. My room number is 2027.¡± ¡°Your Majesty, it¡¯d be a little inappropriate for me to visit you at such ate hour, wouldn¡¯t it? How about tomorrow...¡± ¡°It¡¯s either I go over to look for you, or vice versa. You pick,¡± he insisted vehemently, not allowing her to negotiate with him at all. ¡°I think... I¡¯d better go over to your ce.¡± She ended the call forlornly and picked out a ck quilted jacket from her closet, which had a hood that would cover her face. Hence, after also putting on a pair of shades that would cover her eyes, she would not have to fear being recognized. She proceeded to meet Tuoba Gucheng in that outfit. She had caught a lot of attention as soon as she stepped foot into the hotel. As soon as she exited the elevator on the 20th floor, she was greeted by Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s bodyguard pointing his gun at her. She frantically put her hands up and said, ¡°I¡¯m An Xiaoning.¡± She unzipped her hood to reveal her face, and the bodyguards only granted her entry after verifying her identity. Tuoba Gucheng was speechless upon seeing her outfit. ¡°Don¡¯t you know that you¡¯re going to attract unwanted attention that way?¡± ¡°No one can recognize me anyway. Your Majesty...¡± An Xiaoning unzipped her hood again and continued, ¡°Do you have something to say to me?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you know why I called you here?¡± ¡°No. You can¡¯t be thinking of killing me, can you?¡± she asked, feigning ignorance. ¡°Killing you? I really thought of that, actually,¡± he answered, keeping his eyes fixed on her. An Xiaoning felt a cold shiver down her spine and chuckled wryly. ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything wrong, don¡¯t frighten me, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°You lied to me.¡± ¡°About what?¡± ¡°You lied about not loving Jin Qingyan anymore.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t lie to you. You¡¯re the president, I¡¯d lie to anyone but you,¡± she denied. He grabbed her chin tightly and questioned, ¡°How did you end up sleeping with him togetherst night, then?¡± ¡°Did you witness it with your own eyes, Your Majesty? You can¡¯t malign me without any concrete evidence.¡± ¡°Your son said it himself. Are you still trying to argue?¡± She kept a straight face and guffawed abruptly. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to argue with you. I really did spend the night with Jin Qingyan yesterday, but that¡¯s because we had a long and proper conversation in Jin Qingyan¡¯s room. His room is secured with a biometric lock that can only be unlocked with his thumbprint. My son saw us entering his room together, so he thought that we had slept togetherst night. There¡¯s actually nothing to fuss about. It¡¯s normal in the world of children. We had a long chatst night thatsted ¡¯til the wee hours of the morning. Hence, I decided not to go home and slept in the guest room of his house instead.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°It¡¯s up to you to decide if it¡¯s real. I can¡¯t manipte you or change the way you think, Your Majesty. However, I¡¯ve borne your warning in mind and I know clearly that it¡¯s a piece of cake for you to kill me. I¡¯m no match for you at all. Your Majesty, you¡¯re about to crush my chin, could you please let go first?¡± An Xiaoning said nervously. His heart softened and he let go of her. ¡°Your Majesty, do you know what you¡¯re behaving like right now? You¡¯re like a man interrogating his wife whom he suspects is having an extramarital affair. We¡¯re not even husband and wife, you¡¯re merely being possessive. I have a question for you, Your Majesty. Could you answer me truthfully?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s say I¡¯m your wife, but I can¡¯t get along with your mother and I want you to pick only one out of the two of us. Tell me, how would you handle this situation? I¡¯d like to hear your honest opinion.¡± ¡°Mother and daughter-inw issues? If you were my wife and you can¡¯t get along with my mother, we just won¡¯t live together. I¡¯ll get my mother to move out of the Autumn Pce, you don¡¯t have to face each other at all.¡± What a useless answer. ¡°Seems like you didn¡¯t get what I meant. What I meant was, if my rtionship with your mother was so strained to the extent that we can¡¯t stand the sight of each other at all and one of us has to die, and if she wanted you to execute me, will you grant her her wish?¡± ¡°No. I used to abide by my mother¡¯s instructions because I wasn¡¯t the president yet, but things are different now. I have my own set of principles and values. Why should I listen to her if she¡¯s wrong? Do you think I¡¯d make decisions blindly out of sheer filial piety?¡± he said firmly. ¡°You really wouldn¡¯t?¡± ¡°I really wouldn¡¯t.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and asked, ¡°Can I ask you another question?¡± ¡°Speak.¡± Chapter 771 - A Million Times for You (133)

Chapter 771: A Million Times for You (133)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning asked, ¡°If you happen to fall in love with a woman who¡¯s your cousin or auntie or a family member rted by blood, will you continue to harbor feelings or give her uppletely?¡± Tuoba Gucheng answered truthfully, ¡°As long as I¡¯ve fallen for her, I¡¯ll continue to love her, regardless of whoever she is, be it my cousin, aunt, rtive, or an animal. Perhaps I would¡¯ve had qualms and stopped myself from acting impulsively if it was in the past. However, I won¡¯t do so now that I¡¯ve be the president. Are you happy with this answer?¡± How could she possibly be happy with such an answer? An Xiaoning forced herself to smile and said, ¡°Don¡¯t you know that you can¡¯t harbor feelings for your blood-rted kin? That¡¯s incestuous.¡± ¡°Love is love. What¡¯s wrong with that? It¡¯s not my fault that I fell in love with her. I¡¯ll never stop unless I stop loving her one day,¡± he said, staring at her with a sinister smile. An Xiaoning¡¯s hopes were dashed. She stood rooted to the ground while staring at him and blurted, ¡°You¡¯re crazy.¡± All of a sudden, he pulled her into his embrace and wrapped his arms around her tightly. ¡°I wanted to hug you that day in Wei Ni Estate. You have no idea how much I¡¯ve missed you every single day. I wish I could shrink you into a trinket and keep you with me in my pocket. No one is allowed to look at you except me,¡± he said softly. An Xiaoning felt a strong urge to kick him. However, she knew the consequences she would have to face should she go ahead with it. ¡°Your Majesty, you really intimidate me. I¡¯m thrice-divorced and have a son. I¡¯ve even suffered a miscarriage before. Just what do you see in me?¡± He let go of her and said calmly, ¡°I fell in love with you before I found out about those. I still don¡¯t know what you went to the Autumn Pce under a disguise for, but I¡¯ve never gone to investigate on that even until now. As for what I saw in you, well, I fell in love with your soul, is that enough?¡± ¡°Will you continue being like this even if I never reciprocate your feelings for the rest of my life?¡± ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll love you forever? None of us knows what¡¯ll happen in the future. Who knows? I might just fall in love with someone else in the future.¡± ¡°It¡¯d be best if that happens.¡± He stared at her menacingly and said, ¡°Say that again.¡± She stopped talking tactfully. ¡°I hope I won¡¯t hear about you spending the night in Jin Qingyan¡¯s room again. I don¡¯t want you to meet Jin Qingyan too often either. Xiaoning, I¡¯m not joking. If I ever find out that you¡¯re in a ndestine rtionship with another man, I¡¯ll ruin you.¡± ¡°I understand,¡± she said, lowering her head politely. Tuoba Gucheng felt much calmer and relieved, and he tried to pull An Xiaoning onto the bed. However, she refused and said, ¡°Your Majesty, it¡¯s time I get going.¡± ¡°Did I allow you to?¡± ¡°Your Majesty, it¡¯s gettingte.¡± ¡°Just spend the night here, then.¡± Stunned beyond words, she objected, ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want to? You don¡¯t have a choice, I call the shots,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng as he took a seat and stared at her. ¡°Must you really put me in such a spot, Your Majesty? Since you won¡¯t allow me to interact with Jin Qingyan or other men, I¡¯ll abide by your instructions. But I can¡¯t sleep with you. Wouldn¡¯t that make me a homewrecker? Not to mention, I¡¯m Shishi¡¯s sister. Your Majesty, you¡¯re only making us bothmit a sin that way. Please don¡¯t hold it against me for failing to concede,¡± An Xiaoning said truthfully. ¡°It¡¯s not like we haven¡¯t slept with each other before. We¡¯ve even had a child together, haven¡¯t we?¡± ¡°That child wasn¡¯t yours. I¡¯ve never slept with you, Your Majesty,¡± said An Xiaoning, who was tired of exining herself over and over again. ¡°Must you really provoke me?¡± ¡°I have no choice but to exin myself repeatedly because you simply refuse to believe me.¡± ¡°Fine, I just won¡¯t touch you. Will that do?¡± ¡°No.¡± She took a few steps back and said, ¡°I¡¯m going back now.¡± He sprung up from his seat and hollered, ¡°An Xiaoning, hold it right there!¡± An Xiaoning stopped in her tracks at stared at Tuoba Gucheng, whose eyes were red and teary. ¡°Your Majesty...¡± ¡°Come here.¡± She kept quiet and walked back toward the bed. For the rest of the night, they sat beside each other while leaning against the headboard. She exuded a mild, floral scent that was rather familiar to him. It was a scent that no perfume could produce and was unique to her. Neither of them spoke up, and a long silence filled the air. ¡°Have you ever thought about what Shishi and her family would think if they found out? When that happens, it¡¯ll be the end of my ties with them. Your Majesty, you¡¯re a man who handles major matters, and I believe you have the ability to make wise decisions. However, your love is too suffocating for me and I don¡¯t have the power to ept it,¡± An Xiaoning said calmly with a heavy heart. He cocked his head toward her and said, ¡°They¡¯ll only find out if I want them to. Whether or not I want them to find out all depends on your attitude and actions.¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s not talk about this anymore,¡± said An Xiaoning, who felt beyond frustrated. ¡°Let¡¯s drop the subject, then. You just have to be clear.¡± Two hourster, Tuoba Gucheng received a call from an unknown number, after which he exited the room with a sullen expression on his face. Her eyelids were getting heavier, and she soon fell asleep while hugging her knees and resting her head on them. Tuoba Gucheng immediately called his mother. ¡°Father called me just now to say that you sent someone to M Nation to kill Uncle. Why did you do that?¡± Tuoba Gucheng questioned. ¡°Your father was maligning me. There¡¯s no feud between your uncle and me at all, why would I kill him?¡± Shi Xiaoyu vehemently denied. ¡°Why would he frame you, then? Are you bent on creating trouble for me on the New Year?¡± Tuoba Gucheng said coldly. ¡°Gucheng, don¡¯t listen to your father¡¯s nonsense. I¡¯m not trying to kill your uncle.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll know once I call my uncle now...¡± Just as he was about to hang up, Shi Xiaoyu hurriedly said, ¡°Gucheng, don¡¯t call him. We¡¯ll talk when youe home.¡± ¡°You mean, you really sent someone to kill my uncle?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not trying to kill him. The person I want to kill is someone else... It¡¯s hard to exin over the phone. We¡¯ll talk about it properly when you¡¯re back tomorrow,¡± said Shi Xiaoyu, who nned to stall for time. Once Shi Qingzhou was killed, there would be nothing else they can do. Yet, she did not expect that her son would go against her. ¡°What do you mean? Stop what you¡¯re doing immediately!¡± ¡°Gucheng... just stay out of this, alright?¡± ¡°Uncle has already settled down peacefully in M Nation. If you weren¡¯t out to kill him, would he have called Father to say that you¡¯re trying to kill him? Father is probably on his way back from the ancestral graveyard. If you still refuse to stop, I¡¯ll stay out of your matters regardless of how Father decides to deal with you!¡± Shi Xiaoyu had no choice but to say, ¡°Fine, fine, I¡¯ll stop, okay? Tell your father...¡± Chapter 772 - A Million Times for You (134) Chapter 772: A Million Times for You (134) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I know, I¡¯ll talk to Father and Uncle.¡± Tuoba Gucheng ended the call abruptly, astounded by his mother¡¯s actions. Just why did she have to do that? Tuoba Rui, too, had no idea why Shi Xiaoyu wanted to do that. He was at the ancestral graveyard when he received an overseas call from Tuoba Shuo. After calling his son, he then stormed off to the Autumn Pce. Tuoba Rui arrived home in a huff when the panic-stricken Shi Xiaoyu was lying in bed, trying to calm herself down. He unlocked the door with the spare key and stared at Shi Xiaoyu. Without another word, he strode toward her and gave her a few hard ps across her face. Shi Xiaoyu shrieked in terror while feeling giddy from the impact. Unfortunately for her, that was not the end of it. Tuoba Rui dragged her out of the bed by grabbing the cor of her pajamas tightly, causing her to fall onto the ground like an animal. He then chuckled menacingly and barked, ¡°Shi Xiaoyu, I¡¯ve really belittled you. I didn¡¯t even know when you began to bear a grudge against Shuo!¡± Shi Xiaoyu did not retort and sat quietly on the couch, for she would rather be misunderstood than reveal the fact that Shi Qingzhou was still alive. Tuoba Rui was beyond exasperated over her reaction. He kicked her and said, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you speaking?¡± ¡°I have nothing to say.¡± Shi Xiaoyu sat up straight again unhurriedly. ¡°Why do you want to kill Shuo?¡± She remained tight-lipped. Tuoba Rui flew into an uncontroble rage and bellowed, ¡°We must get a divorce tomorrow!¡± He then stormed off angrily. He mmed the door shut with a loud thud, the impact causing the door to vibrate. Shi Xiaoyu stared at the ground nkly and supported herself up. She sat on the bed sluggishly with her eyes ssed over. The voice in her head repeatedly chanted, ¡°It¡¯s over now, you¡¯re doomed. It¡¯s over.¡± She finally heard the words she had dreaded. Tuoba Rui had never mentioned a divorce before, even when she said that she wanted to kill An Xiaoning. In fact, she would rather be beaten into a pulp than get divorced. She grabbed her mobile phone with quivering hands and gave Tuoba Gucheng a call. However, he dismissed it before even answering. He returned her call a long whileter. ¡°Gucheng, your father wants to divorce me. Give him a call to persuade him to change his mind. I can¡¯t divorce him. You¡¯re not to give your approval, you hear me!?!¡± Shi Xiaoyu spluttered anxiously. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about this when I get home tomorrow.¡± ¡°Gucheng, you¡¯ll understand my reasons for doing what I did once I exin the truth to you. Okay then, go to sleep. I¡¯ll wait for you to return tomorrow.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Shi Xiaoyu did not catch a wink at all that night. All she could think about was Shi Qingzhou, Tuoba Shuo, and Tuoba Rui. In hindsight, she had been too reckless, wanting to kill Shi Qingzhou in order to get a peace of mind as soon as she found out about thetter¡¯s whereabouts. She was too impatient, such that she did not take all the necessary precautions. The thought of Shi Qingzhou being rescued filled her with exasperation. Tuoba Shuo seemed to be so quiet and harmless on the surface. Yet, he was actually such a scheming man and actually managed to rescue Shi Qingzhou sneakily. No wonder he wanted to move out of the Autumn Pce. I¡¯ve really belittled him! Shi Xiaoyu was not in the mood for breakfast at all. Upon hearing that Tuoba Gucheng had returned home with Lin Shishi, she quickly got out of bed to freshen up and proceeded to meet them. A stiff tension filled the air in the quiet room. Tuoba Danxue and Jin Minxing hade home together, and all the members of the Tuoba family were present. Due to the fact that it was a familial issue, Jin Minxing and Lin Shishi excused themselves and exited the room. The family of five were left alone with each other. ¡°Since all of you are present now, I hereby announce to you guys that your mother and I are getting a divorce today, no matter what. I can¡¯t bring myself to face such a vicious woman like her any longer!¡± Tuoba Rui announced. ¡°I¡¯m vicious? Am I as vicious as you are? Although you married me and we gave birth to these three children, you¡¯ve never been as concerned about them or loved them as much as you have been toward your illegitimate daughter!¡± Shi Xiaoyu retorted, feeling much less afraid of Tuoba Rui with her children around. Everyone was bbergasted to hear about the illegitimate daughter. The three siblings looked at each other in bewilderment before turning to Shi Xiaoyu and asking, ¡°Mother, what do you mean?¡± ¡°Ask your father what I mean!¡± Shi Xiaoyu answered. ¡°We¡¯re talking about your motive for killing Shuo, why are you bringing this up for no reason!?!¡± Tuoba Rui barked. ¡°Because I want to.¡± Shi Xiaoyu scoffed and continued, ¡°Exin to your children who your illegitimate daughter is and where she is right now. Let¡¯s make everything clear today! Don¡¯t hide things from your children! Show them your true colors! You¡¯ve harbored feelings for another woman your entire life! How dare you say that I¡¯m vicious?¡± Tuoba Rui remained silent. He initially did not n to reveal to his children about An Xiaoning. However, there was nothing to hide anymore, now that Shi Xiaoyu had spilled the beans. ¡°Don¡¯t make it sound so crude. After all, these three children didn¡¯t even exist yet when my daughter was born. Furthermore, if her mother were still present, you wouldn¡¯t even have had the chance to marry me. If it weren¡¯t for the despicable tricks you pulled, would I have forced myself to marry you?¡± Tuoba Rui sneered. Shi Xiaoyu red at him and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to care how I married you. Have you ever treated me like your wife from the bottom of your heart!?!¡± ¡°Who¡¯d dare to be true to you? You¡¯re such a horrid and repulsive person. I¡¯d rather treat a dog well than you.¡± ¡°Tuoba Rui, you damned jerk!¡± Tuoba Gucheng snapped, ¡°Are you two finished yet!?! We¡¯ll leave Father¡¯s matter forter. Mother, why did you want to kill Uncle?¡± ¡°Let your father tell you about his illegitimate daughter before I talk to you guys privately. You¡¯ll understand everything then!¡± Shi Xiaoyu eximed, gritting her teeth in anger. She believed that her children would help her get rid of Shi Qingzhou once she told them the truth. Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s temples began to throb as he stared at his father and said, ¡°Father, speak up.¡± ¡°When I was younger, I met your mother¡¯s half-sister, whose name was Shi Qingzhou. I adored her greatly, but she was in love with your uncle, who wanted to marry her against the will of your grandparents. Your grandparents were dead set against it and wanted to execute her. Her mentor and I rescued her and she happened to be pregnant back then. However, your uncle wasn¡¯t aware and he thought that she had really passed away. Hence, he decided to be a monk and cooped himself in the mansion at the entrance.¡± Shi Xiaoyu interrupted him, ¡°Did you hear that? That¡¯s how shameless your father is!¡± ¡°Shut up! I¡¯ll never be as shameless as you,¡± Tuoba Rui retorted, glowering at her. Tuoba Danxue was dumbfounded. ¡°Father, what happened next?¡± ¡°She ran away a while after giving birth. Your mother said that she was executed by your grandparents, and I told your mother to send the child out of the Autumn Pce.¡± Tuoba Rui began to tear up and continued, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen her again ever since she was sent away, nor have I ever done my part as her father. Your mother still has the cheek to say that I treat her better than I treat you. Since when did I do that?¡± Chapter 773 - A Million Times for You (135)

Chapter 773: A Million Times for You (135)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°You know clearly yourself! Although you¡¯ve never met her, showed her your concern, or even made your existence known in her life, you know deep down that you love her like a precious gem,¡± Shi Xiaoyu snapped, raising her head. Tuoba Rui could not be bothered to argue with her and said simply, ¡°I won¡¯t continue debating with you. I must divorce you today, no matter what.¡± ¡°Mother, where... is Father¡¯s illegitimate daughter? Have they met each other before?¡± Tuoba Danxue asked. ¡°Of course they have. They¡¯ve seen each other at your wedding. I bet you won¡¯t be able to guess who she is,¡± said Shi Xiaoyu, ncing at her husband. After much thought, Tuoba Danxue probed, ¡°There were so many guests present at my wedding, I really can¡¯t guess who she is. Who is it? Tell us quick, do we know her?¡± ¡°It¡¯s that An Xiaoning.¡± Tuoba Gucheng widened his eyes and stared at his Father in shock and disbelief. ¡°An... Xiaoning? Is that true!?!¡± Tuoba Rui nodded and said, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s true.¡± Shi Xiaoyu sneered and said, ¡°It¡¯s her, all right. She looks exactly like her mother. It¡¯s a striking resemnce that wouldn¡¯t go unnoticed.¡± Tuoba Rui stood up in an attempt to p Shi Xiaoyu again, only to be stopped by Tuoba Hancheng. ¡°Don¡¯t do it.¡± At this very moment, Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s heart was shattered into pieces. He recalled the words An Xiaoning had said to him the night before and thought to himself, Did shee to the Autumn Pce to reunite with her biological parents? If that was the case, why did she have to put on a mask back then? ¡°Father, have you two acknowledged each other?¡± ¡°No. She probably doesn¡¯t know yet that I¡¯m her biological father,¡± Tuoba Rui said truthfully. Tuoba Gucheng was filled with questions. Why didn¡¯t she reunite with Father when she clearly had the chance to? It had never urred to him that An Xiaoning would be his half-sister... How unexpected. The woman he loved most turned out to be his biological sister... At this moment, he felt as if a dagger was plunged right through his heart. ¡°Why is she the one!?! You guys are really out to ruin our mood on New Year¡¯s Day!¡± Tuoba Danxue eximed, bbergasted beyond words. Shi Xiaoyu stood up and said, ¡°The three of you, follow me. I have something else to say to you.¡± The three siblings stood up and followed her into the bedroom. After closing the door, Shi Xiaoyu walked toward the bed and looked at her children solemnly. ¡°You can¡¯t let your father hear about what I¡¯m going to tell you next. You mustn¡¯t let him know about it, no matter what. Otherwise, I don¡¯t know what the consequences will be.¡± Tuoba Danxue stomped her feet impatiently and said, ¡°Got it, hurry and tell us what you wanted to say.¡± After a moment of silence, Shi Xiaoyu said to Tuoba Danxue, ¡°I think you¡¯d better not know about this. Go out, I¡¯ll talk to your brothers.¡± ¡°Why won¡¯t you let me hear about it?¡± Tuoba Danxue questioned. ¡°Because you¡¯re someone else¡¯s daughter-inw now and I can¡¯t trust you to keep your mouth shut. It¡¯s better that you don¡¯t know about this,¡± Shi Xiaoyu answered, dismissing Tuoba Danxue. The three of them were left in the room. ¡°An Xiaoning¡¯s mother is still alive.¡± The pair of brothers looked at each other in bewilderment and continued to listen quietly. ¡°Back then, I staged her death and imed that your grandparents were the ones who had executed her. In reality, I locked her up for decades in my secret dungeon. I thought that she would die in my hands eventually and that no one would ever find out about it. Yet, your uncle actually managed to rescue her. I don¡¯t know how he found out that she was still alive, nor do I have any idea about how he managed to rescue her, but your uncle is with that woman right now. She¡¯s the one I want to kill, not your uncle.¡± ¡°Mother, isn¡¯t she your half-sister? Why do you have to treat her that way?¡± Tuoba Hancheng asked in puzzlement. ¡°Sister? I don¡¯t have a sister like her,¡± Shi Xiaoyu sneered. ¡°I guess I understand it now. You held her captive for so many years and you want to kill her now that she¡¯s escaped. Mother, Father was right. You¡¯re much more vicious than he is.¡± ¡°I told you these because I wanted you to know that I don¡¯t intend to harm your uncle at all. I was just too impatient, so... You can¡¯t let your father find out about this, otherwise, he¡¯s going to rip me into shreds. Sons, you guys are my only hopes left. You can¡¯t leave me in the lurch. You can¡¯t let your father divorce me.¡± Tuoba Gucheng closed his eyes before opening them again. He took a deep breath and walked away. Shi Xiaoyu hurriedly grabbed him and said, ¡°Gucheng, did you hear what I said at all!?!¡± ¡°Even if Brother and I don¡¯t tell on you, do you really think Father won¡¯t find out?¡± ¡°That¡¯s why... Son, give Mother a hand and execute that woman in secret! I¡¯ll forever be rid of troubles then!¡± Tuoba Gucheng squinted and said, ¡°No way I¡¯ll ever do that.¡± He opened the door in a bid to leave. Shi Xiaoyu hurriedly chased after him while Tuoba Hancheng followed closely behind. Upon the sight of them, Tuoba Rui stood up and said to his son, ¡°Regardless of what your mother said to you, I must get a divorce.¡± Shi Xiaoyu nced at her sons, after which Tuoba Hancheng said, ¡°If you really can¡¯t stand my mother, you may just live separately with her. Divorce is only an on-paper procedure, it¡¯s better to uphold your reputation and continue being married in name.¡± ¡°I¡¯m already so old and I¡¯m no longer the president. Reputation isn¡¯t important to me anymore. I don¡¯t want to continue forcing myself to endure the suffering. Time and time again, she¡¯s tried to harm a child who doesn¡¯t pose a threat to her at all. She even dares to harm your uncle. What else does she not dare to do? She might just kill me one day,¡± said Tuoba Rui, venting his frustration. ¡°Just get a divorce, then,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng. As soon as he finished speaking, Shi Xiaoyu red at him and yelled, ¡°Gucheng, what are you talking about!?!¡± He avoided eye contact with her and said, ¡°Everyone has the right to pursue the life they want. If life is too arduous and the only way to break free from the torment is by getting a divorce, then just go ahead.¡± ¡°Brother, what are you saying!?! Our parents are already so old, it¡¯s so ridiculous to be getting a divorce now. I thought you would stop them from getting divorced, yet you¡¯re actually supporting it. What are you thinking!?!¡± Tuoba Danxue protested, for she was strongly against the idea of her parents getting a divorce. Tuoba Gucheng gave her a side nce and said, ¡°What do you know?¡± ¡°Gucheng, I thought you would have my back, yet you¡¯re actually far worse than your brother! What¡¯s the point of having you as my son? You¡¯re taking your father¡¯s side!¡± Pursing his lips, Tuoba Gucheng sneered at Shi Xiaoyu and said, ¡°Mother, you¡¯ve been ming Father for the way things have turned out, but have you ever reflected on yourself? Have you ever admitted and took responsibility for your mistakes? Danxue and I weren¡¯t allowed to make the decision in our own marriages. Didn¡¯t you just want us to end up like you by doing that? I reckon Father must have married yourgely because of Grandpa and Grandma¡¯s orders. Danxue once told me not to treat my children the way you treated us, if I one day seed the throne and be the president. She wanted me to allow my children to have the final say in their own rtionships. Actually, your marriage is between the two of you and you don¡¯t have to seek our opinion at all. If you can¡¯t live together anymore, just have a discussion ande up with a solution.¡± Chapter 774 - A Million Times for You (136)

Chapter 774: A Million Times for You (136)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Upon hearing Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s words, Tuoba Danxue immediately thought of Jiang Feng, who had died an innocent death because of her, and fell silent. Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s personal mobile phone began vibrating continuously in his pocket. He whipped it out and took a look at the caller disy before exiting to answer it. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to meet your mother,¡± said An Xiaoning, who sounded hoarse, as if she had gotten a cold. ¡°Where are you?¡± ¡°Outside the main entrance of the Autumn Pce.¡± After pondering for a brief moment, he asked, ¡°What do you want to see her for?¡± ¡°I have something important to show her. Please, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll send someone to bring you in.¡± He switched off his mobile phone and returned inside. ¡°An Xiaoning is here.¡± Tuoba Gucheng adjusted his zer and looked at Shi Xiaoyu. ¡°She said that she has something important to show you,¡± he continued. ¡°What is it? Did you let her in?¡± Shi Xiaoyu asked with a frown. ¡°Yes.¡± He seemed to have already guessed An Xiaoning¡¯s reason for entering the Autumn Pce. However, why did shee to see Mother? Just what does she want to show Mother? More than ten minutester, the bodyguards entered with An Xiaoning. She was wearing a pink cardigan that had long tassels at its hem, coupled with a pair of ck leather trousers and high-heeled stilettos that produced a crisp click-ck sound whenever she took a step. She appeared rather aloof and stern. She stood in the middle of the living room and began speaking with a straight face. ¡°I received a call this morning from my biological mother, Shi Qingzhou. I heard that Madam had sent her subordinates to kill my motherst night, is that true?¡± Tuoba Rui was shell-shocked and almost began to wonder if he was hallucinating and hearing things. Unable to contain his emotions, he asked, ¡°Who did you just say...¡± ¡°Shi Qingzhou. I suppose you still remember her, don¡¯t you?¡± An Xiaoning answered. ¡°You mean she¡¯s still alive?¡± ¡°Yes, she¡¯s still alive. I came here today, not to acknowledge my family but to show Madam something. I believe you¡¯ll start to exercise self-control once you see it,¡± An Xiaoning said simply. Tuoba Rui zoomed toward her and questioned agitatedly, ¡°Where is she now!?! Xiaoning, where¡¯s your mother?¡± ¡°Sit down first. I¡¯ll answer you after I make my purpose for visiting clear,¡± An Xiaoning said in her ever-so-calm voice. ¡°Okay...¡± Tuoba Rui retreated backward and returned to his seat. An Xiaoning took out a video yer from her purse and pressed a button on the small device with her slender fingers, after which a video began ying. The volume was loud and clear enough for everyone to hear. ¡°There are no sounds here to disturb you now. Apart from my voice, there¡¯s nothing you can hear and it¡¯spletely silent around you. Imagine that you¡¯re floating on the surface of the ocean, how peaceful and rxing. You¡¯re paddling along the waves using your hands... Is the ocean vast?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Continue to paddle forward and you¡¯ll see your family calling out to you from another boat. Take a look at them, who do you see?¡± ¡°Father, Mother...¡± ¡°Is your sister there, too?¡± ¡°She¡¯s not my sister!¡± Shi Xiaoyu scrambled toward her in a frantic state and reached her hand out in an attempt to snatch the yer away from An Xiaoning¡¯s hands. However, An Xiaoning raised her hands high above her head and glowered at Shi Xiaoyu. ¡°Madam, we¡¯re not finished yet. Why are you in such a hurry?¡± Tuoba Rui pulled Shi Xiaoyu away and said, ¡°Continue.¡± The video was resumed. ¡°Could you tell me what she looks like now?¡± ¡°Her clothes are tattered and torn, with bloodstains all over them. She¡¯s shackled to chains, and her hair is unkempt and dry like weeds. She hasn¡¯t brushed her hair in ages. What¡¯s the use of being pretty...¡± ¡°...¡± They continued to watch the video until the very end. ¡°As you can see, this is a video of Madam being hypnotized before I rescued my mother. When I was bringing my mother away, she was so frail and emaciated that she appeared to be on the verge of death. She was locked up like a prisoner for three whole decades...¡± An Xiaoning stared at the three siblings with an icy cold look in her eyes before continuing, ¡°It¡¯s been quite some time since she was rescued, and the only reason I haven¡¯t told your father was that my mother doesn¡¯t wish to see him or let him know that she¡¯s still alive. I decided to abide by her wishes. I¡¯ve never thought of acknowledging my biological father anyway. However, your mother is bent on killing my mother, who¡¯s now injured. I¡¯m leaving this video with you guys and I¡¯ll pretend not to see anything that happens here now. If the three of you don¡¯t wish to see your mother¡¯s scandal being reported on the news all across the globe or cause the entire S Nation to be humiliated and be a globalughingstock, then you¡¯d better keep your mother in check! Otherwise, the citizens are really going to be disappointed in your family. Don¡¯t let your mother get out of hand and wreak havoc again! Since I dared to show up here today, I¡¯ve already prepared everything beforehand. If I end up dying here or if I don¡¯t make it out in three hours, this scandal will be exposed all over the media. Just you wait and see!¡± Tuoba Danxue stared at the petite An Xiaoning, who seemed to have just released all her pent-up anger and emotions. ¡°Mother, were you nning to talk to my brothers about this?¡± Seething with exasperation, Shi Xiaoyu mmed her hand down onto the table and glowered at An Xiaoning. ¡°An Xiaoning, it seems like you haven¡¯t gotten a clear idea of where you stand. How dare you give us an ultimatum and threaten us!?!¡± she screeched. ¡°I don¡¯t know where I stand? Did you forget that I¡¯m my father¡¯s biological child? I¡¯ve already gotten a DNA test done to verify that. I¡¯m a pureblood from the Tuoba family too! Although I¡¯ve never wanted to return to this family or reunite with my kin, that doesn¡¯t mean my identity can be denied, does it?¡± An Xiaoning retorted furiously, almost daunting. She had lost her rationality the moment she heard that Shi Xiaoyu had sent some hitmen to kill her mother. Pointing at Tuoba Rui, Shi Xiaoyu sneered, ¡°So what if you are? Do you really think he¡¯ll stand up for you? He¡¯s no longer the president now. The president is now my son! How are you so stupid as to not realize that?¡± ¡°So what if your son is the president? He has a conscience and a mind of his own. He¡¯s not your puppet whom you can manipte. I believe he won¡¯t allow you to go about your unruly ways and bring shame to him and his nation.¡± ¡°Well said,¡± Tuoba Gucheng interjected. He then said to the bodyguards, ¡°Bring Ms. An to my office.¡± Tuoba Rui immediately stopped An Xiaoning from leaving and asked, ¡°Your mother... where is she now?¡± ¡°With my father. That¡¯s right, the father I¡¯m referring to is your brother. He¡¯s earned enough of my respect for me to consider him my father. Don¡¯t think of seeing my mother again because she doesn¡¯t wish to see you at all.¡± An Xiaoning turned away from him and continued to walk away. Just as she was about to reach the door, she heard a mncholic voice. ¡°Xiaoning, Father has let you down,¡± said Tuoba Rui. Despite having no attachment toward him at all, An Xiaoning could not help but tear up. However, she did not turn back and continued to walk out of the door. Soon, she vanished. Chapter 775 - A Million Times for You (137)

Chapter 775: A Million Times for You (137)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Tuoba Rui looked away and guffawed mirthlessly. Hisughter was filled with immense pain, misery, and agony. ¡°Father...¡± Tuoba Danxue murmured. She had never seen such an emotional and distraught side of her father before. It was, in fact, a little terrifying. Shi Xiaoyu was no longer as confident as she was when she was arguing with An Xiaoning earlier. She stood rooted to the ground in fear, clenching her fists tightly as goosebumps began to form all over her from head to toe. Tuoba Rui¡¯sughter ceased as he turned to re at Shi Xiaoyu sullenly. ¡°You imed that Qingzhou tried to run away and that my parents had executed her. I was fooled by you for decades... Not only am I going to divorce you today, I¡¯m going to remove your name from the Tuoba family¡¯s record. After you die, you¡¯re not to be buried in the ancestral grave. Your son may be the president now, but don¡¯t forget, he¡¯s in no ce to meddle with the familial matters!¡± Indeed, Tuoba Gucheng did not have the right to interfere with the family records. ¡°Tuoba Rui, you¡¯re just a scumbag who tried to vie with your brother for his lover. How are you any better than I am? You were clearly aware that Shi Qingzhou was not in love with you at all, yet you still forced yourself upon her shamelessly and got her pregnant with your child. I really me myself for not killing her earlier. Had I known that this day woulde, I would havepletely eradicated her and her daughter!¡± Shi Xiaoyu barked in exasperation. However, she made a foolish decision to further provoke the infuriated Tuoba Rui. Her three children could not save her at all from Tuoba Rui¡¯s kick in the nick of time. Shi Xiaoyu fell onto the ground with a loud thud, feeling as if her bones were about to be fractured. Shey on the ground and began bawling loudly while Tuoba Danxue hurriedly helped her up. ¡°Mother, are you alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯m dying...¡± Shi Xiaoyu struggled to get up on her feet and began barking like a madwoman, ¡°If you¡¯ve got the gall, kill me and avenge Shi Qingzhou. I was married to you for almost my entire life and given birth to three of your children. I ought to deserve some credit for my hard work, yet you still ill-treated me and were always aloof toward me. Would you have taken the initiative to spend the night with me if I didn¡¯t always ask you toe and sleep with me in my room?¡± Tuoba Ruipletely disregarded her and walked away. Shi Xiaoyu continued to curse and swear with all her might, raging with fury. The revtion of the truth that Shi Xiaoyu had been hiding for decades sent her into a fizzy and a state of hysterics. Needless to say, the consequences were grave. The three siblings were incredibly upset. After Shi Xiaoyu left to return to her room, Tuoba Danxue asked, ¡°Brother, how do you n to deal with An Xiaoning?¡± ¡°Why must I deal with her?¡± ¡°She holds the evidence to mother¡¯s misdeeds that she can threaten us with. Aren¡¯t you afraid that she would...¡± said Tuoba Danxue. ¡°If she really wanted to spread the evidence online or to foreign media tforms, she would¡¯ve done it long ago. She¡¯s not an insensible person,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng, who was not in the least bit worried at all. ¡°If she knows what she¡¯s doing, would she havee here to stir trouble with no qualms about the consequences?¡± ¡°That¡¯s because she was driven to exasperation. I¡¯ll have a talk with her privately,¡± Tuoba Gucheng said sternly. ¡°Sure.¡± He instructed Tuoba Danxue, ¡°Remember... don¡¯t divulge too much to Minxing.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°You may go,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng, after which Tuoba Danxue nodded and scurried away. The pair of brothers were left alone. ¡°You seem to be on Father¡¯s side. Mother may have done wrong, but Father is partly to me too,¡± said a puzzled Tuoba Hancheng. Tuoba Gucheng answered bluntly, ¡°I don¡¯t understand. Haven¡¯t you always been headstrong and opinionated when ites to pursuing true love? If you could even allow yourself to fall in love with men, why won¡¯t you approve of Father¡¯s decision to get a divorce? What logic is that? You im to believe in pursuing true love and freedom on one hand, yet you won¡¯t allow your parents to do the same on the other. Why should they continue living like this if neither of them is happy at all?¡± ¡°They may just live separately and never see each other again.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure Father has his own reasons,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng, who then rose from his seat. ¡°Wait a minute...¡± Tuoba Hancheng also stood up and looked his brother in the eye. ¡°What do you n to do about Mother?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll decide after having a talk with An Xiaoning.¡± ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning did not regret her impulsive decision to act recklessly at all. She did not intend to make Tuoba Gucheng or the entire nation her enemy, for she was not tired of living yet. Hence, she was merely making a gamble by showing up at the Autumn Pce today. She was testing if her actions could keep Shi Xiaoyu in check. In other words, she wanted Tuoba Gucheng and Tuoba Rui to take her in hand. Hence, she¡¯d decided not to hide the truth anymore. Indeed, she did not think about the consequences that would ensue if things did not go ording to her n. There was no turning back anyway, since what was done could not be undone. Tuoba Gucheng must be infuriated to know that I¡¯m his blood-rted sister. An Xiaoning rested her head on his desk and looked out of the window at the clear, blue sky. Instead of getting up the moment she heard the door being opened, she remained still and closed her eyes instead. On the surface, she appeared to have fallen asleep. The door was locked. Tuoba Gucheng walked toward her with a steady pace and blocked the light from entering through the window. He stared at her, overwhelmed with a mix of emotions. He then removed his zer and draped it across her, refraining from waking her up. An Xiaoning could feel the zer being put on her since she was not actually asleep. However, she remained still and stiffened her body. All of a sudden, her mobile phone began ringing and she subconsciously proceeded to fumble for the device in her pocket. It was an iing call from overseas. Shi Qingzhou¡¯s mobile number was shown on the caller disy. ¡°Mother.¡± ¡°Did you go to the Autumn Pce? I¡¯m worried about you,¡± Shi Qingzhou said feebly. ¡°Did he call Father?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°He¡± obviously referred to Tuoba Rui while ¡°Father¡± referred to Tuoba Shuo. ¡°Yes, I spoke to him over the phone. He said that he wants to add your name to the Tuoba family¡¯s ancestral records and give you a proper status. I agreed to it,¡± said Shi Qingzhou. ¡°Why did you agree?¡± ¡°Regardless of how much I may detest him, I don¡¯t want you to be treated unfairly. It¡¯ll be better for you that way. Anyway, the ugly truth is already out. Your father and I n to sell this house and move back to S Nation. I don¡¯t want to be away from you ever again. It¡¯s not that safe overseas either,¡± Shi Qingzhou said in between sobs. ¡°Okay.¡± After hanging up, she ced the zer onto the chair and made eye contact with Tuoba Gucheng. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for hiding the truth all this while about being your half-sister.¡± ¡°Come here,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng, patting the spot beside him. She walked forward and took a seat beside him. ¡°I can bear with it if you¡¯d like tosh out at me.¡± ¡°Why would I re up orsh out at you? Nothing will change just because you¡¯re rted to me by blood,¡± Tuoba Gucheng said calmly,pletely hiding his anger and embarrassment. ¡°Your Majesty...¡± He pulled her into an embrace forcefully and said, ¡°Regardless of whether you¡¯re my sister or an animal or what have you, I¡¯ll always love you. I loved you way before all of these happened. It doesn¡¯t make sense for me to erase all my feelings for you easily just because I know the truth now, does it?¡± Chapter 776 - A Million Times for You (138)

Chapter 776: A Million Times for You (138)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Knowing that he was a persistent person, An Xiaoning did not want to continue an endless debate with him. ¡°About that video today, I wasn¡¯t saying those things for fun.¡± He watched her quietly. ¡°Your mother has gone through a lot of suffering. You and she probably hate my mother a lot and wish for her death. But even if she¡¯s done something wrong, I won¡¯t allow the two of you to kill her. So, let¡¯s make a deal. You keep the video to yourself and I will make sure she won¡¯t ever harm you and your mother. The two of you can¡¯t think of killing her either. You know, she¡¯s still my mother, after all. If you both were to kill her, I won¡¯t stand by and do nothing. Do you agree to this deal?¡± ¡°Do you think she¡¯ll actually listen to you?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve transferred away anyone that she can use to help her. If a general like her doesn¡¯t have a single soldier, how will she pose a threat to the two of you?¡± An Xiaoning did not answer. After keeping silent for a moment, she said, ¡°She¡¯s so fortunate to have the president as her son. Can I possibly refuse to agree to this deal? After all, we¡¯re just ordinary citizens and have no power to go against you.¡± ¡°I see you were too hasty today.¡± His sparkling eyes lit up. ¡°You came barging in here without fear of the consequences. You¡¯re just taking advantage of the tolerance I have toward you.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t take advantage of...¡± Knock, knock, knock! Lin Shishi¡¯s voice sounded from outside the door. ¡°Hubby, it¡¯s me.¡± An Xiaoning sprung up abruptly to open the door. Lin Shishi served a te of fruits as she entered. ¡°I just heard Danxue telling Minxing...¡± ¡°Looks like the whole world will know very soon.¡± Hearing him say it so nonchntly, Lin Shishi replied, ¡°It¡¯s fine even if they know. Sister Xiaoning is originally my sister and it will still be that way in the future. It¡¯s just that... I heard Danxue saying that you were the one who rescued your mother. How did you get in here?¡± An Xiaoning hesitated for a moment before replying, ¡°There¡¯s naturally a way to get in.¡± ¡°What way?¡± she probed. ¡°Shishi, I don¡¯t really want to exin this.¡± An Xiaoning was not in a good mood. ¡°I¡¯ll be going back first.¡± ¡°Sister, Minxing and Danxue are going back after lunch as well. Why don¡¯t you go back with them?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Her throat was feeling ufortable and her nose seemed to be blocked as well. The reason that An Xiaoning was unable to return could not be more obvious. It was because Tuoba Rui was extremely efficient in doing things and had immediately applied for divorce. This was the difference between the royalty of S Nation and amoner. For amoner to apply for a divorce, both spouses had to go down personally to the Civil Administration Bureau, and to get married, only one of the parties had to go down with both of their household registers or passports. On the other hand, for a member of royalty to get divorced, only one party needs to initiate it for their marriage to end. Getting married was even more casual, as only a single party had to bring both of their identification documents for them to get married. Even though being royalty had its privileges, no one dared to treat marriage as a game. In S Nation, marriage was sacred and an extremely serious affair. Because of this, women like An Xiaoning who had been married thrice were ridiculed harshly. After Tuoba Rui had gotten a divorce, he added An Xiaoning¡¯s name into the Tuoba family¡¯s historical records. However, her name remained the same as she was unwilling to change it. Even though she listened to her mother and had her name added to the family¡¯s records, thereby officially bing a member of the Tuoba family, it did not mean that she was about to acknowledge her father. Upon knowing that Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s name had been removed from the family¡¯s historical records by Tuoba Rui, she vaguely felt a sense of satisfaction. This was part of the consequence that Shi Xiaoyu deserved. Aspared to what she had done, such a consequence was not even worth mentioning. What made An Xiaoning the most surprised was that Tuoba Rui actually released a piece of news admitting his divorce with Shi Xiaoyu and acknowledging the fact that An Xiaoning was his eldest daughter. This act was akin to telling the whole world about An Xiaoning¡¯s identity. Not only that, the piece of news referred to An Xiaoning¡¯s biological mother when she herself was described as ¡°a child borne by the woman whom he loved before marriage.¡± After this piece of news was reported, what followed was the news of An Xiaoning being rescued back. Some who were slow to reactter imed that the reason that the terrorist organization had kidnapped An Xiaoning was because they knew she was Tuoba Rui¡¯s illegitimate daughter... Regardless of whether the onlinements were positive or negative, she did not read them. She did not really approve of what Tuoba Rui had done as she felt that such things did not have to be made known to the public. After all, at the same time that she was envied by those strangers, she was also paid closer attention to by other strangers. With such attention, she had to face both evil and good things from people. There were always those people who did not wish for you to lead a good life and receive all the love in the world. Such people always existed; there was no way to avoid it. Now, it was toote for her to prevent any of these from happening. Also, her name being added to the family¡¯s record meant that she had to go through an official ceremony. After the ceremony ended, she left the Autumn Pce and, throughout, she did not speak a word to her biological father. When she reached A City, it was already three in the afternoon. When she reached home, she brought No. 5 and No. 8 to buy some things. There was not much difference in the city during the New Year as most shops were still open for business. She wanted to prepare her mother¡¯s room beforehand and bought a variety of things she would need. She arranged the bedroom on the first floor for her mother to live in. Together with the other men, they packed up the room and, by the time it was dark, the room had been decorated and cleaned perfectly. An Xiaoning nodded in satisfaction. ¡°Everyone has worked hard. Have a meal, and then you should all go and rest. Let me head out.¡± ¡°Sister, you should eat before you go.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m going to the Gu residence to have a reunion dinner.¡± In the afternoon, Mrs. Gu had called her to ask her to return for dinner. She had agreed. No. 5 and No. 8 followed her there as well. When she reached the Gu residence, she spotted the rare sight of Gu Dongcheng. This was because thest time Gu Dongcheng was at the Gu residence was when he and Xu Youran were kicked out by Mrs. Gu. Now, what was he doing here? Had he made up with Mr. Gu already? She still had doubts in her heart but obviously would not have asked him directly. She still greeted him out of politeness. ¡°Big Brother.¡± Gu Dongcheng¡¯s expression was warm and gentle. ¡°I only heard today that you¡¯re actually the President¡¯s sister. You calling me ¡®Big Brother¡¯ makes me fearful.¡± ¡°What are you saying, Big Brother? We¡¯re all family. Come in.¡± She entered the front gate while No. 5 and No. 8 automatically stood by the door to wait. The whole family sat before the dining table. Because Gu Dongcheng was around, Mrs. Gu¡¯s face looked exceptionally bleak, but she did not say anything in particr either. ¡°Xiaoning, can Brother ask you for a favor?¡± ¡°What favor?¡± Gu Dongcheng raised his ss of beer and took two sips before saying, ¡°Youran has been missing for so long already. I still have no clue as to her whereabouts, and I can¡¯t find her anywhere. Can you take a look at her birth characters and see if she is still alive? I¡¯ve asked other fortune-tellers already, some said she¡¯s dead while others im she¡¯s still alive. I really don¡¯t know which one of their readings is urate. You¡¯ve always been urate with your readings, can you help?¡± Chapter 777 - A Million Times for You (139)

Chapter 777: A Million Times for You (139)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Big Brother, aren¡¯t you putting me in a spot like that?¡± she muttered frankly. ¡°No matter who else I read for, I can¡¯t possibly read for Xu Youran. Big Brother should know that one of my boundaries is to not go against my conscience to read the fortune of someone who wants me dead. No matter how much money you give, I won¡¯t do it. If it¡¯s to read for you, Big Brother, I don¡¯t need a single cent and I¡¯ll read it for you if you give me your birth characters. As for her, no way.¡± She rejected him so directly that Gu Dongcheng did not have a way out. ¡°Your feud with Youran was so long ago, you¡¯re still taking it to heart?¡± ¡°Even if our feud were eight hundred years ago, she¡¯s still someone who wanted me dead. I wouldn¡¯t dare forget it. I¡¯m not a saint who will just let everything go just because someone shows some friendliness.¡± Hearing her say this, Gu Dongcheng did not say anything else. ¡°Big Brother, do you want a reading? I can read for you.¡± Gu Dongcheng shook his head. ¡°No, I don¡¯t need a reading. I don¡¯t even know if Youran is dead or alive right now. She¡¯s even pregnant. It¡¯s the New Year already, I¡¯m really worried mad.¡± ¡°She has a blessed life, she¡¯ll be fine,¡± An Xiaoning consoled him in a casual manner. ¡°As the saying goes, wise and good people don¡¯t live long while evil ones live a thousand years to harm others.¡± Lin Mingxi could not hold it in and burst intoughter. Gu Dongcheng¡¯s face turned dull. ¡°Xiaoning, do you really think it¡¯s appropriate to speak about Youran like that?¡± ¡°Big Brother, even a child knows that lying is not a good habit. I¡¯ve always adopted the attitude of speaking the truth to everyone around me.¡± An Xiaoning then decisively changed the subject, looking toward her second brother at one side. ¡°Beicheng,ter after the meal, I have something to ask you privately.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Gu Dongcheng could not cut into their conversation and could only bury the anger he had inside his heart. After the meal, Gu Beicheng and An Xiaoning went into the bedroom by themselves. ¡°What do you want to ask me?¡± ¡°It¡¯s about this jade bangle you gave me when I got married.¡± She folded her sleeve up, revealing the dark green bangle. ¡°Would you still be able to find the original owner of this bangle?¡± ¡°I should be able to. Back then, when I first collected this jade bangle, I felt that the quality of the jade was very pure and suitable for a gift to others. Thereafter, I gave it to you as your wedding gift. Later on, this jade bangle really seemed to have protected you from harm. Wasn¡¯t Brother right? After wearing a jade bangle for some time, it will give you energy. Jade has spiritual abilities and will naturally recognize its owner. Wasn¡¯t there also a case of a jade bangle that was broken but was magically restored by itself?¡± ¡°Help me to find the original owner of this jade bangle.¡± A puzzled look shed across Gu Beicheng¡¯s bright eyes. ¡°What for?¡± ¡°Almost every few days, I dream of a scene from my past life. Yesterday night, I dreamed that I was wearing this bangle in my past life. I¡¯m afraid that this bangle was mine in my past life, so...¡± Gu Beicheng shed a faint smile. ¡°Wow. Even in this day and age, I see plenty of puzzling things like this. Alright, Brother will help you find out. I¡¯ll tell you when I have news.¡± She nodded. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s a deal then. I¡¯ve had a tiring day and I¡¯m truly exhausted. I¡¯m going back to rest first.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± He sent her downstairs. When she was about to sleep, Jin Qingyan¡¯s call came in. She nced at the caller disy on her phone screen and did not answer. She just stayed on her bed, not moving an inch as she watched her phone screen sh continuously. He called her two times, and both times, she did not pick up. He then stopped calling her. An Xiaoning ced her phone on the bedside. Lately, she had been frequently dreaming of her past life, which made her unable to sleep properly. Hopefully, she would be able to sleep until daybreak tonight. That was what she thought before she fell asleep. In the end, it went as she¡¯d wished for. When she opened her eyes again, it was bright outside already and No. 8¡¯s voice wasing from outside the door. ¡°Sister, someone called Ji Yu is here to look for you.¡± ¡°Let him wait in the living room, I¡¯ll being soon.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The sound of No. 8¡¯s footsteps gradually faded away. Ji Yu was brought to the living room and sat straight on the sofa, waiting quietly for An Xiaoning. He had seen yesterday¡¯s news. Because of what had happened to An Xiaoning, he thought that it was impossible for her to return. To prevent himself from feeling depressed when reminded of her, he had deleted her number from his phone. When he went to the Jin family to ask about her address, he was also informed that she was in B City and they were unsure of when she would return. He simply decided to visit in the morning to see if she had returned. An Xiaoning wore a short-styled feathered coat that had a huge furry cor. For the bottom, she wore a double-row buttoned pair of jeans. She walked down the stairs, then all the way to the seat opposite Ji Yu and sat down. ¡°Long time no see,¡± she greeted him. Ji Yu gazed at her and replied in a low voice, ¡°Long time no see. It¡¯s really great that you¡¯re still alive.¡± An Xiaoningughed. ¡°It¡¯s good to be alive to see my family and friends. It¡¯s really a fortunate thing.¡± ¡°May I have your number again?¡± He continued in an embarrassed manner, ¡°I don¡¯t have it in my phone anymore.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± She gave him her number again, but added, ¡°But I can¡¯t go out privately with you anymore like how we went to y pool, eat, and watch a movie. I don¡¯t want you to be implicated because of me.¡± ¡°This is what I wanted to say too.¡± He was slightly embarrassed as he muttered, ¡°I¡¯ve been arranged to go on another blind date.¡± ¡°How is it going?¡± An Xiaoning enquired. ¡°Are the two of you dating already?¡± He nodded. ¡°We¡¯re dating already. She¡¯s a teacher.¡± An Xiaoning grinned. ¡°That¡¯s really wonderful.¡± ¡°I heard that my nephew and your son are training together at the devil training boot camp.¡± ¡°Your nephew?¡± An Xiaoning enquired. ¡°What¡¯s his name?¡± ¡°Ji Gui.¡± ¡°I have some impression of him.¡± The fact that Ji Yu had gone on another blind date and was even dating now was something she rejoiced at. With this, she would not implicate him in her matters anymore in the future, and she need not worry about him putting all his effort on her. Frankly speaking, because of what had happened to her, a man who was interested in her had deleted her number and started going out with someone else he had gone on a blind date with. This somehow only made her feel that...pared to the time Jin Qingyan had invested on her, this seemed a bit too short. This also made her feel that interest was ultimately just interest; it could not bepared with a form of liking or love. No. 5 came over and passed a ss of warm milk to her and a cup of coffee to Ji Yu. ¡°Thank you,¡± he muttered as he took the cup of coffee from him. As she¡¯d had a good sleep the night before, An Xiaoning was very energetic at the present moment. She held onto the ss of milk, not knowing what to say to him. It seemed that in that short period of time in which they had not seen each other, a barrier had formed between them. ¡°Xiaoning, I¡¯m really sorry.¡± ¡°Why do you say that? I don¡¯t feel that it¡¯s necessary. You don¡¯t have to be sorry.¡± She more or less understood what he meant. ¡°We were friends previously, and we will still be in the future. Why feel sorry toward me?¡± ¡°You treated me as a friend, but I didn¡¯t treat you that way previously. I¡¯ve always treated you as a woman.¡± ¡°If you didn¡¯t treat me as a friend previously, then just do so from today onward.¡± ¡°I will.¡± He took two sips of coffee and slowly said, ¡°The woman whom I¡¯m dating now has a character that¡¯s simr to yours. When I get married, will you attend my wedding?¡± ¡°If you invite me, I¡¯ll go. But if you don¡¯t want me to appear, I won¡¯t go and spoil the fun.¡± ¡°If that day reallyes, I will invite you.¡± He grinned at her. ¡°You muste.¡± She agreed. ¡°Alright, if that dayes and I¡¯m free, I¡¯ll go.¡± Chapter 778 - A Million Times for You (140)

Chapter 778: A Million Times for You (140)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning was surprised by the unexpected sight of Shi Qingzhou and Tuoba Shuo at her doorstep. She rushed forward and hugged her mother. ¡°Mother, why are you back so soon? Aren¡¯t you still recuperating and nursing your wounds?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a minor wound, I¡¯m fine. I don¡¯t wish to live abroad any longer. I missed you so much. Baby, it¡¯s been hard on you,¡± said Shi Qingzhou, tears flowing from her eyes. Regardless of how old one may be, they¡¯ll always be a child in the eyes of their mother. An Xiaoning was a tough woman who could withstand all kinds of grueling situations. However, her mother¡¯s endearing words were enough to bring tears to her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± said An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning realized that her mother was looking drastically different from her previous emaciated self. She used to be as thin as bones; however, she had since gotten chubbier and appeared much healthier than before. An Xiaoning pulled her mother into the house and showed her to a room inside. ¡°This is a room I had prepared for you guys beforehand. Mother, do you like it?¡± Shi Qingzhou nodded with a smile and said, ¡°Yes, I do.¡± She then helped Shi Qingzhou into the room and allowed her to lie in the bed. ¡°Quick, let me see your wounds.¡± Shi Qingzhou lifted her shirt to expose the bandaged wound on her abdomen, which was the result of a gunshot. Noticing the look of pity and worry on her daughter¡¯s face, Shi Qingzhou patted her hand and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯ll be fine after resting for a few days.¡± ¡°Father, did you get injured too?¡± An Xiaoning asked, looking at Tuoba Shuo. ¡°He took a bullet for me but he didn¡¯t want me to tell you about it,¡± said Shi Qingzhou. ¡°Where is the wound? Hurry and sit down, don¡¯t keep standing.¡± ¡°On my arm. It¡¯s alright,¡± said Tuoba Shuo, who took a seat on the bed. An Xiaoning moved a chair toward her and said, ¡°Tuoba Gucheng said that he¡¯ll keep an eye on Shi Xiaoyu and take her subordinates away from her, as long as I don¡¯t leak the video of Shi Xiaoyu being hypnotized. I agreed to it.¡± ¡°That means he doesn¡¯t n to let Shi Xiaoyu continue beingwless, but... Shi Xiaoyu will definitely pursue the matter,¡± said Shi Qingzhou. She was extremely certain. ¡°Why so, Mother?¡± ¡°Because I have something she yearns to possess. Do you know what it is?¡± Shi Qingzhou asked softly. ¡°No.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a book your maternal grandmother had left for me. I kept it hidden away from her and your grandfather. Apart from wanting to torture me, she kept me alive also because she wanted to know where that book is. She wouldn¡¯t give up unless she finds out more about it,¡± Shi Qingzhou said truthfully. ¡°What book is that?¡± Shi Qingzhou immediately recalled the book and the incidents rted to her mother. ¡°Your grandmother was exceptionally gorgeous when she was younger. In that era, psychic individuals were deemed to be reincarnations of evil souls and were considered to be inauspicious beings. Thus, she dared not reveal her psychic abilities to anyone, for fear that she would bring unnecessary trouble and disaster upon herself. However, it still got leaked in the end by her mother-inw, who was also my grandmother. Afterward, a lot of people were after her and tried to burn her alive. However, my mother managed to escape. ording to what she told me, she fled to an ancient grave in whichy a night luminescent pearl. She then opened the coffin to find that there was a book beside the corpse. That was the very book that gave my mother the courage to return home. It¡¯s also the one that Shi Xiaoyu is desperately looking for.¡± An Xiaoning and Tuoba Shuo listened quietly without interrupting. Shi Qingzhou continued, ¡°The first thing my mother did when she returned was to kill those who tried to take her life, all except my father and grandmother. The two of them were the root cause of everything. In my memory, my mother was a person of strong character who had never once shed a tear in front of me. I witnessed her bawling and weeping for the very first time when your grandfather divorced her and chased her out of the house. Later on, more and more people tried to kill her, and they even tried to use me to threaten her. Atst, she sumbed and allowed them to tie her limbs to firewood, after which they drenched her in kerosene and set her on fire. She was burned to death alive. Do you know who¡¯d instigated your grandmother¡¯s death?¡± Sobbing and tearing up uncontrobly, Shi Qingzhou added, ¡°It wasn¡¯t anyone else but your paternal grandparents, the president of that time and his wife. I then entered the Autumn Pce with the intention of seeking revenge for your grandmother. However, I had a slip-up and fell in love with Shuo, thus leading myself to the plight I¡¯m in now.¡± ¡°How did Shi Xiaoyu know about that book?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Actually, it was all my fault. Back then, your grandfather and the Shi family made your grandmother out to be a demonic witch. In order to prove her innocence, young and foolish me had decided to spill the beans about the book. Your grandfather then interrogated me, but I didn¡¯t divulge any further. But of course, he found outter that I was psychic too, just like your grandmother. I heard from Shi Xiaoyu that when everyone thought I was dead, your grandfather constantly rejoiced about my death and said that it was a blessing since I would no longer be able to bring harm to the Shi family. I¡¯ve long resented them to the core and I¡¯ve also once thought of exacting revenge if I ever get to escape. However, I¡¯ve changed my mind now, because there¡¯s someone I want to protect, and that person is you.¡± ¡°Mother,¡± An Xiaoning called, moved beyond tears. ¡°I¡¯ve never taken care of you properly or given you a heartwarming family. I¡¯m willing to give up the idea of revenge for your sake, so long as you¡¯ll be alive and well. That book has always been one of my greatest concerns. I¡¯d like to hand it to you and have you keep it for me,¡± Shi Qingzhou said with a sigh. ¡°You want to hand it to me?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve discussed it with your father when we were in M Nation. We were discussing if we should let you learn the techniques and skills taught in that book. Once you¡¯ve mastered them, I¡¯ll no longer have to worry about anything happening to you. However, at the same time, I was also worried that things would go awry if you lose self-control. But after much thought, I decided to hand it to you. It¡¯s up to you to decide if you want to learn it.¡± ¡°Mother, just what... is that book about?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a book about witchcraft. It¡¯ll allow one to expand their capabilities in a short period of time. Your grandmother said that it¡¯ll allow you to attain immortality, allowing you to go for long periods without eating, drinking, or answering nature¡¯s call. I¡¯ve never seen your grandmother kill anyone before, but word about her being responsible for a massacre had kept spreading. Shi Xiaoyu and your grandfather were desperately after it, but I¡¯ll never give it to them even when I¡¯m dead.¡± ¡°You may hand it to me. Mother, give it to me,¡± said An Xiaoning, staring at her intently. ¡°Come closer, I¡¯ll tell you where it is.¡± An Xiaoning leaned in closer, after which Shi Qingzhou whispered something into her ear. ¡ª¡ª Tuoba Gucheng and Shi Xiaoyu sat facing each other in the room. ¡°Mother, what did you want to say by calling me here?¡± ¡°I have something important to talk to you about, of course. I understand that you took away all my subordinates because you¡¯re afraid I would stir trouble again, but there¡¯s something I must tell you about clearly,¡± said Shi Xiaoyu, appearing pale and ghastly without makeup. In fact, she looked like she had aged ten years overnight. ¡°Speak.¡± ¡°Do you think I locked Shi Qingzhou up for so many years solely because I wanted to torture her? Son, it¡¯s because there¡¯s something of hers that I¡¯m after,¡± said Shi Xiaoyu, staring at him. Chapter 779 - A Million Times for You (141)

Chapter 779: A Million Times for You (141)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Rubbing his temples, Tuoba Gucheng asked, ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s something that Shi Qingzhou¡¯s mother had left her. Your grandfather and I know clearly what it is. Back then, Shi Qingzhou¡¯s mother was almost invincible. No one could have subdued her if it weren¡¯t because someone had threatened her by abducting Shi Qingzhou. That was how formidable she was. Shi Qingzhou then told your grandfather that her mother was practicing some form of witchcraft that had the power to allow one to go without eating, drinking, or answering nature¡¯s calls. Your grandfather had interrogated Shi Qingzhou repeatedly, but we never managed to find out where the book was,¡± Shi Xiaoyu exined. ¡°Perhaps it has been destroyed,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng. ¡°Do you take her for a fool? How could she possibly destroy something so important? I¡¯ll never believe it. Gucheng, have you ever thought about the unimaginable consequences that would ensue if Shi Qingzhou were to continue to spread the use of witchcraft with that book? Do you think that she¡¯ll let me off after all that I¡¯ve done to her? She¡¯ll definitely garner all the support she can get and impart her skills of witchcraft to some people. She¡¯d probably even try and kill me. Not to mention, that daughter of hers is not to be trifled with at all. If she hands that book to her daughter, the results would be dire. Son, if you can get your hands on that book, I promise you I won¡¯t try and find trouble with Shi Qingzhou and her daughter again. Will that do?¡± Noticing how serious she seemed, Tuoba Gucheng asked, ¡°Is that book really so mystical?¡± ¡°Why would I lie to you? If you don¡¯t believe me, call your maternal grandfather and ask him about it. This is absolutely real. Shi Qingzhou¡¯s mother allowed herself to be burned to death willingly. Otherwise, I doubt there¡¯d be anyone who can handle her now,¡± Shi Xiaoyu said earnestly. ¡°Does Father know about this?¡± ¡°Of course not. Why would he?¡± After much thought, Tuoba Gucheng decided that his mother probably wouldn¡¯t cook up such a far-fetched story. ¡°You didn¡¯t manage to find out anything despite having locked her up for so many years. Maybe she was just duping you and such a book doesn¡¯t exist at all.¡± Shi Xiaoyu was certain about the existence of the book and said, ¡°Gucheng, it seems like you¡¯re still doubtful about my words. Shi Qingzhou¡¯s mother was initially only psychic. ording to your grandfather, she was a very timid person who did not even dare to kill a chicken and was rather mild-mannered as well. All of a sudden, she changed drastically and went on a rampage. Your paternal grandmother knows about this too. If you don¡¯t believe me, you may ask her about it. Your paternal grandparents were the ones who ordered for Shi Qingzhou to be killed back then.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand, you said that Shi Qingzhou has had the book for years. If she really practiced witchcraft, would she have been imprisoned by you for years?¡± gued with worry, Shi Xiaoyu said, ¡°She may not have practiced it back then, but witchcraft is a very sinister entity. We never know if she has acquired the skills now, but I have a strong feeling that she has already practiced it.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Shi Xiaoyu was extremely perturbed and insecure upon seeing her son¡¯s nonchnce. She frantically said, ¡°Son, why aren¡¯t you worried at all? We can¡¯t give them any chances. Otherwise, things are going to get out of hand soon enough! Catch An Xiaoning and lock her up, then threaten Shi Qingzhou, just like how those people had threatened Shi Qingzhou¡¯s mother. She¡¯ll definitely surrender the book then. That¡¯s the simplest solution at hand.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you use... this simplest solution back then? Why didn¡¯t you?¡± Tuoba Gucheng questioned. ¡°It¡¯s all because of your father. He immediately did everything in his power to stop me when he found out that I tried to touch An Xiaoning. Your maternal grandfather even called to berate mest night, ming me for not getting rid of Shi Qingzhou sooner. Everything would be fine as long as she¡¯s dead.¡± Tuoba Gucheng stood up and said, ¡°Is Grandpa wrong? At the end of the day, you allowed things to get out of your control simply because you wanted to get your hands on that book and enjoy the thrill of torturing Shi Qingzhou.¡± ¡°I was being too silly and careless. Son, you can¡¯t repeat the mistake Imitted. Nab An Xiaoning now and lock her up, then threaten Shi Qingzhou. She¡¯ll definitely surrender the book for her daughter¡¯s sake,¡± said Shi Qingzhou, staring at her son with her eyes wide open. ¡°I¡¯ll see to it.¡± He headed to his paternal grandmother¡¯s ce. The elderlydy was basking in the sun while carrying her cat in her arms. Upon the sight of Tuoba Gucheng, she eximed merrily, ¡°What brings you here? My precious grandson!¡± ¡°Grandma, I¡¯ve been busytely. I came here to see you right away once I¡¯m free.¡± ¡°Have a seat.¡± She cleared her throat and continued, ¡°I didn¡¯t attend the ceremony yesterday and yet, that ill-manneredss didn¡¯t even have the willingness toe and visit me. Whatever, I only need one granddaughter, and that is Danxue.¡± ¡°Grandma, I¡¯d like to ask you about something.¡± The elderlydy sighed and said, ¡°I knew you came here with a hidden agenda. You¡¯re so busy with political affairs every day, how could you possibly be so free as toe here and visit me?¡± ¡°Grandma, do you know about Shi Qingzhou¡¯s mother?¡± ¡°Yes, everyone knows who she was. She caused such a stir back then,¡± she answered, patting her cat, which then purred and jumped onto the ground, where ity with its eyes closed. ¡°Is what happened to her mother true? What exactly happened back then?¡± ¡°Why are you asking me about this? Did your mother tell you?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯d like to find out more.¡± The elderlydy stared at him earnestly and said, ¡°Your grandfather was informed about her mother¡¯s matters back then. I was there when he gave the orders to execute her. There was a video of that woman too. She seemed to have really been possessed. She was killing lives without blinking at all, so many people died because of her. We found out muchter that Shi Qingzhou was her daughter. Yet, your uncle was bent on marrying Shi Qingzhou. How could your grandfather and I agree to that? Hence, we ordered for her to be executed. I can¡¯t believe she didn¡¯t die at all and even gave birth to a daughter. How unexpected. Anything is really possible in this world.¡± ¡°My mother said that Shi Qingzhou¡¯s mother acted that way because she had been practicing a form of witchcraft. The book of witchcraft techniques is apparently with Shi Qingzhou now. I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s real or not.¡± The elderlydy gasped and asked, ¡°Is that true? How did your mother find out, then?¡± ¡°She said that Shi Qingzhou told my maternal grandfather.¡± ¡°Gucheng, you must verify this as soon as possible. If it¡¯s true, you mustn¡¯t let that book be circted. I was really terrified when I watched that horrifying video back then. Even your grandfather was petrified as well. I¡¯m sure you can imagine how formidable that thing is. We can¡¯t afford to dy any further. Hurry and verify it.¡± After leaving his grandmother¡¯s ce, Tuoba Gucheng called his maternal grandfather to his office. Despite being almost eighty years old, Old Mr. Shi was still strong and healthy. The first thing he said upon seeing Tuoba Gucheng was to tell him to kill Shi Qingzhou at once. ¡°Grandpa, she¡¯s your biological daughter.¡± ¡°Grandson, even if you were to show mercy on her, she might not spare you or your mother. That book of witchcraft is in her hands. I didn¡¯t think much about it because I thought that she was really dead back then. I was so infuriated that I couldn¡¯t sleep when your mother told me about everythingst night.¡± Tuoba Gucheng handed him a cup of tea and said, ¡°Does that book really exist?¡± Chapter 780 - A Million Times for You (142)

Chapter 780: A Million Times for You (142)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Yes, in order to defend her mother, she gave me all sorts of reasons and exnations to say that her mother wasn¡¯t practicing witchcraft. She even told me where the book had been found, as told by her mother. I asked her several times and made her surrender the book. However, she refused and said that she had hidden it somewhere. I know clearly what her mother is like,¡± Mr. Shi said with a frown. Shi Xiaoyu opened the door and barged right in. ¡°After much consideration, I still think that we can¡¯t just get them to give us the book. It won¡¯t make a difference if they had already made several copies of it. It¡¯s best if we kill both her and her daughter.¡± ¡°Your mother is right, we can¡¯t allow any of them to survive. If we don¡¯t eradicate the root of the problem, there¡¯s bound to be more trouble ahead.¡± Fuming with anger, Tuoba Gucheng said, ¡°I can¡¯t act rashly just because I¡¯ve heard your side of the story. I¡¯ve yet to verify the truth about this book you¡¯ve mentioned. You guys are so eager to kill her because you¡¯re afraid that I¡¯d find out the actual truth, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°See, you still refuse to believe us. Who are you going to believe if not your closest family members? I was too furious to think clearly yesterday and forgot about this. We can¡¯t afford to dy any further. Bring her and her daughter here immediately,¡± Shi Xiaoyu urged impatiently. ¡°That¡¯s enough. You two may go back first. I¡¯ll handle this as I deem fit.¡± Just as Shi Xiaoyu was about to speak, her father stopped her with a nce he shot at her. ¡°Leave the decision to Gucheng. He understands the pros and cons of this matter. Let¡¯s go back first,¡± said the elderly Mr. Shi. After they left, Tuoba Gucheng immediately began brainstorming and instructed his subordinates to find out Shi Qingzhou¡¯s whereabouts, only to discover that she and An Xiaoning were together at the moment. An Xiaoning happened to be packing her things in the bedroom when she received a call from Tuoba Gucheng. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Watching a movie. How do you have the time to call me when you¡¯re already so busy?¡± An Xiaoning asked, cocking her head sideways and sping her phone in between her neck and shoulders. ¡°How about youe and live in the Autumn Pce for a while together with your mother?¡± An Xiaoning paused in her actions and stood up straight. She grabbed her phone with her other hand and asked, ¡°What for?¡± ¡°Move back with Uncle.¡± ¡°My question is, what for? Tell me clearly. Are you going back on your word and thinking of killing me and my mother now?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I meant. I just want you guys to stay here for a while.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think of lying to me. My mother and I are not moving back there. The Autumn Pce is a ce of painful memories for my mother. I won¡¯t let her step foot in there again,¡± said An Xiaoning. After a moment of silence, Tuoba Gucheng said in a colder tone, ¡°Do you want me to send my people over to pick you up or would you like toe over yourself?¡± He was practically threatening her. An Xiaoning did not make a sound and continued to let the call drag on. ¡°Did you know? I absolutely hate being threatened. People who threaten me usually make me feel repulsed,¡± An Xiaoning said in a crisp, clear voice. Tuoba Gucheng mellowed his tone and tried to convince her, ¡°I won¡¯t do anything to you and your mother, just move here for the time being.¡± ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, let¡¯s hang up.¡± An Xiaoning ended the call and threw her mobile phone onto the bed before rushing downstairs. ¡°Mother!¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Shi Qingzhou asked, feeling a sudden panic upon hearing how frantic her daughter sounded. ¡°Tuoba Gucheng gave me a call just now and he wants us to move to the Autumn Pce for a period of time. He sounded extremely insistent. It seems he¡¯s going to send his men to bring us there if we refuse to give in. I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s really after the book.¡± Upon hearing her words, Shi Qingzhou said calmly, ¡°I think so too.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t let you guys enter the Autumn Pce again. We¡¯ll only be putting ourselves in danger by going there again. Rest assured and continue to live here. I¡¯ll ask Jin Qingyan to send another batch of bodyguards here to protect you,¡± said An Xiaoning, who had gotten a grip on her emotions. Shaking her head, Shi Qingzhou objected, ¡°I don¡¯t think we should do that. I do have a solution, though. Hear me out while I exin it to you.¡± An Xiaoning was all ears. ¡°I did tell my father about the book back then, but no one else except me knows what it looks like. Hence, they have no proof at all. Xiaoning, what we ought to do now is to make Tuoba Gucheng believe that this book doesn¡¯t exist. Before this, your father and I have already thought of a strategy. As long as I refuse to admit it, there¡¯s nothing they can do. You shall just pretend as if you¡¯ve never heard about this matter.¡± Upon hearing her words, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Mother, are you thinking of going back inside the Autumn Pce?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no harm in entering that ce again. Although I detest Tuoba Rui, he¡¯s really going toe in handy at a time like this.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to let you guys go inside that ce again.¡± ¡°Since we can¡¯t afford to go against them, we can onlypromise. It¡¯s best if you get a hold of the book sooner and memorize its contents as soon as possible, then burn it. Everything will be fine then,¡± said Shi Qingzhou. ¡°I¡¯ll give Tuoba Gucheng a call and try to get the book tomorrow.¡± She turned around to leave and returned upstairs. After closing the door, she walked toward the bed and picked up her mobile phone to see that she had received four missed calls from Tuoba Gucheng. The call went through within seconds. ¡°Why did you call me again?¡± she asked in frustration. ¡°One week. Okay?¡± Tuoba Gucheng asked. Noticing that he seemed less insistent and sounded much more willing to makepromises, An Xiaoning asked coquettishly, ¡°Are you thinking of killing me and my mother? Are you thinking of going back on your word again?¡± Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s heart softened and he answered, ¡°Why would I get rid of you and your mother? Why don¡¯t you trust me?¡± ¡°Can I go tomorrow instead? I¡¯m running a fever and I feel giddy,¡± said An Xiaoning, telling a white lie, which was mandatory at times. Otherwise, there was no way she could retrieve the book. ¡°Alright,¡± he agreed. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m hanging up, then.¡± An Xiaoning ended the call and let out a long sigh. She then hurriedly sent Jin Qingyan a text message and informed him about the situation briefly, lest he gets worried. In order to prevent being tailed, she drove to Wei Ni Estate together with No. 5 and No. 8 and parked her car in Mei Yangyang¡¯s backyard. She then instructed Mei Yangyang to exchange outfits with her and drive the car back to Sanqiao Estate half an hourter. After waiting for two hours, she asked Long Tianze to take over the wheel and drive out of Wei Ni Estate while shey t on the back seat. Long Tianze drove along the expressway. An Xiaoning sat up and asked, ¡°How long more will we take before we reach our destination?¡± Long Tianze tapped on the GPS system and said, ¡°Come and take a look.¡± She inched forward to nce at the screen. ¡°Two hours.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s pretty far away. We have to cover a distance of about 300 kilometers, but it¡¯ll be faster because we took the expressway,¡± said Long Tianze. Chapter 781 - A Million Times for You (143)

Chapter 781: A Million Times for You (143)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°It¡¯ll take more than four hours back and forth. We have more than enough time, but I don¡¯t know if it¡¯ll be easy for me to find what I want.¡± ¡°What are you looking for?¡± Long Tianze asked. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Tianze, but I can¡¯t tell you.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t probe further, then, since it¡¯s your privacy. I¡¯ll drive faster and shorten the time.¡± Long Tianze stepped hard on the elerator, causing the car to surge forward at godlike speed. Two hours were not considered quick or slow. By the time they arrived at their destination, it was already three o¡¯clock in the afternoon. An Xiaoning instructed Long Tianze to wait for her at the foot of the mountain while she proceeded inside alone with her purse. d in a cap and a surgical mask, she began walking along the cemented path. More than ten minutester, she arrived at a vige. She took a look at the signboard to see that it was the Shi Family vige. An Xiaoning picked up in her tracks and walked toward the front instead of entering the vige. The cemented path was only 500 meters long, after which the roads would be rocky and uneven. The temperatures were also much colder in the mountains. In order to avoid wasting time, An Xiaoning decided to run there instead. She followed her mother¡¯s instructions and continued walking after passing a small convenience store. She finally stopped after covering another three kilometers and passing by two other viges. She trod along the narrow path and climbed upward after making sure that there was no one else around. It was a steep slope that was surrounded by withered branches and trees. There were rocks past the trees. The initial fair weather soon began to turn gloomy. An Xiaoning arrived at the top of the slope and could not help but feel a little worried about whether or not the book was still there. After all, it had already been so many days. She followed the markings her mother had told her to look out for and soon found the corresponding spot below the rocks. She took out a small shovel from her satchel and began digging furiously. The ground was rather tough and rigid, despite having sustained all sorts of weather conditions throughout all these years. It was much harder to dig it up than she had imagined. However, An Xiaoning did not slow down at all at the thought of wanting to find the book. She continued to dig non-stop, thinking to herself that it was only a matter of time before she finds it. Half an hourter, she finally found a metal box that had be extremely rusty. I wonder what the condition of the book is like now. She tried to open the box, only to find that the lid was tightly shut. Hence, she had no choice but to pry it open with the shovel. The book turned out to bepletely intact. She touched it with her hands and discovered that there were no cracks or signs of dposition at all. This book was found in an ancient tomb, which, ording to Mother, contained a corpse that had already turned into a skeleton. That just goes to show that the paper is of no ordinary quality, since it is still intact even after such a long time , An Xiaoning thought to herself. She took the book out of the box and ced the box back inside the pit, which she then filled again with the soil. After ttening the soil with her foot, she proceeded to walk down the slope again. The sky began to turn increasingly gloomier, and the clouds were hanging low. An Xiaoning sprinted across a few kilometers, after which she panted heavily in exhaustion. It began pouring as soon as she entered the car. She could not be bothered to wait for the hot tea to cool down and instead began gulping down a bottle of mineral water. She felt a chilliness in her chest. ¡°Tianze, let¡¯s go back.¡± ¡°Sis-inw, did you find it?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She sat behind Long Tianze and took out the book. She then tried to fold the corners of the pages and tear a small bit off, but to no avail. The material of the book appeared to be an ordinary paper on the surface. However, An Xiaoning took a closer look to discover that it was made of animal leather. The book was rather thin and only consisted of a few pages. ¡°Tianze.¡± ¡°Yes? What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Drive slowly, we don¡¯t have to rush back. Alright?¡± ¡°No problem.¡± She expressed assent and began reading attentively from the first page. She had always had an excellent memory and could memorize all the books her mentor had given her within a short period of time. A thin book was a piece of cake for her. An Xiaoning put on her earphones and kept her eyes fixed on the content. She read through the entire book once before memorizing the content again from the first page. Instead of the supposed two hours, Long Tianze took three hours to drive back to the city due to the heavy rain and the slower speed that they were traveling at. Within those three hours, she managed to memorize the content of the bookpletely, though she did not follow the instructions and prompts given on the book. The sky had already turned dark by the time they arrived in the city. An Xiaoning called No. 5 and instructed him to bring Mei Yangyang back to Wei Ni Estate in half an hour¡¯s time. They arrived back at Wei Ni Estate before Mei Yangyang, who arrived a few minutester. ¡°Sis, did you find the thing you wanted to?¡± An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°I found it. Yangyang, I¡¯m going home now. Tianze ought to get some rest after driving for so long.¡± Upon returning home, she handed the book to Shi Qingzhou, who then said, ¡°Memorize the content first.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already memorized it during the journey home just now. I¡¯ll memorize it again tonight to make sure that I know every single bit of it like the back of my hand before burning it.¡± Shi Qingzhou said solemnly, ¡°Just memorize the content but don¡¯t follow the instructions written on it. After all, it¡¯s witchcraft.¡± ¡°Mother, did you read all the content?¡± ¡°No, I only nced through it. I¡¯m still rather afraid to read in-depth about such things,¡± said Shi Qingzhou, who subconsciously tucked her hair behind her ear. ¡°Actually, that stuff aren¡¯t as terrifying as you made them out to be, Mother. There are annotations provided at the back of the book. Once you master the techniques, you¡¯ll be able to go without eating or drinking, just like an immortal, but it all depends on yourself. That means you can still resume your normal activities like an ordinary person. Mother, this isn¡¯t witchcraft at all.¡± Shi Qingzhou looked at her and asked, ¡°It¡¯s not witchcraft?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s not witchcraft. It¡¯s only a secret manual of psychological techniques, there¡¯s nothing too sinister about it. I reckon the corpse of the coffin that Grandma had opened back then had probablyin inside the coffin out of her own ord. Otherwise, the book probably wouldn¡¯t have existed today. The coffin must have belonged to a woman, because it¡¯s stated in the book that only women are allowed to practice those techniques. It would be fatal for men to attempt to learn them,¡± An Xiaoning exined. ¡°Well then, Xiaoning, go ahead and master those techniques. I want you to possess extraordinary abilities. Only then can you protect yourselfpletely when you¡¯re faced with difficulties,¡± said Shi Qingzhou, grabbing her hand tightly. ¡°Mother, I¡¯m not finished yet.¡± An Xiaoning flipped to thest page of the book and said to her mother, ¡°Look, it says here that the manual can only be mastered by extraordinary humans. It¡¯s said that there were once hundreds of women who tried to master them but ended up losing their lives.¡± Shi Qingzhou lit up with joy and said, ¡°Does that mean only extraordinary psychics like us can learn those techniques? Your grandmother and I have seeded on our first tries. It should be fine for you too.¡± Chapter 782 - A Million Times for You (144)

Chapter 782: A Million Times for You (144)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I think so too. Mother, why don¡¯t I master the techniques first before imparting the skills I¡¯ve acquired to you?¡± ¡°Sounds good. After all, I won¡¯t have to burden you if I¡¯m capable of protecting myself.¡± An Xiaoning smiled at her and said, ¡°We¡¯ll do just that, then. I¡¯ll memorize the content tonight and burn the book tomorrow.¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°Shishi, did you hear what I told you?¡± Shi Xiaoyu asked in a gentle voice. The expectant mother, Lin Shishi, snapped back to reality and said, ¡°Mother, what you just said is too absurd. Does witchcraft really exist in this world?¡± ¡°Of course it does. Gucheng has already told me that Shi Qingzhou and An Xiaoning will being to the pce tomorrow. I locked Shi Qingzhou up for decades, but I didn¡¯t even manage to find out about the book¡¯s whereabouts. Do you think Gucheng will be able to find out? They detest me to the core and wish that they could kill me. If Shi Qingzhou gives the book to An Xiaoning, for all we know, everything the Tuoba family owns might just end up in someone else¡¯s hands. Shishi, you¡¯re the First Lady now. You can¡¯t let something like that happen. Do you understand?¡± Lin Shishi, who was initially intimidated and bbergasted by her mother-inw¡¯s misdeeds, began to find thetter¡¯s actions rather reasonable all of a sudden. ¡°I don¡¯t think Sis Xiaoning would be that ambitious.¡± ¡°You still don¡¯t get it. At the end of the day, she¡¯s still a member of the Tuoba family. No one likes being restrained and controlled, she wouldn¡¯t express her ambitions openly. We mustn¡¯t let our guard down against others,¡± said Shi Xiaoyu. After hearing her mother-inw¡¯s reminder, Lin Shishi began to feel like nothing was impossible in this world and also thought that there was a likelihood that An Xiaoning was indeed harboring such thoughts. ¡°Mother, you said Gucheng wouldn¡¯t be able to find out about it easily. Do you have a better solution then?¡± Shi Xiaoyu nodded earnestly and said, ¡°It¡¯d be rather impossible to find out anything by interrogating them. After all, I didn¡¯t manage to do so throughout so many decades. However, we can adopt another strategy.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°As long as they¡¯re dead, this cmity will never happen in the future. By then, we wouldn¡¯t have to pursue the matter about the book anymore, regardless of where it is. It¡¯ll no longer be that important since no one knows where it¡¯s hidden.¡± Dumbfounded, Lin Shishi asked, ¡°You mean... you want to kill Sis Xiaoning and her mother...¡± ¡°It¡¯d be much easier to do that since the Autumn Pce is our territory. Shishi, I know you¡¯re soft-hearted and you still see An Xiaoning as your sister, so you don¡¯t wish for that to happen. If you can¡¯t stand on my side and spare a thought for Gucheng, then there¡¯s no point for me to have a daughter-inw like you,¡± said Shi Xiaoyu, seemingly trying to threaten Lin Shishi. Stuck in a dilemma, Lin Shishi said, ¡°Sis Xiaoning has once saved my life...¡± ¡°If you¡¯re just as soft-hearted as Gucheng, how are you supposed to achieve greater things? How about you discuss this with Gucheng and let him know how you feel from your perspective? We¡¯ll then see what his attitude is like.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Lin Shishi constantly pondered over the matter while on the way back. While lying in bed, she asked, ¡°Mother has told me about that book of witchcraft. She didn¡¯t manage to get anything out of Shi Qingzhou despite holding her captive for so many years. Do you think you¡¯ll be able to find out anything by locking them up for a period of time?¡± ¡°Stay out of this,¡± Tuoba Gucheng clipped. ¡°How could I stay out of this? Gucheng, will you kill them?¡± ¡°Are you worried that I would kill them or hoping that I would do so?¡± ¡°What are you talking about? Of course I¡¯m being worried.¡± ¡°Did Mother say something to you?¡± he asked. ¡°What could she have possibly said to me? She merely analyzed the situation and weighed the pros and cons with me. If they be a threat to your position, it¡¯ll greatly affect you and bring about negative impacts. Sacrificing them would then be a better choice,¡± said Lin Shishi, who was putting Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s interests first. Tuoba Gucheng snorted withughter, which caused a sullen expression to form on Lin Shishi¡¯s face immediately. ¡°Why are youughing like that?¡± she questioned. ¡°If An Xiaoning heard what you said, do you think she¡¯d cut off all ties with your family?¡± ¡°How could she possibly hear me? I won¡¯t let her. Hubby, I¡¯m really just sparing a thought for you and considering your interests first. I¡¯m your wife and the First Lady of S Nation, I can¡¯t be indecisive and let my heart rule my head. Although we¡¯ll be letting her down, there really isn¡¯t another option. It can¡¯t be helped. If they¡¯re willing to surrender the book, everything will be fine then.¡± ¡°An Xiaoning has no intentions to encroach on my position.¡± ¡°How would you know? Maybe she¡¯s hiding her intentions really well. Do you really think she and her mother wouldn¡¯t exact revenge on Mother-inw?¡± Tuoba Gucheng could not be bothered to argue with her and said, ¡°I can tell from someone¡¯s eyes whether or not they harbor such ambitions. All she has ever wanted is too keep herself and her family safe.¡± ¡°Perhaps she doesn¡¯t have any ambitions now, but it¡¯s very likely that she¡¯ll change in the future.¡± ¡°Seems like you don¡¯t see her as your sister anymore. Even if she really changes and bes more ambitious in the future, I don¡¯t find anything unusual with that at all,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng. Lin Shishi was rather peeved and disgruntled to hear his words. ¡°Hubby, why do I feel like you really admire her?¡± Tuoba Gucheng did not deny it and said, ¡°I do admire her, actually. She has ideas of her own and is headstrong and obstinate. Even if she knows that she doesn¡¯t have the ability to ovee a greater power, she would never falter.¡± Women often can¡¯t stand hearing their beloved spouses praising andplimenting other women, even if the subject was just a family member. That was exactly what Lin Shishi felt. ¡°If she wasn¡¯t your half-sister and my godsister, will you fall in love with her?¡± Tuoba Gucheng put on a mirthless smile and caressed her hair. ¡°Are you getting jealous?¡± ¡°Answer me, will you?¡± Lin Shishi asked in disgruntlement. ¡°I can¡¯t answer you.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t answer me? Other husbands would definitely say no. Why can¡¯t you answer me?¡± Lin Shishi questioned. ¡°I¡¯m not other husbands. Have you really got that little confidence in yourself?¡± Lin Shishi hugged him tightly and said, ¡°That¡¯s not true. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s wrong with me, but I seem to care more and more about you. I must¡¯ve fallen in love with you long ago. I remember catching feelings for you ever since the first time we met. I was still wondering to myself, just how did Ind myself in an engagement with such a handsome man like you? You seemed cold and aloof back then. Although you did smile sometimes, I never felt that they were heartwarming. I felt so inferior in front of you. Hubby, we may be married and I may be carrying our child now, but could you tell me, do you adore me?¡± ¡°You¡¯re so pretty, who wouldn¡¯t adore you?¡± said Tuoba Gucheng, who knew that such questions were sensitive. He did not wish to tell a woman whom he did not fancy at all that he loved her or adored her. Chapter 783 - A Million Times for You (145)

Chapter 783: A Million Times for You (145)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lin Shishi was filled with disappointment, for that was not the answer she wanted to hear. ¡°My mother often used to tell me that lots of men are attracted to chaste women who save their virginities for their husbands, but my mother has never told me that there¡¯ll also be men who love unchaste women. Hubby, why do you think some men enjoy dating filthy women?¡± ¡°By filthy, do you mean women who have a prim-and-proper private life despite having lost their virginities or those who are promiscuous?¡± ¡°The former. Why do some men fall head-over-heels in love with such unclean women?¡± ¡°Men ought to reflect on themselves before despising others. If they¡¯re no longer virgins themselves, what right have they got to demand that the woman they¡¯re dating be a virgin? If a man is still a virgin and he falls in love with a non-virgin, I guess he must be attracted to her soul,¡± Tuoba Gucheng answered. ¡°Hubby, will you ever love a woman like that?¡± Tuoba Gucheng retorted, ¡°You¡¯re beating around the bush just to find out if I would fall in love with An Xiaoning, aren¡¯t you? I didn¡¯t answer you directly just now so you decided to ask me in a different way.¡± Lin Shishi pouted her lips, feeling a little ashamed and guilty for being exposed. ¡°I just wanted to know,¡± she said softly. ¡°What are you going to do after you find out?¡± ¡°Huh? What...¡± she stammered. ¡°Didn¡¯t you want to know the answer? I¡¯m asking you, what happens after you find out the answer? Don¡¯t you find your question really pointless? My preference in women doesn¡¯t set the standards for everyone. Perhaps I might fall in love with a woman who doesn¡¯t fit the societal norms of a good woman. Maybe there¡¯s more to a woman who¡¯s deemed to be an ordinary in jane by everyone else. There¡¯s never a clear line, it¡¯s all subjective,¡± Tuoba Gucheng said with a smile. I¡¯m the woman who married him first, which puts me in a favorable position as hiswful wife and the mother of his children. It¡¯s unlikely that he¡¯ll fall in love with another woman instead of me, since I face him almost every day. He definitely fancies me too. Otherwise, how could I have managed to marry him so smoothly? I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll genuinely fall in love with me one day , Lin Shishi thought to herself. Lin Shishi felt much more at ease after some self-reassurance. Tuoba Gucheng put his hand down as an icy cold stare formed in his eyes. He had begun to find it harder to understand Lin Shishi. Although his feelings and opinions toward her were neutral at the start, he could not help but feel a little repulsed and annoyed by her. He was especially disgusted by the sarcasticments she had just made. Unfortunately, she had no idea how he felt about her. ¡ª¡ª The sky was pouring heavily in the morning. An Xiaoning did not catch any shuteye and instead spent the entire night memorizing the content of the book thoroughly before setting it on fire and watching it burn to ashes. She did not bring a single bodyguard with her and boarded a ne to B City together with Shi Qingzhou and Tuoba Shuo. They arrived at the entrance of the Autumn Pce at nine o¡¯clock sharp. Shi Qingzhou and Tuoba Shuo were both wearing a GPS tracking device on their wrists, which Jin Qingyan¡¯s bodyguards had delivered to them the night before. An Xiaoning was filled with panic and anxiety the moment she stepped foot inside the Autumn Pce. She was rather concerned and worried about the fact that Shi Qingzhou and Tuoba Shuo¡¯s wounds were yet to heal. They were then brought to a mansion that An Xiaoning immediately recognized to be the same mansion that Tuoba Gucheng had lived in before he became the president. She had once lived there for a period of time before. Everyone was present in the mansion, including all the important family members of the Tuoba family. Arge crowd filled the room. All eyes were on the three of them the moment they stepped inside. Tuoba Rui rose from his seat in utmost agitation at the instant that he saw Shi Qingzhou. She had changed drastically after years of him not seeing her. Tuoba Rui had yet to calm himself down ever since thest time he¡¯d spoken to her on the phone. This time, he could not help but feel agitated and overwhelmed with emotions upon seeing her in the flesh. Shi Qingzhou kept a straight face and walked toward the crowd alongside her daughter and her lover. She shifted her gaze onto the elderly Mr. Shi and said with a smile, ¡°So sorry to have disappointed you by showing up before you again after so many years, Father.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a daughter like you! You don¡¯t have to address me that way!¡± Old Mr. Shi barked, glowering at her. Shi Qingzhou was not at all bothered and retorted sarcastically, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter to me even if you don¡¯t acknowledge me as your daughter, Father. After all, I¡¯ve never seen you as my father ever since the day you chased Mother out of the house. I only addressed you that way because I can¡¯t change the fact that we¡¯re rted by blood. Your existence doesn¡¯t concern me at all. The more you wish for me to drop dead, the more I¡¯d strive to stay alive. The only thing I can do is to go against your wishes!¡± Old Mr. Shi was boiling with anger as soon as he heard her words. However, he held his anger back and refrained from blowing his top, for fear that he would embarrass himself in front of the Tuoba family. Tuoba Rui knew that that was who she was ¡ª fearless and intrepid regardless of the situation. Old Madam Tuoba red at Tuoba Shuo and said, ¡°Shuo, are you standing on that woman¡¯s side?¡± Tuoba Shuo answered, ¡°If you and Father had agreed to let me marry Qingzhou back then, she wouldn¡¯t have had to suffer so much for so many years, and I wouldn¡¯t have had to wait in vain for decades either. Mother, you¡¯re just asking the obvious. Since I love her, I¡¯m obviously going to stand on her side.¡± Seemingly having already guessed the oue, Madam Tuoba said, ¡°Fine, surrender that book and the Tuoba family will allow you to live the life you want in the future.¡± The three of them were displeased to hear how patronizing and condescending she sounded. ¡°What book? I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re referring to, Mother,¡± Tuoba Shuo said in puzzlement. Pointing at Shi Qingzhou, Madam Tuoba said, ¡°Ask her, the culprit behind her mother¡¯s deranged and ballistic behavior.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid you might be mistaken, Old Madam. The book wasn¡¯t what made my mother behave that way. It was merely a lie I told my father, just so he and my grandmother would stop using my mother. Yet, I didn¡¯t expect that this misunderstanding would continue to live on to this today. How amusing. My mother only behaved so strangely back then because she was possessed by a spirit,¡± Shi Qingzhou exined. Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment and were momentarily at a loss for words. ¡°You clearly said that such a book existed. Do you think that we¡¯ll believe you just because you refuse to admit it now? Hand the book over and we¡¯ll spare your lives. Otherwise, both you and your daughter must die!¡± Mr. Shi hollered. Tuoba Rui scowled at him and screeched, ¡°Do you think you call the shots here!?! You don¡¯t get to decide who dies!¡± ¡°You clearly know the troubles and danger that that book will bring! You¡¯re only going to cause a cmity by doing this!¡± Mr. Shi retorted. ¡°Why did you believe her when she said that such a book existed but decide to use her now that she denies it!?! Have you ever seen that book? Has anyone else ever seen it!?! You¡¯d actually wish death upon your own daughter all because of an illusory object. I bet you¡¯re the only person in this world who¡¯s so absurd and ruthless!¡± Tuoba Rui sneered. Chapter 784 - A Million Times for You (146)

Chapter 784: A Million Times for You (146)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The elderly Mr. Shi was at a loss for words for a rebuttal, for Tuoba Rui had voiced the thoughts of all the other Tuoba family members. Indeed, there was no way to prove the existence of an object that no one had ever seen before. ¡°Since when does an outsider have the right to interfere with the Tuoba familial affairs, what more try and threaten to execute a member of our family? Who do you think you are?¡± said Tuoba Shuo. Old Madam Tuoba looked up at An Xiaoning, who had been remaining silent, only to discover how strikingly simr she was to Shi Qingzhou, not just in appearance, but also in terms of character and temperament. ¡°How about we carry out a lie detector test and gauge if you¡¯re lying? There¡¯s no harm in that anyway,¡± said Madam Tuoba. ¡°Sure,¡± Shi Qingzhou agreed calmly with a straight face. After bringing out the lie detector, they first put Shi Qingzhou to the test. Little did they know, Shi Qingzhou waspletely rid of fear and worry at the moment, for a lie detector posed no issue to her at all. She answered each and every question she was asked and denied the existence of the book calmly without letting out any clues at all. Some were disappointed while others were relieved to see that she had passed the lie detector test. It was likewise for An Xiaoning when her turn came, followed by Tuoba Shuo. All three of them passed the lie detector test sessfully. Pursing her lips, Madam Tuoba said, ¡°Forget it, just move in first for now.¡± Shi Xiaoyu had no idea what her mother-inw was thinking and dared not utter a single word when everyone was present. She finally spoke up when they were on their way back and said, ¡°Mother, Shi Qingzhou is the only one who knows clearly whether or not the book really exists. It¡¯s better to kill her and eliminate the possibility rather than allow her to continue living and pose a possible threat to others. If the book really does exist, we¡¯ll only regret not killing her sooner. Lie detectors may be inurate sometimes. It might also be due to their strong willpower and calmness.¡± ¡°I think Shuo did make some sense too. I was muddled up and influenced by what you guys said at the start, but now that I think about it, their exnation doesn¡¯t seem imusible either. Since you and your father are bent on proving that it exists, show us the evidence. Are you trying to make my sons hate me by instigating me to kill the innocent without any solid proof? They¡¯ve already resented me because of the incident involving Shi Qingzhou back then, especially Shuo who didn¡¯t even attend his father¡¯s funeral and refused to see me for decades. I¡¯m getting on in my years now and I don¡¯t wish to continue straining my rtionship with my sons any further. We¡¯ve already carried out a lie detector test in front of everyone. What else do you want?¡± ¡°Mother, are you nning to stay out of this from now on?¡± Shi Xiaoyu asked. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m washing my hands off this. There¡¯s nothing to investigate about and there isn¡¯t any evidence either. Besides, they¡¯ve all passed the lie detector test. You¡¯re only going to upset the other members of the family.¡± ¡°But...¡± Old Madam Tuoba interrupted and brushed her off, ¡°There are no more ¡®buts¡¯ to this, unless you have evidence to prove that that alleged book really exists. Otherwise, I really don¡¯t want to interfere with this matter anymore. I reckon Gucheng must have his own ideas since he¡¯s the president now. I believe he won¡¯t punish the innocent without proper evidence.¡± Shi Xiaoyu was at a loss for words. She initially thought that Shi Qingzhou and An Xiaoning would be executed in secret even if they didn¡¯t hand over the book. However, things had gone beyond her expectations. She could not produce any substantial evidence either. ¡°Mother, I have a solution that we can try,¡± said Shi Xiaoyu ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Non-voluntary hypnosis.¡± Seeing how persistent she was, Old Madam Tuoba asked, ¡°What if that fails too?¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll really give up.¡± ¡°Alright, then. Tell Gucheng and the other members of the Tuoba n about it. You may then make the necessary arrangements.¡± Shi Xiaoyu immediately proceeded ordingly, filled with hope and joy. Shi Qingzhou and Tuoba Shuo had already moved into their arranged amodation and were resting to allow their wounds to heal. Meanwhile, An Xiaoning was called to Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s office. Lin Shishi chased after them as soon as they entered the office. She entered and cut straight to the chase. ¡°Hubby, Mother suggests that you carry out non-voluntary hypnosis on Sis Xiaoning and her mother.¡± Tuoba Gucheng expressed assent and asked, ¡°When?¡± ¡°In an hour¡¯s time.¡± An Xiaoning remained calm andposed as she thought to herself, A coerced hypnosis? It¡¯s impossible to induce hypnosis if the subject is extremely resistant to hypnotic guidance and has a strong willpower. ¡°What a hassle. Seems like you¡¯re not going to call it quits without going through so much unnecessary trouble,¡± An Xiaoning gibed. ¡°Sis Xiaoning, I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll continue to pursue the matter if the results of the hypnosis prove to be the same as that of the lie detector,¡± Lin Shishi said bitterly. ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll cooperate and go along with whatever tricks you have until my innocence is proven.¡± ¡°Shishi, go outside. I have something to say to Ms. An.¡± Lin Shishi nodded and zoomed out of the door. Tuoba Gucheng locked the door and pointed at the couch. ¡°Have a seat.¡± An Xiaoning sat down and said, ¡°I was wondering why you insisted on making me and my mother move in here, turns out it was because of this.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get upset. They won¡¯t mention a word about this again once your innocence is proven.¡± He poured her a cup of hot tea, a gesture that he rarely showed anyone. ¡°What are your thoughts on this matter, Your Majesty? Can I have your honest opinion?¡± An Xiaoning asked, looking up at him. ¡°My opinion is, you¡¯ll have to surrender that book if it really exists, but if it doesn¡¯t, I¡¯ll clear your name and stop you from being wronged or treated unfairly,¡± Tuoba Gucheng said solemnly. Feeling sleepy due to theck of sleep, An Xiaoning smiled and asked, ¡°Your Majesty, could I borrow your couch for an hour¡¯s nap? I didn¡¯t sleep muchst night.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a bed in the resting room.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, here will do.¡± She removed her shoes andy onto the couch, easing herself into afortable position with one leg resting on top of the couch. Tuoba Gucheng cracked up at the sight before him and proceeded to bring her a nket from the resting room. An Xiaoning opened her eyes and watched as he pulled the nket over her before closing them again. Tuoba Gucheng returned to his seat and began looking through the documents he had to sign. He would be able to see her whenever he looked up. At this very moment, he felt extremely blissful. One hour was too short. The time was up before he could even get enough. They then returned to the mansion they were at earlier. Noticing a vial of liquid in the hypnotist¡¯s hands, Tuoba Gucheng asked, ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Mr. President, this is a type of drug that can induce hypnosis within the subject quickly. There are no side effects to this drug,¡± the hypnotist exined while handing the liquid to Shi Qingzhou and An Xiaoning. Tuoba Shuo chose not to partake in the hypnosis and observed by the side instead. After all, he was not as great of a suspectpared to the two of them. An Xiaoning and Shi Qingzhou looked at each other before downing the liquid in front of everyone. They theny down on the long chair and soon closed their eyes. Once they slipped into a slumber, the hypnotist began carrying out the coerced hypnosis. Tuoba Shuo was filled with immense worry and uncertainty, such that his palms had be sweaty. No one else was as anxious as he was. When the hypnotist asked about the book, Tuoba Shuo stood rooted to the ground, feeling as if his heart was about to jump out of his chest. His mental state would all depend on their answers. The two hypnotists were highly-skilled and renowned professionals whom Shi Xiaoyu had hired. Chapter 785 - A Million Times for You (147)

Chapter 785: A Million Times for You (147)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Despite being alleged expert hypnotists, they did not manage to get the truth out of them at all. The hypnotists could tell that both An Xiaoning and Shi Qingzhou were rather strong-willed and resistant to hypnosis, despite having already slipped into the initial stages of the sleep cycle. Yet, the hypnotists did not wish to admit to their ipetence right in front of the royals, for they would be ruining their own reputation that way. In the end, Shi Qingzhou and An Xiaoning did not breathe a word about the book. The two of them had already expected such an oue. At the end of the session, Madam Tuoba shot Shi Xiaoyu a nce whose meaning thetter understood clearly. The other members of the Tuoba family were dismissed, all of whom felt that the matter was absolutely absurd, ridiculous, and a waste of their time. However, Shi Xiaoyu still refused to believe the truth before her eyes and did not actually give up like she had promised her mother-inw. The deaths of Shi Qingzhou and An Xiaoning were the only things that could put her mind at ease. However, there was no way she could have them executed openly with a rightful reason. She was filled with regret, now that she had to suffer the consequences of not being merciless enough and killing Shi Qingzhou back then. Shi Xiaoyu was filled with anger and frustration. Why didn¡¯t I just get rid of Shi Qingzhou and her daughter back then? If only I did so, things wouldn¡¯t have turned out this way. What was I thinking all these years? All I did was enjoy the thrill of tormenting and abusing Shi Qingzhou. Yet, I¡¯ve never thought of using a lie detector or carrying out hypnosis. Seems like it¡¯s going to be extremely difficult toy another trap again. But I¡¯ve got plenty of time and a long way ahead of me. I¡¯ll definitely find an appropriate chance now that they¡¯re both in the Autumn Pce. Just as the idea formed in her head, Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s hopes were instantly dashed. The reason was that An Xiaoning said to Tuoba Gucheng, ¡°Your Majesty, you initially requested for us to stay here for a week, but I don¡¯t see a need to anymore now that this matter has been rified. My parents are still wounded from the gunshots they suffered. They ought to head home to get some rest and recuperate. We won¡¯t impose on you any further. Will you allow us to go home, Your Majesty?¡± ¡°Your parents? You mean, you address Shuo as your father?¡± Madam Tuoba asked in astonishment. ¡°My father has loved my mother and did so much for her throughout his lifetime. Now that they finally get to be with each other again, I¡¯d naturally consider him to be my father. From now onward, I¡¯ll treat him with respect, be filial to him, and take care of him in his old age, until he departs from this world.¡± Tuoba Rui, her biological father, was rather upset and aggrieved to hear her words. Old Madam Tuoba turned around to nce at her elder son, not uttering a single word apart from a sigh she let out. ¡°I¡¯ll approve of that,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng, who agreed to let them leave. An Xiaoning looked at him and said with a smile, ¡°Thank you.¡± Tuoba Gucheng nodded and answered, ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡± ¡ª¡ª On the way home, the three of them dared not to speak much about the matter. Once they returned to Shi Qingzhou¡¯s bedroom at home, An Xiaoning and Shi Qingzhou embraced each other in utmost joy and agitation. Before they arrived at the Autumn Pce, the two of them had already analyzed the strategies to adopt when facing the possible situations that might ur during their visit. They had already expected that the Autumn Pce would engage hypnotists as well as carry out lie detector tests. In fact, lie detectors were merely a test of one¡¯s emotions. Hypnosis is not entirely real either, for one would be insusceptible to hypnotic guidance so long as their willpower was strong. ¡°If it were me, I probably wouldn¡¯t have passed the tests. I was really nervous at the start,¡± said Tuoba Shuo. ¡°Fortunately, they didn¡¯t make you partake in the tests too. I guess they¡¯ve put an end to this matter. There¡¯s nothing Shi Xiaoyu can do even if she¡¯s disgruntled and unappeased by the results.¡± Shi Qingzhouy down slowly and continued, ¡°Xiaoning, start practicing the techniques tomorrow. Your grandmother managed to master it within a short amount of time back then. I reckon it would be the same for you.¡± ¡°I thought so too, but, Mother, the book doesn¡¯t mention what¡¯ll ensue once one has mastered the techniques. I was wondering if I¡¯ll really be able to attain such potent powers once I¡¯ve acquired those skills.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll know when you¡¯ve sessfully mastered them. I¡¯m not too sure about it either. I was so afraid of implicating you into this matter, but let¡¯s put it behind us now that we¡¯ve managed to dupe and convince them. Xiaoning, you didn¡¯t sleep at allst night. Go get something to eat before taking a nap. Otherwise, your body won¡¯t be able to take it,¡± said Shi Qingzhou, who felt like a burden had been lifted off her shoulders. ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°Xiaoning, remember to stop immediately once you discover that you¡¯re on the verge of going too far or bing nefarious. You must know when to stop and refrain from forcing yourself to master it.¡± An Xiaoning nodded solemnly and said, ¡°I understand.¡± After exiting her mother¡¯s room, An Xiaoning instructed No. 13 to fix her some food and send it to her room once it¡¯s ready. A smile formed on her face as shey in bed and stared at the ceiling above her. The air seemed to have be fresher as well. After having some food, she proceeded to take a nap thatsted all the way until evening. She then woke up again feeling fresh and energized, devoid of any sleepiness. She then reached out to switch on the sidemp. After switching off the heater, she touched up her makeup and headed downstairs, all refreshed and rejuvenated. ¡°Sis, would you like to have something to eat?¡± ¡°Nah, I¡¯m going out alone. I¡¯ll get something to munch on along the way.¡± ¡°Wait a minute, Sis, you have a parcel. In order to ensure that it¡¯s not a dangerous item, we¡¯ve checked it and verified that it¡¯s a bucket of paper cranes,¡± said No. 10, who handed her the parcel. An Xiaoning immediately sensed a red g. She hurriedly took it from his hands and opened the parcel to discover that it was a box in which there was a stic bottle of paper cranes that she had folded for Pei Yi in R Nation. I remember folding him tworge bottles. Did he return one of them to me? She removed the lid of the bottle and took a look at the paper cranes inside, only to receive a great shock. The paper cranes in the bottle were not the same ones that she had folded previously. She knew because she had used colored paper to fold the paper cranes in R Nation, whereas the ones she had just received were folded using white paper. ording to the significance of colors, white usually symbolized simplicity, peace, tranquility, and cleanliness, which was the exact opposite of ck. However, it could also signify death and inauspiciousness. She grabbed a few paper cranes and unfolded them to discover that there were no writings on them. ¡°The sender was anonymous. Sis, do you know who had sent it?¡± No. 3 asked. ¡°I do.¡± She then looked at No. 13 and No. 14. ¡°I¡¯m not going out anymore, please make dinner for me.¡± She then headed upstairs with the bottle of paper cranes in her hands. She poured them out onto the bed and checked through every single one carefully, only to find that there were really no writings on them at all. An Xiaoning put them back into the bottle and ced the bottle on the table beside the bed. She initially wanted to go out to meet Jin Qingyan and Jin Yiheng. However, she was instantly snapped out of her mood. What did Pei Yi mean by sending this to me? Although she could not figure it out entirely, she could vaguely guess what was going on. However, she would not be daunted or falter, regardless of what he meant. Instead, she would take things as theye and brave through them. She had always been flexible and highly tolerant of hardship. She would always adopt the strategy of putting down her pride in the face of adverse situations while at the same time abiding by her personal principles and morals. Regardless of how formidable Pei Yi may be, he would never have the audacity to bring his troops to S Nation and throw his weight around. He wouldn¡¯t dare to show his face bying forth personally either. An Xiaoning was well aware of that. She did not have much for dinner, which consisted of only a ss of milk, half a bowl of rice, and a te of fried egg with tomato. She cooped herself up in her bedroom and sat cross-legged on the bed without switching on the heater. The content of the first page of the book shed through her mind. Chapter 786 - A Million Times for You (148)

Chapter 786: A Million Times for You (148)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She closed her eyes shut. It was to allow herself to bepletely immersed in her psychological mantra. The weather this winter had been very cold, especially at night. Without the heater switched on, all one could feel was the bitter cold. Under such circumstances, An Xiaoning actually felt a warmth that was the exact opposite of that weather. Inside her body, she started to feel really warm gradually. It was a strong force of heat that was trapped within her. The intensity of this heat became stronger by the minute, and when she almost could not keep it in any longer, the heat declined and gradually returned to her normal body warmth. There was a force of strength in the form of a fireball that was clearly traveling upward from her lower body. The fireball gradually expanded and was slowly able to be controlled by her mind¡¯s power. With her mindpletely clear, there was nothing she could concentrate on apart from her psychological mantra. She could visualize herself in a vast starry sky running back and forth, full of energy within her body. It was a feeling that was beyond enjoyable. It almost seemed as if all the dark clouds were gone and there was sunlight again. With that, An Xiaoning sat there for a long time. It was so long that she could not seem to wake up in the real world. When Shi Qingzhou and Tuoba Shuo used the spare key to open the door, they found her sitting there, not moving, and she could not seem to respond to any external noises. Shi Qingzhou panicked and grabbed onto Tuoba Shuo¡¯s hand tightly, frantically asking, ¡°Has she gone in too deep?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like it.¡± Tuoba Shuo saw that she was about to cry, so he quickly consoled her gently, ¡°Those who are too deep into their psychological mantra act like they¡¯re possessed and out of control, but look at her. She¡¯s just sitting here quietly. Let¡¯s just wait and see.¡± ¡°Boss, someone is calling you again!¡± Shi Qingzhou jumped in fright at this loud ringtone. She went to get the phone and nced at the caller ID on the disy screen, thereafter picking up the call for An Xiaoning. Before she could even speak, at the other end came a loud snarl, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you pick up your phone?!¡± Upon hearing the thunderous voice on the other end, Shi Qingzhou¡¯s heart tightened and she replied, ¡°Xiaoning didn¡¯t miss your calls on purpose...¡± Hearing that it was Shi Qingzhou on the other end, Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s anger soothed slightly. ¡°Where is she?¡± Taking a look at her daughter who had her eyes tightly shut, Shi Qingzhou swiftly made up an excuse. ¡°Aftering back from the Autumn Pce, I don¡¯t know why, but she hasn¡¯t been feeling well. She¡¯s in aa now so she can¡¯t pick up your calls.¡± Tuoba Gucheng replied in an astonished tone, ¡°Has she been sent to the hospital?¡± ¡°Yes. The doctor said she¡¯s just in a deep sleep.¡± ¡°Then, has she been possessed by a spirit?¡± Tuoba Gucheng thought of how she had been possessed by his beloved dog¡¯s spirit on the night of her birthday and had fallen into a deep sleep as well. ¡°You know about it?¡± Shi Qingzhou was rmed. Hearing her tone, Tuoba Gucheng became more certain about his guess. ¡°She was once possessed by the spirit of my beloved dog. We can only wait until the spirit leaves her body or carry out a ritual during the seventh lunar month.¡± ¡°Yes, that will take a while. But I¡¯m psychic, so I can try tomunicate with the spirit to try and satisfy its wish. Hopefully, I can make it leave her body sooner.¡± ¡°Call me on this number if there are any updates on the situation.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± When the call ended, Shi Qingzhou looked at Tuoba Shuo in rm. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Why do I feel that your nephew cares a lot about Xiaoning? Are they very close?¡± ¡°To save you, didn¡¯t Xiaoning once disguise herself around him for some time?¡± Tuoba Shuo was evidently not clear about it as well. ¡°We can only wait for Xiaoning to wake up to ask her about it.¡± ¡°I had wanted to find some excuse to exin the situation, but he actually reminded me of something.¡± Shi Qingzhou went on in a low voice, ¡°When one is first possessed, they¡¯ll fall into aa. However, it won¡¯tst for very long. Those who are less skilled can only wait for the spirit to leave or for the Ghost Festival to arrive before doing a ritual to get rid of it. Those who are highly skilled can immediately get rid of the spirit. However, these highly-skilled masters are extremely rare. Xiaoning was born on the Ghost Festival, so her body is naturally full of the ¡®Yin¡¯ energy and can easily be possessed by spirits.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t Xiaoning say that her child was born on the same day as her?¡± Shi Qingzhou nodded. ¡°The child inherited Xiaoning¡¯s genes and is a psychic as well. He also has the same birthday as her. If only the child had inherited his father¡¯s genes. Men have more ¡®Yang¡¯ energy than women. That means that the child will probably have a weak body when he grows up. I really don¡¯t know if that¡¯s good.¡± ¡°Should I switch on the heater?¡± Tuoba Shuo suggested. ¡°Not for now.¡± Shi Qingzhou wanted to err on the side of caution. ¡°What if it affects her? Let¡¯s wait for Xiaoning to wake up, then we can ask her what has happened.¡± ¡°Madam, Mr. Jin is here,¡± No. 5¡¯s voice sounded from outside the door. ¡°Let hime in.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not very appropriate, right?¡± Tuoba Shuo nced at her. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Shi Qingzhou thought of the scene of her grabbing onto her daughter¡¯s hand on the flight back here as she asked, ¡°Do you still love Jin Qingyan?¡± Seeing that she was too embarrassed to answer, Shi Qingzhou genuinely wanted to know the answer and probed, ¡°Just tell Mother, I won¡¯t even let your Father know about it. Okay?¡± An Xiaoning then whispered something to her in a soft, muffled voice. It was her words that had made Shi Qingzhou follow her daughter¡¯s heart as well, treating Jin Qingyan as her own son-inw. An Xiaoning¡¯s words were: ¡°Since the day I was born, the only man I¡¯ve loved is him. It has never changed. In the future, I doubt it will ever change as well. I¡¯m not a capricious person.¡± Jin Qingyan had brought his son along. Only with the excuse that his son wanted to see his mother could he walk in here openly. His son was downstairs ying with the group of numbered brothers while he hade up alone. In reality, he did not know what state An Xiaoning was in at the present moment. When he came in, his gaze was immediately fixed on the woman on the bed. He turned and asked naturally, ¡°Mother, what¡¯s wrong with Xiaoning?¡± This call of ¡°Mother¡± was especially smooth. It just slipped out of his mouth naturally. His face appeared calm, without a hint of embarrassment or awkwardness after calling her thus. Perhaps, in his dictionary, such things didn¡¯t exist. Seeing how sincere he was, Shi Qingzhou made Tuoba Shuo close the door. ¡°Have a seat first, I¡¯ll tell you.¡± Watching as she was about to reveal everything, Tuoba Shuo stopped her. ¡°Don¡¯t tell him first.¡± ¡°Ah¡¯Shuo, I believe that Mr. Jin is someone who can be trusted.¡± Tuoba Shuo did not think that way, however. One can never know what a person is truly thinking. He still felt that it was better to be cautious. But Shi Qingzhou had her mind set, and she was someone who would not change what she had set her mind firmly upon. Seeing the two of them exchanging meaningful looks, the intelligent Jin Qingyan could guess that they were hiding something from him. He immediately tried to express his reliable side. ¡°Mother, I love Xiaoning a great deal. I¡¯m willing to die for her, much less do anything else. If it¡¯s about her, I hope you can tell me honestly. Trust me, please treat me as your son!¡± Shi Qingzhou could not help but grin upon hearing these words. ¡°I know what you say is true. Xiaoning has mentioned you to me privately. But there are quite a lot of things I¡¯m about to say to you. I don¡¯t want to hide anything from you as well.¡± ¡°Mother, don¡¯t worry and just speak. No matter how much there is you have to say, I¡¯m all ears.¡± Shi Qingzhou nodded. ¡°I¡¯m telling you so that you¡¯ll understand her more in the future. Let¡¯s start from her grandmother...¡± Chapter 787 - A Million Times for You (149)

Chapter 787: A Million Times for You (149)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyan listened to her seriously. First, he was in a state of shock, which slowly transitioned to him feeling heartache for her. Hepletely did not imagine that the situation on An Xiaoning¡¯s mother¡¯s side would be like this. Especially about that book that she talked about at the end. No wonder she brought her parents to the Autumn Pce. After hearing from his mother-inw that all these worries had been dispelled, he heaved a sigh of relief. Grateful for the trust his mother-inw had given him, Jin Qingyan remarked earnestly, ¡°I won¡¯t let down the trust Mother has in me. Although Father-inw doesn¡¯t quite trust me, from now onward, I¡¯ll use my actions to prove that I really love Xiaoning wholeheartedly.¡± ¡°Why do you call her Mother and call me Father-inw?¡± Tuoba Shuo raised his eyebrows skeptically. ¡°Do you have something against me?¡± ¡°No...¡± Jin Qingyan hurriedly corrected himself, ¡°Father, I definitely don¡¯t have anything against you.¡± The crease on Tuoba Shuo¡¯s brows smoothened out. ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t stay here much longer. I¡¯ll leave Xiaoning in your hands, Father and Mother. When she wakes up, please get her to call me.¡± ¡°Why can¡¯t you stay here longer?¡± Shi Qingzhou could not understand. ¡°It seems like Xiaoning didn¡¯t tell the two of you. Since Mother trusts me so much, I won¡¯t hide this.¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s sparkled slightly. ¡°Xiaoning and I divorced mainly because of Tuoba Gucheng. That time, when Xiaoning went to the Autumn Pce...¡± After much exining from Jin Qingyan, the two who were listening had their jaws wide open. ¡°You¡¯re saying Tuoba Gucheng has fallen in love with Xiaoning?¡± ¡°Exactly...¡± Jin Qingyan uttered helplessly. ¡°He was still threatening Xiaoning in various ways. Because of him, we have to pretend...¡± ¡°This is absolutely ridiculous!¡± Shi Qingzhou was extremely furious. ¡°Even if he didn¡¯t know before that Xiaoning is his half-sister, he should know now and put away his feelings for her. Moreover, he already has a wife who¡¯s also pregnant!¡± Thereafter, she started berating Jin Qingyan, ¡°All this while, Xiaoning didn¡¯t tell me the reason for her divorce in detail. You¡¯re muddle-headed as well! If everyone is like you, then will Shuo not ever be with me? A happy family like yours got destroyed just because of such a misunderstanding, what a shame that is! If the two of you had not broken up over this, then no matter how much Tuoba Gucheng likes Xiaoning, he won¡¯t be able to interfere. Now that Xiaoning is single, things are different.¡± ¡°Mother is right. I regret it badly too.¡± ¡°Forget it, we can¡¯t return to the past anyway. You should just cherish what you have before you. Go back first. When Xiaoning wakes up, I¡¯ll get her to call you.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Shi Qingzhou and Tuoba Shuo went downstairs together with him. It was the first time Shi Qingzhou was seeing her grandson. ¡°Call them Grandfather and Grandmother,¡± Jin Qingyan lowered his head and instructed his son. Jin Yiheng looked at Shi Qingzhou and Tuoba Shuo with his crystal-clear eyes, obediently greeting them, ¡°Grandfather, Grandmother. Wow, Grandmother looks so much like my Mommy.¡± Shi Qingzhou grinned, revealing the wrinkles around her eyes. She affectionately picked up his hand and replied, ¡°That¡¯s because Grandmother gave birth to your Mommy.¡± Jin Yiheng felt that she was absolutely amicable and pleasant. He asked innocently, ¡°Why haven¡¯t I seen Grandfather and Grandmother in the past?¡± Shi Qingzhou answered gently, ¡°That¡¯s because Grandmother and Grandfather went to a faraway ce and only just came back. Why don¡¯t you stay here and keep Grandfather and Grandmotherpany today?¡± ¡°Alright, alright...¡± Jin Yiheng eagerly responded. ¡°Grandmother, will you beat me?¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re a good child. Why would Grandmother beat you?¡± ¡°But even though I¡¯m a good child, my Daddy always beats me up ruthlessly!¡± Jin Yiheng seemed to have found someone who could help him get even, so he started making usations. Shi Qingzhou let out a soft exmation and probed, ¡°Then tell me, how did your Daddy beat you up ruthlessly?¡± He looked up at Jin Qingyan, who was frowning slightly, and slowly answered, ¡°It¡¯s a really long story.¡± In the end, Jin Yiheng still left and did not stay with them. The father and son sat in the car exchanging nces. Jin Yiheng straightened his back seriously and, after a while, discreetly darted a nce at his father beside him. His gaze was met with his father¡¯s ferocious re immediately. ¡°Daddy... don¡¯t look at me like that. It¡¯s quite scary.¡± Jin Qingyan darted a quick nce at him. ¡°Then, why didn¡¯t it scare you until you passed out?¡± ¡°Due to my powerful genes, I can resist it for a short while.¡± He ignored his son and continued to drive. On the road, Jin Yiheng started to ask about his Mommy. ¡°Why haven¡¯t I seen Mommy?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Daddy, I¡¯m talking to you. Did you hear me?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Having problems with your hearing already? You must be getting old...¡± Once his wordsnded, a razor-like re was emitted toward him. Jin Yiheng tucked his neck in and pursed his lips, not daring to make a sound anymore. ¡ª The first scandal in the business industry that was exposed after the New Year was about the Ye Corporation. It was first revealed that their finance director tried to wlessly cover up the dishonest ounting he did and cheated the Ye Corporation out of a huge sum before escaping. Later, it was about theirpany reducing the sry andying off employees on arge scale. Finally, a piece of unverified news was reported, which imed that a hugepany like the Ye Corporation had their business deals stolen by rivals since a few months ago and that theirpany¡¯s earnings could hardly cover their expenditure. Not only that, it was reported that the Ye Corporation had joined forces with a few otherpanies to manipte the stock market and was given a heavy fine of five billion dors by the regtorymittee. One could easily imagine how different the Ye Corporation had be from how it was in the past. The hugepany¡¯s reputation declined drastically and continued to do so with every day that came. As the leader of the Ye Corporation, Ye Xiaotian showed his dreadful temper every day in response to the series of blows hispany had received. Throwing things around was merely amon urrence. Seeing how his son did not return home even during the New Year, Mrs. Ye was in a depressed mood and could not stop weeping all the time. Having already been diagnosed with uremia, she had disyed signs of rejection from the kidney transnt. After going to the hospital for a check-up, it was discovered that her illness had worsened. She¡¯d had no choice but be admitted to the hospital during the New Year. Because of how nasty she had been treating her daughter-inw who could not give birth to a son, she did not evene to take care of her during the period of her hospitalization. On the other hand, her daughter was in a foreignnd and could note back. After being hospitalized for a few days, on the day she was discharged from the hospital, she ran into Mrs. Mo, who was getting herbal medicine to nourish Mo Li¡¯s body. The two who were once inws saw red the moment they met. Mrs. Mo did not stand on ceremony as she sneered, ¡°Wow, retribution came quickly for you. I hope ites even faster so that it¡¯ll be an eye-opener even for the heavens.¡± ¡°You, you¡¯re just the mother of a woman who can¡¯t even give birth to a son. What¡¯s there to be cocky about? Moreover, she can¡¯t even give birth anymore for the rest of her life. What a shame. No man will probably want her anymore, right?¡± Mrs. Mo¡¯s eyes shed with hatred and she smirked coldly. ¡°No matter what, a woman will still be able to get married. But as for a grandson to continue the family line, your family will probably be deprived of it. You devilish woman, continue to act like this. I heard your family¡¯spany will soon go bust. I¡¯ll be waiting for that day toe.¡± ¡°You...¡± Mrs. Ye retorted. ¡°No matter what, we¡¯re still richer than your family!¡± ¡°Yes, you may be rich, but even so, it won¡¯t change the determination the heavens have to take you!!!¡± Mrs. Ye was infuriated beyond words. ¡°I can¡¯t be bothered with you!!!¡± On the way back, the same line from Mrs. Mo about the Ye family having no descendants was repeating in Mrs. Ye¡¯s head. Even when she had reached home, the anger within her still had not soothed. She called Ye Xiaotian to get him to return. But, with all the things that were going on, Ye Xiaotian could not possibly be in the mood or have the time to do so. He immediately rejected her outright. Chapter 788 - A Million Times for You (150)

Chapter 788: A Million Times for You (150)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mrs. Ye was fuming mad and roared, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ll wait until your mother is dead before youe back?!¡± With that, she ended the call. During his lunch break, Ye Xiaotian ultimately still returned. Having not seen him for many days, Mrs. Ye took a closer look and realized that her son was in such a haggard state. Seeing that he had grown much thinner, her heart ached for him terribly. ¡°Son, have you not been eating properly, why have you be so thin?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. Why did you ask me toe back?¡± Ye Xiaotian said irritatedly. ¡°There are a lot of things I have to handle at thepany.¡± ¡°Today, I saw Mo Li¡¯s mother when I came back from the hospital and we bickered a little. Xiaotian, you can¡¯t possibly not recover from this setback. You still have a long road ahead. Find a nice woman and lead a good life going forward.¡± Ye Xiaotian was annoyed after hearing her words. ¡°You called me back just to tell me this?¡± ¡°Xiaotian... Mother doesn¡¯t have much time left anymore. Can¡¯t you let your mother rest in peace next time?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve always wanted me to do this and that for you...¡± he answered weakly. ¡°But have you thought about how it is for me in my shoes? Stop using your love to coerce me. I¡¯ve gotten divorced and my child is dead. Mother, do you still want to torture me?¡± ¡°How am I torturing you? Do you think I wanted to see Nini die?¡± Ye Xiaotian was gasping agitatedly as he snarled, ¡°Stop talking about this incident! In the future, don¡¯t interfere in my affairs anymore. Just lead the rest of your life well. As for mine, it¡¯s my life, so don¡¯t interfere with it!¡± Mrs. Ye was rmed by his words. ¡°Do you have a grudge against Mother?¡± Ye Xiaotian frowned and responded, ¡°This is what I should ask you. Mother, do you have a grudge against me? Is that why you¡¯re torturing me non-stop? You can¡¯t wait to torture me to death, because only then will you be happy, right? Mother, now that my family is all broken up, are you happy?¡± Mrs. Ye did not say a word. After a minute of exchanging nces with her son, she finally replied, ¡°Why would I be happy? I want you to lead a good life too and continue the family line of the Ye family. Only then will people not talk behind your back saying you have no son. Am I wrong for wanting this?¡± ¡°Alright, I don¡¯t want to talk about this issue anymore. My head hurts.¡± Seeing that he was about to leave, Mrs. Ye started to weep bitterly. ¡°Mother just got discharged, can¡¯t you stay to keep mepany for a while longer?¡± ¡°There are too many things I have to handle at thepany.¡± Even as his wordsnded, he was already out the door. Mrs. Ye sat there, her eyes full of pain. Seeing how her son was treating her, Mrs. Ye found herself unsure about how things came to this state. ¡ª Even during the New Year, there was no holiday for the production unit. They had a tight schedule to follow and for each day that filming was dyed, the production fee would be raised by more than ten thousand dors. As the director, Jing Tian did not dare to be careless about the filming process at all. The production team worked absolutely diligently and meticulously. All the actors and staff members of the production team were not allowed to take leave if there was nothing terribly important. In the production team, no matter how big of a shot one was, their foremost role was an actor. Lin Mingxi took some free time to visit the production unit during the New Year and had a meal with the director and casts. Everyone was curious about An Xiaoning¡¯s issue, so she told them truthfully that because An Xiaoning was busy, she could note to the production unit for a period of time. Everyone said that it was okay and that as long as she was well and fine, it didn¡¯t matter. On this day, there was filming at night and everyone had to stay up ¡¯til three to four in the morning. Everyone could barely keep their eyes open. When they were removing their makeup, Jing Tian¡¯s assistant carried a pack of supper to Fang En¡¯s dressing table and remarked, ¡°Brother told me to send this to you.¡± ¡°Thank him for me. Next time, it¡¯ll be my treat.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll definitely tell him,¡± the assistant answered before leaving the makeup room. After having her makeup removedpletely, Fang En had started enjoying her supper when she heard Xiao Li in one corner talking to Yan Ge. ¡°Brother, do you want supper? I¡¯ll go and buy for you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, eating at night will make me gain weight easily. If every bite of supper is full of fatty meat, I may look fatter on camera tomorrow. It¡¯ll look hideous.¡± Yan Ge¡¯s cold voice revealed that he absolutely did not want to eat. The chopsticks in Fang En¡¯s hand paused for a moment and, all of a sudden, she did not feel like eating anymore... Darting a bitter nce at Yan Ge, she abruptly stood up and passed the supper to her assistant Xiao Yue. ¡°You can have it.¡± ¡°Sister, you¡¯re not eating anymore?¡± ¡°No... not eating.¡± For a glutton like her who was very hungry at the present moment, saying these words took a lot of courage. She gulped down her saliva, resisting her urge to eat. ¡°Then, Sis, I¡¯ll have it, okay? I¡¯m starving.¡± Xiao Yue herself was very hungry and did not stand on ceremony as she devoured the food. Fang En nodded and watched as she finished all the food. It was a torturing sight for her. After leaving the makeup room, she had one hand on her growling stomach and felt light-headed. It was fortunate that she had no afternoon filming, so she could have a good sleep. When she returned to her room, she started regretting not finishing that bowl of supper just now. She should have given Xiao Yue some money for her to buy another bowl of supper. After cleaning herself up, shey on the bed in her pajamas. Yet, her hunger prevented her from falling asleep. Fang En felt a muffled sense of regret. Why did she have to pretend as if she could go without supper? Yan Ge was afraid of getting fat from supper, but why did she have to ensure that she herself would be on par with him? It was merely so that she would not be despised by others. Fang En opened her mouth and took in a few mouthfuls of air. The more she thought about food, the hungrier she was. It was absolutely frustrating. After tossing and turning on the bed, then shaking and swaying her limbs, she felt even hungrier than before. After some thought, she decided she simply could not hold it in anymore. She put on her clothes, a pair of sunsses, and a mask, then got ready to look for food. When the elevator came, Yan Ge came out from it with a packet of supper in hand. Fang En¡¯s gazended on the packet of food in his hands and asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t you not eat supper because you were scared of getting fat?¡± ¡°I changed my mind again. Do you want to join me?¡± Fang En wanted to have integrity and reply with guts, ¡°It¡¯s okay!¡± But in reality, she replied, ¡°I see you¡¯ve bought quite a lot and won¡¯t be able to finish it by yourself anyway. I shall be kind and help you with it, then.¡± Yan Ge simply continued walking ahead and ignored her words while Fang En chased after him, following him to his room. The room was icy cold, so she took the initiative to turn on the heater. After throwing her mask and sunsses onto the sofa, she sat on the seat opposite him. There were y-pot noodles,mb skewers, and beer. ¡°Eatingmb skewers will make you gain weight easier than eating noodles...¡± Fang En was ced in an internal struggle. Should she eat it or not? ¡°Then, you eat the y-pot noodles. Leave themb skewers for me. I still think it¡¯s not enough,¡± he responded with apletely expressionless face. She chuckled as she replied, ¡°No, I want to eat it too.¡± With that, she took amb skewer, opened a can of beer, and started to feast. ¡°Why do you look rather upset?¡± Yan Ge¡¯s expression remained mild. ¡°You¡¯ve seen wrongly.¡± ¡°Where did you buy thesemb skewers? There are a few shops that sell them downstairs, one of them sells them rather expensively and they don¡¯t even taste good. This one that you bought is quite good. It smells great...¡± ¡°Eat your food, don¡¯t ask so many questions.¡± ¡°...¡± Fang En ate a bowl of y-pot noodles, somemb skewers, and drank a few cans of beer. She was rather stuffed andy down on the sofa after her meal, not wanting to move an inch. Chapter 789 - A Million Times for You (151) Chapter 789: A Million Times for You (151) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I was hungry when I didn¡¯t eat... Now that I¡¯ve eaten, I regret it so badly... I¡¯ve already brushed my teeth, now I have to brush them again... if only I didn¡¯t eat...¡± Yan Ge packed up the leftover food and took a few bites of noodles. He had little of themb skewers as well, as Fang En had eaten most of them. He only took two and did not have a single drop of beer. He watched as shey on the sofa with her eyes almost closing and ordered, ¡°Go back to your room to sleep.¡± Fang En replied weakly, ¡°Yan Ge, I can¡¯t move anymore...¡± ¡°You¡¯re stuck there?¡± ¡°Yup...¡± Looking at him approach her and look down at her from above, Fang En asked him cheerily, ¡°Are you going to carry me back to my room just like what you did in the movie?¡± Yan Ge did not say a word and grabbed her by her arms, dragging her out of the door over the carpet. With that, he closed the door heartlessly. ¡ª When An Xiaoning woke up, it was already the fourth night. She looked out at the darkness outside the window and thought that it was still the same night. She then turned to her mother, who was lying over on the bed, and called out to her, ¡°Mother?¡± Shi Qingzhou sat up absent-mindedly and looked at An Xiaoning staring at her. She immediately stood up and, because she had exerted too much strength, the wound on her stomach that had yet to heal got torn and a sh of pain overwhelmed her. She couldn¡¯t help but frown as she remarked, ¡°Xiaoning, you really gave Mother a huge scare.¡± ¡°Why is it that you¡¯re in my room?¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t woken up for a few days, Mother was here watching over you.¡± ¡°A few days?¡± She picked up her phone, which was charging on the table, and nced at the disy screen. A look of surprise appeared on her face as she eximed, ¡°How did a few days just go by like this? It felt like just a while to me.¡± ¡°Mother was afraid you went in too deep...¡± Shi Qingzhou sat down beside her and asked, ¡°Xiaoning, how do you feel?¡± ¡°I feel good... tsk...¡± She slipped off the bed and ran crazily for the bathroom. Shi Qingzhou chased after her and watched as she sat on the toilet bowl, rubbing her stomach. ¡°Are you having diarrhea?¡± ¡°Umm. But this is because all the blood vessels in my body have been opened up. It¡¯s a normal bodily response because I¡¯ve already practiced to the second stage.¡± ¡°Really?!¡± Shi Qingzhou was pleasantly surprised. ¡°How many stages are there in total?¡± ¡°Ten stages.¡± Shi Qingzhou was visibly overjoyed. ¡°Does that mean it won¡¯t take long for you to master itpletely?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t Mother say Grandmother didn¡¯t take much time? I think I wouldn¡¯t need much time either.¡± An Xiaoning then took a shower and, after blow-drying her hair, Shi Qingzhou passed her phone to her. ¡°During these few days, Tuoba Gucheng called you and Jin Qingyan came by as well. Another person called Gu Beicheng also gave you a call. You should return a call to Tuoba Gucheng first. That day, he called you and was berating you for not picking up his calls. I told him you were in aa and he thought that you were possessed by spirits so I went along with it. But as for Jin Qingyan, I told him everything.¡± An Xiaoning took the phone from her and asked, ¡°You told him everything?¡± ¡°Yes, I did. Mother just feels that there¡¯s no need to hide it from him.¡± ¡°He can be trusted, but the fewer who know this, the better.¡± ¡°He also told me that Tuoba Gucheng has feelings for you...¡± ¡°Indeed. It has given me a lot of trouble. I¡¯ll return his call first.¡± ¡°Alright, Mother will go downstairs to make you some food.¡± An Xiaoning took her phone and opened the door of the balcony. A cold breeze blew toward her immediately, and she stepped out, dialing Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s number. Nobody picked up. She dialed another time, and when she was able to end the call a second time, it went through. ¡°How are you now?¡± ¡°I just woke up. I heard from my mother that you called me. Sorry to have made you worried.¡± ¡°In the future, send me a text message every day. It can be anything. Just let me know that you¡¯re well and fine.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s gazended on two figures who went through the door. After a moment of silence from her, she answered, ¡°Alright, I promise. I¡¯m going to eat now, I¡¯ll hang up first.¡± ¡°Umm.¡± She flipped her phone shut and gazed at a spot below the balcony. A man with a slender figure had his head raised, and their eyes met. The two of them did not say a word. Just a gaze between them was enough. When he appeared at her bedroom door, Jin Yiheng was not there. He was alone. He closed the door shut and locked it from the inside. Then, he pulled her into his arms tightly and, with one hand, pressed the back of her head and whispered intimately to her, ¡°I missed you.¡± An Xiaoning hugged his waist tightly and remained silent. Jin Qingyan led her to the bed where theyy down together. The twoy sideways and just stared at each other. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you talking?¡± ¡°Just looking at you and not talking is good enough for me.¡± An Xiaoningid her hand on his face and caressed it. Her fingers lingered all the way to his lips. It was slightly cold to the touch, and its thickness was just perfect. She swiftly pressed her lips on it, her body tightly pressed against his chest. With one arm pressing down on his shoulder, they engaged in a passionate kiss with their tongue and lips intimately intertwined. Jin Qingyan was overjoyed by her sudden move and justy there, allowing her to climb onto him. As they kissed, they started taking off their clothes, leaving behind a mess. Bam! Bam! The door was suddenly banged on multiple times, and Jin Yiheng¡¯s loud voice sounded from the other side. ¡°Daddy, Mommy! What are you both doing in the room? Quickly open up! Why is the door even locked from the inside?¡± The two abruptly split apart from each other and got down from the bed. The moment the door was opened, Jin Yiheng felt like his father could eat him up. His gaze reminded him of a new phrase he learned that described how fierce and malicious one was! ¡°Mommy!¡± He leaped into the room through the spot beside Jin Qingyan and hung on An Xiaoning¡¯s body like a little monkey. An Xiaoning clung onto him and remarked, ¡°You¡¯ve grown so big, Mommy can¡¯t carry you anymore.¡± Jin Yiheng stretched his head and nted a few kisses on her head. ¡°Mommy, I missed you so much... Ah...¡± His body was dragged down by a forceful hand. ¡°Your Mommy hasn¡¯t eaten today, so she doesn¡¯t have the strength to carry you.¡± ¡°Mommy, why haven¡¯t you eaten? No wonder you¡¯re growing thinner.¡± He grabbed onto her hand and said, ¡°Come, your son will bring you down to eat.¡± An Xiaoning was at a loss whether to cry orugh and followed him downstairs to eat. Shi Qingzhou had done the cooking herself and everyone had eaten apart from An Xiaoning. In actual fact, she did not really feel hungry. But still, she had to eat since she was human, after all, and it was just part of nature. Nature¡¯sws were not to be vited. It was akin to how one gets up at sunrise and retires at sunset. Despite the fact that practicing psychological mantra could make her somewhat like a deity, she did not want to reach that state. As she ate, Shi Qingzhou continued to watch her and asked cautiously, ¡°How is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s tasty.¡± Shi Qingzhou immediately rxed visibly. ¡°That¡¯s great. I haven¡¯t cooked in so long.¡± ¡°Mother...¡± she responded as she ate. ¡°I haven¡¯t inherited your genes for being a good cook.¡± ¡°Who can do it well the first time around? You have to practice more to be good at it. But you don¡¯t have to cook in the future either. Mother will cook for you at home.¡± Chapter 790 - A Million Times for You (152) Chapter 790: A Million Times for You (152) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I think I have no talent in cooking at all.¡± Shi Qingzhou replied gently, ¡°Who can possibly be good in every area? Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. It isn¡¯t that much of a big deal anyway. You¡¯re doing great in other areas already.¡± It was obviously just a simple meal, but An Xiaoning had a great time relishing the food. It was her first time eating a home-cooked meal made by her biological mother. Every bite was full of the vor of happiness. ¡°When is our son going to the training camp?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Tomorrow.¡± Speaking of this, Jin Qingyan added, ¡°The coach and culture lesson teacher have both called me for a discussion. So as to allow him to concentrate on his practice, with the exception of special matters, he¡¯s not allowed to leave.¡± That is to say, without Jin Yiheng as his cover, meeting her openly and aboveboard would be a luxury he could only dream of. An Xiaoning was exceptionally clear about this as well. After eating, Shi Qingzhou and Tuoba Shuo brought Jin Yiheng to shop at the district supermarket, giving them some time alone by themselves. ¡°Mother didn¡¯t exin it very clearly to me, so tell me, what is it that you¡¯ve been practicing these few days without eating or drinking?¡± ¡°Wow, you¡¯re even calling her Mother already?¡± An Xiaoning entered the room. Jin Qingyan followed behind closely and locked the door in a fast and clean manner. He paced forward and hugged her from behind. Resting his chin on her neck, he locked both his arms tightly around her abdomen and swayed her body. ¡°For things that should be said, I won¡¯t miss out a single word. As for what shouldn¡¯t be said, I won¡¯t say a single word more either. Quick, answer my question.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no name for it, I don¡¯t know what it¡¯s called. But it¡¯s not witchcraft. It¡¯s a secret manual about psychological mantra techniques. It¡¯s an ancient thing. The paper used to record it isn¡¯t ordinary paper either. It says that a few hundred women who once attempted to master it just dropped dead suddenly. Only women with special physical constitutions can practice it. If my grandmother didn¡¯t try it, I wouldn¡¯t dare do so either. Even men can¡¯t practice it.¡± ¡°So what happens when you master it? What powers will you gain?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, you need to master it before you find out. The manual didn¡¯t mention anything.¡± ¡°It didn¡¯t mention anything and you still dare to practice it?¡± Jin Qingyan muttered, ¡°You¡¯re really daring.¡± ¡°Even my grandmother dared to practice it, why would I not dare to?¡± She turned to the side and remarked, ¡°I almost forgot to return Beicheng¡¯s call. Maybe the matter I told him to check for me has some progress.¡± ¡°What matter?¡± She turned around and showed him the bangle on her hand. ¡°Do you still remember? The first time we got married, this is the wedding gift Beicheng got for me.¡± He watched her and allowed her to continue speaking. ¡°I dreamed that I wore it in my previous life. So, I made a bold presumption that this bangle was mine in my previous life. This bangle was collected by Beicheng, he said that it was found in a grave a few thousand years ago. I wanted him to help find the original owner of the bangle, just out of sheer curiosity.¡± ¡°Call himter...¡± He lowered his head and pressed his lips on hers, whispering in between his lips, ¡°Let¡¯s get this serious matter done first...¡± His tongue, which was boiling with a fiery passion, stuck out and, seeing that he was so eager, An Xiaoning could not bear to reject him. She merely remarked, ¡°Then, hurry up.¡± Once her wordsnded, her body was pushed back by him and forcefully bent down to rest against the bed. Her fur coat was rolled up by him, and her undergarment was pulled down to her knees in one swift hand movement. An Xiaoning coordinated with him and removed a single leg of her pants. But before she could straighten her body, he was already eagerly entering her body. With regard to such things, Jin Qingyan seemed to always act like a cheeky youngd in his twenties. ¡°Slow down...¡± An Xiaoning bit onto her lip tightly. The sound instion in her room could not bepared to that of her master¡¯s bedroom in the house in Wei Ni Estate. As such, she was afraid of being heard by others. ¡°So do you want me to hurry or slow down...?¡± He bent forward and simply pressed her down onto the bed. With one leg half-kneeling on the bed, he hurled her leg and ced it over his own shoulder. ¡°Yiheng will being back soon, quickly end it.¡± Hepletely did not take in her words. At this stage, An Xiaoning was in no position to take control anymore. While she had suppressed the urge to make any sound, toward the end, she could not bear it in anymore. He seemed to be enjoying it and let out sounds of enjoyment along with her, the two of them creating a melody of love. Maybe it was because her mother had intentionally given them more personal time to spend together, even after half an hour had passed after they were done, they did not return yet. He personally cleaned the scene himself, throwing all the evidence of them making love into the rubbish bin in the bathroom. ¡°Did you know? To maintain a healthy rtionship between a man and a woman, it¡¯s best to do it twice a week.¡± An Xiaoning did not hesitate to throw cold water on his ideas. ¡°You didn¡¯t carry this regime out in the past, so in the future, you need to suppress your desires as well.¡± ¡°Do you still remember when you were kidnapped in R Nation? Where I dreamed of you, which had led me to find you?¡± ¡°Of course I remember.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think that incident was really strange?¡± An Xiaoning was unbothered by it. ¡°What¡¯s so strange about it? Your ancestor was in love with the Dragon Maiden and you¡¯re a descendant of the Dragon. That¡¯s the main crux of it, right? Also, you have that family heirloom on your hand, the jade ring. For it to be passed down in your family, it surely isn¡¯t some ordinary item. Moreover, what happened to you was an out-of-body experience. I think it¡¯s definitely rted to both of the reasons I mentioned. Do you still dream of such thingstely?¡± ¡°Not anymore.¡± ¡°This incident is like what Shixin and I witnessed of the elder deep in the mountains. It¡¯s simply perplexing. When I think about it, it was just like a dream, but it¡¯s actually something that happened in reality.¡± Jin Qingyan seemed to be deep in thought. ¡°That¡¯s true indeed.¡± ¡ª When both father and son had left, An Xiaoning finally returned Gu Beicheng¡¯s call. When asked why she had not picked up her phone, she casually found an excuse to dodge his question. She naturally would not have mentioned anything about the manual. The fewer people knew about it, the less danger she would put herself and her family in. As for the matter she had entrusted him, there had been progress a few days ago. She could go and check anytime. At the thought that she had to retreat into practice tomorrow, An Xiaoning suggested checking it right now. Gu Beicheng readily agreed. She drove to meet Gu Beicheng, bringing along No. 5 and No. 8 with her. When passing a traffic light, the red light meant that all cars had to stop. It was a basic rule that all drivers knew. Driving through a red light would entail a deduction of points and a fine. Regardless of whether the car was at the front or back of the traffic light, it had to stop. However, a ck car ahead of An Xiaoning¡¯s car had stopped for a moment before the red light, then suddenly elerated and drove through the red light like a sh of lightning. Moreover, it did not drive through in a straight line but cut through a pedestrian crossing that was on the green light and turned away. ¡°This driver will have his points deducted,¡± No. 5, who was sitting beside An Xiaoning¡¯s driver seat,ined. ¡°Couldn¡¯t even wait a few seconds.¡± ¡°Maybe there was something critically urgent he had to attend to.¡± An Xiaoning had her eyes fixed ahead and her hands on the steering wheel as she guessed, ¡°Or maybe someone in the car needed to be sent to the hospital...¡± Chapter 791 - A Million Times for You (153) Chapter 791: A Million Times for You (153) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As soon as An Xiaoning finished speaking, No. 5 and No. 8 leaped up at the sight of a loud explosion erupting nearby, apanied with res that shot up to the sky, instantly lighting up the surrounding area. Shrieks of terror could be hearding from the affected area. ¡°What... is going on?¡± No. 5 cocked his head toward the side and asked, ¡°Sis, is someone killing himself on purpose? If that¡¯s the case, he may jolly well die alone. Why does he have to get others involved!?!¡± An Xiaoning, too, found it to be extremely sudden, to the extent that it was rather intimidating and terrifying. One would be bound to feel somber when a disaster happens. She stared at the steering wheel and continued in her path while driving past slowly. Due to the fact that there was a long stretch of cars behind them, it was rather difficult to find a spot to pull over along the road. Hence, An Xiaoning decided to park her car in a car park and alighted soon after. Her bodyguards followed suit. The three of them began walking toward the scene of the explosion, only to discover that there were strong burning smells in the air, which intensified the nearer they got to the fire. The firefighting team and the police had made their way to the scene in no time. After all, the ident happened in the city center and it would definitely make it onto the news. The civil servants would be reprimanded if there were any dy. Hence, they managed to put out the fire in the shortest possible time. This time, four cars were involved in the ident, for the impact of the first car had affected the three other ones in front of it. By the time the fire had been extinguished, all that was left of the cars were metal scraps. Thick fumes were spreading into the air, and the scene could not be seen clearly in the pitch darkness. There was a massive crowd of onlookers, none of whom dared to take a step closer. An Xiaoning was standing closer to the front. Once the thick fumes began to dissipate, she squinted and caught sight of a woman who was dressed in green. She walked out of the debris of the ck car. Soon, the woman vanished without a trace. Despite having only caught a glimpse of the woman, An Xiaoning had managed to see her features clearly. Her face was as pale as flour, and her features were delicate. She was truly expressionless. An Xiaoning could not tell if she was wearing an ancient costume or if she was really from ancient times. It was not as simple as a mere traffic ident. An Xiaoning turned around and said to her bodyguards, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Once they got inside the car, No. 5 asked, ¡°Why did the owner of the ck car do that? If he or she really wanted to die, he could have justmitted suicide in a quiet ce. Why did he have to harm others too?¡± ¡°Exactly. It¡¯s just like those people who attempt to jump to their death and end up killing the person theynd on. One should just kill themselves at home with poison if they¡¯re looking to die, instead of implicating the innocent,¡± No. 8 chimed in. ¡°The driver of that car was innocent,¡± An Xiaoning said while revving the engine and driving slowly. Her words had shocked them greatly. ¡°What? Sis, why would you say that?¡± ¡°When the crowd was looking on earlier, I saw a woman drifting out of the ck car.¡± The two of them looked at each other in shock and dismay. ¡°Could it be the owner of the car?¡± ¡°No.¡± They arrived at the Gu family mansion after a smooth ride. Upon the sight of An Xiaoning, who alighted from the car, Gu Beicheng heaved a sigh of relief and said, ¡°I saw the news report about a major traffic ident near the junction earlier, which involved four cars colliding into each other. I wanted to give you a call because I was afraid that you have been affected.¡± ¡°There was indeed a major car ident. The car in front of me lost control and beat the headlights, resulting in an ident. Actually, the ident wouldn¡¯t have happened in the first ce. The driver was being manipted,¡± An Xiaoning said in a tone of seriousness. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Gu Beicheng asked in puzzlement. ¡°The driver was possessed by a spirit. It¡¯s gettingte, let¡¯s go now.¡± Gu Beicheng nodded and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± They set off from the Gu family mansion in two separate cars and began driving toward the city museum. The museum was located in the suburbs of the city, and it did not require much time to reach their destination. No. 5 and No. 8 were told by An Xiaoning to wait at the museum entrance. It was a private museum that did not belong to the government. The items exhibited were all cherished collections curated by tycoons. An Xiaoning and Gu Beicheng were brought inside personally by the museum curator. ¡°We found that skeleton by chance at a construction. We¡¯re acquainted with the managers, and they thus allowed us to visit the site. We then discovered that the coffin waspletely intact and devoid of damage. There was an inner chamber, and we thought that there would be something inside since the coffin seemed to havee from an ancient period. The deceased was probably someone who had died centuries ago. After opening the coffin, we discovered that there was only a jade bangle that Mr. Gu had then acquired. Later on, we handled the skeleton appropriately,¡± the curator exined. ¡°Where was that construction site?¡± ¡°Within the vicinity of Mount Nanshan.¡± Under the curator¡¯s guidance, they finally arrived at the area where skeletons and corpses were being kept. When they approached a ss cab, the curator said, ¡°It¡¯s this one.¡± An Xiaoning and Gu Beicheng looked over to see that there was a petite skeleton inside the cab. An Xiaoning immediately had a hunch that the skeleton belonged to her incarnate from her previous lifetime. She became much more convinced that her conjecture was right. ¡°Mister, I¡¯d like to bring this skeleton back with me to bury it.¡± ¡°Why?¡± the curator asked in bewilderment. ¡°This skeleton belongs to... my ancestor.¡± ¡°Yes, that bangle is proof,¡± said Gu Beicheng. The curator had no idea what kind of logic that was. However, he decided to adhere to their request upon noticing how much they wanted to take it away. No one would randomly acknowledge their ancestor out of the blue, right? he thought to himself. After packing the skeleton into a bag, the curator handed it to An Xiaoning, who then thanked him sincerely. Once they got inside the car, An Xiaoning handed the bag to No. 5 and said, ¡°Hold this.¡± ¡°Sis, what¡¯s inside?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell you when we¡¯re home,¡± said An Xiaoning. Ignorance was bliss. An Xiaoning headed to Wei Ni Estate. Due to the fact that she had given him a call beforehand, Jin Qingyan was already waiting for her by the entrance when she arrived. She took the bag from No. 5 and stopped him and No. 8 from alighting. ¡°Wait for me in the car.¡± She walked toward Jin Qingyan with the bag in her hands and handed it to him. ¡°I have a feeling that this skeleton belongs to my incarnate from our previous lifetime. Get someone to restore the features and sketch a simtion to verify it. If it really belongs to me, cremate it and bury the ashes together with yours. After all, your incarnate didn¡¯t get to be with mine even after he was dead.¡± Jin Qingyan took it from her hands and said, ¡°Alright.¡± Without uttering another word, she returned to her car and drove away. ¡°Sis... what was inside that bag?¡± No. 5 asked again. ¡°The skeleton of a woman.¡± ¡°Ah!!!¡± No. 5 shrieked in terror. Although he had been through arduous training from a young age and had even taken several lives, he could not help but get the chills. The thought of being in such close proximity with a corpse sent shivers down his spine, despite how death was not a taboo to him. An Xiaoning burst intoughter and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s just some bones. You¡¯ll get used to it once you¡¯ve carried a few more. You¡¯re way too timid. Seems like you have to train more.¡± Chapter 792 - A Million Times for You (154)

Chapter 792: A Million Times for You (154)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios No. 5 stomped his feet andy t against the seat. ¡°Sis, how are you so brave?¡± he asked sluggishly. ¡°I became braver after having experienced a lot. There¡¯s nothing to be afraid of, it¡¯s just some bones. After all, it¡¯s not going to bite or devour you. Sometimes, humans are far scarier than the dead. Those who seem innocent on the surface may just stab you from behind when you¡¯re not looking,¡± she said calmly. They arrived back home. Upon the sight of her, Shi Qingzhou stood up and said, ¡°We saw on the news that there was a major traffic incident this evening. After their investigations, the police deduced that the ck car was carrying mmable goods and gunpowder, which led to the explosion. It¡¯s horrifying. We were all really worried when you weren¡¯t home yet.¡± ¡°We witnessed the ident ourselves. It¡¯s not just a simple traffic ident.¡± An Xiaoning pulled Shi Qingzhou upstairs and said, ¡°Mother, I have something to say to you.¡± Noticing the grave expression on her face, she asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Mother, have a seat. I saw a woman who was dressed in greening out of the ck car just now. I can¡¯t tell if she¡¯s from the ancient period or if she was just dressed in a costume. The ident was caused by that woman.¡± After a moment of silence, Shi Qingzhou asked, ¡°So that woman was the culprit?¡± ¡°Yes, but she disappeared within seconds. I wonder where she came from?¡± ¡°She must be a troublemaker. The police would never be able to find out the truth, then. Xiaoning, what did you go to the Gu family mansion today for?¡± Shi Qingzhou asked. ¡°I went to the museum with Gu Beicheng. Mother, do you believe in past and present lifetimes?¡± An Xiaoning asked softly. ¡°Past and present lifetimes? I don¡¯t know,¡± said Shi Qingzhou. ¡°Jin Qingyan and I were lovers in our previous lifetime,¡± said An Xiaoning, who then went on to exin everything to her mother, including the corpse from the cave on the deste mountains as well as the skeleton she brought back from the museum this evening. An Xiaoning removed the bangle from her wrist and said, ¡°Look, this is the very bangle that saved my life.¡± Shi Qingzhou took a closer look at the bangle and said, ¡°It looks like an ordinary jade bangle. It must have belonged to you in your previous life and has recognized you as its owner. What a spiritual bangle. Didn¡¯t the museum curator say that it was the only item buried with the corpse? It must¡¯ve been very important to you in your previous life too.¡± ¡°I have Beicheng to thank for giving it to me. I guess it¡¯s all fate. It¡¯s meant to be mine, be it in my past or my present lifetime.¡± Shi Qingzhou put the bangle back onto An Xiaoning¡¯s wrist and said, ¡°You must wear it every day since it¡¯s so important. Xiaoning, I¡¯ve never regretted the decision to give birth to you. In fact, I feel really blessed and fortunate to have you as my daughter.¡± An Xiaoning hugged her and said, ¡°Me, too. Searching for you was the best decision I¡¯ve ever made.¡± ¡°Do we inform the police about what happened tonight?¡± ¡°Not yet. I also have my own selfish reasons. I don¡¯t feel like getting involved in this matter for the time being. There are no psychic police officers in the police station at the moment. If we tell them about what happened this evening, they¡¯ll definitely urge me to join them in the investigations. This case is not as simple as it seems. We¡¯ll talk about this again when I¡¯ve already mastered the techniques of that book. I don¡¯t want to dy my progress, not even by a single day. I reckon that that woman must have done it for revenge.¡± ¡°Since she did it for revenge, I doubt she¡¯ll continue to harm others... Go to bed early, you still have to study tomorrow, don¡¯t you?¡± An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°Mother, goodnight.¡± ¡°Goodnight.¡± ¡ª¡ª In the darkness of the night, the cold breeze began to blow. Standing by the balcony with a nearly empty can of beer in his hand, No. 8 looked over at the bench along the corridor of the opposite building. He discovered that he would often get to see Mo Li sitting by the bench whenever he stood on the balcony at night. However, there was no one tonight. He finished thest sip of beer and crushed the empty can in his hands. Just as he was about to go back inside, a figure swaying from side to side caught his attention. It was none other than Mo Li. She seemed to be drunk and was walking on an unsteady gait, taking one heavy footstep at a time. As usual, she took a seat on the bench. Her features could not be seen clearly since she was hanging her head low and there was a significant distance between the mansion and the apartment building. No. 8 gazed at her quietly to find that she seemed to be crying and that her shoulders were trembling uncontrobly. He looked away and returned inside the house, after which he threw the crushed empty can into the dustbin. After washing up, he subconsciously headed to the balcony again, only to see that Mo Li had fallen asleep on the bench. Mo Liy t on the bench with her eyes tightly closed. As soon as No. 8 approached, the strong odor of alcohol wafted up to his nose. ¡°Ms. Mo,¡± he called. Mo Li opened her eyes immediately, though they were ssed over. She struggled to sit up. She was swaying so unsteadily that she seemed like she would stumble over anytime. She tucked her long hair behind her ear and said with a chuckle, ¡°Could I... trouble... you to send me home?¡± No. 8 grabbed her arm and asked, ¡°Ms. Mo, on which floor do you live?¡± ¡°The... the highest floor.¡± He tried to help her up; however, she could barely manage to walk. Thus, he had no choice but to pick her up in his arms and carry her into the corridor. Mo Li stared at him in shock. Her vision was extremely blurry and seemed to have been obstructed by moisture. Ding... They arrived on the 32nd floor. He put Mo Li down and turned around to leave. Mo Li hurriedly grabbed his arm and said in a hoarse voice, ¡°Wait a minute.¡± She opened the door, entered the apartment, and came back out soon after with her wallet in her hand. She took out two hundred-dor bills and handed them to him. ¡°I can¡¯t trouble you for free. It may not be much, but please take it.¡± ¡°It was just a simple favor that didn¡¯t take much effort,¡± said No. 8, who did not take her money and instead entered the elevator straight away. Mo Li put her arm down. Noticing that the doors were about to close, she quickly said, ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡ª¡ª Before beginning her seclusion, An Xiaoning wrote several messages on a piece of paper and instructed Shi Qingzhou to send Tuoba Gucheng a text message ording to what she had written. She also reminded her mother not to disturb her regardless of what happens. Shi Qingzhou bore her words in mind. An Xiaoning remained in seclusion and slipped into a deep slumber for more than ten days, rid of disturbance from the outside world. Shi Qingzhou would wait in her room patiently every day for An Xiaoning to regain consciousness. She looked forward to seeing her daughter master the techniques and prayed silently that she would seed. An Xiaoning still showed no signs ofing to by the seventeenth day. Shi Qingzhou began to sense that something was amiss. An Xiaoning began to break out in sweat and her entire face was soon drenched. She continued to perspire uncontrobly from head to toe. Although the heater was clearly switched off, An Xiaoning felt as if she was in a hot oven. Her face grew redder and redder. Shi Qingzhou knew that there was no way to wake her up. Hence, she remained silent and did not dare to turn on the air conditioner, for fear that she would disrupt the process. She stared at An Xiaoning in fear and anxiety, not daring to even blink. Tuoba Shuo entered the room and received a great shock upon seeing what was happening. ¡°This...¡± Shi Qingzhou grabbed his hand and said, ¡°Shuo, do you think she¡¯s on the verge of losing control?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t spout nonsense. Let¡¯s observe the situation first.¡± Chapter 793 - A Million Times for You (155)

Chapter 793: A Million Times for You (155)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I¡¯m terrified...¡± said Shi Qingzhou, filled with fear and anxiety. Tuoba Shuo held her hand in a bid to give her some support. ¡°Chief Pan from the police station is here, go downstairs to take a look,¡± he said. ¡°What is he here for?¡± ¡°He¡¯s here to look for Xiaoning.¡± Shi Qingzhou headed downstairs together with him. ¡°I¡¯m Xiaoning¡¯s mother. May I ask why you¡¯re looking for Xiaoning?¡± Shi Qingzhou asked. Although it was Pan Zhenghui¡¯s first time meeting Shi Qingzhou, he could tell right away that she was An Xiaoning¡¯s mother from the striking simrities between their features. Pan Zhenghui decided to cut straight to the chase and said, ¡°I tried to call Xiaoning but she didn¡¯t answer at all. After learning that she was living here, I decided to make a trip here immediately. I have something urgent to discuss with her. May I see her?¡± ¡°Xiaoning isn¡¯t exactly avable right now. You may tell me about it directly, I¡¯ll ry the message to her.¡± Pan Zhenghui could no longer be bothered with keeping it confidential. ¡°Two weeks ago, a major traffic incident urred along the junction. Ever since then, there had been several idents happening every now and then. Due to the sheer seriousness of the idents, all the civilians are really terrified and worried. The media has been trying to keep these idents under wraps and refraining from reporting about them. We¡¯re very sorry for our ipetence, but we really haven¡¯t got a single clue at all. So, we¡¯re thinking of inviting Xiaoning back to the station to help out with the investigations. The Autumn Pce has already heard about this, and they¡¯ve ordered us to hurry and resolve this issue. We¡¯re under immense pressure, there really isn¡¯t another viable solution.¡± Shi Qingzhou did not expect for things to escte so quickly and be blown out of proportion. Recalling what her daughter had said the other night, she said upfront, ¡°Chief Pan, I can empathize with how you feel, but Xiaoning really isn¡¯t avable right now.¡± ¡°Why so? Could you tell me the reason? We wouldn¡¯t have troubled Xiaoning if it weren¡¯t because we¡¯re at our wits¡¯ end ¡ª I know she¡¯s busy too,¡± said the anxious and frantic Pan Zhenghui. ¡°Xiaoning has slipped into aa.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with her?¡± Pan Zhenghui asked in astonishment. ¡°She¡¯s been possessed by an unholy spirit.¡± That excuse worked all the time. ¡°Ah... of all times...¡± Pan Zhenghuimented, patting his head. At the thought of the various idents that had been happeningtely, Shi Qingzhou could not bear to turn him down. ¡°If she were well and avable, I reckon she wouldn¡¯t bear to reject your request. After all, it concerns the lives of many.¡± ¡°When will shee to?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow, or perhaps several dayster. There isn¡¯t a certain time she would wake up. Xiaoning happened to have passed by the scene on the evening of the major ident at the junction that involved four cars. She said that she saw a spirit there and that the ident was a result of a supernatural cause. She was just too busy to inform you guys. We both thought that the spirit was just out to get her revenge and would stop after causing the ident. Yet, she actually went on a rampage,¡± Shi Qingzhou exined. Pan Zhenghui was getting a major headache. ¡°We¡¯ve already guessed that it has a supernatural cause too. After all, we¡¯ve already done all the investigations we could but there¡¯s just no clue at all. We would¡¯ve solved this case easily back in the day when Xiaoning was still working with us.¡± ¡°Although I¡¯m psychic too, I can¡¯t leave Xiaoning right now. In my opinion, what you should do now is to report to your superior and request for a temporaryw to be passed, wherein all vehicles are prohibited from traveling on the roads for the time being, including public transport vehicles.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve already controlled and limited the number of cars allowed on the roads. However, it¡¯s of no help at all.¡± ¡°Chief Pan, what I meant is, prohibit all vehicles, not reduce the number.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve thought of that too, but the superiors won¡¯t approve of it. We can only restrict the numbers for now. I really don¡¯t know what we should do,¡± Pan Zhenghui said with a frown on his forehead. ¡°If Xiaoninges to, there might be a chance when she tries to persuade the president. However, she hasn¡¯te to yet, so...¡± ¡°Xiaoning used to hold a position at the police station, and she waster reced with another psychic police officer, Yuan Mingzhu. However, Yuan Mingzhu died afterward, and though we¡¯re trying to find another psychic officer from the police academy, there hasn¡¯t been any progress so far. Once Xiaoninges to, call me immediately. How does that sound?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Shi Qingzhou agreed with a nod. Just as Shi Qingzhou was about to go upstairs after Pan Zhenghui left, she heard a loud explosioning from An Xiaoning¡¯s room. Everyone turned pale with shock and frantically rushed upstairs. They opened the door of An Xiaoning¡¯s bedroom to see that she was standing up, appearing rather energized and refreshed with a huge smile on her face. To the bewilderment of everyone, there was a huge hole in the wall of the bathroom. Upon seeing that An Xiaoning hade to, Shi Qingzhou immediately dismissed the bodyguards while she entered the room with Tuoba Shuo. ¡°Xiaoning, did the wall explode?¡± she asked softly. An Xiaoning chuckled and said, ¡°I gave it a pat and it exploded.¡± Shi Qingzhou widened her eyes in shock and said, ¡°Try again.¡± An Xiaoning gave the wall a slight push, after which a hole was made in the wall immediately. The three of them retreated while Shi Qingzhou and Tuoba Shuo were shell-shocked. ¡°Have you acquired the skillspletely?¡± ¡°Yes. Just like what you said, it only took a short amount of time.¡± Overwhelmed with agitation, Shi Qingzhou hugged An Xiaoning tightly and shrieked in joy and surprise, ¡°I love you so much!¡± An Xiaoning could not help but chuckle in amusement and said, ¡°This wall got ruined by me though. I only tried my skill casually and this happened. It didn¡¯t take much effort at all.¡± ¡°The wall will be fine after we get a repairman toe and fix it. By the way, it almost slipped my mind but Chief Pan came by just now to look for you. He just left a few minutes ago. Hurry and give him a call.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll call him after I take a shower. I¡¯m sticky and sweaty all over.¡± ¡°Alright, go to the bathroom first, I¡¯ll get you your clothes.¡± Shi Qingzhou then nudged Tuoba Shuo and said, ¡°What are you waiting for? Go out.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Tuoba Shuo guffawed and exited immediately. Shi Qingzhou locked the door from the inside and picked out a casual attire for An Xiaoning from the closet. The temperatures had gotten much warmer. Although she had already chosen a set of clothes made of thinner fabric, An Xiaoning still felt that it was too thick and said, ¡°Mother, I won¡¯t feel cold even if you let me wear short-sleeved clothing. I feel so warm.¡± An Xiaoning picked out a thin sweater, which she paired with track pants and a pair of trainers. ¡°You¡¯re wearing too little...¡± Shi Qingzhou handed her a coat and said, ¡°Put this on too.¡± ¡°Mother, I¡¯m really not feeling cold at all. These are enough to keep me warm.¡± Being a concerned mother, Shi Qingzhou handed her another thin cardigan and said, ¡°Just put it on, it won¡¯t make a difference.¡± An Xiaoning conceded and listened to her mother¡¯s brief exnation before calling Pan Zhenghui again. Pan Zhenghui felt that it would be hard to exin over the phone and decided to drive back to Sanqiao Estate again with three of his subordinates, despite having just arrived back at the police station. An Xiaoning happened to be downstairs after having her meal when Pan Zhenghui arrived. Pan Zhenghui was filled with agitation upon the sight of An Xiaoning. ¡°Oh dear, you¡¯ve finallye to. You have no idea how hopeless I felt when I left your ce just now. The higher-ups have been giving us so much pressure, but we really don¡¯t have a viable solution.¡± Chapter 794 - A Million Times for You (156)

Chapter 794: A Million Times for You (156)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning wiped her mouth and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t think things would get so serious. Did traffic idents really ur for three days straight?¡± ¡°Would I dare to lie to you? It¡¯s really spooky.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go to the police station with you.¡± Happiness was written all over Pan Zhenghui¡¯s face as soon as he heard her answer. ¡°Ah, Xiaoning, you¡¯re really the police station¡¯s greatest benefactor. You¡¯re wonderful. Come, the car¡¯s outside.¡± ¡°Chief... stop being such a bootlicker,¡± she quipped. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to curry favor, Xiaoning. I really meant what I said. You have no idea how worried I was for the past two weeks. I couldn¡¯t sleep well at night at all, I was so stressed out every single day. The media has been restricted from broadcasting and reporting about the idents. But I doubt they can keep the news under wraps every single day. Things are going to get out of hand sooner orter. By then, it¡¯ll just end up showing how ipetent we are!¡± ¡°Come along,¡± An Xiaoning said to No. 5 and No. 8, who were uncertain if they should follow her. She then asked Pan Zhenghui, ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t the higher authorities approve of your proposal to prohibit all vehicles from traveling on the roads?¡± Pan Zhenghui got inside the car and instructed his subordinate, ¡°Start driving.¡± He then turned around to answer An Xiaoning, ¡°Because they¡¯re afraid of blowing things out of proportion and induce too much fear and trouble for the citizens. We¡¯re the top city of the nation and there is a massive number of working-ss citizens here. How are they supposed to travel long distances to get to work without vehicles? Thus, we¡¯re only allowed to limit the number of cars traveling on the roads to about half of the original number. However, it¡¯s still not enough.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know where that female spirit is now. If we don¡¯t prohibit the use of all vehicles, wouldn¡¯t we be creating more chances for her? Have such idents happened in other cities yet?¡± Shaking his head, Pan Zhenghui answered, ¡°No, the idents have happened on several roads in our city, but they¡¯ve never repeated.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t spread the word about the spirit being the cause of these to the citizens. That¡¯d be inappropriate. Alright, let me call the higher authorities and see what they say.¡± Pan Zhenghui had no idea who she was referring to, though he agreed, ¡°Okay.¡± The call went through quickly. An Xiaoning said solemnly, ¡°There have been major car idents happening in A City rather frequently ofte. Have you heard about it?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve already sent people to investigate.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t work at all. How are you supposed to get to the bottom of the matter when the culprit is a spirit? That¡¯ll only dy the progress of solving the problem. Immediately send orders to restrict the use of all vehicles in A City. That¡¯ll help keep the situation under control for a while.¡± ¡°A spirit? How did you know?¡± ¡°I saw it with my own eyes.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Absolutely. Those people who were responsible for the idents have all been manipted by the spirit. I reckon it must be a rather powerful one. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t have had the ability to control one¡¯s senses and manipte them. I¡¯m afraid we won¡¯t be able to track it down so quickly.¡± ¡°You shall be in charge of investigating this. How does that sound?¡± Tuoba Gucheng suggested. ¡°I would do that even without your orders, but since you¡¯ve instructed me to, will you reward me if I manage to solve the problem?¡± Tuoba Gucheng chuckled and said, ¡°You actually dare to ask me for a reward?¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°What would you like to have for a reward?¡± ¡°I want you to promise me one thing.¡± There was no way An Xiaoning would shortchange herself. ¡°Speak.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell you over a text message. That way, there¡¯ll be evidence that I can keep,¡± said An Xiaoning, who then hung up immediately and proceeded to send him a text message. Tuoba Gucheng broke into silentughter the moment he read her message, which said: ¡°Grant me a one-time exemption from death. If I ever do anything to infuriate you in the future, please promise to spare me just once!¡± Tuoba Gucheng replied: ¡°I won¡¯t spare you if it¡¯s rted to Jin Qingyan.¡± ¡°Deal!¡± she replied. ¡°Xiaoning, which leader did you call? Was it your godfather?¡± Pan Zhenghui asked. ¡°Of course not. Why are you asking so many questions? You just have to know that I¡¯ll be helping out with this case,¡± said An Xiaoning. Pan Zhenghui stopped probing further, for he too felt that there wasn¡¯t a need to know too much about it so long as the matter would be resolved. An Xiaoning roughly understood the situation. Soon, they arrived at the police station. After alighting from the car, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Have you found a recement for Yuan Mingzhu?¡± ¡°Not yet, we¡¯re still in the midst of recruiting someone. It wouldn¡¯t be easy, though. We had a hard time trying to recruit someone before we finally found Yuan Mingzhu. Yet, she died shortly after she took over your duties. Xiaoning, just resume your position. We really need you,¡± said Pan Zhenghui. An Xiaoning declined, ¡°I prefer the way things are now. I¡¯ll still lend a helping hand when ites to major cases.¡± Pan Zhenghui did not insist any further. Several police officers greeted An Xiaoning enthusiastically the moment they saw her. Pan Zhenghui then brought An Xiaoning to the meeting room. Just as they reached the door, they overheard Team Leader Zhang, who was inside the meeting room, eximing agitatedly, ¡°Before the meeting just now, Chief headed to Team Leader An¡¯s ce to invite her over but he didn¡¯t seed. Well, Team Leader An is no longer who she used to be and has be even more authoritative. She obviously wouldn¡¯t bother helping a small fry like our team. But that doesn¡¯t matter. Regardless of what it may be, we¡¯ll definitely nab the culprit behind these malicious acts! Are you confident!?!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± his subordinates answered in unison. Pan Zhenghui shot An Xiaoning with a look of awkwardness and embarrassment. He then strode inside the room and berated Team Leader Zhang, ¡°You bastard, how could you say that Ms. An is no longer who she used to be? Team Leader An has always been united with all of us. What are you talking about!?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Chief.¡± An Xiaoning walked inside the office, after which all the police officers immediately felt agitated and embarrassed. They were agitated because there was finally hope for the case and embarrassed because of what Team Leader Zhang had just said... Team Leader Zhang was filled with dismay and wished that he could bite his own tongue off. ¡°I just seem to always overhear you badmouthing me behind my back, Team Leader Zhang. However, I¡¯ve already gotten used to it. It¡¯s not the first time anyway,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Team Leader An, it was really just a slip of the tongue. I¡¯m sorry.¡± An Xiaoning glowered at him and barked, ¡°If an apology is enough, what¡¯s the point of having thew system? Team Leader Zhang, you¡¯re always saying one thing and doing another. You¡¯re so two-faced. As the team leader of the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit, don¡¯t you think you¡¯re setting a bad example for your subordinates? You seriously have to be reconsidered!¡± Despite feeling embarrassed and humiliated for being reprimanded by An Xiaoning in front of everyone, there was nothing Team Leader Zhang could do. ¡°Well said. Team Leader Zhang, if you continue to speak without thinking twice, I¡¯m going to have to strip you of your position!¡± Pan Zhenghui chimed in. Terrorized beyond limits, Team Leader Zhang frantically pleaded, ¡°Chief, I wouldn¡¯t dare to behave like this again in the future. I¡¯ll definitely perform my duties properly! I mean it, I really, really, really do.¡± Pan Zhenghui coughed and said, ¡°Listen up, Team Leader An is now the Head Investigator of this case. All of you who are involved in the investigations would have to take orders from and follow Team Leader An¡¯s instructions!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± they answered loudly in unison. An Xiaoning introduced, ¡°These are my bodyguards, No. 5 and No. 8.¡± She then broached the main topic after the brief introduction. Chapter 795 - A Million Times for You (157) Chapter 795: A Million Times for You (157) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Chief has briefly exined the situation to me while on our way here. Now, I¡¯ll need the details of this case. Firstly, I want to know if all six drivers who caused the idents are affiliated with each other and if there are simrities they share,¡± said An Xiaoning. Team Leader Zhang answered, ¡°The average frequency of an ident is once every three days and it always happens at night. However, the timing is not consistent and usually happens within the time frame of between 1800hrs to 2200hrs. All six drivers are male and unmarried, and all of their cars cost more than 300 thousand dors. The six of them don¡¯t know each other, and the main reasons for the explosions are due to the fact that they were carrying explosives in the car and that the collisions were vigorous. These are the simrities.¡± ¡°They¡¯re all unmarried? Do they have girlfriends, then?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Some do and some don¡¯t.¡± An Xiaoning knocked her fingers against the table gently and said, ¡°If an ident urs once every three days since the evening of the four-vehicle collision, that means the next one will be happening tomorrow night.¡± Everyone could not help but feel tense and anxious, for they were well aware of that fact. ¡°Chief, the higher authorities have ordered us to prohibit all vehicles in the city from traveling on the roads for one week, with the exception of police cars and Team Leader An¡¯s car,¡± said a police officer. ¡°Really? That¡¯s great,¡± said Pan Zhenghui, who knew that the rule was passed all because of the call An Xiaoning had made to the higher-ups along the way to the police station. ¡°This week is extremely important and we must stand together to investigate this matter. About the explosives Team Leader Zhang had mentioned, has that been verified yet?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Yes, we discovered that all the drivers of the cars that went out of control have been in contact with illegal firearms traffickers whom the nation has been actively banishing. The explosives were purchased from those dealers at a high price. After checking all six of their chat and call histories online, we discovered that they really don¡¯t know each other.¡± ¡°Seems like the spirit is not from ancient times since she knows how to contact illegal firearm dealers. During the four-vehicle collision that took ce two weeks ago, I witnessed with my own eyes a woman dressed in green walking out of the driver¡¯s seat of the ck car, who then disappeared within seconds. I couldn¡¯t tell if she was just wearing an ancient costume or if she had reallye from that era. Ding Liang, find me more photos of ancient costumes. I¡¯ll verify it,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Yes!¡± Ding Liang answered. ¡°Team Leader An, you mean the culprit of these idents... is really a supernatural being?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m certain about that.¡± Team Leader Zhang smacked his thigh in a moment of epiphany and said, ¡°I was just wondering why we couldn¡¯t nab the culprit given our brilliant brains and wit. Turns out it¡¯spletely beyond our abilities.¡± Needless to say, what he meant was that theirpetence was not to be med for theck of progress. An Xiaoning ignored him and said, ¡°Seems like the spirit had already chosen her targets way beforehand. Once we restrict the usage of vehicles, I¡¯m predicting two possible oues. One would be that the spirit would remain unaffected since there would be more pedestrians on the streets, giving the spirit an opportunity to cause more havoc and casualties by driving out onto the roads. The other possibility would be that the spirit decides to abort her n and tweak it. If you were the spirit, what would you guys do?¡± ¡°The former, obviously. She¡¯s not human anyway, she wouldn¡¯t be afraid of getting caught. Her target is to kill, isn¡¯t it?¡± said Team Leader Zhang. ¡°I disagree. Perhaps she prefers to enjoy the thrill of cars colliding, resulting in explosions. Besides, isn¡¯t this themon point of all six idents?¡± said Ma Jianguo. ¡°What Ma Jianguo said is more likely to happen. However, we can¡¯t rule out the first possibility since we have no idea what the spirit¡¯s motive and intentions are.¡± After pondering for a while, An Xiaoning continued, ¡°We can¡¯t afford any dy. What we have to do now is to find her, though it¡¯ll be harder since she can see us but we can¡¯t see her.¡± Ding Liang ced theptop in front of her and said, ¡°Team Leader, look. These are actual ancient clothing while these are just costumes. There¡¯s a difference between the two.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± She turned to look at her subordinates and said, ¡°Follow me to the simtor room.¡± Once the simtion sketch was out, they proceeded to search for a simr-looking face in the database, though they did not manage to find anything in the end. An Xiaoning deduced, ¡°It¡¯s normal for one¡¯s ount to be erased from the database after their death. Make a few copies of the portrait right now and follow me to visit all the theater academies, y troupes, and performing arts centers in the city. Bring more men along and investigate carefully.¡± Everyone immediately did as instructed, leaving An Xiaoning and Pan Zhenghui alone in the office. An Xiaoning began scribbling on the map and made six annotations on the locations of where the idents had taken ce before taking a closer look to see if there are roads. Seemingly having discovered something all of a sudden, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Chief.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Do you think the location points would link together to make a word? If that¡¯s the case, we can try and deduce where the next ident would happen. After much thought, I can only think of one word,¡± said An Xiaoning, pointing at a line she had traced through the point of idents. ¡°What is it?¡± Pan Zhenghui asked. An Xiaoning pointed her pen at the other roads and said, ¡°Doesn¡¯t it join together to form ¡®Si¡¯ 1?¡± Pan Zhenghui was bbergasted to see that she was right. ¡°Does that mean we can deduce the next possible location?¡± he asked in shock. ¡°Yes.¡± An Xiaoning analyzed the roads carefully and pointed at a spot before saying, ¡°Thergest possibility would be this street, ording to my conjecture. Regardless of where it may be, it¡¯s always better to prepare beforehand.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, this evil spirit has caused the loss of many innocent lives. We mustn¡¯t let her continue harming others!¡± ¡°Chief, send some people to standby along that street and monitor the surveince cameras¡¯ footage. We¡¯ll wait for the results.¡± ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll do as you say.¡± ¨D In the darkness of the night, Lin Shishi entered Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s office, only to find that he was not around. She sat on the chair and casually caught sight of a safe. She had always been curious about what was inside that safe. In fact, it had already caught her attention ever since he became the president. He would vaguely tell her that it contained confidential documents every single time she asked about it. However, she once saw him cing a camera inside the safe. That was what had piqued her curiosity. A camera can¡¯t be that precious, can it? What photos were stored in that camera? she wondered. Yet, there was no way she could unlock the safe since it was secured with a biometric lock and three different passcodes. Tuoba Gucheng entered to see that she was staring at the safe. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you asleep yet?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t sleep well without you by my side. Hubby, don¡¯t sleep in the study tonight, alright?¡± Lin Shishi asked while standing up slowly. Chapter 796 - A Million Times for You (158)

Chapter 796: A Million Times for You (158)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Tuoba Gucheng stepped forward to hold her hand and said, ¡°Okay.¡± Lin Shishi beamed with joy at the instant that he agreed. ¡°Hubby, may I ask you a question?¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°May I take a look at that camera in the safe? I¡¯m very curious about it,¡± she requested. Gazing at her, Tuoba Gucheng answered, ¡°It¡¯s just a camera, what¡¯s there to be curious about?¡± ¡°May I take a look, then?¡± The more Tuoba Gucheng refused, the more she wanted to know about it. ¡°No, go back inside,¡± he refused. ¡°The more you don¡¯t want me to see it, the more curious I am.¡± ¡°Keep being curious then.¡± He had no ns to coax her and instead exited the office right away. Noticing that he seemed to be a little infuriated, Lin Shishi felt rather peeved and ill at ease. Thus, she hurriedly chased after him. Upon returning to their bedroom, Tuoba Gucheng proceeded to take a shower while Lin Shishiy in bed and allowed her imagination to run wild. What kind of photos and videos would a man be secretive about? Could it be that of a woman¡¯s? But I¡¯ve never heard of him fancying any other woman before, and neither have I heard of him having any former girlfriends. Did I guess incorrectly? Feeling troubled and vexed, she could note up with a possible exnation even after Tuoba Gucheng hade out of the shower. Tuoba Guchengy down in bed while wearing a bathrobe and ced his arms around his own waist. ¡°Hubby...¡± ¡°Go to bed,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng, who did not wish to speak to her at all. ¡°You¡¯re always so busy from day to night, and you¡¯ve been going to all the cities and provinces in the nation recently. Ever since you returned, you¡¯ve been sleeping in the study for so many nights in a row and I barely got to see you. Now that we finally have some time to talk, don¡¯t you want to chat with me? I often feel empty and insecure whenever I don¡¯t see you,¡± said Lin Shishi, tearing up incessantly. ¡°Why are you insecure?¡± ¡°What if... what if you fall in love with another woman?¡± Lin Shishi said half-jokingly. ¡°I was just busy with national affairs. It¡¯s not like I went to look for another woman. If you weren¡¯t pregnant, I would¡¯ve had to bring you to attend some events anyway, but it¡¯s inconvenient for you to move about, isn¡¯t it?¡± he said calmly. Lin Shishi felt much more relieved upon hearing his words of reassurance. ¡°I was just kidding. Besides, there are cameras watching you everywhere you go, how would you get the chance to go on rendezvous with other women?¡± Tuoba Gucheng said, ¡°Don¡¯t keep focusing all your attention on me or you¡¯re going to be really drained. Whenever I¡¯m not around, you should just read some books, grow some flowers, and pick up foreignnguages. Aren¡¯t those great pastime activities? You get to kill time while improving yourself at the same time. I heard that all you do at home is sleep and watch television dramas. Those brainless idol dramas are only going to make you paranoid and worried unnecessarily.¡± ¡°Women love watching those drama series because they¡¯re displeased with their other halves in their real lives. Can¡¯t men just dote on their wives like those male leads in drama series? I want to be like the female leads in drama series and enjoy the unconditional love given by the male leads.¡± ¡°All you see is the endless and unconditional love that the male leads shower the female leads with, but do you see the reality portrayed by those dramas?¡± ¡°What reality?¡± ¡°The male lead is deeply in love with the female lead.¡± Lin Shishi immediately turned as pale as a sheet. Is he indirectly telling me that he doesn¡¯t shower me with love and affection simply because he doesn¡¯t love me at all? Or am I overthinking? ¡°You have a point. A man will shower a woman with unconditional love and endless affection only when he truly loves her. Why would you want to dote on someone and give them the best you can offer when you don¡¯t love them at all? Take you and me, for example.¡± After a moment of silence, Tuoba Gucheng said, ¡°I guess we didn¡¯t have a choice to oppose the engagement when we got married at the start. I¡¯m giving you the chance now to reconsider marrying me.¡± His words shattered her heartpletely. She sat up straight and asked in disbelief, ¡°Do you mean you¡¯ll allow me to abort the child and divorce you?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll allow it if that is your desire.¡± Utterly disappointed, Lin Shishi took a deep breath and said, ¡°Tuoba Gucheng, do you know what you¡¯re talking about right now? You¡¯re actually allowing me to abort the child and divorce you? I know you don¡¯t love me, but I can¡¯t believe you don¡¯t love our unborn child either. When I saw how happy you were while carrying Sis Xiaoning¡¯s son that day, I thought you really liked children. Yet, you...¡± ¡°I was just giving you an option. I didn¡¯t say that you must do that.¡± ¡°The very act of giving me this option just goes to show that... there are a lot of issues.¡± Lin Shishi turned to face away from him and burst into tears. She continued, ¡°Could you tell me honestly, did you adore any other woman before we got married?¡± Tuoba Gucheng closed his eyes and switched off the lights, not answering her question at all. Lin Shishi was filled with grief and disappointment. ¡°Tell me,¡± she urged, no longer able to fall asleep. He remained silent, as if he had already fallen asleep. Lin Shishi knew that he was definitely not asleep and simply did not want to answer her. The more she dwelt on it, the more aggrieved she felt. She soon began bawling loudly in agony. Tuoba Gucheng was beyond frustrated and switched on the lights again. He then sat up and said, ¡°Does it really matter that much whether or not I fancied anyone in the past?¡± ¡°Of course it does!¡± She sat up straight and yelled at the top of her lungs, ¡°I want to know! Can¡¯t you just tell me? The more you behave like this, the more I¡¯ll suspect that you did. If you didn¡¯t, what¡¯s so difficult about saying that you didn¡¯t!?!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t fancy anyone before we got married. Is that enough?¡± he answered. ¡°I refuse to believe you!¡± An icy cold stare formed in Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s eyes as he said harshly, ¡°I¡¯ve been treating you in a courteous and polite manner ever since we got married. You also understand that I don¡¯t love you, so what¡¯s the point of asking me again and again? This is a fact that cannot be changed, regardless of whether or not there¡¯s any woman I fancy. I didn¡¯t actually want to tell you these but you made me do it.¡± Upon hearing him say that he didn¡¯t love her, Lin Shishi broke down in despair and wept even louder. ¡°But I¡¯ve already fallen in love with you, why can¡¯t you fall in love with me too? No wonder you¡¯ve never gotten intimate with me again ever since I got pregnant. You don¡¯t even kiss me at all. Why are you so cruel to me? I¡¯m your wife and I¡¯m carrying your child right now!¡± Tuoba Gucheng took a deep breath and said coldly, ¡°Are you finished yet?¡± Taken aback by his response, Lin Shishi stopped crying and answered in disgruntlement, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then go to bed.¡± He theny down. Lin Shishi bit her lip and turned to look at him before lying down too. Neither of them said anything. Lin Shishi did not sleep a wink and instead spent the whole night thinking about her marriage. She then figured that he was right about her being aware that he did not love her. Thus, there was no point harping on it. Even if there¡¯s someone he fancies, I¡¯ll still be hiswful wife, wouldn¡¯t I? Nheless, she still felt rather displeased and refused to ept her fate. I¡¯m pretty and have a great figure. Even though I¡¯m pregnant right now, my limbs are still very slender and thin. Chapter 797 - A Million Times for You (159)

Chapter 797: A Million Times for You (159)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios I don¡¯t have a bad temper either, so why doesn¡¯t he love me? She got out of bed early in the morning and had breakfast before lying in bed to call her mother, her eyes red and swollen. She told Madam Lin about what happenedst night, after which thetter chided her for asking such inappropriate questions. ¡°I couldn¡¯t help it. He said that he didn¡¯t fancy anyone in the past, but I don¡¯t believe him at all.¡± ¡°Would you rather hear that he did? He¡¯s already your husband now and you have a long way ahead. He¡¯s going to develop feelings for you sooner orter. He¡¯s so busy with handling political matters during the day yet you still bothered him with this trivial issue. How could he have been pleased with you?¡± Madam Linforted her. ¡°But his words really upset me, what did he mean by giving me that option...¡± Madam Lin tried to persuade her not to read too much into things and said, ¡°He¡¯s giving you the freedom to make your choice, but he didn¡¯t force you to do anything. Shishi, listen to me, whenever he¡¯s working in the office, instruct the kitchen helpers to boil some soup and bring it to him yourself. Talk to him nicely. Don¡¯t let this matter affect your rtionship with him.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Lin Shishi ended the call andy in bed to catch up on some sleep. Her napsted for seven hours and it was already two o¡¯clock in the afternoon by the time she woke up. Heeding her mother¡¯s advice, she instructed the cooks in the kitchen to boil some soup for Tuoba Gucheng, which she then insisted on serving to him personally. As soon as she opened the door, she heard his voiceing from the resting room. Lin Shishi had always been careful with her step and barely made any sounds whenever she walks. Thus, Tuoba Gucheng had no idea that she was outside and said gently over the phone, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you in a long while. I¡¯ll go over to see you when I¡¯m free.¡± Lin Shishi was immediately rmed. She was further convinced that her instincts were spot-on. He was obviously lying when he said that he doesn¡¯t fancy anyone. He just didn¡¯t want to let me know. Shortly after, he opened the door and exited to see her standing outside with a bowl of soup. ¡°Hubby... try this, I especially instructed the cooks to prepare it for you.¡± Tuoba Gucheng nced at the bowl of soup and ced it onto the table. ¡°Got it, I¡¯ll have itter.¡± Pursing her lips, she said, ¡°I was too rashst night. Are you angry?¡± ¡°No,¡± he answered coldly. Lin Shishi knew that he was actually upset, though he refused to admit it. She forced a smile and asked, ¡°Would you go out with me to take a walk?¡± To her surprise, he did not turn her down with the excuse of being busy and instead apanied her for a stroll around the backyard. Theymunicated much lesser than before and they were both keeping quiet throughout, as if apanying her out on a walk was just another chore he had toplete. Lin Shishi was not in the least bit happy at all. Yet, she dared not express her displeasure, for fear that she would lose hispany as well. A forlorn expression formed on Lin Shishi¡¯s face as she caressed her baby bump. ¨D The investigations went on all the way until the afternoon of the following day. Should there be no updates by 1800hrs, An Xiaoning had nned to be on standby along the street where she had predicted the next ident might happen. An Xiaoning began to feel increasingly anxious with each passing second. She hoped that they would find a clue soon. At least there would be a lead they could follow instead of continuing to investigate and carry out screening painstakingly. However, there was still no news by 1720hrs, and An Xiaoning decided to stop waiting. She prepared the necessary items and headed to the destination together with No. 5, No. 8, and Pan Zhenghui, who was dressed in inclothes. Once they arrived, An Xiaoning instructed the police officer who was in charge of driving to drive the car back while the remaining four of them stood in the middle of the street and waited quietly. There was not a single car on the roads, which were full of pedestrians, all of whom were discussing the strange series of idents taking ce in A City. There were different opinions that were all formed based on hearsay. Everyone thought that the idents were caused by fellow citizens who were up to malicious mischief and that the police were unable to find out the real mastermind. Noticing that it was almost 1800hrs, An Xiaoning told Pan Zhenghui to send orders for all pedestrians to be evacuated from the streets, as well as to keep close tabs on the surveince camera feed to look out for suspicious vehicles traveling on the roads against the rule. She decided to have the traffic police be dismissed from duty, so as to allow the suspicious vehicles to pass without screening. At almost 1830hrs, An Xiaoning¡¯s mobile phone began to ring and she frantically answered it. It was a call from a police officer near the surveince cameras who informed her that there would be a gray car approaching them from South Coast Road. She soon received the license te number and information of the driver of the car, who was none other than the 32-year-old bachelor, Shi Shaochuan. An Xiaoning was rather taken aback upon hearing the update. Shi Shaochuan? ¡°Chief, were those six male drivers divorced?¡± Pan Zhenghui nodded and said, ¡°Yes, they were either divorced or engaged in the past. However, they were all single at the time of their ident.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± She then continued to ask the officer who called her, ¡°Where is that car now?¡± ¡°ording to the speed it¡¯s traveling at now, it¡¯ll probably reach your side in about 10 minutes.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± An Xiaoning ended the call, ced her phone inside her pocket, and gave out some instructions to No. 5 and No. 8. They immediately did as told, and soon, there were much fewer pedestrians on the street. Just as No. 5 and No. 8 returned to their positions, the gray car began approaching. ¡°Hey, why is that car on the road? Is the driver tired of living?¡± ¡°Exactly, we don¡¯t even dare to drivetely, yet he actually had the guts to...¡± ¡°...¡± The pedestrians began discussing amongst themselves. An Xiaoning watched as the gray car approached her and swiftly shot the front tire of the car using a pistol given to her by Pan Zhenghui. The scarce number of pedestrians immediately fled as soon as they heard the sound of the gunshot. Before Shi Shaochuan could even react, An Xiaoning fired another bullet at the rear tire of the car to puncture it. She then walked toward the rear of the car and punctured the other two tires. The car came to a halt in the middle of the road, for it was no longer able to move since the tires were busted. Shi Shaochuan got out of the car angrily and snapped, ¡°An Xiaoning, do you know that you were breaking thew by opening fire in public?¡± An Xiaoning ignored him and signaled No. 5 and No. 8 to move him to the shoulder of the road while she peeked inside the car, only to discover that there was nothing unusual. She then called for the car to be towed away before walking toward the side. Shi Shaochuan was pinned beneath No. 5 and No. 8 forcefully, causing his face to be pressed tightly onto the ground. ¡°An Xiaoning, let go of me!¡± he barked. ¡°Let go of you? Didn¡¯t you receive the notice of prohibition of vehicle usage on roads? You were out to stir trouble, weren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I only dared to drive because I saw that the traffic police were no longer on standby. Furthermore, the city is so big, if I don¡¯t drive, am I supposed to walk until the cowse home!?! Why aren¡¯t we allowed to drive!?!¡± An Xiaoning rolled her eyes at him and said to her subordinates, ¡°Take this idiot to the police station and detain him for two days.¡± ¡°An Xiaoning, how dare you!¡± Shi Shaochuan barked, struggling to free himself. ¡°Try me and you¡¯ll know.¡± She then shot No. 5 and No. 8 a nce, motioning for them to take him away. Chapter 798 - A Million Times for You (160)

Chapter 798: A Million Times for You (160)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shi Shaochuan was thus taken away. Pan Zhenghui grunted and remarked in displeasure, ¡°This Shi Shaochuan is seriously such a troublemaker.¡± ¡°He¡¯s asking to be detained in the police station for two days.¡± Just as they were speaking, An Xiaoning received another call from the surveince team, informing her that there was a blue sports car approaching from the street opposite. After verifying the directions, An Xiaoning hurriedly sped toward the exit of the street facing the South while Pan Zhenghui followed closely behind. When they arrived at the exit, they caught sight of the blue sports car driving at a steady pace. She pursed her lips, unsure if the driver was another troublemaker. When the car passed by the streets, the driver was obviously intending to make a turn toward the sidewalk. However, he decided to keep advancing forward after noticing that there were barely any pedestrians. An Xiaoning had noticed it very clearly. She decided not to stop the car and instead repeated the course of action she had taken against Shi Shaochuan earlier. The tires of the car were immediately punctured, after which An Xiaoning walked toward the driver¡¯s side and knocked on the window. ¡°Get down.¡± However, not only did the driver not stop, he even mmed on the elerator pedal and tried to surge forward. An Xiaoning squinted and zoomed toward the car, which she then pushed a little, causing the car toe to aplete halt on the road, unable to move another inch forward. Instead of moving her hand away, she ced her other hand onto the window gently, causing the ss to shatter into bits instantly. She then said to Pan Zhenghui, who was rushing toward her, ¡°Bring me the torchlight in the bag.¡± She took the torchlight from Pan Zhenghui¡¯s hands and shone it at the driver before hollering, ¡°Are you getting out or not?¡± The young man, who was sitting up straight, immediatelyy sluggishly on the seat while An Xiaoning let go of the car, after which it continued to drive forward again. At this point, she stopped caring about anything else because the drifting spirit was about to disappear soon. An Xiaoning took out an amulet from her pocket and began chanting a curse that caused the amulet to dart toward the spirit. However, it was toote. In the blink of an eye, the spirit vanished without a trace. ¡°Chief, pick that amulet up from the ground.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, she sprinted toward the car at a godlike speed. The car was moving rather slowly since all the tires had been punctured and the driver was only stepping on the elerator gently, for his body had turned to jelly. Hence, she managed to catch up to the car soon enough and grabbed onto the window, after which the car stopped moving. She then reached her other hand into the car and fumbled for the car key before pulling it out to stop the engine. She opened the car door to see that the young man had already passed out in the driver¡¯s seat. Pan Zhenghui scurried toward her while panting heavily. ¡°Xiaoning, how is it?¡± ¡°The spirit has escaped. Call the police station and get them to tow this car away, together with the driver.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Pan Zhenghui immediately did as instructed. He then boarded the police car back to the police station together with An Xiaoning. While An Xiaoning was in the midst of feeling perplexed and frustrated, Ma Jianguo entered with good news. While he and Zu Dong were carrying out a search at a y troupe, a young woman recognized the woman in the sketch to be an actress from the troupe. An Xiaoning immediately headed toward the ce together with Pan Zhenghui. The other officers who were out on investigations also gathered and returned to join the team. The y troupe was located in Jiuhui Road, which was a 30-minute drive away from the police station. After all, it was within the same city and thus was not too far away. By the time they arrived, it was 1940hrs. Ma Jianguo was waiting for them at the entrance of the theaterpany and immediately brought them inside once they arrived. Upon the sight of An Xiaoning, the young woman asked in bewilderment, ¡°It has been so long since she passed away, why are you guys looking for her?¡± ¡°Do you know about the prohibition of the usage of all vehicles in A City right now?¡± The young woman answered with a nod, ¡°I do.¡± ¡°Have you heard about the four-vehicle collision that took ce at the junction more than two weeks ago?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Ever since then, a major ident would ur once every three days. I¡¯ve seen it with my own eyes. She was the one who had been manipting the drivers.¡± Dumbfounded, the young woman said, ¡°But she¡¯s already dead...¡± ¡°That¡¯s precisely the reason why the police haven¡¯t been able to find a single clue despite having carried out extensive investigations. I can see the spirits of the dead. This portrait is a simtion sketch that was done based on what I saw.¡± An Xiaoning grabbed the sketch from Ma Jianguo¡¯s hands and showed it to the woman before continuing, ¡°I saw her again tonight, and I managed to stop an ident from happening, though I failed to catch her in time. If we still can¡¯t get hold of her, she¡¯s going to cause the loss of many other innocent lives. So, from now onward, you must tell us truthfully everything you know about her. Got it?¡± The woman nodded and said, ¡°Alright, please have a seat, Ms. An.¡± An Xiaoning sat opposite her and listened quietly. ¡°Her name was Yi Ying and she frequently got cast for the role of the protagonist in the ys we star in. Just like in the sketch, she had a penchant for dressing in green whenever she performed. She died about five years ago in a traffic ident. The driver who killed her by identpensated her family with a sum of more than one million dors,¡± she exined. ¡°Where does Yi Ying live?¡± ¡°She lives in a vige. Let me try and recall the name. Ah, it¡¯s a ce called Yi.¡± ¡°Was her corpse buried in her vige, then?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Yes, I even attended her funeral. She was buried in her home.¡± ¡°Did she have a boyfriend when she was alive?¡± The young woman hesitated for a moment, touched her neck, and answered, ¡°I¡¯m not quite sure about that either.¡± An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°I can tell from your eyes that you¡¯re lying. Touching your neck while talking is a ssicpulsive action that happens only when one is lying. Am I right?¡± Slightly taken aback, the young woman said, ¡°I... I don¡¯t dare to say it.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°Because her boyfriend warned us not to spout any nonsense after Yi Ying died. Her boyfriend was already married at the time, and his wife was once a new actress in our troupe. He threatened us and said that he wouldn¡¯t let us off if we were to breathe a word about their rtionship to others. We were thinking that there was no point in bringing it up since he was already married. Hence, we didn¡¯t mention a word about it again. Officer, please don¡¯t tell him that I was the one who leaked it.¡± An Xiaoning stood up and gave her a pat on her shoulder. ¡°We won¡¯t. Could you tell me her boyfriend¡¯s name?¡± ¡°Wang Xin.¡± ¡°Could you also tell us his address? This is a critical issue, and I now suspect that there¡¯s more to the fatal ident Yi Ying was involved in than meets the eye. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have borne such a strong grudge even after so many years and go on to harm people whom she doesn¡¯t even know. All the drivers involved in the recent idents were bachelors,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Wang Xin lives on the 18th floor of an apartment building in Sanqiao Estate. He lives in Unit A.¡± Slightly taken aback, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Is he wealthy?¡± ¡°Yes, he drives a Mercedes-Benz and his family runs a business. He¡¯s a second-generation heir to a wealthy family.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± After leaving thepany, the police car sent An Xiaoning back to Sanqiao Estate. Chapter 799 - A Million Times for You (161)

Chapter 799: A Million Times for You (161)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning instructed Pan Zhenghui, ¡°Bureau Chief, go back to the police station and instruct Team Leader Zhang to bring his subordinates over to visit Yi Ying¡¯s family in Yi Bay. I¡¯ll go visit Wang Xin first to find out more. Let¡¯s strive to gather more information in the shortest possible time. After all, we¡¯ve already rmed the spirit tonight. That Yi Ying might be infuriated andmit even more maniacal acts. That¡¯ll make things even harder. By the way, do inform the troupe leader to keep the identity of the informant confidential.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Seeing that she was only bringing her personal bodyguards with her, Pan Zhenghui said, ¡°Take a few more people with you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± She alighted from the car together with No. 5 and No. 8 before closing the car door. Handing her car keys to No. 5, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Our car and the police cars are allowed to travel on the roads. Drive my car out of the entrance while No. 8 and I proceed to look for Wang Xin.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± No. 5 took the keys from her and went on to drive the car away. No. 8 and An Xiaoning entered the apartment building opposite her house and made their way to the 18th floor. After exiting the elevator, she walked toward the door of Unit A and looked at No. 8 before pressing the doorbell. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± a woman asked from inside. ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± The door was swung open, and a young woman looked at them from head to toe before asking, ¡°Are you An Xiaoning?¡± ¡°Yes, is Wang Xin home?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Around what time will he be back?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, he has to entertain some clients tonight. I¡¯m not sure when he¡¯ll be home.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll go in and wait, then.¡± An Xiaoning walked past the woman and entered the house. An Xiaoning was probably the only person who could show up uninvited with suchposure. Dumbfounded, Wang Xin¡¯s wife closed the door and hurriedly followed them. ¡°What are you guys looking for my husband for?¡± An Xiaoning waved and said, ¡°Have a seat. Don¡¯t worry, I came to look for him just to find out more about something.¡± ¡°Find out more about what? Could you tell me?¡± Wang Xin¡¯s wife asked, taking a seat. ¡°You¡¯ll know when I tell you guyster once hees home. I don¡¯t wish to exin myself twice.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t I give him a call?¡± ¡°Sure, but don¡¯t tell him that I¡¯m looking for him, just get him toe home as soon as possible.¡± Wang Xin¡¯s wife nodded and gave her husband a call to urge him toe home as soon as possible by telling him that something urgent had cropped up. Wang Xin agreed. ¡°How long have you been married?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Three years.¡± ¡°Do you have any children?¡± Shaking her head, Wang Xin¡¯s wife answered, ¡°Not yet, but we¡¯re nning to conceive soon.¡± An Xiaoning did not ask any further questions and waited patiently for Wang Xin to return. Half an hourter, the door was opened and a man who was in his thirties entered with his bag. Upon the sight of them, Wang Xin looked at his wife and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°They said that they¡¯d like to find out more from you about something, I don¡¯t know what it is, though,¡± said Wang Xin¡¯s wife, who ced his bag aside and sat down beside him ¡°Aren¡¯t you that An Xiaoning who lives in the mansion opposite us?¡± Wang Xin asked, appearingpletely sober despite having drunk some alcohol. ¡°Yes, I do live opposite, but I came to look for you to discuss a case I¡¯d like to find out more about. Do you know who Yi Ying is?¡± she asked frankly. ¡°No,¡± Wang Xin denied. ¡°Wasn¡¯t she your ex-girlfriend? How could you not know her? I wouldn¡¯t havee to you without prior investigation. I suggest you stop trying to hide any parts of the truth. Answer all my questions truthfully if you don¡¯t wish to bring any trouble upon yourself,¡± An Xiaoning said sternly. Wang Xin¡¯s wife stared at her husband in astonishment and asked, ¡°Is that true?¡± After a moment of hesitation, Wang Xin asked, ¡°What do you want to know about a person who¡¯s already been dead for five years?¡± He indirectly admitted to what An Xiaoning had said. ¡°I believe you should be aware that all vehicles are prohibited from traveling on the roads. I¡¯d like to ask you, do you know why that¡¯s the case?¡± Shaking his head, Wang Xin answered, ¡°No, there are so many theories going around but there hasn¡¯t been an exact reason so far.¡± ¡°A major traffic ident would happen once every three days. All the victims were young, unmarried males, and there were explosives in all of their cars. The incidents have caused great disturbance and danger to residents and citizens. The perpetrator is none other than Yi Ying. After investigating, we found out that she had died in a car ident five years ago.¡± Wang Xin snorted withughter upon hearing her words and sneered, ¡°Are you kidding me? You actually pinned a dead person as the main culprit? What in the world are you talking about? Does the government now allow you to spread such superstitious rumors?¡± ¡°Seems like you don¡¯t understand why I¡¯m the head investigator of this case, Wang Xin. I¡¯m psychic and I possess the ability to see spirits and supernatural beings. I saw Yi Ying with my own eyes during the four-vehicle collision two weeks ago,¡± An Xiaoning said with a smirk. She unrolled the scrolled-up sketch and handed it to him, ¡°I saw her again possessing another man and manipting him to cause another ident tonight.¡± Wang Xin¡¯s initial smile stiffened, and a grave expression formed on his face upon seeing the sketch. ¡°You can¡¯tugh anymore, can you? Listen up, you¡¯d better tell me everything you know. There¡¯s no way you can escape if you had something to do with her death,¡± An Xiaoning warned. ¡°How could I be rted to her death!?! You need evidence before you make usations,¡± Wang Xin screeched, raising his chin. ¡°I meant ¡®if,¡¯ I didn¡¯t say that it necessarily had to be you. Why would a woman who really died in an idental car crash be so full of vengeance? Mr. Wang, can you cooperate with me now?¡± An Xiaoning questioned, staring at him. Fuming with anger, Wang Xin grabbed the armrest of the couch and said in disgruntlement, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you everything you want to know about, truthfully.¡± Wang Xin¡¯s wife was dumbfounded and consumed by fear and terror. However, she dared not utter a single word and instead listened quietly. ¡°Okay then, when did you break up with her? Answer me clearly. Don¡¯t tell me a different answer when I ask you the same question again in the future. I believe you don¡¯t have a poor memory.¡± Wang Xin answered, ¡°We broke up two months before she got into an ident. I didn¡¯t know my wife yet back then. My wife and I met after the ident and got marriedter. I broke up with Yi Ying because I was sick of how neurotic she was and I couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. I initiated the breakup, but she didn¡¯t agree to it at first and even tried to salvage our rtionship. She then concededter on and we broke up rather sessfully.¡± ¡°Why did you have to warn the troupe members not to spout nonsense about your rtionship with her after her death?¡± Remaining calm andposed, Wang Xin answered, ¡°Nothing, I just heard them murmuring about my rtionship with Yi Ying and badmouthing me behind my back when I visited the troupe to pick my wife up. They were extremely nasty with their remarks and even used me of being the cause of Yi Ying¡¯s death. I was infuriated, and so I decided to warn them one by one not to spout any nonsense. Actually, I was just afraid that my wife would be influenced by what they said. After all, gossip really is a fearful thing.¡± Chapter 800 - A Million Times for You (162)

Chapter 800: A Million Times for You (162)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Did you meet each other after breaking up?¡± Shaking his head, Wang Xin answered, ¡°No, you may check our call history if you don¡¯t believe me. Let¡¯s just put it this way: I really didn¡¯t want to see her again, let alone take the initiative to contact her. She never looked me up either. I really don¡¯t want to talk about her again because I truly regret getting to know a woman like her. She¡¯s aplete lunatic. She loves putting on her costume in the middle of the night instead of sleeping. I would get a huge fright whenever I opened my eyes and saw her doing that. This happened more than once. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s really creepy?¡± An Xiaoning could tell that he utterly detested Yi Ying and that even the mere thought of her was enough to irk him. An Xiaoning had no further questions and instead said, ¡°Follow me to Yi Bay.¡± ¡°What for?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve found Yi Ying¡¯s grave. I want to summon her spirit and ask her what her motive is for harming others incessantly.¡± ¡°Can you reallymunicate with the dead?¡± Instead of answering him, An Xiaoning stood up and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Hubby, I want to go too. I want toe with you,¡± said Wang Xin¡¯s wife, who grabbed onto him. ¡°Sure,e along then,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Alright, I¡¯d also like to know why she wants to harm others,¡± Wang Xin said fearlessly. An Xiaoning noticed that there wasn¡¯t a single tinge of guilt or fear in his expression and headed downstairs together with them. Her car was already parked outside the entrance. No. 5 handed her the key and said, ¡°Here, Sis.¡± She took the key from him and said to No. 5, ¡°You don¡¯t have toe along. There are only four seats, there¡¯s no space.¡± ¡°Let No. 8 sit on the passenger¡¯s seat while I sit on hisp. We can make do by squeezing a little,¡± said No. 5, who wanted to tag along. ¡°Alright, hop in.¡± Once they got inside the car, An Xiaoning entered the location into the GPS routing system and drove out of Sanqiao Estate. She sped along the roads toward Yi Bay. Along the journey, An Xiaoning thought about all the likely possibilities and the corresponding solutions she could adapt to tackle the problems. Her mind did not get a break at all. Upon arriving at the entrance of the vige in Yi Bay, which was brightly lit, they were greeted with the sight of two police cars parked on the barend where several people were waiting. They alighted from the car, after which Ding Liang scrambled toward her and said, ¡°We¡¯ve already asked about the details, there¡¯s nothing too different from what we found out earlier. ording to her family, she didn¡¯t have any other boyfriends after breaking up with Wang Xin.¡± Wang Xin eagerly interrupted, ¡°Must it really be the case that her ident had something to do with whether or not she¡¯s had any boyfriends?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what Ding Liang meant. Her boyfriend is just one of the possible motives for her vengeful behavior. Since she didn¡¯t date anyone else, there could also be another reason. Regardless of what it may be, we¡¯ll know once we go take a look,¡± said An Xiaoning. She had specially called Wang Xin along in order to verify if he was telling the truth. She would know after seeing Yi Ying¡¯s reaction. After a serious discussion, An Xiaoning headed to Yi Ying¡¯s home. The police¡¯s visit had caused a stir amongst the vigers. They were all crowding around the entrance of Yi Ying¡¯s home. An Xiaoning asked Yi Ying¡¯s family for her birth characters and instructed them to kill two roosters. She then drained the rooster¡¯s blood into a bag and handed the bag to Ma Jianguo. An Xiaoning only brought a few people along to the graveyard. They included Yi Ying¡¯s parents, Wang Xin and his wife, as well as No. 5, No. 8, Team Leader Zhang, and Ma Jianguo. As they were approaching the graveyard, An Xiaoning took the bag of blood from Ma Jianguo¡¯s hands. ¡°Officer, it¡¯s over there,¡± said Mrs. Yi, pointing at a small tombstone that looked like it belonged to a child. It was small, to the point that there was still excess rooster blood after An Xiaoning had already drenched the tombstone in it. An Xiaoning lit up a joss stick and stood with her palms pressed together. She did not n to summon Yi Ying¡¯s spirit at all since it was impossible that thetter would show up out of her own ord. Hence, she chose to force Yi Ying to show herself. After chanting a spell, the amulet darted toward the tombstone and revolved around it. All of a sudden, a piercing shrieking from the tomb filled the air. Everyone turned pale in fright, including Ma Jianguo and his colleagues, who got the chills and dared not open their eyes, despite having already witnessed simr rituals in the past. It was an eye-opener for Yi Ying¡¯s parents, who began tearing up uncontrobly. Wang Xin¡¯s wife passed out straight away while Wang Xin held her in his embrace tightly, consumed by terror. He had turned as pale as a ghost. He could tell that the shriek was from Yi Ying. The amulet revolved continuously, and An Xiaoning could clearly see a silhouette inside the imaginary circle drawn by the amulet. ¡°Yi Ying, why did you cause so many car idents? Did you think that you could continue going about your unruly ways? Do you really think we won¡¯t be able to subdue you!?! You¡¯ve caused the loss of 39 lives by creating those six major traffic idents. These people don¡¯t know you at all and don¡¯t have a feud with you either. You¡¯vemitted such a great sin. You¡¯re not going to reincarnate!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think I wouldn¡¯t be subdued. You¡¯re very capable, huh? Not only did you manage to guess where my next target location was, but you also even found out who I am. Seems like you¡¯re really something,¡± Yi Ying said menacingly in a shrill voice. She then screeched all of a sudden, ¡°Wang Xin!¡± Holding his unconscious wife in his arms, Wang Xin answered, ¡°I¡¯m here, Yi Ying, I really didn¡¯t think we¡¯d still be able tomunicate even though you¡¯re already dead. You¡¯re really vicious and wicked. Those people have nothing to do with you. Why did you have to treat them that way? I was right to have broken up with you. If I had married you back then, you might just have killed me and my whole family if you¡¯re unhappy one day!¡± ¡°I may have killed many innocent lives, but I didn¡¯t kill you, did I!?! You¡¯re the main cause of everything. I treated you well with all my heart and yet you grew sick and tired of me gradually. You even initiated a breakup with me. I got into a car ident precisely because I had gotten drunk and wanted to drive to your ce to look for you. Have you any idea how I got through those two months after we broke up? I forced myself not to call you or look you up, but I just couldn¡¯t do it and caved in in the end. Atst, I even thought of meeting you and telling you the things I had on my mind. Yet, I got into that fatal ident,¡± Yi Ying rebuked in a high-pitched voice. Wang Xin did not feel touched at all to hear her words. Instead, he scoffed and sneered, ¡°Yi Ying, breaking up with you was the best decision I¡¯ve ever made in my life. Which man could possibly tolerate you standing beside the bed in an ancient costume in the middle of the night with your hair all over the ce? Which man can stand having you call them tens of times every day to run a spot check? Not only did you insult my parents, you even thought of how you¡¯d deal with them maliciously even before marrying me. You don¡¯t have to feel shocked at all, but I happened to chance upon your QQ personal diary once and saw what you wrote in there about my parents. That¡¯s when I made the decision to break up with youpletely. Being with a neurotic woman like you is the ultimate torture. I had nothing to do with your death at all, and neither will I feel a single tinge of guilt toward you!¡± Chapter 801 - A Million Times for You (163)

Chapter 801: A Million Times for You (163)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Wang Xin vehemently retorted to Yi Ying. An Xiaoning could tell how repulsed and disgusted he was with her, such that he still detested her greatly after her death. ¡°I would¡¯ve killed you first if I¡¯d known earlier that you¡¯d say that! I would¡¯ve killed your entire family!¡± Yi Ying snapped agitatedly. Despite feeling a little daunted, Wang Xin chastised, ¡°Heaven was doing justice by taking your life away, you vicious wretch. Yi Ying, you¡¯ve killed so many innocent lives, go to hell.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll kill you right now!¡± Yi Ying gathered all her energy in a bid to surge toward Wang Xin. Unfortunately for her, she could not break out of the circle drawn by the amulet. Wang Xin broke out in a cold sweat and stood rooted to the ground. An Xiaoning admired him for having such a strong backbone. ¡°She won¡¯t be able toe out,¡± she said reassuringly. ¡°Ms. An, please get rid of her quickly. A wicked woman like her is too terrifying!¡± said Wang Xin. Noticing that half of the joss stick had already been burned, An Xiaoning said to Yi Ying¡¯s parents, who were crying non-stop, ¡°Hurry and say whatever you want to tell her. You¡¯re running out of time.¡± Mr. Yi shook his head, clearly having nothing to say to his daughter. On the other hand, Mrs. Yi cried, ¡°Yingying, you¡¯re too cruel and vicious! I didn¡¯t think you would do something like that. You¡¯ve really let me and your father down, we¡¯ve never had a daughter like you!¡± ¡°Without a daughter like me, how would you have gotten thatpensation sum of more than one million dors as well as all the money from my savings? You guys were the ones who left me in Grandma¡¯s care ever since I was young, and you¡¯ve never cared for me or done your part as my parents before. You were the ones who deprived me of parental love, that¡¯s why I was so devoted and obsessed with Wang Xin...¡± Before she could even finish, An Xiaoning interrupted, ¡°Your parents may have to bear a small responsibility, but they really pale inparison with you. Yi Ying, I¡¯ve been living in the mountains with my mentor ever since I was young, and I was deprived of parental love as well. Why didn¡¯t I turn out like you? You were the one who went astray by yourself and yet you still have the cheek to me others for it. I won¡¯t waste any more time talking to you.¡± ¡°Ah!¡± A deafening shriek filled the air, which soon disappeared. The amulet then fell to the ground. An Xiaoning heaved a sigh of relief and waved to Ma Jianguo and Team Leader Zhang. ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡± Wang Xin carried his wife and asked, ¡°Where did Yi Ying go?¡± ¡°To where she belongs. Rest assured, she won¡¯t have the chance to disrupt the peace and harmony of the public anymore. Live well with your wife.¡± ¡°Thank you, Ms. An. Actually, I do feel a little guilty for lying to you earlier, not because of her, but because of the innocent lives that had been lost. They didn¡¯t do anything at all. Ms. An, please give me the list of all the casualties in the idents. I can¡¯t bring them back to life, but I¡¯d like topensate their families with some mary relief.¡± ¡°Ma Jianguo, give Mr. Wang a copy of the list of namester when we return to the police station. He has good intentions,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Yes, Team Leader.¡± During the journey back to the police station, Team Leader Zhang acted out of his usual behavior and was praising An Xiaoning incessantly, giving An Xiaoning the goosebumps. ¡°Team Leader An, you¡¯re exactly the kind of talent the police station needs.¡± ¡°Nah, I¡¯ll be d as long as you stop backstabbing me,¡± An Xiaoning gibed. Team Leader Zhang smiled awkwardly and said, ¡°Ahem, I don¡¯t have any ill intentions, Team Leader An. I¡¯m just used to running my mouth without thinking. I¡¯ll change my ways in the future. I wouldn¡¯t dare to badmouth you again, Team Leader An.¡± ¡°Who knows if you¡¯ll really not do it again? But you¡¯ve been running low on lucktely, Team Leader Zhang, because I happen to overhear you every single time you badmouth me,¡± said An Xiaoning. She then sent a text to Tuoba Gucheng, Jin Qingyan, and Gu Beicheng at the same time. It was a broadcast message that read: ¡°The president has granted us permission to prohibit the use of all vehicles on the roads for a week. I¡¯ve now solved the problem and traffic may resume in the cityter on. I just want to hear apliment from you. Remember, be more descriptive and literary with your words.¡± All three men were pleased to see her message. Tuoba Gucheng was the first to reply: ¡°You¡¯re the only woman I admire.¡± Gu Beicheng was next. ¡°When you first got married to Jin Qingyan, everyone knew you as ¡®Jin Qingyan¡¯s wife¡¯ and ¡®Gu Beicheng¡¯s sister.¡¯ Yet, you¡¯ve now made a name for yourself and I¡¯m now known as ¡®An Xiaoning¡¯s brother¡¯ while Jin Qingyan is known as ¡®An Xiaoning¡¯s former husband.¡¯ I¡¯m very happy to be addressed that way, though I¡¯m not sure if I can say the same for Jin Qingyan. Well done.¡± Jin Qingyan was the only one who did not reply. By the time they arrived at the police station, Jin Qingyan had still yet to reply to her. An Xiaoning ced her phone inside her pocket and decided not to pay attention to it for the time being. Pan Zhenghui weed them with a smile and said, ¡°Xiaoning, you¡¯re really our station¡¯s pride and joy. The higher-ups have just called to say that we may allow traffic to resume as per normal.¡± An Xiaoning knew that it was her text message to Tuoba Gucheng that had done the trick. ¡°Okay, good that this matter has been settled. I spent the night here yesterday. I can finally go home tonight.¡± ¡°Xiaoning, let¡¯s go have a good meal. My treat.¡± ¡°You guys go ahead. I want to go home to take a hot bath and get some sleep,¡± she declined before leaving with No. 5 and No. 8. As soon as the notice was released, several cars began traveling on the roads. An Xiaoning arrived home to see that the wall of her bathroom had already been restored. She took a warm andfortable bath before lying down in bed and checking her mobile phone. She¡¯d received three unread messages from Jin Qingyan. ¡°As a brilliant man, I¡¯m not surprised at all to have such an outstanding woman like you.¡± ¡°I really want to give you a huge reward. After much thought, I decided that the best gift I can give you to express my sincerity is my precious member.¡± ¡°You were really pretty today.¡± An Xiaoning replied: ¡°You saw me today?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been running through my mind all day.¡± An Xiaoning replied: ¡°Have you done the restoration of the corpse?¡± ¡°Yes, it was your incarnate. I¡¯ve already cremated the corpse and buried your ashes together with my incarnate. We didn¡¯t get to be together when we were alive, but at least we got to stay together after our deaths.¡± An Xiaoning stared at the message on her screen, feeling a sudden urge to see Jin Qingyan. Despite having just seen him a while ago, she could not help but yearn to see him again. Unable to resist the urge, she added: ¡°I want to see you.¡± After sending the message, An Xiaoning hurriedly deleted and unsent the text before replying, ¡°I¡¯ve been busy the entire day and I¡¯m exhausted. I¡¯m going to bed now. Goodnight.¡± He did not reply. An Xiaoning was not at all bothered and went to sleep after cing her mobile phone on the table. She had a peaceful sleep with no dreams that night, allowing her to feel rxed and at ease. Chapter 802 - A Million Times for You (164)

Chapter 802: A Million Times for You (164)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios By the time she opened her eyes again, it was already the morning of the next day. She was greeted with a pair of narrow eyes. An Xiaoning immediately sobered up. Before she could even open her mouth, he pulled her into his embrace, causing her face to be pressed against his white shirt. He often exuded a unique charm whenever he wore a white shirt. She ced her hand on his stubbly chin and said, ¡°When did you sneak in here? Do you know how dangerous that is? I have a feeling that Tuoba Gucheng has sent his people to watch us both. Although he has already promised me that he wouldn¡¯t do that, I don¡¯t quite believe him.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you wanted to see me?¡± he asked, allowing her to touch and pinch his features. ¡°Ah!¡± She threw her head back with a look of frustration in her eyes. ¡°You saw that message!?!¡± Jin Qingyan chuckled loudly and said, ¡°You may have unsent it quickly but you weren¡¯t as fast as my eyes.¡± ¡°Don¡¯te over randomly again. You¡¯ll get into trouble sooner orter. It¡¯ll be disadvantageous to the two of us if we get caught.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like letting myself be treated unfairly. If I be the president, does that mean...¡± Jin Qingyan began to say with a look of displeasure in his eyes. An Xiaoning hurriedly covered his mouth and said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you think twice before saying anything? Don¡¯t harbor such thoughts.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°The presidents have always been from the Tuoba family, outsiders are not allowed to take part in the presidential elections at all. Besides, being the president doesn¡¯t equate to having freedom. You¡¯ll have so much to worry about every day and things to be busy with, from foreign interviews to local affairs. I don¡¯t want to be the president¡¯s wife. You must abort such ideas.¡± She then poked his forehead with her index and said, ¡°Did you hear me?¡± He wrapped her finger in his hand and said coquettishly, ¡°I¡¯ll listen to you.¡± An Xiaoning did not want him to be in danger and did not want to see him involved in a bloodbath ever again. They had a hard time trying to be with each other, and she was content with the status quo. ¡°Did youe in openly from the entrance?¡± ¡°Of course not. Don¡¯t worry, no one will find out. We¡¯re very safe. I arrived before daybreak and I¡¯ve been lying beside you quietly, for fear that I would wake you up. I¡¯m not going to the office today, I can spend the day with you,¡± Jin Qingyan said with half-closed eyes, feeling a little sleepy. ¡°Go to bed then. I¡¯ve had enough sleep, I¡¯m getting up now.¡± Just as she was about to sit up, he grabbed her and pulled her back into his arms. ¡°Wait for me to fall asleep first,¡± he said. An Xiaoning remained still and soon heard his rhythmic breathing as he slowly dozed off. She supported herself up and pulled herself out of his embrace before covering him with the duvet. She then put on her shoes and headed to the bathroom to wash up, after which she changed into a set of clothes and made her way downstairs for breakfast. Smiling, Shi Qingzhou asked, ¡°Is he still upstairs?¡± ¡°How did you know, Mother?¡± Shi Qingzhou smiled and said, ¡°No. 9 already told me when I woke up. He came here at about four o¡¯clock in the morning.¡± An Xiaoning sat by the dining table. Just as she picked up the spoon to have some porridge, she received a call from Lin Mingxi. ¡°Xiaoning! I¡¯m pregnant!¡± Lin Mingxi eximed excitedly. She was so loud that An Xiaoning felt as if she was about to go deaf. ¡°I expected it,¡± An Xiaoning said calmly. ¡°Your prediction was spot-on. You said that I would be pregnant within the next half of this year and I really did. Beicheng and I just went for a prenatal checkup. The fetus is 40 days old. Xiaoning, did you know? I feel like a proud mother now and my maternal instincts are so strong. I¡¯m extra careful even when ites to walking. It¡¯s such an indescribable but amazing feeling,¡± Lin Mingxi exined, filled with joy and excitement. ¡°Okay, okay, I understand. Rest more and nurse your pregnancy. Stop letting yourself get stressed or worried. I¡¯ll tend to the matters regarding the television series. Get Beicheng to manage your fitness center.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not that fragile yet. I¡¯m only 40 days along, the baby bump has yet to even show.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve already gone to the hospital but I just woke up. I¡¯m going to have breakfast now. Talk to you another time.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning ended the call while smiling. Halfway through her breakfast, No. 1 entered with a box that he then ced on the dining table and said, ¡°This was sent by an anonymous sender from B City. It¡¯s for you.¡± ¡°What¡¯s inside?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve checked it, it¡¯s a pot of flowers.¡± ¡°Open it,¡± said An Xiaoning, holding her bowl in her hands. She turned around and watched as he opened the box from the bottom and lifted the top to reveal a pot of lilies. The petals of the lilies were white while the bud was pink. It happened to be blossoming. ¡°Ah, they¡¯re so beautiful.¡± Shi Qingzhou leaned forward to take a whiff of the fragrance from the flowers and said to An Xiaoning in surprise, ¡°Don¡¯t lilies only bloom from April to August? Why have they blossomed at this period of the year? Xiaoning, do you know who sent them?¡± ¡°I do,¡± An Xiaoning answered with a nod. ¡°Who was it?¡± ¡°The Autumn Pce,¡± An Xiaoning answered, after which Shi Qingzhou immediately knew who it was. ¡°Do you fancy this type of flowers?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± An Xiaoning put down her bowl, wiped her mouth, and rose from her seat. She continued, ¡°I wonder if these lilies wouldst for a few days. Mother, let¡¯s just leave them in the living room.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°No. 13, prepare two sets of lunch and send them upstairster in the afternoon,¡± she instructed. ¡°Alright, Sis.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and made her way upstairs. Jin Qingyan was not sleeping well; he had a frown on his forehead even while sleeping. An Xiaoning sat beside him on the bed and poked his forehead to ease the tension. She stood up and turned around to find that his forehead had creased into a frown again. An Xiaoning sat down again and touched his forehead with her finger. The frown uncreased yet again. She remained seated until he stopped frowning before proceeding to do her makeup by the dressing table. It had been a long time since she had gone to the production unit. Thus, she nned to send Jin Qingyan out of Sanqiao Estate secretly before heading there to check on the filming process. She would usually take a short while to finish applying her makeup. However, she was much slower today since there was more than enough time. She took a total of half an hour. Right after she closed her cosmetics box, Jin Qingyan hollered, ¡°Hold it right there!¡± An Xiaoning scurried toward the bed to see that Jin Qingyan had just woken up from his dream and was gasping for air. ¡°Qingyan, did you have a nightmare?¡± He once again wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into his embrace. He remained quiet while stroking the hair beside her ears. He hugged her tightly, as if he was about to lose her the next second. ¡°Qingyan...¡± Pressing his face against her forehead, Jin Qingyan constantly repeated, ¡°Don¡¯t leave me. Xiaoning, promise me, don¡¯t leave me.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°Tell me you won¡¯t leave me. Say that you won¡¯t leave me forever.¡± He let go of her and looked her in the eye. ¡°I want to hear you tell me that.¡± Not sure what sort of nightmare he just had, An Xiaoning said coaxingly, ¡°I won¡¯t leave you.¡± ¡°I dreamed that you left and you wouldn¡¯t turn around no matter how hard I yelled for you to.¡± ¡°It was just a dream.¡± ¡°It felt too real.¡± Chapter 803 - A Million Times for You (165)

Chapter 803: A Million Times for You (165)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning noticed the look of fear and panic in Jin Qingyan¡¯s eyes when he was speaking; he hadpletely lost his usualposure. ¡°I¡¯m right here, aren¡¯t I? Are you bothered by the fact that we can only meet each other secretly like how we are now?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°That¡¯s not an issue for me. I¡¯m just bothered by how you feel about me.¡± ¡°What else are you worried about, then? You¡¯re the only person I love, Jin Qingyan,¡± An Xiaoning said reassuringly with a smile. He turned over and pinned her beneath him. Staring at her with glistening eyes that were devoid of his initial panic, he said while smiling, ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡± ¡°What would you like to eat? I¡¯ll get No. 13 to prepare it for you.¡± ¡°Nothing, I just want to devour you.¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t eaten yet, are you sure you have the energy?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know after we try.¡± She grabbed his wandering hand and said, ¡°Let¡¯s eat first...¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°You¡¯re already in your thirties, how are you still so willful?¡± ¡°I¡¯m three years old.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°I¡¯m so sick of the packed lunches provided by the caterers. En, I¡¯ll treat you to some nice food for lunch.¡± Gazing at Jing Shui, Fang En said, ¡°I really can¡¯t make you treat me anymore. I¡¯ve yet to treat you to make up for the supper you bought for mest night.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, it doesn¡¯t cost much anyway. Men ought to get the tab when dining with women. Besides, we¡¯re friends. Don¡¯t stand on ceremony with me,¡± Jing Shui said nonchntly. ¡°How about we go dutch for lunch today? I¡¯ll agree to go with you only if you promise me that.¡± ¡°Since you¡¯ve already said that, can I say no? It¡¯s a deal then,¡± Jing Shui said with a smile. ¡°Alright.¡± Noticing that he had already left, Fang En picked up her cup and sipped on some tea. Dressed in the ancient costume with an extra coat above theyer, Yan Ge remarked casually, ¡°Look how wide you were smiling just now. Your jaw is about to drop.¡± ¡°Since when? Senior Yan Ge, shall we have lunch togetherter?¡± Fang En asked. ¡°Nah, I don¡¯t want to y gooseberry.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t spout nonsense. There¡¯s nothing between me and Co-director Jing at all.¡± Yan Ge rolled his eyes at her and said apprehensively, ¡°You two just haven¡¯t made it official yet. Don¡¯t try denying it, you¡¯re clearly smitten with him. It was so obvious.¡± ¡°I really am not. He and I are really just friends.¡± ¡°Can there really be pure friendship between a man and a woman?¡± Yan Ge remarked calmly. ¡°My rtionship with him is just like mine and yours. No more than ordinary friends,¡± Fang En said truthfully. ¡°Who said we were ordinary friends? I don¡¯t have a friend like you,¡± said Yan Ge. Fang En froze and said softly, ¡°I already consider you my friend, yet you don¡¯t see me as your friend at all. To think that I still massage you every day.¡± ¡°It¡¯s only your duty to give me a shoulder massage. We¡¯ve had an agreement at the start.¡± ¡°You...¡± Fang En sat up straight and cocked her head toward the side, her face turning hot and red in embarrassment. I¡¯ve been filming alongside him for so long and I really thought he saw me as his friend. Turns out I¡¯m just an insignificant nobody to him. Well, he¡¯s an A-lister who¡¯s received several des for his works. I¡¯m just an insignificant small fry who used to only y minor roles in television drama series. How could we possibly be friends? It was just wishful thinking on my part. How embarrassing! Both their assistants looked away quietly, not daring to utter another word. When noontime arrived, Jing Shui approached Fang En, who headed to the restaurant with him, appearing rather troubled. She did not bring Xiao Yue along and sat opposite him in the restaurant. ¡°You seem a little upset. What¡¯s wrong?¡± he asked. ¡°Nothing, let¡¯s eat.¡± She picked up a pair of chopsticks and casually nced at the figures outside the window. It was Yan Ge and his assistant, Xiao Li, who happened to be passing by. ¡°By the way, I heard from my brother that Ms. An will being by in the afternoon to check on our progress,¡± said Jing Shui. ¡°Sis Xiaoning?¡± ¡°Yes. You¡¯re the first actress whom she and Mei Yangyang have signed onto their studio, and they immediately offered you the chance to star as the female lead of the television series. Seems like she has very high expectations of you,¡± Jing Shui said with a smile. ¡°I know, that¡¯s why I dare not make any blunders when I¡¯m acting. I¡¯m a newbie, and I ought to step up my game and acting chops. I must do my best not to disappoint her and Sis Yangyang.¡± ¡°Newbies like you are rare toe by. Rookie actresses nowadays just love to create trouble instead of further improving their acting skills. Although they may seem morous on the surface since they¡¯ve achieved wealth and fame, insiders of the industry all know that those rookies don¡¯t actually have what it takes. There¡¯s a difference between celebrities and actors,¡± Jing Shui said truthfully. ¡°You¡¯ve ttered me. Ie from a humble background, and it¡¯s my blessing to have received so much help from Sis Xiaoning. I ought to put my best foot forward in order not to let Sis Xiaoning down.¡± Jing Shui smiled and nodded. ¡°By the way, there¡¯s something I almost forgot to ask you. You know Jing Yang, don¡¯t you?¡± Fang En nodded and asked, ¡°Yes, what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°He said that he has something to talk to you about. He asked me for your mobile number and I gave it to him.¡± Fang En was peeved upon hearing his words and questioned, ¡°How could you just give my number away without my consent?¡± ¡°He and I are friends. I gave him your number because he said that he wanted to talk to you about something. He won¡¯t harass you. Jing Yang is a polite person. I reckon he must be looking for you for something important.¡± ¡°I doubt there¡¯s anything important he needs to talk to me about. He¡¯s a huge celebrity, and we don¡¯t know each other. Why would he be looking me up?¡± said Fang En, who felt disgusted at the thought of Jing Yang. She did not even feel like telling Jing Shui about the five years that she had been idolizing Jing Yang for. ¡°I guess he¡¯ll be contacting you very soon since he¡¯s already asked for your number. You may just ask him then.¡± Fang En did not enjoy herself at all during the meal. There was going to be a kiss scene between her and Yan Ge, which was going to be filmed in the afternoon. It was their first time filming a kiss scene. Fang En even asked Jing Tian about it. ¡°Director, will we be stage-kissing for the scene this afternoon?¡± ¡°Of course not, it¡¯s going to be the real thing. Brush your teeth properly. Yan Ge initially suggested that we do a stage kiss, but he finally gave in after my vehement persuasion. He hates women who have bad breath.¡± ¡°Director, I don¡¯t have bad breath.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± ¡°But...¡± Fang En hesitated and said, ¡°Director, since you had to force Senior Yan Ge to do it, we might as well just do a stage kiss. Or we could leave a sheet of ss in between.¡± ¡°Impossible, you must do the real thing.¡± Seeing how insistent he was, Fang En did not try to refuse any further and proceeded to brush her teeth. After brushing her teeth thrice, to the point that her gums were almost swollen, she sprayed her mouth with a fruity-vored breath freshener. She finally decided that it was enough. She was filled with nervousness, such that her limbs were trembling uncontrobly. It was not just her first onscreen kiss, but also her very first kiss in real life. Chapter 804 - A Million Times for You (166)

Chapter 804: A Million Times for You (166)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios How could she be willing and happy to give Yan Ge her first kiss after recalling those hostile remarks made by him in the morning? Being an experienced actor, he had long be used to filming kiss scenes with several different actresses. However, it was a different case for Fang En who came from a humble background and refrained from dating, for fear that it would affect her academics. Instead, she¡¯d focused all her attention on her studies and strived to realize her dreams. In hindsight, Fang En felt like aplete failure for never having had a boyfriend. However, there was no way to turn back time anymore. Fang En sat in a chair and held her mobile phone in her hands while watching and taking references from the videos of kiss scenes of other television series. Xiao Yue leaned closer toward her and said, ¡°Sis, if you keep covering your phone with your hands, others are going to think that you¡¯re watching R-rated content. It¡¯s only going to attract unwanted attention.¡± She nced at Xiao Yue and said in embarrassment, ¡°Ahem, I won¡¯t cover it then.¡± She leaned t against the chair and scanned her surroundings before watching the videos openly. When it was time for them to film the kiss scene, Fang En stood rooted, as if her feet were glued to the ground. She could not help but feel panicky and nervous at the thought of there being a huge crowd watching them while they kissed. Xiao Yue gave her a little push and said, ¡°Sis, what¡¯s wrong with you? Go on.¡± ¡°I know, don¡¯t push me,¡± said Fang En. Fang En¡¯s palms had be sweaty by the time she walked toward the camera. Staring at Yan Ge, who was as cool as a cucumber, Fang En could not help but think to herself, He¡¯s a true old fogy, it¡¯s going to be hard on the inexperienced me. But I¡¯m a professional actress who graduated from the theater arts academy, I can¡¯t let others belittle me. It¡¯s just a kiss scene, isn¡¯t it? It¡¯ll be really quick, right? As they began narrating their lines, Fang En continuously prayed in her heart, I must pass the kiss scene in one take. I really don¡¯t want to do it repeatedly. In order to seed in one take, she forced herself to put on her best performance. However, Fang En nked out immediately the moment Yan Ge¡¯s lips touched hers. Especially when he stuck his tongue into her mouth... She froze in shock and stared at him, dumbfounded while blushing red in embarrassment and shyness. Coincidentally, that happened to be the exact effects Jing Tian was looking for. The female lead was supposed to feel like she was at aplete loss, ording to the storyline. Fang En had yed her role well by expressing her true feelings. The kiss scene continued for a whole two minutes, during which the cameras panned and zoomed, filming the scene from every angle. Fang En¡¯s heart was racing rapidly, and she turned around to scurry away as soon as the filming of the scene ended. All the crew members and actors broke intoughter at the amusing sight. Fang En felt as if her face was burning. Yan Ge¡¯s initial calmness turned into amusement at the sight of Fang En running away bashfully. Xiao Li handed him some mouthwash, which he surprisingly did not ept. Xiao Li was dumbfounded, for Yan Ge would make a conscious effort to rinse his mouth with an antiseptic mouthwash after every single kiss scene he filmed in the past. How unusual of him to make an exception this time. It was already evening by the time An Xiaoning arrived. If it weren¡¯t for Jin Qingyan¡¯s pesky behavior, she wouldn¡¯t have beente. ¡°I haven¡¯t been here in a long time. It¡¯s been hard on everyone!¡± She stood up and bowed to the production team and actors, all of whom were surprised by her politeness. ¡°I finally got to see you again. We haven¡¯t eaten yet, we were waiting for you to join us,¡± Jing Tian said with a chuckle. ¡°It¡¯ll be my treat. Leave your work aside for a while, let¡¯s go,¡± said An Xiaoning. They proceeded to have dinner. Everyone was chatting rxedly during dinner, a stark contrast to Fang En, who was feeling tense and awkward. ¡°How is En doing?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°She¡¯s brilliant. You¡¯ve got an eye for talents. She¡¯s very hardworking,¡± Jing Tian praised. An Xiaoning patted Fang En on her shoulder and said, ¡°Keep working hard.¡± ¡°I will, Sis Xiaoning.¡± An Xiaoning rose from her seat and raised her ss while saying, ¡°Here, let me toast to you guys. Thank you for giving your all andmitting your time and effort to this television series.¡± Everyone followed suit and clinked sses with her before downing each of their drinks in one gulp. Having had too much to drink, Fang En felt a little giddy, after which she decided to stop and remain in her seat while listening to them talk, not touching any food or alcohol at all. However, she could no longer walk steadily or bnce herself even after the dinner ended. Alcohol was a no-no for her since she could not hold her liquor well at all. Just as Jing Shui held onto her, Xiao Yue tactfully took over and helped Fang En into her room to get some rest. After switching on the heater, Xiao Yue poured her a cup of water, left it on the table, and tucked her beneath the nket. Xiao Yue then switched off the lights and returned to her own room. Fang Eny in bed and was not asleep yet. She would usually fall asleep after having a few drinks, yet strangely, she was not sleepy at all and was instead recalling the way she felt during the kiss scene. Indeed, she was reminiscing about the first kiss she ever had. She continued to toss and turn in bed but simply could not fall asleep. Hence, she decided to go to the balcony to enjoy the cool breeze while leaning against the railing. She turned around and was greeted with the surprising sight of Yan Ge standing on the balcony of the room adjacent to hers. ¡°Senior Yan Ge, why haven¡¯t you slept yet?¡± she asked. ¡°You haven¡¯t either.¡± ¡°How could I bepared to you? You¡¯ve always been more self-disciplined than I am when ites to time management.¡± ¡°If you can¡¯t sleep, you maye over to give me a massage. You haven¡¯t performed your duty for today.¡± Fang En avoided eye contact with and ignored him. ¡°Did you hear me?¡± he questioned. ¡°From today onward, I won¡¯t be giving you shoulder massages anymore.¡± ¡°Are you trying to go back on your word?¡± Yan Ge asked with raised brows. Fang En smiled sarcastically and gibed, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m going back on my word. Are you going to hit me?¡± As soon as she finished speaking, she returned inside her room, leaving Yan Ge bbergasted. It was his first encounter with such an untrustworthy person who had the cheek to be haughty despite having gone back on her word. He was at a momentary loss for words. He immediately proceeded to Fang En¡¯s door and pressed the doorbell while covering the peephole with his hand. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± Fang En opened the door and asked, ¡°Are you reallying here to beat me up?¡± He entered without uttering another word and mmed the door shut with a loud thud. Fang En shouted at him from behind, ¡°This is my room and I¡¯m going to bed. What are you doing?¡± Hey down on her bed with his back facing up and said, ¡°I won¡¯t leave until you give me a massage.¡± Fang En shot him a dirty look and said, ¡°Is there something wrong with you? You¡¯re so loaded, why don¡¯t you just hire a professional masseuse?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to spend a single cent and I prefer enjoying the free services you provide. Besides, we¡¯ve already agreed on this right from the start. You¡¯re infuriating me by breaking the agreement on your part!¡± Fang En stepped forward and looked at him from above. ¡°So what if you¡¯re infuriated?¡± ¡°Are you really nning to fall out with me?¡± ¡°Wow, I¡¯m falling out with you just because I refuse to give you any more massages? I¡¯m sorry, but we¡¯ve already fallen out ever since you said this morning that we weren¡¯t friends. Get out.¡± ¡°Fang En, I didn¡¯t expect you to be such an ingrate. If it weren¡¯t for my help back then, you would long have been taken away by that man. You promised to massage me until the filming for the drama ends, yet you¡¯re going back on your words. Has massaging me got anything to do with whether or not we¡¯re friends? Or are you just very bothered about whether I truly consider you as my friend?¡± Chapter 805 - A Million Times for You (167)

Chapter 805: A Million Times for You (167)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Fang En immediately turned red upon hearing his words and vehemently denied, ¡°I¡¯m not bothered at all!¡± ¡°What are you waiting for, then? Come and massage me now. Are you thinking of making me sleep on the same bed as you tonight?¡± Fang En removed her coat and kicked her shoes off before straddling his back. ¡°You want a massage, right? I¡¯ll give you a good one today!¡± she eximed. Yan Ge felt a heavy weight on his back as she began massaging him with all her might. ¡°Just give me a massage properly. What are you sitting on top of me for?¡± ¡°It¡¯s ufortable to stand. I prefer sitting down. Are you not willing to continue? If that¡¯s the case, you may leave.¡± ¡°...¡± During the massage, Fang En¡¯s body was moving about continuously and rubbing against his lower back. Yan Ge¡¯s breath quickened as he felt a growing bulge in his pants. He turned his head to look at Fang En and asked, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, did you lose your first kiss to me during that kiss scene we filmed today?¡± ¡°Who... who said so? I¡¯m an experienced kisser. What do you mean first kiss? What a joke,¡± she denied zealously. ¡°Oh? You¡¯re experienced? Why didn¡¯t you know how to French kiss then?¡± he questioned, not believing her at all. ¡°Are you very proud of yourself just because you know how to?¡± She sneered and clenched her fists tightly before mming them down onto his back, causing Yan Ge to feel as if his bones wereing apart. He finally understood what ¡°asking for trouble¡± meant. Yan Ge turned around, causing Fang En, who was straddling him, to be thrown off bnce. She almost fell to the side but soon sat back onto him, thanks to her reasonable sense of bnce. However... things began to get awkward. She felt a stiff bulge sticking up against her. Fang En immediately blushed red upon realizing what it was and hurriedly got off his body. Yan Ge looked at her with a smirk and asked, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you sitting on me anymore?¡± ¡°Go back to your room and get some rest,¡± she said, tucking herself beneath the sheets and avoiding eye contact with him while resting her head against the headboard. ¡°Will you still give me massages in the future?¡± It seemed he wouldn¡¯t leave until she said yes. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What if you go back on your word again?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± He finally stood up and left. Fang En heaved a long sigh of relief the moment he closed the door. The more she thought about it, the harder her heart pounded. Fang En suffered from insomnia for the rest of the night. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Your Majesty, here¡¯s the call record,¡± said the secretary, who handed Tuoba Gucheng a piece of paper. A sullen expression formed on Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s face after scrutinizing the content. He crushed the piece of paper into a ball and said coldly, ¡°You may go out.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Tuoba Gucheng stood up with a grave expression and walked toward the window with his hands behind his back. Staring out of the window, he pondered over his thoughts for a while and soon got an idea. During lunch, he asked Lin Shishi about her rtives, ¡°Do you have any female rtives between the age of 20 to 30 who are single and unmarried?¡± Rather taken aback and puzzled, Lin Shishi answered, ¡°My aunt¡¯s only daughter, who is also my cousin, fits that category. She¡¯s 27 years old this year, unmarried, and hasn¡¯t had a boyfriend before. I heard from my aunt that she holds her expectations high, is pretty, and has an established career. Naturally, she would want to pick an outstanding man to be her spouse.¡± ¡°What qualifications does she have and what kind of job does she do?¡± ¡°She just graduated a year ago with a Master¡¯s Degree in finance. She now works for a multinational corporation. Hubby, what are you asking about these for?¡± Lin Shishi asked out of curiosity. ¡°I¡¯m nning to arrange a marriage for someone,¡± he said calmly. ¡°Who?¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan.¡± ¡°What!?!¡± Lin Shishi eximed in bewilderment. Why does he want to arrange a marriage for Jin Qingyan? Do they even know each other well? They¡¯re barely even friends. Why does he want to do that? ¡°You¡¯re making me confused. Why are you arranging a marriage for Jin Qingyan out of the blue?¡± she asked in puzzlement. ¡°As the leader of the Jin Corporation, Jin Qingyan is a valuable asset to the nation. Do I need another reason to arrange a good marriage for him? Where¡¯s your cousin now?¡± he asked. ¡°In A City.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be making a trip down to A City to discuss something with Jin Qingyan. Come along with me.¡± Lin Shishi was pleased to hear his offer. Beaming with joy at the thought of being able to go home, she agreed gleefully, ¡°Sure!¡± It may be a promising marriage between Jin Qingyan and Cousin, but Jin Qingyan is An Xiaoning¡¯s ex-husband. Wouldn¡¯t that be a little inappropriate, then? However, she did not voice her question and instead called home after having her meal. Tuoba Guchenga and Lin Shishi had always traveled back to A City by car. However, they decided to opt for the private jet this time in order to save time. Lin Shishi¡¯s aunt, uncle, and cousin were already present by the time they arrived at the Lin family home. Needless to say, no one would dare to bete when meeting the president. Tuoba Gucheng scanned Lin Shishi¡¯s cousin, who was dressed in business-casual attire, from head to toe to discover that she was rather tall and had exquisite features, as well as long, curly locks that cascaded down her shoulders. She was rather pleasant-looking and easy on the eyes. ¡°Shishi, what¡¯s your cousin¡¯s name?¡± he asked with a face of gentleness. ¡°Her name is Feng Qiubai.¡± Feng Qiubai nodded in ordance. ¡°I heard from Shishi that you¡¯re single at the moment and that you¡¯ve never had a boyfriend before. Is that true?¡± ¡°Your Majesty, it¡¯s true,¡± Feng Qiubai answered with a smirk. ¡°Would you be willing to marry Jin Qingyan if I set you up with him? I¡¯ll respect your decision and I definitely wouldn¡¯t force you if you¡¯re not,¡± he said calmly. ¡°I¡¯d be willing,¡± Feng Qiubai answered. The whole world was aware of Jin Qingyan¡¯s past marital status. However, she did not mind it at all. ¡°Well, that¡¯s great, then. I¡¯ll head over to Jin Qingyan¡¯s ce now. Wait for my news,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng, who left soon after he just arrived. Noticing how eager and anxious he was, such that it seemed like he came to A City personally just for this matter, Lin Shishi could not help but think to herself, Just what has their marriage have to do you? Lin Shishi¡¯s aunt asked softly, ¡°Shishi... Did His Majestye here to do this because you told him that your cousin was not married yet?¡± Lin Shishi had no choice but to admit, ¡°When we were chatting idly, my husband asked me if I had any unmarried female rtives and so I mentioned Cousin to him. He said that he could arrange a marriage for her and decided to do it today since he happened to being here for some work matters.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. His Majesty really treats Shishi so well, he¡¯s even extended his kind gestures to us. I was just feeling troubled because this wretchedss refuses to settle for anyone she deems unworthy of her. Yet she actually agreed to marry a man like Jin Qingyan who¡¯s divorced with a child,¡± said Lin Shishi¡¯s aunt, who was over the moon. ¡°Mother, don¡¯t be so prejudiced against divorcees. Just because his marriage had failed and he has a child, it doesn¡¯t mean he can¡¯t have the right to pursue his true happiness. I value the man¡¯s character and personality over these superficial attributes,¡± Feng Qiubai said straightforwardly. ¡°I know you¡¯ve always been an objective person with your own set of principles.¡± While they were having a chat, Madam Lin pulled Lin Shishi upstairs and said, ¡°Jin Qingyan is Xiaoning¡¯s ex-husband, you silly child. Can¡¯t you tell your husband to set Qiubai up with someone else? Jin Qingyan is not the only capable and promising man around.¡± Chapter 806 - A Million Times for You (168)

Chapter 806: A Million Times for You (168)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°How could I have known that he was nning to matchmake them when he asked me about it? Besides, I doubt he¡¯ll change his mind easily.¡± Madam Lin took the chance to ask, ¡°He¡¯s so busy with the political affairs he has to handle every day, why would he want to matchmake so out of the blue?¡± ¡°Beats me. He simply said that Jin Qingyan was a valuable asset to the country and that he wants to arrange a promising marriage for him. I reckon they do contact each other in private. We intentionally came back today because he said that he has something to discuss with Jin Qingyan.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. The Jin Corporation is a corporate giant in our nation. I guess it¡¯s understandable for Son-inw to want to rope him in and be rted to him through familial ties,¡± said Madam Lin. Lin Shishi found her mother¡¯s words to make sense. ¡ª¡ª Jin Qingyan and Tuoba Gucheng sat opposite each other in the silent living room. There were two cups of piping-hot water on the table. A sullen expression formed on Jin Qingyan¡¯s face the moment he heard about Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s intentions to arrange a marriage for him. He refused, ¡°Your Majesty, you¡¯re so busy handling the nation¡¯s affairs. You don¡¯t have to worry about my marriage.¡± Tuoba Gucheng did not take his refusal into consideration at all. ¡°Feng Qiubai graduated with a Master¡¯s Degree in finance and is currently working for a multinational corporation. Shees from a clean and wealthy family, and she¡¯s pretty too. I carefully selected her for you. I¡¯ve never arranged marriages for anyone before, I hope you won¡¯t let me down.¡± Jin Qingyan retorted furiously, ¡°Your Majesty, must you really force your citizens to do things against their will just because you¡¯re the nation¡¯s leader? I already said that I¡¯m objecting to the marriage. What are you trying to do my forcing me to get married?¡± ¡°Why are you so against it? I know you¡¯re arrogant and self-righteous, but even if you don¡¯t spare a thought for yourself, you should also spare a thought for Xiaoning. Aren¡¯t I right?¡± Tuoba Gucheng said with a sullen expression. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Nothing. You either get married or let Xiaoning die. Take your pick. I won¡¯t give you the chance to reconcile your marriage with her. I¡¯d rather watch her die than allow her to get back together with you. However, I don¡¯t wish for her to die yet. As long as you get married, she¡¯ll get to live well and remain safe and sound,¡± Tuoba Gucheng threatened. Boiling with immense fury, Jin Qingyan smiled wryly and sneered, ¡°Your Majesty, how strange of an interest you¡¯ve got. You defy thews of incest and go against morals by falling in love with your half-sister whose mother happens to be your mother¡¯s blood-rted sister. What¡¯s the point of doing this? You can¡¯t divorce your wife and be with Xiaoning openly anyway. Do you really find it appropriate to be humiliating and ruining the lives of others this way? If you truly love someone, shouldn¡¯t you feel happy for her when you see her being in bliss? Gu Beicheng loves Xiaoning a lot too and, in fact, he¡¯s carried a torch for her way before you did. He¡¯s done so much more for her than you ever have, and he understands that it¡¯s better to let her go if he can¡¯t win her heart. He¡¯s not like you at all. I really despise the way you¡¯re behaving.¡± Jin Qingyan was not at all afraid and, in fact, he even sounded rather condescending. He had managed to spite and anger Tuoba Gucheng with his words. Tuoba Gucheng squinted and said coldly, ¡°I¡¯ll give you half an hour to consider. Just you wait and see if I don¡¯t kill her.¡± Jin Qingyan did not stand up and instead remained seated with his fists clenched tightly. Fan Shixin entered to see the grave and gloomy expression on his face. ¡°Young Sir, what did the presidente to talk to you about?¡± he asked. ¡°He was trying to set me up with someone. He threatened to kill Xiaoning if I refuse to concede,¡± Jin Qingyan said with a scoff. ¡°What!?! Who did he matchmake you with?¡± Fan Shixin asked, bbergasted. ¡°Lin Shishi¡¯s cousin.¡± ¡°He¡¯s trying to kill two birds with one stone. Not only will he get toe in between you and Young Madam, he¡¯ll get to be affiliated with you after the marriage.¡± ¡°He gave me half an hour to decide. Shixin, what do you think I should do?¡± ¡°Hurry and tell Young Madam about it and ask for her opinion. Young Sir, quick,¡± Fan Shixin urged. Jin Qingyan whipped his phone out and called An Xiaoning to exin everything to her in detail. As soon as he finished speaking, An Xiaoning grew silent. ¡°Xiaoning...¡± ¡°He must¡¯ve checked our call history, that¡¯s why he did that...¡± said An Xiaoning, trying to sound as calm as she could. In reality, her hands were trembling uncontrobly due to her immense fury. ¡°He gave me half an hour¡¯s time to consider.¡± ¡°Qingyan, the world is so big. Where can we truly be safe? I¡¯m so sick of this ce and I want to live somewhere only we know and where nobody can find us. Is there such a ce in this world?¡± An Xiaoning asked with a long sigh. Jin Qingyan could not answer her. Tuoba Gucheng was the leader of the nation, after all. Regardless of how strong and formidable one may be, there was no way he could overpower a nation¡¯s strength. ¡°I¡¯ll give him a call. Wait for my news, regardless of whether I manage to convince him or not.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning called Tuoba Gucheng, who picked up rather quickly. However, she did not question him straight away, for she knew that that would only put her at a disadvantage. ¡°Have you eaten?¡± ¡°It¡¯s already sote, I¡¯ve eaten,¡± he said in his usual tone. ¡°Your Majesty, forcing someone to make decisions against their will only brings torture to them. You ought to do unto others as you would have them do unto you, shouldn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Are you feeling aggrieved for him?¡± ¡°He¡¯s the father of my son. You¡¯re making me extremely upset by finding a stepmother for my son and threatening to kill me if he doesn¡¯t get married. It seems there isn¡¯t a single ce in this world where I can be safe. Your Majesty, what¡¯s the point of doing this? It¡¯s impossible between us. Don¡¯t waste any more time and effort on me.¡± ¡°Are you unwilling to get together with me even if you¡¯re dead?¡± After a moment of silence, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°Yes. The fact that Heaven has made us into siblings just goes to show that you¡¯re definitely not the man for me in this lifetime. Perhaps when you look back on this day, years from now, you¡¯ll realize how silly you¡¯ve been because I¡¯m not worth your while at all. Not only will I not be grateful toward you, but we might also even end up as strangers,¡± said An Xiaoning, who was still hoping that he would give up soon. ¡°Go ahead and die, then. After all, I can¡¯t tolerate you not being in a rtionship with me while you¡¯re alive, and neither can I tolerate seeing you with another man. I might find my actions silly when I think about it in the future, but I won¡¯t regret it.¡± ¡°Are you going to execute me?¡± An Xiaoning questioned, her hands trembling vigorously. ¡°I¡¯m making things clear to you now. Even if you don¡¯t get together with me for the rest of your life, I won¡¯t allow you to be in a rtionship with another man. You decide for yourself if you¡¯d rather die or have him marry someone else. I¡¯m guessing he¡¯ll make the most sound decision.¡± ¡°You¡¯re notpelling him, but me. I¡¯ve been abiding by all your instructions and refraining from offending you. Yet, instead of stopping, you even went from bad to worse. You¡¯re such a disappointment.¡± Chapter 807 - A Million Times for You (169)

Chapter 807: A Million Times for You (169)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning continued, ¡°Jin Qingyan and I got a divorce all because of you. If you hadn¡¯t insisted that the child was yours when I had a miscarriage, he wouldn¡¯t have misunderstood me. I¡¯ve never med you or resented you for that, but have you ever spared a thought for me? When I was abducted by Pei Yi, you were the one who gave up the chance for a negotiation to redeem me while Jin Qingyan risked his life to rescue me. We were in love with each other right from the start, yet we were put in such a helpless predicament, all because of you. We dare not meet or contact each other at all. As the leader of the nation, is this how you should be treating your citizens!?!¡± An Xiaoning burst into tears and screeched with sobs, ¡°What did I owe you in my past life? Why do you have to do this to me? Why!?!¡± After a few seconds of silence, Tuoba Gucheng said, ¡°You lied to me when you said that you didn¡¯t love him anymore. You were just lying to me. You love him very, very much...¡± ¡°Yes, I was lying to you. Even though he had divorced me, I still love him very much. Even if he stops loving me in the future, I¡¯ll still love him. I¡¯ll never stop loving him even until the day I die. Your Majesty, are you satisfied with this answer?¡± said An Xiaoning, who found that there was no point in hiding any further since the oue would still be the same. Tuoba Gucheng remained silent. An Xiaoning thought that he had already hung up and took a look at her screen, only to find that he was still on the line. They both remained quiet. An Xiaoning had no idea what else to say to him. ¡°Let¡¯s meet,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng. ¡°At this point, is there still a need for us to meet?¡± An Xiaoning questioned. ¡°Do you really want me to send my people to fetch you? I must meet you now. Come out immediately.¡± ¡°Give me an address.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning proceeded to meet him at the five-star hotel he was staying at. She had once gone there before. She headed there alone. He was sipping and appreciating some tea in his room. An Xiaoning stepped forward and sat down opposite him with a straight face. There was a cup of green tea in front of her, piping hot and vibrant of color. He shot her a nce and signaled for her to drink the tea. Noticing that she was remaining still, he said with raised brows, ¡°If you don¡¯t want him to marry another woman, finish this and you¡¯ll be free.¡± ¡°Did you poison it?¡± ¡°What do you think?¡± he answered vaguely. An Xiaoning stared at the cup of tea and wanted to express her bravery. Yet, she said, ¡°Do you really think he¡¯ll treat that woman well after you force her to marry him? From what I know about him, he won¡¯t.¡± ¡°Are you going to drink this tea, then? I doubt you¡¯d be so stupid as to end your life just so you could stop him from getting married.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I would be so foolish either.¡± An Xiaoning then picked up the cup and ced it near her lips. ¡°You... may consider carefully,¡± Tuoba Gucheng said with glistening eyes. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that.¡± She raised her head and gulped the cup of ufortably bitter tea. ¡°You...¡± Tuoba Gucheng did not expect her to have made a decision so soon. ¡°Your Majesty, I¡¯ve already finished the tea, you won¡¯t make him marry someone else anymore, will you? You must keep your word, Your Majesty,¡± said An Xiaoning. Tuoba Gucheng was filled with an indescribable feeling and was overwhelmed with pain and misery. Staring at An Xiaoning with agony in his eyes, he said, ¡°Is this... really worth it?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you hope for this? You really won¡¯tpel him anymore, right?¡± she asked again. He nodded and stared at her, overwhelmed with a mix of emotions. ¡°Your Majesty, what poison did you add to this tea?¡± ¡°A lethal one.¡± ¡°How long will it take for the effects to show?¡± she asked. ¡°Twenty minutes.¡± ¡°Your Majesty... if I manage to survive, will you agree to let me and Jin Qingyan off in the future?¡± ¡°This poison... is absolutely fatal.¡± ¡°I mean if...¡± ¡°There are no ¡®ifs.¡¯¡± An Xiaoning actually chuckled at this juncture. ¡°Perhaps I¡¯m different from others?¡± At this moment, a liquid began flowing out of her eyes. It was not tears but blood. Blood was flowing out of every crevice of her face, including her eyes, nose, and lips. Tuoba Gucheng initially thought that he could watch her die without feeling affected. Yet, he froze in terror upon the sight of her bleeding and closed his eyes. Trembling vigorously, An Xiaoning whipped her mobile phone out from her pocket and saved the voice recording before calling Jin Qingyan. ¡°The president said that he won¡¯tpel you anymore. He¡¯s the president and a man of his word. He won¡¯t break his promise,¡± said An Xiaoning, trying to sound as normal as possible. ¡°What are you doing in the hotel?¡± ¡°What do you think? Qingyan.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m here.¡± ¡°Take good care of our child.¡± She then hung up immediately. An Xiaoningy against the couch and closed her eyes while murmuring a spell. Two minutester, she vomited a huge mouthful of blood and retrieved a piece of tissue paper slowly, which she then used to wipe the corners of her mouth, ears, and nose. The bleeding stopped immediately. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll have to disappoint you, Your Majesty. I can¡¯t fulfill your wishes and die here.¡± An Xiaoning then dragged the dustbin toward her and poured the water from the kettle onto the piece of tissue before continuing to wipe her face. Tuoba Gucheng finally recovered from the shock. Twenty minutester, she remained in her seat all prim and proper, although her eyes were bloodshot. ¡°You...¡± ¡°Your Majesty, I¡¯ve already given you the chance to kill me and I¡¯ve already drunk the poisoned tea. You¡¯ve also agreed to stop forcing Qingyan to get married. I¡¯m going home now, my mother is still waiting for me at home.¡± She stood up and red at him coldly before continuing, ¡°Your Majesty, you may try letting me have a taste of a different kind of poison next time. I doubt such a poison can be purchased on the market. It¡¯s a blessing that I got to try it.¡± Tuoba Gucheng had never seen such a look in her eyes before. There wasn¡¯t a single tinge of resentment or aloofness, though it was rather unsettling. He could not figure out how she managed to survive despite having ingested the lethal poison. He did not have the intention to kill her again, for he had been filled with immense regret at the sight of An Xiaoning bleeding all over. ¡°Xiaoning...¡± ¡°Your Majesty, do you have any more orders for me?¡± An Xiaoning asked coldly. ¡°Just what¡¯s so great about him? Why do you love him so much?¡± ¡°What¡¯s so great about me, then? You tried to ruin me when you couldn¡¯t win my heart.¡± ¡°How did you survive despite downing the poison...¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe Heaven thinks I¡¯m too young to die. Hades refused to take me in. Seems like Hades is more benevolent than you are, Your Majesty. He was so kind and merciful toward me even when he doesn¡¯t know me. I must offer him some incense and thank him for his kindness.¡± ¡°You must detest me to the core, don¡¯t you?¡± Chapter 808 - A Million Times for You (170)

Chapter 808: A Million Times for You (170)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°No, it takes effort to feel resentment. I don¡¯t wish to put in any effort for you, Your Majesty. You¡¯re the mighty and powerful president, you can execute whoever you¡¯d like. My life ispletely worthless. Your Majesty, please warn me before you decide to kill me again. Let me make the necessary preparations for my funeral. After all, I¡¯m no deity and I can¡¯t rely on luck to survive. It¡¯s tough being human. My life is worse than the average citizen¡¯s. I really don¡¯t know if I should feel blessed or doomed to be loved by you,¡± An Xiaoning said straightforwardly, with no qualms about offending him. ¡°I can promise not to kill you again. Just because you didn¡¯t die from the poison, it doesn¡¯t mean that you won¡¯t die via other ways. However, you must promise me one condition.¡± ¡°Please speak, Your Majesty.¡± An Xiaoning initially thought that he would want her to promise not to marry Jin Qingyan again. However, things did not turn out the way she had expected. ¡°All countries across the globe are actively searching for a treasure map. Have you heard about it?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard a little about it.¡± ¡°Find it and give it to me. If you can find it, I¡¯ll stay out of your rtionship with Jin Qingyan and I won¡¯t threaten him again. You may marry him again or do whatever you please. But if you can¡¯t find it, you¡¯re not to see him again. How does that sound? But of course, you can make your choice now. You either find me that treasure map or never see Jin Qingyan again. Take your pick,¡± he said with raised brows. ¡°Your Majesty, you really like giving others an ultimatum, don¡¯t you? I, An Xiaoning, utterly detest being threatened and forced to choose an option. I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ll honor your word and really let me off if I manage to find the treasure map,¡± An Xiaoning said with a smirk. ¡°Of course I will. I¡¯m a man of my word, I¡¯ll keep my promise.¡± She whipped her phone out and turned on the voice recording function. ¡°Please repeat yourself again, Your Majesty, so that I can have some evidence.¡± He repeated his words while An Xiaoning saved the recording and asked with a nod, ¡°Is there a time limit?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you a year¡¯s time.¡± She nodded and said, ¡°Got it. If I can¡¯t find the map, I¡¯ll never see Jin Qingyan again. If I do manage to find it, I¡¯ll have the freedom to live the life I want from now on, and that includes not seeing you ever again.¡± I almost died here today. I remember him promising to spare my life once previously, but clearly, that promise wasn¡¯t kept. What¡¯s the point of granting me that, then? He¡¯ll probably settle scores with me if he finds out one day that I had lied to him about the book, won¡¯t he? By then, will that promisee in handy? After she left, Tuoba Gucheng stared at the blood-stained tissues in the wastepaper basket and instructed his subordinate, ¡°Take the blood on these tissues for ab test.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He drove back to the Lin family home. ¡°Hubby, how did it go?¡± asked Lin Shishi, who was waiting earnestly for his return. ¡°I was really hoping that Jin Qingyan could marry Cousin, but he was dead against it. I thought I probably shouldn¡¯t force him against his wishes either. How about I matchmake you with someone else, Cousin?¡± he said calmly. Lin Shishi did not have much of an opinion and asked Feng Qiubai, ¡°Cousin, what do you think?¡± ¡°I¡¯m in no hurry, I think it¡¯d be better to let nature take its course.¡± Tuoba Gucheng did not insist further since Feng Qiubai had tactfully declined his offer. ¡°In that case, let¡¯s have dinner tonight. We¡¯ll return to B City tomorrow.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± While she was alone with Tuoba Gucheng, Lin Shishi pretended to ask casually, ¡°Hubby, what did you look Jin Qingyan up for?¡± ¡°Some matters are to be discussed only between men. What are you asking so much for?¡± Lin Shishi answered, ¡°At the end of the day, Jin Qingyan is a divorced man who has a son. In fact, he was even married twice while my cousin has never been married before. Yet, he was still so against it. How strange. I reckon it¡¯s because he hasn¡¯t seen how gorgeous my cousin is. We should really arrange for them to meet each other one day.¡± ¡°Your cousin may be pretty, but can she bepared to An Xiaoning?¡± Lin Shishi was dismayed and said, ¡°Did he turn down the marriage because he still fancies Sis Xiaoning?¡± ¡°That¡¯s obviously the case. I¡¯d like to be alone for a while. Go downstairs and chat with your aunt and cousin,¡± he said in a monotonous voice. ¡°Alright.¡± He recalled filling the cup with poisoned tea and emptying it before pouring some into the cup again repeatedly back in the hotel. He was extremely hesitant at the time. Unlike what he had expected, she did not beg for his mercy and instead gulped the tea down straight away. He began to regret his decision the moment she downed it. However, there was no way he could change the situation. He was thinking to himself that it didn¡¯t matter even if she died, for her death would make him give up on herpletely. Yet, things didn¡¯t go ording to n. She did not die. At that very moment, he actually felt rather thankful that she had survived. Finding the treasure map was an impossible task by his standards. It was a highly-coveted item that many have tried to find but to no avail, even after years of searching. She¡¯s just a woman, how could she manage to find it? He¡¯d decided to give her that task because he was certain that it would be impossible for her to achieve it. One year was a short period of time. However, he would rather send her onto the quest for the treasure map rather than watch her be together with Jin Qingyan. She promised that she would never see Jin Qingyan again if she failed to find the map. They were both taking a gamble. Half an hourter, the subordinate returned with the blood test¡¯s results and said softly, ¡°Your Majesty, there are traces of a lethal poison in that blood.¡± ¡°Under what conditions will the lethal poison fail to take effect and be non-fatal?¡± ¡°Your Majesty, such conditions don¡¯t exist.¡± Could it really just be because of her body¡¯s conditions? he wondered. He then gestured for his subordinate to leave. ¡°Got it, go out.¡± ¡ª¡ª Jin Qingyan was already waiting for her when she arrived at Sanqiao Estate. She alighted from the car and almost lost her bnce, for her legs were weak and had turned to jelly. Jin Qingyan strode toward her with a sullen expression and hugged her tightly in front of everyone. Being petite and slender, An Xiaoning felt as if she was about to be suffocated by him. ¡°I can¡¯t breathe...¡± Jin Qingyan released his grip on her and asked, ¡°What... happened to your eyes?¡± ¡°Nothing, let¡¯s talk inside.¡± They headed to Shi Qingzhou¡¯s room where she exined everything to the three of them, causing Shi Qingzhou to be overwhelmed with fright and terror. ¡°You silly child, are you out of your mind? Why did you drink that tea? What if you... what is going to happen to me!?!¡± Shi Qingzhou eximed agitatedly. ¡°I only drank it because I was certain that nothing would happen. I¡¯m not that foolish.¡± She raised her wrist and continued, ¡°Look, I was wearing this bangle that had saved my life in the past. I was wondering why it was so spiritual. I reckon it would¡¯ve exerted its effects and kept me safe even if I didn¡¯t force my body to expel the poison in the tea. I decided to test my skills and see if I could expel anything I ingested while drinking the tea this morning. Turns out I really could, although I doubt I threw up everything. But I¡¯m alright now, aren¡¯t I?¡± Chapter 809 - A Million Times for You (171)

Chapter 809: A Million Times for You (171)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I¡¯ll take you to the hospital for a checkup,¡± said Jin Qingyan. Shi Qingzhou was in approval as well. ¡°Yes, Xiaoning, let¡¯s go for a full-body checkup at the hospital now. Otherwise, I can¡¯t put my mind at ease. I can¡¯t believe that Tuoba Gucheng is so ruthless, he¡¯s just like his mother!¡± Shi Qingzhou eximed. ¡°I¡¯m a little tired, let me lie down for a while. We¡¯ll goter,¡± said An Xiaoning, whoy down in the bed. ¡°You¡¯re really brazen, aren¡¯t you? The jade bangle may have saved you previously, but what if it doesn¡¯t this time? Do you want me to cry to death?¡± Shi Qingzhou chided. ¡°I doubt the bangle is the reason why you¡¯re safe and sound even until now. Did you forget? The bangle shattered into bits when you came back to life inside the coffin. That means that the jade protected you against a disaster back then. However, it didn¡¯t shatter this time, so it¡¯s very likely that the bangle wasn¡¯t what saved you, but rather, it was your newly-acquired skills.¡± Jin Qingyan continued, ¡°Those are possibilities. Why don¡¯t we just carry out a test? We¡¯ll have your blood drawn while you¡¯re wearing the bangle, then remove it when we go to the hospitalter. We¡¯ll see if the toxins are still present in your blood. When I attempted suicide back then, all the toxins of the poison had umted in my jade ring. However, there doesn¡¯t seem to be any discoloration in your jade bangle right now.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll go ahead with your suggestion.¡± After having some of her blood drawn, she removed the jade bangle and headed to the hospital for a full-body physical examination. The results were contrary to their expectations. Two vials of blood were drawn. The first vial was drawn when she was wearing the bangle while the second one was drawn 40 minutes after she removed the bangle. The results showed that there was a small concentration of toxins in the first vial of blood while there was none at all in the second. What did that mean? It meant that her body was capable of removing the poison on its own. That also meant that it had nothing to do with her jade bangle. In fact, the very fact that the jade bangle had remained intact and vibrant in color had already spoken for itself. They then returned home. Shi Qingzhou was overjoyed and eximed gleefully, ¡°That¡¯s wonderful, Xiaoning. Fortunately, you¡¯re alright. Otherwise, I probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to see you again.¡± ¡°Mother, I didn¡¯t think those skills would have such potent effects. I haven¡¯t been feeling cold ever since I acquired them. I¡¯ve developed a resistance toward poison too. It really didn¡¯t ur to me that such powers existed in this world,¡± said a fascinated An Xiaoning. ¡°No one expected that either.¡± ¡°Mother, I must impart my skills to you and make you be just like me. At least I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about you and Father whenever I¡¯m not by your side,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°It¡¯ll take more than a month for me to master it. Tuoba Gucheng only gave you a year¡¯s time to find that treasure map. I reckon he¡¯s intentionally making things difficult for you. So many people have tried and failed. How could you possibly find it?¡± Shi Qingzhou said worriedly. ¡°I¡¯ll ask Qingyan to help me gather detailed information about the map. Mother, I¡¯ll teach you slowly whenever I¡¯m free, starting from tonight. We¡¯ll see if you manage to master it.¡± Shi Qingzhou agreed with a nod, ¡°Okay.¡± The redness in An Xiaoning¡¯s began to disappear gradually. When she and Jin Qingyan finally got to be alone upstairs, they looked at each other and huddled together in an embrace without uttering a single word. ¡°It¡¯s my fault for failing to protect you,¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°What are you saying? You¡¯re not the master of the universe, you can¡¯t control everything. Qingyan, we were so in love with each other in our previous life but we didn¡¯t manage to be together in the end. I don¡¯t wish for us to suffer the same fate as before. I know you definitely don¡¯t too. I¡¯m no longer afraid whenever I think about you. It¡¯s just a treasure map, isn¡¯t it? I must find it and hand it over to Tuoba Gucheng. I must let him know that I don¡¯t want to see him ever again and tell him to scram!¡± Jin Qingyan smiled and cupped her face in his hands while staring at her affectionately. ¡°I really want to see that happen.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s heart blossomed and she said reassuringly, ¡°That day will certainlye.¡± ¡°Are you really that confident?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be able to aplish anything as long as I set my mind to it.¡± She paused for a moment before continuing, ¡°Although I¡¯ll be riddled with problems and face many tough obstacles along the way, I won¡¯t give up easily for our sake. I¡¯d like to see Yiheng.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take you to see him.¡± An Xiaoning changed into a set of clothes after taking a shower and headed to the martial arts academy together with Jin Qingyan. They stood outside the window and peeked inside to see that the children were in the midst of an arts and culture lesson. Jin Yiheng¡¯s initial sulk turned into a broad smile the moment he caught sight of them. He leaped up from his seat gleefully and scurried toward them. ¡°Mommy! I missed you so much,¡± he eximed excitedly. An Xiaoning held his hand and asked, ¡°Has training been tough?¡± Jin Yiheng nodded and said, ¡°A little, but this is a piece of cake for me. I¡¯m your big baby.¡± An Xiaoning gave a nod of satisfaction and squatted down to say to him, ¡°Son, be good and train hard here. I may not be able toe here to see you all the time, but you must remember, you¡¯re forever my precious baby. Got it?¡± Jin Yiheng gave her a peck on her cheek and answered, ¡°Yes.¡± She stood up and took the gift from Jin Qingyan. ¡°Here¡¯s a present I bought for you, see if you like it.¡± Jin Yiheng opened the bag and lit up with joy. ¡°Wow! It¡¯s Superman! Mommy, how did you know I wanted this? I asked Daddy to buy it for me twice but he turned me down both times. You¡¯re the best, Mommy! I¡¯m indeed your baby.¡± He then leaned against An Xiaoning and gave her a few more pecks on her face excitedly. Jin Qingyan could not take it lying down and said in disdain, ¡°Did you brush your teeth before kissing your Mommy?¡± Jin Yiheng raised his chin and said proudly, ¡°No.¡± Jin Qingyan shot him a look of disdain and said, ¡°What did I tell you? You must brush your teeth after every meal.¡± ¡°Daddy, Teacher said that twice a day is enough. Your gums are going to be swollen if you brush too many times.¡± ¡°Are you going to listen to me or to your teacher?¡± ¡°Teacher, of course.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Alright, Son, go back to your ssroom. I¡¯lle and visit you again next time. Call me when you miss me,¡± said An Xiaoning. Jin Yiheng nodded and walked back to the ssroom with his gift, turning around to look at them several times along the way. After exiting the martial arts academy, An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan headed to a restaurant where all the dining tables were separated by a partition screen. One could hear the conversations of other patrons sitting at the table beside theirs. When they were waiting for the dishes to be served, they heard sounds of women chatting andughing boisterously. The topic of wealthy families came up during their conversation. They soon shifted the topic to An Xiaoning. ¡°Hey, hey, did you guys hear about it? An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan have gotten back together again after divorcing each other twice.¡± Chapter 810 - A Million Times for You (172)

Chapter 810: A Million Times for You (172)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Exactly. I heard about it too. I also heard that An Xiaoning is an expert at seducing men. She has so many suitors. Ah, what¡¯s wrong with outstanding men nowadays? There are plenty of decent women like us, yet they choose to fancy someone like her.¡± ¡°Yeah, my friend¡¯s cousin¡¯s mother-inw said that she once saw An Xiaoning. She said that An Xiaoning is petite and really slender, but her figure is rather splendid. She¡¯s curvy in all the right ces. I reckon she must be great in bed. She got to where she is by sleeping with men.¡± ¡°Nah, didn¡¯t you read the news? An Xiaoning shares the same father as our president.¡± ¡°Who knows if that¡¯s real? Maybe he¡¯s only her Godfather. Lots of women enjoy acknowledging godfathers nowadays. Hubby, do you think An Xiaoning is attractive?¡± one of the women asked loudly. A man answered sluggishly, ¡°She¡¯s garbage, how is she attractive at all? She¡¯s just an indecent whore who¡¯s slept with countless men. I wouldn¡¯t want her even if she paid me.¡± The gossipmongers then burst intoughter. An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan were visibly upset upon hearing their snide remarks. Noticing that he was about to confront them, An Xiaoning stopped him and said, ¡°Let¡¯s eat first.¡± They began eating once the waiter served the dishes, feeling rather affected by thosements. Anger was simmering within An Xiaoning, who would never let off the people who badmouth her. She would definitely stand up to those gossipmongers for insulting her. The two of them continued eating peacefully in an unhurried manner, taking their time to chew and savor the food. The bunch of people sitting at the table beside theirs did not seem to be leaving soon even after An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan were done eating. The two of them remained seated to sip on some tea after getting the tab. They gazed at each other calmly. At this moment, a woman sitting at the table beside theirs shrieked and bellowed, ¡°Are you trying to scald me to death!?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry. I just lost my bnce because this gentleman¡¯s chair hit me all of a sudden. I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°You¡¯re sorry? Call your manager here. Immediately!¡± the woman hollered. Seemingly on the verge of tears, the waitress apologized and pleaded, ¡°I¡¯m really sorry, I didn¡¯t do it on purpose. Please be magnanimous and show me mercy, please?¡± ¡°Seems like you didn¡¯t hear what I said. Hurry and get your manager here!¡± the woman ordered haughtily. As soon as she finished speaking, she stood up and gave the waitress a tight p. Upon hearing themotion, the manager approached and apologized to the woman after berating the waitress. The woman only gave in after the manager promised to serve them two dishes for free. When Jin Qingyan stood up, An Xiaoning held him down and said, ¡°Let me do it. I was in a bad mood today and they just made it worse for me. They¡¯d better not me me for being nasty, then.¡± Jin Qingyan smirked and said, ¡°It¡¯s your time to be happy today. I¡¯ll settle the rest.¡± An Xiaoning craned her neck out of the partition screen to see that the waitress was being reprimanded. She stepped forward and red at the manager of the restaurant. ¡°Do you think you¡¯re acting appropriately?¡± An Xiaoning questioned. ¡°She ought to be rebuked formitting a mistake.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve already asked her to exin everything that happened and yet you still dare to criticize her? Did you decide to take it out on your employee and show your prowess because you didn¡¯t dare to vent your anger on the unreasonable customers?¡± An Xiaoning asked with her chin raised. ¡°Who do you think you are? Are you in any ce to interfere?¡± the manager snapped. ¡°Manager, she¡¯s An Xiaoning,¡± said the waitress, who had recognized An Xiaoning. ¡°I don¡¯t care who she is.¡± ¡°Call your boss here. I want to have a good chat with him,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°He¡¯s not in,¡± said the manager. ¡°Call him,¡± An Xiaoning insisted. ¡°You¡¯re just a customer, can you stop poking your nose into others¡¯ business? I¡¯m disciplining my employee, it has nothing to do with you at all. Just leave since you¡¯ve already had your meal and settled the bill,¡± said the manager. ¡°I just enjoy poking my nose into others¡¯ business. This girl here was wrongly used in the first ce, yet you¡¯re still berating her. If you¡¯re so gutsy, why don¡¯t you argue with those people sitting at the table instead?¡± Not wanting to argue with her any further, the manager said politely, ¡°Miss, I won¡¯t scold her anymore. Will that do? Can you leave now?¡± An Xiaoning rolled her eyes and said, ¡°You¡¯re chasing me out after I¡¯ve finished my meal? What logic is that?¡± The manager had no choice but to say, ¡°Suit yourself, then.¡± The manager then yelled at the waitress in a hostile manner, ¡°What are you waiting for? Hurry and serve the dishes.¡± Noticing that An Xiaoning was about to walk to the table where the gossipmongers were seated, the manager hurriedly stopped her and questioned, ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to have a look and see who those people are.¡± ¡°Listen up, you¡¯d better not stir any trouble. Those customers in there are people of status. Be careful not tond yourself in hot soup,¡± the manager warned. ¡°People of status? I shall see who they are, then.¡± Just as the manager was about to stop her again, he suddenly caught sight of the owner of the restaurant. He immediately turned around to wee him. An Xiaoning strode toward one of the partitioned rooms. The patrons, who were in the midst of their meal, got a great shock the moment they saw the uninvited guest, An Xiaoning, The women immediately recognized her. ¡°Is that you, Ms. An?¡± An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t address me that way. You may just call me by my name. After all, I¡¯ve just had a meal here,¡± said An Xiaoning, pointing at the door beside theirs. She continued, ¡°I¡¯ve already heard everything you said.¡± They looked at each other in shock and dismay as an awkward silence filled the air. ¡°Hey, why aren¡¯t you speaking?¡± said An Xiaoning, who stepped forward and mmed her hand down against the dining table, causing it to shatter into pieces along with the dishes, which was to the horror of the patrons. Amongst the group was a middle-aged man who was paralyzed with fear and terror. ¡°Well, Ms. An, we didn¡¯t mean to say those things, we were just making casual remarks. Don¡¯t take it to heart. We¡¯ll apologize to you,¡± said one of the women. ¡°You didn¡¯t do it on purpose? I knew you were making thosements intentionally. Shall I make casual remarks about you too?¡± An Xiaoning scoffed, ncing at them. ¡°Ms. An, you may criticize us in any way you¡¯d like. We won¡¯t retort.¡± ¡°That¡¯s surprising. You were so arrogant when you were badmouthing others and hitting the waitress. Why are you acting like a bunch of cowards now? I truly despise you guys, you have no backbone at all. How disappointing. The manager said that you¡¯re people of status. I can¡¯t tell at all, though. What are your names?¡± An Xiaoning scorned, scanning them from head to toe. They stood rooted to the ground and held their breaths while staring at each other, not daring to speak a word at all. ¡°Why? Have you turned mute? Say something.¡± ¡°We¡¯re really sorry, Ms. An. We wouldn¡¯t dare to badmouth you again. Will you let us off? We¡¯llpensate you,¡± said one of the older women, who had an apologetic expression on her face. Chapter 811 - A Million Times for You (173)

Chapter 811: A Million Times for You (173)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The gossipmongers were behaving in a drastically different way from their haughty and arrogant selves when they were making frivolous and malicious remarks about An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning sneered, ¡°Apensation? Do you seriously think I¡¯m in need of money? You don¡¯t have topensate me with money. Just p yourselves on the mouth a hundred times each.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, they immediately began pping their own mouths, except a few who were remaining still. She gave them the side eye and said, ¡°Are you asking to be dealt with?¡± Hence, loud sounds of mouths being pped could be hearding from the room. Their faces became swollen after they pped themselves a hundred times. An Xiaoning said sarcastically, ¡°You must be cursing me in your hearts, aren¡¯t you?¡± They shook their heads profusely and said, ¡°No, we wouldn¡¯t dare.¡± ¡°Just keep yourments to yourself. You didn¡¯t have to say it out loud. Look how swollen your faces are. This man over here, look how fat and hideous you are. Who gave you the cheek to be so thick-skinned and criticize others? You don¡¯t look at yourself in the mirror much, do you? I believe you¡¯ll stop letting your tongues wag mindlessly after tonight¡¯s events. Am I right?¡± said An Xiaoning. They nodded in silence, seemingly having lost their ability to speak. ¡°Don¡¯t me me for being hostile if I find out that tonight¡¯s events were leaked to the media. It¡¯s a piece of cake for me to find out who you are,¡± she warned. She then turned around and left smiling. They immediately heaved a huge sigh of relief, paralyzed in fear. The owner and the manager of the restaurant walked An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan out politely while bowing down incessantly. After watching their car leave, the owner turned around and berated the manager, ¡°You ignorant idiot. Don¡¯t you have any idea who she is? Surf the inte whenever you¡¯re free. What a dimwit.¡± ¡°How would I know that they¡¯d dine here at our restaurant?¡± ¡°I reckon they won¡¯te back again.¡± ¡°...¡± The windows were rolled down in the car. An Xiaoning leaned against the window and looked out at the passing cars. The sky had already turned dark, and the streetmps were lit up as usual. Jin Qingyan looked at her and asked, ¡°Have you not vented all your anger?¡± ¡°Nah, I got my revenge. One is bound to be criticized by others. There are all kinds of fish in the sea. Besides, I live for the sake of my own happiness, not to please those idiots. However, there¡¯s a saying about gossip being a fearful thing. During ancient times, one would get punished and executed for spreading rumors and spouting nonsense. Although I know it¡¯s just human nature, I can¡¯t help but feel upset, nheless. I don¡¯t know these people at all, yet they¡¯re so vicious as to make such nasty remarks about me. Well, I was just giving them a taste of their own medicine. Tit for tat. It¡¯s different for that waitress, though. She was pped and berated, yet there was nothing she could do. She doesn¡¯t have the power or ability to retaliate,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°I really feel like cutting their tongues off. We¡¯ll see if they can still gossip when that happens.¡± ¡°Well, they¡¯re just paper tigers who act all big and mighty. In reality, they¡¯re just a bunch of cowards who dare not speak up for themselves when things get serious. You¡¯re showing yourself respect by respecting others. It only reflects badly on yourself when you¡¯re criticizing and degrading others while feeling self-righteous. An uncultured and ill-mannered person won¡¯t go far in life. Am I right?¡± An Xiaoning asked, straightening her back. ¡°You¡¯re always right.¡± An Xiaoning gave him an unexpected kiss, after which he mmed on the brakes and the car came to a halt with a screech. Before she could even react, An Xiaoning felt a hand pressing against the back of her head. After a deep, passionate kiss, An Xiaoning gargled some water and said in disdain, ¡°We just ate a while ago, are you trying to kill me with your stinky breath?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you rinse your mouth first, then? You had onions just now.¡± ¡°You did, too.¡± ¡°Ah, right, I forgot.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°What are you waiting for? Send me home.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid of Tuoba Gucheng finding out?¡± ¡°I had the guts to tell him that I love you. What¡¯s there to be afraid of? Drive,¡± she said fearlessly. Jin Qingyan continued driving again. Along the journey, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Give me detailed information about the treasure map as soon as possible.¡± ¡°Do you n to go on the quest for it alone?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m bringing four bodyguards with me.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think you should bring so many people along. You¡¯ll definitely attract unwanted attention by bringing four men with you, especially since you¡¯re a woman,¡± Jin Qingyan cautioned. ¡°You¡¯re right. How about two?¡± ¡°Who are they going to pose as?¡± ¡°My husband and my brother.¡± Jin Qingyan was momentarily speechless. ¡°Apart from your husband, are there any other roles he can pose as?¡± Jin Qingyan asked. Having sensed his jealousy, An Xiaoning asked while smiling, ¡°Are you getting jealous just because I¡¯m getting my bodyguard to pose as my husband?¡± ¡°Do I seem like such a petty person?¡± ¡°Are you not?¡± After a moment of silence, he answered, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re thinking of bringing the bodyguards you bought?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Jin Qingyan objected, ¡°They won¡¯t make the cut. I¡¯ll send two other ones to you.¡± ¡°What kind of bodyguards are you looking at?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let you have Shixin and Xiao Bai.¡± An Xiaoning was surprised to hear that he was willing to give Fan Shixin to her. She knew just how important Fan Shixin was to Jin Qingyan. Fan Shixin was his able assistant and his right-hand man. Yet, he was willing to share him with her. That would make things much more inconvenient for him. ¡°Chief Fan has been following you around for so many years. Who¡¯s going to help you if you let him follow me?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got plenty of manpower in my hands. I really want to go with you, but I can¡¯t leave thepany to fend for itself. I¡¯ll feel much more at ease with Shixin following you around. Besides, I won¡¯t feel jealous at all if he¡¯s the one posing as your husband. I wouldn¡¯t have to worry either.¡± ¡°Oh, at the end of the day, that¡¯s your main reason for letting me have Chief Fan,¡± said An Xiaoning, seemingly implying something. ¡°You probably haven¡¯t seen how skilled Shixin is in martial arts. Don¡¯t underestimate him just because he seems to be nothing more than a butler. I¡¯m transferring Shixin to you mainly because he¡¯s the one I can trust the most. I understand him very well. He has a very strong ability to react to unexpected situations quickly. Additionally, he¡¯s just as proficient as I am inbat defense. Your people are nowhereparable to him. Besides, he¡¯s smart, quick-witted, and well versed in foreignnguages. As for Xiao Bai, just take him as your assistant. This arrangement should make things much easier when you¡¯re searching for the treasure map.¡± They turned and entered Sanqiao Estate. After alighting from the car, An Xiaoning held his hand and looked him in the eye while saying, ¡°We¡¯ll go ording to your ns. Get Chief Fan to prepare the information. I¡¯ll then get ready to set off.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡ª¡ª During the night, An Xiaoning tried to impart her skills to Shi Qingzhou. However, thetter could not seem to acquire them regardless of how much she adhered to An Xiaoning¡¯s instructions. Shi Qingzhou finally gave up after trying several times. ¡°Seems like I¡¯m not suited to learn this. Let¡¯s just not force it,¡± she said. An Xiaoning tried to teach her a few more times but to no avail. ¡°Mother, both Grandma and I could do it, so why can¡¯t you? You¡¯re naturally gifted and extraordinary too. It doesn¡¯t make sense at all.¡± Chapter 812 - A Million Times for You (174)

Chapter 812: A Million Times for You (174)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shaking her head, Shi Qingzhou said, ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe my body has be unsuitable. I was imprisoned in the underground dungeon for so many years and I haven¡¯t been out in the sun at all. It¡¯s a miracle that I¡¯m still alive.¡± ¡°Seems like not everyone can acquire these skills. I guess health is still a factor, despite being extraordinary. If only you could master them, I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about you then.¡± ¡°Xiaoning, go ahead and do what you have to. Don¡¯t worry about me. We live so close to Wei Ni Estate. No one will dare to find trouble with me. Besides, there are so many bodyguards at home. Rest assured and go ahead.¡± Shi Qingzhou hugged her shoulders gently and said, ¡°I just hope that you¡¯ll be safe.¡± An Xiaoning turned to the side and hugged her. ¡°Mother, regardless of how tough it may be, I¡¯ll definitely find that treasure map.¡± In reality, An Xiaoning was filled with doubt and uncertainty. However, she ought to empower and reassure her mother, who was worried sick about her. ¡°Tuoba Rui called your father today and asked to speak to me. I didn¡¯t answer because there¡¯s nothing to talk about between him and me.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not answer his calls if there¡¯s nothing much to talk about. Mother, let¡¯s sleep together tonight,¡± said An Xiaoning, holding her hand. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll let your father know.¡± Shi Qingzhou then stood up. ¡°Alright.¡± For the rest of the night, the duo had a heart-to-heart talk with each other and exchanged many heartwarming words. Shi Qingzhou learned about many things from An Xiaoning that she didn¡¯t know about previously. Likewise, Shi Qingzhou also told An Xiaoning about several secrets of hers. Daybreak arrived. Fan Shixin headed to An Xiaoning¡¯s mansion together with Xiao Bai. An Xiaoning stood by the door and watched as they entered. Fan Shixin was holding a stack of paper in his hands while Xiao Bai was carrying arge haversack and dragging a piece of luggage. They were walking toward her slowly. ¡°Young Madam, these are all the information. Young Sir suggests that we set off today,¡± said Fan Shixin, handing her the stack of paper. An Xiaoning took it from him but did not read it immediately. ¡°What did you guys bring?¡± she asked. Panting heavily, Xiao Bai answered, ¡°Many things. They¡¯re all necessities.¡± An Xiaoning instructed Xiao Bai to put the haversack onto the ground while she squatted down to take a look. She unzipped the haversack and rummaged through its contents to find that apart from their clothes, there were also various medication and medical supplies, as well as some weapons. ¡°Young Madam, Young Sir specially instructed me to prepare this hooked rope for you. It¡¯s identical to the one you had previously. Young Sir would like you to use this new one instead.¡± She took the rope out from the luggage and discovered that it was rather lightweight and simr to the one she carried with her at all times. Well, it was her favorite weapon, after all. ¡°Do you guys have one each, too?¡± An Xiaoning asked. Xiao Bai chuckled and pointed at his waist while saying, ¡°Of course. It¡¯s such a useful weapon, I must have one myself. Chief has one too.¡± ¡°Go to the supermarket and buy some bottled water that we can bring along,¡± An Xiaoning instructed. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go,¡± said Xiao Bai, who immediately did as instructed. ¡°Young Sir said that you don¡¯t have to bring any money with you at all, Young Madam. He gave me a debit card that we can use.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t refuse since he¡¯s so sincere.¡± An Xiaoning zipped the luggage and stood up straight. ¡°I¡¯ll go prepare my own luggage now.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± After making all the necessary preparations, An Xiaoning instructed her personal subordinates to keep the house in ce and ordered the bodyguards to continue being on duty and guard outside her mother¡¯s room. She also told them to contact Jin Qingyan immediately, should there be anyplications. She then got ready to set off. Fan Shixin had already mapped out a route and nned their itinerary. They decided to set off by boat instead of taking a ne. No. 5 drove them to the harbor where arge ship was waiting for them. ¡°Does this ship belong to Qingyan?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Yes.¡± Fan Shixin allowed her to board first while he followed behind, after which Xiao Bai boardedst. Just as An Xiaoning was about to sit on the couch after entering the cabin, Fan Shixin pointed at a door and said, ¡°Young Sir¡¯s waiting for you inside.¡± ¡°Huh? He¡¯s here?¡± She hurriedly walked toward the door and pushed it open. Jin Qingyan was lying in bed with a ss of red wine in his hand, seemingly in a good mood. ¡°What are you waiting for? Come here, quick.¡± An Xiaoning closed the door and asked, ¡°Why have youe along too?¡± ¡°I kept feeling like I had left something out. I can only leave in peace after I¡¯ve done it.¡± Why did that sound... An Xiaoning stared at his longing eyes and leaped toward him,nding straight on top of his body and causing him to grunt in pain. She traced circles on his chest with her slender fingers and asked rhetorically, ¡°What did you leave out?¡± He brushed his finger against her nose and said, ¡°Come, let Brother show you some affection.¡± Before An Xiaoning knew it, Jin Qingyan had ced his hand onto her waist as his hormones began to rage. He had long gotten eager and desperate to satisfy his desires. ¡°The door isn¡¯t locked,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°They wouldn¡¯t dare toe in.¡± Thinking that it would probably be a long time before they could meet again after this, An Xiaoning instantly got into the mood and decided to pleasure him as much as she could. Her hands drifted down to his belt slowly. They subconsciously kicked their shoes off together at the same time as well. He then undressed herpletely. Noticing that he was about to go down on her, she quickly stopped him and said, ¡°Let me wash it first.¡± He did not answer and let his actions do the talking. The moment the ship began to set off, An Xiaoning snapped out of her coital mood and asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you getting off the boat?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already had my car parked at the harbor of the next stop. I¡¯ll apany you up to there.¡± Once the deed was done, An Xiaoningy on the bed, feeling sore and tensed up all over. Chapter 813 - A Million Times for You (175)

Chapter 813: A Million Times for You (175)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She punched him jokingly and quipped, ¡°If you do this to me every day, you¡¯re going to suck me dry sooner orter!¡± Jin Qingyan chuckled and teased, ¡°It¡¯d only be a matter of time before you empty me out too.¡± ¡°Who wants to do this with you every day?¡± She snuggled up in his embrace with one leg over his. Pinching his abdomen, she remarked, ¡°Have you stopped going to the gymtely? Look, your abs are all gone. I want to see your eight-pack again the next time I see you. Can you do that?¡± ¡°A piece of cake. I¡¯ve just been too busy with work recently and didn¡¯t have the time to hit the gym. I guarantee you¡¯ll be left lusting for my abs the next time we meet again,¡± he said in a rxed manner. ¡°Hah, talk is cheap. Wait until you¡¯ve actually achieved it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll never break my promises to you,¡± he said, lowering his head. After kissing her forehead gently, he let go of her and began getting dressed. When it was time for them to part, An Xiaoning hugged his waist tightly, reluctant to let him leave. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to go,¡± she said coquettishly. ¡°Seems like I did manage to satisfy you earlier.¡± Turning as red as a tomato, An Xiaoning immediately let go of him and rolled her eyes. ¡°No, you didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Fine, if you say so. I won¡¯t spare you if I see any wounds or injuries on you the next time we meet.¡± ¡°Okay, hurry along.¡± ¡°You were so reluctant to let me leave moments ago, yet you¡¯re rushing me to leave now. Women are really fickle.¡± ¡°Are you leaving or not? If you don¡¯t leave, you¡¯reing with us,¡± An Xiaoning said, chuckling. ¡°I¡¯ll go, I¡¯ll go, I¡¯ll leave right now,¡± said Jin Qingyan, smooching her on her lips passionately onest time before he left, filled with satisfaction. The ship was parked near the coast while Jin Qingyan disembarked with his subordinates. The car was already ready at the harbor. An Xiaoning stood by the window and waved at him. The boat proceeded along the designated route, and they soon drifted further and further away from the coast. Tears streamed down her face uncontrobly as Jin Qingyan¡¯s figure soon receded and faded into nothingness. She wiped her tears away and turned around to enter the room where they had just had a long battle in bed. She picked up the document of the detailed information that Fan Shixin had coted. Shey in bed and began flipping through the pages one by one. The ship continued to advance without stopping. Throughout the next few days of the journey, An Xiaoning finished perusing all the information regarding the treasure map and confirmed the next route that would be taken by the ship. She then proceeded to get some good rest. Four days after setting off from S Nation, they finally arrived in V Nation. They had arrived in the morning. It was a tropical region and, thus, the temperatures were much warmerpared to that of S Nation, where it was still wintertime. The clothes and shoes they had brought were all suitable to be worn in the summer. An Xiaoning was not afraid of the cold, but she could not tolerate warm temperatures at all. She had already changed into summer clothing while on the ship and simply left the clothes she was initially wearing on the ship. She then instructed the other subordinates to bring them back to S Nation. After all, it would be a hassle to carry them around since she could not wear them in V Nation anyway. V Nation was the first stop of their journey, which they had chosen because it was said to be where the treasure map originated, ording to the information. They decided to move on to other nations should their efforts be futile this time. If they could find any clues here, they would not proceed to other nations. An Xiaoning was dressed in a short-sleeved shirt and a pair of shorts, apanied by a pair of rubber slippers. Comfort was her main concern. They carried their luggage along and made their way to a remote town in V Nation, Ekerum Town. There were no luxurious hotels in the small town, which was full of hawkers peddling on the streets. The citizens of the nation were mostly suffering from poverty and struggling to make ends meet. There were no policemen or environmental officers at all to chase the hawkers away. In fact, cars were scarce on the streets and the environment was not exactly ideal. The three of them checked into a cleaner-looking motel. They had settled on that one after makingparisons with the other motels in the area. Although it was the cleanest one out of them all, it was still rather unsanitary and cluttered by their standards. However, they were aware that they were out on a quest, not a vacation. They requested for arge room that came with an in-room bathroom. There were two beds in the room. Needless to say, the two men would be sharing a bed while An Xiaoning had the other one to herself. When it was time to take a shower, Fan Shixin instructed Xiao Bai to guard the room while he went out to buy three sets of clothes from local apparel stores. It would be better to blend in with the citizens. After taking a shower, An Xiaoning put on the clothes that Fan Shixin had bought ¡ª a long sackcloth skirt and a short-sleeved blouse. She then exited the bathroom with her hair wrapped in the towel. She especially put on a pair of ck-colored safety tights beneath her skirt. After taking turns to wash up, the three of them proceeded to have lunch together while dressed like the locals. An Xiaoning instructed, ¡°From now onward, Shixin will pose as my husband while Xiao Bai will pose as my younger brother. We¡¯ll address each other ordingly. I¡¯ll call Shixin ¡®Hubby¡¯ while Shixin will call me ¡®Honey.¡¯ Xiao Bai, you shall call me ¡®Sis¡¯ and call Shixin ¡®Brother-inw.¡¯¡± ¡°What do you guys call me, then?¡± Xiao Bai asked. ¡°We¡¯ll still call you Xiao Bai. After all, your name is toomon. No one will suspect you anyway.¡± ¡°How are you going to answer when others ask for your names?¡± Xiao Bai asked. After pondering for a moment, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°Good question. Shixin, what do you think we should name ourselves?¡± Fan Shixin said, ¡°People here have really strange names. They don¡¯t take their father¡¯sst names either. Well, let¡¯s just say they don¡¯t havest names at all, only given names. If others ask for my name, I shall just say that I¡¯m called ¡®Xinxin¡¯ while you¡¯re called...¡± Xiao Bai interjected, ¡°Nainai 1 !¡± An Xiaoning snorted withughter and asked, ¡°Huh? Nainai?¡± Xiao Bai nodded earnestly and said, ¡°Your name shall be ¡®Nainai.¡¯ Chief Fan and I won¡¯t have to address you that way anyway. It¡¯s just for others to address you. What a great name.¡± Fan Shixin gave Xiao Bai a thumbs-up and said, ¡°Exactly, ¡®Nainai¡¯ it is!¡± ¡°We¡¯ll do just that, then, since you both agree. Xiao Bai, remember, from now on, you¡¯re to address Chief as ¡®Brother-inw,¡¯¡± said An Xiaoning. Xiao Bai chuckled and eximed gleefully, ¡°Brother-inw!¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Fan Shixin answered. The three of them burst intoughter. After lunch, Fan Shixin took out a map and pointed at a certain spot before saying, ¡°This ce is where the legendary treasure map is said toe from. That also means that many have gone there to look for the map countless times before but did not manage to find a single clue at all. Even if we don¡¯t manage to find anything, there¡¯s no harm in taking a look. After all, no one knows what the treasure map looks like at all. We just have to make guesses.¡± ¡°The information states that it¡¯s the address of an ancient family home. It dates so far back in history, and so many people have gone there before. Let¡¯s not carry any hopes and just take it that we¡¯re there for sightseeing. Without expectations, there would be no disappointment.¡± Fan Shixin instructed, ¡°Xiao Bai, stay behind to look after the luggage. We were dressed differently from them when we first arrived, so they must know that we¡¯re foreigners. Besides, the crime rate is extremely high here and robberies are rampant. We can¡¯t afford to lose our luggage. Xiao Bai, contact me immediately if anything happens.¡± ¡°Yes, Brother-inw!¡± Chapter 814 - A Million Times for You (176)

Chapter 814: A Million Times for You (176)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Fan Shixin nodded and packed some necessary items into his bag before leaving the motel together with An Xiaoning, leaving Xiao Bai behind to tend to the luggage. As soon as they stepped foot out of the door, they were greeted with the sight of arge crowd of people. There were various hawkers touting along the streets and advertising their own products. An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin walked side by side toward the bus stop. It was the only ce in the town where one could board a bus. The citizens were not affluent and could barely afford the bus fare, which cost an average of tens of dors. The prices could go up to a few hundreds, depending on the distance required to travel. Hence, the locals would usually only opt to travel by bus if they were traveling to a faraway ce. It was market day today and the crowds wererger than usual. The car was already full by the time they got inside. Thus, there were no longer any seats avable and they had no choice but to hold onto the handles while standing. Fortunately, they arrived at their destination shortly after. After alighting from the bus, they scanned their surroundings to see that they were on a road along the mountains with trees and jungles all around. The ce felt rather eerie, and there was not a single soul in sight apart from the bus. After verifying that they hade to the correct ce, An Xiaoning pointed at the entrance and said, ¡°It should be there.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± The pair walked forward and knocked on the door. However, there was no response at all. ¡°Hello, is anyone in?¡± Fan Shixin asked loudly. There was still no response. They looked at each other in dismay. Instead of climbing over the wall, they decided to wait quietly for another few minutes. They were given a huge fright when the door opened all of a sudden, with no sounds of footsteps prior to it at all. They turned to look at the elderly man standing by the door. ¡°Hello, Uncle, my wife and I heard that this is a very popr spot and we¡¯d like toe and take a look. Could you allow us to enter?¡± Fan Shixin greeted fluently in the nativenguage of V Nation. The hunchbacked elderly man had a deadpan expression on his face, and his eyes were ssed over. He smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t make it so high-sounding. You¡¯re just here for the legendary treasure map, aren¡¯t you? Come in.¡± Before they could even respond, he returned inside the house. Fan Shixin and An Xiaoning entered slowly; shortly after, the door closed by itself. They looked at each other in bewilderment before taking another nce at the automatic door. They both found it exceptionally bizarre. An Xiaoning noticed that the elderly man was skilled in walking, such that his footsteps made no noise at all. The two of them followed him while An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Uncle, are you the butler?¡± The elderly man answered, ¡°I¡¯m only here to tend to and upkeep the house. I can provide your meals and lodging, but you¡¯ll have to pay me. It¡¯s up to you to decide how long you¡¯d like to stay here. I¡¯m a blind old man and I can¡¯t see anything. I get to have someone to chat with whenever there¡¯s a visitor.¡± ¡°Uncle, why don¡¯t you use a walking stick since you can¡¯t see?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a huge ce and I¡¯ve been here for decades. I¡¯ve gotten used to it and I can walk around even without seeing.¡± ¡°I heard that there had been lots of people who came by here. Why are you living here alone, Uncle?¡± Fan Shixin asked. ¡°It has been years since rumors about the treasure map were sparked. There were too many visitors who hade and gone. It seems this ce has be a tourist attraction. I do stand to gain from this, though. I get to earn some money even without having to step out of the house.¡± Will you even get to spend the money you¡¯ve earned? Aren¡¯t you afraid that they¡¯d give you counterfeit cash? An Xiaoning thought to herself. ¡°Uncle, how much will my wife and I have to pay to stay here?¡± Fan Shixin asked. ¡°One thousand dors each per day.¡± Prior to their visit, they were not aware that they would be allowed to stay in the house. Now that they knew, they obviously couldn¡¯t leave Xiao Bai alone in the motel. ¡°No problem. My younger brother is still in the motel alone. Could he move in with us?¡± An Xiaoning asked. The elderly man answered, ¡°It¡¯s up to you, so long as you pay the correct amount.¡± ¡°Alright then, Hubby, send Xiao Bai a text message and instruct him toe here with our luggage.¡± Fan Shixin nodded and informed Xiao Bai. They immediately paid the elderly man a total of three thousand dors for the first day of their stay. While paying, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Uncle, aren¡¯t you afraid that we would give you counterfeit cash?¡± ¡°I have a bill scanner that is audio-enabled. I¡¯m not worried about that at all.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Uncle, is it safe for you to live here alone?¡± An Xiaoning noticed that a smile had formed on his face as he answered, ¡°I¡¯m just an old man, who¡¯d think of harming me? There used to be robbers and burrs in the past when there were more visitors. However, there¡¯s only one visitor thates by every couple of months. I don¡¯t have much money anyway. Who¡¯d want to harm me?¡± An Xiaoning was rather apprehensive and did not quite believe his words. She felt iffy about his statement even before her brain could process it. He¡¯s just a blind old man. How could there be no one who¡¯d try and take over this territory? An Xiaoning thought to herself. Barbarians were rampant in V Nation and they ought not to stay too long here. She kept her questions to herself and did not probe further. The elderly man brought them to the door of a wooden house and said, ¡°I usually live here and the guests who visit usually live upstairs. Come with me, I¡¯ll assign you to a guest room.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± The wooden stairs creaked with every step they took. They followed the elderly man to the second floor where there were several rooms side by side. Holding the keys in his hand, the elderly man exined, ¡°There used to be lots of visitors, and there weren¡¯t enough rooms. There¡¯s no one here at all now. I initially thought that the treasure map had been found. But it seems like it hasn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Does that map really exist?¡± ¡°It does. It belongs to the master of this ancient mansion. I know this based on hearsay too.¡± ¡°Uncle, are you a rtive of the owner of this mansion?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°No, their rtives had all died long ago. I only came here to seek refuge and to have a roof over my head. At the same time, I¡¯ll look after the visitors whoe here. I don¡¯t have a wife or any children. It¡¯s a blessing from Heaven to be able to live here.¡± ¡°There are so many homeless people around this town. Why didn¡¯t they dare to stay here?¡± asked a puzzled An Xiaoning. ¡°It only takes one person to look after the mansion. Too many would be redundant.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t own this ce anyway, why did you say that it¡¯s redundant? Those people probably think the same way as you do. Do they not try to chase you out and encroach on this territory?¡± An Xiaoning retorted. The elderly man was at a loss for words after being bombarded with her questions. He said coldly, ¡°You¡¯ve got so many questions, youngdy. Just search for whatever you¡¯re after. My affairs are not important.¡± He then left as soon as he finished speaking. Fan Shixin closed the door and scanned the room. There were a table and arge bed. It was the spacious master¡¯s bedroom of the house. They sat down together, after which An Xiaoning asked softly, ¡°Do you find this elderly man to be a little strange? The more he answers my questions, the more absurd and confusing his words get.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. I don¡¯t think he¡¯s to be taken lightly. Besides...¡± Fan Shixin whispered into her ear, ¡°I noticed that he¡¯s been keeping his eyes fixed in front while walking ever since we entered through the door. However, he subconsciously looked down at his feet when we were going up the stairs just now.¡± Chapter 815 - A Million Times for You (177)

Chapter 815: A Million Times for You (177)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Do you suspect that he isn¡¯t blind at all?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure. He does seem to actually be blind. I¡¯ll go fetch Xiao Bai and buy some fast food. I don¡¯t think we should eat the food here.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°Alright, go ahead. Be safe on the roads.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± An Xiaoning followed after Fan Shixin left. She did not see a single surveince camera at all along the way. She would find out if there really wasn¡¯t any surveince cameras or if they were just well hidden once she takes a closer look. The mansion was not toorge and she made a conscious effort to look out for surveince cameras while walking, only to find that there really wasn¡¯t any. She did not wish to enter the main door alone. Thus, she strolled along the sidewalks outside instead. The weather was extremely warm and humid. She was walking at an exceptionally slow pace. On the surface, she appeared to be like an actual tourist taking a look around the ce. She walked one round around the mansion. By the time she finished walking, Fan Shixin and Xiao Bai had arrived with the luggage. ¡°Shall I allocate you to another room?¡± the elderly man asked. ¡°Thank you, Uncle. Sorry for the trouble.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡± Xiao Bai was assigned to the room beside theirs. The two rooms were separated by a wooden nk in between, which had no soundproofing effects at all. The three of them would make sure to keep their volumes down as low as possible whenever they talked. Xiao Bai asked, ¡°Shall we go inside the mansion to take a look while the weather is good?¡± ¡°No rush.¡± Fan Shixin looked at her and asked, ¡°Do you have another idea?¡± An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°Since we¡¯ve already made it in, there¡¯s no need to be in a hurry to explore. I¡¯m actually very curious about this blind old man. I have a hunch that there¡¯s more to him than meets the eye.¡± ¡°Shall we split up, then? Xiao Bai and I shall go visit the inner dwellings of the mansion while you go inside the old man¡¯s house if you get the chance to. There¡¯s no harm in taking a look, but just don¡¯t let him catch you. It¡¯ll be best if you can find out whether he¡¯s really blind or not,¡± Fan Shixin suggested. ¡°My thoughts exactly,¡± An Xiaoning agreed. ¡°Sis, Brother-inw, look at this,¡± said Xiao Bai, retrieving a small cage from inside a bag. There were two mice inside the cage. ¡°Why aren¡¯t they moving at all? Did they suffocate to death?¡± An Xiaoning asked. Xiao Bai exined, ¡°I fed them with drugs and they¡¯re still unconscious. I bought them on the streets to test if there¡¯s anything wrong with that old man. We have to check if there¡¯s anything wrong with the food he provides us.¡± ¡°Xiao Bai has a point, but... regardless of whether we manage to find out anything or not, we won¡¯t eat the things here. We can¡¯t drink a single sip of the water he gives us either. It¡¯s better to be safe than sorry. We ought to be on our guard at all times when we¡¯re out.¡± Fan Shixin said softly, ¡°That¡¯s right, Xiao Bai, let¡¯s go now while the weather is fair.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Xiao Bai agreed. The duo proceeded to the relic site while An Xiaoning took out a pair of shoes from her luggage. The soles of the shoes were made of a lightweight material while the rest of the shoes were knitted, making it light andfortable. She changed into them and exited. The moment she arrived behind the wooden house, she caught sight of the elderly man standing amidst a field of vegetables, which was a distance away. He was holding a water hose in his hand and seemed to be watering the crops. She returned inside the wooden house and stood in front of a door that was locked by arge padlock. To her amazement, there were windows in every guest room of the house except this one. The room must be pitch dark inside , she thought to herself. Since there was no way she could enter, she decided to walk toward the elderly man. ¡°Uncle, are you sure you can finish eating all these fruits and vegetables you¡¯ve grown?¡± she asked. ¡°An old man like me can¡¯t eat much. I grew them to feed guests like you. This is the mountains, there are no restaurants around here. Guests would have to eat here during their stay.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. These crops are growing so well. Uncle, since you don¡¯t leave the mountain at all, do you use feces for the soil?¡± Many farmers in farming viges often use feces as fertilizer. Hence, it was not something new or unusual. ¡°No, this piece ofnd has always been fertile and full of nutrients. There isn¡¯t a need for fertilizers.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, the sounds of someone knocking on the door could be heard. ¡°Someone¡¯s here.¡± The elderly man dropped the hose and walked toward the tap slowly to turn it off. He then proceeded to open the door. There was a small watermelon patch near An Xiaoning¡¯s feet on which grew big and round watermelons. She was really tempted to cut one open and devour it. She walked toward the side of the watermelon field and stepped onto it before plucking a watermelon leaf from the ground. There was a streak of red on the emerald-green leaf. She squinted to take a closer look, only to discover that it was blood. She immediately walked toward the other side of the patch and pushed the leaves aside to check for any other bloodstains. However, she chanced upon something peculiar instead of finding any bloodstains. The soil below the stem of the watermelon had been disturbed before. How could the soil be moved when the watermelons were growing healthily? An Xiaoning threw the watermelon leaf in her hand onto the patch and left. The elderly man returned with a woman who was obviously a local. She was extremely young and appeared to be in her early twenties. ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± the woman asked, pointing at An Xiaoning. ¡°Just another visitor like you. Miss, pleasee with me, I¡¯ll arrange a room for you,¡± the elderly man answered. ¡°Okay.¡± The woman appeared extremely distant and aloof, as evidenced by the condescending way she was staring at An Xiaoning with her chin raised. An Xiaoning did not bother greeting her since she did not know her at all and, instead, watched as the woman entered the wooden house with the elderly man. In conclusion, An Xiaoning did not manage to find anything peculiar apart from the suspicious watermelon patch. Fan Shixin and Xiao Bai spent the entire afternoon exploring and reconnoitering the inner dwellings of the mansion. Xiao Bai felt that it was extremely shabby and empty, such that even adventurous tourists would shun the ce. Clearly, there was nothing much inside. An Xiaoning exined to them about her discovery of the strange watermelon patch, after which Xiao Bai remarked, ¡°That tinge of bloodstain could be from the old man. Maybe he got injured while nting the crops. However, the part about the soil is really puzzling.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go take a look at night.¡± Knock, knock, knock! The woman said coldly, ¡°Uncle wanted me to call you guys down for dinner.¡± ¡°Xiao Bai, go bring the food up here.¡± ¡°Alright, Sis.¡± Xiao Bai strode downstairs. ¡°I¡¯m going to make a wild guess. Do you think that there¡¯s a...¡± An Xiaoning paused before continuing, ¡°Corpse buried beneath that overturned soil?¡± Fan Shixin answered solemnly, ¡°That¡¯s very likely.¡± ¡°I was just guessing, but maybe I¡¯m just reading too much into things and perhaps there¡¯s nothing at all. But we¡¯ll only find out after we have a look.¡± Chapter 816 - A Million Times for You (178)

Chapter 816: A Million Times for You (178)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xiao Bai used the tray to serve three bowls of tomato and vegetable noodles. He ced the tray on the table and used a pair of chopsticks to pick up a few strands of noodles that he threw into the small cage. The two hungry white rats could not afford to be picky with their food and started munching on it vigorously. The three had their eyes fixed on the small cage as they watched the white rats eating happily. After eating the noodles, the two ratsy there, not moving an inch. The three exchanged nces, then Xiao Bai opened the cage and used his hand to poke the white rat, but itypletely still. He whispered under his breath, ¡°Did they pass out?¡± An Xiaoning replied, ¡°Let¡¯s wait and see.¡± Xiao Bai then proceeded to close the rat cage. ¡°When you went down just now, did you see the woman eating downstairs?¡± Xiao Bai nodded seriously. ¡°Yes, she was eating with the old fellow. One look and you could tell she is a brainless thing.¡± ¡°Not necessarily.¡± An Xiaoning took out a sharp and thin pocket knife from her bag, removed her socks, and stood on the bed. She then took the knife and started forcefully carving a hole on the wall partition. On the other side of the wooden partition she was carving was none other than the newdy¡¯s room. Now, her and Fan Shixin¡¯s room was in the middle, Xiao Bai¡¯s was on the other side, and the woman¡¯s was on this side. Without much effort, she managed to carve an extremely small hole. cing her eye against the wooden partition, she found that it was just enough to see the full view of the room¡¯s interior. She had originally thought that she would be able to spy on the youngdy at night, but this small hole provedpletely useless for that. She got down from the bed and told Xiao Bai, ¡°Carry one bowl of the noodles back to your room. Pour them into a stic bag and hide it under the bed. We¡¯ll all pretend to be asleep and see what exactly this old fellow is up to.¡± Xiao Bai immediately took the bowl of noodles back to his room. Fan Shixin took a bag while An Xiaoning poured two bowls of noodles into it, tied it up, and threw it under the bed. They then put on the pretense of having passed out, with Fan Shixin leaning over on the table while An Xiaoning was bending over on the bed. They then closed their eyes and acted like they were unconscious. After half an hour, a few knocks sounded on the other side of the door. The one outside the door did not hear any sound and a smile crept on this person¡¯s face. After taking out a key to open the door, the person strode in with big steps. An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin did not open their eyes and didn¡¯t even dare to leave them half-open. They took such pains to hold it in only for one reason: to find out what the person was up to. From the sound of the footsteps the person took, it evidently was not the elder. The footsteps were powerful and definitely belonged to that of a younger person. ording to their judgment, the person that entered had to be someone young. Their guess was correct as the person who was in the room at the present moment was not the elder but thedy who¡¯d moved in just today. She took out a knife and first held it against Fan Shixin¡¯s neck to test him, then held it against An Xiaoning¡¯s neck thereafter. If not for the high tolerance level of the two, they would not have been able to keep it in any longer. After all, they were notpletely sure if the woman was trying to test them or kill them. After testing them out, the woman raised her hand and brought the phone in her hand closer to her lips, muttering, ¡°Okay.¡± With that, she went out of the room. From the sound of her footsteps, she seemed to have gone to Xiao Bai¡¯s room next door. Xiao Bai was forcefully dragged out of the room by the woman. Even then, he did not reveal any sign that would give him away. The woman dragged Xiao Bai into the same room as the other two, allowing all three of them to stay in the same ce. Very soon, the elder, who had not been seen for some time, appeared with three metal chains in his hands. ¡°Grandfather, there¡¯s three of them. I¡¯m afraid they¡¯ll wake up. Why don¡¯t we kill them first before getting the blood?¡± ¡°No, we can¡¯t. After people die, their blood flows extremely slowly and it won¡¯t be fresh anyway. Hence, blood that¡¯s let out when one is still alive is the best.¡± The elder¡¯s voice became rather desperate as he passed her the metal chains. ¡°Quickly, chain them up.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± When the metal chain was about to be tied around Fan Shixin¡¯s leg, he released a strong kick and the woman was immediately thrown to the ground. The next moment, a knife was ced at the woman¡¯s neck. An Xiaoning and Xiao Bai also stood up a second after. Looking at the situation, the elder who had pretended to be blind widened his eyes slightly, with not a single sign of panic revealed on his face. ¡°Old fellow, you¡¯ve miscalcted.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s face turned cold and she whipped out her gun, aiming it directly at the elder¡¯s head without any hesitation. When the bullet came out, there was not a single sound emitted by the silent pistol. With ordinary people, when a bullet goes through their head, they would at least copse if they didn¡¯t die on the spot. But the situation before them was different. Even when the bullet went through the elder¡¯s head, he stood there motionless. Despite blood dripping down profusely, there was no sign of him copsing. ¡°Youngdy, being impulsive isn¡¯t a good thing.¡± The elder¡¯s voice had changed from what they had previously heard. Before, the voice they had hearding from him was that of an old and feeble man. But now, it was bright and sharp. Hearing it made one feel unusually ufortable. ¡°Who on earth are you two?!¡± ¡°Who we are isn¡¯t important. What¡¯s important is that the three of you shouldn¡¯t think about leaving this ce alive today.¡± He darted a cold re and stretched his wrist behind his shoulder, drawing out a long knife from his back and waving it toward them. Fan Shixin exerted strength with the knife in his hand, and the youngdy let out a terrifying scream. Thereafter, blood started spurting out from her neck and sttering all over the floor. The elder¡¯s eyes reddened. The huge knife he wielded was actually headed towards An Xiaoning, but seeing the state his granddaughter was in, he immediately changed his target to Fan Shixin. As his movement was extremely quick, Fan Shixin was about to dodge, but the knife was already about tond on him. An Xiaoning threw a kick toward the elder, which used only about three-quarters of her strength. The elder was like a kite with a broken string and was thrown back by the powerful force at a rapid speed, breaking multiple wooden partitions in the way. ¡°Xiao Bai, drag that woman down!¡± After her wordsnded, the two went down the stairs at lightning speed. By the time the two of them had left the wooden house, the elder was lying down on the ground, motionless. ¡°A gunshot can¡¯t even kill him. I¡¯m afraid his heart has only been numbed temporarily.¡± An Xiaoning took out a dagger and decisively slit the elder¡¯s throat. ¡°There¡¯s no gas here, let me get some dry wood and burn this ce.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± During the afternoon when she and Xiao Bai were on the way to check the inner dwellings of the mansion, they had seen a stack of dry wood. These dry wood were now moved over and thrown into the wooden house. Xiao Bai dragged the woman to the first floor and hurriedly went back upstairs to get their luggage. Before they lit up the dry wood, An Xiaoning made Fan Shixin check the watermelon field. She and Xiao Bai then used the key to unlock the elder¡¯s room. When they shone a torch into the room, even An Xiaoning took two steps back in shock. Human skulls were hung everywhere in the room. There were rows of them hanging from a wooden nk. Taking a closer look was enough to make one shudder in terror. Xiao Bai¡¯s whole face had turned pale as he grabbed onto An Xiaoning¡¯s arm. ¡°Sis, who on earth is this elder?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know, where¡¯s the light switch?¡± ¡°Here.¡± With his trembling hand, Xiao Bai reached out to a human skull and flicked the switch on it. The room was instantly illuminated. Chapter 817 - A Million Times for You (179)

Chapter 817: A Million Times for You (179)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning did not know exactly how many human skulls were hung on the wall. But, from her estimate, there were at least enough to belong to five hundred people. She and Xiao Bai entered the room and searched every corner of it. Atst, they found a thick paper notebook. Even though she had only seen the first page of the notebook, she knew something important must have been recorded inside. Just as they left the room, as An Xiaoning had expected, the old fellow was struggling arduously on the ground and was reaching out his hand to pull out the knife on his throat. An Xiaoning took out yet another dagger and directly plunged it into his heart. In an instant, the old fellow stopped moving again. ¡°Sis, he¡¯s probably dead, right?¡± ¡°Not sure. He could be dead or still alive.¡± She then pulled out the two daggers from the old fellow, wiped them, and then put them away properly. Thereafter, An Xiaoning took out two talismans from her pocket and pasted one each on the elder and the youngdy¡¯s heads. Puzzled, Xiao Bai asked, ¡°Sis, what does this do?¡± ¡°It prevents their souls from lingering after death. After dying, some sessfully avoid the grim reaper and continue to harm the human realm. With this talisman, there won¡¯t be any possibility of that happening.¡± When Fan Shixin returned to meet them, the wooden house was already engulfed in mes. The grandfather and granddaughter pair was buried amongst these raging mes. The sky was pitch dark and the mes were leaping to the sky. It was bound to attract people. The three took their luggage and speedily left the ce. They had nowhere else to go, so they went to a nearby mountain and watched the mes from a distance away with a pair of binocrs. When the huge mes were on the verge of burning out, a group of people rushed to the scene. ¡°Can you see clearly who those people are?¡± An Xiaoning shook her head. ¡°I can¡¯t, but there¡¯s quite a lot of them.¡± ¡°Will theye and find us?¡± Xiao Bai could not help but get worried. ¡°Don¡¯t know, let¡¯s wait and see.¡± She narrowed her eyes and continued to investigate. ¡°Shixin, was there anything unusual about that watermelon field?¡± ¡°You were right. Underneath the field, there are bodies buried, and they are all headless.¡± ¡°No wonder the vegetables and fruits in that field could grow so well without any fertilizer ¡ª the dead bodies were the fertilizer. Xiao Bai and I went to check the old fellow¡¯s room. There were at least five hundred human skulls hung inside. We also found a notebook.¡± Xiao Bai took out the notebook. ¡°Look, this is the one.¡± Fan Shixin flipped through it and remarked, ¡°There are so many names in this notebook. Don¡¯t tell me they¡¯re all the people the old fellow had killed?¡± ¡°Not necessarily. When we entered, he didn¡¯t ask for our names. Moreover, does he have to record the names of the people who have died to keep a record of his victory? I don¡¯t think so.¡± ¡°Then... could these people be those that rushed in just now?¡± ¡°Maybe.¡± An Xiaoning did not stop observing the ce from a distance. ¡°They don¡¯t have any intention of leaving the main gate.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great. We can stay here for the night.¡± Fan Shixin scratched his elbow and muttered, ¡°It¡¯s just that there¡¯re too many mosquitoes here. They¡¯re biting me all over.¡± ¡°Speaking of that, is that old fellow a vampire?¡± Xiao Bai thought of the movies and television dramas he had watched, and he further saw the simrities. ¡°Other than the fact that he doesn¡¯t have any fangs, every other thing seems to point to it.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not,¡± An Xiaoning expressed in a confident tone. ¡°It can be easily seen from the fact that he doesn¡¯t suck human blood directly. Moreover, vampires can rarely be exposed to sunlight. Sunlight is the vampires¡¯ natural enemy, and the old fellow wouldn¡¯t have been able to withstand it no matter how powerful he was. As to who exactly he was, it¡¯s still not clear yet.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Fan Shixin chimed in. ¡°He¡¯s definitely not a vampire.¡± ¡°Sis, are there vampires in this world?¡± Xiao Bai asked curiously. ¡°I once saw a film about vampires and even researched them online. It said that there are indeed vampires overseas.¡± ¡°I believe so, although I haven¡¯t seen one before.¡± Her tone suddenly changed as she added, ¡°There are plenty of unbelievable things in this world that can¡¯t be exined by science. Sometimes, there aren¡¯t even any exnations for them at all. Even though we haven¡¯t seen them and the news hasn¡¯t reported about cases of them, it doesn¡¯t mean that they don¡¯t exist. Just like this old fellow. Logically speaking, most people will copse, if not die, after a gunshot to their head and a dagger to their throat. But look at how it was for him. Xiao Bai, you saw it too. After a short time, he could actually wake up again. We never knew such people existed. No wonder he could kill so many people.¡± ¡°Sis...¡± Xiao Bai recalled the scene on the upper floor of the wooden house and couldn¡¯t help but still shudder at the thought as he asked, ¡°How did you kick him so far away? It was simply incredible.¡± Fan Shixin passed him the fast food. ¡°Why are you asking so many questions for? Don¡¯t ask so much about Master¡¯s affairs. Eat your food.¡± Although he was curious as well, if it was something that even his Young Sir did not mention, it was something not for others to know. As an underling, one had to be sensible. Xiao Bai hurriedly took the food and started eating quietly. After he¡¯d had his fill, he took An Xiaoning¡¯s binocrs and started his turn to observe the house. Tonight, the three were to stay a night on this mountain. As they had two luggage and a bag, they had a hard time carrying these belongings. After An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin had discussed, they decided they were to each keep only a set of clothes andy the rest on the floor. They were not to bring any shoes either and would throw them away. That way, they could at least reduce the weight of one whole luggage. They would then be left with only one luggage and a bag. ¡ª ¡°ording to what we had agreed on, I¡¯ve already returned to the Gu family. So, why haven¡¯t you returned to the Lin family to restore rtions with your parents?¡± Gu Dongcheng¡¯s tone was full of dissatisfaction. ¡°Are you insincere about working with me?¡± Lin Mingyuan replied unhurriedly, ¡°I¡¯m returning home today. When I broke ties with my parents back then, I said a lot of harsh things. So, during this time, I¡¯ve been thinking of how to go back.¡± ¡°No matter what you said, your parents won¡¯t bear a grudge against you. Back then, my stepmother chased me and Youran out, but I was still thick-skinned enough to apologize to my father. Eventually, my father didn¡¯t say anything much either. Parents and their children don¡¯t have eversting feuds.¡± Gu Dongcheng was somewhat impatient. ¡°I hope you can hurry up and not dy it anymore. If you¡¯re insincere about it, I won¡¯t wait anymore.¡± ¡°Mr. Gu, what are you impatient about? Haven¡¯t you been unable to find a new master either? You doubt my sincerity, and I also doubt your skills. You¡¯ve been trying to find a master for three to five days already and have still achieved no progress. What¡¯s the point in hurrying me?¡± ¡°I knew you would say that. The reason I¡¯m meeting you is to tell you this good news. I¡¯ve already found a master. However, I can¡¯t introduce you yet because I still haven¡¯t seen your sincerity. I¡¯ll show you the master when you prove your sincerity.¡± Lin Mingyuan narrowed her eyes. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°I have no reason to lie to you.¡± Lin Mingyuan widened her smile. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go home today.¡± ¡°My sister-inw¡¯s pregnancy is still in its early stages. It¡¯s better to act early. I heard An Xiaoning isn¡¯t in S Nation right now. Do you get what I¡¯m saying?¡± Chapter 818 - A Million Times For You (180)

Chapter 818: A Million Times For You (180)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°No wonder Mr. Gu is so anxious. But...¡± Lin Mingyuan¡¯s smile faded. ¡°I didn¡¯t know about her pregnancy.¡± ¡°If they have a son...¡± Gu Dongcheng did not continue his sentence. Despite so, Lin Mingyuan knew exactly what he meant. ¡°If they have a son, it seems it would impact you more. After all, Gu Beicheng is now above you. If they have a son, even if he dies, everything he has will be left to the child. You won¡¯t even stand a chance. But for me, it¡¯s different. I just want Lin Mingxi alone to suffer. Isn¡¯t it so?¡± ¡°What... do you mean by this?¡± Lin Mingyuan chuckled. ¡°Nothing much. It just means that our cooperation mainly counts on your effort. Whether it¡¯s harsh enough depends on the master you find. I¡¯ll head home now.¡± She got up abruptly, turned, and left the caf¨¦. On the way back, Lin Mingyuan was pondering over how she should face her parents. Ever since she fell out with them, she had not stepped into the Lin residence even once. Her parents had not gone to find her either. It was thus evident that their falling out had truly soured the rtionship between her and her parents. Going back this time was also simply not out of her own will. After she drove her car past the front gate of the Lin residence, Lin Mingyuan got down and entered the house. Mr. Lin, Mrs. Lin, and Lin Mingxi were in the midst of chatting, and her sudden arrival put them in shock. As a career woman in the business field, dealing with all sorts of situations was Lin Mingyuan¡¯s strength. Even after having a falling out with her parents for so long, she was still able to put on a calm and innocent smile, proving her top-notch acting skills as well. ¡°Father, Mother, I¡¯m back.¡± The couple exchanged nces and Mrs. Lin remarked in a grumpy tone, ¡°What are you back for? I thought you weren¡¯t evering back?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve thought it through.¡± Lin Mingyuan went forward sincerely. ¡°The two of you are my biological parents. How can I nevere back? It was all my fault. Father, Mother, please forgive me. And Mingxi too, it was all Sis¡¯s fault. Father and Mother only have us two daughters. If we fall out, it¡¯ll only make them worried and upset.¡± Her words struck a spot in her parents¡¯ hearts, and Mrs. Lin¡¯s eyes reddened as she said to Lin Mingxi, ¡°Since your sister has already said this, you should let it go as well. You sisters living in harmony is what Father and Mother wish to see.¡± When things take a wrong turn, something strange must be going on. This was a saying that Lin Mingxi had thought of at this moment. If she had not grown up with her sister and developed a crystal-clear understanding of her character, she would have believed such nonsense from Lin Mingyuan along with her parents. Putting on an act like this? Who couldn¡¯t do that? ¡°Wow, this doesn¡¯t sound like something Sister would say. Did you get possessed by some spirit?¡± Seeing her parents¡¯ faces stiffen, Lin Mingxi grinned as she went on, ¡°To be able to see this side of my sister, I¡¯m really relieved. After all, Sister has never allowed me to have better results than you when we were young. This habit of not wanting to lose has been developed since childhood. To see you being able to change this habit is really something I¡¯ve never expected.¡± ¡°It was all Sister¡¯s fault. Mingxi, Sis will apologize to you. No matter what, we¡¯re biological sisters with blood rtions. We should help each other out so that we won¡¯t be bullied by outsiders.¡± ¡°Correct, correct. Your sister¡¯s right.¡± Mrs. Lin was absolutely overjoyed. Ever since she had fallen out with her elder daughter, it had be a huge concern in her heart. Lin Mingxi remarked with a faint smile, ¡°How could that possibly happen? I haven¡¯t really had outsiders bully me. As for this biological sister of mine, though, she¡¯s never merciful when she bullies me. I¡¯ve grown used to it already. After getting married and growing past the age of thirty, I¡¯ve already straightened out my thinking. But, Father, Mother, there¡¯s something I must make clear to you both. Currently, the only people who know the specific details of my birth are the two of you. If Father and Mother don¡¯t want your daughter to die, the two of you should probably keep this to yourselves forever. Take it as a request from your daughter.¡± Logically speaking, she and Lin Mingyuan were biological sisters and they should have been well aware of each other¡¯s birth characters. But, in reality, this wasn¡¯t the case. Since they were young, they did not have a good rtionship and never celebrated each other¡¯s birthdays. As for their specific birth details, they never bothered to ask their parents either. Toward each other¡¯s affairs, they werepletely indifferent. This had led to the present situation wherein Lin Mingyuan was unaware of her sister¡¯s specific birth details. Mrs. Lin gestured with her hands as she promised, ¡°Father and Mother know that. We won¡¯t ever reveal both your birth characters.¡± ¡°Then, Father, Mother, I¡¯ll go back first.¡± ¡°Alright. Drive safely, Mingxi.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After Lin Mingxi had left, Lin Mingyuan changed the image she¡¯d always had and started engaging in a friendly chat with her parents patiently. Their originally soured rtionship was restored through this chat. Parents were always able to forgive their children, yet in most cases, children could never learn to understand their parents. This was something revealed in conflicts in many families. ¡°Mingyuan, you¡¯re already past thirty. Look at Mingxi, she¡¯s already pregnant. When will you put aside your work and have a baby? Women recover from childbirth easier when they¡¯re younger. Given your age, it¡¯ll already be considered high-risk if you have a baby now...¡± Lin Mingyuan tried to suppress her annoyance toward Mrs. Lin¡¯s nagging and replied, ¡°Mother, must a woman have a child in her lifetime? Let¡¯s not talk about the loss of figure during pregnancy, having a baby means that I have to care of it my whole life. Life is so short, I don¡¯t want to waste it on a child.¡± ¡°Look at yourself, you¡¯re being a typical selfish person. You can have all the money in the world, but you won¡¯t have someone to call you Mother. What¡¯s the point?¡± ¡°Who says so? I can spend money to hire people to call me Mother every day. Plenty of people are willing to do so.¡± Mrs. Lin frowned. ¡°How is that the same?¡± ¡°Everyone has their own preferences. I don¡¯t like children.¡± ¡°Do as you please, then.¡± Mrs. Lin did not want to argue with her daughter who had just returned. ¡°Mother, I¡¯ll apany the two of you this afternoon. Then, we¡¯ll have a good meal for lunch. We¡¯ll have Father¡¯s favorite wine served. I¡¯ll spend time with you guys.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª At the shareholders¡¯ meeting, Jin Qingyan¡¯s proposal to acquire Ye Corporation passed through with a unanimous vote of agreement. Before the shareholders made their decision, some had expressed their bewilderment toward this proposal. They felt that a hugepany like the Ye Corporation that had been reduced to shreds had already lost its acquisition value. Jin Qingyan responded, ¡°If it has no acquisition value, why do you think I initiated this proposal? I have my own reasons, naturally. The Ye Corporation is a new target I¡¯ve set my eyes on. I want to change its brand name and, given the ability I have, I¡¯ll be able to bring this subsidiarypany back to life again under our leadership. Do you not trust my judgment?¡± ¡°Of course not, Chairman...¡± ¡°I¡¯ve said, don¡¯t call me Chairman. It just sounds like a name for an elder.¡± ¡°Yes, CEO Jin. We naturally trust your judgment. But, I¡¯m afraid Ye Xiaotian won¡¯t sell it.¡± ¡°When the prey spots the hunter carrying a gun aiming at it, it¡¯ll naturally struggle and run away. The fiercer the struggle it puts up, the stronger is the inner desperation it possesses to live. However, no matter how fiercely it tries to escape, it will still not be a match against the gun that has already been aimed at it properly. There¡¯s no need to be anxious about this issue. I believe he will sell it to us someday.¡± After the meeting had ended, Jin Qingyan ordered his men to contact Ye Corporation and discuss the issue about the acquisition. Just as they had expected, Ye Xiaotian immediately rejected the offer. He made it clear that he would never sell it and asked Jin Qingyan to stop dreaming. ¡°CEO Jin, what should we do now?¡± Chapter 819 - A Million Times for You (181)

Chapter 819: A Million Times for You (181)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Persuade the shareholders of Ye Corporation with a high price.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Even if Ye Xiaotian was unwilling to sell, he naturally had a way to make him do so. Ever since he¡¯d met with the tsunami and the Ye Corporation had started taking advantage by reaping the benefits, and since he had uncovered that Ye Xiaotian was the one who¡¯d hired people to assassinate him at rocket prices, he had been preparing to make the Ye Corporation fall into the hands of the Jin Corporation in the shortest period of time! This day, he believed, would not be a good one for Ye Xiaotian. Jin Qingyan rested against hisputer chair, his gazending on hisputer screen. On it was a picture of him with An Xiaoning. He had not contacted her for a few days in a row. It was ten in the morning and, given the time difference in V Nation, it would probably be around one in the morning over there. Perhaps due to his telepathic connection with her, he felt that she was probably still awake. When the line went through, An Xiaoning was indeed still awake. The mosquitoes were keeping them awake as they bit them all over. With their sleep continuously disturbed like that, how could they possibly sleep in peace? If she had not charged her phone at the motel, this call possibly would not have gone through. After she briefly exined the situation over there to him, Jin Qingyan¡¯s heart ached for her badly. ¡°It¡¯s great that you¡¯re fine. You must be extra cautious there. The three of you shouldn¡¯t stay in the mountains anymore. Go to the town area to find a motel to stay in. It¡¯s far better than staying in the mountains.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see when it¡¯s daybreak,¡± An Xiaoning said in an earnest tone. ¡°Don¡¯t I have a GPS application on my phone? Even if you can¡¯t get through to me because my phone has run out of battery, don¡¯t worry. Listen to me, we¡¯ll definitely be fine, so don¡¯t panic even when you can¡¯t reach me, okay?¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°These damn mosquitoes are so annoying. The weather here is so hot and humid. The weather back home is cold, right?¡± ¡°Without you by my side, I feel cold every day.¡± An Xiaoning hugged her legs and couldn¡¯t help but chuckle as she held onto her phone. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°It¡¯s true. I wish I could huddle by your side to keep warm.¡± She responded, ¡°You can still joke at this juncture? My phone¡¯s battery level is only at ten percent. I¡¯ll hang up first, okay?¡± ¡°Give me a kiss before you go.¡± ¡°No.¡± In front of Fan Shixin and Xiao Bai, she did not want to do such an intimate gesture. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll kiss you. Muah, muah, muah. Be good, I love you.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s heart was overflowing with joy as she replied gently, ¡°Me too.¡± After her call ended, Fan Shixin smirked in amusement. ¡°What are you smiling for?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think I didn¡¯t know what Young Sir said on the other end of the line just because I couldn¡¯t hear him. From your answer, I could guess it already.¡± She did not respond and proceeded to put her phone into her bag. Fan Shixin went on, ¡°Honestly, I¡¯ve been with Young Sir for a very long time already. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen him treat someone like how he treats you. Young Sir really loves you a lot.¡± ¡°How did he treat Chi Rui¡¯er, then?¡± ¡°He wasn¡¯t possessive toward Chi Rui¡¯er. I believe, if a man isn¡¯t possessive over a woman, it means that he doesn¡¯t love her. In the past, Young Sir really liked Chi Rui¡¯er. But even then, Young Sir respected her decision when she chose Gu Beicheng. From this, it was evident that Chi Rui¡¯er¡¯s position in Young Sir¡¯s heart wasn¡¯t very important. At the very least, her importance to him isn¡¯t even one-tenth of yours to him.¡± An Xiaoning had her eyes half-closed and had one hand on her head as she remarked, ¡°Qingyan is someone who¡¯s devoted.¡± ¡°From how I see it, you¡¯re the same kind of person as Young Sir.¡± Fan Shixin added, ¡°Even amongst all those outstanding men, Young Madam has never faltered and has continued to love Young Sir. You haven¡¯t let down Young Sir¡¯s feelings for you. Everything that Young Sir has done for you and that you have done for him, I¡¯ve seen it all. Ever since you returned, did Young Madam know? Young Sir¡¯s depression has been cured. I see him in high spirits every day.¡± Upon hearing him mention Jin Qingyan¡¯s depression, An Xiaoning thought of the scene at Sanqiao Estate that day wherein he had woken up from a dream and was continuously asking her not to leave him. ¡°Other than his depression symptoms and the unexinable pain on his body, does he have other psychological issues?¡± ¡°Other issues?¡± Fan Shixin shook his head. ¡°I haven¡¯t noticed at the moment. I don¡¯t think so.¡± ¡°Does he still need sleeping pills to sleep?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t seen him take them anymore.¡± ¡°Shixin, you should sleep for a while. I¡¯ll keep watch.¡± ¡°... Alright.¡± Everything was peaceful and fine throughout the night, and when morning came, An Xiaoning used the binocrs to observe the house that they had burned yesterday. She realized that the group of people had stayed over inside and that there was no sign of them leaving. After discussing amongst themselves, the three went down the mountains and searched around town before finding a small suite to rent. In that limited space, there was room only for arge bed and a tiny bathroom. The area of the room seemed like it was only around thirty-five square meters. They had wanted to rent arger room, but unfortunately, there wasn¡¯t any. This was the only room left with air-conditioning. The houses here were usually small. Xiao Bai and Fan Shixin bought cooling mats and pillows and intended to sleep on the ground while letting An Xiaoning have the bed. Just like that, the three stayed there temporarily. Eating fast food all the time was not a solution either, so Fan Shixin also bought an electric pot that could be shared by a few people, as well as a bag of rice and some fruits and vegetables, then started preparing their first meal here. When Xiao Bai returned, panting breathlessly and drenched in sweat, from buying a bottle of chili sauce, An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes brightened as she remarked, ¡°I¡¯m so sick of eating fast food these few days. We can finally have a proper meal.¡± Passing him a towel, An Xiaoning muttered, ¡°Look at you all drenched in sweat. Quick, wipe yourself. This air-conditioning is really not strong enough, but at least it¡¯s better than nothing. After we eat, Xiao Bai, go and buy some mosquito coil. We can¡¯t keep switching on the air-conditioning. It¡¯s not good to stay in an air-conditioned room for a long time.¡± ¡°Get two small tents as well. Since this is our first rest stop, we should stay here for some time before we find more information.¡± Xiao Bai responded, ¡°Alright. The things here are really cheap. This bottle of chili sauce would have cost thirty to forty dors back home, but this small bottle costs only three dors here. It¡¯s too cheap.¡± ¡°The economy here isn¡¯t well developed, that¡¯s why things are cheap.¡± Fan Shixin analyzed seriously, ¡°Moreover, the status of women here are very low and very few women work. Most women are domestic and stay home to do the household chores, nt some vegetables, and take care of the children.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, also...¡± Xiao Bai added, ¡°V Nation and R Nation are infamous for being the countries with the most rampant female suppression. Not only are there vulgar customs like genital muttion and breast ironing for women, but the women here also suffer a lot. Nearby countries have such customs as well, but given the rise in technology, people are more aware and educated. Such harmful practices have thus been eliminated, with the exception of these two countries, which still continue to practice these customs.¡± An Xiaoning only knew that these two countries had less-developed economies, but after hearing the vulgar customs they practiced, she was surprised at how these countries were such disastrous areas. ¡°I¡¯ve never really researched the customs here and only knew that they have two types of marriage systems: monogamy and polygamy. But, on the surface, those women on the streets can be seen being all smiles and seem happy to me...¡± Chapter 820 - A Million Times for You (182)

Chapter 820: A Million Times for You (182)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xiao Bai shook his head. ¡°They are used to being submissive. Habits can be dangerous things, especially when those women were harmed since young and even strike a vicious blow onto their own children.¡± An Xiaoning quivered. ¡°That¡¯s really terrifying.¡± ¡°When such customs have been deeply embedded, it¡¯s more than just terrifying already.¡± The three took turns to bathe, and Xiao Bai went out to buy the tents and mosquito coils while An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin continued to discuss further ns. After their discussion, they still decided to make a trip back to the mansion again this evening. As they had not gotten a proper night¡¯s rest yesterday, after Xiao Bai came back from buying the tents and mosquito coils, he and Fan Shixinid a bed for themselves on the ground while An Xiaoningy on the bed. The three of them then caught some sleep. When she woke up, the two of them were already awake and were chatting as theyy next to each other. She sat upright and asked, ¡°What time is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s seven.¡± Fan Shixin got up immediately. ¡°Shall we go now?¡± ¡°Alright.¡± She got down from the bed and rinsed her face in the bathroom before going out with Fan Shixin. As for Xiao Bai, he went around the area trying to interact with those living around it so as to fish for more information. The two had just left the house when they ran into the tenants living opposite them. It was a local woman along with a three- to four-year-old child. She greeted them in a friendly tone, ¡°The two of you just moved in, right?¡± Fan Shixin used his fluent knowledge of the localnguage to reply, ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll be neighbors from now on. Please take care of us.¡± ¡°No, no, don¡¯t say that! Is this your wife? She¡¯s beautiful.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± An Xiaoning reached out to shake hands with her. ¡°My name¡¯s Nainai, how do I address you?¡± ¡°My name¡¯s Fei Niao.¡± Seeing the stunned look on their faces, Fei Niaoughed. ¡°When my mother gave birth to me, she had been harvesting wheat in the fields and a bird had flown across the sky. Hence the name.¡± ¡°I see.¡± When they were walking on the streets, Fan Shixin exined that people¡¯s names were all rather strange here and that thatdy¡¯s name, Fei Niao, was already not that bad inparison. Every ce had their own conventions; it would just be a matter of time for them to get ustomed to it. The two arrived at the middle part of the mountain and did not go down to the front gate of the mansion but went a bit further. They then walked downhill through a shortcut through the woods. When they arrived outside the walls of the mansion, the sky had darkenedpletely and, apart from the lightsing from within the walls of the house, it was pitch ck outside. An Xiaoning stepped on Fan Shixin¡¯s shoulders to peep over the walls. With a pair of binocrs in hand, she looked into the house carefully and saw that there were not many people standing guard. There were only a few people scattered around and they were a distance away from the house. They probably thought that there was no need to be so serious about their guard duty. After all, there was nothing inside the mansion and they did not have to guard it so tightly. This would allow them to get inside easily. It was not difficult to avoid those who were standing guard. They drew closer to the house, which was brightly lit, and the two held their breaths as they arrived via the back of the property. This part was where the wooden house that had not been burnt by the fire stood. It was not the same wooden house as before. When the two arrived there, they heard an angry voice from inside the originally quiet house. ¡°Boss used to treat us very well. It¡¯s evident that this was done by someone. If we don¡¯t take revenge for Boss, how can we do him justice?¡± ¡°Exactly. Yesterday, Second Brother tried to stop us. Now, you¡¯re trying to stop us again?¡± ¡°Third Brother, Fourth Brother, the two of you are too rash. Since the other party can kill Big Brother, how are we their match? Moreover, we don¡¯t even know who the other party is,¡± Second Brother remarked seriously. ¡°If we take action, it will pose as a hindrance. I think we should just let this incident pass.¡± ¡°I disagree! It¡¯s exactly because we don¡¯t know who we¡¯re facing that we can¡¯t just let it go. Moreover, the other party may have some other ulterior motive.¡± ¡°How big can this ce be? Won¡¯t it be easy for us to find the murderer? I think Second Brother just can¡¯t wait to rece Big Brother¡¯s position. Right?¡± ¡°...¡± There came another round of intense argument. It was only after ten minutes that their argument stopped. It ended with Second Brother conceding, ¡°Since all of you insist, let¡¯s send some men to find the murderer, then. We¡¯ll start checking from the territory of the foreigners, we can¡¯t let any suspicious targets get away. But...¡± His tone changed all of a sudden, ¡°The other party must understand us well, right? Otherwise, howe Big Brother didn¡¯t even get the change to inform us? I just feel that this thing isn¡¯t that simple. Also, could the person have taken revenge for someone Big Brother had killed?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care if the other party was here for revenge. We¡¯ll catch him or her before we see about that. No matter how powerful that person is, can he or she hold a match to so many of us?¡± ¡°Third Brother is right. Back then, when we spread the treasure map around, don¡¯t forget why we did so, Second Brother. It was to attract a steady flow of people whoe to find the treasure so that we can enjoy their blood supply. Who would have expected that because of hearsay, fewer and fewer people areing here. I still think that Big Brother must have died because of a slip on his part. Given his skills, ordinary people are not his match at all. Better not let me catch that bastard, I¡¯ll definitely make him or her die horribly!¡± ¡°Then, I¡¯ll hand this matter over to you guys. Pass on this instruction: nobody is to leave Ekerum Town.¡± ¡°Alright, Second Brother. We¡¯ll get it done now.¡± ¡°Go on, then. I¡¯ll be leaving soon as well.¡± There came the sound of footsteps, followed by a door opening then closing and a series of other noises. An Xiaoning stretched her head out to look and saw that those who were originally standing guard had followed the Third and Fourth Brother out. Which meant that in that house, only the Second Brother and a few of his underlings were left. As the Second Brother, who originally said that he was leaving, remained there for some time, An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin did not even dare to make a breathing sound and stood there quietly. Their feet were about to go numb any time soon. After a while, a light shone in from a distance away and a group of people started striding in carrying gunnysacks. Slowly, they entered the wooden house. ¡°Second Brother, we¡¯ve captured five back. They all went through our careful selection. Their tongues have been cut off already.¡± ¡°Umm...¡± the Second Brother replied monotonously. ¡°Get people to clean them up.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin did not know what five things they were referring to, so they could only listen on. After they¡¯d been waiting for half an hour, there came the sound of rustling movements and the screeching sounds of a woman¡¯s voice. As they could only hear and not see what was inside, they were unsure of what was going on exactly. ¡°All of you get out,¡± Second Brother ordered. Then, the thudding sound of the door closing sounded. Inside the room, there was probably only the Second Brother and those five women who could not make a sound left. Was he actually going to fight those five women? An Xiaoning overturned this idea almost immediately. Because all of a sudden, a terrifying scream broke out from the room. It was only the beginning. Very soon, shrill cries of the five women were ringing in the air, and they grew increasingly piercing. From being loud, they turned into low, sluggish squeals, then into weak and helpless cries within a short time. Atst, the terrifying screams ended, and all that could be heard sounded like the slurping of water with rather loud gulps of swallowing. Chapter 821 - A Million Times for You (183)

Chapter 821: A Million Times for You (183)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Although An Xiaoning could not manage to see anything, she could roughly imagine the scenario inside. She could not help but feel nauseated. The door was opened again, and the men dragged the corpses out to be buried. ¡°You guys may have the rest, I¡¯ll wait for you outside for two minutes.¡± He then exited. The bunch of people split the remaining blood amongst themselves and began indulging ferociously in their bloody feast, as if it was the best delicacy in the world. The man then brought the bunch of people away from the ce. Fan Shixin and An Xiaoning then decided to split up. Fan Shixin followed the man while An Xiaoning continued to remain in the empty mansion. She guided herself toward the wooden house with a torchlight and pushed the door open. As soon as the door opened with a creak, her senses were attacked by the metallic odor of blood. Unable to curb her queasiness, she threw up immediately. Covering her nose with a piece of tissue paper, she fumbled for the switch and turned on the lights in the room, after which she put the torchlight away. There were bloodstains all over the ground as well as a bucket full of blood. She could no longer see any spirits around. She reckoned that they must have been brought away for reincarnation by grim reapers. An Xiaoning caught sight of a bloodstained knife on the ground, after which she stepped forward and picked it up to wipe the blood off the de with some tissue paper. She held back her urge to vomit and scrutinized the knife to see that there was a small carving made on it. The carved word was not in the nativenguage of V Nation or any other officialnguages of the world. It was a word that An Xiaoning had never seen before. She could not decipher what it meant at all. Seeing that there was nothing else left to discover, An Xiaoning quickly left the ce. She trekked down the mountain and arrived back in the small town. Drenched in sweat, An Xiaoning opened the door and asked, ¡°Is your Brother-inw not back yet?¡± Xiao Bai shook his head and closed the door. ¡°Not yet. Sis, why do you reek of blood?¡± he asked. ¡°I¡¯ll exin it to youter. Let me take a shower first,¡± said An Xiaoning, bending forward to grab some clothes from her luggage. After taking a brief shower, she whipped out the knife she took from the mansion and said to Xiao Bai, ¡°I found this knife in that wooden house that wasn¡¯t burnt. Look, there¡¯s an unknown word on it that I can¡¯t decipher.¡± She snapped a photo of the knife and sent it to Jin Qingyan in a bid to ask him to find out more about it. After the message was sent sessfully, An Xiaoning then told Xiao Bai about everything that happened in the mansion relic. ¡°We¡¯ll discuss this in detail when your Brother-inw is back. What¡¯s going on? Call him, his mobile phone is on vibration mode.¡± ¡°I was getting so anxious and worried while waiting for you guys here on my own. I didn¡¯t dare to call or text you guys because I was afraid that your phones weren¡¯t on silent mode and that the ringtone would go off,¡± Xiao Bai exined while sending a text message to Fan Shixin. ¡°Let¡¯s all set our phones to vibration mode so that we can contact one another easily during times of emergency.¡± A frown creased Xiao Bai¡¯s forehead as he said, ¡°He¡¯s not picking up.¡± ¡°Call him again,¡± An Xiaoning urged. Xiao Bai did as he was instructed. This time, the call went through. ¡°Has your Sis returned?¡± Fan Shixin asked while panting heavily, seemingly running about. They were both in shock. Before Xiao Bai could even respond, An Xiaoning snatched the phone from him and asked worriedly, ¡°I¡¯m back. Where are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m still very far away from the town. They¡¯re chasing me down and they have been for more than four kilometers. I don¡¯t have time to talk right now,¡± said Fan Shixin. ¡°Are you on the route that we took?¡± An Xiaoning asked, trying to suppress her frustration. ¡°I¡¯m on the route beside that one.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± An Xiaoning ended the call and passed the phone to Xiao Bai while putting on her shoes. She instructed him, ¡°Wait for me here, I¡¯ll go fetch him.¡± ¡°Sis, shall I go with you?¡± ¡°No. Stay here and wait. Listen to me, it¡¯ll be alright.¡± She then rushed out of the rented room. She sprinted through the crowds on the streets at godlike speed. An Xiaoning was extremely worried about Fan Shixin, for it would be tough to kill those barbarians. Regardless of how skilled Fan Shixin may be in martial arts, there was no way he could defend himself against so many of them since he would be outnumbered. She clenched her jaw and continued sprinting forward. ¡°Nothing must happen to Fan Shixin,¡± she repeatedly chanted in her head. There was no light on the mountain at all. Fortunately, it had a smooth cemented road, which made it easier for her to run. She finally stopped to catch her breath after having covered a long distance. She continued running once she¡¯d recovered her stamina. She could not afford to dy at all. After running for a while longer, she heard a faint voiceing from afar, which instantly gave her a sense of relief. She whipped her knife out and stood by the side. Fan Shixin had run almost ten kilometers. He wouldn¡¯t have been able to persist through it if not for his habit of jogging long distances every day. The crooks chasing him did not drive either and were running as well after him. Clearly, they had high endurance. Fan Shixin picked up his speed again the moment he noticed that there were headlights beaming at him from behind. Turns out they had really sent their cars to take chase. One would usually get flustered and anxious at such a juncture. However, Fan Shixin was still rather calm and clear-headed. He had no time to let his imagination run wild. The more he ran, the further away he would be from danger. He knew that his Young Madam must be on her way to save him. It was his motivation for pressing on. Just as he was about to copse, he suddenly caught sight of the petite An Xiaoning scurrying toward him. Fan Shixin¡¯s eyes lit up in joy and surprise. Before he could even say anything, An Xiaoning hurriedly held onto him. Noticing that he was about to stumble over, she helped him to the tree and pointed at the branches above them. ¡°Do you have the energy to climb up?¡± she asked. ¡°Yes,¡± said Fan Shixin, who did not wish to be her burden, although he could not help her up onto the tree. Fan Shixin whipped out the rope and cast it upwards, after which ittched onto a tree branch. Fan Shixin then climbed up with all his might under An Xiaoning¡¯s assistance. An Xiaoning looked away after seeing that he had camouged himself beneath the leaves. The bunch of people who were hot in their pursuit had already caught up to An Xiaoning and were beaming the headlights of their car at her. An Xiaoning chose not to run and lure them away, for she knew that that would lead her and Fan Shixin to death! If the roads toward the foot of the mountain were blocked, she and Fan Shixin would then be trapped and things would be moreplicated. Why didn¡¯t Fan Shixin find a ce to hide after having run so far and for so long? An Xiaoning could instantly guess that it was because he had known that there was nowhere to hide at all. Ever since they eavesdropped on the Second Brother as he was saying that whoever enters the town of Ekerum would never make it out alive again, they¡¯d known that the territory belonged to the barbarians. The consequences would have been dire if Fan Shixin had not met up with An Xiaoning. Not only will he have lost contact with her, but he¡¯ll also have been ced in a dangerous situation. Hence, he¡¯d had no other option than to sprint toward the town and had not been able to afford any dy, to the point that he did not even have time to check the call history. Chapter 822 - A Million Times for You (184)

Chapter 822: A Million Times for You (184)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The barbarians had almost caught up with him while he was answering Xiao Bai¡¯s call. While waiting for Fan Shixin, An Xiaoning had already torn up the bottom segment of her shirt. Due to the fact that she was in a hurry to rush out earlier, she didn¡¯t bring anything to mask her face and was simply dressed in a short-sleeved shirt and a pair of shorts. Hence, she had no choice but to tear off some fabric from her shirt to tie around her face, leaving her abdomen bare and exposed. The people chasing her were exhausted beyond limits. They slowed down to catch their breaths upon noticing that she had stopped running. One of the men inside the car alighted and asked in puzzlement, ¡°What¡¯s going on? Weren¡¯t we chasing a man? Why has he be a woman? Are they in cahoots?¡± An Xiaoning could recognize the familiar voice: it was from one of the men whom she had heard in the wooden house previously. ¡°Hah, you can¡¯t even differentiate between a man and a woman. Are you blind?¡± An Xiaoning sneered. A grave expression formed on their faces as soon as An Xiaoning blurted those words, especially the Third Brother, the man who alighted from the car. ¡°You ignorant dimwit.¡± He then yelled at his aplices, ¡°Hold her down and get her!¡± They had no choice but to follow the orders given, despite being utterly exhausted. An Xiaoning remained still and watched calmly as they approached. There were trees on one side of the road and a trench on the other, which was about 40 meters deep. She was nning to throw all of them down into the trench. She had no idea if it would kill them. However, all she wanted was for her and Fan Shixin to escape sessfully. Just as An Xiaoning was pushing the dog-tired bunch of people down the trench, the Third Brother could not tolerate it any longer and aimed his gun at her. ¡°Freeze!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t move,e and catch me if you can,¡± An Xiaoning said fearlessly. ¡°Both of you, bring her here,¡± the Third Brother instructed his two remaining subordinates. The two were overwhelmed with fear and terror after witnessing what An Xiaoning did to their subordinates. Yet, they could not defy the Third Brother¡¯s orders. They approached An Xiaoning and reached their trembling hands out to her, only to have her p them away. There was no suspense at all. The Third Brother was the only one left on the road, the gun in his hands. He did not n to catch her back alive anymore and instead shot her right away. Coincidentally, An Xiaoning managed to dodge the bullet in the nick of time. Just as he was about to fire the second bullet, Fan Shixin jumped down from the tree and pinned the Third Brother down onto the ground. An Xiaoning immediately ran toward him, after which the Third Brother turned over and pinned Fan Shixin beneath him. An Xiaoning quickly took the chance to stab the Third Brother in his neck. He fell toward the side instantly. She plucked the knife out and pushed him and his car down into the trench. The silence was finally restored on the road. An Xiaoning helped Fan Shixin up. He gave her a thumbs-up and praised in awe, ¡°Bravo, Young Madam!¡± ¡°We have to get out of here now. Hurry, let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± During their journey back, Fan Shixin told her that he was initially being extremely cautious when following the Second Brother and the rest and did not rm them at the start. However, his cover was blown the moment he came into contact with infrared beams, causing them to take chase after him. The fact that cars were scarce in the nation and that gang leaders were the only ones who could drive them had given Fan Shixin the chance to escape. They returned to the rented amodation in the town. As soon as they closed the door, Xiao Bai pounced onto Fan Shixin and said, ¡°I was worried sick.¡± ¡°Hey, rascal, I¡¯m dead tired right now. Get off me,¡± said Fan Shixin. Xiao Bai hurriedly straightened his back and said, ¡°Lie down, quick. I¡¯ll give you a massage.¡± Fan Shixiny down on the mat while Xiao Bai massaged his legs earnestly. At the same time, he also asked Fan Shixin about everything that had happened. Although Xiao Bai did not experience the incident himself, he could not help but feel terrorized as well. An Xiaoning chugged arge volume of water before pouring Fan Shixin a ss too. She then whipped out her mobile phone to see that she had received a reply from Jin Qingyan. He informed her about a new update regarding the words on the knife. He briefly exined, ¡°The words on the knife trante to ¡®The world will belong to me as long as this knife lies in my hands.¡¯ This is an ancientnguage of V Nation. After the revolution, the citizens of V Nation decided to abort it in the new era and adopted their current nativenguage instead.¡± An Xiaoning showed Fan Shixin and Xiao Bai the text message. She then scrutinized the carvings on the knife again carefully and remarked, ¡°Why are the words carved in an ancientnguage when they¡¯ve already adopted a newnguage?¡± ¡°I reckon it¡¯s not as simple as it seems. Things are gettingplicated. Remember what we heard behind the wooden house? They said clearly that the only reason they¡¯d spread the news about the treasure map is to attract foreigners to the ce, just so they could devour their fresh blood. We can¡¯t deduce what they really meant. Does the treasure map really exist? Or is it just a sham? That¡¯s still a huge mystery.¡± An Xiaoningy motionless in bed, feeling an immense ache in her calf that arose from the excessive running she had done tonight. She said, ¡°Regardless of whether it really exists or not, we still have to make it clear. They¡¯ll be screening and checking every household for our presence. We must make the necessary preparations in order to effectively react to the situation. Let¡¯s just rest for the next two days and hold back from making any further moves.¡± ¡°Alright...¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Hello, Ms. Fang, I¡¯m Jing Yang...¡± ¡°Please stop calling me! There¡¯s nothing left to talk about between us!¡± Fang En hollered, utterly disgusted. After hanging up the phone, Fang En decided to change her mobile number, for Jing Yang had been constantly harassing her ever since he got her mobile number from Jing Shui. He insisted on asking her out for some tea. However, Fang En would turn down his offer every single time, for she was no longer a fan of his and now had a terrible impression of him. ¡°Sis En, just what is this Jing Yang trying to do? Why does he keep harassing you?¡± Xiao Yue criticized. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I reckon he¡¯s just afraid that I¡¯ll tell other fans of his about his arrogant and hostile attitude.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no point in that since you don¡¯t n to leak it anyway. Is he thinking of bing your friend because you have connections now?¡± said Xiao Yue. ¡°Who wants to be his friend?¡± Fang En stood up, handed the script to Xiao Yue, and said, ¡°It¡¯s my turn now.¡± After being rejected countless times, Jing Yang threw his mobile phone onto the bed and snapped, ¡°That damned wretch is asking for trouble!¡± His assistantforted, ¡°I doubt it¡¯d be possible to get to know Director Jing Tian through her. Brother, there¡¯ll still be plenty of opportunities to get close to Director Jing Tian. There¡¯s no hurry in getting that done now. Brother, you¡¯ve already be an A-lister anyway. You have a huge number of fans behind you and superb acting chops. You won¡¯t have to worry about connections or acting opportunities. There¡¯ll be chances for you to work with Director Jing Tian in the future.¡± ¡°Fool, what do you know? If I met Jing Tian earlier and had gotten his recognition, I might have just been cast as the male lead of that television drama series they¡¯re currently filming. I heard that more than 100 million dors had been invested in the production and that it¡¯s a top-quality production. Besides, that drama would definitely be a blockbuster and rise in fame with the help of the investor¡¯s strong connections. By then, they¡¯ll receive several awards and des for their work. All the roles the manager has been epting on my behalf are for lousy and substandard productions.¡± Chapter 823 - A Million Times for You (185)

Chapter 823: A Million Times for You (185)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios A look of dismay and disgruntlement formed on Jing Yang¡¯s face as he cursed, ¡°That woman really doesn¡¯t know any better.¡± ¡°Brother, do we still continue to look her up?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ll make here to me out of her own ord,¡± Jing Yang said with a sly and sinister smile. In reality, not long after he said those words, a fresh piece of news was released on the media. Jing Yang was said to be in a rtionship with Fang En. It was also imed to be leaked by an insider of the showbiz industry, as usual. At the end of the day, Jing Yang was a dashing and promising A-list celebrity who was idolized by many. Having his rtionship exposed was a major taboo for an idol like him. Naturally, his fans would now shift their attention to Fang En. When they found out that Fang En was the female lead starring alongside Yan Ge in the uing television drama series, a bunch of maniacal female fans began insulting and making maliciousments about Fang En on various discussion forums even though she had not done anything wrong at all. Fang En was fuming with anger when she read the news after filming her scene. Usually, celebrity scandals were just a publicity stunt if it did not actually take ce. Meanwhile, publicity stunts were either an agreement between two willing parties or an intentional one-sided affair. Needless to say, it was clearly thetter in this case. Without hesitation, she immediately contacted Mei Yangyang to tell her about everything. Mei Yangyang instructed her to post a video of herself on her Weibo page to address the issue and to leave the rest of the matter for the studio to handle. Fang En heeded Mei Yangyang¡¯s advice and told Xiao Yue to help her record a video of herself. ¡°Hello, everyone, I¡¯m Fang En and I¡¯m currently in the midst of filming at a television studio. I came across a piece of breaking news all of a sudden and I¡¯d like to rify that those were just groundless rumors that aren¡¯t true at all. Thank you.¡± Xiao Yue saved the recording of the video and showed it to Fang En once before posting it on Fang En¡¯s official Weibo ount. As soon as the post was released, severalments were made about Fang En, who did not have many fans. ¡°Go to hell, you ugly shrew. Fortunately, you didn¡¯t cause harm to our Jing Yang, otherwise, I¡¯ll make you blind!¡± ¡°Baby Jing Yang has yet to rify anything and yet you jumped out to deny it first. Did you implicate our baby into this as a publicity stunt for your new drama?¡± ¡°Just how many men did you sleep with tond yourself the role of the female lead? Not only did you act alongside Yan Ge, you won¡¯t even let Jing Yang off. Are you even human?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of your name at all, you¡¯re just as ugly as your name sounds.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just a newbie. You must be thinking of using our famous baby Jing Yang to add on to your fame, aren¡¯t you? Worse still, you even denied your rtionship with him even though you¡¯re the one who leaked it. Such a revolting hypocrite.¡± ¡°I read on a forum that you used to be a social escort. Is that true? Which nightclub did you use to work at?¡± [...] Fang En flew into a rage after reading the maliciousments on her post. Feeling wronged and aggrieved, she returned to her room and began bawling alone. Back when she was still pursuing her studies in the theater arts academy, she already knew that actors and actresses were bound to be criticized and berated. However, she could not help but feel upset upon reading the harsh criticisms from strangers. She was not tough or determined enough to refrain from wavering or feeling affected. She repeatedly told herself that everything would be fine, for it was only the beginning of her career, and that she would not falter and would brave through the criticisms. She believed that she would one day receivepliments and praises. Ding-Dong... ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± ¡°Me,¡± a deep male voice answered. Upon hearing that it was Yan Ge, Fang En got out of bed and hurriedly proceeded to wash her face in the bathroom before answering the door. He was wearing a suit and still had some makeup on his face, which greatly enhanced his features. He stood by the door and entered even before she invited him in. Fang En closed the door and asked in a hoarse voice, ¡°Did something happen?¡± ¡°You cried over something so trivial. Are you a child?¡± he mocked. Fang En denied, ¡°Who¡¯s crying? Why would I cry? I didn¡¯t.¡± He removed his shoes andy on her bed. ¡°Give me a massage. My shoulders hurt.¡± ¡°I¡¯m already in such a plight and yet you¡¯re still making me give you a massage. Are you in the least bit humane at all?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°I thought so too,¡± she quipped. However, she still did as instructed. She knelt down onto the bed and began massaging him. A silence filled the air. Yan Ge then said, ¡°Don¡¯t take those maliciousments to heart because you might one day be featured in a movie or drama series that they¡¯ll enjoy watching. They might also get to know you better after you take part in some reality programs, after which they¡¯ll probably change their opinions of you and forget the criticism they made about you in the past. You mustn¡¯t be overly sensitive or vulnerable to criticism. Otherwise, your life will be miserable.¡± She instantly felt much less dejected after hearing his words. ¡°You read thements on my Weibo page?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need to read them to know that you¡¯re upset. It¡¯s written all over your face.¡± ¡°Senior, shall we follow each other on Weibo?¡± ¡°Not going to follow you.¡± ¡°Whatever, suit yourself.¡± He turned his head to take a nce at her and smirked. After Yan Ge left, Fang En continued to search for updates about the rumor and chanced upon a piece of entertainment news. The article was a report about thements Yan Ge had made about Fang En during an interview that had taken ce after filming. Yan Ge said, ¡°She¡¯s a very innocent girl.¡± Fang En stared at thement, which had a huge impact on the fans¡¯ opinions toward her. In addition, Mei Yangyang¡¯s entertainment studio released a statement saying that she would be taking legal action against the mastermind who sparked the false rumor. Theizens immediately stoppedmenting about the matter. Soon, everyone began to think that the rumor might have really been false. On the bright side, Fang En gained more than 200 thousand followers on her Weibo page because of the incident. It could be said to be a blessing in disguise. ¡ª¡ª Lin Shishi proceeded to get an ultrasound scan done. It was verified that she was carrying a baby boy. Both the Lin and Tuoba families were over the moon, for having a male firstborn was perceived to be an auspicious sign to the royals. The happiest of all was none other than Lin Shishi, who felt much more secure knowing that she would be giving birth to a son. She felt just like an empress in the ancient times who was put on a pedestal simply because of her son. In reality, there was not much of an impact on Tuoba Gucheng, who barely changed his attitude toward her. After having dinner, Shi Xiaoyu invited Lin Shishi over to her ce. Thetter proceeded chaperoned by a servant. All smiles, Shi Xiaoyu said, ¡°I made youe here at such ate hour even though you¡¯re pregnant only because it won¡¯t be convenient for me to go over to yours. It¡¯s safer to talk about it here.¡± ¡°Mother, what would you like to talk about?¡± ¡°I heard that Gucheng wanted to matchmake your cousin with someone earlier, is that true?¡± ¡°Yes, but we left the matter at that because Jin Qingyan refused to give in.¡± Upon hearing that it was true, Shi Xiaoyu continued to ask, ¡°I initially wanted to ask you about this a few days ago, but I didn¡¯t manage to find an appropriate time. Why does this seem so peculiar? Why did Gucheng want to set your cousin up with Jin Qingyan for no rhyme or reason?¡± Chapter 824 - A Million Times for You (186)

Chapter 824: A Million Times for You (186)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I¡¯m not too sure about that either.¡± ¡°This Jin Qingyan really doesn¡¯t know any better. Regardless of how affluent he may be, he¡¯s still a divorced man who has a child while your cousin is still a bachelorette. Your brother-inw is still single, isn¡¯t he? What do you say we matchmake your cousin with him?¡± said Shi Xiaoyu, acting as if she was an Empress Dowager who was making decisions for her people. ¡°Brother-inw?¡± Lin Shishi asked in astonishment. Shi Xiaoyu answered with a nod, ¡°Yes, your brother-inw is 28 years old now and he¡¯s still single. Yet, he¡¯s not even in a rush to get married. Of course I¡¯d have to step in and intervene.¡± ¡°But... I heard that Brother-inw fancies men...¡± Shi Xiaoyu snapped, ¡°What nonsense is that!?! He¡¯s my son, I know him very well. He¡¯s just like Danxue, I¡¯ve been very strict with the two of them since they were young so he¡¯s never been in a rtionship before. Those rumors about him being a homosexual are all false.¡± Tuoba Gucheng entered after pushing the door open and said bluntly, ¡°Mother, are you nning to dupe someone else into marrying Brother? Brother is clearly interested in men, is there a point in denying that fact?¡± Shi Xiaoyu chided, ¡°Why are you spouting such nonsense? How could your brother possibly be fond of men?¡± ¡°Mother, you know clearly whether I¡¯m spouting nonsense or whether you¡¯re simply being in denial. I don¡¯t approve of what you¡¯re nning to do. Just let brother live the life that he wants and stop meddling with his affairs,¡± Tuoba Gucheng said without holding back. ¡°What are you talking about? Getting married and bearing offspring is a mandatory part of life. It has always been that way, be it in the past or in the present. How can one not have any children at all? He¡¯s going to end up old and lonely with no one to care about him. Even though you¡¯re his brother, you can¡¯t take care of him as well as his children will. I just have your brother¡¯s best interests at heart. Your brother is just muddled up for the time being. He¡¯lle to his senses once he gets married and has children of his own.¡± Tuoba Gucheng protested, ¡°I think you and the Tuoba family both have a part to y in Brother¡¯s sexual orientation.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to care whose fault it is. I¡¯ve already asked him yesterday and he¡¯s already admitted that he doesn¡¯t want to get married, but I won¡¯t agree to it.¡± Pointing at the couch, Shi Xiaoyu continued, ¡°Sit down, I¡¯ll discuss this with you.¡± Tuoba Gucheng sat down and expressed his opinion, ¡°Father is no longer in authority right now. You ought to stop thinking of meddling with our affairs. I won¡¯t interfere with Brother¡¯s life.¡± ¡°Even if you don¡¯t interfere, I¡¯m still your mother and I must take charge of your brother¡¯s marital affairs. That¡¯s just mandatory.¡± Shi Xiaoyu looked at Lin Shishi and said, ¡°Get your cousin toe to the Autumn Pce tomorrow. You mustn¡¯t breathe a word to your family about your brother-inw¡¯s homosexuality. Got it?¡± ¡°Mother, I won¡¯t agree to this. I¡¯ll have no objection if my cousin is still willing to marry Brother-inw even after she finds out. Mother, you¡¯re just trying to dupe my cousin into marrying Brother-inw by acting this way. If you insist on acting that way, I¡¯ll definitely tell my family about it. I can¡¯t watch my cousin let her life be ruined by Brother,¡± Lin Shishi said in dissatisfaction. Shi Xiaoyu blew her top and hissed, ¡°Is your brother-inw a menacing beast? What do you mean let her life be ruined?¡± ¡°Enough, Shishi is still pregnant, yet you called her here at night just to talk about this. We¡¯re going back now. Stop looking Shishi up because of this matter anymore.¡± Noticing that they were about to leave, Shi Xiaoyu panicked and said, ¡°Gucheng, have you got any idea how thoseizens are bashing your brother online? They¡¯re so crude and callous with theirments. Your brother must get married as soon as possible so that those people can shut up.¡± ¡°Why are you getting worked up when Brother doesn¡¯t mind it at all?¡± said Tuoba Gucheng before taking Lin Shishi away. After leaving Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s mansion, Lin Shishi grabbed his hand and said, ¡°Thank you foring to pick me up.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t take my mother¡¯s words to heart. You don¡¯t have to interfere with this at all. If Mother continues to insist on her ways, you may tell your cousin and your aunt directly.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Lin Shishi turned to gaze at his immacte and dashing features. After walking for a while in silence, Lin Shishi asked, ¡°Are you happy that I¡¯m carrying a son?¡± Needless to say, she wanted to hear him express his joy. To her disappointment, he said indifferently, ¡°A son is no different from a daughter.¡± Lin Shishi kept quiet. Just as they were about to reach the door, she added, ¡°If Brother-inw ends up marrying a woman, his married life will be just like ours. The only difference will probably be the fact that he fancies men while you don¡¯t. But, are you really not interested in men?¡± ¡°No,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng. Lin Shishi wondered if she should be happy or sad about that. He fancied women, just not her. ¡ª¡ª Jin Qingyan was already in bed at eight o¡¯clock in the evening in A City. The weather was chilly in February, and the rain made it feel as if it was wintertime again. He was texting An Xiaoning while lying in bed and basically understood the gist of the situation. He instructed An Xiaoning to be extra careful at all times and reminded her to get enough rest, eat well, and avoid getting injured. He was not sick of repeating himself at all, such that An Xiaoning began wondering if he had been struck with an obsessivepulsive disorder. However, she did enjoy the feeling of being cherished and taken care of by him. He went to sleep after chatting with her. The lights were then switched off. Xiao Huang, who was temporarily taking over Fan Shixin¡¯s position, also prepared to go to bed after noticing that Jin Qingyan had switched off the lights. However, just as he finished showering, Xiao Lu yelled, ¡°Bad news, Young Sir seems to be acting abnormally.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t he already go to bed?¡± ¡°He¡¯s up again.¡± Xiao Huang hurriedly put on his clothes and scurried toward the main entrance with Xiao Lu. There was a sports car parked by the entrance. Jin Qingyan had rarely driven the sports car, though he would do so asionally. What was strange about him was the way that he was dressed. He was wearing a bright red suit and a pair of red shoes. He had even put on some eyeliner, making him look outrageously dashing! ¡°Young... Young Sir, didn¡¯t you already go to bed? Where are you going right now?¡± ¡°Get out,¡± he said coldly. ¡°Young Sir, are you sleepwalking?¡± said Xiao Lu, who instantly got the chills after looking Jin Qingyan in the eye. ¡°Cut the crap and open the gate.¡± Jin Qingyan opened the door of the sports car and got into the driver¡¯s seat. They watched as the sports car vanished out of sight. Xiao Lu shivered and said, ¡°Xiao Huang, what has gotten into Young Sir? Why is he behaving so abnormally?¡± ¡°Bring some people with you and tail Young Sir. Find out where he¡¯s going.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Xiao Huang immediately proceeded to make the arrangements. Xiao Huang headed to the guard room, filled with thoughts and questions. Not long after, Xiao Lu called to tell him that Jin Qingyan had gone to a nightclub. Chapter 825 - A Million Times for You (187)

Chapter 825: A Million Times for You (187)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios A whileter, Xiao Lu then told him that Jin Qingyan was flirting with some gorgeous women. Xiao Huang was shocked beyond words, for he understood Jin Qingyan all too well after being by his side for so many years. Jin Qingyan would usually only patronize nightclubs together with Long Tianze and Ling Ciye. He would rarely go to such ces on his own, let alone flirt with other women. It was not like him at all. Could it be that he was getting lonely without a woman by his side? Xiao Huang wondered. Xiao Huang could not figure out what Jin Qingyan was thinking and instead could only instruct Xiao Lu to continue keeping close tabs on him. Xiao Huang and Xiao Lu could not sleep well for the rest of the night. In fact, they did not catch a wink at all. It was already almost daybreak by the time Xiao Lu brought the intoxicated Jin Qingyan home. They then helped him upstairs together. They froze in astonishment the moment they unlocked the door with his fingerprint. There were clothes all over the room. To be exact, the clothes were strewn across the floor. It looked as if a burry had just taken ce. The room was practically like a crime scene. Shouldn¡¯t the clothing and shoes be inside the dressing room? Why are they all over the ce? Both of them werepletely bewildered. Jin Qingyan usually had high standards for the cleanliness of his bedroom due to his mysophobia. He would never leave his things lying around or let his bedroom be so cluttered. Xiao Huang immediately instructed the servants to clean up the mess before going to bed. Xiao Huang and Xiao Lu were probably the only subordinates who had to live so pathetically. Just why is that so? After a long sequence of events that hindered them from getting enough sleep, they finally dozed off after settling everything. Yet, they were jolted awake again after just two hours. ¡°Young Sir, you didn¡¯t sleep at allst night. Why don¡¯t you get more rest?¡± Jin Qingyan had already changed into a fresh set of clothes and washed himself up. He had clearly taken a shower, for he no longer reeked so strongly of alcohol. He looked up at them and asked, ¡°Xiao Huang, Xiao Lu, would you believe me if I said that I can¡¯t remember a thing about what happenedst night?¡± ¡°Young Sir... you had a drop too many and were knocked out of your consciousness.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t understand what I mean. What I meant was, I only remember yesterday¡¯s events up to when I went to bed at eight o¡¯clock. I remember I fell asleep, but I have no idea what happened next...¡± They looked at each other in utter shock and puzzlement. ¡°Young Sir, we both thought you were acting rather strangely too. We¡¯ve never seen you leave the house dressed in red from head to toe with eyeliner on. Furthermore, you even flirted with girls at the nightclub. I told Xiao Lu to tail you...¡± said Xiao Huang. ¡°I know, I watched the surveince camera footage.¡± The first thing Jin Qingyan did when he woke up was to rush to the washroom to throw up. The first thing that came to his mind when he looked into the mirror after vomiting was to check the surveince camera footages. He did not suspect that it was a malicious prank at all, because he knew that no one would dare to enter his room without his permission. After taking a shower and changing into a fresh set of clothes, he proceeded to view the surveince camera footages. Jin Qingyan froze in astonishment the moment he watched the yback. The most terrifying part of it all was the fact that he had no recollection of what happened at all. He had no idea what was eating him. Despite not knowing what was going on, Xiao Lu could not help but say, ¡°Young Sir... shall we... go to the hospital for a checkup?¡± ¡°Yes. Xiao Huang, contact the best professional psychiatrist in town for me before getting some rest.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Xiao Huang answered softly. A look of agony formed on his face at the thought of An Xiaoning. ¡°Also, I¡¯ll be giving both of you a task,¡± he added. ¡°Please speak, Young Sir.¡± ¡°Firstly, you¡¯re not to let Shixin or Young Madam know about this at all. I¡¯ll tell Shixin about it myself when he¡¯s back. Secondly, if something simr happens again in the future, you¡¯re allowed to knock me out and lock me up at home. Got it?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Alright, you¡¯re dismissed. Inform me once you¡¯ve contacted the psychiatrist.¡± ¡°Yes, Young Sir.¡± The two of them excused themselves. Jin Qingyan¡¯s hands turned cold and mmy the moment the door was closed. Tears welled up in his eyes, and he did not feel warm at all even though the heater was switched on. Ever since he was diagnosed with depression, which made him experience all sorts of pains and aches, he had begun sensing something amiss with his mental health. Perhaps he was extremely affected by the incident with An Xiaoning as well as his parents¡¯ divorce. However, he was determined to get treated regardless of what his condition was. An hourter, Xiao Huang drove a renowned psychiatrist, Dr. Zhang, back to Wei Ni Estate. Dr. Zhang was in his fifties and was a professor from a major hospital. It would usually be difficult to schedule an appointment with him. He only agreed toe this time because Jin Qingyan was willing to offer a high wage for his services. Jin Qingyan and Dr. Zhang sat opposite each other in Jin Qingyan¡¯s study, leaving a table in between them. ¡°Before I begin, I have a request I¡¯d like you to concede. I hope you¡¯ll keep the details of my condition confidential,¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°Rest assured, Mr. Jin, this is the basic moral ethic that medical professionals ought to follow.¡± Needless to say, Dr. Zhang wouldn¡¯t dare to breathe a word about it to others, for he knew how authoritative and powerful Jin Qingyan was. ¡°That¡¯s good. I believe in your work ethic, Dr. Zhang. However, I¡¯d still have to ask you to sign a non-disclosure,¡± said Jin Qingyan, sliding him a copy of the non-disclosure agreement he had printed out earlier. After reading through the terms stated in the agreement and making sure that there was no mistake, Dr. Zhang signed his name and stamped his thumbprint onto the designated boxes. ¡°Mr. Jin, you may speak now,¡± said Dr. Zhang. ¡°What happened is, I fell asleep at eight o¡¯clockst night and I lost conscious awareness of what happened until I woke up...¡± Jin Qingyan slowly exined everything that had happened. Upon hearing his words, Dr. Zhang immediately deduced, ¡°Mr. Jin, you¡¯re diagnosed with a ssic case of schizophrenia. It¡¯s a rare mental and psychological disorder. There is currently no cure or treatment methods avable for your condition, which is basically a result of your emotional disorders. Schizophrenia refers to the existence of two conflicting personalities within one mind.¡± Jin Qingyan was struck with a huge blow the moment he heard that his condition was incurable and instantly felt like he was no longer in control of himself. ¡°Why did that happen...¡± ¡°You must¡¯ve had a serious emotional setback in the past, Mr. Jin. You don¡¯t feel secure and your family is not heartwarming. Those are very likely causes, and there are only a few cases of schizophrenia in the world at the moment.¡± ¡°I was previously diagnosed with depression. I suffered from severe insomnia, headaches, and sudden, acute aches all over my body.¡± Dr. Zhang sighed and said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid those were just precursor symptoms of schizophrenia. Mr. Jin, did you consume any medication after your diagnosis?¡± ¡°I did, periodically.¡± ¡°Since you¡¯ve hired me to be your personal psychiatrist, I have the duty to control your other personality and stop him from showing, Mr. Jin. You may keep your condition in control with the aid of medication, though not entirely. The crucial bit is that you have to rid yourself of stress and over-exhaustion. Sometimes, some people do view this condition as having two souls in one body. Although that may seem to be the case on the surface, the reality is otherwise. Both personalities belong to you, one is the angel while the other is the devil. It all depends on you, actually. I still think that there¡¯s hope for mental and emotional disorders that allegedly have no cure to them, as imed by medical students and professionals.¡± Chapter 826 - A Million Times for You (188)

Chapter 826: A Million Times for You (188)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°What do you mean?¡± Jin Qingyan asked. Dr. Zhang exined, ¡°It all depends on yourself. If you¡¯ve suffered any major emotional setbacks or have any insecurities about your life, you have to sort things out and ovee them. I think it¡¯s possible for you to recoverpletely. Mr. Jin, is this your first encounter with such symptoms?¡± Jin Qingyan answered with a nod, ¡°It¡¯s the first time that that¡¯s happened.¡± ¡°Your condition should still be rather mild and easy to control, then, but I¡¯ll need your active cooperation. We¡¯ll try keeping it in control for a period of time. Once it¡¯s in check, you¡¯ll be fine for a long time. The decision lies with you.¡± Jin Qingyan felt much more determined upon hearing his words. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best to cooperate with you, Doctor.¡± ¡ª¡ª It was the wee hours of the night in V Nation when a raid was conducted on the rented house. Everyone was brought downstairs and were made to squat on the ground with their hands on their head. An Xiaoning and herpany were no exception. An Xiaoning was wearing a long rag-cloth skirt and had a cloth wrapped around her head. She had used some makeup to downy her features and added some freckles to her face on purpose. She had also ingeniously turned her big eyes into slitted, narrow eyes with some double eyelid tape. Fan Shixin and Xiao Bai had also put on some makeup to disguise their features. To others, the trio was merely here to look for their rtive. ¡°You, stand up,¡± said one of the men, pointing his knife at An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning purposely swayed unsteadily from side to side while trying to stand up. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Nainai...¡± ¡°Nainai, how are these two people rted to you?¡± ¡°One of them is my husband while the other is my younger brother. We¡¯re foreigners and we¡¯re here to look for my missing mother.¡± ¡°Look up.¡± An Xiaoning looked up slowly and gazed at the man timidly. The man did not look again and said, ¡°Squat down.¡± She did as instructed. They managed to pass the raid sessfully. An Xiaoning heaved a sigh of relief once they returned to their room, after which they took turns to shower. Wringing her hair dry with a towel while sitting on the bed, An Xiaoning said, ¡°They¡¯re not that strict and detailed with their search anyway. I feel like they¡¯re just doing it in a perfunctory manner.¡± ¡°I guess they¡¯re rather dense. They don¡¯t even conduct a raid properly when screening both locals and foreigners. But that¡¯s advantageous for us.¡± An Xiaoning agreed with him. ¡°So far, things are getting far moreplicated than we thought. It¡¯s such a huge mystery. Those people who¡¯ve been searching for the treasure map for so many years probably never discovered this. Or maybe, they were killed after they found out. So, it¡¯s still unknown whether the map really exists or not.¡± ¡°Do you hope it exists?¡± An Xiaoning red at Fan Shixin and said, ¡°Of course I do.¡± She wrapped her hair inside the towel andy down in bed. At this point, she had no idea when they could return to S Nation. It had only been a few days since they left and yet she was already missing Jin Qingyan, Jin Yiheng, and her mother. The thought of the long arduous days ahead of them made her feel overwhelmed and vexed. An Xiaoning closed her eyes and smiled upon recalling Jin Qingyan¡¯s words, feeling much more relieved. The three of them went on to have a peaceful night of sleep. An Xiaoning headed to Fei Niao¡¯s house under the pretense of visiting as a neighbor. Fei Niao weed her warmly and had a chat with her. ¡°Sis Fei Niao, I¡¯d like to ask you about the men who made us go downstairsst night. Who were they?¡± ¡°You probably don¡¯t know since you¡¯re new here. They¡¯re the guardians of our ce.¡± ¡°Guardians? What guardians?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°They¡¯re the leaders of our town. Because of their existence, the people from the other towns haven¡¯t dared toe here to stir trouble. It has been rather peaceful and safe for decades.¡± An Xiaoning put on a look of agony and said, ¡°Oh, I see. They seem much bigger and intimidating than the average locals. They seem to be more well fed than us.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not too sure about that. Do you have children?¡± asked Fei Niao, who clearly did not wish to talk about the guardians. ¡°We just got married a while ago, we¡¯re not nning to have any children yet,¡± An Xiaoning said bashfully. ¡°Ah, you don¡¯t have children yet. I have five children. Look how messy our house is. I got married when I was 13 years old.¡± ¡°Thirteen years old... that¡¯s too young, you were still underaged,¡± An Xiaoning said in astonishment. ¡°It¡¯smon for girls here to get married at younger ages. Both of my daughters are already married and I¡¯m now a grandmother.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Did you manage to find your rtive?¡± Shaking her head, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°No, we haven¡¯t gotten a clue at all.¡± An Xiaoning pretended to be mysterious and continued, ¡°Sis Fei Niao, frankly speaking, my mother came here previously because she had heard about the treasure map. She hasn¡¯t managed to find anything even after all these years. There seems to be lots of foreigners in this town, is that because of the treasure map?¡± Fei Niao gazed at her with a look of sympathy and said, ¡°Nainai, did you say that your mother hade here for the treasure map?¡± An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°Yes, please don¡¯t tell anyone, though. I want to find my mother and bring her home.¡± ¡°Foreigners used toe to our town inrge groups. Back then, we would thrive in whatever business we do. However, there are much fewer foreigners nowpared to the past. I suggest you search for her in other towns. Your mother might very likely not be in this town anymore.¡± An Xiaoning understood what she was implying. Noticing how reluctant Fei Niao was to talk about the matter, An Xiaoning took a wad of cash from her pocket and handed it to her. ¡°Sis Fei Niao, please ept this.¡± ¡°Ah, Nainai, what are you doing?¡± Fei Niao asked in surprise. She had never seen so much money before. ¡°I¡¯d like you to tell me more about this town, Sis. After all, we¡¯re unfamiliar with this ce and we¡¯re practically clueless. We¡¯ve been searching for her for days but we haven¡¯t gotten a single lead at all.¡± An Xiaoning stuffed the money into her hand and said, ¡°Take it.¡± Fei Niao gave in to temptation and epted the money. ¡°I¡¯ve never had much money. My husband gives me a fixed amount of monthly allowance, which is just enough to cover our living expenses.¡± ¡°Sis Fei Niao, your life is so tough.¡± Fei Niao put on a lopsided smile and said, ¡°After all, he¡¯s the sole breadwinner of the household and it¡¯s tough for him to provide for two families. I¡¯m his first wife and I¡¯ve given birth to five of his children. He has another mistress who gave him two other children. I¡¯m already contented as long as he gives me enough to feed myself and my children.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want my husband to get a mistress in the future.¡± Fei Niao chuckled and said, ¡°Women here hold a lower statuspared to men, and we rarely go out to work. Men are usually the ones in charge of bringing home the bacon. Although thew allows each man to have only one wife, they¡¯re also given the option to have more than one. Those wealthy men must have multiple wives. Actually, it¡¯s not that big of a deal. Men call the shots at home. There¡¯s nothing too uneptable about them having a few wives.¡± Chapter 827 - A Million Times for You (189)

Chapter 827: A Million Times for You (189)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning was rather appalled and frightened by such a mindset. It seemed as if women here were just ves to their husbands. ¡°Sis Fei Niao, could you tell me about what¡¯s going on in this town?¡± Fei Niao stood up to lock the door before sitting down again. She then said softly, ¡°We¡¯re locals who were born and bred here. No one dares to spout any nonsense about what¡¯s going on in this town, but those guardians that I told you about earlier, they don¡¯t eat food at all.¡± ¡°What do they eat, then?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Blood. Nothing else except blood. Several people end up losing their lives on the guardians¡¯ territory every month. I was thinking that your mother is probably dead by now. You, your husband, and your brother should stop trying your luck. I¡¯m only telling you this on ount of the money you¡¯ve given me. Furthermore, I don¡¯t want the three of you to die here either. Sis, stop searching and go home.¡± ¡°Sis Fei Niao, could you tell me why those guardians choose to drink blood?¡± An Xiaoning asked further. Noticing how puzzled and curious she was, Fei Niao answered, ¡°They¡¯re different from us. I heard from my grandmother that people of their kind have existed ever since she was a child. There are also some who said that the guardians have spread the word about the treasure map in order to attract more people to this town, so that they could kill them and drink their blood. After all, our town is sparsely popted.¡± ¡°Does that mean that the treasure map doesn¡¯t exist at all and is just a sham that was leaked on purpose?¡± Fei Niao nodded and said solemnly, ¡°None of us locals think that it actually exists. Sis, they rarely harm the locals. Most of the people who fall prey to their acts of cannibalism are foreigners. You¡¯d better leave with your husband and brother as soon as possible. It¡¯s terrifying.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯ll take your words seriously, Sis Fei Niao. Thank you so much for being willing to tell me these things. However, I have another question for you.¡± ¡°What is it? Speak up. I¡¯ll tell you as long as I know. After all, you gave me enough money to cover the living expenses of my family for at least two years.¡± ¡°They¡¯re so daunting and they even survive on blood. Are they all capable of witchcraft? The family members of the victims they¡¯ve killed would have definitelye here to seek revenge, wouldn¡¯t they?¡± Fei Niao thought that An Xiaoning was thinking of avenging her ¡°mother.¡± Fei Niao sighed and said, ¡°Sis, forget about taking revenge. I¡¯ve heard of peopleing here to seek revenge before but they¡¯ve all been killed. No exception was made at all. It¡¯s not that easy to kill the guardians. I once witnessed with my own eyes a man stabbing one of the guardians in his stomach. However, the guardian waspletely unscathed. My grandmother said that those people can only be killed by being burned alive or beheaded. Otherwise, there¡¯s no other way to kill them at all. Furthermore, stabbing them in their throats or chests will only numb them temporarily. There won¡¯t be any fatal effects at all. I¡¯m speaking nothing but the truth. Sis, heed my advice and leave this ce as soon as you can.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard your words, Sis. After hearing your words, I find them to be really terrifying too. We¡¯re unarmed and helpless. We¡¯ll definitely die if they try and kill us,¡± An Xiaoning said with a look of horror. Fei Niao emphasized, ¡°That¡¯s right, Sis. Hurry and go home with your family.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t leave now that they¡¯ve sealed the town.¡± ¡°Wait a few more days, then, and it should be fine.¡± An Xiaoning chatted with Fei Niao for a while longer and only returned after confirming that there was no other information she could find out from her. ¡°Based on what Fei Niao said, it¡¯s very likely that the treasure map doesn¡¯t exist at all,¡± said Xiao Bai. An Xiaoning said, ¡°However, if a lie could be passed around for more than a few decades, that just means that it¡¯s not simply a lie. Besides, Fei Niao is a local of the town. She probably only knows a few things based on how they seem on the surface. We ought to dig deeper to find out more.¡± She paused to nce at Fan Shixin before continuing, ¡°The money spent today was worth every cent. After all, we now know how to kill those people. Besides burning them alive, we can also kill them by chopping off their heads. From now on, each of us has to bring a couple of daggers with us. Stabbing them in the throat or chest is only going to knock them unconscious temporarily.¡± ¡°Well then, shall we brave up and barge into the Second Brother¡¯s den tonight?¡± ¡°Yes. But I¡¯ll go alone,¡± said An Xiaoning, staring at Fan Shixin. ¡°No, how can I let you go alone? I¡¯ll go with you,¡± Fan Shixin objected worriedly. Shaking her head, An Xiaoning countered, ¡°They¡¯ve been stricter with the screeningtely. We¡¯ll be attracting unwanted attention if both of us go there. You shall stay here with Xiao Bai. If you want to know my whereabouts, contact your subordinates in S Nation and check my exact location on the GPS system. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t allow you to go alone. How am I supposed to exin it to Young Sir should anything happen to you? Besides, I may not be as skilled or capable as you are but I¡¯ll try my best not to be your burden,¡± Fan Shixin insisted, refusing to let her go on her own. ¡°Yes, Sis, let Brother-inw go with you. I¡¯ll be more assured that way.¡± An Xiaoning had no choice but to concede. They decided to carry out their n that night. ¡°Whatever, let¡¯s just stay here for a few days. If that rascal really can¡¯t give us any useful information, we¡¯ll head back home straight,¡± said An Xiaoning. The two men were appalled to hear her words. ¡°If you can¡¯t find the treasure map, you and Young Sir...¡± ¡°I think the mastermind of these cannibals is far more terrifying than Tuoba Gucheng.¡± She was right. Not long after, someone came knocking on their door. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± ¡°Nainai, there¡¯s a letter for you,¡± said Fei Niao. An Xiaoning immediately stood up to answer the door. Fei Niao handed her an unopened, yellow-colored envelope and said, ¡°A postman wanted me to hand this to you.¡± An Xiaoning immediately smelled a rat. How could there be a postman when it¡¯s pouring heavily outside? ¡°What were his exact words?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°I went downstairs to dispose of some garbage and saw him there. He pointed at your window and told me to hand it to you.¡± ¡°What did he look like? Was he tall?¡± ¡°He¡¯s one of our locals and he was of average height.¡± ¡°Alright, thanks.¡± After closing the door, An Xiaoning sat cross-legged in front of the two of them and opened the yellow envelope to discover that there was a mobile phone inside. As soon as she unlocked the screen of the mobile phone, she received a sudden text message. The number of the sender was nk and hidden. Clearly, it had been tampered with. The message read: ¡°What do you take me for? You¡¯vee to stir trouble on my territory. I know Tuoba Gucheng sent you. Seems like he wants you to die here. None of his elite soldiers or special agents have ever stepped out of here alive. Do the few of you really think you can snatch the treasure map away from me? I¡¯m giving you three days to go back to where you came from. Otherwise, you shall be fertilizers for our local soil.¡± The three of them turned pale the instant that they read the message. Secondster, they received another message: ¡°Hua Jin, you got to be human in both lifetimes, yet you¡¯re still as silly as ever. You don¡¯t even know that you¡¯re being used.¡± Chapter 828 - A Million Times for You (190)

Chapter 828: A Million Times for You (190)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Thest message struck An Xiaoning like a grenade that had just exploded. There were only a few people who knew about her previous lifetime. Yet, all of a sudden, someone mentioned her name in her previous lifetime. Could it be... Her hands turned mmy and she broke out in a cold sweat. She replied, ¡°Who are you?¡± There were no further messages from the anonymous sender. ¡°Sis, how did he know that you were sent by Tuoba Gucheng?¡± An Xiaoning shook her head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know...¡± She put away her mobile phone andy in bed while her mind was sent into a whirlwind. There were a few takeaways she had gotten from the messages. Firstly, apart from herself, Tuoba Gucheng, her parents, Jin Qingyan, Fan Shixin, and Xiao Bai, no one else knew that Tuoba Gucheng was the one who had sent her on the quest for the treasure map. Just how did the mastermind know? It was unlikely that Tuoba Gucheng was the one who told him, for the mastermind had already mentioned that none of the troops that Tuoba Gucheng had sent managed to survive. That just meant that they were not on good terms. However, it might be likely that the mastermind knew Tuoba Gucheng, but not vice versa. Secondly, the three of them had decided to make V Nation their first stop because it was said that that was the ce where the treasure map had originated. Did Tuoba Gucheng guess that I woulde here? He knows clearly that none of his elite soldiers could aplish the task and is aware of how formidable and powerful the mastermind is. Yet, he still made me choose between finding the map or never seeing Jin Qingyan again. Thirdly, the people who knew about her previous lifetime were few and far in between. The mastermind said that I reincarnated as a human in both my lifetimes and yet I¡¯m still as silly as ever. Is that because he knew that I had ended up on a simr plight in my previous lifetime? Otherwise, how could he or she have said that? Did we know each other in my previous lifetime? Just who is this person? Is he male or female? I¡¯m out in the open while they¡¯re hidden somewhere. Seems like we must leave this ce as soon as possible. ¡ª¡ª The moment Lin Shishi heard that Shi Xiaoyu had sent her subordinates to bring her cousin and family to the Autumn Pce, she hurriedly proceeded to call her aunt. Her aunt told her that she was already on the way to meet Shi Xiaoyu. Realizing that there was no way to stop her, Lin Shishi hurriedly rushed over. By the time she arrived, Shi Xiaoyu had already met up with her cousin and her cousin¡¯s parents. Upon her arrival, Shi Xiaoyu shot her a nce, seemingly hinting at her not to spout any nonsense. At this point, Lin Shishi had already begun detesting her mother-inw and pretended not to notice her nce. She was not willing to send her cousin onto a path toward ruin. Her cousin was the only daughter of her aunt. One can only imagine the scoldings and me she would have to shoulder if she did not stop this marriage from happening. Would they even be able to continue being rtives? She was aware of how much her aunt and uncle doted on her and could not bear to see such a tragedy happen. ¡°I invited you guys here today because I heard about Gucheng trying to matchmake Shishi¡¯s cousin with a prospective marriage partner previously, but it fell through. It just so happens that Gucheng¡¯s brother isn¡¯t married yet. What do you say we be doubly rted and strengthen the ties between our families by setting them up?¡± Shi Xiaoyu suggested with a benevolent smile. Lin Shishi¡¯s aunt and uncle looked at each other in dismay while Feng Qiubai was shocked out of her senses and was at a momentary loss for words. Lin Shishi¡¯s aunt had no choice but to say, ¡°It¡¯s my honor to receive such an offer from you, Madam. Qiubai, what are your thoughts?¡± Feng Qiubai answered, ¡°Madam has such high expectations of me, I...¡± Lin Shishi interjected, ¡°Cousin, my brother-inw is homosexual. Do you not mind that at all?¡± ¡°Shishi! Those are just rumors, are you really going to say that too about your brother-inw? Or are you afraid that your cousin will overpower you if she marries your brother-inw and your brother-inw gets elected during the next presidential election?¡± Shi Xiaoyu snapped angrily. Lin Shishi¡¯s cousin and her parents were all dumbfounded. bbergasted, Lin Shishi decided not to give in to her mother-inw¡¯s unreasonable ways and retorted, ¡°Mother, you don¡¯t have to try and sow discord between me and my cousin¡¯s family. You know clearly yourself whether or not I was speaking the truth. I won¡¯t watch my cousin jump into her grave.¡± ¡°This is a discussion between me and your cousin¡¯s family. Stay out of this and leave. Since you¡¯re pregnant, you ought to go out on walks more often,¡± Shi Xiaoyu ordered. Lin Shishi looked at her cousin and thetter¡¯s parents before saying solemnly, ¡°Uncle, Auntie, Cousin, you mustn¡¯t agree to this marriage. You don¡¯t have to be afraid of my mother-inw either. She doesn¡¯t actually have any rights and she can¡¯tpel you against your wishes. I won¡¯t lie.¡± She then turned around to walk away as soon as she finished speaking, leaving Shi Xiaoyu exasperated. Being young and prone to acting recklessly, Lin Shishi was not at all bothered, for she felt that she had done nothing wrong. Unable to tolerate it, she decided to call her mother to inform her of the matter. She thought that her aunt and uncle would definitely object to the marriage since she had already stated things so clearly. After all, who would dig their own grave? Yet, the results had disappointed her. Her cousin agreed to the marriage. She actually agreed! Lin Shishi was bbergasted the moment she heard the outrageous news. There was actually someone who¡¯d still be willing to marry a homosexual. Just what was Cousin after? After chatting with her mother, Lin Shishi understood the reason behind her cousin¡¯s decision. She was indeed swayed by Shi Xiaoyu. The presidential candidates would forever be kept within the Tuoba family, and the nation¡¯s citizens would decide the oue of the presidential election, which took ce once every eight years. The candidates would definitely be Tuoba Gucheng and Tuoba Hancheng. Since Tuoba Rui had already retired, he would not be allowed to partake in the presidential election. That meant that Tuoba Hancheng would still stand a chance to be the next elected president. Should Tuoba Hancheng manage to be the next president, her cousin, Feng Qiubai, would then be the next First Lady. By the time the next electiones round, Lin Shishi and Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s son would only be a few years old, and hence, he would not be allowed to partake in the election at all. Lin Shishi could not help but sneer, ¡°Mother, did you see that? I was so worried about her and concerned about her future. Yet, she chose to let me down for the sake of a life of riches and luxury.¡± Madam Lin was speechless. She, too, felt that her niece was being foolish and ignorant. ¡°Forget it, she was the one who made that decision herself. Shishi, you did the right thing. It¡¯s up to you to tell her while it¡¯s her choice to decide whether or not to agree.¡± Lin Shishi was perplexed and frustrated after hanging up the phone. However, what made her even more dejected was receiving news of Tuoba Hancheng agreeing to the marriage as well. He actually agreed! Lin Shishi felt like they were both just using each other. The first thing she did when Tuoba Gucheng returned was to inform him of the matter. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it since they¡¯re both willing parties,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng. ¡°I¡¯d really like for Sis Xiaoning to read Cousin¡¯s birth characters. I¡¯ll call Sis Xiaoningter.¡± ¡°Save it. An Xiaoning is probably busy right now. She doesn¡¯t have the time to read fortunes,¡± Tuoba Gucheng saidposedly. ¡°She¡¯s busy? How did you know that, Hubby?¡± Lin Shishi asked in puzzlement. ¡°I gave her a mission to aplish, she¡¯s currently overseas.¡± Dumbfounded, Lin Shishi asked, ¡°Hubby, since when did you get so close to Sis Xiaoning?¡± Chapter 829 - A Million Times for You (191)

Chapter 829: A Million Times for You (191)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°We¡¯re not close, I just know who she is. She¡¯s your godsister, isn¡¯t she? It just so happened that I needed her help for something.¡± Lin Shishi expressed assent in disgruntlement upon seeing how calm and reluctant he was to exin in detail. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Mr. Jin, we¡¯ve already managed to persuade most of the shareholders of the Ye Corporation and they¡¯re all enticed by the price we¡¯ve offered. Ye Xiaotian is the only one who¡¯s still adamant about it.¡± Jin Qingyan was typing away on his keyboard with his long, slender fingers. Upon hearing his secretary¡¯s words, he paused and looked up before ordering, ¡°Set an appointment with Ye Xiaotian, I¡¯m going to meet him personally.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± The secretary immediately proceeded ordingly and soon agreed on a specific meeting time. The appointment was scheduled to be held in a private dining room of a certain cafe in half an hour¡¯s time. Ye Xiaotian was already waiting for him when Jin Qingyan arrived. The waiter served the coffee, after which Jin Qingyan sat down and crossed one leg over the other in a natural and rxed manner. He was a stark contrast from Ye Xiaotian. He looked radiant, refreshed, and energetic while Ye Xiaotian appeared extremely haggard with dark and distinct eye circles. Clearly, thetter had been going through a rough patchtely. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you still unsatisfied with the price I offered? You may continue to bargain for more and name your price. I¡¯ll decide if I¡¯m agreeable with it,¡± said Jin Qingyan. Ye Xiaotian stared at him with a sullen expression on his face and said, ¡°Stop dreaming, I¡¯ll never sell the Ye Corporation.¡± ¡°What do you mean sell? Don¡¯t make it sound so crude. It should be called handing yourpany over to a morepetent team of leaders. Ye Xiaotian, you caused such a huge corporation to end up in such a plight, you really don¡¯t have what it takes to be a team leader.¡± ¡°What has that got to do with you?¡± ¡°Of course it has something to do with me. After all, I do feel thrilled to see how pathetic your life has be. Well, did you think that I have no idea what you did back then?¡± Jin Qingyan gibed with raised brows. ¡°Did youe here today to talk to me about such irrelevant things?¡± ¡°You hired a top hitman to kill me and abduct Xiaoning and Qingyue before making me choose one out of the two of them. After that... you made my Xiaoning suffer a stab to her abdomen and caused my child to end up being miscarried. Xiaoning and I even got divorced afterward. I went on to investigate that matter for a long time, but I didn¡¯t manage to find out anything. I only found out muchter that you were the one behind it. I suppose you only did that because you resented me for introducing Mo Li to Byron, didn¡¯t you?¡± Jin Qingyan said with an icy cold gaze. Ye Xiaotian remained quiet and instead picked up his cup of coffee to take a sip. Silence meant that he was admitting to it, since he did not deny. This was the first time Jin Qingyan had broached the topic about this matter to Ye Xiaotian. ¡°Ye Xiaotian, I decided to meet you today only because I wanted to tell you that there¡¯s no point in being stubborn right now because I¡¯ll make you pay a hefty price, regardless of how persistent and obstinate you may be.¡± ¡°What can you do if I just keep objecting against it?¡± ¡°If you refuse to give in, I¡¯ll have to use my ways to make you do so. I suggest you know your limits and avoid letting yourself die a horrible death. I¡¯ll make you see and understand clearly what it feels like to have a taste of your own medicine!¡± Jin Qingyan warned with a sinisterughter. ¡°Is that so?¡± Ye Xiaotian retorted, his eyelids twitching a little. ¡°You¡¯ll find out soon enough. I¡¯m giving you three more days to consider. Once the time is up...¡± Jin Qingyan did not finish his sentence and instead rose from his seat before saying, ¡°Ye Xiaotian, it¡¯s up to you to decide if you want to be smart and leave with the hefty sum I¡¯ve offered or put yourself through immense torture. I can only tell you, I won¡¯t show you mercy at all.¡± The door closed, leaving Ye Xiaotian alone in the dimly-lit room. He leaned back against the chair feebly with one hand on his forehead while closing his eyes slowly. Within just a few years, he had be worlds apart from who he used to be. He did not manage to protect any of his possessions in the end. Everything had left him. He had nothing left to his name anymore. Instead of returning to the Ye Corporation, which was currently in dire straits, Ye Xiaotian decided to take a drive around the streets. All of a sudden, he caught sight of a familiar figure. Mo Li had lost a ton of weight and she was walking in his direction, dressed in a white coat and carrying a ck handbag. She also had some makeup on her face. He had never seen her again ever since their divorce, and neither did he intentionally find out about whether she was doing well. Ye Xiaotian gazed at her, feeling as if it had been a lifetime since he saw her. He parked the car and alighted. Upon the sight of him, Mo Li stopped in her tracks before continuing to walk forward instead of avoiding him on purpose. ¡°Li Li.¡± Mo Li smiled faintly and greeted, ¡°What a coincidence, Mr. Ye.¡± The way she had addressed him formally seemed to have erased everything that they had been through together in the past decade or so. She was once his dearest lover. She was once the mother of his daughter. He was once her husband. They used to live together and share the same bed every night. He did not expect that she would still greet him with a smile, even after everything that had happened. ¡°You seem to be getting on well.¡± ¡°Yes, ever since I divorced you, life has been getting better for me. I¡¯ve been living like a human every day. I may not have a wealthy husband anymore but I have an apartment of my own and I¡¯m living a safe and blissful life. I¡¯m telling you these because I want you to know that I can still continue to live well, even though you¡¯ve already ruined most of my life. I didn¡¯t attempt suicide or try to harm myself, because you were the one who inflicted so much pain and suffering onto me in the past. I got a new lease on life after leaving you.¡± Ye Xiaotian was filled with immense pain and agony upon hearing the words that came out of her mouth casually. He said, ¡°Good that you¡¯re living well...¡± Strangely, Mo Li did not feel much upon seeing the plight he was in currently. She seemed to have let go of all the love and resentment she had toward him after leaving him. She hadpletely given up. When she walked past him, he said, ¡°If I could turn back time, I would do my best to protect you, Jiani, and our family. I wouldn¡¯t allow you to be treated unfairly.¡± Mo Li turned her head around slightly and nced at him before walking away with her back straight. The initial smile on Mo Li¡¯s face disappeared and she never once turned to look at him. ¡ª¡ª A full day had passed since An Xiaoning received the message from the mastermind. Yet, the child spirit she had sent had yet to return. She only arrived at four o¡¯clock in the morning with a piece of news. An Xiaoning stayed put in the house for the entire day, just to wait for her arrival. The child spirit said, ¡°I overheard the Third Brother and the Fourth Brother¡¯s conversation, and they said that their master is here.¡± An Xiaoning looked at Fan Shixin and said, ¡°That Third Brother really didn¡¯t die. The trench was so deep and yet he managed to survive...¡± ¡°Is that true?¡± asked Fan Shixin, who could hear the spirit¡¯s voice even though he could not see her. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what they said. However, they don¡¯t seem to know what their master looks like either. In fact, I don¡¯t think they even know his name.¡± ¡°Alright, got it. We¡¯ll leave this ce tomorrow. Don¡¯t loiter about in the human world anymore. Go ahead and reincarnate. I¡¯ll perform a ritual for you and inform your mother that you have already passed away. I¡¯ll also give her a sum of money like I had promised you earlier.¡± Chapter 830 - A Million Times for You (192)

Chapter 830: A Million Times for You (192)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Are you guys leaving already?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The spirit nodded and said, ¡°I chanced upon grim reapers today and they were there specifically to catch me. However, I managed to escape with all my might. Could you burn me some money? I¡¯m afraid that they¡¯ll catch and torture me.¡± ¡°Alright. It¡¯s the wee hours of the night right now and all the clothing stores are closed. I did bring some extra clothes with me, you¡¯ll probably be able to fit into them. I¡¯ve also brought some paper money along. I¡¯ll burn them all to youter.¡± The spirit cried tears of joy and gratitude. ¡°Thank you so much.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡± An Xiaoning took out a joss stick and ced it onto a te meant for mosquito coils. She then took out all of the paper money and clothing she had bought and set them on fire on the cemented ground of the house. Soon, thick fumes began to fill the air and Xiao Bai opened the window to allow for venttion. Once the ritual waspleted, the spirit could no longer be seen in the house. Xiao Bai cleaned up the mess while An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin began sorting their luggage. They decided to head back on their own since it would take days for Jin Qingyan¡¯s ship to arrive. An Xiaoning knocked on the door opposite hers when daybreak arrived. ¡°Nainai, it¡¯s you.¡± ¡°Sis Fei Niao, we¡¯re leaving this ce now. You may have everything that¡¯s left inside my room.¡± ¡°Really? Thank you so much,¡± Fei Niao thanked agitatedly. ¡°There are still more than twenty days before our lease is up. You may continue to stay at my ce until then.¡± ¡°Nainai, you¡¯re such a kind soul. Thank you so much. However, the exits and entrances of the town are still sealed at present.¡± ¡°There should be another way out.¡± After a moment of hesitation, Fei Niao said, ¡°Nainai, since you¡¯re so kind to me, it doesn¡¯t make sense for me to not do something for you in return. I know of a route that you can take to leave...¡± The trio first proceeded to the spirit¡¯s home. After informing the spirit¡¯s mother of her death, they left her a sum of money, iming to be the spirit¡¯s friend. They then embarked on the route as described by Fei Niao. Although they had to make a huge detour on a rocky path, they indeed managed to walk out of the town. After taking several buses, they finally arrived at the harbor. They embarked on a two-day journey by ship before boarding a ne. It made things much faster. Although they had to make several stops throughout the journey, it was still considered to be rather sessful and smooth. It was already four o¡¯clock in the morning by the time they arrived back in S Nation. An Xiaoning did not find the weather cold at all, unlike Fan Shixin and Xiao Bai, who were both shivering in their summer outfits. It took five minutes to get to Wei Ni Estate from the airport. Upon alighting from the taxi, An Xiaoning said to the two of them quietly, ¡°Your Young Sir must still be sleeping soundly. He definitely doesn¡¯t know that we¡¯re already home.¡± ¡°I think so, too.¡± To An Xiaoning¡¯s surprise, she was caught off guard and pulled into Jin Qingyan¡¯s embrace the moment she stepped foot inside the house. Fan Shixin and Xiao Bai looked at each other and hurriedly made themselves scarce by bringing the luggage inside. The pair of lovebirds were left hugging each other while standing by the door. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you for so long. How could I fall asleep knowing that you¡¯d be home anytime soon?¡± An Xiaoning looked up at him and said, ¡°You didn¡¯t think we¡¯d be back so soon, did you?¡± ¡°No. Changes can be so unexpected sometimes.¡± He picked her up in his arms and continued to walk inside. ¡°I didn¡¯t manage to find the treasure map.¡± ¡°It would¡¯ve been strange if you¡¯d managed to within such a short period of time. It¡¯s alright, I¡¯ve thought about it. I¡¯m already making apromise with Tuoba Gucheng by allowing you to go on this mission. I don¡¯t want you to make anypromises because of us anymore.¡± Teary-eyed, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Qingyan...¡± Jin Qingyan carried her upstairs and kissed her forehead while walking. ¡°Are we supposed to let ourselves be threatened and be at his beck and call just because we¡¯re citizens of his nation? Xiaoning, tell him tomorrow that you¡¯re calling off the pact you made with him. Tell him that you¡¯re not going to stop seeing me either. You must also tell him firmly that I¡¯ll do whatever it takes to kill him if he interferes with our rtionship again. I don¡¯t deserve to be your man if I can¡¯t even protect you.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s heart raced the moment he finished speaking. He sounded extremely reckless. It felt as if he was being surrounded by his greatest enemies but he could still remain dauntless despite being well aware that he was outssed. She remained silent, for he did not allow her the chance to speak. As soon as they entered the room and he put her down, Jin Qingyan immediately pulled her in for a passionate kiss. All Jin Qingyan felt was desire for the woman he had missed dearly, The temperature in the room was just right. ¡°Xiaoning, do you like the way I¡¯m treating you now?¡± ¡°Yes...¡± she answered with a coquettish moan and with her eyes ssed over. ¡°Do you feel good?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Am I terrific?¡± ¡°You are.¡± It seemed as if An Xiaoning had lost control of her consciousness and was entirely submissive toward him. He enjoyed hearing her answers. They finally called it a day. He carried her into the shower and bathed her himself before carrying her out again, fresh and clean. At this moment, she was just like an infant to him, incapable of looking after herself. She particrly enjoyed being cared for and cherished in such a manner. When they were lying in bed, An Xiaoning snuggled up into his arms and said, ¡°Qingyan, only a few people are aware of our previous lifetime, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°There¡¯s an anonymous person who knows about it too.¡± Jin Qingyan looked at her in puzzlement and asked, ¡°What anonymous person?¡± An Xiaoning exined what happened to her that night, including the content of the text messages she had received. Jin Qingyan¡¯s face stiffened and grew sullen after hearing her exnation. Gritting his teeth in anger, he said, ¡°Tuoba Gucheng knows clearly that none of his 3000 elite soldiers or special agents managed to aplish the task and yet he still used that to strike a deal with you?¡± Chapter 831 - A Million Times for You (193)

Chapter 831: A Million Times for You (193)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Who would¡¯ve known about this if the anonymous sender hadn¡¯t mentioned it? The point is, he knows about our past lives, and he even knows my name in my previous lifetime. Qingyan, I¡¯m suspecting something.¡± Jin Qingyan voiced her thoughts, ¡°He knew us in our previous lives? That¡¯s pretty obvious.¡± ¡°He knew us in our past lives, but why does he still have memories of the previous lifetime? The two of us barely know much about it, and all our knowledge is based on the asional dreams we have. I¡¯ve deduced from the messages that the sender seems to know everything. Did he reincarnate with the memory of his previous lifetime or is he a wandering soul who¡¯s possessed a human, or did he be immortal? The Second Brother said that he¡¯s so invincible that no one in this world is a match for him. Qingyan, I guess I truly understand what it means for there to always be someone who¡¯s far greater than one is.¡± ¡°You killed his subordinates, yet he didn¡¯t kill you at all. Instead, he simply gave you a warning and a reminder. Clearly, he¡¯s not quite out to annihte you. You don¡¯t have to care or think about who the sender is, as long as he¡¯s not trying to kill you. We don¡¯t have to think about whether it¡¯s a male or a female. It has nothing to do with us,¡± Jin Qingyanforted. An Xiaoning closed her eyes while in his embrace and said, ¡°I really wish to live a life of peace and simplicity. Whenever I recall those few years I had spent in M Nation, I never fail to think of Yiheng. When Yiheng was first born, he was so fair and chubby. I raised him single-handedly, and I could not help but be reminded of you whenever I looked at him.¡± ¡°You silly. Why didn¡¯t youe and find me directly? I ended up missing the years of his childhood.¡± ¡°Qingyan, from now on, let¡¯s not hide anything from each other, alright?¡± Noticing that he was not answering, she looked up to discover that he had already dozed off and was breathing rhythmically. He must be exhausted. An Xiaoning smiled and pinched his pronounced nose bridge, filled with joy and contentment. She looked down and hugged his waist tightly before closing her eyes to sleep. The dim, yellow light from themp filled every corner of the room. Jin Qingyan then opened his eyes once An Xiaoning had fallen asleep. Jin Qingyan stared at the shadow of her longshes that was cast on her face, an immense agony in his eyes. ¡ª¡ª It was two o¡¯clock in the afternoon. An Xiaoning was already on her way to the Autumn Pce in B City. She¡¯d received a timely call from Tuoba Gucheng in the morning, right after her return. He¡¯d agreed to meet her immediately without hesitation. She felt that he was so quick to agree because he was certain that she was going to surrender. In fact, An Xiaoning had guessed correctly. That was exactly what he was thinking. Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s eyes lit up the moment he saw her. She was dressed in a pink woolen zer matched with a ck pleated skirt and a pair of ck-colored high heels. She entered slowly with her bag in her hands. He had specially requested to meet her in the garden. They held each other¡¯s gaze, and all Tuoba Gucheng could feel from her gaze was her icy cold aloofness. ¡°Have a seat.¡± An Xiaoning sat down on a chair beside her, not in the mood to appreciate the flowers and lush greenery around her at all. He sat down opposite her and gestured for the servants to serve some tea. ¡°Try this, it¡¯s made from premium-grade tea leaves.¡± She remained still and asked, ¡°Is there poison in this?¡± Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s face stiffened and he said with a wry smile, ¡°No.¡± ¡°Still, I wouldn¡¯t dare to drink it. Let¡¯s call off the agreement we had previously,¡± she said slowly. Having already expected her to make such a request, Tuoba Gucheng agreed, ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°What I mean is, I won¡¯t stop seeing Jin Qingyan even if I didn¡¯tplete the mission. I¡¯ll delete that voice memo too. I came to see you today because I wanted to tell you that you have no right to force me to do things against my wishes.¡± Supporting himself against the table, he said, ¡°Mhm... who gave you the audacity to say that?¡± ¡°No one, that¡¯s just how I naturally am. You sent 3000 elite soldiers and special agents on the quest for the treasure map, but they¡¯d all failed. What makes you think I can do it? Or did you assign me to such a Herculean task on purpose... thinking that I¡¯ll back off after realizing how difficult it is and promise you to never see Jin Qingyan again? Regardless of what it is, I won¡¯t let you have your wishes.¡± ¡°How did you know that I¡¯ve once sent my troops there?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you know that there¡¯ll always be someone more powerful than you are? I suggest you stop trying to get your hands on the treasure map through such painstaking means. The person who has the treasure map is not to be trifled with. Be careful not to lose your life right after you just became the president. Otherwise, you¡¯ll incur a greater loss than gain.¡± A sullen expression formed on Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s face immediately. He squinted and said, ¡°You seem to know quite a bit.¡± ¡°I know what I should know, and I also know a little bit of what I shouldn¡¯t. Your Majesty, you¡¯re so narrow-minded with your love. You im to love me even though we¡¯re rted by blood. However, your definition of love is giving me up to the terrorists when you werepelled to make a decision during the negotiation. It means driving me into a corner and forcing me onto a path toward death. Your definition of love is using me to get what you want. I entered the Autumn Pce back then in order to save my mother, not to get close to you. Otherwise, why would I have worn a mask to disguise my features and endured all the humiliation and suffering during my time here? I really thought you were different from your mother. However, it seems I was wrong. You¡¯re selfish and vicious. Did you inherit that from her? At the end of the day, the person you love most is still yourself.¡± Every word of hers struck a sour note within Tuoba Gucheng. ¡°Is this really how you perceive me?¡± ¡°Not in the past, but I do see you as such a person now. Ever since you became the president, you¡¯ve changedpletely. Maybe that¡¯s just your true colors. Before you became the president, didn¡¯t you and Her Highness hope that your children would have the freedom to choose who they wanted to marry? But aren¡¯t you behaving just like your mother now? You¡¯re the leader of the nation, and I¡¯m one of your citizens. Didn¡¯t you subject me to the same treatment that your mother did to you previously? Your Majesty, you¡¯ve be the person that you used to detest.¡± She stood up abruptly and said, ¡°I¡¯ve already said what I had to. Let¡¯s not meet again forever, unless absolutely necessary.¡± Tuoba Gucheng watched as she left, feeling as if he had lost everything. Did I gradually be the type of person I used to detest? I didn¡¯t want this, either. I didn¡¯t want to kill her or force her to a dead end. Images of the past popped up in his head. He reminisced the days where he was still a prince and she was just a female bodyguard of his. There was no way he could turn back time and return to those days. ¡ª¡ª After exiting the Autumn Pce, An Xiaoning looked up at the gloomy skies and felt exceptionally at ease and rxed. Chapter 832 - A Million Times for You (194)

Chapter 832: A Million Times for You (194)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios From now onward, she would not take it lying down regardless of how Tuoba Gucheng treated her. If he continues to try and kill me, I¡¯ll definitely retaliate. If I could sneak into the Autumn Pce once, I¡¯d be able to do it again. That would give me the opportunity to kill him, wouldn¡¯t it? She then boarded a flight back to A City and returned to Sanqiao Estate. Shi Qingzhou felt relieved for An Xiaoning after hearing her story about what happened. ¡°I can already imagine what happened just by hearing your description.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯m back now, aren¡¯t I? Mother, let¡¯s have a reunion dinner tonight after I pick Yiheng upter. I¡¯ll invite Qingyan over too,¡± An Xiaoning said, smiling while holding onto her mother¡¯s arm. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll cook tonight.¡± ¡°Terrific.¡± An Xiaoning stood up and said, ¡°Mother, I gotta get going to pick Yiheng up now.¡± ¡°Sure, go ahead.¡± After taking the keys from No. 5, An Xiaoning drove to the martial arts academy. An Xiaoning was thrilled at the thought of getting to see her precious son soon. There were still fifteen minutes more to go before the children were to be dismissed and An Xiaoning nned to wait until then. She headed to the office to see that Chen Xu, Jin Shan, and the arts and culture teacher were all present. Upon the sight of her, they all stood up one after another. ¡°Hey, herees the Young Madam,¡± Jin Shan jested. ¡°Quit joking. I¡¯m here to pick my son up. I¡¯ll send him back here tomorrow morning. How has Yiheng been doing?¡± ¡°Your son is so much like you. He¡¯s a fast-learner and picks up everything without dy,¡± said Chen Xu, sticking his thumbs up. ¡°I hope you¡¯re not justforting me because I¡¯m his mother. He¡¯s always been weaker in Mandarin. Has he improved yet?¡± ¡°Generally, he¡¯s improved. Speaking of which, let me show you an essay written by your Yiheng.¡± The arts and culture teacher took out Jin Yiheng¡¯s essay book and flipped to a page that she then showed to An Xiaoning. ¡°He always scores a 99 or 100 out of 100 for his math tests, but he doesn¡¯t do as well for Mandarin. He mainlycks in essay-writing skills.¡± An Xiaoning took the essay book from her hands and took a look at the words written. His handwriting was rather neat and presentable. It would seem that all the penmanship An Xiaoning had made him do in the past actually paid off. It was an essay about his parents. The title was ¡°My Daddy and Mommy.¡± The content read thus: My Daddy is a middle-aged man and although many im that an uncle like him still has the charm of a young hunk, I really beg to differ. Well, that¡¯s because I¡¯m much younger and better-looking than he is. Daddy coops himself up in the office every day to handle his pile of work that never seems to end. He never takes breaks in between either. I¡¯ve advised Daddy not to wear himself out on several asions, but he always brushes me off by saying that I¡¯m just a kid who knows nothing. Yes, there are some things that I don¡¯t understand. I don¡¯t understand why adults have to ce so much emphasis on money and make their worlds revolve around it. Is money really that important and necessary? Can¡¯t you live without money? Right, you can¡¯t live without money. Daddy is very temperamental and his mood often fluctuates. When I went home, I secretly went online to find out more information about menopause. Afterparing the symptoms exhibited by Daddy and those described online, I discovered that Daddy has really be menopausal. How devastating. I¡¯ll definitely speak to Mommy about his condition when I have the time. Speaking of my mommy, I must say, she¡¯s my ultimate role model. Mommy has a love-hate rtionship with me. When she loves me, she calls me ¡®Baby¡¯; and when she hates me, she calls me by my full name, ¡®Jin Yiheng.¡¯ Whenever she does thetter, I¡¯ll think to myself that she¡¯s about to get riled up andsh out at me. I¡¯ll tell myself to run away quickly, lest she beats me up into a pulp. I can¡¯t defend myself and hit her back anyway. After all, she¡¯s my mommy and I must be filial to her.¡± ... After reading the essay, An Xiaoning handed the book back to the teacher and said, ¡°This silly child... there¡¯s still room for improvement for his essay-writing skills. There are a few spelling mistakes here and there. I¡¯ll have to trouble you to correct him more often in the future, Teacher.¡± ¡°That goes without saying. Apart from hisck ofpetency in Mandarin, he does very well for his other subjects,¡± the teacher said with a smile. While bringing Jin Yiheng home, An Xiaoning said to him, ¡°I¡¯ve read your essay.¡± Upon hearing her words, Jin Yiheng protested in displeasure, ¡°Mommy, how could you invade my privacy?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not your diary anyway. Why is your teacher allowed to read it but I¡¯m not?¡± ¡°You... mustn¡¯t tell Daddy about it, then.¡± An Xiaoning looked at his reflection in the rear view mirror and asked with a smile, ¡°Are you afraid that he¡¯ll give you a beating?¡± ¡°Mhm. Mommy, are you going to promise me or not?¡± Jin Yiheng asked with a frown. Noticing how impatient he was getting, An Xiaoning agreed, ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t tell him.¡± Jin Yiheng sat up and leaned forward to move closer toward her. ¡°Mommy, I want to sleep with you tonight.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Beaming with joy, Jin Yiheng kissed her and said, ¡°Mommy, Daddy will definitely try to interfere and hinder me from sleeping with you. What do we do if he objects to it?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll shred him if he objects, alright?¡± ¡°Yes, yes, yes...¡± In reality, disgruntlement was written on Jin Qingyan¡¯s face the moment he heard Jin Yiheng saying that he would be sleeping with An Xiaoning at night when they return to Wei Ni Estate after having dinner at Sanqiao Estate. ¡°How old are you now?¡± ¡°I... I¡¯m barely ten.¡± ¡°You¡¯re already so grown up and you still want to sleep with Mommy?¡± ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re already so old but you still sleep with Mommy, so why can¡¯t I?¡± ¡°You just can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Enough, Yiheng is still so young. He¡¯s still my baby regardless of how old he is,¡± An Xiaoning said tactfully. Noticing that An Xiaoning was backing him up, JIn Yiheng chimed in smugly with a smirk, ¡°Exactly.¡± Jin Qingyan did not say anything else ever since. Thus, the family of three shared the same bed that night. Jin Yiheng slept in the middle of the two of them. Jin Qingyan decided not to act inappropriately since he was aware that his son was now sensible enough to know what¡¯s going on. However, Jin Yiheng seemed to sense that something was fishy and took a look at them both before asking, ¡°Mommy, will you give me a younger sibling in the future?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it nice being the only child?¡± Jin Yiheng sighed and said, ¡°I¡¯m feeling really conflicted right now. I kinda want a younger sibling, but at the same time, I don¡¯t really want one.¡± An Xiaoning chuckled in amusement and asked, ¡°You want and don¡¯t want a younger sibling at the same time?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know either.¡± Jin Qingyan interjected, ¡°That¡¯s not something you should be worrying about. Your Mommy and I get to decide whether we want to give you a sibling. You don¡¯t have a say in this. When you¡¯re older and married, it¡¯s up to you to decide how many children you want.¡± Jin Yiheng rolled his eyes and retorted, ¡°Right, Mommy doesn¡¯t n on marrying you again and giving birth to another child with you anyway.¡± Jin Qingyan was momentarily at a loss for words, fuming with anger. ¡°The coaches at the academy must really beat you often, don¡¯t they?¡± ¡°They¡¯ve never hit me before. In fact, Coach always praises me for being an obedient child.¡± ¡°Do you seriously believe him?¡± ¡°Of course I do.¡± ¡°Oh, how naive.¡± ¡°Daddy, stop being jealous and green with envy just because no one has praised you before.¡± Jin Qingyan retorted, ¡°Who said so? Your Mommy praised me so muchst night.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s ears turned red with embarrassment and she extended a hand to pinch Jin Qingyan. ¡°Go to bed.¡± Wincing in pain, Jin Qingyan massaged the spot that she had pinched and said, ¡°Be more gentle.¡± Chapter 833 - A Million Times for You (195)

Chapter 833: A Million Times for You (195)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Yiheng guffawed relentlessly and gloated over his father¡¯s misfortune. ¡°Daddy, will you tell me a story?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you hate hearing the stories I tell?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just really bored. Tell me a story, maybe I¡¯ll fall asleep then.¡± ¡°Let me tell you a story about an ugly duckling, then.¡± ¡°I already know you¡¯re going to bluff me just by hearing the title.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t continue, then. It¡¯s just going to be a waste of my breath.¡± ¡°Tell me, tell me, Daddy, hurry, I want to hear it.¡± Jin Qingyan switched off the lights and said slowly with his eyes open, ¡°A mother duckid six eggs that hatched into six ducklings, one of which was extremely ugly. Ever since it hatched from its egg shell, it was mocked and ridiculed by other animals around it. It became theughingstock of the animal world. Everyone thinks that it¡¯s not fit to be a duck. The ugly duckling lived a miserable life every day, and life was practically a living hell. It would hear words of criticism and humiliation wherever it went. In fact, even its mother despised it.¡± ¡°Did it be a swan afterward?¡± Jin Yiheng interrupted. ¡°No. The ugly duckling grew up slowly day by day, and it soon gained the ability to finally leave the toxic environment it was in. Thus, it managed to escape sessfully and moved to afortable environment. A family of humans then adopted it and fed it well every day. It was inplete bliss and became the family¡¯s beloved pet. It no longer had to suffer any humiliation or mockery, and it could even enjoy delicious food every day. Life was simply amazing.¡± ¡°Daddy, this ugly duckling is so lucky.¡± ¡°Yeah, it thought it was lucky too, until one day, its owner found out that it was a male duckling that could noty eggs. The owner then sold it to an abattoir, and it became a crispy roasted duck in the end.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Daddy.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to listen to your stories ever again.¡± ¡°Son, that¡¯s just how pragmatic the world and society are. If you¡¯re ipetent, you¡¯ll be eliminated ruthlessly. This is a teaching I¡¯m imparting to you. Haven¡¯t you heard of the popr saying regarding hens? ¡®An egg a day keeps the cleaver away.¡¯¡± ¡°I understand, I won¡¯t be an ipetent parasite when I grow up.¡± A smile formed on An Xiaoning¡¯s face as she quietly listened to their conversation. The family of three were sound asleep at three o¡¯clock in the morning. However, Jin Yiheng was jolted awake by his sudden urge to answer nature¡¯s call. He fumbled about and got out of bed slowly. Sleepy-eyed, he made his way to the bathroom. By the time he returned to the bed, the spot in the middle no longer belonged to him. His father was already hugging his mother tightly. There was no space for him to squeeze in at all. He had no choice but to lie down on the side. Jin Yiheng woke up againter, only to discover that his parents were no longer lying beside him. Upon seeing the fresh set of clothes on the chair, he changed into it and skipped downstairs. His mother was practicing yoga while his father was nowhere in sight. ¡°Where¡¯s Daddy?¡± ¡°In the kitchen.¡± ¡°Wow...¡± He hurriedly sprinted toward the kitchen and eximed, ¡°Daddy¡¯s actually making breakfast!¡± ¡°Your Daddy is a great cook to begin with,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°But he¡¯s never made breakfast especially for me before. Indeed, he¡¯s very selective.¡± Jin Yiheng then walked toward Jin Qingyan and asked, ¡°Daddy, what are you making?¡± ¡°Porridge made of ck rice.¡± ¡°Daddy, why don¡¯t you make Eight Treasures porridge instead? I don¡¯t like ck rice.¡± Jin Qingyan turned off the stove and asked, ¡°Is there anything else you won¡¯t eat other than ck rice?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Liar. Will you eat a te of dog feces?¡± Jin Qingyan quipped. Jin Yiheng humphed dejectedly and left the kitchen. During breakfast, he did not have any of the porridge and instead only drank a ss of milk. Staring at the two bowls of porridge that belonged to his parents, Jin Yiheng remarked, ¡°It¡¯s so ck and murky, it looks just like ink.¡± Jin Qingyan red at him and said, ¡°We don¡¯t think so. We should have left you to fend for yourself in ancient viges. You won¡¯t even get to eat in noodles there. You¡¯ll stop being picky then.¡± ¡°Daddy, did Grandpa hit you when you were younger?¡± ¡°No.¡± Jin Yiheng said confidently, ¡°I don¡¯t believe you. You must¡¯ve been beaten up frequently when you were younger, with that character of yours.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t spout nonsense, I¡¯ve been outstanding ever since I was a child.¡± At this moment, Mr. Jin arrived. Jin Yiheng hurriedly asked, ¡°Grandpa, Daddy said that you¡¯ve never hit him before when he was younger. Is that true?¡± Mr. Jin answered truthfully, ¡°Oh, I did beat your father very frequently when he was younger. He was always creating trouble and up to mischief. He was never as obedient as you are.¡± Jin Yiheng nced at his father smugly and gibed, ¡°Grandpa is the most honest. Daddy, you¡¯re still lying at such an old age. Do you have any shame at all?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t remember any of the things your Grandpa said I¡¯d done,¡± Jin Qingyan saidposedly. Mr. Jin exposed him relentlessly, ¡°What do you mean you don¡¯t remember? When you were seven years old, you particrly enjoyed emptying bird nests and stealing our neighbors¡¯ chickens, which you killed and roasted. I even gave you a beating for that. Did you forget?¡± Jin Qingyan was speechless. Jin Yiheng chimed in, ¡°Turns out you were such an insensible child, Daddy. You were already seven years old and yet you still emptied bird nests. How childish.¡± Jin Qingyan red at him menacingly, after which he immediately kept quiet and continued eating. Jin Qingyan then looked at Mr. Jin and asked, ¡°What brings you here early in the morning?¡± ¡°Well... I¡¯m running low on cash.¡± ¡°How much do you need?¡± Jin Qingyan asked, wiping his mouth slowly. ¡°Five million dors.¡± Mr. Jin avoided eye contact with Jin Qingyan, for he felt a little ashamed for asking him for money again, especially since Jin Qingyan had just given him some money not long ago. Jin Qingyan took out a cash check of two million dors from his wallet. ¡°Here.¡± Upon seeing the amount written on the check, Mr. Jin said, ¡°I¡¯m asking for five million.¡± ¡°Take it or leave it.¡± Mr. Jin did not argue any further and took the check quietly. He then left soon after. Fan Shixin sent Jin Yiheng back to the academy after breakfast. ¡ª¡ª Lin Shishi pushed the door open and peeked inside the office. Tuoba Gucheng did not return to their bedroomst night and instead slept in the study. Lin Shishi immediately proceeded to take a look once daybreak arrived. As soon as she stepped foot inside the lounge, she was greeted with a strong odor of alcohol. She walked toward the bed and caught sight of the camera on top of it. It was the same camera that was inside the locked safe... She bent forward quietly and picked up the camera. She then looked through the camera album, in which there were several photos of a woman sleeping. Her features were blunt and she had ackluster appearance. Lin Shishi recognized her to be Mu Ning, the bodyguard who used to follow Tuoba Gucheng around. To her knowledge, Mu Ning was a woman who was not mute but had never spoken to her before. Was it because she just did not want to speak to me? Did this female bodyguard have an extraordinary rtionship with my husband? Is that why she never wanted to speak to me? Lin Shishi continued to browse through the photos in the camera, only to find that there were no more photos of Mu Ning, merely of scenery and objects. Lin Shishi took a close look at Mu Ning and memorized her features. She could tell right away that Tuoba Gucheng had taken the photo sneakily while Mu Ning was asleep. Lin Shishi¡¯s insecurities grew deeper. Women¡¯s instincts have always been urate. Chapter 834 - A Million Times for You (196)

Chapter 834: A Million Times for You (196)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Just as she was engrossed in staring at the photo, Tuoba Gucheng snatched the camera away from her hands forcefully. ¡°Who allowed you to touch my things?¡± he barked, ring at her coldly. Lin Shishi immediately said, ¡°I was just casually looking. But why do you have photos of Mu Ning in your camera?¡± ¡°Get out.¡± Tears welled up in Lin Shishi¡¯s eyes as she turned around to leave his office. Upon returning to the bedroom, she called in two of his bodyguards, one of whom was Xiao Chi. ¡°Madam, do you have any orders for us?¡± ¡°Do you guys remember Mu Ning, that bodyguard who used to follow my husband around?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Xiao Chi answered. ¡°Where did that woman go?¡± ¡°We have no idea, she resigned and left long ago. We don¡¯t know where she went.¡± ¡°How did she get along with Gucheng usually?¡± ¡°They shared a normal employer-subordinate rtionship.¡± ¡°Got it, you may leave.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± said a puzzled Xiao Chi, who left with the other bodyguard. Lin Shishi could not help but sense that something was amiss. Did Tuoba Gucheng hide that woman? It¡¯s very likely for that to have happened. Yet, another voice in her head was telling her, ¡°That Mu Ning looks so ordinary and in. How could he possibly have such poor taste in women?¡± It¡¯s obvious that I¡¯m ten times prettier than she is. How conflicting and mind-boggling. Lin Shishi could not wrap her head around what was going on. She decided to call her brother and ask for his help in finding out more about Mu Ning. After waiting for several hours, she received disappointing results. There were only a few people in the nation who shared the same name as Mu Ning. However, none of the information and photos she received were rted to the Mu Ning she was concerned with. Lin Shishi was perturbed and vexed. She was stuck in a huge dilemma and found the entire situation extremely absurd. She could not figure out just what about Mu Ning was attractive. She did not have an outgoing personality and looked extremely average. Tuoba Gucheng must have lost his mind to have fallen for a woman like her. But, how can those photos of her in his camera be exined? Why did he snap photos of her when she was sleeping? Tuoba Gucheng browsed through the photos again. He had been staring at them for a long time while chugging some alcoholst night. He could clearly remember that those photos were taken when she was asleep beside him, during the time that she was possessed by the spirit of his deceased golden retriever. At that point, he was not married yet. At that point, he had no idea that she was An Xiaoning. At that point, their rtionship was not as strained as it was now. At that point, he was bent on protecting her by doing everything in his power. Everything had changed. He could not bear to delete the photos, for he no longer had the chance to take such photos again. Yet, it would spark more issues if he did not delete them. After much consideration, he decided to delete them in the end. ¡ª¡ª Lin Mingxi woke up from her sleep in immense pain. She broke out into a cold sweat and struggled to support herself up, only to find that Gu Beicheng had already left for the office. She picked up her mobile phone with much difficulty and hurriedly called Gu Beicheng before proceeding to call Mrs. Gu. ¡°Mother, my stomach hurts, hurry ande here.¡± Mrs. Gu was just wondering why Lin Mingxi was calling her when she was just at home. Upon hearing her words, Mrs. Gu got a great shock and hurriedly rushed upstairs. ¡°Mingxi, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, I¡¯m just in so much pain right now. Mother, hurry and help me downstairs, let¡¯s go to the hospital.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get someone to carry you downstairs,¡± said Mrs. Gu, who noticed that she did not seem to be able to walk. She immediately summoned the bodyguards to carry Lin Mingxi into the car. At the same time, Gu Beicheng was also rushing to the hospital. By the time Mrs. Gu and Lin Mingxi arrived, Gu Beicheng had already arranged for a gynecologist to treat her. He took Lin Mingxi from the bodyguard¡¯s arms and lowered her onto the bed in the ultrasound scan room. The gynecologist quickly conducted a full-body check on Lin Mingxi. During the checkup procedure, Lin Mingxi felt an excruciating pain in her abdomen and grabbed onto Gu Beicheng¡¯s hand while wincing in agony. ¡°Doctor, just what¡¯s going on?¡± Mrs. Gu asked eagerly. ¡°There are early signs of a miscarriage. I¡¯ll prescribe some oral tocolytic for her. She should be fine if she doesn¡¯t bleed,¡± said the gynecologist, causing the three of them to be dumbfounded. ¡°That can¡¯t be, I came by for a checkup just a few days ago. Everything was fine then.¡± Pangs of panic engulfed Lin Mingxi. This was the first child she had ever conceived and it meant a great deal to Gu Beicheng. She had been extremely careful with her steps and movements. How could there be signs of a miscarriage? However, she had no choice but to take the gynecologist¡¯s word for it and take the tocolytic medication. She took it immediately upon receiving the medication from the pharmacy in the hospital. During the journey home from the hospital, there was still a dull ache in her abdomen, which made her feel exceptionally ufortable. ¡°Everything was going fine. How did this happen? You didn¡¯t take anything coldst night either. This doesn¡¯t make sense at all,¡± said Gu Beicheng. ¡°Is Xiaoning overseas now? Shall we ask Xiaoning to take a look?¡± Mrs. Gu¡¯s words struck a chord within Lin Mingxi, who hurriedly said, ¡°I didn¡¯t bring my mobile phone out with me. Beicheng, lend me yours, I¡¯ll give Xiaoning a call.¡± Gu Beicheng immediately handed her his mobile phone, after which Lin Mingxi frantically dialed An Xiaoning¡¯s number. Upon hearing that An Xiaoning was at home, Lin Mingxi quickly called her over to the Gu family mansion, though she did not exin the situation in detail. An Xiaoning agreed. An Xiaoning arrived not long after they did. ¡°Xiaoning, Mingxi woke up with an excruciating pain in her abdomen this morning. We just came back from the hospital, and the gynecologist said that she¡¯s showing signs of a miscarriage. She¡¯s already taken some oral tocolytic, but why do you think she¡¯d experience these abnormal symptoms out of nowhere? Take a look at her birth characters and see if there are any problems with it. If nothing¡¯s wrong, then it must be an issue with her health.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning sat down beside Lin Mingxi and asked, ¡°Does it still hurt?¡± ¡°Yes, but not as much as it did before. It was so excruciating and unbearable at the start. It¡¯s just a sharp pain now.¡± An Xiaoning read Lin Mingxi¡¯s birth characters, after which she sighed and called No. 5 to bring her the ck bag she ced inside her room. ¡°Xiaoning, is something wrong with Mingxi¡¯s birth characters?¡± An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°Yes, someone has ced a curse on her. Her birth characters must have been leaked to an ill-intentioned person.¡± ¡°What curse is that?¡± Gu Beicheng asked with a frown. ¡°It¡¯s a kind of ritual, and the effects will only take ce the day after the ritual. It¡¯s rather brutal and wicked. In conditions like Mingxi¡¯s, a miscarriage will definitely ur within a few days. The adult will also die within a month.¡± Everyone gasped in shock. Frightened out of her senses, Lin Mingxi held An Xiaoning¡¯s hand and eximed, ¡°Save me.¡± ¡°Everything will be fine with me around. Didn¡¯t I already instruct you to tell your parents to remain tight-lipped? How did your birth characters get leaked?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°My sister must have been the one who did it. She came home out of the blue a few days ago. She acted out of the ordinary and began apologizing to my parents and speaking to them politely. I even instructed them specifically not to leak my birth characters,¡± said Lin Mingxi. ¡°ording to what you said, your parents must have leaked your birth characters to her by ident. After all, they probably wouldn¡¯t have been on their guard against their own child. Now that she has gotten hold of your birth characters and birth timing, you have to take precautions against her for the rest of your life.¡± Chapter 835 - A Million Times for You (197) Chapter 835: A Million Times for You (197) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Your sister went back to apologize to your parents, and so did Elder Brother. Isn¡¯t that too much of a coincidence?¡± ¡°They were in cahoots all along. I¡¯m not surprised at all. Let¡¯s not tell Father about this. I¡¯ve alreadyid a trap for him earlier on. Seems like it¡¯s time to check my harvest.¡± Seething with anger, Mrs. Gu eximed in fury, ¡°I was upset about your brother returning home because I was worried that he would be up to some sordid act again. Have I ever let him down ever since I married your father? It¡¯s not easy being someone else¡¯s stepmother, but I¡¯ve been treating him like my own even when he was not financially independent. Beicheng gets to inherit thepany purely because of his abilities. What¡¯s there to be upset about? He¡¯s such a vicious and wicked ingrate. He wishes that we¡¯d all be dead so that he can be in charge of the Gu family! Mingxi¡¯s sister is so greedy too. They¡¯re both sisters, what right has she got to covet her parents¡¯pany and want it all to herself? Such a rapacious person like her will never be satisfied!¡± Lin Mingxi was devastated. Fortunately, they managed to find out about it earlier. Otherwise, she would have lost both her baby and her own life. No. 5 arrived with An Xiaoning¡¯s bag, which she then unzipped. From inside it, she retrieved three yellow-colored, rectangr pieces of paper. She then began writing an amulet with some red ink that she had made herself. All three amulets were different. After she was done writing them, she spread the amulets face-up and waited for them to dry. She then took out a small joss urn from her bag and ced it onto the table before taking out two more joss sticks. Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi held one joss stick each. ¡°Both of you, stand there beside each other,¡± An Xiaoning instructed, pointing at the coffee table. The two did as instructed. ¡°Light up the joss sticks, pray thrice, and ce them inside the urn.¡± Gu Beicheng lit up each of the joss sticks with a lighter and prayed sincerely before cing them into the joss urn. An Xiaoning lit up the dried amulets andid them down onto the table. The three amulets slowly turned into ashes. ¡°Bring me a mug for drinking.¡± Gu Beicheng hurriedly handed her a mug. ¡± ¡± An Xiaoning poured the ashes into the mug and handed it back to him. ¡°Add some hot water into this and mix it evenly.¡± Gu Beicheng poured the boiling water in the kettle into the mug to form a ck, murky solution. ¡°You can¡¯t be thinking of making me drink that, can you?¡± said Lin Mingxi, pointing at the mug. ¡°That¡¯s right. Drink it once it¡¯s cooled down. You¡¯ll be fine after drinking it. The yellow paper was made using herbs. It might taste a little strange, but it¡¯s still bearable.¡± Lin Mingxi felt much more relieved after hearing her words. Once the water had cooled to a suitable temperature, she picked the mug up to take a sip before saying, ¡°You¡¯re right, it does taste a little strange, but it¡¯s not too bad.¡± She then gulped it down in one breath. An Xiaoning handed her another cup of clear water and said, ¡°Rinse your mouth.¡± ¡°Xiaoning, will she really be fine after this?¡± Mrs. Gu asked worriedly. ¡°Yes, she¡¯ll be alright.¡± Noticing that Lin Mingxi had stood up abruptly, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°Back to my parents¡¯ ce.¡± ¡°Just rest for a while and go in the afternoon instead. Listen to me,¡± An Xiaoning advised. Lin Mingxi heeded her advice in the end andy in bed to rest for the rest of the morning. She nned to head to her parents¡¯ home in the afternoon. The thought of the incident sent anger rushing through her veins. She repeatedlyforted herself and reminded herself not to blow her top. Instead, she simply forced herself to endure it. After having lunch, Lin Mingxi returned to the Lin family home together with Gu Beicheng. Coincidentally, Lin Mingyuan happened to be having lunch with Mr. and Mrs. Lin. As soon as Lin Mingxi entered the house, she was greeted with the sight of the three of them having a joyous and harmonious meal. Unable to tolerate Lin Mingyuan¡¯s hypocrisy any further, she stepped forward and flipped the dining table. She did just that right in front of her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Lin were dumbfounded and shocked out of their senses. With a grave expression on her face, Lin Mingyuan hollered, ¡°Mingxi, what are you doing!?! You¡¯d better know your limits!¡± ¡°What am I doing? I should be the one asking, what are you doing here, you wretched woman!?! You sounded Father and Mother out to find out my birth characters and then put a curse on me to make me suffer a miscarriage within a week. I¡¯ll even have died within a month. My dear sister, you¡¯re so vicious. No wonder you came home all of a sudden acting out of the ordinary. Turns out you were up to a malicious act! Are you enjoying yourself, being in cahoots with Gu Dongcheng?¡± Lin Mingxi snapped, glowering at her. Lin Mingyuan retorted, ¡°What evidence have you got? Don¡¯t use me if you don¡¯t have any proof. Since you said that I was the one who did it, show me the evidence!¡± ¡°Drop the act. You know clearly yourself whether or not you were the one who did it!¡± Lin Mingxi looked at her parents and barked, ¡°Did you guys leak my birth characters!?!¡± Mr. and Mrs. Lin looked at each other in dismay and shook their heads fervently. ¡°No, are we such people? We definitely didn¡¯t!¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t? If you didn¡¯t, how did those people who are looking to harm me find out about my birth characters?¡± Lin Mingxi questioned, clearly not believing them. Gu Beicheng held her hand and asked, ¡°Father, Mother, when did shee home during the past few days?¡± Mrs. Lin answered truthfully, ¡°Apart from yesterday, she¡¯s beening home every day. Why would your father and I leak the birth characters and timing to others?¡± ¡°Father, Mother, there¡¯s a hypnosis technique that allows one to find out some secrets from the subject who has a poor willpower. The subject won¡¯t be able to remember anything after the hypnosis.¡± Gu Beicheng then nced at Lin Mingyuan and said, ¡°Am I right?¡± ¡°Utter bullshit! Do you two think it¡¯s right to lie to Father and Mother like this? I didn¡¯t do anything of that sort. Don¡¯t try and use me without any solid proof,¡± Lin Mingyuan vehemently denied. ¡°You¡¯ll know if we¡¯re maligning you after hearing this,¡± said Gu Beicheng, who then yed a voice recording. It was a conversation between Gu Dongcheng and Gu Beicheng. Gu Beicheng: ¡°How long have you been in cahoots with Lin Mingyuan?¡± Gu Dongcheng: ¡°Not that long, but it¡¯s been some time.¡± Gu Beicheng: ¡°Did you two work together to put a curse on Mingxi?¡± Gu Dongcheng: ¡°Yes, we did.¡± Gu Beicheng turned off the recording and said, ¡°So? Are you still going to deny it now?¡± Lin Mingyuan refused to admit to it and retorted, ¡°It¡¯s just a one-sided confession from him. It doesn¡¯t prove anything.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already checked the call andmunication history between you and Dongcheng. You two are contacting each other very frequently. The Gu Corporation and the Lin Corporation have never been in a partnership before. So why are you meeting him so often?¡± Gu Beicheng questioned. ¡°That¡¯s none of your business.¡± Gu Beicheng sneered, ¡°You¡¯re right, it¡¯s not. However, I can¡¯t take it lying down if you¡¯re trying to harm us. Even if you refuse to admit it, the police will still need a witness. I believe Dongcheng¡¯s statement is enough to prove something. If you still continue to deny it, the police will extract an answer from you via hypnosis.¡± Lin Mingyuan¡¯s temples were throbbing vigorously. At this point, she utterly detested Gu Dongcheng. I can¡¯t believe he betrayed me! ¡°Stop trying to frame me. What has it got to do with me if your brother is trying to harm you? I don¡¯t know what happened at all.¡± Chapter 836 - A Million Times for You (198) Chapter 836: A Million Times for You (198) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Well, are you willing to prove your innocence by agreeing to be put through hypnosis? Do you have the guts to?¡± Gu Beicheng asked with raised brows. Lin Mingyuan was at a loss for words. ¡°You don¡¯t dare to, do you? Since you said you didn¡¯t do it, you ought to be put through hypnosis. We¡¯ve already found a hypnotist. Once you agree to it, we¡¯ll call him here immediately. You shall prove your innocence in front of your parents.¡± Lin Mingyuan stood rooted to the ground in silence. Seemingly having guessed the situation, Mrs. Lin cocked her head sideways and asked Lin Mingyuan, ¡°Mingyuan, did you really try and harm Mingxi? Did you really hypnotize me and your father to find out Mingxi¡¯s birth characters?¡± The more she remained quiet, the more it seemed that she was admitting to it. ¡°Say something!¡± ¡°I¡¯m going home now!¡± Just as she was trying to leave, Gu Beicheng stopped her and said, ¡°Forget about leaving unless you make yourself clear today.¡± ¡°Gu Beicheng, get out of my way!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to. What can you do? Do you need me to call the police for you?¡± Gu Beicheng taunted, squinting at her with anger in his eyes. He approached her slowly, step by step, while Lin Mingyuan retreated slightly. Lin Mingyuan was no longer the domineering, alpha female she used to be and instead appeared to be much more cowardly, perhaps because she was guilty and knew that there was no way she could exin herself. Gu Beicheng warned, ¡°Don¡¯t think of stepping out of this door unless you give me a clear exnation. You eithere clean and own up or undergo hypnosis. We won¡¯t malign you in front of Father and Mother!¡± Lin Mingxi still had a little hope in her, for she remembered that the hypnotist once said that people who have strong willpower won¡¯t be vulnerable to hypnosis. She swallowed her saliva and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go through the hypnosis. Will that do?¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Gu Beicheng immediately dialed An Xiaoning¡¯s number. An Xiaoning had also suspected that Lin Mingxi¡¯s parents were hypnotized into revealing her birth characters. After all, An Xiaoning was skilled in hypnosis herself. An Xiaoning had also brought another young man with her, a renowned hypnotist whom she had hired. After all, An Xiaoning was only well versed in hypnotizing a subject when they¡¯re in the initial stages of sleep. Meanwhile, the hypnotist was able to carry out hypnosis even when the subject was lucid and awake. Lin Mingyuan had no choice but to lie down on the sofa reluctantly, repeatedly telling herself that she must not respond to the prompts given by the hypnotist and that she must not tell the truth. She prayed fervently in her heart. However, she had lost the battle the moment she epted the hypnosis. Having had a guilty conscience to begin with, she was initially resistant to the hypnotist¡¯s prompts but soon slipped into a daze. She admitted to everything and spilled the beans in front of everyone. Mr. and Mrs. Lin felt cold shivers down their spines upon hearing the truth straight from the horse¡¯s mouth. To make matters worse, they even heard Lin Mingyuan say, ¡°I detest Father and Mother to the core. Why did they want to have a second child? Am I not enough for them? They¡¯re old and I can¡¯t take care of them. They even split their assets into half, but all of their assets should have belonged to me in the first ce! If it weren¡¯t because I wanted to sound them out and find out about the birth characters and timing, I wouldn¡¯t have bothered making peace with them at all! In order to hide the truth, I obviously can¡¯t turn cold and aloof again immediately. It¡¯s so tiring having to keep up with the pretense.¡± Gu Beicheng had filmed the entire process in a video. It served as evidence of their crime. Lin Mingyuan woke up to a tight p across her face. She was instantly dumbfounded, and the impact left her ears ringing. Clutching her face in pain, she met her parents¡¯ eyes, which were seething with exasperation. Her heart sank as she wondered to herself, Did I say something wrong? An Xiaoning and the hypnotist left the mansion, leaving them to settle their familial matters. Mrs. Lin screeched, ¡°Mingyuan, you¡¯ve really disappointed me and your father. Why are you upset that we¡¯ve split thepany shares and our assets into half to be shared between you and Mingxi? Not only did you try and cause Mingxi to suffer a miscarriage, but you also even wanted to kill her. If I¡¯d known earlier that you¡¯d turn out this way, I would¡¯ve strangled you to death the moment you were born!¡± Lin Mingyuan looked up at her and scorned, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you do that, then? Isn¡¯t it toote to say these now?¡± ¡°You...¡± Mrs. Lin¡¯s anger had robbed her of her speech. ¡°It¡¯s indeed toote, but we¡¯ve already filmed the process of you getting hypnotized. We have the evidence now. I won¡¯t let you off. We¡¯ll hand this video over to the police,¡± said Lin Mingxi, glowering at her. ¡°What¡¯s the point in handing it over to the police? Don¡¯t you know that harming others using birth characters is just a superstitious concept? The police won¡¯t believe you!¡± Lin Mingyuan retorted. ¡°Are you naive or in stupid? The police were the ones who approached An Xiaoning for assistance in solving cases. Do you seriously think they won¡¯t believe in such superstitious things? They may not publicize it, but that doesn¡¯t mean they don¡¯t believe in them.¡± Lin Mingyuan turned as pale as a sheet immediately. What¡¯s going to happen to thepany if I go to jail? What¡¯s going to happen to my money and assets? I can¡¯t be put behind bars! Lin Mingyuan seemed to have transformed into a different person within seconds. She dropped onto the ground and knelt down in front of Mr. and Mrs. Lin and pleaded, ¡°Father, Mother, I was wrong. Please forgive me this once, I won¡¯t dare to do it again!¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be begging me instead? Beicheng, call the police. Although she did not manage to kill me, she still attempted murder,¡± said Lin Mingxi, clenching her fists in anger. Noticing that Gu Beicheng was about to call the police without hesitation, Mrs. Lin hurriedly stopped him. ¡°Beicheng, wait!¡± Regardless of how disappointed and aggrieved Mrs. Lin was, she still could not bear to watch her daughter being sent to prison. Mrs. Lin pleaded, ¡°Let¡¯s forget it this time. You guys have this video as proof. Your sister wouldn¡¯t dare to do it again. Just let her off this once.¡± Lin Mingxi looked at her and hollered agitatedly, ¡°How are you so sure that she wouldn¡¯t dare to do it again? She even knows about my birth characters and timing now. How do you know that she wouldn¡¯t continue to harm me? How are you going to guarantee that!?!¡± Mrs. Lin was at a sudden loss for an exnation. She looked down at her daughter who was kneeling in front of her and said, ¡°Promise Mingxi you won¡¯t do this again!¡± Lin Mingxi sneered and said, ¡°Beicheng, call the police.¡± Lin Mingyuan immediately knelt down in front of both of them and begged, ¡°Don¡¯t call the police, I really won¡¯t do this again, I promise!¡± Noticing how adamant they were, Mrs. Lin knelt down as well. Lin Mingxi felt a piece of herself crumble the moment Mrs. Lin knelt down. Suppressing her anger with all her might, she stared at her mother in disbelief and said to Lin Mingyuan coldly, ¡°Sure, I won¡¯t call the police, but you¡¯ll have to hand thepany over to me. You won¡¯t be up to any mischief if you don¡¯t have any money at all.¡± Lin Mingyuan looked up abruptly and questioned, ¡°What!?! You mean you want me to end up with nothing to my name?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Lin Mingyuan got up on her feet and shrieked, ¡°Just kill me now, then! Will that do? You¡¯ll have everything, I¡¯ll give you everything!¡± Mr. Lin grabbed her to stop her from entering the kitchen. Mrs. Lin bawled loudly and eximed in misery, ¡°Will you guys cut it out, please!¡± Chapter 837 - A Million Times for You (199) Chapter 837: A Million Times for You (199) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I¡¯ll die in front of her right now! Father, let go of me! I deserve to die for all the sins I havemitted. I¡¯ll just kill myself, will that do!?!¡± Lin Mingyuan eximed. How could Mr. and Mrs. Lin really watch her die? Although they detested her for everything that she had done, she was still their biological daughter at the end of the day. They could not bear to do so. ¡°Mingxi, just forgive your sister this once. If she dares to do this again, we won¡¯t care about her anymore and you can do whatever you want with her. Will that do? Forgive her just this once, alright?¡± Mrs. Lin yelled. Lin Mingxi said coldly, ¡°Would you still be saying this if she does it again next time? If she wants to die, let her go ahead. What are you stopping her for?¡± Mr. Lin interjected, ¡°Mingxi! Just forget it, you guys already have the video as evidence. If she does this again, call the police immediately. Your mother and I will be staying out of this if she doesn¡¯t repent.¡± ¡°Have you guys ever showed your concern for me before? Have you ever asked about my baby? Have you ever cared about me ever since I came home?¡± Lin Mingxi hollered. Choking in between sobs, Mrs. Lin said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you doing fine? Otherwise, how would you have had the energy to flip the table? Your father and I have always been trying to be impartial and treat you two fairly. Why don¡¯t you understand our intentions at all? You simply insist on going toe-to-toe against each other. The money we gave each of you is more than enough. Your father and I worked hard to build that empire. Mingyuan, your father and I have never ill-treated you. Do you think it¡¯s right for you to think of pocketing your sister¡¯s share? Those assets belong to me and your father, not you. You should be grateful that we gave them to you. Yet, not only are you ungrateful, but you also even tried to harm your sister and bear hatred towards us. We probably owed you a living in our previous lifetime. Otherwise, why would Heaven send you to torture us in this lifetime?¡± Lin Mingyuan remained quiet. ¡°You may leave. You¡¯re no longer a member of this family, we can¡¯t take you in hand either. You¡¯ve already gotten married long ago. Go live on your own since you have so many ideas and ambitions. You no longer need us anyway,¡± said Mrs. Lin, tearing up uncontrobly while sitting on the couch with her head hung low. Lin Mingyuan shrugged her father¡¯s hand away and left the house. A deafening silence filled the air. Tears streamed down Lin Mingxi¡¯s face as she said, ¡°Since you¡¯ve let her off today, don¡¯t regret it when one of us dies in her hands one day.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t happen. She¡¯ll probably change her ways. She¡¯s not a child, she won¡¯t be so insensible as to not repent her mistakes,¡± said Mrs. Lin, seeminglyforting herself instead of Lin Mingxi. Lin Mingxi felt like her mother was extremely pathetic. She did not feel like saying anything more. She was utterly dejected. On the way home, Lin Mingxi asked, ¡°Where did you get that recording?¡± ¡°Delete it for me, the recording is fake. I hired some professional voice actors for it. He could mimic Gu Dongcheng¡¯s voice really well.¡± Lin Mingxi took his mobile phone and deleted the recording. ¡°I know, you were just trying to scare her with that recording, but she was too careful not to fall for your trick.¡± ¡°You could tell?¡± ¡°Yes. I feel so unsafe at the thought of my birth characters and timing being leaked. I feel like I¡¯m at the risk of being harmed any second. Beicheng, I¡¯m scared,¡± Lin Mingxi said with a sullen expression on his face. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, we have Xiaoning by our side. She¡¯ll definitely help us. Your sister probably won¡¯t dare to harm you again. We have a hold on her now.¡± ¡°We grew up together, I know her too well. She¡¯s not one to be threatened. Xiaoning has her own issues to handle too, we can¡¯t keep troubling her every now and then.¡± Noticing how insecure she was, Gu Beicheng alighted from the car and looked at her earnestly. ¡°She doesn¡¯t seem like the kind to be threatened, but that doesn¡¯t mean your husband is a pushover.¡± ¡°Beicheng...¡± ¡°We have a great opportunity ahead of us.¡± ¡ª¡ª On that night, scandalous news about Gu Dongcheng were strewn all across the media tforms, not long after news about the Ye Corporation did. Videos of Gu Dongcheng flirting with women were first circted online, followed by rumors of him killing his wife Xu Youran. There were also ims of him abusing his authority and secretly keeping in touch with other corporations to cause harm to the Gu Corporation. The news went viral and became a hot topic for three consecutive days. Every mainstream media tform was reporting about him. However, it was because of the Gu family¡¯s fame and reputation, not his. No one really knew about him before the news were exposed. However, he had now be the hot topic for discussion amongstizens online. Three dayster, a board meeting was held within the Gu Corporation office. All the directors and shareholders agreed to kick Gu Dongcheng off the panel. The minute amount of shares he initially had were also confiscated by thepany as a form of punishment for the mess he had created. Just as everyone thought the matter was about to blow over, another uproar broke out. News of Gu Dongcheng contacting the DK organization in order to harm Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi were leaked. Gu Dongcheng had be the public enemy all of a sudden. Various media reporters were chasing him. Due to the fact that he would be recognized immediately the moment he steps out of the house, he had no choice but to coop himself at home. The incident had caused a huge hindrance to his life. Lin Mingyuan was initially rather worried. However, she felt much more relieved upon realizing that there were no reports about her. She dared not act rashly for the time being. She had a corporate event to attend at night. All the business elites and magnates would be present at the event, as well as some insignificant figures of the corporate world. Needless to say, Jin Qingyan was on the guest list too. The three days that he had given Ye Xiaotian to consider was up. However, thetter still refused to concede. Jin Qingyan did not expect him to be so obstinate. However, he would find out tonight if Ye Xiaotian was just forcing himself to put on a brave front. Jin Qingyan was in good shape, thanks to his daily gym sessions and the quality sleep he had been enjoying every night. Instead of wearing a suit, he was dressed in a navy blue leather top that he tucked inside a matching pair of trousers. He exuded a charming and suave aura with every step that he took. Fan Shixin was walking beside him with a bunch of bodyguards behind them. The bodyguards waited outside the door while he and Fan Shixin entered. He was the only male guest who had shown up with his subordinate, unlike the rest who had a female date for the night. Nheless, everyone crowded around him and approached to greet him the moment he stepped foot inside. He responded politely. ¡°Ye Xiaotian showed up in the end.¡± Jin Qingyan scoffed and said, ¡°He¡¯s got guts. What an airhead. I knew he woulde.¡± ¡°Hey... Young Sir, isn¡¯t that Young Madam?¡± Jin Qingyan looked in his direction to see a familiar figure standing at a distance away. She was d in a three-quarter-sleeved dress and had her face covered in exquisite makeup. She was chatting with Gu Beicheng while holding a ss of champagne. Jin Qingyan walked toward her. ¡°Why are you here?¡± She didn¡¯t even tell me that she would be here too! If only we came here together! ¡°I happened to pass by and bumped into Beicheng at the door. He then brought me in here and told me that you¡¯d being too,¡± An Xiaoning answered. Jin Qingyan looked at Gu Beicheng and said, ¡°Your best friend is over there, why aren¡¯t you apanying him?¡± Chapter 838 - A Million Times for You (200) Chapter 838: A Million Times for You (200) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I¡¯ll go there for a while.¡± An Xiaoning could tell that Jin Qingyan was just intentionally trying to get Gu Beicheng out of the way. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you wearing a suit?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t I look dashing in this?¡± An Xiaoning scanned him from head to toe and said, ¡°You do, but I like it when you wear a white shirt beneath a ck suit.¡± ¡°I wear that all the time. Aren¡¯t you sick of it at all?¡± She tiptoed to lean closer to him and said with a wink, ¡°You look uniquely charming when you¡¯re wearing a white shirt. Absolutely dashing.¡± Jin Qingyan smiled at the unexpectedpliment, causing his dimples to show. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°There¡¯ll be an interesting show tonight. Care to watch it?¡± ¡°Who is it about?¡± ¡°Make a guess.¡± An Xiaoning ced her ss down and turned around to walk toward the washroom. ¡°Can¡¯t be bothered to,¡± she said. As soon as she finished answering nature¡¯s call, she heard the sound of an ongoing conversation outside her cubicle. ¡°I think I saw An Xiaoning beforeing in just now. She was standing beside Mr. Jin. What¡¯s going on? Didn¡¯t they already divorce each other twice?¡± Lin Mingyuan gibed, ¡°This woman is legendary. Jin Qingyan must be blind. He can have any sort of woman he wants, yet he insists on being together with her. It¡¯s not like she¡¯s embellished with diamonds from head to toe. What¡¯s so charming about her?¡± ¡°I heard she¡¯s very well-rounded. She¡¯s a psychic irvoyant who¡¯s capable of fortune-telling. She can even crack cases and is proficient in martial arts.¡± ¡°In my opinion, she¡¯s best at seducing men!¡± said Lin Mingyuan, who detested An Xiaoning because thetter was associated with Lin Mingxi and Gu Beicheng. She felt as if she had just released her pent-up anger. ¡°Let¡¯s stop talking about her. It¡¯d be so awkward if she hears us.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with stating facts?¡± said Lin Mingyuan. As soon as she finished speaking, she opened the door of a cubicle, only to make eye contact with An Xiaoning. She retreated backwards, and a sullen expression immediately formed on her face. ¡°Stating facts?¡± An Xiaoning exited the cubicle and red at Lin Mingyuan before ncing at the other woman beside her, whom she had recognized. ¡°Mrs. Zhou, do you think she¡¯s stating facts too?¡± An Xiaoning questioned. The woman beside Lin Mingyuan frantically exined, ¡°Of course not, I think she¡¯s being absolutely ridiculous. How could I possibly agree with her? I don¡¯t at all.¡± An Xiaoning smiled and said sarcastically, ¡°I knew you had eyes to see for yourself, unlike someone over here. All she does is criticize others and end up embarrassing herself. No amount of makeup can hide her ugly personality.¡± Lin Mingyuan knew better than to retaliate and instead stood rooted to the ground, frozen in shock. An Xiaoning then left the washroom. Clutching her chest, Mrs. Zhou said, ¡°I got a great shock, how could there be such a coincidence?¡± Lin Mingyuan pulled the door open angrily and eximed, ¡°Just my luck!¡± An Xiaoning exited from the washroom and did not see Jin Qingyan in sight. She scanned her surroundings carefully to see that he was being surrounded by a crowd. She stepped forward and caught sight of a dolled-up woman who was throwing herself at Jin Qingyan. An Xiaoning pulled the woman away and took her spot. The woman was wearing stilettos and almost lost her bnce. However, she dared not express her anger after realizing that An Xiaoning was the one who¡¯d pulled her away. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Why is there such a crowd?¡± Jin Qingyan was thrilled to see her act of jealousy. However, he contained his happiness and said calmly, ¡°Nothing, it¡¯s just a casual chat.¡± ¡°It¡¯s so boring here. I¡¯ll get going first.¡± ¡°Why are you in such a hurry?¡± He whispered into her ear, ¡°The show has yet to start, you¡¯re not allowed to leave.¡± An Xiaoning looked up and held his gaze while nodding gently. The event continued to proceed ordingly, and there had yet to be any unusual incidents. As An Xiaoning was sitting idly on the couch, bored out of her wits, the lights were switched off all of a sudden and the deafening sound of gunshots filled the air while the crowd broke into hysterics. Everyone began running out of the venue while shrieking in terror. At this very moment, the lights were switched on again. All eyes were on the man who had passed out and was lying motionless on the ground. It was none other than Ye Xiaotian. He had been shot twice in non-fatal spots of his body. He was immediately rushed to the hospital, after which the police soon arrived. However, they did not manage to find any clues. On the way home, An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan returned in the same car that Fan Shixin was in charge of driving while the bodyguards were riding in a separate car. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t I just kill him?¡± Jin Qingyan asked, despite already knowing the answer. An Xiaoning rolled down the window a little and asked, ¡°What¡¯s your purpose for doing this?¡± ¡°To scare him a little. We shall see if he¡¯s got more backbone than my bullet,¡± Jin Qingyan said in a sexy, alluring voice. ¡°He resented me for introducing Mo Li to Byron back then and so he¡¯d decided to hire a top hitman to kill me. However, the hitman failed to kill me and instead abducted you and Qingyue before making me choose between the two of you. At that point, he should have guessed that this day woulde eventually,¡± he continued. ¡°He¡¯s be so much more haggard than before. It must be a torment for him to witness the downfall of the Ye Corporation happening before his very own eyes. The greatest pain is to live in a living hell.¡± An Xiaoning understood that Jin Qingyan did not kill Ye Xiaotian straight away, simply because he wanted to put him through a living hell. ¡°A businessman who enjoys handling major situations will be nothing without his career. No amount of money can buy the kind of happiness he derives from running apany. He should be very clear about what it feels like to be in hell. If it weren¡¯t for him, we wouldn¡¯t have gotten a divorce back then and you wouldn¡¯t have suffered the miscarriage of our first child. Your health wouldn¡¯t have deteriorated to the state it¡¯s in now either. He was the cause of everything. It¡¯s such a shame that I didn¡¯t manage to find out earlier that he was the culprit and mastermind behind that act,¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°A man like him seems to care a lot for Mo Li on the surface, yet he was also the same person who hurt her the most, as usual. Such men are usually the most heartless of them all, regardless of how devoted they may seem to be. He¡¯s nowhereparable to you,¡± An Xiaoning said with a smile. Beaming with joy, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°Good that you know. Don¡¯t leave me ever again. If you leave me, you won¡¯t be able to find someone who loves you as much as I do.¡± ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t leave you, ever,¡± she said abidingly. Just as the car pulled over in the garage of Wei Ni Estate, An Xiaoning said, ¡°I¡¯m going home to sleep.¡± He grabbed her wrist and countered, ¡°No.¡± An Xiaoning chuckled and released the safety belt. ¡°I¡¯ll see you tomorrow.¡± ¡°No,¡± he repeated. ¡°You don¡¯t want to see me tomorrow? The day after tomorrow, then. The day after tomorrow¡¯s tomorrow would be fine too.¡± ¡°You know I wasn¡¯t referring to that. Don¡¯t leave tonight.¡± She raised her chin and said while smiling, ¡°Try and persuade me with a convincing reason then. Otherwise, I¡¯m not staying.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll pleasure you from every angle, including blind spots.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I¡¯ve thought of a new position that I¡¯d like to invite you to try with me.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Xiaoning... Xiaoning...¡± Chapter 839 - A Million Times for You (201) Chapter 839: A Million Times for You (201) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning was almost bewitched by his coquettish tone. Who¡¯d have guessed that someone who looked so cold and aloof on the surface would turn out to be like a child at such a moment? She pinched his cheeks and said, ¡°Ah, you¡¯re melting my heart. Fine, I¡¯ll agree to your request.¡± His eyes lit up with joy, and he immediately unbuckled his safety belt, alighted from the car, and carried her out of the passenger seat. An Xiaoning draped her arms around his neck and pressed her face against his chest to hear his pounding heartbeat. Boom... boom... Anyone who saw them hurriedly covered their mouths and scurried away, for they were afraid of being berated. He carried her all the way into the bedroom. He then lowered her onto the bed slowly and removed her shoes. ¡°Do you want to take a shower?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He nodded and began to undress her, removing her clothes piece after piece. Afterward, he carried her into the bathroom and washed her hair for her. ¡°Whenever you help bathe me, I always feel like I¡¯m crippled and fully paralyzed.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you like it?¡± ¡°I love it. I enjoy being served by you. However, don¡¯t spoil me too much and end up making me get used to it, because I¡¯ll feel sad when you stop treating me like this one day,¡± said An Xiaoning, closing her eyes and savoring the pleasure of having her head massaged by him. ¡°I¡¯ll always dote on you and spoil you rotten, to the point that I¡¯ll be the only one who can tolerate your demanding ways. That way, I¡¯ll be the only person you can rely on.¡± ¡°Seems like you¡¯re harboring ill intentions.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve always been harboring ill intentions and designs on you. Didn¡¯t you know that?¡± ¡°I¡¯m destined tond in your hands for the rest of my life.¡± He chuckled and said, ¡°I should be the one saying that.¡± ¡°Have you got any shame at all? You¡¯re a grown man, do you really think it¡¯s appropriate to say that?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s very appropriate.¡± An Xiaoning rolled her eyes at him. He epted it with joy. After taking a shower, Jin Qingyan wrapped An Xiaoning in a bathrobe and carried her all the way out of the bedroom. ¡°Where are we going?¡± ¡°The study.¡± He entered the study and switched on the lights. An Xiaoning caught sight of a white piano in the spacious room. There was a bench in front of the piano that was just enough for both of them. He lowered An Xiaoning onto the bench, after which she turned around and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know a thing about the piano, I can¡¯t y it at all.¡± ¡°I brought you here to be my audience,¡± said Jin Qingyan, pouring himself and her a ss of liquor. After taking a few sips, he began ying a melodious tune on the piano. An Xiaoning gazed at him, feeling like he was more dashing than ever. At the end of the veryst note, he asked softly, ¡°Do you like it?¡± ¡°Yes, I actually want to learn how to y it.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t learn it.¡± He carried her again and lowered her onto the piano. ¡°I want to know something that you don¡¯t. Do you understand?¡± ¡°Do you want me to crush the piano and damage it?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, I¡¯ll just buy a new one. I don¡¯t have anything except money. I can afford as many pianos as you want.¡± He then walked in front of her and sucked on her neck. An Xiaoning grabbed his shoulders as an electrifying chill was sent down her spine. The piano would make a sound with every movement of hers. He was dressed in a thick robe while she was merely dressed in a bathrobe, though she did not feel cold at all. An Xiaoning raised her head and tried to catch her breath. Within moments, the piano began to crank rhythmically and almost became incoherent toward the end. Although it was not ear-piercing, it was not exactly the most pleasant-sounding melody either. An Xiaoning did not expect him to have reallye up with a new position and save the best for thest. It had never urred to her that a piano would make her feeble, weak, and parched. He really had all sorts of tricks in his repertoire and she had really underestimated him! To make matters worse, he seemed to be perfectly fine even though she could no longer manage to walk properly. ¡°My good girl, your body is too fragile. You must train yourself more and... make your bosom bigger.¡± An Xiaoning red at him and said, ¡°I¡¯m a C cup and they haven¡¯t sagged yet. How dare you mind them for being small?¡± Jin Qingyan immediately exined, ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant, what I meant was, they¡¯re already huge now but they could be bigger.¡± ¡°Since they¡¯re already big now, why must they be bigger? If you want a D-cup woman, go ahead and look for other women! You¡¯re barely an A cup and yet you still have the cheek to say that. Get out!¡± An Xiaoning eximed, boiling with anger. ¡°Good girl, I was wrong, let¡¯s go to bed,¡± said Jin Qingyan, who wished he could bite his tongue off. ¡°Go sleep in the guest room.¡± ¡°Xiaoning...¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go if you don¡¯t!¡± Noticing that she was about to get out of bed, Jin Qingyan immediately coaxed her, ¡°Okay, okay, I¡¯ll go, I¡¯ll go... I¡¯ll go right now. Will that do?¡± Jin Qingyan really felt like giving himself a tight p for letting his mouth be so foul. Saying that a woman¡¯s breasts were small was akin to criticizing a man¡¯s member for being pencil-thin! An Xiaoning switched the lights off after watching him walk out of the door. He entered again at midnight. He assumed that she was sound asleep. However, she had already woken up the moment he opened the door. She remained quiet and went on to fall asleep in his arms. ¡ª The next morning, Fan Shixin greeted him with good news. Ye Xiaotian had agreed to let Jin Qingyan acquire the Ye Corporation. ¡°Why didn¡¯t he continue being wishy-washy?¡± Jin Qingyan said while having breakfast, dressed in a white woolen coat. ¡°I reckon he must be afraid that you¡¯d kill him.¡± ¡°If he behaved earlier, he wouldn¡¯t have had to suffer those gunshots. What a stubborn idiot. I must send ourpany¡¯s representatives to clinch the deal as soon as possible.¡± An Xiaoning made her way downstairs slowly. Fan Shixin greeted her and left afterward. She sat down while massaging her back, after which Auntie Chen quickly served the dishes. Noticing that the breakfast spread consisted of a tter of nourishing food, An Xiaoning looked at Jin Qingyan and questioned, ¡°Did you specially arrange this?¡± ¡°Of course, I¡¯m your man. Who else am I going to pamper other than you? It¡¯s tasty, try it.¡± An Xiaoning looked down and began eating slowly, only to discover that the food was really delicious. She managed to polish off everything on her te, perhaps because she was rather hungry. ¡°Ye Xiaotian has given up. The Ye Corporation is going to get a new name soon,¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°Congrattions then, Piggy. You¡¯ve won the battle with finesse.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s because I¡¯m your man,¡± he said smugly. Before An Xiaoning could speak, he looked at her urgently and said, ¡°Will you still love me as much as you do, regardless of what I be in the future? Do you promise to never leave me?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you already ask the same questionst night?¡± she asked in puzzlement. Chapter 840 - A Million Times for You (202)

Chapter 840: A Million Times for You (202)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I want to hear your answer again.¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan, regardless of how horrendous you be, I¡¯ll still love you as much as I do now and I¡¯ll never leave you, you three-year-old kid.¡± He nodded and smiled in satisfaction. An Xiaoning had a hunch that Jin Qingyan was feeling insecure and seemed to be afraid that she would leave him and nevere back again. That exins why he keeps asking me the same question again and again. I didn¡¯t give him the security he needed. She wiped her lips and rinsed her mouth before saying, ¡°Piggy, shall we have another dog?¡± ¡°Another dog?¡± he asked in astonishment. ¡°Yes, another dog that¡¯s as spiritual as Maomao. It can be our beloved pet.¡± ¡°You were so upset when I told you that Maomao had died of an illness and even said that you don¡¯t want a dog anymore. Why do you suddenly want one now?¡± ¡°Well, at least you¡¯ll have our beloved pet to apany you whenever I¡¯m not around to apany you. Yiheng is rarely home anyway.¡± ¡°Hmm... am I so love-deprived that I¡¯ll need thepany of a dog?¡± he asked with raised brows. ¡°I like dogs. Do you want one?¡± she asked, staring at him intently. He could never bear to say no whenever she stared at him with those puppy eyes of hers. ¡°I have no objections against your decision to rear a dog. After all, I was the one who brought Maomao home back then. However, we must make an agreement beforehand. Dogs have short lifespans and you¡¯re not to be incredibly upset when it dies.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be treating it as a part of our family. Of course I¡¯m going to be upset when it dies. But I¡¯ve thought about it this time. Maomao was a boy, so let¡¯s have two dogs this time, a boy and a girl. At least we¡¯ll still have their children after they die. How does that sound?¡± An Xiaoning asked with a smile. ¡°Maomao was a pomeranian. Do you still want another pomeranian?¡± ¡°No, how about a husky?¡± ¡°Huskies!?! You mean those silly dogs that appear slow-witted?¡± Jin Qingyan asked, cing a hand on his forehead. ¡°That¡¯s adorably silly, not slow-witted.¡± Jin Qingyan nodded and said, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll get Shixin to buy two of those.¡± ¡°They must be spiritual.¡± ¡°Got it,¡± he answered with a nod. Fan Shixin returned with two newborn huskies soon after Jin Qingyan left for work. ¡°The seller said that these two are the most spiritual amongst the litter. They could respond to humans and obeymands right after they were born. They¡¯ll grow up to be clever dogs if you train them properly.¡± ¡°Are they going to be dog prodigies?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°That¡¯s not impossible. Young Madam, give them a name each.¡± ¡°Hm... the gray female dog shall be named ¡®Wang Cai¡¯ while the ck one shall be named ¡®Fu Gui.¡¯¡± Fan Shixin gave her a thumbs-up and said, ¡°Such simple and catchy names.¡± ¡°Shixin, let me ask you a question. Why haven¡¯t I seen that Bu Xianxian aroundtely? Did she return to her hometown?¡± An Xiaoning asked softly. ¡°No, she¡¯s been admitted to the stic surgery hospital to get some work done on her face. I haven¡¯t seen her in a long time either. I¡¯m guessing she¡¯ll only return once she¡¯s satisfied with her new features.¡± ¡°Reassignment and adjustments can be made to her features, but how is she going to alter her skin color?¡± Fan Shixin chuckled and said, ¡°Beats me. Aren¡¯t there those whitening serum injections avable on the market? I¡¯m really looking forward to seeing the results of her surgery. I just hope she won¡¯t end up ruining her face. I heard that going under the knife will only allow one to look beautiful when they¡¯re young. The side effects will start to show once you¡¯re older. Besides, stic surgery does be addictive.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª¡ª Gu Dongcheng had no choice but to coop himself up at home and drown his sorrows in alcohol every day. He was in low spirits and, to make matters worse, he had beenbeled as the murderer of his wife. He was filled with exasperation, anxiety, helplessness, and grief. Alcohol was his only solution for numbing his feelings. He had nothing to his name. Hey on the couch with empty liquor bottles all over the table. The entire area was cluttered and reeked of the odor of alcohol. He finally sobered up. His phone began to ring all of a sudden. However, he did not wish to look at it at all and refused to answer. A whileter, the doorbell rang. He remained still and quiet, refusing to get up to answer the door. He only decided to open the door the moment he heard a man¡¯s voice. Upon the sight of the man who was wearing a mask, he returned inside the house and said, ¡°I¡¯m already in such a state right now. There¡¯s nothing left for you to gain from me. What are you looking me up for?¡± ¡°I¡¯m here to save you,¡± the man said softly. ¡°Save me? I don¡¯t believe you,¡± said Gu Dongcheng, staring at him. ¡°Younded in such a plight all because of Gu Beicheng and his wife. Also, based on the birth characters and timing you¡¯ve given me, your wife is already dead. Don¡¯t you want to seek revenge for yourte wife and unborn child?¡± Quivering from head to toe, Gu Dongcheng ced his hands on his head and said with a look of agony, ¡°There¡¯s no way out for me at all.¡± ¡°Like I mentioned, I¡¯m here to save you. The organization will help you, as long as you¡¯re willing. But of course, there has to be a substantial trade-off.¡± ¡°What do you want? You¡¯ve seen for yourself what I¡¯ve be. I have nothing now,¡± Gu Dongcheng said frankly. ¡°Don¡¯t you still have yourself?¡± Gu Dongcheng did not quite understand what he meant and said, ¡°Are you thinking of making me work for you guys again?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to know the details. You just need to know that we can help you seek revenge and get rid of Gu Beicheng and his wife. We can also snatch the Gu Corporation back for you.¡± ¡°Can you also kill Jin Qingyan?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You¡¯re lying,¡± Gu Dongcheng said apprehensively. ¡°Why don¡¯t you try us? I¡¯m giving you two minutes to consider,¡± the man said impatiently in annoyance. ¡°What if I don¡¯t agree?¡± ¡°Then you shall die.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go ahead with your suggestion.¡± ¡°Come with me.¡± ¡°Where are we going?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know when we get there.¡± Gu Dongcheng followed the man out of the door. They managed to shake off the people Gu Beicheng had sent to tail Gu Dongcheng and stealthily arrived at an abandoned factory. It was Gu Dongcheng¡¯s first visit to their quarters. ¡°Do you guys usually work here?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s just a makeshift ce we found at thest minute.¡± ¡°Just what do you want me to do?¡± ¡°Cut the crap ande in.¡± Gu Dongcheng entered to see that there were about eight people inside of mixed genders. They appeared to be locals and seemed to be waiting for him. A woman handed him an agreement and said, ¡°Sign your name here and stamp your thumbprint.¡± A grave expression formed on Gu Dongcheng¡¯s face the moment he read the terms stated on the agreement. ¡°You.. you... Why aren¡¯t there any terms that you promised to offer me on this agreement? Why does it state that I¡¯ll have to be voluntarily manipted by you?¡± he questioned in astonishment. ¡°Hurry and sign it,¡± said the woman, holding him at gunpoint. He slowly signed his name and stamped his thumbprint on the designated boxes with his trembling hands. Chapter 841 - A Million Times for You (203)

Chapter 841: A Million Times for You (203)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The woman patted the bed and said, ¡°Lie down.¡± Pangs of panic engulfed Gu Dongcheng as he asked, ¡°Just what... are you going to do to me?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll cut your tongue off if you continue asking redundant questions,¡± the woman warned sternly. She then looked at a man who appeared to be in his forties and said with a gentler expression on her face, ¡°Teacher Bei Qi, can we begin now?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± said the man, gesturing for her to start. The man stepped forward and looked at Gu Dongcheng from above. He said reassuringly, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, I¡¯ll just be hypnotizing you. You¡¯ll feel like you¡¯re asleep and you won¡¯t die. Believe me, okay?¡± Gu Dongcheng nodded and said, ¡°Okay, but...¡± He then looked at the man who brought him here and asked, ¡°Does the deal you promised me earlier still hold?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Close your eyes,¡± Bei Qi said gently, as if he were coaxing a child. Gu Dongcheng closed his eyes while quivering and gradually rxed after hearing Bei Qi¡¯s voice. He soon lost control of his consciousness and slipped into hypnosis. He did not even realize that his body was flipped over. Bei Qi took a vial of blue liquid from the woman¡¯s hands and injected it into Gu Dongcheng¡¯s spine. He then flipped Gu Dongcheng¡¯s body back. Bei Qi closed his eyes and murmured a chant in anguage that no one could understand. Gu Dongcheng then opened his eyes and sat up slowly. His eyes were ssed over and he did not seem to be focusing on anything. Bei Qi waved at the woman, after which she handed him a vial of red blood. ¡°Stick your hand out.¡± Gu Dongcheng stuck his hand out abidingly like a puppet while Bei Qi injected the blood into his vein, allowing the blood to transfuse into his blood vessels slowly. Gu Dongcheng began shivering from head to toe uncontrobly as soon as the needle was removed. The woman tried to hold him down but was quickly stopped by Bei Qi, who said, ¡°Xiao Ling, don¡¯t touch him.¡± Xiao Ling nodded and asked, ¡°Teacher Bei Qi, what¡¯s wrong with him?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a normal response. The blood is fusing with his blood. He¡¯ll be fine in a few minutes,¡± Bei Qi exined calmly. He then turned to the man beside him and asked, ¡°Xiao Lin, what did you promise him?¡± ¡°I promised to help him get rid of Gu Beicheng and his wife, as well as to kill Jin Qingyan.¡± Bei Qi sneered and said, ¡°This guy is really naive. If we want to take over the Gu Corporation, killing Gu Beicheng and his wife would only be necessary. As for Jin Qingyan, our ancestor would have killed him long ago if it were possible. We wouldn¡¯t have had to wait until he made this request.¡± ¡°He wouldn¡¯t have agreed toe here and let us control him willingly if I hadn¡¯t agreed to his requests. No wonder he couldn¡¯t manage to kill Gu Beicheng. He¡¯s such a dimwit,¡± Xiao Lin said nonchntly. ¡°Okay, there¡¯s a limited amount of time that we can control him for. We can¡¯t afford to dy another day at all. We must take action as soon as possible and use him to get what we need. That¡¯ll make it easier for us to exin things to Ancestor.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Minutester, Gu Dongcheng finally stopped trembling and quieted down. He no longer looked as flustered as he did when he arrived, and he seemed nothing more than a soulless puppet,pletely devoid of any feelings of love and resentment. Gu Dongcheng then left on his own after receiving the instructions from Bei Qi. ¡°Teacher Bei Qi, is it really effective?¡± ¡°Rest assured, Ancestor sent me here for a reason. If An Xiaoning had had her consciousness controlled in this way back then, she wouldn¡¯t have had the chance to escape.¡± ¡°Exactly, Ancestor has always been a shrewd person and yet he didn¡¯t do that. How unexpected.¡± ¡°Perhaps he has his reasons.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª¡ª Several guesses had been made about Jin Qingyan being the culprit behind Ye Xiaotian¡¯s assault during the event that night. The reason was that all the members of the corporate world were aware that Jin Qingyan had his eyes on the Ye Corporation but Ye Xiaotian refused to let him acquire it. Despite there being various spections, no one dared to spout any nonsense without concrete evidence. However, there was a new spection released on the news today, iming that terrorists were behind the act. Everyone immediately had a change of thought, and most of them believed the new ims. Thetest news of a truce being made between the Jin and Ye Corporations was released, and it was said that the Jin Corporation had acquired the Ye Corporation with a high price of 30 billion dors. The Ye Corporation could initiallymand a higher price. However, Ye Xiaotian had had no choice but to settle for less, due to the fact that thepany was already out of money and that several employees had absconded with embezzled funds. But of course, Jin Qingyan had had a part to y in the downfall of the Ye Corporation. Two days after Ye Xiaotian was wounded, both parties signed an agreement, which was immediately recognized by thew. The Ye Corporation went through a reform and became a sisterpany under the Jin Corporation. Jin Qingyan renamed the Ye Corporation as ¡°Xiaoning.¡± That was how willful he was. However, his willfulness had put a huge burden on An Xiaoning. Eighty percent of the citizens in S Nation knew the name of his ex-wife, An Xiaoning. He was openly expressing his love for her, wasn¡¯t he? Besides, An Xiaoning had taken over thepany temporarily to help the Jin Corporation tide through the crisis when Jin Qingyan went missing after the tsunami back then. She only managed to do so because of the will he had drawn prior to the tsunami. However, he had now changed the terms of his will. It was much more brilliant than the previous one. In the previous will, it was stated that An Xiaoning and Jin Yiheng would be entitled to all the shares and assets under Jin Qingyan¡¯s name, should he be met with any mishaps, be it death, bing a vegetable, or going missing. However, thetest one stated that all of his assets and shares would be bequeathed to An Xiaoning and Jin Yiheng regardless of whether he had met with an ident or not. On top of that, Jin Yiheng would only be entitled to the assets after he bes a legal adult at the age of 18. If both Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning were to be met with an ident, all of the assets and shares would automatically be transferred to Jin Yiheng. Fan Shixin was appalled beyond words upon reading his new will. He did not expect that Jin Qingyan would give An Xiaoning the rights that he would give his wife, even though they had yet to reconcile their marriage. Wealthy men would usually toy with plenty of women and disregard their wives, let alone allow them to enjoy such privileges that Jin Qingyan was giving An Xiaoning. Not to mention, An Xiaoning was still yet to be Jin Qingyan¡¯s legal wife. I bet no one else can make Young Sir give up so much for them , Fan Shixin thought to himself. Perhaps a man would be willing to give up everything he had for a woman he loved when he was penniless and had nothing to his name. However, it was rather respectable of him to be able to do so despite being so wealthy and aplished. Fan Shixin and hiswyers were the only ones who knew about the newly-drawn will. Jin Qingyan told Fan Shixin about his schizophrenia, for Fan Shixin was his most trusted confidante. Fan Shixin was absolutely loyal to him, and Jin Qingyan trusted him more than he trusted Long Tianze and Ling Ciye. Fan Shixin then asked, ¡°Do you really not n to tell Young Madam?¡± ¡°It¡¯s better for her not to know about it for the time being. Otherwise, she probably won¡¯t be able to feel happy again. She¡¯s already troubled enough, I don¡¯t want to bring her unnecessary worries. Besides, there is no cure for my condition at the moment. Although the doctor said that there¡¯s a chance for me to recover, I¡¯m not too optimistic about it. However, I¡¯ll do my best and fight my inner demon. Shixin, you¡¯ll help me, won¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Of course, Young Sir,¡± said Fan Shixin, staring at him calmly. ¡°Young Sir, Chief, the Autumn Pce has sent an invitation,¡± said Xiao Huang, handing them a gift box. Chapter 842 - A Million Times for You (204)

Chapter 842: A Million Times for You (204)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Fan Shixin took a look before handing the box to Jin Qingyan. ¡°It¡¯s Tuoba Hancheng¡¯s wedding with Lin Shishi¡¯s cousin. Their wedding is to be held in a week¡¯s time.¡± Jin Qingyan ced the wedding invitation card on the coffee table after taking a nce and asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on? Is this Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s intentional arrangement or do the two of them have an ulterior motive?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like an intentional arrangement of his. What has his brother¡¯s marriage got to do with him? Although Lin Shishi and her cousin are rtives, it doesn¡¯t seem like it¡¯s Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s arrangement.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. Let¡¯s not care about them, it has nothing to do with us anyway. We don¡¯t have to make spections. All we have to do is just prepare a big gift,¡± Jin Qingyan instructed. ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°You may go ahead and do what you have to. I¡¯d like to spend some time alone,¡± said Jin Qingyan, sitting on the couch. ¡°Alright.¡± ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning had also received the wedding invitation. She found it extremely bizarre as well. Although she was a biological member of the Tuoba family, it was clear that she had a strained rtionship with them. Although Lin Shishi¡¯s cousin was supposedly An Xiaoning¡¯s godcousin... How were they rted in any way? ¡°I reckon they must have invited you because of your ties with them.¡± An Xiaoning looked at her mother and said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to give them a big gift. I find it absolutely revolting.¡± ¡°Just attend the wedding and show your face, then. They¡¯ve already sent the invitation anyway. This should be thest time you¡¯ll have to attend any asions held by their family,¡± said Shi Qingzhou. ¡°Mother, they¡¯re still going to hold baby showers in the future. Why do such shameless people even exist? They actually had the cheek to invite me even when they know clearly that our rtionship is strained. I really don¡¯t know if they¡¯re intentionally causing trouble for me or for themselves,¡± said An Xiaoning, shrugging her shoulders in disdain. Shi Qingzhou patted the back of her hand and said, ¡°You can¡¯t let them upset you, of course. You must give them a hard time. Or else, wouldn¡¯t your money go to waste?¡± An Xiaoning expressed assent and said, ¡°Mother, you have a point. Since they¡¯ve invited me... hmm... I can¡¯t let my money be wasted, I shall show up and teach them a lesson.¡± Shi Qingzhou tucked her hair behind her ear and said, ¡°Just don¡¯t go overboard.¡± ¡°They¡¯re the president¡¯s family. I wouldn¡¯t dare to go overboard.¡± An Xiaoning stood up and said, ¡°Mother, I¡¯m going out to shop for some clothes.¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± An Xiaoning grabbed her car keys and proceeded to start driving. Since the temperatures were getting warmer, she would need to buy some new clothes. She parked her car at South Coast Road and alighted from the car before heading inside a luxury store to purchase five sets of designer clothing that would be suitable to be worn during springtime. There was one particr set that was much more expensive and exquisite than the other four, which she was nning to wear to attend the wedding. Just as she ced her shopping bags in the trunk, she heard someone calling her name. An Xiaoning turned around to see that there was a car parked beside hers. Madam Xu alighted from the car slowly, appearing extremely haggard and disheveled. She closed the trunk of her car and patted her hands before saying, ¡°Madam Xu, what do you want from me?¡± An Xiaoning sounded rather cold, and she had a look of disdain on her face. ¡°Well...¡± After a long, hesitant pause, Madam Xu continued, ¡°I¡¯m very sorry toward you.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing to be sorry about. After all, didn¡¯t your daughter already lose her life in return? My mentor actually sacrificed her life to alter Xu Baizhi¡¯s fate, yet she ended up that way all the same. All of my mentor¡¯s efforts were in vain. Xu Baizhi was the one who had sent herself toward a dead end. It¡¯s just a shame that the remainder of my mentor¡¯s lifespan had been depleted for nothing,¡± An Xiaoning said with a sarcastic smile. Madam Xu¡¯s lips quivered a little, and she was at a loss for words. An Xiaoning got inside her car and drove away. Her car soon vanished out of Madam Xu¡¯s sight. ¡ª¡ª Tuoba Hancheng¡¯s wedding was held in the middle of February on the lunar calendar. On this day, the weather was fair and the sun was shining brightly from above. An Xiaoning attended the wedding together with Jin Qingyan. She was dressed in red from head to toe. She applied some red lipstick and was wearing a red plunge-neck dress, apanied with a bright-red lightweight cardigan and a pair of red stiletto pumps. She was like a ball of fire. Truthfully, there was rarely anyone who dared to opt for such a bold color and outfit. Although there were also guests who were dressed in red, only oneponent of their outfits were red-colored, unlike An Xiaoning. After all, it was inappropriate to dress oneself in an eye-catching outfit and steal the show at someone else¡¯s wedding. However, An Xiaoning could not be bothered at all. Since she had already given them a huge red packet for no reason, why wasn¡¯t she allowed to dress however she liked? She had managed to capture the attention of all the guests present the moment she made her grand entrance. While weing the guests, Shi Xiaoyu was seething with exasperation upon the sight of the eye-catching An Xiaoning. When they met face to face, Shi Xiaoyu smiled sarcastically and gibed, ¡°Others might just think that it¡¯s your big day today, Ms. An!¡± ¡°Madam, I would dly ept the offer if you¡¯re willing to prepare a wedding for me and allow me to get married on the same day as Brother,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Brother?¡± Shi Xiaoyu questioned in disbelief, as if she had just heard the most absurd thing ever. ¡°Aren¡¯t I right? He¡¯s my half-brother, isn¡¯t he? Otherwise, why did you even invite me to the wedding?¡± said An Xiaoning, raising her chin to look at Shi Xiaoyu. Shi Xiaoyu had no words for a rebuttal and watched as An Xiaoning left, displeasure written all over her face. During the solemnization ceremony, An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan did not sit together because they were not arranged to. After the banquet was over, Madam Lin called An Xiaoning over to Lin Shishi¡¯s bedroom. ¡°Mother, what¡¯s the matter?¡± An Xiaoning asked in puzzlement. Suppressing her anger, ¡°Xiaoning, do you know why Qiubai and His Highness want to marry each other?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°The presidential election takes ce once every eight years. Qiubai is taking a gamble and hoping that His Highness will be elected as the next president. There¡¯s still a long time to go before then, but it¡¯s not impossible that he bes the next president either. That¡¯s why Qiubai agreed to marry him. On the other hand, he agreed to marry her because he wants to stop the rumors of him being a homosexual from spreading any further. They¡¯re just using each other.¡± But why is she telling me these for? What has that got to do with me? ¡°Mother, what are you trying to tell me?¡± Madam Lin answered, ¡°His Highness fancies men.¡± ¡°Then?¡± ¡°Tell Jin Qingyan not to stand on the wrong side,¡± said Madam Lin. An Xiaoning was speechless. ¡°Mother, businessmen don¡¯t take part in politics. Jin Qingyan will never take sides, and neither will he be embroiled in this power struggle.¡± An Xiaoning truly realized how ignorant Madam Lin was. How could the Chief of Staff¡¯s wife not be aware of such a simple fact? Was she just pretending not to know? ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± ¡°Mother, if I were Jin Qingyan, I wouldn¡¯t take sides either. Besides, His Highness has already lost the upper hand this time. His next chance will be in another few years. If the current president does his job well as the nation¡¯s leader, he wouldn¡¯t stand a chance all the same.¡± ¡°Looks like I¡¯ve been reading too much into things. Xiaoning, can I ask you a question?¡± Madam Lin asked. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Your mother was locked up in the Autumn Pce for decades by Shishi¡¯s mother-inw. How did you manage to rescue her?¡± Madam Lin asked, seemingly trying to sound An Xiaoning out while keeping her eyes fixed on An Xiaoning¡¯s expressions. ¡°Long story. It¡¯s a matter of the past, I don¡¯t wish to bring it up again.¡± Madam Lin asked indirectly, ¡°Did you once disguise as a female bodyguard and follow Gucheng around?¡± Chapter 843 - A Million Times for You (205)

Chapter 843: A Million Times for You (205)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Mother, do you want to know?¡± Madam Lin kept the suspense and said, ¡°Well, Shishi found a few photos of Gucheng¡¯s former bodyguard in his camera. They were photos of her sleeping. However, Shishi said that she has never heard that bodyguard¡¯s voice before. She has the same height and build as you. Even her hairstyle is identical to yours. Her Highness said that the bodyguard whose name is Mu Ning has a voice that¡¯s very simr to yours. Besides, she has a ¡®Ning¡¯ in her name as well. That¡¯s why I had the guts to ask you that. Was it you?¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s heart sank, for she knew that Madam Lin was certain that she was Mu Ning. ¡°Mother, what¡¯s your purpose for asking me that?¡± An Xiaoning asked, well aware that Madam Lin had a hidden agenda. Madam Lin did not answer her and instead said, ¡°You were that bodyguard, weren¡¯t you? You¡¯re Mu Ning, right?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me. In order to rescue my mother, I wore a mask and disguised myself as a bodyguard working for Her Highness. I was then transferred to work for His Majesty. I secretly investigated my mother¡¯s whereabouts. I still didn¡¯t know if she was dead or alive at that time. I left the Autumn Pce after rescuing my mother,¡± said An Xiaoning, who did not bother arguing any further. ¡°You weren¡¯t injured at all like you imed to be during Shishi¡¯s wedding. You even lied to us about being abroad,¡± Madam Lin said assertively. ¡°That¡¯s right, I was still in the Autumn Pce then and there was no way for me to show up at Shishi¡¯s wedding using my real identity,¡± said An Xiaoning, who did not feel in the least bit guilty at all. After all, she did not do anything wrong. ¡°Old Lin and I treated you like you were my own daughter, yet how did you treat us? Not only did you lie to us, but you¡¯re also even thinking of harming Shishi. You and Gucheng are rted by blood, how could youe up with such an immoral act!?!¡± Madam Lin snapped, appearing as if she was aggrieved and disappointed. An Xiaoning was not in a hurry to exin and instead answered calmly, ¡°You must be mistaken. I tried to get a sample of my biological father¡¯s blood not long after I entered the Autumn Pce and proceeded to carry out a DNA test. I knew that he was my half-brother at the time. I didn¡¯t do any immoral deed at all like you mentioned. On top of that, I¡¯d like to ask you something. Since you and Godpa treated me like your own daughter, what have you really done for me?¡± ¡°When you were abducted by the terrorists, Old Lin supported the decision to save you. Is that not doing something for you?¡± An Xiaoning sighed and said, ¡°Would you have reacted the same if Shishi were the one who was abducted? I know clearly whether or not you treated me like your own. A goddaughter is still a goddaughter at the end of the day. You guys only acknowledged me back then because I saved Shishi from a close shave with death. Frankly speaking, you guys only acknowledged me because you felt that you could use me to your family¡¯s benefit. I don¡¯t deny that I agreed to acknowledge you as my godparents also because I wanted to use your authority to stand up against the Xu family. But in fact, I could¡¯ve done the same just by acknowledging Commander-in-chief Jin¡¯s family alone.¡± An Xiaoning red at Madam Lin coldly and continued, ¡°If you really treated me like your own daughter, would you have used me of being immoral even before getting your facts right? I didn¡¯t attend Shishi¡¯s wedding because I had far more important things to do than that. There was no valid reason for me to absent myself as a bodyguard either. If you insist on saying that I lied to you, then I¡¯ve also lied to the Jin family as well. I¡¯ll have to ask my other godmother if she¡¯ll me me for lying to her or if she¡¯ll understand the predicament I was in at the time.¡± An Xiaoning was parched after saying her piece in one breath. Feeling rather embarrassed, Madam Lin asked, ¡°Does Gucheng carry a torch for you? After all, he didn¡¯t know that you were his half-sister during the time that you were his bodyguard, didn¡¯t he?¡± An Xiaoning scoffed and answered, ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask him whether he carried a torch for me or not? I don¡¯t fancy him anyway. Besides, I¡¯ll never have anything to do with him for the rest of my life. To end off, I¡¯ll also be severing ties with the Lin family. From now on, you guys are no longer my godparents and I¡¯m no longer your goddaughter.¡± An Xiaoning turned around to leave and made eye contact with Lin Shishi the moment she opened the door. An Xiaoning had no idea how long Lin Shishi had been standing by the door for. Lin Shishi remained silent while An Xiaoning hesitated for a moment before saying, ¡°After I returned to S Nation after being rescued, I learned that you constantly tried to persuade His Majesty to put the nation¡¯s interests first. You even told him that it was worth sacrificing me for the nation¡¯s good. I didn¡¯t think of ming you after I found out, because you did the right thing from your perspective. After all, that man is your husband and the father of your child while I¡¯m just your godsister. Your husband should be your next-of-kin while you can have as many godsisters as you¡¯d like, am I right? Even then, Shishi, I¡¯m still rather upset to hear about what you had done. When you were on the brink of death, I put in my heart and soul and did everything I could to save you. I won¡¯te in between your marriage and go against my morals. Please allow me thest bit of respect and stop tarnishing my reputation on ount that I once saved your life. Alright?¡± She left as soon as she¡¯d said her piece. Lin Shishi stood rooted to the ground, dumbfounded. Madam Lin had also heard her words. Lin Shishi recovered from the shock and snapped back to reality. She then entered the room. The reason she¡¯d made her mother start the conversation by telling her that Tuoba Hancheng was homosexual was to test An Xiaoning¡¯s reaction and see if she would immediately express her support for Tuoba Hancheng. She was rather satisfied with An Xiaoning¡¯s answer about staying neutral. However, she immediately felt a strong urge to p An Xiaoning upon hearing her confess to the fact that she was Mu Ning. Nheless, she curbed her urge to do so and continued to eavesdrop outside the door. She was filled with doubt and disgruntlement after hearing An Xiaoning¡¯s words. When she first suspected that An Xiaoning was Mu Ning, she gave Tuoba Danxue a call to ask if she had thought that An Xiaoning sounded a lot like Mu Ning when she met her in A City. After hearing Tuoba Danxue¡¯s opinion about their voices sounding identical, she began to realize that An Xiaoning¡¯s name was closely simr to ¡°Mu Ning.¡± She decided to confirm it with An Xiaoning first before confronting Tuoba Gucheng. However, now that she had already verified it, she felt that An Xiaoning was speaking the truth about notmitting any immoral acts. Otherwise, An Xiaoning could have just continued to stay by his side in the Autumn Pce, couldn¡¯t she? After much thought, Lin Shishi had a hunch that her husband had fallen for An Xiaoning before he found out that she was his half-sister. Ironically, Tuoba Gucheng fell in love with An Xiaoning when she was the in-looking Mu Ning who was not in the least bit attractive at all. Wouldn¡¯t he be head over heels in love with her if she had used her real identity instead of wearing a mask? Lin Shishi wondered. ¡°Mother, does that mean she¡¯s no longer a member of our family from now on?¡± Lin Shishi asked. Madam Lin expressed assent and said, ¡°Things have alreadye to this, what¡¯s the point in being rtives? Forget it, I don¡¯t need another daughter anyway. I¡¯ll go out for a while.¡± Madam Lin exited through the door, leaving Lin Shishi alone in the bedroom. Chapter 844 - A Million Times for You (206)

Chapter 844: A Million Times for You (206)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios A whileter, Tuoba Gucheng arrived. Lin Shishi looked at him and asked, ¡°You haven¡¯t been here in a few days. What brings you here again?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t have much to eat during lunch. I instructed the helpers to cook you a meal. Go and have it.¡± ¡°That woman you adore, it¡¯s An Xiaoning, right?¡± ¡°Who said so?¡± Tuoba Gucheng retorted. Lin Shishi said feebly, ¡°I found out myself. I smelled a rat and found that there were several suspicious things. My mother called her here earlier and she has also admitted that she was once your bodyguard, Mu Ning.¡± Tuoba Gucheng denied, ¡°She¡¯s my half-sister. You¡¯re reading too much into things.¡± ¡°But you didn¡¯t know that she was your half-sister or that she was An Xiaoning during the time that she was your bodyguard, did you?¡± Tuoba Gucheng said coldly, ¡°Is there a point in arguing about this? You made these assumptions just based on a few photos, don¡¯t you find that utterly ridiculous? I¡¯ve already deleted those photos. They were just some photos that I had taken casually.¡± Lin Shishi looked down and remained quiet. Her instincts were telling her that he was inly denying it. That was all. After all, they were rted by blood and it would be extremely embarrassing for him if word about him carrying a torch for his half-sister were to be leaked to the public. ¡°If you say so,¡± said Lin Shishi, who thought that there was no harm in makingpromises since there was no way they could be together anyway. ¡°Go have your meal.¡± Tuoba Gucheng headed straight to the bathroom in his office. He had continuously been getting the runs. He almost fainted due to dehydration and only felt better after taking some medicine. Needless to say, he had no idea that An Xiaoning was the cause of his diarrhea. An Xiaoning slept through the entire journey home. She did not utter a single word, and Jin Qingyan could tell that she was out of sorts. Upon arriving in Wei Ni Estate, he carried her upstairs. Just as he lowered her onto the bed, she opened her eyes and scanned her surroundings. She turned to her side and asked, ¡°Are you still going to the office?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ll stay home to apany you.¡± An Xiaoning grabbed his hand and said, ¡°Let¡¯s have a chat, then.¡± ¡°You¡¯re finally going to tell me what¡¯s bugging you?¡± ¡°You could tell?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not blind.¡± She chuckled and exined the situation to him briefly. She then turned over and looked up at him. ¡°Do you think I was right to have severed ties with them straight away?¡± she asked. ¡°Perhaps others who don¡¯t know the truth might say that you¡¯re being impulsive and ignorant. They might even say that you¡¯ve lost your mind for severing ties with the Lin family... However, I think that your ties with them are redundant. After all, they were established based on a pragmatic and mercenary rtionship. You were just using each other anyway, yet they didn¡¯t do anything for you even after making use of your fortune-telling abilities to save their daughter¡¯s life, did they? They even used you and put the me on you. Good that you¡¯ve severed ties with them. But, will the Lin Familye up with a scheme to make the Jin family cut ties with you too?¡± said Jin Qingyan. The quick-witted An Xiaoning found that his words had made sense. The Lin and Jin families were on good terms with each other and were closely connected. The Jin family might cut ties with me in order to express their loyalty towards the Lin family, won¡¯t they? ¡°If the Jin family cuts ties with me, I¡¯ll have nothing to say. But that also proves that there¡¯s no point in acknowledging them as my godparents.¡± ¡°We shall see what the Jin family does, then. We¡¯ll see if it¡¯s worth calling them your parents.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Jin Qingyan subconsciously shifted his gaze onto her bosom. Her cleavage was exposed due to the low neckline of her dress, giving Jin Qingyan a feast for his eyes. ¡°You¡¯re arousing me all the time.¡± ¡°I did it on purpose, what can you do?¡± ¡°Little vixen,¡± he said, poking her in the forehead. He hugged her and rolled around in bed. ¡°Watch how I¡¯ll punish you.¡± ¡°Lord, please have mercy on me...¡± ¡°No...¡± After a long battle in bed, An Xiaoning snuggled up into his embrace and began pinching and nibbling him. Clenching his jaw in pain, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°Your female primitive features are starting to show.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all your fault, isn¡¯t it? You only think with your head down there and get intimate with me whenever we have an argument.¡± He exined, ¡°You¡¯ve gotten the wrong idea about me. I know you¡¯re thirty years old this year and you¡¯d be getting premature menopause if you don¡¯t get your sexual desires satisfied for an extended period of time. You¡¯ll then end up being hot-tempered, vexed, and sexually frustrated all the time. I¡¯m saving you from that now. Good girl, I¡¯m willing to put in all my energy and effort for you.¡± An Xiaoning pped him and said, ¡°Jin Qingyan, if you dare be unfaithful toward me in the future, I¡¯ll cut your member off, got it?¡± Feeling maligned, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°Oh my, I wouldn¡¯t dare. Don¡¯t you know how much I love you? I gave you my virginity and I¡¯ll also be giving you myst. I¡¯ll stay faithful to you all the way until death do us part. Are you happy with my answer?¡± An Xiaoning smiled in pleasure and answered, ¡°Isn¡¯t it the same for me too? I gave you my virginity too, didn¡¯t I? Let me ask you a question. If Shi Shaochuan and I weren¡¯t married just in name for two years and we actually got intimate with each other, would you still have married me?¡± ¡°How am I supposed to answer that?¡± After much thought, Jin Qingyan answered, ¡°Of course, I¡¯d expect equality and hope that we¡¯re both virgins before we got married. It may seem like a chauvinistic mindset, but all men would want their wives to give them their virginities. If not, it all depends on the woman and the man¡¯s mentalities. I guess I¡¯ll still marry you because I wasn¡¯t after your virginity when I married you back then. In hindsight, we seemed to have let nature take its course. You¡¯re destined to be mine anyway. There¡¯s nothing else to argue about.¡± ¡°People nowadays are so casual about losing their virginities, especially youths, who make up the majority of those who choose to be friends with benefits. Is this a new trend? It¡¯s not good to disrespect oneself and engage in promiscuous sex, regardless of gender. If you had gotten intimate with me before we got married back then, I probably wouldn¡¯t have agreed to marry you so soon.¡± ¡°Being friends with benefits is different from being in amitted rtionship with each other. Speaking of which, I heard about something interesting. Before I met you, I once attended a speed-dating masquerade and there was an heiress of a wealthy family who pretended to be an innocent virgin. She even went for a hymen reconstruction surgery. She thought that her plot was seamless and even hit it off with a male heir. After dating for some time, they decided to get married and settled on a wedding date. The male heir wanted to get intimate with her before their wedding. However, she refused and insisted that she was pure and wanted to remain celibate until they got married. The man thought she was telling the truth and pampered her even more. Yet, her cover was blown on the night of their wedding.¡± ¡°How did that happen? Didn¡¯t she already undergo the reconstruction surgery?¡± Jin Qingyan chuckled in amusement and said, ¡°Men would usually climax really quickly during their first encounter, perhaps only minutes... or even shorter. When we first consummated our marriage, I climaxed really soon too, didn¡¯t I? It¡¯s only normal.¡± Chapter 845 - A Million Times for You (207) Chapter 845: A Million Times for You (207) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Yes, I was wearing a school uniform that night and you were so eager to get intimate with me. Yet, you ejacted within just minutes. It was rather awkward that night, but youter proved that you¡¯d definitely be able tost more than just a few minutes. You went on for so long on the night of our wedding.¡± ¡°Who told you to say that it felt like nothing when I was inside you? I was peeved and that had spurred me on to prove myself to you!¡± ¡°Hahahaha. Quick, tell me what happened next. How did that woman expose herself?¡± Jin Qingyan continued his story and said, ¡°It was the guy¡¯s first sexual encounter, but the heiress didn¡¯t know that it was normal for men to onlyst a few minutes during their first time. Hence, she asked him if he had pre-ejacted.¡± ¡°And then? What did he say?¡± ¡°He felt awkward and embarrassed. He then exined that it was his first experience. She then said something incredibly absurd. She said, ¡®I know a man whosted more than forty minutes during his first time.¡¯ Her husband then said, ¡®That can¡¯t be, men don¡¯tst that long during their first encounters.¡¯¡± Jin Qingyan burst intoughter before continuing, ¡°That woman¡¯s brains were fried. She actually began arguing with her husband, who then asked her who she had heard those stories from. She imed that they were stories of her friend and her friend¡¯s husband. The guy didn¡¯t find anything unusual at the start. However, when they got intimate again the second time, he discovered that she wasn¡¯t too tight down there and seemed to be more experienced than he was in bed. She imed that she was just mimicking the actresses in adult videos, but what happened next was really fishy.¡± ¡°How so?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°How can a virginity be faked so seamlessly? A real virgin would usually be shy and bashful while a fake one would be extra cautious and paranoid of being exposed. Their mentalities are different. That heiress may have appeared to be shy on the surface, but she was not at all nervous. She knew how to get into positions smoothly too. On top of that, she even gave her husband superb oral services. Thus, her husband began suspecting that she was not a virgin. However, he didn¡¯t want to use her and, instead, drugged her to knock her out. He then secretly got the doctor to do a checkup on her while she was unconscious. After a thorough check, the doctor deduced that her hymen had been reconstructed. Can you guess how the guy felt at the time?¡± ¡°He must have been furious. But it¡¯s good that he loves and respects himself. Men who don¡¯t shouldn¡¯t be in any ce to say much.¡± ¡°He had always thought that his wife was a demure and innocent woman. However, he changed his opinion of her after receiving the results of the checkup. It¡¯s not that he stopped loving her or anything, he just didn¡¯t see a need for her to lie to him. The man then did a thorough background check on her. It was so detailed to the extent that he even found out about how many times she had checked into a hotel room. He wanted to see her reaction, so he told her straight that he had put her through a checkup and that he already knows that she¡¯d had her hymen reconstructed. He then asked her how many boyfriends she¡¯d had and told her that he won¡¯t me her for telling the truth. However, she didn¡¯t dare toe clean and said that she had only had one boyfriend who dumped her. She also begged her husband to forgive her for hiding her past from him. Her husband continued to test her and said that he found out that she¡¯d had more than one boyfriend in the past. Later on, she admitted to having had three boyfriends in the past.¡± ¡°Was she telling the truth?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°No, her husband divorced her without hesitation and even gave her a sum of money to undergo another reconstruction surgery. Others may find that he¡¯s making a fuss over nothing, but he said, ¡®I gave her a chance toe clean but she chose to continue lying to me. Before she met me, she¡¯s had a promiscuous sex life and would often go out on dates with strangers. Besides, she had even had a few abortions before. None of her boyfriends dumped her, and she was always the one who initiated a breakup. If she had told me about these things truthfully, I may feel a little upset, but I¡¯d still continue to be in a marriage with her because I truly love her.¡¯ The heiress is still single now while her ex-husband is now happily married to a woman who has the same socio-economic background as he does.¡± ¡°How did you know so much?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°The Jin Corporation is in partnership with the ex-husband¡¯spany. Others mistook him for being a yboy and said that he had divorced her because he was unfaithful toward her. However, he told us the truth in private. Sometimes, a woman¡¯s virginity is not paramount to men. Rather, it¡¯s whether she truly loves and respect herself. It¡¯s only normal for adults to get into rtionships with scums who cheat them out of their love. That¡¯s apletely different thing from having a promiscuous sex life.¡± ¡°Did you send me to the hospital for a checkup during the early stages of our marriage too? Answer me truthfully.¡± ¡°No. You were so tight. You couldn¡¯t even open your legs during the first time that we got intimate, and you were blushing as red as a tomato. I knew that you were a virgin. You can tell if someone is a virgin by the way they perform in bed, be it a man or a woman. How could a virgin be experienced in bed and be well informed about the different positions possible?¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°Do you know why some women refuse to leave even after realizing that the man they¡¯re dating is a scum?¡± ¡°Because the man is wealthy and authoritative?¡± ¡°Those are only superficial reasons. Sometimes, it¡¯s because the woman has truly fallen in love with the scumbag and she constantly reassures herself that she would be thest woman of his. She believes that she can seed in making him change his ways. That¡¯s the issue with many women.¡± ¡°Well said. Do you feel better after chatting with me?¡± he asked. ¡°I felt better long ago.¡± ¡°Since when?¡± ¡°After our battle in bed.¡± He guffawed out loud, his sexyughter filling every corner of the room. Atst, he said, ¡°Xiaoning, I love you so much. Don¡¯t leave me, ever.¡± ¡°Why do you keep asking me not to leave you?¡± ¡°Since when? Haven¡¯t I only said it once recently?¡± he asked in surprise. ¡°No, you¡¯ll say it every other day.¡± She sat up and looked at him earnestly. ¡°Qingyan, I love you too. You¡¯re the only person I love. In my eyes, you¡¯re the best man in this world, and you have my utmost respect. You¡¯re my world, my everything.¡± Moved by her words, he sat up straight and embraced her quietly. ¨D All the members of the family gathered in the Gu family mansion during dinner. For the past few days, either one of Lin Mingxi or Gu Beicheng would be absent during dinner. Sometimes, both of them would be absent at the same time. However, they were both home this time. However, Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi instructed the servants to bring the dishes to them upstairs, due to the fact that Gu Dongcheng was around. Mrs. Gu dined together with Gu Dongcheng but left after having just a few mouthfuls of food. Gu Dongcheng appeared extremely nonchnt. He was the only one left at the dining table by the time he had finished eating. He put down his chopsticks slowly, wiped his mouth, and walked toward Mr. and Mrs. Gu¡¯s bedroom with an icy cold expression in his eyes. Minutester, he exited and made his way upstairs slowly. The corridor of the second floor was quiet . He tried to open Gu Beicheng¡¯s bedroom door, only to find that it was locked. Thus, he knocked on the door and said, ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± Chapter 846 - A Million Times for You (208)

Chapter 846: A Million Times for You (208)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Gu Beicheng opened the door and asked coldly, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Can you let me in? I have something to discuss with you.¡± Gu Beicheng countered, ¡°Let¡¯s talk downstairs. There¡¯s no need to stay in the bedroom.¡± Before Gu Beicheng even knew it, Gu Dongcheng had whipped out a gun and fired a bullet at him without hesitation. Gu Beicheng had no time to dodge at all and did not have a gun with him, for he did not expect that Gu Dongcheng would be brazen enough to kill in the Gu family mansion. There was no sound made at all, for Gu Doncheng had used a silencer. ¡°Mingxi... grab the gun!¡± Gu Beicheng yelled. Lin Mingxi stopped eating and immediately retrieved the gun from the drawer. She then aimed it at Gu Dongcheng and fired away with her hands trembling uncontrobly. At this point, Gu Beicheng had already suffered four shots to his body and blood was oozing out of the bullet holes. Clutching his bleeding wounds, Gu Beicheng tried to retreat back inside his room but was too weak to do so and instead just copsed onto the ground. Gu Dongcheng was not intimidated by Lin Mingxi¡¯s gun at all. He even shot her and walked toward her. Noticing how bent he was on killing her, Lin Mingxi panicked and fired six consecutive bullets at him while suffering two gunshots herself. After realizing that Gu Dongcheng had copsed, she crawled toward the bed and called the captain of the bodyguards. Seconds before she lost her consciousness, she contemted between calling the ambnce and calling An Xiaoning. In the end, she chose to call thetter. An Xiaoning had just alighted from the car in the Gu family mansion when she received a call from Lin Mingxi. She had beat several red lights along the way. However, she still did not make it back in time. She first headed to Mr. and Mrs. Gu¡¯s bedroom to see that there were bloodstains everywhere. She stepped forward with her hands trembling uncontrobly and found that they had already stopped breathing. She then sprinted upstairs, her heart pounding uncontrobly in fear and panic. Upon the sight of Gu Beicheng, An Xiaoning immediately rushed toward him and helped him up from the pool of blood he was in. Sensing that his heart was still beating faintly, she pasted an amulet on his forehead before pasting another one on Lin Mingxi, who had already passed out. The ambnce and police cars soon arrived. The police watched the surveince camera footage and recovered the scenario of the entire process. Gu Dongcheng did not n to destroy the surveince cameras at all. After all, he was not capable of doing so. The ambnce sent Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi to the hospital for emergency rescue. Since Mr. and Mrs. Gu were already dead, there was no need to send them to the hospital. However, that did not mean that An Xiaoning was going to give up on them. She teared up incessantly and wept silently. She was deeply attached to the Gu family, especially to Mr. and Mrs. Gu, who had genuinely treated her like their own. She had decided to read the Gu family members¡¯ fortune while she was bored during dinner and immediately rushed over upon discovering that they would be met with a huge disaster tonight. A disaster or cmity can usually be seen from one¡¯s birth characters, including the time of death. She had read the fortunes of the Gu family members several times in the past, but she had never seen such a tragic bloodbath before. An Xiaoning was initially nning to read Lin Mingxi¡¯s fortune more often in the meantime, due to the fact that Lin Mingyuan now knew about her birth characters. However, An Xiaoning abruptly discovered that Lin Mingxi was about to meet with a disaster tonight and rushed to the mansion before even reading Mr. and Mrs. Gu¡¯s birth characters and giving them a call. She did not expect for there to be such a major disaster. An Xiaoning did not understand why she could not foresee certain cmities and could only predict them right before they happened. At this moment, she realized the reason. She had once changed the fate of the Gu family members to protect them from a fatal disaster, and she had also done the same for Lin Mingxi and Mrs. Gu several times before. She had also predicted that Mr. Gu would suffer a bone fracture and even informed him beforehand. It was the same for Gu Beicheng. There were now changes in their fates. Their lives were proceeding ording to the altered route. There was no certainty when it came to fortune-telling. Perhaps that was because fortune-telling would shorten one¡¯s lifespan, as was said by many others. However, it was toote to say anything now that the disaster had already happened. All she could do now was to do her best to make amends. She risked everything she had in order to save them and performed a ritual to make her soul travel to theherworld. Mr. and Mrs. Gu¡¯s spirits were already on their way to report to Hades. She could still bump into them along the way if she was quick enough. She made it just in time and bumped into Mr. and Mrs. Gu¡¯s spirits. ¡°Xiaoning!¡± Mr. and Mrs. Gu yelled in surprise upon the sudden sight of her. Holding her hands together, An Xiaoning bowed down at Heibai and Wuchang. ¡°Lords, could you please do me a favor?¡± Heibai and Wuchang recognized who she was and said, ¡°Their time is already up, and their names have already been removed from the book of death. We cannot turn back time anymore. Miss An, I must remind you that you can¡¯t leak Heaven¡¯s secrets. Otherwise, you¡¯ll ruin the karmic cycle of others. In the end, your health will be affected too, Miss An. Not all sins can be atoned for, and you¡¯ll have to bear the consequences if you can¡¯t atone for them.¡± ¡°Lords, could you tell me why I wasn¡¯t able to predict today¡¯s fatal disaster when I read their fortunes previously? Is it because I had changed their fates?¡± ¡°Since you¡¯ve altered the fates that Heaven had already nned out, things will naturally take a turn and lean toward the altered path. There¡¯s no way we can control that now. Both of them should have passed on long ago, but they¡¯d managed to continue living for so much longer because of your intervention.¡± ¡°Gu Dongcheng is dead too, why didn¡¯t you bring him away?¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t see his spirit. He must have fled, but he can¡¯t return to life. He¡¯ll have to report to us sooner orter.¡± ¡°Could you allow me to say a few words to my parents? It won¡¯t take up much time,¡± said An Xiaoning, handing them some gold ingots. Upon seeing them ept the ingots, she frantically said, ¡°Thank you, Lords.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, Miss An.¡± An Xiaoning walked toward Mr. and Mrs. Gu and kowtowed to them thrice. She then stood up and said, ¡°Father, Mother, I¡¯m sorry for failing to save you. I was unfilial.¡± Tearing up incessantly, Mrs. Gu said, ¡°I don¡¯t me you, it¡¯s not your fault. We were too careless. It¡¯s all your father¡¯s fault for agreeing to let that bastarde home. If not for that, this wouldn¡¯t have happened to the Gu family. Seems like your grandfather¡¯s prediction was right. Remember when your grandfather said that Nun Jingxin once said that the Gu family would face with an unpreventable disaster and wanted you to give the family a hand? Xiaoning, could you promise me to help the Gu family tide over this ordeal?¡± ¡°I will, for sure. Rest assured, Mother.¡± Mrs. Gu nodded and asked fearfully, ¡°How are... Beicheng and Mingxi?¡± ¡°Beicheng was shot four times while Mingxi was shot twice. They¡¯ve already been admitted to the hospital, they¡¯ll be alright.¡± Mrs. Gu heaved a sigh of relief and told her a string of numbers. ¡°Remember this passcode. With you beside Beicheng...¡± Chapter 847 - A Million Times for You (209)

Chapter 847: A Million Times for You (209)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She continued, ¡°We can leave in peace. Xiaoning, listen to me. I have a safe inside a cab in my bedroom. It contains all of our life savings as well as the title deeds to all the property we own and the household registers. I can¡¯t use them anymore. You may have all of those things. Move your name back to the Gu family household register, the other members of the family wouldn¡¯t dare to say anything with you around to take charge. Look after the Gu family on our behalf from now on. I trust you. Now that your father and I are gone, you¡¯re the only kin Beicheng has left, apart from Mingxi. This might increase the burden on your shoulders, but you¡¯re the only person I can depend on. Promise me, alright?¡± An Xiaoning agreed, ¡°Okay. I promised Grandpa that I wouldn¡¯t leave the Gu family in the lurch during times of crisis. I¡¯ll make the same promise to you now.¡± Mrs. Gu smiled with tears in her eyes and said, ¡°It was our blessing to have been able to acknowledge you as our goddaughter. Xiaoning, it¡¯s time for us to leave.¡± An Xiaoning stood aside and watched as Mr. and Mrs. Gu waved her goodbye. Tears streamed down her face uncontrobly, at aplete loss for words. She opened her eyes again and was greeted with the sight of a worried Jin Qingyan. She sat up straight and discovered that she was still in the Gu family mansion. Needless to say, news of the mass murder in the Gu family mansion had made it onto the headlines. Gu Dongcheng had gone ballistic and murdered his father and stepmother. He then severely wounded his half-brother and sister-inw momentster. Things had escted quickly and were blown out of proportion within a short period of time. An Xiaoning and Jin Yiheng¡¯s names were initially registered under the Gu family¡¯s household register. However, she¡¯d transferred both their names to Jin Qingyan¡¯s register after changing Jin Yiheng¡¯s name. However, she¡¯d obviously had to remove her name from his register after their divorce. Hence, she¡¯d done so and registered her name on an independent register. ¡°Qingyan... I need your help with something,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°What is it?¡± She headed to Mrs. Gu¡¯s bedroom and fumbled about for the safe, which she then unlocked and opened using the passcode that Mrs. Gu had told her about. She retrieved the household register and handed it to him. ¡°Transfer my name back under the Gu family¡¯s household register and remove the names of the deceased members. Don¡¯t let the media find out about this. I¡¯ll go to the hospital to visit Beicheng and Mingxi now.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± By the time An Xiaoning arrived at the hospital, Lin Mingxi¡¯s parents were already there, and so was the hypocritical Lin Mingyuan, who was only there because she did not want to be criticized byizens. Besides, if Lin Mingxi and Gu Beicheng could not be rescued, Lin Mingxi¡¯s assets would be returned to Mr. and Mrs. Lin. Furthermore, she would be their only daughter who would inherit all their assets. Hence, she obviously had to make an appearance. Although she had a merry n in her head, things did not quite go the way she had wished for them to. Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi had yet to be pushed out of the emergency unit when An Xiaoning arrived. An Xiaoning appeared pale and ghastly, for the ritual had depleted most of her energy. She was frail and haggard. There were a massive number of media and news reporters camping outside the hospital. Needless to say, everyone was concerned about the status of Gu Beicheng¡¯s life. If Gu Beicheng were to kick the bucket, there would be no one to take over the Gu Corporation. Even if Lin Mingxi did not die, she would have to spend some time recuperating in the hospital and nursing her body back to health. As with what happened when Jin Qingyan went missing during the tsunami, chaos would break out within thepany if the main stakeholder were to be absent. At this moment, An Xiaoning prayed that they could tide over the ordeal. She entered the operating theater and watched the surgeons operate on them with her very own eyes. Gu Beicheng had taken four bullets to his body. His bloodstained clothes were thrown onto the floor, and the blood had already dried up and turned into a dark, crimson hue. An Xiaoning was filled with indescribable anguish and grief. She watched as the surgeons removed the bullets from their bodies before sewing their wounds up. She was overwhelmed with anxiety upon the sight of the surgeons continuously transfusing blood into their bodies. At the end of the surgery, the head surgeon exined, ¡°Mr. Gu has sustained severe wounds and lost an excessive amount of blood. He has to be sent to the intensive care unit now, and frankly, his condition is not too optimistic. We don¡¯t know if he¡¯ll evere to again for now. Ms. An, please prepare yourself mentally. As for Mrs. Gu, she wasn¡¯t shot in her abdomen and hence the fetus is safe and sound. However, one of the bullets had struck her near her chest, and we can¡¯t be sure about her current condition.¡± An Xiaoning nodded with a grave expression on her face and a heavy heart. ¡°Please do everything you can to save them. If they manage to pull through safely, all the medical professionals and personnel involved in the rescue will be handsomely rewarded. Administer and treat them with the best and most expensive medicine.¡± ¡°We will definitely do our best.¡± ¡°Also, please inform the rest of your colleagues and the hospital staff not to divulge any information regarding their actual condition to the media or to any other member of the Gu and Lin families. Got it?¡± ¡°I understand,¡± said the head surgeon, who naturally would not dare to spread the word. An Xiaoning was overwhelmed with a mix of emotions and could not put her feelings into words upon seeing the pale and ghastly Gu Beicheng, who had his eyes tightly shut. He was pushed into the intensive care unit while Lin Mingxi was admitted to the VIP ward. An Xiaoning arranged for an abundant number of bodyguards to guard outside the wards. ¡°Just what did the doctor say? Is Mingxi in any critical danger right now?¡± Mrs. Lin asked worriedly. ¡°The surgeon was not certain about that. Uncle, Auntie, I¡¯ll instruct my bodyguards and the nurses to look after Mingxi. You guys may go home first. I¡¯ll call you again when shees to.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not leaving! My daughter is already in such a state. How could I stay at home in peace? I must stay here to look after her,¡± Mrs. Lin refused. An Xiaoning empathized with how they felt and said, ¡°In that case, just stay behind then. Ms. Lin, you may leave. I don¡¯t think Mingxi would want to see you when shees to.¡± Mrs. Lin red at her eldest daughter and rebuked, ¡°Didn¡¯t I already say that you¡¯re no longer a member of our family? Mingxi doesn¡¯t need your concern. Hurry and leave.¡± ¡°Mother... I¡¯ve really repented. I know I was wrong and reflected on my mistakes. I too think that I¡¯ve let Mingxi down previously. Will you give me another chance?¡± Lin Mingyuan pleaded. Pointing at the door, Mrs. Lin hollered, ¡°Get out! Mingxi will definitely get upset if she sees you when she regains her consciousness. You¡¯d better hurry and scram.¡± Lin Mingyuan had no choice but to leave. After she left, Mrs. Lin again asked, ¡°Ms. An, please be honest with me. Just what is going on with Mingxi?¡± ¡°Auntie, I was telling you the truth. Mingxi¡¯s condition is uncertain.¡± An Xiaoning helped her onto a seat and continued, ¡°Mingxi was shot twice, but none of the bullets hit her abdomen so her fetus is safe. However, one of the bullets had struck a spot near her heart and, thus, she will have to be put under observation after shees to.¡± ¡°How about Beicheng?¡± ¡°Beicheng¡¯s condition is far more serious than Mingxi¡¯s. He¡¯s in the intensive care unit now and his condition is critical. But I¡¯ll do everything I can to save him. Auntie, Uncle, it¡¯s a critical period now, and I¡¯d like to ask of you to keep the details of their conditions confidential. You have to be especially wary of your elder daughter and remember not to tell her anything about it. Frankly speaking, your elder daughter could very likely take the chance now to mess with their birth characters and cause them harm. If you still can¡¯t see your daughter¡¯s true colors at this point, I really feel aggrieved and indignant for Mingxi. Uncle, Auntie, do you understand what I mean?¡± Chapter 848 - A Million Times for You (210)

Chapter 848: A Million Times for You (210)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mr. and Mrs. Lin nodded in unison. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re both on Mingxi¡¯s side now and we won¡¯t breathe a word about it, not even over our dead bodies.¡± ¡°Bring some bodyguards along with you wherever you go for safety precautions. Leave the rest to me, you don¡¯t have to worry. Now that they¡¯ve met with a mishap, there are going to be a lot of prevailing problems.¡± ¡°Sorry to trouble you, Ms. An.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say that, Beicheng and I are a family too,¡± said An Xiaoning, who left the hospital afterforting Mr. and Mrs. Lin for a while. She headed straight back to the Gu family mansion. At this moment, the guards on the Gu family mansion reported, ¡°Missy, bad news. Young Sir¡¯s corpse has gone missing.¡± An Xiaoning screeched in shock, ¡°What!?! Have you checked the surveince camera footages?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have the right to do that.¡± ¡°Check the footages immediately!¡± An Xiaoning ordered in exasperation. How could a dead person go missing without reason!?! After watching the surveince camera footages, An Xiaoning discovered that Gu Dongcheng¡¯s corpse was taken away by a figure dressed in ck, who was swift and fluid with his motions. It was clear that he or she was extremely skilled in martial arts. What did that person take Gu Dongcheng¡¯s corpse away for? Regardless of how hard An Xiaoning had racked her brains, she could not guess their intentions. Where could his spirit be now? An Xiaoning wondered to herself at the thought of the fact that Gu Dongcheng¡¯s spirit had yet to be taken away by the reapers. The hospital! An Xiaoning prepared the necessary items and drove back to the hospital. Her eyes darted around as she scanned her surroundings while wearing a cap and a surgical mask. In actual fact, thest thing she wanted to do was to visit the hospital in the wee hours of the night. The hospital contained the most number of spirits and supernatural beings. They were practically lurking in every corner. She boarded the elevator and headed to the intensive care unit. She swiftly strode toward the observation ss and craned her neck to peek inside. Just as she had expected, Gu Dongcheng¡¯s spirit was standing right beside Gu Beicheng¡¯s bed. She hushed the bodyguards standing by the door and bent forward to stick an amulet on the ss. She then quickly sprinted toward the back of the intensive care unit. She whipped out her hooked rope andtched it onto the anti-theft window on the second floor. She swiftly leaped up and continued to climb up using the rope, all the way to the sixth floor. She then pasted two amulets on the anti-theft window before sliding down slowly. She panted to catch her breath and returned to the intensive care unit afterward. The nurse opened the door of the ward and allowed her to enter alone. Upon the sight of her, Gu Dongcheng tried to escape through the window but was hindered by the amulets outside it. ¡°Go ahead and run, show me how you¡¯re going to do it,¡± she sneered. Gu Dongcheng remained silent and tried to exit from the main door, but to no avail. An Xiaoning took out two more amulets from her bag unhurriedly and chanted a few curses, after which the amulets propelled toward Gu Dongcheng. He tried to deflect and hide from them. However, the amulets would take chase urately regardless of where he tried to run. Finally, they managed tond on his head sessfully. A silence filled the room. An Xiaoning opened the door and exited while he followed behind her abidingly. The absurd sight of an amulet following behind An Xiaoning¡¯s footsteps caused the bodyguards and staff members¡¯ jaws to drop in shock and bewilderment. After taking a few steps, An Xiaoning turned around and said to a nurse who was taking a video with her mobile phone, ¡°You¡¯re not to film this and upload it online.¡± The nurse frantically switched off her mobile phone and nodded profusely, frightened beyond words. An Xiaoning picked out a room on the first floor of the Gu family mansion and pasted amulets all over the door and windows. After bringing Gu Dongcheng inside the room, she removed the amulet on his head. ¡°Is this the ending you wanted?¡± she questioned. Shaking his head, he answered, ¡°No. at least, I didn¡¯t want my father to die.¡± ¡°But you shot him dead with your bare hands.¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t me,¡± said Gu Dongcheng, who seemed to know that he could not escape An Xiaoning¡¯s clutches. An Xiaoning scoffed and said, ¡°If you didn¡¯t do it, was it a ghost, then? Do you want me to show you the surveince camera footages?¡± ¡°Show them to me.¡± An Xiaoning did not expect him to really ask to view the footages. She instructed the bodyguards to send the footages to her mobile phone, after which she yed the video clip and showed it to him. He was the only one watching, for she did not dare to see it. She did not want to witness his cruelty whenmitting the terrifying act. She observed Gu Dongcheng¡¯s facial expressions carefully and questioned, ¡°Are you thrilled to watch the process of your murder?¡± ¡°Would you believe me if I said that I didn¡¯t do it?¡± An Xiaoning sneered, ¡°You¡¯re not a man at all if you refuse to own up to your actions. You only managed to seed because they didn¡¯t expect you to be so brazen as to kill them and hence didn¡¯t have their guards up against you. You¡¯re so maniacal and malicious that you went through with killing all your family members in your very own home.¡± ¡°I said, it wasn¡¯t me! I was being manipted. They said that they would help me kill Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi, they didn¡¯t say that they would allow me to die.¡± ¡°Who are they?¡± Noticing that he was keeping mum, An Xiaoning added, ¡°Your corpse was taken away, I don¡¯t know what they¡¯re going to do with it. Do you have any idea?¡± ¡°What!¡± ¡°I¡¯m telling you, you¡¯d better tell me the truth. I¡¯ve sent my people to surround the people who had manipted you. You didn¡¯t want to see this happen, did you? You wanted to kill Beicheng and Mingxi, but you ended up killing your father as well. Do you think yourte biological mother will forgive you for your actions when you meet her again in theherworld? News of you murdering the Gu family members are all over the inte and broadcasting tforms right now. Soon, the entire S Nation will find out about how vicious you are. No one expected that you would be the cause of the fatal disaster that Grandpa had warned us about before he passed on. If Beicheng and Mingxi die, your uncles and cousins are going to stand to gain from your relentless act and be entitled to all the assets and shares left behind. You¡¯ll then be a tool that left the money in their pockets. You ended your own life for the happiness of others. That¡¯s the kind of karma sinners like you shall receive.¡± One would usually realize what was most precious to them only after they¡¯re dead. Your life is the most precious thing ever that no amount of money can buy. Once you¡¯re dead, none of your material possessions or spouses would belong to you! ¡°Just who was controlling you? Do you still n to keep it a secret?¡± Gu Dongcheng looked up at her and finally spilled the beans, ¡°I¡¯ll take you there, but there are quite a few of them. Bring more bodyguards with you.¡± ... An Xiaoning parked her car at a spot farther away from the factory and alighted, after which therge entourage of bodyguards followed suit. They proceeded to get into position and waited on standby along the various exits of the roads. The remaining bodyguards then followed her while Gu Dongcheng led her to the abandoned factory. ¡°I¡¯ll go in to take a look,¡± said Gu Dongcheng. An Xiaoning pasted a different type of amulet on him, one that would prevent him from escaping. Gu Dongcheng returned after a long while with tears streaming down his face uncontrobly. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°They¡¯re preparing to conduct an experiment on my body. I don¡¯t know what experiment that is...¡± ¡°How many people are there inside?¡± ¡°About six or seven. The others may be sleeping.¡± An Xiaoning turned around and instructed her bodyguards, ¡°Surround this factory and spread yourselves around the area. I¡¯m afraid there might be secret passageways here. I¡¯ll go in to take a look. All of you must rush in as soon as you hear me whistle.¡± Chapter 849 - A Million Times for You (211)

Chapter 849: A Million Times for You (211)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She climbed over the wall effortlessly and entered the factory. Under Gu Dongcheng¡¯s guidance, she managed to avoid the surveince cameras and arrived on the rooftop. The abandoned factory was built out of bricks. However, due to wear and tear, there were several holes in the roof that had yet to be repaired. It made it much easier for An Xiaoning to enter. Gu Dongcheng checked if the coast was clear while she followed closely behind. The room inside was a minimalistic constructed one. Gu Dongcheng took a look inside before informing her that there were two men sleeping inside. She nodded and tiptoed in, after which she shot them to death immediately. She then searched their bodies to retrieve two guns and two mobile phones. She drew the duvet over their corpses, making it appear like they were really sleeping. Just as she was about to exit, the lights were switched on and sounds of a man humming could be heard. An Xiaoning hid behind the door and quickly fired a shot at the man when he was walking toward the bed. The bullet had urately hit him in the back of his head, resulting in instant death. An Xiaoning dragged him to the side and cleaned up the blood on the floor. Once again, she searched him for his gun and mobile phone. She was not interested in their pistols at all and merely decided to take them away in order to save herself from unnecessary trouble. An Xiaoning exited the room after replenishing the ammo in her gun. She then stealthily made her way inside another brightly-lit room, where a bunch of people was surrounding a bed. Gu Dongcheng¡¯s corpse was lying on the bed. They had dissected his corpse. There was blood all over the bed. She pointed at the light inside and instructed the exasperated Gu Dongcheng to get it settled. Gu Dongcheng immediately entered the room and made the flickering lights go off, causing the room to turn pitch dark. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Go take a look,¡± Bei Qi instructed. The man beside him exited the room with a torchlight and walked toward the main switch. Just as he reached the door of the bedroom, An Xiaoning grabbed him by the neck and pulled him into the bedroom forcefully. An Xiaoning did not kill him immediately and instead shot him in his legs before tying him to the bed and stuffing a cloth in his mouth. Not wanting to waste any more time after tying him up, she climbed onto the rooftop and stood beside the room Bei Qi was in. She mmed her palm down gently, causing the roof to copse, crushing the bunch of people in the room, who all shrieked in pain. Gu Dongcheng was stunned beyond words and asked, ¡°How... how... did you have that much strength?¡± She did not answer him and instead blew the whistle she had hung on her neck, after which all the bodyguards rushed inside. An Xiaoning instructed, ¡°Contact a forklift truck driver and get them to take the bricks away. Get all those people beneath out of here, regardless of whether they¡¯re dead or alive. Both of you, there¡¯s still a man who¡¯s alive in the room next door. I had tied him to a bed. Bring him out, I¡¯ll be waiting for you guys in the car.¡± ¡°Yes, Missy.¡± It was a long and arduous night. An Xiaoning was dog-tired and exhausted beyond words by the time she returned to the Gu family mansion, especially since most of her energy had already been depleted after traveling to theherworld. Yet, she still had to continue dealing with Gu Dongcheng. ring at Gu Dongcheng, An Xiaoning chastised, ¡°Don¡¯t think I¡¯ll show mercy on you just because you brought me to those people. You tried to harm Beicheng and Mingxi when I was in M Nation back then. Of course, you tried to kill me too but you didn¡¯t seed. We all knew it was you. You and Xu Youran are really two peas from the same pod. As the saying goes, birds of the same feather flock together. You tried to harm others, but you ended up harming yourself, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you know clearly about Youran¡¯s death. I¡¯m already dead, can you just tell me who killed Youran?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t tell you.¡± ¡°I can already guess who it is, more or less.¡± ¡°You may have made guesses, but you still don¡¯t have any concrete proof, do you? Who are these people who have controlled you?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s strike a deal, I¡¯ll tell you who they are if you tell me whether or not Jin Qingyan was the one who killed Youran.¡± ¡°Tell me if you want to. If not, you may keep it to yourself.¡± All of a sudden, two grim reapers, Heibai and Wuchang, appeared in the room. Gu Dongcheng panicked at the sight of them. ¡°Lords, please let me have a few words with him.¡± She continued, ¡°Gu Dongcheng, if you tell me who they are, perhaps you can be spared from being banished to the 18th level of hell. I¡¯ll put in some good words for you to the reapers. Do you know what hell is like? You¡¯ll be burned and skinned and made to feel like you¡¯re being deep fried in oil. The punishments are severely torturous.¡± Gu Dongcheng immediately understood that An Xiaoning was on speaking terms with the reapers. Needless to say, he did not want to be subjected to torment. ¡°The mastermind is Pei Yi, the chieftain of one of the DK Organization¡¯s quarters. They were also the ones who hijacked your flight and abducted you guys on your way back from M Nation. I¡¯ve cooperated with them before. I promised to give Pei Yi half of the shares of the Gu Corporation when I rise to power if he could manage to get rid of Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi. However, I only understood after tonight¡¯s events that Pei Yi is coveting the entire Gu Corporation. His subordinates have controlled my consciousness and caused me to die in here. They¡¯ll get the chance to intervene once the Gu Corporation is in chaos. They even made me sign an agreement and only allowed me to read the first page of the document. I reckon the rest of the terms must be some sordid and illegal ones. After all, the Gu Corporation is a multinational corporation that runs a legal business.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve indeed got peanuts for brains. Both you and Xu Youran dug your own graves.¡± She then said to Heibai and Wuchang respectfully, ¡°He totally deserves to be banished to the 18th level of hell. Don¡¯t let him get a chance to reincarnate. He doesn¡¯t deserve it at all.¡± Panic was written all over Gu Dongcheng¡¯s face the moment he heard her words. ¡°Didn¡¯t you promise to put in a good word for me?¡± ¡°Do you think I¡¯m out of my mind? I detest you to the core, so why would I do that?¡± An Xiaoning rebuked, rolling her eyes at him. Heibai and Wuchang shackled Gu Dongcheng¡¯s limbs in chains and brought him away forcefully. On the way to theherworld, he said to the reapers in exasperation, ¡°I saw An Xiaoningmit a massacre tonight. She¡¯s a huge sinner too. Why don¡¯t you take her life?¡± Wuchang glowered at him and said, ¡°It¡¯s not up to you to decide when she¡¯s supposed to die. You¡¯re already dead anyway, why are you poking your nose into someone else¡¯s business?¡± ¡°I just feel indignant. Heaven can¡¯t be that unfair, can it?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t change anything regardless of whether you find it fair or not. You won¡¯t have time to say such things anymore once you report to Hades. You¡¯ll be getting a hard time.¡± Gu Dongcheng shivered in fear and anxiety. He wanted to cry but there were no tears. I would have lived life properly if I¡¯d known earlier that I wouldnd myself in this plight. I definitely wouldn¡¯t try to snatch thepany away and send myself onto this path to ruin , he thought to himself. However, it was all toote now. ¡ª An Xiaoning fell asleep in the guest room of the Gu family mansion,pletely exhausted. She only woke up the next afternoon. Instead of feeling fresh and rejuvenated, she woke up feeling weak and sluggish. She drove to her home in Sanqiao Estate where she took a shower and changed into a fresh set of clothes, after which she felt instantly better. ¡°Xiaoning, how are things within the Gu family?¡± Shi Qingzhou asked. Chapter 850 - A Million Times for You (212)

Chapter 850: A Million Times for You (212)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°This is only the beginning,¡± she said candidly. ¡°They¡¯re such sinners.¡± Shi Qingzhou sighed and said, ¡°Take care of your health, don¡¯t tire yourself out.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be mindful.¡± Noticing that she was about to leave, Shi Qingzhou reminded, ¡°Be careful when ites to everything, and you must be on your guard against people at all times. There are only those few that you can trust.¡± ¡°Yes, Mother, I¡¯ll remember your words.¡± She headed to the hospital to discover that Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi had yet toe to, but all the shareholders of the Gu Corporation had already gathered at the hospital. The bunch of old fogies tried to find out about their condition from the specialist in charge, but to no avail. Hence, they had no choice but to wait outside the ward. They immediately surrounded An Xiaoning as soon as they saw her. ¡°Ms. An, the hospital staff refuse to disclose CEO Gu¡¯s condition. Were you the one who instructed them not to?¡± She admitted straightforwardly, ¡°You¡¯ve seen for yourselves, Beicheng is still unconscious in the intensive care unit. What¡¯s there to ask about? You¡¯re already so old and yet you have such poor awareness.¡± The middle-aged and elderly men were peeved upon hearing her snide remark. ¡°We¡¯re just being anxious. Since CEO Gu is in such a condition now, there has to be an acting CEO for the time being.¡± ¡°Do you really think thepany will copse just because there isn¡¯t someone to take charge for a few days? Look how anxious and worried all of you are. You¡¯re kicking up such a huge fuss,¡± An Xiaoning chided with a sullen expression on her face. ¡°Ms. An, you¡¯re so young and yet you¡¯ve got such a sharp tongue. You¡¯re really rude and ill-mannered.¡± ¡°Age has nothing to do with sensibility. Cut the crap. I¡¯m warning all of you, you¡¯d better not spout any nonsense to the media, lest I cut your tongues off. Beicheng will definitely wake up.¡± The shareholders were at a loss for words. As soon as the shareholders were chased away, the extended family members of the Gu family arrived in the hospital. There was a huge crowd. They bombarded An Xiaoning with questions, causing her to feel vexed and frustrated. ¡°Xiaoning, before your parents died, did they inform you about the arrangements to be made after their deaths?¡± ¡°Did Beicheng say anything?¡± ¡°There needs to be someone taking charge of thepany for now. Seems like your cousins are the best candidates to be acting CEO.¡± An Xiaoning retorted bluntly, ¡°Beicheng and Mingxi have yet toe to, and you¡¯re already so eager to squeeze your sons into thepany. Are you secretly hoping that they won¡¯t ever regain their consciousness?¡± Second Auntie Gu covered her mouth and said, ¡°Hey, don¡¯t say that, I¡¯m not as brazen as to harbor such ill intentions.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need for an acting CEO for now. If Beicheng still doesn¡¯te to in the next few days, I¡¯ll take over his duties in the office.¡± Second Auntie Gu gasped in shock and eximed, ¡°What!?!¡± She then looked at her husband before saying, ¡°How can you do that? You may be a member of the Gu family, but you¡¯re still an outsider who¡¯s not rted to us by blood. How can you take over the Gu Corporation? Besides, you¡¯re just a woman.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t talk to me about such nonsense. We¡¯ll decide when Beichenges to,¡± said An Xiaoning, not wishing to argue with her. Second Auntie Gu was sent into a frenzy and remarked callously, ¡°Who knows if you¡¯d secretly drug Beicheng to make him stay unconscious? Xiaoning, are you eyeing the Gu family¡¯s assets?¡± A sullen expression formed on An Xiaoning¡¯s face as soon as she heard the usation. A sudden tension filled the air. ¡°Second Auntie, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re clear on who the one eyeing the family assets really is. I, An Xiaoning, have never been short of money and I¡¯ll never resort to coveting and snatching away the assets belonging to others. That¡¯s such a despicable act,¡± An Xiaoning retorted, after which she walked past them and proceeded to ask the doctor about Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi¡¯s conditions. ¡°Was I wrong? Get off your high horse. If you¡¯re really that high and mighty, would you be coveting the Gu family¡¯s assets?¡± Second Auntie Gu murmured, ¡°This woman is really scheming, all she harbors are ill intentions.¡± ¡°Mother, Cousin Beicheng didn¡¯t allow me to work in thepany when he was in charge. It¡¯s a great opportunity to do so now. The corporation belongs to our ancestors, not Uncle alone. Some of it belongs to us too.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, what rights have they got to encroach on thepany? If Dongcheng wasn¡¯t displeased, he wouldn¡¯t have done such a cruel act. At the end of the day, it¡¯s all Brother and Sister-inw¡¯s fault for being partial and biased toward Beicheng.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough. We¡¯re in the hospital. Why are you making such a ruckus? We¡¯re going to be aughingstock if others hear us,¡± Second Uncle Gu chided. ¡ª What worried An Xiaoning the most was the fact that their conditions were not optimistic. Gu Beicheng took a bullet to his head and was still breathing faintly at the moment. An Xiaoning was perturbed and found it hard to ept the truth upon hearing the possible oues as described by the doctor. If Gu Beicheng did note to, he might very likely be a vegetable. That was a bolt from the blue. However, conjectures can only be made at this point. Everything would depend on the results of the treatment. Bei Qi was the only one who survived amongst the bunch that was crushed beneath the rooftop. However, he had sustained severe injuries. There were only two survivors in total. The rest of the corpses were sent to the crematorium to be cremated while the other two were sent to the Gu family mansion. When An Xiaoning saw them again, Bei Qi had already regained his senses, though he seemed to be on his veryst few breaths. The man, whose legs were shot, was in a much better condition, although the bullets had not yet been removed from his legs. Hence, he could not walk at all and would feel excruciating pain with every slight movement. An Xiaoning stood in front of him and red at him from above. ¡°Tell me how you managed to control Gu Dongcheng.¡± The man refused to look at her and did not seem to be willing to concede. ¡°I see you¡¯re refusing to speak up. I have a million ways to make you feel like you¡¯re in a living hell and think that you¡¯re better off dead,¡± An Xiaoning threatened coldly. The man looked up and said, ¡°Go and ask Master Bei Qi if there¡¯s anything you want to know. I have no idea at all. What¡¯s the point of asking me?¡± ¡°Are you blind? You were watching the entire process, how could you not know what happened? Would you prefer to be in a living hell ore clean about everything you know? I¡¯m giving you thirty seconds to decide.¡± The man¡¯s heart was ricocheting strongly against his chest. Not wanting to be physically tortured, he said, ¡°Master Bei Qi concocted a special kind of medicine and a vial of blood, both of which he injected into Gu Dongcheng¡¯s body after the hypnosis took ce. By doing so, they would be able to control Gu Dongcheng¡¯s consciousness for a limited amount of time. Not only does Master Bei Qi know how to concoct his secret medication, but he¡¯s also an expert in formting poisons.¡± ncing at Bei Qi, who was lying on the bed, An Xiaoning said, ¡°I really couldn¡¯t tell that you had such capabilities. Would you like to stay alive? You¡¯ll only be one of Pei Yi¡¯sckeys by staying loyal to him. Why don¡¯t you consider following me instead? I¡¯ll offer you just as much as Pei Yi does.¡± Bei Qi naturally did not wish to die. Needless to say, he knew clearly just how valuable he was, as well as the predicament he was in currently. A living dog is better than a dead lion, isn¡¯t it? ¡°Are you for real?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve manipted Gu Dongcheng into killing the Gu family, after all. Don¡¯t you hate me for that?¡± he said feebly. An Xiaoning raised her brows and said, ¡°What has you working for me got to do with whether I detest you or not? I appreciate and value those who are genuinely capable. You received orders from Pei Yi. That¡¯s different from being the true mastermind.¡± Chapter 851 - A Million Times for You (213)

Chapter 851: A Million Times for You (213)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She continued, ¡°Currently, members belonging to the DK terrorist organization are widespread, especially in S Nation. I have no idea why you guys chose to be hisckeys, but I¡¯d like to tell you, you¡¯re going to be ackey all the same, regardless of who you work for. So why don¡¯t you choose an employer who¡¯ll treat you better? I¡¯ll give you a new identity if you¡¯re willing to follow me, and I¡¯ll inform Pei Yi of your deaths. No one else will know who you are, except me.¡± ¡°What about him?¡± Bei Qi asked, pointing at the man whose legs were shot. ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve long heard about how extraordinary you are, Ms. An. I finally got to witness it with my own eyes today. I really think you¡¯re nowhere inferior to Pei Yi at all. You¡¯re pretty, brave, and courageous.¡± ¡°Quit buttering me up. Are you going to agree or not?¡± An Xiaoning dismissed hispliments coldly. ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯ll one day return to Pei Yi?¡± ¡°If that happens, it only means that I couldn¡¯t convince you enough to work for me. In that case, there would be nothing else for me to say.¡± ¡°Do I have another choice now? I obviously want to live. I promise to work for you,¡± said Bei Qi. As soon as he answered, An Xiaoning fired a bullet at the other man and had him cremated. ¡°You¡¯re indeed very decisive and resolute, Ms. An.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve killed as many lives as you did. Regardless of the reason, you¡¯re a coward if you don¡¯t retaliate when you¡¯re held at gunpoint. I was forced to be the person I am today,pelled by the circumstances I was subjected to,¡± said An Xiaoning, who took onest nce at Bei Qi. She then instructed her bodyguards to look after him and watch him closely. She exited and looked up at the sun, which was shining bright above her in the sky. The warm rays of the sun could not shine inside her heart, however. Fan Shixin walked toward her and said, ¡°Young Madam, Young Sir would like me to help you out for the time being.¡± ¡°Good timing. There¡¯s a very important person inside who works for Pei Yi. He¡¯s heavily wounded. Help me get a mask made that¡¯s tailored to his features. Then, give him a new name and list his name under a new register. Also, hire the best surgeon in town to amputate his legs.¡± Fan Shixin immediately proceeded to carry out the instructions she had given him. She walked toward the living room slowly and seemed to be able to see her family sitting on the couch and chatting over a meal. Yet, everything vanished in the blink of an eye. She wasn¡¯t prepared for this at all. That¡¯s how life is. People usually leave this world before they could even prepare theirst words. There was an uncrossable line between the living world and theherworld. She wanted to protect her loved ones while preventing herself from being threatened and harmed by others. Hence, all she could do was to continuously enrich herself, strengthen herself, and increase her powers. She had too many enemies, and there was no way for her to guard against all of them. She could only do everything in her power to restore peace. In order to achieve that, there was no way to erase the deaths she had caused or to wipe the blood off her hands. She had been persistent in doing what she deemed to be appropriate. If she didn¡¯t retaliate and stand up to those who were out to harm her, she would only be digging her own grave. Wasn¡¯t that so? She stepped inside slowly to see that the mess had already been cleaned up by the servants. No one could tell at all that a disastrous bloodbath had just urred. ¡°Boss, that fellow is calling you again!¡± She looked at the caller disy and deduced from the area code of the number that it was a call from E Nation. She stared at the screen for several seconds before picking up. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Hope you¡¯re doing well.¡± She tried to suppress the anger and vengeance in her heart upon hearing the electrifying voice, which was all too familiar. ¡°Mr. Pei, your efforts were wasted, thanks to me. I wonder how you¡¯re nning to get your revenge on me for foiling your previous ns?¡± ¡°I was too used to hearing you call me ¡®Master Pei¡¯ that ¡®Mr. Pei¡¯ sounds a little too strange now. Can¡¯t you address me the same way you did back then?¡± She decided to y along. ¡°Master Pei, do you like hearing me address you this way?¡± After a moment of silence, Pei Yi said, ¡°You don¡¯t sound sincere at all.¡± ¡°How do you want me to express my sincerity? Are you happy now that you¡¯ve caused such a mess?¡± said An Xiaoning, who cut straight to the chase. ¡°How am I supposed to be happy? Didn¡¯t you kill my men?¡± ¡°You¡¯re rather quick to acknowledge that fact, huh? What¡¯s your purpose for calling me?¡± ¡°Look how furious you¡¯ve gotten. How disappointing. You were such an expert at suppressing your emotions.¡± ¡°Sorry to have disappointed you, then. But I¡¯ll continue disappointing you in the future, such that you¡¯ll end up dying of disappointment.¡± She ended the call immediately, for she did not have much to say to him. Displeasure was written all over Pei Yi¡¯s face upon realizing that she had ended the call. He stared at the screen and ced his mobile phone onto the table. Heid his eyes on the paper cranes in therge stic bottle, his gaze icy cold. ¡ª Mo Li reported to work at Long Tianze¡¯s bar. She was working as a waitress, and Long Tianze offered her twice the original sry as a form of showing his concern for her. Although she did not have the cheek to ept that much money, she could not outargue Long Tianze. Hence, in order to express her gratitude, she put in her best effort in working and even stayed behind to clean up after work hours. She felt that she had lived each day to the fullest, despite the fact that work was rather tiring. The operating hours of the bar vary ording to the season. During spring and summer, the bar usually opened for business from seven in the evening ¡¯til two after midnight daily. She would catch up on sleep and help her parents out in the day. When she arrived in Night Genie that night, Long Tianze walked toward her and said, ¡°Well... Ye Xiaotian showed up at my bar out of the blue with a bunch of bodyguards. I can¡¯t chase them away. They just arrived a while ago. Would you like to take a day off tonight?¡± ¡°Tianze, he and I are a thing of the past now. This is my job. Am I supposed to rest every day just because he drops by every single day? Go ahead with what you¡¯re busy with. I have to get to work too,¡± Mo Li said nonchntly. She was in charge of the private rooms on the second storey. Coincidentally, Ye Xiaotian was in one of the rooms she was in charge of serving. Mo Li was not burdened or pressured at all, for she had already let go of the pastpletely. Business had always been smooth for Long Tianze¡¯s bar, and he had earned the support of many loyal customers, thanks to his splendid management and customer service. The bar would undergo renovation works and get a new interior design every year, especially the private rooms, which were exquisitely andvishly designed. The rooms were spacious and fully equipped with everything the customers needed. Just as she changed into her clothes, she heard the service bell ringing from inside one of the rooms. A sudden silence filled the air the moment Mo Li stepped foot inside the room. Everyone knew that she was Ye Xiaotian¡¯s ex-wife, what more his friends. Everyone shifted their gazes onto Ye Xiaotian and Mo Li back and forth. They immediately understood upon noticing how Ye Xiaotian was pretending not to know Mo Li. ¡°Hey, this waitress looks so familiar.¡± Mo Li answered, ¡°Mister, every woman probably looks familiar to you. May I ask if you have any orders for me?¡± ¡°Get your prettiest hostess here to apany us for some drinks.¡± Chapter 852 - A Million Times for You (214)

Chapter 852: A Million Times for You (214)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mo Li exined, ¡°Our hostesses are categorized into four grades, namely A, B, C, and D, with A being the best and most expensive.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have those from grade A, then. We have nothing but money. Call them here and let us take our pick,¡± one of the men said haughtily. Despite feeling peeved and filled with disdain toward him, Mo Li nodded and said, ¡°Alright, please wait a moment.¡± She did not show her displeasure at all. She retreated out of the room and called the young premium-grade hostesses into the room. The young and delicate hostesses were scantily d in revealing clothes, which entuated their voluptuous figures. Their faces were covered in exquisite makeup, and they had sky-high stilettos on their feet as they strutted into the room while swaying their hips coquettishly. They then arranged themselves in a single file, allowing the men to take their pick. Mo Li understood that everyone had a preferred lifestyle of their own and, hence, she did not at all despise or look down on those young girls who were selling their youth and looks for money. After all, she was in no ce to criticize others, given the pathetic state that her life was in. All eight of the young hostesses were selected, and they proceeded to sit beside the men they were serving, all of whom were married with a family. Ye Xiaotian was the only one who was currently single. Mo Li wanted to excuse herself, but to no avail. They instructed her to open the liquor bottles and stay inside the room to wait for further instructions. The men broke into boisterous fun and chatter with thepany of the gorgeous babes. There was also a young hostess cuddling next to Ye Xiaotian. He subconsciously took a nce at Mo Li every now and then, trying to look out for a tinge of misery or jealousy on her face. However, there were none at all. She did not express any emotions apart from aloofness. She kept her eyes fixed in front and did not look at him at all. She managed to stay calm andposed throughout, as if she hadpletely cut ties with him. Ye Xiaotian got drunk without realizing it and dozed off on the couch. He had yet to wake up even after his friends had had a whale of a time and were nning to leave at about one o¡¯clock in the morning. Just as they were nning to carry him away, he sobered up. He told them to take their leave while he remained in the room alone. Mo Li had to clean up the mess they had created. He remained seated on the couch and watched as she went about her duties. It was two o¡¯clock by the time Mo Li had tidied up everything. It was time for the bar to close as well. She ignored Ye Xiaotian¡¯s presence and instead switched off the lights in the room before making her exit. Ye Xiaotian sprung up upon realizing that the room had turned pitch dark all of a sudden. He hurriedly left the room as well. After changing back into her own clothes in the dressing room, Mo Li grabbed her bag and left. There were barely any customers left in the bar, and all the waiters and waitresses were busy cleaning up. She could not help them out since she was getting offte, and she thus left on her own. She exited the bar. The sky was dark and gloomy. Mo Li walked toward her motorbike, turned the key to start the engine, and left straight away. A luxury car was tailing her. She remained calm despite knowing who it was. She finally arrived in Sanqiao Estate. She parked her motorbike in the basement carpark of the estate. Noticing that he had yet to alight from his car in the basement, she hurriedly sped out of the basement and zoomed toward her house. Just as she reached the bench near the corridor, she felt her arm being grabbed. ¡°Just what do you want?¡± Mo Li questioned. ¡°The corporation has been acquired, and I now have ample time to spend with you. I still want to be in a rtionship with you. I know I hurt you too much, but I¡¯ll make it up to you using the rest of my life.¡± Mo Li felt as if she had just heard an absurdly ridiculous story. It never crossed her mind that he would still have the cheek to say such things to her at such a juncture. ¡°Ye Xiaotian, just how... are you still oblivious to what¡¯s going on now? We¡¯ll never be together again in this life.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t let you be treated unfairly again.¡± She sat on the bench, dog-tired and aching all over. ¡°Don¡¯t say such things to me again from now on. Leave.¡± ¡°Mo Li....¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already begun living a life of my own. I don¡¯t want to have anything to do with you anymore.¡± ¡°Do you... already have a boyfriend?¡± Ye Xiaotian asked, although he found it hard to believe. Mo Li looked him in the eye and said, ¡°Yes, I have a boyfriend and he treats me very well. You should also find a woman who pampers you and whom your mother is satisfied with. Let bygones be bygones. Let us forget about the past we had and never mention a thing about each other again.¡± ¡°Could you let me see what kind of a man he is?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need for that.¡± ¡°Are you lying to me?¡± ¡°Do you really think it¡¯s necessary for me to do so?¡± Mo Li said coldly while shifting her gaze onto a figure approaching from behind Ye Xiaotian. She felt a sudden wave of courage, which spurred her to stand up and walk past Ye Xiaotian toward the figure. She grabbed his arm and asked, ¡°Where did you go?¡± No. 8 was rather taken aback but quickly realized what was going on. He said without hesitation, ¡°I went to fetch you but I didn¡¯t see you at the bar.¡± ¡°Maybe you missed me,¡± said Mo Li, her palms getting sweaty due to her immense nervousness. For a second, she had been worried that No. 8 wouldn¡¯t y along with her act. Ye Xiaotian turned around and looked at No. 8, only to discover that he was suave and tall. He smiled and sat down on the bench without uttering another word. Mo Li held onto No. 8¡¯s arm and walked toward the corridor. After entering the elevator, she let go of his hand and apologized awkwardly, ¡°So sorry about that...¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, no worries.¡± ¡°Could youe inside my ce for a while and leave after he does?¡± He agreed. ¡°Where do you work? Why are you home at such ate hour?¡± ¡°I work as a waitress at my friend¡¯s bar. The bar closes at about two to three in the morning. Why aren¡¯t you asleep yet?¡± Mo Li asked, pouring him a cup of tea. ¡°I had trouble sleeping. Why did your ex-husband show up here?¡± he asked, looking at her. ¡°He went to the bar I was working at and followed me home.¡± She walked toward the bathroom and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go wash up first. Wait for me here.¡± He nodded and watched as she entered the washroom before scanning his surroundings in the living room. He did not enter the apartment the previous time and instead only helped her to the door when she was drunk. He discovered that the apartment was not spacious but looked rather warm and cozy. He could tell that Mo Li had put effort into decorating every corner of the house. It was rather simr to his ideal home. Mo Li exited from the bathroom after brushing her teeth and washing her face to see that he was staring intently at a corner. ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± ¡°Your ce feels so homey.¡± Slightly startled, she smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s because I treat this ce like my own. Hence, I designed and decorated it ording to the way I wanted.¡± ¡°Very good.¡± ¡°I heard Xiaoning calling you No. 8. Is that your name?¡± He nodded and said, ¡°It¡¯s my nickname.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your real name, then?¡± ¡°Yun Chen.¡± Mo Li muttered, ¡°Yun Chen... Yun Chen... sounds nice.¡± ¡°My family weren¡¯t the ones who gave me that name, though.¡± ¡°Huh? Didn¡¯t your parents give you that name?¡± she asked in puzzlement. ¡°No. I¡¯m an orphan, and I was sent to undergo training ever since I was a child. I was named by my trainer.¡± Chapter 853 - A Million Times for You (215)

Chapter 853: A Million Times for You (215)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mo Li had had no idea what he went through in the past. However, she knew that it must not have been easy. ¡°Training must have been tough, huh?¡± she asked. ¡°It¡¯s quite grueling, but it¡¯s all over now.¡± He picked up the cup and took a few sips of tea before saying, ¡°To me, it¡¯s a fresh beginning now.¡± ¡°Same for me. How are we so simr?¡± Mo Li said with a smile. ¡°After having been through so many obstacles and hardship, do you still believe in love?¡± After some hesitation, Mo Li answered, ¡°I believe that luck is not on my side. In fact, I¡¯m actually really unlucky. I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be easy for me to ever find true love again.¡± ¡°I used to think like this too in the past, but I¡¯ve changed my mindset. My life is already pathetic enough. If I continue to resign myself to fate and deny myself a life that I truly want, I would¡¯ve lived in vain all this while,¡± said No. 8. Mo Li seemed to have been inspired by his words. Mo Li nodded and said, ¡°I agree with you. I¡¯m only thirty years old this year. I still have a long way ahead of me.¡± She stood on a balcony and looked below with a pair of binocrs, only to find that Ye Xiaotian was still sitting on the bench. ¡°He hasn¡¯t left yet.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll stay for a while longer, then.¡± Although Mo Li was fatigued, she did not want No. 8 to wait in boredom. ¡°Shall we y a game of cards?¡± she suggested. ¡°Sure.¡± Mo Li was on a losing streak, game after game, due to herck of skills in poker. As a forfeit, she had strips of paper stuck all over her chin. ¡°I look like an old granny with a beard.¡± Noticing how tired she was although she was still wide awake, he said, ¡°Go get some rest. I¡¯ll leave once he does.¡± Exhausted beyond limits, she tugged the paper strips off her chin and stretched her back. ¡°I¡¯ll go to bed, then. You may sleep on the couch if you¡¯re tired too.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Mo Liy down onto her bed immediately, without even changing out of her clothes. The sky had already turned bright by the time she woke up, and the sunlight was shining brightly into her room. The golden rays of the sun gave the room a gilded appearance. She took a look at the time and found that it was already nine o¡¯clock. She got out of bed and headed to the living room. Just like she had expected, No. 8 was no longer in sight. Mo Li shifted her gaze onto the dining table and hurriedly rushed forward to discover that there was a delicious-looking set of breakfast on the table, a note beside it. The message written on the note was simple but enough to warm her heart. ¡°I only left in the morning and I decided to make you some breakfast. I¡¯m not a great cook, don¡¯t mind my poor culinary skills.¡± He even added a smiley at the end of the note. She sat down by the dining table after freshening up and began eating slowly. The fragrance of the food lingered in her mouth, and she found it to be rather decadent. She polished off every morsel of the food. He had done me a favor and even fixed breakfast for me. I must do something in return or I¡¯m just going to appear insincere , she thought to herself. After much consideration, Mo Li decided to give him a gift as a token of gratitude and appreciation. What would be a suitable gift? She decided to buy him a shirt. She bought him a shirt that was made of superior fabric. In order to ensure that it would fit him perfectly, she repeatedly got a male sales assistant who was of the same build as No. 8 to try on the shirt again and again. She finally bought it. Upon returning home, she slid a note inside the shirt and headed to An Xiaoning¡¯s mansion, which was opposite hers. She pressed the doorbell, and No. 1 answered the door. ¡°Ms. Mo.¡± ¡°Is No. 8 home?¡± ¡°No, he went out with Xiaoning.¡± ¡°Well, No. 8 had done me a favor and I don¡¯t know how I should thank him so I bought him a shirt as a token of gratitude. Could you help me hand it to him?¡± ¡°Sure, no problem.¡± Mo Li handed him the shopping bag and said, ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°No problem, I¡¯ll give it to him once hees home.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Mo Li returned home afterward. She gulped some in water upon returning home. Will he like the color that I had chosen? Will he throw it away if he doesn¡¯t like it? Mo Li was ill at ease. She could not rest her mind throughout the whole day. ¡ª An Xiaoning returned home at six o¡¯clock in the evening with No. 5 and No. 8. No. 1 looked at No. 8 with a sheepish grin and said, ¡°Ms. Mo bought this for you. She said it¡¯s a token of gratitude for the favor you had done for her.¡± No. 8 took it from him and headed upstairs. ¡°What¡¯s inside?¡± No. 5 asked in a gossipy manner. ¡°It¡¯s a white shirt. I¡¯ve seen it. It¡¯s pretty pricey.¡± ¡°Seems like a good sign. No wonder No. 8 keeps stealing nces at Ms. Mo from the balcony every night. They must have fallen for each other, huh?¡± No. 5 quipped. An Xiaoning asked in surprise, ¡°Are you being serious?¡± ¡°I was just making a wild guess, hehe.¡± No. 5 hurriedly rushed upstairs and leaned against the door. He peeked inside the room to see that No. 8 was opening the box inside the bag. The other bodyguards then gathered behind him. They rushed inside and teased, ¡°No. 8, put it on and show us if it fits you, quick.¡± ¡°Yeah, Ms. Mo is probably still waiting for your reply.¡± ¡°Hurry and put it on, stop being so wishy-washy.¡± No. 8 grew shy and embarrassed as his ears turned red. He put it on in front of them and found that it was very fitting! ¡°This must have been tailor-made to your measurements. No. 8, tell us quick, how far have you progressed with Ms. Mo? How is she so familiar with your body and build?¡± No. 5 teased. No. 8 rolled his eyes at No. 5 and said, ¡°We¡¯re not that close.¡± ¡°As if I¡¯d believe you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s up to you to decide if you want to believe me.¡± An Xiaoning entered and asked curiously, ¡°What did you help her with?¡± No. 8 exined briefly, ¡°I woke up in the middle of the night and stood on the balcony to enjoy the breeze. I then caught sight of Ms. Mo¡¯s ex-husband who chased her all the way here. She only returned at about two in the morning after working at her friend¡¯s bar. She seemed to be upset with her ex-husband...¡± Before he could even finish, No. 5 interrupted, ¡°So you decided to save the damsel in distress.¡± ¡°Screw you, how dare you interrupt me?¡± No. 8 interrupted him and said, ¡°As soon as I approached them, Ms. Mo pretended to be my girlfriend and put on a show for her ex-husband so as to make him think that she¡¯s living well now.¡± An Xiaoning seemed to have a moment of epiphany and said, ¡°Oh, I see. Mo Li did the right thing. But Ye Xiaotian is so shameless. They¡¯re already divorced, what more does he want? Mo Li has been suffering ever since she met him.¡± ¡°Sis, tell us about them. We¡¯re really curious,¡± No. 9 urged. ¡°Yeah, Sis, tell us.¡± An Xiaoning mellowed her voice and exined, ¡°I¡¯m not very sure about the details, but I do know roughly what happened between them. Mo Li got into a rtionship with Ye Xiaotian when she was eighteen years old. Yet, Ye Xiaotian made use of her. At that time, he was engaged to a woman named Bai Ranran, who had saved his mother by donating her kidney to her. Bai Ranran had a rare disease that hindered her body from producing blood on its own. She would need regr transfusions of blood. Hence, Ye Xiaotian made Mo Li one of the blood donors in his very own blood bank. He often drew blood from her forcefully. Mo Li then sought Qingyan¡¯s help to escape from Ye Xiaotian¡¯s clutches. Qingyan introduced her to Prince Byron of Y Nation, whom she married soon after. However, she returned to Ye Xiaotian¡¯s side againter. I¡¯m not quite clear about what happened in between, but Mo Li did attempt suicide once and I saved her in the nick of time. Sheter got pregnant with Ye Xiaotian¡¯s child, and Ye Xiaotian looked her up again. They then reconciled and got married.¡± Chapter 854 - A Million Times for You (216)

Chapter 854: A Million Times for You (216)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°What happened afterward?¡± An Xiaoning exined, ¡°Mo Li found out that she was destined to have no son in her life and that the Ye family would not have any male heirs after Ye Xiaotian. Ye Xiaotian¡¯s mother then resorted to extreme means in order to make Mo Li conceive a baby boy. She hired a medium to write a talisman that she dissolved in water and forced Mo Li to drink. Mo Li did get pregnant again afterward, but it was against Heaven¡¯s will since she was not destined to have any sons. Hence, Heaven punished her by taking her daughter¡¯s life. As a result, she suffered a miscarriage and divorced Ye Xiaotian. Well, that incident almost killed her. Fortunately, she managed to tide through and gave herself a new lease on life. It was tough on her. It took her a great deal of backbone to divorce Ye Xiaotian without taking a single cent from him.¡± Everyone was appalled. ¡°This is a good shirt. No. 8, aren¡¯t you going to go tell Ms. Mo that the shirt fits you well?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Just as he was about to remove the shirt, No. 3 stopped him and said, ¡°Why are you removing it? You must keep it on when you see her to show her your sincerity. Hurry along.¡± He then pushed No. 8 out of the house. ¡°Are you trying to make me freeze to death?¡± No. 3 handed him a zer and said, ¡°Put it on.¡± No. 8 tucked the shirt into his trousers and put on the zer, exuding an alluring charm. No. 8 then proceeded to the apartment on the 32nd floor of the building opposite. He pressed the doorbell. Mo Li opened the door and immediately got the jitters the moment she saw that he was wearing the shirt she had bought him. ¡°You¡¯re here,¡± she said nervously. ¡°I really like the shirt. Thank you.¡± ¡°Good... that you like it. Would you like toe in?¡± she asked meekly. ¡°Nah, I just came by to tell you that I liked it. I still have to follow Sis Xiaoning outter. Why haven¡¯t you gone to work yet?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to get going real soon.¡± ¡°Alright, be careful while on your way hometer at night. I¡¯ll be taking my leave now.¡± She nodded and said, ¡°Okay.¡± She only realized that she should have asked for his mobile number after he¡¯d entered the elevator. Would it be a little inappropriate to ask him for his number if he didn¡¯t initiate exchanging numbers with me? she thought to herself. She closed the door and felt much more at ease, knowing that he fancied the shirt. She grabbed her bag and went to work merrily. ¡ª An Xiaoning had dinner at home and chatted with Shi Qingzhou for a while before leaving the estate. She headed straight to the Gu family mansion. ¡°Young Madam, I¡¯ve alreadypleted everything you wanted me to,¡± said Fan Shixin, who was already waiting for her. ¡°It¡¯s been hard on you. Is he awake yet?¡± ¡°No, but he shoulde to very soon. The effects of the anesthesia will wear off soon enough.¡± ¡°Alright, go back and get some rest. Come back again tomorrow.¡± ¡°Okay. This is his mask,¡± said Fan Shixin, handing her a mask. An Xiaoning took it from his hands and took a close look to find that it was of superior quality. An Xiaoning headed to Bei Qi¡¯s room after Fan Shixin left. Not long after, Bei Qi came to. However, he couldn¡¯t feel the pain in his legs since the anesthesia in his legs had yet to wear off. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you would treat me well?¡± he asked. ¡°Of course I will, but how do I exin this? You were the one who caused my godparents¡¯ death. Beicheng and his wife are still lying unconscious on the hospital beds. That¡¯s all your doing. Of course, Gu Dongcheng had initially harbored ill intentions and had a motive for killing his family members. However, you exploited that agenda of his and manipted him into killing them. I had your legs amputated so as to make you pay for what you had done. Otherwise, it¡¯ll always be a thorn in my flesh. I really wanted to kill you, though.¡± ¡°There must be other reasons, am I right? Your main purpose is to prevent me from escaping. Now that I¡¯ve be immobile, it would be much harder for me to escape your clutches.¡± ¡°What are you saying? When there¡¯s a will, there¡¯s a way. If you¡¯re bent on leaving me, you would still find a way to escape, even if you lost all your limbs. I¡¯ve already spoken to Pei Yi over the phone. He too knows that all of his subordinates have been killed by me. Let¡¯s be candid and state things clearly beforehand. Even if you run away from me and go back to him, he¡¯ll definitely kill you. After all, why would he want you again if you¡¯ve already be myckey? Aren¡¯t I right?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll resign myself to fate since I¡¯ve ended up in your hands. I know there¡¯s no way I can ever escape your clutches. You definitely won¡¯t allow me to make it out of here alive,¡± Bei Qi said dejectedly. An Xiaoning did not deny it and said, ¡°I won¡¯t ill-treat you as long as you¡¯re loyal and devoted to me. Why should I keep you around if you¡¯re not genuine about working for me wholeheartedly?¡± ¡°You¡¯re a very decisive person.¡± An Xiaoning handed him the mask in her hand and said, ¡°Here, I got this made for you especially. I can guarantee that no one will recognize you.¡± ¡°Thanks for going the extra mile.¡± ¡°It¡¯s only my duty.¡± As soon as she left the room, she heard Bei Qi shrieking in excruciating pain. The anesthetic must have worn off , An Xiaoning thought to herself. She had opted to administer him with both full-body and specific-area anesthesia, so as to prevent him from feeling pain as soon as he came to. However, the grueling pain woulde sooner orter. Her heart grew heavy at the thought of the still-unconscious Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi. She would be filled with fear and anxiety for as long as they were unconscious. There were manyplicated issues she had to face, all of which would be resolved once Gu Beichenges to, even if he¡¯s still hospitalized. Yet, he was still unconscious. ¡°Sis, there are some malicious spections going around the media iming that Mr. Gu¡¯s already dead. It has be a viral topic online, and there are all sorts of guesses and theories.¡± She whipped out her mobile phone and searched about the topic on the inte. She could not help but feel exasperated upon seeing the nasty and ill-intentionedments, although she knew not to be bothered by strangers. ¡°Let¡¯s not care about them. Their mouths belong to them and they have the freedom of speech. I, too, have the right to block all theirments from appearing online.¡± She immediately called Fan Shixin and instructed, ¡°Help me erase all the data and information about Beicheng¡¯s death hoax online. Delete all thements and discussion forums too. If anyone constantly makes those malicious and nastyments online, find out their IP addresses and send me a name list.¡± Fan Shixin could tell that she was infuriated and said, ¡°Young Madam, are you nning to meet thoseizens in person?¡± ¡°Stay out of this. You just have to follow my instructions.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± After ending the call, he looked at Jin Qingyan and said, ¡°Young Madam seems to have hit the roof.¡± ¡°It does seem like it. She used to be nonchnt toward those evilizens who criticize her online, and she would never let their harsh remarks affect her mood. Yet, she¡¯s be so sensitive and protective now that Gu Beicheng is involved. However, there are all sorts of people in society whoe from different family and education backgrounds. The way they carry themselves is different too. A wise person will never spark rumors and join in on frivolous banter and groundless gossip. Take those people in our circle who often take it to the inte to m others, thinking that they¡¯re upholding justice. We¡¯re already busy enough, how could we possibly have the time to poke our noses in others¡¯ business?¡± ¡°I shall go and arrange for this to be done, then.¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± Noticing that he was about to stand up, Fan Shixin asked, ¡°Young Sir, where are you going?¡± Chapter 855 - A Million Times for You (217)

Chapter 855: A Million Times for You (217)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°To the gym. I promised Xiaoning that I would get an eight-pack soon.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª Four days had passed. However, there was still no signs of theming to. It seemed as if their souls had left their bodies to go out on a spin. An Xiaoning would head to the hospital whenever she was free. She grew even thinner within just a few days. At the same time, there was once again a new wave of controversial news about her. It imed that her birth characters were inauspicious, and she wasbeled as a jinx who caused harm to those around her. There were also various reporters and so-called experts who especially made a trip to the vige where An Xiaoning¡¯s adoptive parents were living to find out more. They managed to get their hands on some ¡°evidence¡± and cited some ridiculous incidents. To An Xiaoning, they were simply making absurd statements and frivolous ims about the incidents. However, it can¡¯t be helped that some people had low IQs andcked the ability to tell right from wrong, such that they were foolish enough to believe everything on the news. There was no way to stop the news from spreading, and it was obvious that there was a mastermind behind the act. An Xiaoning had no idea who the culprit was, and neither did she want to waste her time finding out. She already had enough on her te to worry about. She did not expect there to be something else to add on to her woes. The Jin family gave her a call to get her to go over to their ce. She had an ominous feeling. She brought along the jade piece that Madam Jin had given her previously. On her way there, she constantly pondered over Madam Jin¡¯s tone when they were speaking over the phone. She guessed that the Lin family must have said something to them. The Jin and Lin families had always enjoyed a strong camaraderie. Besides, Lin Shishi was now the president¡¯s wife. How could the Jin family be brazen enough to offend the Lin family? An Xiaoning began to wonder if she was reading too much into things. It was three o¡¯clock in the afternoon when she arrived at the Jin family home. The weather had been merrytely, and the sun was shining bright in the sky above. The temperatures were rather warm as well. It seemed like summer was approaching. She was dressed in a casual attire that consisted of a rainbow sweater that ended at her knees, a pair of ck tights, and a pair of sports shoes. As soon as she entered the Jin family mansion, she was greeted with the sight of Commander-in-chief Jin, Madam Jin, Jin Minxing, and Tuoba Danxue. She stepped forward and sat down on an empty couch, appearing haggard and weary. ¡°Father, Mother, do you have something to say to me?¡± she asked. Madam Jin and Commander-in-chief Jin shot each other a nce. Madam Jin stammered awkwardly, ¡°Um... Xiaoning, I heard that you¡¯ve been handling the aftermath of the major mishap that the Gu family had met with. I understand that you¡¯re tired and don¡¯t have the time to think about anything else, but there¡¯s something I have to talk to you about.¡± ¡°There are no outsiders here. Mother, you can just be frank with me and cut straight to the chase,¡± said An Xiaoning, resting her arm on the armrest and supporting her head with her hand. ¡°You were being too rash by severing ties with the Lin family during His Highness¡¯ wedding a few days ago.¡± ¡°Did the Lin family tell you about that? I wasn¡¯t acting rash, that¡¯s just how I¡¯ve always been. I don¡¯t care how authoritative the Lin family may be. If they don¡¯t want to be my rtives, so be it. It¡¯s no big deal. Now that things havee to this, I dare say upfront that I don¡¯t need my maiden family to do anything for me. We may continue being rtives if that¡¯s possible. If not, you may just tell me straight, lest we make things awkward for everyone.¡± The Jin family did not expect her to be so straightforward. Before the Jin family could answer, An Xiaoning sat up straight and added, ¡°Father, Mother, you may just tell me what you have on your mind. You don¡¯t have to beat around the bush. I¡¯ve already guessed what you wanted to talk to me about.¡± ¡°After much consideration, we¡¯ve decided to sever ties with you. We¡¯re sorry, Xiaoning,¡± said Madam Jin, not daring to look at An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning remained still. Although she had already guessed it beforehand, she initially still had a little hope that it would be worth calling the Jin family her parents. Yet, it seems... An Xiaoning said calmly, ¡°I¡¯ve already figured out that you were nning to do that. After all, you guys are closely rted to the Lin family. Ever since I returned home from the wedding a few days ago, I¡¯ve been wondering if the Jin family will sever ties with me so as to express your loyalty toward the Lin family. I also wondered if the Lin family will intervene ande in between our rtionship. But your attitude says it all. There¡¯s no point in acknowledging me as your goddaughter at all since our ties can be cut so easily. I really don¡¯t know what else to say.¡± ¡°We know you¡¯re a very capable andpetent person, especially when ites to fortune-telling. We forged ties with you mainly because you saved Shishi¡¯s life and we were hoping that you could aid us in tiding over future ordeals. Secondly, it¡¯s also because we don¡¯t have a daughter and hoped to have one. We mustered up a great deal of courage to make this decision,¡± Madam Jin said with tears in her eyes. ¡°Gu Beicheng¡¯s grandfather was the sole decisionmaker when he acknowledged me as his godgranddaughter back then. Grandpa allowed me to have my name included in the ancestral records and made me be a part of the Gu family. They offered me so many benefits, but they only asked one thing of me, and that is to never leave their family in the lurch in times of crisis and to do everything in my power to help them ovee the ordeal. Grandpa¡¯s prophecy came true, and the Gu family is indeed facing a disaster right now. It¡¯s time I did my duty as their godchild and save them from danger. After my godparents died, I made a trip to theherworld to see them for thest time. If possible, I would¡¯ve done everything I could to bring them back to life, regardless of what it takes. I said these just to tell you, if you hadn¡¯t said such things to me today, I would¡¯ve still lent the Jin family a helping hand in times of crisis in the future. However, you¡¯ve greatly disappointed me, and you two are not fit to be my godparents. It doesn¡¯t affect me at all to be without the Jin and Lin families. It¡¯s your loss, cutting ties with me.¡± She ced the jade piece onto the coffee table and continued, ¡°This is the jade piece you¡¯ve given me, Madam Jin. I had a hunch that you were going to sever ties with me before I came and so I decided to bring the jade piece along with me. You may have it back.¡± Madam Jin stared at the jade piece,pletely speechless. Tuoba Danxue could not tolerate it further and snapped, ¡°You sneaked into the Autumn Pce with a hidden agenda and even disguised as my bodyguard in order to get close to my elder brother. Do you know what you were doing by denying when we asked you about it previously? We have every right to execute you for being a spy!¡± An Xiaoning stood up slowly and retorted vehemently, ¡°Go ahead and execute me, then! Don¡¯t forget, I hold the evidence of your mother harming my mother for the past three decades! Go ahead and ask your elder brother if he dares to execute me. I sneaked inside the Autumn Pce in order to save my biological mother, not to be a spy. You¡¯d better get your facts right. Tuoba Danxue, I¡¯m no longer that bodyguard who was following you aroundst year. You¡¯d better not be so disrespectful and imprudent to me. I¡¯m not even afraid of your brother and mother. Do you really think I¡¯d be afraid of you?¡± Her words had greatly infuriated Tuoba Danxue, who turned as pale as a ghost. ¡°An Xiaoning, aren¡¯t you being a little too arrogant!?!¡± she hollered. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s just how arrogant I am. I¡¯m hopelessly haughty, there are no limits to my arrogance,¡± An Xiaoning retorted, glowering at them onest time before leaving.

: A Million Times for You (217)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°To the gym. I promised Xiaoning that I would get an eight-pack soon.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª Four days had passed. However, there was still no signs of theming to. It seemed as if their souls had left their bodies to go out on a spin. An Xiaoning would head to the hospital whenever she was free. She grew even thinner within just a few days. At the same time, there was once again a new wave of controversial news about her. It imed that her birth characters were inauspicious, and she wasbeled as a jinx who caused harm to those around her. There were also various reporters and so-called experts who especially made a trip to the vige where An Xiaoning¡¯s adoptive parents were living to find out more. They managed to get their hands on some ¡°evidence¡± and cited some ridiculous incidents. To An Xiaoning, they were simply making absurd statements and frivolous ims about the incidents. However, it can¡¯t be helped that some people had low IQs andcked the ability to tell right from wrong, such that they were foolish enough to believe everything on the news. There was no way to stop the news from spreading, and it was obvious that there was a mastermind behind the act. An Xiaoning had no idea who the culprit was, and neither did she want to waste her time finding out. She already had enough on her te to worry about. She did not expect there to be something else to add on to her woes. The Jin family gave her a call to get her to go over to their ce. She had an ominous feeling. She brought along the jade piece that Madam Jin had given her previously. On her way there, she constantly pondered over Madam Jin¡¯s tone when they were speaking over the phone. She guessed that the Lin family must have said something to them. The Jin and Lin families had always enjoyed a strong camaraderie. Besides, Lin Shishi was now the president¡¯s wife. How could the Jin family be brazen enough to offend the Lin family? An Xiaoning began to wonder if she was reading too much into things. It was three o¡¯clock in the afternoon when she arrived at the Jin family home. The weather had been merrytely, and the sun was shining bright in the sky above. The temperatures were rather warm as well. It seemed like summer was approaching. She was dressed in a casual attire that consisted of a rainbow sweater that ended at her knees, a pair of ck tights, and a pair of sports shoes. As soon as she entered the Jin family mansion, she was greeted with the sight of Commander-in-chief Jin, Madam Jin, Jin Minxing, and Tuoba Danxue. She stepped forward and sat down on an empty couch, appearing haggard and weary. ¡°Father, Mother, do you have something to say to me?¡± she asked. Madam Jin and Commander-in-chief Jin shot each other a nce. Madam Jin stammered awkwardly, ¡°Um... Xiaoning, I heard that you¡¯ve been handling the aftermath of the major mishap that the Gu family had met with. I understand that you¡¯re tired and don¡¯t have the time to think about anything else, but there¡¯s something I have to talk to you about.¡± ¡°There are no outsiders here. Mother, you can just be frank with me and cut straight to the chase,¡± said An Xiaoning, resting her arm on the armrest and supporting her head with her hand. ¡°You were being too rash by severing ties with the Lin family during His Highness¡¯ wedding a few days ago.¡± ¡°Did the Lin family tell you about that? I wasn¡¯t acting rash, that¡¯s just how I¡¯ve always been. I don¡¯t care how authoritative the Lin family may be. If they don¡¯t want to be my rtives, so be it. It¡¯s no big deal. Now that things havee to this, I dare say upfront that I don¡¯t need my maiden family to do anything for me. We may continue being rtives if that¡¯s possible. If not, you may just tell me straight, lest we make things awkward for everyone.¡± The Jin family did not expect her to be so straightforward. Before the Jin family could answer, An Xiaoning sat up straight and added, ¡°Father, Mother, you may just tell me what you have on your mind. You don¡¯t have to beat around the bush. I¡¯ve already guessed what you wanted to talk to me about.¡± ¡°After much consideration, we¡¯ve decided to sever ties with you. We¡¯re sorry, Xiaoning,¡± said Madam Jin, not daring to look at An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning remained still. Although she had already guessed it beforehand, she initially still had a little hope that it would be worth calling the Jin family her parents. Yet, it seems... An Xiaoning said calmly, ¡°I¡¯ve already figured out that you were nning to do that. After all, you guys are closely rted to the Lin family. Ever since I returned home from the wedding a few days ago, I¡¯ve been wondering if the Jin family will sever ties with me so as to express your loyalty toward the Lin family. I also wondered if the Lin family will intervene ande in between our rtionship. But your attitude says it all. There¡¯s no point in acknowledging me as your goddaughter at all since our ties can be cut so easily. I really don¡¯t know what else to say.¡± ¡°We know you¡¯re a very capable andpetent person, especially when ites to fortune-telling. We forged ties with you mainly because you saved Shishi¡¯s life and we were hoping that you could aid us in tiding over future ordeals. Secondly, it¡¯s also because we don¡¯t have a daughter and hoped to have one. We mustered up a great deal of courage to make this decision,¡± Madam Jin said with tears in her eyes. ¡°Gu Beicheng¡¯s grandfather was the sole decisionmaker when he acknowledged me as his godgranddaughter back then. Grandpa allowed me to have my name included in the ancestral records and made me be a part of the Gu family. They offered me so many benefits, but they only asked one thing of me, and that is to never leave their family in the lurch in times of crisis and to do everything in my power to help them ovee the ordeal. Grandpa¡¯s prophecy came true, and the Gu family is indeed facing a disaster right now. It¡¯s time I did my duty as their godchild and save them from danger. After my godparents died, I made a trip to theherworld to see them for thest time. If possible, I would¡¯ve done everything I could to bring them back to life, regardless of what it takes. I said these just to tell you, if you hadn¡¯t said such things to me today, I would¡¯ve still lent the Jin family a helping hand in times of crisis in the future. However, you¡¯ve greatly disappointed me, and you two are not fit to be my godparents. It doesn¡¯t affect me at all to be without the Jin and Lin families. It¡¯s your loss, cutting ties with me.¡± She ced the jade piece onto the coffee table and continued, ¡°This is the jade piece you¡¯ve given me, Madam Jin. I had a hunch that you were going to sever ties with me before I came and so I decided to bring the jade piece along with me. You may have it back.¡± Madam Jin stared at the jade piece,pletely speechless. Tuoba Danxue could not tolerate it further and snapped, ¡°You sneaked into the Autumn Pce with a hidden agenda and even disguised as my bodyguard in order to get close to my elder brother. Do you know what you were doing by denying when we asked you about it previously? We have every right to execute you for being a spy!¡± An Xiaoning stood up slowly and retorted vehemently, ¡°Go ahead and execute me, then! Don¡¯t forget, I hold the evidence of your mother harming my mother for the past three decades! Go ahead and ask your elder brother if he dares to execute me. I sneaked inside the Autumn Pce in order to save my biological mother, not to be a spy. You¡¯d better get your facts right. Tuoba Danxue, I¡¯m no longer that bodyguard who was following you aroundst year. You¡¯d better not be so disrespectful and imprudent to me. I¡¯m not even afraid of your brother and mother. Do you really think I¡¯d be afraid of you?¡± Her words had greatly infuriated Tuoba Danxue, who turned as pale as a ghost. ¡°An Xiaoning, aren¡¯t you being a little too arrogant!?!¡± she hollered. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s just how arrogant I am. I¡¯m hopelessly haughty, there are no limits to my arrogance,¡± An Xiaoning retorted, glowering at them onest time before leaving. Chapter 856 - A Million Times for You (218)

Chapter 856: A Million Times for You (218)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She walked at a steady and orderly pace with her back as straight as a ruler. She stepped out of the Jin family home and got inside her car. The moment she closed the door, An Xiaoning looked at her reflection in the mirror as a smile formed on her face. She was determined to live for the sake of herself and her real family from now onward. There was no point in wasting her time with people who were not sincere and loyal to her. She chucked the car key into the keyhole and began driving away. Halfway into the journey, she received some good news from the hospital staff who informed her that Lin Mingxi hade to. She immediately rushed to the hospital without dy. Lin Mingxi was extremely frail and was tearing up incessantly with her eyes half-closed while lying in bed. She constantly asked Mr. and Mrs. Lin about Gu Beicheng¡¯s condition. However, they decided to keep it from her, for fear that they would agitate and upset her further. Lin Mingxi¡¯s eyes lit up upon the sight of An Xiaoning. ¡°Xiaoning...¡± An Xiaoning bent forward and leaned closer toward her. ¡°You¡¯ve finallye to. Do you know how long you were in aa for? I was worried sick. Good that you¡¯re awake.¡± ¡°Beicheng...¡± ¡°He¡¯ll be fine, he¡¯s still in aa too. You must get well soon so that you can go and visit him.¡± Lin Mingxi blinked and expressed assent. Her nose was stuffed, and her tears were rolling down her face uncontrobly. An Xiaoningforted her, ¡°Your baby is safe. Since you¡¯vee to, Beicheng should also be regaining his consciousness very soon.¡± ¡°How about Father-inw and Mother-inw...¡± ¡°They¡¯re no longer around, Gu Dongcheng is dead too. Calm down, I¡¯ll tell you everything slowly.¡± Mrs. Lin handed her a chair and said, ¡°Ms. An, take a seat.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning sat down on the chair and continued, ¡°After Father and Mother died, I traveled to theherworld to see them for thest time, but I didn¡¯t manage to bring them back to life. Gu Dongcheng¡¯s wandering spirit was not taken away by the reapers after his death and so I figured out that he must have been in Beicheng¡¯s ward. I quickly rushed there and blocked the door and window with some amulets to trap him inside. That¡¯s how I managed to bring him back with me. At that time, his corpse had gone missing, and I managed to ambush and kill the people who had controlled Gu Dongcheng¡¯s consciousness with his guidance. The DK Organization was nning to use Gu Dongcheng to annihte you and Beicheng, so as to get their hands on the Gu Corporation. Gu Dongcheng was initially nning to kill you two as well. However, he didn¡¯t expect that he and Father would end up dying as well.¡± ¡°What happened to his corpse?¡± ¡°The maniptors had stolen his corpse and tried to carry out an experiment with it.¡± ¡°Who are those people?¡± Lin Mingxi asked. ¡°Members of the DK Organization. Gu Dongcheng and those people were in cahoots for each other¡¯s benefit.¡± ¡°Gu Dongcheng¡¯s spirit...¡± ¡°Rest assured, it¡¯s been taken away by the grim reapers. Mingxi, don¡¯t worry about anything else and just focus on nursing your body back to health,¡± said An Xiaoning, patting the back of her hand. Teary-eyed, Lin Mingxi was filled with grief and exasperation. ¡°I really didn¡¯t expect that to happen. We took so many precautions...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get so worked up, simmer down. Your body is still frail. Refrain from talking too.¡± ¡°But, Xiaoning, thepany...¡± ¡°I¡¯m around to handle the matters.¡± Lin Mingxi nodded and said, ¡°Be careful, I reckon the extended family members and the shareholders must be thinking of getting up to some tricks.¡± ¡°I know what to do.¡± An Xiaoning headed to the intensive care unit after leaving Lin Mingxi¡¯s ward. After taking a look at Gu Beicheng, she received a call from Jin Qingyan. ¡°A board meeting is taking ce at the Gu Corporation right now. They¡¯ll be choosing an acting CEO to rece Gu Beicheng for the time being. If Gu Beicheng doesn¡¯te to, the chosen candidate shall then be the rightful sessor of the corporation. I¡¯m guessing the chosen candidate must be the person with the greatest percentage of shares apart from Gu Beicheng.¡± ¡°Now?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± She ended the call and hurriedly returned to Lin Mingxi¡¯s ward. She decided to tell Lin Mingxi about it since thetter was conscious. Lin Mingxi flew into a rage upon hearing her words. However, she knew her priorities and filmed a video that she then sent to An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning immediately made her way to the Gu Corporation office building, bringing along several bodyguards with her. Upon arriving, they were obstructed from entering by some employees of the Gu Corporation. ¡°Are you tired of living?¡± she snapped, ring at them. ¡°Sorry, Ms. An, we¡¯re just following instructions given by the higher authorities,¡± said the lobby manager, who was put in a spot. ¡°You¡¯d better back off. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for being nasty.¡± ¡°Ms. An... please don¡¯t make things difficult for us.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, An Xiaoning¡¯s bodyguards immediately pulled them away. The captain of the security team and the rest of the security officers then turned a blind eye and dared not stop them. An Xiaoning entered with her bodyguards, after which Jin Qingyan sent another batch to her aid. The entire Gu Corporation was on lockdown, and arrangements with the press and media had also been made. Fan Shixin informed An Xiaoning about everything. Fan Shixin called her just as she arrived upstairs. Thus, she waited for him to arrive before entering the board meeting room together. Upon the sight of An Xiaoning making her grand entrance, the shareholders of thepany snapped, ¡°Are these security officers all idiots!?! Why did they let just any Tom, Dick, or Harry in!?!¡± An Xiaoning walked toward the master seat. No. 5 and No. 8 immediately pulled the person in the seat away even before she gave out instructions. ¡°Please stop making bold assumptions and statements. You took advantage of my brother¡¯sa and exacted your scheming n to select a new leader. Who gave you the right to do so? Don¡¯t forget who thergest shareholder of the Gu Corporation is! He¡¯s not dead yet, so none of you are in any ce to make decisions!¡± she hollered. She then sent Fan Shixin the video, which he quickly yed on the big screen of the meeting room. ¡°My sister-inw has alreadye to. Please hear what she has to say,¡± An Xiaoning continued. The video began to y and Lin Mingxi appeared rather agitated while saying, ¡°Do you people take my husband to be dead? He¡¯s still in aa at present and he can¡¯t take charge of thepany, but don¡¯t forget, I¡¯m still here. I¡¯m officially handing over the managerial duties to An Xiaoning and she will be in charge of the Gu Corporation until I or Beicheng recovers fully.¡± After the video ended, An Xiaoning stared at the people around the desk and said, ¡°You¡¯ve heard her. From now on, I¡¯ll be recing my brother temporarily and be the acting director of the Gu Corporation. I know you¡¯re not convinced and have doubts about me, but it doesn¡¯t matter. After all, I was once in charge of the Jin Corporation when Jin Qingyan went missing during a tsunami. If you still have qualms about my abilities, it doesn¡¯t matter either. It doesn¡¯t bother me. All I care about is running the Gu Corporation as well as my brother did. That¡¯s all.¡± ¡°How are you supposed to convince us? You and Jin Qingyan are closely rted. What if you divulge our business secrets...¡± An Xiaoning immediately interjected and stood up to the fuming elderly man, ¡°Shut up. I¡¯m a member of the Gu family, and my name is registered under the Gu family household register that now only has my, my brother, and my sister-inw¡¯s names. Please get your facts straight!¡± The elderly man turned pale from exasperation. An Xiaoning warned, ¡°It¡¯s important to uphold the reputation of the Gu Corporation. If I hear any of you spouting nonsense and tarnishing the reputation of the Gu Corporation, don¡¯t me me for being merciless. I won¡¯t spare anyone, regardless of whoever it may be. This board meeting ispletely pointless, let¡¯s call it a day.¡± Chapter 857 - A Million Times for You (219)

Chapter 857: A Million Times for You (219)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She then brought her bodyguards away and headed to Gu Beicheng¡¯s office. His office was elegantly furnished. An Xiaoning knew the moment she entered that the decor fitted his style. She sat on the chair and discovered that the drawer of the desk was locked. It was secured with a PIN lock. She hired a locksmith to rece the lock with another PIN lock. She input a new passcode before taking a look at the things inside the cab. There was nothing much in the cab, apart from a book that had caught her attention. She took out the book and flipped through it casually to discover that there was a photo inside. The person photographed was none other than herself. The photo was taken several years ago when she still had long hair. She had no idea when he had taken it. An Xiaoning took the photo out from the book and put it into her bag, feeling a little guilty. Perhaps she was afraid that Lin Mingxi would see it when she returns to the office after her recovery. She did not want to upset Lin Mingxi any further. When she arrived downstairs again, the lobby manager and the other employees were extremely respectful toward her, perhaps because they had heard that she was now the leader of thepany. There was a drastic change in their attitudes. An Xiaoning headed to Wei Ni Estate. She parked her car by the entrance and walked toward Mei Yangyang¡¯s house. Mei Yangyang was sitting on the swing while Long Tianze was standing behind her and pushing her forward gently. They seemed just like a couple who were still in the honeymoon phase of their rtionship. ¡°Hi.¡± ¡°Sis,¡± Mei Yangyang greeted while waving at her. She walked toward them and sat on the other swing, grabbing tightly onto the chains and tilting her head sideways. ¡°Sis, has Gu Beichenge to yet?¡± ¡°No,¡± she answered, shaking her head. ¡°I hope he recovers andes to soon. That way, you won¡¯t have to be so tired anymore.¡± An Xiaoning hoped for the same too. ¡°This situation is exactly the same as when Qingyan went missing during the tsunami. By the way, I¡¯ve cut ties with both the Jin and Lin families.¡± ¡°Cut ties? Why did you do that all of a sudden?¡± She briefly exined the reason, which shocked Mei Yangyang greatly. ¡°Since you¡¯ve cut ties with them, so be it. You don¡¯t need them anyway.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I thought too; hence, I have no regrets. There are lots of things I have to do now. I feel like my brains can¡¯t keep up. Shall we go have a meal together?¡± Mei Yangyang got up from the swing and said, ¡°Sure. Tianze and I love going over to yours for a meal.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± An Xiaoning said with a gentle expression on her face. She did not see Jin Qingyan at home and only found out that he was at the gym after asking the servants. ¡°What¡¯s up with himtely? Why has he begun hitting the gym again? Did you assign that fool with a task again?¡± Long Tianze asked out of curiosity. ¡°I was just hoping that he would get an eight-pack.¡± Long Tianze snorted withughter and said, ¡°He used to only have a six-pack, eight seems to be a challenge.¡± ¡°I¡¯m heartened to see how willing he is to concede to my requests. Let Auntie Chen prepare the dishes while we go check on him.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± The three of them strutted to the gym. It was filled with gym equipment. They craned their necks in to take a look and realized that Jin Qingyan was currently training under the guidance of his personal trainer. Upon the sight of then, he continued with his training. At this point, he was already drenched in sweat. Mei Yangyang poked Long Tianze in his chest and chastised, ¡°See that? Mr. Jin is doing his best to get fit and stay in shape. How about you? When¡¯s thest time you stepped inside a gym? You are toe here and start training from tomorrow onward. I don¡¯t need you to have an eight-pack. Six will do.¡± Long Tianze¡¯s eyes widened in shock and he quickly said, ¡°I¡¯ll just do some jogging.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Honey...¡± ¡°No bargaining. End of discussion.¡± Jin Qingyan burst intoughter and said, ¡°Tianze, you may join me.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s be each other¡¯s partner, then,¡± said Long Tianze, stretching his back helplessly. Once Jin Qingyan was done with his workout, An Xiaoning handed him a towel. He did not take it from her hands and instead said, ¡°Wipe it for me.¡± She tiptoed and began wiping the sweat off him gently. Jin Qingyan then exited the gym together with them, filled with satisfaction. The three of them yed a few rounds of ¡°Fighting the Landlord¡± while Jin Qingyan was taking a shower upstairs. An Xiaoning felt much more rxed and less anxious. During dinner, Jin Qingyan asked about the board meeting that took ce at the Gu Corporation in the afternoon, after which An Xiaoning exined truthfully. ¡°Fortunately, Mingxi came to. Otherwise, it would¡¯ve been tricky,¡± she said. ¡°It won¡¯t be good if Gu Beicheng doesn¡¯te to in the next few days. As hispetitor, I do hope for him to recover soon,¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°Otherwise, you won¡¯t have the chance to take action, right?¡± Long Tianze asked. ¡°Wrong. The Gu Corporation is not Xiaoning¡¯s independentpany, and she can¡¯t just do whatever she wants with it. I don¡¯t want Xiaoning to tire herself out. It¡¯s not that easy to manage a corporation,¡± Jin Qingyan retorted. An Xiaoning was pleased to hear his answer. ¡°I hope Qingyan won¡¯t be merciful toward me just because I¡¯m now the acting CEO of the Gu Corporation.¡± ¡°Gu Beicheng was shot so many times and he even took a bullet to his head. His condition doesn¡¯t seem too optimistic. Have you hired specialists from abroad to treat his condition?¡± Mei Yangyang asked. ¡°Yes, I really hope he can pull through this ordeal.¡± Upon recalling the criticism she received online, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Someone¡¯s being a wet nket and spreading false rumors about me online. There are several people who believe them, though. I can vaguely guess who the mastermind is.¡± ¡°Sis, who do you think it is? Are you suspecting Pei Yi from the DK Organization?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like him. He may be vicious and scheming, but he doesn¡¯t seem petty enough to resort to such childish tricks. Although I didn¡¯t spend much time with him, I still feel that he¡¯s not one to make blunders. There is someone whom I suspect, though.¡± ¡°Who is it?¡± ¡°Lin Mingyuan.¡± Jin Qingyan raised his brows and asked, ¡°Her? Do you think she¡¯s the one?¡± ¡°My instincts tell me she was the one behind it, but I can¡¯t jump to conclusions without any concrete evidence. I don¡¯t wish to pursue this matter, but that person means nothing to me, regardless of who it may be,¡± An Xiaoning said nonchntly. ¡°Nice. Come, let¡¯s toast,¡± said Long Tianze, raising his ss. The four of them clinked sses, producing a loud, crisp sound. An Xiaoning had a few more drinks than usual. Jin Qingyan quickly stopped her in order to prevent her from getting too drunk. After the meal, Mei Yangyang and Long Tianze left. Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning sat on the couch, cross-legged, and stared at each other. Flushed as red as a tomato, she squinted and said with a sigh, ¡°Qingyan...¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Will you still love me even if I¡¯m no longer the person I used to be?¡± He held her hand and said, ¡°I¡¯ll always love you regardless of who you be.¡± ¡°My mentor once told me when I was young that upholding justice and being chivalrous is simply allowing yourself to be the bigger person and forgiving others magnanimously for the harm that they had inflicted on you. But I just can¡¯t do it. I must retaliate when others harm me. An eye for an eye. I¡¯ll kill those who attempt to kill me and I can¡¯t forgive those who harm my loved ones. That¡¯s my principle and my limit. I¡¯m no saint, I can¡¯t be selflessly benevolent and magnanimous. I can¡¯t take things lying down and not retaliate when people try to hurt me.¡± Chapter 858 - A Million Times for You (220) Chapter 858: A Million Times for You (220) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Staring at her earnestly, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°That¡¯s just human nature. What matters most is that you enjoy yourself in this lifetime.¡± She leaned against his shoulder while they cuddled together quietly. ¡ª There were scenes to be filmed for the entire night. Fang En and Yan Ge had already built a strong chemistry with each other after filming together for such a long time. Both of them were extremely professional and allowed the scenes to be filmed smoothly. After Fang En was done filming at about six o¡¯clock in the morning, she dozed off straight away on the chair in the makeup room. The makeup artist removed her makeup and called softly, ¡°En?¡± ¡°Yes...¡± she murmured. ¡°Go back to your room.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± said Fang En, who remained still nheless. Xiao Yue was also beyond exhausted. ¡°Sis En, let¡¯s go, let¡¯s return to the room.¡± She then struggled to get up on her feet and said, ¡°Xiao Yue, I¡¯m hungry.¡± ¡°The breakfast bistro should be open by now. Shall I go get you some breakfast?¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Although Xiao Yue was tired and weary, she decided to wake herself up and buy some breakfast for the famished Fang En, who did not have anything to eat throughout filmingst night. She did not want her to get too hungry and wait ¡¯til the afternoon to eat. Fang En then walked back to her own room on an unsteady gait. The moment she exited the elevator, she saw a young girl wearing a mask standing in front of Yan Ge¡¯s room. Upon the sight of her, the girl immediately asked, ¡°Is Yan Ge back yet?¡± Needless to say, Fang En wouldn¡¯t tell her about his whereabouts casually, unless she was his rtive or close friend. ¡°How are you rted to him?¡± The girl was momentarily stunned and said, ¡°I¡¯m a friend of his.¡± ¡°Since you¡¯re his friend, why don¡¯t you just call him straight?¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t get through to him.¡± Fang En whipped out her phone and dialed Yan Ge¡¯s number. The call went through quickly and she said, ¡°There¡¯s a woman waiting for you outside your door. She ims to be your friend and even lied about being unable to reach you on your mobile phone. That¡¯s all.¡± She then ended the call and went back inside her own room. She sprawled herself across the bed and closed her eyes immediately. Xiao Yue only returned with breakfast an hourter. It was almost daybreak. ¡°The breakfast bistro only started operating for the day when I arrived, so I had to wait for them to prepare the food. Here, Sis En.¡± ¡°Thank you, Xiao Yue.¡± She struggled to sit up and took the food from her hands before digging in with her eyes half-closed. After having her fill, she proceeded to wash up in the bathroom. Meanwhile, Xiao Yue returned to her own room to get some rest. Fang En stepped onto the balcony and took a nce at the room adjacent to hers. The room was brightly lit, and the curtains were drawn shut, not leaving an inch of gap at all. Who was that woman who was looking for him? She didn¡¯t seem like an ordinary friend. Could she be his girlfriend? If she was his girlfriend, why didn¡¯t she dare to call him? Or was she his ex-girlfriend? That¡¯s very likely, actually. Yan Ge is already 33 years old anyway, not 23. It¡¯s only normal to have an ex-girlfriend. Fang En went back to bed to catch up on some sleep. The sky had already turned gloomy by the time she woke up again. She woke up feeling energized and rejuvenated. She took a look at her watch and realized that it was one o¡¯clock in the afternoon. She took a shower and put on a surgical mask before heading to the fitting room. The stylist handed her the set of costumes she would have to don for filming today and instructed her to change into it before getting her hair and makeup done. Upon arriving at the makeup room, she noticed that Yan Ge was not around and thus asked, ¡°Has Senior Yan Ge arrived yet?¡± ¡°Not yet.¡± Fang En eased herself into the seat, after which Xiao Yue whispered into her ear, ¡°I saw him entering his room together with a young girl when I went out to buy breakfast this morning. Is she the girlfriend he¡¯s secretly dating?¡± ¡°No idea.¡± ¡°I think that must be the case. Who¡¯d believe that he doesn¡¯t have a girlfriend? He probably just didn¡¯t make his rtionship public for fear that the media and his fans would make a big hoo-ha about it.¡± Fang En remained quiet, hoping that there wouldn¡¯t be news of the male lead having a girlfriend being leaked before the television series was to begin airing. It would be detrimental to the television series. Ever since she was shamed on media tforms by Jing Yang, there were several fans of his leaving maliciousments on her Weibo page even until now. After having her makeup done, Fang En headed to the buffet restaurant for lunch together with Xiao Yue. She happened to bump into the director, Jing Tian. Jing Tian instructed, ¡°We¡¯re nning to film in the ancient town today and we¡¯ll be staying there for two nights. Please prepare your personal belongings and bring along whatever¡¯s necessary.¡± ¡°Director, why aren¡¯t we filming here instead?¡± ¡°The ancient town fits the scenario described in the original story better, so we decided to go there instead.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Fang En instructed Xiao Yue to bring along the necessary items, after which they boarded their nanny van and followed the production team to the film set. The ancient town was a stone¡¯s throw away from the television studio. It was, in fact, just another filming location that was ideal for the filming of period and historical dramas. After the production team arrived, Fang En and Xiao Yue alighted. However, Yan Ge¡¯s nanny van was nowhere in sight. They decided to enter the house first, after which they were assigned to their respective rooms. Fang En would be sharing a room with Xiao Yue. However, Fang En shivered involuntarily the moment they entered their allocated room and could not help but find it rather eerie, perhaps because it was an ancient house. The room was rather clean and did not have much furniture. Xiao Yue put her bag down and said, ¡°Sis, I¡¯ll go get some nkets.¡± ¡°Alright, go ahead.¡± ¡°En, we¡¯re conducting the praying ceremony now. Hurry,¡± said Jing Shui. ¡°Alright,ing!¡± It was a standard rule to pray to the gods and wandering spirits around the area before beginning filming at the location. Fang En finally saw Yan Ge, who was holding some joss sticks in his hand before even changing into his costume. She walked toward him and asked, ¡°Who was that girl in front of your door this morning?¡± He red at her and said, ¡°Don¡¯t ask about things you¡¯re not supposed to know.¡± Fang En had nothing to say and instead proceeded to pray and offer joss sticks. After the praying session, the crew members began setting up the equipment and prepared for filming to begin. Fang En sat in her chair to read her script and unintentionally chanced upon the sight of the young woman she had seen in the morning. She was no longer wearing a mask and her features could be seen clearly. Although she was standing at a distance away, Fang En could tell that the young girl was in her early twenties. She had delicate and striking features and was rather pleasant-looking. Fang En looked at Yan Ge who, was reading his script, and discovered that he did not seem to notice that the girl was staring at him. She did not bother reminding him either, thinking to herself that he might be aware of the girl¡¯s presence. Noticing that they were about to be cued soon, she put her script down and said, ¡°Let¡¯s rehearse our lines.¡± He expressed assent and proceeded to rehearse with her. The scene was to be filmed in the water. Jing Tian had checked the pond beforehand and found that it was of an appropriate depth measuring about two meters. Fang En did not require a stunt double since she could swim. However, Jing Tian nheless decided to arrange for divers to be on set inside the pool as a safety precaution. After rehearsing his lines, Yan Ge proceeded to get changed and have his makeup done. The equipment and backdrops were all set up properly. Filmingmenced officially. The supporting female lead fell into the water by ident and called for help, after which Fang En scurried toward the pond from afar and plunged into the water without hesitation to pull her toward the shore. The supporting actress then kicked Fang En¡¯s chin when they were getting out of the water. Although she was supposed to only kick Fang En lightly, thetter felt immense pain in her chin and fell back into the pond. Chapter 859 - A Million Times for You (221)

Chapter 859: A Million Times for You (221)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She was initially supposed to act out a scene wherein she was frail and suffering a cramp in her leg. However, she had actually suffered a real cramp. She slowly sank down the water of the pond. However, it was not time for the male lead to save her yet. The diver inside the water handed her the breathing tube, after which she took a few breaths of oxygen and handed it back to him. Yan Ge dived into the pond. He reached out to grab her hand and pulled her upward. Keeping a mouthful of water in her mouth, Fang En closed her eyes and pretended to pass out while Yan Ge pulled her out of the water. The CPR scene was the third time the male and female leads would be sharing a kiss in the drama. Fang En had given him all three of her first kisses. She felt like she was on the losing end because of that fact. He was already an expert at kissing and yet she was just a rookie. Somehow, she decided to muster the courage and be willful for once. ording to the script, she was supposed to cough out the water in her mouth, after which he would continue to say his lines to her. However, Fang En opened her eyes slowly while Yan Ge was performing CPR on her and proceeded to throw her arms around his neck before giving him a deep, passionate kiss right in front of everyone. Her mind had gone nk, and all she could see and feel was Yan Ge¡¯s eyes and the warmth of his lips. To her surprise, the director did not yell for them to stop. None of the crew members saw anything amiss with it at all. The supporting actress was instantly dumbfounded. I don¡¯t remember there being a kiss in this scene that I¡¯m involved in as well. What is going on? Did the Director add it on? Or did Fang En take things into her own hands? She stepped forward and asked softly, ¡°Director, did you add this scene?¡± Jing Tian admitted, ¡°Yes. I think it¡¯ll make the scene much better. I didn¡¯t tell you because it wouldn¡¯t affect your parts.¡± The supporting actress felt much more relieved, thinking to herself that Fang En probably wouldn¡¯t have had the guts to include additional scenes herself. Yan Ge was coerced into the kiss because Fang En had her arms around his neck and, thus, he had no choice but to y along. Fang En only let go of him after she snapped back to reality. She continued to narrate her lines and acted out the remaining parts of the scene. Fang En was filled with panic and wished that she could run away the moment the director yelled ¡°cut.¡± She had no idea what had gotten into her earlier, and she thought to herself that she must have been out of her mind. Xiao Yue handed Fang En a shawl, which thetter then wrapped around herself before scrambling toward the fitting room. Fang En¡¯s heart was still racing when she returned to her room. She felt as if her heart was about to jump out of her chest. She felt so embarrassed that she wished she could drown herself to death. What was I doing just now? What is Yan Ge going to think of me from now on? He¡¯ll hate me, won¡¯t he? What would Director think? Fang En squatted down as a million questions flooded her mind. She changed into another costume and headed to the makeshift makeup room. Yan Ge had already changed into his outfit and was getting his makeup done. They held each other¡¯s gazes, after which Fang En quickly looked away. She was too guilty and afraid to look at him. She felt that he must be thinking she was a shameless, wanton woman. She felt even more embarrassed at the thought of what he could possibly be thinking of her. She remained seated quietly and allowed the makeup artist and hairstylist to redo her makeup and hair. An awkward silence filled the air. Once she was done with being groomed, Yan Ge finally broke his silence and said to the stylists and assistants, ¡°You guys, go out first.¡± Fang En was left alone with him in the makeup room. She suddenly felt ill at ease and had no idea what he wanted to say to her. However, she decided to apologize first, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Why did you do that?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she repeated, unsure of what else to say. Yan Ge stood up and walked toward her. ¡°Look up.¡± Fang En raised her head slowly and met his menacing eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve fallen for me?¡± he asked. Shaking her head, Fang En answered, ¡°I haven¡¯t.¡± ¡°Why did you do that, then?¡± ¡°I just thought it was unfair to me because I had given you the first three kisses of my life.¡± It had never crossed Yan Ge¡¯s mind that that would be the reason for her actions. Feeling a little dumbfounded, he pursed his lips and rebuked, ¡°Are your brains fried?¡± ¡°Yes, by you.¡± ¡°...¡± Yan Ge did not say much else and left straight away. Fang En was at aplete loss. After filming ended for the day, Jing Tian pulled Fang En aside and said softly, ¡°That kiss scene you added was great, but don¡¯t make decisions on your own again.¡± ¡°Director, I¡¯m sorry, I...¡± Jing Tianforted her, ¡°It¡¯s alright, I won¡¯t spout any nonsense. I¡¯ve also told the other actors that I was the one who arranged for there to be an additional scene.¡± ¡°Thank you, Director.¡± ¡°Okay, you¡¯ve had a long day, go get some food and rest. You still have to resume work tomorrow.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Fang En was in low spirits during dinner and did not have much to eat. She returned to her allocated room to see that Xiao Yue had alreadyid the sheets and duvet on the bed. However, she was not sleepy at all. After all, she had had a long nap earlier in the day. ¡°Sis En, I¡¯m going to bed now, I¡¯m a little tired.¡± ¡°Alright, go ahead, I¡¯m going out for a stroll.¡± Tourists were prohibited from entering the filming location, and there were no other strangers in sight, apart from some crew members and actors. Fang En unlocked the nanny van with the key and got inside. She closed the door and leaned back against the chair quietly. Fang En looked out of the window and caught sight of two figures walking, one in front of the other. It was Yan Ge and that young girl. Aren¡¯t they afraid of being caught by the paparazzi by showing up together here? They entered Yan Ge¡¯s room together. If she was Yan Ge¡¯s ex-girlfriend, why would he allow her to show up here? He¡¯s even so brazen as to let her into his room. If she was his current girlfriend, why didn¡¯t she dare to call Yan Ge and instead waited outside the door? Fang En opened the door and alighted from the car. d in a coat, she walked toward his door and stopped in her tracks when she was almost there. What has this got to do with me? It¡¯s his business even if they make it onto the tabloids. Thus, Fang En decided to return to her own room. Noticing that Xiao Yue was already sound asleep, she removed her shoes andy down in bed. Since there was no Wi-Fi avable, she had no choice but to surf the inte using her 2G mobile datawork, which was pathetically slow. She decided to scroll through webpages to kill some time. All of a sudden, something unusual popped up on her screen. There seemed to be a glitch on her mobile screen and the music app continuously appeared on her screen even without hermand. The screen was scrolled to the bottom of the ylist and a song was yed. Fang En shrieked in terror and gave Xiao Yue a push to wake her up. She then immediately got out of bed and put on her shoes before scrambling outside. At this moment, she realized that Xiao Yue was remaining as still as a statue. Fang En called her name a few times, to no avail. Jing Tian and Jing Shui had yet to return to their rooms. Right after they heard her shriek, they saw her scurrying out of the room. ¡°En, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Director... hurry and bring Xiao Yue out. Grab my bag as well. I¡¯ll tell you guys what happenedter.¡± Jing Tian instructed a few crew members to proceed ordingly. The crew members zoomed out of the room in fear soon after they entered. Jing Tian asked, ¡°Just what¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Xiao Yue... Xiao Yue is holding... a knife and slitting herself.¡± ¡°What!?!¡± Fang En was frightened out of her senses and frantically said, ¡°She must have been possessed by an evil spirit. Director, quickly call Sis Xiaoning here. Hurry.¡± Chapter 860 - A Million Times for You (222)

Chapter 860: A Million Times for You (222)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jing Tian immediately whipped out his phone to call An Xiaoning. Upon hearing what happened, An Xiaoning immediately instructed Jing Tian to kill a live chicken and ssh the chicken blood onto Xiao Yue. She also told them to observe the situation while waiting for her to arrive. She headed there in a helicopter due to how urgent it was. Once the helicopter touched down on the streets near the ancient town, she slowly slid down the rope. Jing Tian frantically rushed forward and said to an Xiaoning, ¡°The chicken blood has no effect on her at all. We offered prayers to the gods and spirits before filmingmenced here. Who knew something like that would still happen? Seems like the prayers don¡¯t work at all.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go in and take a look.¡± Jing Tian followed closely behind An Xiaoning. As soon as she opened the door, her senses were infiltrated with the metallic odor of blood. Xiao Yue was sitting on the bed with an eyebrow grooming de in hand, which she was using to slit her thighs in a slow and unhurried manner. She remained unfazed at the sight of them and even threw the de at An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning swiftly dodged, causing the de to fall onto the ground. The amulet that An Xiaoning was holding darted out of her hands all of a sudden andtched itself onto Xiao Yue¡¯s forehead. A shrill voice filled the air and immediately ceased moments after. Xiao Yue then abruptly copsed onto the bed. Thick white fumes began wafting up from her body and gradually formed a silhouette, which glowered at An Xiaoning and snapped angrily, ¡°How dare you get in my way!¡± An Xiaoning could not be bothered and instead whipped out a different amulet and began chanting a spell, after which the amulet darted toward the female spirit like a sharp knife. The amulet would chase her around regardless of how quick she tried to run. Pointing at Xiao Yue, who was lying on the bed, An Xiaoning instructed, ¡°Carry her out.¡± Jing Tian immediately stepped forward to see that Xiao Yue¡¯s legs were covered in blood. He dared not dy further and mustered the courage to carry her out of the room, making sure not to touch her bloodstained legs. An Xiaoning had already gotten rid of the spirit by the time he entered again. ¡°Alright, there are no more spirits around. Clean this room up,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Got it,¡± answered Jing Tian, who took his hats off to An Xiaoning. Xiao Yue was sent for treatment to the hospital while An Xiaoning checked the rooms for other spirits before leaving the ce in peace. Fang En initially wanted to visit Xiao Yue in the hospital. However, Jing Tian instructed her to stay behind and only go to the hospital after she was done filming her scenes. She had no choice but to abide by his instructions. She slept in the nanny van that night. Terrorized by the horrifying incident, her hands were still trembling uncontrobly as she was sitting inside the van. Her heart palpitated vigorously, unable to recover from the shock. It was her first encounter with such a hair-raising experience. Yan Ge got inside her car and asked, ¡°What happened at first?¡± ¡°I was just browsing through the web when a glitch happened and my phone began operating on its own. I felt really spooked so I called Xiao Yue a few times. However, she didn¡¯t respond and so I ran out of the room on my own. By the way, where¡¯s that girl who was with you?¡± ¡°She left.¡± After some thought, Fang En said, ¡°Regardless of what your rtionship with her may be, it¡¯ll affect the television series if you get caught by the paparazzi, especially since you¡¯re a famous celebrity. Please be more mindful.¡± He kept quiet while Fang En turned to look at him and continued, ¡°I was wrong for doing that today. Rest assured, it won¡¯t happen again.¡± Yan Ge cocked his head to the side and expressed assent. ¡°Do you feel terrified, staying in the van alone?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll go back to the house to sleep.¡± ¡°You still have the guts to go back in there?¡± ¡°Do you think I¡¯m like you? Besides, Ms. An has already done a thorough check, everything¡¯s fine now,¡± said Yan Ge before getting out of the nanny van and closing the door after him. Fang En peeked out of the window and watched him leave. Pangs of anxiety engulfed her, for she was still spooked and terrified despite already being inside the car. She was extremely timid. Fang En tossed and turned and could not fall asleep. She was filled with fear and could not rest her mind at all. She watched as the lights outside went out gradually. Just as she was overwhelmed with terror and panic, Jing Shui appeared. ¡°En, can you manage on your own?¡± ¡°Um, could I trouble you to stay here with me for tonight? I¡¯m scared.¡± Jing Shui got inside the car and said, ¡°I figured out that you must be frightened. I was really horrified too. Sure, I¡¯ll apany you.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, that¡¯s what friends are for.¡± After a moment of silence, he said, ¡°I wasn¡¯t there during the kiss scene. I heard from my brother that he¡¯d added it at thest minute.¡± ¡°Yes. Did you see that girl who was with Yan Ge on set today?¡± she asked. ¡°Are you referring to her?¡± Jing Shui asked, showing her the profile picture of a contact on his mobile phone. ¡°How did you... do you guys know each other?¡± Jing Shui answered with a nod, ¡°Her name is Xin Min, she¡¯s my former ssmate. I saw her today. She¡¯s here for a blind date with Yan Ge.¡± ¡°A blind date?¡± Fang En asked in astonishment. ¡°Yeah. ording to her, her mother and Yan Ge¡¯s mother used to be from the same dance troupe. Yan Ge¡¯s mother was the one who arranged this blind date so she dropped by to take a look.¡± Fang En nodded in acknowledgment and asked, ¡°She looks pretty young. Aren¡¯t you 29 years old this year?¡± ¡°She¡¯s 28. She just came back from studying abroad too. We both graduated with a doctorate degree. She does look younger than her age.¡± ¡°I thought she was at most 25 years old. She¡¯s really pretty andes from an affluent family too. What a great match for Yan Ge.¡± ¡°She instructed me not to tell anyone about this, but you¡¯re the only person I¡¯m going to reveal it to. Don¡¯t spread this around, okay? Yan Ge¡¯s mother holds high standards for her prospective daughter-inw. It just happens that Xin Min meets her expectations. Everything seems to be going well, and Yan Ge seems to be pleased with her too. Xin Min is not from the showbiz industry andes from a wealthy family. She¡¯s really talented too. I reckon it¡¯ll definitely work out between them.¡± Fang En agreed, ¡°Yeah, I think so too.¡± However, she could not help but feel an inexplicable feeling of dejection and disappointment deep down. ¡ª An Xiaoning returned to Wei Ni Estate andy in bed while Jin Qingyan gave her a massage. However, he never massaged her in the right spots. For example, his hands would unknowingly wander toward her hips whenever she got him to massage her back. An Xiaoning smacked his hand back several times. ¡°In my eyes, you¡¯re now just like an emergency firetruck. You¡¯ll rush to render help immediately whenever someone needs you. Aren¡¯t you going to tire yourself out if you keep doing this?¡± ¡°What can I do? I invested in this television series. I¡¯m going to take a loss if there are any casualties. How can I leave them in the lurch?¡± Jin Qingyan stopped massaging her and asked, ¡°Would you like to take a shower?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel like moving.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll help you.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just not shower today. It won¡¯t hurt not to shower for a day,¡± said An Xiaoning, turning over and closing her eyes. ¡°I haven¡¯t gotten intimate with you in so long...¡± ¡°Who¡¯s the one who did it with mest week, then?¡± ¡°...¡± He picked her up in his arms and said, ¡°I don¡¯t care, I must shower you. You may y dead, it doesn¡¯t bother me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m really going to sleep,¡± said An Xiaoning, who closed her eyes and dozed off. Once he was done bathing her, Jin Qingyan realized that she had really fallen asleep. Noticing how fatigued she was, he decided to abort his n and hugged her to sleep until daybreak. Chapter 861 - A Million Times for You (223)

Chapter 861: A Million Times for You (223)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning woke up to discover that they were both lying naked in bed. She did not find anything unusual about her body at all. Was he too gentlest night? she thought to herself. ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± ¡°Did you do anything to me after I fell asleepst night?¡± ¡°Why did you ask that all of a sudden?¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t I feel anything at?¡± ¡°Because you were dead asleep like a log,¡± Jin Qingyan said with raised brows, trying to tease her. ¡°Isn¡¯t it because you¡¯ve shrunk?¡± The smile on his face stiffened and he asked, ¡°You mean, my member became smaller after not getting intimate with you for a week?¡± ¡°Perhaps, maybe, probably,¡± said An Xiaoning, trying her best to keep a straight face. Jin Qingyan¡¯s face grew sullen as he looked at her without uttering a word. ¡°Are you angry?¡± An Xiaoning asked. It¡¯s not worth getting upset over that, is it? An Xiaoning thought to herself. He continued to remain quiet. An Xiaoning inched closer toward him and gave him a kiss before saying, ¡°Silly, can¡¯t you tell that I¡¯m joking?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you mock me too?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I won¡¯t dare to make fun of you again,¡± An Xiaoning said coquettishly, like a meek and submissive woman. Women simply enjoy being docile in front of the men they love. ¡°Seems like you haven¡¯t seen my true capabilities.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, he pulled An Xiaoning into his embrace and began groping and fondling her. ¡°Shall we leave it for tonight? I have to go to the office after breakfast.¡± ¡°No. I suppressed my urges for the whole ofst night...¡± ¡°...¡± At the end of the battle, she leaned against him, drenched in sweat. ¡°I¡¯m getting up.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go again.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°No?¡± He pinched An Xiaoning¡¯s nipple and tugged it upwards, causing her to wince in pain and to bite him in turn on his chest relentlessly. ¡°Ah!¡± He let go of her and clutched the spot that she had bitten. ¡°Don¡¯t think you¡¯re the only one who likes to bite.¡± She got out of bed and red at him with a look of vengeance in her eyes. Jin Qingyan burst intoughter and got out of bed as well. She squeezed some toothpaste onto his toothbrush and proceeded to wash her face and brush her teeth. She came out to do her makeup while he entered the bathroom. The two of them then headed downstairs together for breakfast. At half past eleven in the morning, she drove to the hospital. She first went to the office of the doctor in charge of treating Gu Beicheng. There were experts hired from abroad, as well as a few other local doctors, inside the office. The team was specially hired to treat Gu Beicheng. ¡°Good timing, Ms. An. We¡¯ve already discussed amongst ourselves and we were just nning to call you over.¡± She sat down and asked, ¡°Has there been any changes in his condition?¡± ¡°There are no signs of Mr. Guing to even ¡¯til now. We think that the chances of him regaining consciousness are decreasing day by day. If he still doesn¡¯t show signs of waking up in the next few days, he might very likely be a vegetable.¡± The doctor¡¯s words hit her like a hurricane. ¡°Aren¡¯t there any other treatment solutions?¡± An Xiaoning asked. The doctor nodded and said, ¡°We¡¯ve already tried everything we could. I¡¯d also like to inform you about Mrs. Gu¡¯s condition.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°We did another physical examination on Mrs. Gu this morning and found that she¡¯s not recovering well. On top of that, her cardiac muscles have been infected,¡± the doctor exined with a grave expression on his face. ¡°Her cardiac muscles are infected? Is it serious?¡± An Xiaoning asked with a frown. ¡°Do you know that a cardiac muscle infection could potentially lead to death if not taken care of properly? Get her to cooperate with us and receive treatment properly. Do remind her as well not to get too agitated. Otherwise, she¡¯s only going to end up harming herself,¡± the doctor instructed. ¡°Got it,¡± An Xiaoning acknowledged with a nod. After leaving the doctor¡¯s office, An Xiaoning headed to Lin Mingxi¡¯s ward. Noticing the grave expression on her face, Lin Mingxi asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you ept treatment and cooperate with the doctor? Your cardiac muscles have already been infected. Are you thinking of dying?¡± An Xiaoning chided. Lin Mingxi turned pale and said, ¡°I did cooperate with the doctor.¡± ¡°Why did he tell me to get you to cooperate, then? If you really cooperated, why did he still say that? I told you before not to get too worked up and try your best to stay calm. You¡¯re still pregnant. You must recover quickly. If you continue to neglect your condition and get so worked up all the time, who do you think will get harmed in the end?!¡± Noticing that An Xiaoning had really gotten upset, Lin Mingxi said, ¡°I¡¯ll do my best to stay calm and cooperate with the doctor to ept treatment properly, but I¡¯m really worried about Beicheng. Didn¡¯t you already hire specialists from abroad? Why is he still unconscious?¡± An Xiaoning did not tell her about what the doctor said, for fear that it would agitate her even further. ¡°His injuries are far more severe than yours. It¡¯s only understandable for him to be unconscious for a few more days.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m worried about. I¡¯m worried that he might not wake up ever again,¡± said Lin Mingxi, filled with anxiety. ¡°What nonsense are you talking about? He¡¯ll definitelye to. Just take care of yourself first,¡± she said to Lin Mingxi. Lin Mingxi began tearing up uncontrobly. She had be extremely vulnerable and emotional, a far cry from her previous self. An Xiaoning wiped Lin Mingxi¡¯s tears away with a piece of tissue paper and said in a gentler voice, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you¡¯ll do your best to stay calm? Why are you crying again?¡± ¡°I just can¡¯t help it.¡± ¡°Okay, okay, don¡¯t cry anymore. I¡¯ll do everything I can to make hime to.¡± After coaxing Lin Mingxi painstakingly, An Xiaoning exited the ward and decided that she can¡¯t continue waiting for the medical team to treat Gu Beicheng. She gave Fan Shixin a call. ¡°I want you to help me find the best medical expert in the world who specializes in conditions like Gu Beicheng¡¯s. Gu Beicheng¡¯s condition doesn¡¯t seem too optimistic right now, and the doctor said that he might be a vegetable if he doesn¡¯t wake up soon.¡± ¡°Young Sir has already told me to do that a few days ago.¡± ¡°Qingyan has already asked you to do so? Why haven¡¯t I heard about it from him?¡± An Xiaoning asked, feeling a warm, fuzzy feeling in her heart. ¡°Young Sir is a reserved person...¡± ¡°Inform me whenever there¡¯s a new lead. Hurry.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± After ending the call, An Xiaoning felt as if there was a huge rock on her chest that made it hard for her to breathe. Things were getting trickier. ¡ª Two dayster, Fan Shixin informed her of the good news. He told her that there was a medical expert in R Nation who came from a family of doctors and was experienced in treating variousplicated conditions. Fan Shixin suggested that she go meet the doctor. R Nation... It was a ce that she never wanted to go to again for the rest of her life. It was Pei Yi¡¯s territory. He¡¯d definitely find out if she made an appearance in the nation. She would be sending herself into a lion¡¯s den. However, she could not afford to dy treatment for Gu Beicheng¡¯s condition. ¡°Can we invite those experts over?¡± ¡°I heard that unless you make a trip there personally, they¡¯ll never leave the mountain regardless of how much money they¡¯re offered,¡± said Fan Shixin. ¡°I¡¯ll have to make a trip down myself, then. I have a solution,¡± she said, gesturing for Fan Shixin to lean closer, after which she whispered something into his ear. Chapter 862 - A Million Times for You (224)

Chapter 862: A Million Times for You (224)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Fan Shixin found her solution to be rather feasible and said, ¡°Young Sir was rather worried about it too. Firstly, because you¡¯re now in charge of the Gu Corporation, and secondly, because you can¡¯t step foot inside R Nation. However, it does seem like a good solution for now.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll feel much safer taking him there myself. I can¡¯t trust anyone else to bring him there.¡± If something were to happen to Gu Beicheng along the way, she would hold it against herself for the rest of her life. ¡°We can¡¯t afford any dy, not even a single day. Go map out the route and make a mask of my face. I¡¯ll head to Wei Ni Estate now.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± She looked Mei Yangyang up. She then exined the entire situation to Mei Yangyang, who was shocked out of her senses. ¡°Sis, you¡¯re still nning to return to that hellhole, R Nation?¡± Mei Yangyang asked in astonishment. ¡°I must make a trip there now. That¡¯s why I came here to trouble you to cover me at the Gu Corporation for the time being. We are of simr build and stature, you should be able to pass off as me with a wig on. Shixin will lend you a hand.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not an issue. My main concern is you. You must be very careful along the way, and you mustn¡¯tmit any blunders at all. Everything will be fine as long as Pei Yi doesn¡¯t discover you. But it¡¯s so chaotic there...¡± said Mei Yangyang. ¡°Since I¡¯ve decided to go there, I¡¯ll naturally make all the necessary preparations. I really hope I won¡¯t make a wasted trip this time. Everything will be worth it as long as hees to.¡± Mei Yangyang held her hand and said, ¡°Sis, I really feel so exhausted for you. There are so many things that you have to tend to. I had a bad impression of Lin Mingxi ever since the boot camp we attended years ago. I only changed my opinion of her after hearing you say that she has changed quite a bit. However, the fact that she¡¯s adding on to your troubles right now really infuriates me.¡± ¡°She¡¯s just too upset. However, it¡¯s going to be hard on you once I leave for R Nation with Beicheng. You must go to the office and the hospital regrly in my ce.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t be tough, I don¡¯t have much to do anyway. Besides, En is the only artiste who¡¯s signed to our studio. There¡¯s nothing much to be done. Sis, you¡¯re being too nice to the Gu family. You¡¯ve been toiling and slogging your guts out to handle all the mess that¡¯s happened after their mishap. You¡¯re really going to tire yourself out,¡± said Mei Yangyang, hugging her. ¡°I¡¯m also a part of the Gu family. Once Mingxi recovers, I¡¯ll no longer have to handle the Gu Corporation. Things will be much easier for me too. Unfortunately, that¡¯s not the case. By the way, look out for Lin Mingyuan if she shows up at the hospital again. She¡¯s on bad terms with Lin Mingxi and you don¡¯t have to talk to her at all. She recognizes my voice. If there¡¯s a need to speak to her, just get the bodyguards to ry the message.¡± ¡°Alright. Sis, when do you n to set off?¡± Mei Yangyang asked. ¡°I can¡¯t wait any longer. We¡¯re leaving tonight.¡± An Xiaoning did not bring too many bodyguards with her when she left at night, lest she aroused unnecessary suspicions and attention. She brought No. 5, No. 8, and Xiao Bai along. They embarked on the journey in a group of five, including Gu Beicheng. She was the only one amongst them who was wearing a mask. They boarded the private jet and touched down on a mountain in R Nation. They then headed to their destination by car. It was not a smooth journey at all. Fortunately, after an arduous journey thatsted three days, they finally arrived at their destination. She knocked on the door, and a little boy answered the door. ¡°Who are you looking for?¡± the little boy asked in his puerile voice. Upon hearing that they were there to seek treatment, the boy brought them inside. It was a house located at the foot of a mountain deep inside the woods. It boasted of a rustic aura. Although it was dpidated and worn out, it was still rather spick and span. No. 5 was carrying Gu Beicheng on his back while No. 8 and Xiao Bai were supporting his weight from behind. They followed the little boy to the main house. The little boy knocked on the door politely and said. ¡°Grandpa, someone¡¯s here to seek treatment.¡± ¡°Let them in,¡± said a voice that seemed toe from an old man. The boy pushed the door open gently and led them in. A bearded old man was sitting on a high chair in the room. He seemed to be a Taoist priest and appeared to be in his seventies or eighties, with his long, snowy white hair, which he had pulled back into a bun. No wonder he wasn¡¯t enticed by money at all. An Xiaoning bowed to him respectfully and said, ¡°Uncle, we just came here all the way from S Nation, precisely because we had heard about how skilled you are in treating illnesses. Several doctors have said that my brother is going to be a vegetable if he doesn¡¯te to soon. Could you please take a look at my brother? I¡¯ll be eternally grateful.¡± ¡°I can, but I¡¯ve never made deals for free. I don¡¯t want money or other material possessions. I just need you to promise me one thing.¡± ¡°That¡¯s only what I should do. I can¡¯t allow you to treat my brother for free. Go ahead and name your terms, I¡¯ll do it as long as it¡¯s within my means.¡± The elderly man said slowly, ¡°I won¡¯t make you risk your life and limb or anything. All I¡¯m asking is for you to talk to me using your real face and identity. We¡¯ll then talk about what you need me to help with.¡± An Xiaoning was appalled to realize that the elderly man could tell that she was wearing a mask, for ordinary people would have never been able to do so. She immediately agreed with a nod, ¡°Sure.¡± She removed her mask to reveal her true face, after which she exined, ¡°I wasn¡¯t trying to hide my face on purpose. It¡¯s just, I¡¯ve offended someone here and I¡¯m afraid that he¡¯ll take revenge on me.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± He waved at his grandson and said, ¡°Yan¡¯er,e here.¡± The little boy stepped forward slowly and leaned on hisp. The elderly man introduced, ¡°This is my grandson. I¡¯ll agree to help you if you promise to help me raise him until he reaches adulthood, Miss.¡± An Xiaoning did not expect him to make such a request. Raising a child was no issue for her at all. ¡°No problem. But, Uncle, could you tell me why you¡¯d like to ce your grandson in my care? Most people would usually feel reluctant to part with their grandsons at all. Why do you trust me when you don¡¯t know me well at all?¡± ¡°This may be the first time we¡¯re meeting each other, but you¡¯ve brought your brother here to see me, didn¡¯t you? That¡¯s a form of trust too. I definitely can¡¯t bear to give him up for adoption, but we¡¯re the only ones left in this family. I¡¯m already advanced in my years, and I know the state my health is in. I¡¯m afraid there won¡¯t be anyone to take care of him after I pass on. The world is full of evil souls. Frankly speaking, I would have ced him under the care of someone else even if you weren¡¯t the one who came here today.¡± Weren¡¯t they a family of doctors? Why are the two of them the only ones left? An Xiaoning wondered. Noticing that she was remaining silent, the elderly man added, ¡°Rest assured, Miss, you only have to raise him into an adult. My grandson won¡¯t want a single cent of your assets. How his life turns out after he reaches adulthood will all depend on him.¡± ¡°You¡¯re mistaken, Uncle. That¡¯s not what I¡¯m worried about. Since I¡¯ve agreed to adopt him, I¡¯ll definitely treat him like my own. Don¡¯t worry, Uncle. I, An Xiaoning, am a woman of my word. I¡¯ll need you to treat my brother, Uncle.¡± Seeing how sincere she was, the elderly man nodded and said, ¡°Carry him into my room.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and instructed No. 5 to bring Gu Beicheng into the room together with the elderly man while she shifted her gaze onto the little boy. The little boy did not show any signs of reluctance despite having heard his grandfather¡¯s words, and he seemed to be rather sensible. She squatted down and asked, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Chapter 863 - A Million Times for You (225)

Chapter 863: A Million Times for You (225)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Rong Yan.¡± ¡°How old are you?¡± ¡°Four this year.¡± An Xiaoning felt a strong sense of sympathy for Rong Yan, who was far more sensible than other children his age. ¡°Your grandfather wants you to go back with me to my nation and call me ¡®Mommy.¡¯ Are you willing to do so?¡± Rong Yan was surprised to hear that she was seeking his opinion. ¡°I¡¯m willing to. That¡¯s the only way I can put Grandpa¡¯s mind at ease.¡± ¡°Such an obedient child,¡± An Xiaoning praised, caressing his frizzy hair. She stood up and held his hand while walking toward the elderly man¡¯s room. Gu Beicheng was lying on an empty bed, which was beside a window. The window was open, allowing the light from outside to illuminate the room up. The elderly man stroked Gu Beicheng¡¯s wounds and told An Xiaoning ambitiously, ¡°He will recover, but it¡¯ll take a longer time to treat him. His wounds are going to take a great deal of effort to heal.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, so long as he cane to,¡± said An Xiaoning, who was already happy to hear that there was hope for his condition. The elderly man headed to the medicine supply room to get some medicinal herbs, which he then brewed into a broth. He demonstrated the brewing process and guided them through it step by step. While No. 8 was looking at the bottle of medicine, the elderly man prescribed another twenty-odd medications and said, ¡°He should be fine after finishing these.¡± After handing out the instructions, the elderly man called An Xiaoning into an empty room where they were left alone. Clearly, he had something to tell her in private. ¡°Don¡¯t let Rong Yane back again after he leaves with you,¡± said the elderly man. ¡°Could you tell me why?¡± After some thought, the elderly man said, ¡°Our family¡¯s downfall is inevitable. A sudden gue had wiped out my family members, leaving just the two of us behind. This is just fate. Things wouldn¡¯t havee to this if I had managed to treat their conditions after the gue. It¡¯s all my fault forcking in medical expertise. Rong Yan is an avid fan of medical books. Please bring the ones I¡¯ve left for him back with you. I hope he¡¯ll be able to do his part for others in this world and save lives. I hope you¡¯ll support him.¡± ¡°That goes without saying. I¡¯ll fully support him if he¡¯s keen on practicing medicine.¡± Isn¡¯t it great to have a doctor at home? There¡¯s no reason for me to say no. ¡°That¡¯s great. I can tell that you¡¯ll treat him well...¡± said the elderly man, who began coughing vigorously all of a sudden. He covered his mouth with a handkerchief. After he took it away from his mouth, An Xiaoning discovered that the handkerchief was stained with bright, red blood. ¡°Uncle, you...¡± ¡°It¡¯s just the aftereffects of the gue infection. I won¡¯t have much longer to live.¡± ¡°Rong Yan...¡± ¡°He¡¯s fine, he wasn¡¯t infected. Actually, he was lucky to have been staying with his maternal grandmother during the time when the gue was widespread. The gue initially started spreading from our side but did not reach his maternal grandmother because she was living somewhere faraway.¡± ¡°Uncle, pardon me for my bluntness, but why don¡¯t you ce him under the care of his maternal grandmother instead of an outsider like me? Won¡¯t you be more at ease that way?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve thought of that before. After the gue, his maternal grandmother sent him back here and she didn¡¯t even attend her daughter¡¯s funeral. Not only did they not dote on their grandson, they even said harsh and callous things to him. Rong Yan is a very sensible child, and he nevermits any mistakes. I only decided to have someone else adopt him because his maternal grandmother and her family refuse to take him in.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that he once stayed with his maternal grandmother for a short period of time...?¡± The elderly man nodded and said, ¡°My daughter-inw initially brought Rong Yan back to her mother¡¯s house. However, she grew worried when she heard about the gue outbreak and came back alone. In the end, she got infected too.¡± ¡°His maternal grandmother must be suffering from poverty, right?¡± An Xiaoning spected. ¡°No, she¡¯s the richest tycoon in the nation.¡± ¡°She should be very affluent, then...¡± An Xiaoning said in puzzlement. ¡°Back then, my daughter-inw and my son got into a rtionship out of their own will. However, my daughter-inw¡¯s parents were strongly against their marriage and even looked down on my family. We¡¯ve charged the patients we treat only for the cost of the medicinal herbs. It¡¯s only enough to make ends meet, and we¡¯re just an average family. Things had just gotten better between my daughter-inw and her mother when she brought Rong Yan home, so...¡± ¡°Oh, I see,¡± said An Xiaoning, who had a great amount of respect for the elderly man because of hismendable work ethic. ¡°Hence, you mustn¡¯t let hime back here again if you can, Miss.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll definitely want toe and visit you and his parents at your graves when he¡¯s older. That¡¯s only understandable. I¡¯ll respect his decisions. Don¡¯t worry, Uncle, Rong Yan will live well with me,¡± An Xiaoning said reassuringly. ¡°Thank you so much, Miss.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, I should be the one thanking you for being willing to save my brother.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning and her bodyguards stayed in the house temporarily. Rong Yan was initially still rather distant from An Xiaoning at the start. However, after they¡¯d been interacting with each other for a few days, he began to open up to her and even clung onto her all day. The elderly man was heartened to see how well they got along with each other and personally held a brief acknowledgment ceremony for the both of them. From then on, An Xiaoning had one more son. She was rather pleased with the new member of her family, for she was no longer able to conceive due to her deteriorating health. She thought that Rong Yan would definitely be grateful to her for raising him. To An Xiaoning¡¯s surprise, Gu Beicheng regained his consciousness after being administered with a daily dose of medication for ten days straight. In that moment, An Xiaoning felt as if her world wasplete again. She grabbed his arm agitatedly and eximed, ¡°Beicheng, you¡¯ve finallye to!¡± Gu Beicheng opened his eyes slightly and murmured, ¡°Xiaoning...¡± ¡°I¡¯m here, I¡¯m here. Beicheng, how are you feeling?¡± ¡°It hurts...¡± he said with a frown on his head. An Xiaoning looked down and said gently, ¡°Bear with it. We¡¯ll be returning to S Nation after staying here for a while longer.¡± ¡°Where are we now?¡± An Xiaoning exined, ¡°R Nation. You slipped into aa after you were sent to the hospital, and you stayed unconscious for several days. The doctors were at aplete loss. Qingyan found out about this ce so I brought you here.¡± ¡°How are Father, Mother, and Mingxi?¡± ¡°Focus on recuperating for now. I¡¯ll tell you more after you¡¯ve recovered,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Xiaoning... tell me now... I want to know,¡± Gu Beicheng insisted. Seeing how insistent he was, An Xiaoning decided not to hide the truth and told him everything. After hearing her description, Gu Beicheng teared up and took a deep breath without uttering a single word. ¡°Are you hungry? I¡¯ll make you some porridge.¡± He nodded. An Xiaoning exited and broke the good news to everyone. Realizing that they were about to enter the room gleefully, she stopped them and said, ¡°Let him have some quiet time by himself. I¡¯ll go make him some porridge.¡± ¡°Um, Sis, let me do it. Go chat with Mr. Gu,¡± said No. 8. An Xiaoning conceded at the thought of her poor culinary skills. She returned inside the room, only to discover that he was tearing up with his eyes shut. Chapter 864 - A Million Times for You (226)

Chapter 864: A Million Times for You (226)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He was weeping silently in grief. She stood before the bed without uttering a single word. ¡°Xiaoning, thank you. Thank you so much,¡± he said softly. ¡°What for? Be careful, I might just eat up yourpany,¡± she said teasingly. ¡°You may have it if you want.¡± An Xiaoning sat down beside him and said with a smile, ¡°Why? Do you see everything clearly now?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Give Mingxi a call. She¡¯ll definitely ept treatment properly after she hears your voice.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning quickly dialed Lin Mingxi¡¯s number and ced her mobile phone beside his ear. Lin Mingxi began tearing up over the phone and was crying tears of joy. She was filled with worry every single day that Gu Beicheng would not ever wake up again. Gu Beichengforted her gently and only hung up after they¡¯d had a long conversation. No. 8 served the porridge, after which An Xiaoning ced a pillow behind Gu Beicheng¡¯s back and allowed him to rest on it while she fed him. Gu Beicheng gazed at her and finished the porridge mouthful by mouthful. ¡°Why do you keep looking at me? Is there something on my face?¡± she asked, cing the empty bowl onto the table. ¡°Why are you so kind to the Gu family?¡± ¡°Probably because we¡¯re family and that¡¯s what kinship is about. My first pair of parents was my adoptive parents, but they abandoned me after raising me for a few years. I¡¯ve also cut ties with the Jin and Lin families. Those three pairs of non-biological parents have proven themselves to be unworthy of me, and they¡¯re not fit to be my parents at all. However, your parents are different from them. When Grandpa took me as his god-granddaughter and allowed me to be a part of the Gu family in exchange for my help during times of crisis, I really treated you guys as my own kin,¡± An Xiaoning said with a smile. Gu Beicheng stared at her with reddened eyes and said, ¡°I¡¯ve long treated you as my closest kin too. Now that Father and Mother are no longer around, there will be fewer people whom I can call my family from now on. Fortunately, I still have you and Mingxi.¡± ¡°Your child is safe and healthy. Once we¡¯re back in S Nation, I¡¯ll bring you and Mingxi home and have the doctors take care of you there.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°Mother told me to transfer my name back to the Gu family household register. Qingyan has helped me do just that.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t remove it ever again, unless you get married,¡± he said, looking at her. ¡°Sure, but there¡¯s something I haven¡¯t told Mingxi yet. I¡¯ve allowed the hypnotist who controlled Gu Dongcheng to stay alive. He¡¯s the only survivor.¡± ¡°You probably have your own reasons.¡± ¡°I got someone to amputate his legs and make him a mask. I¡¯m nning to use him. You may tell her about it when we go back, I don¡¯t wish to hide it from her,¡± An Xiaoning said slowly. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll tell her in private when we¡¯re back.¡± ¡°Everything will be fine.¡± ¡°Boss, that fellow is calling you again!¡± She whipped out her mobile phone to see that it was a call from Pei Yi. She stood up and went outside to pick up the call. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°I thought you would hang up immediately.¡± ¡°Why did you call me again?¡± she asked calmly. ¡°Nothing much, I just felt like calling you. I¡¯m wondering if I should be a good host since you¡¯re here on my territory,¡± he said with a tinge of sinisterness. Turns out he knew about my arrival, after all. ¡°I appreciate your good intentions, but no thanks.¡± ¡°Are you afraid to see me? It¡¯s not like you haven¡¯t seen me before,¡± he said with a chuckle. ¡°There¡¯s no need for us to meet again.¡± ¡°Why do I feel like it¡¯s necessary?¡± An Xiaoning gripped her phone tightly and said, ¡°Must you really do this?¡± ¡°Mmm-hmm.¡± ¡°It¡¯s raining cats and dogs right now. Another day.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯d like to feel the thrill of hunting my prey that has escaped.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s heart sank the moment the call ended. She hurriedly asked the elderly man, ¡°Is there a secret passageway in here? My enemy is on his way right now to hunt me down.¡± ¡°This used to be a warzone so there are secret passageways here.¡± ¡°Great, but do many people know about the passageway?¡± ¡°The residents at the foot of the mountain are all aware of this.¡± She nodded and hurriedly instructed No. 5 to carry Gu Beicheng while No. 8 held onto Rong Yan¡¯s hand. Meanwhile, Xiao Bai was in charge of carrying the medicine and books given by the elderly man, who then led them through the secret passageway. An Xiaoning was the only one who stayed behind. The reason was clear. If she had left together with him, Pei Yi would definitely find out about the secret passageway from the residents nearby and, hence, they would not be able to escape. She was the one he wanted to meet. With her newly-acquired powers, it was a piece of cake for her to escape from him. The elderly man returned to see that there were several cars parked outside the house. Donning a fedora and a pair of shades that hid his eyes, Pei Yi alighted from the car. ¡°I thought you would escape. You never fail to surprise me.¡± ¡°Are you surprised? Wow, Master Pei, you¡¯re still as dashing as ever. Are you trying to blind everyone with your stunning good looks?¡± An Xiaoning gibed with a smile. ¡°Does everyone include you?¡± he asked with a smirk. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t believe me if I said yes.¡± After a moment of silence, she continued, ¡°Master Pei, you insisted oning here to see me despite the heavy rain. Just what is your purpose?¡± He walked toward her and removed his shades. ring at her coldly, he said, ¡°I was infuriated about the fact that you were rescued.¡± ¡°And then? Are you going to punish me for escaping?¡± ¡°No, I just didn¡¯t take enough safety precautions. After all, you probably would have been killed by my people even if you didn¡¯t escape. I really want to be a good host, so I came here to personally invite you to my ce,¡± he said with his hands behind his back. An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°Could you not put this elderly man in a spit, and...¡± The intelligent Pei Yi could already guess what she wanted to say next. ¡°I¡¯m not interested in your bodyguards and Gu Beicheng, who have all escaped. Gu Beicheng didn¡¯t die thanks to his own fate.¡± She was apprehensive about his words. ¡°I believe you¡¯re not one to say one thing and do another, Master Pei. Let¡¯s go.¡± She got inside his car and sat beside him in the backseat. Just as the car began moving off, An Xiaoning looked at him while smiling, as if she were really going to visit his house as a guest. ¡°Master Pei, what have you been busy withtely?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about which man you¡¯re smiling at every day, you liar.¡± ¡°...¡± He handed her two photos and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t I say before that you¡¯re only allowed to smile at me and that no one else has the right to see you smile at all? Why have you gone back on your words so soon? Not only did you break your promise, you also even stayed over at Jin Qingyan¡¯s ce every now and then. Are you nning to get married to him again? Is it because he saved you? Or is it because you¡¯ve never stopped loving him?¡± An Xiaoning stared at the photos in her hand, only to discover that one of them was a photo of her talking to Fan Shixin and the other was of her speaking to Jin Qingyan... Chapter 865 - A Million Times for You (227) Chapter 865: A Million Times for You (227) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios One ought to react appropriately to the situation and say the right thing at the right time. Although it may seem a little hypocritical, isn¡¯t it simply a wise thing to do? Otherwise, was she supposed to act like a fool in front of a powerful and formidable enemy? If it weren¡¯t for her glib tongue, Pei Yi would have long executed her when he¡¯d abducted her previously. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you answering me? Are you tongue-tied?¡± Pei Yi asked with a scoff. ¡°Not at all. We¡¯re all adults, there¡¯s nothing to be shy or awkward about. I don¡¯t find anything wrong with being in a rtionship with him if we love each other and are both willing parties,¡± An Xiaoning said with a mirthless smile. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you don¡¯t love him anymore?¡± ¡°He¡¯s the man that I love most in the whole wide world. How could I not love him? Although we¡¯re divorced, he still holds a ce in my heart, even if we¡¯re not in a rtionship right now. I only said what I said before because I was afraid that I would upset you and you¡¯ll kill me in turn.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯ll do the same now?¡± An Xiaoning looked at him dauntlessly while remainingposed and said, ¡°If you do that, I can only assume that you¡¯ve fallen for a withered flower like me, Master Pei. Otherwise, there¡¯s no reason for you to be upset about me and Jin Qingyan. Besides, you¡¯re a man who has zero tolerance for filth. You obviously wouldn¡¯t be interested in me. I was just reading too much into things before. Now that I think about it, this is the real you. There¡¯s no point in me hiding the truth either.¡± He was at a momentary loss for words, for he found that she had indeed made sense. It was none of his business who she loved, since he would only ever be interested in virgins. ¡°I¡¯ve never quite interacted with Jin Qingyan before, but I do admit, he¡¯s a lot manlier than your president,¡± said Pei Yi. Who wouldn¡¯t be happy to hear someone else praise their beloved man? She smiled and said, ¡°I think so, too.¡± ¡°Did you go to V Nation out of your own ord or were you just following orders?¡± ¡°Given your wit and intelligence, you should know why I went there, Master Pei. The treasure map doesn¡¯t entice me at all. I¡¯m not in need of money, nor am I interested in getting my hands on those mentioned treasures. I only went because I was forced to. However, it wasn¡¯t a fruitful trip and my efforts were futile.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I was afraid of dying, that¡¯s why I came back,¡± she answered, staring at him calmly. ¡°I reckon you¡¯re the only one who can be so openly afraid of death,¡± said Pei Yi, rolling down the window a little to let the breeze in. An Xiaoning eased herself into afortable position,pletely ignoring the fact that she was practically being trapped. She acted as if she was just a friend of his and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to take a nap, wake me up when we¡¯re there.¡± ¡°Can you really fall asleep?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t sleep wellst night, I had a long night of dreams.¡± She closed her eyes and dozed off. Pei Yi took a nce at her. I can¡¯t believe she¡¯s still so brazen as to fall asleep beside me even after I took her away by force. Just what is this woman made of? Are her brains different from others? Once they arrived on Mount Qingping, the car began moving slowly into his den. An Xiaoning woke up the moment the car stopped. She cocked her head to the side and met his eyes. ¡°We¡¯re here?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Yes.¡± The moment he pushed the door open, someone handed him an umbre. He took the umbre, got out of the car, and closed the car door. An Xiaoning alighted from the car and scurried toward him. She stood below his umbre and said, ¡°I¡¯m hungry, Master Pei, let¡¯s have a meal together.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You personally invited me over to be your guest, and I¡¯m already here. Aren¡¯t you going to treat me to a meal?¡± ¡°What do you want to eat?¡± ¡°There are lots of things I want to eat. Look how much thinner I¡¯ve gotten. It¡¯s time I nourished myself. Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll talk while we walk,¡± said An Xiaoning, holding onto his arm and pulling him forward. Pei Yi did not shrug her hand away like he usually would and instead brought her to the eighth floor. He then arranged for the servants to prepare some food. The decor in his room still looked the same as before. However, the cranes on his table were missing. ¡°You threw away the cranes I folded?¡± ¡°Is there a need for me to keep something so worthless?¡± She was at a momentarily loss for words and said with a grin, ¡°You should throw things that aren¡¯t supposed to be kept.¡± He brought her a chain and said, ¡°I won¡¯t tie your hands together, but your legs have to be chained. Put it on yourself.¡± ¡°Master Pei, didn¡¯t you invite me here to be a guest? Why do guests have to have their legs chained? Are you afraid that I would escape on my own?¡± she asked, hiding her true emotions. ¡°I can¡¯t say the same about others, but Ipletely believe that you have the ability to do that.¡± ¡°Can I not wear it?¡± ¡°Do you want to put it on yourself or do you want me to do it for you? Take your pick.¡± She took the chain from him, which did not look as heavy as it really was. ¡°What is this made of?¡± she asked. ¡°A special material. The chain can¡¯t be unlocked without a key.¡± She did not ask any further questions and put them on herself. ¡°Will this do?¡± He nodded and said, ¡°Now that you¡¯re back in my hands, will Jin Qingyan stille and rescue you?¡± ¡°Can I ask you a question? If you answer my question, I¡¯ll answer yours,¡± An Xiaoning asked, looking at him earnestly. ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°Since you haven¡¯t fallen for me and don¡¯t wish to be in a rtionship with me, why are you still imprisoning me here even though you know that it won¡¯t bring you any political benefits?¡± He had once thought about that question before and, hence, he could answer her right away. ¡°Being with you makes me feel veryfortable. You make the ambiance pleasant, and it doesn¡¯t feel awkward even if we don¡¯t talk for the entire morning. It¡¯s rare for someone to make me feel that way.¡± ¡°But I can¡¯t chat and eat with you all the time. There are a lot of things for me to do. Please don¡¯t be surprised if you find me missing one day, Master Pei.¡± Pei Yi did not expect her to be bold enough to say something like that even with her legs chained. He had never met such a woman before. She was arrogant and prideful, yet she would sumb whenever necessary. ¡°You¡¯re right. Jin Qingyan must be on his way to rescue you now.¡± ¡°He won¡¯te this time. I won¡¯t allow him to either.¡± She whipped out her mobile phone and said, ¡°May I send him a text and tell him not toe and save me?¡± ¡°Sure...¡± Pei Yi said in bewilderment. An Xiaoning opened the messaging app and typed a string of words that she then quickly sent to Jin Qingyan. The content of the message was brief and concise. She mainly told him not toe to Mount Qingping and that she would return soon. She also instructed him to help Gu Beicheng and the rest. Pei Yi nced at the message and asked in puzzlement, ¡°Do you really think he won¡¯te just because you told him not to?¡± ¡°No, I just really hope he won¡¯te because I can escape on my own if I wanted to.¡± ¡°I shall see how you¡¯re going to leave this ce.¡± She smiled without uttering a word. That¡¯s the fun in such games, isn¡¯t it? What a thrill. Qin Guo flew into an immense rage the moment she heard that Pei Yi had brought An Xiaoning back again. Chapter 866 - A Million Times for You (228)

Chapter 866: A Million Times for You (228)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The fiftyshes of the whip that she had received before as a punishment for harming An Xiaoning had caused her so much pain that she¡¯d been unable to get out of bed for several days. This time, she dared not furnish any information and tell on Pei Yi. She headed straight to Pei Yi¡¯s room. After knocking on the door, she entered to see that An Xiaoning was currently having dinner with Pei Yi. She was filled with disgruntlement because she had never enjoyed the privilege of having a meal together with Pei Yi. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Pei Yi asked, ring at her. Qin Guo answered softly, ¡°Ancestor, could youe out with me for a while? I have something to say to you.¡± Pei Yi put down his chopsticks and went out of the room, thinking that it must be some work-rted matter that was not to be divulged to An Xiaoning. Little did he expect to hear such a thing from her. Qin Guo said, ¡°Ancestor, you must have fallen for An Xiaoning, haven¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Is that any of your business?¡± ¡°I¡¯m in no ce to meddle with your business, Ancestor, but I¡¯ve been by your side for so many years and there are some things I must say. An Xiaoning is not worth your painstaking efforts at all. Nothing about her is deserving of your attention. You¡¯re only attracted to her personality, Ancestor. There are plenty of women who are just like her.¡± ¡°Find me one, then.¡± Qin Guo was momentarily speechless, after which she asked brazenly, ¡°Will you stop wasting your time and efforts on An Xiaoning once I find you a woman like her?¡± ¡°You¡¯re really audacious, aren¡¯t you? How dare you challenge me? Did you forget what I told you in the past? You¡¯d better not poke your nose into my private life or I won¡¯t show you mercy if you cause a stir. If you dare to breathe a word about this to my mother again, you won¡¯t be receiving a punishment that¡¯s as simple as fiftyshes of the whip. Got it?¡± he warned, ring at her coldly. ¡°Yes,¡± Qin Guo answered softly, realizing that her words had no effect on him at all. Pei Yi returned inside his room. The moment she heard the door close, Qin Guo raised her head and clenched her fists tightly. Just what¡¯s so attractive about An Xiaoning? How infuriating! I¡¯ve been staying by Ancestor¡¯s side for so many years and yet he¡¯s never once treated me nicely. Yet, An Xiaoning got to sleep on his couch, eat with him, and stay in his room just days after arriving here. The thought of the unfair treatment she received made Qin Guo wish she could skin An Xiaoning alive. However, she dared not act ording to her wishes. She was well aware of the consequences she would have to face if she were to do that. When nighttime arrived, Pei Yi put her wrists in handcuffs and allowed her to sleep on the couch, just like in the past. He felt safe and assured with her limbs shackled to chains. Little did he know, An Xiaoning was no longer the same An Xiaoning he had abducted back then. Once the lights were switched off, An Xiaoning sat on the couch and stealthily broke the handcuffs and chains on her legs. It had never urred to Pei Yi that she would be so powerful. He had a dream during his sleep. He dreamed that An Xiaoning was pinned beneath himself and allowing him to get intimate with her while fondling her however he wanted. The dream felt so real that he thought she was lying naked beside him when he woke up. He was still in a daze and a state of bewilderment when he sat up straight. I must be out of my mind to have dreamed of something like that. How unbelievable. He had no intentions of touching an unchaste woman like her at all. He got out of bed sluggishly at six o¡¯clock in the morning, thinking that she must be sound asleep on the couch. To his astonishment, she was no longer in sight. Noticing the severed handcuffs and chains on the couch, Pei Yi immediately checked the surveince camera footages. She¡¯d actually tampered with the surveince cameras. He could not see a thing at all. Just what was going on? Pei Yi recalled the words she had said the night before and began to think that she was not as simple as she seems. If she had had the intention to kill mest night, I... Just as Pei Yi was deep in his thoughts, he received a text message from An Xiaoning. She wrote: ¡°Thank you for inviting me to your ce. The dishes were delicious, I thoroughly enjoyed them. Don¡¯t send anyone to chase me. Let me off on the ount that I spared your lifest night. There are still a lot of important things for me to do. If there¡¯s another chance for us to meet again in the future, I hope we¡¯ll still be able to get along harmoniously just like we did during dinnerst night.¡± Pei Yi stared at the words on his screen and replied: ¡°Could you tell me how you broke the handcuffs and chains?¡± She quickly replied: ¡°How am I supposed to escape again if I tell you? It¡¯s a secret.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t throw those paper cranes away, they¡¯re on the headboard of my bed.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the use of keeping such worthless things?¡± An Xiaoning replied him with the words he had said earlier. He did not reply again. Pei Yi chucked his mobile phone into his pocket and pressed the bell. Qin Guo entered and asked, ¡°Do you have any orders for me, Ancestor?¡± ¡°Prepare a set of breakfast for me.¡± Qin Guo scanned the room, only to find that An Xiaoning was not in sight. After some thought, she asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to prepare any for her?¡± ¡°She¡¯s already left.¡± Qin Guo¡¯s jaw dropped and asked, ¡°Ancestor, why did you let her go again?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t, she left on her own.¡± ¡°She left on her own? Ancestor, what do you mean? How could she leave without your permission?¡± asked a puzzled Qin Guo. ¡°Bring those for a test and find out what weapon was used to break them,¡± said Pei Yi, pointing at the broken handcuffs and chains on the couch. Qin Guo stepped forward to pick the items up and immediately instructed her colleagues to have a test done. She returned with the test results after Pei Yi had finished his breakfast. ¡°The master said that it wasn¡¯t broken by a weapon.¡± ¡°How did they break, then?¡± ¡°The master is uncertain too.¡± Pei Yi looked down and thought to himself, Those chains were of superior quality and cannot be broken easily, not even with any sharp tools or saws. Besides, all her limbs were chained together. I really can¡¯t figure out how she could break the chains. Whatever, I¡¯ll figure out one day. There¡¯s no hurry. ¡ª Gu Beicheng returned to the Gu family mansion to rest and recuperate together with Lin Mingxi once he arrived back in S Nation. Mei Yangyang could finally step down. Gu Beicheng could still handle work-rted matters despite his condition. Xiao Bai brought Rong Yan back to Wei Ni Estate. Jin Qingyan could not believe his ears the moment he heard Xiao Bai¡¯s words. He squinted and asked coldly, ¡°What... did you say?¡± Xiao Bai swallowed his saliva, thinking to himself, Fortunately I left the child in the car and reported to Young Sir first. Or else, Rong Yan would have been terrified if he saw Young Sir¡¯s reaction. ¡°The physician left his grandson under Young Madam¡¯s care and the ceremony has been held. Young Madam has officially adopted him.¡± An Xiaoning did not inform Jin Qingyan of the matter, which gave him a great shock. It¡¯s not that we can¡¯t afford to raise him. We can raise him all the way until adulthood, but there¡¯s no need to adopt him at all. It¡¯s not like we don¡¯t have a son of our own, why must... ¡°Young Sir, if you¡¯re not willing to adopt him, I reckon Mr. Gu will be pleased to adopt him. Don¡¯t get too upset. Discuss it with Young Madam when she¡¯s back.¡± ¡°Did I say I¡¯m not willing to?¡± he questioned. Chapter 867 - A Million Times for You (229)

Chapter 867: A Million Times for You (229)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xiao Bai dared not utter another word and instead thought to himself, The expression on his face says it all! He just doesn¡¯t want to adopt another child. That was more than obvious. ¡°In that case, shall I bring him here?¡± ¡°Hold it, I told Xiao Huang to bring Yiheng home from the academy. Bring the kid again to see meter.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± said Xiao Bai, who returned to the car after breaking out in a cold sweat. As soon as he got inside the car, Rong Yan asked, ¡°Uncle Xiao Bai, does he not like me?¡± Rong Yan had already seen his expression from afar. ¡°No, you still have an older brother. I¡¯ll bring you to see your brother and daddy when your brotheres hometer, alright?¡± He nodded obediently and said, ¡°Alright.¡± Half an hourter, Jin Yiheng returned. He made a suave entrance, as usual. He exuded an aura just like his father¡¯s; his hands were behind his back as he made his way inside the living room with his chest up. Jin Qingyan was donning a gray woolen sweater and sitting cross-legged on the couch with a book in his hand. He turned around to look at Jin Yiheng the moment he heard footsteps approaching. ¡°You¡¯re back?¡± ¡°Daddy, did you miss me?¡± ¡°No.¡± He patted the spot beside him and said, ¡°Sit down, I have something to talk to you about.¡± Jin Yiheng sat down, removed his shades, and said, ¡°Speak.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to have a brother.¡± ¡°Mommy¡¯s pregnant!¡± he blurted, turning to look at Jin Qingyan. ¡°No. Your brother¡¯s adopted. His grandfather saved your Godpa¡¯s life and does not have much longer to live. He doesn¡¯t have any other rtives, so he requested your mommy to adopt his grandson. I heard from Xiao Bai that he¡¯s very, very obedient. Your mommy agreed to adopt him because she wanted you to have a ymate,¡± Jin Qingyan exined. A sullen expression formed on Jin Yiheng¡¯s face immediately and he said, ¡°Don¡¯t think of lying to me just because I¡¯m young. Who said I needed a ymate? I have an abundance of ymates. You could have just given birth to a younger brother for me. Did you consider my feelings before adopting the child?¡± He stood up with tears in his eyes and groused, ¡°Why are you adults so willful? Do you guys even care about me at all?¡± ¡°If we don¡¯t care about you, would I have called you home to talk about this? This decision has already been made. It¡¯s hard for changes to be made now.¡± Jin Yiheng¡¯s eyes widened in shock, bbergasted to hear his father¡¯s words. ¡°I won¡¯t agree to this. If you insist on adopting him, I¡¯ll walk out on this family!¡± he snapped in a moment of pique. Ji Qingyan understood his son¡¯s temper, which resembled his greatly. However, he did not expect him to react so intensely. ¡°Could you tell me why you¡¯re so against it? Are you afraid that your adopted brother will vie with you for Daddy and Mommy¡¯s love?¡± Jin Qingyan held his hand and ced him on hisp before saying coaxingly, ¡°You¡¯ll forever be our precious baby. No one can snatch our attention and love away from you.¡± ¡°Daddy, I¡¯m not afraid of having to share you and Mommy with my new brother. I¡¯m just worried that he will mistreat you even after you¡¯ve raised him into an adult. When I was attending kindergarten in M Nation, there were a few adopted children in my ss. Deep down, they all felt that their biological parents were the best, regardless of how well their adoptive parents have treated them. They¡¯ll never treat their adoptive parents as their own parents. Daddy, give birth to another child with Mommy. I won¡¯t have any other objections,¡± said Jin Yiheng, hanging his arms around Jin Qingyan¡¯s neck. Jin Qingyan was deeply moved by his words, heartened to see that his son had begun sparing a thought for him and An Xiaoning, despite only being six years old. Jin Qingyan smiled and said, ¡°Son, you¡¯re reading too much into things. Daddy and Mommy are epting him because your mommy wants to repay her gratitude to his grandfather for saving your godfather¡¯s life. Since we¡¯ve already agreed to raise him into an adult, we¡¯ll definitely treat him like our own. It doesn¡¯t matter even if he mistreats us when he¡¯s older. If he¡¯s filial to us in the future, that just means he¡¯s not an ingrate. If not, we still have you, don¡¯t we? If you only think about the possible disadvantages before doing something, you¡¯ll never seed. Let¡¯s focus on the present. Daddy and Mommy are not going to regret our decision since we¡¯ve already made it. Besides, how could you be so sure that he won¡¯t treat us well in the future?¡± Jin Yiheng pressed his face against Jin Qingyan¡¯s affectionately and said, ¡°But I just don¡¯t want... I don¡¯t want that possibility to even exist.¡± ¡°How about you interact with him first? If you think that he¡¯s really treating us like his family, we¡¯ll let him stay. However, if you still find it hard to see him as one of us, Daddy will make him leave,¡± Jin Qingyan said gently. ¡°Daddy, are you being serious?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll know if he¡¯s really treating us like his own family.¡± Jin Yiheng turned around and looked at him. ¡°Daddy, you said so yourself. You can¡¯t go back on your word.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Where is he now?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get your Uncle Xiao Bai to bring him here,¡± said Jin Qingyan. He then called Xiao Bai, after which Xiao Bai quickly brought Rong Yan over. Xiao Bai held onto Rong Yan¡¯s hand and brought him to the living room. Fan Shixin also entered from outside. Rong Yan stood in front of Jin Qingyan and Jin Yiheng. He pinched his own fingers and greeted in a tender voice, ¡°Hello, Daddy, hello, Brother.¡± Jin Qingyan pointed at the couch and said, ¡°Have a seat.¡± He sat on the couch and dared not look around or move about. Rong Yan was speaking in the nativenguage of R Nation, which was alsomonly used in M Nation and Y Nation. Having grown up in M Nation since he was a child, Jin Yiheng couldmunicate with Rong Yan. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°My name is Rong Yan.¡± ¡°How old are you?¡± ¡°Four years old this year.¡± Upon hearing his words, Jin Yiheng muttered under his breath, ¡°He¡¯s only four years old. What a kid.¡± Jin Qingyan almost burst intoughter when he heard his son¡¯s remark, finding it amusing since Jin Yiheng was only six years old himself. ¡°Daddy, can he sleep with me in the same room?¡± ¡°Huh? Don¡¯t you dislike having others enter your room? Wouldn¡¯t it be better for me to arrange another room for him?¡± Jin Qingyan asked. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that, he¡¯ll just share the same room as me. Also, Daddy, hire anguage tutor for him too. I can¡¯t keepmunicating with him in a foreignnguage.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Jin Yiheng stood up and waved at Rong Yan. ¡°Come with me, I¡¯ll show you to our room.¡± Rong Yan stood up and made his way upstairs with Jin Yiheng obediently. Feeling a little worried, Fan Shixin asked, ¡°Young Sir, will Little Sir y a prank on him?¡± ¡°I¡¯m guessing that he¡¯s showing his authority as an older brother. That¡¯s just how Yiheng is. His bark is worse than his bite,¡± Jin Qingyan said with a chuckle. ¡°He takes after you, doesn¡¯t he? Aren¡¯t you worried about Young Madam?¡± Fan Shixin asked worriedly. ¡°She¡¯lle home in three days.¡± ¡°Young Sir, how are you so sure?¡± ¡°I¡¯m very certain. Okay, hire anguage tutor for Rong Yan and register his name under our household register.¡± Chapter 868 - A Million Times for You (230)

Chapter 868: A Million Times for You (230)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After some thought, Fan Shixin asked, ¡°Do we just register it as ¡®Rong Yan¡¯ or do we add yourst name?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you asking the obvious? He¡¯s my son, of course he has to take myst name. Give him a proper status and release a piece of news about adopting him.¡± After some hesitation, Fan Shixin said, ¡°Young Sir... we can¡¯t release that statement saying that you¡¯re adopting him. Those who have malicious intentions are going to think that he¡¯s an illegitimate son whom you had out of wedlock.¡± ¡°Just tell the media the truth about the situation. Everything will blow over after we¡¯ve arranged for the reporters to interview Xiaoning. Since I¡¯ve already adopted him, I can¡¯t let him not have a proper status.¡± Fan Shixin smiled and teased, ¡°Young Sir, you¡¯re making me feel tempted to be your son too. Will you adopt me as well? I¡¯ll treat you as my own father!¡± Jin Qingyan red at him and rebuked, ¡°Get lost, I don¡¯t want a son as old as you.¡± Fan Shixin chuckled and said with a grave expression on his face, ¡°I¡¯m nning to go for a matchmaking session.¡± Jin Qingyan cocked his head toward him and asked, ¡°What has gotten into you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not getting any younger. I¡¯m 29 years old this year. After waiting for so many years, I never got to experience true love. I¡¯m thinking that I probably won¡¯t find a woman I genuinely fancy now.¡± Jin Qingyan understood that Fan Shixin had been staying single for such a long time not only because of his busy schedule but also because he had yet to meet a woman that he truly fancied. ¡°Shixin, didn¡¯t you say that you¡¯d rather stay single than settle for less? You¡¯re only 29 years old and yet you¡¯re already getting impatient?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just scared that my heart and soul will grow old together with my age. By then, I¡¯ll no longer have the energy or motivation to get married. I¡¯ll just see how the blind date goes. Perhaps I¡¯ll really meet a girl that I fancy,¡± said Fan Shixin, who decided to give himself a chance to interact with women. ¡°Isn¡¯t it because you¡¯re yearning to be a father and your paternal love is overflowing?¡± ¡°A little.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been working for me for so many years and your schedule has always been so tight. It¡¯s time you take a break and rx too. Go ahead if you¡¯d like to go on a blind date. I, too, hope that I¡¯ll be able to attend your wedding while I¡¯m still alive.¡± Fan Shixin smiled and said, ¡°Young Sir, you definitely will.¡± ¡ª ¡°Whenever I¡¯m not at home, you¡¯re not allowed to touch here, here, here, and here, as well as that spot over there. Even when I¡¯m at home, you¡¯ll have to ask for my permission beforehand, got it?¡± Jin Yiheng instructed his newly-adopted brother, who popped up in his life from nowhere. ¡°I understand, Brother,¡± said Rong Yang, standing with his legs as straight as a ruler and his hands by his side. ¡°Remember, in this house, Daddy and Mommy are on each other¡¯s side and they won¡¯t care about us whenever they¡¯re together. Hence, from now on, the two of us have to stand together and unite. You must listen to me whenever I¡¯m around, and you may only listen to them when I¡¯m not.¡± Rong Yan frantically nodded before he could even process what Jin Yiheng said. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Brother. I¡¯ll definitely stand on your side.¡± Jin Yiheng gave a nod of satisfaction and asked, ¡°Would you like to join the martial arts academy? I¡¯ll get Daddy to arrange for you to join us.¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t like it,¡± he refused with a nod. ¡°What do you like then?¡± ¡°I like reading about medical techniques. When I grow up, I must be a doctor like Daddy and Grandpa.¡± Jin Yiheng was instantly peeved and chided, ¡°From now onward, our Daddy will be your only father. If you aren¡¯t genuine about treating my Daddy and Mommy like your own parents, I¡¯ll chase you away.¡± ¡°Brother, don¡¯t chase me away. I really do see your Daddy and Mommy as my own parents. I¡¯m telling the truth. I¡¯ll be filial to them when I grow up.¡± ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡± Jin Yiheng brought him to the toys room and said, ¡°The toys andics in here all belong to me. You may y with them however you¡¯d like, just don¡¯t damage them.¡± Rong Yan wrapped his chubby arms around Jin Yiheng and said, ¡°Brother, you¡¯re so nice to me.¡± Staring at Rong Yan, Jin Yiheng¡¯s heart began to melt a little as the sullen expression on his face faded. During bedtime, the two of them slept together. It was Rong Yan¡¯s first time meeting Jin Yiheng, and yet, he was already treating thetter as his own brother. He hugged Jin Yiheng¡¯s arm tightly at night, iming to be terrified. Jin Yiheng¡¯s protective instincts began to show. ¡°You¡¯re so timid, I usually sleep alone here,¡± he said. ¡°You¡¯re so brave. Brother, can you tell me a story? Grandpa used to tell me stories whenever he hugs me to sleep.¡± ¡°Storytelling is a piece of cake for me. What stories did your grandfather use to tell you in the past?¡± ¡°Stories about the duckling.¡± ¡°I shall tell you a story about old ducks, then. How does that sound?¡± ¡°Sure, sure. Quick, Brother, tell me the story.¡± ¡°...¡± Jin Yiheng began to let his imagination run wild and started to cook up a dark and twisted story for his new younger brother. It started off as a fairytale, which took a spooky twist and became a story about ghosts, monsters, and ghouls. Rong Yan waspletely frightened and covered himself with the duvet, causing Jin Yiheng to guffaw in amusement. It was the very first time that the pair of brothers shared the same room. When it was time to rise and shine, Jin Yiheng picked out a set of clothing from his closet and handed it to Rong Yan. ¡°Put this on first. I¡¯ll tell Uncle Shixinter to prepare a few more sets of clothes for you.¡± He nodded and changed into the set of clothes, which fit him rather well. During breakfast, Jin Yiheng asked Jin Qingyan, ¡°Why didn¡¯t I see Mommy? Where is she?¡± ¡°She¡¯s overseas, she hasn¡¯t returned home yet.¡± Jin Qingyan looked at Rong Yan, who was eating quietly, and said, ¡°Your name shall be Jin Rongyan from now on. I¡¯ve already found you anguage tutor who¡¯ll follow you throughout the boot camp.¡± ¡°Daddy, he¡¯s not interested in martial arts. He says that he only likes reading medical books.¡± Rong Yan nodded and said, ¡°Daddy, I don¡¯t like martial arts.¡± Jin Qingyan decided not to give in to him and said, ¡°You must pick it up even if you don¡¯t like it. This is a necessary self-defense skill and it¡¯s for your own good. Your brother is already attending the boot camp so you must too. You shall begin training today. I¡¯ve already prepared some clothes and shoes for you. You may continue reading your medical books. However, you can only do so in your free time after training. You may pursue a degree in medicine when you¡¯re older too. Daddy will support you.¡± Finding that his father¡¯s words made sense, Jin Yiheng said, ¡°Yes, a few other children in our estate have enrolled in the boot camp too. Come together with us. I¡¯ll introduce you to my friends. We¡¯ll train and attend lessons together.¡± Rong Yan agreed, ¡°Daddy, I¡¯ll do my best to learn.¡± Jin Qingyan was surprised by how sensible Rong Yan was, despite only being four years old. He seemed to be a little awkward when he arrived yesterday, yet he has already made himself part of the family today. Jin Qingyan smiled and said to him, ¡°We can¡¯t protect you all the time. With the skills you¡¯re going to acquire, you¡¯ll be able to protect yourself from now on. You may not like it now, but you¡¯ll realize how useful it is when you¡¯re older.¡± Chapter 869 - A Million Times for You (231)

Chapter 869: A Million Times for You (231)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After taking a shower, Rong Yan changed into his new clothes and shoes. His skin was fair like porcin, and his features were as delicate as that of a female toddler. Fan Shixin took a photo of him, which he then attached to the news article. Before the article was released, the two children were sent to the boot camp. After releasing the article, Fan Shixin asked Jin Qingyan, ¡°Young Sir, Gu Beicheng and his wife can totally adopt Rong Yan. Gu Beicheng would be pleased to do so as well. Why did you ept the decision to adopt him before discussing it with Young Madam?¡± ¡°You wanted to ask me this sincest night, didn¡¯t you?¡± Jin Qingyan asked with a smile. ¡°You found out?¡± Jin Qingyan said, ¡°Gu Beicheng was definitely still unconscious when Xiaoning agreed to adopt the child. She probably acknowledged him because she wanted Gu Beicheng to regain his consciousness. That¡¯s a very precious camaraderie between them. I epted the decision sincerely, mainly because of two reasons. Firstly, do you think she¡¯ll let Gu Beicheng have the custody of the child just because I refuse to adopt him? If you actually think so, that just means you don¡¯t know her well enough yet. Since she¡¯s already promised to adopt him, she definitely wouldn¡¯t go back on her word. Secondly, do you remember why we got our first divorce?¡± ¡°Of course I remember.¡± ¡°It was that very incident that had caused her womb to be permanently damaged. She only managed to keep Yiheng after suffering two miscarriages. She¡¯s well aware that she can no longer conceive now, and she probably wouldn¡¯t opt for a surrogate. I haven¡¯t asked her about it before, and I¡¯m not quite sure, but there¡¯s one thing I¡¯m certain of. That is, she feels guilty and regretful toward the miscarried fetuses. I don¡¯t see any harm in adopting Rong Yan if he can fill the void in her heart. Anyway, we can afford to raise a hundred children, let alone just one. We can definitely afford to give him a good education.¡± ¡°There¡¯ll definitely be lots of discussions about the article. Young Sir. you¡¯d better not read thements online,¡± said Fan Shixin. ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± ¨D Jin Qingyan opened hisptop in the office and stared at the news on the screen. He read through the article, which was written ording to his wishes, and found that it was quite well written before shifting his gaze onto thement box below. The firstment made was extremely hateful and vicious. ¡°A child adopted from abroad? More like Jin Qingyan¡¯s or An Xiaoning¡¯s illegitimate son. The two of them must have gotten a divorce previously because of this illegitimate son. From the way I see it, this child does resemble An Xiaoning greatly. He¡¯s as pretty as a girl. Could he be the lovechild of An Xiaoning and a foreign man? If that¡¯s the case, Jin Qingyan is far too magnanimous. He was made a cuckold and yet he¡¯s still willingly to ept the child, especially when he¡¯s not An Xiaoning¡¯swful husband yet. My heart goes out to this pitiful man.¡± Jin Qingyan decided to create an anonymous ount to p back at theizen after reading thement. He replied: ¡°Do you really think Jin Qingyan is so foolish? How could he not know if she had given birth to that child or not? I really wonder if you¡¯re insulting An Xiaoning¡¯s intelligence or Jin Qingyan¡¯s.¡± Anotherizen chimed in: ¡°Maybe Jin Qingyan enjoys holding himself cheap and insists on being in love with that woman. Who are we to say anything if they¡¯re both willing parties?¡± Jin Qingyan was exasperated beyond limits upon reading thement. He suppressed his anger and tried his best to stay calm. After all, he had already expected there to be spections and castigations made online after the news was released. However, he would not tolerate having anyone criticize his woman! That was what infuriated him the most. He, too, knew how to leavements. He quickly called Fan Shixin and said, ¡°Activate the keyboard warriors. I can¡¯t let those shit talkers go about their unruly ways and let their tongues wag brazenly.¡± ¡°Young Sir, didn¡¯t you say that you won¡¯t read thements?¡± ¡°I just took a few casual nces.¡± Fan Shixin burst intoughter and said, ¡°Sure, if you say so. I knew this would happen. I¡¯ve already arranged them beforehand. Young Sir, just stay out of this.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll leave it to you, then.¡± He ended the call and let out a long sigh. I wonder how my dainty Xiaoning is doing. She should be fine. She¡¯ll probablye home within three days, won¡¯t she? ¡°Wake up, Piggy, stop sleeping. It¡¯s gettingte...¡± He took a look at the caller disy, only to discover that it was Gu Beicheng. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°I saw the news about you adopting that child. Thank you, Qingyan,¡± Gu Beicheng said feebly. Jin Qingyan was pleased to hear his words of gratitude and said proudly, ¡°Although you ought to thank me, I¡¯m not going to ept it. I didn¡¯t do it for you anyway.¡± ¡°I know you didn¡¯t do it for me. I was thinking to myself that you probably wouldn¡¯t ept it and I¡¯ve also prepared to adopt him and treat him like my own. Jin Qingyan, you¡¯re very deserving of Xiaoning¡¯s love. It¡¯s no wonder she loves you so deeply.¡± Jin Qingyan was surprised to hear such kind remarks from Gu Beicheng, especially since thetter was his rival in love. Jin Qingyan grinned and said, ¡°Well, when you were unconscious, Xiaoning had to deal with your rtives and the shareholders of yourpany. She even had to clear up the mess you left behind. Gu Beicheng, my Xiaoning treats the Gu family like her own kin. You and Lin Mingxi mustn¡¯t let her down in the future. Don¡¯t behave like the Jin and Lin families.¡± ¡°I definitely won¡¯t. My wife, my child, and Xiaoning are the only kin I have left now.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think I have no idea that you still love my Xiaoning even until now. You can be her brother, but you¡¯d better stop harboring any feelings for her,¡± Jin Qingyan scorned with a humph. Gu Beicheng chuckled and said, ¡°Hey, Jin Qingyan, aren¡¯t you being a little too petty? Can¡¯t you see that I¡¯m already married and that my wife is pregnant right now? Xiaoning will forever be my family and nothing more. Do you think you¡¯ll get to reconcile with Xiaoning if she really had feelings for me? Jin Qingyan, do you really have that little confidence in yourself?¡± ¡°Of course I have confidence in myself.¡± Jin Qingyan changed the subject and said, ¡°You seem to be getting farther and farther away from death. Rest well and get better soon. Only then can Xiaoning finally rx.¡± ¡°By the way, Xiaoning was taken away by Pei Yi...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that, Xiaoning wille home within three days.¡± ¡°How did you know?¡± ¡°I would¡¯ve gone there to rescue her if I didn¡¯t have that confidence in her.¡± After some consideration, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°There are a bunch ofizens shaming Xiaoning online, spreading false news about the kid being her illegitimate son. Since you¡¯ve got so much free time on your hands now, ept an interview and rify the matter.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± After ending the call, Jin Qingyan picked up the photo frame on the table which held a photo of the two of them. He kissed the photo and said, ¡°Good girl, hurry ande home.¡± ¡ª Fan Shixin¡¯s parents were overjoyed to hear that their son was interested in a matchmaking session! Chapter 870 - A Million Times for You (232)

Chapter 870: A Million Times for You (232)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios They had always been worried about Fan Shixin remaining single for a prolonged period of time. Furthermore, he was their only son, and they could not pressure him all the time. His parents were impatient and anxious over how he¡¯d had no ns to get a girlfriend previously. However, they could not go against his wishes, regardless of how eager they were. Needless to say, they would definitely find an appropriate prospective marriage partner and introduce her to their son now that he had initiated a matchmaking session. Fan Shixin was an excellent catch to most women ¡ª he was earning an impressive amount of money each month as Jin Qingyan¡¯s right-hand man. Not to mention, he was rather dashing and had never had a girlfriend before. He was practically a dreamboat in the eyes of most women. Fan Shixin¡¯s aunts frantically began introducing Fan Shixin to prospective partners upon hearing that he was interested in a matchmaking session. In the afternoon, Mrs. Fan called Fan Shixin to inform him that she had already arranged for him to meet ten-odd women at a caf¨¦. Fan Shixin was greatly taken aback. More than ten women in such a short period of time? Fan Shixin specially changed into a formal attire that made him appear suave and dashing. He then proceeded to attend the matchmaking session. Upon arriving at the caf¨¦, Fan Shixin took a seat by a table and waited for his blind date to show up. Minutester, the first woman appeared. Fan Shixin¡¯s first impression of her was that she was too short and appeared to be only about 1.5 meters tall. However, she had fair skin and immacte features. However, 1.5 meters was way too short for a man who stood at 1.82 meters. After having a chat, Fan Shixin discovered that she was not only vertically challenged but also seemed to have a poor emotional quotient. ¡°My parents have told me about your situation. You¡¯ve never tried to get a girlfriend before in so many years. Were you once fond of men?¡± A sullen expression formed on Fan Shixin¡¯s face the moment he heard her words. He dismissed her coldly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m a straight man who fancies women. Miss, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a need for us to continue talking. If we actually get married, I¡¯ll really be worried about the emotional quotient of my offspring. You may leave now.¡± Hence, the first meeting fell through. The woman regretted saying those callous words and left swiftly. The second woman made her grand appearance. Her face was covered in heavy makeup and she even brought her best friends along. Fan Shixin gave it a pass again. The third woman had a round face and coarse skin. She was rather tall and was wearing a long dress ¡ª the typical way a demure woman would dress. After a casual chat, Fan Shixin discovered that she did not meet his ideal standards at all. The fourth woman was gorgeous and had a killer fashion sense thatplimented her thin and slender figure. However, she seemed to be rather domineering and even stated clearly her necessary monthly expenditure. It was yet another unsessful date. Then came the fifth... The sixth... The seventh... Fan Shixin was mentally exhausted at the end of the two-hour session, during which he eliminated all of the candidates. None of them had caught his eye. His parents told him not to get impatient and that they would introduce him to some other women tomorrow. However, Fan Shixin turned them down immediately and said that he would find a girlfriend himself, iming that he did not wish to go on matchmaking sessions anymore. He returned to Wei Ni Estate, feeling vexed and frustrated. Xiao Huang chuckled and asked, ¡°Chief, how did the matchmaking session go?¡± ¡°None of them was to my liking.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t I introduce you to my cousin?¡± Fan Shixin red at him and said, ¡°Your cousin is a transvestite. She can¡¯t bear any children. Xiao Huang covered his mouth and chuckled in amusement. ¡°By the way, Ms. Bu¡¯s mother returned today. I decided to be nosy and asked her about Ms. Bu¡¯s condition. She said that Ms. Bu went through a drastic change and has be stunningly gorgeous. Do you want to consider her...¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want her even if she bes a fairy.¡± Fan Shixin returned to his room andy in bed, wondering to himself if he had lost the urge and patience to date women because he was getting too old. After meeting the ten-odd women today, he decided that he ought to let nature take its course. He would rather stay alone than settle for a random woman. ¡°Chief! Young Madam is home,¡± Xiao Lu announced, knocking on his door. ¡°What!?!¡± Fan Shixin sprung up and rushed out quickly. An Xiaoning noticed him from afar and waved at him while saying, ¡°Long time no see.¡± ¡°Young Sir said that you¡¯d definitelye home within three days. Seems like he was right.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t inform him about my return yet. There¡¯s still about one and a half hours before hees back. I¡¯d like to give him a surprise.¡± ¡°Young Sir will definitely be over the moon.¡± ¡°Is that child in the Gu family mansion now?¡± Shaking his head, Fan Shixin said, ¡°Seems like you haven¡¯t read the news yet. Young Sir has sent Rong Yan to the boot camp and even released an article to inform the public that Rong Yan is now his son.¡± An Xiaoning felt a warm, fuzzy feeling in her heart. ¡°Oh, alright. By the way, is there any other way to unlock the door of Qingyan¡¯s bedroom besides his thumb print?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid you can only climb in through the balcony...¡± ¡°Okay.¡± She instructed Auntie Chen to prepare lunch, which she then took half an hour to finish eating. An Xiaoning then climbed over to the balcony of Jin Qingyan¡¯s bedroom, only to find that the door was indeed left ajar. She then swiftly proceeded to take a shower. A lot went through her mind while she was in the shower. Truthfully speaking, she did not n to let Xiao Bai bring Rong Yan to Wei Ni Estate, nor did she expect Jin Qingyan to ept him. After all, she and Jin Qingyan were not legally married at present. There was no need for him to... He actually... Of course I¡¯m pleased to see how considerate he is towards me. I must reward him handsomely. An Xiaoning hurriedly sped up and proceeded to dry her hair before picking out a short, sexy dress from the closet. She then sat in front of the dressing table and began applying some makeup. Just as she finished doing her makeup, she heard the noise of a car rumbling. An Xiaoning walked toward the window and drew the curtains open to see that his car had already arrived. She contained herughter and sent Fan Shixin a text to remind him not to let the cat out of the bag. Upon receiving her text, Fan Shixin curbed his urge and remained tight-lipped. Jin Qingyan would usually head upstairs to change intofortable clothes before proceeding to have his meal downstairs whenever he came home. It was no exception this time. He headed straight to the second floor. He unlocked the biometric lock on his door. As soon as he stepped foot inside, An Xiaoningtched herself onto his body. She wrapped her arms and legs around him and began smooching him passionately. Jin Qingyan closed the door and hugged her tightly, filled with eagerness and excitement. The surprise clearly worked well. He lowered her onto the bed and mounted her. ¡°When did youe back?¡± ¡°An hour and a half before you did.¡± She inched forward and kissed him again. She stuck her tongue into his mouth with her eyes closed and said, ¡°I missed you so much.¡± Jin Qingyan decided not to disappoint her, seeing how passionate she was. He immediately began unbuckling his belt without hesitation. An Xiaoning ced her foot on his face and asked, ¡°What are you so eager about?¡± ¡°I¡¯m eager to devour you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so naughty,¡± she said coquettishly. He batted his eyshes at her and said, ¡°There¡¯s more toe.¡± He stripped himself naked and bared his muscles to her. ¡°Are you pleased with the results of my recent gym sessions?¡± She pinched him andplimented, ¡°How supple. Continue working hard, I want to feel your eight-pack.¡± Chapter 871 - A Million Times for You (233)

Chapter 871: A Million Times for You (233)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Isn¡¯t that easy enough?¡± Hey atop her body and hugged her from behind, his hands lingering around every inch of her skin. An Xiaoning turned her face around, locking her lips and tongue together with his. Her body faced him, and she crossed a leg over him, giving him a ready opportunity. The two were breathing raspily and were in a state of exhration, probably because they had not seen each other for many days and this absence had made their hearts grow fonder . When he slowly moved down to her lower body, An Xiaoning cooperated and leaned in closer to him. As he slowly advanced forward, his lips curled into a smile as he remarked cheekily, ¡°Umm... this is remarkablyfortable. I really want to call your mother right now.¡± ¡°Why do you want to call her?¡± ¡°To thank her for giving birth to such a great daughter.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s face flushed instantly, and she thumped her fist on him. ¡°You¡¯re never serious.¡± This incited him to use greater force. ¡°You¡¯re going way too hard, be gentler.¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan...¡± ¡°Slow down...¡± The atmosphere in the room rose gradually with the romantic mood. The sound-proofing of the bedroom walls was good, and the two went on for a long time before they stopped. By then, the sky outside had already turned pitch ck. Both of them bathed once more and changed before going downstairs. As he ate, all she did was watch him at one side with her cheek rested on her hand. ¡°You¡¯re not eating some more?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve eaten already, I¡¯m not hungry.¡± Her voice was rather airy, evidently revealing how fatigued she was because of him earlier. ¡°Tell me, how did youe back?¡± An Xiaoning touched on it lightly by simply replying, ¡°As long as my handcuffs were removed, getting out wasn¡¯t a difficult feat for me. He didn¡¯t send anyone to chase after me either. When I returned, I heard from Shixin that you epted that child.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you already acknowledge him as your son?¡± With his head lowered, he continued eating as he remarked, ¡°Since you¡¯ve already acknowledged him, what else can I say?¡± ¡°Actually, I didn¡¯t intend for you to acknowledge him. After all, I know that you must feel ufortable inside, and you wouldn¡¯t like acknowledging someone else¡¯s son as your own either. It¡¯s not like you have no son. However, what you did really made me overjoyed.¡± She went on, ¡°Qingyan, you¡¯re really great.¡± ¡°Gu Beicheng wants to take care of him too. How can I lose to him? I mean, isn¡¯t it just raising a child? We can afford to do so, and I see that this child is quite obedient too. But you have to promise me something.¡± His tone turned serious. ¡°You¡¯re only allowed to acknowledge this one. In the future, I don¡¯t want to see you acknowledging other children. Don¡¯t let this happen again.¡± ¡°Yes, Sir!¡± He beamed with delight. ¡°I¡¯ve already let Shixin settle the child¡¯s household register. I¡¯ll put the child under my household registry and he¡¯ll follow my surname. Do you have anything against this?¡± ¡°Of course not. But, Qingyan, Rongyan¡¯s grandfather has a serious illness and isn¡¯t going to make it. I think we should send some people to take care of him until he goes and is buried. That should be enough on our part.¡± ¡°Gu Beicheng will do that. You don¡¯t have to worry about this.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll call Beicheng to ask him. If he hasn¡¯t done so, I¡¯ll send some people over.¡± She immediately gave Gu Beicheng a call and, as Jin Qingyan had expected, Gu Beicheng had already sent people over. Since it was like this, An Xiaoning could atst rest assured. After Jin Qingyan had eaten, they took a walk around the house hand in hand. The atmosphere was pleasant and tranquil. During their chatter, An Xiaoning revealed Rongyan¡¯s background to Jin Qingyan. ¡°His grandfather has imparted to him medical skills and said that he especially loves reading about it. His grandfather taught him many words as well. This child is sensible and loves learning. He¡¯ll definitely aplish big things in the future.¡± ¡°Looks like you have a lot of confidence in this child.¡± ¡°I believe in my judgement. Moreover, with him having grown up in a family that studies medicine, his genes are already full of passion toward it. Having a doctor in the family, why wouldn¡¯t I be happy about it?¡± ¡°...¡± After their walk, she returned to the Sanqiao Estate. Only after some babbling with Shi Qingzhou did she finally go upstairs. She leaned against the bedrest and quietly read the book her second Master had left her. It had been some time since she had gotten the book, yet she still had not finished memorizing it. It was the foremost thing she had to do, so she intended to finish reading and fully grasp it. She read her book alone in silence, without anyone disturbing her. She continued reading in one go and finally fell asleepte in the night. ¡ª After recovering almostpletely at the hospital, Xiao Yue returned to work. Fang En did not expect that she would be willing to continue working and was especially touched. The two still couldn¡¯t help but shudder upon recollecting that night in the ancient town. However, that incident had also brought Fang En and Jing Shui closer together. Jing Shui took good care of Fang En on set, which made her rather grateful toward him. As she had more scenes scheduled today and had to wear in the hot weather an ancient costume that had a fewyers, Fang En was somewhat bored. Ever since that night in the ancient town where Fang En had discovered that he had a blind date, she had grown more conscious about keeping a distance between her and Yan Ge. She had be so self-conscious that every time she recalled the kiss scene they filmed previously, she seriously wondered if she had gone mad. If she had not gone mad, why would she have acted that way? As such, since that night, they only interacted when they were acting on set. In private, she became more quiet. Even when she went to massage him, she did not speak at all either. It was like she was apletely different person. Yan Ge noticed such changes as well, but he did not express anything and merely let it be. ¡°Sis En, there¡¯s a call from your family.¡± Xiao Yue passed her the phone. Fang En hurriedly went to pick up the call. It was from her brother, who said that their grandmother had been hospitalized for these past few days already and was in a serious condition. He then told Fang En to visit her. She had to visit her grandmother, of course, but she still had scenes scheduled for her to film. She could only tell him that she would visit her after work. While filming the remaining scenes, she obviously could not get into it and, after the director had called her out a few times, she finally forced herself to get into it. After work, she changed and headed to the city hospital along with her assistant. Fang En came from an ordinary family and lived with her grandmother since she was young. Her parents, on the other hand, had taken her little brother to the city where they worked. As such, she had formed an especially close bond with her grandmother and was gripped with anxiety on the way there. Despite having a tiring day at work, she was still worried about her own grandmother. When they reached the city, they hurriedly rushed to her ward. Fang En¡¯s mother was there to stay over for the night. Seeing her arrive, her mother started hitting the roof. ¡°You only care about your work, you didn¡¯t even know that your grandmother was sick. To think that your grandmother has raised you this big.¡± The olddy on the hospital bed said to her daughter-inw in a frustrated tone, ¡°I was the one who didn¡¯t let all of you tell Lan. What are you ming her for?¡± ¡°Grandma...¡± Fang En went forward. ¡°Hasn¡¯t your body always been healthy? Why are you hospitalized?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing much, just some old ailment acting up. Look at you, you¡¯ve grown thinner againtely. Filming has been tiring, right?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°How can it not be tiring?¡± the elder said gently. ¡°It wasn¡¯t easy for you to be the female lead. You must do a good job. Acting has always been your dream. Grandma will wait for your show to air and watch it.¡± Fang En nodded. ¡°Then, Grandma, you must recuperate properly. Don¡¯t worry about the hospital bills, I¡¯m earning money now.¡± The elder responded in a gratified tone, ¡°There¡¯s still your Father, Mother, Uncle, and Aunt. There¡¯s no need for you to fork out my hospital bills. You should save your money properly. When you get married next time, your parents won¡¯t be able to give you much dowry, so you have to prepare it yourself.¡± Chapter 872 - A Million Times for You (234)

Chapter 872: A Million Times for You (234)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Saying such things in front of her daughter-inw, the elder could be seen as having no consideration for anything at all. ¡°I heard it¡¯s hard to earn money from filming, and you¡¯re the female lead right now. How much do you get from filming one episode?¡± Facing her mother¡¯s question, Fang En replied with an expressionless face. ¡°Not much.¡± Toward this mother of hers, she never had much of a bond. She remembered how her parents had left her in the care of her grandmother and rarely returned home to visit her, much less bought her clothes and good food. As a result, her rtionship with them was rather cold. ¡°Your brother isn¡¯t young anymore, your father and I are preparing to buy him a house. You should know the financial condition of our family. Since you¡¯re earning money, you should help your brother out. As for your grandmother¡¯s hospital bills, you should fork it out too.¡± Fang En looked at her with an indifferent expression. ¡°I¡¯ll fork out Grandma¡¯s hospital expenses, but leave me out of other things.¡± Mrs. Fang was dissatisfied with her attitude. ¡°Why, now that you¡¯re earning money, you¡¯re washing your hands off of everything at home?¡± ¡°Since when have you and Father cared about me?¡± Fang En could not be bothered to argue with her. ¡°You should go back. I¡¯ll stay over to watch Grandma tonight.¡± Mrs. Fang almost could not catch her breath and turned to leave with a ghastly expression. After witnessing the exchange between mother and daughter, Xiao Yue, who was standing aside, felt a wave of emotions surge within her. Fang En sat down and told her grandmother, ¡°Grandma, you should sleep already. It¡¯s veryte. I¡¯ll stay here with you.¡± ¡°There¡¯s another bed in here. Both of you can squeeze a bit and sleep there. That¡¯ll be better.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Immediately after closing her eyes, Fang En fell asleep and slept all the way ¡¯til daybreak. When she woke up, she bought breakfast for her grandmother. Thereafter, she paid the hospital bills that had been charged and paid extra in advance as well. Since her Second Uncle hade and she had to go for filming, she took the chance to leave hurriedly. On the way there, Xiao Yue asked, ¡°Sis En, is your rtionship with your parents bad?¡± Fang En nodded as she leaned against the car window. ¡°Umm, it¡¯s bad. I grew up with my grandmother in the countryside. My parents took my little brother to live in the city and rarely returned. I only saw them once every few years. I was always ted to hear they were returning when I was young. My father was not that bad yet, but as for my mother, she always carried a ck face and never smiled at me. I used to doubt whether I was their biological daughter. But, as far as reality has proven, I really am.¡± ¡°Is the culture of favoring boys over girls serious where youe from?¡± Xiao Yue enquired. ¡°Somewhat, but it¡¯s not really that bad. Look at my grandmother, she¡¯s not like that. I think it still depends on the individual. I heard it was because my mother went through a difficultbor when she was having me. She managed to go against all odds to give birth to me, so she thinks I¡¯m a jinx to her and doesn¡¯t like me.¡± As she had not slept properly the previous night, Fang En¡¯s eyelids were rather heavy. ¡°Xiao Yue, let me sleep for a while. Wake me up when we arrive.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± When they reached the filming venue, the two were about to get down from the car when Xiao Yue grabbed onto her. ¡°Sis En, look. Isn¡¯t that Jing Yang?¡± Fang En leaned against the car window and looked to find that it was indeed him. ¡°What is he doing here at our production set?¡± ¡°Could it be that he wants to use you to create a publicity stunt again?¡± As a safety precaution, Xiao Yue told her to stay in the car first. ¡°I¡¯ll go and get the co-director.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± Fang En put on a pair of sunsses and a mask. ¡°Who does he think he is? Do we have to be scared of him?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Come, let¡¯s get off. If he dares toe near you, I¡¯ll rip him into pieces.¡± Fang Enughed and the two got down from the car together. Unexpectedly, Jing Yang actually walked over after noticing her. Xiao Yue got ready to start a fight with him and walked before Fang En as the two were nearing the set. ¡°Ms. Fang,¡± Jing Yang muttered. ¡°Can I have a talk with you in private?¡± Was this person mad? Fang En was annoyed to the core. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to talk about. I¡¯m not close to you.¡± Seeing that he was about to approach them again, Xiao Yue shielded Fang En from him. ¡°What is wrong with you? Didn¡¯t you hear Sister say she has nothing to say to you? Why are you such a nuisance? The previous time, you tried to pull a publicity stunt using my sister, wasn¡¯t that enough? Now, you¡¯re here at our production unit. Have you had enough or not? Don¡¯t think that just because you¡¯re famous now, you can bully Sis En as you wish.¡± As he was getting scolded by a mere assistant, Jing Yang¡¯s face darkenedpletely. He was furious that he did not even have a chance to get close to Fang En. With her assistant Xiao Yue escorting her, Fang En arrived at the makeup room. Having the door mmed in his face another time, Jing Yang left since he was unwee there. He really felt that Fang En was a wall that was extremely difficult to break down. ¡°Are his fans all blind? How could they like someone like him?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± she remarked, despite having been his fan once. She somehow felt that he had some ulterior motive. The way he acted revealed rather obviously that he harbored evil designs. After changing and putting on makeup, Fang En noticed from the mirror Jing Shui and Yan Ge¡¯s blind date entering together. Since she came the previous time, was she here to visit him again? From the looks of it, Yan Ge had allowed it. ¡°En, how¡¯s your grandmother?¡± Jing Shui asked in concern. ¡°It¡¯s an old ailment of hers that acted up. She¡¯s in the hospital now, her condition isn¡¯t very good.¡± ¡°The next time you go to visit her, I¡¯ll go along with you to take a look.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need,¡± Fang En rejected tactfully. ¡°You¡¯re so busy, you must have many things to do.¡± ¡°So what? I can always put aside my things temporarily.¡± Fang En did not reply to him. After her makeup and hair were done, she stood up and went to the filming set. Jing Shui and Xin Min followed behind while she went to sit at her usual position, her eyes unconsciously darting toward Yan Ge. She realized that his gaze was also fixed on the direction at which Jing Shui and Xin Min were entering from. Fang En retracted her gaze, lowered her head, and looked at the script in her hand. Xiao Yue then passed her a cup of hot tea. The scene that she would be doing with him today was a sweet one where they had to hug. It required her to be in a good form to be able to express the emotions required in the script. She leaned back on the chair, trying her best to lighten her mood. Only then would she be able to be one with her character and be able to express what the character was feeling. She opened the camera application on her phone and switched it to her front camera. Looking at herself on the disy screen, she tried her best to pull off a smile. But her smile came out looking exceptionally stiff... She tried her best to soothe her emotions, making herself think of some happy things. With that, her mood began to lighten and her expressions improved as well. When she turned off the camera application, she suddenly found that Yan Ge, who was beside her, was watching her. ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Her tone was cold. ¡°What¡¯s with youtely?¡± Fang En gazed into his eyes, her face unchanging. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Nothing much.¡± He stood up. After his assistant went forward to straighten his coat, he walked toward the set where they would be filming. Fang En stood up as well and followed him. The director approached them and briefed them about the scene they were filming. After they found no problems with it, they started filming officially. Jing Shui and Xin Min stood behind the director¡¯s chair. As she fixed her eyes on Yan Ge before her, Fang En forced herself to forget everything unhappy and to immerse herself in the scene at the present moment. Chapter 873 - A Million Times for You (235)

Chapter 873: A Million Times for You (235)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When filming began, Fang En¡¯s expression changed and she smoothly delivered the lines she had memorized well. ¡°I think I must be crazy... If not, why do you always appear in my head and stay there no matter how I try to chase you away? I think of you every day when I eat, sleep, walk, and do my tasks. No matter what I do, I¡¯m thinking of you endlessly. I think I¡¯ve fallen in love with you. I don¡¯t want to continue waiting on like this anymore. I want you to give me an answer now ¡ª do you love me or not?¡± Fang En¡¯s eyes were full of anxiety. Dressed in a long, snow-white robe, Yan Ge had his dark hairbed back. He grinned as he stared at her with his beautiful facial features, his brows appearing like flower petals that had opened up widely. The two kept silent for a moment, then Fang En stomped her feet, thinking that he did not intend to answer her. The moment she turned around, he used his strength to pull her into his arms, muttering, ¡°To be able to hear such words from you, I¡¯m really overjoyed.¡± A smile curled up on Fang En¡¯s face, and she wrapped her hands around his waist tightly and closed her eyes. ¡°Cut! Okay!¡± Jing Tian shouted from where he was, and the two who were originally hugging instantly pulled away from each other. The two headed toward the camera to see the footage of the scene that they had just filmed. With a warm smile on her face, Xin Min took out a bottle of water and passed it to Yan Ge. Yan Ge took it from her and screwed open the bottle cap, drank a few mouthfuls from it, then closed the bottle again. For the past few days, they had mostly been filming the scenes between Yan Ge and her. Today, they took a long time to film as usual. They only packed up at nine in the evening. Despite it being sote, she still rushed to the city to apany her grandmother. Other than the driver, she went there alone tonight. While the driver slept in the car, she went to the hospital ward by herself. No one else was in the ward when she entered. ¡°Grandma...¡± ¡°You¡¯re so busy, why did youe back again? Won¡¯t this hinder your filming?¡± ¡°No matter how busy I am, I still have toe and keep youpany,¡± she replied slowly. ¡°Grandma, where are the others?¡± ¡°Your cousin¡¯s wife just gave birth, so your Second Aunt went to take care of her. Your Second Uncle is on the night shift. It doesn¡¯t really matter, I don¡¯t needpany the whole night.¡± ¡°It works out, then. I¡¯ll stay here with you.¡± Shey on the inner bed and turned to her side as she remarked, ¡°Grandma, you¡¯ll be fine. Get treated properly here and you¡¯ll definitely get better.¡± ¡°I know my own body best. Honestly, Grandma doesn¡¯t have anything I can¡¯t let go of, except you.¡± As she spoke about the precious granddaughter she¡¯d raised with her own hands, the elder could not help but shed tears. ¡°En, Grandma doesn¡¯t know if I can still see you build your own family. I don¡¯t know if I can still see the day a good man would take care of you.¡± ¡°Of course you can, Grandma. What are you saying? You¡¯ll definitely live to a ripe old age!¡± Fang En felt upset as she was especially unwilling to hear her grandmother say such words. ¡°...¡± ¡ª Gu Beicheng had originally wanted to post a video of himself to refute those ridiculous rumors, but under Lin Mingxi¡¯s instructions, they contacted a mediapany with the most authority in the industry to interview them at their house. The interview was in the day while the report would only be officially released at night. Reading the report herself, An Xiaoning watched as the reporter went straight to the heart of the matter with the first question. ¡°Ever since news of Jin Qingyan adopting a child hase out, many people are curious about the child¡¯s background. As someone involved in the matter, can you tell us the whole process of the incident?¡± Gu Beicheng nodded. ¡°After I fell into aa and didn¡¯t wake up for a long time, Xiaoning went overseas and found an elder with exceptional medical skills. Almost all of the elder¡¯s family had died of an epidemic, but he and the child have survived in a stroke of luck. The elder is of advanced age already, and his body is failing him, so he entrusted his grandson to Xiaoning, who acknowledged the child as her son. I only found out after I woke up. I¡¯ve also told Jin Qingyan and Xiaoning that Mingxi and I are willing to raise this child together. However, since Xiaoning has already acknowledged the child as her son, she can¡¯t push her responsibility away. Since Xiaoning has sacrificed so much for the Gu family, I can¡¯t bear how so many people are defaming her. The reason Jin Qingyan has made it public was to give the child a status and to let everyone know that he has another son. The child is only four years old and very sensible. I ask for everyone not to hurt him.¡± ¡°We have another question here. Why is it that though Ms. An is the one who acknowledged the child as his son, it was Mr. Jin who made this public? Have they remarried?¡± Gu Beicheng gave an ambiguous answer, ¡°They are two people who love each other and are the child¡¯s parents. This has no direct rtion to whether they have remarried or not. As far as I know, they enjoy the current status of their rtionship. As to whether they will get remarried, it¡¯s for them both to decide for themselves.¡± ¡°Is Ms. An¡¯s address still under the Gu family¡¯s household register?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Ever since the events that have befallen the Gu family took ce, Ms. An has been helping out a lot. Does Mr. Gu have anything to say to her on camera?¡± Gu Beicheng¡¯s eyes glowed with warmth, and a smile broke out on his face that had been stiff before then. ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve already thanked her in private. However, I still want to say that Xiaoning has always been close to me and my wife. Thus, for such huge matters, to see that she¡¯s willing to devote so much to our Gu family, I¡¯m very grateful and touched. She¡¯ll always be family to us.¡± ¨D The corner of An Xiaoning¡¯s lips curled up slightly, and she felt an inexplicable sense of warmth inside. Honestly, on the day she got acquainted with Gu Beicheng, she would never have expected that she would be family to him today. Moreover, there was also Lin Mingxi, whom she had not gotten along with at first and who even flew into a jealous rageter on. Today, to be on such good terms with her, it had note easy. In the day, she went to the training bootcamp and watched how Rongyan and Yiheng got along amicably. It was rather gratifying for her to witness this. The fate between people was that magical. When ites, one should never reject it. When it goes, one ought not to press it to stay. After all, whateveres and goes has its own reason behind it. Picking up the book she had not finished, she leaned against the bedrest to continue reading it. When she had read until her eyes were suddenly aching, she ced the book aside and started rubbing her eyes. As she was doing so, she seemed to have spotted a figure standing by the window. Widening her eyes to take another look, she abruptly sat up and stared at the back of the figure, asking, ¡°Who... who are you?¡± He did not turn back but used a cold tone that exuded a sinister vibe to reply, ¡°Hua Jin, how have you been?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one who sent me the text message in V Nation?¡± she enquired. ¡°You haven¡¯t forgotten, I see.¡± He continued to face outside the window, seemingly having no intention to turn around. ¡°Could you turn your head to let me see if I could recognize you?¡± ¡°When I want to let you see me, you¡¯ll naturally be able to do so.¡± He went on, ¡°Today, I¡¯vee to find you to give you a piece of advice.¡± An Xiaoning questioned, ¡°What advice?¡± ¡°You should never get married to Xi Houling. If the two of you marry, the marriage is bound to end up in failure. In your previous life, you didn¡¯t listen to advice and your stupidity ended up harming yourself and others. In this life, you should learn from your mistakes.¡± These words riled up An Xiaoning. ¡°How do you know our marriage is bound to end up in failure? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re Heaven?¡± Chapter 874 - A Million Times for You (236)

Chapter 874: A Million Times for You (236)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I knew you would rebut me like this.¡± He went on unhurriedly, ¡°The two of you only have scattered memories of your previous lives, of course you wouldn¡¯t know many things that once happened. Why not let me remind you of why I know that marriage between you will be bound to end up in failure. That¡¯s because I know that both of you were cursed.¡± Stupefied, An Xiaoning stammered, ¡°What... what curse?¡± ¡°Of course, it¡¯s a curse that forbids you both from staying by each other¡¯s side forever.¡± ¡°Then we can just not get married, right?¡± An Xiaoning was fearless about it. ¡°You¡¯re wrong.¡± Heughed wryly. ¡°I meant that the two of you can never be together.¡± ¡°I¡¯m really doubting the truth of what you¡¯re saying right now,¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s said in a light tone. ¡°You can say whatever you want, but how would I know if it¡¯s true?¡± The man stood there and remarked, ¡°If the curse isn¡¯t real, the rtionship between the two of you would not have ended up in tragedy in your past lives. If it isn¡¯t real, why would you two have two failed marriages in this life? Do you want to have a bet with me? If you dare to marry Xi Houling a third time, I¡¯ll dare to bet that your third marriage with him will end up in a divorce, just like the first two times.¡± ¡°Since you said that we¡¯re under a curse, can you then tell me who put that curse on us?¡± ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll tell you?¡± He kept his mouth sealed, not wanting to reveal anything further. ¡°As to why I¡¯m in such a leisurely mood to tell you these right now, I can only say that I¡¯m really too bored today.¡± ¡°Can I ask you a question?¡± ¡°Shoot.¡± ¡°What rtionship did I have with you in my past life? Were we friends, enemies, or something else?¡± He paused for a long moment before responding, ¡°That¡¯s not important. What¡¯s important is, have you actually taken in my advice?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± Shey down and remarked leisurely, ¡°You¡¯ve made a wasted trip.¡± Her words made the man on the verge of choking to his death. After taking in a deep breath, he warned, ¡°You¡¯re on your own now, then.¡± Once his wordsnded, his figure disappeared into thin air. An Xiaoning picked up her phone and typed out the content of her conversation with the man into a text message to be sent to Jin Qingyan. She wanted to hear what he had to say about it. Even after a while had passed since she sent the text, she did not receive any reply. Thinking that he might be asleep, she decided not to wait any longer and prepared to sleep. But no matter how she tried, she was unable to fall asleep. Despite feeling exceptionally sleepy, she just could not get to sleep. Most probably, she had been affected by what the man had said earlier. Although she imed that she had not taken his advice seriously, even with her toenails, she knew that it had gotten to her. Whether the curse was real or not, she would verify it in the future. If it was real, she would find the source of the curse and destroy it through any means. If it wasn¡¯t real, then there was nothing left to say. After tossing and turning repeatedly, she only managed to get some sleep at two to three in the morning. When she woke up in the morning, the rays of the sun were already beaming in all directions outside. She reached out for her phone in a daze and looking at the time: it was already past eight. There was also a notification for an unread message. It was Jin Qingyan¡¯s reply to her text message, and it read: ¡°Previously, because of myck of trust toward you, we missed out on each other for some time. In the future, I¡¯ll only believe in our rtionship. I won¡¯t care about anything else. Don¡¯t even mention a curse, even if the Heavens don¡¯t allow, I will fight against them.¡± An Xiaoning grinned as she replied to him: ¡°Honey, you¡¯re so wonderful. I have to watch you properly so that other little vixens won¡¯t have a chance to get you.¡± He replied: ¡°That won¡¯t happen. Only you can make me exhrated in bed.¡± An Xiaoning replied: ¡°You naughty thing¡± before getting up to rinse, put on her makeup, and then eat. ¡°Mother, what are you doing?¡± Shi Qingzhouughed lightly. ¡°Mother thought that since the weather is getting hot, it will be summer soon. Mother wants to make a qipao for you to wear in the summer. I don¡¯t have anything to do anyway, I just wanted to find something to upy my time.¡± ¡°Mother, look at you. You¡¯re a good cook, and you¡¯re even apt at needlework. Why didn¡¯t I inherit any of these from you?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t have to. You can buy such things with money.¡± Shi Qingzhou¡¯s face was much rosier than before. ¡°You¡¯re much more capable than Mother is.¡± An Xiaoning hugged her neck and asked in a low voice, ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve been wanting to ask, why was Mother willing to give birth to me back then?¡± ¡°Because, the moment I knew about your existence, my heart softened.¡± Shi Qingzhou looked at her sincerely. ¡°For many women, when they know they are about to be a mother, regardless of how big of a battle they¡¯re fighting, their heart will still soften considerably. Later on, when I was pregnant with you, I was bored on my own and rubbed my belly as I talked to you. I have to say, you were a source offort to me back then.¡± ¡°Thank you, Mother, for sparing me back then. Because of that, I have everything I have today. It¡¯s a fortunate and happy thing.¡± Shi Qingzhou chuckled and patted her shoulder, ¡°Spare Mother from your sugared words. Go and do what you need to.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t I just stay here with you?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you have anything to handle today?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel like doing anything. These days, I just want to stay home to finish memorizing the book Teacher gave me.¡± She released her grip on Shi Qingzhou¡¯s neck. ¡°I¡¯ve been too tired out previously, I just want to stay home and rest these days.¡± ¡°That¡¯ll be the best. It¡¯s already been a while since Mother has spent time with you. When I saw you so busy every day recently, my heart ached so much for you.¡± Shi Qingzhou put her needlework aside and looked at her seriously. ¡°Mother knows your body is fatigued, so I even went to learn some ways to nourish one¡¯s body. From today onward, I¡¯ll make nourishing food for you.¡± ¡°A child with a mother is like a piece of treasure. But I think I¡¯m still young.¡± ¡°No matter how old you are, in Mother¡¯s eyes, you¡¯ll always be a little child.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning really stayed home and filled her days up with just reading and lying around. Although she and Jin Qingyan still contacted each other through text messages, they no longer met up. They were both adults and had their own things to do. There was no need to be clingy with each other as that would make them both feel suffocated and deprived of their own private space. Distance makes the heart grow fonder ¡ª it was not for nothing that this saying ismonly used. In a sh, a few days went by. An Xiaoning had eaten andin around at home, and she had finished all her books as well. By now, April was approaching already. After being fed Shi Qingzhou¡¯s nourishing products, An Xiaoning gained around six to seven pounds and had more meat on her body. Her cheeks were fuller as well, making her look prettier. Compared to the version of her that was as thin as a bamboo stick, she preferred herself with more meat. After she came out of her shower, An Xiaoning took a few outfits andid them over herself. In the end, she still chose the white one-piece dress. She changed into her dress and put on her makeup, then put on a small hat and slung her bag over her shoulder before finally going out of the house. She then drove to the martial arts academy. Arriving there at 11 am, she had intended to pick up the two children for lunch. However, arriving at the entrance of the ssroom, she realized that there was no one inside having lessons. After asking the teacher, An Xiaoning arrived at the boot camp¡¯s canteen. ¡°Auntie, are you here to look for Yiheng?¡± A clear, crisp voice of a female sounded from behind her. An Xiaoning turned around and recognized the little girl before her immediately. ¡°Yes, is he eating in the canteen?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll call him for you.¡± ¡°No need, I¡¯ll just go in myself.¡± She grinned and walked past Wen Yuechan as she headed inside. Wen Yuechan followed closely behind her as well. The handful of children were eating at one long table, and Rongyan spotted her first. He immediately greeted, ¡°Mother.¡± Chapter 875 - A Million Times for You (237)

Chapter 875: A Million Times for You (237)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Yiheng turned around and immediately got down from the chair, running toward An Xiaoning like a gust of wind and wrapping his arms around her tightly. ¡°Mommy, why have youe?¡± ¡°Mommy wanted to bring the two of you out to eat. But since you guys are already eating, there¡¯s no need to go out to eat anymore.¡± Jin Yiheng dragged her to sit down. ¡°Mommy, the food at our canteen is delicious. Wait here, I¡¯ll go and get a portion for you.¡± She then sat down at the seat beside Jin Yiheng while Long Xiaoxi, who was sitting to one side, greeted her while scooping up her rice. An Xiaoning noticed that she was dropping more food than she was eating, and there was even food that had dropped on her shirt. She took out a tissue and cleaned it carefully for her. ¡°Xiaoxi, you¡¯ve been here for so long, do you feel tired?¡± ¡°Not at all.¡± Once her wordsnded, Wen Yuechan, who was sitting opposite her, remarked, ¡°Xiaoxi even cried out of fatigue yesterday. The teacher said to run ten rounds around the track, but she couldn¡¯t persevere and cried when she went back to the dormitory.¡± Long Xiaoxi¡¯s face flushed instantly, and she red at Wen Yuechan. ¡°Who cried? I didn¡¯t, okay?¡± ¡°You still won¡¯t admit it?¡± Wen Yuechan picked up her chopsticks and ate her food in small mouthfuls. ¡°It¡¯s none of your business.¡± An Xiaoning patted Xiaoxi¡¯s head. Her hair had now grown out quite a lot, and after trimming, she now had a small bob cut. ¡°The track is so huge, it¡¯s already remarkable that Xiaoxi can run ten rounds. Our Xiaoxi is still young, you¡¯ll be able to run twenty rounds in due time, for sure.¡± It appeared as if An Xiaoning had injected Long Xiaoxi with confidence, and her little face brightened up with a warm smile. ¡°I¡¯ll definitely be able to do what Godmother says. Godmother, are you bringing Yiheng and Rongyan backter?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then, can you bring me back, too? I also miss my home.¡± ¡°Then, Godmother will get someone to send all of you back tomorrow, okay?¡± ¡°Alright.¡± At this moment, Jin Yiheng carried the tray of food over. There was a variety of dishes with a bnced amount of nutrients. After tasting them, An Xiaoning found it delicious indeed and continued eating it with the children. Turning from An Xiaoning to Long Xiaoxi, Wen Yuechan looked at them and lowered her head with some displeasure. Ever since she entered the martial arts academy, she had been brought back home only once, and just for half a day. Her mother then sent her back right after. Since then, nobody came to see her. It was as if she did not exist at all. Looking at someone else¡¯s mother, she thought of her own mother and felt rather upset. ¡ª When she reached home, Long Xiaoxi realized that her parents were not around. Out of boredom, she crept into the cab under the dressing table in her parents¡¯ bedroom, intending to give her parents a scare when they entered in a while. But, unexpectedly, what awaited her was a heart-fluttering scene that made one blush. Just as she pushed the cab door open, she witnessed her father pushing her mother down on the bed and kissing her all over. Long Xiaoxi¡¯s eyes widened in astonishment and, using her two hands to cover her face, she abruptly crept out of the cab, giving the two adults a huge scare. Seeing that it was Xiaoxi, Mei Yangyang hurriedly kicked Long Tianze down the bed and sat upright to straighten out her clothing. ¡°Xiaoxi, how is it that you¡¯re back?¡± Still blushing, Xiaoxi removed her hands from her face. ¡°Godmother went to pick up Yiheng and Rongyan, so I came back with them.¡± Long Tianze rubbed his aching back and stood up by using the sofa as support. ¡°Honey, you¡¯re too cruel. My back is going to break from the fall.¡± Mei Yangyang ignored him and asked Xiaoxi, ¡°Today, Minhe isn¡¯t going to school and is staying at home. Do you want to go find him to y?¡± ¡°Of course. I came back to find Brother Minhe to y with me.¡± ¡°Go on, then.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Long Xiaoxi skipped out of their bedroom and closed the door shut. Mei Yangyang hurriedly got down from the bed andy in Long Tianze¡¯s arms, using her hands to help him rub his aching spot. ¡°Honey, I¡¯m sorry. You must be hurting really bad from the fall, right? Honey will help you rub it, okay?¡± ¡°What use will rubbing do? You should quickly use your actions to express your apology.¡± Mei Yangyang pushed him down on the bed instantly and sat on him with a sinister smile. ¡°Heheh, Sir, your littless ising for you...¡± ¡°Come on, as much as you like. I¡¯ll definitely not strike back at you.¡± Mei Yangyang was ready to make love to the man lying on the bed, but out of nowhere, the door was flung open once again. Long Xiaoxi¡¯s head stretched in. ¡°Daddy, Mommy...¡± ¡°Ah!¡± After a pnded on Long Tianze¡¯s face, he was on the verge of wanting to die. ¡°Your Daddy did something wrong, Mommy is teaching him a lesson. Do you want toe and get beaten up too?¡± Long Xiaoxi instantly closed the door shut again, eximing, ¡°That¡¯s too terrifying!¡± With that, she scuttered off. Mei Yangyang then locked the door once and for all this time. Long Tianze sprung upright andined as he gritted his teeth in anger, ¡°Mei Yangyang, if you don¡¯t serve me properly today, I¡¯ll eat you up ¡¯til you have no bones left!¡± ¡°Honey, don¡¯t be like this...¡± ¡°Whining is useless!¡± ¡°Darling...¡± ¡°Hmph.¡± ¡°Baby...¡± ¡°I said it¡¯s useless!¡± Mei Yangyang kept her smile and headed toward him. ¡°I¡¯m done coaxing you, then. Take your pants off!¡± Long Tianze acted like an obedient woman and grudgingly took his pants off. Mei Yangyang could not help but let out augh as she sat down on his thigh, giving him a kiss thatsted for almost an eternity. ¡°Honey...¡± He gazed at the woman before him. ¡°I really want to have you now.¡± ¡°You¡¯re saying it in a too-reserved manner.¡± Mei Yangyang braced herself as she cooed, ¡°Honey, sleep with me... Honey...¡± Long Tianze sniggered. ¡°When did you be so lewd?¡± ¡°Ever since I¡¯ve gotten together with you, I¡¯ve reached a point of no return. You still have the cheek to say this?¡± ¡°...¡± At this point, Long Xiaoxi felt that her Daddy was living in an abyss of misery. She refused to be as cruel and fierce as her mother was when she grew up. Usually, she could not tell that her mother was someone like that. But after witnessing what she saw today, she genuinely sympathized with her Daddy. At the thought of her brother who was at the boot camp most of the time and did not return often, she realized that her Daddy did not even have someone to back him up. What a pitiful fate he had... Thinking of this, she let out a loud sigh. She briskly walked out to find Zhong Minhe. When she arrived at their doorstep, she could hear an angry bellow from inside. Being quick-witted, she immediately crept into the house. The angry bellow came from inside Zhong Minhe¡¯s room. ¡°What¡¯s the use of going to school? You don¡¯t even have an arm, what¡¯s the point of school?! Don¡¯t go out and embarrass me! Stay at home properly!¡± ¡°I refuse to!¡± As soon as Zhong Minhe rebutted him, he was beaten up by his father. Long Xiaoxi stormed into the room righteously, standing in front of Zhong Minhe to protect him. ¡°Uncle, you¡¯ve gone overboard!¡± Seeing her sudden appearance, Zhong Minhe stammered, ¡°Xiaoxi...¡± Long Xiaoxi asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t my Daddy help Brother Minhe get prosthetic arms? Why are you saying this to him? Did he want to have no arms? He¡¯s already upset enough by himself!¡± Mrs. Zhong, who was standing in a corner, teared as she dragged her husband out of the room. Long Xiaoxi turned around. ¡°Brother Minhe, why didn¡¯t you wear the prosthetic arms?¡± ¡°I wore them for some time, but I still can¡¯t seem to use my arms. The doctor told me that because my arms haven¡¯t been used for too long a time, putting on prosthetic arms is useless for me.¡± Chapter 876 - A Million Times for You (238)

Chapter 876: A Million Times for You (238)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Long Xiaoxi tugged onto his clothes and asked, ¡°Why did your daddy berate you?¡± Long Xiaoxi began to panic upon seeing that he refused to answer. ¡°Brother Minhe, tell me why. We¡¯re friends, aren¡¯t we?¡± ¡°Someone advised my father to give birth to a younger brother for me. Daddy¡¯s nning to do that too. I was also initially rather happy about it. However, that person said some nasty things to upset Daddy.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, Brother Minhe, it doesn¡¯t matter what others say. Let¡¯s go y together.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Long Xiaoxi pulled him out of the house by his shirt and went to the house opposite. The two new huskies in the house became the top entertainment choice for the children. The four children had a whale of a time ying with Wang Cai and Fu Gui. Using her camera, An Xiaoning filmed the entire process of the children enjoying themselves. She took several photos as well, all of which she nned to keep as a memento for them to look back on when they were older. Just as she was reviewing the photos, Fan Shixin¡¯s car entered the estate. He alighted from the car and hurriedly walked toward An Xiaoning. ¡°Young Madam, bad news.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I received a piece of news just now saying that the government is boycotting superstitious beliefs, especially... fortune-telling,¡± Fan Shixin said softly. An Xiaoning switched off her camera and asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I heard from the press that news about this matter are going to be released soon. In other words, the government has already held a meeting in secretst night and they¡¯re nning to ban superstitious practices.¡± ¡°How are they going to go about the ban?¡± ¡°Fortune-telling stalls would be prohibited, and those who are capable of fortune-telling will all be arrested.¡± An Xiaoning sneered, ¡°Just what is that Tuoba Gucheng up to? I reckon he¡¯s just thinking of nabbing me.¡± ¡°I spent some money to get insider news, and I heard that he wasn¡¯t the one who raised the topic. It was Shi Xiaoyu and her father. During the meeting, the Jin and Lin families did not cast their votes, but I did some investigating and found out that they had already agreed to it in private.¡± ¡°The Jin and Lin families are clearly aware that I know all the birth characters belonging to Lin Shishi, Madam Lin, and Madam Jin, and yet they still agreed to it? I don¡¯t quite believe that. Are the news reliable?¡± An Xiaoning asked, looking at him. ¡°I found out about it from hearsay too. We¡¯ll only know the validity once the newse out. However, they didn¡¯t cast their votes openly during the parliament discussion.¡± ¡°Shi Xiaoyu and her father must be the ones behind this. We¡¯ll know sooner orter whether or not the Jin and Lin families have something to do with this. Let¡¯s wait for the news quietly,¡± said An Xiaoning, whose spirits were dampened. An Xiaoning returned to the living room and switched on the television, after which she flicked to the news channel. Fan Shixin sat on the other end of the couch and was focusing on the television screen. ¡°I heard that you¡¯ve begun going on blind dates. Is that true?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°None of them caught my eye. I reckon I must have set my expectations too high. Well, it¡¯s mainly because I don¡¯t want to settle for a woman whom I have no feelings for.¡± ¡°No hurry, take your time. Perhaps fate is on its way to you with the woman you¡¯re destined to be with. It¡¯s better to find a woman you genuinely fancy. Getting along well with each other matters more than anything else.¡± ¡°I think so too. I shouldn¡¯t go with the crowd, I should find one I have feelings for.¡± ¡°...¡± Just as they were in the midst of their casual chat, the news channel began broadcasting thetest news. The male news anchor looked into the camera and began reporting conscientiously, ¡°In recent years, there have been several reports and rumors about superstitious beliefs and practices, all of which are hoaxes and shams that have been misused for illegal acts such as cheating the public out of their money. In fact, these are merely psychological tricks and maniption. The government has begun banning such practices nationwide, and all fortune-tellers and swindlers shall be arrested and face a fine as well as a jail term. In order to increase the effectiveness of the ban, you may inform the relevant authorities of any fortune-tellers or swindlers you know of by sending the name and address of the suspect to the email address provided below. Once verified, all informants will be handsomely rewarded with cash. Please believe in science and say no to superstitions for the sake of propelling our nation toward bing an advanced and scientific society...¡± An Xiaoning immediately searched about the topic on several media websites online, only to discover that it had indeed made the headlines and caused an uproar amongstizens. Mostizens expressed their desire for An Xiaoning to be punished by thew. There were also severalizens who talked about wanting to report her in the name of justice... An Xiaoning kept a straight face and cast her phone aside. ¡°Isn¡¯t this what they want? Even if Tuoba Gucheng didn¡¯t raise the topic or initiate the ban, he probably hoped for thew to be passed secretly. How many of the members of the parliament supported the ban?¡± ¡°Apart from Jin and Lin, the rest of the members cast their votes in support of the decision.¡± After a moment of silence, An Xiaoning said, ¡°I kept thinking that Lin Mingyuan was the one behind the criticism about me online. However, it now seems that the mastermind is in cahoots with whoever sparked this ban...¡± ¡°That¡¯s very likely. Otherwise, why would they suddenly decide to ban such practices? No one knows better than the Jin and Lin families about your capabilities, Young Madam.¡± ¡°They¡¯ve caused such a stir with the main purpose of attacking me.¡± An Xiaoning was initially thinking to herself that Tuoba Gucheng seemed to have quietened downtely, especially since he did not call her or take further action. It never crossed her mind that he was devising a n to attack her using the help of others. How could his mother and grandfather have been able to make such a huge impact without his permission? He¡¯s indeed Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s son at the end of the day. ¡°Young Madam, will they send people to arrest you openly...?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t theye up with this with the sole purpose of doing that? Isn¡¯t it obvious? I¡¯m guessing that they¡¯re going to look for some so-called witnesses to testify against me next. Shixin, send the children back to the academy and send more bodyguards to keep them safe. I¡¯m going home now.¡± ¡°Young Madam, why don¡¯t you stay here?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not very appropriate for me to stay here. I¡¯ll give Tuoba Gucheng a call when I get hometer. He won¡¯t allow his dogs toe arrest me if he has self-awareness.¡± She stood up and grabbed her bag, after which Jin Qingyan entered. He gestured at Fan Shixin, who then excused himself. ¡°I¡¯ve seen it on the news.¡± He grabbed her hands and pulled her down onto hisp. ¡°Is there anything you¡¯d like to say?¡± she asked. ¡°No. There¡¯s only something I want to do,¡± said Jin Qingyan, gazing at her with glistening eyes. He cupped her face in his long and slender hands and began kissing her lips with much force while sticking his tongue straight into her mouth, greatly taking her by surprise. Not long after, he let go of her. ¡°Sometimes, we must learn how to give others a taste of their own medicine. Neither of us are saints, and we can¡¯t take it lying down when someone tries to harm us,¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to call Tuoba Gucheng. Just call the Jin and Lin families straight and tell them that you¡¯ll kill Madam Jin, Madam Lin, and Lin Shishi immediately should they send anyone to arrest you. There¡¯s no harm in going all out now since things have alreadye to this. I¡¯ve already investigated this. The Jin and Lin families were the ones who were out to harm you and initiated this.¡± Chapter 877 - A Million Times for You (239)

Chapter 877: A Million Times for You (239)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As soon as he finished speaking, Fan Shixin informed them, ¡°The police are here.¡± The two of them looked at each other before standing up. Jin Qingyan strode toward the door swiftly with an icy cold aura. An Xiaoning immediately called the Lin family without hesitation. Madam Lin answered the call. ¡°Do you guys really think that I¡¯m a pushover? If you don¡¯t want your daughter and yourself to die a sudden death tomorrow morning, you¡¯d better keep this situation under control. Don¡¯t forget, I still remember your birth characters very clearly. Since I could save Shishi¡¯s life, I can take it away too,¡± An Xiaoning said with a menacing gaze. Madam Lin said frantically, ¡°This has nothing to do with us. It¡¯s the nation¡¯s decision.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know whether I¡¯m telling the truth after giving it a try.¡± She then ended the call abruptly. She proceeded to call the Jin family. She headed out after calling them. Upon the sight of her, Team Leader Zhang immediately waved at the police officers behind him, who then immediately rushed forward. An Xiaoning¡¯s bodyguards followed suit. The police officers dared not take another step forward, for all her bodyguards were holding guns in their hands and did not seem to be afraid of opening fire at all. An Xiaoning stepped forward and stood at about two meters away from Team Leader Zhang, after which she said, ¡°I was right. Team Leader Zhang, you¡¯re always so eager to take action when ites to arresting me.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t me me, Team Leader An. I¡¯m just following orders given by the superiors,¡± Team Leader Zhang said with a sulk. However, An Xiaoning could not be bothered to guess his true emotions. ¡°Put your actions on hold for ten minutes. We¡¯ll talk again if you still haven¡¯t received any orders by then.¡± Noticing that she was not at all flustered, Team Leader Zhang immediately nodded in agreement. ¡°Okay,¡± he said, knowing that she was no saint. It was just ten minutes anyway, no big deal. An Xiaoning bent forward to y with Fu Gui and Wang Cai after they scurried toward her. Shepletely disregarded the presence of the police officers. Team Leader Zhang was beyond puzzled to see how rxed she was,pletely unable to figure out what she was thinking. Seven minutester, Team Leader Zhang¡¯s phone began to ring. After answering the call, he immediately led his subordinates away but was stopped by An Xiaoning. ¡°Go back and tell Pan Zhenghui that I won¡¯t help him out with any cases in the police station if any members of the police force spout nonsense to the media,¡± An Xiaoning warned. Team Leader Zhang frantically said, ¡°Of course. Don¡¯t worry, Team Leader An, none of us will badmouth you.¡± ¡°I¡¯d believe anyone else but you, Team Leader Zhang.¡± Team Leader Zhang chuckled wryly and swiftly led his subordinates away. As soon as they left, a deep frown creased An Xiaoning¡¯s forehead. There was trouble again. ¡°Boss, that fellow is calling you again!¡± An Xiaoning took a nce at the caller disy to see that it was a call from the Lin family. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to answer?¡± ¡°Why should I? I¡¯m going to make them panic.¡± She switched her mobile phone off and said, ¡°In hindsight, I really wonder why I even acknowledged them as my godparents in the first ce. I was initially thinking of using their power to scare the Xu family, but that didn¡¯t work at all. I even ended up helping the Lin family, who in turn betrayed me. I¡¯ve really had enough. If it weren¡¯t for my help, Lin Shishi would¡¯ve died back then. If she really died, the Lin family wouldn¡¯t be treating me this way today.¡± Jin Qingyan picked her up in his arms and said, ¡°Let¡¯s not get upset because of them. Do they really think you¡¯ll acknowledge any Tom, Dick, or Harry? Hmph, it¡¯s just their wishful thinking.¡± ¡°Exactly.¡± ¡°I¡¯m thinking that they¡¯ll definitelye and look for you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not seeing them even if they do. The news reportstely are all about us... we¡¯re about to be just as famous as those celebrities who pull publicity stunts all day,¡± An Xiaoning said. ¡°That just means that you¡¯re newsworthy. Although you¡¯ve invested in films and dramas, you can only be considered to be involved in the entertainment industry. The media just love stirring things up and making a fuss over everything. Take Rongyan¡¯s news for example. Who knows what frivolous nonsense they¡¯ll write about him if we didn¡¯t release the statement first?¡± ¡°I want to go home.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll send you.¡± He carried her into the passenger seat of her car while he got inside the driver¡¯s seat. An Xiaoning buckled up and asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t youe home for lunch in the afternoon?¡± ¡°I was too busy with work so I got the secretary to buy some takeout that I finished in the office.¡± She turned to face him and said, ¡°I don¡¯t think that person is lying about what I told youst night.¡± ¡°Did you take it to heart?¡± ¡°Regardless of whether it¡¯s real or not, I must get to the bottom of the matter in the future.¡± Once the car drove inside Sanqiao Estate, they were greeted with the sight of a military truck. An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan looked at each other before pulling over behind the truck. She got out of the passenger¡¯s side, after which Madam Lin and Chief of Staff Lin walked toward her. An Xiaoning put on a mirthless smile and asked the obvious, ¡°What are you here for?¡± ¡°Xiaoning, we really weren¡¯t aware of this matter. Old Lin didn¡¯t cast his vote during the parliament meeting. He didn¡¯t support it at all.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need to exin so much to me. I know clearly whether or not all of you ganged up together to go against me. I¡¯m sure you know it yourselves too. I just want to tell you guys, you¡¯d better not provoke me or drive me into a corner. Otherwise, you can¡¯t afford to bear the consequences. I¡¯m capable of doing anything if you force me to my wits¡¯ end.¡± Her words gave their hearts vigorous palpitations. Chief of Staff Lin had always been an authoritative person whomanded the respect of many. It had never crossed his mind that he would be frightened by a littless like An Xiaoning. ¡°We wouldn¡¯t dare to, rest assured,¡± he said in a tone that was mellower than usual. An Xiaoning did not say another word and walked past them before entering the main entrance. Jin Qingyan drove inside the yard slowly after the Chief of Staff¡¯s car left. An Xiaoning was keeping close tabs on the news and looked out for her name in the news reports. She finally felt relieved after seeing that her name wasn¡¯t mentioned in any of the news. After all, it would be hard to clear her name if she were to be used of being a malicious witch who put the public¡¯s lives in danger. Since I was their main target, I shall see how they¡¯re going to clean up this mess now that they couldn¡¯t get rid of me. An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan sat cross-legged on the bed in the bedroom, facing each other with a chessboard in between them. The pair had a game of chess quietly. There was no need for them to speak much, for they shared a tacit understanding and could tell what was on each other¡¯s minds with just one nce. ¡°You¡¯ve lost.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You lost again.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You lost.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°So silly.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Haha, I won!¡± she eximed in joy, finally winning a round. Staring at An Xiaoning who had joy written all over her face, he decided to be a wet nket and said relentlessly, ¡°I lost to you on purpose.¡± ¡°...¡± They went on to y another round. As the end of the round approached, she realized that there was no way she would win and hence decided to put the chessboard away. ¡°Let¡¯s stop ying.¡± ¡°Shall we watch a movie?¡± Jin Qingyan suggested, giving in to An Xiaoning, the sore loser. ¡°I¡¯m objecting to horror flicks.¡± He chuckled and asked, ¡°What kind of films do you want to watch, then?¡± Chapter 878 - A Million Times for You (240)

Chapter 878: A Million Times for You (240)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Pure romance films.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± They leaned back against the headboard while Jin Qingyan began searching for some romance films on hisptop. The film was a heartwarming story about puppy love. He apanied her to watch it until the end. It would have been the best moments of An Xiaoning¡¯s lifetely had there been no disturbance at all. Yet, there were people who were out to ruin her peace. She received a call from Lin Shishi. She did not pick up. Lin Shishi continued to call incessantly. An Xiaoning refused to answer. Lin Shishi continued calling like a madwoman. She called An Xiaoning more than a hundred times and finally stopped after she got sick of it. Needless to say, An Xiaoning had no idea that Lin Shishi was filled with panic, fear, and exasperation all at once. She had never been worried about this problem previously because An Xiaoning was still her godsister then. However, things were different now. They were no longer rted to each other. Now that An Xiaoning threatened them with her knowledge of their birth characters, God knows what she can do if they did anything to upset her... She was just like a ticking time bomb. After much thought, she decided that she still had to depend on her husband to resolve the issue. Hence, she told Tuoba Gucheng about the matter. Noticing how unsurprised he was, Lin Shishi prompted, ¡°Hubby, my life and those of my mother and our child all lie in An Xiaoning¡¯s hands now.¡± He looked up at her and said, ¡°You should¡¯ve thought about that when you requested her to save your life back then.¡± ¡°Thought about what?¡± ¡°If she could save your life, she can very well take it away. What do you want me to do? Arrest her and have her executed? I¡¯m afraid by the time my people get there, you¡¯ll...¡± he said with a shrug. ¡°Hubby, you can¡¯t arrest her openly. Can we try doing it in secret?¡± Keeping his eyes fixed on her, Tuoba Gucheng asked, ¡°Enlighten me, how am I supposed to do it in secret?¡± Unable to tell the hidden meaning in his eyes, Lin Shishi immediately said, ¡°Send a top assassin to kill her.¡± ¡°What if they fail and she ends up being rmed?¡± ¡°Send more of them and catch her off guard.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already tried to kill her once. I made her drink some lethal poison, and she bled from every crevice of her face. Ever since then, she¡¯s been alive and well. What makes you think an assassin can kill her?¡± said Tuoba Gucheng as he rose from his seat. Lin Shishi eximed in astonishment, ¡°Lethal poison!?! How could an ordinary person...¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly it. She¡¯s not an ordinary person.¡± He said that he tried to kill An Xiaoning once. Seems like he doesn¡¯t harbor any feelings for her. Otherwise, why would he want to kill her? Wait, no. Could it be that his love had turned into hatred? Lin Shishi repeatedly pondered over her thoughts. ¡°Why did you want to kill her?¡± ¡°I had my own reasons, of course. I won¡¯t kill her now.¡± ¡°But... I¡¯m afraid...¡± Lin Shishi muttered, feeling ill at ease. ¡°She wouldn¡¯t be so bored as to kill you, so long as you don¡¯t provoke her. Why do you have to be afraid?¡± Lin Shishi was filled with insecurity, feeling as if she had contracted cancer, for she was unsure when her death would arrive. Pangs of panic and anxiety engulfed her. ¡°Hubby, news of the new ban have already been released, and the ban has taken effect too. I¡¯ve seen manyizens who areining about An Xiaoning on the inte. If this goes on...¡± ¡°You should know whether or not she¡¯s really a vicious witch who¡¯s out to harm the lives of citizens, as thoseizens have made her out to be. Since you¡¯re aware of how truly powerful she is, why do you still want to paint a false image of her in front of the public? I already said from the start, tarnishing her reputation and using this excuse to arrest her is not going to work, yet you guys were so insistent on executing your n. Didn¡¯t I tell you beforehand that this would be the oue? Are you going to give up now?¡± said Tuoba Gucheng, giving her the side eye. ¡°Those citizens don¡¯t know the actual situation.¡± ring at her in disdain, Tuoba Gucheng sneered, ¡°What are you so afraid of, then? Since you were actively participating in causing such a stir, don¡¯t be so cowardly.¡± ¡°I still think you¡¯re defending her.¡± ¡°I just can¡¯tmunicate with you. Go out.¡± ¡°Will you apany me to the hospital for the prenatal checkup tomorrow?¡± Lin Shishi asked, cing a hand on her stomach. ¡°The hospital is so close by and there¡¯ll be tons of people at your service. It doesn¡¯t make a difference whether I¡¯m there or not.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re the father of our child, it would make a difference.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try my best to free up my schedule tomorrow.¡± Lin Shishi bit her lip and exited the room slowly. She was filled with misery and disappointment. ¡ª After going through a checkup, Jin Qingyue discovered that she¡¯d been pregnant for a month and a half. She had never taken any contraceptive measures previously because she was eager to conceive and carry on the Ling family bloodline. Her wishes had finallye true. She first informed Mr. and Mrs. Ling about the good news before telling her brother. Everyone was ted about this news. Mrs. Ling was extremely insistent on having Jin Qingyue move back to the Lin family home until she gives birth. However, Jin Qingyue was reluctant to live under the same roof as her inws, for that would bring about a great deal of inconvenience. Majority of people would refrain from living with their inws since the close proximity was bound to lead to various conflicts and disharmony within the family. Jin Qingyue would consider moving back if Mr. and Mrs. Ling were old, frail, and in need of care and assistance. However, they were in the pink of health and, hence, there was no need for her to do so. Ling Ciye hired a cook to help out with preparing meals. He decided not to hire any bodyguards since Jin Qingyan lived nearby and he could seek help from thetter whenever necessary. At the moment, only their closest kin and friends were aware of her pregnancy. Shi Shaochuan had not been bringing Shi Bao¡¯er to look for Jin Qingyue and cause her disturbance in a long while. However, Jin Qingyue was not nning to wash her hands off of Shi Bao¡¯erpletely just because the rights to her custody were now with Shi Shaochuan. After all, she was still her flesh and blood whom she had raised single-handedly. Hence, she can¡¯t possibly hold a grudge against Shi Bao¡¯er, regardless of how insensible she may be. She would call and talk on the phone with Shi Bao¡¯er on a regr basis, to which Shi Shaochuan had no objections. However, he soon began to get annoyed and sick of raising his daughter all by himself. The reason was that Shi Bao¡¯er would repeatedly tell him thrice every day not to marry another woman or give birth to another child. How was that possible? He was thest male heir of the Shi family. Thus, if he still doesn¡¯t find another woman to marry and give birth to a son, the Shi family bloodline would cease to exist. Although he was aware of his daughter¡¯s insecurities, he did not n to concede to her requests. Shi Bao¡¯er gave him the daily reminder once more today. However, Shi Shaochuan told her frankly that it was impossible. Shi Bao¡¯er was so devastated and furious that she yelled at him and stated that she did not want to live with him anymore. Shi Shaochuan then said callously, ¡°Your mommy has already found you a stepfather now and they¡¯ll be giving birth to your younger brothers or sisters in the future. Why would she let you live with her?¡± Shi Bao¡¯er began bawling loudly and pestered him to take her to look for Jin Qingyue. Shi Shaochuan showed up at Jin Qingyue¡¯s ce again with Shi Bao¡¯er. However, this time, the guards on duty at Wei Ni Estate did not allow him to enter. Shi Shaochuan had no choice but to call Jin Qingyue. ¡°Bao¡¯er said that she wants to live with you.¡± ¡°Why? Did you instigate her to do that?¡± Jin Qingyue asked apprehensively. ¡°Of course not. You¡¯re already married, why can¡¯t I get married too? I¡¯m nning to look for a new wife, but Bao¡¯er has been throwing a tantrum and demanding to see you so I brought her here,¡± Shi Shaochuan exined. ¡°Shi Shaochuan, what do you mean? I¡¯ve already given you her custody and yet you brought her back to me. What are you trying to do?¡± Jin Qingyue scoffed. Chapter 879 - A Million Times for You (241)

Chapter 879: A Million Times for You (241)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°If you¡¯d like, I¡¯ll return the custody of Bao¡¯er to you.¡± Jin Qingyue was speechless. ¡°You... you¡¯re doing this on purpose, aren¡¯t you? Didn¡¯t you say that Bao¡¯er is a member of the Shi family? You went through such painstaking efforts just to snatch her custody away from me back then. I already gave it to you and yet you¡¯re doing this now. Shi Shaochuan, I¡¯m not in the mood to be embroiled in this mess with you. Take the child back.¡± ¡°Jin Qingyue, are you trying to abandon her now? You did give me the rights to her custody, but that doesn¡¯t mean she¡¯s no longer your child. Are you washing your hands of her just because you¡¯re married now? You¡¯re not even going to allow her to stay with you for a few days? Are you even fit to be a mother?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just afraid that she¡¯ll try and harm me again. So, from now on, I¡¯ll visit her from time to time but don¡¯t let her stay with me ever again,¡± Jin Qingyue said bluntly. ¡°Dream on. I heard that your brother¡¯s and Long Tianze¡¯s children have been enrolled in the boot camp. Arrange for Bao¡¯er to be sent there too,¡± said Shi Shaochuan, who could not stand to see Jin Qingyue happy. ¡°Bao¡¯er is not going to be able to take the hardship.¡± Shi Shaochuan retorted, ¡°Why do you have such little faith in your own daughter? If other children can endure it, why can¡¯t she? I think it¡¯s time she undergoes some proper training. Otherwise, I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going to be of her.¡± Noticing how impatient he sounded, Jin Qingyan sneered, ¡°You¡¯ve only taken care of her for a short while and yet you¡¯re already so sick of her. I really thought you would shower her with your greatest paternal love. Turns out that¡¯s all you could give her. Have you ever asked for her opinion? Is she willing to attend the boot camp?¡± ¡°Does she seem like she¡¯s willing to go? Just send her there forcefully.¡± ¡°...¡± Shi Shaochuan continued, ¡°Jin Qingyue, I¡¯ve thought about it carefully. Bao¡¯er can¡¯t go on like this. It¡¯s time she learns to be like other children.¡± ¡°Cut the crap. You¡¯re just hoping to send her to the boot camp so that you can have your freedom again, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I admit, that¡¯s one of the reasons, but notpletely.¡± ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll talk to my brother about it and tell him to arrange a spot for her. Try sending her to the boot camp in the afternoon,¡± Jin Qingyue conceded, thinking to herself that it would be beneficial for Shi Bao¡¯er to pick up some self-defense skills. ¡°Alright.¡± After lunch, Ling Ciye apanied Jin Qingyue to meet Shi Bao¡¯er and Shi Shaochuan, after which they set off to the martial arts academy in two separate cars. Shi Bao¡¯er was unaware of the details, for Shi Shaochuan had only exined it to her briefly. She was frightened the moment she saw the sweaty children running across the field while panting heavily, under themand of the instructors. She expressed her unwillingness to begin training there. However, her objection was to no avail because Jin Qingyue wanted her to undergo some training while Shi Shaochuan wanted to break free from her. Chen Xu and Jin Shan were the head instructors of the boot camp. The former was stern and austere while thetter was much more gentle and mild-mannered. They were the perfectbination of Yin and Yang. Chen Xu started off by teaching Shi Bao¡¯er the basics since she was a beginner. However, Shi Bao¡¯er was extremely impatient and was yelling at Chen Xu loudly inside the training room. Standing outside the window, Jin Qingyue, Shi Shaochuan, and Ling Ciye had witnessed the entire scene and could not help but feel a little embarrassed. She was probably the only one amongst all the children who had the audacity to holler at Chen Xu. Chen Xu kept a straight face and told her sternly that she would not be allowed to have dinner unless she masters the techniques taught today. Shi Bao¡¯er looked at her parents who were standing outside the window and bellowed at the top of her lungs, ¡°You guys just want me to suffer! Are you happy watching me get tortured!?!¡± Jin Qingyue walked away immediately upon hearing her words. Shi Shaochuan followed suit. ¡°Your parents have already left. I¡¯m telling you, don¡¯t you dare throw a tantrum and yell at me. Otherwise, I¡¯ll show you what a punishment is,¡± said Chen Xu, who was impartial to all the children, regardless of who their parents were. Since she no longer had a backer, Shi Bao¡¯er finally gave in reluctantly. Once the children were done with their run outside, Chen Xu introduced her to the rest of them, ¡°This is your new campmate, Shi Bao¡¯er.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t her name Jin Bao¡¯er?¡± Long Xiaoxi asked. ¡°I¡¯ve had my name changed long ago! I¡¯m taking my daddy¡¯sst name now!¡± Shi Bao¡¯er eximed loudly. Long Xiaoxi sneered at her with her tongue out and retorted, ¡°I don¡¯t care whosest name you¡¯re taking. It doesn¡¯t matter to me, even if it¡¯s your neighbour¡¯s.¡± ¡°You...¡± Chen Xu ignored their conversation and introduced the children to Shi Bao¡¯er. When it was Jin Rongyan¡¯s turn, Shi Bao¡¯er gibed, ¡°Since when did my uncle have another child? He even has such a simr name to my uncle.¡± Jin Yiheng rebuked, ¡°There are plenty of things you don¡¯t know about. Must we tell you about them one by one?¡± The instructors discovered that Shi Bao¡¯er did not get along well with her cousin and the other children, all of whom could not stand the sight of her at all. After the instructors left, Shi Bao¡¯er glowered at Jin Yiheng menacingly and said, ¡°I¡¯m the oldest here. Shouldn¡¯t you be calling me ¡®Sister¡¯?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the big deal about being the oldest? I refuse to call you ¡®Sister¡¯.¡± ¡°...¡± Wen Yuechan approached them while smiling and said, ¡°That¡¯s enough, Yiheng. At the end of the day, you¡¯re still rtives. Is there a need to be so hostile toward each other?¡± She then reached her hand out to Shi Bao¡¯er and introduced herself, ¡°Hello, Bao¡¯er, I¡¯m Wen Yuechan.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er looked at her and shook her hand perfunctorily. ¡ª An Xiaoning took a nap on the couch in the afternoon. The warm weather made her feel sleepier than usual. She initially felt that the temperature was just right. However, the first thing she felt was a sudden chilliness the moment she slipped into her dream. The next thing she felt was immense pain. Ever since she acquired her new skills, she had been highly tolerant to the cold. Hence, she knew immediately that she was having yet another dream. It had been a while since she dreamed about her previous lifetime. This time, she was trapped in a pitch-dark room during the dream and felt a sharp pain in her back that spread all the way to her legs. Shey on the hard and stuffed bed and would feel an excruciating pain every time she made the slightest movement, which caused her to break out in a cold sweat. Her lips were dry and cracked. She was parched and yearned to quench her thirst. The sky seemed to be turning bright soon, and she had no idea at all where she was. She forced herself to bear with the difort. An Xiaoning wanted to wake herself up from the dream. However, it was beyond her control. She was clearly feeling so lucid to the point that she began to suspect whether it was real life and not just a dream. However, her inner consciousness repeatedly told her that this was a dream of her previous lifetime. Once daybreak arrived, she extended a hand to touch her back, only to discover that it was badly wounded. Oh goodness, why am I covered in wounds? Who was the one who had hit me? She scanned her surroundings and discovered that the room was not exactly shabby, although the furniture was incredibly simple and basic. Upon hearing footsteps approaching, An Xiaoning closed her eyes halfway and peeked at the door to see that two girls were entering the room, both of whom appeared rather youthful. The two girls stared at her, after which one of them remarked derisively in contempt, ¡°Look how badly she was beaten up. She doesn¡¯t have self-awareness at all. She forgets who and what her status is, even though she¡¯s nothing but a pretty face. Little does she know, so many other girls here are much more beautiful than her. Who does she think she is?¡± Chapter 880 - A Million Times for You (242)

Chapter 880: A Million Times for You (242)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The other girl chimed in, ¡°That¡¯s right. In my opinion, you¡¯ve been too merciful toward her this time. You¡¯ve shown her a great deal of kindness by not dragging her out to be truncheoned, Your Highness.¡± ¡°His Highness showed her mercy for the sake of the Princess Consort, who¡¯s so kind and benevolent. Otherwise, she would have died long ago.¡± ¡°Enough, go bring her some breakfast. It¡¯ll be our sin if she starves to death.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± There was only one girl left in the room. After having made several failed attempts at trying to speak, An Xiaoning decided not to waste her efforts and instead closed her eyes to y dead. The girl fumbled for a small bottle of medicine on her bed that she then applied onto An Xiaoning¡¯s back. An Xiaoning could not continue ying dead, thinking to herself that the girl was about to apply some poison on her. Upon seeing An Xiaoninging to, the girl did not get flustered at all and instead spoke in a kinder and mellower tone than before. ¡°This is my own medicine, your wounds will heal faster.¡± An Xiaoning subconsciously tried to speak and unexpectedly seeded this time. ¡°Thank you.¡± An Xiaoning was astonished to hear her own voice. Wasn¡¯t I incapable of speech? Why can I speak again? What is happening? Slightly taken aback, the girl said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to thank me. I¡¯m just helping you on ount of how you often help me out.¡± She then began rubbing the medication onto An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning initially felt a stinging pain that soon faded after she forced herself to bear with it. An Xiaoning felt the pain of her wounds bing much more alleviated by the time the other girl returned. She dared not ask about how she had sustained those injuries, and neither did she ask about the prince and the princess consort. Another girl returned with the food and handed it to this girl, who then fed An Xiaoning. ¡°Xiang Li, why do you bother wasting your time and effort feeding her? Just let her lie there and eat on her own. She¡¯s not our master anyway, there¡¯s no need to serve her.¡± ¡°I have nothing else to do anyway. Besides, I¡¯ll still have to clear up the food debris if she makes a mess,¡± Xiang Li answered. An Xiaoning finished the food quietly andy on her stomach feebly, barely having the energy to move an inch at all. After Xiang Li went out to perform her chores, the other girl pinched An Xiaoning¡¯s ear and pulled it upwards. ¡°Hua Jin, if you dare appear in front of His Highness again, I¡¯ll rip your ear off and feed it to the dogs. Why don¡¯t you take a look in the mirror and reflect on who you are? How can you associate yourself with such an honorable and respected man like His Highness!?!¡± ¡°I... I didn¡¯t!¡± An Xiaoning retorted, feeling an excruciating pain in her ear. She felt a strong urge to beat the girl into a pulp. Yet, she could not move an inch at all. ¡°You didn¡¯t? If you didn¡¯t, why did you end up on His Highness¡¯ bed? Both His Highness and the Princess Consort witnessed it with their own eyes, yet you¡¯re still trying to deny it!¡± the girl hollered, tightening her grip. ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened either, I was framed. Sis, please spare me,¡± An Xiaoning pleaded, wishing she was dead. The girl flew into a rage and snapped, ¡°You¡¯re clearly older than me and yet you called me ¡®Sis.¡¯ I¡¯m going to rip your mouth off!¡± ¡°Okay, okay, my little sister, will that do?¡± The girl barked, ¡°Who¡¯s your little sister...¡± An Xiaoning was in excruciating pain, feeling as if her ear was about to be yanked off. Without hesitation, An Xiaoning grabbed the girls hair and tugged at it with all her might, causing the girl to shriek in pain. ¡°Are you going to let go of me or not?¡± An Xiaoning snapped. The girl let go, followed by An Xiaoning. ¡°You¡¯re ill-intentioned and yet you still use others of framing you. Who¡¯d be so free to frame you? You just didn¡¯t expect His Highness and the Princess Consort toe back together.¡± An Xiaoning could not be bothered to argue with her and just wanted to wake up from her dream. She did not wish to probe on the details of the past. Hence, she closed her eyes and tried to get herself to fall asleep, telling herself that everything would be fine once the dream was over. In reality, she could not fall asleep no matter how hard she tried. She continued toy in bed like a corpse, feeling immense pain all over. To her fear and astonishment, she did not wake up from the dream for several consecutive days. Even though she had fallen asleep in her dream, she would wake up to find herself in the same ce. She used to wake up soon after a short dream. Yet, she could not wake up from it even after a few days this time. Mother must be worried sick , she thought to herself. How could this happen? This time, not only could I speak in my dream, I also even broke my personal record of staying in the dream for more than a day. Within those few days, she learned that the girl who had pinched her ears was named Xiao Liu and happened to be the Princess Consort¡¯s servant. It was Xiang Li who told her about it, and she had no idea about the rest. Due to the cold temperatures, An Xiaoning¡¯s wounds were healing exceptionally slowly. She noticed that Xiao Liu and Xiang Li were both dressed in thick, quilted coats and realized that it was wintertime in the dream while it was the beginning of summertime in real life. It was freezing in the room because there was no firece, and the nket she was given was extremely thin and worn out. She had an arduous time throughout the past few days and did not see anyone else apart from those two girls. No physician hade by to treat her wounds. The only medical aid she received was the medication that Xiang Li had applied onto her wounds. She began to run a fever after developing a cold. It was a well-known fact that one would feel shivering cold regardless of how warm their body temperature may be. An Xiaoning was already on the verge of fainting by the time Xiang Li discovered that she was unwell. She would slip in and out of a daze periodically. After the fever, she finally woke up from the dream. She woke up to discover that she was lying in bed with her mother beside her to look after her. ¡°Mother...¡± Shi Qingzhou immediately opened her eyes and said, ¡°Baby, you¡¯re awake?¡± ¡°Yes, I had a very long dream.¡± ¡°You really scared me. You were in aatose for several consecutive days and you just wouldn¡¯t wake up. You seemed to be in deep slumber. Jin Qingyan even brought you to the hospital secretly for a checkup, but the doctor said that you were just sleeping,¡± Shi Qingzhou exined. An Xiaoning turned to lie on her side and exined the dream to her mother briefly. She then let out a long sigh and said, ¡°Thank God I¡¯m awake now and I don¡¯t have to be put through that suffering.¡± Shi Qingzhou got a heartache after hearing her words. ¡°How could they do that? That¡¯s so ruthless.¡± ¡°It happened a thousand years ago. I¡¯ve slept for so long, I can¡¯t sleep anymore. Did anything happen the past few days?¡± ¡°That Lin Shishi kept calling you on your mobile phone but I never once picked up. Although the ban is said to be still ongoing, they¡¯ve just been all talk and no action. There hasn¡¯t been any major news.¡± ¡°Got it. Mother, go back to your room and sleep. I¡¯d like to have some time alone.¡± She took a look at the time and continued, ¡°It¡¯s almost five o¡¯clock, daybreak is approaching.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Shi Qingzhou made her way downstairs to go to bed. An Xiaoning sent Jin Qingyan a long voice message, as per her usual practice of telling her about every dream of hers. He of course had to know since it concerned their previous lifetime. She thought that he was still asleep. To her surprise, he replied soon after she had sent it. He asked her who the prince was. She answered, ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I have a feeling that it¡¯s you.¡± He did not say much apart from telling her that he would have breakfast with her when daybreak arrived. Chapter 881 - A Million Times for You (243)

Chapter 881: A Million Times for You (243)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning put her phone down, put on her slippers, and entered the bathroom. She then took a clean shower. She dried her hair with a towel instead of the hairdryer beforebing it. She then changed into a short-sleeved shirt and a pair of shorts, both of which were red in color, and headed downstairs with her mobile phone. After grinding up some coffee beans and making herself a cup of coffee, she sat on the couch and sipped on it quietly. The scenario of her dream shed through her mind. It felt unusually real, and she could feel every inch of the pain immensely. She did not wish to experience such a horrible feeling again. Ever since she began dreaming about her previous lifetime, she had been having dreams about it every so often; sometimes once in a few days, other times, once in a few months. She had never pondered over what it meant to periodically dream of glimpses of her previous lifetime. However, An Xiaoning soon began to think that things were not as simple as they seemed, now that she thought about it carefully. Will I continue to dream about my previous lifetime until the storyes full circle? An Xiaoning had no idea. A questioned popped up in her head: Was I dreaming of the me now or the me back then? She asked Jin Qingyan the same question after he arrived. After pondering for a few seconds, Jin Qingyan looked at her and answered, ¡°That¡¯s a tough question, but it¡¯s still you, nheless. However, I feel like the present you was the one in the dreams you¡¯ve had recently because you¡¯re no longer just a bystander who¡¯s watching the scenes y out. Rather, you felt every bit of it.¡± ¡°In that case, do you think... my actions will change the way history ys out when I dream again?¡± Jin Qingyan chuckled and said, ¡°Are you a fool? That happened centuries ago. Things have long been set in stone. Nothing you say or do in your dream is going to change anything. I think you¡¯ll only be wasting your efforts if you meticulously n to change anything in your dream.¡± ¡°Help me analyze something that I can¡¯t seem to wrap my head around. Why am I able to speak in my dreams now and why do theyst so long? The thing is, why am I no longer recollecting the memories of our previous lifetime from a third-person perspective? Why am I getting a firsthand experience instead?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s more of an experience that your soul has been through before, rather than a recollection from the past. I think that deep down, you actually want to resolve the mysteries in your heart about our previous lives. You want to find out what we were like in our previous lifetime and you want tomunicate with the people in your dream. You want to uncover the truth that has been hidden after so many years. Even though you said that it was tough and torturous in the dream and that you objectively refuse to stay inside, you¡¯re merely deceived by your consciousness, Xiaoning.¡± ¡°You mean, deep down, I do want to find out everything about our previous lifetime?¡± Jin Qingyan nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s the only reasonable exnation that I cane up with. Everything originates from your desires. These are all matters of the past that have been washed away with time. After all, we can¡¯t actually transcend time, like those stories in novels.¡± ¡°Perhaps I¡¯m going to dream about a different scene next time, but I still want to know what happened after I recovered from my injuries in the dream.¡± ¡°You¡¯re hinting to your subconscious that you want to see how the story develops. Perhaps you¡¯ll dream of the aftermath next. I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯m right about it, though. You¡¯ll know the next time you enter dreand.¡± An Xiaoning smiled and held his hand while saying, ¡°Souls would have to drink some Mengpo¡¯s soup before reincarnating in order to forget the memories of the past. Do you think we¡¯re extraordinary?¡± ¡°What are you dwelling on it for?¡± said Jin Qingyan, who appeared rather listless, seemingly having had a poor night¡¯s sleep. ¡°Did you suffer from insomnia against night? Did you feel those strange aches again?¡± she asked worriedly. ¡°Yes... it¡¯s really strange actually. I rarely get insomnia when you¡¯re around to apany me at night,¡± said Jin Qingyan, rubbing his temples. An Xiaoning leaned closer toward him and said, ¡°Just say so if you want me to apany you.¡± He smiled and said in a gentle voice, ¡°Sleep with me tonight.¡± The tenderness of his voice melted her heart. An Xiaoning scanned her surroundings and inched forward to kiss him after discovering that there was no one else around. They held each other¡¯s gaze, and he pressed his hand against the back of her head to kiss her deeply just as she let go of him. ¡ª Mo Li thought that the wedding invitation was sent to the wrong person the moment she received it. However, the courier confirmed that she was the intended recipient. She opened the envelope to see Ye Xiaotian¡¯s name printed on the red-colored invitation. She looked below to see that the bride¡¯s name was an unfamiliar one ¡ª Qiao Yina. Mo Li tried to recall the name but realized that she had never heard of it before. The invitation stated that the wedding was to be held tomorrow. She noticed that her ¡°boyfriend¡± was invited too. The handwriting on the wedding invitation belonged to Ye Xiaotian. Ye Xiaotian¡¯s purpose for inviting her and her boyfriend was to tell the world, ¡°Look, I¡¯m getting married, but she has a boyfriend too.¡± Was that what his intentions were? Mo Li sat on the couch and ced the invitation on the table. By getting married before me, is he trying to tell me that he has also let go of the past? Should I attend the wedding or not? If I don¡¯t, it¡¯ll seem like I don¡¯t have the guts to show up. If I do... but I really don¡¯t want to attend it. Besides, I¡¯d have to trouble No. 8 if I decide to attend. Mo Li and No. 8 had never contacted each other again, ever since he came by to thank her for giving him the shirt. It had been a long while since she had seen him. At this moment, she decided to seek the opinion of her friends. She first called Long Tianze, who sneered, ¡°Who does he think he is? How dare he have the cheek to invite you to his wedding after hurting you so deeply? He¡¯s just like Song Yan and Ciye. Song Yan invited Ciye to her wedding, which he did attend. Afterward, he purposely invited her to his too when it was his turn to get married.¡± ¡°Tianze, do you think I should attend the wedding?¡± ¡°No, don¡¯t give him the honor of having you as one of his guests.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, Mei Yangyang snatched the phone away and said, ¡°Mo Li, I think you should turn up for the wedding. He¡¯s doing this on purpose just to put you in a spot. He must be thinking that you won¡¯t attend it. Actually, he¡¯ll be thrilled either way. If you bring your boyfriend along, he¡¯ll benefit from it since the media won¡¯t castigate him. If you don¡¯t, he¡¯ll think that you¡¯re a coward who¡¯s too timid to bring your boyfriend along. In that case, you should just be the bigger person and attend the wedding. Hey, but did you get a boyfriend recently? Who is he?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t. I just got Xiaoning¡¯s bodyguard to pose as my boyfriend when Ye Xiaotian was blocking me from entering my house that night.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. Just get him to pose as your boyfriend again, then. You mustn¡¯t let Ye Xiaotian belittle you. That was what happened with Mr. Ling and Song Yan previously. They invited each other to their respective weddings. When you get married again in the future, you must invite him too. There¡¯s no harm in attending the wedding. It¡¯ll just prove that you¡¯vepletely gotten over him, lest the media spreads rumors again. Isn¡¯t this great? Both of you can live your own lives separately from now on,¡± said Mei Yangyang. Chapter 882 - A Million Times for You (244)

Chapter 882: A Million Times for You (244)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Thank you, Yangyang, I understand,¡± Mo Li said in a moment of enlightenment. ¡°You don¡¯t have to thank me. Since you¡¯ve decided to attend the wedding, hurry and go buy a gorgeous outfit. Let him know that your life has be better after you left him.¡± ¡°Yes, okay, I¡¯m hanging up now, then.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Mei Yangyang¡¯s words had given Mo Li a great deal of courage. She took out her bank ount card, thinking to herself that she ought to get a gorgeous outfit for her ex-husband¡¯s wedding. She ced the card inside her bag and left the house. She headed to An Xiaoning¡¯s house and decided to knock on her door after much hesitation. She entered upon hearing that An Xiaoning was home, thinking that No. 8 should be present too in that case. To her surprise, Jin Qingyan was present as well. An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan supported Mo Li¡¯s decision to attend the wedding after hearing her detailed exnation of the situation. Feeling much more assured, Mo Li asked, ¡°Xiaoning, could you lend No. 8 to me for a day...?¡± ¡°Sure. He¡¯s on the third floor, you may call him toe downstairs,¡± An Xiaoning agreed since it was no issue to her at all. ¡°Alright.¡± Mo Li stood up and made her way upstairs slowly. There were several rooms on the third floor, and she had no idea which one belonged to No.8. As soon as she took a step forward, she overheard some bodyguards teasing No. 8 in one of the rooms. ¡°What is No. 8 thinking about?¡± ¡°What else could he be thinking about? He must be thinking about Ms. Mo from the 32nd floor opposite.¡± ¡°Hahaha, I think so too.¡± At this moment, No. 8 interjected, ¡°Cut it out.¡± ¡°Hey, but why have you stopped contacting each other ever since she gave you that shirt?¡± ¡°We were never like what you guys are making us out to be.¡± ¡°What are we making you two out to be?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Yun Chen would watch Ms. Mo from the balcony at midnight every day, when shees home from work. All of us knows about it, yet he refuses to admit it,¡± said No. 5. They began guffawing in amusement. Mo Li was stunned and dumbfounded. Does he... look at me from the balcony every night? Why? She dared not let her thoughts run wild and instead stood by the door for a long while before knocking on the door. ¡°Is No. 8 in?¡± she asked. The men in the dormitory immediately put their pants on in a tizzy. Due to the warm weather, it was much morefortable for them without their pants on. Indeed, they were all sitting together half-naked. Needless to say, they would definitely get frantic and flustered upon hearing a woman¡¯s voice outside the door. After a frenzy, No. 8 answered the door. ¡°Miss... Mo, are you looking for me?¡± ¡°I need your help for something. Are you free toe down for a while?¡± He agreed with a nod, ¡°Sure.¡± Once they arrived on the first floor, An Xiaoning briefly exined the situation, after which No. 8 immediately agreed to help Mo Li out. Mo Li thanked him and said, ¡°I¡¯m going shopping for some clothes now.¡± ¡°Hey, Mo Li, let No. 8 apany you and give you his opinion.¡± An Xiaoning waved at No. 8 and said, ¡°Go with Mo Li.¡± Mo Li nodded and, smiling, exited the door together with him. The rest of the bodyguards on the third floor quickly craned their necks to take a look at the two who were walking away. They took the bus there. No. 8 apanied her to a few clothing stores and helped pick out several outfits for her. He even suggested that she get a new haircut. Mo Li dly agreed, since she did have such ns in mind. However, she was afraid to make him wait for too long and hence did not mention it earlier. She carefully browsed through the hairstyle catalog that the hairstylist had handed her. She then asked No. 8, ¡°Do you think a short hairstyle will suit me?¡± No. 8 looked at her tiny face, which would suit any type of hairstyle. ¡°Do you want to have short hair?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to get a makeover. It signifies a fresh start,¡± she said with a smile. ¡°Follow your heart, then. Get the hairstylist to give you a haircut that¡¯ll suit you. I think you¡¯ll look good with short hair.¡± She nodded and discussed with the hairstylist, who then designed a haircut that would be suitable for her facial shape. In fact, a short hairstyle suited Mo Li much better. After the haircut, Mo Li looked at herself in the mirror and smiled in satisfaction. She turned to No. 8 and asked, ¡°How is it?¡± No. 8 nodded and said, ¡°You look great.¡± ¡ª Ye Xiaotian was not in the least bit happy at all, despite being the groom on his big day. He initially nned to remain single for the rest of his life. However, his mother¡¯s health had deteriorated and she threatened to be unable to die in peace if he did not get married again. The most pathetic way a man could live is under the strict control of his mother. He detested his mother¡¯s tyrannical ways. Yet, as the son of his mother, he could not bear to see her die without being in peace. Hence, he agreed to marry the woman Mrs. Ye had arranged for him to. He had only met his fianc¨¦, Qiao Yina, once, and she was a gynecologist. She was pretty and carried herself presentably. The only reason she agreed to marry Ye Xiaotian was that he was extremely wealthy, although hispany had already been acquired. Besides, Ye Xiaotian was handsome and dashing. Women tend to fall for attractive men anyway. Qiao Yina felt that he must have been experienced in life and would not fool around after they got married, since this was his third marriage, which meant that he must have already had marriage all figured out. All women wished to be thest woman their men would have, and they often had a false impression that they would be able to subdue men who could not be controlled by other women. On top of that, she was confident that she could give birth to a son given her excellent health, and especially since she was a gynecologist who was well informed about the various medical technology avable. Mrs. Ye was extremely fond of her and felt that she seemed more auspicious than Mo Li. It was simply because she was much chubbier than Mo Li and had pretty features, hence giving Mrs. Ye the impression that it would be easy for her to conceive. The public were not aware of the wedding and nothing about it was reported on the news. Hence, Mo Li was rather dumbfounded when she received the invitation. Staring at the wedding attire he would be donning tomorrow, Ye Xiaotian listened to the update given by his subordinate. ¡°She¡¯s already received the invitation.¡± ¡°Did she say anything?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Were there any expressions on her face?¡± ¡°No...¡± After a moment of silence, Ye Xiaotian said, ¡°Get out.¡± The subordinate bumped into Mrs. Ye, who was entering Ye Xiaotian¡¯s room. She was in high spirits, as opposed to the glum and forlorn Ye Xiaotian. She entered and sat down opposite her son. ¡°Why do you look so upset? Isn¡¯t it great now that you don¡¯t have to be as busy as before and can enjoy your own life?¡± ¡°That¡¯s just what you think,¡± Ye Xiaotian answered coldly. ¡°Do you actually think I¡¯m pushing you to your grave? I want to see you living well too. Only then can I rest my mind.¡± Ye Xiaotian did not wish to hear her words at all. He ignored Mrs. Ye and allowed her to continue babbling on her own. Atst, she felt like she was talking to a wall and finally left. They kept the wedding low profile and only invited their closest friends and family. The media were denied entry, and all the guests were prohibited from bringing their mobile phones and cameras into the venue. Ye Xiaotian did not want the public to find out about it. However, Mrs. Ye had thought otherwise. She did not allow the guests to take photos; instead, she¡¯d arranged for professional photographers and videographers to film the entire event. Chapter 883 - A Million Times for You (245)

Chapter 883: A Million Times for You (245)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In fact, she was nning to release a few photos of the wedding onto the inte after it was over, so as to announce the news of her son finding romance again. Ye Xiaotian did see Mo Li amongst the crowd when he was fetching the bride on his big day. Mo Li made a stunning appearance only after the bride-fetching ceremony. She was so eye-catching that all eyes were on her, including those of Mr. and Mrs. Ye, Ye Xiaotian¡¯s brother, as well as his sister-inw. Mo Li was donning a pink dress and rocking her new haircut, which was a perfect match for the exquisite makeup on her face. She was ravishingly beautiful, so much so that the bride seemed to pale inparison. On top of that, the tall and muscr No. 8 was seated next to her, looking suave in his ck, immactely-tailored suit. They were holding hands, and it was obvious that they were a couple. Ye Xiaotian did not expect her to really turn up with her boyfriend. At that very moment, his face turned as pale as a sheet. He had been unsure if he was hoping to see her show up. He had never seen her in short hair before, and she seemed to have changed her style. During the solemnization ceremony, Ye Xiaotian could not take his eyes off of them. He watched as Mo Li chatted merrily with her boyfriend, not taking a single nce at the newlyweds at all. His heart was filled with disappointment. It had never crossed Mrs. Ye¡¯s mind that Mo Li would ever get a boyfriend after the divorce. How was she supposed to find one? Which man would want a woman like her? Shouldn¡¯t she be sinking into depression and dragging her feet to carry on with life every day? Shouldn¡¯t she be in a pathetic and sorry state right now? The way Mo Li was living now was a stark contrast to what Mrs. Ye had imagined her life would be. Mrs. Ye was initially nning to release some photos of the wedding after it was over. However, she quickly changed her mind. She did not want the news of Mo Li attending the wedding with her boyfriend to be disseminated to the media and the public. She did not want that at all. When it was time to toast to the guests at Mo Li¡¯s table during the wedding banquet, the bride scrutinized Mo Li from head to toe and toasted to Mo Li righteously, as if she was the ultimate winner. However, No. 8 refused and offered to drink on Mo Li¡¯s behalf. ¡°Lili is currently nursing her body back to health, it won¡¯t be appropriate for her to drink alcohol. I¡¯ll drink on her behalf.¡± Before Qiao Yina could even say anything, No. 8 chugged the entire ss of liquor. Ye Xiaotian had heard No. 8¡¯s words clearly. Nursing her body back to health? Is she nning to give birth to another child in the future? But, can she even nurse her body back to health? Mo Li never once took a nce at Ye Xiaotian and continued to eat the food served at the banquet before proceeding to leave the ce hand-in-hand with No. 8. Ye Xiaotian took onest nce at her graceful silhouette. Once they got inside the taxi, Mo Li let go of No. 8¡¯s hand and turned to look at him. ¡°Thank you,¡± she said. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. The bride was nowhereparable to you in terms of beauty.¡± ¡°Is that so? I¡¯m really d to hear that from you,¡± Mo Li answered with a bashful smile. ¡°One should always look forward in life and let bygones be bygones. The future holds a different n for you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think you ate much just now. Let¡¯s go back to my ceter. I¡¯ll make you something to eat.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had enough to eat...¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t eat much, and neither did you. How is that enough?¡± ¡°...¡± Upon returning to Sanqiao Estate, the pair headed to the supermarket where Mo Li bought some groceries, such as vegetables, meat, and fruits. No. 8 helped her carry the items back to her apartment on the 32nd floor. Due to the warmer temperatures during the summer, Mo Li¡¯s apartment felt just like a hot oven, especially since she was living on the highest floor. She turned on the air conditioner as soon as she stepped foot inside the apartment. She then headed to the kitchen to cook up a storm. No. 8 repeatedly offered to help. However, she declined and told him to just wait for the dishes to be prepared. Soon, the aroma of piping-hot fooding from the tiny kitchen began wafting up his nose. No. 8 could not help but feel like he was in a ce that was just like home. Upon the sight of six fragrant and colorful dishes that she had whipped up, No. 8 eximed in awe, ¡°I never knew you were such a great cook.¡± ¡°I used to cook often.¡± She removed her apron and opened a bottle of alcohol that they had bought from the supermarket earlier on. She then poured him some alcohol and said, ¡°There are no outsiders here. Let¡¯s have an enjoyable meal by ourselves.¡± They chatted and drank while savoring the food. The next thing they knew, they had already finished more than half the bottle of liquor. One would tend to be more courageous when speaking after having a drop too much to drink. Mo Li began baring her innermost thoughts and pouring her heart and soul to No. 8, finally having someone to air her grievances to. ¡°If I could restart my life, I¡¯d definitely stay far, far away from Ye Xiaotian. I was too young and foolish when I was 18. Later on in life, I married Byron, thinking to myself that I had finally found happiness. After all, I expected him to be more mature since he was a lot older than me. Yet, it turned out that he was interested in men.¡± She finished the liquor in her ss and continued, ¡°I finally get to live like a human should now. However, I also understand that no good man would love me again. Who would want a woman like me? I¡¯m not Mei Yangyang, I don¡¯t have Long Tianze. I¡¯m not Jin Qingyue, I don¡¯t have Ling Ciye. I¡¯m not An Xiaoning, I don¡¯t have Jin Qingyan. I really wish I could be like Jin Qingyue and find a man who doesn¡¯t mind my past and truly loves and epts me for who I am... I can no longer find a man like that anymore.¡± No. 8¡¯s eyes began to get a little ssed over due to how tipsy he was. After listening to her rant, he said out of the blue, ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, we can be together... but I¡¯ve had a horrible past too, you mustn¡¯t mind me.¡± Mo Li smiled and said, ¡°Let¡¯s not mind each other...¡± Upon hearing her words, he rose from his seat while she looked up at him in puzzlement. He walked toward Mo Li and pulled her up. At this point, she could not even stand on her feet steadily. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I want to hug you.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, he pulled her into an embrace. Mo Li could hear his heart beating loudly amidst the silence of the room. She looked at a corner and remained as still as a statue. They then hugged each other and dozed off together. When she woke up again, Mo Li stared at him, teary-eyed. She gazed at him quietly until he opened his eyes. They held each other¡¯s gazes, after which No. 8 asked, ¡°Are you regretting it now? Do you not want to admit it anymore?¡± ¡°Why did you say that? Were you being serious?¡± ¡°Do you think I¡¯m joking?¡± Shaking her head, Mo Li answered, ¡°I just wanted to make sure.¡± He stroked the hair near her forehead and said, ¡°I¡¯m serious about you.¡± ¡°Are you willing even if I can¡¯t give birth to children in the future?¡± she asked. ¡°I understand your conditionpletely. I¡¯m also aware that you probably won¡¯t be able to conceive again.¡± Mo Li said meekly, ¡°I can¡¯t conceive anymore. I¡¯ll give you three days to consider your decision again. Maybe you¡¯re just being rash now. I don¡¯t want you to have any regrets. I¡¯ll hear your answer again in three days. Come and look for me again if you haven¡¯t changed your mind.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡ª Lin Shishi continuously tried to call An Xiaoning, but to no avail. In a moment of pique, she headed to An Xiaoning¡¯s doorstep, using the excuse of visiting her maiden family. This time, An Xiaoning allowed her to enter. As soon as she entered, she was greeted with the sight of An Xiaoning dressed in a white crocheted blouse, sitting on the couch and reading a book. An Xiaoning did not bother looking her in the eye at all. Lin Shishi sat down opposite her and took a nce at the book in her hand, only to discover that it was a romance novel. ¡°You also read novels?¡± Chapter 884 - A Million Times for You (246) Chapter 884: A Million Times for You (246) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I prefer reading novels to watching television drama series. At least the storyline wouldn¡¯t ruin my impression of the main character. What¡¯s not to love?¡± ¡°If everyone thinks like you, the television series you invested in is going to take a loss.¡± An Xiaoning put her book down and said, ¡°I cast all my favorite actors and actresses in the television series I invested in. But of course, there are bound to be lovers and haters, be it a television series or a novel. There are even people who dislike money, let alone such stuff.¡± ¡°Are there actually people who don¡¯t like money?¡± ¡°Of course there are. Anything is possible in this world. Just because you haven¡¯t seen it before, doesn¡¯t mean it does not exist.¡± An Xiaoning raised her chin slightly and continued, ¡°What¡¯s your purpose for blowing up my phone and making a trip all the way down to my humble abode by your pregnant self?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t havee here if you had answered my calls. Why didn¡¯t you pick up when I tried to call you?¡± Lin Shishi questioned in a hostile manner. ¡°Why must I answer? The phone belongs to me. I just refuse to answer calls from people I dislike. Who are you to say anything?¡± ¡°You...¡± Reminded of her mother¡¯s instructions, Lin Shishi mellowed her tone and said, ¡°Sister, my mother and I didn¡¯t say anything at the Autumn Pce previously. You may have severed ties with us, but we, the Lin family, had nothing to do with the government¡¯s decision to impose a ban on superstitions. The harem is not allowed to interfere with political matters. I¡¯m just an expectant mother, how could I possibly be involved in the president¡¯s decisions?¡± ¡°That has happened so long ago. Is there any point in bringing it up again? You came here solely because you¡¯re afraid that I¡¯d do something to you. What¡¯s the matter? Are you afraid now?¡± An Xiaoning questioned, keeping her eyes fixed on her. ¡°I won¡¯t touch you if you don¡¯ty a finger on me and my mother. We won¡¯t provoke or incur each other¡¯s wrath. Alright?¡± said Lin Shishi, sounding rather servile. An Xiaoning said indifferently, ¡°It must be hard for you to have to speak to me so politely. I know clearly who¡¯s out to make my life difficult. No secret can be kept forever. Don¡¯t try any funny tricks with me. Otherwise, I¡¯ll make sure to drive you to your wit¡¯s end.¡± ¡°I naturally wouldn¡¯t dig my own grave.¡± ¡°Women who enter the Autumn Pce really do change, regardless of how innocent they may have been at the start. I really do miss the person you used to be before you married into the Tuoba family. However, time has passed and everything has changed. You and your family are no more than strangers to me now. Please leave.¡± Having understood what An Xiaoning meant, Lin Shishi decided to leave despite having only arrived less than ten minutes ago. She knew that there would be no point in saying anything further. An Xiaoning slouched on the couch while No. 5 hurriedly came in from outside. ¡°Sis, stop reading novels. Hurry and go on the inte. There¡¯s a bunch of retards who have created a group online to protest against YouCam iming that you¡¯re the top swindler in the fortune-telling world. They even threatened to continue causing a stir until the government decides to execute you.¡± She nced at No. 5 and said nonchntly, ¡°Oh, I see. Well, you¡¯ve already said that they¡¯re a bunch of retards. What¡¯s the point of wasting our time on those people?¡± No. 5 sighed and said, ¡°How could there be such retarded kids...¡± ¡°Parents nowadays are all preupied with making money, such that they don¡¯t even educate their children properly. There are too many students and too few teachers in schools. The teachers can¡¯t possibly focus on every single one. As a result, the children have gotten used to being spoiled. If I have to snap back at every single one of my haters, won¡¯t I be exhausted since there are so many of them? The very fact that they¡¯re criticizing me so vehemently just goes to show that their lives would be purposeless without me. The fact that I¡¯m ignoring them just means that I don¡¯t need them in my life at all. So, what¡¯s the point of getting myself upset unnecessarily? One should avoid being too sensitive to other¡¯s opinions, lest you end up bringing sorrow to yourself,¡± said An Xiaoning, keeping her eyes fixed on the book. No. 5 had a great amount of respect for An Xiaoning and her nonchnt attitude toward her haters. ¡°I guess that¡¯s the mindset of many celebrities too.¡± ¡°One ought to be able to withstand pressure and criticism, regardless of whether they¡¯re a celebrity or not.¡± An Xiaoning took a look at the time to see that it was already five o¡¯clock in the afternoon. She closed the book and stood up swiftly. ¡°I¡¯m going to Wei Ni Estate now. You don¡¯t have to follow me.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± To An Xiaoning¡¯s surprise, Jin Qingyan was already home when she arrived at Wei Ni Estate. ¡°Why are you home so early?¡± ¡°There wasn¡¯t much to do at the office today so I decided toe home early. Well, thepany belongs to me anyway. I get to decide what time I knock off from work.¡± ¡°Wow, our big boss is so willful today. I got my bodyguards to send Bei Qi here. How did you settle him?¡± ¡°How would you like me to settle him?¡± ¡°Give him a small house to live in by himself, as well as a chemistryb. This man is very capable. I should be able to get what I want from him.¡± Jin Qingyan nodded and asked, ¡°Could you tell me what kind of chemical you want him to concoct?¡± ¡°A chemical that would aid me in dealing with the Tuoba family,¡± she whispered into his ear. ¡°I want the Tuoba family to never be able to threaten the two of us. I also want Shi Xiaoyu to pay the price for everything that she had done.¡± ¡°Are you still thinking of taking revenge?¡± ¡°Tuoba Gucheng negotiated with me previously and told me not to kill his mother so long as she doesn¡¯ty a finger on me. However, in reality, both he and his mother want me dead. Even if he doesn¡¯t kill me now, we can¡¯t be sure about what happens in the future. I must take necessary precautions.¡± Jin Qingyan said in approval, ¡°I support you. Do you know why I love you so much?¡± ¡°Why?¡± He rubbed his nose against hers affectionately and answered, ¡°Because I can¡¯t find another woman like you. Before I met you, I used to think that my future wife would perhaps be a goody-two-shoes, or a talented woman, or a ravishing beauty, or a bookworm. However, after falling in love with you, I realized that my imagination was far too narrow. Even if the clone was physically identical to you and had the same voice as you, she can never be you. Your soul is what attracts me the most.¡± An Xiaoning leaned forward and pinned him onto the couch. Feeling something unusual, she stroked the bulge in his pants and burst intoughter. ¡°We didn¡¯t even do anything, and you already have a reaction?¡± ¡°My body began reacting the moment I saw you.¡± Despite knowing that he was lying, she still blushed red with shyness and sat up straight. ring at him, she asked, ¡°Where did you learn to get such a glib tongue?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a self-taught talent.¡± He pulled her forcefully, causing her to fall forward onto him. An Xiaoning waspletely caught off guard andnded face first onto his neck, her lips pressing tightly onto his skin. She decided to be yful and stuck her tongue out to lick him. He chuckled and teased, ¡°You want me to want you in the living room?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Why did you seduce me, then? If you arouse me again, I¡¯ll do you right here.¡± An Xiaoning looked up at him and said, ¡°The living room is a public space, the servants and Auntie Chen will pass by often. Are you sure you want tomit a crime here?¡± ¡°Are you challenging my bravery?¡± he asked with raised brows. As long as she said ¡°yes,¡± he would get intimate with her there and then. ¡°No, this is your territory. Who¡¯d dare to stop you even if you decide to act atrociously?¡± Chapter 885 - A Million Times for You (247)

Chapter 885: A Million Times for You (247)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He turned to the side with one arm supporting his head and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to M Nation tomorrow.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°My father went to M Nation to gamble...¡± ¡°Your father is so willful. Isn¡¯t S Nation good enough for him? Why don¡¯t you just send some people to bring him back?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not finished yet. He went to thergest casino in M Nation and even provoked the local mafia boss. I have to settle it for him.¡± ¡°Shall I go with you?¡± He held her hand and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, I can handle it myself. Wait for me at home.¡± ¨D Fang En happened to be filming her scenes when her grandmother slipped into a critical condition. However, Fang En had no choice but to finish filming her scenes before leaving. Due to the fact that she was genuinely feeling devastated, she incorporated her true emotions into the tear-jerking scenes that she was supposed to act out. As a result, there were no bad takes at all, greatly pleasing the director. When changing out of her costume, the first thing she thought about was what her grandmother had said to her a few days ago. Hence, she decided to look for Jing Shui. Jing Shui was the only one who could help her. Fang En ran to the film set and quietly pulled him aside before asking, ¡°Can you follow me to the hospital?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have time now...¡± said Jing Shui, who really wanted to apany her but unfortunately had too much work on his hands. Fang En had no idea who else she could look for. Tears welled up in her eyes as she answered feebly, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter...¡± She was not the type topel others against their wishes. She took a look at the time and hurriedly scurried toward the nanny van. Her grandmother was waiting for her when she finally arrived at the hospital. She stepped forward and greeted her. Fang En¡¯s grandmother waspletely drained from battling her illness and was now on her veryst breath. Her condition was critical and not in the least bit optimistic at all. ¡°En...¡± Upon seeing her granddaughter, she struggled to open her eyes and raised her hand slowly. Fang En held her grandmother¡¯s hand and said, ¡°I¡¯m here, Grandma. Is there anything you¡¯d like to say?¡± ¡°What I want is to see you getting married and bearing children, but I won¡¯t live to see that day. En, once I¡¯m gone, you must live well...¡± Tears and mucus began to flow from Fang En¡¯s eyes and nose. Choking in between sobs, she said, ¡°No, Grandma, don¡¯t leave me. I won¡¯t let you go.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to leave either. I¡¯ve yet to see my precious granddaughter in a beautiful wedding gown...¡± At this moment, the door of the hospital ward opened, and in came a tall and handsome man who had turned heads in the ward. Upon the sight of Yan Ge, Fang En immediately grabbed his hand and said to her grandmother, ¡°Grandma, this is my boyfriend. I haven¡¯t had the time to tell you about him.¡± The elderlydy smiled and asked, ¡°Really?¡± Fang En nodded and said, ¡°Yes, he pampers and dotes on me a lot.¡± She cocked her head sideways to look at Yan Ge and said, ¡°Right?¡± Seemingly understanding her intentions, Yan Ge nodded and said, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be good to En from now on. Rest assured, Grandma.¡± The elderlydy nodded with a smile as her breath began to quicken. Finally, she breathed herst breath and passed on, leaving the sobbing Fang En deep in anguish and misery. Fang Enid her head on her grandmother¡¯s body and began bawling loudly. On the other hand, her son and daughter-inw were much less emotional and affected. Fang En¡¯s father carried his mother¡¯s corpse and prepared to go home. Not wishing for her family members to get the wrong idea and bring about trouble for Yan Ge, Fang En rified, ¡°Thank you for helping me out and letting my grandma go in peace.¡± ¡°Is he not your boyfriend?¡± Mrs. Fang asked. ¡°No, we¡¯re just colleagues.¡± Fang En then looked at Yan Ge and said, ¡°I¡¯m very grateful that you came to see my grandmother, but it¡¯s time you return to the set. Help me apply for a day¡¯s leave too. I¡±ll return after the funeral.¡± Noticing the agony on her face, Yan Ge handed her some tissue paper and said, ¡°My condolences.¡± Grief-stricken, Fang En nodded and wiped her face with the tissue paper before turning around to leave. When Yan Ge returned, Xiao Li asked in puzzlement, ¡°Brother, why did you visit her grandmother at the hospital?¡± ¡°Do you have a problem with that?¡± ¡°No, I just... don¡¯t get it.¡± ¡°What do you not understand?¡± ¡°You had an awful expression on your face when you heard that she had asked Co-director Jing to apany her to the hospital. Afterward, you even followed her there... although she didn¡¯t ask you to at all.¡± Yan Ge closed his eyes and said, ¡°She just didn¡¯t dare to ask me, for fear that I would reject her.¡± ¡°I think so too, actually. If she asked for your help, you would have very likely rejected her.¡± ¡°Is that so? We¡¯re colleagues, I¡¯d agree to help her with such a situation.¡± ¡°Brother, do we return to the set straight?¡± ¡°No, I won¡¯t be going there today. I¡¯ll make a trip home instead,¡± said Yan Ge upon recalling his mother¡¯s words. ¡°Alright.¡± As soon as Yan Ge arrived home, he was greeted with the sight of his matchmaking partner, Xin Min, and her parents. Yan Ge¡¯s parents were in the midst of a joyous conversation with them. Upon his arrival, Mrs. Yan hurriedly said, ¡°Son, your Uncle and Auntie have been here for a long while. Why are you home sote?¡± ¡°I was busy filming,¡± he answered while taking a seat. ¡°Your father and I were discussing your engagement with Xin Min¡¯s parents. Son, roughly when will filming for this television series end?¡± ¡°We still have about two more months to go before filming ends. It¡¯ll take even more time for the series to air because of the post-production procedures. Filming takes longer for television series.¡± ¡°How long will that be, then?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not too sure, but it¡¯ll take several months at the very least.¡± After some thought, Mrs. Yan said, ¡°How about we arrange for you and Xin Min to get married on the 1st of May next year? There¡¯ll be more than enough time then. Perhaps by then, the television series would have finished airing. Take this time to get to know each other better and interact more often. Old Xin, what do you think?¡± Mr. Xin nodded and said, ¡°That works for me. How about you, Honey?¡± ¡°The 1st of May next year is a good date. It¡¯s settled then,¡± said Mrs. Xin. ¡°Alright, sure. Since it¡¯s settled, Old Yan and I shall send the betrothal gifts over to your ce soon.¡± Mrs. Yan was over the moon, for she had always been worried about her 33-year-old son¡¯s marriage. However, she had been trying not to pressure him, for fear that she would get in the way of his acting career. Now that he had already made a name for himself, why should he wait any longer to get married? Coincidentally, there happened to be a girl who waspatible with Yan Ge in terms of socio-economic background, and she was to the liking of Mrs. Yan. Hence, she thought it would be a good choice for him to settle down. Yan Ge remained silent throughout, for he did not have much of an opinion about the engagement. He had also interacted with Xin Min previously and found that she was rather gentle and kind-hearted. Moreover, she was the ideal daughter-inw for his mother. After working in the entertainment industry for so long, he yearned to have a wife who did not belong to the industry. He could not help but feel a strange sense of mncholy now that he was finally engaged. Perhaps it was mainly because he and Xin Min were not truly in love with each other. He constantly reminded himself that he was not getting any younger and was way past the age of marrying for the sake of love. Hence, he ought to find a woman who¡¯s educated, knowledgeable, kind-hearted, and understanding. It so happened that Xin Min fit that criteria too. He decided not to hold high hopes for love, for that was a feeling that only young men in their twenties should feel. It¡¯s not like he had never been in a rtionship before anyway. Chapter 886 - A Million Times for You (248)

Chapter 886: A Million Times for You (248)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jing Shui attended the funeral, which was held at Fang En¡¯s family home. He left after the burial ceremony. Fang En returned to the production unit after handling her grandmother¡¯s funeral matters. The funeral was initially supposed to be held for three days. However, it was cut short due to the rising temperatures. Just as she returned, she heard about Yan Ge¡¯s uing wedding from Jing Shui. Fang En nodded and did not make anyments after hearing about it. She headed to the makeup room and sat down beside Yan Ge, who was having his makeup done, the moment she saw him. The stylists in the makeup room began helping her do her makeup and hair. She stared at her reflection in the mirror and noticed that her eyelids were swollen and that she was looking rather haggard. Clearly, she had suffered a huge blow from her grandmother¡¯s death. ¡°En, you have to try and reduce the swelling in your eyes after today¡¯s filming. It¡¯s very swollen.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, we¡¯re mostly filming crying scenes now anyway,¡± she said feebly. The makeup artist did not say anything else after hearing her answer. After having their hair and makeup done, Fang En and Yan Ge headed to the filming location together with their assistants. Neither of them said a word to each other. Once she sat down on the chair, she sent him a text message that read: ¡°I heard you¡¯re getting married in May next year. Is that true?¡± He looked at her and replied to her text: ¡°Yes. Rest assured, the news of my engagement won¡¯t be leaked before the television series begins airing.¡± After some thought, she replied: ¡°Seems like I can¡¯t give you massages anymore from now on. This is unavoidable. I hope to seek your understanding.¡± He nced at her and replied: ¡°What has the massage got to do with the inevitability?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but you already have a fianc¨¦e. It won¡¯t be appropriate for me to have any physical contact with you outside of filming.¡± He snorted and sneered: ¡°Why didn¡¯t you find it inappropriate when you added the kissing scene?¡± She was speechless, although she had already made up her mind not to give him any more massages. Noticing that he was still holding onto his phone, she sent him another text saying: ¡°I¡¯d like to get married too.¡± ¡°You¡¯re still so young, what¡¯s the hurry? No actress would want to get married just after debuting as a female lead.¡± ¡°If there¡¯s a suitable partner for me, I¡¯ll get married once we finish filming for this series. There aren¡¯t any at the moment, so I guess I¡¯ll just have to wait for him to make an appearance in my life.¡± ¡°Were you shocked to hear that I was getting married in May next year?¡± ¡°No, I already knew beforehand that Ms. Xin was your blind date. It¡¯s not surprising that you¡¯re getting married. I just felt really devastated for a brief moment.¡± After deleting the messages, she handed the phone to Xiao Yue and continued to focus on reading her script. Yan Ge turned to look at her before staring at the content on his screen with deep mncholy in his eyes. ¨D Upon returning home from work, Mo Li sat down on the bench to take a break as usual. Recalling the conversation that she had overheard on the third floor of An Xiaoning¡¯s house, she abruptly looked up at the balcony on the third floor. She caught sight of No. 8¡¯s silhouette under the light of the streetmp. The distance between them was neither near nor far. They held each other¡¯s gazes, after which No. 8 smiled at her. Mo Li stared at him, her eyes glistening in joy. His image seemed a little surreal due to the backlight. Mo Li looked away slowly and suddenly felt like her initial fatigue had faded. She sat there quietly and looked up again to discover that he was no longer standing on the balcony. Did he go back inside to sleep? Mo Li took another nce but still did not see him. Seeing that it was gettingte, she decided to go back home too. Just as she stood up, she heard No. 8 yelling at her from the other side. Mo Li looked around and saw that he was striding toward her. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you asleep yet?¡± she asked. ¡°I¡¯ve gotten used to sleepingte. I came to tell you my answer,¡± he said, walking toward her. Feeling a pang of nervousness, she said, ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t change my mind.¡± Biting her lip, Mo Li asked, ¡°You really won¡¯t regret it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a man, what¡¯s there for me to regret? You¡¯re the one who ought to consider carefully. We haven¡¯t known each other for long...¡± ¡°Does the duration have anything to do with a man¡¯s personality? I can sense that you¡¯re a great man,¡± said Mo Li, who felt contented enough to receive his gentle treatment. It was the wee hours of the night, which was dead silent. They stood facing each other under the streemp, their shadows being elongated. He wrapped his arms around her, both not wanting to bring up their past and yearning to settle down together. The next day, everyone soon heard about the news of them getting into a rtionship with each other. No. 5 even tried to coerce No. 8 into moving in with Mo Li. However, No. 8 refused. They¡¯d just met and exchanged numbers not long ago. Wouldn¡¯t it be too soon to start cohabiting? They still had a long way ahead anyway. There was no hurry at all and they could take their time. ¨D Once Jin Qingyan arrived in M Nation, he sent An Xiaoning a text message to tell her that he would be busier in the meantime because the situation was trickier than he had imagined. He did not contact her for several consecutive days after sending that text message. Despite knowing that he was busy handling some matters, she could not help but give him a call. Although he had only been away for a few days, she had already begun missing him dearly. She gave him multiple calls, none of which he answered. She decided not to continue calling, thinking to herself that he would probably call her back after seeing the missed calls from her. However, she still did not receive a call from him even until the next morning. It did not seem like what he would usually do. She texted him again and urged herself to continue waiting patiently. Yet, there was still no reply from him. An Xiaoning¡¯s patience grew thin, and she proceeded to call Fan Shixin. Atst, Fan Shixin told her that Jin Qingyan was extremely busy and did not have the time to rece the mobile phone that he had lost. An Xiaoning finally felt much more relieved and free of worry. She then asked Fan Shixin when Jin Qingyan would return, to which he answered vaguely, saying that thetter would probably be home in the next few days. An Xiaoning did not dwell on it and went on to have a few days of peace. She visited the production team to check on their progress, headed to the Gu family mansion to chat with Lin Mingxi and pay her respect to her godparents¡¯ graves, and stayed at home to read her novels. In addition, the basement, which had been in construction for several months, was finallypleted. She did not feel bored throughout these few days at all. However, Jin Qingyan had yet to return even after a few days had passed. She called him again, but he still did not answer. She headed to Wei Ni Estate. ¡°Where¡¯s Shixin?¡± Xiao Huang answered politely, ¡°Young Madam, Chief went to M Nation.¡± ¡°When?¡± ¡°A few days ago.¡± ¡°Did he mention when he would be returning?¡± she probed. Shaking his head, Xiao Huang answered, ¡°No.¡± She raised her arm and pointed at the GPS device on her wrist. ¡°Check the GPS system and send the address of your Young Sir¡¯s current location to me.¡± ¡°Young Madam, we can¡¯t give you that,¡± Xiao Huang said in astonishment. ¡°Why?¡± Unsure how to exin, Xiao Huang said, ¡°Please wait for a few days at home for Young Sir¡¯s return.¡± An Xiaoning refused to budge and continued to probe, ¡°Why can¡¯t you give me his location? Xiao Huang, could you answer me?¡± Xiao Huang grimaced and answered, ¡°It was Young Sir who ordered us not to tell anyone of his whereabouts, including you, Young Madam.¡± Chapter 887 - A Million Times for You (249)

Chapter 887: A Million Times for You (249)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°What if something happens to him? Are you still forbidden from telling me in that case?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll settle it if something happens to Young Sir. Don¡¯t worry, Young Madam. Young Sir is fine. The situation in M Nation is just tooplicated,¡± said Xiao Huang, who did not know how he should exin. An Xiaoning squinted and decided not to probe further. Instead, she left Wei Ni Estate. When she stopped at the traffic light while driving, An Xiaoning called Gu Beicheng and said, ¡°Could you help me find out where Jin Qingyan would be staying in M Nation, apart from a hotel?¡± ¡°Alright...¡± She continued to drive home, feeling ill at ease. She would not stop feeling worried until she sees Jin Qingyan with her own eyes. After waiting for several hours, she finally received news from Gu Beicheng, who informed her that Jin Qingyan was currently staying in a chateau that belonged to the Jin family in M Nation. He also informed her of his exact location. She stared at the GPS device on her wrist, which could only be unlocked with Jin Qingyan¡¯s fingerprint unless it was ruined. However, she sought the help of a professional locksmith whom she had hired using a hefty sum of money and finally managed to dismantle the device after a long while. The GPS device was not damaged despite being dismantled, and the bodyguards at Wei Ni Estate could still see her location clearly. She returned to Sanqiao Estate and ced the device in the cab beside her bed. She then brought two sets of clothes with her and boarded the evening flight to M Nation. She slipped into a slumber the moment she boarded the ne. She only woke up upon touchdown. It was still midnight in M Nation when she arrived, and there were a few more hours to go before daybreak. It was raining cats and dogs. She put on her pretty human mask and a long wig in the washroom at the airport. After all, M Nation was where the headquarters of the DK Organization was located, and she did not want to show her true face. She decided that it would be better to be safe than sorry. She bought an umbre before hailing a taxi to Jin Qingyan¡¯s location. She only arrived after a two-hour car ride. She alighted from the taxi and stared at the sky during dawn, a ck umbre in hand. An ancient chateau stood before her under the pouring rain. It was her first time at this ce. It was rather dpidated. Noticing immediately that the sky had yet to turn bright, An Xiaoning found a wall and climbed over it to get inside the chateau. It was different from what she had imagined. She initially thought that there would be several guards inside. However, she did not see any on duty at all, though she was unsure if it was because of the heavy rain. There were two rows of bodyguards standing by one of the exits. They were each holding a ck umbre in their hands and were standing with their backs as straight as a ruler while facing each other, as if they were guardians in the rain. An Xiaoning wanted to go inside. However, there was no way she could do so without getting into a conflict with the guards. She stayed in her corner and tried to call Jin Qingyan again. As usual, he did not answer. Is he really that busy? Or did something happen to him? She was filled with panic and worry, wishing that he would pop up in front of her the next second. Should I remove my mask and reveal my true identity? After much thought, she decided to just observe first. She retreated from the chateau. She climbed onto a big and sturdy tree outside and stayed well obscured beneath the lush greenery of the leaves. She would easily go unnoticed. The sky finally turnedpletely bright. An Xiaoning took out a pair of binocrs from her bag and realized that she could clearly observe the situation inside the chateau from her position. While waiting, she used the time to gather information about the chateau online and checked if there were other ways for her to enter. For example, she could disguise as a maid or a servant. To her surprise, there really were job vacancies for a servant. Apart from barging in, all she could do was observe the situation. The rain finally stopped after more than three hours. A luxury car began driving toward the chateau and pulled over in front of the main gate. Soon, the guards opened the gate and allowed the car to proceed inside. An Xiaoning held onto her binocrs and scrutinized the car that was advancing forward. The person who alighted from the car was none other than Fan Shixin. Despite the great distance, An Xiaoning could still see clearly the look of panic and anxiety on his face. Fan Shixin was usually calm andposed; he was rarely this flustered. She began to feel more and more uncertain. Did something really happen to Qingyan? I really want to go in to have a look. Not long after, Fan Shixin exited again and got inside the car. Noticing that his car was about to exit, An Xiaoning took out another gadget from her bag and threw it onto the bo of the car when it was moving out of the gate. She climbed down from the tree after the car left. Instead of continuing to wait outside the chateau, she returned to the city. She wanted to find out what Fan Shixin was up to. After renting a car, An Xiaoning checked the location on the GPS system on her mobile phone. The gadget she had thrown at Fan Shixin¡¯s car was a self-adhesive tracking device. It was directly connected to her mobile phone and could urately pinpoint the location of Fan Shixin¡¯s current location. She used the information to track down his car. The car was parked in the carpark of a nightclub. An Xiaoning removed the device from the bo of his car and waited patiently for Fan Shixin to return. To her dismay, Fan Shixin continued to visit several other nightclubs one by one, seemingly trying to look for someone. Who is he looking for? she wondered in bewilderment. An Xiaoning was famished after tailing Fan Shixin for the entire day. Her stomach was empty since she did not stop to have a morsel of food or a drop of water at all, for fear that she would miss something important. When evening came, he once again returned to one of the carparks he had pulled over at previously. Noticing that he had entered the nightclub, An Xiaoning hurriedly proceeded to buy some food and water before entering the nightclub while eating. She felt as if her ears were about to burst from the deafening music yed by the DJ. Majority of the crowd were dancing in euphoria with their hands in the air. There were also several men who were enjoying themselves, sipping on wine while holding onto their femalepanions. She had no idea where to begin searching for Fan Shixin. She had no choice but to enter first. Her eyes darted around, trying to scan for a familiar face amongst the crowd. However, there were just too many people in the club, making her search all the more difficult. It did not help that the disco lights were the only avable light source. Hence, she made her way onto the second floor and scanned each area from above with her binocrs. All of a sudden, she paused in her actions. The cup of milk tea fell from her hands and soiled her shoes, which were instantly covered by the white liquid. She could not be bothered by it at all and instead kept her eyes fixed on a dimly-lit spot. A handsome face entered her field of vision under the lights. She could recognize it even if he were to turn into ashes. That was how familiar she was with his face. It was none other than her Qingyan! She hurriedly zoomed to the first floor and forced her way through the crowd. She finally reached the spot that she had been looking at. She supported herself against a high chair and shifted her gaze toward a tall and slender babe who was flirting merrily with Jin Qingyan. Jin Qingyan was dressed in red from head to toe and had an undeniably striking presence. He was constantly smiling widely. All of a sudden, her vision became blurry. He refused to go home or answer my calls all because he came here to toy with women. Is that how it is? Chapter 888 - A Million Times for You (250)

Chapter 888:

A Million Times for You (250)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning did not approach him, and although she had yet to finish the food in her hands, she had suddenly lost her appetite. She was instantly filled with anger. The shock robbed her of her speech and made her legs turn to jelly. She quickly took chase when she saw him walking away while holding the hot babe in his arm. They did not take the stairs and boarded the elevator instead. An Xiaoning followed closely behind. She took a close look at the man and listened to his voice when he was talking to the babe, after which she immediately confirmed that he was Jin Qingyan, without a doubt. The elevator ascended to the third floor. Seeing that they had entered a private room, An Xiaoning could not tolerate it any further and decided to knock on the door. The babe was the one who answered the door. ¡°Who are you looking for?¡± ¡°That man who was with you just now.¡± The woman turned around and yelled into the bathroom, ¡°Henry, someone¡¯s looking for you.¡± Jin Qingyan quickly exited and asked, ¡°Who?¡± The woman pointed at An Xiaoning and said, ¡°Her.¡± ¡°You¡¯re looking for me? I don¡¯t know you. You must¡¯ve gotten the wrong person.¡± An Xiaoning tried her best to keep her breathing calm and stared at Jin Qingyan, who had eyeliner on and was wearing a pair of ear studs. ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± she said in her own voice. He scrutinized her features and said with raised brows, ¡°Miss, I shall repeat myself, I don¡¯t know who you are.¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan!¡± An Xiaoning snapped angrily as she entered the room. Noticing that she was entering, the woman quickly stopped her and said haughtily, ¡°Henry has already said that he doesn¡¯t know you. Hurry and get out.¡± An Xiaoning gave the woman a tight p. However, she had used a bit too much force and caused the woman to pass out right away. She closed the door and red at him coldly. ¡°You don¡¯t know me? Did youe to M Nation just to flirt with other women?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not Jin Qingyan, you¡¯ve gotten the wrong person,¡± he answered while taking a seat. With a dauntless expression on his face, he took out a cigarette and lit it up. ¡°If you¡¯re not Jin Qingyan, who are you?¡± ¡°Ah... I¡¯m his twin brother,¡± Jin Qingyan said sluggishly, sounding as if he really did not know her at all. ¡°What!?! Twin brother? You only have one sister. Since when do you have a twin brother? Jin Qingyan, have you gone berserk?¡± An Xiaoning questioned with a frown. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you, woman? The first thing you did when you entered was to p my woman and knock her unconscious. You ruined my chance at having a good time. Why? Are you thinking of making it up to me by recing that woman on the floor?¡± He stubbed his cigarette onto the ashtray and stood up, after which he walked toward her slowly. An Xiaoning¡¯s tears began streaming down her face uncontrobly. She felt as if her heart had been ripped apart and was bleeding profusely, causing her to feel an excruciating pain in her chest that made it hard for her to breathe. A sullen expression formed on his face the moment he saw that she had teared up. He red at her with a look of disdain and hissed vehemently, ¡°Scram.¡± Boiling with exasperation, An Xiaoning lifted her leg and threw a spinning kick at him. The moment her footnded on his face, he was thrown off bnce and fell straight onto the couch. She did not give him the chance to retaliate and instead struck him again with her palm, causing him to pass out. Upon hearing the noise of the door being unlocked, An Xiaoning had no choice but to lean against the couch and y dead since she could not hide in time. She opened her eyes slightly and watched as Fan Shixin entered the room. After testing Jin Qingyan¡¯s breathing, he hurriedly dialed a few numbers. Soon, four men showed up outside the door. They were all Jin Qingyan¡¯s bodyguards. Two of them picked up Jin Qingyan and carried him out of the room while the rest of them quickly followed suit. She opened her eyes the moment the door closed. She swiftly opened the door and followed closely behind them. An Xiaoning stepped on her brakes abruptly after watching their car drive toward the chateau. She leaned back against the seat and recalled the scene that took ce in the nightclub just now. She forced herself to calm down and think rationally. Jin Qingyan would never wear ear studs or dress in a firetruck-red suit, let alone put on eyeliner. It was not like him at all. Yet, it was clearly him, indeed. How can that be exined? There was no way he couldn¡¯t have recognized my voice or stayed so calm even after realizing who I was. An Xiaoning was filled with bewilderment as a million questions flooded her mind. How could an ordinary person behave so strikingly different from his usual self? Unless... there was something wrong with him. Jin Qingyan must be hiding something from me. Without further hesitation, An Xiaoning drove straight toward the chateau and removed her wig and mask, after which she gave Fan Shixin a call. ¡°I¡¯m right outside the chateau. Open the gate.¡± Having been through all types of shocking situations before, Fan Shixin did not sound surprised and answered, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll get to it right away.¡± An Xiaoning was impressed with Fan Shixin¡¯s ability to remainposed at almost all times. But then again, he wouldn¡¯t be fit enough to be Jin Qingyan¡¯s trusted right-hand man if hecked that ability. An Xiaoning drove the car in and said, ¡°I rented this car. Help me return it tomorrow. There¡¯s a name card that states the address of the car rental center inside the car.¡± ¡°Young Madam, when did you arrive?¡± Staring at Fan Shixin while smiling, she answered, ¡°Last night. I followed you for an entire day. I was one of the two women inside the room just now.¡± The sarcastic smile on her face sent shivers down Fan Shixin¡¯s spine. ¡°Otherwise, how could he and that woman have been knocked out?¡± An Xiaoning added. She took out the mask and wig from the car and showed them to him. Fan Shixin was at a sudden loss for words after hearing her words and looking at the items in her hands. After a few moments of silence, he said, ¡°Young Madam,e in with me. I¡¯ll talk to you about this matter in private.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± She followed him inside the chateau. The extravagance of the interior decor and furnishing was simply jaw-dropping. She could tell that an exorbitant amount of money had been spent on the renovation. She made her way up the spiral staircase together with Fan Shixin, who then led her into a room. ¡°Please take a seat, Young Madam.¡± An Xiaoning sat down on the chair and said, ¡°I won¡¯t speak yet about how you and Jin Qingyan ganged up against me. I want to hear nothing but the truth. Shixin, I¡¯m sure you know what kind of a person I am. Don¡¯t hide a single bit of the truth from me.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare to,¡± said Fan Shixin. She sneered, ¡°You wouldn¡¯t dare to? I asked you why he refused to contact me and you said that he had lost his mobile phone. Did he really misce it?¡± ¡°No.¡± An Xiaoning scoffed and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with him tonight? Why did he act like apletely different person?¡± Fan Shixin answered softly, ¡°Young Sir¡¯s ill.¡± ¡°What disease is he diagnosed with?¡± ¡°Young Madam, have you heard of schizophrenia?¡± What! His revtion was like a bolt out of the blue. ¡°You mean Qingyan is schizophrenic?¡± she asked. Fan Shixin answered with a nod, ¡°Young Sir told me about it himself after we returned from V Nation. Xiao Huang and Xiao Lu were the ones who first found something unusual with Young Sir. Young Sir then discovered that he had acted abnormally too after checking the yback of the surveince camera footages. He even consulted a psychiatrist. He hasn¡¯t suffered apse in a long while. Young Sir wanted me to keep it from you. In theory, there¡¯s no cure for his condition, although the psychiatrist mentioned that the possibility of recovery is uncertain because it¡¯s a severe psychological disorder. Once he ovees it, it¡¯s possible to fully recover.¡± Dumbfounded, An Xiaoning said, ¡°He didn¡¯t want to tell me, but how long did he think he could hide it from me for?¡± ¡°Young Sir was just nning to keep it from you for as long as he could. He said that you¡¯d definitely be upset once you learn about it. He was afraid that you would feel burdened because of his condition and hence never be able to experience genuine bliss again.¡± Chapter 889 - A Million Times for You (251)

Chapter 889: A Million Times for You (251)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning instructed, ¡°Don¡¯t let him know that I¡¯ve already found out. Shixin, this is a mental and psychological disorder. Shall we work together to help him ovee this ordeal?¡± ¡°Young Madam, do you mean we should keep making him think that you¡¯re still unaware of his condition?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the only way to prevent him from feeling miserable.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°There must be a reason for his disorder. What¡¯s the root cause of it? Don¡¯t tell me, it¡¯s caused by the blow he had suffered from the divorce?¡± she asked. ¡°That¡¯s one of the reasons. The psychiatrist said that the emotional impacts he had suffered when he was younger are partly to me too. For example, the matter about Xu Youran. Besides, he feels extremely insecure towards you, so...¡± Fan Shixin paused and continued, ¡°That¡¯s why his other persona is such a stark contrast to his main personality. His other persona detests you as much as his main one loves you. His other persona is as flirtatious and promiscuous as his main one is loyal. The two conflicting personalities within him areplete opposites of each other. Young Sir told us that we just had to knock him unconscious and take him home once he slips into his second personality.¡± ¡°But that doesn¡¯t solve the root problem at all. We have to tackle the main cause of his condition if we want him to fully recover,¡± said An Xiaoning. She suddenly recalled how he would ask her almost every other day whether or not she would leave him. He was extremely insecure... In that moment, An Xiaoning felt as if her heart was ripped out of her chest and she was gued with immense feelings of guilt. If it weren¡¯t because of the catalyst of their divorce, why would he have brought such misery onto himself? Although the incident had passed a long time ago and he was well aware that it was all just a misunderstanding, he could not erase the impact that the issue had made on his psychological wellbeing. She was partly to me for the way things had turned out. At this point, there was no way she could shirk off the responsibility. ¡°I¡¯ll go visit him now. If he asks about it, just tell him that I arrived at night. Got it?¡± ¡°Yes. Young Madam, do help Young Sir change out of that outfit of his...¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning entered Jin Qingyan¡¯s bedroom and closed the door, after which she walked toward his bed. Tears streamed down her face involuntarily the moment she gazed at Jin Qingyan, whose eyes were tightly shut while being unconscious. She sat down by his bed gently and caressed his face before removing the ear stud from his left earlobe. She then removed the clothes he was wearing and wiped his face clean with a damp towel. After cleaning up and helping him change, she snuggled up beside him and leaned against the headboard, after which she picked up the medicinal cream on the table and squeezed some onto her hand. She then applied it onto his face. She had kicked him too violently in the nightclub room and caused his face to be badly bruised. Why did I kick him with so much force... It must have hurt badly. After she was done applying the medicine, Fan Shixin instructed the kitchen helpers to prepare some supper and send it to them. An Xiaoning took the chance to have some food and make up for theck of proper nutrition she¡¯d suffered in the day. She finally filled up her stomach with food. After the trays were collected by the servant, An Xiaoning began searching for information about schizophrenia on the inte. She deleted the search history after having understood the gist of the disorder. She decided to consult a renowned psychiatrist to learn more about it in detail after returning to S Nation. She slipped into a daze and dozed off soon after, all the way until daybreak. He had yet to wake up when she did. Shey on her side and gazed at him until he woke up. Jin Qingyan woke up with a splitting headache. The moment he opened his eyes and saw her, he thought that he was hallucinating and reached out to touch her face, only to realize that it was real. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°I arrivedst night. Why? Am I not wee?¡± He pulled her into his arms gently and said, ¡°What are you saying? Why wouldn¡¯t you be wee? I¡¯m more than happy to have you here.¡± An Xiaoning hugged him tightly and said, ¡°Piggy, let¡¯s take a shower together.¡± ¡°You want to shower early in the morning?¡± ¡°Are we not allowed to do that?¡± ¡°Of course we are!¡± He got out of bed and entered the bathroom while hugging her tightly. Jin Qingyan got a huge fright and stumbled a little as soon as he saw his reflection in the mirror. ¡°What happened to my face? Why do I look like I got beaten up?¡± An Xiaoning pulled herself out of his arms and looked at his reflection before turning to look at him. She grinned and said, ¡°I was really puzzled the moment I saw your bruised face when I arrived here in the middle ofst night. I only found outter from Shixin that you had missed a step and gotten a great fall when going down the stairs.¡± Upon hearing her words, Jin Qingyan subconsciously began recalling the events ofst night, only to realize that he had no recollection at all. His face stiffened immediately. ¡°The fall made me lose my recollection ofst night¡¯s events. I had no idea it would be that serious.¡± He stepped forward and turned on the faucet, after which he adjusted the temperature of the water. An Xiaoning took out two new toothbrushes and squeezed some toothpaste onto his. They then began brushing their teeth together. ¡°Has your father¡¯s problem been resolved?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± he answered vaguely. An Xiaoning rinsed her mouth and began undressing herself. She stood below the showerhead and started rinsing herself. Instead of proceeding to the other showerhead, Jin Qingyan stood behind her and hugged her naked body. An Xiaoning turned her head while he looked down and began smooching her lips. She turned around and tiptoed to give him a deep, passionate kiss. Feeling her passion growing, she leaped onto him and wrapped her legs around his waist. ¡°I love you...¡± He smiled and moved his tongue around in her mouth before answering, ¡°I love you, too.¡± ¡°I love you so, so much.¡± ¡°I love you more than you love me.¡± ¡°I love you to the moon and back.¡± Jin Qingyan gave her another passionate kiss that took her by storm. Staring at how coquettish and sensual she was while panting heavily, he pecked her on her cheek and said softly, ¡°My little baby, you¡¯re so wonderful. I can¡¯t bear to be away from you at all, not even a single second.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not lying.¡± ... At the end of their intimate session, she supported herself by cing her hands against the basin while Jin Qingyan removed himself from her body. They had witnessed themselves getting it on in front of the mirror. She turned around and watched as he rinsed himself beneath the showerhead. She chuckled and asked, ¡°Do you know why I came here?¡± ¡°You¡¯re worried about me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s one of the reasons, but the main reason is that I missed you and I wanted to see you.¡± She was telling the truth, in fact. Jin Qingyan waved at her and said, ¡°What are you waiting for? Come here and rinse.¡± She catwalked toward him and said, ¡°You¡¯ve washed the medicine off your face. I¡¯ll apply it for you againter.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble you then, mydy.¡± ¡°Why bother standing on ceremony with me...¡± Jin Qingyan shifted his gaze toward her wrist and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s the GPS device on your wrist?¡± ¡°I hired someone to dismantle it...¡± As soon as she finished speaking, an austere expression formed on his face. ¡°Why did you do that? What¡¯s going to happen if I don¡¯t know about your whereabouts from now on?¡± ¡°Xiao Huang wouldn¡¯t tell me your exact location when I asked him where you were in M Nation. Why must I allow you to receive updates about my whereabouts? That¡¯s not fair. We must both know where each other is at all times.¡± ¡°Alright, when we return home, I¡¯ll specifically instruct them to inform you of my exact location at all times. I¡¯ll also get Shixin to make you another GPS bracelet.¡± Chapter 890 - A Million Times for You (252)

Chapter 890: A Million Times for You (252)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning did not let the cat out of the bag at all. She decided to affirm and reassure him more often from now onward. What¡¯s the harm in telling him my true feelings and thoughts if that could give him a greater sense of security? He¡¯s my man anyway, it won¡¯t matter if I let him know. I will help him ovee this. ... Staring at Fan Shixin, who was standing as straight as a ruler, Jin Qingyan asked, ¡°Throughout the past few days... did my second personality take over again?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Fan Shixin answered with a nod. ¡°Did I do anything outrageous and uneptable?¡± Fan Shixin answered, ¡°I¡¯ve checked all the surveince camera footages. You didn¡¯t do anything else, apart from drinking with a woman and groping her thighs and hands.¡± Jin Qingyan heaved a sigh of relief and said, ¡°Good to hear.¡± ¡°However, you held a woman in your arms and entered a private room together with her. I reckon you were nning to get intimate with her. Fortunately... we managed to get there in time.¡± With a look of dismay and uneasiness, Jin Qingyan asked, ¡°Did I do anything suspicious when Xiaoning arrived at midnight yesterday?¡± ¡°No, Young Madam arrived right after we cleaned you up.¡± ¡°Did I really get the bruises on my face from missing a step and falling down the stairs?¡± ¡°Yes...¡± ¡°How was I so silly... I had such a terrible fall just by going down the stairs,¡± he remarked, cing a hand on his forehead. Fan Shixin¡¯s eyelids twitched. How would Young Sir react if he finds out that Young Madam was the one who caused the injuries on his face? ¡°Since I¡¯ve already settled everything here, there¡¯s no need to continue staying around. Shixin, arrange for us to board a flight home this evening.¡± ¡°Yes, Young Sir.¡± Jin Qingyan waited for him to leave before standing in front of the window alone, staring out at the gray and gloomy skies. Deep in thought, he seemed to have slipped into a trance. ¡ª Ever since Shi Bao¡¯er arrived at the boot camp, she had been feeling like she was put through cruel torture every single day. She would cry and weep, although it didn¡¯t bring about any change at all. Wen Yuechan was the only one whoforted her, after which the two became friends. They would eat together, train together, leave together after dismissal, and soon became inseparable. Long Xiaoxi was indifferent and nonchnt toward this because they were both people she detested. She resented Wen Yuechan much more than she resented Shi Bao¡¯er. Long Xiaoxi¡¯s face would grow sullen whenever she saw Wen Yuechan. At the same time, the duo detested Long Xiaoxi as well. They were at odds with each other. When Wen Yuechan returned to the dormitory after having lunch, she overheard Wen Yuechanining when she reached the door. ¡°Long Xiaoxi has Yiheng and her brother around to back her up. She¡¯s also on very good terms with Ji Gui. Bao¡¯er, if it weren¡¯t for you, I would have been discriminated and alienated here,¡± Wen Yuechanmented. ¡°You¡¯re so pitiful. Are you actually afraid of that fatty Long Xiaoxi? I can send her flying to outer space with just one punch. Long Wenlun is her biological brother, of course he¡¯s going to be kind to her. Jin Yiheng is her godbrother too. It¡¯s only normal that he¡¯s nice to her. As for Ji Gui, well, it¡¯s not surprising that he¡¯d y with her since he¡¯s such a dimwit. After all, birds of the same feather flock together,¡± Shi Bao¡¯er remarked in contempt. Long Xiaoxi could not tolerate it any further and stormed into the dormitory. ¡°Sis Bao¡¯er, you¡¯re right, birds of the same feather do flock together. The fact that you two don¡¯t hang out with the rest of us just means that you don¡¯t belong with us. So why are you still here?¡± ¡°Do you think I wanted to be here? Long Xiaoxi, you¡¯re not allowed to bully Yuechan from now on, you hear me!?!¡± Shi Bao¡¯er warned, riding on her high horse of being the eldest amongst the children. Pursing her lips, Long Xiaoxi retorted, ¡°Who¡¯s the one getting bullied here?¡± ¡°Bao¡¯er, don¡¯t say too much to her. If she decides to cook up stories and tell on us to Yiheng, it¡¯s going to be my fault again.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er gave Long Xiaoxi the side eye and scoffed, ¡°Let her go ahead and tell on us. I¡¯m not afraid of her at all.¡± Long Xiaoxi pinched her fingers and turned around to leave. She ran toward Long Wenlun¡¯s dormitory. Upon the sight of her brother lying in bed, she climbed onto it and said, ¡°Brother, I don¡¯t want to stay in the same dormitory as Bao¡¯er and Yuechan. Could you tell Coach to let me live alone in a dormitory by myself?¡± Long Wenlun looked up and said, ¡°Coach is not going to agree to it.¡± ¡°Maybe getting Yiheng to do it will help. I¡¯ll go look for him,¡± said Long Xiaoxi, who scurried off as soon as she finished speaking. Jin Yiheng and Jin Rongyan were in the midst of ying ser. Long Xiaoxi ran toward him and called, ¡°Yiheng.¡± He stopped what he was doing and chided in slight displeasure, ¡°You don¡¯t even call me ¡®Brother¡¯ anymore.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because I don¡¯t want to treat you like my brother anymore.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Jin Yiheng asked. Long Xiaoxi stepped forward and held his hand. ¡°Don¡¯t you want me to give birth to your children when we grow up?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you didn¡¯t want to anymore?¡± ¡°I changed my mind. When we grow up, I want to be your bride and give birth to your children. Are you willing to let me do that?¡± Jin Yiheng pinched her chubby cheeks and answered, ¡°Girls are so fickle-minded. Sure.¡± ¡°Well, your bride... I have been treated unfairly. Will you help me?¡± she asked, pointing at herself. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Bao¡¯er and Wen Yuechan were badmouthing me in the dormitory, and Bao¡¯er even gave me a stern warning. They¡¯re both older than me and yet they¡¯re ganging up against me. I don¡¯t want to stay in the same dormitory as them anymore, you have to help me!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Why aren¡¯t you saying anything?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll help you.¡± ¡°Alright, go tell Coach now. Hurry, help me,¡± Long Xiaoxi said eagerly. ¡°Now?¡± ¡°Yes, now, of course. Hurry and go, I¡¯ll wait for you here.¡± Seeing how eager she was, Jin Yiheng had no choice but to stop ying and help her talk to the instructors. They immediately agreed, mostly because he was the boss¡¯ son, just like Long Xiaoxi had expected. Long Xiaoxi was granted permission to stay in her own dormitory and was transferred to a room beside Jin Yiheng¡¯s. The teacher helped Long Xiaoxi move her belongings over to the new room and changed the bedsheets for her. Long Xiaoxi sat on the bed in her new room, filled with joy and excitement. Jin Yiheng entered with his younger brother and said, ¡°Xiaoxi... is everything good now?¡± She leaped up and tiptoed to give Jin Yiheng a peck on his cheek. Jin Yiheng began to blush shyly and ced a hand on the spot that she had kissed with astonishment in his eyes. Jin Rongyan chimed in, ¡°Xiaoxi, Xiaoxi, since you¡¯ve already kissed my brother, why don¡¯t you kiss me too?¡± ¡°No, go to the side and y on your own.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª Mo Li was serious about dating No. 8 with marriage in mind. Although they both tacitly acknowledged that they were dating, they knew that they were definitely not getting married anytime soon. However, Mo Li had told her parents about her new rtionship. Mrs. Mo requested to meet No. 8 and, hence, Mo Li brought him to visit his parents¡¯ breakfast bistro. Mrs. Mo was a little worried the moment she saw the tall and handsome No. 8. While No. 8 and Mr. Mo were chatting with each other, Mrs. Mo pulled Mo Li into the room and said, ¡°He¡¯s such a charming man, are you sure you can keep him loyal? I always feel like handsome men are unreliable and untrustworthy.¡± Chapter 891 - A Million Times for You (253)

Chapter 891: A Million Times for You (253)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Mother, you¡¯re getting ahead of yourself. What does loyalty have to do with appearance? There are plenty of ugly men who nheless still cheat on their spouses. I¡¯m attracted by his personality. Mother, he treats me really well and he¡¯s Xiaoning¡¯s subordinate,¡± Mo Li said with a smile. ¡°How much does he make in a month? I won¡¯t talk about whether he has a car and a house or not. I just want to know how much he makes in a month. It¡¯d be great if he can support you through afortable life.¡± Not wishing to hide it from her mother, Mo Li answered, ¡°He gets a substantial amount of allowance each month because Xiaoning bought him from the ck market.¡± ¡°A substantial amount of allowance... that means he doesn¡¯t have a sry, does he? Mo Li, are you out of your mind? You¡¯ve already been hurt so deeply by Ye Xiaotian. How could you still get together with such an unreliable man? He can¡¯t give you a stable life. In the end, you¡¯ll still have to depend on yourself.¡± Mo Li argued, ¡°Mother, Xiaoning has already said that she¡¯ll give him a fixed wage if we get married in the future. After all, he has to feed a family after getting married. In fact, all his other colleagues are just like him.¡± ¡°That¡¯s more like it, but must he really work for Xiaoning? Can¡¯t he get another job elsewhere?¡± Mo Li exined, ¡°Xiaoning bought him and his colleagues with 10 million dors so they actually belong to her. Besides, it¡¯s not that bad of a thing to work for Xiaoning and draw a fixed sry in the future. He doesn¡¯t have to run tough errands anyway.¡± ¡°It¡¯s good that he¡¯s an orphan and doesn¡¯t have parents.¡± Mrs. Mo sighed and continued, ¡°Fine, so long as you¡¯re happy, your father and I will have nothing to say. He does seem like a very polite chap. How old is he this year?¡± ¡°Twenty-seven. I¡¯m three years older than him.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine, age is just a number. Just what¡¯s his name? No. 8?¡± Mo Li nodded and said, ¡°His name is Yun Chen, his nickname is No. 8.¡± ¡°...¡± No. 8 had no idea what Mo Li¡¯s parents thought about him after meeting them officially. On the way home, he asked Mo Li, ¡°Are your parents... satisfied with me?¡± ¡°Quite. They won¡¯t have any objections as long as I¡¯m willing.¡± He heaved a sigh of relief and nodded. ¡°There¡¯s a bistro at the next stop. I¡¯ll take you there for some tasty foodter.¡± Mo Li agreed with a smile, ¡°Sure.¡± No. 8 interlocked fingers with her and led her down the bus when they arrived at the next bus stop. They then headed to a nearby bistro and ordered some dessert and coffee. Melodious and tranquil music was ying in the background while they sat facing each other, gazing intently into each other¡¯s eyes. In fact, they were even feeding each other some food. How sweet. Their joy would havested all the way ¡¯til the end if not for some frivolous gossip. A few students entered the bistro, donning heavy makeup on their faces despite being d in their school uniforms and carrying their school bags. Mo Li could tell that they were delinquents. Upon the sight of Mo Li, one of them remarked in astonishment, ¡°Look, you guys, isn¡¯t that Mo Li, Ye Xiaotian¡¯s ex-wife?¡± Mo Li immediately felt awkward and shot No. 8 a nce. ¡°Let¡¯s leave.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t own this ce. Why must we leave? Just continue remaining seated,¡± he cated. That¡¯s true, this is a public space where anyone can stay as long as they¡¯re a patron. Besides, I¡¯m already 30 years old and I¡¯ve been through great odds. I don¡¯t have to be afraid of others¡¯ments about me, Mo Li thought to herself. However, she did not expect that the bunch of female students would whip out their mobile phones and begin taking photos of her and No.8. They even murmured to each other, ¡°How surprising. She got divorced only a short while ago and yet she has already found a hunk for a boyfriend.¡± They sounded as if getting divorced was a shameless affair, causing Mo Li to be greatly peeved. ¡°Delete those photos.¡± Mo Li was not a famous celebrity anyway, there was no need to let them take photos of her and make redundantments online. ¡°No,¡± they refused,pletely unafraid. ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°Because we don¡¯t have ss.¡± The nonchnce in their tone was simply infuriating. No. 8 stood up and walked toward them before snatching their mobile phones away without uttering a word. ¡°Why did you snatch our phones away!?!¡± No. 8 answered coldly, ¡°Because I have no ss either.¡± ¡°...¡± He deleted all the photos and returned the mobile phones to them only after making sure that there were no backup copies. Mo Li got a warm fuzzy feeling in her heart after seeing how he had stood up for her. A voice in her head told her, ¡°You have a backer now.¡± Having had their fill, they exited the bistro and strolled along the streets, hand in hand. They happened to bump into Mo Xun and his wife, Chun Ling. ¡°Sis,¡± Mo Xun greeted. Upon the sight of them holding hands, Mo Xun immediately called, ¡°Brother-inw.¡± No. 8 expressed assent despite turning red. ¡°Mo Xun, where did you guys go?¡± ¡°We went to the hospital. Sis, Chun Ling is pregnant.¡± Mo Li smiled and asked, ¡°Really? That¡¯s terrific. From now on, don¡¯t let Chun Ling perform any chores and just allow her to nurse her pregnancy.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just pregnant, not disabled. Save your hypocrisy,¡± Chun Ling said in disdain. Mo Xun red at her and chastised, ¡°You really can¡¯t tell right from wrong, can you? Sis is just worried for you.¡± Mo Xun then said to Mo Li, ¡°Sis, um, you guys may leave first. We¡¯re going home now.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Mo Li watched her brother and sister-inw leave before looking away with a glum expression. No. 8 smiled and said, ¡°Your brother seems really nice.¡± ¡°Mo Xun and I have been getting along very well ever since we were children. It¡¯s just, his wife... doesn¡¯t really like me. However, I don¡¯t have to see her often anyway. There¡¯s nothing else for me to say as long as my brother is doing well.¡± ¡°Everyone has a life of their own. Even though she doesn¡¯t like you, you don¡¯t have to try and make her like you. Everything is fine as long as it doesn¡¯t affect your rtionship with your brother.¡± Smiling, Mo Li nodded. ¡ª The first thing An Xiaoning did when she arrived back in S Nation was to visit the psychiatrist on her own in secret. She asked in detail about schizophrenia and solutions to treat the condition. She bore the psychiatrist¡¯s words in mind. There was no one she would tell this matter to, including her mother. She did not want to worry her. An Xiaoning began staying in Wei Ni Estate and would apany him to the gym, have a chat with him, dine with him, and sleep next to him every night. As mentioned before, Jin Qingyan ordered Fan Shixin to get An Xiaoning a new GPS tracking bracelet and instructed her not to remove it again. The organizations that had been rallying against her had also begun to die down, and the government had gradually shifted the attention of the citizens away from the ban due to the natural disaster that had struck the nation. It was the monsoon season. Almost every area in the nation was affected, and A City was one of them. There was a violent storm, and hailstones were falling from the sky, thus causing a great disturbance to the citizens, who suffered major economic losses due to the poor weather. That was not all. There was a 7.0 magnitude earthquake in L City, which was further away from A City. Although there was an earthquake alert released two minutes before it took ce, there were still more than 10 thousand casualties who failed to evacuate in time and more than 10 thousand injured. There were also many who had gone missing. As the president of the nation, Tuoba Gucheng ordered all the relevant authorities to begin disaster relief efforts and even instructed Chief of Staff Lin to personally visit the relief sites. Thetter was told to report the current situation at the various sites. Chapter 892 - A Million Times for You (254)

Chapter 892: A Million Times for You (254)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Many local and overseas enterprise giants had made donations to aid in the disaster relief, including An Xiaoning, who donated one million dors. However, she did not donate the sum directly to any charity organization in the country. Instead, she cooperated with the Jin Corporation and bought some relief resources, which they then sent to the relief areas. Despite their kind gestures, there were stillizens who criticized them online. There were several castigations made, such as the following: ¡°An Xiaoning has made donations to aid the disaster relief, but why hasn¡¯t she donated to the disaster areas that have been affected by the floods?¡± ¡°She¡¯s so rich and yet she only donated a million dors. She should donate at least half of her assets.¡± ¡°She¡¯s even adopted a kid overseas, why doesn¡¯t she adopt the children living in poverty in our nation? An Xiaoning, do you know how many children are starving in this nation? You¡¯re living and eating well, yet you cast all your kindness overseas. What a traitor.¡± ¡°The media actually made a report about her donation. Isn¡¯t one million dors peanuts to her? Save it for when she donates ten million.¡± There were many other simrments. However, there were also someizens who found those haters to be extremely unreasonable and began mming them. An Xiaoning would not bother reading thements, regardless of what they said. The nation was going through a chaotic and tumultuous time this April. No one could defend against natural disasters. At this juncture, there was news of an unbelievable and bewildering incident. Numerous citizens in the disaster areas had witnessed the presence of soul-catchers and reapers with their very own eyes. They imed that Heibai and Wuchang could not manage to catch all the wandering spirits due to the fact that there were too many casualties in the area who died at the same time. Hence, they¡¯d decided to organize a group to catch the souls. The rumors got more and more absurd because more than ten children had seen the reapers at the same time. The ministers and members of parliament who were in support of the ban against superstitions previously suddenly made a contradicting suggestion. They requested Tuoba Gucheng to send some mediums and reverends to the relief areas to perform a ritual and offer prayers. Mediums and reverends were probably the only superstitious institutions recognized by S Nation. Needless to say, the contradicting suggestion made by the government was not reported on the news. An Xiaoning had managed to hear about it via some insiders. She refused to make anyments about the matter. Two dayster, the reverends returned to the Autumn Pce after a failed attempt at performing rituals. The exact reason was unknown. An Xiaoning received a call from Tuoba Gucheng afterward. He requested her to make a trip down to the affected areas in L City. Actually, she was already nning to do so, for she wanted to do some meaningful deeds. However, she felt like he was giving her amand after hearing his tone. Hence, she answered nonchntly, ¡°Why must I listen to you?¡± ¡°You...¡± Tuoba Gucheng was momentarily at a loss for words because he did not expect her to respond that way. After a moment of silence, he continued, ¡°That¡¯s a disaster relief area. Many have been affected adversely and there have been numerous casualties and injured citizens. Shouldn¡¯t you be making a trip down there?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like what you just said. May I ask why I¡¯m obliged to render assistance? As the president of the nation, it is your duty to serve the citizens and render help to those who have been affected by the natural disaster, simply because they¡¯re your citizens. You¡¯re making it seem as if it¡¯s my duty to provide assistance whenever necessary to the nation. How many people truly wished that I could be safe and sound when I was abducted by the terrorist organizations? When you fed me with the lethal poison, did it ever cross your mind that I¡¯m one of your citizens too? Am I supposed to be made use of and sumb for the sake of not going against my morals, just because I¡¯m psychic?¡± Tuoba Gucheng was speechless. ¡°Feel free to list any requests you may have.¡± ¡°Why must I go? The reapers are not going to catch the souls of the living anyway.¡± ¡°Because I want those innocent citizens to leave this world in peace.¡± ¡°I want you to release a news article and admit yourself that I¡¯m a fortune-teller with genuine capabilities,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°I thought you would beg me not to kill you in the future...¡± ¡°Face value is still very important at the end of the day. Although it doesn¡¯t exactly bother me, I don¡¯t want the reputation of fortune-telling to be tarnished. So, do you concede to my request?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll set off to L City once I see the article published. I was initially nning to go anyway.¡± ¡°Turns out you already had ns to go...¡± ¡°Are you thinking of going back on your word?¡± Tuoba Gucheng denied, ¡°No, I¡¯ll give instructions for the article to be publishedter on. Xiaoning, I knew you were kind-hearted. I¡¯ve also heard the news about the donation you had made.¡± ¡°if you don¡¯t make my life difficult and attempt to kill me again, I reckon I could be kinder.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°You... agree?¡± An Xiaoning asked in disbelief, feeling as if she had just hallucinated. ¡°Are you surprised?¡± ¡°Why are you behaving like this... all of a sudden?¡± ¡°I once said that I¡¯d ruin you if I can¡¯t have you. However, I actually want to get along with you harmoniously now.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe you. A leopard never changes its spots.¡± Tuoba Gucheng changed his tone and said, ¡°You¡¯re indeed very intelligent. You really want me to get along with you harmoniously, don¡¯t you? You really wish for me to stop making your life difficult and stop attempting to kill you again, don¡¯t you? You were even hoping that I was joking about ruining you, weren¡¯t you? You...¡± An Xiaoning interjected vehemently, ¡°Your Majesty!¡± ¡°What...¡± said Tuoba Gucheng. ¡°It won¡¯t be very wise of you to make me your enemy. I hope you¡¯ll understand that. I¡¯m capable of doing anything if you drive me into a corner. I¡¯m sure you know what I mean. I won¡¯t waste my time talking crap with you. I can¡¯t help but get infuriated every single time I talk to you. You really make me miss the days when we got along with each other perfectly fine.¡± An Xiaoning ended the call and began packing her luggage. She was not one to be selfish and afraid of disadvantaging herself while helping others. She¡¯d decided to donate that one million dors because her heart went out to the victims of disaster. Even when ites to their closest kin, no one is obliged to do anything for others. What more strangers whom she was unrted to? How could she possibly save everyone when there were so many disasters in this world? Everyone¡¯s fate was predestined. One would enjoy a fortunate and blessed life if they had umted a lot of merit from doing kind deeds in their previous lifetime. Likewise, if one hadmitted a great deal of sins in their previous lifetime, they were bound to be punished and receive their retribution in this lifetime. There were reasons for everything. When Jin Qingyan returned home, she informed him of her decision to head to the relief area. He supported her decision, although he insisted on going with her. ¡°Why?¡± she asked in astonishment. ¡°I don¡¯t want to spend a single day away from you. I can handle thepany matters online anyway, it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be tough being in the relief area.¡± ¡°If you can bear with it, why can¡¯t a man like me do the same?¡± An Xiaoning agreed to let hime along. ¡°I haven¡¯t had the time to ask you, but did you dream of anything else ever since that dream you had the other night?¡± Shaking her head, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°No, that¡¯s why I said I might just dream of a different scene the next time. I do hope to continue where I left off. I want to find out if that prince was you. If he was, I¡¯m going to punish you when I wake up.¡± Chapter 893 - A Million Times for You (255)

Chapter 893: A Million Times for You (255)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyan kissed her forehead and said, ¡°I¡¯ll let you punish me however way you¡¯d like if that¡¯s the case.¡± Grinning from ear to ear, she said, ¡°Hurry and prepare some clothes. We¡¯ll set off once the news article is published.¡± He headed to the dressing room. An Xiaoning began scrolling through the news online. Less than twenty minutester, she saw a news article about her, as promised by Tuoba Gucheng. He was rather efficient, after all. The article was titled ¡°Tuoba Gucheng verifies personally that An Xiaoning is a genuine fortune-teller.¡± The gist of the content was a rification about An Xiaoning being a natural-born psychic who couldmunicate with spirits, and it also said that it was her paranormal abilities that helped the police crack several major cases and mysteries. It was also stated that the target of the ban was swindlers who were out to cheat money in the name of fortune-telling and that it had nothing to do with her at all. An Xiaoning was even acimed to be the most capable female fortune-teller in S Nation who also happened to be of a young age. Many citizens changed their opinions toward her after the article was released. How could it be false if even the nation¡¯s leader admitted to it himself? An Xiaoning did not wish to make any furtherments about thoseizens who were sitting on the fence. Tuoba Gucheng was the one who had driven her into a corner. At the same time, he was also the one who praised her above and beyond. An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan were stuck in heavy traffic due to the heavy storm in A City. After parking their car in the carpark of the airport and paying the parking and maintenance fees, the pair boarded the ne to L City. However, the flight was dyed for an hour due to the heavy rain. An Xiaoning began sleeping the moment they boarded the ne, all the way until they touched down in L City two hourster. During this time, the airport was overcrowded. Needless to say, it must be the same for the rest of the car rental centers, subway stations, and railway stations in the city. A somber mood filled the air in the city, and every single one of the citizens had a grave and mncholic expression on their faces. An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan hailed a taxi to the disaster reliefmand center after exiting the airport. After chatting with the taxi driver while on their way to their destination, An Xiaoning learned that the adverse effects of the natural disaster this time were tremendous and severe. It was the first major earthquake that struck the nation in four decades. An Xiaoning only witnessed and felt the relentlessness of natural disasters herself when she arrived at the site. Various homes were destroyed, and numerous lives were lost. Soldiers who were involved in relief efforts were giving everything they had to rescue the victims. An Xiaoning saw with her very own eyes that there was not a single intact building in sight; debris from the copsed buildings and houses were all over the ce. There was nothing except the makeshift tents that had just been put up. Despair, hopelessness, grief, agony, and resentment toward Heaven were written all over the faces of the victims. They entered themand center. Upon the sight of An Xiaoning, Chief of Staff Lin greeted politely, ¡°You¡¯re here?¡± He made sure not to show his innermost emotions to the woman who used to be his goddaughter. ¡°Yes. How are the relief efforts going?¡± ¡°They¡¯re still in the midst of carrying out rescue and mitigation efforts. We¡¯re not carrying high hopes, but we won¡¯t just give up, nevertheless.¡± ¡°Why weren¡¯t the reverends able to perform the ritual?¡± Chief of Staff Lin answered, ¡°The reverends said that there are too many wandering spirits here who have died a wrongful death. They said that the spirits hindered them from performing the ritual.¡± An Xiaoning looked up and said, ¡°What¡¯s the purpose of keeping them around if they can¡¯t provide help whenever necessary? Just what do they even do? Is it true that the reapers were seen, or are those just false rumors?¡± ¡°It¡¯s real. The children witnessed them with their own eyes.¡± An Xiaoning said coldly, ¡°Got it. I reckon the reverends must have been lying. Since there were reapers around, there wouldn¡¯t be too many vengeful souls to stop the rituals from proceeding. Do they really think the reapers are that ipetent? If there were not that many spirits to obstruct them, why were the reverends incapable of performing the ritual? Please ry my words to His Majesty.¡± She then left together with Jin Qingyan. Finding that her words had made sense, Chief of Staff Lin immediately reported the incident to Tuoba Gucheng. The average human was bound to be less informed about such superstitions. Tuoba Gucheng thought the same after hearing An Xiaoning¡¯s words, which had been ryed to him. Hence, he immediately summoned the reverends. ¡°Did you guys say that there were too many spirits who stopped you from performing the ritual?¡± he questioned. The head nun answered. ¡°Yes, there were way too many vengeful spirits.¡± ¡°Why were there so many even when the reapers and soul-catchers were present?¡± ¡°Well... maybe the reapers took pity on them and decided to let them stay behind for a few more days to look at their beloved ones...¡± Tuoba Gucheng squinted and said, ¡°I¡¯ve already sent An Xiaoning on a task to visit the disaster sites. If she tells me that there aren¡¯t that many vengeful spirits, what do you think I should do with you?¡± The reverends looked at each other in dismay, not sure how they should answer him. ¡°If you don¡¯te clean and tell me the truth, I¡¯ll execute all of you,¡± he threatened, glowering at them menacingly with his hands behind his back. All of a sudden, they dropped onto their knees in front of him. The head nun kowtowed and said, ¡°Your Majesty, it¡¯s not that we didn¡¯t want to do anything. Rather, that ce was just too spooky and we couldn¡¯t perform any rituals at all. Whenever we tried to, our setup would be ruined time and time again. Nothing helped even after we tried every possible solution. After discussing in private, we came to a consensus that there was a strong evil presence that was continuously obstructing us. However, we¡¯re only human and had acquired the skills from our masters. We can¡¯t see any supernatural beings at all.¡± Tuoba Gucheng gestured for them to leave and said, ¡°You¡¯re dismissed.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± They retreated with cold sweat all over their bodies. ¨D In L City, the weather began to get breezy in the evening, and heavy, gray clouds had gathered in the sky. An Xiaoning was worried that the rain would spread to L City too. However, the more worried she was, the more her dreaded oue would happen. Not long after, it began drizzling. The rain would be disadvantageous and bring about a great hindrance to the rescue team. Soon, the rain got heavier and showed no signs of stopping. An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan were wearing ponchos while treading along the ruined pavement. Jin Qingyan was holding onto a big bag that was not quite heavy despite being stuffed with several items. An Xiaoning was holding a torchlight in her hands and leading the way. She began to sense that something was amiss upon realizing that she had yet to see a single vengeful spirit despite having walked for so long. Could it be that the reapers were extremely efficient and had gathered all the spirits? An Xiaoning did not have a clear idea. ¡°What¡¯s going on? I didn¡¯t see a single spirit at all.¡± Jin Qingyan said softly, ¡°Let¡¯s continue walking for a bit more.¡± The pair proceeded along the route and arrived at a remote territory where there was not a single human in sight. They walked past the sidewalk and made it onto the main road. There was a shallow canal beside the main road. On the other side of the canal was a hill. Momentster, An Xiaoning quickly grabbed Jin Qingyan¡¯s raincoat, switched off her torchlight, and pulled him toward the other side of the road. ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡± Jin Qingyan stood beside her near a boulder on the hill, filled with tension while remaining still and listening to her instructions. In the darkness of the night, the two of them stood still, perfectly camouged. Less than a minuteter, Jin Qingyan heard uniform footsteps approaching them slowly. However, he could not see any humans in the area where the noises wereing from. Chapter 894 - A Million Times for You (256)

Chapter 894: A Million Times for You (256)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The footstepssted for an entire minute. Just as Jin Qingyan was about to speak, he heard a faint wailing and bawling, which added to the spookiness of the rainy night. There was a mix of male and female voices, as well as that of the elderly, all of which were rather unsettling. This time, the voicessted for a whole five minutes. Once the voices began to fade, An Xiaoning pulled him out of the canal. She quickened her pace and walked forward. Jin Qingyan didn¡¯t dare to ask about anything and instead sped forward with her. He could tell from the sounds that they were approaching a search crew. Just as Jin Qingyan was worrying about being discovered, An Xiaoning stopped in her tracks and hid in an obscure spot with him. At this moment, Jin Qingyan heard the rumbling of a car! Once the car drove away, An Xiaoning looked at him, after which they both moved away from the darkness. She whipped out her phone and pinned her current location on the maps app, only to discover that they were at a ce called Liuchuan Dam North Road. ¡°Qingyan, do you know where we are right now?¡± ¡°No idea.¡± ¡°This is the transit station to theherworld.¡± ¡°Were those voices earlier from the reapers?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± An Xiaoning stuck her hand beneath his raincoat and grabbed his hand while walking away. ¡°No wonder I didn¡¯t see any spirits along the way at all. I reckon the reapers must have nabbed all the vengeful spirits and sent them to amon holding ground before sending them to theherworld in batches.¡± ¡°Can you still perform rituals, then?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see if there are still any wandering spirits that haven¡¯t been caught yet. If there are, I definitely must perform the ritual. If they¡¯ve all been gathered, what¡¯s the point of performing the rituals? They can¡¯t feel it anyway.¡± ¡°Xiaoning, what was going on when we heard the voices just now?¡± he asked curiously. An Xiaoning answered while walking, ¡°The uniform voices we heard at the start were from ghost children who were just following orders. The wailing and shrieking came from the vengeful spirits who were split into two batches. One batch had their necks chained together while the other was tied together using ropes. The ghost children were dragging them along.¡± ¡°Why were they separated into two batches?¡± She exined, ¡°Those who struggle vigorously will have to be subdued by chains while those who don¡¯t retaliate and simplyply will be bound to ropes. I only managed to catch a glimpse, I didn¡¯t look closely.¡± ¡°Turns out there¡¯s a bus to theherworld too...¡± ¡°Even Heibai and Wuchang are now dressed in suits. Theherworld is just as advanced as the human world, alright?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve seen them in suits before?¡± ¡°Yes. They sometimes don suits.¡± ¡°If you chance upon buses to theherworld, can you board them?¡± ¡°I can, but it¡¯ll only be my soul. Let¡¯s go search for other vengeful spirits.¡± ¡°Alright. Xiaoning, are there many bus stops to theherworld?¡± ¡°There should be plenty.¡± ¡°...¡± The two of them returned, after which the rain began to dissipate gradually. An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan headed to the site. An Xiaoning did not think of heading to the morgue first because she thought the corpses had already been sent to the crematorium. She rushed to the corpse collection site immediately upon hearing from one of the rescue members that the corpses were yet to be cremated. She stared at the spacious rooms with a heavy heart, for she knew that there were corpses inside. Even though she had already prepared herself mentally, she could not help but tear up in sympathy for the innocent victims when she saw the piles of corpses. She felt a lump in her throat as well. She could not manage to make a single sound. After taking a quick nce and discovering that there were no wandering spirits in the room, she and Jin Qingyan hurriedly retreated. They proceeded to the next makeshift room. They continued to check every single tent, all the way until thest one. An Xiaoning could already sense something unusual before they even reached the room. She instructed Jin Qingyan, ¡°Don¡¯t go in, there are spirits inside. I¡¯ll go and take a look.¡± He handed her the bag he was carrying and said, ¡°Here.¡± An Xiaoning took it from him and removed her raincoat, which she passed to him. She then walked toward thest tent. Jin Qingyan was nning to wait for her at the area where the soldiers were standing. Noticing that she¡¯d stopped in her tracks after taking a few steps, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± An Xiaoning turned around and walked toward him again. She said softly, ¡°The spirits are out.¡± Jin Qingyan walked away with her. While walking, An Xiaoning saw in her peripheral vision the reapers taking the spirits away. After they left, she entered the tent, only to discover that there were no longer any spirits in sight. Their next stop was the local hospital. There was a serious case of overcrowding in the hospital. As soon as they arrived on the second floor, An Xiaoning caught sight of a spirit belonging to a young man, who was running away with all his might. Spirits would usually behave that way when they¡¯re being chased by reapers. However, it seemed that that was not the case at the moment. The male spirit wasn¡¯t being chased by the reapers or ghost children working for them. Instead, he was being chased by a woman whom An Xiaoning knew was not a reaper, because the reapers she had seen previously were all males donning the same uniform. The woman did not seem like a new spirit, and she quickly caught up with the man who was trying to escape. The moment the young man was caught, he knelt in front of her straight away, trembling uncontrobly from head to toe. Puzzled, An Xiaoning grabbed Jin Qingyan¡¯s hand and walked toward them. An Xiaoning stood still at a spot that was about a few meters away from the spirits and leaned against the railing while talking to Jin Qingyan, pretending as if she did not see the spirits at all. In fact, she had been keeping her eyes fixed on them. The woman seemed extremely haughty and arrogant. She lifted her foot and stomped it down against the young man¡¯s head, causing his face to be stered onto the ground. Staring condescendingly at the man beneath her foot, she remained silent while a sinister smile hung from her lips. An Xiaoning had no idea if they knew each other or if they had a feud with each other. Hence, she had been keeping quiet and remaining still. The man had his hands pressed against the floor and was facing An Xiaoning. Thus, An Xiaoning could clearly see the look of pain and agony on his face. He seemed to have known that there was no way for him to escape and did not struggle at all. Just as An Xiaoning thought the woman would continue with her unruly acts, thetter moved her foot away and removed the red scarf on her neck, which she then wrapped around the man¡¯s neck. She tightened her grip and pulled him away. An Xiaoning touched Jin Qingyan¡¯s fingers, after which they followed closely behind. An Xiaoning witnessed with her own eyes what being immoral really was like. An elderlydy was walking slowly with a piping-hot bowl of instant noodles in her hands that she had just made. However, the female spirit smacked the bowl of instant noodles away from the elderlydy¡¯s hands, causing it to fall onto the ground. The bowl of instant noodles that the elderlydy had obtained through painstaking means was gone just like that. There went her meal for the day. How wicked! Chapter 895 - A Million Times for You (257)

Chapter 895: A Million Times for You (257)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Noticing that the elderlydy was picking up the instant noodles on the ground and cing them inside her box while grousing about how useless she was, An Xiaoning took out a few dor bills and stuffed them into the elderlydy¡¯s hand. She then swiftly turned around to leave before the elderlydy got to see her face. That woman proceeded tomit even more atrocious acts brazenly. Whenever she saw the visitors making a call on their phones, she would use the same method to make them drop their mobile phones onto the ground. Whenever she saw nurses carrying stretchers, she would stick her leg out to trip them. She then entered the elevator and yed a prank on a young man and a middle-aged woman by causing them to hug each other tightly, refusing to let them move away no matter how hard they tried. An Xiaoning really wanted to stop her with an amulet. However, she had no choice but to bear with it, because she knew what the woman wanted to do ultimately. The elevator arrived on the floor where the morgue was in. Upon the sight of them exiting, An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan followed suit. The woman seemed to have sensed something unusual and turned around to take a few more nces at An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning did not make eye contact and kept a straight face, as if she had not seen her at all. Realizing that the woman was remaining still, An Xiaoning walked toward her straight away. Just as they were about to knock into each other, the woman pulled the young man away and strode forward quickly. They headed straight to the morgue. An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan slowed down their pace. They stood still by the door. It waspletely silent, and there were no doctors or staff in sight at all at the moment. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you running anymore?¡± the woman finally said. An Xiaoning got the chills the moment she heard the woman¡¯s voice. She sounded rather eerie, and her tone was so hostile and annoying that it warranted a beating. ¡°Why did you kill me? I have no feud with you at all. I only broke my leg and that wasn¡¯t fatal at all. Why did you have to kill me!?!¡± the man screeched in immense agony. ¡°Your leg is already broken, you¡¯ll be having a hard time even if you¡¯re still alive. Isn¡¯t it great that I released you from your suffering?¡± ¡°You... I didn¡¯t want to die!¡± ¡°You¡¯re already dead anyway, what are you still making so much noise for?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m already dead... I was waiting for the reapers to take me away. You¡¯re not one of them, so what did you catch me for?¡± ¡°To nurture you into my subordinate. Do you feel indignant after being killed by me for no reason? Do you want to take revenge on others?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± The woman gave him a tight p and hollered, ¡°You don¡¯t? How dare you say that you don¡¯t. I¡¯m going to destroy your soul right now! I¡¯m going to make you disappear from this worldpletely!¡± Realizing that she really had to intervene, An Xiaoning held onto Jin Qingyan¡¯s hand and entered the morgue. ¡°If it isn¡¯t in this room, it must be in the other. If not, should we ask the hospital staff about where the corpse is?¡± Jin Qingyan yed along and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you see how overcrowded the hospital is? They¡¯re short-handed, and no one is on duty here in the morgue. All of them are so busy and tired. Why don¡¯t we just check every room, one by one?¡± ¡°This ce feels really eerie to me...¡± said An Xiaoning, walking toward the woman slowly. ¡°Duh, this is the morgue, of course it¡¯s going to be spooky. Hurry and check, we¡¯ll leave quickly after you see it.¡± ¡°Alright...¡± As soon as she finished speaking, the amulet in her hands darted toward the woman like a bolt of lighting,pletely catching thetter off guard. The woman could not even attempt to run away because she was held in her ce by the amulet. The man was incredibly frightened and was at a sudden loss for what to do. Just as he was about to take flight, An Xiaoning yelled, ¡°I won¡¯t harm you.¡± He stopped in his tracks and turned around to look at her. An Xiaoning continued, ¡°I came here to help perform rituals for spirits like you. You don¡¯t have to be afraid.¡± ¡°You can actually see me...¡± An Xiaoning removed her surgical mask and said, ¡°I canmunicate with spirits.¡± ¡°You¡¯re An Xiaoning...¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Pointing at the woman, who was remaining as still as a statue, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Was she the one who killed you?¡± A look of vengeance formed in the man¡¯s eyes at the thought of his unjust death, and he said, ¡°She was the one. I saw her standing beside my bed and removing my breathing tube. I already pulled through the critical stage and had juste to at the time...¡± ¡°Once you¡¯re dead, you can¡¯t be brought back to life. Do you still have anyst wishes? I can help you as long as it¡¯s within my means. However, after you¡¯ve fulfilled your wishes, you must report back to theherworld. The longer you loiter around here, the more disadvantageous it would be for you when ites to reincarnating. Everything about you is recorded in the book of death. Don¡¯t think you can hide from the reapers forever just because they¡¯re not here yet to catch you.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to see if my parents are already dead. I want to find out.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll help you,e with me,¡± said An Xiaoning, walking toward the exit. The man nodded and followed her quietly. He could not help but look at the woman who had followed them. ¡°If the amulet falls off, she...¡± he asked. ¡°It won¡¯t fall off.¡± ¡°What are you going to do with her?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be sending her to the reapers. When she arrives in theherworld, she¡¯ll suffer a severe punishment for the evil deeds she has done as a ghost.¡± ¡°How about me...¡± ¡°I¡¯ll perform a ritual for you and send you straight to report to theherworld.¡± The man felt a huge sense of relief. An Xiaoning checked the death records in the database, only to discover that his parents had passed away too. Although the man was devastated, he said to An Xiaoning, ¡°Good that they are, at least they won¡¯t be suffering in misery and mourning my death for the rest of my life, since I¡¯m the only child in my family.¡± An Xiaoning said, ¡°Death is only an inevitable part of life.¡± While performing the ritual for him, An Xiaoning thought to herself that she did not make a wasted trip this time since she could help a spirit leave this world in peace. The young man¡¯s figure slowly began to fade and gradually vanished before her eyes. She then turned around to look at the woman beside her. The look of fear and shock on her face was drastically different from her arrogance previously. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the room where the corpses are kept. We¡¯ll just hand her over to the reapers when they¡¯re here.¡± ¡°Bring her inside first, I¡¯ll go get you something to eat,¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°Sure.¡± An Xiaoning stared at his back view with a smile. ¨D After filming for several hours in the day, Fang En still had to film a few more scenes in the evening, which would require her to be tied and suspended in the air by wires. Fang En meticulously made the necessary preparations, not daring to make any blunders when it came to work. She was afraid of making Jing Tian angry. The scenes to be filmed in the evening involved the supporting actor and actress. Yan Ge had already gone back to the hotel to get some rest after a long day of filming. The thunder was rumbling loudly outside while filming took ce unhurriedly in the studio. Jing Tian had put in a great ton of effort and time into filming the television series. Ever since the cameras started rolling and filmingmenced officially, he had never once had a good night¡¯s sleep. Yet, even then, he would never berate anyone or throw a tantrum unreasonably while on set. His attentiveness and strong sense of responsibility was what made Fang En want to ensure that she¡¯d make no mistakes herself. They filmed several scenes consecutively and only called it a day at three in the morning. After filming ended for the night, Jing Tian said to her, ¡°You shall rest in the day tomorrow. Filming will resume tomorrow night, all the way until the following morning. All of these scenes will then have to undergo post-production.¡± Chapter 896 - A Million Times for You (258)

Chapter 896: A Million Times for You (258)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Alright, go get some rest. You must be dead beat.¡± Fang En nodded and said, ¡°Don¡¯t tire yourself out either, Director.¡± On the way back to the hotel, Fang En and Xiao Yue almost fell asleep in the nanny van. They were dog tired. Once they arrived at the hotel, they alighted the nanny van with an umbre in hand and scurried toward the lobby. When they entered the elevator, Xiao Yue asked, ¡°Sis, what would you like to have for breakfast?¡± ¡°Sleep in and get more rest. You don¡¯t have to specially buy breakfast for me. I¡¯ll go eat something when I wake up.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Once she returned to her room, Fang Eny in bed immediately, not having the energy to even take a shower. At this moment, she felt something moving beneath the thin nket. Fang En immediately sprung up and lifted the nket, only to receive a great shock. She held her breath, and her eyes widened in astonishment as she let out a shriek of terror before running out of her room. She then frantically mmed her hand against Yan Ge¡¯s door. Yan Ge was jolted awake and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a snake on my bed...¡± Yan Ge immediately headed to her room with Fang En and discovered that there was a red snake lying sluggishly on her bed. He immediately called the hotel staff to get rid of the snake. There¡¯s no way a snake would appear out of the blue, unless it was ced there intentionally. Who was the one who did it? The management staff of the hotel dered that they would make a detailed investigation about the incident and promised to give her an exnation. Fang En¡¯s sleepiness vanished and she dared not sleep on that bed again. The management staff thus arranged for her to move into another room. She initially stayed in room 804 while Yan Ge stayed in 802. The supporting actor and actress stayed in the rooms opposite. She was now moved to room 808, which was two rooms away from Yan Ge¡¯s. However, Fang En was frightened out of her senses. Animals like snakes that had no spines were her greatest fear. After moving her belongings to the new room, she took a shower and forced herself to go to sleep while still shell-shocked and fearful. She suddenly woke up at nine o¡¯clock in the morning. Fang En put on her clothes and headed downstairs for breakfast. At the same time, she decided to check on the progress of the investigation. There were surveince cameras in the corridors of the hotel, and anyone who entered her room would have definitely been caught on camera. When she inquired about the situation from the front desk, she thought that the staff would tell her who the trespasser was. After all, the key card was required to unlock the door. Yet, the staff at the front desk told her that the snake had crawled into her room from the balcony. Fang En refused to believe their exnation because she would make a conscious effort to close the balcony door shut every single day. Besides, her room was on the eighth floor. How could the snake have possibly climbed so high? It was obvious that something was fishy. ¡°Were you guys bribed?¡± The staff immediately answered, ¡°This concerns our hotel¡¯s reputation. We definitely wouldn¡¯t ept bribes.¡± Fang En was not convinced at all and instead decided to tell Mei Yangyang about the matter right away. Mei Yangyang instructed her to wait patiently for her to arrive. Fang En was relieved to hear her words. She then headed to the buffet restaurant to have her breakfast. She carried her food on the tray and walked toward the table. Just as she set it down, Jing Shui handed her a ss of juice. ¡°Thank you.¡± Jing Shui sat down beside her and said, ¡°No problem.¡± ¡°I discovered a red snake on my bed when I returned to my roomst night.¡± ¡°Did you get injured?¡± Jing Shui asked with a sullen expression. Fang En exined, ¡°No. I felt something moving beneath the nket after lying down. I then lifted the nket to take a look. I¡¯ve already moved into another room. The manager of the hotel said that they would be giving me an exnation after investigating it thoroughly. However, when I asked them about it this morning, they imed that the snake had crawled into my room from the balcony. It¡¯splete nonsense. I¡¯ve already closed the windows and balcony door. I suspect that someone had trespassed my room and left the snake inside. But who could¡¯ve possibly gotten a hold of the key card to my room?¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you get the hotel to show you the surveince camera footagesst night?¡± ¡°I did, but the manager said that it was already the wee hours of the night and that they would check the footage when daybreak arrives. I thought their excuse was reasonable too. However, I¡¯ve already informed Sis Yangyang about this. She said that she¡¯ll be making a trip here today. I won¡¯t take this lying down.¡± Jing Shui nodded and said, ¡°That goes without saying. You¡¯ll only be giving the perpetrator another chance to harm you if you don¡¯t pursue the matter. Have your breakfast first, I¡¯m heading to the film set now.¡± ¡°Alright, go ahead,¡± said Fang En, who continued to eat alone. Before she even finished her food, she received a text message from Yan Ge, who asked her to go to his room, iming that he had something to tell her. She replied that she had yet to get out of bed. Soon after, she received Yan Ge¡¯s reply: ¡°Little liar, who¡¯s the person eating in the restaurant right now, then?¡± Fang En hurriedly scanned her surroundings and caught sight of Yan Ge, who was standing outside the ss. Feeling a little ashamed to have her lie be exposed, Fang En frantically replied: ¡°What are you looking for me for?¡± ¡°Something major. You¡¯ll find outter.¡± She put down her mobile phone and thought to herself that it must be something important. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have looked her up. She returned to the eighth floor after having her fill and pressed the doorbell of his room. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± she asked. Yan Ge closed the door and said, ¡°Give me a massage.¡± Fang En stopped in her tracks and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t I already say that I won¡¯t give you any more massages in the future? Did you forget what I said?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t forget, but how could you go back on your word?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you get your fianc¨¦e to massage you? At the same time, you¡¯ll get to nurture your feelings for each other.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to trouble her.¡± Fang En rolled her eyes and questioned in a hostile manner, ¡°So you think it¡¯s alright to trouble me?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Slightly peeved, she refused, ¡°I¡¯m not massaging you. I¡¯m going to go back to my room to catch up on sleep.¡± Just as she returned to her initial position, he approached her slowly and questioned, ¡°Are you trying to go back on your word and break your promise?¡± ¡°I¡¯m doing this for your own good. You¡¯re already engaged now. As the lead actor and actress of the television series, we ought to know our limits when ites to physical contact outside of filming.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a back and shoulder massage, what limits are we supposed to follow? Do you have too little faith in yourself and fear that you would fall for me or do you think that I¡¯ll be attracted to you?¡± he said coldly. ¡°I didn¡¯t think that way. Don¡¯t jump to conclusions.¡± He smirked and slowly forced her toward the wall. ¡°Since that¡¯s not what you think, what are you so concerned about?¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, I¡¯m just scared that you¡¯ll fall in love with me because of how charming I am,¡± Fang En said in annoyance. ¡°W... what?¡± Yan Ge questioned in surprise. Despite him being a veteran actor who had seen countless beautiful yet capable actresses, it was his first encounter with such a bold woman. ¡°I¡¯m not blind.¡± Pouting her lips, Fang En said, ¡°Let¡¯s just put an end to the massages. There¡¯s only a while more to go before filming ends anyway. We won¡¯t be meeting each other much either since we¡¯ll both be busy with our own lives. You¡¯ll be busy preparing for your wedding while I¡¯ll be busy with my next television drama series or film. That¡¯s great.¡± ¡°You¡¯re only going to taint your reputation by going back on your words.¡± Fang En took a deep breath and barked, ¡°Climb onto the bed!¡± Yan Ge turned around and walked inside upon realizing that he had sessfully coerced her into giving in. Chapter 897 - A Million Times for You (259)

Chapter 897: A Million Times for You (259)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios A minuteter, Fang En stood on his bed and pressed her foot onto his back to test the pressure, after which she nted both feet onto his back and began massaging him. ¡°Am I heavy?¡± ¡°You¡¯re as heavy as a mountain.¡± Upon hearing his meanment, she kicked him and chastised, ¡°I¡¯m giving you a massage yet you still have so much crap to say.¡± He grunted in pain and retorted, ¡°I only said it because you asked.¡± After some thought, ¡°Don¡¯t tell your fianc¨¦e about the massages that I¡¯ve been giving you. We won¡¯t be meeting much once filming officially ends anyway. I don¡¯t want her to get the wrong idea.¡± Yan Ge did not answer. A silence filled the room. After stepping on his back for a while, Fang En got off him and knelt on the bed to massage him with her hands. ¡°I feel just like a maid whenever I massage you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have such an ugly maid like you.¡± Fang En almost choked in anger and rebuked, ¡°Would it kill you to be kinder with your words?¡± ¡°It won¡¯t, but it¡¯ll make me feel miserable.¡± ¡°...¡± Fang En was filled with an inexplicable feeling. Unable to contain her anger, she pinched the flesh on his back forcefully. He turned around and said, ¡°Ah... women are the most vicious.¡± ¡°I just want to pinch you to death.¡± He nced at her and guffawed. ¡°How dare you stillugh,¡± she chided, giving him a smack. To Fang En¡¯s astonishment, he sat up straight all of a sudden. ¡°Don¡¯t you want a massage anymore?¡± ¡°Lie down, I¡¯ll give you a massage instead.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Fang En asked in surprise, feeling ttered. ¡°Yes...¡± She hurriedlyy on her stomach, thinking to herself that she ought to enjoy the rare treatment from him given that she had given him so many massages before. Due to the fact that his hands were big and strong, she instantly felt a huge relief in her back. Fang Eny on the bed and closed her eyes in pleasure. ¡°Not bad.¡± ¡°How are my skillspared to yours?¡± ¡°Although you¡¯re a good masseuse, you¡¯re stillcking in finessepared to me.¡± ¡°...¡± Fang En dozed off while lying in his bed, too weary and fatigued because she did not sleep well the night before. Yan Ge had already massaged her for about twenty minutes by the time he realized that she had fallen asleep. He stopped and leaned against the headboard to gaze at her while she was sound asleep with her eyes closed. He did not really harbor any romantic feelings for her and instead just decided to massage her because he felt an urge to. He did not wake her up and, instead, began to read a book that he had ced beside his bed. All of a sudden, Yan Ge felt a hand on his waist and looked over to see that she had turned to lie on her side and was hugging him. He moved her hand away. However, not long after he did, she moved her hand around again and ced it onto Yan Ge¡¯s crotch, causing him to freeze and tense up immediately. Yet, Fang En had no idea since she was deep in her sleep. He got out of bed and ced his book on the headboard, after which he pulled the duvet over her and exited. Fang En was left alone in the room and only woke up two hourster. She immediately got out of bed the moment she realized that she was in Yan Ge¡¯s room. She folded the duvet, ced it back onto the bed, and left the room after arranging the bedsheets. Soon after she left, Yan Ge returned with lunch. He saw that the bed was empty and that the duvet had already been arranged. At this moment, he seemed to be able to imagine the way she looked when she was folding the duvet. He decided to give her a call. ¡°Come inside my room.¡± ¡°What for...¡± ¡°I bought you lunch.¡± Fang En was at a momentary loss for words. ¡°Why did you buy me lunch?¡± she asked. ¡°I bought it along the way.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± She headed to his room with her wallet and ced the money for the food onto the table before digging in. Yan Ge did not say anything upon seeing the cash on the table. The doorbell rang all of sudden. They looked at each other, after which Fang En quickly scurried toward the door to look into the peephole. When she discovered that it was Xin Min at the door, Fang En immediately ran toward the balcony and squatted down. Yan Ge could not help but feel amused to see how worried and frantic she was, as if she had just done something shameful. We¡¯re just having lunch, aren¡¯t we? ¡°It¡¯s pouring so heavily right now. Why did youe here?¡± Xin Min entered and said with a smile, ¡°I cast my work aside and decided to spend more time with you here. I¡¯ve already instructed Xiao Li to carry my luggage into my room and given him my key card.¡± ¡°I¡¯m in the midst of filming, it won¡¯t be convenient for you to... follow me everywhere all day,¡± said Yan Ge, a little peeved about the fact that she had acted before asking for his permission. ¡°Rest assured, I won¡¯t show my face in front of the media. I¡¯ll be very, very careful.¡± ¡°Do you really n to stay in this hotel?¡± ¡°Of course, I came here prepared.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, she looked at the half-eaten food on the table and asked, ¡°Who were you eating with?¡± ¡°My colleague,¡± Yan Ge answered coldly. ¡°I haven¡¯t had lunch either.¡± ¡°Go and eatter, then.¡± Feeling rather disappointed, Xin Min said, ¡°I thought you would help me call for room service.¡± Yan Ge casually nced at the balcony and said, ¡°I have to resume filming at night so I have to catch up on sleep. If there¡¯s nothing else, you may go back to your room.¡± Dejection was written all over Xin Min¡¯s face. ¡°I want to stay with you, I won¡¯t disturb you,¡± she insisted. He did not argue further and continued to have his meal. Somehow, he seemed to have lost his appetite and the food seemed to have be tasteless. He constantlyforted himself that she was the wife he wanted, the fianc¨¦e he was engaged to, and that it would be better for the two of them to nurture their feelings for each other. Xin Min looked out of the window and said, ¡°The rain is still very heavy today. It seems like a flood is about to happen.¡± Noticing that she was about to walk toward the balcony aftering out of the washroom, Yan Ge said, ¡°Let¡¯s go out for a walk.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid of being seen by your fans or the paparazzi?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you already follow me around previously? I¡¯ll tell my manager to liaise with the reporters.¡± ¡°Give me a moment. Let me look at the weather,¡± she said, pointing at the balcony. Yan Ge took a deep breath and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that...¡± She insisted and opened the balcony door. Yan Ge was displeased to see that he could not stop her. Xin Min smiled at him and said, ¡°The rain is still very heavy, let¡¯s stay here instead.¡± Noticing that she did not seem to have found anything suspicious, Yan Ge walked toward the balcony, only to find that Fang En was no longer there. He panicked and looked down from the balcony. However, he did not see anything. Could it be... Just as he was about to run out, his mobile phone began to ring. He took a look at the caller disy and saw that it was Fang En who had called. He immediately answered, ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already returned to my room.¡± He ended the call, feeling much more relieved. He headed to the balcony and took another close look to see that there were footprints on the bushes and nts on the ledge that connected the balconies of room 802 and 804 together. The ledge was extremely narrow and only spanned across a width of about 50 centimeters. That loony actually climbed over to the balcony of her room, all because she was afraid of making Xin Min jealous. Wasn¡¯t she afraid of falling to her death? he thought to himself angrily. ¡°Why aren¡¯t there any anti-theft windows on this floor? Will the hotel be held responsible andpensate guests should anything happen?¡± Chapter 898 - A Million Times for You (260)

Chapter 898: A Million Times for You (260)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Yan Ge exined, ¡°Guests are usually allowed to choose if they¡¯d like to have a room with anti-theft windows or one without. However, the hotel rooms were almost full when we arrived and there were no longer rooms with anti-theft windows that were avable. Since we¡¯ve already signed an agreement with the hotel, the hotel won¡¯t be liable if we fall from the balcony because of our own mistake.¡± ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Yan Ge was not in the mood to continue chatting with her. Noticing that he was in low spirits, Xin Min returned to her room a short whileter. He then made his way to Fang En¡¯s room. ¡°Are you out of your mind? The ledge was so narrow... we¡¯re on the eighth floor, what if you¡¯d fallen to your death...¡± ¡°I won¡¯t die so easily. Look, I¡¯m fine now, aren¡¯t I? Your fianc¨¦e will definitely get the wrong idea if she saw us eating together in your room. Although my legs turned to jelly a little when I came out of room 804, I did feel fortunate to have escaped her eyes.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with having a meal together? She¡¯s not that petty.¡± Fang En retorted, ¡°Women are all petty to a certain extent. I know it clearly because I¡¯m a woman myself. If my man were to have a meal with another woman, I¡¯d definitely be peeved and upset even if I know that there¡¯s nothing between them. Forget it, I¡¯ve already made up my mind anyway. Regardless of how you say that I¡¯m going back on my word, I¡¯m not going to give in. Let¡¯s avoid seeing each other so often outside of filming and refrain from being in the same room alone, as far as possible.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± he answered coldly before turning around to leave. Fang En sat by the bed and stared at the ground while her mind went nk. ¨D Mei Yangyang arrived at three o¡¯clock in the afternoon. After hearing Fang En¡¯s description of the incident again, Mei Yangyang headed straight to the front desk and said, ¡°Call your manager here to see me.¡± ¡°Did something happen?¡± ¡°Of course, why would I be looking for him otherwise? Stop procrastinating and hurry up.¡± Noticing the sullen expression on her face, the receptionist immediately called the manager of the hotel. The manager found Mei Yangyang to be rather familiar-looking, though he could not remember where he had seen her. ¡°Miss, are you looking for me?¡± he asked. ¡°I¡¯m one of Fang En¡¯s bosses. I want to watch the surveince camera footages regarding the incident of the snake found on her bed.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but we discovered that the surveince cameras were faulty due to the heavy rain when we tried to watch the footage today. Although it had already been repaired in the afternoon, nothing was recordedst night. Hence, we deduced that the snake must have crawled into her room from the balcony. It might not have crawled up from the first floor. Perhaps one of our guests had smuggled the prohibited animal into the hotel and identally let it crawl away. We¡¯re very sorry about the incident.¡± Although the manager was tactful with his words and gave a reasonable exnation, Mei Yangyang clearly did not buy it. ¡°A malfunction... how could it be so coincidental?¡± Mei Yangyang remarked, ¡°That¡¯s indeed the case. I¡¯m very sorry.¡± Mei Yangyang decided to pursue the matter and demanded, ¡°Is apologizing all that you¡¯re nning to do? Should there be a second time, aren¡¯t you just giving the perpetrator another chance? Can you afford to bear the consequences if the snake is poisonous and end up killing someone? I¡¯m not asking that youpensate us in money, but I want you guys to issue a public apology to my artiste on the news.¡± ¡°Well...¡± said the manager, who was stuck in a dilemma because a public apology would definitely tarnish the hotel¡¯s reputation. He continued, ¡°Miss, I¡¯ll report this incident to my boss while you wait patiently for me to return. Will that do?¡± ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll wait for you on that couch over there. I¡¯m giving you half an hour¡¯s time. Also, I feel the need to remind you that the other owner of our artistepany is An Xiaoning,¡± Mei Yangyang said, smiling. ¡°Got it.¡± Mei Yangyang and Fang En waited on the couch in the lobby of the hotel. Mei Yangyang instructed, ¡°As much as possible, limit contact with Yan Ge outside of filming until filming ends. He has a fianc¨¦e now. If the paparazzi snaps some photos of you two and spark some false rumors, it¡¯s going to be disadvantageous to your reputation. Don¡¯t tell me, you¡¯ve already fallen for him?¡± Fang En frantically exined, ¡°No, not at all. How could I possibly fancy him?¡± ¡°Then keep an appropriate distance away from him.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Half an hourter, the manager returned. ¡°Our boss said that he¡¯s willing to solve this issue with apensation of 200 thousand dors. We hope you¡¯ll let us off, Ms. Mei.¡± ¡°Since you¡¯re so sincere, I won¡¯t say anything further. However, I hope this won¡¯t happen again in the future. Money can¡¯t solve anything should a fatal mishap happen.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, yes, we¡¯ll remember this lesson learned.¡± Mei Yangyang gave Fang En a portion of the 200 thousand dors they received, ording to the percentage stated on the artiste contract terms. She also instructed, ¡°Go ahead and eat anything you want. You¡¯ve been working hard every day. You¡¯re allowed to gain up to 1.5 kilograms. Any more and it won¡¯t be eptable. You won¡¯t look good on camera if you¡¯re too plump.¡± ¡°Alright, thank you, Sis Yangyang.¡± ¡ª An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan stayed in L City for an entire week. Their trip was rather fruitful and meaningful for them. The weather had already turned fair when they returned to A City. The air felt clear and fresh now that it had stopped pouring. Upon returning home, they took a shower merrily before taking afortable nap. An Xiaoning woke up to a piece of news that she was displeased about. Bu Xianxian had returned. However, that was not the main reason she was upset. The main reason was that Bu Xianxian had returned with a face that was closely simr to An Xiaoning¡¯s. Who would enjoy seeing their doppelganger who wasn¡¯t their own sister? After hearing Fan Shixin¡¯s description, An Xiaoning immediately decided to see for herself just how simr they now looked. Hence, she called Bu Xianxian over. Bu Xianxian was dressed in an off-shoulder, mermaid-tailed dress that was white in color and entuated her slender waist, along with a pair of crystal sandals. She had curly locks that cascaded down her back. Even Jin Qingyan was surprised to see her the moment she entered, let alone An Xiaoning. Bu Xianxian looked drastically different from the way she did months ago. In the past, Bu Xianxian used to have tan skin and exuded the aura of a country bumpkin. She also did not use much makeup. She seemed like apletely different person now. Jin Qingyan was infuriated after he recovered from the shock. His reason for being upset was exactly the same as An Xiaoning¡¯s ¡ª Bu Xianxian had intentionally gone under the knife to alter her features ording to An Xiaoning¡¯s. She now looked 80% identical to An Xiaoning. Fan Shixin remarked scornfully, ¡°Ms. Bu, do you really think it¡¯s appropriate to get work done on your face just so you could look like Young Madam!?!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already gone under the knife anyway. What¡¯s so inappropriate about it? Besides, Ms. An should feel ttered that I¡¯ve decided to model my features ording to hers. That just means that many girls want to look like Ms. An. That¡¯s a great honor. Ms. An, am I right?¡± Chapter 899 - A Million Times for You (261) Chapter 899: A Million Times for You (261) An Xiaoning was speechless. ¡°Cut the crap, I don¡¯t feel honored or ttered at all. Whatever. Like you said, you¡¯ve already gotten the surgery done. You can¡¯t possibly go under the knife again. But I must remind you, you¡¯d better not have any children for the rest of your life. Your child is going to be ugly since he or she would be inheriting your genes. When that happens, your lie is going to be exposed.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. My children can go under the knife too when they grow up,¡± Bu Xianxian answered nonchntly. ¡°Your children are going to be so unlucky. People are going to wonder if they¡¯re really your children right after they¡¯re born. When they grow up, they¡¯ll even have to bear the risks and pain of going under the knife. Poor children. When age catches up with you, the effects of your stic surgery are going to wear off and your true features are going to be exposed.¡± ¡°You... can¡¯t you say something nice about me?¡± Bu Xianxian retorted. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°...¡± Jin Qingyan raised his brows and questioned austerely, ¡°Who gave you the courage and audacity... to return to Wei Ni Estate even after you went under the knife to look like Xiaoning?¡± ¡°Nick... I got my features altered to look like hers solely because I couldn¡¯t get a boyfriend with that face of mine before. Besides, everyone can tell that we¡¯re two separate people. I only look 80% identical to her, not entirely,¡± said the obnoxious Bu Xianxian, who had be much more confident after her stic surgery. She sounded rather self-righteous, as if she did not do anything wrong at all. Indeed, she had the right to go under the knife and was not breaking thew. However, it was illegal to Jin Qingyan. He could not help but feel annoyed and infuriated, especially since he would have to see her around frequently in Wei Ni Estate. He could not stand the fact that she now looked so simr to the love of his life. ¡°Move out tomorrow with your parents.¡± An Xiaoning was thrilled to hear his words, for she utterly detested Bu Xianxian. It was wonderful that she no longer had to see her. ¡°Nick... are you mistaken about something? I didn¡¯t get stic surgery because of you. Actually, I no longer harbor any feelings or designs on you. I only went under the knife because I want to get a boyfriend.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t mistake anything. I don¡¯t care what you think at all. It¡¯s my opinion that matters most. I don¡¯t want to see your face ever again.¡± The smile on Bu Xianxian¡¯s face vanished instantly. Slightly dumbfounded, she said, ¡°Did you forget something? Without me, you wouldn¡¯t be here today. I saved your life!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t try and emotionally ckmail me with that. I¡¯m very grateful toward you for saving my life, but that¡¯s a separate issue altogether. Don¡¯t lump them together. Besides, I¡¯ve already repaid you for your help. Otherwise, where would you have gotten the money for stic surgery?¡± Bu Xianxian retorted angrily, ¡°You¡¯re just chasing me and my parents away now, aren¡¯t you? You¡¯re chasing your life saviors away just because I got stic surgery to look like An Xiaoning. Good job.¡± A frown creased Jin Qingyan¡¯s forehead. Just as he was about to say something, An Xiaoning grabbed his hand and put on an innocent smile. An Xiaoning said, ¡°Bu Xianxian, you¡¯ve already mastered the nativenguage of S Nation and we¡¯ve also given you five million dors. That¡¯s enough tost you and your family a lifetime. Isn¡¯t it great to live life on your own? Why must you insist on staying in our house?¡± She stood up and walked toward Bu Xianxian. Scanning Bu Xianxian from head to toe, An Xiaoning continued, ¡°I heard stic surgery is addictive. Don¡¯t be an addict. Actually, you don¡¯t resemble me that much, now that I¡¯ve taken a closer look. We still don¡¯t look the same. Our lips arepletely different. Your eyes are too big and too far apart, and your nose bridge is too high. It doesn¡¯t go well with your lips at all. How many whitening injections have you had to undergo to get rid of the dark pigments of your skin? Seems like you¡¯ve gone through a great deal of pain. Do you still n to continue getting more work done?¡± ¡°What has... my decision got to do with you? You¡¯re just lucky to be born with good looks,¡± Bu Xianxian retorted. ¡°A beautiful woman can attract men with her personality, but what makes a man stay devoted to you is your personality.¡± ¡°Talk is cheap. Who¡¯s going to want to get to know my personality with those hideous looks of mine previously?¡± ¡°You¡¯re wrong. Your looks are only part of the reason why the men in Wei Ni Estate dislike you. Your personality is the main issue,¡± An Xiaoning said calmly. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my personality? I have a great personality, your people here just don¡¯t know how to appreciate it,¡± she protested. ¡°Yes, yes, our men hereck the ability to appreciate such a wonderful personality like yours. Now that you¡¯ve be beautiful, take your awesome personality with you and move out together with your parents.¡± Bu Xianxian shifted her gaze toward Jin Qingyan and glowered at him with resentment in her eyes. ¡°Nick, are you really going to be so heartless?¡± Unable to tolerate it any further, An Xiaoning interjected scornfully, ¡°He doesn¡¯t want to talk to you. In fact, he wants to shove some feces into your mouth.¡± ring daggers at her, Bu Xianxian retorted, ¡°You¡¯re so crude with your words... I¡¯m talking to Nick, not you. You don¡¯t have to answer on his behalf.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but he¡¯s my man and I must answer on his behalf since he¡¯s so unwilling to talk to you. I wouldn¡¯t bother if it was someone else. Stop trying to emotionally ckmail him with the fact that you saved his life. Even if Qingyan doesn¡¯t, I¡¯ll help you and your family should your lives be put in danger in the future. You ought to know your ce. Go embark on your pursuit for happiness with that stic face of yours.¡± An Xiaoning was already trying her best to be polite. Bu Xianxian sneered, ¡°You were the one who badmouthed me in front of him, weren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°You¡¯re just measuring another¡¯s corn by your own bushel. If there¡¯s nothing else, pack your bags and leave with your parents,¡± said An Xiaoning, who could not be bothered to argue with her. Seeing that there was no way to salvage the situation, Bu Xianxian turned around to leave without saying another word. An Xiaoning grabbed his face and kissed him zealously. ¡°Well done!¡± ¡°Is this all I get as a reward?¡± ¡°What else are you expecting?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not enough.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get married again.¡± A silence filled the air. Jin Qingyan¡¯s eyes glistened in joy and surprise. However, the glimmer in his eyes soon faded. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you don¡¯t believe in marriage anymore? Didn¡¯t you say that you believe that you¡¯ve been cursed? Why...¡± An Xiaoning interrupted, ¡°My desire to be your wife again is far greater than my phobia toward marriage and overpowers my worries about the curse.¡± He ced his hand on hers and gently caressed her skin with his fingertips. ¡°You¡¯re already enjoying the privileges and treatment that my wife would enjoy. You¡¯ll still be my woman, the mother of my son, and the mistress of this house, with or without that certificate.¡± Chapter 900 - A Million Times for You (262)

Chapter 900: A Million Times for You (262)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning noticed the look of dismay hidden in his eyes and said with a smile, ¡°I was just teasing you. I¡¯m sure you know how I feel about marriage nowadays.¡± Seemingly feeling a huge sense of relief, he pulled her into his arms and said, ¡°Wait for me...¡± ¡°Wait for you to what?¡± ¡°Wait for me to prepare everything and make sure nothing goes wrong, wait for me to give you the confidence to marry me without any qualms. Wait for me to get rid of all the problems we might face before I make you my wife.¡± He rested his chin on her head. All he ever wanted was to marry her again and give her the happiness that she deserved. However, it was not the right time yet. Having understood his concerns, An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°Sure.¡± She wondered if he believed her excuse. She had meant every word from the bottom of her heart when she said that she wanted to marry him again. She did not rehearse the lines in her head on purpose and instead just allowed them to roll off her tongue. An Xiaoning had a feeling that Jin Qingyan was clear about that too. They simply refused to expose each other¡¯s innermost thoughts. ¡ª Bu Xianxian ryed Jin Qingyan¡¯s words to her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Bu understood his reasons for doing so. ¡°He¡¯s already given us so much money and gave us a roof over our heads for so long. It¡¯s more than enough. Since he¡¯s already made such a request, it¡¯s time we leave,¡± said Mrs. Bu. Mr. Bu looked at his daughter and chastised, ¡°It must have been the way she looks now that infuriated Nick.¡± ¡°Xianxian looks great now.¡± ¡°Yes, she¡¯s so good-looking that she doesn¡¯t look like our daughter anymore. Who¡¯d believe that we gave birth to her?¡± Mr. Bu sneered. ¡°Father, cut it out. I didn¡¯t even me you and Mother for passing on those horrible genes to me, yet you still forbid me from changing my appearance. Everyone wants to look beautiful. Just you wait and see. I, your daughter, am definitely going to get a boyfriend now that I¡¯ve be so gorgeous. However, I feel like my nose bridge is way too high and doesn¡¯t match my mouth at all,¡± said Bu Xianxian, staring at her reflection in the mirror. Upon hearing her words. Mrs. Bu immediately said, ¡°Xianxian, you¡¯re already beautiful enough. Don¡¯t go under the knife again. I think you¡¯re getting addicted to stic surgery. Did you forget that you initially just wanted to get your eyes altered to look like Ms. An¡¯s? Later on, you continued to have your cheekbones shaved to resemble hers too. Even your eyebrows have been embroidered to look the same, so is your nose. If the doctor hadn¡¯t said that it was impossible, you probably would have made your lips look like hers too! You¡¯ve already spent so much money and be gorgeous enough. Don¡¯t go on anymore. Although you look a lot like Ms. An now, your aura is nothing like hers.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not trying to look exactly like her either, that¡¯s so unoriginal. Besides, she and I are not biologically rted anyway. It¡¯s enough for me to look 80% identical to her. Do you know how much pain I went through to look like this? My efforts have finally paid off,¡± Bu Xianxian said nonchntly. ¡°Don¡¯t get any more stic surgery then, you¡¯re already perfect as you are now.¡± Still feeling worried, Mrs. Bu warned, ¡°Your father and I have already had a discussion. We won¡¯t be giving you any more money.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough, stop being so long-winded. Go pack your belongings. We¡¯ll stay in a hotel before looking for a house to move into,¡± Bu Xianxian said in annoyance. ¡°We¡¯ll go right now.¡± Mr. and Mrs. Bu proceeded to pack their luggage, after which they left Wei Ni Estate without dy together with Bu Xianxian. When they got inside the taxi, Mrs. Bu asked, ¡°Xianxian, do you really not harbor designs on Nick anymore?¡± ¡°Mother, how many times do I have to repeat myself? Of course I don¡¯t fancy him anymore. Given my current appearance, I can definitely find a better man than him.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just afraid that you¡¯ll say one thing and mean another,¡± said Mrs. Bu, who knew her own daughter all too well. Bu Xianxian looked out of the window and remained silent. Seeing that she was refusing to speak, Mrs. Bu continued, ¡°Promise me that you only went under the knife to look like Ms. An because you want to be beautiful and not because of Nick.¡± Annoyed by her mother¡¯s constant probing, Bu Xianxian answered impatiently, ¡°Mother, you¡¯re so irritating. You keep asking me the same question again and again.¡± Mrs. Bu stopped talking and kept quiet. The family of three arrived at a random hotel that happened to be one of the franchised branches belonging to the Gu Corporation. Bu Xianxian initially thought that the staff at the front desk would mistake her for An Xiaoning. To her surprise, the female employee at the front desk clearly did not do so, despite being a little appalled. Slightly peeved, Bu Xianxian asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you find me familiar-looking?¡± Slightly taken aback, the female employee asked, ¡°Miss, did you stay in our hotel before?¡± Pointing at her own face, Bu Xianxian asked, ¡°You really can¡¯t tell who I am?¡± Despite finding Bu Xianxian extremely ridiculous, the female employee nheless answered politely with a smile, ¡°You¡¯re very beautiful, Miss. Please give me your identification card if you¡¯d like to book a room.¡± Bu Xianxian handed her her personal identification card and said, ¡°Two rooms for one day.¡± ¡°There are standard rooms, executive rooms, and deluxe rooms avable. Which one would you like?¡± ¡°Deluxe.¡± ¡°The deluxe rooms are categorized into three standards. The basic ones cost 1000 dors a night, the mid-standard ones cost 3000, while the most superior one costs 5000. The presidential suites are priced at 9999 dors for a night.¡± Just as Bu Xianxian was about to speak, Mrs. Bu tugged her arm and said, ¡°That¡¯s too expensive. We¡¯ll just take the standard rooms that cost a few hundred dors a night.¡± ¡°Mother, we¡¯re rich now. What¡¯s wrong with enjoying a night¡¯s stay in a luxurious room?¡± Bu Xianxian then said to the female employee, ¡°Give me two of those that cost 3000 dors.¡± Mrs. Bu stopped her and said, ¡°Miss, we¡¯ll just take the 1000-dor ones.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have the 3000-dor ones,¡± Bu Xianxian insisted. Mrs. Bu could not outargue her daughter and gave in ultimately. In the end, they checked into the rooms and spent a total of six thousand dors. While on their way to the rooms, Mrs. Bu chided, ¡°We can¡¯t squander money away even if we¡¯re rich now. It¡¯s six thousand dors we¡¯re talking about!¡± ¡°We can afford it anyway. What are you afraid of? What¡¯s the point of having money if you don¡¯t spend it?¡± Too angry for words, Mrs. Bu kept quiet. Upon returning to the room, she said to her husband, ¡°I think we¡¯d better buy somend in a farming vige here and settle down.¡± Upon hearing her suggestion, Bu Xianxian immediately objected, ¡°Why are we moving to a farming vige? Mother, we¡¯ll just buy a house in one of the estates in the city. It¡¯ll reflect well on us too when I find you a wealthy son-inw. If I reallynd myself with a wealthy man, he¡¯s going to be embarrassed when he finds out that we¡¯re living in a farming vige.¡± ¡°We¡¯re in the city now. The cheapest mansion will still have to cost at least a few million dors. If we really do buy one, we¡¯ll be left with so little money.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I say that you don¡¯t have foresight. We can always sell the house if we no longer want to stay in it in the future. Mother, do you have anymon sense at all? Look how beautiful I¡¯ve be. I spent so much money and went under the knife so many times, just so I could be a wealthy man¡¯s wife like An Xiaoning. By then, you and Father will get to enjoy endless bliss and live affluently. Do you get it?¡± said Bu Xianxian, who was beyond frustrated with her mother. Chapter 901 - A Million Times for You (263)

Chapter 901: A Million Times for You (263)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Your father and I have never dared to harbor desires for such a lifestyle. Xianxian, aren¡¯t we living well now? We¡¯ve be affluent and can livefortably. It¡¯s not that easy being a wealthy man¡¯s wife. That An Xiaoning didn¡¯t get to where she is just because of her looks. When your father and I were working in the estate, we heard from our colleague that she¡¯s the daughter of the former president. She¡¯s royalty, and she has the Gu family to back her up. How can youpare yourself to her?¡± ¡°We¡¯re both humans, why can¡¯t Ipare myself to her? Is she encrusted with diamonds or gilded with gold? Who cares if she¡¯s the former president¡¯s daughter? I¡¯ve already seen it all over the news. The current president of the nation is not on good terms with An Xiaoning at all. Well, at the end of the day, they don¡¯t share the same biological mother. They don¡¯t get along as well as they seem to on the surface.¡± Breathing erratically, Mrs. Bu said, ¡°Does that mean I was right? You im to have stopped harboring feelings for Nick and that you¡¯ve already given up on him. But in reality, you still haven¡¯t lost hope or given up on him yet.¡± Bu Xianxian picked up her bathrobe and walked toward the bathroom,pletely ignoring her mother. ¡ª ¡°The elderly man in R Nation has passed on and I¡¯ve already buried him in his ancestral graveyard,¡± Gu Beicheng said while stirring his coffee with a spoon. ¡°Got it, I¡¯ll inform Rongyan about this,¡± said An Xiaoning, sounding a little gloomy. Gu Beicheng continued slowly, ¡°I heard a piece of news, though I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s real. That treasure map is said to still be in V Nation, and many people have flocked there in a bid to find it.¡± ¡°Regardless of where it is, I have no interest in it at all. You¡¯d better not think of getting your hands on that thing too. The person who has it now is definitely not one to be trifled with. None of the three thousand elite soldiers or special agents that Tuoba Gucheng have sent managed to return alive. That just shows that it takes a great deal of power and capability to obtain it. Anyway, I don¡¯t feel like going there at all,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°After having several close shaves with death, Mingxi and I no longer ce that much emphasis on money and material possessions. I no longer have ns to acquire it either. I¡¯m just worried that Tuoba Gucheng would set you up for a trap again. He probably has ns to mess with you again since you made it back in one piece from V Nation.¡± Hugging her knees while seated on the couch, An Xiaoning held her cup with both hands and said, ¡°Does he think it¡¯s that easy to lure me into his trap? Once bitten, twice shy. I¡¯m not going to let him manipte me so easily again. Besides, the person who holds the treasure map has already warned me strictly not to interfere. I don¡¯t want to put my life at risk again.¡± ¡°Good that you¡¯ve thought about everything clearly.¡± ¡°Those fools have no idea what awaits them in V Nation. They¡¯ll never make it back alive and they¡¯re just going to be food for those cannibals.¡± An Xiaoning took a sip of her coffee before continuing, ¡°I truly got an eyeopener when I went to V Nation. I only understood then that anything is possible in this world. I think those blood-drinking tribes are closely simr to vampires, minus the various paranormal abilities that vampires possess. However, the very fact that they feed off human blood is terrifying enough. It¡¯s better not to provoke them.¡± ¡°Thank heavens you managed toe home unscathed.¡± ¡°Where did Mingxi go?¡± ¡°To my mother-inw¡¯s ce.¡± An Xiaoning put her cup down and grabbed her bag while rising from her feet. ¡°I have to make a trip down to the martial arts academy and visit my sons.¡± ... Fifteen minutester, she appeared outside the martial arts academy. An Xiaoning then called both her sons toe out. She did not n to hide the truth about the elderly man¡¯s death from Rongyan, for she thought that it would be better for Rongyan to learn and understand clearly that he no longer had any family in this world apart from them. ¡°Rongyan, Mommy¡¯s going to tell you something today. Don¡¯t feel too upset after you hear what I have to say,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Did Grandpa pass away?¡± he asked. What a sensitive child. An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯ve already had him buried beside your parents.¡± ¡°Grandpa,¡± Rongyan muttered softly while tearing up uncontrobly. He was rather silent while weeping and did not bawl loudly at all. An Xiaoning hugged him and patted his back gently. ¡°It¡¯s alright, you still have us. We¡¯re your family.¡± He put his arms around An Xiaoning¡¯s neck and murmured in between sobs, ¡°Mommy...¡± An Xiaoning knew clearly how it felt to lose one¡¯s closest kin. She was utterly devastated when her mentor passed away. She felt as if she had lost her only kin in the world. There would no longer be anyone who will treat her as well as her mentor did. That was what she thought at the time. Although several years had passed, she still felt as agonized as she did back then at the thought of her mentor¡¯s death. ¡ª In the evening, No. 13, No. 14, and Shi Qingzhou made numerous dumplings with the meat filling that they had minced themselves. They then sat down for an enjoyable dinner with the rest at the dining table. Everyone was served a bowl of dumplings each, and they ate together because the dumplings were no longer piping hot and were just at the right temperature. Before they finished, No. 14 clutched his stomach and let out a shriek of agony. Everyone put down their bowl one after another. Just as they were about to stand up, the same thing happened to them. An Xiaoning instantly felt an excruciating pain in her stomach as well. ¡°Father, Mother, how are you two?¡± she asked. Panting heavily, Shi Qingzhou said, ¡°Xiaoning, hurry and get a basin of soap water. Use it to induce vomit.¡± Forcing herself to bear with the pain, An Xiaoning sprinted to the washroom to get a basin of soap water instead of calling an ambnce. She made each of them down a ss of soap water each while she gulped arge ss of it herself. After chugging the soap water, all of them instantly threw up the dumplings that had yet to bepletely digested. She then hurriedly dialed the emergency number to call for an ambnce. An Xiaoning pressed her hands gently against Shi Qingzhou, who had an awful expression on her face, to try and help her vomit, after which Shi Qingzhou threw up some more food bits. She then did the same for Tuoba Shuo. There were too many bodyguards and she could not take care of all of them. At this very moment, No. 11 yelled, ¡°Sis, No. 14 is having an asthma attack.¡± Noticing that No. 14 was having difficulty breathing and had broken out in a cold sweat, An Xiaoning frantically asked, ¡°Where¡¯s the first aid kit?¡± ¡°Sis, it¡¯s on the third floor...¡± Just as No.1 was about to get up to retrieve the kit, he copsed abruptly and quivered vigorously. His eyes rolled back, and he immediately stopped breathing. It happened in less than twenty seconds. An Xiaoning sprinted to the third floor and returned with the antidote. However, it was toote; No. 14 was bleeding profusely from his nose with white foam and mucusing out of his nostrils. An Xiaoning stood rooted to the ground in fear as the bottle of antidote fell to the ground, her heart wrenching. She turned around and headed to her bedroom on the second floor to retrieve several amulets. However, No. 2 and No. 3 had already died by the time she returned. The tragedy did not end there. As she pasted an amulet on them each, No. 4 passed away too. Not daring to dy any further, An Xiaoning tried to help No. 10 vomit. When it was No. 11¡¯s turn, No. 12 could no longer hang in there because of his heart disease. More and more foam wafted out of No. 13¡¯s mouth as he struggled to speak. ¡°Sis, No. 14 and I... dare not poison the food, we dare not...¡± Chapter 902 - A Million Times for You (264)

Chapter 902: A Million Times for You (264)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I know, I know, stop talking, I¡¯ll try and make you vomit...¡± said An Xiaoning. No. 13¡¯s breathing began to get more and more faint. ¡°I... won¡¯t make it. Serving you... has been a great blessing... thank...¡± No. 13 passed away even before he could finish hisst words. Staring at No. 13¡¯s soul leaving his body and being taken away by the reaper, An Xiaoning could not contain her emotions and began weeping loudly in misery. She already thought of her bodyguards as her own family the moment she bought them. It was her negligence that had caused the loss of so many of her family members whom she had failed to protect. Upon the sight of her crying, everyone immediately teared up without hesitation. Four minutes had passed since No. 14 let out his first shriek. Seven lives were lost within just five minutes. Had she chosen to send them to the hospital instead, they would very likely have died along the way. A grave and somber mood filled the air in the living room. The unbearable pain An Xiaoning initially felt in her abdomen soon began to fade. Resentment grew in her heart, and she was determined to find out who the vicious culprit was! The ambnce only arrived more than twenty minutester. Upon the sight of the ambnce that had arrived wayter than it should, An Xiaoning questioned in a hostile manner, ¡°Are you people snails? The hospital is only five minutes away from here. Why did you take more than twenty minutes to arrive?¡± The paramedics were frightened to see that it was her and hurriedly exined, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Ms. An, we were stuck in traffic along the way, that¡¯s why we¡¯rete.¡± ¡°Stop wasting any more time. Hurry and carry them onto the ambnce, they¡¯re poisoned.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, yes...¡± The paramedics swiftly carried the nine people onto the ambnce and rushed toward the hospital. An Xiaoning did not tag along and instead called Jin Qingyan to get him to send some bodyguards to the hospital. Upon hearing that something major had happened, Jin Qingyan sent his bodyguards to the hospital without hesitation and drove to Sanqiao Estate personally, along with Bei Qi and some other people. An Xiaoning was in the midst of cleaning up the mess and vomit on the floor, looking as pale as a ghost. The living room was filled with a pungent odor. Jin Qingyan took the broom away from her hands and pulled her onto the couch. ¡°Let Xiao Bai do it,¡± he said. He then handed the broom to Xiao Bai, who hurriedly cleaned up the mess. Staring at Bei Qi, who was standing behind Jin Qingyan, An Xiaoning said, ¡°There are still some raw dumplings inside the cab in the kitchen. We got poisoned after eating them...¡± Bei Qi nodded and was pushed into the kitchen in his wheelchair. ¡°Have you checked the surveince cameras?¡± An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°Yes, but there wasn¡¯t anything unusual in the footages.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go to the kitchen.¡± Once they got inside the kitchen, Bei Qi instructed Xiao Lu to bring him some dumplings, after which he said, ¡°I¡¯ll get an answer very soon.¡± ¡°I want it as soon as possible.¡± After Bei Qi returned to Wei Ni Estate, An Xiaoning instructed Xiao Bai to tend to her apartment while she and Jin Qingyan rushed to the hospital. The nine of them had gastricvages and had been admitted to their respective wards. The doctor exined, ¡°Although I don¡¯t know exactly which poison it is, I can tell that it¡¯s a very lethal one. The three minutes before the effects of the poison set in are the most crucial. You guys have done the right emergency treatment. That¡¯s what allowed them to survive. They¡¯ll have to be hospitalized for the time being for further observations. They¡¯ll be fine if no abnormal situations crop up in the next 24 hours.¡± ¡°Alright, thank you, Doctor.¡± An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan entered the hospital ward together, after which An Xiaoning sat down on Shi Qingzhou¡¯s bed. Holding her mother¡¯s hand while tearing up incessantly, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Mother, I¡¯m sorry.¡± Shi Qingzhouforted her, ¡°What are you apologizing for? It¡¯s not your fault anyway. We just didn¡¯t take enough precautions and allowed the perpetrator the chance to take action...¡± ¡°The doctor said that you guys are generally safe if there are no furtherplications within 24 hours. I¡¯ve already gotten someone to send the poison for a test, we¡¯ll have the results very soon...¡± She turned around to look at the rest of them with an icy cold expression on her face. ¡°I¡¯ll definitely find the perpetrator behind this. I¡¯ll let the culprit know clearly what the consequences are.¡± The incident was not reported on the news, and no one else knew what happened yet. Bei Qi was indeed an expert chemist. One hourter, he informed her of the results, ¡°The water supply had been tampered with, but I¡¯ve yet to confirm which part of it went wrong. I¡¯m heading there with the detector now. I¡¯ll need some help.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± An Xiaoning ended the call and said to Shi Qingzhou, ¡°We¡¯re guessing that something has gone wrong with the water supply, though further investigation has to be done to find out which part of it was tampered with exactly. I¡¯m going home to check up on it carefully. Call me again if there¡¯s anything, Mother.¡± ¡°Alright, go ahead. Drive safely.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and stood up to leave together with Jin Qingyan. While on their way back to Sanqiao Estate, Jin Qingyan transferred more than ten of his bodyguards over. They first checked the main water supply. The main pipe was situated in one of the rooms in the house. They first pumped some water into a pail and proceeded with the test, after which they removed it to reveal arger, white-colored pipe. The well was the main reservoir, which supplied water to the entire mansion. Hence, they decided to start testing the water from the sewage. If the poisoned water was confirmed to be from somewhere else and not via the underground well, it would be much easier to find out from the other areas. After the test, it was verified that the main sewage was the root of the problem. However, what was puzzling was that the pipe was further away from the ground and yet the underground water was contaminated. If it was the underground water that had been contaminated, the rest of the residents in the estate would have been affected too. Hence, An Xiaoning decided to ask the other residents. To her astonishment, none of the other residents were affected or poisoned. Besides, most of the residents were cooking at home using the water from the tap. It was obvious that only the water supplied to her mansion was contaminated. But how was that possible? They were all living on the same patch ofnd, so why was her house the only affected one? ¡°Remove the pipe.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The moment the pipe was removed, everyone caught sight of a hole about five meters away from the pipe. The hole was rather small. Everyone could not help but look at each other in dismay. Bei Qi suggested, ¡°Cut that portion off with a saw. I want to conduct a test on that spot.¡± An Xiaoning gestured for the bodyguards to immediately begin sawing to allow Bei Qi to carry out the test. An Xiaoning could see where the hole was facing. Seemingly having guessed the conjectures she had formed in her head, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°Xiao Bai, call Shixin and get him to prepare seven coffins...¡± An Xiaoning interjected, ¡°One is enough.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Jin Qingyan asked in puzzlement. ¡°We¡¯ll cremate them and store their ashes in an urn. We¡¯ll then ce the urns together in a coffin so that they can be with each other.¡± Chapter 903 - A Million Times for You (265)

Chapter 903: A Million Times for You (265)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyan decided toply with her wishes and said to Xiao Bai, ¡°Do as your Young Madam said. Get Shixin to prepare a coffin of superior quality.¡± ¡°Yes, Young Sir.¡± Xiao Bai swiftly did as instructed and called Fan Shixin. Just like they had guessed, the hole of the pipe was coated with lethal poison, beneath which there were signs of sinking. It was more than obvious. The mastermind was extremely scheming and vicious to have thought of poisoning them using such a cunning method that they couldn¡¯t have defended against. One would die within a short amount of time once they ingest the water from the well. Jin Qingyan ordered for a hole to be dug deeper into the well, until it reached a depth of about five meters. They then verified that there was a simr pipe near the hole, after which they continued digging around the hole. At this moment, An Xiaoning asked Bei Qi, ¡°Do you know what kind of poison this is?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not quite sure yet at the moment. Let me look into it and do my research for a night. I¡¯ll give you an answer tomorrow morning.¡± An Xiaoning expressed assent and said, ¡°It¡¯s going to be hard on you.¡± Bei Qi returned to Wei Ni Estate and began studying the poison while the cranes continued to dig. The managementmittee and security officers of the estate soon began to intervene. However, An Xiaoning managed to shut the security officers up by bribing them with some money, after which she was allowed to dig wherever she wanted. The pipe ended at a certain spot where they discovered an underground passage. It was extremely narrow. An Xiaoning instructed the bodyguards to enter the passageway while she and Jin Qingyan walked along the direction of the passageway above ground. The passageway was rather long and had several bends here and there. The exit led to a bridge near the estate. She looked at Jin Qingyan and said, ¡°It was such meticulous work. It takes more than ordinary skills to build such a passageway.¡± ¡°The mastermind must be well aware of where the water pump room is, to construct such a passageway.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. The water sources and supply in this estate are all controlled by the developer and management, apart from those in the apartments in the high buildings. Every well of each mansion is of different height and positions. Although there was already a well when I bought the mansion, the average person probably wouldn¡¯t be aware of where it is exactly in my house. Well, unless he or she inquires about it from the developer or the construction workers involved in building the mansion, or the architect or other workers.¡± She said, ¡°I think I know where to start investigating from.¡± Upon returning to the estate, Jin Qingyan ordered the bodyguards to tten the soil above the secret passageway. Since An Xiaoning did not eat much for dinner, Jin Qingyan instructed Auntie Chen to prepare her favorite dishes, which Xiao Bai then delivered to them. An Xiaoning had no appetite at all despite staring at the delicious food in front of her. Jin Qingyan handed her a pair of chopsticks and said, ¡°How can you go without food? Have a little something to eat. Although you said that you could survive without food, you¡¯re still human and it¡¯s better to eat something.¡± She decided to listen to his advice and began eating slowly. Due to the fact that she had downed some soap water to induce vomit earlier, her stomach felt rather upset when the food entered her stomach. She was eating at an exceptionally slow pace and was taking one small bite at a time, a stark contrast from her usual practice. It was not like her to be so demure at all. After dinner, An Xiaoning stared at the seven corpses on the floor. Unable to contain her grief, she teared up and said, ¡°When I first bought them, they were all so sickly and their health was in bad condition. No. 1 had contracted tuberculosis but managed to recover after treatment. No. 2 had an old ailment in his leg that would ache whenever the weather was cold. He had never gone to get it treated at the hospital before. No. 3 had gastric issues while No. 4 almost died during a mission in the past and hence his legs have be weak. No. 12 was born with heart disease while No. 13 also had issues with one of his legs, which had been crushed for twelve hours during a surgery. As a result, he can¡¯t walk fast. As for No. 14, he had asthma... They¡¯ve been put through a great amount of suffering ever since they were young and they¡¯re all orphans. They were all trained to kill...¡± An Xiaoning recalled the times they had together, especially that particr day when they were basking together under the sun in the backyard. She recalled the broad smiles on their faces as they chatted merrily. An Xiaoning could not go on and tears streamed down her face uncontrobly. ¡°I was the one who implicated them. If it weren¡¯t for me, they probably wouldn¡¯t be dead now.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say that...¡± Jin Qingyan hugged her from behind and tucked his chin into her neck before continuing, ¡°Everything happens for a reason. What you can do now is to let them rest in peace, and avenge them...¡± ¡°Yes, regardless of who the mastermind is, I¡¯ll definitely kill him or her myself. Apart from Shi Xiaoyu, this person is the one I detest the most. I¡¯m going to make Shi Xiaoyu pay with her life for everything that she had done to my mother!¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you make a verbal agreement with Tuoba Gucheng previously? He said that he wouldn¡¯t watch you kill his mother, nor would he let Shi Xiaoyuy a finger on you and your mother. Seems like the agreement has long been called off.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. It was ineffective the moment he tried to kill me. Not to mention, he even tried to deal with me using that ban. Tolerating them will only give them the chance to continue harming me and my family.¡± She chuckled mirthlessly and added, ¡°Birds of the same feather really do flock together.¡± Jin Qingyan picked her up in his arms and carried her up the stairs. ¡°Let¡¯s leave everything to tomorrow. Get a good sleep tonight.¡± An Xiaoning was carried into the bedroom. Shey in his embrace and soon fell asleep. It had been a long while since shest dreamed of her previous lifetime. She could not remember exactly how many days it had been. Although she wanted to know everything about her previous lifetime, she did not wish to dream about it. She was afraid that the dream would go on for longer than she intended. She did not want to stay asleep for several consecutive days. However, her body refused to listen to her mind, or perhaps her soul was subconsciously awakening her memory of her previous lifetime. Hence, she would dream of her previous lifetime once in a while. Just as she was about to open her tightly-shut eyes, An Xiaoning felt herself being hit by a rod and screeched in pain. Don¡¯t tell me I¡¯m going to be tortured again? she thought to herself. The moment she opened her eyes, she was greeted with the sight of a woman holding a rod. The woman appeared to be in her forties and had her hair pulled back into a low bun. She was dressed in purple from head to toe and was glowering at An Xiaoning. ¡°Wretchedss, who allowed you to sleep?¡± An Xiaoning stood up slowly and ced a hand on the spot where she was hit. She was initially already in a horrible mood. To make matters worse, she even suffered a beating in her dream. ¡°Wretched old hag, so what if I fell asleep?¡± Granny Sun did not expect her to say that. Seething with exasperation, she hollered, ¡°You¡¯re really asking for it eh!¡± She then attempted to swing the rod at An Xiaoning again. However, thetter managed to dodge and kicked her in her face. ¡°Oh goodness!¡± Granny Sun fell onto the ground immediately and winced in immense pain. An Xiaoning turned around to leave,pletely dauntless. How dare she bully me in my dream! I won¡¯t sumb as long as I can retaliate! It would be fine if she could not feel the pain; however, she could feel every inch of it! Chapter 904 - A Million Times for You (266)

Chapter 904: A Million Times for You (266)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning had vanished without a trace by the time Granny Sun crawled up. At this moment, An Xiaoning was loitering around ake. She stood by theke and stared at her reflection in the water. She was very young, and her features had yet topletely develop. However, the cogen in her face was still visible and she looked extremely radiant and youthful. At this very moment, Xiang Li hurriedly called her name and scurried toward her. ¡°Hua Jin, what are you doing here? Granny Sun is ordering the guards to nab you right now. How did you have the audacity to hit Granny Sun? She¡¯s the Princess Consort¡¯s nanny. Are you out of your mind?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already hit her anyway. Where¡¯s His Highness?¡± said An Xiaoning, not showing a tinge of fear at all. Dumbfounded, Xiang Li said, ¡°Hua Jin, His Highness is not going to defend you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not thinking of having him defend me. I¡¯m asking you, where is he?¡± Was the prince Jin Qingyan or not? That was what she wanted to know. ¡°The Princess Consort has already been rmed about you hitting Granny Sun. She and His Highness are both waiting for Granny Sun to catch you for punishment. You were beaten up so badly the previous time, I reckon the Princess Consort is going to beat you to your death this time,¡± Xiang Li said anxiously. ¡°Is His Highness Xi Houling?¡± Covering her mouth in astonishment, Xiang Li eximed, ¡°You must be out of your mind! How could you dare to spell out His Highness¡¯ full name? Do you really not want to live anymore?¡± An Xiaoning chuckled mysteriously and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t die. Bring me there, I¡¯m going right now.¡± Xiang Li¡¯s jaw dropped, and her eyes widened in shock. How could she stillugh when she was on the brink of death? Of course, she had no idea what An Xiaoning was thinking. In our previous lifetime, Jin Qingyan had been waiting to see me even after his death. How could I possibly die so easily in the pce... An Xiaoning headed straight to where he was. Along the way, she was cursing and swearing at him in her head. How dare he marry another woman? Men may have been allowed to have a few wives millenniums ago, but... She wished she could pinch him to death. An Xiaoning sent herself into the lion¡¯s den while Xiang Li led the way. Granny Sun flew into a rage upon the sight of An Xiaoning sauntering in. ¡°Princess Consort, that wretchedss is here!¡± she eximed angrily. Anxiety was written all over Xiang Li¡¯s face as she held her breath and stood by the side quietly. An Xiaoning continued to walk toward them, keeping her eyes fixed on the man approaching. She did not even bother taking a look at what the Princess Consort looked like. She had once seen him inside the coffin in the cave on Mount Yihua. She could not help but feel shocked and surprised to see him again. He was wearing a long, white robe that revealed a cor near the rims and had his jet-ck hair draped around his shoulders, a band holding it loosely in ce. He had a tall and slender frame and was standing gracefully. He was still as handsome as ever, and An Xiaoning could not tell the emotions hidden beneath his long, narrow eyes. His gorgeous lips were pressed gently together, and he appeared calm andposed. An Xiaoning could not get used to the way he was looking at her at this very moment. However, her foul mood was instantly lifted. ¡°Outrageous! Not only did you not kneel when you saw His Highness and the Princess Consort, you even have the audacity to stare at His Highness that way!¡± Granny Sun hollered haughtily, feeling much more confident now that she had the support of her masters. She raised her hand and tried to p An Xiaoning, who quickly grabbed her wrist to stop her. An Xiaoning grabbed her wrist with her slender hand and retorted, ¡°You were the one who hit me first, that¡¯s why I retaliated. I have parents too, how could you hit me like that?¡± Granny Sun¡¯s anger knew no limits. She looked at the Princess Consort, who had been remaining quiet, and said, ¡°Princess Consort, thisss is getting more and more brazen. Seems like we didn¡¯t punish her severely enough the previous time.¡± For the very first time, An Xiaoning looked at the woman standing beside Jin Qingyan. Her face was small and oval-shaped, and she had a pair of beautiful eyes paired with a button nose and small lips. She was wearing a long, pink dress that hung perfectly on her slender frame, and she had one hand on her tiny waist. The beautiful princess consort had a sullen expression on her face, and she did not try and hide the anger and displeasure in her eyes at all. An Xiaoning looked her in the eye fearlessly and watched as she yelled, ¡°You¡¯vemitted a mistake time and time again. Don¡¯t me me for refusing to give you any more chances. Bring her out to be executed!¡± Happiness was written all over Granny Sun¡¯s face, though she soon contained her joy due to the fact that Xi Houling was present as well. An Xiaoning thought that Jin Qingyan would try and stop her. To her astonishment, he did not! He really did not! This does not fit the description of his incarnate form his previous lifetime! He remained still andposed while watching her get dragged away. He did not move an inch at all. Realizing that she was about to be dragged out of the door, An Xiaoning yelled, ¡°Brother Ling!¡± An Xiaoning had yelled his name involuntarily. She, too, was dumbfounded when she heard herself. Indeed, history wouldn¡¯t change ording to the way she felt now. Everything had already been set in stone centuries ago, and the events in her dream would y out ordingly. ¡°Hold up. Bring her here,¡± said Jin Qingyan. Hence, An Xiaoning was brought back inside. She had initially nned to retaliate if she were to be pinned onto a bench and receive a beating. Anger and disgruntlement was written all over the Princess Consort¡¯s face. An Xiaoning thought that he called her back to save her and spare her from execution. However, she was again astounded. He cocked his head toward the side to look at his princess consort and said leisurely, ¡°We would be too kind to her by beating her to death. How about I have her tongue cut off first, mdy?¡± ¡°Good idea, Your Highness. Such a shameless maid like her deserves more pain than death. Bring her away and do as His Highness instructed.¡± An Xiaoning was bbergasted upon hearing their conversation. She could not believe that Jin Qingyan had said that. The people dragging her away this time were no longer ordinary servants and, instead, were Jin Qingyan¡¯s top bodyguards. An Xiaoning tried to struggle, but she was obviously no match for the skilled bodyguards. An Xiaoning had met those bodyguards before in Mount Yihua. They were the spirits who were guarding the coffin inside the cave. An Xiaoning was thus taken away. There were no knives present for her tongue to be cut off, however. Although it was a punishment chamber, the men did not touch her at all when they were inside. Instead, one of them said in a mellow voice, ¡°Miss Jin, you were too reckless. How could you address His Highness that way in front of the Princess Consort? His Highness is now put in a spot. I¡¯m sure you know how powerful and authoritative the Princess Consort is. His Highness instructed us to send you out secretly to a safe ce for a few days, yet you couldn¡¯t hold yourself back.¡± An Xiaoning had a moment of epiphany and immediately said, ¡°I really thought he would cut my tongue off and kill me...¡± ¡°Why would he... Miss Jin, please cooperate with us and let out a loud shriek. We¡¯ll be cing a metal sheet beneath your clothes and pretend to punish you.¡± ¡°Alright...¡± The bunch of people who were waiting to see a good show began gossiping and remarking incessantly the moment they heard the shrieks of agonying from inside. Chapter 905 - A Million Times for You (267) Chapter 905: A Million Times for You (267) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°A vixen like her should die as soon as possible. The Princess Consort had caught her red-handed when she climbed onto His Highness¡¯ bed previously, and yet she didn¡¯t learn her lesson even after a severe beating. She deserves it,¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s roommate, Xiao Liu, remarked snidely. ¡°Exactly, His Highness is not one whom she should be harboring designs on. She ought to take a look at herself in the mirror and know her ce.¡± ¡°Great, she¡¯s going to be beaten to death for not knowing any better. She¡¯ll even get her tongue cut off...¡± ¡°...¡± After shrieking in agony for a long while, her voice soon began to fade, and she only stopped when she decided that it was time to feign being dead. A red liquid was then smeared all over her body. Shey on the straw mat and was carried out of the room. She was then brought away from the pce and sent to the arranged venue. An Xiaoning knew that she was just dreaming, though she had no idea when she would wake up again. I slept for several consecutive days previously. What will happen this time? I¡¯m not going to dwell on it. I¡¯ll wake up when it¡¯s time for me to. She finally got inside the carriage. One of Jin Qingyan¡¯s skilled bodyguards was apanying her. He was riding the horse while An Xiaoning sat inside the carriage. ¡°May I ask you a few questions?¡± she asked. ¡°Feel free, Miss Jin.¡± ¡°Does Brother Ling have any children with the Princess Consort?¡± Dumbfounded, the bodyguard answered, ¡°Miss Jin... His Highness has yet to have any children, although other princes his age have already be fathers to several children. Don¡¯t you know that as well?¡± ¡°I mean, do they n to have any children...¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± An Xiaoning was filled with an inexplicable feeling upon hearing his words. The carriage trod along the roads at a slow and steady pace, and she soon dozed off. This time, her dreamsted shorter than it did previously. It was already daybreak by the time she woke up. Staring at the face that was closely in front of hers, An Xiaoning inched closer toward him and rubbed her face against his affectionately. She then wrapped her arms around him tightly, not wanting to let go at all. Jin Qingyan opened his eyes slowly and asked in a hoarse voice, ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡± ¡°I had another dream. I thought I would stay asleep for several consecutive days again. To my surprise, I actually woke up really soon.¡± ¡°Well, it was just an awakening of your memory of your previous lifetime. How could itst for the same duration every single time? Besides, your dreams don¡¯t follow the chronological sequence of events anyway. Tell me, what did you dream of this time?¡± An Xiaoning described every detail of her dream to him, after which she let out a long sigh and said, ¡°I was really afraid that you would gang up with that princess consort and cut my tongue off before beating me to death in that dream. However, I was rather relieved when I found out about something.¡± ¡°What did you find out?¡± ¡°When I asked your bodyguard if you and the Princess Consort were nning to have any children, he said ¡®Of course not¡¯...¡± Jin Qingyan tucked her hair behind her ear and said, ¡°Yes, you¡¯re the only person I want to have children with.¡± She stood up and said, ¡°Get up, I still have to visit them at the hospital today.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± The two of them got out of bed together. As soon as they arrived downstairs, they were greeted with the sight of Fan Shixin entering with a lunchbox in his hands. ¡°Here¡¯s some breakfast Auntie Chen made,¡± he said. An Xiaoning took it from his hands and asked, ¡°Has Bei Qie up with an answer yet?¡± ¡°He said he¡¯ll be done soon. Let¡¯s wait a little while longer.¡± Jin Qingyan lifted the lid of the lunchbox and said, ¡°Let¡¯s eat first.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± She sat down and picked up her chopsticks. Bei Qi came by personally after breakfast. He was pushed into the house in his wheelchair. There was a vial containing a blue liquid in his hands. Pointing at the vial, Bei Qi said, ¡°This is a newly-formted poison that contains extracts from tobo and another poison. It¡¯spletely odorless when dissolved in water and first attacks the stomach after ingestion. The poison will then infiltrate the blood cirction system and rapidly destroy the immune system so as to attack the cells in all parts of the body. If no emergency rescue action is taken within five minutes of ingestion, the results would be fatal. It takes more than an ordinary person to be able to concoct such a menacing poison.¡± An Xiaoning took the bottle of blue liquid from his hands. This is it, the very thing that... ¡°I must let the culprit have a taste of his or her own medicine and experience the grave effects of such a deadly poison.¡± Bei Qi looked up and said, ¡°The amount in this small vial is enough to kill tens of lives.¡± After putting away the vial in her pocket, An Xiaoning asked Bei Qi, ¡°Has there been any progress in the chemical I wanted you to invent?¡± ¡°I¡¯m still in the midst of research and production. It¡¯ll take some time before I can produce it. After all, it¡¯s no ordinary chemical. Please be patient and wait a while longer.¡± ¡°Alright, I have faith in your abilities.¡± She looked at Xiao Lu, who was pushing Bei Qi¡¯s wheelchair, and said, ¡°Bring Teacher Bei Qi back and take good care of him.¡± ¡°Yes, Young Madam.¡± An Xiaoning then looked at Jin Qingyan and Fan Shixin. ¡°We can¡¯t afford any more dy. I¡¯m going to start investigating this matter.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think any of the perpetrators who received orders from the mastermind is still alive now. Since the mastermind has decided to act in secret, how could he possibly let any insiders survive?¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°Even if they diedst night, I must find out who did it. Who said that a dead man keeps secrets best?¡± An Xiaoning said with a look of determination in her eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll get Shixin to assist you. I have to head to the office now.¡± ¡°Alright, go ahead.¡± Jin Qingyan walked toward her and kissed her forehead before leaving. ¡°Where do we head to first? Do we go to the management and security office?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± She took a look at the time and said, ¡°Give me a minute, I¡¯ll go upstairs to get something.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Minutester, she hurriedly rushed downstairs and got inside the car with Fan Shixin, who was in charge of driving. An Xiaoning sat in the passenger¡¯s seat and called her hospitalized mother to ask about their condition. She felt much more relieved upon hearing that they were doing just fine. Thirty secondster, the car pulled over in front of the management and security office. An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin alighted from the car and proceeded to the guard room together. Upon the sight of them, the guards on duty askedposedly, ¡°Ms. An, is there anything we can help you with?¡± ¡°May I ask if any one of your staff members died within the past few days?¡± ¡°No.¡± An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°Some of my bodyguards diedst night. I want to view the surveince camera footages. May I?¡± ¡°Of course you may. I¡¯ll show you the footage from yesterday,¡± said the guard on duty. ¡°Sure, thank you.¡± She took a step forward and stood beside the guard whom she had focused the bulk of her attention on. There could only be two reasons why he allowed her to watch the footages sopliantly. It could be that he was really just being cooperative. But another reason could be that he had already viewed the footages and knew that there was nothing unusual or suspicious recorded by the surveince cameras... ¡°Ms. An, look, this was taken in the day and you can see everything that happened all the way until the night. The surveince cameras were all working fine and there were no malfunctions.¡± Thest line he added was rather redundant. ¡°I¡¯m not suspecting that the cameras malfunctioned. After all, there was no rain or thunder or lightningst night. Intentional malfunctions probably wouldn¡¯t happen so coincidentally either,¡± said An Xiaoning, trying to sound as nonchnt as possible. Chapter 906 - A Million Times for You (268)

Chapter 906: A Million Times for You (268)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Ms. An, don¡¯t you know that criminals often destroy the surveince cameras first before proceeding tomit the crime? That¡¯s because they¡¯re afraid that their faces will be caught on camera.¡± An Xiaoning remained quiet before saying, ¡°The footage is so long, it¡¯s going to take me quite a bit of time to watch everything. It¡¯s really tiring to be standing up like this. Would you let me sit down and continue watching while you go get some rest?¡± ¡°Alright, sure.¡± While he was standing up, An Xiaoning had casually stuffed something into his pocket, which Fan Shixin had noticed. However, the guard did not discover anything unusual at all. After she sat down, the guard said, ¡°I¡¯ll need to use the washroom.¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± The guard then exited. Fan Shixin stepped forward and said, ¡°Something¡¯s off about him.¡± ¡°Yeah, I noticed that he was sitting upright when we first entered and his legs were shaking continuously when we were talking. Although they were only trembling slightly, I could still see it. On top of that, he¡¯s been pressing his lips tightly together whenever he wasn¡¯t speaking, as if he was under tremendous stress. He may seemposed in general, but there were some bits of his actions that gave it away.¡± An Xiaoning turned around and faced away from the monitor. She was not interested in watching the surveince camera footages at all because she saw no point in it. She whipped out her mobile phone and put on her earphones. Upon hearing the guard¡¯s voice in her earphones, she pressed the button to begin recording. The guard was making a call, and his voice sounded extremely soft. ¡°Ms. An is here at the guardroom and she¡¯s brought a man along with her. They¡¯re watching the surveince camera footages.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°She only asked if any of our security officers died. Other than that, she didn¡¯t ask much. I still feel a little worried after hearing what she said. Why would she ask such a question?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Alright, got it.¡± She removed her earphones and switched off the entire surveince system of the estate, including the cameras inside the guardroom. The monitors instantly turned pitch dark. ¡°It¡¯s just like what we had expected.¡± Fan Shixin turned around and walked toward the door. He then shot An Xiaoning a nce to hint that the guard had returned. Upon discovering that the system had been shut down, he asked, ¡°What happened to the surveince cameras?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I think I pressed the wrong button by ident and turned off all the monitors.¡± Feeling a little nervous and jittery, the guard said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯ll just turn it on again.¡± He stepped forward and extended a hand in a bid to press the button. However, he froze in shock just as he extended his arm. A gun was held against his head. Fan Shixin was standing beside him with the gun, and the door of the guardroom was also closed. An Xiaoning unplugged her earphones and yed the recording once more. Frightened beyond his senses, the guard¡¯s legs turned to jelly and he stared wide-eyed at An Xiaoning, who removed the recording device from his pocket. He had no idea when she¡¯d stuffed it inside either. That¡¯s it, I¡¯m finished! he thought to himself. ¡°I¡¯ll shoot you right now if you still refuse to speak the truth.¡± The guard crumbled and fell onto his knees. ¡°Ms. An, please spare my life. I really have no idea about anything. I still have a family to feed, I don¡¯t want to die.¡± ¡°Tell me everything you know. I won¡¯t tell anyone that you were the one who leaked it and I¡¯ll even spare your life. After all, you don¡¯t exactly have anything to do with nning the scheme. You just have toe clean and tell me everything truthfully.¡± He was trembling uncontrobly from head to toe like a sifter. He exined, ¡°Last night, one of my colleagues, Yang Yong, passed away. They imed that hemitted suicide, but we all know that he was murdered, though we have no idea who the murderer is. We merely received orders from our superiors, who told us not to spout any nonsense, lest we end up dying like Yang Yong. We¡¯re just a bunch of small fry, and we wouldn¡¯t dare to embroil ourselves in such a serious situation. Ms. An, I really don¡¯t know anything.¡± ¡°Stand up.¡± He stood up unsteadily while his limbs quivered uncontrobly. ¡°Where did Yang Yong live?¡± He told her the truth and said, ¡°Ms. An, on ount that I have a family, please don¡¯t say that I was the one who told you.¡± ¡°Got it. Give me a set of your uniform. We¡¯ll return it to youter.¡± He immediately handed her a spare set of his uniform. Without further dy, An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin left the ce. The guard sat down on the chair, breaking out in cold sweat. He waspletely terrorized by what happened earlier. After leaving the estate, they headed straight to Yang Yong¡¯s residential address. His family were in the midst of mourning and organizing his funeral. An Xiaoning whispered softly to Fan Shixin and told him to follow her instructions. His eyes lit up and he nodded. He took the recording device from her, changed into the guard¡¯s uniform, and quickly got down from the car. Fan Shixin did not look any less charming in the uniform, although it was rather tight on him because of his tall stature. One would look good in anything as long as they had a killer figure, be it a man or a woman. He looked like a model even in a uniform. An Xiaoning put on the headphones and sat in the car quietly while listening closely to the soundsing out of her earphones. There were all sorts of misceneous sounds that were going on continuously in the background. Once Fan Shixin found Yang Yong¡¯s wife, he exined to her that he was a security officer in Sanqiao Estate. Thetter immediately believed him at the sight of his uniform. After hearing that he had something important to tell her, Yang Yong¡¯s wife brought him to a secluded room. The misceneous noises faded. ¡°Sis, our boss wants me to ask you about Brother Yang¡¯s birth characters and exact birth timing. Do you know what they are?¡± ¡°I¡¯m aware of his birth date but not his birth timing. Why do you need those?¡± ¡°Our boss said that he¡¯d like to hire a medium to perform a ritual to let Brother Yang go in peace, on ount of him having been a hardworking employee.¡± Yang Yong¡¯s wife nodded and sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll go ask my mother-inw. Please give me a moment.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± She returned soon after and informed Fan Shixin of Yang Yong¡¯s birth characters and timing. Being extra meticulous, Fan Shixin continued to probe, ¡°Apart from my colleagues, has there been anyone else who came by to look for you?¡± ¡°No, but we received a parcel containing a sum of cash and a note saying that that was apensation for our family. Your superior hase to look for me and instructed us not to tell anyone of this matter, so as to prevent the reputation of the estate from being tarnished. He even threatened to harm us if we don¡¯tpromise. Hence, we didn¡¯t dare to spout any nonsense to anyone, not even our closest friends and family. I only said that he had gotten into a fatal car ident. Well, there¡¯s nothing we can do since we still have to live.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s best not to spout nonsense to anyone. I¡¯ll take my leave now, then.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Fan Shixin returned to the car and asked An Xiaoning, who was sitting in the passenger¡¯s seat, ¡°Do those birth characters and timing belong to him?¡± ¡°Yes, they do. Change out of the uniform, we¡¯ll head back now.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± They returned to Sanqiao Estate, where An Xiaoning returned the uniform to the guard inside the guardroom. Noticing that she was about to go to the hospital, Fan Shixin asked in puzzlement, ¡°Young Madam, you¡¯ve gotten his birth characters and timing. Aren¡¯t you going to do something with them?¡± Chapter 907 - A Million Times for You (269)

Chapter 907: A Million Times for You (269)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I¡¯ll be heading to Yang Yong¡¯s house again tonight to see if his spirit has been brought away by the grim reapers yet. If he has, I¡¯ll make another trip to theherworld. Things would be easier if he hasn¡¯t. By the way, do get some people to reconstruct a well.¡± ¡°Actually, Young Sir would like you guys to move into Wei Ni Estate.¡± Without hesitation, An Xiaoning refused, ¡°Nah, I still haven¡¯t married him again at the end of the day. I¡¯ll just continue living here. Father and Mother aren¡¯t going to get used to living in Wei Ni Estate either. I¡¯ll be extra cautious from now on, and I¡¯ll also install a poison detector in the faucet, so as to prevent history from repeating itself.¡± ¡°Alright, Young Madam, since you¡¯ve said that, just leave the rest to me. I¡¯ll handle everything at home.¡± Fan Shixin headed back to Wei Ni Estate while An Xiaoning proceeded to the hospital. Their conditions seemed to have improved, and the doctors had already permitted them to begin eating solid food. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief after An Xiaoning informed them of the progress. ¡°These people really resorted to extreme measures. No one would¡¯ve expected to be poisoned using such a method. Sometimes, others try to harm you even when you leave them alone. It¡¯s just like those vicious annihtors in the past who tried to go on a massacre and poison everyone to death in order to wipe out the poption. How wicked. Xiaoning, fortunately... you¡¯re alright. Otherwise, the mastermind would definitely be thrilled to see that his or her n has seeded.¡± An Xiaoning leaned against her and said to No. 8, ¡°Did you tell Mo Li about this?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t n to inform her about this.¡± An Xiaoning could tell what he was thinking right away. ¡°I know you¡¯re afraid of worrying her, but, No. 8, I think it¡¯s better that you tell her. I want her to understand that your safety won¡¯t be guaranteed when you¡¯re working for me.¡± ¡°I know I¡¯ll cave in and tell her one day, but...¡± After some consideration, he continued, ¡°I¡¯ll listen to you. I won¡¯t me her if she decides to leave me because of this.¡± An Xiaoning looked at him and said, ¡°I¡¯ll let you live peacefully with Mo Li and you may stop working for me. How does that sound?¡± Shock was written all over No. 8¡¯s face. They all knew that she had never mentioned such an offer before, although she had given them the freedom to get married and bear children. Since she had bought their indentures with money, they would always belong to her for the rest of their lives. Yet, she actually said something like that... Reminded of the incident involving Sister Zhang, No. 8 refused, ¡°I won¡¯t leave you, Sis. You¡¯ve helped me so much and you¡¯re my greatest benefactor. Since you¡¯ve already bought me, I¡¯ll always be your ve until the day I die.¡± An Xiaoning was both touched and miserable. She was touched because of his loyalty and gratitude toward her for her sincere kindness toward him. People always say that you should never try and put humanity to the test because disappointment is inevitable. However, she was not trying to test him and instead had meant every word she said. She believed that they had the right to pursue a life of happiness and peace, and she would grant them the freedom to do so if they wanted. She gave them the freedom of choice. She sat up straight and looked at everyone else in the room. ¡°I¡¯m giving you the freedom to choose if you want to get married and settle down or to continue working with me. I¡¯ll only be giving you the chance to make a choice once. If you¡¯ve decided to settle down peacefully, you shall leave my side forever and never work for me again. If you choose to stay behind, you¡¯ll never get the choice to go back on your word again. I hope I¡¯ve made myself clear. I¡¯m allowing you the option to choose the life you want, simply because I don¡¯t want you to think that you can work for me as and when you pleased. Do you understand?¡± No. 8 and No. 5 answered with a nod, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°No. 8, do discuss this carefully with Mo Li and seek her opinion. I¡¯m not an unreasonable or difficult person. It¡¯s not toote to make your choice now if you want to live a safe and peaceful life.¡± No. 8 kept a straight face and insisted, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that, Sis. I have the right to make a decision on my own. You were the one who gave me a new lease on life and a chance to live without discrimination again. I don¡¯t want to leave you guys.¡± ¡°I still think you should discuss this with Mo Li. Women all enjoy security and would yearn to live a life of peace and happiness with their other halves every day. No one would want their other half to constantly be in danger and at risk of losing their life unexpectedly.¡± Shi Qingzhou said in agreement, ¡°Yeah, No. 8, since Xiaoning has already allowed you the freedom of choice, you should really talk to Ms. Mo about this. It won¡¯t be toote to give Xiaoning a firm answer after you¡¯ve considered carefully.¡± After some thought, No. 8 nodded, although he already had an answer in his head. An Xiaoning proceeded to repeat her words to the other bodyguards in the ward next door. They grew even more loyal toward An Xiaoning after hearing her words. ¡°We agree with No. 8. Regardless of whether we get married or not, we¡¯ll still continue to work for you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you another chance to change your mind after you guys get married. You never know what will happen in the future. I won¡¯t hold it against you even if you choose to leave.¡± ¡°Sis, you¡¯re too kind to us. We¡¯ve had our pride and dignity robbed away from us ever since we were young. We don¡¯t even know who our parents are and we¡¯re just orphans. Now that we¡¯ve already gotten to this age, we¡¯ve also stopped hoping to experience the warmth of having a family. But you were the one who gave us the opportunity to feel what it¡¯s like to have a family. There¡¯s only seven of us left now. I¡¯ve already discussed this with my brothers. We must watch the person who murdered the seven of them die before our very own eyes,¡± No. 11 said with tears in his eyes. An Xiaoning could not help but feel extremely moved to hear his words. .... Twenty-four hours after they were hospitalized, they were all discharged and brought home at night. By the time they arrived home, Fan Shixin was already there with some construction workers. A new well had already been constructed. Fan Shixin instructed, ¡°This well took an entire day to construct and it¡¯s made of cement. There¡¯s a detector near the cement and we¡¯ll be rmed whenever someone touches the cement. The well is thirty meters deep, and you guys may just arrange for regr maintenance of the detector. There are also poison detectors in every water pipe. Young Sir has mentioned that we would be providing all the ingredients and food supply you¡¯ll need, be it vegetables, meat, milk, eggs, or other snacks. That way, we can at least ensure that the food is safe to consume. We¡¯ll get to put our minds at ease too.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already brought all the necessary items and supplies over. From now on, just hand me a list of all the items you need and we¡¯ll prepare them.¡± Reminded of Jin Qingyan¡¯s instruction, Fan Shixin added, ¡°Young Madam, Young Sir wants you to go overter, he has something to tell you.¡± ¡°Wait for me in the car, I¡¯ll give them some instructions.¡± Just as Fan Shixin was about to leave, No. 5 yelled to stop him in his tracks. ¡°Chief... where are their corpses?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve already cremated them and ced all their ashes together in the same coffin, ording to Young Madam¡¯s requests. We¡¯re arranging for them to be buried tomorrow in the graveyard in Wei Ni Estate.¡± ¡°We must send them off tomorrow, then,¡± No. 5 said in a tone of mncholy. Chapter 908 - A Million Times for You (270)

Chapter 908: A Million Times for You (270)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Fan Shixin went to wait for An Xiaoning outside the door, after which An Xiaoning instructed her bodyguards, ¡°Everything we have at home now is safe for consumption. There are detectors in the taps, you guys may read the instruction manuals. Do keep a lookout too. There¡¯s plenty of food in the kitchen, eat to your heart¡¯s fill and cook any food you want. Also, there are only seven of you left now. You must work together to keep things together at home. Since No. 13 and No. 14 are gone now, why don¡¯t I hire a cook to take care of our meals?¡± ¡°I shall be in charge of cooking. I don¡¯t have anything much to do at home anyway. Besides, my culinary skills are great too. Let¡¯s not tire them out,¡± said Shi Qingzhou. ¡°Mother, you won¡¯t have to go through all that trouble with a cook,¡± said An Xiaoning. Shi Qingzhou frantically said, ¡°No, there¡¯s no need for that. I¡¯m only in my fifties now. Cooking is a piece of cake for me. I¡¯m very hygienic too. Just let me take care of our meals. It won¡¯t be too tiring for me, there¡¯s no need to hire a cook.¡± ¡°Yeah, Xiaoning, I can help your mother out in the kitchen too. We¡¯re getting on in our years, and life would be too boring without having anything to do. Isn¡¯t it great to let us spend some time cooking?¡± said Tuoba Shuo. ¡°That¡¯s fine, too.¡± She looked at the seven bodyguards standing in front of her and said, ¡°No. 5 and No. 8 will continue to follow me around while No. 6 and No. 7 shall be in charge of guarding the house in the evening. You don¡¯t have to be on duty in the day since everyone is around at home. I only need you to guard the living room and the main door. You two decide who takes which area. No. 10 and No. 11 shall be in charge of the household chores and tending to the house. You must check the detectors by the well and the taps twice every day, ording to Chief Fan¡¯s instruction. Make a list of the food items and beverages you need and hand it to Chief Fan, then go and bring the items back from Wei Ni Estate yourselves so we don¡¯t have to trouble them to deliver it. Let¡¯s go view some cars tomorrow, I¡¯ll buy a car for you guys. That¡¯ll make traveling and getting around much easier. Use the bank card I¡¯ve given you guys to buy some clothes and shoes that you need. Don¡¯t scrimp or save on necessities, but don¡¯t splurge on unnecessary items.¡± ¡°Alright, Sis.¡± They expressed assent in unison. ¡°Xiaoning, does Qingyan hire farmers to grow his own crops and vegetables?¡± Shi Qingzhou asked curiously. ¡°The entire Wei Ni Estate belongs to him. There are only a few houses in the estate and an abundance of sparend. There are vegetable patches and ponds for fish to be reared. Apart from Qingyan, Yangyang also rears her own fish and grows her own crops. Well, now that we¡¯re affluent, health is the most important. They don¡¯t ever consume gically-modified crops that have been stained with pesticide.¡± Shi Qingzhou said, ¡°We¡¯re practically having our food supplies specially catered to us. It¡¯s good to have safe and edible food. Chief Fan is still waiting for you, isn¡¯t he? Hurry along.¡± ¡°Alright, call me again if anything crops up.¡± ... The refrigerators in the kitchen were all fully stocked with a wide variety of food supplies and fresh ingredients that they might need. Everyone took part in cooking dinner. No one spoke a word throughout the meal. Staring at the seven of them, Shi Qingzhou said softly, ¡°They may be gone now, but life still has to go on. We¡¯re all devastated and grief-stricken, but we must turn our agony into power. I still remember how I felt like I was in a living hell when I was imprisoned in the Autumn Pce. I was physically and mentally tortured every day for three whole decades. In hindsight, that was truly such a nightmare. I thought that I would never be able to make it out alive again. However, Heaven was kind to me and gave me hope for life. So, you guys must pick yourselves up and stay strong.¡± Her words seemed to have given them great courage and power. They managed to meet each other at the ck market when they were bought by the trafficker. They bonded over the many simrities they shared, especially in their backgrounds. They initially thought that they would have to part soon after forming a rapport with each other, when they were sold to different masters. However, to their surprise, An Xiaoning bought them all together in one go. Although they had only lived with each other for a short amount of time, they had be much closer than before. In fact, they had developed a strong brotherhood amongst themselves after spending time with each other and working together every day in a pleasant environment boasting of familial warmth. Everyone was at a loss for what to do when half of their fellow brothers passed away all of a sudden. Their hearts were heavy and filled with misery. ¡°Auntie is right. We must get a grip on ourselves and witness the death of the mastermind who tried to kill us,¡± said No. 5. Everyone began chatting after he broke the silence. After dinner, No. 5 looked at No. 8 and asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to look for Ms. Mo?¡± ¡°There¡¯s still a long while to go before shees home from work.¡± ¡°You probably aren¡¯t tired anymore since you¡¯ve already slept for so long in the afternoon. Go look for her and discuss things with her slowly. Buy her a gift too, she¡¯s going to be ted.¡± No. 8 stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯m going upstairs to take a shower and change into a fresh set of clothes.¡± No. 9, No. 10, and No. 11 proceeded to do the dishes and tidy the house. After discussing the shifts with each other, No. 6 and No. 7 headed to their respective positions to be on duty. At this very moment, the telephone in the living room began to ring. Shi Qingzhou picked up the handset and answered, ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°How are you?¡± said Shi Xiaoyu. Upon hearing Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s voice, Shi Qingzhou answered coldly in a hostile tone, ¡°I¡¯m doing very well. What did you call me for?¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯re still sisters at the end of the day. Don¡¯t be so formal with me. I gave you a call simply because I¡¯m concerned about you.¡± Shi Qingzhou was speechless as her blood began to boil with fury. She knew clearly that Shi Xiaoyu was simply trying to provoke her. Hence, she mustn¡¯t let Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s wishes be fulfilled! Shi Qingzhou gibed, ¡°I¡¯m so happy to hear that, Sister. I remember how ruthless you were ever since you were a child. You gradually grew up to be an imbecile whose worse than a beast. You¡¯re such a hypocrite even though you may seem to have a glib tongue. You forgot who you were after you associated yourself with a powerful and authoritative figure. You actually know how to show your concern for me now that you¡¯re old in years. I¡¯m very heartened to see that. Actually, for a split second just now, I was wondering if you¡¯ve decided to be kind for a while now that you¡¯re on the brink of death. Well, after all, you¡¯ve never done a single good deed in your life.¡± Pursing her lips, Shi Xiaoyu retorted, ¡°You¡¯re still as detestable as ever. Do you know how regretful I am for not stabbing you to death?¡± Shi Qingzhou chuckled sarcastically and said, ¡°Since you said you¡¯re regretful, it¡¯s apparent that you won¡¯t have a chance to do so again. So what if your son has be the president? You were still abandoned by your husband in the end, weren¡¯t you? You¡¯re just an old hag who bears a grudge against this world. Stop creating trouble for your son, Sister. Listen to me, alright?¡± The mention of Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s divorce with Tuoba Rui struck a sour note within her. Gritting her teeth in anger, Shi Xiaoyu hollered, ¡°You¡¯re just a secondhand good, what right have you got to mock me? Shuo must be blind to be so devoted to you all his life. Shi Qingzhou, I called you with the sole purpose of telling you this. Don¡¯t think that the scores are settled between us. Don¡¯t ever let me find you. Otherwise, I¡¯m going to rip you to shreds with my bare hands. You¡¯d better keep your mouth sealed.¡± ¡°Come and catch me if you can. Stop wasting time, hurry up. I¡¯m waiting for you in A City.¡± Chapter 909 - A Million Times for You (271)

Chapter 909: A Million Times for You (271)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Anger was surging through Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s veins. She was utterly disappointed to hear that Shi Qingzhou was not in the least bit intimidated at all. ¡°Are you really not afraid that I¡¯lly a finger on your daughter?¡± ¡°Why must I be afraid? You¡¯re making it sound as if you even stand a chance at touching her.¡± Shi Qingzhou stifled a yawn and continued, ¡°Although I don¡¯t have to pay for picking up your call, I still find it really pointless talking to you. I¡¯m hanging up.¡± Shi Qingzhou mmed the phone down to end the call. Shi Xiaoyu flew into an uncontroble rage as she stared at her mobile phone¡¯s screen. Shi Qingzhou could imagine how infuriated Shi Xiaoyu must be. She looked at Tuoba Shuo and said, ¡°She was trying to provoke me on purpose and yet she was the one who got angry in the end. It really takes a special talent to do that.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just ignore her. If she really had the guts to get you, she would¡¯vee to A City to do so long ago.¡± ¡°Do you think she has something to do with the poisoning incident?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t rule out that possibility, but there are way too many suspects right now since we don¡¯t have any concrete evidence yet.¡± Indeed, there were more than a few possible suspects at the moment. Shi Qingzhou held Tuoba Shuo¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Although I¡¯ve been through a great deal of pain and suffering, I still haven¡¯t be mentally ill or developed a psychological disorder. I still love and enjoy life. I know that having you and Xiaoning around will make me forget about the unhappy past. You two will make my life blissful again.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been loving you ever since the first time I saw you, although we didn¡¯t see each other for decades. I love you because I admire this unique personality of yours. You¡¯ll never let hardship diminish your hope for life. You always believe that things will get better.¡± Shey in his arms and expressed assent softly. ... No. 8 arrived in the Night Genie bar and stood outside the entrance to look at the signboard before entering. The bar was the most crowded at night. Instead of waiting around on the first floor, he headed straight to the second floor because he knew that Mo Li was in charge of serving the guests in the private rooms. He did not see Mo Li in the corridor and thought to himself that she must be in one of the rooms. No. 8 took out his mobile phone and sent her a text message. However, Mo Li did not hear the text tone at all because it was just too noisy in the room. Thinking that she must be busy at the moment, No. 8 stood in front of the railing and looked down at the first floor. He felt a pat on his shoulder, after which he turned around to look at the person who patted him. Enemies are bound to meet inevitably. It was none other than Liang, Sister Zhang¡¯s subordinate. Sister Zhang was walking toward them. No. 8 asked with a straight face, ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°I really didn¡¯t expect to see you here. How bold of you toe out alone,¡± Liang gibed with a menacing re in his eyes. Sister Zhang¡¯s eyes glistened at the sight of No. 8. The thought of the severe beating she had gotten from them previously never failed to make her exasperated. She wished she could teach the handsome man in front of her a good lesson. ¡°A good lesson¡± referred to the numerous lewd and graphic images Sister Zhang had in her mind. Sister Zhang remarked sarcastically, ¡°I was just wondering who it was. Turns out it¡¯s just my old ything. What are you doing here alone? There are plenty of gorgeous women here. Don¡¯t you find it a pity to be unable to get intimate with them? Too bad, you can only ogle at them. Yun Chen, don¡¯t tell me, you¡¯ve gotten your impotence cured?¡± ¡°How is that any of your business?¡± Clucking her tongue in disdain, Sister Zhang gibed, ¡°You¡¯ve be so haughty now that you have An Xiaoning to back you up. You may have forgotten about the past we had, but I haven¡¯t. I still reminiscence about it every day.¡± No. 8 turned around to leave immediately. Liang tried to stop him but was hindered by Sister Zhang, who grabbed his arm. ¡°Are you asking for trouble?¡± she chided. Feeling extremely disgruntled, Liang said, ¡°They beat you up into a pulp the previous time. Why don¡¯t you use this chance to give him a thorough beating?¡± ¡°Are your brains fried? Did you forget the warning from our boss? They even had topensate An Xiaoning with 10 million dors because of that incident. It¡¯s 10 million dors we¡¯re talking about, not a thousand. Let¡¯s see how much longer An Xiaoning can defend him for. It won¡¯t be toote to beat him up when he¡¯s abandoned one day.¡± ¡°You really do have foresight, Sister Zhang.¡± ¡°Of course...¡± After watching them leave, No. 8 walked back to the corridor and bumped into Mo Li, who wasing out of the room. Mo Li blinked a few times upon the sight of him and asked, ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°I¡¯m here to see you. I sent you a text message but you didn¡¯t see it.¡± Mo Li took out her phone to see that he really did send her a text message. ¡°It was so noisy and chaotic inside, I didn¡¯t hear the notification. I probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to hear my ringtone either.¡± ¡°Are you busy now?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m going to get some liquor now.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡± ¡°Why did you show up here all of a sudden?¡± she asked in surprise. ¡°I wanted to discuss something with you, but we¡¯ll talk after you¡¯re done with your work,¡± said No. 8, who was not in a hurry. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± They slowly walked to the storeroom. ¡°It can¡¯t be exined in a few words. I¡¯ll tell you about it slowly after you¡¯re done.¡± ¡°Alright, but you¡¯ll have to wait for a long time. I still have to serve the customers inside the room after fetching the liquor.¡± ¡°No problem, I¡¯ll wait for you.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Noticing that he seemed to have something major to tell her about, Mo Li wondered to herself, What could it possibly be? ¡ª An Xiaoning exited Wei Ni Estate and drove to Yang Yong¡¯s house by herself. She parked her car at a spot further away from the residence and climbed over the wall to get inside his backyard. Yang Yong wasn¡¯t affluent and lived in an old and shabby tile-roofed house. His house was surrounded by apartment buildings and seemed to be the odd one out. But of course, it was possible that he had already bought another house in one of the estates. To her astonishment, Yang Yong was buried less than three days after his death. The lights were still on in the house. An Xiaoning stood by the door and overheard the sounds of things being packed and rummaged through. She headed to the rooftop and carefully removed each tile from the roof. She then removed the wooden nk to see the ongoing scene in the room. There was a photo of Yang Yong on the cab beside the bed. A woman was packing the luggage while the children were trying to give her a hand. Yang Yong¡¯s spirit was nowhere to be found in the room. An Xiaoning thought to herself that he¡¯d probably been taken away by the grim reapers. Noticing that the woman was about to exit the room after sorting the luggage, An Xiaoning hurriedly ced the wooden nk and the tiles back into their original positions. The woman brought the children out of the house and walked toward the gate. Just as they opened the door, she was greeted with a figure that caused her to let out a sudden shriek of terror. ¡°Oh my god! Who are you? What are you doing at my doorstep!?!¡± the woman eximed, clutching her chest while taking a step back. d in a cap and surgical mask, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Where is your husband, Yang Yong, buried in?¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to care who I am, you only have to answer my question.¡± ¡°Why... why must I tell you when I don¡¯t even know who you are?¡± An Xiaoning pointed her gun at her and said, ¡°How about this? Are you going to tell me or not?¡± Frightened beyond her limits, the woman frantically answered, ¡°Okay, okay, I¡¯ll tell you. He¡¯s buried in our ancestralnd.¡± ¡°Bring me there.¡± ¡°Okay, put your gun down first...¡± Chapter 910 - A Million Times for You (272)

Chapter 910: A Million Times for You (272)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning pointed at her car and said, ¡°My car is over there. Bring your children along.¡± ¡°Alright...¡± The family of three was forced to bring An Xiaoning to the tombstone in the field. Even after reconnoitering the ce, she did not manage to find a trace of Yang Yong¡¯s spirit. Atst, she confirmed that the only way to meet him was to make a trip down to theherworld. ¡°You¡¯re moving at such ate hour?¡± ¡°Yes... we don¡¯t dare to live here anymore. We already bought another house before my husband died. We¡¯ll be moving there now.¡± An Xiaoning did not ask her for her new address directly. After all, it would only intimidate her. On the way back, An Xiaoning dropped them off at their doorstep before returning to Wei Ni Estate on her own. Jin Qingyan was currently watching the evening news on the television. Upon seeing her arrival, he immediately asked, ¡°Did you find his spirit?¡± ¡°No, I have to make a trip to theherworld.¡± ¡°I especially prepared a room for you, you may use it to perform your rituals. I¡¯ve also prepared everything that you¡¯ll need for them,¡± said Jin Qingyan, who stood up to show her the way. An Xiaoning pushed the door open to discover that he had made rather borate arrangements and prepared all the supplies she would need. She was thoroughly pleased. ¡°I shall start now, then.¡± She grabbed her bag and took out some joss sticks. She then prepared a bowl of iced water before beginning the ritual. ¡°You may go outside. I can manage on my own.¡± Jin Qingyan did as he was told and went out. An Xiaoning knelt onto the praying mat and began chanting incessantly while holding the joss sticks with both her hands. After the ritual, she stuck the joss sticks into the joss urn and remained still. A sudden darkness filled her field of vision. She trod along the path toward theherworld at godlike speed. Soon, she arrived at the first custom, which was situated on a narrow bridge, wide enough to allow just one person to pass through. The trench below the bridge did not seem too deep from where she was standing. However, the moment she looked down again after stepping foot onto the bridge, she discovered that the trench below was so deep that it seemed just like a ck hole. She continued to proceed without stopping. Once she passed the bridge, she was abruptly greeted with the sight of various spirits wandering around. She continued to make her way toward the grim reaper¡¯s ce. She knocked on the door, after which a ghost child answered, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°May I ask if Lords Heibai and Wuchang are at home?¡± ¡°Of course not, they¡¯re so busy all the time. I¡¯m guessing they¡¯re handling some work in the pce.¡± The ghost sniffed An Xiaoning and asked, ¡°Are you human?¡± Shaking her head profusely, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°No, I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°Why are you here instead of going to reincarnate?¡± he asked apprehensively. ¡°I got lost. I was initially waiting for my turn to reincarnate but I can¡¯t find my way back now.¡± The ghost rolled his eyes and told her the location of the waiting area where she was supposed to go to wait for her turn to reincarnate. Atst, he added, ¡°Don¡¯t wander about on your own. Be careful not to bump into the big boss, lest he makes you reincarnate into an animal.¡± ¡°I understand. Thank you so much for the reminder.¡± She then left for the reincarnation waiting area. Since there was a countless number of deaths each day, the spirits would have to wait in line for their turn to reincarnate. Hence, the spacious room was filled with spirits queuing up for their turn. The spirits were all waiting to reincarnate into humans. Hence, they were allowed a bit more freedom and had it betterpared to those who were being tortured in Hell and about to be sent to reincarnate into animals. Everyone had to follow the sequence and were allowed to roam around freely so long as they did not get in the way of reincarnation. New spirits were usually less sensitivepared to older spirits, who had heightened senses and could tell that there was something wrong with An Xiaoning the moment they heard her speak. However, the spirits who were waiting in line could not tell anything even if she spoke. She managed to arrive at the house sessfully with no obstructions or obstacles in between. There were several white partitions, and the spirits had a small area each to themselves where they could do whatever they wanted while waiting for their turn. Due to howrge the room was, it would only be a waste of time if she were to check each area one by one. She thought to herself that perhaps No. 1 and the rest would be in there, for she was not sure if they would be permitted to reincarnate into humans. She would know if they were present just by calling their names. She did just that, after which the entire bunch appeared. They were filled with agitation and worry the moment they saw her. ¡°Sis, why are you here?¡± asked No. 13, who appeared pale and ghastly. After scanning her surroundings, she exined to them softly. Upon hearing her words, No. 12 answered, ¡°There is someone called Yang Yong here. I heard him name during the interrogations. However, I¡¯m not sure if he¡¯s still present right now.¡± After describing Yang Yong¡¯s appearance briefly, she said, ¡°Just try looking for him, regardless of whether he¡¯s here or not. It¡¯s best if you can find him.¡± They nodded unanimously. Searching for Yang Yong had be much easier and faster with the help of the seven of them. They soon found Yang Yong¡¯s spirit. Yang Yong got a huge fright the moment An Xiaoning showed up in front of him. ¡°Ms.... Ms. An, why are you...¡± He thought that she had already died. ¡°Why am I here? Don¡¯t you know the reason?¡± An Xiaoning questioned in sarcasm. Yang Yong was as pale as a sheet because he was also poisoned to death. Yang Yong exined, ¡°Ms. An, look, I¡¯m already dead too, I only knew about a tiny bit of the matter and yet I was killed just because of that...¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already died anyway. Could you tell me everything that you know?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the point in hiding the truth now? One week ago, the general manager of the development office called me personally to ask me out for a meal out of the blue. I was really shocked and ttered and couldn¡¯t figure out why he wanted to meet me privately. I¡¯ve always done my job and performed my duties ordingly. However, I still went ahead to meet him even though I had no idea what was going on. After all, he¡¯s my superior and I couldn¡¯t have turned him down,¡± Yang Yong exined with a tone of vengeance in his voice. He then scoffed and said, ¡°Who knew? That meal was just a sham. My sales team and I began working at Sanqiao Estate ever since construction waspleted and hence we know everything about theyout of the houses like the back of our hands, especially me. I was in charge of monitoring the houses along the stretch where yours was situated, Ms. An. The general manager asked me for the location of the well of your house, after which I asked him for the reason behind his question. He then told me with a smile that it was none of my business and all I had to do was tell him. Hence, I told him what I knew about the structure of your house before you moved in.¡± ¡°What happened afterward?¡± An Xiaoning probed. ¡°After the meal, the general manager gave me ten thousand dors and told me not to breathe a word about the matter to a single soul. My heart sank the moment he finished speaking. I would¡¯ve given him the benefit of the doubt if he didn¡¯t give me the money, but I knew straight away that something was amiss once he gave me the money. However, I couldn¡¯t take back what I¡¯ve already said. Everything was perfectly fine and normal for several consecutive days. Hence, I began to feel less worried, but who¡¯d have thought... I was in the midst of my shift when the ambnce arrived in the estate. I happened to receive a call from the general manager too, who told me to go home, iming that there would be someone else to take over my duty for the rest of the night. At that point, I knew for sure that I had something to do with the incident.¡± Chapter 911 - A Million Times for You (273)

Chapter 911: A Million Times for You (273)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He paused for a moment before continuing, ¡°The moment I reached home, I saw a bunch of people in my house who held my wife and children hostage to force me to drink the poison myself. I understood everything at the instant that I saw my family.¡± He then began bawling loudly. Filled with a mix of emotions, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°What is the name of your general manager? Where does he live?¡± He answered her truthfully, after which he asked, ¡°Do you know him?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Ms. An, I really didn¡¯t intend to harm you guys. I had no feud with you at all, so why would I do that? It¡¯s all my fault for letting my tongue slip and ending up causing your deaths.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not dead yet.¡± ¡°If you... you¡¯re not dead, how did you end up here...¡± An Xiaoning lowered her voice and said, ¡°Although you¡¯re just a salesperson, you¡¯ve probably seen me around the estate rather frequently. Don¡¯t you know what I do for a living?¡± Yang Yong gasped in shock and said, ¡°So you came here...¡± ¡°I came here just to look for you and avenge their deaths...¡± said An Xiaoning, pointing at the people beside her. She continued, ¡°They dug up a secret passageway below the bridge of the estate and passed through it to reach the basement of my house. They then made a hole in the water pipe underground, which they then used to transfuse the poison to our water supply...¡± Gazing at the familiar faces beside her, An Xiaoning said to them, ¡°Rest assured and go ahead to reincarnate in peace. I¡¯ll definitely take revenge for you.¡± ¡°With that said, we can put our minds at ease now. Actually, I used to want to end my life in the past. My asthma made life extremely miserable for me. However, I soon regained my hope for life after living together with you and everyone else. Yet... fortunately, the seven of them managed to survive. Sis, the fourteen of us have been jinxed ever since we were young. I hope they¡¯ll continue to live on well for our sake, and I hope they¡¯ll be safe and sound,¡± said No. 14. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best,¡± said An Xiaoning, who could not guarantee their safety. Yang Yong said, ¡°Ms. An, could I ask something of you?¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I know it¡¯s utterly shameless of me to be asking for your help since I indirectly caused the deaths of your bodyguards. However, now that I dropped dead all of a sudden, my family...¡± ¡°I heard that your wife has received a sum of money. I went to visit your house before I came here. Your wife has moved to your new ce together with your children and their luggage. I reckon they¡¯ll be safe since they don¡¯t know anything at all. You¡¯re already dead anyway.¡± ¡°I was going to ask you to ry a message to my wife and tell her that I¡¯m sorry toward her and the kids. But, forget it, I don¡¯t want her to feel even more upset.¡± Since An Xiaoning could not stay around in theherworld for too long, this would be thest time she¡¯d see them in this lifetime. ¡°I have to get going. You¡¯ve been through a life of pain and suffering in this lifetime. I hope you¡¯ll enjoy peace and security in your next life. Go ahead and reincarnate in peace. I¡¯ll make whoever killed you guys pay for everything they had done with their lives. I won¡¯t spare them at all,¡± An Xiaoning said with an immense misery in her eyes that she could not put into words. No. 13 stepped forward and hugged her. Choking with sobs, he said, ¡°Sis, we still want to work for you.¡± Everyone joined in for a group hug. The tears that An Xiaoning had been trying to hold back streamed down her face uncontrobly. She pressed her lips together, at aplete loss for words. When she came to, she opened her eyes and immediately felt a sudden coldness in her face. She touched her face with her hand, only to discover that her hands were full of tears. The joss stick in the urn hadpletely burned out. ¡°Why did you take so long?¡± asked Jin Qingyan, who had been waiting by the door. ¡°Um...¡± Her face had turned pale and she could not walk steadily. Hearing how feeble she sounded, Jin Qingyan hurriedly held her and said, ¡°Sit down for a while.¡± He then instructed Auntie Chen, ¡°Please bring her a ss of milk.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°I want it cold...¡± ¡°Cold drinks aren¡¯t good for you. Have some warm milk instead. How¡¯s the situation?¡± Jin Qingyan asked. ¡°I¡¯ve gotten a new lead from Yang Yong. I¡¯ll get some rest now before continuing to investigate on that lead,¡± said An Xiaoning, who wanted to strike the iron while it¡¯s hot. ¡°Let me apany you.¡± ¡°I can manage on my own. You don¡¯t have to show your face. I don¡¯t want you to be implicated into this. He knows which estate that general manager lives in, but he doesn¡¯t know the exact address. Let Shixin look into this and give me the resultster.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Minutester, Auntie Chen handed An Xiaoning a piping-hot ss of milk. She let it cool down for a while before drinking it. Her stomach instantly felt better after she downed the ss of warm milk. After resting for another few minutes, she headed to a luxurious estate. It was located in a district in A City where business magnates and tycoons of the upper ss society enjoyed residing. All the residents in the area were powerful figures and people of status. The prices of the houses in this estate wereparable to those in the city center. There were also some residents who had rented an apartment or house in the estate. It was just a matter of personal preferences and needs. Before she arrived, Jin Qingyan told her, ¡°Even if it¡¯s rented, the rental still costs an exorbitant amount that the average wealthy person cannot afford.¡± She pulled over outside the estate and alighted from the car. One could only enter the estate using their personal identification card or key card. Since An Xiaoning did not have a key card, her only option was to climb over the wall. It was the middle of the night and her shadow was cast onto a patch of grass. She soon found out which floor the general manager was staying on. She entered the corridor openly and stepped inside the elevator, after which she pressed the button of her desired floor. Ding! The doors of the elevator opened when it arrived on the 11th floor. An Xiaoning exited to see that there were two apartments on that floor. She turned to the side and walked toward the door that was facing the East. At this moment, An Xiaoning was donning a wig that was made up of a neat row of bangs and long, curly locks, as well as her beautiful mask. She was dressed in a short-sleeved blouse and a short skirt, coupled with a pair of high heels. No one would have guessed that she was An Xiaoning. Hence, the manager was slightly taken aback to see such a gorgeous woman at his doorstep via the surveince camera monitor. He opened the door and scanned her from head to toe. ¡°Miss, who are you looking for?¡± ¡°Hello, may I ask if you are Manager Qi?¡± ¡°I am. You are?¡± Keeping a straight face, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°It¡¯s better to talk inside.¡± Manager Qi stared in bewilderment as she entered his room. He closed the door and followed her. ¡°Just who are you?¡± An Xiaoning turned around to face him and asked, ¡°Do you... want to know who I am?¡± With a grave expression on his face, Manager Qi said, ¡°Just get straight to the point, you don¡¯t have to beat around the bush.¡± ¡°You sent someone to kill Yang Yong. Did you really think that no one would find out?¡± said An Xiaoning, staring at him with a smile. A frown creased his forehead. ¡°I don¡¯t quite understand what you¡¯re talking about.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think he can¡¯t speak just because he¡¯s dead.¡± An Xiaoning reached out to pull down her mask to reveal a tiny bit of her actual face before pasting the mask back on. Upon the sight of her, Manager Qi stumbled forward and his eyes widened in shock while he broke out into a cold sweat. ¡°An Xiaoning...¡± ¡°It¡¯s me. You must be very surprised, aren¡¯t you?¡± Pointing at the sofa, An Xiaoningmanded, ¡°Sit.¡± Manager Qi sat down and asked, ¡°What are you looking me up for?¡± Chapter 912 - A Million Times for You (274)

Chapter 912: A Million Times for You (274)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I¡¯ve already made myself extremely clear just now. Are you trying to feign ignorance, Manager Qi? Don¡¯t try and y tricks with me. Otherwise, I¡¯ll send you on your way to see Yang Yong tonight. He¡¯s still waiting in line for his turn to reincarnate. I reckon he¡¯ll definitely rip you to shreds and eat you alive together with my subordinates whom you¡¯ve killed.¡± Manager Qi denied vehemently, ¡°I don¡¯t know anything at all... I still don¡¯t know even if you kill me now.¡± Keeping her eyes fixed on him, An Xiaoning said, ¡°The game won¡¯t be fun anymore if you keep acting like this. I¡¯m sure you know what I deal with, Manager Qi. I could even make a trip to theherworld to see Yang Yong. What makes you think I can¡¯t do anything to you? I never liked being threatened. Hence, I¡¯ve always refrained from threatening others unless necessary. If you refuse to tell me the truth, I¡¯m sorry but I¡¯ll have to do something to you. I¡¯ve already gotten a hold of all the information of your family members. Do you dare think that I won¡¯t kill all of them?¡± Manager Qi took a quick breath in fear,pletely caught off guard. He could not believe that a woman like her would be capable of such vicious words. ¡°You... they don¡¯t even know you, how could you...¡± ¡°That can¡¯t be helped. Who told you to be someone else¡¯sckey? Besides, you even refuse toe clean and own up. So, have you made a decision?¡± Manager Qi¡¯s legs turned to jelly, and he knelt onto the ground immediately. ¡°Ms. An, please spare me, I was really put in a spot.¡± ¡°That¡¯s your problem, not mine. All I know is you hold the information that I need.¡± She stood up and clipped, ¡°Speak up.¡± Manager Qi quivered uncontrobly, the shock and fear robbing him of his speechpletely. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to speak?¡± After a moment of silence, An Xiaoning continued, ¡°If I throw you straight down from here, you¡¯ll die a quick and painless death. How about I deep fry you in a big pot of oil, how do you think that would feel?¡± ¡°This is awful society...¡± Manager Qi murmured with a look of terror in his eyes. ¡°Exactly, this is awful society and yet you actually had the audacity to gang up with the mastermind and try to poison us to death. So you¡¯re allowed to harm us but I¡¯m wrong for retaliating? Besides, it¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t killed anyone before. I don¡¯t intend to reincarnate into a human in my next lifetime anyway. I¡¯ll make sure whoever harms my family dies a horrible death!¡± Manager Qi¡¯s teeth were chattering continuously in fear. ¡°Ms. An, I suggest you stop here. I¡¯m sure you can kill me and my family, but do you really think you can kill the person who¡¯s trying to deal with you? So what if I tell you who he or she is? Will you have any evidence to prove that he or she was the one? What can you do about her?¡± ¡°In that case, why don¡¯t you tell me who the person is? Like you said, I can kill you and your family. Even if I can¡¯t kill the mastermind, it¡¯s good enough for me to know, isn¡¯t it?¡± said An Xiaoning. Is he belittling me? Regardless of who the mastermind may be, I¡¯ll definitely kill him or her! Manager Qi looked up and said, ¡°If I tell you who it is, can you let me off?¡± ¡°That¡¯ll depend on how honest you decide to be. Don¡¯t think I can¡¯t tell if you¡¯re lying or not. There are only a few people who truly want me dead.¡± Manager Qi said feebly, ¡°If it weren¡¯t because of how authoritative the mastermind is, I wouldn¡¯t have cooperated with them, especially since you¡¯re affiliated with the Jin and Gu families who are very powerful as well. The mastermind is the Lin family.¡± An Xiaoning squinted and said, ¡°Repeat yourself, I didn¡¯t hear you very clearly.¡± ¡°The person who hired me was the butler of Chief of Staff Lin¡¯s family. I heard from an insider that you¡¯re their goddaughter. Why did they want to harm you in such a vicious manner?¡± ¡°What evidence do you have to prove that they¡¯re the ones?¡± ¡°I was afraid that something would happen after, so I secretly recorded a video.¡± He returned to the bedroom while An Xiaoning followed closely behind him. He grabbed a mobile phone from beneath his bed and handed it to her. An Xiaoning opened the video and watched it before chucking the mobile phone into her pocket. She mellowed her tone and said, ¡°You probably won¡¯t be able to escape if they find out that you gave me this thing. Do you want to live?¡± ¡°I do,¡± Manager Qi answered without hesitation. ¡°Although you indirectly caused their deaths, I¡¯d like to spare your life. After all, you have no feud with me. However, they definitely won¡¯t let you off if they find out that you told me the truth. Perhaps they might even implicate your family in a moment of pique. If you want to stay alive, bear my words in mind and listen carefully from now on.¡± ¡°Ms. An, please speak,¡± Manager Qi said politely in a servile manner, as if An Xiaoning was a benevolent saint. ¡°I won¡¯t show them this evidence or let them know that you were the one who told me the truth. Just take it that you never saw me tonight and I¡¯ve nevere by before. That way, they wouldn¡¯t find trouble with you. If you let them find out that you informed me about what you know, you¡¯ll probably end up like Yang Yong. The world is a dark and twisted ce. The loss of one life means nothing to the Lin family, who can kill you easily.¡± Having understood her instructions, Manager Qi said, ¡°I¡¯ll do as you instructed. We didn¡¯t see each other at all tonight.¡± ¡°What benefits did they offer you?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°They didn¡¯t give me any mary benefits. However, they verbally promised that they would lend me a hand if I needed help in the future.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not short of money anyway, there¡¯s no need to put your life at risk for money. Also, you¡¯d better not seek their help, lest you end up losing your life altogether.¡± ¡°You have a point, Ms. An. That¡¯s what I think too.¡± An Xiaoning did not say anything else and exited his bedroom. Manager Qi hurriedly followed her. Staring at An Xiaoning, who did not look back, he said, ¡°Thank you.¡± An Xiaoning stopped in her tracks and turned around to look at him. ¡°Don¡¯t do something so silly again in the future. Not only will you harm others, you¡¯ll also end up harming yourself, though you werepelled to do so.¡± She entered the elevator, overwhelmed with an indescribable feeling. An Xiaoning sat inside her car and remained silent for a long while. She then drove back to Wei Ni Estate. It was already past eleven o¡¯clock in the evening. To her surprise, Jin Qingyan was not asleep yet and was instead waiting for her toe home. He was reading a book under the dim, yellow light. Upon hearing her footsteps, he turned to look at her as a smile formed on his face. ¡°You¡¯re home?¡± She changed into her home slippers and walked toward him. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m back.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± he asked, noticing the sullen expression on her face. He put down his book and sat up straight. An Xiaoning leaned sideways and wrapped her arms around his neck. ¡°Shall we talk while showering?¡± ¡°My exact sentiments.¡± He picked her up and carried her upstairs. He could not stop kissing her along the way. The moment they entered the room, he closed the door with his foot and carried her into the bathroom. Chapter 913 - A Million Times for You (275)

Chapter 913: A Million Times for You (275)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After a deep, passionate kiss, he let go of her and she said, ¡°I found out who did it.¡± ¡°Who is it?¡± ¡°The Lin family.¡± ¡°They must be feeling insecure because they know the trump card you hold and thus decided to get rid of you stealthily.¡± ¡°Lin Shishi definitely knows that Tuoba Gucheng made me drink the lethal poison previously. They¡¯re husband and wife, after all. The fact that she¡¯s doing this even though she already knows just goes to show that she doesn¡¯t believe that Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s poison had no effect on me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s perhaps the case. Lin Shishi probably doesn¡¯t know how powerful you are.¡± ¡°She¡¯ll find out very soon. I won¡¯t be anxious anymore now that I know who did it.¡± He caressed her face while his masculine scent lingered around her nose. Noticing that her eyes were red and teary, he gazed at her and said gently, ¡°Is my beautiful baby going to cry?¡± Although he was teasing her, she instantly had a shift of mood and a smile formed on her face involuntarily. ¡°Go get my pajamas...¡± ¡°It won¡¯t be toote to wear it after the shower...¡± He picked her up again and lowered her onto the floor beside the faucet. After testing the temperature of the water and making sure that it was just right, they took a simple shower together. When An Xiaoning was done showering, Jin Qingyan put on his pajamas and leaned against the headboard. It was as good as not wearing anything, because he left the fabric belt untied and exposed his bare body. He looked extremely alluring and captivating. An Xiaoning came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her body. She grabbed her pajamas and bra from the hanger and dried her hair before walking toward him. Jin Qingyan stared at her intently with glistening eyes, causing her heart to race. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that...¡± An Xiaoning said bashfully. ¡°Why can¡¯t I look at you?¡± He grabbed her fair and slender wrist gently and pulled her onto the bed. ¡°You¡¯re making me tempted to sleep with you,¡± An Xiaoning said coyly, lying in his arms. He chuckled and quickly stopped smiling. Moving his hand down her neck slowly, he said earnestly, ¡°C¡¯mon... give in to your temptations.¡± She grabbed his hand and ced them onto her bosom. ¡°How does this feel?¡± she asked, smiling. ¡°I¡¯ve touched them too often, it doesn¡¯t feel like much anymore. It feels like... I¡¯m just touching my left hand.¡± The smile on An Xiaoning¡¯s face stiffened and she said, ¡°You mean, I¡¯ve lost my charm and you¡¯re not attracted to me anymore?¡± ¡°We¡¯re just too familiar with each other.¡± An Xiaoning would have really believed his words if she had not noticed his erection. ¡°This speaks for itself,¡± she said, grabbing his crotch. Jin Qingyan took a deep breath and tried to hide his amusement. ¡°Like I said, you¡¯re the only one who can give me an erection. What¡¯s going to happen to me now that I¡¯m no longer attracted to you?¡± ¡°Let me be on top this time.¡± ¡°It¡¯s your call...¡± ¡ª It began drizzling in A City past midnight. It was still raining when Mo Li got off from work at two in the morning. No. 8 wore Mo Li¡¯s raincoat and sent her home on the motorbike. Mo Li was shielded beneath the raincoat as well as she was riding pillion. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she said, ¡°You¡¯ve waited for so long. You probably won¡¯t be able to wake up in the morning.¡± ¡°I will.¡± ¡°Just what happened?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll talk when we get home.¡± Mo Li did not probe further while No. 8 continued to ride slowly on the empty roads where pedestrians were scarce. Upon arriving at Sanqiao Estate, the pair headed to Mo Li¡¯s apartment on the 32nd floor. They sat opposite each other, after which No. 8 said straight away, ¡°Seven out of the fourteen of us died.¡± ¡°Seven of you... died? How did that happen?¡± asked a dumbfounded Mo Li. He exined the situation to her briefly, after which Mo Li broke out in a cold sweat and said in astonishment, ¡°That means, you almost...¡± ¡°Yes, I almost died too. Thankfully, Sis managed to save us in time. If she didn¡¯t make us vomit and sent us to the hospital instead, we probably would have died along the way there.¡± Mo Li¡¯s heart palpitated vigorously in utter shock and terror while listening to No. 8, who was speaking in a calm andposed manner. She sat down beside him and asked, ¡°Why are you only telling me this now?¡± ¡°I wanted to make sure everything was alright before telling you. Isn¡¯t it a blessing to know that a mishap didn¡¯t happen?¡± ¡°Have you found out who the mastermind is?¡± Mo Li asked. ¡°Sis is currently investigating the matter. Apart from this, I have something else to tell you about.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Sis said that each one of us has the right to get married and bear children. At the same time, she¡¯s also giving us a one-time opportunity to decide if we want to have our freedom back. In other words, if I choose to get married, I¡¯m allowed to stop working for her and live a peaceful life.¡± Mo Li lit up in joy and asked, ¡°Really? That¡¯s terrific.¡± No. 8 did not want to be a wet nket. However, he could not keep it from her either. ¡°I rejected the choice to opt for freedom.¡± Her smile stiffened and she asked, ¡°You rejected it... why?¡± Mo Li could not figure out what he was thinking at all. Wouldn¡¯t he want freedom since he had been living like a puppet ever since he was young? ¡°There are many reasons for my decision. Sis is my benefactor, I want to continue working for her,¡± No. 8 exined. Mo Li¡¯s smile instantly vanished. ¡°But it¡¯s such a dangerous job. Since Xiaoning has given you the option to choose, why don¡¯t you just opt to leave? I, too, want to live a stable life of peace together with you.¡± ¡°Even if I stop working for her, I¡¯ll still be in as much danger. My previous master has tried toe and find trouble with me once. Sis was the one who defended me against her. Well, you can say that Sis is the one protecting me now. I¡¯ve been living life on the edge ever since I was a child, and I¡¯ve already be ustomed to living in danger. Hence, I¡¯m telling you these now because I don¡¯t want to hide anything from you. I won¡¯t me you at all if you decide to break up with me because of this.¡± Mo Li squinted and asked, ¡°Are you going to stay firm on your decision, regardless of whether I break up with you or not?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Mo Li put her hand on his back and said, ¡°This is your choice. Since you¡¯ve made a decision, I won¡¯t say anything else.¡± No. 8 was rather touched to hear her words. ¡°For your sake, I¡¯ll do my best to stay safe and alive.¡± Mo Li smiled and said, ¡°Good that you¡¯re keeping that in mind. But she¡¯ll probably allow you to regain freedom if you plead to her when you¡¯re older, won¡¯t she?¡± Shaking his head, No. 8 said, ¡°You still don¡¯t understand her well enough yet. She meant it when she said that this is the only chance she¡¯s giving us. Besides, I¡¯ve already prepared myself to work for her for the rest of my life. I hope you¡¯ll consider this carefully. After all, it¡¯s not a small matter to you.¡± Seeing how determined he was, Mo Li said, ¡°You¡¯re a very decisive and resolute person. I believe you must have already thought this through carefully. This is your decision, and I can¡¯t change your mind. I can only respect your wishes. I¡¯ll be at ease as long as you treat me well and give me a sense of security.¡± Chapter 914 - A Million Times for You (276)

Chapter 914: A Million Times for You (276)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios No. 8 hugged her and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be good to you.¡± Mo Li wrapped her arms tightly around him, not wanting to leave him at all. ¡°It¡¯s gettingte, I¡¯d better go back now.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t... it¡¯s already sote, just spend the night here,¡± said Mo Li, blushing as red as a tomato. What¡¯s wrong with that? We¡¯re already a couple anyway. Besides, Mo Li wasn¡¯t a virgin either, though she was very reserved. ¡°Sure,¡± he said with a smile. While he was taking a shower, Mo Li began pacing back and forth in the bedroom. Ever since they started dating each other, they had never once shared a kiss before, let alone get intimate. Holding hands and hugging were the only physical contact they¡¯d had. Thus, she would definitely feel nervous. Ye Xiaotian was the only man she had ever gotten intimate with. However, she had now divorced and cut off all ties with Ye Xiaotian, who had already remarried. She had also begun a new life of her own. Mo Li opened her closet and picked out a white-colored sleeveless nightdress that ended at her thighs. She proceeded to take a shower after he came out of the bathroom. Will it be awkward if I go out in that nightdresster? Mo Li thought to herself while showering. What¡¯s there to be awkward about, actually? He¡¯s my boyfriend now. Isn¡¯t it only normal to dress that way in front of my boyfriend? Mo Li decided to stop overthinking. After showering, she exited the bathroom slowly in the sleeveless night dress. No. 8 was sitting on the bed with just a pair of boxers. He could not help but feel the tension growing in his pants and the sudden flush of warmth in his abdomen upon the sight of Mo Li in such a short dress that exposed her silky-smooth legs. His erectile dysfunction was more or less cured after receiving treatment. If not, he probably would not have gotten into a rtionship with Mo Li. After all, which woman would want a marriage without a healthy sex life? Women naturally have sexual needs as much as men do. Mo Li climbed onto the bed and cocked her head to look at No. 8, who was staring at her affectionately, causing her heart to race. She then supported herself up and pressed her lips against his. No. 8 was initially nning to make the first move. To his surprise, Mo Li was the one who took the initiative instead. He ced his hand behind her head and reciprocated her kiss. Although they were both not virgins, it was their first time getting intimate with each other. They could not stop or keep their hands off each other the moment they began smooching each other passionately. He flipped Mo Li over all of a sudden and moved himself on top of her. He ced his hand on her bosom and began fondling her gently while their breaths quickened. Passion was burning in the air. After the forey, they took things to the next level and let out moans of immense pleasure. No. 8 did not expect her to still be so tight down there despite having already given birth to a child before. ¡°How did you train yourself?¡± ¡°What?¡± she asked with her eyes closed. ¡°You¡¯re so tight down there.¡± Mo Li began blushing shyly. After all, which woman wouldn¡¯t like hearing her man praise her? Especially in bed. ¡°I frequently practice yoga, maybe that¡¯s why.¡± He held her waist and began thrusting himself in and out of her with great strength and speed. Mo Li was initially only panting and moaning softly. However, she soon found it hard to contain her excitement and pleasure and began moaning loudly. Men enjoyed hearing the sounds of pleasure women made in bed. The more sensual they sounded, the more enticed men would be. Half an hourter, he said, ¡°Shall Ie on your stomach?¡± ¡°No, juste inside me. It¡¯s hard for me to get pregnant anyway. Perhaps I might not even be able to conceive again.¡± After cleaning up the mess, they cuddled in each other¡¯s arms while Mo Li tried to catch her breath slowly. ¡°If I can still conceive and end up getting pregnant, would you want to keep the child?¡± He answered without hesitation, ¡°Of course I would. To me, it doesn¡¯t matter whether you can still conceive or not. If you can¡¯t, we¡¯ll just have each other¡¯spany and it¡¯ll be the two of us against the world for the rest of our lives. It would be nice too if you can conceive.¡± She gave him a peck on his cheek and said, ¡°It would be great if Heaven decides to take pity on me and bless me with another child. My health is already in such a poor condition. The chances of getting me pregnant would be slimmer than winning the lottery.¡± He could tell that not having a child was her greatest regret. Unsure how he shouldfort her, he said, ¡°Medical technology is far more advanced nowadays, and a chance is still a chance, regardless of how slim it may be. Not all hope is lost yet. Besides, if you really like children, we can just adopt one.¡± ¡°You¡¯re agreeable to adopting one?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no harm if you really like children.¡± ¡°I¡¯m happy enough to hear that from you. Like you said, there¡¯s still a chance, no matter how small. I want to nurse my body back to health and try my best to conceive our child. If not, we can also adopt one in the future,¡± said Mo Li, not hiding her intentions at all. ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Do you find it strange that I¡¯m telling you these right after we got intimate for the first time?¡± ¡°No, we were serious about each other before we decided to get into this rtionship. What¡¯s wrong with discussing children? Didn¡¯t we start dating with the end-goal of spending the rest of our lives together in mind?¡± Feeling a warm, fuzzy feeling in her heart, Mo Li closed her eyes and fell asleep in his arms. He was no longer beside her when she woke up again. The skies were gray and gloomy, and she thought that it was still rather early in the morning. To her surprise, it was already ten o¡¯clock in the morning when she took a look at the time on her mobile phone. There was a piece of note on the bed written by him: ¡°There¡¯s breakfast inside the pot. Reheat it if it has turned cold.¡± Mo Li headed to the kitchen after washing up and discovered that the food inside the pot was still warm and hence did not require any reheating. Images ofst night¡¯s scenario shed through Mo Li¡¯s head while she was having her breakfast. Although it was just a simple fare, it somehow tasted like the most delicious thing on earth to her. What a great feeling. After having experienced so many trials and tribtions, she nheless still yearned to be loved and cherished by someone. ¡ª The first thing An Xiaoning heard when she returned home was that No. 8 did not return homest night. No. 8 was rather calm about it and said unashamedly, ¡°I slept over at my girlfriend¡¯s ce. It was amazing.¡± ¡°Look, Sis, he¡¯s so mean! He¡¯s mocking us for being singletons. This can¡¯t do, I must find myself a girlfriend too,¡± said No. 5, pointing at No. 8 while appearing extremely aggrieved. ¡°No. 8, have you talked to Mo Li about it yet?¡± He nodded and answered, ¡°Yes, she doesn¡¯t have any objections to my decision, though she did hope that I would live a peaceful and stable life. However, she did not insist any further after realizing how firm I stood on my decision. This doesn¡¯t affect our rtionship.¡± An Xiaoning said, ¡°I won¡¯t be giving you another chance to make a choice again if you miss this one.¡± ¡°I understand, I¡¯ve already made up my mind.¡± ¡°Alright. Actually, I¡¯m both happy and worried to hear the decision you¡¯ve made. I¡¯m worried because you might not be able to live peacefully again like normal people do, but I¡¯m d because you¡¯re so sincere toward me and that¡¯s really heartwarming. Let¡¯s go shop for a car. Three of you shall follow me to go car-viewing.¡± Chapter 915 - A Million Times for You (277)

Chapter 915: A Million Times for You (277)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go,¡± No. 5 volunteered with his hand raised. ¡°Me too,¡± No. 8 chimed in. No. 10 was next. On the way to the one-stop car services center, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°The car we¡¯re getting now will be meant for you guys to drive around for running errands, especially when you collect the food supplies from Wei Ni Estate. What kind of car do you think would be better?¡± ¡°A van,¡± No. 11 suggested. No. 8 objected, ¡°A van is toorge, we don¡¯t need such a big vehicle for collecting food supplies. Why don¡¯t we get a smaller car with more seats? That way, more of us can ride in the car together and, at the same time, we can also collect goods.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, Sis. Let¡¯s go with No. 8¡¯s suggestion and get a seven-seater car, then.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± she agreed. Upon arriving at the car showroom, the four of them took a careful look at all the cars on disy and finally settled on a blue car that cost 530 thousand dors. Noticing that An Xiaoning was about to purchase it, No. 5 said softly, ¡°Sis, we don¡¯t have to buy such an expensive one. A car that costs about 200 thousand dors is good enough.¡± ¡°It¡¯s rare that all of you fancy the same car. Let¡¯s just get this one.¡± Money was not an issue to An Xiaoning at all, for she still had an abundant amount of it left from the hundreds of millions that she had earned from investing in the movie in the past. She was no longer the same woman who showed up at Jin Qingyan¡¯s doorstep in the pouring rain with her luggage to make a deal with him for a hundred thousand dors. She paid for the car with her card immediately and signed the administrative papers. The services center provided them with a temporary license te that could be used for a month. They would still have to head to the vehicle registry toplete the remaining procedures. Since An Xiaoning was the owner of the car, she would definitely have to take the time out to register for a new license te. However, she was the only one who had a driving license. Although they could drive, it was still illegal to drive around without a license. Hence, An Xiaoning decided to ask if any of them wanted to register for a driving test to obtain a license. To her surprise, all of them raised their hands. ¡°Take turns. Do you still remember why I wanted to construct the basement?¡± she said earnestly. ¡°Yes,¡± they answered in unison. ¡°From today onward, you mustn¡¯t neglect yourbat training because of the driving test. Although it¡¯s good that all of you have a strong background in martial arts, there¡¯s still room for improvement. That¡¯s not the only aspect I want you guys to train in, there are still many other skills that I want you to acquire. I¡¯ll be hiring some special instructors in the next few days. I already know who the mastermind is. You guys don¡¯t have to worry about that. Since we already know the truth, all that¡¯s left to do is the execution of our n.¡± Everyone¡¯s curiosities were piqued the moment they heard that she had already found out who the mastermind was. ¡°Sis, could you tell us who it is?¡± ¡°Not at the moment. I¡¯m afraid that you guys will be reckless. You¡¯ll find out who it is sooner orter.¡± They decided not to probe further. ¡°Sis, let No. 5 and No. 8 obtain their driving licenses first. We all know how to drive anyway. Getting a license is only a mandatory procedure. It¡¯s easy to pass the driving test,¡± said No. 11. ¡°Okay then, you two shall focus on practising for the test now. You don¡¯t have to follow me around for the time being,¡± An Xiaoning said before heading to Shi Qingzhou¡¯s room. She closed the door, sat down on the bed, and told her parents about everything that had happened the night before. Not surprised at all, Shi Qingzhou said, ¡°Well, it¡¯s not that shocking that the Lin family is the culprit since they were one of the suspects. They don¡¯t have any feud with you, and you were once their goddaughter after all. I reckon they must have been afraid that you would make the first move and kill them. I bet they still have no idea that you¡¯re already so clear about everything that has happened.¡± ¡°I threatened them with their birth characters only because they provoked me first and tried to condemn me. Even then, I didn¡¯t actually intend to do anything with their birth characters. However, I¡¯ve changed my mind. They tried to kill us all when I didn¡¯t even do anything to them. Such vicious and wicked people. I¡¯m not going to take it lying down. I must make them pay for everything that they had done. I won¡¯t spare any of the Lin family members who were involved in this,¡± said An Xiaoning. Shi Qingzhou held her hand and asked, ¡°Xiaoning, what do you n to do?¡± ¡°Mother, you don¡¯t have to worry about that. The Lin family probably won¡¯t get another chance to harm us again.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, you¡¯re nning to harm them using their birth characters?¡± ¡°Mother...¡± An Xiaoning took a deep breath and continued,¡±I¡¯ll only use my fortune-telling abilities to save others. I¡¯ll never put it to unscrupulous means or use them to kill. I still remember Master¡¯s words clearly even until today. There are still many other ways to harm them apart from that. You don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡± Shi Qingzhou nodded and said, ¡°Act ording to your wishes, then. I¡¯ve already had it all figured out. If we don¡¯t eradicate our enemiespletely, they¡¯re only going to get more and more brazen. We know when to stop but they don¡¯t. If we show them mercy and tolerance, they¡¯ll think that we¡¯re pushovers who can be trifled with easily. I¡¯ll support you, regardless of what you do.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to ensure the safety of my loved ones in this lifetime, even if it means I¡¯ll be sent to hell after my death.¡± ¡ª The moment An Xiaoning drove out of the entrance, she caught sight of a graceful silhouette strutting toward her. After seeing her face, she drove toward her and rolled down the windows. ¡°Hey, is that you, Ms. Bu? What are you doing here?¡± ¡°This estate doesn¡¯t belong to Nick anyway, why aren¡¯t I allowed to show up here? I bought an apartment in this estate, alright? We¡¯ll be seeing each other very often in the future. After all, our houses are not that far apart. I hope some of your luck will rub off on me and make me be fortunate as well,¡± said Bu Xianxian, twirling her long locks. ¡°You¡¯vee to the wrong person, then. My luck is barely enough for my own use, how could I afford to share some with you? I do have a ton of bad luck, though. Shall I give you a hundred grams of them?¡± Bu Xianxian scoffed and said, ¡°I really have no idea how Nick can stand you. He¡¯s really given up the entire sea for an old fish like you.¡± How dare she mock me for being old!?! ¡°Age is just a number, what¡¯s most important is that you don¡¯t look older than your actual age. That would be terrible. Who can tell that I¡¯m already thirty years old just from my appearance? It¡¯s different in your case, Ms. Bu. You¡¯re only in your early twenties and yet you already look like you¡¯re in your thirties. How pathetic.¡± An Xiaoning then rolled up the window and sped away swiftly, not giving Bu Xianxian the chance to retort at all. Bu Xianxian stood rooted to the ground and watched as An Xiaoning¡¯s car left, boiling with immense fury. She stormed off and headed back home. The apartment she had bought was a three-bedder that was much smallerpared to An Xiaoning¡¯s mansion. It cost her almost three million dors. After deducting the costs of her stic surgery, she only had a little more than a million dors left out of the five million dors Jin Qingyan had given her. Hence, Mrs. Bu felt a great pinch and would nag at Bu Xianxian every single day. Upon returning home, she mmed the door shut with a loud bang. ¡°Are you tired of living? You¡¯re going to damage the door sooner orter by mming it with so much force.¡± Chapter 916 - A Million Times for You (278)

Chapter 916: A Million Times for You (278)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°On the way back, I met that bitch, An Xiaoning, again.¡± Bu Xianxian asked, ¡°Mother, do you know how arrogant her tone was?¡± ¡°Alright, can¡¯t you just pretend you didn¡¯t hear her? Don¡¯t create so much trouble. Didn¡¯t you go out to find a job? How was it?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve asked a fewpanies already. Their sries are too little, I can¡¯t do those jobs. They only pay two to three thousand dors a month, what can you do with that money?¡± Bu Xianxian took a deep breath. ¡°Mother, in the past, we lived in a ce like N Nation with such poor conditions and we didn¡¯t have a chance to see the world. But now, look. After seeing the kind of life the rich are living, do you still want to live the kind of life we used to live? I don¡¯t. That¡¯s why, Mother, I can¡¯t listen to you and do those low-paying jobs. It is in man¡¯s nature to strive for something better. My husband has to be someone handsome and rich.¡± ¡°But you ought to find one who is good to you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine if he isn¡¯t good to me. Of course, it would be better if he is. If he isn¡¯t, as long as he gives me money, that will do.¡± She appeared unbothered. ¡°Nowadays, amongst rich men, where can you find one who is devoted and loyal to a single woman?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t Nick one?¡± Bu Xianxian looked at her. ¡°Nick is just temporarily bewitched by An Xiaoning.¡± ¡°Xianxian...¡± Mrs. Bu advised earnestly, ¡°You should stop wasting your effort on him. I heard from our colleagues before that they were married twice and even have a child together. Their rtionship is not just a two-to-three-month fling, don¡¯t you understand that? Nick is rich and handsome, but he doesn¡¯t belong to you. Don¡¯t force what you can¡¯t have. Listen to Mother, find another man. There are other rich and handsome people in this world, right?¡± Bu Xianxian muttered in frustration, ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯m going back to my room.¡± Mrs. Bu shouted to the back of her figure that was moving further away, ¡°Stop gaming already.¡± ¡°If I don¡¯t game, I¡¯ll die of boredom,¡± she replied before closing her door shut. Taking off her high heels, she immediately turned on herputer. Ever since she returned from the stic surgery hospital, she had gotten addicted to gaming. In the game, she could achieve a sense of superiority. For instance, when she got married inside the game, her virtual husband gifted her with various things and conveyed sweet-nothings to her. Behind theputer screen, she was unaware of who the other party was either. But since the other party remained unaware of her identity as well, she enjoyed the love she received in this virtual world, which allowed her to receive some level of satisfaction. She entered her game out of habit, and a few notifications from the user Mr. Baiyu popped up the moment she went online. The user was her virtual husband. ¡°Honey, have you eaten?¡± ¡°Baby, I¡¯ve sent you gifts, remember to check, okay?¡± ¡°Your Honey is waiting for you.¡± .... After checking the gift section of the game, she found over ten sets of game equipment. Each of them cost five to six hundred dors. Bu Xianxian hurriedly sent a reply to him: ¡°Thank you, Honey, for the gifts, I like them very much. Love you so much, muah!¡± He sent a reply very soon as well, and they continued sending each other sweet-nothings. As they chatted on, he asked her, ¡°A few days ago, you mentioned that you were in A City. Are you still there?¡± She answered, ¡°Yes. I bought a house and am residing here now.¡± ¡°Then, do you want toe out to y? I can pick you up in my car.¡± Usually, when men extended such invitations, they harbored ill intentions ny-five percent of the time. Bu Xianxian understood this very well, so she rejected him but acted like she was keen with the idea. ¡°I can¡¯t meet you at night.¡± ¡°How about now, then?¡± ¡°You really want me to meet with you? What if your real wife finds out?¡± Mr. Baiyu answered, ¡°You¡¯re overthinking. I have no wife right now. I had differences with my ex-wife, so we got divorced.¡± Bu Xianxian did not answer him. She thought about it carefully. He was either remarried or lying right now. But no matter which was the case, she was still rather unwilling to meet him. Seeing that she did not reply, Mr. Baiyu sent her another message: ¡°Honey, are you still there?¡± ¡°I just went to the toilet.¡± ¡°Where do you live? I¡¯ll go and pick you up, okay? I¡¯ll give you a surprise, so you can see what I genuinely feel.¡± ¡°I still think we shouldn¡¯t meet. Isn¡¯t it good to just be husband and wife in the virtual world?¡± He sent her another reply very soon: ¡°Are you afraid that I¡¯m a crook? I¡¯ve never shown you a photo of me before. How about this, I¡¯ll send you a photo of myself now. If you think I look like a crook, then don¡¯t meet me. Will that do? Give me your social media ount, I¡¯ll send you a photo now.¡± Bu Xianxian felt that it was a fine idea, so she registered a new ount and gave it to him. Very soon, they added each other as friends. As soon as she epted him as a friend, a picture of a man popped up in a chat box. Looking at the photo, Bu Xianxian saw a man in his thirties who looked rather handsome. However, she felt that he looked somewhat familiar, as if she had seen him in the news before. She asked, ¡°Can you tell me your real name?¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t meet me, I don¡¯t feel like revealing it.¡± ¡°Alright, then, I¡¯ll meet you. Where are you?¡± ... After arranging a time and a venue to meet, Bu Xianxian changed into a dress and touched up her makeup before going to meet him. It was the first time she was meeting an online friend. She was very worried that he had sent her a fake photo that he¡¯d found online and that he was a crazy and hideous-looking man in reality. As a result, she was exceptionally cautious when she went to their meeting venue. They had arranged to meet in a park that was surrounded by people. Wearing a pair of sunsses and clutching her bag, Bu Xianxian was intentionallyte for ten minutes. When she saw the same man she had seen in the picture standing ahead, her feelings of anxiety were instantly released. He looked even more handsome in real life. Seeing him dressed in a designer suit, Bu Xianxian headed toward him gracefully. ¡°Are you Mr. Baiyu?¡± Shi Shaochuan looked at the woman in a pair of sunsses. ¡°I am. Are you Xiaobubu?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Bu Xianxian shed a demure smile. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you actually came.¡± ¡°I said I woulde, of course I would.¡± He looked at the huge pair of sunsses on her face. ¡°Can you take off your sunsses?¡± Bu Xianxian raised her hand to remove her sunsses, and the grin on Shi Shaochuan¡¯s face immediately turned into a stiff smile. ¡°You... why do you look so much like An Xiaoning?¡± Her height, voice, and other aspects were different from An Xiaoning¡¯s. ¡°You know An Xiaoning, too? Everyone says that I look like her, but I can¡¯t choose my looks. My parents gave birth to me like this.¡± With this face before him, Shi Shaochuan was genuinely unable to be happy. ¡°It¡¯s not that alike, actually. Your expressions are different from hers.¡± ¡°You know her personally?¡± Bu Xianxian asked. ¡°I do.¡± That was his ex-wife she was talking about, how could he not know her? ¡°I know her too. It¡¯s just that, our rtionship is bad. It¡¯s mainly because she...¡± She stopped mid-way in her sentence and did not go on. After all, she did not know what rtionship the man before her had with An Xiaoning. If they were close, any inappropriate thing she said might end up reaching An Xiaoning¡¯s ears. ¡°She¡¯s quite a disgusting person, right?¡± Chapter 917 - A Million Times for You (279) Chapter 917: A Million Times for You (279) Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Bu Xianxian¡¯s eyes brightened as if she had found a like-minded person. She immediately chimed in, ¡°Right, right. That¡¯s right. Every time someone says I look like her, I actually don¡¯t feel good about it. Why don¡¯t they say she looks like me? My parents gave birth to me like this, who have I done wrong to?¡± Shi Shaochuanughed dryly. ¡°But the two of you really look very alike. Only your mouth looks different from hers.¡± Bu Xianxian remarked frankly, ¡°I can tell that you dislike her a lot, too. Then, you must feel frustrated looking at this face of mine. Forget it, I¡¯ll be going back first.¡± She only just turned around when Shi Shaochuan stopped her. ¡°Wait.¡± Bu Xianxian¡¯s lips curled into a faint smile. She turned and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Although you and she look alike, you aren¡¯t the same person. I¡¯m very clear about that. Also, your voice and expressions are different from hers. I haven¡¯t treated you as her. Do you know how she talks to me?¡± Bu Xianxian shook her head. ¡°No, I don¡¯t.¡± Shi Shaochuan replied, ¡°She¡¯s always rude and puts on airs when she talks to me.¡± ¡°She¡¯s like that when she talks to me, too,¡± Bu Xianxianined. ¡°I can¡¯t stand her either.¡± ¡°My car¡¯s parked there. Let¡¯s talk in the car.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± When she saw Shi Shaochuan¡¯s posh car, Bu Xianxian was certain that he was indeed a rich man. When they got onto the car, Shi Shaochuan took a bouquet of roses from the back seat and passed it to her. ¡°For you.¡± Bu Xianxian took the flowers from him. ¡°Thanks.¡± Shi Shaochuan drove the car forward. ¡°Let¡¯s find somewhere to chat. Where do you want to go?¡± ¡°Do you dare to bring me to your house?¡± ¡°Why won¡¯t I dare to?¡± Shi Shaochuan immediately replied. These words were enough to make Bu Xianxian change her impression of this man. ¡°What exactly is your name?¡± ¡°Shi Shaochuan.¡± Upon hearing this name, Bu Xianxian seemed to have recalled something. ¡°I think I¡¯ve heard this name somewhere before.¡± Suddenly, she recalled the time she had worked with her parents alongside those aunties and uncles. When they were gossiping, she heard them saying that Nick¡¯s brother-inw used to be Shi Shaochuan... She seemed to have also heard it on the news before. She probed, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re Jin Qingyan¡¯s ex-brother-inw?¡± Shi Shaochuan admitted it bluntly. ¡°Yes.¡± Bu Xianxian was left speechless. ¡°The wife that you said you had gotten divorced to is really his sister?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I admit it already? We met through the game too. But after we got married, she slowly revealed her true character. The main problem was that we were ipatible. Of course, we¡¯ve been divorced for a very long time already and she¡¯s also gotten remarried. She even gave me the custody of our child. She has no sense of responsibility as a mother at all.¡± Just a few lines from him made Bu Xianxian feel that this man before her was quite pitiful. When they reached the Shi residence, the workers¡¯ jaws dropped upon seeing Bu Xianxian. Taking a closer look, they realized she wasn¡¯t An Xiaoning and felt even more strange about it. Nobody in the Shi residence was unaware that their Young Sir hated An Xiaoning the most. Now, what was he doing with someone who looked so alike to her? Despite being perplexed, nobody dared to voice out their questions. From the moment Bu Xianxian entered the front door, her eyes did not stop sizing up the interior of the house. As she entered the living room, she found that it was evidently iparable to the living room in Jin Qingyan¡¯s house. However, in her eyes, it was already on par with a living room in a luxury home. ¡°Do you want to take a look upstairs?¡± Bu Xianxian grinned lightly. ¡°It¡¯s okay, let¡¯s just talk in the living room.¡± Shi Shaochuan nodded. ¡°Then, you have a seat first. I¡¯ll make you a cup of coffee.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t the maid make it?¡± Shi Shaochuan exined, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be more sincere if I make it myself?¡± Bu Xianxian did not say a word further. He personally made and served two cups of coffee and passed her a cup. She watched him drink a mouthful of it; Bu Xianxian was evidently very guarded against him. She remarked, ¡°I¡¯ll drink yours.¡± Bu Xianxian then passed her cup to him while she drank his. He could tell as well that this woman was extremely guarded against him. However, since she was in his territory, how could he not take advantage of her? No matter what, he bought those game equipment sets for her with his own money. He had to get back those costs in some way. Bu Xianxian thought that since he had drunk it, that cup of coffee should be safe. In reality, Shi Shaochuan was harsh to himself and drugged both cups of coffee. No matter which cup he drank, he would have been drugged as well. ¡°Why do you hate An Xiaoning?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t seem to speak the S Nationnguage fluently. You¡¯re not a local?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not. I was born in N Nation, I came to S Nation not long ago.¡± ¡°I see. But aren¡¯t people from N Nation all rather dark-skinned? You look quite fair, though.¡± Bu Xianxian smiled awkwardly. ¡°Not everyone there is like that. Anyway, you haven¡¯t answered my question.¡± ¡°An Xiaoning was my first wife.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you know her? You didn¡¯t know An Xiaoning is my first wife? However, throughout the two years we were married, we never consummated our marriage. It was all because of my disgust toward her.¡± ¡°Why does this... seem rather unbelievable to me? The two of you never slept together despite being married for two years?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Shi Shaochuan grunted. ¡°I already said I hated her.¡± ¡°Hahaha.¡± Bu Xianxian was in an inexplicably good mood. ¡°To think someone hates her to this extent.¡± ¡°Then, did you think everyone in this world likes her?¡± Shi Shaochuan remarked in an indifferent tone. ¡°I never liked her, maybe because she was the woman my grandfather forcefully made me marry back then.¡± ¡°Why did your grandfather make you marry her?¡± Shi Shaochuan found it hard to exin with a few words. ¡°It¡¯s history already, there¡¯s no point in mentioning it anymore.¡± After chatting with him for some time, Bu Xianxian felt hot all over. ¡°Why is the weather so hot?¡± ¡°Exactly. I feel hot too.¡± Shi Shaochuan suggested, ¡°There¡¯s air-conditioning upstairs. The living room is too big, so the air-conditioning doesn¡¯t seem to work too well. Do you want to go upstairs for the air-conditioning?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± At this point, Bu Xianxian found it hard to tolerate it anymore. She was starting to lose her senses as well. She was then brought upstairs to his bedroom by Shi Shaochuan. He turned on the air-conditioning and sat beside her, holding onto her hand. ¡°Although you look alike to the woman I dislike, you are who you are. I think you¡¯re great.¡± ¡°I think you¡¯re great as well.¡± Bu Xianxian felt as if a huge ball of fire within her had to be released. Realizing that it was a feeling that had surged within her only after she had drunk the coffee, she asked, ¡°Did you drug the coffee?¡± ¡°Yes, I did.¡± Seeing how he admitted it in such a straightforward manner, Bu Xianxian questioned, ¡°Why did you...¡± ¡°I drank it myself as well.¡± He could no longer suppress the urge within him as well and pressed her down on the bed, nibbling onto her lips. ¡°Be my girlfriend, alright? I¡¯ll be nice to you.¡± Bu Xianxian¡¯s body had already gone weak at this point, and upon hearing him ask her to be his girlfriend, an image of Jin Qingyan¡¯s face actually popped up in her head. Chapter 918 - A Million Times for You (280)

Chapter 918: A Million Times for You (280)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The one she truly liked was him. But it was fine to reap a sum from Shi Shaochuan first as well. After all, that could settle her urgent needs first. In a half-declining and half-epting manner, she agreed. Seeing that she had agreed, Shi Shaochuan took out an eye mask from his drawer and put it on her. There was really no way he could stare straight into this face. Bu Xianxian, on the other hand, thought that it was a peculiar taste of his. She didn¡¯t think much of it. It was the first time that she was sleeping with a man. As such, when Shi Shaochuan found out, an excited grin formed on his face as he ignored her pain. ¡°Ah!¡± Bu Xianxian groaned in pain as her whole body shook. Shi Shaochuan was beyond excited, for he could not believe that he had gotten a virgin from the game. ¡°Be gentler.¡± ¡°Alright...¡± Shi Shaochuan slowed down his movements. ¡°You¡¯ve actually never slept with a man before?¡± ¡°Of course, I¡¯m very reserved.¡± For the whole afternoon, Shi Shaochuan tortured Bu Xianxian in a variety of means and ways. Having just lost her virginity and immediately being treated this way, she was unable to get down from the bed. With Shi Shaochuan hugging her, they slept together until night. When they opened their eyes again, the sky had already turned dark. Bu Xianxian sat upright in her nakedness. ¡°You were so violent, I almost died because of you.¡± Shi Shaochuan remarked haughtily, ¡°My skills are not bad, right?¡± Bu Xianxian suddenly thought of something andy atop him, asking, ¡°I¡¯ve given you my body already, aren¡¯t you going to show some form of appreciation?¡± ¡°Tell me, what do you want me to do?¡± He reached out to caress her long hair. ¡°I¡¯m still waiting to get a job, so my finances are rather tight. Since I¡¯m your girlfriend now, shouldn¡¯t you give me some money to spend?¡± ¡°That¡¯s easy.¡± He took his wallet from the bedrest and picked out a card from it. ¡°There¡¯s 100 thousand dors inside, you can use this for now.¡± Bu Xianxian took it from him. ¡°What¡¯s the pin number?¡± He lowered his head and whispered a string of numbers in her ear, then remarked, ¡°You should live together with me here.¡± ¡°My parents won¡¯t agree to it.¡± She appeared to be put in a spot. ¡°My mother says that girls shouldn¡¯t live in with a guy.¡± ¡°If you live with me, I¡¯ll give you another 200 thousand dors.¡± A smile formed on Bu Xianxian¡¯s face as she replied, ¡°I¡¯ll try my best to convince my parents.¡± ¡°Good girl.¡± ¡ª At one in the morning, there was not a single glimpse of starlight in the sky. A dark figure discreetly crept into the Lin residence. The house was surrounded byplete silence, with everyone insidepletely asleep. After managing to avoid the surveince cameras, the figure swiftly arrived at the electricity switch of the Lin residence. Once it was turned off, the surveince cameras automatically stopped working. As there were not many people on duty in the Lin residence, the guards on duty were of no hindrance to An Xiaoning at all. She easily entered the interior of the house from the window and arrived at the Chief of Staff Lin and Madam Lin¡¯s bedroom. Their bedroom was locked from the inside. Taking out a small and sharp instrument, she poked it into the keyhole and turned it slightly. The door was opened just like that without a trace. This instrument was specially designed for the doors in the Lin residence. Inside the bedroom, the two were deeply asleep andpletely unaware that someone had entered. Closing the door silently, An Xiaoning walked toward the bed. As there were two of them, she could not hypnotize them both together and ask the questions she had in mind. One of them had to be kept unconscious. She took out a small bottle from her pocket. This bottle of liquid was given to her by Bei Qi. Once she sprayed it at someone, the person would fall into a deep sleep that couldst as long as an hour. It was no different from hypnotizing someone and not waking them up in time. They would automatically fall into a deep sleep. She sprayed the liquid onto Madam Lin¡¯s face. She made a small movement and immediately passed out. She was already fully prepared for this. If her hypnosis achieved its desired effect, it would be good. But if it didn¡¯t, that would be fine as well. This special treasure she had brought was very useful. She was not nervous at all, and her tone was soft and gentle. Chief of Staff Lin, who waspletely unguarded and in a stage of light sleep, was sessfully brought into hypnosis by her words. An Xiaoning never expected that things would go so smoothly. She had thought that his subconscious mind would defend itself, but this situation did not ur like she had expected. An Xiaoning had brought a torch the size of a finger ¡ª it was small and had a light that was just bright enough. She turned it on and shone it on the couple¡¯s eyelids. After confirming that they were deeply asleep, she started guiding Chief of Staff Lin into answering her questions. ¡°Right now, you¡¯re standing on a very tall mountain with your back facing a cliff. In front of you is An Xiaoning, and she has a gun pointed at you. She is asking you why you have struck such a vicious blow on her. How would you answer?¡± The scene that she had made up instantly became real in Chief of Staff Lin¡¯s head. He appeared flustered and called out desperately with his eyes closed. ¡°We didn¡¯t have a choice either. Please spare us, please spare us...¡± An Xiaoning went on, ¡°Whose idea was it?¡± ¡°It was mine. It had nothing to do with my wife, Junnan, or Shishi. It was all my idea. If you have anything, juste at me solely.¡± ¡°An Xiaoning spared you. She¡¯s left, and you went home as well. Your anxious wife awaits you at home and asks you what the situation is. You tell her...¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine already. She spared me. I¡¯m back safe and sound, right? No matter what, we cannot divulge this matter to anyone. It¡¯s something our family of four nned together, but I told her everything was done by me. She seemed to have believed me.¡± An Xiaoning suddenly understood it all and continued, ¡°Your wife is worried and asks if you still n to harm An Xiaoning, you answer...¡± ¡°We have to. Otherwise, our family will live in a constant state of anxiety. If one day she finds out, she¡¯ll definitely find us for revenge. We can only strike a blow on her first so that she wouldn¡¯t have such a chance. It was all your and Shishi¡¯s mistake. If the two of you had not made her do a fortune reading, this wouldn¡¯t have happened. But then, if you hadn¡¯t, Shishi probably would not be alive right now. Forget it, you should wash your hands off this matter. I¡¯ll handle it myself.¡± Hearing his words, An Xiaoning asked again, ¡°Your wife is worried that your son-inw will find out about this. What will you say?¡± She was only purely guessing and was unsure whether or not Tuoba Gucheng knew about this. She only wanted to hear it from him. She was surprised to hear him answer, ¡°Didn¡¯t Shishi already say? His Highness is actually aware of it. You don¡¯t have to worry about this.¡± Atst, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Your wife asks you, from the start, have you ever treated An Xiaoning as a daughter?¡± He replied, ¡°We have a daughter of our own. The only reason we acknowledged her as our goddaughter was because she had fortune-telling capabilities. Otherwise, why would we do so? We¡¯d thought that she would bring good luck to the Lin family, but who knew she would get a hold of something against us?¡± An Xiaoning did not say anything further. She went before their wardrobe. With one hand holding onto the small torch, she used the other hand to open the door of the wardrobe. .... Nobody else knew all that had happened at the Lin residence tonight. Chapter 919 - A Million Times for You (281)

Chapter 919: A Million Times for You (281)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios They only knew that the following day, Chief of Staff Lin¡¯s bedroom door did not open no matter how his subordinate knocked on the door. No matter how he called out for him, there was no answer. His subordinate felt something was amiss and told the butler. Thereafter, the butler brought someone to forcefully break the door open. What was truly surprising was that there was no one in the room. The butler felt that something was amiss instantly. ¡°This isn¡¯t right. I woke up early in the morning and didn¡¯t see them go out.¡± ¡°Exactly. The door was locked as well.¡± His eyes suddenlynded on the gap in the wardrobe and he went forward to open it. The moment the door of the wardrobe was flung open, the subordinate instantly retreated and his face turned as pale as a sheet. The people behind him behaved in a simr manner. ¡°Chief of Staff!¡± ¡°Madam!¡± The scene before them was of the couple hung dead inside their wardrobe. It was evidently not an act of suicide. The butler immediately called the police and went to Lin Junnan¡¯s room to find him. What he truly did not expect was for Lin Junnan to have died inside his wardrobe in the exact same way. Just overnight, the family of three had died like this silently. How could this not be terrifying? Police officers from the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit arrived very soon and investigated the crime scene. At around seven in the morning, this news blew up on various media tforms. What kind of family is the Lins? What kind of person is Lin Shishi? Who would dare toy a finger on the Lin family? The ironic thing about this was that someone had indeed dared toy a finger on Lin Shishi¡¯s parents and brother. When Lin Shishi got hold of this news, she was eating breakfast. Upon hearing someone report the news to her, she thought she was hearing things. ¡°You... what did you say?¡± Her face turned ghastly and tears sprung down uncontrobly. ¡°Madam, your parents and brother passed away yesterday. The police are still investigating.¡± She sprung up abruptly and, due to the sudden force she exerted, she felt a sharp pain in her seven-month pregnant belly. The servant nearby immediately held onto her. But Lin Shishi shook the servant¡¯s hand away and screamed hysterically, ¡°I don¡¯t believe this, this isn¡¯t real... it isn¡¯t real!¡± Hearing her voice the moment he entered, Tuoba Gucheng remarked with his expression equally ghastly, ¡°It¡¯s real.¡± Lin Shishi instantly burst into loud wails. ¡°Honey, it must be her. It¡¯s her, she did this to our family!¡± Tuoba Gucheng replied, ¡°They¡¯re still investigating this. There¡¯s no evidence to prove she did it yet. Let¡¯s wait for the results of the police¡¯s investigation.¡± ¡°Besides her, who else could it be?¡± Lin Shishi¡¯s heart was trembling furiously. ¡°Other than her, there¡¯s no one else it could be. I want to kill her, I want to go and kill her! Ah!!!!¡± Everything went pitch ck before Lin Shishi as she passed out. Tuoba Gucheng immediately supported her back, preventing her from copsing onto the floor. ¡°Quick, get the doctor here.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Tuoba Gucheng carried her back to the bed in the room, his heart sinking. He was extremely clear regarding the whole process of how it had happened. Even though he knew there was a high chance that she had done it, without any evidence, there was no way he could make usations so hastily. The Lin family was his inws and, given that a few family members were killed in this case, it became a widely-discussed topic in the news. He had to investigate this matter properly to give the people, as well as Lin Shishi, an answer. Things became really tricky for him. If An Xiaoning was the one behind it, Tuoba Gucheng felt that she would have definitely had everything well nned out, and it was quite impossible for her to have left any evidence behind. The doctor hurriedly rushed over and, after checking Lin Shishi, he diagnosed, ¡°Madam has just fainted due to sudden internal heat within her. It¡¯s not a big issue.¡± ¡°Alright, I understand.¡± Tuoba Gucheng lifted his eyelids. ¡°You can go.¡± With the doctor gone, he went to his office and dialled An Xiaoning¡¯s number. The line went through very soon. At the other end of the line came her calm and indifferent voice, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°You actually sound reallyposed.¡± ¡°Why can¡¯t I soundposed?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°What exactly is the matter?¡± ¡°What happened to my inws has something to do with you, right?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you say that every murder in this world has something to do with me? Why would I kill them? Give me a reason.¡± Tuoba Gucheng was at a loss for words. After some hesitation, he replied, ¡°It¡¯s only a matter of time, the truth about this matter wille out. Whether it was done by you or not, we shall wait and see.¡± ¡°Then I shall wait for the day your people will shove evidence in my face. Before you¡¯ve gathered evidence, please don¡¯t jump to conclusions!¡± With her saying these words so confidently and without sounding guilty at all, Tuoba Gucheng was suddenly fed with a false impression. Could it be that it was not done by her, after all? ¡°I really hope that you didn¡¯t do it.¡± An Xiaoning smirked and, without saying anything further, she hung up his call. Tuoba Gucheng, on the other hand, had yet recovered from that smirk of hers. What was that smirk for? He naturally did not know that An Xiaoning had smirked because she saw how the powerful could do as they wished while the weak were not allowed to do anything. When Lin Shishi woke up, it was already half an hourter. The first thing she asked for when she woke up was to return to A City. Tuoba Gucheng naturally allowed her to do so and even returned together with her. From the moment she woke up ¡¯til they were in the car, Lin Shishi continued to bawl non-stop. She was almost out of breath from crying, and her voice had even turned hoarse. Nevertheless, she continued to cry and curse. Initially, Tuoba Gucheng had tried to soothe her emotions. However, after realizing that there was no way to control her outburst of emotions, he decided to simply let her cry everything out and did not intervene. When she was done crying, they were already more than halfway into their journey. With reddened eyes, she asked the man beside her, ¡°Honey, you should be clear about my parents¡¯ character. This was definitely done by her. Can you help me kill her? Even if she uses my birth characters to threaten me, and even if I die, it¡¯s fine as long as she¡¯s dead as well...¡± ¡°I already said, everything needs evidence. With evidence, this is easy to settle. But without evidence, how do you expect them to arrest her? Maybe the murderer is really someone else?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe it was done by someone else.¡± Lin Shishi shook her head. ¡°When Ifound out that that matter did not go through sessfully, I already knew that it was a matter of time for her to find out. I just didn¡¯t expect that she would find out so soon. She must have done this out of revenge. I¡¯m sure of it, it¡¯s definitely her.¡± ¡°Do you think you can just tell the media and public that you¡¯re sure An Xiaoning was behind it, and that will do?¡± Tuoba Gucheng said to her seriously, ¡°When you¡¯d intended to do what you did at the start, what did I tell you? An Xiaoning isn¡¯t someone who¡¯s afraid of poison. I told you not to do it, but you insisted on doing so. If this was really done by her, then ask yourself, don¡¯t you deserve this oue?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say anything further!¡± Lin Shishi shrieked, and tears sprung down her face again. ¡°My parents and brother are already gone and you can still say such words? You¡¯re my husband, but why do you always tend to side with her be it intentional or not?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not siding with her, I¡¯m just talking about this in an objective manner. Of course, if there¡¯s evidence to prove that she did this, there¡¯s no way she can run away.¡± Lin Shishi choked on her tears. Thinking of her family, she went mad and wished she could ughter the perpetrator into pieces. When the nended at the airport, they took a car all the way to the Lin residence, where international media reporters were already awaiting them. Chapter 920 - A Million Times for You (282)

Chapter 920: A Million Times for You (282)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios From the moment Tuoba Gucheng and his wife got down from the car, the reporters started shooting questions at them frantically. Cradling her pregnant belly, Lin Shishi slowly walked through the door of the Lin residence with Tuoba Gucheng holding onto her. There were three coffins ced inside the mourning hall. Lin Shishi sprawled herself across Madam Lin¡¯s coffin, looking at her mother who had her eyes tightly closed and who no longer had any breath. Tears poured down her face instantly. The Jin family hade too, and the whole family was in a heavily somber mood. Madam Jin went forward and held onto her lightly, trying to console her. Lin Shishi had cried to a state of dizziness. Feeling that she was about to pass out again, she braced herself and was helped into the room to rest. The pair of mother and daughter-inw, Madam Jin and Tuoba Danxue, apanied her in the room. Just when everyone was silent, Lin Shishi suddenly spoke to Madam Jin beside her. ¡°I know who did it.¡± Madam Jin probed, ¡°Who?¡± ¡°An Xiaoning.¡± Madam Jin was stunned when she heard it. ¡°It couldn¡¯t be, right? Although she broke off ties with your family, the issue about the ban is already long over. She has no reason to do this.¡± ¡°It¡¯s really her,¡± Lin Shishi said in a stupor. ¡°I won¡¯t let her off.¡± Madam Jin and Tuoba Danxue exchanged nces. They instantly felt that there was more to this matter. But seeing that she seemed to have suffered quite a huge emotional blow, they did not dare to say anything and just sat there quietly to soothe her emotions. While on the one hand, the media reporters continued to report on the situation here, on the other hand, a family of three was sitting on the sofa watching the news at Sanqiao Estate. It was rtively silent here as well. An Xiaoning had a pack of chips in her hands and she sat there, cross-legged, eating as she watched the news. When the news was over, An Xiaoning picked up the remote control and turned off the television. ¡°Look at that, Lin Shishi was crying so bitterly on television and appeared so pitiful. But she should clearly know what she has done and she¡¯d surely be able to guess that I was behind it. I¡¯m sure, at this exact moment, she¡¯s wishing that I was dead.¡± ¡°Xiaoning, Lin Shishi has such a high status. What if she exacts revenge on you, Qingyan, or your child...¡± ¡°Mother, I¡¯ve already thought of this possibility that you¡¯re worrying about. But... I won¡¯t give her that chance. How their Lin family had treated me, I will get back twice in return!¡± ¡°Boss, that fellow is calling you again!¡± An Xiaoning nced at the caller disy and said to her parents beside her, ¡°It¡¯s actually from Bureau Chief Pan.¡± ¡°Quick, pick it up. Hear what he¡¯s got to say.¡± Shi Qingzhou hurried her. An Xiaoning slid the answer button. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Xiaoning, do you know what happened to the Lin family?¡± ¡°I know, I saw the news. What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°A huge case like this, our superior actually handed it to our unit and even transferred an elite investigator from B City to help us out. Do you want to join in the investigation?¡± ¡°Was it our superior or you yourself who wanted to ask me?¡± ¡°Xiaoning, you¡¯re smart indeed. Our superior called me to make me ask you.¡± An Xiaoning was absorbed in her thoughts for a moment. Was Tuoba Gucheng trying to test her? ¡°If I¡¯m needed, I¡¯ll definitely be willing to take part in the investigation.¡± Seeing how she agreed so readily, Pan Zhenghui hurriedly replied, ¡°Alright, then, you shoulde to the Lin residence. We¡¯re all here...¡± ¡°No problem.¡± She hung up the call. ¡°They¡¯re asking you to take part in the case?¡± Shi Qingzhou started panicking. ¡°Will they make you fall into your own trap?¡± ¡°Mother...¡± An Xiaoning looked at her in a serious manner. ¡°You and Father should remember this. The case regarding the Lin family has nothing to do with me. No matter where you are in the future, both of you must clearly remember this. Don¡¯t forget. Even if it¡¯s at home in the future, such things can¡¯t be said anymore.¡± Thinking that it made sense, Shi Qingzhou responded, ¡°Okay.¡± Tuoba Shuo, on the other hand, replied, ¡°I actually think there may be two possible reasons that they asked you to help out at the police station. First, they want you there so that they can observe you every moment, to see if you¡¯ll give yourself away. Secondly, ...¡± He paused for a moment before going on, ¡°It¡¯s very possible that Gucheng and Shishi are ying a huge game of chess. Maybe they¡¯re very certain that you did it, but if there¡¯s no evidence to pin it to you, they might make some up.¡± ¡°I understand what you mean, Father. I¡¯ll be extremely careful.¡± She had to admit that her father¡¯s words gave her a timely reminder. Tuoba Gucheng would definitely settle this matter perfectly. After all, those were his inws, weren¡¯t they? She went upstairs and opened her wardrobe, carefully selecting a long dress. It was an off-shoulder ck dress. Since she was going to the Lin residence, she naturally would not wear any bright colors. If she dared to, she would immediately be on the headlines. Usually, when she was investigating a case, An Xiaoning would always wear ts and clothes that were suitable for physical activity. But today, she did not. Not only did she wear a dress, she also put on high heels. Without bringing anyone with her, she drove there alone. The media reporters were all gathered around the front gate as they were not allowed inside and could only wait outside. Seeing An Xiaoninge down from her car, the group of them surrounded her tightly and did not leave a single empty spot for her to go through. ¡°Ms. An, can you answer a few questions of ours?¡± Multiple microphones were shoved near her mouth. Her tone was t as she replied, ¡°What questions?¡± ¡°We heard you cut off ties with the Lin family. Before this happened to the Lin family, were you still in contact with them?¡± An Xiaoning responded, ¡°No. Since I cut off ties with them, isn¡¯t it a bit unnecessary to remain in contact? No matter what, we used to be family. So, since something has happened to them now, I can¡¯t stand by and do nothing either. I¡¯vee down not only to attend the funeral but also to help out in investigating this case. After all, the Bureau Chief asked me himself.¡± Her exnation was so perfect that it exined everything clearly. ¡°Then, Ms. An, may I know how much confidence you have with regard to this case?¡± An Xiaoning kept silent for a moment before responding, ¡°That depends, because I have yet to investigate the crime scene. Alright, I¡¯m going in now.¡± Squeezing through the crowd, she finally managed to pass through the front door of the Lin residence. After passing through the door, she headed inside slowly. She had a small bag slung over her shoulder, with some important things contained inside. The mourning hall was set in front of the living room, and someone was busy settling things there. When the police saw her arrive, Pan Zhenghui led them over to her. An Xiaoning asked under her voice, ¡°Tell me honestly, who called you to ask me here?¡± Pan Zhenghui scanned around and replied in a low voice, ¡°It was the President who called me. Look, you¡¯re regarded so highly. He even acknowledged you as a capable fortune-teller in our country.¡± An Xiaoning maintained a calm expression, but she instantly understood something. She did not say anything further and went straight into the investigation. ¡°How¡¯s the investigation going? Are there any clues?¡± Pan Zhenghui shook his head. ¡°There isn¡¯t even a single fingerprint found, nor are there any footprints. Don¡¯t even talk about clues. It¡¯s like it was done by a ghost. Tell me, isn¡¯t this strange? The door was locked from the inside.¡± An Xiaoning nodded. ¡°Come, let¡¯s go. Where is His Majesty now? ¡± ¡°He¡¯s upstairs consoling Madam. She¡¯s suffered a really huge blow. The President said if you¡¯re here, you¡¯re to go and find him first.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Chapter 921 - A Million Times for You (283)

Chapter 921: A Million Times for You (283)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The moment An Xiaoning stepped foot inside the house, she took out a pair of thin and transparent gloves that she put on while walking farther in. The gloves would prevent her from leaving her fingerprints behind. She made her way up the stairs. Before she reached the room, she could hear the sounds of an ongoing conversation, though they were talking rather softly. She stepped forward and knocked on the door. ¡°Come in,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng. Upon the sight of An Xiaoning, Lin Shishi flew into an immense rage and sprung up from the bed. Just as she was about to zoom toward her, she was stopped in her tracks by Tuoba Gucheng, who¡¯d grabbed her. ¡°Don¡¯t stop me!¡± Lin Shishi hollered at him. ¡°Sit down,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng, ncing at the bed and motioning for her to take a seat. Lin Shishi had no choice but to sit down while keeping her eyes fixed on An Xiaoning. ¡°Your Majesty, did you ask for my assistance in investigating this case?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯m well aware that you have the ability to do it. Although you¡¯re no longer rted to the Lin family, they were once your kin too, weren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Yes. I ought to render assistance in the investigations on ount of us being family once,¡± An Xiaoning saidposedly, as if she was not involved in the matter at all. Unable to contain her pique, Lin Shishi snapped, ¡°Quit being a hypocrite! You know clearly whether or not you were the one who did it!¡± An Xiaoning sneered, ¡°What do you mean? You¡¯re so forgetful, Madam. Don¡¯t you remember that I was the one who saved your life back then? Is this how you should be treating your savior?¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s remark was rather ambiguous ¡ª Lin Shishi could take it as a reply to her words or she could take it that An Xiaoning was referring to the poisoning incident. Seeing how reckless Lin Shishi was, Tuoba Gucheng red at her sternly in a bid to give her a warning. Lin Shishi then tried to get a grip on her emotions and did not say anything further. An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Since I¡¯m in charge of investigating this case, I ought to find out more about the Lin family in detail. Madam, may I ask if the Lin family has done any despicable sins? Who has your family harmed before? Please tell me the truth, so as to make it easier for me to carry out the investigation.¡± Lin Shishi glowered at her and said, ¡°My parents have always been careful with their actions, and I¡¯ve never heard of them having any enemies. They wouldn¡¯tmit any evil sins.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. Since you¡¯re so uncooperative, there¡¯s nothing else for me to investigate, then. Although I was once the Lin family¡¯s goddaughter, it was only for a short while and I still don¡¯t know your family very well,¡± said An Xiaoning, seemingly implying something. Tuoba Gucheng shifted his gaze toward her hands and asked, ¡°Are you wearing gloves?¡± ¡°Yes. I ought to be more cautious since this is the site where the crime took ce. What¡¯s going to happen if I identally leave my fingerprints around and end up bing a prime suspect?¡± Tuoba Gucheng was momentarily at a loss for words. ¡°You used to be able to solve cases within a short period of time, didn¡¯t you? It¡¯s best if you can uncover the truth just as quickly this time.¡± ¡°All cases are different. I still hope that Madam will cooperate properly so that I can solve your family¡¯s case as soon as possible,¡± said An Xiaoning. Lin Shishi kept mum. After An Xiaoning left the room, Lin Shishi said to her husband, ¡°Look howposed she was. You can¡¯t even tell if she has a guilty conscience or not.¡± ¡°You were too rash just now. You forgot what I said to you.¡± ¡°I just couldn¡¯t help it when I saw her. She was obviously the one who did it.¡± ¡°You just think that she did it out of revenge. However, you need evidence for everything. You can¡¯t solve the issue just by pinning her as the biggest suspect without having any concrete evidence. I handed this case to her simply because I want to see what results she cane up with,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng. Feeling extremely uncertain, Lin Shishi said, ¡°I have a hunch that I¡¯m her next target. She has my birth characters and timing. She can kill me any second.¡± ¡°In today¡¯s society, you can¡¯t just charge her because you¡¯re certain that she is the culprit. This matter has already been brought to theizens¡¯ attention. If she was really the one behind it, she¡¯ll let the cat out of the bag sooner orter.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t wait any longer. Hubby, just execute her in secret, will you?¡± Lin Shishi grabbed his arm and continued, ¡°At the end of the day, the media still controls the information exposed to theizens. There¡¯ll be a paradigm shift as long as you order the media to do something. You just don¡¯t want her to die, do you?¡± The incident about the camera that contained An Xiaoning¡¯s photos was deeply etched in Lin Shishi¡¯s memory. It no longer mattered much to Tuoba Gucheng whether An Xiaoning died or not. She was unwilling toply to him and even went against him obstinately by getting back together with Jin Qingyan. However, he had acted too rashly when he fed her with the lethal poison in the five-star hotel previously. In hindsight, it¡¯s a blessing that she managed to survive that time. If she had died there and then, Jin Qingyan definitely wouldn¡¯t have taken it lying down. The Gu family also would have definitely pursued the matter. Although it¡¯s been said since time immemorial that businessmen and merchants would never get involved in politics, it¡¯s going to be disadvantageous to the entire nation if they were to get in cahoots with the DK Organization. I¡¯m not going to let myself act so impulsively again. As the leader of the nation, I ought to have the nation¡¯s best interests at heart and prioritize political safety. I definitely mustn¡¯t do anything to put the nation in danger because of my own selfish reasons. Besides, An Xiaoning had now be outrageously bold and brazen. Tuoba Gucheng had a feeling that An Xiaoning was keeping something from him, and he still could not figure out why she did not die after ingesting the lethal poison. Needless to say, he had also found out that she was the only one amongst the survivors of the poisoning incident who managed to stay alive without any gastricvage or hospitalization. Hence, it was apparent that poisons had no effect on her at all. He was both curious yet uneasy about that fact. ¡°What do you know? There are a whole string of issues involved in this. Do you really think she¡¯s an ordinary person if she could be immune to the fatal effects of poison? It¡¯s already fascinating and absurd enough that she can see andmunicate with spirits. Shishi, don¡¯t you find your family and yourself to be extremely silly? You guys ruined a perfectly harmonious rtionship with her and made things be so strained.¡± Lin Shishi was speechless. ... The Jin family was petrified by the Lin family incident. Commander-in-chief Jin refused to believe that An Xiaoning was the culprit, like Lin Shishi had imed. On the other hand, Madam Jin was terrorized. ¡°There¡¯s no reason for her to do that. Could she have wanted to take revenge because of the ban?¡± Commander-in-chief Jin said, ¡°That doesn¡¯t seem like the case. I just think it¡¯s very likely that they decided to make the first move, for fear that Xiaoning would harm them before they do her. The investigation results showed that Xiaoning¡¯s bodyguards were all poisoned a few days ago and about seven of them died. I¡¯m guessing that it had something to do with this. Maybe Old Lin tried to poison them to death but failed to do so, and hence, Xiaoning retaliated.¡± ¡°Oh dear... If that¡¯s really the case, Sis Mei...¡± said the frightened Madam Jin. ¡°His Majesty probably requested her to take part in the investigation because he and Madam both suspect Xiaoning. However, they just don¡¯t have any evidence yet. The situation is bing more and moreplicated.¡± Chapter 922 - A Million Times for You (284)

Chapter 922: A Million Times for You (284)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Commander-in-chief Jin and Madam Jin stopped discussing the matter upon their son and daughter-inw¡¯s return. Tuoba Danxue asked, ¡°Mother, do you think that what Sister-inw said today was true?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t be sure about that. It may or may not be real,¡± said Madam Jin. ¡°I find that it¡¯s too absurd to be true. An Xiaoning may be very skilled in martial arts, but surely she¡¯s not invincible, is she? I do think it¡¯s possible if she uses her witchcraft, though.¡± Madam Jin did not agree with her and instead asked, ¡°Has there been any progress in the investigation?¡± ¡°None at all.¡± ¡°We shall wait and see what the oue is,¡± said Commander-in-chief Jin, who had learned a lesson from this incident. Jin Minxing said, ¡°Theizens are also very concerned about the matter. To be exact, they¡¯re curious and eager to find out who had such audacity to kill the Lin family.¡± ¡ª Days after the news of the Lin family murders were first exposed, the media dared not report much about the details for the next consecutive days and all articles and information had to be screened before the mediapanies were allowed to publish them. There were still no leads or progress in the investigation days after the incident. After much investigation, there were no new breakthroughs. The three members of the Lin family had already been buried. At this moment, Tuoba Gucheng gave An Xiaoning a call and asked to meet her, iming that there were new leads in the investigation. An Xiaoning headed to the Autumn Pce in B City. Tuoba Gucheng was still on his flight back to B City when she arrived. Lin Shishi instructed the servants to bring An Xiaoning to her room. An Xiaoning had a slender and svelte figure, which was further entuated by the whitece dress she was wearing. She had also applied some exquisite makeup on her face. The heavily-pregnant Lin Shishi was a far cry from An Xiaoning, for she was now chubby and appeared extremely haggard, especially with her heavy eyebags and eyes that were swollen from excessive crying. An Xiaoning sat down on the couch and asked, ¡°Madam, what did you call me into your room for?¡± ¡°There are no outsiders here. Drop the pretense.¡± ¡°What am I pretending about? Make yourself clear,¡± An Xiaoning said, smiling. ¡°You were the one who killed my parents and brother! You don¡¯t even dare to own up!¡± ¡°Madam, you¡¯re the wife of S Nation¡¯s president, after all. It¡¯s not very appropriate for you to be using me without proper evidence. I came here today because His Majesty asked me to. I didn¡¯te to see you. If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll go outside to wait.¡± Right after she stood up, Lin Shishi yelled, ¡°Hold it right there!¡± An Xiaoning stopped moving and asked, ¡°Madam, what else do you have to say?¡± Lin Shishi stood up slowly and whipped out a gun. She pointed it at An Xiaoning and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you with my bare hands and take revenge for my family.¡± An Xiaoning panicked and hurriedly removed her crystal hair clip from her head. Just as Lin Shishi was about to pull the trigger, a needle darted out of An Xiaoning¡¯s hand and hit Lin Shishi¡¯s hand, causing her to drop her gun immediately. Completely flustered and caught off guard, Lin Shishi frantically bent down in a bid to pick up her gun. It was toote for An Xiaoning to duck now. She had no choice but to step forward and hold Lin Shishi down while snatching the gun away. Yet, to her astonishment, Lin Shishi ruthlessly fired a shot at her own leg. ¡°Ah!¡± Lin Shishi shrieked in terror. An Xiaoning let go and sneered, ¡°Why don¡¯t you shoot yourself in your stomach?¡± Just as she was about to leave, the guards, who had already been arranged to stand outside the door, barged inside and hindered An Xiaoning from leaving. Lin Shishi was hurriedly sent to the doctor¡¯s. Meanwhile, An Xiaoning was held captive in Lin Shishi¡¯s bedroom. Not long after, Shi Xiaoyu arrived. She looked at An Xiaoning with a sly smile and said, ¡°You¡¯re finally caught. Attempting to murder the president¡¯s wife will warrant a death sentence. No one can save you now, not even Heaven!¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter... did you gang up together with your daughter-inw?¡± ¡°An Xiaoning, you¡¯re already on the brink of death and yet you¡¯re still so sharp-tongued. I¡¯m sure theizens are already actively discussing about you shooting Shishi.¡± ¡°My fingerprints aren¡¯t on that gun. You dare say that I was the one who fired that bullet?¡± An Xiaoning said fearlessly. ¡°You held the gun while wearing gloves. Is that not a reasonable exnation?¡± As soon as she finished speaking, An Xiaoning¡¯s mobile phone began to ring. It was a call from Jin Qingyan. Shi Xiaoyu tried to snatch her phone away but failed. ¡°Hello.¡± Jin Qingyan said, ¡°Hurry ande back. Tuoba Gucheng had an ulterior motive for calling you to the Autumn Pce. He had gone overseas to meet with a foreign political leader. I just found out about this.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t leave now. Lin Shishi has already shot herself in the leg and they¡¯re trying to frame me.¡± Upon hearing her words, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°Their next move is probably to publish a news article. I¡¯ll handle that first.¡± After ending the call, An Xiaoning red at Shi Xiaoyu coldly and said, ¡°Great move, trying to set me up, huh? However, it¡¯s my choice to decide if I want to let you manipte me.¡± ¡°You may be very capable, but do you really think you can make it out of the Autumn Pce? I really me your mother for the fact that you¡¯re not a boy. Otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t be alive today. Why would I let my son¡¯spetitor for the throne survive in this world?¡± Shi Xiaoyu said with a sinister smile. An Xiaoning remained silent. Shi Xiaoyu then said to the guards outside, ¡°Arrest this treacherous citizen who tried to kill the president¡¯s wife!¡± The bunch of guards entered, armed with guns. An Xiaoning was thus subdued. Staring at the men in front of her, An Xiaoning instantly realized that Tuoba Gucheng had plotted this scheme together with his wife and mother. He hadid a trap for her. If she dared to retaliate, she would be shot into pieces by the numerous guns pointed at her. ¡°Bring her to the dungeon and forbid her from drinking or eating.¡± An Xiaoning was arrested. Her wrists were handcuffed and her legs were tied to chains that weighed at least two kilograms. She remained calm andposed while sitting on the bed in the dungeon. Those chains were non-issues for her at all, and so was the fact that she was not allowed any food or drink. She could continue to live properly even without eating, drinking, or relieving nature¡¯s call. They didn¡¯t expect that, did they? I wonder what theizens are saying about me. If Tuoba Rui were still the president today, none of this would have happened, right? An Xiaoning did not feel good about her biological father at all. However, she seemed to have recognized his good attributes at this crucial juncture. I¡¯ll never get to live a day in peace as long as Tuoba Gucheng is still the president. A bold and terrifying idea popped up in her head. However, she quickly dismissed it. More than half an hourter, she heard footsteps approaching. She could clearly hear the footsteps stopping at her door. Chapter 923 - A Million Times for You (285)

Chapter 923: A Million Times for You (285)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The door opened with a loud and crisp sound, and in came Tuoba Gucheng, just like An Xiaoning had expected. Standing with his hands behind his back, he said with a sullen expression, ¡°Are you still refusing to admit it now?¡± ¡°Admit what? Are you afraid even though all of you are in cahoots?¡± she sneered sarcastically with a smile. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re still smiling when things have alreadye to this.¡± ¡°Am I supposed to fulfill your wishes by crying? Am I supposed to plead with you and beg you for mercy? Like I mentioned before, I¡¯ll never concede and give in to you ever again from now on. However, do you still remember that get-out-of-jail-free card that you¡¯d given me in the past? You said that you¡¯d spare my life no matter what happens, as long as it¡¯s not rted to Jin Qingyan. I still have that message. Would you like to keep your promise, Your Majesty?¡± she asked, staring at him. He would have forgotten it if she had not brought it up. He suddenly recalled it now that she mentioned it. It was just a casual promise that he had made back then. It had never crossed his mind that she would actually put it to use. ¡°I will keep my promise, but not right now. You may be spared from death, but you can¡¯t be spared from the punishment. Don¡¯t think that there¡¯s nothing we can do about you just because you refuse to confess and because we don¡¯t have any solid proof. I shall see if your beloved man wille and save you now. I shall see if he¡¯ll let himself get embroiled into this because of you.¡± After a moment of silence, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Why are you standing up for Lin Shishi when you don¡¯t even love her at all? I refuse to believe that you¡¯re on such good terms with your parents-inw. You im that you love me, yet you try to kill me time and time again. You clearly knew that it was the Lin family that tried to poison me and my family. You were well aware of that and yet you didn¡¯t try to stop them. I can never figure out what you¡¯re thinking, Your Majesty. You really have a very unique way of handling matters. I shouldn¡¯t have thought that you were different from your mother when I entered the Autumn Pce back then. I used to think that you and your mother were vastly different individuals. However, I gradually realized that you¡¯re no different from her. You¡¯ve long been influenced by your mother¡¯s vicious ways. Perhaps it¡¯s just in your blood all along. How I wish my biological father could return to his position as the president now! I may not wish to acknowledge him at all, but my biological father would at least treat me way better than my half-brother!¡± Tuoba Gucheng was shocked out of his senses. ¡°Ever since you became the president and Lin Shishi became your wife, both of you have begun drifting farther and farther away from your morals. I¡¯ve never thought of reincarnating as a human in my next life. Perhaps I¡¯ll be banished to the eighteenth level of hell and suffer a great ton of pain in theherworld. However, I¡¯m not going to allow you people to insult and bully me and my family while I¡¯m alive. As long as I¡¯m still breathing, I¡¯ll never allow it!¡± An Xiaoning said while he was remaining silent. Tuoba Gucheng was seething with anger after hearing her words, which were like hard ps to his face. ¡°Are you never going to confess even if you die?¡± he questioned sternly. ¡°I¡¯ll need to see the evidence before pleading guilty. Where¡¯s your evidence? Please show me the solid proof before you talk to me about owning up!¡± ¡°How are you going to exin the fact that you tried to harm Shishi?¡± ¡°Both you and I know clearly what is going on. Is there really a point in asking such a redundant question? Lin Shishi tried to shoot me dead but she failed and, in turn, she decided to shoot herself instead. What a fool!¡± ¡°We only know that you tried to kill Shishi but failed to do so and hence you shot her in her leg instead. I reckon the citizens will definitely stand together and request the governement to execute you for attempting to murder the president¡¯s wife.¡± Clenching her fists tightly, An Xiaoning said, ¡°I think it¡¯s the citizens¡¯ misfortune to have you as their president. I¡¯m looking forward to the day that you¡¯re dethroned.¡± ¡°What did you say!?!¡± he hollered, ring at her sternly. ¡°I said that I¡¯m looking forward to the day that you¡¯re dethroned, are you deaf? Although the presidency of S Nation follows a hereditary system, I doubt there has been any president in the past who has lost his position in less than two years, is there?¡± He walked toward her and began strangling her slender neck. Her breath began to quicken and she felt asphyxiated by the time he gradually let go. She gathered some energy and gave him a push with her handcuffed hands. Tuoba Gucheng felt as if he was struck by a strong wave and was flung one meter away onto the ground pathetically. Bewilderment and shock were written all over his face, and he could not understand where that power hade from. An Xiaoning got out of bed slowly, feeling a dull ache in her muscles every time she tried to lift her ankles, which were weighed down by the chains. She walked toward him and questioned. ¡°Are you thinking of getting rid of me in the dungeon?¡± Getting back up on his feet, Tuoba Gucheng said, ¡°You... how did you...¡± The quick-witted Tuoba Gucheng immediately thought of the incident about the book of witchcraft and said, ¡°Turns out that book does exist, after all!¡± ¡°What are you talking about, Your Majesty? I don¡¯t understand you at all. What book?¡± ¡°An Xiaoning, quit feigning ignorance!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not feigning ignorance. There isn¡¯t a single pocket on me at all, how am I supposed to feign ignorance? Your Majesty, stop abusing your authority and driving me into a corner! Otherwise, I¡¯ll definitely kill you. I hope you¡¯ll understand that.¡± Although he knew that An Xiaoning was different from other women, it had never crossed his mind that she would be this invincible. Tuoba Gucheng felt a cold shiver down his spine. He had belittled her. He initially thought that she wouldpromise and concede now that things hade to this. However, she did not. No wonder the poison did not take its toll on her. No wonder she never conceded again. He was now certain that he would never be able to subdue An Xiaoning again if she were to make it out alive this time. ¡°I take back my words about sparing your life. How dare you hide the truth about the book from me!?! Are you trying to stir a rebellion by mastering those techniques of witchcraft!?! What awaits you is a harsh and severe punishment.¡± ¡°When I was abducted by Pei Yi, you gave up the chance to save me for the sake of the nation¡¯s interests. You then fed me with the lethal poison but I didn¡¯t end up dying. Later on, you even sent me to find the treasure map. Despite knowing clearly that none of your 3000 elite soldiers or top spies managed to survive, you still sent me into the lion¡¯s den. Worst of all, you still allowed Lin Shishi and her family to try and poison me and my family. Tuoba Gucheng, you caused me to end up in a divorce and tried to take my life on several asions. Just what feud do I have with you? Why do you have to do this to me time and time again!?!¡± She scoffed and continued, ¡°You tried to harm me again and again in the name of love. Do you really think I won¡¯t retaliate? Don¡¯t forget, we¡¯re all the same. You¡¯re Tuoba Rui¡¯s child and so am I.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you know why I treated you that way? Regardless of whether or not you admit to killing the Lin family and practising witchcraft, there¡¯s no way you can deny the fact that you tried to harm Shishi. Things have alreadye to this and yet you¡¯re still so unrepentant. I wish you a smooth journey to hell.¡± Chapter 924 - A Million Times for You (286)

Chapter 924: A Million Times for You (286)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I won¡¯t speak about the rest, but if I see any news about me intentionally harming Lin Shishi appearing on the media, I can assure you that there¡¯ll also be a video of you forcing me to drink the lethal poison that¡¯ll be exposed on the media tforms that you can¡¯t control. That goes for the video of your mother¡¯s hypnosis as well. I¡¯ll let the citizens see with their own eyes just what kind of a man their president is. Alright?¡± An Xiaoning said coldly. Tuoba Gucheng took onest nce at her before turning around to leave without uttering another word. An Xiaoning fumbled about for her mobile phone, only to discover that there was no reception in the dungeon. She then ced it back inside her bag. She raised her arm to look at the GPS bracelet on her wrist, thinking to herself that it was a blessing that Jin Qingyan had forced her to put it on when they came back from M Nation. Hence, he could know her exact location. She did not wish to implicate him into this matter. She knew clearly what Tuoba Gucheng was nning to do to her next. He would probably never let me leave the Autumn Pce again. Will I be the loser of this battle? No one had expected for things to escte into such a mess. It had never urred to her that she would one daye to the point where only one of them could survive. Well, if I fail, there would be nothing else I can say, other than that I¡¯ve already tried my best. But if I do seed, I would no longer have to be threatened by them. Moreover, there would also be a new president for S Nation. Ever since Tuoba Gucheng rose to power, he had not achieved anymendable feat, apart from the fact that he had handled the political documents rather well for the first few months. In fact, even Tuoba Rui was a better president than him. An Xiaoning decided that the next president can¡¯t be Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s son. If she eradicated both of Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s sons, the next president would either be Tuoba Rui or Tuoba Shuo. Regardless of which one of the two took the throne, it would be beneficial to her, wouldn¡¯t it? She hoped that it would be Tuoba Shuo, who wasparable to Tuoba Rui in terms of capabilities. Hence, An Xiaoning was certain that Tuoba Shuo definitely had what it takes to be the next president. An Xiaoning hade up with all those thoughts while she was in the dungeon. She had no idea if she could escape this ordeal, however. ¡ª There were no news of the matter at all on the media. At this time, Jin Qingyan could not contact An Xiaoning at all. However, he heard from his snitch in the Autumn Pce that Tuoba Gucheng actually stopped Lin Shishi and Shi Xiaoyu from exposing the matter to the media and prohibited the media from reporting about it. Although Jin Qingyan had no idea what Tuoba Gucheng was up to, he was relieved to know that she was safe for the time being. He headed to Sanqiao Estate to discuss the issue with Shi Qingzhou, initially thinking that she would be worried. To his surprise, thetter was rather calm about it and said firmly, ¡°Qingyan, don¡¯t get yourself involved in this matter. I doubt Xiaoning would want you to be implicated either. I¡¯ve already called Tuoba Rui after realizing that I couldn¡¯t reach Xiaoning. He definitely wouldn¡¯t leave her in the lurch. I¡¯ve also told him the details of everything that happened and he knows what to do. Although he may not be in power now, he wasn¡¯t a political leader for so many decades for no reason.¡± Jin Qingyan said, ¡°I¡¯m guessing Xiaoning must have threatened Tuoba Gucheng too. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have stopped Lin Shishi and Shi Xiaoyu. She must have used the videos and voice recordings as her trump card, without a doubt. We don¡¯t have to be afraid of them since we have these on our hands. It¡¯d be hard to clear Xiaoning¡¯s name if the media reports about this. We mustn¡¯t let this be exposed.¡± Tuoba Shuo appeared extremely glum. The entire situation was just like a battle in which they¡¯re at the losing end. ¡°Gucheng is still young, and he became the president only a short while ago. Yet, he¡¯s already stirred so much trouble and even tried to kill us. I reckon the Tuoba family is going to be ruined by him. I don¡¯t think he canst eight years until the next presidential election. We would end up dying in Shi Xiaoyu and Lin Shishi¡¯s hands sooner orter. Brother has also told me about this earnestly.¡± Tuoba Shuo did not hate nor love his elder brother. Tuoba Rui had saved Shi Qingzhou, yet he vited her at the same time. However, Tuoba Shuo knew how to weigh the pros and cons. Jin Qingyan said to Shi Qingzhou softly, ¡°Mother, Xiaoning has ordered Teacher Bei Qi to concoct a special chemical that is capable of manipting one¡¯s mind once it¡¯s ingested. It¡¯s feasible, though the duration of control is rather brief. I¡¯d like to put this chemical to use once it has been concocted.¡± Shi Qingzhou could vaguely guess what he was trying to say. She said, ¡°Let Bei Qimunicate with me about this chemical. Don¡¯t get involved in this at all. Don¡¯t let them have a hold on you, got it?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t interfere with your decisions, but I¡¯ll help you get rid of any obstructions. I believe you and Father have the ability to make the right decision.¡± Twenty minutester, Bei Qi arrived with two vials of chemical, which he handed to Shi Qingzhou. He then said, ¡°These two chemicals will have the same effects, regardless of whether it¡¯s ingested orally or injected into the bloodstream. The main function is to allow the subject¡¯s consciousness to be controlled and manipted into receiving ourmands. This was originally invented by chemists overseas, and it¡¯s meant for disciplining stubborn people who refuse toply. Such technology has yet to exist locally in S Nation.¡± ¡°Will the subject listen to whoever feeds him or her the chemical?¡± asked Shi Qingzhou, who was thoroughly impressed. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Will there be anything unusual or suspicious about the subject?¡± Bei Qi exined, ¡°No, the chemicals I invented previously would have the subject appearing like they¡¯re in a daze. However, after I¡¯ve done some rectification and improvisation, the subject won¡¯t exhibit any suspicious behavior now and will seem normal at a casual nce.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± After Bei Qi left, Shi Qingzhou said, ¡°We must find a way to send this to Xiaoning and make Tuoba Gucheng ingest it. It¡¯s going to be very tough, however. After all, all their food supplies are closely monitored and screened before consumption. Only their trusted servants are allowed to go near their food.¡± ¡°Leave this to me. There are still some of my subordinates in the Autumn Pce. It should be easy to send this to her,¡± said Tuoba Shuo, who took the chemical from her hands. Shi Qingzhou handed it to him and said, ¡°You shall handle this, then.¡± ¡ª News of Yan Ge¡¯s fianc¨¦e moving into the same hotel as the production team had begun spreading within the unit. However, in order to uphold the image of the television series, Jing Tian had ordered all of the crew members and actors to sign a nondisclosure agreement, which stated that none of them were to divulge any details of Yan Ge¡¯s engagement to the public before the end of the broadcast of the television series. Anyone who was to be found spreading the information would be held liable ording to the penalty terms stated on the agreement. However, everyone began to see Xin Min as their sister-inw. Even the supporting actress secretly advised Fang En to minimize contact with Yan Ge and try to stage kiss whenever possible, instead of doing the real deal. Fang En heeded her advice. Chapter 925 - A Million Times for You (287)

Chapter 925: A Million Times for You (287)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She had stopped giving Yan Ge massages and would make sure not to have any contact with him outside of filming. In fact, she had even stopped talking to him in private, for fear that they would attract unwanted gossip. She could not help but feel embarrassed whenever she recalled the time when she added a kiss scene on her own. She got rid of all her inappropriate emotions and feelings. However, she had been ill at ease ever since the incident about the snake. Although everything that had happened were all rather trivial, Fang En was gued with an inexplicable feeling of fear and bizarreness when she joined the pieces together. She felt like she was bound to meet with lots of obstacles. The temperatures were burning in the summer, especially since they were clothed in the thickyers of the ancient costumes, which were wrapped tightly around them. Fang En¡¯s makeup would melt after each scene¡¯s filming. Thus, she had to have her makeup touched up continually. Xiao Yue arrived back on set with some tea and ice cream, which she then distributed to all the crew members, ording to Fang En¡¯s instructions. Fang En only drank some tea, although she really yearned to have a cold treat. However, she had to avoid cold and spicy foods as far as possible because they were harmful toward her spleen and stomach, both of which weren¡¯t in the best conditions. She held the teacup in her hands and scrolled through the discussion forums while watching the rest of the team enjoy their ice cream under the zing weather. Jing Shui would chat with her whenever he was free. Being a humorous and outgoing chap, he never failed to crack Fang En up. They sat together and began chatting incessantly. All of a sudden, Jing Shui mentioned her Weibo page and said, ¡°I saw your follower count on Weibo increase by another tens of thousands. Bravo.¡± Fang En chuckled and said, ¡°That¡¯s nothing to be proud of. Look at other celebrities, they have tens of millions of followers. I can¡¯t hold a candle to them at all.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be able to once the television series begins airing. It¡¯s yet to go on screen and there¡¯s still a majority of the audience who don¡¯t know you yet.¡± He then lowered his voice and asked, ¡°By the way, Jing Yang somehow got my brother¡¯s mobile number and even took the initiative to contact him. Jing Yang said that he was willing to star as a cameo in the television series for free.¡± ¡°Seriously?¡± ¡°Yeah, my brother finds it strange too, especially since he¡¯s an A-list actor and has never interacted with my brother before. Yet, he actually offered to make a cameo appearance. Doesn¡¯t that seem strange? He said that he would being by this afternoon and even said that he had freed up his schedule toe here.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk about him, he¡¯s so annoying. He seems to be a decent person on the surface but his true personality is a far cry from his appearance,¡± Fang En said in open frankness. ¡°Speak of the devil. He¡¯sing.¡± Fang En looked over to see that it was indeed so. Jing Yang was wearing a pair of shades and was d in a fashionable outfit while sauntering in with his manager and assistant, who were following closely behind. He was putting on the airs of a mega-celebrity. Jing Shui stood up and greeted Jing Yang while smiling. Thetter reciprocated and struck a polite conversation with Jing Shui. ¡°Isn¡¯t this Ms. Fang?¡± said Jing Shui. Fang En leaned back against the chair and closed her eyes, as if she did not hear him at all. Jing Shui pursed his lips while Jing Yang sat down in the spot that Jing Shui was sitting on previously, clearly wanting to have a chat with Fang En. ¡°Ms. Fang, I heard that you¡¯ve been a fan of mine for years. Shouldn¡¯t you be ted to finally meet your idol?¡± Fang En opened her eyes and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I have no idea who you heard it from but I don¡¯t have such a hypocritical idol like you who actspletely different in privatepared to the image you portray to the public.¡± Jing Shui hurriedly left the scene, feeling extremely awkward. ¡°Don¡¯t be mistaken, I didn¡¯t run a background check on you. Your former ssmate was the one who left me ament that I happened to chance upon. She said that you used to paste posters of me all over the walls of your dormitory room. Tsk, tsk, you really bear grudges, don¡¯t you? I was just in a bad mood on the day that I filmed amercial with Yan Ge. That exins my poor attitude.¡± ¡°Well... can you sit over there instead? Don¡¯t sit so close to me. Your attitude has nothing to do with me, stop involving me in your publicity stunts. I was really disgusted when you sparked the false rumor about us being in a rtionship with each other. Regardless of whatever reason you have, stop harassing me. I suggest that you not belittle me. I¡¯m not one to be trifled with,¡± said Fang En, not knowing what he was nning to do. ¡°Psht...¡± Jing Yang snorted withughter and continued, ¡°This is my first encounter with someone who self-proims that they¡¯re not to be trifled with.¡± Fang En rolled her eyes at him. ¡°I came to make a cameo appearance purely because of Director Jing. I¡¯ve watched the movies he¡¯s directed and I was really impressed. Don¡¯t get the wrong idea and think that I came because of you.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t get the wrong idea, so will you kindly stop sitting beside me, Mr. Jing?¡± He stood up and took a nce at her before saying, ¡°The more you behave like this, the more I¡¯d like to get to know you better, Fang En. I want to find out what kind of a woman you are.¡± ¡°You¡¯re nuts,¡± she chastised. He smirked and proceeded to look for Jing Tian. Fang En stared at his back and turned away a long whileter. She cocked her head over to discover that Yan Ge was already sitting on the chair beneath the umbre, the script in his hands. There were still more than ten minutes before filming was to begin. He turned over and said calmly, ¡°Let¡¯s rehearse our lines.¡± Fang En expressed assent. The scene to be filmed next would require both of them to be suspended on the wire. The lines were rather racy. They began narrating their lines. Yan Ge said, ¡°I feel such a strong urge to tell you my innermost thoughts whenever I carry you in the sky.¡± ¡°What are they?¡± ¡°Make a guess. Three words.¡± ¡°I love you.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°You set me up again.¡± ¡°...¡± After they¡¯d said their lines, Jing Tian approached them while wearing a cap. ¡°I¡¯m going to brief you guys about today¡¯s scenes. I don¡¯t have to exin much to Yan Ge since he¡¯s already very experienced with wires. I¡¯ll ce emphasis on you, En. You must take note of your actions when you¡¯re suspended from the wire and try to appear as natural as possible. Don¡¯t be so stiff...¡± He then demonstrated the actions to be performed while they were attached to the wire. Fang En bore his words in mind. The scene was filmed at a river. Yan Ge picked Fang En up in one arm and leaped up, after which the wire pulled them up and allowed them to be suspended in the air. Just as they were about to narrate their lines, the wires holding Fang En in ce broke all of a sudden. She shrieked at the top of her lungs, after which Yan Ge tightened his grip and hugged her tightly. ¡°The wires are broken!¡± she yelled. She grabbed onto Yan Ge tightly for dear life, sounding extremely frightened and anxious. After all, they were suspended in mid-air several meters off the ground. If he had not hugged her tightly just now, she would have definitely plunged into the deep river. Jing Tian hurriedly ordered the crew members to put them down. Fang En was terrorized; her heart was ricocheting strongly against her chest. Jing Tian questioned the relevant crew involved. The crew member frantically exined that he had no idea what happened and that he had checked the wires properly beforehand. Chapter 926 - A Million Times for You (288)

Chapter 926: A Million Times for You (288)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Not wanting to cause a dy in filming, Jing Tian hurriedly instructed the crew members to prepare the equipment again. Fang En was yet to recover from the horrifying shock she had just received. She had a hunch that what the crew members said was true. Could it be that someone was really trying to harm me? She dared not be careless, although she had no idea if she was just overthinking. She also informed her management studio about the incident after filming ended for the day. Mei Yangyang had to be more cautious and specifically instructed two bodyguards to protect Fang En on set, as well as to keep a lookout for any suspicious persons. Mei Yangyang had initially already intended to assign some bodyguards to Fang En. However, Fang En was not famous yet and did not have many fans who would chase her down at the moment. Hence, she decided to assign them to her after the television series began airing. However, it seemed she had to assign them to her now. ¡ª ¡°Hubby, when are you going to execute An Xiaoning?¡± ¡°Why are you in such a hurry?¡± ¡°Of course I have to be in a hurry. She has a broadwork of connections. She definitely wouldn¡¯t let me off,¡± Lin Shishi said in disgruntlement, feeling a dull ache in her leg. After some thought, Tuoba Gucheng said, ¡°I already got someone to inform Jin Qingyan about this matter on purpose. Why hasn¡¯t hee for me? He hasn¡¯t done anything about this either.¡± ¡°He¡¯s just a businessman. What action could he possibly take? He probably hasn¡¯te for you because he¡¯s just observing the situation for the time being.¡± ¡°That¡¯s one possibility...¡± Tuoba Gucheng turned around in a bid to leave. Lin Shishi grabbed his hand and said, ¡°Hubby, I¡¯m injured, aren¡¯t you going to sleep here tonight?¡± ¡°So what if you¡¯re injured?¡± He shrugged her hand away gently and said, ¡°Rest early, I¡¯m making a trip to my mother¡¯s ce.¡± Lin Shishi watched as he left, and shey in bed with anger surging through her veins. In those moments, she felt like she was the most pathetic woman in the world. She had lost her closest kin, and her husband was so cold and nonchnt to her. All she had left was the child she was carrying in her womb. That was all she had left... A million thoughts filled Lin Shishi¡¯s mind. Tuoba Gucheng left her room and headed to Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s ce. ¡°What did you call me here for?¡± Pointing at the spot beside her, Shi Xiaoyu said, ¡°Son, sit.¡± He stepped forward and sat down. ¡°You mustn¡¯t let An Xiaoning stay alive for long. Your grandfather and I have already discussed this carefully. We¡¯ll first release the news of her harming Shishi. After that, the entire nation will know about her shameless act. We¡¯ll execute her openly with the pretext of adhering to the citizens¡¯ wishes. What can Jin Qingyan and the rest do?¡± ¡°Mother, did you forget that they still have the video of you being hypnotized and the voice recording of me trying to poison her to death in A City? Those are the only reasons I didn¡¯t want you guys to spread the news.¡± ¡°So what? We get to control the mainstream media anyway. Even if Jin Qingyan has the means to spread those videos, we¡¯ll delete every single source when we see it. Besides, we can just say that the video and recording were falsified. An Xiaoning must die. Otherwise, she¡¯s going to cause so much more trouble.¡± ¡°That book...¡± After some thought, he continued, ¡°It really exists. An Xiaoning has mastered the techniques in it.¡± Gritting her teeth angrily, Shi Xiaoyu said, ¡°I told you! That shameless wretch Shi Qingzhou gave that thing to her daughter! An Xiaoning will definitely hand the book over if you arrest Shi Qingzhou.¡± ¡°Do you want to get the book first or kill An Xiaoning?¡± Without hesitation, Shi Xiaoyu eximed, ¡°The book, of course! Use An Xiaoning to threaten Shi Qingzhou and vice versa. We¡¯ll definitely get the book. Gucheng, immediately order for Shi Qingzhou to be arrested and brought to the Autumn Pce. Once we get our hands on the book, we¡¯ll execute them immediately, lest they stir more trouble! We¡¯ll just say that they¡¯re in cahoots to kill Shishi. Tarnish their reputation for good!¡± Tuoba Gucheng shared the exact same thoughts, for he desperately wanted to find out what that invisible force he had felt in the dungeon was. He ordered for Shi Qingzhou to be taken from A City. He returned to the dungeon where An Xiaoning was held captive. To his astonishment, he discovered that the chains and handcuffs had been broken into bits. Shocked beyond his senses, Tuoba Gucheng asked, ¡°Since you¡¯re so capable, why don¡¯t you go outside?¡± ¡°I¡¯m waiting for you toe.¡± She got out of bed. Before she even moved, Tuoba Gucheng whipped out a gun and pointed it at her. ¡°Don¡¯te near me,¡± he said. ¡°I just want to have a good chat with you. This is your territory, how would I not know how many guards you have outside?¡± Pointing at the spot beside her, she continued, ¡°Come here, let¡¯s talk properly. I¡¯ve already thought about it carefully. I want to continue living in harmony with you. After all, you¡¯re the king of S Nation, I¡¯ll only be asking for trouble by going against you.¡± Tuoba Gucheng felt slightly relieved to hear her words, although he was still rather apprehensive and doubtful. ¡°Hand that book over.¡± ¡°It¡¯s gone. I¡¯ve already burned it right after I mastered the techniques. Your Majesty, what do you want that book for? You can¡¯t learn the techniques anyway. Only women who possess paranormal powers like me can practice them. Even if you can get your hands on the book, you won¡¯t be able to do anything with it. In fact, even my mother can¡¯t master those skills despite being psychic. Clearly, only a special type of woman can practice them.¡± ¡°What witchcraft is that?¡± Tuoba Gucheng asked, clearly refusing to believe her. ¡°What witchcraft?¡± An Xiaoning asked in a mellow voice, trying to sound as gentle as possible. ¡°That¡¯s just a secret manual of psychological skills. It¡¯s not witchcraft.¡± ¡°What happened after you¡¯ve acquired them?¡± ¡°I have gained incredible strength and became immune to all types of poisons. Also, I¡¯ve be resistant to cold temperatures.¡± He put down his gun upon seeing the drastic change in her attitude, especially since she was no longer as tight-lipped as before. ¡°You should have been thispliant right from the start. Did you kill the Lin family!?!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you already know? Am I not allowed to retaliate when the Lin family tried to poison my family to death? What logic is that? Ever since history, the weak will be prey to the strong. I understand that very well. Don¡¯t try to bully us just because you think we¡¯re pushovers.¡± He approached her and stopped when he was about a meter away from her. ¡°I wanted to save you when I was negotiating with Pei Yi back then. However, I¡¯m the leader of the nation and I couldn¡¯t be that selfish.¡± ¡°But you¡¯ve been selfish more than once, haven¡¯t you...¡± ¡°I also didn¡¯t want to feed you with the lethal poison, but you were really getting on my nerves. Just what¡¯s so good about Jin Qingyan? Why must you be so devoted and in love with him? Am I not better than him? I¡¯m much more powerful than him, and I have everything that he has.¡± Chapter 927 - A Million Times for You (289)

Chapter 927: A Million Times for You (289)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Despite remaining quiet, shepletely dismissed his words in her head. No matter how brilliant he may be, he can¡¯t bepared to Jin Qingyan. ¡°Do you know how I felt when I found out that you were An Xiaoning? I really hoped you would be the ordinary-looking Mu Ning; only then could you really be mine. The happiest time of my life was when you were possessed by Da Huang, because I got to see you lying obediently on my bed. Whenever I hugged you to sleep, you would cuddle me too. However, things took a turn when you returned to your original self and I got married,¡± said Tuoba Gucheng, recalling the past. He finally let his guard down and sat beside her. He held her hand and said, ¡°I fell in love with you even before I knew that you were my half-sister. I fell in love with you even before I got married. Despite finding out the truth, I still didn¡¯t think that it was wrong to be in love with you. When I consummated my marriage with her, I just pretended that she was you. I don¡¯t love her at all. However, you really made me so miserable afterward. You put aside everything to reconcile your marriage with Jin Qingyan. I didn¡¯t even mind the fact that you were married to him and even had a son with him...¡± Overwhelmed with a myriad of emotions, An Xiaoning stared at him and said, ¡°When I was still Mu Ning, I never thought you would be attracted to or even fall in love with me.¡± ¡°When I first saw that face of yours, I too felt like you were way too average-looking and mediocre. However, I realized that I fell in love with your soul after spending more time with you.¡± An Xiaoning reached into her chest and grabbed a vial from her bra strap. She then sttered the vial of chemical onto his face at godlike speed. The instant that she did that, Tuoba Gucheng stiffened and grunted, ¡°You...¡± before passing out on the bed. An icy cold stare formed in An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes. She was well aware that one would not be able to swallow voluntarily in an unconscious state. Fortunately, the person who delivered the chemical to her had also given her a syringe. Hence, the two vials of chemicals were injected into Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s bloodstream within a short amount of time. After the injection, she put the syringe away and prepared to bring it out with herter. She then searched Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s pocket for his mobile phone. There were two mobile phones. As expected, one of the mobile phones were in recording mode and he had recorded their entire conversation. Her eyes lit up as she erased every recording. She ced the mobile phone back inside his pocket and waited patiently for him to wake up. ¡ª Shi Xiaoyu was beyond excited, thinking to herself that she would be getting what she wanted very soon. She could not even put her excitement into words. She continuously paced back and forth in the room. After waiting for an hour, someone reported to her, ¡°Madam, Shi Qingzhou has already been brought to the president¡¯s ce.¡± ¡°Got it, I¡¯ll make my way there at once.¡± She hurriedly headed to her son¡¯s mansion. However, she was dumbstruck the moment she entered. She was greeted with the sight of Shi Qingzhou and An Xiaoning, who was supposedly imprisoned, holding a cup of tea in their hands each and appearing extremely joyous. What... did that mean? She stepped over the gate and said, ¡°Son...¡± ¡°You¡¯re here, Mother.¡± She frantically rushed forward and asked softly, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll handle this matter. Go back and rest if there¡¯s nothing else. We¡¯ll talk again tomorrow,¡± he said candidly. Feeling ill at ease, Shi Xiaoyu said, ¡°You should at least lock them up first.¡± ¡°Mother, one of them is my sister while the other is my aunt. Why should I lock them up? We¡¯re family, there¡¯s no need to be so formal.¡± Shi Xiaoyu felt as if she was struck by thunder and stood rooted to the ground, dumbfounded. ¡°Son, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± ¡°Nothing¡¯s wrong with me. Just stay out of this, Mother. Go home. I¡¯ll chat with Sister for a while.¡± ¡°...!!!¡± It was Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s very first time hearing her son calling An Xiaoning his sister. That was a first! It¡¯s way too bizarre. Could it be that An Xiaoning had used her witchcraft on him? Overwhelmed with fear and terror, she sneakily left the house and nned to discuss the matter with her father. To her astonishment, she was taken away forcefully by Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s bodyguards and brought back inside the room. They also confiscated all hermunication devices. To her utter shock and dismay, there were also several guards standing outside the door, none of whom were allowed to leave without his instruction. What happened next was way more outrageous. It was the middle of the night. Shi Qingzhou left the Autumn Pce and headed home. She informed Jin Qingyan of the news and finally felt as if a heavy boulder was lifted off her chest. In the morning of the next day, there was a piece of groundbreaking news published on the forums online iming that Tuoba Hancheng was interested in men and that he was only married to Feng Qiubai in name for the sake of political benefits. There were even photos of Tuoba Hancheng getting intimate with men in a homosexual group. A piece of simr news had once been exposed before the presidential election previously. However, it was denied back then. Yet, the news resurfaced again. The gossip-loving citizens all had their curiosities piqued by the news. Although it was a scandal involving the Tuoba family, no one stepped out to deny the news. Within two days of the release, only Tuoba Hancheng and Feng Qiubai stated that the reports were false. Before the citizens could digest those news, there was yet another piece of breaking news. This time, it did not only appear on the forums. Rather, it was disseminated to the mainstream media and spread across all media and broadcasting tforms ¡ª Tuoba Gucheng had announced that he would like to resign as president! What! There was nothing juicier than this that could cause an uproar amongst the citizens. At the start, everyone was not too curious about who¡¯d be the next president after Tuoba Rui because the candidates would forever be a member of the Tuoba family, regardless of who the chosen one was. However, things got absurd this time. Tuoba Hancheng¡¯s homosexuality was exposed. As much as he tried to deny it, everyone had already seen the photos with their very own eyes and, hence, definitely would not be in support of him taking over the position as the president. Now that the current president had resigned and the public was not in favor of Tuoba Hancheng... All local and overseas televisionworks decided to air a live-stream of the parliament meeting. In the history of the presidential legacy of S Nation, there had not been any cases of the president stepping down within just a short period of time after seeding the throne. It was also the first time that a president resigned of his own ord. Usually, the president would be overthrown and lose his position if all members of the parliament cast their votes in support of stripping the president of his title. However, things were different in the case of a resignation. He could resign from his duties just by going through a standard administrative procedure. After all, who would want to resign after bing the president? One would hold great authority and power if they were the president. Many could not understand the reason for Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s resignation. Needless to say, there was a new president right after Tuoba Gucheng resigned, for the nation could not go a day without a leader. By rights, Tuoba Rui did not have the right to partake in the election. However, the members of the parliament nheless included him as a candidate because he had brought about prosperity and growth to the nation during his decades-long reign. Seventy percent of the Cab were in support of Tuoba Rui bing one of the candidates. The other candidate was Tuoba Shuo, who had always kept a low profile and refrained from appearing on the media. Chapter 928 - A Million Times for You (290)

Chapter 928: A Million Times for You (290)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Everyone was dumbfounded when they heard about Tuoba Shuo being one of the candidates. Although he was Tuoba Rui¡¯s brother, there was barely any information about him online and the only news they could find about him dated back to several decades ago. It was said that he had be a monk at a young age, all for the sake of a woman. That fact alone had attracted the attention of countless females. They were all fervently discussing and wondering who that woman was. An Xiaoning never had the habit of readingments left byizens. However, she made an exception this time, after which she published another article on the news. It was titled: ¡°The Love of Tuoba Shuo¡¯s Life Turns Out to Be An Xiaoning¡¯s Birth Mother!¡± The article briefly exined that they were deeply in love with each other but were stopped by Tuoba Shuo¡¯s parents, who¡¯d intervened and came in between their rtionship by making Shi Qingzhou marry Tuoba Rui, after which An Xiaoning came about. However, the jealous green-eyed monster arrested Shi Qingzhou and locked her up in an underground dungeon because she desperately wanted to marry Tuoba Rui. Shi Qingzhou was held captive for three whole decades, during which Tuoba Shuo decided to be a monk because he thought that his sweetheart had passed away. They only managed to reconcile a while ago. There were some truths and false information in the article, since it would not be appropriate to reveal that Tuoba Rui vied with his brother for Shi Qingzhou, whom he then vited. Otherwise, how could the fact that An Xiaoning was Tuoba Rui¡¯s daughter be exined? Once the news went public, it became the hot topic for discussion amongst citizens. Within just a little more than a week¡¯s time, chaos broke out in the entire S Nation. Regardless, however, the piece of news had scored Tuoba Shuo some brownie points, and even Tuoba Rui was pleased when he read the content. He was d that his scandalous acts of shame were not exposed. He was thankful that she saved him from the embarrassment. The presidential election would usually take up to two months. Before the results were out, Tuoba Rui would temporarily be in charge of handling the political matters. ¡ª Shi Qingzhou¡¯s father tried to expose some bits of the truth to the media, but to no avail because no one dared to report about it. His hopes were dashed. He had probably already expected that he would no longer get to do whatever he wanted, regardless of whether it was Tuoba Shuo or Tuoba Rui seeding the throne. After all, Shi Xiaoyu had already divorced Tuoba Rui. Tuoba Shuo and Shi Qingzhou returned to A City while An Xiaoning remained in the Autumn Pce, where she was free to move about because no one dared to stop her. All their attitudes toward her had changed; they had be extremely polite and respectful toward her, such that they even addressed her as ¡°Your Highness.¡± She never expected that she would one day be addressed using an honorific term. If she had not reacted in time, she would have died that day together with her mother and father. ¡°Your Highness, Madam has gone into prematurebor and she¡¯s currently going through a cesarean section in the delivery room,¡± said a servant. ¡°Let¡¯s go take a look.¡± She made her way to the hospital in the Autumn Pce, after which the doctor informed her that Lin Shishi seemed to be in a poor mental state for she would sometimes weep,ugh hysterically, and then berate the medical staff in bouts. ¡°Got it. Instruct your subordinates not to spread any news about this matter for the time being.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The newborn was only less than eight months old and was sent to the incubation tank immediately after birth. After a thorough checkup, it was found that, along with a string of other problems, the child¡¯s brain was damaged and his lungs were underdeveloped. However, An Xiaoning requested the doctor to provide the best treatment possible. She then headed to the ward after handing out the instructions. At this moment, the anesthetic in Lin Shishi¡¯s body was yet to wear off and she could only move the parts of her body above her neck. ¡°An Xiaoning, you¡¯ll die a horrible death!¡± she bellowed, glowering at An Xiaoning angrily. She stepped forward and looked down at Lin Shishi, who was struggling continuously. ¡°I was just giving you a taste of your own medicine... so you¡¯re allowed to harm me righteously but I¡¯m not allowed to pay you back in your coin? Shishi, you were such an innocent girl when you first entered the Autumn Pce. I was still your godsister then. I¡¯ve never actually thought of really harming your family, but you people were the ones whoid a finger on me first, so don¡¯t me me.¡± ¡°Quit pretending. You know yourself what you did to Gucheng!¡± An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t get too worked up, lest you bleed from your wound that has just been incised. You should at least spare a thought for your premature son, shouldn¡¯t you?¡± Reminded of her son, Lin Shishi teared up uncontrobly and questioned, ¡°Are you thinking of killing my son, too?¡± ¡°No, the child is innocent, I won¡¯t harm him. However, his brain is damaged. I¡¯ll do my best to send him for treatment, but his lifespan will all depend on his fate.¡± ¡°What!?!¡± Lin Shishi almost passed out due to the immense exasperation she felt, and she was in a state of despair after she broke down emotionally. She burst into tears and bawled loudly to the point of losing her voice. She was supposed to be at the peak of the world. Just what had happened? An Xiaoning turned a blind eye to her behavior, for she would never show mercy to someone who tried to harm her. Others would try and kill her if she did not act against them first. Since there¡¯ll always be a winner, why can¡¯t she be the one? Wasn¡¯t that how it goes? She had never thought that she would ever be in such a predicament. Things had actuallye to this today. She had never expected it, never ever... She was merely trying to defend herself and turned out to be the winner of this battle. ¡°An Xiaoning, I¡¯m going to kill you. I will kill you one day! I¡¯ll rip you to shreds and burn you into ashes!¡± Lin Shishi screeched. ¡°Too bad, you won¡¯t be getting the chance to. In a few days¡¯ time, your death will be announced and you¡¯ll be said to have died inbor.¡± Lin Shishi¡¯s lips began quivering, and she could no longer make a single sound. Her breath quickened as she red at An Xiaoning, seething with anger. She had already lost an excessive amount of blood during her cesarean section, which made her frail and feeble. She now turned even paler. ¡°Could you let me see my child once?¡± said Lin Shishi, keeping her eyes fixed on the scenery outside the window. ¡°Sure,¡± An Xiaoning agreed. She instructed her subordinates to carry the infant over from the incubation tank. It was still too early to tell whose features the infant¡¯s resembled, though it was obvious that he had a face shape like Lin Shishi¡¯s. The infant was currently sound asleep. Lin Shishi could not yet move at the moment. However, she soon began to feel a sharp, unbearable pain in her wound when the effects of the anesthetic gradually began to fade. ¡°Let me be alone with my son for two minutes. I want to speak to him, even though he won¡¯t understand me at all. May I?¡± Noticing that An Xiaoning did not answer, Lin Shishi looked at her and said, ¡°I¡¯m begging you, just two minutes.¡± An Xiaoning left with the nurse. She only agreed to Lin Shishi¡¯s request because she was a mother herself. However, An Xiaoning regretted her decision when she returned to the ward. To her astonishment, Lin Shishi was strangling the infant with all her might. Chapter 929 - A Million Times for You (291)

Chapter 929: A Million Times for You (291)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She took the infant away from Lin Shishi¡¯s hands, only to discover that he had stopped breathing. ¡°You may not be allowed to live, but I¡¯ll have spared the child¡¯s life. Why did you kill him!?!¡± Lin Shishi gritted her teeth in exasperation and eximed at the top of her lungs, ¡°He¡¯s mentally disabled, what¡¯s the point of keeping him alive and letting him suffer? His mother is about to die and his father can¡¯t save him, so why should he still stay alive? I¡¯m sending him on his way to reincarnation!¡± An Xiaoning instructed the nurses to carry the infant away, after which she walked toward Lin Shishi¡¯s bed and gave her a piece of her mind, which contained her heartfelt words. ¡°We were getting along fine and there was peace between us at the start. We were family for a while and I thought that you guys were aware of my temper and boundaries. But it turned out that you didn¡¯t at all. I entered the Autumn Pcest year to save my mother while wearing the mask to hide my features. Before I rescued my mother, I found out that Tuoba Gucheng was my half-brother. However, he fell in love with me even before he got married to you. He then found out my true identity when I went to your house after leaving the Autumn Pce. Ever since then, he¡¯s been threatening me and forbidding me from seeing Jin Qingyan. Nothing changed even after he knew that I was his biological sister. Do you think I could¡¯ve told you these? You¡¯re the one who doesn¡¯t trust me, and your family didn¡¯t trust that I would stay firm to my morals. I didn¡¯t intend to make you guys my enemies. Would I have threatened you with your birth characters if you and your family hadn¡¯t initiated the ban on fortune-telling practices? Four of you died but seven of my people died. Perhaps one day, I¡¯ll be killed as well. However, I¡¯d like to say that one shouldn¡¯t just live for the sake of living. We ought to live for our pride as well. The fact that younded yourself in such a state today is all because of your retribution.¡± Lin Shishi stared at her with tears in her eyes and whined a little, incapable of speech at all. Teary-eyed, An Xiaoning looked at Lin Shishi and said, ¡°I¡¯ll always remember the innocent and pure person you were before you entered the Autumn Pce. You used to call me ¡®Sister¡¯ so sweetly. Shishi, this is the end of our feud. I shall send you on your way to hell now, Sister.¡± .... An Xiaoning did not wish to see Shi Xiaoyu yet and had locked thetter up in a room. She was denied contact from the rest of the world and had no idea of the ongoing changes. Every arduous day spent inside the room felt like years to her. Tuoba Rui arrived. ¡°Release me, let me out... let me out!¡± she eximed, grabbing onto him vehemently as if he was herst hope. Tuoba Rui stared at her sternly and said, ¡°You¡¯d better know your ce and stay here properly. You¡¯re not allowed to go anywhere at all.¡± ¡°I want to see Gucheng, I want to see my son, ask him toe here. I want to see him! Did you hear me!?!¡± Shi Xiaoyu yelled in desperation. Tuoba Rui said, ¡°Gucheng has already announced that he¡¯s resigning as the president. I¡¯m now in charge of handling the nation¡¯s political matters.¡± Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s eyes widened in shock as anger surged through her veins. Her vision began to turn blurry, and she took a few steps backward before copsing onto the bed. ¡°You¡¯re spouting nonsense. I don¡¯t believe it. Gucheng will never resign of his own ord, he won¡¯t. He¡¯ll never, ever!¡± ¡°That¡¯s just a matter of fact. Shi Xiaoyu, your ns have backfired. Do you know what awaits you this time? Just wait here patiently until the next election is over,¡± he said coldly, ring at her in disdain. ¡°Who are the candidates of the election? Is Hancheng one of them?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry to disappoint you again but the entire nation now knows that Hancheng is interested in men. It¡¯s an indisputable fact. He¡¯s not involved in the election this time.¡± Overwhelmed with pain, Shi Xiaoyu asked eagerly, ¡°Who is it, then? You can¡¯t be thinking of making the brazen move of selecting a female president for the very first time in history, can you? Are you thinking of making An Xiaoning the next president?¡± ¡°Xiaoning¡¯s not interested in politics and she won¡¯t be getting involved. It¡¯s Shuo.¡± ¡°Shuo... Shi Qingzhou!¡± Shi Xiaoyu eximed, bbergasted and exasperated. She turned as pale as a ghost. If Shuo bes the president, what would Shi Qingzhou do to me... She grabbed Tuoba Rui¡¯s arm and said in desperation, ¡°You can¡¯t let Shuo be elected. I can¡¯t let Shi Qingzhou win, I can¡¯t...¡± Tuoba Rui pushed her hand away in annoyance and hissed, ¡°Enough, you¡¯re afraid now, aren¡¯t you? If it weren¡¯t because of the sudden change in situation, you would¡¯ve killed Xiaoning and Qingzhou, wouldn¡¯t you!?! I can¡¯t feel a tinge of sympathy for you at all.¡± ¡°Rui, you can¡¯t leave me and our children in the lurch. It won¡¯t be too bad if you be the president again, but think about it. If Shuo bes the president, do you really think he won¡¯t ill-treat our children? He won¡¯t spare me either. Rui, you may be An Xiaoning¡¯s father, but you¡¯re also the father of my three children!¡± Tuoba Rui took a deep breath and stared at Shi Xiaoyu before saying, ¡°I¡¯d definitely make sure their lives are safe, you don¡¯t have to remind me. As for you, what has your life got to do with me? It won¡¯t be enough to atone for your sins even if you die ten times.¡± He stormed off in a huff. He mmed the door shut, after which Shi Xiaoyu stared blindly at a corner, feeling as if she had suffered a huge blow to her mental well-being. How did things change so drastically in such a short time? How... how... ¡ª After handling the matters about Lin Shishi, An Xiaoning proceeded to see Tuoba Rui. Ever since she stepped foot inside the Autumn Pce, she had never once met him privately. This time, she only decided to take the initiative to meet him after considering it carefully for a few days. ¡°Your Highness, he wants you to go in.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± She pushed the door open and entered. Upon the sight of her, Tuoba Rui smiled widely and pointed at the couch. ¡°Have a seat.¡± An Xiaoning took a seat on the couch while he sat down opposite her. ¡°Why did youe and see me? Do you have something to talk to me about?¡± ¡°Nothing much, I just wanted to have a chat with you. Actually, I¡¯d like to thank you,¡± she said solemnly. ¡°Thank me? What for? I didn¡¯t do anything,¡± he said in a calm and gentle voice. ¡°That¡¯s exactly why I have to thank you. No matter what, we¡¯ve more or less pulled through this ordeal. It¡¯s all the same to me regardless of whether you or my father bes the next president.¡± He gazed at her and said, ¡°I¡¯m your father, too. I know I¡¯m not fit to have you acknowledge me, but I still do hope that you¡¯ll one day call me your father.¡± An Xiaoning looked down and kept silent for a while, after which she answered, ¡°You¡¯re still my biological father, regardless of whether I acknowledge you or not. That¡¯s a fact that cannot be changed. I don¡¯t feel ashamed about that, though. Instead, I¡¯ll just ept it with an open heart. I share the same thoughts and sentiments with my father about you. We¡¯re both very conflicted about the way we feel toward you. You may have saved my mother, but at the same time, you¡¯ve also ruined her. Because of you, she had to suffer such great pain for decades. I¡¯m heartened that you haven¡¯t been disturbing hertely. You turned out to be like just what I had expected.¡± ¡°She¡¯s the only woman I have ever loved. Even to this day, I still hope that she can follow her heart and pursue her own happiness. That¡¯s all I need to be contented,¡± Tuoba Rui said with a smile. Chapter 930 - A Million Times for You (292)

Chapter 930: A Million Times for You (292)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Your mother was really beautiful when she was younger. You look so much like her, and your temper is simr to hers too. When I first saw you, it felt as if I was seeing the younger version of her. I¡¯ve been keeping tabs on you secretly ever since I saw photos of you surfacing on the media. However, it was not very frequent and I mostly saw you on the news. I found out that you were psychic, just like your mother. At that time, I really wanted to meet you and tell you that I am your father. However, I didn¡¯t have the courage to do it and I didn¡¯t want to disrupt the peace of your life.¡± How was my life peaceful at all? I never once lived in peace. ¡°At the start, I didn¡¯t have ns to search for my biological parents. After all, I was already in my twenties and had gained independence. It was only muchter that I wanted an answer and some closure. What I was thinking then was that perhaps my biological parents had abandoned me because they had some difficult reasons and not because they didn¡¯t want me anymore. However, in hindsight, I¡¯m really thankful for my decision to search for my parents. If I hadn¡¯t done that, no one would have discovered that she was still alive.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to you that I could find out the secret Shi Xiaoyu had been hiding from me for years. Otherwise, I probably wouldn¡¯t have known how much pain and suffering the love of my life had been put through, even until the day I die.¡± An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s all fated. I have to head back to A City now.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to stay here?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be back in another few days. I¡¯m going home for a while,¡± she said while standing up. ¡°Okay.¡± It was already evening when she left the Autumn Pce and boarded the flight back to A City. It was currently drizzling in A City. She did not instruct her bodyguards to pick her up from the airport and instead hailed a taxi home. The moment she opened the front door, she was greeted with the sight of No. 6, to whom she gave a big hug and said, ¡°I¡¯m home.¡± ¡°Hello, Sis.¡± She let go of him and asked, smiling, ¡°Are you happy?¡± ¡°Of course, we¡¯re over the moon.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go inside.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± No. 6 closed the door and followed her into the living room. Everyone happened to be having dinner at the time. Upon the sight of her, they quickly greeted her one after another. She sat down and said, ¡°I haven¡¯t had my meal.¡± ¡°Sis, give me a moment, I¡¯ll go get you some cutlery,¡± said No. 5, who hurriedly got up from his seat. ¡°Okay.¡± She removed her hair band and braided her shoulder-length locks. ¡°Why did youe home all of a sudden? Are you still going to go back there?¡± ¡°In another few days. I¡¯d like to get some rest now for my body and my soul,¡± said An Xiaoning, who had not returned ever since she went to the Autumn Pce. It was a good time now for her to tell them everything. ¡°I reckon you guys must have guessed it, but I still have to tell you properly. The truth about the poisoning incident hase to light, and Lin Shishi has died inbor today together with her newborn son.¡± ¡°She died inbor?¡± Shi Qingzhou asked in apprehension. ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll tell you more about itter.¡± It was not that An Xiaoning did not trust her bodyguards, but rather, she felt that it was better to have fewer people know about it. Seemingly having gotten the hint, Shi Qingzhou said with a smile, ¡°That¡¯s something worth celebrating. However, what¡¯s going to happen to the Lin family¡¯s assets?¡± ¡°Clearly, they¡¯ll be confiscated by the government,¡± said An Xiaoning, grabbing the chopsticks and bowl from No. 5 before proceeding to dig in. ¡°Ever since these twist of events, your father and I have felt so much more relieved. Regardless of who bes the next president, no one will dare to make life difficult for you again from now on.¡± Shi Qingzhou looked extremely heartened and at ease. After resting for several months, she was slowly returning to the pink of health and her cheeks had gotten chubbier as well. Given that her features were already beautiful to begin with, she looked even better with some self-care, and her appearance now was a stark contrast to that of when she was imprisoned in the underground basement. An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°We¡¯ve won this battle, but that doesn¡¯t mean we can let our guards down. We must still be very cautious and wary of possible dangers.¡± ¡°That goes without saying.¡± ¡°...¡± After dinner, An Xiaoning spoke to her parents privately in the room about what happened to Lin Shishi. Shi Qingzhou sighed and said, ¡°Well, this matter has finallye to an end. It¡¯s a dog-eat-dog world, and someone has to die in the end. It just happens that we¡¯re not the ones to.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be heading to Wei Ni Estate now. I won¡¯t being home tonight.¡± ¡°Alright, go ahead. He misses you too.¡± An Xiaoning expressed assent and left. On the way to Wei Ni Estate, she wondered to herself, What is he doing now? Is he eating? Or reading? Watching a movie? Or could he be working out in the gym? Those were the only few activities she could think of. Wei Ni Estate was a stone¡¯s throw away from Sanqiao Estate. Hence, she arrived in no time. She drove her car past the gate and said to Fan Shixin, who was scurrying toward her, ¡°What is your Young Sir doing now?¡± ¡°Young Madam, Young Sir is working out right now. He¡¯s putting in the work and effort for the eight-pack that you wanted to see,¡± Fan Shixin answered, handing her an umbre. She took it from him and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go take a look.¡± She then walked toward the gym and caught sight of two figures standing in the brightly-lit room. It turned out that Long Tianze was there too. An Xiaoning could not help but be amused and chuckle at the sight of them working out. She folded the umbre and ced it beside the door. ¡°Has Tianze joined the gym club, too?¡± ¡°It¡¯s all your sister¡¯s fault. She insists on wanting to touch my pooping abs. I usually only go to the gym once or twice a week, but thanks to her, I¡¯m forced toe here to train every day. She¡¯s even abused me verbally and mocked me for being worse than Qingyan. I¡¯d rather die than be insulted. How am I in any way inferior to him?¡± Long Tianze groused, drenched in perspiration. ¡°Well... press on, then.¡± ¡°By the way, there¡¯s something I must tell you about.¡± Long Tianze put down the gym equipment, wiped the sweat off his neck with a towel, and continued, ¡°There has been so many issues with Fang En, that artiste who¡¯s signed to your and Yangyang¡¯s studio.¡± ¡°What issues?¡± ¡°She¡¯s not the cause of them, she¡¯s just been running into a lot of troubletely.¡± Long Tianze exined to her about everything Mei Yangyang had told him, after which he said, ¡°Yangyang and I both think that she¡¯s either being harassed by a spirit or that someone¡¯s out to make life difficult for her on purpose.¡± An Xiaoning said, ¡°I don¡¯t have anything on for the next couple of days. I¡¯ll go take a look tomorrow.¡± ¡°You guys have fun while I go back now. I¡¯m dead tired,¡± said Long Tianze, who stretched his arms and walked away. An Xiaoning shifted her gaze onto Jin Qingyan, who had stopped working out too. She walked toward him and stroked his chiseled abs. ¡°Not bad,¡± sheplimented with a gleeful smile. He twisted open the lid of a bottle of mineral water and took a few gulps before chucking it aside. ¡°You¡¯re not leaving tonight, are you?¡± ¡°No.¡± As soon as she answered, he picked her up in his arms. An Xiaoning squealed in shock and said while looking at him, ¡°You scared me.¡± ¡°Apany me for a swim.¡± ¡°It¡¯s raining outside.¡± ¡°That makes it even cooler.¡± Chapter 931 - A Million Times for You (293)

Chapter 931: A Million Times for You (293)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning was then carried out of the gym and all the way to the swimming pool. There was an orange light at the side with two sun beds next to it. There was also arge chair above the sun beds. Jin Qingyan reced the water in the pool with some lukewarm water, which made it much morefortable for the both of them. Although it was summertime, it was not healthy to soak in cold water for too long. The atmosphere was quiet and tranquil, and he had already instructed his bodyguards not to disturb them or show up in the vicinity. No one dared to defy his orders. After they got inside the water, An Xiaoning went on to have a whale of a time. They chased each other in the pool merrily, and a passionate kiss was inevitable. It felt as if they were two young teenagers madly in love with each other. An Xiaoning¡¯s hair was wet, and she tucked her damp hair behind her ears to reveal her beautiful features. Staring at the man before her, she pounced onto him and wrapped her arms around his neck. ¡°Qingyan, I love you.¡± ¡°How much do you love me?¡± ¡°I love you very, very much. You¡¯re the only person I love. No one canpare to you. That¡¯s how I feel. Qingyan, what do I do? I¡¯m starting to feel like I can¡¯t live without you.¡± Her words were like music to Jin Qingyan¡¯s ears. ¡°Are you in a good mood?¡± he asked with a grin. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m in a splendid mood. Tuoba Gucheng can no longer get in the way of our rtionship. Regardless of who tries to stand in the way of our love, I¡¯ll get rid of them no matter what it takes. Even if I die a horrible death, I¡¯m not afraid...¡± He ced a finger on her mouth and hushed her, ¡°Touch wood, you¡¯re not going to die a horrible death.¡± She smiled and did not retort. Instead, she opened her mouth and bit his finger gently. The warmth of her tongue spread to his heart. Jin Qingyan pushed her gently to the side of the pool near the stairs. He then hugged her from behind and allowed his hand to wander about her body in an absolutely unrestrained manner. An Xiaoning grabbed onto the railing of the stairs, feelingpletely enticed and turned on. Worse still, he seemed to be doing it on purpose. However, he did not stop the forey and continued fondling her from behind. An Xiaoning stretched her hand behind her to grab his crotch, which was erect and hard despite being underwater. As soon as she turned around, he lifted her leg and ced it against his chest while he hugged her waist tightly. He then entered her and filled her deep inside. It was an extremely ufortable position. ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel good at all.¡± To her astonishment, he flipped her over to have her back facing him and eased her into apletely different position. They did not have that great of a time inside the pool, however. Hence, they made up for it in the bedroom. He was filled with passion and enthusiasm. Every single time he thrust himself deep inside her, he wished he could keep her stuck to him. An Xiaoning was flushed red, and she thrust her hips upward to match his rhythm. The bed began to break and move about because of how vigorous he was. The pair decided to release their pent-up desires and emotions of longing for each other. A post-coital ambience filled the air. He wiped her clean and asked, ¡°Did you feel good?¡± An Xiaoning answered feebly with half-closed eyes, ¡°It was brilliant.¡± He nodded in satisfaction and cleaned up the rest of the mess in the room. He then put on a pair of boxers andy down beside her. However, he continued to grope her breasts while they chatted merrily with each other. Finally, An Xiaoning closed her eyes and dozed off in his embrace. He held her hand and interlocked his fingers with hers. He fell asleep with her in his arms. The life that they both wanted was just like this ¡ª hugging each other peacefully to sleep every night. .... An Xiaoning had an erotic dream. Right after she had just gotten intimate with Jin Qingyan, she dreamed of having another battle in bed with him again. She opened her eyes and stared at the man in front of her who had his long and silky hair draped around his shoulders while thrusting himself deep inside her petite body. He kept his alluring eyes fixed on her. Noticing how startled she seemed, he lowered his head to kiss her and asked, ¡°Do you feel good?¡± An Xiaoning almost choked, for Jin Qingyan had just asked her the same question before they fell asleep... She draped her arms around his neck and said, smiling, ¡°It was brilliant.¡± He was rather taken aback by her response, for she would usually turn red with shyness whenever he asked her that question in the past. Feeling extremely motivated, he gave it his all and caused the wooden bed to shake vigorously and loudly. An Xiaoning was moaning in pleasure. Halfway through the session, he sat on the bed while she straddled him and began moving her hips sensually. Despite being extremely surprised, his shock did not get in the way of them getting intimate. The room was filled with sounds of her moaning in immense pleasure. He was both surprised yet enticed by how passionate she was. They only stopped in the wee hours of the night. Rubbing her svelte waist, she sat cross-legged on the bed and said to him, ¡°Why do I feel like we¡¯remitting adultery?¡± A sullen expression formed on his face upon hearing her words, which had struck a sour note within him. Poking her in her forehead, he said, ¡°I¡¯ve never gotten intimate with her before, not even once. We¡¯re just married in name. Don¡¯t you know where my heart lies? You have all of my heart, littless. Quit pretending innocence. When the time is right, I¡¯ll divorce her and marry you so I can pamper and dote on you however I¡¯d like, alright?¡± He shot An Xiaoning an alluring nce, after which she coyly removed her red bra, only to realize that her adolescent breasts had yet to develop into a decent size. Feeling slightly embarrassed, she quickly put it back on. He was extremely puzzled by her actions. ¡°Why did you put it on again right after you took it off?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel confident enough.¡± He guffawed and said, ¡°You¡¯re still young now. You¡¯ll develop into a well-endowed woman when you¡¯re older.¡± ¡°You know that I¡¯m still young and yet you took my virginity.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s the little imp who crawled into my bed andpelled me to finish you?¡± An Xiaoning turned red immediately with shyness. How was I so... liberal in my previous lifetime? I don¡¯t believe it, he¡¯s spouting nonsense, he¡¯s spouting nonsense! ¡°It¡¯s all your fault for being too handsome and charming. How could you me me? Do you know how many maids are lusting over you every day?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± he asked with a frown. ¡°I mean... they¡¯re harboring designs on you.¡± ¡°How dare they do that?¡± An Xiaoning raised her brows and said, ¡°Well, they dare not do it openly, but it¡¯s a different case deep down.¡± ¡°Why are you so different tonight?¡± ¡°Because...¡± She was at a momentary loss for words and was unsure of how she should answer. After pondering for an entire minute, during which he was waiting for her answer, she said, ¡°Because you¡¯re my man and this is how I am in front of you.¡± He sat up straight in his white robe, which made him appear even more dashing. ¡°I like hearing such things from you.¡± An Xiaoning smiled and did not say anything further. After the dream ended, An Xiaoning woke up at five o¡¯clock in the morning. Chapter 932 - A Million Times for You (294)

Chapter 932: A Million Times for You (294)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She woke up again to find that she was no longer sleepy and that there was a warm body next to her. She could not help but chuckle at the thought of the dream she had. She hugged him quietly while his unique scent wafted up to her nose. She thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of having him beside her. She really wished that time would stop in its tracks at this very moment. It was already daybreak by the time Jin Qingyan woke up. An Xiaoning was no longer beside him, and he had no idea where she had gone. After taking a look at the time on his watch, he quickly got up to get dressed. An Xiaoning got a great shock the moment she saw himing down from the spiral staircase during breakfast. Jin Qingyan was wearing a pink short-sleeved shirt and a white cropped-ankle trousers. He had a hand inside his pocket while strutting down the stairs slowly. He walked toward her and knocked his knuckle onto her forehead. ¡°Are you enchanted by me?¡± ¡°No, I just rarely see you in pink.¡± ¡°Do I look good?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± she answered truthfully. She then eagerly said, ¡°Do you know what I dreamed ofst night?¡± ¡°How would I know if you don¡¯t tell me?¡± An Xiaoning stirred her porridge with a spoon and said softly, ¡°I had an erotic dreamst night.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you get enoughst night?¡± he asked. ¡°Of course I did, but it was a dream of me doing it in my previous lifetime... with you.¡± ¡°Tell me the process, I want to hear it.¡± ¡°You really do?¡± ¡°Are you going to tell me or not?¡± ¡°I am.¡± She simply could not hide anything from him. An Xiaoning told him about the scenario in her dreamst night while having breakfast. She even included the conversation they had in the dream. Before Jin Qingyan could express his opinion, she said, ¡°Look, the way you talk in your previous lifetime is so simr to the way you do now.¡± ¡°Was I better in bed in my previous lifetime, or am I better now?¡± ¡°Are you getting jealous of your previous incarnate?¡± Not distracted by her words at all, he prompted, ¡°Answer me seriously, don¡¯t digress.¡± ¡°You¡¯re better now.¡± ¡°Does that mean you think I was bad in bed in my previous lifetime? Was that why you left me and refused to see me even until I died?¡± An Xiaoning said, ¡°I was wrong. You were great in bed in your previous lifetime, you¡¯re bad now.¡± ¡°Does that mean you were lying to me when you said you felt goodst night?¡± Jin Qingyan questioned teasingly. An Xiaoning felt at a loss for an exnation. ¡°Why are you being so difficult?¡± ¡°You¡¯re right...¡± ¡°You even got jealous of yourself. You¡¯re petty and hopeless. How did I even fall in love with you?¡± ¡°You were blind.¡± She could not retort. After breakfast, An Xiaoning headed to Bei Qi¡¯s house. It was a solitary house, which was meant for Bei Qi to carry out his experiments. Bei Qi did not say anything upon seeing her and instead handed her a vial of chemical. ¡°This is a chemical that has longersting effects of up to two weeks,¡± he exined. She took it from his hand and said, ¡°It¡¯s been hard on you. Inform Chief Fan if you need anything.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± ¡°I have a question for you. Could you answer me truthfully?¡± ¡°Please speak, Ms. An.¡± ¡°You used to work for Pei Yi. Why didn¡¯t he use this method when he made Xu Baizhi bring me back to R Nation back then? Wouldn¡¯t it have been easier to control me that way?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not too sure about the exact situation in DK and I only know a little about their operations. We¡¯ve already been researching and trying to formte this technology for a long time, though we only seeded in the recent months. Coincidentally, this type of chemical was yet to be concocted when DK used you as a hostage for negotiation with S Nation. However... there are several other people who can create such chemicals. I¡¯m not the only one. I believe some of the chemists working for him must have already formted it sessfully. However, I trust that he won¡¯t put it to inappropriate uses. Otherwise, it¡¯s going to bring about several fatalities. I¡¯m sure they¡¯re clear about that fact.¡± ¡°Since you can create such chemicals, could you also create an antidote for it?¡± ¡°You mean, you want me to create a chemical that can hinder the effects of the manipting chemical?¡± Bei Qi asked. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll begin researching on that next.¡± She smiled and said, ¡°Go ahead and continue with your work, then. I won¡¯t disturb you any further.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡ª ¡°Here, Ms. Fang,¡± Xin Min said with a smile, handing her a cup of coffee that she had just bought. ¡°No, thank you, I¡¯ll have tea instead,¡± Fang En answered, also smiling. Xin Min stuffed it into her hands and said, ¡°Hold it. Don¡¯t stand on ceremony with me.¡± Fang En handed it back to her and said, ¡°I really don¡¯t need it, thank you.¡± Yan Ge interrupted coldy, ¡°Forget it if she doesn¡¯t want any.¡± Xin Min then took the cup of coffee away and handed it to Xiao Li. Fang En stood up and stretched her back. Pretending not to be awkward at all, she turned around and strode toward Jing Tian. Xiao Yue hurriedly followed her, after which they both disappeared out of Xin Min¡¯s sight. Xin Min sat down beside Yan Ge and asked. ¡°I read on the news that Ms. Fang is the only artiste signed to An Xiaoning¡¯s and Mei Yangyang¡¯s entertainment studio. Is that true?¡± ¡°That seems to be the case.¡± ¡°You celebrities often have a restricted private life. Are the rumors about her and Jing Yang true?¡± Yan Ge looked at her and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t she already exin before that they¡¯re false?¡± ¡°But many of his fans don¡¯t seem to believe her rification.¡± ¡°It¡¯s impossible to please everybody.¡± Slightly startled, Xin Min kept quiet and did not say anything further. .... ¡°Director, Sis Xiaoning will drop byter.¡± ¡°When would she be arriving?¡± Jing Tian asked. ¡°She said that she¡¯s already on the way and would be arriving soon.¡± ¡°Okay, good timing. I have something to discuss with Ms. An.¡± Xiao Yue said to Fang En softly, ¡°Sis, you did the right thing by turning down the coffee that Ms. Xin had offered you.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been contemting whether I should tell you this or not, but I was worried that you would think that I¡¯m being nosy and get upset at me.¡± Xiao Yue leaned closer toward her and whispered, ¡°Ms. Xin was there too when you were rehearsing your lines with Yan Ge. Do you remember that?¡± Fang En nodded and said, ¡°Of course I do. What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°I noticed something really terrifying about the way that she was looking at you. I initially thought that I saw wrongly, but I took another few nces and confirmed that my eyes weren¡¯t ying tricks on me. Maybe she really didn¡¯t mean any harm and maybe I was just overthinking. She does seem very kind and gentle. However, I have a hunch that she¡¯s not exactly fond of the idea of you being close to Yan Ge. It upsets her to see you two rehearsing your lines too.¡± ¡°Forget it, I won¡¯t rehearse my lines together with him anymore from now on. We¡¯ll just memorize our lines on our own and start filming straight away.¡± ¡°Sis En, you¡¯ve already stopped talking to himpletely. Didn¡¯t you guys chat with each other rather often in the past? You used to even give him massages. You two have be so distant now.¡± Chapter 933 - A Million Times for You (295)

Chapter 933: A Million Times for You (295)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Since he¡¯s engaged, I ought to keep my distance.¡± She held onto Xiao Yue¡¯s arm and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go there and wait. Sis Xiaoning will beingter.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± They returned to their seats, only to discover that Xin Min had already left and that Yan Ge was sitting alone with the script in his hands. Upon the sight of her, he said, ¡°Let¡¯s rehearse our lines.¡± Fang En said calmly, ¡°Nah, let¡¯s just memorize our own lines. It should be fine after the cameras start rolling.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Yan Ge asked in puzzlement. ¡°Nothing much.¡± She picked up her teacup and avoided eye contact with him. A gloomy expression formed on Yan Ge¡¯s face. They had always had a cordial rtionship ever since filming officially began, which was so unlike the distant and aloof way she was behaving toward him now. In fact, she seemed to be unwilling to even speak to him. Is it because of my engagement? Is that why she¡¯s doing all she can to keep a distance between us, to the point that she does not even want to talk to me? Xiao Yue stared at the two of them, feeling extremely awkward. Twenty minutester, Xiao Yue said, ¡°Sis En, hurry and look, Sis Xiaoning and Sis Yangyang are here.¡± Fang En frantically stood up and scurried toward them to wee them. Noticing how pale Fang En looked, An Xiaoning held her hand and asked, ¡°Have you not been eating well?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t, I¡¯m on a diet to lose some weight.¡± ¡°You ought to eat when you¡¯re supposed to. Don¡¯t try to lose weight intentionally. Filming is so tiring, how are you supposed to have the energy to do it if you don¡¯t eat properly?¡± Fang En nodded with a smile and said, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll take care of my body.¡± They continued to walk forward, after which the crew members greeted An Xiaoning, who reciprocated. Yan Ge put down his script and stood up to greet her, ¡°You¡¯re here, Ms. An.¡± ¡°There¡¯s still a month of filming to go. Yan Ge, are you starting to feel drained and fatigued?¡± ¡°Not really, I¡¯m just a little tired.¡± ¡°Director Jing has told me over the phone that you¡¯re very professional. Take a break while I go have a chat with Director Jing.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Jing Tian discussed some issues about the television series with An Xiaoning, after which she asked, ¡°I heard from Yangyang that En has been experiencing lots of difficulties and troublestely. What happened?¡± Pointing at a tent, he said, ¡°Let¡¯s go inside there to talk.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Once they were inside the tent, Jing Tian told her truthfully, ¡°I find it really strange too. The crew members all belong to the same team that was involved in filming the movie we produced previously. They¡¯re definitely reliable and trustworthy; otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have hired them. Although it¡¯smon for suspension wires to break, it¡¯s rather absurd and suspicious for so many of them to snap at the same time. Moreover, En continued to meet with several incidents in the days after the wires snapped. She¡¯s been really out of lucktely.¡± ¡°I know. It¡¯d better not be an intentional act of malice. Otherwise, I¡¯m going to scour every corner to find out who this person is. I¡¯ll bring En to the car and have a chat with her. Is she involved in the next scene you¡¯re filming?¡± ¡°She is, but you two may have a chat first. I¡¯ll just film the others while waiting. It should be fine as long as you don¡¯t take too long.¡± ¡°Okay, then.¡± An Xiaoning, Mei Yangyang, and Fang En got inside the car together without Xiao Yue. ¡°Give me your birth characters and timing, I¡¯ll see if someone is intentionally getting in your way.¡± Fang En blurted without hesitation, ¡°I was born on the 28th of July at seven o¡¯clock in the evening. I don¡¯t exactly know which minute and second though.¡± After hearing her birth characters, An Xiaoning began reading her fortune for the recent months. Noticing the frown on her forehead, Mei Yangyang immediately asked, ¡°Sis, did she really encounter a troublemaker?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± An Xiaoning said to Fang En, ¡°En, tell me in detail, did you have a feud with anyone ever since you joined the production team?¡± ¡°There¡¯s one such person. It¡¯s Jing Yang,¡± said Fang En, who could not help but feel disgusted at the thought of him. She then exined everything to An Xiaoning, including the details of when she first asked him for an autograph, all the way until he offered to make a cameo appearance. Mei Yangyang chimed in, ¡°Yeah, he was the one who pulled the publicity stunt by sparking rumors about being in a rtionship with En.¡± ¡°He probably didn¡¯t get close to you with the intention of harming you. Judging from the fact that he offered to make a cameo appearance, he probably has other ns in mind. Who else have you fallen out with apart from him?¡± Shaking her head, Fang En answered, ¡°I didn¡¯t really offend anyone...¡± Suddenly reminded of what Xiao Yue said to her just now, she repeated thetter¡¯s words to An Xiaoning before saying, ¡°Yan Ge¡¯s fianc¨¦e has moved into the same hotel as us, and she checked into a room on the same floor as ours. However, she seems to be a kind, nice, and educated person. I don¡¯t think she¡¯s the one.¡± ¡°When did she move in?¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a while now.¡± An Xiaoning tilted her head and looked at her. ¡°Do you fancy Yan Ge?¡± she asked. Taken aback, Fang En frantically defended herself, ¡°No, not at all. He¡¯s already engaged, I don¡¯t harbor any designs on him.¡± ¡°What if he wasn¡¯t engaged, then? When I was talking to Director Jing previously, I heard from him that you¡¯d added a kiss scene on your own. I thought I heard him wrong,¡± An Xiaoning said solemnly. Fang En instantly turned red and spluttered, ¡°Sis Xiaoning, I¡¯ll never do such a silly thing again. Trust me.¡± An Xiaoning smirked and teased, ¡°You do fancy him, don¡¯t you? It¡¯s fine, Yangyang and I are your employers. Just tell us the truth.¡± ¡°I only decided to add that scene because I felt like I was at a losing end since I¡¯d given him my first kiss. On the other hand, he had already kissed so many actresses before, so I wanted to...¡± Fang En paused in her speech, too embarrassed to continue. ¡°You wanted to take revenge on him?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Yes,¡± Fang En answered softly. ¡°You must be fond of him. Do you still carry any hopes of being in a rtionship with him?¡± An Xiaoning asked earnestly. Shaking her head, Fang En answered, ¡°Absolutely not. Ever since I found out about his engagement, I haven¡¯t been talking to him much in private. I¡¯ve even stopped rehearsing my lines together with him before filming starts. I know my limits. He had yet to go for a blind date and he didn¡¯t have a fianc¨¦e yet when I added that kiss scene. Besides, I definitely wouldn¡¯t carry a torch for a man who has a girlfriend or fianc¨¦e.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. Even if you still harbor any feelings for him that you have developed over the few months of filming, you must do your best to hold yourself back. Your career has just begun taking off. Don¡¯t let any frivolous rumors ruin your progress. It¡¯s easy to be mistaken as a homewrecker. Once your reputation is tarnished, it¡¯d be hard to clear your name. En, you came from a humble family, you should know that you wouldn¡¯t have had the chance to star as the female lead if it weren¡¯t because I¡¯m the main investor of the television series. Since you¡¯re an artiste of our studio, we have every duty to spur you on and push you toward fame and sess. However, you mustn¡¯t let me and Yangyang down, got it?¡± Fang En answered with a nod, ¡°I understand. Rest assured, Sis Xiaoning, I definitely wouldn¡¯t be a homewrecker. I¡¯ll stop carrying a torch for him.¡± Mei Yangyang said, ¡°We do allow you to get into rtionships, but En, take a look at all the celebrities in the entertainment industry. Most of them only reveal their rtionship status when they¡¯re engaged. Celebrities can¡¯t be like normal citizens and expose every rtionship they get into. I just need you to understand that.¡± Chapter 934 - A Million Times for You (296)

Chapter 934: A Million Times for You (296)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I¡¯ll stay behind for two days.¡± An Xiaoning then said to Mei Yangyang, ¡°Go back first, I¡¯ll stay here to apany En for two days and at the same time find out who¡¯s stirring all this trouble.¡± Not wanting to go home since she finally got to spend time with An Xiaoning, Mei Yangyang countered, ¡°Sis, there¡¯s nothing for me to do at home anyway. I want to stay with you, I don¡¯t want to go home.¡± ¡°Your Tianze is going to me me for causing him to sleep alone then.¡± Mei Yangyang raised her brows and said, ¡°He wouldn¡¯t dare to. I¡¯m so sick of being with him all day every day. Good that I get toe out to rx for a while.¡± ¡°Alright then, give Tianze a call to inform him.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Mei Yangyang called the hotel, only to hear that there were no longer any empty rooms on the eighth floor. Hence, she booked a room on the seventh floor instead. After Fang En left to begin filming, An Xiaoning and Mei Yangyang remained in the backseat of the car, cing their heads together. An Xiaoning asked Mei Yangyang, ¡°Do you find anything wrong with Yan Ge¡¯s betrothed?¡± ¡°ording to our instincts when ites to women, it¡¯s not entirely impossible that she was the one up to mischief. However, as Yan Ge¡¯s fianc¨¦e, she should know that En was merely doing her job when acting out the intimate scenes with Yan Ge. Shouldn¡¯t she be open about it? Well, unless she knows that En fancies Yan Ge...¡± Taking a sip of mineral water while hugging her knees, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Never underestimate how petty a woman can be. There¡¯s no need for her to do that, unless Yan Ge fancies En too.¡± ¡°Sis, do you think Yan Ge carries a torch for En as well?¡± An Xiaoning shook her head and said, ¡°Why would a man get engaged to another woman if he already has someone else he fancies? Clearly, Yan Ge doesn¡¯t have feelings for En.¡± ¡°Could it be someone else other than his fianc¨¦e?¡± ¡°Regardless of who it may be, I¡¯ll get Shixin to run a background check on this fianc¨¦e of Yan Ge¡¯s and see if we should pin her as a suspect.¡± She then dialed Fan Shixin¡¯s number and handed him some instructions. ¡°I didn¡¯t rest wellst night. I shall take a nap now.¡± ¡°Did your Brother Jin mess with you in bed against night?¡± An Xiaoning retorted in amusement, ¡°Didn¡¯t your Brother Long do the same?¡± Mei Yangyang guffawed and stared at her mobile phone screen while tapping away incessantly. ¡°Sis, go ahead and sleep. My Brother Long has been texting me non-stop after hearing that I¡¯ll be staying with you here for two days. He¡¯s afraid that I¡¯ll elope with you and abandon him. I¡¯ll chat with him for a while.¡± An Xiaoning expressed assent and closed her eyes with a smile. ¡ª ¡°Doctor, what are the results of the checkup?¡± Mo Li asked while sitting down beside the gynecologist. Although she had already prepared herself for the worst, she could not help but feel as if the gynecologist¡¯s words were like daggers piercing through her heart. ¡°There¡¯s almost a zero possibility of you conceiving again. The chances are slim even if you try and nourish your body to nurse it back to health.¡± ¡°Will I still be able to ovte?¡± she asked. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that your fallopian tubes were clogged previously? There isn¡¯t much of an issue when ites to ovtion now. The main problem is that the membrane of your womb is naturally too thin. Besides, you¡¯ve also once sustained major injuries to your womb. For you, trying to conceive would be like nting on an infertilend. Also, you¡¯re suffering from inmmation.¡± A gloomy and mncholic expression formed on Mo Li¡¯s face. After exiting the hospital, she rode her motorbike back to the estate. Along the way, she dropped by the supermarket to buy a few bags full of daily necessities. The moment she exited the elevator, she caught sight of a stranger woman standing at her doorstep. She even smiled at Mo Li, who stepped forward to ask, ¡°Who are you looking for?¡± ¡°You.¡± Slightly startled, Mo Li tried to recall where she had seen the woman before. Why is she looking for me? Noticing that Mo Li was remaining silent, Sister Zhang asked, ¡°Will you allow me inside your house to have a chat with you about Yun Chen?¡± Mo Li nodded upon hearing No. 8¡¯s name. She opened the door and entered while Sister Zhang followed closely behind. Sister Zhang snickered the moment she stepped foot inside, inplete disdain of how small Mo Li¡¯s studio apartment was. Mo Li ced the meat and vegetables inside the refrigerator before pouring Sister Zhang a cup of tea. She sat down opposite her and asked, ¡°What would you like to talk about... regarding Yun Chen?¡± Sister Zhang did not touch the tea and asked with a smile, ¡°Ms. Mo, you don¡¯t seem very old. How old do you think I am?¡± Mo Li gazed at her face. Women would usually want others to say that they look younger than their actual age. Mo Li asked, ¡°Forty?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got really sharp eyes, Ms. Mo. I¡¯m really 40 years old this year. You must be wondering how I¡¯m rted to Yun Chen, right? Make another guess, who do you think I am to him?¡± Mo Li¡¯s heart sank. Since Yun Chen is an orphan, she definitely can¡¯t be his sister. I haven¡¯t heard of any female friends of his either. Could it be that she was his ex-girlfriend? ¡°I really have no idea. Please just tell me straight.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll understand after I show you some photos, Ms. Mo,¡± said Sister Zhang, who took out her mobile phone from her bag and opened the photo album to show Mo Li some photos. Mo Li took the mobile phone from her. Faced with the photos, she squinted to see a much younger Yun Chen holding the woman before her in his arms. However, their bare shoulders were exposed and it was apparent that they weren¡¯t wearing any clothes. ¡°There are more below.¡± Mo Li continued to scroll down to look at the next few photos, one by one... She then handed the mobile phone back to Sister Zhang and said, ¡°Turns out you¡¯re his ex-girlfriend. What¡¯s the point of showing me these photos? Since he and I are already dating now, I wouldn¡¯t mind his past. Actually, I¡¯ve had a horrible past as well. We¡¯ve decided to let bygones be bygones.¡± Surprised to hear her response, Sister Zhang said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid you might be mistaken. I¡¯m not his ex-girlfriend, he was just one of my boy toys. This mobile phone used to belong to Yun Chen. You don¡¯t have to give it back to me, you may keep it.¡± Mo Li ced the mobile phone onto the table and said smiling, ¡°Regardless of how you were rted to him in the past, it doesn¡¯t matter to me at all. I guess your efforts are going to be in vain. I won¡¯t argue or have a tiff with him over his past. This is not the reason why we got together. Please take your leave if there¡¯s nothing else you¡¯d like to say, Miss.¡± Sister Zhang realized that she had underestimated Mo Li. She initially thought that she could see Mo Li hitting the roof and turning as pale as a ghost. To her surprise, Mo Li remained calm andposed. Advertisement ¡® She stood up and blurted callously, ¡°I bet you don¡¯t know about Yun Chen¡¯s erectile dysfunction, do you? I¡¯ve long toyed with him to the point of destruction. Will you two even have a proper sex life?¡± Mo Li stood up and kept her eyes fixed on Sister Zhang¡¯s eyes. ¡°I bet you didn¡¯t know, my Yun Chen has already recovered after receiving treatment. You must be disappointed. Hested for forty minutes when we were getting intimatest night.¡± A sullen expression formed on Sister Zhang¡¯s face. Forty minutes? I don¡¯t believe it at all. ¡°Ms. Mo, stop trying to fool yourself and others. Back when he was with me, he had to rely on viagra tost for forty minutes.¡± Chapter 935 - A Million Times for You (297)

Chapter 935: A Million Times for You (297)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I think you must be talking about yourself. He had to force himself to get intimate with such an old hag. Who can bring themselves tost that long in such a situation?¡± Feeling extremely embarrassed, Sister Zhang said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you older than him yourself?¡± ¡°I¡¯m only three years older than him, unlike you. You¡¯re more than ten years older than him, old hen.¡± ¡°You...¡± Sister Zhang humphed and chastised, ¡°Forget it, what more can I say if he¡¯s willing to ept you? I just wanted to say, you two are ratherpatible with each other. You¡¯re both unwanted secondhand goods.¡± ¡°I take back what I said about your age. I seriously think that you¡¯re at least already in your fifties.¡± ¡°...¡± Sister Zhang left with her face as pale as a ghost, and she was filled with exasperation. She felt a strong urge to beat Mo Li into a pulp, though she held herself back. The only reason she refrained from acting on impulse was because it was Mo Li¡¯s apartment and Mo Li could easily get the security officer of the estate to chase her away. Mo Li sat on the couch and reached out to grab the mobile phone. Instead of unlocking it to view its content, she erased the memory of the mobile phone and restored it to its factory settings. Mo Li then sat on the couch, not feeling upset at all. Instead, she just felt clueless about his past. It was probably because he didn¡¯t want me to find out about his past. She then smashed the mobile phone and dumped it in the bin. She decided to just turn a blind eye to this matter, not wanting to cause any unhappiness between them. She gathered all the bags of trash at home and dumped them all together into arge rubbish chute. Just as she threw it away, No. 8 walked toward her. ¡°Why do you look so serious?¡± she asked with a smile. ¡°Did that woman look you up just now?¡± ¡°You saw her?¡± Mo Li asked. ¡°Yes, what did she say to you?¡± Mo Li held onto his arm and said, ¡°Nothing much.¡± ¡°Tell me the truth.¡± Mo Li looked up at him and said after much consideration, ¡°She handed me your old mobile phone but I threw it in there.¡± Pointing at the rubbish chute, she continued, ¡°The phone contained some photos of your past with her, but I¡¯ve decided to let bygones be bygones. However, she seemed to have been hoping that I would get angry. Her ns backfired though, I didn¡¯t get upset at all.¡± Upon hearing her words, No. 8 cupped her face in his hands and nted a kiss on her lips in broad daylight. Mo Li¡¯s breath began to quicken, and she tiptoed to return his kiss. He then let go of her and pulled her into the elevator, which ascended to the 32nd floor. The moment they entered the apartment, he pinned her against the door. He then lowered his head to kiss her again and said softly, ¡°I¡¯m not trying to hide anything from you on purpose. I just didn¡¯t know how to exin.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not dwell on the past anymore. After all, doesn¡¯t everybody have a past? I only care about the you now. We¡¯ve already decided to start a new life anyway. Although I know that it¡¯s going to be hard, I think we can brave through all odds so long as we stand together and work hard for our future,¡± said Mo Li, hugging his waist and leaning her head against his chest. He tucked her hair to the side and said, ¡°Why didn¡¯t he know how to treasure such a great girl like you? But then again, it¡¯s thanks to the fact that he didn¡¯t treasure you that you could be mine. Heaven brought me to you. Mo Li, I¡¯m really in love with you.¡± Mo Li¡¯s heart wrenched and tears began to well up in her eyes. ¡°Yun Chen...¡± He interlocked fingers with her and pulled her toward the bedroom. He sat on the bed while putting her on hisp and hugging her from behind. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you everything that you want to know.¡± ¡°Have you ever fancied that woman?¡± He answered truthfully, ¡°No. Why would I fancy a woman like her? I was just forced to be with her because I was sold to her.¡± ¡°I never knew that ck markets still existed in today¡¯s society and that human trafficking is still permitted. It¡¯s really terrifying. Life must be tough when you¡¯re denied of basic human rights.¡± ¡°All sorts of people exist in this world, and you can¡¯t always tell the twisted parts of their lives that go on behind closed doors just from their appearance. Some children were sold off by their parents. Such practices have existed ever since ancient times. The only difference is that society is more advanced now. However, I still made it to adulthood. I don¡¯t have a house, a car, or much savings, but Mo Li, I¡¯m willing to work hard for you and our future. I want to make it up to you for all the suffering and grievances you¡¯ve endured in the past. Although I wasn¡¯t the one who hurt you, I know the damage has still taken its toll on you. It¡¯s alright, we¡¯re still young and we¡¯ve got plenty of time ahead of us. Regardless of how long it may take, I¡¯ll make sure you feel blissful being with me.¡± Moved to tears by his words, she turned around and hugged his neck while sobbing. ¡°Thank you for being willing toe to me. I¡¯ve always thought that no one would ever want to love me again.¡± No. 8 pressed his chin into her neck and hugged her soft body while closing his eyes. ¡ª ¡°Boss, that fellow is calling you again!¡± An Xiaoning was jolted awake by her ringtone. After taking a look at the caller disy, she immediately answered, ¡°Hello, Shixin.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Is that so? I understand.¡± After hanging up the phone, Mei Yangyang asked, ¡°Sis, what did Chief Fan say?¡± ¡°He said that that woman has a Master¡¯s Degree and has just returned from furthering her studies abroad. Her family is well to do. However, that woman has a male best friend. Do you know who he is?¡± ¡°Who is he?¡± ¡°He¡¯s the son of the owner of the hotel the production team is staying in now.¡± Mei Yangyang¡¯s eyes widened and she said, ¡°Does that mean the incident about the snake...?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll find a chance to hypnotize her and see if I can find out anything.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± An Xiaoning took a look at the time and said, ¡°I actually slept for more than two hours. Let¡¯s go have lunch.¡± They alighted from the car and headed to a nearby street stall. Someone recognized her from afar and began murmuring about her. ¡°Is that An Xiaoning?¡± ¡°Yes, yes, it¡¯s her.¡± ¡°An Xiaoning would actually eat at a street stall?¡± ¡°Exactly. Shouldn¡¯t wealthy people be dining at fine restaurants every day? Why is she eating the same things as us?¡± ¡°Yeah, but, she¡¯s a very grounded and down-to-earth person. Didn¡¯t you read the news? A tycoon overseas even travels around in a taxi every day. Nowadays, the rich are more humble while the poor often try too hard to appear affluent.¡± ¡°...¡± Mei Yangyang chuckled and said, ¡°What¡¯s their logic? Why can¡¯t wealthy people eat at street stalls and travel around in taxis?¡± ¡°That¡¯s their perception of wealthy people. Yangyang, would you like some chili with your noodles?¡± An Xiaoning asked calmly. ¡°Yes, please. I love spicy food.¡± Mei Yangyang separated her pair of disposable chopsticks and began stirring the noodles in her bowl. Chapter 936 - A Million Times for You (298)

Chapter 936: A Million Times for You (298)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning gave her a scoop of chili, and they continued to have an enjoyable conversation over their meal. After lunch, they bought themselves arge cup of milk tea each and headed to the film set. By the time they reached the ce, they had already finished the milk tea. An Xiaoning wiped her mouth with some tissue paper and put on a pair of shades. She and Mei Yangyang then observed the filming process for the entire afternoon. During the evening, Mei Yangyang said softly to her, ¡°Sis, that woman next to Yan Ge seems to be his fianc¨¦e.¡± ¡°Go ask En if she¡¯s the one.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Mei Yangyang scurried toward Fang En and swiftly returned after getting her answer. ¡°Yes, yes, it¡¯s her.¡± ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll have dinner with Director Jing and Yan Geter. Tell Yan Ge to bring his fianc¨¦e along and we¡¯ll try and see what kind of a person she is.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning treated eight of the production team members to dinner at a restaurant nearby. Xin Min had tagged along too, and it was her first time seeing An Xiaoning in the flesh. Thus, she greeted her. ¡°When¡¯s your wedding going to be held?¡± An Xiaoning asked with a smile. ¡°The 1st of May next year.¡± ¡°You two are sopatible with each other. You¡¯re gorgeous and he¡¯s handsome. It¡¯s Yan Ge¡¯s blessing to have such a beautiful fianc¨¦e.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Yan Ge said with a smile. Xin Min smiled and asked, ¡°Ms. An, do you handle your artistes the same way that other artiste management agencies do?¡± ¡°Yes, we follow the same management system in general. However, I¡¯m more humane and I do allow my artists to date or get married. Those are just basic human rights.¡± ¡°Does that mean you do allow your artistes to make their rtionships public?¡± Xin Min asked in astonishment. ¡°I do allow them to reveal their rtionship status once they¡¯re engaged. However, En is currently the only artiste who¡¯s signed to our studio. She¡¯s at the age where she should be focusing on her career instead. She doesn¡¯t have intentions to date or get married for now either.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Fang En chimed in. Xin Min smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s tough being an actress. There are many who don¡¯t get the opportunity to star as the female lead. Ms. Fang will definitely make it big in the future.¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t have to be too famous, lest she face her downfall too soon. It¡¯s better to take things step by step.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Here, everyone, let¡¯s eat,¡± Mei Yangyang eximed. After casually chatting for a while, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Ms. Xin, I heard that your male best friend is the son of the owner of the hotel the production team is staying in now. Is that true?¡± Everyone shifted their attention to Xin Min, who was stunned to hear that An Xiaoning had run a background check on her. She answered unhurriedly, ¡°That seems to be the case, I¡¯m not too sure.¡± Seemingly having guessed something, Fang En felt a cold chill down her spine. ¡°Your best friend¡¯s hotel had topensate us with a sum of 200 thousand dors because of the bizarre incident of a snake appearing on En¡¯s bed out of nowhere. Yangyang and I came here today not only to observe the filming progress but also to find out about some stuff. We want to find out why En has been facing so many obstacles and mishapstely. I shall see who¡¯s so audacious as to make life difficult for my artiste.¡± Mei Yangyang chimed in, ¡°Of course. Sis, you managed to solve murder cases within just a couple of days when you were working with the police in the past. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll find the culprit soon enough.¡± Their conversation rmed everyone present. Yan Ge nced at his fianc¨¦e and kept quiet, seemingly pondering over something. After dinner, everyone left to return to their respective rooms, except the director and crew members, who had to return to the set. The duo then headed to Fang En¡¯s room on the eighth floor. Fang En asked, ¡°Sis, do you roughly mean that Yan Ge¡¯s fianc¨¦e was the culprit who tried to harm me?¡± ¡°That possibility does exist. We¡¯ll find out tonight,¡± said An Xiaoning, who sat down on the bed. Fang En dared not probe further, although she had no idea why An Xiaoning had said that. She felt much less afraid than before, because she now had her bosses to back her up. Meanwhile, Xin Min was rather ill at ease. It was undoubtedly because of what An Xiaoning had said at the dinner table. She had been feeling anxious ever since she returned to the room and constantly wondered just what An Xiaoning had meant. She knew that An Xiaoning had sent someone to check on her from the moment she heard that thetter was aware of the fact that her best friend was the son of the hotel owner. From now on... Xin Min continued to pace back and forth in her room. She constantly reminded herself not to get too flustered or anxious and that it was nothing to worry about. She finally got a grip on her emotions after trying to reassure herself repeatedly. The sky began to turn dark gradually, and Xin Min headed to Yan Ge¡¯s room. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you asleep yet?¡± She smiled and said, ¡°I can¡¯t seem to sleep. I¡¯d like to chat with you.¡± ¡°Come in.¡± Yan Ge closed the door. ¡°Did you find anything unusual during dinner?¡± ¡°No,¡± Yan Ge answered with raised brows. Feeling at a sudden loss for words, she continued, ¡°What kind of a person is An Xiaoning? I¡¯ve seen a lot of castigations and harsh criticism about her online.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t interacted with her much, and I don¡¯t know in detail what kind of a person she is. However, no human is perfect, and it¡¯s only normal that there are people who disapprove of her.¡± ¡°I can tell that she¡¯s really nice to Fang En.¡± ¡°That¡¯s for sure. Fang En is signed to her entertainment studio. However, I think she must be rather intelligent. She must know how the human mind works in order to reap greater benefits. In other words, the kinder she is to Fang En, the more loyal Fang En will be to her. That¡¯s a wise move of hers that all employers should learn from.¡± Xin Min nodded and said, ¡°If she wasn¡¯t a scheming person who has some tricks up her sleeve, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to get Jin Qingyan to be so devoted to her.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? Didn¡¯t you watch that interview that Jin Qingyan answered previously? His phone rang in the midst of the livestream and his ringtone was a voice recording of An Xiaoning singing.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never paid much attention.¡± They continued to have a conversation. Finally, she mustered up the courage and made a bold request. ¡°Can I stay with you tonight?¡± Yan Ge looked up at her, knowing clearly what she meant. After all, he was an adult who had had a girlfriend before. Although it was only a matter of time for them to sleep together since they were already engaged, he could not help but feel unwilling now that she initiated it tantly. He was not willing. He did not wish to touch this woman at all. It was a sudden realization. Getting a little impatient upon noticing that he was remaining silent, Xin Min said, ¡°We¡¯re both adults and we¡¯re engaged too. Shouldn¡¯t men be the ones to make the first move?¡± ¡°It¡¯s gettingte, go back and get some rest.¡± He then left to go to the bathroom. It had never crossed Xin Min¡¯s mind that he would reject her! She was rejected despite making the first move! Being a self-proimed ravishing beauty who had a killer figure, Xin Min could not figure out why he had rejected her. It doesn¡¯t make sense at all! Since he didn¡¯t have the intention to let her stay, she stormed off and returned to her room, fuming with anger. Chapter 937 - A Million Times for You (299)

Chapter 937: A Million Times for You (299)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shey in bed and aired her grievances to her best friend, who then said that Yan Ge probably doesn¡¯t actually fancy her and had merely agreed to the arranged marriage since they were bothpatible with each other in terms of background and status. However, Xin Min was extremely frustrated and continued toment and grouse to her best friend until she dozed off. Meanwhile, An Xiaoning was just waiting for her to fall asleep. Since she could not get the key card to Xin Min¡¯s room from the lobby, the only way An Xiaoning could enter her room was to climb in from the window. For safety reasons, she asked Jin Qingyan to send a professional technician to her aid, so as to help attach her to the safety harness of a suspension cable and move her in mid-air to Xin Min¡¯s balcony. Although the door of the balcony was locked from the inside, it was no issue for An Xiaoning. She opened it effortlessly. Xin Min was sound asleep at the time and had no idea that someone had entered her room. She only realized what happened when An Xiaoning called her into Fang En¡¯s room the next day and showed her a video of herself being hypnotized. Frightened out of her senses, Xin Min asked, ¡°How... how did you get inside my room?¡± ¡°There are many ways to do that. I called you here privately entirely because I want to save Yan Ge from the embarrassment.¡± ¡°You¡¯remitting a crime!¡± An Xiaoning retorted coldly, ¡°And you are not? You sneaked into En¡¯s room and put a snake on her bed. You then maliciously broke the suspension cables she was attached to. You repeatedly plotted a scheme and stirred so much trouble. I¡¯d like to ask you a question, Ms. Xin. Do you think your life and future will still be bright if I hand you over to the police?¡± Xin Min¡¯s legs turned to jelly as she was overwhelmed with fear and panic. She knelt on the ground immediately and pleaded, ¡°Please spare me this once, I wouldn¡¯t dare to do it again.¡± ¡°Oh? You¡¯re surrendering so soon?¡± ¡°I really won¡¯t do it again. It was Fang En who held herself cheap first. She was asking for it and I was merely teaching her lesson!¡± ¡°How was she asking for it? A penny for your thoughts?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about the rest, but Fang En pretended to have met with a crook and used that as an excuse to spend a night in Yan Ge¡¯s room. Later on, she even added the kiss scene on her own and gave Yan Ge massages while trying to seduce him. That¡¯s why I wanted to teach her a lesson!¡± Fang En turned as pale as a sheet and she snapped angrily, ¡°Who said I was pretending? I really did meet with a crook and barged inside Yan Ge¡¯s room by ident back then. The surveince camera footages are evidence that can vouch for me. I only started giving Yan Ge massages as a form ofpensation, precisely because of that incident. After all, he could be considered to be my savior for that night. As for the kiss scene, who told you about that?¡± ¡°I heard it from the screenwriter who warned me against you!¡± Noticing that Fang En was about to retort, An Xiaoning stopped her and interjected, ¡°The screenwriter said it? Sure, I¡¯ll get him here to question him about it. How does that sound?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the investor, he¡¯s definitely going to be biased toward you,¡± Xin Min said in disgruntlement. ¡°It¡¯s wrong to put words into others¡¯ mouths.¡± Not wanting rumors about Fang En forcing a kiss onto Yan Ge to spread, An Xiaoning said too Mei Yangyang, ¡°Yangyang, call Jing Tian and get the two screenwriters toe here.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Upon the sight of Mei Yangyang leaving the room, Xin Min said straight away, ¡°You don¡¯t have to call the screenwriters here. Just tell me how you¡¯re nning to deal with me. I¡¯ll let you do whatever you want with me, so long as you don¡¯t hand me over to the police.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t do. I must find out which screenwriter is the one who sparked false rumors and sowed seeds of discord between you and En, causing such a misunderstanding. I must get them to exin themselves clearly.¡± Knowing that the screenwriter will definitely not stand on her side, Xin Min felt like she was at aplete loss for words. At the same time, she also felt a little regretful for telling on the screenwriter and implicating her. Mei Yangyang went to the film set and asked Jing Tian for the contact number of the screenwriters, whom she then asked toe to the hotel room. Jing Tian was puzzled about her request and, hence, Mei Yangyang had no choice but to tell him the truth, which gave him a huge shock. They then called the screenwriters, who agreed toe without hesitation upon hearing that An Xiaoning wanted to see them. Both of them arrived in no time. By the time Mei Yangyang, Jing Tian, and the two screenwriters arrived at the room, Xin Min had already got up from the ground and was sitting on the bed with reddened eyes. An Xiaoning shook the hands of the screenwriters and said while smiling, ¡°Sorry for troubling you to make a trip down here. I didn¡¯t want to bother you at first, but Ms. Xin here insists that En was the one who added the additional kiss scene with Yan Ge out of her own ord. I asked her where she had heard it from and she said that it was from the screenwriter, who also warned her to keep a lookout for En. May I ask, which one of you said that?¡± A sullen expression formed on the screenwriters¡¯ faces. The male screenwriter said, ¡°It¡¯s not me, this is my first time meeting Ms. Xin.¡± The female screenwriter began cursing Xin Min in her head, thinking to herself that thetter was an absolute fool. She then said, ¡°It can¡¯t be me either. Although I¡¯ve met Ms. Xin once when I visited the film set at night, I definitely wouldn¡¯t have said such things out of the blue. Besides, all the scenes in the script were originally nned out by me, Screenwriter Jin, and the author. How could actors and actresses possibly be allowed to add scenes as and when they pleased? However, there was one kiss scene that the director had added because he thought it would make the episode better. I wonder if that¡¯s the one you¡¯re referring to, Ms. An?¡± ¡°Yes, it is.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about it, then. I¡¯ve never said such things to Ms. Xin before. Ms. Xin, please don¡¯t try and frame me and push the me on me. I still care about my reputation.¡± Having already expected the situation to turn out this way, Xin Min did not retort and instead remained silent. An Xiaoning looked at Xin Min with a sarcastic grin and warned, ¡°Ms. Xin, you¡¯ve heard the screenwriters for yourself. If the nonsense and false rumors you spouted were to be spread to the public, it¡¯ll greatly taint my artiste¡¯s reputation. Her name can never be cleared then. Ms. Xin, please don¡¯t run your mouth and spread false rumors. Otherwise, I¡¯ll definitely hold you responsible.¡± Xin Min clenched her jaw in anger, though she could not say anything since she was aware that An Xiaoning had a hold on her. ¡°Ms. Xin? Did you hear me?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± she answered softly. An Xiaoning looked away and said to the two screenwriters, ¡°The script is a huge factor in determining the sess of the television series. We¡¯re almost done with filming for the entire series. I hope you two will continue to work doubly hard and strive to achieve a perfect ending. Once filming officially ends, you two will be invited to our celebratory gathering. Director Jing, do help me tend to them.¡± Jing Tian nodded and said, ¡°Sure.¡± The three of them left, after which a silence filled the room. An Xiaoning stood up and said to Xin Min, who was sitting opposite her, ¡°You probably didn¡¯t expect me to find out so soon that you were the culprit, did you? If I hadn¡¯t investigated this personally, what were you nning to do to En next?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t thought about it.¡± ¡°You may leave after apologizing to En.¡± She looked up at An Xiaoning in shock, surprised that thetter would let her off so easily. She then stood up and apologized to Fang En. An Xiaoning added, ¡°Wait a minute. I have onest warning for you. If you¡¯re nning to take revenge on me, I hope you¡¯ll consider it carefully and ask yourself if you can afford to bear the consequences.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± She opened the door and left. Chapter 938 - A Million Times for You (300)

Chapter 938: A Million Times for You (300)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning whipped out her mobile phone and sent Yan Ge a simple text. ¡°He has the right to know what his fianc¨¦e has been up to. I¡¯ve exined the situation to him briefly.¡± The text message was delivered after she finished speaking. An Xiaoning put her phone away and said to Fang En, ¡°We¡¯ve managed to cover it up for you. Don¡¯t act so recklessly again.¡± Fang En assured her, ¡°Sis, I won¡¯t do something so foolish again. I was just too hot-headed at the time, I don¡¯t know why I just...¡± ¡°I was initially nning to stay behind for a couple of days. Seems like there¡¯s no need for that now. Yangyang, shall we go home?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°En, return to the set. We¡¯ll be leaving now.¡± An Xiaoning gave her a pat on her shoulder and continued, ¡°Don¡¯t take this to heart and focus on filming. Call Sis Yangyang if you encounter any more issues.¡± Fang En nodded and left the hotel together with the two of them. After watching the red Ferrari vanish out of sight, she hurriedly got inside the nanny van. Xiao Yue said, ¡°Sis En, I¡¯ve been waiting for so long. What¡¯s the oue?¡± ¡°It¡¯s settled. Turns out Ms. Xin was the one who did it. The matter hase to an end. Let¡¯s go and return to the set.¡± They soon arrived at the filming location. As soon as she and Xiao Yue arrived, they caught sight of Yan Ge making a call on his mobile phone. However, he hung up the moment he saw them. He asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Ms. An?¡± ¡°She¡¯s gone home.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve read the text she sent me. Um... I¡¯m sorry.¡± It was Fang En¡¯s first time hearing an apology from him. ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± she said calmly. ¡°I¡¯ve decided to break off our engagement, and I¡¯ve already informed her of my decision. From now on, she and I are no longer engaged.¡± Appalled and bewildered, Fang En said, ¡°You... you were too rash. Aren¡¯t you going to discuss it with your parents first?¡± ¡°No need for that.¡± Fang En did not say anything further, though she did not feel happy about it. Ever since she first heard about his engagement, she had been reminding herself to suppress her emotions and feelings for him. She had also realized clearly that it was impossible between her and Yan Ge, since she was not his type. Hence, she¡¯d decided to just forget it. ¡°I managed to see her true colors before I married her. Aren¡¯t you going to feel happy for me for bing a bachelor again?¡± Fang En avoided eye contact with him and quipped, ¡°What¡¯s there to be happy about? You¡¯ve just be an old bachelor again.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I wish I could give myself a p.¡± She leaned closer toward him and said softly, ¡°The kiss scene I added previously has left me with a serious trauma. I absolutely regret it. I was being too rash.¡± Feeling displeased, Yan Ge chided with an austere expression, ¡°Fang En, are you even human? I was the victim on whom you forced a kiss. How dare you say that you¡¯re the one suffering from emotional trauma and that you¡¯re regretting it?¡± ¡°Of course. Why did I even do that back then? It¡¯s such an embarrassment. I wish I could beat myself up into a pulp.¡± Yan Ge¡¯s initially foul mood was worsened upon hearing her words. ¡°Why do you regret it?¡± he asked. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I¡¯m asking you, why are you regretting it?¡± ¡°What do you mean why? I just really regret it.¡± Yan Ge did not answer her and kept quiet for a while. He then stood up and said, ¡°Come with me.¡± Noticing that he was walking elsewhere, she asked, ¡°Where are you going?¡± He stopped in his tracks and turned around to nce at her. ¡°Follow me.¡± Fang En had no choice but to do so and hurriedly followed him inside his car before closing the door. They were alone in the car, and Fang En had no idea why he¡¯d asked her toe here with him. ¡°You can tell me now, why do you regret it?¡± Seeing how insistent he was on knowing the answer to the question he had been harping on, Fang En looked down at her hands and answered in a soft and tender voice, ¡°Because... I feel like I shouldn¡¯t have done that. In hindsight, if you hadn¡¯t yed along and started berating me on the spot instead, I probably would have never had the guts to face you ever again. I feel so embarrassed and ashamed to have done something like that. Fortunately, you gave me an out and saved me from the embarrassment. Hence, I must thank you for it.¡± Yan Ge cocked his head toward the side and gazed at her face. ¡°Filming is going to end soon for this television series. Continue to give me massages.¡± ¡°I already said that I¡¯ll stop massaging you. You¡¯ve agreed too.¡± ¡°Fang En, not only do you enjoy breaking your promises and going back on your word, you¡¯re also an ingrate. I saved you twice. If I hadn¡¯t yed along and started insulting you on the spot while filming, do you think your reputation could be saved? I didn¡¯t embarrass you in front of everyone and all I¡¯m asking for in return is a massage. Yet you¡¯re so unwilling. How could you be so heartless?¡± Fang En was at a momentary loss for words. ¡°I¡¯ve already decided to keep a distance from you and be mindful of our physical contact. I¡¯m not going to massage you again, regardless of what you say about me.¡± ¡°You¡¯re really not going to massage me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m really not going to...¡± As soon as she spoke, he took her by surprise and pinned her onto the seat of the car before pressing his lips against hers forcefully. Fang En froze in utter shock, and her heart began to race rapidly. She tried to push him away but to no avail, for he refused to budge no matter how hard she tried. He pressed his hands strongly against the seat while smooching her unrestrainedly, and he finally stopped when they were both panting heavily. ¡°Since you refuse to massage me, I¡¯m sorry but I had to return to you the kiss that you forced onto me.¡± He opened the door and got out of the car calmly. ¡ª ¡°Sis, Ms. Feng is here to see you. She¡¯s been waiting for you for almost half an hour.¡± ¡°Which Ms. Feng?¡± ¡°Tuoba Hancheng¡¯s wife, Feng Qiubai.¡± What is she looking for me for? An Xiaoning wondered. Before An Xiaoning could figure out why, she reached the living room. Feng Qiubai was sitting on the couch and having a conversation with Shi Qingzhou. She was dressed in a white miniskirt with her long locks draped across her shoulders and her face full of exquisite makeup. Upon the sight of An Xiaoning, Feng Qiubai took the initiative to stand up and greet her. ¡°Hello, Sister-inw.¡± She sounded extremely warm and enthusiastic. An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°You must be joking, Ms. Feng. I¡¯m the only daughter my mother has. I don¡¯t have any siblings.¡± Perhaps having already expected her to say so, Feng Qiubai answeredposedly, ¡°You and Hancheng belong to the same father and are rted by blood. Hence, that makes you my sister-inw. You can¡¯t change that fact even if you don¡¯t acknowledge it, Sister-inw.¡± An Xiaoning sat down opposite Feng Qiubai and asked, ¡°What are you here for?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to discuss a deal with you, Sister-inw. Are you interested?¡± An Xiaoning did not try and correct her since she was stating facts about her being biologically rted to Tuoba Hancheng. ¡°What deal?¡± she asked. ¡°Now that the presidential election is going on, we would be fine with whoever takes over as the next president, be it Father-inw or Uncle. Hence, my husband and I have already discussed it carefully and we¡¯ve decided that we want to forge closer ties with you, Sister-inw. We¡¯ll adhere to all your instructions and stand on your side.¡± Is she trying to be friendly? Chapter 939 - A Million Times for You (301)

Chapter 939: A Million Times for You (301)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Are they afraid that I would execute them both together with Shi Xiaoyu? They¡¯ve been overthinking. I¡¯ll nevery a finger on the innocent. But of course, I¡¯m not sure if they would try to kill me first like the Lin family did... if I were to disagree. An Xiaoning grabbed the cup of coffee that No. 5 had handed her and said, ¡°Ms. Feng, I¡¯d be d to make peace with you. I¡¯m never the type to start a feud with someone out of my own ord. Although I¡¯ve met you once during your wedding, we¡¯ve never actually interacted much before. However, it seems you really live up to your name as a schrly woman. You¡¯ve got brains and beauty.¡± ¡°You really tter me, Sister-inw.¡± Seeing that An Xiaoning has agreed, Feng Qiubai let out a smile of relief and said, ¡°I¡¯ve never liked making enemies either. Sister-inw, you may stop calling me ¡®Ms. Feng,¡¯ that¡¯s so formal. Just call me by my name straight. That¡¯ll make me more at ease too.¡± ¡°Sure, Qiubai,¡± An Xiaoning answered with a nod. She definitely isn¡¯t genuine about standing on my side, but regardless of whether she meant it or not, the gesture¡¯s good enough, isn¡¯t it? In order to express her sincerity, Feng Qiubai said, ¡°Grandpa has been trying to see Mother-inw in the past few days but he has never gotten the chance to. He¡¯s now nning to look for Auntie and use her to make the Autumn Pce release Mother-inw.¡± The word ¡°Auntie¡± seemed to roll off her tongue effortlessly. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes. He looked Hancheng upst night to tell him about this. I heard it with my own ears.¡± ¡°Alright, I understand. It must have been tough on him to have toe up with such a despicable idea.¡± An Xiaoning took a sip of her coffee with a smile before continuing, ¡°I have a question for you. Although I can roughly guess the answer, I¡¯d still like to ask you personally. Don¡¯t all women only gain true happiness by being with a man whom she loves and loves her back? I know why you married him back then, but why haven¡¯t you divorced him yet? Why do you still bother forcing yourself to bear with the misery? Don¡¯t tell me, you¡¯re still hoping that he would have the chance to be the next president in the next election after this one?¡± Faced with such a blunt question, Feng Qiubai was at a sudden loss for an answer. After some thought, she said, ¡°I¡¯m well aware now that he probably would never have the chance to be the president again, especially since he didn¡¯t even qualify as a candidate this time. What more next time? Truth be told, he has never slept on the same bed as me ever since we got married. We¡¯re really only married in name. Which woman wouldn¡¯t want to be together with the man she truly loves? My family keeps saying that I hold my expectations too high, but really, I just haven¡¯t met a man whom I genuinely fancy. You¡¯re right, I married him back then after I found out about his sexual orientation. I also admit that it¡¯s because I was carrying hopes that he could be the next president. When that happens, I¡¯ll be the president¡¯s wife. That¡¯s such a glorious and wonderful title. However, in hindsight, I was really being too foolish and I absolutely regret being blinded by the illusory benefits of marrying him. All the education I¡¯ve received have gone in vain. I don¡¯t even have suchmon sense. It¡¯s only a matter of time before we end up in a divorce. However, the time is not right yet. We¡¯ll definitely not make it ¡¯til the end, though.¡± Although An Xiaoning was not sure if she was airing her innermost thoughts and if she had meant every word she said, she could tell that there was more or less some truth in her confession. ¡°It¡¯s not toote to realize it now. You¡¯ll at most bebeled as a divorcee, but that doesn¡¯t matter at all. At the end of the day, stigmas are only superficial and it won¡¯t hinder you from pursuing your happiness as long as you don¡¯t let it affect you. Give me your mobile number.¡± Feng Qiubai hurriedly gave An Xiaoning her mobile number, which thetter then dialled and hung up on, so as to leave her own number in Feng Qiubai¡¯s mobile phone. After Feng Qiubai left, Shi Qingzhou sat down beside An Xiaoning and finally broke her silence. ¡°Although she didn¡¯t do anything to harm you, she¡¯s probably afraid of being implicated. Otherwise, why would she havee forth?¡± ¡°She¡¯s rather intelligent. However, I never thought of harming them to begin with. It has nothing to do with the two of them anyway. Yet, she actually came here on her own. Well, that¡¯s not a bad thing actually, at least we now have a snitch.¡± An Xiaoning put down her coffee, shrugged her shoes off, and sat cross-legged on the couch. Facing her mother, she continued, ¡°Mother, do you see it now? Who¡¯d dare to bully us now that we hold power and authority? This is also the reason why Feng Qiubai married Tuoba Hancheng despite knowing full well that he was interested in men and that they will forever only be married in name. Power has always been the root of evil ever since history began. Always been and always will.¡± Shi Qingzhou leaned back against the couch and said, ¡°However, living like this is way too tiring. I don¡¯t want you to tire yourself out and I want you to be more rxed.¡± ¡°How many people in this world can truly live a rxed life? Everyone has their own problems to face. Some are driven to their wits¡¯ end by life¡¯s troubles, some are battling illnesses, some don¡¯t have any kin or family while some are met with endless difficulties in love and rtionships. I¡¯ve experienced a great ton of what life has to offer, and all of these experiences have taught me what to do when handling situations from now on.¡± ¡°By the way, how¡¯s the progress at the set of the television series?¡± ¡°We¡¯re almost reaching the end of filming. The entire filming process takes way too long. However, we mustn¡¯t be slipshod in producing the series if we want it to be a blockbuster and earn more money. What¡¯s important is that we produce a top-quality series. It doesn¡¯t matter how long the filming takes, so long as the results are excellent. I hope the post-production won¡¯t disappoint me and Mingxi. After all, we¡¯ve each invested 500 million dors in the production. It doesn¡¯t matter how much we earn as long as we can recoup our capital and make some gains.¡± Shi Qingzhou asked, ¡°I miss my grandson. When are you going to bring him home?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t I go pick him upter?¡± ¡°Sure, sure. I have to go prepare a delicious feast now. Xiaoning, go fetch him now, hurry,¡± Shi Qingzhou said eagerly. ¡°Mother, why are you so eager?¡± ¡°I miss him. By the way, bring your adopted son over too. He¡¯s also my grandson since you¡¯ve adopted him. Great, I have two grandsons now.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡ª The arts and culture lessons in the boot camp are separated into different bands. For example, Jin Yiheng, Wen Yuechan, Long Wenlun, and Shi Bao¡¯er attend grade one lessons while Long Xiaoxi, Ji Gui, and Rongyan attend higher-grade lessons. They were separated into two sses: A and B. The two sses were worlds apart. The lessons in ss A were usually strict and solemn. As much as Shi Bao¡¯er dreaded attending lessons, she dared not jeopardize the peace during lessons. On the other hand, none of the students in ss B were attentive at all. Ji Gui was a little dense while Rongyan was quiet and reserved. However, Long Xiaoxi had led them astray. Every lesson would follow the same pattern. Once they understood the things taught by the teacher, they would begin fiddling with their own items or doing whatever they preferred,pletely ignoring the teacher. Meanwhile, Ji Gui was obsessed with calctors and would ruin a perfectly good one by dismantling it into parts. He would then reassemble them again, all while the teacher was teaching. Chapter 940 - A Million Times for You (302)

Chapter 940: A Million Times for You (302)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Rongyan would often be engrossed in reading his medical books. As for Long Xiaoxi, who did not have any particr hobbies, she would snack whenever she was bored. The arts and culture teachers in charge of ss B felt extremely helpless after experiencing their unruly behavior during ss. Just why was that so? It was because Jin Rongyan and Ji Gui would answer every question posed to them without mistakes. However, Long Xiaoxi was a far cry and would never know the answer to their questions. They had no idea what this chubby girl was there for. Is she here to learn more about food? they wondered. The third lesson of the day was Mandarin. The teacher taught the three of them two poems written by the ancient poet Li Bai. One was ¡°Seeing Meng Ran Off from the Yellow Building¡± while the other was ¡°My Thoughts in the Silent Night.¡± After exining the significance of the poems to them, the teacher erased the words on the ckboard and began asking questions. Ji Gui and Jin Rongyan could both answer correctly, regardless of whether they were told to recite the poem or exin the meaning of the stanzas. After they had answered the questions, they proceeded to continue doing their own things. When it was Long Xiaoxi¡¯s turn, the teacher told her to recite ¡°My Thoughts in the Silent Night,¡± which was the simpler poem out of the two that they had just learned. ¡°Long Xiaoxi, recite ¡®Thoughts in the Silent Night¡¯ once.¡± She stood up and answered in her puerile voice, ¡°Moonlight before my bed... Duck and bean sprout soup... Lift my head and I see the moon... Lower my head and I smell the fragrant biscuits.¡± The teacher stared at the egg biscuits in front of her on the table,pletely lost for words. ¡°Will you recite the second one too?¡± ¡°Teacher, what¡¯s the second one? Please give me a header.¡± ¡°What¡¯s after ¡®The ancient man leaves the yellow building¡¯?¡± ¡°The ancient man leaves the yellow building... Teacher, I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Will you exin this line, then? I¡¯ve already exined it several times before. Your ssmates have also answered correctly. Don¡¯t tell me you didn¡¯t remember anything at all?¡± ¡°I know how to exin this.¡± ¡°Go ahead,¡± said the teacher, appearing much more relieved. ¡°It means that an ancient man died in the yellow building, am I right, Teacher?¡± ¡°...!!!¡± ¡°Teacher, why do you look so angry?¡± ¡°I¡¯m... poisoned. Sit down, Long Xiaoxi.¡± After ss, Ji Gui burst intoughter and mocked her, ¡°Xiaoxi, you¡¯re so silly. That line means that the author¡¯s old friend is leaving the yellow building.¡± ¡°I know I¡¯m very silly, but am I arrogant? Am I haughty? Did I brag and boast?¡± she said in self-admittance. Dumbfounded, Ji Gui stared at the snacks on the table and said, ¡°Xiaoxi, stop eating such stuff.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll get fat if you keep eating them.¡± ¡°Then?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll get fatter and fatter and no boys will want to y with you anymore. Look at Yuechan and Bao¡¯er, they¡¯re both so thin and look good in dresses.¡± ¡°Oh, what a terrifying truth. Let me calm myself down by eating this biscuit.¡± To Ji Gui¡¯s astonishment, she leisurely chowed down on the fragrant and delicious biscuit. After finishing the biscuit, Long Xiaoxi proceeded to drink some water. As soon as she reached the pantry, she heard the clear sounds of ongoingughter. She craned her neck to see that it was Wen Yuechan who wasughing. Jin Yiheng was present too and was drinking water at the moment. ¡°She¡¯s just like a hen, what is sheughing about...¡± Long Xiaoxi muttered under her breath. She entered and called, ¡°Yiheng.¡± Upon the sight of her, Wen Yuechan greeted, ¡°Xiaoxi.¡± Long Xiaoxi pretended not to hear her and continued to pour herself some water. Noticing that she was ignoring her, Wen Yuechan said, ¡°Xiaoxi, let¡¯s go skippingter.¡± ¡°Nah, it¡¯s too warm outside.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go y together. Yiheng and Wenlun have both agreed too.¡± Long Xiaoxi looked up at Jin Yiheng and asked, ¡°Are you going to y too?¡± ¡°Teacher organized an activity where we¡¯re supposed to exchange genders and y the games meant for girls, and vice versa. Wenlun and I will be skipping while she and Bao¡¯er are going to y ball.¡± ¡°Oh, I see.¡± ¡°Yiheng, Godma hase to pick you and Rongyan up,¡± said Long Wenlun. ¡°We can¡¯t y today then.¡± He put down his cup and hurriedly left the pantry. Wen Yuechan and Long Xiaoxi were left alone. Wen Yuechan rolled her eyes at thetter and said, ¡°Good that you¡¯re not ying. We¡¯ve grouped ourselves in pairs. No one is going to be your partner. I¡¯m d you¡¯re self-aware.¡± Long Xiaoxi sneered, ¡°My brother and Yiheng were assigned to y with you guys by Teacher. They didn¡¯t have a choice. However, I don¡¯t want to stoop to your and Shi Bao¡¯er¡¯s level and y with you guys. What¡¯s wrong with that?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve long heard from Ji Gui that you often recite idioms wrongly during Mandarin lessons. Look at you, saying big words like ¡®wallow in the mire¡¯...¡± ¡°I¡¯m spot on, aren¡¯t I? Not only do I know how to use ¡®wallow in the mire¡¯ correctly, I also know what they mean by ¡®viins collude together.¡¯¡± ¡°Long Xiaoxi, no one here except your brother wants to y with you. You¡¯re as fat as a pig...¡± Long Xiaoxi retorted, ¡°Why don¡¯t you say that you¡¯re as skinny as a monkey? No one wants to y with me? Rongyan and Yiheng both enjoy ying with me. So does Dummy. Don¡¯t think Dummy only ys with you two.¡± ¡°ying with such a stupid person like you is an insult to their intelligence.¡± Long Xiaoxi scoffed and hollered, ¡°I¡¯m going to tell my Godma to chase you out of here!¡± Feeling a little afraid, Wen Yuechan grabbed her and said, ¡°I won¡¯t criticize or mock you again. Will that do?¡± Long Xiaoxi shrugged her hand away and clipped, ¡°Don¡¯t touch me.¡± Fuming with anger, Wen Yuechan snapped, ¡°Long Xiaoxi, how shameless of you to make use of the adults to chase me out of here. My family is not as wealthy as yours and my godparents aren¡¯t Jin Yiheng¡¯s parents. But is that my fault? You only got to reincarnate into a better family than me. My mother will kill me if I get kicked out of here. Do you really want to see me being beaten to death? I won¡¯t let you off and I¡¯ll haunt you as a ghost.¡± Long Xiaoxi stared at her and said, ¡°I¡¯d like to see if your mother will really beat you to death.¡± ¡°Long Xiaoxi, you¡¯re going overboard.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er walked toward them, after which Wen Yuechan hurriedly tried to get Shi Bao¡¯er to defend her. ¡°Bao¡¯er, Xiaoxi said that she wants to tell Yiheng¡¯s mother to chase me out of here.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Throwing her weight around as the oldest child, Shi Bao¡¯er rolled her eyes and sneered, ¡°Long Xiaoxi, who do you think you are? Don¡¯t think you¡¯re that important. My uncle owns this ce, your father doesn¡¯t. Okay?¡± ¡°I just think I¡¯m very important. What can you do?¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Shi Bao¡¯er decided to stand up for Wen Yuechan and pushed Long Xiaoxi onto the ground with all her might. Grunting in pain, Long Xiaoxi got up on her feet, feeling embarrassed and exasperated. She removed her crystal slipper from her feet and smacked it onto Shi Bao¡¯er¡¯s face. ¡°How dare you push me!¡± she hollered. She then scurried away quickly. Once Shi Bao¡¯er recovered from the shock, she hurriedly took chase while Wen Yuechan followed closely behind. Long Xiaoxi was running at a rather slow pace. Fortunately, she bumped into Long Wenlun, who was on his way back. Sheined, ¡°Brother, Bao¡¯er hit me!¡± Seeing that his sister was being bullied, he grabbed Shi Bao¡¯er without hesitation and questioned angrily, ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Get lost.¡± ¡°I will not.¡± ¡°Long Wenlun, are you going to back off or not?¡± ¡°Not.¡± Chapter 941 - Perplexed and Smitten (1)

Chapter 941: Perplexed and Smitten (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Pointing at Long Xiaoxi, who was behind him, Shi Bao¡¯er gibed, ¡°Get your brother to protect you 24/7 if you can. Otherwise, I¡¯ll definitely hit you.¡± Long Wenlun flew into a rage and pulled his sister to the front. Pointing at Long Xiaoxi, he taunted, ¡°Go ahead, try andy a finger on her if you dare! See if I dare hit you or not!¡± Not intimidated by him at all, Shi Bao¡¯er kicked Long Xiaoxi in the gut, causing her to fall to the ground and wince in pain. However, the consequences of her actions were dire. While Shi Bao¡¯er was being beaten into a pulp by Long Wenlun, her aplice, Wen Yuechan, was frightened out of her senses and immediately proceeded to look for the teacher. Shi Bao¡¯er was bawling incessantly when the teacher arrived. After hearing about what happened, the teacher called Shi Shaochuan and Long Tianze separately and asked them to make their way to the academy. The teacher then exined the incident to them. However, was that the end of everything? Not at all... When the fathers were facing each other, Long Tianze said immediately, ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s suitable for Bao¡¯er to continue staying here. It¡¯s better that she goes back to school.¡± Needless to say, Shi Shaochuan did not want to bring his daughter home again, for that would mean that he would have his freedom robbed away from him again. Now that Bu Xianxian was living with him and they were both enjoying their time alone, Shi Bao¡¯er¡¯s return would mean... ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware that Bao¡¯er has been spoiled rotten by Jin Qingyue throughout the years that she had raised her. She can¡¯t take any hardship at all. Qingyue and I have reached a consensus to send Bao¡¯er here. In fact, we¡¯ve seen the progress Bao¡¯er has achieved during her time here as well.¡± A frown creased Long Tianze¡¯s forehead and he said, ¡°Since you¡¯re unwilling to send her to school, what¡¯s going to happen if something like that happens again...?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll reprimand Bao¡¯er if she¡¯s the one at fault. However, if your children were the ones who bullied Bao¡¯er first, shouldn¡¯t you discipline and take them into hand as well?¡± ¡°That goes without saying.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing else for us to talk about then. Let¡¯s leave it at that,¡± said Shi Shaochuan. Long Tianze walked toward his children and caressed his son¡¯s head before squatting down to look at his precious daughter, who was pulling a long face. He smiled and said, ¡°Well done, you two. Remember my words. You must retaliate and defend yourself against anyone who bullies you, regardless of who it may be. Don¡¯t hold back, especially you, Wenlun. Although men are supposed to be gentlemanly, that only applies to those who are polite to you.¡± Long Xiaoxi threw her arms around his neck and said, ¡°Daddy, I really, really detest Shi Bao¡¯er and Wen Yuechan so much. Could you tell Godpa not to let them stay here any longer?¡± He answered softly, ¡°Xiaoxi, although I can make that Wen Yuechan leave this ce, Shi Bao¡¯er is your Godpa¡¯s niece. It won¡¯t be easy to kick her out. Listen to me, it takes skill to be able to live in the same environment as the people you detest. My little baby is so upset. Shall I buy you some ice cream? I¡¯ll get you a huge one.¡± Long Xiaoxi asked, ¡°Daddy, am I very fat?¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re not,¡± Long Tianze answered in astonishment. ¡°Daddy, everyone calls me fat, I must lose weight in the future.¡± Displeased to hear her words, Long Tianze said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to lose any weight. I don¡¯t find you fat at all. I like the way you are now. Eat properly when you should, you¡¯re not allowed to go on a diet. You¡¯re still so young. You¡¯ll be slimmer when you¡¯re older.¡± ¡°Daddy, I want some strawberry ice cream,¡± said Long Xiaoxi, who often found that her father¡¯s words made sense. ¡°Okay, sure, Daddy will buy you and your brother a serving each, alright?¡± said Long Tianze, who picked her up in his arms. Long Xiaoxi kissed him and eximed coyly, ¡°You¡¯re the best, Daddy, I like you the most!¡± Long Tianze was pleased to hear her sweetpliment. Long Xiaoxi returned to the ssroom with her ice cream and sat on the chair before giving Ji Gui the side-eye. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Ji Gui asked, noticing the way she was looking at him. ¡°You even told Wen Yuechan about me reading an idiom wrongly during Mandarin lesson. Is there anything you don¡¯t tell her about?¡± Feeling extremely awkward, Ji Gui turned red with embarrassment and exined, ¡°I brought it up casually when we mentioned an idiom while ying together. Xiaoxi, I didn¡¯t tell her on purpose.¡± Long Xiaoxi rested her head onto the table and enjoyed her ice cream quietly. ¡ª Shi Qingzhou ced Jin Yiheng on herp and wrapped her arms around him while saying, ¡°You¡¯re already so grown up and yet I¡¯ve never once hugged you properly. I¡¯ve really failed as a grandmother. I can¡¯t carry you anymore, you can only sit on myp.¡± ¡°Grandma, where were you in the past? Why haven¡¯t I seen you before?¡± ¡°I was in a faraway cest time. I came back only recently.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. Will you go to a faraway ce again, Grandma?¡± ¡°No, I won¡¯t be going anywhere else from now on,¡± she said, smiling. Jin Yiheng¡¯s eyes lit up with joy. ¡°Hmm, Daddy¡¯s not here, is he noting?¡± he asked. ¡°Your daddy is busy with work, he won¡¯t being today.¡± Joy was written all over his face as he asked, ¡°Really? Grandma, can I stay over and sleep with Mommy tonight?¡± ¡°Of course you can.¡± ¡°Awesome!¡± Shi Qingzhou chuckled in amusement and asked, ¡°Why are you hoping that your daddy won¡¯te? Doesn¡¯t your daddy love you a lot?¡± ¡°Grandma... it¡¯s hard to exin.¡± After a delicious meal and ying with Rongyan for two hours, Jin Yiheng washed up and crawled onto An Xiaoning¡¯s bed, which was soft andfy. He then closed his eyes in pleasure while enjoying the air conditioning. At this very moment, his nightmare began. ¡°Your daddy¡¯s almost here.¡± Jin Yiheng sprung up and asked with a look of dismay on his face, ¡°What? Didn¡¯t he say that he wasn¡¯ting? Why is he here again?¡± ¡°Your daddy initially told me to bring you back home, but I told him that you¡¯ll be staying here tonight. He then decided toe over,¡± said An Xiaoning. Jin Yiheng sprawled himself across the bed and said, ¡°I don¡¯t care, I want to sleep with you. I haven¡¯t enjoyed your maternal love recently. By the time I get even older, I won¡¯t be able to sleep with you anymore, Mommy.¡± An Xiaoning shook her head whileughing andy down beside Jin Yiheng, who was wearing a pair of shorts. Patting his back, she said, ¡°You¡¯re already a big boy now.¡± He hugged her and said, ¡°Mommy, I¡¯m still a child, a very, very young child. I really envy Daddy.¡± ¡°What are you envious about?¡± ¡°He gets to hug you to sleep every night, but I¡¯ve lost that privilege long ago even though I¡¯m your biological son.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t say such things anymore when you¡¯re older,¡± she said with a smile. A few minutes into their conversation, the door was opened. Upon hearing the sounds of the door, Jin Yiheng immediately closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep. ¡°Why isn¡¯t he sleeping with Rongyan?¡± ¡°He initially thought that you wouldn¡¯t being.¡± Chapter 942 - Perplexed and Smitten (2)

Chapter 942: Perplexed and Smitten (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Even if I wasn¡¯ting, he shouldn¡¯t be sleeping on the same bed as you anymore. He¡¯s no longer a toddler,¡± said Jin Qingyan, after which he stepped forward in a bid to wake his son up. However, it was impossible to wake someone up when they¡¯re pretending to be asleep. That is, unless they woke up voluntarily. Isn¡¯t that so? Noticing that Jin Yiheng was not waking up at all, Jin Qingyan began to carry him. The moment he was picked up, Jin Yiheng could no longer continue pretending. Instead, he flinched and said, ¡°Daddy, what are you doing?¡± ¡°Go sleep with your brother. I told you umpteen times before, you¡¯re already so grown up and you can¡¯t sleep together with Mommy anymore. You¡¯re going to be aughingstock if others hear about it.¡± ¡°How would others find out if neither of us says anything?¡± As soon as his son finished speaking, Jin Qingyan red at him coldly. Jin Yiheng cringed and dared not make eye contact with Jin Qingyan. At the end of the day, he still couldn¡¯t outargue his overpowering opponent. Hence, Jin Yiheng got out of bed slowly and walked out of the room reluctantly while turning back to look at them with every step he took. Jin Qingyan strode toward the door and locked it from the inside. Noticing that he seemed a little flushed and out of sorts, she asked softly, ¡°Why do you seem to be unwell?¡± ¡°I¡¯m running a fever.¡± The weather had been fluctuatingtely. Having a fever during summer was the worst. ¡°Have you taken your medicine?¡± she asked. ¡°Yes,¡± he answered, sounding a little hoarse. He removed his clothes andy down beside her, pressing his warm face against hers. An Xiaoning closed her eyes while snuggling up in his embrace, enjoying the peace and tranquility of the night. Just as she was about to fall asleep, he stuck his hand beneath her shirt and began moving it downward from her abdomen. She grabbed his hand to stop him and said, ¡°You¡¯re still running a fever.¡± ¡°I want it.¡± She sat up straight and looked at him. ¡°You really want to?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll recover from my cold once I sweat it out.¡± ¡°What bullshit is that? Shall we take a hot bath together?¡± An Xiaoning suggested. ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Alright, lie down while I fill the tub with water. I¡¯ll call you once it¡¯s filled.¡± She got out of bed and entered the bathroom. She then rinsed the bathtub before filling it with water. By the time she finished filling the bathtub with water, he was already fast asleep. Considering the fact that he was ill, An Xiaoning decided not to wake him up and instead switched off the bathroom lights quietly. She then tiptoed toward the bed andy down beside him. Shey on her side and rested her head in her hand while gazing at him closely. He seemed to be extremely at ease beside her and appearedpletely rxed and unguarded. After gazing at him for a while, An Xiaoning switched off the air conditioner and went to bed as well. .... After resting at home for a few days, An Xiaoning returned to the Autumn Pce. She decided to release the news of Lin Shishi passing away duringbor. An Xiaoning did not care about what others thought about the matter. She cremated the corpses of Lin Shishi and her son, which were then ced inside a crystal urn. She then buried their ashes together. An Xiaoning was overwhelmed with aplicated mix of emotions while staring at the tombstones. Dressed in ck from head to toe, she stood in the rain with a ck umbre in hand. There was no one else around her. ¡°You¡¯re finally reunited with each other...¡± Those were thest words she left for them, despite knowing that there was no way they could have heard her. She proceeded to meet her parents after leaving the graveyard. They had also tagged along with An Xiaoning because Shi Qingzhou wanted to see Shi Xiaoyu. She would obviously be thrilled now that she could finally get back at Shi Xiaoyu. An Xiaoning did not follow her and Tuoba Shuo to see Shi Xiaoyu. What Shi Xiaoyu had been dreading finally arrived. She was well aware that Shi Qingzhou would definitely not let her off for imprisoning her and putting her through so much pain and torment for three whole decades. Pleading would only make her lose her pride and dignity. Hence, she decided not to plead with Shi Qingzhou and instead continued to put on a strong and arrogant front. ¡°It¡¯s up to you to decide how you want me to die.¡± Shi Qingzhou closed the door and smiled at her sarcastically. ¡°Why are you in such a hurry to die? Dying is too easy of a way out for you. I¡¯m not nning to do much, other than return you everything you had once done to me. I¡¯ve stayed in the basement of your bedroom for several decades. What do you say I throw you there?¡± Shi Xiaoyu could not imagine how long she had been trapped inside the room for. She was so oppressed and bored that she felt like she was almost going to suffocate. Life would only be much more arduous and grueling if she were to be trapped in that basement and never see the light of day again. Hence, she decided to kill herself. However, what Shi Qingzhou said next ruined her n. ¡°I remember how you once used my daughter to threaten me. I shall use your children to threaten you as well now. If you kill yourself, shall I let your children follow suit?¡± ¡°Rui already said that he¡¯ll keep the children alive.¡± ring at her menacingly, Shi Qingzhou said, ¡°The results of the election are not out yet. We still don¡¯t know if he or Shuo will be the next president. Ever since the ancient times, history has always been written by the victors. Should my daughter and I have fallen into your trap, who knows what nonsense you¡¯ll have spouted to the media? That¡¯s not that big of a deal. You¡¯d have probably rewritten how you got your hands on the book and why you executed us, wouldn¡¯t you?¡± Shi Xiaoyu could not deny that that was indeed the case. However, it was a pity that she had lost the battle. ¡°Shi Qingzhou, you¡¯ve really got a brilliant daughter.¡± ¡°All thanks to you for sparing her life back then.¡± Her words struck a sour note within Shi Xiaoyu, for sparing An Xiaoning¡¯s life was her greatest regret. There were only two things she regretted in this life: one was not killing An Xiaoning when she was an infant while the other was not getting rid of Shi Qingzhou when she could. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes before opening them again. ¡°I admit, you¡¯ve defeated me.¡± Shi Xiaoyu was then brought to the secret basement. There were several guards standing outside the other exit of the chamber. Hence, it was entirely impossible for her to escape. The moment her hands were cuffed to chains and she was put into the position that Shi Qingzhou was once in, Shi Xiaoyu wanted to cry but there were no tears. She would be better off dead than living in such a pathetic manner. However, she could not bite her tongue to kill herself for the sake of her children. Besides, there was a voice in her head that was constantly telling her that she still had three children who could save her, just like how An Xiaoning had rescued Shi Qingzhou. Hence, she still saw a glimmer of hope. Yet, her hopes were instantly dashed by what Shi Qingzhou said next. ¡°Don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be as foolish as you and give you the chance to be rescued.¡± Shi Qingzhou reached out to pry her jaw open and poured a vial of chemical into her mouth. Not knowing what it was, Shi Xiaoyu tried her best not to swallow it. However, her natural reflexes could not be controlled and she still ended up ingesting the chemical. ¡°You... what did you make me drink!?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a type of medicine that you would have to take once every week. You¡¯ll die if you go longer than a week without it.¡± Shi Xiaoyu was paralyzed by fear and began quivering uncontrobly from head to toe. It was indeed a cruel torture to be put in a living hell and yet bepelled to stay alive since dying was not an option. Chapter 943 - Perplexed and Smitten (3)

Chapter 943: Perplexed and Smitten (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She no longer had a say in anything. Shi Xiaoyu attempted to grab Shi Qingzhou¡¯s hair as hard as she could, like she did in the past. She wished she could rip her scalp off, skin her alive, and butcher her. However, her efforts were futile, for she was held back by the chains that she was shackled to. She could not harm an inch of Shi Qingzhou at all. ¡°Ahhhh! I must kill you, I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± Remaining unfazed, Shi Qingzhou smiled and said, ¡°Come here,e and kill me. I¡¯m standing right in front of you.¡± Glowering at her with rage surging through her veins, Shi Xiaoyu eximed in pique, ¡°Don¡¯t you get too arrogant. If you¡¯ve got the guts, kill me right now!¡± Shi Qingzhou chuckled and sneered, ¡°Why are you in such a hurry to die? Hasn¡¯t death always been your greatest fear? Be obedient and stay here. I¡¯lle and visit you often.¡± ¡°Shi Qingzhou!!!¡± She stopped in her tracks and turned around to say to Shi Xiaoyu while smiling, ¡°Xiaoyu, this is only the beginning.¡± By the time Shi Qingzhou and Tuoba Shuo vanished out of sight, Shi Xiaoyu felt as if she had lost all hope in life. She copsed onto the ground while the chains made a loud, piercing sound with her vigorous movement, which rang in her ears continuously. Shi Xiaoyu wished that this was all a dream and that once she wakes up, Shi Qingzhou would be the one in her position instead. She would then kill Shi Qingzhou without hesitation and rip her into shreds! Yet, this was reality. She had lost her marriage, her freedom, and was now on the verge of losing her life too. The thought of her current predicament sent tears flowing out of her eyes. ¡ª When Gu Beicheng arrived back at the Gu family mansion, he caught sight of Lin Mingxi leaning against the living room door from afar. He walked toward her with an umbre in hand and folded it when he reached the door. ¡°Why are you standing here?¡± he asked out of concern. ¡°I was waiting for you.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go in,¡± he said, putting an arm around her shoulder and walking toward the couch, where they then took a seat. ¡°Beicheng, look at this,¡± said Lin Mingxi, handing him aptop that disyed the content of a certain discussion forum. He took it from her and scrutinized each and every line of the note. He then looked at her and said, ¡°This note is iming to be an expos¨¦ of Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan colluding to encroach on the Autumn Pce. However, in reality, it¡¯s merely trying to bring this issue to theizens¡¯ attention and get them to start discussing it. From what I know, Jin Qingyan was not involved in this at all. He has nothing to do with it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m clear about the way Xiaoning usually handles matters, and I also know that she definitely has her ways to deal with those who make life difficult for her. However, if the rest of the content except the bit about Jin Qingyan is true, it really is rather terrifying.¡± Knowing what she was thinking, Gu Beicheng said, ¡°Are you starting to find her intimidating?¡± ¡°Yes...¡± He chuckled and said, ¡°Seems like you don¡¯t know her that well yet and you only understand her from what you see on the surface. For me, I won¡¯t be surprised by whatever she does, because I know that her life would be in danger if she doesn¡¯t do some things her way.¡± Lin Mingxi said truthfully, ¡°I¡¯m really thankful for the help she has given us and for her bravery in protecting us whenever we face ordeals. I¡¯m not exactly afraid of her, but rather, I revere and am in awe of her. Actually, I like that I¡¯m standing on her side and not against her.¡± ¡°Xiaoning is a very remarkable woman. She¡¯s remarkable because she¡¯s loyal when ites to rtionships. She¡¯s remarkable because she always has ideas of her own and is a decisive person. She¡¯s never intimidated by whateveres her way and would never sumb to fate. Yet, she¡¯s also kind-hearted at the same time,¡± Gu Beicheng remarked. Lin Mingxi smiled and asked, ¡°You said that she¡¯s loyal in love, isn¡¯t it the same for you too?¡± Gu Beicheng kept quiet and did not answer her. Lin Mingxi held his hand and said, ¡°I know that you treat me really well and that you already treat me like your family. I also believe that you¡¯ll dote on our child when he¡¯s born. But, Beicheng, I still am looking forward to the day that you¡¯ll give me a bit of the love you have toward her. I¡¯m not asking for much, just a little bit will do. I understand that there are many marriages that weren¡¯t forged on the basis of true love. I thought that I had already epted my fate, but it turns out, I still mind the fact that you don¡¯t love me.¡± The atmosphere would inevitably be tense and somber whenever their conversations got around that topic. ¡°Mingxi, I already treat Xiaoning only as my kin.¡± She asked slowly, ¡°Do you still love her, then? I¡¯ve always been curious about what made you love her for so many years. Despite knowing that it¡¯s impossible between you two, you still never fail to make her your first priority. Could you answer me?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you today?¡± he asked. ¡°I¡¯m starting to find it hard to keep it in. This issue has been a constant thorn in my flesh. Although she¡¯s my benefactor and we get along really well, I can¡¯t help but feel ufortable and upset whenever I get reminded that she¡¯s the woman whom my husband loves. I don¡¯t detest her at all, but I¡¯m still a woman at the end of the day.¡± She had been rehearsing those words in her head repeatedly in thest few days. She felt much more relieved after finally airing all the thoughts she had been bottling up. ¡°You¡¯re the one living together with me and the one who¡¯s married to me. She¡¯s just like the moonlight, beautiful yet so unapproachable. Mingxi, do you understand what I mean? Both of you are very important to me. From the very moment I went on a blind date with you and agreed to marry you, I knew that I would never be able to win her heart for the rest of my life. Hence, I decided to give up. As for whether I love her or not...¡± Unsure of how he should exin this matter, he continued, ¡°Whether or not I love her has nothing to do with whether or not I love you. Love has always been something that you can yearn for but should never expect to have. A stable rtionship is much more reliable.¡± ¡°I understand,¡± said Lin Mingxi, who understood that there was no point in probing further since he had already made things so clear. Gu Beicheng pulled her into his embrace and said, ¡°I¡¯ll treat you well and be responsible for you for the rest of my life. If you¡¯d like to pursue your ideal rtionship, I won¡¯t stop you and I¡¯ll be willing to let you go, as long as you¡¯ve considered it carefully.¡± Lin Mingxi¡¯s eyes twitched and she chided, ¡°What nonsense are you spouting? We already have a child together. I want to cling onto you for the rest of my life. I want to stay with you even if you don¡¯t love me.¡± He pampered her so much, to the extent that she felt like she could spend a lifetime with him even if he didn¡¯t love her. ¡°Will you still bring this up again in the future?¡± Lin Mingxi answered with a smirk, ¡°That¡¯ll depend on my mood. I¡¯m really so envious and jealous of Xiaoning. I must take it out on her and beat her up into a pulp the next time I see her.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, they heard the sounds of high heels knocking against the floor. They turned around and met An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes. ¡°I heard that you wanted to take it out on me by beating me up. How did I provoke you again, Mrs. Gu?¡± she asked teasingly with a smile. Gu Beichengughed and said, ¡°She was being jealous of you again.¡± An Xiaoning stepped forward and sat down beside Lin Mingxi. Giving her cheeks a little pinch, she said, ¡°Why are you so much like Jin Qingyan? You guys get jealous over every slightest thing. I¡¯m really only an innocent party.¡± Chapter 944 - Perplexed and Smitten (4)

Chapter 944: Perplexed and Smitten (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lin Mingxi handed her theptop and said, ¡°Look, they¡¯re talking about you on the discussion forums again. Hurry and get someone to delete those forums.¡± An Xiaoning took theptop from her and said, ¡°Don¡¯t change the subject.¡± ¡°My old habit acted up again.¡± ¡°Seems like you¡¯re going to have another rpse in the future. You must seek help from a doctor when ites to such psychological issues. Shall I give you a lesson?¡± said An Xiaoning, who knew clearly how she felt. ¡°I¡¯m all ears,¡± Lin Mingxi answered, smiling. An Xiaoning rested her legs on the coffee table and leaned back against the couch. She then said unhurriedly, ¡°What¡¯s the difference between you and Beicheng? Don¡¯t forget how obsessed you were with Qingyan back then, such that you even joined the boot camp for the sake of getting close to him. However, the difference is that you¡¯ve already gotten over Qingyan, but Beicheng... well he has already gotten over me too. Otherwise, why would he have married you?¡± ¡°He clearly still loves you...¡± ¡°He¡¯s already turned his love for me into kinship. Stop finding trouble and woes for yourself. Honestly speaking, if you keep letting this bother you, you won¡¯t be happy at all, Mingxi. Neither will Beicheng. When I first got married to Qingyan, he had someone else in his heart too, but so what? Mingxi, if you¡¯ve really got what it takes, you won¡¯t let anything get in the way of making Beicheng fall in love with you, regardless of whates.¡± ¡°What if I really can¡¯t make him fall in love with me?¡± An Xiaoning looked at her and said, ¡°I think you must prepare yourselfpletely. Ask yourself if you¡¯d like to spend the rest of your life with him. If you do, stop letting such trivial things hinder you from pursuing your happiness. If you feel like you still can¡¯t win his heart despite having already tried your best, then look for another solution. Do you think I make sense?¡± Lin Mingxi held her arm and leaned her head against her shoulder. ¡°I have an idea. If I really can¡¯t win his heart in this life, I have no choice but to ept that it¡¯s my fate. It¡¯s good enough to have him physically.¡± An Xiaoning shrugged her hand off and said teasingly, ¡°You make me your rival in love as and when you¡¯d like. Go away.¡± ¡°Hey, I didn¡¯t...¡± Lin Mingxi urged her, ¡°Hurry and look at the post. To be honest, I was a little intimidated by you after reading it.¡± An Xiaoning picked up theptop again and read through the content carefully before putting it aside. Maintaining herposure, she said, ¡°You¡¯ve known me for so long. Are you really unaware of what I¡¯m really like?¡± Lin Mingxi smiled and said, ¡°No wonder I found it to be rather nonsensical. Turns out it was wrong?¡± An Xiaoning remained silent and responded with a smile. Lin Mingxi headed upstairs to retrieve something, leaving An Xiaoning and Gu Beicheng alone in the living room. She cocked her head toward the side to face him and asked, ¡°Do you think the ims are true or false?¡± He said softly, ¡°Do you think I¡¯m like Mingxi who doesn¡¯t know you well enough?¡± ¡°Beicheng...¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Gu Beicheng answered in puzzlement, ¡°Thank me for what? I should be the one thanking you, actually.¡± She gazed at him and said, ¡°Thank you for keeping me in your heart throughout all these years. I rarely talk about this, but don¡¯t think I¡¯m clueless just because I don¡¯t bring it up often. I can tell that Mingxi has already fallen for you. Only when a woman has truly fallen in love with a man will she be bothered about the fact that he¡¯s in love with another woman. Only then will she get jealous all the time. Don¡¯t you think you should try loving her too? I¡¯d really like to see you two genuinely being happy with each other.¡± Gu Beicheng sat up straight in his seat and listened to her tender and calm voice. ¡°I¡¯ve already tried.¡± An Xiaoning looked down and said, ¡°Other women also possess the attributes that I do. I¡¯m not as great as you make me out to be. I¡¯ve killed so many people, and my hands are stained with blood that I can never wash away.¡± ¡°So what if you have? I already consider you as my closest kin. I won¡¯t berate you for anything you do at all.¡± She could not help but feel bad and sympathize with him. She did not wish for him to force himself to see her as his kin because he couldn¡¯t win her heart. At the same time, An Xiaoning also understood that he had kept his love for her hidden deep beneath the abyss of his heart. ¡°I also consider you as my family.¡± They exchanged nces and smiled at each other. They weren¡¯t lovers nor best friends, but one thing was for sure, they were closer than family. They both knew clearly that for the rest of their lives, they could only treat each other like family. Lin Mingxi returned downstairs with her mobile phone and wallet. She had also changed into another set of clothes, seemingly nning to go out. ¡°Where are we going?¡± ¡°Xiaoning, shall we go shopping?¡± ¡°I came here straight to see you guys once I returned from B City. I haven¡¯t got any rest yet.¡± Lin Mingxi suggested, ¡°Shall we have a game of ¡®Battling the Landlord¡¯ instead, then?¡± ¡°Cards? You want to y a game of cards with me?¡± An Xiaoning asked with a grin. ¡°Are you in for it?¡± ¡°Game on...¡± The three of them headed to the bedroom upstairs and sat cross-legged on the carpet. ¡°Let¡¯s make it clear beforehand. Dinner tonight¡¯s on whoever loses the most number of rounds.¡± ¡°Deal,¡± said Lin Mingxi, who began shuffling the cards. Once she was done shuffling, An Xiaoning hugged her knees and began ying. Just as they were in the midst of a joyous game, the door of the bedroom was opened. They turned their heads in the same direction unanimously, only to see Jin Qingyan striding in. ¡°I knew you were here,¡± he said to An Xiaoning. ¡°What brings you here?¡± Gu Beicheng asked. ¡°I¡¯m bored and I have nothing to do. I tried to call her but I couldn¡¯t get through so I came here.¡± ¡°My phone¡¯s out of battery. I¡¯m wearing the GPS bracelet he gave me. It¡¯s a piece of cake for him to find out my whereabouts.¡± ¡°Qingyan, you¡¯re too strict with Xiaoning.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the harm in being able to know where she is whenever I¡¯d like?¡± Jin Qingyan crossed one leg over the other and said, ¡°I have a gathering with my former ssmates at seven o¡¯clock in the evening. Apany me.¡± ¡°What time is it now?¡± ¡°Half past five.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go with you after this round.¡± She continued smilingly, ¡°Mingxi, you lost the most this time, but you¡¯re spared tonight.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t, don¡¯t. We¡¯ll meet at the hotel after your gathering. You shall eat to your heart¡¯s content.¡± An Xiaoning chuckled and said, ¡°You two enjoy a romantic candlelit dinner on your own. I won¡¯t y gooseberry.¡± ¡°We¡¯re toozy to go out. We¡¯ll just eat at home.¡± .... On the way home, An Xiaoning gazed intently at Jin Qingyan, who was driving with a straight face. ¡°Don¡¯t you usually refrain from attending such boring and senseless gatherings? Why did you suddenly decide to go today?¡± ¡°I just felt like doing so all of a sudden. Besides, I wanted to bring you along.¡± ¡°Why? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re nning topete with your former ssmates for who has the most beautiful beau? Congrats, you¡¯ve won,¡± she said with a smug grin. He guffawed and said, ¡°Can you be more humble?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but ¡®humble¡¯ doesn¡¯t exist in my dictionary.¡± She rolled down the windows and continued, ¡°Just why do you want to attend the gathering?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to bring you to meet someone.¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°A globetrotting historian.¡± ¡°Why do you want me to meet him? What¡¯s the point in that?¡± An Xiaoning asked in puzzlement. Chapter 945 - Perplexed and Smitten (5)

Chapter 945: Perplexed and Smitten (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ?¡±He¡¯s once investigated blood-feeding humans. However, he didn¡¯t dare to expose much about it, although he was rather brave. I only found out about it secretly too. I was thinking you must be very curious about this. Don¡¯t you want to meet him?¡± ¡°I do. I hope your former ssmate will feed me with some useful information,¡± said An Xiaoning, whose curiosity was piqued. ¡°Just take it that we¡¯re attending for fun. Don¡¯t carry any high hopes, though. He¡¯s been traveling around non-stop for several years. I reckon he must know a lot of things that we don¡¯t. No harm in getting an eye-opener, right?¡± Once they arrived in Wei Ni Estate, they alighted from the car, after which Fan Shixin said, ¡°Young Madam, the items you ordered online have been delivered.¡± ¡°Really? I¡¯m going upstairs, help me ce them inside the bedroom.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°What did you buy online?¡± Jin Qingyan asked. She blinked at him and said, ¡°You¡¯ll find out tonight.¡± ¡°Why so secretive?¡± She smiled and kept quiet. When Fan Shixin entered with a rectangr cardboard box, Jin Qingyan tried to open it, only to be stopped by An Xiaoning, who said, ¡°It¡¯s a present for you. You can only open it tonight.¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s eyes lit up with joy and excitement upon hearing that it was a gift for him. Thinking to himself that she was going to give him a surprise, he curbed his curiosity and said, ¡°Alright, I shall see what it is tonight.¡± In order to prevent him from sneaking a peek, she moved the box into the dressing room. After taking a shower and changing into a fresh set of clothes, she put on some beautiful makeup and said to him in satisfaction, ¡°Let¡¯s go downstairs and eat something to fill our stomachs first. I¡¯m a little hungry. We¡¯ll be busy drinking and chattingter anyway. You rarely get to eat much at such gatherings.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± he agreed. The gathering was set at seven o¡¯clock in the evening, and they set off at half past six. They arrived at their destination twenty minutester. It was a gathering with Jin Qingyan¡¯s former ssmates from high school. He had almost forgotten all of them and was, in fact, rather surprised when he received the invitation. However, he seemed to have some recollection after hearing about the then-monitor of the ss¡¯ recount of the events that took ce during their school days. He did not have a penchant for attending such gatherings, for he felt that the entire purpose was not to catch up with each other and reminiscence about the past. Rather, it was for the superficial sake of broadening connections. They weaved through the dancing crowd on the dance floor and made their way upstairs to a stretch of exquisite private rooms. After verifying the room number, Jin Qingyan opened the door. There was initially ongoing chatter and boisterousughter. Upon the sight of Jin Qingyan, they immediately stood up and greeted him. An Xiaoning closed the door and looked at the bunch of former ssmates inside. There were more than ten people who attended the gathering, amongst which were males and females. An Xiaoning thought to herself, There must be tens of ssmates within the ss, yet only so few were invited. That just means that the organizer must have selected who to invite based on their current status. Those who did not make a name for themselves definitely weren¡¯t included in the list. Everyone knew that Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning were divorced. However, it was obvious that they had made up with each other since they both showed up together. The female monitor said to An Xiaoning, ¡°Madam, you¡¯re so beautiful.¡± An Xiaoning smiled politely and answered, ¡°Thank you, you¡¯re pretty too.¡± ¡°Have a seat, please.¡± Jin Qingyan sat down together with An Xiaoning, appearing cool and collected while introducing An Xiaoning to each of his former ssmates. However, when it came to those whose names he could not remember, he would say, ¡°This one¡¯s...¡± The person being introduced would then blurt their own name. After the introduction, the female monitor said to An Xiaoning with a grin, ¡°Jin Qingyan is still as dashing as he was back in high school. He hasn¡¯t changed much at all. Well, all of us proceeded to embark on our own endeavours after graduation from high school, and we haven¡¯t contacted each other much ever since. It¡¯s such a rare opportunity for us to be able to ask him out this time.¡± An Xiaoning teased, ¡°How many girls had he courted in high school?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t heard of any.¡± The female monitor covered her mouth while chuckling and continued, ¡°He used to be the one being courted instead. Back then, there were so many female schoolmates of ours who would stare at him fondly from outside of the windows after ss. By the way, Qingyan, do you remember Wen Lele, the girl who used to sit beside you? She¡¯ll beingter too.¡± Feeling a little muddled up, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°I do remember vaguely.¡± ¡°Hey, buddy...¡± said Yang Zhou, one of Jin Qingyan¡¯s former ssmates whom he was much closer topared to the rest. They used to y ball together. ¡°Are you married yet?¡± asked Jin Qingyan, who had a clearer memory of him since he was closer to him in high school. ¡°Not even close. Your son is already so grown up and I¡¯m still single,¡± Yang Zhou said casually. Despite having not met each other for years, he did not feel distant toward Jin Qingyan at all. An Xiaoning felt that Yang Zhou was not a scheming person, given how straightforward and candid he was. ¡°What industry are you working in now?¡± Yang Zhou grinned and said, ¡°Make a guess.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you really became a toilet janitor?¡± Jin Qingyan blurted unrestrainedly. Everyone burst intoughter at his amusingment. Yang Zhou waved and said, ¡°I did have such ns, but too bad, the toilet didn¡¯t ept me.¡± The female monitor interjected, ¡°Yang Zhou is now a prestigiouswyer.¡± ¡°Being awyer is great,¡± Jin Qingyan said in approval. Just as they were in the midst of a conversation, a good-looking couple entered. Everyone began teasing them the moment they stepped foot inside. ¡°Oh? Why did you twoe together? Don¡¯t tell me, you¡¯re dating each other?¡± ¡°Cut it out. We bumped into each other at the door,¡± said the slender and beautiful woman. Pursing her lips, the female monitor said, ¡°Lele, your table partner is here.¡± Wen Lele had already caught sight of Jin Qingyan when she was at the door of the room. He was just like a glowing presence, never failing to catch the attention of those around him. ¡°I saw. Long time no see, Jin Qingyan.¡± She extended her hand to shake Jin Qingyan¡¯s. ¡°This must be Ms. An. I¡¯ve seen several photos of you on the news. You¡¯re so much prettier in real life. I¡¯m Jin Qingyan¡¯s table mate back in high school. My name is Wen Lele.¡± An Xiaoning remarked, ¡°You¡¯re so beautiful, Ms. Wen.¡± ¡°Nah, I can¡¯t bepared to you, Ms. An.¡± ¡°You¡¯re too humble.¡± Pointing at the man who entered together with Wen Lele, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°Here, let me introduce you to He Yi, the impressive globetrotter I was telling you about.¡± He Yi extended a hand and said, ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± An Xiaoning returned the handshake and greeted with a smile, ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± They sat down one after another. The female monitor then said, ¡°All the invited guests are present. It¡¯s been more than a decade since we graduated andst met each other. Let¡¯s toast to reuniting.¡± Everyone opened a can of beer each and clinked their cans together. They then began chatting joyously about the interesting and amusing events that took ce during high school, as if they had just happened yesterday. An Xiaoning began snacking on some sunflower seeds while listening to their recounts. She was initially thinking about how she should strike a conversation with He Yi. To her surprise, he initiated a chat with her and Jin Qingyan. ¡°You didn¡¯t attend the previous gathering we held several years ago. Only a few of us had your contact number. I did see you on the news rather frequently, though.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s exchange numbers, then. What¡¯s yours?¡± Jin Qingyan asked. Slightly taken aback, He Yi proceeded to give Jin Qingyan his mobile number, after which Jin Qingyan gave him a missed call. Chapter 946 - Perplexed and Smitten (6)

Chapter 946: Perplexed and Smitten (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Staring at Jin Qingyan¡¯s mobile number, He Yi could not help but burst intoughter and said in amusement, ¡°You¡¯ve got such an impressive mobile number. It¡¯s a whole string of 8¡¯s. How much did you have to spend to get it?¡± Jin Qingyan answered vaguely, ¡°I had to spend quite a bit. After all, such numbers are unique and one-of-a-kind.¡± An Xiaoning interjected, ¡°I heard from Qingyan that you travel all around the globe. Is that your profession?¡± Shaking his head, He Yi answered, ¡°No, I just can¡¯t seem to stay put in one ce. Hence, I decided to travel around the world instead. I feel like I¡¯m continuously enriching and fulfilling my life when I travel. Hence, I¡¯m a nomad now.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe it, how could you travel around without a steady ie or a job?¡± He exined, ¡°Well, I do work some odd jobs wherever I go and when I¡¯m on the road. I can¡¯t possibly roam around without a job. That¡¯d be so pointless.¡± An Xiaoning asked softly, ¡°I heard from Qingyan that you¡¯ve investigated the rustic life of vigers in V Nation before. Is that true?¡± ¡°Do you know about the situation in that nation too, Ms. An?¡± he asked in astonishment. ¡°I¡¯ve been there once personally.¡± She took two sips of beer before cing it onto the table. She then continued, ¡°Hence, I do know a little bit about the situation there. I wonder if you¡¯re willing to share with me the bizarre incidents you¡¯ve encountered during your time there? I¡¯d like to know about some things that I don¡¯t already know.¡± He Yi scanned his surroundings and said, ¡°It¡¯s not that convenient for us to talk here.¡± ¡°How about you make a trip down to Wei Ni Estate tomorrow?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°It¡¯s settled, then.¡± He Yi nodded. ¡°Lele, you¡¯re not getting any younger. When do you n to get married and settle down?¡± asked the female monitor, who had gotten married and given birth early. Her children have all grown up too. She had always been concerned about her unmarried ssmates, for she felt that women ought to get married and conceive earlier so that their bodies can recover better from childbirth. ¡°I want to settle down too, but I must find a man before I can do that. I¡¯m already in my thirties and what awaits me is the big four. How could Ipare to those young girls in their twenties? I no longer have the right to choose who I want to marry. I can only wait for someone to choose me,¡± Wen Lele said with a look of dejection. ¡°Look how far ahead of yourself you¡¯re getting. You take such good care of your face and you practically still look like a teenager. Is He Yi attached yet? If he isn¡¯t, why don¡¯t we set you two up together?¡± Upon hearing her words, Wen Lele said bluntly, ¡°Please don¡¯t. I would rather stay alone than be with someone who¡¯s always traveling around the world aimlessly. There¡¯s no security being with a nomad at all. CEO Jin, oh wait, I mean, Chairman Jin, introduce me to a man who could be my prospective husband. I trust your taste.¡± Pursing his lips, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°You don¡¯t even fancy such a promising youth like He Yi, how could you possibly be interested in the men I introduce you to?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a promising youth?¡± Wen Lele scoffed and sneered, ¡°You¡¯ve really ttered him. Did he brag and boast to you again? He Yi has already gone around the globe so many times before, yet he doesn¡¯t even make enough for himself to survive. He¡¯s already in his thirties and he doesn¡¯t even own a house. Which woman would want to date him? Go ask him if he¡¯s had any girlfriends before.¡± He Yi continued to sip on his beer quietly instead of retorting to her snide remark. To An Xiaoning¡¯s surprise, she realized that He Yi did not seem to be in the least bit angry or upset at all. In fact, An Xiaoning had begun to feel rather repulsed by Wen Lele¡¯s attitude. Jin Qingyan instructed the waiter to serve a crate of premium-quality liquor that, of course, came at a hefty price tag. Truth be told, he simply could not get used to drinking cheap alcohol. ¡°It¡¯s my treat. Drink to your heart¡¯s content.¡± Seeing how generous he was, everyone beganplimenting him enthusiastically, though he was not at all impressed or pleased. Instead, he kept a straight face in response to their superficial praises, which were rather pretentious by his standards. He initially thought that Wen Lele would drop the subject. To his surprise, she brought it up again and urged, ¡°Jin Qingyan, you haven¡¯t answered me. Are you going to introduce me to a man or not?¡± ¡°Sorry, but I don¡¯t like matchmaking for others,¡± Jin Qingyan said, after which he grabbed the fruit knife and began peeling an apple. The smile on Wen Lele¡¯s face stiffened. She then remarked, ¡°How petty of you. There are so many brilliant men around you, why don¡¯t you introduce them to me, your old ssmate? Let us enjoy some of your glory too.¡± Jin Qingyan nced at her and said, ¡°The time it would take to introduce you to a man is enough for me to clinch several business deals. I¡¯m not interested in doing you this favor at all. Why do you look different from when we were in high school?¡± ¡°Girls tend to be prettier the older they get.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± He handed the peeled apple to An Xiaoning calmly. Noticing how aloof he was toward her, Wen Lele walked away in disgruntlement to catch up with the others. Everyone continued to chat merrily with each other, except Jin Qingyan, who was entirely focused on the woman beside him. The premium-quality liquor that Jin Qingyan had ordered was higher in alcohol content. Hence, the male ssmates soon began to get tipsy within just half an hour¡¯s time. Alcoholic men would often get out of hand once they start getting drunk. Alcohol would also give them the courage to spout nonsense without filtering their words. ¡°Jin Qingyan, you¡¯re such a joke,¡± one of the male ssmates said in a drunken stupor while burping from the alcohol. ¡°How am I a joke?¡± Jin Qingyan raised his voice and asked coldly. At the same time, he switched off the deafening music. A sudden silence filled the room. As soon as he sat down, the male ssmate answered, ¡°Look at you... you¡¯re considered to be the most sessful amongst all of us. You¡¯re so wealthy and powerful. Did you know? At least ten of our ssmates who have a little bit of cash to spare all get young girls to be their mistresses. You¡¯re the only one who doesn¡¯t have a kept woman, and you even married An Xiaoning twice. Not to mention, she was a divorcee when you married her. You two are even back together again now. Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re a joke? It¡¯s as if she had put a hex on you...¡± Everyone stopped talking instantly and kept their eyes fixed on Jin Qingyan. ¡°Is that very funny? Will I only be normal if I¡¯m like everyone else and have a young girl as my mistress? What twisted logic is that? Who are you toment about who I marry? Who do you think you are?¡± Despite the harsh rebuttal, Jin Qingyan did not sound angry at all. Yet, the tipsy ssmate did not seem to realize that he was about to re up. Thus, he continued, ¡°You¡¯re mistaken. I¡¯m not saying that you have to be like those ssmates of ours. I just find you rather peculiar. You have an endless amount of money to spend, and you can get any virgin you want. Why do you have to be with a woman like her? Buddy, I¡¯m just feeling wronged for you.¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Jin Qingyan hollered, glowering at him. A deafening silence filled the room immediately, such that one could hear a pin drop. Maintaining herposure, An Xiaoning threw her finished apple into the dustbin and rose from her seat. She then walked toward the male ssmate. No one knew what she was nning to do. Chapter 947 - Perplexed and Smitten (7)

Chapter 947: Perplexed and Smitten (7)

The next thing they knew, An Xiaoning had picked up a newly-opened bottle of liquor and poured the expensive liquor over the male ssmate¡¯s head,pletely drenching him. ¡°Have you sobered up yet?¡± she questioned. The male ssmate wiped the alcohol off his face, feeling much more sobered up. He frantically nodded. ¡°You were spouting such outrageous rubbish after drinking the liquor that we bought. What a waste. I know clearly whether or not I¡¯m a clean woman. Must I still report to you specifically? Stop being thick-skinned and calling Qingyan your buddy. He doesn¡¯t have a buddy like you. Don¡¯t go around spreading nonsense,¡± An Xiaoning said with a sarcastic smile, after which she mmed the empty bottle of liquor down onto the coffee table with a loud, crisp sound. Trying to ease the tension of the situation, the female monitor said tactfully, ¡°Ms. An, don¡¯t bother stooping to his level. He¡¯s always been known to speak without thinking. He only spouted those nonsensical and unfiltered words because he had a bit too much to drink. Don¡¯t take it to heart.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t take it to heart. There are a countless number ofizens online who make suchments too. Wouldn¡¯t I be extremely busy and upset if I let everyment affect me?¡± Jin Qingyan stood up and held onto An Xiaoning¡¯s hand before saying to his former ssmates, ¡°You guys go ahead and enjoy yourselves. We¡¯re taking our leave.¡± The female monitor began to panic and quickly said, ¡°Jin Qingyan, you¡¯ve only arrived a while ago. Stay a little longer. We¡¯ve yet to catch up with you properly.¡± ¡°Nah, just have fun on your own. Bill¡¯s on me.¡± He walked away without another word. ¡°Wait a minute. I¡¯m leaving too,¡± said He Yi, who rose from his seat. Seeing that the three of them were about to leave, several other ssmates followed suit, no longer in the mood to continue with the gathering. The bunch of them left the venue. He Yi took out his car key and unlocked his Porsche, which was parked at a distance away from where they were standing. The female monitor asked, ¡°He Yi, is that your car?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± he answered. Another male ssmate had recognized his car to be a sports car and said, ¡°That cost you at least six to seven million dors, didn¡¯t it? What an excellent car.¡± He Yi smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± ¡°Wen Lele, you were just criticizing He Yi back in there. See, he¡¯s secretly loaded. He¡¯s nothing like what you said at all.¡± Wen Lele pursed her lips,pletely at a loss for words. He Yi allowed his actions to do the talking, causing her to feel like she had gotten a tight p on her face. A painful one at that. ¡°Mr. He, you muste down to Wei Ni Estate tomorrow. Qingyan and I will be waiting for you at home,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be there for sure.¡± After An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan got inside the car, Jin Qingyan revved up the engine and said, ¡°Had I known earlier, I wouldn¡¯t havee.¡± ¡°All because of what your male ssmate said?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like hearing others criticize you in front of me. They don¡¯t know a thing at all. They have no idea how wonderful you are.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s mood was instantly lifted. She chuckled and said, ¡°Why do you bother getting upset over his words? Let him say whatever he wants. We don¡¯t have the right to control what others say, but we have the freedom to refrain from socializing with them.¡± He drove away from the venue. Upon arriving home, Jin Qingyan proceeded to the dressing room to open therge cardboard box. An Xiaoning swiftly stopped him and said, ¡°Go take a shower, I¡¯ll show you after you¡¯re done.¡± ¡°Just what is it?¡± ¡°Well, just go take a shower, quick. I¡¯ll show you when you¡¯re out.¡± She pushed him into the bathroom and he decided to concede. An Xiaoning removed her makeup and proceeded to brush her teeth and wash up. Pointing at his toothbrush, she said, ¡°Brush your teeth before youe outter.¡± She then headed inside the dressing room. She carried the cardboard box onto the bed. Although it was ratherrge, it did not weigh much. After cing it properly, she proceeded to change into a sleeveless nightdress. An Xiaoning could not help but feel gleeful and excited at the thought of Jin Qingyan¡¯s possible reaction when he saw the giftter. She filled two sses with Dreamyanghe, Jin Qingyan¡¯s unique concoction that she thoroughly enjoyed. It simply could not bepared to the liquor avable on the market. Shey in bed and began sipping the liquor from the ss that she was holding. She was almost done with her ss of liquor by the time he came out of the shower. ¡°Why did you start drinking all by yourself?¡± he asked. ¡°I poured you a ss too,¡± she said, handing him a goblet that he then ced onto the table. ¡°I want to see the gift you have for me. I¡¯m so curious about what¡¯s inside.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, he eagerly tore away the scotch tape wrapped around the box, overwhelmed with excitement. However, he received a great shock upon seeing the contents of the box. He squinted at the item inside and questioned in astonishment, ¡°You bought me an intable sex doll!?!¡± An Xiaoning answered with a nod, ¡°Qingyan, I¡¯ve thought about it. If therees a time where you need me but I¡¯m not around, the doll will be your best avable option. Besides, it¡¯s clean and hygienic. It¡¯ll also help ease the burden you put on my physical and mental health. Qingyan, why don¡¯t you give it a try and see if you like it?¡± He wished he could strangle An Xiaoning. How dare shee up with such a lousy and absurd suggestion! ¡°When you bought this, did you include your own name as the recipient?¡± Knowing what he was worried about, An Xiaoning shook her head and said, ¡°No, I left Shixin¡¯s mobile number and the recipient¡¯s name was ¡®Queen.¡¯ Besides, I¡¯ve also informed Fan Shixin beforehand that this parcel would be for me. Rest assured, no one will know that I was the one who bought it for you.¡± Jin Qingyan flung the box onto the ground andy on the spot where the box was in previously. He then pulled her into his arms and said, ¡°I don¡¯t want that thing. I only want you.¡± She teased, ¡°Your Majesty, I just sincerely wanted you to experience something new, yet youpletely disregarded me. Your Majesty, are you displeased with my idea?¡± Jin Qingyan smirked and pressed his lips onto hers the next second. He then began nibbling her lips and smooching her, not giving her the chance to catch her breath at all. An Xiaoning was a little overwhelmed by his sudden passion and enthusiasm. She wanted to say something but was denied the chance to do so. An Xiaoning felt almost out of breath as she gradually moved her body upward. Their hormones were raging, and their burning passion sent blood gushing through their veins. By the time he finally let go, An Xiaoning¡¯s rosy face was glowing. ¡°Were you trying to kiss me until I die?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the punishment you deserve for getting me something like that. Do you really think I need that? I didn¡¯t even use such things when you were away in M Nation for several years back then. You¡¯ve underestimated my willpower and self-control.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve greatly mistaken me. Qingyan, I¡¯m just being thoughtful and considerate toward you.¡± ¡°I refuse to ept it.¡± He sat up straight and rubbed his index finger across his lips gently while looking at her intently. ¡°You¡¯ve got so much saliva, I almost drowned,¡± he jested. An Xiaoning grimaced and said, ¡°That¡¯s all because you forced a kiss on me and made me feel like I couldn¡¯t breathe.¡± Chapter 948 - Perplexed and Smitten (8)

Chapter 948: Perplexed and Smitten (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He did notment on her remark and began undressing himself. When he stripped down to his boxers, he paused in his actions, a little different from his usual penchant of running around naked in front of her. He held her gaze and asked with a smirk, ¡°Do you want to see it?¡± An Xiaoning said nonchntly, ¡°What¡¯s there to see? I¡¯ve already seen it umpteen times before... Qingyan, I want to see how you destroy the intable doll. Just feed my curiosity, will you?¡± He smiled and asked, ¡°Shall I get intimate with another live woman right in front of you? Would you like to see that?¡± ¡°No...¡± He poked her forehead and put on his robe without hesitation. After tightening the belt, he took out some scotch tape from the drawer, which he then used to seal the cardboard box again. He then brought it out of the room. Upon arriving downstairs, he summoned Fan Shixin and handed the box to him. ¡°Burn this for me,¡± he instructed. Greatly taken aback, Fan Shixin asked, ¡°Young Sir, isn¡¯t this the gift that Young Madam had ordered for you online?¡± ¡°Why do you have so much rubbish to say? Just burn it like I told you to.¡± ¡°Yes, Sir! I guarantee I¡¯llplete the mission!¡± Jin Qingyan turned around and walked back to the room. Fan Shixin brought the cardboard box to the rubbish disposal area and put it onto the ground. At the instant that he whipped out the lighter, he felt a sudden urge to find out what was inside the box. Young Madam mentioned it was a gift but Young Sir didn¡¯t seem too pleased with it. Just what kind of a gift is it? He squatted down and slit the scotch tape with a knife attached to his keychain. He then pried the box open and stuck his head inside to take a look. Fan Shixin was instantly dumbfounded and even thought that he was hallucinating. He reached a hand in to touch the item and burst intoughter. On the other hand, Jin Qingyan mmed the bedroom door shut with a loud thud and walked toward the bed with anger written all over his face. An Xiaoning was slightly panicking. ¡°Let¡¯s talk things over calmly.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get physical.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Qingyan, I¡¯m sorry, I won¡¯t do it again.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Ah! Slow down!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª After an entire night of filming, Yan Ge rushed home, feeling overwhelmed with fatigue. The moment he stepped foot inside the house, he was bombarded with his mother¡¯s questions as she began to berate him. ¡°You were acting too rashly. How could you just break off the engagement like that?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I already tell you the reason for my decision? How could I have such a vicious woman as my wife?¡± Yan Ge retorted, looking extremely weary. ¡°Xin Min did that all because of you. You were in such a messy and ambiguous rtionship with that female lead, Fang En. Don¡¯t tell me, you actually caught feelings for her?¡± ¡°No such thing.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already talked to Xin Min¡¯s parents. Go think about it carefully. Be it in terms of education, background, looks, or figure, what ws does Xin Min even have? She only made a slight mistake. It¡¯s no big deal. Just forgive her this once.¡± Yan Ge would not have bothered rushing home during his break time if it weren¡¯t because he couldn¡¯t effectivelymunicate with his parents over the phone. ¡°Mother, you don¡¯t have to waste your breath anymore. What may seem like a slight mistake to you is a serious w in her personality to me. I can¡¯t marry someone like her. No matter how great of a catch she is and howpatible we may be, what¡¯s the point if I don¡¯t want to marry her at all?¡± Realizing that she could not outargue him, Mrs. Yan said, ¡°Fine, since you¡¯re so intolerant toward her, your father and I won¡¯t force you any further. However, none of the rtionships you¡¯ve had in the past were sessful. Your father and I didn¡¯t force you since you¡¯re a celebrity and you¡¯re always busy with work. Son, look at all your childhood friends. All of them are married with children who have already grown up. Your father and I are so ill-fated. We¡¯re already advanced in our years and yet we don¡¯t even have a single grandchild. Had we known earlier, we would have given birth to a few more children. At least then we wouldn¡¯t have to worry about you all the time.¡± ¡°Mother, it¡¯s not toote to do so now. Didn¡¯t you read the news about a 60-year-old woman giving birth to a child at her age? You and Father have yet to hit 60, there¡¯s still hope for you guys. Go ahead and give birth to a child. I¡¯ll help you take care of him or her.¡± Turning red with embarrassment, Mrs. Yan chided, ¡°Little rascal, what are you saying? I¡¯m already 58 years old. How absurd would it be for me to still give birth?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the big deal? I have no objections as long as you and Father are willing.¡± ¡°Rascal! You¡¯re already 33 years old and yet you¡¯re still so uncouth with your words. Are you trying to drive me to my grave?¡± Mrs. Yan chastised. ¡°Mother, why would I do that? I¡¯m almost done filming for this television series. I¡¯m not sure if the director will need me to do a voice dub during post-production, but if he doesn¡¯t, I¡¯ll get to take a break. I understand that you yearn to have a grandchild, but I¡¯m only human. You guys have arranged for me to go on matchmaking sessions too. I used to give in to you guys, but I¡¯ve also resigned to fate. I used to think that I could marry anyone so long as they werepatible with me in terms of status and background. However, I¡¯ve changed my mindset.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your mindset now?¡± ¡°Father, Mother, I¡¯d like to be together with someone who¡¯s interesting and can bring me joy, not someone who¡¯s simply arranged to marry me. It¡¯d be boring and mundane to be with someone who¡¯s onlypatible with me in terms of superficial attributes.¡± Hey down on the couch and said, ¡°I¡¯ve had a long night of filming. I¡¯m so tired, I¡¯m going to take a nap.¡± Mrs. Yan hurriedly asked, ¡°Have you had your dinner yet? If you haven¡¯t, I¡¯ll get the kitchen helpers to fix you something to eat.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll eat when I wake up.¡± Seemingly reminded of something, he opened his eyes slightly and said, ¡°Mother, I want to eat the snacks you make. Make me some, I¡¯ll bring them with me to the set.¡± ¡°Alright, got it. Hurry and get some sleep,¡± said Mrs. Yan, who felt sorry for her son after seeing how tired he was. ...... Fang En was still in dreand when she felt like there was a fly buzzing around her ear incessantly. She began iling her arms about in the air in a bid to smack the fly, but to no avail. She soon woke up afterward. To her astonishment, the doorbell had been ringing continuously. She hurriedly put on her slippers and zoomed to open the door. The person standing by the door was none other than Yan Ge, who had just arrived from home. ¡°Are you a pig? I rang the doorbell so many times and yet you didn¡¯t hear it at all.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°My mother made me some snacks that she told me to share with my colleagues. I decided to bring some for you since it was along the way. Here.¡± She took it from him gleefully and asked, ¡°Did Auntie make this herself?¡± ¡°Of course she did. You¡¯re in for a treat.¡± He then left as soon as he finished speaking. After closing the door, Fang En untied the stic bag and picked up a piece of snack, which melted in her mouth. It was slightly sweet and left a pleasant fragrance lingering on her tastebuds. It was indeed delicious. Fang En proceeded to have six pieces in one go. She initially wanted to continue eating but hurriedly curbed her cravings, for fear that she would gain weight. She could no longer fall asleep since she was jolted awake. Thus, she began washing up and changed into a fresh set of clothes before taking a walk outside. Herplexion had been poortely. Although she had been religiously putting on facial masks every day, the effects could not save her from the damage and the toll that long nights of filming had taken on her skin. She decided to visit a beauty salon after some consideration. She opted for a facial beauty session. The therapist applied some whitening essence on Fang En¡¯s face that would repair skin damage while thetter was swiping through webpages on her mobile phone. Chapter 949 - Perplexed and Smitten (9)

Chapter 949: Perplexed and Smitten (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At this very moment, a pair of friends also entered the salon for a facial session. They seemed to have a strong camaraderie and were in the midst of an enthusiastic conversation. The topic of their conversation went from their respective boyfriends to each of their favorite male celebrities. Woman A said, ¡°My boyfriend feels like an eyesore to me now. He¡¯s worlds apart from my favorite Jing Yang.¡± Fang En said in her head, ¡°That¡¯s because you haven¡¯t seen his true colors yet.¡± Woman B then said, ¡°I prefer mature men like Yan Ge. He¡¯s so dashing and masculine.¡± Woman A then criticized, ¡°I read on the news that Jing Yang was rumored to be in a rtionship with Fang En. That Fang En was such a hypocrite, she even rified on her Weibo page that she has nothing to do with Jing Yang at all. She made it seem as if Jing Yang was desperate to be affiliated with her. She¡¯s just a newbie who popped up out of nowhere, yet she still has the cheek to use my Jing Yang for a publicity stunt. She even got to star alongside Yan Ge. Could it be that she has a wealthy person to back her up and pull connections?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t she the artiste whom An Xiaoning had pushed to fame? Well, I¡¯ve been following all the updates about their television series because I¡¯ve been paying attention to Yan Ge. An Xiaoning invested in that television series. It¡¯s not surprising that she would make Fang En the female lead, is it?¡± ¡°Are An Xiaoning¡¯s brains fried? There are so many famous actresses who possess great acting skills, why must she insist on supporting a newbie instead?¡± ¡°Who knows?¡± Woman B sighed and continued, ¡°It must be hard on my Yan Ge to have to film some kissing scenes with her. That woman really got lucky. Their filming location happens to be nearby, right? Shall we go observe the filming together?¡± ¡°I want to go shopping instead. I don¡¯t want to watch them film. Jing Yang is not there anyway...¡± ¡°...¡± Fang En pursed her lips in disgruntlement. I was the one who had to make a sacrifice, alright? When the serum mask on her face dried up, she sat up straight and removed the dried pieces from her face. She then looked at the two women beside her and sneered while smiling, ¡°Gorgeousdies, enjoy your facial session.¡± The two women, who were initially in a great mood, immediately looked at each other in shock and dismay as their eyes widened in astonishment. They were at aplete loss for words. Was there anything more awkward than being caught red-handed while badmouthing someone? ¡ª He Yi arrived at Wei Ni Estate as agreed upon earlier. It was ten o¡¯clock in the morning. Jin Qingyan had already left for the office. Thus, An Xiaoning was the one who weed him into the house. Recalling the events at the gathering the night before, she smiled and asked, ¡°Did Ms. Wen give you a call after you leftst night?¡± He Yi smiled and said, ¡°I understand her very well. She won¡¯t call me. It doesn¡¯t matter anyway. I¡¯ve never bothered wasting time on people I¡¯m not interested in. Ms. An, when did you go to V Nation?¡± ¡°A while back. I even saw humans who were starkly different from us,¡± said An Xiaoning, crossing one leg over the other and cing both hands on her knee. ¡°You mean the blood-sucking tribes, right?¡± ¡°Correct.¡± ¡°Pardon me for my bluntness, but those people do not seem any different from us on the surface, and I wouldn¡¯t have been able to tell the difference if I hadn¡¯t seen them feeding on blood with my very own eyes. It was a tough feat for you to have made it back alive despite having witnessed them in the grotesque act. I almost died in their hands, and I¡¯ve had several close shaves with death. It still terrifies me whenever I think about it now.¡± ¡°Could you tell me how you managed to escape? I did find out more in detail from an insider after having an encounter with them,¡± she asked with a grin. ¡°The first time I visited V Nation was several years ago. I decided to go there, simply because I felt like I was brave and well equipped enough, especially since I am trained inbat defense. I thought that nothing too dangerous would happen if I travel there alone since I¡¯m a man. That was the first time I had an encounter with them too. As soon as I realized how different they were, I decided to abort my n to go against them and fled instead. Thankfully, my car was parked at a short distance away and I managed to escape sessfully. Later on, I found out by ident that they fed on blood. Hence, I investigated that in secret for a long time. Even until today, I still find them to be intimidating and relentless beings. It would also take a great ton of effort to kill them.¡± ¡°Well... do you know who their chieftain is?¡± An Xiaoning asked. Shaking his head, He Yi answered, ¡°I don¡¯t. He seems to be a very mysterious person. This has be a burning question in my mind, though I have no ns to resolve it. Think about it, those people are already formidable. Just how menacing and brilliant would their chieftain have to be in order to lead them? I still have that bit of self-awareness that I would follow, unless I¡¯m tired of living.¡± ¡°Will you still continue investigating this?¡± ¡°That depends on the situation. I only understood a cold, hard truth after roaming around the world,¡± he exined truthfully. ¡°What?¡± ¡°The citizens in our nation aren¡¯t happy enough, and this happiness shouldn¡¯t be derived from external factors. In fact, it¡¯s just the way they truly feel.¡± ¡°Why do you say so?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°When the citizens and public follow the lead of a single political leader, a conflict is only going to arise within society when they¡¯re upset about a civil servant, a teacher, or a doctor. Who stands to gain when the citizens lose faith in those three professions that I¡¯ve mentioned? It¡¯ll be those who are looking to wreak havoc in our nation and jeopardize our peace. Some citizens see the good in other nations because they haven¡¯t lived there for a long time before. They haven¡¯t seen or experienced the twisted sides of other nations. In this era where war no longer exists, we get to eat and live well with a roof over our heads. We are granted peace and security, devoid of the fear of war ruining everything that we have. Women no longer face such a strong gender discrimination and prejudice, such that they are denied basic human rights. Aren¡¯t those facts worth rejoicing and feeling contented about?¡± An Xiaoning agreed, ¡°Life has be much better for everyone, but at the same time, humans also began yearning for more and raising their expectations gradually. But what keeps you going despite having witnessed and experienced the dark side of what every nation has to offer?¡± His eyes lit up and he answered, ¡°It¡¯s purely because of my passion for discovery and my adventurous nature. I have a penchant for taking risks. I can only continue being motivated and enthusiastic about globetrotting because that¡¯s where my passion lies.¡± ¡°You probably start traveling after resting at home for a short while, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Where are you headed to next?¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t thought about it yet.¡± After chatting with him for a while, An Xiaoning realized that she did not manage to fish out any useful information from him. She was not sure if he really did not know much or if he was simply unwilling to divulge. She gravitated toward thetter, however. After all, it was only their second time meeting each other and it was natural for him not to trust her just yet. She invited him to stay for lunch, but he politely declined, iming that he had agreed to go home for lunch with his parents. Hence, she decided not to force him against his wishes. When Jin Qingyan returned home in the afternoon, he asked her about the details of the conversation she had with He Yi. Maintaining her yoga pose, she kept her eyes fixed upward and answered, ¡°We just had a casual chat and I didn¡¯t manage to find out anything from him. Perhaps he¡¯s just hiding something from me. Who knows?¡± ¡°Seems like you¡¯ve really observed him thoroughly.¡± Jin Qingyan handed her a stack of paper and said, ¡°Here are some details about him that I had gotten from investigating on him.¡± Chapter 950 - Perplexed and Smitten (10)

Chapter 950: Perplexed and Smitten (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning put an end to her yoga session and sat cross-legged on the yoga mat. She took the stack of papers from him and asked, ¡°What are these?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know after you read them.¡± After carefully perusing the information on the papers, An Xiaoning said in astonishment, ¡°He¡¯s a professional tomb raider who mainly raids tombs in other nations? I really couldn¡¯t tell.¡± ¡°I sent people to do a check on him ever since I found out that he had investigated blood-feeding humans before. There are lots of information about him that are kept hidden. It took me quite a huge sum of money to find out more about him. He would regrly sell the items he collects from his raid to a particr antique shop. I¡¯m guessing that he was interested in investigating the blood-feeding tribes because he knows about the existence of a treasure map.¡± ¡°ording to what you said, this ssmate of yours is not a simple man. No wonder he says that he keeps a low profile and is a jobless nomad. Turns out he just couldn¡¯t reveal what he really deals with. Qingyan, I¡¯m not interested in that treasure map at all. I feel like we should try our best not to provoke that mystery man.¡± ¡°I¡¯m no longer interested in it either. However, it¡¯s always better to know more in-depth information. You never know when it mighte in handy.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± An Xiaoning stood up to hold his hand and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go downstairs for lunch. I have to head back to B Cityter in the afternoon.¡± ¡°You just came back yesterday. Why do you have to go again?¡± ¡°Mother called me to say that that old fogy Shi is asking to see her. Seems like Feng Qiubai was right. He¡¯s thinking of using my mother. My mother is not obliged to see him at all, but I think it would be better to do so. After all, that would allow us to get a hold on him.¡± ¡°When would you be returning again?¡± ¡°Hmm... the day after tomorrow.¡± ¡°No, you muste home immediately after meeting that old fogy. It¡¯s not that far from here anyway.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± she agreed. He held her hand and said in a mellow voiced, ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting for you at home tonight.¡± Lunch consisted of a sumptuous spread of six different dishes, all of which were An Xiaoning¡¯s favorites. ¡°Young Madam, would you like to have some rice?¡± ¡°Nah, the dishes are enough to fill me up. I¡¯ll have less of the staple food. Auntie Chen, is there coconut juice in the kitchen? Please bring me a ss of it.¡± ¡°There is. I¡¯ll go get it now.¡± Staring at the delicious-looking dishes, An Xiaoning began digging in without hesitation. When Auntie Chen served the coconut juice, An Xiaoning took it from her and began drinking it with a straw. ¡°I want some too,¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°Shall I get Auntie Chen to make you another ss?¡± ¡°No, I want some of yours.¡± ¡°Fine, there you go. I¡¯ll get Auntie Chen to make me another ss.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s share one,¡± Jin Qingyan said while sucking on the straw. ¡°Jin Qingyan... can you be more hygienic?¡± ¡°We get intimate every day and you¡¯ve neverined about hygiene. Why are you acting all prim and proper now?¡± he answered nonchntly. ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning blushed red with embarrassment, at a sudden loss for words. .... After lunch, she headed to the airport and boarded a ne to B City. As expected, old Mr. Shi asked Shi Qingzhou to meet him at his ce. He¡¯s probably the only person in this world who would have the cheek to put on airs while requesting to meet someone, isn¡¯t he? An Xiaoning would have definitely turned him down if it weren¡¯t because Shi Qingzhou had wanted to see what kind of tricks he had up his sleeve. Old Mr. Shi did not expect that An Xiaoning woulde along as well. Once they took their seats, he instructed his servants to serve some tea. Needless to say, An Xiaoning and Shi Qingzhou definitely wouldn¡¯t touch it at all. ¡°You¡¯re the one who wanted to see me and yet you still made mee all the way here personally. Just what do you want?¡± Being old in his years, he definitely had the ability to suppress his emotions. Maintaining hisposure, he said, ¡°Qingzhou, no matter what, I¡¯m still your biological father. You may choose not to acknowledge me, but you can¡¯t deny that fact. Xiaoyu is still your sister at the end of the day. That¡¯s a matter of fact too. On ount that you¡¯re rted by blood, just spare her this time.¡± Shi Qingzhou scoffed and sneered, ¡°On ount that we¡¯re rted? Get off your high horse. You¡¯re indeed my biological father, but so what? Is that very important? I¡¯ve lived for so many years but I still don¡¯t know the difference between having a father and not having one. If you wanted to talk to me about this, we may terminate this discussion right now.¡± An Xiaoning took out a small device from her mobile phone and switched it on stealthily, after which the needle on it began spinning rapidly. Secondster, a string of numbers appeared on the disy. She walked toward the couch and urately reached for a recording device beneath it. She grasped it and removed it. ring at old Mr. Shi, she questioned, ¡°You called my mother here just so you could record the things she said, didn¡¯t you?¡± Completely caught off guard, old Mr. Shi was at a momentary loss for words upon the shocking sight of her holding the device in her hand. Before he could even speak, An Xiaoning added, ¡°We came despite knowing that you¡¯veid a trap for us. Do you know why we did that?¡± Are they going to try doing something to me? he wondered. That can¡¯t be. Were they just making a wild guess? ¡°What trap could I possiblyy for you two? Is there anything wrong with you visiting me, your elder?¡± he vehemently denied. ¡°You? Our elder? Are you fit to be one?¡± An Xiaoning sneered. ¡°You ignorant girl. I¡¯m your grandfather no matter what. How could you talk to me in such a disrespectful manner?¡± ¡°Stop throwing your weight around just because you¡¯re an elderly person. My mother doesn¡¯t have a father like you, and neither do I have a grandfather like you. I¡¯m warning you, my mother and I know clearly all the horrendous acts you and your mother had done to her. Even though your mother has already been dead for several years, that doesn¡¯t mean that her sins can be erased,¡± An Xiaoning said coldly. ¡°You... you unfilial girl. You seriously...¡± old Mr. Shi clutched his chest in agitation, clearly too exasperated for words. ¡°Mother, seems like he called you here just for this trivial matter. Let¡¯s go home.¡± An Xiaoning turned around to leave,pletely disregarding old Mr. Shi. ¡°Alright,¡± said Shi Qingzhou, who stood up. Just as they were about to leave, old Mr. Shi hollered, ¡°Hold it right there!¡± An Xiaoning turned her head around and asked, ¡°What else do you want?¡± ¡°Neither of you are to leave this ce today.¡± He blew his whistle with all his might, after which a massive number of bodyguards swarmed them from all directions. Remaining unfazed, An Xiaoning scanned her surroundings to see that there were at least a few hundred of them who were all blocking the exits. They all had guns in their hands, which were pointed at An Xiaoning and Shi Qingzhou. Old Mr. Shi dropped his pretense and red at them menacingly. ¡°I shall see how you can leave. Shi Qingzhou, you¡¯d better free Xiaoyu!¡± ¡°You¡¯re terrible at controlling your temper. You¡¯ve really forced yourself onto the path toward death. Like I said just now, we knew beforehand that you¡¯veid a trap. Hence, we definitely came prepared. There¡¯s no way we would fall for your tricks. You already have one foot in your grave and yet you¡¯re still so dull and dim-witted. You¡¯ve lived your life in vain. Well, after all, not everyone has brains,¡± said An Xiaoning, remainingposed and collected. Chapter 951 - Perplexed and Smitten (11)

Chapter 951: Perplexed and Smitten (11)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Her eyes sank as she continued, ¡°I hate it when people point a gun at me. I¡¯ll give all of you a chance. If you¡¯re willing to work for me, I¡¯m willing to take you in. If you want to continue working for this powerless old fellow, you should think it over. Today, will you all really be able to kill me? Also, can you guarantee that your family will not be taken revenge on? I¡¯ll give all of you a minute to think through it. If you¡¯re willing to work for me, put your gun down.¡± The group of people seemed to have been convinced by her words. One by one, they slowly put their guns down. Seeing how his men had obediently done so, old Mr. Shi flew into a rage. ¡°Have all of you gone mad? You¡¯re my men! Aren¡¯t you scared that she¡¯ll turn around and have all of you killed?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t. I¡¯m someone who stands by my word.¡± An Xiaoning curled her lips. ¡°Detain this old fellow and put him in the car. Then, follow me back to the Autumn Pce.¡± In just a while, those men who had changed their allegiance immediately did as they were told. Theypleted the task in an efficient manner. They were not blind and were clearly aware of who was the one in power. Realistically, they would naturally work for that person. Old Mr. Shi was captured and, together with Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s biological mother, was brought to the secret chamber to be with Shi Xiaoyu. An Xiaoning had told them that since they missed their daughter so dearly, they should spend every day with her. Toward her method, Shi Qingzhou did not have any objection. She had long ago thought through it. People from the Shi family were no longer rted to her. They no longer mattered to her! Toward this biological father of hers, she had long been disappointed to the core. As An Xiaoning¡¯s mother, she did not have any objections. Meanwhile, An Xiaoning¡¯s biological father Tuoba Rui had also agreed tacitly to it. While they were still in the middle of the elections, Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s maternal side had been hauled down and had generally lost power. Tuoba Hancheng and his wife hade out to express their goodwill, but Tuoba Danxue did not even dare to show her face for fear that she would be implicated. When it was time to return home from B City, the family of three left together. By the time they reached A City, it was five in the evening already. At the thought that Jin Qingyan must still be at the office, An Xiaoning simply took a taxi from the airport to Jin Corporation. Just as she entered, she was spotted by the sharp eyes of the manager at the lobby, who broke out in a wide grin. ¡°Ms. An, you¡¯re here to find CEO Jin?¡± ¡°Of course. Is he here?¡± ¡°Yes, yes. CEO Jin seems to be in a meeting. You can go directly up.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The lobby manager helped her to press the button of the VIP lift, which was used only by Jin Qingyan and other directors of thepany. She stepped into the lift and watched as the lift doors closed slowly. During the period of the tsunami, she had stepped in to run thepany, so An Xiaoning was very familiar with the floorn in the Jin Corporation and knew where the meeting room was. To prevent him from leaving directly after his meeting without returning to his office, she went to the entrance of the meeting room and discreetly raised her head parallel to the small window at the door to look in. She could see Jin Qingyan¡¯s figure just fine, but because the sound-proofing of the room was superior, she could not hear what was being said inside at all. His serious manner while in the middle of a meeting looked especially charming. He looked solemn and meticulous. She had originally thought that by revealing just her eyes to look at him, she would never be discovered. But the reality proved different. The man who was originally talking turned his eyes like a radar detector to the door. And so, those who were in the meeting witnessed the scene of this cold-looking man suddenly smiling. Everyone¡¯s eyes followed his gaze to the door and saw a pair of beautiful eyes. Realizing that she had been discovered, An Xiaoning automatically moved aside. The door was opened a few secondster, and An Xiaoning looked at the man before her. She told him in a soft voice, ¡°I¡¯ll wait for you in your office. We can go back together after you¡¯re done with your meeting.¡± ¡°I¡¯m almost done anyway. I¡¯ll just tell them.¡± After his wordsnded, he returned inside the room and said two words in a in tone, ¡°Meeting dismissed.¡± .... On the way back, Jin Qingyan stopped his car outside a tattoo shop. Seeing the situation, she asked naturally, ¡°You¡¯re getting a tattoo?¡± ¡°I want to get one done with you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± She knew what wasing, and An Xiaoning did not want to suffer such physical torment. ¡°It¡¯s not very painful.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± Jin Qingyan had thought that she would be very willing to get a tattoo done with him. Unexpectedly, she actually rejected him. This did not make him drop the idea but strengthened his urge to do so instead. He insisted in a strong tone, ¡°You can¡¯t disagree to it.¡± Seeing that he seemed very keen to get a tattoo, An Xiaoning somewhat softened but still said on the surface, ¡°If I go in with you, will... I get any reward?¡± He answered in a resolute tone, ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°What reward?¡± ¡°Are a hundred kisses enough?¡± ¡°Clich¨¦.¡± ¡°Then, what reward do you want?¡± An evil thought suddenly popped up in her head. ¡°I want to dress you up as a woman once.¡± ¡°...!!!¡± Jin Qingyan was first startled, then he asked, ¡°Just for you to see, right?¡± ¡°That goes without saying.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± he agreed readily. What was so difficult about this? In front of her, even if he had to dress up as a demon or a ghost, it didn¡¯t matter. Other people would not see it anyway. Just the thought of it made her delighted, and she got down from the car with him. The boss of the shop was a mature man. Upon seeing them enter his shop, he recognized them instantly and asked them what tattoo they wanted in an especially friendly manner. Jin Qingyan seemed to have already decided on the tattoo pattern. When the boss inquired on this, he immediately answered, ¡°I want a dragon tattoo on my ankle and a phoenix one on hers.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Two tattoo masters came forward and helped them both at the same time. As the tattoo master was disinfecting her skin, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Will it hurt?¡± The tattoo master answered with a grin, ¡°I¡¯ll be lying if I said it won¡¯t, but it¡¯s within the tolerance level of most people. The level of pain varies depending on the spot too, but it¡¯ll pass very quickly. Don¡¯t worry, Ms. An, and don¡¯t move around freely. It¡¯ll influence the effect.¡± An Xiaoning felt her heart tightening. She thought to herself, what kind of obstacles had she not experienced before? What kind of pain had she not gone through? It was just a tattoo, it was not a big deal at all. After all, she was not getting it done alone. There was someone seated next to her, apanying her. Having thought it over like this, her anxiety no longer seemed to get to her that badly. There were some things that do not pose a heavy mental load while they¡¯re happening. However, to expect pain from something even before it was to happen, this was a different matter. After the tattoo master disinfected her skin, he used the machine that poked small holes on her skin while at the same time spurting out drops of ink. This level of pain was still fine for her and did not pose as much of a problem. However, when the machine started to trace over the pattern, An Xiaoning first took in a breath of cool air. Then, when the stinging pain came from her ankle, her muscles tensed tightly and she clenched her teeth as she side-eyed the man beside her, who kept a straight face. Suppressing the urge tounch a kick at the tattoo master, An Xiaoning sat through the torturous process and managed to have a phoenix tattoopleted on her ankle. When it ended, her whole face had turned pale. How was this not painful? It was simply a living hell! Chapter 952 - Perplexed and Smitten (12)

Chapter 952: Perplexed and Smitten (12)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After the tattoo master had instructed them on the restrictions they had to abide by andmended them for having gone through it without making a sound, she shed a forced smile and left the shop with the man beside her, who still maintained aposed look. When they reached their car, she rolled her eyes at him harshly and reached out to grab his hair. ¡°You liar.¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s face was now frowning in bitterness, a far cry to hisposed look earlier. He replied in a rather miserable tone, ¡°Who knew it would be this painful? I really thought it wouldn¡¯t hurt much. Be good, take your hands off. My scalp will be ripped off by you if this goes on.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just rip all your hair off and make you bald,¡± she replied sharply. But she still released him andined, ¡°We really paid to suffer and inflict all this pain on ourselves.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think it looks good?¡± He smirked. ¡°It¡¯s a couple tattoo.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Why won¡¯t you answer me?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk to you. I¡¯ll throw an egg at you.¡± ¡°Where would you get an egg from?¡± ¡°...¡± She was at a loss for words. ¡°I¡¯ll steal it.¡± ¡°From whom?¡± ¡°You.¡± ¡°...¡± Noticing how he looked as if he wanted to die, An Xiaoning was delighted. ¡°Quick, get in the car. I want to get home quickly.¡± ¡°Are you hungry?¡± ¡°No, I just can¡¯t wait to see how you¡¯ll look all dressed up as a woman.¡± ¡°...¡± After they arrived home through the smooth traffic, An Xiaoning agreed to eat first under Jin Qingyan¡¯s desperate pleas. During the meal, Jin Qingyan ate at a terribly slow pace. While he usually ate in a refined manner and was particr about biting and chewing slowly, the pace he was eating at now was even more slower. It was taking refinement to a whole new extreme level. ¡°When you agreed to my condition, you seemedpletely unbothered. Now, why do you seem rather unwilling?¡± ¡°No.¡± He shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not unwilling at all.¡± ¡°Then, can you eat faster?¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to already. But when the food is in my mouth and I¡¯m about to swallow it, a voice in my brain keeps reminding me to slow down further to aid in digestion. It¡¯ll be better for the stomach, and it prevents me from getting fat.¡± ¡°Alright, then you can take your time. I¡¯ll go upstairs and prepare the props for you first.¡± She merrily got up and skipped up the stairs. Jin Qingyan calmed his heart down. At this point, the thought of the state he would be inter because of her made his heart tighten. He had originally thought that since it was only in front of her, there was no harm in it. After careful thought, however, he realized that after tonight, the image of him dressed as a woman would probably be deeply etched in her heart forever. But since the words had alreadye out of his mouth, it was hard to take them back. He tried to brainwash himself by thinking, what would a little sacrifice for his beloved woman matter? It was not like he had to climb a fiery mountain or plunge into a sea of mes anyway. As a man, how could he go back on his own words? By thinking this way, he felt much better. He ced his chopsticks down and wiped his mouth before heading upstairs. He first brushed his teeth before sitting before the dressing table and allowing her to put on makeup for him. An Xiaoning put on makeup and a wig for him, then took out her own long dress for him to wear. After he was done getting dressed up, she burst into loud, hystericalughter. ¡°You¡¯re a handsome man, and you make a pretty woman as well. If you go out like that, no one will be able to recognize you for sure. It¡¯s only this height of yours that might be a bit too much.¡± He nced at himself in the mirror and felt that he could not even recognize himself anymore. ¡°Honey, are you happy now? Can I remove the makeup already?¡± ¡°No, no, no. We need to take a picture to remember this.¡± She took out her phone and started taking selfies with him. Seeing how delighted she was, Jin Qingyan simply let her do as she pleased. After taking selfies with him, she even started roleying with him as sisters. He could be brave enough to say that it was the first time in his life that he was dressing up as a woman, and such a realistic one too. It was so realistic he almost firmly believed that he had been possessed by a woman. After removing the makeup on his face, the two yed around for a while before stopping. The tattoo on their ankles did not seem that painful anymore. There was just a faint stinging pain. ¡°Suppose I have something I¡¯m hiding from you, will you be angry if you were to find out?¡± Hearing him say this, An Xiaoning raised her head and asked, ¡°That¡¯ll depend on what the matter is. You¡¯ve been keeping a student behind my back?¡± He scowled. ¡°Am I someone like that?¡± ¡°Since it¡¯s not that, then what is it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just using an imaginary situation as an example.¡± An Xiaoning was pleased at his answer and replied in a sweet voice, ¡°Since it¡¯s imaginary, then it¡¯ll depend on what the matter is. I won¡¯t get angry at some matters, but I can¡¯t say the same for others.¡± ¡°Then...¡± He thought about it and still could not help but ask, ¡°If you see someone who looks exactly like me on the streets but treats you coldly, will you get angry?¡± ¡°Someone who looks exactly like you?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then, wouldn¡¯t it still be you? No matter how much someone looks likes you after stic surgery, he can¡¯t possibly look exactly the same as you. If you¡¯re cold to me, it might be because you can¡¯t recognize me. I won¡¯t get angry. Remember that time when you had amnesia after the tsunami? Did you see me get angry? This is something that you can¡¯t control, why would I be so unreasonable as to get angry about it?¡± A ripple surfaced on Jin Qingyan¡¯s eyes, and he responded in a pleased tone, ¡°You deserve to be the woman I truly like.¡± An Xiaoning felt his tensed nerves rxing after hearing her answer, and her lips curled slightly. ¡°To be able to be treated genuinely by you today, I¡¯ve put in so much effort back then. You should know, it¡¯s not difficult for a woman to be loved by a man. But for a woman to be able to receive a love as deep as yours, it¡¯s not as easy as it sounds. There¡¯s no sight in this world you haven¡¯t seen, and you can even run Jin Corporation by yourself. You even have a superior level of self-control. Do you regret your hasty decision back then?¡± ¡°The decision to get married to you in a sh?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°I can pat your chest and tell you, not only do I not regret it, I¡¯m also actually fortunate that I got to have you first. Otherwise, Gu Beicheng would have gotten it easy.¡± An Xiaoning bashfully darted a nce at him. ¡°Shameless. Whose chest will you pat?¡± ¡°Yours.¡± ¡°You¡¯re asking for a beating.¡± Her fistnded lightly on him. Jin Qingyan went on, ¡°I know Gu Beicheng would have treated you extremely well too. Moreover, I have no confidence that if you had met him first back then, you would still have devoted your feelings to me. Rather than saying my decision to get married to you in a sh back then was rash, I¡¯ll say that you are the woman who triggered an urge in me to get married. If it were some other woman at that time, I might not have gotten married to her.¡± ¡°Some other woman?¡± Her eyes darted around. ¡°If it were Chi Rui¡¯er, you¡¯d have probably wished you had gotten married to her sooner.¡± He gave a nonmittal answer. ¡°But, back then, she wouldn¡¯t have married me because she¡¯d chosen Gu Beicheng. Heaven is really fair. Gu Beicheng fought with me to get Chi Rui¡¯er back then, and he got her as her girlfriend. But now, he can¡¯t get you.¡± ¡°Do you feel like your anger had been vented out?¡± He chimed in smoothly, ¡°Of course.¡± Knock, knock, knock! A few knocks suddenly sounded at the door at this inappropriate timing. Thereafter, Fan Shixin¡¯s voice came from the door, ¡°Young Madam, there¡¯s an express package for you here.¡± Chapter 953 - Perplexed and Smitten (13)

Chapter 953: Perplexed and Smitten (13)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Did you buy something online again?¡± An Xiaoning was astounded too. ¡°I swear to Heaven, I really didn¡¯t buy anything.¡± She swiftly got out of the bed and opened the door to receive the express package from Fan Shixin. ¡°Where is it from?¡± ¡°It only says that it¡¯s from overseas. The sender is a Mr. Xiao.¡± ¡°Mr. Xiao?¡± She went through her memory as she closed the door and said to Jin Qingyan, who was on the bed, ¡°But I don¡¯t know anyone with that surname.¡± ¡°Open the package to see what¡¯s inside.¡± An Xiaoning tore the express package open and took out a piece of drawing from inside. Looking at the piece of drawing, her face changed instantly and she quickly showed it to him. ¡°Quick, look.¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s eyes swept through the piece of drawing. It was a piece of handmade drawing, but what was drawn was actually An Xiaoning in an ancient costume along with the back view of a man. The artist was definitely talented as the drawing looked so vivid that it was extremely lifelike. An Xiaoning immediately recognized the man. ¡°This back view was the one I sawte at night in my room at Sanqiao Estate. He had his back facing me that time too, and it looked exactly like this. His hair was very long. If not for his voice, I would have thought that he was a woman.¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s gaze grew deeper. ¡°What is the meaning of him sending this drawing?¡± An Xiaoning carefully surveyed the drawing again. ¡°There are only two people in this drawing, and there¡¯s not a single additional element. I can¡¯t guess what his intentions are, but I¡¯m more certain about something now.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Previously, I guessed that he¡¯s either a soul that has lived a thousand years who possessed someone else¡¯s body or someone who¡¯s lived for that long a time himself. Now, I¡¯m sure that thetter¡¯s not quite possible. If thetter is the case, why would he have long hair and be dressed in ancient costume? So, I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s the case of the former. His soul is dressed in ancient costume because that was the original form he died as. Now, he must be possessing someone else¡¯s body.¡± ¡°But if it¡¯s the case of the former, why didn¡¯t he allow you to see his true looks?¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s eyes darted to the piece of drawing. ¡°That doesn¡¯t quite make sense. Don¡¯t be so quick to draw a conclusion. You¡¯ll have a better understanding of what he is exactly in the future. You don¡¯t have to bother about what intentions he has either. We should turn a blind eye toward such things he sends us.¡± With that, he simply tore the drawing and threw it into the bin. ¡°Why did you tear it?¡± ¡°He has the right to send it to us, but we definitely have the right to deal with it as we want too.¡± An Xiaoning bit her lip. ¡°This drawing was handmade by him. If he finds out what you did to it, he¡¯d be so mad his nose would go out of joint.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. From now on, he wouldn¡¯t be Mr. Xiao but Mr. Crooked. Wouldn¡¯t that be great?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª Fang En would be celebrating her 24th birthday soon. However, throughout the past years of her life, the number of strange people she had met could be counted with her fingers. Jing Yang was one of them. This person simply made Fang En irritated to the core. The extent that she¡¯d idolized him in the past was the exact extent that she abhorred him now. She originally thought that after he had finished filming his scenes as a cameo, she would have no chance of meeting him anymore. Who would have thought that she was to be fooled by him again? When filming ended that day, it was already past eight at night. With her stomach rumbling with hunger, she went with Xiao Yue and her bodyguards to have dinner. The four arrived at a rather clean cafeteria and sat down inside. Not long after they had sat down, they saw Jing Yang entering along with his assistant and six bodyguards. Despite knowing that his fans had followed him into the cafeteria, he actually still headed toward Fang En. Fang En instantly did not want to eat anymore and got up, wanting to leave. Unfortunately for her, he greeted her first in a joyful manner and with a rather loud voice. ¡°En.¡± Look at that, he¡¯s actually calling me differently? Watching the ten or so female fans gathered not far away behind him, she remarked coldly, ¡°Don¡¯t call me like that, I¡¯m not close to you.¡± With that, she tried to walk away from him but he actually blocked her way. Fang En¡¯s bodyguard immediately went forward to stop him. ¡°Mr. Jing, please show yourself some respect.¡± Jing Yang had yet to speak a word when his obsessed fangirl got disgruntled and simply screeched at the top of her lungs, ¡°Fang En, you bitch! If not for our Jing Yang, would anyone know who you are?! You shameless thing!¡± Fang En rebuked furiously, ¡°It¡¯s true that the master breeds the dog in his image! What are you barking here aimlessly for?¡± ¡°Oh wow, this little actress actually dares to scold me. Quick, spread this on Weibo and let everyone know how she behaves.¡± Fang En felt agonized by the situation she was in. She red fiercely at the one who started all of this before turning to leave. She was yet to eat, but she had too much anger rising in her. Fang En returned to the hotel directly while Xiao Yue and the two bodyguards went to eat; they wouldter return with food for her. She sat on the bed by herself and continued to swipe at her phone screen. After realizing there was no news about her, she heaved a sigh of relief. Her head hurt slightly as the weather had been zing hot. After a day of filming, she was also rather exhausted. After dragging her fatigued body to take a cooling shower, she put on a sleeveless nightgown and waited for Xiao Yue and the bodyguards to return. Her phone vibrated suddenly. Seeing that it was a call from Jing Shui, Fang En answered it. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Are you asleep yet?¡± ¡°How could I be? I haven¡¯t even eaten. Xiao Yue went to buy food, I¡¯ll sleep after I¡¯m done eating. Is anything the matter?¡± ¡°I wanted to shop around with you. Ever since you came here to film, you¡¯ve been busy every day and haven¡¯t actually shopped around.¡± Fang En thought it was a pretty good idea. ¡°I¡¯m kind of tired. How about after I eat? It¡¯s a good idea to walk around after I eat anyway, it¡¯ll help me digest.¡± ¡°Alright. Then, call me after you¡¯re done eating.¡± ¡°Umm.¡± Just as she hung up the phone, Mei Yangyang¡¯s call came in. ¡°What happened just now that you actually got on the news?¡± ¡°The news?¡± Fang En hurriedly took out her tablet. While using her neck to support her phone between her ear and shoulder, she started searching the news. Before she¡¯d gone to take a bath, there was no news about her. But now, the news about her had emerged. Without catching her breath, she immediately exined the whole incident to Mei Yangyang. After hearing her speak, Mei Yangyang instructed her, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have responded in front of those obsessed fans. Regardless of whether you were reasonable or not, you became the loser of this incident. The reason those obsessive fans are like that is because they have no brains. There¡¯s no point inmunicating with such people. They won¡¯t see any fault in themselves but will not hesitate to point out your faults. We live to enrich ourselves, not to change those idiots. If you are to be more famous, there will be more people criticizing you as well. There will be all kinds of haters and fans of other celebrities. In this industry, you have to be tough enough to take in such stress.¡± Fang En was instantly enlightened by her long piece of advice. ¡°Sorry, Sis Yangyang. I was too impulsive.¡± ¡°Jing Yang obviously wants to use you to pull a publicity stunt. Previously, he already used you to create a dating scandal. Just now, he even posted on Weibo to speak up for you. In reality, what he did doesn¡¯t help you at all. On the surface, it may seem as if he¡¯s trying to help you, but he just wants to stand out as the good guy. What a load of rubbish.¡± Chapter 954 - Perplexed and Smitten (14)

Chapter 954: Perplexed and Smitten (14)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°But Sis, what now? Should I make a response to exin the whole incident?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to, it¡¯ll only make matters worse. No matter how you exin it, those haters will turn a blind eye to it. It seems like we really have to show this Jing Yang who¡¯s boss. Otherwise, he¡¯ll think he¡¯s some big shot. Just wait for my news.¡± After Mei Yangyang hung up the call, Fang En felt her heartpletely ease up. What could be more reassuring than having two behind-the-scenes bosses? Despite that, she did not know how Mei Yangyang was going to deal with Jing Yang. After eating her dinner, she brushed her teeth and touched up her makeup before going out with Jing Shui. She was not famous yet, so there weren¡¯t many people who knew her. Of course, that was excluding those obsessive fans of Jing Yang¡¯s, as such fans would always pay close attention to the female artistes their idol had had contact with. Jing Shui brought her to akeside. There were small boats on theke and bright lights surrounding them. The two sat in a small boat and enjoyed the pleasant view. All her feelings of gloominess suddenly dissipated. ¡°It¡¯s great here. The air is fresh and the view is beautiful. I¡¯ve never been here before.¡± ¡°Other than when you¡¯re filming, you¡¯re always in the hotel and rarelye out.¡± Jing Shui asked as he rowed the boat, ¡°Do you feel better now?¡± ¡°You saw the news too?¡± ¡°Umm.¡± Jing Shui continued, ¡°Don¡¯t bother reading those negative criticisms online. It¡¯ll only affect your mood. Those strangers don¡¯t even know you, they won¡¯t know what kind of person you truly are. But we¡¯re friends. After all this time that we¡¯ve been filming together, I¡¯ve learned what kind of person you are.¡± ¡°I actually was in a horrible mood, but after havinge here with you, I feelpletely fine now. Jing Shui, I haven¡¯t been overseas before. Tell me, are the women in foreign countries more liberal than those in our country?¡± ¡°That depends. But most women overseas are more liberal than those in our country. The women here are actually considered quite conservative.¡± ¡°Then, did you date someone overseas?¡± ¡°I did, once. But we broke up not long after.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Fang En turned to him and asked. ¡°After getting along for some time, we realized that we weren¡¯t suitable for each other, so we broke up amicably.¡± He went on, ¡°I¡¯ve had two past girlfriends in total. How about you?¡± ¡°I... If I said I haven¡¯t had a single one, would you believe me?¡± ¡°Your looks aren¡¯t that bad, wasn¡¯t there anyone who courted you back in school?¡± She crossed her legs on her knees and replied slowly, ¡°My family background isn¡¯t good, so back in school, all I did was study hard. I didn¡¯t dare to get into a rtionship. I only chased after idols.¡± ¡°I think there¡¯s no good or bad in this. The good thing is, you¡¯re pure. But the bad thing is also that, because you¡¯re pure, you have no rtionship experience. You¡¯ll get cheated easily.¡± ¡°I may have no experience in rtionships, but it¡¯s not like I have no brains.¡± She smiled faintly. ¡°Actually, it¡¯s still mainly because I haven¡¯t met someone I want to get into a rtionship with.¡± ¡°If someone courts you now, what are the chances of you epting him?¡± ¡°That¡¯ll depend on who the other party is.¡± ¡°If it were me?¡± His words suddenly made waves surge within her originally calm heart. bbergasted, Fang En stammered, ¡°What... what did you say?¡± ¡°If I said I wanted to court you now, what are the chances of you epting me?¡± The first question that came to Fang En was none other than ¡°why.¡± ¡°Why would you want to court me?¡± ¡°Because, after having met you again, I¡¯ve grown interested in you. During these days that I¡¯ve been getting along with you, I¡¯vee to feel that your temperament and character are very good. You¡¯re the kind of person I like.¡± ¡°Actually, you still don¡¯t know me very well. I actually like to throw a small temper tantrum sometimes, and I can be willful, talkative, noisy even, and I like eating. If I weren¡¯t an actress, I would probably be a fatso now.¡± Heughed. ¡°I don¡¯t think these are big issues.¡± Fang En felt helpless. ¡°I see you only as a friend...¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to be in a hurry to answer me. You can think it through properly. I have a stable job, a car, and a house. I don¡¯t smoke and only drink a little. My temper is quite good as well.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have to think anymore. Jing Shui, you¡¯re great, but I only treat you as a friend. I don¡¯t have any heart-fluttering feelings for you. I can¡¯t lie to you, and all the more, I can¡¯t lie to myself.¡± She was so decisive that Jing Shui simply did not see iting. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because we¡¯ve only spent a short time together. It¡¯s fine.¡± Fang En suddenly did not know how to continue talking to him anymore. She could only bber on about trivial things and simply changed the topic. After staying there for some time, they then went back to the hotel. Less than a minute after she entered her room, the doorbell sounded. She had thought that it was Jing Shui, but after opening the door, it was Yan Ge who stood before her. Looking at the man before her, she put on a cold expression. ¡°Is anything the matter?¡± ¡°Where did you go just now?¡± ¡°I went to that nearbyke to y.¡± ¡°You were with Co-director Jing?¡± She was obviously shocked. ¡°You saw us?¡± As soon as she finished speaking, he immediately entered her room. Fang En stopped him. ¡°I¡¯m going to sleep.¡± ¡°I have something to say.¡± Fang En then shut the door. ¡°What do you want to say?¡± ¡°You went out ale at night with a man, do you have any brains?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Why won¡¯t you answer me?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re interfering too much?¡± she rebutted. ¡°We¡¯re just friends, that¡¯s why we went out together. Is there a problem with that?¡± ¡°Idiot.¡± ¡°You...¡± ¡°What ¡®friends¡¯? He just wants to woo you.¡± ¡°...¡± Unable to retort, she remarked, ¡°So what? We¡¯re both unmarried. It¡¯ll still depend on my consent.¡± ¡°What would you have done if he took you there and raped you?¡± Fang En¡¯s face flushed absolutely red. ¡°He¡¯s not someone like that.¡± ¡°How would you know what kind of person he is? Don¡¯t you know that a human heart is difficult to fathom?!¡± ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else you have to say, you can return to your room to rest. I need to rest too, there¡¯s filming tomorrow morning.¡± He sat there not moving an inch, as if he didn¡¯t hear her words at all. ¡°Senior Yan Ge, did you hear me?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Then, what do you want?¡± She turned anxious as well. ¡°Don¡¯t you think that you¡¯re going out of line? What kind of rtionship do you have with me? Don¡¯t lecture me like you¡¯re my boyfriend who¡¯s checking on me.¡± His pupils constricted as he retorted, ¡°You¡¯ve forced a kiss on me, and I¡¯ve done the same to you as well. What rtionship do you think we have?¡± Fang En was astounded. ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± He slowly approached her and inched closer. Fang En took a quick breath and could not help but retreat. ¡°What are you up to? If you darey a finger on me, I¡¯ll tell my management agency tomorrow.¡± He actually sniggered and teased her, ¡°A woman like you with a small body and no curves, do you think it¡¯s possible I¡¯ll take a fancy to you?¡± Insult... he was outrightly insulting her! While men fear having their member being criticized as pencil-thin, women hate beingmented on about their looks. He insulted not only her looks but also her body. A schr would rather die than be humiliated like this! ¡°You piece of bullshit!¡± Agitated, those were the first words she spurted out in anger. ¡°Are you blind or blind? Do you think the 36C cup I own is for mere decoration?¡± Chapter 955 - Perplexed and Smitten (15)

Chapter 955: Perplexed and Smitten (15)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Yan Ge was rmed by her sudden outburst of foul words. When he could finally react, he frowned and asked, ¡°You say you¡¯re a 36C, but why does it look like a 32A to me?¡± Fang En was infuriated. She obviously was not so dumb as to let him feel it, so she just grunted, ¡°Yes, yes, yes. If I look like a 32A to you, so be it. I hope you get what you wish for and find a wife with a 40 cup in the future. I¡¯m going to sleep now!¡± In the past, if she said that, he would turn to leave. But now, he merely stood there, remaining as still as a statue. All of a sudden, Fang En¡¯s phone rang. It was a call from Mei Yangyang. ¡°Hello, Sis.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already sent my men to follow around Jing Yang twenty-four hours a day. When they manage to capture him and his cash cow together, we¡¯ll release photos of it. So, for these few days, don¡¯t look at those online criticisms lest they affect your mood for filming. Just wait for his scandal to be released.¡± Fang En responded, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do as you say.¡± Mei Yangyang gave her further instructions before ending the call. She walked over to the bed and sat down with her head kept low. Though she was acting like a grumpy kitten just earlier, she had quietened down significantly now. ¡°The snacks that my mother made previously, were they good?¡± Fang En looked up at him and nodded. ¡°They were good. Auntie has great culinary skills.¡± When his eyes lit up and he stared at her intensely, Fang En felt goosebumps all over. ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡± ¡°Nothing much.¡± He turned and headed toward the door. Fang En hurriedly went to check if the door was closed properly. After she was done checking, she theny on the bed. While Mei Yangyang had obviously told her not to check the onlinements, she still couldn¡¯t help but do so. After checking, she was inevitably filled with utter dejection. As expected, because she had yet to experience the hardships of the entertainment industry, she was not tough enough to cope with such stress. She couldn¡¯t help but feel aggrieved, and shey on the bed with her eyes kept wide open for a long time. ¡ª Ring!!!! With the shriek of the rm at five in the morning, the children in the dormitory hurriedly woke up. Even Long Xiaoxi, who usually moved at a slow pace, managed to scramble toward the track within ten minutes. Looking at the handful of children, Chen Xu instructed clearly, ¡°Today, all of you will run ten rounds around the track. Whoever can¡¯t finish will only get to eat bread for breakfast, no other food will be given. Start now.¡± Every single time, their coach would use this method on them. To Long Xiaoxi, eating was a big deal. That was why shepleted the running every morning. To her, every morning was like a nightmare. As she ran, Shi Bao¡¯er sneered, ¡°You haven¡¯t slimmed down a bit from running every day. I guess you¡¯re destined to be a fatso your whole life.¡± Long Xiaoxi retorted in her puerile voice, ¡°A fat person can diet and slim down. But if you have low intelligence, it can¡¯t be helped.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er put on an unbothered attitude. Having been in the exercise boot camp for so long, she reminisced on the past and yearned to go home. While everyone was gasping for breath after they had finished running ten rounds, she couldn¡¯t help but go find the coach. ¡°I want to go home once.¡± Chen Xu asked, ¡°Your parents didn¡¯te to fetch you, what do you want to return home for?¡± ¡°I miss my Daddy.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t your father juste by a while ago?¡± Shi Bao¡¯er stuttered, ¡°Coach, I want to go home for one day. Can you please agree to it? Just one day, I¡¯ll be back tomorrow.¡± Seeing how keen she was on going home, Chen Xu could only agree to it. ¡°Then, shall I call your father to ask him to pick you up?¡± After some thought, she replied, ¡°Call my Mommy instead.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± About half an hourter, Jin Qingyue came to fetch her. As she was still in the early stages of her pregnancy, her stomach wasn¡¯t very obvious yet. In addition, she paid extra attention to her diet as she did not want to gain as much weight as she did when she was pregnant with Bao¡¯er. As a result, her figure did not appear much different. ¡°Why did you ask me toe and fetch you? Don¡¯t you love your Daddy the most?¡± Shi Bao¡¯er bit her lip. ¡°But, you¡¯re my Mommy too.¡± Jin Qingyue started driving and asked, ¡°Where do you want to go to y?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to go anywhere, send me to Daddy¡¯s ce.¡± Jin Qingyue had originally wanted to bring her out to eat something good and have fun, but hearing her words, she did not say anything further. When they arrived at Shi Shaochuan¡¯s front gate, she remarked, ¡°I¡¯ll give your father a call.¡± ¡°No need, why call when we¡¯re already at the front gate? I¡¯m going in.¡± She got down from the car and ran toward the direction of the front door. After seeing her enter, Jin Qingyue then drove off in her car. It was half past seven in the morning, and Shi Bao¡¯er had yet to eat her breakfast. In addition, she had run ten rounds and was tired and hungry at the same time. All she wanted was to lean against her father¡¯s arms as she ate breakfast. The reason she got her mother to fetch her was so she could give her Daddy a surprise. Little did she expect that not only would she be unable to surprise her father, her father would give her aplete shock instead. When she pushed open his bedroom door, the joy that had been filling her heart instantly turned into feelings of rm and fury. Looking at the woman resting in her father¡¯s arms, Shi Bao¡¯er was beyond infuriated. As she had opened the door very softly when she entered, the two who were on the bed remained in a deep slumber and were unaware that she hade. Only when Shi Bao¡¯er sshed a pail of water on their faces did the two of them wake up in shock and sat bolt upright in bed. As he nced at the one who started it, Shi Shaochuan¡¯s tone turned cold. ¡°Bao¡¯er, what are you doing? Howe you¡¯re back?!¡± Facing her father¡¯s question, Shi Bao¡¯er¡¯s enthusiasm turned into dejection and she responded in a low voice, ¡°Mommy fetched me back.¡± Hearing this, the first thing that came to Shi Shaochuan¡¯s mind was that Jin Qingyue was trying to mess things up for him and intentionally sent her back here. ¡°Are you still going to attend the academy?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going tomorrow.¡± She turned to the woman on the bed. With tears welling up in her eyes, she eximed in a raised voice, ¡°Who is she?! Why does she look so much like Yiheng¡¯s mother?¡± ¡°She¡¯s my girlfriend. Call her Auntie.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er bit her lip tightly and refused adamantly, ¡°I won¡¯t!¡± Shi Shaochuan knew her daughter¡¯s temper well and did not force it either. ¡°Go out first. We¡¯re getting up now.¡± She turned and went out the door. Bu Xianxian muttered under her breath, ¡°You better console her properlyter. I¡¯m afraid she won¡¯t ept me so easily.¡± ¡°Her mother even got remarried, why wouldn¡¯t she ept this?¡± Shi Shaochuan hurriedly said. ¡°Let¡¯s get up.¡± After the two of them got up, Shi Shaochuan went out the door and saw her daughter standing by the doorway in tears. He took her hand and brought her downstairs, saying to her on the sofa as he hugged her. ¡°Look at your mother, she¡¯s gotten married to somebody else already. Daddy can¡¯t possibly stay alone forever, right? Moreover, our family line needs to continue. If your Mommy had agreed to marry me again back then, I wouldn¡¯t have had to find another partner.¡± What he truly meant was that everything was her Mommy¡¯s fault and he only acted that way because he¡¯d been left with no choice. Shi Bao¡¯er choked in between tears, ¡°I don¡¯t want to, I don¡¯t want you to find another woman. Chase her away!¡± Shi Shaochuan could only reply patiently, ¡°Your Mommy can get remarried, but I can¡¯t? Bao¡¯er, do you really want to see Daddy have no one to talk to every day?¡± ¡°I can keep Daddypany.¡± ¡°But you¡¯ll eventually grow up.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care, I don¡¯t care...!¡± she screeched as she cried harder, making it a heart-wrenching scene to watch. ¡°Knock it off, you¡¯re such a big girl already. Why are you still so immature?¡± Shi Shaochuan was already annoyed at her sudden return; this in addition to her resistant attitude suddenly made him feel that him gaining the custody of her daughter had actually put Jin Qingyue in an advantageous position. Chapter 956 - Perplexed and Smitten (16)

Chapter 956: Perplexed and Smitten (16)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shi Bao¡¯er threatened, ¡°If you don¡¯t chase her away, I¡¯ll nevere back again. I¡¯m going to go live with Mommy.¡± ¡°Sure, go ahead and live with your mommy.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er was at aplete loss for words, feeling as if her doting father who used to pamper her was now gone. She felt like her father had stopped loving her all because of the woman who popped up out of nowhere. Shi Shaochuan tried to coax and cate her feelings for a while before walking to the backyard to call Jin Qingyue. Once the call got through, he barked, ¡°Jin Qingyue, you did it on purpose, didn¡¯t you? You intentionally sent Bao¡¯er here just so she would see me together with my girlfriend. How scheming of you.¡± Jin Qingyue scoffed and retorted, ¡°Have you got any shame at all, Shi Shaochuan? You¡¯re utterly despicable and thick-skinned. Bao¡¯er¡¯s instructor was the one who called me to pick her up from the academy, and she was the one who told me to send her to your ce. How was I doing it on purpose? Go to hell. I¡¯m not interested in your affairs at all. Don¡¯t use your pathetic brains to frame me!¡± ¡°Drop the act. I bet you just don¡¯t want me to live happily.¡± ¡°It¡¯s true that I don¡¯t wish for you to have a happy life. You¡¯re a disgusting, cheating jerk who puts me off. I can¡¯t help but feel like I¡¯ve wasted the years of my youth whenever youe to mind.¡± Just as Shi Shaochuan was about to retort, he realized that she had ended the call. His initial frustration grew into an uncontroble rage. During dinner, Bu Xianxian put on a demure and virtuous front and began helping Shi Bao¡¯er to the food while trying to strike a conversation with her. However, Shi Bao¡¯er remained quiet and returned the morsels of food she had ced onto her te. She was showing her disdain and discrimination against her through her actions. Despite feeling frustrated, Bu Xianxian did not let her feelings show. Meanwhile, Shi Shaochuan repeatedly tried to cate her by telling her not to stoop to Shi Bao¡¯er¡¯s level and that thetter was just an insensible child. Shi Bao¡¯er felt more repulsed by Bu Xianxian after hearing her father¡¯s words. She decided to exude her authority and force Bu Xianxian to leave Shi Shaochuan out of her own ord. Anger was brewing within Shi Bao¡¯er as she hung her head low and continued to eat. ¡ª After breakfast, Mr. Jin coincidentally arrived just as Jin Qingyan was about to leave for the office. ¡°How much do you need?¡± asked Jin Qingyan, who already knew what his father was here for. ¡°Three million.¡± ¡°Ever since you got into trouble in M Nation, you¡¯ve lost the privilege of getting three million dors. One million.¡± ¡°What can I do with one million dors? It¡¯s barely enough,¡± Mr. Jin said in displeasure. ¡°One million dors is enough to feed an average family for several years. However, it¡¯s indeed peanuts for a gambler like you. Take it or leave it.¡± Mr. Jin could not bargain any further. He took the one million dors from Jin Qingyan and asked, ¡°Are you going to give me only 50 thousand dors when I ask you for money again?¡± ¡°That¡¯ll depend on your performance, Father. If you continue to stir trouble, you won¡¯t be getting more than 20 thousand dors.¡± ¡°I¡¯m your father, not a beggar!¡± Mr. Jin snapped angrily. ¡°You were powerful and authoritative during your prime and you ran thepany extremely well. Why have you gone astray now that you¡¯re older? You¡¯vepletely ruined my perfect impression of you, especially after what you¡¯ve done in these recent years. Father, stop gambling and start doing something meaningful with your life. When I was younger, you used to tell me that one should never touch drugs or gamble. Once you¡¯re addicted to those vices, it¡¯d be hard to kick them. But you didn¡¯t practice what you preached.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just a little addicted, aren¡¯t I? I¡¯ll kick it once I recoup my losses,¡± Mr. Jin said in displeasure. ¡°Recoup your losses?¡± Jin Qingyan snorted withughter and sneered, ¡°Just fall into the ck hole of gambling and never return.¡± Not long after they left, He Yi arrived. ¡°Is there something you need, Mr. He?¡± He Yi nodded and said, ¡°I heard that you¡¯re genuinely psychic. Is that true?¡± An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s true, so...¡± ¡°After much consideration, I decided to tell you something that I didn¡¯t mention previously. I discovered an underground ancient graveyard when I was in V Nation. However, the strange thing is that the words in the graveyard were all written in our nation¡¯snguage. That graveyard has never been opened before and it dates back to several centuries ago.¡± ¡°You mean you went inside the graveyard?¡± ¡°Yes, but I didn¡¯t find any coffins. Perhaps the coffins are hidden beneath some contraption. The writings are all in our nationalnguage. I¡¯ve checked up on it, they¡¯re all ancient writings.¡± Not mincing her words at all, she said, ¡°You¡¯re a professional tomb raider. You didn¡¯t n to tell me that in the first ce. Why are you talking to me again now? Is it just to verify that I¡¯m psychic?¡± ¡°Turns out you already know what I do for a living, Ms. An. I decided to tell you because that graveyard is rather spooky. I¡¯ve only been there once and never dared to go in again. I reckon there must be some supernatural beings in there. Would you care to take a look?¡± ¡°V Nation is an unusual ce. I don¡¯t n to provoke those things.¡± ¡°Perhaps there may be some rare treasures in the graveyard.¡± ¡°Mr. He, my life and safety means more to me than treasures and money. You can never earn enough money, but you only have one life to live. It¡¯ll be gone if you lose it. Once you¡¯re dead, no amount of money will matter. You¡¯d better refrain from going to V Nation if you can. This is my honest warning. Some people are terrifyingly formidable and invincible. Don¡¯t make things hard for yourself. You¡¯re not short on money anyway. It¡¯s better to know your limits.¡± Noticing that she waspletely uninterested, He Yi smiled and said, ¡°Seems like you¡¯re really not interested in this at all. Forget it then. I too was contemting whether or not I should go there again. I¡¯ll be really curious if I don¡¯t go. But if I do... I¡¯ll indeed be worried.¡± ¡°The decision lies with you.¡± ¡°However, I¡¯m guessing that it really contains the legendary treasure map.¡± An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°The more greedy you get, the more likely you are to lose the privilege of living in peace. I suggest you drop the idea of getting your hands on the treasure map.¡± He chuckled and said, ¡°Let¡¯s both consider it again. I¡¯m not in a hurry anyway.¡± An Xiaoning could tell that he was still nning to make another trip to V Nation. She did not say another word and instead told the servants to serve tea. The conversation ended after they chatted about some other irrelevant things. After He Yi left, she sat on the couch, hugging her knees and pondering over what they just talked about. She headed upstairs and grabbed the mobile phone that she had received in V Nation. She had always been bringing it around with her in her bag. She switched it on and sent a text message to the sender, though she was unsure if it would get through. It read: ¡°I¡¯d like to meet you. May I?¡± After waiting for more than ten minutes, she finally received a reply. ¡°You¡¯re too far away from me. I can¡¯t meet you. What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°I just wanted to ask you if your corpse is still buried in V Nation. You¡¯re possessing a human now, aren¡¯t you?¡± Chapter 957 - Perplexed and Smitten (17)

Chapter 957: Perplexed and Smitten (17)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I can¡¯t answer that question. Have you seen the drawing?¡± She replied, ¡°Yes. Is that real or was it just a random picture you painted?¡± ¡°It¡¯s real. I¡¯m guessing Xi Houling has already destroyed that drawing.¡± Astonished, An Xiaoning replied, ¡°Why did you guess that?¡± He replied, ¡°Because there was once a man who stole a few too many nces at you, and Xi Houling ruthlessly gouged that man¡¯s eyes out. The picture depicts you and a male stranger. How could he possibly keep it if he¡¯s seen it?¡± An Xiaoning was rather apprehensive and doubtful of his words. Was Jin Qingyan really that cruel in the past? She yearned to find out the truth. Shey in bed and stared at the ceiling above. She then replied, ¡°What¡¯s your purpose in sending me that drawing, then?¡± He answered truthfully, ¡°I wanted to spite him on purpose.¡± An Xiaoning almost choked when she read his reply. Were they rivals in our previous lifetime? I¡¯ll know once I test him. ¡°Did you spite him on purpose... because you two used to be rivals in love?¡± It was the sender¡¯s turn to choke. ¡°Hua Jin, you¡¯ve gotten even more shameless than before. How could I be his rival in love? You may be a precious gem in his eyes, but to me, you¡¯re just a worthless nothing.¡± An Xiaoning could not be bothered to argue with him after seeing how harsh he was with his criticism of her. She replied, ¡°You¡¯re such a haughty and arrogant narcissist.¡± ¡ª Shi Shaochuan was initially nning to let Bu Xianxian return to her own ce for one night ande back after Shi Bao¡¯er leaves the next morning. To his surprise, Bu Xianxian did not agree. Although he was rather puzzled, he did not say much. He was also nning to bring Shi Bao¡¯er to the amusement park for a day of fun and to make things clear to her. However, she was against the idea. Hence, the three of them spent the entire day watching television at home. Shi Shaochuan went out in the afternoon to have a few drinks with his friends. Shi Bao¡¯er and Bu Xianxian were left alone at home. Bu Xianxian was watching television on the first floor while Shi Bao¡¯er stealthily headed to her father¡¯s bedroom upstairs. She opened the drawer, only to discover that it contained Bu Xianxian¡¯s clothes and lingerie. Shi Bao¡¯er closed the drawer and shifted her gaze onto the cosmetic products on the table. An idea popped up in her mind, and she swiftly exited the room before returning again more than ten minutester. She walked toward the dressing table and poured some pesticide, which she had obtained stealthily, into each bottle of cosmetic product. She then shook the bottles before leaving. She exited with the empty pesticide bottle and ced it back in its original position. A gardener then proceeded to grab the bottle, only to find that it was empty. ¡°Missy, did you touch this pesticide?¡± the gardener asked. ¡°I poured it away.¡± ¡°Oh, good that you didn¡¯t drink it. It¡¯s a very poisonous pesticide.¡± ¡°I obviously wouldn¡¯t drink it.¡± I¡¯m already in elementary school. I can read the words written on the bottle clearly, Shi Bao¡¯er thought to herself. She was in utmost awe of herself for being able to devise such a clever trick. She was as happy as ark because of the prank she had pulled. All of a sudden, she decided not to stay at home and instead called her father so he could bring her back to the martial arts academy. Shi Shaochuan headed home to send her to the academy and instructed her to focus on training and learning in the boot camp. Shi Bao¡¯er agreed and skipped through the entrance merrily. ¡ª An Xiaoning took a nap in the afternoon and woke up afterward to a text message Jin Qingyan had sent her. He informed her that he would be discussing a business deal with CEO Zhou and would not being home for dinner. He also told her that he would only be returning in thete evening. Thus, she had dinner alone, after which she took a walk to aid digestion. However, she strayed a little too far from the main mansion. ¡°Young Madam, turns out you¡¯re here,¡± said Xiao Huang, who was panting heavily from running. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Xiao Huang?¡± ¡°I tried to call you but I couldn¡¯t get through to you. Chief wants me to tell you to go over.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± She followed Xiao Huang back and asked, ¡°Did he say what it¡¯s about?¡± Xiao Huang answered softly, ¡°Young Sir got a rpse...¡± ¡°Is anyone watching him?¡± ¡°The bodyguards called Chief Fan and they¡¯re keeping close tabs on Young Sir. The Chief asked you if you¡¯d like them to knock Young Sir out and bring him home. That was what Young Sir told us to do previously, in the event of a rpse.¡± ¡°No, that doesn¡¯t solve the problem at all.¡± She picked up her tracks and strode forward quickly. She had already consulted a psychiatric expert and obtained an effective solution for Jin Qingyan¡¯s condition. She was told to not knock him unconscious whenever he suffers a rpse, for it would only control his condition temporarily. The root of the problem would not be addressed at all. Since Jin Qingyan was suffering from a psychological disorder, it was crucial to seek treatment that would tackle the root problem. Fan Shixin was waiting for her in the guardroom. Upon seeing her, he immediately said, ¡°What do we do now? Do we knock him out and bring him home?¡± She repeated the words she said to Xiao Huang earlier. ¡°Knocking him out is not going to solve the problem. We can¡¯t possibly knock him out for life, can we?¡± ¡°Young Madam, you mean...?¡¯ ¡°How did he suffer a sudden rpse? What did the bodyguards who followed him say?¡± ¡°The bodyguards said that Young Sir caught sight of a woman being vited by three men at the night club and so he decided to intervene and stop them. In the end, the men were very arrogant and they didn¡¯t recognize who Young Sir was because he was wearing shades. Young Sir only brought two bodyguards with him, and the men were not intimidated by him at all and began hitting him. Although Young Sir didn¡¯t lose the brawl...¡± ¡°Which nightclub was it?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take you there.¡± ¡°Drive the car there, hurry,¡± An Xiaoning urged. ¡°Got it.¡± Xiao Huang took the key away from Fan Shixin¡¯s hands and scurried toward the car. Within two minutes, the car arrived at the entrance. Xiao Huang alighted while Fan Shixin and An Xiaoning got inside the car. They then swiftly drove out of Wei Ni Estate toward the destination. An Xiaoning instructed Fan Shixin what to do when they meet Jin Qingyanter. Fan Shixin did her bidding. Once they arrived, they weaved through the crowd and headed upstairs. She had already verified with the bodyguards that Jin Qingyan was indeed inside the private room. It would be a piece of cake for her to find which room he was in. However, she bumped into a familiar face as soon as she entered the corridor. It was CEO Zhou, the businessman whom Jin Qingyan was supposed to meet with tonight. CEO Zhou walked toward her with a sullen expression on his face. Upon the sight of her, he stopped in his tracks. He said, ¡°Ms. An, you must be here to catch him red-handed in bed.¡± ¡°Catch him red-handed? You¡¯re reading too much into things. Everyone knows that I¡¯m the only person Qingyan loves. It¡¯s better that you don¡¯t spout any nonsense, lest you create unnecessary trouble for my lover, CEO Zhou.¡± ¡°I¡¯m spouting nonsense? You¡¯d better go inside and take a look for yourself. I was initially nning to discuss a deal with CEO Jin, yet he focused all his attention on a woman andpletely ignored me. He disregarded our business deal. Well, the Jin Corporation is a huge and wealthy corporation. Losing a deal with us shouldn¡¯t matter much.¡± Chapter 958 - Perplexed and Smitten (18)

Chapter 958: Perplexed and Smitten (18)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Don¡¯t say that, CEO Zhou. I believe you¡¯ve alreadymunicated and spoken to Qingyan over the phone before agreeing to meet tonight. You should know if he¡¯s sincere or not. It¡¯s not convenient for us to talk here. I¡¯ll get someone to open a room for us and we shall discuss it there. Will you allow me the honor?¡± CEO Zhou was well aware of her status. He was obviously in no ce to turn her down. ¡°We shall do just that then, Ms. An.¡± An Xiaoning shot Fan Shixin a nce to give him a cue, after which he immediately excused himself. An Xiaoning said, ¡°Qingyan took this discussion with you very seriously. That¡¯s why I came along with him. Doesn¡¯t that express our sincerity enough? The bodyguard told me that that woman was being vited and Qingyan decided to be helpful and saved her. I wonder if you know what I do for a living, CEO Zhou?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard that you¡¯re a psychic fortune-teller.¡± ¡°You might not believe in those superstitious beliefs and things, but I do believe in them. I¡¯ll verify personallyter whether or not that woman has put a hex on Qingyan.¡± CEO Zhou suddenly realized what was going on and immediately said, ¡°I knew CEO Jin was not such a person. We¡¯ve met before at the office and he soundedpletely different then than he did just now. I was really confused.¡± Fan Shixin came forth, after which the waiter opened a room¡¯s door nearby. They then entered and An Xiaoning said, ¡°Mr. Zhou, please discuss the deal with Shixin. He¡¯s Qingyan¡¯s right-hand man. I¡¯ll go take a look at Qingyan and see what¡¯s going on beforeing back here. Okay?¡± ¡°Hurry along, then.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and turned around with a sullen expression. After finding the room that Jin Qingyan was in, she opened the door gently. She felt a huge relief the moment she stepped foot inside. She was greeted with the sight of Jin Qingyan seated on the couch with a familiar-looking woman sitting on hisp. The woman¡¯s face was as red as a tomato. Upon the sight of An Xiaoning¡¯s arrival, the woman sprung up from hisp and turned pale immediately. An Xiaoning closed the door and said with a smirk, ¡°I was wondering why you looked so familiar. Turns out you were the hostess who worked at the ck Genie before. You were the one who sold a video clip to Qingyan at the price of one million dors, weren¡¯t you?¡± Hu Xin was dumbfounded, for she did not expect that An Xiaoning would recognize her. After recovering from the shock, she nodded and spluttered, ¡°Yes... yes.¡± An Xiaoning tucked her hair behind her right ear and walked toward Hu Xin while keeping her eyes fixed on her. ¡°Back then, Qingyan asked you if you would return to the ck Genie to work and I still remember the answer you gave very clearly. You said that you would stop working there because you¡¯re still young and have a lot more to aplish in life. You also said that one million dors was more than enough for you to repay your debts and foot your grandmother¡¯s medical bills. To be honest, both Qingyan and I had a good impression of you and we thought that you had quite a bit of a backbone. So, could you tell me why you were sitting on my man¡¯sp just now?¡± Although An Xiaoning¡¯s tone was rather mellow, her words seemed just like daggers that pierced through Hu Xin¡¯s heart. Hu Xin could not answer her and remained silent. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you speaking?¡± An Xiaoning continued to probe. At this moment, Jin Qingyan broke his silence and said, ¡°That¡¯s enough. I was the one who made her sit on myp. Why do you have such a strong opinion?¡± Maintaining herposure, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Why did you let her sit on yourp?¡± ¡°Because I like it. What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Do you prefer a tender woman or this one?¡± she asked. ¡°I like both,¡± he answered without hesitation. Hu Xin¡¯s eyes lit up upon hearing his words. If An Xiaoning were in the dark about the truth, she would have beaten him up into a pulp like she did back in M Nation. However, now that she was aware, she did not feel angry at all and was instead rather sympathetic toward him. ¡°Since you like her, shall we bring her back to Wei Ni Estate?¡± Both Hu Xin and Henry were astounded. He had no idea what she was up to, or rather, he had no idea what nonsense she was nning toe up with. He was extremely familiar with An Xiaoning¡¯s appearance, for his mobile phone wallpaper was a photo of her and there were also several portraits of her on the walls of his bedroom. In fact, even his ringtone was a recording of her voice. He could also tell that Jin Qingyan loved her dearly. However, Jin Qingyan was Jin Qingyan and Henry was Henry. Although he and Jin Qingyan co-exist in the same body simultaneously, he was not in the least bit interested in the petite An Xiaoning at all, let alone loved her. He was determined not to let her get her wishes, regardless of what she was up to. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. I don¡¯t like going back to that ce.¡± An Xiaoning smiled at him affectionately and said, ¡°That¡¯s your home. Why don¡¯t you like it?¡± ¡°Go back first. I don¡¯t wish to see you.¡± An Xiaoning squinted and snapped, ¡°You¡¯re just an evil spirit possessing Qingyan. Just what¡¯s your agenda? I was just ying along with you. Do you really take yourself to be Qingyan?¡± Upon hearing her words, Hu Xin frantically retreated away from him, staring at him with a look of fear in her eyes. She too had realized that Jin Qingyan was acting rather differently from the way he did before. She had sensed something unusual and bizarre with his tone and behavior. Henry snorted withughter and sneered, ¡°Look how much you¡¯ve scared thisss. If I¡¯m an evil spirit, why don¡¯t youe and subdue me?¡± Appearingpletely dauntless, he added, ¡°Aren¡¯t you psychic? Come and capture me. Hurry,e. An Xiaoning, I¡¯m telling you, you¡¯d better stop your nonsense.¡± Upon hearing his words, Hu Xin chimed in, ¡°Yeah, Ms. An, if he¡¯s an evil spirit, chase him away.¡± An Xiaoning chuckled and said, ¡°Can¡¯t you take a joke? My lousy gag has sessfully frightened Ms. Hu, who was ying dumb.¡± If only he was an actual spirit possessing Qingyan. That way, my Qingyan would return once I get rid of the spirit. Unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t. Hu Xin was extremely peeved to hear her remark. She inched closer toward Henry and said, ¡°Mr. Jin has already divorced you twice and the both of you are single now. I can tell that Mr. Jin no longer loves you. Ms. An, there¡¯s no point in pestering him any further. I believe you¡¯ll meet a better man.¡± An Xiaoning was at the end of her tolerance. She glowered at Hu Xin and snapped coldly, ¡°Who are you to interfere with our rtionship? You should have known your ce and left the moment I entered this room. Qingyan did save you, but why... are you nning to give yourself to him as a token of gratitude? You¡¯re such an eyesore, get lost.¡± Hu Xin nced at Henry before saying audaciously, ¡°Ms. An, don¡¯t you think you¡¯re being unreasonable by venting all your anger on an outsider like me? If Mr. Jin still had any feelings for you, he wouldn¡¯t have continued to let me stay here. I heard that you were an outstanding woman who has a brilliant mind and scheming tricks up your sleeve. Seems like you didn¡¯t meet my expectations today.¡± Chapter 959 - Perplexed and Smitten (19)

Chapter 959: Perplexed and Smitten (19)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Not in the mood to waste her breath arguing, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Are you going to scram or not?¡± After some thought, Hu Xin answered, ¡°I¡¯ll leave immediately if Mr. Jin wants me to scram, but... I won¡¯t if it¡¯s just you who wants me to, Ms. An.¡± An Xiaoning yelled at the door, ¡°Two of you,e in.¡± The two bodyguards immediately rushed inside and asked, ¡°Young Madam, do you have any orders for us?¡± ¡°Throw this woman out of here.¡± An Xiaoning must have been infuriated to the point that she wished she could rip Hu Xin apart, given that she used the word ¡°throw.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see which one of you dares to touch her!¡± Henry barked. However, his intervention proved to be futile for the bodyguards would not obey him while he was suffering a rpse. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Young Sir, but you used to only obey Young Madam, and since that¡¯s the case, we wouldn¡¯t dare to defy Young Madam¡¯s orders.¡± Thus, Hu Xin was brought out of the room. The moment An Xiaoning entered the room, she shifted her gaze onto Henry and walked toward him slowly. ¡°Stay away from me,¡± he hissed, staring at her with a look of disdain. ¡°You¡¯re upying my lover¡¯s body and his time, yet you still have the cheek to tell me to stay away? Are you sure it¡¯s you? Henry? Is that really your name? How Western,¡± An Xiaoning gibed, glowering and walking toward him. He stood up immediately and tried to walk past the coffee table, only to be stopped by An Xiaoning, who grabbed him and pushed him onto the couch. Before he could even react, she sat on hisp and wrapped her arms around his neck. Regardless of whether it was the devil or angel upying his body at the time, he was still Jin Qingyan. Both his personalities were him. Henry tried to push her away, only to realize that he could not move her at all, as if she were a boulder. Was this woman on steroids? Noticing the look of astonishment on his face, she snickered and asked, ¡°Just who are you?¡± ¡°Why did you...¡± ¡°Henry, I¡¯m warning you, if you continue to use this body to make such close physical contact with other women, I have a way to deal with you. Do you believe it?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You don¡¯t?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not Jin Qingyan. You¡¯re not in any ce to interfere with which woman I want to get close to.¡± ¡°You may not acknowledge that you¡¯re him, but you¡¯re indeed him, be it your soul or body. That¡¯s just the truth. However, you¡¯re just a small part of him that he¡¯s been suppressing.¡± ¡°You said that I¡¯m him, but how do you exin the fact that I don¡¯t love you? In fact, I¡¯m even repulsed by you. Don¡¯t you understand that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± Are her brains fried? Henry thought to himself. ¡°How did Jin Qingyan even fall in love with you? Was he blind?¡± An Xiaoning smiled and blinked a few times before saying, ¡°Is it really appropriate to criticize yourself like that?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll repeat myself, I¡¯m not him!¡± ¡°You are him, no matter how many times you try to deny it. It¡¯s a fact that cannot be changed.¡± ¡°...¡± She continued, ¡°But of course, it doesn¡¯t matter even if you refuse to ept that you¡¯re Jin Qingyan and insist on being Henry instead. The world is not going to change because of what you think,¡± said An Xiaoning, who loved him deeply nheless, despite being repulsed by his other personality. Jin Qingyan was then brought home forcefully by the bodyguards and Fan Shixin while An Xiaoning proceeded to discuss the deal with CEO Zhou. An Xiaoning said, ¡°I believe Chief Fan has had a thorough discussion with you just now. I¡¯ll get Qingyan to call you once he regains his senses, alright?¡± ¡°Sure, but, Ms. An, CEO Jin...¡± ¡°He was possessed by a spirit but I¡¯ve already gotten rid of it. He¡¯s fine. However... CEO Zhou, I hope you¡¯ll remain tight-lipped about Qingyan being possessed. I believe you¡¯ve heard before that I¡¯ll never show mercy to those who spread false rumors.¡± ¡°I know, I know. I wouldn¡¯t dare to spark any rumors. Rest assured, Ms. An, my lips are sealed. I would still need your help if I ever stumble across any evil spirits in the future.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll lend you a hand when necessary.¡± After leaving the nightclub, An Xiaoning headed back to Wei Ni Estate. ¡°Where is he?¡± ¡°In the bedroom.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go upstairs to take a look. Is the door locked?¡± ¡°No, I got someone to stand by the door because Young Sir¡¯s thumbprint would be required to unlock the door. That way, you wouldn¡¯t have to climb over the balcony.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± As soon as she reached the bedroom on the second floor, An Xiaoning peeked inside and looked around to discover that Jin Qingyan was not around. She then asked Xiao Lu, ¡°Where is he?¡± ¡°In the dressing room.¡± She waved at Xiao Lu and said, ¡°Xiao Lu, tell the Chief to assign some bodyguards to stay put outside the bedroom and the balcony.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning strode inside the room and closed the door after her. She could hear some rattling noises going on in the dressing room while she approached in her slippers. The moment she looked inside, she thought to herself, How... stunning! He had changed out of the outfit he wore to the nightclub and was now wearing a pastel yellow short-sleeved shirt and a pair of shorts in the same color while putting on some eyeliner. The clothes and eyeliner pen all belonged to her. He had rummaged through the entire dressing room, leaving clothes scattered all over the floor, as if there had just been a burr. He looked extremely amusing in her pastel outfit. An Xiaoning walked toward him and snatched the eyeliner pen away from him. ¡°That¡¯s mine!¡± she screeched. She then grabbed her makeup back and walked out of the dressing room. Henry had only used the eyeliner on one eye. Seeing that she had snatched the pen away, he hurriedly chased after her. ¡°You damned woman, I¡¯m not done yet! Give it to me!¡± he barked. Just as he was about to stretch his hand out to grab it from her, An Xiaoning dodged and avoided him. Noticing that he was about to approach again, she removed her shoes and leaped onto the bed. Staring at him from above, she said assertively, ¡°Tidy up the clothes in the dressing room and I¡¯ll let you use the eyeliner pen.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t give it to you then.¡± He tried to climb up onto the bed to snatch it from her, only to be kicked onto the ground by An Xiaoning. After several attempts, he decided to give up and instead walked toward the dressing room quietly to clean up the mess that he had created. An Xiaoning could not believe that he would actually force himself to do something against his wishes, all for the sake of an eyeliner pen. After checking the dressing room, she handed him the eyeliner pen, after which he grabbed it and began applying it onto his eyes meticulously in front of the dressing table. Indeed, he looked extremely aloof and menacing with some eyeliner on. An Xiaoning removed her makeup and took out a sheet of facial serum mask from the drawer of the dressing table. As soon as she tore the packaging open, he snatched it away from her and said, ¡°Let me use it.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve just put on some eyeliner. Are you sure you want to use the mask?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t be putting it on my eyes anyway, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning then took out another sheet of mask and ced it onto her face. Just as she walked toward the bed on which he was lying, he said, ¡°Go sleep in another room.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°You¡¯re asking me why? Have you got any shame at all?¡± ¡°Why do I have to feel ashamed for sleeping next to my man?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not Jin Qingyan!¡± An Xiaoning had no reaction to his denial at all, perhaps because he had said it too many times that night. Hence, shepletely ignored him and sat down on the bed. To her astonishment, he kicked her off the bed. Chapter 960 - Perplexed and Smitten (20)

Chapter 960: Perplexed and Smitten (20)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The mask on her face almost fell off too. An Xiaoning took out her rope. Upon the sight of the weapon, he panicked and asked, ¡°What... are you trying to do?¡± ¡°What do you think?¡± She knelt onto the bed and inched closer toward him bit by bit. Henry got off the bed immediately, leaving An Xiaoning alone on the spacious bed. He opened the door and realized that there were guards on standby. He then headed to the balcony, only to realize that there were guards below too. Boiling with fury, he returned inside the room andy down on the couch. An Xiaoning goaded, ¡°Ah... howfy is it to lie on this soft, spacious, and cooling bed.¡± He rolled his eyes at her in response. ¡°Mr. Henry, would you like to have some liquor?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Mr. Henry, shall we have a chat?¡± ¡°I have nothing to say to you.¡± After a moment of silence, she said on purpose, ¡°Remember not to fall asleep. If you do, you¡¯ll be Qingyan again once you wake up.¡± He widened his eyes and said, ¡°I definitely won¡¯t fall asleep.¡± ¡°That¡¯d better be the case,¡± she said with a smirk. After switching off the lights, she closed her eyes.Time crawled by. Henry refused to sleep, for fear that he would lose his identity once he was asleep. He did not wish to fall asleep so soon, since he rarely got the opportunity toe out. Feeling bored out of his wits, he finally broke his silence and asked, ¡°Hey, damned woman, are you asleep yet?¡± ¡°Scoundrel, I was about to fall asleep.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s have a chat.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you have nothing to say to me?¡± He said, ¡°Let¡¯s ask each other questions that we must both answer. How does that sound?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll ask you first,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°Why do you detest me?¡± she asked, turning over to lie on her side while facing him. ¡°No reason, I just detest you naturally. In fact, I don¡¯t even want to see your face.¡± ¡°You detest me so much and yet you¡¯re still chatting with me. Must be tough for you.¡± ¡°My turn,¡± he asked in a tone that was much colder than Jin Qingyan¡¯s. Even when they first met, Jin Qingyan¡¯s tone was rather mellow and gentle, unlike the way the aloof Henry was speaking. ¡°Go ahead and ask away.¡± ¡°Do you think Jin Qingyan loves you?¡± His question was easier to answer than she had expected. ¡°Must you really ask? Those who have eyes to see can tell that he loves me. He loves me because I¡¯m gentle, knowledgeable, uniquely beautiful, cultured, capable, opinionated, driven, brave... and many others. I have so many attributes that I can¡¯t even count them myself.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t I see any of those attributes in you at all?¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I said, those who have eyes can see. You¡¯re blind, of course you can¡¯t see them.¡± ¡°You¡¯re really sharp-tongued.¡± ¡°Thank you for thepliment.¡± ¡°I hope you¡¯ll answer my question truthfully. Otherwise, our conversation will just be pointless. Please answer my question again seriously.¡± ¡°In his eyes, all women are the same, except me. Will that answer do?¡± ¡°Forget it, it¡¯s just a one-sided answer on your part. Your turn to ask me.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Why aren¡¯t you talking?¡± ¡°What must I do to send you away forever? That¡¯s my question and I hope you¡¯ll answer it truthfully too.¡± ¡°You want to get rid of me? Dream on.¡± An evil thought popped up in An Xiaoning¡¯s head. She switched on the lights and got out of bed. ¡°Since you¡¯re unwilling to leave and insist on upying Qingyan¡¯s body, you have no choice but to perform his duties for him. I want it now.¡± ¡°What... what do you want?¡± ¡°I want to... do it with you,¡± she said, raising her brows. Upon realizing what she meant, a sullen expression formed on his face immediately and he answered coldly, ¡°That¡¯s impossible. I¡¯ll never touch you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not up to you to decide,¡± said An Xiaoning, who was nning to disgust him and force herself upon him. She nned to pin him down onto the couch, refusing to let him budge at all. It had never crossed Henry¡¯s mind that he would ever be weaker than a woman. However, he indeed could not move an inch at all. Watching as she inched closer toward him with pouted lips, Henry clenched his jaw tightly with all his might. An Xiaoning raised both his arms above his head and held his wrists with one hand while using the other to caress his face. It looked as if she was trying topel a chaste male virgin. All of a sudden, Henry passed out, perhaps because of the overwhelming nervousness, agitation, and helplessness. An Xiaoning initially thought that he was merely pretending to have passed out. However, she soon discovered that it was indeed the case after testing him a few times. She carried him onto the bed and removed the mask from his face before disposing it into the dustbin. She then wiped the eyeliner off his eyes with some makeup remover cotton pads before undressing him and tucking him beneath the duvet. She then folded the clothes properly and ced them back inside the closet. She finally dismissed the bodyguards at the door and balcony, after which she rehearsed with Fan Shixin the answers that they would give Jin Qingyan the next morning. An Xiaoning was no longer sleepy when she stood at the balcony. She was filled with uncertainty after what happened tonight. The main problem was, she had no idea when he would suffer another rpse. Another headache for her was that she had no idea when Henry wouldpletely disappear. Although they seemed to be rather close on the surface, they were in fact miles apart and she had to put in a great ton of effort to close their emotional distance. However, she was not afraid of making mistakes and taking plunges. Being a brave and courageous person, she had always been dauntless when facing the future. Thanks to her sharp sense of hearing, she heard the sound of a text tone and frantically entered the room. She picked up Jin Qingyan¡¯s mobile phone to see that the message was sent by an unsaved contact. An Xiaoning opened the message. ¡°Mr. Jin, I¡¯m Hu Xin. I¡¯m so sorry to have caused you such an inconvenience tonight, but I¡¯d still like to thank you for your help.¡± She deleted the message straight away and ce the mobile phone onto the table as an icy cold stare formed in her eyes. .... Jin Qingyan woke up at six o¡¯clock in the morning. His brain felt foggy and his eyes were ssed over, for he could only recall up tost night. Staring at his beloved woman, he felt a sudden sense of panic and hurriedly got dressed before rushing downstairs. The initially sound asleep An Xiaoning opened her eyes at the instant that the door was shut. She flipped over and continued to close her eyes. He returned more than ten minutester and proceeded to wash up before waking her up. An Xiaoning pretended to have just woken up and squinted her eyes while looking at him. ¡°You came hometest night. Why are you up so early?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not tired. Hurry and wake up, let¡¯s go have breakfast.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to get up.¡± He bent forward and kissed her. ¡°Sleep in for a while longer then. I¡¯ll go downstairs for breakfast.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± In reality, An Xiaoning could no longer fall asleep either. Thus, she closed her eyes andzed in bed for a short while before getting up unhurriedly. Chapter 961 - Perplexed and Smitten (21)

Chapter 961: Perplexed and Smitten (21)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She headed downstairs to discover that Jin Qingyan was no longer around. An Xiaoning dialed Fan Shixin¡¯s number and hung up quickly. Soon after, Fan Shixin entered. ¡°Young Madam.¡± ¡°What did he ask you?¡± ¡°He asked me if you knew about his rpse and I said that you didn¡¯t. He then asked me a few other questions, all of which I answered ording to the way you told me to.¡± ¡°Alright, good job. Investigate on this girl called Hu Xin and give me all the information you can find about her. She used to work in the ck Genie bar.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡ª Bu Xianxian had already sensed that something was amiss with her night lotion when she was applying itst night. This morning, she discovered something unusual with her moisturizing lotion. Staring at the lotion on her palm, she found that there seemed to be some discoloration. The lotion used to be milky white in color, but now it seemed a little grayish. Bu Xianxian removed the lid of the lotion bottle and took a sniff of the content, only to find that it had a strong odor, though she was unsure if there was just a higher concentration of the key ingredients. On top of that, she had also discovered a simr odor in the other bottles of cosmetic products. Her instincts told her that there was something off about her cosmetic products. Bu Xianxian had no idea just what went wrong with them and could not seem to find the problem despite checking through them carefully. She had no choice but to bring them to the cosmetics store to seek help from the store assistants. Afterparing her products to the ones on disy, the store assistant said, ¡°You seemed to have added something into your bottles.¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°It¡¯s obvious that something has been added.¡± Bent on finding out the reason for the strange odor, Bu Xianxian brought the products to ab where she paid for ab test to be run on the products to find out what went wrong. To her astonishment, the results showed that there were concentrations of a highly-poisonous pesticide found in the products. She was ill at ease and filled with anxiety on her way home. No wonder they¡¯d smelled different than before. She sensed something fishy and decided to ask Shi Shaochuan to show her the surveince camera footages. Hence, they discovered the cause of the problem. Bu Xianxian was overwhelmed with exasperation, and she wished she could just beat Shi Bao¡¯er to death. The matter had also came across as a shock to Shi Shaochuan, who did not expect that his daughter wouldmit such an outrageous act. He coaxed Bu Xianxian and tried to cate her by giving her a generous amount of 100 thousand dors, which she could use to buy a new set of cosmetic products. She finally felt less upset. The 100 thousand dors were soon squandered away by Bu Xianxian after a single shopping trip. However, Shi Bao¡¯er¡¯s actions had be a thorn in her flesh that never fails to get her riled up. She absolutely detested Shi Bao¡¯er. Fortunately, my face is alright. Otherwise, I¡¯d definitely disfigure that damnedss! She returned to the Shi family mansion with several shopping bags, enjoying the life of a wealthy man¡¯s wife. Shi Shaochuan had been idling about every day and was living on his family¡¯s assets. He and Bu Xianxian would do nothing except eat and y all day. Although Bu Xianxian was not nning to live or be in a long-term rtionship with him, she still thought that it would be better for him to find a job or have something to do. To be exact, she wanted to do something with her time. ¡°Shaochuan, shall we open a caf¨¦?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not interested in that.¡± ¡°But I am. Will you open one for me?¡± ¡°Do you know how much it costs to buy a storefront for a caf¨¦ in our city? I¡¯m willing to give you some financial support if you¡¯re okay with renting a space instead of buying it.¡± Bu Xianxian gave him a peck on his cheek and said, ¡°How much can buying a storefront cost? Since we¡¯re going to spend the money, we might as well put it to good use by investing it in something.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m not interested and I won¡¯t be giving you the money to open one,¡± said Shi Shaochuan, who turned her down straightforwardly. He was already feeling the pinch whenever he gave her one to two hundred thousand dors on a regr basis. Why would I still open a caf¨¦ for her? Buying a storefront is no child¡¯s y. How could I possibly bear to spend a few million dors on her? Bu Xianxian¡¯s spirits were dampened by his tant objection. ¡°If I were your wife, would you sponsor me?¡± she asked. ¡°It¡¯d be the same even if you¡¯re my wife,¡± said Shi Shaochuan, who would stay firm on his decision regardless of who coerces him. Bu Xianxian did not say much despite feeling like he was a petty miser. Her goal was not to marry him anyway. Noticing that she had gone silent, Shi Shaochuan asked, ¡°Are you angry?¡± ¡°No. It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t support me,¡± Bu Xianxian denied. Shi Shaochuan and she had just gotten together a while ago and their rtionship was still fresh. Moreover, she had given him her virginity and would allow him to get intimate with her several times in a row. However, he had been rather interested in entering her from behindtely, because then she would not discover that he had removed the condom and ejacted inside her. He would be the one cleaning her up afterward anyway. Did she think that I gave her those 400 thousand dors for nothing? I have greater ns in mind, such as getting her pregnant and making her give birth to a son for my family. Doesn¡¯t matter whether I marry her or not. Bu Xianxian had no idea what he was thinking at all. ¡ª Jin Qingyan called CEO Zhou personally, and thetter did not mention a thing aboutst night¡¯s events at all. The deal between them went through rather smoothly. The secretary knocked on his door at about eleven o¡¯clock in the morning. ¡°Come in.¡± The secretary reported, ¡°Director Jin, we¡¯ve received a call from the front desk at the lobby. They im that there¡¯s a Ms. Hu looking for you.¡± ¡°Ms. Hu?¡± he asked with raised brows. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Let her in.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± The secretary exited the office. Jin Qingyan took a look at the time and tied up some loose ends. Just as he wrapped up, Hu Xin entered. She was dressed in a denim dungaree dress with a white short-sleeved blouse beneath it, paired with a yellow fedora and a backpack on her shoulders. The barely-twenty-one-year-old looked extremely youthful. ¡°Mr. Jin,¡± she called gently. Pointing at the chair opposite his desk, he said, ¡°Have a seat, Ms. Hu.¡± Hu Xin discovered a stark difference in his tonepared to the night before. He sounded exactly the same as he did when they first met. She stepped forward and took a seat on the chair. ¡°What are you looking me up for, Ms. Hu?¡± Hu Xin said softly, ¡°I sent you a textst night, but you didn¡¯t reply to me so I thought it would be better for me toe here and thank you personally. If I don¡¯t, I¡¯d be very uneasy.¡± ¡°A text? When did you send it?¡± He subconsciously unlocked his mobile phone, thinking to himself that he clearly remembered that he didn¡¯t receive a text in the morning. ¡°Veryte at night. I reckon you must¡¯ve already fallen asleep then.¡± Who does she think I am? Jin Qingyan smiled and said, ¡°There¡¯s an auto-deletion function embedded in my mobile phone that would automatically erase all messages received from an unknown sender or unsaved number. What did you send in the message?¡± Needless to say, he was merely telling a white lie and he had already guessed who the person who deleted it was. ¡°This is the content of the text message,¡± said Hu Xin, handing him her mobile phone to show him the text message. However, she felt slightly disappointed to learn that he did not actually save her contact number, whereas she had always had his. After ncing through the content, he said coldly, ¡°It wasn¡¯t that great of an inconvenience, you didn¡¯t have to send me that text or make a trip down here personally. It¡¯s no big deal at all.¡± Chapter 962 - Perplexed and Smitten (22)

Chapter 962: Perplexed and Smitten (22)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shaking her head, Hu Xin said, ¡°It might not be worth mentioning to you, but it means a lot to me, Mr. Jin. I ought to thank you for it.¡± After a moment of silence, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°I shall ept your gratitude on ount that you¡¯re so sincere. How¡¯s your grandmother¡¯s condition?¡± ¡°Grandma has already passed on. I¡¯ve managed to repay all of my family¡¯s debts with the one million dors that you had given me. I also have quite a bit left to spend.¡± ¡°Why did you have to fork out the money to pay for your grandmother¡¯s medical bills? What about your parents?¡± ¡°My parents passed away in a fatal car ident and I was raised by my grandmother. My father was Grandma¡¯s only son and she was widowed at a young age too. Hence, I don¡¯t have any kin left in this world now.¡± ¡°Oh, I see.¡± After a casual chat, Jin Qingyan stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯m going back to have lunch. You should go home soon too.¡± ¡°Are you going home?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°But, didn¡¯t you sayst night that you disliked returning to Wei Ni Estate?¡± Jin Qingyan paused in his actions and answered, ¡°I only disliked it at that time. I usually love going home. That¡¯s my house, how could I possibly detest it?¡± It seemed to be a reasonable exnation. Feeling a little disgruntled, Hu Xin stood up and left his office together with him, after which they entered the elevator together. She looked at his side profile and could not help but feel enticed and attracted to his ravishing good looks. Images of the night before shed through her mind and she recalled him holding onto her hand and getting her to sit on hisp. She recalled the tenderness in his voice when he was speaking to her. However, she now felt like it happened in an entirely different realm, as if whatever took cest night was just a dream. She did not harbor any designs on him at all the first time they met and was merely interested in discussing a deal with him. They made a transaction where she gave him those video clips she had secretly recorded in exchange for a million dors. However, she was thrown into a sudden state of confusion when she chanced upon himst night. What attracted her was his strikingly-unusual behavior, especially when he unexpectedly defended her against An Xiaoning and even imed to have fancied her. Hu Xin barely caught a winkst night and it took her a great deal of courage and consideration to send that text message. She had also spent the entire night pondering over the matter, for she did not get a reply. After a few hours of sleep, she decided to meet him personally. However, it seemed she had made a wasted trip this time. Ding! The elevator doors opened and they stepped out of the elevator together. Their appearance had caught the attention of several employees, though none of them suspected there to be anything between the two of them. Well, every single person in the Jin Corporation was well aware of how deeply he loved An Xiaoning. After exiting the turnstile, Hu Xin thought that Jin Qingyan would offer to give her a lift. Contrary to her expectations, he did not do so and instead began walking toward his car with his car key. He did not even bother bidding her goodbye. Hu Xin stood rooted to the ground and watched as his figure disappeared, suddenly filled with a mix of emotions. Throughout the journey home, Jin Qingyan constantly tried to recall what time Hu Xin had leftst night. Why didn¡¯t Fan Shixin tell me about it? Who was the one who deleted the text message? Upon returning home, he immediately bombarded Fan Shixin with the questions that had flooded his mind during the car ride. ¡°Young Sir, I was the one who deleted that message. That woman spent some time with youst night, and... she even sat on yourp. Fortunately, I managed to rush there in time. Otherwise, something would have really happened.¡± ¡°I knew it was you. Why didn¡¯t you tell me earlier?¡± Had Jin Qingyan found out about this in the morning, he would not have agreed to see Hu Xin. ¡°But, Young Sir, if you knew about it...¡± ¡°She went to the office to thank me.¡± ¡°I reckon she has a hidden agenda. She¡¯s very scheming for someone her age.¡± ¡°Did Xiaoning go out this morning?¡± Shaking his head, Fan Shixin answered, ¡°No, Young Madam has been home all morning. She didn¡¯t go anywhere. Young Sir, did Ms. Hu say anything else?¡± ¡°No, she didn¡¯t.¡± Fan Shixin heaved a sigh of relief, feeling a little thankful. ¡ª It was eight o¡¯clock in the evening. No. 8 was preparing dinner together with Mo Li. The doorbell began to ring continuously all of a sudden. Mo Li wiped her hands and proceeded to answer the door. As soon as she saw who it was, she tried to close the door immediately, only to be stopped by the person at the door. It was none other than Ye Xiaotian, who showed up in a drunken stupor. He was flushed red and reeked of alcohol. However, he did not seem like he was about to copse. Not wanting No. 8 to see him, Mo Li walked out of the door and asked softly, ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°I missed you.¡± Mo Li flew into a rage and scowled at him while hollering, ¡°Hurry and get lost!¡± Ye Xiaotian stepped forward and hugged her in his arms. ¡°Lili, what happened to us?¡± he said with a tinge of sorrow in his voice. Mo Li struggled to break free with all her might. Just as she was trying to do so, No. 8 rushed over from behind and pulled Ye Xiaotian away forcefully before flinging him onto the ground. No. 8 red at him from above and warned, ¡°You¡¯ve already gotten married and Lili is now my girlfriend. Stop asking for trouble!¡± Ye Xiaotian tried to get up on his feet and stood unsteadily, swaying from side to side. He stared at them with reddened eyes. Keeping his eyes fixed on Mo Li, who had an apron on, he staggered toward the elevator without uttering another word. The moment the doors closed, Ye Xiaotian slid down the wall of the elevator and squatted onto the ground to weep in sorrow. Meanwhile, the pair returned inside the apartment. Noticing the stern expression on No. 8¡¯s face, Mo Li held his hand and said, ¡°He was drunk.¡± ¡°I know.¡± No. 8 smiled at her and continued, ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯ll continue preparing dinner in the kitchen. Just rest and wait for the food to be ready.¡± Mo Li nodded and eased herself into afortable position on the couch. She began to find her vision growing blurry as tears welled up in her eyes. She wiped the teardrop away from the corner of her eye, feeling anguished and upset at the thought of her wasted youth. It was more than a decade... I managed to pull through it... Splendid... As No. 8 was stir-frying some vegetables, she wrapped her arms around his waist all of a sudden. He said with a smile, ¡°Dinner¡¯s almost ready. Quick, go and wash your hands.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Neither of them brought up the incident again and continued to enjoy their dinner. On the other hand, Ye Xiaotian returned home to a less joyous asion. His wife, Qiao Yina, was waiting for him in the living room. ¡°You¡¯re home?¡± Just as she¡¯d tried to step forward to help him, he headed upstairs andpletely ignored her. Qiao Yina had no choice but to follow closely behind. It was the same old bedroom. However, it was no longer the same person sleeping beside him. He knew that letting her go was the right decision to make. However, why can¡¯t he seem to do so? So what if I¡¯m married and so what if she already has a boyfriend? I didn¡¯t treasure her and give her a blissful life when I still had her. He only realized that there was no turning back when he had already lost her. Qiao Yina filled the bathtub with water for him. He then took a bath andy in bed afterwards, closing his heavy eyelids. He would never speak to her for more than five times. If it weren¡¯t because he wanted to put his mother¡¯s mind at ease, he wouldn¡¯t have remarried. At the end of the day, there was no use in ming anyone, for he was the one who led himself to the predicament he was in today. Chapter 963 - Perplexed and Smitten (23)

Chapter 963: Perplexed and Smitten (23)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The thought of it made his heart wrench in immense pain and agony. Ever since Mo Li left him for good, he had never lived properly again. ¡ª ¡°Young Madam, these are all the information I¡¯ve gathered about Hu Xin. Hu Xin leads a simple life,¡± said Fan Shixin, handing her a stack of paper. An Xiaoning took it from him and began flipping through the pages, all the way until the end. She then handed it to Fan Shixin and said, ¡°Shred it.¡± ¡°Alright. Did Young Sir tell you yesterday that Hu Xin looked him up at the office?¡± Fan Shixin asked. ¡°No, he¡¯s probably afraid that I would read too much into things,¡± said An Xiaoning, who could guess the reason why he had hid it from her. Fan Shixin remarked, ¡°I think that girl must have thought that Young Sir was interested in her because Henry flirted with herst night...¡± ¡°I bet she was disappointed after meeting Qingyan at the office.¡± Fan Shixin chuckled and said, ¡°That must¡¯ve been the case. But, Young Madam, aren¡¯t you worried at all?¡± ¡°What should I be worried about?¡± ¡°About those young girls who are in their early twenties throwing themselves at Young Sir.¡± An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t you understand Qingyan¡¯s temper well enough? If those girls manage to seduce him sessfully, that just means that he¡¯s not mine to keep. It¡¯s a different case if it¡¯s Henry. Although they¡¯re the same person, they¡¯re two contrasting personalities. We must be wary when ites to Henry.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°Alright, get on with what you have to do, Shixin. I¡¯m going out.¡± Fan Shixin excused himself while she headed upstairs. There was a chair left at the entrance of the bedroom to prevent the door from closing. After all, the bedroom could only be unlocked by Jin Qingyan¡¯s thumbprint. She entered and closed the door. She changed into a casual outfit that consisted of a white spaghetti-strap top and a pair of denim shorts. She picked up her bag and set off from home. She arrived at the cosmetics store in her car. The sales assistant immediately recognized her and greeted her with great enthusiasm, ¡°Ms. An, what would you like to buy?¡± ¡°Do you have eyeliner pens that are meant for males?¡± ¡°We do, they¡¯re over here,¡± said the sales assistant, who led her to a product shelf near them. She then retrieved two eyeliner pens belonging to two different brands and exined, ¡°These two eyeliner pens are the current bestsellers. It¡¯s effects are longsting and smudge-proof. The pigment is vibrant, and it can be easily removed with some makeup remover.¡± ¡°Which one is the better out of the two?¡± Pointing at the one on the right, the sales assistant said, ¡°This one. It costs 200 dors more than the other one.¡± ¡°I shall take this, then. How much would that be?¡± ¡°Six hundred ny-nine dors.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and paid on the spot. When she got inside the car, she suddenly recalled the pastel yellow outfit of hers that Henry had put on. She parked her car at the entrance of the shopping mall and entered to continue shopping. She bought four sets of men¡¯s outfits that was suitable to be worn in the summer, each in a different color, namely pastel yellow, red, blue, and green. She also bought two pairs of shoes that were in vibrant colors. After her shopping haul, she ced the shopping bags in the backseat and brought them home. She handed everything to Fan Shixin, except the eyeliner pen. After looking at all the things that she had bought, Fan Shixin said, ¡°How thoughtful of you, Young Madam.¡± ¡°I just don¡¯t want him to wear my clothes again.¡± ¡°By the way, Young Madam, that Mr. He came by again when you went out just now. He was looking for you and he left after hearing that you were not in. I told him to call you but he said that your phone was switched off.¡± ¡°I left my phone to charge upstairs. I¡¯ll just call him back.¡± She had a gut feeling that He Yi looked her up with the purpose of discussing with her about going to V Nation again. However, she decided that it would be better to call him back, no matter what. He Yi arrived again soon after she called him. An Xiaoning said bluntly, ¡°If you¡¯re thinking of talking to me about the ancient graveyard in V Nation, there¡¯s no need for it. I won¡¯t go.¡± Seeing how straightforward she was, He Yi had no choice but to say, ¡°Ms. An, please hear me out first. It¡¯s not toote to decide after hearing what I have to say.¡± An Xiaoning had already decided long ago that she would never return to V Nation to provoke Mr. Xiao. Regardless of how convincing He Yi may sound, she did not wish to put her life in danger again. However, she decided to be polite and hear him out. ¡°Please speak.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been pondering over this for the past few days. I¡¯ve also considered your advice carefully after our previous discussion. However, I still have misgivings... because I have a strong hunch that the highly-coveted treasure map is right inside that graveyard.¡± ¡°You need basis to make such conjectures. What¡¯s your basis?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been researching V Nation for a long time and it doesn¡¯t matter whether my conjectures are correct or not. Ms. An, if you¡¯re willing to go with me and if we really do find that treasure map, we shall split the earnings by half. How does that sound?¡± Remaining cool and collected, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°Since you¡¯ve decided to tell me the truth, I shall also tell you an honest truth that I¡¯m aware of. To my knowledge, one nation had sent 3000 elite troops and several special agents to V Nation, but none of them made it back alive. Even if there were 2000 of us, I doubt we can defeat those people. Mr. He, don¡¯t you think we should just enjoy life while we can?¡± He Yi was appalled to hear her words. ¡°You... where did you hear those from?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to know where I got that information from, but everything I said is true. You don¡¯t have to try and persuade me anymore, I¡¯ve already made up my mind and I definitely won¡¯t put my life in danger. I¡¯ve already told you everything I should too. If you¡¯re still doubtful of the credibility of my words, you may go ahead and make a trip there. However, pardon my bluntness, but you¡¯d better draw up a will to manage your assets and settle your funeral matters before you go. I¡¯m not trying to scare you. I just really hope you will take my advice seriously.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand. If you¡¯re so uninterested in the affairs of V Nation, why did you invite me to your ce the day after we met at the ssmates¡¯ gathering? Weren¡¯t you nning to find out more about V Nation from me?¡± He Yi questioned, airing his qualms. ¡°Just because I wanted to find out more doesn¡¯t mean that I wanted to go there again. That¡¯s two separate concepts. Mr. He, you¡¯ve traveled to so many countries around the world. I reckon you must have witnessed countless absurdities and ridiculous entities, such as the blood-feeding tribes. Are there far more bewildering and intriguing existences in this world? The answer is a definite yes. I¡¯m not sure what they are, however. I just know that I can¡¯t afford to incur their wraths. There¡¯s always going to be someone more powerful than you, so much more than you can imagine.¡± Seemingly enlightened, He Yi said, ¡°You have a point. Your words have enlightened me and I¡¯ve gained more knowledge than I would have from ten years of studying.¡± ¡°You tter me. Many people know that nothing matters more than your life, and yet they still harbor some audacious thoughts.¡± While they were in the midst of a conversation, Xiao Huang entered and reported, ¡°Young Madam, Ms. Wen is asking to see you and she seems really desperate. She said that she must see you immediately, no matter what.¡± Chapter 964 - Perplexed and Smitten (24)

Chapter 964: Perplexed and Smitten (24)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning and He Yi exchanged nces as they could both guess who it was. ¡°Bring her in,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°What is she here for? Did you invite her?¡± He Yi asked. ¡°No. I don¡¯t know why she¡¯s here either. We¡¯ll find out when shees inter.¡± Wen Lele was appalled to see He Yi and asked in bewilderment, ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°Why can¡¯t I be here? I should be the one asking you, what are you doing here?¡± Noticing how filthy and disheveled she looked with her unkempt hair and bare face, which was a far cry from her appearance during the gathering, He Yi gibed, ¡°Is this how you should be dressing when you¡¯re paying someone a visit?¡± Wen Lele looked at An Xiaoning and said eagerly, ¡°I didn¡¯t have time to change. Ms. An, I have something important to tell you.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°He Yi, if you don¡¯t have anything important to talk to Ms. An about, please go back. There¡¯s something I must tell Ms. An privately,¡± said Wen Lele, turning around to look at He Yi. He Yi nodded and left after bidding An Xiaoning goodbye. Wen Lele walked toward the door to make sure that He Yi had left before returning inside. With a grave expression on her face, Wen Lele said, ¡°Ms. An, some of the members of our archeological team headed to an ancient graveyard yesterday. However, they grew hysterical all at the same time the next morning...¡± Terror was written all over Wen Lele¡¯s face as she continued, ¡°I was at the toilet with my female colleague at the time and when we returned, we saw that they were all knocking their heads against the rocks continuously. We were both petrified and so we scrambled into the car and called our captain. By the time our captain arrived with some other members, our colleagues had already died, all of them died...¡± An Xiaoning asked, ¡°You¡¯re an archeologist?¡± She nodded and answered, ¡°My captain is there now and he tried to get your number from the police station. However, he could not reach you and I had no choice but to look you up personally.¡± ¡°Is your captain Wang Jinsheng?¡± An Xiaoning asked, referring to the middle-aged archeological team captain whom she had met previously in Mount Yihua. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s that ancient graveyard located?¡± ¡°G City.¡± ¡°The Northwest region?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Since a mishap has already happened, why didn¡¯t your captaine back with the rest of your colleagues?¡± ¡°He didn¡¯te back but he dares not go near that ancient graveyard again. However, that ce is where an ancient pce used to be.¡± An Xiaoning dreaded going to such ces. However, now that she had learned about the incident, she had no choice but to go take a look, for that was the only appropriate thing to do. Fortunately, G City was not too far from A City and it would take only an hour-long flight to get there. ¡°There¡¯s a guest room over there. Take a shower first, I¡¯ll get someone to bring you a fresh set of clothes. I¡¯ll go upstairs to get ready.¡± ¡°Alright, thank you, Ms. An.¡± An Xiaoning instructed Auntie Chen to pass Wen Lele a set of clothes while she made her way upstairs. Half an hourter, she returned downstairs with her bag and saw that Wen Lele had already taken a shower and was waiting for her in the living room. Although Wen Lele was curious about what An Xiaoning had in her bag, she dared not ask any questions and instead got inside the car together with her, after which Fan Shixin drove them to the airport. Along the way, she called Jin Qingyan to inform him about the sudden change in ns. She initially thought that he would not have anyments about it. To her surprise, he refused to let her go. She asked, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you be extremely tired all the time if you render help in every simr incident that happens in this world? What has that ancient residence have anything to do with you? What¡¯s going to happen if you meet with a mishap in that spooky ce? Go home immediately.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just be taking a look. I¡¯m almost at the airport. Shixin¡¯s sending us there.¡± He immediately hung up and swiftly proceeded to call Fan Shixin. Fan Shixin put his earphones in and answered the call. After hearing his instructions, he expressed assent and immediately drove away from the airport. ¡°Why are you driving back?¡± Wen Lele asked worriedly. Fan Shixin answered, ¡°Young Sir said that he doesn¡¯t want Young Madam to go to such a dangerous ce.¡± Wen Lele could not help but panic upon seeing An Xiaoning remaining silent. ¡°How could Jin Qingyan be so tyrannical and unfeeling? There are more than a few casualties there. What¡¯s wrong with going to take a look? Ms. An, please go and have a look. If there are any supernatural beings, do help us get rid of all of them. If you¡¯re not willing to do it yourself, we¡¯ll hire some mediums to perform rituals. Please, Ms. An, I know you can see spirits. Captain and the rest are waiting for you there.¡± An Xiaoning had been contemting about whether she should go or not since it did not concern her at all and going would only upset Jin Qingyan. However, she would be ill at ease if she did not. ¡°Shixin, turn back around,¡± she instructed. ¡°Young Madam, Young Sir...¡± said Fan Shixin, who was put in a difficult position. ¡°Just drive back to the airport. I¡¯ll exin it to him myself. I¡¯ll be returning after taking a quick look.¡± After weighing the pros and cons, Fan Shixin decided to drive back to the airport. The moment Jin Qingyan found out that An Xiaoning had really gone to G City, he did not berate Fan Shixin at all because he knew how stubborn of a person An Xiaoning was. His anger also dissipated a great deal after reading the text message she had sent. An Xiaoning decided to just go take a look and return if she could not solve the problem. The ancient residence was quite a great distance away from the city center of G City. Hence, they hailed a taxi to the destination immediately upon touching down. Humidity was scarce due to the fact that it was in the Northwest region. It was noticeably warmer in G Citypared to A City. The temperatures were zing in the afternoon. They finally located the archeological team after trekking a long distance. Upon the sight of her, Wang Jinsheng hurriedly scurried toward her to wee her while the others quickly followed closely behind. ¡°Ms. An, you¡¯re finally here. I was so worried that you wouldn¡¯te,¡± said Wang Jinsheng. An Xiaoning questioned, ¡°I heard that you hired a medium to perform a ritual in that abandoned mountain in between Mount Heyuan and Mount Nanshan. Is that true?¡± ¡°Yes. I reckon those spirits inside had already left long ago. We didn¡¯t sense anything after entering again. I don¡¯t think the medium was capable enough, though. Anyway, we entered again and discovered that there was nothing inside that coffin.¡± ¡°Tell me about what happened here.¡± Wiping away the beads of perspiration that were trickling down his forehead uncontrobly, Wang Jinsheng exined, ¡°We received special instructions toe to this ancient residence to research on it. No one dared toe here in the past, and hence, we had a ritual performed beforehand. However, it turns out that it was of no use at all.¡± ¡°Have the corpses been sent back?¡± ¡°No, we were waiting for you toe and take a look before sending the corpses back to A City.¡± ¡°Where are they now? I¡¯ll go take a look now. Once I¡¯m done, hurry and get your subordinates to send them back. Corpses dpose very quickly in such warm temperatures.¡± ¡°Over there,¡± he said, pointing at a tent that was not too far away. The bunch of people hurried there under Wang Jinsheng¡¯s lead. An Xiaoning chose to walk at the back of the line and was soon greeted with the sight of a deceased man whose face was stained with blood. The blood had already dried up, and the wounds on his head were rather grotesque and too horrendous to take another nce at. Chapter 965 - Perplexed and Smitten (25)

Chapter 965: Perplexed and Smitten (25)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning looked away and said to Wang Jinsheng, ¡°Send the corpses back to A City immediately. Take me to the ancient residence while the sky is still bright.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After exiting the tent, Wang Jinsheng brought An Xiaoning, Wen Lele, and two other archeologists to the ancient residence. It took a five-minute car ride to get there. The group of five alighted from the car. An Xiaoning stared into the distance and could not help but find the ce to be rather familiar-looking. She felt as if she had been here before. The sense of familiarity and deja vu grew stronger with every step she took. It reminded her of the way she felt in Mount Huayi. ¡°I heard from Lele that this used to be the location of an ancient pce. Is that true?¡± ¡°Yes. It dates back to almost a millennium ago.¡± ¡°Who was the master of this pce?¡± ¡°ording to historical recounts, it was vaguely stated that a prince used to live here, but his name wasn¡¯t mentioned.¡± An Xiaoning did not stop walking until they reached a worn-out entrance. The door was already removed from its hinges due to the dposition, which was a toll that time had taken on the residence, leaving only the door frame behind. ¡°Has anyonee here before?¡± ¡°The archeological team has visited this residence before. Nothing really happened in the day and the mysterious and bizarre events only took ce from the evening onward. They set up tents outside the entrance and most of them died here. Ever since then, no one dared toe by again. This time, we were filled with uncertainty and decided to make all the possible preparations beforehand, such as getting a ritual performed by a medium. We initially thought that everything would be fine, but to our astonishment, a tragic mishap still took ce...¡± ¡°I don¡¯t get it, can¡¯t you do your research in the day? Why must you people stay overnight?¡± Wen Lele answered, ¡°It was already five o¡¯clock in the evening when we arrived yesterday. Thus, we set up the tents and initially nned to only enter the residence the next morning. However, the sky had yet to turn dark by the time we were done. Hence, we decided to go in to take a look since we didn¡¯t have much else to do anyway. We just took a casual nce around the ce. When the sky turned dark, my female colleague and I headed to the toilet outside. We didn¡¯t see the rest of them when we came out so we decided to look for them, but afterwards, we saw them at the entrance...¡± Wen Lele paused and continued in a quivering voice, ¡°Then, that happened. My colleague and I didn¡¯t dare to step forward and instead zoomed toward the car.¡± The five of them entered, filled with fear and anxiety, all except An Xiaoning. There was a chaotic sight near a wall beside the door with blood all over the floor. It was obvious that that was where the scene had taken ce. An Xiaoning scanned her surroundings, and a scenario that she had dreamed of previously popped up in her head. All of a sudden, she realized that the setting of the scenario matched the sight before her. She was immediately rmed. Could this be... An Xiaoning quickly strode inside while the rest followed her frantically. After a millennium, the walls and interior of the house were no longer well furbished and were now worlds apart from the way they used to be. However, she could still recognize it. Standing at the spot where she once kicked Granny Sun, An Xiaoning scanned her surroundings carefully, not in the least bit afraid at all. She sent Jin Qingyan a text message to exin the situation to him briefly. After ensuring that the message was sessfully delivered, she took a stroll around the ce. Atst, she arrived at arger mansion. She could tell that it was a mansion because of the stone bricks. The other houses in the residence had already copsedpletely, except this one. Just as she was about to enter, Wang Jinsheng yelled to stop her in her tracks, ¡°Ms. An, if there are really any supernatural beings here, could they be inside?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll know once we go in.¡± Wang Jinsheng dragged himself across the floor with heavy footsteps, feeling as if his feet were weighed down by boulders. Wen Lele and the other two archeologists dared not follow them and instead waited outside the mansion. As soon as An Xiaoning touched the wooden door, it began copsing down in their direction, causing the three of them to shriek in terror. All of a sudden, they fell silent while An Xiaoning supported the door with one hand. Thinking that the door must be rather light, Wang Jinsheng tried to help her support the weight of it, only to find that it was extremely heavy. Is it because I¡¯m old? He could not help but feel ashamed at the fact that he was weaker than a woman. ¡°Captain Wang, go outside first.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Just as he walked away from the door, An Xiaoning pushed the door inward, causing it to fall with a thud. Wang Jinsheng was instantly dumbfounded. He hurriedly stepped forward in an attempt to carry the door, only to find that it was impossible. His eyes widened in shock and he asked, ¡°Ms. An, the door is so heavy. How did you do it?¡± ¡°Captain Wang, don¡¯t you know that one could gain endless strength during crucial times?¡± Wang Jinsheng nodded in self-admittance. The other three also approached and tried to lift the door with all their might. Noticing that An Xiaoning had entered, the four of them slowed down and proceeded after her step by step. An Xiaoning nced around and did not find a single spirit in sight. She slowly approached a table. Due to the fact that it was extremely aged, a piece of the wooden table would crumble with the slightest touch. ¡°Seems like this used to be a study. There are still some books there,¡± said Wang Jinsheng, pointing at a bookshelf behind the table. An Xiaoning walked toward the bookshelf and grabbed one of the books, which turned into dust quickly. Hence, she was extremely gentle and handled the paper with tender care. Staring at the writings on the book, she asked Wang Jinsheng, ¡°What do these say?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a book of poems.¡± She grabbed all the books and handed them to Wen Lele. She then picked up a navy blue stone from the ground, after which Wang Jinsheng interjected, ¡°This is an ink stone used in ancient times.¡± An Xiaoning scrutinized it repeatedly before handing it to Wen Lele. After exiting, they proceeded to explore the other ces. The water in the pond had already dried up due to the zing sun. An Xiaoning was no longer in the mood to stay any longer. On the way back, she felt a sudden sleepiness, although the journey onlysted a few minutes. ¡°Captain Wang, I¡¯m a little tired. I¡¯ll take a nap.¡± ¡°Alright, go ahead.¡± She leaned back against her seat and closed her eyes to take a nap. An Xiaoning soon fell into a daze and felt that the car ride was extremely bumpy and that it was jerking violently. She struggled to open her eyes, only to discover that she was no longer inside the car but was now inside a sedan. She quickly snapped out of her trance and looked out of the carriage. She discovered that the skies were gray and gloomy and that humans were scarce on the streets. An Xiaoning frantically drew the curtain open and asked the person who was carrying the sedan, ¡°How long more do we have until we arrive?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get impatient, Miss Jin, I¡¯ll speed up. We¡¯ll arrive in a jiffy.¡± An Xiaoning felt relieved after hearing his polite reply. It was An Xiaoning¡¯s first time sitting in a sedan, and she could not help but feel ufortable due to the violent rocking. She extended her hands toward the windows and tried to ease her difort. She felt as if they were traveling at a snail¡¯s pace, for she had already gotten used to traveling by car. Chapter 966 - Perplexed and Smitten (26)

Chapter 966: Perplexed and Smitten (26)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She continued to wait patiently. Twenty minutester, the servant said, ¡°Miss Jin, we¡¯re here.¡± An Xiaoning frantically looked out of the window and squinted to see that the sky had already brightened and that the sedan was entering the pce. They¡¯re carrying me inside openly, what... Would that Princess Consort even allow it? What¡¯s my status now? An Xiaoning was clueless. She drew the curtains, overwhelmed with a mix of emotions. Once the sedan was lowered onto the ground, the curtain was drawn open forcefully. She was greeted with the sight of Jin Qingyan. An Xiaoning looked at him while exiting the sedan. ¡°You¡¯ve had a long journey, it must have been tough on you. I¡¯ve already arranged a room for you,¡± he said, sounding rather formal. She had no choice but to nod along since she had no idea what exactly was going on. ¡°Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll take you there.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± He took the lead while An Xiaoning followed closely behind. They finally arrived at a mansion whose door was left ajar and in which there were some lit candles. The two of them entered the room together. As soon as they entered, she hurriedly closed the door and strode forward to tug on his sleeve. Before she could even speak, he shrugged her hand away. An Xiaoning was shocked out of her wits. Was he not acting aloof on purpose just now? ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± He glowered at her menacingly and retorted, ¡°Whats¡¯ wrong with me? How dare you ask me what¡¯s wrong? Who gave you the audacity to abort my child secretly!?!¡± An Xiaoning did not feel ufortable at all. Thus, she reckoned that the abortion must have happened some time ago. All of a sudden, she recalled one of her dreams where she had a miscarriage. Could it be that time? Or was it another one? His temper should still be about the same as his current one in this lifetime. She said gently, ¡°How could I bear to abort the child?¡± ¡°Do you really think you can hide it from me? Your status has changed and you¡¯re now the goddaughter of the Gu Nation¡¯s prince. You don¡¯t need me anymore so you¡¯re starting to draw a line between us, isn¡¯t that so?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± ¡°Hua Jin, you¡¯re getting better and better at lying. Of course not? Would you havee here if I hadn¡¯t stolen the Princess Consort¡¯s identity and invited you over for a few days¡¯ stay?¡± An Xiaoning immediately thought of the possible reason. Something must have happened between us. Could it be that we were having a cold war? But why? She feltpletely clueless, for she knew nothing about the events that took ce in between and was merely aware of the ending. Noticing that she had sunk deep into thought, Jin Qingyan flew into a rage and pinned An Xiaoning against a table, causing her to feel a sharp pain in her lower back. She initially wanted to push him away but decided not to struggle or retaliate, considering the current situation. He began sticking his tongue into her mouth overbearingly and pinned her onto the table. He had missed her dearly because they had not seen each other in a long time. He was not at all gentle or affectionate with his actions, making An Xiaoning feel extremely ufortable. Grabbing onto his arm tightly, An Xiaoning murmured, ¡°You¡¯re hurting me...¡± ¡°You know what pain is?¡± he retorted sternly, not reducing his strength at all. ¡°Let¡¯s talk things over calmly, alright?¡± He did not respond and seemed to have taken her silence to mean consent. After a long battle, An Xiaoning sat on the bed, feeling a stinging pain between her legs. He stood opposite her and asked, ¡°What do you want to talk about?¡± ¡°Let me ask you, which child of ours was it?¡± He squinted and questioned, ¡°How would you not know?¡± ¡°Answer me.¡± ¡°Our first.¡± Recalling the dream that she once had, An Xiaoning said firmly, ¡°I asked you because I wanted you to know that it was our first. And since it was our first child, how could I bear to abort it?¡± ¡°If you didn¡¯t abort it, how did you lose it? The people at the pharmacy have all said that you bought some abortion drug yourself. Don¡¯t try and fool me,¡± he said in a much mellower tone. She grabbed his hand and said, ¡°So you just believed them? Those people have been bribed. Who knows? Maybe someone is after the child¡¯s and my life.¡± An Xiaoning was certain that she was not one who would abort a child, be it in her previous lifetime or in the present. The frown on his forehead eased a little, and he said in a gentler voice, ¡°You mean, someone...¡± An Xiaoning had the confidence to make such a conclusion, firstly because she was not one to abort a fetus, and secondly because she was deeply in love with him and obviously wouldn¡¯t abort their child. ¡°Brother Ling, I won¡¯t lie to you. Don¡¯t you know how much you mean to me?¡± His heart waspletely melted by her words. Perhaps she just had that power over him. ¡°I was being too brash and rough just now. Does it still hurt?¡± An Xiaoning nodded and moaned a little in a coy manner. ¡°Yes, of course it does.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll bring you some medicer.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to...¡± ¡°Get some rest first. We¡¯ll have breakfast together after daybreak arrives.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not very appropriate, is it?¡± After pausing to hesitate, she continued, ¡°The Princess Consort...¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. You should know from the fact that I¡¯d forged her identity to write to you that I no longer have to be afraid of her family¡¯s authority.¡± After some consideration, she said, ¡°I think we¡¯d better not.¡± Seeing how insistent she was, he decided not topel her any further. Instead, he stroked her head affectionately with much tenderness before turning around to leave. An Xiaoning tried to recall her memories carefully. She verified that the miscarriage would have happened after she left the pce because he was still bothered by the Princess Consort¡¯s authority and power when she left. In that case, a lot must have happened in between. She walked toward the bronze mirror and stared at her own reflection, which proved her conjecture to be correct. Her features had developed much morepared to before. She also seemed to be one or two years older. Despite feeling the nagging difort between her legs, she did not wish to justy in bed to sleep. Instead, she decided to reconnoiter around the ce and check out theyout. As soon as she stepped out of the house, the maid standing by the door asked, ¡°Miss Jin, why don¡¯t you rest for a while longer?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t seem to fall asleep. Could you show me around this ce?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and began strolling alongside her on the road. All of a sudden, images of the residence from a millenniumter shed through her mind. She was filled with an inexplicable feeling. When the sky turnedpletely bright, An Xiaoning walked to the ce where she had been before. ¡°Whose house is this?¡± ¡°You must have forgotten. Miss Jin, this is His Highness¡¯ house.¡± She expressed assent and said, ¡°Wait for me here while I go in to take a look.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± She crossed the gate to see that there was another maid sweeping the floor in the backyard and a few bodyguards on standby. Upon seeing her arrival, they all greeted her politely. Hearing the noises outside, Jin Qingyan came out of the house and asked in surprise, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you getting some rest?¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t sleep so I decided toe and take a look. Is this door made of wood?¡± she asked, cing her hand on the heavy door that had almost crushed her and Wang Jinsheng in real life. Chapter 967 - Perplexed and Smitten (27)

Chapter 967: Perplexed and Smitten (27)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°It¡¯s made of superior ironwood. A lot of effort was put into constructing this door, and it¡¯s exceptionally heavy. However, I¡¯ve embedded something inside the door.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve embedded something? What is it?¡± ¡°Make a guess,¡± he said with a look of tenderness. ¡°Would I have asked you if I could guess it? Just what is it?¡± she probed. He lowered his head and whispered into her ear, ¡°Something that I had written.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I doubt you can see it. It¡¯s already sealed inside this door, it won¡¯t be easy to retrieve it. I wrote it for you,¡± he said softly. ¡°Why did you...¡± ¡°I wanted to keep a unique memento and ce it somewhere only we know.¡± Smiling, she looked up and gazed at him, revealing her straight rows of pearly whites. His heart fluttered upon seeing her smile and he said, ¡°You just have this power to make me infuriated yet happy.¡± The air was filled with a joyous atmosphere that would have persisted on if the Princess Consort hadn¡¯t showed up. What a pity that she did. ¡°Oh, how times have changed,¡± the Princess Consort gibed while striding in gracefully with Xiao Liu behind her. It did not cross An Xiaoning¡¯s mind that Xiao Liu would be her maid. ¡°Greetings, Princess Consort,¡± said An Xiaoning, who felt it was only appropriate to follow the rules. ¡°Don¡¯t say that, Miss Hua Jin. You¡¯re no longer who you used to be. You¡¯re now the goddaughter of the Gu Nation¡¯s prince, not the littless who used to be at everyone¡¯s beck and call a year ago. In hindsight, it must have been tough for His Highness to have to watch you get beaten up and punished so severely. I really thought that you had died from the beating and was randomly buried somewhere. Turns out, His Highness was so remarkably intelligent and hid everything so well. I¡¯m no match for him at all,¡± she sneered. There was a tant animosity in her sarcastic remark that she did not try to hide at all. ¡°Please leave if there¡¯s nothing else you have to say,¡± he said coldly. The Princess Consort was at a loss for words. She had initially wanted to say something, but to no avail. ¡°I¡¯d like to invite His Highness and Miss Hua Jin for a meal together. How does that sound, Your Highness?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± An Xiaoning was rather awkward and tense throughout the meal. She mimicked the actions of others and chewed slowly, taking one small mouthful of food at a time. She decided to keep quiet because she had no idea what to say around the Princess Consort. However, the Princess Consort could no longer tolerate it further and sneered with a smirk, ¡°There aren¡¯t any outsiders here. May I ask, when did your rtionship with His Highness begin? Was it when you climbed onto his bed when you were still a maid?¡± An Xiaoning turned to look at Jin Qingyan, only to discover that an austere expression had formed on his face. ¡°Don¡¯t you know what to ask and what not to?¡± he snapped. Feeling extremely disgruntled, the Princess Consort said, ¡°I married Your Highness and I¡¯ve been a virtuous wife in every aspect. I just don¡¯t understand, what¡¯s so great about her? Why are you so in love with her? Please tell me, Your Highness. I¡¯d like to have some of your love too.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll never have her attributes, no matter how hard you try. You don¡¯t have to waste your efforts.¡± An Xiaoning looked down and remained quiet. After breakfast, she returned to her room to get some rest. Just as she was about to fall asleep, she felt a sudden burning sensation in her throat. Someone was calling her name, over and over again. It was a familiar and alluring voice. She opened her eyes again to see that it was the present-day Jin Qingyan. She was suffering from a splitting headache, and her lips were dry and cracked. ¡°You¡¯re finally awake. Have some water, quick,¡± he said while handing her a bottle of mineral water that he had already opened. An Xiaoning took it from him and chugged half the bottle in one go to quench her immense thirst. ¡°Where is everyone else?¡± ¡°Near the tent. You were sleeping when I arrived.¡± ¡°What time is it now?¡± ¡°Past five o¡¯clock.¡± The days were longer and the nights were shorter in the summer. The sky was still as bright as ever. She told him everything that had happened in her dream. She then alighted from the car while Jin Qingyan followed suit. ¡°Where are we going?¡± ¡°To get the car keys from Captain Wang. I have to get past that door.¡± Jin Qingyan stayed put to wait for her. Not long after, she returned with the car keys. ¡°Let me drive,¡± said Jin Qingyan, who took the keys from her and quickly got inside the car. An Xiaoning walked past the car and scurried toward the passenger¡¯s seat. ¡°You were so reluctant to let mee at first. If I hadn¡¯te, how would I have known that you and I have had a past in this ce?¡± she said. He smiled and said, ¡°Yes, yes, yes. I won¡¯t stop you from doing whatever you want again from now on.¡± ¡°Are you indulging me?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m just pampering and doting on you.¡± An Xiaoning was pleased to hear his words. In the blink of an eye, they arrived at their destination. Jin Qingyan held her hand and walked toward the door. Out of nowhere, he began to tear up the moment he stepped foot inside. He gripped her fingers even more tightly. Once they entered the yard, she walked toward the door and said to him, ¡°This is the door that you said was made painstakingly. You told me that it was made of superior ironwood and that something you wrote was embedded inside it. I want to know what it is.¡± ¡°However, it¡¯s not that easy to pry open such a rigid wood. Why don¡¯t I call those archeologists to bring some tools over for us to try prying it open?¡± ¡°We were too eager just now. We should have just brought them over together, but it¡¯s alright, the sky is still bright. Bring them here.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Less than twenty minutester, Wang Jinsheng arrived with two of his male subordinates and some tools. ¡°Ms. An, is this the door?¡± ¡°Yes. Pry it open, but be careful, there¡¯s something inside.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know after we open it.¡± He nodded and began sawing the door with an electric saw. ¡°Oh goodness, I was wondering why it was so heavy. Turns out there¡¯s even a steel barrier inside. Which nutcase made this door? Who would put a steel te inside a door for no reason? What¡¯s the point of making such a heavy door? Was it meant to prevent burrs froming in?¡± Wang Jinsheng remarked with a sigh. An Xiaoning looked at Jin Qingyan and chuckled before saying, ¡°That¡¯s why I said there must be something inside that door that made it so heavy. Captain Wang, hurry and take a look at what¡¯s below that steel te.¡± They dismantled the door into a few parts and everyone got a huge shock upon seeing what was beneath the steel te. There were dozens of pieces of paper that were stacked neatly together. Each piece was folded into a square. Clearly, the steel te had been pressedpactly against the papers, thus preventing them from sliding down to the bottom of the door. Noticing that Wang Jinsheng was about to pick it up, An Xiaoning frantically stopped him, ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡± He quickly retracted his hand and said, ¡°I just wanted to see what was written on it.¡± ¡°These papers are aged and they might just tear if we touch it.¡± She meticulously took the papers out and stacked them together again carefully, making a conscious effort to be gentle while handling them. Once she took out all of the papers, she unfolded one of the squares to discover that she could not read the words written on it at all. She asked, ¡°Captain Wang, what do these mean?¡± Chapter 968 - Perplexed and Smitten (28)

Chapter 968: Perplexed and Smitten (28)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Wang Jinsheng took a look and immediately said, ¡°This is a romantic poem that was probably written by a man. Well, this used to be a pce after all. The person who had the gall to do this was probably the prince or someone of higher authority back in the day.¡± ¡°What does the poem mean?¡± ¡°The writer expressed his adoration and affection toward this woman in all the poems, and the overall meaning is that he misses this woman greatly and that he feels like he can¡¯t live without her. He¡¯s also willing to go anywhere she¡¯d like to go.¡± Noticing the smile on her face, Wang Jinsheng grinned and said, ¡°Seems like those ancient people do know how to be romantic and are rather sentimental. He actually hid all his love letters in the door. How unique.¡± An Xiaoning sneakily stored the stack of papers into a stic bag and ced the stic bag into her own bag. Wang Jinsheng could not help but say, ¡°By rights, we must bring all of these back to be disyed in the national museum.¡± ¡°You may do that with the rest, but not these,¡± she said assertively, sounding as if there was no room forpromises to be made. Thinking that he was the one who had asked her for help in the first ce, Wang Jinsheng decided not to insist further. ¡°You may take it with you since you want it, Ms. An,¡± he consented. ¡°Thank you, Captain Wang.¡± ¡°Ms. An, you may continue taking a look inside with Mr. Jin. The three of us shall wait for you guys at the entrance.¡± ¡°How about you drive the car back first, Captain Wang? Return when it¡¯s about to get dark and do bring some food along. We¡¯ll take a look around the ce. We shall wait for you at the entranceter,¡± said An Xiaoning, handing him the car keys. ¡°Sounds good.¡± The three of them quickly left the ce. ¡°You¡¯ve been keeping quiet throughout. What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Xiaoning.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°We should have asked those spirits in the cave about how I died before they left back then. Now that I think about it, I really regret not doing so. I also want to find out how you died in our previous lifetime.¡± After a moment of silence, An Xiaoning said, ¡°I think it should be easy to find out about those. I¡¯ve been dreaming about our previous lifetime rather frequently ofte. We¡¯ll find out one day. Have you had any dreams recently, though?¡± Shaking his head, he answered, ¡°I¡¯ve never dreamed about it again.¡± ¡°Regardless of how we died in our previous lives, it¡¯s already set in stone. I don¡¯t want history to repeat itself in this lifetime.¡± .... By evening, Wang Jinsheng had arrived with the rest of the archeological team and brought some fast food and bottled mineral water for An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan. They then began eating and drinking unhurriedly. As the sky turned dark gradually, the ancient residence began to feel a little spooky. When Jin Qingyan suggested that they go in together, Wen Lele interjected in disapproval, ¡°Jin Qingyan, don¡¯t burden Ms. An. We¡¯re already worried enough about her going in alone. If you tag along, we really can¡¯t imagine...¡± ¡°Let hime with me,¡± said An Xiaoning, who did not stop him. Wen Lele widened her eyes in shock and said, ¡°Ms. An, why are you so...¡± ¡°I won¡¯t let anything happen to him.¡± Wen Lele had no choice but to keep quiet. They had already gone inside twice in the day, and this would be An Xiaoning¡¯s third time entering the same ce, but at a different timing. ¡°It¡¯s really strange that I don¡¯t feel afraid at all this time,¡± An Xiaoning said softly after entering. ¡°Me neither.¡± The further they delved inside, the lesser they were spooked. It felt just like a casual stroll for them. ¡°Did you see anything yet?¡± ¡°No, nothing at all.¡± However, it did not seem like there waspletely nothing bizarre about the ce. After all, it was a matter of fact that those archeologists had died right there. Both of them were wearing night vision goggles, which allowed them to see everything clearly in the darkness of the night. After passing by several walls, they began walking toward a bridge. They made their way up the stone stairs slowly. Just as they reached the middle, An Xiaoning subconsciously let out a screech. Her hands began to quiver while Jin Qingyan held onto one tightly. He had a rough idea upon seeing her reaction. The initial silence was broken by a faint weeping that gradually grew louder. Soon, there was a mix of shrilling voicesing from males, females, and the elderly. The immense mncholy in their voices were rather hair-raising. All of a sudden, a voice screeched loudly, ¡°Your Highness!!!¡± Tears began to well up in Jin Qingyan¡¯s eyes and he asked, ¡°Why... why haven¡¯t you guys gone to reincarnate yet?¡± ¡°Our spirits and souls have been trapped here and we can¡¯t leave at all. Your Highness, you have no idea what happened after you went missing. The entire pce was sealed and surrounded byrge armies of soldiers. None of us made it out alive...¡± An Xiaoning could not contain her emotions and began to tear up as well. She then said to him, ¡°There are a lot of them who are kneeling on the ground in front of us. Hurry and let them get up.¡± ¡°You guys, get on your feet, quick.¡± Hismand was rather effective and the spirits immediately stood up. ¡°Who was the one who trapped you guys here, and who was the one who sealed the pce? His Highness and I have already reincarnated and we barely remember much about our previous lives. Please tell us what happened,¡± said An Xiaoning. A female spirit said, ¡°It¡¯s a long story.¡± She then instructed her fellow spirits, ¡°Wait at the door, you guys. Don¡¯t let those peoplee in.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t hurt them, they¡¯re all good people. If they try to enter, just scare them a little. They wouldn¡¯t dare to enter,¡± said An Xiaoning. The spirits nodded and soon vanished out of sight. The woman walked toward them and stopped at a distance of about two meters away from An Xiaoning. She said, ¡°Miss Jin, I wonder if you still remember me, your servant.¡± An Xiaoning looked at her carefully and said, ¡°I can¡¯t remember.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not surprising. I was already married when you came to the pce back then, Miss Jin. My name is Ling Yu, and I was sold to the pce to be His Highness¡¯ servant when he was still a child. I was also one of his head maids. His Highness was brave and battle-wise. He was rarely home too. I got married when I was 18 years old, but my husband died a few years after we got married. My parents-inw then chased me out of the house and I returned to the pce to work again. At that time, you and His Highness had already split and you never returned to the pce again. You may not know who I am, but I know who you are, Miss Jin. When I returned to the pce, His Highness was moody and depressed for a long period of time. All he would do each day was drown his sorrows in liquor and make paintings of you. The entire study was filled with your portraits...¡± She continued, ¡°His Highness then went missing, and a few dayster, we received an imperial edict that imed that His Highness had colluded with the other nations in an attempt to seize power and control. The soldiers first surrounded the entire mansion and yard. Half a monthter, His Highness had still yet to return, and thus, they decided to kill everyone inside the prince¡¯s residence. No life was spared at all. We were then mass buried in a huge ditch, and there were amulets pasted on all of our corpses to trap our spirits in here forever.¡± Chapter 969 - Perplexed and Smitten (29)

Chapter 969: Perplexed and Smitten (29)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°All of us dare not show ourselves in broad daylight, and we only evere out at night. We were extremely worried that His Highness might have been murdered and we were looking forward to his return. We were so troubled and conflicted. However, he never came back in the end.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan listened attentively, feeling a sudden sense of moroseness and sympathy. ¡°You mean you never saw him again after he went missing without a reason?¡± Ling Yu answered with a lopsided smile, ¡°Yes. I don¡¯t regret dying, however. My family sold me to the pce when I was a young child and His Highness was kind enough to grant me the privilege of getting married. He even allowed me to return to the pce after my parents-inw chased me out of the family. His Highness was very kind and nice to me. I just take pity on the rest who died. At least a few hundreds of lives were taken, and more than ten newborns were killed too...¡± Choking with sobs, she continued, ¡°There were so many people in the residence, and yet none of them survived. Even the horses, dogs, cats, and livestock were not spared.¡± A vein began bulging from Jin Qingyan¡¯s forehead, and he thought to himself that he definitely was not aware of those events that took ce in his previous life. Otherwise, there was no way he wouldn¡¯t have returned. ¡°Were the instructions given by the emperor?¡± he asked. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Was the emperor my younger or older brother?¡± ¡°He was your second brother. Your Highness, you were the third prince.¡± ¡°Do you guys know why he sent out those instructions?¡± Shaking her head, Ling Yu answered, ¡°We had no idea. The imperial edict only stated that you were colluding with the outsiders in an attempt to seize power...¡± Well, it was not surprising that they were uninformed about the power struggle since they were just a bunch of servants serving the prince. An Xiaoning asked with a heavy heart, ¡°Miss Ling Yu, who was the one who trapped you guys?¡± ¡°After our deaths, we heard the troops calling the person who performed the ritual ¡®Master Yin.¡¯ I reckon he must¡¯ve been a member of the Yin family, which was closely associated with the emperor.¡± Ling Yu asked in a moment of curiosity, ¡°Why do I feel like you can see us, Miss Jin?¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. I was born with the ability to see andmunicate with spirits. Thus, I can see you guys. Please bring me to the ce where you were buried. Leave the rest to us to handle.¡± ¡°Pleasee with us then, Your Highness and Miss Jin,¡± said Ling Yu, who swayed toward the side and turned around to walk away. An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan followed her lead. Before they reached the ce, An Xiaoning received a call from Wang Jinsheng, who was worried about them. An Xiaoning answered quickly and told him to rest assured. Wang Jinsheng felt much more relieved to hear that they were safe and sound. They arrived at a dpidated ce, and Ling Yu pointed at a patch ofnd while saying, ¡°This is it.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll bring some people here tomorrow to dig up the soil. I¡¯ll also remove the amulets that have been trapping you guys and handle your skeletons appropriately.¡± ¡°Thank you very much, Your Highness and Miss Jin. Back then, we were both looking forward to His Highness¡¯ return and dreading it at the same time because we were worried that he would be arrested once he came back. At least if he didn¡¯t, we would think that he¡¯s probably still alive somewhere. After several decades, we stopped looking forward to his return and we couldn¡¯t deny the fact that His Highness might have died... we never thought that we could see His Highness again. We really never expected...¡± she said in between sobs. ¡°It was my fault for failing to protect you guys. I¡¯m sorry,¡± Jin Qingyan apologized with tears in his eyes. Shaking her head profusely, Ling Yu said, ¡°No... it¡¯s not your fault, Your Highness.¡± After chatting for a while, Ling Yu asked when they were about to leave, ¡°Pardon me for my bluntness, but could you answer this brazen question of mine, Miss Jin?¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°You and His Highness, you guys...¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t manage to stay together in our previous lives, but we¡¯ve reunited in our present lifetime and we now have a son together.¡± Ling Yu and the rest of the spirits were extremely ted, though they did not dare to make a single sound when Ling Yu was speaking. ¡°We¡¯re all ted for you now that you finally got your wishes, Your Highness. All His Highness yearned for in the past was to marry you, Miss Jin, but he never got the chance to fulfill his wishes.¡± An Xiaoning turned to look at Jin Qingyan while tears streamed down her face uncontrobly. Their fingers were interlocked tightly throughout. On the way back, the hundreds of spirits escorted them away. Although Jin Qingyan could not see them, he could still feel their presence. ¡°Ms. An, Mr. Jin, you¡¯re finally out!¡± Wang Jinsheng eximed agitatedly as he proceeded forward together with the other archeologists, who were extremely worried about them. Everyone heaved a huge sigh of relief upon seeing that they were alright. ¡°Let¡¯s go back first. We¡¯ll talk in the tent.¡± ¡°Yes, yes.¡± Once they got inside the car, Wen Lele leaned in and asked, ¡°Ms. An, did anything happen after you entered?¡± ¡°Nothing happened at all.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense.¡± ¡°Ms. Wen, were you hoping that something would happen to us inside?¡± An Xiaoning questioned, giving her the side-eye. Wen Lele frantically exined herself, ¡°No, no, no, that¡¯s not what I meant. How could I possibly hope for that? That ce is so spooky and haunted. I was just afraid that a mishap would happen. After you guys entered, our captain started pacing back and forth like a madman, and silently in our hearts, we were all praying for you two to be safe.¡± ¡°There are indeed spirits in there but they¡¯re just a bunch of pitiful souls.¡± ¡°A bunch? How many exactly?¡± Wen Lele asked. ¡°Close to a thousand.¡± Turning as pale as a sheet, Wen Lele eximed, ¡°What!?! No wonder those rituals performed by the mediums previously were of no use at all. What a bunch of ipetent fools. Ms. An, did you get rid of all the spirits?¡± An Xiaoning retorted, ¡°Why should I get rid of them? They¡¯ve been trapped in there for centuries. Let¡¯s move their skeletons to another sanctuary tomorrow. They¡¯ll be able to reincarnate once I remove the amulets from their corpses.¡± ¡°How could you let them reincarnate!?! They¡¯ve killed so many of our crew. They deserve to die. They shouldn¡¯t be allowed to reincarnate forever!¡± Wen Lele eximed in fury at the thought of her deceased colleagues. ¡°Shut up!¡± Jin Qingyan snapped, frightening Wen Lele. ¡°Jin Qingyan, what do you mean? What did I say wrongly? Why did you tell me to shut up?¡± An Xiaoning swung his hand a little to signal him not to answer. She answered on his behalf, ¡°Ms. Wen, Qingyan is in a foul mood, please don¡¯t take it personally. I¡¯m very sorry about the deaths of your colleagues too. If I wasn¡¯t, I wouldn¡¯t have agreed toe here with you. However, those spirits are very pitiful too. They were innocent and killed for no reason. As for their oue, we¡¯ll leave that to Hades to decide.¡± Wen Lele remarked in disdain toward Jin Qingyan, ¡°Jin Qingyan hasn¡¯t changed since high school. He¡¯s still so nonchnt and aloof when I talk to him.¡± Noticing that Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning both seemed to be out of sorts, Wang Jinsheng immediately said, ¡°Lele, that¡¯s enough. Cut it out.¡± Wen Lele looked out of the window, after which the car soon arrived at the tent and they alighted together. They decided to stay over for the night. Due to the fact that there was limited space in the tents, Wang Jinsheng suggested that Wen Lele and An Xiaoning share the same tent since Wen Lele was the only other female member of the team apart from the one who had yet to recover from the shock. Seeing that there was indeed a space constraint, An Xiaoning agreed. Chapter 970 - Perplexed and Smitten (30)

Chapter 970: Perplexed and Smitten (30)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The temperatures were much cooler at night, although they were still considered to be unbearably warm. The tent was left open in order to allow venttion and prevent the air from getting too stuffy inside. It was so warm that almost every single one of them could not fall asleep. An Xiaoningy on the straw mat on the ground, which caused her great difort because of how rigid it was. However, she had no choice but to bear with it for a night. ¡°Ms. An, how did you and Jin Qingyan meet?¡± An Xiaoning answered, ¡°I helped his mother get rid of a spirit that was pestering her back then. That¡¯s how we met.¡± ¡°I read in the news before that you married Jin Qingyan right after you divorced Shi Shaochuan. Is that true?¡± ¡°Ms. Wen, does knowing about these gossip benefit you in any way?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m just in curious.¡± Wen Lele turned over to face her and continued, ¡°Since we can¡¯t sleep, let¡¯s have a chat. Jin Qingyan and I were table mates in Year 3 of high school. I still remember clearly what happened back then. Although he seems to be polite and mild-mannered on the surface, he¡¯s actually very arrogant and self-righteous deep down.¡± ¡°That¡¯s just how he is.¡± ¡°He had so many suitors back then, but none of them managed to win his heart at all. All the girls from the other sses were all envious of me for being able to sit beside him and be in such close proximity to him. Actually, I barely talked to him throughout the entire year of being his table mate. Ms. An, I only realize now after interacting with you that you¡¯re different from what the news make you out to be,¡± said Wen Lele, who recalled her high school days. ¡°How am I different?¡± ¡°To be honest, I¡¯ve read a lot of news about you guys, and thosements are really awful. They criticize you so harshly. When you sat next to Jin Qingyan during the gathering that night, you were really eye-catching and youplemented his aura. I¡¯m not trying to suck up to you, it¡¯s just my genuine opinion.¡± An Xiaoning kept a straight face and stared at the dark sky above. She asked, ¡°Ms. Wen, how many boyfriends have you had before?¡± Slightly taken aback because she did not expect An Xiaoning to bring that up all of a sudden, she answered, ¡°I had one boyfriend in university, but we broke up a while after we got together. I never dated anyone since.¡± ¡°Do you hold your standards and expectations too high?¡± ¡°That could be one of the reasons. I¡¯m a very pragmatic person. It¡¯s okay for my boyfriend to not have a car, but he must have a house. I¡¯m sure you know how expensive properties are in A City. The prices have soared to a ridiculous high. Throughout all these years, those whom I¡¯ve carried a torch for never reciprocated my feelings. On the other hand, none of my suitors own a house. My parents have been rushing me to get married and even resorted to forcing me to attend matchmaking sessions. However, none of those worked out either. Ms. An, I know you and Jin Qingyan are acquainted with many promising bachelors. Why don¡¯t you introduce me to a few?¡± ¡°I do know many good catches, but I won¡¯t introduce you to them.¡± She asked, ¡°Why?¡± An Xiaoning answered bluntly, ¡°Material possessions may be important, but they can¡¯t possibly matter more than a man who truly loves you. Yet, all you care about is whether they own a house or not. I think you¡¯re way too materialistic.¡± ¡°Ms. An, you have no idea at all. It¡¯s not that we women are materialistic. Honestly speaking, I would be willing to makepromises if he doesn¡¯t own a house on the condition that he¡¯ll truly love me for the rest of my life. However, the reality is that most men who don¡¯t own a house are hideous yboys who can¡¯t stay loyal to one woman. Of course I have to give myself some assurance beforehand.¡± ¡°You have a point. However, I don¡¯t agree with youpletely. You¡¯ve already shut out the doors to your heart the moment you ce a house as your priority. Women can give themselves assurance by being financially self-sufficient. Why must you rely on men? When a woman can genuinely be independent and love and respect herself, she would no longer have to be afraid of anything thates her way. Even if her man has an extramarital affair, she can choose to leave him proudly. She can tell the man straight that she would be able to live well even without him. She wouldn¡¯t have tofort herself pitifully that her man would one day return to her and that her child can¡¯t do without a father. If you¡¯re not financially independent, life will be tough even if you get half of the house and matrimonial assets.¡± ¡°Ms. An, you¡¯ve already divorced Jin Qingyan twice. How much money did you get from the divorces? Tell me honestly, I won¡¯t spread it to others.¡± ¡°I walked out of the marriage without a single cent.¡± ¡°I read about that too online, but I thought it was impossible that you really left without a cent. You¡¯re entitled to so much money by divorcing Jin Qingyan. How could you possibly not take a single cent? Don¡¯t tell me, you were the one at fault?¡± An Xiaoning closed her eyes, not wishing to answer her. However, after some thought, she drawled, ¡°You told me to tell you the truth and I did, but you still refuse to believe me. Does it benefit you in any other way, apart from having your curiosity fed, to know whether I really left the marriage without a single cent? I¡¯ve invested in a movie in the past and I¡¯m currently investing in a television series. I have enough money for myself, and since I¡¯m self-sufficient, is there really a need for me to take his money?¡± ¡°But you can never have too much money. It¡¯s obviously better to have more money.¡± ¡°It¡¯s good to have more money, but that also depends on where the moneyes from. Since you love gossip so much, I suppose you¡¯ve seen the news about Ye Xiaotian and Mo Li¡¯s divorce, haven¡¯t you?¡± Wen Lele answered, ¡°Yes, I have.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t want to gossip about others, but let¡¯s take them for an example. When they got a divorce, Mo Li didn¡¯t take a single cent of alimony from Ye Xiaotian at all. Why didn¡¯t she want to, despite not being wealthy? I think Mo Li values her pride and dignity more than money. Not every woman shares the same thoughts as you.¡± ¡°But most women do have the same mindset as me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why everyone is different.¡± Wen Lele was at a loss for words for a rebuttal. ¡°Um, I saw He Yi at your ce when I went to look you up before. Why was he there?¡± ¡°For some private matters.¡± ¡°Ms. An, do you know exactly what He Yi does for a living?¡± An Xiaoning said in annoyance, ¡°If you want to find out, just go and ask him yourself. Are you starting to find him to be a suitable potential partner for you because you saw that expensive car of his?¡± Wen Lele denied, ¡°I¡¯m not such an easy person. Although my prospective husband must own a house, not every single person who does will attract me.¡± An Xiaoning did not answer her and soon dozed off. However, she was jolted awake again by the mosquito bites she had gotten. She barely got any sleep that night. After exiting the tent with Wen Lele, she caught sight of Jin Qingyan walking toward them with two sets of breakfast. Noticing the food he was carrying, Wen Lele grinned widely and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Jin Qingyan to be such a gentleman. There aren¡¯t any bistros nearby at all. You must have driven to a faraway ce to buy us breakfast, haven¡¯t you?¡± Chapter 971 - Perplexed and Smitten (31)

Chapter 971: Perplexed and Smitten (31)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios With that, she reached out to take a portion of breakfast for herself. pping away her hand, Jin Qingyan remarked, ¡°If you want to eat, go and get food from your captain. I didn¡¯t deliver this especially for you.¡± Wen Lele pursed her lips. ¡°I take back the words I just said. Hmph, you don¡¯t act like a gentleman at all.¡± He sneered, ¡°To you, I don¡¯t need to act like a gentleman.¡± An Xiaoning took the breakfast and sat down in the tent with Jin Qingyan. ¡°I¡¯ve already made the arrangementsst night, the helicopters should arrive at any time.¡± ¡°How many did you send?¡± ¡°Four is enough.¡± Jin Qingyan already had it well-nned. ¡°The skeletons will be transported back and buried properly.¡± An Xiaoning drank a sip of milk and started eating a glutinous rice ball. The two sat together side by side and ate breakfast together. As the sun rose slowly, a brand new day was about to begin. About half an hourter, a loud rumbling sound came from the skies and four helicoptersnded on a vast piece of emptynd one by one. Out came twenty people from the helicopters. Every helicopter could take sixteen people. That way, there was enough space for all the skeletons to be transported back. Every single one of them had tools in their hands. After they went to the ce where the skeletons were buried, the group of them started excavating together. This particr pit where the skeletons were buried was quite intricate. The bodies had not been just buried inside, they wereid on thick and sturdy wooden boards that formed a passive pit. There were twoyers of wooden boards above each other, and they were glued together with adhesive cement. When they opened the firstyer of wooden board, everyone was stunned beyond words. Each set of skeleton wasid closely beside each other and, with one nce, it was to see that it was a sight that was hard to look at. They were neatly arranged in a row and on each skeleton was a piece of amulet. However, upon having contact with light, the amulets instantly eroded away. Seeing how Jin Qingyan¡¯s men were about to take the skeletons away, Wang Jinsheng called out, ¡°Don¡¯t touch them yet, let me take a picture!¡± Upon hearing this, Jin Qingyan darted a cold nce at him and said in a nasty tone, ¡°Whoever dares to take a picture, I¡¯ll let them be buried inside here after all the skeletons have been cleared out!¡± In response to his obnoxious threat, Wang Jinsheng couldn¡¯t help but frown. ¡°Mr. Jin, although you and Ms. An found the skeletons here, they have no rtion to you whatsoever. Why do you want to have them buried in a proper ce?¡± ¡°Who says that these remains have no rtion to me at all?¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s dissatisfaction was clearly written all over his face. ¡°I¡¯ve never liked to put my nose in other people¡¯s business, unless it¡¯s my own.¡± Wang Jinsheng was even more perplexed. ¡°Mr. Jin, can you exin more clearly? What do these remains have to do with you?¡± ¡°I have noment.¡± ¡°...¡± Attempting to smooth things out, An Xiaoning added, ¡°Captain Wang, what Qingyan said is true. If it isn¡¯t, he wouldn¡¯t havee here or sent people to get these remains buried properly. We can¡¯t reveal more details, but one thing is for sure, when these skeletons have been cleared out, you guys can inspect this ce as you wish in the future. There won¡¯t be any issues arising anymore.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no big issue, but after these skeletons are transported away, it would make things easier for us indeed. There¡¯s something I¡¯m still puzzled about, but since both of you refuse to say anything, I won¡¯t ask any further.¡± The skeletons were contained in stic bags and brought tond one by one. Eventually, they confirmed that there were 963 sets of skeletons in total. This was 963 lives gone... As he looked at the skeletons, Jin Qingyan¡¯s heart was heavy, as though a huge stone weighted down on it. After carrying out a ritual, An Xiaoning prepared to leave the ce together with Jin Qingyan. Wang Jinsheng confirmed with her, ¡°Ms. An, there¡¯s really no more problem?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± ¡°Captain, I would like to go back to rest as well.¡± Seeing as An Xiaoning and the rest were still there, Wen Lele took the opportunity to make this request. ¡°Captain...¡± ¡°Alright, alright, alright. Take this chance to go back on the helicopter with them. You had a huge shock the previous time too. Help us to console the family members of the dead as well.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Wen Lele agreed instantly before following them onto the helicopter, which was to return to A City. ¡ª A renowned paparazzi team in the entertainment industry had reported a piece of important news that caused a hugemotion. The news about Jing Yang¡¯s cash cow had been released. A picture of them kissing at a balcony was secretly captured and revealed to the public. As his cash cow was rich and influential, his face was blurred out. Yet, Jing Yang¡¯s face was clearly revealed to all. With such concrete evidence and even a caption for the picture, Jing Yang¡¯s Weibo was attacked once the scandal was released. His loyal fans instantly turned their backs on him and flooded him with all sorts of insults in variousnguages. Under such circumstances, his agency tried to handle this public rtions crisis by issuing awyer¡¯s letter to the paparazzi team to request for them to delete such false news and to issue an apology immediately. However, not only did the paparazzi team not do so, they actually reaffirmed the authenticity of the picture. This situation was disastrous. Jing Yang¡¯s cash cow flew into an uncontroble rage. Even though many in the industry already knew about their rtionship, who would actually dare to publicly release such news? With that, he tried to find out who was behind this. In less than twelve hours, he was able to track the mastermind of this incident to Mei Yangyang and had a conversation with her. Just when Jing Yang had thought that his cash cow would stand up for him, he actually clearly expressed that he would cut off all rtions with him in the future. Jing Yang was dumbfounded. Looking at the man before him, he was perplexed. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°You still have the nerve to ask me why? How many times have you stirred up trouble with the artiste from her agency that she had to resort to taking revenge on you? You want me to stand up for you, do you think that¡¯s possible? Given how Long Tianze¡¯s wife is dealing with you like that now, she must have expected the oue. If we still don¡¯t cut off all rtions with each other, my face won¡¯t be blurred out next time, it will simply be revealed to the public. Let¡¯s end it here. I¡¯ve provided so many valuable resources to you that I¡¯ve probably done my part. Don¡¯t look for me anymore from now on. It won¡¯t be good if we get captured together.¡± Jing Yang was speechless. Returning to the car, he started cursing furiously. Even then, he still sent out a post on Weibo to deny the authenticity of the news. By this time, many fans had started to lose faith in him. Following the cancetion of his various advertisement, spokesperson, and filming contracts, Jing Yang locked himself up at home and started intoxicating himself with alcohol. After drinking, all he did was sleep. All the rage in his heart had nowhere to be released. He pinned all the me on Fang En. He felt that if Fang En had not made anyints about him, would her work studio have dealt with him so mercilessly like that? .... Toward this matter, Fang En only felt that her anger had been vented out. In addition to that, her filming was about to end and it would mean that she could rest for a period of time. That lifted her mood by a lot. After filming fifteen scenes today, she felt lethargic all over. When she went to remove her makeup, an auntie entered carrying something in her hands. She walked all the way to Yan Ge, who was resting aside. ¡°Mother, why are you here?¡± Mrs. Yan grinned as she passed the item in her hands to his assistant Xiao Li. ¡°You can¡¯te home often, so can¡¯t Ie and visit you? Didn¡¯t you previously say you wanted to eat the snacks I make? I figured you finished thest batch, so I made some more and brought it here for you.¡± Snacks? Chapter 972 - Perplexed and Smitten (32)

Chapter 972: Perplexed and Smitten (32)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios On one side, Fang En was puzzled. Hadn¡¯t he said that it was his mother who made him bring the snacks for his colleagues to eat? Why did she say it was him who wanted to eat them? ¡°As expected, Mother loves me so much that you¡¯re thinking of me all the time.¡± ¡°You rascal, saying such obvious things. You¡¯re my son, if not you, who else would I be thinking of?¡± Mrs. Yan went on, ¡°It¡¯s still the same old vor. Mother made it with great effort, you better finish it all.¡± ¡°I know, I know.¡± ¡°This must be Ms. Fang, right?¡± Mrs. Yan greeted her with a wide grin. ¡°Yes, I am. Hello, Auntie.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± Fang En cast a few nces to her. Yan Ge¡¯s mother maintained herself exceptionally well. She was not a dancer for nothing indeed, as her figure was in great shape. Not only that, she had gorgeous looks that Yan Ge had obviously inherited. She couldn¡¯t help but stare in awe. This Mrs. Yan was already past the age of fifty, yet the freshness of her beauty remained. Fang En was sure she must have been a gorgeousdy when she was younger. After removing his makeup, Yan Ge brought his mother along to eat. On the other hand, Fang En was exhausted and made Xiao Yue buy her food while she herself returned to her room. Once she took a cooling bath and ate, she did not go out anymore and sent her bodyguards and assistant back to their rooms. At this point, as she had already added Jing Yang in her list of blocked numbers, she received a text message from an unknown number. In the text, he imed that he wanted to apologize to her. Fang En replied that there was no need for it. She was more than afraid that he would stir up new trouble for her. After sending that reply, she did not receive any more replies from him. With that, she thought nothing more of it. Around twenty minutester, the doorbell of her room rang. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± ¡°Hello, Ms. Fang.¡± As the voice sounded unfamiliar to her, Fang En made it a point to nce at the peephole and realized that it was a youngdy of about eighteen to neen years old. She asked, ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a staff of the hotel. There are people downstairs looking for you. They seem to be your parents. You should go down and take a look.¡± ¡°Alright, I know.¡± She turned back into her room, changed into a set of clothes, and put on some light makeup before opening the door and going out. Once she stepped into the lift, a man wearing a cap, mask, and a pair of sunsses entered after her. Fang En pressed a lift button and unconsciously took a few more nces at the man. ¡°Jing Yang?¡± She had only just called out his name when she felt a hand forcefully cover her mouth. Once the lift doors closed, Fang En was about to press the lift button again when he beat her to it by pressing the button for the second basement level. Fang En did not know what he wanted from her, and in that moment, she was flustered and terrified. She had a small and petite figure and was no match for Jing Yang, who definitely had the upper hand. Just like that, she was dragged by him to the second basement level of the hotel. After being forcefully pressed onto the ground by him, Fang En saw that he was about to undress her, so she exerted all her strength to resist him by kicking her legs as hard as she could. However, no matter how much force she exerted with her legs, she could not break free from him. ¡°Aren¡¯t you very impressive? Getting your work studio to ruin me and all. Watch how I ruin you now!¡± She was wearing only a light blue-colored blouse, and the first button was instantly pulled off with one forceful hand movement of his, revealing her bra inside. Fang En was both infuriated and flustered. Taking the opportunity wherein he only used one hand to hold her down, she gathered all the strength within her and headbutted him. With all the strength she used, she was immediately able to push Jing Yang backward. With that, Fang En then took the opportunity to run toward the elevator, leaving Jing Yang furiously chasing after her. When she reached the lift, she realized that there was no time for the doors to open and close again. If she were to be pushed down by him inside, there would really be no way for her to escape. As such, she chose to turn back and circle around the ce while Jing Yang continued to chase after her. Fang En had already gone through a whole day of filming and was beyond exhausted. On the other hand, he had not worked the whole day and had woken up not long ago, which was why he was full of energy. Within less than two minutes, Fang En was captured by Jing Yang again and pinned onto the ground tightly. She had his face to him and could not move even an inch of her body. Jing Yang pinned her down and started beating up her face ruthlessly, leaving the corner of Fang En¡¯s lips bleeding. Fang En did not let out a single sound as she knew that at this point, if she actually screamed and shouted, he could very possibly kill her in a fit of anger. ¡°Jing Yang, if you didn¡¯t actually have anything to hide, even if the paparazzi team followed you around for ten thousand years, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to capture anything. Moreover, how on earth have I, Fang En, offended you that you stirred up trouble for me so many times? Yes, I used to be your fan. Do you remember when I treated you as my idol back then? You were still a model and had no fame. Your family background wasn¡¯t good and you were very thrifty, giving all the money you earned to your mother. The person you were back then, do you still remember? I treated you as my idol for five years and I went down this path as an actor because of you. The dream I used to have was to be able to act out a scene with you. Later on, when I went to film the advertisement with Senior Yan Ge, it was then that I realized what kind of person I actually idolized. I was disappointed in you and you were no longer fit to be my idol. You betrayed yourself because of fame, you can¡¯t even face up to yourself. Do you still deserve to be an idol to others? At that moment, your status as an idol in my heartpletely vanished. I even felt ashamed to have seen you as my idol back then! You tried to stir up trouble for me multiple times, so what is so wrong about my boss standing up for me? You can bully me, but I can¡¯t get back at you? What kind of logic is that?¡± After having said so much, she was breathless and added finally, ¡°There are surveince cameras all around here and in the lift. Do you think that if you rape me, you¡¯ll be able to end things? Aren¡¯t you going to let go of me? You want to spend the rest of your days in prison?¡± The moment Jing Yang released her from his grasp, Fang En could finally heave a sigh of relief. She grabbed the cor of her blouse, which had lost its button, used both of her hands to cover her chest area, and proceeded to stand up slowly from the ground. At this moment, the lift doors suddenly opened and the security guards of the hotel rushed in. They had witnessed what had happened in the lift while they were inspecting the surveince footage inside. ¡°Ms. Fang, did anything happen to you?¡± Fang En shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°Hand him over to the police,¡± the head of the security officers instructed the men behind him. ¡°Wait!¡± Fang En stopped them as she nced over at Jing Yang, who waspletely still. ¡°Ms. Fang...¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t do anything to me...¡± ¡°But we all saw what he did.¡± Fang En looked down. ¡°No, he was just ying around with me. Mister Security Officers, it¡¯s fine.¡± Since she had already put it like this, the security officers who also did not want their hotel to go on the news because of this incident simply let it go. Jing Yang did not expect that she would still speak up for him at this point and could not help but feel ashamed of himself at that moment. As she entered the lift with the security officers again, Fang En¡¯s legs were still wobbly from the huge scare she had received earlier. She leaned closely against the wall of the lift, her hands supporting the sides of her body. When the lift doors sounded as it reached the first floor, the security officers went out while Yan Ge was about to enter with his assistant and bodyguards. Seeing her standing inside in that state, he signalled his men to go with a wave and entered alone with a sullen expression on his face. The lift doors then closed once again. Chapter 973 - Perplexed and Smitten (33)

Chapter 973: Perplexed and Smitten (33)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Nothing much...¡± she replied in an undertone. ¡°Nothing much, then what¡¯s with your face? And your clothes...¡± Even though she was using both her arms to hug her chest area tightly, he could still tell that her button had been ripped off. Moreover, there was dust on her body. Fang En did not answer and continued to stare at the lift doors. Seeing how she did not speak, Yan Ge¡¯s eyes were spurting with fire as he straightened her body and asked with a frown, ¡°Do you want me to go and ask those security guards just now?¡± Fang En looked up, her eyes watering. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you when we¡¯re in my room.¡± When the lift doors sounded as they arrived, the two went out. Once Fang En arrived at her room door, Yan Ge followed her inside. Fang En went in and took a new dress from her wardrobe before entering the bathroom. A few minutester, she emerged in a new set of clothes and had her face washed. The mild graze on her face was also aching faintly. As she casually tied her hair up into a ponytail, Fang En exined, ¡°After eating just now, a hotel staff told me my parents were here, so I went out. Once I entered the lift, Jing Yang went in after me. He forcefully brought me to the second basement level and wanted to...¡± She found it hard to go on and simply muttered, ¡°But he didn¡¯t hurt me.¡± She was basically expressing that she had not been raped by him. Yan Ge narrowed his eyes. ¡°He didn¡¯t hurt you? Then how did your button get ripped off? And how do you exin the injury on your face? Why didn¡¯t I see him when the security officers came up just now?¡± ¡°He didn¡¯te up just now, he¡¯s probably gone now.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you let the security officers take him to the police station?¡± Fang En replied, ¡°Forget it, he¡¯s got a scandal on him right now. I don¡¯t want to...¡± ¡°He¡¯s got a scandal on him precisely because there¡¯s a problem with him!¡± Once his wordsnded, Yan Ge turned and was about to walk out of her room. ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go and retrieve the surveince footage to hand over to the police.¡± Fang En hurriedly tried to pull him back. ¡°No matter what, if the scandal leaks out from my side when I had already told him I¡¯d let it go, wouldn¡¯t he hate me more? He might reallye back to me for revenge a second time.¡± Yan Ge asked instead, ¡°Could it be that you can¡¯t bear to see him get punished? Why, is your heart aching for your idol?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I already say? He¡¯s no longer my idol, why would my heart ache for him?¡± ¡°Then, why don¡¯t you report him to the police? Are you really just afraid that he would get back at you again?¡± ¡°That¡¯s one of the reasons. Who knows what one can be capable of when they are desperate? Also, I want this matter to be settled as quickly as possible. At the crucial moment, he still stopped. That shows that he isn¡¯t incorrigible yet.¡± Yan Ge¡¯s eyes were now fixed on her porcin-white neck. As they shifted down, he noticed that the neckline of her one-piece dress was rather low, revealing a faint view of her cleavage. A burning sensation went up his throat. Detecting his gaze, Fang En lowered her head to look and unconsciously pulled up her one-piece dress. ¡°You should put some ointment on your face. Do you have it? Also, before filming tomorrow, get the makeup artist to conceal it with makeup so it¡¯s not visible.¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t. I¡¯ll just get Xiao Yue to buy it for me.¡± He did not say anything further and was about to head out of her room. Just when he reached the door and had yet to open it, the doorbell rang. Mrs. Fang¡¯s voice sounded from outside the door. ¡°En? It¡¯s mother, open the door quickly.¡± Upon hearing her mother¡¯s voice, Fang En immediately leaned against the door to peek through the peephole. To her horror, she realized that not only were her parents here, even her uncle, auntie, and cousin had came. She instantly turned and pushed Yan Ge inside. ¡°What are you doing?¡± he asked in a whisper. ¡°A lot of my family members are outside now, you shouldn¡¯t go out yet. You should go only after they¡¯re gone, you can stay in the bathroom first.¡± Seeing her face of panic, Yan Ge pursed his lips tightly and entered the bathroom without saying anything else. In an instant, he had entered and locked the door from the inside. Only then did Fang En open the door. ¡°You stupid daughter! I already told the hotel staff toe up to call you just now, why didn¡¯t you go down? Is it because now that you¡¯re a celebrity, you don¡¯t want to see us anymore?¡± Mrs. Fang sputtered as soon as she saw her. ¡°We went through such pain to find you, what is with your attitude?¡± ¡°Something happened just now. I was already on my way down. What are all of you doing here?¡± The handful of them went in one by one, and Mrs. Fang responded, ¡°Your cousin knocked someone down with his motorbike, and the person¡¯s in a hospital now. The hospital wants your cousin topensate the victim with 100 thousand dors and pay for his medical expenses. Otherwise, your cousin will have to go to prison.¡± Fang En retorted, ¡°Then just ask Second Uncle and Second Aunt to give him the money. It¡¯s not like they don¡¯t have the money.¡± Second Uncle Fang responded, ¡°En, if Second Uncle had the money, I would have forked it out already. We wouldn¡¯t have had to beg your parents to bring us to find you. When your brother got married and built a new house, he borrowed money outside and used up the money for the wedding and bridal gifts. Don¡¯t talk about 100 thousand dors, we can¡¯t even fork out ten thousand dors now. En, even though your grandmother raised you up, you can¡¯t leave your Uncle and Auntie in the lurch now that we¡¯re in need of help.¡± His words could not be any more obvious. They basically wanted to borrow money from Fang En. However, Fang En was unwilling to lend them this money. ¡°I¡¯ve grown up with Grandma since I was young. Although you and Auntie never said anything about this, you both were obviously dissatisfied with it. Isn¡¯t that so?¡± Mr. Fang couldn¡¯t help but interject, ¡°En, it¡¯s an emergency now. Let¡¯s not be calctive about that. If your Second Uncle had other solutions, he wouldn¡¯t have had toe and find you. This money is only to be borrowed from you, they¡¯ll return it to you in the future.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have much money on my hands either. One hundred thousand dors is impossible, I can only lend 20 thousand dors.¡± With her filming still upleted, it was impossible for her to receive all her sry. While she had only received around 30% of the full amount, she also had the 100 thousand dors she received aspensation from the hotel previously. Fang En had other uses for this money, as she intended to use them to buy a house in A City. To buy a house, this amount of money was actually far from being sufficient. She had grown used to living a life of hardship in the past and was frugal with her daily expenses. Other than for her grandmother¡¯s hospital bills before, she rarely spent money as she had no one else to rely on but herself. By lending money to her Second Uncle and his family, it meant that she wouldn¡¯t be able to get back this sum for a long time. Back then, when she was cast as minor characters in television shows, she could not even earn 100 thousand dors in a year. She had a clear impression of how they treated her since she was young. To her, she was doing all she could by lending them 20 thousand dors already. Once her words came out, the five instantly changed their expressions. Second Aunt Fang couldn¡¯t help but exim exasperatedly, ¡°I heard you earn a lot from filming one episode of a television series. Now that you¡¯re the first female lead, you¡¯re telling us you don¡¯t have money? En, if you¡¯re unwilling to lend us the money, you can just say it outright. Whyin to us about being hard up? There are no outsiders here anyway, we¡¯re all your family. You¡¯re not even willing to help out your family. En, you¡¯re simply too ruthless. Do you really want to see your cousin go to prison? Since you¡¯re forking out 20 thousand dors already, what¡¯s so difficult about going all out to fork out the rest of the 80 thousand dors?¡± Chapter 974 - Perplexed and Smitten (34)

Chapter 974: Perplexed and Smitten (34)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Second Aunt, what you¡¯re saying is wrong. When I went to school, the school fees were tens of dors. Grandma asked you for it but you didn¡¯t lend it to her and even said upsetting things to her. Because of that, she even got sick for a few days. You even stopped Second Uncle from helping Grandma with the chores in her field. Such incidents urred more than a few times. If Second Aunt wants the 20 thousand dors, I¡¯ll go get it. If not, then please leave.¡± Second Aunt Fang started bawling in despair all of a sudden and copsed onto the ground. ¡°No matter how your Second Uncle and I treated you in the past, didn¡¯t your Grandma still raise you up? You¡¯re all grown up now and your Grandma is gone as well. We just want a favor from you and you¡¯re unwilling to help us out. If yourte Grandma were to know about this, would she be able to rest in peace? No matter what, your cousin is also her grandson. As she watches her own grandson go into prison, she¡¯ll probably me you for not helping us out when you have the money.¡± Mr. Fang pressed her as well, ¡°En, just help out your Second Uncle and Second Aunt once. They¡¯re really desperate.¡± ¡°En, you earn money easily, but your Second Aunt and I need to slog our guts to earn such money in one or two years. Now, we really need the money urgently. You don¡¯t have to be afraid that we won¡¯t return it to you. We¡¯ll write an IOU for you, and Second Uncle will return the money to you once we earn it back.¡± Fang En responded, ¡°How about this, I¡¯ll loan the 100 thousand dors to all of you, but it needs to be clearly written on the IOU that if the money isn¡¯t returned within five years, the piece ofnd you own will be transferred to me.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Second Aunt Fang, who was originally bawling on the ground, sprung up instantly. ¡°Do you know how much that piece ofnd is worth now? It¡¯s worth at least 170 or 180 thousand dors. You want us to transfer it to you in exchange for 100 thousand dors?¡± ¡°I said that it¡¯s only in case the money isn¡¯t returned within five years. One hundred thousand dors isn¡¯t a small amount. Without putting up anything as coteral, I won¡¯t loan it to all of you. If you put 100 thousand dors in the bank for five years, the interest can already amount to as much as ten thousand dors. If the loan is returned within five years, thend is still yours. I¡¯m doing all of you a huge favor, what¡¯s with your attitude, Second Aunt? Are you sure you¡¯re here to borrow money or to collect debt from me?¡± Without waiting for Second Aunt to speak, Second Uncle Fang replied, ¡°What En says makes sense. We¡¯ll put it up as coteral to you then. If we aren¡¯t able to return the money within five years, thend will be yours.¡± ¡°Alright then, all of you go back to the vige to write out a letter of proof for me. I¡¯ll make an agreement on my side as well. Come here to get the money from me tomorrow.¡± It was Fang En¡¯s signal for them to leave. ¡°We¡¯ll go back first, then.¡± Second Uncle Fang added, ¡°Brother, Sister-inw, are you both going back together with us? Or staying here to apany En for a few days?¡± The reason Mrs. Fang hade along was actually to get along well with her daughter, but she had lost such a good opportunity to do so. Ever since Fang En was young, both mother and daughter had never lived together. With so many years having gone by, the period of time wherein she had needed her mother¡¯s love the most had passed as well. She had grown up now and no longer needed it. However, before Mrs. Fang could answer, Fang En responded, ¡°My filming is about to end soon, so I¡¯ll be very busy these few days. I won¡¯t have the time to apany the two of you. Father, Mother, there¡¯s no need to stay over.¡± Mr. and Mrs. Fang were instantly embarrassed but could not say anything either. Just like that, the whole family left her room. Once her room door was closed shut, without even waiting for her to knock on the bathroom door, Yan Ge came out from inside. ¡°From the moment your family members entered, not a single one of them was concerned about the injury on your face.¡± She was actually not bothered much by it. After all, since she was young, only her grandmother cared the most for her. As for her biological parents, they were always indifferent toward her. After hearing what he said, she suddenly felt quite miserable for no reason. Even her voice turned as dull as her low spirits as she answered him, ¡°The injury¡¯s mild, it¡¯s fine.¡± He took a nce at her and didn¡¯t say anything further, simply remarking, ¡°Get Xiao Yue to buy a bottle of ointment for you. I¡¯ll return to my room.¡± ¡°Umm.¡± As she watched the door being closed shut, Fang En walked straight to the bedside and leaned over it, closing her eyes. After regaining herposure, she called Xiao Yue and told her to buy a bottle of ointment for her. ¡ª The 963 urns were all buried together in a huge grave. As for those archeologists who died at the ancient graveyard, Jin Qingyanpensated their family members with money. That was because other than this, he did not know how else to make it up to them. Those love letters that were taken out from the ironwood door, meanwhile, were sent by An Xiaoning to be tranted by professionals. She could not help but admit that Jin Qingyan was extremely talented in his past life. In all those love letters, there was not a single repeated word. As long as one took a simple nce at those words, their heart would literally melt. Every word and sentence was full of his affection, which warmed her heart with a fuzzy feeling. An Xiaoning especially cherished these letters and got someone to especially have them mounted in a frame to hang on the wall in his bedroom. That way, she would be able to see them every single day. During one of the few days she had quietly stayed at the house in Wei Ni Estate, Jin Qingyan brought a thick stack of papers and ced them before her. ¡°What are these?¡± she asked in a puzzled state. ¡°It¡¯s the information I received from getting people to investigate the Yin family that sealed up my pce centuries ago. Xiaoning, there¡¯s something I¡¯m especially curious about.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I want to know, could that emperor who killed everyone in my pce back then still be living in the same world as us now? I also want to know if the mastermind within the Yin family who sealed up my pce back then is living in the same world as us now.¡± An Xiaoning looked up and stared fixedly at him. ¡°So what? Even if they live in the same world as us now, are you going to kill them?¡± He did not answer and kept silent, as if to express his consent. ¡°Qingyan, the past is the past. Love and revenge...¡± Without waiting for her to finish, he said to her with extreme conviction, ¡°If the past really remains as just the past, why are we remembering these past events in this life? What exactly is the root of this? I want to know why the emperor was so ruthless toward me back then and how I died. And also, how did you die? The situation back then, the truth... if we don¡¯t dig it up, it may be buried for eternity. I don¡¯t want all these to be buried over time.¡± ¡°Actually, I want to know as well. But if you really don¡¯t fear the danger we may face ahead, why should I not dare to follow you?¡± An Xiaoning shed a faint smile and grabbed his hand. ¡°In our past lives, we didn¡¯t end up together. In this life, I¡¯ll do everything to have you firmly grasped in my hands.¡± ¡°This should be said by me instead.¡± He tightened the grip on her hand and fixed his deep gaze on her. ¡°I¡¯m thinking about a possibility. If they are around in this world as well, will they be like us and are slowly regaining the memories of their previous lives?¡± Hearing his words, An Xiaoning was suddenly jolted. ¡°This isn¡¯tpletely impossible, but no one can be sure of it.¡± ¡°The identity of that man surnamed Xiao is something we have to straighten out sooner orter. However, it doesn¡¯t seem like he has a feud with us. Otherwise, he would have created obstacles for us long ago. If we could find out something from him that we don¡¯t know about, this could be a quick way out too. The only fear is that he may not be someone that easy to sound out.¡± Chapter 975 - Perplexed and Smitten (35)

Chapter 975: Perplexed and Smitten (35)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°He doesn¡¯t seem like he has a nice temper.¡± Recalling the text that Mr. Xiao had sent, An Xiaoning added, ¡°I asked him why he sent that piece of drawing, and he said it was to spite you. I asked him if he was your love rival in our past lives, and he answered that I was a precious gem in your eyes but just a bunch of grass to him.¡± Hearing this, Jin Qingyan couldn¡¯t help but break into augh. ¡°He really said that?¡± ¡°Could it be fake?¡± An Xiaoning tiptoed and took a pile of papers as she hooked her arm around his neck. ¡°I¡¯m actually quite curious about the kind of person he is.¡± ¡°Who cares what kind of person he is? I can rest assured, in any case.¡± ¡°Rest assured about what?¡± She shed a bright smile and asked the obvious. ¡°Rest assured that he has no interest in you.¡± Jin Qingyan had his arms around her waist as he plopped down on the bed with her. ¡°If it¡¯s someone like him, if he really was interested in you, I would have another huge headache.¡± ¡°How could it be that every man has interest in me? I¡¯m not even a virgin. I¡¯ve given birth, am in my thirties, and was married thrice. In a normal city, I¡¯ll long have been the target of censure. I still think that just being able to receive your love alone is Heaven showing kindness to me. I¡¯ve never harbored any designs of receiving the love of many people. That¡¯s not what I want.¡± These words were trulying from the bottom of her heart. The love that she desired was simply of two people loving each other forever. That was all. Jin Qingyan caressed her face and gently nted a kiss on her forehead. ¡°I¡¯ve read the information already, you should hurry and take a look.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± As she rested on his arm, the two snuggled up together while An Xiaoning raised her head and carefully read each and every page of the stack of information. To finish reading the whole stack, she took a whole half an hour of serious reading. cing the information aside, she asked, ¡°Are the members of this Yin family really the descendents of that Yin family centuries from ago?¡± ¡°It¡¯s been confirmed, there¡¯s no mistake about it. This Yin family has moved from G City to B City three hundred years ago. Since then, they started to lie low and went into other businesses. None of the family members exposed themselves outside by inheriting their ancestor¡¯s family business. Was it really to end the family business or to hide their cover? There¡¯s no way to find out though.¡± An Xiaoning analyzed, ¡°It was probably to hide their cover. If they had such a strong family business, how could it have copsed so easily? Such family businesses are probably passed on from one generation to the next.¡± ¡°I think so too.¡± ¡°I want to know what they look like.¡± An Xiaoning was extremely eager to find out. ¡°I wonder when we will be able to recall it. Otherwise, how about we find their graves and restore their skulls? Won¡¯t that be faster?¡± ¡°The problem is, we don¡¯t know where their graves are. There¡¯s no need to rush, what¡¯s meant to be will happen. You¡¯re frequently recalling a lot of memories already. It¡¯s a matter of time before both of us will be able to remember how they look like. There¡¯s no hurry.¡± ¡°Right, I almost forgot.¡± She sat upright and took out the phone she used to contact that Mr. Xiao. ¡°The phone¡¯s run out of battery. This is an all-in-one phone, can you get Shixin to send apatible charger here?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± .... ¡°Boss, that fellow is calling you again!¡± An Xiaoning fished out her phone and nced at Jin Qingyan. ¡°It¡¯s from Wen Lele.¡± ¡°You should answer and see what¡¯s going on.¡± Her finger slid at the disy screen to answer the call, and she turned on the loudspeaker. ¡°Ms. Wen, what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Ms. An, did you know that He Yi is actually working as an archeologist like me?¡± ¡°He told you that he¡¯s working as an archeologist?¡± she threw the question back to her. ¡°He didn¡¯t, I went to his house and found many specialied tools used by an archeologist.¡± ¡°Why did you go to his house? To have a tour around and see how big it is?¡± Wen Lele eximed, ¡°Ms. An, don¡¯t tease me. He especially invited me over.¡± ¡°What for?¡± ¡°He said that he¡¯s interested in archeology and wants to understand more. I think he¡¯s just trying to conceal himself. He¡¯s obviously in the same field as me, but he¡¯s trying to hide his light under a bushel.¡± ¡°Ms. Wen, how much sry do you get a month from working in this field?¡± ¡°My sry?¡± Wen Lele replied frankly, ¡°I¡¯ve been in this field for nine years already, but I earn only about seven thousand dors a month. If there¡¯s a bonus, it¡¯ll be about ten thousand dors in total.¡± ¡°How old are you this year?¡± ¡°Why are you asking a girl her age...?¡± Wen Lele did not like others asking her about her age. ¡°Even if I don¡¯t ask you, I can guess it as well. After all, you were table mates with Qingyan.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯m 32 years old, one year younger than Qingyan.¡± ¡°Ms. Wen, you¡¯re 32 this year. May I ask how much savings you have umted from when you graduated up ¡¯til now?¡± ¡°Ms. An, are you trying to arrange a blind date for me?¡± ¡°Please answer my question.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not as rich as you are, of course. The sry I was earning when I had just graduated was extremely miserable. I was only earning around a thousand dors per month back then. Since girls have so many things to buy like clothes, shoes, bags, and cosmetics, and since we¡¯re so particr about what we eat and wear, I¡¯ve only saved up about 200 thousand dors all this while.¡± ¡°You¡¯re around the same age as He Yi and you say that he¡¯s an archeologist like you. Then, let me ask you, the maximum you earn each month is ten thousand dors. So, since he probably earns a simr amount as you, how can he drive a car that costs six to seven million dors? Did you think carefully about this question?¡± Wen Lele seemed like she was suddenly enlightened. ¡°Right, his house looks like it¡¯s worth a few million dors at the current market rate as well. His family must have some sort of business, right?¡± ¡°How did you get into the archeological team with this brain of yours? Don¡¯t they test your intelligence when they hire you?¡± Wen Lele panicked. ¡°Ms. An, I don¡¯t permit you to insult my intelligence. I have a high intelligence level, okay?¡± ¡°It¡¯s quite high, just a bit higher than my foot.¡± She felt that He Yi probably wanted more than just to understand more about archeology. ¡°Are you still there now?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m in the bathroom right now. Alright, I can¡¯t speak any longer. I¡¯ll hang up first.¡± ¡°Wait...¡± An Xiaoning called out to her. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Later, when the two of you are done talking, call me again.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Only after hanging up the call did An Xiaoning remark, ¡°It can¡¯t be that He Yi is intending to bring Wen Lele to V Nation, right?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no telling. Although Wen Lele doesn¡¯t know martial arts, she has been in the archeological team for so many years, so she should be very experienced.¡± Jin Qingyanmented boldly, ¡°He Yi¡¯s very ambitious. He has led people to raid tombs for so many years. For him topletely wash his hands off of this area, I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s not easy anymore.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s really the case, do you think Wen Lele will agree?¡± ¡°That will depend on whether the bargaining chip He Yi uses is effective enough. He Yi may not be able to bribe you with money, but to Wen Lele, it may be the most effective bait.¡± He was extremely forthright with his words. However, although she and Wen Lele barely had any ties with each other and she was even slightly irritated with her, she did not want to see her walk into a lion¡¯s den. ¡°If He Yi is really finding her for this reason, I will stop her.¡± ¡°I agree with your n.¡± Chapter 976 - Perplexed and Smitten (36)

Chapter 976: Perplexed and Smitten (36)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Xiaoxi, I can¡¯t finish this. You may have it,¡± said Wen Yuechan, scooping some braised pork balls into Long Xiaoxi¡¯s te. Long Xiaoxi would have been overjoyed if it were Jin Yiheng or Long Wenlun who helped her to the food, because braised pork balls were one of her favorite dishes. Yet, the person was Wen Yuechan. She scooped the meatballs up and ced them back onto Wen Yuechan¡¯s te. ¡°I don¡¯t want your meatballs.¡± ¡°I just thought you haven¡¯t had enough to eat...¡± ¡°I had enough.¡± Wen Yuechan did not insist further and instead continued eating slowly. Shi Bao¡¯er humphed and remarked snidely, ¡°You really don¡¯t know any better. Yuechan was just being kind and giving you her food, yet you¡¯re still so ungrateful.¡± Long Xiaoxi ignored her and said, ¡°If you can¡¯t finish that much food, don¡¯t get Auntie to scoop you so much. What a waste of food.¡± She looked down and polished the food off her te. She then wiped her mouth before skipping out of the cafeteria merrily. Long Xiaoxi would ask for an extra portion for every meal. Although the food served at the cafeteria was nutritious and tasty, she still enjoyed snacking nheless. After all, she was just a child. She ran back to her dormitory room and switched on the air conditioner before taking out a slice of soft and spongy chiffon cake. As soon as she took a bite, Ji Gui opened the door, not giving her the time to hide the slice of cake at all. ¡°Hey, Xiaoxi, I knew you were secretly eating in your room. Stop eating desserts. The more sugar you eat, the fatter you¡¯ll get. You¡¯ll slim down very quickly if you try to lose weight now.¡± Since he had already caught her in the act, Long Xiaoxi decided to continue eating openly. She argued, ¡°My Daddy already said that I¡¯m still young and I shouldn¡¯t be going on diets right now. I¡¯ll lose weight naturally once I¡¯m older.¡± ¡°Your daddy¡¯s lying to you. Think about it, you¡¯re already so chubby now. You¡¯re going to get even fatter when you¡¯re older. By then, you¡¯ll have to spend years trying to lose weight.¡± ¡°My Daddy wouldn¡¯t lie to me, but... why do I have to spend years trying to lose weight?¡± asked a puzzled Long Xiaoxi. ¡°Of course you¡¯ll have to spend lots of years losing weight. By the time you¡¯re twenty years old, you¡¯d have been fat for twenty years. Xiaoxi...¡± Ji Gui looked at her solemnly and continued, ¡°You¡¯d definitely have to lose all your fats bit by bit. Hence, you¡¯ll be forty years old by the time you lose all the weight that you¡¯ve gained.¡± Long Xiaoxi found something wrong with his logic. After giving his words some thought, she said in a moment of epiphany, ¡°Dummy, are you stupid? I¡¯m not going to get as fat as a balloon and be humongous just because I didn¡¯t go on a diet for twenty years.¡± Ji Gui pondered over her words before saying, ¡°That seems about right.¡± ¡°You¡¯re such a dimwit and yet you still have the cheek to lecture me. I really wonder how you manage to reassemble the mobile phones you¡¯ve dismantled,¡± Long Xiaoxi remarked, rolling her eyes at him. He scratched his head and said, ¡°By the way, I came to ask you to go out to y. They¡¯re all ying on the field.¡± ¡°Nah, it¡¯s too warm outside. I want to stay in the dormitory to enjoy the air conditioning,¡± she refused. ¡°You¡¯re really not going?¡± ¡°No,¡± she said, remaining still. ¡°I saw Yuechan and Yiheng ying with marbles together when I was there just now.¡± Long Xiaoxi immediately put her cake away and said, ¡°I must go and take a look.¡± Ji Gui smiled smugly, seemingly having already expected her to react that way. After switching off the air conditioner, Long Xiaoxi warned him, ¡°If what you said isn¡¯t true, you¡¯d better prepare to receive a punishment from me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m speaking the truth. Go and take a look if you don¡¯t believe me.¡± The other children were still ying under the zing sun when Long Xiaoxi and Ji Gui arrived at the field. ¡°See, Xiaoxi, what I said was true.¡± Long Xiaoxi looked at him and said, ¡°Squat down.¡± He asked, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Squat down,¡± she repeated. Ji Gui did as he was told. Long Xiaoxi climbed onto Ji Gui¡¯s back and put her arms around his neck while the rest of the children were not paying attention,pletely catching him off guard and throwing him off bnce. ¡°Xiaoxi, what are you doing?¡± asked Ji Gui, who almost fell forward. ¡°Carry me there.¡± ¡°You have legs that are working fine. Why do I have to carry you?¡± Long Xiaoxi said nonchntly, ¡°At this moment... my legs have already lost their mobility. Dummy, hurry and carry me there!¡± Ji Gui had no choice but to do so. ¡°Why are you moving like a snail? Hurry up.¡± Clenching his jaw while struggling to carry her, Ji Gui said, ¡°Xiaoxi, it¡¯s really time you lose weight.¡± Long Xiaoxi kept her eyes fixed on Wen Yuechan, who was smiling at Jin Yiheng. She subconsciously grabbed Ji Gui¡¯s hair and retorted angrily, ¡°I¡¯m not going to marry you when I¡¯m older anyway. Who are you to despise me? Say another word and I¡¯ll rip your hair off.¡± Knowing that he could not afford to incur her wrath, Ji Gui did not say another word and continued to carry her across the field. Wen Yuechan was the first to spot them. ¡°Ah, did Xiaoxi injure her leg? Why did she make Ji Gui carry her?¡± Long Wenlun scurried over toward her and asked, ¡°Xiaoxi, what happened to your leg?¡± ¡°Brother, I don¡¯t know what happened just now but I couldn¡¯t move my legs at all so I got Dummy to carry me instead.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll ask Coach to call Daddy and Mommy and tell them to take you to the hospital.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t.¡± Long Xiaoxi tugged at her brother¡¯s sleeve and whispered something into his ear. Long Wenlun was dumbfounded. However, being the intelligent person he was, he immediately understood what was happening. At this moment, the other children approached. ¡°Yiheng, Xiaoxi¡¯s leg hurts. Carry her back to the dormitory.¡± Before Jin Yiheng could even speak, Wen Yuechan butted in, ¡°You¡¯re her brother, why can¡¯t you carry her yourself? Don¡¯t tell me you can¡¯t carry her at all?¡± She was indirectly mocking Long Xiaoxi for being chubby. Long Xiaoxi could obviously tell what she meant. She smacked Ji Gui¡¯s head and said, ¡°Put me down.¡± Ji Gui put her down slowly. As soon as she stepped foot onto the ground, Jin Yiheng squatted down in front of Long Xiaoxi. Beaming with joy, she climbed onto his back and shot a nce at Wen Yuechan smugly. The smile on Wen Yuechan¡¯s face vanished. Her rtionship with Jin Yiheng was just improving recently. Mommy told me that children are often forgetful and rarely take things to heart, yet this Long Xiaoxi has been holding a grudge against me for so long. No matter how hard she tried to make things more amicable between her and Long Xiaoxi, thetter just seemed to refuse to bury the hatchet. She could tell that nothing worked on Long Xiaoxi, who would be the main hindrance in her getting closer to Jin Yiheng. Noticing that they had all left except Ji Gui, Wen Yuechan said to him, ¡°I saw everything that happened when you guys arrived. She did that on purpose, didn¡¯t she?¡± Ji Gui denied, ¡°How could Xiaoxi do it on purpose? Her leg really began to hurt the moment she walked there.¡± He then scurried toward the rest of the bunch. Long Xiaoxi was over the moon on the way back to the dormitory. Her chubby face became even rounder when she was smiling gleefully. Upon returning to the dormitory, Jin Yiheng lowered her onto the bed and shifted his gaze onto her unfinished slice of cake. ¡°Refrain from eating so much dessert. Too much sugar can cause your teeth to decay, and it¡¯s bad for your health too.¡± ¡°Yes! You¡¯re right, Yiheng. I must reduce my dessert intake from now on,¡± Long Xiaoxi said earnestly. Chapter 977 - Perplexed and Smitten (37)

Chapter 977: Perplexed and Smitten (37)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Rongyan said apprehensively, ¡°Xiaoxi snacks in ss all the time. This morning, Teacher even asked her why she enjoyed eating so much and told her to cite five idioms that include the word ¡®eat.¡¯ Guess what she said.¡± ¡°I know!¡± Ji Gui eximed, after which Long Xiaoxi red at him, causing him to fall silent. ¡°There aren¡¯t any outsiders here. I¡¯m very curious too. What did Xiaoxi say? Rongyan, tell us,¡± said Jin Yiheng, taking a seat beside Long Xiaoxi. Jin Rongyan ignored Long Xiaoxi¡¯s stern re and said, ¡°Teacher said that it doesn¡¯t matter how many words the idiom consisted of. Long Xiaoxi then answered Teacher, ¡®Teacher, that¡¯s way too easy. There are so many idioms, I can¡¯t finish citing them.¡¯ Teacher then let her continue. After that...¡± Jin Rongyan smiled widely and said, ¡°Xiaoxi immediately read out a food menu. She said, ¡®Eating dumplings, eating rice, eating prawns, eating fish, eating buns, eating ice cream, eating popsicles...¡¯ She even said that there was a variety of idioms she had listed.¡± The children burst intoughter in utter amusement. Feeling extremely embarrassed, Long Xiaoxi snapped, ¡°Stopughing, stop it. What¡¯s so funny!?!¡± Not only did her words fall on deaf ears, they even began guffawing even louder. ¡ª Wen Lele called An Xiaoning again after leaving He Yi¡¯s ce. Unable to contain her excitement, she said, ¡°I¡¯m on my way home now.¡± ¡°What did he say to you?¡± ¡°Nothing much,¡± said Wen Lele, whose tone of excitement gave away her true feelings. ¡°Come to Wei Ni Estate now.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know when you¡¯re here.¡± An Xiaoning ended the call, knowing that Wen Lele will definitelye. Just like she had expected, Wen Lele showed up twenty minutester. Upon the sight of the two, Wen Lele sat in front of them and said, ¡°I¡¯ll bring the clothes you lent me previously next time Ie by.¡± ¡°You may keep it. You seem to be in high spirits. Don¡¯t tell me, He Yi proposed to you?¡± An Xiaoning asked. Wen Lele blurted, ¡°How can that be... of course not. I¡¯m just in a good mood because I used to think that he was a penniless nomad who does nothing except roam the world. But it turns out he¡¯s a wealthy man who struck it rich on his own. Well, as an old ssmate of his, I¡¯m happy for him for what he has achieved.¡± ¡°Your savings have amounted to 200 thousand dors after working as an archeologist for so many years. He works in the same field as you and yet his estimated worth is more than 10 million dors. How do you think he managed to earn that much money? That¡¯s why I said that your IQ is too low just now,¡± said An Xiaoning, who found her to be extremely foolish. Wen Lele retorted, ¡°He said that he didn¡¯t join any archeological team and works independently. Hence, he earns money much faster than archeologists like me who have joined the national team.¡± An Xiaoning looked at her and said, ¡°That¡¯s called tomb raiding. He told you to follow him to V Nation, didn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°How did you know?¡± Wen Lele asked in puzzlement. She immediately kept quiet upon realizing that she had let the cat out of the bag. An Xiaoning could tell that her guess was correct. ¡°Wen Lele, which one matters more to you, money or your life?¡± ¡°My life, of course. What can money do for me if I¡¯m dead?¡± ¡°If you go to V Nation, there¡¯s a very high chance that you¡¯ll die. Do you still want to go?¡± ¡°Ms. An, there¡¯s a chance but it¡¯s not guaranteed. Besides, who knows what might happen in the future? A perfectly fine human can just die all of a sudden because of a car ident. Nothing is certain in this world.¡± Seeing that an austere expression had formed on An Xiaoning¡¯s face, Jin Qingyan guffawed sarcastically and quipped, ¡°Don¡¯t waste your breath trying to persuade such an ignorant thing like her.¡± Feeling offended, Wen Lele retorted in distaste, ¡°Jin Qingyan, why are you so crude with your words? Who are you calling a thing?¡± ¡°Fine, fine, fine. You¡¯re not a thing. Will that do?¡± ¡°You...¡± Staring at Wen Lele solemnly, An Xiaoning questioned, ¡°Wen Lele, do you know what kind of a country V Nation is?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard a bit about it.¡± ¡°Just what benefits did He Yi offer you? A million dors?¡± An Xiaoning asked with raised brows. ¡°Not that much.¡± ¡°Five hundred thousand?¡± Wen Lele murmured assent and asked in puzzlement, ¡°Ms. An, why are you so against the idea of me going? Are you nning to go there on your own?¡± bbergasted, An Xiaoning asked rhetorically, ¡°Are you really 32 years old?¡± ¡°Do I look like I¡¯m only in my twenties? Others say I look like I¡¯m about 25 or 26,¡± Wen Lele said, smiling. cing a hand on her forehead, An Xiaoning said, ¡°You seem like a toddler to me with those tiny brains of yours. Let me be honest with you, there¡¯s a tribe of blood-feeding humans in V Nation and they¡¯re insusceptible to guns. They survive on human blood and they control several towns in the nation. You¡¯ll definitely die when you go there, especially since you have zerobat defense skills at all. Besides, He Yi also mentioned that there are supernatural beings in that ancient graveyard. Are you psychic or capable of performing rituals? You were tempted by him because of the benefits he has offered you. He Yi has looked me up several times before, but I¡¯ve never agreed to his request. Even I don¡¯t dare to go to that ce. If you¡¯re so brave, go ahead. I didn¡¯t tell you these because I¡¯, nning to go there myself. I just don¡¯t want a foolish and clueless woman like you to dig your own grave. That¡¯s all I¡¯m going to say. Actually, we¡¯re not that close anyway. If you refuse to heed my advice and insist on going, there¡¯s nothing I can do. I can¡¯t possibly lock you up.¡± After pondering over her words, Wen Lele said, ¡°In that case, why is He Yi so insistent on going? Isn¡¯t he afraid of death?¡¯ ¡°He¡¯s seen all sorts of absurd things before. Why would he have asked you along if he didn¡¯t need the extra courage? Because he¡¯s too timid?¡± Although Wen Lele was still rather apprehensive about her words, she constantly pondered over them. After much consideration, she decided not to go. ¡°I shall give He Yi a call to tell him that I won¡¯t be going.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°Don¡¯t tell him that you saw me. Just tell him that you suddenly received an assignment from your captain.¡± Wen Lele called He Yi and gave him a brief excuse. The sensitive He Yi asked, ¡°Did someone tell you something?¡± ¡°No, who would tell me anything? I just feel that there¡¯s no free lunch in this world so I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t go with you. So sorry about that.¡± After hanging up the call, she ced her phone inside her bag and said, ¡°He asked if someone had said something to me. I¡¯m guessing that he must have guessed that it was you. In that case, will he be angry at you?¡± ¡°I was correct about you being brainless. So what if he¡¯s angry with me? Just let him die if he wants to. Why must he implicate you when you don¡¯t know anything at all?¡± After a moment of hesitation, An Xiaoning continued, ¡°I¡¯ll get someone to send you hometer.¡± Wen Lele remarked, ¡°It¡¯s illegal to raid tombs. Isn¡¯t he afraid of being arrested?¡± Chapter 978 - Perplexed and Smitten (38)

Chapter 978: Perplexed and Smitten (38)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°That¡¯s because he only raids tombs overseas. Just do your job as an archeologist properly. Stop fantasizing about such wild thoughts,¡± said An Xiaoning, who did not wish to talk more about the matter. Wen Lele felt a little ashamed to see that An Xiaoning was much more knowledgeable than her despite thetter being two years younger. Fan Shixin entered with a te of chilled litchis and ced it in front of An Xiaoning. ¡°Young Madam, these are fresh litchis that Xiao Huang¡¯s mother brought back from her home especially for you and Young Sir. It¡¯spletely organic and unpolluted.¡± ¡°I can tell that they¡¯re going to be delicious just from the color.¡± Just as An Xiaoning was about to pick up a litchi, Jin Qingyan beat her to it and said, ¡°Don¡¯t peel it lest you get your hands wet. I¡¯ll do it for you.¡± An Xiaoning retracted her hand and said to Wen Lele, ¡°Have some too.¡± Noticing that the litchis were too far away from her, she thought to herself, It¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t eaten litchis before, it doesn¡¯t cost much to get a bunch in the market. ¡°Nah, I don¡¯t like litchis,¡± she said. An Xiaoning remained quiet, not bothered about whether or not she was speaking the truth. Jin Qingyan ced a peeled litchi near An Xiaoning¡¯s mouth, which she then ate before saying to Fan Shixin in satisfaction, ¡°It really tastes superb. Please help me thank Xiao Huang¡¯s mother for her kindness.¡± Fan Shixin smiled and said, ¡°Sure. She sent a huge bunch of litchis. The rest of the bodyguards have tried them too.¡± ¡°Shixin, get Xiao Bai to give Ms. Wen a lift hometer. It¡¯s burning hot outside.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Just as Fan Shixin left, Wen Lele asked, ¡°Is he your butler?¡± ¡°You could say so.¡± ¡°Is he married yet?¡± An Xiaoning shot her a nce and immediately knew what she was thinking about. ¡°No,¡± she answered. ¡°Could you introduce him to me then? He¡¯s dashing.¡± Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning had totally expected her to say that. An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°Qingyan and I hate matchmaking for others. If you¡¯re interested in him, you may try talking to him yourself. We don¡¯t have any objections if he¡¯s willing to date you.¡± Upon hearing her words, Wen Lele lit up with joy and excitement. She immediately stood up and said, ¡°I shall try talking to him about it, then.¡± An Xiaoning let out a sigh upon seeing Wen Lele scurrying away. ¡°Why did you sigh?¡± he asked. ¡°How long was she your table mate for?¡± ¡°A year.¡± ¡°Must¡¯ve been hard on you. Do you think Shixin would be interested in her?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Impossible,¡± he answered without hesitation. ¡°How are you so sure?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know Wen Lele that well, but no one knows Shixin better than I do.¡± Less than five minutester, Wen Lele returned. They could already tell the oue from her expression. ¡°Ms. Wen, how did it go? What did he say?¡± An Xiaoning asked, nheless. ¡°He said I wasn¡¯t his type.¡± Staring at Jin Qingyan peeling a litchi for An Xiaoning again, Wen Lele snapped angrily, ¡°Can you two stop showing off your rtionship and being so affectionate with each other publicly? It¡¯s such a torment for a singleton like me!¡± ¡°This is just our daily routine. How are we showing off? You think we¡¯re unting our love simply because you don¡¯t have a boyfriend?¡± Wen Lele sat down and stomped her feet on the ground. ¡°I really can¡¯t stand you guys, especially you, Jin Qingyan. No matter what, we¡¯re still old ssmates who shared the same table. How could you be so heartless as to leave me in the lurch when I¡¯m still single at this age?¡± she groused. Jin Qingyan retorted, ¡°I wasn¡¯t the one who made you single. Why are you ming me? Besides, how am I supposed to help you get attached? There¡¯s nothing I can do.¡± ¡°What do you mean there¡¯s nothing you can do? You can just tell your butler to give me a chance and spend some time with me. He brushed me off and said that I wasn¡¯t his type when he barely even knows me. Once he knows me well enough, he wouldn¡¯t be saying that.¡± An Xiaoning interjected, ¡°Yes, once he understands you well, he won¡¯t be saying that you¡¯re not his type. Instead, he¡¯ll wish that he had never met you before. Fancy you saying that he doesn¡¯t know you well enough. You don¡¯t know him well either, but you said you wanted to date him. Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re really strange and absurd?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough, Ms. Wen. Please leave.¡± An Xiaoning did not wish to speak to her any further. She had no words left to say about this ignorant 32-year-old woman. Wen Lele left with her spirits dampened. Just as she left, He Yi arrived. They obviously bumped into each other. Upon the sight of them enjoying some fruit, He Yi immediately questioned, ¡°Ms. An, if you don¡¯t wish to go, so be it. Why did you have to jeopardize my ns?¡± ¡°You really enjoy speaking with your tongue in your cheek, don¡¯t you? The previous time we met, you said that you learned more from speaking to me than you would have from ten years of studying. Seems like I really wasted my breath trying to warn you against the possible dangers. I don¡¯t wish to bother about someone who¡¯s asking for death, but why do you have to implicate an innocent person? I¡¯m not exactly close friends with Wen Lele. I just don¡¯t like to see you making use of others by tempting them with money.¡± With a sullen expression on his face, He Yi retorted, ¡°Fine, you do make some sense, but you¡¯ll be in no ce to interfere with what we do if I make her my girlfriend.¡± Upon hearing his words, An Xiaoning immediately lost all admiration and respect for him. ¡°Suit yourself,¡± she saidposedly. He Yi did not say anything else and instead left straight away. An Xiaoning picked up a piece of tissue paper to wipe her mouth and said, ¡°Why do such people exist? They only care about money and not their lives.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s ignore them. Their lives have nothing to do with us,¡± Jin Qingyan said coldly. ¡°Don¡¯t let their silly actions affect you. Do you want to take a nap?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll go upstairs to take a shower first.¡± ¡°I¡¯m heading to the office now.¡± An Xiaoning took a cold shower and changed into her pajamas. She theny in bed and began browsing through some shopping websites casually. All of a sudden, a skirt caught her eye. She fell in love with it immediately at first sight. She would rarely buy clothes online, unless she particrly fancied the design of the apparel. Considering that it was rather reasonably priced at three hundred dors and that it was a local website, An Xiaoning decided to purchase it without hesitation. As usual, she wrote Fan Shixin¡¯s name as the recipient. Thinking to herself that she would receive the dress when she wakes upter, she closed herptop and began taking a nap. She woke up three hourster, feelingfortable and rxed. She changed into afortable homewear outfit and headed downstairs in a bid to inform him of the item she had bought online. To her surprise, he handed her a parcel straight away and said, ¡°Young Madam, this parcel is for you, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Smart. I was just about to tell you about it. Howe it arrived so soon?¡± ¡°I knew it was yours right away. Well, which other woman in here would dare to write my name as the recipient?¡± An Xiaoning quickly zoomed upstairs to open the parcel in a bid to try it on. However, there was no need for it at all. She had received a skirt that was worlds apart from the photos disyed on the website. The skirt seemed posh and elegant in the photos online, a far cry from the low-quality piece that she had received. In fact, it seemed even worse than those sold at street stalls. The material was coarse, and many of the sequins fell off with the touch of a hand. She threw the skirt into the sink inside the bathroom. As expected, the water in the sink turned red immediately due to the heavy dye of the fabric. Chapter 979 - Perplexed and Smitten (39)

Chapter 979: Perplexed and Smitten (39)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The cherry-red miniskirt... ruined her mood. She immediately switched on herptop and contacted the customer service tform on the website. To her surprise, the customer service attendant answered her politely, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but you¡¯ve already washed the item and cut the tag off. You can¡¯t return it anymore. How about wepensate you with an amount of ten dors?¡± An Xiaoning felt like she was about to vomit blood. She decided not to argue with the customer service attendant and epted that she could not return the item. Instead, she immediately gave the online store a negative review that included a detailed description of the skirt that she had received. Not long after, Fan Shixin said to her, ¡°Young Madam, the customer service attendant of that online store called and requested that you delete the review.¡± ¡°Pass me your phone.¡± He handed it to her and asked, ¡°Are you unsatisfied with the product?¡± She described the condition of the skirt to Fan Shixin, after which he immediately said, ¡°They¡¯ve seriously gone overboard. How could they still have the cheek to call us and request that we delete thement? I can¡¯t believe they offered you apensation of ten dors. Are they out of their mind?¡± ¡°Use another phone, leave yours with me for the time being.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± An Xiaoning headed to the dressing room to pick out an outfit. Just as she was in the midst of putting on some makeup, Fan Shixin¡¯s mobile phone began to ring. She ced her lipstick down and walked toward the bed. She then picked up the ringing mobile phone to see that it was a number from A City. Thinking that it must be a call from the customer service attendant of the online store, An Xiaoning answered and turned on the voice recording function. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°May I ask if you are Fan Shixin? I¡¯m Xiao Zhang, the customer service attendant of XX online store. You bought a cherry-red skirt from us and left a poor review, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°We sincerely apologize for the unpleasant experience you¡¯ve had while shopping with us. You see, we¡¯ve already refunded ten dors to you and I think that we can talk things over calmly. Will you delete the poor review you¡¯ve given us?¡± Standing in a consumer¡¯s shoes, An Xiaoning felt that the attendant was just patronizing her, although she sounded rather sincere. ¡°There¡¯s too huge of a difference between the disy photos on your website and the actual product. Do you know that you guys are deceiving consumers? I only rinsed the skirt in water before wearing it. You either ept my return or let the review stay online, alright?¡± There was a sudden shift in the customer service attendant Xiao Zhang¡¯s tone, and she said, ¡°Ms. Fan, if you insist on acting that way, then you¡¯d better prepare yourself for calls of harassment. It won¡¯t cause us much inconvenience anyway, we¡¯ll see how long you can tolerate it for. We¡¯ll continue harassing you until you delete that review.¡± An Xiaoning squinted and answered sarcastically, ¡°Oh, I see.¡± ¡°I wonder if you¡¯ve heard about news of customers being threatened with knives and receiving shrouds for giving online stores bad reviews.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I haven¡¯t. However, you¡¯re most wee if you¡¯re nning to do so. I shall tell you my measurements first, lest the shroud doesn¡¯t fit me well. If you¡¯re nning to show up at my doorstep with a cleaver and threaten to ughter me, please inform me beforehand. Alternatively, you can also send your people here to fight me one on one. I¡¯ll be waiting for you.¡± The customer service attendant was dumbfounded. I used to be able to easily threaten those customers who left negative reviews into deleting theirments. How could this woman be so arrogant? ¡°Okay, return the item and we¡¯ll refund you half the amount you paid.¡± ¡°No, give me a full refund,¡± An Xiaoning insisted. ¡°You damned woman... do you really think we won¡¯t send our people to deal with you immediately?¡± ¡°Well, do you really think that the recording of our conversation won¡¯t be sent to the police station immediately?¡± After a long pause, Xiao Zhang mellowed her tone and apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Ms. Fan. We¡¯re willing to give you a full refund. Will that do?¡± An Xiaoning smirked and answered, ¡°Miss, everything would have been settled if you¡¯d said this earlier, wouldn¡¯t it? Judging from your attitude, you must have threatened customers pretty frequently, haven¡¯t you? Transfer the money to my ount before I mail your clothing back to your store.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After ending the call, An Xiaoning ced the phone down and muttered, ¡°Turns out it was just another paper tiger. I really thought they had the audacity to show up at my door to ughter me.¡± She walked toward the dressing table and continued to put on her makeup. Minutester, An Xiaoning received the full refunded amount in her bank ount. She then removed the skirt from the sink, wrung it dry, and dried it further with a hairdryer. She then ced the skirt into a stic bag and handed it to Fan Shixin. ¡°Mail this back to them. Their address is written on the bag. Here, your phone.¡± ¡°Young Madam, did they call to threaten you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not just threatening, it¡¯s ckmail. Fortunately, I¡¯ve recorded the conversation. I deleted the voice recording from your phone after I received the full refund.¡± ¡°Young Madam, I doubt anyone would expect you to still purchase clothing online. I¡¯m sure most people think that you live extravagantly and purchase the most expensive things and food. They probably think that an average lifestyle can¡¯t bepared to yours. Little do they know, you can afford to drive a luxury car but you¡¯re alsofortable with taking the public bus. You can afford to live in a mansion but you can also make do with a simple house.¡± ¡°I just decided to buy it because I thought it was rather nice.¡± ¡°I think they must be tired of living. How dare they threaten you? If they have the gall to, I¡¯ll make sure they don¡¯t make it out of here alive. I¡¯ll mail the item back to them now. However, it¡¯s already sote, are you still nning to go out, Young Madam?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going back to Sanqiao Estate for a while. When your Young Sires home, tell him that he doesn¡¯t have to wait for me to have dinner.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± When An Xiaoning returned to Sanqiao Estate, she caught sight of Mo Li and No. 8 sitting on the bench, each holding a popsicle in their hands. They seemed to be in the midst of a joyous conversation. Upon the sight of her car, No. 8 and Mo Li stood up and walked toward her. An Xiaoning drove her car into the entrance and alighted before saying to him, ¡°Your rtionship has really escted. You two are such happy lovebirds.¡± Blushing red with shyness, No. 8 asked, ¡°Sis, may I ask something of you?¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I want to marry Mo Li, but I don¡¯t have a household register. Although I do have an indenture, it¡¯s not legally recognized.¡± Unsurprised, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Have you two decided to spend the rest of your lives together?¡± They nodded and answered unanimously, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll get Shixin to settle the household registerter. But whose ount should you register your name under? My name is still under the Gu family¡¯s household register, you can¡¯t possibly register your name under that too. Mo Li, how about you and No. 8 register both your names under a single register?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Alright, leave this to me then.¡± ¡°Thank you, Sis,¡± No. 8 eximed agitatedly. ¡°Let¡¯s talk inside.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± At the sight of her return, Shi Qingzhou immediately asked, ¡°Xiaoning, are you having dinner at home tonight?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll start cooking now then,¡± said Shi Qingzhou, who hurriedly put on her apron. An Xiaoning turned to the side and asked No. 8, ¡°Did you propose to Mo Li or was it the other way around?¡± Chapter 980 - Perplexed and Smitten (40)

Chapter 980: Perplexed and Smitten (40)

¡°I was the one who initiated it. Fortunately, she trusts me,¡± said No. 8, smiling widely from ear to ear. An Xiaoning was genuinely happy for them. ¡°It¡¯s been hard on you guys and you¡¯ve suffered a great ton. Support and be there for each other for the rest of your lives.¡± Mo Li could not help but tear up. It was indeed tough to find someone to rely on for a lifetime. One would only understand that truth after they¡¯ve experienced it themselves. ¡°I may not have known Yun Chen for long, but every single day that I¡¯ve spent with him has been enjoyable. I¡¯m very sure that this is how I want my life to be. I agreed without hesitation when he proposed to me.¡± ¡°What¡¯s important is that you¡¯re very clear about what you want.¡± As soon as An Xiaoning finished speaking, No. 5 sighed and said, ¡°Ahh, the rest of us singletons are not as lucky as No. 8. No. 8, you must be good to Ms. Mo. Otherwise, we¡¯ll be waiting in line to take over your ce and protect her.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like Sis didn¡¯t give you the freedom to get a girlfriend. Stop being jealous of me,¡± No. 8 retorted. No. 5 chuckled and said, ¡°Sis, you have no idea, No. 8 doesn¡¯t even return to the dormitory these past few days that we¡¯ve been preparing for the driving test.¡± No. 8 blushed and said, ¡°So what if I stayed with my girlfriend? Isn¡¯t it only normal for adults to do that?¡± ¡°Come here, everyone, have some cold drinks to cool you down. The weather is exceptionally sweltering these days,¡± said Shi Qingzhou, serving a few sses of beverage on a tray. An Xiaoning grabbed a ss and took a few sips using a straw. She would often be in a great mood whenever she realizes that everything at home was in peace and harmony. Yet, her happiness was often short-lived. She stayed for dinner and engaged in a long and lively conversation with her family before driving back to Wei Ni Estate at past eight o¡¯clock in the evening. The sky had already turned dark. It seemed like it was about to rain soon, for the air was hot and humid. The moment she drove through the entrance, An Xiaoning caught sight of a silhouette standing below the light in the backyard. She parked her car on the spot and alighted before even parking it inside the garage. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that it was too far for you toe and meet me the previous time I texted you? It¡¯s really surprising to see you here at this time.¡± The man had his back facing An Xiaoning, who was leaning against the bo of her car. She did not seem to be interested in taking a look at his appearance. ¡°There¡¯s something I need your help with. I¡¯ll give you a handsome reward in return. Are you interested in helping me, Hua Jin?¡± he said aloofly in an alluring voice. ¡°What is it?¡± asked An Xiaoning, thinking to herself that it must be a tall order for him since he had to seek her help. ¡°There¡¯s an ancient coffin in V Nation. I want you to bring the corpse inside to the museum in A City.¡± ¡°A corpse? Does it belong to you?¡± An Xiaoning asked subconsciously. ¡°No. It belongs to a woman. The corpse has yet to dpose. Of course, it¡¯d be more than easy for me to move it to a ce nobody knows about, but I want her to see the light of day now. Follow my instructions and I¡¯ll grant you a wish.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and asked, ¡°Am I allowed to ask for anything?¡± ¡°If you¡¯d like to ask about my identity as well as the treasure map, you may save it.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t ask about you, who you are has nothing to do with me. I¡¯m not interested in the treasure map either. I only want to know about me and His Highness¡¯ previous lifetime. Could you tell me about it?¡± The man hesitated and remained silent for a moment. An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Are you not willing to tell me?¡± ¡°No,¡± answered the man. He was merely surprised that she would make such a request. He continued, ¡°That¡¯s already a matter of the past and you two have already reincarnated. What¡¯s the point of harping on about the past? Hua Jin, I really think you should seriously reconsider your request. I think it¡¯s better that you don¡¯t know about your previous lifetime.¡± ¡°Why did Heaven let me find out about it if it¡¯s better for me not to know? He did that because he wants us to know that there are some truths that have to be uncovered, regardless of how long it may have been since that time.¡± The man was rather astonished to hear her words. ¡°Did you guys already find out?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just some loose bits and pieces here and there. I don¡¯t have theplete picture of what happened yet. Mr. Xiao, could you agree to a request of mine?¡± ¡°Since you¡¯re willing to make an exchange with me, I¡¯ll promise to fulfill your request. However, I can only tell you once you¡¯ve brought the corpse back in one piece and settled it appropriately. Hua Jin, you trust me, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Well, the power lies in your hands. I¡¯m not that eager to find out yet, I¡¯ll just help you with what you need me to do first. Tell me the exact address,¡± she answered. He told her the exact address of the ancient graveyard and said, ¡°Someone has already found out about that ce so I hope you¡¯ll start taking action tomorrow.¡± ¡°Someone has already discovered the ce? Why didn¡¯t you just kill that person then and there?¡± An Xiaoning asked, not sure if he was referring to He Yi. ¡°When I arrived, I discovered that someone had already entered. Fortunately, the corpse is still intact and undiscovered.¡± ¡°Oh, I see.¡± An Xiaoning stood up straight and said, ¡°Mr. Xiao, what¡¯s the point of being so mysterious? What¡¯s wrong with revealing your face and telling me your name?¡± He answered coldly in arrogance, ¡°I just don¡¯t want to. What can you do? Hit me?¡± An Xiaoning had no words. ¡°Young Madam! What are you murmuring to yourself about?¡± Fan Shixin asked, scurrying toward her. ¡°Nothing.¡± She looked at Mr. Xiao, only to find that he was no longer in sight. ¡°Shixin, there¡¯s something I need to trouble you with.¡± ¡°Young Madam, don¡¯t stand on ceremony with me. Just give me your orders.¡± ¡°I have a subordinate called No. 8 in Sanqiao Estate and he doesn¡¯t have a household register yet. Help him apply for one and register his and Mo Li¡¯s name under the same register. They¡¯re getting married soon.¡± Fan Shixin asked in shock, ¡°They¡¯re getting married already? So soon?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s why he needs a household register to get his marriage registered. He doesn¡¯t have an identity card either.¡± ¡°Leave this to me.¡± ¡°Thanks. Has your Young Sir returned home yet?¡± ¡°No, Young Sir got Xiao Bai to deliver his dinner. He¡¯s still working overtime at the office. However, he¡¯ll be back soon.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll wait for him upstairs.¡± After removing her makeup and putting on a sheet of beauty facial mask, shey in bed and pondered over her thoughts silently. All of a sudden, her mobile phone began to ring, giving her a great shock. She took a look at the caller disy to see that it was a call from Wen Lele. Again. ¡°Hello, Ms. Wen, what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Ms. An, He Yi proposed to me!¡± An Xiaoning felt like she was about to go deaf and answered, ¡°And so?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you find it really strange because of how sudden it is?¡± ¡°No.¡± Chapter 981 - Perplexed and Smitten (41)

Chapter 981: Perplexed and Smitten (41)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Her answer greatly peeved Wen Lele, who then said, ¡°Ms. An, I told all my former ssmates about it and they were all really surprised. They¡¯ve even given us their well wishes.¡± An Xiaoning answered bluntly, ¡°I¡¯m not your old ssmate anyway. Seems like you agreed to marry him and my words have fallen on deaf ears. I did expect that he would ask you to be his girlfriend but I didn¡¯t expect him to propose to you. That¡¯s quite a big sacrifice.¡± ¡°Ms. An, are you trying to say that I¡¯m not good enough for him?¡± Wen Lele questioned, feeling a little offended. ¡°Although you two are verypatible in terms of IQ, Wen Lele, I¡¯m telling you, you¡¯re no match for his intelligence. Stop telling me about your affairs with him. I¡¯m not interested at all. Just do whatever you want.¡± Wen Lele¡¯s initial feelings of joy were dampened. An Xiaoning¡¯s words were just like a wet nket that wiped the smile off her face. ¡°Actually, he has already exined everything to me. If it¡¯s really that dangerous, he wouldn¡¯t have wanted to go either.¡± An Xiaoning sighed and gibed, ¡°Whenever I reach a point where I can¡¯t seem tomunicate with people like you, I always tell myself something.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°My purpose of living is to bring joy and excitement to my own life, not to enlighten fools. Wen Lele, you¡¯ve really lived the 32 years of your life in vain. You¡¯re no longer 22 years old, can you please use your brains to think before making decisions? Are your brains fried?¡± If it weren¡¯t because it was Mr. Xiao¡¯s orders, she wouldn¡¯t have agreed to go at all. She only agreed because she had no idea when she could finally get the full picture of her previous lifetime and decided that it wouldn¡¯t be a big deal toplete the task if it meant that he could tell her everything. But how could it be the same for Wen Lele and He Yi? Even if Mr. Xiao doesn¡¯t do anything to He Yi when he¡¯s there, how could they possibly hide from those blood-feeding tribes? ¡°Ms. An, you¡¯re too vicious. I¡¯m two years older than you and yet you criticized me like I was a child. I do think I¡¯m rather intelligent.¡± ¡°Okay, I said so much and yet that¡¯s the only thing that you registered and care about. I have nothing to say anymore. I¡¯m hanging up.¡± She ended the call straight away, feeling a strong urge to cut Wen Lele¡¯s brains open to see if they were filled with poop. It was truly tiring tomunicate with someone whose brain worked in a different way. Jin Qingyan had returned by the time her mask dried up. She first told him about Wen Lele, which left him bbergasted. ¡°I initially had a vague memory about her, but after what you said, I suddenly remember all the silly things she had done back in high school.¡± ¡°What did she do?¡± ¡°She seems to be from a very poor family. I used to throw away all the gifts and things that my suitors left inside the drawer of my table. I stopped receiving them after a while so I really thought that they had really learned their lesson. However, I found outter that Wen Lele actually took all the gifts away secretly. She even hid it from me. I only found out when one of the girls brazenly asked me if I liked the gift she had given me.¡± An Xiaoning scoffed and said, ¡°Such people actually exist. However, you shouldn¡¯t have thrown those gifts away and just returned it to them instead.¡± ¡°There are so many of them, I can¡¯t possibly return all to them one by one. I still had other things to do like attending lessons. Time is precious and I didn¡¯t want to waste it on those frivolous things.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about that. Mr. Xiao came tonight and asked me to do something for him,¡± said An Xiaoning, who then recounted her conversation with him. Jin Qingyan was peeved immediately after hearing that she would have to travel abroad again, because that would mean that he wouldn¡¯t get to see her. ¡°It would take a few days to travel to such a faraway ce like V Nation and another few days to return. I won¡¯t get to see you for at least a week or more, including the time you¡¯ll spend staying there. I¡¯m going to be ufortable,¡± he said with a gloomy expression. ¡°But that¡¯ll let us find out about our previous lifetime. That¡¯s better than piecing the puzzle of our memories piece by piece.¡± ¡°You really want to go?¡± Jin Qingyan asked, feeling worried. ¡°I¡¯ve already agreed to his request. It¡¯s a must for me to go.¡± ¡°Shall I get Shixin and Xiao Bai to follow you again?¡± ¡°Xiao Bai will do, let Shixin stay with you.¡± After some consideration, he said, ¡°No, Shixin and Xiao Bai must follow you.¡± An Xiaoning decided not to insist further and conceded, ¡°I shall just bring Shixin alone then. Actually, there¡¯s no need for Xiao Bai toe alone.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± Jin Qingyany down beside her and slid a hand under her shirt while saying, ¡°I¡¯m not going to let you off tonight...¡± ¡°Since when have you ever let me off?¡± An Xiaoning turned over and said to him carefully, ¡°I still don¡¯t know if the ancient grave is the same one that He Yi mentioned previously. If it really is, do you think He Yi will resent me after finding out that I went before him?¡± ¡°Why do you have to let him know that you went? Just don¡¯t let him find out. Besides, who cares whether he resents you or not? There are a ton of people who resent you anyway. He won¡¯t make a difference.¡± An Xiaoning leaned closer toward him and rubbed her nose against his affectionately. All of a sudden, he nibbled her lips and gave it a bite, like a ferocious predator that finally caught its prey. Jin Qingyan began kissing her passionately and soon lost control of himself. Supporting her nape with one hand, he felt as if his blood was rushing to his lips and his hormones were raging out of control. He gradually moved his hand downward, all the way to her waist, which he then gave a little squeeze to. An Xiaoning felt like she was almost out of breath and wanted to pull away to catch some air. And yet, he sucked on her tongue and refused to let her go, causing her to almost suffocate. Her body began to ease up, and she could not help but moan in pleasure. Her electrifying moan sent Jin Qingyan into a higher state of excitement and arousal. He pinned himself on top of her and pulled her skirt up to her neck. An Xiaoning was deeply aroused, and she parted her lips slightly while gazing at him alluringly with her eyes ssed over. After a long while of forey, she felt a desperate need to be filled by him, yet he simply refused to enter her and seemed to be keeping her in suspense on purpose while waiting for the best opportunity. At this very moment, Long Tianze arrived in an untimely fashion and eximed withughter, ¡°I¡¯m here, Little Eunuch Jin, time to open the door to wee me, your Prince!¡± An Xiaoning thought that Jin Qingyan would pause the session. To her surprise, he removed her soaked underwear and entered her without warning. She tensed up in pleasure and enjoyed the sensation of him filling her up. Chapter 982 - Perplexed and Smitten (42)

Chapter 982: Perplexed and Smitten (42)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The moment he began thrusting himself in and out of her willfully, An Xiaoning grabbed his arm and said softly, ¡°Long Tianze is outside.¡± Jin Qingyan answered nonchntly, ¡°So what if he is? He can¡¯t possibly be here for anything serious at such ate hour. We¡¯ll just let him wait.¡± He continued with the act. Realizing that Jin Qingyan did not seem to hear him, Long Tianze decided to lean against the door to try and listen for soundsing from inside the bedroom, all despite knowing that Jin Qingyan had installed the best soundproofing system in his bedroom. To his disappointment, he could not hear a thing at all. Could it be that he¡¯s not in? Long Tianze scurried downstairs and asked Fan Shixin, ¡°Dummy, is your Young Sir really upstairs?¡± ¡°Of course, I saw him going upstairs with my own eyes.¡± ¡°Is your Young Madam home, too?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Long Tianze immediately understood what was going on. He gestured for Fan Shixin to leave and said, ¡°Go ahead and get busy with what you have to do. I¡¯ll wait for him here.¡± ¡°Mr. Long, why are you looking for Young Sir at such ate hour?¡± ¡°Nothing much, I just wanted to have a chat with him because I¡¯m too bored.¡± Fan Shixin nodded and said, ¡°Just wait here, then. I reckon Young Sir will need about another half an hour before he¡¯d be ready toe downstairs.¡± Long Tianze gave him the side-eye and said teasingly, ¡°You¡¯ve be a genius after following him around for so long.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± said Fan Shixin, exiting the living room with a smile. As soon as he left, Long Tianze headed upstairs again. He took a look at the time on his watch and sat cross-legged on the floor outside the bedroom. He then ced his palms together and closed his eyes, as if he were a monk in meditation. Half an hourter, the door was finally opened. d in his pajamas, Jin Qingyan leaned against the door frame and looked down at Long Tianze. ¡°Are you nning to be a monk?¡± Long Tianze opened his eyes slowly and drawled, ¡°Little Eunuch Jin, I arrived long ago and I called you. You¡¯re really good at ying deaf, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°You¡¯re more like a eunuch. Well, you came at an untimely juncture.¡± ¡°Why so?¡± he answered, asking the obvious. ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just a child. How would I know what goes on in the world of you adults?¡± Jin Qingyan walked out and closed the door before walking down the stairs. Long Tianze hurriedly followed closely behind and said, ¡°Qingyan, let¡¯s have some drinks.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°I feel like drinking.¡± ¡°Go drink on your own, then.¡± Jin Qingyan sat down on the couch, rested his legs on the coffee table, and opened his eyes to look at Long Tianze. ¡°Fancy youing herete at night. What¡¯s eating you?¡± Long Tianze sat down beside him and said, ¡°Well, it¡¯s a case of domestic violence. My wife abused me...¡± ¡°Did she hit you?¡± ¡°No, she just gave me the cold shoulder.¡± Jin Qingyan knew that they would rarely argue and would usually stick to each other like a pair of lovebirds. Hence, he wondered what happened this time. ¡°Why did she give you the cold shoulder?¡± ¡°We had a tiff.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Long Tianze teared up while exining the situation to him, ¡°I went to the ck Genie tonight, and I was in high spirits so I had a bit too much to drink. I was really ecstatic and I began dancing racily with one of the young girls working there. Who knew? Yangyang was there too. Then, that happened...¡± Jin Qingyan guffawed insensitively and jested, ¡°Oh no, what do we do? Uh-oh, your wife is upset and doesn¡¯t want to talk to you. You deserve it, hah.¡± Seeing that Jin Qingyan did notfort him and instead even rubbed salt in his wound, Long Tianze chided with a sullen expression, ¡°Jin Qingyan, are you even human? Can¡¯t you see that your buddy here is devastated? How could you still be so heartless as tough and mock me?¡± ¡°Iughed because of the way you¡¯re acting now. You can¡¯t even handle such a trivial matter. Long Tianze, just what did you eat when you were growing up?¡± ¡°Ni (You). ¡± ¡°What? Ni (Soil)? No wonder your brains are soiled,¡± Jin Qingyan teased merrily, for he was in a pleasant mood. Long Tianze took a deep breath and felt a strong urge to beat Jin Qingyan into a pulp. ¡°I came here to seek your advice...¡± ¡°What advice do you even need? Are you silly? Just get intimate with her and everything will be solved.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t even enter the house, how am I supposed to do that?¡± ¡°Tsk, tsk, tsk. Poor thing, you can¡¯t even go back to your own home.¡± After a moment of silence, Jin Qingyan continued, ¡°How about this? I¡¯lle up with a foolproof solution for you, but you must give me something in return.¡± ¡°One hundred thousand dors?¡± ¡°Long Tianze, do I seem like such a money-grubber to you?¡± ¡°What do you want in return, then?¡± asked a puzzled Long Tianze. Jin Qingyan stuck three fingers out and said, ¡°Three hundred thousand.¡± Long Tianze¡¯s jaw dropped and he said, ¡°Jin Qingyan, you¡¯re so shameless. You¡¯re charging me 300 thousand dors just foring up with a solution for me. Go to hell. Even 100 thousand was too much.¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯re both willing parties. If you¡¯re agreeable to it, I¡¯ll help you solve your problem immediately. If not, you may have the guest room.¡± Long Tianze rolled his eyes and said, ¡°Jin Qingyan, you¡¯re bing more and more relentless with your buddy. We grew up together ever since we were children, how could you have the cheek to... fine, 300 thousand it is. Neither of us should go back on our word. What solution do you have?¡± ¡°Just go stay inside the guest room for now. Your wife wille to call you home in less than ten minutes. Don¡¯te out unless I tell you to.¡± Despite being doubtful and apprehensive of his words, Long Tianze still did as he was told. After he left, Jin Qingyan called Fan Shixin over and whispered something into his ear, after which Fan Shixin lit up with glee and nodded profusely before proceeding to do as instructed. A few minutester, Mei Yangyang rushed over, appearing flustered and anxious. Upon the sight of Jin Qingyan, she immediately asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Tianze?¡± ¡°You must promise to let him go home before I can tell you.¡± ¡°Of course I will,¡± Mei Yangyang said eagerly. ¡°He¡¯s in the guest room.¡± Mei Yangyang hurriedly zoomed toward the guest room. Filled with panic, Mei Yangyang rushed in and burst into tears upon the sight of Long Tianze staring at her. She cupped her head in her hands and asked, ¡°Are you out of your mind?¡± ¡°Honey...¡± This Qingyan is really something, Long Tianze thought to himself. ¡°Good that you¡¯re alright. Let¡¯s go home.¡± Long Tianze was dumbfounded. What did she mean? However, he still exited the room together with her. When they passed by the living room, Jin Qingyan reminded, ¡°Tianze, don¡¯t forget this.¡± He stuck three fingers out at Long Tianze. ¡°Got it.¡± Joy was written all over Long Tianze¡¯s face as he gave Jin Qingyan a thumbs-up of approval. Jin Qingyan smirked smugly. ¡°Why did he stick three fingers out at you?¡± Mei Yangyang asked after they reached home. ¡°Ah... nothing much,¡± Long Tianze answered vaguely. Once they entered the house, he whipped out his mobile phone and transferred the money to Jin Qingyan. After he went inside the shower, Mei Yangyang checked his mobile phone. Coincidentally, he received a notification text about the sessful transaction. She immediately rushed inside the washroom and asked him, ¡°Did you transfer 300 thousand dors to Mr. Jin?¡± Chapter 983 - Perplexed and Smitten (43)

Chapter 983: Perplexed and Smitten (43)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Seeing that she had already found out, Long Tianze decided not to hide any further and said, ¡°It¡¯s the reward I¡¯ve given him.¡± ¡°What reward?¡± ¡°A reward foring up with a solution for me,¡± said Long Tianze, pouring some shower gel onto the loofah and scrubbing himself with it. Mei Yangyang immediately figured out what happened. ¡°So what Shixin said about you hanging yourself is false?¡± Long Tianze paused in his actions and pointed at himself. ¡°Suicide? Who? Me? Is this a joke? Why would I take my own life?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°God damn it, Jin Qingyan! Well, it¡¯s all your fault for throwing a tantrum. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have stood to gain from this. I gave him 300 thousand dors,¡± said Long Tianze. ¡°You money-squandering rascal! Forget it, let¡¯s just take it that we gave it to Sis,¡± Mei Yangyang chastised, feeling the pinch. ¡°What is 300 thousand dors to us? Do you know how much cheaper Qingyan sold this mansion to us forpared to the market price? It¡¯s peanuts,¡± said Long Tianze. ¡°Fortunately, you gave it to Mr. Jin. I¡¯ll break your legs if it were someone else instead.¡± ¡°Are you a fool? You believe him just because he said that I had attempted suicide? Are you going to believe him too if he said that I was eating poop?¡± ¡°His description was too vivid and real. I would¡¯ve rushed there with my camera if he said that you were eating poop.¡± He pushed all the foam on his body downward and gathered them at his crotch. Seeing his antics, Mei Yangyang turned around to leave and hissed, ¡°How childish.¡± ¡ª The sky had already turned bright by five o¡¯clock in the morning. An Xiaoning got out of bed to get dressed. She and Fan Shixin brought a set of clothes each as well as some necessary items before boarding the ship and embarking on their journey. Although the ship was traveling at a much faster speed this timepared to the previous time they went to V Nation, it was still exceptionally slowpared to an airne. However, the only way to get to V Nation was by sea or by multiple transit flights. There was no direct flight to that ce at all. Hence, they decided to save the hassle and just board a ship there. An Xiaoning leaned against the window and read some books to kill time while Fan Shixin sat opposite her, a table in between them. ¡°Young Madam.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Young Sir has already got them to keep tabs on He Yi. We¡¯ll receive an update if he sets off.¡± ¡°He¡¯s there for the treasure map. His purpose is different from ours. I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll actually marry Wen Lele. He¡¯s no fool; marrying her means that he would have to split his assets into half and share it with her. I reckon he only proposed to her to coax her into following him on his journey to V Nation,¡± An Xiaoning conjectured. ¡°And then promise to marry her once they return back from V Nation?¡± hepleted her sentence. ¡°That could be the case. After all, we¡¯re not him and we can¡¯t guess what he¡¯s thinking, exactly.¡± An Xiaoning rested her chin in her hand and kept her eyes fixed on her book. After reading a few pages, she picked the book up all of a sudden and flung it out of the window and into the sea. Extremely puzzled, Fan Shixin asked, ¡°Young Madam, why did you throw the book out?¡± An Xiaoning picked up her teacup and took a few sips of green tea before saying, ¡°The synopsis and summary of the book seemed pretty interesting. However, after reading the content, I realized how immoral the author is. Do you know what was written in that romance novel?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°It depicts a romantic rtionship between a man and his niece. They¡¯re not biologically rted, though. It¡¯s just a false case of incest. It¡¯s always the case in cliche romance novels. If not that, it would be a romance between a father and his daughter. Although it¡¯s rifiedter in the story that they¡¯re not biologically rted, the bulk of the readers of these novels are all youths and adolescents. This is only going to instill the wrong values within them and mislead them into thinking that it¡¯s alright to have such incestuous rtionships.¡± ¡°I heard that it¡¯s a trend for the male protagonist to rape the female protagonist in novels nowadays. The female protagonist even tends to fall in love with the rapist.¡± ¡°That wouldn¡¯t be the case if the rapist is a hideous middle-aged man.¡± An Xiaoning chuckled and continued, ¡°Its okay for novel authors toe up with absurd and far-fetched storylines, but forgoing morals is uneptable. Novels are inspired by real life stories, and in fact, everyone¡¯s life is just like a novel. Everything will end when the endinges.¡± .... After sailing across the sea for half a day, they received an update from A City, saying that He Yi and Wen Lele had gone to the airport with another unknown person and that they¡¯re about to board a flight to G Nation. G Nation and V Nation were neighboring countries. Thus, it would seem that they were nning to take a connecting flight from there. An Xiaoning instructed the bodyguards to think of a solution to dy their flight and stop them from proceeding to their journey. In that case, An Xiaoning would arrive before them even though they were going by air. An Xiaoning was afraid that it would be the same ancient graveyard they were both headed to. Even if it wasn¡¯t the same one, it would still be better to stop them, lest she bumped into them in V Nation. It was always good to minimize the possible troubles. An Xiaoning took a nap in the afternoon, which caused her to feel extremely awake at night. Fan Shixin had always had a routined life and would go to bed on time. Hence, he was not too exhausted at night since he had gotten some quality sleep the night before. As they gradually approached V City, they felt the temperatures start to rise. Theyy on the chair while the breeze caressed their faces, allowing them to feel much cooler. ¡°It looks like it¡¯s about to rain.¡± ¡°Yeah, a thunderstorm is predicted to happen at about nine o¡¯clockter,¡± said Fan Shixin, who just checked the weather forecast. ¡°Tell the captain of the ship to stop at the next nearest harbor. We¡¯ll decide whether or not to continue based on the weatherter.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Fan Shixin stood up and immediately proceeded to ry the instructions. An Xiaoning ced her arms behind her head and stared at the pitch-dark sky above, the salty odor of the seawater reaching her nose. The sounds of the warm breeze rang in her ears, and she felt very much at peace. However, her happiness was always short-lived. A short whileter, it began drizzling again. An Xiaoning folded the two chairs and returned inside the cabin. As soon as she sat in front of the window, it began raining cats and dogs. The ship was initially nearing the harbor but came to a halt due to the unfavorable weather conditions. It would definitely cause a dy in their journey, especially since the rain did not seem to be stopping anytime soon. ¡°Shixin, do you have any coins in your pocket?¡± ¡°I do have a few,¡± said Fan Shixin, who reached into his pocket to retrieve four coins. An Xiaoning grabbed three of them and tossed them onto the table for six times in a row. Fan Shixin initially thought that she was just doing it for fun. Seeing the grave expression on her face, he asked, ¡°Young Madam, why are you upset?¡± ¡°I tossed up a divination for our trip. It¡¯s not going to be smooth-sailing. Let¡¯s disembark from the ship here and tell the captain to return once the rain gets lighter. We¡¯ll take another route,¡± said An Xiaoning, handing him the three coins. ¡°Do we take the ne instead?¡± ¡°No, we¡¯ll take someone else¡¯s ship. Let¡¯s grab our belongings and put on our raincoats before disembarking,¡± said An Xiaoning, who stood up. ¡°Okay.¡± Despite being a decisive person, Fan Shixin obeyed her instructions entirely. Strangely, the rain began to dissipate once they got off the ship after giving the captain some instructions. Chapter 984 - Perplexed and Smitten (44)

Chapter 984: Perplexed and Smitten (44)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The captain decided to return when the rain became lighter. They stood at the harbor to wait quietly. The weather was rather strange, because about half an hourter, the initial drizzle grew into a thundery shower that was even heavier than before. At this moment, another ship approached. ¡°No matter where this ship is headed to, let¡¯s just board it for a while.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Once the ship stopped over at the harbor, the two of them talked to the people on the ship and paid the fare before boarding. The ship was rather old and worn out, and it reeked of a strong stench. They decided to pay a little more for a cubicle. However, the cubicle was merely a partition made from wooden nks. Although the space was rather limited, there was at least a small washroom inside. An Xiaoning decided to make the switch from arge, luxurious ship to an old and shabby one clearly because she had her own reasons. The results of the divination earlier was inauspicious. Although others may think that that was merely a phenomenon that could not be exined by science, An Xiaoning was apprehensive about it. Her sixth sense was telling her that taking a different route would allow them to avoid peril. ¡°Young Madam, the rain seems to be getting heavier. I doubt the ship can continue sailing.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, we¡¯ll see how things go once the rain stops. Don¡¯t call me Young Madam when we¡¯re out here. Let¡¯s pretend to be a couple like the previous time. It¡¯ll be much more convenient that way,¡± she instructed. Fan Shixin found her words to have made sense and agreed. ¡°If you¡¯re sleepy, justy on the table for a short nap. I¡¯ll call you when we¡¯re about to leave,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°I¡¯m not sleepy yet.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and waited quietly. They continued to wait for another few hours, until the rain gradually began to dissipate at two in the morning. Although there were still thunder and lightning, the rain had grown much lighter. The sea levels rose after such a long thunderstorm. Noticing that the rain was getting lighter, the captain of the ship hurriedly sailed off, lest they get trapped there. Fan Shixin began to feel slightly sleepy. Thus, An Xiaoning told him to rx and sleep while she stayed awake to keep a lookout. The ship was traveling at a snail¡¯s pace, perhaps because of how old it was. It could not bepared to Jin Qingyan¡¯s private cruise ship at all. The ship was also extremely jerky when it was moving and would rock about like there was a mini-earthquake. Being the careful and vignt person she was, An Xiaoning decided to open the window slightly and took out her torchlight, which she then shone onto the surface of the sea. She was greeted with an appalling sight. She immediately closed the window and woke Fan Shixin up. He was jolted awake quickly and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Look at the surface of the sea,¡± she said, handing him the torchlight. Fan Shixin immediately opened the window to take a look outside. He turned as pale as a sheet and asked, ¡°There¡¯s such a huge silhouette... what¡¯s that?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ve met with a flood dragon.¡± ¡°What¡¯s a flood dragon?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll exin it to youter. Let¡¯s go out with our belongings now.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The two of them thus exited the cubicle. An Xiaoning walked toward the captain and asked him for two lifebuoys, after which she exined the situation to him, causing him to be frightened out of his wits. At this critical juncture, the captain did not maneuver the ship toward the coast because there was no time to do that. Instead, he instructed his subordinates to give all the passengers a lifebuoy each. It all depended on fate whether or not they survive. An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin picked up their important belongings and left the unnecessary ones behind. They then ced their belongings into a stic bag. As soon as they did, the ship began to rock violently and the rest of the passengers started shrieking in terror. At this moment, the captain was still maneuvering in the direction of the coast. However, it was toote. In order to prevent Fan Shixin and herself to be separated by the wavester, they tied each end of a one-meter rope to their arms tightly to keep close to each other. They were down on their luck during this trip. However, all they could do now was try ande up with a solution to mitigate the problem and escape the ordeal. ¡°Seems like my premonition was urate and we made the right decision by getting our boat to return first. However, I didn¡¯t expect that this would be the ordeal...¡± Fan Shixin was clearly shell-shocked. Before he could even speak, a massive wave came crashing against the ship from behind, causing it to overturn immediately. Loud shrieks and bawling filled the air. Once An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin were in the water, they began swimming toward the shore, keeping their speeds in sync. When juxtaposed against such a huge silhouette, humans tend to look as tiny as ants. The waves were rolling continuously and lifted all the victims up to a few meters before making them plunge into the water again. An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin were both wearing a lifebuoy each and were still roped to each other. As soon as they caught a breath of fresh air, a sudden bolt of lightning darted across the sky, apanied by the deafening rumble of thunder. A pitch-dark pigment gathered on the surface of the sea. The thunder did not rumble again. The rain had also ceased. They were pushed along the sea rapidly by the strong waves. The sky began to turn bright gradually. They had no idea where they were and had no choice but to try and get onto the shore first. Their clothes werepletely soaked. By the time they got out of the water, An Xiaoning felt extremely weak and powerless, as if all her energy had been drained away by the sea. They sat on a wooden bench and removed their lifebuoys. ¡°Fortunately, we were in the ocean. Otherwise, things would have been dire.¡± ¡°What exactly is a flood dragon? What was that humongous ck silhouette?¡± Fan Shixin questioned eagerly. An Xiaoning exined, ¡°A flood dragon is a mythical creature that flows from the river into the sea. The humongous silhouette that we saw just now was a flood dragon. I reckon there must have been floods in all the ces that the dragon had passed by.¡± Fan Shixin got yet another eye-opener. ¡°I never thought I would get to see it with my own eyes one day. It¡¯s really terrifying. I felt so small and vulnerable,¡± he remarked. ¡°These creatures don¡¯t show themselves to humans easily. Perhaps we were just out of luck to have met with such an ordeal. It¡¯s going to take us even longer to get to V Nation now.¡± She then turned around and took out the stic bag that contained her mobile phone from her chest. There were water droplets all over the outeryer of the stic bag. They intentionally wrapped their belongings in severalyers of stic bags so as to waterproof them well. An Xiaoning opened the innermostyer of stic bag and was satisfied to see that her mobile phone was still intact. As soon as she switched on her mobile phone, she received several reminders and notifications. She was notified about how many missed calls and messages she had received while her mobile phone was switched off. Apart from a single missed call from Shi Qingzhou, the rest were all from Jin Qingyan. She read the messages to discover that he sounded extremely worried and eager. She reckoned that he must have heard about the violent waves that urred that night. An Xiaoning hurriedly gave Jin Qingyan a call that soon disconnected due to the poor reception. She proceeded to try and send several text messages to Jin Qingyan and her mother, which were finally delivered after multiple attempts. Chapter 985 - Perplexed and Smitten (45)

Chapter 985: Perplexed and Smitten (45)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning felt relieved to see that her text messages were delivered. The best solution for them now was to stay put and wait patiently for the ship to arrive, though they were unsure if it woulde by. Jin Qingyan could finally stop worrying after hearing that An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin were safe and sound. He then asked her for the details of the exact situation, for the news in S Nation only reported about the incident briefly. An Xiaoning exined the events ofst night to him in her reply. ¡°Young Madam, look, there¡¯s another ship approaching!¡± Fan Shixin eximed. An Xiaoning looked up to see that it was indeed so. She immediately sent Jin Qingyan her reply, which took multiple attempts to be delivered. ¡°That¡¯s great. I was just worried that there wouldn¡¯t be another ship. If there really wasn¡¯t any, we would have had to go to a ce nearby and stay there for the time being. I didn¡¯t expect another ship to arrive so soon.¡± She stood up and squinted before saying, ¡°However, that ship is not a passenger ship.¡± ¡°It seems to be a cargo ship. I doubt it¡¯ll stop over. Young Madam, let¡¯s just dive into the water and get up onto that ship to travel some distance. We can¡¯t miss this chance since we don¡¯t know when another ship will appear.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± They dived into the sea and swam toward the ship that was traveling at a slow and steady pace. Once it passed by them, they quickly climbed up onto the ship using their ropes. They sat on an empty spot at the rear of the boat. An Xiaoning did not sleep at all throughout the night. The moment they were on the ship, she was overwhelmed with a sudden sense of fatigue. Fan Shixin said gently, ¡°Young Madam, take a nap if you¡¯re tired. I¡¯m here. I¡¯ll wake you up if there are any sudden changes.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning rested her head on her knees and soon dozed off. The gray clouds began to dissipate, and the weather started turning fair while the sun started to show. Their clothes had also dried up. An Xiaoning could not sleep in peace and woke up several times in between. After all, one can never sleep peacefully when they had their guard up. After staying on the boat for the entire morning, Fan Shixin scanned his surroundings and deduced, ¡°We seem to have already entered the territory of V Nation.¡± An Xiaoning said softly, ¡°It seems like it, from what I remember about the ce. We must get off the ship immediately once we¡¯ve verified it. We¡¯ve already been on it for so long. Things are going to get tricky if they discover us.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Fan Shixin was overwhelmed with difort due to the sweltering heat. However, he had no choice but to bear with it. When they passed by a harbor, Fan Shixin took a look at the words written on the signboard and said immediately, ¡°Young Madam, shall we go down?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± They plunged into the water and werepletely submerged, leaving only their heads above the water. They then began swimming as quickly as they could toward the harbor. The sun was zing, and there were barely any people at the harbor at this time. The people who saw them could not help but take a few more nces. They boarded a bus at the harbor and headed to their destination, Wales Town. Wales Town was only a stone¡¯s throw away from the town of Ekerum, which they¡¯d visited previously. It could be said that the habits and practices of the citizens were simr in both towns. They checked into a motel in the town, after which Fan Shixin headed out to buy some clothes, food, and water. They took turns to shower and changed into a fresh set of clothes before having some food. They did not n to rest in the motel. Instead, they immediately checked out of the room and proceeded to buy some tools to rece what they had lost on the ship. It was difficult to find tools for sale in the town, and they only managed to gather some after scouring the stores for two hours. However, they decided that they could make do with them. In order to get around easier with lesser effort, they decided to purchase a bicycle as well. Fan Shixin rode the bicycle while An Xiaoning sat on the backseat. They finally arrived at the address given by Mr. Xiao at about five o¡¯clock in the afternoon. An Xiaoning stared at a big tree amongst the woods in front of her. She looked around and said, ¡°That¡¯s right, it should be here.¡± Fan Shixin handed her a bottle of mineral water and said, ¡°Have some water first. I¡¯ll hide the bicycle somewhere, just in case. It¡¯ll be easier for us to hide if someone elsees here too.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± An Xiaoning opened the bottle of water and took several gulps. Once Fan Shixin returned, the two of them stood in front of the tree with a shovel in hand and began digging a spot on the ground where there were obvious marks. The soil was loose and it was obvious that someone had once dug it up before. Thus, it did not take much effort to dig it up. Soon, they dug up a square hole that had a uniform width of about one meter. An Xiaoning instructed Fan Shixin to wait above ground while she stepped inside the hole. She also told him to fill the hole up and hide at once if someone else was to arrive. Fan Shixin bore her words in mind and kept watch by the hole. An Xiaoning discovered that the space underground became more spacious the deeper she delved in. She walked down the stairs and stopped when she was about a few floors underground. The night luminescent pearl was hung in an obscure spot and had not been stolen away. The walls and stairs were all paved with stone tiles, which made them rigid and more resistant to damage. An Xiaoning stood at the exit and gazed at the sight before her. She felt as if she were in an underground maze instead of an ancient grave. She proceeded to walk inside in a straight line. She did not make any markings and quickly searched for the stone wall that the mysterious Mr. Xiao had told her about. To her dismay, the geographical bearing was different from that of S Nation and there was no way to tell between North, South, East, and West. Hence, she decided to use the method of elimination. Although it was rather time-consuming, she had no other option. Fan Shixin, who was waiting upstairs, was filled with worry and anxiety. He was extremely concerned about An Xiaoning¡¯s safety, especially since graves were full of evil presences and there were also booby traps everywhere. After all, if anything happened to her, he would have to be the one to save her. Otherwise, Jin Qingyan was not going to let him off! Ten minutes passed, then twenty, and soon, thirty... Forty, fifty... now one hour had passed... He was getting a little impatient. At this very moment, he heard some misceneous soundsing from afar. Without hesitation, Fan Shixin immediately filled the hole with soil, as instructed by An Xiaoning. The hole was not too deep and he could fill it up rather quickly. Fan Shixin then climbed up onto a tree and hid behind the branches. Coincidentally, he was dressed in a green outfit, which allowed him to blend in with the leaves and gave him a perfect camouge. One or two minutester, three people appeared in Fan Shixin¡¯s field of vision, and they were chatting with each other. It was none other than He Yi, Wen Lele, and another man whom Fan Shixin had never met before. ¡°Bad news. Someone has already gone inside,¡± He Yi said after taking a look. ¡°What are we waiting for, then? Let¡¯s hurry and go in to take a look,¡± said Wen Lele, who sounded eager and impatient. Hence, the three of them began digging up the soil effortlessly. He Yimented, ¡°The soil is very loose and seems to have just been filled, but we didn¡¯t see anyone else while on our way here.¡± Chapter 986 - Perplexed and Smitten (46)

Chapter 986: Perplexed and Smitten (46)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Wen Lele conjectured, ¡°Maybe they had already left using another route. After all, whoeveres here would have toe using the main route. Since someone has already gone inside, we might have made a wasted trip this time. But we can¡¯t be too sure either.¡± ¡°If it were that easy to go in, would I have had toe a second time?¡± ¡°You have a point,¡± said Wen Lele. ¡°Lele, wait above ground when we go insideter, alright?¡± Wen Lele was obviously reluctant to do so. Thus, she said, ¡°Let¡¯s go down together.¡± ¡°If all of us go down together, how are we supposed toe out if someone fills the hole? It¡¯s better to be safe than sorry,¡± said He Yi. ¡°There isn¡¯t a single soul in sight. Who¡¯s going to fill the hole? I must go in with you guys to get an eye-opener.¡± Seeing that there was no way to convince her, He Yi decided to give in and allow her to go in with them. Once the three of them went inside the hole, Fan Shixin got down from the tree and stood beside the hole. He looked in to see that it was a hole of darkness. Fan Shixin did not enter, for he believed that An Xiaoning would do her best to avoid bumping into them once she discovered their presence. In that case, he would onlyplicate things if he were to go down too. It would be more appropriate for him to stay above ground. An Xiaoning had already verified which wall the booby trap was on. Just as she was about to go over, she heard some familiar voices. To her surprise, they had managed to catch up. It would be difficult for her to move the corpse away with the three of them around. Hence, the only solution she had at hand was to knock them unconscious. An Xiaoning removed her shoes and picked them up in her hands, thus allowing her footsteps to be silent. She also made a conscious effort not to shuffle her feet or make too much noise when moving. Gradually, she approached them, and the three of them seemed to have no idea that she was near them. ¡°It¡¯s freezing in here. Why does it feel like it¡¯s winter?¡± Wen Lele remarked, quivering from head to toe while hugging her arms. ¡°We¡¯re so deep below ground, of course it¡¯s going to be cold. If you can¡¯t tolerate it, you can go up and wait for us,¡± said He Yi, who decided to put up a brave front despite feeling cold as well. Wen Lele refused to give up and denied, ¡°I can tolerate the cold. If you two can, why can¡¯t I? I¡¯m not that pampered.¡± He Yi did not insist any further. The man who was with them remained silent throughout. ¡°Fortunately, I made some markings the previous time I came. At least we won¡¯t have to go around in circles trying to find it.¡± He Yi continued to walk inside and said, ¡°Do you think there¡¯ll be a corpse in this grave? Would anyone have stolen it?¡± Wen Lele answered truthfully, ¡°If no archeologists have ever found out about this graveyard, the corpse should still be in the coffin. Usually, people would covet money and treasures. No one would want to take away the corpses. They can¡¯t be exchanged for money anyway.¡± He Yi was at a loss for words. The three of them proceeded to walk further inside. He Yi stepped forward and picked up a few books that were on top of a rock. He flipped through them and said, ¡°Look at these books. They¡¯re written in the ancient nativenguage of S Nation.¡± His twopanions took a look one after another, though they still did not sense anything amiss. He Yi suggested, ¡°It¡¯s too slow for the three of us to stay together. We might not be able to find anything by dusk. How about we split up instead? This ce is neither too big nor small anyway. Let¡¯s meet here in an hour if we still haven¡¯t found anything by then.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go with you, I¡¯m scared to be alone,¡± said Wen Lele, who was unwilling to split up. ¡°If you¡¯re so scared, go wait upstairs.¡± ¡°In that case, why did you ask me toe along? Wouldn¡¯t it be better if I just didn¡¯te at all? All you do is despise me and find me troublesome,¡± Wen Lele snapped. The other man finally broke his silence and said, ¡°Enough. He Yi, didn¡¯t you ask Ms. Wen along just so she could help us out? Ms. Wen, you and He Yi shall go together while I head in another direction on my own. We¡¯ll meet again in an hour¡¯s time.¡± Wen Lele agreed with a nod, ¡°Alright.¡± Them splitting up made things easier for An Xiaoning. She could knock them out with greater ease. An Xiaoning proceeded to tail He Yi and Wen Lele first. They did not discover her presence even after a long time. Soon, she got her first opportunity when Wen Lele had to answer nature¡¯s call. Thus, He Yi had no choice but to wait for her near the stone wall. Meanwhile, An Xiaoning took the chance to catch Wen Lele off guard and covered her mouth before knocking her unconscious. She then removed thetter¡¯s skirt and ced it against the stone wall. Likewise, she attacked He Yi from behind. She knocked both of them unconscious and ced them side by side. She only had one more target remaining. An Xiaoning searched for a long while before finally finding him. However, the man seemed to be experienced and had a unique way of reconnoitering. An Xiaoning noticed that he was focusing all his attention on things that would easily go unnoticed. Instead of taking action on him, she followed closely behind him without making a sound. The man did not stop touching everything inside. An Xiaoning felt a little anxious while tailing him, and she constantly contemted if she should hurry and knock him unconscious before doing what she had to. At this crucial juncture, she caught sight of him pressing a spot on the stone wall, after which arge crack formed in it with a loud explosive sound. There was more there than meets the eye. The man immediately walked inside. As soon as he did, the crack sealed itself immediately. An Xiaoning did not even get the chance to find out what was inside. Just as she was about to turn around, she heard a loud shrieking from the crack, which soon ceased. She stepped forward and mimicked the man¡¯s actions by pressing on the spot a few times. The stone wall parted again, and she was greeted with the overwhelming metallic odor of blood, which infiltrated her senses. She looked inside to see that the man¡¯s body was covered in arrows, making him look like a porcupine. Hey motionless on the ground, clearly having already stopped breathing. There was a pool of blood on the ground. There was nothing else inside. She ced a rock in the crack to prevent the stone wall from sealing again. She swiftly turned around to leave. Upon reaching another stone wall, An Xiaoning fumbled about to find the switch to the hidden contraption and sessfully opened it. This door did not make a single sound, unlike the previous one. Clearly, it was not constructed in the same manner. A ring beam of white light was shining from inside the crack, lighting up the dark space. An Xiaoning immediately shielded her eyes with her arm and only put it down after her eyes had adjusted to the light. An Xiaoning squinted and walked toward the entrance carefully. She peeked through the crack to take a good look at the surroundings on the other end, after which she threw some pebbles inside. As soon as she did, numerous long and sharp arrows darted out from all directions and struck the same spot. She tried it again, only to see the same thing happen. Chapter 987 - Perplexed and Smitten (47)

Chapter 987: Perplexed and Smitten (47)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She only dared to step foot inside after testing the booby trap several times and ensuring that there were no longer any arrows. The space inside was brightly lit, and she could see everything clearly. Never before in the three decades of her life had she ever seen such extravagance andvishness. A jade coffin near her caught her attention, and she began walking toward it. The coffin had an exquisite and ingenious design. The top of the coffin was made of ayer of crystal that allowed the contents of the coffin to be seen from above. Inside the coffiny a female corpse that was clothed in a pink, cored floral dress. Her slender fingers were rested atop her abdomen, and there was a handkerchief covering her face. An Xiaoning could not make out her features just yet. An Xiaoning did not feel uneasy at all because she had seen the corpse of Jin Qingyan¡¯s incarnate from the previous lifetime before. In order to avoid further dy, she removed the lid of the coffin and reached in to remove the handkerchief on her face. She got a huge shock as soon as she did. The woman had a small face, about the size of a palm. Her eyebrows were long and thin, and she had a delicate nose bridge, as well as lips that resembled a cherry. She exuded an aura of tenderness as shey peacefully in the coffin, appearing as if she had just fallen asleep. What an ancient beauty. It¡¯s such a pity that she doesn¡¯t exist now and that her soul has already escaped long ago, leaving behind this shell that has yet to dpose, An Xiaoning thought to herself. An Xiaoning picked the corpse up, only to find that it was extremely light. It seemed to weigh around 40 kilograms and had a height of less than 1.6 meters. An Xiaoning carried the corpse out and closed the stone door before making her way up. Fan Shixin was filled with anxiety while waiting for her above ground. Upon the sight of her return, he hurriedly took the corpse from her, only to be shocked by how beautiful the deceased woman was. ¡°Young Madam, did you bump into the three of them?¡± Fan Shixin asked. ¡°I¡¯ve knocked He Yi and Wen Lele unconscious. The other guy was not that lucky though. He trespassed on a secret chamber and was killed by a booby trap. We can¡¯t stay here any longer. We must leave quickly.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± In order to reduce the effort required, An Xiaoning told Fan Shixin to carry the corpse on his back while she tied the corpse¡¯s wrists around his neck with a rope. Regardless of how beautiful the woman was, she was still a corpse, and Fan Shixin could not help but feel uneasy. Although he did not expect that this would happen, he had no choice but to bear with it and forced himself toplete the mission. Everything would be fine once they aplish the task. Fan Shixin was dog tired by the time they made it out. They would definitely have to stay behind for a night to replenish their energy. They decided to settle on another motel near the entrance of the town and stayed there temporarily for a night. ¨D Ling Ciye and Jin Qingyue happened to bump into Song Yan and her husband when they were at the hospital for a prenatal checkup. Song Yan was there for a physical examination for she was getting ready to conceive, whereas Jin Qingyue was there to check on her fetus. Both of them were slightly taken aback to bump into each other along the corridor. Jin Qingyue smiled and greeted, ¡°What a coincidence, Ms. Song.¡± Song Yan got rid of the tinge of unhappiness in her eyes and answered, ¡°It is very coincidental. What a small world. I came to the hospital for a checkup because I¡¯m preparing to get pregnant.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. I shall congratte you guys in advance for bing parents-to-be. Ciye and I are here for a prenatal checkup.¡± ¡°How far along are you?¡± ¡°Three months. Alright, you guys go ahead, we¡¯re going in now.¡± Song Yan and her husband nodded while Jin Qingyue and Ling Ciye walked past them, hand in hand. Ever since she got married, Song Yan had been reducing her workload and was living a rather carefree life. However, one would tend to overthink when they¡¯re at peace. She would feel as if everything was a dream whenever she thought about her past with Ling Ciye. They were in a rtionship for so many years and yet fate still separated them. They were both married to different people, and their rtionship had now be a thing of the past. Jin Qingyue and Ling Ciye did not have to wait for too long since they had already arranged an appointment with the gynecologist beforehand. After going through several different checkups, it finally came time for the ultrasound scan. When Jin Qingyuey on the bed with her shirt lifted up, the doctor asked, ¡°Would you like to find out the gender of the fetus?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°No need for that.¡± Jin Qingyue was the one who wanted to find out the baby¡¯s gender whereas Ling Ciye felt that it made no difference. The doctor smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯ll just show it to you guys.¡± Jin Qingyue was filled with nervousness and anxiety, for she was hoping fervently that it would be a baby boy. That way, her parents-inw would be pleased and stop criticizing her. Moreover, Ling Ciye was the only son in his family, a fact that Jin Qingyue was well aware of. Although it was clearly a short period of waiting time, the minutes felt like years to her. ¡°Mrs. Ling, the fetus is very healthy, and I can tell that you¡¯ve been providing it with proper and sufficient nutrition. The child... has a member.¡± Jin Qingyue sprung up immediately and asked, ¡°Doctor, is it really a boy?¡± ¡°Yes, it can¡¯t be wrong,¡± the gynecologist assured her upon seeing how ted she was. As happy as ark, Jin Qingyue looked at Ling Ciye and eximed in joy, ¡°Hubby, did you hear that? It¡¯s a boy!¡± She sounded rather proud of herself. Ling Ciye¡¯s smile widened as he answered, ¡°I heard what the doctor said, you don¡¯t have to be so loud.¡± How could Jin Qingyue not be agitated? She knew that her status in the Ling family would now be different. All because she was bearing a son. Her life would be much easier without the criticism from her parents-inw. She could not help but be thrilled at the thought of it. While on the way home from the hospital, Jin Qingyue was just like a chatterbox and she could not stop talking about their unborn son. ¡°Hubby, let¡¯s go back to your parents¡¯ ce now and inform them of this good news.¡± ¡°Hubby, we must prepare the baby¡¯s nursery beforehand and decorate it like a baby boy¡¯s room. We also have to buy some clothes for him.¡± ¡°Oh right, Hubby, we must name our son too. There are so many things we have to do.¡± ¡°...¡± Ling Ciye was much moreposedpared to her. However, he was soon influenced by her excitement. He kept his happiness to himself. The baby¡¯s gender did not matter to him at all. After all, regardless of whether it was a boy or girl, it would still be his child, wouldn¡¯t it? However, he nheless heaved a sigh of relief for his wife upon hearing that they were expecting a baby boy. Well, if their firstborn were a girl, Jin Qingyue would definitely insist on conceiving again to try for a boy. In this case, they could stop at one child. After pulling up outside the entrance of the Ling family home, the pair alighted from the car together. Noticing that she was about to walk toward the door, he yelled, ¡°Qingyue, wait a minute.¡± ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s wrong?¡± asked Jin Qingyue, who stopped in her tracks and turned around to look at him. Ling Ciye stepped forward and ced his hands on her shoulders, gripping them gently. Gazing at her affectionately, he said, ¡°Thank you.¡± Jin Qingyue understood his reason for thanking her. Feeling rather touched, she extended her arms and hugged him tightly. ¡°We¡¯re family.¡± Chapter 988 - Perplexed and Smitten (48)

Chapter 988: Perplexed and Smitten (48)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The town of Wales became much livelier and crowded at night, a stark contrast from the day. Perhaps it was because the temperatures were much cooler at night, thus making it easier and morefortable for everyone to move about. An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin were exhausted because of the various obstacles they had to ovee the day before. Besides, there was still a corpse inside their rented room, making it inconvenient for them to move about. Hence, they stayed in since neither of them wanted to go out anyway. They felt secretly thankful and relieved when they heard Wen Lele and He Yi¡¯s voices because they did not bump into each other directly. They were staying on different floors, and An Xiaoning could guess how frustrated and terrified they both felt even without having to look at their faces. Fan Shixin and An Xiaoning initially nned to leave the next morning. However, they changed their minds and decided to leave that night instead. Just at this very moment, the mysterious Mr. Xiao arrived. His arrival lifted a weight off An Xiaoning¡¯s chest. ¡°I¡¯ve already arranged for a ship to wait for you at the harbor. You may go there after two hours.¡± After telling her the address of the harbor, he continued, ¡°There¡¯s some food on the ship, and you may rest assured that they¡¯re safe for consumption. I¡¯ll arrive after you do in S Nation.¡± ¡°That¡¯s more like it. You have no idea how dangerous it was for us to havee here.¡± ¡°I know. You met with a flood dragon, didn¡¯t you? No big deal, you won¡¯t die anyway,¡± he said nonchntly. An Xiaoning almost choked when she heard his words. ¡°You obviously won¡¯t care if anything happens to me, but someone else will!¡± she retorted. Fan Shixin chimed in, ¡°Exactly. My Young Sir cares. My Young Madam helped you out with this and you still had the cheek to say such a callous thing. Do you have a conscience at all?¡± ¡°How much money is a conscience worth? She¡¯s only working for me because she wants to find out something from me. This is merely a transaction between two willing parties. If she dies so easily, that just shows that Heaven wants her to die and no one can stop that.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t actually have to make this deal with me. You¡¯re so capable and powerful. Why don¡¯t you just move the corpse to the museum in S Nation yourself?¡± An Xiaoning said feebly. The mysterious Mr. Xiao answered, ¡°Firstly, I don¡¯t want the people working for me to die. Unless anyone discovers the ancient grave by ident, I wouldn¡¯t have allowed anyone to find out about it, although I¡¯ve already sealed it. Secondly, it¡¯s better for you to deliver the corpse to the museum in S Nation. It won¡¯t be convenient for me.¡± ¡°I reckon this prettydy must have been closely rted to you. Aren¡¯t you going to take a look?¡± He had been keeping his back to them ever since he arrived, and he never once took a look at the corpse. ¡°Her appearance has long been etched deeply in my heart. So what if I don¡¯t take a look at it? Hua Jin, let¡¯s meet in S Nation,¡± he said in a mncholy tone. He vanished soon after. He would often show up and disappear without a trace. ¡°Young Madam, I have a feeling that this woman was his lover.¡± An Xiaoning nced at the corpse and said, ¡°If she wasn¡¯t his lover, she must have been his sister. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have gone through such painstaking means to preserve her corpse. I¡¯m pretty sure there¡¯s something else inside her body. If not, it would¡¯ve dposed long ago, especially in such a warm temperature.¡± ¡°Since he¡¯s gotten a ship ready, shall we take a short break before leaving?¡± ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t like being here. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can be at ease.¡± After resting for a little longer than half an hour, the two of them embarked on their journey home, bringing the corpse along. Fan Shixin first carried the corpse bridal-style, so as to make it seem as if she was just asleep. He then waited outside while An Xiaoning settled the check-out procedures. Yet, the owner of the motel wasn¡¯t around and she had no choice but to wait. Unfortunately, Wen Lele entered coincidentally, causing An Xiaoning¡¯s heart to almost jump out of her chest. An Xiaoning covered her face with her hand and turned to the side. Wen Lele casually caught a glimpse of An Xiaoning¡¯s figure and found her to be rather familiar-looking. Hence, she took a few more nces. She then approached in a bid to see An Xiaoning¡¯s face. However, there was no way An Xiaoning would allow her to see her features. Just as Wen Lele was inching closer, Fan Shixin immediately knocked her unconscious, thus allowing An Xiaoning to heave a huge sigh of relief. At this moment, the owner returned and An Xiaoning said, ¡°Thisdy here fainted.¡± The owner immediately dialed the handset in Wen Lele¡¯s room and said, ¡°Hello, yourpanion passed out near the concierge.¡± After the owner hung up, An Xiaoning said, ¡°I want to check out of the room. Here¡¯s the key.¡± ¡°Miss, you won¡¯t be able to get a refund if you check out at this time.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± She turned around to leave with Fan Shixin. Once they reached the door, she grabbed his hand and hinted for him to hold up. Fan Shixin asked in puzzlement, ¡°Young Madam, aren¡¯t we leaving?¡± ¡°Wait a minute.¡± She leaned against the door and waited for He Yi to bring Wen Lele back to the room before saying, ¡°Let¡¯s go. I was just afraid that the owner would be unscrupulous and vite Wen Lele.¡± ¡°Why do you even care about her? She¡¯s so annoying.¡± ¡°We¡¯re now overseas and things are chaotic and dangerous here. She may be brainless, but at the end of the day, she¡¯s still your Young Sir¡¯s former ssmate, isn¡¯t she?¡± Fan Shixin chuckled and said, ¡°If she had any brains at all, she wouldn¡¯t have been coerced intoing here at all. That man who came with them wouldn¡¯t have died if he hadn¡¯te at all. If Wen Lele was the one who entered that secret chamber, she would¡¯ve never made it out alive either.¡± ¡°She wanted us to set her up with you when she came over to Wei Ni Estate that day.¡± Fan Shixin remarked callously in disdain toward Wen Lele, ¡°She¡¯s mentally retarded. She thinks I¡¯m a great catch just after meeting me once. I don¡¯t want to date her.¡± ¡°How did you answer her?¡± ¡°I just rejected her tactfully.¡± They weaved through the crowded streets and hailed two rickshaws at the entrance of the town. The harbor was actually only a short distance away. However, the rickshaw drivers were still unwilling to give them a ride and onlypromised after An Xiaoning offered to pay them double the price. They arrived more than an hourter. The journey took much longer than she had imagined. After all, it was a human-powered rickshaw and could not bepared to a car at all. They arrived at the seaside. The sky was full of stars, and their reflection glistened on the surface of the ocean. What a breathtaking sight. A yacht was parked beside the shore and was exceptionally eye-catching under the bright moonlight. The three of them boarded the yacht, after which Fan Shixin ced the corpse down and gave his body a little stretch. He switched on the lights of the yacht and began maneuvering it with finesse. Soon, they began sailing toward a different direction. The loud sounds of the strong breeze filled their ears. An Xiaoning leaned toward the side and felt much more relieved. Due to the sudden mishapst night, they could not bring their portable chargers with them and Fan Shixin¡¯s mobile phone waspletely out of battery while hers was at 25%. However, it seemed to be depleting soon too. Despite knowing that Jin Qingyan would be keeping tabs on her location via the GPS bracelet on her wrist, she nheless tried to send him a text message. However, it could not be delivered because there was no reception in the area they were in and her mobile phone had already shut down by the time there was reception. Chapter 989 - Perplexed and Smitten (49)

Chapter 989: Perplexed and Smitten (49)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning was not worried, however. They were already on their way home anyway. Once she brings the corpse back sessfully, she would be able to find out everything about her previous lifetime from the mysterious Mr. Xiao and her trip wouldn¡¯t have been a wasted one. ¡°What do you think your Young Sir is doing right now?¡± ¡°Needless to say, he¡¯s definitely busy at the office. It may be nighttime here but it¡¯s still daytime in S Nation,¡± Fan Shixin deduced. Fan Shixin set the yacht on autopilot and monitored it. Keeping his eyes fixed ahead, Fan Shixin said, ¡°Actually, Young Sir¡¯s life is pretty exhausting. There¡¯s so much for him to tend to every day as the leader of a huge corporation.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, but one should have a busy life. Only when you lead a busy lifestyle do you learn how to appreciate and treasure the short breaks in between. If you have nothing to do and spend each day idling about, you¡¯ll start to feel empty and bored out of your wits. Shixin, you must understand that happiness originates from two sources. One is from the feeling of sess and aplishment while the other is from the joy derived from gaining pride and dignity.¡± ¡°Young Madam, do you know why I¡¯ve been staying single even until now?¡± ¡°Obviously because you haven¡¯t met someone you truly fancy.¡± Fan Shixin sighed and exined, ¡°Back when I was still in school, I actually fancied girls before, just like most boys my age. However, I¡¯m actually a shy and introverted person and I wouldn¡¯t confess my feelings for someone easily even if I fancy them. That is, unless I¡¯m certain that they feel the same. I was shy and reserved when I was younger, but when I got older, I just lost the urge to act on impulse. I I would consider each decision carefully before making them. Besides, I spend all day around other men. It¡¯s good enough that I haven¡¯t turned homosexual, but Young Madam, do you think I¡¯m a picky person?¡± ¡°Picky? I suppose you are.¡± ¡°Well, I guess I¡¯m picky in the sense that no one has managed to attract me yet. However, once I fall in love with someone, I¡¯ll love everything about her, including her ws. I¡¯ve yet to meet a girl whom I fancy, though. Maybe she¡¯s on her way to me now and all I have to do is wait patiently.¡± The two of them continued to chat to pass the time. Since the journey was rather long, the only way for them to kill their boredom was to chat with each other. Fan Shixin was way too exhausted. Hence, An Xiaoning told him to take a nap while she reduced the speed of the yacht and sat by herself, keeping her eye fixed on the front. He only woke up at four in the morning. It was An Xiaoning¡¯s turn to get some rest. The yacht began to speed up again. An Xiaoning could only fall asleep in peace upon seeing that he was refreshed and energized. Before she dozed off, she repeatedly warned herself not to dream about her previous lifetime. After all, they were still at sea and it would be impossible for Fan Shixin to take care of her and himself, should anything happen. However, it was not up to her to decide what she dreams about. She was not in control of whether or not she dreams about her previous lifetime. The moment An Xiaoning saw the scene before her eyes, she knew that she was already in dreand. She opened her eyes before closing them again and tried her best to force herself to fall asleep. However, she simply could not doze off regardless of what she tried. After several failed attempts, she decided to give up. She got out of bed and began walking outside. The moment she opened the door, the pleasant fragrance of flowers wafted up to her nose. She was greeted with the sight of a sizable bed of vibrant flowers, all of which were in full bloom. Upon the sight of her, a petite figure put down her embroidery piece and walked toward An Xiaoning. ¡°Miss, you¡¯re awake?¡± An Xiaoning looked at Mei Yangyang in astonishment and asked, ¡°What... is your name?¡± ¡°Miss, have you been possessed? My name is Yu Jiao,¡± she answered, staring at An Xiaoning inquisitively. An Xiaoning pinched her face and looked at her with a smile. ¡°Your name is Yu Jiao?¡± Dumbfounded, Yu Jiao said, ¡°Miss, don¡¯t scare me, just what¡¯s the matter with you?¡± ¡°I was just teasing you, how could I not know your name?¡± An Xiaoning said with a grin as she let go of Yu Jiao¡¯s hand. Yu Jiao humphed and said, ¡°Don¡¯t frighten me, Miss. If I die from a huge shock, who¡¯s going to do their utmost best to serve you?¡± An Xiaoning looked at her and thought to herself, Is this Mei Yangyang¡¯s incarnate from our previous lifetime? Was she my servant? She held her hand and said, ¡°I won¡¯t do that anymore.¡± ¡°Miss...¡± Yu Jiao muttered in astonishment. ¡°Stop calling me that. You can just call me ¡®Sis.¡¯¡± ¡°I... I wouldn¡¯t dare. There are formalities that I ought to conform to. I¡¯m only a humble maid, how can I be your sworn sister, Miss?¡± said Yu Jiao, hanging her head low. ¡°You may just do so in private.¡± Realizing that she was still in the prince¡¯s residence, she asked, ¡°Where¡¯s His Highness?¡± ¡°His Highness...¡± She paused and let go of An Xiaoning¡¯s hand before saying, ¡°Miss, you just woke up, I¡¯ll bring you a basin of water to wash your face.¡± ¡°I¡¯m asking you, where¡¯s His Highness? Why can¡¯t you tell me?¡± An Xiaoning urged, grabbing her again. ¡°No... I¡¯m just afraid that you¡¯ll be upset and angry and end up crying again after you hear what I tell you.¡± Shaking her head, An Xiaoning said, ¡°I won¡¯t. I won¡¯t get angry or upset. Just tell me straight.¡± Yu Jiao did not believe her words at all because An Xiaoning had been crying secretly and was out of sorts because of Jin Qingyan¡¯s political marriage with the princess. However, Yu Jiao decided to tell her, thinking that she must be in a better mood since she was smiling. ¡°I heard from the other servants that His Majesty has decided to make the princess of another nation His Highness¡¯ concubine. The imperial edict went out yesterday.¡± Yu Jiao thought that she would tear up and throw a fit. To her surprise, An Xiaoing said, ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Yu Jiao felt extremely worried and said, ¡°Miss, His Highness tried to see you in the past few days, but you either lock yourself in or chase him away. I think the love between you and His Highness is true and it¡¯s better that you talk to him about it properly.¡± ¡°You have a point. So where is he now?¡± ¡°His Highness is not in his residence now. I asked around this morning and found out that His Highness has gone to the pce. He¡¯s not back yet.¡± ¡°Yu Jiao, bring me some water. I want to wash my face.¡± ¡°Alright, please give me a moment, Miss.¡± An Xiaoning could not help but feel amused at the sight of Yu Jiao walking away and taking tiny steps. She looked away and returned inside. A political marriage? If that¡¯s the case, it was probably the emperor¡¯s decision, not his. Yu Jiao returned with a basin of water and some breakfast. An Xiaoning asked her if she had eaten yet, to which she said yes. After breakfast, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°I can¡¯t remember how many days I¡¯ve been staying here for. Do you remember?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been here with you for less than ten days. You¡¯ve been here for two weeks, Miss.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been here for a while, it¡¯s time we...¡± An Xiaoning paused intentionally, obviously hinting that it was inappropriate to keep staying here. Chapter 990 - Perplexed and Smitten (50)

Chapter 990: Perplexed and Smitten (50)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°You mustn¡¯t say this again, Miss. His Highness has already warned me that he¡¯ll break my legs the next time he sees me if he finds out that you escaped. He already knows that you¡¯re nning to leave. His Highness has also transferred me here to keep youpany because he¡¯s afraid that you¡¯ll be bored. I¡¯ll be loyal to you, Miss. Just stay here and put your mind at ease.¡± An Xiaoning took out a red chiffon dress and ced it against her body to envision herself wearing it. ¡°Yu Jiao, what do you think of this dress?¡± ¡°Miss, your skin is so fair, you¡¯ll look beautiful in red.¡± She initially wanted to stay for a while before going to sleep, thinking to herself that she will probably feel sleepy soon. However, her immense curiosity instilled an urge in her to find out more. It was rather torturous for her to have to wrap herself tightly in long-sleeved clothing, in spite of the sweltering heat during summertime. An Xiaoning sat in front of the bronze mirror and stared at her own reflection. She also looked at Yu Jiao, who was helping herb her hair. In real life, she had shoulder-length hair whereas in her dream, her hair was much longer and darker. Yu Jiao had nimble hands and soon tied An Xiaoning¡¯s hair into a neat yet borate updo and secured the hair on her crown with some hairpins that were embellished with red rubies ¡ª a perfect apaniment to her red outfit. ¡°This hairpin is beautiful.¡± ¡°Of course, it was a gift from His Highness. I¡¯ve never seen you using any other hairpin, Miss. This one seems to be your favorite. ¡± Now that her hair was done, it was time to apply some makeup on her face. Due to the fact that she was not used to using ancient cosmetic products, she still required Yu Jiao¡¯s help. Taking onest nce at herself in the mirror, An Xiaoning said with a smile of satisfaction, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Miss, where would you like to go?¡± ¡°Outside. Did he restrict me from stepping out of the gate?¡± An Xiaoning asked. Shaking her head, Yu Jiao answered, ¡°He didn¡¯t. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have threatened to break my legs if he finds out that you went missing.¡± He actually didn¡¯t restrict me from leaving? Was he thinking that I wouldn¡¯t stray too far or that I wouldn¡¯t leave the residence at all? Regardless of what the case was, she was pleased with the fact that she¡¯d been granted freedom. If not, it would feel just like she was in prison. ¡°In that case, let¡¯s go out. We might just bump into him along the way.¡± ¡°Miss, you¡¯re really not nning to leave this ce for good?¡± ¡°I¡¯m really not.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± said Yu Jiao, who appeared much more rxed. Contrary to Yu Jiao¡¯s expectations, An Xiaoning did not opt to ride in the sedan. Worry was written all over Yu Jiao¡¯s face, the exact same expression that Mei Yangyang would usually have. She said, ¡°Miss, we must take the sedan. There are tons of people who¡¯ll recognize you on the streets. Besides, rumors about you are spreading like wildfire now. It¡¯s better that we go out in the sedan.¡± ¡°What rumors?¡± Yu Jiao immediately fell silent. ¡°I¡¯m asking you, what rumors are there?¡± ¡°Well...¡± Yu Jiao bit her lip, contemting if she should tell her. ¡°Hurry and tell me the truth.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to hide it from you, but I heard this from the cooks in the kitchen. They were discussing this in private, but I happened to overhear their conversation. They said that you were shameless to have crawled onto His Highness¡¯ bed at a tender age, despite knowing that His Highness is already married and will never take you as his wife. They also said that His Highness is merely...¡± Yu Jiao¡¯s voice began to fade slowly. ¡°Merely what?¡± ¡°It was really crude, I don¡¯t want to say it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m asking you to tell me.¡± Seeing how persistent she was, Yu Jiao answered, ¡°They said he¡¯s merely... toying with you and that he won¡¯t even give you the proper status of a concubine.¡± Upon hearing her words, An Xiaoning smiled instead of blowing her top and said, ¡°That¡¯s not the case at all. His Highness just doesn¡¯t want me to be treated unfairly or feel aggrieved.¡± ¡°I thought so too. I can tell how much His Highness loves you, it¡¯s just, you like throwing tantrums often... Miss, let¡¯s just take the sedan. Those gossipmongers don¡¯t deserve to see your beauty.¡± An Xiaoning finally conceded. They rode in the same sedan and exited the prince¡¯s residence. The sedan was traveling in the direction of the imperial pce. An Xiaoning was thinking to herself that there might be a chance she would bump into him along the way. She desperately wanted to see him now and thought that it would be a better choice toe out rather than wait idly inside the residence. When they passed by a restaurant, someone stood in front of the sedan to obstruct their way. An Xiaoning pulled the curtains up to peek outside, only to discover that it was Jin Qingyan¡¯s bodyguard. Without hesitation, she asked, ¡°Is His Highness here?¡± ¡°Yes, Miss, His Highness saw your sedan. He wants to go over.¡± ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll be right there.¡± She put down the curtains and asked Yu Jiao, ¡°Yu Jiao, is this sedan solely meant for my use?¡± ¡°Miss, it¡¯s early in the morning and you¡¯re already cracking such a joke. This sedan is solely meant for your use, of course.¡± An Xiaoning did not say anything else and instead alighted from the sedan together with Yu Jiao. The restaurant had an elegant and refined decor. The duo followed Jin Qingyan¡¯s bodyguard to the third floor. They continued walking until they reached a door that had a floral design carved on it. ¡°Miss Jin, His Highness is inside. We¡¯ll wait for you outside.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning initially thought that Jin Qingyan was waiting alone inside the room. As soon as the bodyguard opened the door, she was greeted with the sight of three other suave and dashing men. She closed the door and walked inside with a tinge of tenderness in her gaze. Jin Qingyan initially thought that she wouldn¡¯t agree toe upstairs. When he caught sight of her sedan from the window earlier, he hurriedly instructed his bodyguard to stop her from proceeding. He even stood by the window and watched as she alighted from the sedan,pletely enthralled. She seemed to be in a good mood today, and he could tell that she had especially dolled herself up. Where was she nning to go? Or rather, who was she going to meet? he wondered. Upon her arrival, the other three men stood up one after another. One of them teased, ¡°No wonder our Lord Xihou has been so distracted ever since he arrived. Turns out he was waiting for Miss Jin. We shall take our leave now and let you two spend some time alone together.¡± An Xiaoning smiled without uttering another word. A silence filled the room the moment they left. He stood still by the window. Noticing that she was remaining quiet, he asked, ¡°Tell me, where were you nning to go?¡± ¡°I was nning to meet a suave and handsome man.¡± A sullen expression formed on his face immediately and he questioned sternly, ¡°Who gave you that audacity?¡± An Xiaoning began walking toward him. She answered, ¡°You did. Otherwise, why would I dare toe and meet you?¡± Now that he was as happy as ark, his eyes were brimming with joy. ¡°You mean, you came out just to see me?¡± ¡°Why aren¡¯t you putting on airs anymore? Aren¡¯t you the mighty prince?¡± He pulled her into his arms and said, ¡°I was wrong, I won¡¯t dare to talk to you that way again. You¡¯ve finally decided to have a proper talk with me. Why are you looking for me?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need a reason to look for you. I missed you so I wanted to see you, as simple as that.¡± Clearly surprised and overjoyed, he asked, ¡°What... is the matter with you? I know you¡¯re unhappy about my political marriage, and you¡¯ve ignored me for several days in a row.¡± Chapter 991 - Perplexed and Smitten (51)

Chapter 991: Perplexed and Smitten (51)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°So it¡¯s confirmed that you¡¯ll be marrying that princess?¡± He did not answer. An Xiaoning looked up and probed, ¡°I¡¯m asking you a question.¡± ¡°I went to the Imperial Pce today and I was told that I would be marrying her. But even if I have ten concubines, I¡¯ll never touch any of them,¡± he said, hugging her even more tightly. ¡°Could you promise me one thing?¡± ¡°Speak.¡± ¡°Can you give me a portrait of His Majesty?¡± Afraid that he would get infuriated, she added, ¡°I need it for something.¡± ¡°What do you need his portrait for?¡± he asked in puzzlement. ¡°Just draw it for me, I¡¯ll tell you the reason afterward.¡± He conceded and said, ¡°We¡¯ll have to return to my ce first. There aren¡¯t any ink or paper here.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s hurry and go back, then,¡± she said, sounding rather eager and impatient. He was appalled by her reaction and filled with curiosity about what she might need the portrait for. However, he decided to curb his impatience, thinking to himself that she would tell him the reason after he was done drawing anyway. He let go of her and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go back now, then.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± She did not return to her sedan. Instead, she boarded his carriage together with him while the servant carried her sedan and followed closely behind them. ¡°Why does His Majesty want to make the princess your concubine?¡± ¡°She¡¯s not going to be my concubine, though.¡± ¡°What is she going to be, then?¡± ¡°Mywful wife. How could you not know why he wanted to do that? You¡¯re asking the obvious,¡± he said in a soft and hoarse voice. ¡°I thought she was going to be your concubine... I really don¡¯t know the reason. How could I know what the Emperor is thinking?¡± ¡°She¡¯s Chi Dan¡¯s favorite princess who¡¯s the most pampered and doted on. How could she stoop to being my concubine? Although the Princess Consort has a strong and powerful family background, it would be inappropriate to make that princess my concubine, and hence she¡¯s going to be mywful wife. At times, I really feel like casting everything aside and eloping to a faraway ce with you. However, it¡¯s difficult to find a ce for us in this world, despite it being so vast. Besides, my mother is now in poor health, I can¡¯t just abandon her,¡± he said with a look of mncholy. An Xiaoning was both sympathetic and miserable after hearing his words. At the thought of the destroyed residence, Ling Yu¡¯s words, and the 900 innocent lives that were lost, she held his hand and said, ¡°No matter what, I¡¯m contented to know that I¡¯m the only one in your heart.¡± ¡°You¡¯re acting very differently today. You make me feel exceptionally heartened and at ease.¡± She smiled and said, ¡°When I heard them calling you ¡®Lord Xihou¡¯ just now, I was shocked to find out that your surname is Xihou and your name is Ling. I used to think that yourst name was Xi and your name was Houling.¡± Bewilderment was written all over his face. He squinted to take a closer look at her and proceeded to caress her face while grazing his fingers gently against her cheek, only to discover that there were no signs of her wearing a mask. He then unbuttoned her cor while An Xiaoning remained still and watched him do so. He went on to untie her undergarment, after which she too noticed a tiny birthmark on her chest. He tied her undergarment back and buttoned her cor again before heaving a sigh of relief. ¡°I thought you were merely an impostor just now.¡± Only then did An Xiaoning realize that he was just testing her just now, and she was at a sudden loss for words. ¡°I...¡± He kept his eyes fixed on her, hoping to hear the rest of her sentence. However, she grew silent. They stared at each other and kept quiet, all the way until they reached the residence. She then said, ¡°After you¡¯re done sketching the portrait, I¡¯ll tell you some things that you don¡¯t already know.¡± He nodded. They headed to his study and closed the door. There were two windows behind the desk, which allowed the sunlight to enter and light up the entire room. He took out some paper, ink, and a brush. She watched as he swiftly painted the features of a man. It was rather clear, though not as precise as a photo would be. She could tell that he had a ir for drawing, and the portrait of the Emperor was more or less distinct and urate to his true appearance. The Emperor looked nothing like Jin Qingyan at all. Instead, he looked rather aloof and had a pair of icy, cold eyes that seemed like it would be able to bore a hole through someone. An Xiaoning immediately memorized his features. An Xiaoning scrutinized the drawing carefully. Thinking that she was stunned, Jin Qingyan remarked, ¡°You used to say that he was really handsome. Are you mesmerized by his portrait?¡± She chuckled. What a jealous lover, she thought to herself. ¡°In my opinion, he can¡¯t bepared to you in terms of appearance, regardless of how handsome he may be. However, since you two are brothers, why don¡¯t you look alike at all?¡± ¡°He looks like my father while I resemble my mother. Besides, we don¡¯t share the same mother anyway. It¡¯s only normal that we don¡¯t look alike. Tell me, what do you need this portrait for?¡± ¡°Can you also draw me the portraits of the Yin family members?¡± Puzzled, he asked, ¡°The Yin family? Just what do you need the portraits for?¡± ¡°Just draw them first, I¡¯ll tell you once you¡¯re done.¡± ¡°You said you would tell me after I sketch the portrait of the Emperor when we were in the carriage just now. You¡¯re going back on your word again. Which member of the Yin family are you interested in?¡± he asked, picking up his brush. ¡°The one whom His Majesty trusts the most.¡± He immediately proceeded to draw another man. ¡°Is he a formidable person?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°All he does is practice witchcraft and other superstitions. Well, he¡¯s considered to be the Emperor¡¯s most trusted confidante. Can you tell me the reason now?¡± he answered, putting down the brush. An Xiaoning took a look at the two portraits, after which she tore them into shreds and dumped them into the dustbin. She leaned against the table and said, ¡°I just wanted to memorize their features.¡± ¡°Why? It¡¯s not like you haven¡¯t met them before.¡± An Xiaoning turned to face him and asked, ¡°Do you believe in past and present lifetimes?¡± ¡°A little, but not quite either. Just because I don¡¯t know about something, it doesn¡¯t mean it doesn¡¯t exist. However, it¡¯s difficult to answer you since I¡¯ve never experienced it myself.¡± ¡°What an honest answer. I believe in the existence of past and present lifetimes ¡ª because Ie from the future. The soul in this body right now belongs to my reincarnation in the lifetime after this one. We¡¯re now talking and meeting each other in my dream. The longest dream I¡¯ve had was when I was bedridden for days after receiving a beating. I stayed in this realm for several days. The previous dream I had was when I arrived at your residence in a sedan. I know you might not believe me, but this is the reason why I wanted you to draw me those portraits. In our next lifetime, we visited the location where your residence used to be. Centuries had passed from now after the residence had been destroyed beyond ruin and the 900 servants in your residence had all been killed by the Emperor. The spirits of the servants were then trapped inside the residence for centuries because of a ritual performed by the Yins. I¡¯m guessing this is the reason why I¡¯m getting recollections of this lifetime in my dreams. Heaven wants me to find out about things that I don¡¯t already know, as well as the reason why we didn¡¯t end up together.¡± After hearing her words, he said, ¡°You mean, we¡¯re now in your dream?¡± ¡°Yes, this is my dream, and perhaps this is my soul¡¯s way of letting me find out the things I subconsciously want to know. Tell me, what are the names of the men in the portraits I told you to draw?¡± ¡°Xihou Jiaping and Yin Cun. Was what you said about your dream true?¡± he asked in utter shock and bewilderment. Chapter 992 - Perplexed and Smitten (52)

Chapter 992: Perplexed and Smitten (52)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°It¡¯s a dream but it¡¯s also reality.¡± Smiling, she gazed at him and continued, ¡°We didn¡¯t end up together in this lifetime, but that doesn¡¯t affect my determination to stay together with you. Whatever I say now is not going to affect the oue or trajectory of events in this lifetime. When I discovered your corpse in Mount Yihua, the spirits of your bodyguards and servants were all guarding your coffin. They told me that you were waiting for me to visit you but I never did in this lifetime. However, I did in our next. I¡¯m really d that I can nowmunicate with you through means such as this.¡± He then said, ¡°I believe everything that you said. Everyone thinks I¡¯m blessed to be able to be born into the royal family. However, I¡¯ve always felt like I was born at the wrong time. Besides, I¡¯m not on good terms with my brother and he¡¯s attracted to you. He¡¯s bent on making you his. I¡¯ve already expected that things would turn out the way you mentioned. However, I¡¯m not willing to resign to fate. I want to protect you, my mother, and all of my servants.¡± ¡°Will you feel better if I told you that we ended up together in our next lifetime? We have a son too.¡± He pulled her toward him and kissed her deeply before saying, ¡°You should keep all of this to yourself. It doesn¡¯t matter which realm we¡¯re in now, because you¡¯re the very person standing before me now.¡± ¡°When I first woke up in this dream, I wanted to try and fall asleep again, to no avail. However, I¡¯m starting to get a little sleepy now and I want to sleep. I also have another question for you.¡± ¡°Go ahead and ask.¡± ¡°Amongst all the people we know, which ones have the surname ¡®Xiao¡¯?¡± Her vision soon began to turn blurry and she fell straight into his embrace. Although she could see that his lips were moving, she could no longer hear his answer. An Xiaoning was beyond frustrated at the brief moment before she lost her consciousness. I was so close to finding out! When she woke up again, what greeted her was the ring rays of the sun, which made it hard for her to open her eyes. She scanned her surroundings to find that they were still on the ship. Noticing that she was awake, Fan Shixin said, ¡°Young Madam, you were so deep in slumber. I couldn¡¯t wake you up even though I tried calling your name a few times.¡± She sat up straight and removed the lid from a bottle of mineral water before chugging most of the water in one shot. ¡°Have you eaten anything?¡± ¡°Not yet.¡± She immediately grabbed the food, after which they started eating while the yacht sailed slowly. ¡°Shixin, can you tell where we are now?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t, but ording to the route, we should be able to arrive in S Nation by evening.¡± She nodded. After having her fill, she ited her hair into a single braid that made it easier for her to move about. ¡ª Although the final verdict from the gynecologist was that Mo Li could no longer conceive, Mrs. Mo nheless refused to give up. After all, Mo Li was her daughter. Despite being extremely busy with handling the breakfast bistro and taking care of her pregnant daughter-inw, Mrs. Mo still made the effort to ask around for traditional recipes that would aid Mo Li in nursing her body back to health. Mo Li did not believe in the potency of those recipes and advised her mother to stop worrying about her. Mrs. Mo could not help but say, ¡°Lili, once you and Yun Chen are married, why don¡¯t you go to the orphanage and adopt an orphan?¡± Mo Li had once discussed the adoption matters with No. 8 before. However, she was not too eager about it yet. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that yet. It won¡¯t be toote to adopt one when we¡¯re ready for children.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just worried about you. How could you do without a child? Who¡¯s going to take care of you when you¡¯re old in your years if you don¡¯t have one?¡± Mrs. Momented with a sigh. ¡°Mother, stop giving yourself unnecessary worry. I think I¡¯m doing rather well now, life is so much better now than before,¡± Mo Li said calmly with a smile. Mo Xun barged into the room and eximed agitatedly, ¡°Sis! Look at this!¡± He was holding a parcel that seemed to have already been opened. Noticing the grave expression on his face, Mo Li immediately stood up and asked in puzzlement, ¡°Mo Xun, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Sis, take a look at this.¡± Mo Xun took out the item in the parcel and handed it to her. Mo Li grabbed it from his hands while Mrs. Mo took the chance to take a peek. Thetter immediately turned beet-red and hollered angrily, ¡°Who sent this!?!¡± ¡°No idea. We were told that it was for us so Chun Ling epted it. Sis, look, this must be the hidden side of him. Are you sure you want to marry such a person and put your happiness at risk?¡± said Mo Xun. Mo Li ripped the photos into shreds and dumped them into the dustbin. She then said solemnly, ¡°The woman in those photos is his ex-girlfriend whom he has stopped contacting long ago. She stopped finding trouble with him too after Xiaoning taught her a lesson. She came to look me up previously, so I reckon she must have mailed these photos to us on purpose. It¡¯s no big deal.¡± Noticing that his sister seemed to be perfectly fine, Mo Xun said indignantly, ¡°He¡¯s got such a unique taste in women. I can tell with just one look that that woman is much older than him.¡± Displeased with her brother¡¯s snide remark, Mo Li said, ¡°That¡¯s just his past. Didn¡¯t I also marry Byron who¡¯s more than ten years older than me? I¡¯m in no ce toment about his past, and what matters to me most is his present and our future together. I think my life is very enjoyable now and I look forward to each day. I¡¯m contented enough as it is. Mo Xun, don¡¯t you think I¡¯ve lived a much worse life in the past?¡± Mo Xun soon got rid of his disdain toward No. 8. ¡°Sis...¡± Mrs. Mo chimed in, ¡°Who doesn¡¯t have a past? Since it¡¯s all history, let¡¯s not bring it up again. If he treats you well from now on, that means you didn¡¯t choose the wrong person.¡± ¡°Has Chun Ling seen them?¡± Mo Li asked. ¡°Yes, she was the one who signed and epted the parcel.¡± Mo Xun frantically said, ¡°I¡¯ll exin it to her, don¡¯t worry. Your brother is not that silly.¡± Mo Li nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯m going back now.¡± Just what are that Sister Zhang¡¯s intentions? Was she purposely trying to sow discord between Yun Chen and my family? Mo Li thought to herself while strolling along the sidewalk. Could it be that she still harbored feelings for Yun Chen? Those were the only possible reasons Mo Li could think of. When she passed by a florist, she stopped in her tracks and for a long while gazed at the vibrant flowers through the disy ss before leaving. The rays of the scorching sun were shining down onto the ground, and Mo Li was drenched in sweat. Unfortunately, she lived on the 32nd floor where the heat was immense. Her apartment would definitely feel like a hot oven, and it would take the air conditioner a long while to cool the indoor temperature down. To her surprise, she was greeted with a cool breeze the moment she opened the door. Her body was instantly rid of heat and warmth. No. 8 was home at the time. Mo Li¡¯s lips curled into a smile, and she closed the door gently. Chapter 993 - Perplexed and Smitten (53)

Chapter 993: Perplexed and Smitten (53)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She put on her home slippers and walked inside slowly. She initially wanted to find out what he was doing, but she got a great fright when he popped up out of nowhere. ¡°Oh goodness!¡± she gasped, clutching her chest in terror. Soon, a warm fuzzy feeling filled her heart the moment she saw him getting down on one knee with a bouquet of roses in one hand and a red ring box in the other. She waspletely caught by surprise. ¡°Yun Chen...¡± ¡°You may have agreed to marry me but I haven¡¯t proposed to you yet. I¡¯m proposing to you now to make up for it. Darling, this is a wedding band that I¡¯ve meticulously picked out. We¡¯re supposed to wait until our wedding day to put it on, but since you¡¯re fated to be my wife, it doesn¡¯t matter if we put it on now.¡± She extended her hand toward him and said, ¡°Put it on for me.¡± He gently slid the ring onto her ring figure before handing her the roses. Mo Li was overwhelmed with joy as she admired the beautiful red roses. She took it from him and gave the petals a sniff before saying with a smile, ¡°I¡¯m really ted.¡± ¡°You look beautiful when you smile. You must smile more often. I have another gift for you,¡± he said, holding onto her hand. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Come with me.¡± He pulled her into the bedroom. Mo Li was kept in suspense, though she was already surprised enough. He got her to sit down on the bed and took out an exquisite, rectangr box that was pink in color. Handing it to her, he said, ¡°Will you open it and see if you like what¡¯s inside?¡± Mo Li ced the roses onto the bedside table and took the box from him. She held his gaze and untied the ribbon. She opened the box and peeked at the item inside. It was the red embroidered dress that she wanted the most. She hurriedly took the dress out to see that it was indeed the one she had been eyeing but could not bear to buy because of the exorbitant price. She was initially nning to buy it after it goes on sale. To her surprise, he¡¯d actually bought it. ¡°How did you know that I fancied this dress?¡± ¡°I would know because I pay attention to you. Try it on and see if it fits.¡± ¡°Let me take a shower first. I¡¯m all sticky and sweaty. I don¡¯t want to dirty the dress.¡± She was extremely meticulous when handling the dress. No. 8 burst intoughter and said, ¡°You¡¯re supposed to wear the dress anyway, how could you be afraid of dirtying it?¡± ¡°This dress is so expensive, of course I have to be careful when wearing it.¡± She then grabbed a towel and entered the bathroom, beaming with joy. She came out ten minutester and tried on her new dress, which fit her perfectly. ¡°How did you know my size?¡± ¡°It was a rough estimate based on the sizes of the clothes you usually wear.¡± How meticulous. She handed him her mobile phone and said, ¡°Hurry, take a few photos of me.¡± No. 8 took a few full-body shots of Mo Li, after which she took it off and stared at it in utmost awe and admiration. ¡°Yun Chen, where did you get so much money? This dress alone costs more than 2000 dors.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been saving up the allowance that I get. Well, there¡¯s nothing else for me to spend money on anyway.¡± He stepped forward and nted a kiss on her lips, after which they soon fell onto the bed and engaged in a sensual smooch. At the end of it, he said, ¡°Before I met you, I used to think that there won¡¯t be another woman whom I¡¯ll genuinely love. However, I changed my mind after meeting you. Mo Li, regardless of the dark past we¡¯ve had, from now on...¡± He raised her wrist and noticed the scar left behind from her suicide attempt. ¡°I won¡¯t let another man hurt you again.¡± Mo Li¡¯s eyes reddened. Although he was three years younger than her, he was much more mature and seemed to be three years older instead. ¡°Yun Chen, thank you for still being willing to love me and letting me know that there¡¯s still hope in life. I¡¯m really, really so happy today. I¡¯m on cloud nine and I¡¯ve never been so ted before,¡± she eximed, hugging his waist. ¡°It makes me d to see you happy. Since we¡¯re both in such high spirits, let¡¯s do something even more enjoyable. Shall you be on top this time?¡± Mo Li nced at him bashfully and agreed, ¡°It¡¯s your call.¡± ¡ª It began drizzling at the harbor in S Nation. It rained frequently during summer, which was great since it would cool the temperatures down. The yacht finally arrived. Fan Shixin and An Xiaoning felt like a heavy rock had been lifted off their chests. Two bodyguards were standing at the harbor, each holding a ck umbre. They were none other than Xiao Bai and Xiao Huang. The two of them were standing as still as statues. Upon the sight of the yacht approaching, they stepped forward together and chorused, ¡°Young Madam, Chief.¡± ¡°Such sharp eyes you¡¯ve got. You came especially to pick us up,¡± said An Xiaoning. Xiao Huang answered, ¡°That goes without saying. We¡¯ve been paying attention to your location, Young Madam.¡± Fan Shixin nced at him and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Young Sir?¡± As was his wont, Jin Qingyan should havee as usual to pick them up personally upon hearing that they were returning. Why was it Xiao Huang and Xiao Bai instead? Could it be... ¡°We didn¡¯t know if we should handle him with force because we couldn¡¯t reach you or Young Madam. Hence, we just got the rest to keep tabs on him while waiting for you guys to return before making a decision.¡± An Xiaoning got out of the yacht and said, ¡°You did the right thing. However, what was the precursor of this rpse?¡± ¡°Young Madam, ever since you left, Young Sir has been suffering from severe insomnia again, and he also instructed me to help him prepare some sleeping pills. Young Madam, pardon me for being blunt, but Young Sir¡¯s condition has been bing more and more erratic. Even Doctor Zhang said that his condition will worsen if this goes on. He also suggests that we continue searching for an expert abroad who¡¯s capable of treating Young Sir¡¯s condition because we don¡¯t know when the next rpse will be. However, Doctor Zhang also said that he thinks our current solution is more advisable because knocking Young Sir unconscious is not going to solve the problem. After all, it¡¯s still a psychological disorder that¡¯ll require proper treatment.¡± ¡°How many days has it been?¡± ¡°Two.¡± ¡°Where is he now?¡± asked An Xiaoning, who thought that he would be at the nightclub. To her surprise, Xiao Huang said, ¡°He¡¯s at Hu Xin¡¯s house.¡± An Xiaoning squinted and asked in confusion, ¡°Who? Hu Xin? Why have they met again?¡± ¡°The bodyguard who was following him told us that they bumped into each other when Ms. Hu began working as a janitor in Jin Corporation.¡± An Xiaoning said to Fan Shixin, ¡°Let¡¯s carry the corpse home first. I¡¯ll go look for himter.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Before setting off on their journey home, An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin ced the corpse into the trunk of the car and sat inside the backseat. After some thought, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Begin searching for a psychiatric expert who specializes in this field. We mustn¡¯t dy at all. We¡¯ll try stabilizing his condition first. Things will definitely get out of hand if his condition rpses every other day.¡± ¡°Yeah, I thought so too.¡± An Xiaoning looked out of the window, feeling rather perturbed. Chapter 994 - Perplexed and Smitten (54)

Chapter 994: Perplexed and Smitten (54)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Young Madam, what do we do with this corpse?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s find a crystal coffin and store the corpse inside it first. We¡¯ll wait for the Mysterious Mr. Xiao toe. After all, he mentioned that he wanted to leave it in the museum. Perhaps he also has other requests.¡± .... Upon arriving in Wei Ni Estate, An Xiaoning instructed Auntie Chen to cook her a bowl of lean pork and century egg porridge. She then headed upstairs to charge her phone and take a shower. Thinking to herself that she would definitely be seeing Hu Xin when she catches Jin Qingyan hometer, she sat in front of the dressing table and began putting on some makeup. The piping-hot bowl of porridge was already ready and served on the table when she arrived downstairs again. She waited for it to cool down before digging in leisurely. By the time she finished eating, Fan Shixin was already waiting for her at the door and had also taken a shower. ¡°Young Madam, do you want me to tag along?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, you must be exhausted from all that traveling we¡¯ve done. Take a break and get some rest. I can handle it on my own. Where does Hu Xin live?¡± ¡°The bodyguards said that she lives on 14 Nansi Road in Benyang District.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± She walked out of the door and made her way to the garage with her car keys. Benyang District was a crowded area where most of the average citizens lived. There were also more apartments avable for rent therepared to other areas of the city. An Xiaoning pulled over at Nansi Road and, d in a surgical mask, alighted from the car with a transparent umbre. She then began searching for Hu Xin¡¯s apartment. There were very few pedestrians on the streets at this time, perhaps because of the rain. An Xiaoning began walking in the direction of the dim streetmps while looking for the house number at the same time. The entire stretch consisted of houses for rent, and there was a number sign on each house. Soon after, she caught sight of a bodyguard who was standing outside the door with an umbre in hand. Upon seeing her, the bodyguard quickly strode toward her and greeted, ¡°You¡¯re here, Young Madam.¡± ¡°What are they doing inside?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been eavesdropping by the door. Ms. Hu made some noodles for Young Sir and they¡¯re having dinner together now.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go in to take a look.¡± An Xiaoning walked toward the house and handed the umbre to the bodyguard when she reached the shelter. She then knocked on the door. ¡°Don¡¯t open the door,¡± said Henry. An Xiaoning felt a strong urge to beat him up again. She suppressed her anger and knocked on the door again. However, there were no signs of anyoneing to answer the door. An Xiaoning could tell that it was a rented house. She remained quiet, fearing that the people inside would stay silent if they heard her. She gave the bodyguard some instructions while keeping her voice low, after which the bodyguard took the car keys and left with the umbre. She stood there and waited patiently. She soon heard the sounds of an ongoing conversation, most of which consisted of Hu Xin¡¯sughter. An Xiaoning did not expect for Hu Xin to be so scheming despite only being in her early twenties. Half an hourter, the bodyguard returned and handed her the ck bag he was holding. An Xiaoning took it from his hands and told him to hold the torchlight while she took the tools out from the bag, which she then used to dismantle the anti-theft window. Upon hearing the noises, the pair inside the house thought that it was merely the bodyguard trying to open the locked window. They were not quite bothered by it, thinking to themselves that there was an anti-theft system anyway. They were both frightened out of their senses the moment they heard the ss being smashed, after which An Xiaoning jumped inside the house through the window. ¡°What a lunatic,¡± Henry hissed. Hu Xin was astonished to see that she had entered. ¡°There¡¯s an anti-theft window. Just how did you enter?¡± An Xiaoning lifted the tools up in the air and said, ¡°I used these, obviously. Or what, did you think I dismantled it with my bare hands?¡± Needless to say, An Xiaoning wouldn¡¯t let Hu Xin find out about her incredible strength. Hu Xin shifted her gaze onto the tools in her hands, not quite sure about what to say. ¡°If you wanted toe in, you could¡¯ve just knocked on the door and said something. Why did you have to destroy my window? How am I supposed to sleep here tonight?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that, Ms. Hu. I¡¯ve already told my bodyguard to install a new window for you. It¡¯ll be ready very soon. I did try to knock on the door, but you yed deaf and ignored me. I was afraid that you wouldn¡¯t answer the door if I made another noise; hence, I decided to do what I did. I heard that you¡¯ve applied for a job as a janitor in Jin Corporation. You really puzzle me.¡± ¡°What¡¯s so puzzling about that?¡± ¡°It should¡¯ve been easy for you to earn money back when you were working as a hostess at the Night Genie. What¡¯s the point of applying for such a strenuous job at Jin Corporation when the sry is so low?¡± Hu Xin answered, ¡°I worked in the Night Genie Bar because I needed money to pay for my grandmother¡¯s medical bills. My grandmother is no longer around now and I do have some savings left that are enough for me to make ends meet. Hence, I obviously want to work an upright job. Although being a janitor doesn¡¯t pay well despite the tough efforts required, it allows me to live each day to its fullest. I really enjoy it. My talents and skills are limited, and I obviously can¡¯t bepared to you, Ms. An. You¡¯re more than a hundred times better than me. However, I¡¯m still who I am. We¡¯re not on the same level, so it¡¯s only normal that you don¡¯t understand the reason for my decisions.¡± An Xiaoning smirked widely and said, ¡°It¡¯s good to have self-awareness. However, it really irks me that you¡¯re making yourself so high-sounding while indirectly mocking me. It doesn¡¯t concern me what kind of a person you are. I¡¯m concerned about why you chose to work for the Jin Corporation. Aren¡¯t there so many otherpanies out there that are offering positions for a janitor?¡± ¡°I understand what you mean, Ms. An. However, what makes you think that I¡¯ll be able to im connections and chase clouts when I¡¯m just a janitor? Whoever I meet and end up with is all because of fate. If you haven¡¯t eaten, please take a seat. I¡¯ll make you some food, Ms. An,¡± said Hu Xin, who sounded neither arrogant nor inferior. ¡°I won¡¯t trouble you. I¡¯m a picky eater and have a taste for expensive food. I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t get used to eating the food that you provide,¡± An Xiaoning gibed, expressing her disdain toward Hu Xin tantly. Hu Xin answered, ¡°Yes, Ms. An, I can¡¯t bepared to you at all. I don¡¯t think my humble abode is sufficient to house someone so coddled like you. Please leave.¡± An Xiaoning looked at Henry and questioned coldly, ¡°Are you going to leave out of your own ord or would you like me to bring you away myself?¡± Hu Xin could not wrap her head around why An Xiaoning sounded so assertive and controlling toward Jin Qingyan, as if he would really obey her. ¡°Mr. Jin, I really don¡¯t get it. Since you two are already divorced, why does she still have the power to control you?¡± Henry answered, ¡°You should... ask her this question instead. Ms. An, will you please answer her question?¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing much to answer.¡± An Xiaoning walked toward him. Just as she was about to take his hand, he quickly retracted it. An Xiaoning grabbed his arm straight away and continued, ¡°Because you¡¯re my man and I¡¯m your woman. Who¡¯s going to control you if I don¡¯t? Are other women fit enough to be in my position?¡± As much as Henry tried to shrug her hand away, he simply could not do so for she was exceptionally strong. He gave her the side-eye and said, ¡°Move your ws away.¡± Smiling, An Xiaoning leaned closer toward him and whispered into his ear, ¡°If you refuse to go back with me, I¡¯ll do you right here, right now.¡± Chapter 995 - Perplexed and Smitten (55)

Chapter 995: Perplexed and Smitten (55)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She put emphasis on the word ¡°do.¡± His ear felt rather ticklish the moment her warm breath came into contact with it. Hu Xin was extremely disgruntled to witness the sight before her. However, she managed to conceal her emotions well and did not show a tinge of her displeasure at all. Upon hearing that he was about to leave, Hu Xin asked, ¡°Is she threatening you because she has some sort of evidence against you?¡± ¡°No,¡± he answered. ¡°Then why do you still... even when you clearly despise her?¡± Hu Xin, after all, was only twenty years old and was more impulsive. She would often speak her mind without thinking twice. Clearly not wanting to exin, he said simply, ¡°The noodles you made were tasty. Quickly get some rest once the window has been repaired.¡± He then walked toward the door. An Xiaoning noticed the exasperation written all over Hu Xin¡¯s face as she watched him leave without looking back at all. Once they reached the door, she let go of his arm and said, ¡°I want to speak to her privately.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t go overboard.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to say anything outrageous. You either wait for me in the car or head home first.¡± He walked away with a sullen expression on his face while An Xiaoning returned inside the house. Upon the sight of her, Hu Xin chastised, ¡°An Xiaoning, you¡¯re really something. Mr. Jin is no longer interested in you and has even begun resenting you, yet you still have the cheek to cling onto him.¡± Staring at her solemnly, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Ms. Hu, I know you¡¯re young. After all, you¡¯re ten years younger than me and thirteen years younger than Qingyan. However, I must tell you clearly that he¡¯s not someone you can touch or harbor designs on. I hope you¡¯ll really have the self-awareness to understand that. Otherwise, you shall face the ugly consequences.¡± ¡°Are you threatening me?¡± ¡°If you think so.¡± An Xiaoning smiled sarcastically and continued, ¡°I don¡¯t like threatening others, but don¡¯t me me for being nasty if you can¡¯t be self-aware and know your ce. Ms. Hu, you¡¯d better get rid of those unnecessary thoughts while it¡¯s not toote yet, lest you regret everything in the end. It¡¯s a piece of cake for me toy a finger on you. I hope you¡¯ll be clear about that.¡± Hu Xin retorted bluntly, ¡°No wonder Mr. Jin is repulsed by you. Which man can stand such a domineering and overbearing woman like you? You¡¯re speaking to me as if you¡¯re hiswful wife and I¡¯m his mistress. But who are you to Mr. Jin? Are you his wife or his girlfriend? You¡¯re just his ex-wife. Ms. An, to put things bluntly, the problem must have lied with you, for the same man to divorce you twice. I think you ought to reflect on yourself and your mistakes instead of ming me.¡± An Xiaoning kept her cool and continued to stare at Hu Xin with a smile, not affected by her words at all. ¡°That¡¯s all I have to say. Ponder over the rest yourself,¡± said An Xiaoning, who then turned around to leave. Filled with a mix of emotions, Hu Xin picked up the broom and dustpan and began cleaning up the broken shards of ss, which she then disposed into the dustbin. She simply could not understand why Jin Qingyan had to obey An Xiaoning¡¯s instructions, despite detesting her utterly. Regardless of how powerful An Xiaoning may be, isn¡¯t he just the same as her? What was the exact reason? Recalling the sight of An Xiaoning whispering into Jin Qingyan¡¯s ear, Hu Xin wondered, Could it be that An Xiaoning was threatening him with their child? But didn¡¯t the news report that Jin Qingyan holds the full custody of their son? He should be the one threatening An Xiaoning instead, shouldn¡¯t he? I can¡¯t think of anything else other than that... Hu Xin was perplexed and beyond confused. .... Meanwhile, Henry decided to return to Wei Ni Estate with the bodyguards first while An Xiaoning drove back alone in her own car. By the time she arrived, he was already upstairs. He refused to answer the door despite her knocking on it several times. She had no choice but to climb up thedder and into his balcony on the second floor. To her surprise, he had also locked the balcony door from the inside. An Xiaoning said, ¡°If you don¡¯t want me to remove the door off its hinges and punish you, you¡¯d better open it immediately.¡± ¡°Go sleep in the guest room.¡± ¡°Open the door.¡± ¡°I told you to go to the guest room. Can¡¯t you hear me?¡± She raised her voice and yelled, ¡°Open the door!¡± ¡°No, just remove it if you want to.¡± After some consideration, An Xiaoning decided to smash the ss. As soon as she entered the room, the servants began cleaning up the mess and reced the ss. An Xiaoning instructed Fan Shixin, ¡°Change the locks of the balcony and bedroom into password-encrypted ones.¡± Fan Shixin also found that it was necessary to do so. Otherwise, she would have to break the ss every single time he refuses to let her enter. Wouldn¡¯t that be such a waste and too much of a hassle? Henry sat on the couch and watched as the servants reced the ss and locks. None of them obeyed him at all. After the servants left and it was just the two of them alone, An Xiaoning walked toward him and said, ¡°I told you, right? I would punish you if you refused to open the door.¡± He quickly left the couch and moved to the bed. ¡°It¡¯s not like you really couldn¡¯te in.¡± He would run away from her whenever she approached him, as if she were some menacing beast. They began running around in the bedroom like lunatics. The bedroom was not exactly spacious. Besides, there were a bunch of bodyguards outside who obeyed her instructions. Where could he possibly run to? She caught him and pinned him onto the bed in less than two minutes. During the previous incident, he had already witnessed for himself just how strong she was. She was truly an abnormal woman who stood out from the rest. He was now subdued and pinned beneath her, unable to move an inch at all. ¡°Are you still going to run?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not running anymore. Let go of me.¡± An Xiaoning could not help but feel amused at the thought of him passing out previously because he thought that she was going to vite him. She let go of him, after which he leaned against the headboard and stared at her. ¡°I really detest you,¡± he said. ¡°I know.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t wish to see you at all.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°Hence, I don¡¯t want you toy a single finger on me at all. It¡¯s much more unbearable than death.¡± She smirked and retorted, ¡°Have you any idea how many times I¡¯ve gotten intimate with that body of yours?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to know at all. Don¡¯t tell me,¡± he said with a look of disgust. She smiled widely and said, ¡°Haha, it doesn¡¯t mean that it never happened before just because you don¡¯t want to know. How about this? Let¡¯s have a proper talk and I won¡¯t teach you a lesson orpel you again like the previous time. Okay?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Do you want a facial mask?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go remove my makeup and wash my face first.¡± She got out of bed and proceeded to wash up before returning to the bed with two sheets of masks. She handed him one, as well as the men¡¯s eyeliner pen she had bought for him earlier. ¡°Here, I got it for you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already bought one for myself.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll run out sooner orter anyway. Just keep it as a spare one.¡± After watching him ept it reluctantly, she added, ¡°I also bought you some clothes in the designs that you fancy. It¡¯s with Chief Fan now. Get them from him when you want to wear them.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Chapter 996 - Perplexed and Smitten (56)

Chapter 996: Perplexed and Smitten (56)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Why did you go to Hu Xin¡¯s ce for dinner? Is there no one here to make dinner for you? Have all restaurants outside folded?¡± An Xiaoning questioned. ¡°I went because I felt like it. What other reasons do I need? I just act ording to my mood,¡± he answered straightforwardly. ¡°Do you fancy girls like her?¡± ¡°Must I really tell you that? So what if you know? You¡¯re not my type anyway,¡± he answered haughtily. An Xiaoning walked toward him and he avoided her without hesitation. ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± he questioned. ¡°I hope you¡¯ll have a proper talk with me and stop putting on airs. It makes me tempted to do you on the spot whenever we can¡¯t see eye to eye, do you understand?¡± ¡°Why would such a woman like you exist in this world!?!¡± eximed a bbergasted Henry. ¡°Let¡¯s answer each other¡¯s question again, okay?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°How are you so strong?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll answer one of your questions and you shall answer three of mine. How does that sound?¡± she suggested with raised brows. ¡°Isn¡¯t that so unfair? Why must I answer three of your questions when you only have to answer one of mine?¡± ¡°Well, you must do that if you want to find out. Forget it if you don¡¯t want to. The decision lies with you,¡± she said, smiling at him. He conceded in the end because he really wanted to know the answer to his question. ¡°My grandmother left a secret manual about psychological techniques for my mother, and I managed to master all of the techniques taught in the manual. Not only did I gain incredible strength, I¡¯ve also be immune to all types of poisons and I no longer feel cold in the winter. I can break a wall with just a slight push. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯d be a piece of cake for me to deal with you?¡± Bewilderment was written all over his face, not expecting that to be the answer at all. ¡°Such things still exist in this world?¡± ¡°What¡¯s so strange about that if even you can exist? Okay, you can answer my questions now. As mentioned earlier, why did you go to Hu Xin¡¯s ce for dinner? Did she invite you over or did you go out of your own ord?¡± ¡°Why are you asking that question again? Didn¡¯t I already tell you that it was because I was following my heart?¡± ¡°I¡¯m asking you, why did you go there following your heart? Answer me,¡± she asked sternly. ¡°She said that someone of such high status like me would definitely not visit her residential district. I asked why and she said it¡¯s because it¡¯s a downtown district that¡¯s more messy and crowded. Hence, I wanted to see just how busy and crowded it is and decided to go. It then began raining and she invited me to her house to take shelter.¡± An Xiaoning immediately understood and said, ¡°Oh, I see. Next question, do you fancy her?¡± He looked at her and asked, ¡°If I said that I do, are you going to do something to her?¡± Shaking her head, she answered, ¡°No, I¡¯m not going to touch her just because you say that you fancy her.¡± ¡°I do like girls like her. She may be poor but she¡¯s ambitious and doesn¡¯t have an inferiorityplex. She can stoop or stand yet she¡¯s very meek and gentle too.¡± Despite feeling a little disappointed, An Xiaoning did not say much and asked her third question, ¡°Henry, tell me all your information.¡± She knew that he had an identity of his own, although he was just a second personality. This identity that he recognized hadpletely nothing to do with Jin Qingyan. He answered sluggishly, ¡°My name is Henry and I¡¯m 24 years old this year. I¡¯m a frencer.¡± ¡°Frencer? In which field?¡± ¡°Car racing.¡± ¡°What!?!¡± eximed a dumbfounded An Xiaoning. ¡°Are you deaf? I said I¡¯m a racecar driver,¡± he repeated, giving her the side eye. ¡°I just didn¡¯t expect it.¡± Jin Qingyan would rarely drive his sports car out, let alone go racing. Henry was such a stark contrast. An Xiaoning continued, ¡°You were already 25 years old when I met you, yet you say you¡¯re only 24 years old now. Don¡¯t tell me, you already knew of your existence when Qingyan was nine years old?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already answered all of your questions. There¡¯s no need for me to answer that.¡± ¡°This is included in your personal information too.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t wish to answer it.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll have no choice but to go back on my word too.¡± ¡°You... you¡¯ve only answered one question and yet I¡¯ve answered so many of yours. Is it not enough yet?¡± he retorted, seething with anger. ¡°Answer thest question.¡± Pursing her lips, she continued, ¡°It¡¯s thest.¡± ¡°Yes, I was the first to find out about my existence when Jin Qingyan was nine years old. It was during his birthday party where everyone kept calling me ¡®Qingyan.¡¯ That¡¯s when I knew that there was another personality co-existing in the same body as mine. Throughout the years of our co-existence, I rarely took over, and whenever I did, it would only be for a short period of time. Unlike in the past, I can now take over every now and then.¡± An Xiaoning began to tear up uncontrobly. At the very onset of dissociative identity disorder, the two personalities would usually be unaware of each other¡¯s existence. Henry knew about the disorder ever since Jin Qingyan was nine years old while thetter clearly only found out recently. Noticing that her eyes were red, he asked, ¡°Are you taking pity on me?¡± ¡°Are you retarded?¡± Why would I even find him pitiful? ¡°Then why are you looking at me like that?¡± ¡°You already existed since he was a child. That just means that he¡¯s been gued with a psychological illness ever since he was young, although he may have seemed to be enjoying the luxurious life of a rich man¡¯s son on the surface.¡± An Xiaoning was certain that the divorce was the catalyst of the deterioration of his condition. I definitely am partly to me! Upon hearing her words, Henry questioned in displeasure, ¡°Are you wishing that I never existed?¡± An Xiaoning felt like his question was redundant. She smiled at him and said, ¡°Wishes don¡¯t always turn into reality. I won¡¯t bother thinking about redundant things. There¡¯s a reason for your existence, I guess. Can we make an agreement?¡± ¡°What agreement?¡± ¡°You must promise me that you¡¯ll never get intimate with any woman other than me. Besides, you also have to show up at the office whenever you¡¯re supposed to. I can also agree to your requests.¡± ¡°I can only get intimate with you? I might as well just use my hands, then. I canpromise and go to the office whenever necessary. However, I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll agree to my requests.¡± ¡°Tell me about them.¡± ¡°I want you to stop putting me through treatment immediately. Don¡¯t think I¡¯m not aware that you guys are trying to get Jin Qingyan treated, although a feasible treatment option doesn¡¯t exist currently.¡± Without hesitation, she said, ¡°Take it that I never said anything about the agreement.¡± He got out of bed and headed to the dressing room before returning again soon after. ¡°There are two closets inside the room meant for my clothes and belongings. You¡¯re not to touch them. Ry my instructions to Jin Qingyan and tell him not to touch my things either.¡± ¡°You want me to tell you not to touch your things?¡± ¡°How many times do you need me to repeat myself? We¡¯re not the same person.¡± ¡°How many times do you need me to repeat myself too? If you¡¯re not him, what are you? Henry, you¡¯re just his second personality, you¡¯re also another form of him. You¡¯re not a spirit who has possessed his body. Do you understand?¡± ¡°Why must you insist that he and I are the same person? That¡¯s an insult to my existence.¡± ¡°Why must you insist that you two are separate individuals? You¡¯re also insulting my intelligence.¡± ¡°...¡± Chapter 997 - Perplexed and Smitten (57)

Chapter 997: Perplexed and Smitten (57)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Just remember what I said about the closet earlier. Tell him about it too.¡± Hey on the couch and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to sleep now.¡± An Xiaoning chuckled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t fall asleep too soundly. Otherwise, I can¡¯t guarantee I won¡¯t do anything to you.¡± He shot her a menacing nce and said, ¡°Why are you just like a female thug? Do you even know what it means to be more reserved?¡± ¡°What¡¯s that? Can I eat it?¡± ¡°...¡± He closed his eyes and ignored her. An Xiaoning proceeded to grab her mobile phone from the cab beside the bed and plugged the charging cable. She then started tapping away on her mobile phone with the serum mask still on her face. She wondered if Mysterious Xiao would make an appearance tonight. She waited until twelve midnight and he still did not show up. Thus, she decided to switch off the lights and go to bed. She woke up at six o¡¯clock in the morning. The moment she opened her eyes, she shifted her attention to the man on the couch. She reckoned that it should be Jin Qingyan by now. After getting out of bed, she squatted down beside the couch and made the first move on him while he was still asleep. She first kissed him on his lips before slipping her hand into his shorts. To her surprise, he opened his eyes immediately and stared at her hand before shifting his gaze onto her face. Turning beet red, he pushed her away from him and hollered, ¡°An Xiaoning, have you got any shame at all!?!¡± An Xiaoning was instantly dumbfounded. ¡°You¡¯re Henry?¡± Gritting his teeth in anger, he questioned, ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°Why is it not Qingyan? Why is it still you?¡± ¡°That fellow is still deep in slumber. You must be very disappointed, aren¡¯t you?¡± Rubbing the spot on her head that was hit against the coffee table just now, she stood up slowly and said, ¡°I¡¯m not disappointed. After all, there isn¡¯t that huge of a difference between you and him to me. I can get intimate with you whenever I want.¡± ¡°Why do you keep thinking about such lewd thoughts all day? Are you even a woman at all?¡± ¡°I just want to do it with you all day. What has that got to do with my gender? After all, I¡¯m thirty years old, the age when my sexual desires are at their peak. Besides, you go to the nightclub every night and all you do is flirt with women or tell them to sit on yourp. Tsk, tsk, you¡¯re not any better than I am.¡± ¡°I may behave that way, but I don¡¯t take things to the next level.¡± ¡°Bullshit. Back in the nightclub in M Nation, you checked into a hotel room with another woman. If I didn¡¯t make it there in time, you would have removed your pants and slept with her, wouldn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°You mean, you were that woman who kicked me?¡± ¡°Yeah, it was me. I was wearing a mask when I kicked your face.¡± ¡°An-Xiao-Ning!¡± At this point Henry had turned as pale as a ghost and was seething with anger. ¡°Henry, I can¡¯t stand that you¡¯re acting all high and mighty and taking the moral high ground. How pretentious. How dare you say that I ought to be more reserved? How about yourself? Aren¡¯t you being the pot calling the kettle ck?¡± She looked away and walked into the bathroom straight away. After brushing her teeth and washing up, she put on some makeup and proceeded to have breakfast, feeling fresh and energized. During breakfast, he was extremely picky and refused to eat most of the food served. Auntie Chen had no choice but to make him another set of breakfast. An Xiaoning was already more or less done with hers by the time he started eating. ¡°You¡¯re such a picky eater. I should have just thrown you into a war refugees¡¯ camp abroad. That way, you¡¯ll be so starved and parched, even feces will taste good to you.¡± Feeling a sudden queasiness, Henry barfed and shot her a dirty look. ¡°Go do whatever you have to do if there¡¯s nothing else you need to say to me. I don¡¯t want to see you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯ve already done the things I had to a few days ago. I won¡¯t be going anywhere today. I¡¯ll watch you.¡± ¡°Have you ever considered my feelings?¡± ¡°Your feelings are none of my concern.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Young Madam... Chief wants you to go over,¡± said Xiao Bai, who¡¯d just entered. ¡°Got it.¡± She stood up and left together with Xiao Bai. Fan Shixin was waiting inside the guardroom. Upon the sight of her, he said, ¡°Young Madam, I heard from Auntie Chen that Young Sir is still...¡± ¡°Yes, he hasn¡¯t returned to his body yet. Your main task now is to find a capable psychiatrist.¡± He nodded and said, ¡°I know, but I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s going to take some time. After all, there are only very few cases of dissociative identity disorder in this world. Psychiatric experts specializing in this field are also few and far in between. However, I¡¯ll try my best to find one.¡± ¡°Imunicated with Henryst night. Did you know that Qingyan¡¯s disorder began when he was nine years old?¡± A frown creased Fan Shixin¡¯s forehead and he said, ¡°Nine? I don¡¯t recall there being any signs or symptoms throughout all these years of being by his side.¡± ¡°But that¡¯s indeed the case. I want to visit Qingyan¡¯s father. Stay at home to watch him. Let him do whatever he wants, but he¡¯s not allowed to leave the house. If he wants to go out, tell him to wait until I¡¯m home.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± An Xiaoning drove out of the estate and embarked on her journey toward the Jin family mansion. Mr. Jin had yet to get out of bed. He had spent the whole ofst night gambling, all the way until daybreak. He struggled to open his eyes when the servant woke him up, after which he exited the room lethargically. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°I want to find out more about Qingyan¡¯s childhood,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Qingyan¡¯s childhood? Why?¡± Mr. Jin asked in puzzlement. ¡°I¡¯m just curious. Did Qingyan lead a tough life when he was younger?¡± Mr. Jin thought that he had heard her wrong. ¡°How could he have not lived well? He¡¯s the only son in the family and his mother spoiled him rotten. Fortunately, I was a strict father and took him in hand.¡± Not wanting to argue with him, An Xiaoning said, ¡°I¡¯m not talking about the material and superficial aspects of his life. What I want to know is, had you or Mrs. Jin ever done anything to make him upset to the extent of ignoring you guys for days? Has he ever suffered a major emotional blow?¡± Mr. Jin was bewildered. After all, wasn¡¯t it strange to have your former daughter-inw show up at your doorstep and ask about your son¡¯s childhood so out of the blue? ¡°Let me think about it. Well, there was one specific incident that I remember very clearly. Qingyan wasn¡¯t a rebellious teenager. In fact, his rebellious stage was when he was about seven or eight years old.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°So many years have passed and I can¡¯t remember the details anymore. I doubt he can either. He was in primary school then, and when he returned from school one day, he told his mother and me that he wanted thetest set of toy cars. His mother wanted to buy it for him but I didn¡¯t agree to it because he didn¡¯t do well on his recent test. However, she still bought it for him behind my back and I smashed them onto the ground on the spot. That¡¯s when he threw a tantrum and got violent with me. I then punished him severely by giving him a beating. Afterward, he started ignoring me for days. His grades were still in the doldrums and he even began picking up online gaming. He would frequent illegal inte caf¨¦s and spend most of his time there. He was really addicted to car racing games. I had no choice but to instruct the bodyguards to keep close tabs on him and chauffeur him everywhere. I also became even stricter with him.¡± ¡°Did his obsession with race car models continue?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°No, he stopped ying with them ever since that incident. Just what do you want to know this for?¡± Mr. Jin asked in puzzlement. ¡°I wanted to learn some tips and tricks from you. You raised Qingyan so well. I¡¯d like to take Yiheng in hand too.¡± Mr. Jin smiled gleefully and said, ¡°Yeah, he wouldn¡¯t have be the upright and sessful person he is today if it weren¡¯t because of my strict ways of disciplining him. However, I was really a little too harsh on him when he was younger.¡± Chapter 998 - Perplexed and Smitten (58)

Chapter 998: Perplexed and Smitten (58)

¡°You and Mrs. Jin were on bad terms then too, weren¡¯t you? Did you guys argue frequently?¡± ¡°We were fine.¡± ¡°Was Xu Youran there too at the time?¡± Mr. Jin took a cup of coffee from the servant and said slowly, ¡°Yeah. In hindsight, I really ill-treated that child. I was so guilty for letting her live a life that was worse than a servant¡¯s back then. I realized it toote when she ran away from home. She¡¯s missing without a trace now too. Did Qingyan...¡± An Xiaoning said, ¡°I¡¯m not too sure about that either. Xu Youran hasmitted so many evil acts. Perhaps Heaven had decided to punish her by taking her life away. Although she had a pitiful past, what she did was horrendous and detestable. I heard that you¡¯ve be addicted to gambling. I may not be your daughter-inw anymore but I¡¯m still the mother of your biological grandson. Can¡¯t you spend your time doing more meaningful things instead? What¡¯s the point of spending each day gambling all your money away? You were a figure of power and influence in your prime. Must you really stoop to living this way for the rest of your life?¡± Seeing that he did not answer her, An Xiaoning decided to leave the Jin family mansion. She got inside her car and buckled up while pondering over Mr. Jin¡¯s and Henry¡¯s words continuously. Frencer? Race car driver? Jin Qingyan had never partaken in car racing, nor had he ever ridden a motorbike or a sports car. Were there bits of his shattered childhood dreams hidden deep down in his heart? Regardless of what it is, I¡¯ll apany him on this journey. We must make it to the end and fulfill the wishes that we couldn¡¯t in our previous lifetime, no matter what it takes. An Xiaoning returned to Wei Ni Estate. As soon as she stepped foot inside the mansion, she was greeted with the sight of Henry sitting cross-legged on the couch with a watermelon and a spoon. He was digging out the watermelon flesh with a spoon and eating straight out of it while watching a movie on the television. Unlike An Xiaoning who also enjoyed eating that way, Jin Qingyan would never behave like this. How typical of Henry. ¡°Why are you back again?¡± She changed into her home slippers and walked toward him while smiling. ¡°I know you hate seeing me, but I must remind you that you¡¯re going to see me every waking moment of yours for the whole of tomorrow. Aren¡¯t you thrilled just at the thought of it?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª Filming for the television series officially came to an end in the afternoon. It took more than six months for the entire television series to be filmed. Coincidentally, it would be Fang En¡¯s 24th birthday tomorrow. Fang En felt that the end of the production was the best gift to her. Apart from the period when her grandmother passed away due to a terminal illness, she hardly returned home and had spent most of her time with the production team. She was both physically and mentally exhausted. Jing Tian had also mentioned clearly that the voice-dubbing would be done by professional voice actors, and hence, she and Yan Ge would not have to be involved. Thus, they barely interacted outside of the publicity period. A celebratory dinner was to be held tonight. The official end of filming invoked feelings of reluctance and joy within all the members of the production team. Just as Fang En entered the makeup room to have her makeup done, Jing Shui entered and asked her, ¡°En, when are you nning to return to the city?¡± ¡°Tomorrow.¡± Jing Shui asked with a frown, ¡°So soon? Aren¡¯t you going to stay behind to rx for a few days?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sick of staying here. I want to go back to the city and find a suitable ce as soon as possible. I used to live in a rented apartment, but I really want to find a ce of my own now.¡± He suggested, ¡°Oh, why don¡¯t you view some houses in the estate that my brother and I are living in? The environment of our estate is pleasant and the air is fresh. Transport is convenient too.¡± ¡°How much does a unit in your estate typically cost?¡± ¡°About 30 to 40 thousand dors per square meter, at the very least.¡± Fang En thought that she should at least get a two-bedroom apartment. If it spanned across 90-odd square meters, that would cost at least 2.7 million dors and up to 3 million dors, including renovation and other misceneous fees. Doesn¡¯t sound too bad, actually. ¡°What¡¯s the typicalyout of the houses in your estate?¡± ¡°They¡¯re all three-bedroom houses with living rooms.¡± ¡°Ah, aren¡¯t there any with just two bedrooms?¡± Shaking his head, he answered, ¡°I don¡¯t think so, but I can help you ask around. Besides, it¡¯s better to have a spacious apartment. You¡¯ll live morefortably with more space. You¡¯ll feel so oppressed and ustrophobic in a smaller house.¡± ¡°A two-bedder is enough for me, I don¡¯t need arger apartment. Actually, I feel safer with a smaller apartment. Besides, arger one would cost me a bomb. How much does yours cost?¡± ¡°The apartment doesn¡¯t belong to me. I live together with my brother who bought the four-bedder. It¡¯s so cluttered because of his belongings, though. It covers an area of about 150 square meters. He bought it several years ago. Property prices are so much more expensive nowadays.¡± He continued to ask apprehensively, ¡°Why are you buying an apartment? Isn¡¯t it great to rent one instead? I¡¯m not going to buy a house until I get married. If I remain single, I¡¯m just going to continue living in rented apartments. I get to move into another ce as and when I¡¯d like.¡± ¡°Women are different from men. We need a sense of security. I don¡¯t feel secure now, and I want a house of my own,¡± she said with a smile. Yan Ge and his assistant entered. In fact, he had already arrived less than a minute after Jing Shui did, though he did not enter. ¡°Are you nning to buy an apartment?¡± he asked. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m nning to.¡± ¡°What kind of property are you interested in?¡± ¡°A pleasant environment where transport is convenient. I¡¯m interested in a two-bedroom apartment.¡± ¡°Would you like to consider the estate I¡¯m living in?¡± Yan Ge suggested, which made Jing Shui rather upset, though he concealed his emotions of displeasure rather well. He then asked Yan Ge, ¡°Which estate do you live in?¡± Yan Ge answered, ¡°Qingyuan Estate. I¡¯ve been living there for several years now. The environment of the estate is pleasant and tranquil. The residents of the estate are friendly and polite too. They often greet each other. I bought a two-bedroom apartment too. It¡¯s not a newly-built estate, however. If you¡¯re interested, I can take you there to view the houses another day.¡± ¡°How much do they cost now?¡± ¡°They won¡¯t exactly be cheap, but you can definitely afford it.¡± ¡°I may be able to afford it, but I haven¡¯t received the full payment for starring in the television series yet. I¡¯ll go take a look another day.¡± Although she was paid quite a high amount for each episode she starred in, part of her sry would have to go to the entertainment studio since she was a contracted artiste. Thus, she was not actually earning as much as it seemed on the surface. Seemingly reminded of something, Jing Shui said to Fang En, ¡°En, it¡¯s your birthday tomorrow. Why don¡¯t we tour around this ce for a day and you leave the day after tomorrow instead?¡± Fang En recalled the previous time she went out with him, during which he confessed his feelings for her during the boat ride. Although Jing Shui still treated her normally after the confession, she could not help but feel awkward. Not wishing to tell him bluntly that she did not want to go out on a date with him alone, she said tactfully, ¡°I¡¯m so sick of this ce. Now that I can finally leave, I really don¡¯t want to continue staying here. I would¡¯ve left immediately if there wasn¡¯t a celebratory dinner tonight.¡± ¡°Alright, then. But are you really not nning to celebrate your birthday?¡± Jing Shui asked with disappointment in his eyes. Chapter 999 - Perplexed and Smitten (59)

Chapter 999: Perplexed and Smitten (59)

¡°Nah.¡± The makeup artist helped her remove all the borate hair essories on her head. Without the added weight, she instantly felt a huge sense of relief . Fang En decided not to remove her makeup since she had to attend the celebratory dinner tonight. ¡°En, what time are you leaving tomorrow?¡± ¡°Early in the morning.¡± ¡°Me too. Shall we leave together?¡± ¡°...¡± They then exited the room. Yan Ge said to Xiao Li, ¡°Let¡¯s go back too.¡± Xiao Li murmured assent. After packing their belongings, Fang En and Xiao Yue changed into their outfits and headed to the restaurant on the second floor of the hotel to attend the dinner. All the actors, actresses, and crew members showed up one after another. Everyone was in high spirits and had a smile on their faces. Fang En walked toward the table where Jing Tian was sitting and discovered that Yan Ge and the other supporting actors and actresses were also present. ¡°Director...¡± the supporting actress whispered into Jing Tian¡¯s ear. After hearing her words, Jing Tian agreed with a nod, ¡°Of course. Let here over.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll send her a text, then.¡± ¡°Sure, sure.¡± Noticing that Yan Ge did not seem to be too happy, Fang En asked softly, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± Fang En did not ask him any more questions. After toasting to one another, everyone returned to their respective seats, after which the supporting actress said, ¡°Director, she¡¯s here.¡± All eyes were on Yu Caiwei, another female celebrity. Fang En was shocked to see her. Yu Caiwei was a celebrity who had shot to fame around the same period as Sun Weiwei. She gained recognition and fame because of a television series she¡¯d starred in, after which she began partaking in low-production films and series. There were only a few highly-acimed productions that she was involved in. However, that did not affect her fame or career. With her superb acting chops and ravishing good looks, she definitely had what it takes to be the female lead. At the very least, her face was still full of cogen and she was much more pleasant-lookingpared to other actress who¡¯d had stic surgery. On top of that, she also had a voluptuous figure, which made a massive number of male fans idolize her. She was dressed in a white bustier dress that ended below her knees, and she had a faint smile on her face when she walked into the restaurant gracefully with her bodyguards. It was Fang En¡¯s first time seeing Yu Caiwei in person, and she discovered that thetter¡¯s face was much smaller in real life than on camera. Jing Tian greeted, ¡°It¡¯s such an honor to have a megacelebrity here with us. Please have a seat, quick.¡± ¡°Director, you won¡¯t hold it against me for disrupting your end-production celebratory dinner, will you? I heard from a friend that you were here and I happened to be nearby too. I told myself that I mustn¡¯t miss the opportunity to meet you. Hence, I decided toe.¡± ¡°Why would I hold it against you? You must be joking.¡± Yu Caiwei sat down opposite Fang En and Yan Ge. ¡°Hello, Ms. Fang.¡± ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Yan Ge, long time no see.¡± He murmured assent coldly. Jing Tian chuckled and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t know that you two know each other. I¡¯ve never seen you guys starring alongside each other before.¡± Yu Caiwei said with a smile, ¡°We¡¯re friends in private.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, Yan Ge denied vehemently, ¡°We don¡¯t know each other that well.¡± A strange tension filled the air. Fang En cocked her head toward the side, only to discover that a gloomy expression had formed on his face. She could sense that something was amiss based on her intuition. She had always made sure not to speak too much duringpany dinners, and it was no exception this time. Furthermore, Yu Caiwei, Jing Tian, and the supporting actress were chatting incessantly throughout the meal. Fang En was seated in between Jing Tian and Yan Ge. Thus, there was nothing for her to say since Yan Ge did not strike a conversation with her. Fang En thought to herself that it was great that way, since the sooner they finished eating, the sooner she could leave. However, things did not turn out that way in reality. Yu Caiwei initiated a conversation with her. ¡°En, you look really young. How old are you?¡± Yu Caiwei had addressed her by her name, despite it being only their first time meeting each other. ¡°I¡¯m 24 years old.¡± ¡°You look like you just hit twenty. Your features are so youthful and delicate. Do you find Yan Ge to be rather difficult when you¡¯re filming with him?¡± Although Yan Ge had already rified earlier that he wasn¡¯t close to Yu Caiwei at all, everyone could not help but suspect something after hearing her words. ¡°Not at all. He¡¯s very nice, and he¡¯s always been helping me as a senior.¡± Yu Caiwei smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s so rare of him. He¡¯s usually very difficult in real life.¡± Everyone looked at each other in shock. In real life? Yan Ge looked up and snapped coldly, ¡°Does me being difficult or not have anything to do with you? Who are you to butt in?¡± Everyone was dumbfounded by his response. It seemed like he wasn¡¯t on good terms with her... Fang En remained silent, for fear that she would blurt something inappropriate. The supposedly joyous asion immediately turned awkward and tense, all because of the uninvited guest. When the meal ended, Yu Caiwei said to Yan Ge, ¡°Why have you be so callous and harsh with your words? Let¡¯s have a talk.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing for us to talk about,¡± said Yan Ge, who wiped his mouth and threw the tissue paper away before standing up. Fang En decided to leave as well, upon seeing that Yan Ge had left without looking back. They brought their respective assistants and bodyguards and entered the elevator one after another. An awkward silence filled the air. When the elevator stopped on the eighth floor, they exited and returned to their own rooms. Fang En removed her makeup and took a shower. Just as shey in bed after drying her hair, the doorbell rang. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± ¡°Give me a moment.¡± She quickly cast her towel aside and put on a set of pajamas before answering the door. Standing by the door, he said, ¡°You usually have such a huge appetite, but you barely ate anything tonight. I didn¡¯t eat much either. Care to have supper together?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll gain weight if I eat at night...¡± ¡°Does that mean you don¡¯t want to eat anymore?¡± Tempted by the aroma of food, she said, ¡°I want to. Did you buy the beer yet?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s still cold.¡± ¡°Awesome. Come in, quick.¡± Noticing how eager she was, he smiled and entered with the bags of food and drinks. Fang En closed the door and walked inside. ¡°I¡¯ve already brushed my teeth just now. Seems like I¡¯ll have to brush them againter.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be leaving this ce tomorrow. Let me treat you to this meal.¡± Yan Ge sat down and took out a total of six dishes from the stic bag, all of which smelled and looked appetizing. ¡°Sure.¡± Fang En opened two cans of beer and eximed, ¡°Let¡¯s hope our television series will be a sess and that your career will be taken to greater heights!¡± He picked up a can of beer and knocked it against hers. ¡°I hope so.¡± Fang En took a sip of beer and separated a pair of disposable chopsticks. ¡°I could already tell what¡¯s between you and Yu Caiwei,¡± she said while helping herself to the food. ¡°What¡¯s between us?¡± ¡°She¡¯s your ex-girlfriend, isn¡¯t she? I¡¯m pretty sure she is,¡± she said firmly. He nced at her and asked, ¡°How could you tell?¡± ¡°My instincts have always been urate.¡± ¡°Could you now use your instincts to guide you and tell me if you can sense that I¡¯m harboring intentions about you?¡± She hesitated for a moment and asked, ¡°What... intentions?¡± ¡°Making you mine.¡± Chapter 1000 - Perplexed and Smitten (60)

Chapter 1000: Perplexed and Smitten (60)

Fang En was instantly dumbfounded. She stared into his eyes in bewilderment, unsure why he had said that. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you saying anything? Didn¡¯t you say that your intuitions have always been urate?¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t I be embarrassing myself if I make a wrong guess?¡± said Fang En. ¡°Just guess ording to your intuitions. It doesn¡¯t matter even if you get it wrong.¡± She smiled gleefully and said, ¡°Lots of men want to make me theirs. I won¡¯t be surprised if you harbor such intentions too.¡± He too smiled and began eating slowly. ¡°Is it your birthday tomorrow?¡± ¡°Yes...¡± ¡°Is there anything you¡¯d like as a gift?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, you¡¯re thinking of giving me a present?¡± ¡°It was just a casual question. I don¡¯t n to give you anything.¡± Pursing her lips, Fang En said, ¡°I knew it. I no longer want the things that I used to yearn for when I was younger, yet I can¡¯t get the things I want now just by making a birthday wish. It¡¯s not worth mentioning.¡± Seeing that she seemed reluctant to tell him, he did not probe further and they both continued eating leisurely. Having had her fill, Fang En proceeded to brush her teeth. She then suggested that they take a walk outside. ¡°We just ate so much food. I¡¯ll gain weight easily if I don¡¯t move about after eating. Shall we take a stroll outside?¡± Reminded of something upon seeing that he did not answer, Fang En continued, ¡°Oh right, we¡¯re going to end up on the tabloids again if we get caught by the paparazzi. I¡¯ll just do a simple workout in the room. You should go back to get some rest too. Thank you for supper.¡± After a moment of silence, Yan Ge said, ¡°Come straight to my apartment once we return to the city tomorrow. I¡¯ve already called the sales office. There¡¯s a two-bedder avable and it¡¯s priced at about 39 thousand dors per square meter.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± she agreed. Yan Ge stopped in his tracks the moment he exited her room. Sensing that something was amiss, Fang En looked in his direction, only to see that Yu Caiwei was standing right outside his door and pressing the doorbell incessantly. ¡°I was wondering why you didn¡¯t answer the door even though I pressed the doorbell so many times. Yan Ge, it¡¯s a rare coincidence that we¡¯ve bumped into each other. Is this really how you¡¯re going to treat me?¡± Pursing his lips, he walked toward her. Both Fang En and Yu Caiwei thought that Yan Ge would be opening the door to let thetter enter. To their surprise, Yan Ge walked into the room and closed it right as Yu Caiwei was about to follow him inside. Fang En craned her neck to take a look. She could not help but find the scene that just took ce before her to be rather amusing. She also entered her own room and closed the door. ¡ª Thinking to herself that Mysterious Xiao should be dropping by tonight, An Xiaoning sat in the living room to wait for him after having her dinner. Just like she had expected, he showed up at about nine o¡¯clock in the evening with his back facing her, as usual. ¡°Arrange for the corpse to be moved to the museum as soon as possible, preferably within the next two days. Also, tell the curator to put it up for exhibition in the long run, and tell the media to report about it. I want high-definition photos of the corpse to be taken and published on the news, especially her features.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± An Xiaoning agreed, though she had no idea what his purpose was. However, she knew that he definitely had his reasons for asking these things. ¡°I shall tell you about your previous lifetime, like I promised earlier. First things first, I¡¯m only going to tell you what I know. The rest is up to you to imagine. After all, there¡¯s no way for me to tell you something that I have no idea about.¡± ¡°That goes without saying. Just tell me everything that you know.¡± ¡°Xihou Ling was the Emperor¡¯s third son who was never doted on much ever since he was a child. From what I know, there are a few reasons behind theck of love the Emperor had for Xihou Ling. Firstly, it¡¯s because Xihou Ling¡¯s mother was from a poor family that could not back them up. Secondly, it was also because he didn¡¯t have a favorable personality and never liked to curry anyone¡¯s favor. Thirdly, it¡¯s because he was guilty of hiding you.¡± ¡°Hiding me? What do you mean?¡± ¡°You were the daughter of a criminal, and everyone in your family was executed. You were the only one who survived, but that¡¯s only because Xihou Ling had saved you. Back then, thete Emperor had given him an ultimatum and made him choose between seeding the throne and saving your life. He chose thetter. Hence, he was denied the chance to be the emperor. I heard that thete Emperor was infuriated and berated Xihou Ling forcking what it takes to be an emperor. He was bbergasted that Xihou Ling had chosen you over the throne. I know about this because he had told me about it. You must be curious about how I¡¯m rted to Xihou Ling. There¡¯s no harm in telling you anyway. I was his junior, and we were both the only disciples my master had. We got along very well because we were friends ever since we were children. Hence, I knew more about your affairs.¡± ¡°Since you¡¯re his junior, shouldn¡¯t you be showing me a little respect since I¡¯m your senior¡¯s wife?¡± Mysterious Xiao answered, ¡°That should be the case, but Senior cut off ties with my masterter on and my master forbade me from calling Xihou Ling my senior. Hence, I addressed him by his name from then on. He¡¯s a year older than me.¡± ¡°Why did he cut ties with your master?¡± ¡°It¡¯s again because of you, troublemaker. He married two women because of a political arrangement. His wives were from the Tian n and the Mu n, respectively. Miss Tian¡¯s father was the grand chancellor while Miss Mu was Chi Dan¡¯s favorite princess. Xihou Ling insisted on keeping you in his residence so he could protect you. But at the same time, he didn¡¯t want you to be treated unfairly by making you his concubine, though he didn¡¯t want to let you leave either. However, both his wives were scheming and not to be trifled with. Miss Mu was much more cunning and arrogantpared to Miss Tian. She could not tolerate you at all. Hence, Master advised him to send you out of the residence first. However, Xihou Ling was afraid that you would be assassinated when you¡¯re not in his sight. After all, there were many people who wanted you dead. Seeing how insistent and stubborn he was, Master ended up having a tiff with him because Master was afraid that he would end up ruining himself because of you. Master wanted to protect him, but he wanted to protect you, so...¡± An Xiaoning was dismayed to hear his words. Just what did I do to deserve his unconditional love? ¡°What happened to your master afterward?¡± ¡°Master never wanted to see him again and thought that all his efforts put into teaching him had gone in vain.¡± ¡°When was thest time you saw Xihou Ling?¡± ¡°He was already ill-stricken thest time I saw him. He was pale and ghastly, and I heard from his bodyguard that he frequently vomited blood. He¡¯d been struck with a huge emotional blow. I also found out that you had left, but I didn¡¯t know where you went.¡± ¡°Why did I leave?¡± ¡°I think it was because you were fighting for his love.¡± ¡°Fighting for his love?¡± she asked in puzzlement. ¡°I¡¯m not sure about the details, but I know that he showed up in public with Miss Mu rather frequently. He probably hadn¡¯t favored her much. However, at that time, it was no longer up to him to decide and he was in a disadvantageous position. He needed Chi Dan¡¯s help.¡± ¡°Do you know where I went after I left?¡± ¡°I found outter that you were imprisoned in the pce by the Emperor, and you were denied contact from the outside world. There were guards watching you every single day. I was thinking then that he must have died elsewhere since he had gone missing. However, he was in a poor state of health when I saw him again.¡± An Xiaoning immediately imagined the scenario of Jin Qingyan vomiting blood and teared up involuntarily. ¡°What about me? Was I released from the pce?¡± Chapter 1001 - Perplexed and Smitten (61)

Chapter 1001: Perplexed and Smitten (61)

¡°No, you died on the very same day that all living beings in the Prince¡¯s residence were killed. You jumped to your death from the balcony of the pce.¡± ¡°What...¡± An Xiaoning was at a momentary loss for words. He sighed and said, ¡°I really don¡¯t know if you two ended up together again in this lifetime in order to make up for lost time together in your previous lifetime or simply for history to repeat itself. You two are cursed. I doubt there¡¯ll be a change in the oue of your rtionship in this lifetime either.¡± Clenching her fist tightly, An Xiaoning said, ¡°I don¡¯t care what curse it is that we¡¯re gued with, but the previous lifetime is now a thing of the past. We won¡¯t let history repeat itself.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s not up to you. These things are all that I know. I have no idea about the details, and there¡¯s no way for me to find out either. Also, there¡¯s something I haven¡¯t been able to understand,¡± he said, sounding rather pessimistic. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°He¡¯s usually gentle and warm, but he bes menacing and terrifying when he blows his top. How could he love a woman like you so unconditionally? I can¡¯t see any of your good attributes at all, no matter how hard I try. Besides, you even get jealous at every slightest thing. Both of you are crazy and overly jealous people.¡± An Xiaoning retorted in displeasure, ¡°What do you mean a woman like me? You can¡¯t recognize my good attributes because you¡¯re blind.¡± ¡°Psht... I¡¯ve already told you everything like I promised. Justplete the tasks that I wanted you to do within the next few days,¡± he said nonchntly. ¡°I can get it done, but you have to give me some information. For example, what answer am I supposed to give when the curator asks about where the corpse is from? Or what it¡¯s called and which era it¡¯s from? You want the corpse to be on disy, but we also have to provide them with some information, don¡¯t we?¡± ¡°The description doesn¡¯t have to be that detailed. Just tell him that it¡¯s a newly-discovered female corpse that has been preserved for centuries.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± She stood up from the couch and said, ¡°Are you still not going to tell me your name?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll find out naturally when it¡¯s time for you to. You don¡¯t need to hear it from me.¡± He then disappeared without a trace. ¡°What a temperamental and opinionated man,¡± she muttered. Just as she was about to go look for Fan Shixin, she sensed someone gazing at her. She then looked up and made eye contact with, Henry who was standing by the railing of the stairs. He made his way downstairs slowly with shock written all over his face. He then walked toward her and began looking her up and down. ¡°Who were you talking to just now?¡± ¡°No one, I was talking to myself...¡± ¡°I heard everything. There was a man¡¯s voice but I didn¡¯t see anyone. What was it? A ghost?¡± An Xiaoning admitted, ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Who was it, then?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to know.¡± She turned around and walked away. Henry stepped forward to grab her arm and asked, ¡°You can see ghosts and spirits?¡± ¡°Yes. A lot of people know about that too. Did you only find out now?¡± ¡°Just what kind of a human are you? Are you a freak?¡± he asked in bewilderment. ¡°You¡¯re a freak.¡± She shrugged his hand away and exited the door. Henry stood rooted to the ground and pondered over it for a moment before taking chase. After handing Fan Shixin some instructions, An Xiaoning noticed that Henry had chased after her, seemingly wanting to ask her some questions. She said, ¡°We¡¯ll make another deal if you want to find out more.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± he agreed. An Xiaoning grabbed his hand and pulled him upstairs. He instinctively wanted to shrug it away, to no avail. She only let go of him when they sat on the bed. ¡°If you promise to obey me from today onward, I¡¯ll tell you everything you want to know.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡± he snapped and sprung up from the bed before walking toward the couch. An Xiaoning had already expected him to react that way. Thus, she did not say anything else and insteady down on the bed. She began pondering over Mysterious Xiao¡¯s words, which had been deeply etched in her heart. Did he die of an illness in the end? Did I plunge to my death from the balcony of the pce? An Xiaoning turned to lie on her side with her back facing the couch. Tears welled up in her eyes and soon began to roll down her face, soaking her pillow. She continued to lie t on the bed, not feeling a tinge of sleepiness at all. Meanwhile, Henry had already fallen sound asleep long ago. ¡ª It was six o¡¯clock in the morning when Fang En and Xiao Yue set off from the hotel with their luggage. Although it was summertime, the weather was much cooler in the morning. The nanny van pulled up near her rented apartment. It was Xiao Yue¡¯s first time visiting the ce where Fang En lived. Upon the sight of the rundown alley, she asked in astonishment, ¡°Sis En, did you use to live here?¡± ¡°Yes, my ce is right inside. Help me move my luggage there. Afterward, you may go home to rest. You¡¯ve been busy all this while too. I¡¯ll go house-viewingter.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Xiao Yue followed her inside and passed through the alley to arrive at a metal gate. They then made their way up the spiral staircase to the second floor. The wooden door of Fang En¡¯s apartment was painted yellow and was rather small. Fang En whipped out her key to open the door. Xiao Yue got a huge shock the moment she caught sight of what was inside. ¡°Wow, your ce is so neat and tidy.¡± Xiao Yue dragged the luggage in with her and scanned her surroundings to discover that the decor was worlds apart from the outer appearance of the building. It boasted of an artistic vibe, and she could tell that Fang En had put in a great deal of effort into decorating the ce. ¡°It¡¯s alright. The space is rather small but it¡¯s pretty cozy. Although it¡¯s a rented apartment, it¡¯s still my living space.¡± ¡°Sis En, how much does the rental cost per month?¡± ¡°Make a guess.¡± ¡°Seven or eight hundred dors?¡± ¡°No, three hundred dors a month.¡± Xiao Yue¡¯s jaw dropped. ¡°Huh... three hundred dors? That cheap? Although the apartment is pretty shabby, it¡¯s still located in the city. Three hundred dors seems a little too good to be true.¡± ¡°It does, but you have no idea what condition the apartment was in when I first rented it. It was just a small apartment with one washroom, and it was extremely filthy and unsanitary. The walls were all covered in dirt, and I got thendlord to rent it to me after a great deal of persuasion and negotiating with him. I¡¯ve been staying here for a really long time, ever since I graduated from university. I barely earned much back then when I was acting as an extra.¡± ¡°My apartment is in a better condition than yours, but I¡¯m not as good as you when ites to household chores and tidying the ce. Mine is just like a pig sty. Since I get to rest today, I shall go home now. Give me a call if there¡¯s anything you need.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Fang En pulled her hair back into a ponytail and headed out to the market to buy some fresh ingredients for breakfast. After she was done eating, she gave Yan Ge a call. ¡°When would you be returning to the city?¡± ¡°I just reached home. Why did you leave so early?¡± ¡°The weather was cooler in the morning. I¡¯ll go meet you now, I¡¯ve already had my breakfast.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Fang En set off in the nanny van. As soon as she reached the entrance of the estate he was living in, she caught sight of him standing near the entrance, wearing a pair of shades. Upon the sight of her nanny van, he pointed at a certain spot and said, ¡°Park the car there.¡± The chauffeur did as he instructed and drove the van toward the parking lot. Fang En then alighted after telling the chauffeur to wait for her there. Chapter 1002 - Perplexed and Smitten (62)

Chapter 1002: Perplexed and Smitten (62)

¡°Where do you live?¡± ¡°Block C.¡± ¡°Which block is the two-bedroom apartment you mentioned to me in?¡± ¡°The same one as mine.¡± ¡°Such a coincidence. On which floor do you live?¡± Fang En asked. ¡°The sixth, unit 601.¡± ¡°What about the one we¡¯re viewing now?¡± ¡°Opposite mine.¡± Fang En asked in surprise, ¡°You mean the apartment is right opposite yours?¡± ¡°Yes. What¡¯s the matter? Are you unwilling to be my neighbor in the future?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s just, you¡¯re a megacelebrity while I¡¯m just a newbie. What if the paparazzi snap photos of us living in the same estate and spark rumors about us cohabiting?¡± ¡°Nah, the paparazzi and reporters have eyes to see. How could I possibly cohabit with you?¡± Fang En was speechless. They then boarded the elevator to ascend to the sixth floor. Fang En initially thought that the owner of the apartment would still be living there. To her surprise, unit 602 waspletely empty. ¡°Doesn¡¯t this apartment have an owner?¡± she asked. ¡°There used to be people living here but theyter minded the fact that it was too small and decided to sell it to move into a bigger house. This apartment hasn¡¯t been sold yet at the moment. Thus, I called the sales office to ask about this unit after hearing that you are looking to buy one.¡± She looked at the floor n andyout of the apartment and estimated it to be about 80 to 90 square meters. It was rather spacious for her since she would be living alone. She suddenly discovered that the balcony of this apartment was rather close to that of the one opposite. There was a distance of only about a meter between the balconies. In other words, she could see him from the balcony easily if she were to move into this apartment. She initially thought that there would be very few chances for them to meet again once the filming for the television series was to officially end, yet they had now be potential neighbors. Seeing that she had already taken a tour around the house, Yan Ge asked, ¡°What do you think of this apartment? It¡¯s well renovated. If you don¡¯t like it, you may renovate it again. Otherwise, you may move in immediately after buying some furniture.¡± ¡°I do like this apartment, but...¡± ¡°But what?¡± ¡°But I think we¡¯d be living too close to each other.¡± ¡°And then?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid of being berated to death by your fans?¡± ¡°When the rumors of you being in a rtionship with Jing Yang spread like wildfire previously, you didn¡¯t get berated to death by his fans, did you? Why would it be a different case with me? Don¡¯t tell me, you actually think that my fans are much more intimidating than his? You¡¯re the one looking to buy an apartment. It¡¯s up to you to decide whether you want it or not. You¡¯ll know what the environment is like after taking a look around the estateter.¡± ¡°Um... I, I need to use the washroom. Can you lend me yours?¡± ¡°Come over.¡± He turned around. Fang En followed closely behind and closed the door. The air conditioner in his apartment was switched on, thus allowing the air to feel cool andfortable. Pointing at a door, Yan Ge said, ¡°It¡¯s over there.¡± She nodded and walked toward the washroom. After she was done answering nature¡¯s call, she realized that there was no toilet paper left. Fang En gently opened a drawer beside her to discover that there was some toilet paper inside. However, instead of grabbing it, she picked up a blue-colored rectangr box. Fang En turned red the instant she saw thebel on the box. It was a box of condoms that had already been opened before. Her hands were burning hot, and she quickly put the box back inside the drawer. Turns out he still has that... Since the box is already opened, he must¡¯ve used the condoms inside. But who did he use it with? Fang En¡¯s face turned hot and red the moment she realized what she was wondering about. He immediately sensed that something was unusual about her when she came out of the washroom. ¡°What happened to your face?¡± ¡°Huh? It¡¯s nothing. Um, I¡¯m going back now,¡± she said with a smile. ¡°Here, I made you some coffee. Finish it before you leave.¡± She took it from his hands and sat down on the couch. ¡°You¡¯re usually so talkative. Why have you be so quiet now?¡± Smiling wryly, Fang En asked after some consideration, ¡°Do you have an official girlfriend right now?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°How many friends with benefits do you have, then?¡± He squinted and ced his cup of coffee onto the coffee table. ¡°We¡¯ve worked together for more than half a year now. Do you really think I¡¯m such a person?¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t have a girlfriend or any friends with benefits... why do you have those things in your washroom? You¡¯ve even used them before.¡± ¡°What things?¡± ¡°You know what I¡¯m talking about.¡± He stood up, strode toward the washroom, and returned two minutester with the box of condoms in his hands. Shaking it in front of her, he asked, ¡°You mean this?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± she answered softly. ¡°The box has been opened, but I¡¯ve never used any of the condoms inside. If you don¡¯t believe me, you may count it. All twenty of them are in there.¡± He ced it onto the coffee table. Needless to say, Fang En definitely wouldn¡¯t look at it, for it was rather embarrassing to count it in front of him. She cleared her throat and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to...¡± ¡°You¡¯ve never had a boyfriend and yet you¡¯re aware of such things?¡± ¡°Do you think I¡¯m an idiot?¡± He¡¯s tantly insulting my intelligence! ¡°Do you know how it¡¯s used, then?¡± ¡°Of course I do...¡± ¡°How?¡± he prompted. ¡°...¡± Staring at the sheepish smirk on his face, she felt a strong urge to ssh the boiling-hot coffee over his head to make him wake up from his idea. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you talking?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk to you!¡± He guffawed and exined, ¡°I didn¡¯t buy the condoms. They were a gift from a friend. He manufactures condoms, and so he decided to give me a few sample boxes, iming that they¡¯re impressive. He wanted me to try them out. They¡¯ve been sitting in my drawer for over six months now. I too want to give them a try, but unfortunately, there¡¯s no one I can try them with.¡± ¡°...¡± Fang En felt an immediate sense of relief after hearing his exnation and also burst intoughter. ¡ª An Xiaoning fell asleep rathertest night, and it was already nine o¡¯clock in the morning by the time she woke up. Henry was no longer sitting on the couch. She put on her pajamas and headed downstairs where she asked, ¡°Auntie Chen, where¡¯s Qingyan?¡± ¡°Young Sir has left for the office.¡± ¡°The office?¡± She called Fan Shixin on his mobile phone and sat down by the dining table, feeling feeble and lethargic with an acute headache. ¡°Young Madam, are you looking for me?¡± ¡°Is it now Henry or Qingyan?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Young Sir. Young Sir realized what had happened the moment he saw his outfit when he woke up. He asked me if you¡¯d found out about it yet and I told him that we only returned from V Nation in the middle ofst night. I managed to hide it from him. By the way, the exhibition at the museum willmence tomorrow. You may go take a look with Young Sir this afternoon.¡± ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll go look him up at the office after breakfast,¡± said An Xiaoning, resting her chin in her hand. ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Go ahead and get busy.¡± He nodded and left. ¡°Young Madam, do eat more. I noticed that you¡¯ve gotten thinnertely,¡± said Auntie Chen, serving her her breakfast. ¡°The food you make is so delicious, Auntie Chen. I eat so much of it all the time. Auntie Chen, will you teach me how to make some noodles another day?¡± ¡°Sure, but the kitchen reeks of smoke and oil. I¡¯ll make them for you if you¡¯d like to have some.¡± ¡°I want to learn how to make some for Qingyan.¡± ¡°How thoughtful of you, Young Madam. Young Sir will enjoy any food that you make,¡± Auntie Chen praised. An Xiaoning could not help but be reminded of the horrendous ¡°cuisine¡± she had whipped up previously. She smiled and said, ¡°He¡¯s probably afraid to eat the food I cook again.¡± ¡°Nah, that can¡¯t be.¡± Chapter 1003 - Perplexed and Smitten (63)

Chapter 1003: Perplexed and Smitten (63)

At about ten o¡¯clock in the morning, An Xiaoning parked her red Ferrari in the carpark of the Jin Corporation office building. She alighted and walked into the building with her bag in hand. After passing through the ss turnstile, she was spotted by the security officer, who greeted politely, ¡°You¡¯re here, Young Madam.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± she acknowledged with a nod. Several other employees greeted her along her way to the elevator. She entered the elevator. Hu Xin walked toward the front desk with a mop in hand and questioned, ¡°Why do you guys still address her as ¡®Young Madam¡¯? Didn¡¯t she already divorce Mr. Jin?¡± The receptionist at the front desk answered, ¡°Hu Xin, are you silly? Weren¡¯t you just talking to Mr. CEO a few days ago? Since you two know each other, how could you not know how much Young Madam means to him?¡± Hu Xin smiled faintly and said, ¡°I¡¯ve only met Mr. Jin once in private. I don¡¯t know much about his personal life.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. Everyone in thepany addresses her that way now. She may not have reconciled her marriage with Mr. Jin yet, but they¡¯re no different from a married couple. Furthermore, they share a son together.¡± ¡°I think you guys must be mistaken,¡± said Hu Xin. ¡°Mistaken about what?¡± ¡°Perhaps Mr. Jin doesn¡¯t care about her at all and she only painted this false image by resorting to some underhanded means.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright if you say these to me but don¡¯t ever let our manager hear you. Otherwise, you¡¯ll be fired anytime. Everyone knows how much Mr. Jin loves and pampers her. Young Madam was the one who took over the management of thepany back when Mr. Jin went missing during the tsunami. I heard that Mr. Jin has long since drawn up a will that states that all of his assets would be bequeathed to Young Madam and their son. Do you still think that this is a false image?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t she psychic and capable of performing supernatural rituals or something? Maybe she controlled...¡± The receptionist immediately covered her mouth and chided, ¡°You mustn¡¯t say such things again. You may not want your job anymore but I still want mine. Go and perform your duties, stop talking to me. You jump to conclusions without getting your facts right. Your evil thoughts about others are too terrifying.¡± .... An Xiaoning headed to the office and opened the door gently. She was greeted with the sight of Jin Qingyan handling his documents attentively. She gazed at him for a long while before entering. Upon the sight of her, he put down his pen and walked toward her. ¡°What brings you here?¡± ¡°I missed you.¡± He gave her a tight hug and refused to loosen his grip. ¡°I missed you too. I missed you so, so much.¡± ¡°I have a lot to say to you.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Thirty secondster, he sat on the chair while she sat on hisp, draping her arms around his neck. She spoke while he listened. She told Jin Qingyan about everything that happened, from the flood dragon they had encountered to the dream she had while on the journey back. She included every single detail. By the time she finished her recount, she was parched. She picked up the cup of tea and took several gulps. ¡°I¡¯m so thirsty.¡± After hearing her story, he asked with a look of uneasiness, ¡°Are you afraid?¡± ¡°Of what?¡± ¡°That we will end up how Mysterious Xiao said. Are you afraid that history might repeat itself and we might never end up together regardless of how hard we try to?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not afraid at all,¡± she answered without hesitation. She then continued, ¡°Because I have you, our son, my parents, and my friends. You guys are the very reason why I will try my best to ovee all the obstacles that are in my way. Are you... afraid?¡± ¡°No.¡± His answer struck a sour note within An Xiaoning, not because of what he said but because of the way he had sounded. She could hear the fear in his quivering voice. She smiled and pressed her body against him before licking his lips with her tongue, which she then stuck into his mouth sensually. An Xiaoning could feel his erection growing rapidly. She closed her eyes and kissed him even harder. She soon began straddling him and proceeded to unbuckle his belt without dy. He lit up in joy, clearly enjoying the feeling of her taking the initiative. When she moved her lips away, he murmured, ¡°Xiaoning...¡± An Xiaoning said, ¡°I want to hear you call me ¡®Darling¡¯ because I really want to be your wife again. I don¡¯t feel proud being an aplished fortune-teller, or the daughter of the Gu family, or the president¡¯s daughter, or an investor. I feel proud being a mother, and I¡¯d also feel proud to be called your wife...¡± Not giving her the chance to continue, he picked her up in his arms abruptly and lowered her onto the desk, causing the documents and files on it to scatter all over the ground. However, these were not of his concern at the moment. Just as they were deep in passion and about to take things to the next level, the door of the office was opened all of a sudden. Jin Qingyan red at Hu Xin and barked in pique, ¡°Who allowed you to enter? Scram and get out of here!¡± Hu Xin had had a hard time trying to sneak in while the secretary was away, yet he hollered at her and gave her a great fright, causing her to close the door immediately. Recalling the scene she had just witnessed with her very own eyes, she began tearing up all of a sudden. She had no idea what she was crying about either. All she knew was that her mind had gone nk. She refused to believe what she had just seen. She tried to convince herself that none of it was real. An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan were snapped out of their mood because of the intruder. However, An Xiaoning feigned ignorance and did not ask about Hu Xin despite having noticed her as well just now. He locked the door and said to her, ¡°We can rest assured now. We didn¡¯t lock the door before, how careless and eager of us.¡± As he spoke, he unbuttoned her shirt and buried his face in her neck. The temperature was rather cool in the air-conditioned room, and she felt a cold shiver down her spine the moment he grazed his lips against her skin. Due to the fact that they were in the office, she had no choice but to suppress her urge to moan. He burst intoughter when he let go of her and stared at her while she bit her lip. ¡°What are youughing about?¡± ¡°I¡¯mughing because you¡¯re having such a hard time trying to resist your urges. Don¡¯t keep it in, the soundproofing effect is superb.¡± He lifted her left leg and rested it on his shoulder before pushing her skirt upward and removing her underwear furiously. An Xiaoning could not stop herself from moaning in pleasure. Her alluring moans were like fuel to his mes of passion, causing Jin Qingyan¡¯s erection to grow even harder. An Xiaoning grabbed the edge of the table with one hand and his arm with the other while he thrust himself into her. He was using so much force that she felt as if he was about to pierce through her. She could not curb her passion at all. Things were hot and steamy within the room, and they were as passionate as a pair of newlyweds. In spite of the soundproofing system embedded in the walls of his office, the middle-aged secretary could vaguely hear them moaning in coital euphoria. He could not help but turn red with embarrassment. The sessionsted for an entire hour, during which Jin Qingyan wanted to try several different fancy positions that he had just added to his repertoire. An Xiaoning¡¯s legs had already turned to jelly by the time they were done. Chapter 1004 - Perplexed and Smitten (64)

Chapter 1004: Perplexed and Smitten (64)

The air reeked of a post-coital ambiance. Jin Qingyan cleaned up the mess before carrying her onto the couch. He pulled out some tissues and used them to wipe her sweaty hair and forehead. ¡°Do you want some water?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You must be parched and your throat must be burning after moaning for an entire hour. I really enjoy hearing your moans. They¡¯re like my ecstasy,¡± he said, handing her a ss of water. She red at him and said, ¡°Cut it out...¡± ¡°Besides, whenever you contract, I always wonder what¡¯s going to happen if I can¡¯t pull out.¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan!¡± ¡°I¡¯m here, do you have any orders for me, mdy?¡± ¡°Shut your trap.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± An Xiaoning chuckled in amusement and adjusted her clothing before lying down on the couch. ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere today. I just want to spend time with you properly, even if we don¡¯t talk at all. So just go ahead with what you¡¯re busy with. Don¡¯t mind me.¡± ¡°Do you want to use theptop? I¡¯ll hand it to you.¡± ¡°Yes, please, I¡¯ll be so bored otherwise.¡± He switched on hisptop and ced it on the swivel chair, which he then pushed toward her. However, he could not ignore herpletely. She was an ultimate distraction to him, for he would steal a nce at her every few minutes. Sensing that he was losing focus, she looked at her watch and said, ¡°What would you like to have for lunch? I¡¯ll go buy some food right now. Let¡¯s head to the museum once you¡¯re done with work at five.¡± ¡°You decide. I¡¯ll enjoy whatever food you buy. Get some rest before you go.¡± ¡°Okay. Then you¡¯d better focus on your work and stop staring at me.¡± ¡°I really wish I had three eyes. That way, I¡¯ll be able to look at you with my third eye when the other two are focused on the documents.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning headed downstairs to buy some food after taking a break. The employees thought that she had already left. To their surprise, she returned again forty minutester with a big bag of delicacies. They could guess that she was about to have lunch with their CEO. The lobby manager said, ¡°Young Madam, you should¡¯ve just let the underlings go out to get takeout. You didn¡¯t have to make the trip personally.¡± ¡°All of you were busy working, it won¡¯t be good for me to disturb you guys. Besides, I didn¡¯t know what I wanted to eat so I had to take a look before deciding.¡± ¡°Yes, yes.¡± She then began walking toward the elevator. Once she arrived upstairs, the two of them dug into the food together. At this very moment, she received a call from Shi Qingzhou. Shi Qingzhou informed her that Tuoba Gucheng had begun showing signs of regaining his consciousness and asked if she should administer him with the chemical again. After some consideration, An Xiaoning decided that there was no need to continue with that and instead told her mother to just instruct the bodyguards to guard him closely. ¡°We can continue manipting his thoughts, actually. That¡¯ll prevent us from facing any unnecessary troubles anyway. Keeping a close eye on him also works, but it¡¯s better to keep manipting him.¡± ¡°Mother, let¡¯s just let him regain his consciousness. After all, he¡¯ll only understand how torturous it is to be in this predicament aftering to terms with reality.¡± ¡°Sounds good too.¡± An Xiaoning ended the call and looked at Jin Qingyan. ¡°In hindsight, it was really tough and tricky dealing with Tuoba Gucheng. Had we made any slight blunder, things would have been way different now. He¡¯s very extreme and obstinate.¡± ¡°Regardless of the process, the oue is that he haspletely lost this battle. Was he even fit to be the president when all he did was abuse his authority? Good that he has been stripped of his position, lest he creates even more trouble in the future.¡± An Xiaoning disposed of the leftovers into the dustbin before saying, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about this now. After you¡¯re done with work, let¡¯s go take a look at the museum. However, I think I can roughly guess why Mysterious Xiao wanted the corpse to go on exhibition and for her photos to be published on the news.¡± ¡°I think we share the same thoughts. He¡¯s probably been trying to search for that woman¡¯s reincarnation but to no avail. Thus, he¡¯s getting a little impatient and eager now. He probably thinks that the reincarnation of the woman would look exactly the same as she did in her previous lifetime since he saw that that was the case for us. Thus, he wants the appearance of this corpse to be published on the news so he could attempt to find someone who looks identical.¡± An Xiaoning was in utmost awe. ¡°Seems like this woman must be the love of his life. Back then, I was guessing that she was either his lover or his sister.¡± ¡°If we had a tragic ending in our previous lifetime, he probably wasn¡¯t any better off than us.¡± ¡°Yes...¡± ¡ª Gazing at Fang En, Mei Yangyang exined, ¡°It¡¯ll take some time for the full sum of your wage to be transferred to your ount. However, I can get them to transfer the full amount to you in advance if you need it eagerly to purchase a house. After all, Sis is the investor of this film and we¡¯re allowed to make such a request.¡± ¡°Thank you, Sis Yangyang.¡± ¡°But which estate is that apartment in? How much does it cost?¡± ¡°Qingyuan Estate. It¡¯s a two-bedder that has an area of 85 square meters, each costing 39 thousand dors. It¡¯ll cost me more than 3.3 million dors.¡± Mei Yangyang asked, ¡°Did you look for a property agency or...?¡± ¡°Um... Yan Ge lives there and he was the one who showed me the apartment.¡± Mei Yangyang immediately asked, ¡°Does he live near the apartment you¡¯re interested in buying?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s right opposite,¡± Fang En answered with a nod. Mei Yangyang eximed in shock, ¡°What? Opposite!?! You and he are now...¡± ¡°Sis, don¡¯t be mistaken, we¡¯re just ordinary friends now.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re just ordinary friends, why would he rmend the apartment opposite his to you? Could it be that he had developed feelings for you after working with you for so long?¡± ¡°Impossible.¡± Although that was what Fang En said on the surface, she could not help but recall the words he had said to her in the hotel room that night. She could not tell if he had really meant it or if he was merely joking. ¡°Although we¡¯re now in the post-production stage and it wouldn¡¯t be too bad of an idea for you two to be rumored to be in a rtionship, I still think you should look for another apartment. You¡¯re living too close together. You¡¯ll be easily misunderstood and criticized by his fans. However, it¡¯s not out of the question if you¡¯d really like to live there. It¡¯s all up to you.¡± Fang En took her words into consideration and was constantly pondering over the apartment while on her way back. Before she even reached home, she received a call from Jing Shui. ¡°En, let¡¯s have lunch togetherter. It¡¯s your birthday today. My treat.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to go to that expense. I¡¯ve already eaten.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ve already inquired from the sales office of my estate. They don¡¯t have two-bedders, but there are three-bedders avable at an affordable price. Would you like toe and take a look?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve gone to Yan Ge¡¯s estate this morning. There¡¯s a two-bedder avable and I¡¯m considering it.¡± After a few seconds of silence, Jing Shui asked, ¡°Have you fallen in love with Yan Ge?¡± ¡°No, why would you ask that?¡± Chapter 1005 - Perplexed and Smitten (65)

Chapter 1005: Perplexed and Smitten (65)

¡°He¡¯s mature and charming, and you¡¯ve also worked with him for so long. Aren¡¯t you at least a little attracted to him?¡± Fang En could not help but feel slightly ufortable being questioned by him in such a manner. However, she calmed herself down and answered, ¡°He may be mature and charming, and we¡¯ve indeed worked together for quite some time, but we¡¯re just normal friends now.¡± Realizing that he didn¡¯t manage to sound her out, Jing Shui said, ¡°I¡¯m just afraid that you would be duped by him. I know exactly his intentions for rmending an apartment in his estate to you. Yan Ge has always been an aloof person and would never contact his female co-stars outside of filming, let alone live in the same estate as them. He¡¯s known to avoid all possible risks of having rumors about him being spread. Why would he want you to buy an apartment in his estate at this juncture? Not to mention, you¡¯re just a newbie and he¡¯s already an experienced actor. He¡¯s a wily old fox. Can you really be invulnerable to his tricks?¡± After hearing what he said, Fang En said, ¡°But he didn¡¯t pull any tricks on me. I¡¯m arriving home soon, I¡¯ll hang up now.¡± When the car pulled over at the alley, Fang En alighted. She was greeted with the sight of her parents the moment she reached the metal gate. ¡°Father, Mother, what brings you guys here?¡± ¡°We went to the production unit to look for you but we heard that the filming of the television series has already ended. Thus, we came to your rented apartment to find you.¡± ¡°You could¡¯ve just called me if something happened.¡± ¡°Nothing happened, we just wanted to visit you.¡± Fang En nodded and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go upstairs, then.¡± While making their way upstairs, Mrs. Fang said, ¡°Now that you¡¯re done filming for the television series, it¡¯s time you move to another ce.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m already making ns to move.¡± ¡°Where do you n to buy an apartment?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not too sure yet.¡± She opened the door and allowed her parents to enter. ¡°How much did you earn from acting in the television series?¡± Fang En answered vaguely, ¡°Not much. I signed a contract with the entertainment studio, and I have to split my earnings with them.¡± ¡°Um, En, your brother will be attending his final year of high school soon. However, he¡¯s been staying at home all day to y video games on hisputer throughout the entire summer break. Your father and I are nning to send him for tuition. That¡¯ll aid him in his academics when he gets promoted to his final year. His grades are so-so, but he must get epted into a good university.¡± ¡°Let him attend tuition sses, then.¡± ¡°Your father and I have inquired about it from the tuition agency. The tutor in charge is a very prestigious one and each lesson is rather expensive.¡± ¡°How much?¡± ¡°Four hundred dors per lesson, and there are two lessons per day. That¡¯ll cost us eight hundred dors a day. Since he¡¯ll need tuition for about two months, we¡¯re going to need 48 thousand dors for him to attend tuition sses.¡± Fang En gasped in shock. She simply could not understand why her working-ss parents would be willing to spend almost 50 thousand dors on tuition fees for their son who was only achieving mediocre grades. To her knowledge, her parents had abined monthly ie of about five thousand dors; three thousand from her father and two from her mother. They barely had any savings after the necessary living expenses were deducted. How could they possibly be willing to fork out that much money for tuition? So they came here... Fang En immediately understood the purpose of their visit. They were here to get money from her. Are they shortchanging me for the sake of their son? ¡°Go ahead and send him for tuition sses if you want him to attend them. Besides, you guys have your own savings anyway. I won¡¯t make any objections even if you spend all your money on him.¡± ¡°Our savings are meant for your brother to buy a house when he gets married. I don¡¯t think our savings are enough...¡± Fang En was speechless. She said, ¡°I won¡¯t have much money left after purchasing my apartment. Besides, I still have to spend money on renovation and furniture. I¡¯m cash-strapped too.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to have such an borate renovation for your apartment. You can also buy your furniture another time. Although this apartment you¡¯re living in now is rather shabby on the exterior, the interior is still very clean andfortable. You can stay here for a while longer.¡± Fang En¡¯s pent-up anger was simmering within her. She said coldly, ¡°I don¡¯t have any money for you. I¡¯m going outter. Please leave if there¡¯s nothing else you¡¯d like to talk to me about.¡± ¡°En, you...¡± Mrs. Fang snapped, ¡°You may not have lived with us when you were younger, but without us, would your grandmother have agreed to raise you? Now that you¡¯re all grown up and financially independent, you¡¯ve never once called me or your father at all. If your brother makes a name for himself in the future, wouldn¡¯t you feel proud to be his sister too?¡± She added, ¡°It¡¯s not like you really don¡¯t have enough money. If you were really penniless like when you were still attending university, your father and I wouldn¡¯t havee to ask you for money.¡± ¡°...¡± Fang En wished she could just move away right now to a ce where her parents could not find her, a ce where she could be alone peacefully. Fang En sneered, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you were just here to visit me? Why are we on the topic of money now?¡± Mrs. Fang was at a loss for words. ¡°I was just casually saying...¡± she muttered. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s enough. I¡¯m going out now. Just stay here if you don¡¯t want to leave. If not, let¡¯s leave together now.¡± Noticing that her parents seemed to have no intentions of leaving, she grabbed her bag and left. Once she got inside the nanny van, Fang En took a deep breath to calm herself down. ¡°Where would you like to go?¡± the chauffeur asked. ¡°The estate that we went to this morning.¡± She gazed out of the window and remained quiet. ¡°Hello, hello, you have a text message!¡± cranked her mobile phone. Fang En opened the text message to discover that it was a notification from the bank. She beamed with joy the moment she looked at her bank ount bnce. Sis Yangyang is so efficient. The money got transferred to me so quickly. The initially hesitant Fang En immediately made up her mind to purchase the apartment opposite Yan Ge¡¯s. Upon arriving at Qingyuan Estate, she called Yan Ge, who happened to be taking an afternoon nap. After answering her call, he expressed assent and hung up. Fang En walked toward the lobby, d in a surgical mask and a pair of shades. She boarded the elevator all the way up to the sixth floor, where he was waiting for her by the door. ¡°Have you made up your mind?¡± ¡°Yes, I have. Will I be able to get the procedures done right after I make the payment today?¡± ¡°That should be the case. Are you purchasing it today?¡± ¡°Yes, I want to move in as soon as possible.¡± ¡°Why are you in such a hurry?¡± She smiled and jested, ¡°Well, I¡¯ll get to be neighbors with such a handsome celebrity. Of course I have to be eager.¡± Knowing that she was just teasing him, he said, ¡°I¡¯ve never rmended an apartment to anyone before. You¡¯re the first.¡± ¡°Does that mean that you consider me to be your friend now?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll never be my friend.¡± Fang En pursed her lips in disgruntlement. ¡°Sis Yangyang asked me what our rtionship was when she heard today that the apartment I¡¯m going to purchase is right opposite yours. I even told her that we¡¯re just friends, yet you¡¯re telling me now that you¡¯ve never considered me as your friend. Why did you help me look for an apartment, then?¡± He pressed the button of the lift and entered the elevator without answering her. Fang En followed suit and prompted, ¡°I¡¯m asking you a question.¡± He red at her and said, ¡°In my eyes, you¡¯re just a woman, not my friend.¡± ¡°...¡± Fang En stood beside him and decided not to ask him to exin what he meant, for fear that he would mock her for being thick-skinned again. ¡ª At about five o¡¯clock in the afternoon, Jin Qingyan wrapped up and set off to the museum together with An Xiaoning. When they bumped into Hu Xin, who had yet to get off from work, Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning simply walked past her hand-in-hand, without acknowledging her presence at all. Chapter 1006 - Perplexed and Smitten (66)

Chapter 1006: Perplexed and Smitten (66)

Hu Xin watched as they left while interlocking fingers. His aloofness did not match the behavior he had exhibited when he was having dinner at her house previously. Hu Xin could not help but feel like it was all just a dream. An Xiaoning handed her car keys to the bodyguards and instructed them to drive her car home while she and Jin Qingyan set off to the museum in thetter¡¯s car. Upon arriving, they were led by staff members of the museum to the exhibition area where the corpse was being put on disy. The corpse had been handled very well and she looked just like she was sleeping, except she was pale and ghastly. Jin Qingyan stared at the features of the corpse and found that she was a ssic oriental beauty. They were just there to take a look. An Xiaoning asked the staff member, ¡°Will the media personnel and reporters be here to snap some photos and videos before the exhibition opens tomorrow? Or will they be conducting a live-stream instead?¡± ¡°They¡¯ve already taken some photos that would be broadcast on the news tonight. In addition, they¡¯ll be conducting a live-stream tomorrow during the exhibition.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. Thank you for the trouble. We¡¯re heading back now.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± After leaving the museum, the pair headed to a restaurant for dinner. At the same time, Long Tianze and Mei Yangyang left Wei Ni Estate in their car. They were headed to a beautiful location that had a picturesque night view in a bid to take a breather. Upon arriving at their destination, they alighted and sat down on a bench. While they were enjoying the view, an idea came to Long Tianze¡¯s mind all of a sudden and he insisted on roleying with her then and there. Mei Yangyang nced at him and asked, ¡°What roles would you like to y? The old viger and the coquettish widow? Or a man and his neighbor¡¯s wife? Or the bunny girl and her master?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s y the neighbor one. We rarely get into those roles. This time, you muste up with something special to spice things up.¡± It was a piece of cake for Mei Yangyang. ¡°Why don¡¯t we y the adulterous pair and pretend that we were caught this time? You shall y both my neighbor and the person who caught us.¡± Long Tianze smirked and said, ¡°Hmph, watch how I unleash my potential. But you first have to act like you¡¯re resisting.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± He stood up and instantly got into his role as the man next door. Speaking with a pompous and idle tone, he asked, ¡°Yangyang, did your husband go to work again?¡± ¡°Yeah. Why are you here again? I¡¯ve already told you before that I¡¯ll have nothing to do with you again. I must be loyal to my husband!¡± Mei Yangyang eximed, crossing one leg over the other. Long Tianze raised her chin with his hand and said, ¡°That husband of yours can¡¯t satisfy you at all. What do you want him for? I¡¯m the one who can pleasure you.¡± Just as he was about to kiss Mei Yangyang, she dodged him quickly and stood up. Scowling at him, she retorted, ¡°Just what do you want? I already said that I¡¯ll have nothing to do with you from now on. Are you deaf?¡± ¡°Hot-tempered women like you usually tend to be sexually frustrated,¡± he said, cing his hands on her shoulders. ¡°I¡¯m going to scream if you keep behaving that way!¡± ¡°Go ahead...¡± He pushed her onto the bench again. ¡°No, no... help me! Help!¡± Mei Yangyang pretended to struggle for a short while before letting him continue to take liberties with her. ¡°Oh no, my husband ising home soon. Hurry and get out!¡± He was even more thrilled and excited after hearing her yell. ¡°Continue yelling, go on...¡± ¡°No, what if my husband finds out? I¡¯m scared...¡± ¡°Pretty babe, don¡¯t be afraid. I¡¯m here to protect you. I¡¯ll give you some warmth every night.¡± Right as they both climaxed, they heard a sudden voice approaching from afar. ¡°I heard someone calling for help just now!¡± the voice yelled. The married pair looked at each other in shock and dismay and immediately got inside the car. Just as Long Tianze revved up the engine, they heard the voice saying, ¡°Did ite from this car?¡± He drove away immediately. ¡°It must be that car, hurry and call the cops!¡± ¡°...¡± The voices slowly began to fade. Long Tianze blurted, ¡°Had I known earlier, I would¡¯ve just gotten you to y a corpse.¡± ¡°Hubby, what do we do if they really call the police?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, we¡¯ll talk when we get home.¡± To their astonishment, the moment they entered Wei Ni Estate, Fan Shixin yelled to stop him. ¡°Mr. Long,¡± said Fan Shixin. Long Tianze stepped on the brakes and rolled down the window. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Young Sir said that you made it onto the news and he wants you to go home and look at it.¡± ¡°The news?¡± Long Tianze immediately drove the car into the yard of his mansion, after which they hurriedly switched on theptop to scroll through thetest news. A female reporter was already conducting a live-stream report about the incident at the scene where they had gotten intimate with each other. ¡°This is the crime scene where the suspect hadmitted the act. The police have already begun investigations based on the evidence left behind at the scene. Please stay tuned for further updates and progress of the case. I believe we will get to the bottom of the truth very soon. The perpetrator must be punished severely by thew.¡± Mei Yangyang immediately said, ¡°The police and reporters have... I must go opposite for a while and get Sis to call the police station. Otherwise, we¡¯re going to be so embarrassed and disgraced if we get exposed on the media. It¡¯s all your fault for insisting that we engage in roley at such a ce. Great, now we¡¯re in trouble. How am I supposed to face anyone if we get exposed?¡± Long Tianze retorted, ¡°You were the one who was yelling in pleasure, howe you¡¯re ming me now? Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll go opposite together.¡± Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning were actively talking about the vehicle they saw on the news when Long Tianze and Mei Yangyang arrived. Upon the sight of their arrival, An Xiaoning said, ¡°The police have already checked the surveince camera footages and announced your car to the media. Qingyan immediately recognized that it belonged to you.¡± ¡°Sis, hurry and help us keep the situation in control,¡± Mei Yangyang said impatiently. ¡°I just called them, it¡¯ll be fine.¡± Mei Yangyang heaved a sigh of relief and red at Long Tianze before sitting beside An Xiaoning. ¡°You people really know how to have fun. Mr. Long, you¡¯re so full of ideas, eh? Please impart some skills to me,¡± Jin Qingyan said nonchntly, as if he knew nothing at all. Long Tianze smiled at him sarcastically and joked, ¡°Sure, I shall teach you personally. Do you dare to take it up?¡± Mei Yangyang glowered at him again and chided, ¡°You¡¯re so callous with your words. Be careful, Sis might just cut your tongue off and feed it to the dogs.¡± ¡°Your sister is not going to be so heartless. Hey, Fool, shall we y the role of a plumber and a customer? I¡¯m great at roleying. You may try me.¡± Jin Qingyan hissed, ¡°Scram.¡± Long Tianze guffawed and said, ¡°By the way, we haven¡¯t seen Ciye in a long time. He¡¯s a father-to-be now. I heard that Qingyue is expecting a boy. Ciye is over the moon, he can¡¯t stop smiling at all.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if he can stop smiling or not, but you can¡¯t right now.¡± Long Tianze stretched his back and said, ¡°It¡¯s so warm in the summer. Qingyan, let¡¯s go to the vi to escape from the heat. Let¡¯s rx and enjoy life.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m busytely.¡± ¡°You¡¯re busy all the time. Can you finish spending all the money you earn? If you can¡¯t, do share some with me. I¡¯ll squander them away for you.¡± Jin Qingyan brushed him off, ¡°Dream on.¡± ¡°...¡± Chapter 1007 - Perplexed and Smitten (67)

Chapter 1007: Perplexed and Smitten (67)

The exhibition opened today, and the media reporters were conducting a live-stream of the showcased corpse, which was the most well-preserved one amongst all of those that had been found from ancient graves. There was a huge turnout at the exhibition, with swarms of visitors vying to take a glimpse, including Fang En, who had just finished moving in the afternoon. Fang En only decided to visit the museum to take a look at the exhibition after hearing about it on the newsst night. There were several other tourists like her. She and her assistant Xiao Yue entered the museum again after purchasing tickets. ¡°Sis, this is the first time in my life that I¡¯m visiting a museum. What a fresh experience.¡± ¡°Me too. We came today with the sole purpose of viewing the centuries-old female corpse. It should be over there, let¡¯s go take a look.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The two of them walked toward the crowd and discovered that there was a snake-like queue. Fang En was looking forward to seeing the corpse, and she eagerly wanted to find out if the corpse was in the same condition as mentioned in the news. After they¡¯d been waiting for half an hour, it was finally their turn to view the corpse. Fang En craned her neck and looked toward the railing. She shrieked in shock the moment she saw the appearance of the female corpse. ¡°Xiao Yue, look, it looks just like a real person. Has she really been dead for centuries?¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s real. I didn¡¯t expect that ancient preservation techniques would be so potent. This girl is so beautiful,¡± Xiao Yue eximed. ¡°I think so too.¡± Fang En scanned the corpse from head to toe, thinking to herself that she had gotten her money¡¯s worth. Her initial intention was only to view the corpse anyway. Thus, they left shortly after looking at the exhibit. The museum had an eerie vibe and was rather chilly, unlike the hot and humid weather outside. ¡°Sis, where are we going now?¡± ¡°Nowhere. Let¡¯s go home. I¡¯ve been restingtely. Soon I won¡¯t be able to rest much anymore.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t sleep wellst night.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I spent the whole ofst night engaging in a keyboard war with your haters. If the government enforces a rule whereby allizens are not allowed to remain anonymous and instead have to state clearly their actual name and address, who¡¯d still dare to be so brazen with their maliciousments online? Some women may seem innocent and demure on the surface, but their evil side shows when they¡¯re hiding behind the screen and berating others online. That¡¯s all because they have the choice to remain anonymous.¡± ¡°You battled them for the entire night? How are you so free? Don¡¯t bother getting yourself upset and infuriated at night or you¡¯ll hinder yourself from getting enough rest,¡± said Fang En. ¡°She was just too vicious and callous. I couldn¡¯t stand her haughty ways at all.¡± Noticing how indignant Xiao Yue was, Fang En said, ¡°Simmer down. There¡¯s an ice cream parlor over there, let¡¯s go get some.¡± The two of them got inside the nanny van after buying some ice cream and embarked on their journey home. Shortly after they arrived at the estate, the air conditioner and refrigerator that they had purchased in the morning were delivered to her doorstep. The temperature in the apartment was cooled down soon after they switched on the brand new air conditioner. Fang En said, ¡°I made the payment for this apartmentst night and received the passcode to the door. All the necessary arrangements have been made too. I finally have a house of my own now.¡± ¡°Sis, housing is getting so expensive nowadays. Your two-bedder costs more than three million dors, yet it¡¯s not exactly spacious either. I can probably never afford one for the rest of my life.¡± ¡°Three million is considered to be rather cheap. After all, it¡¯s a secondhand apartment. ording to the current market prices, brand new ones are going to cost at least 40 to 50 thousand dors per square meter.¡± Xiao Yue helped her tidy the rooms and said, ¡°I doubt I can buy one on my own. I just hope that my future husband owns a house. That way, I won¡¯t have to worry about having a roof over my head anymore.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. Having a house is a basic need that must be fulfilled before marriage nowadays.¡± ¡°But Sis, aren¡¯t you and Yan Ge going to install grilles in the windows of your balconies? Although the balcony is ratherrge and high, I still think it¡¯s better to be safe.¡± ¡°The balcony railing is about a meter high. It won¡¯t be that easy to fall over. I think it¡¯s better not to install any window grilles. When autumnes, I shall ce a couch on the balcony and enjoy the breeze at night. If I get married in the future and live here with my husband, I¡¯ll definitely have to install some grilles. After all, it¡¯d be dangerous for children.¡± ¡°Sis, you definitely wouldn¡¯t get married early. Look at all the celebrities right now, they¡¯re all getting married and bearing children at ater age. You¡¯ll probably only get married in your thirties.¡± ¡°I¡¯m actually... not that career-minded. However, I wonder if Sis Yangyang and Sis Xiaoning are going to reprimand me if they hear me saying this,¡± she said with a smile. Xiao Yue said, ¡°No, no, I think they¡¯ll definitely beat you to death straight away. It¡¯s tough pushing an artiste to fame. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll drive them to their graves if you end up being sessful and get married at the peak of your career.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not get too ahead of ourselves. I don¡¯t even have a boyfriend now, let alone a fianc¨¦.¡± Xiao Yue put the broom aside and said softly, ¡°Sis En, isn¡¯t now a good timing?¡± Seemingly having understood what she meant, Fang En said straight away, ¡°We¡¯re ipatible in terms of socio-economic background. It¡¯s impossible between us.¡± ¡°Why are you so pessimistic? What¡¯s wrong with being ipatible in terms of background? The royals of other countries are starting to marrymoners too. Can his family bepared to the royals? Sis En, actually, I could already tell long ago,¡± Xiao Yue said in puzzlement. ¡°What could you tell?¡± ¡°That you fancy Yan Ge.¡± ¡°Which eye of yours told you so?¡± Xiao Yue chuckled and said, ¡°Both of them. The media doesn¡¯t seem to know about you moving into the apartment opposite his yet. When the news gets out, his fans are going to be so jealous of you.¡± ¡°More like drown me in their castigations. They¡¯re definitely going to call me a scheming bitch and use me of purchasing the apartment opposite his on purpose. Those haters are going to fire their maliciousments at me like a machine gun. I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t keep this under wraps for too long and it¡¯s going to be exposed on the news very soon.¡± Noticing that she had closed her eyes, Xiao Yue asked, ¡°Sis En, are you sleepy?¡± ¡°Yes, a little.¡± ¡°Go take a nap, then.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing for us to do now anyway. Xiao Yue, you should go back too. Get some rest while things are not too busy yet.¡± ¡°Yes! I¡¯m going home now then, Sis En.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Fang En answered with her eyes closed. It¡¯s warm... So warm... So, so warm... It¡¯s seriously so warm... Fang En was puzzled about why it was so warm when she remembered clearly that the air conditioner was switched on. She sat up straight, only to discover that she was in a steamer, causing her to shriek in terror and leap off of it. Am I getting steamed alive? ¡°Hah... idiot,¡± a man¡¯s voice filled her ears. Who¡¯s that? Who¡¯s talking to me? Fang En turned her head around and scanned her surroundings, only to see that there was no one else around. All of a sudden, she was hugged tightly by a buff figure. ¡°Who¡¯s there!?! Let go of me!¡± Try as she might, Fang En could not move at all. She felt a hand wandering about her body incessantly. Chapter 1008 - Perplexed and Smitten (68)

Chapter 1008: Perplexed and Smitten (68)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She froze in shock and tensed up to the point that she could not move an inch. ¡°Let go of me, let go of me!¡± ¡°...¡± She did not get any response and could only feel the man pressing his body against hers and groping her continuously. Fang En was frightened out of her senses and continuously screamed for help until she finally woke up. She stared at her apartment, perplexed and unable to recover from the shock. She took a look at the clock on the wall and discovered that she had taken a nap for only half an hour. Drenched in sweat, she discovered that the air conditioner was switched off. She initially thought that Xiao Yue had switched it off while on her way out. To her astonishment, there was a ckout! Fang En almost stopped breathing. Why did I dream of a man... She could not figure out why she had dreamed of such a scene all of a sudden. Could it be that the previous owner of the apartment had died in here? The thought of it sent a cold shiver down Fang En¡¯s spine, and she immediately pressed Yan Ge¡¯s doorbell. ¡°What¡¯s wrong...¡± Fang En asked, ¡°Did any of the previous upants die in my apartment?¡± Yan Ge answered with a squint, ¡°Did anyone die? No.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Of course I¡¯m sure. What¡¯s wrong?¡± Fang En finally heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°I had a nightmare, so I thought...¡± ¡°What nightmare...¡± ¡°Well...¡± She shook her head and continued, ¡°Nothing much, it was just a little terrifying.¡± ¡°I¡¯m about to go out now but there¡¯s a ckout. Do you want toe along?¡± ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°To the supermarket downstairs. There¡¯s an electricity generator there so the air conditioner is still on. I also need to buy some groceries.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go with you, my refrigerator is empty. Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± They headed to the supermarket downstairs. Yan Ge only had a few things to buy and thus didn¡¯t need to use a shopping cart, unlike Fang En, who had a long list of items on her shopping list. They seemed just like a couple. Although they were both wearing surgical masks, there were still people who had recognized them and snapped some photos of them together. Upon realizing that, Fang En said to Yan Ge, ¡°Let¡¯s shop and pay separately.¡± They then left separately. The power in the estate was still not restored by the time they were done shopping. Thus, they decided to stand outside the entrance of the supermarket to enjoy the air conditioning while Fang En snacked on some low-calorie snacks that she had bought. ¡°Do you want some snacks?¡± ¡°No.¡± Fang En did not say anything else. ¡°Do you think those photos of us will be uploaded to the inte?¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. Aren¡¯t we allowed to have private lives at all?¡± he said calmly. ¡°It may not matter to you but it matters to me...¡± Fang En lowered her voice and continued, ¡°I don¡¯t have a huge bunch of loyal fans like you do. Your army of fans are going to rip me apart.¡± He burst intoughter and jested, ¡°Why don¡¯t you say that they¡¯re going to devour you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not impossible either. I can¡¯t even take a nap in peace. Why hasn¡¯t the electricity been restored yet?¡± shemented impatiently. ¡°Why are you so impatient? The ckout is not going tost for very long. ckouts hardly ever happen, unless there¡¯s a power trip or something wrong with the power circuit. They¡¯re probably repairing the faults now.¡± Fang En had no choice but to wait patiently. ¡ª An Xiaoning and Tuoba Gucheng sat opposite each other in the room. They were now in the room that Tuoba Gucheng used to live in when An Xiaoning first entered the Autumn Pce. ¡°Are you enjoying this? You¡¯ve made me apleteughingstock. Why don¡¯t you just kill me?¡± said Tuoba Gucheng, staring at her. After a moment of silence, An Xiaoning gibed, ¡°Nothing will matter anymore once you¡¯re dead. Isn¡¯t it great to be alive? You tried to kill me several times and yet I¡¯m not after your life now. Shouldn¡¯t you be thanking me?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t ever thank you even if I¡¯m dead. Dream on. If there¡¯s nothing else you want to say to me, just leave now,¡± Tuoba Gucheng said with a frown, clearly having resigned himself to fate. An Xiaoning stood up and said, ¡°Just stay here obediently. At the very least, you¡¯re being treated better than your mother and grandfather.¡± ¡°Xiaoning...¡± ¡°Yes?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°I didn¡¯t really intend to kill you in the past but I still did it in the end. There¡¯s nothing else I have to say.¡± Tuoba Gucheng had lost a significant amount of weight and now looked extremely haggard. ¡°If you¡¯d be my woman, none of this would¡¯ve happened, right? Perhaps it wouldn¡¯t have been revealed that we¡¯re biological siblings, perhaps you would have given up on Jin Qingyan, perhaps Shishi and I would have gotten a divorce and I would have married you. Perhaps I would still have been the president and you the First Lady. However, it¡¯s all otherwise because you weren¡¯t willing. You¡¯ve devoted yourself to Jin Qingyanpletely. He¡¯s really lucky.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not because I¡¯m unwilling; rather, it¡¯s because you keep forcing me against my wishes. You and I are only fated to be siblings, nothing more. If it weren¡¯t because of your obstinance, you would still have been the president today. If you hadn¡¯t indulged the Lin family by choosing not to stop them, you would still have had Shishi and your child. And yet, all you¡¯re doing is me me for it. Have you really reflected on your mistakes?¡± ¡°Even though things havee to this and I¡¯ve been reduced to this state, you still have a special ce in my heart. I fell in love with you before I even found out that you were my half-sister. Had I found out about our blood rtion before you entered the Autumn Pce, I wouldn¡¯t have fancied you at all. In a nutshell, you¡¯re a major obstacle in my life that I was fated to face.¡± ¡°Although you¡¯re Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s son, I never wanted to kill you at the start. Neither did I want to turn my back against the Lin family and be enemies with them. But you people were the ones who drove me into a corner and pushed me over the edge. I would¡¯ve been killed by you guys if I hadn¡¯t retaliated. I didn¡¯t have a choice. It¡¯s up to you to resent me if you want to. Anyway, you won¡¯t be the only person who hates me and wants me dead.¡± He remained quiet for a moment and said, ¡°You may leave. We don¡¯t have to see each other again for the rest of our lives. This shall be the end of everything.¡± She strode out of the door and closed it. She made her way to the backyard. An Xiaoning looked up at the zing sun, which was extremely ring. Bang! An Xiaoning heard the sound of a gunshoting from his bedroom on the second floor. An Xiaoning looked up at the window and hurriedly headed to the second floor again. A few bodyguards followed her. She pushed the door open with all her might. An Xiaoning was greeted with the sight of Tuoba Gucheng lying motionless on the bed with his eyes half-open, unable to speak at all. Strangely, she began tearing up all of a sudden. ¡°Why... I didn¡¯t want you to die.¡± Struggling to speak with his veryst breath, he murmured, ¡°But I don¡¯t want to live alone anymore...¡± As soon as he finished speaking, he gazed at her longingly for thest time before closing his eyes. An Xiaoning stood rooted to the ground and watched as the blood from the bullet hole on his chest seeped into the fabric of his clothes. She watched his soul leave his body, smiling at her onest time before darting out of the window and vanishing out of sight. ¡°Bury the corpse.¡± Those were herst words said in the Autumn Pce. .... The news of Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s death was not reported by the media because the leaders of the Autumn Pce did not n to release anyments or information regarding the incident. Chapter 1009 - Perplexed and Smitten (69)

Chapter 1009: Perplexed and Smitten (69)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios There was only a small number of insiders who knew about it, amongst which were Tuoba Hancheng and Feng Qiubai, who were both shell-shocked. They both felt that An Xiaoning was the one who had killed Tuoba Gucheng. After a thorough discussion with her family, Feng Qiubai decided to divorce Tuoba Hancheng. Tuoba Gucheng agreed to the divorce because he was never interested in women and thought as well that their marriage was forced and pointless. They swiftly got divorced the day after the discussion. The divorce didn¡¯t quite affect them, apart from changing their marital statuses and making them be divorcees. An Xiaoning responded to the news with a courteous smile. However, she was filled with an inexplicable mix of emotions regarding Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s death. It was not that she had feelings for him; rather, she merely recalled the entire course of events from the very first time they met to when he decided to take his own life. ¡°Boss, that fellow is calling you again!¡± An Xiaoning took a look at the caller disy to see that it was a call from an unknown number. ¡°Hello, who¡¯s speaking?¡± Hu Xin answered, ¡°It¡¯s me. An Xiaoning, don¡¯t you think you¡¯re too despicable? You actually made Mr. Jin give me the sack. Do you really have such little confidence in yourself? Are you afraid that I¡¯ll snatch him away? I went through an interview andnded myself that job via the proper channel. What right do you have to fire me without a valid reason?¡± ¡°Who told you that I was the one who made him sack you? Hu Xin, I don¡¯t care what you are. Even if he makes you his secretary, I wouldn¡¯t intervene in spite of the fact that I detest you. I¡¯m full of confidence, in case you¡¯re wondering. I don¡¯t know where you got my number from but I¡¯m warning you, stop telling me all these nonsense. Go talk to your bosses since it was thepany¡¯s decision to fire you. There¡¯s no use looking for me.¡± Hu Xin flew into a rage and ended the call without another word. I¡¯m not short of cash, but... At the thought of the dismissal notice she had received, Hu Xin picked up her bag and stormed off to the Jin Corporation office building. She did not enter, not wanting to lose her pride and dignity. Instead, she headed to the carpark to wait. After waiting for a long time, she finally caught sight of Jin Qingyan, who had just gotten off from work and was walking toward the car park with his bodyguards. He proceeded to walk toward his car despite having noticed her presence. Hu Xin stepped forward and called him, ¡°Mr. Jin.¡± Jin Qingyan looked up and asked, ¡°Ms. Hu, what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Why did you sack me? What did I do wrong? I need a reason.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t ever give my former employees any reasons for firing them. The reason I gave them the sack is simply because they¡¯re not suitable for working in mypany, be it as a janitor or the Vice CEO. Besides, I¡¯ve already instructed the Human Resources Department to issue you triple the amount of your sry. It¡¯s easy to get a job as a janitor right now. I suggest you look around elsewhere for job vacancies, Ms. Hu.¡± His attitude and tone were nothing like those of the person who had gone to her house for noodles. ¡°Why are you so erratic? You were singing my praises when you were at my ce for noodles and yet you¡¯re chasing me out of yourpany now. A janitor is indeed not a high-skilled job and there¡¯s an abundance of vacancies for this position everywhere. However, how could I not be upset to be fired all of a sudden? Mr. Jin, I really can¡¯t figure out what you¡¯re thinking. You clearly detest An Xiaoning and yet you still got intimate with her. You¡¯re clearly repulsed by her...¡± Before she could even finish, two bodyguards who were standing at 1.9 meters hurriedly covered her mouth and dragged her away. They pulled it off in one fluid motion with much finesse. Jin Qingyan did not bother looking at her and got inside his car immediately. Does my second personality detest the love of my life? He prayed fervently that his second personality would never surface again. At this point, he wanted nothing more than to get his condition treated and recover as soon as possible. He tightened his grip on the steering wheel. On the way home, he called Fan Shixin and put on his earphones. ¡°Find me a new therapist who¡¯s a professor in this field.¡± ¡°I¡¯m currently in the midst of finding you one. However, it¡¯s rather difficult because this condition is rare and there are so few experts who specialize in treating it. Nheless, I¡¯ll try my best.¡± ¡°Alright. Is your Young Madam home right now?¡± ¡°I saw her going for a swim just now.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± He pulled out his earphones and continued driving home at a steady pace. Once he drove into the yard of his mansion, he caught sight of the sharp-eyed Xiao Bai running toward him. ¡°Young Sir, would you like to park the car inside the garage?¡± ¡°Yes, my keys are in there. Park it inside.¡± ¡°Yes, yes.¡± An Xiaoning was in the midst of an enjoyable swim when she noticed his arrival. She swam toward the metal staircase swiftly like a fish and grabbed onto the railings. ¡°You¡¯re done with work?¡± she said. Jin Qingyan squatted down and tucked her wet hair behind her ear. ¡°You seem to be in a great mood today. What¡¯s the asion?¡± Needless to say, she would not tell him that she was happy because he had fired Hu Xin. ¡°It makes me happy to see you. It¡¯s been some time since we saw Yiheng and Rongyan. Shall we go pick them up and have dinner outsideter?¡± ¡°Of course, that would be great.¡± ¡°Wait for me to get changed, then.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After instructing Auntie Chen not to prepare dinner, the pair proceeded to pick their sons up for dinner at a fine-dining restaurant. ¡°Daddy, you and Mommy have gone overboard!¡± Jin Yiheng snapped, releasing his pent-up anger. ¡°How have I gone overboard?¡± Jin Qingyan asked. Jin Yiheng groused, ¡°You and Mommy only care about spending time together alone by yourselves. Have you ever thought about us, your poor sons? You only visit us once in a blue moon. Are we even your children? Am I just an item you bought online, Mommy?¡± Jin Qingyan gave him the side-eye and said, ¡°Bought online? Can we return you in exchange for a new one, then?¡± Jin Yiheng gasped in shock before snapping angrily, ¡°Don¡¯t tell others that you¡¯re my father! I¡¯m ashamed to have such an irresponsible father like you!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, others will say that you¡¯re my son.¡± ¡°...¡± After ordering some food, An Xiaoning handed the menu back to the waiter. Her phone then began vibrating continuously all of a sudden. She retrieved it from her bag and picked up immediately the moment she saw that it was a call from Mei Yangyang. ¡°Yangyang, what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Rumors of En and Yan Ge being in a rtionship were leaked yesterday. Yan Ge ignored the news reports and I told En not to give any response. After all, if she were to respond, Yan Ge¡¯s fans would definitely use her of pulling a publicity stunt. That¡¯ll greatly affect the television series. We can wait until the television series finishes its broadcast before rifying things, but things have been blown out of proportion and are getting out of hand. There are even rumors of them cohabiting since a long time ago, iming that they¡¯re spected to be married soon. That¡¯s why I really can¡¯t decide what to do now. Should we rify matters or continue waiting?¡± After hearing her words, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°I saw the news yesterday too. But why did she buy an apartment that¡¯s so close to Yan Ge¡¯s? She must have developed feelings for him, haven¡¯t she?¡± ¡°I think so.¡± Chapter 1010 - Perplexed and Smitten (70)

Chapter 1010: Perplexed and Smitten (70)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Let¡¯s just ignore it for now. Didn¡¯t Yan Ge also refuse to make anyment? We¡¯ll let him do the rification if he feels disturbed.¡± ¡°Alright, that works too. Sis, I went to look for you at your ce just now but you weren¡¯t in. Where did you go?¡± ¡°We went out for dinner with the children.¡± ¡°Hehe, enjoy your meal, then, I won¡¯t disturb you any longer.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± After ending the call, she received yet another one from Fang En. An Xiaoning initially thought that she had called to talk to her about the rumors. To her surprise, it was not about that at all. ¡°Sis Xiaoning, could youe over to my ce and see if it¡¯s haunted by any spirits?¡± ¡°Spirits?¡± She nodded and exined, ¡°For three consecutive days, I¡¯ve been dreaming of a man... I can¡¯t exin it clearly over the phone. Could you make a trip down here?¡± ¡°Alright, but I¡¯m having dinner now. I¡¯ll go over once I¡¯m done eating. Okay?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll wait for you. I live in Block C of Qingyuan Estate.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After ending the call, Fang En sat on a chair in the estate, feeling extremely tense. She could not help but feel petrified at the thought of the dreams she¡¯d been having for the past few days. The moment she woke up from her dream in the evening, she grabbed her mobile phone and scurried outside to get a grip on her emotions. She then called An Xiaoning after sitting down for a long while in a bid to recover from the shock. Forty minutester, An Xiaoning alighted from a taxi upon arriving at Qingyuan Estate. Jin Qingyan drove the children home while she made her way there on her own. ¡°En.¡± ¡°Sis.¡± Fang En hurriedly scurried toward her and grabbed her hand. ¡°I was really frightened.¡± ¡°Just what happened?¡± ¡°Sis, have a seat and I¡¯ll tell you what happened before we go upstairs.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning sat down beside her. ¡°Here¡¯s what happened. Xiao Yue and I went to visit the exhibit of the female corpse at the museum yesterday. I don¡¯t know if I brought home any supernatural beings with me or what but I¡¯ve been dreaming of the same voice and scenario for the past few days...¡± ¡°What voice and scenario?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°It was a man¡¯s voice that sounded rather nice, but he...¡± Feeling a little embarrassed, Fang En continued, ¡°He actually molested me and even tried to force himself upon me. I tried to struggle with all my might and I woke up afterward.¡± ¡°Did you manage to see his face?¡± ¡°No. He always hugs me from behind, and there was no way for me to turn around and catch a glimpse of his face.¡± ¡°There are many ancient relics in the museum and it¡¯s indeed very eerie. I¡¯m still not sure if there are any spirits that followed you home. Let¡¯s go upstairs to take a look.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Fang En grabbed her hand and followed her into the lobby. Fang En¡¯s hands were trembling when she was pressing the digits of the passcode, as if there were really supernatural spirits haunting her apartment. Fang En switched on the lights when she entered the apartment, after which An Xiaoning took a careful look at each of the rooms as well as the balcony, only to discover that there were no spirits in the apartment at all. ¡°There weren¡¯t any.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Fang En asked. ¡°There really aren¡¯t any. How about I apany you for tonight? We¡¯ll see if you still get those dreams, alright?¡± ¡°Thank you, Sis. That¡¯d be great, of course, but if you don¡¯t go home, Mr. Jin...¡± ¡°No problem, it¡¯s only going to be for a night. Perhaps the spirits left when you were absent from home. I¡¯ll apany you for a night.¡± Fang En finally felt less afraid. ¡°I haven¡¯t had dinner yet, I¡¯ll go fix something to eat. Sis, would you like to have some too?¡± ¡°Nah, I¡¯ve already eaten.¡± Fang En put on her apron and headed inside the kitchen to cook herself a bowl of tomato and egg noodles. She then sat on the couch and ced the bowl of noodles onto the coffee table to allow it to cool. ¡°Your apartment is pretty neat and tidy. I can tell that you¡¯ve put lots of effort into it. En, were there many visitors at the exhibit in the museum?¡± ¡°Yes, they were all there to look at the female corpse. Sis, that corpse was so well preserved that she looks like she had just passed away recently. She was really beautiful too. At least I didn¡¯t make a wasted trip, except... I¡¯ve been dreaming of the same scenario for several days in a row. I find it absolutely terrifying and spooky. I wonder if the other visitors encountered the same fate as me.¡± An Xiaoning stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go downstairs to get a toothbrush. Have your noodles first.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± The two of them shared the same bed at night, giving Fang En a huge sense of security. ¡°Sis, do you think I¡¯m being haunted by spirits?¡± ¡°I think you¡¯re just having a regr dream. Spirits are not allowed toe out in broad daylight. It¡¯s not very likely that you¡¯re being haunted,¡± An Xiaoning exined. Fang En asked in astonishment, ¡°It¡¯s just a regr dream? But why did I dream of the same thing for several consecutive days? Besides, it¡¯s all... Could it be that my body is reminding me that it¡¯s time I got into a rtionship?¡± An Xiaoning chuckled and said, ¡°That¡¯s possible too. By the way, I forgot to tell you earlier, but if you dream of him again, do try tomunicate with him.¡± ¡°Communicate about what?¡± ¡°Try sounding him out.¡± Fang En instantly understood what she meant. However, she did not dream of that scenario again that night. She woke up feeling fresh and energized. Meanwhile, An Xiaoning was still asleep. She called softly, ¡°Sis Xiaoning.¡± ¡°Yes? Did you have any dreamsst night?¡± An Xiaoning asked while opening her eyes. ¡°There weren¡¯t any.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Fang En frantically got out of bed to make breakfast. An Xiaoning initially did not want to stay. However, Fang En insisted that she have some breakfast before leaving. Right after An Xiaoning left, the doorbell began to ring. Fang En thought that An Xiaoning had returned. To her surprise, it was someone else. ¡°Ms. Yu...¡± ¡°Could you invite me in for a seat?¡± ¡°Sure, of course. Hurry ande inside,¡± Fang En said gently. Yu Caiwei entered and scanned her surroundings, only to discover that the furbishing was rather simple and a far cry from being luxurious or extravagant. She took a seat while Fang En poured her a cup of tea. ¡°What brings you here?¡± ¡°Nothing, I just wanted to verify something.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Are you and Yan Ge really going to get married?¡± Fang En answered, ¡°Ms. Yu, you and I have met only once during the end-production celebratory dinner. We don¡¯t quite know each other. What makes you think I¡¯ll tell you about my personal life?¡± Yu Caiwei did not expect her to respond that way. ¡°I heard that Yan Ge got engaged previously but he broke it off again soon after. Don¡¯t tell me, it was because of you?¡± ¡°You may ask Yan Ge directly if you want to find out the truth.¡± ¡°Would I havee to ask you if I could even enter his house?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t even enter his house and yet you¡¯re still so concerned about his private life. I wonder what your intentions are, Ms. Yu. Or rather, who are you to be concerned?¡± Yu Caiwei smiled and said, ¡°To be honest with you, Yan Ge and I were once in love with each other but we had to break up because of our parents¡¯ objections. Chapter 1011 - Perplexed and Smitten (71)

Chapter 1011: Perplexed and Smitten (71)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I¡¯ve already guessed that.¡± ¡°Frankly speaking, I¡¯ve also gotten a private investigator to do a background check on you. I found out that your family background... is far worse than mine. I¡¯m not trying to mock you or anything. What I¡¯m trying to say is, if Yan Ge¡¯s parents are dissatisfied with a background like mine, there¡¯s no way they¡¯ll ept yours. There won¡¯t be a future for you guys if you¡¯re ipatible in terms of status and background. Not wanting to argue with her, Fang En said, ¡°Ms. Yu, in due time, you¡¯ll find out what the exact situation is. If there¡¯s nothing else you have to say to me, please go back. There isn¡¯t much for us to talk about, Ms. Yu.¡± There was no point for Yu Caiwei to stay any longer since Fang En had already made things clear. She stood up and drawled, ¡°You¡¯re making it sound as if I¡¯m being nosy. Forget it.¡± Yu Caiwei left while Fang En leaned against the door and watched her enter the elevator. In the blink of an eye, the door opposite hers opened. Standing by the door, Yan Ge asked, ¡°What did she say to you?¡± ¡°You saw everything through the peephole?¡± ¡°She wanted to see me but I didn¡¯t let her in. I then saw her going inside your apartment. What did she say to you?¡± he asked, remaining cool andposed. ¡°She said some really strange things to me and she seemed to really have believed the rumors on the news. She also told me that you two used to be in a rtionship but your parents objected to it because of her family background and that your parents definitely wouldn¡¯t ept me.¡± ¡°Did she say anything else?¡± he asked with a frown. ¡°No.¡± ¡°How did you answer her?¡± ¡°What else could I possibly say? I just told her that she¡¯ll get the clear picture in due time. But...¡± Fang En paused before continuing, ¡°Did her parents and yours really oppose to your rtionship and made you two break up with each other?¡± ¡°That¡¯s only one of the reasons for our breakup.¡± ¡°Oh. I¡¯m going back in,¡± she said sluggishly. He did not utter another word and watched as she entered her apartment. ¡ª It was Bu Xianxian¡¯s first time seeing Shi Bao¡¯er again ever since the pesticide incident. Staring at the seven-year-old, Bu Xianxian gritted her teeth and questioned, ¡°Tell me, why did you add pesticides to my cosmetic products?¡± Shi Bao¡¯er retorted, ¡°You shameless hussy, I really want to ruin that face of yours!¡± Bu Xianxian smirked smugly and said, ¡°Well, but you didn¡¯t get your wishes. I really didn¡¯t expect you to be so vicious at such a young age. Your mother has remarried, and I may not be your mother but I¡¯ll discipline you on your father¡¯s behalf. I¡¯ll teach you to have manners and obey instructions.¡± Shi Bao¡¯erpletely disregarded her words and retorted, ¡°You may not be my mother, but you¡¯re staying in my house and pestering my father every day. You¡¯re not a member of my family and yet you¡¯re living in my house. I¡¯ll let you know what the rules are.¡± It was rather amusing to hear such words from a young child, for it came off as senseless and frivolous. Bu Xianxian gibed in amusement, ¡°Seriously? You?¡± ¡°Yes, me.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er did not say anything else. Not bothered by her at all, Bu Xianxian headed upstairs to take a nap. She locked the bedroom door from the inside. Just as Bu Xianxian stepped inside the room, Shi Bao¡¯er made her way downstairs. Due to the pesticide incident, Shi Shaochuan had instructed the servants to store all the poisons and pesticides properly in a ce that¡¯s out of Shi Bao¡¯er¡¯s reach. Thus, Shi Bao¡¯er could not find any weapons that she could use, even after taking a walk around the house. After racking her brains, she finally came up with a feasible n to deal with Bu Xianxian. Knock, knock. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± asked Bu Xianxian, who had justin down in the bed. ¡°Auntie, it¡¯s me.¡± Bu Xianxian was dumbfounded to hear her polite greeting. She was so rude and brazen with me just a moment ago, why does she seem like apletely different person now? She answered the door and stared at Shi Bao¡¯er. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°Auntie, my stomach hurts. Could you take me to the hospital?¡± ¡°Oh? You decided to stop being so sharp-tongued just because your stomach hurts? Didn¡¯t you say that I¡¯m an intruder and that you¡¯re going to teach me what the rules are? You¡¯re just a kid and yet you¡¯re speaking like an adult. Is this how your mother taught you since you were young? Well, she can¡¯t be any better since she gave birth to a child like you.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er pursed her lips and instinctively wanted to retaliate. However, she decided to suppress her emotions at the thought of her n. ¡°I shall change my clothes and be so kind as to take you to the hospital.¡± Bu Xianxian then headed to the dressing room to get changed. Upon the sight of her entering, Shi Bao¡¯er stealthily hid inside the bathroom. Bu Xianxian exited, only to discover that Shi Bao¡¯er was no longer in sight. Thinking that thetter must have gone downstairs, Bu Xianxian went out of the room. Meanwhile, Shi Bao¡¯er took the chance to sneak into the dressing room. Bu Xianxian still did not see Shi Bao¡¯er when she got downstairs and thought that she had probably gone outside to y. Thus, she did not think much of it or bother looking for her. After all, Shi Bao¡¯er was not her own daughter. She returned to her bedroom, switched on the air conditioner, andy in bed to take a nap without removing her clothes. Due to the long night she¡¯d had the day before, she felt extremely sluggish and lethargic today. Her nap gave Shi Bao¡¯er the chance to take action. Shi Bao¡¯er decided to teach her a good lesson and came out of the dressing room after Bu Xianxian had fallen asleep. After taking a few nces, she moved all of Bu Xianxian¡¯s clothes onto the bed and piled them up. It took Shi Bao¡¯er several trips to and from the dressing room before she finally surrounded the sound-asleep Bu Xianxian with clothes. She then walked toward the dressing table and grabbed a bottle of perfume whose contents she then poured all over the clothes. She was taught in ss that perfumes were mmable products. Finally, Shi Bao¡¯er let out a sinister smile and set the pile of clothes on fire with a lighter. She then swiftly scurried back to her own room and leaned against the door to listen for any sounds. Not long after, she heard the sounds of Bu Xianxian shrieking in terror. Shi Bao¡¯er smiled smugly, closed the door, and locked it from the inside. She then stayed in her room and began snacking alone. Bu Xianxian was covered in mes from head to toe. She was frightened out of her senses at the sight of the ring fire. She immediately ran out of the room and yelled, ¡°A fire broke out! Someone, hurry, there¡¯s a fire!¡± She zoomed to the first floor to look for Uncle Lin. Thick white fumes rose up and filled the air as soon as the fire was put out. The air was filled with an overwhelming stench. ¡°Ms. Bu, just what happened?¡± ¡°I have no idea, I must check the surveince camera footages.¡± ¡°Ms. Bu, did you forget that you insisted we remove the surveince cameras in your and Young Sir¡¯s bedroom? You said that you wanted privacy.¡± ¡°Show me the footages from the surveince cameras along the corridor. Oh right, Bao¡¯er... Hurry and show me the footages, step on it!¡± Bu Xianxian hollered, shocked out of her senses. ¡°Alright, please give me a moment.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡± Bu Xianxian followed him out to view the footages. She was overwhelmed with exasperation and pique after watching the footages. She stormed upstairs in a huff and headed straight to Shi Bao¡¯er¡¯s bedroom. Banging on the door, she hollered, ¡°Open the door! Open up! You imp, I¡¯m going to beat you to death!¡± Chapter 1012 - Perplexed and Smitten (72)

Chapter 1012: Perplexed and Smitten (72)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shi Bao¡¯er pretended not to hear her and refused to open the door. Bu Xianxian asked Uncle Lin for the keys to Shi Bao¡¯er¡¯s bedroom. After much consideration, Uncle Lin decided to call Shi Shaochuan before opening the door personally. Noticing that Bu Xianxian was about to hit Shi Bao¡¯er the moment the door opened, Uncle Lin stopped her and said, ¡°Ms. Bu, shall we wait until Young Sir is home?¡± ¡°No! I will never step foot inside this house again if I don¡¯t get to vent my anger today!¡± Bu Xianxian snapped in exasperation. Although Uncle Lin was put in a spot, he still stopped her from entering. Seeing that she had Uncle Lin to back her up, Shi Bao¡¯er said dauntlessly, ¡°I¡¯ll tell my parents exactly what you said to me. Get out of my house now, you shameless slut! I don¡¯t want to see you here!¡± Bu Xianxian¡¯s exasperation knew no limits. She refused to believe that she would be defeated by a child. Hence, she tried to suppress her anger with all her might and waited for Shi Shaochuan toe home. After hearing about what happened and seeing the bed and ceiling that were destroyed beyond ruin, Shi Shaochuan hit the roof and blew his top. He called Shi Bao¡¯er over and said, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? How did Auntie even provoke you? Must you y a prank on her over and over again? You¡¯re getting too brazen. Were you trying to set the entire house on fire?¡± Greatly taken aback by his reaction, Shi Bao¡¯er took a few steps back with tears in her eyes. ¡°I just don¡¯t like her. Who told you to let her move in without my permission!?!¡± ¡°Why do I need your permission? Bao¡¯er, this is my house, not yours alone. Apologize to Auntie immediately, she¡¯s been burned,¡± he chided. ¡°No!¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t, you shall move back to your mother¡¯s ce. Don¡¯t live with me anymore!¡± Shi Bao¡¯er¡¯s eyes widened in shock; she was thinking to herself that her father was about to abandon her. Now that Mommy is married and Daddy has a girlfriend, I¡¯ve be an unloved child. The thought of it sent tears rolling down Shi Bao¡¯er¡¯s cheeks. Noticing that she had teared up, Shi Shaochuan mellowed his tone and said, ¡°I¡¯ll forgive you if you apologize to Auntie.¡± ¡°Why aren¡¯t you getting angry at her for saying those things to me? She said that whoever gave birth to me can¡¯t be a decent person and that she would deal with me and give me a hard time after you two get married. By then, you won¡¯t care about me anymore...¡± Needless to say, Shi Bao¡¯er had added additional details that were untrue, just to exaggerate things. ¡°Did she really say that?¡± Shi Bao¡¯er nodded and answered, ¡°Yes, she really did say that. Daddy, that¡¯s why I was angry.¡± A sullen expression formed on Shi Shaochuan¡¯s face as he caressed her head and headed upstairs. At this moment, Bu Xianxian was waiting for Shi Bao¡¯er toe and apologize to her inside the other room. To her surprise, Shi Shaochuan entered alone. Noticing the austere expression on his face, she said, ¡°Don¡¯t me the child, she¡¯s still young, after all. I¡¯m just singed. I¡¯ll be fine after applying some ointment on my wounds.¡± ¡°Why did you have to say those things to her?¡± he questioned. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Bu Xianxian asked in puzzlement. He repeated Shi Bao¡¯er¡¯s words, after which Bu Xianxian immediately said, ¡°I did say the first line but that¡¯s all. I didn¡¯t say any of the rest. She was the one who made those up.¡± ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll just rent an apartment elsewhere for you to live in so as to prevent such things from happening again,¡± Shi Shaochuan said in frustration. Bu Xianxian agreed with his suggestion since she did not wish to see Shi Bao¡¯er anyway. However, she felt wronged and indignant because she didn¡¯t get the chance to teach Shi Bao¡¯er a lesson. But then again, there was nothing she could really do with Shi Shaochuan around, for he would definitely reprimand her. I shall bear with it! ¡ª For the past couple of days, An Xiaoning had been paying close attention to Fang En¡¯s dreams. She felt much more relieved to hear that thetter had yet to dream of that scenario again. She reckoned that it must have been just another vivid dream. Mysterious Xiao showed up all of a sudden at night. ¡°I need you to promise me something,¡± he said. An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°But you¡¯ve already told me everything that you know about my previous lifetime. What are you going to offer in exchange now? Or did you not tell me everythingst time?¡± He stood rooted to the ground, seemingly unsurprised that she would respond that way. ¡°I¡¯m a man of my word. Although I¡¯ve already told you everything that I know like I had promised earlier, I still need you to help me with something now. This time, I would definitely offer you something of equal value in exchange for your help.¡± ¡°Tell me what you need my help with, then. I can only decide if I want to help you or not after hearing what it¡¯s about.¡± ¡°From now on, you¡¯re not to interfere with your artiste Fang En¡¯s life, apart from work-rted matters.¡± An Xiaoning smiled and asked in utter disbelief, ¡°Who? En?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The quick-witted An Xiaoning immediately said, ¡°En doesn¡¯t look like that female corpse at all. She¡¯s not the person you¡¯re looking for.¡± Mysterious Xiao remained still on the spot. ¡°You don¡¯t have to care about the rest. I¡¯m only making a deal with you now. It¡¯s up to you to decide if you want to agree.¡± ¡°All you¡¯re asking is that I don¡¯t meddle with En¡¯s private life? What do you mean? Please be more specific.¡± ¡°For example... Are you just feigning ignorance? By private life, I obviously mean anything that¡¯s not rted to work. I know she¡¯s an artiste who¡¯s signed to your studio. I¡¯m not informing you beforehand because I¡¯m afraid of you. Hua Jin, I wouldn¡¯t be daunted even if you and Xihou Ling work together against me. I¡¯m just offering you something in exchange, on ount that you¡¯re helping me. Do you understand?¡± Needless to say, she obviously did. Actually, he only came to look for her because he wanted to make an agreement with her. It wouldn¡¯t matter to him even if she opposed to it. However, things would get ugly if that were the case. ¡°How about you answer a question of mine in exchange?¡± An Xiaoning suggested. ¡°What?¡± An Xiaoning said with open frankness, ¡°Just what¡¯s on that treasure map? Don¡¯t get me wrong, I don¡¯t covet it at all. After all, my life matters most to me now. I¡¯m just very curious about it. Could you feed my curiosity?¡± ¡°Since you¡¯ve asked, I have to answer you truthfully. I actually don¡¯t know what it is either. I do have the map in my hands, but despite having searched for an answer for so many years, I still have no idea how to solve the mystery within it.¡± An Xiaoning answered, ¡°That¡¯s as good as not answering my question. Could you tell me the reason you don¡¯t want me to interfere with En¡¯s private life? Mr. Xiao, En is still my employee at the end of the day. You have to give me an exnation so that I can put my mind at ease.¡± ¡°She¡¯s the reincarnation of that corpse.¡± ¡°Like I said earlier, they don¡¯t look alike at all. Take me and Xihou Ling for an example. We look exactly like our previous incarnates. It doesn¡¯t make sense to say that she¡¯s the one, does it? Did you get the wrong person?¡± Chapter 1013 - Perplexed and Smitten (73)

Chapter 1013: Perplexed and Smitten (73)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°If she looked the same as her previous incarnation just like you guys, I would¡¯ve found her long ago. I wouldn¡¯t have had to wait until now. Heaven has really concealed her well by changing her appearance. There are so many people in this world. How could it be that easy to find someone who lookspletely different from what I remember? However, I still found her in the end. Hua Jin, you and Xihou Ling may have faced various obstacles throughout your rtionship, but do you know what I envy most about you two? I envy the fact that you two look exactly the same as you did in your previous lifetimes and that fate still brought you together in this lifetime. Regardless of the oue, you two will never regret your decisions. However, it¡¯s different for me. She and I are not that lucky to have met earlier. I went through such painstaking means to find her, simply to prove that I can¡¯t do without her.¡± It was rare for him to say so much to An Xiaoning. He continued, ¡°I can tell you if you¡¯d like to know how I managed to find her despite her lookingpletely different now. In my previous life, I¡¯ve put a curse on myself that would make me be attracted solely to her and to no one else for the rest of my life. I¡¯ll be able to recognize her once I see her. However, I¡¯m guessing that she reincarnated as a different-looking person because something went wrong during her reincarnation process. I don¡¯t know about the details, but I¡¯m certain that she¡¯s the one. I¡¯ve already said everything that I need to. Are you going to keep your promise?¡± An Xiaoning expressed assent and said, ¡°Of course. However, aren¡¯t you afraid that you¡¯ll be toote?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Have you ever thought about what would happen if she already fancies someone or has already gotten married and given birth to children? If that was really the case, what would you have done?¡± After hesitating for almost a minute, he answered, ¡°I never dared to think about it.¡± After he left, An Xiaoning remained seated on the couch to ponder over her thoughts quietly. She had no right to interfere with someone else¡¯s life. Although she felt that Fang En was lucky to have someone be so devoted to her, she could not help but feel worried for her as well. After all, Mysterious Xiao was no ordinary man. Even until now, she had no idea at all what his name and identity were. What more Fang En? Jin Qingyan arrived downstairs to see that she was supporting herself against the couch with one hand while leaning toward the right, seemingly deep in thought. ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± ¡°Mysterious Xiao dropped by. He wants me to stay out of my artiste Fang En¡¯s private life,¡± she said. He asked, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°He said that Fang En is the reincarnation of that corpse...¡± An Xiaoning continued to tell him the details of the conversation she¡¯d had with Mysterious Xiao. Jin Qingyan was slightly taken aback after hearing her words. ¡°She lookspletely different from her previous incarnation. That means the Emperor and Yin Cun could also very likely have a different appearance from their previous incarnations.¡± ¡°Yes, that could very likely be the case. En has no idea about this at all, but I can¡¯t tell her about it. Well, we still don¡¯t know who Mysterious Xiao is but we know that he holds the treasure map. He definitely isn¡¯t a simple person. Besides, I heard that En fancies Yan Ge. Things are going to get dire if Mysterious Xiao finds out about it. If you were in Mysterious Xiao¡¯s shoes, what would you do?¡± ¡°If I were Mysterious Xiao, I would definitely take Fang En away to a ce nobody knows and lock her up.¡± ¡°You¡¯re sick...¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m not him, I¡¯m only Jin Qingyan. You¡¯re not Fang En either. You¡¯re not that easy to control. When you spent the night at her ce that night, could it be that Mysterious Xiao had visited her in her dreams?¡± ¡°I thought so too. It must be it. Everyone¡¯s life is different. There¡¯s nothing I can do even if he insists on acting that way,¡± said An Xiaoning, hugging his arm. ¡ª Fang En happened to bump into Yan Ge, who had returned home in his car, when she exited the supermarket with an icicle in hand. ¡°Where did you go?¡± ¡°I just came back from C City,¡± he answered, locking his door. Fang En immediately understood. ¡°Since your management agency is in C City and you have a home there too, why did you want to buy an apartment in A City?¡± ¡°My parents live in C City.¡± Noticing the icicle in her hand, he asked, ¡°You¡¯d actually eat such cheap icicles. Why don¡¯t you buy those of better quality?¡± ¡°These remind me of my childhood. They¡¯re nostalgic. When I was a child, I used to crave for icicles whenever summer came around. However, I didn¡¯t have a refrigerator when I was younger and Grandma couldn¡¯t afford to let me have them either.¡± ¡°Have you eaten yet?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Due to the recent rumors, the two of them decided not to go upstairs together. Yan Ge headed upstairs by himself while Fang En sat on a spot in the fitness corner of the estate. She finished the icicle, which had provided some relief from the sweltering heat. All of a sudden, it began raining. She hurriedly ran toward the elevator lobby. While she was waiting for the elevator, she sensed that there was someone beside her and instinctively nced to the side, only to receive a great shock. What a stunning face. He was exceptionally dashing with bold eyebrows and a pair of dark and mesmerizing eyes. He looked just like a piece of art that Heaven had put together. She felt like he could captivate her with just one nce. Standing at 1.85 meters, he was extremely tall and made the 1.62-meter tall Fang En look petite inparison. Feeling as if she had fallen into a trance, Fang En hurriedly looked away. Before she even knew it, she was already blushing red with shyness. Ding! The elevator doors opened and they entered together. She pressed the button for the sixth floor while he pressed the one for the seventh floor. A strange silence filled the air. Fang En could not resist the urge and took another glimpse of the handsome man, who smiled back at her, causing her heart to race rapidly. When the elevator arrived on the sixth floor, she strode out and stood at the door of her apartment. The elevator doors closed again and she took a deep breath before unlocking her PIN-locked door. She took out an ice-cold bottle of mineral water from the refrigerator and took several gulps. How refreshing! Recalling the man she had seen earlier, she could not help but find him rather familiar-looking, as if she had met him somewhere before. Could it be that I feel this way about all hunks? She put the lid of the bottle back on. Noticing that the rain was getting heavier, she decided to close the balcony door. She then took out a sleeveless nightdress and proceeded to take a shower, during which there was a sudden ckout. Fang En was in the midst of applying some shower gel. How unfortunate. She hurriedly fumbled about in the dark and made her way out of the bathroom to grab her torchlight before going back inside. She collected some water in a small basin and poured it over herself to rinse the soap off her body. At the same time, she also brushed her teeth. All of a sudden, the water supply waspletely cut off too. ¡°Damn it, why is there a ckout again? The weather is so warm nowadays, how am I supposed to sleep tonight?¡± she eximed. Fang En wrapped a towel around herself and exited the bathroom, thinking to herself that it was fortunate that it was raining. Otherwise, the heat would have been grueling. She stood beside the window and opened it slightly, allowing some of the raindrops to stter in. She felt much morefortable with the cool breeze entering the house. Chapter 1014 - Perplexed and Smitten (74)

Chapter 1014: Perplexed and Smitten (74)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Fang En craned her neck to take a look outside, only to find that the rest of the buildings in the estate were not affected by the power trip. Why is that? she wondered in displeasure. She closed the window and made her way to the balcony to look at Yan Ge¡¯s apartment. To her astonishment, the lights were still on inside. What was happening? She turned around and put on her clothes with the aid of her mobile phone¡¯s shlight. She grabbed the umbre and left the house in a bid to ask the management staff about the power trip. She headed to the management office in the rain to inform the staff on duty about the incident. Dumbfounded, the staff member said, ¡°You¡¯re experiencing a ckout in your apartment!?! Ms. Fang, please go home to get some rest first. I¡¯ll go take a look at the power circuit of your apartment when the rain gets lighter. If there¡¯s nothing wrong with it, shall we settle it tomorrow?¡± Fang En answered, ¡°Alright, thank you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, Ms. Fang.¡± Fang En had no choice but to head home with her umbre in hand. She felt that it would be inappropriate to impose on Yan Ge, especially since it waste in the night. Thus, she fumbled about and made her way to her bed where she sat down and changed into her nightdress again. She theny in bed and used her mobile phone, which emitted a faint glow. After fiddling with her mobile phone for a while, she dozed off and drifted off to dreand. The same scenario appeared in her dream again. However, this time, the setting was in her bedroom. It was now brightly lit, unlike the pitch-dark room in real life. Fang En stared at the man who was standing beside her bed. She sat up straight and blinked a few times before copsing onto the bed again. ¡°This dream has urred again. Why did I dream of that man in the elevator? I must be possessed,¡± she murmured. Upon hearing her words, the man remained silent. He walked toward her and bent forward to grab her chin before stuffing a white pill into her mouth. He then closed her mouth forcefully. Fang En swallowed the pill involuntarily, even before she could react. ¡°What did you make me take?¡± ¡°Some good stuff.¡± Fang En tensed up the instant she heard his voice, which was the same one she had heard in her previous dreams. It was all too familiar. She did not expect that she would be so lucid even during her dream. She wanted badly to wake up from this dream. She didn¡¯t want it to continue... She leaped up from the bed in a bid to run outside. However, he grabbed her wrist forcefully and asked, ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°I want to wake up...¡± ¡°Are you silly? You¡¯re not dreaming.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not dreaming?¡± Fang En then pped herself with all her might, only to find that it really hurt. Rubbing her face in pain, she eximed in astonishment, ¡°How did you end up in my house!?! Ah! Help! There¡¯s a burr in my house!¡± The man pinned her onto the bed and warned, ¡°If you dare yell again, I¡¯ll skin you and eat you alive!¡± Fang En gasped in shock, robbed of her senses and speech. Seeing that she had stopped shrieking, he said, ¡°I won¡¯t hurt you, you don¡¯t have to be afraid.¡± She stared at him in disbelief. Gritting her teeth in perturbation, she said, ¡°Just who are you? I don¡¯t know you at all. It was my first time seeing you today.¡± ¡°Your first time seeing me? So were the previous times all just dreams?¡± he said with raised brows. ¡°Were those few times... not dreams?¡± she asked, her eyes widening in shock. ¡°Those were obviously dreams, but I had visited you in them.¡± Fang En opened her mouth before closing it again. She then asked, ¡°You can... enter my dreams? Are you some god?¡± He let go of her and stood up straight. ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, I¡¯llmunicate with you in your dreams again. How does that sound?¡± ¡°Sure. How did youe inside my house?¡± she asked. ¡°I walked in.¡± ¡°You would need the passcode to unlock the door. How did you even enter?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already damaged the lock on your door. Get it reced tomorrow.¡± Fang En was speechless. ¡°Don¡¯t you wanna test my ability to enter your dreams? Let¡¯s try it now. I¡¯m not going to do anything sordid,¡± he said with a smile. Fang En¡¯s heart almost jumped out of her chest. ¡°I don¡¯t know you at all, why must you behave like this? Please leave.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you don¡¯t know me. What matters is that I know you,¡± he said nonchntly. She dared not anger or provoke him, for fear that he would do something outrageous to her. She purposely mellowed her tone and said, ¡°Go back and get some rest. I¡¯m getting sleepy too.¡± ¡°Since I¡¯ve decided to meet you face-to-face, I¡¯m not nning to leave anymore. I¡¯ll live with you from now on.¡± ¡°What!?!¡± Fang En felt extremely helpless, as if she were stranded in an ocean. Who¡¯s this lunatic? Did he recently escape from the asylum? But he¡¯s still so good looking. Just what¡¯s going on!?! ¡°I shall repeat myself if you didn¡¯t understand what I said. From now on, I¡¯ll live together with you and we¡¯ll sleep on the same bed, go to the same bathroom, and use the same toilet bowl.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t agree to this and I never will. Get out of my house immediately!¡± she yelled in extreme agitation. After all, no one would remain calm andposed in such a situation. She simply could not do it. She felt like she could not even be in the least bit rational. ¡°How dare you tell me to scram?¡± he questioned, staring at her with a threatening look. ¡°I...¡± Fang En¡¯s initial fury instantly vanished at the sight of his austere expression. At this very moment, she felt like she was fading from head to toe and was losing control of her body. ¡°Just what did you feed me with?¡± she asked, unsure what he intended by doing that. She found him extremely terrifying and hoped that he would leave as soon as possible. ¡°A bone-weakening drug.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that...¡± she questioned, trembling uncontrobly with anger. ¡°It literally means that your bones will be weakened after ingesting it.¡± ¡°...¡± Just as she tried to grab her phone, it was confiscated immediately. At this moment, Fang En wished that it was really just a nightmare and that everything would return to normal once she wakes up. Shey down t and closed her eyes, as if she had really fallen asleep. She felt as if she was just administered with an anesthetic that made her feel feeble and powerless, such that she could not even lift her arms and legs. The man switched off the lights andy down beside her. She felt relieved about the fact that he did not touch her. However, even then, she could not rx her mind or ease the tension within her. She kept her eyes shut tightly with all her might. And yet, her mind waspletely lucid. She continued to lie stiffly all the way until daybreak. She simply could not fall asleep. Curiosity filled her. ¡°I dreamed of your voice consecutively throughout the past few days. Was that really you?¡± ¡°Since you don¡¯t believe me, why do you still bother asking?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never seen you or offended you before in my life. Just who are you? Why must you do this to me? Will you give me a reason?¡± ¡°Because I fancy you. Is that a valid reason?¡± Fang En wished she could answer, ¡°Go to hell! I don¡¯t want to be fancied by a lunatic like you!¡± Chapter 1015 - Perplexed and Smitten (75)

Chapter 1015: Perplexed and Smitten (75)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Despite saying that in her head, the words that came out of her mouth did not correspond to them. Although they were now in her house, she was not in control at all. She was afraid that he would rape her if she provoked him one bit. At the end of the day, she would still be at the losing end. Thus, she suppressed her anger and asked, ¡°Just what do you fancy about me? When did you even notice me? I don¡¯t remember you at all.¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a very long time since I first saw you. It¡¯s not surprising at all that you have no recollection of me. Otherwise, why would I havee all this way to look for you? Do you think I¡¯m a nutcase?¡± ¡°Are you not one...?¡± ¡°What did you say?¡± Fang En said immediately, ¡°Nothing, nothing.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been searching for you for too long. I finally found you,¡± he eximed gleefully. I must have left a great impression on him. Otherwise, why would he have spent so long searching for me? I only have myself to me for being too beautiful. If not, he wouldn¡¯t have been so obsessed with me, Fang En thought to herself. She sighed in her head and said, ¡°No matter how great of an impression I left on you, I must make myself clear. Neither of us will be happy if it¡¯s forced. You¡¯re so handsome, I¡¯m sure there¡¯ll be plenty of women who¡¯d fancy you. Stop wasting your time on me. There¡¯s no point in forcing a rtionship between us.¡± ¡°But I want to force it.¡± Fang En was bbergasted. ¡°What if there¡¯s someone I already fancy?¡± she said angrily. ¡°Tell me who he is and I¡¯ll kill him right after.¡± Fang En was shocked out of her senses. She was certain that this hunk had escaped from the asylum. Noticing that she had gone quiet, he taunted, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to continue provoking me?¡± ¡°I really don¡¯t understand why you have to treat me this way. Even if you fancy me, that¡¯s not how you should be treating the person you fancy. You¡¯re frightening me and I¡¯m terrified. Perhaps I¡¯ll actually fall for you if you try wooing me like a normal person.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m not a normal person.¡± ¡°...¡± He himself actually admitted that he was not ordinary. Fang En decided to y dead and continued to lie motionless, not wanting to continuemunicating with him at all. The night felt long and endless. She still fell asleep, nheless. She woke up again to find that the rain had already subsided and that the sun was shining brightly above in the sky. She tried to sit up straight with her eyes ssed over, only to discover that she was the only one in the bedroom. She hurriedly got out of bed in a bid to go outside to take a look. As soon as she opened the door of her bedroom, she was greeted with the pleasant aroma of food that wafted up to her nose. There were six tes of foodid across the dining table, and there were sounds of food being cookeding from the kitchen. She tiptoed toward the kitchen and leaned against the kitchen door to look inside, only to get a great shock. The man was wearing her apron and whipping up a meal. Having detected her presence, he turned around to nce at her and said calmly, ¡°Go freshen up, breakfast will be ready any time soon.¡± Fang En was filled with fear and was rather intimidated by the uninvited guest. He was almost like a pest whom she wished she could get rid of. She turned around and looked at the dishes on the dining table, after which she instantly knew that he was a better cook than she was. Just who is this man? She headed to the bathroom to wash her face and hands. By the time she exited again, he was already in the living room. He pulled the chair back and sat down. Fang En stepped forward and sat down opposite him. ¡°You can cook too?¡± she asked. ¡°You¡¯re the only person for whom I¡¯ll cook.¡± Fang En was slightly taken aback. She picked up her chopsticks to take a bite and found that it was extremely tasty. ¡°Does it taste good?¡± She answered with a nod, ¡°It¡¯s delicious.¡± Ding-Dong... The doorbell began to ring all of a sudden, giving Fang En a fright. She looked at the man opposite her before yelling at the door, ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± ¡°Ms. Fang, I¡¯m a staff member from the management office.¡± She heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing his words. At the instant that she heard the doorbell, she thought that it was Yan Ge at the door. She did not want Yan Ge to find out that there was another man in her apartment. To make matters worse, the man often said some callous and terrifying things. But didn¡¯t he say that the lock was already damaged? How did it... ¡°Oh, give me a moment.¡± She then said to the man softly, ¡°Will you go back to the bedroom for a while first?¡± He asked, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Just go inside first.¡± She walked past the dining table and pulled him up. He conceded and headed inside the bedroom. Fang En opened the door. The staff member asked, ¡°Ms. Fang, is the power restored in your apartment?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°After you leftst night, I went to check the circuit in the rain. However, I didn¡¯t find anything wrong with it.¡± ¡°Thank you so much for the trouble.¡± ¡°Alright, I just came by to inform you that there was nothing wrong. I¡¯ll go downstairs now.¡± ¡°Yes, yes.¡± The moment she closed the door, he came out of the bedroom again. The two of them proceeded to have breakfast together. ¡°Well, I have to go out after having breakfast. Could you leave my apartment?¡± said Fang En, who was trying her best to sound as mellow and gentle as possible. ¡°Like I mentioned earlier, I¡¯ll be living with you from now on. If you dare call the police, be prepared to face some dire consequences. Don¡¯t take my words lightly.¡± She took a deep breath. She was indeed nning to call the police if he refused to leave. He seemed to have sensed something upon noticing how vexed and dejected she appeared. ¡°You¡¯ll slowly find out why I¡¯m doing this to you all of a sudden. I won¡¯t tell you the reason now because I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t be able to digest everything that I tell you. No one would do such a peculiar thing for no rhyme or reason. I¡¯m not desperate for a woman at all, but you¡¯re the only one I care about.¡± ¡°I still don¡¯t understand why I would dream of you multiple times in a row. Although I didn¡¯t manage to see your face, I could hear your voice...¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I already tell youst night that I had entered your dreams?¡± ¡°How did you do that?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not telling you.¡± ¡°Do you practice witchcraft?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°How did you enter my dreams, then? I really want to know.¡± ¡°So what if you know and so what if you don¡¯t? If you¡¯re curious, just bear with it. Anyway, I won¡¯t be telling you.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you sayst night that the lock was damaged? How did you...¡± ¡°I got it reced this morning. By the way, the new password is my birthday. Remember, I was born on the 21st of September, so the password to our house is 921921. The password can¡¯t be changed.¡± She retorted, ¡°You don¡¯t have to go to such extremes to make me remember your birthday, do you? And I beg your pardon. Our house? This is my house, I was the one who bought it. It belongs to me and me alone. How is it yours too?¡± ¡°You¡¯re mine, so that makes your house mine too. I can give you the money that you used to buy this apartment. Will that do?¡± ¡°...¡± Fang En was on the verge of losing her mind. I can¡¯tmunicate with such an oddball! I must call the police! Just you wait! After breakfast, Fang En left the house and headed to Wei Ni Estate to look for An Xiaoning. Chapter 1016 - Perplexed and Smitten (76)

Chapter 1016: Perplexed and Smitten (76)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Upon seeing An Xiaoning, Fang En felt as if she had seen her savior. ¡°Sis Xiaoning, I can¡¯t live anymore. What do you think I should do?¡± An Xiaoning could vaguely guess something, but she still asked, ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Last night...¡± She started exining in detail what she had experienced to An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning thought that she¡¯d had a dream again, but little did she expect that the Mysterious Mr. Xiao had actually... ¡°I want to make a police report.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t...¡± An Xiaoning muttered. ¡°It¡¯s useless.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Fang En responded, perplexed. An Xiaoning let out a sigh as she replied, ¡°Since he could even enter your dreams, do you think the police would be able to subdue him?¡± ¡°I think what he said can¡¯t be trusted, but at the same time, I can¡¯t find any reason to rebut him.¡± She gazed at An Xiaoning earnestly. ¡°Sis Xiaoning, what do you think I should do?¡± At this point, she really did not want to interfere in Fang En¡¯s affairs, but it didn¡¯t seem that easy, after all. She could only try her best to do so. ¡°En, are you willing to listen to Sister¡¯s opinion?¡± ¡°Yes, of course I¡¯m willing.¡± ¡°You¡¯re an adult now, you have the ability to make decisions and handle matters by yourself. I suggest you get along with him calmly. It won¡¯t do you any harm.¡± ¡°But...¡± Fang En hesitated. ¡°He¡¯s just a stranger to me. Who knows how long he¡¯ll stay around? If news of me living with a man spreads, what do I do? I haven¡¯t gotten married, nor have I gotten myself a boyfriend. This will affect me badly.¡± An Xiaoning did not know what to say. She badly wanted to tell Fang En that as long as this Mysterious Mr. Xiao was around, she shouldn¡¯t even think about finding a boyfriend or a husband in the foreseeable future. But she just couldn¡¯t bring herself to say it. Seeing how she remained silent, Fang En asked, ¡°Sis, is it true when you said he can enter my dreams?¡± ¡°It must be true. Some dreams ur because of our own minds, but there are others that happen because someone else has broken into our minds. He¡¯s probably not a lunatic.¡± Fang En was ridden with worry. ¡°I¡¯m really unlucky to the core. Sis, even though you said that the police won¡¯t be able to subdue him, I still want to make a police report.¡± ¡°You should go back. Do whatever you need to. You should be responsible for your own matters.¡± As she had not gotten any effective solution for her problem here, Fang En went into a trance for a moment, unwilling to return to her ce. At the same time, she had no choice but to return there. After all, it was the house she had painstakingly bought with her money earned from filming. When her nanny van passed by the police station, she made the driver pull over. After careful consideration, she eventually entered the station. When she returned to her house at Qingyuan Estate with a police officer, she thought that he would be around, but the moment she entered her house, there was not a single soul in sight. ¡°Ms. Fang, looks like there¡¯s no one.¡± Fang En was rather shaken. ¡°Maybe he¡¯s gone.¡± ¡°How about this? When you see him again, give us a call.¡± ¡°Alright, really sorry to trouble you guys.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Fang En closed the door shut. The moment she turned around, her heart almost dropped. Looking into his eyes, she started to tremble for no reason. ¡°But I¡¯m sure I looked through the whole house, how did you...¡± ¡°How did I treat you this morning?¡± He inched closer to her, and Fang En retreated, leaning against the door closely. ¡°I... I...¡± ¡°I already told you, if you were to make a police report, the consequences would be very dire. As expected, you didn¡¯t take my words seriously.¡± ¡°Ah!¡± Her toes curled in and her neck straightened. With her head raised, she stood there,pletely stupefied. On the other hand, he buried his mouth in her neck. She could feel the warmth of his breath, which gave the impression that he could devour her anytime. With both her arms forcefully restrained by him, it waspletely impossible for her to escape through the door. ¡°What do you want...¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know soon enough.¡± As his wordsnded, Fang En was dragged away by him as if she were a little chick. A wave of terror swept through her heart as she struggled vehemently, but she was eventually still thrown onto the bed by him. After rolling over the bed twice, she was feeling lightheaded. ¡°I don¡¯t dare, I don¡¯t dare to anymore. I don¡¯t dare to call the police anymore, don¡¯t do this.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t dare to?¡± He put on an unbothered attitude. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a chance to call the police right now. Go...¡± She knew he was saying this intentionally. If she actually dared to do so, one could only imagine the consequences. As such, she sat there not moving an inch at all. When he saw the situation, his tightly pursed lips curved slightly into a faint smile. ¡°Whether it¡¯s getting along peacefully with me or having me torturing you ¡¯til you¡¯re unable to even get down from the bed, the choice is in your hands.¡± Fang En felt that everything was turning dark before her eyes. It was as if a glimmer of hope that had just emerged in her life was instantly erased by this uninvited guest. ¡ª ¡°Young Madam, Major Ji wants to see you.¡± ¡°Really? Let him in.¡± An Xiaoning then instructed the maid to serve them two cups of coffee. Ji Yu had not seen An Xiaoning for a very long time. This time, he was naturally here for a reason. ¡°Xiaoning.¡± ¡°You¡¯re here, have a seat.¡± Ji Yu sat opposite her and ced a bright red wedding invitation on the coffee table. ¡°I¡¯m here to give my wedding invitation to you. I was wondering, are you free to attend my wedding?¡± ¡°When is it?¡± She picked up the wedding invitation on the table and opened it to take a look. ¡°It¡¯s tomorrow?¡± ¡°Yes, tomorrow¡¯s my wedding.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll attend it.¡± He had even brought the invitation over personally. There was no harm in her going anyway. After all, she was indeed free tomorrow. ¡°Has everything been alright with youtely?¡± he asked before thanking the maid who served them coffee on the table. ¡°Yes, everything¡¯s been fine.¡± An Xiaoning grinned. ¡°How about you?¡± ¡°Everything¡¯s been good for me as well, but it¡¯s still the same as before. I rarely spend time at home and still spend most of my time in the military.¡± An Xiaoning suddenly did not know how to continue the conversation. Previously, when they went fishing on ice and yed pool together, they had endless topics to chat about. But now, having not seen each other for such a long time, they actually had barely anything to talk about. ¡°I think I¡¯ll go back first,¡± he muttered as he suddenly stood up. An Xiaoning stood up as well to send him off. ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning sent him all the way to the front gate and watched as the man who was dressed in his military outfit got into his car. Only when his car drove away slowly did she turn around and go back into the house. ¡°Young Madam...¡± Fan Shixin approached her with a gleeful smile. ¡°Why was he here?¡± ¡°What do you think? To hand me his wedding invitation.¡± ¡°He¡¯s getting married?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Fan Shixin¡¯s smile brightened even further. ¡°Oh, our Young Sir¡¯s once-love-rival is getting married. I wonder if Young Sir will want to go and take a look?¡± An Xiaoning darted a nce at him. ¡°Look at how delighted you are. He¡¯s the one getting married, what are you so delighted for?¡± ¡°Young Madam, don¡¯t you know? Previously, whenever you spent time with Ji Yu alone, Young Sir would get so frustrated.¡± ¡°Shixin...¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Have you found a doctor for your Young Sir?¡± ¡°Not yet...¡± he replied immediately. ¡°I will continue finding one right away.¡± After An Xiaoning watched his figure that was full of vigor and excitement drift further away, she smirked as she returned to the living room. After picking up the wedding invitation on the table, she went upstairs. Chapter 1017 - Perplexed and Smitten (77)

Chapter 1017: Perplexed and Smitten (77)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After cing it at the end of the bed, she¡¯d intended to changed into a set of clothes to return to the Gu residence to take a look at Lin Mingxi. At this very moment, her phone rang. Upon ncing at the caller disy, she realized that it was actually someone who had stopped bothering her for some time, Pei Yi. Why did he suddenly think of calling her? After pressing the button to answer, she ced her phone by her ear and casually sat on the bed to talk. ¡°Why did Master Pei think of calling me?¡± ¡°If I said I missed you, would you believe me?¡± ¡°Master Pei, you¡¯re asking me if I¡¯d believe you, but I want to throw the question back at you. Do you actually believe your own words?¡± He chuckled. ¡°I called you because I have something to tell you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have any business with Master Pei, so I wonder what it is that you have to tell me?¡± ¡°You should be more carefultely,¡± he muttered with a lowered voice. ¡°Someone¡¯s trying to harm you and Jin Qingyan.¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t tell you that. I know you¡¯re capable, but this time, the person who¡¯s out to harm the two of you has a very powerful background. That¡¯s why I especially called to give you a reminder. After all, if Jin Qingyan dies, so be it. But if you die, it¡¯ll be quite a pity.¡± An Xiaoning was unbothered by his words. ¡°I appreciate your concern, but are you that certain that Qingyan and I will die? Can¡¯t it be that it¡¯s the person who wants to harm us who¡¯ll die?¡± ¡°Although you have the ability to drag Tuoba Gucheng down from power,pared to this person, you stillck experience. I don¡¯t know the reason he wants to deal with the two of you, but I¡¯m clear about one thing: he wants the two of you dead.¡± ¡°The hidden meaning in your words has made me curious. You obviously know who this person is and how impressive he is, but you refuse to say who he is. It goes to show how much you fear him. Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s the leader behind your headquarters in M Nation?¡± Pei Yi answered, ¡°As to who exactly that person is, I can¡¯t say over the phone. You just need to know that from now onward, you have to spend all the resources you have on protecting yourself. Don¡¯t wait until it¡¯s toote and don¡¯t give me the opportunity to take advantage. The previous time, you may have escaped nimbly, but the next time yound in my hands, I won¡¯t let you have a chance to escape easily.¡± ¡°That¡¯ll have to depend on whether you can capture me, right?¡± She added in a cold tone, ¡°Throughout all these time I have lived, the number of people who have wanted me dead are uncountable. But which of them had actually seeded...? Perhaps the person who can kill me in this life is still in his mother¡¯s stomach and hasn¡¯t even been formed into a fetus.¡± ¡°...¡± After she hung up the call, An Xiaoning¡¯s mood was affected. Everything had been going fine, but she was suddenly given a warning that someone out there intended to murder her. Who would be able to keep their spirits up? She did not know if Pei Yi¡¯s words were true, but she had indeed taken his words to heart. No matter whether it was real or fake, she would not let her guard down one bit. She went to the dressing room to take the qipao Shi Qingzhou had made for her andid it over herself. She had not worn it since her mother had made it for her. This would be the first time. After she put on the qipao, her slender curves were entuated. She then casually pinned her hair up and took her pink bag before leaving her room. Following this, she then drove to the Gu residence. At this point, Lin Mingxi was already five months pregnant and her belly had grown ratherrge. Wearing a loosely-fitted sweater, she was ying a game on her phone as shey on the bed in her bedroom. An Xiaoning pushed the door open and entered. ¡°Oh, look who it is.¡± Lin Mingxi sat upright and asked with a grin, ¡°What wind has blown you here?¡± ¡°This 12-grade typhoon before me, of course.¡± She went forward and sat down. ¡°How is it? Has it been hard on you?¡± ¡°It can¡¯t bepared with you back then. When you were pregnant with Yiheng, you had to take an injection every day. As for me, it hasn¡¯t been that difficult. It¡¯s just that since I¡¯m already in the second trimester of my pregnancy, the child can move inside my belly, and this fellow can get really rough sometimes. It¡¯s really not an obedient child.¡± ¡°It¡¯s better if the child makes more movement inside, lest you worry about this and that.¡± An Xiaoning reached out to touch her round belly. ¡°Look at your big stomach, you look like you¡¯re carrying twins.¡± ¡°If only it were twins. I could give birth to two at once and suffer less.¡± An Xiaoning noticed how she had grown quite a lot fatter. It seemed like she had been well rested during this period of time. ¡°It¡¯s good to be carrying one child only. All the nutrition can be given to your only child inside. The child will grow better. There¡¯s also some risks in carrying twins. You¡¯ll be more likely to go into prematurebor.¡± ¡°Take your shoes off and get onto the bed for a chat. We haven¡¯t had a good chat in a long time.¡± An Xiaoning had never stood on ceremony with her from the beginning. She took off her shoes andy on the bed, resting beside her. ¡°Our television drama has ended filming. Do you want to guess if this investment will cost us any losses?¡± ¡°No, it won¡¯t,¡± Lin Mingxi replied confidently. ¡°The script is good, the production is meticulous, and there were also promotions for the drama. How could it make losses? Moreover, don¡¯t forget, during the filming, we already earned back a huge sum from advertisements. It¡¯s bound to earn and make no losses.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I think as well. Do you still see your sister?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen her, but I didn¡¯t speak to her.¡± Lin Mingxi added, ¡°Whether she stays in my life or not, life still goes on. Why should I say insincere words just to please her but disgust myself? Right, I heard from Beicheng that he saw Jin Qingyan and ady getting close to each other a few days ago. She¡¯s from hispany, right?¡± ¡°It seems so.¡± ¡°You need to keep a lookout. Those little chicks out there are very smart, all of them want to climb onto thedder.¡± An Xiaoning side-nced her. ¡°What do I need to keep a lookout for? Even a woman like you has challenged me before back then, can they beat you?¡± Upon hearing her mention this, Lin Mingxi nudged her gently with her fist. ¡°Why¡¯re you talking about me again? That¡¯s history already. It¡¯s a strange thing, actually, that young people always chase after someone unattainable. Back then, Jin Qingyan was like a ball of light to me. It seemed really sparkling bright, but I couldn¡¯t touch it no matter how I tried and could only look at it. It didn¡¯t even enter my mind that the switch to thismp was with you and belonged solely to you.¡± ¡°Your analogy is really vivid.¡± An Xiaoning rested her head on her shoulder. ¡°Now, I actually wish I could lead a peaceful and stable life like you and Yangyang.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you already living it? Don¡¯t worry unnecessarily. Rest assured and be the Young Madam of the Jin family.¡± An Xiaoning closed her eyes shut. ¡°I didn¡¯t feel sleepy at home, but aftering to your ce, I actually do now. Don¡¯t tell me your words have the ability to hypnotize me?¡± ¡°Are you trying to say that it¡¯s boring for you when I talk?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say that, that¡¯s what you thought.¡± Lin Mingxiughed lightly. ¡°If you¡¯re tired, lie here and sleep for a while.¡± She replied to her with a sound of acknowledgement and was just about to shut her eyes when, at this unsuitable timing, her phone rang. Taking a look at the caller disy, she found that it was from Wen Lele and simply did not pick up. Lin Mingxi asked, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you picking up?¡± ¡°It should be nothing much. It¡¯s from Qingyan¡¯s highschool table mate. She¡¯s a rather dim-witted woman, and I¡¯m not close to her either,¡± she responded simply, feeling no need to borate about her. However, her phone continued to ring non-stop. An Xiaoning simply ignored her calls until a call from Fan Shixin came in. ¡°Young Madam, Ms. Wen is at our main gate right now. She says she has something critically urgent to find you about and has to see you by hook or by crook.¡± ¡°Just tell her I¡¯m not home.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve told her already, but she said that she¡¯ll wait for you to return no matter how long it takes. She simply won¡¯t give up unless she sees you.¡± ¡°...¡± Chapter 1018 - Perplexed and Smitten (78)

Chapter 1018: Perplexed and Smitten (78)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning felt her temples aching. She got down from Lin Mingxi¡¯s bed and, upon seeing this, Lin Mingxi asked, ¡°You¡¯re going back already?¡± ¡°Yeah. Take good care of yourself and the baby. I¡¯lle and visit you another day.¡± ¡°Alright, drive safely.¡± An Xiaoning nodded before leaving Lin Mingxi¡¯s bedroom. As she was in her car on the way back to Wei Ni Estate, she was pondering whether Wen Lele was looking for her because of the ancient graveyard in V Nation or because of He Yi. Other than these reasons, there was no other matter that came to her mind. After she entered her estate, she spotted from a distance away a figure standing by her front gate. Upon seeing this, An Xiaoning realized she really did not like Wen Lele at all. When An Xiaoning¡¯s car pulled into her house, Wen Lele followed after it and entered as well. When An Xiaoning parked her car inside and got down from it, she turned to the direction of the sun from where Wen Lele was approaching her. ¡°What is it that you¡¯re looking for me for?¡± ¡°I called you so many times and you didn¡¯t pick up. I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re someone like this.¡± Her words instantly got on An Xiaoning¡¯s nerves. ¡°I¡¯ve never been close to you. You can just tell me what the matter is, didn¡¯t you say it was critically urgent? Now that I¡¯m looking at you, it doesn¡¯t seem that urgent of a matter.¡± Wen Lele pursed her lips and replied, ¡°Did you know that I went to V Nation with He Yi?¡± ¡°Nobody told me, how would I have known?¡± ¡°Quit pretending, you knew about it for sure.¡± She went on bluntly, ¡°When we went into the grave, someone had already been there. Moreover, while we were traveling there, the ne got dyed, and after He Yi got someone to ask around, we found out that the ne could have taken off on time that day but orders had suddenly been given to dy it. Wasn¡¯t it you who did that?¡± With a faint smile on her face, An Xiaoning responded, ¡°The critically-urgent matter you were talking about is this? Wen Lele, did you know that if you don¡¯t have concrete evidence to support your words, it¡¯s considered nder? You¡¯ve already lived past the age of thirty, why don¡¯t you know how to use your brain when you speak? Did you or He Yi tell me the address of the ancient graveyard? V Nation is such a huge ce, even if it¡¯s only as big as this house, I couldn¡¯t have found it in such a short period of time, right?¡± ¡°It was just a suspicion...¡± Wen Lele added in embarrassment, ¡°Also, I didn¡¯te to talk about this matter.¡± She waited for An Xiaoning to ask her what the matter was, but she didn¡¯t and only ced her focus on the word ¡°suspicion.¡± ¡°A suspicion?¡± An Xiaoning looked at her with a grin. ¡°I suspect that you¡¯re a murderer, but did you actually kill someone? You¡¯ve said so many things and still haven¡¯t mentioned your critically-urgent matter. It seems like it really isn¡¯t that urgent of a matter. Since it¡¯s not urgent, why don¡¯t we go to the living room to keep cool and drink a cup of iced beverage?¡± ¡°It¡¯s urgent, it really is,¡± Wen Lele replied. ¡°My position in the archeological team has been taken by a new university student. You know our captain, can you help me persuade him? It¡¯s no big deal for you.¡± An Xiaoning never thought that she would meet someone like this. ¡°Right after seeing me, you said things that made me upset. Now, you¡¯re requesting me to do something for you, with an additional line thrown in saying that it¡¯s no big deal for me?¡± She darted a nce at Wen Lele. ¡°It¡¯s no big deal for me, but it¡¯s a matter of your job for you, right? You¡¯ve been in the archeological team for so many years, how can your position be reced by a university student? Have you tried finding out the reason for yourself? Other than your age, what other skills have you gained? I think this is the main reason the archeological team dismissed you. Am I right?¡± At An Xiaoning hitting the nail on the head, Wen Lele¡¯s expression turned sullen. ¡°I¡¯d only wanted you to help speak up for me. Don¡¯t change the topic. Just tell me, are you willing to help me out?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I never lend a helping hand to people who are arrogant even while they¡¯re asking for a favor.¡± An Xiaoning went on bluntly, ¡°Wen Lele, it may be easy for you to pretend like you¡¯re close to people when you¡¯re not, but it¡¯s not the same for me. I have no ties with you at all yet you¡¯ve called me multiple times to ask me to help with your problems. Do you see me as your mother? As someone to help you clean up all your mess?¡± ¡°I was only asking you for a favor. Do you have to take advantage of me like that?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I have no intention of taking advantage of you. After all, having such a dim-witted daughter like you isn¡¯t a good thing at all. You should just go back wherever you came from.¡± Wen Lele had yet to catch her breath, yet she felt that she¡¯d been thoroughly humiliated by her. Thinking back, she found that the way she spoke earlier had indeed not been appropriate. Softening her tone, she tried to persuade her again, ¡°Just help me this time, on ount that I was once Jin Qingyan¡¯s table mate.¡± While she had thought that by saying that, An Xiaoning would definitely help her, who would have expected that she¡¯d remainpletely unmoved and would not change her stance? ¡°So what if you were his table mate? If not for the ssmate gathering, I wouldn¡¯t even have known you existed. I¡¯m sure Wang Jinsheng has his reasons for dismissing you. I¡¯m unwilling to use my honor to intervene for someone who¡¯s not even rted to me. Moreover, didn¡¯t He Yi already propose to you? Isn¡¯t it even better to be a full-time wife after you get married to him? You won¡¯tck money anyway.¡± Seeing that she had already spoken like this, Wen Lele did not say anything further as well. ¡°The richer and more powerful one is, the more petty she is. If you don¡¯t want to help me, then forget it,¡± she replied indignantly before turning to leave. Seeing the air Wen Lele put on when she left, An Xiaoning curled the corner of her lips in a snigger and took out her phone, immediately deleting her and He Yi¡¯s contacts. .... In the evening, Fan Shixin brought her good news. At a psychological research institution that treated rare diseases in M Nation, he was able to contact a female doctor who specialized in research on schizophrenia. The information showed that this doctor obtained her doctorate degree from a renowned medical school in M Nation and once taught for five years in the medical school, obtaining a position as a professor. Thereafter, she left the medical school and came to this psychological research institution. As schizophrenia is a rare disease globally, that research institution was renowned while her fame paled inparison. However, that did not mean that she was not capable. An Xiaoning carefully read the information Fan Shixin had brought. There was a small one-inch-wide framed photo of the woman, showing her with her hair parted to the side. Her long ck hair was pinned up behind her, and she looked extremely capable. Her facial features were not exactly considered refined, but she looked pleasant even after a few nces. She was not smiling at all and looked rather aloof. ¡°Yu Yiwei? Thirty-three years old?¡± ¡°Yes. Right, just to add, she¡¯s the biological sister of the famous actress Yu Caiwei. I found this when I was doing a background search on her. Her residential address is still based in S Nation.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s Yu Caiwei?¡± Although she had some business in the entertainment industry, she seldom kept up-to-date with news about the entertainment industry, which changed rapidly. ¡°That female actress who always films bad shows and uses her face and all sorts of methods to keep her fame in the industry.¡± ¡°I see. Have you given a call to that side?¡± ¡°I have, I requested for her toe over. After all, Young Sir can¡¯t possibly go overseas so frequently. If she¡¯s really capable, I also told her we would be willing to hire her at a high price.¡± ¡°What did she say?¡± Chapter 1019 - Perplexed and Smitten (79)

Chapter 1019: Perplexed and Smitten (79)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°She agreed. I¡¯ve made arrangements with her. She¡¯ll settle all her affairs over there ande back.¡± Fan Shixin grinned. ¡°Young Madam, I think thisdy is reliable because I¡¯ve checked her teaching appraisal at medical school. It says that she¡¯s very intelligent and has her own way of thinking. While other people don¡¯t participate in research on schizophrenia, she¡¯s the only exception and insists on making a breakthrough for this disease.¡± ¡°Then, give her a shot. When your Young Sires back, tell him about it.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Fan Shixin couldn¡¯t help but add out of curiosity, ¡°Young Madam, during the day, what did you tell that Ms. Wen for her to be so enraged?¡± ¡°Nothing much, I just stated the facts.¡± As the two chatted, Jin Qingyan returned. Fan Shixin greeted him merrily, ¡°Young Sir is back?¡± ¡°You¡¯re grinning from ear to ear like a dog, have you found a partner?¡± Fan Shixin¡¯s smile faded away instantly. ¡°Young Sir, can you not rub your nose in it?¡± ¡°Then, what is it that you¡¯re so happy about?¡± ¡°Hehehe, seeing you makes me happy. I¡¯ll go out first.¡± ¡°...¡± Seeing the radiant smile on his face, Jin Qingyan asked, ¡°What¡¯s with him? I seldom see him so happy.¡± ¡°Who knows...¡± An Xiaoning changed the topic. ¡°Why are you back sote today?¡± ¡°I could havee back at six, but there was ast-minute meeting that hadsted until now. I¡¯m hungry.¡± An Xiaoning turned her head and shouted into the kitchen, ¡°Auntie Chen, Qingyan¡¯s hungry.¡± ¡°The food will be ready soon. Please wait a moment, Young Sir and Young Madam,¡± Auntie Chen¡¯s voice sounded from inside the kitchen. An Xiaoning turned to him and said, ¡°Your table mate came again today.¡± ¡°What for?¡± ¡°She said her position in the archeological team has been given to a university student. She wanted me to give Wang Jinsheng a call to speak up for her.¡± ¡°On what basis?¡± ¡°What do you mean by... on what basis? Are you saying on what basis was she reced by that university student?¡± She was rather confused by him. ¡°I meant, on what basis did shee and ask you for help? How did she bring herself toe?¡± His tone was cold and full of his annoyance toward Wen Lele. ¡°At first, she suspected I went to the ancient graveyard in V Nation, but she didn¡¯t have any concrete evidence to back herself at all. Then, she said some upsetting words to me. I think that when she was terrified because of the ancient graveyard in G City and begged me to help her, she had a better attitude.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to bother about her. To us, she¡¯s no different from a stranger.¡± Auntie Chen and two maids then started to serve the dishes on the dining table. A huge cup of iced coconut juice was served as well. The two got seated one after another, and Jin Qingyan looked at her as he asked, ¡°Why do I feel like you have something to say?¡± ¡°Your eyes are terribly sharp.¡± An Xiaoning couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°There are two things. First, Ji Yu came over to pass me his wedding invitation. Second, Pei Yi called me out of nowhere to warn us of something.¡± ¡°Warn us of what?¡± ¡°He said...¡± An Xiaoning murmured under her voice, ¡°He said there¡¯s someone very powerful who wants us dead. They have a very strong backing.¡± ¡°Why did he give us such a warning? Since he knows about it, why...¡± Jin Qingyan paused for a moment before going on, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, he feels that this person is very powerful and we¡¯re not a match for him or her? That¡¯s why he¡¯s being merciful toward us for once?¡± ¡°Probably... but, think about it. Tuoba Gucheng¡¯s dead, it¡¯s not Pei Yi, nor is it Mysterious Xiao. After all, he was your junior in your past life and it¡¯s rather unlikely for him to want to kill you. Who would it be, then?¡± An Xiaoning spected, ¡°Could it be the Emperor from the past life?¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s face turned dull instantly. It was as if dark clouds had enveloped his face. ¡°If it was really him, then it seems like he has shown up by himself without us having to find him.¡± ¡°But if he dares to show up by himself, that confirms what Pei Yi said. He has a strong backing.¡± ¡°So what?¡± He waspletely indifferent about it. ¡°Among the strong, there is always someone stronger. No matter how strong his backing is, there¡¯s always someone who¡¯s more powerful than him.¡± ¡°You seem rather fearless about it.¡± ¡°With you by my side, even if the sky drops, I¡¯m not afraid.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes twinkled with a sharp gleam. ¡°Because of these words from you, I decided to give you a reward of the same kind.¡± ¡°I request for the grand prize.¡± ¡°Your request is invalid, I have my own verdict.¡± ¡°So what is your verdict?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll award you with the grand prize.¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s grin grew wider. It was as if his words had been suddenly changed by her. Her reply waspletely unexpected by him. ¡°You have to tell me though, what is the grand prize?¡± ¡°What is the grand prize that you want?¡± ¡°I want you...¡± His words were yet to bepleted when Jin Qingyan took a nce at her before scanning around to watch the maids who were not far away. He then intentionally extended his leg under the table to hook around her slender legs. His voice lowered into almost a whisper as he continued, ¡°... to please me with your mouth.¡± ¡°You lecher! I knew you would say that.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me the reward you wanted to give me isn¡¯t this?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± ¡°Then, what is it?¡± Jin Qingyan did not understand what other grand prize she was possibly referring to. ¡°The grand prize for you is... do you still remember the first birthday gift I gave you?¡± ¡°I remember it clearly even now. Back then, we just got married. You gave me a branded watch and a letter, then it ended with a dance.¡± ¡°Then, after dinnerter, shall I do a simr dance for you? Isn¡¯t it a very special reward?¡± ¡°You call this the grand prize?¡± Jin Qingyan suggested, ¡°An Xiaoning Comrade, I suggest you reward me with something more practical.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t want that, then forget it. I¡¯m toozy to dance anyway.¡± She rolled her eyes at him, evidently dissatisfied with his reaction. ¡°I want, I want, I want it. Of course I do. But I need to say something in advance.¡± His eyes narrowed as he grinned. ¡°If your dance awakens the fiery dragon in me, I won¡¯t take responsibility for the consequences.¡± She acknowledged hisment before continuing the pleasant dinner with him. .... She was yet to finish her dance when she was forcefully thrown onto the bed by him. An Xiaoning crawled up and eximed, ¡°But I¡¯m not yet done with my dance!¡± He pressed his body against hers lightly, his hands roaming all over her body. ¡°What do you want?¡± she said, asking the obvious. He asked with a smirk, ¡°You asked me if I want to have you1? Of course I do! I think about it every day and night. I¡¯m perplexed too, why don¡¯t I seem to ever get enough of you? You tell me, what enchantment have you cast on me that all I ever want is you?¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s cheeks flushed instantly and she retorted, ¡°You¡¯re intentionally trying to coax me, right?¡± He gazed at her, his body propped up over her upper body. Under the lights, she looked exceptionally beautiful to him. ¡°As long as you¡¯re happy, so what if I¡¯m doing it intentionally or not?¡± ¡°I knew you were feeding me with sugar-coated words intentionally.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t finished speaking yet.¡± He hurriedly added, ¡°Moreover, I meant every word I said.¡± She broke into a joyful grin and ced both her arms on his shoulders, raising her body slightly as she leaned in to kiss his lips. Chapter 1020 - Perplexed and Smitten (80)

Chapter 1020: Perplexed and Smitten (80)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios His response to her kiss was a passionate and forceful one. At that moment, both their breaths were full of fiery warmth. ¡ª While some were immersed in happiness, there were naturally others in a state of worry. In unit 602 of Block C of Qingyuan Estate, Fang En had been cooped up at home for a whole day. Throughout the day, she had not dared to take even a step out of her house. It was not because that man did not allow her, however, but that she herself did not dare to do so. She was afraid that once she went out, she would escape to a faraway ce and even forsake her own house. As a result, she stayed home the whole day without going out and didn¡¯t speak a word to him either. When it was time for dinner, she finally could not bear it any longer as she sat on the sofa. If she was alone, it was fine since she had no choice. But if she was with someone else and not talking, Fang En could even dig a huge hole in the sky. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°You finally asked me.¡± ¡°Even if I didn¡¯t ask, you could tell me by yourself.¡± He replied instead, ¡°No, I had to wait until you asked.¡± What kind of person is this... Fang En sat opposite him at the dining table. ¡°Then, answer me. What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Xiao Chenyang.¡± After hearing these three words, she kept silent for some reason. After about one minute of silence, she finally spoke again, ¡°How old are you?¡± ¡°Eighteen.¡± ¡°You¡¯re 18 years old?¡± Fang En was utterly confused as he didn¡¯t look 18 at all. ¡°Of course not.¡± He corrected himself, ¡°Eighteen centimeters.¡± ¡°What is 18 centimeters?¡± Fang En was puzzled. She had asked him for his age, yet he was saying such ridiculous things to her. ¡°My male member is 18 centimeters.¡± As he replied to her, he used her finger to point to that certain part of his body. Fang En¡¯s face flushed absolutely red as she berated him, ¡°Idiot, I didn¡¯t ask you about that.¡± He responded in a serious manner, ¡°So you weren¡¯t asking me about that? I thought you were afraid I won¡¯t be able to satisfy you when the timees.¡± ¡°...¡± Fang En felt like he would be the death of her. ¡°I was asking you how old you are.¡± ¡°Are you referring to my age when I met you or my age now?¡± She could notprehend that at all. ¡°Is there any difference?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Your age now, then.¡± ¡°Oh, I have noment about my age now.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Where do you live?¡± ¡°Wherever you are is where I live.¡± ¡°You...¡± Talking to this man inspired an urge within her to hit him with a broom. ¡°If you¡¯re done eating, go back to the room to rest.¡± He reminded her, ¡°Brush your teeth and wash your face first. I¡¯ll go to the supermarket downstairs to buy something.¡± ¡°Do you have money?¡± ¡°I have nothing but money.¡± ¡°I think you probably owe loads of it too.¡± He did not rebut and simply went out of the house. After the door was closed shut, Fang En stood up from the sofa and went to take a bath. When she came out wearing her set of pajamas, he was back from the supermarket. Hearing the noise, she went out of her bedroom and saw him carrying two bags of things into the kitchen. ¡°What did you buy?¡± ¡°Food and drinks.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you buy them in the day? Did you have to buy these at night?¡± While cing the things into the fridge, he remarked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you an actress? If I buy them in the day, it¡¯ll be easy to run into people. Right, who lives in the unit opposite yours?¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s that male lead that filmed a television drama with me.¡± ¡°The male lead that filmed with you?¡± He paused in his act of putting the items into the fridge and asked, ¡°Why is he living in the unit opposite yours?¡± ¡°He was the one who rmended the house to me when I was looking for one previously. He said the environment here is nice and quiet, so I came to take a look.¡± ¡°No wonder he took a few nces at me when I was entering the house just now.¡± ¡°You met him outside?¡± Fang En¡¯s nerves tensed up. ¡°Did the two of you talk?¡± ¡°No.¡± She eximed, ¡°Great, now he¡¯ll definitely misunderstand that you¡¯re my boyfriend.¡± ¡°How is that a misunderstanding? I really am.¡± This shameless thing, he really... deserves a beating. ¡°What do you mean you really are? Of course you¡¯re not.¡± She felt the need to exin herself as she went on, ¡°I¡¯m going to the opposite unit for a while. What would happen if this were to get out?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. After all, you shouldn¡¯t have your career affected. If the media reporters find out that you have such a handsome-looking boyfriend like me, won¡¯t I steal your limelight?¡± ¡°...¡± Fang En was speechless and didn¡¯t know how she could continue speaking to this man. She opened the door and went out, then pressed the doorbell of Yan Ge¡¯s unit. Very soon, the door opened. Upon seeing that it was her, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Can we talk inside?¡± ¡°Come in.¡± He turned around and went in. Fang En walked into his house and closed the door behind her. She first chuckled before asking him, ¡°Did you run into the guy from my house earlier tonight?¡± ¡°I did. Who¡¯s that?¡± He sat down and enquired in a slow andposed manner. ¡°That...¡± Fang En exined, ¡°He¡¯s my cousin, my aunt¡¯s son on my mother¡¯s side.¡± ¡°Cousin?¡± he asked. ¡°You look like that, but your aunt and uncle¡¯s genes are that good?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my looks? Peoplepliment me for being pretty, okay?!¡± ¡°Those whopliment you for that must be blind.¡± ¡°...¡± Fang En was in despair. Why were both of them out to anger her? Couldn¡¯t they speak nicely? ¡°Are you here just to exin that that guy was your cousin?¡± ¡°Yes. I don¡¯t want you to misunderstand.¡± He evidently enjoyed hearing that from her. ¡°I see. But what¡¯s your cousin doing at your house sote at night?¡± ¡°He works nearby and didn¡¯t have a ce to stay. Since I have two rooms, I let him stay over for a while.¡± ¡°Although that¡¯s fine, he¡¯s still a man after all. You should let him rent a house somewhere else soon.¡± ¡°Yeah, I think so as well. Do you have any work arrangementstely?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m resting for a period of time. I¡¯ve pushed back all my work schedules ofte.¡± ¡°I see. You should rest early then, I¡¯m going back to sleep.¡± Yan Ge acknowledged herment before sending her to the door. When Fang En came out of his house, the tension within her had not eased at all. What she was doing was akin to deceiving Yan Ge to hide the truth. However, she could only do that for now as she could not possibly tell him the truth. Wouldn¡¯t Yan Ge look down on her if she told him the truth? If he was bent on intervening and went to make a police report, wouldn¡¯t thatplicate things? This was how she expected things would go. But, at present, she had not yet thought of a solution to settle this matter. When she sat on the bed and ced herptop on herp, she felt curious for some reason and started searching online about the 18 centimeters he had mentioned. She then secretly started to browse online content about it. After seeing it online, she took out a measuring tape from her drawer. She waspletely rmed. That¡¯s really long... Would it hurt a woman? She gave a start of astonishment and hurriedly ced the measuring tape back inside her drawer before closing it. Thereafter, she took soft and gentle steps toward the bathroom and asked, ¡°Could you sleep on the sofa tonight?¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°A man and a woman should maintain some distance between each other.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Did you hear me?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to be distant from you.¡± ¡°How could you be like this...¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been like this for a very long time, you just have to get used to it.¡± Fang En wanted to burst out at him, but she suppressed it. ¡°I want to sleep on the bed alone.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to, I want to sleep together with you.¡± ¡°Xiao Chenyang...¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Chapter 1021 - Perplexed and Smitten (81)

Chapter 1021: Perplexed and Smitten (81)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Can you stop behaving this way?¡± ¡°No.¡± She turned around and stopped talking to him. It had never crossed her mind that such people actually existed in this world. He hadpletely changed her impression of handsome men and given her an eyeopener. It was her apartment and yet she was not allowed to leave. Fang En was overwhelmed with bewilderment, and she could not understand just how and why she encountered such a bizarre and absurd person. The moment Xiao Chenyang came out of the bathroom, he was greeted with the sight of her sitting on the bed, appearing extremely upset. He could guess what she was thinking. He walked toward Fang En, who took a casual nce at him before shrieking in terror. Covering her eyes with both hands, she screeched, ¡°You... why aren¡¯t you wearing any clothes!?!¡± He answered nonchntly, ¡°I don¡¯t have to wear any clothes when I¡¯m in front of you. You seemed to be telling me this.¡± ¡°You¡¯re crazy.¡± She turned around to have her back facing him. Fang En felt like she was about to go blind at the thought of the obscene sight she had seen earlier. Hey down beside her, amused by the sight of her keeping her eyes tightly shut. ¡°Why are you keeping your eyes shut so tightly?¡± ¡°Hurry and put on your shorts.¡± ¡°I already did.¡± She opened her eyes and took a nce at his shorts before closing them again quickly. ¡°You jerk! How dare you make fun of me!?!¡± He guffawed in amusement and teased, ¡°Go bring me my shorts, then. Otherwise, I¡¯m not going to put them on.¡± She stood up and turned around before opening her eyes to bring him his shorts. One minuteter, she returned with a pair of briefs, which she then handed to him. ¡°There you go.¡± He took it from Fang En, who sat down with her back facing him. ¡°Hurry and put it on.¡± Instead of putting it on, he grabbed it from her and said deliberately, ¡°I¡¯m done.¡± Fang En turned around and immediately blushed as red as a tomato, filled with anger and embarrassment. ¡°You...¡± This time, she did not close her eyes and, instead, glowered at him. He picked up his briefs and put them on slowly. ¡°Tell me, what must I do for you to stop harassing me?¡± ¡°Give birth to a child for me.¡± Fang En was speechless. Glowering at him in exasperation, she eximed, ¡°Dream on!¡± ¡°Then you shall also dream on.¡± She was on the verge of tears. ¡°Let¡¯s be together. I¡¯ll be good to you, I won¡¯t ever... ever let you be treated unfairly again. I won¡¯t let anyone hurt you either,¡± he said, gazing at her. ¡°But you¡¯re the person making me feel aggrieved and hurting me. Don¡¯t you understand that?¡± ¡°No, I won¡¯t ever hurt you. Isn¡¯t it good to be in a rtionship with me?¡± ¡°No matter how great you are, you¡¯re not the person whom I fancy.¡± He squinted and questioned, ¡°Who do you fancy, then?¡± ¡°Why should I tell you?¡± ¡°Are you trying to provoke me on purpose?¡± ¡°No...¡± ¡°Do you have any bodyguards?¡± ¡°I do...¡± ¡°Fire all of them. I shall be your bodyguard from now on.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want that,¡± Fang En refused without hesitation. ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°They¡¯re working fine for me. Why must I fire them?¡± ¡°They¡¯re amateurs who can¡¯t protect you at all in times of danger. With me around to protect you 24 hours round the clock, no one will dare toy a finger on you.¡± She felt extremely suffocated. I would definitely go mad if I had to face him all day. ¡°You called them amateurs, but have you even met them before?¡± retorted Fang En, who felt that her bodyguards were skilled enough. ¡°I may not have met them before but I know it.¡± ¡°How skilled are you? Will you give me a demonstration?¡± she asked. ¡°Do you really want to see my skills?¡± he asked. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Alright, I shall satisfy your wishes and show you just how skilled I am.¡± All of a sudden, he did a somersault and pinned Fang En down beneath him, giving her a great fright. Pushing him away, she hollered, ¡°What are you trying to do!?!¡± ¡°What am I trying to do? You, of course. Didn¡¯t you want to find out how skilled I am? I shall let you experience it personally.¡± He immediately lowered his head and nted a kiss on Fang En¡¯s lips. Since she could not push him away, she had no choice but to let him do whatever he wanted with her. ¡°Don¡¯t do this, get off me!¡± He grabbed her iling arms and raised them above her head before saying gently, ¡°I¡¯ll never let go of you, ever.¡± He began smooching Fang En ferociously, causing her to almost faint. The image of Yan Ge despising her popped up in her head all of a sudden, and she bit down on Xiao Chenyang¡¯s lips with all her might. The moment Fang En tasted blood in her mouth, she knew that she had cut his lips. Yet, he did not make a single sound and instead kissed her even more zealously. ¡°Ah... let go of me!¡± Noticing that he was ignoring her, she began bawling loudly. Finally, he decided to stop. ¡°What are you crying about?¡± ¡°Do you know that you¡¯re raping me? How could you do this to me? Just what have I done wrong? Grandma!¡± she eximed, tearing up incessantly. ¡°I¡¯m not your grandma...¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t referring to you!¡± He got off of her and said coaxingly, ¡°Okay, okay, stop crying. I won¡¯t touch you anymore, alright?¡± Staring at the bite mark on his lips, she turned to face away from him and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to bed now.¡± Xiao Chenyang grabbed his erect member and closed his eyes, feeling extremely ufortable and desperate for release. ¡ª An Xiaoning put on a red dress and headed out to attend Ji Yu¡¯s wedding. Strangely, everyone greeted her when she arrived there, regardless of whether she knew them or not. She also bumped into Commander-in-chief Jin¡¯s family. Tuoba Danxue was a little afraid to look An Xiaoning in the eye when they met again after a long time. An Xiaoning took a casual nce at her and looked away. Jin Minxing greeted her openly, after which she responded and walked away to take a seat amongst the guests. Guests were often invited to share the joy of the newlyweds. However, Ji Yu did not show much emotion and did not seem to be that happy. He was dressed in his military uniform for his big day. He looked suave and dashing. The bride was smiling joyously throughout the entire ceremony. She seemed extremely pleased to be getting married to Ji Yu. An Xiaoning just wanted to leave as soon as she could after the toasting ceremony. After the solemnization ceremony, it was time for the banquet to begin. She drove to a nearby hotel where the banquet was to be held. She found herself a seat, after which the other guests began entering. Once all the guests were seated, the waiters began serving the dishes while the bride and groom proceeded to toast to the guests. When it was her turn to be toasted, the bride greeted her while smiling, ¡°Ms. An, thank you for attending our wedding. Here, let me toast to you.¡± An Xiaoning stood up and took the ss of liquor that was handed to her by the bride. ¡°As Ji Yu¡¯s friend, I wish you two a blissful marriage ¡¯til death do you part!¡± She then gulped the ss of white wine down in one go. The moment the wine slid down her throat, An Xiaoning cursed in her head, God damn it, such poor-quality wine... Once the banquet ended, she hurriedly left and got inside her car. Chapter 1022 - Perplexed and Smitten (82)

Chapter 1022: Perplexed and Smitten (82)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The air was hot and humid. Just as she was about to drive away after switching on the air conditioner inside her car, someone began knocking on her window. An Xiaoning took a look and saw that it was Tuoba Danxue. She rolled down the window and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°May I speak to you alone in your car?¡± ¡°Hop in.¡± Tuoba Danxue walked over to the passenger¡¯s seat. Once she got inside the car, she cut straight to the chase and asked, ¡°Were you the culprit behind my brother¡¯s death?¡± ¡°Your brother killed himself. At that point, there was no need for me to kill him,¡± said An Xiaoning, staring at her. ¡°Are my mother and grandfather dead?¡± she asked with tears in her eyes. ¡°Are you going to try and save them if I told you that they are still alive? If you really miss them, I can take you to see them,¡± said An Xiaoning, staring at her solemnly. ¡°No.¡± Noticing how afraid she was, An Xiaoning said, ¡°One should make ns to deal with the worst case scenario before trying to harm others.¡± Tuoba Danxue fidgeted constantly, and An Xiaoning could tell that she was extremely ill at ease. ¡°Will you n to kill me?¡± she asked after much hesitation. An Xiaoning answered, ¡°Why would I kill you? Live your life properly.¡± Surprised to hear the words of reassurance from An Xiaoning, she said, ¡°Are you still going to say that to me even though I hate you?¡± ¡°Does it matter whether or not you hate me? I don¡¯t care about you anyway. What you think and how you feel about me doesn¡¯t affect me at all. There are plenty of people who detest me. You don¡¯t make a difference.¡± Tuoba Danxue was taken aback by how calm she sounded, as if they were talking about someone else. Tuoba Danxue looked away and said, ¡°In that case, I won¡¯t impose on you any further.¡± Watching as she alighted from the car, An Xiaoning added, ¡°Tuoba Danxue.¡± Tuoba Danxue paused her actions and asked, ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°No one is born with a desire to kill.¡± A look of dejection formed in Tuoba Danxue¡¯s eyes as she expressed assent and closed the door. An Xiaoning watched Tuoba Danxue leave, recalling the days when she was disguised as thetter¡¯s bodyguard in the Autumn Pce. Back then, Tuoba Danxue was still Her Highness while Tuoba Gucheng was His Highness; the maid, Zhi Yin, had also yet to die in the fire. My mother was also still being tortured in the secret chamber... Everything felt like a passing cloud. However, she would never want to go through the past again. Upon returning to Wei Ni Estate, An Xiaoning parked her car at the entrance and rolled down the window. Staring at Long Tianze, who was standing at the entrance, she asked, ¡°The sun is zing right now. What are you doing standing right below it?¡± ¡°Sis-inw, please discipline your sister. She¡¯s getting out of hand,¡± Long Tianze said with a look of dismay. ¡°What happened to Yangyang?¡± Long Tianzemented, ¡°I was just enjoying myself while watching some television. All of a sudden, she switched off the television and chased me out of the house.¡± ¡°What were you watching?¡± ¡°Oh, I was watching the beauty pageant that was airing on XX channel.¡± ¡°You deserved it.¡± An Xiaoning rolled the windows back up and drove in slowly. ¡°Hey, hey, Sis-inw...¡± ¡ª It was five o¡¯clock in the afternoon. ¡°I¡¯m going to the studio for a meeting, what are you following me for?¡± said Fang En, who tried to stop him from tagging along. ¡°Since I¡¯m your bodyguard, I obviously have to follow you.¡± ¡°Did I hire you to be my bodyguard? I¡¯m not hiring you.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t reject me. I won¡¯t charge you a single cent and you¡¯re allowed to order me around,¡± Xiao Chenyang insisted. Fang En stared at him in bewilderment and asked, ¡°Why... why do you have to cause me such a great disturbance?¡± ¡°Because I have already fallen for you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re too willful.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve gotten used to it.¡± He took a look at the time on his wristwatch and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go, it¡¯s gettingte.¡± The helpless Fang En had no choice but to walk toward the door while he followed closely behind, d in a pair of shades. He escorted her all the way to the studio. An Xiaoning had already informed Mei Yangyang about what happened to Fang En. Although Mei Yangyang knew the truth, she was at a loss for a solution while hearing Fang En¡¯sints. ¡°Sis Yangyang, Sis Xiaoning advised me against calling the police. What do you think I should do? What must I do to drive him away?¡± Fang En asked eagerly. Mei Yangyang answered softly, ¡°En, just forget about sending him away. Sis has already told me everything about him. In my opinion, he¡¯s really handsome, capable, and treats you very well. If you...¡± Fang En refuted, ¡°No. It¡¯s impossible between us. Regardless of how great of a catch he may be, I still don¡¯t fancy him.¡± Mei Yangyang instructed, ¡°There¡¯s something I must remind you about. No matter who you fancy, you can¡¯t let such an obstinate man like him find out. Don¡¯t end up implicating others and causing them unnecessary harm. Got it?¡± Having understood what she meant, Fang En asked, ¡°Sis Yangyang, is there really no other solution?¡± ¡°No, unless he chooses to leave out of his own ord.¡± ¡°Sis Yangyang, tell me the truth, does Sis Xiaoning know him?¡± After contemting for a long while about whether or not she should divulge some information, Mei Yangyang nodded and said, ¡°He¡¯s far more formidable and powerful than Sis. She can¡¯t deal with him either.¡± Shock and bewilderment was written all over Fang En¡¯s face. She decided to abort her initial ns after hearing Mei Yangyang¡¯s words. ¡°I think it¡¯s a good idea for him to be your bodyguard since he¡¯s so skilled and powerful. He¡¯ll definitely be able to guarantee your safety.¡± ¡°But, Sis Yangyang, he¡¯s a danger to me himself.¡± ¡°En, have you ever truly thought about why he¡¯s treating you like this?¡± ¡°He said that he has fallen for me.¡± Mei Yangyang sighed and said, ¡°En, do you think Yan Ge would do that if he too has fallen for you?¡± Shaking her head, Fang En answered, ¡°No, Yan Ge is not such a person.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve met Xiao Chenyang not long ago. How could you be so quick to judge his character? He did that purely because he fancies you. Rarely will men be able to put in so much effort for their beloved woman, regardless of how much they may fancy them. Don¡¯t you agree?¡± After giving her words some thought, Fang En found that they did make a lot of sense. ¡°I really can¡¯t think of another reason...¡± ¡°You have to find out about it yourself, then. En, I know you must be feeling intimidated about the fact that such a man popped up out of nowhere. However, I think it¡¯d be a good idea to get to know him better. Perhaps you might even fall in love with him, who knows?¡± ¡°Fall in love with him? Impossible! How could I fall in love with such an extreme and stubborn man?¡± Fang En eximed in displeasure. ¡°No one knows what will happen in the future. Since he¡¯s willing to be your bodyguard for free, I shall dismiss those two bodyguards of yours.¡± ¡°Alright...¡± Fang En changed the subject to work-rted matters and asked, ¡°Are you nning to arrange for me to start starring in another television series?¡± ¡°Yes, we have to strike the iron while it¡¯s hot. I¡¯ve shown you the script. It¡¯s a splendid storyline. Although we¡¯re not investing in this production, the other sponsors and investors have all agreed to make you the female lead. I¡¯ve already signed the contract on your behalf.¡± Chapter 1023 - Perplexed and Smitten (83)

Chapter 1023: Perplexed and Smitten (83)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go along with your arrangements.¡± ¡°Take this time to get some rest and rejuvenate yourself before working on a new production again. Aside from that, I also want you to post a new thread on Weibo.¡± ¡°About?¡± ¡°Post about the news of you having a new handsome bodyguard and attach a photo of him.¡± ¡°Why must I announce that on Weibo?¡± Fang En asked in bewilderment. ¡°The media is going to specte that he¡¯s your boyfriend if you show up together everywhere.¡± ¡°I told Yan Ge that he was my cousin.¡± ¡°Psht...¡± Mei Yangyang burst intoughter and asked, ¡°Does Xiao Chenyang know about it?¡± ¡°Not yet.¡± Mei Yangyang instructed, ¡°Well, don¡¯t announce that on Weibo. It¡¯s going to be hard to exin if you two be a couple one day.¡± Fang En reiterated, ¡°There¡¯s no way we will ever be a couple. Alright, Sis Yangyang, I¡¯m going back now.¡± ¡°Alright, go ahead.¡± While leaving the studio, Fang En felt a little hungry and asked, ¡°Are you hungry?¡± ¡°A little.¡± ¡°I want to eat something.¡± ¡°What would you like to eat?¡± ¡°Some delicious food.¡± He whipped out his mobile phone and began tapping away furiously. ¡°What are you doing?¡± she asked. ¡°Ordering some food for you. The food should be prepared by the time we arrive. We wouldn¡¯t have to wait.¡± Fang En was surprised to see how thoughtful he was, for she did not expect that he would be so caring. The two of them got inside the nanny van and headed to the restaurant. The moment they stepped foot inside the restaurant, Fang En felt like all eyes were on her. She could not help but think to herself, Could it be that I¡¯m starting to get famous? She subconsciously tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled at the crowd while waving at them. However... All the patrons ignored her gesture, making her feel a little awkward. She took a closer took, only to discover that they weren¡¯t looking at her at all. Instead, their eyes were fixed on Xiao Chenyang. How awkward! They headed upstairs together. After entering the private room, she said, ¡°I thought they were all staring at me.¡± He sat down and handed her a pair of chopsticks. The dishes were served at just the right timing. ¡°Isn¡¯t it the same regardless of who they look at? Shouldn¡¯t you be happier instead?¡± ¡°Why should I be happy that others are staring at you?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m yours, silly,¡± he gibed. ¡°...¡± ¡°By the way, my co-star who lives opposite me asked me who you are and I told him that you are my cousin,¡± said Fang En, who decided to exin it to him after much consideration. He sneered, ¡°Your cousin? Why don¡¯t you say that I¡¯m your godbrother who does you all day?¡± Upon hearing his crude remark, she turned red immediately and chided, ¡°How shameless.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so afraid of being ashamed. Okay, what matters is you¡¯re happy. Who cares if I¡¯m your cousin or godbrother. Dig in.¡± She continued, ¡°If anyone asks you about it in the future, you must tell them the same thing. But of course, if any of my fans ask you who you are, just tell them that you¡¯re my bodyguard.¡± ¡°Do you even have fans?¡± he said, exposing her relentlessly. ¡°I do! Didn¡¯t you see how many followers I have on Weibo?¡± she quickly defended herself. Xiao Chenyang said bluntly, ¡°They¡¯re all fake fans. Those who genuinely admire you will show their support for you through their actions by adding on to your viewership ratings. Actions speak louder than words. You¡¯ll know who your true fans are once the television series begins airing.¡± Fang En dropped the subject and scanned her surroundings. ¡°This is such a ssy and elegant restaurant. Have you dined here before?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°How did you order the food, then? I thought you had patronized this restaurant before.¡± ¡°You can do anything online nowadays. I¡¯ve downloaded a food-ordering app that allows me to look at reviews of many different restaurants. I¡¯ve saved those that have gotten great reviews.¡± ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Saves a great deal of trouble. After having their fill and taking a break, they left together to return to the estate. As soon as they alighted from the nanny van, they caught sight of Yan Ge exiting the lobby together with his mother. Mrs. Yan was obviously there to visit her son. Upon the sight of the two of them, Yan Ge said, ¡°Jing Shui is at your doorstep right now. He came by to take a look because he couldn¡¯t get through to you on your mobile phone.¡± ¡°I set my mobile phone to silent mode. I probably didn¡¯t hear it.¡± She greeted Mrs. Yan politely, ¡°Nice to meet you, Auntie.¡± Mrs. Yan nodded and answered with a smile, ¡°Hello, this is...¡± ¡°He¡¯s my cousin who¡¯s now my bodyguard.¡± ¡°What a handsome young chap,¡± Mrs. Yan remarked. ¡°Your bodyguard?¡± Yan Ge asked. ¡°Yes, he¡¯s skilled inbat defense. He resigned from his previous job today.¡± A sullen expression formed on Yan Ge¡¯s face immediately. His instincts told him that this ¡°cousin¡± of hers seemed a little suspicious and unusual. He was sizing Xiao Chenyang up, and vice versa. Fang En was suddenly overwhelmed with nervousness because Yan Ge had informed her that Jing Shui was at her door. Once they got inside the elevator, Xiao Chenyang asked, ¡°Who¡¯s Jing Shui?¡± ¡°Oh, he¡¯s the co-director of the television series. He¡¯s also my friend.¡± ¡°Your friend?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± They arrived on the sixth floor. Upon the sight of her, Jing Shui asked worriedly, ¡°Where have you been? Why didn¡¯t you answer all my calls?¡± ¡°I went to the studio. What brings you here?¡± ¡°I tried to call you but I couldn¡¯t reach you, so I decided to drop by your ce to take a look. Who¡¯s he?¡± he asked. ¡°My cousin-cum-bodyguard.¡± Jing Shui immediately rxed after hearing that he was his cousin. Fang En opened the door and allowed him to enter. This was Jing Shui¡¯s first time visiting her at her new apartment. ¡°You did a great job decorating this ce, although it¡¯s a little small.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± She grabbed a bottle of beverage from the refrigerator and handed it to Jing Shui, ¡°Here, have some.¡± He took it from her and asked, ¡°Did you go to the studio to receive the notice of your next television series?¡± ¡°How did you know?¡± ¡°I actually already heard a little about your studio signing you on for another television series. However, I also heard that that production unit is a highlypetent one. That¡¯s great. You¡¯re the only artiste signed to your studio right now. Seems like they¡¯re focused on pushing you to fame.¡± ¡°Yes, but there¡¯s still some time for me to rest before filming begins.¡± Fang En had a casual chat with Jing Shui, secretly hoping that he would leave as soon as possible. However, it did not seem like Jing Shui was nning to leave any time soon. Xiao Chenyang began to get rather impatient and said, ¡°Mr. Jing, it looks like it¡¯s going to rain soon.¡± ¡°No problem, I¡¯ve already read the weather forecast. It¡¯s not going to rain today. Besides, I drove here.¡± ¡°...¡± Xiao Chenyang said bluntly, ¡°Can¡¯t you tell that I¡¯m reminding you it¡¯s time to leave?¡± Fang En found his words to be rather callous and inappropriate. ¡°This is En¡¯s house. You may be her bodyguard and cousin, but I don¡¯t think you have the right to tell me to leave,¡± Jing Shui said with a look of disgruntlement, finding Xiao Chenyang to be extremely nosy. Just as Xiao Chenyang was about to retort, Fang En shot him a nce to warn him, after which he switched on the television and turned the volume up to almost the maximum. Chapter 1024 - Perplexed and Smitten (84)

Chapter 1024: Perplexed and Smitten (84)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jing Shui covered his ears and hollered, ¡°Are you trying to make me deaf? It¡¯s so loud!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t find it loud, maybe your ears are just weak,¡± he said nonchntly. Jing Shui left in the end. He was utterly disgusted by Xiao Chenyang. However, thetter was not at all bothered and went on to do what he should. Fang En closed the door and entered. She then said to Xiao Chenyang, who was sitting on the couch, ¡°Do you know what he said to me? He asked me why I had gotten a lunatic to be my bodyguard. He also said that you¡¯re seriously ill in the head.¡± Xiao Chenyang picked up the remote and switched off the television. He stood up and said, ¡°From now on, refrain from letting those men who love ogling you and keeping their eyes fixed on you enter the house. I¡¯ll just feel like killing them.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª ¡°Miss... Miss, wake up...¡± An Xiaoning struggled to open her eyes, only to be greeted with the sight of Mei Yangyang who had two pigtails. ¡°Yu... Jiao...¡± ¡°I¡¯m here. Miss, the Princess Consort wants you to go to her.¡± She supported herself up and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t specify. She just wants you to make a trip to her ce.¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go then.¡± She got out of bed and tried to leave immediately. Yu Jiao quickly grabbed her to stop her. ¡°Miss, you¡¯ve yet to wash up and tidy your appearance, how can you just go there straight? I¡¯ve brought some water for you to wash your face with,¡± said Yu Jiao. After washing her face, An Xiaoning changed into a fresh set of clothes while Yu Jiao applied some makeup on her face. She then sat down in front of the dressing table to allow Yu Jiao tob her hair. She initially thought that she would not dream about her previous lifetime again since she had already found out about most of it from Xiao Chenyang. However, it seemed that that was not the case. After making sure she looked neat and tidy, An Xiaoning and Yu Jiao left their residence. She knew where the Princess Consort¡¯s residence was and thus headed there. They arrived to see that the Princess Consort was sitting by a round table and fanning herself while having some tea. ¡°Take a seat, I have something to say to you, Sister.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not fit to be called your sister.¡± An Xiaoning sat down. The Princess Consort Tian smiled sarcastically and answered, ¡°Why so? His Highness treats you so well and dotes on you like you¡¯re his precious gem despite not giving you a proper status. Your status makes no difference to him anyway. Don¡¯t tell me, you think I¡¯m unfit to call you ¡®Sister¡¯?¡± An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°You may address me in whichever way you¡¯d like, Princess Consort. Look how big of a reaction I¡¯ve gotten out of you just by saying such a simple sentence. I¡¯m not as sharp-tongued and I can¡¯t outargue you, Princess Consort.¡± Princess Consort Tian dropped the subject and said, ¡°Tomorrow is the day that His Highness marries the princess of Chi Dan. I heard that she¡¯s haughty and arrogant, I wonder if you¡¯ve heard about that too?¡± ¡°Never have.¡± ¡°I need to give you a reminder, then, Sister. At the end of the day, I¡¯m still thewful wife of His Highness and my father is the current Grand Chancellor, unlike you, Sister. Your maternal family had been executed, leaving just you behind. Yet, you¡¯re His Highness¡¯ most beloved woman. I¡¯m afraid that that princess is going to show you her authority.¡± An Xiaoning was rather displeased to hear that her family had been executed. Instead of beating around the bush, An Xiaoning said, ¡°So? Just get straight to the point if there¡¯s anything you¡¯d like to say. There are no outsiders here.¡± ¡°So, I hope we can stand together on the same side. That¡¯ll be beneficial for all of us, including His Highness. What do you think, Sister?¡± An Xiaoning naturally understood what she meant as her intentions were more than obvious. ¡°How do you n for us to stand on the same side? What do you want me to do?¡± ¡°There are plenty that I want you to do. Are you going to agree?¡± ¡°Since you¡¯ve said that, wouldn¡¯t it be inappropriate for me to turn you down?¡± ¡°Exactly! From now on, you and I shall be each other¡¯s backing in this residence,¡± said the Princess Consort, who was grinning widely from ear to ear. In other words, supporting each other simply meant they would be using each other to obtain equal benefits. They both knew that clearly. An Xiaoning finally noticed that the servants in the Prince¡¯s residence were all extremely busy preparing for something, which she now knew was the uing wedding. Yu Jiao asked, ¡°Miss, did the Princess Consort say something to you?¡± ¡°She wants to forge an alliance with me to fend off an intruder.¡± Yu Jiao immediately understood what she meant. ¡°Seems like the Princess Consort is feeling uncertain and insecure as well, and that¡¯s why she wanted to rope you in to get your help.¡± ¡°The enemy of your enemy is your friend. It¡¯s always better to have one more friend and one less enemy. Where did His Highness go early in the morning?¡± ¡°I have no idea. I¡¯ll ask aroundter.¡± ¡°Okay. Are we armed with daggers?¡± ¡°Daggers? No,¡± Yu Jiao answered, shaking her head. ¡°Forget it, I¡¯m hungry.¡± ¡°I was nning to ask you to eat. If it weren¡¯t because of the Princess Consort¡¯s request to see you, we would¡¯ve already had breakfast by now.¡± Once they returned to the residence, Yu Jiao began preparing breakfast while An Xiaoning paced back and forth alone in the yard. The temperatures were cooler in the morning and felt much more refreshing. There was a stone table and stone chairs below the tree. Yu Jiao ced the food onto the stone table and slowly began eating. The food was nd and not oily at all. Breakfast consisted of porridge paired with some side dishes ¡ª an absolute perfect match. ¡°Miss, don¡¯t be too upset. Feel free to share your woes with me.¡± ¡°What¡¯s there for me to be upset about? I¡¯m in high spirits. His Highness is going to enjoy a blissful marriage.¡± ¡°Are you hearing yourself, Miss? You¡¯re obviously unhappy.¡± Yu Jiao took a seat on the stone chair and continued, ¡°Everyone in the residence knows that you¡¯re the only person His Highness loves. Don¡¯t doubt his feelings for you.¡± She looked at Yu Jiao earnestly and said, ¡°I was just joking. Even though he¡¯s a prince, there¡¯s still a greater power above him and he has no choice but toply. He must be feeling upset enough. How can I add on to his troubles?¡± Staring at her in astonishment, Yu Jiao said, ¡°Ah, why does it seem like you¡¯ve be an entirely different person?¡± She smiled without answering. A whileter, the Princess Consort¡¯s maid, Xiao Liu, arrived with a tray in her hands. ¡°Xiao Liu, what¡¯s that?¡± Yu Jiao asked. ¡°What else could it be? It¡¯s some bird¡¯s nest soup that the Princess Consort wants Miss Jin to have to nourish herself.¡± ¡°We ought to thank the Princess Consort, then.¡± Yu Jiao took it from her. Smiling, Xiao Liu said, ¡°Please tell Miss Jin to finish all of it. It¡¯s good for her health and would improve herplexion.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take my leave, then.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Yu Jiao entered the house and said to An Xiaoning, ¡°Miss, the Princess Consort sent Xiao Liu to deliver this to you. It¡¯s bird¡¯s nest soup.¡± An Xiaoning grabbed the bowl, took a look at its contents, and poured it into a flower pot. Yu Jiao asked in astonishment, ¡°Miss, why did you pour it away? It¡¯s very expensive.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t eat it regardless of how expensive it may be.¡± An Xiaoning handed the empty bowl to her and said, ¡°Just tell her that I¡¯ve finished it.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Yu Jiao exited with the bowl. An Xiaoningy down on the bed, staring nkly at the bed curtains. Chapter 1025 - Perplexed and Smitten (85)

Chapter 1025: Perplexed and Smitten (85)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After a while, Yu Jiao scurried into the room and reported, ¡°Miss, Miss, I¡¯ve asked around and found out that His Highness has gone to the Imperial Pce to wee the people from Chi Dan. He¡¯ll only be returning at night.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± An Xiaoning assented sluggishly. She got out of bed, opened the closet, and scrutinized the clothes inside. ¡°Are there any clothes in the closet that I haven¡¯t worn before?¡± she asked. ¡°Yes, there¡¯s a dress that you haven¡¯t worn before. Have you forgotten about it? It¡¯s this one,¡± said Yu Jiao, handing her a light-blue cored dress that was embroidered with silver thread, which she took out from the closet. An Xiaoning took the dress from her and scanned the dress from head to toe. She touched the fabric of the dress with her fingers and found that it was extremely smooth and silky. She could tell right away that it was of superior fabric. ¡°Miss, you¡¯re so strange sometimes. You were the one who told me to keep this dress beneath the trunk, yet you still asked me if there are any clothes in the closet that you haven¡¯t worn before.¡± ¡°Well, my memory is really poor sometimes. I often forget about things,¡± said An Xiaoning, who had no choice but toe up with such a lousy excuse. ¡°Miss, are you nning to wear this dress?¡± ¡°Yes, I shall wear it tomorrow.¡± Greatly taken aback, Yu Jiao said, ¡°Huh... but didn¡¯t you say that you wanted to wear this only after you¡¯re married? You said that it¡¯s the only piece of garment you have from your mother.¡± An Xiaoning was shocked to hear that revtion. She took another look at the dress to see that it was still very new. After scrutinizing it, she discovered that it was different. ¡°Since it¡¯s the only piece of my mother¡¯s clothing that I have, I shouldn¡¯t just leave it around in the closet. What¡¯s the use of cherishing it by keeping it? It¡¯s more meaningful to wear it.¡± Besides, An Xiaoning knew that she had not gotten married at all in this lifetime and did not get the chance to wear the dress. ¡°Miss, you have a point...¡± After watching the servants being busy for the entire day, An Xiaoning felt like the mood was extremely lively and boisterous. She would be fine with watching him marry another woman since he was just as helpless and didn¡¯t have a choice. However, there was no way she could let him consummate his marriage with another woman. She was waiting for his return. Yet, he still did not show up even after a long time. Feeling helpless and at a loss for what to do, she instructed Yu Jiao to ask around. Yu Jiao returned and informed her, ¡°I heard that His Highness would be staying behind for dinner in the pce. He¡¯ll only being back to the residence at a muchter time.¡± ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll just wait for him, then.¡± However, there was no source of entertainment for her at all in the room. Feeling rather bored while sitting alone on the bed, she decided to lie down, only to feel sleepy a few momentster. However, she repeatedly told herself that she could not fall asleep, for she had to witness his big day tomorrow with her very own eyes. Yet, she could not curb her urge to fall asleep and soon dozed off. An Xiaoning thought that she would definitely wake up from her dream once she wakes up again. To her surprise, she realized that she was still in the dream after waking up. It was not too surprising, considering that she had once stayed in the same dream for several days. The sky had turned bright outside. ¡°Yu Jiao?¡± An Xiaoning called softly. ¡°Yes?¡± Upon hearing hermand, Yu Jiao immediately got up and scurried toward her. ¡°Miss, are you thirsty?¡± ¡°No, what time is it now?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the Mao duration.¡± The Mao duration was the two-hour period between five and seven o¡¯clock in the morning. Staring at the sky and deducing that it must be about five or six o¡¯clock, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Did you find out when His Highness came back yesterday?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t have to ask around. His Highness returned a short while after you went to bed. He decided not to disturb you since you had already fallen asleep. He even asked me if you were upset with him.¡± ¡°How did you answer him?¡± ¡°I told His Highness everything that you said to me when we were sitting below the tree. His Highness then left after taking a look at you for a while.¡± ¡°Well done. Bring me some water to wash my face with. I¡¯m getting up now.¡± ¡°Miss, aren¡¯t you going to sleep in for a little longer?¡± ¡°It¡¯s his big day, how am I supposed to fall asleep? Hurry and go.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning put on the light-blue dress that belonged to her mother. While getting her hairbed after washing her face, Yu Jiao asked, ¡°What kind of a hairdo would you like for today?¡± ¡°I just want to look pretty.¡± Without further questions, Yu Jiao beganbing her hair and dolling her up quietly. .... The sky had turned brightpletely less than two hourster. Firecrackers began crackling incessantly, and there was an endless stream of guests who were invited to the wedding. All the servants in the Prince¡¯s residence thought that An Xiaoning would coop herself up in the room for the entire day. To their surprise, she actually turned up for the wedding and was even dressed to the nines. Although they were all wondering if she would cause a scene at the wedding, they nheless greeted her with utmost respect. Meanwhile, Jin Qingyan was dressed in a red wedding robe and was already waiting by the door when she arrived with Yu Jiao. An Xiaoning walked toward him slowly. Upon the sight of her, he remained calm andposed on the surface despite feeling rather nervous. Yet, he could not talk to her much in front of everyone else. She could read his mind with just one nce at his facial expression. It was the same regardless of whether he was Xihou Ling or Jin Qingyan. ¡°Congrattions, Your Highness,¡± she said gently with a smile. He stared her in slight confusion about her congrattory words. Recalling what Yu Jiao had said to him the night before, he smiled at An Xiaoning affectionately. That was all she needed, for there was a strong, tacit understanding between them. Princess Consort Tian could not help but feel a little dejected upon seeing their affectionate exchange. There were loud sounds of people enteringing from outside. The butler reported, ¡°Your Highness, they¡¯re here.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± The loud sounds only came to a halt when the group of people arrived at the entrance. The sedan-bearer, who was dressed in satin, carried the sedan through the gate and lowered it in front of Jin Qingyan. The moment the curtain of the sedan was lifted, the tan-skinned bride stuck her hand out of the curtain while he held onto it. With a red veil over her head, she was led out of the bridal sedan. He carried her on his back and stepped over a pot of fire before proceeding to the ceremonial venue. Due to the fact that she was the most beloved princess of Chi Dan who would be bing Jin Qingyan¡¯swful wife, they had to adhere to all the traditional wedding customs. Although An Xiaoning felt slightly different from the way she did during Ji Yu¡¯s wedding, which she had just attended, she did not have much emotions in general. All eyes were on her as she was standing there, watching the ceremony. However, she remained standing with her back straight and with a smile on her face. No one knew just what she was nning to do by being dressed in such an alluring outfit. ¡°His Majesty is here!¡± Everyone got on their knees immediately. The Emperor strode in, dressed in bright yellow. He said in a crisp voice, ¡°Forget the formalities, please get up quickly, everyone. Today is the day of my third brother¡¯s wedding. I¡¯ve prepared lots of gifts for you and Sister-inw.¡± Jin Qingyan expressed his gratitude with a smile. An Xiaoning kept her eyes fixed on the Emperor from the moment he entered. Although he was not exactly identical to the portrait Jin Qingyan had drawn previously, the difference was not significant. Chapter 1026 - Perplexed and Smitten (86)

Chapter 1026: Perplexed and Smitten (86)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She had never seen his face before. At the same time that she was looking at him, he was also staring at her. He seemed to be extremely sharp. The ceremony ended quickly, after which the bride and groom were sent to the bridal chamber. On the other hand, the Princess Consort and An Xiaoning returned to their own residences. An Xiaoning was looking forward to nighttime. .... After attending to all the guests in the afternoon, the newlyweds would usually be pranked and teased by the guests on the night of their wedding. However, no one in the pce dared to disturb the night of their consummation. ording to the customs and rules of the pce, the veil would only be allowed to be removed in the evening. To Jin Qingyan¡¯s surprise, the bride had already removed the veil and heavy essories on her head by herself and was having dinner alone. Although she had already seen him at the pce yesterday, she could not help but tense up at the sight of him, especially since it was their wedding night. She began blushing as red as a tomato. ¡°You¡¯re back.¡± ¡°I¡¯m supposed to be the one to remove your veil.¡± Although he had already seen her before too, he still thought that she was worlds apart from his lover. ¡°Well... I was too bored so I removed it myself. We¡¯ve already gone through the ceremony anyway.¡± She poured him a ss of wine and continued, ¡°We¡¯ve yet to exchange nuptial toasts. Here.¡± Instead of grabbing the ss she offered, he walked toward the table and picked up the pot of wine. He then spiked it while using his long sleeve as a shield, after which he poured her a ss of wine. He grabbed the ss of wine from her and gulped it down in one go with his arm intertwined around hers. After they drank the wine, Princess Consort Mu said, ¡°Let¡¯s get some rest, then.¡± Although he was extremely reluctant, she was still his wife at the end of the day and it would be inappropriate for him to turn her down coldly. Thus, he nodded. Princess Consort Mu nodded and began unbuttoning her clothes. He sat on the bed, not nning to undress at all. The moment he felt a sudden warmth in his lower abdomen, he realized that she had already spiked his drink before he did hers. Noticing that he was not undressing yet, she reached out in a bid to help him, only to have him grab it. He said in refusal, ¡°I¡¯ll do it on my own.¡± She removed her shoes andy in bed to wait for him. Seeing how slow he was in his actions, Princess Consort Mu said coquettishly, ¡°Hurry up.¡± He red at her coldly before removing his robe and throwing it onto the ground. Knock-knock! His bodyguard said, ¡°Your Highness, I have something to report to you.¡± He got up and answered the door. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± The bodyguard answered softly, ¡°Miss Jin wants to see you.¡± ¡°Tell her to go back and wait for me, I¡¯ll be there in a bit.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He closed the door and suppressed his anger. At this moment, the woman on the bed had already begun losing her consciousness slowly. She continuously murmured incoherently. He lowered the curtains of the bed, leaving a barrier between them. He had merely spiked her drink with a drug that would knock her unconscious, yet she had spiked both of theirs with an aphrodisiac. At this very moment, she had lost control of her body and begun masturbating despite having fallen into a daze. He picked up the wedding robe on the ground and put it on before leaving again. His body was burning by the time he saw An Xiaoning. Before either of them could speak, he was already eager to get a release. Noticing that something was wrong with him, she asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been drugged with an aphrodisiac.¡± He pinned her down onto the bed and began prating her without any forey. An Xiaoning frowned in immense pain but still decided to bear with it and allow him to continue. He only called it quits after climaxing for four times in a row. Due to the sweltering heat, they were both drenched in sweat as beads of perspiration dripped from her hair. He carried her to the shower, after which he wiped her dry and lowered her onto the bed. He then said, ¡°I can¡¯t stay here for long. I¡¯ve already been out for some time, I have to go back now. I¡¯lle and see you again tomorrow.¡± ¡°Go ahead,¡± she agreed with a nod, feeling excruciating pain and soreness in between her legs. Before she fell asleep, she thought to herself that she would definitely snap out of the dream once she wakes up again. .... ¡°Princess Consort, His Highness just came out of Hua Jin¡¯s room. He was in there for about three hours. He has now returned to the nuptial chamber, and...¡± ¡°Get straight to the point.¡± ¡°And, that Princess Consort Mu was extremely loud. I could hear her moaning even from outside the nuptial chamber.¡± Princess Consort Tian smashed the teacup onto the ground furiously and sneered, ¡°She must have had an enjoyable time, and so did His Highness. He was served by two of them in one night. Even though I have been married to him for such a long time, he has never once spent the night in my room! That princess of Chi Dan is so tan-skinned. I¡¯m certain she must be rather mediocre-looking.¡± ¡°I guessed so too. She definitely isn¡¯t as beautiful as you. Princess Consort, simmer down, I¡¯m sure His Highness will treat all of you equally from now on.¡± Princess Consort Tian closed her eyes before opening them again. She said in disgruntlement, ¡°How could he possibly treat us equally? Others may think that he doesn¡¯t want to make Hua Jin his concubine simply because he doesn¡¯t want to give her a proper status. However, from the way I see it, he just doesn¡¯t want to mistreat her by making her sumb to being just a concubine. Now that he has anotherwful wife, where am I supposed to stand in this residence?¡± ¡°Well, in my opinion, I don¡¯t think His Highness really consummated his marriage with the new princess consort. He was in Hua Jin¡¯s room for more than two hours. How could he still have had the energy to get intimate with her in the nuptial chamber? There might be something more there than meets the eye.¡± Princess Consort Tian nced at her and said, ¡°My anger got the better of me. You do make a lot of sense, Xiao Liu. Whatever.¡± ¨D An Xiaoning stretched her back before opening her eyes. She was woken up by her urge to relieve nature¡¯s call. She initially thought that she had already woken up from her dream. To her astonishment, she opened her eyes and discovered that she was still here! Don¡¯t tell me, I¡¯m going to remain in my dream for several days again like the previous time? She quickly got dressed and rushed out of the room. After she was done with her business, she got ready to stand up, during which she heard a few maids whispering amongst themselves outside. ¡°I heard that the new princess consort was moaning loudly for the whole ofst night.¡± ¡°Yeah, I heard that too. Seems like His Highness put in a lot of effortst night.¡± ¡°Shh, let¡¯s cut it out. We¡¯re going to get into trouble if someone hears us. Let¡¯s hurry up and leave.¡± ¡°Yes, yes.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning humphed. A ton of bullshit. He got intimate with me for almost three hoursst night. How could he have had the energy to do it with the new princess consort? After exiting the toilet, she washed up, put on some makeup, and had her meal. Just as she finished eating, he arrived. He was radiant and energized, full of vigor and glee. He looked extremely suave in a silky white shirt. ¡°I thought you had yet to wake up.¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t sleep anymore after I woke up to go to the toilet. I heard that Princess Consort Mu was moaning loudlyst night.¡± He grabbed her hand and said, ¡°That was what I wanted to tell you about. She spiked both my drink and hers with an aphrodisiac and decided to masturbate.¡± Chapter 1027 - Perplexed and Smitten (87)

Chapter 1027: Perplexed and Smitten (87)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Do you know who I am right now?¡± she asked, smiling. ¡°Your reincarnation. Am I right?¡± ¡°How are you so sure?¡± ¡°If not, you wouldn¡¯t have attended my wedding so calmly. If not, you would have cooped yourself up in your room and cried non-stop. Even if you didn¡¯t cry, you¡¯d have been incredibly devastated. If not, you wouldn¡¯t have asked to see mest night. Even if I came to look for you, you would¡¯ve locked me outside the door.¡± An Xiaoning gazed at him affectionately and said, ¡°I love you.¡± ¡°Repeat yourself.¡± ¡°I love you very, very much.¡± Slightly agitated, he hugged her tightly in his embrace. At this very moment, the door was opened forcefully. The person who opened the door had witnessed them hugging each other. An Xiaoning sprung up from her seat in astonishment the moment she saw her. She kept her eyes fixed on the woman at the door, feeling a sudden chill down her spine. The reason being, the woman standing by the door looked exactly identical to Bu Xianxian before her stic surgery. ¡°You...¡± Before she could even speak, Yu Jiao was pushed into the room by the new princess consort¡¯s servants. ¡°How dare this littless stop me froming in. How did you even discipline your servant? Seems like she¡¯s just as rude as her master is,¡± she sneered. An Xiaoning dreaded seeing Bu Xianxian¡¯s face. ¡°Why are you here?¡± he questioned in displeasure while standing up with his hands behind his back. ¡°To look for you, of course. Your Highness, I have some questions for you.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°It won¡¯t be convenient to talk about it here. Pleasee with me to my room, Your Highness.¡± Seemingly having guessed something, he turned around and left. Princess cCnsort Mu glowered at An Xiaoning before leaving. Once they entered the room, Princess Consort Mu said straightforwardly, ¡°I may have been in a dazest night, but I know that you didn¡¯t get intimate with me. It was our nuptial nightst night, yet you actually made me...¡± ¡°You spiked your own drink and pleasured yourself. What else is there to say?¡± ¡°Who did you look for to satisfy your urges, then? Was it that woman earlier?¡± ¡°Are you finished yet?¡± ¡°I¡¯m asking you a question!¡± she screeched, raising her voice and allowing her true colors to show. Instead of answering her, he left straight away, greatly infuriating her and causing her to smash everything in sight to vent her anger. ¡ª ¡°Young Sir, why hasn¡¯t Young Madam woken up yet? It¡¯s already been two days,¡± Fan Shixin said worriedly. Jin Qingyan answered, ¡°The eunuch is getting worried while the emperor is still calm.¡± ¡°Young Sir, I¡¯m not a eunuch!¡± ¡°I was just making an analogy...¡± Fan Shixin asked again, ¡°Shall we take her to the hospital?¡± ¡°No need for that, she¡¯ll wake up soon enough. By the way, when will Yu Yiwei be arriving?¡± ¡°She¡¯s already on the ne and she should bending this afternoon.¡± ¡°Alright, arrange for her to live in a private suite. We¡¯ll know if the treatment is effective once we put her to the test. You may go out.¡± ¡°Yes...¡± Fan Shixin exited, closing the door after him. Jin Qingyan sat on the couch with hisptop on hisp. Ever since An Xiaoning slipped into unconsciousness, he had stopped going to the office and began working from home instead. As for the documents that could not be handled online, he would leave them to his secretary. Although he kept his cool on the surface, he was overwhelmed with worry deep down. He would periodically take a nce at her even while he was working. Some timeter, he heard the sounds of her murmuring. He looked up to see that she had woken up and frantically ced his notebook aside to take a look at her. ¡°You¡¯re up?¡± ¡°Yes... what time is it?¡± An Xiaoning asked, gazing at him and caressing his face. ¡°Ten in the morning.¡± She grunted and struggled to get up. ¡°How long have I been asleep for?¡± ¡°Two days.¡± ¡°That¡¯s about the same as how long my dream felt. Ah, I was so scared.¡± An Xiaoning picked up the ss of water beside her bed and chugged it down in one go. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I dreamt that you had gotten married to the princess of Chi Dan. You definitely wouldn¡¯t have expected it to be her.¡± ¡°Who is she?¡± An Xiaoning burst intoughter and answered, ¡°Bu Xianxian.¡± ¡°Who? Bu Xianxian?¡± he asked with a frown. ¡°The pre-surgery Bu Xianxian.¡± Hugging her knees while sitting on the bed, she recounted the incidents of the dream and exined them to him in detail. ¡°You mean, Bu Xianxian was the Princess Consort Mu in our previous lifetime?¡± Jin Qingyan questioned in disbelief. ¡°Correct.¡± After a moment of silence, An Xiaoning grabbed her mobile phone and swiftly dialed Fan Shixin¡¯s number. ¡°Shixin, keep a close eye on Bu Xianxian. I want to hear everything about her by tomorrow.¡± After ending the call, she said, ¡°We can¡¯t let our guard down against her.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care about her at all. Shall I get Auntie Chen to cook you something to eat?¡± ¡°Alright. I shall go take a shower.¡± He stood up and exited the door while An Xiaoning entered the bathroom in her slippers. She returned downstairs forty minutester in a fresh set of clothes, appearing much more refreshed. There was already an array of dishes on the dining table. She sat down and began eating. Jin Qingyan then said to her, ¡°Someone trespassed on our housest night.¡± ¡°Trespassed? Who? Have you caught the trespasser yet?¡± ¡°No, we have guards on duty round the clock. Even a fly can¡¯t enter. However, the anti-theft system was deliberately damaged. We¡¯ve gotten it repaired, but there are no footages recorded by the surveince cameras. It seems like the trespasser was a man, judging from the traces left behind.¡± ¡°Could it be the Emperor from our previous lifetime? Perhaps he¡¯s afraid that we would regain our memory of the previous lifetime and take revenge on him. Hence, he decided to take action on us first.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t rule out that possibility.¡± An Xiaoning said, ¡°However, if the Emperor and Pei Yi are the same person, how could he possibly be unable to enter? Didn¡¯t you say that he was extremely powerful?¡± ¡°Perhaps he didn¡¯te personally and sent his subordinates instead.¡± Everything seemed to have made more sense. ¡°I¡¯ll go to the police stationter and obtain a simted sketch based on my description of Xihou Jiaping. We will then send the sketch to Pei Yi and deduce if our guess was correct.¡± ¡°Good idea. Pei Yi¡¯s reaction will give it all away.¡± .... The moment she drove out of Wei Ni Estate, she began sensing that something was amiss. She was being tailed by another car that pulled it off skilfully and did not appear to be tailing her at all on the surface. However, she still discovered it nheless. An Xiaoning gripped the steering wheel and kept her eyes fixed on the roads ahead while traveling at a constant speed, as if she had no idea that she was being tailed. She thought that she was merely being tailgated. To her astonishment, the perpetrator was extremely brazen. Chapter 1028 - Perplexed and Smitten (88)

Chapter 1028: Perplexed and Smitten (88)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When they reached a road that was much emptier, the driver dropped his facade and began speeding toward An Xiaoning¡¯s car in a bid to ram into it. She was not flustered at all since it was not her first time being tailed. Thus, she looked at the rear view mirror calmly and pressed the elerator down all the way, causing her car to surge forward. The car behind hers followed suit, hot in pursuit. She immediately ditched her ns to go to the police station and took another route, thinking to herself that it would be inappropriate since the police station was situated in an area where human flow was abundant. After she noticed that the car was chasing her non-stop, an idea popped up in her head. She wanted to find out just who the person tailing her was. An Xiaoning sped toward Heyuan Mountain while the driver followed suit, despite not knowing what she was nning to do. There was some distance between the two cars. By the time they arrived, they were greeted with the sight of An Xiaoning¡¯s car parked in the middle of the road while she was nowhere in sight. The four of them looked at each other in shock and dismay. ¡°Where is she?¡± ¡°Do you think she ran away?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so. If she wanted to run away, she would¡¯ve run home straight instead ofing to such a remote area.¡± ¡°Makes sense. Do you think sheid a trap for us?¡± ¡°That¡¯s very likely. We must be cautious and never let our guard down.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, he was thrust forward all of a sudden. The three other aplices looked over to see that he was bleeding from his chest. An Xiaoning had struck him right in his heart. Pangs of panic engulfed the three of them, who quickly whipped out their guns and scanned their surroundings. In no time, yet another man was knocked down. The two remaining men hurriedly ran toward the car, frightened out of their senses. In the midst of their attempt to escape, the third man was struck fatally. The only one remaining stumbled forward. Just as he was about to fall to the ground, his neck was wrapped by asso, which was tightened even further. An Xiaoning tugged the rope toward herself, causing him to fall on one knee, appearing extremely petrified. An Xiaoning pushed the branches and leaves away from her face before jumping down from the tree. ring at him coldly, she walked toward him while holding the rope in her hands. ¡°You were tailing me and trying to ram your car against mine? Were you trying to kill me?¡± she questioned. The man stared at her with fear written all over his face. ¡°No... Ms. An, please be magnanimous and let me off.¡± ¡°You have to tell me who sent you, then.¡± He hung his head low, remaining silent. ¡°You¡¯re ying dumb? Then go and join your fellow brothers,¡± she threatened, tightening her grip. ¡°I don¡¯t know... who the person who sent us is. I only know that we were given a hefty sum,¡± he spluttered, his hands trembling uncontrobly. ¡°How did he contact you?¡± ¡°Via text message?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the number?¡± she probed. He fumbled about in his pocket to retrieve a mobile phone, which he then handed to An Xiaoning. While she was looking down at the screen, the man pounced on her all of a sudden,pletely ignoring the fact that he had a rope around his neck. Completely caught off guard, An Xiaoning was pinned onto the ground. If she were an ordinary woman, she would have had a hard time pushing the burly man away from her. However, An Xiaoning was no ordinary woman. She pressed her palm against the man to generate a tremendous force thatunched him into the air. An Xiaoning hurriedly got up. As soon as she did, the man plunged downward and copsed onto the ground with a loud thud. One can only imagine how excruciating that must have been. An Xiaoning immediately ended his life before he could even speak. She retracted her rope and gave Fan Shixin a call. After verifying her exact location through the GPS system, Fan Shixin headed there with some other bodyguards. By the time they arrived, An Xiaoning had already driven to the police station. She headed to the simtion room to get a simted sketch done based on her description of Xihou Jiaping¡¯s and Yin Cun¡¯s features. Staring at thepleted sketches, she found that they matched those in her memory. ¡°Sis Xiaoning, these two people are not in our database.¡± ¡°Okay, got it. Thank you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it...¡± After exiting the simtion room, she decided to drop by the Special Investigation Unit office to visit Ma Jianguo and the rest of the team, whom she had not seen in a long time. She made a turn around the corner and pushed the door of the office open. The sulks on their faces vanished at the instant that they saw her. Ma Jianguo lit up in surprise and said, ¡°Wow, Xiaoning is back. Are you going to resume your position?¡± An Xiaoning closed the door and took a seat at her usual spot. ¡°Of course not. I just happened to pass by when I was here to run an errand. Why do you guys look so listless?¡± Ma Jianguo sighed and said, ¡°It makes me sad to think about it. Ever since Yuan Mingzhu died, we haven¡¯t had a leader. Bureau Chief keeps saying that they¡¯re in the midst of searching for a recement but there hasn¡¯t been any updates. We don¡¯t have anyone to guide us through solving cases.¡± ¡°Continue searching, then. There are so many people in S Nation, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll find someone.¡± ¡°That¡¯s easier said than done.¡± Ma Jianguo ced his hands onto the table and stared at her earnestly. ¡°We¡¯ve been discussing whether or not we should tell you this.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± After ncing at his colleagues, Ma Jianguo said, ¡°But Xiaoning, you have to promise us that you won¡¯t tell Bureau Chief even after we tell you. Alright?¡± An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°Alright, just what¡¯s the matter?¡± Ma Jianguo locked the door before saying softly, ¡°Xiaoning, have you heard about those people fishing for corpses in the river in order to obtain money?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard about it on the news but I¡¯m not too sure about the details. Aren¡¯t there professionals who specifically fish for corpses of those who have jumped into the river to kill themselves? Are they asking for a higher wage now?¡± Ma Jianguo exined, ¡°No. Two days ago, someone called the police to report about being ckmailed by the corpse-fishers who have taken the corpse of the informant¡¯s child. The police station then sent me and another colleague to the scene so as to mediate and help the two parties reach a consensus. We know that the areas by the river and mountains are naturally more dangerous and that it¡¯s hard for the fishers. After all, they¡¯re retrieving corpses from the river. It¡¯s rather inauspicious and unholy. We were guessing that they probably charged a reasonable fee of a few thousand dors, yet...¡± Ma Jianguo paused for a moment before continuing, ¡°The parent of the corpse told me that although their son could swim, he had never swam again ever since he almost drowned. Hence, he would never approach anykes or rivers. This time, he¡¯de with his friend and his friend has also verified that he did not stray too near the edge.¡± ¡°How did he die in the river, then?¡± An Xiaoning asked in puzzlement. ¡°The friend of the deceased said that they were just passing by the river when they saw two people attempting suicide. Thus, they decided to run toward the two of them. There were no ropes nearby at all so the deceased and his friend jumped into the water to save the drowning people. Yet the two people who were supposedly attempting suicide pulled the legs of the deceased and his friend in a bid to drag them down into the water. The friend was petrified and instinctively bit down on the person who was pulling his leg. He then fended for himself and frantically got out of the water. However, when he was ashore, he discovered that the deceased and the two men had all been submerged in the water.¡± Chapter 1029 - Perplexed and Smitten (89)

Chapter 1029: Perplexed and Smitten (89)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios It had never ured to An Xiaoning that humanity could be so twisted. ¡°You... you mean those two people pretended tomit suicide? You mean, it was a deliberate act?¡± ¡°Yes. I got goosebumps right after I heard about it. I think things are getting serious. However, it¡¯s not that easy to find out the truth with just his statement alone. I¡¯ve reported this incident to the Chief.¡± ¡°What did Pan Zhenghui say?¡± she asked. Shaking his head, Ma Jianguo took a seat and answered, ¡°He told me and another colleague not to intervene.¡± ¡°What?¡± An Xiaoning gaped. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m telling you about it. I know you¡¯re very busy, but I really hope these things won¡¯t happen again in the future. However? I understand that the world is too vast and there are too many twisted incidents. It¡¯s difficult for one person to solve all problems.¡± The other three of her former colleagues broke their silence. Zu Dong said, ¡°Team Leader, those people are out to harm others. Could you step in to help?¡± Gong Le chimed in, ¡°There are no outsiders here. I shall be brazen and say this. I have a feeling that the Bureau Chief might have received bribes. He might not seem like such a person on the surface, but who knows what his true colors are?¡± ¡°Team Leader, this may seem like it¡¯s someone else¡¯s affairs, but as the police, we ought to do something about it. We¡¯ve discussed this amongst ourselves and we all think that things are going to get out of hand if we don¡¯t keep it within control. Perhaps one day, our children might suffer the same fate. Thus, Team Leader, you must intervene,¡± said Ding Liang. ¡°Since I know about it now, I can¡¯t ignore it. Rest assured, I¡¯ll do something about this.¡± ¡°Xiaoning, will you tell the Chief about this?¡± ¡°Not at the moment.¡± An Xiaoning looked at Ma Jianguo and said, ¡°Don¡¯t tell him about it yet for the time being either. If he has really received bribes, wouldn¡¯t we be rming him unnecessarily? How are we supposed to get the evidence we need then? We shall see what he says once we get sufficient evidence.¡± Ma Jianguo gave her a thumbs up and said, ¡°No wonder you were our team leader. You¡¯re so dauntless and motivated.¡± ¡°Forget it, I¡¯m no longer your team leader.¡± ¡°But you always are, in our hearts.¡± ¡°Old Ma, you¡¯re such an expert at bootlicking.¡± ¡°I meant every word I said from the bottom of my heart. By the way, you said you wanted to get evidence. Shall we go with you?¡± ¡°You guys are busy enough with solving cases. How would you have the time to do it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like we don¡¯t get to get off from work.¡± An Xiaoning waved and said, ¡°Forget it, you guys must be exhausted from working endlessly every day. Just take a break after work. I¡¯ll call you guys when I need your help. Just give me the address of the site.¡± Ma Jianguo made an OK sign with his fingers and said, ¡°It¡¯s south of the bridge along the river below Mount Heyuan. You¡¯ll see that bunch of people once you¡¯re on the bridge.¡± ¡°Is this a widespread urrence all across the country?¡± Shaking his head, Ma Jianguo said, ¡°I¡¯m not sure about the other areas but it¡¯s not the case for all rivers in our country. Well, everyone¡¯s mentality is different, how could wepare all of them against the same criteria? At least we know that that bunch is up to no good.¡± ¡°Is that river near Mount Heyuan a tourist attraction?¡± asked An Xiaoning, who had never been there before despite having heard of it. ¡°Yes, yes, yes. It¡¯s a tourist attraction. Besides, it¡¯s summertime now. There¡¯ll be more tourists.¡± ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll go take a look when I¡¯m free in the next two days,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°We can rest assured with that said, Xiaoning.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯m leaving now. Continue working on your cases.¡± ¡°You¡¯re leaving so soon, aren¡¯t you going to sit here for a while longer?¡± Everyone stood up one after another. ¡°Nah, I¡¯ll contact you guys if there are any new updates or progress on this.¡± ¡°Alright, sure.¡± An Xiaoning had a peaceful journey home from the police station. The moment she returned home, she sent Pei Yi the simted sketch. Ten minutester, he called. She switched on the voice recording function the moment he answered. As expected, the first thing he asked was, ¡°Where did you get those portraits?¡± ¡°I drew them based on what I saw. Don¡¯t you find them very simr?¡± ¡°When did you see them?¡± ¡°How can you expect me to answer you when you haven¡¯t answered my question? Master Pei, how do you find my simtion sketches?¡± ¡°Nothing great about them.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got a poor sense in admiring sketches,¡± she said, pursing her lips. ¡°Where did you see those people on the sketches?¡± ¡°Must I really answer you? You seem very eager to find out.¡± ¡°I was just asking a casual question. You may choose not to answer as well.¡± Seeing that it was impossible to sound him out because of how careful he was with his words, An Xiaoning decided to drop the subject. ¡°Someone tried to kill me today, but too bad, he sent a bunch of amateurs. I thought about it for a long while and I finally realized that there could only be one reason why he did that, despite knowing that those amateurs are no match for me.¡± ¡°What reason?¡± ¡°He¡¯s testing me on purpose.¡± Pei Yi chuckled over the phone. ¡°What are youughing about? Is your mother no longer forcing you to go for matchmaking sessions?¡± she asked. Just like she had expected, he stoppedughing as soon as he heard her words. ¡°Could you not be a wet nket?¡± It was An Xiaoning¡¯s turn to gloat. ¡°Seems like she hasn¡¯t been cutting you any ck. I hope you¡¯ll marry a beautiful wife soon, Master Pei. I won¡¯t impose on you any further. I¡¯m hanging up now.¡± Not giving him the chance to answer at all, she ended the call immediately. After reying the voice recording of their conversation, she deleted it, feeling a little more enlightened. ¡ª Soon after she posted the thread on Weibo, Fang En gained 100 thousand followers, which was a massive number. However, it was not because of how interesting her Weibo page was, but rather, it was the photo of her handsome bodyguard that had gone viral. Various femaleizens could not fathom just why a handsome man like him would be willing to be Fang En¡¯s bodyguard. How ridiculous! Fang En read through thements, only to discover that, apart from the harsh criticism about her not deserving to have such a handsome bodyguard, there were numerousizens asking for ways to contact him. Only after having a significant number of followers did she understand that everyone had a different perspective when judging matters. Take the recent post for example. Mei Yangyang wanted her to post the photo, just so the media would not jump to conclusions and spark rumors if they were to photograph the two of them together in the future. Yet there were many differentments about it, including these: ¡°Who cares if you¡¯ve got a hunk for a bodyguard? What¡¯s the big deal?¡± ¡°It¡¯s such a pity that such a handsome man like him has decided to be your bodyguard. Seems like you have given him a ton of money.¡± Chapter 1030 - Perplexed and Smitten (90)

Chapter 1030: Perplexed and Smitten (90)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I heard that you¡¯ve gone under the knife before your debut. Wow, your stic surgeon must have terrible skills to have made you look like this even after surgery.¡± ¡°Hah, Fang En, let me tell you, I won¡¯t watch the television series that you¡¯ve starred in or contribute to your viewership ratings, you scheming bitch. What you¡¯ve done to Jing Yang will forever taint your life. Not only will I not watch your shows, I¡¯ll also gather all the other people I know and we¡¯llpletely boycott you and the productions you¡¯re involved in. If no one watches your work, you¡¯d better be prepared to be sacked by your studio!¡± ¡°I heard that you even tried to seduce our Yan Ge, you shameless slut. Why don¡¯t you take a look in the mirror and ask yourself if you¡¯re really worthy of him? Even a pig is better than you.¡± ... There were many other simrments. Fang En felt utterly dejected, though she knew that thoseizens would definitely not have the guts to say those things to her face. She switched off her mobile phone and ced it onto the table. She rested her arms on her head and stifled a yawn. Xiao Chenyang returned home with a bag of food that he had just bought. He walked inside the house and ced it onto the coffee table. ¡°I didn¡¯t know what you wanted to eat so I just bought these.¡± She sat up straight and asked, ¡°Where did you go?¡± ¡°Were you afraid that I wouldn¡¯te home?¡± ¡°I¡¯d be d if you didn¡¯t,¡± she said casually. Sensing that he was ring at her, she quickly added, ¡°That way, I would be able to have a peaceful day.¡± ¡°What a forced exnation.¡± He sat down and opened a can of beer before taking two sips. Feeling famished, Fang En picked up a pair of chopsticks and began eating. ¡°I saw a woman exiting from the lobby together with the man from the apartment opposite. Seems like it was his girlfriend.¡± ¡°Impossible. Yan Ge doesn¡¯t have a girlfriend.¡± ¡°How are you so sure? That woman is pretty and has a good figure,¡± he remarked, ring at her. Fang En instantly knew who he was referring to. ¡°How does she farepared to me?¡± Scanning her from head to toe, he answered, ¡°Compared to you? You¡¯re worlds apart from her in terms of looks, and you¡¯re not as tall or as voluptuous as her. However, the difference is that she¡¯s worth nothing to me while you¡¯re priceless.¡± She was initially a little upset to hear his harsh remarks about her appearance. However, her displeasure instantly vanished upon hearing the words he said afterward. However, she thought about Yu Caiwei and Yan Ge exiting the lobby together and wondered to herself, Could it be that they have rekindled their feelings for each other? It can¡¯t be, Yan Ge is still rather repulsed by her. She picked up her mobile phone and sent Yan Ge a text message. ¡°Did you get back together with Ms. Yu?¡± He quickly replied, ¡°You¡¯re reading too much into things.¡± She knew she had guessed correctly. After deleting the text message, she continued eating. ¡°You bought so much food, are you really not going to have any?¡± ¡°Nah, I bought them for you.¡± She shot him a rare smile and said, ¡°I have a huge appetite. I can polish off all of these.¡± ¡°Go ahead and eat all you can. I¡¯ll buy you more if it¡¯s not enough. I have money anyway.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª Yu Yiwei touched down at the airport of A City. Fan Shixin sent his subordinates to pick her up. Once they entered Wei Ni Estate, Fan Shixin ced a contract in front of her and said, ¡°Ms. Yu, please take a look. If there are no issues, please stamp your thumbprint onto the designated box.¡± Yu Yiwei looked through the terms stated on the contract carefully and found that there were no issues. She was also pleased with the sry offered. Thus, she decided to sign it. Although there was a single term in the contract that she was rather unhappy with, and that was that she had to be chaperoned wherever she went, she could understand the rationale behind it. After signing the agreement, she asked, ¡°Although you guys didn¡¯t tell me explicitly who it was, I could already vaguely guess that it was him. Where is Mr. Jin now?¡± ¡°He hasn¡¯t returned from work yet. You¡¯ll have to wait for a while. Our Young Madam is at home now, though. You may have a chat with her first.¡± ¡°Please show me the way.¡± Fan Shixin felt that she was giving off an aloof and standoffish aura. He brought her to the living room of the mansion and headed upstairs to call An Xiaoning toe down. An Xiaoning said calmly, ¡°Ms. Yu, Qingyan is almost home now. However, I hope you¡¯ll bear in mind what I¡¯m going to tell you next and strictly adhere to it.¡± ¡°Please speak, Ms. An.¡± ¡°For now, Qingyan still doesn¡¯t know that I¡¯m aware of his condition. Thus, you mustn¡¯t mention anything about me knowing the truth in front of him. That is, unless I decide to tell him one day or if he finds out by himself. Secondly, you mustmunicate with me frequently about the progress of his treatment. I believe that¡¯ll help with improving his condition.¡± ¡°No problem, of course. I¡¯ll have tomunicate with Mr. Jin about the exact details of the treatment when I see himter.¡± ¡°That goes without saying. Ms. Yu, I¡¯ve read that you graduated from a prestigious medical school in M Nation and went on to join the research center you¡¯re currently working for a few years after you taught in school. I understand that dissociative identity disorder is a rare psychological disorder that only affects a small number of people in the world. Why have you decided to delve into this specific field?¡± ¡°Would you like to hear the truth, Ms. An?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°I think that all psychological disorders stem from a persistent inner demon that will vanish as long as the affected individual ovees it. What sets dissociative identity disorder apart from the rest is that once the second personality surfaces, the other personality upying the same body will automatically go into sleep mode. Hence, both personalities are two strikingly-different individuals upying the same body. The trickier the problem, the more challenging it is, and I personally enjoy challenges. I dislike doing the same repetitive work that I don¡¯t enjoy every single day. Besides, frankly speaking, I do want to do something meaningful now that I enjoy financial freedom and no longer have to worry about money. That¡¯s all.¡± ¡°I truly admire and respect your attitude, Ms. Yu. I hope you¡¯ll be able to make a change in Qingyan¡¯s condition and help him recover gradually. We¡¯ll be very grateful to you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my best, even if there¡¯s only a one percent chance. This is the moral duty of a medical practitioner.¡± .... When Jin Qingyan returned home, he had a long chat with Yu Yiwei. Despite not knowing the details, An Xiaoning was certain that they were discussing his illness and his condition. By the time he headed upstairs, she was in the midst of a yoga session and practicing a challenging pose while dripping with sweat. ¡°How did Shixin exin about that woman to you?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t she your psychiatrist?¡± ¡°Is that what he told you?¡± ¡°Yes, he told me that you hired her to treat your insomnia as well as the random aches that you get in your body.¡± He heaved a sigh of relief after hearing her answer. ¡°Shixin has informed me about the people who tailgated your car this afternoon.¡± ¡°I guess the mastermind was just putting me to the test. I doubt this will be the end of it all.¡± ¡°Have you sent Pei Yi the simtion sketches?¡± An Xiaoning got out of her pose and opened the drawer to retrieve two sketches, which she then handed to him. Chapter 1031 - Perplexed and Smitten (91)

Chapter 1031: Perplexed and Smitten (91)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Pei Yi is very tight-lipped and I couldn¡¯t get anything out of him. However, he asked me about where I had seen those people in the sketches. I have a hunch that those two people do exist in this lifetime, and Pei Yi knows them as well.¡± Jin Qingyan gazed at her calmly and said, ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to go out without any bodyguards from now on, especially since it¡¯s a critical period right now.¡± ¡°Alright, but there¡¯s something I¡¯d like to tell you about.¡± He ced the sketches back inside the drawer and sat down on the bed. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± he asked. ¡°I dropped by the Special Investigation Unit for a while when I was at the police station to obtain the simted sketches today. Ma Jianguo told me...¡± She exined the entire situation to him while observing his expression. ¡°So, you¡¯re nning to intervene with this matter? Although you¡¯re already busy enough as it is, I¡¯ll support your decision if you¡¯d like to get involved.¡± ¡°I thought you¡¯d chide me for being nosy.¡± ¡°That¡¯ll depend on the severity of the matter. We can¡¯t sit back and do nothing when ites to such vicious acts of murder. I only demand one thing of you, and that is that you just protect yourself well and keep yourself free from injury.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± she agreed, giving him a kiss. They held each other¡¯s gazes and chuckled. ¡ª The following day, An Xiaoning instructed No. 8 and No. 5 to wait for her on a certain road. After getting their driving license, they¡¯d been idling about at home with nothing to do at all. They were simply waiting to be given tasks. They were finally summoned. An Xiaoning put on her human skin mask and exited Wei Ni Estate via the secret passageway in the wine cer. She hailed a taxi to the ce where they were waiting for her. ¡°Hop on,¡± she said to them. Upon hearing her voice, No. 8 and No. 5 quickly got inside the car. ¡°Sis, where are we going?¡± No. 8 asked upon seeing that she had the mask on. ¡°You¡¯ll know when we get there.¡± The taxi began speeding toward Mount Heyuan and arrived at the bridge in less than half an hour. An Xiaoning paid the taxi driver a hundred dors, and the three of them alighted from the taxi together. It was eight o¡¯clock in the morning when the weather was not too warm yet. However, there were already quite a few people. An Xiaoning repeated the situation to them softly, after which they were instantly dumbfounded. ¡°Really? That¡¯s so immoral and wicked,¡± No. 5 remarked in disbelief. ¡°Sis, are you here to find out everything?¡± ¡°Of course. I don¡¯t have time to waste on this. So, we must get it settled as soon as possible. Look at how many people there are. It¡¯s summertime and there are so many visitors here for some fun. It¡¯s a good opportunity for the wicked bunch to take action.¡± The three of them entered the tourist attraction and nned to approach the fishers in a motorboat. Since there was space for only one passenger in the motorboat, they had to rent a total of three motorboats. ¡°Sir, how much does it cost to get there from here?¡± ¡°One hundred dors.¡± ¡°Can the three of us get there together?¡± ¡°No problem,¡± the man, who was in his thirties, agreed without much hesitation. An Xiaoning nodded, and the three of them boarded the motorboats. They initially thought that it would be a quick ride since the distance was rather short, yet all three motorboats came to a halt halfway through the journey. The three boats lined up closely beside each other in a row. ¡°I¡¯m telling you beforehand, you¡¯ll have to pay me a total of three thousand dors when we get there.¡± Most passengers would usually say, ¡°Let¡¯s talk when we get there.¡± However, An Xiaoning said, ¡°We agreed on a hundred dors just now. How could you just raise the fare to nine times of the agreed amount? Do you really think we¡¯ll concede just because we don¡¯t have another option at the moment?¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay if you don¡¯t agree. Just get off here.¡± They were right in the middle of the river, how could they get off there? It was obviously ckmail. An Xiaoning immediately smacked her palm against the man and pushed him straight into the river. An ordinary woman would usually be incapable of such strength. Unfortunately for him, he had met with An Xiaoning! She sat on the man¡¯s seat and said to the men on the other two motorboats, ¡°Are you leaving or not?¡± The two motorboat drivers turned pale in exasperation and attempted to throw No. 8 and No. 5 into the water. However, they hadpletely underestimated No. 8 and No. 5, who flung them into the water instead. An Xiaoning and her bodyguards drove the motorboats away, leaving the three men behind in the river. Once they arrived at their destination, No. 5 asked, ¡°What if those three scammers drown to death?¡± ¡°They must be great swimmers in order to make a living along the river. Look over there, aren¡¯t they swimming toward us now?¡± said An Xiaoning, pointing at the men. No. 5 looked over to see that it was indeed so. ¡°They are so wicked.¡± ¡°Although not all motorboat drivers are like them, there are bound to be ck sheeps. It¡¯s just their luck to have met us.¡± No. 8 sneered, ¡°I¡¯m guessing they¡¯ll definitely try to get back at us.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll stand here and wait for them to do it, then. I¡¯ve already recorded our conversation just now. Since he wants to y tricks with me, I¡¯ll show him what I¡¯m made of.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so intelligent, Boss. You taught these crooks a lesson while in the midst of an investigation,¡± No. 5 said with a chuckle. The three men in the river struggled to swim toward the shore. By the time they got out of the water, they were already at their veryst breath. Theyy on the cemented ground motionlessly, clearly exhausted. However, upon the sight of An Xiaoning and her bodyguards, they struggled to get up, and one of them hollered, ¡°You three, just you wait and see. Do you know whose territory you¡¯re on? I¡¯ll make you crawl on the ground and beg meter!¡± ¡°How haughty,¡± An Xiaoning sneered. As soon as she finished speaking, she threw the keys of the boat into the river. ¡°You wretched woman!¡± The man flew into a rage and tried to hit An Xiaoning with all his might, despite being dog-tired. He wanted to make her kneel onto the ground and beg for his mercy. However, reality turned out to be far from what he had wished. No. 5 managed to beat all of them up to the point where they could no longer stand up. It was just a piece of cake for him. He would pin them down beneath his feet whenever they tried to get up. Knowing that they had met with a tough opponent, they decided to stop struggling and instead feigned being dead. Seeing that they had been subdued, An Xiaoning decided to stop wasting any more time there. She brought No. 5 and No. 8 away to the house nearby. Upon the sight of their arrival, a man who was in his fifties immediately barked sternly, ¡°Tourists aren¡¯t allowed here. Don¡¯t you know that?¡± An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°Sir, why aren¡¯t tourists allowed here? The motorboat drivers who had ferried us here didn¡¯t inform us about that rule.¡± ¡°All they care about is earning money. Why would they be bothered about where you¡¯re going? Hurry and leave.¡± No. 5 said, ¡°This is the country¡¯s property, not yours. Why aren¡¯t we allowed toe here?¡± ¡°Young chap, you¡¯re a feisty one. However, I¡¯m stopping you for your own good. Okay, that¡¯s enough, quit the crap and leave, quick.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± said An Xiaoning. While they were pretending to return, An Xiaoning stopped in her tracks the moment she saw him entering the house. ¡°You two, wait here. I¡¯ll go in and attempt to nt the surveince cameras in the house.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Chapter 1032 - Perplexed and Smitten (92)

Chapter 1032: Perplexed and Smitten (92)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning scurried toward the house and pushed the door open. At the sight of her, the man who was smoking inside the house was about to re up. An Xiaoning hurriedly said, ¡°Sir, simmer down. Here¡¯s what happened. We came here on a motorboat, but there¡¯s no way for us to go back now. Does that boat along the river belong to you? Could you give us a lift?¡± ¡°You can make a turn at the road over there. It¡¯s not like there aren¡¯t any roads for you to walk on. You don¡¯t necessarily have to cut across the river,¡± said the man, who obviously didn¡¯t want to give them a ride. An Xiaoning entered and negotiated with him, ¡°Sir, how about this? We¡¯ll give you 300 dors in exchange for a lift. Will that do?¡± By rights, she was offering way too much for such a short distance. However, he still refused to give in. ¡°I¡¯m not giving you guys a lift.¡± When An Xiaoning bent down to tie her shoce, she stealthily stuck a small recording device behind the door before saying, ¡°Alright, we shall leave on our own, then.¡± ¡°Sis, what do we do next?¡± ¡°There are two-and-a-half floors in this house. We must think of a way to enter the house and hide ourselves in order to obtain the evidence easily.¡± ¡°Enter the house? Sis, I don¡¯t think it¡¯d be easy to do that, especially since there are three of us. Shall I go to the tourist attraction area to observe?¡± No. 5 said. ¡°No, we just beat those three people up earlier. They must be gathering help to retaliate against us. Wouldn¡¯t it be dangerous for you to go there alone? I¡¯ll think of ways to keep us concealed. It¡¯s safer for us to stay together.¡± No. 5 did not insist any further after hearing her words. After observing the surroundings of the house, the three of them let out a sigh. There was no way for them to enter at all. All the windows of the house were facing the front, and there were no windows at the back. Thus, the only way to enter the house would be from the front. However, it was impossible to enter stealthily since there were people inside the house at present. ¡°Sis, what do we do?¡± ¡°What else can we do? We have to barge in. Otherwise, it¡¯d be even more impossible at night. I reckon they won¡¯t take action in the day and would probably wait until night.¡± No. 5 and No. 8 followed her instructions. They heaved a sigh of relief after knocking the fifty-odd-year-old man unconscious and dragging him to the top floor. After walking around the house, No. 5 and An Xiaoning discovered that there were other men in the house who were currently sleeping in their rooms. It seemed they were nocturnal and only took action at night. No. 5 headed to the top floor with a few bags of instant noodles and some bottled water while An Xiaoning caught up soon after. No. 8 tied the man¡¯s limbs and stuffed his mouth, so as to prevent any problems from urring even if he came to. There were lots of misceneous items on the second floor, which made it a safe ce for them to hide in, for it would be easier for them to go unnoticed. The three of them set their mobile phones to silent mode. Since the rest of the people were sleeping, it was a good opportunity for An Xiaoning to nt audio-enabled surveince cameras in each of the rooms. ¡°Sis, now that they¡¯re sleeping, isn¡¯t it a good chance to hypnotize them?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you see that there are five to six people in each room? Perhaps an expert hypnotist would be capable of conducting a mass hypnosis, but I can¡¯t do it with my mediocre skills. Besides, some people are naturally strong-willed and resistant to hypnosis. It won¡¯t be ideal to rm them unnecessarily.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Let¡¯s not talk from now on.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The air was warm, stuffy, and humid. An Xiaoning drew the curtains open gently to allow the breeze to enter, making the air much cooler. Waiting was the most arduous process. The three of them sat on the ground while remaining silent. To make matters worse, there was nothing for them to do to kill time. They continued to sit until noontime. At about four o¡¯clock in the afternoon, the bunch of men woke up one after another. An Xiaoning stared at her mobile phone screen to watch the live feed from the surveince cameras she had nted while listening to their conversation. A man with a coarse voice left the house and entered again. ¡°I wonder where Old Liu went. I didn¡¯t see him around the house.¡± ¡°Good that he¡¯s not here. He¡¯s always trying to foil our ns. I wish I could kill him, lest he gets in the way of us earning money.¡± An Xiaoning nced at the man that they had tied up, thinking to herself that he must be the ¡°Old Liu¡± the men were referring to. Seems like he told us to leave for our own good. ¡°Shall we target a woman tonight? Women are easier to handle since most of them can¡¯t swim.¡± ¡°One is not enough. We must get a few.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s eat and drink something before getting to work.¡± ¡°...¡± The bunch of men exited the room while An Xiaoning hurriedly saved the recording before switching to another surveince camera. A group of men were ying cards in the living room. More than half an hourter, one returned with some food and beer, after which they began eating and drinking. There were roughly nine men in total. They were boorish and had unpleasant table manners. At this moment, Old Liu finally came to after being unconscious for several hours. Just as No. 8 was about to knock him out again, An Xiaoning grabbed his harm to stop him. ¡°Let me talk to him for a bit,¡± she said softly. ¡°Okay.¡± They switched positions and An Xiaoning walked toward Old Liu before saying softly, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so tense. We¡¯re not thugs or reporters or the police. We just have the ability to punish those evildoers for the crimes they¡¯vemitted. Are you willing to cooperate with me?¡± He looked at her in astonishment and shook his head profusely. He did not mean that he was unwilling to cooperate by shaking his head, but rather, he was trying to tell her that there was no use in trying to punish them. ¡°I know they have a backer to support them, but I have a greater power behind me. Thus, you just have to assist us. You don¡¯t have to do much and we won¡¯t tell them that you were the one who helped us.¡± He continued to shake his head. An Xiaoning understood that he did not want to be embroiled into the matter. Hence, An Xiaoning had no choice but to say, ¡°Forget it, then, just keep quiet and lie here obediently. Don¡¯t try to make a single sound. If not, my men will try to knock you out again. Got it?¡± He nodded in agreement. An Xiaoning instructed No. 8 to keep an eye on him. ¡°Stay here to watch him while No. 5 and I take actionter.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± An Xiaoning continued to watch the live feed, only to discover that the three motorboat drivers hade forth with a few other men. ¡°Did you guys see these three people during the day?¡± ¡°What people?¡± the man with a coarse voice asked. ¡°One woman and two men. They¡¯re all rather young and the woman is really beautiful.¡± ¡°No, we just woke up a while ago.¡± One of the motorboat drivers snapped, ¡°Damn it! We¡¯ve been searching for them for a long time. These three people seemed to have vanished into thin air. We didn¡¯t even see them at all. Where¡¯s Old Liu?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Could it be that Old Liu had sent those three people out of here?¡± the man spected. Chapter 1033 - Perplexed and Smitten (93)

Chapter 1033: Perplexed and Smitten (93)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°There¡¯s a possibility. We all know how nosy Old Liu is.¡± ¡°Those three people better hope I don¡¯t find them. Otherwise, I¡¯m going to skin them alive!¡± The man with the coarse voiceughed and asked, ¡°Why are you so infuriated? What has gotten into you? Don¡¯t tell me, you¡¯ve met your match?¡± ¡°They¡¯ve got quite a bit of skill.¡± ¡°They might have fled to another ce long ago.¡± ¡°...¡± The drivers left, and the bunch of people began splitting up and going about their respective tasks once they were done eating. An Xiaoning removed her earphones and handed them to No. 8 before leaving the house together with No. 5. They decided to keep a distance away from the men, for fear that their cover would be blown. The few men then sat down by the river, seemingly waiting for something. ¡°What are they waiting for?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°A cruise perhaps? Look,¡± said No. 5, who was pointing at a ship that was rather far away. An Xiaoning squinted to take a look and discovered that it was an average-sized cruise ship. The two of them stood behind the tree and watched as the cruise ship approached them gradually. The men who were sitting by the river stood up one after another and boarded a boat that was docked beside the river. They pretended to be fishing. ¡°Are they thinking of going after the people on the cruise ship?¡± No. 5 asked. ¡°They wouldn¡¯t dare to. I¡¯m guessing that their aplices are on that cruise.¡± An Xiaoning took out a small pair of binocrs from her bag and observed the situation from afar. The cruise was traveling at a much slower speed. When it was about 20 meters past the fishing boat, An Xiaoning patted No. 5 on his shoulder and said, ¡°Quick, take a look.¡± No. 5 kept his eyes peeled on the scene before him and caught sight of a teenager girl falling off the cruise. The two of them looked at each other before moving away from the tree. An Xiaoning handed her mobile phone and belongings to No. 5 and dived into the river with a dagger. She then swam forward with all her might. Some men on the cruise had already dived into the water, pretending to be saving the drowning teenager. However, when An Xiaoning swam over to the spot where she had plunged, she discovered that the teenager had yet to be brought to the surface of the water. Less than two minutes had passed since she¡¯d fallen into the water. An Xiaoning submerged her head into the water to see that the girl¡¯s legs were trapped by fishings from which she was trying to struggle to break free. However, she had already gulped down lots of water. The moment they caught sight of her, the men who were pretending to save the teenager immediately swam toward An Xiaoning in a bid to stop her. An Xiaoning could not be bothered anymore because she knew that the teenager would definitely drown to her death if she was not pulled out of the water within four minutes. Hence, An Xiaoning whipped out her dagger and stabbed each of the men fatally when they were not paying attention. Completely caught off guard, the men floated to the surface of the water while blood gushed out of them. The blood was quickly diluted by the water. An Xiaoning cut the fis with her dagger to free the teenager from it. The moment the teenager was released, she grabbed onto An Xiaoning¡¯s arm tightly for dear life. Though she was not chubby at all, she did feel heavier due to the water resistance. However, An Xiaoning was not quite affected since she was full of strength from within. If it were someone else, they probably wouldn¡¯t have had the strength to pull the girl to safety and might even have ended up drowning too. Once they surfaced from the water, An Xiaoning brought the teenager to shore. The anxiety-stricken No. 5 hurriedly rushed forward to grab them the moment he saw An Xiaoning pulling the girl out of the water safely. ¡°Piggyback her and run around for a while to make her cough the water out.¡± No. 5 picked the girl up fluidly and ced her body upside down with her head facing the ground. He grabbed her legs tightly and ran for about 20 meters, after which the girl immediately threw up all the water she had swallowed. An Xiaoning was much more relieved. She sat on the ground and buried her face between her legs to remove her mask stealthily. She then wiped the water off her face before putting the mask back on. At this very moment, numerous men walked toward them. They appeared menacing and were obviously up to no good. An Xiaoning stood up while No. 5 put the girl down onto the ground. He said to her, ¡°Sis, I¡¯ve already called the police. I believe they¡¯re making their way here and should arrive very soon. They¡¯ll probably send all the police officers nearby.¡± She instructed him, ¡°Call Ma Jianguo and tell him to bring his men here.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± No. 5 immediately unlocked her mobile phone and dialed Ma Jianguo¡¯s number. She then said to No. 5 softly, ¡°Text No. 8 and tell him to release Old Liu.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± As soon as they spoke, the men walked toward An Xiaoning with exasperation written all over their faces. ¡°Littless, how dare you hurt my buddies? Forget about leaving if we don¡¯t get this settled today.¡± ¡°You people colluded to murder the innocent for money.¡± Pointing at the girl, she continued, ¡°You trapped her legs with a fis in an attempt to drown her to death. Once she¡¯s dead, you¡¯ll then fish her corpse out of the water and ckmail her family for money. I know what you¡¯ve all been nning. I¡¯ve already called the police.¡± The man sneered, ¡°The police? Do you really think we¡¯d be intimidated just because you called the police?¡± An Xiaoning red at them coldly and said, ¡°I already guessed that you would say that. I don¡¯t care who your backer is. I¡¯ve already gathered sufficient evidence to testify against your actions.¡± ¡°Evidence?¡± The man glowered at her menacingly and stepped forward in a bid to hit An Xiaoning. However, she lifted her leg and kicked him in his gut, causing him to be flung several meters away from her. Everyone stared at her in astonishment, for they did not expect such a petite woman to be capable of such great strength. Feeling indignant, they immediately surged forward in a bid to teach An Xiaoning a lesson. However, they were beaten into a pulp after being faced with a stronger opponent, despite appearing buff and burly. Refusing to sumb, they decided to threaten the teenager since they were outssed by An Xiaoning. ¡°If you dare spout any nonsense, wait and see what happens when we find out your home address.¡± An Xiaoningforted her, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, they won¡¯t have the chance to do that.¡± The teenager was frightened out of her senses and had turned as pale as sheet as tears streamed down her face uncontrobly. The cruise ship pulled up near the shore, after which the teenager¡¯s mother and aunt hurriedly rushed down from the ship to ask about the situation. The teenager remained quiet while weeping incessantly. No. 5 exined the situation to the teenager¡¯s mother and aunt, who broke out in a cold sweat and frantically asked the teenager if it was real. Frightened and intimidated by the threat, the girl said to her mother, ¡°Let¡¯s hurry and leave this ce.¡± An Xiaoning stopped her, ¡°You can¡¯t leave yet. The police are on their way here. You have to stay behind to have your statement taken.¡± Not daring to look at her, the teenager said, ¡°Sis, thank you for saving me, but I don¡¯t want to stir any trouble. I¡¯m sorry.¡± A look of dejection formed in An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes. She then said bluntly, ¡°Had I known earlier that you¡¯re such a timid and cowardly girl, I wouldn¡¯t have saved you just now. You were almost killed and yet you don¡¯t even have the courage to testify against those crooks. Do you know why they¡¯re so haughty? It¡¯s because there are too many cowards like you.¡± Upon hearing her words, the teenager¡¯s mother said, ¡°Miss, we won¡¯t leave until the policees. We¡¯ll definitely testify against them.¡± Chapter 1034 - Perplexed and Smitten (94)

Chapter 1034: Perplexed and Smitten (94)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning expressed assent. No. 8 scurried toward her and eximed, ¡°Sis, those motorboat drivers are here.¡± She looked over to see that it was indeed so. They were striding toward them aggressively with the drivers taking the lead. They glowered at her as if they were dying to devour her. ¡°Wretchedss, I¡¯ve finally found you!¡± Holding an iron rod in his hand, the man hollered at the bystanders, ¡°What are all of you looking at? Scram!¡± The bunch of cowardly onlookers hurriedly got back onto the cruise ship and left. The teenager¡¯s mother began to waver and lose herposure, feeling a sudden urge to leave too. ¡°Hey, lunkhead, what are you trying to do?¡± An Xiaoning taunted, raising her chin and staring at the leader. ¡°Who are you calling lunkhead?¡± ¡°You.¡± After a moment of hesitation, An Xiaoning said, ¡°How about this? We¡¯ll go into detail about this once the police is here. If you¡¯re thinking ofying a finger on us, I¡¯ll have no choice but to press charges and sue you for intentional assault.¡± ¡°Which idiot was the one who started getting physical first? Don¡¯t think I wouldn¡¯t dare to hit you just because you¡¯re a woman!¡± the man snapped, seething with exasperation. An Xiaoning smiled and sneered dauntlessly, ¡°I didn¡¯t say that you¡¯re afraid of hitting women. I¡¯m just saying, what¡¯s going to be left of your dignity if I make you copse and sprawl onto the ground in front of all these people? Oh right, you don¡¯t have dignity anyway. It shouldn¡¯t matter then. If you¡¯d like to get physical, I don¡¯t mind entertaining you.¡± Completely infuriated, the man swung the iron rod against them while the nimble and agile An Xiaoning swiftly dodged. The man continued to make several attempts, all of which she managed to avoid in time. After various failed attempts, the man was exhausted. His underlings surged forward but soon retreated upon thee sight of the gun in An Xiaoning¡¯s hand. ¡°I¡¯ll shoot whoever dares to step forward. Would you like to try and see if the bullets in here are real?¡± ¡°Are you a cop?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°How did you get a gun, then?¡± After scanning her surroundings, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°Why must I tell you?¡± No one dared to take another step forward, seeing howposed and confident she was. An Xiaoning put her gun away the moment she saw some uniformed police officers approaching from afar. As the four police officers arrived, the bunch of men¡¯s initial arrogance vanished. One of the officers asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± No. 5 recounted the incident, after which one of the men said, ¡°This woman here stabbed our people and even attacked us physically.¡± ¡°How about youpensate them with some money and let the matter slide?¡± suggested the police officer, who was obviously just trying to mediate the conflict instead of taking legal action against the men. ¡°Compensate? How much?¡± ¡°Two hundred thousand dors, not a single cent less!¡± An Xiaoning scoffed and retorted, ¡°Two hundred thousand? How greedy of you. I won¡¯t be giving you a single cent.¡± Noticing how arrogant she sounded, the police officer had no choice but to pull her aside and said, ¡°These people are tough nuts to crack and they have a powerful backer. How about I help you mediate and negotiate with them? Just drop the matter, alright?¡± ¡°Which police post do you belong to?¡± An Xiaoning asked with a smile. ¡°There¡¯s only one police post here, where do you think I belong to? What¡¯s your name? How old are you this year?¡± ¡°What has my name and age have to do with this matter?¡± ¡°Alright, tell me how much you canpensate them with, then. Since you¡¯ve injured them, you definitely won¡¯t be able to leave without paying anypensation fees.¡± ¡°If I can¡¯t leave, I¡¯ll just stay here.¡± ¡°Why are you so thick in the head? There are so many of them. What if they kill you here? Is it really worth it?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the point of having police officers like you in the country? Are you going to watch me get killed?¡± The police officer was bbergasted. He decided to give up on trying to persuade her and said, ¡°I¡¯m telling you straight, there¡¯s nothing we can do about this. If you can¡¯te to an amicable agreement, just do whatever you want.¡± ¡°Hold up, the police officers from the police station in the city will be here anytime soon. There¡¯ll be someone who intervenes with this even if you don¡¯t.¡± ¡°How childish and ignorant.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you go ask them how much they¡¯re willing to ept as apensation?¡± said An Xiaoning. Upon hearing her words, the police officers immediately rushed toward the bunch of men and returned soon after. One of them said to her, ¡°They said that they would need at least 150 thousand dors, not a single cent less.¡± ¡°How much should theypensate for attempting to murder that girl, then? Don¡¯t tell me, gods may do what cattle may not?¡± she asked with raised brows. ¡°What do you mean attempted murder? No such thing. Who would dare to do that in broad daylight?¡± ¡°Look at yourself, lying through your teeth. You really deserve an Oscar Award. Even if you don¡¯t have the means to punish them with thew, don¡¯t get yourself involved. Are you even worthy of your uniform?¡± An Xiaoning gibed. ¡°You silly woman, why are you so dense?¡± ¡°We still don¡¯t know who¡¯s the dense one here.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care anymore. Don¡¯t regret it when they drag you away!¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid you and your colleagues are going to be the ones to regret it.¡± Seeing how stubborn she was, the police officers turned around to leave without another word. Tension filled the air. An Xiaoning was filled with curiosity about just who their backer was. No. 5 walked toward her and said, ¡°Seems like they¡¯re in cahoots.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that obvious?¡± An Xiaoning stroked her fingernails and continued, ¡°There are bound to be ck sheep in every industry. There¡¯s no absolute ck and white.¡± ¡°Sis, how do you n to resolve this? Are you thinking of throwing them all into prison?¡± No. 5 asked. ¡°Not entirely. I just hope that I¡¯ll be able to warn the rest by punishing a small group of them. When we get back, I¡¯ll inform the media about this and get them to spread this matter all over the news. We must let all the potential evildoers at all tourist attractions in the country know what consequences they¡¯ll face for intentionally harming others.¡± .... Half an hourter, Ma Jianguo arrived with his subordinates. An Xiaoning squinted to see that they were all from the special forces and tactical units. Police officers from the tactical units would have to be granted permission from the higher-ups before they¡¯re allowed to participate in operations. In other words, Pan Zhenghui had already found out about it too. The bunch of men were puzzled to see the dozens of police officers. The constable immediately asked, ¡°Why are there so many officers from the special forces and tactical units?¡± Ma Jianguo shot him a nce and quipped, ¡°They¡¯re obviously here to get this matter settled. Otherwise, do you think they¡¯re here to observe and take a tour?¡± Smiling wryly, the constable said, ¡°I¡¯ve already tried to mediate the situation, but it¡¯s rather tense because this woman won¡¯tply.¡± Ma Jianguo looked at An Xiaoning and asked, ¡°Do you have the evidence?¡± ¡°Yes, arrest all of them.¡± As soon as An Xiaoning gave hermand, Ma Jianguo gestured for his subordinates to take action, after which the bunch of officers stepped forward and pinned the men down onto the ground. ¡°There are two more who are injured. They¡¯re either in that house or the washroom nearby. Bring all of them here too.¡± Ma Jianguo nodded and instructed two of the special forces officers to begin searching. The constable was dumbfounded. What¡¯s going on? Why is officer Ma obeying this woman? Who is this woman? ¡°What did you tell Bureau Chief?¡± An Xiaoning asked. Ma Jianguo chuckled and answered, ¡°I just told him that you wanted some assistance. The Chief was afraid that you would get injured so he summoned more manpower. It¡¯s been hard on you.¡± Chapter 1035 - Perplexed and Smitten (95)

Chapter 1035: Perplexed and Smitten (95)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°In that case, I didn¡¯t make a wasted trip today. This girl is today¡¯s victim. She was petrified when she heard that she is required to testify against them. Bring her back to the police station to have her statement recorded,¡± An Xiaoning instructed. ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Bring her back and call me if there¡¯s any progress. Give me your mobile phone. I¡¯ll send you the evidence.¡± Gratitude was written all over Ma Jianguo¡¯s face. He whipped out his mobile phone and handed it to her. An Xiaoning sent the voice recording and video clips to his mobile phone before returning it to him. Staring at No. 5 and No. 8, she said, ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡± The two of them followed her. When they arrived back at the tourist spot, An Xiaoning bought lots of barbecued skewers and beverages, which they snacked on in the taxi home. They alighted from the taxi and returned to where they came from. While taking a bath, An Xiaoning pondered over the events that took ce today. Feeling rather weary, she fell asleep shortly in the bathtub. Upon hearing that she had returned, Jin Qingyan zoomed upstairs instead of loitering around the living room. He pushed the door of the bathroom open and was greeted with the sight of her sitting inside the bathtub. He stepped forward to test the water and found that it was of afortable temperature. ¡°Xiaoning?¡± he called softly. Soon after she dozed off, An Xiaoning had a nightmare. Upon hearing her name being called, she sprung up in the bathtub, causing the water to ssh all over him. She rinsed her face before looking at him. ¡°When did youe home?¡± ¡°Just now.¡± ¡°I had a terrible nightmare.¡± She got out of the bathtub and opened the faucet to rinse her body. ¡°What dream was it?¡± ¡°A horrible nightmare,¡± she answered, reluctant to talk about it. ¡°What was it about?¡± An Xiaoning poured some shampoo onto her palm andthered it. While massaging the foam into her head, she said, ¡°I dreamed that you had gone missing and I couldn¡¯t find you at all.¡± Jin Qingyan smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere. I¡¯m always either at home or at the office. How would you be unable to find me?¡± Shaking her head, she answered, ¡°I have no idea either.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t dwell on it. Continue showering while I go get changed.¡± He exited the bathroom, leaving An Xiaoning alone inside. She rinsed the foam off her scalp with some water and kept her head under the flowing water. She closed her eyes before opening them again, keeping a straight and sullen face throughout. ¡ª The two children of the Long family had gone home. Long Xiaoxi wanted to have some ice cream after dinner but was stopped by Mei Yangyang, who said, ¡°You just had dinner and the food has yet to be digested. It¡¯s not good to eat cold desserts right after.¡± Pouting her lips, Long Xiaoxi whined, ¡°You don¡¯t dote on me at all. I¡¯m going to go look for Daddy.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no use looking for Daddy. Put the ice cream back inside the freezer and have it tomorrow instead.¡± Long Xiaoxi had no choice but to ce it back to its original position. ¡°I¡¯m going to look for Brother Minhe,¡± she said. ¡°Don¡¯t y for too long. Come back soon and go to bed. You still have to return to the boot camp for training tomorrow.¡± ¡°Got it, Mommy.¡± She skipped out of the house merrily and stood by the wall beside the door. She craned her neck slowly to peek inside, praying fervently that her mother would head upstairs soon. Her prayers worked and Mei Yangyang really went upstairs. Long Xiaoxi immediately ran inside the kitchen and grabbed the ice cream that she had ced back inside the refrigerator earlier. She then zoomed out of the kitchen excitedly. Once she was outside the house, she removed theyer of packaging wrapped around the ice cream and licked it. She burst with euphoria when the cold and sweet treat hit her taste buds. She slowly made her way to Zhong Minhe¡¯s house while enjoying her delightful dessert. The lights were on inside the house, although there was no one in sight. She entered and walked toward Zhong Minhe¡¯s room, only to see that he was doing his homework attentively. Upon hearing the sounds, he turned around and greeted Long Xiaoxi with a smile, ¡°Hey, Xiaoxi.¡± ¡°Brother Minhe, you¡¯re still doing homework,¡± she said, taking a seat beside him. ¡°Xiaoxi, when did youe home?¡± ¡°Before dinner.¡± She offered her icicle to him and said, ¡°Have a bite.¡± Shaking his head, he said, ¡°I¡¯m not having any. Go ahead.¡± ¡°Hey, just have a bite. It¡¯s yam-vored.¡± She ced the icicle beside his mouth, insisting that he have some. Seeing that he could not turn her down, he took a bite. Long Xiaoxi finally grinned gleefully and took another bite herself. Zhong Minhe put his pen down and opened the drawer with his toe. ¡°This is for you,¡± he said to Long Xiaoxi. Long Xiaoxi took a look to see that it was a pink handkerchief. She took it out immediately and eximed gleefully, ¡°Is this for me?¡± ¡°Yes, I bought it with the pocket money that I¡¯ve saved up.¡± ¡°Thank you, Brother Minhe.¡± ¡°I should be the one thanking you instead. You¡¯ve helped me out a great ton,¡± he said in his puerile voice. Just as they were in the midst of a joyous conversation, they began to hear the sounds of Zhong Minhe¡¯s parents arguing. They looked at each other before leaning against the door to open it lightly. ¡°What you said won¡¯t work at all. I won¡¯t agree to it!¡± Zhong Minhe¡¯s father hollered. Mrs. Zhong said, ¡°You¡¯re being so stubborn. Even a sessful businessman like Jin Qingyan has adopted a son. What¡¯s wrong with us adopting one? Besides, we¡¯re not well-to-do and Minhe is in such a state. Who¡¯s going to take care of us when we¡¯re older? If the doctor didn¡¯t say that I¡¯m highly prone to miscarriages, why would I want to adopt someone else¡¯s child?¡± ¡°They can afford to adopt a child and raise him to adulthood because they¡¯re so affluent and have an established business. How about us? We¡¯ll need a huge sum of money to raise the adopted child. Not to mention, we don¡¯t even know if he¡¯ll be close to us. I¡¯d rather be childless than adopt someone else¡¯s child, unless it¡¯s a girl.¡± ¡°How about we adopt a daughter, then? That works too, it¡¯ll be less of a burden,¡± Mrs. Zhong suggested. ¡°Children are so pampered and precious nowadays, who would be willing to give their child up to us?¡± said Mr. Zhong, who did not carry any hopes. ¡°I¡¯ll ask around. There are lots of vigers who have given birth to lots of daughters. Maybe we¡¯ll bump into one. It¡¯s settled then.¡± ¡°Mm...¡± Long Xiaoxi stood up straight and pulled Zhong Minhe into the room. She said softly, ¡°Your parents are nning to adopt a daughter.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Do you want a sister?¡± He remained silent in response. Long Xiaoxi pouted her lips and said, ¡°I¡¯m going back if you¡¯re not going to say anything.¡± Seeing that she was about to leave, he frantically said, ¡°I¡¯ll speak. I do want a younger sibling now because that will make Daddy and Mommy happy. They¡¯ll no longer be upset about my missing arms. Like Mommy said, there¡¯ll also be someone to take care of them when they¡¯re old, since I can¡¯t do that because of my condition.¡± ¡°Yes, yes. Hurry and do your homework. Once you¡¯re done, we can go y in the yard for a while. I¡¯ll have to leave again tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°Alright, wait for me, I¡¯ll be done soon.¡± ¡ª An Xiaoning was parched in the middle of the night because of the salty food she had had during dinner. She switched on the bedsidemp, only to find that the spot beside her was empty. ¡°Qingyan?¡± The lights in the bathroom and dressing room were not switched on. Clearly, he was not inside the bedroom. Chapter 1036 - Perplexed and Smitten (96)

Chapter 1036: Perplexed and Smitten (96)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She picked up her mobile phone to take a look at the time and found that it was three past midnight. Sleepy-eyed, she got out of bed and opened the door of the bedroom to see that the yellow lights were switched on in the corridor. She made her way down the stairs. There was not a single soul in the living room. An Xiaoning poured herself a ss of water and took a few sips before walking toward the door. She asked Xiao Lu, who was on duty, ¡°Where did your Young Sir go?¡± ¡°Young Sir said that he was going out to attend to something which he did not specify. Chief has followed him too. They¡¯ve been gone for almost an hour.¡± An Xiaoning turned around and headed upstairs. She sent Jin Qingyan a text message to ask him about what was going on, to which he never replied. Fan Shixin did not answer her calls either. An Xiaoning was somehow perturbed and ill at ease. Could the nightmare I had be an omen? She grabbed a short-sleeved shirt and a pair of shorts from the dressing room, which she put on immediately before pulling her hair back into a bun, exposing her shiny and full forehead. She was no longer sleepy. After freshening up, she began applying some makeup. He still had not replied to her yet. An Xiaoning then began packing her bag. Although the bag looked rather small, it could contain a significant amount of things. She ced some necessary items into the bag and carried it downstairs. ¡°Give me the address of your Young Sir¡¯s current location.¡± ¡°Young Madam, are you going to go look for them?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go find out Young Sir and Chief¡¯s current GPS location.¡± Xiao Lu led her to the surveince control room while she followed closely behind. Once Xiao Lu and the other guards on duty pinpointed his exact location, they zoomed in and pointed at a red pin. ¡°Young Madam, Young Sir is currently in XX nightclub.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± She grabbed her car keys and drove out of the estate within two minutes. At this time, pedestrians were scarce and there were only very few cars on the roads. She arrived smoothly at XX nightclub and remained inside the car while staring at the tightly-shut main door before shifting her gaze to the lights on the second floor. She alighted from the car slowly and stepped forward to knock on the door. After she¡¯d been knocking for a long while, a woman finally answered the door. The woman was the owner of the nightclub and was rather surprised to see An Xiaoning. ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t this Ms. An?¡± ¡°Is Qingyan here?¡± ¡°He¡¯s upstairs.¡± She expressed assent and followed thedy boss inside. An Xiaoning had never been to this nightclub before. It was rather quiet since it was already past the operating hours. They boarded the elevator and arrived on the third floor. After they exited the elevator, An Xiaoning followed her to the door of arge private room. Thedy boss said, smiling, ¡°Mr. Jin is having a discussion inside. You may enter, Ms. An. I won¡¯t disturb you any further.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning watched thedy boss leave before opening the door gently. Jin Qingyan was not inside the spacious and empty room. As she turned around, she let out a shriek of terror, startled by the man who popped up all of a sudden. ¡°Did you get a shock?¡± said the man who had long hair that was braided at the top of his head. He was staring at her coldly, as if she was his prey. How could An Xiaoning not have recognized him? He was the man she had seen in the portrait in her dreams. He was none other than the Emperor, Xihou Jiaping. Wrong, he probably had a different name in this lifetime. However, she would never forget his facial features. He indeed looked much more dashing in personpared to the simted sketch. Also, he appeared a lot more ruthless and menacing than his previous incarnation. Did my nightmaree true? An Xiaoning¡¯s heart wrenched and scrunched up in terror. Jin Qingyan¡¯s GPS location led to this ce, but where is he? Could it be... In no time, her heart began palpitating and ricocheting vigorously against her chest. Her family and lover were both her Achilles¡¯ heel and her armor. She mustn¡¯t panic at such a critical juncture. An Xiaoning pinched her hand with her fingers and asked calmly, ¡°Hello, may I ask if there¡¯s anyone else here?¡± ¡°Anyone else? Who are you looking for?¡± he asked, staring at her and realizing that she seemed to really not know who he was. ¡°I¡¯m looking for my ex-husband, Jin Qingyan. Have you seen him around?¡± she answered. ¡°Why are you looking for your ex-husband in the middle of the night?¡± ¡°My son is running a fever and I¡¯m trying to look for him to visit our son.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t see him around, though. Try looking somewhere else instead, this is my room.¡± He then walked past her and entered. Filled with perplexion and uncertainty, An Xiaoning watched as the door was closed. She had a feeling that he was not a local and had most likely shown up in A City for the same reason as Pei Yi. He was probably nning to kill her and Jin Qingyan. That just meant that An Xiaoning, Jin Qingyan, and Mysterious Xiao were not the only people who had retained their memories of their previous lifetime. It was the same for Xihou Jiaping as well. Why didn¡¯t he take action after seeing me... Besides, if he knew Pei Yi, wouldn¡¯t Pei Yi have told him that I know about his existence since I¡¯ve already informed Pei Yi of my knowledge? Well, but then again, Pei Yi has already warned me himself. There was no need for him to inform Xihou Jiaping redundantly. An Xiaoning whipped out her mobile phone to send Xiao Lu a text message, ordering him to find out the exact and most precise location of Jin Qingyan. The three minutes of waiting felt like years. She frantically opened the text message the moment she heard the text tone. After looking at the specific location on the map, An Xiaoning headed to the corridor and boarded the elevator. There were seven floors in the nightclub. She ascended all the way to the top floor, only to find that the metal gate of the floor had already been locked. If I¡¯m not wrong, this should be the specific location. A lock was no issue for her at all. She channeled some of her inner energy toward her palms and removed the lock from the door, causing the metal gate to be opened with a loud, ringing noise. She entered and made her way up the stairs, guiding herself with a small torchlight. Amidst the pitch darkness of the night was a glistening yellow light. There was not a single soul on the rooftop at all. An Xiaoning shone the spot in front of her with the torchlight and shifted her gaze onto the edge. She strode toward it quickly. Jin Qingyan¡¯s GPS tracking device was ced on the surface. An Xiaoning was filled with panic the moment she picked it up. At this very moment, she heard the metal gate being closed. She scurried toward it to discover that it had already been locked from outside. An Xiaoning whipped out her mobile phone to call Fang En, who was jolted awake by the sudden ringing of her mobile phone. ¡°Sis Xiaoning?¡± ¡°Is Xiao at your ce now?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Get him on the line, tell him that I¡¯m looking for him.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Fang En switched on the lights and handed her mobile phone to Xiao Chenyang. He asked, ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Qingyan is missing. I¡¯m now at XX nightclub. His GPS tracking device was removed and ced on the top floor. I¡¯ll send the rest of the details to En.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± She ended the call and hurriedly typed out a text message that included the events that took ce, including her encounter with Xihou Jiaping. She then sent it to Fang En. Chapter 1037 - Perplexed and Smitten (97)

Chapter 1037: Perplexed and Smitten (97)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios A frown creased Xiao Chenyang¡¯s forehead the moment he read the contents of the text message. He quickly erased it before Fang En could sneak a peek and sprung up from the bed immediately. ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°To attend to something. Go to bed first.¡± .... An Xiaoning kicked the metal gate off its hinges and made her way downstairs. She trod down the staircase continuously, all the way until the first floor. Thedy boss was having some liquor while sitting by the bar counter. Upon the sight of her, she asked, ¡°Ms. An, didn¡¯t you find Mr. Jin?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that he¡¯s here? Where is he?¡± she questioned. ¡°I don¡¯t know about that, but I remember clearly that he was in that room.¡± ¡°Could you show me the surveince camera footages, then? Don¡¯t tell me the surveince cameras are faulty.¡± The female boss chuckled and said, ¡°Ms. An, you¡¯re such a irvoyant. Coincidentally, it just so happens that the surveince cameras here have been faulty for the past few days. I was nning to get it repaired tomorrow.¡± Keeping her eyes fixed on thedy boss, An Xiaoning said, ¡°You can repair the surveince cameras, but if there happens to be a case of murder or a missing person urring here, I¡¯m sure everyone here will be implicated.¡± ¡°What do you mean... implicated?¡± ¡°I mean implicated. Everyone will be embroiled and affected because of a single person¡¯s mistake.¡± ¡°Ms. An, I know you have the power and authority, but do you really think it¡¯s appropriate to threaten a poor businesswoman like me?¡± ¡°I know clearly whether or not you¡¯re a poor businesswoman. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re well aware of it yourself too. We¡¯re all adults. You must consider carefully before doing anything. Otherwise, you may not be able to afford to bear the consequences.¡± An Xiaoning then turned around to leave. Thedy boss watched as her figure receded. Her pupils constricted, and she zoomed inside the elevator to go up to the third floor the moment An Xiaoning closed the door. Knock, knock, knock. ¡°Come in,¡± a voice said coldly. ¡°Master, An Xiaoning has already left. However, she threatened me before she did.¡± ¡°What did she say?¡± ¡°She said that everyone would be implicated if a murder or kidnapping incident takes ce here.¡± ¡°Psht... look how petrified you are. What are you afraid of with me around?¡± the man sneered. ¡°Master, isn¡¯t An Xiaoning your target? Why did you let her escape?¡± ¡°She seemed to have been unable to recognize me. Things are getting interesting. It¡¯s not a bad idea to have some fun for now. Dealing with her is a piece of cake for me. It¡¯s only a matter of whether I want to do it or not.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°Okay, you¡¯re dismissed.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± .... An Xiaoning caught sight of Xiao Chenyang just as she left the nightclub. However, it was just a virtual form of him. It was An Xiaoning¡¯s first time seeing him in the flesh. ¡°Are you sure he¡¯s the Emperor?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure.¡± Xiao Chenyang smirked and said, ¡°I¡¯ve finally showed my face to you after so long.¡± When they entered again, they bumped into thedy boss who was making her way downstairs. ¡°Why have youe back?¡± ¡°How could I leave so quickly when I haven¡¯t found him yet?¡± said An Xiaoning. She then entered the elevator. Thedy boss did not say much, and neither did she stop her. The elevator ascended to the third floor. When they approached the door, Xiao Chenyang mouthed some words with his lips: ¡°Wait for me here.¡± An Xiaoning nodded. Xiao Chenyang entered the room. Sensing that someone had entered, the man who was standing by the door turned around to take a look. ¡°Xiao Chenyang? Is that you?¡± ¡°Long time no see.¡± Xiao Chenyang almost teared up. He continued, ¡°Since you¡¯ve decided to hide yourself, you should¡¯ve continued to stay hidden. Why are you out to harm others again? Are you afraid that Xihou Ling and Hua Jin would kill you first?¡± He answered with raised brows, ¡°Why would I be afraid of them? I would be fearless even if it¡¯s you. Xiao Chenyang, times have changed. You¡¯d better not mess with me or provoke me again. I hope we can put an end to the feud between us. That¡¯ll be best for both of us.¡± ¡°Put an end?¡± Xiao Chenyang stretched his back and pretended to clean his ears. ¡°Are you fit enough to negotiate with me? You¡¯re just a thief. What rights have you got to say such things to me?¡± ¡°Xiao Chenyang! Enough!¡± ¡°Oh? Are you afraid to own up to your misdeeds?¡± ¡°You say the same things every single time we meet. Aren¡¯t you sick of repeating yourself?¡± ¡°Why should I be sick of it? I¡¯m more than d to do it.¡± ring daggers at him, Xiao Chenyang questioned, ¡°Where did you take him?¡± ¡°What has it got to do with you? Stop poking your nose into others¡¯ business.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not in the mood to waste my time talking to you. You either release him or end up being tortured by me today. Do as you deem fit. Don¡¯t think you¡¯re the only one who has advanced throughout all these years. Let¡¯s give it a shot if you don¡¯t believe me.¡± Xihou Jiaping stood up straight and said, ¡°I don¡¯t wish to spar with you. If you don¡¯t wish to put an end to our feud, you may name your conditions. Like I mentioned before, I can give you an equalpensation.¡± ¡°I have everything that you have. Why would I need you topensate me? Stop beating around the bush and release him. Why? You only got to where you are today by stealing from me. Are you bullying him and taking advantage of the fact that he has reincarnated into a normal human who can¡¯t defeat you? You¡¯re still the same as you were in your previous lifetime. Do you really think the world revolves around you? Have you ever asked for my permission?¡± Xihou Jiaping pointed his index finger and said, ¡°I¡¯m giving in to you just this once as a form ofpensation for taking your things. Regardless of whether you agree or not, the scores are settled.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t take it, you stole it. The scores may be settled in your opinion, but to me, they¡¯re not. Stop deceiving others and yourself.¡± He did not wish to spar with Xiao Chenyang, clearly knowing how capable thetter was. He did not want to incur a major loss by trying to eliminate his enemy. But of course, he had no idea if he had the upper hand or not. ¡°His bodyguards are locked up in the basement while he¡¯s submerged in the water tank on the top floor. I don¡¯t know if he¡¯s dead yet.¡± Before Xiao Chenyang even exited, An Xiaoning began running off like a madwoman the moment she heard their conversation. Humans would drown within a short amount of time of beingpletely submerged in water. So much time had already passed... Ever since she saw the GPS tracking device... She dared not imagine just how much time had passed. An Xiaoning ran all the way to the seventh floor without stopping to catch her breath, feeling as if she was about to stop breathing. She shone her torch onto the tank and climbed up the metaldder to remove its lid. She shone the light into the tank, only to see that Jin Qingyan was floating on the surface of the water and making eye contact with her. At this moment, An Xiaoning burst into tears. ¡°Qingyan...¡± ¡°Look how excellent of a swimmer your man is.¡± She hurriedly cast the rope on her waist into the water while Jin Qingyan grabbed it tightly. If she were an ordinary woman, she wouldn¡¯t have had the strength to pull a man up from the water. However, An Xiaoning was no ordinary woman. Her safety was thest thing on her mind when she pulled him out of the water and hugged him tightly, not wanting to let go ever again. Chapter 1038 - Perplexed and Smitten (98)

Chapter 1038: Perplexed and Smitten (98)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Let¡¯s hurry and leave this ce.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± They made their way downstairs and boarded the elevator to the basement where Fan Shixin and numerous other bodyguards were shackled to the corner of the walls. When they were leaving, An Xiaoning took onest, terrifying nce at thedy boss, causing thetter to get goosebumps and sending a cold chill down her spine. Thetter was filled with anxiety at the thought of An Xiaoning¡¯s words. Throughout the journey home, she grabbed Jin Qingyan¡¯s hand and remained silent. Once they returned home, he took a shower while she released all her pent-up anger and punched him in frustration. ¡°Why did you go out to meet him in the middle of the night?¡± Instead of retaliating, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°I won¡¯t do that ever again.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t seem like the type who will rush out just because of a phone call. Just what did he say to you?¡± ¡°He said that he wanted to have a chat with me and that, if I turned up, he would tell me clearly why he wants us dead in both lifetimes.¡± ¡°You knew clearly that he was justying a trap for you...¡± ¡°Yes, I went despite knowing that he hadid a trap for me. I¡¯ve long detested him, ever since we visited the ancient residence. However, I still want to find out the reason for his actions. He didn¡¯t make me make a wasted trip, though. He has already told me everything.¡± ¡°What was the reason?¡± ¡°He said that in our previous lifetime, it was partly because of you and partly because he was afraid that I would vie with him for the throne. In this lifetime, he wants to kill us so as to prevent us from killing him first. He told me everything rather straightforwardly.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s makeup was ruined by her tears. She exited the bathroom to remove her makeup and entered again to rinse her face before lying down in bed at about four o¡¯clock in the morning. She had had a close shave with death within just a little over an hour. She stared nkly at the ceiling above. She truly experienced firsthand what it meant for there to always be a greater power. She dialed Fang En¡¯s mobile phone to ask if Xiao Chenyang had returned, to which thetter said no. ¡°Sis Xiaoning, since you know Xiao Chenyang, why didn¡¯t you know his name?¡± ¡°I only found out tonight.¡± ¡°He¡¯s back. Do you want me to get him on the line?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Xiao Chenyang took the mobile phone from Fang En¡¯s hands and answered, ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Thank you for tonight.¡± ¡°How rare of you to be thanking me. You don¡¯t have to thank me, though, I didn¡¯t do it for your sake.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to have a chat with you. Are you free tomorrow?¡± ¡°Come over tomorrow morning. I¡¯ll be waiting for you here.¡± ¡°Alright, get some rest, then.¡± Jin Qingyan had a white towel wrapped around his waist when he came out of the shower while drying his hair with another towel. ¡°Who were you speaking to over the phone?¡± ¡°Xiao Chenyang. I only found out his name tonight. We have him to thank for saving the day just now.¡± She exined the situation to him. ¡°You mean Xihou Jiaping stole from him?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what Xiao Chenyang said. It sounds true. However, Xihou Jiaping refuses to admit that he had stolen it and insists that he merely took it.¡± ¡°He¡¯s just trying to cover up for himself and put himself on a pedestal. Taking someone else¡¯s belongings without permission equates to stealing. Did he mention what it was?¡± ¡°No.¡± An Xiaoning spected, ¡°However, Xiao Chenyang appeared tonight as a virtual form and was dressed in ancient clothing, whereas Xihou Jiaping was in human form. For him to be able to see andmunicate with Xiao Chenyang¡¯s soul, I reckon he must be of the same kind as Xiao Chenyang. He either reincarnated with the memory of his previous lifetime or he had be immortal. I guessed that because Xiao Chenyang said that he¡¯s taking advantage of the fact that you reincarnated normally. Clearly, both of them are different from the two of us.¡± An idea popped up in An Xiaoning¡¯s mind at this moment. ¡°Qingyan!¡± she eximed. ¡°Yes? What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Do you remember when Pei Yi imprisoned me in R Nation back then? You said that it was a dream but your soul had seen me right there.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Does that mean... your soul can also leave your body, just like Xiao Chenyang? It¡¯s just that you¡¯re not aware of how you can separate your soul from your body yet. Xiao Chenyang probably knows how to. We¡¯ve agreed to meet tomorrow. I¡¯ll ask him about it then.¡± After hearing her theory, Jin Qingyan felt like that could very likely be the case. ¡°Alright. Did you get a terrible fright tonight?¡± he asked in a hoarse voice. ¡°What do you think? Seems like the nightmare I had yesterday was a premonition. We mustn¡¯t belittle my dreams again,¡± said An Xiaoning, who got the chills at the thought of what had happened. His heart was heavy and he did not answer. He did not tell her that there was some water inside the water tank, which had arge surface area that was glossy. Hence, there was no way he could climb out at all and all he could do was watch as water filled the tank slowly. Besides, there was also a lid on the top of the tank. He might have died if she had arrived anyter. At the thought of her crying, he¡¯d been extremely terrified that he would die in the tank. What¡¯s going to happen to her if I¡¯m dead? Jin Qingyan took out some cotton buds to clean out the water from his ears. ¡ª ¡°You seem to be out of sorts. Did something happen?¡± Fang En asked, leaning against the headboard. ¡°I instantly feel better after seeing you.¡± He turned to lie on his side and ced one arm on her waist, only to have her push it away relentlessly. She said, ¡°I¡¯m nning to buy another bed tomorrow. Since you¡¯ve decided not to leave, you shall move to another room from now on.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to,¡± he countered. ¡°You don¡¯t have a choice. I¡¯m still a pure and demure virgin. It¡¯s so inappropriate for you to be sharing the same bed as me.¡± ¡°A virgin?¡± He scanned her from head to toe before grinning widely. ¡°What are you smiling about?¡± Fang En asked in bewilderment. ¡°I knew you would keep yourself chaste for me.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s doing that for you? It¡¯s only because I haven¡¯t had a boyfriend,¡± Fang En said truthfully. ¡°You didn¡¯t have any boyfriends before me, and you won¡¯t have to have any now that you have met me. So far, which man in S Nation do you think canpare to me in terms of appearance?¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan.¡± ¡°Too bad he¡¯s already taken. I meant single bachelors.¡± ¡°There are plenty.¡± ¡°Name me a few examples and show me their photos.¡± ¡°What for...? There may be very few men who can hold a candle to you, but there are plenty of women who are more outstanding than me. Why have you got such poor taste in women?¡± said Fang En while lying down. He picked up the remote and switched on the air conditioner. ¡°I have no idea. Maybe you¡¯re ugly and I¡¯m blind?¡± ¡°Scram, you¡¯re the ugly one.¡± He responded with a smile and closed his eyes to go to bed. Seeing that he had already closed his eyes, Fang En dimmed the lights. However, she was suddenly no longer sleepy. Staring at his face, she thought to herself, Heaven is really unfair, why must a man be so good-looking? The more she thought about it, the more perplexed she felt. Fang En began to think that those male idols in the entertainment industry paled greatly inparison to Xiao Chenyang. Chapter 1039 - Perplexed and Smitten (99)

Chapter 1039: Perplexed and Smitten (99)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As she was deep in thought, he opened his eyes all of a sudden and smirked at her. ¡°Are you mesmerized by me? Don¡¯t be, hurry and snuggle up into my embrace.¡± ¡°Go to hell.¡± She turned over and switched off the lights. The two of them woke up four hourster. After having her breakfast, Fang En asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that Sis Xiaoning would being over today? What time will she be here?¡± ¡°I reckon it should be soon.¡± ¡°Are you two friends?¡± ¡°Would you believe me if I said no?¡± ¡°I would. Sis Xiaoning definitely wouldn¡¯t be friends with someone like you.¡± Xiao Chenyang gave her the side-eye and said, ¡°When she gets hereter, just go outside and loiter around. Go wherever you¡¯d like.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± An Xiaoning arrived at nine o¡¯clock in the morning. As soon as she did, Fang En left the house. She was left alone with Xiao Chenyang in the room. She cut straight to the chase and asked, ¡°There isn¡¯t anyone else here. Do you have a great feud with Xihou Jiaping?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you already hear everything when you were standing by the door of that room? We do have a great feud.¡± ¡°What did he steal from you?¡± ¡°Do you really want to know?¡± ¡°Of course I do. I wouldn¡¯t have asked otherwise.¡± ¡°In her previous lifetime, En¡¯s name was Nan Chuang and she was my concubine. I never met her before our marriage, let alone had any feelings for her. Hence, she had suffered a lot of torment for me. Let¡¯s put that aside for now. Ever since she had a miscarriage, her health began to deteriorate and she would get coughing fits whenever winter came around. She had never gotten better since. I tried to get her treated with every possible means. However, there was no viable way to treat her condition. I only found out the reason muchter, and that was because her condition was not caused by her poor health. Rather, it was because my mother had put a poisonous hex on Nan Chuang¡¯s lungs. When she was struggling to take herst breath, I finally found a solution that would allow us to retain our memory even after reincarnation. It¡¯ll also help boost our inner strength and powers. I prepared two portions of the potion, one of which was stolen by Xihou Jiaping when I was on my way back. Hence, Nan Chuang didn¡¯t get to use it when she passed on.¡± ¡°What potion is that?¡± He answered, ¡°I can¡¯t tell you that. If it weren¡¯t because of that potion, Xihou Jiaping would have been like you guys and undergone normal reincarnation. Even if he can awaken the memories of his previous lifetime bit by bit, he wouldn¡¯t be as powerful and would just be an average human. All these years, I¡¯ve been searching high and low for him but he has never dared to show his face. I reckon he must have gone into hiding in a ce where contact is cut off from the rest of the world and didn¡¯t know of your existence until quite recently. Thus, he probably decided to harm you before you could kill him.¡± ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t probe if you won¡¯t tell me that. However, I have another question to ask you and that¡¯s the most important bit.¡± ¡°What is it about?¡± ¡°When I was abducted by the DK Organization previously, Qingyan mentioned that he had dreamed of my predicament. However, it was not a dream but was the separation of his soul from his body when he was unconscious. It¡¯s simr to what you did, but the only difference is, he can¡¯t control his soul. Is there any way for him to control it?¡± ¡°There is a method to do that.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Get him toe over, I need to talk to him in private.¡± An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Can¡¯t you tell me?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± She whipped out her mobile phone and gave Jin Qingyan a call. Jin Qingyan brought numerous bodyguards with him, despite knowing that they could not protect him from Xihou Jiaping. An Xiaoning went downstairs and sat on the bench together with Fang En. ¡°Sis Xiaoning, why do you and Xiao Chenyang look so troubled?¡± ¡°Something happened, but we managed to escape unscathed all thanks to him. En, I really don¡¯t know if Xiao Chenyang can bring you happiness, but he¡¯s truly devoted to you.¡± ¡°Did he tell you that? Don¡¯t believe him,¡± said Fang En. ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± Seeing how certain she was, Fang En asked, ¡°Could you tell me why he¡¯s doing this? True, everything happens for a reason, but I feel like a fool who knows nothing.¡± ¡°Ignorance is bliss. It¡¯s better that you don¡¯t know, lest you feel burdened.¡± ¡°Boss, that fellow is calling you again!¡± An Xiaoning stood up to answer the call, ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Xiaoning, it¡¯s me. The reporters already know about it. Do you want me to tell them the details or would you like to tell them yourself?¡± ¡°You shall tell them, but you must speak the truth. I¡¯ll go to the police station today to see Bureau Chief Pan. I shall find out who the mastermind is.¡± ¡°Yes, I will.¡± .... After she waited for him for an entire hour, Jin Qingyan came down from upstairs. Fang En and An Xiaoning stepped forward. Jin Qingyan held her hand and began walking toward the car. An Xiaoning observed his expression, sensing that something was amiss with him. Thinking to herself that he must have something to tell her, she got inside the car quietly. The weather was sweltering, starkly different from the cool temperature in the air-conditioned car. An Xiaoning rode in the passenger seat while he drove, cocking her head to the side and ncing at him every now and then. Jin Qingyan remained silent throughout and kept his eyes fixed on the road ahead. A strange tension filled the air. He only turned to the side to look at her after parking the car inside the garage and turning off the engine. ¡°Good girl.¡± ¡°What would you like to say to me, Piggy?¡± ¡°Xiao Chenyang said that he wants to take me somewhere.¡± ¡°Where?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°He can¡¯t tell me that at the moment.¡± ¡°I believe he won¡¯t harm you. Are you going to go?¡± ¡°Yes. He said that once I go to that ce, I¡¯ll no longer have to worry about Xihou Jiaping harming me,¡± Jin Qingyan said with a solemn expression. An Xiaoning smiled and asked, ¡°Really?¡± ¡°However, there¡¯s something I hope that you can understand.¡± Jin Qingyan hugged her and pressed his warm lips against her neck affectionately. Feeling a little worried and anxious, An Xiaoning prompted, ¡°Tell me whatever it is that you have on your mind. Don¡¯t hem and haw.¡± ¡°Although he didn¡¯t tell me where that ce is, he did tell me what the oue will be. I made that decision after weighing the pros and cons carefully. Thus, I¡¯m telling you now that I won¡¯t regret any decision that I make. I won¡¯t allow you to regret it either.¡± His words made An Xiaoning panic. ¡°I won¡¯t regret it so long as you don¡¯t.¡± ¡°You shall take over thepany for the time being. I¡¯ll let Shixin brief you about everything. I can put my mind at ease with him around to help you. Xiao Chenyang said that there¡¯s no reception at that ce and I¡¯m not allowed to bring any electronic devices. The GPS tracking device won¡¯t work there either. You don¡¯t have to worry, I¡¯lle back to see you in one piece.¡± ¡°How long are you going to be away for?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure, he didn¡¯t specify.¡± An Xiaoning had no idea what was on his mind, although she knew that the consequences were not up to them and that no one knew what would happen in the end. He left after they had lunch together. Chapter 1040 - Perplexed and Smitten (100)

Chapter 1040: Perplexed and Smitten (100)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He did not bring anything with him, including his mobile phone, which he left at home. An Xiaoning suddenly felt like the house was rather empty. She did not wish to stay home. Thus, she went to the police station instead. There was no one inside the Special Investigation Unit office at all. An Xiaoning asked the other police officers, ¡°Where have they gone?¡± ¡°They¡¯re having a meeting with Bureau Chief in the meeting room.¡± She nodded and immediately went to the meeting room. Once she reached the meeting room, she stood outside the door to eavesdrop instead of entering right away. Only by eavesdropping will one hear the truest opinions that others have of you. ¡°Ma Jianguo, why are you so bad at keeping secrets? Who gave you permission to tell Team Leader An about that matter?¡± Ma Jianguo answered, ¡°Bureau Chief, someone will own up even if you don¡¯t have the guts to. Just because you¡¯re afraid to show your true colors doesn¡¯t mean others are also afraid to expose the truth. Touch your heart and ask yourself if your conscience is clear. We mustn¡¯tpromise our morals, especially as policemen. I don¡¯t think I did anything wrong.¡± ¡°Yes, you may not have done anything wrong, but you should turn a blind eye to certain things.¡± Unable to tolerate it any further, An Xiaoning pushed the door open and mmed it shut after entering. Pan Zhenghui was startled by her sudden appearance. ¡°Hey, Xiaoning, you¡¯re here.¡± ¡°Bureau Chief.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t agree with what you just said. If your child goes on a vacation and was murdered and used for ckmail, would you also turn a blind eye?¡± An Xiaoning questioned sternly. ¡°I¡¯m helpless too. There¡¯s nothing much I can do with someone threatening the higher authorities.¡± ¡°Who is it?¡± ¡°Well...¡± ¡°You¡¯re so wishy-washy, did you receive bribes too?¡± ¡°No, no, of course not!¡± Pan Zhenghui put his hand up and said, ¡°I swear to Heaven that I¡¯ve never received bribes from anyone. If not, I¡¯ll die a horrible death.¡± An Xiaoning waved and said, ¡°Okay, that¡¯s enough. Look how petrified you are.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a very timid person, don¡¯t keep frightening me.¡± ¡°I was the one who stepped in and solved this case so it has nothing to do with you at all. However, you must tell me truthfully, who is the person threatening the higher authorities?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s a little inconvenient for me to say this here. Can we talk in my office?¡± ¡°Alright.¡± The two of them left while the rest of the police officers began discussing amongst themselves. ¡°Did you see that? Bureau Chief became as timid as a mouse the moment he saw Team Leader An.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, all he does is lose his temper and order us around, yet he¡¯s apletely different person in front of Team Leader An.¡± Team Leader Zhang stared at them and chastised, ¡°Shut your mouths. Hurry and get back to work.¡± .... ¡°You may speak now,¡± said An Xiaoning, who sat down opposite him. ¡°It¡¯s the Secretary...¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Of course, how could I spout nonsense about such things?¡± Staring at him, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll call his leaders to check up on this matter. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t tell them that you were the one who told me. Have you interrogated those people who have been arrested?¡± ¡°They were all interrogatedst night. However, they don¡¯t seem to be afraid at all and even said arrogantly that there would be someone to save them.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s wait and see, then. We shall see if anyone is going to rescue them. Whoever intervenes at such a juncture is going to be really unlucky.¡± ¡°Xiaoning, here, have some tea,¡± Pan Zhenghui said, smiling while handing her a cup of tea he got from the dispenser. She took it from him and asked, ¡°Did you poison this?¡± ¡°Oh dear, don¡¯t malign me. I wouldn¡¯t dare to do that at all.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just teasing you.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You guys shall settle the rest of the matters yourself. Tell the media about the truth ordingly, but don¡¯t mention that I was involved.¡± ¡°We know what to do, of course, we¡¯re not fools.¡± ¡°Are you very intelligent, then? If you¡¯re intelligent, why did you berate such an upright policeman like Ma Jianguo? You ought to give him a reward instead.¡± ¡°Got it, I will.¡± ¡ª ¡°Why do you keep staring at me like that?¡± Fang En asked, touching her face. ¡°You¡¯re beautiful.¡± ¡°How senseless...¡± Fang En hissed. ¡°Is there something you want to say?¡± ¡°My woman is just so telepathic with me.¡± ¡°Get lost, who¡¯s your woman?¡± He stood up and said, ¡°There¡¯s something I have to attend totely and I can¡¯t be your bodyguard for the time being. Get your studio to assign some bodyguards to you. I¡¯ll get them to leave once I¡¯m back.¡± Is he leaving? Unable to contain her joy, Fang En said gleefully, ¡°Sure, sure. That goes without saying. You don¡¯t have to worry about this, the studio will arrange for it.¡± ¡°Are you that happy about me leaving?¡± Fang En smiled awkwardly. In order not to provoke him, she said, ¡°No, I actually don¡¯t want you to leave at all. Well, life is so much easier with you around.¡± ¡°Okay, since you can¡¯t bear to let me go, I won¡¯t leave.¡± Dumbfounded, Fang En wished she could bite her tongue off. ¡°Huh? You¡¯re not leaving?¡± Xiao Chenyang walked toward her in an attempt to kiss her. However, Fang En swiftly moved her head to the side to avoid him. He immediately pounced on her and pinned her down beneath him. Her efforts to pull away were futile, regardless of how hard she tried to dodge. Fang En felt like she was about to suffocate. He finally let go and stared at her intensely. ¡°I¡¯ll definitely be back. If you dare get yourself a boyfriend or behave intimately with another man...¡± She immediately said, ¡°I won¡¯t, I won¡¯t, I definitely won¡¯t.¡± He gazed at her longingly and said in a mellow voice, ¡°I¡¯ll be back as soon as possible.¡± Fang En watched him leave. The moment the door was closed, she threw the bolster aside and muttered, ¡°Who are you to me? We¡¯re not rted to each other at all. What right do you have to restrict me? Can¡¯t believe you even expect me to remain chaste for you.¡± She felt like she waspletely under his control. If I got married while he was away, when he returns... There could be two possible oues. If he sees that I¡¯ve gotten married when he¡¯s back, he would either back off or he could also... She dared not imagine what the second possible oue may be. ording to what she understood about him during the short period of time that they¡¯d spent together, she knew that he was not one topromise easily. I would be in great trouble if he gets infuriated and skins me alive. Besides, I don¡¯t n on getting married anyway. I don¡¯t even have a boyfriend... Her temples began throbbing continuously as she was overwhelmed with perplexion and frustration. She barely knew Xiao Chenyang and she had no idea who he was, where he came from, who his family was, and why he started pestering her out of nowhere. Chapter 1041 - Perplexed and Smitten (101)

Chapter 1041: Perplexed and Smitten (101)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Fang Eny in bed and pondered over her future. The more she thought about it, the more she felt like her life was much more tragic and arduous than it seemed to be on the surface. However, I must hurry and buy a bed while he¡¯s away. After all, it¡¯s going to arouse suspicion if anyone finds out that there isn¡¯t a spare bed in the other room of this house. Although she did not n to have anything to do with him, it was still necessary to get a bed. She then hurriedly sat up and tidied things a little before leaving the house with her wallet. Thinking that a folding bed would definitely not be spacious enough for such a tall person like Xiao Chenyang, she decided to buy a bigger one and opted for the bed to be delivered straight to her house. Fortunately, she did not bump into Yan Ge. Fang En had also bought some pillows and a nket. She thought the bed finally looked more bing. She was finally alone in her home again. She felt fantastic without the disturbance of Xiao Chenyang. In high spirits, she switched on the stereo speakers in the living room and began dancing to her own rhythm. ¡ª ¡°Chief, where did Mr. Jin go?¡± asked Yu Yiwei, who had not seen Jin Qingyan ever since she arrived. ¡°Young Sir has gone overseas to handle some issues with thepany.¡± ¡°When would he be returning?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about that yet. Ms. Yu, please continue to research and work on a treatment solution for Young Sir. You don¡¯t have to worry about the rest. We¡¯ll still be paying you your due sry even if Young Sir is absent.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not worried about that,¡± Yu Yiwei said with a straight face. ¡°I still have to inform you even if you¡¯re not worried. Please continue working on what you have to, Ms. Yu. I¡¯ll inform you once Young Sir is home.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± After watching her leave, Fan Shixin took a look at the time on his wristwatch and waited patiently. Three minutester, An Xiaoning came out of the living room and headed to the garage to collect her car before driving toward him. ¡°Young Madam, shall I take over the wheel?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She alighted from the car and allowed him to drive instead. No. 5 and No. 8 sat in the back seat while the car was driven out of Wei Ni Estate. They headed to the office to handle some work-rted documents. Fan Shixin was well versed in handling them since he was Jin Qingyan¡¯s able assistant and right-hand man. An Xiaoning did not experience any difficulty at all with the mighty Fan Shixin and her team of finance and business elites who were all there to assist her. Shortly after she took a seat, Fan Shixin handed her a set of newspapers. ¡°Young Madam, look.¡± She took it from him to see that it was a report about the incident at the tourist attraction by Mount Heyuan, which included the investigation¡¯s oues. ¡°If only they¡¯re always this efficient.¡± An Xiaoning took a nce at the article before putting the newspapers away. ¡°By the way, Bu Xianxian and Shi Shaochuan are now cohabiting in a rented apartment.¡± ¡°Shi Shaochuan is really something. Doesn¡¯t he detest me to the core? How is he not sick of facing a woman who looks almost identical to me every single day?¡± An Xiaoning remarked. ¡°Bu Xianxian is really settling for just anyone. Well, beggars can¡¯t be choosers.¡± ¡°Keep an eye on her and report to me about everything she does. Shixin, what do you think is going to happen if she gives birth to a child who looks exactly the same as she did before her stic surgery?¡± Fan Shixin burst intoughter and said, ¡°I dare not imagine that.¡± ¡°Shi Shaochuan is thest male heir of the Shi family for now. He¡¯ll definitely want to have a son. I have a feeling that Bu Xianxian will be getting pregnant sooner orter. After deducting the costs of her stic surgery and the apartment she had bought, I bet there¡¯s nothing left of those five million dors that we¡¯ve given her. Although Shi Shaochuan¡¯spany has already been acquired long ago, he still has a hefty amount of money left from his family¡¯s assets. It¡¯llst them for a long time.¡± ¡°I think he definitely has no idea that Bu Xianxian has had stic surgery. Given his physical attributes and financial status, it should be easy for him to find a fair-skinned and beautiful girl. Well, in today¡¯s society, there are girls who stay firm to their morals and have respect for themselves, but there are also girls who are willing topromise their chastity for the sake of money. It¡¯s not baffling at all. If he¡¯s aware that Bu Xianxian had gone under the knife to achieve her current appearance, he definitely would just toy with her.¡± An Xiaoning agreed with his words. ¡°Well, we don¡¯t have to care about Bu Xianxian since she¡¯s attached now. Just keep tabs on her in secret.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡ª After going through a detailed checkup at the hospital, Mo Li brought the results slip to an elderly traditional Chinese medicine practitioner. She had initially already gone through a physical examination once. However, the elderly practitioner wanted her to undergo another thorough one and return to the traditional chinese medicine clinic with the report of the checkup. After reading the results, the elderly practitioner said, ¡°Your condition may be optimistic, but there¡¯s still a chance at improving it.¡± ¡°Sir, I¡¯m begging you, you must help me. I¡¯m willing to cooperate, regardless of how much medicine I¡¯ll have to take.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll prescribe you with a month¡¯s worth of medicine. Finish it before going for another checkup. Then, bring the results to me again and I¡¯ll have a look at your condition.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± She headed home with a big bag of medicine, which she soaked in water for an hour before brewing. The entire kitchen was filled with the bitter smell of medicinal herbs. After chugging the big bowl of medicine, Mo Li felt like her stomach was churning and flipping inside out. She took a sip of water and stood up to walk around, after which she felt much more relieved. Mo Li then took out a photo of Ye Jiani and teared up uncontrobly. Her heart wrenched in pain and agony. As much as she wished that it did not happen at all, there was no way to change reality. Her daughter¡¯s death had put an end to her marriage that was initially already in shambles. Mo Li¡¯s teardrops fell onto the photograph. She wiped them away and muttered with a lopsided smile, ¡°Nini, Mommy misses you so much.¡± After staring at the photo for a long period of time, she ced it back inside a book. Ding-Dong... Ding-Dong... ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± said an unfamiliar female voice. Mo Li peeked out of the peephole, only to discover that it was Ye Xiaotian¡¯s wife, Qiao Yina. She opened the door and stared at the woman in front of her. ¡°What are you looking for me for?¡± ¡°May we talk inside?¡± Mo Li allowed her to enter. ¡°These are for you,¡± said Qiao Yina, who ced the bag in her hand onto the coffee table. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Mo Li asked in puzzlement. ¡°Your belongings.¡± She opened the bag to discover that it contained the belongings she had left behind after divorcing Ye Xiaotian. ¡°I don¡¯t want these anymore. You could¡¯ve just disposed them into the trashcan. You didn¡¯t have to go to the trouble of bringing them here.¡± Qiao Yina chuckled and said, ¡°It¡¯s better to return others¡¯ belongings to their rightful owner. I thought it¡¯d be better to hand them back to you than to throw them away. Your house is rather well decorated, it feels so homey and heartwarming. Are you about to get married soon?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m getting married soon.¡± Mo Li could not help but feel a little peeved to be asked such a question by her ex-husband¡¯s wife. ¡°Congrattions.¡± ¡°Thank you, would you like to have some water?¡± Qiao Yina answered, ¡°No, thank you. I¡¯ll leave after a while. My mother-inw has been hospitalized for a long time and her condition has deteriorated. I heard that she ill-treated you during your marriage to Xiaotian. Do you feel a little thrilled to hear this piece of news?¡± Greatly taken aback, Mo Li said, ¡°Her wellbeing has nothing to do with me. Whatever happened is now a thing of the past. I¡¯ve already begun a new life of my own.¡± ¡°Why does your house reek of medicinal herbs? Are you ill?¡± Chapter 1042 - Perplexed and Smitten (102)

Chapter 1042: Perplexed and Smitten (102)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°No, I¡¯m just trying to nourish my body.¡± Qiao Yina instantly understood what she meant. ¡°Can I ask you a question?¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Do you still resent Xiaotian?¡± ¡°Not anymore. Resenting him will only remind me of him frequently. I no longer want to be reminded of him from now on. Hence, I won¡¯t waste any more time and energy on him,¡± Mo Li saidposedly. Qiao Yina felt that she had meant every word she said. On the way home from Mo Li¡¯s ce, Qiao Yina thought to herself, Women who have given up on a manpletely will probably behave like Mo Li. She could talk about someone who used to be her closest kin with a straight face. She returned to the Ye family mansion and only went to bed in the wee hours of the night. Ye Xiaotian woke up and asked, ¡°Where did you go?¡± ¡°To deliver something.¡± ¡°To whom?¡± ¡°Your ex-wife.¡± Ye Xiaotian sobered up and asked, ¡°What did you deliver to her?¡± ¡°The things she had left behind.¡± ¡°Who told you to do that?¡± Staring at him, Qiao Yina said, ¡°I wanted to do it. I had a chat with her when I was there, and she told me that she is about to get married soon. She has also begun taking some traditional chinese medicine to nourish her body. It seems she¡¯s nning to conceive in the near future.¡± Ye Xiaotian had dreaded hearing those news. Ye Xiaotian knew that it was near impossible for her to get pregnant. Qiao Yina did not say anything else after seeing that he was refusing to speak. Ever since they got married, she had also gotten used to him being nonchnt and slipshod with his answers. ¡°I¡¯m going to the hospital to visit Mother. Would you like toe along?¡± she asked. ¡°I¡¯ll go in the evening instead.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± At this point, Mrs. Ye had turned pale and ghastly because of the tough battle she¡¯s been having with her illness. She looked like she had aged ten years with her angsty temper. Qiao Yina brought her some porridge, yet she was not grateful for it at all. ¡°It¡¯s the same old porridge every single day. I¡¯m getting so sick of it.¡± Qiao Yina detested her mother-inw as well. ¡°It¡¯s better for you to consume more whole grains now. They¡¯re good for your health,¡± Qiao Yina said while removing the lid of the lunchbox and cing a spoon inside. She allowed the piping-hot porridge to cool on the table before feeding it to Mrs. Ye. After some consideration, she said, ¡°Mother, I met Ms. Mo today.¡± ¡°Which Ms. Mo?¡± ¡°Mo Li.¡± ¡°Oh? Where did you meet her?¡± Mrs. Ye asked indifferently. ¡°Her home.¡± ¡°What were you doing at her home?¡± ¡°There were still some of her belongings at home so I decided to bring them to her. She¡¯s about to get married soon and she¡¯s nursing her health in preparation for a baby.¡± Mrs. Ye humphed and remarked, ¡°Can she even still conceive?¡± ¡°She probably still can.¡± ¡°She even showed up at Xiaotian¡¯s and your wedding together with her boyfriend. I could tell with one look that her boyfriend is younger than her. Ever since she married Xiaotian, she had been idling around at home every day. Xiaotian has never once let her go out to work. She couldn¡¯t even conceive a son. Atst, she finally managed to get pregnant again but she stabbed the baby boy she was expecting. If she can conceive again, pigs are going to fly.¡± Qiao Yina did not say anything further after hearing her remark. ¡ª ¡°Sis, where are you living now?¡± Yu Caiwei asked her sister while sucking on her straw. ¡°Wei Ni Estate.¡± ¡°Hey... doesn¡¯t that estate belong to Jin Qingyan?¡± ¡°It does belong to him, but he¡¯s not the only resident. There are still many other residents. Why did you ask me out?¡± asked Yu Yiwei. ¡°We haven¡¯t met in so long, it¡¯s obviously because I missed you. Sis, since you¡¯re a psychiatrist, are you living in Wei Ni Estate now because you have a patient there?¡± Yu Caiwei asked, smiling. ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s that patient?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t tell you that, it¡¯s confidential.¡± Yu Caiwei said, ¡°Father and Mother wants me to tell you to go home. They said that you haven¡¯t been answering their calls.¡± ¡°Whenever they call, it¡¯s to rush me to get married. So why should I answer?¡± Yu Yiwei said coldly, seemingly finding nothing wrong with ignoring her parents¡¯ calls. ¡°Well, to our parents, it¡¯s an ultimate sin for us to not be married even though we¡¯re already in our thirties.¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t you always had a boyfriend?¡± ¡°Sis, you¡¯re so unconcerned about me. We¡¯ve already broken up a long time ago!¡± Yu Caiwei snapped, rolling her eyes. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Mainly because our parents have objected to it strongly. Another reason is...¡± She sighed and continued, ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s not talk about that.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the other reason?¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t like the fact that I have many friends of the opposite gender and he thinks I¡¯m always flirting with them. Hence, we¡¯d decided to break up.¡± ¡°I remember you saying that you loved him very much and you even wanted to marry him. Isn¡¯t it a pity to break up?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Yu Caiwei finished her entire ss of orange juice. After having lunch with her sister, Yu Caiwei got inside her nanny van. Her assistant asked, ¡°Sis Caiwei, you seem to be in low spirits. What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing.¡± ¡°Shall we head back to the agency now?¡± ¡°No, we¡¯ll do thatter. Let¡¯s head to Qingyuan Estate now.¡± ¡°Oh, there again? What if you get caught by the paparazzi...¡± ¡°That won¡¯t happen, I¡¯m just going to take a look.¡± Having worked for her for so long, the assistant was well aware of everything that happened between her and Yan Ge throughout their ndestine rtionship. However, she could not understand why Yu Caiwei had been frequenting Qingyuan Estate ever since she bumped into Yan Ge again at the celebratory dinner previously. She wondered if Yu Caiwei was just affected by the rumors of Yan Ge being in a rtionship. It was noontime, the hottest time of the day. The chauffeur parked the nanny van into the parking lot, after which Yu Caiwei alighted with a red umbre in hand, d in a pair of shades and a surgical mask. She sprinted toward the lobby while the assistant waited for her in the car. The assistant was self-aware and conscious enough to know that she should not tag along. Ding... Yu Caiwei stepped out of the elevator and bumped into Fang En, who was on her way out. ¡°Ms. Fang, are you going out?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going downstairs to buy some icicles. Are you here to look for Yan Ge?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She then pressed Yan Ge¡¯s doorbell. Fang En entered the elevator, thinking to herself, Yu Caiwei had never looked Yan Ge up before the celebratory dinner. Why has she been dropping by every other day ever since the dinner? Furthermore, she¡¯s also his ex-girlfriend. Could it be that they had reconciled? Fang En was a little displeased at the thought of it. She deliberately bought two extra icicles when she was at the supermarket and pressed Yan Ge¡¯s doorbell without hesitation once she went upstairs. ¡°I happened to bump into Ms. Yu when I was on my way out. Here, I bought you guys some icicles. The weather is too warm.¡± ¡°Come in,¡± said Yan Ge. Fang En entered and handed one of the icicles to Yu Caiwei, who was sitting on the couch. ¡°There you go,¡± she said, smiling. ¡°I¡¯m not having any.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t stand on ceremony with me. It helps cool you down in this sweltering weather.¡± ¡°It contains so much sugar that it¡¯s going to make me gain weight. I¡¯m trying to lose weight right now.¡± Fang En handed it to Yan Ge instead, and he epted it. ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, you may leave.¡± Upon hearing his words, Fang En instinctively stood up, only to have him press her down onto the couch. ¡°I wasn¡¯t referring to you.¡± Chapter 1043 - Perplexed and Smitten (103)

Chapter 1043: Perplexed and Smitten (103)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Smiling wryly, Yu Caiwei said, ¡°Yan Ge...¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing for us to talk about. Don¡¯te and look for me again.¡± He ced the other icicle onto the table and took a seat on the couch. The arrogant and self-righteous Yu Caiwei decided not to say anything else since he was already so adamant. However, it would be rather embarrassing to just leave since Fang En was present too. Being a veteran of the entertainment industry, she had long mastered the various conversational skills and techniques to apply when ites to different people. Thus, she said with a pretentious smile, ¡°That¡¯s enough, Ms. Fang is not an outsider. There¡¯s no need for you to treat me that way in front of her. I¡¯m going back now.¡± She then stood up and left. The moment the door was closed, Fang En asked, ¡°Did she mean that you two interact differently when I¡¯m not around?¡± ¡°Are your brains fried? Can¡¯t you tell that she was just saying that on purpose?¡± ¡°Yes, yes, my brains don¡¯t function well, I couldn¡¯t tell the hidden meaning in her words,¡± said Fang En. Seeing that she was a little upset, Yan Ge smiled and teased, ¡°Are you angry?¡± ¡°No.¡± Fang En took a bite of the popsicle and continued sluggishly, ¡°What has your interaction with her have to do with me? I¡¯m not your girlfriend anyway. There¡¯s no need for me to worry.¡± Yan Ge squinted and asked, ¡°In that case, would you like to be worried? Would you like for it to concern you?¡± In other words, he was simply asking if she would like to be his girlfriend. Fang En could tell what he meant too, for she was no fool. Slightly stunned, she said, ¡°You¡¯ll make others get the wrong idea easily. Do you mean the same thing that I¡¯m thinking?¡± ¡°Maybe. What do you think I mean?¡± ¡°I think you¡¯re asking if I¡¯d like to be your girlfriend.¡± Fang En¡¯s ears began to turn red and hot out of shyness. She had no idea where to ce her hands and dared not look into his eyes. Just as her heart was fluttering and racing, Yan Ge¡¯s mobile phone began to ring all of a sudden. He took a look at the caller disy and headed to the balcony to answer it. Fang En took a deep breath, feeling much better than she did a minute ago. Staring at the figure on the balcony, Fang En got a grip on her emotions as her nervousness faded. Yan Ge¡¯s forehead was creased into a frown, and she had no idea who he was speaking to over the phone. He entered again with a grave expression on his face and said to her, ¡°My father injured himself during a fall. I have to go to the hospital now.¡± ¡°Hurry and go take a look, then...¡± said Fang En who tensed up again after hearing his words. However, she did not offer to apany him since that would spark unnecessary rumors. She returned home, still pondering over the conversation they just had. Was that what he had meant? Does he fancy me too? She dared not jump to conclusions. She spent the rest of her time pondering over the matter. She really wanted to send him a text to rify things. However, she could not bring herself to do so because of her pride. Fang En cooped herself up at home to think about the matter for the entire afternoon. Atst, she decided on not finding out the truth. After all, she would not harbor feelings for him or get her hopes up if she did not know, and she also would not have to worry about Xiao Chenyang being a threat. She stopped feeling troubled after having figured it all out. ¡ª Staring at the magnificent mountain in front of him, Jin Qingyan asked, ¡°Where¡¯s this ce?¡± ¡°The ce where I used to live. It¡¯s called Mount Wanyan. Although it might be a little far and remote, it¡¯s a wonderful ce that not many can find. Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll take you there,¡± Xiao Chenyang said in a mellow tone, sounding much less aloof than before. Jin Qingyan felt his body being lifted up and propelled into the air rapidly. He stared wide-eyed at the ground below him, which seemed to get farther and farther. He could not help but be shell-shocked. Staring at how frightened he was, Xiao Chenyang burst intoughter and said, ¡°You used to be much more skilled and formidable than I am. I can¡¯t believe you¡¯d need my help today. Oh how times have changed.¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Chenyang brought him to a ce near the summit of the mountain. There was a cave that could fit about three people at a time, and it was extremely bright. ¡°Apart from the way you just brought me up here, is there any other route?¡± ¡°Of course not. I enjoy peace and tranquility. There are very few people around this mountain and I rarely see anyone here. However, I still have to take precautions against trespassers and stop them from ruining my peace.¡± ¡°You¡¯re good at finding ces.¡± Jin Qingyan did not find the ce warm at all. In fact, it was rather cool and breezy. He initially thought there would be nothing much in the cave. However, the moment he entered, he realized that he had underestimated what was inside. The interior was just like a mini-mansion. Although it was not exactly spacious, it was fully equipped with the necessary items, except electricity and electronic devices. ¡°Don¡¯t you feel bored in a world without electricity?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve gotten used to it.¡± A box of candles caught Jin Qingyan¡¯s eye and he asked, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be easier to buy a torchlight?¡± ¡°Habits are hard to kick. I¡¯m used to using candles. Sit here and wait for me.¡± Xiao Chenyang then walked to a tightly-shut stone door and stopped in front of it. He pressed the switch of the contraption, after which the heavy stone door opened with a loud bang. He entered alone and exited again five minutester. He was holding a cup of bright red liquid in his hands. He walked toward Jin Qingyan and handed the cup to him. Jin Qingyan felt his senses being attacked by the strong metallic odor of blood. He could not help but feel queasy when he took the cup of blood. ¡°Finish it. You may consider carefully. There would be no turning back once you drink it. Take care.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t make any decisions that I¡¯ll regret.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, he ced the cup near his lips and downed the blood in one go in front of Xiao Chenyang. The smell was extremely overbearing. He clenched his fists tightly and curbed his urge to throw up. ¡°Rinse your mouth,¡± said Xiao Chenyang, handing him a ss of clean water. Jin Qingyan gargled some water to rinse his mouth numerous times. However, the odor of blood still lingered in his mouth. Just as he was about to rinse it again, he felt a sudden chilliness that prated through his bones, all the way to his heart. Jin Qingyan turned pale as he felt a sudden excruciating pain in his chest. Xiao Chenyang squatted down and stared at him. ¡°It¡¯ll feel terrible, lie down for a while.¡± He sat down as instructed while his body began to quiver uncontrobly. He could not help but grunt in pain. He grabbed onto the sides tightly while the veins popped up on the back of his hands. After waiting for a long while, he began trembling even more vigorously from head to toe. Afraid that he wouldn¡¯t be able to pull through, Xiao Chenyang said, ¡°Think about the love of your life...¡± Chapter 1044 - Perplexed and Smitten (104)

Chapter 1044: Perplexed and Smitten (104)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyan stared nkly at the spot above, and the image of An Xiaoning smiling, as well as the sound of her voice, shed through his mind. It was enough to motivate him and give him the endless power to pull through. Gradually, Jin Qingyan stopped quivering and slipped into unconsciousness. The initially-pleasant and sunny weather turned gloomy all of a sudden and it began raining cats and dogs. Standing by the cave opening, Xiao Chenyang stared into the distance with a heavy heart. Although centuries had already passed, his memory of the past was still fresh and clear. He recalled the two of them acknowledging the same master when they were children and training together ever since they were young. They used to be the best of buddies and each other¡¯s closest kin. Even though their master had disowned Jin Qingyan, he still held a special ce in Xiao Chenyang¡¯s heart. He recalled how pale and ghastly the terminally-ill Jin Qingyan had looked when he was talking to him back then. Ever since his death, they¡¯d been parted for centuries. Due to the thunderstorm, the sky had already turned pitch dark. Just as Xiao Chenyang was about to close the gate at the opening of the cave, a luminous ray of light caught his attention. He lit up a candle and walked toward Jin Qingyan, only to see that the luminous ray was being emitted by the jade ring on his thumb. Due to the pitch darkness, the patterned streaks on the jade ring could be seen clearly. Xiao Chenyang took a closer look to see that there was a dragon imprinted on the ring. He ced the candle onto the table and closed the gate. He waited quietly for Jin Qingyan toe to. ¡ª An Xiaoning stayed in the office for the entire day and only returned home at eight in the evening. As soon as she entered the living room, she was greeted with the sight of her two huskies, Wang Cai and Fu Gui, sitting on the couch and watching television. Indeed, the two dogs were sitting side by side and watching the television. An Xiaoning put on her home slippers and stared at her dogs before ncing at the television. ¡°You two actually know how to watch television?¡± The huskies howled like wolves, seemingly responding to her. ¡°You guys are bing geniuses.¡± An Xiaoning petted the gray female husky, Wang Cai. To her surprise, Fu Gui began to get jealous and stuck its head toward An Xiaoning, hinting for her to pet him too. The heartwarming antic put a smile on An Xiaoning¡¯s face. ¡°Young Madam, would you like to eat something? Feel free to tell me what you¡¯d like to eat.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not eating, just a cup of milk will do.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± She made her way upstairs, feeling sore and achy all over after sitting in the office for the entire day. After An Xiaoning took a warm bath, Auntie Chen delivered the ss of milk to the door, after which she grabbed it and told thetter to get some rest. She finished the warm milk, brushed her teeth, and put on a facial serum mask before finally going to bed. Staring at the spot beside her, she began to feel like Jin Qingyan had been gone for a long time, although he had left only a while ago. She had no idea what the situation was on his side since she could not contact him. An Xiaoning gave Fang En a call. Thetter did not pick up. She tried to call her again but to no avail. Just as she was about to call for the third time, Fang En returned her call. ¡°Sis Xiaoning, I just came out of the shower.¡± ¡°Since Xiao Chenyang is not around, has Yangyang assigned any bodyguards to you yet?¡± ¡°I told Sis Yangyang to instruct them toe in the day instead. Besides, I¡¯m living right opposite Yan Ge and the security is tight within the estate too. I¡¯ll be alright.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine if you¡¯re okay with that arrangement. Try to avoid going out at night as much as possible.¡± ¡°I know. Sis, aren¡¯t you going to bed yet?¡± Fang En asked. ¡°Not yet, I was a little worried about you. Go to bed early and get more rest during this break.¡± ¡°Alright, sleep soon too, Sis. Goodnight.¡± ¡°Goodnight.¡± After ending the call, An Xiaoning put her phone away and began falling asleep. Right before she dozed off, she prayed in her head not to slip into another long dream again, for she still had to attend to the matters at thepany. However, she was never in control of her subconscious. Furthermore, it was the peak period where her dreams urred frequently. The more she dreaded it, the more likely it would happen. She was overwhelmed with difort while she was asleep. She opened her eyes wearily, only to discover that she was roped to a wooden peg with a piece of cloth stuffed inside her mouth,pletely drenched. There was a bunch of people standing in front of her, and she was clearly jolted awake by the water that was sshed onto her face. The person standing at the front of the bunch was none other than Princess Consort Mu. She really dreaded seeing Bu Xianxian¡¯s face. Bu Xianxian¡¯s skin was much tanner in the dreampared to her post-stic-surgery self. Her skin was so tan and dull that she almost blended in with the darkness of the night. An Xiaoning had no idea what was going on or how she ended up being tied up. Before An Xiaoning could even speak, Princess Consort Mu said, ¡°Shove the spicy chili noodles into her mouth!¡± ¡°Yes, Princess Consort.¡± The two maids immediately walked toward An Xiaoning with the bowls of chili noodles. ¡°Just what are you trying to do?¡± asked An Xiaoning, who wished that she could stab Princess Consort Mu to death with the fork. ¡°Hurry up,¡± Princess Consort Mu instructed the maids,pletely ignoring An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning¡¯s mouth was forced open and the chili noodles were stuffed past her mouth¡¯s opening. However, the maids were still rather restrained and did not force the chili all the way inside her mouth, although it was still spicy enough to make An Xiaoning sneeze uncontrobly. Her throat was burning. It became difficult for her to even speak, and she was practically in a living hell. If this had taken ce in real life instead, she would have broken free from the ropes and beat Bu Xianxian into a pulp. Yet... An Xiaoning wondered to herself, Why am I restrained when I was in the residence? Where did Princess Consort Tian go? Where¡¯s Yu Jiao? Wasn¡¯t Princess Consort Tian in cahoots with me? Could it be that Tian wanted Mu to teach me a lesson and thus decided to show up at thest minute? To her astonishment, things turned out to be just like she had thought. Princess Consort Tian rushed over at thest minute before An Xiaoning passed out from the chili. ¡°Sister, what are you doing? What has Miss Jin done wrong? Why do you have to do this to her?¡± said Princess Consort Tian. ¡°What has she done wrong? She¡¯s a shameless woman who has no right to stay here. Sister, you probably don¡¯t dare to stand up to His Highness, but I can¡¯t tolerate this outrageousness. I shall wait for His Highness toe back and make a decision. Let¡¯s see if he¡¯ll choose to send this woman away or divorce me!¡± Princess Consort Mu hollered with a smirk. Princess Consort Tian knew that she was merely trying to put the Prince on a spot. After all, she was the princess of the neighboring country and had been arranged by the Emperor to marry the Prince. Hence, there was no way the Prince could divorce her. However, she was also well aware of how much Hua Jin meant to him. Princess Consort Tian said softly, ¡°Sister, you can¡¯t subject Miss Jin to such treatment, His Highness is going to hit the roof if he finds out.¡± She then walked toward An Xiaoning in an attempt to free her from the ropes. ¡°Stop what you¡¯re doing.¡± Princess Consort Tian paused her actions. Although she wanted Princess Consort Mu to teach Hua Jin a lesson, she was also well aware that women were fickle-minded. If she could do this to Hua Jin, she can probably also do this to me in the future... ¡°Sister, you just married His Highness not long ago and you don¡¯t know his temper too well yet. I think you¡¯d better think twice before you act. You and I are both His Highness¡¯swful wives and we¡¯re of equal status. I hope you¡¯ll let Miss Jin off this time on my ount.¡± Chapter 1045 - Perplexed and Smitten (105)

Chapter 1045: Perplexed and Smitten (105)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Princess Consort Tian was intelligent enough to know that she was giving Princess Consort Mu an out while at the same time pleading for mercy on Hua Jin¡¯s behalf. She was killing two birds with one stone. Thinking that her words had made sense, Princess Consort Mu conceded, ¡°I shall release this shameless woman on your ount, then, Sister.¡± An Xiaoning was simmering with anger. How dare she bully me in my dream? The moment she was released from the ropes, she walked toward Princess Consort Mu. Her lips had already be red and swollen because of the spiciness of the chili. ¡°Is there anything else you want to say? Are you feeling indignant?¡± Princess Consort Mu questioned, ring at her menacingly. An Xiaoning stopped in her tracks when she was about one footstep away from her. Staring back at her, An Xiaoning said, ¡°There¡¯s nothing else I¡¯d like to say, but there¡¯s something I have to do.¡± ¡°Ah!¡± Before anyone else could react, An Xiaoning grabbed Princess Consort Mu¡¯s hair and pinned her down into the ground, giving her a few tight ps. The servants hurriedly tried to pull An Xiaoning away. By the time they did, Princess Consort Mu¡¯s hair had already be unkempt and she looked extremely disheveled. The excruciating pain in her scalp and on her face sent her into a rage. ¡°Bring this shameless woman away and beat her to her death!¡± she ordered. One of the servants immediately tried to drag An Xiaoning away. Coincidentally, Jin Qingyan returned at this moment. Upon the sight of him, one of the servants greeted him respectfully, ¡°His Highness!¡± His greeting attracted the attention of everyone. An Xiaoning looked over to see that he was standing at a spot that was not too far away, an icy cold look in his gaze. Princess Consort Mu decided to tell on An Xiaoning first and bawled loudly, ¡°His Highness, you must stand up for me. She hit me!¡± He red at her coldly before turning around and walking toward An Xiaoning. He did not look at Princess Consort Tian or bothered to answer Princess Consort Mu. Instead, he picked An Xiaoning up in his arms and carried her away in in sight. His actions were just like a tight p to Princess Consort Mu¡¯s face. His actions spoke louder than words and meant much more than anything else could have. Princess Consort Mu sank her nails deep into her own flesh and stared at them menacingly, not taking her eyes away even after they¡¯d left. An Xiaoning was carried into her room where he lowered her onto the bed. She hurriedly covered her mouth because she could sense that her swollen lips were hideous. ¡°Why are you covering your lips?¡± ¡°They¡¯re hideous.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen you at your worst.¡± He pulled her hand away from her mouth and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your lips?¡± ¡°Princess Consort Mu stuffed a whole bunch of chilies into my mouth. That¡¯s why I decided to hit her. I¡¯m no pushover, and I¡¯m not going to let her bully me,¡± An Xiaoning said truthfully. He smiled and said, ¡°Yes, good job.¡± ¡°What kind of a person is Xiao Chenyang?¡± ¡°Why would you ask about him all of a sudden?¡± he asked in astonishment. ¡°I was just asking casually.¡± ¡°How am I supposed to answer that?¡± ¡°Answer however you¡¯d like.¡± ¡°There are no words to describe him. Sometimes, he¡¯s as goofy as a lunatic, sometimes he¡¯s serious and uptight. There are many sides to him, and each side is unique and entric,¡± he exined. An Xiaoning did not expect him to describe Xiao Chenyang in such a manner. ¡°How are things between you two, then?¡± ¡°He¡¯s closer to me than my blood brother. I believe that¡¯s what he feels about me too. He¡¯s the only son of his family, and he has three older sisters. He became my junior after acknowledging our master. Well, he¡¯s rather stubborn and rarely gives in.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s better at martial arts, then?¡± ¡°Me, of course. Otherwise, how could I be his senior? Why do you have so many questions about him tonight?¡± he asked. ¡°Nothing. I¡¯m tired, go get some rest.¡± He stood up and said, ¡°Your clothes are still soaked. Hurry and change out of them. Although it¡¯s summertime now, it¡¯s still better not to catch a cold. Let¡¯s have breakfast together tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°Sure. By the way, where did Yu Jiao go? Get someone to look for her. I wonder if she was restrained by Princess Consort Mu¡¯s servants,¡± she said, kicking her shoes off. ¡°Alright.¡± As soon as she finished changing, Yu Jiao opened the door. Yu Jiao¡¯s entire face was swollen, far worse than An Xiaoning¡¯s swollen lips. ¡°Miss...¡± She stepped forward and asked, ¡°What happened to your face...?¡± Yu Jiao answered with tears in her eyes, ¡°I¡¯m alright. Miss, your lips...¡± ¡°That bitch made her servants stuff chilies into my mouth. Do you have any medicine that¡¯s meant for reducing swelling?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll go get it...¡± As soon as she opened the door, a man who was about to knock on the door said, ¡°Miss Jin, His Highness wanted me to send you this medical cream.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± She took it from his hands and closed the door. She and Yu Jiao proceeded to apply the cream on each other. They looked like they had been disfigured. During bedtime, An Xiaoning told her to sleep next to her. However, Yu Jiao was mindful of the difference in their statuses and dared not sleep beside her. Instead, she just stood by the bed. Seeing that she had suffered as well, An Xiaoning instructed her to get some rest in the other room, after which she closed her eyes. ¡ª The first thing that Fang En did when she woke up was to check her mobile phone. She did not receive any missed calls or text messages. She initially thought that Yan Ge would exin to her about his unfinished words yesterday. Yet, in reality, he did not. She was looking forward to his exnation, but not quite either at the same time. She made herself a simple breakfast. I already decided it would be better not to know the truth, but what¡¯s wrong with my brain? Why is it refusing to listen to me? Fang En was ill at ease and distracted while having her breakfast. It seemed her mind could not be put at ease without an answer. She sucked on the straw and finished the entire carton of milk in one go. She then stood up and finished eating the sandwich in her mouth. After clearing the tes, she returned to her bedroom to change into a fresh set of clothes and put on some light makeup. It was the hottest day of the summer, and she would begin perspiring the moment she stepped out of the house. Hence, there was no need to put on that much makeup. Staring at the door opposite, she pressed the doorbell, feeling like her heart was about to jump out of her chest. Fang En clutched her chest in extreme nervousness. However, no one answered the door. It¡¯s still so early in the morning. Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s not home yet? Unable to contain her eagerness, she pressed the doorbell again. Still, no one answered. Fang En sent him a text message that read: ¡°Are you home?¡± He replied: ¡°No.¡± ¡°Is your father alright?¡± ¡°He just had a fall, nothing too serious. He¡¯ll be fine after recuperating for some time.¡± Fang En had no idea what to reply to him next. She typed out her reply, only to erase it before typing it again and erasing it again. After repeating the same action over and over again, she decided to just shut down her mobile phone before entering her house again. She finally calmed herself down after some pondering. Seems like we didn¡¯t mean the same thing yesterday. Chapter 1046 - Perplexed and Smitten (106)

Chapter 1046: Perplexed and Smitten (106)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios If not, he would have just told me straight. He may be busy with visiting his father at the hospital, but it won¡¯t take long to say a simple sentence, would it? Was I reading too much into things? Was it just wishful thinking on my part? Ding-Dong... ¡°Sis En, it¡¯s me,¡± said Xiao Yue, who was outside the door. She stood up and opened the door. ¡°Xiao Yue.¡± ¡°Here, these are the script for the first ten episodes and the biography of the character you¡¯d be ying in the uing drama series. Do take a look. Sis Yangyang may not be in the current production unit but she¡¯s already made all the preparations for you beforehand.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Fang En took it from her and sat cross-legged on the couch while flipping through the files. ¡°Sis En, Sis Yangyang said that this is a major production and you¡¯re confirmed to be ying the female lead. However, we didn¡¯t invest in this production.¡± ¡°I know. I wonder which actor is going to y the male lead this time.¡± ¡°If only it¡¯s still Yan Ge. You guys have worked together before and have already developed a chemistry.¡± ¡°The investor, producer, and director get to decide who ys the male lead,¡± said Fang En, who was looking through the first page of the character¡¯s biography carefully. It mainly described the character¡¯s personality and traits. ¡°Sis, where did your cousin go?¡± ¡°He went home.¡± ¡°When is heing back?¡± ¡°No idea. Why are you so concerned about him?¡± Fang En questioned, ncing at her. ¡°Because I fancy him, obviously. Sis En, could you give me his mobile number?¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t use mobile phones.¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t? Is he a caveman? Why doesn¡¯t he have a mobile phone?¡± Xiao Yue asked in astonishment. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Sis En, what kind of girls does he fancy?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not very sure,¡± Fang En answered, feeling a little guilty. ¡°Sis, how are things between you and Yan Ge? Any progress?¡± Xiao Yue asked curiously. ¡°What progress could there be between us?¡± Xiao Yue smirked and said, ¡°Quit trying to fool me, I can see everything. Sis En, you must woo someone if you fancy them. If you act toote, they might just be someone else¡¯s.¡± ¡°Well, if he fancies me, he¡¯ll take the initiative to woo me. There¡¯s no use in me taking the initiative if he doesn¡¯t fancy me,¡± Fang En said while reading the lines on her script, although she did not register them in her head. ¡°Sis En, I think Yan Ge does fancy you though.¡± ¡°How could you tell?¡± ¡°I could tell with both my eyes. Sis En, stop thinking that he doesn¡¯t fancy you. Yan Ge is mature and handsome. Take the initiative to make the first move, and make him yours,¡± said Xiao Yue, egging her on. ¡°That¡¯s easier said than done.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that difficult to do it. If I were you, I would definitely confess to him first.¡± Fang En did not answer. After looking through the files, Fang En said, ¡°Xiao Yue, you may go back to rest. There¡¯s nothing I need your help with right now.¡± ¡°Sis, feel free to tell me whenever you need something. I¡¯ll feel bad getting paid to do nothing. How about I help you clean and tidy your apartment? I¡¯ll go home after I¡¯m done.¡± Fang En nodded in agreement. Fang En had taken a liking to the new television series after reading through the character¡¯s biography and the plot of the story. It was a modern drama series that transcends ancient times and the present day. The male lead time-traveled from the ancient times to the modern age while the female lead... also known as the character Fang En would be ying, was a sacrificial object embroiled in a political marriage of two wealthy families. She did not enjoy a blissful marriage, for her husband had never quite liked her. Yet, one day, her ill-stricken husband kicked the bucket all of a sudden. The story begins when the male lead time-travels and transmigrates to the body of the female lead¡¯s husband. The television series was titled, ¡°The Man from the Ancient Times.¡± After cing the document file onto the coffee table, Fang En whipped out her mobile phone to scroll through the news online and checked if the rumors about her and Yan Ge had died down yet. To her astonishment, she was still on the headlines. ¡°Xiao Yue, what¡¯s going on? Why have I made the headlines again?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve read that in the morning. I thought you¡¯d seen it too,¡± said Xiao Yue. Fang En opened the article and read through its content, only to get a great shock. It was written in the article that she had developed one-sided feelings for Yan Ge while filming alongside him and that she had deliberately bought the apartment opposite Yan Ge¡¯s, just so she could get close to him. There were even some ridiculous ims that used her of knocking on Yan Ge¡¯s door at midnight, only to be locked outside. They made it sound as if it was real. ¡°Which idiot bribed the media to use me like that?¡± ¡°No idea. Sis En, don¡¯t bother reading all that nonsense or you¡¯ll get affected.¡± ¡°Was Yu Caiwei behind this?¡± said Fang En. ¡°Yu Caiwei? Why would she do that?¡± ¡°My female intuition is telling me that she¡¯s the one who did it. Either that or it was the paparazzi. Those are the only two possibilities I can think of.¡± ¡°Sis, why don¡¯t you tell Sis Yangyang about this? Let¡¯s bribe the media to shame her, tit for tat.¡± ¡°Ever since she shot to fame, she¡¯s been starring in lousy productions that garnered a slew of criticisms from viewers. Is there still a need for me to shame her?¡± ¡°You have a point, let¡¯s not be too bothered.¡± ¡ª ¡°Yuechan,¡± called Wen Yuechan¡¯s mother, who was standing outside the ssroom with reddened eyes. ¡°Mommy!¡± Wen Yuechan eximed as she rose from her seat and zoomed outside. She then walked away from the ssroom with her mother and sat on a chair outside. Staring at Wen Yuechan solemnly, Mrs. Wen said, ¡°If Daddy and Mommy get a divorce, would you want to live with Daddy or with Mommy?¡± Upon hearing her question, Wen Yuechan bit her lip and said, ¡°Mommy, why did you ask me such a question? I want to live with both of you.¡± ¡°But Daddy and Mommy are now getting a divorce. You can choose to live with only one of us.¡± ¡°Why are you getting a divorce?¡± ¡°Because your daddy has an extramarital affair and he doesn¡¯t want us both anymore,¡± Mrs. Wen said bluntly, disregarding the fact that her daughter was still young and could not process the things she had just said. Wen Yuechan burst into tears while staring at her. She then hung her head low and remained quiet. ¡°I¡¯m asking you a question. Do you want to live with Mommy or Daddy? Your daddy wants you to decide.¡± ¡°I... I want to live with Mommy, of course.¡± Her words had given Mrs. Wen a great deal of assurance. ¡°Alright, listen to me, don¡¯t attend school for the next few days. I¡¯ll bring you home to see your daddy. You tell him yourself whom you¡¯d like to live with. I¡¯ve already informed your coaches and teacher that you would be absent for the next few days.¡± Wen Yuechan nodded and left the boot camp together with her mother. They returned to Wei Ni Estate. ¡°I¡¯ve brought Yuechan home, she wants to live with me.¡± Mr. Wen asked, ¡°Yuechan, do you want to stay with Mommy?¡± She nodded and expressed assent. ¡°If you choose to stay with Mommy, you won¡¯t be able to see me often from now on.¡± Wen Yuechan nodded again, feeling a lump in her throat. ¡°Alright, since you want to stay with your mommy, go ahead.¡± ¡°Like what you mentioned earlier, you¡¯ll have to let me keep the house and the car since Yuechan has decided to follow me. You also have to pay maintenance fees for Yuechan, all the way ¡¯til she¡¯s 18 years old. Are you going to honor your word?¡± Mrs. Wen said, raising her voice. Chapter 1047 - Perplexed and Smitten (107)

Chapter 1047: Perplexed and Smitten (107)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Of course I¡¯m going to. These are all for our daughter, not for you.¡± Seething with exasperation, Mrs. Wen retorted, ¡°Did I waste all my youth on you for free? You¡¯re the one who¡¯s in the wrong, yet you still have the cheek to treat me this way. Don¡¯t you find yourself shameful at all? Forget it if the assets are not split equally. I can¡¯t believe you even tried to threaten me. I was really blind to have married you!¡± ¡°If you continue toin, you¡¯ll have none of those things. Do you really think you can win against me in awsuit?¡± ¡°You... I shall see how long you and that hussy canst!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to live with you anymore, even for a day! You don¡¯t ever reflect on yourself and your mistakes. You¡¯re hopeless!¡± ¡°You¡¯re just giving excuses for your infidelity!¡± ¡°...¡± Slightly traumatized by her parents¡¯ incessant arguing, Wen Yuechan stood rooted to the ground, at a loss for what to do. After they stopped arguing, they signed the divorce papers in front of Wen Yuechan. Mr. Wen took out a bank card and said, ¡°This contains the maintenance fees for Yuechan, which willst all the way until she¡¯s 18 years old. I¡¯ll give them to you all in one go, so stop asking me for money from now on. The car is registered under your name anyway. I¡¯ll transfer the ownership of the house to you tomorrow. We¡¯ll settle the divorce proceedings now.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go with you to get that settled after you transfer it to me.¡± Mr. Wen shifted his gaze onto Wen Yuechan, who had been remaining silent. ¡°Yuechan, call me when you miss me in the days toe. I¡¯ll take you out to eat delicious food and have fun.¡± Wen Yuechan finally burst into tears and bawled loudly, ¡°Those don¡¯t matter to me at all!¡± She then ran back to her room. A whileter, Mrs. Wen entered and said, ¡°You father has left.¡± Wen Yuechan looked at her while tears flowed from her eyes continuously like a broken tap. At this very moment, she knew that her family would never beplete again. Mrs. Wen said, ¡°Don¡¯t cry. Your father doesn¡¯t want us anymore. I can¡¯t depend on him anymore, so I¡¯ll have to depend on you from now on. Yuechan, you must make a name for yourself when you grow up and make your father regret his decision to walk out on us!¡± ¡°Mommy, what does it mean to make a name for myself?¡± ¡°It means to live better than everyone else and be wealthy. Do you understand?¡± ¡°But how do I do that?¡± Mrs. Wen said, ¡°You¡¯ll have to abide by my teachings, then. There are a few boys in your boot camp, two of which you should y with more frequently. One is Jin Yiheng and the other is Jin Rongyan. Out of all the boys, you¡¯re allowed to y only with that pair of brothers.¡± ¡°What about Long Wenlun and Ji Gui? Aren¡¯t they great?¡± she asked. ¡°Their families may be affluent too, especially Long Wenlun. He¡¯s the only son of the Long family and he only has a younger sister. His future is bright. However, he can¡¯t bepared to the Jin family. Out of the two Jin brothers, you must prioritize Jin Yiheng. Yuechan, if you can marry Jin Yiheng when you¡¯re older, you and I will be able to live in thep of luxury for the rest of our lives. We¡¯ll let your father die of regret!¡± ¡°But he¡¯s closer to that Long Xiaoxi and he rarely ys with me.¡± ¡°How can that ugly and chubby girlpare to you? If he rarely ys with you, you must find a way to make him fancy you and detest that chubby girl.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª ¡°You lost them?¡± the man asked in a cold and intimidating voice. ¡°When we arrived in Y Nation, they just went missing really quickly somehow. It¡¯s as if they had just vanished into thin air. I don¡¯t know where they went. I¡¯ve already tried my best.¡± ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s not your fault. After all, Xiao Chenyang is not someone whom you can deal with easily. Okay, you¡¯re dismissed.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Xihou Jiaping knocked his fingers against the table gently and stood rooted to the ground. He then pressed the service bell, after which a servant knocked on the door. ¡°Master, do you have any orders for me?¡± ¡°What has An Xiaoning been up to the past couple of days?¡± ¡°She¡¯s been handling documents and attending to matters at the Jin Corporation office. She often goes there in the morning and leaves only in thete hours of the night. I think she¡¯s still at work now.¡± ¡°She¡¯s really capable, huh? She can take on the duties of men. How¡¯s the investigation about Xiao Chenyang and that actress going?¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing unusual with that actress¡¯ background.¡± ¡°That¡¯s bloody strange. Why would he be the bodyguard of a random woman for no reason? Don¡¯t tell me, he¡¯s already found his sweetheart? By the way, have you found any clues about the woman who looks identical to the female corpse currently in the museum?¡± ¡°No, there are no clues yet.¡± ¡°Okay, get out.¡± The servant exited the room while Xihou Jiaping changed into a fresh set of clothes. He then left the house, donning a pair of shades. Although it had already been a week since they arrived in A City, he still could not quite get used to the weather. He got into a jeep that was parked outside the nightclub and began driving toward the North. As soon as he pulled up at a road beside the Jin Corporation office tower, he caught sight of An Xiaoning exiting from the turnstile with numerous bodyguards behind her. He gripped the steering wheel and watched as they walked toward the car park. He recalled the sight of a frightened An Xiaoning when he popped up behind her that night. The familiar face had now be his target to kill. I really wonder if it¡¯s Heaven¡¯s will. They ended up together again in this lifetime. What rights do they have to do that? No one knew how infuriated he was the moment he read about them and their rtionship after he woke up from his sleep. His anger had been apanied by fear and worry. At that moment, he immediately decided to kill them first, so as to prevent any unnecessary trouble. He may have wanted to make her his in their previous lifetime. However, in this lifetime, all he wanted was for the two of them to die. He simply could not tolerate the sight of them being in a rtionship, despite it being another lifetime. He just could not stand it. An Xiaoning drove out of the carpark and left slowly. He did not follow her. Instead, he made a U-turn and headed somewhere else. He decided to go to Fang En¡¯s estate. There was something he had to do now that was far more important than killing Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning. That is, to find Xiao Chenyang¡¯s Achilles¡¯ heel. There must have been a reason for him to act out of the ordinary and be someone else¡¯s bodyguard. Ding-Dong... Fang En was watching the television in the living room when she heard the doorbell. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± she asked. ¡°Xiao Chenyang¡¯s brother?¡± ¡°Xiao Chenyang¡¯s brother? What are you here for?¡± Fang En asked in astonishment. Thinking to herself that only a few people were aware of Xiao Chenyang¡¯s name, she decided to believe him and opened the door. The man in front of her was rather dashing. However, his looks were nowhereparable to Xiao Chenyang¡¯s. Fang En looked at his face and did not see any resemnce. Chapter 1048 - Perplexed and Smitten (108)

Chapter 1048: Perplexed and Smitten (108)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Are you Xiao Chenyang¡¯s brother?¡± ¡°Yes. May I go in and have a chat with you?¡± he asked with a smile. ¡°Come in.¡± Fang En did not let her guard downpletely and left the door slightly ajar. Xihou Jiaping scoffed in his head and thought to himself, Would the door even matter if I really wanted to harm her? ¡°Would you like to have some water?¡± ¡°No, thank you. Please have a seat.¡± Fang En sat down and stared at the man opposite her, feeling a little awkward and confused about his purpose for visiting. ¡°I haven¡¯t contacted Chenyang in a long time, and I can¡¯t seem to reach him now. My parents are worried sick about him too. Do you know where he had gone?¡± Shaking her head, Fang En answered, ¡°No.¡± Although she was answering his questions, she was still keeping her guard up against him and remaining vignt. She also thought to herself, If what he said was real, is Xiao Chenyang really a nutcase? Why doesn¡¯t he inform his parents of his whereabouts? ¡°Ms. Fang, may I ask if you¡¯re Chenyang¡¯s girlfriend?¡± Fang En immediately denied, ¡°No, no, how could I possibly be his girlfriend? We don¡¯t know each other well at all. He¡¯s... merely my bodyguard.¡± ¡°Where did you hire him from, then, Ms. Fang?¡± Fang En tucked her hair behind her ear and answered calmly, ¡°The entertainment studio hired him for me. He went through an interview tond himself the job. My boss assigned him to me for a probationary period, and I epted him as my bodyguard after finding him to be great at it.¡± ¡°Now that he¡¯s missing, don¡¯t you n to fire him?¡± Fang En considered her answers carefully before saying them out loud, for fear that she would bring about unnecessary trouble. In fact, she was right to be so cautious. ¡°He¡¯s applied for a long-term leave. I actually didn¡¯t want to hire him anymore because he applied for leave shortly after getting started on the job. However, I didn¡¯t insist any further after he offered to work for free.¡± After a moment of silence, Xihou Jiaping asked, ¡°Did he mention why he was willing to be your bodyguard for free?¡± Fang En was quick to react and could make up convincing excuses on the spot. She was merely afraid ofing off as a miser if he really turned out to be Xiao Chenyang¡¯s brother. ¡°He said that he has something important to do and was merely staying over at my ce temporarily because of the convenience. There are two rooms in my apartment, he stays in that one,¡± Fang En exined, pointing at the other room. ¡°Didn¡¯t he mention when he would be back?¡± Xihou Jiaping probed. Shaking her head, Fang En answered, ¡°He didn¡¯t.¡± Seeing that she really seemed to be clueless, Xihou Jiaping stood up and said, ¡°Sorry to have imposed on you tonight, Ms. Fang. This is my mobile number. Please call me when he gets back.¡± Fang En hesitated and did not take his name card. ¡°Um... he may be my bodyguard, but I don¡¯t wish to get involved in his personal life, so I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t do that.¡± Xihou Jiaping took his name card back and said, ¡°Alright, then, but there¡¯s something I need you to cooperate with me on. I hope you¡¯ll empathize with how I feel as his family member. Please don¡¯t tell him... about meing here to look for you. I¡¯m afraid that he would hide himself in a ce that¡¯s unreachable to us again.¡± Fang En agreed with a nod, ¡°Okay.¡± Xihou Jiaping wiped the smile off his face and turned around to leave. Fang En closed the door with her trembling hands. She felt extremely guilty for lying. She immediately called An Xiaoning. ¡°Hello, Sis.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°You know Xiao Chenyang, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Sensing that there was something unusual about her tone, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Did something happen to him?¡± ¡°No, no, I just wanted to ask you if he¡¯s on bad terms with his parents and brother?¡± ¡°His parents and brother?¡± ¡°Yeah, his biological parents and brother.¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t have any parents or a brother.¡± Gripping her mobile phone tightly, Fang En asked, ¡°Are you serious? Sis, does he really not have any family members?¡± ¡°He really doesn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Did he just hide them from you?¡± An Xiaoning asked, ¡°En, why would you ask such a question?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if I should be telling you this.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you trust me? Just tell me whatever¡¯s on your mind. Stop hemming and hawing.¡± ¡°Well, a really handsome man came by just now, iming to be Xiao Chenyang¡¯s brother.¡± The first person that came to An Xiaoning¡¯s mind was Xihou Jiaping. She frantically asked, ¡°What did he say to you?¡± ¡°He came to ask about Xiao Chenyang¡¯s whereabouts, iming that he and his parents could not contact Xiao Chenyang. He asked me if I knew where he had gone, but I said that I had no idea.¡± ¡°Apart from that, did he ask any other questions?¡± ¡°He did ask a few other questions, like whether or not I¡¯m Xiao Chenyang¡¯s girlfriend, where I had hired him, and some other stuff.¡± ¡°En, are there surveince cameras in the living room?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Okay, send me the footages from the surveince cameras. Wait for me at home, I¡¯ll be there in a bit.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll wait for you.¡± An Xiaoning ended the call and hurriedly headed to the bathroom to freshen up before proceeding to the wine cer, barefaced. She put on her mask while walking along the secret passageway and left Wei Ni Estate. She then hailed a taxi to Qingyuan Estate. When she arrived at the estate, she removed her human skin mask and put on a surgical mask before striding toward Block C. ¡°Sis, you¡¯re here.¡± ¡°Yes, where are the footages?¡± ¡°Here. This is that man,¡± said Fang En, handing theptop to An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning scanned the man¡¯s face to confirm that her guess was correct. She immediately ced theptop onto the table. She looked at Fang En and said, ¡°En, tell me everything that he said to you from the moment he entered the house. Don¡¯t leave anything out, alright?¡± Seeing how stern she was, Fang En nodded earnestly and told her exactly what Xihou Jiaping had said. After hearing her words, An Xiaoning looked at her in admiration and grabbed her hand. ¡°En, you did the right thing. Did you know? You managed to get yourself out of danger by answering him in the way that you did.¡± Fang En asked, ¡°Sis, is he really Xiao Chenyang¡¯s brother?¡± ¡°No. Not only is he not Xiao Chenyang¡¯s brother, he also has a feud with him. Think about it, had you made any slip-ups or said anything wrong earlier, he¡¯ll have discovered that you¡¯re Xiao Chenyang¡¯s Achilles¡¯ heel. That would be extremely disadvantageous to you and Xiao Chenyang.¡± ¡°It may be disadvantageous to me, but not to him. I¡¯m not that important to him.¡± ¡°That¡¯s just what you think, actually...¡± An Xiaoning could not quite figure out how she should break it to her. She continued, ¡°Actually, you don¡¯t know Xiao Chenyang that well, En. Although I don¡¯t know him very well yet, I still know more about him than you do. Wealthy and powerful people like Xiao Chenyang wouldn¡¯t be so passionate about a random woman for no reason all of a sudden. You may not think that you¡¯re important to him, but you are his weakness and his kryptonite. You have the ability to make him surrender to his enemy when his enemy threatens him by putting your life on the line.¡± Chapter 1049 - Perplexed and Smitten (109)

Chapter 1049: Perplexed and Smitten (109)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I¡¯m really confused,¡± Fang En said in astonishment. ¡°He definitely has his reasons for not telling you everything for now. You¡¯ll definitely find out in the future. I¡¯m in no ce to divulge anything to you if he hasn¡¯t decided to tell you just yet. However, if you meet that man who came by tonight ever again in the future, you must remember not to show any signs of fear. Just behave like the way you did tonight.¡± ¡°Okay, I understand. However, he told me not to tell Xiao Chenyang about his visit. Sis, do you think I should inform Xiao Chenyang?¡± ¡°Of course you should. Just tell him once he¡¯s back. At the same time, you must also tell him not to look for that man. Otherwise, it would be obvious that you were the one who told him. Tell Xiao Chenyang to feign ignorance in front of that man. You must bring some weapons with you whenever you go out, just in case.¡± ¡°Weapons? You mean like daggers?¡± ¡°Yes, keep one with you at all times. It¡¯ll be much safer.¡± Fang En decided to heed her advice. ¡°Alright, Sis. You¡¯ve been busy for the whole day. Just stay here for tonight.¡± ¡°I was nning to do that too. There¡¯s something else I need to tell you.¡± They returned to the bedroom together, after which An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Yangyang told me that she had sent you the script for the first few episodes of the uing drama. Do you like the storyline?¡± ¡°I do.¡± Fang Eny on her side and continued, ¡°I read the original novel written by the author and it seems rather interesting. The author is really popr amongst readers.¡± ¡°This uing drama is a major production too. An experienced actor will definitely be cast to y the male lead. Once this drama goes into post-production, the television series that we worked on previously would also begin broadcasting. However, you must still take some time out of your filming schedule to participate in the publicity events for the television series. I reckon you¡¯ll definitely be exhausted during that period of time. So, you must get as much rest as you can right now. Work hard and y hard.¡± She expressed assent and asked, ¡°Sis, do you know when Xiao Chenyang would being back?¡± ¡°I really have no idea, but I¡¯m certain that he will return.¡± ¡°If only he was more normal. At some point, I actually suspected him to be a lunatic who had escaped from an asylum.¡± At this moment, Fang En received a text message from Yan Ge, who asked if she was asleep yet. She replied to him, saying that she was already lying in bed. He ended the conversation with a simple ¡°Goodnight.¡± ¡ª While it was already nighttime in S Nation, it was still daytime in R Nation. There was a time difference of 12 hours between the two nations. Pei Yi was holding two walnuts that he kept fiddling with. Noticing that he was remaining silent, Qin Guo repeated, ¡°Ancestor, Madam wants you to go home immediately.¡± ¡°Just tell her that I¡¯m busy and that I¡¯ll go home another day.¡± ¡°But Madam said... that she¡¯lle here herself if you refuse to go back.¡± Pei Yi gave her the side-eye and hissed, ¡°Got it. Scram.¡± Qin Guo retreated out of the door while Pei Yi rose from his seat and ced the walnuts onto the table. He then picked up his car keys and headed outside. Pei Yi and his mother depended on each other for life, and he had rarely rebelled against her. However, he did not want topel himself topromise and give in to her pushiness regarding his marriage. He drove back home to see that his mother was waiting for him. She watched as he entered the house and gibed in disgruntlement, ¡°I doubt you¡¯lle home if I don¡¯t urge you to time and time again.¡± ¡°What are you saying, Mother? I was just busy.¡± ¡°Being busy is just an excuse. I know you¡¯re just sick and tired of me. Son, I gave birth to you when I was in my thirties, and we¡¯re the only ones left at home. I¡¯m really worried about you, and I want to see you settle down and build a family of your own. All I¡¯m asking is that you get married and bear children. What¡¯s so difficult about that?¡± ¡°Mother, getting married and bearing children is not as easy as breeding animals. This concerns my happiness and my future child¡¯s happiness. How can I be so casual and hasty about it?¡± said Pei Yi, who obviously understood her concerns about having a grandchild. ¡°Tian Tian is such a great girl, do you really detest her that much just because she rejected you once? Tian Tian is so nice to me. She¡¯s filial, beautiful, and sensible. Why don¡¯t you fancy her at all?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t talk about her anymore. She was just being nice to you because she wants to curry my favor. I know the reason behind each and every action of hers,¡± he said in annoyance. ¡°Don¡¯t always mistake her goodwill to have ill intentions. She¡¯s my goddaughter, and there¡¯s nothing wrong for her to be kind to her godmother. I want you to marry her, precisely because she dotes on me. Where else are you supposed to find such a good girl like her?¡± ¡°No matter how great of a girl she may be, I can¡¯t force myself if I don¡¯t fancy her.¡± ¡°You may marry someone you fancy too. But the problem is, you can¡¯t find anyone and yet you still despise the girls I introduce you to.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the hurry? If it¡¯s meant to be, it will be.¡± ¡°I must make myself clear about something. Married women who have borne children, like An Xiaoning, are uneptable.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that I¡¯m allowed to marry a woman whom I fancy? That¡¯s enough, Mother. Let¡¯s stop talking about my marriage. I don¡¯t want to be bothered by this topic every single time I see you. If you still want to see me...¡± ¡°You¡¯ve learned how to threaten me...¡± ¡°I¡¯m just trying to negotiate with you.¡± The elderlydy said, ¡°My son is so handsome and wealthy. Why do you have to be with a filthy secondhand good? You must marry a better girl. You¡¯re not allowed to have such poor taste in women.¡± ¡°Mother, you¡¯ve overestimated me. In your eyes, An Xiaoning may be an unchaste woman who¡¯s already been married and borne children. However, she might not even want to marry me even if I fancy her.¡± ¡°So be it, then. It¡¯s not like there aren¡¯t any other women in this world.¡± ¡°Mother, would you like to go out to take a breather? Perhaps visit a vi or something?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere. I¡¯m going to coop myself up at home.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª An Xiaoning left at past seven o¡¯clock in the morning. Not long after, Fang En received a call from her parents. They called to ask her for her new address. However, she decided not to tell them, for fear that they would show up at her door to disturb her peace every so often. Thus, she simply asked them if something had happened. Mrs. Fang was the one who had made the call. She chastised angrily over the phone, ¡°People always say that mothers ought to be able to rely on their daughters, yet you refuse to even tell us where you had moved to. Are you afraid that we would share your clout now that you¡¯ve made a name for yourself?¡± Mrs. Fang would often harp on the same thing whenever she called. Fang En said, ¡°Tell me straight if there¡¯s anything you¡¯d like to say to me. You don¡¯t have to talk about those irrelevant things. I¡¯ll do my duty as your daughter and provide for you and Father when you¡¯re old and incapable of supporting yourselves.¡± ¡°You already have such an attitude now. How can I depend on you when I¡¯m older? En, don¡¯t forget, if news about you being an unfilial daughter leak onto the media when your career is picking up, it¡¯s going to greatly affect your future!¡± Chapter 1050 - Perplexed and Smitten (110)

Chapter 1050: Perplexed and Smitten (110)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Fang En felt a strong urge to end the call immediately. However, she retorted, ¡°So to you guys, I¡¯m being unfilial just because I talked back to you and refuse to give you any money? Before you use me of being unfilial, shouldn¡¯t you also ask yourselves if you¡¯ve ever treated me well? Get straight to the point. If not, I¡¯m hanging up now.¡± ¡°Your father and I have decided to send your brother for tuition sses...¡± Fang En interrupted, ¡°I¡¯ve already made myself clear previously, I¡¯m not going to fork out that money.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the problem now. The problem is, your brother has been staying out every night and has be addicted to ying video games at the inte caf¨¦. He¡¯s going to ruin himself if this goes on. When your father and I spoke about tuition to him, not only did he decline to attend, he even said that he wants to drop out of highschool. He also said that he had gotten everything figured out and that going to university and getting a degree is not going to earn him much money.¡± ¡°And then...¡± ¡°Your brother knows that you¡¯re earning big bucks as an actress and he wants me to ask you if you could get your entertainment studio to sign him on as an artiste too. Anyway, your brother has also got the looks. You two will be able to generate an ie for yourselves. What do you think?¡± Fang En was speechless. ¡°What a well-thought-out n. He has yet to even attend university and he knows nothing about acting. How can he still dream of being an actor?¡± ¡°Take a look at those child actors. Which of them have actually gone to university? All it takes are good looks and a pleasant appearance. He¡¯s your biological brother. Who¡¯s going to help him if you don¡¯t?¡± ¡°In today¡¯s society, there are plenty of teenagers who look just like him. My boss is not going to sign him on just because I rmended him to her. Tell him to attend school and get a degree in performing arts if he¡¯s interested in acting.¡± ¡°The point is, he¡¯s dead againstpleting his education.¡± Noticing how reluctant she was, Mrs. Fang¡¯s anger grew and she rebuked, ¡°Call yourself his sister. It¡¯s not like you don¡¯t have the means to help him.¡± ¡°I¡¯m getting busy. I¡¯ll hang up now.¡± Fang En ended the call right away. She knew that her mother would definitely hit the roof, but so what? Have they ever shown any concern for me ever since I was young? Isn¡¯t it a little toote now to be asking me for help in everything? Fang En got up from the couch and walked toward the balcony. The sun had just risen, and the weather was not too warm yet. Fang En could hear the sounds of Yan Ge¡¯s televisioning from next door. Clearly, he was home. ¡°Yan Ge,¡± she called. Yan Ge stuck his head out of the balcony door and walked out in his silk night robe, appearing rather sleepy and weary. ¡°Were you still sleeping?¡± ¡°Yeah... is anything wrong? Why did you call me?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± ¡°I heard that filming for your uing television series is going to begin soon. It¡¯s all over the news, actually. Is there a specific date?¡± ¡°They haven¡¯t decided on the actor for the male lead yet. I doubt filming is going tomence any time soon. There¡¯ll probably still be a while to go. Are you going to take on any new roles for any television series?¡± ¡°That¡¯ll depend on the production. I¡¯ll take on the role if the storyline and other terms are agreeable, and I¡¯ll turn it down if otherwise. You ought to get more rest during this time. You can do the things you like in your free time.¡± Seeing that he did not mention the matter at all, as if he hadpletely forgotten about it, Fang En grabbed the railings tightly and asked, ¡°Did you take the initiative to woo your ex-girlfriends or were they the ones who made the first move instead?¡± ¡°It varies,¡± he answered in astonishment. That means he¡¯s had at least two girlfriends... Well, he is already 33 years old. It¡¯d be impossible for him to have had just one ex-girlfriend. ¡°If you fancy someone now, would you make the first move?¡± ¡°That¡¯ll depend on how much I fancy them. I¡¯m a pessimist when ites to love. A couple is bound to meet with problems and conflict after being together with each other for too long, regardless of how much they love each other.¡± Fang En did not register his words in her head at all, for she was constantly distracted by the first thing he said ¡ª ¡°It depends on how much I fancy them...¡± In other words, he¡¯ll only make the first move when he adores her to bits? Does that mean he doesn¡¯t fancy me that much yet? She stretched her back and said, ¡°Continue sleeping if you haven¡¯t slept enough yet. I¡¯m going back inside now.¡± She went back inside before he could even speak again. Fang En closed the balcony, thinking to herself that she would definitely reciprocate with great enthusiasm if Yan Ge were to confess to her so openly like Xiao Chenyang did. After all, who can remain calm when their crush confesses to them? Why did that crazy lunatic show up and confess his love for me when I don¡¯t even fancy him? Yet the person I fancy refuses to confess to me. ¡ª ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking,¡± said Xiao Chenyang, handing him a piece of barbecued chicken. Jin Qingyan took it from him and asked, ¡°You do?¡± ¡°Your face says it all. You¡¯re thinking about your woman.¡± Jin Qingyan took a bite of the chicken, not denying that fact. ¡°When can we go back?¡± ¡°Not any time soon. We¡¯ll have to stay here for a period of time. I used to be able to live here alone for years without getting bored, yet I¡¯m starting to find it a little unbearable now. Just like you, I want to go back too,¡± said Xiao Chenyang, who was barbecuing a whole chicken. ¡°That blood you made me drink... didn¡¯te from you, did it?¡± Xiao Chenyang chuckled and said, ¡°I had thought you would ask me that right after you drank it. You actually waited until now.¡± ¡°Answer me.¡± ¡°Of course not. This bloodes from an elderly member of the blood-feeding tribes. Do you know how precious that blood is? People of their kind can live a long life. The older they get, the greater their power bes. It¡¯s a tall order for ordinary people to obtain their blood. I got that blood by ident back then. That elderly member had died and he requested that I bury him moments before he passed on. He told me that I was allowed to draw some of his blood to acquire his powers. However, I didn¡¯t dare to draw much and instead only drew two bowls¡¯ worth before burying him. Yet, on my way home, Xihou Jiaping stole one of them from me. I was almost home and I was nning to let Nan Chun have it. But she had already passed away by the time I got home. I returned to the burial ground and dug the elderly man¡¯s corpse out of the ground, only to discover that it had already dried up and coagted. I could no longer draw any more blood.¡± ¡°You mean, this is thest portion...¡± ¡°Of course. I initially saved it for En.¡± Jin Qingyan could tell that it was rather precious. ¡°Why are you willing to give it to me, then?¡± Xiao Chenyang looked up and held his gaze. ¡°Because I don¡¯t want you to die in his hands again in this lifetime.¡± Moved to tears, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°What for? I don¡¯t need you to thank me. Just keep yourself safe and stay alive. Don¡¯t die so easily again.¡± ¡°Feel free to ask me for help whenever you need.¡± Xiao Chenyang let out a sinister smirk and asked, ¡°Can you satisfy my sexual needs?¡± Jin Qingyan smiled and said, ¡°Are you asking for death?¡± ¡°Hahahaha.¡± Xiao Chenyang guffawed and continued, ¡°You reacted exactly the same as you would have done in the past.¡± ¡°...¡± Chapter 1051 - Perplexed and Smitten (111)

Chapter 1051: Perplexed and Smitten (111)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I¡¯m so envious of you...¡± ¡°What are you envious about?¡± ¡°That you were able to get back together with Hua Jin in this lifetime and have a child together. As for me, I¡¯m single and pitifully alone...¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you find Fang En already, what¡¯s so pitiful about you?¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t ept me.¡± Jin Qingyan suggested, ¡°Since the two of you can¡¯t see eye to eye, just let her get pregnant with your child. That way, the two of you could start a family together already.¡± ¡°Did you manage to win over Hua Jin like that back then?¡± ¡°No, she was the one who chased me.¡± Jin Qingyan boasted shamelessly, ¡°The moment she saw me, she fell deeply in love with me at first sight. She even vowed to marry no one but me. I didn¡¯t know what was with me that time, but seeing the way she was head over heels for me, my heart softened for a moment and I agreed.¡± Xiao Chenyang was obviously in disbelief. ¡°Keep making things up, why don¡¯t you.¡± Jin Qingyan said while he ate, ¡°Every word I said is true, I never make things up.¡± ¡°If you dare to say these in front of her, I¡¯ll believe you.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the big deal? I¡¯d even dare to teach her a lesson in front of you.¡± ¡°Do you mean getting intimate with her to teach her a lesson of love?¡± The two exchanged nces and broke into smiles. Jin Qingyan then proceeded to finish eating a whole chicken by himself. As the chicken was not big, he did not expend much effort to do so. After rinsing his mouth, he went out through the opening of the cave. As he looked down from where he was, he started to get dizzy. Sensing that Xiao Chenyang had followed him out as well, he asked, ¡°How did you find this ce?¡± ¡°Do you think the opening of this cave is natural?¡± Xiao Chenyang shed a faint smile. ¡°I was the one who created this opening. Due to its geographical location and potential as a hideout, it¡¯s highly difficult to be discovered by others. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve been staying here for the peace. I¡¯ve never gotten disturbed.¡± ¡°If there¡¯s electricity here, I wouldn¡¯t mind staying here for good as well.¡± ¡°You wish, this ce is exclusively mine. I¡¯m just lending shelter to you for some time, you better not get any ideas about it!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª There was an engagement at night that had been arranged, and it was a private meeting to discuss a huge business deal. The other party was a CEO who had ventured into investment before. He was a native of M Nation. His name was Benson. While Fan Shixin was originally going to attend the engagement in An Xiaoning¡¯s ce, the other party had specified clearly that An Xiaoning was to attend personally. Otherwise, he would not agree to sign the business deal. If it was a small deal, it wouldn¡¯t be much of a problem. But, since it was a rather huge business deal, An Xiaoning naturally did not wish to give it up. As such, she agreed to attend it personally. When she arrived at the particr nightclub, there was a wide array of alcoholic drinks and people bustling around. An Xiaoning was d in a thin white blouse and a pair of ck high-waisted capri pants. With the blouse tucked tightly inside her pants, she also wore a pair of high-heels. Every step she took let out a crisp and clear clicking sound as her heelnded on the floor tiles. When she pushed the door open and entered, Benson was already inside. ¡°Ms. An is here.¡± A man speaking fluently in a foreignnguage stood up. This was a sessful man wearing a pair of gold-rimmed spectacles. He looked ordinary, but his body was fit and well maintained. It seemed as if he worked out quite often. An Xiaoning replied to him in the foreignnguage fluently, ¡°Nice to meet you, Mr. Benson.¡± ¡°Take a seat.¡± ¡°You too.¡± An Xiaoning had wanted to begin discussing the business deal with him, but she did not expect him to say, ¡°Ms. An, let¡¯s chat and drink first. It¡¯s not toote to talk about businesster. Let¡¯s first have a drink.¡± She took the drink from him but did not drink it. Instead, she replied, ¡°Mr. Benson, let¡¯s finish talking business first before we drink. That way, I¡¯ll feel much more assured. What do you think?¡± The smile on his face faded. ¡°How about this, let¡¯s have two or three sses first, okay?¡± An Xiaoning nodded and thereafter proceeded to open the bottle of wine that was unopened. Raising the bottle, she simply drank two mouthfuls from it. Upon the sight of this, Bensonplimented, ¡°People who can drink from the bottle must be able to hold their liquor well.¡± ¡°Not really.¡± She ced the wine bottle down and went on, ¡°I can¡¯t really hold my liquor well, that¡¯s why we have to talk business while I¡¯m still sober. If not, I won¡¯t be able to do so anymore when I¡¯m drunk.¡± Upon hearing that she could not hold her liquor well, Benson¡¯s eyes sparkled and he raised his ss and said, ¡°Come, drink some more.¡± An Xiaoning clinked his ss before drinking another two mouthfuls. She then decided to stop drinking. Thereafter, when the two were discussing the business deal, they both had no problems with it. ¡°Mr. Benson, since you have noints either, I¡¯ve brought along the contract. You can sign it, and we can continue drinking. What do you think?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll sign it, of course I will. It¡¯s just...¡± He got up and went to sit directly beside An Xiaoning. With his mouth reeking of alcohol, he said with a wide grin, ¡°Ms. An, I have something I don¡¯t quite understand. I wonder if you could answer a question of mine?¡± ¡°What question?¡± ¡°You and Jin Qingyan are already divorced, but why are you running the Jin Corporation? I¡¯m not the only one concerned about this, many people are curious as well. Can you tell me the reason?¡± ¡°You and many other people are curious. Doesn¡¯t that show that if all of you were Jin Qingyan, not only would you not let your ex-wife wield power over thepany, but you will also give her as little of your assets as possible?¡± ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯re all curious. What exactly is the reason?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a pity because I won¡¯t tell you. Business is business. If you want to know about even the internal affairs of otherpanies, that¡¯s quite silly, don¡¯t you feel? So what if you know or don¡¯t? Don¡¯t tell me that if you know the reason, it¡¯ll allow yourpany to reap huge profits? Mr. Benson, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case, right?¡± ¡°Of course. I¡¯m just curious personally.¡± An Xiaoning shed him a grin and pointed to the contract on the table. ¡°Then, Mr. Benson, you should probably sign it quickly, right?¡± ¡°Ah, you¡¯re so boring.¡± He leaned against the sofa with both his arms resting on it as well. With one arm ced behind An Xiaoning, he remarked, ¡°I heard you¡¯re a woman with quite a character, but after interacting with you for some time, I feel like that¡¯s not the case, is it?¡± ¡°Whether I¡¯m a woman with quite a character or not has nothing to do with our business cooperation. Mr. Benson, we met here tonight to discuss business, not to explore other issues. If Mr. Benson thinks that I¡¯m boring, please make a trip to Jin Corporation tomorrow and I¡¯ll send someone else to discuss with you. What do you think?¡± Her words had justnded when the arm Benson had ced behind her suddenlynded on her shoulder. ¡°Women shouldn¡¯t be too domineering. If you¡¯re docile like a littlemb, men will like you more. Our negotiation can also proceed more smoothly.¡± An Xiaoning turned her head to her side, her gazending on her right shoulder. ¡°Take it off.¡± Not only did he not take off his hand, he even tightened his grip on her shoulder. ¡°What¡¯s the big deal with a hug?¡± She immediately stood up and shrugged his hand away, turning her head to cast a stern nce at him. With her tone turning colder, she remarked, ¡°Not everyone is for you to hug.¡± Benson stood up as well and sneered, ¡°It¡¯s not like you¡¯re still a seventeen or eighteen-year-old virgin. Why¡¯re you acting all high and mighty?¡± An Xiaoning detested these words he said and raised her hand to give him a p on the face. There was a look of rm on the man¡¯s face instantly. He was obviously well trained in martial arts and easily pushed An Xiaoning down onto the sofa, thereafter picking up the bottle of wine that An Xiaoning had barely drank. Chapter 1052 - Perplexed and Smitten (112)

Chapter 1052: Perplexed and Smitten (112)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning had originally thought that he was going to smash the bottle against her. Just as she was about to stand up, he actually aimed the mouth of the wine bottle at her and poured all the wine inside onto her body. With her white blousepletely drenched in wine, the inner garment she wore, which was originally not obvious, could suddenly be seen extremely clearly. At this point, An Xiaoning waspletely enraged. She stood up slowly and, with a wry smile on her face, she snorted, ¡°It looks like if I don¡¯t teach you a lesson today, you really won¡¯t know what¡¯s good for you and whose territory this is!¡± Before Benson could even react, his whole body was tilted backward and, with a loud ng, hended on the coffee table. The wine bottles and sses on the table crashed onto the floor with a crisp and clear piercing sound. He had yet to get up on his feet when An Xiaoning raised her leg to step on his abdomen. What truly shocked him was that she was obviously a small and petite woman who did not look strong, but he was lying there unable to move an inch at all. It was as if he had been weighed down by a huge mountain. When his two arms reached out to grab her leg, they were both dislocated from his shoulder by her mercilessly. ¡°How could you...¡± An Xiaoning reached out and opened a wine bottle in a calm andposed manner before forcing the bottle into his mouth. Benson looked like he was seized with terror as he continued to gulp the wine down. As she was ultimately afraid of the trouble that would arise if he choked to death, An Xiaoning stopped in time and removed her leg from his abdomen. ¡°Get down on your knees.¡± He got down from the coffee table and was about to shout toward the door when his jaw was also dislocated by her. With his saliva flowing out continuously, he wanted to get out but a gun was suddenly aimed directly at his head. ¡°Get down on your knees,¡± she reiterated. Benson did not dare to go tough on her and could only let his knees give in as he knelt down in front of her. ¡°I¡¯d originally wanted to have a good business talk with you. Doing business with someone is naturally about having a pleasant cooperation. If you didn¡¯t want to work together, then you should have just said it outright. What was that all about? I really don¡¯t know who gave you such guts, but I now have the urge to teach you a lesson.¡± An Xiaoning shouted toward the door, ¡°Shixin!¡± The door was pushed open, and Fan Shixin poked his head in. Upon witnessing the sight before him, he was rather surprised. ¡°Young Madam.¡± ¡°Print two sets of the contract again, but I want an additional use stating that if the contract is vited or intentionally not carried out, the side that vites this will have topensate ten billion dors. Also, get me a thin coat.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Thereafter, Fan Shixin went back out and a terrified Benson started to ask, ¡°Can¡¯t I just sign this contract now?¡± ¡°Sorry about that, but no,¡± she answered aggressively. While looking at her with a fierce re, Benson asked, ¡°You¡¯re doing things like this, Ms. An, aren¡¯t you worried that I¡¯ll get back at you for this?¡± ¡°Great, I wee that with open arms. But before Mr. Benson gets back at me, you should ensure the safety of your family first. Because they may be implicated and lose their lives anytime!¡± ¡°You evil woman! You caused Jin Qingyan¡¯s death, didn¡¯t you? That¡¯s why you¡¯re running thepany now while he¡¯s nowhere to be seen! You¡¯re a scheming one, seriously!!!¡± He was about to use his hand to touch the part of his head that the gun was aimed at, but because his shoulder was dislocated, there was no way he could raise his arm. The intense pain made his face scrunch up. ¡°If you haven¡¯t learned how to speak properly, you better shut up. Otherwise, I won¡¯t be held ountable if the thing in my hands fires.¡± While cursing her in his heart, Benson was thinking about his useless bunch of bodyguards outside. He was here suffering and none of them actually came to check what was going on?! When Fan Shixin returned, it was more than half an hourter. When the new contract was passed to An Xiaoning, she ced it on the table and relocated his right shoulder. Then, pointing her gun at him, she remarked, ¡°Sign your name on it and press your thumbprint as well.¡± At this point, he simply had no room to bargain at all. When signing his name, he intentionally wrote it wrongly. Realizing this, she moved the gun in her hand. ¡°Are you really asking for death?¡± He hurriedly corrected it and pressed his thumbprint on the contract. With both contracts signed, An Xiaoning picked up one of them and put away her gun. Thereafter, she put on her coat in a slow and leisurely manner and said to Benson, who had exerted much effort to stand up, ¡°I¡¯m giving you a final reminder. If I find out that you have any intention of getting back at me, then I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m not a saint, I promise I¡¯ll make you pay a horrible price for your actions.¡± While her tone did not sound harsh, every word of hers was like a sharp weapon ced at Benson¡¯s throat, making him unable to say a word at all. After she was done speaking, she then left the room. Benson was left all alone inside. Thereafter, he picked up the contract and went out as well. When his men witnessed the state he was in when he came out, they were all thoroughly shocked. ¡°CEO Ben, what happened to you?¡± ¡°What happened?¡± He raised his leg and threw a kick at the bodyguard who asked the question. ¡°Were all of you dead when you were standing out here? Couldn¡¯t any of you hear the movements and voices inside?¡± ¡°CEO Ben...¡± The man who was kicked by him was full of grievances. ¡°You were the one who said, without your instructions, none of us was allowed to enter no matter what.¡± Upon recalling that he had made such an instruction, Benson¡¯s expression turned ghastly. Even though all of his men could guess what had happened inside, none of them dared to question him, out of fear that they would be the next one getting kicked. After leaving the nightclub and getting into his car, Benson finally started to carefully read the contract under the lights in his car to see what use had been added. Reading it from beginning to end, he found that the only use that had been added was indeed what she had mentioned earlier. However, with that use added, it meant that their business cooperation had to take ce by hook or by crook. There was no room to go back on his word. He then ced the contract on the car seat beside him and said indignantly, ¡°That damn woman.¡± ¡°CEO Ben, do you want to find someone to teach her a lesson?¡± ¡°Of course not! That bitch is not someone to be messed with! Drive the car back!¡± ¡°Yes...¡± He had thought that he would be able to take advantage of her during the meeting tonight. Little did he expect that not only would he be unable to do so, he even had to suffer losses on his part. Aspared to the horrible mood he was in, An Xiaoning was feeling much morefortable. Although the beginning of the night had dampened her spirits slightly, her mood slowly recoveredter on. With his eyes fixed ahead, Fan Shixin asked, ¡°Young Madam, how did you and Mr. Benson get into a conflict?¡± ¡°After talking to him for a while, I could already feel that he was not sincere about signing the contract. So be it then. After all, it¡¯s not like we have to do business with hispany. However, if he had not tried to take advantage of me, I wouldn¡¯t have forced him to sign it.¡± Fan Shixin understood the situation instantly. ¡°Young Madam, I still think you went light on him. If it were Young Sir, he might have killed him on the spot or left him half-dead.¡± In a calm andposed voice, An Xiaoning responded, ¡°Forget it, it¡¯s fine that I merely taught him a lesson.¡± When they reached Wei Ni Estate, Bei Qi was sitting on his wheelchair at the entrance of the estate. It looked like he was waiting for her. Fan Shixin stopped the car, allowing An Xiaoning to get off. He then drove the car away. Chapter 1053 - Perplexed and Smitten (113)

Chapter 1053: Perplexed and Smitten (113)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Teacher Bei Qi, why aren¡¯t you resting at this time?¡± He reached out and passed a small clear bottle to her. ¡°Ms. An, here. This is something I¡¯ve just concocted.¡± An Xiaoning received the bottle from him. Under the light, she could see that the liquid contained in the bottle appeared slightly yellowish. ¡°Teacher Bei Qi, what is this?¡± ¡°I heard from Chief Fan that Young Sir isn¡¯t sleeping very well, so I especially concocted this chemical that can effectively relieve the symptoms of insomnia. I¡¯ve tried it on myself for a week and there aren¡¯t any undesirable side effects.¡± ¡°Then, how is this chemical used?¡± ¡°Just put one or two drops into his food during dinner. This small bottle should be able tost for around two to three months. If it¡¯s effective, I¡¯ll concoct more of it...¡± Speaking about this, he added, ¡°If Young Madam is worried about the safety of this chemical, you can test it using a professional machine to check if it has any undesirable substance in it.¡± An Xiaoning replied with a smile, ¡°I¡¯m not worried about that. After all, you don¡¯t want to die, right? I appreciate your effort. When Qingyan gets back, I¡¯ll let him try it out to see if the effects are good. Thank you, Teacher Bei Qi.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, Ms. An.¡± ¡°If you need anything while staying here, just tell Shixin. Though you are being forced to work for us, as long as you harbor no ill intentions toward us, we won¡¯t mistreat you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m living pretty well right now. Other than the fact that I can¡¯t walk, everything else is fine. Go and rest, Ms. An. I¡¯ll be going back.¡± ¡°Okay, take your time.¡± Bei Qi nodded, and An Xiaoning took another look at the bottle of liquid in her hand. With her lips curling into a smile, she started walking ahead. Once she changed her shoes, her phone rang. Little did she expect that it would be a call from Tuoba Rui... her biological father. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Commander-in-chief Jin has told me himself that he¡¯s retiring earlier.¡± ¡°What?¡± An Xiaoning seemed to have understood something. ¡°Since it¡¯s quite near his retirement already, did you permit him?¡± ¡°I did.¡± Tuoba Rui went on, ¡°He also said that his family is moving to a city farther away. They want to live a quiet and peaceful life.¡± ¡°I know what you¡¯re implying.¡± If An Xiaoning couldn¡¯t tell what¡¯s going on from his words, she would have lived thirty years of her life in vain. ¡°What could I possibly be implying?¡± ¡°I was once a family with them. Although we couldn¡¯t have been considered extremely close, we had some ties, after all. I don¡¯t bear any grudges toward them. Since this is the choice their family has made, I¡¯m sure they¡¯d thought through it carefully. But now that Commander-in-chief Jin¡¯s position is empty, it means someone has to take over. Who do you intend to take over his position?¡± ¡°I have a few candidates in mind, but it¡¯ll need to be decided through a vote in a parliament meeting.¡± ¡°Okay. I just came back from outside, I¡¯ll go and eat something now. You rest early.¡± ¡°Take good care of yourself, don¡¯t tire yourself out.¡± An Xiaoning let out a quick response of acknowledgment before hanging up the call. She sat down on the sofa and stopped Auntie Chen in time as she was about to serve dinner at the dining table. ¡°Auntie Chen, just put it here at the coffee table.¡± ¡°Alright, Young Madam.¡± There were three courses and a soup. The courses were stir-fried shrimps, hot and sour cabbage, and mapo tofu while the soup was tomato and egg soup. There was no staple food. Grabbing the remote control to switch on the television, she sat cross-legged on the sofa and leaned forward to pick up her chopsticks to eat. Darting a nce at the television screen that had just been turned on, An Xiaoning was momentarily stunned by what she saw. She pressed the button on the remote control continuously to increase the volume, and a hysterical cry came from the television screen, ¡°All of you stay away from me! If youe any closer, I¡¯ll die!¡± The one who had uttered these words was none other than Wen Lele. She was sitting alone at the edge of a tall building with both her hands grabbing onto the edge at each side of her body. She was facing the camera, and her body was evidently shaking a little because of her agitated emotions. Upon the sight of this, An Xiaoning only felt that she would be blown off the building as soon as a gust of wind came. ¡°Miss, please calm down. Tell us what is bothering you.¡± ¡°I asked all of you to stay away, are all of you deaf?!¡± ¡°Miss, it¡¯s too dangerous for you to be sitting there. Can youe down and talk to us slowly?¡± a police officer in uniform tried to persuade her. ¡°I have nothing to say. I just don¡¯t want to live any longer, all of you have no right to interfere!¡± ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t this Young Sir¡¯s ssmate who came to our ce before?¡± Auntie Chen asked in rm as she stood near An Xiaoning. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s her.¡± ¡°Why is she trying to kill herself?¡± Auntie Chenmented. ¡°What is wrong that she has to attempt to take her own life?¡± ¡°If she wants to take her own life, she should go and find somewhere isted so that no one would know. Since she wants to die, why drag so many others into this? It goes to show that she doesn¡¯t actually want to die. Moreover, the crucial point is that there are loads of people standing downstairs. If she were to fall and hit innocent people, who is to me?¡± ¡°I think this Ms. Wen is really quite dim-witted. She¡¯s an adult already yet she¡¯s acting so rashly like that. Her family would be absolutely heartbroken. If she were my daughter, I would really be scared out of my wits.¡± Auntie Chen added, ¡°Young Madam, you should quickly eat and go upstairs to rest after that. You¡¯ve been busy for a whole day.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know.¡± While watching the live broadcast of the suicide attempt as she ate, even though An Xiaoning had not known Wen Lele for a long time, she felt that for some reason, her understanding of this woman told her that she would not have the guts to jump down. The police officers kept attempting to get nearer to her without provoking her, and they appeared exceptionally careful through the cameras. There were also a few reporters, a mix of both male and female ones, together with the police officers, who all tried to persuade her toe down. They continued to persuade her tirelessly. After more than ten minutes, she finally calmed down and made a request to the police: it was for He Yi toe over. Upon hearing this request of hers, An Xiaoning finally understood what was going on. However, while she knew who He Yi was, the police and reporters obviously didn¡¯t. As she sat there, Wen Lele threw her phone to the police officers while saying that He Yi¡¯s phone number was inside. Witnessing the sight of her throwing her phone over, An Xiaoning could almost puke out the food in her mouth. The police officers first used her phone to call He Yi, but he had either refused to pick up her calls or blocked her number. Hence, the police had no choice but to use one of their phones to call him. The call was finally picked up by him. As the police officer had put the call on loudspeaker, An Xiaoning was also able to hear He Yi¡¯s voice on the other end through the television screen. ¡°I¡¯m a police officer. There¡¯s ady on the roof of a building at Nanan Road trying to kill herself. She says she wants to see you. Please make a trip here quickly.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± He Yi probably did not expect that Wen Lele would do something like that. Within ten minutes, he¡¯d rushed down. By this time, Ms. Wen had already been sitting at the roof of the building for at least half an hour. ¡°He Yi, you bastard!¡± These were the first words that burst out of her mouth the moment she saw He Yi. He Yi did not dare to agitate her, for fear that she would really jump down. ¡°Come down first.¡± ¡°I refuse to!¡± With tears welling up in her eyes, she cried out hysterically, ¡°Why did you lie to me? I thought you were serious about marrying me, but you were only using me!¡± Chapter 1054 - Perplexed and Smitten (114)

Chapter 1054: Perplexed and Smitten (114)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He Yi did not appear anxious at all. ¡°I¡¯ve given you enoughpensation already. Rather than say I used you, why not say that you used me as well? What¡¯s the point of asking for a snub here and making people tired of you?¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say I was asking for a snub and making you tired when you were using me? Now that you don¡¯t need me anymore, you¡¯re saying this? He Yi, are you even a man?!¡± ¡°What on earth do I have to do to make youe down?¡± He Yi was evidently impatient toward her. ¡°I want you to apologize to me in front of all these people and the media reporters!¡± ¡°An apology is no big deal, but that means I¡¯ll take back thepensation I gave you.¡± ¡°What do you mean by doing this? Thepensation is what I deserve! You ought to apologize to me even with thepensation!¡± ¡°...¡± He Yi couldn¡¯t help but snort coldly, ¡°Then, if you want to jump, just do it. I¡¯m out of this.¡± With that, he turned to leave while Wen Lele sat there with her originally-calmed emotions about to burst again. Seeing He Yi walking away without looking back, a police officer persuaded her, ¡°He doesn¡¯t care about you at all. What¡¯s the point of doing this? If you jump down, only those who care about you will be upset. Those who don¡¯t care about you will only think that you¡¯re a fool!¡± While Wen Lele was looking ahead, a police officer took the chance and used one arm to swiftly grab her arms while using another arm to pull her into an embrace, dragging her down from the edge. At this point, An Xiaoning was about done eating and, as she watched the ridiculous news of Wen Lele end, she simply picked up the remote control and switched off the television. ¡ª When Fang En returned home from downstairs, she found the door of the opposite unit open. After she turned and entered the unit, she saw Yu Caiwei dressed in a long silk dress taking pictures on the sofa. This sightpletely stunned her. ¡°Ms. Yu, what are you doing here...?¡± Yu Caiwei turned and, seeing that it was her, she shed a radiant smile. ¡°I cleaned up the whole ce thoroughly.¡± ¡°I meant, how did you get in here? Is Yan Ge home too?¡± ¡°He¡¯s not home. Of course I came in by entering the passcode. I originally thought that the passcode had been changed, but after trying it today, I realized that it¡¯s still the same one being used. If only I¡¯d known earlier, I wouldn¡¯t have had to press the doorbell the previous few times I came here.¡± These words felt exceptionally disturbing to Fang En and, twitching her lips slightly, she muttered, ¡°I see. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s appropriate to say this, but since Ms. Yu and Yan Ge have already broken up, the two of you have no rtionship anymore. Even though Ms. Yu knows the passcode, you shouldn¡¯t intrude into someone else¡¯s house, right? That¡¯s rather rude. Although I shouldn¡¯t say this, it appears that Ms. Yucks such self-awareness, so I couldn¡¯t help but offer this reminder.¡± Yu Caiwei was obviously annoyed with her words, and her expression instantly turned sullen. ¡°Lack self-awareness?¡± She ced her phone aside and stood up from the sofa. Her long, white silk dress entuated her slender figure exceptionally well. At the neckline of the dress, her porcin white skin was revealed, which appeared extremely outstanding. ¡°If I say that I¡¯m his ex-girlfriend, then, who are you to him?¡± Standing at 1.68 meters, she evidently towered over a 1.62-meter tall Fang En slightly. When she stood right before Fang En, a strong air of confidence was exuded by her. Without waiting for Fang En to reply, Yu Caiwei added, ¡°You¡¯ve merely filmed a show with him, and now you¡¯re living in the unit opposite his? What on earth is your motive? When I saw the news of the two of you back then, it also urred to me that there may be something going on between you two. But, after asking around and observing carefully, I came to a conclusion.¡± ¡°What conclusion?¡± Yu Caiwei reached out and pushed her hair at the side behind her shoulder, telling her in a definite tone, ¡°You like Yan Ge, don¡¯t you? Don¡¯t deny it, a woman understands another woman best. The way you look at him is not innocent. But, Ms. Fang, you say that I have no self-awareness. Do you have it, then? At least, Yan Ge and I used to be in love. When we met each other, he was the one who wooed me. Don¡¯t be too thick-skinned and think that just because the two of you filmed a show together, he has developed feelings for you. If he has really fallen in love with you, why won¡¯t he chase you?¡± Her words made Fang Enpletely speechless. However, her strong ego did not allow her to be defeated just like that. ¡°You¡¯re just an outsider, how would you understand the situation better than the two of us?¡± ¡°Enough.¡± Yu Caiwei shrugged her shoulders. ¡°Whether or not you admit it, it¡¯s obvious enough to me. When I was your age, I was simple-minded too and believed that as long as two people were in love, that was enough. But, in reality, this isn¡¯t the case. Ms. Fang will understand this someday. Don¡¯t covet someone who doesn¡¯t belong to you.¡± By this time, Fang En had her hands clenched tightly, her heart filled with rage. She wanted to say something but stopped herself from doing so. The atmosphere was rather tense. ¡°No matter what, I¡¯m an adult already. I already know such things. Ms. Yu should just bother about your own affairs.¡± She walked back to her own unit and punched in the passcode. Just as she grabbed her door handle, the lift door opened. Yan Ge came out from it in his casual wear and was just about to chat her up when she pulled the door open and entered her unit. With a loud m, the door of her unit was closed. He then turned to his own unit and realized that the door was actually open! His face changed instantly. When he saw Yu Caiwei, Yan Ge suddenly understood why Fang En did not say a word when she saw him earlier. ¡°How did you get in?¡± Yu Caiwei approached him and replied, ¡°What do you mean? Are you thinking I called a locksmith to open your door? I didn¡¯t think that you¡¯d leave the passcode unchanged.¡± ¡°So you took advantage of that?¡± His face turned cold, and he frowned upon seeing her attire. ¡°Get out of my house immediately.¡± Seeing his cold attitude, Yu Caiwei pointed to various parts of his house and remarked, ¡°Look there, and there. I helped you clean up your whole house by myself. It¡¯s spick and span now. Not only did you notpliment what I did for you, you¡¯re actually saying this...¡± ¡°I never asked you to clean up my house. The part-time cleaner usuallyes to do this, and I do it in my free time as well. It¡¯spletely unnecessary for you to have done this.¡± He then pointed to the door. ¡°Get out.¡± ¡°Yan Ge, you...¡± Yu Caiwei was so infuriated by his annoyed attitude that her face had turned white. ¡°I¡¯ve always been like this. Don¡¯t tell me you never knew what kind of person I am?¡± His tone became harsh. ¡°A clean break up should be the right way for us to part peacefully.¡± No matter how thick-skinned a woman was, it was impossible to tolerate such words from him. Yu Caiwei¡¯s mouth opened slightly, and with tears welling up in her eyes, she turned and put on her shawl. After picking up her phone, she slung her bag over her shoulder and left without uttering a word. Once the door was closed shut, Yan Ge walked into his house and sat down on the sofa. Recalling the moment when he ran into Fang En earlier, he got up again and went out of the house to her unit, then pressed the doorbell. Fang En opened the door. Gazing at him standing outside her door, she suddenly did not know what to say and simply waited for him to speak. ¡°May I go inside?¡± ¡°Alright.¡± She retreated a step back, allowing him to enter. Although Yan Ge lived so near to her, he rarely visited her ce. Chapter 1055 - Perplexed and Smitten (115)

Chapter 1055: Perplexed and Smitten (115)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Fang En closed the door shut. She noticed that he seemed to be inspecting her master bedroom, and then her spare room. Upon seeing this, Fang En felt that it was the right move to have bought a bed to ce in her spare room... ¡°Where¡¯s your cousin?¡± ¡°Ah, he took a leave from work, so he won¡¯t being for some time. He has some urgent matter to attend to.¡± ¡°I made her leave just now.¡± Yan Ge stood there, as if he was trying to exin himself. ¡°I didn¡¯t know she barged into my house.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you change the passcode?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve grown used to it already, that¡¯s why I didn¡¯t change it. I¡¯ll definitely change it tonight.¡± Fang En pointed to the sofa. ¡°Take a seat.¡± After sitting down, he asked, ¡°Were you angry earlier?¡± ¡°What¡¯s there for me to be angry about?¡± Fang En refused to admit that she was indeed upset earlier. ¡°But do you really have no more feelings for her?¡± ¡°Of course. How long has it been already? Before I started filming the show with you, I¡¯d already broken up with her for some time.¡± ¡°She said you were the one who wooed her.¡± He admitted openly, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Only when you like someone a lot will you take the initiative to woo them.¡± When Fang En said these words, she couldn¡¯t help but feel slightly dejected. ¡°This theory is notpletely right.¡± Fang En looked up at him abruptly and muttered, ¡°That day when your father called you because he injured himself, we weren¡¯t done talking. Do you still remember?¡± ¡°I do. I was waiting for you to ask me about it all these while, but you never mentioned it.¡± Hearing his answer, Fang En¡¯s heart rate elerated rapidly. It was as if her heart was in her mouth. She unknowingly tightened her grip and started stammering. ¡°I... you... I was waiting for you to mention it as well... I thought you had forgotten...¡± Yan Ge¡¯s mood brightened up significantly, and the corner of his eyes were creased into a smile. ¡°That day, thest words you said to me were that you felt I was asking you if you wanted to be my girlfriend. That¡¯s right, it was exactly what I meant.¡± After the elephant in the room was addressed, her breathing became much smoother. With a coffee table between Fang En and him, the two had their eyes locked and continued to stare at each other. To have the person one liked ask one to be his girlfriend... No woman on this earth would possibly not feel overjoyed, right? But while she felt overjoyed, she was suddenly reminded of the warning Xiao Chenyang had given her before he left. It was as if a bird flying midway in the sky was suddenly shot down andnded on the ground terribly injured. Fang En started to feel absolutely annoyed with Xiao Chenyang at present. If he had not created so much trouble for her, would she be in such a difficult position? Who was he to suddenly barge into her life and upset all her ns, even interfering with her future happiness? ¡°Why aren¡¯t you speaking?¡± he asked. Fang En recovered from her trance, but her words were stuck in her throat. ¡°Let me think about it.¡± She did not wish to reject him because of Xiao Chenyang. After all, this was the person she liked. But at the same time, she could not just agree to date him immediately. She had to wait for Xiao Chenyang to return and try her very best to convince him. She wanted to fight for her own happiness. ¡°I thought you would agree immediately.¡± He added, ¡°After all, you like me to the extent that you¡¯ve already forced a kiss on me when we were filming.¡± Seeing how he mentioned this incident again, Fang En¡¯s face instantly flushed as red as a tomato. ¡°It happened ages ago already, can you stop mentioning it...?¡± ¡°How was that ages ago? It was just within the past six months.¡± ¡°Yan Ge!¡± ¡°Yes? Aren¡¯t I here? Why are you being so loud?¡± ¡°I know I was silly back then. Now that I think back, I didn¡¯t know what I was thinking back then either.¡± She said in an embarrassed manner, ¡°It was probably my vengeful heart acting up.¡± ¡°In the future, I wee your vengeful heart to act up frequently toward me.¡± She grabbed a cushion and threw it at him. ¡°Dream on.¡± ¡°How long do you need to think about it?¡± ¡°This is a big decision, I need to think about it properly and not act rashly.¡± ¡°So, how long would it take?¡± ¡°How about two months?¡± Yan Ge was stunned. ¡°Why don¡¯t you take two years to think about it?¡± The thing is, she didn¡¯t know when Xiao Chenyang would return! When he did, she would still have to take some time to deal with him. It was best if he would stop annoying her and never appeared in front of her ever again. ¡°One month?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t wait that long, I¡¯ll give you half a month at most,¡± he responded as he stood up from the sofa. He¡¯d really thought that given her character, she would agree to it on the spot. It never urred to him that she would need time to consider it. ¡°Half a month it shall be, then.¡± .... As shey down in bed, Fang En felt that everything seemed like a dream to her. She stretched her legs and rested her arms behind her head, immersed in happiness while fretting at the same time. Indeed, she had wanted to immediately agree to date him tonight. However, the stress Xiao Chenyang was giving her overwhelmed such thoughts. She didn¡¯t know if he would return in half a month. If he didn¡¯t, she would have to make her own decision. ¡ª When An Xiaoning was eating breakfast, Fan Shixin passed the morning paper to her. The headline printed on the paper was the news of Commander-in-chief Jin¡¯s retirement. The way An Xiaoning saw it, it was a pretty clever move, stepping down from power in time and living a peaceful life. ¡°Their whole family is moving to a city farther away to live.¡± ¡°But the newspaper didn¡¯t report that.¡± An Xiaoning ced the newspaper down. ¡°Last night, the new master of the Autumn Pce gave me a call.¡± Fan Shixin suddenly understood. ¡°I see.¡± ¡°Are No. 5 and No. 8 here?¡± ¡°Not yet. They usually arrive here at a little past seven. It¡¯s not seven yet.¡± ¡°Okay. You should go and have breakfast. It¡¯ll be another busy day today.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve eaten already. Young Madam, you have your breakfast. I¡¯ll go out to do some inspection.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± After she was done with her breakfast, she went upstairs to get her bag and phone. She suddenly realized that she had a few missed calls, all from No. 5. While going downstairs, she started to return his call. Before her call went through, a figure came running into the living room. ¡°No. 5, I was just about to return your call. If you can¡¯t reach me, you can call Chief Fan directly.¡± ¡°I called you when I was almost here. Since I was already closeby, I didn¡¯t try calling the Chief. Sister, No. 8 is missing.¡± ¡°What do you mean No. 8 is missing? A huge man like him...¡± An Xiaoning paused for a moment before continuing, ¡°Is missing?¡± ¡°He lived at Ms. Mo¡¯s ce every day. We usually start eating breakfast at around 6:30 am. He wasn¡¯t there at 6:45 am, so I thought he could have woken upte and waited ten more minutes for him. Since he still didn¡¯t appear, I went to the 32nd floor of the opposite building to find him. But Ms. Mo said she received No. 8¡¯s textst night saying that he wouldn¡¯t be returning because he went to handle some matter with Sister. Ms. Mo thought he was probably busy so she didn¡¯t call him to confirm. Yesterday, we came back from the office with you. I even saw him entering the stairway when we arrived back at Sanqiao. How was it possible that he didn¡¯t return?¡± He managed to exin the whole situation in an exceptionally quick pace, but An Xiaoning understood every word he said perfectly. ¡°You said the two of you went back yesterday night and that you saw him enter the stairway. But Mo Li said she received his textst night saying that he would be handling some matter with me. So, in reality, he didn¡¯t return?¡± Chapter 1056 - Perplexed and Smitten (116)

Chapter 1056: Perplexed and Smitten (116)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Spot on. I actually entered the door first. However, at the thought of his mobile phone running out of battery, I turned around to remind him to charge his mobile phone. He¡¯s very forgetful,¡± No. 5 said confidently. ¡°Have you checked the footages of the surveince cameras in the estate?¡± ¡°This is a nned conspiracy. There was a power outage in the estate thatsted for about 20 minutesst night. That just so happened to be the time when the incident urred. Could it be Sister Zhang¡¯s doing again?¡± No. 5 spected. ¡°Maybe.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s heart sank, and she instructed Fan Shixin to find out Sister Zhang¡¯s current whereabouts. Due to the fact that they did not know Sister Zhang¡¯s real name, he would have to begin investigating from the Flying Tigers gang, which she was associated with. While waiting for the news, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Does Mo Li know that No. 8 has gone missing?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think she knows yet.¡± ¡°What do you mean you don¡¯t think? What did you ask her?¡± No. 5 exined, ¡°The moment I saw that she was the one who answered the door, I asked her if she knew where No. 8 had gone. Ms. Mo then asked me, ¡®Weren¡¯t you together with No. 8st night?¡¯ I said that he wasn¡¯t with me, after which she said that No. 8 texted her to say that he had gone out to handle some matters together with you. I sensed that something was amiss then, because you would usually call both of us along whenever you needed to settle something. Why would you call him alone? I then tried to call you but you didn¡¯t pick up. I went back to our home and bumped into No. 9, who told me that you were already home when he and No. 11 were here to collect the food supplies. If No. 8 was with you at the time, the Chief would¡¯ve definitely told them to bring No. 8 back to Sanqiao Estate together with them. But since Chief Fan didn¡¯t mention anything, that just means that No. 8 wasn¡¯t there. Hence, I had a feeling that something must have happened after hearing what No. 9 said. So I told Ms. Mo that I haven¡¯t gone home yet and decided to wake No. 8 up at Ms. Mo¡¯s ce because I thought he was still sleeping.¡± No. 5¡¯s conjecture... did make some sense, actually. The focus was now on Sister Zhang, whom both No. 5 and An Xiaoning felt was the greatest suspect. If it had already been an entire night, then... An Xiaoning dared not imagine what might have happened. It would be alright if No. 8 was safe and sound, but if he wasn¡¯t... how would Mo Li feel? Noticing that she was deep in thought, No. 5 asked again, ¡°Sis, should we tell Ms. Mo?¡± ¡°Not for the time being. It¡¯s not going to be of any help even if she finds out now. It¡¯ll only cause her unnecessary worry. We¡¯ll tell her when there are some leads.¡± ¡°That works too.¡± cing his hands on hisp and feeling ill at ease, No. 5 said, ¡°That Sister Zhang definitely hasn¡¯t gotten over No. 8 yet. She went to look Ms. Mo up and showed her the photos of No. 8 and her in the past. She even sent those lewd photos to Ms. Mo¡¯s family. However, if she really had the audacity to do that, isn¡¯t she afraid that you would deal with her?¡± ¡°If she was the one, she definitely wouldn¡¯t leave any traces behind. Otherwise, things are just going to get tricky for her. But who could it be if it¡¯s not her?¡± ¡°Could it be Ye Xiaotian?¡± ¡°He¡¯s already married and has a wife. Besides, he also knows that Mo Li and No. 8 have been dating for quite some time now...¡± ¡°However, I¡¯ve heard No. 8 mentioning casually before that Ye Xiaotian has once shown up at Ms. Mo¡¯s door in the middle of the night. We can¡¯t rule out that possibility.¡± ¡°I doubt I can make it to the office today...¡± An Xiaoning walked outside and said, ¡°No. 5, follow me.¡± No. 5 hurriedly rushed forward and asked, ¡°Sis, where are we going?¡± ¡°To solve the case of No. 8¡¯s disappeance, of course. I don¡¯t care who the culprit may be, I¡¯m definitely going to find him or her. Instead of waiting for Chief Fan¡¯s news, we might as well search for other leads ourselves.¡± No. 5 felt a boost of confidence after hearing her words. She handed him her car keys and said, ¡°Go drive my car out.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± No. 5 took it from her and scurried toward the garage. Before getting inside the car, she instructed the bodyguard on duty, ¡°Tell the Chief to call me once he has news.¡± ¡°Yes, Young Madam!¡± The red Ferrari sped out of Wei Ni Estate toward Sanqiao Estate. Instead of driving into the estate, An Xiaoning checked the locations of all the surveince cameras before calling Pan Zhenghui and instructing him to checkst night¡¯s footages. There was no need to check the footages of the surveince cameras inside the estate since they would definitely be erased. She decided to check if the surveince cameras outside the estate were destroyed too. After checking, Pan Zhenghui called her and informed her that the surveince cameras were all intact sincest night. An idea popped up in An Xiaoning¡¯s head. As long as there were surveince cameras, there would be a chance to grasp some leads. She headed to the police station to obtain the footages. She then told the police officer to zoom in on the areas near the estate. The footages were then disyed on the screens of the monitors. The surveince cameras had captured all the license tes of the cars that had entered the estate after No. 5 and No. 8 didst night. She instructed the police officers to note down all the license tes. It would be too easy for An Xiaoning to investigate and find out the culprit if he or she hadmitted the act within just one or two hours. The perpetrator must have also thought about that and hence stalled for some time by leaving the estate when there were more cars, so as to distract the attention of the person checking the footages. Since the perpetrator had decided to stall for time, he or she would have definitely left in the morning before the guards found out. But of course, that was just one of the possible conjectures. There was also another possibility. While the police officer was recording the license te numbers, she brought No. 5 out of the police station. ¡°Sis, aren¡¯t we going to wait for news at the police station?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll take a long time for them to finish recording everything. We can¡¯t waste time. We¡¯ll juste back again once the results are out. Let¡¯s go back to Sanqiao Estate now.¡± ¡°Sanqiao Estate?¡± ¡°Yes, there are two possibilities; one is that they¡¯ve taken No. 8 out of the estate, and the other is that they did not. We can¡¯t rule out any possibility. Don¡¯t they always say that the most dangerous ce is the safest one? We can¡¯t eliminate that either.¡± No. 5 found her words to have made sense. ¡°Sis, how do we continue checking in Sanqiao Estate, then?¡± ¡°I reckon the surveince camera footages in Sanqiao Estate must have been destroyed. In the fortunate event that they¡¯re still intact, that¡¯ll make things easier for us. However, we¡¯ll still have a lead if otherwise.¡± ¡°How can it be a lead... without the footage?¡± ¡°If there are no footages, who do you think was the one who deleted them? Isn¡¯t that a lead?¡± No. 5 said in epiphany, ¡°Oh yeah, there are clues for us with or without the footages.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Upon thee sight of An Xiaoning, the guard in the guard room tensed up in fear and thought to himself, Oh god, this troublemaker is here again... He was still traumatized by the water-poisoning incident that took ce previously. In spite of his fear and anxiety, he still managed to put on a lopsided smile. ¡°Ms. An, you¡¯re here.¡± ¡°Were the surveince cameras faultyst night?¡± ¡°Last night? I don¡¯t know, I wasn¡¯t on dutyst night. No one mentioned anything about the cameras being faultyst night when I arrived this morning.¡± ¡°Who was on dutyst night? Call him here.¡± ¡°I think he¡¯s still sleeping. Ms. An, just what¡¯s the matter?¡± She reiterated, ¡°I said, call him here. You¡¯ll find out once he¡¯s here.¡± Chapter 1057 - Perplexed and Smitten (117)

Chapter 1057: Perplexed and Smitten (117)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Staring at the icy cold expression on her face, the man knew that something must have happened and he hurriedly whipped out his mobile phone to call his colleague who was on dutyst night. However, none of his multiple calls went through. ¡°He¡¯s been on duty for the entire night shift, he must be sleeping now.¡± ¡°Bring me to him, then.¡± ¡°Now? I¡¯m still on duty,¡± the man said hesitantly. ¡°It won¡¯t matter if you¡¯re away for half an hour.¡± Knowing who she was, the guard on duty dared not dally and hurriedly brought her to look for the guard who was on duty the night before. There were dormitories in the management office meant for security officers and staff on duty who did not want to go home, like the onest night. They reached the lobby two minutester, and the three of them entered one after another. The elevator stopped on the twelfth floor. The man keyed in the password and led them inside. The dormitory was rather clean and tidy, devoid of any overwhelming stenches or odors. The man walked toward the bunk bed and patted his colleague who was sleeping. ¡°Da Liang, wake up.¡± The man moved and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Da Liang, one of the residents, Ms. An, would like to ask you about something.¡± ¡°I want to sleep, we¡¯ll talk when I¡¯m awake.¡± ¡°You mean, you¡¯re telling me to wait?¡± said An Xiaoning. The man on the bed turned over and squinted at her. He then hurriedly sat up and asked, ¡°Ms. An, is something wrong?¡± ¡°Did anything unusual happen in the estate when you were on dutyst night?¡± ¡°Anything unusual? What do you mean?¡± ¡°Were there any issues with the surveince cameras in the estate?¡± ¡°Any issues?¡± The man nodded and answered, ¡°Yeah, all the screens went nk for several minutes.¡± ¡°What time did that ur?¡± ¡°At about... eight or nine o¡¯clockst night. I thought it was faulty, and I was preparing to check on the situation when it miraculously fixed itself.¡± ¡°My subordinate went missing in the estatest night, so I hope you¡¯ll cooperate with me. Can you do that?¡± Shock was written all over the man¡¯s face. At the thought of his deceased colleague, he frantically said, ¡°Of course. But Ms. An, I hope you won¡¯t spread this around to the other residents in the estate, lest their feelings get affected.¡± An Xiaoning knew what he meant. ¡°Well, that¡¯ll depend on whether or not you¡¯re willing to cooperate with me.¡± ¡°Ms. An, rest assured, we¡¯ll definitely cooperate and assist you in the investigations.¡± ¡°Okay. You may go.¡± They headed downstairs again and An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Are there any secret exits in our estate?¡± The guard on duty nodded and answered, ¡°Well... there definitely are, but only the staff members like us are aware of them. Residents don¡¯t know of their existence at all. That¡¯s because the back doors and secret exits are used for special purposes. For example... people who are in the spotlight. There are quite a few of them who live in this estate. They have no choice but to go out via those exits in order to avoid the paparazzi. Hence, they¡¯ll pay us a fee to use those exits.¡± ¡°Where are the secret exits?¡± ¡°Ms. An, pleasee with me.¡± An Xiaoning followed his lead to the back door, which wasrge enough for cars to pass through. She took a close look at the cameras without uttering a word. Seeing that she did not n to check on this, No. 5 asked, ¡°Sis, should we get the police to investigate on this exit too?¡± ¡°No need for that. If they were to leave, they would definitely use the main exit. There are so few people who use the secret exits. Wouldn¡¯t they have made it easier for us to find out who they are if they were to go out via this secret exit? If I were the culprit, I would either bring No. 8 out of the estate or hold him captive within the premises of the estate.¡± At this exact moment, Fan Shixin called. An Xiaoning answered, ¡°How¡¯s it going?¡± ¡°Young Madam, the Flying Tigers have already verified Sister Zhang¡¯s current location, and she¡¯s now at the ck market in D City.¡± ¡°She¡¯s at the ck market in broad daylight? What is she doing there?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°She¡¯s buying some ves.¡± ¡°Got it. Shixin, stay out of this for the time being. Focus on thepany matters and go to the office first.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After ending the call, An Xiaoning looked at the guard on duty and said, ¡°Record the live feed from the surveince cameras opposite my mansion for the next three days. No. 5, stay here and monitor the situation. I¡¯ll make a trip to D City on my own.¡± ¡°Sis, why don¡¯t I go on your behalf? I know that Sister Zhang.¡± ¡°No, you won¡¯t be able to manage on your own. She definitely isn¡¯t alone. I¡¯ll go instead.¡± ¡°Alright, then. You must be careful, Sis. Why don¡¯t you bring No. 6 and No. 7 along too?¡± ¡°No need for that.¡± She drove straight to the airport where she waited for forty minutes before boarding the next avable flight. D City was not too far away from A City. At this time, it was raining cats and dogs in D City. She exited the airport to see that there was a stormy breeze all around and that the sky was covered in gray clouds. The temperature was much lower here than that in A City. An Xiaoning hailed a taxi and made her way to the building that housed the ck market. Humans were scarce in the vicinity of the building, perhaps because it was still daytime. However, there were a few cars along the stretch. An Xiaoning alighted from the taxi and covered her head with her hands while scurrying toward the building. d in a surgical mask, she entered the elevator, which descended to the third basement. Just like she had expected, there were very few patrons during the day. She scanned the people inside and continued walking toward the holding area without stopping. Not long after, she caught sight of Sister Zhang¡¯s henchman, Liang. He was standing in front of a partition door together with a few other bodyguards, keeping his hands by his side and his eyes fixed in front. He was behaving just like a stern bodyguard. An Xiaoning stepped forward and removed her mask. The moment Liang saw her, he instinctively retreated backward and stared at her in astonishment. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°Where¡¯s your master?¡± ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°I want to see her. Cut the crap,¡± said An Xiaoning, who then raised her hand in a bid to hit him. Liang quickly stopped her by saying, ¡°Wait a minute.¡± He turned around and opened the door. ¡°Sister Zhang, An Xiaoning would like to see you.¡± ¡°Okay, let her in.¡± Sister Zhang was not surprised at all, seemingly having already expected that An Xiaoning would look her up. An Xiaoning entered to see that there was a fair-skinned and pretty... man sitting on Sister Zhang¡¯sp. Adjectives used to describe a woman popped up in An Xiaoning¡¯s head, precisely because the man had a feminine appearance ¡ª he was rather petite and svelte. He had the visual appeal of a woman. ¡°The Flying Tigers have already informed me that you had checked up on my location. I was initially nning to leave, but I decided to stay here a while longer to wait for you to show up, lest you miss the chance to see me.¡± ¡°Did you take Yun Chen away?¡± An Xiaoning asked with her brows raised. ¡°Ms. An, you need evidence before you can use others. Do you really think I¡¯d be waiting here for you dauntlessly if I had really abducted your subordinate? Of course, you have the right to believe that I¡¯m just saying this on purpose, but I really didn¡¯t take him away.¡± Chapter 1058 - Perplexed and Smitten (118)

Chapter 1058: Perplexed and Smitten (118)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°What evidence have you got to prove that you didn¡¯t take him away?¡± ¡°How am I supposed to prove that? I really don¡¯t have a way to prove it. Why would I take him away stealthily when I clearly know that I would be the first person whom you¡¯d suspect if he were to go missing?¡± Sister Zhang scoffed. Actually, she did make sense. ¡°Please excuse us,¡± An Xiaoning said to the man sitting on Sister Zhang¡¯sp. Sister Zhang gave him a peck on his cheek and said, ¡°Be good, wait for me outside.¡± The man stood up and left reluctantly. The moment he closed the door, An Xiaoning sat down on the couch and asked, ¡°Do you dare to let me hypnotize you?¡± ¡°Hypnosis?¡± ¡°Yes, I do know a thing or two about hypnosis. That¡¯s the only way to prove your innocence, I¡¯m afraid.¡± ¡°What if you ask me for my bank ount details and password?¡± ¡°You mean, you think I¡¯m short of cash? Get your bodyguards to monitor the process closely. How does that sound?¡± said An Xiaoning. After some consideration, Sister Zhang agreed, ¡°Sure.¡± She called Liang in before saying to An Xiaoning, ¡°You may begin.¡± An Xiaoning had practised her skills only on subjects who were asleep. In fact, she had very little confidence in hypnotizing those who are awake and lucid. Thus, she said, ¡°I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯ll work, but if it doesn¡¯t, I¡¯ll have to get my professional hypnotist to make a trip here.¡± To her surprise, she seeded on her first try. After hearing that Sister Zhang really was not the culprit, she decided to take further precautions, for fear that Sister Zhang was feigning being hypnotized. Thus, she whipped out her gun and pointed it at Sister Zhang. Liang frantically interjected, ¡°An Xiaoning, what are you doing? Sister Zhang has already stated that she wasn¡¯t the one behind it. Why are you still pointing your gun at her?¡± Noticing that Sister Zhang was still lying motionless on the couch, An Xiaoning put her gun away and said to Liang, ¡°I was just testing her. You don¡¯t have to be so uptight.¡± Pursing his lips, Liang remarked in contempt, ¡°You¡¯re a lunatic.¡± She awakened the sound-asleep Sister Zhang and left straight away. As soon as she stepped foot out of the door, she put on her earphones and switched on the live feed from the surveince cameras. In no time, Sister Zhang and Liang popped up on her screen. She had pasted a mini surveince camera beneath the couch when she was in the room earlier. Her purpose was to test Sister Zhang further, so as to determine if she was a suspect. In the live feed, Liang was seen talking to Sister Zhang indignantly. He said, ¡°Sister Zhang, you have no idea what An Xiaoning did to you during the hypnosis. She even pointed her gun at you, saying that she was just testing you. I was scared out of my wits.¡± ¡°If I were the one who did it, why would I still let her hypnotize me? But just whom did Yun Chen offend? Who was the one who abducted him?¡± ¡°Who cares whom he had offended? Sister Zhang, you looked him up several times and tried to change his mind, but he just wouldn¡¯t concede. He simply insisted on working for An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning must have offended plenty of people. Who knows? Maybe it¡¯s one of her enemies who decided to take it out on her bodyguard.¡± Sister Zhang picked up her cigarette box and lighter, after which she lit up a cigarette and took a deep puff. ¡°Thatd has got quite a bit of a backbone. If it weren¡¯t because of the circumstances that forced him to be so unwilling to continue working for me, would that secondhand good Mo Li have stood a chance? How is she any better than me? I even heard that she can no longer conceive. She¡¯s not any better than me, apart from the fact that she¡¯s younger. Fancy Yun Chen treasuring Ye Xiaotian¡¯s unwanted good.¡± Liang remarked, ¡°They¡¯re both the same. Sister Zhang, isn¡¯t he also a damaged good that you didn¡¯t want back then?¡± Sister Zhang stood up and gave him a tight p. ¡°Shut your trap, who allowed you to criticize him? I¡¯m the only person who can do that.¡± Liang clutched his face in pain, not daring to utter another word. An Xiaoning switched off the live feed and put her earphones away inside her bag. This Sister Zhang is so devoted to No. 8. An Xiaoning had been pondering over the matter while on the ne back to A City. She did not agree with Liang¡¯s opinion about the culprit taking it out on No. 8 as revenge against An Xiaoning. After all, No. 8 was just her subordinate. The culprit could have acted on the rest of her bodyguards too. Yet, he or she didn¡¯t. Hence, she was certain that the culprit was after No. 8 alone. She could now strike Sister Zhang off the list of culprits. Next up... An Xiaoning had a clear idea. It was also already past ten o¡¯clock when she arrived back in A City. No. 5 showed her the screenshots from the surveince camera footages and said, ¡°Sis, these are all the people who have entered the lobby within the past three days. There are a total of 64 units in this 32-floor apartment building. There are more than ten empty units. Apart from children, there are 112 people who have been captured by the surveince cameras.¡± ¡°One hundred twelve?¡± ¡°Yes, 112. There are indeed quite a lot of people. Should we eliminate the elderly and women?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have to, the culprit doesn¡¯t necessarily have to be a man. Have you verified with the guards in the guardroom if they¡¯re residents?¡± ¡°Yes, the photos match the information here. Their identities are also stated clearly. They¡¯ve all entered and left the estate within the past three days.¡± An Xiaoning took the document from him and scrutinized the contents. All of a sudden, she felt like they might not get results any time soon. ¡°Sis, Ms. Mo is calling you.¡± No. 5 showed her the caller disy on her mobile phone. ¡°Answer it.¡± ¡°If she asks about No. 8, what do I say?¡±¡® ¡°Just tell her that No. 8 has followed me to settle some matters and that we won¡¯t be returning in another few days.¡± No. 5 nodded and hurriedly answered the call. Mo Li only called No. 5 because she couldn¡¯t reach No. 8 on his mobile phone. When she asked about what No. 8 was busy with, No. 5 answered her ording to An Xiaoning¡¯s instructions. Finally, he added that No. 8 was not allowed to use his mobile phone due to special reasons. Mo Li did not doubt the credibility of his words. The moment he ended the call, No. 5 clutched his chest and said to An Xiaoning, who was beside him, ¡°Sis, I feel so guilty about lying. I really wonder how No. 8 is doing now.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no point in letting her know the truth right now anyway. It¡¯s better to keep it from her for the time being. Although there was a short period of time when the surveince cameras became faulty, the culprits are very likely to be amongst those people. After all, he or she wouldn¡¯t have known the exact timing that No. 8 was to return. We¡¯ll try finding some leads from the frequency of entries and exits.¡± No. 5 and An Xiaoning got back inside the car and sat together in the back seat. They began tabting the frequencies of entries and exits based on the footages. After doing so for half an hour, they finally got the results. They could immediately eliminate some people. For example, working adults who leave in the morning and return home in the afternoon for a short while before leaving and returning home again in the evening. Another example would be housewives and older women who stay home to take care of their children. Chapter 1059 - Perplexed and Smitten (119)

Chapter 1059: Perplexed and Smitten (119)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios They could deduce if those people were possible suspects just by the frequency of their entry and departure. Half the number of suspects was left after they¡¯d eliminated those who were unlikely to be the culprit. ¡°No. 5, go back to the guardroom to check the surveince camera footages and see if those people have shown up three days ago.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± While he went to the guardroom, An Xiaoning received a call from the police station. In order to render assistance to An Xiaoning, Pan Zhenghui had sent a few police officers to check the surveince camera footages and record all the license te numbers of the cars that were captured, as well as the information of the owners, and told An Xiaoning to collect themter. She expressed assent and waited for No. 5 to return. Whenever she was panicking, her brain would often remind her to keep her cool and calm herself down, so as to find out the culprit using the leads she had obtained. She removed the lid of the water bottle and chugged all the mineral water down in one go, after which she burped and began crushing the bottle with all her might, seemingly venting all her anger and frustration on the poor, innocent bottle. Time passed by, minute after minute. No. 5 finally returned after a long while. ¡°Sis, ording to the surveince camera footages from the past three days, there were six people who did not show up, amongst which are a man and a woman who showed up with the same frequency.¡± An Xiaoning asked, ¡°On which floor do they live?¡± ¡°They don¡¯t live here. They seem to be the rtives of one of the residents here. However, I don¡¯t know exactly on which floor they live.¡± ¡°There are only a few households in the estate. It would be easy to find out whose rtives they are. We¡¯ll just knock on the door of each unit and show them the photos of those people. Get No. 9 and No. 10 to do it instead, lest you bump into Mo Li. It¡¯ll be hard to exin to her then. Stay home to wait for their news. I¡¯ll be making a trip to the police station now.¡± ¡°Alright, drive safely.¡± .... After collecting the information of the car owners from the police station, she quickly rushed back to Sanqiao Estate without further dy. Upon the sight of her return, Shi Qingzhou frantically asked, ¡°It¡¯s already noontime. Xiaoning, will you be having lunch at home?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She entered the house with her car keys. Not long after, she received a call from No. 9. After hearing what he had to say, she stood up again and headed opposite. Coincidentally, she bumped into Mo Li at the lift lobby while waiting for the elevator. Mo Li was startled to see her when she came out of the elevator, after which she asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you and No. 8 overseas, ording to No. 5?¡± Having been through lots of trials and tribtions and faced all sorts of circumstances, An Xiaoning could lie through her teeth and cover things up seamlessly. ¡°I came back first because of something urgent. No. 8 is keeping tabs on his own.¡± Mo Li smiled and said, ¡°I went to the supermarket to buy some things. Hurry and go in.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning entered the elevator and pressed the elevator button, the smile on her face vanishing while she watched the doors close slowly. The elevator stopped on the seventh floor. She exited and was greeted with the sight of No. 9, who said, ¡°Sis, it¡¯s this one.¡± ¡°Is that couple their friends?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± There seemed to be nothing peculiar about it, since friends don¡¯t necessarily have to visit friends every single day. However, she decided to just ask in detail and make things clear since she was already at their doorstep. The mistress of the apartment happened to be home at the time. Upon the sight of An Xiaoning, she hurriedly served some tea and said, ¡°Ms. An, please take a seat.¡± ¡°Thank you. May I ask if those two people in that photo are your friends? Or are they your husband¡¯s?¡± ¡°They¡¯re my husband¡¯s friends and they¡¯re a romantic couple,¡± she answered with a smile. ¡°Did they visit your house because you and your husband had invited them?¡± Shaking her head, the mistress answered, ¡°I¡¯m not too sure about that, but it seems like my husband had arranged for them toe over. I don¡¯t know if he had invited them or if they¡¯d initiated paying us a visit.¡± ¡°Could you call your husband and ask him about it? But don¡¯t tell him that I was the one who had asked you.¡± ¡°Alright, please give me a moment.¡± The mistress called her husband to ask him about the matter. After ending the call, the mistress answered while smiling, ¡°My husband said that they¡¯re the ones who asked if they coulde over. The toilet and flushing system in their home were faulty, and hence, they stayed over at my ce for a few days. They¡¯re on very close terms with my husband and so I agreed to lend them a hand.¡± ¡°When did they move back to their own home, then?¡± ¡°This morning.¡± An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Were you homest night?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve put my work aside for now because I¡¯m nning to get pregnant. I¡¯ve been staying at home recently.¡± ¡°Recall carefully, what time do they usually go out when they were staying in your house?¡± ¡°They usually go out in the morning ande home in the evening. They would usually have lunch outside. Ms. An, did my husband¡¯s friends do something?¡± asked the mistress, who was puzzled by An Xiaoning¡¯s questions. ¡°I can¡¯t confirm that yet. That¡¯s why I came here to find out more about the situation. I hope you¡¯ll answer all of my questions truthfully.¡± The mistress nodded fervently and said, ¡°Yes, of course. Just feel free to ask me any questions you¡¯d like.¡± ¡°What time did they return home yesterday?¡± ¡°Yesterday? Seven something. They had dinner outside beforeing home.¡± ¡°Seven what? Give me a rough estimate.¡± After recalling carefully, the mistress answered, ¡°They returned after the evening news program ended. I reckon it was somewhere between half past seven and eight.¡± ¡°May I ask, what are their professions?¡± ¡°My husband works as an IT personnel in a video gamepany. They¡¯re his colleagues.¡± ¡°Could you give me their mobile numbers and home addresses?¡± ¡°I only know where they live but I don¡¯t know the exact address. I don¡¯t have their mobile numbers either. I¡¯ll have to ask my husband.¡± ¡°Alright, could I trouble you to call him again, then?¡± ¡°No problem.¡± The mistress gave her husband another call. Her husband again asked about what was going on, to which the mistress answered that she would exin the details to him when he gets home. However, her husband refused to divulge their contact details unless she told him explicitly what was going on. An Xiaoning motioned for the mistress to end the call. An Xiaoning then said, ¡°Let¡¯s go to your husband¡¯s office and get him toe downter.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning headed to the mistress¡¯ husband¡¯s office together with the mistress while No. 9 stayed behind. When they reached the office building, the mistress called her husband again. Two minutester, he exited. The mistress waved at him from the window and called, ¡°Hubby, I¡¯m here.¡± The young man was momentarily stunned to see his wife sitting in a Ferrari. He immediately stepped forward and asked, ¡°Whose car is this?¡± ¡°Hubby, hop on first. Ms. An has some questions for you.¡± The man bent forward to look at the driver¡¯s seat before getting inside the car. ¡°Nice to meet you, Mr. Dong. Here¡¯s what happened, my bodyguard went missing all of a suddenst night at the lobby opposite my mansion. I don¡¯t know if he¡¯s dead or alive at present, and I¡¯m currently investigating this matter. On top of that, your friends are on my list of suspects. I¡¯m not saying that they¡¯re the culprits, but if you¡¯d like to prove their innocence, please cooperate with me. It¡¯d be better if you can prove them to be innocent.¡± Chapter 1060 - Perplexed and Smitten (120)

Chapter 1060: Perplexed and Smitten (120)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Both husband and wife were shocked out of their senses. The man said firmly, ¡°It can¡¯t be my friends. I know them very well. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have befriended them. They won¡¯t harm others.¡± ¡°Before the results are out, I can¡¯t pinpoint anyone or jump to conclusions and deduce who¡¯s innocent and who¡¯s not. So, Mr. Dong, do you understand what I mean? I heard that you¡¯re colleagues. Have they reported to work yet?¡± ¡°They have, they¡¯re in the office now.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a tea house over there. Why don¡¯t you get them toe out and meet me?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Before that, could I trouble you to give me their mobile numbers and address?¡± The man agreed without hesitation. An Xiaoning and the mistress waited for half an hour in the tea house before the three people finally showed up. The man introduced, ¡°Ms. An, these are those friends of mine who stayed over at my house for a few days previously, Xiao Wu and his girlfriend.¡± ¡°Have a seat.¡± An Xiaoning spoke in aposed tone and crossed one leg over the other while cing her hands on her knees. She had been keeping her eyes fixed on the couple from the moment they entered. The owners of the apartment were seated beside An Xiaoning. Clearly displeased, Xiao Wu said, ¡°I was just staying over at my friend¡¯s ce for a few days. Why have I be the suspect behind your bodyguard¡¯s disappearance?¡± ¡°I obviously have my reasons for suspecting you. If you want to prove your innocence, then please answer my questions truthfully.¡± An Xiaoning took out the information sheet of car owners and asked, ¡°Is ¡®AS.H25XX¡¯ the license te number of your car?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Xiao Wu answered. ¡°May I ask, where was your car at 6:28 am?¡± ¡°I obviously drove it to work after having breakfast with my girlfriend.¡± ¡°What time does work start?¡± she asked the owner of the house. ¡°Eight o¡¯clock.¡± ¡°You left the estate at half past six to have breakfast before work that starts at eight? Although some employees would usually arrive at work half an hour earlier, breakfast doesn¡¯t take that long. What did you do during the time in between?¡± ¡°We obviously went back to my home to take a look. There was something faulty with my bathroom and it was repaired only yesterday. Besides, it takes time to travel around, doesn¡¯t it?¡± His exnation was rather reasonable. After a moment of silence, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Why don¡¯t I just hypnotize the two of you in order to save my time and yours? How does that sound?¡± Xiao Wu and his girlfriend looked at each other in shock before asking in astonishment, ¡°Hyp... hypnosis? Are you a hypnotist?¡± ¡°I know a thing or two about hypnosis. Your friend and his wife are around, you don¡¯t have to worry about your privacy being infringed. This is the best solution to solve the problem. I¡¯ll find out the truth after asking you while you¡¯re hypnotized,¡± An Xiaoning said, smiling. Xiao Wu picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip of tea. ¡°Are you really going to hypnotize me?¡± ¡°Do you think there¡¯s a better way to prove your innocence?¡± ¡°Okay... alright, then.¡± An Xiaoning said to his girlfriend, ¡°Please wait outside for ten minutes.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The woman stood up and walked outside. Xiao Wuy on the couch while An Xiaoning sat down beside him. There were two things in this world that could get most people to tell the truth. One was a lie detector and the other was hypnosis. Those who do not have a strong willpower are usually vulnerable to hypnosis. An Xiaoning had a deja vu moment, feeling like Xiao Wu would behave the same as Sister Zhang. She wondered to herself if she had taken a misstep again this time. However, after hypnotizing him and questioning him, An Xiaoning was certain that she had gotten the right suspects. ¡°Where were you and your girlfriend headed to after you left Sanqiao Estate in the morning?¡± ¡°To the harbor.¡± At this juncture, the owners of the apartment were astonished, because Xiao Wu had stated before the hypnosis began that he and his girlfriend were going back to their home. That meant... They dared not utter a single word and continued to listen quietly. ¡°What were you going to do at the harbor?¡± The man was trying to resist the hypnosis, as evidenced by the frown on his forehead and the look of uneasiness on his face. It seemed like he had finally shown his true colors and that he was merely pretending to be calm earlier. A grave expression formed on An Xiaoning¡¯s face as she questioned sternly, ¡°Answer me, what were you going to do at the harbor!?!¡± ¡°To make a transaction.¡± ¡°What transaction?¡± She could no longer get any more answers out of him, for his willpower was still rather strong. However, it was enough to learn of the things he had divulged. Instead of waking him up from the hypnosis, she turned around and looked at the pair who were watching quietly. ¡°If he asks about what went on during the hypnosister, just tell him that I didn¡¯t manage to sound him out. I¡¯ll question his girlfriendter before proceeding to settle this. Understand?¡± ¡°Yes, yes,¡± they answered with a nod. ¡°Take note of your expressions, don¡¯t let the cat out of the bag.¡± She woke Xiao Wu up. ¡°What did she ask?¡± asked Xiao Wu, who had no idea what happened during the hypnosis. ¡°Well... nothing much, it was just questions rted to the incident.¡± ¡°What happened afterward?¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t get anything out of you.¡± Xiao Wu smiled in relief and said, ¡°I told you we had nothing to do with this.¡± ¡°I still have to hypnotize your girlfriend even if I didn¡¯t manage to sound you out.¡± Xiao Wu was worried that his girlfriend wouldn¡¯t pass the test. Thus, he purposely frowned and rebuked, ¡°Ms. An, I¡¯ve already done what I could to cooperate with you. My girlfriend was with me at the time. How could she have done anything suspicious if I didn¡¯t? Ms. An, I suggest you hurry and catch the culprit. We¡¯re just working employees, we¡¯re going to have our sries docked if this gets in the way of our working hours.¡± ¡°You and your girlfriend are separate individuals. Perhaps you just didn¡¯t get hypnotized because of your strong willpower. Cut the crap and get your girlfriend toe in while you wait outside.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t care who you are. We have the freedom to decide if we want to be hypnotized by you. No one has the right topel us, let alone you. You¡¯re not even a police officer.¡± Seeing how stubborn and adamant he was about letting his girlfriend cooperate, An Xiaoning said while smiling, ¡°Your sries are going to be docked and you have your own freedom? Don¡¯t those only matter if you¡¯re alive?¡± ¡°What...¡± ¡°You can¡¯t understand what I said? You may ask your friends if I¡¯ve managed to sound you out during your hypnosis earlier,¡± An Xiaoning said with a smirk. Xiao Wu¡¯s face stiffened instantly. He turned around to look at the owners of the apartment and asked, ¡°Did she manage to get anything out of me?¡± The male owner answered, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you had gone home after breakfast? However, you said that you had gone to the harbor instead during the hypnosis.¡± Pangs of panic engulfed Xiao Wu at the instant that he heard his words, and his initialposure turned into anxiety. An Xiaoning said to Xiao Wu, ¡°You went to the harbor to make a transaction. Do you really think that your willpower is that strong and that I couldn¡¯t sound you out at all? Xiao Wu, I¡¯m giving you a chance to live. You either tell me everything that happened, or...¡± Chapter 1061 - Perplexed and Smitten (121)

Chapter 1061: Perplexed and Smitten (121)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She did not finish her sentence, for she believed that Xiao Wu had already understood what she meant. Xiao Wu denied, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about. It has nothing to do with me at all. I don¡¯t know anything.¡± Staring at him with a straight face, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Since you¡¯re so obstinate, I have no choice but to send you to prison.¡± She whipped out her mobile phone to call Pan Zhenghui. Xiao Wu frantically said, ¡°I¡¯ll speak, I¡¯ll speak. But you can¡¯t hold me responsible.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°My friends are here to witness this. You¡¯d better keep your word.¡± ¡°That goes without saying. I¡¯m a woman of my word,¡± said An Xiaoning. Xiao Wu recounted, ¡°Alright, here¡¯s what happened. A few days ago, I received a strange message in my mailbox from an anonymous sender who offered to make a transaction with me. I was curious about what it was and he told me that he wanted my help with something in exchange for five million dors. The moment I heard that he was offering such a high amount, my instincts told me that he must be a conman. However, he told me straight away what he needed me to do and even said that he could give me three million dors in advance if I was willing to do it. I was caught in a dilemma because I know that abduction is illegal. Hence, I rejected his offer after contemting it. I felt that I shouldn¡¯t be doing something like that. Yet...¡± Xiao Wu continued, ¡°Yet, he seemed to have pinned me as his target and was bent on getting me to do it. He told me that he has my detailed information and that he would take action on me if I didn¡¯t concede to his requests. If I did, he would be giving me five million dors to keep my mouth shut.¡± ¡°Who was the sender?¡± ¡°I graduated fromputing school and I¡¯m great at finding out the IP addresses of others. I managed to find out the sender¡¯s address after tracking the email. However, the address would be different every single time. It seems they have prepared against this too. However, I decided to be extra careful and I found out the address of the bank he visited to transfer the money to me. You¡¯ll definitely find out after checking the surveince cameras at the bank. After all, the banks would be prudent and strict with whoever touches the surveince cameras, which would not be easily tampered.¡± ¡°Which bank is it?¡± ¡°That bank along Ming Yuan Road. I¡¯ll give you the name and number of the ount that transferred me the money.¡± Seeing that she was ring at him coldly, Xiao Wu added, ¡°I can forgo the money, I just hope you won¡¯t hold me liable, Ms. An. As long as you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll be willing to cooperate with you.¡± An Xiaoning said, ¡°Logically speaking,puting experts should be intelligent. Why is your IQ so low? Do you really think they couldn¡¯t have found another hitman or expert assassin who¡¯s more skilled than you to do the job? They offered you such arge amount of money and decided to recruit you, precisely because they wanted to hire a nobody who doesn¡¯t know who they are. Are you skilled in martial arts?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°How did you manage to pin my bodyguard down when he¡¯s skilled in martial arts?¡± ¡°I found out that he would return every day when it¡¯ste at night. Hence, I spent some money to hire a private investigator to tail him. When he was about to reach the estate, I tampered with the master control and caused a power outage. When all the lights went out, I stood at the lobby and knocked him out with an iron rod as he was entering. He was caught off guard and copsed onto the ground. I was really afraid at that time, but I couldn¡¯t waste any more time being worried. Thus, my girlfriend and I carried him into the trunk of my car and wiped the blood off his head. I was worried that I might have killed him. I didn¡¯t dare to drive away immediately, for fear that I would be exposed. So, I tied him up and left in the morning instead.¡± An Xiaoning had no idea what to say. ¡°I won¡¯t hold it against you, but you definitely can¡¯t keep that money. You¡¯ll have to face a jail term of at least a few years for that crime. You should be clear about that. If my bodyguard is safe and sound, that money shall go to him as a form ofpensation. However, if something has happened to him...¡± She paused deliberately before continuing, ¡°Then I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°What do you mean? You clearly said just now that you won¡¯t hold me liable,¡± said Xiao Wu, who felt worried all over again. ¡°I failed to mention that I¡¯ll only let you off in the event that he¡¯s safe and sound. Pray for him silently in your heart. You¡¯ll be safe if he is. Otherwise, you¡¯ll lose your freedom together with your money. Give me the name and bank ount details. I¡¯m going to the bank now,¡± said An Xiaoning, who then stood up and left. After closing the door, Xiao Wu¡¯s girlfriend entered. She seemed to have noticed that something had gone wrong upon seeing the grave expression on her boyfriend¡¯s face. The male owner interjected, ¡°Xiao Wu, just what did you do? When you received that email back then, you should have just ignored it. Things have be so serious... Had I known earlier, I wouldn¡¯t have allowed you to stay over at my ce.¡± ¡°I absolutely regret it now too. Can you keep this a secret, please?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t speak of it to others, but this shall be the end of our friendship. I really can¡¯t stand yourck of morals. I¡¯m strangely disturbed by what happened to Ms. An¡¯s bodyguard. I was the one who gave you the chance tomit the act. Although I had no idea what you were nning, I¡¯m partly to me too.¡± He stood up and left together with his wife, hand in hand. Once they were outside, the mistress hugged her husband and said, ¡°I really didn¡¯t expect them to be such immoral people. So much for being kind and allowing them to stay with us instead of staying at a hotel. Hubby, you were right to end our friendship with them. Let¡¯s not keep in touch with such people.¡± ¡°Yes, I hope Ms. An¡¯s bodyguard can return safely.¡± ¡°I hope so too.¡± ¡ª An Xiaoning initially nned to have lunch at Sanqiao Estate. However, she decided not to waste time having lunch, for the longer she waited, the more disadvantageous it would be for No. 8. Since the bank was closed in the afternoon, she had no choice but to contact the manager of the branch. She gave him the name and bank ount details, as well as the time of transfer, ording to what Xiao Wu said. The bank personnel then showed her the footages of the surveince cameras. Since the transfer was made at the bank and not online, the sender must have transferred it via the automatic teller machine or through the bank teller at the counter. However, transfers above five million dors could only be made at the counter with the help of the bank tellers. On top of that, the sender must also bring along his or her personal identification card. Clearly, the sender had transferred the money via the counter. The footages showed a man donning a pair of shades, which he then removed upon the request of the bank teller. Although he had only taken them off for less than twenty seconds, his face had been captured by the surveince cameras. Soon, the police managed to find more details based on the bank ount information as well as the screenshot of the footage. An Xiaoning immediately proceeded to arrest the culprit together with Ma Jianguo before she even had lunch. They arrested Qian Mou, who was having lunch at a hotel at the time. ¡°Where do we bring him?¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± Qian Mou asked, feigning ignorance. Standing near the metal barrier, An Xiaoning said with a smirk, ¡°Are you feigning ignorance? Qian Mou, I know you have a backer to save you, and you people are experts at threatening others with money. But don¡¯t forget, I¡¯m also great at threatening others, and that¡¯s a tactic that I also enjoy using. Old Ma, I don¡¯t feel like interrogating him here.¡± Chapter 1062 - Perplexed and Smitten (122)

Chapter 1062: Perplexed and Smitten (122)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Where would you like to interrogate him, then? Name me a ce.¡± ¡°Take him to my car and I¡¯ll bring him to my desired ce.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Qian Mou was handcuffed tightly and brought into the backseat of An Xiaoning¡¯s car. She then drove back to Wei Ni Estate, along with two other constables. Once they arrived, An Xiaoning instructed Xiao Bai to drive the two constables back to the police station while her other bodyguards dragged Qian Mou out of the car. The sun was shining brightly in A City. An Xiaoning spent the entire morning traveling from A City to the raining D City and back to A City where the sun was zing. A mere six or seven hours had passed since she first heard about No. 8 going missing. Yet, she waspletely exhausted and felt as if she had justpleted a marathon thatsted for hours. ¡°Young Madam, what do we do with him?¡± ¡°Xiao Huang, prepare a huge pot of boiling water and hang him.¡± ¡°Yes, Young Madam.¡± Upon hearing hermand, Qian Mou immediately hollered, ¡°What right do you have to do this to me? You vicious woman!¡± ¡°You harmed my bodyguard and yet you still have the cheek to be so haughty. Qian Mou, you¡¯d better enjoy yourself. I shall see how much of a backbone you¡¯ve got!¡± As soon as she finished speaking, she turned around and returned to the living room. Upon the sight of her, Auntie Chen immediately asked, ¡°Young Madam, have you had lunch yet?¡± ¡°Not yet. Auntie Chen, please make me a bowl of noodles. Hurry up, I still have things to attend toter.¡± ¡°Alright, it¡¯ll be ready in no time.¡± Auntie Chen hurriedly rushed toward the kitchen. Recalling her promise to have lunch at Sanqiao Estate, she quickly gave Shi Qingzhou a call. ¡°Mother, I¡¯m at Wei Ni Estate right now. I can¡¯t have lunch at your ce today.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, it doesn¡¯t matter. Don¡¯t worry, I know you¡¯re busy.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go back to apany you for a meal once I¡¯m done settling this.¡± ¡°Sure. How are things going?¡± ¡°I still don¡¯t know who the mastermind is, the situation is tricky... but regardless of who it may be, I won¡¯t let him or her off,¡± said An Xiaoning, sounding a little disappointed. ¡°Xiaoning, I understand how much your bodyguards mean to you, but you must be mindful of your health. You have to manage Qingyan¡¯spany and search for No. 8. You mustn¡¯t overexert yourself.¡± ¡°Got it, Mother.¡± After ending the call, she leaned against the couch and pondered over No. 8¡¯s incident. If something really happened to No. 8, I would have to tell Mo Li sooner orter. Will she able to handle the news? It¡¯s still only the beginning of her new rtionship... An Xiaoning dared not imagine what might happen; neither did she want to think about something that had yet to be finalized. After lunch, Xiao Huang informed her that all the necessary preparations had been made. An Xiaoning followed him to the basement. Xu Youran was once held captive in that room. An Xiaoning stared at the man who was suspended in the air while a pot of steaming hot water was about five meters away from him. The thick fumes of steam caused him to close his eyes involuntarily. ¡°So? How does this feel, Qian Mou?¡± His initial arrogance had long vanished. ¡°I¡¯ll end up dying even if I tell you.¡± ¡°Do you think you won¡¯t die if you don¡¯t tell me?¡± An Xiaoning then instructed Xiao Huang, ¡°Lower him by twenty centimeters.¡± Xiao Huang pulled the rope attached to the pulley, causing Qian Mou to descend ande closer to the boiling water. ¡°Don¡¯t lower me any further!¡± the man shrieked. ¡°I¡¯m telling you, if you don¡¯te clean with me today, not only will you die here, your family won¡¯t be spared either.¡± ¡°I¡¯lle clean, I¡¯ll tell you everything. Put me down first,¡± said Qian Mou, who had broken out in a cold sweat, overwhelmed with fear. An Xiaoning motioned for Xiao Huang to put him down. As soon as he was lowered onto the ground, he felt faint and terrorized, and his legs had turned to jelly. ¡°The mastermind is from Y Nation and had paid a high amount of money to get us to do it.¡± ¡°Which person from Y Nation?¡± ¡°Princess Nicole of Y Nation.¡± An Xiaoning had only heard a little about her before. ¡°Why did she want to abduct my bodyguard?¡± ¡°How would I know?¡± ¡°Even if it¡¯s really her, why would she get you to do it? How are you rted to the royal family of Y Nation?¡± ¡°My aunt is one of Princess Nicole¡¯s servants. She sent me a photo back then, iming that the princess would be rewarding me with a sum of 20 million dors if I managed to find him and take him to her. I obviously agreed. I run a private investigationpany and it¡¯s not that hard for me to locate him. However, I really have no idea why she wanted him.¡± ¡°Let me first verify if you¡¯re telling the truth. Xiao Huang, lock him up.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Ms. An, hurry and release me once you¡¯ve verified it!¡± An Xiaoningpletely ignored him. She exited the basement with a heavy heart. This was no longer a simple case of abduction. The situation had be trickier now that it implicated the royal family. If others were in her situation, they probably wouldn¡¯t continue pursuing the matter. After all, No. 8 was an orphan to begin with and there was no need to waste so much time, energy, and money on a bodyguard. However, An Xiaoning could not bring herself to just give up on him. She would not allow anyone to bully her subordinates. ¡ª ¡°En, here¡¯s what happened. The producer of another drama contacted me and said that the author would like you to star in the drama. Would you like to read the script?¡± ¡°Sis Yangyang, the television series that I had just finished filming hasn¡¯t even been aired yet. I¡¯m not famous at all, why does the author want me to star in that drama?¡± asked a baffled Fang En. ¡°I did ask the same question, and the author said that she chanced upon you when she happened to be at the filming studio previously. She thinks you fit the image of the character in her story. I initially already signed you on for ¡®The Man from the Ancient Times,¡¯ but the drama series that this author wants you to star in is also a great production. I don¡¯t think you should miss this rare opportunity, so I decided to ask you for your opinion.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t started filming for ¡®The Man from the Ancient Times¡¯ yet. Wouldn¡¯t it be a little too rushed for me to star in the other television series too?¡± ¡°Filming for ¡®The Man from the Ancient Times¡¯ is about tomence very soon. The other one is not going to go into production any time soon, at least not for the next few months. They¡¯ve just started nning for it. Take a look at the script, we¡¯ll sign you on if you¡¯re keen.¡± ¡°Sis, from which novel was the storyline of that drama adapted?¡± asked Fang En, who thought that it was good to have more filming opportunities. ¡°It¡¯s adapted from ¡®The Tyrannical Adonis Falls in Love with Me.¡¯¡± Fang En asked, ¡°Is it a television series about teenage romance?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the theme at the start, but it progresses to a different genreter on in the story. Take some time to read the original novel. I¡¯ve already read it, and it made me feel like a teenager again. The title may sound a little corny, but the storyline is great.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard about this novel and I¡¯ve read it before too. I really enjoyed reading it back then. I¡¯m aware that the author of this novel is very famous and has a huge army of fans who love reading her books. Many television series that were adapted from novels have ruined the original novels. Fans tend to get upset if the casting is poor and the wrong actors are cast. I¡¯m very surprised that she wants me to star in it. Sis Yangyang, I¡¯m willing to take part in this drama series.¡± Chapter 1063 - Perplexed and Smitten (123)

Chapter 1063: Perplexed and Smitten (123)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to take a look at the script before deciding?¡± ¡°No need for that.¡± ¡°By the way, the author was also the one who had edited the script so I think the storyline should be closely simr to the original story.¡± ¡°I can rest assured, then. Sis Yangyang, sign the contract on my behalf.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After hanging up, Fang En hurriedly called Xiao Yue to inform her of the news and told her to buy a hard copy of ¡°The Tyrannical Adonis Falls in Love with Me.¡± Xiao Yue rushed off to the bookstore to buy a copy, which she then delivered to her. ¡°Sis, are you for real?¡± ¡°Of course, Sis Yangyang called me personally.¡± ¡°Ah, Sis En, you¡¯ll definitely make it big. All the dramas that you¡¯ve starred in and about to star in are splendid productions. I can totally imagine you receiving numerous des and attending prize ceremonies while dressed in an extravagant gown.¡± Fang En smiled and said, ¡°Greater expectations often lead to greater disappointment. I¡¯ll just let nature take its course. It¡¯ll be great if I can rise to fame, but if I don¡¯t, at least I¡¯ve tried my best. Anyway, I¡¯ll do my best in every production that I take part in.¡± ¡°Sis En, why hasn¡¯t your cousin returned yet?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Fang En answered, thinking to herself that it was better that he didn¡¯t return. ¡°If your cousin were to star in the television series, I really can¡¯t imagine what will happen...¡± ¡°If he stars in a television series, there¡¯ll be a certain role that suits him.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°The distant and aloof male character. That¡¯s really how he is in real life. He¡¯s really tyrannical too.¡± Just as they were speaking, the doorbell rang. Xiao Yue hurriedly opened the door. As soon as she did, her eyes widened in shock and she eximed excitedly, ¡°Cousin, you¡¯re back!¡± ¡°Littless, watch what you¡¯re saying. I¡¯m not your cousin. Don¡¯t spout nonsense.¡± He strode in and shifted his gaze onto Fang En, who was sitting on the couch with the book in her hand. ¡°Yes, yes, yes. You¡¯re not my cousin, you¡¯re Sis En¡¯s cousin.¡± ¡°I have something to talk to En about. If there¡¯s nothing important going on, will you leave us alone?¡± Upon hearing his words, Xiao Yue¡¯s fluttering heart shattered. I only managed to steal a few nces at him and yet I have to leave soon. Xiao Chenyang waited for Xiao Yue to leave before sitting down on the couch once the door was closed. He held her in his arms and asked, ¡°Did you miss me?¡± ¡°No.¡± Fang En tried to struggle out of his embrace and continued, ¡°Stop getting all touchy with me. Good that you¡¯re back. There¡¯s something important that I need to tell you about.¡± ¡°You must have missed me too hard and lost your mind when I was away. Have you decided to marry me?¡± Fang En ced the book onto the coffee table and turned to her side to look at him carefully. Completely disregarding his words, Fang En said, ¡°Xiao Chenyang, I¡¯ve already fallen in love with another man before you showed up in my life. I want to be in a rtionship with the man I fancy, not a stranger like you who¡¯s forcing me to stay with them.¡± Her words were exactly Xiao Chenyang¡¯s greatest nightmare. ¡°You said that there¡¯s someone that you fancy. Who is it?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter who he is. What matters is that I fancy him, not you. So please walk out of my life,¡± said Fang En, who finally told him the words that she had considered carefully before saying. She decided to be brave regardless of who he was and how invincible he may be, for she felt that he was wrong to have intruded on her life. Staring at her with a tinge of coldness in his gaze, he questioned, ¡°How far have you progressed with him while I was away?¡± ¡°We progressed to... we did everything there is to be done, including what we shouldn¡¯t have.¡± Fang En thought that he would give up once she exaggerated things. After all, he was an arrogant and prideful man who would not allow himself to show his weakness in front of her. ¡°Did you sleep with him?¡± ¡°Yes, I did. That¡¯s why it¡¯s not worth wasting your efforts on me. Go and pursue your own happiness and stop disrupting my life.¡± Xiao Chenyang teared up instantly. He raised his hand in a bid to p her. However, he could not bring himself toy a hand on her, although it was incredibly difficult for him to keep calm at the moment. ¡°What did I tell you before I left? You didn¡¯t bear my words in mind at all.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t fancy you anyway, why do I have to bear your words in mind?¡± She had decided not to let him continue living with her, regardless of what may happen. Xiao Chenyang stared at her quietly, not uttering a single word or blowing his top. His hands were trembling uncontrobly while he tried to hold himself back from breaking down. ¡°Is he as handsome as me? As rich as I am? Does he treat you as well as I do?¡± ¡°Those don¡¯t matter. What matters is that I fancy him and I want to stay with him forever.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t equate to love.¡± ¡°Xiao Chenyang, there¡¯s no future for us. You¡¯re not my type at all. I¡¯ll never fall in love with you, so go back to where you came from and don¡¯t look for me ever again.¡± Just as Fang En stood up, he pulled her back down forcefully, causing her to fall back down onto hisp. She tried to struggle and break free from his embrace, but to no avail. ¡°Let go of me!¡± ¡°How many times have you slept with him?¡± Fang En answered relentlessly, ¡°Several times. We do it twice every day.¡± ¡°Does he make you feel good?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Would you like to try me, then?¡± He ced his hand onto her waist and said, ¡°I¡¯m better than him in bed and I can make you beg for more. You¡¯ll never forget me once we give it a try.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯d be interested in a woman who¡¯s no longer a virgin. You really don¡¯t mind filth, do you?¡± she sneered. He tightened his grip on her waist, causing her to feel pain. Just as Fang En thought that she had managed to spite him sessfully, he flipped and pinned her down onto the couch, finally releasing all the emotions he had been trying to contain. Sensing that things were about to go awry, she began kicking him with all her might. However, she was no match for Xiao Chenyang. She lost control of her lips, which were smooched by him forcefully. Fang En was extremely ufortable with being pinned beneath him. She was flustered and terrified. Although she had already expected a few different oues, it didn¡¯t mean that she would sit back and do nothing. She continued trying to kick him in every way she could. However, her efforts were futile. At this very moment, her mobile phone, which was on the coffee table, began to ring. ¡°I want to answer the phone!¡± Not giving her the chance to do so, he said, ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to!¡± ¡°You jerk! Scram!¡± The more she repelled and tried to rebel against him, the more he wanted to prate her and pamper her. He wanted her to know the consequences of provoking him! Her mobile phone rang continuously and she received three calls in total, none of which she could answer. The door began to ring. Ding-Dong... Ding-Dong... After ringing the doorbell continuously, Yan Ge asked, ¡°Fang En, are you home?¡± Chapter 1064 - Perplexed and Smitten (124)

Chapter 1064: Perplexed and Smitten (124)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Fang En was astonished. It¡¯s Yan Ge. It¡¯s him... If he were to find out that Xiao Chenyang is raping me right now... What would he think of me? If Xiao Chenyang blurted anything absurd, Yan Ge and I... At this moment, she dared not make a single sound. Just as Xiao Chenyang wanted to speak, she grabbed his arm to stop him. ¡°Don¡¯t...¡± she pleaded softly. Xiao Chenyang let go of her and made his way to the bedroom. Fang En frantically adjusted her clothes and pulled her hair back into a neat ponytail. She hurriedly sent Yan Ge a text to tell him that she was out on the streets before setting her phone to silent mode, just in the nick of time. She heaved a huge sigh of relief and looked at the bedroom door, feeling ill at ease. She had no idea why he had gone to the bedroom. Should I walk over and continue trying to chase him away? After much thought, she decided to tiptoe toward the bedroom and craned her neck to take a look inside. She was greeted with the sight of him lying in bed with his eyes closed, seemingly having fallen asleep. He¡¯s actually still in the mood to sleep? Fang En walked inside slowly and stood next to the bed. She caught sight of a teardrop in the corner of his eye. Fang En panicked and thought to herself, Did he actually cry? It¡¯s not that serious... Fang En sat on the bed and called his name, ¡°Xiao Chenyang.¡± He did not answer her. She wondered if he had really fallen asleep or was just pretending not to hear her. Fang En believed that it was thetter. He had just entered the room moments ago. Thus, it would be impossible that he had fallen asleep so soon. Yet, it now seemed like she was the one who had done something wrong, although he was clearly the one who barged into her life. Fang En remained seated quietly. However, the matter still had to be settled sooner orter. There would be no solution if she were to keep avoiding it. ¡°Stop pretending to be asleep. Let¡¯s have a proper chat about this.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing to talk about,¡± he said coldly, not wanting to continue discussing the topic. ¡°Since there¡¯s nothing for us to talk about, please leave my home.¡± ¡°Over my dead body.¡± Fang En began to panic and said, ¡°Why are you so obstinate? There are plenty of fish in the sea who are better than me. Why do you insist on being in love with me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m in love with you... not because you¡¯re better than all the other girls. Likewise, I¡¯m not staying because I don¡¯t care for my pride or have no shame.¡± ¡°What is the reason, then?¡± Instead of answering her question, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll find out who that man you fancy is sooner orter.¡± Pangs of panic engulfed Fang En. ¡°Just what do you n to do after finding out?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to take him to a ce where you¡¯ll never be able to find him.¡± Fang En inhaled a whiff of air in fear. She thought that she had a high chance of winning the negotiation on the day that shees clean with him. However, it now seemed... She didn¡¯t have the freedom to say no at all. She didn¡¯t have the right to decide for herself. She didn¡¯t... She was just like a puppet to him. ¡°Do you still want me even if I¡¯m pregnant with someone else¡¯s child?¡± Fang En felt the temperature of the room plunge as a sudden tension filled the air. It was clearly the peak of summer right now, yet it felt like wintertime. It was cold and chilly. ¡°If you¡¯re pregnant with someone else¡¯s child right now...¡± He gave her the side-eye and moved his lips, seemingly holding back what he wanted to say. Just as Fang En got up to freshen up, he got out of bed. He took out a set of clothes in a bid to change into them. Upon the sight of him undressing himself unrestrainedly, Fang En immediately cocked her head to the side and refused to watch. Although he had a killer figure... After changing into a fresh set of clothes, Xiao Chenyang pulled her out of the bedroom right away. ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go to the hospital.¡± ¡°What? I¡¯m not going,¡± Fang En refused, extremely repulsed by the idea of going to the hospital. ¡°Why not? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re really pregnant and... you¡¯re afraid of aborting the child?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going,¡± she reiterated without stating the reason. ¡°You must go even if you don¡¯t want to.¡± There was no room forpromise at all. As soon as he finished speaking, he dragged Fang En out of the room. She had no choice but toe clean, ¡°I¡¯m not pregnant... so we don¡¯t have to go to the hospital.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not pregnant... what if you are but you just don¡¯t know?¡± ¡°I really am not.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll know after you undergo a checkup at the hospital.¡± He dragged her out forcefully, insisting that she go to the hospital for a checkup. Fang En obviously wasn¡¯t willing to go. Wouldn¡¯t a checkup expose the truth about her still being a virgin? In that case, he would definitely not leave. Fang En immediately squatted onto the ground and tried to push him away with both hands, but to no avail. He still managed to drag her into the elevator. ¡°If you don¡¯t want the reporters to snap photos of me dragging you out, you¡¯d better stand up properly,¡± he warned, staring at Fang En, who was squatting on the ground. Noticing that the elevator had descended to the first floor, Fang En immediately stood up and asked, ¡°Can I not go to the hospital?¡± Xiao Chenyang smirked and said, ¡°The more you refuse to cooperate, the more I want you to go.¡± Fang En was thus brought to the hospital forcefully. The gynecologist had just begun her shift at two o¡¯clock in the afternoon when she saw an incredibly handsome man dragging a woman who was d in a surgical mask into her clinic. Staring at Xiao Chenyang, the thirty-odd-year-old female gynecologist spluttered, ¡°Are... you here for a consultation?¡± ¡°Doctor, please run a thorough gynecological checkup on her. She¡¯s here for a physical examination.¡± ¡°Sure, what¡¯s your name?¡± Just as Fang En was racking her brains for a fake name, Xiao Chenyang blurted, ¡°Nan Chuang.¡± ¡°How old are you?¡± ¡°Twenty-four years old.¡± The gynecologist handed her a referral slip and said, ¡°Go to the ultrasound scan room on the second floor after making your payment. Once you¡¯re done with the scan,e back here.¡± ¡°Alright, thank you, Doctor.¡± Fang En and Xiao Chenyang proceeded to make the payment at the counter. She took the chance to sprint away while Xiao Chenyang was paying up. He continued to do so unhurriedly while watching her run away, after which he picked up the receipt and left. He grabbed her by her hand before she could even reach the entrance of the hospital. Fang En made eye contact with Xiao Chenyang and chuckled awkwardly. ¡°I just wanted to use the washroom,¡± she exined. ¡°What for? You have to hold your pee in for the ultrasound scan. You may go to the washroom after you¡¯re done with the scan.¡± How is he so sure about that... Fang En was again dragged to the ultrasound scan room on the second floor. He seemed like a glowing object that would attract the attention of others no matter where he went. Hence, he took out a surgical mask from his pocket and put it on when he was upstairs, so as to draw attention away from himself. When it was Fang En¡¯s turn, she tried to stop him from entering the room with her. ¡°I¡¯ll go in by myself, you may take a look at the ultrasound scan filmter.¡± He pushed her into the room, not giving her the chance to negotiate at all. Chapter 1065 - Perplexed and Smitten (125)

Chapter 1065: Perplexed and Smitten (125)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Fang Eny on the hospital bed and stared at Xiao Chenyang with shifty eyes, feeling extremely uneasy. Due to the fact that they had entered together, the gynecologist assumed straight away that he was Fang En¡¯s boyfriend or husband and, hence, did not make him wait outside. The gynecologist lifted up Fang En¡¯s shirt and began conducting the checkup on her. After the checkup, Fang En exited with the slip while Xiao Chenyang stayed behind to ask the gynecologist, ¡°Doctor, she¡¯s not pregnant, is she?¡± ¡°No, she isn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Thank you, Doctor.¡± Fang En returned to the gynecologist¡¯s office with the ultrasound film. After taking a look at the film, the gynecologist said, ¡°All clear. There¡¯s nothing wrong with you. Let¡¯s go there for another checkup.¡± The gynecologist pointed at the other room. Fang En had never undergone a full gynecological checkup before. She entered the room next door together with the gynecologist. ¡°Lie down and remove your pants.¡± Fang En finally realized what this round of checkup was for. A look of dismay formed on her face instantly. Once I lie down, the doctor would find out that I¡¯m still a virgin, wouldn¡¯t she? ¡°Um, I don¡¯t need to get that checked.¡± As soon as she said those words, Xiao Chenyang drew the curtains open and said, ¡°Since you don¡¯t want the doctor to do the check, don¡¯t tell me... you want me to do it instead?¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Xiao Chenyang put down the curtains while Fang En allowed the gynecologist to proceed. When they came out of the room, Fang En thought that he would ask the gynecologist if she was still a virgin. To her surprise, he didn¡¯t. So much for discussing with the doctor and getting her to cover up for me beforehand! For some reason, he seemed to be in high spirits. Fang En was bewildered. She did not ask any further questions and headed to Qingyuan Estate together with him. Upon returning home, Fang En sat on the couch, appearing listless and down. Staring at Xiao Chenyang, who was as happy as ark, she asked, ¡°Is something wrong with you? Why have you been smiling like an idiot ever since we left the hospital?¡± ¡°You lied about there being someone whom you fancy, didn¡¯t you? You said that just to make me leave.¡± ¡°No. I do want you to leave, but I didn¡¯t lie about that.¡± He nodded and said, ¡°Even if it¡¯s real, so what?¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you question the doctor at the hospital?¡± ¡°Question about what?¡± ¡°What do you think I¡¯m referring to?¡± ¡°Oh... there¡¯s no need to ask her.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because I overheard your conversation with her very clearly.¡± ¡°...¡± Fang En gasped in shock and eximed, ¡°What!?!¡± He inched closer toward her and grabbed her bag, from which he retrieved a listening device. She had no idea when he had ced it inside her bag. ¡°You... you...¡± ¡°You¡¯re still a virgin. What did you expect the doctor to say? That you¡¯ve already slept with another man? Fang En, you can really lie through your teeth, can¡¯t you?¡± Fang En was at a loss for an exnation now that she was exposed. She felt as if her lips were sealed and she was incapable of speech. She was overwhelmed with dismay and frustration, because she knew that he definitely wouldn¡¯t leave now that he had found out the truth. Seemingly having guessed that she was brooding over something, Xiao Chenyang sat up straight and crossed one leg over the other. ¡°There¡¯s no point in fussing and worrying over some matters. There are some things that you can¡¯t change, no matter how hard you try. So don¡¯t bother wasting your efforts.¡± ¡°Are you really treating me like this because you care about me?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Will you give uppletely if I killed myself?¡± ¡°No, because you¡¯ll reincarnate again.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a loony...¡± ¡°You¡¯d better hide your crush from me. Otherwise, he¡¯ll be in trouble if I find out who he is,¡± said Xiao Chenyang, keeping his eyes fixed on her. Fang En stared deep into his eyes and had a moment of epiphany. She realized that there was no way to make him leave unless he wanted to do so himself. If Xiao Chenyang finds out that Yan Ge is the person I fancy, I¡¯d only be getting Yan Ge implicated. ¡°Let¡¯s live in harmony.¡± ¡°How?¡± he asked with raised brows. ¡°I¡¯ll let you continue staying here as my bodyguard, but we have to make an agreement.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to agree to let you get married, have children, or have a rtionship.¡± ¡°I knew you would say that. There are three terms to the agreement. Firstly, even if you find out who I like, you¡¯re not toy a finger on him. Secondly, you¡¯re not allowed to get touchy-feely with me and you¡¯re to refrain from making physical contact with me. Thirdly...¡± Before she could even finish, Xiao Chenyang interrupted, ¡°Those are separate issues. I¡¯ll agree to your first term and you must promise to live with me harmoniously. Otherwise, there¡¯s no need to make an agreement.¡± Fang En had been passive throughout the negotiation. She had no choice but to concede. ¡°By the way, someone who was posing as your brother dropped by for a visit some time ago. I told Xiaoning about it too.¡± Xiao Chenyang squinted and asked, ¡°Someone who posed as my brother?¡± ¡°Yeah...¡± Fang En recounted the incident that night and exined it to him in detail. She then said, ¡°Sis told me to tell you not to look him up because of this matter. If not, he¡¯ll know that I was the one who told you about it because he told me to keep it from you before he left that night.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± ¡°Where have you been for the past few days?¡± ¡°I went to settle something important. I¡¯ll be leaving again tomorrow.¡± Fang En asked, ¡°Why did youe back today, then?¡± ¡°Obviously because I¡¯m worried about you. Do you have any idea how upset you made me earlier today? You¡¯re really skilled at making me angry.¡± Fang En felt a little embarrassed at the thought of what she had said to him before. At the same time, she was reminded of the two-week agreement that she had with Yan Ge, and a sullen expression formed on her face instantly. ¡ª ¡°Mo Li, there¡¯s something that I should¡¯ve told you about since this morning. However, I didn¡¯t know how to put it across to you because I had no clue about what happened. We spent the entire morning searching for leads and we finally have a clue now. Hence, I decided to tell you.¡± Noticing the austere expression on her face, Mo Li asked worriedly, ¡°Xiaoning, did something happen?¡± ¡°Yes, No. 8 has gone missing.¡± Mo Li¡¯s face stiffened and she clutched her chest in shock. ¡°What! No. 8 has gone missing!?!¡± ¡°Yes, I found out about it this morning, and I finally found some clues after investigating for the entire morning. Has No. 8 ever told you anything about Y Nation?¡± Shaking her head, Mo Li answered, ¡°He never did.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve found out that he was abducted by Princess Nicole of Y Nation. She¡¯s Byron¡¯s cousin and the only daughter that her parents have. She¡¯s extremely spoiled and pampered. I have no idea why she abducted No. 8, though.¡± ¡°Xiaoning, you must help me save No. 8,¡± said Mo Li, who had turned as pale as a sheet. ¡°Of course, I¡¯m not going to sit back and do nothing. No matter what, I¡¯m going to do my best to bring him home,¡± said An Xiaoning, who was trying to cate her feelings. Mo Li nodded, and tears welled up in her eyes. Chapter 1066 - Perplexed and Smitten (126)

Chapter 1066: Perplexed and Smitten (126)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning felt nothing but empathy for her. She hugged her gently and patted her on her back. ¡°This Nicole spent a lot of money to abduct him. I doubt she¡¯s going to kill him immediately. If she¡¯s really after No. 8¡¯s life, she would have gotten her henchmen to kill him the moment they abducted himst night. She wouldn¡¯t have gone to such great lengths to take him overseas. We can hence deduce that No. 8 is safe for now.¡± Her words had managed to give Mo Li some reassurance. ¡°Xiaoning, how do you n to save No. 8? Wouldn¡¯t it be harder tomunicate with them since she¡¯s a royal?¡± ¡°It¡¯d indeed be difficult to negotiate with her, but so what if she¡¯s royalty? Does her status give her the right to abduct others? I¡¯ll think of a way to intervene. Aren¡¯t you and No. 8 nning to get married? Have you registered your marriage yet?¡± ¡°Not yet, we¡¯ve been nning to register ittely.¡± An Xiaoning left Mo Li¡¯s apartment and returned home. After much consideration, she decided to ask Byron for Nicole¡¯s number and beganmunicating with her. If themunication was to fail, she would have no choice but to make a trip to Y Nation. She briefly exined the situation to Byron, who immediately sent her Nicole¡¯s email address and mobile number. An Xiaoning decided to try calling her first. The call went through sessfully. ¡°Who¡¯s speaking?¡± a woman answered sluggishly. An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Are you Her Highness, Nicole?¡± ¡°Yes, who are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m An Xiaoning.¡± After a moment of silence, Nicole asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°What do you think? You abducted my bodyguard.¡± ¡°What evidence do you have to use me of that?¡± ¡°If I didn¡¯t have any evidence, I wouldn¡¯t have looked for you. Return my bodyguard to me and I¡¯ll pretend that nothing has happened. If not, I¡¯ll have no choice but to visit you personally in Y Nation.¡± ¡°Since you¡¯ve said that, I¡¯ll have to have a chat with you, then. Your bodyguard tried to assassinate me four years ago, and I have sufficient evidence to prove that he was the one, be it photos or the fingerprints he had left behind. There¡¯s no way to deny that. Am I wrong to have spent a hefty sum of money to abduct him? Ms. An, would you like for him to die or to stay alive? If you want him to stay alive, then stay out of this. If you want him to die, you may try intervening. I¡¯ll have no choice but to hand him over to the court and have him be punished by thew here. Attempting to assassinate a royal warrants a death sentence. What¡¯s your decision?¡± An Xiaoning remained silent. The situation turned out to be trickier than she had imagined. Assassinating a royal and leaving behind his thumbprints were indeed serious crimes. ¡°From the way I see it, you were not nning to hand him over to thew when you abducted him. Could you tell me your reason?¡± ¡°That... is my personal matter. I can¡¯t divulge.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll contact you again.¡± An Xiaoning ended the call. She told Fan Shixin to get Sister Zhang¡¯s mobile number from the Flying Tigers, after which she called Sister Zhang and asked, ¡°Did No. 8 try to assassinate a member of the royal family of Y Nation, four years ago?¡± ¡°How did you know?¡± ¡°He was taken away by the person whom he had attempted to assassinate. How do you think I found out?¡± said An Xiaoning. Sister Zhang gasped and said, ¡°It¡¯s over for him this time. Although he was just on a mission and was following orders, they definitely wouldn¡¯t let him off now that he¡¯s been caught.¡± An Xiaoning ended the call without saying another word. ¡°Sis, No. 8 was taken away by the princess of Y Nation. Is anything going to happen to him?¡± No. 5 asked cautiously. An Xiaoning looked at him and the other bodyguards before answering, ¡°Four years ago, No. 8 tried to assassinate Princess Nicole when he was on a mission. They have his photos and his fingerprints that he had left behind. Princess Nicole said that I would have to stay out of this if I want him to live. If I intervene, she will hand him over to thew.¡± ¡°What do we do, then? We¡¯re in such a difficult position,¡± said No. 5, who was filled with panic and anxiety. ¡°Let me think about it. There¡¯ll definitely be a way out.¡± However, she was extremely uncertain and lost deep down. After all, Princess Nicole had sufficient evidence against No. 8, and there was no way to justify his actions. ¡ª A City was a captivating city that came alive at night. It had a beautiful and picturesque skyline. Fang En stood on the rooftop of her apartment and stared at the breathtaking view before her, an almost-empty can of beer in her hands. She really did not want to go home to sleep, despite feeling a little weary. It was already past nine o¡¯clock in the evening, and she had no choice but to return to her apartment on the sixth floor. To her astonishment, she was greeted with the strong odor of alcohol the moment she stepped foot inside the apartment. Xiao Chenyang was chugging some liquor, despite already being drunk. ¡°Hey, why are you drinking so much?¡± she asked. She stepped forward and snatched the bottle of liquor away from him. She ced the bottle onto the table and said, ¡°Why are you drinking so much? Are you tired of living?¡± ¡°That won¡¯t kill me,¡± he answered in a drunken stupor. ¡°Go to bed. Don¡¯t you still have to travel tomorrow?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t get up, give me a hand.¡± ¡°Sleep on the couch if you can¡¯t get up.¡± She turned around and headed inside the bedroom. She grabbed a set of pajamas and proceeded to take a shower. By the time she was done, he was already sitting on the bed. As soon as Fang En walked toward him, he hugged her waist, giving her a great shock. ¡°What are you doing!?!¡± ¡°Nan Chuang.¡± Nan Chuang? That was the exact same name he gave at the hospital. I thought it was just a casual name that he had made up, yet he¡¯s calling it out loud again. Did he mistake me for someone else? Just as she was pondering over it, he again called, ¡°Nan Chuang.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not Nan Chuang,¡± said Fang En, who then pushed him away with all her might, causing him to fall back onto the bed, perhaps because he was on the brink of losing his consciousness. Fang En adjusted his body into afortable position while shey beside him. Her initial weariness had now vanished without a trace. Fang En began to wonder if she resembled Nan Chuang and if that was the reason he had mistaken her for that other woman. Will he leave once we clear the misunderstanding? But he clearly knows my name. He knows my name is not Nan Chuang. Could it be... She could not help but rack her brains for an answer. Despite knowing that we¡¯re two separate individuals who look alike, he still... Is he out of his mind? Xiao Chenyang had a good night¡¯s sleep while Fang En suffered from insomnia for the rest of the night. He rmed her when he woke up in the morning. ¡°Who¡¯s Nan Chuang?¡± she asked. Xiao Chenyang asked in shock, ¡°Why would you ask such a question?¡± ¡°Because you used that name when we were at the hospital and you even called that name out loudst night. Hence, I want to know who that is.¡± ¡°You really want to know?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s not the right time to tell you yet,¡± Xiao Chenyang refused. In fact, he simply did not want her to feel burdened by what happened in their past lives and he wanted her to fall in love with him once more while she still had no memory of the previous lifetime. He nned to only tell her about their previous lifetime after she falls in love with him again. Fang En asked, ¡°She must be the woman whom you love the most, right? Do I resemble her greatly? Has she passed away? Is that why you¡¯re treating me like I¡¯m her? Did I guess correctly?¡± Chapter 1067 - Perplexed and Smitten (127)

Chapter 1067: Perplexed and Smitten (127)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xiao Chenyang answered, ¡°No, you don¡¯t look like her at all. I¡¯ll go fix breakfast.¡± Fang En leaned against the headboard and wondered to herself, Do I really not look like her at all? I can¡¯t figure this out. Whatever, I¡¯ll stop thinking about it. During breakfast, she asked, ¡°When are you nning toe back again after you leave this time? Give me some time to prepare myself mentally.¡± ¡°What mental preparation do you need?¡± he asked, sipping on some milk slowly. ¡°I want to know when you¡¯reing back again after leaving today.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t give you an exact date.¡± ¡°Forget it, then.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª ¡°Here, Yiheng,¡± said Wen Yuechan, handing him a bag of snacks. ¡°I¡¯m not having any. You may keep it for yourself.¡± She grabbed some of the snacks and ced it in his hands. ¡°It¡¯s delicious, give it a try.¡± He agreed with a nod, ¡°Alright.¡± Wen Yuechan scanned her surroundings to make sure that Long Xiaoxi was not around. ¡°Yiheng, I¡¯d like to apologize to you.¡± ¡°Apologize to me? Why?¡± ¡°I was too insensible in the past and made you dislike ying with me. You¡¯ll forgive me, won¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Sure!¡± he answered with a smile. ¡°Yiheng, I really enjoy ying with you,¡± she said, staring at him intently. ¡°Let¡¯s all y together from now on, then,¡± Jin Yiheng said straightforwardly. After all, he was still a child. As soon as he finished speaking, the image of an exasperated Long Xiaoxi popped up in his head. He was well aware that she was at odds with Wen Yuechan. Wen Yuechan eximed, ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± ¡°But... could you get along properly with Xiaoxi? Don¡¯t get angry and bicker with each other anymore. Xiaoxi is younger than you. Do try and give in more to her, even when she¡¯s at fault.¡± Wen Yuechan was extremely disgruntled to hear his words. Why must I give in to Long Xiaoxi? She¡¯s not that much younger, she thought to herself. However, she knew not to show her displeasure. Instead, she said, ¡°Of course I will. Yiheng, I actually really want to bury the hatchet with Xiaoxi. However, she doesn¡¯t seem too keen on ying with me. Do you know of any ways to make her y with me?¡± ¡°Mm... let¡¯s go find her together. I¡¯ll tell you what to do.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Long Xiaoxi was sitting in the ssroom at the moment and waiting for her lesson to begin in ten minutes¡¯ time. She was initially ted to see Jin Yiheng. However, she instantly had a shift in mood and pulled a long face the moment she saw Wen Yuechan behind him. ¡°Xiaoxi.¡± ¡°Yes? What do you want?¡± she answered, fiddling with her pencil. ¡°Yuechan says that she¡¯d like to y with you and everyone else from now on.¡± Long Xiaoxi flew into a rage upon seeing how happy he seemed. She remarked in disdain, ¡°I¡¯m not going to y with her. Go y with her by yourself if you want. Don¡¯t get me involved.¡± The smile on Jin Yiheng¡¯s face vanished and he chided, ¡°She took the initiative to ask you to y together. Why have you got such an attitude?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you know that I really detest her? Why do you have to force me to y with her? You¡¯re bing biased toward her again. Just what benefits did she offer you!?!¡± Jin Yiheng did not say anything further and turned around... to leave... Long Xiaoxi watched as Wen Yuechan left together with Jin Yiheng. She then turned to re at Ji Gui, who was staring at them. ¡°I¡¯ll gouge your eyes out if you continue staring,¡± she warned. Ji Gui hurriedly looked away while Jin Rongyan said to the teary-eyed Long Xiaoxi, ¡°Xiaoxi, don¡¯t cry.¡± ¡°Who said I was crying? I won¡¯t cry,¡± said Long Xiaoxi while wiping her tears away. ¡°Xiaoxi, don¡¯t cry, I¡¯ll take you to buy some tasty food, alright?¡± ¡°But ss is starting soon.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, we can just y truant.¡± ¡°...¡± There were only three people in their ss, and thus, Ji Gui was left alone in the ssroom after the two of them decided to skip ss. When the teacher discovered that he was the only one in ss, she asked, ¡°Where did the two of them go?¡± ¡°Teacher, they went on a date at the mini mart.¡± ¡°What? They¡¯re still so young and yet they¡¯ve learned how to date like adults!?!¡± the teacher eximed in bewilderment. She then stormed out of the ssroom in a huff. Ji Gui chuckled and sat alone in the ssroom, thrilled and overjoyed. Not long after, the two children returned, but not with the teacher. ¡°Teacher went to look for the two of you. Didn¡¯t you guys see her?¡± ¡°She was looking for us? What for?¡± Jin Rongyan asked. ¡°I told her that you two had gone on a date to the mini mart...¡± Ji Gui immediately covered his mouth upon realizing that he had said something inappropriate. ¡°Dummy... lie there,¡± Long Xiaoxi said, pointing at the chair. ¡°Xiaoxi, I was wrong...¡± ¡°Lie there.¡± Ji Guiy there slowly while Long Xiaoxi raised her chubby hand to smack him on his buttocks. At the same time, she rebuked, ¡°Who taught you to spout nonsense at such a young age!?!¡± Although her beating did not hurt at all, Ji Gui still had to pretend to be in pain and beg for her mercy, because that was the only way to make her stop. She then handed him a piece of candy and said, ¡°Here, Rongyan and I bought this for you.¡± Ji Gui took it from her hands and unwrapped the wrapper of the candy while asking, ¡°Is this a gift for your wedding?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª ¡°He was abducted to Y Nation because he tried to assassinate Princess Nicole of Y Nation four years ago, during which he left his fingerprints behind and was captured by their surveince cameras. Due to the fact that No. 8 didn¡¯t have a proper identity back then, it was difficult for them to find him. Things are very tricky andplicated...¡± ¡°The princess also said that she would hand him over to thew if I were to intervene. It seems she¡¯ll leave him alone if I don¡¯t. However, if I do, he¡¯ll very likely face a death sentence...¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s words rang in Mo Li¡¯s ears as she recalled them repeatedly. Again and again. She sat on the couch for a long time; all her tears had already dried up. I finally attained my happiness. Why... why must Heaven take it away from me again? Needless to say, Mo Li wanted him to stay alive and well. However, she also wanted him to return to her side. Mo Li held her hands together and ced them on her forehead, overwhelmed with misery and agony. And yet, there was nothing she could do. The doorbell began to ring. Mo Li wiped her eyes and stood up from the couch to answer the door. It was her mother. Mo Li had already told her about the situation over the phone. Noticing the tears in her eyes, Mrs. Mo asked worriedly, ¡°Mo Li, just what¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Mother, Yun Chen was taken away by a member of the royal family of another nation...¡± ¡°What do we do, then? Is there a way to bring him back?¡± Mo Li repeated An Xiaoning¡¯s words to her mother, after which Mrs. Mo let out a sigh of agony and said, ¡°What are we supposed to do? Mo Li, why don¡¯t you just forget it?¡± ¡°Mother, what do you mean ¡®just forget it¡¯?¡± ¡°He used to be a hitman, and he has definitely offended plenty of people. You¡¯ll only be putting yourself at risk by staying with him. What are your father and I going to do if his enemies were to abduct you one day?¡± Mo Li knew that her mother had a point. However, she could not bring herself to just give up. She had been living each day in bliss ever since she got into a rtionship with him, and she felt like she¡¯d had a fresh start in life. Chapter 1068 - Perplexed and Smitten (128)

Chapter 1068: Perplexed and Smitten (128)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She had long ago prepared to spend the rest of her life together with him. At this juncture wherein he needed her most, she could not give up on him and surrender. Even if she could not do much for him, she would not give up. ¡°Mother, don¡¯t say such things again from now on.¡± ¡°You silly child. I know Yun Chen is a good man who treats you well. However, regardless of how well he treats you, he can¡¯t protect you. He can¡¯t even protect himself. How is he going to be responsible for your future together? You two aren¡¯t married yet anyway. I¡¯m sure you¡¯d want him to be alive and well. What can you do when even Ms. An is at a loss for a solution?¡± ¡°I... I want to save him.¡± ¡°Mo Li, stop spouting such nonsense. Unlike Ms. An, you¡¯re not skilled in martial arts. You¡¯ll only be sending yourself on a path toward death if you go there. That¡¯s another nation. Besides, that princess is Byron¡¯s cousin. If Byron sees you overseas, I¡¯m afraid he¡¯ll...¡± ¡°Things were over between me and Byron long ago. We no longer have anything to do with each other. He probably wouldn¡¯t do anything to me. After all, he¡¯s on good terms with Brother Qingyan. Nothing will change even if I sit here and wait. I might as well give it a try,¡± said Mo Li, who felt like there was no point in waiting aimlessly. ¡°Do discuss this with Ms. An. She¡¯s more resourceful than you are. You mustn¡¯t go alone, no matter what. Over my dead body will I allow you to go on your own.¡± Knowing that her mother was worried, Mo Li said, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll talk to her about it.¡± However, An Xiaoning turned her down after hearing her idea. ¡°No!¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough, I¡¯ll think of a way to handle this. You don¡¯t have to think about the rest anymore. Wait for my news at home.¡± ¡°I know I don¡¯t have the ability to save him, but I still want to.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t let you go. You¡¯ll be caught easily if you go. By then, No. 8 won¡¯t be the only one in trouble. We¡¯ll have to save even you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just wait for your news, then,¡± Mo Li said with a look of dejection. .... After she left, An Xiaoning called Princess Nicole again. Nicole said nonchntly over the phone, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Ms. An, is there anything you still don¡¯t understand?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t youy your conditions? Let him go and I¡¯ll do my best to fulfill all your requests, as long as they¡¯re within my means.¡± Nicole guffawed sarcastically and sneered, ¡°Hah... I didn¡¯t expect a bodyguard to be of this much importance to you, Ms. An. Well, I¡¯m sorry, but I have everything that you have. There¡¯s nothing I want from you in exchange. Ms. An, you have so many bodyguards. What¡¯s the big deal about losing one? Is there really a need to cause such a stir?¡± ¡°He¡¯s my bodyguard, I obviously have to save him. Although he belonged to someone else before I bought him, I still think you should focus your attention on the person who directed him to kill you, Your Highness. Or perhaps you should find out why the mastermind wanted to kill you... what¡¯s the point of abducting a helpless man?¡± ¡°That¡¯s my business, you don¡¯t have to poke your nose into it. I just want to make him stay by my side. I won¡¯t be nice if you continue trying to intervene.¡± An Xiaoning said coldly, ¡°Don¡¯t be too quick to give me an ultimatum, Your Highness. You¡¯re merely a princess of the extended royal family. It¡¯s better to give yourself some leeway. A bodyguard¡¯s life may not be that important to you, but I believe you¡¯re well aware of how important your life is to yourself.¡± ¡°You dare to threaten me?¡± ¡°Someone has to suffer the consequences if I don¡¯t get who I want or if I don¡¯t get what I want to get. If I don¡¯t see him in three days, you¡¯ll find out whether or not I meant what I said.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, she ended the call and ced her mobile phone aside. Fan Shixin said, ¡°Young Madam, if she refuses to budge or give in to your threats, are you really...¡± ¡°Did you think I was making an empty threat?¡± ¡°If your threat didn¡¯t work and instead provoked her to the point of killing No. 8...¡± ¡°We can only say that that¡¯s No. 8¡¯s fate, then.¡± ¡°...¡± She got up from the couch and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go take a nap. Knock on my door and wake me up at 1:30.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Feeling weary and exhausted, An Xiaoningy in bed and soon drifted off to dreand. This time, her dream was different from the ones that she had before. This time, she didn¡¯t take part in the events of the dream and was instead watching the scenes y out as a bystander. She was just like a ghost that appeared amongst the crowd. She felt like she was watching a movie through the big screen. The female lead was another form of herself. An Xiaoning could not figure out why she had be a bystander again. She walked toward the door and stared at the world outside, only to find that it felt extremely foreign and unfamiliar. She turned around and tried to speak, but to no avail. The area seemed to be somewhere inside the pce. The other form of herself, Hua Jin, was sitting on a round table and remaining still with a straight face, as if her soul had left her body. The door began to creak, and Xihou Jiaping, who was dressed in the emperor¡¯s robe, stood by the door. Hua Jin maintained herposure, as if she did not hear him at all. ¡°Are you that upset with staying here?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already issued an edict today to raid the Prince¡¯s residence. Xihou Ling dared not even show up, and he chose to give up his residence for the sake of his own life. He chose to give you up too. You won¡¯t be happy if you¡¯re in a rtionship with him!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Hua Jin, do you really think nothing is going to happen as long as you stay quiet?¡± He stepped forward and grabbed her chin to force her to look at him. To his disappointment, she didn¡¯t even bother looking him in the eye. Xihou Jiaping flew into a rage and pushed her aside. ¡°You foolish woman who doesn¡¯t know any better!¡± Hua Jin fell onto the ground and remained still as ever, as if she was just a soulless zombie, devoid of any feelings or emotions. He zoomed out of the door and said, ¡°Eunuch Shuan.¡± A delicate voice answered, ¡°I¡¯m here. Your Majesty, do you have any orders for me?¡± The chubby eunuch then entered. ¡°Pass my edict down to everyone and start raiding Xihou Ling¡¯s residence immediately. Order Yin Aiqing to suppress all their souls and never let them reincarnate!¡± Hua Jin finally broke out of her deadpan expression and got up from the ground slowly, quivering from head to toe. She looked down and pulled up her sleeve to gaze at the jade bangle on her wrist. Her teardropsnded on the bangle, drop by drop. ¡°You once said that unless you¡¯re dead, you won¡¯t leave your people in the lurch, be it your bodyguard, your servant, or your woman... if you¡¯re no longer around, what¡¯s the point of me living...¡± she murmured. An Xiaoning watched as Hua Jin stood up and staggered toward the window. Although An Xiaoning had already found out beforehand that her previous incarnation jumped to her death, she could not help but feel her emotions getting out of control when she witnessed it with her very own eyes. She tried to stop Hua Jin, only to realize that her hands would simply pass through thetter¡¯s body. At this very moment, it dawned on her that this ce was probably the alleged balcony. Chapter 1069 - Perplexed and Smitten (129)

Chapter 1069: Perplexed and Smitten (129)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning¡¯s vision began to get blurry as she stood by the window and stared at the pair of floral embroidered shoes on the window ledge. Tears welled up in her eyes within just seconds. It was as short as the time Hua Jin took to jump off the balcony. She did not seem to have hesitated at all. The moment her feet were off the ledge, her body plunged downward immediately. An Xiaoning craned her neck to take a look at Hua Jin, who was suspended in mid-air. Her hair essories had all fallen off her head, causing her long, ck hair to sway and dance in the breeze. She seemed to have painted a beautiful painting in the air. She finally thumped onto the ground and shattered into bits. An Xiaoning wiped her tears away and stared nkly at the ground. Due to the fact that the balcony was about eight or nine floors above the ground, she could not get a crystal-clear view of the scene below. However, she could still manage to see Xihou Jiaping walking toward the motionless corpse. An Xiaoning opened her eyes again to find that they were hurting. She got out of bed to go to the bathroom, where she looked into the mirror. The sheer redness of her eyes gave her a huge shock. Recalling the scenes that took ce in her dream, she turned on the faucet and quickly washed her face with a heavy heart. She recalled the words that Hua Jin had said in her dream. ¡°You once said that unless you¡¯re dead, you won¡¯t leave your people in the lurch, be it your bodyguard, your servant, or your woman... if you¡¯re no longer around, what¡¯s the point of me living...¡± She zoomed out of the washroom to grab some of her necessary belongings, ced them into her backpack, and rushed downstairs. Noticing that she seemed to be in a rush, Fan Shixin said, ¡°Young Madam, it¡¯s not 1:30 yet.¡± ¡°Get the jet ready, I must fly to Y Nation immediately.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Fan Shixin had no idea why she was acting out of the ordinary all of a sudden. He immediately contacted the pilot and drove the car over to the mansion. An Xiaoning got inside the car and made her way to the airport that was merely a stone¡¯s throw away. ¡°Young Madam, why are your eyes so red?¡± ¡°I¡¯m alright.¡± ¡°Young Madam, weren¡¯t you nning to wait for Princess Nicole...¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid that she¡¯ll really kill No. 8 in a moment of pique. We can¡¯t afford to take that risk. Nothing will matter anymore if he¡¯s dead. When that happens, what¡¯s the point of doing anything to Nicole? There would be no way to bring him back to life.¡± ¡°Young Madam, I¡¯m really touched by how much you value your bodyguards.¡± An Xiaoning looked at him and said, ¡°If you were the one who got abducted to Y Nation, I believe Qingyan would do the same to save you.¡± ¡°Young Madam, are you sure?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m very certain.¡± He smiled and asked, ¡°How many bodyguards are you taking with you?¡± ¡°None, I¡¯m going alone.¡± ¡°Young Madam, I don¡¯t feel safe letting you go alone.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be fine, I have this. The more I use it, the more l love it,¡± she said, showing him the human skin mask. ¡°I almost forgot. That¡¯s one of your mighty treasures.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll use it whenever necessary.¡± Within minutes, the car arrived at the airport. There was already a jet waiting for her, its doors open. An Xiaoning alighted from the car with her backpack and walked up the stairs to make her way inside the cabin. Shortly after she boarded the ne, it began to take off. An Xiaoning sat by the window and stared at the ground, which became farther and farther away as the ne ascended. Regardless of what may happen in Y Nation, will I regret my decision? Her inner voice continuously told her that she would never regret it. Meanwhile, it was alreadyte at night in Y Nation. The sky was pitch dark, and the streetmps were glowing along the streets where humans were scarce. She arrived at a territory where the royal family resided. She checked the address that Fan Shixin had sent to her mobile phone and verified that she was in the right ce. To her knowledge, Nicole had quite a few bodyguards, despite being a member of Byron¡¯s extended family. However, she probably did not have too many of them either. After all, she was just an extended family member. An Xiaoning entered Nicole¡¯s castle. She sessfully managed to escape the infrared beams and then dodged the surveince cameras. After scrutinizing her surroundings carefully, An Xiaoning hid behind a tree that was near the entrance of the castle and caught sight of the two bodyguards who were standing by the door. An idea came to her mind, and she took out two nk sheets of yellow-colored paper from her bag and swiftly chanted a spell. In no time, the two pieces of paper in her hand drifted toward the bodyguards. ¡°Quick, take a look at what that is.¡± ¡°That¡¯s...¡± The bodyguards watched as the pieces of paper drifted toward them slowly. Instead of running away, they tried to grasp the paper with their hands. However, the more they tried to do so, the higher the paper soared before plunging again. Feeling intrigued, they began chasing the pieces of paper in a bid to grab them. As a result, they slowly began moving farther and farther away from the door. An Xiaoning took the chance to cut the wires on the wall and sped into the castle with her night vision goggles on. She spected that Nicole¡¯s bedroom would be upstairs. Hence, it was necessary to go upstairs. As soon as she did, someone exited from one of the doors with a torchlight. An Xiaoning stood in a corner and took a look, only to discover that it was a woman who appeared to be in her twenties. The woman was rushing downstairs. From the way she was dressed, she did not seem to be Nicole. An Xiaoning walked toward the room that the woman had exited and looked inside to see that it was rather simply built, although the decor wasvish. She could tell that it was a servant¡¯s room. Only servants who were on good terms with their masters would get to live in the same house as them. Although An Xiaoning dared not make any assumptions or jump to conclusions, she was rather certain that her guess was correct. Hence, she quickly entered the room instead of hiding. Soon, the woman returned. As soon as she closed the door, An Xiaoning put a gun to her head. ¡°I¡¯ll kill you immediately if you dare make a single sound.¡± Paralyzed by fear, the woman turned to look at An Xiaoning and spluttered in a quivering voice, ¡°I... I... won¡¯t... make a single sound... please don¡¯t kill me.¡± ¡°Come here.¡± An Xiaoning walked toward the bed and said, ¡°Sit down.¡± The woman sat down as instructed, not daring to move an inch. ¡°Which room does Nicole live in?¡± ¡°She lives on the third floor.¡± ¡°How dare you lie to me?¡± An Xiaoning said subconsciously. ¡°She really lives on the third floor, I wouldn¡¯t dare to lie to you.¡± ¡°If I find out that she doesn¡¯t, I¡¯lle back and kill you.¡± The woman frantically said, ¡°Her Highness is not home. She went out to attend a cocktail party and isn¡¯t home at the moment.¡± ¡°Where is that man whom she had abducted from S Nation?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°You¡¯re by her side all the time, how could you not know?¡± An Xiaoning let out a sinisterughter and warned, ¡°Must I shoot you to make you tell me the answer?¡± ¡°Her Highness is a very paranoid and vignt person. I may be her maid who¡¯s at her beck and call but she doesn¡¯t trust mepletely. She only ever brings the bodyguards out with her. No one else is allowed to tag along. Besides, she won¡¯t tell me the things that she doesn¡¯t want me to know. I¡¯m telling you the truth. I don¡¯t want to die, please don¡¯t kill me. I really have no idea where that man is locked up in.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the password to her room?¡± The ordinary rooms were usually not locked with biometric lock systems and instead were locked password-encrypted ones. Princesses like her who needed to be served would definitely not open the door every single time the servants deliver something to her. Chapter 1070 - Perplexed and Smitten (130)

Chapter 1070: Perplexed and Smitten (130)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°875689.¡± An Xiaoning immediately knocked her unconscious, after which she took out a thin rope from her bag and tied the woman up before also stuffing her mouth with a piece of cloth to prevent her from bing a hindrance once shees to. An Xiaoning made her way to the third floor and took a nce at the doors. She decided to try and unlock every single one with the password. Lady Luck seemed to be smiling on her and she managed to unlock the first door that she tried. She looked inside and discovered that it was indeed Nicole¡¯s room. Thinking that she did not have too much time left, An Xiaoning closed the door and hurriedly searched the room for any surveince cameras. As expected, she found one. She snapped the camera and prepared to hide in the dressing room. At this very moment, the electricity was restored. The sudden brightness made her eyes feel ufortable. Her sense of vision was attacked. To her astonishment, the entire room was pink in color. Women who fancied pink to such an extent were usually teenagers at heart. However, it¡¯s such a waste of electricity to keep the lights on in her bedroom even when she was away from home. Or did she do that in order for the surveince cameras to capture everything clearly? An Xiaoning rummaged through Nicole¡¯s belongings and found a portrait sketch in her drawer. It was a portrait of No. 8. An Xiaoning picked it up to take a closer look before cing it back inside the drawer. As soon as she closed the drawer, she heard the sounds of footsteps approaching from outside the door. She entered the dressing room where there were numerous clothes racks and hangers that were full of clothes. She would easily go unnoticed by standing behind a random rack. As soon as she got into her hiding spot, she heard the door being pushed open and a woman speaking in a drunken stupor. ¡°I¡¯m dead beat...¡± ¡°Your Highness, would you like to have some hangover broth?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m tired. I want to sleep. Close the door and get lost!¡± ¡°Yes, yes, yes. Your Highness, I¡¯ll get lost right now.¡± A silence filled the room the instant the door was closed. An Xiaoning waited quietly for a while. More than ten minutester, she came out of the dressing room to see that the fast-asleep Nicole was lying on the bed and snoring loudly with her eyes tightly shut. Despite standing at a distance away, An Xiaoning could smell the odor of alcohol that was reeking from Nicole. Clearly, she had a drop too much tonight. It gave An Xiaoning a splendid opportunity. In the darkness of the room, Nicole went to bed without even removing her clothes. An Xiaoning stood by the bed and began hypnotizing Nicole. She could not think of a better solution. Although it meant that she would be offending the entire royal family of Y Nation, she had no choice but to resort to such means in order to rescue No. 8. She did try to negotiate, but Nicole was the one who refused to give in. Wasn¡¯t that the case? After getting the answer she needed via hypnosis, An Xiaoning stripped Nicole down to nothing and took several photos of her bare body. She then put the clothes back onto Nicole before looking for a piece of paper and a pen to write a deration letter. She woke Nicole up once she verified that no stone had been left unturned. Nicole had yet to sober up and was still in a drunken stupor. Staring at the stranger in front of her, Nicole questioned, ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°Sign your name here. Otherwise, I¡¯ll kill you.¡± Seemingly having recognized her voice, Nicole said, ¡°An Xiaoning?¡± ¡°Hurry up.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not signing it. Beat me up if you dare. You won¡¯t be able to escape even if you kill me,¡± said Nicole, who was supporting herself with her hands behind her while staring at An Xiaoning. ¡°If you refuse to sign it, don¡¯t me me for sharing these photos online for the viewing pleasure of the public,¡± said An Xiaoning, deliberately showing Nicole the nude photos that she had just taken. A sullen expression formed on Nicole¡¯s face the moment she saw the photos. ¡°You... how dare you take those photos of me...?¡± ¡°Are you going to sign it or not? Once you sign this deration, I¡¯ll delete these photos in front of you. Let me take my bodyguard away and you¡¯ll get to keep your life and your dignity. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for being nasty.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say... say that you¡¯d be giving me three days to send him back...¡± ¡°I thought about it carefully and decided that I couldn¡¯t afford to wait any longer. I¡¯m asking you once more. Are you going to sign it or not? If you¡¯re not going to, I¡¯ll publish these photos right now. Princess Nicole, I¡¯m not going to be gracious and kind to you just because you¡¯re a woman. Think about it carefully. Do you want your pride and your life, or do you want something else...¡± She nodded with her eyes ssed over and said, ¡°You¡¯re really something. I¡¯ll sign it.¡± She picked up the pen and skimmed through the terms that An Xiaoning had written on the paper before signing her name slowly. ¡°Stamp your thumbprint onto it too,¡± said An Xiaoning, handing her the red ink pad. ¡°You¡¯ve really prepared everything, haven¡¯t you?¡± Nicole said while stamping her thumbprint onto the paper. ¡°Of course, it¡¯s better to be safe than sorry.¡± She stowed the signed document away in her bag and asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you yell for help?¡± ¡°There are surveince cameras in my room and all around the house. I wonder if you¡¯re aware of that, Ms. An?¡± ¡°I found out when I entered. Hence, I¡¯ve already destroyed them.¡± A look of shock and dismay formed on Nicole¡¯s face upon hearing her answer. Just as she was about to yell, An Xiaoning covered her mouth. She then tied Nicole up tightly with some ropes and stuffed somethnig into her mouth. ¡°Did you think I would give you the chance to retain any evidence against me? Dream on.¡± An Xiaoning then deleted the nude photos of Nicole and showed it to her. ¡°I¡¯ve honored my word and deleted all of your photos. You¡¯ve seen it for yourself too.¡± An Xiaoning then removed her shoes and slipped her hand below the headboard of the bed. She fumbled about and found a button. The moment a crack opened, a look of astonishment formed in Nicole¡¯s eyes, for she was the only person who knew about the secret basement. She had even killed the person who constructed the basement for her back then. Just how did this An Xiaoning find out? An Xiaoning dived in without even looking at Nicole. The basement was brightly lit, and An Xiaoning shifted her gaze onto No. 8, who was suspended in the air by ropes. Due to the fact that he had suffered severe beatings, all his clothes had be tattered, torn, and stained with blood. He seemed to have passed out and was motionless. An Xiaoning took hold of the rope and swiftly lowered him down onto the ground. ¡°No. 8?¡± She stuck a finger beneath his nose to test if he was breathing. Fortunately, he was still alive. An Xiaoning released him from the ropes and carried him out of the basement. Once they were outside, An Xiaoning ced him onto the bed, causing Nicole¡¯s bedsheets to be stained with blood. Nicole tried to yell at her to no avail, for her voice was muffled. ¡°Shut the hell up!¡± Fuming with exasperation, An Xiaoning desperately needed an outlet to vent her anger and thus decided to take it out on Nicole by giving her a hard p across her face. Nicole fell onto the bed and tried to struggle with all her might, as if she were a giant caterpir that was only capable of wiggling. An Xiaoning could not be bothered to deal with Nicole at the moment. She was racking her brains for a way to bring No. 8 out of the castle safely. Given their jarring difference in height, it was not quite realistic or feasible for her to piggyback him out of the castle. However, it would be way too slow if she were to just hold onto his arm and support his weight. Hence, she must think of another solution in order to leave. The quick-witted An Xiaoning decided to look through Nicole¡¯s mobile phone, only to discover that her text message history was empty. However, she also found that Nicole had made numerous calls. Thus, she deduced that sending a text message was not a feasible option, for it did not conform to Nicole¡¯s habits. Chapter 1071 - Perplexed and Smitten (131)

Chapter 1071: Perplexed and Smitten (131)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Calling was not an option either. Just as she was feeling like she was facing a mind block, a bold idea popped up in her head. She decided to download a voice-changing software into Nicole¡¯s mobile phone. She turned on the ¡°Lolita¡± voice function, which would make one¡¯s voice sound puerile and cute. She then brought the mobile phone to the bathroom to call the captain of the bodyguard squad. After the call went through, the man asked, ¡°Do you have any orders for me, Your Highness?¡± ¡°Can you tell the difference in my voice?¡± ¡°Your Highness, why have you decided to y with the voice-changing software?¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s fun. I can¡¯t sleep and I want to go out for a spin. Drive the car to the entrance and open the gate. I want to go out.¡± ¡°Your Highness, you¡¯re drunk and you¡¯re not supposed to drive. Shall I send you wherever you¡¯d like to go instead?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not drunk...¡± An Xiaoning answered, pretending to sound drunk. ¡°Cut it out, Your Highness. Go to bed.¡± An Xiaoning warned sternly, ¡°Who¡¯s the master here? You or me? How dare you defy my orders?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just worried about your safety, Your Highness...¡± ¡°I want to go out, I don¡¯t want to stay at home. I¡¯m bored out of my wits. How about I don¡¯t drive and you arrange for someone to pick me up instead? Will that do?¡± ¡°Alright, then, I¡¯ll send someone to drive you around.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After ending the call, she came out of the bathroom and ced the mobile phone back inside Nicole¡¯s bag. An Xiaoning headed to the dressing room and put on one of Nicole¡¯s dresses, which managed to conceal the short-sleeved blouse and shorts that she was initially wearing. She put on one of her wigs in front of the dressing table, followed by a cap and a surgical mask. Finally, she picked Nicole up and threw her inside the closet of the dressing room. Two of the bodyguards knocked on the door, after which An Xiaoning opened the door and pointed at No. 8, who was lying on the bed, gesturing for them to take him away. The bodyguards dared not look at An Xiaoning and immediately brought No. 8 away while she followed closely behind. The car was parked right outside the door. An Xiaoning sat beside No. 8 in the backseat while the chauffeur began driving toward the entrance. As soon as the car was driven out of the gate, someone began yelling from behind. An Xiaoning alighted from the car, opened the car door, and pulled the chauffeur out of the driver¡¯s seat before taking his ce. She then quickly sped off. ¡°Captain, Her Highness is so strong,¡± said the chauffeur who had yet to recover from the shock. ¡°Bad news. Her figure didn¡¯t resemble that of Her Highness¡¯. Hurry and take chase.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± An Xiaoning pressed down on the elerator fully and sped toward the airport. She was traveling at full speed,pletely disregarding the possible dangers. The moment she arrived at the airport, the crowd watched in shock as the petite An Xiaoning sprinted along with the tall and burly No. 8. They swiftly entered the VIP passageway, and she sprinted with all her might. She was dog tired when she made it onto the ne. By the time Nicole¡¯s bodyguards made it to the airport, the ne had already taken off for several minutes. They could no longer catch up. When the captain of the bodyguard squad entered Nicole¡¯s room, he walked toward the noises that he could vaguely hear, only to get a huge fright the moment he saw her in the dressing room. He hurriedly untied the ropes to free her. Nicole spat out the things in her mouth and barked, ¡°What¡¯s the point of having you useless things!?! You won¡¯t even realize it if I get killed!¡± ¡°Please show mercy, Your Highness! There had been bodyguards on duty at their respective zones at all times. I have no idea how she came in. I¡¯ve already sent someone to chase after her.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to chase after her!¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Do you have any idea who she is? She¡¯s An Xiaoning,¡± said Nicole, who had sobered up. ¡°So what if it¡¯s her? Your Highness, you have evidence against her. You don¡¯t have to be afraid of her.¡± ¡°She made me sign a deration form that ims I¡¯ll forgive her without pursuing the matter. If I go back on my word, I would have to pay apensation sum of five billion dors. I really didn¡¯t expect that An Xiaoning to be so willing to do something like that for the sake of her bodyguard.¡± The captain interjected, ¡°Your Highness, you should have just epted her offer for a negotiation yesterday. Perhaps you might have even gained some benefits...¡± Nicole gestured for him to leave and said in frustration, ¡°Get out, I¡¯m going to bed.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± .... Meanwhile, An Xiaoning grabbed the first aid kit on the ne and began cutting No. 8¡¯s clothes with a pair of scissors. She had to handle him with care, due to the fact that the fabric was stuck to his flesh because of the blood. He was covered in bruises and welts left behind from the beatings he had suffered. However, he did not feel any pain even when she tugged on his flesh because he was in an unconscious state. Thinking that it would hurt even more if she were to clean his wounds up while he was conscious, she hurriedly cleaned everything. As soon as she wiped the bloodstains off of his body with a clean towel, he began shrieking in pain and came to. The moment he saw An Xiaoning, No. 8 teared up and said, ¡°Sis...¡± ¡°Everything is fine now. Does it hurt?¡± An Xiaoning asked gently. Shaking his head, he answered, ¡°It stopped hurting the moment I saw you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, I work just like a painkiller? Can you sit up straight? I¡¯ll apply some ointment on you. We¡¯ll visit the hospital to get you treated once we arrive back in A City.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Clenching his jaw in pain, he sat up and asked, ¡°Sis, how did you manage to save me?¡± She exined everything that happened while applying some ointment on him. She added, ¡°If I hadn¡¯t stopped Mo Li, she would¡¯vee to rescue you on her own. How could she manage to do it? There¡¯s nothing she could have done anyway.¡± ¡°Yeah, she wouldn¡¯t have been of any help. Fortunately, you managed to stop her. Otherwise, I can¡¯t imagine what might have happened.¡± After applying the ointment on him, An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°I doubt Nicole would dare to abduct you again. We have a deration document that she had signed.¡± ¡°You really deserve to be my elder sister. You executed such a well-thought-out n. I¡¯m afraid she¡¯ll havee up with different ways to deal with me next. After all, she was the one who took action first this time. She definitely wouldn¡¯t take it lying down after you dealt with her in such a manner.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Just be more cautious from now on. We don¡¯t have to be afraid of her.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡ª ¡°Didn¡¯t you have something to say to me? Why have you gone silent aftering back?¡± Yan Ge asked, seeing how she seemed to have something on her mind. Gazing at him, Fang En could not bring herself to tell him those words. No one could understand how terribly upset she felt. ¡°Um...¡± Although she had already decided to tell him, she could not help but find it difficult to say them out loud at this juncture. ¡°Just speak your mind. Why are you being so wishy-washy?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s call off that two-week agreement we made earlier. I can tell you the answer right now.¡± Yan Ge thought that she was acting that way simply because she was too nervous. He lit up in joy and said with a smile, ¡°From what I know about you, it must have been hard for you, trying to endure two weeks.¡± Fang En understood what he meant. Indeed, she would have agreed on the spot if not for Xiao Chenyang. However... ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Momentarily stunned to hear her answer, Yan Ge asked, ¡°I beg your pardon?¡± ¡°I can¡¯tmit to you.¡± Chapter 1072 - Perplexed and Smitten (132)

Chapter 1072: Perplexed and Smitten (132)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He squinted and asked, ¡°Could you give me a reason? Do you not fancy me?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s not the reason.¡± ¡°Since you fancy me too, why are you turning me down?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t tell you the reason.¡± How could I possibly tell him that it is because of Xiao Chenyang? If I did, not only will Yan Ge think that I¡¯m a promiscuous woman who¡¯s in aplicated rtionship with Xiao Chenyang, he¡¯ll also find out that I lied about Xiao Chenyang being my cousin. What will he think of me then? ¡°Fang En, what could be more important than your happiness?¡± Yan Ge asked with a sullen expression, staring at her coldly. Not daring to establish eye contact with him, she said, ¡°It¡¯s not that it¡¯s more important than my happiness, but rather... I can¡¯t defy it.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°Stop asking,¡± Fang En said softly. Yan Ge could not figure out what she was thinking. However, there was nothing he could do apart from feeling disappointed about being rejected. ¡°Would you be fine with it even if I no longer need you to answer such questions in the future?¡± Fang En looked up and held his gaze. Her lips moved and she could not speak at all. However, he took her silence as consent. Yan Ge stood up in a bid to leave. Fang En followed suit and called, ¡°Yan Ge.¡± He turned around and asked, ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Can we still be friends?¡± Noticing that he was not answering her, she frantically added, ¡°I still want to be friends with you.¡± ¡°Did you forget what I once said to you? In my eyes, you¡¯re only a woman, not my friend. I¡¯ll never treat you as my friend.¡± He then pulled the door open and left. Fang En thumped herself down onto the couch. Does that mean he¡¯s going to start ignoring me from now on? She was incredibly upset. The more miserable she felt, the greater she resented Xiao Chenyang. If it wasn¡¯t because of him, if it wasn¡¯t because of him... It¡¯s all because of him... He is the cause of everything. Recalling what Yan Ge said, Fang En buried her face in her knees and began bawling in grief. The more she wept, the worse she felt. She had nowhere to vent her frustration. At this moment, she received a call from Mei Yangyang. Sensing that there was something wrong with her voice, Mei Yangyang asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± ¡°Sis Yangyang.¡± Fang En sniffed and answered, ¡°I¡¯m fine. Did you call me to inform me about thetest arrangements?¡± ¡°The investor for ¡®The Tyrannical Adonis Falls in Love with Me¡¯ requested for a change of female lead and you were reced by Yu Caiwei. The author was hoping that you could be the female lead but the investor did not agree with the decision. We were almost about to sign the contract already.¡± Although Fang En felt that it was a great pity, there was nothing she could do about it. Hence, she said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯ll just focus on acting in ¡®The Man from the Ancient Times.¡¯¡± ¡°Yes. Nowadays, the original authors, screenwriters, and directors don¡¯t necessarily always have a say in casting the actors and actresses for television series. The investors call the shots.¡± ¡°I know. I signed up for a short-term fitness membership. Sis Yangyang, I¡¯m going to go to the gym now,¡± Fang En said while wiping her tears. ¡°Alright.¡± After ending the call, Fang En changed into a short-sleeved shirt and a pair of shorts. She then left with a bottle of water. As soon as she entered the elevator, Yan Ge exited his apartment. He stood outside the elevator and stared at her, all the way until the doors closed. At this moment, Fang En regretted her decision to buy the apartment opposite his. Things were going to be awkward from now on, especially since they lived in such close proximity... She exited the elevator and proceeded to the gym within the estate. She began working out under the guidance of the personal trainer. After letting herself go for a period of time, she had gotten significantly bbier. I must quickly sculpt my body and get toned before filming begins. While she was in the midst of her workout, she caught sight of Yan Ge, who had alsoe to the gym to exercise. She looked away after taking a few nces at him. ¡ª No. 8 was hospitalized right after An Xiaoning rescued him from Y Nation. He seemed to have undergone a great deal of torment. Fortunately, he did not sustain any major internal injuries. An Xiaoning informed Mo Li about it only in the morning because No. 8 did not want Mo Li to see him in a bloodied state. Mo Li rushed to the hospital right away. Staring at No. 8 who was lying on the bed in his ward, she stepped forward slowly as tears streamed down her face. ¡°Yun Chen.¡± No. 8 smiled at her and said, ¡°Why are you crying? I¡¯m fine now, aren¡¯t I?¡± She sat down on the bed and held his hand. ¡°How are you fine? You¡¯re bandaged from head to toe.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine after getting some rest.¡± ¡°How did Xiaoning rescue you?¡± He recounted the details that An Xiaoning had told him on the ne. ¡°That¡¯s what happened.¡± ¡°Xiaoning is really impressive. I really didn¡¯t expect her to have gone to such great lengths for a subordinate. I must thank her properly. If not for her, I probably wouldn¡¯t be able to see you now,¡± said Mo Li, who was weeping incessantly. In the midst of their conversation, the door opened and four people entered the ward, two of whom Mo Li and No. 8 had seen before a few times. However, they did not recognize the other couple. They arrived with some gifts. The mistress of the apartment said, ¡°Ms. Mo, my husband and I live in the same block as you and these two people over here used to be my husband¡¯s friends. They were the ones who knocked Mr. Yun unconscious and together brought him to the harbor. However, we had no idea about their scheme. We decided to visit you guys and express our apology to you now that Mr. Yun is back safely. If we hadn¡¯t allowed them to stay over at our ce for a few days, things...¡± Mo Li stood up and looked at the two strangers. She snapped, ¡°You people were the ones who almost got my man killed. Look how heavily wounded he is. How could youmit such a despicable act?¡± Xiao Wu said, ¡°Ms. An said that she won¡¯t hold it against us or pursue the matter as long as Mr. Yun can return safely. The mastermind transferred some money to me as a reward for getting the job done. Ms. An wanted me to give the money to you guys. Please give me your bank ount details, I¡¯ll transfer the money to you.¡± Mo Li looked at No. 8, who said, ¡°Lili, give him the bank ount number. I can¡¯t suffer all these injuries for nothing.¡± Mo Li nodded and did as she was told. After they left, Mo Li sat down again and said, ¡°No amount of money can atone for the pain that you¡¯ve been subjected to. I¡¯d rather not have the money than let you get injured.¡± ¡°I want to use this money to set up a shop for you and buy you a car. From now on, you won¡¯t have to work at the bar anymore. A jeopardized body clock is going to cause your hormones to be imbnced. It¡¯s bad for your health.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want anything.¡± He insisted, ¡°Listen to me, we¡¯ll buy a bigger house once we earn more money. When Father-inw and Mother-inw are older, they can move in with us too. After all, they can¡¯t rely on running the breakfast bistro forever. There¡¯lle a day when they¡¯d have to retire.¡± Chapter 1073 - Perplexed and Smitten (113)

Chapter 1073: Perplexed and Smitten (113)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°No. 8, why are you so nice to me?¡± said Mo Li, who felt extremely touched. Why didn¡¯t he make any ns for himself at all? ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that? You¡¯re my woman, of course I¡¯d have to treat you well.¡± Mo Li finally smiled and stood up to kiss him. ¡°I¡¯m really d.¡± ¡°About what?¡± ¡°I¡¯m really d that you¡¯re still around.¡± An Xiaoning arrived at about noontime. She took out a bank ount card and handed it to Mo Li. ¡°There you go.¡± ¡°What¡¯s this? Those two people who came by this morning had already transferred the money over to our ount,¡± Mo Li said in puzzlement. ¡°That¡¯s a separate issue. This moneyes from Qian Mou, the owner of a private investigation agency. His rtive is Nicole¡¯s servant, and he was paid much more than Xiao Wu. He received a total of seven million dors, two of which he had already spent. I got the remaining five million dors for you guys. I¡¯ve also written the PIN code behind the card.¡± Greatly taken aback, Mo Li did not ept the money and instead said, ¡°Xiaoning, keep the money for yourself. If it weren¡¯t for your help, No. 8 wouldn¡¯t have made it back alive. He¡¯s safe now all thanks to you.¡± An Xiaoning stuffed the card into her hands and said, ¡°This is what No. 8 deserves. How can I take it?¡± Feeling too embarrassed and shy to ept the money, Mo Li ced the card back inside An Xiaoning¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Xiaoning, seriously speaking, we already have five million dors. I know you don¡¯t need the money, but it¡¯s a token from us.¡± An Xiaoning handed the money back to her and insisted, ¡°Okay, Mo Li, just keep the money. You and No. 8 have a long way to go. Don¡¯t keep pushing the money back to me. You can never have too much cash. It¡¯s hard on you and on No. 8 too.¡± ¡°Stop issuing No. 8 his monthly wages, then. Otherwise, we¡¯ll feel really bad. Alright?¡± Seeing how insistent she was, An Xiaoning had no choice but to concede. ¡°Let me know whenever you¡¯re cash-strapped in the future.¡± Mo Li answered with a nod, ¡°All that money is enough tost us for a very long time.¡± No. 8 said feebly, ¡°We were nning to wait ¡¯til we¡¯ve both earned enough to move into a bigger house. Seems like we don¡¯t have to wait that long anymore.¡± ¡°Good idea. The value of houses in our estate is increasing. You should move into a new ce when necessary. It¡¯s better to live in a more spacious house anyway. You¡¯ll feel too oppressed in a cramped space. I support your decision to move.¡± Upon gaining An Xiaoning¡¯s approval, No. 8 said to Mo Li, ¡°Lili, when you¡¯re free, go find out if there are any other avable units in our estate. There should be some. If there are, let¡¯s buy one immediately.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Mo Li agreed. ¡°It¡¯d be best if you can buy an apartment that¡¯s situated on any floor below the seventh and above the second. Although there¡¯s better lighting on the higher floors, the water supply to the units above the seventh floor would all be from secondary water supply systems. Bacteria is very prevalent in water tanks that don¡¯t meet the hygiene standards.¡± ¡°Alright, got it.¡± Reminded of Jin Qingyan, Mo Li asked, ¡°Xiaoning, I haven¡¯t seen Brother Qingyan in a long time. Is he very busy?¡± ¡°He¡¯s really busy.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª After Lin Mingxi went to the fitness center to inspect the operations, she returned to the Gu family mansion where she was greeted with the sight of a familiar-looking car. She alighted from the car, after which the butler quickly reported, ¡°Young Madam, your sister is here.¡± She nced at the car and said, ¡°What is she here for?¡± ¡°She asked to see you, and I told her that you weren¡¯t home, but she insisted on waiting for you toe home.¡± Lin Mingxi had no idea what Lin Mingyuan wanted. I¡¯ll find out once I go in to take a look. It had been a long while since she and Lin Mingxi saw each other. Lin Mingyuan had shockingly be extremely haggard and seemed to have suffered a huge blow. Lin Mingxi sat opposite Lin Mingyuan, whose hair was unkempt. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your hair?¡± Lin Mingxi asked in astonishment. Lin Mingyuan looked at her and called, ¡°Sister...¡± Lin Mingxi instantly got goosebumps on her skin. ¡°No, no, please don¡¯t address me that way. Call me by my full name instead. I¡¯m more used to hearing that.¡± Lin Mingyuan said in a hoarse voice, ¡°Mingxi, I did you wrong in the past. I perceived you as my enemy and vied with you for everything. I couldn¡¯t stand the sight of you and I wished you would just drop dead. I¡¯ve never treated you like my kin before. I know all of my misdeeds have caused you great trauma...¡± Lin Mingxi interrupted, ¡°Stop, just tell me straight whatever it is that you have on your mind. Don¡¯t beat around the bush. Just what did youe here for?¡± ¡°Your brother-inw has absconded with all the money.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Lin Mingxi asked in astonishment. ¡°He has a kept woman who¡¯s a teenager. She gave birth to his son. He was afraid of having to split the assets with me during the divorce so he absconded with everything.¡± Lin Mingxi gasped in shock. Although she could not see eye to eye with Lin Mingyuan and would often get into an argument with her, she could not bring herself to sneer at Lin Mingyuan and mock her for being foolish. ¡°What right does he have to do that!?! The money andpany belong to our parents! He had nothing to his name when you married him. Half of the assets is more than enough for him. How dare he steal all the money? Why aren¡¯t you suing him? Why didn¡¯t you seek legal assistance from awyer?¡± ¡°Mingxi, I can¡¯t sue him...¡± ¡°Why can¡¯t you?¡± Lin Mingyuan questioned, boiling with exasperation. Hanging her head low, Lin Mingyuan answered, ¡°I broke thew in the past while managing thepany and he has evidence of that. If I sue him, he¡¯s going to hand the evidence over to the court. Mingxi, I¡¯m sure you understand that I can¡¯t afford to be shamed like that...¡± She teared up and continued, ¡°I used to think that he was my closest kin. He was so kind to me and doted on me. I even had the cheek to say that Father and Mother treated me unfairly and that they were biased toward you, as if I were an adopted child. I realize only now that they had treated both of us equally. You guys are my kin, not him. He¡¯s just someone who¡¯ll leave me at any time...¡± Lin Mingxi was extremely disgruntled to hear her words. She had never gotten along with her biological sister ever since they were children. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you be letting him off easy if you don¡¯t sue him?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, I wish I could rip him into shreds. However, there¡¯s nothing I can do. We¡¯ve been married for so many years and he knows me inside out. He has a hold on me. The money he had run away with is all the money thepany has. He¡¯s milked thepany dry. Father and Mother gave us half of the assets each, yet I¡¯ve lost everything I had...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you have any other requests?¡± ¡°Yes...¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get someone to bring something hereter. You¡¯ll understand once you see it.¡± She stood up and made eye contact with Lin Mingxi before continuing, ¡°Mingxi, I ill-treated you in the past but let¡¯s bury the hatchet. I know I don¡¯t have the right to say this, but I¡¯m really regretting my decision. I even tried to stop you from marrying Gu Beicheng. However, I now think that you made the right decision to marry him. You two are verypatible in terms of background and status.¡± Chapter 1074 - Perplexed and Smitten (134)

Chapter 1074: Perplexed and Smitten (134)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lin Mingxi watched her leave with tears in her eyes, overwhelmed with sympathy for her sister. She called Gu Beicheng to exin the situation to him. Gu Beicheng then suggested that she discuss this with her parents. Clearly, her parents were still in the dark about it. Lin Mingxi heeded his advice and informed her parents about it. To her surprise, her parents were far less agitated than she had imagined. They constantly said that what mattered most was that she was safe and that they could always just earn the money back again. Mr. and Mrs. Lin decided to look Lin Mingyuan up, thinking to themselves that she was probably grief-stricken and terribly upset. They wanted to counsel her and give her some advice. Lin Mingxi supported her parents¡¯ decision. Twenty minutes after Lin Mingyuan left, a courier delivered a parcel to Lin Mingxi¡¯s home. Lin Mingxi opened the rectangr box, only to see that it contained a few documents, the officialpany stamp, as well as a letter. She decided to open the letter first. It read: ¡°I took two days to write this letter and I¡¯ve decided to send it to you. I¡¯ve made too many mistakes, and I¡¯ve never treated you, Father, and Mother genuinely with all my heart. I still hope that I can do something for you guys to atone for my mistakes. One of these documents is an authorization letter. I hope you¡¯ll do everything in your power to get the money back and return it to Father and Mother. I can¡¯t do my part as their daughter anymore. I want them to have a peaceful retirement. I¡¯m giving you my house and car, and I¡¯ve also transferred to you the remaining amount of savings that I have in my ount. I¡¯ll have to depend on you to take care of our parents from now on. Mingxi, I¡¯ve done you, Father, and Mother wrong.¡± Lin Mingxi¡¯s heart grew heavier, and she put theter away before walking away hurriedly. When she was halfway through the journey, she received a call from her mother. Mrs. Lin was bawling over the phone while telling her that Lin Mingyuan had poisoned herself to death at home. Her words were like a bolt out of the blue that struck Lin Mingxi hard. She¡¯s dead? By the time she¡¯d rushed there, Mrs. Lin had already been sent to the hospital because she had fainted due to agitation. Mr. Lin apanied her to the hospital while the Lin family butler carried Lin Mingyuan¡¯s corpse back to the Lin family mansion. Lin Mingxi stood in Lin Mingyuan¡¯s home and stared at the photos of her wedding as tears welled up in her eyes. The Lin Mingyuan she knew waspetitive and overbearingly haughty. She had always been power-hungry and would do everything she could to be the champion and leader of sess, be it in her career or within her family. She was the ssic example of an able woman. Due to the fact that she was excessively career-minded, she had been childless for years after marrying her husband. If Lin Mingyuan had not shown up all of sudden at the Gu family mansion in a disheveled state, Lin Mingxi would have thought that her sister was still living a morous life of luxury and was still her self-righteous and arrogant self. ¡°Mingxi...¡± said Gu Beicheng. She turned around and walked toward him. ¡°Shemitted suicide,¡± she said softly. ¡°I know.¡± ¡°Beicheng, what do we do?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go back first.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Mingxi remained silent throughout the journey. Upon returning home, Gu Beicheng took a look at the items Lin Mingyuan had sent and said, ¡°Seems like she still carries hope in getting the money back. The only way that we can do that is by suing him. It might take some time, but we have an abundance of time. We don¡¯t have to be afraid of a draggywsuit.¡± ¡°We must get the money back. Otherwise, we¡¯ll just be letting him off easy and giving him the chance to provide for his mistress and his illegitimate child.¡± ¡°Leave it to me to handle this. Stay out of it. Father and Mother must have suffered a huge blow. Do your best tofort them.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡ª Time passed gradually, and soon, July arrived. It had been a long while since Jin Qingyan left. The psychiatrist, Yu Yiwei, who had been staying in Wei Ni Estate, was losing her patience. ¡°Chief, just when is Mr. Jin going toe home?¡± ¡°Ms. Yu, didn¡¯t I already say this before? He¡¯lle back when it¡¯s time for him to. You don¡¯t have to worry or get impatient.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just worried about Mr. Jin¡¯s condition being erratic. If the second personality upies his body for an extended period of time, the consequences would be dire. Have you ever thought about that, Chief Fan?¡± ¡°But Young Sir really can¡¯t make it back right now. He¡¯s far too busy. We can only wait. Hence, I suggest you wait patiently, Ms. Yu,¡± Fan Shixin answered. Yu Yiwei stared at him with a straight face and said, ¡°His career may be important, but it doesn¡¯t matter more than his health.¡± ¡°I reckon Young Sir would understand that better than you, Ms. Yu.¡± Yu Yiwei could not help but scoff while watching him leave. How am I supposed to perform my duty as a doctor when I don¡¯t even get to see my patient? An Xiaoning was much more worried than her, for she had not seen her lover in a long time. ¡°Young Madam, Ms. Yu was asking again about when Young Sir would be returning.¡± ¡°We¡¯re still paying her her due wages. Shouldn¡¯t life be easier for her since she doesn¡¯t have to do anything at all?¡± said An Xiaoning, who was lying on the couch with a book on her face. ¡°She seems to be getting bored out of her wits after staying here for such a long time. However, Young Madam, I¡¯m really worried about Young Sir. He¡¯s been away for so long and yet he has never once called us.¡± ¡°Shall we make a bet?¡± ¡°About what?¡± She sat up straight, causing the book on her face to fall onto the ground. ¡°Let¡¯s bet on how much longer he¡¯ll take before hees home.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll each guess the duration. Let¡¯s bet ten dors, just for the thrill of it.¡± ¡°Psht.¡± Fan Shixin did not expect her to offer such a low stake. Wouldn¡¯t it be more challenging if we bet more than a thousand dors? ¡°I think Young Sir would still need another month.¡± ¡°You¡¯re betting on a month? I¡¯m guessing five days. He¡¯ll definitely give us some news,¡± An Xiaoning said, smiling while sitting cross-legged on the couch. ¡°Five days?¡± Seeing how confident she seemed, Fan Shixin inched closer and asked, ¡°Young Madam, be honest with me, did Young Sir send you a letter secretly?¡± ¡°Well... he didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°How are you so sure, then?¡± ¡°I was just making a wild guess. I have a feeling we¡¯ll receive some news.¡± Ring-ring! Ring-ring! The handset in the living room began to ring all of a sudden. An Xiaoning picked up the handset and answered, ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Hello, who¡¯s this?¡± An Xiaoning repeated after receiving no response. ¡°Madam, it¡¯s me,¡± said Jin Qingyan, the person she had missed the most. An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes widened and she changed her posture. ¡°Qingyan?¡± Upon hearing what she said, Fan Shixin rushed toward the handset in a bid to eavesdrop. An Xiaoning kicked his leg, hinting for him to go away. Fan Shixin clutched his leg in pain and returned to his seat on the couch. ¡°I¡¯m in Y Nation now. Did Xiao Chenyang pass you the letter that I wanted him to when he went back previously?¡± ¡°No, he didn¡¯t.¡± An Xiaoning scoffed and said, ¡°He¡¯s so untrustworthy. He didn¡¯t evene to visit me. I didn¡¯t see him at all.¡± ¡°No wonder he refused to answer me when I asked him if he had handed the letter to you. I heard from Byron that No. 8 was abducted by his cousin. You managed to rescue him, right?¡± Chapter 1075 - Perplexed and Smitten (135)

Chapter 1075: Perplexed and Smitten (135)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Are you at Byron¡¯s ce now? How are you still in the mood to meet and catch up with your friend? Hurry ande back home!¡± An Xiaoning eximed. ¡°I only bumped into Byron coincidentally. It¡¯s Xiao Chenyang who had toe here to collect something that he had ordered. The collection will only be avable in two days. I¡¯ll be back in another two days.¡± Now that she knew that he would be returning soon, a mere two-day wait sounded way too long! ¡°Come home first. It¡¯s not like he can¡¯t find his way back.¡± Xiao Chenyang snatched the mobile phone away and said, ¡°Hua Jin, how are you going to repay me?¡± An Xiaoning knew what he was referring to. Indeed, she had him to thank for rescuing Jin Qingyan from Xihou Jiaping. ¡°Tell me what you would like in return.¡± ¡°Bring En to me personally. I can¡¯t be bothered to make another trip there and back here again.¡± ¡°What do you want to do with her?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to know. All you have to do is bring her to me.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± she agreed, knowing that he definitely wouldn¡¯t hurt Fang En. Since she owed him such a huge favor, she would definitely fulfill his requests, so long as they were within her means. After ending the call, An Xiaoning leaped up from the couch and eximed in joy, ¡°Ahhhhh!¡± Noticing that she had gone hysterical, Fan Shixin whipped out a hundred-dor note from his wallet and handed it to her. ¡°Young Madam, you may keep the change. It¡¯s a reward for you!¡± An Xiaoning put on her shoes and waved him goodbye. ¡°Use the money to buy some candy for your buddies and yourself. I¡¯m going to go look for your Young Sir now. Stay home to watch the door.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m not a dog...¡± ¡°You¡¯re not a dog, but you¡¯re a man¡¯s best friend.¡± ¡°No, I refuse. Objection!¡± ¡°Your objection is invalid.¡± An Xiaoning immediately called Fang En and asked, ¡°En, where are you now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m working out at the gym. Filming is about to begin soon so I have to get in shape.¡± ¡°Stop working out. Wash up and get dressed. Bring a set of clothes along, we¡¯re going overseas.¡± ¡°Overseas? Sis Xiaoning, what are we going overseas for?¡± she asked. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you when you¡¯re here. Hurry up.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After ending the call, An Xiaoning rushed upstairs to take a shower before running to the dressing room. She swiftly opened the closet and picked out a white jumpsuit that exposed her back. The dress was held together by two white straps. She also brought another dress along. She then put on some makeup, a sun hat, and a pair of shades before making her way downstairs. Fang En had yet to arrive when she got downstairs. An Xiaoning prompted Fan Shixin to get the private jet ready as soon as possible. Noticing how eager and impatient she was, Fan Shixin said in amusement, ¡°Young Madam, I¡¯ve already called the pilot when you were upstairs. We¡¯re waiting now.¡± ¡°What are you smiling for?¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°My... lips cramped up. I¡¯m not smiling.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll board the ne first. Bring En to the cabin when she arrivester.¡± ¡°Alright, Young Madam. Hurry along.¡± Just as An Xiaoning was about to leave, she bumped into Long Tianze and Mei Yangyang. ¡°Sis-inw, where are you rushing off to?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to board a flight. Are you here to see me?¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll go with you.¡± ¡°Do you know why I¡¯m going?¡± ¡°Yes. That fool gave me a call. I heard that he¡¯s in Y Nation. Well, it so happens that Yangyang is bored out of her wits staying at home. I¡¯ll take her out for a few days to unwind and rx.¡± ¡°Oh wow, you¡¯re such a good husband. Yangyang is really fortunate to have married you,¡± An Xiaoning praised. Long Tianze answered smugly, ¡°You don¡¯t have to envy Yangyang for having such a great husband like me. You have one yourself.¡± ¡°Look how conceited you¡¯re getting.¡± ¡°Hehe, let¡¯s go. I¡¯ve brought my luggage too.¡± An Xiaoning shifted her gaze onto the small suitcase in his hand and said, ¡°Your suitcase is so tiny. Aren¡¯t you going to stay there for a few more days?¡± ¡°We¡¯lle back together with you guys.¡± ¡°Sure, let¡¯s set off.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Mei Yangyang pinched him and chided, ¡°Do you know how to speak properly? If you don¡¯t, just shut your trap. You¡¯ve got an anus for a mouth. You¡¯re making it sound like we¡¯re on our way to death.¡± ¡°How could you say that about your husband? Are you saying that you¡¯re kissing my anus every day?¡± As soon as he finished speaking, he shrieked in pain again in a shrill voice. An Xiaoning ignored them and got inside the car gleefully. She was beyond excited to meet her man. The thought of being able to see him very soon sent her... over the moon! After they¡¯d been waiting for her for more than ten minutes in the ne, Fang En finally showed up. She was dressed in a white short-sleeved blouse and shorts. She carried a bag in her hand and sat down beside An Xiaoning. ¡°Sis Yangyang, Brother-inw.¡± Pointing at the bag in her hands, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Stow that away in the overhead bin.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± She stood up and did as instructed before sitting down again. ¡°Sis Xiaoning, I don¡¯t have a passport, I can¡¯t go overseas.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, but you must get your passport registered once we¡¯re back. You¡¯ll need it when you go abroad for shoots or filming in the future.¡± Fang En expressed assent and asked, ¡°Sis, just where are we going?¡± ¡°Y Nation.¡± ¡°What are we doing there?¡± An Xiaoning turned to look at her solemnly and said, ¡°Um, En, do you remember the one time that I called you at night and told you to call Xiao Chenyang and get him to meet me?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°That night, Xiao Chenyang saved Qingyan and he deserves credit for it. I owe him a huge favor. He and Qingyan are both in Y Nation now. Xiao Chenyang wants me to bring you there so that he won¡¯t have to waste time traveling here and there.¡± ¡°You¡¯re taking me to Y Nation... why does he want me to go there?¡± Fang En asked in puzzlement. ¡°I¡¯m not too sure either, but he definitely wouldn¡¯t harm you. Don¡¯t worry.¡± An Xiaoning looked at her and said, ¡°En, he¡¯s a pretty good catch.¡± ¡°The point is, I don¡¯t fancy him.¡± Fang En continued softly, ¡°A few days ago, Yan Ge asked me to be his girlfriend...¡± ¡°How did you answer him?¡± ¡°I... rejected him.¡± Fang En began to breathe unsteadily at the thought of Yan Ge. ¡°Ever since then, he stopped talking to me much. If it weren¡¯t for Xiao Chenyang, how could I have rejected Yan Ge? Xiao Chenyang was the one who forced me to make such a decision. I¡¯ll never fancy Xiao Chenyang. What¡¯s the point of himpelling me?¡± Mei Yangyang interjected, ¡°En, why don¡¯t you have a proper talk with Xiao Chenyang...¡± ¡°I¡¯ve tried that, but we can¡¯tmunicate at all. He even threatened me. What¡¯s the point of living if I can¡¯t even be with the person I adore?¡± An Xiaoning ced a hand on her shoulder and said, ¡°Although timing does matter when ites to love, how are you so sure that Yan Ge was the one who came first?¡± ¡°Sis Xiaoning, Yan Ge is my type. I don¡¯t like men like Xiao Chenyang. He¡¯s too domineering and overbearing. I can¡¯t handle him.¡± ¡°Can you handle and control Yan Ge, then?¡± ¡°I... I can¡¯t either,¡± she answered, feeling at a loss. Chapter 1076 - Perplexed and Smitten (136)

Chapter 1076: Perplexed and Smitten (136)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Just let nature take its course. Here, have some. We never know what will happen in the future,¡± An Xiaoning said, smiling while pouring her a ss of red wine. Fang En grabbed the ss and took a sip. ¡°By the way, Sis-inw, I heard that Lin Mingxi¡¯s sister has dropped dead. Is that true?¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a while since she passed away. Her husband had absconded with all the money from her parents¡¯pany. Her husband had an extramarital affair with a young and pretty girl who even gave birth to his son. Women like Lin Mingyuan are the most vulnerable to setbacks. She can¡¯t take failure. Well, at least she still has a conscience. She drew up an authorization letter before she died. Beicheng is handling the matter now. They¡¯re about to go to court soon.¡± ¡°That man is such a scum. I¡¯ll never do something so despicable and atrocious. If he doesn¡¯t love her, he should just divorce her. What¡¯s the point of making things turn out this way? Some men are so outrageous nowadays. They ought to learn from me,¡± Long Tianze remarked, not forgetting to praise himself while criticizing others. An Xiaoning yed along and said, ¡°Yes, yes, we should all learn from the great Mr. Long, the role model of men.¡± ¡°Yes, you must tell your man to learn from me too.¡± Mei Yangyang rebuked, ¡°Everyone, look how shameless Long Tianze is.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning was utterly amused by the two jokers. ¡°We have a long way to go before we reach Y Nation. Let¡¯s have a game of cards. There¡¯s nothing else to do anyway.¡± ¡°Sure, sure. It¡¯s been so long since we yed a game of cards. However, it¡¯d be too boring if we just y cards. Why don¡¯t we pair up? The pair that loses... will have to remove a piece of clothing each,¡± the fun-loving Long Tianze suggested. As soon as he finished speaking, Mei Yangyang gave him a tight p and chastised, ¡°Are you out of your mind? There are three women here and you¡¯re the only man. You¡¯ll stand to gain regardless of which one of the three of us has to strip. No one¡¯s interested in seeing you naked either. Your figure is mediocre.¡± Long Tianze was displeased to have his wife criticize him in such a manner! ¡°Hey, I have a six-pack now too, alright? But you¡¯re right, we can¡¯t y this game. Otherwise, Qingyan is going to murder me if he finds out. How about this? Whoever loses will have to down a ss of liquor. I¡¯m not talking about red wine but this...¡± said Long Tianze, pointing at a bottle of white wine. Although the ss was very small, one would definitely get drunk after chugging a few sses. ¡°Sure, we¡¯ll do just that,¡± An Xiaoning agreed, after which the four of them began ying. The game did help them kill a great ton of time. Everyone was in high spirits while enjoying the game over some wine. Fang En¡¯s alcohol tolerance was far worse than that of An Xiaoning¡¯s, even though thetter could barely hold her liquor. Fang En could still manage with some beer. However, white wine would make her tipsy immediately. By the end of the game, the three women had already gotten drunk, thus making Long Tianze the only sober one left. He sighed and said, ¡°How lonely is it to be happy all by myself?¡± ¡ª ¡°Why have youe here again?¡± Yan Ge questioned Yu Caiwei in a hostile manner while staring at her. ¡°I came to talk to you about proper business this time.¡± Gazing at him gently, she continued, ¡°Let me go in and talk to you. Do you really expect me to discuss it with you at the door?¡± Yan Ge said, ¡°Come in.¡± She entered and changed into a pair of home slippers. ¡°I heard from your manager that you¡¯ve stopped taking on new filming opportunities. Is that true?¡± ¡°Not entirely. I¡¯ll consider taking on roles in productions that are of better quality.¡± ¡°Have a look at this script. It¡¯s a novel from an award-winning author. Filming is about to begin,¡± she said, handing him the script. Yan Ge took a look at the title and flipped through the pages to peruse the content. ¡°Such dramas don¡¯t suit me.¡± ¡°Why not? There¡¯s only a small part that revolves around teenage romance. The bulk of it is different.¡± ¡°Younger actors who are in their twenties are better candidates. I¡¯m way past the age where I should be starring in such dramas.¡± ¡°How about this one? ¡®The Man from the Ancient Times,¡¯¡± she suggested, handing him another book. ¡°Isn¡¯t this the series that Fang En is confirmed to be starring in?¡± he asked. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s this one. They haven¡¯t decided on an actor for the male lead yet. Would you like to star in it?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not the producer or the director. Why are you approaching me with the script?¡± ¡°I¡¯m close friends with the director, and she told me to ask you for your opinion after hearing that I was nning to visit you. If you have any queries, she¡¯ll answer them when she visits you personally.¡± Yan Ge looked at the script and said to her, ¡°Ask the director to talk to me.¡± Seeing that he seemed to be keen, Yu Caiwei nodded immediately and said, ¡°Sure.¡± She left as soon as she said her piece. Once she got inside her car, Yu Caiwei called her bosom friend and said, ¡°He wants you to have a discussion with him personally. He seems to be rather interested in the script.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Talk to him first. Once you¡¯ve settled everything, rece Fang En with me.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. If I¡¯m confirmed to be starring in this drama series, I¡¯ll turn down the other one and focus on yours.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°So what if you¡¯ve already signed a contract with Fang En? At most, just give her thepensatory sum. I¡¯ll fork out the money.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°What are you afraid of? So what if she has a powerful backer? Are we even bosom sisters? Just go discuss with Yan Ge first.¡± ¡°...¡± As soon as Yu Caiwei ended the call, her lips curled into a smile. Her assistant asked, ¡°Sis Caiwei, did Yan Ge agree to star in ¡®The Tyrannical Adonis Falls in Love with Me¡¯?¡± ¡°No, he thinks he¡¯s too old to y the male lead. However, he seems to be rather interested in ¡®The Man from the Ancient Times.¡¯¡± ¡°Hasn¡¯t Fang En already signed the contract for that drama series and is about to join the production unit soon?¡± ¡°But they haven¡¯t found a suitable actor to y the male lead yet. All the potential candidates are either busy with filming for other dramas or are involved in variety programs. If he agrees to star in this series, I¡¯ll withdraw from ¡®The Tyrannical Adonis Falls in Love with Me.¡¯¡± ¡°Huh... Sis Caiwei, that¡¯s as good as snatching the role from Fang En,¡± the assistant said in shock. As soon as her assistant finished speaking, Yu Caiwei gave her a tight p and chided, ¡°Did you hear what you just said? What do you mean ¡®snatch¡¯? I¡¯m just beating her to it. If I¡¯m confirmed to be starring in ¡®The Man from the Ancient Times,¡¯ I¡¯ll pull out from ¡®The Tyrannical Adonis Falls in Love with Me.¡¯ When that happens, she¡¯ll probably fill in for the role that I rejected. Who does she think she is? Who is she to vie with me? She¡¯s barely famous. I can defeat her any time.¡± The assistant clutched her face in pain, not daring to say another word. Now that there was finally a potential candidate for the male lead of ¡°The Man from the Ancient Times,¡¯ the female director immediately rushed to Yan Ge¡¯s apartment. She was there to discuss the television series with him. ¡°Yan Ge, this is a major production and we¡¯ve raised more than enough funds. The only problem is that we haven¡¯t found a suitable actor to y the male lead yet.¡± ¡°How much time do we have before filming begins?¡± Chapter 1077 - Perplexed and Smitten 137 1077 Perplexed and Smitten 137 ¡°A little more than two weeks. Fang En has long been confirmed to y the female lead and she¡¯s already read through the script. I heard that you had starred alongside Fang En in a television series before. Did you enjoy working with her?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t too bad.¡± ¡°We must decide on an actor for the male lead as soon as possible. Frankly speaking, tip-top scripts are hard toe by. I believe you understand that too, Yan Ge. I won¡¯t beat around the bush. If you¡¯re willing to take on the role, we¡¯ll be willing to offer you 600 thousand dors per episode. For now, there are a total of fifty episodes to be filmed.¡± ¡°Leave the script behind and let me consider it. I¡¯ll give you a call if I¡¯m interested.¡± ¡°We¡¯re running out of time. Can you give me an answer tomorrow?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll give you an answer tomorrow.¡± The female director nodded while smiling and said, ¡°Alright.¡± When she stood up, Yan Ge asked, ¡°How much is Fang En offered per episode?¡± ¡°Fang En has starred in only one television series that has yet to be aired. If it weren¡¯t because of the fact that she had yed the female lead in that series, which her studio had invested in, we wouldn¡¯t have offered her the role of the female lead. Neither would we have cast her in the series. I don¡¯t know how much her studio would be giving her. After all, her employer was the main investor. Hence, she might be given a greater portion of the earnings. However, the highest we can offer her is 200 thousand dors per episode on ount of her employer. Otherwise, how could shemand such a high price? If that television series that both you and her starred in bes a blockbuster, she¡¯s definitely going to earn more in the future. We can¡¯t offer her that much yet. A-list actresses are offered about the same amount as you.¡± Yan Ge nodded. He obviously understood that Fang En would not be able tomand such a high price; 200 thousand dors per episode would not be much for her after the amount that goes to the entertainment studio was deducted. After the director left, Yan Ge took a look at the script. He leaned against the couch and recalled the awkward silences they would share whenever they bumped into each othertely. Since she¡¯s already admitted that she carries a torch for me, and I can feel it too, why isn¡¯t she willing... Could it be that she really has a reason she can¡¯t divulge? Yan Ge took out his mobile phone and opened Fang En¡¯s Weibo page. Although they had already worked with each other in a drama series, he was still not following her on Weibo. He recalled the question that she had once asked him: ¡°Senior, shall we follow each other on Weibo?¡± He had answered: ¡°Not going to follow you.¡± He recalled the distraught look on her face when she replied, ¡°That¡¯s up to you.¡± He followed only a few ounts on Weibo, unlike other celebrities who followed fellow celebrities who were merely acquaintances, for fear that they would offend anyone. He might not follow them even if he had worked with them before. Hence, he had tens of millions of followers but followed less than a hundred ounts. Thest time Fang En had updated her Weibo feed was two days ago. It was a photo of her at the gym, which was captioned: ¡°Currently working out.¡± He opened the three hundredments left below her post. The minute number was a stark contrast to the tens of thousands ofments that he would receive on each of his Weibo posts. Apart from the very few Weibo users who sang praises about her figure and beauty, the rest had all left harshments of criticism on her post. ¡°Did you post this photo just to prove that you¡¯re a female? Well, that¡¯s understandable. After all, if you didn¡¯t, we would have all mistaken you for a transvestite.¡± ¡°Absolute trash. How did you even be an actress with those hideous looks of yours? You look grotesque, stop disgracing yourself!¡± ¡°Indeed, the public is not blind. I can rest assured now that everyone is berating you.¡± Although Yan Ge was a veteran of the entertainment industry who had long gotten used to seeing malicious remarks, he could not help but feel disgusted by those mean-spiritedizens. He found them absolutely repulsive, even though he wasn¡¯t the target of their castigations. They¡¯ve utterly disgraced themselves and stooped to a low level by making those harshments. She merely posted a photo of the gym and yet they had so much to say. What a bunch of lunatics. He was well aware that there would be even more haters once the television series was to begin airing. There were bound to be haters, regardless of how excellent the production may be. That was always the case. How would she react if she finds out that I¡¯m nning to take on the role of the male lead in this series and star alongside her? Yan Ge looked up as his eyes glistened. He put his mobile phone aside and picked up the script again. ¡ª Shi Shaochuan handed a small bottle to Bu Xianxian and said, ¡°Pee into this.¡± ¡°What for?¡± Bu Xianxian asked in puzzlement. ¡°Just do it. Hurry, I need it.¡± Bu Xianxian took it from him and headed to the bathroom. Coincidentally, she felt the urge to answer nature¡¯s call as well. One minuteter, she exited, covering the opening of the bottle with her hand. She handed it to him and sneered, ¡°Are you going to drink it?¡± ¡°You drink it yourself!¡± Shi Shaochuan retorted with a sullen expression on his face. ¡°Why do you want a sample of my urine, then?¡± ¡°I¡¯m putting it to a test.¡± ¡°What test?¡± Seeing how ignorant she was, he whipped out a pregnancy test kit and said, ¡°This.¡± ¡°Why do you have to test that?¡± said Bu Xianxian, who had never used a pregnancy test kit before. Neither was she aware of its purpose. Shi Shaochuan ignored her and dipped the pregnancy test kit into her urine. Soon, red lines began to darken on the indicator. He was full of eagerness and hope that she would be pregnant. After all, he had tried for so long... Bu Xianxian craned her neck to take a look before saying with a smile, ¡°There are two lines on the indicator.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, there are two lines,¡± said Shi Shaochuan, who felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. He threw the urine cup away and hugged Bu Xianxian. ¡°From now on, stay home and nurse your pregnancy. I¡¯ll be giving you more money.¡± Bu Xianxian froze in shock and asked, ¡°What do you mean... nurse my pregnancy?¡± ¡°That you¡¯re pregnant?¡± Bu Xianxian¡¯s smile vanished and she said, ¡°I... I¡¯m pregnant?¡± Pointing at the pregnancy test kit in the dustbin, he answered, ¡°Yes. This is meant to test for pregnancies. A single line means that you¡¯re not pregnant while two lines mean that you are. We¡¯ll go to the hospitalter for a checkup to verify that it¡¯s not an ectopic pregnancy.¡± Bu Xianxian retreated in astonishment and eximed, ¡°How could I be pregnant? We take precautions every single time. There¡¯s no way I would be pregnant!¡± Shi Shaochuan obviously wouldn¡¯t tell her that he had gotten up to some tricks in order to get her pregnant. He had poked holes in the condom and removed the condom while she was not noticing when he entered her from behind. Well, she could not see it and was preupied with enjoying the sex anyway. He would definitely hit the jackpot sooner orter. It was not difficult to get her pregnant. Did she really think that I chose to have her as my kept woman just for the thrill of it? I obviously can¡¯t let my money go to waste. ¡°There¡¯s still a chance of getting pregnant even with contraceptive measures. What are you panicking about? Since you¡¯re pregnant, we¡¯ll just keep the baby.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want it!¡± Bu Xianxian protested. He questioned with a frown, ¡°Why? Are you refusing to give birth to my child even when you¡¯re already pregnant?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have ns to have children just yet.¡± Bu Xianxian was flustered and perturbed. How could I possibly give birth to his child? I refuse! ¡°An abortion would be detrimental to your health. Give birth to it and I¡¯ll give you more money. If that¡¯s not enough, I can marry you too,¡± said Shi Shaochuan. So long as she was carrying a baby boy, he did not mind marrying her, though he did not want to make her his wife at all. Chapter 1078 - Perplexed and Smitten 138 1078 Perplexed and Smitten 138 However, his offers did not entice Bu Xianxian at all. Although she had been dating Shi Shaochuan for quite some time now, she had only done it for the sake of money. She did not in the least bit love him. How could she possibly marry him and give birth to his child? Wouldn¡¯t that mean that she would be tied down for the rest of his life? Jin Qingyan was the only person she was willing to be tied down to. Others can forget about it! Bu Xianxian was not entirely brainless, and she had also figured out that Shi Shaochuan would definitely keep a close eye on her if she were to tell him straight that she was nning to get an abortion. If that were to happen, she would lose her freedom too. Hence, she decided toply for now. However, Shi Shaochuan had also thought of the things she had figured out. He was well aware of what she was thinking. Shi Shaochuan said coaxingly in a tender voice, ¡°Xianxian, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll definitely take responsibility. I¡¯m different from those irresponsible men. Since I promised to marry you, I¡¯ll definitely do so and give you and our child aplete family.¡± ¡°What if it¡¯s a girl?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll keep her too.¡± However, he probably wouldn¡¯t marry her if it were to be a girl. Bu Xianxian was filled with displeasure, for she had dreaded getting pregnant the most. She wanted to abort it secretly behind his back before telling him. She was afraid that by then... ¡°Xianxian, if you abort the child behind my back, don¡¯t me me for being nasty to you.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I mean exactly what I said. Don¡¯t act rashly.¡± Bu Xianxian snapped, ¡°Since you want a child so dearly, why didn¡¯t you make your former wives give birth to more children for you? I really can¡¯t figure out why you didn¡¯t get intimate with An Xiaoning at all throughout the two years of your marriage with her. If you had made her give birth to your children...¡± Jin Qingyan wouldn¡¯t have wanted to marry her! she thought to herself. She dared not voice it out loud. ¡°What if I had made her give birth to my children?¡± ¡°Nothing, I just can¡¯t understand why.¡± ¡°Why should I have made her give birth to my children? Is she fit to be the mother of my child? I¡¯ll never get intimate with her even if she were thest woman on earth.¡± Finding that he had great taste in women, she asked, ¡°Does that mean you think that I deserve to give birth to your child more than she does?¡± Somehow, she felt a sudden sense of superiority. ¡°Of course, you¡¯re far better than she is.¡± If only Jin Qingyan thought the same, Bu Xianxian thought to herself. Before Shi Shaochuan left, he assigned two bodyguards to keep close tabs on Bu Xianxian all day, regardless of where she goes. Although Bu Xianxian appeared to be enjoying freedom on the surface, she was, in fact, living no different from a prisoner. It was not that easy for her to get an abortion. Since she didn¡¯t have any friends, she decided to go home to inform her parents about her pregnancy and, at the same time, seek their opinion. After hearing her words, Mr. and Mrs. Bu were shocked out of their senses. ¡°Are you really pregnant?¡± Bu Xianxian answered with a nod, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What do you n to do about it, then?¡± ¡°Mother, I don¡¯t want to keep the baby, but that person insists that I give birth to it.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you want it?¡± Mrs. Bu asked again. ¡°I don¡¯t love him anyway. I¡¯m only dating him for the sake of money. I don¡¯t n to spend the rest of my life with him.¡± Mrs. Bu said, ¡°Xianxian, your father and I didn¡¯t agree to let you go under the knife just so you could exchange your looks for money. We still hope that you¡¯ll be able to change your views and settle down with a man who treats you well. How could you get together with a man purely for the sake of money?¡± ¡°I just don¡¯t want the baby. He¡¯s twice-divorced and has a daughter from his second marriage. His parents are dead. That¡¯s why he wants to keep this child. He¡¯s wealthy.¡± Bu Xianxian had rarely spoken to her parents about Shi Shaochuan. They barely knew much about him.Read more chapter on v ipnovel. ¡°You... you seriously...¡± Mr. Bu had no idea what to say about his daughter and continued smoking incessantly. ¡°You want to get an abortion but he doesn¡¯t want you to. In that case, why don¡¯t you just give birth to it? Just marry him. Women ought to just settle down with a man.¡± ¡°Mother, do you know who his first wife was?¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°She¡¯s An Xiaoning.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Mrs. Bu asked in astonishment. ¡°Yes. He was a little displeased when he first saw me.¡± Feeling a little worried, Mrs. Bu said, ¡°Think about it. He divorced Ms. An and yet you look so much like her now. How could he possibly be good to you? He¡¯d better not be using you to get a child. By the way...¡± Mrs. Bu¡¯s heart grew heavy at the thought of a greater problem. She continued, ¡°It would be fine if the child looks like him. But wouldn¡¯t the cat be let out of the bag if the child looks like you before you went under the knife?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t give birth to that child. However, he has ordered two bodyguards to keep close tabs on me at all times. They¡¯re now watching me right outside the door. There¡¯s no way for me to go to the hospital at all.¡± ¡°Xianxian, don¡¯t be like this...¡± After she racked her brains, an idea popped up in Mrs. Bu¡¯s mind. She said, ¡°Inform him beforehand that you went under the knife to look like Ms. An. Tell him that there¡¯s a possibility that the child may not be gically blessed. Show him a photo of yourself before you got stic surgery. Perhaps he wouldn¡¯tpel you to give birth then.¡± Bu Xianxian found that her mother¡¯s words made sense. For the first time, she felt like her mediocre looks would actuallye in handy. ¡°What if it still doesn¡¯t work?¡± After a moment of silence, Mrs. Bu answered, ¡°Then we¡¯ll have toe up with another solution. We¡¯ll worry about that when the timees. Just try this first.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± With a heavy heart, Bu Xianxian proceeded to look for photos of her old self. Staring at her old photos, she felt as if she was looking at someone else. She deliberately picked out a photo in which she appeared even uglier than she originally was, so as to exaggerate things. She returned to the rented apartment with the photo and waited for Shi Shaochuan toe home. ¡ª The weather in Y Nation was gloomy when the four of them arrived. Despite it being summertime in July, the temperature in Y Nation was much colder, unlike the sweltering heat in S Nation. Just as they exited, they heard the sounds of an rming from above. ¡°Latest update: We¡¯re facing a terrorist attack in the city. To all tourists who are heading toward the city, please make a detour. To all tourists who are heading toward the city, please make a detour. This is to prevent any dire consequences.¡± The four of them stopped in their tracks. Pointing at the seat further away, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Let¡¯s stop and observe the situation first.¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll leaveter.¡± ¡°Mr. Jin will probably contact us.¡± They sat down, after which Long Tianze took out hisptop to check for thetest updates of the situation. He said, ¡°Seems like it¡¯s the doing of the DK Organization. We¡¯d better not go for now.¡± After waiting for news for a long time, they still did not receive any calls from Jin Qingyan. An Xiaoning suggested, ¡°Shall we just head to the address they had given us?¡± ¡°It¡¯d be good for us to go take a look. That¡¯s better than waiting here aimlessly.¡± An Xiaoning took out one of the two guns she had brought along and handed it to Mei Yangyang. ¡°Take one with you.¡± Mei Yangyang grabbed the gun. An Xiaoning took the lead while Mei Yangyang followed behind the other two people who were walking in between her and An Xiaoning. They hailed a taxi in a bid to head to the address. However, the taxi driver turned them down. He refused to send them there due to the chaos that had just broken out. After receiving the same response from several other drivers, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Could Qingyan...¡± ¡°Sis, don¡¯t let your imagination run wild.¡± Pointing at a bus that was not too far away, Mei Yangyang continued, ¡°There¡¯s a big bus there. Let¡¯s go take a look. If we¡¯re near the location, let¡¯s board the bus to get there.¡± Chapter 1079 - Perplexed and Smitten 139 1079 Perplexed and Smitten 139 ¡°Yes, let¡¯s go ask them.¡± After asking around, they discovered that the said location was neither too far not too close from where they were. The four of them boarded the bus. It was easy for them to get aboard since they did not have too much luggage. They finally arrived at their destination after a two- to three-hour journey, during which the bus made several stops. They alighted from the bus to see that there were coincidentally some motorbikes for sale. Not wanting to walk at all, Long Tianze suggested, ¡°Shall we buy two motorbikes to aid us in getting around? However, we¡¯ll only be staying for two days. It¡¯d be a little wasteful.¡± An Xiaoning handed him some cash and said, ¡°You won¡¯t find it a waste if you¡¯re spending my money.¡± ¡°How... generous of you, Sis-inw. Qingyan duped me of 300 thousand dors back then. Well, nothinges for free.¡± ¡°Hurry along.¡± Long Tianze sprinted toward the motorbike store. Mei Yangyang asked, ¡°Will one motorbike be enough for us?¡± ¡°Yes. One of you can ride in the front while the other two can ride in the backseat.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true...¡± Ten minutester, Long Tianze sped toward them in a cool, ck-colored motorbike. He looked absolutely suave in the helmet, and he batted his eyelids at the three of them. ¡°Hey babes,e get on my bike. I¡¯ll take you guys for a spin,¡± he teased. ¡°I think you¡¯re asking for death,¡± said Mei Yangyang, who glowered at him and hopped onto the seat behind him, grabbing tightly onto the two suitcases. Fang En rode in front of him, on top of the gas tank, whereas An Xiaoning sat behind Mei Yangyang. Although they could still get the motorbike going, Fang En felt extremely ufortable. The four of them arrived at their destination after a short journey, during which lots of pedestrians stared in shock. However, chaos had already broken out at their desired destination, which was surrounded by the police. The terrorists had already left the scene, leaving behind an unbearable sight. The four of them stood rooted to the ground and looked at each other in shock and dismay. An Xiaoning dared not imagine what might have happened. Although Xiao Chenyang is around, what if they¡¯re separated... She found it hard to breathe all of a sudden. ¡°Seems like our meeting point has been destroyed. Let¡¯s check into a hotel nearby. We might just bump into them,¡± she suggested. They agreed unanimously. They arrived at a five-star hotel and settled the administrative procedures. They booked two adjacent rooms, which they then checked into. An Xiaoning had been holding her mobile phone tightly in her hand, not wanting to miss any calls or text messages. However, she never received any calls. An Xiaoning freshened up and put on some light makeup. She then pulled her hair back into a small ponytail before putting on a hat. She, Fang En, Long Tianze, and Mei Yangyang then headed downstairs to have their meal. While waiting for the elevator, they agreed to ask the hotel about Jin Qingyan and Xiao Chenyang, for they could not think of a better solution. However, they got a great shock the moment the doors of the elevator opened. They were greeted with the sight of Jin Qingyan, who was also surprised to see them, standing alone in the elevator. An Xiaoning gazed at him in surprise and disbelief. Everyone else were shell-shocked too. It was a well-known fact that Jin Qingyan was naturally handsome and suave. His exquisite features had be much more chiseled and defined, and he looked as if he had just walked out of a painting. He was glowing and had an alluring aura. He seemed almost godly. He was dressed in a white buttoned shirt that he had tucked into his ck trousers. His sleeves were folded, exposing his bare arms. He exited from the elevator with his hands in his pocket. He walked toward An Xiaoning. ¡°What are you guys doing here?¡± Long Tianze interjected, ¡°We came to see if you died in the terrorist attack.¡± Jin Qingyan gave him the side-eye and remarked, ¡°Do those small fries have the ability to kill me?¡± Long Tianze pursed his lips and hugged Jin Qingyan while pretending to cry on his shoulder. ¡°Master Jin, you¡¯ve really scared me, your concubine. Should anything have happened to you, how am I supposed to live without you?¡± Jin Qingyan poked him and said, ¡°You. Get. Away. From. Me.¡± Long Tianze hugged him tighter and said, ¡°No. No one can separate us, not even Heaven. You¡¯re mine!¡± Mei Yangyang rolled her eyes at the sight of her husband disgracing himself. She went forth and pulled Long Tianze away before saying to Jin Qingyan, ¡°Ignore this idiot. We¡¯re going down to have our meal first. You two join uster.¡± Fang En followed them into the lift. An Xiaoning hurriedly asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Xiao Chenyang?¡± ¡°He¡¯s not with me. He went out to handle something.¡± She nodded. The doors of the elevator closed and they were left alone together. An Xiaoning wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her face against his chest. ¡°You really scared me. I thought that something had happened to you. I can¡¯t handle any blows from you.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go downstairs to eat too. You must be tired after such a long flight. After we¡¯re done eating, we¡¯ll head back up and you can take a shower before getting some rest,¡± he said while pressing the button of another elevator. ¡°Where did you go just now?¡± ¡°I went to the lobby in a bid to pick you guys up but I didn¡¯t see you. Maybe I missed you guys when you came upstairs. I asked the front desk for the details of your room. I was just nning to look for you guys.¡± An Xiaoning looked up at him and asked, ¡°Why do I feel like you seem to look different from before?¡± ¡°In what way?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve be... so much more handsome. I must keep a close eye on you,¡± she said, refusing to let go of him. ¡°Do I need to be monitored?¡± ¡°Of course you do. I can¡¯t let those whores near you.¡± He smiled and said, ¡°Yes, Mdy. You must be my firewall.¡± Ding! The elevator doors opened. An Xiaoning let go of him and held his hand instead before exiting the elevator. Indeed... An Xiaoning scanned her surroundings to discover that every single woman seemed to be ogling her man... Jin Qingyan ignored their gazes and walked An Xiaoning to the living room. Long Tianze and the rest had already ced their orders. The two of them sat down, and Long Tianze asked Jin Qingyan, ¡°Did you go overseas to visit the beauty salon?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Hey, look, we¡¯re both about the same age and you¡¯re in fact a year older than I am. Yet, why does it seem like I¡¯m your older brother now? Just what beauty products have you been using? Rmend them to me.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t use any beauty products. I¡¯ll rmend some to you if I ever start using them.¡± ¡°...¡± Long Tianze was hurt and envious to hear that Jin Qingyan had not used any beauty products. ¡°Was the DK Organization behind the terrorist attack this time?¡± Jin Qingyan answered, ¡°Yes, the terrorists are from R Nation. They work under Pei Yi. They¡¯ve already left the scene, but they¡¯re still within the vicinity.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t stay here any longer after having our meal, then.¡± An Xiaoning remarked in puzzlement, ¡°Why is Pei Yi here again to stir trouble? Not to mention, this is the capital of Y Nation.¡± Chapter 1080 - Perplexed and Smitten 140 1080 Perplexed and Smitten 140 ¡°They¡¯re known to wreak havoc at unpredictable times.¡± Jin Qingyan looked at Fang En, who had been remaining silent, and took out a key card from his wallet. He handed it to her and said, ¡°Xiao Chenyang wants me to hand you this.¡± Fang En grabbed the card from him and took a look at the room number before stowing it away in her bag. She did not ask about where Xiao Chenyang had gone because she did not want to know. ¡°En, don¡¯t wander off on your own after dinner,¡± An Xiaoning instructed. ¡°I know, Sis.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s dig in.¡± An Xiaoning had a lot of questions for Jin Qingyan. However, it was clearly inappropriate to pose them to him right in front of everyone else. Thus, she decided to finish eating as soon as possible and ask him about it when they were back inside the room. They were seated beside the window where they could see the sky turn dark gradually. Half an hourter, they were all done eating. Everyone headed upstairs together and returned to their own rooms. The moment An Xiaoning closed the door, she was engulfed by a strong force. She took a few steps backward and fell onto the bed. They could reach other¡¯s minds and An Xiaoning decided to kiss him on his neck around his Adam¡¯s apple. She fiddled with the buttons on his shirt and moved her lips upward to kiss his icy cold lips. ¡°Mm...¡± Jin Qingyan tensed up and froze for a few seconds before kissing her zealously with all the passion he had in him. An Xiaoning had no time to even think. She twisted her body and parted her quivering cherry-reds a little to let out a moan of pleasure. At this moment, she felt just like a boat that was floating aimlessly on the vast ocean. She finally unbuttoned his shirt, exposing his muscr chest. He stroked her hair and stared at her with gleaming eyes that melted her heart. The next thing An Xiaoning knew, he had already undressed her and stripped her down to nothing. She stood right in front of him, stark naked. Jin Qingyan grabbed her ankles and flipped her over to have her back facing him. An Xiaoning was rocked vigorously and she murmured incoherently without stopping. Her words had boosted their moods while getting intimate with each other. Just as they were in the midst of releasing their burning passion, the doorbell rang. Long Tianze called, ¡°Urgent report. Hurry and open the door.¡± An Xiaoning recalled Long Tianze knocking on their door when they were getting intimate previously in Wei Ni Estate. This time, he had done the same. Why does he always show up at such untimely junctures? Seeing that he did not receive any response, Long Tianze again called out, ¡°I¡¯m giving you half an hour. Hurry ande over. Otherwise, you¡¯ll regret it.¡± Jin Qingyan did not bother pausing. Although he was given half an hour, he decided to stop only after he had climaxed. It took about fifty minutes. An Xiaoning¡¯s legs had turned to jelly. She punched him teasingly and said coquettishly, ¡°Are you trying to kill me?¡± He leaned against the headboard and lit up a cigarette, appearing rxed and satisfied. He smirked and said, ¡°I just want to do you whenever I think of you.¡± ¡°How indecent. Can¡¯t you think of something else apart from that?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the only way I cane up with to express my love for you. I can¡¯t think of anything else. I¡¯m not that lofty. When I love someone, I just want to possess them and make them mine. I don¡¯t have any limits at all.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t Tianze say that there¡¯s something urgent? Hurry and get up. He¡¯s probably getting impatient,¡± she urged. ¡°After this cigarette,¡± said Jin Qingyan, who was not in a hurry at all. ¡°If something major really happened, he would¡¯ve told us about it at the door. He wouldn¡¯t have been waiting until now. I doubt there¡¯s really anything that important.¡± An Xiaoning put on her clothes and cleaned up the ce. He stubbed the cigarette butt to put it out and began getting dressed too. ¡°Before we go out, report everything about you to me. Where have you gone for the past few days and what have you been doing?¡± ¡°Are you interrogating me, Mdy? Do you really want to find out?¡± Jin Qingyan goaded with a smirk. ¡°Yes. Hurry ande clean,¡± An Xiaoning said, raising her chin. Jin Qingyan sat up straight and hugged her. ¡°I¡¯ve already promised Xiao Chenyang not to tell you what I had done while I was away. However, I can tell you where I went.¡± ¡°Where did you go?¡± ¡°To a ce called Mount Wanyan. It belongs to Y Nation and it¡¯s a very tall mountain. Xiao Chenyang used to live near the peak of the mountain.¡± ¡°What did you guys even eat when you were so high up? Did you feed on air?¡± ¡°We lived like primitives. Frankly speaking, I was almost bored to death when I lived up there, especially when he left me alone to go to S Nation. I missed you so much, and I thought about you every night and day. I wondered if you had been taking your meals regrly, I wondered about what you were doing and whether or not you were tired. Although we weren¡¯t together physically, you¡¯re always on my mind wherever I go.¡± An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Do you really not know what Xiao Chenyang had called En here for?¡± ¡°He must have made something for her. He even said that he wants to take En to the ce where he used to live. They¡¯ll be returning to S Nation afterward. Don¡¯t worry.¡± An Xiaoning was relieved to hear his words. ¡°Tianze and Yangyang must be waiting for us. Let¡¯s go and see them now.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± They proceeded to Long Tianze¡¯s room. As soon as they entered, Long Tianze eximed, ¡°Master Jin, I clearly gave you two half an hour. And yet, you took an entire hour toe here. Youpletely disregarded my words. Do you even take me seriously?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°I... I really want to take you in hand on behalf of your father,¡± said Long Tianze, pointing his finger at Jin Qingyan, appearing as if he was heartbroken. Mei Yangyang poked him and said, ¡°Get straight to the point.¡± Long Tianze pped himself and said, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll get straight to the point. Before I went to your room to call you, the staff at the front desk of the hotel called me to say that the mastermind who nned this attack is nearby and might very likely show up again tonight. We¡¯re advised against wandering around at night. They also told me that the chieftain is female.¡± ¡°Then?¡± ¡°Nothing else. I just think we should leave since we¡¯re out for a vacation, not to coop ourselves up in a hotel room. Shall we head to another destination tomorrow? This ce really frightens me.¡± Jin Qingyan agreed, ¡°Sure, but Xiao Chenyang hasn¡¯t returned yet. Xiaoning, let¡¯s go inform Fang En that the four of us will be leaving tomorrow morning. She shall stay here alone with Xiao Chenyang.¡± An Xiaoning said, ¡°I¡¯ll tell her myself. There are some things that I¡¯d like to talk to her about in private. What¡¯s her room number?¡± ¡°1236.¡± ¡°Sis, I¡¯ll go with you,¡± said Mei Yangyang. Jin Qingyan and Long Tianze were left alone in the room. Long Tianze squinted at him and said, ¡°You are really something, rascal. How do youst so long in bed? Come clean and tell me truthfully, did you take some aphrodisiacs?¡± Chapter 1081 - Perplexed and Smitten 141 1081 Perplexed and Smitten 141 Jin Qingyan smiled at him and said, ¡°Aphrodisiacs are just going to make you impotent sooner. I obviously wouldn¡¯t take them.¡± ¡°How long can youst in bed now?¡± ¡°Make a guess.¡± Long Tianze stuck his finger out and asked, ¡°One hour? Am I right?¡± ¡°At least one hour, if I¡¯m feeling energized.¡± ¡°What the heck!?! You¡¯re impressive! I must learn from you. Please share your secrets with me,¡± Long Tianze said in awe. He continued, ¡°I¡¯m getting weak and almost impotent... please impart your secret skills with me.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell you if you give me this much,¡± said Jin Qingyan, sticking three fingers out. ¡°Three hundred thousand dors again?¡± ¡°This concerns you and your wife¡¯s sex life. I don¡¯t usually share my secrets with others. Take it or leave it.¡± Long Tianze eximed in disgruntlement, ¡°Master Jin, are you even human? Why are you such a money-grubber? Who am I? I¡¯m your best buddy. How could you treat me this way!?!¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯m not going to tell you anymore. You don¡¯t have to give me any money either. This is a transaction between two willing parties.¡± Feeling a little indignant and refusing to give up. He decided to conceded after much consideration. ¡°One hundred thousand dors. Take it or leave it.¡± ¡°Okay, deal. Transfer the money to me first.¡± Long Tianze thought that Jin Qingyan would stick to his principles and insist on charging him 300 thousand dors. Yet he actually... Had I known earlier, I would have just offered ten thousand. His pride seemed to have gotten in the way when it came to having a discussion about such matters. He could not help but feel embarrassed. However, he was Long Tianze! ¡°Ten thousand.¡± Jin Qingyan turned around in a bid to leave. ¡°Save that for yourself,¡± he said. Long Tianze hurriedly grabbed onto him and said, ¡°Hey, hey, hey, don¡¯t go yet. I¡¯ll transfer the money to you. I¡¯ll do it right now. One hundred thousand dors it is.¡± He whipped out his mobile phone and transferred the money to Jin Qingyan immediately. He then asked eagerly, ¡°Just what secrets do you have? Hurry and tell me.¡± ¡°Can youst for half an hour now?¡± ¡°About there.¡± ¡°And you¡¯d like tost for at least an hour?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s easy. Just do your forey for forty minutes.¡± Long Tianze was momentarily speechless. Dumbfounded, he asked, ¡°Is that what you do?¡± ¡°No, our forey is really short.¡±Read more chapter on v ipnovel. ¡°Can you share some constructive and substantial secrets with me?¡± ¡°The secret is to just hurry up and nourish your kidney. I¡¯ll get Shixin to send you some expensive tonic when we¡¯re back in S Nation.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve duped me again! I want the root of the old tree!¡± The root that Long Tianze was talking about was an extremely rare and expensive tonic that resembled a tree root and was meant for nourishing one¡¯s kidney. It could not be found on the market at all and would usually cost more than 200 thousand dors. Jin Qingyan did have a few stalks of the herb in his warehouse. He said with raised brows, ¡°You¡¯re asking for the tree root when you¡¯ve only offered 100 thousand dors? Are you dreaming?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you give me a discount and sell one stalk to me at 100 thousand dors?¡± Long Tianze asked with a sheepish grin. ¡°No, you can¡¯t buy that stuff anymore, even if you have money.¡± Long Tianze had long wanted to get his hands on the herb. However, he had been refraining from buying it because of how expensive it was. Now that he was certain that Jin Qingyan must have been consuming the herb, he decided that he can¡¯tg too far behind. He asked, ¡°What must I do before you¡¯re willing to sell it to me?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll sell it to you if you¡¯re willing to fork out two million dors. I won¡¯t make a profit off of you, but I can¡¯t incur a loss either. Aren¡¯t you aware of how great a discount I gave you when I sold the mansion to you back then?¡± Long Tianze patted him on his shoulder and said, ¡°I¡¯m aware, buddy. Two million dors it shall be, then. I¡¯ll transfer 1.9 million dors to you right now. That¡¯ll make up two million, including the 100 thousand I had transferred to you just now. Get your people to deliver it to my house immediately. I¡¯ll call my menter.¡± ¡°Look how eager you¡¯re getting.¡± ¡°How could I not be eager? I¡¯m a year younger than you are and yet there¡¯s such a drastic difference between us. Jin, you shall be held liable if there are no effective results.¡± ¡°Are you a fool? If it¡¯s ineffective, who would spend that much money on it? I¡¯ve been keeping them and saving them for future purposes. They¡¯ve been sitting at home for a long time. The value of this herb is now way higher than two million dors. Go online to check if you don¡¯t believe me.¡± He immediately went on the inte to check on the prices of the herb, only to find that its value had indeed soared to exorbitant prices. After transferring the money to Jin Qingyan, he called his servants to verify if the herb had been safely delivered to his home. He could finally put his mind at ease after hearing that they had put it away properly. ¡°Why aren¡¯t they back yet?¡± ¡°Three women make a market, four a fair. Why are you so impatient?¡± Ding! The doors opened, and An Xiaoning showed up at the door together with Mei Yangyang. They both had a grave expression on their faces. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°We went to look for En and she took a really long time to answer the door. A service attendant who walked past informed us that En had left with her boyfriend. I initially thought that he was referring to Xiao Chenyang. After taking a few steps forward, I asked the attendant again if it was a good-looking man. However, the attendant dissented and said that it was an average-looking man who was not that tall. He also said that they seemed to be having a couple¡¯s tiff and that En was hitting and berating him while he tried to coax her. I knew something had gone wrong the moment I heard that. We asked to watch the surveince camera footages, but the staff at the front desk refused to let us view them. Can we find Xiao Chenyang?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try looking for him,¡± said Jin Qingyan, who immediately left. An Xiaoning and Mei Yangyang looked at each other before closing the door. ¡°It can¡¯t be the DK Organization, can it?¡± ¡°Why would they abduct En? En doesn¡¯t even know them...¡± An idea popped up in An Xiaoning¡¯s mind and she added, ¡°Could it be Xihou Jiaping? It shouldn¡¯t be him either...¡± When Xihou Jiaping pretended to be Xiao Chenyang¡¯s brother and visited En, she didn¡¯t leak any clues at all. Hence, it can¡¯t be the case. Just why was En taken away... She could not figure it out. The three of them waited patiently. Half an hourter, Jin Qingyan returned and said, ¡°Xiao Chenyang has gone to look for her.¡± ¡°Qingyan, shall we help out and search for her too?¡± ¡°No, things are rather chaotic outside. Let¡¯s stay together for now. I believe he has the ability to find Fang En and bring her back safely.¡± .... Meanwhile, Fang En was locked up in a huge cage. There were numerous wolves outside the cage, all of which had an emerald glow. They were pacing back and forth outside the cage and growling at her menacingly while sizing up their prey. Fang En wrapped her arms around herself tightly and curled up into a ball in the center of the cage. She was paralyzed by fear and absolutely regretted her decision to open the door for a stranger. If she hadn¡¯t done that, she wouldn¡¯t have been brought here forcefully. Will someone discover that I¡¯ve gone missing? She did not have an answer. All she could feel was fear. She was afraid that the abductor would release the wolves into the cage and let them devour her. She heard footstepsing down the stairs, and two figures appeared, a woman taking the lead. ¡°Is this the person we¡¯re supposed to look for?¡± ¡°Yes, there¡¯s no mistake.¡± Scanning Fang En from head to toe, the woman remarked, ¡°She doesn¡¯t look like her at all.¡± She said to Fang En, ¡°Look up.¡± Fang En raised her head and looked up at the woman. The moment the woman saw her features, she turned to p the man and eximed, ¡°I told you to abduct the woman in room 1238! Who¡¯s this person you¡¯ve brought? You can¡¯t even get such a simple thing done. What am I paying you for!?!¡± Chapter 1082 - Perplexed and Smitten 142 1082 Perplexed and Smitten 142 Upon hearing her words, Fang En immediately said, ¡°I¡¯m staying in room 1236.¡± Realizing that he had gotten the wrong person, the man immediately said, ¡°I¡¯ll go and nab that woman in room 1238 right now. Shall we release this woman?¡± Fang En gazed at the woman earnestly, hoping that she would agree to release her. To her astonishment, the woman scoffed and said, ¡°What for? These little guys have been hungry for a while. They must be famished. Feed her to them.¡± Fang En immediately copsed and glowered at the woman angrily while her hands trembled uncontrobly. However, she kept her cool and eximed, ¡°Do... you know who I am? If you dare do that to me, my boss is not going to let you off!¡± ¡°Your boss? Who?¡± ¡°An Xiaoning.¡± The woman squinted and asked, ¡°An Xiaoning?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, her!¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t even know that I¡¯m the one who abducted you. Who would find out by the time these little guys devour you and chew you down to your bones?¡± ¡°You¡¯re such a fool. How did you even be a leader? I suggest you send me back immediately and put an end to this. Think about the consequences you¡¯d have to face before youy a finger on me. Don¡¯t me me for failing to remind you. You¡¯ll suffer a greater loss by the time you get yourself in trouble.¡± Noticing how fearless Fang En seemed, as if she was not at all afraid of being fed to the wolves, the woman humphed and sneered, ¡°This is not S Nation, what can she do to me? She¡¯s not invincible.¡± She then ordered her henchmen, ¡°Kill this woman immediately!¡± Seeing that her threats seemed to have no effect, Fang En¡¯s heart almost jumped out of her chest as her stomach twisted into a knot. She glued herself onto the ground and refused to move. Just as the man was about to open the cage, she grabbed him and said, ¡°Even if you don¡¯t release me on ount of my boss, you should do so on your own ount.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Pei Yi¡¯s old me. If you refuse to believe me, you may try calling him to ask him about it,¡± Fang En said recklessly upon recalling what she had heard at the dining table. She was merely hoping for a miracle and trying to stall for time. The woman was shocked out of her senses. Seeing how confident Fang En seemed to be, she said to her henchman, ¡°Watch her while I go upstairs to make a call.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Fang En loosened her grip on the man. However, she was engulfed with even more fear and panic. She had broken out in a cold sweat due to immense fear and anxiety. The terror had robbed her of her speech, and she could not make a single sound. The man shot her a nce and said, ¡°If you dare lie to us...¡± There was no way to put her emotions into words. In reality, she was indeed lying to them. She felt extremely regretful for not keeping a dagger with her at all times. Had she done so, she would definitely have had the chance to escape. Yet... I¡¯m only 24 years old this year. Am I really going to just die in this foreignnd? Why am I so unlucky? The thought of bing a feast for the wolves sent tears rolling down Fang En¡¯s face as her hands trembled incessantly. She recalled her short and fleeting life. She had been raised by her grandmother ever since she was a child, and her parents had shown little to no concern or love for her at all. At some point, she even felt like she was an orphan. After going through painstaking effort, she finally reached adulthood and gained financial independence. Yet, her grandmother had already passed away. She had finally found someone who fancied her as much as she fancied them. And yet, Xiao Chenyang showed up out of the blue and disrupted her life. Neither of her familial and romantic rtionships ever worked out. Her career was finally picking up... She had just bought an apartment and moved into a ce she could call her own, a ce she could call her home. The mere few minutes felt like a century. Finally, the woman returned again with a look of menace. She was dressed in the devil¡¯s color ¡ª red. She made her intimidating entrance and walked down the stairs, sending shivers down Fang En¡¯s spine. Fang En grabbed onto the metal cage tightly for dear life while the woman approached her step by step. She was glowering at Fang En and appeared as if she was about to devour her the next second. ¡°How dare you lie to me. Why would my ancestor have an old me like you? Take a good look at yourself in the mirror. You¡¯re so ordinary-looking that there are plenty of women on the streets who are just like you!¡± The woman snorted withughter and gibed, ¡°I can¡¯t believe I actually trusted your words and called him personally, only to receive a scolding from him. I didn¡¯t actually n to punish you myself, but it seems I must vent my frustration. So what if you¡¯re not the person I originally wanted to abduct? me it on your misfortune to have bumped into me!¡± She tried to pull the door of the cage open, but to no avail because of how tightly Fang En was gripping onto it. She put on a sinister smile and red at Fang En coldly before taking her time to whip out a pistol. Staring at the ck pistol that was aimed at her, Fang En felt herself growing weak instantly, and her hands moved away from the cage involuntarily. The woman had a menacing and sly gaze. At this moment, Fang En¡¯s life was worth nothing to her. Just as she was about to fire a bullet at Fang En, she heard a deafening sound, followed by that of an explosion. The thick walls immediately copsed all of a sudden, and a figure zoomed toward the cage in no time. The woman did not even manage to catch a glimpse of his face. He strangled her neck forcefully and lifted her into the air. Everything happened all too suddenly. Even Fang En did not manage to see how he had made his entrance. The next thing she knew, the woman was now in his hands. She sat on the ground, overwhelmed by astonishment. She watched the man, who was dressed in an all-ck ensemble and seething with exasperation, snapping the woman¡¯s neck without even allowing her to speak. The woman¡¯s shriek ceased as soon as she let it out. Fang En was terrorized and had turned as pale as a sheet. She immediately buried her face in her knees, not daring to look up at all. Xiao Chenyang flung the woman aside and took a few nces at the wolves in front of him. He whipped out a weapon and flicked it against the wolves, causing them to howl in pain and roll around on the ground. He finally shifted his gaze onto the man who had peed in his pants out of fear. The man watched Xiao Chenyang approach him and retreated in utmost fear. He pleaded incessantly, ¡°Please don¡¯t kill me, please... please...¡± Xiao Chenyang ignored him and continued advancing forward, until the man had nowhere to die. The man could only see his shoes. Seeing that Xiao Chenyang had stopped in his tracks, he mustered up the courage to raise his head. As soon as he did, he felt an excruciating pain in his neck. In less than twenty seconds, he copsed onto the ground and spasmed a few times before he stopped breathing. Blood was trickling down the glistening sword. Clearly, Xiao Chenyang had slit the man¡¯s throat with it. Xiao Chenyang wiped the blood off his sword by brushing it against the man¡¯s body before cing it back inside its sheath. Chapter 1083 - Perplexed and Smitten 143 1083 Perplexed and Smitten 143 He returned to the cage and opened the door before squatting down. Staring at Fang En, who was still quivering in terror, he said in an alluring voice, ¡°Come out.¡± Fang En looked up at him with tears in her eyes that were as dark as ink. She then walked out of the cage slowly. When she was about to reach him, he grabbed her arm straight away, causing her to stumble forward and fall into his arms. He took the chance to pick her up. She did not struggle to get out of his embrace at all and was instead behaving as meekly as amb, perhaps because she had just gotten a great shock. He carried her back inside the room. She finally felt better after he ced her down onto the bed. ¡°Xiao Chenyang...¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Did you kill those two people?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Will the police arrest you, then?¡± ¡°Are you worried about me?¡± he asked, feeling a sudden sense of joy. She did not answer his question and instead asked again, ¡°Will they arrest you?¡± ¡°They wouldn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Why not? You killed people...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you know that you won¡¯t be punished by thew if you were to kill terrorists? In fact, you¡¯ll even be handsomely rewarded. Don¡¯t act like a saint and tell me that terrorists are humans too, that their lives ought to be respected as well.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t do that or pretend to be a saint. What do you take me for?¡± she retorted. ¡°I¡¯m very happy.¡± ¡°About what?¡± she asked in puzzlement. ¡°I¡¯m happy that you were worried about me just now.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t being worried about you. I was just afraid that I¡¯ll be implicated if the police were to arrest you. Although I was the victim, I would more or less still be affected.¡± ¡°Even then, I¡¯m still very happy. That¡¯s a form of concern too, although you do sound like you don¡¯t have a conscience.¡± Feeling extremely disgruntled, Fang En snapped, ¡°Who¡¯s the one who doesn¡¯t have a conscience? You insisted on making mee here. If I hadn¡¯te here, would I have almost died in a foreign ce? How dare you use me when I¡¯ve yet to berate you?¡± Xiao Chenyang¡¯s lips curled into a smile, and he said, ¡°Send your boss a text message to tell her that you¡¯re safe. Tell them that they don¡¯t have to worry anymore.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± She grabbed her mobile phone that was charging and sent An Xiaoning a text message. She received a reply soon after. ¡°Sis said that the four of them are leaving tomorrow for a short vacation in another nation. They¡¯re nning to return to the country after that. Shall we... tag along with them?¡± ¡°Why should we do that? Let¡¯s go on a trip alone with just me and you. We¡¯ll return to S Nation after a couple of days too,¡± said Xiao Chenyang, who had his own ns in mind. Feeling ufortable at the thought of having to be with him alone, she said, ¡°Why must we be alone with each other? Let¡¯s go together with them, shall we?¡± He could tell that she was extremely reluctant to spend time with him alone. However, the more unwilling she was, the more he enjoyedpelling her. Fang En¡¯s heart sank upon the sight of him entering the bathroom. She pinched her legs, which were still weak and feeble, before removing her shoes and moving her pillow up to lean against it. She opened her Weibo page and published a post that read: ¡°Being alive is the most blissful thing ever.¡± Those words truly described how she felt at this moment. It was exactly how she felt after having a close shave with death. Despite that, there were still a bunch of ill-intentionedizens who mistook and tweaked the meaning of her words. However, she had fortunately already be numb and invulnerable to thements of strangers. She no longer felt as upset as she did when the rumors of her dating Jing Yang were first exposed. ¡°What are you looking at?¡± he asked. Fang En put down her mobile phone and answered, ¡°I posted something on Weibo.¡± He picked up her phone and said, ¡°Let me see.¡± She tried to snatch her phone back from him and said, ¡°There¡¯s nothing much to see.¡± Xiao Chenyang raised his hand high above, causing Fang En to miss. He dodged and tapped on the screen, which lit up instantly. Her Weibo page popped up the moment he unlocked the mobile phone. After reading thetest post she had published, he turned to nce at her and said, ¡°Your wordsck uracy.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Bliss is when you get to live with the person you love. What¡¯s so blissful about living alone?¡± Pursing her lips, she said, ¡°Even though you may have a point, I can¡¯t publish that.¡± He understood why she had said that. He looked at the screen again, and a number that was typed in red caught his attention ¡ª 10,865. He tapped on the number, after which the page refreshed. Unread messages: 1025. Unreadments: 5685. Likes: 4053. Entertainment news updates: 102. ¡°Why are all these unopened and unread? Don¡¯t you read thesements at all?¡± he asked in surprise. ¡°There¡¯s nothing much to read. I only do so once in a while.¡± He opened everyment and began reading them. He continued to scroll down the page, growing more and more infuriated with eachment he had read. Noticing the grave expression on his face, Fang En said, ¡°They¡¯re all just criticizing me. Stop reading them.¡± With a sullen expression on his face, he took out a piece of paper and a pen. Seeing that he was writing something on the paper, she asked, ¡°What are you writing?¡± ¡°I¡¯m writing down the usernames of all the ounts that have criticized you.¡± Fang En stopped him and asked, ¡°What for? There are so many haters. Can you really finish writing down all of their usernames?¡± He paused in his actions and looked at her solemnly. ¡°Quit being an actress, will you?¡± ¡°Why...? I enjoy being an actress.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like reading these harshments about you.¡± ¡°Stop reading them, then. Out of sight, out of mind. Nowadays, I rarely ever read thosements on my Weibo posts. Do you know why those haters enjoy making such malicious remarks?¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Precisely because they want me to read thosements. They want me to feel upset and attacked after reading all those verbally-abusive words. They¡¯re hoping that I would be affected. However, what they don¡¯t know is... I don¡¯t even bother reading theirments at all. Ignoring them is the only way to keep my inner peace. Everyone is raised differently, and you can¡¯t expect each and every single person to treat others with respect and have manners like you do. Otherwise, why would there be so many viins in this world? Since we can¡¯t change society, we can only change ourselves and learn to adapt,¡± said Fang En, who suddenly felt relieved. Xiao Chenyang put down his pen and walked toward the bed. He handed her her mobile phone and said, ¡°Since you¡¯ve said that, it just means that you¡¯re genuinely not bothered by thosements.¡± She took it from him and asked, ¡°Why are you dressed in such a manner? Isn¡¯t it warm?¡± ¡°Not at all.¡± He then untied the ribbon around his robe and began undressing himself brazenly in front of her. Fang En closed her eyes andy down motionlessly. ¡°Can you stop stripping in front of me?¡± she chided. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like it.¡± ¡°Oh? But I like it very much. Do you want to watch some DVDs?¡± he asked. ¡°Sure, I like watching romance films.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± He had already ced a disc inside the DVD yer long ago. He turned around and opened a bottle of liquor. He then poured a ss of wine for her and another one for himself, which they then chugged in one go. She had a huge fright that night and decided to have a few drinks, only to discover that it tasted rather pleasant. Chapter 1084 - Perplexed and Smitten 144 1084 Perplexed and Smitten 144 ¡°How much does this bottle of liquor cost?¡± ¡°More than five million dors.¡± Fang En gaped in shock. ¡°That¡¯s so expensive. You don¡¯t go to work at all. Where did you get all that money from? Don¡¯t tell me...¡± Having immediately guessed what she was thinking, he humphed and rified, ¡°I didn¡¯t steal it.¡± She chuckled and asked, ¡°Where did you get that money from, then?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll naturally tell you everything about me once you be my wife.¡± ¡°Psht...¡± Fang En raised her ss and took another few sips. No wonder it tasted so good. It turned out it¡¯s so expensive. After finishing her ss, she proceeded to pour herself another. Xiao Chenyang stopped drinking after having one ss and got onto the bed slowly. Staring at the scene taking ce on the television screen, Fang En sensed that something was amiss and asked, ¡°What kind of film is this?¡± ¡°A romantic one.¡± ¡°A romantic film? If that¡¯s the case, why did they start kissing right after they met...?¡± Fang En said apprehensively. ¡°Perhaps they¡¯re just following the storyline.¡± Fang En finished her second andst ss of liquor. She leaned back against the headboard and felt a sudden urge to switch off the television the moment she saw the passionate kissing scene taking ce in the film. She initially thought that the film would be more normal and appropriate after the opening. To her astonishment, it simply got worse and racier the further the plot developed. She got out of bed without hesitation and switched off the television. The instant she saw the title of the film that was printed on the disc, she turned red with embarrassment and glowered at Xiao Chenyang. ¡°You¡¯re shameless and despicable!¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°How is this a romance film? It¡¯s obviously a...¡± ¡°Obviously a what? We¡¯re both adults, what¡¯s wrong with watching that?¡± he said with a grin. Fang En ignored him andy down on the bed. ¡°I¡¯m exhausted, I¡¯m going to bed now,¡± she said. ¡°Yes,¡± he answered. ¡ª ¡°Why are you back at such ate hour? It¡¯s already three in the morning. Do you even know what it means to be time-conscious?¡± Bu Xianxian rebuked, ring at Shi Shaochuan angrily. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you asleep yet?¡± ¡°I was waiting for you. I tried to call you so many times, why didn¡¯t you pick up?¡± ¡°I left my mobile phone in the family mansion.¡± Staring at him solemnly, Bu Xianxian said, ¡°Shaochuan, I have something to talk to you about.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°If you still want to keep the baby after hearing what I have to say, I¡¯ll pretend that I never said anything,¡± she said while taking a seat on the edge of the bed. Seeing how strangely serious she was, Shi Shaochuan asked, ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Have a look at this,¡± she said, handing him the photos of her hideous self from the past. Shi Shaochuan grabbed the photo and took a look at it before asking, ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± Shock and bewilderment were written all over his face. He scanned Bu Xianxian from head to toe before looking at the photo again. After doing so repeatedly for a few times, he burst intoughter and gibed, ¡°Xianxian, do you really think you can fool me with a photo of someone else? Do you really think I¡¯ll allow you to get an abortion just because of this?¡± ¡°Shaochuan, I lied when I said that I had never gone under the knife in the past. Actually, I went for stic surgery in order to look like An Xiaoning. If you still don¡¯t believe me, I can take you to the hospital to get that verified. The hospital still has my files that document my entire stic surgery process. You¡¯ll understand after you see them.¡± Shi Shaochuan¡¯s heart sank upon hearing her words. He could not help but feel nauseated at the thought of having slept next to such a hideous woman for so many nights. It turned out she used to be so grotesque and tan-skinned. He was initially already displeased to see that retouched face of hers that greatly resembled An Xiaoning¡¯s... Yet... ¡°You... why did you go under the knife to look like An Xiaoning? Is she even pretty?¡± ¡°Shaochuan, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re the only person who doesn¡¯t find her pretty. She¡¯s a ravishing beauty in the eyes of many others.¡± ¡°I really never used to find her pretty at all. However, after seeing this photo of the old you, I¡¯m starting to think that she¡¯s actually good-looking. Did you seriously just expose your old appearance for the sake of getting an abortion?¡± ¡°Yes, we can¡¯t keep this baby. I¡¯ve bared all the secrets about my past to you just so I can abort the child.¡± Shi Shaochuan scoffed and quipped, ¡°Congrattions, you¡¯ve seeded. Okay, let¡¯s never meet each other again. After seeing what you used to look like, I¡¯ve lost my appetite for today and tomorrow.¡±Read more chapter on v ipnovel. Despite having already prepared herself mentally, Bu Xianxian could not help but feel infuriated upon hearing his snide remark. ¡°Did I have a choice? I couldn¡¯t decide how my appearance would turn out. I was just born with those looks.¡± ¡°Yes, but did you forget that I only decided to make you my kept woman because I thought you were young and beautiful? If not, do you really think I would have spent so much money on you? I¡¯m not a lunatic. Who¡¯d have thought that you actually used to look so hideous? How nauseating.¡± ¡°You took my virginity. How dare you say such callous things!¡± ¡°Haha, if you didn¡¯t get stic surgery, I doubt others would have been willing to get intimate with you, even if you offered to give them your virginity out of your own ord.¡± Bu Xianxian was filled with immense rage. She had had an inferiorityplex before because of her looks. To make things worse, she even had dark and unappealing skin. He was practically rubbing salt into her wound. He had utterly shamed her and robbed her of her dignity. How could she possibly stomach it and take it lying down? Shi Shaochuan no longer wanted to live with her and had lost the mood to continue dating her. ¡°That¡¯s enough. You shall stay here until the end of the month. I¡¯m not going to renew the lease. Let¡¯s not meet ever again. We¡¯ll abort the child, ording to your wishes.¡± ¡°We¡¯d definitely have to abort the child, but you have to give me some money for the abortion and the post-surgery nourishment.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I already give you a lot of money on a regr basis?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a separate issue. Didn¡¯t I serve you in bed regrly too? If you¡¯re a man, you have to take the responsibility.¡± Shi Shaochuan took out a bank ount card from his wallet and handed it to her. ¡°There¡¯s 50 thousand dors in here. It¡¯s over between us.¡± Bu Xianxian took it from his hand and did not say anything further. Shi Shaochuan then left the apartment, leaving Bu Xianxian alone in there. She still felt that she had lost out. She gave Shi Shaochuan his virginity, yet he just walked out on her after toying with her and paying her some money for the fun that he had had. Meanwhile, she had already be stained and unchaste, and she would still have to undergo an abortion. However, she decided to forget it at the thought of finally being able to get rid of the baby... Bu Xianxian woke up before eight o¡¯clock in the morning, and her mother apanied her to the hospital. Since the gynecologist would only be reporting to work at eight, she had to register her name and wait outside. After hearing that she had cut off all ties with Shi Shaochuan, Mrs. Bu said, ¡°You ought to find a good man and settle down with him properly for the rest of your life. Let¡¯s just forget about this. Got it?¡± ¡°Where am I supposed to find a good man? Mother, I actually never nned to marry Shi Shaochuan either. I only decided to be with him for the sake of money. Actually, I¡¯m still harboring feelings for...¡± Mrs. Bu interrupted, ¡°Forget about it, stop getting ideas about Nick. He¡¯s not interested in you at all. Why are you so stubborn and oblivious?¡± ¡°He¡¯s the only one I adore. How am I supposed to forget about him?¡± Chapter 1085 - Perplexed and Smitten 145 1085 Perplexed and Smitten 145 ¡°You must forget him even if you can¡¯t. Listen to me, you two live in different worlds. He¡¯ll never be yours.¡± Bu Xianxian remained silent, ignoring her mother¡¯s words. Mrs. Bu asked, ¡°Why don¡¯t you sign up for a matchmaking session on a dating site?¡± ¡°Matchmaking session? What¡¯s the difference between that and a business transaction? It¡¯s as good as baring my attributes for the scrutiny of others and allowing them to take their pick.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what matchmaking is all about. Perhaps you might meet a man who¡¯ll dote on you. You can put your mind at ease once you get married and have children. You¡¯re the only daughter we have. Think about your father and me even if you don¡¯t wish to spare a thought for yourself. Our greatest wish now is for you to settle down with a man and build a blissful family of your own.¡± ¡°Those who have failed in romance are the only ones who¡¯ll sign up for blind dates on a dating website. It¡¯s not like I can¡¯t find a man anymore.¡± ¡°Why are you such an obstinate and disobedient child?¡± ¡°Okay, Mother, I know what to do. Just stay out of it.¡± Mrs. Bu was infuriated. After waiting for a long while, it was finally Bu Xianxian¡¯s turn. ¡°Bu Xianxian, it¡¯s your turn,¡± said a nurse. Bu Xianxian immediately stood up and entered the operating theater with her reference slip. ¡°Remove your skirt and lie down.¡± She did as she was told and removed her bottomspletely before lying down on the operating table. ¡°Doctor, I want a full-body anesthetic. It won¡¯t hurt at all, right?¡± ¡°It won¡¯t hurt during the surgery, but the pain will kick in after the surgery.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± said Bu Xianxian, who thought to herself that it would be alright as long as she doesn¡¯t experience any excruciating pain during the surgery. Seeing how nonchnt she was, the doctor did not say anything else. The surgery ended about ten minutester. The fetus was sessfully aborted. However, Bu Xianxian was still unconscious since the effects of the anesthesia had yet to wear off. ¡°Doctor, Doctor, when will my daughtere to?¡± ¡°In another few minutes.¡± ¡°Alright. Doctor, may I ask if the abortion will have any adverse effects on her health?¡± ¡°Of course it will. You¡¯re a mother yourself, you should be aware. There will be harmful effects on one¡¯s body, be it half or full-body anesthesia. The severity varies, though. She must recuperate and nourish her body properly after an abortion, lest she develops some persisting ailments. As with post-pregnancy confinement, if she doesn¡¯t take care of herself after an abortion, there would be several problems with her health that no amount of supplements would be able to eradicate.¡± ¡°I understand. Thank you, Doctor.¡± ¡ª After breakfast, Jin Qingyan and the other three left the hotel and headed to another city that was full of scenic attractions. When Fang En was at the buffet restaurant, she received a call from the direction of ¡°The Man from the Ancient Times.¡± ¡°Hello, Sister Gao.¡± ¡°En, I have something to tell you.¡± ¡°What is it about?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t contacted your studio yet, but I shall talk to you about it first because it¡¯s a tricky situation.¡± Not knowing what she was referring to, Fang En asked, ¡°Just what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you know who Yu Caiwei is, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve met a few times in private. What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°The investor thinks that she would be a better option for the female lead...¡± Fang En snapped the moment she heard this piece of news, ¡°Sis Gao, what do you mean? You mean you¡¯re going to breach the contract that we had already signed? So you¡¯ve decided to rece me when I¡¯ve already familiarized myself with the character and her background?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t the one who decided this. The investor was the one who requested that we change the actress.¡± Fang En gripped her mobile phone tightly, filled with exasperation. ¡°When I was approached by the producers for another teenage romance drama, Yu Caiwei used the same excuse to snatch the role away from me. The investor wants to have me reced? I¡¯m really curious and intrigued, then. Why did the investor agree to cast me as the female lead back then and yet go back on their word right before filming is about to begin? I¡¯ve heard that you¡¯re closely rted to Yu Caiwei, Sister Gao. Don¡¯t tell me that you¡¯re trying to rece me with your close friend under the pretext of it being the investor¡¯s intentions. Are you?¡± ¡°En, look what you¡¯re saying. If it wasn¡¯t a request by the investor, how could I possibly change the actress for the female lead after signing the contract with you? Since you¡¯ve already spent so much time researching on the character, we¡¯ll pay you the full sum of thepensation as stated in the contract. Will that do?¡± ¡°I think you¡¯d bettermunicate with my studio and my boss, Sister Gao. However, you guys were the ones who breached the contract first and my studio will definitely press charges against you. If news about you guys breaching the contract gets leaked before the television series even goes on air, what do you think is going to happen?¡± Sister Gao did not expect that Fang En would say something like that. She had met Fang En in private before and found her to be a quiet, reserved, and polite actress. It turned out she was no pushover. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll talk to your studio about this.¡± Fang En ended the call, boiling with anger. She had turned as pale as a sheet. Did that woman snatch my roles away for two drama series in a row? Yu Caiwei... Fang En was filled with disgruntlement at the thought of her name. When Xiao Chenyang entered the restaurant, he was greeted with the sight of Fang En sipping on her ss of juice with a straw, seemingly deep in thought and in low spirits. ¡°Why do you seem out of sorts so early in the morning?¡± Fang En looked up at him and ced the ss onto the table after taking two sips. ¡°My role was snatched away from me.¡± ¡°Who did that? I¡¯ll snatch it back for you.¡± Seeing that she was not answering him, Xiao Chenyang raised his brows and added, ¡°You don¡¯t believe me?¡± ¡°I do believe you, but this doesn¡¯t concern you. Let the studio talk to them.¡± ¡°Your problems are mine too. How does it not concern me?¡± Fang En did not look at him and instead continued drinking her juice. Noticing how upset she seemed, he ate a little and told her to pack her belongings, after which they left the hotel. Xiao Chenyang took out the keys of the motorbike and hopped onto the seat. The motorbike was given to him by Jin Qingyan, who no longer needed it since they were going to another nation. Fang En put on the helmet and sat behind him. ¡°Where are you taking me?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know when we get there. Sit tight.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, Fang En felt her body jerking toward the side, giving her a great shock. She instinctively hugged his waist to stop herself from falling, which was to the joy of Xiao Chenyang. The wind was blowing strongly against her face, causing her hair to fly all over the ce. ¡°Slow down!¡± she eximed. He nced at her and smirked. He obviously wouldn¡¯t slow down, for if he did, she would definitely let go of him. Fang En dared not loosen her grip on him at all throughout the terrifying ride. They finally arrived at their destination. When she alighted from the motorbike, she patted herself on the chest and glowered at Xiao Chenyang. ¡°Why were you speeding? I almost got a heart attack!¡± she chastised. Chapter 1086 - Perplexed and Smitten 146 1086 Perplexed and Smitten 146 Upon hearing her words, he said, ¡°You... are prone to getting heart attacks?¡± Fang En answered in amusement, ¡°I was just making a casual remark. It doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯d really get a heart attack...¡± ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to say such things so casually from now on,¡± he said, cing his helmet onto the motorbike. He then began walking toward a in-looking store. Fang En followed closely behind him, not knowing what he went there for. Fang En discovered that it was a whole new world inside. It turned out to be a tailor¡¯s shop. To be exact, it was a bridal store. Staring at the wedding gowns in front of her, Fang En tugged Xiao Chenyang¡¯s shirt and asked softly, ¡°Why did you bring me here?¡± ¡°Try them on and see if they fit.¡± Fang En obviously knew what it meant to try on gowns. ¡°I¡¯m not going to get married anyway. Why are we getting a wedding gown tailored?¡± ¡°The tailor here is a prestigious designer who¡¯s known to make the best gowns. It¡¯s hard to fix an appointment with him. I booked an appointment with him more than ten years ago. However, I told him to begin making the dress when I returned to S Nation previously. It should be almostpleted. Isn¡¯t it better to get a gown made in advance? It¡¯lle in handy sooner orter anyway.¡± ¡°When I get married in the future... I¡¯ll settle my wedding gown myself. You don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t I have to worry about it? I¡¯m the only person you can marry. Who¡¯s going to be concerned if not me?¡± He grabbed her wrist and said, ¡°Come here.¡± Fang En refused to budge and was dragged to the wedding-gown tailor. The designer was an old, bearded man who seemed to be in histe seventies. Fang En was surprised to see that the tailor was already so advanced in his years. Wouldn¡¯t his eyesight be blurry? ¡°Uncle, do you make all wedding gowns from scratch on your own?¡± She was not proficient in the foreignnguage and struggled to piece her words together. However, the tailor still could not understand her despite her gestures. ¡°Yes, all the gowns are handmade by me. I only make two a year,¡± the elderly tailor answered. Fang En did not exactly understand what he meant. She asked Xiao Chenyang, ¡°What does he mean?¡± ¡°He meant that he only makes two gowns a year.¡± Fang En then asked, ¡°How much does one bespoke gown cost? It must cost a bomb, right?¡± He ignored her andmunicated with the tailor fluently in the foreignnguage that she could not understand. Fang En headed to the fitting room and, with the assistance of the staff, put on the bespoke wedding gown that was tailored to her measurements. Before she put it on, she was still thinking to herself that the gown definitely wouldn¡¯t fit her well since Xiao Chenyang did not know her exact measurements. However, she got a great shock after putting it on. It fit her perfectly from head to toe, be it her shoulders or her waist. It seemed like it was modeled ording to her body. The wedding gown was a mermaid-tail-shaped gown that exposed her back and was cinched at her waist. When she exited, the staff helped her carry the tail of her dress, all the way until they reached therge mirror. Staring at her reflection in the mirror, Fang En gasped in shock and disbelief. She felt like she was looking at a different person. The bandeau around her chest was embellished with pearls while the fabric around her waist was encrusted with glistening diamonds. The wedding gown greatly entuated her curves, and she could tell that it was made by an extremely-skilled tailor. She looked at Xiao Chenyang¡¯s reflection in the mirror and held his gaze for a split second before looking away quickly. On the way home, Fang En asked, ¡°I really don¡¯t get it. Why... did you suddenly decide to get a wedding gown made for me?¡± Keeping his eyes fixed on the roads ahead while riding the motorbike, he answered, ¡°What reason could there be? I just wanted to see you in a wedding gown sooner.¡± Fang En shifted her gaze onto the wedding gown in his hand. She could not help but feel confused, bewildered, and at a loss for what to do because of his sudden show of affection. When he brought her to a jewelry store, Fang En immediately understood what was going on. ¡°Are you getting a ring?¡± He said in admission, ¡°I ordered a bespoke one a few days ago. I¡¯m going to collect it today.¡± Fang En waved at him and said, ¡°Go ahead and collect it, I¡¯ll wait for you here.¡± He asked solemnly, ¡°If you get taken away by a thug again while I¡¯m inside, where am I supposed to go to find you?¡± Fang En turned pale instantly at the thought of the terrifying incident.Read more chapter on v ipnovel. She leaned against him and said, ¡°All you do is frighten me. Let¡¯s go.¡± She tried on the blue diamond ring, which was resized to fit her finger perfectly, before the sales assistant ced it inside a red box. While Xiao Chenyang was making his payment, she asked using the foreignnguage in which she¡¯s pathetically influent, ¡°Miss, how much does that ring cost?¡± Smiling, the sales assistant answered, ¡°Thirty million dors.¡± Fang En was shocked out of her senses. Thirty million dors... If it were to be converted to S Nation¡¯s currency... That would be more than 90 million dors!!! The shock had robbed her of her speech. Xiao Chenyang actually bought her such an expensive ring... When he returned from the cashier, Fang En said, ¡°The ring is too expensive, return it.¡± ¡°Your man can afford it.¡± He patted her head and said, ¡°Put the ring in your bag and we¡¯ll leave this ce.¡± Upon the sight of him walking away, Fang En put the ring inside her back and hurriedly chased after him. She retorted, ¡°You¡¯re not my man. Stop spouting nonsense.¡± ¡°We eat together, sleep together, and live together. Tell me, if I¡¯m not your man, who is?¡± ¡°You forced me to do those things with you. I didn¡¯t do them willingly.¡± ¡°The result is the same anyway.¡± He walked toward the motorbike and put the helmet onto her head. ¡°I¡¯ll take you to a ce that I really want you to see.¡± ¡°When are we returning to S Nation?¡± ¡°Are you really that eager to go back?¡± ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t feel safe being abroad.¡± Xiao Chenyang stared at her and said, ¡°You¡¯re not to say this again from now on. You¡¯ll be safe as long as I¡¯m with you.¡± ¡°But I want to go back. Let¡¯s leave earlier.¡± He conceded, ¡°Shall we leave tomorrow, then?¡± Fang En nodded and said, ¡°Okay.¡± The motorbike sped through the roads. After a long journey, they finally arrived at the foot of a huge mountain. He parked the motorbike in a dpidated house and brought her to a t ground. ¡°Where¡¯s this ce?¡± ¡°Mount Wanyan.¡± Fang En scanned her surroundings and asked, ¡°Are we going to go up the mountains?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°How are we supposed to do that?¡± Pointing at a faraway spot, Fang En said, ¡°There seems to be a road there.¡± ¡°We won¡¯t take that path.¡± ¡°What do we do, then?¡± He leaned closer toward her and stood in front of her. He then wrapped her arms around his waist. Before she could even struggle, he hugged her tightly andunched himself into the sky together with her. ¡°Ahh!!!¡± Fang En shrieked in terror. She had turned pale once again, and her eyes were tightly shut while her body stiffened. By the time her feet touched the ground again, she was swaying uncontrobly from side to side, still afraid to open her eyes. Xiao Chenyang let go of her only when she finally stood steadily on her feet. ¡°Open your eyes and look around you.¡± Chapter 1087 - Perplexed and Smitten 147 T 1087 Perplexed and Smitten 147 T Fang En opened her eyes slowly, bit by bit, only to discover that she was now in a different ce. The moment she realized that she was on the peak of the mountain, she took a few steps back unknowingly and spluttered, ¡°How... how did you... just what are you?¡± She finally understood why An Xiaoning was helpless when it came to dealing with Xiao Chenyang and why she had advised her not to call the police. Indeed, what can the police possibly do about someone like him? Fang En was filled with anguish at the thought of being controlled by him for the rest of her life. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what I am. What matters is who I belong to.¡± ¡°Who do you belong to, then?¡± ¡°Must you still ask? I belong to you, of course.¡± Fang En began crying tears of shock and bewilderment. ¡°God, please spare me. I¡¯m just a weak and ordinary woman.¡± He chuckled and said, ¡°The only way you can survive is to please me and make me happy. Don¡¯t provoke me. That¡¯s the only solution that you have.¡± Fang En bawled even more loudly upon hearing his words. I don¡¯t want to! However, Xiao Chenyang did not waver despite her incessant crying and tantrums. He was willing to be her bodyguard for free! ¡°You can¡¯t be thinking of making me stay here forever, can you?¡± After all, she had already taken a close look and discovered that there was no path that one could walk along to get to the bottom of the mountain. Just how was this ce constructed? ¡°Of course not. We¡¯ll go back tomorrow since that¡¯s what I had promised you. However... if you ever provoke me again in the future, I might really just take you here and keep you here with me forever. Just us two.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t, I won¡¯t, I definitely won¡¯t make you angry again in the future,¡± she said, waving her hands frantically. Hah, I¡¯m not a fool, why would I dig my own grave after seeing for myself the extraordinary powers that he had? ¡°That better be the case. Are you hungry?¡± he asked with a look of satisfaction. ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡± ¡°What would you like to eat?¡± ¡°Buy me everything that¡¯s delicious. I need somefort food to recover from the shock.¡± ¡°Alright, wait for me here while I go buy them for you. Don¡¯t go too near the edge. I¡¯m not going to be responsible if you fall off and get reduced to shreds.¡± ¡°I know, I know, hurry along.¡± After he left, Fang En followed suit. The bright sun was casting its golden rays onto her, making her feel warm all of a sudden. Fang En whipped out her mobile phone to take a look, only to discover that there was indeed no reception. She hugged her knees and sat on the ground, unable to bring herself to smile at all. At this very moment, Yan Ge popped up in her mind. She began tearing up. What is he doing now? Is he still upset and angry with me? Is he still ming me for being ignorant? Does he also regret rmending that apartment to me, especially because it¡¯s opposite his? Does he not want to see me ever again? Fang En opened a hidden folder in the photo album on her mobile phone, which could not be seen if one did not dig deep. The hidden folder contained only photos of Yan Ge. Fang En sat outside for a long while before returning inside the cave. She scanned the ce carefully and discovered that it was indeed very well furnished. Was this where he lived? she wondered. She walked toward the bed and found that it was rather soft. Due to the immense fright she had gottenst night, she did not have a good night¡¯s sleep. She had an entire night full of nightmares and was now a little sleepy. She would feel the urge to fall asleep whenever shey down on a bed. Fang Eny downfortably and kept her eyes fixed on the ceiling above. Soon, she slipped into a daze and fell asleep. She woke up more than an hourter to see that Xiao Chenyang was sitting on the bed and gazing at her. ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Fang En asked in difort. ¡°You.¡± ¡°Your bed is too maizing. I only sat down for a while and somehow just dozed off right after.¡± ¡°Seems like I¡¯m not as attractive to you as my bed is. This bed is meant for other purposes apart from sleeping. Let¡¯s use it together another day and you¡¯ll get to experience how wonderful it is.¡± Blushing red with embarrassment, Fang En chided, ¡°What do you mean wonderful? You¡¯re spouting nonsense again.¡± ¡°How am I spouting nonsense?¡± Pointing at the food on the table, he said, ¡°Fortunately, it¡¯s summertime. If it were wintertime now, the food would definitely turn cold very quickly.¡± Fang En walked toward the table to see that he had bought several types of dishes, as well as some milk tea and other beverages. They were all to her liking. ¡°Xiao Chenyang.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I have a feeling there are a lot of secrets about you that I¡¯m unaware of. Did you use to live here?¡± ¡°This used to be my second home.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s your first home, then?¡± Gazing at her, he answered, ¡°My first home is wherever you are.¡± ¡°Have you ever thought about it carefully? Wee from different walks of life, and living like this will lead to no oue... Actually, you¡¯ll never be truly happy in a rtionship that¡¯s forced. All you¡¯ll experience is torment and hardship.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve yet to really spend time together, how do you know that we¡¯re from different walks of life?¡± ¡°I just know it.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll find out once we give it a try.¡± ¡ª After contacting the sales office of Sanqiao Estate, Mo Li found out that there was an avable unit in the same block, which the previous owner had decided to sell because of work issues. Upon hearing the news, she immediately proceeded to view the apartment. After all, it was in the same block as her current unit and was situated on the fifth floor. She felt that it was an opportunity not to be missed because it had a splendid location. After taking a look inside the apartment, she discovered that it was exquisitely renovated, and all she had to do was to move her furniture and belongings into the apartment. The owner of the apartment, Unit 501, finally decided to sell it to Mo Li after having a proper discussion with her. The three-bedroom apartment covered an area of 130 square foot and was sold at a price of about 50 thousand dors per square foot. Mo Li knew that she did not incur any losses because she had bought her apartment at a price of about 40 thousand dors per square foot. It was slightly cheaper due to the fact that it was on the 32nd floor. Thus, 50 thousand dors per square foot for an apartment that was situated on the fifth floor was rather reasonable and quite a bargain. After settling the procedures, she would have to begin moving to the fifth floor once the owner was to move away in a few days. However, Mo Li and No. 8 had agreed not to sell the apartment on the 32nd floor for the time being, since they were not cash-strapped at the moment. They decided to let Mo Li¡¯s parents move into it. That way, they would be able to live in close proximity and yet enjoy the privacy of living in their own homes. What a wonderful n. Mrs. Mo was heartened and touched to hear the decision that they had made. She said, ¡°You¡¯re so thoughtful. How could we possibly squeeze into the same apartment as you guys? That would be so inconvenient for everyone. It¡¯s great that you¡¯re letting us move into a separate apartment now. That¡¯d make life so much easier. I can tell that he really treats you well with all his heart.¡± Mo Li answered, ¡°Mother, you even tried to make me give up on No. 8. See? He¡¯s so considerate toward you and Father.¡± ¡°I was just worried about you. He¡¯s such a thoughtful and filial child. You two must be very cautious from now on. Don¡¯t let history repeat itself.¡± Chapter 1088 - Perplexed and Smitten 148 1088 Perplexed and Smitten 148 ¡°Okay, okay, Mother, hurry and go back. I¡¯m going in now.¡± Mrs. Mo left with happiness written all over her face. Just as Mo Li was about to return to the hospital ward, an approaching figure caught her attention. What is she here for? The figure seemed to have noticed her too. ¡°Oh? Ms. Mo, are you weing me?¡± ¡°You¡¯re reading too much into things,¡± Mo Li quipped. Sister Zhang hurriedly zoomed inside the ward before Mo Li could lock the door. ¡°What are you here for?¡± said No. 8. He dreaded seeing Sister Zhang, especially when Mo Li was also around. ¡°To see you, of course. I heard that you went missing and returned heavily wounded. You were once my man. How could I note and visit you?¡± No. 8 red at her coldly and clipped, ¡°Scram.¡± ¡°Scram?¡± Sister Zhang ced the basket of flowers on the table and continued, ¡°I took time out of my schedule to visit you out of kindness and this is how you treat me. Yun Chen, you didn¡¯t use to be like this in the past.¡± Noticing that No. 8 was infuriated, Mo Li immediately stood in front of the bed, for fear that he would get too agitated and rip his wound apart. ¡°You¡¯re not wee here. Please leave with your people and your flowers,¡± said Mo Li. Sister Zhang squinted and remained silent. Meanwhile, Liang and another bodyguard stepped forward to pull Mo Li aside. Upon the sight of their actions, No. 8 immediately lifted the nket and tried to get out of bed while enduring the pain. However, Sister Zhang pinned him onto the bed forcefully. ¡°I really wonder if she¡¯ll continue to stay by your side if I do you right here, right now.¡± No. 8 kicked her in her gut and said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that my elder sister would deal with you?¡± Sister Zhang took a few steps back and said, ¡°What can she do to me without any evidence?¡± She then instructed her underlings, ¡°Two of you, tie him up.¡± No. 8 could no longer be bothered about his wounds and immediately got into a brawl with the two underlings. Although he was proficient in martial arts, he was greatly hindered by his injuries. Besides, the underlings that Sister Zhang had brought were equally skilled and, just like him, had been through rigorous training since they were children. Clearly, Sister Zhang hade prepared. Soon, No. 8¡¯s hands were tied to the bed and so were his limbs, whereas Mo Li¡¯s hands were tied to the chair. She was flustered and exasperated. At this very moment, she wished that she was An Xiaoning who could p Sister Zhang andunch her into outer space. However, she knew that An Xiaoning was abroad at the moment. ¡°That¡¯s enough. You two wait outside the door,¡± Sister Zhang ordered. The four men immediately excused themselves. The three of them were left in the ward. Smiling widely from ear to ear, Sister Zhang sneered, ¡°How goddamn thrilling is this? Yun Chen, think about how Mo Li would feel to see me get intimate with you right in front of her. Do you think she¡¯d still want you after that? Even if she decides to stay with you, how could she not feel uneasy?¡± No. 8 had turned pale, and a sullen expression formed on his face. He felt a strong urge to kill the wicked woman in front of him at the thought of being humiliated by her in front of Mo Li. Mo Li watched as Sister Zhang shamelessly began undressing herself in front of the two of them. Mo Li tried to get up with the chair tied to her back. Fortunately, she could still move her legs. However, it took a great ton of energy for her to move the heavy wooden chair. Sister Zhang stripped down to nothing and began straddling No. 8 before trying to remove his hospital clothing. Mo Li flew into a rage upon seeing her actions and charged toward Sister Zhang like a bulldozer, causing thetter to be caught off guard and fall head first onto the ground. The fall made her feel an excruciating pain all over. When she tried to get up, Mo Li sat on top of her together with the chair on her back, causing Sister Zhang to almost vomit blood as she felt like her insides were about to be ruptured. She was overwhelmed with pain. Glowering at Mo Li angrily, she barked, ¡°Bitch, get off me!¡± Mo Li pinned her down with all her might and retorted, ¡°You¡¯re the shameless bitch! You shameless, despicable bitch! Why haven¡¯t you been struck by lightning yet!?!¡± Sister Zhang was boiling with fury. Unfortunately for her, the soundproofing effect of the walls of the ward was far too impressive, such that the people outside could not hear a thing at all. Just as Sister Zhang was about to cry for help, Mo Li bit her arm forcefully, causing her to be distracted. Sister Zhang took the chance to grab Mo Li¡¯s hair. Despite the unbearable pain in her scalp, Mo Li simply refused to let go. Fortunately, No. 8 managed to untie the ropes around his wrists and he immediately proceeded to lock the door of the hospital ward. He then called No. 5 and instructed him to bring the rest of the bodyguards to the hospital before calling An Xiaoning. ¡°Sis, Sister Zhang brought her men to the hospital and tied Mo Li and me up. She even undressed herself and tried to humiliate and vite me in front of Mo Li. I¡¯ve now managed to untie the ropes and free myself. Mo Li is pinning her down right now. What do we do?¡± An Xiaoning was instantly filled with anger. She didn¡¯t expect Sister Zhang to still be so unrepentant. She said to No. 8, ¡°Get No. 5 and the rest to go over first. I¡¯ll handle the rest, stay out of it.¡± No. 8 was relieved after hearing her words. He ended the call, picked up the ropes, and used them to tie Sister Zhang¡¯s wrists to the legs of the bed. He stuffed her mouth before untying the ropes on Mo Li¡¯s wrists and helping her up. ¡°Didn¡¯t she say that we don¡¯t have evidence against her? No. 8, let¡¯s use our mobile phones to film a video of her,¡± said Mo Li, who then grabbed No. 8¡¯s mobile phone and began filming Sister Zhang. She then put Sister Zhang¡¯s skirt back onto her and threw her top onto thetter to cover her chest. Noticing that No. 8 had changed out of his hospital attire, Mo Li asked softly, ¡°Are we leaving this ce?¡± No. 8 held her arm and pulled her onto the bed. ¡°Let¡¯s move back home.¡± ¡°But your wounds...¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. I can be admitted to the clinic in our estate too.¡± Mo Li did not insist any further and instead helped him pack his belongings. When they were almost done packing, they heard the sounds of a din outside the ward. Mo Li immediately opened the door the moment she heard No. 5¡¯s voice. She was greeted with the sight of No. 5, No. 6, No. 7, No. 9, No. 10, and No. 11. Clearly, Sister Zhang was outnumbered. The moment No. 5 saw Mo Li, he asked, ¡°Sister-inw, is No. 8 alright?¡± Shaking her head, Mo Li said, ¡°He¡¯s fine but...e in first.¡± No. 5 pushed Liang, who was blocking the way, away with all his might and screeched, ¡°Get lost!¡± Liang was thrown off bnce and fell onto the chair in the corridor. Just as he was about to stand up, he saw a posse of uniformed police officers walking toward him. His heart sank, thinking to himself that their n must have been foiled. He immediately called the three other underlings into the hospital ward in a bid to rescue Sister Zhang. As soon as they did, the police officers entered. ¡°Take them away,¡± Ma Jianguo ordered his subordinates. Chapter 1089 - Perplexed and Smitten 149 1089 Perplexed and Smitten 149 The nine police officers stepped forward to arrest Sister Zhang and her four underlings, then brought them out of the ward. After she realized that her n had backfired and that she had shot herself in the foot, a sullen expression formed on her face. However, there was nothing she could do now and nothing she said mattered anymore. After they were brought away, No. 5 said, ¡°Just what happened?¡± No. 8 looked at him and said, ¡°They¡¯re here to cause trouble.¡± ¡°People like her ought to be taught a good and hard lesson. She¡¯s asking for it!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already told Sis about this. No. 5, I want to go home. Help me settle the administrative procedures to get me discharged.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¨D As soon as An Xiaoning ended the call with Pan Zhenghui, she received a call from Pei Yi. She asked, ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°What are you doing in Y Nation?¡± ¡°I went out to take a breather. What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that you won¡¯t be able to return home after going abroad?¡± Pei Yi gibed in a low voice. ¡°Not at all. Just what did you call me for?¡± ¡°Nothing much, I just wanted to see you. Coincidentally... I¡¯m in Y Nation too.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel like seeing you. I¡¯m hanging up now if there¡¯s nothing else.¡± ¡°Wait a minute! Why are you so impatient when talking to me over the phone?¡± Pei Yi questioned, slightly peeved. ¡°I just feel like there¡¯s no need for us to talk on the phone, unless it¡¯s for something major. What do you want to tell me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not the only one who¡¯s here. Like I told you before, there¡¯s someone who wants to kill you and Jin Qingyan. That someone is here too. Are you still not bothered by his presence?¡± Xihou Jiaping? An Xiaoning looked at Jin Qingyan and asked, ¡°How are you so clear about his whereabouts? Doesn¡¯t this just prove that you and he are indeed in cahoots with each other?¡± ¡°Regardless of whether or not we¡¯re in cahoots, he¡¯s different from me. I don¡¯t want to kill you. Isn¡¯t that so?¡± An Xiaoning agreed with that point he had made. If Pei Yi had wanted to kill her, she would have died in his hands long ago. She mellowed her tone and said nicely, ¡°Since he¡¯s in Y Nation too, I doubt I¡¯m going to get to have any fun. I¡¯m heading back to S Nation.¡± ¡°Do you think you can hide from him if he really wants to kill you?¡± ¡°Heaven shall decide. I¡¯m going to have my meal soon. I¡¯m hanging up right now,¡± said An Xiaoning. Every single time she spoke to Pei Yi over the phone, she would hang up before he even gets to reply. He would never call her back either. ¡°Pei Yi said that Xihou Jiaping is here too. Shall we head home today? Tianze and Yangyang may stay since they¡¯d like to have some fun. They¡¯re not Xihou Jiaping¡¯s targets anyway.¡± ¡°I really can¡¯t figure out what this Pei Yi is thinking,¡± he said, handing her a te over the table. An Xiaoning grabbed it and picked up a fork to ce a piece of cake into her mouth. ¡°Do you find him to be very peculiar?¡± ¡°If he¡¯s in cahoots with Xihou Jiaping, there¡¯s no reason for him to leak the news to you, unless... he¡¯s doing it for his own selfish reasons.¡± ¡°Shall we go back today?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t change the subject. We¡¯re talking about Pei Yi.¡± Pursing her lips, An Xiaoning said, ¡°I don¡¯t wish to talk about him. Who cares what reasons he¡¯s doing it for? I don¡¯t care.¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s eyes glistened, and he gazed at her affectionately. ¡°You¡¯ve got cream on your lips,¡± he said. She reached out in a bid to wipe it away. Before she could even do so, Jin Qingyan stuck a hand out and beat her to it. ¡°I think we¡¯d better go back today. It so happens that some things had happened at home too. One is the issue with En¡¯s contract and the other is No. 8¡¯s incident.¡± ¡°I heard from Byron that his cousin is a real piece of work. She¡¯s not going to take it lying down after losing out to you. She¡¯s not one to be trifled with, be careful.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Mei Yangyang and Long Tianze were no longer in the mood for a vacation after hearing that the two of them were nning to head home. They felt that it was dangerous being abroad now that Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning were leaving. They no longer had a sense of security. Hence, after a discussion, they decided to return home as well. ¡°Sis, if only we knew earlier. We should¡¯ve just gone back with En. I reckon she¡¯s almost home now.¡±Read more chapter on v ipnovel. ¡°It¡¯s not toote for us now either.¡± An Xiaoning took a look at the time and continued, ¡°It¡¯s still early. Qingyan, arrange for the private jet to pick us up. Let¡¯s pack our belongings and head home immediately.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Despite having packed their luggage quickly and rushed out to embark on their journey toward the airport, they were still faced with an obstacle. There were several cars surrounding the one that An Xiaoning and the rest were in. They were sandwiched in between the cars, and there was no way to escape. The doors of one of the cars obstructing them opened, and a burly figure alighted. It was none other than Pei Yi. He was staring at the window of their car and walking toward them. Everyone remained still and watched as he approached on his own. Pei Yi stopped in front of the window and said, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Ms. An? Aren¡¯t you going to get out of the car to have a chat with your old friend?¡± Before An Xiaoning could even answer, Jin Qingyan interjected coldly, ¡°What¡¯s there to chat about with you? Old friend? It¡¯s time you kick the habit of assuming one-sided friendships.¡± Pei Yi red at him and gibed, ¡°I wasn¡¯t talking to you, please don¡¯t interrupt as and when you¡¯d please.¡± ¡°Psht...¡± Jin Qingyan gave him the side-eye and sneered, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I have every right to interrupt.¡± Pei Yi ignored him and instead said to An Xiaoning, ¡°Come out, I have something to ask you.¡± Although An Xiaoning did not know Pei Yi too well, she still understood him to a certain extent and was well aware that he would not allow them to proceed if she did notply. Hence, she patted the back of Jin Qingyan¡¯s hand and alighted from the car. With a straight face, Jin Qingyan watched as An Xiaoning got inside Pei Yi¡¯s car. Mei Yangyang was seated in the passenger¡¯s seat. The moment An Xiaoning left, Long Tianze patted Jin Qingyan¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to go down to take a look?¡± ¡°Look at what?¡± ¡°What if Pei Yi takes Sis-inw away?¡± ¡°He wouldn¡¯t dare to do that right in front of me.¡± ¡°There are only so few of us. We¡¯re outnumbered. What¡¯s there that he wouldn¡¯t dare to do?¡± Staring at him from the corner of his eye, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°Shall we have a bet? I bet that he won¡¯t take Xiaoning away.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t bet with you. It¡¯s a sure loss for me whenever I make bets with you.¡± ¡°So what if we¡¯re outnumbered? This is not M Nation or R Nation, what can he do?¡± Long Tianze leaned his head against the window and said to Mei Yangyang, ¡°Honey, let¡¯s have a vacation back in our country. I haven¡¯t had enough fun or rest yet.¡± ¡°Vacation, my ass. I still have a ton of things to handle.¡± ¡°Leave Sis-inw to handle En¡¯s matters. Just go and have fun with me.¡± ¡°No. We¡¯ll go on a vacation again when Sis and Mr. Jin finally have the time to join us. It¡¯s too boring with just the two of us.¡± Chapter 1090 - Perplexed and Smitten 150 1090 Perplexed and Smitten 150 ¡°We¡¯ll be spending quality time only when it¡¯s just the two of us.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve spent too much time with just you alone. I¡¯m getting sick of it.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t continue like this anymore! Mei Yangyang, I¡¯m your dearest husband, how could you treat me like this!?!¡± Mei Yangyang smiled at him and said coaxingly, ¡°Be good, Hubby, stop whining. Muacks.¡± Why does she sound like she¡¯s cajoling a pet dog... More than ten minutester, An Xiaoning alighted from Pei Yi¡¯s car while Pei Yi¡¯s underlings began to leave as well. ¡°Please drive.¡± The taxi driver continued on their intended route. Long Tianze looked at Jin Qingyan and noticed that thetter did not ask any questions at all. Unable to contain his curiosity, he quickly asked, ¡°Sis-inw, just what did Pei Yi say to you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a secret.¡± ¡°...¡± Seeing that she refused to speak, Long Tianze had no choice but to keep his curious questions to himself. Little did he know that Jin Qingyan was far more curious than he was, despite being calm andposed. However, Jin Qingyan was well aware that it would be inappropriate to discuss the matter in the car. Hence, when they boarded the ne, Jin Qingyan brought An Xiaoning to a private room, away from Long Tianze and Mei Yangyang. ¡°Just what did he say?¡± ¡°Nothing, he just said some redundant rubbish. There wasn¡¯t a need for him to tell me those things.¡± His curiosity was piqued even further. ¡°What do you mean redundant rubbish?¡± he probed. An Xiaoning smiled and asked, ¡°Must you really know?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Okay then, I¡¯ll tell you. He said that Xihou Jiaping has made up his mind to kill you, but he won¡¯ty a finger on me for the time being.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°He said that Xihou Jiaping thinks I don¡¯t know who he is at all and that neither you nor Xiao Chenyang has told me about him yet, hence...¡± ¡°From the looks of it, he¡¯s still so... incredibly foolish. Does he really think I¡¯ll be the same person as I was in my previous lifetime and hide things from you because I don¡¯t want you to be worried?¡± Jin Qingyan said while stroking his chin. An Xiaoning asked in astonishment, ¡°The same person as you were? Did you dream of our previous lifetime too?¡± ¡°I dreamed of it almost every day when I was in Mount Wanyan. I then reached a conclusion,¡± he said, pinching her face gently. ¡°What conclusion?¡± ¡°All the misunderstandings stemmed from the fact that neither of us could be honest with each other. If we trusted each other and told each other truthfully about everything instead of hiding some details, what cane in between us?¡± An Xiaoning agreed, ¡°I think so too. However, we decided to keep some things from each other, simply because we were worried that the other party would be worried, didn¡¯t we?¡± ¡°I used to be like that in our previous lifetime. Hence, he probably thinks that I¡¯ll be the same in this one too and hide some things for you. However...¡± After some thought, Jin Qingyan continued, ¡°I still think Pei Yi has an ulterior motive.¡± ¡°What ulterior motive could he have...? He just doesn¡¯t want me to die so soon. In his eyes, it¡¯s a piece of cake for Xihou Jiaping to kill me. He probably just doesn¡¯t want to stir trouble.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about him.¡± He hugged her and sat down. ¡°Are you tired?¡± ¡°Not at all.¡± An Xiaoning removed her shoes and sat cross-legged on the bed. She asked, ¡°How do you think I should settle the issue with No. 8? That Sister Zhang has the Flying Tigers gang as her backing. They gave me apensatory sum of 10 million dors because she had harassed us previously.¡± ¡°Try not to go toe-to-toe with these gangsters. In my opinion, the Flying Tigers will definitely contact you first once we¡¯re back in S Nation, unless they¡¯ve decided to give up on that Sister Zhang.¡± Finding his words to have made sense, An Xiaoning said, ¡°I was really frightened when Pei Yi stopped us from proceeding.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I thought it was Xihou Jiaping.¡± He stroked her hair and said, ¡°We have to face him sooner orter anyway. It¡¯s inevitable. What are you afraid of? Don¡¯t be. I¡¯m here with you, aren¡¯t I?¡± His words gave An Xiaoning a great deal of reassurance. Now that she felt much more at ease, she stopped dwelling on the things that had yet to happen. ¡ª Fang En and Xiao Chenyang arrived home before the others did. It was twelve noon when they arrived in A City. Their stomachs were rumbling when they exited the airport, for the food served on the ne was simply too unsatisfactory. Since there was barely any food in the refrigerator at home, they decided to have lunch before heading home. Just as they alighted from the taxi, Fang En caught sight of Yan Ge, who was d in a pair of shades and exiting the lobby together with Xiao Li. Clearly, Yan Ge had also seen her. Fang En cocked her head toward the side quickly and said to Xiao Chenyang, ¡°There¡¯s not much food left at home. Let¡¯s go to the supermarket to get some.¡± Xiao Chenyang had thought the same too. Thus, they walked to the supermarket together. Yan Ge paused in his tracks for a short while before proceeding forward. He shifted his gaze onto the pair outside the supermarket. ¡°Brother, isn¡¯t that Ms. Fang?¡± ¡°I can see that.¡± ¡°Why did she leave right after she saw you? She didn¡¯t even say hi,¡± Xiao Li said in puzzlement. Yan Ge brushed him off, ¡°Okay, you may go back first. I won¡¯t be going back to the agency today. I¡¯ll go tomorrow instead.¡± Xiao Li had no idea why he decided to change his mind all of a sudden. However, he did not say anything and instead got inside the car and left. Yan Ge turned around and walked back to the lobby. Fang En seemed extremely distracted when she was buying some groceries and constantly grabbed the wrong items. When Xiao Chenyang asked her what was wrong, she shook her head and refused to tell him. The two of them headed back up with the bags of groceries. As soon as Xiao Chenyang unlocked the door with the passcode, Fang En heard the sounds of Yan Ge¡¯s door opening. She made eye contact with him, and he said, ¡°There¡¯s something I have to talk to you about regarding work. Come in.¡± ¡°Give me a moment, I¡¯ll ce the groceries inside the refrigerator.¡± She entered her apartment with the bag of groceries, filled with bewilderment. Something about work? The television series is currently in post-production and publicity hasn¡¯t started yet. What¡¯s there to talk about? After putting down the groceries, Fang En informed Xiao Chenyang about it and went to the unit opposite. Yan Ge left the door to his apartment ajar on purpose. Fang En entered, changed out of her shoes, and closed the door. He was sitting on the couch with one leg crossed over the other. On the table was a cup of green tea that was still piping hot. Fang En sat down opposite him and asked, ¡°What do you have to talk to me about...?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve agreed to star in ¡®The Man from the Ancient Times.¡¯¡± Fang En red at him in shock and eximed, ¡°What?¡± ¡°The director spoke to me about it personally. I was pleased with the script so I decided to take it on. It¡¯s only right that I talk to you, the female lead, about it. Isn¡¯t it?¡± Fang En immediately recalled the incident about her role being snatched away. Did Yu Caiwei snatch the role away from me, precisely because Yan Ge has agreed to star in it? ¡°When did you agree?¡± Chapter 1091 - Perplexed and Smitten 151 1091 Perplexed and Smitten 151 ¡°Not too long ago. What¡¯s wrong? Are you sick of working with me?¡± he asked with a heavy heart, noticing that she seemed to be upset. Shaking her head, Fang En said, ¡°No, I just received a call from the director, Sister Gao. She told me that the investor wants Yu Caiwei to y the female lead instead and that they¡¯re going to terminate the contract with me.¡± Yan Ge¡¯s face instantly stiffened; Yu Caiwei hade to see him before the director did... However, he had already signed the contract due to the fact that filming for the television series was going to begin very soon and that they desperately needed an actor to y the male lead. Furthermore, he¡¯d also taken into consideration that the female lead was Fang En. Yet... He felt as if he had just received a piece of grievous news... ¡°Has the contract been terminated yet?¡± ¡°Not yet, my boss is still overseas. They¡¯ll have to discuss it with her first. We¡¯ve already signed the contract long ago, yet they breached it all of a sudden. How can we take it lying down and let them off so easily?¡± Fang En added, ¡°I thought... you no longer wanted to talk to me. I¡¯m surprised that you are willing to star in this drama.¡± ¡°I agreed to take on the role entirely because I like the script and the storyline. Do you really think I did it because of you? Well, we used to work alongside each other and we might very likely be colleagues again. Besides, we¡¯re neighbors. There¡¯s no harm in talking to each other.¡± Fang En was at a sudden loss for words. ¡°Did you experience something major in the past couple of days? Why did you post such a caption on Weibo, saying that the greatest bliss in life is being alive?¡± Fang En nodded and answered, ¡°I just returned from Y Nation.¡± Yan Ge immediately said, ¡°Those terrorists...¡± ¡°Yes, they abducted me and I was almost killed. Fortunately, I managed to escape the ordeal,¡± said Fang En, who still got the chills whenever she recalled the terrifying incident. ¡°Refrain from wandering around overseas, as far as possible. It¡¯s a foreigmnd where you don¡¯t know anyone.¡± ¡°Got it... I thought you didn¡¯t follow me on Weibo. How did you know about what I posted? Did you stalk me on purpose?¡± she asked with a smile. Yan Ge denied, ¡°I was just browsing casually.¡± ¡°Senior, just follow my ount on Weibo. After all, we used to work together. Let¡¯s follow each other,¡± Fang En goaded. ¡°What¡¯s the point in following you?¡± Fang En tried to make herself sound as happy as possible, so as to make the conversation more light-hearted. She smiled and said, ¡°I don¡¯t care, I¡¯ll go charge my mobile pher and follow your ount on Weibo. If you don¡¯t follow mine, I¡¯ll...¡± ¡°What will you do?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll unfollow you again...¡± ¡°...¡± After Fang En left, Yan Ge called Director Gao to ask her about the change in the main actress. Director Gao once more gave him the excuse of it being the investor¡¯s request and that she too was helpless. However, Yan Ge clearly did not buy it. ¡°I shall be honest with you. I only agreed to star in this television series mainly because I do like the storyline and the script and partly because I¡¯ve already worked with En before. We¡¯ve already developed a chemistry. If she¡¯s no longer starring as the female lead in this drama, there¡¯s no need for me to star in it either.¡± Upon hearing his words, Director Gao immediately said that she would bemunicating again with the investor about the issue with the cast. In parting, Yan Ge added, ¡°I want an answer within a day¡¯s time. Since you can request for the actress to be reced even after signing the contract with her, I have the right to breach the contract too.¡± Director Gao was filled with exasperation and frustration. Filming had yet tomence officially, yet there were already problems with the casting. What a bad start to the production. She was extremely superstitious and often felt that a bad start will lead to a poor filming process for the entire series. After much thought, she said, ¡°I can give you an answer within half an hour. I¡¯ll call the investor now.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Yan Ge ended the call and calmed himself down. He opened Weibo again on his mobile phone and discovered that Fang En had yet to follow his ount. Did she really unfollow me because I didn¡¯t follow her back? He waited for a long while, only to discover that she still did not follow him. Thus, he reckoned that he must have made the correct guess. However, he still continued to check his mobile phone and to refresh his follower page once every few minutes. He would feel slightly disappointed after each refresh. When he refreshed for the fourth time, Fang En¡¯s ount finally appeared in his follower list. Unable to contain his eagerness, he immediately followed her back. However, he instantly regretted doing it so quickly. Did I react too soon? Was I too afraid that she¡¯ll unfollow me? But it¡¯d be too inappropriate to unfollow her now... Just as he was about to switch off his mobile phone, he received a private message from her in his inbox. ¡°Thank you for following me. Muacks.¡± Yan Ge was once again dejected after reading the message. Was this an auto-reply to all her followers or did she message me especially? It seems like an auto-reply no matter how I look at it.Read more chapter on v ipnovel. As he was pondering over it, he received another message: ¡°I was in low spirits initially, but my mood was somehow lifted all of a sudden. Thank you for following me.¡± Indeed, the first message was an auto-reply and the second one was her actual reply. He typed: ¡°Okay.¡± As soon as he sent his reply, he received a call from Director Gao. Just like she had mentioned, she really got back to him in less than half an hour. ¡°I¡¯ve alreadymunicated with the investor. Yan Ge, don¡¯t worry, En will still be ying the female lead. There are no other issues with our cooperation, right?¡± ¡°Got it. Yu Caiwei was the first person who approached me to talk about this television series. Did you already n to cast Yu Caiwei as the female lead back then?¡± ¡°We did have ns at the time, but it wasn¡¯t finalized yet.¡± ¡°Filming is going to begin very soon. There better not be any more sudden issues with the casting.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, that goes without saying. In that case, it¡¯s settled then. I¡¯llmunicate with Fang En.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After ending the call, Yan Ge¡¯s lips curled into a smile and his mood was instantly lifted. His initial moodiness had vanished without a trace. ¡ª Yu Caiwei flew into a rage. She had already discussed with the investor and her bosom friend, who both agreed to let her be the female lead. It had never crossed her mind that Yan Ge would object to it. She was bbergasted that her bosom friend would actually go back on her word immediately, the moment she heard that Yan Ge was nning to terminate the contract. I was the one who had pulled strings and used my connections tond him the role. They had already worked together once before. If they were to star alongside each other again... Yu Caiwei dared not imagine what would happen. I actually created a chance for them to continue working together! She zoomed toward Director Gao¡¯s house. At the sight of her arrival, Director Gao swirled the ss in her hand and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have toe and confront or question me. I¡¯ve just given Fang En a call, and it¡¯s been confirmed she¡¯ll be ying the female lead.¡± Chapter 1092 - Perplexed and Smitten 152 1092 Perplexed and Smitten 152 ¡°Didn¡¯t we go through painstaking means to convince the investor and producer to cast me as the female lead? So what if Yan Ge opposes to it?¡± Staring at her solemnly, Director Gao said, ¡°Caiwei, the investor and producers initially had their eyes on En and her potential. Their perspective is that they want to hire her as soon as possible before she rises to fame andmands a higher price. They want to cast her as the female lead before the television series that An Xiaoning had invested more than a hundred million dors in begins airing. If we manage to sign a contract with her at a lower price, it would be a win-win situation.¡± ¡°How are they so sure that that television series she had starred in is going to be a blockbuster? How are they so sure that it would be a win-win situation? Am I not as famous as she is?¡± ¡°Of course not. You¡¯re definitely more famous than she is right now. You have no idea how ted the producer is about Yan Ge agreeing to take on the role of the male lead. Previously, there had been news of Yan Ge nning to go on a hiatus. When I spoke to him over the phone earlier, he also mentioned clearly that he mainly agreed to star in the television series because he likes the storyline and because of Fang En. He said that they had already developed a strong chemistry with each other. Apart from Yan Ge, we were also afraid of offending Fang En¡¯s boss. Well, there¡¯s nothing else to settle for now.¡± Pointing a finger at herself, Yu Caiwei said, ¡°Does that mean there¡¯s no point in convincing them to let me star in the series?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s pointless. Caiwei, weren¡¯t you already offered a role in another teenage romance series? The original novel was widely received. You don¡¯t necessarily have to vie for a spot in this one.¡± ¡°You clearly know the reason behind my intentions... Since I can¡¯t y the female lead, let me be the supporting actress.¡± ¡°Supporting actress? You want to be the supporting actress?¡± Director Gao asked in astonishment. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Am I not wee?¡± ¡°Of course not, it¡¯s just... you¡¯re actually willing to be the supporting actress for Yan Ge¡¯s sake? The supporting actress will have to y a vile character. Is that really a good choice? As a friend, I suggest you don¡¯t take up that role. You¡¯ve long established the image of someone ying the protagonist.¡± ¡°That¡¯s precisely why I need a breakthrough role, isn¡¯t it? I must star in this television series. If I¡¯m ying the supporting role, I won¡¯t give up the offer for the teenage romance series,¡± said Yu Caiwei, who had already made up her mind. Director Gao scanned her from head to toe and said, ¡°Alright, since it¡¯s already decided, you shall have the supporting role. But, Caiwei, are you starting to feel regretful?¡± ¡°Of what?¡± ¡°Do you regret breaking up with Yan Ge?¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing to regret, I just find it a pity and a shame that our rtionship had toe to an end. Back then, there was actually still some hope for us. However, the two of us just chose to give up. He did get over it eventually, but I haven¡¯t made any progress at all. I still carry feelings for him.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you get into another ndestine rtionship after breaking up with Yan Ge?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not considered a rtionship at all. I¡¯ve never acknowledged it. I didn¡¯t really fancy him either.¡± ¡°How is it not considered a rtionship... you just refuse to acknowledge it yourself.¡± Yu Caiwei stood up and said, ¡°Don¡¯t bring this up ever again. I¡¯m heading back to the agency now. Email me the contract.¡± Well aware that she had always had the freedom to arrange most of her jobs, Director Gao answered, ¡°Alright.¡± ¡ª Their private jet arrived in Wei Ni Estate at night. After they alighted from the jet, Fan Shixin bowed and greeted them with a smile, ¡°Congrattions on making it home safely, Young Sir. I¡¯ve already prepared some premium alcohol and dishes to wee you guys back.¡± Long Tianze patted Fan Shixin on his shoulder and said, ¡°Dummy, can¡¯t you tell that there¡¯s something different about Young Sir?¡± ¡°I can and I already have. Young Sir seems to have be even more handsome. Mr. Long, Young Sir is a year older than you, why is there such a drastic difference between you two...¡± Before he could even finish, Long Tianze interrupted, ¡°Okay, okay, you don¡¯t have to continue. Let¡¯s hurry and get inside the car. I¡¯m famished.¡± Fan Shixin opened the car doors for them. Once everyone had gotten inside the car, they began proceeding toward the mansions. Fan Shixin reported some matters to them while driving. ¡°Young Madam, the police officers came by today to look for you. They said that they couldn¡¯t reach you on your mobile phone and I told them that you weren¡¯t home.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve set up a list of numbers who are allowed to call me on my mobile phone. Those that aren¡¯t included in the list wouldn¡¯t be able to reach me. I¡¯ll edit the list againter.¡± An Xiaoning spected, ¡°I reckon they probably don¡¯t know what to do with Sister Zhang. She should still be in the police station now.¡± ¡°In my opinion, they should just teach that Sister Zhang a lesson, and we must prove to her that money doesn¡¯t matter to you at all, Young Madam!¡± An Xiaoning said, ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t it matter to me? Of course it matters to me. Do you really think I¡¯llin about having too much money? Previously, the Flying Tigers offered me apensatory sum of 10 million dors to let her off. This time, I¡¯m going to ask them for 20 million dors, then for 30 million the next time. Just let her continue making mistakes if they think that they have too much money to spare. They¡¯re not going to indulge Sister Zhang that often. I initially thought that the Flying Tigers would give up on her this time. However, it seems they¡¯re still willing to rescue her since the police officers tried to contact me. However, these gangs usually have their own set of rules and disciplinary system. Some rules can never be broken while some can be broken repeatedly.¡± ¡°I heard that the punishment that gang chieftains inflict on their gang members are rather severe. Some are extremely cruel and ruthless.¡± An Xiaoning said, ¡°That¡¯s true. Rules are mandatory for things to work, regardless of which field we¡¯re talking about.¡± ¡°Sis, En texted me to say that the director of the television series has given her a call again. They¡¯ve decided not to terminate the contract, and Yan Ge is the actor whom she¡¯ll be starring alongside with this time,¡± said Mei Yangyang, who had her eyes peeled onto her mobile phone. ¡°You mean Yan Ge is ying the male lead again?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± An Xiaoning sighed and said, ¡°I reckon Yan Ge must have had a discussion with the production unit. Otherwise, how could they have possibly changed their minds again even before discussing with us?¡± Feeling a little worried, Mei Yangyang said, ¡°There isn¡¯t much of an issue with En working with Yan Ge again, but the worrisome thing is that Xiao Chenyang lives with En now. They spend every single day facing each other, and he¡¯s bound to find out in due time that En fancies Yan Ge. I¡¯m afraid...¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have to worry about that. En told me that she and Xiao Chenyang have alreadye to an agreement. Xiao Chenyang is not allowed toy a finger on whoever she fancies, regardless of who it may be. In exchange, En promised to live harmoniously with Xiao Chenyang.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good... otherwise, I¡¯m going to be worried for Yan Ge¡¯s safety.¡± ¡°En knows what to do.¡± A few minutester, they arrived at the mansion. They alighted from the car one after another and sprinted toward the living room. As soon as they reached the door, they caught sight of two tiny heads. The two children were actually home! Why didn¡¯t Fan Shixin mention a thing about it at all? ¡°Mommy!¡± Jin Yiheng eximed, zooming toward An Xiaoning like a tornado. He hugged her waist tightly and began rubbing his face against her clothing affectionately. On the other hand, Jin Rongyan was much more shy and reserved. He stood behind Jin Yiheng and greeted his parents. Chapter 1093 - Perplexed and Smitten 153 1093 Perplexed and Smitten 153 ¡°When did you guyse back?¡± ¡°This afternoon. We¡¯re getting a week¡¯s break.¡± ¡°A week¡¯s break? Why are you getting a break all of a sudden?¡± An Xiaoning asked. Fan Shixin exined, ¡°Coach Chen Xu said that the children deserve a break after training at the boot camp for so long. In order to strike a good work-life bnce, they¡¯ve decided to give the children one week off to rx and unwind.¡± ¡°Oh, I see.¡± An Xiaoning held the hands of her sons and asked, ¡°Have you two had your dinner yet?¡± ¡°No, Uncle Shixin made us wait until you guys were home so that we can all eat together. Mommy, I¡¯m starving,¡± said Jin Rongyan. An Xiaoning caressed his head and urged while smiling, ¡°Hurry and go wash your hands with your brother, then. We¡¯re about to start eating very soon.¡± The two brothers immediately rushed to the washroom to wash their hands. Long Tianze sat down in front of the dining table and began helping himself to the dishes unrestrainedly. ¡°I¡¯m digging in first. I¡¯m starving to death.¡± Long Tianze put down his chopsticks all of a sudden and stood up to walk away. Mei Yangyang yelled, ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°Since Yiheng and Rongyan are on a break, our children should be home too. I¡¯ll go back to take a look at them.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t be toote to see them after you¡¯ve had dinner. Aren¡¯t you starving to death?¡± ¡°No, I must see my precious daughter first.¡± Smiling, Mei Yangyang shook her head and remarked, ¡°You¡¯re nuts about our daughter.¡± An Xiaoning said, ¡°I think he adores and dotes on Xiaoxi because she looks like you and is the younger of the two children. Meanwhile, you¡¯re more biased toward your son because he looks like Tianze. You two really bnce each other out. He¡¯s biased toward your daughter while you¡¯re biased toward your son.¡± ¡°Really? I feel like we treat both of them rather equally...¡± said Mei Yangyang, who did not find herself biased toward her son. ¡°You just don¡¯t realize it, but others can tell clearly. But seriously speaking... given how much Tianze loves Xiaoxi, he definitely won¡¯t be able to bear marrying her off when she grows up.¡± ¡°He did say that your son is the only person who¡¯s allowed to marry Xiaoxi and that others can forget about it. Xiaoxi adores Yiheng to bits now, despite being at such a young age. However, she¡¯s still a child who knows nothing. It¡¯d be great if they fancy each other when they¡¯re older. However, I¡¯m just worried that Xiaoxi might still be head over heels in love with him when he only treats her as his sister. That would be tragic,¡± Mei Yangyang said worriedly. ¡°We¡¯ll let the children be in charge of their future. It¡¯s their own life, after all. I do hope that Xiaoxi will marry Yiheng, however. We¡¯ll get to be inws!¡± An Xiaoning said while pouring Mei Yangyang some liquor. Mei Yangyang smiled and eximed, ¡°Sis, cheers!¡± While listening to their conversation, Jin Qingyan could not resist the urge to be a wet nket and butted in, ¡°Well, I think they¡¯ll end up being best friends when they¡¯re older, or they might even be enemies. I doubt they¡¯d be a couple.¡± ¡°Why would you say so? Aren¡¯t Ciye and Qingyue in a rtionship now? They grew up together too, just like Xiaoxi and Yiheng,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Ciye has never fancied Qingyue when we were children and he only used to treat her like his sister. Likewise, Qingyue also only used to see him like a brother. Frankly speaking, I was really surprised that they decided to date each other. Such urrences are one in a million. Do you really think our children would be that lucky?¡± ¡°I agree. Take Tianze, for example. He carried a torch for Qingyue for so many years throughout his childhood and adolescence, and yet she had never reciprocated. I don¡¯t want Xiaoxi to follow in his footsteps. But then again, if Tianze had gotten together with Qingyue, I probably wouldn¡¯t be here today,¡± said Mei Yangyang, who found that his words had made sense. ¡°Nothing we say now is going to matter. We¡¯ll let them decide for themselves when they¡¯re older.¡± ¡°Mm...¡±Read more chapter on v ipnovel. .... After dinner, Jin Yiheng pestered An Xiaoning and urged her to help him shower. Jin Qingyan was peeved by his actions, and he chided, ¡°You¡¯re no longer a toddler, why do you still want Mommy to help you shower? Can¡¯t you shower by yourself?¡± ¡°Daddy, I¡¯m still young. I really don¡¯t know how to shower by myself.¡± He ced the book down and said, ¡°I¡¯ll help you shower. I need to take one too anyway.¡± Upon hearing his words, Jin Yiheng shook his head frantically and refused, ¡°Daddy, you don¡¯t have to.¡± ¡°Hurry up.¡± ¡°Daddy, you really don¡¯t have to...¡± Jin Qingyan insisted on showering with him and dragged him to the bedroom upstairs forcefully. While Jin Yiheng was undressing, he thought to himself, Daddy is so annoying, he doesn¡¯t let me sleep with Mommy, and now he won¡¯t even let Mommy help me shower... He gets all the good stuff. Does he think I¡¯m a pushover because I¡¯m young... Seemingly having read his mind, Jin Qingyan gave him the side-eye and said, ¡°Hurry and remove your clothes, then stand under the faucet. I¡¯ll beat you if you keep being wishy-washy. I¡¯ll see if you really don¡¯t know how to bathe yourself.¡± Jin Yiheng looked at him and began removing his clothes quietly while pulling a long face. The moment he stood under the faucet, he realized that his father had also gotten undressed. Afterparing Jin Qingyan¡¯s member with his own, Jin Yiheng asked, ¡°Daddy, why is your penis sorge while mine is so small? When will I get to be your size?¡± Jin Qingyan initially wanted to tell him that it would grow to the same size once he grows up. However, he changed his mind and said nonchntly, ¡°You... may forget about it.¡± Jin Yiheng almost teared up upon hearing his answer. ¡°Daddy, you mean... I¡¯ll stay at this size even when I¡¯m older?¡± ¡°That¡¯s... hard to say.¡± Completely dejected, Jin Yiheng asked, ¡°Daddy, could you promise me one thing?¡± ¡°Shoot,¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°Keep this between us. You¡¯re not to tell anyone about our secret.¡± ¡°You mean, the secret about your member being small?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Jin Yiheng answered with a nod, turning beet red. ¡°I was just teasing you. It¡¯ll grow bigger as you be older.¡± Jin Yiheng was speechless... ¡°Daddy, could you stop pranking me and be more genuine?¡± ¡°I¡¯m very genuine.¡± Jin Yiheng cocked his head toward the side and said, ¡°I can¡¯t tell.¡± Jin Qingyan smirked and asked, ¡°Do you want me to rub your back for you?¡± ¡°No, I can handle such a small matter on my own.¡± ¡°Suit yourself,¡± Jin Qingyan answered. When Jin Qingyan came out of the shower, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Why did Yiheng storm off in a huff? What did you do to him again...¡± He recounted the events that took ce in the bathroom, after with An Xiaoning kicked him gently and chided, ¡°Are you out of your mind? You¡¯re going to traumatize him. I should just beat you to death.¡± ¡°If my son is susceptible to stress and can¡¯t handle blows, is he really still my son?¡± Chapter 1094 - Perplexed and Smitten (154)

Chapter 1094: Perplexed and Smitten (154)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Is that how your father treated you when you were a child?¡± ¡°Make a guess.¡± Instead of answering him, she walked toward the dressing table and removed her makeup. ¡°The election is about to begin soon,¡± she said, ¡°No matter who bes the president, it won¡¯t be of any harm to us.¡± ¡°I thought so too. Regardless of who takes the throne, I¡¯ll no longer bepelled by him.¡± After removing her makeup, she headed to the bathroom to rinse her face. She then grabbed a sheet of facial serum mask andy straight on the bed. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you take one for me too?¡± he asked. ¡°Do you even need them? Your perfectplexion has made mine pale inparison. I must upkeep my appearance and take good care of my skin. Otherwise, if we get photographed together in the future, the media is going to shame me for looking aged and haggard while you¡¯re still handsome and ravishing...¡± He chuckled and said, ¡°I¡¯ll gouge out the eyes of whoever dares to write that.¡± ¡°...¡± At the same time that they were chatting idly, a somber mood filled the air in Jin Yiheng¡¯s room. ¡°Brother, what¡¯s the matter with you?¡± Jin Rongyan asked. ¡°What do you think of Daddy?¡± ¡°He¡¯s awesome.¡± ¡°How so?¡± Jin Rongyan answered, ¡°He just is.¡± ¡°You¡¯re still young, you don¡¯t know a thing. He may seem like a good father, but in reality, he¡¯s the worst. He often insults me and cheats me out of my feelings,¡± said a heartbroken Jin Yiheng. Upon hearing his words, Jin Rongyan began to find that the situation seemed rather serious. He asked in puzzlement, ¡°Brother, how did Daddy insult you and cheat you out of your feelings? Tell me, quick.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how to exin it to you,¡± said Jin Yiheng, who did not wish to repeat the conversation he had with Jin Qingyan in the bathroom. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go to bed, then, Brother.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t fall asleep.¡± ¡°Brother, shall I tell you a story, then?¡± ¡°I think we¡¯d better go to bed...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª The next morning, Team Leader Zhang arrived at Wei Ni Estate in the police car. An Xiaoning was still sleeping when he arrived. After making him wait for half an hour while she freshened up and tidied herself, An Xiaoning made her way downstairs and sat down opposite Team Leader Zhang. ¡°Team Leader Zhang, you woke up so early today.¡± ¡°Hehe, I came to talk to you about that woman.¡± Knowing his intentions, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Just get straight to the point. Don¡¯t bother beating around the bush. You know me.¡± ¡°This Sister Zhang is a member of the Flying Tigers gang. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re well aware of that. They¡¯ve now stated that they want their member back and that they¡¯ll clean up all the mess that she had created. They offered topensate you with another 10 million dors.¡± ¡°Hmm... that works.¡± Ten million dors was a huge sum. Seeing how quick she was to agree, Team Leader Zhang said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll inform them of your decision, then, Team Leader An. You¡¯re an understanding person too, I believe.¡± ¡°But, Team Leader Zhang... are you on close terms with the Flying Tigers?¡± ¡°Of course not. How could I possibly be on close terms with an opposing party? Well, we just refrain from stirring trouble, as far as possible. They¡¯re powerful and have a massive number of gang members. Unless we have concrete evidence after arresting them, there¡¯s nothing we can do...¡± ¡°Mm... there¡¯s something I¡¯d like you to ry to the Flying Tigers.¡± ¡°Feel free to speak.¡± ¡°Tell them that if they think they have too much money to spare, just let Sister Zhang provoke me again. I don¡¯t mind having more money.¡± ¡°Alright... However, that woman is one big troublemaker. The representative of the Flying Tigers sounded so furious over the phone. I reckon she¡¯ll definitely be severely punished once she¡¯s handed over to them.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t do anything about that anyway. Some people just enjoy digging their own grave. No one can stop them. Team Leader Zhang, you woke up at such an early time. Have you had breakfast?¡± ¡°I bought some food and finished it on my way here. Well then, I won¡¯t impose on you any further,¡± he said while rising from his seat immediately. An Xiaoning followed suit and walked him out of the door. She stood by the entrance and watched as the police car left slowly, after which another car entered the mansion and pulled over. An Xiaoning squinted to take a look at the person who alighted from the car. ¡°Ye Xiaotian?¡± It was indeed Ye Xiaotian. He stepped forward and said, ¡°I need you to do me a favor.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, it¡¯s about Mo Li?¡± asked a dumbfounded An Xiaoning, who had no idea how she could help him. ¡°No. Could you help me read my mother¡¯s fortune and tell me how much longer she has left to live?¡± An Xiaoning answered with raised brows, ¡°Didn¡¯t your mother seek the help of a fortune-teller to get a talisman that she then forced Mo Li to drink so she¡¯d conceive a baby boy? You should be asking him to read your mother¡¯s fortune. Why have youe to me this time?¡± She was clearly mocking him and Mrs. Ye sarcastically. Ye Xiaotian ignored her tone, knowing that she was just stating facts. ¡°I still doubt their abilities. I don¡¯t think those so-called fortune-tellers can bepared to you.¡± He was obviously expressing his recognition of An Xiaoning¡¯s capability. One would usually feel smug and confident after being praised. However, An Xiaoning remained calm and kept a straight face, as if she did not hear hispliment at all. ¡°I rarely read the fortunes of others nowadays, especially when I¡¯m asked to divulge their lifespan.¡± Ye Xiaotian cut straight to the chase and said, ¡°I¡¯ll give you two million dors. Help me out and have a look at her fortune, will you? My mother¡¯s health is debilitating, and she¡¯s bing weaker with each day. The doctor said that we can only try to stabilize her condition now. I¡¯d like to prepare myself mentally.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t just agree to read fortunes for whoever thates to seek my help. I can help her, but I¡¯d definitely have to charge you. However, you must also answer three of my questions truthfully. Can you do that?¡± said An Xiaoning, staring at him solemnly. ¡°What questions? Ask away.¡± ¡°Have you ever loved Mo Li truly?¡± Ye Xiaotian nodded and expressed assent. ¡°Since you truly loved her, why did you still hurt her?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t want to either, but I still forced us onto the path of separation.¡± ¡°Do you regret it?¡± Ye Xiaotian answered with a nod, ¡°I do.¡± Despite having asked her three questions, An Xiaoning did not allow Ye Xiaotian to enter immediately. Instead, she said, ¡°Honestly, I really don¡¯t wish to see you. If you didn¡¯t hire a hitman from M Nation to abduct me and Qingyue before making Qingyan choose between saving me and saving her, I wouldn¡¯t have had a close shave with death. I wouldn¡¯t have gotten my womb injured, and I wouldn¡¯t have divorced Qingyan. Qingyan acquired the Ye Corporation to teach you a lesson. Okay, transfer the money to my bank ount first.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your bank ount number?¡± She revealed her bank ount number, after which Ye Xiaotian whipped out his mobile phone and proceeded to make the transfer. After receiving the payment, she asked, ¡°Tell me your mother¡¯s birth characters and exact birth timing.¡± ¡°She was born on the 4th of December in the Year XX at about 11 at night. I¡¯m not sure about the exact timing.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and exined, ¡°To put the doctor¡¯s words bluntly, there¡¯s no cure for your mother¡¯s condition. Uremia can usually be kept under control after a kidney transnt with long-term medication and proper care. The fact that she suffered a rpse so soon after Bai Ranran donated her kidney to her just goes to show that her retribution arrived in advance. I¡¯ve read her birth characters. She¡¯s not going to pass away any time soon. Heaven would usually punish great sinners like her by putting them through long periods of suffering and pain before letting her go. She¡¯s due to die in November this year, ording to the lunar calendar. She still has a few months more to go.¡± Chapter 1095 - Perplexed and Smitten (155)

Chapter 1095: Perplexed and Smitten (155)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Which day of November?¡± ¡°On the night of the 3rd of November, at 7:14 pm.¡± ¡°You mean, my mother will be put through immense pain and suffering for the remaining months of her life? If we intervene to help her...¡± An Xiaoning sneered, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to suffer the same fate as your mother, you¡¯d better not defy Heaven¡¯s will. I¡¯m just giving you some sound advice. After all, you¡¯vemitted your fair share of sins too. You ought to leave some leeway for yourself.¡± She then turned around and closed the door, leaving Ye Xiaotian outside. She received 12 million dors effortlessly in one morning, without having to do anything. Money is so easy to earn sometimes. She recalled the time when she left the Shi family mansion and took the initiative to look Jin Qingyan up, just for the sake of 100 thousand dors. At that time, she was almost penniless. When she returned to the living room, she bumped into Fan Shixin, who was going about his morning jog. ¡°Young Madam, I just heard from Xiao Huang that Ye Xiaotian was outside the entrance. Who was he looking for?¡± ¡°Me. He wanted me to reveal when his mother would die.¡± ¡°Did you read her fortune?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Fan Shixin asked in bewilderment, ¡°Young Madam, don¡¯t you know that he was the mastermind who hired a hitman to abduct you and Missy back then?¡± ¡°I know, of course.¡± ¡°Why did you still...¡± After much thought, An Xiaoning smiled at him and said, ¡°No reason, I just went with my mood. That doesn¡¯t mean that I¡¯ve forgotten about the past. I never really crossed paths with him in the past, and neither will I in the future. However, I wouldn¡¯t say no to money thates knocking on my door. I can¡¯t be bothered to waste my time losing my temper at him.¡± ¡°Young Madam, what did Team Leader Zhang say to you?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve settled everything. They¡¯repensating me with another 10 million dors.¡± ¡°That Sister Zhang ought to have learned her lesson this time. However, the Flying Tigers probably wouldn¡¯t have agreed to pay thepensatory sum if it weren¡¯t because of you and Young Sir¡¯s authority and status. Not only will they not havepensated, but that Sister Zhang might even have be more haughty and continue harming No. 8 and Mo Li.¡± ¡°That¡¯s how life is. The weak often get bullied. However, if you toughen up and stand up to them, they wouldn¡¯t dare toy a finger on you or make you their enemy.¡± Finding that her words had made sense, Fan Shixin asked, ¡°Has Young Sir gotten out of bed yet?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Young Madam, when you see Young Sirter, please ask him if he¡¯s heading to the office today.¡± ¡°Alright. However, it¡¯s been hard on you for the past few days. All thanks to you, thepany has been running well even during Young Sir¡¯s absence.¡± Fan Shixin chuckled and said, ¡°That¡¯s what I should do.¡± When An Xiaoning asked Jin Qingyan if he was heading to the office, he answered, ¡°Yes, but only for a short while.¡± An Xiaoning said in puzzlement, ¡°What do you mean for a short while? You were away from the office for so long, aren¡¯t you going to run a thorough check?¡± ¡°I may not have been at the office, but I know that nothing will go wrong with Shixin around, especially when there are so many senior executives tending to thepany as well. I¡¯m sure everything has been handled appropriately. I¡¯m going to just check on thepany¡¯s current situation. I¡¯ll rest at home for today and resume work tomorrow.¡± ¡°Shixin deserves a lot of credit. Besides rewarding him with a high sry, I think you should also find him a wife. It concerns his lifelong happiness.¡± ¡°I rarely encounter any other women in my life, apart from you, Yangyang, and Qingyue. How am I supposed to find him a wife? It still depends on him at the end of the day. I can¡¯t just find a random pretty girl and shove her to him casually. Fate decides everything. I don¡¯t think he holds his standards too high. I think he just haven¡¯t met a woman that he fancies. Once he does, his standards and requirements won¡¯t matter anymore.¡± He then patted her head and continued, ¡°He¡¯s not as lucky as me. I met such a great woman like you a long, long time ago.¡± An Xiaoning said, ¡°You¡¯ve got a glib tongue. Hurry and go have breakfast.¡± ¡°Tell me first, what ns do you have for today?¡± ¡°Hmm... I¡¯ll go apany my mother.¡± ¡°When are youing home, then?¡± ¡°I n to return after lunch.¡± Upon hearing her words, he said, ¡°I won¡¯t get to see you even after Ie home from the office. Come back in two hours. You¡¯re free to go wherever you want when I resume work.¡± An Xiaoning red at him and said, ¡°You won¡¯t die even if you don¡¯t see me for an entire morning.¡± Aroused by the way she was looking at him, Jin Qingyan grabbed her neck and kissed her pink and tender lips. Jin Qingyan moaned in pleasure after taking a whiff of her pleasant scent. Less than one minuteter, An Xiaoning grabbed his face and pushed him away. ¡°You¡¯re getting me so aroused so early in the morning,¡± he said. ¡°I didn¡¯t even do anything.¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly the power that you possess. You don¡¯t have to do anything to get me aroused. Just looking at you will do the trick.¡± ¡°Stop flirting with me and go have your breakfast, hurry.¡± ¡°...¡± Jin Qingyan headed to the office together with Fan Shixin after having his breakfast. Throughout the journey, Fan Shixin reported thetest updates about thepany to Jin Qingyan. He was almost done before they even reached the office. ¡°Young Sir, you have no idea how exhausted I had been during your absence. I was mentally and physically tortured every single day. If this goes on, when can I finally get a girlfriend?¡± Jin Qingyan looked at him and said, ¡°Oh yeah, Xiaoning and I were just talking about that matter before we left the house. Shixin, I¡¯m really worried for your future and your marriage.¡± His eyes lit up, and he asked, ¡°Young Sir, are you finally taking pity on me and allowing me to take a break?¡± ¡°No. Didn¡¯t your parents arrange for you to go on a matchmaking session recently?¡± Fan Shixin¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He asked, ¡°Young Sir, surely you can¡¯t be thinking of arranging for me to go on a matchmaking session?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve thought about it carefully. I¡¯ll never live in peace until you get married. After all, I¡¯ll constantly feel like I owe you something. I¡¯ve upied all your time and energy. Shixin, shall we arrange for you to go on a mass matchmaking session?¡± ¡°A mass matchmaking session? No, thank you,¡± said Fan Shixin, who had been traumatized by the previous matchmaking session that he had attended. ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s a bad choice. I¡¯m only 29 years old. I can still wait another few years.¡± Jin Qingyan looked at him earnestly and said, ¡°Do you really think a woman will magically appear in your life in a few years¡¯ time when you¡¯re so against the idea of dating now? You must expose yourself to more women now. Maybe you¡¯ll really meet one whom you fancy.¡± ¡°Young Sir, you really don¡¯t have to go to all that trouble. I¡¯ve actually already gotten used to being by myself.¡± ¡°I ought to do so.¡± ¡°Young Sir...¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already decided. I¡¯ll get the secretary to set up a webpage and upload your photo onto it. We¡¯ll advertise you and get you a wife.¡± Fan Shixin grimaced and said, ¡°But, Young Sir, if tens of thousands of women sign up for a blind date with me, I¡¯m going to have to meet them until the cowes home.¡± Chapter 1096 - Perplexed and Smitten (156)

Chapter 1096: Perplexed and Smitten (156)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°The more people there are, the better. That means that you have a higher chance of meeting the one you like. Shixin, don¡¯t you feel like an emperor? Picking a suitable woman you fancy amongst many others.¡± ¡°No, I just feel like a eunuch getting sliced up by others.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t say that just because you look like one. Shixin, that¡¯s not right. You¡¯re the one choosing others, how is that akin to getting sliced up by others?¡± ¡°To me, it¡¯s akin to the torturous feeling of being sliced up by others,¡± Fan Shixin said, expressing his distaste toward matchmaking. ¡°Those who attend matchmaking sessions do so because they can¡¯t find a partner. I don¡¯t want to admit that.¡± ¡°But isn¡¯t that the truth?¡± Fan Shixin darted a nce at him. ¡°Young Sir, can you not add salt to my wound?¡± The corner of Jin Qingyan¡¯s lips curled into a smirk. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll help you to check their standards. I won¡¯t let those who are ugly or don¡¯t meet your requirements meet you.¡± When Jin Qingyan reached thepany, his secretary instantly had his back straightened and greeted upon seeing him, ¡°Good morning, CEO Jin.¡± ¡°Yes, good morning. There¡¯s something I need you to do.¡± Jin Qingyan pointed at Fan Shixin beside him and went on, ¡°Get someone to create a matchmaking page and upload his information on it as per his request.¡± His secretary was astonished. ¡°Chief Fan needs to go matchmaking?¡± Fan Shixin rubbed his nose and answered patronizingly with a hollowugh, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Alright, I get it.¡± ¡°Pick out the girls that fulfill Shixin¡¯s requirements.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Jin Qingyan entered his office straight away while Fan Shixin sat beside the secretary, telling him his requirements. ¡°Her height must be between 155 and 170 cm. She doesn¡¯t have to look absolutely pretty, just being pleasant-looking will do.¡± ¡°Chief, do you have any requirements about their qualifications?¡± ¡°They should havepleted high school.¡± The secretary was rmed. ¡°Chief, shouldn¡¯t you find someone whopleted university at the very least?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not recruiting someone for a job anyway, their qualification doesn¡¯t matter to me. The most important thing is whether they capture my eye and if we have sparks between us.¡± The secretary typed his requirements on hisputer and replied, ¡°Are there any more?¡± ¡°If we intend to get married, we¡¯ll have to prepare a premarital agreement. That¡¯ll be good for us both.¡± The secretary agreed with him on this point. ¡°This one¡¯s good. Some things need to be stated clearly before marriage. Chief, are there any more requirements? Such as a virgin who has a clean personal life?¡± ¡°Yeah. Add that one as well.¡± Fan Shixin felt that having a clean personal life was a reasonable point. Since he himself had not touched a woman before, it wasn¡¯t too much for him to request this from the other party, right? ¡°Go on, Chief.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all?¡± The secretary¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°But these are merely just a few requirements. Don¡¯t you want to add a few more? For instance, requirements on their character?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need. Those who can fulfill these few requirements are already extremely rare. There are so many girls in this society who don¡¯t cherish themselves, isn¡¯t that right?¡± ¡°Right. I¡¯ll just put up these few requirements first, then.¡± Hearing the clicking sound of high heels approaching, the two raised their heads instantly. Upon seeing who it was, Fan Shixin stood up and remarked, ¡°Ms. Yu, why are you here?¡± ¡°It¡¯s because I have something important to find you about, of course,¡± Yu Yiwei said in a meaningful manner, but her words could not be any more obvious. She was here to look for Jin Qingyan. ¡°You could have called me,¡± Fan Shixin said as he headed out. ¡°Let¡¯s go downstairs and talk in the elevator.¡± Yu Yiwei nodded and entered the lift with him. When the lift doors closed, Fan Shixin shifted his gaze to her. ¡°Who permitted you toe to ourpany directly?¡± ¡°Yesterday, I wasn¡¯t in the neighborhood. Why didn¡¯t you inform me that Mr. Jin was back? If I didn¡¯te here today, would all of you have forgotten about my presence? I¡¯m a doctor. Since all of you slight me like this, isn¡¯t it better if I just leave?¡± ¡°Ms. Yu, you¡¯ve misunderstood. Young Sir had juste back, and he only came to thepany to take a look. He¡¯ll return to Wei Ni Estateter.¡± Hearing his words, Yu Yiwei replied coldly, ¡°Got it.¡± When the lift doors sounded, she went out while Fan Shixin remained inside and pressed the button to go back upstairs. .... When a matchmaking page appeared on the Jin Corporation¡¯s official website, it became a well-deserving report on the news. The reason was that this was something that had never happened before, especially to a hugepany like the Jin Corporation, which had multiple subsidiarypanies under it internationally. News of this caused a hugemotion in the news, gaining the attention of many single, unmarried women. Fan Shixin, a suave and handsome-looking man with a height of 1.82 meters, earning an annual sry of a few dozen thousands of dors. He had a house and car and was Jin Qingyan¡¯s right-hand man. Just these few pieces of personal information were enough to make many people tempted. Very soon after the webpage was put up, the number of people who signed up with their personal information and picture had already reached thirty thousand, and this number continued to rise in a steady stream. Other than their picture being exposed on the webpage, their personal information could only be viewed by those operating the webpage to protect their personal privacy. Other than the overwhelming number of people who signed up, there was also a considerable number of people watching on. Fang En was one of them. Shey down on the sofa, holding onto her phone with both hands as she continued to scroll through the pictures of the participants who signed up. With one leg crossed on the higher end of the sofa, she was in apletelyfortable andzy state. Just when she was immersed in looking at the pictures, the door opened with a loud, crisp sound. Xiao Chenyang was back. ¡°Get changed, I¡¯m bringing you somewhereter.¡± ¡°Where?¡± Fang En asked. ¡°The museum.¡± Fang En sat upright and stared straight at him, answering firmly, ¡°I¡¯m not going.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°No means no.¡± Just the mere thought of the museum made her enraged. Ever since she went to the museum previously, she¡¯d had that same dream for a few nights consecutively and then met a lunatic like him. If she went there another time, something spooky might happen to her again. Or, perhaps, her birth characters were just too weak, making her so unlucky that she always had to meet with such unfortunate things. ¡°You have to go.¡± His tone was resolute, withpletely no room for doubt. ¡°What is in there that I absolutely have to do? No, I¡¯m not going. I already said no.¡± He approached her and darted a nce at her phone screen. ¡°What are you looking at?¡± ¡°Beautifuldies,¡± she answered with a grin. ¡°The Jin Corporation¡¯s official website has a new webpage specifically made for Mr. Jin¡¯s right-hand man, Chief Fan Shixin, to find a partner. There are already tens of thousands of people who have signed up. The webpage is full of pictures of those participants. Take a look at them. If you take a liking to any of them, you should pick one from this page as well.¡± Xiao Chenyang narrowed his eyes and sat down on the sofa, reaching out to take her phone. He scrolled through numerous pictures of the participants and appeared as if he was indeed making a selection. On the other hand, Fang En sat on one side, acting as his advisor. ¡°Quick, look at this one. She¡¯s pretty and has porcin-white skin and big eyes. Her chin is sharp too. Not bad. This one¡¯s decent as well. Her smile¡¯s sweet...¡± He continued looking without uttering a single word while she bbered on non-stop, especially hoping that he would fancy one of them. It was to the extent that she even resorted to using herself topare with the participants. Chapter 1097 - Perplexed and Smitten (157)

Chapter 1097: Perplexed and Smitten (157)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Ah, I¡¯m really ashamed of myself. I¡¯d originally thought that I can be considered quite pretty. Who would have thought? After seeing pictures of these women, I find that I really can¡¯t hold a candle to them. Isn¡¯t that right, Mr. Xiao?¡± Her efforts were, however,pletely unnecessary in the eyes of Xiao Chenyang. ¡°You must be hoping that I¡¯ll pick one of these participants. Because then, you¡¯ll be free, right?¡± ¡°Of course I hope... that you¡¯ll find someone you truly like.¡± ¡°I think you want to go on Mount Wanyan to live and never get out of there.¡± When she heard his words, Fang En¡¯s heart went to her mouth. That damn ce, she never wanted to return there! ¡°No, no, no. Definitely not. Alright, alright. Let¡¯s not look at these pictures anymore. What¡¯s there to see? They¡¯re just a bunch of ordinary grass, how could they possibly catch the eye of our Mr. Xiao? I¡¯m afraid, amongst so many people, there¡¯ll probably be hardly any woman who can capture the attention of Chief Fan.¡± With that, Fang En took her phone back from him andughed dryly. Xiao Chenyang remarked, ¡°Today¡¯s a special asion. Get changed into your prettiest outfit and doll yourself up. We¡¯ll be going to the museum.¡± ¡°What on earth are we going there for? Is there another new exhibition at the museum?¡± He did not answer her but stood up and went back into the bedroom. Seeing how he was insistent on going, Fang En knew there was no way she could stop him. She had no choice but to switch off her phone and stand up as well. ncing at the clothes in her wardrobe, Fang En cast a side nce at Xiao Chenyang and remarked, ¡°All my clothes are pretty to me. Pick one out for me, then.¡± He went forward and browsed through them casually, then finally took out a long white dress to pass to her. ¡°This one.¡± Fang En took the dress from him and pointed to the door. ¡°You, go out first. I¡¯ll change.¡± ¡°Do you think I won¡¯t know how your body looks like just because I¡¯m outside?¡± Fang En¡¯s mouth was agape. ¡°You¡¯re despicable! Get out!¡± He turned and actually went out, closing the door behind him. Fang En went to lock the door from the inside and could finally rest assured and change into her dress. After forty minutes, she finally emerged from the bedroom. Xiao Chenyang was watching the television, and Fang En had thought that his eyes would brighten upon seeing her all dolled up. However, he did not even cast a single nce at her. Yet, she did not take it to heart as well. ¡°Aren¡¯t we going to the museum? What are you waiting for? Come on, let¡¯s go.¡± Xiao Chenyang turned to look at her. ¡°I¡¯ll go and change as well. You¡¯re more than wee to join me to see the whole process.¡± ¡°No... I don¡¯t care for it at all...¡± Aspared to her dolling up process, whichsted for forty minutes, he took a mere three minutes to re-emerge from the bedroom. Fang En watched him in an rmed manner and had her hand ced on her chin as she asked, ¡°Brother, it¡¯s 34 degrees Celsius today. Are you sure you¡¯re going out in this red robe...? Do you really not feel warm?¡± With an indifferent look, he replied, ¡°No, I¡¯m used to it.¡± ¡°...¡± Fang En did not think too much of it either, since it had been more than just one or two days since she had been around this unusual man. When they went downstairs together, she watched as he headed toward a white luxury car and hurriedly shouted to him, ¡°Why are you going to someone else¡¯s car? My nanny van is here.¡± He paused in his tracks and replied to her, ¡°Come here, this is my car.¡± ¡°When did you buy it?¡± ¡°Two hours ago.¡± Fang En went to the front of the car and saw a temporary license te ced there. There were red ribbons tied onto the rear mirror and car wheels. ¡°What car is this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s an Aston Martin.¡± ¡°How much did it cost?¡± ¡°4.56 million dors. Hop on.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± She went around the front of the car and got onto the front passenger seat, fastening her safety belt thereafter. When the car drove out of Qingyuan Estate, it just happened to go past Yan Ge¡¯s car, which was entering the estate. For some reason, although she knew that Yan Ge wasn¡¯t the one driving the car, she still could not help but turn her face to the car window. Only then would she not be spotted by Yan Ge. In reality, Yan Ge truly had not spotted her. Xiao Chenyang did not notice this movement of hers, and he concentrated on driving. After being stuck in traffic on the streets for about twenty minutes, they arrived at the museum. When the car was pulling over at the entrance of the museum, Fang En stretched her head out to look and asked him, ¡°There¡¯s no new exhibition today, why did you bring me here?¡± ¡°Must there be a new exhibition for one toe here?¡± His throat moved a little, and it appeared as if he was hesitating to say what he had on his mind. ¡°Get off.¡± ¡°Is it alright to park the car here? Do you want to park the car further inside?¡± ¡°No need for that.¡± Hearing him say this, Fang En had no choice but to sling her bag over her shoulder and alight from the car. Since no one recognized her anyway, she entered the museum together with him openly. This was her second time visiting this ce. Aspared to the previous time when it was bustling with people, it was much less crowded this time. ¡°There was an exhibitionst time. Xiao Yue and I came to see that female corpse that has been preserved for centuries. Do you know about that?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± As she spoke about this, Fang En was still impressed by it and eximed, ¡°The woman has been dead for so many years. I wonder how they preserved her corpse. It didn¡¯t have any sign of dposition or smell at all. It was as if the woman had just fallen asleep. I waspletely astonished!¡± ¡°Usually, keeping a corpse well maintained for so long would have been achieved by both the external and internal environments working together. The environment where the corpse is ced has to be ideal; meanwhile, there has to be a chemical ced in the corpse to also prevent it from dposing. That¡¯s how it can be maintained for such a long time.¡± ¡°It goes to show that those who buried the corpse had paid a lot of attention.¡± Fang Enplimented, ¡°I¡¯m afraid that in today¡¯s society, corpses can¡¯t be preserved as well as that corpse had been preserved. But the ancient people actually achieved it.¡± Two staff members in the museum went forward to greet, ¡°May I know if you¡¯re Mr. Xiao?¡± ¡°Yes, I am.¡± ¡°You may now take it away with you.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Fang En was perplexed. Take away? What was he taking away? She then followed Xiao Chenyang further inside the museum, where the staff members brought them before a ss coffin. Fang En gazed at the female corpse inside the coffin that had been preserved for centuries and asked Xiao Chenyang in rm, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, you¡¯re taking this corpse away?¡± ¡°Yes, indeed.¡± Fang En felt like she could not catch her breath and was at a loss for words. She knew that he was an unusual person who did many perplexing things. It might have had something to do with how ridiculous a person he was. But, at this point, there was a question that was burning within her! What on earth was he taking a corpse back for?! To make it his wife? Was this what a normal person would do? ¡°Why? Tell me the reason.¡± He did not answer and fixed his warm gaze at the corpse inside the coffin. He watched as the staff members ced the petite body inside a specially-made coffin, then carried it away. Fang En and Xiao Chenyang followed the staff members and went out through the entrance of the museum. When they stood before the door of his car, Xiao Chenyang ignored Fang En¡¯s exmations and opened the car door, taking the female corpse out of the coffin and cing it at the front passenger seat. That¡¯s right, he had ced it at the front passenger seat. ¡°Where do I sit?¡± Fang En asked. As this car was a two-seater, there was only a small storage area behind the front seats. However, there wasn¡¯t much room, and the area was about half the size of one front seat. She contemted to herself: Since Xiao Chenyang had ced the female corpse at the front passenger seat, was he going to make her squeeze at the back? Chapter 1098 - Perplexed and Smitten (158)

Chapter 1098: Perplexed and Smitten (158)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°You will sit here.¡± He pointed to the exact spot she was thinking of. Fang En asked in a puzzled manner, ¡°Why? I¡¯m still confused. Can¡¯t you just give me an answer?¡± Xiao Chenyang still refused to answer her, causing her to be extremely frustrated due to curiosity. ¡°Hop on.¡± ¡°No.¡± Xiao Chenyang could not be bothered to talk to her either. He simply picked her up and ced her in the back row of the car before closing the door shut forcefully. A pitiful Fang En was squeezed up at the back row of the car, and she red indignantly at the man sitting in front of her. However, despite how she red at him, he never turned back the whole time or answered her doubts. After bearing with it for ten minutes, Fang En watched as the car drove to an unknown direction and could no longer take it. ¡°Are you trying to make me die of curiosity?!¡± ¡°You won¡¯t possibly die because of that.¡± ¡°Tell me honestly, is this female corpse that has been preserved for centuries your ancestor?¡± ¡°Ancestor?¡± Xiao Chenyang lips twitched as he answered, ¡°Given my height... is it possible that I¡¯d have an ancestor that¡¯s only about 1.5 meters tall?¡± ¡°She could have inherited the genes of your male ancestors... but, since you¡¯ve said it like this, it means she isn¡¯t your rtive. Then who on earth was she? How is she rted to you? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re really going to bring this corpse back to Qingyuan Estate?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already prepared the grave, I¡¯m bringing her to the crematorium now.¡± He automatically ignored her first two questions and merely replied to herst question. ¡°This is an ancient corpse, though. Won¡¯t an archeological team want to analyze it? Why would they allow you to cremate and bury it? Also, if you¡¯re not rted to this corpse, would the archeological team have allowed you to collect it?¡± ¡°I am indeed rted to her.¡± ¡°And you said she wasn¡¯t your ancestor...¡± Fang En replied simple-mindedly; she did not think about anything else that would have required her to venture out of her thinking capacity. ¡°She¡¯s Nan Chuang.¡± These words were like a sudden bolt of lightning, which left Fang Enpletely astounded. It took a while for her to finally recover. ¡°Nan Chuang...¡± she murmured these words to herself before asking, ¡°The two of you... how are the two of you rted...?¡± Previously, she had thought that this Nan Chuang must be the woman he loved most. But now, she had to overturn her theory because this woman was someone who had been dead for so many years! But if she was someone who had been dead for so many years, how would he know her name so clearly and call out for her when he was drunk...? A terrifying truth came to her mind. Despite that, she refused to believe it. ¡°She¡¯s the woman I love the most.¡± Fang En looked up abruptly. ¡°How could it be... she¡¯s been dead for so long, and you... Don¡¯t tell me... you... you...¡± He gave an unrestrainedugh, simply agreeing with her words tacitly. ¡°Are you scared?¡± Such aughter from him struck her heart directly, leaving her catching her breath. Fang En¡¯s face turned absolutely pale. She could no longer move. Her limbs went numb and cold. It was as if her blood had stopped circting in her body. ¡°You... you...¡± She gulped before going on, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, you¡¯ve lived for... many years?¡± He watched the state she was in through the rear view mirror, and the whole scene was what he had expected long ago. It was only the beginning, yet she was already in such a state of shock. If she were to find out the whole truth, one could only imagine... But there were some things that she had to find out sooner orter. It was just a matter of time. He wanted to tell her little by little, starting from this moment and then onward. Seeing how quiet he was being, Fang En asked, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you speaking?¡± ¡°What do you want me to say?¡± ¡°Of course I want you to say whether it¡¯s true or not!¡± ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°Why would I lie to you? If not, do you think that that time when I brought you to Mount Wanyan was also fake and just a dream you had?¡± ¡°Oh god...¡± Fang En¡¯s heart started to beat rapidly. ¡°How could this happen in this world... how could there be someone who has lived for so many years...?¡± ¡°Just because you don¡¯t know or have never heard of something doesn¡¯t mean that they don¡¯t exist,¡± he replied in a rather gentle voice. ¡°Then, tell me, why do you want to be with me since you already have someone else that you love, although she¡¯s dead? I know that I look nothing like her, so why?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll answer this question of yours when the timees.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you tell me now?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no hurry.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m desperate to know now!¡± He kept a calm demeanor. ¡°Then stay that way.¡± ¡°You jerk!¡± He was triggering her curiosity but refused to answer her doubts. With his gaze fixed ahead and the steering wheel in hand, he did not speak another word for the rest of the ride to the crematorium. It seemed that he had also given the people at the crematorium a heads-up earlier. When they got off the car, she probed, ¡°Then, can you tell me, why did the people at the museum allow you to collect the corpse?¡± ¡°Because I told Hua... An Xiaoning to send it to the museum. Then, An Xiaoning told them to allow me to collect it. Could they possibly go against her?¡± ¡°Sis Xiaoning...¡± Fang En recalled the time she had told Sis Xiaoning about her recurrent dreams and the corpse she had seen. But at that time, An Xiaoning had not told her that she was the one who had sent the corpse to the museum... Could she have already known back then that the woman was the one Xiao Chenyang loved most? Was it because it was inconvenient to tell her or did Xiao Chenyang not allow her to reveal it? Between these two alternatives, she felt that thetter was more possible. Given Xiao Chenyang¡¯s temper, that was probably the case. Of course, it could have been that Sis Xiaoning did not want to be nosy... He carefully took the corpse from the front passenger seat and carried it down the car before entering the crematorium. Fang En followed behind him. His pace was rather fast, so by the time he carried the corpse and ced it on the bed in the funeral parlor, she had only just entered the main entrance. The professional makeup artist was putting makeup on the corpse. Looking at the face of the corpse lying on that bed, Fang En noticed that she looked ravishing. She had to admit that this woman with a height of about 1.5 meters had stunning looks. She nced at the corpse, then turned to look at Xiao Chenyang, who had a grave expression on his face. She held her breath and kept silent, still trying to digest what he had said on the car earlier. Because it was simply a piece of unbelievable news. Having seen the corpse in the museum and then spending a brief moment with it in the same car, Fang En was emotional not just about the corpse, which had been perfectly preserved, but also about this woman, who was not quite tall yet looked stunning. Not to mention, there was that piece of shocking news she had received. Other than that, she felt nothing toward this corpse. But when the corpse entered the incinerator, for some reason, tears started to flow down Fang En¡¯s cheeks continuously. She reached out to wipe them away and lowered her head to look at these crystal droplets on her fingers. Before Xiao Chenyang could see them, she swiftly wiped her tears away. When the staff at the funeral parlor ced the urn in Xiao Chenyang¡¯s hands, he took them and left this ce without uttering a single word. After cing the urn at the back row of the car, he removed the red ribbons from the vehicle. Fang En then had no choice but to sit in the front passenger seat, although the thought of a corpse being seated there just a while ago bothered her slightly. ¡°Are we going to the cemetery now?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Since she¡¯s the woman you loved most, why did you cremate her? She¡¯s been preserved so well, you could have looked at her like that every day. Isn¡¯t that right?¡± Chapter 1099 - Perplexed and Smitten (159)

Chapter 1099: Perplexed and Smitten (159)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xiao Chenyang took a nce at her. ¡°People have to be buried eventually after having been dead for so many years. Don¡¯t I have you now? So I¡¯ll just bury this corpse.¡± ¡°Fickle-minded...¡± He replied calmly, ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, she¡¯s been dead for so long already, you can¡¯t possibly live by yourself forever. But a mortal like me can live only for a few decades. I can¡¯t be by your side forever.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. After you¡¯re dead, I¡¯ll find another woman.¡± Fang En was rendered speechless by his words. She had thought that the burial ground he chose for her would be either on a hill or at a cemetery. But little did she expect that he would bring her to the seaside. She had originally thought that her burial ground would be by the sea or that her ashes would be scattered into the sea, but to her surprise, a helicopter was waiting for them by the side. With just one look, Fang En realized that he was going to scatter the ashes from a height in the sky. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you going to bury the ashes? I thought you prepared a grave for her.¡± He answered, ¡°This is the best ce to bury her.¡± Fang En watched as his eyes reddened, and from the moment they got into the helicopter until theynded and came down from it, Fang En did not utter another word. Only when they returned to Qingyuan Estate and when the car stopped did Xiao Chenyang look to see Jing Shui, who had emerged from the stairway, and start talking to her. ¡°What¡¯s he doing here again?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know, he might be here to find Yan Ge.¡± She was about to get out of the car when he grabbed onto her arm. ¡°I forbid you from getting off.¡± Fang En shook his arm away and sat in the car obediently. Jing Shui did not see her and simply walked past the front of the car. Two minutester, the two finally got out of the car. But unfortunately, they had avoided running into Jing Shui only to run right into Yan Ge. Fang En had juste out of the car when she went face to face with him. She had not even gotten to closing the car door shut. Yan Ge nced at the car they alighted from before turning to them and asking, ¡°Whose car is this?¡± Fang En replied immediately, ¡°It¡¯s mine.¡± After all, to Yan Ge, Xiao Chenyang was her bodyguard and cousin at the same time. He wasn¡¯t supposed to be rich... If she did not smooth things over like this... ¡°Yours?¡± Yan Ge was taken by surprise. ¡°You have money to buy this car?¡± It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t believe her, it was simply how it was in reality... Before filming for the new series was to start, she wouldn¡¯t have spare cash to spend. When they filmed the television drama together, she was paid 300 thousand per episode. After a percentage of it went to her work studio and after she bought a house worth around 3 million dors, the amount she had left was considerably small. How, then, was it possible for her to buy this car...? Moreover, Fang En grew up in the countryside and did not have a habit of spending money frivolously. Even if she were to buy a car for herself, she wouldn¡¯t possibly have bought such an expensive one. If she bought one that cost a few hundred thousand dors, that would already been pretty impressive. In addition, she didn¡¯t even have a driving license. Shouldn¡¯t she have gotten one before she even bought a car? That was why he had asked that question. Fang En did not know how to answer him for a moment. If she said that it was a car arranged for her by her work studio, it would appear illogical since she already had a nanny van, which waspletely fine. Moreover, this car was a two-seater. Work studios would not usually arrange such cars for their artistes. Yan Ge was clearer than her about this. As such, Fang En was at a loss for words. She had tried to exin it using Xiao Chenyang¡¯s situation, but she forgot about her own. Now, there was no way for her to exin it anymore. Seeing how she did not answer, Yan Ge was not anxious either and appeared to continue observing how, exactly, she was going to answer him. ¡°Why do you care if she has the money to buy it? It wasn¡¯t stolen anyway,¡± Xiao Chenyang responded. Yan Ge¡¯s expression turned rather ugly as he replied, ¡°I wasn¡¯t asking you, who are you to butt in?¡± ¡°Sorry, my mouth is just that big.¡± With that, he headed toward the stairway. Fang En approached him awkwardly and stopped about a meter before him. ¡°My cousin just speaks like that, don¡¯t take it to heart. The car is mine indeed, it¡¯s umm... secondhand. That¡¯s why it was cheaper. It just so happens that my cousin can drive, and having a car has always been a dream of mine too.¡± After she muttered these words, Fang En¡¯s heart eased a little. Luckily for her, they had removed the red ribbons on the car wheels and rear view mirror when they went to the seaside earlier. ¡°This secondhand car looks really new.¡± It was not clear if he actually believed her words as he gave this remark. Fang En put on a calm front and responded, ¡°Yeah, it was really a good deal. I¡¯m going upstairs first.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Yan Ge just felt that something was amiss. As to what it was specifically, he couldn¡¯t quite make that out. Walking to the front of the Aston Martin, he nced at the temporary license te, his gaze growing slightly deeper. .... ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡± Fang En couldn¡¯t help but ask when she returned home. ¡°Since you already said the car is yours, why didn¡¯t you also dere me as yours?¡± ¡°I just said that the car is mine, are you angry about that? It¡¯s just that I thought, since you¡¯re supposed to be my cousin and bodyguard, if I said that the car is yours, he would definitely suspect that you aren¡¯t actually my cousin. After all, if you¡¯re that rich, why would you have to be my bodyguard...?¡± ¡°So, were you trying to smooth things over for me or for yourself?¡± he responded, hitting the nail on the head. ¡°Whether I¡¯m your cousin or bodyguard isn¡¯t important to me at all. You should know, everything I¡¯m hiding and considering are all because of you. You should also know that some things cannot be hidden forever. It¡¯s a matter of time before everything you want to hide will be revealed.¡± Fang En knew that everything he said was the truth. The future was something she had still dared to think about before all this. But now, she did not dare to do so anymore. This was because her future was no longer in her hands. ¡ª ¡°Oh my, this is big news!¡± Xiao Bai took out his phone excitedly to show Xiao Huang. ¡°Do you see it? It¡¯s just been a short while yet there¡¯s already over 50 thousand people who have signed up. Our Chief really has remarkable privileges! This is great, he¡¯ll definitely be able to find a future wife!¡± ¡°I really admire our Chief so much! When will we be able to receive such privileges like him?¡± ¡°Chief is back, hurry and go ask him about thetest updates.¡± Once Xiao Bai¡¯s wordsnded, he hurriedly dashed a few meters away in an instant. Xiao Huang chased after him hurriedly as well. ¡°Chief, Chief. We¡¯ve seen that matchmaking site for you, how¡¯s your selection going?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t seen it.¡± Xiao Bai was perplexed. ¡°Why haven¡¯t you seen it? Hurry and make time to select those who are suitable.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no hurry,¡± Fan Shixin replied in an orderly manner. ¡°I¡¯ll go and eat first.¡± Xiao Huang exchanged nces with Xiao Bai before asking, ¡°Chief, why don¡¯t you seem excited at all?¡± ¡°Those applicants who signed up probably did so because of what they see in me. Those who¡¯ll get to meet me will also be because of what I see in them, so there¡¯s nothing to be excited about.¡± ¡°Then, Chief, will you make a decision and start meeting them today?¡± Fan Shixin replied with a short sound of acknowledgment and went on, ¡°Young Sir has asked me to choose five people out of every five thousand applicants. I¡¯ll be meeting five a day, starting from this afternoon.¡± ¡°Then, can we hang around to watch?¡± Xiao Bai¡¯s eyes were sparkling with excitement as he continued, ¡°Chief, can we?¡± ¡°Do your patrolling duty properly and quit being so nosy.¡± Xiao Bai¡¯s heart sank as he responded, ¡°But Chief, we¡¯re trying to help you examine their standards.¡± Chapter 1100 - Perplexed and Smitten (160)

Chapter 1100: Perplexed and Smitten (160)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Do you think I need the two of you to examine the standards of my prospective partner when I know them best? Can¡¯t I do it by myself? Go and get on with whatever you guys need to do.¡± Disappointed, Xiao Bai shot Xiao Huang a meaningful nce to signal to him that it was time to retreat. ¡°Chief!!!¡± A powerful voice sounded from afar, and the three turned over to look while Xiao Lu called out, ¡°Young Madam¡¯s looking for you.¡± ¡°Got it, I¡¯ll be right there.¡± Fan Shixin turned over and didn¡¯t see An Xiaoning, but he saw Jin Qingyan sitting alone in the living room. He went forward and asked, ¡°Wasn¡¯t it Young Madam who called for me?¡± ¡°Why, you¡¯re upset that I was the one who called for you?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll bet hell that you don¡¯t dare to.¡± Fan Shixin¡¯s heart had broken down at this point as he remarked, ¡°Ahem, ahem, Young Sir, please mind yournguage. Inappropriate use of words will affect your image.¡± ¡°Do you think I care?¡± With that, he continued, ¡°She just went upstairs and will being down soon. Your happiness is more important, but even while you¡¯re busy with that, you shouldn¡¯t neglect other important matters you have to handle. You should know that there are very few people I trust. There¡¯s a matter that I can¡¯t let many people know about. Hence, I¡¯ll be handing it for you and Xiaoning to handle together.¡± ¡°What matter?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let your Young Madam tell youter what the matter is specifically.¡± Fan Shixin watched how his Young Sir refused to tell him the matter himself and added, ¡°I still have to go to thepanyter in the afternoon.¡± ¡°Tomorrow when I go to thepany, you¡¯ll handle the matter with your Young Madam.¡± ¡°Then, when you came back from thepany this afternoon, did you talk to Dr. Yu already?¡± ¡°Yes, I did.¡± His words justnded when the sound of footsteps came from the stairway. Jin Qingyan made a gesture with his hands to signal Fan Shixin to stop talking about this topic, for fear that An Xiaoning would hear them. Fan Shixin stood there thinking to himself, My dearest Young Sir, Young Madam already knows about that small secret of yours, okay? An Xiaoning was wearing a set of casual clothing. It was evident that she wasn¡¯t intending to leave the house today. With a piece of document in hand, she came downstairs and passed it to Fan Shixin. ¡°Come, take a look at this.¡± ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know after you read it.¡± Fan Shixin took it from her and carefully read the content inside. Since he was a fast reader, he finished browsing through the whole document in no time. After reading it, he ced the document back on the table. ¡°So, this is the matter that Young Sir wants me and Young Madam to handle?¡± ¡°Correct.¡± An Xiaoning looked up. ¡°Shixin, we¡¯ve already had a previous experience of working together. This time around, I think that no matter how difficult it is, we canplete it together. No. 8 hasn¡¯t recovered yet, so No. 5 will be joining us tomorrow.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave Young Madam to make the arrangements as you like, then.¡± Fan Shixin had almost forgotten to mention a matter. ¡°Right, Bu Xianxian and Shi Shaochuan have broken up. She even aborted their child at the hospital and is staying at her parents¡¯ house at Sanqiao Estate right now.¡± ¡°She aborted their child?¡± An Xiaoning was perplexed. ¡°Shi Shaochuan is the only son left in his family. Would he have allowed her to abort it?¡± ¡°Bu Xianxian took an old picture of herself to show Shi Shaochuan. I guess he made her abort it out of consideration toward the child¡¯s genes.¡± An Xiaoning nodded. ¡°Okay, continue to send people to keep an eye on her. Instruct them not to underestimate her.¡± ¡°I will.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go and eat first, then.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± After eating, Fan Shixin headed to thepany again. While helping Jin Qingyan to handle matters in thepany, he did not forget to make his selection out of the five thousand applicants at the same time. Gripping onto the mouse, he started browsing through the applicants, starting from the very first one. But the more he looked at these applicants, the tighter the crease on his brows grew. Why on earth did they all look about the same? At first nce, there wasn¡¯t a single person that left asting impression on him. He had even forgotten how the earlier applicants looked like... The more he browsed through, the more frustrated he grew. However, he thought that amongst so many applicants, there was bound to be some who were outstanding. With this thought in mind, he continued browsing through the rest of the applicants. After going through pictures of about three thousand applicants, Fan Shixin¡¯s gazended on a particr picture. Compared to most of the other pictures, which were heavily photoshopped, this picture appeared rather unique. While others sent either selfies or artistic pictures of themselves, she sent a picture of herself during her schooling days. The background was blue in color, and she was wearing a white blouse with her long hair over her shoulders. Her face had some simple makeup on, and her sparkling eyes seemed to be beaming with joy. Fan Shixin nced at her picture and only felt that she looked slightly familiar to him. It was like he had seen her somewhere before, but he could not remember when. He then browsed through her personal background information. Mu Wansheng? Fan Shixin looked at her name and was instantly reminded of the person. She was born from a reputable family in A City. However, in recent years, the Mu family had started to decline because of business giants like the Jin Corporation that had overshadowed them. As a result, the Mu Corporation had long been kicked out of the ranking amongst hugepanies. It could even be said that the Mu Corporation was in a precarious position. Fan Shixin had recalled who this person waspletely because of her identity, which was the illegitimate daughter of the Mu family. A few years back, there had been a time when this matter was all over the news in A City and was even known as one of the most well-known scandals in the business industry. It was reported that she was the child of her mother and her grandfather. When this scandal was reported, it invited the criticism and judgment of manyizens, who made her into aughingstock. It appeared that she had also quit school because of this matter. Later on, when this scandal faded, he had not seen another piece of news about the Mu family anymore. With his brows frowning deeply as he stared at her picture and personal information, he took a whole two minutes before eventually typing a reply to her on his keyboard. Originally, he had intended to pick five people out of the five thousand applicants. However, after he had finished browsing through the five thousand applicants, he selected only two. Just the thought of going on a blind date gave Fan Shixin a headache. It had really never urred to him that he wouldnd in a state where he had to go on blind dates to find his happiness. He sat in his office and handled thepany¡¯s affairs until five in the afternoon. Out of respect toward his blind date, he even returned to Wei Ni Estate to change into a formal suit. While he wore a white t-shirt inside, he had on a ck summer suit on the outside. His suit was left unbuttoned. Just like that, he drove toward the designated caf¨¦ for the blind date by himself. He was to meet the two women at the same caf¨¦, with only a half-hour interval between each date. The first date was arranged at 5:30 pm while the second one at 6 pm. He felt that it would be clear whether or not he¡¯d take a liking to the person just by chatting over a cup of coffee with her for half an hour. By the time he arrived, it was 5:28 pm. It was about the time arranged for the meeting. Thedy had yet to appear, so he ordered two cups of coffee and waited. By the time the service crew served the two cups of coffee, it was already 5:33 pm. But thedy still had not turned up. Fan Shixin thought that she might have beente because of a traffic jam, so he stirred the coffee and drank it as he waited. Little did he expect that even at 5:40 pm, she¡¯d still be nowhere to be seen. Time passed little by little, and when it was 5:45 pm, ady in high heels and a miniskirt finally came walking in. She scanned around the caf¨¦ first and finally approached the table Fan Shixin was sitting at before saying in a rather eager tone, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for beingte, Mr. Fan.¡± Fan Shixin looked up at her and instantly felt that the picture she had sent had been photoshopped rather heavily. In the picture, she had porcin-white skin, huge eyes, double eyelids, sharp chin, and palm-sized face. Chapter 1101 - Perplexed and Smitten (161)

Chapter 1101: Perplexed and Smitten (161)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In real life, she had a square jaw and a rectangr facial shape. There was a stark contrast between the condition of the skin on her face and that of her neck. Clearly, she had been using a significant amount of whitening products on her face. It was also obvious that she had used false eyshes and some eyelid tape to form a crease on her monolids and turn them into double eyelids. Given how mediocre she looked even with makeup on, one can only imagine how much worse she would look barefaced... He was not judging someone by their appearance. Rather, she simply looked way too different from the photos of herself that she had uploaded onto the inte. ¡°There¡¯s still another fifteen minutes to go. Have a seat, I¡¯ve already ordered some coffee for you.¡± ¡°Oh, alright, thank you.¡± She sat down and picked up the cup of coffee. Staring at him, she said, ¡°I really didn¡¯t expect myself to have been selected. I was over the moon. Hence, I dolled myself up beforeing.¡± Fan Shixin expressed assent, not wanting to talk to her much. However, he could not reject her directly since she had already made her way down to meet him. He asked casually, ¡°Ms. Xia, what do you usually enjoy doing in your free time?¡± ¡°I usually just go to work most of the time. During my free time, I enjoy ying with my mobile phone and watching some Korean dramas.¡± She asked, ¡°Did you add sugar to the coffee?¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s going to be too bitter otherwise.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t drink it anymore, then. I¡¯m on a diet right now to lose weight. I¡¯m going to gain even more weight if I drink this cup of coffee,¡± she said while putting the cup down. Fan Shixin said casually, ¡°One cup won¡¯t matter. Women look better with some meat on them.¡± Upon hearing his words, Ms. Xia bbered on excitedly, ¡°I¡¯m really ted. I signed up with the intention of just trying my luck, yet I actually hit the jackpot. What¡¯s your mobile number? I¡¯m really pleased with you. My parents were over the moon when they heard that I was going to go on a blind date with you. They told me to bring you home to see them if the date goes well today.¡± Fan Shixin said with a tinge of aloofness in his voice, ¡°I¡¯m afraid Uncle and Auntie are going to be disappointed.¡± The smile on Ms. Xia¡¯s face vanished instantly and she asked in bewilderment, ¡°Why...¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but you¡¯re not the ideal type of woman that I¡¯m looking for.¡± Ms. Xia¡¯s heart shattered, and she felt as if she had fallen straight from Heaven to Hell. ¡°Shall we be friends, then? Just give me your contact number...¡± ¡°I don¡¯t intend to be friends with you.¡± In usual situations, the woman would have stood up to leave at this moment. After all, it was a matchmaking session, and there was no point in staying since he had already made things so clear. However, Ms. Xia could not bear to leave at all. Fan Shixin had no choice but to stand up and get the tab for the coffee before heading upstairs to wait for the next candidate. Upon seeing his actions, Ms. Xia had no choice but to leave reluctantly, for she felt too embarrassed to stay. The second candidate was Mu Wansheng. He did not wish to miss the opportunity of meeting someone whom he was interested in just because of status. Hence, he had replied to her and decided to meet her, after which he would find out if they were suitable for each other or not. Mu Wansheng showed up punctually at six o¡¯clock. She was dressed in a pair of light-wash ripped jeans, which she had paired with a white short-sleeved top and a ck backpack. Her curly long locks were draped across her shoulders. Fan Shixin heaved a huge sigh of relief the moment he saw her. Because she was not a catfish. She looked exactly the same as she did in her photos. ¡°Are you Mr. Fan?¡± ¡°Yes, please have a seat.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m here to apologize to you. I didn¡¯t sign up out of my own ord. My mother was the one who did it on my behalf. I already have a boyfriend, and I don¡¯t n on going on a blind date. Hence, I decided toe and express my apology to you personally. Thank you for choosing me, but I¡¯ve already deleted my photo and information on the webpage.¡± Fan Shixin was speechless. He felt like he was on the verge of despair. I knew it, matchmaking and blind dates never work... ¡°It¡¯s alright, Ms. Mu. In that case, there¡¯s no need to waste each other¡¯s time anymore.¡± He stood up and made his way downstairs without even ncing at Mu Wansheng. Throughout the short journey from the caf¨¦ to his car, Fan Shixin had been pondering about the way his subordinates, Jin Qingyan, and An Xiaoning would react once he tells them about the situation... His heart was about to shatter just at the mere thought of it. I¡¯m not going to tell them the truth. Over my dead body will I do that. He did exactly what he intended to. When he arrived back in Wei Ni Estate, the gossipy Xiao Bai asked, ¡°Chief, Chief, were thedies at the matchmaking session today pretty?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯m sure you know what my taste in women is like. How could I possibly be interested in average-looking women?¡± ¡°Was it sessful, then?¡± Xiao Bai asked. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve only met two out of the five thousand candidates that I¡¯ve shortlisted. How can I make a decision so hastily? I¡¯ll decide after meeting a few more.¡± ¡°That makes sense. I wish you all the best in finding a beautiful wife soon, then. Hehehe.¡± ¡°If you chuckle once more, I¡¯ll make you go to the bathroom and pick up soaps. Hurry and resume your duty.¡± Xiao Bai eximed in shock, ¡°Chief, you¡¯ve been influenced by Xiao Huang and the rest, you¡¯re so mean!¡± Fan Shixin pressed his lips together and chided, ¡°What are you waiting for? I¡¯m giving you five seconds.¡± As soon as Fan Shixin finished speaking, Xiao Bai sprinted away and vanished out of sight. ¡ª ¡°Brother, there you go,¡± said Xiao Li, who handed Yan Ge two documents. A sullen expression formed on his face the moment he perused the information written on the documents. Noticing that he was remaining silent, Xiao Li said, ¡°Fang En is indeed not the owner of the car. The car was newly bought today at a price of about 4.5 million dors.¡± ¡°Got it, you may leave.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After his assistant left, Yan Ge leaned against the couch and sank deep in thought. His male intuition had told him that something was wrong. He sent Fang En a text message, and she showed up at his apartment a long whileter. ¡°What did you call me here for?¡± ¡°Do I need a reason for doing that? Sit.¡± He sat up straight, appearing to be out of sorts. Fang En sat down on the couch beside him. Seemingly having sensed that he was upset, Fang En asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Who is... Xiao Chenyang?¡± ¡°My cousin.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you were the one who bought the car? Why is it registered under his name? You imed that it¡¯s a secondhand car, but it was clearly bought just yesterday. Why do you have to lie to me about that?¡± Seeing that he had already found out, Fang En was a little unsure of how to react. She exined, ¡°I... I... said that mainly because I didn¡¯t... didn¡¯t want you to be mistaken. After all, it¡¯s rather inappropriate for my cousin to be willing to be my bodyguard when he can afford to buy such an expensive car...¡± ¡°It¡¯s indeed very inappropriate. However, no matter how I see it, he just doesn¡¯t seem to be your cousin.¡± Fang En¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and she asked anxiously, ¡°Who else could he be...¡± ¡°You¡¯re still lying at this juncture!¡± Yan Ge eximed. He handed her the documents and said, ¡°Take a look.¡± Fang En did not expect for her lie to have been exposed so soon... She was at a sudden loss for what to do at the sight of the grave expression on Yan Ge¡¯s face. She took the documents from him and took a look. After reading through the content, she knew that she could not hide the truth about Xiao Chenyang from Yan Ge any longer... Chapter 1102 - Perplexed and Smitten (162)

Chapter 1102: Perplexed and Smitten (162)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At this moment, she felt like she was finally released and freed. She no longer had to go through painstaking effort to hide the truth from Yan Ge or worry about how he would perceive her. She no longer had to be afraid of spilling the beans identally. Because the truth was about to be revealed. ¡°That¡¯s right, he¡¯s not my cousin,¡± Fang En said while feeling a huge sense of relief. ¡°Is he your boyfriend, then? Is he... the reason you were unwilling to be my girlfriend? You could¡¯ve just told me the truth back then. Is there really a need to hide? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re nning to keep me on the hook as your backup n in case your rtionship with him doesn¡¯t work out?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not in a rtionship with him, and neither do I treat you as my backup n. I really... do fancy you.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your rtionship with him, then? Tell me, how are you rted to him? If there¡¯s nothing between you two, why would he be living with you? Why would he be your bodyguard when he¡¯s affluent enough?¡± Yan Ge questioned, boiling with fury. One of the main reasons he had broken up with Yu Caiwei back then was that she had too many close friends of the opposite gender. He didn¡¯t like that she was hanging out too intimately with them. Yet, this Fang En... ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s between us but we¡¯re definitely not lovers. I don¡¯t fancy him at all. He was the one who moved into my house all of a sudden and refused to leave. I¡¯m telling the truth. I asked him why he was behaving that way but he refused to tell me the reason. However, I really haven¡¯t met him before and I didn¡¯t know him at all.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you call the police?¡± Pursing her lips, Fang En said, ¡°Call the police? If calling the police really worked, I would have done that long ago. He¡¯s different from us. The police can¡¯t do anything to him at all.¡± ¡°How is he any different from us? Isn¡¯t he human too? Or does he have a family member from the Autumn Pce?¡± ¡°What do you think? Even Sis Xiaoning can¡¯t deal with him. I was both overjoyed and worried at the same time when you asked me to be your girlfriend. I actually didn¡¯t need the extra time to think, like what I had told you. I was just waiting for him toe back so that I could negotiate with him and make him leave my life. However, I failed and hence I had to reject you, because... I didn¡¯t want to implicate you and let you get hurt. However, I couldn¡¯t tell you these directly back then. I was afraid that you wouldn¡¯t believe me and instead despise me. But since you¡¯ve already found out, there¡¯s no need for me to hide it from you any further.¡± Yan Ge stared at her, trying to deduce if she was telling the truth. ¡°Do you really fancy me?¡± ¡°Yes, I really do.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s ignore the rest. What matters is we¡¯re fond of each other, isn¡¯t it?¡± He stood up and grabbed her wrist to pull her out of the house. Fang En thought that he was going to bring her to her apartment and immediately tried to struggle to break free. ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not going to look for him. I¡¯m taking you somewhere.¡± Fang En expressed assent. Her stomach twisted into a knot, for she was afraid that she would bump into Xiao Chenyang at the door. She was afraid that he would really confine her to Mount Wanyan. That would really be... Fortunately, they did not bump into him. When they exited the apartment, Xiao Chenyang was watching a movie with the volume turned up loudly. Once she got inside Yan Ge¡¯s car, she said, ¡°I told him that I would be back in a while.¡± He reached a hand out to help her put on her safety belt before saying, ¡°I just want to verify if you truly fancy me.¡± Fang En had no idea what he meant. Is there a need to verify that? I¡¯ve already told him so explicitly. The next thing she knew, he had already driven out of the estate. To her surprise, he did not drive to a nearby ce and instead sped toward the expressway. ¡°Senior Yan Ge, where are we going?¡± ¡°The beach.¡± Fang En asked in astonishment, ¡°The beach?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She dared not say anything else, for fear that she would provoke him further. However, if she was away for too long, Xiao Chenyang would... She dared not let her imagination run wild. Will he kick Yan Ge¡¯s door open... He doesn¡¯t use mobile phones and doesn¡¯t have my number either. A terrifying silence filled the air in the car. A million thoughts flooded Fang En¡¯s mind, and she started to think that she was losing control of what was happening. However, she really did not wish to give Yan Ge up. Why can¡¯t I be together with the person I like? What right does Xiao Chenyang have to strip me of my freedom to love? She pondered over the problem throughout the journey. They finally arrived at the beach half an hourter. She alighted from the car after Yan Ge parked it inside the parking lot. The strong wind messed up her long hair. She finally felt some relief, and her worries were alleviated. She turned to look at him and said, ¡°This ce is so rxing.¡± ¡°Come here.¡± Fang En followed him to an apartment building near the beach, which was facing the ocean. They boarded the elevator, which ascended to the fifth floor. The apartment was spacious, and there were no other partitioned rooms apart from the washroom and the kitchen. There was a pool near the bed. ¡°This is my private apartment. We¡¯ll stay here tonight.¡± ¡°W... what? Aren¡¯t we going back to Qingyuan Estate tonight?¡± Fang En asked in bewilderment. ¡°No, we¡¯re not. You live in the same space with him every day, why can¡¯t you do the same with me? Didn¡¯t you say that you really do fancy me?¡± Fang En could no longer say the words that she had wanted to. She felt as if there was something stuck in her throat. She walked toward the balcony while remaining silent. Grabbing the railing tightly, she stared into the distance, at the stars in the pitch-dark sky. Fang En froze the moment he hugged her from behind. She felt like her heart was about to stop beating. It felt just like a hallucination. ¡°Yan Ge...¡± ¡°Yes...¡± ¡°You...¡± ¡°Do you know the biggest reason behind my decision to break up with Yu Caiwei? The opposition of our parents was one of the reasons, but the main one was that she has too many friends of the opposite gender. I felt too insecure, especially since she hung out with them rather frequently. We often argued over that issue, and we decided to give up in the end.¡± Fang En held his gaze and said, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you give up on me straight away...?¡± ¡°Because the greatest difference between you and her is that she¡¯s proactive while you¡¯re passive.¡± ¡°Do you know what the consequences would be if I don¡¯t go home tonight?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to know. He can¡¯t possibly kill you, can he? I¡¯ll be with you.¡± ¡°He won¡¯t kill me, but he¡¯ll take me to a ce where I can never leave ande back again. He¡¯ll take me somewhere no one else can find.¡± Her heart wrenched in fear at the thought of Mount Wanyan. She struggled out of his embrace and said, ¡°Yan Ge, you don¡¯t have to make me stay here tonight in order to prove that I fancy you. If I said that I fancy you, that means I do. I don¡¯t want any irreversible harm to be brought upon you because of me. You might think that he¡¯s just a powerful figure of authority, but that¡¯s because you haven¡¯t seen just how formidable he is. I can¡¯t afford to provoke him, so let¡¯s go back.¡± ¡°You can go back by yourself if you want to. I¡¯m not leaving,¡± said an obstinate Yan Ge. It took them more than two hours on the expressway to get here. If she were to walk back home, it would definitely take ages. Chapter 1103 - Perplexed and Smitten (163)

Chapter 1103: Perplexed and Smitten (163)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios It was practically impossible to hail a taxi at this time and ce. To make things worse, she did not have her mobile phone or wallet with her. Yan Ge thought that there was no way she could go back without him. However, he had underestimated the amount of fear Fang En had toward Xiao Chenyang. Fang En felt that even a thousand Yan Ges could not hinder Xiao Chenyang from doing what he wanted. She did fancy Yan Ge, but she did not want to get him and herself into trouble because of it. ¡°Okay.¡± She walked back inside the apartment in a bid to leave. Yan Ge stepped forward to stop her. ¡°Do you know how far Qingyuan Estate is from here!?!¡± ¡°I want to go back.¡± Seeing that she was bent on going home, he decided to give in. ¡°Let¡¯s go together,¡± he said, seemingly having considered her words carefully. They were both dead silent on the journey back, just like before. When they arrived in Qingyuan Estate, they caught sight of a figure from afar even before pulling over. Fang En was frightened out of her wits the moment she saw Xiao Chenyang. As soon as the car stopped, she immediately alighted and sprinted toward Xiao Chenyang. She chuckled wryly and asked, ¡°Why have youe down? Is the movie over?¡± Xiao Chenyang seemed to have sensed something unusual from the forcedughter that she had let out. He turned around and entered the lobby without uttering another word. Fang En hurriedly chased after him, not turning back once to look at Yan Ge. Fang En was filled with uncertainty the moment she realized that he was still refusing to speak even after they had entered the apartment. ¡°Um, Xiao Chenyang, why aren¡¯t you saying anything?¡± she asked. ¡°I¡¯ll buy a mobile phone tomorrow.¡± Fang En initially thought that he would hit the roof and interrogate her about her absence. She could not get used to Xiao Chenyang being so calm all of a sudden. ¡ª The sky had been gloomy ever since morning. ¡°ording to the weather forecast, it¡¯ll be drizzling in A City today and pouring heavily in B City. Hence, I¡¯ve already prepared some umbres and raincoats that I had left inside the car.¡± ¡°How¡¯s No. 8?¡± ¡°His recovery is going well. He¡¯s been putting himself on the drip daily at the clinic in the estate. Ms. Mo has also quit her job at the bar to focus on taking care of No. 8. I¡¯m such a jealous loner.¡± ¡°I¡¯m envious of him too.¡± No. 5 gaped and looked at Fan Shixin, who was in the passenger¡¯s seat. ¡°Chief Fan, stop agitating me any further. We all know that Mr. Jin has organized a mass recruitment for you to find a girlfriend, and more than 80 thousand women have signed up. I bet all of those women who have signed up did so because they¡¯re lusting for your handsome good looks and your attributes. It won¡¯t hurt to let me have eight out of those 80 thousand candidates you have.¡± ¡°Some of the people who have signed up didn¡¯t do so out of their own ord. Their parents are the ones who have signed up on their behalf.¡± ¡°Their parents? How did you know?¡± No. 5 asked. ¡°Isn¡¯t that obvious? It can¡¯t be that all of them had signed up out of their own ord.¡± ¡°Sis, what¡¯s going to happen to Chief¡¯s blind dates now that he¡¯s going to B City with us?¡± An Xiaoning answered, ¡°Since those people have signed up, they¡¯re definitely not going to get a boyfriend any time soon. We¡¯ll just let Shixin take some time out of his schedule to meet some women in B City. He met the ones in A City yesterday. If he meets the right one, distance won¡¯t be a problem.¡± ¡°You have a point. Chief, all the best.¡± Fan Shixin leaned against the seat with a deadpan expression on his face. To be exact, he was not in the least bit interested in matchmaking at all; neither did he want to go on blind dates. However, the sign-ups are still open. Wouldn¡¯t he be making a fool out of those singledies if he were to bail on them? ¡°Let¡¯s stop the sign-ups.¡± An Xiaoning looked up abruptly and asked, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I just suddenly feel like there¡¯s no point in matchmaking if fate does not want me to meet my Ms. Right yet.¡± ¡°But you have to give fate a chance to bring you to her.¡± Fan Shixin said in a tone of mncholy, ¡°Young Madam... I think... I¡¯m going to end up alone for the rest of my life.¡± ¡°Why do you think that way? Have you spared a thought for No. 5, Xiao Bai, Xiao Huang, and the rest of those singletons? Have you considered their feelings?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Exactly, Old Chief, have you ever spared a thought for our feelings?¡± Fan Shixin gave him the side-eye and rebuked, ¡°What? Old Chief? You rascal!¡± He then smacked No. 5, causing No. 5 to shriek in pain and exim, ¡°Please have mercy on me, Chief! I¡¯m still driving!¡± An Xiaoning shook her head. They arrived in B City at ten o¡¯clock in the morning. Just like they had expected, it was raining cats and dogs, which was also the reason why pedestrians were scarce on the roads at the time. They soon arrived at a luxurious estate. d in surgical masks, the three of them alighted and headed to the fourth floor. It was a three-bedroom apartment that was well furnished and fully equipped with the necessary furniture. An Xiaoning had rented the apartment at a high price the day before, so as to settle their amodation for today. She chose this unit because she felt that it was situated in the best possible location. ¡°No. 5, go to the supermarket downstairs to buy some food and drinks. Shixin, let¡¯s get the things prepared,¡± An Xiaoning instructed. The two subordinates did as instructed. No. 5 left the apartment with some money while An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin began opening the cardboard box that they had brought and took out the pair of telescope inside. They then set it up and ced it on the balcony. The telescope gave them a clear view of the house that was located Southwest of the apartment they were in. They could clearly see the people entering and exiting from each and every single one of the main doors. On top of that, the telescope had a recording function that could be switched on for 24 hours a day. She had purchased it at an exorbitant price. Apart from allowing them to monitor their targets closely, the strategic location of the apartment also made it extremely easy for them to ambush the house via a suspended cable. What a brilliant location. Those two advantages were all she needed. After they finished setting up the equipment, No. 5 had also returned with the groceries, as well as some food for lunch. ¡°I decided we should just not cook for lunch, so I bought some takeout.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. Let¡¯s get to work after lunch.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The three of them sat together around the table. No. 5 asked, ¡°Sis, what do we do next?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll try to get the rough floor n andyout of the house today. I¡¯ll go inside tomorrow night to take a look. The Yin family appears to be running a simple business on the surface, but they¡¯re actually dealing in a different field. In fact, I feel like there¡¯s more than meets the eye.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t I go inside to take a look instead? It¡¯s too dangerous,¡± said Fan Shixin. She disagreed, ¡°We can¡¯t just go inside together, precisely because we¡¯re not very clear about the exact situation inside. I had a simr experience in the Autumn Pce. The security definitely isn¡¯t as tight in the Yin family homepared to the Autumn Pce. My only concern is that we¡¯re unsure if there are booby traps or hexes inside. After all, they¡¯re a family of mediums. Hence, you guys can¡¯t enter.¡± ¡°Young Madam, you must be very careful, then. We¡¯ll try to sketch a rough floor n andyout of the mansionter.¡± ¡°Shixin, remember the data I showed you previously? Although there had been major changes to society, the Yin family still preserves their family tradition that had been around for centuries. The elders hold the highest authority in the patriarchal family, and there¡¯s a clear inequality between the sexes. For now, the person who holds the highest power in the Yin family is still the old patriarch.¡± Chapter 1104 - Perplexed and Smitten (164)

Chapter 1104: Perplexed and Smitten (164)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Correct. So, Young Madam, I think the item that you¡¯re looking for must be with the old patriarch. Regardless of how ipetent he may be, he¡¯s still an authoritative member of the Yin family.¡± ¡°I doubt I can find if that easily. That¡¯s a precious belonging of the Yin family, they¡¯ll definitely keep it well hidden. However, we do have an abundance of time and patience to wait here. We¡¯ll ambush them when they¡¯re not paying attention. They definitely aren¡¯t that vignt or sharp, and they probably don¡¯t have their guards that high up.¡± ¡°How old is the old patriarch?¡± No. 5 asked. ¡°ording to our investigation, he¡¯s said to be 77 years old.¡± ¡°He¡¯s already so old, how invincible can he be?¡± No. 5 remarked. An Xiaoning chided, ¡°Don¡¯t belittle that old man. How can he be the head of the family andmand the respect of his children and servants if he¡¯s really ipetent? Let¡¯s not talk about that for now. We just need to get the thing that we want. The rest is not of our concern. Hurry and eat up. Once you¡¯re done, we¡¯ll go get things done while Shixin goes out to meet a few candidates whom he¡¯s interested in.¡± Fan Shixin frantically waved and said, ¡°Young Madam, I¡¯m not in a hurry. Let¡¯s focus on the important things first.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not in a hurry today. No. 5 and I can manage on our own. Go ahead and get busy with what you have to do.¡± The thought of a matchmaking session never failed to give Fan Shixin a major headache. Indeed, his headache was not uncalled for. In the afternoon, he went on blind dates with five consecutive women in B City. Yet, none of them could pique his interest, and he was not at all keen to get to know them better. Although they did look pleasant in their photos and seemed to possess great attributes ording to the given information, they turned out to be far worse than what he had imagined. ¡°Young Madam, I really don¡¯t want to go on matchmaking sessions anymore. I¡¯ll throw up at the thought of having to go on more in the future.¡± Staring at him solemnly, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Shixin, you¡¯re definitely going to get sick of matchmaking if you go on too many blind dates. However, you¡¯ll be fine after throwing up. Just continue and press on. I refuse to believe that you can¡¯t find a suitable woman out of so many of them.¡± ¡°Maybe I¡¯m getting too old for love, or maybe it¡¯s because I haven¡¯t been in a proper rtionship before, but I still don¡¯t know women too well. I can¡¯t seem to figure them out at all.¡± ¡°Why so?¡± An Xiaoning asked in puzzlement. ¡°I¡¯ve met seven women in total, including those from yesterday, and five of them refused to drink the coffee because they were afraid of gaining weight from all the added sugar. They¡¯re all paper thin and yet they¡¯re so obsessed with losing weight. What a great insult to overweight girls. They¡¯re just spoiled and contentious. Most men prefer women who are chubbier. Women who are just skin and bones really don¡¯t look pleasant at all.¡± No. 5 guffawed in amusement upon hearing hisints. He chimed in, ¡°Ipletely agree with you, Chief. I added lots of women as friends on my WeChat ount and I found that a few of them are exactly like those that you¡¯ve described. They¡¯ve uploaded so many digitally altered photos of themselves that are so heavily retouched, their parents probably won¡¯t be able to recognize them. They oftenin about struggling to lose weight in their captions too. However, they all seem to weigh less than a hundred pounds. I really felt like leaving ament on their photos, but I decided to forgo the idea after some consideration.¡± ¡°What did you want toment?¡± No. 5 chuckled and answered, ¡°I wanted to say, ¡®Hey chick, you¡¯re already so slim and t-chested. If you continue to lose any more weight, you¡¯re going to look even worse than before. Men prefer a well-endowed woman to a thin and emaciated woman.¡± Fan Shixin clucked his tongue in disdain toward No. 5¡¯s snide remark. ¡°Fortunately, you didn¡¯t leave any suchments. If you did, they would probably react to yourment in a typical manner.¡± ¡°How would they react?¡± ¡°They¡¯ll obviously blow their top and tell you off, iming that you have no right to poke your nose into their business. They¡¯ll also tell you to screw off. After guessing that you¡¯ve already read their reply, they¡¯ll delete it and block you off their ount. The highest skill that a man can attain is turning a blind eye to everything. You never know when you¡¯ll offend women with just a frivolous and casual remark.¡± No. 5 agreed, ¡°Yes, yes. Women are the hardest to please.¡± They looked at each other before turning to look at An Xiaoning, who was staring at them while smiling. She remarked, ¡°No wonder you two can¡¯t get a girlfriend.¡± Her words shut the two of them up. ¡ª It was nighttime. Jin Qingyan was sleeping peacefully on the spacious bed. Bei Qi had given him a dose of chemical that would aid him in sleeping. He tried it and discovered that it really helped to improve his quality of sleep. As usual, he added a few drops of the chemical to his food during dinner, after which he soon began to feel sleepy. He had an unusually long night of dreams. However, he was lucid during his dream and was well aware that he was merely dreaming. The first sensation he felt was a sudden chilliness. It felt just like wintertime. He scanned his surroundings and got out of bed. However, he was dressed in a white robe. He picked up the clothes on the hanger and took a closer look, only to discover that it was not something that he would usually wear. ¡°Someone,e in,¡± he yelled. Two servants who were dressed in ancient clothing scrambled toward the door. ¡°Your Highness,¡± they greeted. ¡°Put my clothes on for me.¡± The two servants looked at each other and hurriedly did as instructed, not daring to ask any more questions. Although Jin Qingyan was not used to being served by others, he kept a straight face and remained standing. ¡°Your Highness, would you like to have breakfast alone or with Miss Jin...¡± ¡°We¡¯ll go to her ce. You guys take the lead.¡± They looked at each other and hung their heads low before saying respectfully, ¡°We wouldn¡¯t dare to.¡± ¡°Cut the crap and walk in front of me.¡± ¡°Yes...¡± Jin Qingyan arrived at the backyard, and he instructed his bodyguards to wait by the door while he entered alone. The door was wide open, and Yu Jiao was sweeping the floor at the backyard. Her cheeks had turned pink due to the biting cold. Upon the sight of him, she put the broom away gleefully and said, ¡°Your Highness, Miss Jin has yet to wake up.¡± Jin Qingyan ced his hands behind his back and gazed at Mei Yangyang¡¯s face. ¡°It¡¯s alright, go prepare breakfast while I wake her up.¡± Yu Jiao sensed that something was different about him. After racking her brains, she realized that he had stopped putting on airs. However, she did not dwell on it any further and nodded fervently. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll go right now.¡± He continued walking toward the red wooden door. He was greeted with the wafting aroma of incense that filled the room. She seemed to have lit up some incense to aid her in sleeping. He walked inside and lifted the curtain. There was another red curtain around the wooden bed. He stopped in his tracks and lifted the curtain to look at Hua Jin. He initially thought that she was really still asleep, like what Yu Jiao had said. To his surprise, she was already wide awake and had her eyes open. Upon the sight of him, she turned over and whined coquettishly, ¡°Why are you here? I don¡¯t wish to see you.¡± Jin Qingyan immediately understood that she was upset with him. He bent forward and leaned closer toward her, only to realize that she had teared up. He said in a sweet and affectionate voice, ¡°You might not wish to see me, but I want to see you. Even when we don¡¯t meet, you¡¯re constantly running through my mind. I didn¡¯t sleep well at allst night because I had been thinking about you. C¡¯mon, get up and let¡¯s have breakfast together.¡± Chapter 1105 - Perplexed and Smitten (165)

Chapter 1105: Perplexed and Smitten (165)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Hua Jin¡¯s initial anger vanished without a trace. She held his gaze and said, ¡°Why do you not tell me about anything at all? Don¡¯t you trust me?¡± ¡°I trust you, I just didn¡¯t want you to be worried about it. I definitely trust you.¡± ¡°Why did you bring Princess Consort Mu out and walk on the streets with her for the past two days? You didn¡¯t evene to see me. Did you fall in love with her?¡± she asked, tearing up again. ¡°I¡¯m not blind, why would I be in love with her? Let¡¯s be honest with each other today, alright?¡± He held her hand and pulled her up from the bed. ¡°Remember, I¡¯m not saying this just to coax you, but you¡¯re the only one in my heart. You¡¯re the only one I miss and the only one I love. Although I seem to be treating her as my wife on the surface, I¡¯m only pretending to do that and it¡¯s all for show. It¡¯s not real at all,¡± he continued. ¡°You should have told me earlier. You bottle all your feelings up, and if you keep hiding your emotions from me, I¡¯ll never know how you truly feel,¡± she said, hugging him. ¡°From now on, no matter what happens, just bear in mind what I said today.¡± She snuggled up into his embrace and murmured assent. During breakfast, Jin Qingyan was jolted awake from his dream by a sudden pain. He had broken out in a cold sweat. He struggled to get out of bed and took a look at the time to discover that it was two in the morning. He felt an unbearable pain that was spreading all over his body from head to toe, as if he had been crushed by stone bricks. However, it seemed his best bet was to just lie still, for the pain would worsen with every slight movement of his. Hey stiff in bed with his eyes wide open, all the way until five o¡¯clock in the morning. He then slipped into a daze and fell asleep. He initially thought that he would finally get to sleep properly. To his astonishment, he drifted off to dreand again. This time, he was no longer in the Prince¡¯s residence. Instead, he was in an obscure and secluded mansion. He was not participating in the dream either and was simply a bystander who was watching the scenes y out in front of him. Staring at the pale Xihou Ling who was lying on the bed, Jin Qingyan knew that he had already developed a severe illness. ¡°Your Highness,¡± greeted one of his bodyguards, who entered with a bowl of herbal medicine soup. The bodyguard then helped him up and eased him into afortable position while feeding him the medicine with a soup. However, the effects were clearly not potent, for he constantly threw up the medicine right after taking a mouthful. He persisted and repeated the process over and over again. Atst, he finally curbed his urge to vomit. Seemingly not wanting his bodyguard to be worried, he said softly, ¡°I¡¯m fine. Call the rest of them inter, I have some instructions for all of you.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The bodyguard left with the empty bowl while Xihou Ling took out a thick handkerchief that he then ced over his mouth before spitting out the medicine that he had been holding in. He gasped a few times before stuffing the handkerchief back into the bed andy in bed with his eyes ssed over. Momentster, a few bodyguards entered and stood in front of the bed. Staring at the ill-stricken and sickly Xihou Ling, the men teared up uncontrobly, not daring to utter a single word. ¡°There are a few mountains situated along the river and there¡¯s one in between two of the highest ones, called Mount Yihua... Take me there and prepare a coffin for me as well... I want to wait for her there.¡± ¡°Your Highness!!!¡± ¡°I want to go there today,¡± he said in a soft yet assertive voice. ¡°Yes...¡± His bodyguards had never dared to defy his orders. His instructions were final. While Jin Qingyan was staring at Xihou Ling, the scene in front of him changed drastically all of a sudden. It happened as quickly as the blink of an eye. He took a closer look, only to discover that he was now in a cave. Xihou Ling was lying down on the stone bed and struggling to take his veryst breath. He was on the brink of death and appeared extremely drained and feeble. He had be gaunt and emaciated, due to the fact that he could barely stomach any food. Hey quietly on the bed, his eyes slightly open. There were only two bodyguards present. Jin Qingyan did not manage to see where the rest had gone. After about two hours, the other bodyguards finally returned. They came back together. His eyes lit up slightly upon the sight of them. As much as he tried to speak at the top of his voice, he still sounded faint and soft to others. ¡°Has there been any news yet?¡± Xihou Ling asked, struggling to speak. The few bodyguards stood rooted to the ground with a grave expression on their faces. They remained silent and refused to speak. Xihou Ling seemed to have guessed that there were bad news, judging from the expressions of his bodyguards. ¡°Are there still no news yet? It¡¯s alright, I still have some time. I¡¯ll continue waiting for her. She¡¯ll definitelye,¡± Xihou Ling said with a look of dejection. ¡°Rest assured, Your Highness. We¡¯ll definitely apany you to wait for Miss Jin until shees.¡± ¡°If... If I pass away, just leave my body here and leave this ce. Go somewhere else and start life anew...¡± ¡°No... we¡¯ll continue staying by your side until Miss Jines. This is our duty.¡± ¡°...¡± The scene began to change again. Atst, it stopped changing when Xihou Ling held a small piece of jade in his hand and scrutinized it. There was a raging snowstorm outside the cave. The bodyguards returned from outside, covered in snow and shivering from head to toe. ¡°Has there been any news yet?¡± Xihou Ling asked, struggling to speak. ¡°We¡¯re ipetent, we didn¡¯t manage to find anything...¡± ¡°Forget it, you don¡¯t have to go out to ask around...¡± As his voice faded, he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. ¡°Your Highness!¡± the bodyguards eximed. They hurriedly crowded around his bed, after which one of them wiped the blood away from the corner of his lips. They had long since teared up uncontrobly. ¡°I can¡¯t hang on anymore. I won¡¯t make it. I won¡¯t get to see her before I die,¡± he murmured, panting heavily and struggling to breathe. The bodyguards were frightened out of their senses and frantically called his name. He used his remaining energy to raise his arm and ced the small piece of jade inside his mouth. He passed on. COMMENT During ancient times, many royals and aristocrats had a penchant for swallowing a jade piece before their deaths, for they ced great emphasis on preserving their corpse and keeping it in the best condition possible. The cave was filled with the sounds of his bodyguards weeping and mourning his death. Jin Qingyan opened his eyes again to see that the sky had already risen high above the sky. He sat up, after which Auntie Chen asked from outside his bedroom, ¡°Young Sir, are you awake?¡± ¡°Yes...¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already prepared breakfast for you.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± It was already half past nine, During breakfast, Xiao Bai entered and said, ¡°Young Sir, Chief said that he couldn¡¯t reach you on your mobile phone.¡± ¡°I forgot to charge itst night. I¡¯m putting it to charge now.¡± ¡°Are you going to the office today, then, Young Sir?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ll go in the afternoon instead.¡± ¡°Young Sir, you seem to be out of sorts. What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Nothing, I just didn¡¯t sleep well. You may take your leave if there¡¯s nothing else. I¡¯ll call Shixin after breakfast.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± However, breakfast was not too enjoyable for him because he did not have much of an appetite. Chapter 1106 - Perplexed and Smitten (166)

Chapter 1106: Perplexed and Smitten (166)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The first thing Jin Qingyan did when he returned upstairs was to call Fan Shixin. He then proceeded to call An Xiaoning after hearing from Fan Shixin that everything was fine. He told her about the dream he hadst night. There was barely anyone whom he could tell such things to. After hearing his words, An Xiaoning imagined the scenario in her head ording to his description. Her tears fell silently, and she said, ¡°We already know who the culprit is. The one who caused us to be separated and who raided the Prince¡¯s residence in our previous lifetime. Back then, the medium from the Yin family sealed and trapped the souls of your servants in the Prince¡¯s residence. Regardless of where he reincarnates to, we¡¯ll definitely find him, as well as the corpse of his previous incarnation. I must turn him into ashes with my bare hands! It doesn¡¯t matter even if I have to cover my hands in blood.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t cry.¡± ¡°How do you know that I¡¯m crying? I¡¯m not crying at all,¡± she said, wiping her tears away. ¡°Because there¡¯s a surveince camera in your room. I¡¯m looking at you right now.¡± An Xiaoning scanned her surroundings, and a spot on the corner of the wall caught her eye. She walked toward Fan Shixin and kicked him before saying, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me that you had installed a surveince camera in my room? Are you tired of living?¡± ¡°Young Madam, don¡¯t malign me. Young Sir was the one who instructed me to do it. I didn¡¯t want to at all. However, Young Sir insisted that I do it, so you should be beating him up instead.¡± ¡°He... I can¡¯t bear to hit him.¡± ¡°I took the rap... without warning again,¡± Fan Shixin said with an aggrieved expression. An Xiaoning smiled at him and gestured for him to leave. She then asked Jin Qingyan, ¡°Are you at the office now?¡± ¡°No, I just woke up a while ago. I¡¯ll go in the afternoon instead. I¡¯d like to take a look at Mount Yihua.¡± ¡°Go ahead. I¡¯ve gone there twice before. The spirits and souls in there have already gone to reincarnate. There¡¯s nothing much left.¡± ¡°Okay, be mindful of your own safety.¡± ¡°Got it, do you still not believe in my abilities?¡± ¡°You¡¯re so freaking impressive. Here¡¯s a ¡®like¡¯ for you.¡± ¡°No, screw you.¡± An Xiaoning chuckled and ended the call. ¡°Hahaha, Sis, what did Mr. Jin say? Look how happy you are.¡± ¡°That¡¯s none of your business. Have you sketched the diagram?¡± ¡°Yes. There you go, hurry and memorize it,¡± said No. 5, who handed the sketch to her. An Xiaoning scrutinized the diagram attentively. While she was focusing on memorizing it, her mobile phone began to ring again. ¡°Is it Young Sir again?¡± Fan Shixin asked. ¡°No, it¡¯s En.¡± She swiped to answer the call and put on her earphones while still keeping her eyes fixed on the sketch. ¡°En.¡± ¡°Sis, Yan Ge knows about it.¡± ¡°Huh? What does he know?¡± ¡°He knows that I lied to him. He saw the expensive car that Xiao Chenyang had bought and asked me who the owner of the car was. I told him that the car belonged to me, since Xiao Chenyang is pretending to be my cousin and bodyguard on the surface. Anyway, he now knows that Xiao Chenyang is not my cousin. I didn¡¯t want to hide things from him so I decided to tell him the truth.¡± An Xiaoning grabbed her phone with her other hand and asked worriedly, ¡°What... did you tell him? ¡°I admitted that Xiao Chenyang is not my cousin and that I don¡¯t fancy him at all, but he was the one whopelled me. I didn¡¯t tell him about the rest.¡± An Xiaoning heaved a sigh of relief and said, ¡°You mustn¡¯t tell Yan Ge anything else about Xiao Chenyang. You ought to know what¡¯s appropriate to divulge and what¡¯s not.¡± ¡°Yes, I know. But, Sis Xiaoning, I really don¡¯t know what to do now. Yan Ge and I fancy each other and I want to be with him.¡± ¡°I once promised Xiao Chenyang that I would stay out of your private life. Hence, there¡¯s nothing I can do, unless it¡¯s work-rted. En, Xiao Chenyang...¡± She paused and continued, ¡°I¡¯m not putting in a good word for him just because I know him. I know Yan Ge too. However, I just want to say, it¡¯s really rare to have someone be so devoted to you like Xiao Chenyang is. Why would he do this to a stranger? Have you never thought about it carefully before?¡± ¡°I did, but I really couldn¡¯t think of an answer. By the way, he had taken that female corpse away from the museum and cremated it. He¡¯s also scattered her ashes into the ocean.¡± ¡°He brought you along, didn¡¯t he?¡± Fang En answered, ¡°Yes. I asked him about the corpse and he told me that he had requested you to bring it to the museum... Sis Xiaoning, is that true?¡± ¡°Yes, the corpse was originally situated in an ancient graveyard in V Nation. I brought it back here myself together with Shixin and delivered it to the museum.¡± ¡°V Nation? Sis Xiaoning, do you know how long he has been alive?¡± Fang En asked. An Xiaoning could tell that Fang En had already discovered that Xiao Chenyang was extraordinary and different from the average human. She answered, ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly how long he¡¯s been around for. However, you should ask him yourself if you¡¯d like to find out.¡± ¡°Sis Xiaoning...¡± ¡°Yes? What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Do people who live past centuries really exist in this world?¡± ¡°It¡¯s unbelievable, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s incredible.¡± ¡°Life has to go on. Filming is about to begin soon, isn¡¯t it?¡± An Xiaoning asked, keeping her eyes fixed on the sketch. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m joining the production unit soon. Xiao Chenyang ising with me.¡± ¡°It must be hard on him. Focus on filming. Let time prove the rest.¡± ¡°What¡¯s there to prove...¡± ¡°Let time prove who¡¯s your destined Mr. Right.¡± Fang En constantly pondered over An Xiaoning¡¯s words after ending the call. She shifted her gaze onto the closet and walked toward it. She then took out the box inside and ced it onto the bed. She was filled with an inexplicable feeling while staring at the wedding gown. She put the lid back onto the box and ced it back inside the closet. As soon as she closed the door of the closet, the doorbell rang. She went out to open the door, after which Xiao Yue handed her the item in her hand excitedly. ¡°Sis, here... the coconut juice that you wanted. Is Cousin home?¡± ¡°No, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Fang En asked. ¡°Where is he, then?¡± ¡°Why are you asking about him?¡± ¡°Just a casual question.¡± Fang En poked her forehead and said, ¡°I think you¡¯re obsessed with him.¡± ¡°I like him too much.¡± ¡°What do you like about him? Do you like him just because he¡¯s handsome?¡± Fang En asked while closing the door. ¡°Sis En, isn¡¯t that reason good enough? Pardon me... I¡¯m just that superficial.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because you don¡¯t know his true colors yet.¡± ¡°What true colors? Sis, tell me about it, I¡¯m very curious,¡± Xiao Yue asked in puzzlement. ¡°For example, men are all lecherous. He might just rape you when I¡¯m not around...¡± Xiao Yue lit up with joy and surprise. ¡°Sis En, I¡¯m willing to give myself to him. I¡¯m just afraid that he¡¯s not willing to take me!¡± she eximed. Fang En guffawed and chided, ¡°Brainless.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just making a casual remark. I know Cousin is not such a person.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve only known him for days, how are you so sure...¡± ¡°Of course I am. If he harbored designs on me, he would¡¯ve taken action on me long ago.¡± ¡°Get yourself prepared in the next couple of days. I¡¯m about to join the production unit. Tough times are about to begin soon,¡± said Fang En, looking at her. Chapter 1107 - Perplexed and Smitten (167)

Chapter 1107: Perplexed and Smitten (167)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I know, I know.¡± Xiao Yue¡¯s eyes lit up at the sight of Xiao Chenyang, who had exited from the other bedroom, and she asked, ¡°Oh... Cousin, you¡¯re home?¡± ¡°Sillyss, how many times have I told you not to call me ¡®Cousin¡¯? I¡¯m not your cousin.¡± ¡°I just like calling you that. I just enjoy it. Cousin, Cousin, Cousin.¡± Fang En could not stand how obsessed Xiao Yue was with Xiao Chenyang. She waved at her and said, ¡°That¡¯s enough, go back and get some rest.¡± Xiao Yue stomped her feet and said in disgruntlement, ¡°Sis En, I just saw Cousin and we barely said anything to each other yet.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve decided to rescue you from this demon after seeing how obsessed you are.¡± Xiao Yue conceded and left. After she left, Xiao Chenyang asked, ¡°I¡¯m a demon?¡± ¡°Are you not?¡± ¡°Did I devour you?¡± She gave him the side-eye and said, ¡°Xiao Yue seems to fancy you very much, doesn¡¯t she?¡± ¡°What about you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t fancy you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. Even if you¡¯re a piece of stone, I can warm you up.¡± Fang En picked up her cup of tea and chugged everything down in one go. ¡°I¡¯m so thirsty.¡± ¡°I drank from that teacup before you did.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me earlier?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t ask. Filming is about to begin soon for you. Do you need anything? I¡¯ll settle it for you.¡± ¡°No need for that. I¡¯ll get myself the things I need. Besides, there¡¯s nothing much left for me to purchase. I¡¯ll be wearing the film costumes most of the time during filming. I don¡¯t have to bring too many clothes either. However, there¡¯s something I think I need to tell you beforehand.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°This television series revolves around romance and rtionships. Hence, kissing scenes are inevitable and mandatory.¡± ¡°Kissing scenes?¡± He sat up straight and asked with an austere expression, ¡°Are you going to stage the kisses?¡± ¡°We rarely stage-kiss nowadays...¡± ¡°Did you kiss your co-actors for real during filming in the past?¡± Sensing that he was infuriated, Fang En dared not answer his question. ¡°Say something.¡± ¡°Yes...¡± She dared not imagine the consequences she would suffer if he were to find out that she had taken things into her own hands and added one of the kiss scenes. He suppressed his anger and said to her, ¡°I don¡¯t care about the past, but you¡¯re not allowed to film kissing scenes with other men from now on. After you finish filming for this television series, quit your job as an actress.¡± Upon hearing his words, Fang En said frantically, ¡°No way. I enjoy acting. What am I supposed to do if I don¡¯t continue being an actress?¡± ¡°Give birth to children.¡± ¡°Give... give birth? No, I don¡¯t want to! I¡¯m not a baby-making machine! Have you ever considered my feelings? Do you really think I¡¯ll be happy this way?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll onlypromise if you agree to stage-kiss whenever you¡¯re required to film kissing scenes. If you refuse, you¡¯ll have to stop being an actress,¡± he said with a look of menace in his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s not like I get to decide anyway, the production unit calls the shots.¡± ¡°The production unit calls the shots?¡± He leaned closer toward Fang En, who instinctively dodged and leaned backwards. Staring into each other¡¯s eyes, he said, ¡°The production unit will definitely agree to it.¡± Fang En¡¯s stomach twisted into a knot, and she asked, ¡°You¡¯re not nning to threaten the production unit, are you?¡± ¡°That¡¯ll depend on the situation. Apany me to buy some clothes and shoes,¡± he said after taking a look at the clock on the wall. ¡°Why can¡¯t you just go by yourself?¡± ¡°I want to buy some clothes that you like.¡± Fang En expressed assent and left together with him. ¡ª The sky in B City began to turn dark gradually. No. 5 squatted on the balcony and looked through the telescope. That was all that he had been doing for the entire day. Since the night had arrived, it was time he returned inside the apartment. After checking that the cable was secured tightly to An Xiaoning, Fan Shixin began maneuvering it. An Xiaoning made an OK sign with her hand and leaped off while Fan Shixin controlled the system. Once shended on their target area, he walked toward the telescope and watched as An Xiaoning removed the hook from her body. She still had not entered the Yin family home. He dared not step away from the telescope and instead monitored the situation closely. An Xiaoning sessfully entered the yard. The cushioned sports shoes that she was wearing on her feet allowed her to walk without making a sound. She was dressed in ck from head to toe and was wearing a pair of night vision goggles. She sessfully managed to prevent herself from being captured by the surveince cameras and arrived at the mansion of the patriarch of the Yin family. It was a standalone house. Although she had yet to enter, she had already discovered something unusual with the house. There was a spell in the yard. Just like she had expected. The moment she heard footsteps approaching, she quickly dodged and hid behind a tree. An Xiaoning stuck her head out to see that it was Yin Shi, old Mr. Yin¡¯s second grandchild. ording to the information she had obtained, Yin Shi was one of the topwyers of a prestigiousw firm. Upon the sight of him entering the yard, An Xiaoning quickly climbed up the tree and watched Yin Shi from afar as he entered through a door. The lights were clearly on near the main door. Shouldn¡¯t the patriarch be at the main mansion now? She took out her binocrs and scrutinized theyout in the house as well as the ornaments inside. She discovered that the patriarch was rather peculiar. He did not have a single bodyguard or servant in the yard at all, perhaps because he was too confident and satisfied with his spell. She instantly thought of a strategy to counter the issue. The 77-year-old elderly patriarch was sitting cross-legged in his room with a small square table in front of him on which there was a tea set and some piping-hot tea. Yin Shi removed his shoes and sat in front of him. ¡°Grandpa.¡± ¡°I asked you here because I have something important to tell you.¡± Noticing the sullen expression on his face, Yin Shi asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Grandpa, please tell me.¡± ¡°I heard from elsewhere that An Xiaoning is checking up on us.¡± ¡°An Xiaoning? You mean Jin Qingyan¡¯s ex-wife, An Xiaoning?¡± ¡°Yes, her.¡± ¡°Why? Our family has always kept a low profile, and I don¡¯t remember us ever offending Ms. An or Jin Qingyan,¡± Yin Shi said in puzzlement. ¡°That¡¯s why I asked you toe here.¡± ¡°I¡¯m all ears.¡± ¡°What did our ancestors do for a living?¡± said the elderly patriarch, who remained calm andposed. ¡°Every member of the Yin family is aware of that.¡± ¡°Well then, do you know why our ancestral sermon was changed suddenly three centuries ago?¡± ¡°Well... there isn¡¯t a definite answer to that, but haven¡¯t we always been forbidden from talking about these stuff at home?¡± said Yin Shi. ¡°Three centuries ago, we moved from G City to B City. It was a decision made by our ancestors for a reason, of course. The reason is, there was an issue with our ancestral graveyard and we had to move it elsewhere. That was the furthest we¡¯ve ever relocated the grave and the first time we moved all the coffins to another location.¡± ¡°Grandpa, what happened to the graveyard back then?¡± ¡°Back then, the elders discovered a letter and two paintings in the coffin of one of our ancestors, Yin Cun. It was written in the letter that Yin Cun hadmitted a ton of huge mistakes and sins and ended up killing thousands of lives. Although he was just following orders from the Emperor, he had, nheless,mitted major sins that could never be atoned for. We believe everything written in this letter because it was ced inside the coffin, which had never been opened before they discovered it. After some discussion amongst the elders, whopared the handwriting of the ancestors, they reached a consensus and all agreed that it must have been handwritten by Ancestor Yin Cun himself. Apart from that, there was no exnation for the two portraits either.¡± Chapter 1108 - Perplexed and Smitten (168)

Chapter 1108: Perplexed and Smitten (168)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Portraits? Whose?¡± ¡°The elders of our family have been trying to search for the people in the portraits for a very long time, but to no avail. We only found one of them in the past couple of decades, and another one a few years ago.¡± Yin Shi asked curiously, ¡°Grandpa, just who are they?¡± ¡°One is Jin Qingyan and the other is An Xiaoning.¡± Yin Shi¡¯s eyes widened in shock, and he asked, ¡°What? It can¡¯t be. Ancestor Yin Cun existed centuries ago. It¡¯s a new era now. Could it be a prank?¡± The patriarch scoffed and said, ¡°Prank? Our ancestors found those portraits three centuries ago. I¡¯ve kept this to myself for three decades, ever since I found out about Jin Qingyan when he was still a child. I¡¯ve been worried that the two of them would carry their memories from their previous lifetime over to this one.¡± ¡°Grandpa, why did our ancestors leave behind those two portraits and the letter?¡± ¡°I have no idea. They didn¡¯t state the reason, but it seems like An Xiaoning is investigating us now. I¡¯m afraid she has recalled everything from the previous lifetime. Don¡¯t forget what her profession is. If the Yin family offended her back then, her purpose would be to take revenge on us now. That¡¯s what I¡¯m most afraid of. We¡¯re no match for An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan now. Ever since I found out that she¡¯s checking up on us, I¡¯ve been ill at ease.¡± ¡°Grandpa, why don¡¯t we just go to A City and directly ask her why she¡¯s checking up on us? Wouldn¡¯t that be better than worrying blindly about it?¡± said Yin Shi, whose heart grew heavy. ¡°No. I asked you here because I wanted to talk to you about it, so that you can prepare yourself mentally. You¡¯ve always had a brilliant mind. You can help me analyze the situation and what we can do about it.¡± ¡°Do Uncle and Cousin know about it?¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t tell them about it. Your uncle and cousin are busy with the family business. I haven¡¯t told them yet.¡± Staring at his grandfather, Yin Shi said, ¡°Grandpa, I¡¯ll assign a few bodyguards to you.¡± ¡°What for? This is not a ce where anyone can enter easily. Outsiders who don¡¯t belong to our family will definitely be trapped in the spell that I had ced in the yard. Hence, you don¡¯t have to worry. Even if An Xiaoninges here personally, she would have a hard time breaking my spell given how inexperienced and young she is.¡± The patriarch¡¯s face grew sullen the moment he said his piece. ¡°Bad news.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Grandpa?¡± The patriarch exited before he could even put on his shoes. As soon as he opened the door, he took a few steps back continuously. An Xiaoning showed up abruptly at the door. An Xiaoning had changed the initial n at thest minute. She initially did not want to meet the patriarch at all and simply wanted to get her hands on the item that she was looking for. However, she decided to change her mind all of a sudden. Yin Shi, who had just put on his shoes, got a great shock the moment he saw An Xiaoning entering and closing the door after herself. ¡°Ms. An, what are you doing in our home?¡± ¡°Nothing, just dropped by for a visit. Sir, you don¡¯t have to worry, I didn¡¯t n to see you at the start. However, I decided to have a good chat with you after breaking the spell and overhearing the conversation between you two. It¡¯s better for all of us.¡± Having experienced a lot in life, the elderly patriarch managed to calm himself down after panicking for a while. ¡°Pleasee in and have a seat, then, Ms. An,¡± he said. An Xiaoning sat on the edge of the bed while Yin Shi stood beside his grandfather. ¡°I¡¯m here for only one purpose. I won¡¯t waste any time beating around the bush, and I¡¯ll just get straight to the point. I¡¯m sure you guys don¡¯t know exactly what your ancestors have done in the past. I shall give you some insights as to what happened. Back then, the Yin family was on close terms with the then-Emperor who respected your family greatly. Hence, when the Prince¡¯s residence was raided, more than 900 souls were trapped in the ancient residence in G City. They got released only this year. I won¡¯t repeat how many years they¡¯ve been trapped for. However, I¡¯m telling you straight, if you want your family to be safe and sound, you only have one way out. If you¡¯re unwilling topromise, I¡¯ll have no choice but to take actions.¡± ¡°What way out?¡± the patriarch asked, ring daggers at her. ¡°Your only option is to cooperate with me. That¡¯s the only way you can protect your family. Hand over your family¡¯s ancestral records.¡± Momentarily stunned, the patriarch answered, ¡°What... ancestral records? Why do you need my family¡¯s ancestral records?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to care about what I do with them. I just need them.¡± ¡°But there¡¯s only one copy of the ancestral records... Besides, it means a lot to our family. We were instructed by our ancestors not to hand them over to outsiders.¡± ¡°It¡¯s an inanimate object, no matter how precious it may be. You decide if it¡¯s more important than your family¡¯s safety.¡± Staring at An Xiaoning, the patriarch said, ¡°But Ms. An, we only have one set of ancestral records. Could you allow us to keep a copy?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± He looked at his grandson and said, ¡°Yin Shi, go get our family¡¯s ancestral records together with your Father. Make another copy of it too...¡± ¡°Grandpa... um...¡± Yin Shi murmured, staring at his grandfather in astonishment. ¡°Go!¡± ¡°Yes...¡± Yin Shi turned around and left. ¡°Handing over the ancestral records is only the first thing. Secondly, I¡¯ll need you to issue a deration.¡± ¡°What deration?¡± ¡°Dere that you¡¯ll remove Yin Cun¡¯s name from your family¡¯s ancestral records and move his corpse away from the ancestral graveyard to wherever you¡¯d like. However, from now on, he¡¯s not to be acknowledged as a member of your family.¡± A frown creased the patriarch¡¯s forehead; he was seemingly contemting about whether or not to agree. However, he had already seen through most things and he knew better than to put the safety of his family members at risk. It would be disadvantageous for the Yin family if they were to go against An Xiaoning. ¡°I agree.¡± ¡°Since you¡¯re so steadfast, I won¡¯t say anything else.¡± Things had gone more smoothly than she had imagined. She initially thought that the patriarch would adhere to the strict rulesid by the Yin family ancestors, especially since the ancestral records were important to the family. To her surprise... An Xiaoning found that the negotiation went through way too easily. After a quick thought, she said, ¡°Sir, this is our first time meeting each other today and I¡¯d like to make things clear beforehand. If you were to give me a falsified set of ancestral records and insult my intelligence, don¡¯t me me for being nasty.¡± The patriarch¡¯s face grew sullen the moment he heard her words. He said, ¡°Why would I do that? Ms. An, you showed up out of the blue and we didn¡¯t take any precautions beforehand. How could we possibly have created a false set? Besides, no one actually asks for our ancestral records under usual circumstances. We wouldn¡¯t prepare extra copies beforehand.¡± He could not tell if An Xiaoning believed him or not. Before he had met her, he used to think that she was just a young and inexperienced woman. However, it seems he had underestimated her. She had even managed to break the spell I had put up painstakingly, without me even realizing... ¡°Ms. An, may I know who your mentor is?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to know about that, Sir. My mentor is no longer around.¡± Chapter 1109 - Perplexed and Smitten (169)

Chapter 1109: Perplexed and Smitten (169)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Seeing that An Xiaoning was avoiding the topic, the elderly patriarch decided not to probe any further. ¡°Before I came in, I overheard you telling your grandchild that your ancestors had found a letter and two portraits in Yin Cun¡¯s coffin. Do you still have those things with you?¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t dare to keep them, lest we bring about unnecessary trouble. I¡¯ve long burned them into ashes.¡± Soon, Yin Shi and his father returned with a thick book of ancestral records. ¡°Ms. An, you may take this,¡± the patriarch said, staring at the ancestral records on the table. She picked it up and flipped through the pages carefully before saying, ¡°I shall wait for your family to issue a deration, then. I¡¯m sure you know the reason, Sir. I would then not impose on you any further.¡± ¡°Ms. An, did you especially rush here from A Nation?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m heading back now.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you stay here for a night? You may leave tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t impose on you. Sir... if an anonymous person contacts you after you issue the deration, please contact me immediately. That¡¯s the only way you can survive. Bear that in mind,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Got it. Yin Shi, see Ms. An out.¡± ¡°Yes, Grandpa.¡± Yin Shi left together with An Xiaoning. When their footsteps could no longer be heard, the patriarch took out a pen and a piece of paper on which he wrote a few messages for his son. Astonishment was written all over Yin Shi¡¯s father¡¯s face the moment he read the words. ¡ª ¡°Young Madam, what¡¯s the matter? Why did you change the n all of a sudden?¡± Fan Shixin asked without hesitation the moment he saw An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning closed the door and handed him the book of records in her hands. She exined, ¡°I broke the spell that the patriarch had put outside the door. All of a sudden, I realized that there was an easier solution that would save us time and energy. After hearing the conversation between the patriarch and his grandson, I decided to execute my n.¡± ¡°But, Young Madam, aren¡¯t you afraid that the patriarch would be a blockhead...¡± ¡°Regardless of how dense and senseless he may be, he will understand the need to weigh the pros and cons.¡± ¡°However, we¡¯ve now already rmed them...¡± ¡°They¡¯ve been rmed long ago. Before I entered the mansion to meet them, that old fellow already found out that I¡¯d been looking into the information about the Yin family.¡± An Xiaoning took a seat and continued, ¡°Fortunately, the owner of this apartment had signed a nondisclosure agreement when I rented it back then. So far, we¡¯re the only ones who know about this. The Yin family has no idea that we¡¯re monitoring them from here. They thought that I would return to A City after getting this book of records.¡± ¡°Could these records have been falsified?¡± ¡°I doubt it. Although they were already rmed before my visit, you must understand that they had no idea that we were after the ancestral records. How could they have possibly prepared a false set beforehand? Besides, the ancestral records aren¡¯t that important to them. They wouldn¡¯t have gone to such great lengths to prepare an extra set that¡¯d been falsified. There¡¯s no need for him to do so either since he doesn¡¯t know what I¡¯m nning to do with the records. Am I right?¡± Fan Shixin nodded in agreement and said, ¡°Yes, but, Young Madam, I still can¡¯t figure out what you need their ancestral records for.¡± She told Fan Shixin about the conversation she had overheard, after which she asked, ¡°Do you believe the patriarch¡¯s words?¡± ¡°About finding the portraits of you and Young Sir in Yin Cun¡¯s coffin?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Fan Shixin spected, ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯s lying. If what he said was real, Yin Cun must have instructed his family members to ce those items in his coffin with the sole purpose of letting his descendants discover them in the future. What else could his purpose be? Yin Cun had confessed to killing thousands of lives in the letter that he had penned personally. The patriarch has also verified that Yin Cun was indeed the one who wrote it, ording to the ink stamp. Since he had written that himself, there was no way they would keep it because it would only bring about disadvantages to the Yin family. On top of that, it was the Yin family¡¯s best bet to burn the portraits of you and Young Sir.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and continued looking through the ancestral records with him. The further they read, the greater of a shock they got. Unable to contain his bafflement, Fan Shixin said, ¡°They Yin family started off with more than a thousand family members and yet the number of descendants plunged to such a pathetic number.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, the patriarch has two sons, both of which had a son each. So far, neither of his grandsons have married yet.¡± ¡°If something happens to both his grandsons, the Yin family¡¯s bloodline is bound to cease.¡± ¡°I reckon so.¡± An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin finished reading all the records. ¡°Young Madam, if the deration statement that the Yin family issues tomorrow doesn¡¯t meet our expectations... what do we do next?¡± ¡°Rest assured. Even if Yin Cun had already passed away centuries ago, Xihou Jiaping is not going to sit back and do nothing. We shall see if Yin Cun has really died... If he still exists, he¡¯ll definitely be terrified to know that I had taken away the ancestral records. He¡¯d be afraid that I¡¯ll kill all his remaining descendants.¡± ¡°Young Madam, aren¡¯t you afraid of Xihou Jiaping?¡± Fan Shixin asked, looking at her. ¡°Is there a purpose in fearing him? If there isn¡¯t, why must I fear him?¡± Fan Shixin smiled and agreed with a nod, ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right, Young Madam.¡± ¡ª ¡°Daddy, can I discuss something with you?¡± Jin Yiheng asked in a sweet and affectionate tone, snuggling up to Jin Qingyan with a wide smile on his face. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Daddy, could you buy me a new mobile phone? I¡¯m talking about those that you see on thetestmercials.¡± Jin Qingyan turned to face him and asked, ¡°What are the benefits of buying you that mobile phone?¡± ¡°Benefits?¡± asked a dumbfounded Jin Yiheng. ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Daddy, we¡¯re father and son. Teacher told us that our parents are our closest kin. Daddy, I¡¯ll be filial to you and take care of you when you¡¯re old. When you¡¯re bedridden and immobile, I will do my best to look after you.¡± Keeping his eyes fixed on the book in his hand, Jin Qingyan said bluntly, ¡°Quit telling me all those irrelevant things. I won¡¯t buy it for you if there are no benefits.¡± ¡°What must I do to make you agree...?¡± ¡°How about... you sing me ¡®Only Fathers Are the Best In This World¡¯...¡± Jin Yiheng said with a pout, ¡°Daddy, it¡¯s wrong to change the title of the original song as and whenever you¡¯d please.¡± ¡°Are you going to sing or not?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Jin Yiheng eximed. He then began crooning to the song, ¡°Only fathers are the best in this world... Children who have fathers are so pitiful...¡± Sensing that Jin Qingyan was ring at him menacingly, Jin Yiheng immediately corrected himself, ¡°I mean, they¡¯re so lucky! Bliss is hard to find once you leave your father¡¯s embrace... Daddy, I¡¯m done singing.¡± ¡°Your singing skills were satisfactory, but I guess there¡¯s no chance for you to be a singer in the future. Narrate an essay that¡¯s titled ¡®My Best Daddy¡¯ right now.¡± Jin Yiheng subconsciously rolled his eyes at Jin Qingyan, after which he immediately brainstormed for a solution to fulfill thetter¡¯s request. Chapter 1110 - Perplexed and Smitten (170)

Chapter 1110: Perplexed and Smitten (170)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After thinking thoroughly for a bit, Jin Yiheng said solemnly, ¡°I have an awesome Daddy who showers me with unconditional love and concern. Whenever I¡¯m hungry, I just have to tell Daddy and he¡¯ll cook me a delicious meal. Whenever I¡¯m thirsty, Daddy will bring me a cup of water almost immediately. Whenever I don¡¯t feel like doing my homework anymore, Daddy will do it for me. Whenever I¡¯m tired, Daddy will massage my shoulders and tell me jokes. Daddy will never be fierce to me, and he only ever speaks to me in a warm and gentle tone. Whenever the going gets tough in the boot camp, Daddy would visit me every day and tell me not to overexert myself and that he would be there for me. I would feel especially touched whenever I think about those words of his. He would even buy me thetest toys from the stores. Daddy says that I¡¯m his obedient son and that he counts on me to take care of him when he¡¯s old. That¡¯s why he pampers me when I¡¯m still a child. He would do his best to fulfill all my requests. This is my Daddy. My Daddy is just that awesome. I could go on and on about his attributes. I¡¯m proud to have such a brilliant daddy. Oh Heaven, thank you for blessing me with such a good father.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t exin well enough. Don¡¯t I usually treat you way better than you had described?¡± said Jin Qingyan, who still did not look at Jin Yiheng. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s my fault for having a limited vocabry. I still can¡¯t express urately just how much you love and dote on me, Daddy.¡± ¡°Do you promise not to sleep on the same bed as your Mommy or get her to shower you from now on?¡± ¡°I promise.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll buy you that mobile phone tomorrow. Scram upstairs and go to bed.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll obey your orders!¡± Jin Yiheng zoomed upstairs to see that Jin Rongyan was in the midst of reading some medical books. Noticing how excited he was, Jin Rongyan asked in surprise, ¡°Brother, why are you in such high spirits?¡± ¡°Daddy has agreed to buy me a mobile phone tomorrow!¡± ¡°Daddy actually agreed to your request!?! I thought you were just making a casual remark about asking Daddy to buy you that mobile phone. Didn¡¯t you say that Daddy would most likely refuse to buy you one?¡± asked a dumbfounded Jin Rongyan. ¡°He initially disagreed. However, I had no choice but to y games with this retarded father of ours for the sake of a new mobile phone. It took me so much effort.¡± Jin Yiheng put down his book and began knocking his fists on Jin Yiheng¡¯s back. ¡°It¡¯s been hard on you, Brother. I¡¯ll give you a massage.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s y with the mobile phone together once Daddy buys it.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡ª The deration statement was released by the Yin family bright and early in the morning of the next day. They stated that they would be moving Yin Cun¡¯s corpse away from the Yin family ancestral burial ground, due to the fact that Yin Cun have disgraced the Yin family descendants because of his sins and wrongdoings. Initially, the deration would not have garnered much attention since the Yin family had been lying low for a long period of time. However, it made the headlines, all because of some tricks that An Xiaoning had pulled. Even then, there were barely anyments and discussion threads about it. After all, mostizens were not interested in the topic. However, An Xiaoning had already achieved what she wanted. When the Yin family were moving the corpse, she disguised herself as a fellow member of the family by wearing a mask and headed to the ancestral graveyard. She did not discover any suspicious persons throughout the entire process. Nheless, she still decided to view the surveince camera footages. While viewing the footages, she discovered a familiar face amongst the crowd. An Xiaoning paused the footage and zoomed in to the woman¡¯s face, after which she was filled with perplexion. She returned and informed Fan Shixin of her discovery. ¡°Young Madam, are you sure that that woman was Yu Yiwei?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t be any more certain about it. Don¡¯t our bodyguards tag along with her wherever she goes? Why did she show up at the burial ground alone?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give Xiao Bai a call to ask him about it,¡± said Fan Shixin, who then turned around and walked toward the balcony. Two minutester, he returned to the living room and said, ¡°Xiao Bai said that two of them followed Yu Yiwei when she went out, and he¡¯s now trying to contact the two of them before calling me back again.¡± ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll just wait for the news, then.¡± ¡°Speaking of that doctor, I find her too aloof and cold. She can freeze me with her words.¡± ¡°She seems standoffish, doesn¡¯t she?¡± ¡°Yes, yes, exactly.¡± ¡°Well, everyone has a different character and temperament. Perhaps she had long gotten used to behaving that way.¡± Fan Shixin gripped the mobile phone tightly while waiting for Xiao Bai¡¯s call. Xiao Bai was highly efficient and immediately called Fan Shixin after getting an answer. After ending the call, Fan Shixin said with a frown, ¡°Xiao Bai said that the two bodyguards who were chaperoning Yu Yiwei imed that Yu Yiwei had brought her parents to B City for a visit to the zoo. They also said that they had been following her.¡± ¡°Is the zoo in A City not good enough for her?¡± ¡°Perhaps B City¡¯s zoo stands out from the rest?¡± An Xiaoning said with pursed lips, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about her for now.¡± After staying in B City for several consecutive days, An Xiaoning still did not receive any news from the Yin family. However, she did receive some news about the presidential election. The results were finalized atst. The number of votes that Tuoba Shuo and Tuoba Rui each got had been tabted. Tuoba Shuo won the presidential election by more than 10 thousand votes. An Xiaoning¡¯s feelings were not affected by the piece of good news, however. She stayed silent for a while after talking to her mother over the phone. ¡°Young Madam...¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to the Autumn Pce tomorrow. I¡¯ll leave everything here to you and No. 5 for the time being.¡± ¡°Alright. Young Madam, do you need me to prepare some clothes for you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, my mother will bring me some from A City.¡± .... An Xiaoning had trouble sleeping that night. A million questions flooded her mind. Although she did not experience much of a change in her mood, she could not help but feel more worried. Both her parents were already in their fifties, and it¡¯d be impossible to give birth to a child now. However, she was the only daughter her mother has. The presidents of the nation had always been male, and no female had ever broken the tradition. Besides, she was not interested in politics either. In the future, the next president after Tuoba Shuo would definitely be a member of the extended Tuoba family. In the future... A bold idea popped up in An Xiaoning¡¯s mind. It was so brazen and outrageous that she actually felt like she was out of her mind. Thus, when she told her about it the next day at the Autumn Pce, Shi Qingzhou immediately shot her idea down. ¡°Let¡¯s put my poor health condition aside. Even if I were healthier, I¡¯m way past my child-bearing years. I know what you¡¯re worried about, but I¡¯ve already spoken to your father about this. He¡¯ll just focus on serving the nation well as the president. We¡¯ll worry about the restter. Who knows what will happen to the nation by the time the next presidential electiones around? Perhaps you might seed the position then?¡± ¡°No, Mother, I don¡¯t have such intentions.¡± Chapter 1111 - Perplexed and Smitten (171)

Chapter 1111: Perplexed and Smitten (171)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Your father and I have really gotten over it. From now on, the future presidents of the country will still be members of the Tuoba family. Hence, once your Father steps down from his position, he shall hand over the duties to another qualified candidate, regardless of whether he¡¯s from the extended family or not. I understand that you¡¯re worried that having an extended family member be the president would be disadvantageous to us, but Xiaoning, I¡¯m no longer afraid. There¡¯s nothing I fear now that I have you. If we start worrying now, wouldn¡¯t we be extremely tired all the time? I¡¯m lucky enough to be able to reunite with you and your father. There¡¯s nothing else I have to wish for. I only hope that we¡¯ll be safe and sound for the rest of our lives.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s qualms vanished instantly, and she felt as if a boulder had been lifted off her shoulders. ¡°Mother, you¡¯re right.¡± ¡°Sons and daughters are all the same. You¡¯re my shoulder to lean on.¡± ¡°What¡¯s going to happen to him after you and Father move into the Autumn Pce?¡± Shi Qingzhou was well aware that ¡°him¡± referred to Tuoba Rui. ¡°He has his own life to live too. I believe he¡¯s already prepared himself mentally for this. Xiaoning, Qingyan wanted me to bring this to you.¡± Shi Qingzhou handed her two bags of items and said, ¡°I was initially nning to bring you some clothes. However, he had beat me to it. He said that he had meticulously prepared these for you.¡± An Xiaoning grabbed the bags and took out the boxes inside. The clothes were in her favorite shade of red. It was a long dress and a tassel cardigan that was suitable for the season. The other box contained a pair of stilettos. She fell in love with them at first sight. ¡°They¡¯re beautiful,¡± Shi Qingzhouplimented. An Xiaoning agreed, ¡°Yes. Mother, Qingyan has always had great taste in clothing and a good sartorial sense. What time does the ceremony begin?¡± ¡°In an hour from now. It¡¯s time I changed into my outfit and dolled myself up. After we change into our outfits, there¡¯ll be professional makeup artists to help us with our makeup.¡± ¡ª Needless to say, all television channels in the nation would have to broadcast a live-stream of the ceremony, so as to raise awareness about the change of presidents. Many of the citizens were watching the live-stream. Fang En was no exception. She sat on the couch and focused all her attention on the live-stream, keeping her eyes peeled to the television screen. Meanwhile, Xiao Chenyang sat beside her with one arm on the couch. He was focusing his attention on Fang En instead. He was not in the least bit interested in what was going on in the live-stream. Despite being extremely focused on the live-stream, she could not help but be a little distracted by his intense gaze. ¡°Why do you keep looking at me like that?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have to go to the television studioter.¡± ¡°So?¡± ¡°I¡¯m wondering where I should sleep at night once we join the unit.¡± ¡°In your own room, of course. There are surveince cameras everywhere in the hotel that we¡¯ll be staying in. To everyone else, you¡¯re only my cousin and my bodyguard. Please be mindful of that and know your limits.¡± ¡°Know my limits? I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t, I can teach you.¡± Xiao Chenyang shifted his gaze onto the television screen and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t that Hua... isn¡¯t that An Xiaoning?¡± Fang En cocked her head toward the side to face the screen and eximed excitedly, ¡°Ah! Sis Xiaoning is on television too. She¡¯s really beautiful, isn¡¯t she?¡± ¡°She¡¯s so-so.¡± Glowering at him, Fang En rebuked, ¡°What? So-so? Are you blind?¡± He did not answer her and instead continued smiling. Baffled, Fang En remarked, ¡°What are you smiling about? Weirdo.¡± Fang En wanted to board the nanny van to go to the television studio. However, he insisted that she take his car instead. ¡°If we go there in your car, what¡¯s going to happen to Xiao Yue?¡± ¡°Let her take the nanny van. What¡¯s the point of buying this car if we don¡¯t use it?¡± He opened the door and got inside the car. Fang En had no choice but to move the luggage into the nanny van before getting inside his car. The two vehicles left the estate one after another. The filming location for the ancient segment of ¡°The Man from the Ancient Times¡± was set to be in a well-preserved royal residence in B City. They¡¯ve also set up a backdrop for some of the modern day segments of the television series to be filmed on the same set. There were also several other locations where filming would be taking ce for the various scenes of the television series. However, they decided to begin with those that were to be filmed in B City. It was already two o¡¯clock in the afternoon by the time they arrived at the film set in B City. This time, the hotel that the production team and cast would be staying in was rather near the royal residence and the other filming location. After the vehicles were parked by the entrance of the hotel, Fang En and Xiao Yue alighted from their respective vehicles at around the same time. Xiao Chenyang and the driver of the nanny van then drove their vehicles to the car park of the hotel. Fang En grabbed one of the suitcases that Xiao Yue was holding. It was arge suitcase that contained Xiao Chenyang¡¯s and her belongings. It was inevitably heavy. ¡°Sis En, why don¡¯t you carry my suitcase and let me take thatrger one instead?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯m starving. Let¡¯s ce the luggage in the room and go out for lunch afterward,¡± Fang En urged. ¡°Alright, sure,¡± said Xiao Yue, who followed closely behind. As soon as they passed the turnstile at the entrance, Fang En was stopped in her tracks by a female voice. ¡°En, you¡¯re here.¡± The woman walked toward Fang En. ¡°You are?¡± asked Fang En, who had never seen her before. ¡°I¡¯m Li Shuangshuang, the stage manager of the television series.¡± Fang En hurriedly greeted her, ¡°Hello, Sis Shuang.¡± ¡°You may just call me by my name. I¡¯m not that much older than you are. I was just nning to go out to wee you guys, thinking that you would be arriving any time soon, yet I bumped into you right after I came out of the elevator. Didn¡¯t you bring your bodyguard with you?¡± ¡°I did, he¡¯s parking the car now.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you wait for him here, then? In case he can¡¯t find you guyster...¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. We¡¯ll just give him a callter.¡± Li Shuangshuang nodded and said while smiling, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go upstairs first, then. En, hand me your suitcase, I¡¯ll help you carry it.¡± Fang En tactfully declined, ¡°It¡¯s alright, it¡¯s not heavy for me to lug it around at all. The doors are open, let¡¯s enter the elevator.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The elevator ascended to the tenth floor. Fang En followed the stage manager to room 1028, and thetter inserted her key card into the slot of the door¡¯s lock, after which the door opened immediately. Li Shuangshuang then slid the card into the card slot on the wall and the lights in the room were switched on instantly. ¡°This shall be your room for the whole of our stay in B City. It¡¯s a deluxe room with arge queen-sized bed.¡± Although the amenities of the room were pleasant, they were a far cry from the one she had stayed in previously while filming for the other television series. However, Fang En had noints. She said, ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble you if I need help from now on, Sis Shuang.¡± Seeing how polite she was, Li Shuangshuang said with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. It¡¯s only my duty. Feel free to approach me if you encounter any problems. By the way, your assistant and your bodyguard would be staying in a suite room on the ninth floor. It¡¯s a suite with four smaller rooms. Your assistant will be staying in room 907 while your bodyguard and your chauffeur will be sharing room 908.¡± ¡°Alright, got it.¡± ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t impose on you any further, then. Sort your luggage and freshen up. If you don¡¯t wish to dine at the hotel¡¯s restaurant, you may go to the restaurants outside, there are lots of food ces around here.¡± ¡°Yes, alright.¡± Chapter 1112 - Perplexed and Smitten (172)

Chapter 1112: Perplexed and Smitten (172)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After Li Shuangshuang left, Xiao Yue put Fang En¡¯s suitcase down and unzipped it. She then hung all the clothes that Fang En had brought onto hangers. ¡°Why do I feel like this production has a tighter budget than the one that Sis Xiaoning had invested in?¡± Xiao Yue remarked. ¡°I heard that the investors had pumped in quite arge sum of funds. However, it¡¯s right that they scrimp and save whenever possible. This room is good enough. If you find your room ufortable, you may move in with me.¡± Xiao Yue waved her hands profusely and said, ¡°No, no, I¡¯m your assistant. It won¡¯t be appropriate to share the same room as you.¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°I appreciate your kind offer, Sis En, but I¡¯d better stay in my own room. The suite has to be shared amongst four people, right? It¡¯ll be fun once I get to know my roommates better. Hey... Sis En, why did you bring so few clothes? Is this one of the costumes for filming?¡± Xiao Yue picked up Xiao Chenyang¡¯s robe. Fang En hurriedly stopped her and said, ¡°These are Cousin¡¯s clothes. Just leave them inside the suitcase and get him to bring it back to his roomter. By the way, give him a call now. He should being up soon.¡± ¡°Did Cousin buy himself a mobile phone?¡± ¡°Yes, he did.¡± ¡°Sis En, hurry and give me Cousin¡¯s mobile number.¡± ¡°Give me a minute.¡± Fang En gave Xiao Chenyang a call. Less than two minutester, the doorbell rang. Xiao Yue zipped the suitcase and whipped out her mobile phone. ¡°What¡¯s his number?¡± she asked eagerly. Staring at her mobile phone screen, Fang En read Xiao Chenyang¡¯s mobile number out loud, after which Xiao Yue hurriedly saved it in her contacts list. She then said to Xiao Chenyang gleefully, ¡°Cousin, I have your mobile number now. Let¡¯s keep in touch frequently from now on.¡± Xiao Chenyang brushed her off bluntly, ¡°There¡¯s no need for us to contact each other unless it¡¯s rted to work,¡± said Xiao Chenyang. ¡°Cousin, what are your QQ and WeChat ount numbers? Give them to me so that we can chat online in the future.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t use those tforms.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t wish to tell me, so be it,¡± said Xiao Yue, who thought that he was merely unwilling to let her have his ounts. ¡°He really doesn¡¯t have those ounts. He just bought his mobile phone a while ago. How could he have registered an ount on those tforms so soon?¡± said Fang En. ¡°Cousin, are you a caveman?¡± Xiao Yue asked. Xiao Chenyang instinctively shot Fang En a nce. She frantically shook her head in a bid to imply that she had never divulged anything to Xiao Yue. ¡°Caveman... what do you mean?¡± ¡°It means you¡¯re primitive and you can¡¯t keep up with the times...¡± Xiao Yue exined. She then chuckled and continued, ¡°Even kindergarteners own mobile phones these days. I can¡¯t believe you actually just started using one. Do you stay away fromptops andputers too?¡± He immediately retorted, ¡°Who said so? I do useptops, of course. However, I just never felt the need to carry a mobile phone with me since there was no one that I had to contact anyway.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. Cousin, Cousin, we both stay on the ninth floor. My room number is 907 while yours and the chauffeur¡¯s is 908. It¡¯s a suite that¡¯sposed of four adjacent rooms.¡± ¡°You only needed to tell me what my room number was. I¡¯m not interested in yours.¡± He was once again being a wet nket that dampened Xiao Yue¡¯s feelings. Noticing how dumbfounded Xiao Yue was, Fang En decided to give her an out. However, before she could even do so, the smitten Xiao Yue gazed at Xiao Chenyang and eximed, ¡°Ah, Cousin, I just fancy how cool and aloof you are. You¡¯re so suave!¡± Xiao Chenyang was speechless. ¡°What an idiot...¡± he murmured. He looked at Fang En and gibed, ¡°Don¡¯t you put the applicants through an IQ test before deciding to hire them as your assistant?¡± ¡°...¡± Xiao Yue stormed off in a huff and made her way to the ninth floor with her luggage. Fang En chided, ¡°Can¡¯t you... be more tactful with your words?¡± ¡°Why must I be tactful?¡± ¡°There are different ways to put your message across to her. If you change your tone slightly, others will feel morefortable.¡± ¡°That¡¯ll cause more problems. I don¡¯t like mincing and sugarcoating my words when ites to someone I don¡¯t fancy or care for.¡± ¡°Here, the suitcase contains all of your clothes. Mine are already hung up in the closet. ce it inside your room on the ninth floor and we¡¯ll go for lunch afterward. I¡¯m famished,¡± Fang En said while pushing the suitcase toward him. ¡°Nah, just leave it inside your room. When I need to change...¡± Before he could even finish, she interjected, ¡°No, that won¡¯t do. Didn¡¯t I already tell you that there are surveince cameras everywhere along the corridor outside? If you enter my room and exit in a different outfit... it¡¯s uneptable.¡± Noticing how she seemed to be in a difficult position, he conceded, ¡°Got it, I¡¯ll bring it downter.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go with you. At the same time, we can ask Xiao Yue and the chauffeur along for lunch.¡± ¡°The chauffeur came upstairs with me. He¡¯s been waiting outside.¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go.¡± To their astonishment, they were greeted with the sight of a familiar face the moment they opened the door. ¡°Jing Shui? Why are you here?¡± Fang En asked. ¡°Of course I¡¯m here. I¡¯m staying in room 1030, right next to yours.¡± ¡°Huh? Are you filming nearby too?¡± Fang En asked in puzzlement. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Is it a production that you¡¯re directing by yourself?¡± Shaking his head, he answered, ¡°No, I¡¯m partaking in the same production as you are.¡± ¡°We¡¯re acting in the same television series? Don¡¯t you specialize in directing films and television series? Why have you started acting?¡± asked a dumbfounded Fang En. ¡°I decided to give it a try, just for fun. I want to gain some fresh experience too. The co-director of this series is my friend.¡± ¡°Which role are you ying, then?¡± she asked. ¡°A minor... supporting role.¡± ¡°Why would you be staying in the room beside mine, then?¡± Fang En asked, utterly confused. ¡°I paid for the room with my own money.¡± ¡°...¡± Xiao Chenyang dragged the suitcase out of the room, closed the door, and began walking toward the elevator. At the sight of him leaving, Fang En said to Jing Shui, ¡°Let¡¯s talk another time. I¡¯m going downstairs now.¡± ¡°Wait, let¡¯s go together. I was nning to go downstairs too.¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to the ninth floor so that my cousin can ce his suitcase inside his room. You may take your leave first,¡± Fang En said tactfully. ¡°Alright, then.¡± They entered the elevator together and descended to the ninth floor. The four of them, including the chauffeur and Xiao Yue, headed to a noodle restaurant for lunch. It was a restaurant with many specialities. However, during lunch, Xiao Chenyang forbade the chauffeur and Xiao Yue from sitting at the same table as him and Fang En. Instead, he made them sit at the table next to theirs. ¡°What are you doing? Why didn¡¯t you let them sit with us?¡± ¡°Because I have something to say to you in private.¡± He leaned forward and said softly, ¡°That Jing Shui has an ulterior motive. He¡¯s a co-director and yet he ignored his profession and joined the production unit as an actor. He even forked out the money to pay for a room beside yours. Psht...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be too quick to judge others...¡± ¡°You know whether or not I¡¯m judging and making a wild guess,¡± he said, staring at her sternly. Fang En ignored him. ¡°Pass me your mobile phone,¡± she said as she extended her hand toward him. He ced it on her hand and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll help you register an ount on aworking site. You may use the site tomunicate with others online when you don¡¯t have your mobile phone with you.¡± She then set up a new social media ount for him and asked, ¡°You¡¯ll need a username. What username do you prefer?¡± ¡°ILoveFangEn.¡± ¡°Something else...¡± ¡°Thereisapigletathomewaitingtobeughtered.¡± She typed the username in and asked, ¡°How would you like your friends¡¯ settings to be?¡± ¡°Add your ount to my friends list and then block all other friend requests.¡± ¡°...¡± Chapter 1113 - Perplexed and Smitten (173)

Chapter 1113: Perplexed and Smitten (173)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After setting up the ount, Fang En handed his mobile phone back to him and said, ¡°You may download stickers and emoticons in the chat window. Download whatever you like...¡± She then shifted her gaze onto the woman entering the restaurant. Seeing Fang En, Yu Caiwei and her assistant walked toward her and sat down beside Xiao Chenyang. ¡°What a coincidence.¡± ¡°What a coincidence indeed. Ms. Yu, please sit elsewhere,¡± said Fang En who remained calm andposed. ¡°At the end of the day, we still belong to the same production unit and we¡¯ll have to star alongside each other in the same scenes rather frequently in the future. What¡¯s wrong with having a meal together? Don¡¯t be so petty. You don¡¯t own this table anyway,¡± Yu Caiwei quipped, smiling. Fang En did not answer her, for she was aware that there would be plenty of chances for them to act together in the same scene, since she was ying the female protagonist while Yu Caiwei was ying the supporting role who was a vile character. If she were to fall out with Yu Caiwei openly, she would only end up suffering if Yu Caiwei deliberately pulls a bad take repeatedly during filming. Seeing that Fang En did not say anything, Yu Caiwei and her assistant took the initiative to sit down, with Fang En sitting beside her. ¡°Waiter, please give them two bowls of the same kind of noodles.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Fang En¡¯s and Xiao Chenyang¡¯s noodles were served as soon as she ced the orders for the two uninvited guests. ¡°Would you like some vinegar?¡± he asked. ¡°Yes.¡± She initially wanted to grab the bottle of vinegar to pour herself some. However, he had beat her to it and poured some vinegar into her bowl. When she tried to scoop herself some chili from the condiments bottle, he again stopped her and said, ¡°Refrain from eating spicy foods. They¡¯re too heaty for you.¡± ¡°Just a little bit won¡¯t hurt. Otherwise, it¡¯ll be too nd.¡± He did not say anything else. He had never looked at Yu Caiwei ever since the moment she sat down. He and Fang En had begun eating before Yu Caiwei¡¯s food was served. Feeling a little bored, Yu Caiwei decided to strike a conversation with them. ¡°I heard that you¡¯re getting paid 200 thousand dors per episode for this television series. They¡¯re paying me 400 thousand dors.¡± In order words, Yu Caiwei simply wanted to say, ¡°So what if you¡¯re the lead actress? I¡¯m the supporting actress and I¡¯m still getting paid more than you are.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m a newbie and I¡¯ve only starred in one television series before. Meanwhile, you¡¯ve already acted in so many lousy films. I obviously can¡¯t bepared to you, Ms. Yu.¡± Yu Caiwei¡¯s face grew sullen upon hearing Fang En¡¯s snide remark. She looked at Xiao Chenyang, who was sitting beside Fang En. Despite having worked in the entertainment industry for years, she still could not help but be in awe of Xiao Chenyang¡¯s dashing good looks. She thought to herself, It¡¯s a shame that he¡¯s a bodyguard, if he¡¯s a celebrity... All of a sudden, an idea popped up in Yu Caiwei¡¯s head. ¡°Fang En, what¡¯s your bodyguard¡¯s name?¡± ¡°What are you asking that for?¡± ¡°Hmm... just a casual question.¡± ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t wish to answer your casual question.¡± Yu Caiwei decided to just take out her business card and handed it to Xiao Chenyang. ¡°Hey, hunk, this is my business card. Are you interested in bing a celebrity? I could give you a little push.¡± Fang En almost choked on her noodles the moment she heard her words. ¡°Ms. Yu, do you really think it¡¯s appropriate to say this in front of me?¡± ¡°What¡¯s so inappropriate about it? I¡¯m just guiding him onto a path toward earning a great fortune. It¡¯s better than staying by your side.¡± She then shoved her business card to Xiao Chenyang and said, ¡°There, take it.¡± Xiao Chenyang finally turned to face Yu Caiwei. As soon as their eyes met, he shot her a menacing re that was icy cold and aloof. ¡°You...¡± ¡°Take it away,¡± he clipped. Yu Caiwei smiled awkwardly and said, ¡°I can offer you two million dors in advance and give you a car and an apartment. How does that sound?¡± ¡°I want you to take it away. Are you deaf?¡± he snapped with a look of disdain. Yu Caiwei put her business card away, feeling a little disgruntled and peeved. ¡°You really don¡¯t know any better,¡± she remarked in annoyance. ¡°I beg your pardon?¡± he said, putting down his chopsticks and glowering at her. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? Aren¡¯t you just a bodyguard? I¡¯m talking to you about business and look at that attitude you¡¯re giving me. Have you any idea how many handsome youngds are dying for a chance to work under me?¡± ¡°Psht...¡± Fang En would know that Xiao Chenyang was displeased whenever she hears him make that sound. ¡°What¡¯s up with that attitude of yours... You¡¯re just another handsome face, yet you¡¯re so haughty and ill-tempered. Forget it, since you¡¯re unwilling to work with me, I won¡¯t force you either,¡± said Yu Caiwei, who found that he was really arrogant. ¡°Can you scram now, then?¡± ¡°You...¡± Yu Caiwei was at a momentary loss for words. Feeling a little embarrassed, she retorted, ¡°This is not your home anyway. I¡¯ll sit wherever I¡¯d like to. Who are you to intervene?¡± In such circumstances, one would usually stand up and walk to another table instead of getting into a conflict with Yu Caiwei. However, Xiao Chenyang would rarely everpromise, especially not toward people like Yu Caiwei. He did not answer her and poured his half-finished bowl of noodles onto her head without hesitation. All the patrons and waiters in the restaurant were dumbfounded. Yu Caiwei shrieked and stood up, trembling uncontrobly from head to toe. She grabbed a piece of tissue paper from her assistant¡¯s hand and began wiping the noodles and soup off her head and face. ¡°Are you out of your mind!?!¡± she hollered in exasperation. ¡°This is not your home. I¡¯ll pour my noodles wherever I¡¯d like. What right do you have to intervene?¡± Xiao Chenyang looked at the waiter and instructed, ¡°Serve me another bowl of noodles.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°Call the police immediately!¡± Yu Caiwei barked at her assistant, seething with exasperation. Remaining calm andposed, Xiao Chenyang said, ¡°You¡¯d better hurry up, then. Don¡¯t wait ¡¯til I¡¯ve finished my noodles. It won¡¯t be good if the police have yet to arrive by then. I¡¯m really curious to find out if your fans will feel ashamed to know that you¡¯re such a disgraceful celebrity.¡± Yu Caiwei was on the verge of vomiting blood upon seeing how dauntless he was when making the snide remark. The assistant shot Yu Caiwei a nce, seemingly trying to tell her not to act rashly. Yu Caiwei grabbed her bag and began walking out of the restaurant. At the sight of them leaving, the waiter immediately yelled, ¡°Ms. Yu...¡± She stopped in her tracks and asked angrily, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve already cooked the noodles that you¡¯ve ordered. You¡¯ll still have to pay up even if you¡¯re not dining in.¡± ¡°...¡± In the end, she still paid up and left. ¡ª ¡°Daddy, just what time are youing home?¡± Shi Bao¡¯er asked while sitting on the couch and holding the handset. She continued in a tone of disgruntlement, ¡°If you still refuse toe home, I¡¯m going to go look for Mommy.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll get the butler to send you to your mommy¡¯s ce, then. Will that do?¡± Seeing that her threat did not work, Shi Bao¡¯er had no choice but to say, ¡°If you don¡¯te home in half an hour¡¯s time, you¡¯ll never see me again!¡± Throughout the few days of her break from the boot camp, she had repeated those words umpteen times. However, Shi Shaochuan was not at all affected and insteadpletely disregarded her threats. He said nonchntly, ¡°Okay, okay, okay. Hide yourself well at home. I¡¯lle back home to look for you tonight.¡± Upon hearing his words, Shi Bao¡¯er hung up straight away, for she understood that he would definitely not being home within half an hour. COMMENT Shi Bao¡¯er could not help but recall the past, the days when she had just reunited with her father. He would take her with him everywhere he went and would bring her out for delicious food and some fun. She used to think that her father really doted on her, but now... Anger surged through her veins, and she decided that she¡¯s going to make her father regretful! Chapter 1114 - Perplexed and Smitten (174)

Chapter 1114: Perplexed and Smitten (174)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She teared up uncontrobly while fiddling with her fingers. After sitting on the couch for a while, she zoomed upstairs before zooming back down soon after. Knowing that there were people at home to watch her, she dared not go out of the house. Hence, she got inside a servant¡¯s van stealthily and squatted in the back seat. Two hourster, the servant finally drove the van out of the gate. The van soon traveled farther and farther away from the Shi family mansion. Shi Bao¡¯er looked out of the window, only to discover that she no longer recognized her surroundings or knew where she was. After driving on the roads for more than twenty minutes, the servant pulled up outside a door and alighted. Shi Bao¡¯er took the chance to get out of the car and began walking on the unfamiliar streets with her small purse. Shi Bao¡¯er was already seven years old, and all she wanted to do now was to go to a ce where her father could not find her. But where could she go now? After some thought, she decided to go to the amusement park. However, she had no idea where the amusement park was and how to get there. After racking her brains, she decided to ask a female passerby for directions. ¡°Auntie, do you know where the amusement park is?¡± ¡°The amusement park... you may continue walking straight on this road, but it¡¯s a little far from here. Little girl, why are you alone? It¡¯s very dangerous for you to be out here on your own. What are your parents¡¯ mobile numbers? I¡¯ll give them a call.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, no need for that... my Mommy is right there. She wanted me to ask for directions,¡± Shi Bao¡¯re refused, pointing at a random woman at the bus stop. ¡°Oh, I see. In that case, tell your mommy that the amusement park is near Ben Yang District. There¡¯s a huge amusement park there.¡± She nodded and began walking toward the bus stop. After the female passerby left, Shi Bao¡¯er asked a man who was waiting for the bus, ¡°Uncle, which bus should I take if I want to get to Ben Yang District?¡± ¡°There are no buses here that go to Ben Yang District.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er found it a great hassle to get to the amusement park. She trod along the sidewalk and stopped to take a break at the bench when she felt like her legs were about to give way. Atst, she decided not to continue walking, perhaps because she felt like there was no way to get to the amusement park on her own. Thus, she sat on the bench alone and spaced out while staring at the passing cars and pedestrians. Shi Bao¡¯er remained seated for the entire afternoon, all the way until five o¡¯clock when she decided that she needed to get up. At this moment, an elderlydy who appeared to be in her fifties sat down beside Shi Bao¡¯er together with her granddaughter. The granddaughter was about the same age as Shi Bao¡¯er and was wearing a pretty dress. She offered Shi Bao¡¯er two of the lollipops that she was holding and said, ¡°Sister, have some too.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er epted it since she had nothing else to do anyway. The elderlydy said with a smile, ¡°Miss, why are you here all by yourself? Hurry and go home, your parents will be worried sick about you.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er nced at her and found her to be rather personable and friendly. She then answered, ¡°Exactly, I want them to be worried.¡± ¡°Do you want me to send you home?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, Granny, I don¡¯t n to go home right now.¡± ¡°Would you like toe to my house to y, then?¡± Thinking that she had nowhere else to go anyway, Shi Bao¡¯er agreed with a nod, ¡°Sure.¡± The elderly held onto her granddaughter and Shi Bao¡¯er¡¯s hands and walked away from the bench. .... One of the servants was the first person who discovered that Shi Bao¡¯er had gone missing. When the servant tried to call Shi Bao¡¯er toe out for dinner, she discovered that there was no response from thetter and thus decided to look for her. However, she was nowhere to be found. Finally, the butler, Uncle Lin, decided to check the surveince camera footages and discovered that Shi Bao¡¯er had sneaked into one of the vans, which transported her out of the mansion. After some investigation, they deduced that Shi Bao¡¯er had sneaked out on her own to an unknown ce. The butler called Shi Shaochuan to inform him about the incident. Shi Shaochuan was at a bar at the time, and he immediately called Jin Qingyue the moment he heard the news. ¡°Is Bao¡¯er at your ce?¡± ¡°Bao¡¯er? Of course not, she¡¯s been living with you all along. You didn¡¯t take her to me anyway. Don¡¯t tell me she had gone missing?¡± ¡°Bao¡¯er had sneaked out of my house to go out to y. She¡¯s missing.¡± ¡°What? Shi Shaochuan, you call yourself her father?!¡± Jin Qingyue snapped angrily. ¡°Jin Qingyue, how dare you have the cheek to criticize me when you¡¯re just as irresponsible? You may have left her in my car and given me the rights to her full custody, but does that mean you can just enjoy your own life after paying a small sum of alimony? You¡¯re partly to me now that she¡¯s gone missing!¡± ¡°Where are you now?¡± Jin Qingyue asked. ¡°South Coast Road.¡± ¡°Hurry and go to the nearest police station. I¡¯ll rush there too.¡± Jin Qingyue ended the call and immediately changed out of her home maternity wear before rushing out of the house. Since Ling Ciye was not home, she had no choice but to drive to the police station on her own. She arrived at almost the same time that Shi Shaochuan did. ¡°Hey... why didn¡¯t you gain any weight? When you were pregnant with Bao¡¯er, you were as fat as a pig.¡± Jin Qingyue scoffed and said, ¡°Shi Shaochuan, how are you still in the mood to make suchments now that Bao¡¯er has gone missing?¡± She walked past him and strode toward the lobby. Shi Shaochuan hurriedly followed after her and sneered, ¡°Why isn¡¯t your husband here with you? Indeed, she¡¯s not his biological daughter. He obviously wouldn¡¯t bothering.¡± Jin Qingyue gave him the side-eye and said, ¡°He¡¯s abroad now and I didn¡¯t tell him about this. Don¡¯t misunderstand others and view them in a negative light just because you harbor ill intentions yourself. Do you really think everyone is just like you?¡± ¡°Look how smug you are now that someone is willing to ept the secondhand good that you are. Ling Ciye really has poor taste in women.¡± ¡°Who are you toment about my taste in women? Who do you think you are?¡± a voice said coldly all of a sudden,ing from behind them. Jin Qingyue turned around in surprise and made eye contact with a familiar pair of eyes. She was surprised that he had arrived without warning, for it was not his usual habit to do so. He would usually inform her of his return beforehand whenever he goes abroad. However, she was not surprised that he had managed to find her because she was wearing a GPS tracking device as well. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you didn¡¯t tell him about it? How did he know that you¡¯re here, then? You can¡¯t even tell a lie properly,¡± Shi Shaochuan butted in. Ling Ciye scowled at him and sneered, ¡°No wonder you¡¯ve managed to ruin your family¡¯s business. Don¡¯t you know that GPS trackers exist in this world?¡± He then held onto Jin Qingyue¡¯s hand and asked, ¡°Why are you at the police station?¡± ¡°Bao¡¯er sneaked out of the house on her own and has gone missing.¡± Ling Ciye pulled Jin Qingyue into the police station without another word. After exiting the police station, Ling Ciye called his subordinates and instructed them to drive Jin Qingyue¡¯s car back while he drove Jin Qingyue away from the police station in his own car. Shi Shaochuan had no idea where they were headed to. He wanted to search for Shi Bao¡¯er immediately but had no clue how to begin. Atst, he had no choice but to return to the Shi family mansion and vent all his anger on the servants. .... Shi Bao¡¯er was found at eleven o¡¯clock at night. Jin Qingyue broke down into tears the moment she saw Shi Bao¡¯er, whose face was swollen and whose hair was unkempt. However, she still kept her chin up and stared at Jin Qingyue. Chapter 1115 - Perplexed and Smitten (175)

Chapter 1115: Perplexed and Smitten (175)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Instead of questioning Shi Bao¡¯er, Jin Qingyue said, ¡°Come home with Mommy.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er red at her and refused vehemently, ¡°No.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll send you to your father¡¯s ce, then.¡± ¡°No!¡± she hollered. ¡°What do you want, then? Would you like to return to the boot camp?¡± ¡°No...¡± ¡°You¡¯re saying no to everything. Do you want to sleep on the streets, then?¡± After a moment of silence, she caught sight of Shi Shaochuan walking toward them and finally said, ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡± Atst, Jin Qingyue and Ling Ciye brought her home reluctantly. Although Shi Bao¡¯er was her biological daughter, Jin Qingyue could not help but feel terrified by the things that Shi Bao¡¯er was capable of doing. For example, trying to poison them to death by leaving the gas stove on at midnight. Jin Qingyue was truly petrified. However, she could not leave Shi Bao¡¯er in the lurch; she was still her flesh and blood, after all. They arrived home together, after which Ling Ciye returned to the bedroom, leaving the two of them in the living room. ¡°Why did you run out on your own? Could you tell me the reason?¡± Hanging her head low, Shi Bao¡¯er answered, ¡°Daddy is no longer Daddy. Neither of you wants me anymore. Why should I still stay in that house...?¡± ¡°We¡¯re not abandoning you. Think about what you had done in the past when you were living with me. Were you doing the right thing?¡± Shaking her head, Shi Bao¡¯er answered, ¡°No.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll forever be my child, regardless of whether I¡¯m pregnant now or not. I was the one who raised you single-handedly. Why would I abandon you?¡± She then pulled Shi Bao¡¯er into the other bedroom and picked out some of the clothes that Shi Bao¡¯er used to wear. ¡°Go get a shower and change into a fresh set of clothes. I¡¯ll get some ice cubes and put them on your faceter to reduce the swelling.¡± ¡°Mommy, help me shower.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll help you.¡± Another hour had passed while Jin Qingyue bathed Shi Bao¡¯er, applied some medicine onto her face, and tucked her into bed. It was already past midnight by the time she returned to the master bedroom. The window was left wide open. Jin Qingyue initially wanted to close it but decided not to after some thought. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you call beforehand to tell me that you¡¯d be returning?¡± ¡°Because... I wanted to give you a surprise,¡± he answered while leaning against the headboard. Pointing at the dressing room, he continued, ¡°The present that I had bought you is in there. Go take a look and see if you like it.¡± She nodded and turned around to enter the dressing room. It was a beautiful dress that he had bought. Afraid that it might not fit her properly, she even tried it on, only to discover that it fit her well and that it was perfect for her size at present. She exited the dressing room and removed her clothes. She then got onto the bed and asked, ¡°How is that old woman going to be punished?¡± ¡°The police called just now to inform me that that old woman is an ex-convict who was released from prison less than two years ago. She was imprisoned previously for a simr reason. She abducted a child and was sentenced to jail. She won¡¯t be able to escape this time either.¡± ¡°That really scared me. Ciye, do you think we can try and make Bao¡¯er change her ways? I really don¡¯t want her life to be ruined. I want her to live well,¡± said Jin Qingyue, who was snuggling up in his embrace. ¡°It won¡¯t be easy, but I¡¯m sure her attitude and behavior will improve with some proper guidance. Call your brother and tell him to get the instructors at the boot camp to focus on teaching her the right values and manners. They must be strict with her and do their best to get her on the right track. Do visit her more often too in the future.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡ª Jin Qingyue and Ling Ciye went to bed at past twelve midnight. Meanwhile, someone else was still up at two o¡¯clock in the morning. It was none other than Henry. He woke up one hour after midnight and sat in bed for an entire hour straight. He took a look at the time on his mobile phone and thought to himself, I¡¯m finally awakened. I¡¯ve been waiting for so long. I must think of a way to get out of here. However, everyone outside only obeys the instructions of Jin Qingyan and not mine. Hence, after much consideration, he decided to sneak out by pretending to be Jin Qingyan. Xiao Zi and Xiao Lu were the ones on duty in the guardroom. ¡°Young Sir, why are you going to the garage?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to take a look.¡± Xiao Lu stood up and exited the guardroom. Instead of walking toward the garage, he waited by the main entrance for the car to be driven over. He was extremely cautious and had his guard up because he had once encountered Jin Qingyan experiencing a rpse at midnight. Hence, he had always remained much more vignt at midnight. Henry sped toward the entrance in the Mercedes-Benz and rolled down the windows. Xiao Lu stepped forward and asked, ¡°Young Sir, where are you heading to at such ate hour?¡± ¡°Out to handle some matters.¡± Noticing that he seemed to sound normal and was also dressed in his usual attire, Xiao Lu then asked, ¡°Young Sir, it won¡¯t be safe for you to go out alone at night. Shall I get two bodyguards to tag along with you?¡± He agreed, ¡°Okay.¡± Xiao Lu heaved a sigh of relief and contacted two other bodyguards using his walkie-talkie, telling them to chaperon Jin Qingyan in another car. Henry¡¯s lips curled into a smirk the moment he drove out of Wei Ni Estate. He stared at the reflection of the car behind him in the rear view mirror and sped up all of a sudden. The bodyguards followed suit. After speeding past two streets, he chanced upon a group of professional car racers who were having a race on the streets in the silent night. The racers were driving much faster than Henry, who was already speeding. He could not resist his urge topete with them, given that he was supposedly a frence race car driver. The racers too treated him as apetitor, thinking that he had also joined the race. However, the bodyguards who had been tailing him were dumbfounded upon seeing what was happening. They hurriedly contacted Xiao Lu to inform him about the situation, after which Xiao Lu instantly sensed that something was amiss. Out of all the bodyguards, he was the one who understood Jin Qingyan the most. He knew that Jin Qingyan had always been a safe driver who drove at a steady pace. Although he would speed asionally, he would never drive at such a jarring speed like the racers were. Xiao Lu immediately rushed over with arge bunch of fellow bodyguards. When they arrived, one of the bodyguards was standing amongst the small crowd and waiting anxiously. Staring at the Mercedes-Benz parked at the side, Xiao Lu asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Young Sir?¡± ¡°Young Sir is participating in a motorbike race with those people. We couldn¡¯t stop him at all. I told my buddy to chase him down with the car while I wait here for you guys.¡± Xiao Lu hurriedly brought some other bodyguards along to take chase. Despite traveling at an incredible speed, they still could not catch up with Henry. When they returned and were about a few hundred meters away, Xiao Lu tried to drive forward to stop him from proceeding. However, what happened next frightened everyone out of their wits. All of a sudden, the motorbikes behind charged forward and rammed Henry who was initially taking the lead, from behind. Henry tried to steer his motorbike to the side in an attempt to dodge the attack. However, he failed to do so and was flung into the ditch beside the roads instead. At that instant, the hearts of Xiao Lu and the rest of the bodyguards almost jumped out of their chests. ¡°What are you waiting for? Rescue Young Sir!!!¡± They drove towards the ditch within seconds, after which half of them alighted and dived into the ditch while the other half pinned the racers down before they could escape. Fortunately, the ditch was not too deep. However, Henry had still passed out due to the immense impact from the sudden collision. Xiao Lu carried him on his back and got back up onto the roads with the help of the other bodyguards. ring daggers at the racers, Xiao Lu hollered, ¡°Have you any idea who he is? You shall be taught a hard lesson. Take all of these people back!¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Chapter 1116 - Perplexed and Smitten (176)

Chapter 1116: Perplexed and Smitten (176)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyan was immediately rushed to the emergency unit of the First People¡¯s Hospital in A City. Fortunately, Jin Qingyan did not suffer any major injuries. After running a thorough physical check on his body, the doctor said, ¡°Apart from a fracture in his right calf, the rest are all external injuries that are not much of a problem. He¡¯s passed out. Just wait for him toe to.¡± ¡°Thank you, Doctor. Please arrange for Young Sir to be admitted to the best ward in the hospital.¡± ¡°Alright, please proceed to handle the administrative procedures.¡± Word about Jin Qingyan¡¯s ident made it onto the news in less than an hour after it urred. However, the exact details of the situation had been kept confidential. When the reporters arrived at the hospital, Xiao Huang and Xiao Lu epted their interviews after seeking the approval of An Xiaoning. ¡°Here¡¯s what happened. Young Sir had to go out to handle something urgent that cropped up at thest minute. He inevitably had to drive faster and coincidentally stumbled upon some racers. That¡¯s how the ident happened.¡± ¡°What is Mr. Jin¡¯s current condition, then? Are his injuries severe?¡± Xiao Lu answered, ¡°Apart from a fracture in his right calf, he sustained only external wounds.¡± ¡°...¡± After the interview ended, Xiao Huang headed back to the estate since he had to be on duty the following day. Xiao Lu and a dozen of the other bodyguards stayed behind outside the ward. Due to the fact that there were no avable flights at midnight, Fan Shixin and An Xiaoning had no choice but to rush back from B City by car. It was already six o¡¯clock in the morning by the time they arrived in A City. The sky had turned bright when they reached the hospital. An Xiaoning did not catch a wink at all throughout the journey back because she was too worried about Jin Qingyan. She finally felt more relieved after seeing him lying on the hospital bed. After asking Xiao Lu for the details of the situation, An Xiaoning concluded, ¡°Seems like Henry knows that he¡¯ll never be able to leave Wei Ni Estate using his own identity. That¡¯s why he pretended to be Qingyan. However, there¡¯s something he clearly doesn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Young Madam, what is it that he¡¯s not aware of?¡± Shaking her head, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°Nothing, go home with Shixin. I¡¯ll stay here on my own.¡± ¡°Young Madam, if you¡¯re tired, do get some rest too.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Xiao Lu and Fan Shixin left the ward and closed the door gently after them. The hospital bed was queen-sized and could fit two people. Indeed, she was rather weary and thus removed her shoes before lying down beside him. However, she constantly pondered over a question. When he returned from Y Nation, he had told her in private that something had changed within him and that he was now definitely stronger than her. However, he refused to answer when she asked him for the details. An Xiaoning was no fool, and she could tell all the superficial changes in his appearance ever since he returned after spending several days with Xiao Chenyang. Hence, she had a hunch that he was referring to being stronger than her physically, in terms of martial arts. Apart from that, she could not think of any other reason. Since he had now be more skilled than her, how could he have possibly been knocked into the ditch by those racers? Clearly, Henry had no idea. An Xiaoning was filled with qualms and uncertainty. Jin Qingyan¡¯s greatest enemy was Henry, not Xihou Jiaping. After all, it would be hard to distinguish Henry from Jin Qingyan if Henry were to pose as thetter. In fact, he had already pulled that trick. She felt her eyelids getting heavy, and she closed her eyes to sleep. She woke up againter because of an excruciating pain. She opened her eyes and got up from the ground. Staring at Henry, who had kicked her off the bed, she rebuked, ¡°Do you find your non-fractured leg to be extremely useful? Do you really think that I won¡¯t break that too? Let¡¯s see if you can still kick me when that happens.¡± ¡°I¡¯m hungry, make me some food.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let you starve to death,¡± said An Xiaoning, who was grabbing her mobile phone while rubbing her elbow. She called Fan Shixin and said, ¡°A pig here says that he¡¯s hungry. Go make him some food.¡± Upon hearing her words, Fan Shixin immediately knew that Henry was still upying Jin Qingyan¡¯s body. ¡°Got it, I¡¯ll go overter.¡± After she ended the call, Henry retorted in disgruntlement, ¡°Pig? An Xiaoning, you actuallyunched a personal attack.¡± ¡°Not only am I going to do that, I¡¯m also going to attack your body. I really wish I could hammer your head onto the wall with a nail. Now that your calf is fractured, you¡¯re going to be bedridden for more than just a few days. Does it feel great? Are you happy now? You can¡¯t go out anymore, can you?¡± Recalling the ident, Henry said in displeasure, ¡°Those fellows better not let me see them again. If not, I¡¯m going to rip them into shreds. They resorted to such dirty tricks just because they couldn¡¯t overtake me...¡± An Xiaoning glowered at him and walked toward the other edge of the bed where she sat down. He then kicked her again with his left leg and ordered, ¡°Sit on the chair.¡± ¡°I¡¯m tired...¡± ¡°Go home and sleep.¡± An Xiaoning ignored him and lifted his leg off her before lying down. ¡°I¡¯ll watch you. You¡¯re not going anywhere,¡± she said, facing him while lying on her side. Henry shifted his gaze onto her face. Although An Xiaoning had her eyes tightly shut, she knew that he was looking at her. ¡°If you kick me off the bed again, I¡¯ll break your leg. Try me if you don¡¯t believe it.¡± Henry was filled with difort and felt an excruciating pain all over his body, especially in the areas where he was wounded. He was staring nkly at the ceiling when Fan Shixin arrived with the lunchbox. ¡°Adjust my bed to prop me up.¡± Fan Shixin ced the lunchbox on the table and walked toward the other end of the bed to recline it upward. He then removed the lid of the lunchbox and took out two small stic bags from the topyer. He handed one to him and brought the other one over to An Xiaoning, who had dozed off just a while ago. He then woke An Xiaoning up. ¡°Young Madam, have some food before you sleep.¡± An Xiaoning took it from him and said with her eyes ssed over, ¡°Go check on things at the office.¡± ¡°Yes, I will.¡± ¡°Why does she get a more sumptuous breakfast than me?¡± Henry questioned, staring at her breakfast, which consisted of some eggs, steamed dumplings, and a sandwich. Meanwhile, he only had one small steamed bun in his bag. Fan Shixin walked toward the table and said, ¡°You haven¡¯t taken the rest out yet.¡± He then took out the beverages from the bottomyer of the lunchbox. There was soy milk for Henry and milk for An Xiaoning. This is such a... huge difference in treatment! Henryined indignantly, ¡°I¡¯m the patient here. She¡¯s alive and kicking, why does she need such nutritious food? You should be letting her have the small bun and soy milk instead.¡± Fan Shixin rolled his eyes at him and retorted, ¡°Be thankful that you still get to eat after causing Young Sir¡¯s body to be in such a wreck. I really wanted to give you just a packet of instant noodles.¡± What a bully! After Fan Shixin left, An Xiaoning sat cross-legged on the bed and deliberately turned to face him while indulging in her food. He could fit the entire bun into his mouth and found it to be extremely tasteless. After having his fill, he said coldly, ¡°I need to use the washroom.¡± ¡°Hold it in and wait for me to finish eating.¡± ¡°How am I supposed to hold it in...? I need to pee, hurry and help me,¡± hemented, squeezing his legs together tightly. ¡°Hold it in.¡± She continued eating unhurriedly. Henry was seething with anger. Atst, he hollered, ¡°Hurry, I¡¯m about to wet the bed!¡± ¡°Sure, go ahead. I¡¯ll get the nurse to clean up once you¡¯re done.¡± Henry could not tolerate it any further. This damn woman! Chapter 1117 - Perplexed and Smitten (177)

Chapter 1117: Perplexed and Smitten (177)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He had no choice but to call for help. ¡°Nurse!¡± An Xiaoning chuckled and threw the empty milk bottle into the rubbish bin before standing up. Pointing at a white button above his head, she said, ¡°This is the best ward in the hospital. There¡¯s definitely a call button. See, it¡¯s here.¡± ¡°What are you waiting for? Hurry and help me!¡± Henry eximed with a sullen expression on his face. An Xiaoning helped him up slowly to the toilet bowl in the bathroom. He then shrugged her hand away and supported himself with one hand against the wall. ¡°Get out,¡± he hissed. She remained quiet and left. Before the door even closed, she heard the sounds of water flowing. She turned around to see that he was trying to pull his pants up even though he still wasn¡¯t done with relieving nature¡¯s call. Feeling embarrassed and exasperated about being half-naked in front of her, he barked, ¡°Hurry and scram!¡± An Xiaoning shrugged her shoulders nonchntly and taunted, ¡°Are you going to hit me if I don¡¯t?¡± He pulled his pants up and remained quiet. Despite feeling extremely peeved and disgruntled, he had no choice but to let her help him out of the washroom. There was arge number of friends who came to visit Jin Qingyan at the hospital. Long Tianze and Mei Yangyang were the first two. As soon as Long Tianze entered the ward, his forehead creased into a frown and he strode toward the hospital bed. He then grabbed Henry¡¯s other hand, which was not attached to the tube, and eximed teasingly, ¡°I¡¯m so relieved to see that you¡¯re alive. What am I supposed to do if you kick the bucket? I don¡¯t want to be widowed. You¡¯re so mean!¡± He then punched Henry¡¯s chest, causing Henry to be dumbfounded. Henry retracted his hand from Long Tianze¡¯s and said in disdain, ¡°Don¡¯t touch me.¡± Long Tianze did not find anything unusual with Jin Qingyan since he was used to being despised by thetter. Hence, he chuckled and said, ¡°Rest well and recover soon.¡± Not long after Mei Yangyang and Long Tianze left, Jin Qingyue and Ling Ciye arrived. Subsequently, Gu Beicheng, Lin Mingxi, Mr. Jin, as well as Jin Qingyan¡¯s business partners and associates, began to show up one after another. An Xiaoning spent the entire morning weing and tending to the visitors. After having her lunch, An Xiaoning finally had the time to lie down on the bed and take a nap. ¡°You may just get a nurse to look after me. You don¡¯t have to stay here anymore. Go home and take a nap instead.¡± ¡°Whether or not I want to stay here all depends on my mood. Stop making such a fuss or I¡¯m not going to spare you.¡± That was thest warning she gave him before she dozed off. An Xiaoning slept through the entire afternoon and only woke up in the evening, during which Fan Shixin arrived with Jin Yiheng and Jin Rongyan. ¡°They saw the news on the mobile phone and insisted oning to visit you in the hospital,¡± Fan Shixin exined. An Xiaoning shifted her gaze onto Henry, who was lying on the bed, and said to Fan Shixin, ¡°Let¡¯s go togetherter.¡± ¡°At night...¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go home to change beforeing back again.¡± Fan Shixin nodded and said, ¡°Alright.¡± The two of them exited the ward, leaving Henry alone with the two children. Jin Yiheng and Jin Rongyan stood beside the bed, hand in hand. They stared at Henry with reddened eyes and remained silent. The way they were staring at Henry gave him the chills. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you saying anything?¡± ¡°Daddy... does it hurt?¡± Jin Yiheng asked with a sullen expression, staring at the cast on his right calf. ¡°Not anymore.¡± ¡°Why doesn¡¯t it hurt anymore?¡± Jin Rongyan said, ¡°Daddy, don¡¯t drive at such a high speed anymore from now on. Drive slowly, got it?¡± Staring at the two children, Henry nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to bed now. Get your mommy to go home with you guys.¡± ¡°Alright, Daddy, rest well.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The two children left together, and Henry heaved a sigh of relief. He grabbed his mobile phone and began surfing the inte for news about An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan. He looked down and perused the article for a long time before proceeding to read thements. ¡°Young Sir, there¡¯s a Ms. Hu who¡¯s asking to visit you,¡± said one of the bodyguards who did not know about Jin Qingyan¡¯s dissociative identity disorder. ¡°Let her in,¡± he said while switching off his mobile phone, which he then left on the table. Hu Xin was wearing a pair of cropped ankle jeans and a white buttoned shirt. She entered with a basket of fruits and said, ¡°Mr. Jin... I read about your ident in the news. I wanted toe visit you during the day, but Ms. An was here all along so I decided to wait for her to leave before entering.¡± ¡°Has she left?¡± Hu Xin nodded and said, ¡°Yes... I saw her entering the elevator together with the children and Chief Fan.¡± She was filled with fear and anxiety. In fact, she was surprised that she could even enter, because she thought that he wouldn¡¯t let her in even if An Xiaoning was not around. Little did she expect... Seeing that he was remaining silent, Hu Xin stammered and said, ¡°Um... I don¡¯t mean anything else. I just wanted to visit you.¡± ¡°Have a seat.¡± She nodded in surprise and pulled a chair toward her. She sat down and began tensing. ¡°It¡¯ll take a long while for you to recover. Mr. Jin, rest well in bed and return to work only after you¡¯ve recovered,¡± she said nervously. Feeling a little guilty the moment she saw him looking at her, she hurriedly said, ¡°You may have sacked me, but I still remember all the help you¡¯ve rendered me in the past. I thought that it would only be right for me to visit you.¡± Sacked her? Slightly taken aback, he asked, ¡°What are you working as now, then?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve recently opened a small cosmetic store.¡± ¡°Do you still live in Ben Yang District?¡± ¡°Yes, the rental for houses in that district are much cheaperpared to other ces.¡± Hu Xin found that Jin Qingyan was rather peculiar; she could sometimes enjoy a peaceful conversation with him, yet he would also give her the cold shoulder out of the blue. She was baffled and bewildered. However, she found that he had be much more charming than before. Hu Xin clutched her heart in shock and amazement the moment she realized it. Upon seeing her actions, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Nothing, nothing.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a little hungry. Could you run an errand for me and go downstairs to get me some food?¡± ¡°What would you like to eat, Mr. Jin?¡± ¡°I want to eat... just get lots of delicious food.¡± He grabbed the wallet and took out five hundred dors. He handed the cash to her and said, ¡°There.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, I have enough cash. I¡¯ll go get you some food now.¡± Hu Xin was on cloud nine. She was grinning widely from ear to ear when she exited the ward, unable to contain her happiness at all. She ran toward the entrance of the hospital and proceeded to buy lots of food and drinks from the nearby stores before carrying them to the ward. The bodyguards outside looked at each other in puzzlement. However, they dared not make anyments after asking Henry about it. However, they did not stop at that. In reality, they still gave An Xiaoning a call behind his back. However, An Xiaoning did not answer because she was in the midst of taking a shower at home. They decided to call Fan Shixin instead and have him ry the message to her. An Xiaoning made her way downstairs with her cosmetic pouch aftering out of the shower and getting dressed. She was greeted with the sight of Fan Shixin standing by the stairwell. ¡°Young Madam, I¡¯ve been waiting for you for a long while.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°The bodyguards at the hospital called me just now to say that Hu Xin had turned up at the ward and Henry had allowed her to enter.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Chapter 1118 - Perplexed and Smitten (178)

Chapter 1118: Perplexed and Smitten (178)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Fan Shixin added, ¡°Henry got Hu Xin to buy him lots of food and drinks. He¡¯s injured right now and he¡¯s supposed to eat lighter and nder food. Is the junk food going to be detrimental to his health?¡± ¡°He¡¯s already eaten the food, we can¡¯t make him throw up everything, can we? Seems like we don¡¯t have to bring him any more foodter. I¡¯ll have my meal first. Afterward, I¡¯ll go take a look at him. Once I leave for the hospital, continue monitoring and looking after the children. When are they returning to the boot camp? Tomorrow or the day after?¡± ¡°They¡¯ll have to report back tomorrow afternoon, and the lessons proper will begin the day after.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯lle home tomorrow to send them to the boot camp.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll excuse myself now, then.¡± ¡°Wait a minute, Shixin, I think I¡¯ll go take a look at those racers after I¡¯m done eating. Wait for me there.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Fan Shixin turned around and left. An Xiaoning sat alone at the dining table to have her meal because the children had already eaten. Throughout the meal, she constantly pondered over Henry and decided to call Yu Yiwei over. ¡°Isn¡¯t there a good solution to let him snap out of the second personality naturally when a rpse happens?¡± she asked. Having understood what she meant, Yu Yiwei answered, ¡°The most feasible treatment option at hand is psychiatric therapy. During his rpse, he¡¯s going to be very resistant toward psychiatrists. Hence, it¡¯s not a good idea for me to step in at this juncture. Things might just backfire instead.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°Alright, you¡¯re dismissed.¡± Staring at An Xiaoning, Yu Yiwei said, ¡°Ms. An... this is going to be a long battle but I¡¯ll do my best to help. You must try your best too.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± An Xiaoning definitely had to put her best foot forward. She could not allow his psychological illness to ruin him. .... The few people standing before her were all youths who appeared to be in their early twenties. They were all stick-thin and youthful. It was apparent that time had not taken its toll or left its trace on their faces. They stood in a row and hung their heads low while remaining silent. An Xiaoning nced at them and questioned, ¡°Have you any idea who you had knocked into?¡± ¡°Yes...¡± ¡°Were you aware of it when you were ramming your bikes against his?¡± ¡°No... it was too dark at night, we didn¡¯t get to see clearly...¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t there any lights around?¡± An Xiaoning questioned apprehensively. ¡°We really couldn¡¯t see clearly. If we had known that it was Jin Qingyan, we definitely wouldn¡¯t...¡± Staring at them sternly, An Xiaoning chided, ¡°Do you know how long you¡¯d have to be locked up for knocking someone over on purpose? Do you know how much you would have topensate? Don¡¯t think that this is a minor ident. If I were to make youpensate us, you really won¡¯t be able to afford thepensatory sum. Tell me, how do you n to settle this issue?¡± One of the boys nodded and answered, ¡°Ms. An, like what you said, we can¡¯t afford to pay thepensation sum. Although our families are rather well-to-do, we still won¡¯t be able to afford it. We¡¯re still young, please give us a chance to realize our mistakes and repent. We won¡¯t race anymore or try and ram into others deliberately. Ms. An, we¡¯re willing to do anything except givepensation and go to jail. Please give us a chance to turn over a new leaf.¡± ¡°Do all of you think the same as him?¡± she asked. The boys nodded fervently and chorused, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll get someone to deliver an agreement to you guyster. After you¡¯ve read through the terms, sign your name and stamp your thumbprint onto it, then you may leave.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°There¡¯s something that I have to make clear to you beforehand. The incident that happenedst midnight had already made it onto the news. However, we¡¯ve handled the media and told the reporters that it was purely just an ident and that he had stumbled across you guys by chance. That¡¯s better for all of us. I¡¯ll include that in the agreement terms. If I ever see any additional information on the news or find out that you¡¯ve told others about this incident, I¡¯m sorry, but I won¡¯t show mercy on you.¡± ¡°We understand. Rest assured, we won¡¯t spout any nonsense.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± While they were leaving, An Xiaoning instructed Fan Shixin, ¡°Draft a document and include the non-disclosure term that I¡¯ve just mentioned, as well as another one that forbids them from racing again. Those who fail to adhere will have to pay five million dors each. Also, warn them that they¡¯re not allowed to take part in races secretly. Since Henry was partly to me for this incident, we don¡¯t need them to fork out the medical bills. All they have to do isply and abide by the terms stated in the agreement.¡± ¡°That bunch of kids are pretty good at racing. I reckon this is their greatest hobby and interest. Although Henry was partly to me for the incident, it was too atrocious of them to ram into someone else on purpose.¡± ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s give them a chance to repent and let them off this time. I believe they¡¯ve reflected on their mistakes and really got a huge fright this time.¡± Fan Shixin said, ¡°I could tell too. Xiao Bai told me today that they even huddled up together and wept. They must have been scared out of their wits.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to the hospital now.¡± ¡°Drive safely.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± When An Xiaoning parked her car in the car park of the hospital, she returned a missed call that was then picked up by one of the bodyguards outside the ward. ¡°Has that woman left yet?¡± ¡°Not yet.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± She ended the call and grabbed her purse that was sitting on the passenger¡¯s seat. The bodyguards had a feeling that she would be arriving soon. After waiting for more than half an hour, she finally showed up. She was dressed in a pink floral dress with a white purse in one hand and a paper bag in the other. The bodyguards caught sight of what it was when she approached. It was a bag of alcohol. Just as the bodyguards were about to greet her, she motioned for them to stop. She held onto the handle of the door and pushed the door open gently. She entered. The aroma of fried chicken wafted up to her nose the moment she stepped foot inside the ward. At the sight of her, Hu Xin stood up from the chair while remaining calm andposed, not in the least bit ufortable at all. ¡°I heard from the bodyguards that you¡¯ve already eaten so I didn¡¯t bring you any food. Who bought all these food?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Ms. Hu did,¡± Henry answered. An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? How could you make someone else go to that expense when they¡¯re here to visit you?¡± She then opened her white purse and took out her wallet. After estimating the costs of all the food and beer on the table, she handed Hu Xin three hundred dors and said, ¡°You may keep the change. Just take it as an errand fee.¡± However, Hu Xin refused, ¡°I was the one who wanted to treat Mr. Jin to this meal. Besides, I¡¯ve had some of the food too. I won¡¯t take your money.¡± ¡°You¡¯re giving Mr. Jin a treat?¡± She walked toward Hu Xin and stuffed the money into her cleavage. ¡°How is he rted to you? Why do you need to treat him to a meal? Save the money for yourself. None of us here is cash-strapped. Qingyan and I detest owing an acquaintance a favor.¡± Hu Xin looked up at her and pulled the cash out of her cleavage. Chapter 1119 - Perplexed and Smitten (179)

Chapter 1119: Perplexed and Smitten (179)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Didn¡¯t you already go home? Why are you back here again?¡± Henry questioned. ¡°If I don¡¯te back, who¡¯s going to take care of you at night?¡± ¡°Anyone can do that. Just get a nurse to look after me,¡± Henry answered while avoiding eye contact with her. Hu Xin was once again confused about what was going on. However, she knew better than to interrupt and hence remained silent while standing at the side. ¡°The nurse may be able to take care of you, but there¡¯s something that the nurse can¡¯t do...¡± An Xiaoning walked toward the other side of the bed and ced her wallet into her purse. She then took out a small cosmetic pouch from her purse and ced it onto the table together with the bag of alcohol. She continued, ¡°For example, satisfy your sexual needs.¡± Henry scoffed while the dumbfounded Hu Xin stared at An Xiaoning in disdain. However, An Xiaoning was not bothered by her opinion at all. She said, ¡°Ms. Hu, you may leave if there¡¯s nothing else. Stop getting in the way.¡± Hu Xin bit her lip and stood rooted to the ground. Seeing her remaining still, An Xiaoning questioned, ¡°Are you thinking of staying behind?¡± ¡°Ms. An, don¡¯t you think that you¡¯ve gone overboard?¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°Mr. Jin clearly doesn¡¯t fancy or love you anymore. Why do you have to continue pestering him? Do you really think you¡¯ll be able to win his heart again by doing so? Will Mr. Jin be truly happy? I admit, you¡¯re very formidable. However, you¡¯re going overboard if you use your power to inflict pain and misery onto others.¡± ¡°I¡¯m indeed going overboard, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Why do people like you even exist... I¡¯m not leaving tonight. If you get your bodyguards to chase me out again, I¡¯ll kill myself here,¡± said Hu Xin, who could not tolerate it any further. ¡°Kill yourself here?¡± An Xiaoning squinted and gibed in a hostile tone, ¡°Do you think that... your life is valuable? You¡¯d better hurry and get lost before I blow my top.¡± Pointing at An Xiaoning, Henry snapped, ¡°Enough! Get out of here. I¡¯d rather look at her than you!¡± An Xiaoning took a deep breath and red at Henry. ¡°Repeat yourself.¡± ¡°So what even if I repeat myself? You should¡¯ve just stayed home, why did youe back? You¡¯re such an eyesore.¡± She walked toward the end of the bed and grazed her hand against the cast on his calf. She pressed her finger down gently and said, ¡°Continue and repeat yourself.¡± Henry grimaced in pain instantly. At the sight of what was happening, Hu Xin immediately pushed An Xiaoning away, only to have thetter dodge in time. As a result, Hu Xin lost her bnce and stumbled forward onto An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning tightened her grip all of a sudden, causing Henry to grunt in pain and screech, ¡°An Xiaoning, let go!¡± Extremely displeased, An Xiaoning decided to press down even harder. Henry had already broken out into a cold sweat by the time she let go. He had turned as pale as a ghost, and the pain had robbed him of his speech. Unable to tolerate it any further, Hu Xin rebuked, ¡°An Xiaoning, you¡¯re atrocious! I¡¯ve never seen such a shameless person like you before. I knew it, you were the one who threatened Mr. Jin into sacking me!¡± Not bothering to look at her at all, An Xiaoning said, ¡°If you¡¯re not going to leave on your own, I¡¯ll have no choice but to get someone to chase you out.¡± Hu Xin sat down onto the chair and refused stubbornly, ¡°I¡¯m not leaving.¡± Knowing that An Xiaoning would definitely keep her word, Henry said to Hu Xin, ¡°Go home, it¡¯s already sote.¡± ¡°But are you really going to be alright?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Staring at Henry solemnly, Hu Xin said, ¡°I¡¯ll definitely save you from her demonic clutches.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need you to interfere with my affairs,¡± said Henry, who knew her predicament. ¡°No, believe me, I¡¯ll definitely think of a way to rescue you.¡± As soon as she said her piece, she glowered at An Xiaoning before leaving the ward. An Xiaoning was utterly amused by how foolish Hu Xin was. She took out her cleansing products and proceeded to the washroom. Her mobile phone was ringing continuously when she exited, and she hurriedly rushed to answer the call. It was No. 5 who had called. ¡°Sis, there are updates on my side.¡± An Xiaoning immediately said, ¡°Hurry and tell me.¡± ¡°When I looked through the telescope just now, I saw a gray car pulling over at the entrance of the Yin family mansion, and a man who was wearing a pair of shades and a surgical mask alighted from the car and entered the mansion. He seemed to be visiting the patriarch and only came out forty minutester. I noted down the license te number, which Chief Fan checked up on. However, we discovered that the car was rented and the personal details that he had used to rent the car were also falsified. Hence, he¡¯s very suspicious.¡± ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll wait and see if the Yin family will call to inform me about this,¡± said An Xiaoning, who was holding her phone in ce with her jaw and her shoulder while taking out the liquor and a ss from the paper bag. She did not n to share the liquor with Henry and, thus, had only bought one ss. ¡°Sis, what¡¯s Mr. Jin¡¯s condition right now?¡± ¡°Him? He¡¯s not going to drop dead any time soon.¡± ¡°Sis, why would you say that? Hehe, isn¡¯t he going to be mad when he hears you?¡± ¡°He¡¯s right beside me now. What¡¯s there to get mad about? He¡¯s not going to be mad. I¡¯m merely praising him for his strong ability to survive.¡± She opened the bottle and poured herself a full ss of liquor. She then ended the call and began chugging the entire ss in one go. The liquor had a high alcohol content and left an ufortable, burning sensation in her throat. Henry stared at her quietly and a silence filled the room. Sitting cross-legged on the bed, An Xiaoning swirled the ss of liquor in her hand while watching a movie on her mobile phone. She did not bring her earphones with her. Thus, the sounds of the movie could be heard clearly, though the volume was not too loud. An Xiaoning was refreshed and energized since she had taken a long afternoon nap. On the other hand, Henry had begun to feel a little sleepy after lying in bed all day. ¡°I want to wash up, help me to the washroom,¡± hemanded. An Xiaoningpletely ignored him. Seeing that she was ignoring him, Henry said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you stay behind to look after me? Is this how you take care of a patient?¡± ¡°I did stay behind to look after you, but whether I want to help you or not all depends on my mood.¡± Henry had no other option but to sumb, since she was the only one who could help him right now. ¡°In that case, what must I do to make you feel better?¡± An Xiaoning turned to face him and said, ¡°Apologize to me for everything you said earlier, including telling me to scram. You also have to promise not to say such things again.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think you were going overboard? You insulted and humiliated such a young girl who¡¯s in her early twenties. An Xiaoning, is her life not as precious as yours? If you can tell her to scram, she can do the same to you too.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t she going overboard by harboring designs on someone who doesn¡¯t belong to her? Wasn¡¯t she going overboard by threatening to kill herself if I made her leave the ward? Anyone can tell me to scram, except you. That¡¯s because you¡¯re the only person whose opinion I care about. Although the other you who loves me is now isted, I still stay firm to my belief that you two are the same person at the end of the day. You¡¯re just not willing to walk out of the trauma.¡± Chapter 1120 - Perplexed and Smitten (180)

Chapter 1120: Perplexed and Smitten (180)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± As soon as she said her piece, he apologized. ¡°Will that do?¡± he continued. ¡°You¡¯re not sincere at all.¡± ¡°What must I do to show that I¡¯m sincere?¡± Instead of answering him, she got out of bed and ced the ss and her mobile phone onto the table before helping him to the washroom. There were more than ten disposable toothbrushes provided by the hospital. He squeezed some toothpaste onto the toothbrush and began brushing. An Xiaoning stood beside him and looked at his reflection in the mirror. Likewise, he stared at hers and discovered that she was staring at him nkly without blinking. After rinsing his mouth, he asked, ¡°What are you looking at?¡± ¡°Nothing much.¡± Just as she was about to help him out of the bathroom, he stopped her and said, ¡°I have to relieve nature¡¯s call.¡± When they reached the toilet bowl, he said awkwardly, ¡°I... I need to do a number two.¡± She tried to help him remove his pants, as if she were his mother. He quickly said, ¡°You may go out, I¡¯ll remove my pants on my own.¡± ¡°Alright, be careful not to fall down.¡± She exited and waited outside. An Xiaoning cleaned up the table and disposed all the leftover food and cans of beer into the rubbish bin. She then picked up the garbage bag and handed it to the bodyguard outside, telling him to chuck it inside therge trash can. She then opened the windows to let some fresh air in. She felt much more rxed while standing by the window and letting the cool breeze caress her face. What a wonderful feeling. After she¡¯d been standing there quietly for about six minutes, her mobile phone began to ring all of a sudden. If not for that, she wouldn¡¯t have bothered moving. It was a call from Mei Yangyang. ¡°Yangyang.¡± ¡°Sis, hurry and go online to take a look at Weibo. Someone uploaded a video of you in the hospital ward. It was uploaded not long ago. I just informed Chief Fan about it. Hurry and go take a look. I¡¯ve already sent you a link to the video clip.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± She immediately went on Weibo after ending the call. She first checked the list of hot topics being searched to see that her name was not on it before proceeding to watch the video clip. The video depicted the entire scene that took ce from the moment she entered the ward up until Hu Xin left. It was obvious who had uploaded the video. Hu Xin had even deliberately tagged a few marketing ounts that had massive numbers of followers, as well as the official ounts of several mediapanies. Currently, two of the marketing ounts had already shared the video clip on their pages, and they had even posted a new thread that included screenshots of Hu Xin¡¯s post as well as the original video clip. There had already been hundreds ofments on Hu Xin¡¯s Weibo post within a short period of time... An Xiaoning skimmed through thements and found that all theizens were berating her and showing sympathy for Jin Qingyan, just like she had expected. Moreover, theizens seemed to have be detectives and began specting about the tricks that An Xiaoning had used to deal with Jin Qingyan and take over the Jin Corporation. They began conjecturing over An Xiaoning¡¯s motives. They began spreading the word around zealously, as if they had just discovered a groundbreaking secret. One of the most likedments read: ¡°Everyone, hurry and save a copy of the video clip. This is a massive exposure of the dark side of society. I can¡¯t believe the owner of the mighty Jin Corporation would actually sumb to a woman who had him wrapped around her finger. An Xiaoning¡¯s dirty tricks are clearly very effective. From the way I see it, she must havepelled Jin Qingyan into marrying her twice. As shown in this video clip, Jin Qingyan had long been driven to his wits¡¯ end by this woman! What he needs now is the help and support of usizens. Everyone, hurry and spread the word!¡± After she stared at thatment for almost a minute, an unforgettable memory popped up in her head. For as long as she could remember, she had always known that she was not a favorable child. Her adoptive parents detested her. The other children in the vige refused to y with her, and many used her of being the reincarnation of a demon. The event that stuck with her the most took ce when a family of three from the city arrived at her vige to visit some of their rtives. The daughter of that family was about the same age as An Xiaoning and had approached her to y with her when she noticed that An Xiaoning was sitting alone on the wooden bench. The little girl was extremely obedient and adorable, and she spoke in a gentle voice. Even until today, An Xiaoning could still vaguely remember the girl¡¯s appearance. The two of them headed to the riverside and began ying with the mud. An Xiaoning was overjoyed, for there was finally another child who was willing to y with her. They had a whale of a time. However, not long after they began ying, a bunch of children from the vige approached them together with the girl¡¯s parents. The girl¡¯s mother shot An Xiaoning a dirty look while reprimanding her daughter for ying with her, as if An Xiaoning was the greatest outcast. After hearing her mother say that An Xiaoning was a jinx and a troublemaker, the girl stared at An Xiaoning in fear and no longer smiled at her. The girl¡¯s parents then brought her away while the bunch of children began grimacing and sneering at her. That incident was no different from the one she was facing now. Aren¡¯t these ignorantizens just like those children from the vige? When An Xiaoning refreshed the page again, all of thements and posts had all been erased from Weibo. Needless to say, Hu Xin was not the one who had deleted them. An Xiaoning began searching for her name and her initials on Weibo, only to discover that the matter had died down. Due to the fact that any posts andments that contained An Xiaoning¡¯s name would automatically be detected and erased, all of theizens decided to rece her name with some alphabets. ¡°I¡¯m done!¡± Henry eximed. An Xiaoning put her mobile phone down and helped the temporarily-crippled Henry out of the washroom. ¡°Hu Xin is trying to save you right now.¡± ¡°How did you know? Did she call you again?¡± An Xiaoning took out his mobile phone and registered an anonymous ount for him on Weibo. She then input her initials into the search bar and handed it back to him. ¡°She had a backup n and recorded a video secretly. Have a look yourself.¡± Henry opened the video clip. Just like she had expected, he guffawed loudly after watching the video. Truth be told, An Xiaoning wished she could give him a tight p for how insensitive he was. ¡°Is it really that funny?¡± ¡°I¡¯mughing at her, not you.¡± An Xiaoning asked in puzzlement, ¡°Why... she¡¯s upholding justice for you. Why do you find that funny?¡± ¡°She¡¯s not doing me any justice, she¡¯s merely ruining Jin Qingyan. To be exact, she¡¯s ruining me too. What she had done simply made Jin Qingyan look like a cowardly and ipetent man. She hadpletely destroyed my pride and dignity. How is that doing me any justice? I already told her to stay out of it.¡± ¡°Since you¡¯re the one who caused this, you ought to clean up the mess.¡± Henry answered, ¡°It was the words you said that gave her a hold over us, right?¡± ¡°Are youpletely faultless, then? You¡¯re still the main cause of it. You¡¯re well aware that I detest her and yet you still let her stay. Wouldn¡¯t everything have been fine if you made her leave when I entered?¡± ¡°Hold it, let¡¯s stop arguing over that. How do you n to resolve this issue now?¡± She nced at him from the corner of her eye and gibed, ¡°Are you concerned about how I¡¯m nning to solve the problem, or are you actually worried about how I¡¯ll deal with your precious gem?¡± ¡°...¡± Chapter 1121 - Perplexed and Smitten (181)

Chapter 1121: Perplexed and Smitten (181)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Two minutester, the two of themy beside each other without uttering a single word. An Xiaoning kept her eyes open while waiting for a call from the Yin family. She wanted to see if they would actually call her. On the other hand, Henry felt extremely awake all of a sudden, despite being rather sleepy at the start. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you saying anything? Aren¡¯t you usually very chatty?¡± he asked. ¡°I don¡¯t feel like talking.¡± ¡°Are you upset because of this incident?¡± ¡°Would you be over the moon to hear that I¡¯m upset?¡± ¡°...¡± Noticing that he did not reply, she turned over to face him and said, ¡°I suddenly feel like meeting my friends.¡± ¡°Go ahead and look for your friends, then. I¡¯ll be happy to enjoy the peace by myself when you¡¯re gone.¡± ¡°Another day, perhaps.¡± ¡°Boss, that fellow is calling you again!¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s ringtone cranked loudly, greatly startling Henry. She finally received the call that she had been waiting for. An Xiaoning grabbed her mobile phone and answered, ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Ms. An, I¡¯m Yin Shi. Grandpa has something to say to you.¡± ¡°Alright, please get him on the line.¡± Old Mr. Yin immediately answered, ¡°A mysterious man visited us with a huge sum of money, and he wants us to include Yin Cun¡¯s name again in the ancestral records and move his ashes back to the ancestral graveyard. He even threatened me and made me choose between dying and abiding by his orders.¡± An Xiaoning asked, ¡°How did you answer him, then?¡± ¡°I... turned him down.¡± ¡°Oh? Didn¡¯t you try and stall for time instead? I want to hear the truth.¡± ¡°Ms. An, why would I lie and hide things from you at this juncture? I actually trust you more than that man. So, Ms. An, we¡¯ll cooperate with you, but you must protect the Yin family. We barely have any descendants left...¡± ¡°Rest assured, that man won¡¯ty a finger on your family.¡± The patriarch asked, ¡°How are you so sure, Ms. An?¡± ¡°Just trust me. Don¡¯t worry,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s settled, then.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Regardless of whether the man was Yin Cun or Xihou Jiaping, he definitely wouldn¡¯ty a finger on the Yin family. An Xiaoning was extremely certain about that. ¡ª At about eight o¡¯clock in the evening, it began drizzling and the temperature became much cooler. The breeze made the weather much more chilly. Fang En finally saw Yan Ge. She had heard about Yan Ge¡¯s arrival ever since she checked into the hotel. However, she had never bumped into him. She finally met him when all of the main and supporting cast had to sit together to rehearse their lines. He sat in between Fang En and Yu Caiwei. Although Fang En was holding the script in her hands, she waspletely distracted. She would asionally nce and observe him using her peripheral vision. However, he never looked at her and was instead focusing all his attention on the lines. Upon realizing that she did not have much time left, Fang En quickly focused on memorizing her lines and developing her emotions. Two hours had passed since eight o¡¯clock in the morning. When the actors and actresses were dismissed, Yan Ge stuffed a written note into her hand. Fang En looked at him and found that the piece of paper felt unusually warm in her hands. She did not bring her mobile phone with her when she left the hotel. Was that why he stuffed me a note? Instead of opening it immediately, she headed to the washroom anxiously and sat down on the cover of the toilet seat before reading the note. She nced at his curly handwriting. ¡°There¡¯s a bar 200 meters South of the hotel. Drop byter.¡± Is he asking me to meet him in private? Fang En tore the piece of paper into shreds and dumped them into the rubbish bin, her heart pounding rapidly. Xiao Chenyang and Xiao Yue were waiting for her outside the washroom. At the sight of her, Xiao Chenyang asked, ¡°Would you like to have supper?¡± ¡°Sure, sure. Sis En, let¡¯s go,¡± Xiao Yue answered eagerly. ¡°Count me out. I¡¯ll gain weight if I eat at night. If you¡¯re hungry, go buy some food and have them inside the hotel room.¡± ¡°Sis En, one meal won¡¯t matter. You¡¯re not going to gain weight. Let¡¯s go together.¡± In fact, Fang En was a little hungry. However, she decided to turn down their offer when she recalled the note Yan Ge had given her. ¡°I¡¯m tired. I¡¯m going back to my room to rest.¡± ¡°Alright, let Cousin escort you back to your room while I go buy some food.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± When they arrived on the tenth floor, Fang En exited the elevator and said to Xiao Chenyang without even turning around to look at him, ¡°You ought to go to bed too.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to invite me to your room to have a seat?¡± ¡°You maye and have a seat for as long as you want tomorrow. I¡¯m really exhausted. I can barely keep my eyes open. I want to sleep.¡± Seeing how lethargic she was, Xiao Chenyang walked her to the door of her room and instructed, ¡°Get some rest, then. Don¡¯t open the door to strangers at night. Call me if anything happens.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± She took out her key card and entered the room. She closed the door and looked through the peephole. She walked further in only after watching him leave. She grabbed her phone and wallet, then left the room again. As soon as Xiao Chenyang stepped foot inside his room, she was already in the elevator and on her way to the first floor. She did not bump into anyone else apart from a few crew members. d in a surgical mask, she walked out of the entrance of the hotel with a red umbre in hand and began heading North. Like Yan Ge had mentioned, she stopped in front of a bar after walking for about two hundred meters. In order to ensure that she had gotten the right ce, she stood by the entrance and took a few nces around the bar before entering. The bar was especially crowded at night. After Fang En entered, she called Yan Ge. However, it was extremely noisy inside the bar and he did not answer. She thought to herself that he probably didn¡¯t hear his mobile phone ringing. Thus, she tried to search for him amongst the crowd. She turned around abruptly when she felt a warm hand grabbing hers. It was Yan Ge. He brought Fang En to a private room before she could even recover from the shock. There was no one inside. Yan Ge closed the door and locked it. He then pulled her onto the couch. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you call me even though I didn¡¯t call you first? Are you not going to ask me out... just because I didn¡¯t ask to meet you?¡± he questioned, making her feel extremely flustered and nervous. His menacing re seemed to be boring a hole through her heart. ¡°We¡¯re assigned to different rooms because of the difference in our sries. Both you and Yu Caiwei get to stay in executive rooms on the twelfth floor while I¡¯m staying on the tenth. It won¡¯t be convenient for me to visit you at your room.¡± ¡°Do you want to keep this up forever?¡± Afraid that she didn¡¯t catch what he meant, he added, ¡°Are you going to continue letting Xiao Chenyang control you? Do you want to live like this forever?¡± Hanging her head low and staring at her hands, she shook her head and said, ¡°No, but do I have a choice?¡± ¡°Even if you don¡¯t now, it doesn¡¯t mean you never will.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll never have a choice,¡± Fang En said with a lopsided smile. ¡°Why are you so sure?¡± ¡°Unless he sets me free out of his own ord, there¡¯s no better solution than toply. You don¡¯t understand what he¡¯s like. I only know a few things about him and yet I¡¯m already well aware that there¡¯s no way I can break free from his control. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve been thinking about this ever since we returned from the seaside. Yan Ge...¡± she said, gazing at him. Chapter 1122 - Perplexed and Smitten (182)

Chapter 1122: Perplexed and Smitten (182)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Her heart began to wrench in misery and she said, ¡°You¡¯re free to date whoever you want and marry her. That¡¯s your freedom.¡± Yan Ge hugged her and said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to marry someone else. I want to be with you.¡± Fang En wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his shoulder, taking a whiff of his unique scent that did note from any perfume. She indulged in his scent, which seemed maizing, making it difficult for her to bring herself to let go. ¡°En, let¡¯s be with each other. I¡¯ve also thought through it carefully in the past few days. Although he¡¯s present in your life, I actually have the upper hand. After all, I¡¯m the one you fancy. In that case, why can¡¯t I fight for you?¡± ¡°But...¡± ¡°You¡¯re not in a rtionship with him now anyway. He¡¯s not your boyfriend and you¡¯re not his girlfriend, so what¡¯s wrong with us dating each other? If you¡¯re worried about him finding out, we¡¯ll just keep it from him. Wouldn¡¯t that do?¡± ¡°He¡¯ll find out sooner orter,¡± said Fang En. ¡°So what if he does? We¡¯re not doing anything wrong. I know what you¡¯re worried about, but life is short. If you can¡¯t even be brave and take the risk for the sake of love and your own happiness, is there really a point? Wouldn¡¯t you be exhausted if you¡¯re constantly worrying about this and that?¡± Fang En¡¯s heart melted. She found his words to have made sense. They indeed loved each other. However, why do I feel a little guilty? It feels like I would be letting Xiao Chenyang down if I were tomit to Yan Ge... Why do I have such a feeling? I hate feeling this way. Xiao Chenyang is clearly the one who popped out of nowhere and interfered with my life... ¡°Why aren¡¯t you saying anything...?¡± he said. ¡°You¡¯re right, I should be brave. I shouldn¡¯t be intimidated by him...¡± she said softly as her voice began to fade. I shouldn¡¯t be worried about him taking me to Mount Wanyan either. After hearing her words, Yan Ge interlocked his fingers with hers and said, ¡°We¡¯ll be in a rtionship with each other from now on.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± she answered with a nod. Smiling blissfully from ear to ear, Yan Ge said, ¡°Let¡¯s keep this a secret between us.¡± She nodded again and said, ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°Why have you be so demure all of a sudden? You weren¡¯t like this in the past.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t I be shy?¡± ¡°You can,¡± he answered with a joyful grin. Fang En left the bar a short whileter. However, she did not exit together with Yan Ge for fear that they would be photographed by the paparazzi. Fang En was filled with anxiety throughout the entire journey from the bar back to the hotel. Her emotions were on a rollercoaster. Shey down in bed, still thinking about the conversation she had with Yan Ge at the bar. Did we just be a couple? She was still in disbelief. She tossed and turned in bed, way too excited and overjoyed to fall asleep. She finally closed her eyes and dozed off at three o¡¯clock in the morning. The moment the lights were switched off, a figure was consumed by the darkness. He stood rooted to the ground while remaining silent. Ever since he had found her, he had never seen her smiling so gleefully before. He had never seen her so ted before. Never ever... ¡ª An Xiaoning woke up at six o¡¯clock in the morning. After washing up, she sat on the bed and began putting on some makeup meticulously. She then proceeded to help him to the washroom to freshen up. ¡°Do you want to wash your hair?¡± ¡°How am I supposed to do that when I¡¯m in such a state?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll help you.¡± She moved a chair into the washroom and allowed him to support himself against the chair, after which she filled the basin with some lukewarm water. ¡°Lower your head,¡± she said. He obediently did as he was told. An Xiaoning then poured some shampoo into her palm andthered it before helping him scrub his scalp. She was extremely gentle when massaging his scalp with her tiny hands, making him feel exceptionallyfortable. ¡°You¡¯ve got some great skills.¡± ¡°Yes. I can ace anything as long as I put my heart into it.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not in the least bit modest at all.¡± She smiled and continued shampooing his hair. After she rinsed the shampoo off his scalp, she dried his hair with the hairdryer. When helping him out of the washroom, she said, ¡°We¡¯ll have to film a video of youter.¡± ¡°What video?¡± ¡°A deration video.¡± He instantly understood what she meant. ¡°No wonder you were so kind as to give me a hair wash. Turns out you had an ulterior motive.¡± She did not deny it and took out an eyebrow de that she then extended toward him. Henry retreated backward and said, ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to trim your eyebrows for you. You don¡¯t need any makeup anyway. Your eyebrows will be neater with a little trim.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t cut me...¡± She cupped his face with one hand and said, ¡°I won¡¯t cut you. I¡¯ll just slice off some of your flesh.¡± ¡°...¡± Staring at the wless face in front of her, An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°You¡¯re all set. You deserve to be called my man. You don¡¯t even need any makeup since you already look so handsome.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s your man...¡± ¡°You.¡± Fan Shixin arrived at the hospital with a lunchbox at 6:50 am. ¡°Is it a small steamed bun again? I don¡¯t want to eat that,¡± said Henry. ¡°Be thankful that you get to eat. Why are you still so picky?¡± said Fan Shixin, who then opened the lunchbox and took out some steamed prawn dumplings and vegetarian buns. He continued, ¡°There¡¯s porridge underneath this. Wait for it to cool before you eat it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not in a hurry to eat. How¡¯s the Weibo saga going?¡± ¡°Hu Xin has hired a bunch of keyboard warriors who have beenmenting and reposting the video as soon as we delete them. The situation is getting out of hand. I think you guys need to make a rification to cate things.¡± ¡°I thought so too, so...¡± She then said to Henry, ¡°It¡¯ll depend on what you say.¡± Henry picked up the mobile phone and held her in his arms. ¡°Let¡¯s begin.¡± ¡°To the culprit who had hired our doppelgangers and added your own sound effects to create this false video, I don¡¯t know what your purpose for doing this is, but I¡¯ll definitely pursue this matter and take legal actions against you. There are all sorts ofments online, but I don¡¯t want this matter to affect the person whom I care for. That¡¯s all I have to say.¡± He then kissed An Xiaoning on her forehead and asked, ¡°Do you have anything to say about those empty vessels online?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t make anyment. You¡¯ve already answered on my behalf, haven¡¯t you?¡± He smiled at her affectionately and said, ¡°What azy bum.¡± As soon as they stopped filming, the smile on his face vanished and he retracted his arm. ¡°Disseminate this video clip to the media.¡± Fan Shixin grabbed Henry¡¯s mobile phone and forwarded the video clip to himself. He then returned the mobile phone to Henry and left without uttering another word. ¡°Fan Shixin is getting more and more aloof and haughty. Don¡¯t you think so?¡± Henry asked An Xiaoning. ¡°Sorry, but I don¡¯t.¡± She got out of bed and walked toward the chair, where she sat down and began eating. Noticing that she was eating the prawn dumplings, he quickly said, ¡°Let me have that. You have the buns instead.¡± She handed him her half-finished prawn dumpling and said, ¡°There you go.¡± ¡°Is this how you treat the person who just helped you filmed the video?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that what you¡¯re supposed to do?¡± ¡°...¡± Chapter 1123 - I Want to Make You Stay (1)

Chapter 1123: I Want to Make You Stay (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He did not say anything else and instead began eating the vegetarian buns. An Xiaoning smiled, and the two of them had an enjoyable breakfast. ¡ª Mei Yangyang found something amiss with Long Xiaoxi after breakfast. To be exact, she seemed to be limping when she walked, as if there was an aching spot in her leg. ¡°Xiaoxi, what¡¯s wrong with your leg?¡± Long Xiaoxi chuckled and walked toward her. She said softly, ¡°Mommy, didn¡¯t you discover that something of yours is missing?¡± ¡°What¡¯s missing? Did you take money from my wallet?¡± Mei Yangyang asked in puzzlement. Long Xiaoxi immediately retorted, ¡°Mommy, what are you saying? I¡¯m not a dishonest child.¡± ¡°Which thing of mine has gone missing, then?¡± ¡°Hehehe...¡± She covered her mouth and continued chuckling, further confusing Mei Yangyang. ¡°Tell me, just what¡¯s missing?¡± Mei Yangyang probed. ¡°Go to your bedroom and take a look for yourself.¡± Mei Yangyang immediately headed upstairs and scanned her surroundings in the bedroom, only to discover that everything was intact and that nothing was missing. Mei Yangyang¡¯s curiosity was piqued, and she headed downstairs again. ¡°Come here,¡± she said to Long Xiaoxi. Noticing that her mother did not find anything unusual, she smiled gleefully and mocked, ¡°Mommy, you¡¯re so stupid.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, yes. I¡¯m very stupid. Hurry and tell me, what thing of mine is missing?¡± ¡°Mommy, I¡¯ve used almost all of your sanitary pads. Hahahaha.¡± Mei Yangyang was dumbfounded. ¡°You¡¯ve used them all... on what?¡± After asking her question, she shifted her gaze onto Long Xiaoxi¡¯s body. Staring at her unsteady gait, Mei Yangyang thought to herself, Could it be... ¡°Ah! Mommy, please have mercy on me!¡± Mei Yangyang picked Long Xiaoxi up and carried her upstairs. She then headed to the master bedroom and discovered that half of her sanitary pads were gone. She then went inside Long Xiaoxi¡¯s bedroom to see that the dustbin was full of opened sanitary pads. When Mei Yangyang retrieved some sanitary pads from Long Xiaoxi¡¯s pants, she questioned, ¡°Xiaoxi, tell me, why are you using these?¡± Shaking her head, Long Xiaoxi said, ¡°Because you¡¯re using it. I wanted to see if there would be blood on mine too...¡± Mei Yangyang threw the sanitary pad into the dustbin and ced Long Xiaoxi on herp. She exined, ¡°Baby, you¡¯ll have to wait until you¡¯re a teenager before you can use these. You don¡¯t need them now.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be a big girl when you be a teenager. By then, your body will expel a small amount of blood each month. That¡¯s when you¡¯ll have to use these pads, so as to prevent your clothes from being stained by the blood.¡± ¡°Oh, Mommy, I understand,¡± said Long Xiaoxi. ¡°I¡¯ll have to send you back to school this afternoon. Aren¡¯t you going to treasure the time left and go y with your Brother Minhe?¡± ¡°Yes, yes, I¡¯m going to go now.¡± She hopped off Mei Yangyang¡¯sp and skipped out of the room merrily. When she reached the doorstep of Zhong Minhe¡¯s house, she heard the sounds of an infant crying. Greatly taken aback, she tiptoed toward the house and craned her neck inside to take a peek. She was greeted with the sight of Zhong Minhe¡¯s mother carrying an infant in her arms. ¡°Auntie, is Brother Minhe at home?¡± ¡°He¡¯s doing his homework inside.¡± ¡°Is Xiaoxi here?¡± Zhong Minhe asked. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me,¡± said Long Xiaoxi, who began walking toward him. ¡°Good timing, I¡¯ve just finished doing my homework,¡± said Zhong Minhe, who ced his workbook into his school bag using his foot. ¡°Brother Minhe, who¡¯s that infant your Mommy is carrying?¡± ¡°She¡¯s my sister. Daddy and Mommy adopted her from a vige. She¡¯s a year old now. Mommy named her ¡®Zhong Tianai.¡¯¡± ¡°I saw her. She¡¯s really adorable.¡± ¡°Shall we y with her?¡± Long Xiaoxi agreed with a nod, ¡°Okay.¡± ¡ª ¡°Mr. Jin, Ms. An,¡± greeted Feng Qiubai, who had arrived at the hospital ward with a lot of gifts. An Xiaoning was surprised to see her, for she and Tuoba Hancheng had already been divorced for quite some time now. Why would shee to visit Qingyan at the hospital? ¡°What brings you here, Ms. Feng?¡± Feng Qiubai ced the gifts on the table and said, ¡°I saw the news about Mr. Jin being hospitalized. I decided to visit him and ry a message to you.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Feng Qiubai said with a solemn expression, ¡°There are very few people who are aware of this so far. I doubt you know about it yet, Ms. An.¡± ¡°Just what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Your half-brother has contracted HIV.¡± My half-brother... Tuoba Hancheng? ¡°You¡¯ve already divorced him, how did you find out about this?¡± ¡°I was having dinner at a restaurant a few nights ago and I happened to bump into him and his longtime partner. There was a partition in between our tables so I happened to overhear their conversation. Tuoba Hancheng had passed the disease to his partner, and his partner fell out with him over that. However, Tuoba Hancheng agreed to pay for his treatment in a bid to get him to remain tight-lipped.¡± ¡°Did you tell anyone else about this?¡± Shaking her head, Feng Qiubai said, ¡°No, I didn¡¯t tell anyone at all. Mypany has transferred me to an overseas branch and I¡¯ll be staying abroad for quite some time. I¡¯m leaving in a few days. I decided that it would be better to inform you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not staying in S Nation anymore?¡± She nodded and answered, ¡°Yes, I n to develop my career overseas. I won¡¯t being back often.¡± ¡°Do you have a boyfriend now?¡± Feng Qiubai answered with a nod, ¡°Yes, he¡¯s my former ssmate and he¡¯s overseas now. I¡¯m not getting any younger either. I used to be overly picky and held my expectations too high. However, I now just want to find a man who¡¯ll dote on me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the mindset you should have. Actually, a woman¡¯s family matters the most to her. No matter how domineering a woman may be, she¡¯ll still need a shoulder to lean on. I wish you a blissful life from now on.¡± Feng Qiubai said with a smile, ¡°Thank you, I hope Mr. Jin recovers soon. I won¡¯t impose on you any further, then.¡± An Xiaoning walked her to the door of the hospital ward and watched her leave. She had rarely interacted with Feng Qiubai, Lin Shishi¡¯s cousin. Feng Qiubai had probably realized something and learned a lesson from the Lin Shishi incident. Once she entered the hospital ward again, Henry stared at his mobile phone and said to her, ¡°Your half-brother, Tuoba Hancheng, has made it onto the news.¡± ¡°Did the media expose the news of him being HIV positive?¡± ¡°No... he killed himself by slitting his wrists in a hotel room.¡± An Xiaoning did not believe him at all. She said, ¡°You must be fooling me. How could he havemitted suicide so soon when I just heard it from Feng Qiubai?¡± ¡°See it for yourself,¡± he said while handing her the mobile phone. An Xiaoning tapped the mobile phone screen, only to find that what Henry had said was true. ¡°Boss, that fellow is calling you again! She quickly grabbed her mobile phone and answered the call from Tuoba Rui. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Hancheng has passed away.¡± ¡°I just saw the piece of news.¡± ¡°Xiaoning...¡± Tuoba Rui spluttered, clearly having suffered a huge blow. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m here.¡± He fell silent and began choking with sobs. Chapter 1124 - I Want to Make You Stay (2)

Chapter 1124: I Want to Make You Stay (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Why did that happen?¡± An Xiaoning had no idea how to answer him. ¡°My condolences...¡± Tuoba Rui sighed and said, ¡°It¡¯s really all Heaven¡¯s will...¡± .... ¡°Who called you?¡± An Xiaoning sat down and did not answer him. ¡°I¡¯m asking you a question.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter whether you know or not. There¡¯s no need for you to know.¡± ¡°You really want me to disappear immediately, don¡¯t you?¡± Staring at him, she asked, ¡°Why did you ask such a question all of sudden?¡± ¡°I guess that must be the case,¡± he said sluggishly while lying in bed, his eyes glistening. ¡°You¡¯re right. However, I want you to disappear with no regrets. Could you tell me what I must do to make you leave?¡± ¡°I will never disappear. Over my dead body. Are you very disappointed to hear my answer?¡± An Xiaoning sprawled herself across the bed and said, ¡°Regardless of which personality is in control, you¡¯re still you. Although you¡¯re very detestable, I¡¯ll be fine with your existence as long as you¡¯re more obedient.¡± ¡°An Xiaoning, shall we make a bet?¡± She closed her eyes and said sluggishly, ¡°You¡¯ll never win, no matter what we bet on. Don¡¯t bother.¡± ¡°Psht...¡± ¡°Oh wow, are you refusing to ept that fact? I mean it. Given the state and predicament you¡¯re in now, how could you possibly win against me in a bet?¡± An Xiaoning retorted. ¡°Let¡¯s bet on whether I¡¯ll fall in love with you or not.¡± She opened her eyes immediately and stared at him in disbelief, ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± An Xiaoning smirked and said, ¡°It¡¯s a sure win for me, then. Do you dare believe that I won¡¯t make you suffer a crushing defeat?¡± He scoffed and gibed, ¡°Are you still muddled up about the differences between me and Jin Qingyan? I detest you as much as he loves you. Aren¡¯t you aware of that?¡± ¡°So what if that¡¯s the case? What¡¯s going to happen if I win? What¡¯s going to happen if I lose?¡± ¡°If you win...¡± Staring at her solemnly, he continued, ¡°Let¡¯s have a huge bet. Are you game enough for it?¡± ¡°Of course. Game on.¡± ¡°Alright, if I win, you¡¯re not to show up in front of me ever again. You understand what I mean, don¡¯t you? What I mean is, you¡¯re allowed to visit the children but you can¡¯t appear in front of me. If I lose, I¡¯ll disappear forever.¡± ¡°What... do you mean? I¡¯m still young, I don¡¯t understand,¡± she answered, keeping her eyes fixed on him. ¡°Stop feigning ignorance. What I mean is, if I fall in love with you one day, I¡¯ll admit defeat and vanish,¡± said Henry. No one would be able to understand how An Xiaoning felt at all. No one... However, she did not reveal any of her emotions at all and said with a straight face, ¡°I suggest you think about it carefully. Don¡¯t just make bets with me casually.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need to consider. I¡¯m very certain about it.¡± ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll pen it down in ck and white, and then we¡¯ll sign our names and stamp our thumbprints.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning was on the verge of bursting intoughter at the sight of how smug and confident he was. How dare a man who had loved me in his previous lifetime and still loves me now make such a bet with me? She was great at figuring him out and having him wrapped around her finger. An Xiaoning instructed the bodyguards to draft up a document ording to the terms she had stated. She then began practising yoga in the hospital ward. When the bodyguards returned with the document, the two of them signed their names and stamped their thumbprints onto the documents. Surprisingly, even his handwriting was different from that of Jin Qingyan¡¯s. ¡°Do you still have any other talents apart from car racing?¡± ¡°Why? Are you trying to find out my other interests and try to use them to make me fall for you?¡± ¡°Cut the crap and answer me. Do you still have any other talents?¡± ¡°Of course... not.¡± ¡°Do you enjoy only car racing?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± An Xiaoning put the documents away and said, ¡°I¡¯ll keep both the documents with me and we¡¯ll see what the results are in the future. However, you seem really confident. Do you really think you detest me that much?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t tell, actually. Usually, when a person detests another person, they wouldn¡¯t even bother talking to them.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just a special exception, okay?¡± ¡°Fine, fine, continue staying here. I¡¯m going home now. The children have to return to the boot camp in the afternoon. I have to send them there.¡± She grabbed her mobile phone and car keys before walking out. ¡°Leave and nevere back,¡± he said derisively. ¡°You don¡¯t get to decide whether I return or not.¡± Before leaving, she warned, ¡°If you dare let Hu Xin enter again, I¡¯ll teach you a lesson. I¡¯ll give the bodyguards some instructions.¡± .... As soon as An Xiaoning stepped foot inside the living room at home, she saw the three children ying some video games. To be exact, Jin Yiheng was ying some video games on his new mobile phone while the other two children sat beside him. ¡°Mommy, you¡¯re home!¡± Jin Rongyan eximed. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Hello, Auntie,¡± Wen Yuechan immediately greeted politely. ¡°Yuechan, you¡¯re here too. You¡¯re in the same ss as Yiheng, right?¡± ¡°Yes. Me, Yiheng, Wenlun, and Bao¡¯er are all ssmates.¡± An Xiaoning sat beside Jin Rongyan and asked, ¡°How does Yiheng do in school?¡± ¡°He does very well, and Teacher often sings his praises,¡± Wen Yuechan answered politely, bearing in mind her mother¡¯s words about maintaining her poise and grace whenever she was at Jin Yiheng¡¯s home. Hence, she perpetually had a sweet smile on her face and kept her back straight at all times. ¡°Godma!¡± Long Xiaoxi eximed. When she heard her voice, the smile on Wen Yuechan¡¯s face faded significantly. Long Xiaoxi¡¯s hair was ited into a braid, and she zoomed toward An Xiaoning with a lollipop in her hand. ¡°Godma, Uncle Fan said that you¡¯d be sending Rongyan and Yiheng to the boot camp in the afternoon. Mommy wants me and Brother to hitch a ride from you.¡± ¡°Sure. Xiaoxi, your dress is really beautiful. Who bought it for you?¡± Long Xiaoxi licked her lollipop and answered, ¡°Mommy did.¡± ¡°Xiaoxi, how have you been performing in school?¡± ¡°Xiaoxi? Hahahaha,¡± Jin Rongyan butted in in amusement. ¡°What are youughing about...?¡± An Xiaoning asked upon seeing how happy he seemed. ¡°Mommy, you have no idea how much Xiaoxi had angered our teacher during the Mandarin lessons we had before the break.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Hey, don¡¯t say it,¡± said Long Xiaoxi, who scurried forward to cover Jin Rongyan¡¯s mouth. Jin Rongyan pushed her chubby hand away and said, ¡°Okay, okay, I won¡¯t say it.¡± As curious as a cat, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Xiaoxi, how did you make the teacher angry? Tell us about it and let Godma have a goodugh...¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing much, actually. Forget it, Rongyan, tell Godma about it.¡± Upon gaining her permission, Jin Rongyan immediately exined eagerly, ¡°Teacher called on Xiaoxi to answer a question and exin what a poem meant... However, Xiaoxi gave an absolutely ridiculous and absurd answer... In the end, Teacher got angry and asked her how she got those ideas. She then said that she heard it on television when her father was watching some television programs. When Godpa came to pick Xiaoxi up, Teacher even chided him and told him not to let Xiaoxi watch any more nonsensical television programs... Godpa got really upset on the spot...¡± Chapter 1125 - I Want to Make You Stay (3)

Chapter 1125: I Want to Make You Stay (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Wen Yuechan burst intoughter and thought to herself, Long Xiaoxi is indeed a dimwit. What a stupid child, she doesn¡¯t even know a thing about traditional poems. All she does is upset Teacher. When she grows up, she would definitely be a brainless good-for-nothing. Now that Jin Yiheng¡¯s mother has heard about how foolish she is, she would definitely find Long Xiaoxi... She would be speechless. To her astonishment, An Xiaoning pulled Long Xiaoxi toward her and said with a smile, ¡°Yes, you answered very well, Xiaoxi. You don¡¯t have to excel in your academics. What matters is that you¡¯re happy every day.¡± Long Xiaoxi kissed her and said, ¡°Godma, you¡¯re so kind to me. If only Mommy had said that to me too. Mommy always tells me that I¡¯ll be an idiot if I don¡¯t do well in school.¡± An Xiaoning grinned and pinch Long Xiaoxi¡¯s chubby face. ¡°Uh-oh, are you going to do well in school, then, Xiaoxi?¡± ¡°Yes, yes, Godma, I¡¯m going to do my best and strive to excel in my academics.¡± Long Xiaoxi then stared at Jin Yiheng, whose eyes were glued onto his mobile phone screen. She said to An Xiaoning, ¡°Godma, Mommy says that children shouldn¡¯t be ying with electronic devices too frequently, they¡¯re bad for our eyesight.¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right, Xiaoxi. Son,e here and switch off your mobile phone.¡± Jin Yiheng had no choice but to do so quietly. Long Xiaoxi smiled even wider upon the sight of him obeying. On the way to the boot camp, Wen Yuechan tagged along with the rest of the children. Fan Shixin was in charge of driving while the children sat together in the backseat. Long Xiaoxi was seated in between Jin Rongyan and Long Wenlun. She rested her head on her brother¡¯s shoulder and remained silent, in contrast with her usual behavior. ¡°Xiaoxi...¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Are you reluctant to go to the boot camp?¡± Long Xiaoxi looked up at her brother and said, ¡°If only Brother Minhe cane along with us. Once I go to the boot camp, there¡¯ll be no one else he can y with.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, Minhe¡¯s schoolmates will y with him.¡± They arrived at the academy. Lessons would begin properly tomorrow and, hence, they still had some free time before bed. Long Xiaoxi returned to her solitary dormitory and sneakily took out a bottle of wine that she had stolen from home. She had secretly taken a sip of the sweet liquor before and found it to be delicious. However, her mother had always forbidden her from drinking since she was still a young child. I¡¯m already four-and-a-half years old, not an infant. Hmph, I¡¯m going to insist on drinking and defying your orders. She twisted the cap open and began taking a few gulps of the liquor. ¡°How delicious. I¡¯ll stop after one more sip.¡± She then took another sip and screwed the lid back on before putting the bottle aside. Long Xiaoxi looked at the bottle of liquor again and soon began to salivate. I really feel like taking another sip, just one more... I¡¯ll stop after onest mouthful. Atst, she followed her heart and opened the bottle again to take another two sips before finally stopping. Half the bottle was gone after she was done drinking. Long Xiaoxi began to get a dizzy spell and felt her face turning red and hot. She exited her bedroom and walked toward the boys¡¯ dormitory next door on an unsteady gait. Jin Yiheng was the only one in the room. He was ying with his mobile phone while the rest of the children were out for a game of ser. At the sight of her, Jin Yiheng remained silent. Long Xiaoxi mmed the door shut and began walking toward him. She walked toward the bed and pounced onto Jin Yiheng,pletely catching him off guard. ¡°Xiaoxi, have you been drinking?¡± he asked, realizing that she reeked of alcohol. ¡°Yes...¡± ¡°Where did the alcohole from?¡± ¡°I stole it from home and brought it here.¡± She chuckled and continued, ¡°It¡¯s a delicious and sweet-tasting liquor. Would you like to have some too?¡± Jin Yiheng nodded and asked, ¡°Are there still any left?¡± ¡°Yes, there are some in my room. I¡¯ll take you there,¡± she said, grabbing his hand. The two children returned to Long Xiaoxi¡¯s room, after which Jin Yiheng asked, ¡°Where is it?¡± Handing him the half-empty bottle of liquor, she said, ¡°There you go.¡± Jin Yiheng removed the lid and took two sips before eximing in delight, ¡°It really tastes amazing.¡± ¡°I told you so.¡± The two children sat on the bed and Long Xiaoxi said to him generously, ¡°Finish all of it.¡± Jin Yiheng did not stand on ceremony with her and finished the rest of the liquor before disposing the empty bottle into the dustbin. ¡°Why do I feel... my head is spinning...¡± Long Xiaoxi threw her arms around his neck and murmured in a drunken stupor, ¡°You¡¯re... drunk too... Yiheng, you betrayed my trust and broke the vows we made to each other.¡± ¡°What vows...¡± ¡°You said that you would marry me when we grow up. You know that I detest Wen Yuechan and yet you still y with me... Are you nning to marry her when you grow up?¡± He burped and said, ¡°No.¡± ¡°Stop ying with her, then, I don¡¯t like it.¡± ¡°Why won¡¯t you allow me to y with her? If you don¡¯t like her, just don¡¯t y with her,¡± Jin Yihengmented. Long Xiaoxi pushed him away and hissed, ¡°Get out, I want to sleep.¡± She kicked her shoes off andy down on her bed with her back facing him. ¡°Xiaoxi...¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to talk to you ever again from now on! I¡¯m not going to y with you anymore! Leave!¡± Jin Yiheng knew that she had gotten upset again. He knelt on the bed and craned his neck to look at her. He knew that she was pretending to be asleep. Hey down beside her and soon dozed off as well. During dinner, the teachers instructed the children to call Jin Yiheng and Long Xiaoxi to go to the restaurant. The few children got a great fright the moment they entered Long Xiaoxi¡¯s room to look for her. The two children were sound asleep and hugging each other, their faces pressed together. They looked extremely affectionate. What a groundbreaking sight! Grasping his chin, Ji Gui eximed, ¡°Oh my... they¡¯re sleeping together!¡± Long Wenlun stepped forward to wake Long Xiaoxi up. ¡°Xiaoxi... it¡¯s time for dinner.¡± ¡°Alright, Brother,¡± Long Xiaoxi answered sluggishly with her eyes still closed. Jin Yiheng struggled to open his eyes and sat up slowly. He opened them widely and realized that they were all staring at him. ¡°What are you guys looking at?¡± ¡°Yiheng, you¡¯re finished. You bedded Xiaoxi, you¡¯re going to have to be responsible for her for the rest of your life,¡± Ji Gui said. ¡°What do you mean bedded her?¡± said Jin Yiheng, who did not find anything wrong with sleeping next to Long Xiaoxi. Shi Bao¡¯er interjected, ¡°We saw you two hugging each other the moment we entered. You were embracing each other so tightly. Yiheng, I really pity you. You actually have such poor taste in women. I initially thought that you would fancy someone like Yuechan, yet you actually fancy Xiaoxi. What¡¯s up with your taste?¡± Long Wenlun flew into a rage the moment he heard her snide remark. ¡°What do you mean? What¡¯s wrong with Xiaoxi? Do you think you can spout nonsense just because you¡¯re a few years older?¡± ¡°I was just telling the truth. I really didn¡¯t expect it. Oh my god.¡± Wen Yuechan walked toward him and said, ¡°Yiheng, do you really fancy Long Xiaoxi and n on marrying her?¡± Chapter 1126 - I Want to Make You Stay (4)

Chapter 1126: I Want to Make You Stay (4)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Of course!¡± Long Xiaoxi beat him in answering, her chubby face full of righteousness as she spoke. ¡°I like Yiheng, and he likes me too. When I grow up, I¡¯ll be marrying Yiheng and he¡¯ll marry me too! Do you even need to ask this?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t even asking you.¡± Wen Yuechan darted a nce at her. ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to answer.¡± ¡°I was answering it as Yiheng¡¯s fianc¨¦e!¡± Long Xiaoxi suddenly thought of this word she¡¯d learned and blurted it out. ¡°We¡¯ve long made our vows already.¡± ¡°Fianc¨¦e?¡± Shi Bao¡¯er started bursting intoughter upon hearing this. ¡°I can¡¯t take this, this is hrious! Jin Yiheng hadn¡¯t even answered, and you¡¯re so anxious to answer.¡± At this point, Coach Chen Xu approached them. ¡°I told you guys to call those two to eat, what¡¯s taking all of you so long?¡± ¡°Coach, Jin Yiheng has slept with Long Xiaoxi. Long Xiaoxi said she¡¯s Jin Yiheng¡¯s fianc¨¦e and will marry him when she grows up.¡± Seeing that they were all children and were probably just ying ¡°house,¡± Chen Xu was unbothered by it. ¡°Come, let¡¯s all go to the cafeteria to eat.¡± ¡°Coach, Jin Yiheng hasn¡¯t answered Long Xiaoxi. Right, Yuechan?¡± Wen Yuechan nodded and used her crisp and clear voice to reply, ¡°Yes. Yiheng, answer the question, won¡¯t you?¡± Jin Yiheng looked at Long Xiaoxi at one side and thought of how she had previously started to ignore him because of Wen Yuechan and really did not y with him anymore. On the other hand, she started growing closer to her Brother Minhe and got angry just now after she drank the sweet liquor. Now, if he were to say something else to provoke her, she would probably get even more furious. ¡°That¡¯s right, I like Xiaoxi, and I¡¯ve agreed to marry her when we¡¯ve grown up. She¡¯ll be my bride in the future.¡± When he heard this, Chen Xu¡¯s matured heart started palpitating in shock. He couldn¡¯t help but think to himself, Do all kids nowadays mature so quickly? Wen Yuechan seemed to be in disbelief over his answer. She had thought that she and Jin Yiheng were ying together rather happily all along, and he had seldom ever mentioned Long Xiaoxi either or yed with her. Little did she expect that... Even until they were inside the cafeteria, she kept silent and ate only a little before returning to the dormitory. When Shi Bao¡¯er returned, she saw Wen Yuechan crying in a corner. ¡°Yuechan, what happened?¡± ¡°Bao¡¯er...¡± She cried as she looked up at her, her face covered in tears. ¡°I like Yiheng, but how is it possible that he likes Long Xiaoxi, that fatso?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, it didn¡¯t make sense to me either. Is there something wrong with Jin Yiheng¡¯s taste...? Then again, I think his feelings for her are only as a little sister. I mean, other than having a great appetite, what other virtues does Long Xiaoxi have? None at all. She¡¯s not like you: you¡¯re good in your studies, pretty, and have a good body too. You¡¯ll beat her in every way easily. We¡¯re all still children now, but when we grow up, Jin Yiheng will know how stupid his words today were. Don¡¯t worry, Long Xiaoxi will be an idiot whom nobody wants when she grows up. When Jin Yiheng grows up, he¡¯ll definitely not like her as well. We¡¯ll just have to wait and see.¡± Hearing her words of constion, Wen Yuechan instantly felt a little better. ¡°But I still feel very much upset.¡± ¡°Do you want me to help you take it out on her?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t, her brother will definitely beat us up.¡± ¡°Idiot, we¡¯ll just have to not let her brother see. We¡¯ll start bashing her face up and breaking all her teeth.¡± Wen Yuechan thought of the previous time Long Wenlun had beaten up Shi Bao¡¯er and shook her head, remarking, ¡°Forget it, I don¡¯t dare to do it.¡± ¡°Look at how timid you are.¡± Wen Yuechan lowered her head. ¡°I can¡¯t bepared to you. This training camp was opened by your uncle¡¯s family. Even if you beat up Long Xiaoxi, her parents won¡¯t be able toin much. However, I can¡¯t. If I were to beat her up, I¡¯ll possibly be kicked out of here. In this way, I can¡¯t match up to Long Xiaoxi.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er was rendered speechless because what she said waspletely the truth. ¡ª Shi Xiaoyu had gone crazy for real. When An Xiaoning heard this news from Shi Qingzhou, she was not in the least surprised because that woman¡¯s two sons were both dead. Who on earth could take such a blow? Despite that, it didn¡¯t mean that she deserved sympathy. She had used her own method to lock Shi Qingzhou up in a hidden chamber for more than thirty years, and she had treated a few others the same way. It was only that the retribution for her actions came rather quickly for her. Everyone had to be responsible for their own actions. Including her. An Xiaoning had long thought that she herself had caused much bloodshed as well and would probably not have any happy ending in this life. But, aspared to her previous lifetime, she did not regret a thing she did in this life. She would grab onto anything she wanted and, one by one, carry out any act of revenge she wanted to. ¡°What¡¯s on your mind?¡± ¡°I¡¯m thinking that I too probably won¡¯t have any good ending in this lifetime.¡± Henry was perplexed. ¡°Who would think such a thing of themselves?¡± ¡°I would.¡± Out of habit, shey there with her hands supporting her chin. ¡°I don¡¯t care, though. As long as I¡¯m still alive, I¡¯ll live a brilliant life. Sometimes, even when you don¡¯t n to kill others, they actually harbor the intention to harm you. Isn¡¯t that right?¡± ¡°I want to get out and take a breather.¡± ¡°Alright, you¡¯ve been cooped up in the ward for a few days already anyway. Let me get you the wheelchair.¡± The quality of the wheelchairs provided by the hospital depended on the ranking of the ward. The normal wards were provided only with normal wheelchairs while the VIP wards were provided with exceptionally good wheelchairs. An Xiaoning pushed the wheelchair in and used all of her strength to carry him onto the wheelchair. Bringing along two bodyguards, An Xiaoning brought him to the courtyard in the hospital, allowing him to rest at a quieter and more secluded spot. ¡°Indeed, the air is fresher herepared to that inside the ward.¡± ¡°That¡¯s naturally the case. It¡¯s far bigger here than inside the ward.¡± ¡°If I hadn¡¯t said that I wanted toe out, would you even have thought of bringing me out? To think you said you¡¯d take care of me. I think you want to torture me, that seems more to be the case.¡± ¡°You want to know what torture really is?¡± He noticed a burning desire from her eyes and answered seriously, ¡°Nope, I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Then, shut up.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± With one of them sitting on the long bench to y with her phone and the other ying with his phone on the wheelchair, the atmosphere would have continued to remain quiet throughout if they had not spotted someone taking pictures of them discreetly a distance away. It was An Xiaoning who discovered someone fishing out a phone from a distance away, and she quickly whispered to him the next moment, ¡°There¡¯s someone taking pictures of us from a distance away. Quick, put away your phone.¡± Henry looked up and, realizing that it was indeed true, he hurriedly put his phone into the pocket of his hospital uniform. An Xiaoning pushed his wheelchair to face her and reached out to grab his hand, asking with a wide grin, ¡°Are you hungry?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What would you like to eat?¡± ¡°Would you buy for me... whatever I want to eat?¡± She blinked her eyes before replying, ¡°It depends on the situation. If it¡¯s something like fried chicken or beer, then you can forget about it.¡± ¡°Then, why did you still ask me what I wanted to eat? You already know that you won¡¯t buy for me whatever I want to eat.¡± ¡°Since you¡¯ve no preference, then I¡¯ll let Auntie Chen make the decision for you.¡± She called Fan Shixin and asked, ¡°When will the food be sent over?¡± ¡°It¡¯s been sent over already.¡± ¡°We¡¯re in the courtyard, under the pavilion at the southern side.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll inform the one sending the meal.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Chapter 1127 - I Want to Make You Stay (5)

Chapter 1127: I Want to Make You Stay (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After hanging up the phone, An Xiaoning asked Henry, ¡°Do you have any present you want?¡± ¡°Why, do you want to please me by giving me a present?¡± ¡°You¡¯re really... You said this too when I asked you if you have any other interests. Then, if I ask you if you want to get intimate with me, will you say the same thing?¡± ¡°That won¡¯t be the case. I¡¯ve no interest in you, so I won¡¯t be able to get hard.¡± I shall bear with it! ¡°Do you know how much I want to p you andunch you to outer space?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, and I don¡¯t want to know either,¡± he replied as he shed a forced grin. ¡°I reckon the pictures of us will go onto the newster, so for the pictures of us toe out beautiful, please continue to maintain the smile on your face.¡± An Xiaoning closed her eyes shut. ¡°Kiss me.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already closed my eyes. If you don¡¯t kiss me, it¡¯ll look bad on you.¡± ¡°...¡± He lowered his head and held her face before nting a kiss on her lips and adding, ¡°Is this enough?¡± ¡°Yes, yes.¡± An Xiaoning was wild with joy. ¡°But it will be even better if we have a French kiss.¡± ¡°You¡¯re pushing your luck.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve always been like this, didn¡¯t you know?¡± Frustrated, he let go of her and, maintaining a grin on his face, he remarked, ¡°Do you know how much courage I put in when I kissed you? Looking at your face, I find that it¡¯s simply too difficult for me to kiss.¡± ¡°Just get used to it.¡± A few minutester, the one sending the food to them found them and passed two lunchboxes to them. An Xiaoning received them, ced the lunchboxes on the long bench, and said, ¡°Let me feed you.¡± ¡°I have my own hands.¡± ¡°You¡¯re crippled right now.¡± Shepletely did not allow him to eat on his own. ¡°You either let me feed you or you don¡¯t get to eat it. Take your pick.¡± He had no choice but to let her act as she wished. ¡°Alright, you can feed me. Let me enjoy the feeling of having a servant feed me.¡± She did not take the word ¡°servant¡± to heart and continued to put on an intimate act as she fed him. In the eyes of the person taking pictures of them discreetly, they looked exceptionally loving at the present moment indeed. However, only the two involved knew what exactly was going on. They took more than an hour to finish this meal, which was an extremely slow pace. When they returned to the ward, just like An Xiaoning and Henry had expected, the two of them had gloriously ended up on the news again. This time, there were fewer maliciousments in thements section, but it did not mean that there weren¡¯t any. Although reading thements section was exceptionally upsetting, An Xiaoning did not feel very affected by it. On the other hand, it was Henry who was annoyed after reading some of thements. ¡°Look at this picture, it made me look ugly.¡± ¡°No, I think you still look handsome. It¡¯s just a matter of the camera angle and lighting.¡± ¡°I¡¯m talking about this one where you were feeding me. Look at how I look in it.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t have such a fragile heart. If you do, there¡¯ll be too many things for you to worry about. You don¡¯t even know how good some extremeizens are at vilifying celebrities and public figures. They photoshop their pictures into horrifying but hrious states. This is just a matter of how the picture was taken. At least no one intentionally edited the picture to make you look ugly.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª When she could finally sit down at night after having stood for a whole day and having filmed while wearing her set costumes, Fang En¡¯s legs were aching. However, the process was a painful but happy one. She and Yan Ge had asionally exchanged nces, which made her heart beat doubly fast with joy. This is probably the feeling of being in love, right? When they were eating, Fang En was obviously not focusing and seemed out of sorts. It was mainly seen from how she was distracted and would suddenly burst out intoughter. While Xiao Yue figured she was distracted because she had not slept properly, her sudden burst ofughter made her rather rmed. ¡°Sis En, why are you suddenlyughing?¡± ¡°Nothing much, I just thought of something funny.¡± ¡°What funny thing is it? Share it with us,¡± Xiao Chenyang remarked. Fang En shifted her gaze and lowered her head before continuing to eat. ¡°Nothing much.¡± Xiao Chenyang had a cold look on his face, and the delicious food on the table suddenly tasted nd to him, making it exceptionally difficult for him to swallow them. He ced his chopsticks down. Seeing this, Xiao Yue asked, ¡°Cousin, you¡¯re not eating anymore?¡± ¡°I¡¯m full.¡± ¡°You¡¯re full? You ate only so little and you¡¯re full? Your appetite is so small.¡± He didn¡¯t say anything much and just muttered, ¡°I¡¯ll wait outside for you two.¡± Xiao Yue watched his figure receding and asked Fang En under her voice, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Cousin? He seems out of sorts and in quite a bad mood.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± After the meal, when the two went out of the restaurant together, Xiao Chenyang was nowhere to be seen. ¡°Didn¡¯t Cousin say he would wait for us at the entrance? Where is he?¡± ¡°Maybe he went back first. Let¡¯s go back as well. It¡¯s not very far away anyway.¡± ¡°Maybe Cousin went to buy something. Let¡¯s wait here for him.¡± Xiao Chenyang felt that Xiao Chenyang was not someone who would go back to the hotel by himself without telling them. Hearing her words, Fang En agreed and waited with her outside the entrance of the restaurant. However, after they¡¯d been waiting for him for a whole half an hour, Xiao Chenyang still did not appear or pick up his phone. Left with no choice, Fang En could only bring Xiao Yue back to the hotel. When they were in the lift, Xiao Yue asked, ¡°Sis En, Cousin¡¯s not picking up his phone. Could something have happened to him?¡± ¡°What could possibly happen to him?¡± Fang En knew that Xiao Chenyang was not an ordinary person. ¡°You should return to your room.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go to his room to take a look first.¡± When the lift reached the ninth floor, Xiao Yue walked out and said, ¡°Sis En, I¡¯ll send you a text regardless of whether he¡¯s there.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Fang En had just entered her room when she received Xiao Yue¡¯s text saying that he wasn¡¯t in room 908 either. Where could he have gone to? Fang En had no idea at all. A sudden shrill sound came from her phone, ¡°Hello, hello, you have a text message!¡± Fang En hurriedly opened the message, and it was from Yan Ge. ¡°We just parted and I want to see you already. Are you in your room?¡± Fang En replied to him: ¡°In my room. But it¡¯s not convenient for us to meet, right?¡± ¡°Go to the stairway near the lift. No one will be there.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Fang En casually brushed her hair slightly and went out of her room again; she soon arrived at the stairway. When she arrived, Yan Ge was already there. Upon seeing her, Yan Ge pulled her into his arms tightly. ¡°Do you know how much I wanted to hug you like this during the day?¡± Fang En chuckled. ¡°Have you eaten?¡± ¡°I have. How about you?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve just eaten too.¡± The couple continued bbering on like that non-stop,pletely immersed in the sweet phase of their rtionship. Fang En naturally had no idea where Xiao Chenyang had gone to. He had just then driven to the airport and then took a flight to A City. It was all because of his call with An Xiaoning. He originally had not thought of calling An Xiaoning. However, while he was waiting outside for Fang En, he had felt rather bored and simply wanted to find someone to talk to. As he only had a few contacts in his phone, he eventually decided to call An Xiaoning. When he arrived at the hospital at A City, Xiao Chenyang pushed open the door of the hospital ward to see two people ying a game of mahjong inside. Chapter 1128 - I Want to Make You Stay (6)

Chapter 1128: I Want to Make You Stay (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Seeing such a leisurely scene before him, Xiao Chenyang asked Henry, ¡°Do you recognize me?¡± ¡°Do I know you?¡± Xiao Chenyang¡¯s heart sank as he told An Xiaoning, ¡°You should send two bodyguards to keep watch over En.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already done so.¡± Xiao Chenyang went forward and sat at the bedside, staring at Henry. ¡°I¡¯m Xiao Chenyang.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± Henry reached out and shook his hand. Xiao Chenyang shook his hand and exerted slightly more force, pulling Henry closer to him. The two had their faces at an extremely close distance and, at the thought of Long Tianze, Henry felt disgusted and immediately pushed him away. ¡°What are you doing...?¡± ¡°I wanted to get closer to you...¡± ¡°There¡¯s... no need.¡± Xiao Chenyang turned to look at An Xiaoning. ¡°Come out and have a talk with me.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning put away her mahjong tiles and walked out of the ward with him. They went to the ward next door, which was unupied. She then exined to him in detail about Jin Qingyan¡¯s schizophrenia. ¡°You¡¯re saying Jin Qingyan doesn¡¯t know that you know about this?¡± ¡°Yes. So you¡¯ll have to keep this secret temporarily.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will.¡± Xiao Chenyang hesitated before adding, ¡°Right, during the call, you said you saw Xihou Jiaping?¡± ¡°Yes. When I was taking out the trash and passing it to the bodyguard, I saw him sitting on a bench in the corridor.¡± Xiao Chenyang remained silent for a moment before asking, ¡°He didn¡¯t speak to you?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°What on earth is he up to...¡± Xiao Chenyang thought aloud, uncertain about Xihou Jiaping¡¯s intentions. ¡°You¡¯re not using your previous phone anymore?¡± she asked as she looked at the new phone in his hand. ¡°The one that you used to send those messages to us previously.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t send you those messages using a phone.¡± ¡°Then, what did you use?¡± ¡°A tablet.¡± An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Then, why have you suddenly bought a phone?¡± ¡°Because I need to use it.¡± He sat there, his expression turning sullen. An Xiaoning noticed this and asked, ¡°Are you in a bad mood?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Want a drink?¡± She went on with a grin, ¡°There¡¯s wine inside the ward.¡± ¡°Get your men to prepare a foldable bed. I¡¯ll sleep inside the ward with you two.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± An Xiaoning agreed with a nod. When they returned to the ward, Henry asked, ¡°Who is he?¡± ¡°He¡¯s asking you a question.¡± An Xiaoning urged Xiao Chenyang to answer it himself. ¡°I¡¯m your...¡± He had yet to finish answering when An Xiaoning hurriedly cut in, ¡°Love rival!¡± Xiao Chenyang gazed at An Xiaoning, his jaw dropping, and watched as she shot him a warning nce, obviously perplexed by the situation. ¡°Love rival?¡± Henry was furious upon hearing this and immediately berated An Xiaoning harshly, ¡°Are you mad? Why did you call Jin Qingyan¡¯s love rival here? You want to use it to agitate me, right? Don¡¯t you know that it¡¯spletely useless?¡± It was only now that Xiao Chenyang witnessed what An Xiaoning had told him earlier in the ward next door. But this was really... ¡°Ningning, don¡¯t bother about him. He¡¯s just a patient. Get the wine here, let¡¯s drink.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning took the wine bottle and ss, then passed the bottle to him. ¡°There¡¯s only one ss, do you want to use it or should I use it?¡± ¡°You use it. I¡¯ll use the wine bottle.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning poured more than half a ss of wine for herself, then passed the wine bottle to him. ¡°Come, cheers.¡± ¡°Cheers.¡± While the two sat cross-legged on the bed to drink, Henry was almost bored to death. Yet, he could not express this frustrating feeling bottled up inside him. As such, he could only pretend like he was using his phone to read the news when his focus actually remained on the two. The bodyguard then opened the foldable bed and ced it properly by the window. With that, the two changed the location of their battlefield and moved to the single foldable bed to continue drinking. ¡°I want to wash up now.¡± He waspletely ignored. Henry repeated himself, ¡°I want to wash up now, An Xiaoning.¡± ¡°You can crawl there yourself.¡± Henry was seething with rage. ¡°Don¡¯t go overboard, I¡¯m telling you.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t I even joke with you?¡± An Xiaoning ced her ss down and helped him to the toilet to wash himself up. When they were inside the bathroom, he warned her under his breath, ¡°I¡¯m telling you, you better chase that Xiao away. This is my ward.¡± An Xiaoning watched how enraged he was and couldn¡¯t bear to tease him any longer. ¡°I was lying to you. He¡¯s not your love rival, he¡¯s someone protecting us.¡± He looked confused as he asked, ¡°A bodyguard?¡± ¡°If he¡¯s unwilling, you wouldn¡¯t be able to hire him with any amount of money. He¡¯s actually your junior.¡± ¡°Junior?¡± ¡°Yes. You don¡¯t need to know anything else, just that he not only won¡¯t harm you, but he will also protect you.¡± He reached out and poked her forehead. ¡°You¡¯ll really be the death of me!¡± ¡°I was just teasing you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need that.¡± An Xiaoning pouted her lips and remarked, ¡°Hurry, I still want to go out to drink.¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°Who are you guys looking for?¡± Fang En asked the two muscr and burly men before her. ¡°Ms. Fang, we¡¯re bodyguards sent here by Young Madam to protect you.¡± ¡°Young Madam? Sis Xiaoning?¡± The bodyguard nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Then, why didn¡¯t she tell me about it?¡± Fang En felt that the two men were rather suspicious. ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask our Young Madamter? Then you¡¯ll know. We¡¯ll be going to rest first.¡± Fang En nodded, then closed the door shut and hurriedly called An Xiaoning. ¡°Sis, did you send bodyguards here?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. I sent two over.¡± Fang En was perplexed. ¡°Where¡¯s Xiao Chenyang?¡± ¡°He¡¯s busy with things, so we sent two bodyguards over to protect you temporarily.¡± Hearing this, Fang En couldn¡¯t help but answer in an exhrated voice, ¡°Got it.¡± After hanging up the phone, she leaped onto the bed and eximed in joy, ¡°This is great!¡± Without Xiao Chenyang by her side, she had much more freedom and would not have anyone watching her all the time, as if she had a surveince camera installed on her. However... While she was filled with joy, she couldn¡¯t help but think of something. Why did he leave without saying anything when they were eating inside the restaurant and he was only a few steps away outside? Besides, he ate very little during the meal as well. He seemed rather different from how he was before they arrived at B City. Then again, since she was not rted to him in any way, he had no reason to tell her. She wasn¡¯t even paying him for being a bodyguard for her... Despite this... Fang En still felt a need to call him to ask. But what if he were to pick up and feel that she was worrying about him? Forget it... After washing up, shey down on the bed and took out her phone unknowingly, eventually deciding to call him. When she had called him before, no one picked up. This time, his phone waspletely switched off. Completely switched off... Fang En somehow felt that he had something bothering him. She called Xiao Yue, who was about to sleep and was shocked awake by her call. ¡°Is Cousin back?¡± ¡°No, he left because he had something to attend to. Sis Xiaoning sent two other bodyguards here. Xiao Yue, I wanted to ask you, did you sense that Cousin was out of sorts when we were eating?¡± Chapter 1129 - I Want to Make You Stay (7)

Chapter 1129: I Want to Make You Stay (7)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xiao Yue murmured a quick response before answering, ¡°Sis En, don¡¯t tell me you didn¡¯t notice that Cousin wasn¡¯t quite happy the whole day?¡± Fang En was taken aback. The whole day? She really hadn¡¯t noticed. ¡°Why wasn¡¯t he quite happy?¡± ¡°How would I know?¡± With her eyes half-closed, Xiao Yue muttered, ¡°Sis En, you should sleep soon. I¡¯m sleepy already.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll hang up, then.¡± Fang En thought about it carefully. She had not infuriated him, right? Or was it that he found out about the rtionship between her and Yan Ge? Fang En shook her head. No, he couldn¡¯t possibly have found out about it. If he had, given his character, wouldn¡¯t he have already punished her for it? Correct, it would have been like that. Then, why was he upset? She could not think of the reason no matter how much she tried. Perhaps because her mind was full of Xiao Chenyang before she slept that night, Fang En even dreamed of him after she fell asleep. When she woke up in the morning, Fang En sat on the bed in a daze. Thinking back to the dream she had, she felt her face be so hot, it was almost burning. She had actually dreamed that Xiao Chenyang was bathing in a huge stream and that she was actually peeping at him. She could not believe that she was so dirty-minded in her dream. It made her exceptionally ashamed of herself. However, dreams were indeed the opposite of reality, as she would have never taken a single nce even if Xiao Chenyang were to strip himself naked in front of her in reality! Taking a look at the time, she saw that it was already past six in the morning. She hurriedly went to doll herself up before going out for breakfast. When she reached the cafeteria, Yan Ge and his assistant Xiao Li, as well as his bodyguards, were already eating. Seeing her enter, he unknowingly grinned at her. Fang En darted a short nce at him and hurriedly shifted her gaze away, taking a te to get her meal. ¡°Sis En, those four to five girls there are fans, so you¡¯ll have to eat nicely in small mouthfulster,¡± Xiao Yue reminded her in a low voice. Fang En followed her gaze and took a nce at the girls before nodding. ¡°Got it.¡± After getting her meal, she sat at a table and started eating. Even though she was originally quite hungry, because she had to take care of her image, she only ate half of her meal before leaving the cafeteria. A moment after she had stepped into the dressing room, Yan Ge entered behind her. The fans that were following him were stopped by the crew members of the production unit. The wardrobe attendant took the clothes the two would be wearing and let them change into it. Yan Ge¡¯s was a set of ancient costume while Fang En¡¯s was a modern day set of clothes. ¡°The Man from the Ancient Times¡± was originally about a man who time-traveled from the ancient times to the modern day, bing the female lead¡¯s sickly husband who had died. Today, they would definitely be filming the scenes before the male lead¡¯s time-travel while Fang En would be filming the scenes urring in the modern day. As such, the two would not be filming in the same set. After the two had changed and put on their makeup, Fang En asked him upon seeing his thick costume, ¡°Do you feel warm?¡± He replied, ¡°How would I not feel warm? I¡¯m wearing quite a fewyers.¡± Once his wordsnded, he suddenly thought of the two men who had been eating at the same table with her earlier. ¡°Were those two men earlier your bodyguards?¡± ¡°They were here to rece Xiao Chenyang. He has something on and won¡¯t be here for now. Sis Xiaoning sent those two bodyguards over.¡± Upon hearing this, Yan Ge was grinning from ear to ear. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes, of course.¡± ¡°...¡± After their makeup were done, the two headed toward their respective filming sets. Fang En arrived at a luxurious mansion nearby where she would be filming. Jing Shui was there as well. Upon seeing that she was here, Jing Shui took the initiative to chat her up. ¡°I see you¡¯re here.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Seeing the costume he had on him, Fang En asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you ying a supporting role as the butler?¡± ¡°I changed my role.¡± He grinned. ¡°I¡¯m now acting not as the butler but as your brother-inw.¡± Fang En was thrown off guard and asked in a low voice, ¡°Who changed it for you?¡± ¡°I asked to change it. The role of the butler is not as good as this one.¡± Jing Shui thought of what his friend had said and couldn¡¯t help but warn her, ¡°The co-director said you¡¯ll be filming a bitter scene today. It¡¯s your mother-inw and husband¡¯s mistress, whose role is acted by Yu Caiwei, ganging up together against you.¡± ¡°I know, I¡¯ve been informed already.¡± ¡°No, you didn¡¯t get what I was trying to say...¡± Jing Shui added, ¡°I meant that you should be careful. Yu Caiwei might make use of her role in the show to give you a hard time. I¡¯ve already heard of the conflict you had with her. She¡¯s someone who¡¯ll seek revenge for even the smallest grievance she had; a lot of people in this industry know this.¡± Xiao Yue, who was standing at one corner, couldn¡¯t help but start to worry. ¡°Sis En, you must be careful.¡± ¡°Yes, I know. I¡¯m not scared of her.¡± Before filming officially started, the actress acting the role of her mother-inw, Madam Song Chuntian, briefly exined the details of her pping scer in a friendly manner. She could tell at once that this actress was a very friendly person in private and couldn¡¯t help but begin to take a liking toward her. The atmosphere was pleasant as the two discussed the scene, but when Yu Caiwei approached them, it became rather strange for some reason. ¡°Sis Song, filming is about to start. Why don¡¯t we go through the scenes together first?¡± ¡°Sure, filming will be smoother if we rehearse it in advance.¡± Yu Caiwei darted a nce at Fang En and remarked, ¡°Since all three of us are filming together, you should rehearse with us as well.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Fang En abided by her professional spirit and had agreed readily. Everything went smoothly when they were rehearsing the scenes. As such, Fang En thought that when filming officially started, it would be a breeze. Little did she expect that her mindset would bepletely overturned. When the cameras started rolling, Fang En¡¯s character, which was the daughter-inw of a rich family, had returned home from outside. The moment she entered the house, she saw Yu Caiwei¡¯s character, which was the mistress, and Song Chuntian¡¯s character, which was her mother-inw, engaged in a friendly chatter. ¡°Mother, I¡¯m back.¡± Song Chuntian snorted coldly, ¡°Where on earth have you been? You don¡¯t even pick up your calls, you still know how toe home, after all?¡± ¡°I went back to my maiden home.¡± ¡°Went back to your maiden home?¡± Song Chuntian stood up from the sofa and slowly approached her, eximing in a shrill voice, ¡°Your maiden family has already be so broke now, what are you going back there for? Have you taken the money I gave you to help your maiden family?!¡± Fang En¡¯s eyes reddened instantly and she whimpered, ¡°Mother... back then, when Zixiang and I got married, wasn¡¯t it apatible union? Now that my maiden family is not as rich as before, I can¡¯t even go back there?¡± Song Chuntian raised her hand and gave her a tight p. Because they had discussed it in advance, Fang En was able to turn away in time to avoid it and her hand had only just slightly brushed past Fang En¡¯s face. However, on the surface, it appeared as if she had harshly pped her. Fang Enid her hand on her own face, and tears flowed down her cheeks as she gazed at her. Without uttering a single word, she turned and went upstairs. Yu Caiwei stood up from the sofa at the same time as her. ¡°Auntie, why did you hit her? Zixiang will definitely be upset if he finds out.¡± ¡°Why would he be upset? The one Zixiang likes is you. Do you think I didn¡¯t know that?¡± Song Chuntian turned to her and said with a grin, ¡°When Zixiang divorces her, I¡¯ll let him marry you, okay?¡± ¡°Auntie...¡± Yu Caiwei broke into a gentle grin. ¡°There¡¯s something I¡¯ve been wanting to tell you. I think I can¡¯t keep it from you any longer. If I do, my conscience would bother me.¡± Chapter 1130 - I Want to Make You Stay (8)

Chapter 1130: I Want to Make You Stay (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Last year, when you celebrated your birthday, didn¡¯t I give you a ne as a gift?¡± ¡°Yes. I lost it a few months ago.¡± Yu Caiwei said in a soft and gentle voice, ¡°Last month, I saw the exact same ne when I was at a jewelry shop. I asked where the ne came from, and the shop attendant said someone had pawned it. I then spent some money to check the surveince cameras of the store and found that it was indeed Gong Xiaomei who took it there to be pawned. As I was afraid the news of this incident would leak out, I deleted the surveince footagepletely. I didn¡¯t want to tell you then, but I feel that I should let you know now.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Song Chuntian flew into a rage instantly. ¡°Are you speaking the truth?¡± ¡°Yes. I don¡¯t dare to deceive you, of course, Auntie.¡± Song Chuntian shouted at the top of her voice, ¡°Somebodye here now!¡± The butler rushed in hurriedly. ¡°Madam, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Bring Gong Xiaomei to the ancestral hall now and carry out the household punishment on her! She actually dared to steal my ne and sell it?!¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Sister Gao remarked as she pped her hands to gesture that the scene was done. ¡°Get ready for the second scene. Hurry up.¡± The second scene was obviously Fang En being brought downstairs to the ancestral hall. Ignoring Fang En¡¯s defense and cries iming that she was being maligned, she was directly hung from a height. As filming such scenes required protective measures, Fang En could never have expected that the whip would actuallynd on her thin body. When the whipnded on her, Fang En¡¯s hysterical screams gave the surrounding crew members of the production set goosebumps. Sister Gao even said as apliment, ¡°Good acting, it¡¯s very realistic.¡± Yu Caiweiughed lightly. ¡°Exactly, I almost thought it was real.¡± The immense pain caused Fang En to be unable to speak after she had just cried out, and then came the second and thirdshing of the whip. ¡°Put me down! Put me down quickly! Ah!!!¡± Her face went as pale as a sheet, and she was breaking out in a cold sweat. Looking at the people around her, she screamed in agony, ¡°Why am I being hit for real? Aren¡¯t we just filming?!¡± Her cries made Sister Gao immediately call out, ¡°What¡¯s going on?! Quick, put her down!¡± Tears were flowing down Fang En¡¯s cheeks due to the immense pain and she cried out, ¡°I¡¯m here to film, not to suffer such torture!¡± Sister Gao lifted her shirt to check the situation and confirmed that what she had said was true. She walked toward the person who had whipped her and berated furiously, ¡°Are you even human?!¡± ¡°Sister Gao, how could anyone have guessed that she¡¯s not wearing any protectiveyer underneath? I didn¡¯t know that.¡± ¡°Get out this instant!¡± ¡°Wait!¡± Fang En called out with Xiao Yue supporting her. ¡°He can¡¯t leave.¡± Sister Gao replied gently, ¡°That, erm... En, shall we forget this? I¡¯ll fire him immediately. Of course, you won¡¯t suffer this in vain. We¡¯llpensate you an amount in your sry. What do you think? If you report this to the police, it¡¯ll have quite an impact on our production.¡± Fang En looked at her seriously and responded, ¡°Sister Gao, since you have already put it that way, then how about this? You hand him over to me, and I won¡¯t call the police.¡± Sister Gao immediately agreed. From how she saw it, what could Fang En, a mere woman, possibly do...? ¡°The two of you bring him back to A City.¡± Fang En¡¯s bodyguards understood what she meant clearly and forcefully brought the crew member away. Yu Caiwei couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Fang En, the production unit has agreed topensate you. What else do you want? Since it was the crew member¡¯s mistake, can¡¯t you just forgive him? Aren¡¯t you being too petty?¡± ¡°What has this got to do with you?¡± Fang En retorted. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you were behind it?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t make such unfounded usations!¡± ¡°Since it¡¯s not like that, then shut up.¡± Fang En¡¯s words had justnded when Jing Shui rushed over to her and asked her in a panic, ¡°En, are you okay?¡± ¡°How can I possibly be fine? I¡¯ll make a trip to the hospital first.¡± ¡°Let me apany you.¡± ¡°No need, I only need Xiao Yue with me.¡± Seeing how Jing Shui had still followed her persistently, Fang En reiterated, ¡°There¡¯s really no need. I¡¯ll be fine.¡± It was only after she got into her nanny van that Fang En covered her face and started weeping uncontrobly. Xiao Yue sat beside her and did not dare to utter a word, only telling the driver to send them to the hospital. Once Fang En was gone, Sister Gao immediately warned all the crew members and actors on set, ¡°If this incident gets out, the impact on the reputation of our production team will be irreversible and I won¡¯t let any one of you off. Everyone is to sign an agreement to keep this incident a secret!¡± Jing Shui looked up at her. ¡°But, Director Gao, can you ensure that En¡¯s work studio will let this incident go? From what I know, Fang En¡¯s boss is An Xiaoning. Are you sure that just a merepensation will be able to settle this? Also, that crew member has been brought back to A City by Fang En¡¯s bodyguards. I think it would be fine if it was just a mistake on his part, but if it was intentional, I¡¯m afraid this incident will be difficult to settle for you as well.¡± Every word of his went straight to Sister Gao¡¯s heart, causing her to boil with rage. She furiously called Yu Caiwei to her car. Without standing on ceremony, she remarked candidly, ¡°In your eyes, do sisters and friends exist to help clean your mess?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯ll be fine. If it was an ident on the part of the production team, An Xiaoning can¡¯t possibly do anything about it, right?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not to create any trouble for me anymore. Fang En is the female lead. If anything happens to her, the filming process of the whole production team will be dyed. Do you know how much losses are incurred if there¡¯s a dy of one day?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it just a few whips? Don¡¯t worry. Alright, I owe you one now. Just thinking of how her bodyguard dared to pour noodles on me a few days ago makes me fume with anger.¡± ¡°Alright, you can go. I¡¯ll discuss with Fang En¡¯s work studio about this matter.¡± ¡°Alright, it¡¯s been hard on you, Honey.¡± With that, Yu Caiwei nted a kiss on her face before getting off the car. When Sister Gao made a call to them, Mei Yangyang had already found out about this incident. Though Sister Gao at first apologized for the incident, she then started to offerpensation toward Fang En. Mei Yangyang was determined to seek justice for Fang En and remarked without standing on ceremony, ¡°Alright. If you want topensate her, then you¡¯ll have to show your sincerity. Increase En¡¯s sry for each episode by 100 thousand dors.¡± ¡°What?¡± Sister Gao immediately responded. ¡°The contract has already been signed, it can¡¯t be changed.¡± ¡°A contract can even be breached, but it can¡¯t be changed? Then, there¡¯s no point in discussing things any further, Sister Gao. Is your production team bullying a newbie like our En? Do you really think that our agency doesn¡¯t have the capability to stop your show from being broadcasted forever?¡± Disgruntled, Sister Gao naturally knew An Xiaoning¡¯s status and could only concede. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll pay her 300 thousand dors per episode, then. I¡¯ll convey this to the producer and investors.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± After she hung up the call, Sister Gao¡¯s face turned extremely sullen. She alighted from her car and went to find Yu Caiwei again. ¡°Fang En¡¯s work studio asked to increase her sry aspensation and I¡¯ve agreed. You¡¯ll fork out the extra 100 thousand dors per episode. Clean the mess you created yourself.¡± Chapter 1131 - I Want to Make You Stay (9)

Chapter 1131: I Want to Make You Stay (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Is she made of gold? She only suffered three or four whips of thesh and she¡¯s asking for an increment of 100 thousand dors per episode?¡± With a sullen expression on her face, Director Gao said, ¡°We don¡¯t have a choice, you were the one whomitted the mistake first. Caiwei, I hope you¡¯ll stop creating so much trouble for me. Don¡¯t forget who Fang En¡¯s boss is. You don¡¯t want the efforts of the entire production team to go to waste because of you, do you? The studio that she¡¯s signed to has already stated their stand clearly. If we don¡¯t handle and address this issue appropriately, the television series might not be able to go on air. I actually think there¡¯s another meaning to their words. If I don¡¯t handle this issue appropriately, I can forget about making a living in this industry. If I get boycotted, what do you think is going to happen to you, Caiwei?¡± ¡°Okay, simmer down. I¡¯ll fork out the money,¡± said Yu Caiwei, who felt the pinch and was extremely agonized. ¡ª After meeting the crew member that the bodyguards had brought to her, An Xiaoning dismissed them and informed Xiao Chenyang of the matter. She initially thought that Xiao Chenyang would snap and blow his top. To her surprise, he actually remained quiet. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to feel indignant and sympathize with her?¡± she asked. ¡°She doesn¡¯t need me to feel indignant for her or sympathize with her.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± An Xiaoning asked in confusion. ¡°Nothing much,¡± he answered aloofly with a look of disgruntlement while lying on the bed. ¡°Is your mobile phone out of battery? Do you need to charge it?¡± ¡°No, no one¡¯s going to call me anyway.¡± Knock-knock... The bodyguard yelled, ¡°Young Madam, someone¡¯s here!¡± An Xiaoning had described Xihou Jiaping¡¯s features to the bodyguards outside and specifically instructed them to inform her once thetter shows up. Hence, she and Xiao Chenyang looked at each other, after which thetter immediately got up and zoomed toward the washroom. An Xiaoning opened the door and met Xihou Jiaping¡¯s eyes. ¡°Ms. An, may I go in to see Jin Qingyan?¡± ¡°You are? Who are you?¡± she asked hesitantly. ¡°I¡¯m his friend from abroad. I haven¡¯t met him in years. After hearing that he had fractured his calf and gotten hospitalized, I decided toe and visit an old friend.¡± ¡°Alright, pleasee in ,then,¡± An Xiaoning said, smiling. The tension on Xihou Jiaping¡¯s chiseled face eased up a little, and he entered with the gifts. An Xiaoning closed the door and followed closely behind him. Henry was lying on the bed. At the sight of Xihou Jiaping, he recalled the words that Xiao Chenyang and An Xiaoning had said to him previously and he answered, ¡°What are you here for?¡± ¡°To visit you, of course. Long time no see, old friend.¡± Henry immediately exposed him and chastised, ¡°I¡¯m not your friend, don¡¯t jump to conclusions.¡± Xihou Jiaping realized that the sight before him did not align with the news he had received. His lips curled into a sinister smile, and he ced the gifts onto the table. ¡°Do you really think it¡¯s appropriate of you to say that?¡± He then said to An Xiaoning, ¡°Ms. An, may I have a word with him in private?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid not. I seek your forgiveness and understanding,¡± said An Xiaoning, who remained calm andposed. ¡°In that case, forget it, then,¡± he said, cing his hands behind his back out of habit. ring at Henry menacingly, he said, ¡°I came today with the intention of presenting to you a huge gift. Do you have the guts to ept it?¡± ¡°Xihou Jiaping, stop beating around the bush. You know I hate wasting my breath talking to you.¡± Xihou Jiaping¡¯s forehead creased into a frown the moment he heard Henry calling him by his full name. Someone had clearly tipped me off and told me that he was in the midst of a rpse. I can¡¯t believe it... did he recover? Seems like the time wasn¡¯t right today. However, he didn¡¯t have a way out since he had already turned up. ¡°Don¡¯t waste your breath if you don¡¯t wish to do so, then.¡± He turned to face An Xiaoning and said, ¡°Ms. An, you¡¯d better excuse yourself.¡± ¡°What if I still refuse to do so, Your Majesty?¡± said An Xiaoning, keeping her eyes fixed on him. Knowing that Xiao Chenyang was around, she inevitably felt more confident and brave. She did not bother beating around the bush and ying games with him any longer, because she knew that he was about toy a hand on Henry. Xihou Jiaping initially thought that he had everything under control, yet his n fell through and backfired all of a sudden. However, he soon recovered from the shock and questioned, ¡°Did you already recognize me long ago?¡± ¡°Yes, I already recognized you when you abducted Qingyanst time.¡± He dropped the pretense and threatened with a squint, ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯ll kill you?¡± ¡°I was afraid. Of course I was. I was terrified. However, I no longer fear you, because both Qingyan and I have a clear conscience. Your Majesty, you¡¯re so eager to kill us. Are you acting this way because you¡¯ve been driven to desperation?¡± Xihou Jiaping flew into an uncontroble rage and snapped, ¡°Hua Jin!¡± An Xiaoning guffawed and goaded, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you losing your temper so soon? That doesn¡¯t seem like you at all.¡± ¡°You¡¯re still the same old you...¡± He then red daggers at Henry and immediately tried to attack him. However, Xiao Chenyang grabbed onto his shoulder and held him down forcefully. He then flung Xihou Jiaping toward the side, causing him to be thrown off bnce, such that he almost fell. Xihou Jiaping recovered from the shock and discovered that Xiao Chenyang was present too! Seriously... ¡°Xiao Chenyang, you¡¯re here to poke your nose into others¡¯ business again!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I just enjoy being nosy. If you don¡¯t like that... you¡¯re wee to battle me!¡± Xihou Jiaping scoffed and said, ¡°Let¡¯s hope you¡¯ll always be by their side at all times from now on, then. Don¡¯t ever leave them alone, or else...¡± Xihout Jiaping turned around to leave. ¡°Wait a minute...¡± An Xiaoning handed the gifts back to him and sneered, ¡°Take these back with you. We¡¯ve got an abundance of money. We don¡¯t need your gifts.¡± ¡°...¡± ring at her coldly, he grabbed the gifts and strode out of the door. He then mmed the door shut. An Xiaoning looked at Xiao Chenyang and said, ¡°Thank you, though I know you don¡¯t like hearing those words.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t do it for you anyway,¡± Xiao Chenyang answered coldly. An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°But you still saved my life, didn¡¯t you? However, I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll have to trouble you frequent;y from now on.¡± ¡°It¡¯s no trouble at all. Seems like Xihou Jiaping has already learned about his dissociative identity disorder. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have said those words when he first entered. On the surface... he thought that you hadn¡¯t recognized him yet. He only knew about Qingyan¡¯s illness.¡± After some thought, An Xiaoning found that his words made sense. ¡°If he¡¯s already aware of it, who did he hear it from? That¡¯s a crucial question. Barely anyone knows about Qingyan¡¯s illness. It¡¯s unlikely that our bodyguards have leaked the information...¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter how he found out. Don¡¯t dwell on the reason since he already knows about it now. He¡¯ll definitely find a way to kill you guys again. Just be on your guard and be cautious at all times. You can¡¯t afford to be careless or make any blunders,¡± he said solemnly. Just as they were speaking, the bodyguard outside reported, ¡°Young Madam, Ms. Hu is here again.¡± An Xiaoning red at Henry and said, ¡°Seems like she¡¯s not going to give up unless you make things clear to her. Would you like to have a few words with her?¡± ¡°Okay, let her in,¡± he agreed. Chapter 1132 - I Want to Make You Stay (10)

Chapter 1132: I Want to Make You Stay (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Henry agreed to talk to Hu Xin as An Xiaoning had suggested, simply because he felt that there was bound to be unnecessary trouble in the future if he did not make things clear. For example, the Weibo incident might happen again. Hu Xin entered with her bag, and she caught sight of An Xiaoning and Xiao Chenyang, whom she could recognize. She had read about Fang En¡¯s dashing bodyguard on Weibo. Hence, she was not surprised about his presence since Fang En was an artiste who was signed to An Xiaoning¡¯s entertainment studio. As soon as she entered, she said to An Xiaoning, ¡°Did you threaten Mr. Jin into filming that video?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you just ask him yourself? Ms. Hu, you¡¯d better know your limits and stop all this wishful thinking on your part,¡± An Xiaoning sneered with a sarcastic smile. Hu Xin shifted her gaze toward Henry and questioned, ¡°I already said that I¡¯d be rescuing you. Aren¡¯t you embarrassing me by filming such a video?¡± ¡°Do I need you to rescue me? Don¡¯t be nosy and poke your nose into others¡¯ business that you should be staying out of. Xiaoning and I are getting along well and there¡¯s nothing wrong with our rtionship. We just had a minor tiffst time.¡± ¡°What!?!¡± Hu Xin eximed in astonishment. She felt dizzy and she grew pale, feeling as if she had instantly be a fool. In fact, she even felt like Jin Qingyan had returned to the state that he was in when he gave her the sack. ¡°Why are you acting like apletely different person again? Did An Xiaoning manipte you with witchcraft and the ck magic that she practises?¡± she asked in puzzlement,pletely bbergasted. ¡°If she could manipte one¡¯s thoughts and consciousness with her fortune-telling skills, wouldn¡¯t yours have been controlled by her as well? Stop looking me up from now on. We¡¯ve only met a few times. I¡¯m not that close to you.¡± Hu Xin¡¯s pride and dignity still mattered to her. Since he had already stated things so clearly and bluntly, there was nothing else she could really say. ¡°I was initially thinking of using everything within my means to rescue you. I didn¡¯t expect that you would actually say this. In that case, I¡¯ll be taking my leave now.¡± When the door of the ward was closed again, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Did you mean those words that you said to her just now? Or were you just ying along with me?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. What matters is that we achieved our end-goal, isn¡¯t it?¡± he said coldly, though he was not exactly upset. An Xiaoning did not answer him and instead asked Xiao Chenyang, ¡°What would you like to have for lunch? I¡¯ll get Auntie Chen to prepare it in advance.¡± ¡°Anything is fine.¡± ¡°What about you? Do you have any cravings for lunch?¡± she asked Henry. ¡°I¡¯m fine with anything too.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You shall just have whatever¡¯s delivered to us, then,¡± said An Xiaoning, who constantly wondered just how Xihou Jiaping had found out about Jin Qingyan¡¯s dissociative identity disorder. Although Xiao Chenyang told her to ignore it, she could not help but dwell on it. We were extremely secretive about the disorder. Only a few people know about it, and it would be impossible for Qingyan¡¯s former psychiatrist, Dr. Zhang, to divulge any details since he was well aware of the pros and cons. The rest who are aware of the disorder are the bodyguards and Yu Yiwei. They¡¯re not very likely to... Could it be that Xihou Jiaping had hypnotized one of them? Or did he make that conjecture because he knows that Yu Yiwei is a psychiatrist who had moved into Wei Ni Estate? Anything was possible. Her heart grew heavy, and she simply hoped that the Yin family would update her with some news again soon. Only then can she deduce if Yin Cun still existed... ¡°Do women nowadays move in together with their boyfriends shortly after they get into a rtionship?¡± An Xiaoning was snapped out of her trance by Xiao Chenyang¡¯s question. She asked, ¡°Move in together?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mean simply cohabiting, I mean... you know what I mean...¡± he said awkwardly. An Xiaoning understood what he had meant. She answered, ¡°Ny-five percent of women these days would. Don¡¯t you know that even schoolgirls are getting intimate with their boyfriends after some casual dating? That¡¯s why those motels near university campuses are doing so well. Most women who have stepped into society won¡¯t be able to resist their urges to act recklessly during the honeymoon period of their rtionships.¡± Xiao Chenyang¡¯s face grew sullen and he asked, ¡°Can I ask you a question?¡± ¡°Sure, go ahead.¡± ¡°Is it possible to win the heart of a woman who¡¯s already in love with someone else?¡± An Xiaoning picked up her cup and took a few sips of tea before saying slowly, ¡°I can¡¯t vouch or speak on behalf of other women. After all, all women are different. You can¡¯t treat every single one of them the same. But at the very least, I¡¯m very certain about something. If a woman is deeply in love with a man who dotes on her and she has given herself to him, it would be very unlikely to win her heart no matter how hard you try.¡± Xiao Chenyang¡¯s heart sank, for he had thought about that too. ¡°Call your bodyguards and tell them to split up into two shifts. They must stand guard outside Fang En¡¯s room at night until I¡¯m back.¡± An Xiaoning agreed with a nod, ¡°Alright, but I still think you should give En a call now.¡± ¡°Nah, I¡¯ll talk to her when I return.¡± ¡°Let me call her, then.¡± He did not stop An Xiaoning from dialing Fang En¡¯s number. The call went through quickly, and An Xiaoning deliberately put her on speaker. ¡°Sis Xiaoning,¡± Fang En answered softly in a hoarse voice, seemingly having just wept. ¡°En, how are you now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m alright. I¡¯m still on the set right now. There are scenes to be filmed this afternoon.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you just take a break today and resume tomorrow?¡± An Xiaoning said, staring at Xiao Chenyang. ¡°I can¡¯t afford to cause any dy in the production. It¡¯s alright, I heard from Sis Yangyang that the producers have increased my sry. That means I didn¡¯t get whipped for nothing. Sis Xiaoning...¡± ¡°Yes? What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°When would Xiao Chenyang be back?¡± There were... two meanings to her question. One would be that she was concerned about when he would be returning because she was looking forward to seeing him; and the other would be that she wanted to know the date of his return so that she could prepare herself mentally. ¡°Do you hope for him toe back sooner orter?¡± An Xiaoning asked. Greatly taken aback, Fang En said, ¡°I was just casually asking. He may go ahead with whatever he¡¯s busy with. I have some bodyguards here to fill in for him anyway.¡± An Xiaoning took another nce at Xiao Chenyang before saying, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s better to be careful at all times. By the way, I heard that our television series is now in post-production. The first publicity event will ur very soon. Do keep a lookout and be cautious; don¡¯t let the paparazzi snap any photos of you and spark unwanted rumors.¡± Feeling a little guilty, Fang En answered, ¡°Yes, got it. Don¡¯t worry, Sis Xiaoning.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡ª Thedy boss of the nightclub got a huge shock the moment she saw all the debris of smashed items on the ground. She said prudently, ¡°Simmer down, Master.¡± Chapter 1133 - I Want to Make You Stay (11)

Chapter 1133: I Want to Make You Stay (11)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xihou Jiaping turned to face her and barked, ¡°Scram!¡± Thedy boss retreated, not daring to utter another word. Not long after, she returned again and said, ¡°Master, the guest is here and she¡¯s waiting for you.¡± Xihou Jiaping came out of the room and said to her coldly, ¡°Get them to clean up the room and make it tidy.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He headed downstairs and entered one of the rooms, in which sat a woman who had a long ponytail. He asked in a mellower tone, ¡°Why did youe here all of a sudden? Didn¡¯t I tell you to avoiding to this ce?¡± She looked at him and said, ¡°I tried to contact you but you wouldn¡¯t answer me, Master. I was really worried so I had no choice but toe here to take a look.¡± ¡°You said that he¡¯s going through a rpse now. Why didn¡¯t it seem like his second personality had taken over? He could even recognize me right away.¡± ¡°Perhaps he had already returned to normal. Rpses ur periodically.¡± Xihou Jiaping walked toward her and said, ¡°I¡¯ve changed my mind now.¡± He grabbed her chin all of a sudden and said, ¡°Xiao Chenyang is now following Xihou Ling and Hua Jin around at all times. There¡¯s no chance for me to take action on them at all. Hence, I¡¯ll need you to do it yourself. Kill the two of them when no one is paying attention.¡± ¡°But they have bodyguards around to protect them round the clock. There are surveince cameras everywhere too. Let¡¯s not talk about whether I can defeat Hua Jin or not. Even if I can, I¡¯ll be exposing my own identity. By then... I¡¯ll be a wanted criminal of S Nation, and my family...¡± As soon as she finished speaking, Xihou Jiaping squinted and said, ¡°As for your parents... I¡¯ll make the necessary arrangements and send them abroad.¡± She hesitated and said, ¡°But they don¡¯t want to leave the country. If they were willing to live abroad in the long term, they would have done so ages ago.¡± ¡°Are you going to defy my orders, then?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare to.¡± Staring at Yu Yiwei, Xihou Jiaping said, ¡°Don¡¯t forget who your master is. If the two of them don¡¯t end up dying, do you know who will in the end?¡± Yu Yiwei stared at him, desperately wanting to know the answer. ¡°If you can¡¯t do it, do you think I can?¡± ¡°Of course you can. However, Xiao Chenyang can¡¯t possibly be by their side at all times. If I get the opportunity to kill the two of them, you definitely wouldn¡¯t have to step in. However, you¡¯ll have to take action if I don¡¯t get the chance to. Don¡¯t forget the reason why I wanted you to get near them. Your purpose is not to treat his illness!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my best.¡± ¡°Once everything is set in stone, I¡¯ll finally get to put my mind at ease. I¡¯ll never be at peace, so long as Xihou Ling is still alive. Although history has already passed, he and Hua Jin have long since recalled the events that took ce in their previous lifetime. I reckon they¡¯ll definitely try and take revenge. We¡¯ll have to make the first move.¡± A menacing re formed in his eyes, clearly showing his determination to kill the two of them. Yu Yiwei grabbed his wrist and pulled it away from her chin. ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll go back to make the preparations now.¡± Before she could even get up, Xihou Jiaping pinned her beneath himself and said, ¡°Since you¡¯re already here, serve me before you go.¡± ¡°You...¡± Yu Yiwei murmured, staring at him in astonishment. ¡°Haven¡¯t you always wanted to be my woman for real? Your wishes are now fulfilled, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you...¡± Xihou Jiaping sneered, ¡°I¡¯ve stopped loving Hua Jin long ago. If not, I wouldn¡¯t have wanted to kill her. I initially thought that she didn¡¯t recognize me and I wanted to fool her, yet she actually exposed herself today and admitted that she had already recognized me. In our previous lifetime, she would rather jump off the balcony than be with me. I¡¯ve long ago seen through her. Now that she has gotten together with Xihou Ling again, I¡¯m going to make sure they don¡¯t make it ¡¯til the end in this lifetime. I¡¯m going to let them know that this is Heaven¡¯s will.¡± Yu Yiwei¡¯s eyes glistened and she said, ¡°I may be your subordinate now, but weren¡¯t you the one who betrothed my wife to me in the previous lifetime? You¡¯re the one who insisted that I have my children too. Everything that I¡¯ve done, I¡¯ve always been doing them for your sake. I¡¯ve always been loyal to you, be it in our previous lifetime or now. You knew clearly how I felt about you in our previous lifetime and yet you kept feigning ignorance. You should¡¯ve just expressed your disdain toward me openly. You even executed all homosexuals back then, yet you were still so kind toward me. You did all of that just so I would continue being loyal toward you and serving you with all my heart, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°But you know that I don¡¯t fancy men! I¡¯ll never fancy men, be it in our previous lifetime or now. However, since you¡¯ve reincarnated as a woman, I¡¯ve been treating you like an actual woman. Don¡¯t I call you Yiwei and look at you as a woman? In that case, what¡¯s wrong with me fulfilling your wishes now?¡± Staring at the man whom she loved deeply, she understood his intentions. She knew that he merely wanted to make her continue serving him loyally. ¡°What if neither of us ever seeds in killing them?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll definitely be able to. Don¡¯t forget, your skills in your previous lifetime are definitely on par with An Xiaoning¡¯s. Even if Xiao Chenyang never leaves their side, you¡¯ll definitely be able to kill them. You don¡¯t have to worry about the rest. You just have to know that your descendants and I will all die if you don¡¯t kill them.¡± Having said his piece, he kissed Yu Yiwei on the lips. She closed her eyes and stopped herself from saying the words that she wanted to. .... Forty minutester, she exited from the secret chamber of the nightclub. The bodyguards who had been tailing her was sitting inside the car and waiting for her to exit. From their perspective, Yu Yiwei had merely entered a posh mahjong den. However, they had no idea that there was a secret passageway that led to the nightclub from the mahjong den. Yu Yiwei got inside the car and closed the door. ¡°Let¡¯s return to Wei Ni Estate.¡± Upon arriving in the estate, Yu Yiwei alighted from the car and caught sight of Fan Shixin, who was walking toward them from afar. ¡°Where did you go, Ms. Yu?¡± ¡°I went to the mahjong den for a game of mahjong.¡± Fan Shixin nodded and walked past her. Yu Yiwei kept a straight face and watched him leave before returning to her own room. She constantly pondered over Xihou Jiaping¡¯s words while lying down in bed. She thought about her current predicament and the possibilities that he had mentioned. She was overwhelmed with a mix of emotions. Although she was born as a male in her previous lifetime, she had always been female at heart. However, she had never dared to divulge her innermost feelings to anyone. In fact, she even hid her true sexual orientation from the person she fancied, as well as her family. In this lifetime, she had reincarnated into a woman, just like she had wished. She could no longer be at peace after regaining her memory and after Xihou Jiaping had found her again. She had left behind two paintings and a letter before she died in her previous lifetime. It was a letter that contained all the sins she wished she could atone for; it was a form of redemption for all the misdeeds that she hadmitted. She wanted her descendants to read about the things she had done and to remember clearly never to repeat them. Chapter 1134 - I Want to Make You Stay (12)

Chapter 1134: I Want to Make You Stay (12)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios However, she never expected for her fate from her previous lifetime to carry over to her current one. She no longer wanted to kill or harm anyone in this lifetime, and neither did she want to use her paranormal powers and skills tomit any evil acts, especially not to Xihou Ling and Hua Jin. However, do I still have the ability to protect myself, my family, and the descendants of the Yin family? Do I still have a choice? If Hua Jin finds out that I¡¯m the reincarnation of Yin Cun, she and Xihou Ling would definitely kill me, wouldn¡¯t they? Yu Yiwei rested her arm on her forehead and closed her eyes while she sank deep into thought. ¡ª The incident that Fang En was involved in had be a huge taboo within the production unit. All the crew members who were present at the time of the incident were made to sign a non-disclosure agreement. If they were to breach the terms of the agreement and divulge any details, they would have to pay a heftypensatory sum. Due to the fact that Yan Ge was filming another scene in a different filming location, the crew members who were working on the set on Yan Ge¡¯s side had no idea about what happened. Fang En was in low spirits and thus headed back to her hotel room after filming the scene. Xiao Yue delivered the food to Fang En¡¯s room. Noticing that she did not seem to have much of an appetite, Xiao Yue tried to talk her round, ¡°Sis En, eat more.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have much of an appetite,¡± she said sluggishly. ¡°Shall we go out for a walk after you¡¯re done eating, then?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel like moving, I¡¯m aching all over.¡± She put down the chopsticks and stood up with one hand supporting her back. ¡°I¡¯ll go brush my teeth. You may finish the rest of the food.¡± After washing up, Fang Eny down on the bed while Xiao Yue cleaned up the mess. She then poured Fang En a ss of water and left it on the table beside the bed before leaving. The lights were still on in the room, and Fang En stared at a corner while lying stiffly on the bed. The doorbell rang all of a sudden. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± Yan Ge answered. Fang En immediately got out of bed and opened the door. Staring at the bodyguard outside the door, she asked in bewilderment, ¡°Why haven¡¯t you gone back to your room to rest yet?¡± ¡°Young Madam wanted us to take turns to be on duty.¡± She then looked at Yan Ge and asked, ¡°What brings you here?¡± She was staring at him with fear and worry in her eyes. In fact, she was trying to say, ¡°What if we get caught?¡± However, Yan Ge understood just what she was worried about. ¡°I need to talk to you about something, may I go in?¡± ¡°Come inside.¡± She moved aside to allow him to enter. As soon as she closed the door, Yan Ge hugged her tightly in his arms, causing her to feel like she was about to suffocate. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you call and tell me about it? I¡¯m your boyfriend and yet you didn¡¯t even tell me that something had happened to you. Do you take me as an outsider?¡± he questioned, sounding a little peeved. Fang En teared up after hearing his words. ¡°No... I just didn¡¯t want you to be embroiled in this matter. There are so many paparazzi who are waiting to dig up some news about you. If you end up causing a stir in the production unit because of me, your reputation will be tarnished. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t want to tell you about it. But how did you find out?¡± He walked inside while still holding her in his arms. He then sat down on the bed and said, ¡°No one told me. I just overheard some people discussing it softly. That¡¯s why I went to question Director Gao about it.¡± ¡°I see. This matter has already been settled. Director Gao has also increased my sry to 300 thousand dors per episode as a form ofpensation. That¡¯s 100 thousand dors extra for each episode.¡± ¡°Money is not everything. Can an increment of 100 thousand dors per episode really make up for the pain that you suffered while being whipped?¡± he said with a sullen expression. ¡°However, that¡¯s the best solution for the problem. Go back and get some rest. I¡¯m afraid that the paparazzi are going to make mountains out of molehills when they photograph you leaving my room after staying in here for a long time.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to leave.¡± Fang En held onto his hand and said, ¡°Go back, we¡¯ll be in trouble if we make it onto the tabloids.¡± He kissed her and stood up before saying, ¡°Go get some rest, then. I¡¯ll send you breakfast tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t... if you deliver breakfast to my room, wouldn¡¯t...?¡± she declined. ¡°I¡¯ll get Xiao Li to deliver it to you, then.¡± Fang En agreed with a nod, ¡°Alright.¡± Fang En finally fell asleep. However, she woke up again a few times in the middle of the night. She could no longer fall asleep after waking up at three in the morning. She kept her eyes wide open until daybreak. Xiao Li knocked on her door at six o¡¯clock in the morning when she was washing up and dolling herself up. ¡°Ms. Fang, Brother wanted me to deliver this to you. He also wants you to know that he had cooked it personally.¡± ¡°He cooked it personally? Where?¡± Fang En asked in puzzlement. ¡°The kitchen in the hotel.¡± A warm fuzzy feeling filled her heart. She grabbed the lunchbox and said to Xiao Li, ¡°Help me thank Senior Yan Ge for his kind thoughts and concern.¡± ¡°Yes, Brother is just so caring toward everyone. He has also made breakfast for the other supporting actors and actresses. However, he had put in the most effort when preparing yours.¡± Fang En said, ¡°Senior Yan Ge and I have starred alongside each other in the previous television series. Now that fate has brought us together to work with each other again, he¡¯s definitely going to be closer to me than the rest of the cast.¡± Xiao Li chuckled and said, ¡°Yes, that goes without saying. I¡¯ll be taking my leave now, then.¡± ¡°Okay, sure.¡± Fang En closed the door and sat down on the bed. She removed the lid of the lunchbox and took a look at the food inside. Her mood was instantly lifted. Unbeknown to the rest, he had made breakfast for the other cast members simply because he wanted to use them as a smoke screen. She was well aware that his main intention was to cook for her. However, it would be too suspicious if he were to prepare a set only for her. She polished off the breakfast inside the lunchbox, after which she sent Yan Ge a text message that read: ¡°It was delicious. You¡¯ve got great culinary skills. I can totally imagine you being exploited by me and being made to stay in the kitchen all day with an apron around your waist.¡± He soon replied: ¡°My skills are so-so. I rarely cook.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to get my makeup done now. Is yours done yet?¡± ¡°I¡¯m waiting for you so we could go together.¡± Fang En smiled and replied: ¡°We¡¯d better go separately. We won¡¯t get to talk much anyway.¡± ¡°But I feel happy enough just being around you.¡± Fang En replied: ¡°Hurry and go now.¡± When Fang En entered the makeup room, she discovered that Yu Caiwei was sitting on one of the chairs inside. However, it was a room specifically meant for Fang En and Yan Ge, the lead actress and actor. What is Yu Caiwei doing here? The lunchbox in front of Yu Caiwei caught Fang En¡¯s attention. She immediately knew that it contained the breakfast that Yan Ge had made. She stepped forward and took a seat on the empty chair beside Yu Caiwei. After taking a quick nce at the food inside the transparent container, she could tell that it was indeed different from the food he had made her. Well, she would definitely receive some special treatment since she was his girlfriend. As soon as she sat down, Yan Ge arrived. Yan Ge¡¯s spirits were dampened the moment he saw Yu Caiwei. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± he questioned. ¡°I ought to thank you for the breakfast that you had made especially for me. It tastes pretty good. You¡¯ve got the potential to be a great chef.¡± Yan Ge gestured for her to leave and said coldly, ¡°I didn¡¯t cook it especially for you. I made a share for everyone else too. I¡¯m going to get my makeup done now. Get up.¡± Yu Caiwei froze in shock, for Xiao Li did not mention that Yan Ge had cooked for everyone else too when he came by to deliver the food... An awkward tension filled the air in the makeup room. The two makeup artists knew better than to butt in and, thus, remained silent. Pursing her lips, Yu Caiwei said, ¡°Even if you had cooked it for everyone else too, I should still thank you after eating it.¡± Chapter 1135 - I Want to Make You Stay (13)

Chapter 1135: I Want to Make You Stay (13)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She tried to give herself an out and said, ¡°I¡¯ll cook you a meal in return some other day.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, she stood up and walked out of the dressing room, leaving the lunchbox behind. Yan Ge grabbed it and threw it into the rubbish bin. Fang En felt exceptionally pleased after seeing what he had done. She felt as if her spirits had been lifted, and she smiled at him. Yan Ge smiled back at her. The pair barely spoke to each other throughout the makeup session. However, there was a tacit understanding between the two of them. ¡ª Jin Qingyan finally came to and regained control over his body after being hospitalized for eight days. He was bbergasted to see that he was in the hospital, for he could not remember what had happened at all. He could only recall falling asleep in Wei Ni Estate. The next thing he knew, he had woken up in a hospital. An Xiaoning exited from the washroom to see that he was staring at her with his eyes wide open. She asked, ¡°Would you like to freshen up?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± he answered with a nod. An Xiaoning helped him out of the bed and walked him to the basin in the bathroom, as usual. Jin Qingyan hugged her and kissed her on the forehead. ¡°Good morning.¡± Despite being taken aback, the quick-witted An Xiaoning immediately said, ¡°Good morning, Qingyan.¡± ¡°Why am I in the hospital?¡± ¡°Did you forget? You drove out at midnight and you were speeding along the roads when you collided into some racers. You were hospitalized afterward.¡± ¡°When did youe to the hospital, then?¡± ¡°When I first received the news, of course. I rushed here immediately. However, you seemed a little strange throughout the past few days.¡± Jin Qingyan panicked and asked, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Hmm... you didn¡¯t really want to speak to me.¡± ¡°Is that all?¡± ¡°Yes. What else could there be?¡± she answered, trying her best to appear normal. He heaved a sigh of relief and apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°What are you apologizing for? Xiao Chenyang is still asleep. He¡¯s been apanying us in the hospital for the past few days. Xihou Jiaping showed up in between too. He tried to kill us.¡± ¡°He came straight to the hospital?¡± ¡°Yes. Fortunately, Xiao Chenyang was around. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to stop him.¡± ¡°He¡¯s such a kind person.¡± ¡°How rare for you to beplimenting me,¡± Xiao Chenyang said sluggishly. An Xiaoning turned around to see that Xiao Chenyang was standing by the door and looking at them. ¡°I¡¯ve never been stingy with thepliments that I give others.¡± Jin Qingyan began washing up. When he was soaping his face, he said to Xiao Chenyang, ¡°Go ahead and take your leave if you have something on.¡± Xiao Chenyang waved at them and said, ¡°We¡¯ll talkter. Hurry ande outside, I need to use the toilet.¡± An Xiaoning helped Jin Qingyan out of the washroom and sent Fan Shixin a text message. She then drew the curtains open and opened the windows to let some fresh air in. The room was bright and tranquil. Fan Shixin arrived with three identical sets of breakfast and reported about thepany¡¯s situation to Jin Qingyan while thetter was having his food. Jin Qingyan gave him some instructions to follow when handling some important matters at the office. Fan Shixin then excused himself and headed to the office, leaving the three of them behind in the ward. Staring at Jin Qingyan, Xiao Chenyang said, ¡°Since you¡¯re injured, can you handle Xihou Jiaping without me if hees back again?¡± ¡°My wife is here to defend us, isn¡¯t she?¡± Pointing at An Xiaoning, Xiao Chenyang said, ¡°Hua Jin... may be rather skilled and capable. However, I doubt she can defend you and herself against Xihou Jiaping. I¡¯ll wait for you to fully recover before I leave. Xihou Jiaping¡¯s motive is to annihte the two of you, so he¡¯ll definitely be devising a scheme to kill you both. You mustn¡¯t let your guards down.¡± ¡°So you won¡¯t be going back to Fang En...¡± ¡°She¡¯ll enjoy more freedom without me. She probably wishes that I¡¯ll never go back.¡± Jin Qingyan said, ¡°Are you going to let her have her wishes, then? Since you¡¯ve helped us, we ought to help you too. You mightpletely lose your chance if you wait until I recover before returning, so you should just go back today.¡± ¡°What¡¯s most important right now is your life, and Hua Jin¡¯s,¡± said Xiao Chenyang. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, don¡¯t worry. It won¡¯t matter even if Xihou Jiapinges here again. I¡¯ve alreadye up with a solution to deal with him. You may rest assured. We¡¯ll contact you when we need your help.¡± Xiao Chenyang knew that Jin Qingyan must have a great ton of confidence in defeating Xihou Jiaping. Otherwise, he would not have said those words. ¡°Alright, but I need your guidance on something.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Xiao Chenyang gestured for An Xiaoning to leave and said, ¡°This is a talk between men. Excuse us for a while.¡± An Xiaoning conceded and walked out of the door. Xiao Chenyang walked toward Jin Qingyan¡¯s bed and asked him softly, ¡°How did you manage to win Hua Jin¡¯s heart in this lifetime?¡± ¡°I did it using my unique charm, obviously.¡± Pursing his lips, Xiao Chenyang said, ¡°Give me some tips on how to win En¡¯s heart.¡± ¡°Dummy, you¡¯ve already made such an aggressive first move on her. Just keep advancing forward and you¡¯ll conquer her heart sooner orter.¡± ¡°She already fancies someone else.¡± ¡°Make her drink some liquor at night, as frequently as you can.¡± ¡°Liquor?¡± ¡°Yes, there¡¯s no harm in trying a few times. I guarantee... you¡¯ll make it one day.¡± Xiao Chenyang smiled and said, ¡°Good idea, but I don¡¯t want to influence her to take up drinking.¡± ¡ª ¡°Xiao Yue, hurry and bring me a bottle of water.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Xiao Yue returned to the nanny van to retrieve a bottle of mineral water, which she then handed to Fang En. Fang En grabbed it and took a few gulps of water. Fang En had filmed a total of twelve scenes today. She was extremely exhausted, especially since Yu Caiwei constantly pulled a bad take on purpose. After thest scene for the day was filmed, it began drizzling all of a sudden. The production team was in the midst of dinner. However, Fang En and her subordinates decided not to join in, since the catered dishes were nd and of poor quality. Ever since she joined the set, she, Xiao Yue, and their chauffeur had always opted to dine elsewhere instead. Fang En would pay for their meals with her own money. It was just that she felt that they deserved to eat better food after all the hard work that they had put in. They got inside the car and headed to a nearby restaurant for dinner. It was raining cats and dogs by the time they were done. ¡°Sis En, don¡¯t we have outdoor filming to do tomorrow? I¡¯ve read the weather forecast. It¡¯s going to rain again tomorrow.¡± ¡°There are some scenes that have to be filmed in the rain. If it pours again tomorrow, I guess we¡¯ll just have to bring forward the filming of those scenes.¡± They entered the hotel, after which Fang En suddenly stopped in her tracks. ¡°Sis En, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Fang En turned to face her and said, ¡°Why do I have such an ominous feeling? I feel really flustered all of a sudden.¡± Xiao Yue asked, ¡°What ominous feeling?¡± ¡°I have no idea either,¡± said Fang En, who continued walking toward the elevator. Pangs of panic and anxiety engulfed her when she was waiting for the elevator. She could not help but wonder if she was simply too worn out. She got a great shock the moment the doors of the elevator opened. ¡°Auntie? When did youe?¡± Smiling, Mrs. Yan said, ¡°I arrived in the afternoon. En, are you done for the day?¡± Chapter 1136 - I Want to Make You Stay (14)

Chapter 1136: I Want to Make You Stay (14)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Yes. Senior is not done yet, is he?¡± ¡°No, I haven¡¯t seen him at all yet. Alright, you may go upstairs to rest. You¡¯ve had a tiring day.¡± Thinking that Mrs. Yan was rather nice, Fang En nodded and entered the elevator. When the doors closed, Xiao Yue said softly, ¡°Senior Yan Ge¡¯s mother really takes such good care of herself. She¡¯s in such great shape too.¡± ¡°Yeah, I heard that she used to be a professional dancer. Most dancers usually ce great emphasis on their figures.¡± While the elevator was ascending, the bodyguard¡¯s mobile phone began to ring. After he answered the call, he said, ¡°Ms. Fang, we won¡¯t be on duty tonight. We¡¯ll be going home tomorrow.¡± Fang En immediately asked, ¡°Is Xiao Chenyanging back tomorrow?¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t mention anything, but I think so.¡± Fang En thought to herself, No wonder I had an ominous feeling. Turns out... Xiao Yue and the two bodyguards exited on the ninth floor while Fang En proceeded to the tenth floor. She returned to her room and unlocked the door with the key card. She then picked up her sleeveless nightdress and headed to the bathroom. Fang En¡¯s heart jumped out of her chest the moment she opened the door. ¡°Ah! Oh my god!¡± Fang En clutched her chest, absolutely terrorized. Staring at Xiao Chenyang, who was wearing a bathrobe, she said in a quivering voice, ¡°Why did youe back all of a sudden? When we were in the elevator just now, the bodyguards said that they would be leaving tomorrow so I thought that you would being back tomorrow.¡± Although she did not mean much, Xiao Chenyang¡¯s face grew sullen the moment he heard her say, ¡°Why did youe back all of a sudden?¡± He said, ¡°I know you really don¡¯t want me toe home, but you still don¡¯t have the right to decide.¡± He exited from the washroom and so did Fang En, who took her pajamas with her. ¡°I tried to call you but you wouldn¡¯t answer and you even switched off your mobile phone. Why did you go back to A City all of a sudden without telling me beforehand? Xiao Yue and I waited for you outside the restaurant for half an hour that night.¡± ¡°Half an hour is peanuts,¡± he said. What¡¯s half an hour to me? I¡¯ve waited centuries for her. Fang En was displeased upon hearing his words. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re nning to sleep here tonight?¡± ¡°Is that okay?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± ¡°But I insist.¡± ¡°You...¡± Fang En had a hunch that he was angry, although she had no idea why he was upset. She ced her nightdress down and picked up a set of pajamas before heading to the bathroom again. He had already closed his eyes by the time she exited, seemingly having dozed off. Fang En stepped forward and stared at him while he slept. She then pulled the nket over him while shey on the couch, where she nned to spend the rest of the night. ¡°Come here.¡± She had no choice but to turn around to look at him. She discovered that he had already opened his eyes. ¡°Go sleep on the bed. I¡±ll take the couch.¡± ¡°I¡¯m telling you toe here,¡± he added. ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± He got out of bed and walked toward her. ¡°Are you going toe here or not?¡± ¡°No... oomph...¡± He bent forward and kissed her forcefully,pletely ignoring the fact that she was struggling to break free. Fang En felt that he had gone berserk. Absolutely berserk. ¡°Let go of me, let go of me!!!¡± ¡°I want you...¡± Frightened out of her senses, Fang En began bawling loudly and begged for mercy, ¡°No, Xiao Chenyang, please don¡¯t treat me like this. I¡¯m begging you, don¡¯t do this to me. I won¡¯t provoke you again. I¡¯ll lie down on the bed and sleep now...¡± Xiao Chenyang paused in his actions and a gloomy look formed in his eyes. He got up andy down on the bed, after which Fang Eny beside him. Now that she had a boyfriend, she could not help but feel guilty for sleeping next to Xiao Chenyang, although they were purely just sleeping. Not to mention, Xiao Chenyang even forced a kiss on her. Her heart was filled with guilt and remorse. Fang Eny t on the bed, feeling as if there was nothing left for her to live for. ¡°Go to bed,¡± said Xiao Chenyang. Fang En snapped out of her trance and turned to face away from him. ¡°Are you really going to be happy this way?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Xiao Chenyang, I¡¯m asking you a question.¡± ¡°...¡± She turned over to meet his eyes and said, ¡°Neither of us will be happy if you keep acting like this.¡± ¡°Will you be happy only when I vanish out of your sight forever?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He hugged her tightly and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you¡¯re not going to provoke me any further?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just answering your question truthfully.¡± ¡°...¡± Seeing that he was remaining silent, Fang En decided not to say anything else. She soon dozed off and drifted to dreand. In her dream, she was prey to the ferocious and menacing Xiao Chenyang, who was chasing her continuously in a bid to devour her. She continued running away from him without stopping to catch her breath, for fear that he would catch up with her. The sky was still dark when she woke up from her dream while shrieking in terror. She panted heavily and tried to catch her breath. All of a sudden, she got a huge fright the moment she caught sight of a figure sitting by the window. She hurriedly switched on the lights and found that the person sitting there was none other than Xiao Chenyang. ¡°Why are you sitting there instead of sleeping?¡± ¡°I¡¯m thinking about something.¡± ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± ¡°I¡¯m contemting if I should take you to Mount Wanyan where the two of us can live alone with each other.¡± ¡°W... What!?!¡± Fang En¡¯s heart contracted and began pounding rapidly. She felt as if she was about to be asphyxiated. She did not wish to return to the mountain that was isted from the rest of the world. Ever since she returned from Y Nation, she had been afraid that he would mention it again. It was her greatest fear... ¡°I don¡¯t want to go to that ce. Why are you treating me like this? Do you think you can trample all over me however you¡¯d please just because you¡¯re stronger than I am?¡± said Fang En, staring at him with tears in her eyes. ¡°Do you really think I won¡¯t find out about it just because you¡¯re hiding it from me?¡± Pangs of panic engulfed Fang En as she grabbed onto the sheets tightly. ¡°What... do you know...¡± she spluttered. He walked toward her andy down again. Staring at her, he said, ¡°I know that you¡¯re in a rtionship with Yan Ge.¡± His words gave Fang En a splitting headache. How did he find out? She was far more frightened at this very momentpared to when he threatened to take her to Mount Wanyan. ¡°You promised me before that you won¡¯t touch the person I fancy, regardless of who he is...¡± ¡°I did promise you that, but on the condition that you¡¯re not in a rtionship with him.¡± Fang En grabbed Xiao Chenyang¡¯s hand, and he could feel that her hand was trembling. ¡°Don¡¯t touch him, alright?¡± ¡°I can promise you that, but you have to promise me one thing.¡± Tears flowed out of Fang En¡¯s eyes like a broken faucet. ¡°Are you asking me to break up with him?¡± His heart went soft the moment he saw that she had teared up. He wiped her tears away and said, ¡°Don¡¯t cry, I¡¯m not going to force you to do that.¡± Chapter 1137 - I Want to Make You Stay (15)

Chapter 1137: I Want to Make You Stay (15)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°What do you want me to do, then?¡± ¡°I just want you to say that you love me, even if you don¡¯t mean it. I really want to hear it.¡± Fang En did not expect that he would make such a request and was extremely bewildered. She said softly, ¡°I love you.¡± Xiao Chenyang hugged her. No one would be able to understand how he was feeling at that moment. He did not force her anymore and said in an electrifying voice, ¡°Let me tell you the story about me and Nan Chuang.¡± She expressed assent and said, ¡°Go ahead, I¡¯m all ears.¡± ¡°Nan Chuang married me when she was 16 years old. Her parents had sold her to me. I¡¯ve never seen here before we got married, and my mother was the one who arranged the marriage for me because she thought that Nan Chuang was rather pretty. She was my concubine,¡± said Xiao Chenyang, who began recalling the events from centuries ago. ¡°I didn¡¯t fancy her, and we were married only in name. Although I didn¡¯t have an actual wife, she was still just my concubine. However, she had been through lots of suffering when she was married to me. She was a clever and bright girl, and in her mind, she believed she belonged to me since I had married her. Hence, she would do whatever she could and continuously look for opportunities to approach me. I rarely went home, but whenever I did, I would see her and she would call me ¡®Lord¡¯ with overflowing excitement, every single time. She looked really beautiful when she smiled. She would often smile at me sweetly. I¡¯ll never be able to forget that smile of hers,¡± said Xiao Chenyang, who began tearing up. Fang En remained still and listened to him quietly. ¡°I was touched by her devotion and finally fell in love with her in the end. When we were in love with each other, we enjoyed a blissful honeymoon period. She said that it was love at first sight for her and that she only had eyes for me. She said that I was her everything. However, our happiness was short-lived. She had a miscarriage, after which her health began to deteriorate. To make matters worse, it was wintertime then and she coughed incessantly. Initially, I thought that she had just caught a bad cold. However, I began to smell a rat after realizing that none of the many physicians whom we had sought help from could treat her condition. I only found outter that my mother had poisoned her. My mother said that I was a capable person and I can¡¯t have an Achilles¡¯ heel that¡¯ll get in the way of my life, especially not a woman. She didn¡¯t want me to have any emotional baggage. However, all I wanted at the time was for Nan Chuang to recover. Yet, she still passed on in the end.¡± Tears welled up in Fang En¡¯s eyes and soon rolled down her cheeks uncontrobly. She crinkled her nose in difort. ¡°What happened afterward?¡± she asked. ¡°Afterward, a lot happened to me.¡± ¡°Could we not return to Mount Wanyan... please?¡± she asked. ¡°That¡¯ll depend on your behavior.¡± Fang En felt as if a huge boulder had been lifted off her chest and she eximed while smiling, ¡°Yes!¡± She dozed off unknowingly again, and the next thing she knew, she was waking up to a bright sky. He was no longer inside the room. Fang En got out of bed and peeked out of the window to see that it was pouring outside, just like she had expected. She headed to the washroom and looked into the mirror, only to discover that she seemed to look a little haggard today. However, it was fortunately not too serious. When Xiao Yue came knocking on the door, Fang En had already packed her things and was getting ready to go downstairs. Xiao Chenyang was also standing by the door, dressed in a suit that entuated his suaveness. As soon as she realized that she had dodged instinctively, Fang En looked at him and said, ¡°Let¡¯s have breakfast first.¡± Fang En was slightly peeved when she was scooping herself some food during breakfast at the buffet restaurant, because Xiao Chenyang kept hindering her from choosing the food that she wanted. He even insisted that she adhere to his diet n. ¡°Don¡¯t eat that, it¡¯s too oily. Don¡¯t eat that, it¡¯s too spicy. It¡¯s going to give you pimples. Just have some milk, eggs, and a sandwich.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to drink milk today.¡± ¡°What would you like to drink instead, then?¡± ¡°Fruit juice.¡± ¡°You have my permission.¡± ¡°...¡± Yan Ge immediately caught sight of Xiao Chenyang when he came down to the restaurant for breakfast together with his manager, assistant, and bodyguard. He looked away and scooped himself some food before taking a seat at the table beside Fang En¡¯s. He began digging in and did notmunicate with her at all. .... They arrived at the film set. One of the scenes to be filmed today involved the male and female lead. Hence, Fang En and Yan Ge sat together because they had to rehearse their lines and practice the hand gestures, as well as nurture their emotions to get into the right mood. Due to Xiao Chenyang¡¯s presence, Yan Ge did not have the chance to speak to Fang En much outside of filming. Xiao Chenyang was standing by the side and monitoring them like a high-definition surveince camera. When it was time for the two of them to act out the scene, Yan Ge finally had the chance to speak to her. He asked softly, ¡°When did hee back?¡± ¡°Last night, I think. He already knows about us,¡± said Fang En. ¡°How did he react, then?¡± asked Yan Ge, who had vaguely guessed it. ¡°He was rather calm when I came clean with him.¡± Yan Ge nodded, and the two of them began acting. The smitten and man-crazy Xiao Yue asked, ¡°Cousin, do you know about the incident that Sis En was involved in?¡± ¡°I do.¡± ¡°If only you were around at the time.¡± ¡°Why? Weren¡¯t those two bodyguards around?¡± Pouting her lips, Xiao Yue answered, ¡°How could they hold a candle to you? I think you¡¯d have definitely stepped in to do something had you been around at the time.¡± Xiao Chenyang looked at her and said, ¡°Maybe.¡± ¡°Cousin, you left without saying goodbye that night. Sis En and I were wondering where you had gone. She even tried to call you but you didn¡¯t pick up.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Xiao Yue said, ¡°Cousin, I know you¡¯re a great cook. Make us breakfast tomorrow, will you?¡± ¡°Are you trying to order me around? Are you out of your mind?¡± he chided, giving her the side-eye. ¡°Hehe, no, of course not. Senior Yan Ge made breakfast for everyone in the production unit. I was just thinking that Sis En should follow suit, as a token of appreciation for her colleagues and the crew members. Although it¡¯s not a valuable gift, it¡¯s the thought that counts. Sis En initially agreed with my suggestion. However, she hasn¡¯t had the time to do so because of the arduous hours of filming. Since you¡¯ve got lots of time on your hands, why don¡¯t you cook breakfast?¡± ¡°Did Yan Ge make you breakfast, then?¡± ¡°No, how could I have possibly been given a share too? I think he only made breakfast for the cast and the directors. I¡¯m not too sure about that.¡± cing his hands behind his back, he said smugly, ¡°Go buy the ingredientster this evening. I¡¯ll make En breakfast tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°Sure... umm... you¡¯re making breakfast for Sis En... Aren¡¯t you going to make some for the other actors and directors?¡± ¡°Although a set of breakfast doesn¡¯t cost much, the value bes different when I¡¯m the one making it. They¡¯re not fit enough to deserve breakfast made by me.¡± ¡°Cousin, you¡¯re so dashing. I want to give birth to your children!¡± Xiao Yue eximed, gazing at him in awe. ¡°You¡¯re in no ce... to give birth to my children.¡± ¡°I was just kidding, hehe.¡± Xiao Yue had long gotten used to his aloofness and thus wasn¡¯t bothered by his cold reply. She was also well aware that a man like Xiao Chenyang was high and mighty and would never fall for an insignificant assistant like her. However, she was contented enough to be in close proximity with such an outstanding man. Chapter 1138 - I Want to Make You Stay (16)

Chapter 1138: I Want to Make You Stay (16)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Yu Yiwei arrived at the hospital in the afternoon together with Fan Shixin. She initially wanted to bring some food along for Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning. However, Fan Shixin forbade her from doing so. Hence, Yu Yiwei hitched a ride from Fan Shixin and made her way to the hospital. ¡°Young Madam,e outside for a while. I have to talk to you about something.¡± All three of them knew that it was just an excuse to send An Xiaoning out of the ward. Jin Qingyan was the only one who was in the dark. After Fan Shixin and An Xiaoning left, Yu Yiwei stood beside the bed and asked, ¡°Were there any symptoms that urred before your rpse this time?¡± ¡°No, it just happened after I fell asleep. My emotions were rather stable before I went to bed.¡± ¡°Well, your illness is irregr to begin with, and the urrence of rpses is very erratic. Sometimes there will be symptoms and sometimes there won¡¯t be any. It¡¯s not surprising at all. I¡¯ve prescribed some medicine for you that¡¯ll help stabilize your condition as much as possible.¡± She took out a transparent box from her bag, which contained several different drugs, and exined, ¡°This contains enough doses tost you a week. If you have any qualms, you may send the drugs for ab test to verify the ingredients. Take them once a day, one pill of each type at a time.¡± Jin Qingyan took it from her and said, ¡°Got it.¡± Yu Yiwei then proceeded to mention some irrelevant and unnecessary things before An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin entered. Yu Yiwei was filled with envy after seeing how chummy and affectionate An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan were with each other. When it was time to go back, she initially nned to hail a taxi. However, Fan Shixin insisted on sending her back. Yu Yiwei was well aware that he still had his guard up against her and would not allow her to wander around on her own without any bodyguards chaperoning her. ¡°Mr. Jin and Ms. An get along so well. Why haven¡¯t they reconciled their marriage yet?¡± ¡°How would I know what they¡¯re thinking?¡± Fan Shixin said coldly. ¡°Chief Fan, has there been any progress in your matchmaking sessions?¡± ¡°I was nning to put an end to it, but I forgot to do so because I have been extremely busytely. I¡¯ll be stopping the registration today.¡± ¡°If I were to sign up too, will you pick me, Chief Fan?¡± Fan Shixin looked at her in bewilderment and asked, ¡°Why would you ask such a question, Ms. Yu?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already asked it anyway. Aren¡¯t you going to answer me?¡± Remaining calm andposed, Fan Shixin said, ¡°You must be kidding, Ms. Yu. You¡¯re out of my league, but since you¡¯ve asked, I shall just tell you truthfully. You and I are obviously ipatible in terms of personalities, so I¡¯m sorry, but I won¡¯t pick you.¡± Yu Yiwei pursed her lips and answered, ¡°You¡¯ve never even spent time with me privately before, how would you know that we¡¯re notpatible?¡± ¡°Well, sometimes, a man¡¯s intuition can be very urate too.¡± Seeing how blunt and honest he was, she smiled and said, ¡°I was just teasing you, Chief Fan. Don¡¯t take it to heart.¡± ¡°That goes without saying.¡± Yu Yiwei looked out of the window and remained quiet. Fan Shixin dropped her off at the entrance and watched her enter the door before heading back to the office. .... In the evening, Fan Shixin called Jin Qingyan to inform him that theb test results had shown that the drugs did not contain any abnormal substances and were purely meant to aid him in calming his senses. Jin Qingyan decided to start consuming the medicine. ¡°Xiaoning, pour me some water.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning grabbed his cup and filled half of it with hot water and the remaining half with cold water from the water dispenser. She handed it to him after testing the temperature. He grabbed the cup and took a sip, after which he said, ¡°Switch on the television. I want to watch it.¡± An Xiaoning proceeded to grab the TV remote, during which he stealthily popped the pills into his mouth and washed them down with some warm water. Jin Qingyan fell asleep soon after consuming a single dose of the drug as well as the chemical that Bei Qi had given him. Meanwhile, An Xiaoning sat on the bed alone to watch some television. However, her mind was distracted. Did he think that I wouldn¡¯t know about the medicine just because I didn¡¯t see it? She was well aware that he had instructed Fan Shixin to send the pills for ab test. Although the drugs were tested to be safe, she still did not want him to consume them. Firstly, it was because the drugs that Yu Yiwei had prescribed had no effects apart from calming his senses. In that case, Bei Qi¡¯s chemicals would be a better option since it did not have any side effects, unlike those that Yu Yiwei had prescribed. Secondly, if Yu Yiwei was attempting to keep his condition in control using the drugs, it would not be feasible at all. What was the point if it was impossible topletely stop Henry from surfacing? Thirdly, they ought not to be overly eager when ites to treating psychological orders. Hence, she was still hoping to win the bet against Henry and make him vanish on his own. Although it¡¯s said that there¡¯s no cure for the disorder, getting Henry to leave out of his own ord was the only way to tackle the root problem. Although dissociative identity disorder was not the same as the process of a spirit possessing a human, the two were closely simr. Hence, An Xiaoning had instructed Fan Shixin to rece the drugs with identical-looking cebos that were candy in reality. Jin Qingyan obviously had no idea about that. ¡°Boss, that fellow is...¡± As soon as her ringtone sounded, she hurriedly grabbed her mobile phone to answer the call, for fear that her ringtone would jolt the sound-asleep Jin Qingyan awake, especially since it was hard for him to get some quality sleep. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°It¡¯s me. Are you asleep yet?¡± asked Gu Beicheng. ¡°Not yet, it¡¯s still early. I¡¯m not sleepy.¡± ¡°Have you eaten yet?¡± ¡°I had a little bit of food. I¡¯m not that hungry.¡± ¡°I finally put an end to that matter that had been constantly making me feel troubled. I prepared some liquor and dishes at home. Would you like toe over for a meal?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go if youe and pick me up personally,¡± said An Xiaoning, staring at Jin Qingyan, who was sleeping. ¡°Alright, wait for me, Missy.¡± She hung up, smiling. In fact, she felt a little bored after having stayed in the ward every single day. Gu Beicheng arrived twenty minutester. After instructing one of the bodyguards to go inside the ward and keep watch, she left for the Gu family mansion together with Gu Beicheng. Staring at the pouring rain, An Xiaoning said, ¡°It¡¯s been raining consecutively for the past few days.¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s the same in B City too. How long more does he have to be hospitalized?¡± Gu Beicheng asked. ¡°He still has a long while to go before he can be discharged. It¡¯s only been a little more than a week now. Has everything about Lin Mingyuane to an end?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s over. I¡¯ve never seen such a thick-skinned and shameless person like Lin Mingyuan¡¯s husband before. However, he coughed up half of the money that he had absconded with. I shall forget it since he¡¯s going to prison too anyway.¡± ¡°They¡¯re a couple. Lin Mingyuan was not much better than he is either. She¡¯s way too greedy for her own good. How pathetic. If she had chosen to live a simpler life, things probably wouldn¡¯t have turned out this way. She fell straight from Heaven to Hell and couldn¡¯t take the pain of a setback,¡± said An Xiaoning. Smiling, Gu Beicheng said, ¡°No matter what, this matter has finallye to an end. However, what happened to Jin Qingyan? I¡¯ve seen the video that was circted online a few days ago. I think he¡¯s acting a little abnormally.¡± ¡°He was out of sorts and we had a minor tiff. But we¡¯ve made up and everything is alright now. We¡¯re okay.¡± ¡°Do feel free to contact me whenever you need help, although you might not really need it.¡± ¡°Do you really think I¡¯d stand on ceremony with you in the event that I really need your help? When the time actuallyes, you¡¯ll have no choice but to help me. Rest assured,¡± An Xiaoning said with a smile. Chapter 1139 - I Want to Make You Stay (17)

Chapter 1139: I Want to Make You Stay (17)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios They returned to the Gu family mansion to see that Lin Mingxi was already waiting for them. There was a delectable spread of dishesid across the dining table. The food was vibrant and had a pleasant aroma. ¡°There¡¯s too much food for the three of us,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°When Beicheng came back from the office, he said that it¡¯s been a long time since the three of us ate together. Look, most of these dishes are your favorite ones. Tell me honestly, do you feel like we love you?¡± ¡°Of course I do.¡± An Xiaoning picked up a piece of tofu with her chopsticks and said, ¡°I made a mistake just now. I mean the four of us. I forgot about the baby in your stomach. Mingxi, you must eat more.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve gained so much weight... Xiaoning, look at me, I¡¯ve gained almost ten pounds,¡± said Lin Mingxi, pinching her own face. ¡°Ten pounds is nothing. Many expectant mothers gain dozens of pounds. You¡¯ll lose the weight after giving birth to the baby.¡± ¡°Did you gain any weight when you were pregnant with Yiheng?¡± An Xiaoning recalled her pregnancy and answered, ¡°I did, but not much. Well... I just don¡¯t gain weight easily.¡± Upon hearing her words, Lin Mingxi immediately eximed, ¡°Ah, Hubby, did you hear that? Xiaoning is making me detest her!¡± Gu Beicheng blinked at her and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, you¡¯ll get used to it.¡± Stomping her feet on the ground, Lin Mingxi said, ¡°Hey, Hubby, whose side are you on, exactly?¡± An Xiaoning burst intoughter and said, ¡°Expectant mothers ought to stay calm at all times. Why are you still so cranky?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t stand the fact that my husband is still biased toward you.¡± ¡°Come and hit me if you can¡¯t stand it.¡± ¡°Hubby, look!¡± ¡°Okay, okay, both of you shall be hit fifty times, will that do...¡± Lin Mingxi smiled widely and said, ¡°See, Xiaoning, my husband just loves defending you.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, yes, I¡¯ve seen it all. Brother is always so nice to me.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª Xiao Yue scurried toward Xiao Chenyang with an umbre in hand. She made an OK sign with her hand and said softly, ¡°Cousin, everything is settled. I¡¯ve ced the ingredients in the hotel¡¯s kitchen. I¡¯ve told the hotel staff to store them in the refrigerator.¡± ¡°Got it. How many more scenes are there to be filmed for today?¡± he asked. ¡°There are more night scenes to be filmed tonight. I reckon they¡¯ll end around midnight.¡± ¡°They still have to work at night after a long day of filming. Do they take the actors to be ves?¡± Afraid that others would hear him, Xiao Yue said, ¡°Lower your volume, lest others hear you.¡± ¡°Go get a thin nket from the hotel staff.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go get it now.¡± Xiao Chenyang nodded and turned around to see that Fang En was walking toward him. She appeared rather eager and seemed to have something to say to him. When she reached him, she said, ¡°There¡¯s a kissing scene to be filmed tomorrow. I¡¯ve asked the director just now and she forbids me from staging the kiss.¡± To her surprise, Xiao Chenyang¡¯s face did not grow sullen and he simply said, ¡°At this point, does it really matter whether the kiss is staged or not? You¡¯re going to kiss him outside of filming anyway. You don¡¯t have to ask me for permission.¡± They spoke in an extremely soft voice that could be heard only by themselves. He continued staring at Fang En, after which she said softly, ¡°We talked about this before filming began...¡± He changed the subject and asked, ¡°Xiao Yue said that you¡¯re going to have to work until midnight. Is there anything you¡¯d like to eat?¡± ¡°I want to eat some steamed pea cake, but I doubt there are any avable for purchase at this hour. Get Xiao Yue to buy me a bowl of noodles in the evening.¡± He nodded and said, ¡°Got it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go to the set now, then.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Fang En turned around and walked away. She knew that he was staring at her without even having to turn around to look at him. Perhaps his gaze was too intense. She felt an urge to verify her guess. In fact, she had really done so. After walking past the crew members, she turned around and met his eyes. She turned around within just seconds. Filming ended only at 11:45 pm. Fang En was beyond exhausted. However, filming would resume soon the next morning, for they could not afford any dy. Hence, the most important thing that she had to do now was to zoom back to her room to get some sleep. ¡°Xiao Yue, where¡¯s Cousin?¡± ¡°Cousin called to say that he¡¯ll be returning in a few minutes.¡± Thinking that he must have gone to buy some supper, Fang En sat in the chair and waited patiently. ¡°Sis En, drape this over yourself. It gets chilly at night.¡± Upon the sight of the thin nket in her hands, Fang En asked, ¡°Did you return to the hotel to get this?¡± ¡°Cousin told me to.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± She draped it over her shoulders and continued waiting for him. A car pulled over slowly, and a woman who resembled Yu Caiwei alighted from the car. At seeing Fang En, the woman greeted, ¡°Hello, Ms. Fang.¡± ¡°You are...?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Yu Yiwei, Yu Caiwei¡¯s sister.¡± Fang En quickly shook Yu Yiwei¡¯s extended hand and said, ¡°Oh, she¡¯s getting her makeup removed and changing out of her costume. But how did you know me...?¡± Yu Yiwei smiled and answered, ¡°I¡¯m currently staying in Wei Ni Estate and I know your boss, Ms. An, personally. Of course, I¡¯ve also read the news about you online. You¡¯re signed to her studio, right?¡± ¡°Yes, yes.¡± Yu Yiwei put on a rare smile and asked, ¡°Ms. Fang, do you only have your assistant with you? Where¡¯s your bodyguard?¡± ¡°He went out to handle some matters. He¡¯s not here.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. I¡¯ll go visit my sister now, then.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Fang En answered with a smile. After Yu Yiwei left, Fang En said to Xiao Yue, ¡°Look at this Yu Yiwei, she¡¯s so much more polite than her sister.¡± ¡°Sis En, you should never judge a book by its cover. I don¡¯t know why, but I feel like she¡¯s really aloof and standoffish.¡± ¡°Let her be, we barely know her anyway.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Xiao Chenyang returned less than two minutester with a few bags of food. He ced them on the table and said, ¡°Have some food before you go home.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Fang En agreed while staring at the stic bags in his hands. Surprised to see the steamed pea cakes, she asked, ¡°Where... did you buy them from?¡± ¡°I requested a store owner to make them on the spot. I only bought a few because I was afraid that you wouldn¡¯t be able to finish them.¡± Fang En smiled at him and said, ¡°They must be delicious. I¡¯ll try it now.¡± He handed her the bag of steamed pea cakes, after which he poured each of the three bags of noodles into a disposable bowl. They had a bowl each. ¡°Cousin, what kind of noodles are these?¡± Xiao Yue asked. ¡°Stir-fried noodles,¡± he answered. Fang En gave Xiao Yue a piece of steamed pea cake and said, ¡°Try some too.¡± Xiao Yue looked at Xiao Chenyang before shifting her gaze onto the steamed pea cake. She said, ¡°Cousin bought it especially for you. Sis En, you should have them instead.¡± ¡°There are quite a few pieces. Here, take it.¡± Xiao Yue grabbed it and began eating it in small bites. Fang En handed a piece to Xiao Chenyang and said, ¡°Have some too. You deserve the most credit since you were the one who bought it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll pass. You enjoy it yourself,¡± he said while separating a pair of disposable chopsticks. He then began eating the noodles. Chapter 1140 - I Want to Make You Stay (18)

Chapter 1140: I Want to Make You Stay (18)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Fang En then ced the steamed pea cake that she was holding inside her mouth. The sweet aroma of green peas satisfied all her cravings. She would usually refrain from eating at night, for fear that she would end up gaining weight. However, she actually polished several pieces of the cakes in one go. Fortunately, they were rather small and she could finish all of them. After having their fill, the three of them stood up and prepared to return to the hotel. It was already past midnight. As soon as they stepped foot outside, they heard Yu Caiwei yelling, ¡°Sis, that¡¯s him!¡± The three of them turned around and caught sight of the Yu sisters. There were a few bodyguards behind Yu Caiwei, as well as her manager. ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m talking about you. What are you looking at? You poured a bowl of noodles over my head at the restaurant.¡± There was no one else around. Remaining calm andposed, Xiao Chenyang retorted, ¡°Did you tell your sister why I had done that?¡± Yu Caiwei rolled her eyes and said, ¡°Sis, let¡¯s go...¡± ¡°Wait for me in the car while I say a few words to Ms. Fang.¡± ¡°What¡¯s there to say to her?¡± ring at her sister coldly, Yu Yiwei ordered, ¡°Get inside the car immediately.¡± Yu Caiwei had no choice but to leave with her bodyguards. After they left, Yu Yiwei said, ¡°Ms. Fang, my sister may already be 30 years old, but she¡¯s still a spoiled brat who speaks whatever¡¯s on her mind. She rarely spares a thought for the feelings of others. Please be understanding and forgive her if she offends you. Don¡¯t stoop to her level.¡± Seeing how polite she was, Fang En said, ¡°You¡¯re being too courteous, Ms. Yu. My people and I will never create trouble unless someone provokes us first.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll definitely lecture and warn her from now on. I¡¯ll take my leave now, then.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± As soon as she left, Xiao Yue walked in front, leaving the other two behind. ¡°You said that I¡¯m your person?¡± Fang En answered, ¡°You¡¯re my bodyguard now. Doesn¡¯t that make you my person?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve always been yours.¡± A warm fuzzy feeling filled Fang En¡¯s heart. She did not expect him to be so meticulous as to buy her some steamed pea cakes right after she mentioned that she was craving for them. ¡°I¡¯m in a good mood today, I shall reward youter.¡± Xiao Chenyang asked, ¡°What reward?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll find out when we¡¯re back in the hotel.¡± Xiao Chenyang felt a little excited the moment he heard her words. .... Yu Yiwei got inside Yu Caiwei¡¯s nanny van and said to the chauffeur, ¡°Start driving.¡± The car moved off while the two bodyguards chaperoning Yu Yiwei followed closely behind. ¡°Sis, what¡¯s going on? Why were you so polite to them?¡± ¡°You dimwit. You¡¯ve lived the thirty years of your life in vain,¡± Yu Yiwei chided. ¡°What did I do wrong?¡± Yu Caiwei asked in bewilderment. ¡°Tell me, why did he pour the noodles over your head? He couldn¡¯t have done it without any rhyme or reason, could he?¡± ¡°I...¡± ¡°You¡¯re not going to tell me the exact reason. Actually, I can already guess that you were the one who incurred his wrath first. Also, stop provoking Fang En and her bodyguard.¡± ¡°Bodyguard? You mean that gigolo? He¡¯s so self-righteous and arrogant just because he knows he¡¯s handsome. I asked him if he wanted to work under me and yet he put on airs...¡± Her voice faded as she realized that her sister was ring at her. ¡°Gigolo? If you dare say that in front of him, I doubt I¡¯ll be able to see you alive and kicking tomorrow, Caiwei. Do you know who he is?¡± ¡°Sis, who is he?¡± ¡°Forget it, just remember not to make those nasty remarks when you see him again. Think twice before you speak and filter your words.¡± As curious as a cat, Yu Caiwei said, ¡°Sis, hurry and tell me, just who is he? Don¡¯t tell me, he¡¯s the illegitimate child of the current president?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t spout nonsense. He¡¯s not.¡± ¡°Just who is he, then?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to know who he is. Just know that he¡¯s someone whom you can¡¯t afford to provoke.¡± Yu Caiwei said bluntly, ¡°I don¡¯t believe it. If he¡¯s really that invincible, why would he be Fang En¡¯s bodyguard?¡± Yu Yiwei had been pondering over that question as well. However, she had also heard from Xihou Jiaping that he did not manage to find anything unusual after testing and sounding Fang En out. Xiao Chenyang is probably just disguising as her bodyguard to give himself a suitable pseudo-identity, she thought. ¡°Whenever I tell you something, all you do is retort and go against me. I came to B City tonight at such ate hour simply because I wanted to instruct you not to be sopetitive all the time. Caiwei, what¡¯s the harm in having a glibber tongue sometimes? It¡¯s not going to hurt. Caiwei, I shall be frank with you. Fang En¡¯s bodyguard is of the same caliber as Jin Qingyan. If you can win his heart, you¡¯re in for a blissful life,¡± said Yu Yiwei. ¡°Why must I win his heart? What other attributes does he have apart from being handsome? Besides, there¡¯s someone whom I just can¡¯t get over.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just making an assumption. Even if you don¡¯t fancy him, don¡¯t offend him either. When you see Fang En in the future, be more polite to her. At the end of the day, you¡¯re colleagues working in the same production. Don¡¯t be so petty.¡± ¡°Sis, you have no idea. I¡¯ll never be able to be polite to her,¡± said Yu Caiwei, closing her eyes and leaning back against the chair. Seeing how stubborn she was, Yu Yiwei said, ¡°Why are you so obstinate and rebellious?¡± ¡°I¡¯m an adult, not a child. Sis, you don¡¯t have to meddle with all my affairs. I would still be polite on the surface to other actresses that I dislike. However, Fang En is an exception.¡± ¡°Just tell me why.¡± ¡°My ex-boyfriend seems to have started dating her, but it¡¯s not confirmed yet. However, I have a feeling that that¡¯s the case.¡± ¡°So what if your ex-boyfriend is dating her now? How does it concern you? Don¡¯t tell me, you still can¡¯t forget him?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± Staring out of the window, Yu Yiwei said to her, ¡°Don¡¯t ever get embroiled in a messy rtionship when you still have feelings for someone. If you really can¡¯t let go of him, you may snatch him back openly, but don¡¯t put all the me on an innocent party. Otherwise, you¡¯d definitely regret it.¡± COMMENT ¡°Sis, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± asked Yu Caiwei, who was puzzled about her sister acting out of the ordinary. To her knowledge, her sister had always been standoffish and would rarely talk to anyone. She had always been quiet and reserved around strangers, unlike the way she had acted just now. ¡°You¡¯d better bear my words in mind. My advice is only going to do you good.¡± ¡°Yes...¡± ¡ª Xiao Chenyang asked, ¡°What reward?¡± ¡°Lie down on the bed.¡± He did as he was told andy down. He then cocked his head toward the side to see that she was kneeling down beside him and massaging him gently with her tiny hands. Xiao Chenyang¡¯s body stiffened. Beaming with joy, he asked, ¡°Are you giving me a massage?¡± ¡°Yes, I am, but you¡¯ll have to go back to the ninth floorter, okay?¡± ¡°Turns out there¡¯s a condition,¡± he drawled with raised brows. Chapter 1141 - I Want to Make You Stay (19)

Chapter 1141: I Want to Make You Stay (19)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Fang En asked meekly, ¡°Are you going to promise me or not?¡± ¡°Okay, I know what to do.¡± She felt relieved upon hearing that he had conceded. Despite having filmed for an entire day, she did not feel sleepy at all. She continued massaging him. Xiao Chenyang felt like he had made progress in improving his rtionship with her. He had more than enough time and patience to win her heart, bit by bit. He had already waited for her for centuries. A little more time wouldn¡¯t make much of a difference. After she had been massaging him for half an hour, he finally got up and said, ¡°Rest well. I¡¯ll wake you up tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Xiao Chenyang proceeded to walk toward the door. All of a sudden, she yelled at him. He stopped in his tracks and asked, ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Goodnight.¡± Xiao Chenyang¡¯s heart began to flutter. He looked at her and said, ¡°Goodnight.¡± He then left. He headed to the ninth floor before going back to her room without her even realizing. He was determined to protect her as much as he can and decided to keep his guard up at night even if everything seemed to be at peace. He merely wanted to be safe because anything could happen at any time. He was in a state of turmoil. Whenever Fang En was in her room by herself, she would sometimes wrap a towel around her body or put on her pajamas after taking a shower; sometimes, she would also walk straight out of the bathroom stark naked. Upon the sight of her, he hurriedly dodged and looked away, for fear that he would be unable to resist his urges if he were to take another nce at her. They had a peaceful night. Fang En woke up at six o¡¯clock the next morning. Still feeling rather sleepy, she leaned against the headboard and struggled to open her eyes. She felt as if there was a gravitational force that was pulling her toward the bed. Afterzing in bed for ten minutes, she finally forced herself out of bed to go wash up in the bathroom, for she did not want to break any rulesid by the production team. She instantly felt much more awake after rinsing her face with cold water. Ding-Dong... Before she could even use some facial wash, she hurriedly wiped her face dry and proceeded to open the door. Fang En was caught by surprise when she opened the door. Staring at the container of food in front of her, she asked in bafflement, ¡°Why was it you who bought breakfast?¡± ¡°I made it myself. There you go.¡± Fang En grabbed the container and walked back inside the room while Xiao Chenyang followed closely behind and closed the door after him. Fang En opened the container to see that the breakfast set consisted of a variety of food. Beaming with joy, she handed him a pancake and said, ¡°It smells delicious. Let¡¯s eat together. Here.¡± He put on a pair of disposable gloves and grabbed the pancake. ¡°Did you make some for Xiao Yue too?¡± He answered bluntly, ¡°Why should I? I¡¯m not her nanny. I¡¯ve already told her yesterday to go to the buffet restaurant for breakfast this morning.¡± Fang En nodded and asked, ¡°What has gotten into you, though? Why did you suddenly decide to make me breakfast?¡± ¡°Because I wanted you to know that I¡¯m better at cooking breakfast.¡± She paused in her actions and instantly understood what he meant. She smiled awkwardly and said, ¡°Well, both of you are... good at whipping up delicious breakfasts. However, I really couldn¡¯t tell that you had such great culinary skills. I was surprised when you cooked for us in Qingyuan Estate. Although I can whip up a meal too, my skills can¡¯t hold a candle to yours. Awesome, well done.¡± She then gave him a thumbs up. Xiao Chenyang red at her and said, ¡°Just focus on eating your food. Why do you have so much to say?¡± ¡°I was praising you...¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need you to praise me. I know it myself.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª Fan Shixin officially put an end to the registration period for his matchmaking sessions. There was a total of more than 160 thousand candidates who had signed up. Although it was a small numberpared to the poption of the entire nation, it was nheless a massive number of candidates for a matchmaking session. Due to the fact that he had been extremely busy with work and handling matters at the office, Fan Shixin could not afford to take the time out to meet the candidates. However, the main reason was also because he had long given up hope on blind dates. If An Xiaoning had not urged him to continue meeting the shortlisted candidates, he wouldn¡¯t have bothered doing so today. ¡°Chief, this one¡¯s not bad. She¡¯s pretty.¡± ¡°Chief, this one¡¯s great too. I can tell that she¡¯s ssy and elegant.¡± ¡°Chief, look at this one...¡± Fan Shixin gave Xiao Bai the side-eye and said, ¡°Who¡¯s the one searching for a prospective partner? You or me? Go do whatever you¡¯re supposed to. Stop loitering around me.¡± Xiao Bai chuckled and said, ¡°Chief, singletons like us need a chance too.¡± ¡°If you still refuse to leave, I¡¯ll put you on duty for two consecutive days.¡± A look of dismay formed on Xiao Bai¡¯s face and hemented, ¡°Even Young Sir isn¡¯t as heartless as you are...¡± Fan Shixin proceeded to look through the candidates who had signed up and shortlisted another five whom he decided to meet today. He freed up two hours of his schedule to meet the five women, from twelve to two o¡¯clock in the afternoon. He also requested all of them to turn up barefaced. After a busy morning at the office, Fan Shixin proceeded to have his lunch at half past eleven and headed to the cafe to meet the women. The sun was shining brightly, and the temperatures were warm again. He arrived at the cafe to discover that the first candidate had shown up ten minutes earlier than the agreed time. Upon seeing him, the woman stood up excitedly and greeted, ¡°Hello, Mr. Fan, my name is Wu Pingyang.¡± Fan Shixin nced at her and realized that she was really barefaced. Her skin was rather fair, except for her under-eye circles. He could tell that she often stayed upte at night. However, she looked better than he had imagined. ¡°Hello, Ms. Wu. Please have a seat.¡± Wu Pingyang sat down, feeling at a sudden loss for what to say. Fan Shixin asked, ¡°Are you 23 years old this year?¡± ¡°Yes, yes, my birthday just passed.¡± ¡°What do you do for a living right now?¡± ¡°I just graduated from medical schoolst year, and I¡¯m now working at the dental clinic in First People¡¯s Hospital in our city.¡± Fan Shixin nodded and asked, ¡°Not bad. Have you had any boyfriends in the past?¡± She answered truthfully, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve had a boyfriend in university, but we broke up. However, I didn¡¯t cohabit with my ex-boyfriend before. I¡¯m still a virgin.¡± Fan Shixin stopped drinking his coffee and asked, ¡°Why not? I heard that it¡¯smon for undergraduates to cohabit with their boyfriends these days...¡± ¡°Well, my parents are stricter with me and I have a very traditional set of values. I¡¯ve always thought that I ought to remain celibate until marriage...¡± Fan Shixin instantly formed a good impression of her. ¡°Oh, I see...¡± After having a chat with Wu Pingyang and the four other women, Fan Shixin had more or lesse to a decision. He gave Wu Pingyang his mobile number, after which she went home gleefully. Wu Pingyang returned to the Mu family home in high spirits. ¡°Grandpa, I seeded!¡± ¡°Really? I knew my granddaughter would seed for sure. How could he not fancy my adorable Pingyang?¡± old Mr. Mu said with widened eyes. ¡°Of course. I conquered his heart effortlessly,¡± Wu Pingyang said smugly, smiling radiantly while staring at Fan Shixin¡¯s figure from afar. Chapter 1142 - I Want to Make You Stay (20)

Chapter 1142: I Want to Make You Stay (20)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Wu Pingyang sneered, ¡°It may be a little inappropriate to say this, but I think you¡¯ve got quite a poor taste in men. Mr. Fan is tall, handsome, and capable. On top of that, he¡¯s even Jin Qingyan¡¯s able assistant. He¡¯s so much better than your boyfriend, Cousin. How could you tell him that you already have a boyfriend? But then again, Fan Shixin might not be interested in you even if you told him that you were single.¡± The matter never failed to get the elderly Mr. Mu riled up. He gibed, ¡°Just ignore her, her brains are fried. She actuallynded herself such a penniless boyfriend. What can he even do for the Mu family? Yet you¡¯re still whining about wanting to get married. Wansheng, I¡¯m just going to make things clear beforehand. If you insist on marrying him, you¡¯re not going to get a single cent for your dowry!¡± Mu Wansheng remained standing and kept her eyes fixed on the ground. She said confidently, ¡°I¡¯m not nning to have the Mu family prepare my dowry.¡± ¡°You... I really don¡¯t wish to see you at all, hurry and scram!¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She turned around and walked out of the door. As soon as she exited, Mu Wansheng¡¯s mother hurriedly chased after her and stopped her when she was outside. ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± ¡°Mother, don¡¯t you know clearly what I want to do?¡± Mrs. Mu gave her a tight p and reprimanded her, ¡°You shameful wretch! If you hadn¡¯t messed everything up during the blind date that day, Fan Shixin might have really taken an interest in you. People used to always say that you can¡¯t hold a candle to Pingyang, but I refused to believe that. I wondered, just how are you any worse than her? However, I¡¯ve truly understood now that your taste in men and your brains are nowhereparable to hers!¡± ¡°I just want to be with the person I truly fancy. What¡¯s wrong with that? Why do I have to go on a blind date when I already have a boyfriend? Wouldn¡¯t I be conning him that way?¡± ¡°I told you to break up with that pauper long ago, why didn¡¯t you do it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to break up with him... Mother, he¡¯s very hardworking. He¡¯s already set up a business and apany of his own. He¡¯s not going to be too inferior.¡± ¡°Fine, I¡¯m washing my hands off of your business. Do whatever you want, but you¡¯d better not regret it! Just like your grandfather had mentioned, if you insist on being stubborn, the Mu family is not going to give you a single cent for your dowry.¡± ¡°Mother, you still haven¡¯t told me clearly if he¡¯s my grandfather or my father.¡± Mrs. Mu looked at her before walking away,pletely ignoring her. Mu Wansheng stood rooted to the ground like a statue. ¡ª There was a kissing scene to be filmed today. Fang En had already informed Xiao Chenyang about it yesterday. Fang En thought that the kissing scene would definitely be filmed, since Xiao Chenyang did not raise any objectionsst night. The director wouldn¡¯t allow them to stage-kiss anyway. Yet, at this juncture, Director Gao said to them, ¡°You two shall stage-kiss during the scer.¡± Both Yan Ge and Fang En were dumbfounded. ¡°Sis Gao, didn¡¯t you tell me yesterday that we¡¯re not allowed to stage-kiss? Why have you changed your mind again?¡± ¡°From now on, we¡¯ll stage every kiss in this television series. You guys, get ready, the camera is about to start rolling,¡± Director Gao said without stating the reason. Fang En and Yan Ge looked at each other, after which Yan Ge immediately spected, ¡°He must be the one who had done that. Otherwise, why would the resolute Sis Gao change her mind all of a sudden?¡± Fang En had no idea if that was the case. ¡°I don¡¯t know...¡± ¡°We¡¯ll just stage the kiss, then...¡± said Yan Ge. Xiao Chenyang sat on a chair with one leg crossed over the other while peeling an orange slowly. Of course he didn¡¯t have to step in personally to make them stage-kiss. All he had to do was to get Fang En¡¯s studio to contact Director Gao. How simple. When they returned from filming, Yan Ge noticed that Xiao Chenyang was sitting on Fang En¡¯s seat and did not show any signs of getting up. He then said to Fang En, ¡°Is your bodyguard always so oblivious? He saw youing back and he doesn¡¯t even bother standing up to let you have a seat.¡± Fang En frantically said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, just let him have the seat.¡± She shot Yan Ge a nce to subtly urge him not to say anything further. However, Yan Ge ignored it and gibed, ¡°Since he¡¯s your bodyguard, he ought to act and perform the duties that a bodyguard is supposed to. Isn¡¯t that the case?¡± Xiao Chenyang looked up and said to Fang En, ¡°Take a seat.¡± Not daring to take a seat, she smiled wryly and said, ¡°You continue sitting, I¡¯m not tired.¡± Xiao Chenyang then looked at Yan Ge again and said, ¡°Saw that?¡± Yan Ge was speechless. One would definitely feel threatened when his or her partner bes the subject of adoration of someone else. At this moment, Yan Ge was feeling absolutely threatened. He repeatedly told himself that he was the one whom Fang En was in love with and that Fang En was his girlfriend. He tried to reassure himself that Xiao Chenyang had no chance at a shot with her at all. However, he could not help but feel ill at ease even after trying to persuade himself. He sat on the chair with a sullen expression on his face. Everyone remained silent until Mrs. Yan arrived. ¡°Son, how many more scenes do you have to film for today?¡± ¡°Seven or eight, what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°I have a friend whose daughter lives nearby, I was thinking...¡± Before she could even finish her sentence, Yan Ge interrupted her, ¡°Mother, why are you bringing that up again? I¡¯ve already said that I don¡¯t believe in matchmaking and arranged marriages. I¡¯ll take charge of my own marriage from now on.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a casual meeting. What¡¯s the big deal?¡± ¡°I already have a girlfriend,¡± said Yan Ge, who felt that it was alright to say it out loud since there were no crew members nearby. However, Fang En¡¯s stomach had be twisted into a knot and she felt as if her heart was about to jump out of her chest. ¡°Really? Who is it? Why didn¡¯t you take her home to visit me and your father?¡± Mrs. Yan asked in surprise. ¡°Really. I¡¯ll take her home next time.¡± ¡°Could you tell me who she is, then?¡± Mrs. Yan asked out of extreme curiosity. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you next time.¡± Noticing that he seemed reluctant to divulge the information, Mrs. Yan did not probe any further, especially since there were others around. She decided to ask him in private. She would not leave until she found out who his girlfriend was. She constantly prayed that he would not rekindle his rtionship with Yu Caiwei. In fact, she came to visit him especially because she knew that Yu Caiwei was part of the cast for this television series as well. After some thought, Mrs. Yan realized that there was a huge possibility that they might have gotten back together. She constantly pondered over the question until Yan Ge got off from work. When they got inside the nanny van, she asked Yan Ge in all seriousness, ¡°Did you get back together with Yu Caiwei?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ll never get back together with her.¡± Mrs. Yan felt a huge sense of relief and she continued to probe, ¡°Who is it, then? Hurry and tell me. My curiosity is killing me.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t I tell you in the future?¡± ¡°No, no, no, I must find out now. Tell me, quick!¡± Staring at her, Yan Ge said, ¡°Mother, I¡¯ll tell you, but you can¡¯t spread it to anyone else.¡± ¡°Of course I won¡¯t. I won¡¯t tell anyone unless you¡¯re nning to get married. I¡¯ll at most tell your father. Don¡¯t you trust me enough? I didn¡¯t tell anyone about your rtionship with Yu Caiwei, did I? Don¡¯t worry, I know the pros and cons.¡± ¡°You must promise me that you won¡¯t cause a stir after you find out, then.¡± Mrs. Yan¡¯s heart sank upon hearing his words. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, your current girlfriend is horrible?¡± ¡°Of course not. Why would I agree to date her if she¡¯s horrible? She¡¯s a great girl to me, but I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ll take a liking to her. However, I¡¯m telling you in advance now, don¡¯t interfere with my rtionship anymore from now on. If you try and intervene again like what you did with me and Yu Caiwei...¡± Chapter 1143 - I Want to Make You Stay (21)

Chapter 1143: I Want to Make You Stay (21)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°That¡¯s because Yu Caiwei¡¯s parents were strongly against the idea of you two getting married. They made it seem as if you were desperate to marry her. They made their daughter out to be a precious gem...¡± ¡°Mother, what do you think of Fang En?¡± Mrs. Yan¡¯s eyes widened in shock and she asked, ¡°Son, is she your girlfriend?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s her. We just started dating each other exclusively,¡± Yan Ge admitted. Staring at her son earnestly, Mrs. Yan said, ¡°No wonder you¡¯re working with her for two productions in a row. You initially said that you wanted to take a break, yet you still took on another job. Well, I think she¡¯s a nice girl, but what does her family do for a living?¡± ¡°They¡¯re just an average middle-ss family. What do you think? Mother, what matters is I fancy her. Just stay out of it, alright? En is a really great girl, you¡¯ll understand once you spend more time with her,¡± Yan Ge said, staring at his mother earnestly. ¡°Okay, okay, I didn¡¯t even say anything. Look how tensed up and worried you¡¯re getting.¡± ¡°I know you have high expectations of your daughter-inw, but it¡¯s time you lowered your expectations for my sake. After all, I¡¯m the one who¡¯s going to spend the rest of my life with her.¡± ¡°Son, I didn¡¯t say anything, did I? Since you¡¯re in love with her, just continue dating her and worry about the restter,¡± said Mrs. Yan, who knew that she could notpel him. Upon returning to the hotel, Mrs. Yan immediately informed her husband about the piece of news. She then told him that she nned to stay behind for a period of time to observe Fang En and learn more about her. Mr. Yan was in full support of her decision. ¡ª Xiao Chenyang returned to his room on the ninth floor after sending Fang En back to her room. Fang En washed up, changed out of her clothes, and got ready for bed. To her surprise, the doorbell rang all of sudden at almost eleven o¡¯clock at night. The first person that came to her mind was Yan Ge. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± The voice... Belonged to neither Yan Ge nor Xiao Chenyang. It was... Jing Shui. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Fang En asked, not nning to open the door. ¡°Open the door and let mee inside to talk to you about something.¡± ¡°I¡¯m turning in now. Tell me tomorrow instead.¡± ¡°En, open the door, hurry. I really have something important to tell you,¡± said Jing Shui, who sounded panicky and eager. Thinking that it might really be an urgent matter, Fang En decided to open the door. As soon as she did, she was greeted with the sight of Jing Shui, whose face was flushed and who reeked of alcohol. However, he seemed sober and sounded normal. ¡°You drank?¡± ¡°Yes, a little.¡± ¡°Your face is really flushed.¡± ¡°It¡¯s because of the alcohol. May I enter?¡± Fang En moved away from the door and said, ¡°Come in. Just what are you looking me up for? I was already nning to go to bed.¡± Jing Shui closed the door and took out a bank ount card and passbook from the ck stic bag in his hands. He then handed both the items to Fang En. Greatly taken aback, Fang En did not ept the items and instead asked, ¡°What are these for?¡± ¡°En, these are all my life savings. They amount to a total of more than six million dors. I¡¯ll give them all to you. I¡¯ll give you all the money that I earn in the future too. Let¡¯s get married, I¡¯ll be good to you.¡± Fang En was dumbfounded. What was going on? ¡°Married? What are you talking about? Jing Shui, it¡¯s impossible between us. So, don¡¯t say such things again from now on,¡± said Fang En, who retreated backward. ¡°Do you find the money too little?¡± Shaking her head, Fang En said, ¡°It¡¯s not about the money. Jing Shui, I only see you as my friend. I¡¯ve never thought about being in a rtionship with you. Don¡¯t you understand what I mean?¡± ¡°If you¡¯ve never thought about it before, why don¡¯t you think about it now?¡± ¡°I already have a boyfriend now.¡± ¡°What? You have a boyfriend? Who is he? Tell me who he is,¡± Jing Shui said apprehensively. ¡°I don¡¯t wish to tell you who he is, but I really have a boyfriend now.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be Yan Ge, can it?¡± Fang En did not admit or deny it and instead said, ¡°Regardless of who he may be, it¡¯s simply impossible between you and me. Go back to your room to get some rest. I have to get back to work tomorrow morning. I¡¯m really tired now too.¡± Jing Shui finally retracted his hand and said, ¡°Go to bed, then.¡± ¡°Jing Shui.¡± Jing Shui stared at her quietly and waited for her to continue speaking. ¡°I initially wanted to just be friends with you. However, it seems we might not even be able to be friends from now on. It¡¯s better that we cut ties with each other, lest you cause me any more disturbances,¡± said Fang En, who thought that it was better to make things clear. What he did tonight made her feel that it would be better for them not to be friends. ¡°You mean, you don¡¯t even want to be ordinary friends with me?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Alright, since you¡¯ve said that, let¡¯s just pretend that it was wishful thinking on my part. I can¡¯t believe I actually decided to act in this television series for the sake of getting to see you frequently. You don¡¯t recognize my efforts at all!¡± He then opened the door and stormed off in a huff. Why is he making it seem like it¡¯s my fault? She stood up and closed the door before lying down on the bed again, feeling an immense headache. She was already embroiled in a knotty situation, but Jing Shui just had to show up to make matters worse. In fact, she had barely interacted with Jing Shui since filming took up the bulk of her days, leaving her with little to no time of her own. Just why does Jing Shui fancy me? Even though I yed with him once when I stayed in his aunt¡¯s house for a few months, we were just children back then. Fang En had a vague memory of her childhood. Hence, she did not feel upset about cutting ties with him at all. In fact, she even felt relieved because she no longer had to be embroiled in a messy rtionship with him from now on. Ding-Dong... Ding-Dong... Fang En sat up straight and thought to herself, Is Jing Shui at my door again? She remained silent. The knocking soon stopped. Did he leave? Fang Eny down again and switched off the bedsidemp. To her surprise, the doorbell began to ring again. Fang En called out, ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± There was still no response. Unable to tolerate it any further, Fang En got out of bed and walked toward the door, barefooted. She then peeked through the peephole. There was not a single soul outside the door. Did he leave? When the doorbell began to ring again, she hurriedly peeped outside, only to discover that there was still no one outside... Fang En felt a cold shiver down her spine. Is this a prank? I shall see just who that senseless idiot is! She grabbed the handle of the door and flung the door open as soon as the doorbell began to ring again. Yet, there was still no one. She walked outside and craned her neck to take a look around the corridor. There was not a single soul in sight. She instantly got the chills. Reminded of the supernatural urrences that took ce during filming previously, she stood rooted to the ground in shock. The doors of the elevator opened abruptly, and she finally recovered from the shock the moment she saw Xiao Chenyang walking out of the elevator. Chapter 1144 - I Want to Make You Stay (22)

Chapter 1144: I Want to Make You Stay (22)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Xiao Chenyang...¡± He walked toward her and said, ¡°Go inside.¡± ¡°My doorbell kept ringing just now...¡± He grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the room before closing the door. ¡°Did you hear what I said? My doorbell kept ringing just now...¡± ¡°I heard you.¡± ¡°There wasn¡¯t anyone, there really wasn¡¯t,¡± said Fang En, who was frightened out of her wits and had turned as pale as a ghost. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, I¡¯m here.¡± Fang En asked, ¡°Are you able to see spirits like Sis Xiaoning can?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Fang En grabbed his hand asked, ¡°Can you see if there are any supernatural beings in this room, then?¡± ¡°There was one outside the door just now, but it¡¯s gone now.¡± Fang En heaved a sigh of relief and thumped herself down onto the bed. ¡°Jing Shui came by just now. As soon as he left, the doorbell began ringing continuously.¡± Xiao Chenyang stood up and said, ¡°Go to bed earlier. I¡¯m going back now.¡± ¡°Can you sleep here tonight? I¡¯m scared.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡ª An Xiaoning was jolted awake by a sudden tension in her chest. She sat up straight, and her slight movement was enough to wake Jin Qingyan up. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°I just feel a little ufortable.¡± She lifted her duvet and got out of bed before pouring herself a cup of warm water. After she took two sips of water, the lights were switched off all of a sudden. An Xiaoning instinctively ced the cup onto the table. The door was unlocked all of a sudden, and footsteps began approaching them slowly. The two of them immediatelyy motionless on the bed, as if they had already fallen asleep. When the burly figure approached the bed, they poured kerosene over his head and set him aze with a torch. Within seconds, the man was set on mes, which lit up the entire ward. Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning managed to catch a glimpse of his face. He was not Xihou Jiaping, and was instead a man whom they had never met. The man shrieked in terror while the mes consumed him. However, he did not forget the mission that he had toplete and began leaping toward the bed. Before he could even do so, he was propelled and pinned against the wall by a strong, invisible force. He then plunged and fell onto the ground. An Xiaoning stabbed him fatally in his chest before he could stand up. In fact, he died within just minutes of entering. The mes continued to burn. Fortunately, the hospital ward wasrge enough and the mes did not spread to the other objects around it. An Xiaoning poured some water over the corpse to put out the fire. Thick and overbearing fumes of smoke and soot wafted into the air as soon as the fire was put out. An Xiaoning opened the door to see that the bodyguards outside had all passed out. She called Fan Shixin and instructed him to take the corpse away. She then said to Jin Qingyan, ¡°Seems like he was rather skilled, but we were faster and more urate.¡± ¡°He came in alive and left dead. Make a guess, when do you think Xihou Jiaping wille?¡± he asked. ¡°In less than five minutes, for sure. When that man came in just now, I saw him pressing a device in his hand. If I guessed correctly...¡± She picked up a ck-colored square gadget and continued, ¡°It should be this. I think it¡¯s a messaging device.¡± They looked at each other and knew what awaited. An Xiaoning hurriedly pasted the amulets that she had prepared beforehand onto the door, the windows, as well as the washroom. She then took out a yellow-colored incense stick and lit it up before cing it into the joss urn, which she concealed behind the curtain. Just like she had expected, Xihou Jiaping arrived in less than five minutes. He nced at the corpse on the floor and said to them, ¡°You two managed to live for so long all because Xiao Chenyang had been around to protect you guys. Now that he¡¯s not here, it¡¯s time you die.¡± ¡°We still don¡¯t know who¡¯ll end up dying today. You¡¯re already so old and yet you still don¡¯t know any better than to drive yourself to a dead end. You¡¯ve lived your life in vain,¡± Jin Qingyan said nonchntly. Xihou Jiaping scoffed and eximed, ¡°Hah... you¡¯re on the brink of death and yet you¡¯re still so arrogant!¡± ¡°I was born arrogant, what can you do about that?¡± ¡°Although I didn¡¯t kill you with my bare hands in your previous lifetime, I wiped out all of your servants. My wishes will be fulfilled after I kill you today.¡± Before An Xiaoning knew it, Xihou Jiaping and Jin Qingyan had already gotten into a brawl. They were so quick and rapid that she could not even distinguish them from each other. There was no chance for her to intervene at all. She closed her eyes and began chanting a spell quickly. It was rather effective and managed to distract Xihou Jiaping, who felt an unbearable pain on his temples. Xihou Jiaping was astonished to see how much Jin Qingyan had advanced in hisbat skills. He initially thought that he could kill Jin Qingyan effortlessly, yet he was actually starting to feel a little helpless. However, due to the fact that Jin Qingyan was slightly immobile, Xihou Jiaping still managed to strike Jin Qingyan in his chest, causing him to spit a mouthful of blood instantly. Upon the sight of what had happened, An Xiaoning immediately pounced onto Xihou Jiaping, who then pulled his sword out from the sheath that he was carrying on his back. While swinging his sword around, he struck An Xiaoning with an immense force and caused her to fall onto the ground. An Xiaoning took the chance to duck beneath the bed and hurriedly whipped out the steel rope from her waist, which she then cast toward his ankle. As soon as the rope was secured around Xihou Jiaping¡¯s ankle, he severed it with his sword. An Xiaoning immediately stabbed her dagger onto his foot. Before she could even pull her dagger out, Xihou Jiaping wielded his sword and stuck it beneath the bed, stabbing her in her arm. An Xiaoning was overwhelmed with an acute pain and felt the blood flowing out of her wound instantly. Noticing that Xihou Jiaping was distracted, Jin Qingyan took the chance tounch another attack. Xihou Jiaping too was wounded. He pulled the knife out of his foot and flung it toward An Xiaoning¡¯s shoulder. An Xiaoning swiftly dodged it, causing the knife to fall onto the ground with a crisp sound. At the same time, Xihou Jiaping made his escape. Jin Qingyan grabbed An Xiaoning¡¯s wrist and said, ¡°Don¡¯t chase him.¡± An Xiaoning thumped herself down onto the bed and panted heavily, clearly frightened and terrorized. Noticing how petrified she was, Jin Qingyan pressed a hand on the bleeding wound on her shoulder and said, ¡°Hurry and get the doctor to dress your wound.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, we¡¯ll wait for Shixin toe back first.¡± ¡°Since Xihou Jiaping had fled, he¡¯s not going to return any time soon. Hurry and go.¡± Trying to bear with the pain with all her might, An Xiaoning stood from the bed and conceded, ¡°Alright.¡± By the time she returned, Fan Shixin had already arrived with the bodyguards and removed the corpse. They had also carried the fainted bodyguards away and arranged for Jin Qingyan to move into another ward. ¡°Young Madam, how are you?¡± Chapter 1145 - I Want to Make You Stay (23)

Chapter 1145: I Want to Make You Stay (23)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I¡¯m fine. Since you¡¯ve cleaned up everything, go back and get some rest,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Alright, I shall excuse myself, then.¡± Fan Shixin waved at his subordinates, after which all of them vanished within seconds. ¡ª ¡°What!?! Really?¡± Yu Yiwei eximed in shock as she got out of bed and tightened her grip on her mobile phone. ¡°...¡± ¡°Got it.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Yu Yiwei put the phone down and began to panic. Xihou Jiaping wouldn¡¯t have called her if it weren¡¯t because of something urgent. She did not expect for Jin Qingyan to have be so formidable. If Xihou Jiaping could not kill him, it¡¯s only a matter of time before An Xiaoning discovers that I¡¯m in cahoots with Xihou Jiaping. There¡¯s no way for me to escape. Besides, An Xiaoning had taken away the Yin family ancestral records. Why would she have done so if she didn¡¯t know that the Yin family only had a few descendants left? She is definitely making use of the Yin family to lure me. I can choose not to step in at all. However, I can¡¯t just sit back and watch my few remaining descendants die in front of me. Yu Yiwei picked up the bottle of liquor on the table and began pouring herself a ss, which she then finished in one go. She continued to pour and down another ss. Yu Yiwei mmed the ss down with a look of determination in her eyes. When daybreak arrived, she dolled herself up and proceeded to meet Yu Caiwei at the restaurant that they had agreed upon. ¡°I¡¯ll be returning to A Cityter.¡± ¡°Sis, aren¡¯t you going to stay for a few more days?¡± ¡°Nah, there¡¯s nothing better to do here. Caiwei, would you be willing to give up your career and move abroad for good, if you had to?¡± Yu Caiwei answered without hesitation, ¡°Of course not. I¡¯m doing so well here, why should I move abroad? It¡¯s not like there¡¯s no space for me in the nation.¡± ¡°If you had to choose between your life and your career, which one would you pick?¡± ¡°Sis, aren¡¯t you asking the obvious? I¡¯d choose my life, of course. What¡¯s the point of having a career if I¡¯m dead? Sis, what¡¯s wrong with you? Why have you been acting so strangely ofte?¡± Yu Caiwei asked with a frown. ¡°Nothing. Focus on acting. I¡¯m going back now,¡± said Yu Yiwei, who stood up to leave without eating much. Staring at her receding figure, Yu Caiwei hurriedly stood up and took chase. ¡°Sis, are you troubled about something?¡± ¡°I¡¯m alright.¡± ¡°You¡¯re lying. Sis, you must tell me if you¡¯re worried about something.¡± Yu Yiwei hugged her and whispered into her ear, ¡°You must bear in mind what I said about leaving Fang En¡¯s bodyguard alone. You can¡¯t afford to offend or provoke him.¡± Yu Caiwei nodded, thinking to herself that her sister must know something about Xiao Chenyang that she herself doesn¡¯t know about. Yu Yiwei pondered over a question throughout her journey home. It was extremely important to her. ¡ª Yu Caiwei had begun paying more attention to Xiao Chenyang after hearing her sister¡¯s words. After thinking about it carefully, she began to smell a rat. Given how good-looking and outstanding Xiao Chenyang was, why would he be willing to be Fang En¡¯s bodyguard? Judging from his mannerisms, he seemed to exude the aura of a wealthy man. He doesn¡¯t look like a bodyguard at all. In fact, he seemed to be a ssy and elite individual. She had been keeping her eyes fixed on Xiao Chenyang throughout the entire day, from breakfast to filming. The more she stared at Xiao Chenyang, the more perplexed she felt. After observing him for just one day, she decided to take back her words about Xiao Chenyang being a gigolo. Three dayster, Yu Caiwei began her attempts at striking a conversation with him. ¡°Your name is Xiao Chenyang, right? I heard Fang En calling you that.¡± ¡°How does that concern you in any way?¡± Xiao Chenyang answered coldly. ¡°I was just asking a casual question. Xiao Chenyang, can I address you by your name from now on?¡± Yu Caiwei asked in a mellow voice, which made her appear as if she was easygoing. ¡°Are you not going to if I forbid you from doing so?¡± Yu Caiwei sat down beside him and asked while smiling, ¡°Let¡¯s forget about that unhappy incident that took ce in the restaurant and bury the hatchet. I¡¯m not going to bring it up again, so don¡¯t take it to heart.¡± Xiao Chenyang did not tell her to scram immediately, simply because he took into consideration the fact that Fang En would have to act in the same scene as her rather often. ¡°You even tried to get your sister to stand up for you a few days ago. Why has your attitude changed all of a sudden?¡± Yu Caiwei said slowly, ¡°My sister has already chided me. I was wrong that day, but you¡¯ve also poured the noodles over my head. So we¡¯re even now.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. How do you exin the times when you intentionally made things difficult for En during filming?¡± he questioned. ¡°I won¡¯t do that again. Are you happy now?¡± said Yu Caiwei. He turned to look at her and said, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be doing that in the first ce... there¡¯s nothing to be happy about.¡± ¡°Xiao Chenyang, would it be easy to woo you?¡± Yu Caiwei asked. He asked with raised brows, ¡°Why? Are you thinking of wooing me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just asking. Would it be easy to woo you?¡± Yu Caiwei asked, smiling. ¡°It can be easy, but it can also be difficult. It depends on who¡¯s wooing me. It¡¯d be impossible if it¡¯s you,¡± Xiao Chenyang said ruthlessly. The smile on Yu Caiwei¡¯s face vanished and she asked, ¡°Am I really that detestable to you?¡± ¡°Is there a point in asking that? Don¡¯t you still have feelings for your old me?¡± ¡°How... did you know? Did Fang En tell you?¡± ¡°I can find out everything I want to by myself.¡± Yu Caiwei said, ¡°So what if I can¡¯t forget him? He belongs to someone else now.¡± Her words had struck a sour note within Xiao Chenyang and she remained silent. Fang En caught sight of them having a conversation when she returned from filming. She thought to herself, What is that Yu Caiwei up to again? She walked toward them and questioned, ¡°Yu Caiwei, what are you doing here?¡± ¡°Nothing, just talking to a hunk. What¡¯s wrong? Fang En, you¡¯ve got such a handsome bodyguard by your side, why did you choose to be with someone else instead?¡± Yu Caiwei sneered with a sarcastic smile. Having understood what she was trying to get at, Fang En retorted, ¡°How does it concern you?¡± ¡°What I¡¯m trying to say is, don¡¯t be too greedy. Since you already have someone else, let me have this hunk instead.¡± Fang En looked at Xiao Chenyang, who was sipping on some tea while remaining silent. ¡°Isn¡¯t he right here? If you want him, why don¡¯t you just ask him straight? I won¡¯t have any objections if he agrees.¡± Xiao Chenyang turned to look at Fang En, who instantly wondered if she had said something wrong. I don¡¯t think I said anything wrong, though. He¡¯s a live human, not an inanimate object. If Yu Caiwei wants him, wouldn¡¯t she have to ask him herself...? ¡°Would you really have no objections if I agree to it?¡± he asked. Staring at him in astonishment, Fang En said, ¡°Of... of course, if you¡¯ve already agreed to it yourself, what more can I say?¡± ¡°Ms. Yu, name me a price. I charge a lot.¡± Yu Caiwei was initially just making a casual remark, thinking that Xiao Chenyang would definitely turn her down since he had already done so at the start. To her astonishment, he actually asked for the price she would be offering him. Chapter 1146 - I Want to Make You Stay (24)

Chapter 1146: I Want to Make You Stay (24)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She was at a sudden loss for what to do, and so was Fang En. She froze in shock. Her assistant, Xiao Yue, had no idea what to say either. She felt that Xiao Chenyang had changed his mind all of a sudden. Yu Caiwei asked, ¡°How does two million dors a month sound? Fang En probably pays you tens of thousands per month, at the very most. Are you happy with the price I¡¯ve offered?¡± ¡°Mhm, it¡¯s not bad. I¡¯m very satisfied with the price...¡± As soon as he finished speaking, Fang En frantically said, ¡°I disagree!¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you¡¯d have no objections as long as I agree to it?¡± Xiao Chenyang asked with a look of tenderness and a hidden joy beneath his eyes. Fang En spluttered, ¡°But... but... you can go to anyone except her.¡± ¡°Why? Why can I go to anyone except her?¡± Xiao Chenyang asked. ¡°You clearly know the reason and yet you¡¯re still asking me,¡± said Fang En, who felt extremely frustrated. She had no idea what was eating him. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°You...¡± Fang En was at a loss for words and she had no idea how to rebut. He said, ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere, I¡¯ll stay by your side. I was just teasing you.¡± As soon as he said those words, Fang En actually teared up and she said nonchntly, ¡°You¡¯re senseless.¡± Yu Caiwei could tell how much Xiao Chenyang doted on Fang En just from what he said. At this moment, she actually felt that Xiao Chenyang was a great catch. She stood up and walked toward Fang En before whispering into her ear, ¡°Fang En, he¡¯s not your cousin and yet he¡¯s willing to stay by your side. He¡¯s not even tempted by the high amount of money I¡¯m offering him. Why do you think he¡¯s doing that? You really don¡¯t know how blessed you are.¡± Having said her piece, Yu Caiwei left. Fang En shifted her gaze onto Xiao Chenyang, who was not looking at her. Thus, she decided to steal a few more nces at him. ¡°Ms. Fang.¡± ¡°Hello, Auntie.¡± Mrs. Yan looked at her while smiling and said, ¡°Come to my son¡¯s carter. I have something to say to you.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Fang En knew that Yan Ge had already told his mother about their rtionship and that Mrs. Yan must have looked her up with the main intention of talking to her about it. She arrived to see that Mrs. Yan was alone in the car, just like she had expected. ¡°Auntie.¡± After closing the door, she asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°My son told me about your rtionship with him a few days ago. To be honest, I¡¯ve been observing you for the past few days. I also remember you telling me that your bodyguard was your cousin, isn¡¯t that right?¡± Fang En was at a sudden loss for an answer. ¡°Did Senior Yan Ge tell you about it...?¡± ¡°Since he¡¯s not your cousin, why did you have to lie about it in the first ce?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid that others might get the wrong idea.¡± Mrs. Yan said solemnly, ¡°Get the wrong idea about what? What¡¯s wrong with him being your bodyguard? This is a serious problem. You really shouldn¡¯t have lied. Not to mention, your bodyguard is so handsome. It won¡¯t be safe to keep him around you all day. Rece him.¡± Fang En answered, ¡°Auntie, how can I just rece him when he hasn¡¯tmitted any mistakes?¡± She could not find an excuse to turn Mrs. Yan down. ¡°He¡¯s just a bodyguard, what¡¯s so difficult about recing him? I¡¯m doing this for your own good too,¡± said a puzzled Mrs. Yan. ¡°Auntie, I really can¡¯t rece him, unless he decides to resign out of his own ord.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t make any sense at all. Why can¡¯t an employer sack an employee? Or do you just not want to sack him at all?¡± Mrs. Yan asked apprehensively. Fang En remained silent. It wasn¡¯t up to her to decide anyway. ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s drop the subject since you can¡¯t give him the sack. What do your parents do for a living?¡± ¡°My parents are regr working-ss citizens.¡± ¡°How much do they earn per month?¡± Fang En answered, ¡°My father earns three thousand dors a month while my mother earns two thousand.¡± ¡°Do you have any siblings?¡± ¡°I have a younger brother who¡¯s 17 years old this year.¡± Mrs. Yan¡¯s forehead creased into a frown the moment she heard her answer. ¡°How¡¯s your rtionship with your parents?¡± ¡°So-so. I was raised by my grandmother.¡± ¡°Your grandmother?¡± ¡°Yes, she had already passed away.¡± ¡°Does that mean you¡¯re not close with your parents?¡± ¡°We¡¯re fine.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re not close with your parents who gave birth to you, I doubt you¡¯ll be close to me and my husband if you end up marrying my son. I¡¯d need you to serve us when we¡¯re older. I really wonder if by then...¡± Isn¡¯t she getting way too ahead of herself? Fang En thought. She answered, ¡°If I marry Yan Ge in the future, I¡¯ll definitely treat you two like my own parents and be filial to you.¡± ¡°I really hope you¡¯ll honor your promise in the future. Well, in conclusion, my impression of you is still alright for now. Although youe from a humble family, I won¡¯t be nosy since my son is willing to date you.¡± Fang En heaved a sigh of relief. ¡ª A few dayster, Jin Qingyan was discharged from the hospital and he returned home to recuperate. The wound on An Xiaoning¡¯s shoulder had also healed greatly after a few days of being on the drip and taking her medication. Yu Yiwei was nning to send the medicine that she had prepared to Jin Qingyan, who was upstairs. Just as she was about to enter the room whose door had been left ajar, she stopped in her tracks the moment she heard their conversation. ¡°There are barely any descendants left of the Yin family...¡± ¡°What do you n to do?¡± ¡°So far, there are still no news of Yin Cun. Do you think I should...¡± An Xiaoning did notplete her sentence, for she felt that Jin Qingyan would probably understand what she wanted to say. Yu Yiwei¡¯s heart tensed up, and she clenched her fist tightly. She paused for a moment before entering. ¡°After making some calctions, I realized that after today, you¡¯d be running out of the pills that I had given you previously. This is thetest medication that I¡¯ve just prepared. The dosage is the same as the previous course.¡± Jin Qingyan grabbed the pills and said, ¡°Okay, but there hasn¡¯t been much of an effect after I took those pills.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll need to take them consistently for a long time. Continue taking them for another week and we¡¯ll see how it goes,¡± said Yu Yiwei, who left right after handing him the pills. She headed to the mahjong den again with the bodyguards, after which she made her way to Xihou Jiaping¡¯s nightclub via the secret passageway. Xihou Jiaping had been lying low for the past few days due to the fact that his wounds had yet to heal. ¡°When are you going to take action?¡± she questioned. ¡°Are you trying to rush me?¡± Yu Yiwei answered impatiently, ¡°Of course. They¡¯re trying to lure me out now, and they¡¯re even thinking of harming the Yin family. How could I possibly sit back and do nothing? Like what you had mentioned, Xihou Ling has definitely gotten some help from Xiao Chenyang. He¡¯s no longer that easy to get rid off now. I¡¯m afraid that it would be more difficult to deal with Xihou Ling if we wait until he recovers fully. You keep wanting me to take action instead, but that can only happen if I get the chance to. All I can do now is drug him and wait patiently for the effects to show. There are no other chances. An Xiaoning is almost always beside him.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just afraid that our ns will backfire. Your n does seem feasible and easy to carry out on the surface. However, I gave it some thought and realized that it¡¯s too risky,¡± said Xihou Jiaping. Chapter 1147 - I Want to Make You Stay (25)

Chapter 1147: I Want to Make You Stay (25)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°What risks are there? That¡¯s the most feasible solution right now! Is there really a better option at hand?¡± Yu Yiwei said sternly. ¡°Didn¡¯t you also see it for yourself? An Xiaoning has ced a spell at the bootcamp and set boundaries around the premises. You can¡¯t break the spell either. If I were to walk through it and try to take the children away forcefully, I¡¯ll definitely suffer a huge loss in power. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s worth it.¡± ¡°I said that I wasn¡¯t confident, not that it¡¯s impossible. Besides, even if I really can¡¯t break the spell, don¡¯t you realize there¡¯s another solution? It¡¯s now extremely difficult for An Xiaoning to conceive again. In fact, it¡¯s near-impossible. Their sons mean the world to them. As long as we get a hold of those two, they¡¯ll definitely raise the white g. By then, we¡¯ll have hidden the children in a ce that no one can find. So what even if Xiao Chenyang tries to deal with you? Even if he sees you, there¡¯ll be nothing he can do to you. After all, you¡¯re the only one who¡¯ll know where the children will be, aren¡¯t you?¡± Feeling a little agitated, Xihou Jiaping said, ¡°Ever since my failed attempt at killing them in the hospital, An Xiaoning has put another spell around Wei Ni Estate. I¡¯m afraid they¡¯d find out as soon as I try to enter.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why abducting the children is an easier option right now. We¡¯ll threaten them using the children. By then too, the drugs that I have been feeding Xihou Ling would begin to take a toll on his body. We¡¯ll be able to defeat them. I¡¯ve thought about it carefully. If we don¡¯t make the first move, they¡¯ll be the ones to kill us first. Either they or we have to die. I can¡¯t be magnanimous and show mercy anymore!¡± Staring at her, Xihou Jiaping said, ¡°The old you seems to be back.¡± Yu Yiwei urged, ¡°When are you going to take action?¡± ¡°Tonight.¡± ¡°Good, abduct those two children.¡± ¡°What about the adopted one...?¡± ¡°He¡¯s still their son. Take him away too. We either go all out or not do anything at all. You shall see to it and handle the children as you deem fit. If it wasn¡¯t so difficult to kill them, you and I wouldn¡¯t have thought of touching the children at all. We were forced into this. From today onward, don¡¯t contact me unless absolutely necessary. I can¡¯t expose myself,¡± said Yu Yiwei, who had made up her mind. ¡°This is not a good n. We don¡¯t know if he¡¯d be willing to give up his life for the sake of his children. It¡¯s a huge uncertainty,¡± said Xihou Jiaping, finding that Jin Qingyan was no longer who he used to be. ¡°This is the best solution for us now. If one of them dies, it¡¯d be a piece of cake for us to control their children. By then, even the Jin Corporation would be ours. As for Xiao Chenyang, we don¡¯t have to worry too much about him. When we raided Xihou Ling¡¯s residence in our previous lifetime, Xiao Chenyang couldn¡¯t kill you even after he saw you again. But of course, that was because we hid ourselves as well.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª Ever since Jin Yiheng admitted to fancying Long Xiaoxi and dered that he would marry her when they grew up, Long Xiaoxi became even more dauntless. Generally, she would sneak into the boys¡¯ dormitory at night to sleep next to Jin Yiheng on his bed. Long Wenlun was the one who¡¯d help her enter. Due to her constant pestering and begging, Long Wenlun had no choice but to concede and promise to open the door for her at night. However, he also made it clear to her that if Jin Rongyan and Ji Gui were to find out, she would not be allowed to sneak into their room again. Long Xiaoxi assented. Needless to say, Jin Yiheng was well aware of it too. However, he was not too bothered by it since they were both children and he found nothing wrong with the two of them sleeping next to each other. Long Xiaoxi managed to get what she wanted time and time again all thanks to him and to Long Wenlun, who constantly indulged her. Tonight was no exception either. Everyone went to bed at about nine o¡¯clock in the evening. Long Xiaoxi sneaked into the room again after her brother opened the door for her stealthily. She was extremely careful with her steps and tiptoed toward Jin Yiheng¡¯s bed. She then climbed onto it and hugged Jin Yiheng, causing him to be jolted awake. Upon the sight of her, Jin Yiheng went back to sleep. After breaking An Xiaoning¡¯s spell and crossing the boundaries, Xihou Jiaping knocked all of the children unconscious with a drugged handkerchief and ced Jin Rongyan into arge potato sack. When he tried to move Jin Yiheng, he discovered that the chubby Long Xiaoxi was hugging him tightly with all her might. This fatso has already fainted and yet she can¡¯t be separated from him at all. Is she a ma? He tried to separate them again, but to no avail. If she weren¡¯t already unconscious, Xihou Jiaping would have just hit her to death. In the end, he had no choice but to carry Jin Yiheng and Long Xiaoxi and to ce them both into the sack. The security rm of the martial arts academy sounded one minuteter. However, Xihou Jiaping had already abducted the three children sessfully. Xihou Jiaping was nowhere to be found by the time An Xiaoning arrived at the boot camp. She immediately ordered for all the airports and terminals to be blocked. However, it was all toote. Xihou Jiaping had sessfully left A City via a secret passageway and removed the GPS tracking devices on the children, ording to the preconceived n he had. An Xiaoning received a text message from him more than an hour after her sons had gone missing. The message read: ¡°None of these would¡¯ve happened if the two of you had just died that night in the hospital. Hua Jin,e to M Nation alone to meet me. If I find out that Xiao Chenyang or Jin Qingyan hade along with you, I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯ll have to kill the three children too.¡± Mei Yangyang and Long Tianze were both panicky and anxious the moment they heard the news of Long Xiaoxi being abducted too. After hearing that An Xiaoning was nning to head to M Nation by herself, they objected to it vehemently. ¡°How can you go alone? Sis, you¡¯d be on their territory once you¡¯re in M Nation. By then, you might not even be able to make it back, let alone the children,¡± said Mei Yangyang. ¡°But they also wouldn¡¯t be able to return if I don¡¯t go. Their goal is not for me to go alone. Their goal is for me and Qingyan to die. The very fact that they didn¡¯t ask the two of us to head there together is a loophole in itself. Hence, I think Xihou Jiaping must have sent the children abroad while he has stayed behind. I¡¯ve already texted Xiao Chenyang and he should be back soon. You two, stay at home with Qingyan. So what if I¡¯m going alone? I¡¯m not sending myself on a road toward death. I¡¯m just doing it to save the children. Although I¡¯m not certain if I¡¯ll seed, I don¡¯t wish to sit back and do nothing.¡± ¡°But, Sis... why don¡¯t I go with you?¡± said Mei Yangyang. ¡°He said that he wants me to show up alone.¡± ¡°How can you manage on your own...?¡± ¡°Cut it out. You guys shouldn¡¯t have been implicated in this matter, and yet Xiaoxi has been abducted too. I¡¯m definitely going, no matter what.¡± Chapter 1148 - I Want to Make You Stay (26)

Chapter 1148: I Want to Make You Stay (26)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She looked at Fan Shixin and said, ¡°Get the private jet ready immediately, I have to go to M Nation.¡± Fan Shixin acknowledged with a nod, ¡°Yes, Young Madam.¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s face grew sullen, and he sat by the side quietly, seemingly deep in thought. .... When Jin Yiheng and Jin Rongyan woke up one after another, they were greeted with the sounds of bawling children and they soon realized that they were in a dark andpletely foreign ce. ¡°Xiaoxi...¡± Jin Yiheng scanned his surroundings and yelled for Long Xiaoxi, who was remaining silent. ¡°Yiheng, you¡¯re awake? We¡¯re locked up,¡± Long Xiaoxi said while grabbing his hand. ¡°Who locked us up?¡± Shaking her head, Long Xiaoxi said in between sobs, ¡°I don¡¯t know. When I went to your bed to sleepst night, I heard someone entering the room as soon as Iy down. It was a huge, ck figure and I didn¡¯t dare to make a sound...¡± Jin Yiheng asked, ¡°What else?¡± ¡°He covered my nose and my mouth with a handkerchief. Mommy taught me not to breathe when a thug covers my mouth with a handkerchief so I held my breath. I then saw him throwing Rongyan into a sack. He even tried to carry you away, so I hugged you tightly to stop him from doing so. However, he carried us both and ced us inside the sack... I didn¡¯t dare to fall asleep. Yiheng, I¡¯m really scared. You and Rongyan didn¡¯t respond no matter how I tried to call your names. I thought that you two have already died,¡± Long Xiaoxi exined while weeping. Jin Yiheng hugged her and patted her back. ¡°Don¡¯t be scared, don¡¯t be scared, I¡¯m here.¡± However, he had also forgotten that he was merely a seven-year-old who was no match for Xihou Jiaping, although he was the oldest amongst the three children. The three of them huddled up together. They were much quieterpared to the rest of the children. ¡°Brother, were they also kidnapped like us?¡± Jin Rongyan asked. ¡°No idea. If someone brings us food and drinkster, you¡¯re not allowed to touch them, hear me?¡± The two of them acknowledged this with a nod. Soon, what he had stated actually came true. Someone arrived with lots of delicious snacks and beverages. Jin Yiheng grabbed three bottles of beverages and removed the lids, only to discover that he had managed to do so easily. Clearly, the bottles had been opened before. He then ced the bottles back to their original position and shook his head at the two other children, hinting to them that they should not consume the food and beverages. The rest of the children, who were about the same age as them, proceeded to consume the food, unable to resist the temptation. Just like Jin Yiheng had expected, the children stopped wailing and began lying motionless on the ground. Long Xiaoxi¡¯s eyes widened in shock, and she grabbed Jin Yiheng¡¯s arm tightly. ¡°Are they... all dead?¡± ¡°They might have just passed out.¡± Gradually, a silence filled the air. Jin Yiheng and the other two childreny down and pretended to have passed out too. A long whileter, someone arrived. Long Xiaoxi immediately tightened her grip on Jin Yiheng¡¯s arm, trembling uncontrobly from head to toe. The person had indeede for them. Initially, they were nning to just take Jin Yiheng and Jin Rongyan away. Yet... ¡°Take the chubby girl away too.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The three children were then brought away and ced inside a wooden crate. The wooden crate was then sealed by nails, leaving just a few tiny holes to allow for venttion. A few men then carried the crate onto arge cargo truck and ced it right at the bottom. In order to prevent the air from bing too thin, they even left an airway for fresh air to enter. The truck began to move off, and the children had no idea where they were being sent to. They looked at each other in shock and dismay. The space was extremely small and cramped. They could only remain in a squatting position, and every slightest movement would feel ufortable. Long Xiaoxi burst into tears again and she muttered, ¡°I miss Daddy and Mommy...¡± Jin Yiheng hushed her and said, ¡°Don¡¯t cry, Rongyan and I are here with you. Look, Rongyan isn¡¯t crying either. Stop crying too.¡± Long Xiaoxi nodded while biting her lip, and the three children remained seated quietly. A few hourster, the car came to a halt. The three children continued to y dead, and someone moved the crate from the truck to a ship. There was a young woman on the ship who was sipping on some liquor. At the sight of the crate, she immediately said, ¡°Open it.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The two men removed the lid of the crate, after which the woman asked, ¡°Why aren¡¯t they awake yet? Carry them out.¡± ¡°They should being to very soon.¡± The two buff men carried the children out of the crate and ced them onto the ground. Jin Yiheng opened his eyes, after which the woman put down her ss of liquor and stood up. ¡°Hey, kid, you¡¯vee to.¡± ¡°Pretty sister, where are we?¡± ¡°Hey, you¡¯ve got such a glib tongue,¡± the woman said, speaking in an authentic S Nation Mandarin. She was all smiles, clearly thrilled to have received apliment. ¡°What do we do with these three children?¡± One of the men answered, ¡°Master wants us to go ahead with our usual practice and train them to be assassins. However, they must be sent to Mingshan Ind at once.¡± The woman remarked in astonishment, ¡°What¡¯s the purpose of sending them there? Isn¡¯t that an execution ground? Does he want them to be killed? If that¡¯s the case, what¡¯s the point of sending them to such a faraway ce?¡± ¡°Master wants us to dump them there and leave them to fend for themselves. It¡¯s easy to kill them now, but Master seems to be nning to leave them there for a while before training them to be one of us. When that happens, wouldn¡¯t Master be able to get his hands on the Jin Corporation easily?¡± ¡°Oh, I see. Got it, you guys may leave. I¡¯ll handle it from here. Nothing will go wrong, for sure.¡± The two men turned around and left. The three children were left alone with the woman. Jin Yiheng scanned his surroundings. Upon seeing how strange he was behaving, the woman pointed at a chair and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to look any further. You kids are never going to be able to escape. There are guards everywhere outside. Come and sit here.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± At this moment, Jin Rongyan and Long Xiaoxi had also opened their eyes and were instructed to sit beside Jin Yiheng. ¡°Pretty sister, what are you trying to do?¡± Jin Yiheng asked, staring at her with his innocent, puppy eyes. ¡°Kid, I¡¯m not trying to do anything. I¡¯m just here to teach you some knowledge, but you must pay attention and memorize what I teach you, okay?¡± ¡°What knowledge?¡± he asked. The woman chuckled and asked, ¡°Do you know your parents¡¯ names?¡± ¡°I do, but my brother doesn¡¯t. She has no idea what her parents¡¯ names are either,¡± said Jin Yiheng, pointing at Long Xiaoxi. Chapter 1149 - I Want to Make You Stay (27)

Chapter 1149: I Want to Make You Stay (27)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°It¡¯s alright, it doesn¡¯t matter whether you know them or not. I¡¯m going to teach you to recite some names today.¡± The woman took out a ckboard on which there were several names written in chalk ¡ª An Xiaochun, Liu Xiaoning, Jin Zhiyan, Fang Qingmeng, Mao Xiaoli... She was trying to brainwash Jin Yiheng and Jin Rongyan into forgetting their parents¡¯ names and contact numbers. Long Xiaoxi followed suit and tried to memorize them. However, she had always been poor at memorizing things and, hence, the brainwashing technique did not work for her at all. The woman left after brainwashing Jin Yiheng and Jin Rongyan. As soon as she left, Long Xiaoxi murmured, ¡°An Xiaoning, Jin Qingyan...¡± ¡°...¡± The woman still did not return after a long while. The three children had no idea where she had gone to and were starting to get a little impatient and fidgety. After peeking out of the window for a long while, they heard some soundsing from outside and hurriedly returned to their seats. The woman returned and said to them, ¡°The boat has already moved off. Don¡¯t think you¡¯re still the pampered Young Sirs and Missy you used to be. You¡¯re no longer the beloved children of your parents. Once we arrive at the destination, find your own food when you¡¯re hungry and look for your own water if you¡¯re thirsty. The weather has been unfavorabletely. You are to find a ce to seek shelter from the rain on your own. Even if you can¡¯t find any water, don¡¯t ever drink seawater out of desperation. Do you know that you can¡¯t drink seawater? There¡¯s clean and potable water on the ind. Have you remembered my words clearly?¡± The three children stared at her in astonishment,pletely dumbfounded. ¡°You¡¯re not the only ones who will be on that ind. Children who were meant to be assassins in the past all had to undergo training on that ind for a period of time. They could only leave the ind if they managed to survive. Once you die, that¡¯s it.¡± Staring at how handsome the two boys were, the woman could not contain her urge to show them some kindness and, thus, grabbed two unopened bottles of mineral water from the box on the ground, as well as two bags of bread, which she then handed to the two brothers. ¡°Here, hold it. This water is clean and the bread is safe for consumption too. By rights, I¡¯m not supposed to give you anything to eat or drink. I only decided to reward you two because of your glib tongues.¡± Long Xiaoxi asked, ¡°Why don¡¯t I get any?¡± The woman nced at Long Xiaoxi coldly and remarked, ¡°Littless, you¡¯re already so chubby and your face has already be round. You¡¯ll lose weight on the ind. You don¡¯t need any more food or water.¡± Long Xiaoxi felt like she had just been cruelly insulted and discriminated. She nced at the box, filled with disgruntlement. After the woman left, Jin Yiheng said to Long Xiaoxi softly, ¡°Once we¡¯re there, Rongyan and I will share the food with you.¡± However, Long Xiaoxi said, ¡°Two bottles of water and two pieces of bread are not going to be enough for the three of us. When we reach the ind, we¡¯d still have to scour for our own food and water. Otherwise, we¡¯ll definitely starve to death. I must think of a solution.¡± She got off the chair slowly and walked toward a table that was not too far away. At the sight of a lighter, she immediately picked it up and stuffed it inside Jin Yiheng¡¯s pocket since she was wearing a dress that had no pockets. She grabbed an unfinished packet of biscuits and handed it to Jin Yiheng. Feeling a little worried, Jin Yiheng asked, ¡°What if it¡¯s poisoned?¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be, they¡¯ve already eaten it before.¡± Finding her words to have made sense, Jin Yiheng sealed the opening of the packet of biscuit and ced it inside his back pocket. He then said to Jin Rongyan, ¡°Walk behind meter, don¡¯t let them find out.¡± Long Xiaoxi then picked up two bags of bread from the box and handed it to him. ¡°Stuff these into your clothes too. We¡¯ll help to shield youter.¡± Jin Yiheng did as he was told and tried to cover the bulge with his shirt. ¡ª An Xiaoning arrived in M Nation alone. She had found out long ago that Pei Yi and Xihou Jiaping knew each other. She had also tried to guess Xihou Jiaping¡¯s identity. However, to her astonishment, Xihou Jiaping turned out to really be the kingpin of DK Organization. Pei Yi was the chieftain of the quarters in R Nation, and Xihou Jiaping was his superior. An Xiaoning was led to the higher floors of the headquarters. After she¡¯d been waiting for him for one hour, he still did not show up. She had no choice but to give him a call. An Xiaoning questioned, ¡°You told me toe and meet you, but where are you? Why aren¡¯t you showing your face yet?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the rush? Stay at my ce for a few days. My people will serve you well.¡± ¡°Turns out you¡¯re really not in M Nation. You made mee here earlier than necessary just so you could stall for time and keep me away,¡± said An Xiaoning, who¡¯d verified her guess. ¡°You¡¯re really smart. However, isn¡¯t it a little toote to be saying these now that you¡¯re already on my territory? Hua Jin, be it in the previous lifetime or this present one, you and Xihou Ling will never defeat me. Just give uppletely and drop the idea.¡± As soon as he¡¯d said his piece, he ended the call. An Xiaoning took a look at the mobile phone, only to discover that there was no longer any reception avable. At this very moment, she heard sounds of footsteps approaching all of a sudden anding to a halt outside the door. She watched as the door opened. More than a dozen masked men who were dressed in ck from head to toe swarmed inside. All of them were tall and burly, and their bvas allowed only their eyes to be exposed. They all had guns in their hands, which they were pointing at An Xiaoning. One of the men instructed in a foreignnguage, ¡°Bring her away!¡± Uponmand, two of the men immediately held An Xiaoning down and pushed her out of the room. An Xiaoning did not struggle or resist at all and simply allowed them to bring her to a spacious and bare mudnd. She scanned her surroundings and could tell that it was not the DK Organization¡¯s execution ground. Xihou Jiaping had only brought her there because he was eager to kill her as soon as he could. She was well aware of that. However, it did not mean that she would admit defeat and resign herself to fate. Before she arrived, she had already expected there to be such an oue. Although she was being surrounded by Xihou Jiaping¡¯s people who were all holding her at gunpoint, so what? Even if she did not have the confidence to rescue the children, she would not allow herself to dig her own grave. That is, at the very least, Jin Qingyan would ensure that she doesn¡¯t. He can¡¯t allow her to lose her life, even if the children couldn¡¯t be rescued. Hence, as the DK members were getting ready to shoot... they copsed onto the ground and died all of a sudden. No one had seen clearly just what had happened. An Xiaoning felt a hand around her waist, and she was propelled upwards into the sky. Staring at him in disbelief, she asked in astonishment, ¡°Why have youe?¡± ¡°You were almost shot to death, how could I have note?¡± ¡°They couldn¡¯t have killed me. I have my own ways of escaping,¡± said An Xiaoning, who had taken all the necessary precautions and preparations. ¡°I know you have your own ways, but you¡¯ll have definitely gotten injured. You can¡¯t have guaranteed at all that you¡¯ll leave this ce unscathed. I don¡¯t want to let you get hurt again. Let¡¯s get out of here.¡± He looked down and turned An Xiaoning around. As soon as they left, the mudnd was blown up in fumes amid the sound of a loud explosion. Chapter 1150 - I Want to Make You Stay (28)

Chapter 1150: I Want to Make You Stay (28)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios It was the DK Organization attacking them. However, there was no turning back now and An Xiaoning had been sessfully brought to a safe ground. As soon as theynded, she heard him grunt in pain. Clearly, his calf had yet to recoverpletely. An Xiaoning held onto him, and a lump formed in her throat as she asked, ¡°Qingyan, what do we do now? I wonder how the children are doing now.¡± ¡°He¡¯s after us, not the children. His purpose for kidnapping the children is just so he could threaten us. He won¡¯t touch the children before he kills us. After all, if the children were to die, he would lose his trump card. I¡¯ve already received a text message from Xihou Jiaping.¡± ¡°What did he say?¡± ¡°He said that he wants me to give up my life in exchange for the children being released. Which means that bying here, not only will you be unable to see the children, you¡¯d also be losing your life.¡± ¡°I know. I know that it won¡¯t be easy to rescue the children, but I don¡¯t have another option,¡± she said. ¡°Weren¡¯t we already certain of that when they were kidnapped? I only agreed to let youe because I wanted to verify if he¡¯s still in S Nation. Otherwise, why would I want you to make this wasted trip?¡± he said, staring at her. ¡°He¡¯s indeed not in M Nation.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already verified that. I left the estate via the secret passageway in the cer. Apart from a few people, everyone else thinks that I¡¯m still in Wei Ni Estate. Xihou Jiaping is still after me right now. He must still be in S Nation. As long as he¡¯s in S Nation, there¡¯d be no escape for him.¡± An Xiaoning did not understand what he meant at all. ¡°Why is there no escape for him as long as he¡¯s in S Nation?¡± ¡°Xiaoning, do you remember what day it is tomorrow?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the 15th of July, Yiheng¡¯s and my birthday...¡± ¡°Correct...¡± ¡°What does that have to do with him?¡± He held her hand and interlocked fingers with her. ¡°You¡¯ll find out when the timees.¡± ¡ª ¡°Sis En, just what¡¯s going on? Why has Cousin gone missing again?¡± Xiao Yue asked. ¡°He has something important to handle,¡± said Fang En, who had no idea what was going on either. She only knew that Xiao Chenyang had appeared extremely austere after reading a text message and left in a hurry. The studio transferred the two bodyguards to her again. ¡°What important matter is it? He¡¯s gone again after leaving all of a suddenst time,¡± said Xiao Yue, who was in low spirits because she could not see him. ¡°I¡¯m not too sure either.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t Cousin tell you? He couldn¡¯t have gone for a matchmaking session, could he?¡± Xiao Yue asked in puzzlement. ¡°Matchmaking session? I don¡¯t think so,¡± Fang En said firmly. ¡°Sis En, you must know where he lives, then.¡± Fang En said, ¡°He lives in A City... with me. Don¡¯t you already know that?¡± ¡°I meant his own home.¡± ¡°His own home... I¡¯m not too sure.¡± ¡°Why are you so unsure about everything...? Cousin seems to know everything about you but you barely know anything about him,¡± remarked a bewildered Xiao Yue. ¡°I¡¯ll go take a nap in the van. Wake me up at two o¡¯clock.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Once she got inside the nanny van, she dialed Xiao Chenyang¡¯s number. The call went through, and his ringtone was a mncholic melody. It exuded a ssic vibe. Xiao Chenyang answered a short whileter. ¡°What is it?¡± he answered coldly. She could tell what his mood was from the way he sounded. ¡°Are you feeling out of sorts?¡± she asked. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± he asked, knowing clearly that she wouldn¡¯t call him unless something had happened. ¡°Nothing...¡± ¡°Focus on filming, take your meals regrly, and get sufficient sleep. Don¡¯t open the door to strangers at night, men in particr.¡± He emphasized on thest sentence. Fang En answered, ¡°Got it.¡± After ending the call, Fang En let out a huge sigh and reclined the seat in a bid to lie down. She heard a sounding from the window, and she cocked her head sideways to see that it was Yan Ge. She opened the door to let him in. ¡°What are you doing alone in the car?¡± ¡°I¡¯m nning to take a short nap.¡± ¡°Did you not sleep wellst night? You seem to be unwell,¡± he said, staring at her. ¡°I had a night of dreams. I haven¡¯t been getting any quality sleeptely.¡± ¡°If my mother had said anything to you, don¡¯t take her words to heart. Her bark is worse than her bite,¡± said Yan Ge. ¡°Auntie didn¡¯t say anything to me. We¡¯re getting along fine. However, she wanted me to rece my bodyguard. I really can¡¯t do that,¡± Fang En said with a faint smile. ¡°I¡¯ve already exined that to her, rest assured. Why isn¡¯t he around?¡± ¡°He has something to handle.¡± ¡°En, just who is he? Could you tell me?¡± Yan Ge asked. Shaking her head, Fang En said, ¡°I only know a little about him. There are many things that I¡¯m unaware of.¡± ¡°Tell me everything that you know, then, so that I can prepare myself mentally.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t, but he¡¯s not a vile character.¡± ¡°Frankly speaking, I¡¯ve already gotten someone to check on him. However, I didn¡¯t manage to find out anything at all. It seems like he really just popped up out of nowhere. Clearly, he¡¯s been keeping his information highly confidential.¡± ¡°He showed up in my life all of a sudden too.¡± Fang En kicked her shoes off and ced her feet against the seat in front of her. She continued, ¡°I still don¡¯t get just what his reasons are...¡± Why did he do this to me...? It seems as if he had targeted me. ¡°Which one matters more to you, your career or your family?¡± Fang En turned to look at him and answered, ¡°Family, of course. However, career is just as important. What¡¯s the point of living if you can¡¯t be with the person whom you fancy? Likewise, where¡¯s the meaning in life if you can¡¯t do what you like?¡± ¡°Would you be willing to give up your career for the sake of that person whom you fancy, then?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t that person and my career co-exist?¡± Yan Ge reclined his seat and lied down. Staring at her, he said, ¡°I want to hear the truth. Would you be willing?¡± ¡°I shall answer you truthfully, then. If I¡¯m willing to give up my career for that person, that person must mean more to me than my life does.¡± Yan Ge smiled and did not probe any further, because he did not wish to know if he meant more to her than her life did. Noticing that he was not saying anything, Fang En wrapped her arm around his waist and leaned closer toward him. ¡°Unless I want to quit the showbiz industry out of my own ord, I wouldn¡¯t leave. Anyone whopels me to give up my career is so despicable.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª After cruising on the ocean for a long while, the ship finally arrived at Mingshan Ind at dusk. Chapter 1151 - I Want to Make You Stay (29)

Chapter 1151: I Want to Make You Stay (29)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The three children were thrown off the ship. One of the men on the ship hollered at Jin Yiheng, ¡°Rascal, what are you looking at? The sky is about to turn dark soon. You¡¯d better hurry and look for some food and water. Otherwise, you¡¯ll have to starve to death. I¡¯m telling you, there are no servants here to serve you. All of you, you¡¯d better stay here obediently. It¡¯s impossible for you to escape!¡± As soon as he finished yelling at him, the ship moved off. At this moment, it was not exactly tranquil and peaceful by the seaside where the strong sea breeze was blowing toward them. The three children looked at each other before shifting their gazes onto the ship that was slowly vanishing out of sight. Having never experienced such treatment before, the three children were frightened out of their senses and began bawling in agony. They were finally done weeping. Due to the fact that they had already eaten some bread and drank some water on the ship, they were not quite hungry yet. However, the bread and water given by the woman couldst them for only one meal... They began walking toward the main road, hand in hand. The main road was simply a muddy path that was only wide enough for one car to pass. There was lush greenery and trees on both sides of the road. They continued walking further in. Fortunately, they had to go for jogs and long walks very frequently during training at the boot camp. Hence, a few kilometers were a piece of cake for them. After walking for a long time, they finally saw a stone house. ¡°Brother, there¡¯s a house over there!¡± Jin Rongyan eximed. ¡°I saw it too. Let¡¯s go over there to take a look,¡± Jin Yiheng answered in a puerile voice. They scurried toward the house to see that there was a broken metal door that was rusty. It was obvious that it had been around for a long time. Long Xiaoxi knocked on the door and asked, ¡°Is anyone inside?¡± At this moment, two extremely hideous-looking men opened the door. One of them was bearded while the other had his face covered in scars, which made him look terrifying. Long Xiaoxi grabbed onto Jin Yiheng tightly and stood behind him, not daring to look at the men. As soon as the men opened the door, they pulled the three children into the house forcefully and locked the metal door. ¡°Big brother, what do you guys do?¡± ¡°What do you think? Kid, you¡¯re young but you¡¯re rather calm and quiet. I shall tell you the truth. The people who brought you to the ind chose not to send you guys to us directly simply because they wanted you guys to fend for yourselves elsewhere. But you actually came to us yourselves. You¡¯ll have no choice but to stay here, then. Come with me,¡± said the bearded man, who began walking inside while the scarface pushed them along. The three children followed him quietly. When another metal door opened, they shrieked in terror and screamed incessantly. Jin Yiheng hurriedly covered Long Xiaoxi¡¯s eyes with his hands while Jin Rongyan covered his own. He said in a quivering voice, ¡°Brother, I¡¯m scared.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be scared, I¡¯m here.¡± Jin Yiheng was the only one out of the three children who was still staring at the sight before them. It was not that he wasn¡¯t afraid. Rather, he had long gotten used to seeing ghosts and spirits due to the paranormal abilities he had inherited from An Xiaoning. Hence, he could remain calm and cool-headed. Upon hearing Jin Yiheng¡¯s words offort, the bearded man burst intoughter and sneered, ¡°You¡¯re just a kid and yet you¡¯re better at pretending than adults are. Okay, you three shall stay in here. Find your own food and water if you¡¯re hungry or thirsty. Give me those.¡± He then snatched the bread and bottled water from Jin Yiheng¡¯s and Jin Rongyan¡¯s hands. Jin Yiheng flew into a rage, and he looked at Jin Rongyan before kicking the bearded man in the back of his knee. The man fell to the ground andnded on his knees. The scarface immediately whipped out his gun and pointed it at Jin Yiheng, who dared not move. The bearded man stood up, seething with anger. He then kicked Jin Yiheng menacingly before grabbing Jin Rongyan and flinging him toward the wall, causing his head to bleed. Completely terrorized, Long Xiaoxi began bawling loudly and pleaded continuously, ¡°Please don¡¯t hit him, please, I¡¯m begging you, don¡¯t hit him!¡± Noticing that the bearded man had yet to simmer down and instead began beating the two brothers again, Long Xiaoxi immediately knelt onto the ground and pleaded while weeping, ¡°We¡¯re just children, we don¡¯t know anything. We¡¯re just insensible. Please stop hitting them, please.¡± The scarface put his gun away and patted the bearded man on his shoulder. ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s go out.¡± The bearded man exited while cursing incessantly and locked the metal door from the outside. ¡°Rongyan, Rongyan, are you alright? Does it hurt?¡± Long Xiaoxi helped Jin Rongyan up while sobbing. ¡°I¡¯m alright,¡± Jin Rongyan said with pursed lips and tears in his eyes. Jin Yiheng clutched his stomach and squatted down beside Jin Rongyan. He winced in pain and had broken out into a cold sweat. ¡°Brother, there¡¯s no way for us to escape.¡± ¡°Not necessarily. The sky is almost dark and the walls are so high. There¡¯s only one way for us to leave.¡± ¡°Brother, how?¡± Jin Yiheng pointed at the pile of corpses near them. There were corpses and skeletons everywhere, some of which were half-dposed, giving the entire room a spooky and eerie vibe. Even adults would be petrified, let alone children. Jin Yiheng stood up slowly and walked toward the door. He looked outside to see that there was nothing except a tattered mat and a torn nket. There was a countless number of corpses in the yard and barely any food or water avable. ¡°They¡¯ve snatched our bread and water away. The bread and biscuits we have left are not going tost us for long.¡± ¡°Why did they tell us to find our own food and water in here, then...?¡± said Jin Rongyan. ¡°They just want us to eat human flesh and drink their blood.¡± Upon hearing his words, Jin Rongyan and Long Xiaoxi were terrorized. ¡°I¡¯m not eating human flesh, over my dead body!!!¡± ¡°That¡¯s why we must escape.¡± Jin Yiheng lowered his voice and stared at the door before saying, ¡°Let¡¯s climb out.¡± ¡°How are we supposed to climb up? The wall is too high,¡± Jin Rongyan asked in puzzlement. ¡°Didn¡¯t I point at those corpses just now? We¡¯ll just stack them on top of each other and climb up the wall. That¡¯s the only solution we have. They have guns, we can¡¯t beat them.¡± Jin Rongyan had turned as pale as a sheet and broke out into a cold sweat. Long Xiaoxi dared not utter a single word at all, because she had no idea what to do. Her eyes had turned red and swollen from all the crying. She missed her family and yearned to go home. She did not want to stay in this hellhole any longer. ¡°Rongyan, let¡¯s do as Yiheng said. If we don¡¯t make it out of here, we¡¯ll have to eat these...¡± ¡°Okay,¡± he agreed softly. The house was facing the West while the metal door faced the South. Chapter 1152 - I Want to Make You Stay (30)

Chapter 1152: I Want to Make You Stay (30)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios One of the walls along the South waspletely hidden behind the house. Hence, the men would not be able to see anything from the metal door. Jin Yiheng decided to stack the corpses there, so that they would not be easily discovered even if the two men decided to check on them. After all, there were lots of corpses there. The three children squatted below the corpses and cocked their heads away from the overwhelming stench while trying to curb their nausea and fear. Due to the fact that they were rather small in stature, Jin Rongyan and Long Xiaoxi had to carry the upper part of the corpse together while Jin Yiheng carried the other end of it slowly. The sky began to turn dark gradually. Although they were extremely slow, they still made some progress, bit by bit. They grew numb after adjusting to the situation and getting over their fear. Although they were moving the corpses in the middle of the night, they were no longer as petrified as they had been when they saw them for the first time. However, it soon became difficult to stack the corpses once the pile had grown higher and higher. Firstly, they were too short, and secondly, the pile of corpses would often copse halfway through. Fortunately, they had yed with stacking blocks before and hence decided to stack the corpses as they would the toy blocks. It took them the entire night to finish stacking. They reeked of the stench from the dposing corpses, and their hands were stained with blood that could not be removed. It was their greatest nightmare. It was a horrifying experience that they had never imagined before. When it was almost daybreak, Jin Yiheng removed his sweatshirt and took out the remaining bread and biscuits that he had. He then wrapped them inside the sweatshirt and told Jin Rongyan to remove his shirt. He then climbed up the pile of corpses and sessfully got onto the top of the wall. He pulled Long Xiaoxi up before proceeding to pull Jin Rongyan up by his shirt. He sat on top of the wall and stared at the ground from above. The wall was extremely high to them. However, they were not afraid at all. Jin Yiheng handed the bread to the two of them and said, ¡°You two, hold this.¡± He tied his sweatshirt to Jin Rongyan¡¯s and said, ¡°Xiaoxi, hold onto this end of the shirt and climb down slowly. It might be very high off the ground but you won¡¯t fall.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Long Xiaoxi tugged onto the shirt and began descending slowly. When Long Xiaoxi was almost to the ground, she let go of the shirt andnded quickly. ¡°Rongyan, take it.¡± He grabbed the sweatshirts and asked, ¡°Brother, what about you? How are you going to go down?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll jump off the wallter.¡± ¡°Brother, why don¡¯t you lean against the wall and climb down slowly?¡± Jin Yiheng insisted, ¡°I¡¯m your older brother, listen to me. Hurry, if they discover us, we won¡¯t be able to escape.¡± Jin Rongyan did not say anything else and instead followed his brother¡¯s instructions. He swiftly scaled down the wall while holding onto the sweatshirt. Jin Yiheng cast the sweatshirt at the two children and got down from the top of the wall slowly before jumping off andnding onto the ground. However, it was not a smooth plunge for him, and hended onto a hole in the ground. He twisted his ankle and copsed. He could not help but burst into tears due to the excruciating pain. ¡°Brother, are you alright?¡± ¡°I sprained my ankle.¡± ¡°Xiaoxi, hurry and give me a hand.¡± Long Xiaoxi frantically stepped forward to help Jin Yiheng to the side together with Jin Rongyan. The three children then walked inside. ¡°Don¡¯t take this route, we¡¯ll walk there instead,¡± said Jin Yiheng, who had broken out into a cold sweat. The three children began walking toward the side, clenching their jaws and trying their best to press on. If it weren¡¯t for the training that they had received at the boot camp, the three children would not have been able to survive at all. However, they¡¯d grown to develop grit and tenacity after all the rigorous training. Despite having stayed up all night, they made their way across the ind and covered a great distance. Long Xiaoxi sat on the ground and remained as still as a statue while staring nkly at the ground with tears in her eyes. Jin Yiheng quickly tried tofort her, ¡°Xiaoxi, don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ve escaped now, haven¡¯t we? We must find some food and water so that we can survive until Daddy and Mommye to rescue us. Don¡¯t cry.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to cry anymore. There¡¯s no point in crying anyway.¡± Long Xiaoxi struggled to get up on her feet and she continued, ¡°What if they chase after us and catch us again? Let¡¯s keep walking.¡± ¡°Yes. Xiaoxi, you¡¯re so brave.¡± After hearing his words of encouragement, Long Xiaoxi felt more motivated to continue walking. After walking in the same direction for a while, they made a turn and walked in another direction, all because they were afraid that the two men would catch up with them. They hurriedly proceeded along the route before stopping by a smallke. In fact, there was barely any water left in theke. The three children began washing their faces and hands with the water before running toward the other side to drink some of it. After drinking some water, they began eating. Jin Yiheng and Jin Rongyan both offered Long Xiaoxi more food. However, she did have some awareness and refrained from overeating even though she wasn¡¯t full yet. Despite Jin Yiheng insisting that she have more of the food, she refused and shoved the food back to him. ¡°Brother, I¡¯ll go look for some food.¡± As soon as Jin Rongyan stood up, Jin Yiheng stopped him. ¡°Let¡¯s go together. We don¡¯t know the way around here at all. What if you go missing?¡± ¡°Yiheng, Rongyan, hurry and take a look,¡± said Long Xiaoxi, pointing at a tree near theke on which there were various red things. ¡°They seem to be edible. Let¡¯s go have a look.¡± Long Xiaoxi was overwhelmed with excitement, and happiness was written all over her chubby face. She then helped Jin Yiheng over to the tree. They took a closer look at the tree and found that there really were some fruit on it. ¡°Why are there such fruits on this tree? Grandpa has plucked them for me when we went on the mountains to gather some herbsst time. I¡¯ll climb up the tree to pluck them,¡± said Jin Rongyan, who then climbed up the tree in one, fluid motion like an agile monkey. He then threw a few fruits onto the ground. Long Xiaoxi picked them up and handed it to Jin Yiheng. ¡°Here.¡± Jin Yiheng took a bite to discover that it was rather sour. Although the fruits were not exactly ptable, they could not afford to be picky with their food at this juncture. In fact, they ought to be grateful to have something to eat. Jin Rongyan retrieved lots of fruit from the tree, and the three of them continuously munched on them to keep themselves full. They then wrapped the remaining fruit inside their clothing. Afraid that they would not pass by another fruit tree again, Jin Yiheng decided to just stay there for a while until his ankle recovers. After having their fill, they realized that it was about to rain soon. They must seek shelter somewhere. Jin Yiheng stared at his red and swollen ankle, trying his best to bear with the pain and refrain from wincing. Reminded of the drawing that she had drawn before, Long Xiaoxi said, ¡°By the way, Yiheng, isn¡¯t it your birthday today? Mommy said that you and Godma share the same birthday. I wanted to give you a drawing that I had already finished drawing as a present for your birthday. I¡¯ll give it to you when we get home.¡± Chapter 1153 - I Want to Make You Stay (31)

Chapter 1153: I Want to Make You Stay (31)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Yiheng was reminded of An Xiaoning. ¡°Yes, Mommy and I share the same birthday. I turn seven today.¡± Long Xiaoxi began pping her hands and singing him the birthday song, ¡°Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to Yiheng...¡± Jin Rongyan also sang and apuded along in the midst of the quiet jungle. ¡ª It was the start of the Hungry Ghost Festival. The gates of Hell would be opened on the 15th of July, and a spooky vibe filled the atmosphere, especially at night. Apart from making a conscious effort to refrain from staying outte at night, most people would not make much changes in their normal routine and were generally unaffected by the festival. However, it was an inauspicious date for some extraordinary individuals. Upon returning from M Nation, Jin Qingyan received several messages from Xihou Jiaping, who constantly threatened him. However, Jin Qingyan simply turned a deaf ear and ignored him. He pretended not to see the messages even when Xihou Jiaping threatened to kill the three children. At this juncture, he and Xihou Jiaping were simply testing each other¡¯s patience. In the pitch-dark basement, Xihou Jiaping was filled with anxiety and was extremely ill at ease. He initially thought that he could at least get rid of An Xiaoning first, yet things did not go his way at all. ¡°Master, shall we kill those three children and show Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning what we¡¯re capable of?¡± After giving the suggestion some thought, he agreed, ¡°Which one should we kill first?¡± ¡°In my opinion, the two boys are the main stake. I think we should kill that irrelevant fatso first and film a video of the process. We¡¯ll then send it to them so as to warn them that their children will be next if they don¡¯t adhere to your instructions.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± He picked up his mobile phone and gave his underlings in M Nation a call to instruct them to execute Long Xiaoxi. As soon as he made the call, thedy boss of the nightclub eximed in horror, ¡°Master!¡± ¡°What happened?¡± She pointed at a spot. Xihou Jiaping looked over, only to discover that Xiao Chenyang was ring at him menacingly with a longsword in hand. Xihou Jiaping stood up and asked, ¡°Why are you here again?¡± ¡°Release the children,¡± Xiao Chenyang said coldly, showing no emotion at all. ¡°Why must I do your bidding? Have you got too much time on your hands? This is none of your business.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t spend more than ten hours searching for you just to hear such crap from you. Release the children. Don¡¯t make me repeat myself for the third time!¡± Xiao Chenyang hollered in exasperation. ¡°No. Hand over Xihou Ling¡¯s head and I¡¯ll release the children,¡± Xihou Jiaping said dauntlessly. ¡°Today shall be the day you meet your maker, then. We¡¯ll settle old and new scores today.¡± ¡°Do you really think I¡¯d be afraid of you? I just don¡¯t want both sides to suffer,¡± said Xihou Jiaping. ¡°You may not be afraid of him alone, but how about both of us together?¡± a voice said coldly all of a sudden. Xihou Jiaping took a closer look to discover that it was Jin Qingyan. He began to feel a little flustered. He had drained some of his powers while breaking the spell in the boot camp. Although his powers were notpletely depleted, it was still a tough feat for him to defend himself against both of them... To make matters worse, it was the Hungry Ghost Festival. The oue was clear... This time, he would be in for a loss. .... An Xiaoning was ill at ease throughout the entire journey home. She had no idea how things would turn out. They should be fine with Xiao Chenyang around, right? But his calf has yet to healpletely, he can at most bear with the pain and try to stand still, but... She was extremely worried. She would have definitely tagged along if he didn¡¯t vehemently forbid her from doing so. ¡°Sis...¡± An Xiaoning sat down and said, ¡°Yangyang, I¡¯m really worried.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they¡¯ll be fine. The children will be alright too,¡± Mei Yangyang said while holding her hand tightly, seemingly trying to reassure herself as well. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Yangyang. If it weren¡¯t because of us, Xiaoxi wouldn¡¯t have been implicated either...¡± ¡°Sis, you don¡¯t have to apologize, it¡¯s not your fault. Tianze and I don¡¯t me you guys at all. We just hope that the three children can return home safely,¡± Mei Yangyang said with tears in her eyes. An Xiaoning held her hands together tightly and ced her forehead against them, feeling terribly upset. They¡¯re just a bunch of children... Although they had been training at the boot camp for a long period of time and had better survival andbat skillspared to other children their age, she still could not put her mind at ease. ¡°No. 8,¡± she yelled at the door. No. 8 entered and asked, ¡°Sis, do you have any orders for me?¡± ¡°No, I just wanted to ask, when did you begin training when you were younger?¡± No. 8 answered, ¡°I can¡¯t quite remember, I was way too young. I think I started when I was three or four years old, perhaps even younger.¡± ¡°Can such young children even defeat adults?¡± asked An Xiaoning, who found it extremely absurd and impossible. ¡°Sis, why not? When I was younger, I had a friend who was training alongside me. I think I was about five years old then. We tried to escape because we felt like training was a living hell. Thus, we both grabbed some ss bottles and threw them onto the adults who were watching us at the time and instantly knocked them unconscious. However, we were soon caught after running away. We stopped trying to escape after receiving a severe beating.¡± Knowing what she was worried about, No. 8 said, ¡°Sis, Little Sir has been training at the boot camp for so long, many other children are no match for him. Besides, he¡¯s already seven years old and he¡¯s such a bright child. Perhaps he¡¯ll reallye up with a solution to escape. Sis, don¡¯t worry, I believe the situation is not as bad as we¡¯re imagining it to be.¡± How could An Xiaoning not worry? How could she put her mind at ease? Every minute and second felt like years. ¡ª Xihou Jiaping had expended most of his energy while fighting the two of them. By the time Xiao Chenyang had ced his sword against Xihou Jiaping¡¯s neck, thetter could no longer retaliate. ¡°Back when you stole the blood meant for saving Nan Chuang¡¯s life, I had already wanted to rip you into shreds. However, you kept yourself well hidden and you hibernated for years in an unknown ce. I couldn¡¯t find you at all. I finally managed to find you at the nightclub this year. Despite not having seen you for centuries, I didn¡¯t kill you immediately, but that¡¯s only because you had Xihou Ling¡¯s life in your hands. I didn¡¯t kill you in the hospital because I didn¡¯t want to have a duel with you so soon. Despite all that, you stillck so much self-awareness.¡± Blood flowed from the corner of Xihou Jiaping¡¯s lips. He guffawed and sneered, ¡°Even if you kill me now, you¡¯ll never be able to find those three children. I¡¯ve already ordered for them to be killed! Xihou Ling, I killed over nine hundred servants in your residence in our previous lifetime. If I don¡¯t make the first move, I¡¯ll die in your hands sooner orter in this lifetime. I don¡¯t regret anything because I¡¯ve already done everything that I could. However, there¡¯s no way you can break the curse that¡¯s been put on you and Hua Jin. You two will never get married. You¡¯ll never end up together. The thought of it just brings me immense joy. Hahahahaha!¡± Chapter 1154 - I Want to Make You Stay (32)

Chapter 1154: I Want to Make You Stay (32)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As soon as he finished speaking, Jin Qingyan flew into an uncontroble rage. He raised his arm and plunged his sword into Xihou Jiaping¡¯s neck, causing him to pass out immediately. ¡°Master!!!¡± the woman who had been huddling in a corner on the couch yelled at the sight of Xihou Jiaping lying motionless. Sensing that someone was ring at her menacingly, she immediately gasped and remained quiet while trembling uncontrobly. Trying with all his might to bear with the pain in his calf, Jin Qingyan walked toward the woman who had fear written all over her face. She frantically pleaded, ¡°Don¡¯t kill me... don¡¯t kill me... please don¡¯t kill me.¡± ¡°I can spare your life, but you must tell me exactly just what¡¯s going on with the children.¡± She nodded and exined, ¡°Before you guys arrived, Master sent his orders for the girl to be killed and instructed the underlings to send him a video of the process. You arrived as soon as he made that call.¡± Just as Jin Qingyan was about to turn around, the woman shrieked in terror while staring at Xiao Chenyang. He turned back to see that blood was sttered all across the walls and that Xihou Jiaping¡¯s head had been severed from his body. What a bloodbath. The blood began flowing out of his body and onto the ground silently. A terrifying silence filled the air. Xiao Chenyang bent forward to grab Xihou Jiaping¡¯s mobile phone before walking toward Jin Qingyan. He then handed the mobile phone to Jin Qingyan and said, ¡°Since we arrived shortly after he made the call, it should be thest call he¡¯d made with this mobile phone.¡± Jin Qingyan grabbed it and looked through the call history. Upon finding the number, he immediately dialed it, after which a voice answered, ¡°Master.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not your master, I¡¯m Jin Qingyan. Your Master is in my hands now. Release those three children and send them to the airport of M Nation safely. Otherwise, I¡¯ll give you a hard time.¡± ¡°Do you really think we¡¯d believe you just because you have his mobile phone?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± He handed the mobile phone to the woman and red at her with a threatening expression, seemingly trying to warn her. ¡°Say something,¡± he instructed. The woman grabbed the mobile phone with trembling hands and said, ¡°It¡¯s me, yes, Master is in their hands now. Hurry and send the children to the airport...¡± She ended the call and returned the mobile phone to Jin Qingyan. As soon as he took it from her, the woman copsed onto the ground after being shot in her forehead. ¡°She¡¯s the owner of the nightclub where Xihou Jiaping trapped me in the water tank previously. I promised not to kill her,¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°She¡¯s a member of the DK Organization. We¡¯re doing the citizens good by killing her,¡± said Xiao Chenyang. He pped his hands, after which a few bodyguards entered almost immediately. They all belonged to Jin Qingyan. ¡°Incinerate these two corpses and clean up the mess here. You¡¯re not to divulge a single detail about what had happened here. Got it?¡± Jin Qingyan instructed. ¡°Yes, Young Sir.¡± Staring at Jin Qingyan¡¯s calf, Xiao Chenyang asked, ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°What do you think?¡± Xiao Chenyang smiled and said, ¡°Poor you. It would initially take just a couple of months to heal, but your condition has worsened. Seems like you¡¯re going to have to be bedridden again.¡± ¡°Even then, it¡¯s still worth it, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Although Xihou Jiaping is dead, don¡¯t forget that his power and authority are not gone yet. DK Organization is the most notorious and feared terrorist organization in the world, and none of the nations could eradicate them, despite working together. I don¡¯t think we can annihte all of them so soon. Rome wasn¡¯t built in a day. Once the news about Xihou Jiaping¡¯s death spreads to M Nation, we¡¯ll never know what his bunch ofckeys mighte up with or what extreme actions they might take.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why we must keep this under wraps and not allow a single detail to be leaked for now.¡± Jin Qingyan extended his hand and said, ¡°Help me out of here.¡± Xiao Chenyang proceeded ordingly. On the way back, Jin Qingyan said to him, ¡°Thank you so much for doing me such a huge favor. If it weren¡¯t for your help, I wouldn¡¯t have been confident about killing him.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t do this entirely for you, it¡¯s mostly because I wanted to take my revenge too. Previously, I had been searching for him for years. He knew that I was searching for him too, so he kept ying hide-and-seek with me. I only found out recently that he¡¯s the kingpin of the DK Organization. If I had only killed him earlier, none of these things would have happened today. However, we acted at the right time today. We made it in time for the Hungry Ghost festival.¡± ¡°About the curse... is that real?¡± ¡°It is,¡± answered Xiao Chenyang, who was driving. ¡°Who was the one who had put the curse on us?¡± ¡°Frankly speaking, I don¡¯t know much. Let¡¯s talk about that after the children have returned safely,¡± said Xiao Chenyang. Jin Qingyan expressed assent and said, ¡°Alright, but I¡¯ll still need to trouble you with the children. It¡¯s inconvenient for me to move about now, and M Nation is the DK Organization¡¯s territory. I¡¯m afraid ofnding in booby traps, but I¡¯ll feel safe with you around.¡± ¡°No problem, but I want something in return.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I want you to visit our mentor¡¯s grave and apologize to him. Although you two have severed ties and never saw each other again, I know that he still dotes on you and misses you dearly. He had always treated you like his son. So many years have passed. He would definitely be ted if he were to know that you had visited his grave. He would definitely stop being angry at you too.¡± Thinking that he ought to do so anyway, Jin Qingyan agreed. ¡°Bring me there after the children are back.¡± Xihou Jiaping¡¯s mobile phone began to ring. Jin Qingyan squinted after taking a look at the caller disy. ¡°Who called?¡± Jin Qingyan showed Xiao Chenyang the screen, after which they looked at each other and remained quiet while a somber mood filled the air. .... As soon as they arrived home, everyone rushed toward the car, including Yu Yiwei. ¡°Qingyan, how¡¯s it going?¡± Jin Qingyan alighted from the car slowly and said, ¡°We caught him at first but he managed to escape. Shixin,e with me to the bedroom, I have something to say to you.¡± ¡°Yes, Young Sir.¡± Fan Shixin helped him into the house while the rest followed closely behind. Yu Yiwei was the only one who heaved a sigh of relief. Jin Qingyany down on the bed, after which Fan Shixin asked, ¡°Young Sir, what did you want to say to me?¡± ¡°Bring a few bodyguards along and head to the airport of M Nation together with Xiao Chenyang. Wait for the children there.¡± ¡°Wait, Young Sir, didn¡¯t you say...¡± ¡°Come here...¡± said Jin Qingyan, motioning for Fan Shixin toe closer. Fan Shixin bent forward, and Jin Qingyan began whispering into his ear. After hearing what had happened, Fan Shixin instantly got the goosebumps and he said, ¡°Alright, got it. I¡¯ll now do as you instructed.¡± ¡°Okay, go ahead. Get your Young Madam toe upstairs too.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± As soon as Fan Shixin left, An Xiaoning made her way upstairs. Feeling worried and impatient, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°What do we do now...? I¡¯m worried sick. Why are you still smiling?¡± ¡°Xiaoning, Xihou Jiaping is dead.¡± An Xiaoning sat down and grabbed his hand. Her eyes lit up and she asked in disbelief, ¡°Really?¡± Chapter 1155 - I Want to Make You Stay (33)

Chapter 1155: I Want to Make You Stay (33)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Absolutely. Xiao Chenyang sliced off his head. I saw it with my very own eyes.¡± Jin Qingyan hugged her tightly and kissed her before continuing, ¡°I instructed Shixin to pick the children up together with Xiao Chenyang.¡± Noticing that An Xiaoning had burst into tears, Jin Qingyan quickly sat up and asked softly, ¡°Why are you crying again?¡± ¡°I like crying, am I not allowed to?¡± ¡°You are, but you¡¯ll be ugly if you keep crying,¡± he said, wiping the tears off her face gently. She smiled and punched him teasingly. ¡°Then why did you lie to me when you alighted from the car just now?¡± He whipped out his mobile phone and said, ¡°This is Xihou Jiaping¡¯s mobile phone.¡± An Xiaoning looked down at the chat history and she immediately understood the situation after seeing Yu Yiwei¡¯s name. ¡°Yu Yiwei is actually working for Xihou Jiaping?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t expect it either.¡± ¡°Wait... when we were in B City previously, I saw her in the footages from the surveince cameras in the ancestral graveyard when the Yin family was relocating Yin Cun¡¯s grave. When I called the bodyguards who were chaperoning her back then, they told me that she imed that her parents were in B City and that she had brought them to the zoo... Could she be Yin Cun? But you, me, and Yangyang all look the same as we did in our previous lifetime, don¡¯t we? Why does Yin Cun lookpletely different? Even her gender has changed.¡± ¡°No idea. She¡¯s not the only one who looks different. Fang En looks different too, doesn¡¯t she?¡± An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°Although we¡¯re not certain if she¡¯s Yin Cun yet, we¡¯ll find out once we put her to the test.¡± ¡°How do you n on testing her?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t thought about it yet, but I¡¯d like to tell Yangyang and Tianze about it first so that they can stop worrying.¡± ¡°Sure, go ahead and tell them.¡± ¡°Wait for me while I go inform them.¡± As soon as she stood up, he grabbed her wrist and said, ¡°You muste back right after you¡¯ve informed them.¡± She smiled and said, ¡°Yes, Young Sir.¡± He let go of her, smiling. ¡ª ¡°Sis En, word about Cousin not being your cousin is spreading around the production unit. Is that true?¡± Xiao Yue asked. ¡°Who¡¯s spreading it?¡± Shaking her head, Xiao Yue said, ¡°I don¡¯t know. A lot of people know about it now anyway. Everyone¡¯s saying that he¡¯s your boyfriend. They¡¯re making it seem as if it¡¯s true.¡± Fang En answered, ¡°He¡¯s not my cousin, but he¡¯s my bodyguard.¡± Seemingly frightened, Xiao Yue asked, ¡°Is he really not your cousin?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Sis En, is he really your boyfriend, then?¡± ¡°No. Pour me some water,¡± she said, handing Xiao Yue her cup. ¡°Alright.¡± Xiao Yue picked up the teacup and scurried away. Fang En walked toward Yu Caiwei and asked, ¡°Did you spread those rumors?¡± ¡°Who said so? Don¡¯t use me without any concrete evidence. But aren¡¯t those rumors true? Since they¡¯re true, why do you care who the person who started it is?¡± Yu Caiwei answered nonchntly while touching up her makeup. As soon as Fang En tried to leave, Yu Caiwei yelled at her to stop her in her tracks. ¡°Is he really not your boyfriend?¡± Fang En answered, ¡°No, why would I let my boyfriend be my bodyguard?¡± ¡°Well, I can¡¯t be too sure about that. What¡¯s wrong with making him your bodyguard for the sake of getting to be around him every day? I really don¡¯t understand you, Fang En. Are you dating Yan Ge now? Can you rify it?¡± Yu Caiwei questioned, staring at her. ¡°How does it concern you in any way?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t concern me, but I love gossip and I want to find out.¡± Yu Caiwei smiled and goaded, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you afraid of answering?¡± ¡°I just don¡¯t want to answer you,¡± said Fang En, who then walked away. Staring at her back view, Yu Caiwei put down her handheld mirror and stood up. Yan Ge was busy discussing his scene with Directory Gao. She waited for them to finish speaking before saying to Yan Ge, ¡°Will you have a chat with me?¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing to chat about.¡± Feeling extremely disgruntled to see how aloof he was, Yu Caiwei said, ¡°Yan Ge, I really have something to say to you.¡± Director Gao chuckled and said, ¡°Yan Ge, don¡¯t turn a pretty babe down. Hurry and go.¡± Yan Ge looked at Yu Caiwei and walked toward the side while Yu Caiwei followed suit. They proceeded to a quiet corner, after which he asked, ¡°Just what do you want to say to me?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve already found out that Xiao Chenyang is not Fang En¡¯s brother, haven¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve found out about it long ago. So?¡± ¡°Are you really dating her now?¡± ¡°Is there anything else you have to say?¡± asked Yan Ge, who did not wish to hear her crap. ¡°Yan Ge... I still have feelings for you.¡± ¡°Stop saying such nonsense. I¡¯ve long forgotten about you. Just let our rtionship remain as a thing of the past,¡± said Yan Ge, who left as soon as he said his piece, not giving her the chance to speak at all. Yu Caiwei, too, walked away in low spirits. Being haughty and arrogant, she did not want to continue being thick-skinned and throw herself at Yan Ge. However, she felt that it would be a pity if she did not woo him again. She was stuck in a dilemma. She seemed to have sensed that Yan Ge truly did not have any more feelings for her. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have treated her that way. The honeymoon period of their rtionship seemed just like a dream now. The moment Yu Caiwei arrived at the entrance of the filming location, she was stopped by a middle-aged woman. ¡°Miss, hello. Does Fang En work with this production unit?¡± ¡°Yes. How are you rted to her?¡± ¡°I¡¯m her mother.¡± ¡°Her mother? Why didn¡¯t you just call her, then?¡± Mrs. Fang smiled and said, ¡°She didn¡¯t answer my calls.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. I¡¯ll bring you to her, then.¡± Yu Caiwei led Mrs. Fang to the set to look for Fang En. When she realized that Fang En was still busy filming, she said, ¡°Auntie, wait for her here. You may look for her after she¡¯s done with filming.¡± ¡°Yes, yes.¡± Mrs. Fang stood at a distance away from the cameras and waited for Fang En to be done with filming. The more she thought about it, the angrier she was. She was fuming, and her anger knew no bounds. Once Fang En was finally done, she immediately zoomed toward her and yelled, ¡°En!¡± Surprised to see that she had shown up without warning, Fang En walked toward her and asked, ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°Why am I here? Do you still care about me?¡± ¡°Lower your voice, will you?¡± Fang En chided. ¡°Oh, now you¡¯re afraid of being embarrassed. Do you think that I won¡¯t dare announce to all your colleagues and crew members about how unfilial you are!?!¡± Fang En¡¯s face grew sullen, and she asked, ¡°Just what are you here for?¡± ¡°I¡¯m your mother, what do you think I¡¯m here for!?!¡± Fang En brought Mrs. Fang to the nanny van. ¡°You refuse to answer my calls, and we don¡¯t even know where you had moved to. I finally found your workce after asking around. Are you even my daughter? How could you treat your parents this way?¡± Chapter 1156 - I Want to Make You Stay (34)

Chapter 1156: I Want to Make You Stay (34)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Talk to your boss and let your brother be an intern at your studio. Let him make it big as an actor in the future, just like you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to talk to my boss about it.¡± ¡°En, you can¡¯t be that heartless. He¡¯s your biological brother. If you really refuse to help your brother, I¡¯ll let everyone know how unfilial you are!¡± Mrs. Fang threatened, bent on getting her wishes fulfilled. Fang En was getting a splitting headache. She said, ¡°How many times must I repeat myself? As an artiste, I have no right to interfere with my employer¡¯s decisions. Besides, my studio is not nning to take in any interns.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°Because there isn¡¯t an internship avable, or perhaps there could be another reason. How would I know? So stop bringing this up again and just let Brother focus on receiving proper education. If he doesn¡¯t wish to attend school, he should at least pick up a lucrative skill.¡± ¡°Where have you moved to? If something major happens to your father and me in the future, we won¡¯t know where to look for you.¡± ¡°You can just give me a call if something happens, you don¡¯t have to know where I live,¡± said Fang En, who knew that she would definitely not get to live in peace once her parents find out her address. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you answer any of my calls?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll answer them from now on. Will that do?¡± Upon hearing her words, Mrs. Fang said, ¡°Alright, then. Can I stay behind to apany you for a few days?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not necessary.¡± Mrs. Fang was extremely peeved and disgruntled about her cold reply. However, she knew that it was because she had never shared a close rtionship with her daughter. ¡°I¡¯ll go backter, then. However, we¡¯re a little cash-strappedtely...¡± Fang En took out three thousand dors from her wallet and handed it to her mother. ¡°Take it.¡± After counting the cash, Mrs. Fang said, ¡°Give me another two thousand.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all I have in my wallet.¡± Mrs. Fang said, ¡°Go ahead and get busy with filming, then. I won¡¯t impose on you any further.¡± ¡°Okay. Do you know how to go home? Shall I get my chauffeur to send you to the taxi stand?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯ll save me some money.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª It began drizzling in the afternoon in Mingshan Ind. The three children had no choice but to leave the tree after retrieving all the food that they can because they had nowhere to seek shelter. After walking for a long while, they finally found a cave. It was pitch dark inside the cave, and they could not see a thing at all. They dared not enter and instead just hid beside the cave opening while huddling closely together. When the sky was about to turn dark, the rain began getting heavier and it started to get breezy. Due to the fact that the ind was surrounded by the seas, it was cold and humid on the ind, causing the three children to shiver uncontrobly. When the sky turnedpletely dark, they instantly got the chills when they heard the howling of some unknown animals from afar. Jin Yiheng discovered that Long Xiaoxi¡¯s temperature seemed to be burning. ¡°Rongyan, Xiaoxi seems to be running a fever.¡± Jin Rongyan patted Long Xiaoxi¡¯s face and said, ¡°Xiaoxi, wake up.¡± Long Xiaoxi murmured assent. When she felt some grass being stuffed into her mouth, she asked, ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°This is a medicinal herb that I discovered when we arrived here in the day. It¡¯s edible. You¡¯re running a fever right now, the herb will help,¡± he exined. ¡°It tastes horrible, it¡¯s so bitter.¡± ¡°But if you don¡¯t eat it, the fever is going to make you a dimwit. I¡¯ll give you some fruit after you eat the herb. It won¡¯t be bitter that way.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Long Xiaoxi answered with a frown. She reluctantly chewed the herb in her mouth and swallowed it. She then took a bite out of the fruit, which helped reduce the bitterness in her mouth. ¡°Yiheng, Rongyan, I feel terrible. I miss Daddy and Mommy. Are there ghosts in here? I¡¯m so scared...¡± said Long Xiaoxi, who began tearing up again. ¡°Xiaoxi, we¡¯ll definitely make it home. Brother and I are here, you don¡¯t have to be afraid, Xiaoxi.¡± Long Xiaoxi grabbed their arms and nodded, trying to hold her tears back. ¡°Okay.¡± Jin Yiheng said softly, ¡°Xiaoxi, go to bed. Everything will be fine by daybreak.¡± ¡°Okay, you guys go to bed too.¡± Long Xiaoxi¡¯s body was extremely warm due to her fever. Thus, the two freezing children leaned closer toward her to warm themselves up. Long Xiaoxi soon dozed off while the other two could not fall asleep at all. They were continuously being bitten by mosquitoes. How could they possibly fall asleep? Jin Yiheng had no choice but to use his shirt to fan the mosquitoes away. A long whileter, Long Xiaoxi¡¯s body temperature began to decrease gradually. ¡°Brother, Xiaoxi¡¯s fever is dissipating.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to the medicinal herbs that you¡¯ve gotten. Otherwise, what would have happened to Xiaoxi...¡± ¡°Grandpa used to bring me along when he went out to gather medicinal herbs. He also taught me what the herbs looked like and which illnesses they were used to treat. What I want most is to be a doctor like my grandfather.¡± ¡°Okay, you have my support. When we get home, I¡¯ll tell Daddy to buy you lots of medical books. You may read as many as you want.¡± ¡°Awesome, thank you, Brother.¡± After chatting for a while, Jin Rongyan eximed in horror all of a sudden, ¡°Brother!¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Rongyan?¡± ¡°Something¡¯s moving...¡± Jin Yiheng held his breath and listened closely. He began hearing the sounds of footsteps shufflinging from inside the cave. The pair of brothers could not tell what was inside at all. They instinctively stered themselves against the stone wall, not daring to make a single sound. They could not help but tremble uncontrobly from head to toe. Unable to contain his terror, Jin Rongyan screamed when the unknown object touched him. ¡°Ah! Brother!¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Jin Yiheng asked worriedly. ¡°It... touched... me...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t move, stop talking.¡± ¡°I... I...¡± ¡°Shh...¡± Jin Rongyan dared not utter another word. Fortunately, the object stopped moving. The two of them stayed wide awake until daybreak. When the sky began to turn bright slowly, the two children were frightened out of their senses the moment they saw the magnificent figure before them. It was a huge wolf, which was staring at them with its yellow, luminous eyes, as if it could devour them anytime. Jin Rongyan teared up uncontrobly. Long Xiaoxi was still sleeping and thus had no idea about what was happening. He dared not make a single sound. He would nce at his brother every now and then. Jin Yiheng was just as petrified. Long Xiaoxi woke up when the sky turnedpletely bright. She thought that her eyes were ying tricks on her when she woke up. Thus, she rubbed her eyes again, only to receive a huge fright. Seemingly having expected that she would scream in shock, Jin Yiheng hurriedly covered her mouth. They were initially squatting down. However, Long Xiaoxi instantly thumped herself down onto the ground. They had learned about the differences in various types of animals during their biology lessons. Hence, they could differentiate clearly between wolves and dogs. Chapter 1157 - I Want to Make You Stay (35)

Chapter 1157: I Want to Make You Stay (35)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Their circumstances were unfavorable. Jin Yiheng removed his hand from Long Xiaoxi¡¯s mouth slowly and held her hand instead. He then moved outward slowly while Jin Rongyan held onto Long Xiaoxi¡¯s other hand. The three children then began inching slowly out of the cave. To their astonishment, the wolf followed them. When the three children ran away, the wolf took chase. When they stopped, it stopped as well. After repeating the same course of action several times, the three children started to discover that the wolf did not seem to have intentions of harming them. They felt much less afraid than before. Jin Yiheng took out a few fruits and threw it at the wolf. The wolf sniffed the fruits a little before devouring them. Clearly, the fruit was not enough to fill its stomach. However, Jin Yiheng dared not feed it anymore, for they still needed some food to survive. Just as they were about to sprint elsewhere, they heard some noisesing from afar. The noises approached the three children, who soon realized that the bearded man and the scarface had found them. ¡°The three of them are over there!¡± ¡°Hurry and take chase.¡± Upon the sight of the two men, the three children panicked and began sprinting away. The wolf followed suit, as if they were members of his pack. ¡°Don¡¯t run away, kids. We¡¯re here to send you back to reunite with your parents!¡± the bearded man yelled at the top of his lungs. Jin Yiheng said to the two children, ¡°Don¡¯t believe him, he¡¯s lying to us. If they catch us, we¡¯ll never be able to escape again.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± they chorused,pletely trusting Jin Yiheng. The two men had no choice but to take chase. However, they were still adults at the end of the day and could run faster than the children. When the men had almost caught up with them, the deafening sound of a gunshot filled the air. Frightened out of their senses, the three children¡¯s legs turned into jelly. ¡°Run any further and I¡¯ll shoot!¡± he eximed. His warning was indeed effective. However, when the two men began approaching the children, the wolf broke its silence and began howling at them. It then pounced onto the men, causing the children to be dumbfounded. The men immediately whipped their guns out and shot the wolf. Having lived on the ind for a long time, they were experts at hunting and killing the animals on it. They were also well aware of the quickest way to hunt and poach. The two bullets struck the wolf in its gut, causing it to stagger and copse. Jin Yiheng yelled, ¡°Don¡¯t shoot!¡± However, his efforts were futile. The two men swiftly shot the wolf a few more times and only stopped when it started bleeding incessantly and became motionless. The three children stood up. Staring at the dead wolf whose eyes were tightly shut, Jin Yiheng began bawling and weeping loudly. From then on, he understood that humans were sometimes far more terrifying than menacing animals. Long Xiaoxi and Jin Rongyan burst into tears as well. The fruits in their clothes dropped onto the ground and began rolling away from them. ¡°What are you crying for? We¡¯re here to send you guys away from the ind. The ship is ready. Follow us,¡± the bearded man said sternly. ¡°Can we leave after burying it?¡± ¡°What for? We¡¯ll take it back with us and devour it.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to devour it!¡± Jin Yiheng barked. ¡°Kid, don¡¯t create unnecessary trouble. Are you leaving or not? Hurry up!¡± the bearded man hollered, aiming his gun at Jin Yiheng. The three children began walking away while the bearded man pulled the wolf along using a rope that he had tied around the wolf¡¯s limbs. They continued walking for a long period of time, and their legs soon began to ache unbearably. They finally reached the house where the two men resided. Reminded of the corpses and skeletons inside, the three children stood rooted to the ground by the door, not wishing to go in at all. The two men then dragged the wolf carcass into the yard before taking them to the seaside. Just like they had mentioned, there was indeed a ship waiting for them there. When the ship began sailing off, the three children stared at Mingshan Ind, which was getting farther and farther away. They were filled with agony and grief. .... The children¡¯s parents were already waiting for them in Wei Ni Estate before the ne hadnded. An Xiaoning and Long Tianze could not believe their eyes the moment they saw the children alighting from the car. They werepletely heartbroken. Tears welled up in Long Tianze¡¯s eyes as he squatted in front of Long Xiaoxi and picked her up in his arms. ¡°Our little baby has lost so much weight,¡± he remarked. Long Xiaoxi began bawling and wrapped her arms tightly around her father¡¯s neck. ¡°Daddy, I suffered so much.¡± ¡°I know, your mommy has already prepared lots of delicious treats for you. Let¡¯s go home.¡± ¡°Okay, okay, Daddy, I¡¯m starving!¡± ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll eat once we get home.¡± He carried Long Xiaoxi away. An Xiaoning bent forward to hug her sons and said apologetically, ¡°It¡¯s all Daddy and Mommy¡¯s fault for failing to protect you two.¡± The children continued weeping,pletely incapable of speech. ¡°Yiheng, what happened to your ankle?¡± ¡°I sprained it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll help you apply some ointment after you take a showerter.¡± Staring at Xiao Chenyang with tears in her eyes, she said, ¡°It¡¯s been hard on all of you. The dishes have been prepared. Let¡¯s go inside to eat.¡± They entered the living room together. An Xiaoning brought her sons upstairs to take a shower. When they entered the master bedroom, Jin Qingyan said while smiling, ¡°It¡¯s my little warriors who have just returned from the thugs¡¯ den.¡± ¡°Daddy, your sons are already in such a sorry plight yet you can still smile so widely,¡± Jin Yiheng rebuked in disdain before entering the washroom. Jin Rongyan followed suit. An Xiaoning turned on the tap in the bathtub to fill it with water. After adjusting the temperature of the water, she then turned on the faucet and said to the children, ¡°Rinse yourselves here before taking a dip in the bathtub. I¡¯ll go bring your clothes here.¡± After she exited the bathroom, the two children removed their clothes, which had be unrecognizable due to the filth. An Xiaoning headed to the children¡¯s room to retrieve two fresh sets of clothing. As soon as she entered the bathroom, Jin Yiheng frantically ced his hands over his crotch and turned as red as a tomato. ¡°Mommy, please go out after cing the clothes there.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you want me to bathe you guys?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve promised Daddy that I won¡¯t let you bathe us again from now on.¡± An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°Alright, then. There¡¯s a towel here. When you¡¯re done showering, dry yourselves before putting on your clothes.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± An Xiaoning exited and closed the door after her. She then said to Jin Qingyan in delight, ¡°Our sons are really grown up now.¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I¡¯m asking you a question,¡± he probed. ¡°Mr. Jin, I don¡¯t wish to answer your question.¡± With raised brows, he said, ¡°Look at you, you said that our sons have grown up. Is there anything wrong with me asking you to exin your statement? Why has it be my fault?¡± ¡°Dinner is about to begin. Do you want to go downstairs to eat or would you like me to bring the food up?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go downstairs,¡± he said while sitting up straight. ¡°Let me help you down, then.¡± ¡°Thank you, Mdy.¡± ¡°...¡± Xiao Chenyang was cleaning his sword when the two of them arrived downstairs. ¡°What sword is that?¡± Chapter 1158 - I Want to Make You Stay (36)

Chapter 1158: I Want to Make You Stay (36)

¡°A brilliant one.¡± Scrutinizing the sword, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Does it have a name?¡± ¡°Shui Yuan,¡± he answered while cing the sword back inside its sheath. He then put it aside. Jin Qingyan picked up a bottle of liquor on the table and poured some liquor into three sses. He then raised his and said, ¡°Here¡¯s a toast to you from Xiaoning and me.¡± Xiao Chenyang stared at him and said, ¡°Don¡¯t forget what you had promised me.¡± ¡°Of course I won¡¯t.¡± The three of them clinked their sses together and chugged the liquor down in one go. Resting her chin in her hand, An Xiaoning said, ¡°You said that you would tell me the answer to my question. Can you tell me now?¡± Jin Qingyan pointed at Xiao Chenyang and said, ¡°Let him tell you why the 15th of July matters a lot to Xihou Jiaping.¡± ¡°The gates of Hell opens on the 15th of July and the Yin energy is especially abundant on that day. As long as he¡¯s in the same city and within a reasonable distance away from me, I¡¯ll be able to detect his scent and find him easily. On top of that, our bodies will be exceptionally frail during the Hungry Ghost Festival and Qingming Festival. Hence, it gave us the chance to defeat him easily.¡± ¡°What do you mean frail?¡± An Xiaoning asked a crucial question. ¡°It¡¯s better that you don¡¯t know. However, if you¡¯re dying to find out, let your man answer your question,¡± said Xiao Chenyang, passing the buck to Jin Qingyan. An Xiaoning turned to look at Jin Qingyan and asked, ¡°What does it mean to be frail?¡± Noticing how curious she was, Jin Qingyan pulled her into his arms and whispered into her ear, allowing the warmth of his breath to caress her skin. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you everything when we go upstairs after dinner. It¡¯s hard to exin in words right now. Alright?¡± An Xiaoning looked up to see that he was staring at her longingly and affectionately. They held each other¡¯s gaze for a few seconds, and he began moving his lips closer toward her. Feeling a little embarrassed, she nudged him and chided, ¡°What are you doing? There are people here.¡± He let go of her and continued standing properly. Xiao Chenyang poured himself some liquor and nced at them. He chastised, ¡°How heartless of you two. Fancy you being all lovey-dovey in front of a singleton like me. I really wish I could kill you two.¡± Jin Qingyan ced one arm on his thigh and rested his chin in his hand. ¡°Shall I introduce you to a woman, then?¡± ¡°Hua Jin?¡± ¡°Dream on.¡± ¡°Who are you referring to, then? Continue eating,¡± he said sluggishly. Jin Qingyan knew that Xiao Chenyang was not interested in An Xiaoning at all. He remarked, ¡°I¡¯m really worried for you. You can only look at the woman you fancy but you can¡¯t touch her or call her yours. How pitiful.¡± ¡°She¡¯ll be mine sooner orter. What¡¯s the hurry? I¡¯m going to cultivate her slowly before devouring her when she¡¯s ripe,¡± he said ambitiously. ¡°You¡¯re really something...¡± ¡°You tter me.¡± ¡ª After applying some ointment for Jin Yiheng, An Xiaoningy down beside the two children to console them. Her heart sank after hearing their detailed ounts about the entire kidnapping incident. ¡°Mommy, it¡¯s such a pity that the wolf died.¡± She let out a sigh and said, ¡°It really is... I think it¡¯s a female wolf who decided not to harm you guys since you¡¯re children and pose no threat to her. You two are my precious babies. Yiheng, I¡¯m very proud to have such a sensible son like you. You¡¯ve shouldered the responsibility of being a big brother. Rongyan, I¡¯m also really proud of you for saving Xiaoxi with the medicinal herbs. Well done.¡± ¡°Mommy, my front tooth is shaking,¡± said Jin Rongyan, pointing at the said tooth. An Xiaoning touched the tooth gently and said, ¡°Your teeth are recing themselves. Don¡¯t touch it, just let it fall off on its own. It¡¯s normal for your teeth to fall off when you¡¯re between the ages of four to twelve. Alright, babies, let¡¯s go to bed.¡± ¡°Mommy, could you keep the lights on? I¡¯m still scared.¡± ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll leave themp on. Go to bed, I¡¯m going back to my room.¡± ¡°Mommy, goodnight.¡± ¡°Alright, goodnight, my sons.¡± An Xiaoning closed the door gently and returned to her bedroom. Jin Qingyan exited from the bathroom while supporting himself with a walking stick. He had clearly already taken a shower. She sat in front of the dressing table to remove her makeup before proceeding to wash up. She theny down beside him on the bed and said, ¡°I¡¯m all ears.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been keeping some things from you, but I¡¯ve decided toe clean with you now. I don¡¯t want there to be any secrets between us. We¡¯ve promised to be honest with each other.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s heart wrenched because there were also things that she had been hiding from him. For example, the fact that she was aware about his dissociative identity disorder. ¡°Let¡¯s bothe clean with each other.¡± ¡°Are you hiding something from me too?¡± he asked eagerly. ¡°Tell me first before I tell you.¡± He nodded and told her everything that he had been keeping from her. He then exined, ¡°The state of being frail that Chenyang had mentioned just now simply means that extraordinary people like us would be exceptionally weak during the ghost festivals. During these periods, our powers will be much less potent than usual. When Xihou Jiaping was at his weakest, it was naturally the same for me and Chenyang. However, we outnumbered him and, hence, there was no way he could defeat the two of us. It took us quite a bit of time topletely subdue him.¡± ¡°Do you... have to drink blood regrly from now on...?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± He turned to look at her and asked, ¡°What have you been hiding from me? Tell me, quick.¡± ¡°About your dissociative identity disorder...¡± He froze in shock and asked, ¡°You¡¯ve found out about it?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve found out long ago, ever since your rpse in M Nation. I was the one who made Shixin hide it from you. I¡¯ve also told Xiao Chenyang.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve always thought that you were still in the dark...¡± ¡°I¡¯ve made a bet with Henry.¡± ¡°What bet?¡± ¡°If he falls in love with me, he¡¯ll vanish on his own. If he doesn¡¯t, I¡¯ll have to leave you.¡± ¡°Within how long?¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t fix a duration since he rarely appears.¡± Jin Qingyan guffawed unrestrainedly and said, ¡°You¡¯re definitely going to win.¡± An Xiaoning sprawled herself across his body and said with glistening eyes, ¡°Well, there¡¯s still hope forplete recovery.¡± He stuck his bony hand into her pajamas subconsciously. Having guessed his intentions, An Xiaoning pulled his hand away and stood up. She then began undressing herself and stripped down to nothing. She knelt down beside him and rested her hand on his boxers before moving it down to his knee. He remained silent and watched as she removed his ck underwear and closed her eyes to kiss him. She could taste the lingering remnants of toothpaste, and his unique scent wafted up to her nose. An Xiaoning continued to press her body against his, feeling an electrifying shiver moving down her spine. She let out a moan of pleasure. Chapter 1159 - I Want to Make You Stay (37)

Chapter 1159: I Want to Make You Stay (37)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She could not take her lips off of his and wished that she could consume him whole. She wrapped one leg around his waist and slowly got into the dominant position, with her on top of him. Their hormones began to rage, and their burning passion could not be contained. Jin Qingyan fondled her while hugging her tightly and kissing her passionately. ¡°Ah...¡± Filled with pleasure, she continued moaning incessantly with great enthusiasm. ¡°Mm... Mm...¡± She grabbed his member and held it up with her tiny hands before moving downward slowly. He then held her waist with both hands and pushed her body down. He entered her and they became one. They both let out a moan of satisfaction. He could tell that she was exceptionally passionate tonight, perhaps because she was ted about the fact that Xihou Jiaping was dead and that the children had returned home safely. What followed her happiness was an intense session of lovemaking. Although his calf was fractured, the two of them remained in the same position and continued to satisfy their desires, all the way until one o¡¯clock in the morning. Exhausted and drenched in sweat, they panted heavily and tried to catch their breaths. Her legs had turned into jelly and became weak. She proceeded to take a shower, after which she cleaned him up with a towel. Jin Qingyan rested his arms behind his head and watched as she cleaned him up. Gazing at her, he said, ¡°You¡¯ve abused my member...¡± ¡°You call that abuse? If it weren¡¯t because of your calf, I would¡¯ve milked you dry tonight.¡± ¡°You¡¯re wee to interact with it every day. It¡¯ll be waiting for you.¡± ¡°How earnest.¡± On cloud nine, she turned around while smiling and brought the towel to the bathroom. Shey down again and ced a sheet of mask over her face. Still not feeling sleepy yet, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you¡¯d be talking to Xiao Chenyang about the curse when you¡¯ve returned? Why didn¡¯t you bring it up during dinner just now?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not toote to wait ¡¯til tomorrow.¡± When they headed down for breakfast the next morning, they discovered that Xiao Chenyang had already left when daybreak arrived. Jin Qingyan said, ¡°I¡¯ll ask him when he takes me to our mentor¡¯s graveyard.¡± An Xiaoning remained silent. ¡ª As soon as Xiao Chenyang pulled up in the car park of the hotel in A City, he caught sight of Fang En¡¯s nanny van. He headed to her room on the tenth floor and pressed the doorbell thrice before she finally opened the door. ¡°You¡¯re here,¡± she murmured. She then turned around and walked into the room slowly. She was dragging her feet across the room due to the fact that she was still sleepy. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you filming?¡± ¡°We filmed for the entire nightst time and we¡¯ll have to head to another filming location in G Cityter this afternoon. I need to sleep in the morning.¡± She theny down and buried her face into the pillow. He flipped her body over and chided, ¡°Are you trying to suffocate yourself?¡± Fang En opened her eyes slightly and called out, ¡°Xiao Chenyang...¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°When Xiao Yueester, get her to buy me a bottle of warm milk...¡± ¡°I¡¯ll buy it for you.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± she answered feebly. Xiao Chenyang exited with the key card. He returned to the room after buying some warm milk and breakfast, only to see that she was sprawled across the bed and seemed like she¡¯d be falling off soon. He woke her up and poked a straw into the bottle of milk. ¡°Here¡¯s your warm milk,¡± he said, handing her the bottle. She finished it in one gulp, after which he handed her the sandwich. Fang En sat up straight and closed her eyes while munching on the sandwich. She waspletely exhausted and was simply chewing mindlessly. After having her fill, she went back to sleep. Xiao Chenyang had some food too and proceeded to freshen up afterward. As soon as he came out of the bathroom, he heard her mobile phone ringing. He stepped forward to look at the caller disy and saw that it was Co-director Li who was calling her. Just as Xiao Chenyang was about to answer, Co-director Li hung up. Thinking to himself that it was probably for something important, he decided to call Co-director Li back. Before he could do so, thetter sent a text message. It read: ¡°En, you¡¯ve seen the photos for yourself. How do you n to settle it?¡± A sullen expression formed on Xiao Chenyang¡¯s face as soon as he read the message. Photos? What photos? After some thought, he replied: ¡°Come over to my room. We¡¯ll talk about this issue.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± He picked Fang En up in his arms and asked, ¡°What photos did Co-director Li show you?¡± Fang En instantly sobered up the moment she heard his words. ¡°How... how did you know?¡± He threw Fang En¡¯s mobile phone at her, after which she unlocked it to look at the message. After reading the content, she said, ¡°They were photos of me and Yan Ge...¡± ¡°In bed?¡± Fang En immediately retorted, ¡°Of course not! We didn¡¯t get intimate... it¡¯s just some photos of me hugging him.¡± ¡°Co-director Li is clearly trying to threaten you. How do you n to settle it?¡± ¡°I was nning to call Sis Yangyang today...¡± ¡°Since you¡¯ve already begun dating him, why don¡¯t you just publicly admit to your rtionship? You two may just date each other openly. Wouldn¡¯t it be better if you don¡¯t have to be cautious or hide it from anyone?¡± he said coldly. Fang En grabbed the sheets tightly and stared at the calm expression he had on his face, unable to figure out what he was thinking. Fang En nodded and said, ¡°I think you have a point. Good idea. I¡¯ll call Sis Yangyang now.¡± She dialed Mei Yangyang¡¯s number and said, ¡°Sis Yangyang, Yan Ge and I have begun dating.¡± ¡°Then?¡± ¡°What do you say we admit to it openly?¡± ¡°Have you thought about it yet?¡± ¡°The Co-director has snapped some photos of us behaving affectionately.¡± Mei Yangyang asked, ¡°Do you n to marry him?¡± Marry him? Fang En¡¯s mind went nk the moment she heard her words. ¡°I don¡¯t n to marry him just yet.¡± ¡°Wait until you¡¯re thinking of marrying him before you announce your rtionship. Don¡¯t act rashly. Do you know what will happen once you announce your rtionship? Yan Ge¡¯s fans will drown you in their castigations and criticisms, so think twice before you act. Consider it carefully,¡± Mei Yangyang said bluntly. COMMENT ¡°I know.¡± She ended the call and looked at Xiao Chenyang. ¡°Did you hear that? My boss thinks I shouldn¡¯t announce it. So I don¡¯t n to.¡± The doorbell rang again, and Fang En got out of bed to answer the door. Co-director Li entered the room, smiling. However, he was caught by surprise when he saw her bodyguard inside. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to get him to go out?¡± Co-director Li asked. ¡°No, he¡¯s not an outsider,¡± Fang En said casually. Chapter 1160 - I Want to Make You Stay (38)

Chapter 1160: I Want to Make You Stay (38)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°How do you n to settle this?¡± Fang En folded her arms and answered, ¡°I don¡¯t really n to settle it. You¡¯re the co-director, and yet you used those photos to ckmail me into offering you some benefits. I¡¯m well aware that if I don¡¯t concede to your requests, you¡¯re going to use my rtionship with Yan Ge as a publicity stunt. It¡¯s a sure bet for you.¡± A sullen expression formed on Co-director Li¡¯s face as soon as he heard her words. ¡°Since you¡¯ve already said that, there¡¯s nothing left for me to say.¡± Just as he was about to leave, Xiao Chenyang stopped him. ¡°Delete those photos,¡± he said coldly. ¡°Why would I delete it just because you said so?¡± he retorted. He tried to shrug Xiao Chenyang¡¯s hand away, only to have thetter pin him onto the ground. ¡°Delete them.¡± ¡°No!¡± Xiao Chenyang snatched Co-director Li¡¯s mobile phone away from him forcefully and opened the camera album to delete the photos immediately. That was not all. He knew that deleted photos could still be recovered. Hence, he smashed the mobile phone onto the ground and crushed it beneath his feet. He then whipped out a wad of hundred-dor bills and threw it against Co-director Li¡¯s face. ¡°Go buy a new mobile phone. Take this as apensation.¡± Co-director Li flew into a rage as he got up from the ground. Pointing at Xiao Chenyang, he barked, ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to step foot inside the film set from now on!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not up to you to decide.¡± Co-director Li stormed out of the room in a huff, absolutely regretful about the fact that he did not keep a spare copy of the photos. He mmed the door shut. Fang Eny down in bed again while Xiao Chenyang went to the balcony. She sent Yan Ge a text message to inform him about what happened. Yan Ge did not reply, perhaps because he was still sleeping. Her eyes were dry and ufortable after having slept for only a few hours. However, she could not fall asleep anymore. A silence filled the room. After enjoying the breeze for a while, Xiao Chenyang returned inside the room andy down beside her. He held her hand, which was much warmerpared to his. His hand was mmy and icy cold. Although it clearly wasn¡¯t wintertime, she felt like his temperature was extremely cold. ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to know something. However, neither you nor Sis Xiaoning would answer me. Just why did you show up in my life all of a sudden?¡± she asked from the bottom of her heart. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you when you fall in love me.¡± ¡°What if I never do?¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, there¡¯ll be no need for you to find out. If it¡¯s destined that you won¡¯t fall in love with me, telling you would only burden you unnecessarily. Don¡¯t you have to go filming this afternoon? Try and catch some sleep,¡± he said, still holding her hand. Fang En had a hunch that he was keeping a secret about herself. Just what is it? She desperately wanted to find out. ¡°Hello, hello, you have a text message.¡± Since he was holding her right hand, Fang En had no choice but to pick up her mobile phone using her left hand. It was a text message from Yan Ge. He replied: ¡°Got it, don¡¯t worry about this anymore. Get more rest.¡± She replied: ¡°Okay.¡± She then threw her mobile phone aside. .... After packing her belongings, Fang En, Xiao Chenyang, and Xiao Yue headed to the hotel lobby to meet the rest of the crew members at two o¡¯clock in the afternoon. The directors and main cast boarded a ne while the rest of the crew members, assistants, and bodyguards boarded a coach bus to G City. Xiao Chenyang immediately booked two first-ss air tickets and said to Xiao Yue, ¡°When we board theer, you shall take En¡¯s seat.¡± Xiao Yue nodded profusely, thrilled to be boarding the ne. She could not care less about whether it was a first-ss ticket or not, for it was already a privilege to be traveling by ne instead of the coach bus. The nended in the airport of G City where there was a massive number of fans waiting for Yan Ge and Yu Caiwei to make an appearance. Since Fang En did not have any fans, she had no choice but to wait for them in the car for twenty minutes. ¡°Oh my god, Yan Ge, you and Fang En have made it onto the news. Turns out you two are really dating,¡± Yu Caiwei eximed in astonishment, pretending to be clueless. Everyone in the car hurriedly whipped out their mobile phones to check for thetest news. Fang En followed suit. The news article was titled: ¡°Fang En self-deres that she¡¯s dating Yan Ge!¡± Self-deres? I exposed it myself!?! ¡°En, is it true that you and Yan Ge are dating? I really couldn¡¯t tell. Congrats!¡± Director Gao said, smiling. Everyone chimed in as soon as she spoke. Fang En took a deep breath and ignored Director Gao. The first thing that came to her mind was that Co-director Li must have contacted the media. However, she discovered that there was a screenshot of her Weibo page attached to the article. The photo was captioned: ¡°I¡¯m dating Yan Ge now. I hope to receive all your blessings.¡± Fang En frantically logged into her Weibo ount, only to receive a notification that imed that someone had logged into her ount overseas. She was also told that her password had been leaked and was advised to reset her password as soon as possible. ¡°My Weibo ount has been hacked,¡± she mouthed while staring at Yan Ge. Yan Ge immediately stood up and walked toward her seat, only to discover that it was indeed so... He said softly, ¡°Change the passwords of your Weibo and email ounts. Secure it with your mobile number too.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Fang En immediately reset her passwords. However, she contemted if she should delete the post on Weibo... ¡°Yan Ge, tell us the truth, are you dating En or not?¡± Director Gao probed, desperately wanting to know what happened. Yan Ge answered, ¡°It¡¯s true. I¡¯ll give you guys some wedding vandy another day.¡± Everyone in the car broke into fanfare while Yu Caiwei remained seated quietly. She shifted her gaze onto Xiao Chenyang and took a few nces before looking away. Fang En stopped worrying about the post after hearing Yan Ge¡¯s response. She thought that Mei Yangyang would call her to enquire about the situation. To her surprise, thetter did not. Sis Yangyang must be thinking that I decided to announce it after having that conversation with her this morning. ¡°Yan Ge, are you reposting it? I shall repost it to congratte you guys too, then,¡± Director Gao said while staring at her phone. Fang En opened Weibo to see that Yan Ge had indeed reposted it, along with the caption: ¡°I initially wanted to post the announcement first, but she insisted on vying with me. Hence, I decided to give in, because dies first.¡¯ Yes, we¡¯ve begun dating a while ago, and I sincerely hope that everyone will allow us some privacy.¡± She knew that he was sparing a thought for her. After all, female celebrities were bound to be berated by fans if they were to take the initiative to announce their rtionship with a fellow male celebrity. But of course, she would be berated regardless of who had announced their rtionship first. While her number of fans began to increase, the number of hatefulments she received on her Weibo post increased as well. Theizens were often relentless and harsh in their criticism towardizens. ¡°You¡¯re such a in jane. Yan Ge must have been blind to have fallen for you. You¡¯re so ugly, you don¡¯t deserve Yan Ge at all. I don¡¯t wish the best for you guys!¡± Chapter 1161 - I Want to Make You Stay (39)

Chapter 1161: I Want to Make You Stay (39)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°How revolting. Don¡¯t you ever take a look in the mirror? Don¡¯t you know how ugly you are? Get lost!¡± ¡°You¡¯re hideous. Seriously, can you at least go under the knife? Do you have any self-awareness at all?¡± ¡°You¡¯re just a minor actress who¡¯s a nobody in the showbiz industry. How dare you have the cheek to get yourself involved with my Yan Ge? Are your brains fried? I can¡¯t believe you even announced your rtionship yourself. If you¡¯re so eager, why don¡¯t you just implode and die?¡± ¡°What a retard. I can¡¯t believe Yan Ge is dating a woman like you. I suddenly realized that all of Yan Ge¡¯s rumored girlfriends from the past are a million times prettier than the swine that you are! Just what kind of a horrible crossbreed are you?¡± ... Fang En¡¯s spirits were instantly dampened by the endless string of maliciousments. Her mobile phone was snatched away. ¡°Stop reading them,¡± said Xiao Chenyang, who exited the Weibo page on her mobile phone. Fang En stared out of the window quietly. The scenes were to be filmed in the evening. Thus, upon arriving at the location, everyone proceeded to get some rest in the resting room before filming was to begin for the day. Since their rtionship had already been exposed, Yan Ge no longer had to keep it ndestine. He had lots to say to Fang En. Thus, he pulled Fang En away to a corner in in sight. Xiao Yue stood beside Xiao Chenyang. Although she knew that Xiao Chenyang was not Fang En¡¯s cousin, she could not kick her habit of calling him ¡°Cousin.¡± She asked, ¡°Cousin, when did they begin dating each other?¡± ¡°You¡¯re around her every day and yet you have no idea. What makes you think I would be aware?¡± Noticing that he was walking away, Xiao Yue asked, ¡°Cousin, where are you going?¡± He did not answer her and left straight away. Yan Ge brought Fang En to the room next door and asked, ¡°Who do you think had hacked your ount?¡± ¡°It must be someone from the production unit. It¡¯s very likely to be Co-director Li. However, I¡¯m not a hundred percent sure. Regardless of who it may be, we¡¯ll just have to take it in our stride.¡± Noticing that she seemed to be in low spirits, he grabbed her hand and said, ¡°Don¡¯t bother reading thosements on Weibo. They¡¯re all just a bunch of keyboard warriors. Don¡¯t be affected by their words. They don¡¯t understand what kind of person you are at all, so you mustn¡¯t listen to what they say.¡± ¡°I know.¡± She shook her head and continued, ¡°I¡¯m alright, it¡¯s not the first time that this has happened anyway. I¡¯ve gotten used to being castigated.¡± ¡°Actually, it¡¯s a blessing in disguise. We¡¯ll no longer have to hide our rtionship from now on. On the bright side, we can date each other openly. Think positive,¡± Yan Ge said in a tender voice. Fang En looked up at him. Shepletely agreed with what he had said about it being a blessing in disguise. Isn¡¯t it great that we no longer have to hide from the paparazzi and can now date openly? But why is that I can¡¯t seem to feel happy about it at all? ¡ª Long Xiaoxi tiptoed toward Jin Yiheng¡¯s bedroom and pushed the door open gently. She peeked inside to see that Jin Yiheng was still taking an afternoon nap. She entered without hesitation. She walked toward his bed and ced the drawing that she was holding beside his bed. She then climbed onto the bed and bent forward to kiss Jin Yiheng. However, she was too rough with the kiss and woke him up. ¡°Xiaoxi...¡± Feeling embarrassed about being exposed, Long Xiaoxi turned red immediately and got out of bed swiftly. Pointing at the drawing, she said, ¡°This is the birthday present that I had made for you.¡± She then skipped out of the room merrily. Jin Yiheng rubbed his eyes and sat up straight. He picked up the painting to see that it was an illustration of a boy and a girl who resembled himself and Long Xiaoxi, respectively. However, her sketch was true to her appearance and she did appear as round as she did in real life. Although it was a simple drawing, he could tell that she had put in a great ton of effort into drawing it. She had even scribbled some words on the side ¡ª ¡°Yiheng, Happy Birthday.¡± After staring at the drawing for a long while, he folded it neatly and stowed it away in the drawer of his desk. He got out of bed and tiptoed toward his parents¡¯ bedroom. Upon the sight of Jin Qingyan leaning against the bed and reading a book by himself, Jin Yiheng entered and said, ¡°Daddy, you didn¡¯t give me any presents for my birthday. Even Xiaoxi gave me a present.¡± In other words, he meant that Jin Qingyan was worse than Long Xiaoxi. Jin Qingyan red at him and asked, ¡°What present do you want?¡± Thinking that Jin Qingyan was about to buy him a present, Jin Yiheng immediately said, ¡°I want thetest remote-controlled toy car.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t rescuing you already a present? What else do you want?¡± His words were like a wet nket to Jin Yiheng. A sullen expression formed on his face, and he instantly understood that his father was simply asking a rhetorical question. He turned around to leave. As soon as he did, Jin Qingyan asked, ¡°Since you¡¯ve sprained your ankle, why aren¡¯t you resting in bed?¡± Jin Yiheng turned around and eximed in disgruntlement, ¡°I¡¯m going to go online to sign Mommy up for some matchmaking sessions so that she can find me another Daddy!¡± Jin Qingyan put his book away and glowered at him. ¡°Come here.¡± Jin Yiheng remained still and taunted, ¡°Why must I go over just because you told me to? Why should I?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m your father.¡± ¡°Are you allowed to be a tyrant just because you¡¯re my father? Does your father know how domineering you are?¡± That rascal! ¡°Come here,¡± Jin Qingyan said sternly. ¡°No.¡± He lifted the duvet in a bid to get out of bed. Bearing with the pain in his ankle, Jin Yiheng scurried out of the room and yelled, ¡°Mommy, Daddy is going to hit me!¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong, baby?¡± asked An Xiaoning, who had just reached the door. ¡°Mommy, you¡¯re finally here. Look, Daddy is about to get out of bed to hit me! Mommy, you must uphold justice for me!¡± Jin Yihengined while hugging her. An Xiaoning caressed his head and said, ¡°Okay, okay, Mommy will give you justice.¡± She then walked into the bedroom and said to Jin Qingyan, who was lying on the bed. ¡°Your calf is already injured and yet you¡¯re still getting funny ideas. What are you trying to do? If you want to hit our son, you¡¯ll have to get past me first!¡± Seeing that they were ganging up against him, Jin Qingyan exined, ¡°I wasn¡¯t trying to hit him.¡± ¡°What were you trying to do, then?¡± ¡°I was trying to... have a heart-to-heart talk with him and share some secrets with him. That¡¯s all,¡± he said softly. ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning looked down and said to her son, ¡°Rongyan is ying in the backyard, go y with him.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Jin Yiheng answered delightedly. He then smiled at his father smugly and exited the room immediately. Once he left, An Xiaoning kissed Jin Qingyan and asked, ¡°Would you like to go out to take a breather?¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning helped him up and headed downstairs together with him. They took a seat on the bench at the patio. She then brought two sses of juice over and ced them on the table beside him. At this time, the sun¡¯s heat had already be less intense and it was rather cooling. As soon as they sat down, they were approached by Yu Yiwei from afar. An Xiaoning held the ss in her hand and drank some juice with a straw. ¡°Mr. Jin, Ms. An.¡± An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°You¡¯re here. I¡¯ll have to make a trip to B Cityter to find out more about Qingyan¡¯s condition. Come with me, will you, Ms. Yu?¡± Chapter 1162 - I Want to Make You Stay (40)

Chapter 1162: I Want to Make You Stay (40)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Yu Yiwei was quick to react, and she asked, ¡°Does Mr. Jin already know that you¡¯re aware of his condition?¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯ve alreadye clean with each other.¡± ¡°Alright. When would you like to set off?¡± ¡°Forty minutes from now. We¡¯ll have to stay over at B City tonight.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go prepare a set of clothes now.¡± ¡°Alright, go ahead,¡± An Xiaoning said with a smile that vanished the instant Yu Yiwei turned around. She then ced the ss on the table and leaned on the chair. Once Yu Yiwei vanished out of sight, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Judging from her expression, she seems to have already guessed that something had happened to Xihou Jiaping. She just doesn¡¯t dare to verify it yet.¡± ¡°She¡¯s probably not going to admit it for the sake of her own safety. After all, the only person who can prove that she¡¯s Yin Cun is now dead.¡± ¡°I have a solution. Just leave this to me,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Weren¡¯t you going to interact with me tonight? Why are you staying out instead? You¡¯re leaving me again so soon. Your baby is upset,¡± he said with his eyes closed. ¡°I¡¯ll make it up to you in double when I get back, alright?¡± He smiled and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll wait for you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going upstairs to get my bag,¡± she said, after which she rose from her seat. Jin Qingyan squinted and stared at the sky above him. He feltpletely rxed and at peace. He felt that he had the world beneath his feet as long as his children and An Xiaoning were by his side. ¡°Mm, feels great.¡± ¡°Young Sir, what feels great?¡± asked Fan Shixin, who happened to hear what he murmured. ¡°Everything. Sit down, I¡¯ll talk to you about something.¡± Feeling a little spooked by the grin on Jin Qingyan¡¯s face, Fan Shixin sat down beside him and asked, ¡°Young Sir, what do you want to tell me?¡± Staring at him earnestly, Jin Qingyan asked, ¡°Shixin, how many years have you been working for me?¡± ¡°I started working for you long ago. It¡¯s been many, many years.¡± ¡°Well then... I¡¯d like to know, why didn¡¯t you tell me that your Young Madam was hiding the fact that she had already found out about my illness?¡± ¡°Because... Young Sir, even you take orders from Young Madam. Why would I dare to defy her?¡± Jin Qingyan was at a loss for words. He changed the subject and asked, ¡°You ceased the registration for your matchmaking sessions. Have you set your eyes on a great girl?¡± Fan Shixin answered, ¡°There¡¯s indeed one. She¡¯s 23 years old this year and is outgoing and bubbly. I n to get to know her better.¡± ¡°Not bad, you¡¯re being a cradle-snatcher. I hope you¡¯ll get married soon.¡± ¡°Young Sir, I¡¯m not that old...¡± ¡°You¡¯re much older than her, aren¡¯t you? However, you must be very careful. If she¡¯s genuinely a great girl, then you ought to treat her well. However, if she has an ulterior motive, you ought to find out as soon as possible, lest you fall into her trap. Not all women are like your Young Madam.¡± ¡°I understand. Ah, if only Young Madam had a younger sister.¡± Jin Qingyan smiled and asked, ¡°So what if she has a younger sister?¡± ¡°If she has a younger sister...¡± Fan Shixin rose from his seat all of a sudden and bowed to Jin Qingyan. He continued, ¡°Hello, Brother-inw!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª No. 8 headed to the airport together with An Xiaoning and Yu Yiwei. They then boarded amercial ne to B City. When they arrived in B City, An Xiaoning hailed a taxi and handed the taxi driver a note. ¡°Go to the address written on this note.¡± After taking a look at the address, the driver said, ¡°The destination is a little far. I¡¯ll have to charge more for the trip.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. Just keep driving.¡± The driver remained silent. Yu Yiwei had been refraining from speaking much throughout. She was unfamiliar with B City, the capital of S Nation. She had been here only a few times and was not familiar with the roads at all. However, she could no longer keep her cool when the taxi arrived at the entrance of the Yin family home. ¡°Ms. An, aren¡¯t we supposed toe to B City to enquire about Mr. Jin¡¯s condition? Why are we here...?¡± An Xiaoning smiled and asked, ¡°Dr. Yu, you know where this is? Have you evere here before?¡± Yu Yiwei kept her eyes fixed on An Xiaoning,pletely clueless about what she wanted to do. ¡°I haven¡¯t been here before... I just thought that you were nning to go to the hospital, but this ce doesn¡¯t look like a hospital at all.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t a hospital. Get out of the car.¡± An Xiaoning whipped out her wallet and paid the taxi fare. She then instructed the driver to wait for them instead of leaving. No. 5 had already terminated the lease for the rental of the apartment. Thus, he had brought all his luggage along. He was waiting for them at the Yin family home. Upon the sight of them, No. 5 greeted, ¡°Sis, you guys are here.¡± ¡°Yes, where¡¯s Sir?¡± ¡°He¡¯s already waiting for you inside the house.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning continued walking in without looking at Yu Yiwei¡¯s expression. Yu Yiwei entered together with No. 5 and No. 8. The moment she walked past the gate, she was greeted with the sight of the male members of the Yin family. Everyone stood up, including old Mr. Yin. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to have made you wait.¡± ¡°Not at all, you¡¯vee at the right time, Ms. An.¡± An Xiaoning said to Yu Yiwei, ¡°Time to greet your descendants.¡± Despite being filled with panic, Yu Yiwei remained calm and collected. She feigned ignorance and said, ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about, Ms. An.¡± Having already expected her to react that way, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Yin Cun, since I¡¯ve already brought you here, that just goes to show that I¡¯m certain about your identity. You are Yin Cun. Otherwise, there¡¯d be no point in me taking you here.¡± ¡°I really don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± An Xiaoning turned around and ced her hands on Yu Yiwei¡¯s shoulders. She said, ¡°Xihou Jiaping has already told me everything. I don¡¯t think he¡¯d lie about it, especially when his life is at stake. How could a subordinate be more important to him than his life?¡± Yu Yiwei remarked without hesitation, ¡°Why would he believe that you¡¯d spare his life after telling you the truth when he knows that you¡¯d never let him off?¡± An Xiaoning looked at her with a smile and said, ¡°Don¡¯t you think there¡¯s a huge problem with your words? We found your mobile number in Xihou Jiaping¡¯s mobile phone, and you two have contacted each other very frequently. I know clearly who you are. So what even if you refuse to admit it? At this juncture, there¡¯s no point in denying it anymore.¡± She then looked at the Yin family members and said, ¡°I¡¯d like to know if Yin Cun would choose to save herself or to protect her current family and the descendants of the Yin family. I¡¯m really looking forward to the answer.¡± Upon hearing her words, Yu Yiwei immediately understood that An Xiaoning¡¯s purpose for bringing her there was to make her reveal the truth in front of the descendants. She knew that An Xiaoning would definitely keep her word, which was the reason why she was now driven to a corner with no other way out. ¡°He¡¯s already dead, isn¡¯t he?¡± Yu Yiwei asked, staring at her. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Chapter 1163 - I Want to Make You Stay (41)

Chapter 1163: I Want to Make You Stay (41)

¡°Of course.¡± Yu Yiwei whipped her mobile phone out to call Xihou Jiaping, and she felt a glimmer of hope and joy when the call went through. However, at the instant that she heard Jin Qingyan¡¯s voice, all her hopes were dashed... Refusing to resign herself to fate, she proceeded to call the headquarters of M Nation. ¡°Has he returned yet?¡± ¡°No...¡± Just as she was about to continue asking, An Xiaoning snatched her mobile phone away and ended the call. Yu Yiwei felt a lump forming in her throat. After a long pause, she said, ¡°You guys have won.¡± If Xihou Jiaping were still around, she would have never admitted defeat. Now that he was dead, on what grounds could she deny it? If Xihou Jiaping couldn¡¯t defeat them, she obviously couldn¡¯t either... ¡°I¡¯m Yin Cun,¡± she admitted. Old Mr. Yin¡¯s eyes widened in shock as he asked, ¡°You¡¯re really Ancestor Yin Cun?¡± ¡°Yes, I am Yin Cun¡¯s... reincarnation. It pains me to see that the huge Yin family that had once consisted of more than a thousand members has now been reduced to such a state, with barely any descendants left. I never expected that I would be able to meet you guys face to face. I¡¯ve never thought about revealing this secret to you either. However, it seems I have no choice but to do so today.¡± ¡°Please... have a seat.¡± Yu Yiwei sat down and looked at An Xiaoning. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to take a seat?¡± she asked. ¡°I prefer standing,¡± said An Xiaoning. Yu Yiwei shifted her gaze onto old Mr. Yin and asked, ¡°Are the portraits and letter that I had left inside my coffin still around now?¡± Old Mr. Yin answered, ¡°No, they¡¯ve been incinerated.¡± ¡°Good. Those were portraits of Ms. An¡¯s and Jin Qingyan¡¯s incarnations from their previous lifetime. In their previous lifetime, the Yin family was highly respected and enjoyed the admiration of the Emperor, who valued us greatly. Our family had always been fiercely loyal to the royals, and we had been serving them throughout the Emperor¡¯s reign. When Jin Qingyan¡¯s residence was raided during the previous lifetime, all of the souls in the residence... had been trapped by us. I don¡¯t have anything else to say. I just hope that the Yin family bloodline will not cease.¡± Old Mr. Yin nodded and said, ¡°I hope so too.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all I have to say.¡± She stood up again and asked, ¡°Ms. An, may we leave now?¡± ¡°Yes. No. 5, No. 8, bring Dr. Yu with you and wait for me outside the door. I have something to say to the Yin family.¡± ¡°Yes, Sis.¡± After the three of them left, An Xiaoning said briefly, ¡°This matter haspletelye to an end. If you can¡¯t keep this entirely to yourself, I¡¯ll have no choice but to use another method to keep your lips sealed. However, I hope I won¡¯t have to do so.¡± ¡°That goes without saying, Ms. An. Rest assured, we won¡¯t wash our dirty linen in public. Ms. An, if a single detail about this matter gets leaked, you¡¯re free to hold us responsible.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t say anything else since you¡¯ve already given me your assurance, Sir. Yin Cun has reincarnated into Yu Yiwei, and she¡¯s a member of the DK terrorist organization. There¡¯s an internationally recognizedw that allows the general public to kill any terrorists without facing any charges. I won¡¯t repeat myself again. I¡¯m sorry to have imposed on your peaceful life for the past couple of months, but I hope you¡¯ll learn a lesson from Yin Cun¡¯s wrongdoings and never use your supernatural powers to harm anyone again. Domit more kind deeds and umte more merit. That¡¯s the only way you can bring about a positive change in your descendants¡¯ fate.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll bear your words in mind, Ms. An.¡± The elderly patriarch sighed and continued, ¡°Perhaps you are thinking that our ancestors were experts in witchcraft and other supernatural rituals, but our descendants have long stopped practising them. Though we do engage in them secretly from time to time, it¡¯s no longer an open profession. My grandchildren are against these superstitions, and I¡¯ve decided to let them be in charge of their own lives.¡± ¡°I shall take my leave now, then. You don¡¯t have to walk me out.¡± An Xiaoning turned around and left. Despite her refusal, the Yin family nheless rose from their seats to walk her out of the door. They then watched her car leave. When they returned inside the house, old Mr. Yin said to his grandsons, ¡°Have you guys remembered everything Ms. An said?¡± His eldest son answered, ¡°Yes, Father. Although we know that people do undergo reincarnation in their afterlife, we really didn¡¯t expect that she would still remember the events from the previous lifetime.¡± His second son asked, ¡°Father, are there only very few people who can retain their memory of their previous lifetime?¡± ¡°Of course. Not everyone can remember things from their previous lifetime. If they could, the world would be in chaos.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª An Xiaoning brought Yu Yiwei to a hotel. When they entered a hotel room, Yu Yiwei asked, ¡°What do you n to do with me?¡± ¡°Dr. Yu, you¡¯ll have to answer a question of mine before I answer yours. What¡¯s your motive for approaching us under the pretext of being a psychiatrist?¡± Yu Yiwei answered, ¡°When he found out that you guys were secretly searching for a psychiatrist to treat Jin Qingyan¡¯s disorder, he thought that it would be a good opportunity to take action. Hence, he arranged for me to approach you guys, and I managed to be transferred here sessfully from M Nation. He wanted me to just stay near you two and gain your trust before taking action.¡± ¡°What did you do? Were there issues with the drugs that you had given Qingyan?¡± asked An Xiaoning, who immediately thought of the medication. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Oh. Fortunately, Qingyan didn¡¯t ingest a single pill. I¡¯ve reced all of them with cebos.¡± ¡°Did you already suspect me at that time?¡± Yu Yiwei asked in surprise. No wonder the drugs didn¡¯t seem to take effect. ¡°No, I just found out about it. Qingyan was the one who smelled a rat first. When you called Xihou Jiaping, your name appeared on his mobile phone.¡± She nodded and kept her cool. ¡°Can you answer me now? What are you nning to do with me?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you already know? Drink this,¡± An Xiaoning said, handing her a bottle of chemical. Yu Yiwei grabbed the bottle with trembling hands and asked, ¡°May I give my family a call?¡± After some thought, An Xiaoning said, ¡°You may meet them onest time. Tell them your preferred arrangements for your funeral and leave your savings for them.¡± Surprised to hear her words, Yu Yiwei asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that I would escape?¡± ¡°Yu Yiwei, if I¡¯ve set my mind to killing you, do you really think you can escape? It¡¯s better to let your parents know that you¡¯ve killed yourself. After all, they¡¯re already old in their years and they should spend the rest of their lives in peace. Your sister is doing pretty well too. Don¡¯t let your past mistakes implicate them. It¡¯s better that you keep some things from them, lest you bring them unnecessary woes and misery.¡± ¡°I know. I won¡¯t escape. I¡¯ll keep my promise,¡± she said, staring at An Xiaoning. ¡°Okay, you may go.¡± After Yu Yiwei left, No. 5 asked, ¡°Sis, aren¡¯t you afraid that she would run away?¡± Chapter 1164 - I Want to Make You Stay (42)

Chapter 1164: I Want to Make You Stay (42)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°She¡¯s not going to escape, because she¡¯s well aware that there¡¯s no escape for her now that Xihou Jiaping is no longer around to shield and protect her.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡ª The production unit began filming along a certain street in G City in the evening. Hence, there were many pedestrians and passersby who crowded around the set to watch the filming take ce. Amongst the crowd were many of Yan Ge¡¯s fans. Some of those fans were locals while others hade all the way from different cities just to catch a glimpse of their idols. Fang En had already prepared herself for the scene. There were bodyguards around to stop the fans from disrupting the filming process, thus allowing it to proceed smoothly. However, things began to take a turn when filming was about to end. When filming ended, the fans gathered together and began swarming toward their idol. Even the bodyguards could not stop them. Fang En was getting ready to go inside too. However, she felt a sudden breeze beside her that caused her to shiver. She cocked her head toward the side to see that Xiao Chenyang was holding an egg in his hand, which had just been thrown in her direction. She watched in astonishment while Xiao Chenyang flung the egg back at the perpetrator and hit bull¡¯s eye! The eggnded on a woman¡¯s forehead with a thud and immediately shattered. The egg yolk dripped down her face and covered her nose and eyes. However, the scene barely caught any attention. Everything seemed to happen within just a few seconds. Xiao Chenyang ced an arm around Fang En¡¯s shoulder and escorted her through the crowd. The army of fans were kept within control. Fang En entered the resting room, still yet to recover from the shock. Recalling the incident that just took ce, she thought to herself, If Xiao Chenyang hadn¡¯t grabbed the egg in time, it would have definitely hit my face. How awkward would that have been? It will have definitely been reported in the news, wouldn¡¯t it? Since there was a scene to be filmed in the rain at night, the production unit decided to resume filming in the wee hours of the night, when humans would be scarce. Hence, they had to wait for a few more hours. ¡°Shall I take you out for a spin?¡± Xiao Chenyang suggested upon noticing how moody she seemed. ¡°What if the paparazzi catches us...¡± ¡°They won¡¯t.¡± Xiao Chenyang then brought her to the rooftop. ¡°Is this the ce?¡± asked Fang En, who thought that that was the ce that he had nned to take her. However, her guess was wrong. Xiao Chenyang handed her a surgical mask and said, ¡°Hug me.¡± Seemingly having understood something, Fang En wrapped her arms around Xiao Chenyang. When he lifted the both of them up into the sky, she closed her eyes out of fear, despite having already experienced it before. She only opened them after getting a grip on her emotions. She looked down to see the beautiful skyline of the brightly-lit city. She smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s breathtaking.¡± Theynded on a barend nearby. There were street-food stalls along the stretch. It was extremely crowded and lively along the food streets at night. Afraid that he would lose her in the crowd, he held onto her hand tightly while walking through the streets. They proceeded to buy lots of snacks from the street stalls. ¡°Don¡¯t buy any more food, I can¡¯t finish them.¡± He then brought her to the rooftop of a certain building. They sat beside each other while the gentle breeze caressed their faces. She enjoyed the scenery while indulging in the delicious treats, the perfect remedy for her moodiness. ¡°Do you want some?¡± asked Fang En, who then ced a barbecue skewer near his mouth. He lowered his head to take a bite and found that it was rather tasty. ¡°Xiao Chenyang, what do you think about all day?¡± ¡°Do you want to know?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Does it actually matter to you? Don¡¯t you always just do whatever you want? Since you fancy him so much, just continue dating him while you can. You two won¡¯t get married anyway.¡± Fang En looked at him and asked, ¡°How do you know that I won¡¯t marry him?¡± Xiao Chenyang grabbed her hand tightly and answered, ¡°Because I won¡¯t allow it. I¡¯m not at all afraid that your feelings for him will grow stronger as your rtionship progresses.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°Because you merely fancy him. It can¡¯t be called love at all.¡± ¡°How are you so sure?¡± ¡°Would you like me to verify it for you?¡± asked Xiao Chenyang, who inched closer toward her and blew some air onto her neck, causing her to cringe. ¡°How are you going to verify it?¡± ¡°Do you want to get intimate with him?¡± ¡°You¡¯re so lewd.¡± ¡°When you truly love someone, you¡¯d definitely want to get intimate with them, regardless of whether you¡¯re a man or a woman. I can¡¯t tell that you actually want to get intimate with him. On the other hand, I wish I could make love with you every waking moment of my life.¡± Fang En blushed shyly and asked, ¡°Does that mean that you truly love me?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never denied the fact that I love you. If I don¡¯t, why would I put myself through so much misery for your sake? Or do my actions not speak enough for themselves?¡± Dumbfounded, Fang En said, ¡°I¡¯ve always been wanting to ask you this. We¡¯ve never met each other before in the past and I didn¡¯t know you at all. How did you fall in love with me? Did you really not get the wrong person?¡± ¡°We met a long, long time ago. You just forgot about it.¡± Fang En tried to recall everything that had happened. A long, long time ago? She could not remember ever seeing him before. ¡°When was that? I really can¡¯t remember. I don¡¯t recall it at all.¡± Seeing how perplexed she was, Xiao Chenyang smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright if you don¡¯t remember. What matters is that I do.¡± Fang En began to feel a little guilty upon hearing his answer. If we had really met each other before, why don¡¯t I remember anything? Or did I lose a part of my memory? Like what always happens in television dramas. Fang En quickly asked, ¡°Did we only meet each other? Or were there further interactions?¡± ¡°Hmm...¡± He let go of her hand and ced his arms behind him. ¡°You really want to know?¡± ¡°Duh.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not telling you.¡± Extremely displeased, Fang En finished her food, wiped her hands, and smacked him. ¡°Why are you acting like this? I¡¯m starting to wonder if I had really lost a part of my memory. If I didn¡¯t, why can¡¯t I remember a thing about you at all?¡± Xiao Chenyang smiled without answering her. ¡°Tell me, I¡¯m getting so impatient!¡± ¡°I like seeing you being impatient.¡± ¡°...¡± Fang En turned around and ignored him. He hugged her from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder before saying, ¡°One day, you¡¯ll find out everything. You¡¯ll also realize who the person who truly loves you is.¡± Fang En was filled with a mix of emotions. The more he acted that way, the more it proved that he was keeping secrets from her. ¡ª An Xiaoning received a shocking piece of news as soon as she woke up the next morning. Yu Yiwei had passed away. After breakfast, An Xiaoning brought No. 5 and No. 8 to the Autumn Pce. Shi Qingzhou had gotten chubbier and appeared much more radiant. She was as happy as ark to see An Xiaoning. ¡°Xiaoning.¡± ¡°Mother, I came to B City to attend to something and I decided toe visit you and Father at the same time. Where¡¯s Father?¡± ¡°He¡¯s presently busy. Well... would you like to go see... Tuoba Rui?¡± Shi Qingzhou asked hesitantly. Chapter 1165 - I Want to Make You Stay (43)

Chapter 1165: I Want to Make You Stay (43)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Where does he live now?¡± ¡°The mansion that Shuo used to live in. He had requested to move there.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go take a look,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Alright.¡± Recalling her stint in the Autumn Pce previously, An Xiaoning felt as if everything had just happened yesterday. She had rarely thought about Tuoba Gucheng. However, she could not help but be reminded of him now that she was here again. She thought to herself, If Tuoba Gucheng hadn¡¯t forced me into a corner and driven me to my wits¡¯ end and instead just carried a torch for me silently like Gu Beicheng did, things probably wouldn¡¯t have turned out that way despite the fact that he¡¯s Shi Xiaoyu¡¯s son. Even if we couldn¡¯t end up being family or friends, things wouldn¡¯t havee to this either. Everything was over now. She returned to the solitary mansion, which once used to be extremely simple and devoid of any greenery. However, it had now gotten a makeover. There were flowers and trees in the yard, and the air seemed to have be fresher. Tuoba Rui was standing beneath the rays of the sun while watering the flowers using a sprinkler. Upon hearing some footsteps, he turned around and lit up in joy. ¡°Xiaoning...¡± ¡°How are you doing here?¡± ¡°Great, I really like it.¡± An Xiaoning was heartened to see that his smile was genuine. After all, he was still her biological father and she wanted him to live the remaining years of his life in peace. ¡°If there¡¯s anything that you need, feel free to order the servants to settle them for you. Don¡¯t suffer in silence.¡± Gazing at her, Tuoba Rui said, ¡°I don¡¯t need anything. I¡¯ll be contented enough to have you visit me more often. Xiaoning, I really regret neglecting you and failing to take care of you ever since you were a child.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all over now... I¡¯ll visit you frequently from now on, Father,¡± she said with a smile. Tears welled up in Tuoba Rui¡¯s eyes, and he nodded agitatedly. .... It was already afternoon by the time she came out of the Autumn Pce. Thinking that Fang En was filming nearby, An Xiaoning decided to visit her at work. She gave Fang En a call in advance, only to hear that Fang En had just returned from G City and was resting in the hotel. An Xiaoning then hailed a taxi and headed straight to the hotel. An Xiaoning was held up in traffic while on her way to the hotel. When she finally arrived, she was greeted with the sight of a massive number of reporters who were crowding around the entrance. She did not think much of it since it was normal for there to be reporters and media personnel camping outside a hotel where many celebrities were staying. She put on a cap and a surgical mask before alighting from the car. However, she was still recognized. ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t that An Xiaoning?¡± said a male reporter who had recognized her. The instant he said that, the rest of the reporters immediately surrounded her. ¡°An Xiaoning, as the owner of the management agency that Fang En is signed to, what are your opinions about your artiste stealing?¡± An Xiaoning removed her mask and squinted at the reporter. She questioned, ¡°What do you mean steal? Don¡¯t spout nonsense.¡± ¡°Here¡¯s what happened. We received a piece of news saying that there were some loots that had been found in Fang En¡¯s room and the police are looking into it now...¡± I didn¡¯t hear about this when I called En just now. It¡¯s only been an hour and... ¡°I reckon the police must have gotten the wrong person. En has just returned from filming in G City. I don¡¯t think you reporters are in any ce to intervene with this. I¡¯ll investigate and find out who had framed her!¡± An Xiaoning eximed before pushing the reporters out of her way and entering the hotel with a sullen expression on her face. As soon as they entered the elevator, No. 5 said, ¡°Sis, the culprit must have done this to tarnish Ms. Fang¡¯s reputation.¡± ¡°That¡¯s obvious, but there¡¯s no use for us to know that En has been framed. The news had already been leaked. We must nab the culprit.¡± The elevator stopped on the tenth floor. The three of them exited and headed straight to Room 1028. The door was wide open, and there were quite a few people inside, including some police officers. Upon the sight of her, the police officers immediately greeted, ¡°Hello, Ms. An.¡± An Xiaoning removed her cap and asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± The police officer answered, ¡°We received a police report at 3:40 am from a hotel guest, who imed to have lost her gem ne, which is worth more than 20 million dors. After we checked the surveince camera footages, we discovered that Ms. Fang En was the only person who had entered the guest¡¯s room. The ne was also found in Ms. Fang En¡¯s room afterward. Hence, we¡¯ll need to bring Ms. Fang En back to the police station for further investigation.¡± ¡°Who was the guest who had made the police report?¡± A young woman snapped angrily, ¡°It was me. I really didn¡¯t expect that Fang En would be such a person. An Xiaoning, didn¡¯t you know that your artiste is a thief!?!¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t make any assumptions before the truth is out. I know way better than you do what En¡¯s personality is like.¡± She looked at the dumbfounded Fang En and asked, ¡°Do you know them?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t. I was stopped by this woman the moment I reached the door. She was wearing a bathrobe at the time and she imed that she had stained her pants because of her period that arrived without warning. She said that she wanted to go out to buy some clothes and asked if she could borrow mine. I agreed to help her. After realizing that she didn¡¯te to my room to collect the clothes, I decided to bring them to her room. A whileter, she came again to question me about her missing ne and asked if I had taken it away from the table she had ced it on. As soon as I denied it, she called the police immediately. The police then found the ne inside my pocket, but I have no idea when it was ced inside my pocket. Sis, I really didn¡¯t take it. I don¡¯t know how it ended up in my pocket,¡± exined Fang En, who was on the verge of tears. ¡°If you didn¡¯t take it, did it run to your pocket on its own!?! You were clearly the one who took it, yet you still refuse to admit!¡± the woman hollered. An Xiaoning asked, ¡°En, where¡¯s Xiao Chenyang?¡± ¡°He¡¯s returned to A City, he didn¡¯te with me.¡± Seemingly having guessed what happened, An Xiaoning stared at the woman calmly, ¡°How do I address you?¡± ¡°Ms. Wang.¡± ¡°Ms. Wang, you stained your pants so you decided to go to En¡¯s room to borrow her clothes. Most people would usually call their friends or family for help, or simply wash the stain away before drying it with a hairdryer. In that case, did you especially peek out of the peephole to look out for any female guests to walk past or did you coincidentally bump into En?¡± ¡°I came here alone for a vacation, so I don¡¯t have any friends or family with me. Due to the fact that the stains were huge, the first thing that came to my mind was to borrow some clothes...¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you think of borrowing some underwear and sanitary pads instead?¡± An Xiaoning looked down at the young woman¡¯s crotch to see that she was wearing a pair of pants. She then questioned, ¡°Even if you decided to use some tissues in ce of a sanitary pad, you¡¯d still need a fresh piece of underwear. How did you solve that problem? Did you borrow En¡¯s too?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t. Ms. An, there¡¯s concrete evidence of Fang En stealing my ne. Are you trying to humiliate me right now?¡± ¡°Ms. Wang, how am I humiliating you? I¡¯m just trying to understand the situation better. Please answer me truthfully. That¡¯s the only way I can do you justice, or rather, do my artiste justice and clear her name.¡± Chapter 1166 - I Want to Make You Stay (44)

Chapter 1166: I Want to Make You Stay (44)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I¡¯m not wearing any underwear.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not wearing any? Wouldn¡¯t the tissues fall off, then?¡± Pointing at the bathroom, An Xiaoning continued, ¡°Ms. Wang, please let me verify for myself if you¡¯ve really gotten your period before I ask you any further questions.¡± ¡°You...¡± The young woman did not expect that she would actually make such a request. She raised her voice and questioned sternly, ¡°Are you trying to throw your weight around and bully me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not trying to bully you. If I were, I wouldn¡¯t be debating with you right here and right now. Please cooperate with me, Ms. Wang. That would be better for all of us,¡± said An Xiaoning, who had kept her cool. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll let you check, no big deal.¡± The young woman then entered the bathroom while An Xiaoning followed closely behind and closed the door after her. She removed her pants to reveal a crimson stain on the tissue paper. However, the blood had already dried up. Usually, when a woman is on her period... An Xiaoning handed her two pieces of tissue and said, ¡°Give it a wipe.¡± It was obvious what she had meant. The young woman proceeded ordingly. An Xiaoning stared at her and gibed while smiling, ¡°Seems like your period is fake. Ms. Wang, that¡¯s not how you frame someone. You have to make it realistic to be convincing enough.¡± The young woman turned red before turning pale. She retorted, ¡°Can¡¯t my period be lighter than normal? Can¡¯t I be at the end of my cycle?¡± ¡°Who are you trying to fool? Come out.¡± An Xiaoning had long guessed the situation. After exiting the bathroom, she said to the police officer, ¡°Her period is not actually here. In that case, could her usation be false too? Where¡¯s that ne?¡± The police officer retrieved the ne from a paper bag and handed it to An Xiaoning. After scrutinizing the ne, An Xiaoning questioned the young woman, ¡°May I ask, where did you buy this ne from?¡± ¡°A jewelry store in C City.¡± ¡°You traveled to B City alone with such an expensive ne. Weren¡¯t you afraid of being robbed or abducted along the way? Ms. Wang, did you purchase this ne yourself or was it a gift from someone else?¡± ¡°It was a gift from my boyfriend.¡± ¡°What does your boyfriend do? Which corporation does he own?¡± An Xiaoning questioned. ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to know.¡± ¡°Of course there is a need for me to know. If I don¡¯t know what he does for a living, how would I know if he can afford this ne or not?¡± ¡°He¡¯s the CEO of the Zhou Corporation. Will that do?¡± ¡°The Zhou Corporation? I¡¯m acquaintances with CEO Zhou. Mrs. Zhou is already in her forties. I must call CEO Zhou to ask him if he had bought his wife such an expensive ne too.¡± Realizing that An Xiaoning had sounded her out, the young woman immediately barked, ¡°Your artiste is the one who has stolen my ne, please get your facts right and understand the situation!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll find out very soon if my artiste has really stolen your ne or if you had framed her. If she had really taken your ne, I¡¯ll send her to the police station immediately. If it turns out that you had framed her...¡± An Xiaoning continued in a cold voice, ¡°Not only am I going to hand you over to the police, I¡¯m also going to make youpensate my artiste for smearing her, tarnishing her reputation, and wasting her time and energy! You¡¯d better answer my question. Since your period is not here, why did you lie to En? Answer me.¡± ¡°Like I said, I could very well be at the end of my cycle!¡± ¡°Drop the act. Would you like me to send you to the gynecologist for a thorough checkup and verify if you had really gotten your period or not?¡± ¡°Fine, even if my period is fake... it¡¯s an undeniable fact that she had taken my ne!¡± the young woman hollered, clearly growing more and more flustered. An Xiaoning reiterated, ¡°Don¡¯t change the subject. I¡¯m asking you, why did you borrow En¡¯s clothes when you didn¡¯t even get your period? What was your motive? Answer my question first.¡± The police officer chimed in, ¡°Yeah, why did you do that?¡± She opened her mouth slightly, seemingly racking her brains for an answer. ¡°I... I actually... just wanted to get closer to an actress...¡± Having already seen through her lie, An Xiaoning sneered, ¡°Are you convinced by your own reason?¡± ¡°I¡¯m telling the truth...¡± ¡°The truth? You said that you had really gotten your period too. Forget it, I hate wasting time on such issues. Since the police are here, why don¡¯t I try hypnotizing you?¡± ¡°Hypnotize? You know how to hypnotize others?¡± the young woman asked in astonishment. ¡°Of course I do. I¡¯ll get someone to record the entire process of youing clean about who made you do it, what your motive was, and whether you¡¯re really innocent or not...¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to be hypnotized!¡± the young woman refused vehemently, knowing clearly the purpose of the hypnosis. ¡°You don¡¯t want to? There must be a closure for this matter. Now that my artiste, En, has been used of stealing and that the news have already been exposed, we must get to the bottom of the truth!¡± ¡°What right do you have to hypnotize others?¡± ¡°Ms. Wang, stop digressing. We¡¯ll find out the truth once we hypnotize you.¡± ¡°...¡± The young woman was at a sudden loss for words. Things had turned out differently from what she had imagined. She did not expect that An Xiaoning would arrive so soon. She snatched the ne away from An Xiaoning¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Shall we just forget about this? I won¡¯t pursue the matter any further.¡± Noticing that she was about to leave, An Xiaoning immediately stopped her and said, ¡°You¡¯re trying to leave? You were the one who started this, you can¡¯t just end it whenever you¡¯d please.¡± ¡°What more do you want, then? I¡¯ve already said that I won¡¯t be pursuing this matter.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t be pursuing it? You were clearly the one who had framed my artiste intentionally. Who are you to put an end to it just like that? I¡¯m not letting you off that easy,¡± An Xiaoning said with a scoff. Pangs of panic engulfed the young woman, and she continued to feign ignorance while remaining silent. Although there seemed to be no other solution, the police would not allow her to keep mum. ¡°Ms. Wang, if you refuse to speak, we¡¯ll have no choice but to bring you back with us. We¡¯ll detain you until you choose to speak up.¡± ¡°This is actually... just a misunderstanding,¡± she said, chuckling wryly. Everything made sense. ¡°A misunderstanding? When I came in just now, you were so smug and arrogant while using my artiste of stealing your ne. And yet you now im that it¡¯s a misunderstanding? Do you take this ce for a yground?¡± Chapter 1167 - I Want to Make You Stay (45)

Chapter 1167: I Want to Make You Stay (45)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°It¡¯s just a prank of mine.¡± An Xiaoning sneered, ¡°A prank? Is the purpose of your prank to tarnish the reputation of others?¡± ¡°May I apologize?¡± ¡°Who instigated you?¡± ¡°No one did. I¡¯m Yan Ge¡¯s fan, that¡¯s why I did that...¡± ¡°You¡¯re lying... don¡¯t make me ask the same question again. Just who had instigated you? Speak!¡± An Xiaoning hollered. ¡°I told you, I¡¯m Yan Ge¡¯s fan,¡± she insisted. ¡°I¡¯ll have to use a lie detector, then.¡± An Xiaoning instructed No. 5 and No. 8, ¡°You two, go and buy a lie detector.¡± Knowing that she could not keep up with the lie anymore, the young woman quickly said, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you if you promise not to hold me responsible.¡± ¡°Sure, I won¡¯t hold you responsible.¡± An Xiaoning then gestured for No. 5 and No. 8 not to go. ¡°Li Yuanfu made me do it.¡± An Xiaoning looked at everyone else and asked, ¡°Who¡¯s Li Yuanfu?¡± Xiao Yue eximed, ¡°It¡¯s Co-director Li! It¡¯s him, it¡¯s him.¡± ¡°Our friend... little Na Zha?¡± An Xiaoning said all of a sudden There was a sudden shift in the mood and the tension faded. ¡°Sis, you must have watched lots of animated shows and cartoons about Na Zha when you were younger. You¡¯re so familiar with the theme song,¡± said No. 8, who could not contain his amusement and burst intoughter. She cleared her throat and said, ¡°Bring Li Yuanfu here.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go,¡± Xiao Yue volunteered and ran out of the door. Half an hourter, Li Yuanfu, Yan Ge, Director Gao, and the producer arrived. ¡°I¡¯ve brought the culprit here. It¡¯s him, isn¡¯t it?¡± Li Yuanfu yelled, ¡°How could it be me?! I don¡¯t know her at all. Ms. An, you may ask her if you don¡¯t believe me!¡± The young woman waved and said, ¡°Brother Yuanfu, I don¡¯t have a choice, you were the one who made me do it. Tell everyone the reasons behind your actions.¡± ¡°Screw you. Since when did I make you do that? Ms. An, don¡¯t believe her words. I don¡¯t know her at all. Yes, I did take some photos of Fang En and Yan Ge hugging each other, and I also threatened Fang En, but her bodyguard had already smashed my phone afterward andpensated me. I wasn¡¯t happy about it, but would I resort to such a childish act? I wasn¡¯t born yesterday. Am I that foolish?¡± ¡°Are you willing to let me hypnotize you to prove your innocence, then?¡± ¡°Yes, do it right now,¡± said Li Yuanfu, whose anger knew no bounds. An Xiaoning looked at the young woman and asked, ¡°How about you? If he tells me the truth after hypnosis, are you willing to let me hypnotize you as well?¡± ¡°I...¡± The young woman seemed extremely reluctant to be hypnotized. ¡°That¡¯s really strange, then. You insisted that Co-director Li was the one who had instigated you to do this. The best way to prove your innocence is for the two of you to be hypnotized, yet you¡¯re afraid to let me hypnotize you. There are so many people around.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll let you hypnotize me, but do it for him first.¡± ¡°Sure, okay.¡± The truth was out, and it was proven that Li Yuanfu indeed wasn¡¯t lying. After seeing the results of the hypnosis, the young woman lost herst bit ofposure. ¡°I don¡¯t need to undergo hypnosis. I¡¯lle clean and tell you everything.¡± ¡°No, I think it¡¯d be easier to just hypnotize you. At least, I¡¯ll know who the culprit is.¡± ¡°...¡± Ten minutes passed. Everyone remained silent, because it was revealed that Yu Caiwei, who had returned home to attend her sister¡¯s funeral, was the main culprit. Yu Caiwei was called over. At the sight of Yu Caiwei, Director Gao snapped, ¡°Caiwei, are you trying to drive me to my grave? Haven¡¯t you learned your lesson since the whipping incident!?! What did I warn you!?!¡± ¡°The whipping incident?¡± Yu Caiwei asked with a sullen expression, dressed in ck from head to toe. Director Gao was at a momentary loss for words. However, she decided to finish what she¡¯d started. Thus, she said, ¡°Yes, Caiwei was the one who instructed for En to be whipped during filming previously. When we agreed topensate En with an extra 100 thousand dors per episode, Caiwei was also the one who had paid for thepensation with her own money.¡± Seething with exasperation, Yan Ge questioned, ¡°Yu Caiwei, why did you do that? Are you out of your mind? You were the one who hacked En¡¯s Weibo too, weren¡¯t you?¡± She did not deny it since there was nothing left to say now that the truth was already apparent. Yu Caiwei¡¯s manager and assistant were flustered. The manager said to An Xiaoning earnestly, ¡°Ms. An, shall we talk about this in another room?¡± ¡°Talk... sure.¡± Everyone stayed in Fang En¡¯s room while Yu Caiwei, her manager, the young woman, and An Xiaoning proceeded to have a discussion in another room on the same floor. ¡°There are only the five of us here. You two, tell me, how do you n to settle this?¡± said An Xiaoning. Knowing that it would be impossible to resolve the matter without spending an exorbitant amount of money, the manager looked at Yu Caiwei before saying, ¡°We¡¯re willing to fork out 10 million dors topensate Fang En for framing her and using her of stealing Ms. Wang¡¯s ne.¡± ¡°Ten million dors? Don¡¯t bother talking to me if you¡¯re going to be so insincere. Well, I understand that Ms. Yu has earned enough money and can afford to lose her reputation. However, it¡¯s different for En. She still has a bright future ahead of her. Forget it, I think we¡¯d better note to an agreement, especially since Ms. Wang is so dishonest. I wasn¡¯t going to hold it against you at first. It¡¯s a shame I had to force you into telling me the truth by hypnosis. I¡¯ll feel more relieved to hand you two over to thew.¡± The three of them began to panic. If An Xiaoning handed them over thew, not only will Yu Caiwei¡¯s career be ruined, she would also be facing awsuit and a possible jail term. ¡°Ms. An, how about you name us a price?¡± ¡°Fifty million dors.¡± Even Fang En was dumbfounded. ¡°Fifty million dors!?!¡± ¡°Yes, 50 million dors, especially since I now know about the whipping incident. Yu Caiwei, you have to pay the price for all the misdeeds that you had done. En¡¯s reputation has already been tarnished even before the television series that I had invested in went on air. If you¡¯d like to resolve this, fork out the money. If you don¡¯t, let¡¯s not waste each other¡¯s time.¡± Filled with panic and anxiety, the manager had no choice but to say, ¡°Ms. Wang, Caiwei might have been the one who had instigated you to do this, but you got yourself involved anyway. You must chip in too. How about you fork out 20 million dors?¡± Staring at her in disbelief, Ms. Wang retorted, ¡°Why must I do that? I¡¯m not going to fork out that money. Why must I? I wasn¡¯t the mastermind. The culprit should be held responsible.¡± ¡°...¡± After having a discussion amongst themselves, the three of them came to a consensus ten minutester. Yu Caiwei reluctantly agreed to fork out 40 million dors while Ms. Wang forked out 10 million. Ms. Wang fell out with her on the spot. That was the end of their friendship. Chapter 1168 - I Want to Make You Stay (46)

Chapter 1168: I Want to Make You Stay (46)

After the other three had left, An Xiaoning grabbed Fang En¡¯s hand and said, ¡°There must be an uproar on the inte right now. We must hurry and try to salvage your reputation, no matter what it takes. We¡¯ll give you a portion of the 50 million dors, ording to the percentages that were agreed upon in the artist contract.¡± ¡°Sis, 10 million dors is enough for me. I know that they only agreed topensate us with 50 million dors on ount of your connections and authority. I¡¯m already content enough to have my innocence be proven. If it weren¡¯t for you, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to afford an apartment that costs more than three million dors. Sis Xiaoning, I wouldn¡¯t be where I am today without you. I¡¯ll ept the good and the bad thates with this career choice. So, 10 million dors is really more than enough for me.¡± ¡°The very fact that you¡¯re grateful just goes to show that I wasn¡¯t wrong about you. However, what¡¯s yours is yours. Yangyang and I are not going to be greedy and shortchange you.¡± She paused and continued, ¡°I¡¯m afraid Xiao Chenyang is definitely going to hit the roof. Try and cate him. He should be arriving at the hotel soon.¡± ¡°Sis Xiaoning, did you contact him?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°How did you know that he¡¯s almost here, then?¡± Fang En asked in puzzlement. An Xiaoning patted her hand and said, ¡°He probably already found out about it when he arrived in A City, so I¡¯m guessing that he must be reaching the hotel soon. You¡¯re extremely important to him. Although he didn¡¯t mention anything when you were whipped previously, I can tell that he felt really sorry for you.¡± Filled with perplexion and a mix of emotions, Fang En said, ¡°I don¡¯t get it. Why did Yu Caiwei hack my Weibo ount and announce my rtionship to the world when she¡¯s so bent on getting back together with Yan Ge?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you get it? She probably thought about it carefully and realized that it¡¯s really impossible between her and Yan Ge. Hence, it¡¯s not that strange for her to expose your rtionship in such a manner. Her ultimate goal is to make Yan Ge¡¯s fans berate you, since you were the one who exposed it first. After all, you¡¯re nowhere as famous as Yan Ge. On top of that, she had probably been devising a n to frame you for stealing for a really long time. Actually, 50 million dors is not that much to her. To my knowledge, Yu Caiwei was paid more than 50 million dors for each television series that she had starred in in the past two years.¡± An Xiaoning continued in a gentle voice, ¡°Get your feelings sorted out. It¡¯s alright, it¡¯s all over now.¡± The door was swung open forcefully. Upon the sight of Xiao Chenyang, An Xiaoning stood up and said to Fang En, ¡°I¡¯ll go out to settle the rest of this matter. You talk to him about it.¡± Fang En nodded and watched An Xiaoning leave. After the door was closed, she shifted her gaze onto him. ¡°Weren¡¯t you returning to A City to handle some matters?¡± she asked, despite knowing that he probably didn¡¯t get his things done. ¡°Have you guys found out who the culprit is?¡± ¡°It¡¯s... Yu Caiwei.¡± Xiao Chenyang turned around to leave while Fang En stopped him immediately. ¡°Where are you going? Sis Xiaoning has already settled this issue. Yu Caiwei is going topensate us with 50 million dors.¡± Noticing the fear and worry in her eyes, he answered, ¡°I¡¯m not going to do anything. I¡¯m just going to go have a chat with her. She clearly said that she¡¯s not going to do anything funny to you again, yet she¡¯s still so unrepentant.¡± Fang En pulled him toward the bed and said, ¡°Don¡¯t. We¡¯ll just leave things as they are now. After all, we still have to continue acting alongside each other and I¡¯ll be seeing her very often. I doubt she¡¯d dare to do anything to me again.¡± ¡°Why do things always happen to you once I¡¯m away? Seems like I must bring you with me everywhere, just to be safe.¡± Thinking that he was just joking, Fang En said, ¡°What do you take me for? Your shadow?¡± He ignored her and said, ¡°Yes... it¡¯s decided, then. You shall follow me wherever I go.¡± Seeing that he was serious about it, she frantically said, ¡°No, that can¡¯t do. I won¡¯t have my freedom anymore in that case.¡± An austere expression formed on Xiao Chenyang¡¯s face and he said sternly, ¡°This time, you¡¯re not allowed to have a say.¡± Fang En said, ¡°What am I supposed to do if you¡¯re returning to A City today? I still have work to do here...¡± ¡°I won¡¯t be going back today.¡± ¡°I have a full day of work tomorrow too...¡± ¡°How about the day after tomorrow?¡± ¡°Ditto... it¡¯s going to be the case for a very long time...¡± ¡°We¡¯ll return to A City when you¡¯re free, then.¡± ¡°...¡± The headlines soon became news articles published by various mediapanies, with the purpose of clearing Fang En¡¯s name. However, it had little effect on the number of maliciousments directed at Fang En on her Weibo page. Fang En had never expected herself to be viral and a household name amongstizens, even before the television series was broadcast. It was not the kind of fame that she was hoping to achieve. At this point, she seemed to have be themon enemy of fans of the entertainment industry. She was greatly boycotted by angry fans who demanded that she quit showbiz. There were also numerousizens whomented that they disliked her and found her revolting, despite it being proven that she was innocent of stealing, and that they wanted to berate her nheless. Fang En¡¯s spirits were greatly dampened after reading all thements. However, she continued to tell herself again and again that that was just the way the entertainment industry was. She reassured herself that everything would be fine once she got used to it. It¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t been mmed before, it¡¯s normal. She continued to put up a strong front against theizens and told them with a smile that she did not have a care in this world for their opinions and that she was never upset about it. However, she knew clearly whether or not she was actually upset. At such a difficult time, she simply wanted to hide in a hole where no one could find her and just be alone quietly. Xiao Chenyang returned her mobile phone to Fang En, who was lying down in bed with a deadpan expression on her face. He said, ¡°Your parents called.¡± She answered the call and switched on the speaker mode. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°En, you¡¯re so shameful and embarrassing. All our family and friends now know that you had stolen someone else¡¯s ne. You¡¯ve really disgraced us!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t steal...¡± Before she could even finish, the exasperated Mrs. Fang interrupted, ¡°There¡¯s no point telling me this now. Your brother has read all the articles and forums about the incident online. Everyone is castigating you and they¡¯ve even dragged us in as well. They also found our address and leaked it, you¡¯ve be notorious...¡± Fang En ended the call immediately and burst into tears. Xiao Chenyang bent forward to look at her, and she quickly covered her eyes with her hands. Yet, he guffawed. Upon hearing hisughter, Fang En stared at him with reddened eyes and said, ¡°Can¡¯t you see that I¡¯m crying? You¡¯re actually still in the mood tough...¡± He began smiling even more widely. Fang En humphed and closed her eyes while lying motionless,pletely ignoring him. Xiao Chenyang found her mannerisms to be extremely adorable. Unable to resist his urges, he lowered his head to kiss her, giving her a great shock. Fang En quickly pushed him away. He pinned her down beneath him, not allowing her to resist at all. He began sticking his tongue into her mouth tyrannically. Fang En was bbergasted. Chapter 1169 - I Want to Make You Stay (47)

Chapter 1169: I Want to Make You Stay (47)

She stared at him with her eyes wide open as she felt an erect bulge being pressed against her. She knew clearly what it was. Her body had turned into jelly, and she was as red as a tomato. ¡°Get... off me.¡± Xiao Chenyang remained still and stared at her with passion gleaming in his eyes. Seeing that things were about to escte beyond her control, she hurriedly grabbed his hand and said, ¡°Don¡¯t...¡± He finally stood up. After recovering from the shock, Fang En wiped her mouth forcefully and glowered at him. ¡°Why are you always taking liberties with me!?!¡± she hollered. ¡°Do you feel better now?¡± ¡°I feel horrible.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s have another go, then...¡± ¡°No...¡± ¡ª Jin Qingyan was busy being engrossed in the television program when a pair of hands covered his eyes all of a sudden. He knew who it was the moment he felt the tenderness of her hands. Grinning widely, he said, ¡°You¡¯re home.¡± An Xiaoning said coquettishly, ¡°How did you know that it was me?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll know it¡¯s you once you touch me.¡± He grabbed her hand, and she sat down beside him on the couch. ¡°Did you meet Xiao Chenyang today?¡± she asked. ¡°I did. He just left. Before he did, he told me that he woulde to see me again after my calf fully recovers. He said that he doesn¡¯t want to help a cripple to the graveyard.¡± An Xiaoning humphed and eximed, ¡°How dare this Xiao Chenyang say that my man is a cripple? I¡¯m upset!¡± ¡°Why would I let him mock me? I insulted him in a harsher way.¡± ¡°How did you insult him? Hurry, tell me and let me be amused.¡± Jin Qingyan smiled smugly and said, ¡°I called him pathetic for having a nonexistent sex life.¡± ¡°How did he react to your remark?¡± ¡°He was fuming.¡± ¡°Hahahaha.¡± An Xiaoning then looked at the television screen, only to discover that Jin Qingyan was watching the television broadcast of a beauty pageant in H Nation. Her face grew sullen immediately and she said, ¡°I told you to recuperate at home and yet you¡¯re watching a beauty pageant? Am I not beautiful enough for you?¡± ¡°Of course you are, Gorgeous. You just weren¡¯t home. How could theypare to you? They all look almost identical,¡± he said while kissing her hand. Despite feeling pleased, An Xiaoning pointed at the television screen and said, ¡°Look at this one. She¡¯s well endowed and she¡¯s got a huge bump. What a voluptuous figure. She¡¯s really pretty too.¡± ¡°She can¡¯t hold a handle to you. I won¡¯t look at them anymore, you¡¯ll be the only one I look at,¡± said Jin Qingyan. I¡¯m not going to fall into your trap! he thought. ¡°How about this one? She¡¯s rather tall and her skin is so fair. She¡¯s almost as pale as a ghost.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, I thought so too, Mdy.¡± An Xiaoning looked at him and asked, ¡°Did you miss me?¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t even sleep wellst night, all because you weren¡¯t home. Do as you deem fit tonight,¡± he said in a gentle and tender voice. An Xiaoning¡¯s heart melted upon hearing her beloved man being coquettish. ¡°Shall I make it up to you tonight?¡± she said. He leaned closer toward her and began nibbling her lips gently, allowing his hands to wander to her chest. ¡°I didn¡¯t touch them for a night and they¡¯ve grown bigger again. Did you touch yourself secretly?¡± An Xiaoning guffawed and hollered, ¡°Get lost!¡± He chuckled and said, ¡°To where? Your body?¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan!¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Are you asking for a beating?¡± ¡°I¡¯m asking to be loved.¡± This conversation has toe to an end! They proceeded to talk about serious matters. ¡°The DK headquarters are going to hear of Xihou Jiaping¡¯s death sooner orter. They¡¯d probably be able to guess that it had something to do with you too. They¡¯re a bunch of maniacs. Have you thought about what precautions to take against them?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already received a reliable piece of news today. The people at the headquarters have already begun preparing to select a new kingpin. Hence, I¡¯m conjecturing that Xihou Jiaping¡¯s death is only going to free up a position for his power-hungry underlings. I don¡¯t think they¡¯d be that affected, although we can¡¯t be too sure,¡± Jin Qingyan said in a rxed manner, seemingly in a good mood. ¡°It would be great if your conjecture is right. If not, we¡¯ll have toe up with a strategy to retaliate as soon as possible.¡± As soon as An Xiaoning finished speaking, the beauty pageant program was suddenly switched to a different program. Images of a sequence of explosions showed up on the screen. The two of them looked at each other and kept their eyes peeled onto the television screen. ¡°Emergency news, it¡¯s currently 1743hrs in S Nation. We¡¯ve received an update from M Nation. The DK Organization has dropped bombs on the Jin Corporation branch in M Nation, resulting in a major explosion. As seen from the photos, the entire office tower has been destroyed beyond ruin by these maniacs. The total number of casualties is estimated to be tens of thousands. The incident has already caught the attention of the president of M Nation, who has already deployed his troops to nab the terrorists involved, as well as to carry out emergency rescue...¡± Just as Jin Qingyan was about to make a call, he received an iing one. The chaotic situation notwithstanding, he nheless kept his cool as the corporation¡¯s leader and proceeded to send out orders. An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan did not expect the DK Organization tounch an attack so soon. He tried to stand up but was stopped by An Xiaoning, who grabbed his arm. ¡°You¡¯re still injured, let me go instead.¡± ¡°No, I must step in. My injury is nothing,¡± he said, staring at her. ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s extremely chaotic there. Wait for me at home.¡± ¡°No, I must stand by you and face it together with you,¡± she insisted. He nodded. As soon as they exited, they bumped into Bei Qi, who handed tworge bottles of his newly-concocted chemical to Jin Qingyan and said, ¡°This will help speed up the recovery of your calf. I¡¯ve already tested it numerous times. Take three doses a day, one at a time. One bottle willst you for a week. It¡¯ll speed your recovery up by about four times. I¡¯ve prepared two bottles for you, Mr. Jin.¡± It was a timely aid for Jin Qingyan. ¡°Alright,¡± he said, grabbing the bottles. ¡°Teacher Bei Qi, you¡¯re truly an outstanding talent. Impressive.¡± ¡°Thank you for thepliment, Ms. An. I¡¯m just performing my duty,¡± he said calmly. Jin Qingyan waited in the car while An Xiaoning zoomed upstairs to pack their luggage before bringing them to the car. The car sped toward the airport, and the two boarded the ne a few minutester, along with numerous bodyguards. On the other hand, Jin Yiheng and Jin Rongyan had dinner together at home. ¡°Granny Chen, are Daddy and Mommy not going toe home tonight?¡± asked Jin Yiheng, who was still in the dark about what was going on. ¡°Yes, I reckon they won¡¯t be returning for the next few days.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Jin Yiheng then said to his brother, ¡°Daddy and Mommy must have abandoned us and gone to have fun on their own. That¡¯s what Xiaoxi¡¯s parents used to do in the past.¡± Chapter 1170 - I Want to Make You Stay (48)

Chapter 1170: I Want to Make You Stay (48)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Seemingly deep in thought, Jin Rongyan said, ¡°Brother, shall we sleep in Daddy and Mommy¡¯s room tonight, then? Their bed is hugepared to ours. If we sleep in their bed, do you think they¡¯d reprimand us when they get home?¡± ¡°They won¡¯t. Besides, they¡¯re not going to find out if we both keep mum. Let¡¯s take your suggestion and sleep in Daddy and Mommy¡¯s room tonight.¡± ¡°Okay, yay.¡± The two of them enjoyed the rest of their dinner merrily, after which they headed upstairs to freshen up. Right before they invaded the bedroom, they discovered a tricky problem. The biometric lock of the bedroom had now be a PIN-encrypted one. However, they had no idea what the PIN number was. They used to only enter when the door was left ajar or together with their parents. There was no way for them to enter now. Jin Rongyan suggested, ¡°Let¡¯s ask Daddy, he¡¯ll definitely tell me.¡± Jin Yiheng waved and said, ¡°That¡¯s impossible.¡± ¡°We¡¯d better return to our room, then.¡± ¡°I do have an idea, though,¡± said Jin Yiheng, who then whispered into his ear. Jin Rongyan found his suggestion to be rather feasible. Their n was to wait for Fan Shixin to return, and then Jin Yiheng would tell him that he had left something in the master bedroom. Fan Shixin would then bring him inside the room while Jin Yiheng sneaks into the dressing room when Fan Shixin was not paying attention. They proceeded ordingly. After Fan Shixin headed downstairs, Jin Rongyan opened the door for Jin Yiheng stealthily. Just as they were about to go inside, Long Xiaoxi arrived with her soft toys. ¡°Yiheng, Rongyan...¡± ¡°Xiaoxi, what brings you here? It¡¯s time for bed.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m here to sleep with you.¡± ¡°...¡± Long Xiaoxi grabbed his arm and said, ¡°I told Mommy that I¡¯d be sleeping with you at night. However, Mommy said that I shouldn¡¯t be sleeping on the same bed as you because I¡¯m a girl. I insisted oning here. Yiheng, I like being with you.¡± Jin Yiheng immediately turned as red as a tomato. He expressed assent and said, ¡°Come in, then.¡± Beaming with joy, Long Xiaoxi entered the bedroom together with them. As soon as they closed the door, the three of them leaped onto the bed merrily. ¡°It¡¯s still so early, are you guys going to bed already?¡± Long Xiaoxi asked. ¡°What should we do otherwise? Shall we y house?¡± Jin Rongyan suggested. ¡°Sure, sure. I¡¯m going to be the Mommy.¡± Jin Rongyan said, ¡°I shall be Daddy, then.¡± ¡°No, you¡¯ll be our son. Let Yiheng be the Daddy.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª ¡°It didn¡¯t get through?¡± Lin Mingxi asked. Gu Beicheng put his phone down and answered, ¡°The call couldn¡¯t go through.¡± Lin Mingxi grabbed an apple from the fruit basket and began munching on it. ¡°Try calling themter, then. Don¡¯t you have some socializing and entertaining to do? Go ahead.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Lin Mingxi sat cross-legged on the couch and watched a movie while eating her apple. After finishing the two-hour-long movie, she took a look at the time to see that it was ten minutes past eight. She then returned to her bedroom to have a rose-petal bath. As soon as she finished drying her hair, Lin Mingxi received a call on her mobile phone. She took a look at the caller disy to see that it was from a colleague from the fitness center, whom she had not contacted in a long time. ¡°Hello, Xiao Dong.¡± ¡°Ms. Lin, I saw your husband in a nightclub along Ming Yuan Road.¡± ¡°He¡¯s there to entertain some clients tonight. What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I saw a woman who looks a lot like An Xiaoning beside him just now. I initially thought it was An Xiaoning but I realized it was someone else after taking a closer look. She was dressed really coquettishly. Would you like to go do a spot check?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not worried about my husband, but men can sometimes fall prey to brazen hussies,¡± said Lin Mingxi, who quickly grabbed her maternity wear. ¡°I thought so too. I haven¡¯t seen you in a long time anyway. Juste here.¡± ¡°Alright, wait for me at the entrance in fifteen minutes. I¡¯ll be on my way.¡± She ended the call and got dressed within two minutes. After cing her mobile phone inside her bag, she grabbed her car keys and made her way downstairs. Lin Mingxi was wearing a pair of white ts. Despite being heavily pregnant, she could still move about quickly with ease. She then handed the car keys to the servants and instructed them to take her to Ming Yuan Road. They arrived less than twenty minutester. Lin Mingxi alighted from the car and instructed the bodyguards to wait inside before walking toward the entrance. Xiao Dong was already waiting for her by the door. At the sight of her, Xiao Dong said while smiling, ¡°Hey, Sis Lin, you¡¯re still so slender even though you¡¯re pregnant.¡± ¡°No way. I¡¯ve gained several pounds. Have you gotten married yet?¡± ¡°No, I haven¡¯t found a suitable partner. Sis Lin, you look really radiant.¡± ¡°Speak for yourself. Where did you see my husband?¡± she asked, smiling. ¡°Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll take you there.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Lin Mingxi followed Xiao Dong into the nightclub and walked through the dancing crowd. The bright and colorful spotlights made her eyes feel a little ufortable. Pointing at a figure not too far away, Xiao Dong said, ¡°Look over there. That¡¯s the woman I was talking about.¡± Lin Mingxi squinted and said to Xiao Dong, ¡°I know who that woman is. She had gone under the knife to look like Xiaoning. How strange.¡± ¡°No wonder they look so simr. I almost mistook her for An Xiaoning. Actually, I was afraid that I was being nosy, in case she was really your friend,¡± Xiao Dong said with a chuckle. Lin Mingxi smiled and said, ¡°I know my husband¡¯s preference in women. He¡¯ll never take interest in these promiscuous women. That man beside him is his client and partner. They must havee to unwind a little after discussing about business in the private room. Thank you, Xiao Dong. If there¡¯s anything you need my help with, feel free to give me a call.¡± By saying that, she had managed to give everyone an out and stopped Xiao Dong from spreading any false rumors. After all, gossip is a fearful thing. She would not allow there to be any rumors that would be disadvantageous to her husband. ¡°Alright, alright, I have to get going too. Bye, Sis Lin.¡± ¡°Alright, be safe.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Xiao Dong soon vanished among the crowd. Just as Lin Mingxi was about to approach them, she caught sight of the client leaving. Gu Beicheng stood up and walked away while Bu Xianxian followed closely behind him. Lin Mingxi decided to walk toward them. She stood by the stairwell and overheard Gu Beicheng talking to Bu Xianxian sternly, ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving after taking my things. Why are you here?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be so hostile, Mr. Gu. I have something to discuss with you in private. However, it¡¯s too noisy downstairs. Mr. Gu, can I have five minutes of your time? It¡¯s really something important.¡± Gu Beicheng nced at her and said, ¡°I¡¯ll only be giving you five minutes.¡± Bu Xianxian nodded profusely. ¡°Okay, okay.¡± Lin Mingxi had always trusted her reliable female instincts. Although An Xiaoning had rarely gone into detail about Bu Xianxian, Lin Mingxi had still learned quite a bit about thetter after piecing the bits of information together. Hence, she had never had a good impression of Bu Xianxian. Neither did she expect that Gu Beicheng would be acquainted with her. Chapter 1171 - I Want to Make You Stay (49)

Chapter 1171: I Want to Make You Stay (49)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Once they entered the private room, Lin Mingxi stepped forward and waited outside the door instead of entering immediately. Gu Beicheng was sitting on the couch inside the room while Bu Xianxian was sitting opposite him. She was dressed in a low-cut dress that ended at her thighs. She sat in the chair with one leg over the other, exposing her fair and bare thigh. She had practiced her postures and mannerisms multiple times at home and had long known how to make herself resemble An Xiaoning more. Staring at her, Gu Beicheng said, ¡°You haven¡¯t spoken a word since we sat down. Two minutes have already passed.¡± Bu Xianxian asked, ¡°Mr. Gu, do you need a lover? If you do, would you consider me?¡± Despite having lived to this age and met all sorts of people, he had truly never encountered someone like her before. He had gotten a real eyeopener today. ¡°Which part of me tells you that I need a lover?¡± he asked with a smile. Noticing that he did not seem too hostile, Bu Xianxian thought she stood a chance and answered while also smiling, ¡°Firstly, your wife is currently pregnant. Secondly, I¡¯ve heard that you used to adore An Xiaoning but you never got to win her heart because of Jin Qingyan. I resemble her greatly. I should be able to fulfill your fantasies. Besides, I¡¯m not asking for much. You just have to give me 100 thousand dors a month. That should be peanuts to you, right?¡± Gu Beicheng had a mirthless smile on his face. ¡°Not only have you insulted me and Xiaoning, you¡¯ve also insulted yourself. How could you have the cheek topare yourself to Xiaoning with that face of yours? You do resemble her, but you¡¯re not identical-looking. You can¡¯t hold a candle to her at all. Aren¡¯t you a little too thick-skinned to be promoting and hard-selling yourself so desperately? The nightclubs in A City are probably in need of some club hostesses. You may try applying for that job. My wife is indeed pregnant, but she looks a hundred times better than you,¡± Gu Beicheng gibed before standing up and walking away. The smile on Bu Xianxian¡¯s face vanished as she sprung up from her seat and grabbed his arm tightly. ¡°Are you really not going to consider my offer? How about 50 thousand dors a month?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want it, even if it¡¯s five dors a month. Back off.¡± He pushed Bu Xianxian onto the couch. Shock was written all over his face the moment he opened the door. Staring at his smiling wife, Gu Beicheng asked, ¡°What brings you here?¡± ¡°To make things clear beforehand, I didn¡¯te here to do a spot check or to supervise you. I don¡¯t distrust you either. It¡¯s just that my former colleague from the fitness center had given me a call to say that he had seen you here. The thing is...¡± She pointed at Bu Xianxian and continued, ¡°I heard that a brazen hussy was throwing herself at you so I rushed here immediately.¡± Gu Beicheng smiled and said, ¡°Oh, I see. Let¡¯s go home.¡± ¡°Nah, since we¡¯re already here, let¡¯s stay. I¡¯ve already heard the conversation you had with her just now.¡± She walked past Gu Beicheng and entered the room. It had never crossed Bu Xianxian¡¯s mind that Lin Mingxi would show up at the nightclub. She was dumbfounded. At the sight of her, Bu Xianxian stood up from the couch, thinking that Lin Mingxi was going to talk to her. To her astonishment, Lin Mingxiunched a foot toward her gut and kicked her onto the ground,pletely catching her off guard. Bu Xianxiannded on the coffee table and winced in pain before standing up. Lin Mingxi walked toward Bu Xianxian and gave her a few tight ps right in front of Gu Beicheng. She snapped, ¡°You whore, why don¡¯t you just die!?!¡± Boiling with fury, Bu Xianxian dared not speak a word and instead just ced a hand on her face, knowing that she was at fault. Lin Mingxi glowered at her and warned, ¡°Stop throwing yourself at my husband. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for being nasty.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, she grabbed Gu Beicheng¡¯s arm and walked away. Anger surged through Bu Xianxian¡¯s veins. She thought that she would definitely seed tonight. To her astonishment, her n had gone awry. She had been devising her n for several days before executing it tonight. She¡¯d decided toe up with such a n because she needed a cash cow to provide for her each month. She initially thought that Gu Beicheng would be enticed because she resembled An Xiaoning. However, she could barely attract him. To make matters worse, she was even pped a few times. Bu Xianxian ced a hand on her face and grabbed her bag before leaving the room. Bu Xianxian was filled with a mix of emotions throughout her journey home. She returned to Sanqiao Estate. Her parents had yet to go to bed and were watching some television in the living room. ¡°Xianxian, what happened to your face?¡± Mrs. Bu asked. ¡°I was pped by someone,¡± Bu Xianxian said nonchntly. ¡°Who hit you? And why?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about it. It¡¯s so annoying. I¡¯m going back to my room to sleep,¡± said Bu Xianxian, who headed straight back to her room. Just as Mrs. Bu was about to follow her inside, Bu Xianxian mmed the door shut and locked her outside. ¡°You stubborn child. Why don¡¯t you ever tell us anything?¡± Mrs. Bu said worriedly. She then said to Mr. Bu, ¡°Our daughter has been bullied.¡± ¡°Look at what she¡¯s wearing. She was obviously up to something indecent.¡± ¡°How could you say that? Xianxian must feel terrible too,¡± Mrs. Bu chided. ¡°...¡± ¡ª The number of casualties of the office tower explosions continued to rise. By the time Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning arrived in M Nation, the hospitals were all packed with wounded victims of the terrorist attack. The entire office tower was destroyedpletely and had be unrecognizable. Jin Qingyan was well aware that the terrorists would beunching an attack on the other branch offices next if he did not take some serious action. Thus, he immediately called Pei Yi and instructed him to ry a message. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Tell your people in the headquarters that I¡¯ll be exacting my revenge on you people within the shortest possible time. Since you had the audacity to destroy my office tower, I¡¯ll have the same amount of guys to bomb your headquarters. Prepare yourselves mentally. Just you wait and see.¡± After a moment of silence, Pei Yi said, ¡°I suggest you stop wasting your efforts. Perhaps they won¡¯t be taking any more action after this attack. If you retaliate, there¡¯ll probably be no end to this.¡± ¡°So what if there¡¯s no end to it? Xihou Jiaping was so invincible but he still died in the end. Do you scoundrels think you can own the world with those guns and grenades of yours? Dream on!¡± Jin Qingyan barked menacingly. In the past, Pei Yi would have definitely sneered at his words. However, he was well aware that Jin Qingyan must be powerful enough to have been able to defeat the formidable Xihou Jiaping. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll find out very soon. I just want you to ry my message.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, Jin Qingyan ended the call immediately. He exited the bathroom to see that An Xiaoning was having her meal on the couch. He said, ¡°I¡¯m going out for a while.¡± ¡°Where to? I¡¯ll go with you, it¡¯s inconvenient for you to move about right now,¡± said An Xiaoning. Chapter 1172 - I Want to Make You Stay (50)

Chapter 1172: I Want to Make You Stay (50)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Rest assured and wait here. I¡¯ll be back in two hours. Be good,¡± he said, staring at her. Seeing that he was adamant about not letting her tag along, An Xiaoning conceded, ¡°You must be careful of your own safety, then. I don¡¯t want you to get injured.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning was ill at ease. She thought to herself, We¡¯re in M Nation now, just where is he off to? To her surprise, the doorbell rang soon after he left. Xiao Chenyang dragged Jin Qingyan back to the room. ¡°Why have youe here too?¡± An Xiaoning asked in puzzlement, for she remembered that they didn¡¯t inform Xiao Chenyang about the matter. ¡°How could I have note? I was the one who killed Xihou Jiaping with my bare hands. Theyunched an attack on the Jin Corporation and killed so many innocent lives. It¡¯d be inappropriate for me to sit back and do nothing.¡± He then looked at Jin Qingyan and continued, ¡°I know you¡¯re hot-headed and fuming right now, but you mustn¡¯t act rashly. You must understand that this matter has gathered the attention of citizens all around the world. We all know how much everyone detests the DK Organization. We can¡¯t afford to be reckless at this juncture.¡± He had initially wanted to bring Fang En along since he wanted to make sure she followed him everywhere he goes. However, the situation in M Nation was too chaotic and he decided that it would be safer for her to stay in B Nation. Before Jin Qingyan even said anything, he received a call from Pei Yi. He swiped to answer the call and turned on the speaker mode. ¡°I just found out that the attackunched on your office tower was instigated by two people from the headquarters. The rest of the underlings have no clue about what had happened. We¡¯ve decided to negotiate with you ande to a truce.¡± Xiao Chenyang mouthed some words, which Jin Qingyan understood. He then answered, ¡°How would you like to settle this amicably?¡± Pei Yi answered, ¡°We¡¯ll pay andpensate for all the losses incurred.¡± ¡°Can the lives of innocent humans be exchanged with money?¡± ¡°How do you want us to settle this, then? Jin Qingyan, I hope you¡¯ll consider this carefully and view this from the bigger picture. DK is a massive organization, and we¡¯re definitely not short of manpower. Once we get into a war with no end, your corporation is going to suffer a huge blow too. There¡¯ll be even more lives lost by then That¡¯s the reason why so many nations have been afraid of dering war with us. Hence, the best solution at hand is marypensation. We¡¯re willing to fork out as much as you¡¯re asking for.¡± Xiao Chenyang gestured for him to concede. However, Jin Qingyan answered, ¡°I¡¯ll give you an answer after I think about it.¡± Xiao Chenyang said, ¡°Thepensatory sum is going to be huge. There are so many casualties and it¡¯s going to take at least billions to recover the losses. Since they¡¯re willing to give in, it just shows that the instigator is perhaps not the main figure of authority in DK Organization. If that¡¯s not the case, it would mean that DK is paying you to make you drop the matter. Regardless of what it may be, the best thing we can do now is to get them topensate us with money and kill the two instigators, so as to warn the rest. To top it off, we must do everything we can to publicize and expose the evil misdeeds of the DK Organization. Although the general public detests them now, people often forget easily. We must constantly remind them of the acts of terror that the DK havemitted. We must make them the public enemy. That¡¯ll help keep things under control for a while.¡± Finding Xiao Chenyang¡¯s words to have made sense, An Xiaoning chimed in, ¡°Yes, Qingyan, that¡¯s the best solution for now. Although many nations have been trying to go against the DK Organization, none of them have dared to openly dere war with the organization, even until today. The main reason behind their constant hesitation is that they fear the possible economic losses and deaths of countless innocent citizens that would be brought about by war. Xihou Jiaping has established this organization a long time ago. We must view things from a greater perspective.¡± Jin Qingyan remained silent and pondered over their words. Atst, he nodded and said, ¡°However, I must make them promise not to do this again. Otherwise, I will nevere to a truce with them, no matter what they offer.¡± ¡°I doubt they¡¯d dare to do this again. No matter how affluent they may be, billions of dors is not a small sum.¡± ¡°...¡± ¨D After registering their marriage, Mo Li and No. 8 had been living peacefully without any major changes, except that they now addressed each other differently. They had been living a blissful married life as well. Hence, Mo Li suggested that they don¡¯t hold a wedding. She initially wanted to don a wedding gown again because this time, she would be walking down the aisle with him. However, she changed her mind after having their wedding photos taken. The reason being, she felt that they were already a married couple even without a wedding. No. 8 handed her the medicinal soup. ¡°Honey, here.¡± Mo Li took it from him and chugged the entire bowl of medicinal soup down in one go. The immense bitterness of the medicine made her frown involuntarily. No. 8 handed her a ss of water, and she took a few gulps of it to wash down the bitterness. ¡°Have you called Xiaoning to ask her about the situation?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need to ask her. Sis must be vexed and anxious right now. Everything happened too quickly and too suddenly. If Sis needs No. 5¡¯s and my help, she¡¯ll definitely call me.¡± Mo Li had be much healthiertely after quitting her job at Long Tianze¡¯s bar and nourishing herself with a daily dose of medicine. ¡°There¡¯s nothing for us to do now anyway. Shall we go shop for some storefronts?¡± ¡°Alright.¡± They were initially nning to buy a storefront and set up their own business so that Mo Li would have something to upy her time with. The two of them visited several property agencies together, hand in hand. Atst, they set their sights on a storefront in the city center. The spacious storefront was in a prime location, but it was also extremely costly. However, they decided to purchase it immediately after much discussion. It cost them more than six million dors. After deducting the costs of renovation and other misceneous items, they would not have much left of thepensatory sum that they had received. However, they had faith in their business. After a thorough discussion and research, Mo Li decided to open a caf¨¦. It was an ideal location since it was right in the city center and there were many office towers within the vicinity. They proceeded to settle the handover procedures as well. After making sure everything was in order, they headed to Mo Li¡¯s parents¡¯ ce. The breakfast bistro had long closed for the day and they entered right away because the door had been left wide open. They could vaguely hear the sounds of an ongoingmotion and argument. Mo Li and No. 8 looked at each other before walking in quickly. They arrived at the door, only to discover that Mo Li¡¯s sister-inw was arguing with Mrs. Mo. Mo Li figured out what was going on after eavesdropping for a few minutes. Upon the sight of Mo Li, who pushed the door open, Mo Xun eagerly exined, ¡°Sis, I wasn¡¯t thinking of chasing Father and Mother away.¡± Mo Li was well aware of what her brother was like. She felt as if her heart was stabbed by a million daggers the moment she saw her mother, who was weeping uncontrobly. ¡°Since Chun Ling wants you to take over the breakfast bistro, go ahead so long as she can tend to the bistro while she¡¯s still pregnant,¡± said Mo Li. Chun Ling retorted agitatedly, ¡°I can always hire someone to help out. Your brother is busy all the time but he barely makes enough to make ends meet. Our child is going to be born soon. We¡¯ll need money for everything. I was just thinking of taking over the bistro since Father and Mother are already old in their years. What¡¯s wrong with that?¡± Mo Li could not be bothered to argue with her and instead answered with a nod, ¡°In that case, why don¡¯t Mother and Father move in with me from now on? I have a vacant apartment that I was nning to let them move into anyway. You guys may leave Father and Mother to me. I¡¯ll take care of them myself.¡± Chapter 1173 - I Want to Make You Stay (51)

Chapter 1173: I Want to Make You Stay (51)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She sat beside Mrs. Mo and said, ¡°Yun Chen and I bought a storefront today. If you and Father need something to do, you maye and help me out when we begin operating for business.¡± Mrs. Mo nodded and leaned against Mo Li¡¯s shoulder while weeping uncontrobly. Feeling extremely terrible, Mo Xun walked out while Chun Ling followed suit. When they reached the door, Mo Xun lost his temper and hollered at Chun Ling, ¡°Are you happy now!?!¡± ¡°I am. Since your sister has agreed to take care of your parents from now on, we¡¯ll have fewer things to worry about.¡± ¡°They¡¯re my parents too, not my sister¡¯s alone.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just sparing a thought for our future.¡± ¡°...¡± Mo Li could not bear to let her parents continue being ill-treated by her sister-inw any longer. Hence, she told them to pack their belongings and move back to Sanqiao Estate with her immediately. Due to the fact that she had already nned to free up the apartment on the 32nd floor for her parents to live in in the future, she had left all the furniture and electronics intact inside the apartment. Hence, her parents could just move in straight away now. Mr. and Mrs. Mo initially wanted to take things one step at a time. However, due to Mo Li and No. 8¡¯s insistence, they had no choice but to move into Sanqiao Estate. ¡ª¡ª Although none of the crew members and cast expressed their disdain openly, Yu Caiwei was well aware that they were all despising her greatly. She had overheard some gossip about her when she went to the washroom. There was also a clear disparity between their attitudes toward her and toward Fang En. She was in a terrible mood, just like Fang En, who had be the target of castigation online. Hence, the only way she couldfort herself was to read all the harsh criticism and maliciousments directed at Fang En on the inte. Her mood was instantly lifted after reading them. While she was indulging in the sea ofments, Fang En happened to walk past the chair she was sitting in and caught sight of her mobile phone¡¯s screen. After seeing photos of herself on Yu Caiwei¡¯s mobile phone, Fang En decided to stand behind Yu Caiwei for a while longer. Upon hearing Yu Caiwei¡¯sughter, she questioned coldly, ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± Yu Caiwei hurriedly put her mobile phone down and turned around to look at Fang En. The smile on her face instantly vanished and she retorted, ¡°I¡¯llugh whenever I feel like it.¡± ¡°Oh... seems like you¡¯re very amused by the joke that you had created all by yourself. I¡¯m starting to think that thepensatory sum that we had asked from you is way too little. But I heard that your sister has just passed away a while ago, so howe you¡¯reughing so loudly? Were you really not that close with your sister? I would be crying my eyes out if I were you. You actually have the cheek to stillugh,¡± quipped Fang En, who red at her before returning to her seat. Yu Caiwei scowled at Fang En as her mood was instantly ruined again. She had suffered a huge setback in her career, lost to her rival in love, and lost her family member. Yu Caiwei felt like she had hit rock bottom. She recalled the times during her debut in the entertainment industry. It was probably the worst time of her life. She was well aware of what underhanded means she had resorted to in order to achieve fame and sess. There was no way she could do anything to Fang En. She would have lived the thirty-odd years of her life in vain if she still failed to recognize that fact by now. All of a sudden, the shback of her bumping into Xiao Chenyang in the elevator that night popped up in her mind. She had a strong feeling that he wished he could kill her. She was terrified by the menacing way he was glowering at her. Yu Caiwei had never been intimidated by someone¡¯s aura before. Last night was a first. Her legs turned into jelly the moment she exited the elevator. Her sister¡¯s warning was still lingering in her ears. She sat on the chair with a look of mncholy and grief. Upon the sight of Director Gao, Yu Caiwei stood up and greeted her, ¡°Sis Gao.¡± However, Director Gao pretended not to see her and simply walked past her. Yu Caiwei took chase and said, ¡°Hey, Friend, I¡¯m sorry. It was my bad. I promise I won¡¯t create trouble for you anymore. Will that do?¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t. I can¡¯t afford to be your friend. All you do is rip your friends off and take advantage of them. I¡¯m really afraid of you, troublemaker. Had I known that you¡¯ve be so vicious, I wouldn¡¯t have cast you as the supporting actress. Caiwei, you¡¯re really horrifying.¡± ¡°Sis Gao, Sis Gao, don¡¯t say that. Forgive me just this once on ount of our friendship that hassted for so many years. I really won¡¯t do it again.¡± Director Gao starred at her apprehensively and said, ¡°Save it. En made you fork out so much money this time. How could you possibly take it lying down? I understand you very well. You definitely wouldn¡¯t.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve really mistaken me this time. I¡¯ve really forgotten about it. There¡¯s nothing I can do since she¡¯s got such a formidable backer.¡± She ced one arm over Director Gao¡¯s shoulder and continued solemnly, ¡°So, Friend, I swear to you, if I ever do something like that again, it¡¯ll truly be the end of our friendship.¡± Seeing how sincere she was, Director Gao said, ¡°I¡¯m giving you onest chance. This is the very, veryst. Otherwise, we really can¡¯t be friends anymore.¡± Yu Caiwei nodded profusely and said, ¡°Got it.¡± The two of them proceeded to Director Gao¡¯s resting area, after which Director Gao said, ¡°Are you brainless? You gave away so much money to En¡¯s management studio for nothing. Why did you even provoke her? If you did it for Yan Ge¡¯s sake, it really wasn¡¯t worth it. You¡¯re a veteran in this country and yet you still don¡¯t understand that rtionshipse and go. There¡¯s no point in holding on to something that won¡¯t work out. You¡¯re a great catch yourself. There¡¯s no need to stoop to that level.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve given up on him. I really have this time. I no longer harbor any feelings for him. I¡¯ve seen through it all,¡± Yu Caiwei said softly. ¡°I hope you really have. Otherwise, you¡¯ll be the one suffering. I really take my hats off to you for your audacity. If the person you had framed was just a small fry who has no background, she probably wouldn¡¯t be able to make aeback in this industry. However, you should¡¯ve considered Fang En¡¯s background. She may be a fresh face but she¡¯s not an ordinary newbie. Okay, I won¡¯t go on about the rest,¡± said Director Gao, who then opened a packet of bread and began munching on it. ¡°Sis Gao, don¡¯t you think that Fang En¡¯s bodyguard is really intimidating?¡± ¡°You mean that hunk? He¡¯s just really quiet and aloof. Intimidating? I don¡¯t think so.¡± ¡°I find him terrifying and daunting.¡± Director Gao disagreed, ¡°You¡¯re reading too much into things. However, if he really isn¡¯t En¡¯s cousin, I can¡¯t figure out why he¡¯s willing to be her bodyguard. I really think he deserves better.¡± ¡°I have a hunch that there¡¯s something more to his rtionship with Fang En.¡± Director Gao said, ¡°Who cares what their rtionship is? They¡¯re definitely not in a special rtionship. Otherwise, why would Fang En start dating Yan Ge? Let¡¯s not care about them, that¡¯s their private lives.¡± .... Fang En was out of sorts for the rest of the day. She had rarely had any bad takes. However, she had a whole string of bad takes today. No one said anything about her blunders since they understood her plight. She constantly tried to get herself into the mood and sort her feelings out, to no avail. After a day of filming, she heaved a sigh of relief when it finally ended. Chapter 1174 - I Want to Make You Stay (52)

Chapter 1174: I Want to Make You Stay (52)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Fang En got inside the nanny van listlessly. She then received a text from Yan Ge, who asked to meet her for dinner. Fang En agreed. She gave Xiao Yue some money and instructed her to have dinner with the chauffeur. She then alighted from the car. She told Xiao Chenyang that she would be back soon and thus instructed him not to assign any bodyguards to her. When she was dragging her feet to Yan Ge¡¯s nanny van, she discovered that there were people snapping photos of her getting inside the van. However, she could no longer be bothered since they no longer had to hide their rtionship now that it had already been exposed. She sat beside Yan Ge, who held her hand tightly, allowing the warmth of his hand to spread to her skin. He said, ¡°You seem to be really out of sortstely. Don¡¯t let thoseizens affect you. They¡¯re not important to you at all. What would you like to eat?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have much of an appetite.¡± ¡°Decide after you¡¯ve seen the menu, then.¡± He then said to the chauffeur, ¡°Start driving.¡± The car moved off slowly and began weaving in and out of traffic. Fang En looked out of the window to see that the sky had already turned dark and that there were lots of pedestrians along the streets. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you saying anything?¡± Fang En rested her head on his shoulder and said, ¡°I suddenly realized that I¡¯m actually not as strong as I thought when ites to taking stress and criticism.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what being an artiste is like. We¡¯re forever living in the eye of the public who never fails to scrutinize us andpare us against overly idealistic standards. Every slightest w and mistake of ours will be magnified and made a big fuss of. You¡¯ll have to get used to it slowly and learn to turn a deaf ear to those voices on the inte.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I said to myself. I tried tofort and reassure myself again and again, but I¡¯m still very bothered by it.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be fine once we tide over this.¡± ¡°Perhaps,¡± she said monotonously. Soon, they arrived at a restaurant. It was near the hotel that they were staying in. The two of them alighted from the car one after another. d in a surgical mask, Yan Ge held her hand and led her into the restaurant. It was the restaurant¡¯s peak hour, with the highest number of patrons. They asked for a private dining room. His assistant and bodyguard waited outside the door. There was a subtle fragrance in the room. After cing their orders, Fang En rested her chin in her hands and said, ¡°This ce looks really nice.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never been here before. Today¡¯s my first time here. We¡¯ll know if it¡¯s really good after we try the food.¡± Yan Ge picked up the teapot and poured her a cup of tea. ¡°Have some warm water first.¡± Fang En nodded and took a few sips out of her teacup. When the first dish was served, the waitress imed to be a fan of Yan Ge¡¯s and asked for an autograph. Yan Ge agreed immediately. To their surprise, a different waitress served the second dish and she, too, asked for Yan Ge¡¯s photograph. They had ordered a total of five dishes, each served by a different waitress. Fang En and Yan Ge were both understanding toward the fans and, hence, he agreed to sign all the autographs that they had asked for. However, after serving thest soup dish, the waitress stayed inside the room instead of leaving. Yan Ge said coldly, ¡°You¡¯re not needed here anymore. Please go outside.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, you guys go ahead and enjoy the meal. I¡¯ll just stand here quietly. I definitely won¡¯t disturb you.¡± The waitress seemed to only be in herte teens and appeared extremely youthful. Displeased to hear her answer, Yan Ge said, ¡°As I¡¯ve said, you may leave. It¡¯s inconvenient with you around.¡± It was obvious what he had meant, which was that, with her around, he wouldn¡¯t be able to talk to Fang En properly. Not intending to leave at all, the waitress called him by his full name and asked, ¡°Yan Ge, may I ask you a question?¡± ¡°What question?¡± he asked with a look of annoyance, clearly not wanting to talk to her. However, he had no choice but to urge himself to be patient since she was a fan of his. ¡°Do you really love her?¡± she asked, referring to Fang En. Fang En was enjoying the food slowly, not bothering to look at the waitress at all. She was initially already in a foul mood. However, her spirits were further dampened after hearing the waitress¡¯s words. ¡°Yes, I love her very much. Will you go out now?¡± said Yan Ge, who remained gentlemanly throughout. The waitress lost herposure and began eximing in agitation, ¡°She doesn¡¯t deserve you at all! How could you love her!?! She can¡¯t be your girlfriend!¡± Fang En finally looked up at the waitress and chastised sternly, ¡°Please get out, we¡¯re having a meal.¡± She then called for the bodyguard. Yan Ge¡¯s bodyguard entered and asked, ¡°Ms. Fang, do you have any orders...?¡± ¡°Send this waitress out.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, the waitress whipped out a knife from her pocket all of a sudden and ced it on her wrist. The knife was small but the de was extremely sharp. Her makeup had been ruined by her tears. She stared at Yan Ge indignantly, as if he had broken her heart. ¡°I¡¯ve fancied you for three whole years, how could you fall in love with such a woman!?!¡± Yan Ge and Fang En stood up one after another. In order to cate her emotions, Yan Ge tried to mellow his voice despite staring at her coldly. ¡°Will you put the knife down first?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll put it down if you break up with her. How could you treat me like this? I send you private messages on Weibo every single day and yet you¡¯ve never once replied to me! I can¡¯t believe you actually have a girlfriend now. You¡¯ve hurt my feelings and broken my heart!¡± She took a few steps back and stered herself against the wall. At the sight of the bodyguard who was approaching her, she hollered, ¡°Don¡¯te near me, or else I¡¯ll slit my wrist and kill myself. Yan Ge already has a girlfriend anyway. I don¡¯t wish to live anymore!¡± Yan Ge immediately shot his bodyguard a nce, hinting for him to call the police to resolve the absurd situation. The bodyguard immediately proceeded to call the police and the restaurant manager. The manager and the waitress¡¯s friends tried tofort her, to no avail. Finally, the police arrived. ¡°You¡¯ll only be hurting yourself in the end. Put the knife down.¡± ¡°Yan Ge, are you going to break up with this ugly woman or not!?!¡± the waitress insisted. Unable to contain her anger, she began berating Fang En, ¡°You look just like a dance hostess. No, wait, even dance hostesses are far better than you. Who are you to deserve Yan Ge¡¯s love? Who are you to be his girlfriend? You shameless slut! Despicable...¡± ¡°Shut up! I don¡¯t wish to have a fan like you. I feel so insulted to be your idol,¡± Yan Ge snapped, his veins bulging from his forehead due to his immense pique. He grabbed Fang En¡¯s hand and pulled her out of the door. Noticing that they were about to leave, the waitress squinted and slit her wrist. Although the police managed to snatch the knife away from her, she still ended up hurting herself. Yan Ge immediately whipped out a piece of tissue paper and handed it to her. If he were to leave immediately, there would only be absurd rumors and spections on the news. Hence, he had no choice but to send the waitress to the hospital together with the police, feeling helpless and exasperated. Fang En did not tag along. The restaurant manager said apologetically, ¡°I¡¯m very sorry, Ms. Fang. This meal shall be on the house.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need for that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a must. Ms. Fang, do continue to enjoy the rest of your meal. Mr. Yan said that he would be returning soon.¡± Chapter 1175 - I Want to Make You Stay (53)

Chapter 1175: I Want to Make You Stay (53)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°You really don¡¯t have to void the bill. You may go out. I can¡¯t waste the food. I¡¯ll wait for him here.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯m really sorry.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± The manager exited, leaving Fang En alone in the room. She shifted her gaze onto the spot the waitress had been standing on, only to discover that there were still a few drops of fresh blood on the ground. The mere few drops of blood seemed like a pool of blood to Fang En. She felt as if the entire ground had been stained crimson. She felt a sudden fear and panic that arose from within. If the waitress could threaten to kill herself because of Yan Ge today, someone else might just try and kill me another day. It suddenly dawned upon her that it was a foolish decision to instruct Xiao Chenyang not to deploy the bodyguards. She picked up her chopsticks again with trembling hands. The food began to taste nd and horrid all of a sudden. However, her stomach was rumbling and she was famished. Thus, she wolfed the food down quickly and watered it down with some tea. She finally felt much less afraid and anxious. Why... Why don¡¯t I feel joy and bliss after announcing our rtionship status? Why do I feel oppressed and intimidated instead? This was not what she wanted at all. ¡°Ms. Fang,¡± greeted another waitress, who opened the door abruptly. Greatly taken aback, Fang En sprung up from her seat. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± she asked, feeling extremely stressed. ¡°Our manager wanted me to ask you if there are any more dishes that you¡¯d like to eat. They¡¯ll be on the house as well.¡± ¡°No, thank you,¡± she answered, keeping her guard high up, for fear that the waitress would harm her. ¡°Alright.¡± The waitress closed the door again. After recovering from the shock, she whipped her mobile phone out to call Yan Ge. He picked up soon after. ¡°Where are you now? Is she alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯m on my way back. She¡¯s fine. Go ahead and eat. I¡¯ll be there soon.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Fang En put down her mobile phone. As expected, he returned not long after. Fang En hugged him and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Why are you apologizing?¡± ¡°It¡¯s all my fault for agitating your fan.¡± Yan Ge sat down while holding her in his embrace. He said, ¡°It¡¯s my personal choice to date you. They tend to get easily confused and blur the lines between my onscreen characters and my private life. Did you get a huge fright tonight?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t too bad.¡± ¡°Have you eaten?¡± ¡°Yes, I have. Hurry and eat, the food is getting cold.¡± He picked up the chopsticks and began eating unhurriedly. He finally popped the question that he had been pondering over. ¡°En, do you think it¡¯d be too soon for us to get married right now?¡± Fang En stared at him, at a sudden loss for words. ¡°Married?¡± ¡°Yes. Actually, I don¡¯t feel secure at all even though we¡¯re dating each other. I¡¯m afraid that someone else will snatch you away. Let¡¯s get married.¡± She could not help but recall what Xiao Chenyang had said to her in G City, wherein he forbid her from marrying someone else. It would seem they had to face yet another obstacle. ¡°Xiao Chenyang said... that he¡¯s not going to allow us to get married.¡± Yan Ge paused in his actions and put his chopsticks down. Staring at her earnestly, he asked, ¡°Would you want to marry me? I just want to hear your answer. Will you marry me?¡± His intense gaze made her feelpelled to answer him. She thought that she would want to marry him because she was incredibly fond of him. ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°As long as you¡¯re willing, we don¡¯t have to care about the rest,¡± said Yan Ge, who felt much more insecure because he had no idea just what Xiao Chenyang meant. He ordered a bottle of liquor and poured them a ss each. He slid the ss to her and said, ¡°Let¡¯s have some drinks.¡± Fang En took it from him and raised her head to take a few sips. She discovered that the alcohol did not burn her throat. When it was time to get the bill, Fang En insisted on paying, despite the restaurant manager offering to void their bill. They left the restaurant and returned to the hotel. Instead of stopping on the tenth floor, they boarded the elevator all the way to the twelfth floor. The two of them entered his room together. The moment they closed the door, Fang En felt like she could no longer think straight. She had no idea why she would follow him into his room. It¡¯s already sote. That just means I won¡¯t be returning to the tenth floor tonight. But this man is my boyfriend. It¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t slept next to Xiao Chenyang on the same bed before. Yan Ge hugged her and asked softly, ¡°Do you want to shower together?¡± Fang En froze in shock and shook her head. She spluttered, ¡°No... I don¡¯t...¡± ¡°Alright.¡± He let go of Fang En and headed straight to the bathroom. Fang En sat on the bed as a whirlpool of emotions filled her. She happened to see a bottle of expensive liquor and some wine sses on the headboard. There was still more than half of the liquor left inside the bottle. She poured herself a ss, thinking to herself that she barely had any to drink at the restaurant and that it was time she drank a bit to calm her nerves. However, this liquor was much stronger than the one at the restaurant. After downing the liquor, she felt a strong, burning sensation in her throat. However, she found that it did help her rx a little and, hence, she decided to take a few more sips. She was still holding the ss in her hand when Yan Ge came out of the shower. She smiled at him and said, ¡°This liquor is pretty good.¡± ¡°It¡¯s very high in alcohol content. Watch your intake.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine...¡± She put the ss down andy down. Staring nkly at the ceiling, she teared up and murmured, ¡°Yan Ge...¡± ¡°Yes? What¡¯s wrong?¡± he asked while wiping his hair with a towel, not sensing anything unusual about her. ¡°I¡¯m really afraid.¡± Upon hearing that she was sobbing, he put down the towel and walked toward her. ¡°What are you afraid of?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid that your fans will kill me...¡± She turned to the side andy on her stomach. ¡°They won¡¯t. Why don¡¯t I assign a few more bodyguards to chaperon you? Only a small number of fans are as extreme as that one today. The majority of them are very rational,¡± he said, caressing her hair. Fang En turned to face him and said, ¡°I¡¯m also afraid of Xiao Chenyang...¡± She sounded a little tipsy and appeared to be in a daze with her eyes ssed over. ¡°I¡¯m not afraid, so you shouldn¡¯t be either.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not afraid because you have no idea just how invincible he is. You don¡¯t understand him at all, that¡¯s why you don¡¯t know what¡¯s there to be afraid of. It¡¯s different for me. When we were in G City, he told me clearly that he¡¯s not going to allow us to get married,¡± Fang En said, sniffing with sobs. ¡°Why do we need his approval to get married? We don¡¯t need it,¡± he said, moving his face closer toward her. They could feel each other¡¯s breath. ¡°I¡¯m suspecting that I¡¯ve lost a portion of my memory.¡± ¡°Why do you say so?¡± ¡°Xiao Chenyang said that we had met each other a long time ago, but I don¡¯t recall ever seeing him. However, I also think that he makes sense. If we never knew each other before, why would he show up in my life all of a sudden? I really don¡¯t know when I had seen him in the past. I tried to recall carefully but I just can¡¯t. I still remember things from my childhood, but why can¡¯t I remember him at all?¡± Chapter 1176 - I Want to Make You Stay (54)

Chapter 1176: I Want to Make You Stay (54)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Staring at her, Yan Ge said, ¡°He¡¯s just going to pester you to no end. This is just one of the excuses he¡¯s giving. You don¡¯t tell me anything about him at all. It actually makes me very upset that you don¡¯t. I hope you won¡¯t hide anything from me again. Of course, I¡¯m not going to hide anything from you either.¡± Fang En blinked and said, ¡°Even then, I still can¡¯t divulge anything about him to you. He¡¯s too terrifying and incredible. His existence is bewildering...¡± Yan Ge¡¯s curiosity was piqued. His heart sank, and he sat up straight. After she fell asleep, Yan Ge took out her key card from her bag and scraped something off the wall before heading to the tenth floor with his mobile phone. He entered Fang En¡¯s room. The thing that he had scraped off the wall of his room was a small, audio-enabled surveince camera. Since she refused to tell him, he had no choice but to resort to such a method to find out for himself. After all, he really couldn¡¯t find any information about Xiao Chenyang¡¯s past. Yan Ge ced the surveince camera beside the television stealthily. It could easily go unnoticed because it was ck in color. The surveince camera covered the entire view across the room, including the bed. He would be able to hear their conversation clearly via the live feed on his mobile phone. He then returned to the twelfth floor. Yan Ge removed Fang En¡¯s shoes and pulled the duvet over her body. He theny down beside her and stared at her face, deep in thought. ¡ª¡ª It was the morning of the next day. News of Fang En spending the night in Yan Ge¡¯s room had spread amongst the public and caused another uproar after the incident of Yan Ge¡¯s fan threatening to kill herself became a hot topic. Although Fang En knew that nothing had happened and that she had simply slept on the same bed as him, the outside world thought otherwise. To outsiders, it looked like the two of them had gotten intimate with each otherst night, especially since they were a couple. However, the two of them did not make anyments or respond to the spections and rumors. After all, there was nothing much to be exined. There was only one person whom Fang En had to exin to. Xiao Chenyang returned to B City from M Nation in the afternoon. He headed straight to the filming location. Fang En was in the midst of filming, and her heart dropped the moment she saw him. After filming ended, she walked toward Xiao Chenyang and asked with a chuckle, ¡°You¡¯re back?¡± Xiao Chenyang stared at her without uttering a single word. His intense gaze gave her the chills. ¡°What happened?¡± Xiao Chenyang remained silent. Fang En was extremely ill at ease. She squatted down and asked, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you saying anything?¡± ¡°...¡± He continued to remain silent, even until she was done with filming for the day. Xiao Yue proceeded to buy dinner while the two of them returned to the room. Once they entered the room, Fang En exined, ¡°Nothing happened between usst night. We justy down beside each other. I had a drop too muchst night and got a little tipsy.¡± ¡°Did I say anything?¡± Dumbfounded, Fang En thought to herself, Isn¡¯t he sulky and moody all day because of that piece of news? ¡°Have you settled everything?¡± ¡°No, I wasn¡¯t in a good mood so I decided toe back. You¡¯re really something, eh? I couldn¡¯t even bear to let you get drunk and yet you were so unrestrained with drinking in front of your boyfriend,¡± he gibed. ¡°I just had a bit too much...¡± ¡°Do you know why I refuse to let you drink much?¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because women tend to be irrational when they¡¯re drunk, and when they be irrational, they give other men the chance to get intimate with them.¡± Fang En retorted, ¡°Speak for yourself. Yan Ge is not such a man.¡± ¡°He¡¯s still a man at the end of the day.¡± ¡°He¡¯s my boyfriend...¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you get intimate with himst night, then? If you chose to act before informing me, there¡¯d be nothing I can do to you. Isn¡¯t that so?¡± ¡°Xiao Chenyang, Yan Ge asked mest night if I wanted to marry him.¡± He paused in his actions and gave her the side-eye. ¡°How did you answer him?¡± ¡°I said yes.¡± Xiao Chenyang dropped his cup onto the ground and it instantly shattered. He flew into a rage. ¡°What did you say? I didn¡¯t hear clearly. Tell me again.¡± ¡°I said... yes.¡± She waspletely terrorized by the way Xiao Chenyang was ring at her, fearing that she would suffer the same fate as the cup. ¡°Didn¡¯t I say that you¡¯re allowed to date him but you can¡¯t marry him?¡± ¡°We¡¯re serious about dating each other, and since we¡¯re both serious, we¡¯d obviously want to get married. I have no intentions to fool around. Xiao Chenyang, even if we knew each other in the past, I can¡¯t remember anything about you now. Forget about everything we had too. After all, it was all in the past. Yan Ge¡¯s fans are already driving me into a corner right now. Please stop forcing me, I¡¯m about to lose my mind,¡± she said in frustration. Tears welled up in Xiao Chenyang¡¯s eyes. He used to think that Fang En did not love Yan Ge and merely fancied him. However, he now had no choice but to reconsider his stand. If a woman didn¡¯t love a man, why would she want to marry him? His heart was wrenching in pain and agony. He refused to admit that he was way toote in finding her. During his flight back, he was pondering over whether he was in love with her soul or with the old Nan Chuang. He felt like he had sobered up all of a sudden. Staring at the woman before him, he had a moment of epiphany. Nan Chuang¡¯s soul was in her boy, but she was no longer the Nan Chuang that he used to know. The Nan Chuang that he loved dearly, the Nan Chuang who made him her one and only, the Nan Chuang who would suffer in silence for his sake, the Nan Chuang who looked beautiful whenever she smiled, had already died centuries ago. The woman in front of him now was Fang En. Although she and Nan Chuang shared the same soul, she had long be unrted to him. Now that Fang En already had a person whom she fancied, he would only be wasting his efforts and making her detest him more. To her, I might just be akin to those extreme fans of Yan Ge. Fang En had no idea what he was thinking about in those short moments. Ding-Dong... Xiao Yue yelled, ¡°Sis, it¡¯s me!¡± Xiao Chenyang turned around to walk toward the door. Fang En thought that he was just going to open the door. To her astonishment, he simply walked out of the room. ¡°Cousin, aren¡¯t you going to have dinner?¡± He ignored her question. Xiao Yue entered and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Cousin?¡± ¡°Nothing. Xiao Yue, clean up the broken cup,¡± said Fang En, who suddenly felt flustered out of nowhere. ¡°Alright.¡± After cleaning up the mess, Xiao Yue brought the food over to her and said, ¡°Sis En, let¡¯s tuck in.¡± Fang En ced two of the dishes, a pair of chopsticks, and a bottle of beer into a stic bag. She then handed it to Xiao Yue and said, ¡°Bring this to Xiao Chenyang.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Xiao Yue exited with the bag. Fang En decided to wait for Xiao Yue to return before eating. Xiao Yue returned a few minutester with the food and she said, ¡°Sis En, Cousin has left.¡± ¡°Left? What do you mean?¡± Fang En asked. Chapter 1177 - I Want to Make You Stay (55)

Chapter 1177: I Want to Make You Stay (55)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°When I went to his room on the ninth floor, Yu Caiwei¡¯s bodyguard who¡¯s staying in the same suite told me that he had left. I went inside the room and saw that his clothes were no longer inside,¡± Xiao Yue exined. Fang En sat on the bed in shock. Is he never going to show up again? That¡¯s great. But why do I still feel so flustered? She whipped out her mobile phone to give him a call, which went through initially. However, he switched off his mobile phone right after. He clearly didn¡¯t want to answer her calls. Fang En stood up and ran out of the room. At the sight of her behavior, Xiao Yue frantically yelled, ¡°Sis En, where are you going?¡± Fang En sprinted all the way to the elevatornding. She stood outside the elevators and asked herself, Why am I running... Once he¡¯s gone, there¡¯ll be no one around topel me against my wishes. That¡¯d be wonderful. She turned around and returned to her room. Noticing that she seemed to be troubled and frustrated, Xiao Yue began to wonder just what had happened. ¡°Sis En...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Sis En...¡± Fang En remained seated, as if she did not hear Xiao Yue at all. When Xiao Yue called her for the third time, she turned around and said to Xiao Yue, ¡°Maybe he¡¯s really gone this time.¡± ¡°I suppose so.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan returned to S Nation after staying in M Nation for more than two weeks. The situation in M Nation was handed over to the newly-appointed Branch CEO. After all, the office tower would have to be reconstructed. The Jin Corporation had incurred only a minor loss due to thepensatory sum paid by the DK Organization. As soon as they reached home, they were greeted with the sight of Xiao Chenyang swimming alone in the pool. Jin Qingyan squatted beside the pool and said, ¡°That¡¯s strange. What are you doing here instead of B City?¡± He ced his hands on the edge of the pool and thrust himself out of the water. He then sat by the edge and said, ¡°I won¡¯t be going back again.¡± ¡°Why? If you¡¯re not around, should we assign other bodyguards to En?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Do as you deem fit.¡± He dipped his legs inside the pool and continued swinging them around in the water, causing the water to ssh up. An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan looked at each other, finding him to be acting out of the ordinary. ¡°You two go ahead and chat. I¡¯ll go inside to get some water,¡± said An Xiaoning, who then walked away and left the house to the two of them. ¡°Just what¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°She¡¯s marrying Yan Ge, her boyfriend.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you snatch her back?¡± Xiao Chenyang looked at him and said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to. She¡¯s free to live the life that she wants. I¡¯ve long gotten used to living alone anyway.¡± Jin Qingyan could tell that he was trying to put on a brave front. ¡°Surely you can¡¯t be thinking of waiting for her to reincarnate again so you can make it in time.¡± ¡°Sadly, that¡¯s not what I¡¯m thinking of.¡± He looked at Jin Qingyan and continued, ¡°Frankly speaking, I really envy you and Hua Jin.¡± ¡°Shall I take you out to look for some prostitutes tonight?¡± Xiao Chenyang stared at him apprehensively and asked, ¡°You¡¯re taking me out for prostitution? Aren¡¯t you afraid that Hua Jin would find out?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take her along.¡± I knew it. This wimp. ¡°Are you going or not?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not interested.¡± ¡°There are plenty of women in this world who are better than Fang En. Tell me, what kind of women do you fancy? Do you like cute and lolita-like ones, mature ones, or career-minded ones? I¡¯ll get you whichever type you want. Don¡¯t take women too seriously.¡± ¡°Yes, don¡¯t take women too seriously. But why can¡¯t you do it yourself?¡± Jin Qingyan was at a sudden loss for words. ¡°I... I don¡¯t take her seriously.¡± ¡°Really? Who are you trying to fool?¡± Xiao Chenyang gibed. ¡°Yes, Xiaoning waits on me all the time. She even washes my feet for me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because your calf is fractured...¡± ¡°She does it on a regr basis. I¡¯m her master and she¡¯s my maid. You can¡¯t spoil women. The more you pamper them, the morewless they get,¡± Jin Qingyan said assertively. ¡°Your maid?¡± An Xiaoning questioned, gritting her teeth. Jin Qingyan turned around slowly and met her eyes. He smiled wryly and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you go and get some water...¡± ¡°I¡¯ve finished drinking it. If it weren¡¯t because of your injury, I would¡¯ve really kicked you into the pool. Shall we go out tonight and rx together?¡± said An Xiaoning, who knew that he was just kidding. Seeing how earnest they were, Xiao Chenyang agreed with a nod, ¡°Sure.¡± When they returned upstairs, An Xiaoning said to Jin Qingyan, ¡°Why does he seem so sad to me?¡± ¡°Why couldn¡¯t I tell?¡± ¡°You¡¯re a careless man, you¡¯re not sensitive at all.¡± An Xiaoning whipped out her mobile phone and said, ¡°I must give En a call.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bother, he said that Fang En is getting married.¡± ¡°Getting married? I wasn¡¯t told about it. If she was really getting married, she would definitely tell me and Yangyang first,¡± An Xiaoning said in bewilderment. ¡°I reckon she just has ns to get married.¡± ¡°No, I must ask her about it.¡± She then called Fang En. Fang En answered very quickly, ¡°Sis Xiaoning.¡± ¡°En, how are you feelingtely? Better?¡± ¡°Yes, much better. I¡¯ve been receiving fewer criticisms online.¡± ¡°It¡¯s been more than half a month since we started trying to salvage your reputation and clear your name. There¡¯ll definitely be fewer people who berate you online. However, I¡¯ve heard that Xiao Chenyang has left your side. Has Yangyang assigned the bodyguards to you yet?¡± ¡°Yes, she has. Sis Xiaoning, where did Xiao Chenyang go?¡± Fang En asked. After a moment of silence, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Tell me first, why isn¡¯t he with you?¡± ¡°Because...¡± Fang En briefly exined the reason to her. ¡°Oh, I see. Since he¡¯s no longer there to pester you, isn¡¯t it good that you can now focus on filming? However, have you really decided to get married?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t discussed it in detail with Yan Ge yet... Sis Xiaoning, where did Xiao Chenyang go?¡± ¡°He¡¯s at my ce. I can tell that he¡¯s in low spirits, so Qingyan and I are nning to take him out for some fun tonight. We¡¯ll also introduce him to some girls. Once he falls in love with another girl, he¡¯ll stop pestering you. Hence, it¡¯ll definitely help you.¡± Although Fang En knew that she made sense, she somehow felt empty and at a loss for words. ¡°Okay, focus on filming. I¡¯ll be hanging up now.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Jin Qingyan kissed her and said, ¡°You¡¯re really mean.¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°You im to be helping Fang En but you¡¯re in fact helping Chenyang.¡± ¡°No, you¡¯ve got the wrong idea about me. I¡¯m helping them both. You see, if En truly detested Xiao Chenyang, she would immediately feel relieved. However, she clearly doesn¡¯t detest him. Otherwise, why would she remain silent? Shouldn¡¯t she be jumping for joy? This must have agitated En to a certain extent. Besides, I was just telling the truth anyway. We¡¯re really going to take Xiao Chenyang out and introduce him to some new girls. He¡¯s helped us out so many times. I really can¡¯t bear to see him upset. I know he¡¯s ced the curse of devotion on himself and won¡¯t be able to fall in love with other women, but what¡¯s not to like about unwinding a little?¡± said An Xiaoning, poking him in the forehead. Chapter 1178 - I Want to Make You Stay (56)

Chapter 1178: I Want to Make You Stay (56)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Yes, yes, yes. I¡¯m mistaken about you. Let me kiss you,¡± he said, carrying her onto the bed. An Xiaoning leaned forward and said, ¡°Come and kiss me.¡± Just as he was about to kiss her again, he suddenly caught sight of an item beside the pillow. He grabbed the square foil pocket and said, ¡°Wow, I really didn¡¯t think that you¡¯d prepare everything beforehand.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡± Seeing that she was in denial, he asked, ¡°Who took it out, then? It was clearly inside the drawer.¡± ¡°How would I know? It just wasn¡¯t me.¡± Realizing that she did not seem to be lying, he asked again, ¡°Is it really not you?¡± ¡°It really wasn¡¯t me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not me either. Did someone invade our room?¡± They looked at each other and immediately proceeded to watch the surveince camera footages. They understood what had happened after watching the footages. Fortunately, the three children had onlye inside here once... .... A City was extremely vibrant at night. Long Tianze and Mei Yangyang had also joined in on the fun. However, Ling Ciye gave it a rain check because he had to stay home to take care of his pregnant wife. The five of them sat together for a few games over some drinks, and the atmosphere was rather lively. Xiao Chenyang constantly chugged liquor like it was water while they were in the midst of a joyous time. None of them stopped him because they, too, were having a lot to drink. The two women were exceptions since they could not hold their liquor well. Holding a handful of sunflower seeds, Mei Yangyang sat beside An Xiaoning on the couch with one leg over the other. Despite the deafening music, they could still hear each other clearly. ¡°Seems like they¡¯re definitely going to get drunk.¡± An Xiaoning said, ¡°Let them be. Have you called the bar hostesses over?¡± ¡°I have.¡± Mei Yangyang took a look at the time and continued, ¡°They should be here soon. I called two of them.¡± All of a sudden, Xiao Chenyang stood up and walked toward the two of them. He sat down beside An Xiaoning and asked with a ss of liquor in his hand, ¡°Hua Jin, what are you talking to my wife about?¡± Pointing at herself, Mei Yangyang asked, ¡°Me? Your wife?¡± An Xiaoning chuckled and said, ¡°He must be drunk.¡± Long Tianze said in disgruntlement, ¡°Brother Xiao, she¡¯s not your wife... she¡¯s clearly my wife.¡± Xiao Chenyang glowered at him and retorted, ¡°Bastard! You¡¯re so ugly, how could you possibly have such a beautiful wife? She¡¯s clearly my wife, mine!¡± ¡°I¡¯m ugly? Brother Xiao, how could you insult my looks? You have no idea how many girls have carried a torch for me when I was still in school...¡± Long Tianze shimmied and said, ¡°I¡¯m very handsome, okay...¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care. My wife,e here and let¡¯s exchange toasts.¡± He handed a ss of liquor to Mei Yangyang before picking up another one for himself. An Xiaoning stood up and gave up her seat for him. Thus, Long Tianze watched as his wife exchanged toasts with a drunk man. ¡°I don¡¯t care, we must exchange toasts too. Sis-inw, let¡¯s do it,¡± said Long Tianze. An Xiaoning remained silent. ¡°Are... are you asking for death? If you want to exchange toasts with my woman... you¡¯ll have to defeat me first,¡± said Jin Qingyan, who raised his ss and continued drinking with Long Tianze. The two hostesses from the Night Genie Bar were greeted with this amusing sight when they arrived. Mei Yangyang then said to Xiao Chenyang, ¡°They¡¯re the hostesses in our bar. I called them here to apany you.¡± She then stood up and allowed the girls to have a seat. After staring at the two girls, Xiao Chenyang said to one of them, ¡°You may leave, she¡¯ll stay.¡± Mei Yangyang shot her a nce and gestured for her to leave. Despite feeling disgruntled about having to leave as soon as she sat down, the girl stillplied nheless. Xiao Chenyang pinched the girl¡¯s chin with his long and bony fingers, and he said, ¡°You¡¯re... really pretty. How old are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m 19 years old,¡± the girl answered bashfully while smiling coyly at him, feeling extremely astonished for she had never seen such a handsome man before. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°My name is Jiang Shu.¡± He nodded and asked, ¡°Shall I give you a name?¡± ¡°A name? What would you like to name me, Sir?¡± ¡°Nan Chuang.¡± An Xiaoning, Mei Yangyang, and Jin Qingyan looked at each other and continued to hear him out. ¡°Sure, if that¡¯s what you like.¡± ¡°Nah, something else. I think you¡¯d better stick to your own name...¡± he said in a deep voice. Seemingly reminded of something, he pulled Jiang Shu into his embrace and caressed her long and silky hair, as if he was holding his dearest loved one in his arms. Sensing that her phone was ringing, An Xiaoning opened her bag, only to discover that she had received dozens of missed calls from Fang En. She went outside to return the calls. ¡°Hello, it was too noisy in here. I didn¡¯t hear your calls.¡± ¡°Sis Xiaoning, I¡¯m at your ce right now. Where are you?¡± An Xiaoning answered, ¡°I¡¯m at a nightclub. We¡¯ll be going back soon. Why are you at my ce?¡± ¡°I want to see Xiao Chenyang.¡± ¡°What for?¡± ¡°I¡±d like to apologize to him.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you have anything else to say to him apart from an apology?¡± ¡°No...¡± An Xiaoning said truthfully, ¡°I¡¯ll help ry your apology to him. You¡¯d better not meet him right now. He probably wouldn¡¯t want to hear your apology. After all, he did all of those things for you willingly, out of his own ord. En, haven¡¯t you always wanted him to leave your life? Since he¡¯s actually done that now, you should date whoever you¡¯d like to and focus on filming. Isn¡¯t that great?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know why but I feel terrible. I really don¡¯t know what to do anymore. As you¡¯ve said, I also thought that his departure would be what I want, and I have been looking forward to it. However, things are nothing like I had imagined. I don¡¯t know why they turned out this way either,¡± Fang Enmented while sobbing. ¡°How about you wait for me in the guest room and stay over tonight? We¡¯ll be returning soon.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning ended the call and walked back to the room. Once she was inside, she whispered something into Mei Yangyang¡¯s ear, after which Mei Yangyang said, ¡°What do we do with her, then?¡± She was referring to Jiang Shu. ¡°We¡¯ll let her return to the hotel.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t this Ms. An?¡± said a familiar voice. An Xiaoning turned around, surprised to see that it was CEO Zhou. The sight of CEO Zhou reminded her of what happened previously. That Ms. Wang... She bent forward and picked up a ss of liquor before walking toward him. She shifted her gaze onto the woman beside him, who was his wife. ¡°CEO Zhou, have you brought Mrs. Zhou here to have some fun?¡± ¡°Hello, Ms. An,¡± greeted Mrs. Zhou, who had put in a ton of effort into taking care of her appearance and maintaining her youthfulness. She appeared much younger than her actual age and had shoulder-length hair. ¡°It¡¯s rare that I get to take time out of my busy schedule toe out for some fun. What a coincidence to be seeing you here. Let¡¯s have a toast,¡± CEO Zhou said, raising his ss. Chapter 1179 - I Want to Make You Stay (57)

Chapter 1179: I Want to Make You Stay (57)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning clinked sses with him and took a sip of liquor. Smiling, she said, ¡°With Mrs. Zhou around, there¡¯s something I¡¯m not sure I should say.¡± ¡°Just speak your mind. There are no outsiders here anyway,¡± CEO Zhou permitted. ¡°I shall get straight to the point, then. Previously, my artiste had been used of stealing. I wonder if you guys have heard about that news?¡± ¡°Ah... yes, we¡¯ve heard a little about it. Hasn¡¯t it already been rified?¡± ¡°Yes. It turns out someone was framing my artist. However, the person who did so imed to have known you, CEO Zhou. She¡¯s called Ms. Wang and she used a twenty-million-dor ne to frame my artiste. She imed that her man was the one who had gifted her with the ne. I was wondering which person would be so generous as to do that, and Ms. Wang actually mentioned your name. I was really shocked too.¡± Noticing the sullen expression on Mrs. Zhou¡¯s face, An Xiaoning added, ¡°CEO Zhou, you and I have met a few times before, and judging from what I know about you, that woman must have just spoken off the cuff. Mrs. Zhou is so beautiful. There¡¯s no reason for CEO Zhou to spend so much money on a woman like that. She must have been lying and spreading false rumors.¡± Frightened out of his wits, CEO Zhou broke out into a cold sweat. He said with much gusto, ¡°Of course, do I seem like such a person? A twenty-million-dor ne? How could that be? How ridiculous.¡± ¡°Exactly. I thought so too. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t believe her words at all. She must have made it up,¡± An Xiaoning said with a smile. ¡°That goes without saying. Ms. An, do continue enjoying yourself. My wife and I shall take our leave,¡± said CEO Zhou, who chugged his liquor down in one go and smiled courteously. ¡°Yes, yes.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes lit up while watching the two of them turn around. By doing so, she could give Mrs. Zhou a warning while not offending CEO Zhou. Her female intuition told her that CEO Zhou was acting the way that he did because he had a guilty conscience. She was certain that Mrs. Zhou would definitely look into the matter. By then, if Ms. Wang was to get exposed, she would inevitably be given a hard time. CEO Zhou would definitely drop her too. An Xiaoning was very certain. Her lips curled into a wider smile. After exiting the nightclub, they got inside the car and Mei Yangyang said to Jiang Shu, ¡°Go back to the hotel straight.¡± Jiang Shu knew that she could never harbor any designs on men, regardless of how outstanding they may be. As soon as she expressed assent, Xiao Chenyang interjected, ¡°No, you maye with me.¡± Mei Yangyang looked at An Xiaoning, trying to ask for her help. An Xiaoning nodded. Thus, Jiang Shu tagged along with him back to Wei Ni Estate. Jin Qingyan had drunk the least out of the three men. However, he was slightly tipsy too. Xiao Chenyang was drunk out of his senses. He was leaning against the seat without uttering a single word while Long Tianze had broken into hysterics. He began shouting and singing at the top of his lungs inside the car. Mei Yangyang tried to stop him time and time again, to no avail. Entirely amused, An Xiaoning patted Mei Yangyang on her back and said, ¡°Forget it, let him be.¡± The car was filled with Long Tianze¡¯s coarse and horrid singing throughout the journey home. ¡°Ahhhhhhhh, you¡¯re crazy and I¡¯m foolish, ahhhhhhhhh, let¡¯s make love until...¡± ¡°I¡¯ll send you to the vige, I have some words to say to you. Although the flowers have all blossomed, don¡¯t pick the wildflowers along the road, don¡¯t waste the flowers, don¡¯t waste your efforts...¡± ¡°The weather is fair, Sister, you refuse to speak or tell me how you feel, the sun has set and the moon has risen, it¡¯s nighttime again, when can I enter your bathroom?¡± ¡°Sister, you shall take the boat while I walk on the coast, love is all about hardship, Sister, you shall take the boat while I walk on the coast...¡± ¡°...¡± They finally arrived in Wei Ni Estate. When they were in the yard, Mei Yangyang pulled Long Tianze out of the car with all her might and dragged him home straight away. The rest of the people alighted as well. An Xiaoning¡¯s mobile phone rang again. She took a look to see that it was from Fang En again and, thus, answered. To her surprise, Fang En said, ¡°Sis Xiaoning, I¡¯m going back to B City. I¡¯m at the airport now. I¡¯ll be boarding thest flight for tonight.¡± ¡°Why have you changed your mind again?¡± ¡°I calmed myself down and thought about it carefully. I realized that I had been too rash tonight. I can¡¯t be like this. You were right, I should focus on my rtionship and career.¡± An Xiaoning said, ¡°Alright, text me when you¡¯ve arrived safely.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning looked up to see that Jiang Shu was helping Xiao Chenyang into the guest room. Xiao Chenyang had passed out. Well aware of the rules and manners that she ought to have, Jiang Shu looked at An Xiaoning and asked, ¡°Ms. An, do I leave?¡± ¡°Stay behind and apany him tonight. We¡¯ll see how things go when hees to tomorrow. However, I hope you¡¯ll know your ce and not behave like other women. Do you understand what I mean?¡± ¡°Yes, rest assured, Ms. An.¡± An Xiaoning expressed assent and left the guest room. She returned to the master bedroom to see that Jin Qingyan was already in the shower. She opened the washroom door gently and peeked inside at Jin Qingyan, who was taking a shower. He waved at her and said, ¡°Come in.¡± An Xiaoning entered and prepared to remove her clothes and shower with him. To her astonishment, he pulled her toward him, causing her clothes to be drenched instantly by the water from the faucet. They smoothly transitioned into a kiss, greatly arousing Jin Qingyan, who hugged her petite body tightly in his embrace. ¡°Are you still sober?¡± ¡°Of course I am. I¡¯m very certain about what I¡¯m doing right now.¡± An Xiaoning asked the obvious, ¡°What are you doing right now, then?¡± ¡°I¡¯m nning to devour you bit by bit...¡± An Xiaoning extended her arms and looked up to allow the warm water tond on her face. She teased, ¡°Come and devour me, quick... stop wasting time...¡± Jin Qingyan picked her up in his arms and lowered her onto the basin. He tucked her wet hair behind her ear and looked at her earnestly. He paused all of a sudden and continued gazing at her. ¡°Why are you looking at me like that...?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never seen such a beautiful woman before.¡± ¡°Screw you...¡± ¡°How do you exin the fact that I can never get tired of seeing you?¡± he said while undressing her and removing her damp clothing. He soon stripped her down to nothing. An Xiaoning wrapped her arms around his neck and instinctively felt an urge to press her slender legs together. He began moving his fingers around her crotch and thrust them in and out... Chapter 1180 - I Want to Make You Stay (58)

Chapter 1180: I Want to Make You Stay (58)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Qingyan pulled his fingers out to see that it was covered in her fluids. ¡°Would you like to have a taste of yourself?¡± he teased, trying to move his finger near her mouth. However, An Xiaoning managed to dodge it quickly. Shaking her head profusely, she said, ¡°No.¡± He smiled and picked up a towel to clean his fingers. The alcohol had made his face slightly flushed, and he stared at her with an exceptional tenderness in his eyes, making her feel enchanted. An Xiaoning closed her eyes and began kissing him again. The temperature began rising gradually. .... Fang Eny down onto the bed and stared nkly into space after sending An Xiaoning the text message. Her mobile phone was ced beside her pillow. She continued to let it vibrate quietly. Despite having thought through it, she could not help but feel perplexed and frustrated. She had no idea what she was waiting for or looking forward to. She tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep at all no matter how hard she tried. She couldn¡¯t force herself to fall asleep, despite knowing that she had filming to do the next morning. She stayed wide awake until two o¡¯clock in the morning. She decided to give Yan Ge a call. ¡°Are you asleep yet?¡± Yan Ge answered, ¡°Not yet, I just came back from filming. Why aren¡¯t you asleep at such ate hour?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t sleep.¡± ¡°Do you want toe to my room? We¡¯ll have a chat,¡± Yan Ge suggested. ¡°I don¡¯t want to get up anymore. I don¡¯t feel like moving at all.¡± Fang En closed her eyes and continued, ¡°Yan Ge, what¡¯s the difference between liking someone and loving them?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a huge difference, of course.¡± ¡°What does it mean to like someone and what does it mean to love someone?¡± After some thought, Yan Ge answered, ¡°Don¡¯t they always say that if you like someone, you¡¯ll let them be free, and if you love them, you¡¯ll want to restrict them? When you like someone, you¡¯d want to give them the best you can offer and you won¡¯t quite consider their feelings before doing something that you think is right. That¡¯s called being unrestrained. However, when you love someone, you¡¯ll spare a thought for their feelings and tend to neglect your own. You¡¯ll give up your dreams and ideas because of them. You¡¯ll stop yourself from acting recklessly and willfully, for fear that you would hurt them with your behavior. That¡¯s probably the biggest difference between the two. Liking someone is merely a feeling while loving someone is a responsibility.¡± ¡°I get it now,¡± said Fang En, who was suddenly reminded of Xiao Chenyang¡¯s words. He said that he wanted to get intimate with her every waking moment of his life, but he had been resisting his urges and refraining frompelling her into doing it. He would at most scare her by forcing a kiss onto her. How about Yan Ge? ¡°Do you want to get intimate with me?¡± she blurted without hesitation. It was toote to take her words back. Yan Ge was extremely astonished to hear those words from her. ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°But I want to.¡± ¡°How much do you want to do it?¡± she asked. ¡°Whenever I see you.¡± There was nothing wrong for a couple to be discussing such topics. However, a sudden voice popped up in her head. Do I want to do it with him? Do I? ¡°En.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go to your room now,¡± said Yan Ge, who hung up right after. Fang En stared at her mobile phone, bewildered and at a loss for words. Two minutester, the doorbell rang. She got out of bed to answer the door. A burly figure barged in and mmed the door shut. Fang En was pinned against the door forcefully, and the figure forced a kiss onto her lips. He was reeking of alcohol, and she could tell that he wasn¡¯t Yan Ge. It was Xiao Chenyang. Why is he here? He reeks so much of alcohol. How did hee here? She let out a few muffled sounds while attempting to speak, to no avail. The doorbell rang again. Yan Ge said, ¡°En, it¡¯s me.¡± Fang En felt as if her heart was about to jump out of her chest. She tried to push Xiao Chenyang away with all her might. Unfortunately, he grabbed both her wrists and raised them above her head, leaving her with no chance to resist at all. Yan Ge pressed the doorbell again twice. However, she still did not answer. Yan Ge returned to the twelfth floor, thinking that Fang En did not wish to open the door for him. However, he flew into a rage the moment he viewed the live feed from the surveince camera he had nted in her room. Xiao Chenyang had pinned Fang En onto the bed and was kissing her forcefully. He sprung up immediately and headed to the front desk on the first floor. He then obtained the key card to Fang En¡¯s room using a casual excuse. By the time Yan Ge entered, Fang En¡¯s lips were already swollen. Fuming with anger, Yan Ge rushed forward in a bid to hit Xiao Chenyang, who managed to dodge in time, causing Yan Ge to miss. Fang En became as pale as a sheet. Staring at the two men who were going toe to toe against each other, Fang En said to Xiao Chenyang, ¡°You, leave.¡± Seeing that he was remaining still, she hollered, ¡°Leave!¡± ¡°I missed you.¡± He was still rather drunk and was yet to sober up. The moment An Xiaoning entered his room after he had thrown up and told him that Fang En hade by tonight with intentions to apologize to him, he lost his rationalitypletely. He bolted out of the room before even hearing the rest of An Xiaoning¡¯s sentence. Desperate and eager to see her, he instructed one of the bodyguards to drive him to the hotel using his car. ¡°You missed me too, didn¡¯t you? Otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t have gone to Wei Ni Estate to look for me.¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t. I went to see you merely because I wanted to apologize to you,¡± said Fang En, who was avoiding eye contact with him. Xiao Chenyang squinted, for An Xiaoning did tell him that Fang En¡¯s purpose for visiting was to apologize to him. However, he felt like there was something more. ¡°Why do you want to apologize to me? I was clearly the one who kept forcing you from the start. I was the one who intruded and disrupted your life. Why do you owe me an apology?¡± Yan Ge wanted to know the answers to Xiao Chenyang¡¯s questions too. Fang En answered, ¡°You¡¯re aware of the wrong you had done me, but I¡¯m also aware of how well you¡¯ve treated me. Hence, I have to apologize for failing to reciprocate your goodwill.¡± ¡°Please get out,¡± said Yan Ge, who could no longer tolerate it any further. The scenario of Xiao Chenyang kissing Fang En reyed in his head over and over again. Completely disregarding Yan Ge¡¯s presence and words, Xiao Chenyang asked, ¡°Why did you leave before apologizing to me in person, then?¡± ¡°Because I suddenly felt like it doesn¡¯t matter even if I didn¡¯t apologize. After all, you¡¯ve brought me more disturbance than joy. Yan Ge and I are already discussing and trying to settle on a date for our wedding. So please, stop showing up in my life from now on,¡± Fang En said ruthlessly. She was outright chasing him out of her life. Xiao Chenyang gradually began to sober up. ¡°I¡¯d like to have a few words with you alone.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing for us to talk about.¡± ¡°What if I insist? Do you want him to go out or do you want me to bring you out? Take your pick.¡± She had no choice but to say, ¡°Yan Ge, go out for a while.¡± Yan Ge gripped his phone tightly and exited the room, after which he opened the live feed of her room. He put on his earphones to hear everything clearly. ¡°Hurry and say what you have to,¡± Fang En urged. ¡°I want to hear the truth from you. Do you really not have any feelings for me at all? Not even a little bit?¡± he asked, pressing his hands on her shoulders. Chapter 1181 - I Want to Make You Stay (59)

Chapter 1181: I Want to Make You Stay (59)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Fang En¡¯s heart was in a state of turmoil, and she was filled with a mix of emotions. She remained silent for an entire minute. ¡°No.¡± For the very first time, a look of disappointment filled Xiao Chenyang¡¯s eyes. She could sense that he was slowly loosening his grip on her shoulders. He waspletely dejected. Finally, he removed his hands from her shoulder. ¡°If I raped you or killed Yan Ge and took you away with me, will you hate me?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Seems like I¡¯ve asked for nothing. Since you¡¯ve already discussed your wedding with Yan Ge, I guess this must be the life you really want to live. You have my best wishes. I won¡¯t show up in front of you again from now on. You may rest assured.¡± Fang En¡¯s breath began to quicken, and she repeatedly clenched and unclenched her wrists. ¡°The wedding gown and wedding ring...¡± ¡°I bought them for you. It¡¯s up to you to do whatever you want with them. Burn or discard them, it¡¯s your call.¡± He left as soon as he finished speaking. Fang En sat on the bed and repeatedly told herself that she should be thankful for him leaving her life and that she should not be reluctant to let him go because of how he had pampered her. She can¡¯t... I must put an end to this and never think about him again. I must. Yan Ge entered to see how distraught she was. ¡°Are you alright?¡± he asked. Fang En answered with a nod, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°Did he buy you a wedding gown and a diamond ring?¡± ¡°How did you know? Did you hear everything?¡± Yan Ge stood up and retrieved the small surveince camera near the television. ¡°I ced this here.¡± Fang En asked, ¡°Did you get the key card from the front desk because you saw what happened?¡± ¡°Yes. Has he really bought you a wedding gown and a diamond ring?¡± ¡°He got everything prepared before bringing me to Y Nation to collect it.¡± ¡°Throw them all away. I¡¯ll buy you a new set of wedding gown and a diamond ring in the future.¡± ¡°It¡¯s too expensive, how can I just throw them away? I¡¯ll take a leave tomorrow and return the gown and ring to him. That¡¯s more appropriate.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have to see him again if you deliver it to him personally. Just mail it to him tomorrow.¡± ¡°He definitely wouldn¡¯t ept it if I send it to him by mail. If he¡¯s still in Wei Ni Estate, I¡¯ll still be able to return it to him. If he isn¡¯t, I really have no idea how to return it,¡± she said. Even if I go all the way to Mount Wanyan, I won¡¯t be able to make it up to the peak. I won¡¯t know where else to find him anyway. She knew too little about Xiao Chenyang. ¡°I¡¯ll go with you to return the items.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to. It¡¯s already sote, you ought to go back upstairs and get some rest. I¡¯m turning in too.¡± ¡°En, may I ask you a question?¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°How many times... has he vited you?¡± Fang En knew clearly what he meant. The thought of Yan Ge having seen Xiao Chenyang forcing a kiss onto her made her blush with embarrassment. She answered softly, ¡°A few times...¡± Yan Ge¡¯s heart sank and he asked again, ¡°Then... has he ever touched your body?¡± ¡°No.¡± He heaved a sigh of relief and said, ¡°Go to bed, then. I¡¯m going upstairs.¡± ¡°Alright, please return the key card to the front desk.¡± Fang En felt as if she had sunk into a vast ocean the moment she heard the door close. She stayed wide awake until daybreak. As soon as the sky turned brighter, she got out of bed and boarded a ne to A City, after which she returned to Qingyuan Estate. Fang En took out the wedding gown and diamond ring from her closet before hailing a taxi to Wei Ni Estate. She decided not to call and disturb An Xiaoning, thinking that thetter must still be sleeping. When she pressed the doorbell and asked to meet Xiao Chenyang, Xiao Bai answered, ¡°Mr. Xiao is not here.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not here? Do you know where he had gone to?¡± Fang En asked. She tried to call him again, only to discover that he had switched off his mobile phone. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± She returned home with the items, which she then ced inside her closet again. Suddenly reminded of his clothes that were left inside her closet, she quickly opened the closet to check. To her astonishment, it was empty. There was nothing left anymore. I clearly remember that he had left a few sets of clothes in my closet before we went to B City. Why have they gone missing? Seems like he had dropped by before. Seems like he had really left. Seems like I no longer have to worry about him pestering me. Seems like my life can resume to normal now. Everything had gone back to square one. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Mr. Xiao, Ms. Fang did show up, after all. However, I¡¯ve already told her that you were not in like you had instructed. She has already left, and she was carrying some things with her.¡± ¡°Okay, got it.¡± Xiao Bai exited, leaving Xiao Chenyang alone in the room. Jiang Shu had left long ago, when he returned to B City in the middle of the night. He sat on the bed and shifted his gaze onto the easel. He ced his paintbrush down. There was an extremely realistic painting of a woman. The woman was dressed in ancient clothing and had a pleasant smile on her face. She was Nan Chuang. After staring at the drawing for a long while, he decided to write a few lines of a famous ancient poem beside the painting. Have you any idea how much I miss you? He had drawn Nan Chuang instead of En, simply because the woman he had loved most was Nan Chuang. She was also the reason why he¡¯d wanted to search for Fang En. He had been reflecting and pondering over this question in his head. If they¡¯re two different bodies sharing the same soul, but have different sets of memories, were they still the same person? At this point, he had no idea. She¡¯s clearly the love of my life, but why does she feel so distant? ¡°What are you doing?¡± asked An Xiaoning, who opened the door and popped her head inside. ¡°Can¡¯t you tell that I¡¯m painting?¡± ¡°You barely slept at allst night. Why don¡¯t you catch up on sleep?¡± she asked. She entered the room and closed the door before walking toward the easel. ¡°I can¡¯t fall asleep. Why are you up so early?¡± he asked, leaning against the headboard. ¡°I was nning to visit the archeological team so I decided to take a look at you before going. If you feel like you¡¯re stuck in a rut, feel free to talk to me about it. Perhaps my answer can inspire you.¡± ¡°I do have a question, actually... I wonder if you can enlighten me,¡± Xiao Chenyang drawled. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I used to think that En is Nan Chuang¡¯s reincarnation since they have the same soul. However, I¡¯m starting to think otherwise. I can¡¯t tell if I actually love En or her previous incarnate. Or is there simply no difference between the two of them at all? If it weren¡¯t because of the curse of devotion, I probably would have never found Nan Chuang¡¯s reincarnation. After all, the two of them look different from each other.¡± ¡°Her situation is very simr to Qingyan¡¯s dissociative identity disorder. Since they share the same soul, they¡¯re the same person, be it in the previous lifetime or in this one. However, she merely fancied someone in this lifetime before she met you. You were too slow in finding her this time. You want to snatch her away, but you¡¯re still worried about her feelings. Hence, giving in to her will only bring about misery and suffering upon yourself. You¡¯ve chosen to let her pursue her happiness, that¡¯s why you¡¯re trying to find an excuse tofort yourself now,¡± said An Xiaoning, who had struck a sour note within him. Chapter 1182 - I Want to Make You Stay (60)

Chapter 1182: I Want to Make You Stay (60)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xiao Chenyang¡¯s eyes lit up and he said, ¡°I¡¯ve never thought much about you in our previous lifetime. However, I¡¯m starting to think that you¡¯ve got some brains now.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a little d to hear that from you, just a little bit. And that¡¯s because you were indirectly saying that I didn¡¯t have any brains in my previous lifetime.¡± ¡°If you did, would you have jumped to your death? Shouldn¡¯t you have killed Xihou Jiaping first?¡± She was at a loss for words. Had that event happened in this lifetime, she would have definitely killed Xihou Jiaping and would never have killed herself. She had no idea what she was thinking back then. ¡°Yes, I was really foolish in my previous lifetime. I¡¯m going to visit the archeological team now. Rest well.¡± ¡°Wait a minute...¡± An Xiaoning stopped in her tracks and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to ask something of you.¡± Staring at him calmly, she said, ¡°Go ahead. I¡¯ll help as long as it¡¯s within my means to.¡± ¡°I suddenly remembered that you¡¯re capable of fortune-telling. Can you read En¡¯s birth characters, then?¡± Staring at him, An Xiaoning said, ¡°I¡¯d like to know what you¡¯re nning to do after you find out the oue. Can you tell me?¡± ¡°If she¡¯s destined to marry Yan Ge or another man, I¡¯ll stop disrupting her life from now on. If she¡¯s destined to be with me for the rest of her life, I¡¯ll know what to do. I¡¯ll wait for her toe to me.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll answer you when I get backter.¡± Xiao Chenyang said, ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± She exited and rushed to the archeological research center in A City. She would not have made her way there so early in the morning if it weren¡¯t because of an urgent matter. She pulled up at the entrance in her red Ferrari. Before she even alighted, she heard Wang Jinsheng greeting her eagerly, ¡°Ms. An, you¡¯re finally here. We¡¯ve been waiting for you.¡± An Xiaoning alighted with her white purse and closed the door before locking her car. She then asked, ¡°You made mee all the way here without telling me the reason. Just what¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°If it weren¡¯t for something urgent, we wouldn¡¯t have dared to call you here bright and early in the morning. Come in, let¡¯s talk while we walk.¡± An Xiaoning walked beside him toward the main entrance. Wang Jinsheng said softly, ¡°It¡¯s a long story, and this matter arose because of a coffin we had found near the deepke. The corpse inside the coffin is well preserved andpletely intact. Given the humidity of the surrounding environment, it¡¯s basically impossible for the corpse to be so well preserved. Under humid conditions, corpses tend to dpose easily. What puzzled us the most was that there was ayer of glutinous rice coated around the corpse, and there were three amulets pasted on the corpse¡¯s forehead. The cement that was used to seal the coffin was also mixed with glutinous rice. We found it extremely abnormal and decided to call the police because we didn¡¯t dare to touch the items inside the coffin. The police then contacted the national relic authority, who sent their team to take a look at the corpse. Everyone was terrified and anxious. The residents nearby have also started spreading rumors, and they all think that it¡¯s a vampire. They¡¯ve begun gossiping endlessly. The higher authority then told us to cremate it secretly. However, as soon as the orders were sent, we discovered that the national relic team members had all gone missing,¡± said Wang Jinsheng, who was clearly frightened. ¡°They¡¯ve all gone missing?¡± An Xiaoning stopped in her tracks and looked at him calmly before asking, ¡°Do you guys think that it was the corpse¡¯s doing?¡± ¡°We and the police have deduced that the three amulets on the corpse must have been removed, causing the corpse to be a vampire...¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t there any surveince cameras?¡± Wang Jinsheng answered, ¡°No... The police have already begun searching for them and sent lots of officers on the quest. So far, there hasn¡¯t been any police reports of a missing person.¡± ¡°In that case, shouldn¡¯t we be trying to verify the corpse¡¯s identity? We¡¯ll try finding the corpse¡¯s descendants first. If there are any, they should be aware of the details. We¡¯ll think of another solution if there are no descendants.¡± Wang Jinsheng nodded and said, ¡°We thought so too. However, the thing is, it¡¯s extremely difficult to find the corpse¡¯s descendants. There are a few viges around theke. Our team members have already gone to verify it, but there hasn¡¯t been any news. That¡¯s why we¡¯re really anxious now. We really don¡¯t know what to do.¡± ¡°If even you guys can¡¯t find the descendants, what can I do?¡± Wang Jinsheng smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s exactly why we asked for your help, Ms. An. Besides, who knows what might happen? We¡¯re just ordinary people. If the corpse had really be a vampire, we really won¡¯t know how to deal with it...¡± After some thought, An Xiaoning said, ¡°This is the job scope of you archeologists and the police. Although I¡¯ve partaken in the investigations conducted by the police before, my decision to take part has always been dependent on my mood. If the corpse didn¡¯t mutate, there¡¯s no need for me to step in. If it did, I¡¯m not entirely confident about dealing with it. After all, I¡¯ve never encountered a corpse before. I¡¯m not very certain.¡± ¡°Ms. An, I¡¯ve already contacted the police, and we all agree that there¡¯s no one else who can solve this matter except you. You definitely can do it.¡± ¡°Since you¡¯ve said that, how about this? Let the police continue investigating while you get the archeologists to visit the viges nearby again. We¡¯ll reward anyone who provides true and useful information with 100 thousand dors.¡± Wang Jinsheng asked in astonishment, ¡°One hundred thousand dors? Who¡¯s going to fork out the money?¡± An Xiaoning gave him the side-eye and quipped, ¡°Are you expecting me to? Use the money from the government funds that have been granted to your team.¡± Wang Jinsheng assented, ¡°Yes, yes, we¡¯ll do as you say.¡± ¡°Take me to that coffin now. The items inside the coffin are all intact, right?¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t dare to touch them so we still have no idea how the amulets fell off.¡± Gesturing for him to take the lead, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Let¡¯s go, then. However, Captain Wang, have you never encountered any mutated corpses throughout the many years of archeological work that you¡¯ve done?¡± Wang Jinsheng answered softly, ¡°I did encounter one in my first year of working with the team. It¡¯s been three decades since that had happened. In the end, the zombie was subdued with an incinerator rifle. Thus, we don¡¯t know how to deal with this.¡± After a moment of hesitation, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°What happens if you get bitten by the zombie? Will it result in instant death?¡± ¡°The bitten victim will be a zombie too...¡± ¡°How could there be no surveince camera footages? Did something happen?¡± An Xiaoning asked ¡°I don¡¯t know. When we viewed the footages, the screen kept flickering and we couldn¡¯t see anything at all. There were merely some sounds of static, so...¡± An Xiaoning did not say anything else and followed Wang Jinsheng to where the coffin was ced. The coffin was ck and dposed, and it reeked of an overwhelming stench. The lid of the coffin had been ced at the side. Chapter 1183 - I Want to Make You Stay (61)

Chapter 1183: I Want to Make You Stay (61)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning shifted her gaze onto the items in the coffin and said to Wang Jinsheng, ¡°Get someone to put on a pair of gloves and remove the items from the coffin.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Jinsheng immediately did as instructed. The moment An Xiaoning saw the items, she immediately understood why they had waited for her to arrive before retrieving them. The items were of no archeological value and were merely just tools used for performing rituals. She could tell that the corpse was indeed not an ordinary one. ¡°Can you guys deduce when this corpse dates back to?¡± ¡°It has been around for about three decades.¡± ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll be making a trip to the police station now. Keep me posted and call me if there are any updates,¡± An Xiaoning instructed. ¡°Alright.¡± She pondered over the incident throughout her journey to the police station. The matter was rather serious. If the people had gone missing because of the corpse, she could easily solve the problem by nabbing the zombie in time and getting rid of it afterward. However, her greatest fear was that she might not be able to get a hold of it in time. Things would blow out of proportion, and it would be difficult to keep the situation under control if that were to happen. Upon arriving at the police station, An Xiaoning alighted from the car and sprinted toward the lobby. Before she even reached Pan Zhenghui¡¯s office, she heard him hollering at the top of his voice. As soon as she opened the door, the deafening sounds of him barking filled her ear. ¡°What do you want!?!¡± he eximed in frustration. Upon discovering that it was An Xiaoning, he immediately mellowed his tone and said, ¡°Xiaoning... you¡¯re here.¡± ¡°Bureau Chief, why are you so riled up?¡± ¡°I¡¯m being driven to my grave. Are you here because of that corpse too?¡± Pan Zhenghui asked sulkily. ¡°Yes, I just came from the archeological research center.¡± ¡°The higher-ups have ordered us to find the missing corpse and solve the issue within a day, by hook or by crook. Otherwise, they¡¯re going to strip me of my position. How could I not panic? Everything was going fine peacefully and yet something like that had to crop up again. We¡¯re already busy enough as it is.¡± ¡°No matter how busy you may be... you¡¯ll still have to solve the problem when it arises. Do assign more manpower to work on this case.¡± Stomping his feet in anger, Pan Zhenghui said, ¡°We were told to keep this matter hidden from the public and not to divulge any details, lest we instill fear amongst the citizens. However, I think it¡¯s a good idea to let the news spread. At the very least, it would be easier for us to find the target with the additional aid from the public.¡± ¡°There are more cons than pros to that. There hasn¡¯t been any reported injuries or casualties that arose because of the corpse, has there? So, we must step on it,¡± said An Xiaoning. Pan Zhenghui said with a frown, ¡°That¡¯s all we can do for now. Should we find the corpse, we¡¯ll have to trouble you to step in and resolve the issue. Xiaoning, you¡¯re our country¡¯s hope and support. You¡¯ll have to render aid whenever your help is needed.¡± An Xiaoning was speechless. The only reason she was willing to help the police out was that she wanted to do something meaningful, like doing her best to reduce the number of innocent victims of crime. Unsure when there would be an oue, she said to Pan Zhenghui, ¡°Why don¡¯t I wait at home first while you keep me posted? Call me when there are any updates. There¡¯s no point in me waiting aimlessly right now.¡± ¡°Alright, alright. Xiaoning, you must keep your phone with you at all times. We never know when I might call you. It¡¯ll be troublesome if we can¡¯t contact you.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± An Xiaoning returned to her car and called Fang En. Xiao Yue was the one who picked up. Upon hearing that Fang En was still in the midst of filming, An Xiaoning told Xiao Yue to call her when Fang En was free. Xiao Yue expressed assent and ended the call. As soon as she returned to Wei Ni Estate, she received a call from Fang En. An Xiaoning answered, ¡°En.¡± ¡°Sis, is there something urgent?¡± ¡°What are your birth characters?¡± Fang En stammered, ¡°Sis En, why... are you asking for that? Are you trying to read my fortune?¡± An Xiaoning decided toe clean with her. ¡°Yes, I¡¯d like to read your marriage prospects,¡± she admitted. ¡°Sis Xiaoning, can you not read my fortune? I don¡¯t want to know about it. Please don¡¯t tell me how my life is going to turn out either. I want to let nature take its course.¡± After a few moments of silence, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°You really don¡¯t want to know?¡± ¡°Yes, I used to be curious about it in the past but I no longer want to know.¡± ¡°I shall respect your decision, then.¡± ¡°Sis, could you help me out?¡± An Xiaoning asked, ¡°With?¡± ¡°When we were in Y Nation, Xiao Chenyang had a wedding gown and a diamond ring custom-made for me. Could you help me pass them to him? I want to return them to him.¡± ¡°The wedding gown was tailored to your measurements and the ring is sized to fit you perfectly. What is he supposed to do with them? Even if he meets another woman in the future, he can¡¯t gift those things to her either. Besides, they were a gift for you. It wouldn¡¯t be appropriate for him to give them to someone else again. Since he¡¯s already given them to you, just keep them properly. At least, he¡¯ll feel much better that way. En, I¡¯d like to say something to you,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°What...¡± ¡°Xiao Chenyang was really true to you, but it can¡¯t be helped if you don¡¯t love him. Stop brooding over it and just follow your heart, like you said you wanted to.¡± She shifted her gaze onto the figure approaching and said, ¡°I¡¯m hanging up now.¡± An Xiaoning alighted from the car with her mobile phone. She squinted at Xiao Chenyang and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, she doesn¡¯t want me to read her fortune. She didn¡¯t divulge her birth characters, so...¡± Xiao Chenyang pressed his head against the bo of her car and said, ¡°Hua Jin, I know it¡¯s impossible, but there¡¯s something I¡¯d like to do with you guys.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s about the curse. There isn¡¯t much hope in breaking the curse that has been put on you and Xihou Ling, just like the curse of devotion that I had put on myself. I¡¯d like to break mine now. Shall we work together and try to break our curses?¡± An Xiaoning asked in bafflement, ¡°You want to break the devotion curse? Why...¡± ¡°Are you very surprised? There are no dead ends in this world. I spent so many years trying to find her and I finally did. However, if we¡¯re not destined to be together in this lifetime, I really don¡¯t know if I have the patience to wait until the next lifetime to search for her again. There are so many people in this universe, it¡¯s going to take me ages to find her again. My greatest fear is that she might already be in her eighties with plenty of offspring by the time I find her. I¡¯ll still be the way I am now. That¡¯d be impossible for us...¡± ¡°Have you really thought about it carefully?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve made up my mind today. If I can find out the predicted course that her life will take, I¡¯ll go ahead with the n that I had mentioned to you this morning. But since she doesn¡¯t want to know, I decided to just forget it.¡± An Xiaoning looked at him and asked, ¡°When do you n to exin to us about the curse?¡± Chapter 1184 - I Want to Make You Stay (62)

Chapter 1184: I Want to Make You Stay (62)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°When he fully recovers. It won¡¯t be toote to tell you guys before I take him to our mentor¡¯s grave.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go inside to look for him now.¡± Xiao Chenyang gestured for her to leave and stood up straight before walking toward the swing slowly. He ced both hands on the wooden swing and pushed it gently a few times. Nan Chuang used to love sitting on a simr swing in the yard of the Xiao family home. Back in those blissful days, she would sit on the swing with a huge grin on her face and with her hands tightly wrapped around the metal chains while I pushed her from behind. Whenever the swing was propelled high up in the air, she would scream in shock and stare at me begrudgingly whenever the swing came down. Her actions had never failed to put a smile on his face and lift his mood. It felt as if everything had happened only yesterday. Their happiness ended way too soon. Xiao Chenyang hung his head low and appeared a lot more gaunt. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Xiao Chenyang was really true to you.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s words ran through Fang En¡¯s mind again and again. She sat on the chair with her mobile phone, feeling empty and troubled. Xiao Yue had to call her name a few times before she would respond. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Sis En, Yan Ge¡¯s calling you,¡± said Xiao Yue, who was pointing at a faraway spot. Fang En looked over and stood up immediately. She then walked toward Yan Ge. He asked, ¡°What were you thinking about? You were so preupied.¡± ¡°Nothing much. What¡¯s the matter?¡± Fang En asked. ¡°I¡¯ll take you somewhere after work today. There¡¯s a nice spot near our filming location. You¡¯ll love it,¡± Yan Ge said with a smile, seemingly in high spirits. ¡°Where¡¯s that ce?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know it once we¡¯re there.¡± Fang En nodded and said, ¡°Alright. From what you said, it must be a brilliant ce.¡± ¡°Actually, you haven¡¯t told me the result of your visit to A City today. Have you returned the wedding gown and the diamond ring to him?¡± Yan Ge asked, staring at her. ¡°I went to Wei Ni Estate but he wasn¡¯t there. I have no idea where he had gone to. He¡¯s already left.¡± ¡°Did you bring the things back home again? Why can¡¯t you just get someone to hand them to him?¡± Yan Ge asked with a frown. Fang En said truthfully, ¡°Sis Xiaoning said that the diamond ring and wedding gown were both tailored to my measurements and that he can¡¯t give them to someone else even if I return them to him. She told me to just keep them. I couldn¡¯t contact him anyway, so I had no choice but to keep them at home.¡± Staring at her solemnly, Yan Ge said, ¡°Isn¡¯t it good to throw them away? No matter how expensive they may be, you shouldn¡¯t be keeping them.¡± ¡°But they¡¯re worth an exorbitant amount,¡± said Fang En, who thought it¡¯d be inappropriate to discard such expensive gifts. Yan Ge insisted, ¡°How exorbitant and valuable can they be? I¡¯ll buy a new set for you. Where did he get the gown custom-made? I¡¯ll buy you a bespoke one that you prefer. Where did he buy the diamond ring? I¡¯ll get one custom-made from the same store. I don¡¯t like the idea of you keeping the things he had given you.¡± ¡°The wedding gown was bought from an established store. The elderly tailor makes only two gowns a year, and each gown is handmade from scratch. I¡¯m not clear about the exact price, but the gown is embellished with lots of diamonds. It looks really opulent.¡± Yan Ge asked in astonishment, ¡°Was it made in Y Nation?¡± ¡°How did you know?¡± ¡°I know of a renowned wedding gown designer from Y Nation. He¡¯s in histe seventies and he makes only two gowns a year. One of my friends from the entertainment industry had gotten her wedding gown custom-made by that designer. She had to book an appointment with him a long time prior to her wedding. His services indeede at an exorbitant price. That friend of mine paid 20 million dors for her wedding gown. I remember seeing diamonds on the gown when I attended her wedding back then. Where did he get all that money from?¡± asked Yan Ge, who was now even more curious about Xiao Chenyang¡¯s identity. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t know.¡± Instead of probing further, Yan Ge said, ¡°So what if the gown costs 20 million dors? I¡¯ll buy the exact same one for you. Do you know how much the diamond ring cost?¡± ¡°Thirty million...¡± ¡°I¡¯ll buy another one for you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s 30 million dors in the Y Nation currency. That equates to more than 90 million dors in our currency.¡± ¡°Almost a hundred million?¡± Yan Ge asked with shock written all over his face. Fang En answered, ¡°Yes. That¡¯s why it¡¯d be inappropriate to just throw them away. But will you buy me a hundred-million-dor ring?¡± She did not expect such an expensive gift from him and was just casually asking. However, he took her question seriously and said, ¡°A thirty-million-dor ring is more than good enough. There¡¯s no need to spend so much money on a ring, is there?¡± Before she could even respond, Mrs. Yan interjected, ¡°You¡¯re so greedy!¡± Shocked out of her wits, Fang En turned around and made eye contact with Mrs. Yan, who was equally astonished. She did not expect Mrs. Yan to show up all of a sudden. Thinking to herself that Mrs. Yan must have heard her question, Fang En turned red with embarrassment and fear. I didn¡¯t mean it that way at all, but it now looks like I¡¯m asking Yan Ge for a diamond ring... ¡°Auntie...¡± Not allowing her to exin herself, Mrs. Yan interrupted, ¡°I really couldn¡¯t tell that you¡¯re such a greedy person. A hundred-million-dor ring? Do you think my son¡¯s money falls from trees? Why don¡¯t you take a look in the mirror and ask yourself if you¡¯re worth that much money?¡± ¡°Mother...¡± ¡°Auntie, you must be mistaken. I was just cracking a joke with Yan Ge, I wasn¡¯t really going to ask him to buy me such an expensive ring,¡± said Fang En, who decided to exin herself anyway, despite knowing that Mrs. Yan wouldn¡¯t believe it at all. ¡°Enough, you don¡¯t have to exin yourself any further. I thought you would be thrifty and sensible since youe from a poor family, yet you¡¯re far from what I had expected. I knew it all along,patible family backgrounds are mandatory when ites to marriage.¡± Seething with anger, Mrs. Yan hollered at her son, ¡°Why do you want a woman like her? She¡¯ll be getting a lion¡¯s share of your assets once you get married.¡± ¡°Mother, that¡¯s not what En meant. Why are you reading so much into things?¡± said Yan Ge, who tried to cate her. ¡°Auntie, I have a career of my own and I¡¯m earning my own ie too. What you just said is really awful,¡± said Fang En, who felt insulted and humiliated by Mrs. Yan. ¡°You had the guts to harbor such thoughts and yet you won¡¯t allow me to criticize you? You¡¯re so young and you¡¯re already so greedy and scheming,¡± Mrs. Yan said, pointing a finger at her. Fang En turned around and stormed off in a huff. Mrs. Yan felt like Fang En had ignored her. Thus, she said to Yan Ge, ¡°Did you see that? You¡¯re not married to her yet and she¡¯s already giving me such an attitude. You can¡¯t marry her.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough, Mother. Everything was going well until you kicked up such a big fuss,¡± said Yan Ge, who also thought that Fang En was just joking about the diamond ring. He felt that his mother had read too much into things. ¡°Is it my fault, then?¡± Yan Ge put an arm around her shoulder and walked toward the nanny van. ¡°No... En and I were talking about a hundred-million-dor ring and she was just asking me jokingly if I would buy it for her. Didn¡¯t I say that there¡¯s no need for such an expensive ring and that a thirty-million-dor one would do?¡± Chapter 1185 - I Want to Make You Stay (63)

Chapter 1185: I Want to Make You Stay (63)

¡°Thirty million dors? Son, that¡¯s an exorbitant price. A few-million-dor one would be more than enough. A few million dors is not a small amount. Besides, how did the topic of a hundred-million-dor ringe into the discussion all of a sudden? Did she bring it up on purpose?¡± Mrs. Yan gibed. ¡°No, we just mentioned it casually. Mother, just stay out of our matters. I¡¯ll handle them well, alright?¡± ¡°No. Only when Ipare the two of them do I realize that Fang En is far worse than Yu Caiwei,¡± Mrs. Yanmented with a sigh. Yan Ge changed the subject and said, ¡°I¡¯ll have to get to work soon. Rest here by yourself. I¡¯ll bring you out for dinner after work.¡± ¡°Go ahead, you don¡¯t have to worry about me. I¡¯ll wait for you in the car.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Yan Ge closed the door and began walking toward Fang En. Noticing the grave expression on her face, he squatted down and held her hand. ¡°Don¡¯t take my mother¡¯s words to heart,¡± he said. ¡°I was just joking with you when I asked that question.¡± ¡°Yes, I know. So don¡¯t be upset anymore,¡± Yan Ge said, smiling. Fang En gazed at him and nodded. ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning received a call from Pan Zhenghui in the evening. Pan Zhenghui spoke at an immense speed and did not stop to catch his breath at all. He wished he could say everything in one go. ¡°Xiaoning, hurry ande back. We¡¯ve already found some new lead. Do you want to drive here yourself or would you like us to pick you up along the way?¡± ¡°Thetter.¡± ¡°Alright, wait for us by the entrance of Wei Ni Estate. We¡¯ll be on our way...¡± said Pan Zhenghui. When he was hanging up, she could hear the faint sounds of Pan Zhenghui rushing the other police officers. An Xiaoning began getting ready and packing her belongings. Since Jin Qingyan was still working overtime at the office, she sent him a text message to tell him not to wait for her because she would be going out to handle some matters. She carried her bag on her shoulder and walked toward the entrance of Wei Ni Estate. Three minutester, the police car showed up. She entered the car to see that Pan Zhenghui was sitting inside. As soon as she closed the door, he immediately said to the police officer who was driving, ¡°Step on it, hurry.¡± He then said to An Xiaoning, ¡°Bad news, the situation is far worse than we had imagined. The officers from the special forces are all rushing there now in batches aboard helicopters.¡± ¡°How many officers were sent?¡± ¡°About four to five hundred. We¡¯re trying to keep the situation under control first. We¡¯ll continue to transfer more men over if necessary.¡± Realizing that things were escting, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°So many people? Did you just receive the news?¡± ¡°Yes. However, that ce is a little far from here and closer to the vige side. The news hasn¡¯t spread to the city yet. We¡¯ll be taking a helicopter thereter. I heard that the number of victims is increasing exponentially,¡± said Pan Zhenghui, who was getting a major headache. An Xiaoning found the matter to be rather serious after hearing his description. She asked, ¡°Has it been reported on the news yet?¡± ¡°How can there be reports of it? That¡¯ll only invoke fear amongst the citizens and make the situation worse. We¡¯ve already informed the constables in the affected viges to carry out an emergency evacuation,¡± Pan Zhenghui said while his jaw trembled uncontrobly. She could tell that he didn¡¯t wish to go to such a dangerous ce. However, he did not have a choice. ¡°Is that area densely popted?¡± ¡°The younger vigers have all gone out to work in the cities. The Mid-Autumn Festival is arriving soon and we¡¯re not sure how many of them have returned to the vige for the festive season. If most of them have, there would be more people in the vige. If not, the vige will mainly be upied by the elderly and the children. It¡¯s almost seven o¡¯clock now and there¡¯ll be a few more hours until the sky turns darkpletely. I¡¯m guessing we¡¯ll need about fifty minutes to arrive there if we take the expressway. When we arrive, the military troops should probably be almost done with handling those people. We can rx a little so long as the situation is kept under control. My only worry is that things might get out of hand. If that happens, there¡¯ll only be more and more victims. This time, we and the archeological team will definitely face the music, even if we handle the situation well.¡± Although An Xiaoning had no idea what the exact situation was like, she could more or less guess what was going on. She wound the windows down and allowed the breeze to enter. She then leaned her head against the window and looked out at the passing scenery. About thirty minutes into their journey, they were already almost reaching their destination, all thanks to how fast they were traveling. At this very moment, she received an urgent call from Lin Mingxi. An Xiaoning picked up immediately, only to hear some screaming sounds. She sat up straight and said, ¡°Mingxi?¡± There was still no response apart from the shrieks of terror that came from men, women, and children. Just as An Xiaoning was about to hang up and call Gu Beicheng instead, Lin Mingxi began panting heavily and said, ¡°Xiaoning... Xiaoning, hurry ande here, hurry...¡± ¡°Where are you now? Mingxi, where are you?¡± An Xiaoning asked worriedly, gripping her phone tightly. ¡°Beicheng and I are on a bus on Beiying Street.¡± Her eyes widened in shock, and she said in a moment of panic, ¡°You guys hang in there, I¡¯ll be there in a few minutes. Just a few minutes.¡± An Xiaoning ended the call and said to the police officer who was in charge of driving. ¡°Drive at the fastest speed possible, hurry!¡± ¡°What happened? Xiaoning?¡± Pan Zhenghui asked, noticing the sullen expression on her face. ¡°Mingxi and Beicheng are at Beiying too!¡± ¡°They¡¯re there too? Are they alright?¡± Pan Zhenghui asked in a high-pitched voice. ¡°Yes, they can still endure it for a while. How many incinerator rifles have we brought?¡± ¡°The special forces brought a lot of them. We have two small ones in the car.¡± ¡°Only two? Give me one,¡± An Xiaoning said with a frown, extending her arm. Fortunately, she had brought two guns herself, together with 200 bullets. Pan Zhenghui prompted Team Leader Zhang, ¡°Give Xiaoning one.¡± Team Leader Zhang immediately did as he was told. An Xiaoning stared at the switch. Although the journey only required a few more minutes, the short amount of time felt like years to her. Her stomach twisted into a knot, and she was filled with panic. She wished that they could go faster. Amidst her eagerness and panic, they finally arrived in the Beiying area and were about to drive into the town. However, the sky was already pitch dark. As soon as they approached the towns, they were greeted with the sight of fires everywhere. To everyone else, all that they could see were mutants that had been set on mes. Unbeknownst to the rest, there was a far more terrifying sight than meets the eye, one which An Xiaoning could see. Chapter 1186 - I Want to Make You Stay (64)

Chapter 1186: I Want to Make You Stay (64)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios There were wandering souls and spirits all around the town. Things were far more serious than she had imagined. ¡°Xiaoning, look ahead of you!¡± Pan Zhenghui yelled. An Xiaoning shifted her gaze to the front and saw that there was a huge crowd surrounding a bus that was parked at a distance away from where they were. She could see that they were maniacally banging on the windows and trying to climb up while the people inside the bus were trying their best to stop them from invading. ¡°Should we take a different route? Or call for the special ops helicopter toe over?¡± asked Pan Zhenghui, who realized that there was no way they could make it past the massive horde of zombies. If they were to proceed forward, they might end up being surrounded instead. After some thought, An Xiaoning said to Pan Zhenghui, ¡°Get the special ops toe over. You guys take a different route while I alight.¡± Pan Zhenghui was greatly taken aback after hearing her words. ¡°Xiaoning, don¡¯t get down from the car. You¡¯ll be in great danger if you do. Just leave with us.¡± ¡°I know what to do,¡± she said firmly. She then instructed the officer who was driving, ¡°Drive to that cargo truck and let me get out there.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± The car sped toward the cargo truck. An Xiaoning called Xiao Huang and ordered him to transfer a helicopter over to her aid. She then alighted from the car and waved at Pan Zhenghui to signal them to leave. She decided to try her luck and opened the door of the cargo truck. To her surprise, the keys to the truck were indeed inside. An Xiaoning closed the door and turned the key to start the engine. She had never driven a truck before. However, she was not at all afraid. All she needed was for the elerator and the brakes to work. She reversed the truck and drove toward the front quickly. At the sight of the truck, the crowd of zombies that were surrounding the bus immediately swarmed toward it. An Xiaoning squinted and stared at the approaching crowd before stepping on the elerator and speeding toward them. The zombies could not duck in time and ended up in a bloodbath. An Xiaoning did not blink at all. She ran over dozens of zombies. She parked the truck beside the bus, which had a missing door, and looked through the window. She happened to catch sight of Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi. Gu Beicheng burst with euphoria upon the sight of her. He eximed in joy, ¡°Xiaoning! You¡¯re here!¡± ¡°Mingxi, how are you?¡± ¡°I got a huge fright and my stomach hurts.¡± Mingxi is only seven months along. She mustn¡¯t go into prematurebor. I must get her out of here as soon as possible, An Xiaoning thought to herself. Needless to say, the bus was definitely hindered from proceeding since it had pulled up there. The only way to get out of here was via the cargo truck she was driving. Fortunately, the gap between the truck and the bus was way too narrow for a person to fit through. Thus, An Xiaoning opened the windows and said to Gu Beicheng, ¡°You guys, climb in here through the windows.¡± Finding her idea to be feasible, Gu Beicheng abided by her instructions and helped Lin Mingxi to the window. Lin Mingxi popped her head out and slowly climbed out of the window and onto the truck sessfully. Just as Gu Beicheng was about to do the same, the other passengers frantically tried to follow suit. They squeezed and pushed each other in a bid to climb out of the window. However, there were only two empty seats avable in the cargo truck, making it impossible for so many people to fit inside. Noticing that Gu Beicheng was being squeezed into the corner. An Xiaoning hollered, ¡°All of you, back off! Wait here. Someone wille to rescue you guys soon.¡± However, her words had fallen on deaf ears. The bunch of people who were desperate and struggling to survivepletely ignored her. They immediately grew silent the moment An Xiaoning fired a bullet into the sky. Gu Beicheng finally had the space to climb out. While he was climbing over, some of the zombies had already made it onto the deck of the bus. An Xiaoning immediately shot them with her gun. Once Gu Beicheng had made it into the truck safely, she hurriedly closed the windows and yelled at the people inside the bus, ¡°Someone will be here to rescue you guys very soon.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s words were drowned in the loud, incessant shrieking and wailing. She immediately drove away without hesitation. Lin Mingxi had broken out into a cold sweat and was panting heavily while trying to catch her breath. She said, ¡°Thank you so much for saving us, Xiaoning. Let me be your daughter in our next lifetime.¡± The tension in the air faded a little all of a sudden. Entirely amused, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Live your life well in this lifetime. Why are you thinking about the next?¡± Lin Mingxi grabbed Gu Beicheng¡¯s hand and said, ¡°It was really terrifying. We were just trying to take a tour around the viges to take a breather since the air there was much fresherpared to the city, yet the car tires were punctured and we met with such a mishap even before we had the time to rece the tires. It¡¯s such an eyeopener. I¡¯ve really seen everything that the world has to offer.¡± ¡°What you¡¯ve seen and encountered is only the tip of the iceberg,¡± said An Xiaoning, keeping her eyes fixed on the roads ahead. The zombies were hot in their pursuit. However, they soon began tog further and further behind. Lin Mingxi leaned against the seat and rested one hand on her baby bump. She and Gu Beicheng sat on the same seat because of how cramped it was. Gu Beicheng stood up immediately and allowed her to have more room. ¡°Ah, my stomach is hurting again,¡± said Lin Mingxi, who grew paler and paler as her voice faded. ¡°Hang in there, we¡¯ll reach the helicopter soon. You and Beicheng leave for the hospital firstter.¡± ¡°How about you? Leave with us. It¡¯s too dangerous here,¡± said Lin Mingxi. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, rest assured. The special forces are making their way here now. Although they can¡¯t save all of the trapped victims, they can at least save some,¡± An Xiaoning said confidently while grabbing the steering wheel. She rubbed Lin Mingxi¡¯s stomach and said, ¡°Hey, kid, you must hang in there. Don¡¯t be so eager toe out. Wait until the full term.¡± They arrived at the spot where the helicopter hadnded. An Xiaoning swiftly alighted while Gu Beicheng helped Lin Mingxi out of the car. She watched the two of them get inside the helicopter before returning to the car. ¡°Be careful! Don¡¯t get hurt!¡± Gu Beicheng hollered through the window. An Xiaoning waved both her hands in the air and eximed, ¡°Got it! Leave!¡± Gu Beicheng stared at her worriedly. The helicopter began soaring into the air, and he finally looked away when he could no longer see her. ¨D The sky gradually turned dark in B City. After washing up, Fang En opened her closet and took out a pair of jeans, a white long-sleeved shirt, and a ck vest. She then picked up her wallet and left the hotel. Yan Ge was already waiting for her in his nanny van, which was parked outside the entrance. As soon as she got inside and closed the door, Yan Ge grabbed her hand and asked, ¡°Are you hungry?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ve already eaten. How about you?¡± Fang En asked. ¡°I¡¯ve had my meal too. It¡¯s a little over seven now. Just the right timing,¡± said Yan Ge. Chapter 1187 - I Want to Make You Stay (65)

Chapter 1187: I Want to Make You Stay (65)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Just where are we going? Give me a hint,¡± Fang En asked curiously. ¡°No, we¡¯ll be there soon. Just know that it¡¯s a good ce.¡± Seeing how secretive he was being, Fang En smiled and said, ¡°Alright, when we get thereter, I must take a good look at how beautiful the ce is.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know when we¡¯re there.¡± ¡°Hello, hello, you have a text message!¡± Fang En retracted her hand from his and opened her wallet to take out her mobile phone. Her mobile screen lit up, and she saw that it was an unread message from Mrs. Fang. Mr. and Mrs. Fang would only ever contact her via a phone call and never by text message. Unless it was her brother... She opened the text message to see that it was really from him. ¡°Sis, it¡¯s me, Yunxi. The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th of August, which is also my birthday. Will you being home?¡± Fang En replied, ¡°I¡¯m busy with work and I don¡¯t have time to go home. Happy Birthday in advance.¡± ¡°Are you just going to wish me... Sis, aren¡¯t you going to give me a present?¡± Fang En replied briefly, ¡°I¡¯ll make it up to you when we meet again in the future.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Fang En shut off her mobile phone and ced it inside her bag. Yan Ge asked, ¡°Who sent you a text message?¡± ¡°My brother.¡± ¡°How old is your brother? I¡¯ve never heard you talking about him before.¡± ¡°His birthday ising soon, and he¡¯ll be turning eighteen this year. We didn¡¯t grow up together and I¡¯m not very close to him. We don¡¯t share many memories either, so there¡¯s nothing much for us to talk about. Simply put, I¡¯m not close to my family at all, except my grandmother. They live in the city and they rarely go home, so I don¡¯t see him.¡± ¡°They¡¯re still your family anyway. You¡¯re rted to them by blood.¡± ¡°No. I didn¡¯t say that I wasn¡¯t going to support my parents through their retirement. After all, they were the ones who gave birth to me. I ought to do what¡¯s within my duty. I can¡¯t force myself to be harsh,¡± said Fang En. ¡°If we get married in the future and my mother is still prejudiced against you, will you be nice to her?¡± Fang En gazed at him and asked, ¡°Do you want to hear the truth?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°If your mother stops being prejudiced against me before we get married, I¡¯ll still be kind and nice to her. I¡¯ll be polite even if she doesn¡¯t like me. However, if she still holds grudges against me and says callous things to me, I¡¯ll just pretend that she doesn¡¯t exist. I won¡¯t argue with her. However, if she keeps insulting me, I¡¯ll have no choice but to avoid her or ignore her.¡± ¡°My mother is definitely not an unreasonable person. She¡¯ll only be prejudiced against you temporarily. I believe she¡¯ll change her opinion of you once she gets to know you better.¡± ¡°I really don¡¯t know if she will,¡± said Fang En, who felt that Mrs. Yan would never change her opinion of her. It would be hard to change someone¡¯s opinions of you once they¡¯ve been formed. ¡°But you still have me, don¡¯t you? It¡¯ll be alright,¡± he said, smiling. The car proceeded along the quiet roads toward the outskirts of B City. Although she had already been filming in B City for a significant period of time, Fang En was not familiar with the city at all. Usually, she would either be at the hotel or the filming location. There was no chance for her to explore other areas in B City at all. They arrived at a porch in the suburbs of B City. Fang En alighted and stared wide-eyed at the scenery before her. ¡°Where is this?¡± With one hand in his pocket, Yan Ge said to her with a smile, ¡°The night view here in this porch is beautiful. I heard that it dates all the way back to a thousand years ago. The house still looks the same as it did in the past. However, the residences around here have been renovated a few times before. My friends have stayed here before for a night. They said that it¡¯s beautiful and told me toe whenever I have the chance to. There¡¯s a smallke in there too. A lot of people have been here before. Let¡¯s go inside.¡± Fang En was led inside the mansion by Yan Ge. Staring at the two rednterns that were hung on the door, she could not help but find the ce breathtaking. Yan Ge warned her to be careful of the high gate. Fang En looked inside to see that bright lights filled the room. ¡°This ce looks very spacious.¡± ¡°I heard that it can house more than fifty guests a day, so there should be ample room inside.¡± ¡°Are there any special spots in this ce?¡± ¡°There¡¯s ake near the night-view observation spot. I heard that the view is spectacr. This is my first time here, so I¡¯ve decided to take you here too.¡± Yan Ge took out his wallet and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go get a room number. Wait for me on this bench. Don¡¯t wander off on your own.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Fang En sat on the bench and watched him walk away. cing her hands by her side, she stared at the sky. The sky was pitch dark with no stars in sight at all. Yan Ge returned with a room card and he handed it to her. ¡°Take it.¡± She took a look at it and asked, ¡°You only got one room?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Yan Ge said with glistening eyes and a gentle smile. Fang En had a hunch that he had especially arranged for them to stay there tonight. It was only normal for an exclusive couple to get intimate with each other. She suppressed her inexplicable emotions and made her way up the stairs together with him to the observation deck. ¡°This feels strange...¡± The further she walked, the more she had a feeling of deja vu. ¡°What¡¯s so strange?¡± ¡°I clearly haven¡¯t been here before, but I¡¯m getting this feeling that I have several times in the past. I¡¯m actually starting to find it a little familiar...¡± Yan Ge said in astonishment, ¡°I find this ce to be really fresh. It doesn¡¯t seem familiar to me at all.¡± ¡°It would be beautiful if there was a fountain... on the observation deck.¡± ¡°There is one. Have you seen photos of this ce before?¡± he asked. Shaking her head, Fang En answered, ¡°No, but... is there really a fountain there?¡± ¡°Yes, there really is. You¡¯ll know when you¡¯re up there. It¡¯s mesmerizing,¡± he said, grabbing her tightly and leading her to the top. It was about three stories high and was indeed incredibly beautiful. She felt as if she was on a celestial ground. There were twenty-odd visitors snapping some photos of the picturesque view with their mobile phones. Fang En let go of Yan Ge¡¯s hand and leaned back against the railing. Shock was written all over her face when she scanned her surroundings. Sensing that there was something unusual with her, Yan Ge immediately asked, ¡°En, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Shaking her head, she answered, ¡°I have no idea what¡¯s wrong with me either.¡± ¡°Are you upset?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m very happy. Who doesn¡¯t like beautiful things?¡± she said feebly while resting her elbows on the railing and supporting her face with her hands. As soon as she finished speaking, Fang En swayed toward the side. Yan Ge immediately grabbed her and said, ¡°En?¡± Chapter 1188 - I Want to Make You Stay (66)

Chapter 1188: I Want to Make You Stay (66)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Yes...¡± Fang En struggled to open her eyes and got back on her feet slowly. She said, ¡°Perhaps I¡¯m too tired. I¡¯d like to get some sleep.¡± ¡°We¡¯vee all the way here. Don¡¯t you want to take a walk by theke?¡± asked Yan Ge, who thought that they shouldn¡¯t make a wasted trip. Not wanting to be a wet nket, Fang En pinched her thighs in a bid to wake herself up. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡± Yan Ge helped her down the stairs from the observation deck. They walked toward theke. The breeze was blowing gently, and it was rather cool. Fang En felt much more awake. The two of them strolled slowly along the path without uttering a single word. Due to the scarce moonlight, the ripples of the water could not be seen on the surface of theke. Yan Ge was initially in a good mood since it was the perfect night for them to spend some time alone together. He was still looking forward to it although she seemed a little under the weather. However, things quickly took a turn for the worse. When Yan Ge and Fang En stopped at the same, they caught sight of Xiao Chenyang and Jiang Shu, who had also stopped in their tracks three meters away. Xiao Chenyang had invited Jiang Shu along, just so he could have someone to talk to. He could tell that she was sensible and knew her ce despite being very young. She had no idea what feud Xiao Chenyang had with Yan Ge and Fang En. Upon the sight of them stopping, Jiang Shu turned to look at Xiao Chenyang. Xiao Chenyang was indeed astonished to see the two of them. He had arrived in the afternoon. He was nning to stay here for a few days. He was dressed in a long white robe and appeared extremely handsome and suave. ¡°Are you shadowing us?¡± Yan Ge questioned, finding it way too coincidental. ¡°Shadowing you guys? This is my territory. I¡¯lle whenever I want to. Why do I have to shadow you? Superstar Yan, you¡¯re reading too much into things,¡± Xiao Chenyang said with raised brows. ¡°Your territory... what does that mean?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you understand simple words? This mansion belongs to me.¡± Yan Ge was at a loss for words for a rebuttal. He said softly to Fang En, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Staring at Xiao Chenyang and Jiang Shu, Fang En began walking slowly toward the front. Xiao Chenyang proceeded along his path and did not once turn around to look at them. After walking for a while, Yan Ge and Fang En sat down. He could not tolerate it any further and decided to ask her, ¡°Did he bring you here before?¡± ¡°I told you, it¡¯s my first time here. If he didn¡¯t mention it earlier, I wouldn¡¯t have known that he owns this property.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s your first time here, how did you know that there¡¯s a fountain on the observation deck?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t, of course. I merely said that it¡¯d be beautiful if there was a fountain. That doesn¡¯t mean that I¡¯ve been here before, does it?¡± ¡°En, I¡¯m your boyfriend now but you don¡¯t tell me anything at all, including the things about Xiao Chenyang. He¡¯s not rted to you at all, so why do you have to help him cover up? Just who is he?¡± Staring at him calmly, Fang En said, ¡°Do you really want to find out just who he is?¡± ¡°I still want to find out even if nothing can be changed.¡± Feeling extremely sleepy, Fang En said, ¡°I want to go back to get some sleep.¡± ¡°En...¡± ¡°Yan Ge, I don¡¯t want to talk about it, so stop asking me.¡± ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t ask anymore. Let¡¯s go back to get some rest.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t look very happy either. Tonight turned out to be different from what I had imagined.¡± Upon returning to their room, Yan Ge opened the door and Fang En entered. As soon as the lights were switched on, Fang En got a huge shock when she saw the decor of the room. It boasted of a vintage ssism. ¡°You must be shocked, aren¡¯t you? It¡¯s simr to the props that we use for filming ancient dramas. I heard that that¡¯s the speciality here.¡± Fang En walked toward the bed, grabbed the curtains around it, and began to feel sleepier and sleepier. She sat down and leaned toward the side. ¡°I¡¯m going to bed now.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to talk to me before sleeping?¡± ¡°I¡¯m really tired.¡± ¡°Alright, go to bed first, then. I¡¯ll take a shower,¡± Yan Ge said with a look of dejection. Fang En expressed assent and closed her heavy eyelids. How bizarre. I clearly haven¡¯t been here before, and yet, I find it so familiar. Strange. Who was that girl beside him just now? Seems like they¡¯re dating each other. Otherwise, why would they show up here together at night? He seemed aloof and barely looked at me. Fang En soon dozed off. Yan Ge came out of the shower to see that she was sweating profusely. Thinking that she was running a fever, he touched her forehead, only to find that her temperature was normal. What was going on? d in his bathrobe, Yan Ge removed his shoes andy down beside her. He switched off the lights and snuggled up to her. He took a whiff of her pleasant scent and rested his arm below her head with one hand on his stomach. She then ced her hand on top of his. Fang En opened her eyes and said, ¡°I need to go to the washroom.¡± Yan Ge switched on the lights and said in a horse voice, ¡°Go ahead.¡± Fang En got out of bed and headed to the washroom. She sat on the toilet bowl and stared at the ground, unable to think straight at all. She exited and grabbed her mobile phone. ¡°I¡¯ll go outside to make a call.¡± He leaned against the bedhead with a cigarette between his fingers, which he then lit up. Fang En exited and double tapped on her screen to unlock it. She opened her call history and nced through the short list of names before tapping on Xiao Chenyang¡¯s. Is his phone still switched off? Or did he block me? She locked her screen, feeling as if she was about to lose her mind. I clearly had it all figured out. It¡¯s good that he has stopped pestering me. What am I doing? Perhaps I still want to find out why he hade into my life all of a sudden. Everything happens for a reason. Yes, I merely want to find out the reason. Seemingly having found an excuse for herself, she dialed Xiao Chenyang¡¯s number again. This time, it went through. He answered coldly, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Did you call to warn me not to harass you again?¡± Fang En¡¯s heart dropped, and she answered, ¡°No.¡± Xiao Chenyang asked again, ¡°Why did you call me, then?¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°What do you mean why?¡± ¡°Why did you show up in my life all of a sudden? Why?¡± ¡°No reason.¡± ¡°Do you really n to hide it from me forever?¡± ¡°Is there really still a point in finding out? If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯m hanging up now.¡± ¡°Wait!¡± Fang En eximed. ¡°Is there something wrong?¡± ¡°No... nothing¡¯s wrong,¡± she murmured before hanging up. As soon as she turned around, she made eye contact with Yan Ge. ¡°You...¡± Staring at her, Yan Ge questioned, ¡°You wanted to see him?¡± ¡°No...¡± ¡°You¡¯re lying. En, you just want to see him,¡± said Yan Ge, who had seen through her. Chapter 1189 - I Want to Make You Stay (67)

Chapter 1189: I Want to Make You Stay (67)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Fang En stared at him and exined, ¡°I just want to find out the answers to some of my questions.¡± She was probably trying to convince herself too. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and held her in his embrace, not uttering a single word. The silence sustained for several seconds, after which he pulled her into the room forcefully. Seemingly having sensed a threat, he desperately wanted to prove to her that he was the man whom she truly loved and wanted to be with. Fang En waspletely dumbfounded, and her mind went nk. She was a twenty-four-year-old adult who knew exactly what was going to happen next. She was well aware that it was only normal for a couple to get intimate with each other. Her face was burning hot. Just as he was about to take a step further, his mobile phone began to ring. Yan Ge ignored it while Fang En said, ¡°It might be an urgent matter. Pick up.¡± He grabbed his mobile phone to see that it was a call from Mrs. Yan. Yan Ge answered, ¡°Hello, Mother.¡± ¡°Where are you?¡± ¡°The suburbs. What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°What are you doing there?¡± Mrs. Yan questioned. ¡°Enjoying the night view.¡± Mrs. Yan instantly understood that he was with Fang En. If Fang En gets pregnant in the future, wouldn¡¯t that... ¡°Son, I¡¯m suffering from a major headache. Hurry ande back,¡± said Mrs. Yan, trying her best to sound feeble and in pain. ¡°Do you feel terrible?¡± ¡°Yes, I feel terrible.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get Xiao Li to take you to the hospital,¡± said Yan Ge. Before he could even continue, Mrs. Yan said eagerly, ¡°Come back now,e back...¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll be on my way,¡± Yan Ge conceded. Being the only son, he had no choice but to return to the hotel to check on his mother. Hence, his ns did note to fruition. He caressed Fang En¡¯s face and said, ¡°My mother is having a dizzy spell. I¡¯ll go back to take a look at her. I¡¯ll be back soon. Go to bed and lock the door properly.¡± Fang En nodded and said, ¡°Be careful while on your way there.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Fang En received a call from Mrs. Yan ten minutes after Yan Ge left. Sitting cross-legged on the bed, she held the mobile phone beside her ear and answered, ¡°Auntie, I heard from Yan Ge that you¡¯re getting a dizzy spell. How are you now?¡± ¡°Ms. Fang, I¡¯ve already run a background check on you. You¡¯re extremely unfilial to your parents and you rarely ever call home or visit them. On top of that, you were even in aplicated rtionship with your bodyguard. I heard that he had a hidden agenda for staying by your side. Besides, you even asked my son for a hundred-million-dor ring when youe from a lowly background. We really can¡¯t have a daughter-inw like you. We initially thought that Yu Caiwei was horrible enough. However, afterparing her to you, she suddenly seems like a better choice,¡± said Mrs. Yan, who didn¡¯t sound ill at all. Fang En¡¯s heart sank the moment she heard Mrs. Yan¡¯s words. ¡°So you only pretended to be sick to make Yan Ge go home.¡± ¡°Yes. I actually had a good impression of you at first. However, I find you absolutely horrid now. I called you with the main intention of getting you to break up with my son. Stop wasting his time. My husband and I detest you now, so you¡¯d better know your ce.¡± ¡°Auntie...¡± Beep... Beep... Beep... Fang En put down her mobile phone, feeling extremely upset. ¡ª¡ª By eight o¡¯clock, there were no longer any mutants in Beiying town, which was now covered in fire. The entire town was dead silent. An Xiaoning brought arge number of victims away to a safer ce using the cargo truck. Just as she was about to meet Pan Zhenghui, the truck ran out of petrol. Fortunately, the town did not experience a power outage and she could still refill her petrol at the petrol kiosk. However, the kiosk attendants had long fled the ce and, thus, she had to alight and refill the petrol herself. She then decided to call Pan Zhenghui to ask him for his whereabouts. However, he called her before she dialed his number. ¡°Xiaoning, are you alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯m alright. How about you guys?¡± ¡°We¡¯re in trouble, our methrowers have been depleted and we¡¯ve run out of ammo too. We¡¯re stuck in a vige on 302 National Avenue. The car¡¯s out of petrol too.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll head there now.¡± ¡°Be careful,¡± said Pan Zhenghui, who heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°Chief, is Team Leader Aning?¡± Team Leader Zhang asked, trembling with fear. ¡°Yes, she¡¯s on her way. God damn it, why are we in this hellhole? Ah, we¡¯vee to dig our own graves! So many people have died because of this incident, and we¡¯re to be held responsible for the casualties. If the archeological team members die too, we¡¯re going to be implicated and med for causing such a huge disaster because we failed to incinerate the corpse in time,¡± Pan Zhenghuimented while wiping his sweat away. ¡°Chief, how are the higher-ups going to punish us and the archeological team?¡± ¡°Who knows...¡± Pan Zhenghui continued, ¡°When we see Xiaoningter, we must beg her to put in a good word for us.¡± Team Leader Zhang agreed with a nod, ¡°Chief, just beg her. She¡¯ll definitely put in a good word for you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try,¡± said Pan Zhenghui, who then shrieked again. He leaned toward the side and stared at the zombies outside the window. The zombies were staring back at him with their fangs exposed, wishing they could devour the people inside the car. The zombies appeared extremely terrifying and were banging on the bulletproof windows furiously. Pangs of fear and anxiety engulfed Pan Zhenghui, who, despite having experienced all sorts of cases, could not help but feel terrorized. Ten minutester, Pan Zhenghui saw a glimmer of hope. On the verge of tears, he said, ¡°Xiaoning is so much faster than the special forces...¡± An Xiaoning drove the cargo truck toward them and pulled over, after which the zombies frantically began surrounding it. Staring at the number of zombies, she grabbed her gun and amulets before winding down the windows and leaving a five-inch crack. As soon as she did, the zombies stuck their hands in through the crack andtched themselves onto the window, giving An Xiaoning the perfect opportunity to execute her n. She aimed her gun at the zombies and fired bullets at their heads. It was a tried-and-tested solution. She killed four zombies in a row, after which the rest stopped trying to pry the windows open, for fear that she would shoot them too. An Xiaoning wound the windows down again and picked up a stack of amulets. She chanted a spell and flung the amulets out of the window. The amulets darted toward the zombies and struck them in the middle of their foreheads. At the instant that that happened, they copsed onto the ground. Pan Zhenghui and the rest of the officers gasped in shock. She alighted from the truck and walked toward the police car with a white can of petrol, which she had brought from the petrol kiosk. ¡°What are you waiting for? Hurry and get out of the car!¡± she hollered. Chapter 1190 - I Want To Make You Stay (68)

Chapter 1190: I Want To Make You Stay (68)

Pan Zhenghui hurriedly alighted and grabbed the can of petrol from her hands. ¡°Xiaoning, where did you get this?¡± ¡°The petrol station. Fortunately, those mutants who were on fire did not go near the petrol kiosks. Otherwise, the consequences would have been dire. Hurry and fill the tank with petrol. Settle these people.¡± ¡°Alright, alright.¡± Pan Zhenghui red at Team Leader Zhang and the rest who were still in the car and chastised, ¡°What are all of you waiting for? Hurry and get out of the car to help Xiaoning.¡± They hurriedly got out of the car and helped An Xiaoning move the zombies to an emptynd. An Xiaoning took out her methrower to set the zombies on fire. The two cars left one after another. Instead of returning to the police car, Pan Zhenghui took the passenger seat in the cargo truck that An Xiaoning was driving. As soon as they got on the road, they saw the special forces officers arriving. After greeting them, Pan Zhenghui said, ¡°We¡¯ll be returning to the city now to carry out screening and removing the obstructions... I¡¯ll hand the situation over here to guys. We¡¯re... almost done inspecting...¡± An Xiaoning did not say anything despite noticing that he was hemming and hawing. She continued driving after talking to the police officers for a while. When they were almost out of Beiying town, they caught sight of a toddler walking alone toward them. The roads were dimly lit by the streetmps, and they could not tell if the toddler was infected or not. An Xiaoning looked at Pan Zhenghui before pulling over. They then alighted from the truck together. ¡°Kid...¡± An Xiaoning called. As soon as the toddler looked up at them, Pan Zhenghui immediately ran back to the truck and eximed, ¡°Xiaoning, you shall handle it!¡± An Xiaoning remained silent. She was quick and relentless when killing the infected toddler. She did not show mercy just because of the toddler¡¯s tender age, for she was well aware of the harm brought about by the infected. ¡°Xiaoning, we¡¯ll definitely get punished because of this incident. Could you put in a good word or two for us?¡± ¡°The punishment you¡¯re going to receive is nothingpared to the damage done to the innocent victims. What were you thinking when you decided to ask me to put in a good word for you? I¡¯m not going to,¡± An Xiaoning said harshly. ¡°Ah, Xiaoning, just help us, please.¡± An Xiaoning got goosebumps from hearing him y cute. Shaking her head, she said, ¡°No, say another word about it and I¡¯ll kick you out of the car.¡± Pan Zhenghui immediately shut up. When they were halfway through the journey, Pan Zhenghui made a call to inquire about the situation in Beiying and was told that the mutated corpse that ran away from the archeological research center had already been cremated. The situation in Beiying has also been kept under control. However, they¡¯ll still need a few more days topletely eradicate the problem. ¡°Boss, that fellow is calling you again!¡± An Xiaoning pulled over to answer the call. It was from Jin Qingyan. ¡°You¡¯re not asleep yet?¡± ¡°Of course not. I¡¯ming to pick you up.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to pick me up. I¡¯m on my way there now,¡± she said, sounding rather lethargic. ¡°I¡¯m already here.¡± An Xiaoning felt a ring beam shining at her. She squinted to see that it was Jin Qingyan¡¯s car. After ending the call, she said to Pan Zhenghui, ¡°You may ride in the police car. I¡¯m going to leave in that car in front.¡± Upon the sight of Jin Qingyan, Pan Zhenghui immediately agreed, ¡°Alright.¡± The two of them alighted from the truck, and An Xiaoning sprinted to the car. ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°To pick you up.¡± She said coyly, ¡°You didn¡¯t have to. It¡¯s not like I can¡¯t find my way home.¡± Jin Qingyan hugged her and said softly, ¡°Too bad, I enjoy picking you up.¡± Once they got inside the car, Jin Qingyan took a detour and asked, ¡°How¡¯s the situation?¡± ¡°Everything is being kept under control now. The military troops are not going to leave so soon, however. They¡¯ll have to stay behind for a while to check if all the zombies had been wiped out yet. However, this incident resulted in so many casualties. Although it wasn¡¯t reported on the news, word has been spreading amongst the citizens. Everyone near the town is petrified. Beicheng and Mingxi were almost killed too.¡± ¡°What happened to them?¡± ¡°Beicheng and Mingxi were at Beiying to unwind and rx. However, the tire of their car was punctured and they could not rece it in time. Hence, they squeezed onto the bus. Luckily, I managed to arrive there in the nick of time and sent them away using that cargo truck.¡± ¡°No wonder I was told that you had requested for a helicopter.¡± Jin Qingyan ced one hand on the steering wheel and pinched her face with the other. She remarked, ¡°You¡¯re always so worried, and you intervene in everything.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with contributing some of my efforts?¡± An Xiaoning wound down the windows a little, like she usually would whenever she was inside a car. She called Gu Beicheng to check on his status, only to hear that Lin Mingxi had been hospitalized. An Xiaoning instructed Jin Qingyan to drive to the hospital in the city, and they visited her ward together. Looking extremely pale and ghastly, Lin Mingxiy in bed while drinking some chicken soup. An Xiaoning sat on the other end of the bed and asked, ¡°What did the doctor say?¡± ¡°He said that my condition is not looking good and that I had gotten overly frightened. I¡¯ll have to start staying in bed and nursing the rest of my pregnancy, so as to avoid going into prematurebor. How¡¯s the situation over there?¡± asked Lin Mingxi, whose spirits were lifted at seeing An Xiaoning. ¡°It¡¯s been kept under control. Our nation¡¯s military troops do have what it takes to handle such situations. Are you going to continue being hospitalized or would you like to stay at home to nurse your pregnancy there instead?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Beicheng wants me to stay in the hospital. After all, it¡¯d better to have doctors near me all the time. The amenities here are great too.¡± ¡°Alright, rest well, then. Get the servants to prepare and bring you the food that you¡¯d like to eat. You must persist all the way until the full term of your pregnancy. Otherwise, your baby is going to be frail and sickly. Tell the hospital to administer you with the best tocolytic drug they have. I shall not impose on you any further. I¡¯lle and visit you again when I¡¯m free tomorrow,¡± said An Xiaoning as she stood up. ¡°Alright, go back and get some rest too. I can tell that you¡¯re exhausted.¡± An Xiaoning waved and said, ¡°I¡¯m going now.¡± ¨D It started drizzling in B City at ten o¡¯clock in the evening. Yan Ge had yet to return, and Fang En was no longer sleepy after hearing Mrs. Yan¡¯s words. Shey motionlessly on the bed. Finally, she decided to get out of bed and opened the door slowly. The area outside the room was brightly lit, and there would asionally be guests walking past with an umbre. She walked along the sheltered corridor toward the mini mart. She bought a packet of instant noodles, a can of beer, and a red-colored umbre. She opened the instant noodle packet and broke off a small piece, which she then ced inside her mouth. She then walked aimlessly along the pavement with the umbre in hand. The next thing she knew, she had already made her way onto the observation deck without even realizing it. It was as if there was a ma there that pulled her toward the deck. There were barely any visitors on the deck. The view on the observation deck looked extremely beautiful in the rain. Feeling much more rxed, Fang En smiled and stood rooted to the ground quietly. She felt much more rejuvenated and energized after finishing her instant noodles and beer. Chapter 1191 - I Want to Make You Stay (69)

Chapter 1191: I Want to Make You Stay (69)

The rain grew heavier, and after half an hour, all the guests at the observation desk had left one by one, leaving her standing alone there. When a sudden sh of thunder appeared in the distant sky, Fang En raised her head abruptly, multiple scenes suddenly shing in her head. ¡°My Lord, I like you so much!¡± ¡°My Lord, you¡¯re my sky, my everything!¡± ¡°My Lord, to be able to marry you, I¡¯ve used up all my luck in this lifetime.¡± ¡°My Lord, I want to give birth to so many children who look like you. That way, when you¡¯re not at home, I can look at them and think of you...¡± ¡°My Lord, I don¡¯t want to die. I haven¡¯t spent enough time with you...¡± ¡°My Lord...¡± Her red umbre fell to the ground and rolled over a few times. Fang En stared nking at a bright source of light, the scenes in her head turning into a blur rapidly before fading away. No matter how stupid she was, she seemed to have understood something. She had to see Xiao Chenyang! She immediately dialed his number, but his phone was switched off! While she was running down the steps of the observation deck, she missed her footing and tumbled down the stairs due to her rush. When her bodynded on the bottom of the stairs, it took Fang En quite a struggle to get back up on her feet. She felt a stinging paining from her hand, and it seemed that it had been grazed. But she could not afford to care about that at the moment. With her bodypletely drenched, she ran to the registration counter for guests. ¡°Which room is Xiao Chenyang staying in? ¡± ¡°What is it that you¡¯re looking for him about?¡± ¡°I asked you which room he¡¯s staying in!¡± Fang En eximed impatiently. ¡°Which room is he staying in? Which room!¡± ¡°Sorry, if you don¡¯t tell us what the matter is, we can¡¯t disclose it to you.¡± Fang En decided not to enquire anymore and simply went to knock on every door. At such ate timing at night, it was obviously natural for her to get scolded by the guests when she knocked on their doors, but Fang En could not be bothered about that either. When she knocked on the door of room no. 8, Fang En gazed at the girl who opened the door in astonishment and asked, ¡°Is he inside?¡± Jiang Shu looked at her in a state of rm and asked, ¡°Ms. Fang, what happened to you?¡± ¡°Please help me to tell him that I want to see him.¡± ¡°Alright, give me a moment.¡± Jiang Shu turned and went back into the room. Not long after, she returned and said, ¡°Ms. Fang, he said that it¡¯s veryte already so he doesn¡¯t want to see you.¡± Fang En shifted her feet unsteadily. Her hair had beenpletely drenched by the rain. Tightening the grip of her hand, she remarked, ¡°No, I have to see him.¡± With that, she tried to enter the room forcefully but was stopped by Jiang Shu. ¡°Ms. Fang, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to let you in. He really doesn¡¯t want to see you. Since that¡¯s the case, you can juste back tomorrow.¡± Once she finished speaking, Jiang Shu turned around and closed the door behind her. Fang En had a sudden urge to cry as she looked at the lights above her. Her heart fell, and she shouted hysterically, ¡°My Lord!¡± The sound of a cup crashing came from inside the room and, following that, the door opened again. Xiao Chenyang stood at the door before her, stammering, ¡°What... what did you say?¡± At this moment, all the doubts in Fang En¡¯s heart seemed to havepletely vanished. Although it seemed exceptionally unbelievable to her, she had no choice but to believe it. ¡°My Lord...¡± Xiao Chenyang¡¯s nostrils constricted. ¡°You...¡± Fang En looked at his face and inched closer toward him. With her head raised to look at him, she stood before him and asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me directly?¡± ¡°Get a change of clothes first. You¡¯re all wet.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t bring any clothes with me.¡± ¡°I have some with me.¡± Xiao Chenyang grabbed her hand and pulled her into the room. Upon the sight of the situation, Jiang Shu waspletely bewildered. ¡°Wait for me at the door first.¡± Jiang Shu nodded. ¡°Alright.¡± Xiao Chenyang then pushed Fang En into the bathroom directly and said, ¡°Go and get a warm bath first. I¡¯ll prepare some clothes for you. We¡¯ll talk when youe out.¡± Fang En nodded and closed the door of the bathroom shut. Jiang Shu stood outside the door for a while before seeing hime out. He took out a piece of check from his wallet and passed it to her. ¡°Take it. I¡¯ll get someone to send you back to A City.¡± Jiang Shu nced at the amount on the check and murmured in shock, ¡°I can¡¯t ept such a huge amount.¡± ¡°It¡¯s for you, so just ept it. I know that you¡¯re a sensible girl who¡¯ll know what to say and what not to say.¡± Jiang Shu somehow felt that he exuded a formidable aura. She did not dare to look into his eyes directly and simply took the check from him. ¡°Mr. Xiao, don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t let my mouth slip.¡± ¡°Alright. Follow me.¡± He turned around and led her away. Jiang Shu followed behind him and took another nce at the amount on the check: it was two million dors. She was only a hostess at the Night Genie Bar and had never sold her body. Not only had she not allowed her customers toy their hands on her inappropriately, but she also refused to sit on theirps. As a result, her sry was a meager amount of only a few thousand dors per month, far from the amount that other hostesses who went all out earned. Although a bar wasn¡¯t a ce where customers came to find sex, there was inevitably some skinship and hugging between the hostesses and customers. She had only just apanied the man before him for such a short time, wherein he brought her to eat delicacies and admire sceneries. Without himying a finger on her at all, she was able to earn such a huge amount of money. She was extremely surprised by his generosity. Such a man, to her, was too unattainable. She did not know what rtionship Fang En had with him, but she knew that there were some things that one could not afford to be curious about. All she had to do was just y her own part. After Xiao Chenyang had arranged for his men to send her to A City, and after she got onto the car, he instructed her, ¡°Take this sum of money to do what you want.¡± Jiang Shu nodded. ¡°Thank you, Mr. Xiao.¡± Xiao Chenyang did not say anything further and simply turned to walk away. Jiang Shu closed the door shut and gazed at the back of his tall and handsome figure, a smile curling on her lips. Meanwhile, Fang En was standing under the showerhead, allowing the warm water to rinse her body. She could still feel a faint, stinging pain from her arm where she had grazed herself earlier. Outside the bathroom, there remainedplete silence. When she was done bathing, Fang En used the bath towel to wipe herself and slowly headed toward the bathroom door, calling out to him, ¡°Are you there?¡± ¡°Open the door, I¡¯ll pass you the clothes.¡± Fang En wrapped the bath towel around her body before opening the door. He passed her a set of clothes with both his hands, and Fang En took it from him before closing the door shut again. He had even prepared lingerie for her. As for the clothes, it was a piece of qipao with flowers embroidered on it. It was simply stunning. She tried it on, and although the qipao was rather short, it was fine. She still looked good in it. After blowing her hair dry, Fang En went out of the bathroom. Xiao Chenyang was sitting by the bed, and the fragments of the cup on the ground had already been cleared. Fang En approached him slowly and sat beside him. Xiao Chenyang noticed her hand trembling slightly and passed the bowl of ginger tea on the table to her. ¡°Drink this.¡± Fang En took it from him, lowering her head as she drank all of it in one shot. In a calm andposed manner, he took the empty bowl from her hands and ced it on the table. He then pressed down her shoulders with both hands and pulled her closer to him. As they stared straight at each other, he asked, ¡°You remember everything?¡± Fang En shook her head. ¡°Just a little...¡± Xiao Chenyang asked her again, ¡°Then why did youe and look for me tonight? I want to hear the truth.¡± Holding back her tears, Fang En asked, ¡°How did you find me?¡± Chapter 1192 - I Want to Make You Stay (70)

Chapter 1192: I Want to Make You Stay (70)

¡°That¡¯s not important now,¡± he answered in his deep voice. ¡°I don¡¯t wish for matters of the past to affect your judgment in the present. Do you get what I mean? Even if I love you, I don¡¯t wish for you to force yourself to stay by my side if you¡¯re unwilling to. That way, you won¡¯t be happy, and neither will I. I¡¯ve already gotten over it.¡± Fang En watched him speak in such a serious manner and responded, ¡°If you realized this earlier, you shouldn¡¯t have disturbed my life at the very beginning. You¡¯ve already made me like this, and now you¡¯re saying this. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s toote?¡± ¡°How is it toote? It¡¯s never toote.¡± He added in a serious tone, ¡°Aren¡¯t you marrying Yan Ge soon? I won¡¯t cling onto you anymore.¡± Hearing his words, Fang En actually felt terribly upset. With her eyes slightly reddened, she gazed at Xiao Chenyang and wrapped her arms around him tightly, bursting into loud wails uncontrobly. .... When Yan Ge returned at 11:30 pm, he could not find Fang En anywhere in the room. He thought that Fang En had left, so he gave her a call. ¡°En, where are you? I don¡¯t see you in the room.¡± With her phone in hand, Fang En¡¯s lips twitched slightly as she replied, ¡°I went out for a walk. I¡¯ll go back right now.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After hanging up the phone, Fang En said to Xiao Chenyang, ¡°I¡¯m going back to my hotel room.¡± Seeing how Xiao Chenyang did not reply, she got up and started to leave, but when she was at the door, he spoke. ¡°I¡¯ll be staying here for these few days.¡± Fang En turned and darted a nce at him before heading back to the room she and Yan Ge had booked. The room was brightly lit, so there was clearly someone inside. She entered straight away and saw Yan Ge with his head lowered, looking at his phone. ¡°It¡¯s sote now, where have you been?¡± Yan Ge stood up and approached her. Sensing that she seemed to be acting unusual, he probed, ¡°Why are your eyes so red? You cried? And you changed your clothes?¡± Fang En put on a forced smile and muttered, ¡°My clothes were wet, so I borrowed these to wear. Yan Ge, let¡¯s go back to the hotel.¡± Yan Ge asked, ¡°It¡¯s already sote... let¡¯s just stay here for one night and return tomorrow, shall we?¡± ¡°No, I want to return to the hotel now.¡± Her voice was not very loud but it was full of power, clearly showing her determination. Seeing how she insisted on returning, Yan Ge nodded and agreed. They honestly had not spent a good time tonight. When they got into the car, Fang En remarked as she buckled up her seatbelt, ¡°Not long after you left, Auntie called me.¡± ¡°My mother?¡± Yan Ge held onto the steering wheel and turned the car back. ¡°What did she say?¡± ¡°She thinks that the way I treat my family and you isn¡¯t good, so she wants me to break up with you,¡± she answered simply. ¡°Yan Ge, will you break up with me because your parents object strongly to our rtionship?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll convince them.¡± Yan Ge fixed his gaze on her. ¡°My mother has a misunderstanding about you, don¡¯t take her words to heart.¡± ¡°What if you aren¡¯t able to convince them?¡± she probed. ¡°If your mother is hell-bent on objecting to our rtionship, what will you do?¡± ¡°What¡¯s with you? No matter what, she won¡¯t disregard her son¡¯s happiness. Moreover, I¡¯m a mature adult. I believe I can handle this matter properly.¡± Yan Ge spected, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you cried because of her words?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t because of her, it was because of myself.¡± Fang En gazed at him. ¡°Yan Ge, do you love me?¡± ¡°If I didn¡¯t love you, why would I get together with you?¡± ¡°How much do you love me?¡± ¡°How do I describe it?¡± After some thought, Yan Ge responded, ¡°I want to marry you and have children with you. I want to be together with you for the rest of my life.¡± ¡°If I die, will you remarry?¡± Yan Ge felt something strange about her and replied, ¡°What rubbish, why will you die?¡± ¡°I¡¯m asking you, if I died without giving you any children, would you remarry?¡± Fang En could already guess the answer, actually. ¡°You¡¯re the only son in your family, I¡¯m guessing you would, right?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t wish to answer this question.¡± He simply did not wish to deceive her. ¡°Do you think there¡¯s a man in this world who would stay single for the rest of his life if his wife died without giving him any children, despite being the only son in his family?¡± ¡°I think that there may be such a person in this world. However, in this day and age, he would be extremely rare. I think having such a person amongst a million people may even be too difficult.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. After all, some men would even divorce their wives straight away if they aren¡¯t able to give birth. How could there possibly be a person who wouldn¡¯t remarry even after his wife died? Rather than say it¡¯s for the purpose of carrying on their family name, I would think it¡¯s because they don¡¯t love their wives deeply enough.¡± ¡°...¡± Yan Ge did not know how to answer her and eventually responded, ¡°But don¡¯t you think that if someone dies early, it¡¯s very selfish of him or her to expect their partner to live alone ¡¯til death? When one dies, the living still needs to move on.¡± ¡°Love itself is originally a selfish thing.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s change the topic.¡± Yan Ge did not want to continue discussing a topic that seemed meaningless to him. Fang En did not say anything further. The inner activity in her heart was like a raging torrent. Seeing her so quiet, Yan Ge said to her, ¡°Don¡¯t overthink. You won¡¯t die early or be unable to give birth to children.¡± ¡°How would you know that?¡± Yan Ge suddenly stepped on the brakes and stopped the car. Thinking about her unusual behavior tonight and how she said she had cried because of herself, he looked at her seriously and asked, ¡°Are you... sick?¡± Fang En was astounded by his question. ¡°No.¡± After heaving a sigh of relief, Yan Ge continued to drive. Throughout the whole time on the road, Yan Ge had no idea what was on Fang En¡¯s mind. When she returned to the hotel room, Fang En opened a bottle of mineral water and drank more than half of it. After cing the bottle down, she gave An Xiaoning a call. At this time, An Xiaoning was already asleep but was woken up by her call. ¡°Ah... En, what is it that you have to tell me at this time of night?¡± An Xiaoning leaned against the bed and asked her with her eyes still in a daze. Since she was calling her at such a time, there must be something going on. ¡°Sis Xiaoning, today, Yan Ge brought me to a mansion in the suburbs of B City. I¡¯ve never been there, but I actually felt that the ce was rather familiar, like I had already been there multiple times. We ran into Xiao Chenyang and another girl by ake inside. Xiao Chenyang said that it¡¯s his territory there.¡± Without giving An Xiaoning a chance to cut in, Fang En went on, ¡°Yan Ge¡¯s mother used an excuse of feeling lightheaded to call him back to the hotel. His mother then called me and said some nasty things. After that, I felt frustrated so I went out for a walk. At that point, it started to rain, so I bought an umbre and went to the observation deck. Little did I expect...¡± The more An Xiaoning listened on, the more awake she felt. ¡°What did you not expect?¡± ¡°Many images started surfacing in my head. It was all of Nan Chuang and Xiao Chenyang...¡± She continued, ¡°I went to find Xiao Chenyang and indirectly confirmed my suspicions. That ancient corpse that you brought back from overseas, the one that Xiao Chenyang brought me to witness being cremated into ashes that wereter scattered into the sea, that¡¯s me in my past life... Sis Xiaoning, you knew about it long ago, right?¡± ¡°Right.¡± Hearing how she had already found out about everything, An Xiaoning had no intention of hiding it from her anymore. Chapter 1193 - I Want to Make You Stay (71) Chapter 1193: I Want to Make You Stay (71) ¡°Back then, Xiao Chenyang made me not interfere in your matters apart from those rted to work. He didn¡¯t want me to be involved in this, so I wasn¡¯t in a position to tell you anything. The reason why he didn¡¯t tell you was that he wanted you to like him back before he told you about it. If you didn¡¯t take a liking to him, he didn¡¯t want to use this matter to give you pressure or force you to stay with him. You see, didn¡¯t he let go of you already? He¡¯s intending to remove the curse of devotion from himself as well.¡± ¡°Curse of devotion... what¡¯s that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a type of curse,¡± An Xiaoning exined. ¡°I¡¯m not sure about the details, but I heard from him that he had put it on himself so that he¡¯ll be attracted to you solely for an eternity. That is also the reason why he can find you urately.¡± ¡°For an eternity...¡± Fang En murmured. ¡°He¡¯s intending to remove the curse?¡± ¡°Yes. But there¡¯s not much hope about it. He says he¡¯ll try his best.¡± Fang En¡¯s heart sank. At this moment, a voice in her heart continued to tell her, ¡°Don¡¯t... don¡¯t... don¡¯t remove it...¡± ¡°Sis Xiaoning, what should I do?¡± ¡°Just follow your heart. Be with whoever you love and want to see every day. Whoever you¡¯re thinking of every day and want to be with every single moment of the day. Other people wouldn¡¯t know about it, but don¡¯t you yourself know?¡± Fang En¡¯s heart instantly began to feel at ease. The answer seemed to have appeared in her heart. From this moment onwards, she was not flustered anymore. ¡°Sis, I already know.¡± ¡°You know?¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s voice was filled with a gentle warmth. ¡°En, I know you haven¡¯t been in a rtionship before and don¡¯t have a clear view of matters about it, but if you don¡¯t know what you want, I¡¯m sure you should know what you don¡¯t want, right? Be it Yan Ge or Xiao Chenyang, both of them are extremely outstanding. This is your own matter, so you should decide for yourself.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve disturbed you sote at night. Sis Xiaoning, you should sleep soon.¡± ¡°Okay. You should sleep earlier too.¡± Fang En hung up the phone and slumped in her bed. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Bao¡¯er!¡± Shi Shaochuan shouted toward the track from a distance away. Shi Bao¡¯er, who was doing her morning run, heard his call and immediately ran toward him. ¡°Daddy, you¡¯vee to see me.¡± ¡°Daddy¡¯s here to pick you up.¡± Shi Shaochuan lowered his head and said to her, ¡°Come, let¡¯s go home.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er was, of course, filled with happiness. ¡°Daddy, you¡¯re finally here to pick me up. I¡¯m dying of boredom in here.¡± ¡°Daddy has been... rather busytely. I¡¯m picking you up this time because I have something to tell you.¡± Upon hearing this, Shi Bao¡¯er¡¯s face immediately fell. She knew that what her Daddy wanted to say would definitely not be anything good. ¡°Is it that you¡¯ve found another stepmother for me?!¡± She looked at him furiously. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then, I¡¯m not going back with you.¡± ¡°You...¡± Shi Bao¡¯er responded, ¡°Your mother has already gotten remarried to another man and is even pregnant now. Why can¡¯t Daddy do the same? Bao¡¯er, how can you do this to Daddy?¡± Shi Bao¡¯er pouted her lips. ¡°I¡¯m not living with my mother in the future anyway... The previous time when she picked me up, she sent me back here within two days.¡± ¡°Bao¡¯er, the previous time, you sneaked out of the house onto a van and made us search high and low for you. Since that incident is already over, Daddy won¡¯t hold it against you. In the future, you should stay out of Daddy¡¯s matters too. This time, Daddy¡¯s bringing you back mainly because I¡¯m getting married. If you don¡¯t wreak havoc, I¡¯ll bring you along to attend it. If you show me now that you¡¯re going to wreak havoc, you should just stay here at the training camp. Anyway, Daddy has already told you what I wanted to say.¡± ¡°Married?¡± Shi Bao¡¯er waspletely appalled. ¡°You¡¯re getting married?¡± ¡°Yes, Daddy¡¯s getting married.¡± Shi Shaochuan looked at her with a grin. ¡°This Auntie has an exceptionally good temper. She¡¯ll be very nice to you and treat you better than your biological mother does.¡± Tears were gushing down Shi Bao¡¯er¡¯s face instantly as she cried, ¡°You and Mommy both have your own families now. What am I, then?¡± ¡°How can you say it like this? If you¡¯re obedient from now on and don¡¯t cause any trouble, you¡¯ll always be Daddy and Mommy¡¯s precious daughter.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er did not believe a single word he said. However, at the thought of her daddy¡¯s words that he wouldn¡¯t bring her if she wreaks havoc, she replied, ¡°Daddy, I won¡¯t wreak havoc, so bring me home.¡± ¡°Promise Daddy.¡± ¡°I promise you, Daddy,¡± Shi Bao¡¯er answered with a serious expression on her face. Shi Shaochuan remained doubtful toward her. After all, he knew that his daughter coulde up with many funny ideas. He was thinking that when he got married, he could just hire someone to take care of her. When she got into the car, Shi Bao¡¯er grabbed onto the sides of the car seat and asked, ¡°Daddy, are you getting married today?¡± ¡°Tomorrow. Today, I¡¯ll bring you back to get to know your Auntie first.¡± ¡°Then, Daddy, how did you get to know this Auntie?¡± ¡°I knew her through a blind date.¡± Shi Shaochuan went on, ¡°Daddy¡¯s getting on in age too. There¡¯s only you and me at home, don¡¯t you find that a little quiet? Look at your mommy, she¡¯s living a happy life herself. Daddy can¡¯t possibly live the rest of my life by myself, right?¡± ¡°Yes, Daddy. You¡¯re right.¡± Shi Shaochuan turned and took a nce at her, feeling that she had suddenly turned sensible. But it hade so suddenly that he felt rather uneasy about it. After they reached the Shi residence, he held onto Bao¡¯er¡¯s hand as he took her into the living room. Shi Bao¡¯er looked into the living room and saw a rather prettydy sitting on the sofa. Seeing that they were back, the woman stood up. ¡°Bao¡¯er, this is your Auntie Wen.¡± Wen Lele greeted her with a warm grin, ¡°Aiya, Bao¡¯er is such a pretty girl.¡± ¡°Hi, Auntie.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er made a rather rare gesture of greeting her. ¡°Hi, hi.¡± Seeing that this child was a girl who looked rather obedient and wasn¡¯t very old as well, Wen Lele could not stop grinning. ¡°I¡¯ll go to the hotel first to check if everything is fine with the banquet. The two of you can have a chat first.¡± Shi Shi Shaochuan then specifically reminded Bao¡¯er, ¡°Don¡¯t forget what you promised Daddy.¡± ¡°Got it, Daddy.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er watched as he went out of the house, then asked, ¡°Auntie, how old are you?¡± ¡°Me...¡± Wen Leleughed. ¡°I¡¯m around the same age as your Daddy.¡± ¡°Then, Auntie, my Daddy is around the same age as you and has already gotten married before, has a child, and had previous girlfriends. Have you gotten married before?¡± Wen Lele thought to herself, This child acts like a mature adult and actually knows how to ask so many questions. ¡°I haven¡¯t gotten married before. Neither do I have any children.¡± ¡°I heard from Daddy that you got to know each other from a blind date. What does an unmarried woman like you see in my Daddy?¡± Wen Lele cleared her throat and replied, ¡°Your daddy is rather decent in all areas.¡± ¡°Then, Auntie, do you know who my Mommy is?¡± ¡°I do, she¡¯s Jin Qingyue, right? Oh right, I was also table mates with your uncle back in school.¡± ¡°Then, Auntie, what do you think of my Mommy?¡± Shi Bao¡¯er asked further. Chapter 1194 - I Want to Make You Stay (72)

Chapter 1194: I Want to Make You Stay (72)

¡°I don¡¯t know your mother personally, so I¡¯m not sure how she¡¯s like specifically. But she looks pretty nice to me.¡± ¡°Let me tell you this in secret. When my Mommy was pregnant with me, she had a very hard time. She told me that her weight reached 167 pounds and she was very, very fat. It was also then that my Daddy found another woman outside.¡± Wen Lele was inplete shock to hear such words from her. ¡°Your mommy told you these things?¡± ¡°A lot of people know about it.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er lowered her head and looked at her own fingers. ¡°My father also beat up Mommy often.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I know why my Daddy wants to marry you. Auntie, I really feel sorry for you.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°My Daddy is marrying you to give me a little brother who can carry on the family line of our Shi family. If you give birth to a little sister, my Daddy will probably divorce you. Auntie, if you marry my Daddy, you must be sure to give birth to a little brother for me. I don¡¯t want to see Daddy beat you up like how he did to Mommy. I can tell that Auntie is a kind person.¡± ¡°...¡± Wen Lele was saddened to hear her say such words. She reached out to stroke Shi Bao¡¯er¡¯s hair. ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll try my very best to give you a little brother. Thank you for telling Auntie these things. Auntie will treat you like a biological daughter when the timees.¡± ¡°Umm... Auntie, you¡¯re so nice.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er snuggled up in her arms, a scheming look shing in her eyes. ¡ª¡ª ¡°He¡¯s really interesting...¡± With the piece of red invitation in her hand, An Xiaoning rested her head on Jin Qingyan¡¯sp and snorted coldly, ¡°Is something wrong in his head? Qingyue just called me and told me that Shi Shaochuan invited her to attend his wedding. He¡¯s even sent us invitations as well. What, is he trying to get onto the news with a headline ¡®The ex-wives who came to attend his wedding¡¯?¡± Jin Qingyan raised his hand and drank a mouthful of coffee before saying in aposed and leisurely manner, ¡°He¡¯s inviting the two of us there. I really didn¡¯t expect that these two would get together. This world is so small.¡± ¡°Well, He Yi didn¡¯t want her so she had to find someone else to marry, right?¡± An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Are we attending?¡± ¡°Why should we? To give them money? They¡¯re not even fit to invite me. If we go there, it¡¯ll be giving them face.¡± He ced the cup down and, after taking the invitations from her hand, threw them straight into the rubbish bin. ¡°Qingyue wouldn¡¯t go either.¡± ¡°Shi Shaochuan would never have asting marriage. He¡¯s destined to have failed marriages that wouldn¡¯tst for the rest of his life. Do you think we should warn of this Wen Lele, that dumb woman?¡± ¡°They¡¯re both willing parties. If we warn her, do you think she¡¯ll break off this marriage?¡± Jin Qingyan lowered his head and nted a kiss on her. ¡°Just let them torture each other.¡± ¡°Yesterday, in the middle of the night, En called me. Do you know about that?¡± ¡°I somewhat heard it in my sleep. Was there an urgent matter?¡± An Xiaoning simply exined Fang En¡¯s situation to him and turned to wrap her arms around Jin Qingyan¡¯s waist, saying in a sweet voice, ¡°I think she hasn¡¯t realized the difference between liking and loving someone. Liking someone can be, in many ways, different. For instance, I like Gu Beicheng as a family member. I like Fan Shixin as well, but as a subordinate. I like my other underlings too, as well as that funny guy Long Tianze, and Ling Ciye. But I¡¯ve always known the clear difference between liking and loving someone. I will bepletely fine if I don¡¯t see them for three months, but if I don¡¯t see you for three hours, I¡¯ll feel like I¡¯mcking something and I¡¯ll miss you especially much.¡± ¡°What is the extent to which you will miss me?¡± ¡°To the extent that I¡¯ll go mad.¡± His eyes were glowing with happiness as he held the side of her face. ¡°I¡¯m very satisfied with your answer.¡± ¡°What about you?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°What will you be like if you don¡¯t see me for three hours?¡± ¡°Nothing much, I¡¯ll bepletely fine, ¡± Jin Qingyan teased her. ¡°Did you think I¡¯ll act the same as a woman like you?¡± ¡°Woman?¡± An Xiaoning abruptly sat upright and had her hands clenched on his neck tightly. ¡°I¡¯ll strangle you to death right now.¡± ¡°Ah, ah, ah... a woman¡¯s heart is the most vicious...¡± Fan Shixin, who was at the door, had his hand on his forehead as he thought about whether he should enter or retreat. When the two were finally done with their silly bickering, An Xiaoning went upstairs, and he let out an intentional cough before entering. ¡°Young Sir, I¡¯m really worried for you.¡± ¡°Worried about what?¡± Jin Qingyan straightened his body, perplexed. ¡°Your status in this house is getting lower and lower. Young Madam has sessfully gained control over youpletely. You don¡¯t have much of a chance to regain your authority in the future...¡± Jin Qingyan dismissed his words with a wave. ¡°With a cute and young girl like your Young Madam having control over me, it¡¯s my blessing. What about regaining my authority? I don¡¯t need to.¡± The corner of Fan Shixin¡¯s lips twitched. He had already expected that his Young Sir would answer him like that. ¡°You¡¯ll really spoil Young Madam to the skies.¡± ¡°Do you have a problem with that?¡± ¡°No, as long as Young Sir is happy, everything¡¯s fine.¡± The stiffened face that Fan Shixin kept instantly broke into a grin. ¡°Seeing how Young Sir has someone who has control over you, you don¡¯t know how gratified that makes me. Hahaha, Young Sir, I¡¯m happy for you.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª¡ª In the early morning, the sky was pouring heavily in B City. As she had slept toote the previous night, Fang En was awoken by Xiao Yue in the morning. After opening the door for Xiao Yue, she had just turned around when Xiao Yue grabbed onto her arm. ¡°Sis En, quick, look.¡± Xiao Yue passed her the newspaper in her hand with an anxious look on her face. Fang En took it and saw at first nce the huge headline printed on the front page. ¡°Yan Ge¡¯s mother expresses clear disapproval of the Yan-Fang romance[1]!¡± Underneath the huge headlines, a line of words read: ¡°ims Fang En to be too high maintenance, Yan family can¡¯t afford to have her.¡± Right underneath these words were the contents of the article in even smaller font, which took up more than half of the page. As she took a look at the specific content inside the article, huge mes of anger rose in Fang En¡¯s heart. Yan Ge¡¯s mother had revealed every single detail, including Yan Ge and Yu Caiwei¡¯s secret romance in the past. She went back to her bed and sat down, not even bothering to look at the inte. She was certain that her Weibo was probably buzzing with the news at this moment. She had not expected Yan Ge¡¯s mother to resort to using public opinion to make them break up... ¡°Sis En, what should we do?¡± ¡°What else can we possibly do?¡± Fang En went to get her phone, but it had run out of battery. She hurriedly went to charge it and went upstairs to wash up. Xiao Yue followed her to the entrance of the bathroom and remarked, ¡°Sis En, I¡¯m sure Yan Ge will make a response to this. Don¡¯t worry too much.¡± ¡°Whether he makes a response or not, I¡¯ll definitely do so.¡± ¡°Sis En, I don¡¯t think you should make a response at such a time... or else, those reporters will start to make false reports.¡± ¡°No...¡± Fang En looked at her seriously. ¡°I need to.¡± Xiao Yue looked at her and somehow felt that she looked exceptionally calm at present. After Fang En had washed up and changed into a set of clothes, Xiao Yue had bought breakfast back. She had her breakfast and brushed her teeth after that before heading downstairs. When she entered the makeup room, only the makeup artist was there. There was no sign of Yan Ge at all. Fang En sat there and had her makeup done in thepletely silent room. When the door of the makeup room was pushed open, she thought that he hade, but little did she expect to see Yu Caiwei standing there. [1] ¡°Yan-Fang¡± is the abbreviation of the surnames of Yan Ge and Fang En Chapter 1195 - I Want to Make You Stay (73)

Chapter 1195: I Want to Make You Stay (73)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She already had her makeup done and was looking rather energetic. With her phone in hand, she approached Fang En and sat on the seat beside her before passing her phone to her. ¡°Look, the discussion on my Weibo has gained over 200 thousand newments...¡± ¡°Why are you showing it to me? I wasn¡¯t even the one who instructed theseizens toment on you.¡± Fang En gave her a side nce and did not look at her phone. ¡°What I wanted to say was, if you and your future mother-inw havemunication problems, can you two not drag me into this? I don¡¯t need to gain such poprity.¡± Even as she said this, there was no sign of frustration on her face. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen your Weibo, but I can already guess what thoseizens are discussing about you. They¡¯re obviously trampling on me and showing support for you.¡± ¡°Yan Ge¡¯s mother is still the same old person.¡± Yu Caiwei leaned against the chair and told herzily, ¡°A rtionship that doesn¡¯t have the support of one¡¯s parents is bound to not work out in the end. His mother has very high standards and once told me that her son has to marry an educated and sensible girl from a prominent family, not someone from the entertainment industry. You¡¯ve just gotten together with Yan Ge, and I see that she¡¯s been here a few times already but hasn¡¯t violently objected to you. She must have conceded because of Yan Ge. To think that you actually asked Yan Ge for a diamond ring worth a hundred million dors.¡± ¡°There are rumors that you were once a mistress of a certain big shot, is that true?¡± Fang En asked her instinctively. ¡°Of course it¡¯s not!!!¡± ¡°How would I possibly know that?¡± Fang En scoffed. ¡°I only made a joke with him, but his mother took it seriously. I can already earn my own money now, and I was also born in the countryside, I¡¯m not such a spendthrift or materialistic person.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the point of telling me this? A lot of people are already convinced that you did ask Yan Ge for one. Unless Yan Ge refutes what his mother said in the presence of the media by iming that what his mother said isn¡¯t the truth and protecting you at all costs, everyone who¡¯s doubtful about this will eventually believe that it¡¯s the truth. But I believe he wouldn¡¯t firmly refute what his mother said in front of the media, he will only make a roundabout exnation at most.¡± ¡°Why are you so sure about this?¡± ¡°Between their parents and their other half, men would usually choose their parents. Not all, but at least 80 percent of men would do that. Do you think he¡¯s part of that 20 percent? If you think that way, it only means that you don¡¯t understand him enough and that you don¡¯t understand men well enough,¡± Yu Caiwei remarked as she fiddled with her nails. ¡°This is the entertainment industry, which idiot would refute their parent¡¯s words in front of the media and support their girlfriend? They¡¯ll be berated for being unfilial, so it¡¯s too difficult to do that.¡± ¡°I believe he¡¯ll give a clear exnation regarding the incident about the diamond ring.¡± Yu Caiweiughed. ¡°It all depends on how much he exins. An exnation can be a one-liner or a detailed one. Alright, I¡¯ll proceed to the film set first. There are a lot of reporters outside the hotel looking for you. Never would I have expected that though your work hasn¡¯t even been broadcasted, you¡¯ll be popr because of such news. At least now, many people know your name. You should leave by the back door of the hotelter, there¡¯ll probably be fewer reporters there.¡± Fang En sat there without uttering a word. Even until the makeup artist had finished helping her do her makeup, she still stayed put there. ¡°Sis En, shall we go?¡± Xiao Yue asked gently. ¡°Go to the room to get my phone.¡± She passed Xiao Yue the room card and added, ¡°Get my portable charger as well. I¡¯ll wait for you here.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Xiao Yue took the room card from her and swiftly headed there. After she¡¯d been waiting for her for about ten minutes, Xiao Yue had returned, but Yan Ge was still nowhere to be seen. She finally asked, ¡°Has Yan Gee by already?¡± The makeup artist answered, ¡°He came at the break of dawn.¡± She stood up from the chair and switched on her phone. She nced at the screen and saw that the battery level was at 40 percent. Putting on her earphones, she picked a song to y and left the makeup room. While she had left by the back door of the hotel, there were still reporters there waiting for her. Although there weren¡¯t many, it was still not quite easy for her to leave without saying a single word. Fang En put on a mask to cover her face and, once she went through the exit, the reporters immediately surrounded her. ¡°Fang En, do you have any response to make?¡± ¡°Fang En. Yan Ge¡¯s mother imed that you asked him for a diamond ring worth one hundred million dors. Is this true?¡± While she had wanted to leave without making any response, she couldn¡¯t help but change her mind and removed her mask. Upon the sight of this, the reporters started to quieten down and all looked at her. ¡°It was just a joke between us as a couple. I grew up in the countryside, and usually, even spending a little more money on an item makes my heart ache. How could I possibly ask him for a hundred-million-dor diamond ring? It isn¡¯t true.¡± ¡°Then, toward what Yan Ge¡¯s mother said, do you have anything to say in response?¡± Fang En appeared calm andposed. ¡°I¡¯ll send a post on Weibo to reply to that. Thank you.¡± She went past the reporters and simply got onto her nanny van. She had originally thought that after Yan Ge made a response to exin this incident, it woulde to a conclusion. However, after what she had said to the reporters, Yan Ge¡¯s mother, who was also staying at a hotel at B City, immediately refuted her response, iming that she had heard it with her own ears. All that was left to salvage the situation now was for Yan Ge toe out and make a response. Fang En had thought that she would be able to see Yan Ge, but as she wasn¡¯t able to, she could only give him a call. Yet, he did not pick up. She then called Xiao Li, who said that Yan Ge had finished his morning filming and was about to return to the hotel to negotiate with his mother about the matter. She had gone to the film set from the hotel while he had left and was on the way back to the hotel. They had missed each other just like that. She was waiting for him to make a public response regarding the matter. After filming a few scenes consecutively, Fang En had her makeup touched up and sat on the chair with her phone in hand. The page on her phone screen was none other than Yan Ge¡¯s Weibo page. She was waiting for him to make an exnation so that she could respond to it thereafter. From how she saw it, this matter could thene to an end. However, as more time passed, he still did not respond. Fang En¡¯s originally calm heart started to get anxious. She had no choice but to send a text to Yan Ge, pressing him to make a response on his Weibo ount. Finally, Yan Ge returned a call to her. ¡°En, I¡¯m really sorry about this incident.¡± Even though she could not see him face-to-face, from his voice, she could tell that he was probably looking awful. ¡°It¡¯s been hard on you. It wasn¡¯t what you intended anyway. As long as you rify this on your Weibo, it¡¯s fine.¡± Fang En asked, ¡°How was your discussion with your mother?¡± ¡°It didn¡¯t go well. She seems to have lost her rationality now and insists that she¡¯s right. My words can¡¯t get to her at all.¡± Fang En did not expect the Yan Ge¡¯s mother would be so obstinate. It seemed like she was hell-bent on making them break up. ¡°You should post a response first, thene to the film set. I have something to say to you.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Yan Ge responded, thereafter hanging up the call. With her phone in hand, Fang En stared at the phone screen and continued to refresh Yan Ge¡¯s Weibo page repeatedly. However, there was still no new post on his Weibo. She went to shoot another scene and, when she returned, she finally saw a new update on his Weibo. When she saw his new Weibo post to exin the situation, Fang En waspletely stunned. She stared at the post for a long time and carefully read it a few times. Chapter 1196 - I Want to Make You Stay (74)

Chapter 1196: I Want to Make You Stay (74)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Yan Ge wrote a post on his Weibo page, which read: ¡°Regarding the hundred-million-dor ring, En and I were just joking about it, but my mother overheard our conversation and caused a misunderstanding. She got the wrong idea about En and thought that En had really asked me to buy her a ring that costs a hundred million dors. However, that¡¯s far from the truth. To all media personnel, thank you for your concern, but this concerns my personal life and I hope that you¡¯ll allow me the privacy to handle it ordingly on my own.¡± There was nothing wrong with his post. However, that was all he exined. In other words, he had agreed with Mrs. Yan¡¯s statement by failing to deny it. That included everything Mrs. Yan had said about Fang En being extremely unfilial and putting on airs despite not being a big shot. He had merely rified the matter regarding the diamond ring. Fang En opened thements section of histest Weibo post. It turned out to be exactly like what she had expected. It seemed as if theizens had be justice warriors who were analyzing and discussing the matter. ¡°It might be a joke, but I¡¯m guessing Fang En must have been the one who brought it up. She¡¯s just being scheming and indirectly asking Yan Ge for a diamond ring. He would definitely have to get her an expensive one, even if it doesn¡¯t cost a hundred million dors. Tsk, tsk, I¡¯ve known it all along that this woman is a real piece of work.¡± ¡°Seems like everything that Mommy Yan said is real. Otherwise, why did Yan Ge only rify the matter about the diamond ring? There must be something more to this.¡± ¡°Mothers always want the best for their sons. I believe everything that Mommy Yan had said. One look and you can tell that Fang En is not a decent woman. She just tried to seduce Yan Ge using her looks and youth.¡± ¡°Yan Ge, it¡¯s time you wake up and stop being fooled by this wretch, Fang En! Even a random female fan of yours is going to be better than her!¡± ... Fang En responded to the incident by posting a short message on her own Weibo page ¡ª ¡°The wise man knows he knows nothing.¡± Xiao Yue held her mobile phone in front of Fang En and said, ¡°Sis, sis, sis, sis... hurry and take a look at this. It¡¯s reported here that the reporters have decided to visit your family in order to verify if you¡¯re a filial daughter or not. Your parents are currently epting an interview.¡± ¡°What?¡± Fang En immediately called Mrs. Fang. The call only went through after three attempts. Fang Yunxi was the one who picked up. ¡°Sis.¡± ¡°Are the reporters at home now for an interview?¡± ¡°Yes, Father and Mother are receiving an interview now. I¡¯m in my own room. I understand what you¡¯re worried about, Sis. Don¡¯t worry, Father and Mother are enthusiastically singing praises about you,¡± Fang Yunxi said gleefully. Fang En was dumbfounded. I¡¯d count my blessings if they didn¡¯t criticize me, yet they¡¯re actually praising me too? Did they decide to stand on my side on ount of me being their biological daughter? ¡°Enthusiastically singing praises about me?¡± ¡°Of course, you¡¯re our family¡¯s blessing! You deserve the most credit. Sis, Brother-inw is so affluent. This house is awesome. It¡¯s worth millions,¡± Fang Yunxi said agitatedly, unable to contain his excitement. Brother-inw? House? ¡°What house?¡± Fang Yunxi answered, ¡°Sis, you¡¯re still unaware about it? Brother-inw is really great at keeping secrets. Brother-inw sent all of us to Dongtian Estate in the city half an hour before the reporters arrived. Everything inside the house was well decorated and furnished. He told us to tell the reporters that you had bought the house for us. He even gave Father a small saloon car and had a few drinks with him. He¡¯s so affluent. Sis, Brother-inw really dotes on you. You have no idea how ted Father and Mother are now.¡± Fang En knew that the brother-inw whom her brother was referring to was definitely Yan Ge. After all, the whole world knew that she was dating Yan Ge right now. Turns out Yan Ge is really meticulous. He shouldn¡¯t have gone to that expense. It must have cost him at least a few million... A frown creased Fang En¡¯s forehead. If Auntie finds out about this, she¡¯s going to hit the roof... Wait... Fang En asked, ¡°He had a few drinks with Father? When?¡± ¡°Right before the reporters arrived. They did so a short while before he left.¡± ¡°Yunxi, whose name is the house registered under?¡± ¡°Yours. Brother-inw said that the house is registered under your name,¡± Fang Yunxi answered. ¡°Mine?¡± asked Fang En, who was puzzled. My personal identification documents would be required for the purchase and administrative procedures of buying a house, be it new or secondhand. Isn¡¯t that so? ¡°Of course. Brother-inw wanted us to move in here. He said that this would be our home from now on.¡± Fang En ended the call with a heavy heart. Yan Ge¡¯s actions had caused her a great emotional burden. ¡°Sis, Yan Ge is here,¡± said Xiao Yue. Fang En looked up to see that Yan Ge was walking toward her, dressed in period costume. His manager and Xiao Li were walking beside him. She stepped forward and said, ¡°Get inside the nanny van.¡± He nodded and proceeded to his nanny van together with her. It became much darker inside the car after they closed the door. ¡°Thank you,¡± she said. ¡°I should have done that. Although I had already posted that message on Weibo, there are still lots ofizens who are berating you. Don¡¯t bother looking at those negativements.¡± ¡°Your mother is going to blow her top if she finds out about it. I¡¯ll return the money to you.¡± Yan Ge asked in puzzlement, ¡°Money? What money?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you buy my family a house?¡± Fang En asked in bewilderment. Shaking his head, Yan Ge answered, ¡°No.¡± Fang En asked again, ¡°Didn¡¯t you move my parents to the city?¡± ¡°No.¡± Who else could it be if it wasn¡¯t him? Xiao Chenyang. She could not think of another person who would do that for her. Noticing that she had grown silent all of a sudden, he asked, ¡°You mean, you don¡¯t even know who bought the house that your parents imed you had bought in the interview?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve seen the interview?¡± ¡°I did just now. It was a live-stream. En, I¡¯m asking you a question.¡± ¡°I now know who had bought it,¡± said Fang En, who subconsciously felt more relieved and rid of emotional burden. ¡°Who?¡± Fang En avoided his question and instead said, ¡°Yan Ge, why did you only rify the issue about the ring? Your mother made so many false usations against me, you clearly know that they¡¯re not true...¡± ¡°I¡¯ve read everything my mother said. If I listed them all out one by one...¡± Yan Ge paused and did not finish the rest of his sentence, thinking that Fang En should have understood what he meant. However, Fang En probed, ¡°Then what?¡± ¡°That would be akin to telling the whole world that my mother is unreasonable and was cooking up stories. She¡¯s already old in her years. I don¡¯t want her to be berated by strangers when she¡¯s out on the streets.¡± Fang En was speechless. She looked at him and said, ¡°Yan Ge, I have something to say to you.¡± / ¡°What is it? Go ahead.¡± ¡°You once said that you¡¯ll never treat me as your friend. Let¡¯s go back to having a senior-and-junior rtionship. Alright?¡± Fang En said. ¡°You¡¯re... breaking up with me?¡± Yan Ge asked with astonishment written all over his face. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Is it because of my mother?¡± ¡°Your mother is not the main reason why I¡¯m breaking up with you. Yan Ge, the issue lies with me.¡± Yan Ge had no idea what other reason there could be behind her decision to break up with him. ¡°The issue lies with you?¡± After giving it some thought, Yan Ge asked, ¡°Is it because of Xiao Chenyang?¡± Chapter 1197 - I Want to Make You Stay (75)

Chapter 1197: I Want to Make You Stay (75)

Not wanting to lie to him, Fang En answered, ¡°Yes.¡± Yan Ge did not expect her to be so honest. He asked, ¡°Is it because he had given you a hundred-million-dor ring and bought you an exorbitantly-priced wedding gown? Is it because he¡¯s richer than me?¡± ¡°Do I seem like such a materialistic and superficial woman to you? If it were because of that reason, I would have gotten together with him long ago.¡± Fang En did not wish to exin any further, for she felt that Yan Ge would think that she was merely giving him excuses, even if she were to tell him about her and Xiao Chenyang¡¯s previous lifetime. ¡°Just what is the reason, then!?!¡± Yan Ge barked, seething with anger. He was clearly agitated by her decision to break up with him. ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯ve finally discovered the difference between admiration and love. I¡¯ve also realized who the person who truly loves me is. Let¡¯s continue working with each other amicably and not allow our rtionship to affect the production of this television series. I know you¡¯re a very professional actor,¡± said Fang En, who opened the car door and tried to alight from the van. However, Yan Ge grabbed her wrist and hugged her forcefully. He said, ¡°If you¡¯re not satisfied with my Weibo post, I can post another rification. I¡¯ll definitely persuade my mother and convince her to stop being prejudiced against you. Give me some time. Xiao Chenyang has only known you for a short period of time and yet he¡¯s already spent so much on you. He¡¯s just trying to make you fall for him. Once he wins your heart, he¡¯s going to throw you aside. He¡¯s not going to treasure you. Didn¡¯t you see that girl who was beside him when we were at theke? I¡¯m a man, I understand very well what other men are thinking. When he¡¯s trying to subdue you and woo you, he¡¯ll do whatever it takes to win your heart. Things will be different once he gets his hands on you.¡± ¡°I think I know better than you do what kind of a person he really is. Yan Ge, I¡¯ve thought about it carefully. You¡¯ll never understand clearly how I feel. I¡¯ll announce the news of our breakup only after the television series has been broadcast. I don¡¯t want our personal issues to affect the television series. Besides, the investors have invested so much money in the production,¡± she said, staring at Yan Ge calmly. She alighted from the van and left without turning back to look at him. Dumbstruck, Yan Ge watched her leave as misery filled him. He thought that they would end up getting married. He did not expect to lose her so soon. It happened all too suddenly. .... Fang En returned to her seat. After trying to calm herself down for two minutes, she called Xiao Chenyang and found that he did not switch off his mobile phone. She hurriedly ended the call and typed out a text message. ¡°I¡¯ve already broken up with Yan Ge.¡± Her message was delivered and read. He had already seen her text message. Fang En began to get nervous and excited. How is he going to reply to me? She ced her phone down before picking it up again. She still did not receive his reply. Why isn¡¯t he replying to me? Fang En looked at Xiao Yue and asked, ¡°What does it mean if someone doesn¡¯t reply to your text message even after reading it?¡± Xiao Yue answered, ¡°That¡¯ll depend on who the person is. If the recipient is just an ordinary friend or acquaintance, that just means that he or she finds the text message irrelevant and doesn¡¯t want to reply. However, if you¡¯re close to them, they¡¯re probably thinking of how to reply to you.¡± ¡°What if the recipient is in love with me?¡± ¡°That¡¯ll depend on the content of the text message.¡± Xiao Yue chuckled and continued, ¡°Sis En, different content will garner different responses. If the content is irrelevant, he probably wouldn¡¯t reply. If it¡¯s only been a while since you¡¯ve sent the message, he¡¯s probably brainstorming for a reply. But of course, if you sent a message to tell him that you had broken up with your boyfriend, he¡¯ll probably die of joy. If that¡¯s the case, he should be on his way now.¡± ¡°On his way?¡± ¡°Of course. He¡¯d be desperately eager to see you.¡± Fang En sprung up from her seat and patted Xiao Yue on her shoulder. ¡°Xiao Yue, I think that your IQ is slowly increasing. What a great analysis.¡± ¡°Sis En, my IQ is high to begin with, alright?¡± ¡°Yes, yes, you¡¯ve got brains and beauty.¡± Xiao Yue stared at her in shock and asked, ¡°Sis En, why do you seem to be in such a good mood today?¡± Instead of answering Xiao Yue¡¯s question, she said, ¡°I¡¯m going to go to work now.¡± At the sight of her leaving to get her makeup done, Xiao Yue hurriedly chased after her. Fang En had never been so agitated and excited before. She was way more thrilled than she was when she had finally bought her own apartment. She was looking forward to seeing him again. Little did she know how ted Xiao Chenyang was the moment he read the message. He rarely ever smiled. However, he was grinning widely from ear to ear when he read the message. He almost dropped his mobile phone. He read the message over and over again before finallying to terms that she was indeed the one who had sent the text. How surprising. He didn¡¯t expect that she woulde to a decision so soon and thought that she would need at least a few days. He proceeded to take a thorough shower and put on his white buttoned shirt, ck suit, tie, and leather shoes. After making sure that he was dashing and all ready to go, he got inside his Aston Martin and drove to the city center. The air seemed to feel fresher, and the trees were much lusher. He sped along the streets and toward the filming location. Xiao Chenyang shifted his gaze onto the window the moment he arrived. Although the rain had already stopped, the ground was still wet outside. He put on a pair of shades and alighted from the car. Xiao Yue had just returned with some burgers from the fast-food restaurant. Upon the sight of him, she eximed excitedly, ¡°Cousin!¡± Her loud voice captured the attention of everyone else. Xiao Chenyang smiled at her. Staring at the stic bag in her hand, he asked, ¡°You haven¡¯t had lunch?¡± ¡°Yeah, I haven¡¯t. Sis En told me to go buy some hamburgers. Cousin, have you eaten yet?¡± asked Xiao Yue, whose heart raced and fluttered upon the sight of him smiling at her. ¡°No.¡± ¡°You can have mine, then. I¡¯ll go downstairs to get another set.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t eat those. I¡¯ll take you guys out for some nice foodter.¡± Xiao Yue¡¯s eyes lit up with joy and she asked, ¡°Really? Awesome! I¡¯m feeling so peckish! Ah, Cousin, you¡¯re the best!¡± ¡°Are you guys done with filming yet?¡± ¡°No, not yet. They¡¯re still busy filming. We¡¯ll be getting a break after this scene and resume only in the evening. Cousin, I haven¡¯t seen you in a while, where did you go?¡± ¡°Nowhere special. I just went to take a breather and unwind.¡± ¡°Cousin, do you know that you¡¯re much warmer and friendlier today? You must stay like this all the time from now on,¡± Xiao Yue said excitedly. ¡°...¡± Xiao Yue took the initiative to give the burgers away to the chauffeurs and bodyguards. ¡°Here, you guys have this. Sis En and I are going to eat something elseter.¡± ¡°You guys may go back to A Cityter. I¡¯ll take over from here,¡± Xiao Chenyang said to the two bodyguards. ¡°Yes, Mr. Xiao,¡± they agreed in unison. Xiao Chenyang looked at Fang En, who was focused on filming and had yet to discover his presence. Thus, he took a seat on the chair and waited for her quietly. The smitten Xiao Yue sat beside him and stole nces at him every now and then. Chapter 1198 - I Want to Make You Stay (76)

Chapter 1198: I Want to Make You Stay (76)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The other female crewmembers began shifting their gazes onto him as well. ¡°If you keep looking at me, I¡¯m going to gouge your eyes out. You know I hate it when people keep staring at me,¡± he warned Xiao Yue. ¡°Fine, fine, I¡¯ll stop staring at you,¡± said Xiao Yue, who then cocked her head sideways. However, she could not help but turn back around to look at him before looking away again. Fang En snapped out of her character when Director Gao cued for them to stop. ¡°Look who¡¯s there,¡± said Yu Caiwei, who discovered that Xiao Chenyang had shown up. Fang En looked in the direction that Yu Caiwei was staring at and caught sight of him. She immediately scurried toward him while Yu Caiwei squinted with her arms folded. Fang En ran toward Xiao Chenyang and said while panting heavily, ¡°You¡¯re here.¡± Xiao Yue was dumbfounded. That was because Fang En¡¯s voice was tender and gentle when she spoke to Xiao Chenyang, a stark contrast from the way she used to speak to him. Xiao Chenyang stood up and ced his mobile phone inside his pocket. ¡°What would you like to eat?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll eat anything...¡± ¡°I know of a specialty restaurant that serves delicious food. I¡¯ll take you guys there.¡± ¡°Okay...¡± Fang En answered softly, not daring to look at him. ¡ª¡ª The zombie outbreak resulted in the loss of a massive number of innocent lives. Wang Jinsheng was initially supposed to be stripped of his position. However, the higher authorities decided not to punish him on ount that he had worked hard in the archeological team for over three decades. Meanwhile, Pan Zhenghui was reprimanded and castigated for his mistakes. He was told to kill the corpse right away before reporting, should such an incident arise again. Such measures were implemented so as to prevent history from repeating itself. Pan Zhenghui nodded profusely and adhered to every instruction given by his superiors, as if he was fresh blood going through training. Pan Zhenghui had broken out into a cold sweat after being berated. He whipped out his handkerchief to wipe the sweat off his forehead. He then said to Team Leader Zhang sternly, ¡°This time, we really had a close shave with death. We almost lost our jobs. Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Bureau Chief, do we head back to the police station straight?¡± ¡°What for? Let¡¯s return to the archeological research center,¡± Pan Zhenghui snapped before storming off to get inside the car. Noticing how gloomy he looked, Team Leader Zhang dared not utter another word and, instead, got inside the car as well. Wang Jinsheng happened to be in the midst of a meeting with the archeologists from his team when they arrived at the archeological research center. At the sight of Pan Zhenghui, Wang Jinsheng thought to himself that the former must havee to give him a lecture. He handed Pan Zhenghui a carton of cigarettes that were meant for entertaining guests and said while smiling, ¡°You¡¯re here, Bureau Chief.¡± Pan Zhenghui stared at the premium cigarettes, which cost 100 dors per pack. Given how many packs there were in a carton, he knew that the carton must have cost a bomb. He pretended to decline and said courteously, ¡°Captain Wang, you may keep them for yourself. I have my own cigarettes.¡± Wang Jinsheng insisted, ¡°Take it, Bureau Chief. I still have these cigarettes at home. I bought them with my own money. Rest assured and take them for him, Team Leader Zhang.¡± Team Leader Zhang had no choice but to hold it for Pan Zhenghui. Just as Pan Zhenghui was about to speak, a red Ferrari sped through the entrance. He could recognize that it was An Xiaoning¡¯s car. He then shoved the carton of cigarettes back to Wang Jinsheng and said, ¡°How can I ept your cigarettes? Take it back.¡± Being wise and quick-witted, Wang Jinsheng immediately brought the cigarettes back to the room. When he came out again, An Xiaoning was already standing in front of him. ¡°I saw from afar that Bureau Chief Pan was handing a carton of cigarettes to Captain Wang. Who do those cigarettes belong to?¡± ¡°Well, Captain Wang felt bad for causing us to be implicated because of this zombie issue. He bought those cigarettes with his own money and gave them to me. How can I ept them? Thus, I returned them to him,¡± Pan Zhenghui exined. ¡°Yes, yes, it¡¯s just a personal token from me,¡± Wang Jinsheng said with a wry smile. An Xiaoning pped her hands sarcastically and said, ¡°A personal token? We may believe that you really bought them with your own money, but if others hear about it, will they believe you too? It¡¯s better not to take such risks.¡± Pan Zhenghui rubbed his hands together and chuckled. ¡°Yes, Xiaoning, you¡¯re right. Xiaoning, what brings you here?¡± ¡°Nothing, I just wanted to find out more about the situation. Why are you here?¡± ¡°I dropped by to have a look. We¡¯re leaving now,¡± said Pan Zhenghui, gesturing for his subordinates to leave. ¡°Goodbye, Bureau Chief Pan,¡± said Wang Jinsheng, who walked them out. An Xiaoning said, ¡°I came to ask you some questions.¡± ¡°Pleasee in, Ms. An.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± she said as she followed Wang Jinsheng inside. She entered Wang Jinsheng¡¯s office to see that it boasted of an archeological vibe, which matched his profession. An Xiaoning ced her hand on the chair and asked, ¡°Captain Wang, under what conditions do corpses mutate?¡± Not expecting her to ask such a question, Wang Jinsheng answered, ¡°This is a long story, but a more scientific exnation will be that it has to do with the way that the corpse is stored and preserved. An imbnce in pH levels of the soil around the corpse will lead to an increase in bacteria and parasite growth, which will allow the muscle tissues and hair of the corpse to remain intact, even after centuries. Some research reports have shown that the hair and nails of some corpses do continue to grow due to the muscr contractions that ur after death, causing the hair and nails to be exposed. This can be ssified under the category of damp corpses, the state in between a normal corpse and a mutated one. If the conditions are not altered after the buffer period, the corpse will quickly mutate into zombies.¡± ¡°What else?¡± ¡°There are some bits of information that haven¡¯t been rified. There are rumors spreading around, iming that individuals who have practiced witchcraft all their lives will be zombies centuries after their deaths. There¡¯s also another theory that states that corpses will mutate once they¡¯re possessed by evil beings.¡± An Xiaoning said, ¡°I know that when one is on the brink of death, their spirit and soul are going to leave their body and turn into evil zombies. However, I only know that based on hearsay. It hasn¡¯t been verified yet. However, since you¡¯ve said that the mutation was the result of the pH conditions of the burial ground, does that mean there might be other corpses buried near that coffin that have...¡± Wang Jinsheng stared at her with his mouth gaping and asked, ¡°You... you mean...¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious what I mean? That¡¯s what I¡¯m worried about. So, you¡¯d better send your subordinates to carry out screening as soon as possible.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, yes,¡± said Wang Jinsheng, who frantically did as instructed. When he returned, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll inform you and keep you posted regardless of whether there are any results or not.¡± ¡°Okay. By the way, Wen Lele is getting married tomorrow. Has she sent you guys her wedding invitation?¡± Shaking his head, Wang Jinsheng answered, ¡°Did she send you an invite too? She¡¯s already left the team so long ago. Who would want to attend her wedding and give her money? She doesn¡¯t quite get along with everyone anyway.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be taking my leave now, then,¡± said An Xiaoning, who decided not to stay any longer since she had alreadypleted her agenda. ¡°Alright, goodbye, Ms. An.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Chapter 1199 - I Want to Make You Stay (77)

Chapter 1199: I Want to Make You Stay (77)

Xiao Yue was the only one chattering noisily throughout dinner while the two of them barely spoke. It was inconvenient for them to talk with others around. Fang En decided to talk to him in private when they return to the hotelter. Xiao Yue was beyond excited and thrilled throughout the entire journey. She had never ridden in such an expensive car and did not mind having to squeeze in the backseat. It was an eyeopening experience for her. Upon arriving at the hotel, the three of them entered the elevator together. When the elevator ascended to the ninth floor, Xiao Yue exited. Noticing that Xiao Chenyang was remaining still, she asked, ¡°Cousin, aren¡¯t you going to go back to your room?¡± ¡°Um... I have something to tell him in private,¡± said Fang En. ¡°Oh. In that case, Sis... I¡¯ll meet you again in the evening,¡± said Xiao Yue. ¡°Alright,¡± Fang En answered, after which the elevator doors closed. The two of them were left alone in the elevator. Fang En subconsciously turned to the side to look at him. Smiling, he held her gaze, and they both had a tacit understanding. Ding! The elevator arrived on the tenth floor. They were almost in sync when exiting the elevator. Fang En took the lead while he kept a close distance behind her. Fang En unlocked the door with her key card when she reached her room. As soon as she entered, he hugged her tightly and closed the door using his foot. Fang En stood rooted to the ground and remained silent for a while before turning around to face him. She did not utter a single word and instead tiptoed to kiss him. Xiao Chenyang held her waist and pulled her closer toward him to kiss her deeply. Due to how forceful he was, Fang En lost her bnce and retreated backward while he leaned toward her. He moved her all the way inside and onto the bed. Panting heavily, Fang En gazed at him and asked, ¡°Do you still love me?¡± Staring at her with an intense gaze, Xiao Chenyang asked, ¡°If I didn¡¯t love you, why would I havee and look for you?¡± Fang En draped her arms around his neck and said coquettishly, ¡°How would I know? Maybe you came to see how much of a joke I¡¯ve be.¡± He lowered his head and kissed her again before saying, ¡°Why would I do that? Who would dare to make fun of you? Tell me his or her name and I¡¯ll make sure that that person will never have the chance to make fun of you again.¡± Fang En blushed red with shyness. Despite already knowing the answer, she asked again, ¡°Were you the one who picked my parents up and moved them to the city? Did you also buy them a house and a car?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Why did you...¡± ¡°I was the one who called the reporters and sent them to your ce. I wanted to clear your name. If I can shut them up and stop them from spouting nonsense with some money, why not? Besides, they¡¯re your parents. As their son-inw, it¡¯s only right that I do my part.¡± ¡°Son-inw...¡± Recalling the way her brother had addressed him, Fang En asked, ¡°Did you tell my parents that you were my boyfriend?¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t. How could I call myself your boyfriend when you haven¡¯t broken up with Yan Ge back then? I told them that I was wooing you and that the house is already registered under your name,¡± he said smugly. ¡°Why did my brother call you brother-inw, then...?¡± Fang En asked. ¡°I can¡¯t stop him if he likes addressing me that way. Have you really broken up with him?¡± he asked. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve already broken up with him in person. The television series that Sis Xiaoning had invested in is yet to go on air. This current one that I¡¯m starring in is also still in the works. I¡¯m nning to announce the news of our breakup after this one has finished broadcasting. Do you find it... too much time to wait?¡± ¡°Not at all. Anyway, I want to be with you every day from now on.¡± Fang En had never felt so in love with someone before. She could not help but be filled with immense joy, just by staring at him. ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡± ¡°I wanted to ask you, do you want to take a shower together?¡± he continued. ¡°...¡± ¡°Do you?¡± ¡°No, you go first...¡± He stood up and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll shower first.¡± He had clearly already taken a shower beforeing to see her. However, he somehow felt an urge to shower again, even if it was just a rinse... Fang En watched as he removed his clothes slowly, feeling as if the temperature in the air was rising. She kicked her shoes off andy down. She initially thought that he would head inside the bathroom once he had stripped down to his underwear. To her astonishment... He removed it too. This was... tant seduction! Turning beet red, Fang En shut her eyes tightly as her heart raced so rapidly that she felt as if she was about to get a heart attack. She opened her eyes only after she heard his footsteps entering the washroom. A few minutester, Xiao Chenyang exited with a towel wrapped around his waist. Fang En exchanged nces with him, and she frantically got out of bed in a bid to avoid him. ¡°I¡¯ll go brush my teeth and shower.¡± He smiled and waited for her to return. Fang En entered the washroom to see that he had used the new toothbrush that she was initially nning to rece hers with. Thus, she had no choice but to continue using her old one. She brushed her teeth, took a shower, and exited half an hourter. Fang En walked toward the bed slowly, unsure of where to ce her hands. As soon as she reached the bed, he pulled her onto him, causing her to lie t on his chest. She froze and murmured, ¡°Xiao Chenyang...¡± ¡°Call me Hubby.¡± ¡°Hubby...¡± Fang En said softly, despite feeling a little embarrassed. Xiao Chenyang rested his arms behind his head and looked at her. ¡°You must address me that way from now on. I like hearing you call me ¡®Hubby.¡¯¡± ¡°I can only do that when we¡¯re alone. I still have to address you by your name when there are outsiders around...¡± Xiao Chenyang gazed at her with tears in his eyes. Heaven is really kind to me, after all. Not only did he let me find her, he even allowed us to be reunited. ¡°En...¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I love you.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°I really love you.¡± ¡°I said I know.¡± ¡°I love you very, very much.¡± She looked up and asked, ¡°To... what extent?¡± ¡°I¡¯m willing to give you everything that I have, including my life.¡± Fang En lifted herself up slightly and ced her hands by his side. She straddled him and began kissing him gently. Xiao Chenyang cupped her face in his hands and stuck his tongue into her mouth. He then flipped her over and got on top of her before pulling the ribbon of her bathrobe to expose her bare body. She was stark naked, and her porcin skin exuded the heavenly scent of her shower gel. Her petite body seemed to be calling his name. Noticing that he had untied her bathrobe, Fang En cupped her face with her hands bashfully. Xiao Chenyang could not help but find her adorable. Chapter 1200 - I Want to Make You Stay (78)

Chapter 1200: I Want to Make You Stay (78)

He smiled and caressed her tender and silky skin. He felt an electrifying chill down his spine as his hormones began to rage. He lowered his head again and kissed her brow bone, her eyelid, her nose, her face, her lips, her ear, and, finally, her neck. His unique scent wafted up to her nose. Fang En was greatly aroused by his affection and could not contain her excitement. She began to feel dreamy and tipsy, despite not having drunk any alcohol at all. Her eyes soon started to ss over. She could not suppress her overflowing desire. Extremely eager to get intimate with her, he tugged his towel off his waist and cast it aside before separating her legs. Feeling extremely nervous, Fang En grabbed his arms tightly and bit her lip while saying, ¡°Be more gentle, I¡¯m afraid that it would hurt.¡± When he tried to enter her, he was hindered by an obstruction. He knew clearly what it was. A woman¡¯s first sexual encounter would definitely be ufortable. Fang En did not expect it to hurt so badly. It was perhaps because of the sheer size of his member. Despite knowing that he was being careful and resisting his urge to thrust forward, she was still in immense pain. Fortunately, the pain was only temporary. Once the pleasure sets in, the pain would fade. She felt a soothing relief the moment he filled her. He had finally made her a woman, and she now belonged to him. Once the me of passion was ignited, there was no way to put it out. They spent the rest of the afternoon in bed. Fang En could no longer move by the time they were done. Even the slightest movement made her ache immensely all over. She headed to the bathroom to wash up. She received a great shock the moment she stared at herself in the mirror while standing by the basin. There were hickeys all over her body, starting from her neck. While getting dressed, she deliberately tied a scarf around her neck, so as to hide the hickeys. Xiao Yue returned to Fang En¡¯s room, only to find that thetter appeared much more radiant than before. ¡°Sis En, did you visit the beauty salon in the afternoon?¡± ¡°Do you have bionic eyes?¡± ¡°Why is your face so red, then?¡± ¡°...¡± Xiao Chenyang sat on the couch and drawled, ¡°Your Sis En has gotten a beauty treatment thatsted throughout the entire afternoon.¡± Fang En blushed again shyly and said to Xiao Yue, ¡°Tell the stylist that I want to wear a cored top for filming tonight.¡± ¡°Cored? Alright, I¡¯ll go and tell her now.¡± After Xiao Yue left, Fang En rubbed her aching back and sat down beside him. ¡°It¡¯s all your fault. It hurts to even walk now.¡± He nodded and said, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s all my fault. I shouldn¡¯t have pleasured you so greatly.¡± Fang En was rendered speechless by his words. ¡ª¡ª There were lots of rumors about Shi Shaochuan, despite him not being involved in the entertainment industry. He was notorious for being involved in scandals and made it onto the news again after a long time because of his third marriage. Most people would not make it onto the news despite getting married for the eighth time. However, it was different for Shi Shaochuan, especially since his former wives were well-known figures. Most of the guests who attended the wedding were Wen Lele¡¯s friends, and there were only a few who were from Shi Shaochuan¡¯s extended family. Shi Shaochuan had almost lost touch with his extended family members after going to jail and losing his closest kin. However, it was still his big day, after all, and they would show up even if they didn¡¯t want to. The solemnization ceremony and banquet were both held in a hotel instead of the Shi family mansion. Shi Shaochuan¡¯s wedding gave Bu Xianxian the sulks. Ever since she failed to seduce Gu Beicheng, she had been trying to search for a new target. However, she had extremely high expectations of men. Being a superficial person who was overly concerned with appearance, she insisted on looking for young and handsome men. Apart from that, she also demanded that the man give her a monthly allowance of 50 thousand dors and cover all her material expenses. However, reality hit her that young, handsome, and wealthy men were not in need of beautiful girlfriends at all. There were countless women who would throw themselves at such men. Hence, there was no way they would go out of their way to make Bu Xianxian their kept woman using so much money. However, she was not willing to shortchange herself by dating old and hideous men, regardless of how wealthy they may be. Thus, she had yet to find a man who was willing to take her as his mistress. She would sometimes be reminded of Shi Shaochuan, thinking to herself, If only Shi Shaochuan didn¡¯t find out about my pregnancy back then. I could have aborted it secretly. I had given him my virginity anyway. I was extremely foolish. How quick of him to have found another wife so soon. Bu Xianxian could not help but feel disgruntled while reading the news reports about his wedding. She felt that she had indeed suffered a major loss. She deliberately dolled herself up and showed up uninvited to Shi Shaochuan¡¯s wedding. Shi Shaochuan appeared confident and energetic. He was dressed in an immacte suit with a red groom¡¯s corsage in front of his chest. His merry mood was destroyed the moment he caught sight of Bu Xianxian, who was standing amongst the crowd. His smile vanished instantly. I don¡¯t remember inviting her to the wedding. Why is she here... He immediately asked softly, ¡°Why are you here?¡± Bu Xianxian put on an innocent smile and said, ¡°How could I be absent for your wedding? Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t have other intentions.¡± The more she told him to rest assured, the more uneasy he felt. The wedding would definitely be ruined if she were to spout any nonsense about their past rtionship, especially since the majority of the guests were Wen Lele¡¯s family and friends. ¡°Come with me,¡± said Shi Shaochuan, who exited the hall and headed upstairs. He quickly zoomed inside a private room while no one was paying attention. Bu Xianxian entered unhurriedly, all smiles. ¡°It¡¯s already over between us. I paid you more than enough when we were dating, including the fees for your abortion, so you have nothing to do with me from now on. Xianxian, don¡¯t tell me that you¡¯re here to congratte me. I know what you¡¯re like, even though we didn¡¯t spend that much time with each other. Don¡¯t create trouble for me and for yourself. Alright?¡± Bu Xianxian walked toward him and said, ¡°Shaochuan, how could you think of me that way? Am I such a troublemaker? We¡¯re old mes, after all. I merely saw the news about your wedding, so...¡± She sobbed and continued, ¡°I felt terrible. I actually still really fancy you, and I even gave you my virginity. I haven¡¯t had another boyfriend after you, all because I still can¡¯t get over you.¡± Recalling her pre-surgery appearance, Shi Shaochuan said, ¡°But I¡¯m getting married soon. It¡¯s my wedding today. It¡¯s impossible between us.¡± Hanging her head low, Bu Xianxian said, ¡°I¡¯m not going to ruin your marriage. I did look mediocre before I went under the knife, but it was all gics and I can¡¯t choose my appearance. I look beautiful now, don¡¯t I? I¡¯m willing to continue being by your side without a proper status.¡± Chapter 1201 - I Want to Make You Stay (79)

Chapter 1201: I Want to Make You Stay (79)

¡°Impossible. I¡¯ve already decided to cut all ties with you,¡± Shi Shaochuan said with a look of astonishment. Bu Xianxian nodded and said, ¡°In that case, forget it. I¡¯m not going topel you. I¡¯ll excuse myself now. Since I¡¯ve given you a red packet for your wedding, I must enjoy the banquet.¡± Shi Shaochuan took out a thick wad of cash from his wallet and handed it to her. ¡°Don¡¯t eat here, go to any other hotel for a meal.¡± Bu Xianxian grabbed it and said gleefully, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll listen to you.¡± Noticing that Shi Shaochuan was about to leave, Bu Xianxian hugged him and said, ¡°Shaochuan, congrattions on getting married. I hope you¡¯ll be happy.¡± Shi Shaochuan pushed her away and said, ¡°Got it. Hurry and go back.¡± Bu Xianxian watched him leave, and her lips curled into a smile after counting the cash in her hands. When she made her way downstairs, she coincidentally bumped into Shi Bao¡¯er, who was sitting upright by the table. Bu Xianxian stared at her and thought to herself, What a little devil. Seems like the new Mrs. Shi is going to have a lot to deal with. Shi Shaochuan is definitely going to lead a chaotic life from now on. .... The wedding proceeded smoothly. After it ended, they drove back to the Shi family mansion from the hotel. Staring at Shi Bao¡¯er, who had been behaving herself throughout the wedding, Shi Shaochuan said, ¡°Our Bao¡¯er is so grown up and sensible now. Bao¡¯er, what would you like as a present? I¡¯ll buy it for you.¡± ¡°Daddy, if you insist on giving me a present, just let me stay at home to y for a few days. I really like Auntie Wen.¡± ¡°Alright, you have my permission. You may take a few days¡¯ break and stay at home,¡± Shi Shaochuan said with a smile. ¡°Okay. Daddy, I¡¯m tired, I¡¯m going to go back to my room to take a nap.¡± ¡°Alright, go ahead,¡± said Shi Shaochuan, who watched Shi Bao¡¯er enter her room. He held Wen Lele¡¯s hand and began walking toward the front. ¡°My daughter has really be so sensible,¡± he said. ¡°She seems like an obedient child. She¡¯s not as terrifying as you made her out to be. It¡¯s only normal for children to be rebellious, especially since her parents got a divorce when she was still so young. She¡¯ll be fine after you teach her slowly.¡± ¡°You have no idea what she had done in the past. Perhaps she had inherited her bad temper from me. You must be exhausted from the toasting ceremony. I¡¯m tired too. Shall we rest together?¡± Wen Lele agreed with a nod, ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°Would you like to eat something? You barely ate just now.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll tell the cooks to prepare some food for you.¡± Wen Lele turned to look at him and found him to be rather gentlemanly, unlike what he was rumored to be ording to the media and news reports. She returned to the bedroom. As soon as she sat on the bed, Shi Shaochuan removed her stilettos for her and massaged her feet. ¡°Women tend to get achy feet after wearing high heels for an extended period of time. Do you feel better now?¡± Joy was written all over Wen Lele¡¯s face. ¡°Yes, I feel much better now,¡± she said. ¡°We¡¯ve only known each other for a short amount of time and I barely know much about you. Could you tell me more about your past? I¡¯d like to find out more,¡± he asked. Wen Lele answered, ¡°Actually... there¡¯s nothing much to tell you about my past. I began working with the archeological team right after I graduated from university. I only quit my job this year. However, there was a hair-raising incident that I had experienced before. I¡¯m not sure if you¡¯ll want to hear it.¡± ¡°What was it?¡± ¡°When I was still in the archeological team, we once followed our captain and An Xiaoning to an ancient residence in G City. Jin Qingyan actually went there too. However, it was obvious that his purpose was not entirely to apany An Xiaoning.¡± Shi Shaochuan asked out of curiosity, ¡°What was he there for, then?¡± Wen Lele smiled and said, ¡°That ce was too spooky. Apart from me and another female colleague of mine, the rest of the team members had all passed away. I then returned to A City to call An Xiaoning along with us. Jin Qingyan arrived too shortly after. The two of them then entered the ancient residence together. During the day, our archeological team found arge ditch in which there were more than nine hundred corpses. Jin Qingyan took all of them with him and buried them ordingly. However, our captain found it inappropriate since they were unrted to Jin Qingyan. However, Jin Qingyan replied, ¡®Who said they¡¯re not rted to me?¡¯ and refused to exin his rtionship with them when Captain asked about it. We then discussed this secretly behind the captain¡¯s back, and we all found him to be shady and mysterious.¡± ¡°Everyone knows that the Jin family¡¯s ancestral burial ground is in A City. What does that ancient residence in G City have to do with him? Did his ancestors live in G City before moving to A City?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what we had guessed too. Otherwise, why would he have wanted to take matters into his own hands and bury so many corpses himself? Well, only he and An Xiaoning would know the reason. I never used to believe in superstitions. However, I¡¯vepletely believed in them ever since that incident urred. It has greatly traumatized me and my colleague. If we didn¡¯t manage to escape the ordeal, we probably would have died too.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t dwell on it anymore. That just means that Heaven didn¡¯t want you to die yet so that you could marry me. Your happiness is about to arrive.¡± Wen Lele smiled and said, ¡°I believe you¡¯ll treat me well. Won¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Knock, knock, knock. One of the servants said, ¡°Young Sir, Young Madam¡¯s food is ready.¡± Shi Shaochuan stood up to wash his hands and said, ¡°Bring it in.¡± The servant ced the tray on the table and said, ¡°Young Madam, have a taste of the food. Let me know if you like it or not. If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll make you something else.¡± ¡°It looks delicious,¡± said Wen Lele, who was ted and pleased to hear the servant call her ¡°Young Madam.¡± Although she married the twice-divorced Shi Shaochuan, she was confident that she would be hisst wife. She felt that she would stay in his life forever. From now on, I no longer have to slog my guts out for a pathetic monthly sry. I can focus on being a Young Madam. As for continuing the Shi family bloodline... After the servant left, she asked Shi Shaochuan, who had just exited from the washroom, ¡°You really want a son, don¡¯t you?¡± Shocked to hear her words, he thought to himself, We just got married. How am I supposed to answer that? I shouldn¡¯t be pressuring her. ¡°I do wish to have a son who can carry on the family bloodline, of course. After all, the Shi family... but I don¡¯t wish to pressure you right now...¡± Staring at him, Wen Lele said solemnly, ¡°No, you have the right mentality. You¡¯re thest male heir of the Shi family. It¡¯s only right that you¡¯d want a son. Rest assured, I¡¯m already prepared to give birth to a son for you. Even if we get a daughter on our first try, I¡¯ll keep trying until we get a son. This is my mission.¡± Shi Shaochuan was on cloud nine after hearing her words. He eximed in joy, ¡°I knew marrying you was the best decision I could ever make. You¡¯re such a sensible and understanding person. It¡¯s my blessing to be able to marry you.¡± Chapter 1202 - I Want to Make You Stay (80)

:Chapter 1202 I Want to Make You Stay (80)

¡°Isn¡¯t it a woman¡¯s duty to give birth? It doesn¡¯t matter how many children you bear. Besides, the child will still be your flesh and blood. We don¡¯t have to worry about the costs of raising a child anyway. We can totally afford to raise them. I like children too. If we end up with lots of children, don¡¯tin that they¡¯re too noisy or annoying.¡± ¡°Why would Iin? I would be over the moon. You¡¯re right, Lele. Hurry and have something to eat. You must be famished,¡± he said in a gentle and tender voice. Wen Lele nodded and began eating while sitting cross-legged on the bed. ¡°By the way, I actually want to know about something. Could you answer me truthfully?¡± ¡°Speak.¡± ¡°There are lots of rumors and theories about you online. However, I¡¯d like to hear it from you. Why did you divorce An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyue?¡± ¡°Well, I utterly detested An Xiaoning, and my grandfather was the one who arranged for me to marry her. I wasn¡¯t willing toply at all. We were merely married in name and I didn¡¯t get intimate with her at all. As for Jin Qingyue, I did fancy her quite a bit and I married her willingly. However, we started facing some problems after we moved in together and we had lots of conflicts. We would inevitably argue every now and then. Later on, she tried to destroy me by colluding with her brother to acquire mypany. They even caused me to be put behind bars for a few years. How could I continue living with such a woman? The truth speaks for itself, and it¡¯s proven that I had made the right choice by divorcing her.¡± ¡°That just means she¡¯s not fated to be by your side for the rest of your life. If she didn¡¯t divorce you, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to marry you.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, you¡¯re the one whom I¡¯m going to spend the rest of my life with. Hurry and eat up.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er had been eavesdropping on them while standing behind the full-length curtain. She bit her lip and stood rooted to the ground. To her astonishment, her father did not leave the room and instead rushed to consummate his marriage before nighttime even arrived. He had no idea that Shi Bao¡¯er was hiding in his room. As a result, she heard everything while he got intimate with his new wife. Having satisfied his desires, Shi Shaochuan left the room while Wen Lele dozed off slowly. Shi Bao¡¯er finally tiptoed out of the curtain. She recalled the incident wherein she tried to set Bu Xianxian on fire using some perfume and lighter. However, her ns were foiled in the end because Bu Xianxian had managed to run out of the room in time. Shi Bao¡¯er had learned from her experience after a failed attempt. This time, she took out a rope that she had prepared beforehand and squatted down beside the bed. She tied the rope gently around Wen Lele¡¯s ankles to bind her to the bed. She then walked to the headboard and painstakingly tied Wen Lele¡¯s arms to the bed while trying her best not to wake her up. She then returned to her own room and brought a can of petrol, which she had found in the garage, back to Shi Shaochuan¡¯s bedroom. The can was rather small. In order to hide it in her room, she¡¯d had to ce it elsewhere after stealing it from the garage and waited until midnight to smuggle it back into her room. Wen Lele did not have her guard up against Shi Bao¡¯er at all. Thus, she had no idea that she had already been put in danger while she was sound asleep. By the time she was jolted awake from her dreams, she was already covered in mes from head to toe. She shrieked in terror at the top of her lungs while struggling to break free, not knowing what had happened at all. She was clueless as to who had tied her to the bed and lit her aze. She had no idea who was trying to kill her! The fire was spreading rapidly, and she did not even have the time to think. All that was on her mind was the excruciating pain she was in. She tried to free herself from the rope with all her might but to no avail. She desperately tried to call for help. However, no one could hear her because of the soundproofing effect of the bedroom. The Shi family only found out about the fire when they discovered the thick fumes. Wen Lele had already lost her consciousness by the time the fire was put out. When Shi Shaochuan returned home, he checked the surveince camera footages. He saw that Wen Lele had been sent to the hospital, and he also saw the scene wherein his daughter entered the bedroom with the can of kerosene. His heart sank. He duplicated a copy of the video and sent it to Jin Qingyue before deleting the footage. He then grabbed the spare key and opened the door of Shi Bao¡¯er¡¯s room. Shi Bao¡¯er was lying on the bed and pretending to be asleep. Shi Shaochuan picked her up and red at her menacingly. Shi Bao¡¯er found an excuse for herself and eximed in a bratty manner, ¡°I told you long ago that I don¡¯t want you to find me a stepmother, yet you insisted on defying me! If you hadn¡¯t, I wouldn¡¯t have done that!¡± Shi Shaochuan gave Shi Bao¡¯er a tight p across her face, causing her to copse onto the bed. He had pped her so forcefully that blood began to flow from the corner of her lips. ¡°I thought that you had really grown sensible and begun sparing a thought for me. But you didn¡¯t change your ways at all. A leopard truly never changes its spots. You¡¯re so young and yet you¡¯re already harboring such vicious thoughts. You¡¯re such a devil. I won¡¯t allow you to step into this house again. I¡¯ll send you to live with your mother from now on. I¡¯ll return your custody rights to her too. I don¡¯t want a daughter like you!¡± Tears streamed down Shi Bao¡¯er¡¯s face continuously. She had never seen her father being so exasperated at her before. In a moment of pique, she barked, ¡°If you¡¯re sending me to Mommy, so be it! I don¡¯t have a father like you. Have you ever taken care of me since I was a child? You and Mommy are both married now with a new family of your own. How about me? I don¡¯t have a family. Have you guys ever spared a thought for me!?!¡± Not wanting to argue with her any further, Shi Shaochuan turned around and opened the luggage. He then stuffed all of her clothes into the suitcase and zipped it up before pulling her down from the bed and bringing her to the car. When he was driving out of the Shi family mansion, he called Jin Qingyue. ¡°Where are you now?¡± he asked. ¡°At home. Where else could I be?¡± Shi Shaochuan ended the call immediately and headed straight to Wei Ni Estate. Shi Bao¡¯er¡¯s face was swollen from the beating, and she was brought to Jin Qingyue¡¯s doorstep. After the doorbell had rung twice, Jin Qingyue finally opened the door. Shi Shaochuan shoved Shi Bao¡¯er toward Jin Qingyue and ced the luggage in front of the door. ¡°I¡¯m returning your daughter to you, as well as her custody rights. From now on, she has nothing to do with me. I don¡¯t want her anymore. Lele is undergoing emergency rescue in the hospital and we still don¡¯t know if she¡¯s dead or alive. Jin Qingyue, don¡¯t be so preupied with living your own happy life. Look what your daughter has be!¡± Jin Qingyue blew her top and retorted, ¡°Shi Shaochuan, do you have any shame at all? You were the one who vied with me for her custody rights. I did give birth to her and raise her single-handedly, but isn¡¯t she your flesh and blood too? I did spoil her when she was younger but I¡¯ve never taught her tomit such evil acts. Am I the only one who should be responsible for the way she had turned out?¡± Chapter 1203 - I Want to Make You Stay (81)

Chapter 1203: I Want to Make You Stay (81)

Shi Shaochuan said impatiently, ¡°Enough, I¡¯m not going to waste my time talking to you about other things. You shall take the child with you from now on. I¡¯m afraid she might even end up killing me in the future. She¡¯s so young and yet she¡¯s already capable of such terrifying acts. Is there anything she can¡¯t do?¡± As soon as he said his piece, he turned around and entered the elevator. Jin Qingyue looked at Shi Bao¡¯er and grabbed her luggage. ¡°Come in.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er entered and closed the door. Jin Qingyue sat on the couch and stared at her daughter quietly. She had brought this child into the world and yet she failed to educate her and take her in hand. She was miserable, helpless, and agonized. She was miserable because her child had turned out to be such a rebel. She felt helpless because she did not know how to help her child turn over a new leaf. She was agonized because there was no way she could abandon Shi Bao¡¯er even if she no longer wanted to take care of her, because she was her own flesh and blood. She continued staring at Shi Bao¡¯er quietly. Shi Bao¡¯er could not tell what she was feeling. She looked up at Jin Qingyue every now and then, only to discover that her expression did not change at all. After remaining silent for more than ten minutes, Jin Qingyue finally said, ¡°You¡¯ve made your biological parents dread living together with you. Is that what you wanted to achieve?¡± Shi Bao¡¯er answered, ¡°No.¡± ¡°No? Tell me, then, why doesn¡¯t your father want to live with you anymore?¡± She could not answer Jin Qingyue¡¯s question. ¡°You¡¯ll be turning eight years old soon. You may be young, but you¡¯vemitted some shockingly brazen things that even adults don¡¯t have the guts to. Do you know that you¡¯ll have to be sent to prison formitting such acts? Don¡¯t think that you can do whatever you want just because you¡¯re young. The police may let you off, but I won¡¯t spare you this time. You ought to be punished for the mistakes that you had done,¡± said Jin Qingyue, who was trying her best to suppress her emotions. Shi Bao¡¯er was bbergasted upon hearing her words. She had no idea how Jin Qingyue intended to punish her. Little did she know that Jin Qingyue had already made up her mind. ¡ª¡ª After hearing Fan Shixin¡¯s report, An Xiaoning hurriedly opened herptop to read thetest news reports. She perused the content and said to Fan Shixin, ¡°Wen Lele has really been put through so much suffering this time.¡± ¡°Young Madam, why do you think there would be a fire in the bedroom all of a sudden?¡± An Xiaoning waved and said, ¡°Someone must have caused it deliberately. Think about it, she was actually sent to the hospital for emergency rescue. The fire must have been massive. How could a small fire result in so much damage?¡± ¡°Who would set her on fire?¡± An Xiaoning ced theptop aside and took a sip of tea before saying, ¡°It must be Bao¡¯er.¡± ¡°Bao¡¯er!?! I almost forgot about her,¡± Fan Shixin said in bewilderment. ¡°Don¡¯t be fooled by her tender age. She¡¯s not one to be trifled with. Shi Shaochuan must have been exasperated. I reckon he¡¯d definitely send Bao¡¯er back to Qingyue.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t Missy pregnant now? If Bao¡¯er returns to her side and does something outrageous again, the consequences would be dire...¡± ¡°Qingyue will probably take the necessary precautions. What a troublesome child,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°I¡¯m actually more worried about the children in the boot camp. They have to face Shi Bao¡¯er every day... I think we must make Shi Bao¡¯er repent and turn over a new leaf before sending her to the academy again. Otherwise, she¡¯llmit another huge mistake sooner orter. She¡¯s like a ticking time bomb. Who knows when she¡¯ll explode? Young Madam, she¡¯s alreadymitted such an atrocious act when she¡¯s still so young. There¡¯s nothing she wouldn¡¯t dare to do.¡± Jin Qingyue entered and said, ¡°Fan Shixin is right.¡± She had heard everything he said. Feeling a little awkward and embarrassed, Fan Shixin said, ¡°Missy... I was being nosy.¡± Jin Qingyue sat down beside An Xiaoning and said, ¡°No, you¡¯ve said my exact sentiments. That¡¯s also the reason why I¡¯m here today. Sis-inw, I hope you¡¯ll give me a hand.¡± An Xiaoning turned to look at her and said, ¡°Me? How do you want me to help you?¡± ¡°Sis-inw, don¡¯t you think that disciplining a mischievous child is far more interesting than fortune-telling?¡± An Xiaoning remained silent. She¡¯s assigning a task to me. ¡°Qingyue, you¡¯re putting me in a spot.¡± ¡°Sis-inw, you may not have reconciled your marriage with my brother yet, but you¡¯re Bao¡¯er¡¯s aunt. You can¡¯t sit back and watch your niece ruin her own life. I know you taught Yiheng since young...¡± Before she could even finish, An Xiaoning interrupted, ¡°Qingyue, I raised Yiheng since he was young and taught him the right values. However, he¡¯s a very obedient and sensible child who obeys my teachings. He never gets up to any extreme misbehavior. I don¡¯t have to worry much about him. But Bao¡¯er ispletely different from him. I¡¯m not her biological mother. To be frank, I¡¯m not very willing to take care of her.¡± An Xiaoning did not feel embarrassed to turn her down, for she did not wish topel herself against her own wishes. Jin Qingyue grabbed her hand and said, ¡°Sis-inw, if you¡¯re willing to take care of her, I won¡¯t intervene with the way you discipline her, even if you end up beating the living daylights out of her. I¡¯m actually really afraid of living with her, especially since I¡¯m pregnant right now. I¡¯m truly at my wit¡¯s end. I¡¯m also worried that she might end up ruining her own life. I dare not imagine what she¡¯ll be when she¡¯s older. She¡¯s barely eight years old now, there¡¯s still time to change her.¡± An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin looked at each other, and they were both dumbfounded. ¡°Qingyue, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to help you, but this is a tall order.¡± Staring at An Xiaoning, Jin Qingyue said, ¡°She¡¯s already been training at the boot camp for so long but there hasn¡¯t been any changes about her at all. Sis-inw, I know you¡¯re not in need of money, but I shall be open with you. If you can help me with this, I¡¯m willing to give you 50 million dors in return.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you use that money to seek and hire professional help?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t trust them. I feel better about leaving her in your hands.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need money,¡± said An Xiaoning, who did not wish to take up such a tough challenge. Not only does it take time and patience to discipline such a notorious child, it also takes wits and determination. It was a tricky problem. ¡°Sis-inw... I feel like you¡¯re the only person who can take her in hand. Shi Shaochuan has sent Bao¡¯er back to me after this incident. He also mentioned that he would be returning her custody to me.¡± She has such high hopes. Seeing how eager she was, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Let me consider it carefully. I¡¯ll discuss this issue with your brother when he gets hometer. I need to hear his opinion too.¡± Jin Qingyue immediately smiled and said, ¡°Brother will definitely agree to it. I¡¯lle again at night.¡± She then stood up and skipped out of the door merrily. ¡°Be careful,¡± An Xiaoning cautioned upon seeing how fast she was moving. Chapter 1204 - I Want to Make You Stay (82)

Chapter 1204: I Want to Make You Stay (82)

¡°I¡¯ll be fine,¡± said Jin Qingyue, who made her exit delightedly. Feeling worried, Fan Shixin asked, ¡°Young Madam, are you really going to consider disciplining that child?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll decide after seeking Qingyan¡¯s opinion when hees hometer.¡± ¡°I reckon Missy must be calling Young Sir now and begging him for his approval. I¡¯m very certain.¡± ¡°How are you so sure?¡± ¡°It¡¯s too obvious.¡± ¡°...¡± After Fan Shixin left, An Xiaoning read the news again to see that there were updates of Wen Lele¡¯s condition. She had been resuscitated. Seventy-five percent of her body had been covered in severe burns. She would require skin grafting surgery and was still in critical condition. She had to continue being hospitalized for further observation. An Xiaoning could already imagine what Wen Lele looked like now. She felt sympathy for Wen Lele, despite finding her a little too foolish and scheming. However, thetter did notmit any evil deeds at the end of the day. After suffering such severe burns, the rest of her life would definitely be ruined. Judging from what she knew about Shi Shaochuan, An Xiaoning was certain that he definitely wouldn¡¯t look after Wen Lele for the rest of her life or treat her well. It was only a matter of time before he ditches Wen Lele. This Shi Bao¡¯er... An Xiaoning sat on the couch with a frown on her face and pondered over the incident until Jin Qingyan returned. ¡°What are you thinking about? Why are you so preupied?¡± Jin Qingyan asked as he took a seat beside her and removed his zer. An Xiaoning looked at him and said, ¡°Your niece. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard about Wen Lele being trapped in a fire today, haven¡¯t you? Shi Bao¡¯er was the one behind the act, and Shi Shaochuan is giving up her custody. He sent the child back to Qingyue. She wants me to take Shi Bao¡¯er in hand.¡± Jin Qingyan said, ¡°She gave me a call to inform me about that. I told her that it all depends on your wishes.¡± ¡°Does this mean you¡¯re respecting my decision? You will have no objections even if I¡¯m not willing?¡± asked An Xiaoning, who was rather happy. He stared at her solemnly and answered with a smile, ¡°Of course. I won¡¯t be happy if you¡¯re beingpelled against your wishes.¡± Hugging her knees, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°May I hear your opinion, then? Do you think I¡¯m capable ofpleting this task?¡± Jin Qingyan ced his arm behind her back and said, ¡°That¡¯s hard to say, but my suggestion is that you give it a try. It all depends on your decision, however. So what if you really don¡¯t want to do it? It doesn¡¯t help that Bao¡¯er is our niece. That child is really brazen though, just like her father. Gics really work in such an amazing way. I still remember when Shi Shaochuan ran Wang Fangfang over and hid her corpse. If the Shi family hadn¡¯t pulled their connections and given Wang Fangfang¡¯s parents that much money, or if Qingyue hadn¡¯t covered up for him, he would have been executed long ago.¡± An Xiaoning said, ¡°Qingyue seems to have made up her mind. She said that she¡¯ll have no objections even if I beat Bao¡¯er to death... Both she and Shi Shaochuan really don¡¯t know what to do with the child. Now that Qingyue is pregnant, it¡¯s really inappropriate for Bao¡¯er to live with her. If Bao¡¯er gets up to any evil tricks...¡± ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°I actually don¡¯t want to, but... I think she¡¯s a huge troublemaker, and if we let her continue being led astray, who knows what she might do again in the future? As you¡¯ve said, I¡¯ll give it a try,¡± she said. Jin Qingyan kissed her and said, ¡°Qingyue said that she¡¯s willing to pay you 50 million dors. Mdy, you don¡¯t even have to go out to work and money wille knocking on your door.¡± ¡°She¡¯s your biological sister, after all. How can I take so much money from her? Let¡¯s put the topic of money aside. I¡¯ll give it a try first. It won¡¯t be toote to discuss the price again once I¡¯m confident about taking her in hand.¡± ¡°I initially thought that it would be a tall order to discipline Bao¡¯er. However, I¡¯m starting to find it rather feasible after having a chat with you.¡± ¡°Really? Why?¡± she asked gleefully. ¡°Because there¡¯s nothing you can¡¯t achieve, so long as you put your mind to it. You couldn¡¯t swim so you started learning how to. You weren¡¯t proficient in foreignnguages so you decided to pick them up. You always strive to broaden your knowledge and acquire skills that you don¡¯t already have,¡± said Jin Qingyan, recalling the things she had done after marrying him. ¡°I grew up on the mountains with my mentor ever since I was a child. My mentor taught me most of the things I know. After she passed away, I returned to my foster parents¡¯ home and got married to Shi Shaochuan. I found that driving was a necessary skill so I decided to pick it up. I¡¯ll do whatever it takes to attain a skill, so long as I find it important.¡± ¡°Boss, that fellow is calling you again!¡± An Xiaoning picked her mobile phone up from the coffee table to look at the caller disy. As soon as she saw that it was a call from Wang Jinsheng, she immediately answered, ¡°It¡¯s me, are there any new leads?¡± ¡°Yes, we found a few other coffins near theke where we found that mutated corpse. The coffins are still there and we didn¡¯t dare to move or open them. We were afraid that history would repeat itself. Ms. An, are you free now?¡± ¡°Are you at the site or at the archeological research center right now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m at the site.¡± ¡°Got it, I¡¯ll make a trip there now,¡± she said before hanging up. She then put on her shoes and stood up. ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°They said that they had found a few other coffins by theke. I¡¯ll go take a look,¡± An Xiaoning said while making her way upstairs. More than ten minutester, she returned downstairs. He asked, ¡°Do you want me to apany you?¡± ¡°No, you¡¯ve had a long day at work. Although you¡¯ve been taking the medicine given by Teacher Bei Qi, your leg has yet to fully recover. You¡¯d better rest at home.¡± ¡°Yes, Ma¡¯am. You must call me first, should anything crop up.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Just as An Xiaoning was about to leave after putting on her shoes, she stopped in her tracks and said, ¡°Qingyue said that she¡¯d be dropping by again tonight. If she does, tell her that I¡¯ll be giving it a try. However, there¡¯ll be nothing I can do if there still aren¡¯t any changes.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll tell her your exact words.¡± .... An Xiaoning headed to theke. She arrived to see that Wang Jinsheng and Team Leader Zhang were both present. ¡°How many coffins are there?¡± ¡°Five,¡± Wang Jinsheng answered. ¡°You didn¡¯t open any of them?¡± ¡°We were waiting for you toe.¡± Wang Jinsheng and Team Leader Zhang led An Xiaoning to the coffins. The five coffins were spaced near each other, and two of the five contained two corpses each. After taking a look, she said, ¡°Collect some soil samples from the ground nearby and send them to theb to test the pH levels. Check everything once more.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve already done that. You¡¯ve got such foresight, Ms. An. It¡¯s getting dark soon, should we open the coffins now?¡± Wang Jinsheng said. ¡°Of course, open them now. You must be very careful. There might be some amulets on the corpses, like the one before. It¡¯d be terrible if you identally shook them off.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, yes. I understand.¡± Chapter 1205 - I Want to Make You Stay (83)

Chapter 1205: I Want to Make You Stay (83)

The archeologists hurriedly stepped forward and opened the first coffin. They were experts in opening coffins and, thus, were careful yet quick with their actions. Everyone craned their necks to look inside the coffin the moment it was opened. Just like she had expected, the corpses inside the coffins did not dpose because of the soil around the coffins. Wang Jinsheng took a closer look and discovered that there were some signs of mutation on the corpse. He immediately said to Team Leader Zhang and An Xiaoning, ¡°Shall we get rid of it immediately?¡± Team Leader Zhang said, ¡°Do it. Bureau Chief has already said that we don¡¯t have to ask for permission in such situations. We¡¯re allowed to get rid of the corpses immediately.¡± Wang Jinsheng nodded and instructed his subordinates, ¡°Incinerate the corpses immediately.¡± They hurriedly opened the second coffin, only to discover that the corpse inside had also mutated. They cremated it again. They opened the third and fourth coffins, which were buried together. Coffins that were buried together usually belonged to married couples. However, everyone was astonished the moment the coffins were opened. They contained a beautiful pair of twins. There were no amulets on the foreheads of the two female corpses. However, their legs were chained together. Their hands were rested on their abdomens, and their wrists were also bound together by thick chains. An Xiaoning had also noticed that not only were their features identical, their hairstyles and shoes were the same as well. ¡°Judging from their clothes, how old do you think these corpses are?¡± she asked Wang Jinsheng. Wang Jinsheng said, ¡°I¡¯ll know after touching the fabric.¡± He walked toward the corpses and bent forward to touch the fabric of the clothes that the corpses were wearing. He quickly stood up straight, pped his hands, and said, ¡°These corpses died not long ago. Judging from the design of their clothes, they should have died about fifty or a hundred years ago.¡± ¡°Captain, they¡¯re not dead!¡± one of the team members eximed. Greatly taken aback, Wang Jinsheng hollered, ¡°What bullshit is that? How could they not be dead? They would definitely suffocate in this coffin.¡± ¡°Captain, it¡¯s true. I saw her chest moving. She¡¯s breathing.¡± Everyone turned to take a look, keeping their eyes fixed on the corpse while holding their breaths. Wang Jinsheng mustered up the bravery to step forward and take a look, only to discover that there was nothing unusual with it. He smacked the team member on his head and barked, ¡°Rascal, all you do is scare me! I¡¯m going to kick you.¡± ¡°Were my eyes ying tricks on me, then?¡± the crewmember murmured to himself while rubbing his head. An Xiaoning did not discover anything unusual with the corpse either. Seeing that she did not say anything, Wang Jinsheng and Team Leader Zhang both came to a consensus to continue incinerating the corpses. It was the best way to solve the problem. To their astonishment, a ck luxury limousine began driving toward them all of a sudden. The limousine stopped beside them, and eight burly men who were dressed in ck alighted from it. They stood in two rows, after which an elderly man who had a head full of white hair alighted from the car. He began walking toward An Xiaoning and the rest together with his bodyguards. ¡°You must be the legendary Ms. An,¡± the elderly man said with a smile. ¡°You are...?¡± An Xiaoning asked, trying to recall if she had seen him anywhere before. ¡°I¡¯m a member of the Gong family from H Nation.¡± An Xiaoning immediately realized who he was. He was the patriarch of the Gong family, who always kept a low profile. ¡°Oh, I see, it¡¯s old Mr. Gong. Pardon me for my ignorance.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say that. I rarely go out, and I¡¯ve never been on the news before. It¡¯s only understandable that you don¡¯t know who I am, Ms. An. I heard a piece of insider news about the appearance of mutated corpses here. Is that true?¡± ¡°Yes, but we¡¯ve already incinerated them.¡± After taking a look at the two coffins, the elderly patriarch said to An Xiaoning with a smile, ¡°Ms. An, to be honest, these two corpses were buried by our family. You can¡¯t touch them.¡± An Xiaoning said in puzzlement, ¡°Mr. Gong, could you tell me the reason? I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware that this burial ground has the optimal conditions for mutation. We can¡¯t leave the corpses untouched. We¡¯re worried that the zombie incident will repeat again.¡± ¡°I know, that¡¯s why I came here personally to talk to you guys about something. May we discuss it in my car?¡± An Xiaoning and Team Leader Zhang looked at each other before conceding with a nod, ¡°Alright.¡± They followed the elderly Mr. Gong into the car. There were only four of them inside. Noticing that the sky was about to turn dark, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Mr. Gong, just tell us the gist of it. We¡¯re running short on time.¡± ¡°Okay, here¡¯s the thing. The pair of twins in the coffin are my biological sisters and they¡¯re actually not dead yet. They¡¯re merely just hibernating, that¡¯s why it appears that they¡¯re moving. We¡¯ll have to start from fifty years ago...¡± It turned out that when Mr. Gong was 29 years old fifty years ago, his father was involved in an extramarital affair with a woman who was about the same age as his sister. The elderly Mr. Gong¡¯s father was bewitched by his mistress and would often stay outte,pletely neglecting his wife and family. Mr. Gong¡¯s mother was greatly disappointed and thus stopped trying to convince him to go home. However, Mr. Gong¡¯s younger sisters were extremely indignant and constantly tried to provoke their father¡¯s mistress. They even beat her up and caused her to have a miscarriage. Mr. Gong¡¯s father cut off their financial resources because of that. At that time, his father was an aplished businessman while his mother was a homemaker. Fortunately, the elderly Mr. Gong had already made a name for himself by then, and thus, his mother and sisters proceeded to live together with him. However, his sisters refused to take it lying down. After a few months of peace, they found out that the woman had gotten pregnant again. The pair of twins utterly detested the woman because she had snatched their father away and ruined their parents¡¯ marriage. Yet, there was nothing they could do. After the first miscarriage, Mr. Gong¡¯s father paid extra care and attention to his mistress and instructed arge number of bodyguards to chaperon her wherever she went, leaving the pair of twins with no chance to act. Mr. Gong¡¯s mother happened to chance upon a monk when she headed to the temple on the mountains. The monk told her that her husband had been pestered by an evil spirit and that he would die very soon if they did not get rid of the spirit. The elderly Mr. Gong¡¯s mother was frightened beyond limits. However, she was still rather apprehensive and decided to consult a reverend in the temple, only to discover that it was really the case. Mr. Gong and his mother prayed earnestly to the deities in the temple and asked for an amulet in a bid to get rid of the spirit. They finally found a chance to meet the mistress. Just as they were about to take action in front of his father, the woman fainted and slipped into aa. Chapter 1206 - I Want to Make You Stay (84)

Chapter 1206: I Want to Make You Stay (84)

Nheless, they still proceeded to paste the amulet on her forehead. However, there were no effects at all because the woman did not recognize the elderly Mr. Gong and his family at all after she came to again. After they told her about everything that had happened, she tore the amulet into shreds and killed herself. That was not the end of it, however. When Mr. Gong and his mother returned to the temple to look for the reverend in a bid to ask about the spirit, they discovered that the reverend had already shut himself out from the outside world to further his skills in seclusion. It did not cross their minds that that was only the beginning of it all. Later on, Mr. Gong and his mother received a letter that was allegedly written by the mistress. She imed that she had already possessed Mr. Gong¡¯s sister and wanted them to guess what she would be up to next. Mr. Gong and his mother were terribly frightened. She immediately called the pair of twins out, only to discover that they did not seem to be behaving unusually. However, things began to get strange, and mishaps kept urring one after another. It started with Mr. Gong¡¯s father plunging to his death by ident, followed by the servants dying one after another, day after day. The two of them had no choice but to lock the pair of twins up and put them under close surveince. However, their efforts were futile. The situation worsened with each passing day, and when the reverend came out of seclusion, they told him about everything that had happened. The reverend said only one thing to them. ¡°What did he say?¡± An Xiaoning asked curiously. ¡°The reverend said that the evil spirit was highly skilled and used her witchcraft to stop herself from breathing. Due to theck of skills, he could not differentiate between the spirit and my sister. Hence, he suggested that we lock the two of them up and look for a powerful medium to seal their lives, allowing them to stay hibernated for the rest of their lives. As long as they¡¯re not awakened, they¡¯ll nevere to again forever. Thus, you can¡¯t move these coffins.¡± ¡°Mr. Gong, do you know that this burial ground provides the optimal conditions for corpses to mutate?¡± ¡°Of course. I chose this burial ground after seeking advice from a highly-esteemed and powerful medium back then. We were initially nning to return and bring the two coffins back. However, we left the nation and migrated to another nationter on. When we returned, we could no longer find the markings that we had made on the burial ground. In order to prevent any idents, we had decided not to search for the coffins and instead just kept close tabs on the area.¡± ¡°Lifelong hibernation is not a sustainable solution for the problem. You can¡¯t make your descendants keep tabs on the two coffins forever. How about you awaken them now?¡± said An Xiaoning. Wang Jinsheng interjected in astonishment, ¡°Ms. An, you¡¯re out of your mind. Instead of awakening them, you might as well just incinerate them.¡± ¡°Captain Wang, your suggestion is highly inappropriate. If incinerating the corpses worked, why did Mr. Gong have to seek help from a powerful medium to seal their souls? The point is, we don¡¯t know which one of them had been possessed by the spirit. They know that killing the pair of twins is not going to eradicate the spirits. Mr. Gong, since you guys had already sought help from a medium, why didn¡¯t you find a master to get rid of that spirit too?¡± The elderly Mr. Gong said with a sigh, ¡°We¡¯ve already tried that, but it didn¡¯t work at all. If there was really a feasible solution, we would have gotten rid of the spirit back then.¡± An Xiaoning understood what had happened. She said, ¡°Mr. Gong, do you n to put the lids of the coffins back on, or would you like me to take over from here? After all, this concerns your family. We¡¯ll respect your decision.¡± ¡°I know that you¡¯re a capable person, Ms. An, especially when ites to handling supernatural beings. I also agree with what you just said. We can¡¯t continue letting them hibernate forever. That¡¯s not the best solution. We¡¯ll be most grateful to you if you¡¯re willing to help us settle this problem, Ms. An.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll do my best. Even if I can¡¯t solve the problem, I¡¯ll guarantee that they¡¯ll continue staying in hibernation,¡± said An Xiaoning, who then got out of the car while Team Leader Zhang and Wang Jinsheng followed closely behind her. ¡°Team Leader An... you really want to... are you confident about solving the problem?¡± Team Leader Zhang asked. ¡°Enough. Even if I¡¯m not confident, is there any other solution? Let¡¯s open the fifth coffin first before proceeding to settle these two.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± The fifth coffin were just like the first two. Thus, they incinerated it right away as well. An Xiaoning returned to the two coffins. Noticing that the sky had turnedpletely dark, she took a look at the weather forecast on her mobile phone and said to Wang Jinsheng, ¡°Set up a tent here and bring me two chicken heads, two bunches of beans, a piece of red cloth, a bronze mirror, and a bowl of blood from a ck dog. I need those items.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll give out some instructions now.¡± An Xiaoning returned to her own car and reached for her bag and a mini table from the backseat before alighting from the car again. The sky had already begun drizzling by the time the archeological team members set up the tent and brought her the items that she had asked for. Team Leader Zhang and Wang Jinsheng entered the tent together with her. As soon as they took a seat, Mr. Gong entered too. ¡°Mr. Gong, you may wait inside the car.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯d like to take a look. I¡¯m very curious. I¡¯m already so old, I¡¯m not afraid of dying at all.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning ced the piece of red cloth on the small table and proceeded to take out a white bowl from her bag, which she then ced in the middle of the cloth. She then ced the chicken heads inside the bowl and poured the dog blood over them before soaking the beans inside the bowl. Finally, she took out a joss urn and ced it behind the bowl, after which she lit up two joss sticks and ced them inside the urn. An Xiaoning knelt onto the ground and ced her hands together with her eyes tightly shut. She began murmuring incessantly. Ten minutester, An Xiaoning opened her eyes and picked up the white bowl. She dipped a brush inside the bowl and drew a few strokes across a few pieces of amulet paper, which she then allowed to dry. She then poured some more blood into the bowl until it was filled to the brim. She ced the bowl in front of the joss stick and the bronze mirror in the perfect position. She gave Wang Jinsheng and Team Leader Zhang some instructions before leaving. It was still drizzling outside. However, it was so light that she did not need an umbre. ¡°Remove the chains on the legs. Keep the ones on their arms intact.¡± Although the team members were brave, they knew that the two corpses were extraordinary and they dared not touch it. ¡°What are you all waiting for? Do you guys not want your jobs anymore? Hurry and go,¡± Wang Jinsheng urged. They immediately did as instructed. They cut the chains off and lifted the two coffins onto the ground. An Xiaoning stood by the coffins and ced an amulet on all four sides of each of them. Wang Jinsheng carried amp, which provided the light source for them to look inside the coffin carefully. Mr. Gong sighed and said, ¡°They still look exactly the same as before... they looked like this when I buried them.¡± ¡°Bring me two bottles of mineral water. Mr. Gong, please excuse yourself for a while.¡± Wang Jinsheng waved at the team members, who then hurriedly brought over two bottles of water. They initially thought that An Xiaoning wanted to drink the water. To their astonishment, she opened the bottles and poured the water onto one of the corpses. What happened next gave all of them a great shock. Chapter 1207 - I Want to Make You Stay (85)

Chapter 1207: I Want to Make You Stay (85)

The woman came to. She opened her eyes and stared at everyone around the coffin. She asked in a hoarse voice, ¡°Who... are you guys?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter who we are. The point is, do you remember who you are?¡± ¡°I obviously know who I am. I¡¯m Ms. Gong Feiyan.¡± ¡°Ms. Gong? There are so many people who have the surname ¡®Gong.¡¯ I really don¡¯t know which family you belong to. I¡¯ve already removed the chains from your ankles. Can you stand up on your own?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t stand up...¡± said the woman, who tried to get up but to no avail, for she had been immobile for too long. ¡°Here, let me help you.¡± As An Xiaoning was about to extend her arm, Wang Jinsheng said, ¡°Ms. An, you...¡± An Xiaoning shot him a nce to hint him to shut up. She bent forward to grab Gong Feiyan¡¯s shoulder and helped her up slowly. However, An Xiaoning did not n to let her leave the coffin. ¡°Ms. Gong, how did you end up in this coffin when you¡¯re still alive? Since you¡¯ve alreadye to, it¡¯ll be your sister¡¯s turn soon,¡± said An Xiaoning, keeping her eyes fixed on the other coffin. Gong Feiyan shifted her gaze onto the coffin and said eagerly, ¡°You guys, don¡¯t let here to. She¡¯s been possessed by a supernatural being. If you awaken her, the consequences would be dire!¡± ¡°A supernatural being? What¡¯s that?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°She¡¯s being possessed by an evil spirit. That¡¯s the reason I got implicated too. Could you carry me out of the coffin? I can¡¯t lift my legs,¡± said Gong Feiyan, who appeared pale and ghastly. Who would dare to carry her without An Xiaoning¡¯s permission? ¡°Ms. Gong, why don¡¯t you tell me detailed information about your family? We¡¯ll help you search for your family. I¡¯m from the police force.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a police officer? I don¡¯t want to search for my family. If they were to find out, they¡¯ll continue trapping me inside the coffin. Please don¡¯t, I¡¯m begging you!¡± she refused, shaking her head profusely. She was on the verge of tears. ¡°Okay, okay, don¡¯t get so worked up, Ms. Gong. Your clothes seem to be from the ancient times. I don¡¯t think you were buried recently...¡± She stared at the people in front of them and scanned her surroundings, only to discover that everything had changed. ¡°I have no idea how many years I¡¯ve been asleep for either. Since you¡¯re a police officer, could you ensure that I don¡¯t make it onto the news? Don¡¯t search for my family either. I want to leave this ce now.¡± ¡°Leave this ce? Ms. Gong, you have no money with you now and there¡¯s nowhere you can go to. You¡¯ve been asleep for so long, and you can¡¯t even walk with ease. It¡¯ll take some time for you to regain your mobility. Where can you possibly go?¡± ¡°Anywhere is fine.¡± She struggled to stand up and tried to raise her legs several times, to no avail. She caught sight of the amulets around the coffins and asked, ¡°What... are those?¡± An Xiaoning lied, ¡°They... were already there when we discovered the coffins.¡± ¡°Remove them, remove them!¡± she screeched in a piercing voice. ¡°We don¡¯t know what to do with these amulets, so we¡¯ve already sent some people to bring a master here.¡± ¡°A master? What master?¡± she asked with glistening eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, we just want to consult the master and find out what these amulets are for. Didn¡¯t you say that your sister had been possessed by an evil spirit? We¡¯ll let the master take a look at her too.¡± Gong Feiyan began to get flustered and anxious. ¡°Could you let me out of here first...¡± ¡°We¡¯ll let you out after the master is here, alright? Just be patient and wait for a while,¡± An Xiaoning said patiently. ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to wait. I want to get out!¡± An Xiaoning turned to look at Wang Jinsheng and asked, ¡°When is the mastering?¡± ¡°He¡¯s almost here. He should be arriving in two minutes.¡± ¡°I said I don¡¯t want to wait anymore!¡± Gong Feiyan hollered and pushed An Xiaoning away. An Xiaoning pretended to stumble backwards, after which Gong Feiyan copsed back inside the coffin with a loud thud. An Xiaoning casually waved her hand at Team Leader Zhang, who then hurriedly disseminated a message to the archeological team members who were on standby. Shortly after, they drove toward them and Team Leader Zhang yelled, ¡°Ms. An, the master is here!¡± As soon as he yelled, a cold breeze filled the air. An Xiaoning shifted her gaze onto the coffin, only to discover that the spirit had already left the body. She instantly deduced that that was the spirit. She picked up the remaining dog blood and sshed it against the coffin, after which a shrill sound rose into the air. It gave everyone the goosebumps. The overwhelming odor of blood attacked their senses, and they hurriedly covered their noses. An Xiaoning immediately said, ¡°Stop standing around. Hurry and help the Gong sisters out.¡± ¡°Ms. An, is the ritual done?¡± ¡°What else were you expecting? Hurry and be gentle,¡± An Xiaoning urged. The elderly Mr. Gong had been watching the entire process quietly from afar, and he had also heard the eerie shriek. Seeing that the ritual had already ended, he walked toward them with his walking stick and said, ¡°Ms. An, are my sisters alright now?¡± ¡°Yes, they¡¯re fine, you may bring them home with you. However, their bones have already be weak and fragile since they¡¯d been lying inside the coffin for years. Please be more careful when handling them, Mr. Gong.¡± Mr. Gong said agitatedly, ¡°Yes, yes. Ms. An, you¡¯re brilliant. If only I¡¯d known you back then, they wouldn¡¯t have had to hibernate here for five decades. I must reward you handsomely.¡± An Xiaoning answered with a smile, ¡°You don¡¯t have to reward me. It¡¯s still raining now. You ought to get some rest inside the car.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not that fragile. I¡¯ll be fine even if it¡¯s snowing, what more the rain. Ms. An, you¡¯ve yet to marry again, have you?¡± ¡°Not yet.¡± ¡°That¡¯s terrific. Shall I introduce you to my grandson?¡± An Xiaoning remained silent. ¡°Are you agreeable?¡± he probed. ¡°Mr. Gong, I¡¯ve been thrice-divorced and I have a son too. The Gong family is a prestigious and well-known elite family of H Nation. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll want your granddaughter-inw to be a chaste and unmarried woman.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter at all. The times have changed, I¡¯m not bothered by those formalities at all. I think you¡¯re a really brilliant person,¡± Mr. Gong said with glistening eyes. An Xiaoning burst intoughter and said, ¡°Thank you for thepliment, Mr. Gong, but there¡¯s already someone whom I love.¡± ¡°Who is it?¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan.¡± ¡°Oh no, that¡¯s the end of it for my grandson. Hispetitor is way too formidable. When I get back, I must tell him to buck up and find a wife who¡¯s as capable as you are!¡± the elderly Mr. Gong teased. An Xiaoning chuckled and said, ¡°Ah, Mr. Gong, you really tter me.¡± Chapter 1208 - I Want to Make You Stay (86)

Chapter 1208: I Want to Make You Stay (86)

One of the team members ran to her and eximed, ¡°Ms. An, the other Ms. Gong hase to.¡± Upon hearing his words, Mr. Gong immediately walked toward his own car and said to An Xiaoning, ¡°Ms. An, you must wait for my news. I must reward you handsomely as a token of gratitude!¡± ¡°You really don¡¯t have to, Mr. Gong.¡± ¡°I must, I must.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning watched as Mr. Gong and his bodyguards got inside the ck limousine, which soon vanished out of sight. Wang Jinsheng said while smiling, ¡°Ms. An, this elderly man is so interesting. It¡¯s been hard on you tonight. Go back and get some rest.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll hand the rest to you guys, then. You can only stop once you¡¯ve confirmed that there are no longer any other coffins.¡± ¡°I know, rest assured.¡± An Xiaoning expressed assent and turned around to run toward the red Ferrari. She opened the door and got inside the car. She handed the umbre to Wang Jinsheng and said, ¡°Call me if there are any changes to the situation.¡± ¡°Alright, drive safely, Ms. An.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She closed the car door and swiftly turned the car around. The rain was initially rather light. However, it grew heavier when they arrived in Wei Ni Estate. She parked the car inside the garage and alighted to see that Fan Shixin was already waiting for her with an umbre. She grabbed the umbre and opened it. ¡°Has Qingyue arrived?¡± ¡°Missy, Mr. Ling, and Bao¡¯er are all inside.¡± ¡°Is there anyone else?¡± ¡°Mr. and Mrs. Long too.¡± ¡°Are they organizing a meeting?¡± she jested with a smile. Fan Shixin caught up with her and said, ¡°Young Madam, this is going to be cumbersome.¡± ¡°I know, but I¡¯m just going to give it a try. I¡¯ll put an end to it once I realize that it doesn¡¯t work. No one can be a hundred percent confident in taking a child like her in hand,¡± said An Xiaoning, who knew what he was worried about. They arrived under the shelter. An Xiaoning put the umbre inside the umbre rack and entered the mansion to change into her home slippers. ¡°Sis-inw, you¡¯re back,¡± Long Tianze said with a whistle. An Xiaoning smiled and asked, ¡°Have you guys eaten yet?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Well, I haven¡¯t had my dinner yet. I¡¯ll eat something first,¡± An Xiaoning said while walking toward the dining table. Auntie Chen and the rest of the servants then served the dishes to her. To An Xiaoning, a te of prawns and half a bowl of rice were enough to make up a meal. Long Tianze leaned forward and asked softly, ¡°Sis-inw, do you really want to take Bao¡¯er under your care?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just give it a try.¡± Long Tianze watched as she put on a pair of disposable gloves and peeled some prawns for herself, which she then ced on top of her rice before taking off the gloves again. She then picked up her chopsticks and stirred the soup in her bowl. He smiled and asked, ¡°Sis-inw, are you going to drink the soup too?¡± An Xiaoning red at him and said, ¡°What do you know? The point of eating this rice is just so it can go well with the soup. A wealthy man¡¯s son like you who has been living in thep of luxury ever since you were born definitely hasn¡¯t tried this before.¡± Noticing how much she was enjoying the food, Long Tianze said, ¡°Yangyang is just like you... is it really that delicious?¡± ¡°Would you like to give it a try? These prawns that Auntie Chen had made are superb and irresistible. All the vor is inside the soup.¡± ¡°Nah.¡± An Xiaoning chuckled and thought to herself, This is way betterpared to the food I used to have when I lived on the mountains with Master. We used to have a vegetarian diet all year round. Having had her fill, she wiped her mouth and walked toward the rest of them. She shifted her gaze onto the young and innocent-looking Shi Bao¡¯er, who did not seem like she would be capable of such terrifying and horrid acts. ¡°When was Bao¡¯er born?¡± ¡°On the 20th of this month.¡± An Xiaoning leaned against the couch and said, ¡°Yiheng was born on the 15th of July. Bao¡¯er, you¡¯re about half a year older than Yiheng. You¡¯ll be turning eight years old soon. Children your age are usually innocent and harmless little angels. Bao¡¯er, are you your mommy¡¯s little angel?¡± ¡°How is that any of your business?¡± Shi Bao¡¯er blurted. ¡°Is that how you should be talking to your aunt!?! Where are your manners?¡± Jin Qingyue rebuked. An Xiaoning said nonchntly, ¡°Qingyue, how could you expect her to have manners when she¡¯s already brazen enough to murder someone?¡± Jin Qingyue let out a sigh. Before she even responded, Shi Bao¡¯er retorted, ¡°I didn¡¯t murder anyone!¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t? Why don¡¯t I re-enact everything that you had done to your Auntie Wen on you? What do you say, Bao¡¯er?¡± said An Xiaoning. Shi Bao¡¯er red at her dauntlessly and yelled, ¡°What right do you have to re-enact it on me!?!¡± ¡°What right do you have to set someone else on fire, then? At the start, I really didn¡¯t want to discipline such a devilish child like you. I only promised your mommy that I would give it a try. However, I¡¯ve now changed my mind. Shi Bao¡¯er, aren¡¯t you ill-tempered, full of funny tricks, andpletely fearless? I shall see if that¡¯s really what you¡¯re made of,¡± An Xiaoning said with a smirk, keeping her eyes fixed on her. Feeling a little intimidated by her smirk, Shi Bao¡¯er said, ¡°Who said you could discipline me? I¡¯m not going to let you do so! I refuse!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not up to you to decide.¡± An Xiaoning stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯m going upstairs.¡± Jin Qingyan grabbed her arm and asked, ¡°Upstairs? What for?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to go to your study to type and print out an agreement,¡± An Xiaoning answered. ¡°I¡¯ll go with you,¡± said Jin Qingyan, who stood up and followed her upstairs. Once they entered the study, he switched on theputer and printer. ¡°Have you really considered it carefully?¡± ¡°Yes, I have. Qingyan, don¡¯t you find the look in Shi Bao¡¯er¡¯s eyes a little terrifying?¡± An Xiaoning asked, leaning against the bookshelf. ¡°I didn¡¯t notice.¡± ¡°If we don¡¯t take her in hand and discipline her strictly, who knows what she might end up doing in the future? She might just cause harm to many other innocent people. Hence, I¡¯ve decided that I must subdue her and make her stop trying to harm others.¡± ¡°So... what do you want the content of your agreement to include?¡± ¡°Three terms. Firstly, from today onwards, I¡¯ll be in charge of discipling Shi Bao¡¯er and no one is to intervene with or stop me from doing whatever I do to her.¡± ¡°What¡¯s next?¡± asked Jin Qingyan, who was furiously typing away on the keyboard. ¡°Secondly, Qingyue is not allowed to visit Shi Bao¡¯er throughout the duration of my care, regardless of how long it may be. She can only see her when I send Shi Bao¡¯er back to her, after I¡¯ve decided that she¡¯s turned over a new leaf. Didn¡¯t Shi Shaochuan already return the custody to her? He¡¯ll stay out of this, then. I believe he doesn¡¯t want to see Shi Bao¡¯er either.¡± ¡°And the third?¡± ¡°Qingyue is to pay me 20 million dors in return.¡± ¡°She wanted to give you 50 million.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need for that much. Twenty million dors is more than enough. I¡¯m not a hundred percent sure that I can change Shi Bao¡¯er, but I do have quite a bit of confidence. I think it¡¯s a rather meaningful task. Besides, Bao¡¯er is your niece too,¡± An Xiaoning said truthfully. Chapter 1209 - I Want to Make You Stay (87)

Chapter 1209: I Want to Make You Stay (87)

Jin Qingyan printed two copies of the agreement and walked toward her. ¡°Does that mean you chose to help her partly because of me?¡± An Xiaoning wrapped her arms around his waist and said, ¡°She¡¯s your biological niece, so that makes her mine too. I¡¯ll take the money and save her and, at the same time, solve your sister¡¯s problem. That also means I¡¯m saving the potential victims from her misdeeds. If she continues acting this way, I reckon Qingyue will have no choice but to resort to thest possible solution, and that is to lock Bao¡¯er up like a prisoner. That¡¯ll prevent her from doing any shockingly horrifying deeds.¡± Jin Qingyan lowered his head and kissed her hair. ¡°I know that as long as you¡¯ve set your mind to it, you¡¯ll do whatever it takes to aplish the task. You have my support.¡± An Xiaoning looked up and said, ¡°The twin corpses that we found by theke today turned out to still be alive...¡± After exining the situation to him in detail, she finally got to the main point. ¡°Mr. Gong mentioned that he wants me to be his granddaughter-inw and introduce me to his grandson. What do you think of that?¡± ¡°How would you like me to think of it?¡± He picked her up in his arms and carried her to the bedroom. Noticing that he was about to bring her inside, An Xiaoning frantically said, ¡°Bring this agreement downstairs. Qingyue and the rest are still waiting for us.¡± ¡°Let them continue waiting.¡± He then ced the document onto the table and pinned her down beneath him. Staring at An Xiaoning affectionately, he said, ¡°I think you¡¯re still hoping that I¡¯ll strip you down to nothing.¡± An Xiaoning chuckled in amusement and said, ¡°Quit fooling around. Give me ten minutes. I¡¯ll go downstairs to hand this agreement to Qingyue. I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± ¡°Five minutes.¡± ¡°Fine, five minutes it is.¡± He stood up while An Xiaoning got out of bed and headed downstairs with the document. Noticing that Shi Bao¡¯er was no longer in the living room, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Where is she?¡± ¡°I got Fan Shixin to take her away.¡± ¡°Okay, here, have a look at it.¡± After perusing the document together with Ling Ciye, Jin Qingyue said, ¡°No, the money is too little. Sis-inw, I must give you 50 million dors like I had promised earlier. This is a grave matter to me...¡± An Xiaoning interrupted, ¡°I think 20 million dors is good enough. At the end of the day, you¡¯re Qingyan¡¯s sister. Just give the money to me as abor fee after everything ispleted.¡± ¡°Sis-inw... I¡¯ll pay you first, alright?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t even started. It¡¯s not toote to pay me after everything is done. I¡¯m not afraid that you won¡¯t pay up, so don¡¯t worry.¡± Jin Qingyue chuckled and said, ¡°Alright, since you¡¯ve said that, I¡¯ll give it to you in the future, Sis-inw.¡± Jin Qingyue stamped her thumbprint onto the agreement, and An Xiaoning kept one copy of it. ¡°You guys may go back and leave Bao¡¯er here with us.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± An Xiaoning left together with them. However, Jin Qingyue and Ling Ciye walked toward the entrance while she headed to the guardroom. Shi Bao¡¯er was seated on the chair and snacking on some tidbits. Standing by the door, An Xiaoning looked at Shi Bao¡¯er and said, ¡°Your mommy has handed you over to me. From now onwards, you must listen to me and adhere to my instructions.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er flung the bag of tidbits in her hand onto the ground and sprung up from her seat. She glowered at her and yelled in exasperation, ¡°I don¡¯t want to obey you, I want to go home!¡± ¡°Go home?¡± An Xiaoning said to Fan Shixin, ¡°Lock her up in the basement where we once locked Xu Youran. I¡¯ll give you further instructions tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°Yes, Young Madam.¡± ¨D Mrs. Yan finally stopped spouting nonsense to the media because Yan Ge had told her about their breakup. However, they would have to wait until the television series was to go on air before announcing the news of their breakup. Still, Mrs. Yan felt that they were not really going to break up and that it was merely one of Fang En¡¯s tricks. Hence, she did not agree to go home like Yan Ge had told her to and, instead, continued staying at the hotel. She would follow Yan Ge to the set. She felt a little bit relieved to see that Fang En and Yan Ge did not speak to each other outside of filming. After all, Fang En and Yan Ge were both actors who had great acting chops. Thus, Mrs. Yan was afraid that they might just be putting on a show in front of her. Due to the heavy rain, the production team could not help but wrap up at 9:20 pm. Fang En was in the midst of getting changed in the changing room when she received a call from Mrs. Yan. After staring at the caller disy, she swiped to answer it and ced the mobile phone beside her ear. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to meet you in private.¡± ¡°Auntie, you may just cut straight to the chase now. At this point, is there still a need for us to meet in private?¡± Mrs. Yan felt a little more certain after hearing her words. ¡°You¡¯ve really broken up with my son, right?¡± ¡°Of course. So, Auntie, you may rest assured. From now on, Senior Yan Ge and I will just be colleagues. We won¡¯t be working together again after this television series. Besides, I¡¯ll also sell my apartment in Qingyuan Estate and move elsewhere after filminges to an official close. You don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡± Mrs. Yan did not expect her to be so straightforward. She felt as if a heavy boulder had been lifted off her shoulders after hearing her answer. ¡°You¡¯ll find a man who¡¯s more outstanding than my son,¡± said Mrs. Yan, who was generous with her blessings. Fang En said, ¡°Thank you for your blessings. I will.¡± Not expecting her to give such an answer, Mrs. Yan was at a momentary loss for words. After a moment of silence, she said, ¡°Ah, you really don¡¯t know how to be modest.¡± She then ended the call. Fang En ced her phone aside and continued to change into her clothes. As soon as she exited, she bumped into Yan Ge, who had just exited from the male changing room. Remaining calm andposed, Fang En greeted him with a nod. Just as she was about to turn around, he said, ¡°Why... are you that unwilling to even say hello?¡± Fang En shook her head and said, ¡°Of course not, Senior Yan Ge. I¡¯ll be taking my leave now.¡± Yan Ge stared at her sulkily and asked, ¡°Are you that reluctant to speak to me?¡± Fang En could tell that he had be much more haggard than before. ¡°No, it¡¯s mainly because Xiao Yue and the rest are waiting for me outside.¡± He was well aware of that because he had seen them before he entered the changing room. He did not say anything else and entered the changing room. Fang En exited to see that Xiao Chenyang was not around. She asked, ¡°Where is he?¡± Xiao Yue answered, ¡°Cousin said that he went out to buy some food. He told us that we should go wait inside the van because it¡¯s pouring heavily and that he would be back soon.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± said Fang En, who then headed to the nanny van together with Xiao Yue and the chauffeur. Once they got inside the car, Fang En scrolled through the inte to look at thetest news, only to discover that there were stillizens gossiping about her. She skipped the post and proceeded to look at other news. Xiao Yue was seated beside her and was ying with her mobile phone as well. All of a sudden, the door of the van was pulled open forcefully. Upon the sight of the man, Fang En dropped her mobile phone in shock. Chapter 1210 - I Want to Make You Stay (88)

Chapter 1210: I Want to Make You Stay (88)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Ah!¡± Fang En shrieked the moment she was stabbed in the waist by the man, who was dressed in a ck hoodie and had a surgical mask on his face. Xiao Yue screamed while Fang En extended her leg toward the man in a bid to kick him. However, she missed. Just as the man was about to get inside the car, Xiao Yue grabbed the umbre and stabbed the tip of it into the man¡¯s eye. At the same time, the chauffeur alighted as well. The man covered his eyes in pain and extended his knife toward Fang En again. However, this time, he was dragged out of the car forcefully by another man. He was flung onto the ground, and all of his teeth fell off. He stared at Xiao Chenyang in horror, blood flowing out of his mouth continuously. Staring at the chauffeur, who was consumed by terror, Xiao Chenyang instructed, ¡°Call the police immediately.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The chauffeur returned inside the nanny van and grabbed his mobile phone. By the time he came out again, Xiao Chenyang was no longer around, and neither was Fang En. Xiao Yue was left seated on the backseat, dumbfounded and paralyzed by fear. When she recovered from the shock, she immediately alighted from the van with the umbre. The police arrived shortly after and arrested the assaulter. They also recorded the statements of Xiao Yue and the chauffeur and requested for the surveince camera footages before leaving. By the time the two arrived at the hospital, Fang En had already been admitted to the VIP hospital ward after undergoing an operation. However, she was still unconscious and had yet toe to. When they entered, Xiao Chenyang remained seated and did not even look up at them. ¡°Cousin... what... did the doctor say?¡± ¡°We sent her here in time and her life is out of danger.¡± ¡°Terrific. I was scared out of my wits.¡± Xiao Yue patted her chest and heaved a sigh of relief while tearing up incessantly. She had never encountered such a horrifying incident before. She was frightened. The thought of it sent shivers down her spine. ¡°You two stay here and look after her while I make a trip to the police station. I¡¯ll be back in half an hour.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± As soon as he exited, Xiao Yue hurriedly locked the door from the inside. Since it was a VIP ward, there were security officers on duty outside the ward. Xiao Chenyang called An Xiaoning and briefly exined the situation to her. He then requested, ¡°That fellow has been arrested and is now in the police station. Call the police and inform them that I¡¯m taking him away with me.¡± ¡°Okay. Is En alright?¡± ¡°She¡¯s alright. By the way, get Mei Yangyang to call the production team andmunicate with them about this problem. Tell them to resume filming En¡¯s scenes after she¡¯s recovered.¡± ¡°Leave that to me. Don¡¯t worry. Go to the police station now, I¡¯ll call them.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Less than a few minutes after An Xiaoning made the call, Xiao Chenyang arrived in the Criminal Police Unit of the police station in B City. He drove to the police station in his own car, so as to make things easier. When Xiao Chenyang beat the assaulter up, he held his strength back a little, causing the man to be unconscious but not dead. Upon seeing him, the chief of the unit, Liu Chong, greeted politely, ¡°You¡¯re here. You may take him with you anytime you¡¯d like.¡± ¡°Have you guys obtained the footages from the surveince cameras around the vicinity of the crime scene?¡± ¡°Rest assured, Mr. Xiao, we only kept the footages of the perpetrator carrying out his assault and deleted the rest of the parts after you showed up.¡± ¡°Do you have the detailed information and profiles of the man and his family?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Liu Chong grabbed a document from the other officers and handed it to him, ¡°There you go.¡± Xiao Chenyang grabbed it and began perusing the content. ¡°Mr. Xiao, this man is a gangster. He¡¯s an ex-convict who had been imprisoned twice for theft.¡± ¡°Okay, bring him here.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The man was dragged out shortly after. His eyes were wide open, and he was clenching his jaw with pain and agony written all over his face. At the sight of Xiao Chenyang, he frantically tried to struggle and retreat, to no avail. He was akin to meat waiting to be butchered and had long lost the energy to break free. The police officers tied his limbs together and chucked him inside the trunk of Xiao Chenyang¡¯s car. Xiao Chenyang began driving away and soon vanished out of sight. The handful of police officers were still dumbfounded. ¡°Chief, why is he able to fly?¡± one of the police officers, Ding Liu, asked, unable to contain his curiosity. ¡°Beats me. Stop asking so many questions. Forget everything you saw tonight and keep them to yourselves, alright? One look and you can tell that he¡¯s not to be trifled with,¡± Liu Chong warned. ¡°Got it.¡± .... The white Aston Martin zoomed along the streets in the pouring rain. Xiao Chenyang never once slowed down. Likewise, his heart had been beating rapidly and was filled with anxiety ever since he heard her shriek. His veins were throbbing, and anger was surging through him. He wished he could shred the man inside the trunk into a million pieces. When he drove past a twenty-floor apartment building, the brightly-lit streetmps and surveince cameras ceased to function almost instantly. He alighted from the car with his umbre and opened the trunk unhurriedly before releasing the man from the ropes. He then grabbed the man and propelled himself upwards into the sky, all the way onto the rooftop of the apartment building. Before the man could even scream in terror, they had alreadynded on the ground. Xiao Chenyang dragged him to the edge of the roof and glowered at him menacingly. ¡°Who put you to it?¡± Staring at Xiao Chenyang, the man answered, ¡°No one did, I wanted to do it out of my own ord.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your reason?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I¡¯m asking you a question!¡± ¡°I... just... wanted to kill. No reason.¡± Bullshit. Why would he specifically attack En? It was a filming location, not the streets. ¡°Your father and grandmother are at home, aren¡¯t they? Why don¡¯t I take you to see them now?¡± Xiao Chenyang questioned. Despite sensing a threat, the man continued to remain calm andposed. However, he could not quite keep up with his pretense well. He knew that Xiao Chenyang did not believe his words at all. ¡°Will you let me off if I tell you?¡± ¡°No, but I won¡¯t harm the innocent,¡± said Xiao Chenyang, who emphasized on the word ¡°innocent.¡± The man nced at him, unable to see his features clearly in the pitch darkness. However, he could greatly sense that Xiao Chenyang was definitely not an ordinary man. How could an ordinary human fly... Knowing that there was no escape for him and not wishing to implicate his innocent family, he drawled, ¡°It was a woman who put me to it. She gave me one million dors upfront and told me that she would be paying me another million after the task waspleted. She¡¯ll pay my family even if I get arrested, so long as I don¡¯t spill the beans about her.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s that woman?¡± Xiao Chenyang asked. The first person who came to his mind was Yu Caiwei. However, he then thought that Yu Caiwei probably wouldn¡¯t be that foolish since murder would warrant a death sentence. ¡°I only know that that woman¡¯s name is Fang Ruzhen. That¡¯s all. I do have a voice recording of what she said, though.¡± Chapter 1211 - I Want to Make You Stay (89)

Chapter 1211: I Want to Make You Stay (89)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xiao Chenyang searched him for his mobile phone and opened the voice recording to hear that what the man had said was true. Xiao Chenyang said coldly, ¡°Although you won¡¯t face a death sentence for a failed attempt at murder, your greatest mistake is attempting to kill the love of my life...¡± Before the man could even respond to his words, he was thrown over the edge of the parapet. A deafening shriek filled the air. .... After finding out who the mastermind was, Xiao Chenyang immediately instructed his subordinates to run a check on Fang Ruzhen while he returned to the hospital. He told Xiao Yue and the chauffeur to go back while he stayed behind. He ced the two single beds together side by side. He theny down on his side with one arm supporting his head and gazed at Fang En. He failed to protect her again tonight. However, he was determined not to repeat his mistake. I¡¯m going to bring her along with me wherever I go from now on, even if it¡¯s just nearby to buy something. I¡¯m not going to leave her side, regardless of the heavy rain, snow, lightning, or thunder. I¡¯m not going to let anyone hurt her again. ¡ª¡ª In the morning, the golden rays of sun shone on the wet ground. After her yoga session, An Xiaoning took a shower and headed downstairs for breakfast. No. 5 and No. 8 had already arrived. Upon the sight of her, they quickly greeted her one after another. ¡°Sis, we bumped into Chief Fan at the entrance just now. He wanted us to inform you that Shi Bao¡¯er had wept for the whole ofst night.¡± ¡°Okay, got it.¡± An Xiaoning sat down in front of the dining table and continued, ¡°I¡¯ll go see her after breakfast. Tell Shixin to deliver some breakfast to her and bring her to the yard in fifteen minutes¡¯ time.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Twenty minutester, An Xiaoning rinsed her mouth with some water and exited the living room. Shi Bao¡¯er was struggling vigorously while No. 5 and No. 8 was holding her arms. Her body was contorted, and she was cursing and yelling agitatedly. An Xiaoning walked toward her and gibed, ¡°I heard you spent the whole ofst night crying. Why did you cry?¡± Shi Bao¡¯er finally stopped struggling. She stood up straight and scowled at An Xiaoning. ¡°How could you not know the reason? Forget it, don¡¯t send me back to my mother¡¯s ce. I want to go back to the boot camp.¡± ¡°Do you think it¡¯s up to you to decide where you¡¯re going? From now onwards, you¡¯ll be under my surveince. It¡¯s impossible for you to return to the boot camp, at least not any time soon. Whether or not you¡¯ll be allowed to go back in the future will depend on your performance.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er snapped angrily, ¡°I¡¯m not going to be under your surveince! Who do you think you are? Do you think you¡¯re really my aunt? You haven¡¯t even married my uncle again! If you didn¡¯t give birth to Yiheng, Uncle would have chased you away long ago!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got lots of ways to deal with a rude and ignorant brat like you,¡± An Xiaoning said with a smirk. She then looked at No. 5 and No. 8 and said, ¡°Bring her to the car.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er was thus taken away forcefully while An Xiaoning followed closely behind. .... Bright and early in the morning, An Xiaoning drove Shi Bao¡¯er to a renowned bungee jumping center in A City. Patrons would be jumping off from a spot that was fifty meters above the ground. When they made their way up, Shi Bao¡¯er red at An Xiaoning and asked, ¡°Are you trying to throw me off from here?¡± ¡°Bao¡¯er, I just want to find out how brave you are.¡± An Xiaoning then said to the staff members, ¡°Help her put on a safety harness.¡± When all the safety checks and regtions had beenpleted, An Xiaoning warned, ¡°If you fiddle with the ropes and fall to your death, I¡¯m not going to be held responsible.¡± She instructed, ¡°Push her down.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to... no...¡± Shi Bao¡¯er refused, shocked out of her wits. She frantically retreated but to no avail, for she was thrown off the surface immediately. ¡°Ah!¡± Shi Bao¡¯er bawled while being suspended in the air. When the three of them headed downstairs to look at Shi Bao¡¯er, they discovered that she had wet her pants. An Xiaoning bent forward and quipped with a smile, ¡°Oh no, our Bao¡¯er peed in her pants. You¡¯re not that brave, huh?¡± ¡°You... you... I¡¯m going to kill you, I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± Shi Bao¡¯er screeched, glowering at her with tears in her eyes. The smile on An Xiaoning¡¯s face vanished and she said, ¡°Seems like you haven¡¯t learned your lesson yet, not even a little bit. Good, very good.¡± No. 5 said with a frown, ¡°Sis, I don¡¯t think thisss will change for the better. I¡¯ve really never seen a child like her before.¡± ¡°Whether or not she can be changed and whether or not she wants to change are two separate issues. Bring her along, we¡¯ll be heading to the next location now.¡± ¡°Okay, but Sis, her pants are soiled.¡± ¡°Ignore it.¡± An Xiaoning walked in front, and Shi Bao¡¯er followed closely behind. She chastised, ¡°If my uncle finds out how unkind you are to children, he¡¯ll definitely chase you away, you evil witch. He won¡¯t care if you have a son or not!¡± No. 8 interjected, ¡°Lass, you¡¯re seriously so detestable. Look at yourself, you¡¯re so young and yet you¡¯re already so vicious. What¡¯s going to be of you when you¡¯re older?¡± ¡°How am I vicious? I did everything for a reason.¡± No. 8 could not be bothered to argue with her any further. They soon arrived at Mount Heyuan. She continued driving uphill. Even No. 5 and No. 8 had no idea what they were there for. When they arrived at a house on the peak of the mountain, No. 5 realized where they were. He said, ¡°Sis, this is, this...¡± ¡°This used to belong to Ye Xiaotian. However, I told Beicheng that I wanted this ce and so he bought it from Ye Xiaotian, who is his close friend. So, this ce belongs to me now. I think what Bao¡¯er needs most is this ce. It¡¯ll help to get rid of her dauntlessness. After all, she won¡¯t listen when I talk to her nicely, will she?¡± An Xiaoning turned around to look at Shi Bao¡¯er, who was sitting on the backseat. ¡°Alight from the car.¡± The gates were opened slowly, and the butler walked out to wee them. ¡°Ms. An, you¡¯re here.¡± ¡°Yes, hello.¡± ¡°Pleasee inside. I¡¯ve already prepared everything like you had requested.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± An Xiaoning said, gesturing for her bodyguards to move along. However, Shi Bao¡¯er constantly tried to move backward. Tried as she might, her efforts were futile for she could barely even resist the strength of the two grown men. Shi Bao¡¯er had no idea where they were, though she had a hunch that it was a terrible ce. She was ill at ease and felt as if she was waiting for her verdict. I wonder what this evil woman is going to do to me. The butler led An Xiaoning to a room and said, ¡°This is the room that we had prepared for you.¡± ¡°Thank you, it¡¯s been hard on you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, it¡¯s only my duty.¡± ¡°Alright, please wait outside for a while, I have some instructions for youter.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The butler exited while No. 8 closed the door. An Xiaoning sat on the bed and said, ¡°Bao¡¯er, I bet you don¡¯t know where this is. Bao¡¯er, which animal do you fear the most?¡± Chapter 1212 - I Want to Make You Stay (90)

Chapter 1212: I Want to Make You Stay (90)

¡°Why should I answer you?¡± Shi Bao¡¯er retorted, raising her chin up high. ¡°Okay, in that case, I¡¯m not going to put you in a spot, my niece.¡± ¡°Stop calling me your niece. My uncle has already divorced you. Did you forget that?¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll wait for you yourself to acknowledge that I¡¯m your aunt, then.¡± ¡°Acknowledge you myself? Dream on!¡± Shi Bao¡¯er barked, after which her hands were put into handcuffs. An Xiaoning red at her condescendingly and said, ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to see if I¡¯m dreaming or not.¡± She opened the door and said to the butler, ¡°She¡¯s a very disobedient child. Take her to the ce where I had arranged. Call me again once she¡¯s learned her lesson.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er was once again dragged away by No. 5 and No. 8, who followed the butler¡¯s lead. An Xiaoning stood by the entrance and stared at the sky above. The air on Mount Heyuan is so fresh. What a brilliant ce for watching the sunrise. Soon, she heard the subtle sounds of Shi Bao¡¯er shrieking and screaming in horror. Her voice seemed to be trembling, and she sounded extremely agonized. No. 5 returned and said to An Xiaoning, ¡°Everything has been settled. The kid¡¯s starting to beg for mercy.¡± ¡°It¡¯s been less than two minutes and she¡¯s already sumbed? It¡¯s still early. Let¡¯s continue testing her patience and tenacity. I shall see how bad of a temper she really has and how brave she really is,¡± An Xiaoning said while taking a look at the time on her mobile phone. ¡°Sis, won¡¯t this backfire? Won¡¯t she be even more rebellious and vicious from now on?¡± ¡°Children like her must be dealt with the hard way. I know my limits.¡± She handed him her car keys and continued, ¡°Let¡¯s stay here for a few days. Go bring the things inside the trunk of the car to the house.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± No. 5 took out the suitcases before carrying another bag of items, which were wrapped in bedsheets, toward An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning grabbed the bag and untied the bedsheets to reveal a stack of books, which were all about ways and solutions to deal with rebellious children using psychology. Not only did she require a clear strategy and relentlessness to deal with children like Shi Bao¡¯er, she also needed a great ton of patience. An Xiaoning thought that she would feel a great sense of aplishment afterpleting the task. No. 5 entered with two cartons of bottled mineral water, as well as two cartons of ready-made fast food, which he then ced inside the refrigerator in the room. No. 5 sat down on the bed and asked, ¡°Sis, do you n to finish reading all these books?¡± ¡°Of course. There are only a few of them anyway. I can finish reading all of them in a few days.¡± No. 5 remarked in disbelief, ¡°A few days? Sis, each book is so thick. You won¡¯t be able to read all of them, even if you finish one book in two days.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need two days for a book. I can finish two books in a day.¡± ¡°Sis, that¡¯s an incredible reading speed,¡± said No. 5, who was awestruck. ¡°It once took me a short amount of time to memorize a book that was of a sizable thickness. Reading is a piece of cake. This is my forte,¡± she said confidently. ¡°Impressive.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll seek her out again after finishing this book,¡± said An Xiaoning, who was sitting cross-legged on the bed while reading attentively. ¡ª¡ª Fang En was jolted awake by the pain. The effects of the anesthetic had already worn off long ago. However, the pain would still be bearable as long as she remained still. She was greeted with the sight of Xiao Chenyang the moment she opened her eyes. She subconsciously got the shivers upon recalling the scenariost night. She grabbed his shirt and said worriedly, ¡°You are to bring me along everywhere you go from now on.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t leave me alone, not even for a minute.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have to apany me, even if I¡¯m going to the washroom.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Feeling much more secure after hearing his answers, Fang En asked, ¡°What happened to the man who stabbed me?¡± ¡°He¡¯s dead.¡± ¡°Did you ask him why he wanted to kill me, then?¡± Xiao Chenyang moved her hand away and stood up to grab a document from the table, on which there was a colored photograph. He exined, ¡°He said that this woman instigated him to kill you. Do you... know her? The information shows that she¡¯s from the same vige as you.¡± Fang En squinted to take a look and said, ¡°She does look very familiar...¡± ¡°Her name is Fang Ruzhen.¡± ¡°Fang Ruzhen?¡± A sudden memory from her past popped up in her head. She took a closer look at the photo, after which she turned as pale as a sheet and was at a sudden loss for words. ¡°En, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Tears welled up in Fang En¡¯s eyes, and her vision began to get blurry. ¡°Ruzhen... Fang Ruzhen...¡± Noticing that she was behaving unusually, Xiao Chenyang asked, ¡°Do you really know her?¡± Fang En nodded with tears in her eyes and said, ¡°I do, but she¡¯s been missing for more than a decade. Why would she... suddenly want to kill me... I don¡¯t have a feud with her.¡± ¡°Are you sure that you didn¡¯t have any conflict with her that made her bear a grudge against you?¡± After going through her memories carefully, Fang En answered, ¡°No, we¡¯re childhood friends and we used to y together when we were children. Later on, her mother killed her father cruelly and Ruzhen went missing afterward. Her grandparents, uncle, and aunt tried to search for her everywhere but did not manage to find her even after a long time. I never saw her again ever since.¡± After some thought, Xiao Chenyang said, ¡°It¡¯d be impossible for her to try and kill you without any reason. Perhaps you did offend her but you¡¯re just unaware of it. But you haven¡¯t seen each other for so many years. Children probably wouldn¡¯t bear grudges for so long. It doesn¡¯t make any sense at all.¡± ¡°Are you sure that she was the one who had instigated the man to do it?¡± ¡°Yes, there¡¯s a voice recording. Listen to it.¡± Xiao Chenyang reyed the voice recording and said, ¡°I¡¯ve already verified that the voice belongs to her. I¡¯ve also found her address and contact number. Would you like to contact her and ask her about it yourself?¡± ¡°Yes. Give it to me, I¡¯ll call her now to ask her just why she wanted to kill me,¡± Fang En urged agitatedly. ¡°Okay, don¡¯t get too worked up and impatient.¡± He then dialed Fang Ruzhen¡¯s mobile number. After a melodious dial tone, a woman answered coldly, ¡°Hello, who¡¯s speaking?¡± ¡°Are you Ms. Fang Ruzhen?¡± Xiao Chenyang asked. ¡°Yes. You are?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Ms. Fang En¡¯s bodyguard. She has something to say to you,¡± Xiao Chenyang answered before handing the phone to Fang En. Fang En held the mobile phone with trembling hands and asked straightaway, ¡°Ruzhen, it really is you. Why did you do that?¡± ¡°Why... did I do what?¡± Fang Ruzhen had yet to recover from the shock of receiving a sudden call from her. She waspletely caught off guard and was at a momentary loss for an answer. Chapter 1213 - I Want to Make You Stay (91)

Chapter 1213: I Want to Make You Stay (91)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Fang En immediately grew agitated upon hearing her words. Seeing that Fang Ruzhen was refusing to answer, Fang En questioned bluntly, ¡°Why do you want to kill me? Don¡¯t try and deny it, I have sufficient evidence against you. We grew up together and we had such a close rtionship with each other. I can¡¯t believe the reason I¡¯m contacting you more than a decade after you went missing is because you tried to kill me! I have no feud with you. Ruzhen, why did you do that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying!¡± ¡°Do you want to hear the voice recording of you instigating someone else to kill me? Forget it, nothing can be changed even if you refuse to admit it. I¡¯ll hand the evidence over to the police.¡± Just as she was about to hang up, Fang Ruzhen said eagerly, ¡°Let¡¯s meet up. I¡¯d like to say something to you in person.¡± ¡°Okay,e over, then. I¡¯m at...¡± Fang En covered the microphone and asked Xiao Chenyang, ¡°Which hospital is this?¡± ¡°Room 803 of the VIP ward in the Second People¡¯s Hospital.¡± Fang En repeated his words to Fang Ruzhen. Fang En¡¯s eyes had already turned red by the time she ended the call. She could not figure out just why Fang Ruzhen had wanted to do that. ¡°Prepare a fresh set of clothes for me.¡± ¡°Xiao Yue sent some over earlier this morning,¡± said Xiao Chenyang, who then reached out in a bid to unbutton her hospital attire. Although they had gotten intimate with each other more than once, Fang En was still not used to having him help her change. She blushed slightly and said, ¡°I¡¯ll do it myself.¡± Xiao Chenyang paused and said, ¡°Which part of you have I never seen before? Give me an example.¡± Fang En could not answer him. There seemed to be none... He ced her arms on his neck and began removing her top gently. He was careful with his actions and did not touch her wound at all. He helped her change into a bright red blouse, which made her look much more radiant. ¡°Did Xiao Yue... bring my makeup pouch over...¡± ¡°She forgot, but...¡± He buried his face in her neck and kissed her fair and silky skin before continuing, ¡°I remembered so I made her bring it here.¡± Fang En said, ¡°I want to put on some makeup. I don¡¯t want others to see me barefaced.¡± Xiao Chenyang let go of her and moved her bangs to the side. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s wash your face first, then. Lean back.¡± Fang En leaned against the pillow and watched as he came out of the washroom with some warm water and towels, which he then used to wipe her face and arms with. A warm, fuzzy feeling filled Fang En¡¯s heart as her spirits were instantly lifted. ¡°How many people have you done this for?¡± she asked. ¡°You¡¯re the second.¡± ¡°Was the first a man or a woman?¡± she probed. ¡°A woman,¡± Xiao Chenyang said while handing her the toothbrush. Fang En grabbed it and asked, ¡°A woman? Who?¡± Amused to see how stern she looked, he answered, ¡°A very beautiful woman.¡± Fang En felt a little bitter and disgruntled at the thought of him wiping another woman¡¯s face and arms gently. She stuffed the toothbrush into her mouth and asked, ¡°Was she a woman whom you had loved before me?¡± Xiao Chenyang looked at her and answered while smiling, ¡°She¡¯s my mother.¡± She red at him and said bashfully, ¡°Should¡¯ve said so earlier.¡± ¡°I was the one who stayed by her side before she passed away. I only did it for her once,¡± said Xiao Chenyang, who refrained from bringing up his mother as far as possible. No one knew better than him the pain that his mother had caused Nan Chuang. She brushed her teeth quickly before grabbing the cup of water from his hands, which she then used to rinse her mouth with. She spat the water into the basin before wiping her mouth. ¡°How long after my death did your mother pass away?¡± He answered, ¡°She passed away nine years after you did, due to an illness. She genuinely realized her mistakes and expressed her apology toward you on her deathbed. She said that she had let you down greatly and that I wouldn¡¯t have waited ¡¯til she was on her deathbed to see her for thest time if she hadn¡¯t killed you.¡± Gazing at him, Fang En asked, ¡°Did you really decide to see her only when she was about to pass away?¡± ¡°Yes. Fortunately, you no longer have to deal with such an unfortunate incident. Such mishaps won¡¯t happen ever again.¡± He nted a kiss on her forehead. Fang En looked up and pecked him on his cheek gleefully. ¡°Hurry and bring the basin, cup, and toothbrush away.¡± .... Due to the heavy traffic, Fang En had already finished her breakfast by the time Fang Ruzhen arrived at the hospital. She entered the ward with a bouquet of fresh flowers and closed the door after her. Fang Ruzhen retreated backward in astonishment upon the sight of Xiao Chenyang before recovering from the shock and getting a grip on her emotions. Fang En kept her eyes fixed on the woman whom she had not seen in over a decade. Fang Ruzhen sat down on a chair beside the bed and saidposedly, ¡°En, long time no see.¡± Fang En had been overwhelmed with a whirlpool of emotions from the moment she found out that Fang Ruzhen had tried to kill her. All the special feelings she had for her childhood friend had also vanished instantly. Without hesitation, she yed the voice recording out loud. ¡°Why did you do that?¡± ¡°En, there¡¯s no reason for me to kill you. Someone is trying to frame me by mimicking my voice.¡± ¡°Why would someone else try to frame you? Even if that¡¯s really the case, why did they decide to kill me... out of all people? There¡¯s no feud between us. It doesn¡¯t make sense, does it? Besides, we haven¡¯t seen each other in so many years. Who would have known that we knew each other? Stop making excuses for yourself. If you refuse toe clean, I¡¯ll have no choice but to let the police interrogate you. I believe they¡¯re more professional than I am.¡± ¡°Will you stop pursuing this matter if I tell you the reason? Tell me, will you?¡± Fang Ruzhen asked, staring at her solemnly. ¡°That¡¯ll depend if your reason is valid enough to make me not pursue the matter,¡± said Fang En, who was no saint. However, she felt that the reason must have been severe enough to make Fang Ruzhen want to harm a childhood friend whom she had not seen in over a decade. ¡°Do you remember the day that my mother died?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Gritting her teeth, Fang Ruzhen snapped, ¡°If you didn¡¯t call for my father, my mother wouldn¡¯t have died at all! I only found out recently that you were the one who called him! You killed my mother and ruined my family!¡± Fang En finally recalled the time when she was just eight years old. At that time, she had just returned home when her mother instructed her to go to Fang Ruzhen¡¯s ce to invite thetter¡¯s father over. She did as instructed, after which Fang Ruzhen¡¯s father really did show up. He was cool and calm at first but stormed off in a huffter on. ¡°How did you find out that I was the one who had called your father?¡± ¡°I returned to the vige to burn some offerings for my mother on the 15th of July and I bumped into Li Jun when I was there. His parents had forbidden him from spilling the beans, but he felt the need to inform me.¡± Chapter 1214 - I Want to Make You Stay (92)

Chapter 1214: I Want to Make You Stay (92)

Fang En questioned, ¡°Do you know how your father found out about your mother¡¯s extramarital affair?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Indeed... Fang En heaved a sigh of relief, for her parents would be in danger if Fang Ruzhen were to find out. Back then, Fang Ruzhen¡¯s father was arrested and executed soon after he killed her mother. ¡°Actually, I wanted to question you long ago. Who told you to call my father? However, I haven¡¯t had the chance to ask you. You must know who made you do it.¡± ¡°Of course I do, why else would I have done it, then? I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re actually ming me for your mother¡¯s death. The person who murdered your mother is your father. Your mother is the one who hadmitted adultery. Even if I didn¡¯t call your father, do you really think he would have never found out about her affair? He¡¯ll have found out sooner orter. Do you really think there would have been a change in the oue?¡± ¡°Even if it¡¯s only a matter of time before he found out, perhaps he wouldn¡¯t have acted so rashly and my mother wouldn¡¯t have died! Just who was the one who made you tell my father? If you tell me, we won¡¯t ever meet again because of this issue,¡± Fang Ruzhen said menacingly. ¡°Does that mean... you¡¯ll cause me even more trouble in the future if I don¡¯t tell you?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say that.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what you¡¯re implying. Your reason is not valid enough for me to not pursue this matter. Please leave.¡± Fang Ruzhen panicked and said, ¡°En... can I swear to you? I promise I¡¯ll never cause you any trouble from now on.¡± ¡°I trust thew more than I trust your words. I can¡¯t take this stab for nothing,¡± Fang En said with a mirthless smile. ¡°You... just what must I do for you to drop the matter?¡± asked Fang Ruzhen, who was growing increasingly flustered. ¡°There¡¯s no need to negotiate, we won¡¯t drop the matter,¡± Xiao Chenyang interjected. ¡°I wasn¡¯t talking to you, why are you interrupting?¡± Fang Ruzhen asked in a high-pitched voice. Fang En immediately retorted, ¡°He has voiced my thoughts exactly. So, there¡¯s nothing else for us to talk about now. I¡¯ve already recorded our conversation. We have more than enough evidence against you. You¡¯d better know your limits.¡± ¡°En, I was wrong to have done that. Could you take pity on me for bing an orphan at a young age and forgive me just this once? Do you know how I managed to survive all these years? I had a tough life and I¡¯ve been through all sorts of torment. I began working as an escort at a nightclub ever since a young age. En, I can no longer conceive now. Just forgive me this once, I won¡¯t do it again...¡± Fang En slipped into a dilemma. However, she soon made up her mind. ¡°Like I said, we¡¯re not going to drop the matter. Are you deaf?¡±Xiao Chenyang gibed, glowering at her with his hands in his pocket. ¡°En... I¡¯m begging you, let me off this time, okay?¡± Fang Ruzhen pleaded while kneeling on the ground beside the bed. Fang En could not help but feel a little upset. ¡°Have you ever thought of sparing my life when you hired someone to kill me? You¡¯re terrified now that you¡¯ve been exposed. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s all toote now?¡± Fang En questioned with tears in her eyes. ¡°Are you really not willing to give me another chance?¡± Fang Ruzhen asked. She got up onto her feet and red at Fang En menacingly. At this moment, Fang En¡¯s inner voice spoke to her, If you show mercy to the person who tried to harm you, you¡¯re simply telling them that they¡¯re allowed to harm you again. Besides, Fang Ruzhen is single and all by herself now. She would definitelye after me again and do everything it takes to find out who had made me call her father back then. Although Fang En was not close to her parents, she still did not wish for them tond in the hands of the vicious Fang Ruzhen. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m not going to.¡± As soon as Fang En finished speaking, Fang Ruzhen began trembling vigorously from head to toe, as if she was having a fit. She took out a small dagger from her pocket and began charging toward Fang En. Xiao Chenyang leaped up and grabbed Fang Ruzhen by her long locks, causing her to fall onto the ground. He then grabbed her wrists tightly and snatched the dagger away from her. Fang En snapped back to reality and immediately called the police. When the police arrived, they submitted the two voice recordings, after which Fang Ruzhen was arrested. ording to the police, Fang Ruzhen had acted that way because she was experiencing withdrawal symptoms from her drug addiction. ¡°Were you frightened?¡± Shaking her head, Fang En grabbed his hand and said, ¡°I was just a little shocked. However, I wasn¡¯t frightened because you¡¯re around. By the way, the television series...¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already spoken to An Xiaoning and she¡¯ll see to it. The production team will definitely film the other parts of the television series that involves the other actors and actresses. You¡¯ll resume filming once your wounds are fully healed. On top of that, I¡¯m not going to allow anyone to disturb you in the next week, including your parents.¡± ¡°Alright. When my parents returned home from the county back then, my mother was the one who made me call Fang Ruzhen¡¯s father. My mother must have seen Fang Ruzhen¡¯s mother in the county because they work in the samepany... The case of her father murdering her mother was pretty horrifying. All the other vigers were discussing about it fervently too,¡± said Fang En, who was in low spirits. ¡°Your parents are still the same as they used to be in your previous lifetime. They¡¯re good for nothing. Back in our previous lifetime, your parents sold you to my family because they needed money for your brother¡¯s marriage. Parents were not supposed to contact their children anymore after selling them away. However, they repeatedly looked you up to ask you for money, and they didn¡¯t evene to visit you when you passed away,¡± Xiao Chenyang exined. Fang En hung her head low, feeling extremely morose and agonized. ¡ª¡ª Even after finishing her book, An Xiaoning could still hear the sounds of Shi Bao¡¯er wailing and throwing a tantrum. However, her voice had grown fainterpared to a few hours before. She was out of energy. Time for me to check on her. She headed to the man-made snake farm on her own. Truth be told, An Xiaoning detested snakes, and she would get the chills whenever she saw those boneless creatures slithering. However, they were just what she needed to subdue Shi Bao¡¯er. Feeling tense and nervous, she entered the farm and could hear the sounds of snakes hissing and slithering. She then made her way to the room wherein Shi Bao¡¯er was detained. It was arge and spacious room that had a low ceiling. It had a height of less than three meters. There were nks of wood that were used as a partition. An Xiaoning peeked inside to see that there were several snakes intertwined around each other. Shi Bao¡¯er was sitting on a pir, remaining as still as a statue. She had not dared to move an inch at all throughout the entire afternoon. Chapter 1215 - I Want to Make You Stay (93)

Chapter 1215: I Want to Make You Stay (93)

If she were to fall off the pir, she would plunge right onto the snakes. The snake farm had separated the snakes into poisonous and non-poisonous groups. However, Shi Bao¡¯er had no idea that the snakes beneath her were non-venomous and did not bite. Shi Bao¡¯er finally stopped wailing in her hoarse voice the moment she saw An Xiaoning. Tears streamed down her face uncontrobly like a broken faucet. She finally began to give in a little and said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to stay here anymore, put me down.¡± Noticing that An Xiaoning was remaining silent, Shi Bao¡¯er added, ¡°Auntie.¡± No. 5 and No. 8 looked at each other in astonishment. An Xiaoning kept a straight face and said, ¡°Not bad, you¡¯ve started addressing me properly. That¡¯s some improvement. I can put you down, but on the condition that you promise me three things. Once you do, I¡¯ll let youe down.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er nodded profusely and asked, ¡°Which three things?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell you in detail one by one, you just have to give me your word first. You decide if you¡¯re willing to do the three things that I had instructed or continue staying here. I¡¯ll give you a minute to consider. If you don¡¯t give me an answer, I¡¯ll leave right away.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll answer you right now. I¡¯ll give you my word, Auntie, I will,¡± Shi Bao¡¯er said with tears in her eyes. ¡°Will you keep to your word?¡± ¡°Yes, I will.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± An Xiaoning looked at the farm-keeper and said, ¡°Put her down.¡± He moved thedder toward Shi Bao¡¯er and allowed her toe down. Shi Bao¡¯er was clearly much more terrorized than she was after the bungee jump. By the time she made her way down, her legs had already turned into jelly and she dared not look at the snakes at all. An Xiaoning returned to the room and instructed No. 5 to heat up the sandwich and milk. She then sat on the bed and looked at Shi Bao¡¯er. ¡°The first thing I want you to do is to find a small animalter in the afternoon. Any wild animal will do, as long as it¡¯s alive. We¡¯re on the mountains now and you¡¯re not to catch any from others¡¯ farms. I won¡¯t let anyone apany you. You¡¯re almost eight years old and you should be able to recognize your surroundings and remember the way back. Will you keep to your word and return on time after finding an animal, or will you sneak away?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be back on time.¡± An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°To make things clear beforehand, Bao¡¯er, if you go back on your word, you shall sleep in the room full of snakes tonight. I¡¯m a person of my word. I hope you will keep your promise too.¡± ¡°Auntie, I¡¯ll definitely keep my word!¡± Shi Bao¡¯er eximed gleefully. An Xiaoning did not quite trust her words. She picked up the second book and began reading. After having her lunch, Shi Bao¡¯er exited. The three of them were left alone in the room. No. 5 could not help but feel worried. ¡°Sis, if she were to run away, we¡¯ll have to go through painstaking efforts to find her again.¡± ¡°She¡¯ll definitely run away. If she doesn¡¯t, she¡¯s not Shi Bao¡¯er,¡± An Xiaoning said, smiling. ¡°Why did you release her, then?¡± ¡°I thought of this n when I was reading the first book. Thus, I¡¯ve already called Shixin and instructed him to send some bodyguards to keep close tabs on all the roads along Mount Heyuan. Once they see Shi Bao¡¯er, they are to nab her and bring her back to me.¡± ¡°Sis, you¡¯re really clever. You¡¯ve really outsmarted her,¡± said No. 5, sticking his thumb up. ¡°I¡¯m an adult, after all. I must make her understand something,¡± An Xiaoning said, sitting cross-legged on the bed with a pillow behind her back. ¡°Understand what?¡± ¡°There¡¯ll always be someone who¡¯s smarter than her.¡± ¡°...¡± Just like An Xiaoning had conjectured, Shi Bao¡¯er did not abide by her instructions and hunt for a wild animal at all. Instead, she trod down the pavement toward the foot of the mountain. However, she was soon nabbed by one of the bodyguards who had been tailing her. Dressed in ck, the bodyguards picked her up and brought her back to An Xiaoning,pletely ignoring her shrieks and tantrums. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you wouldn¡¯t send anyone to tail me? You liar!¡± Shi Bao¡¯er yelled at the top of her lungs. ¡°They were just watching you from the foot of the mountain. Did you forget that only the four of us were on the mountain? I didn¡¯t bring anyone else. You were the one who said that you would keep your word, yet what happened? Bao¡¯er, do you remember what I said just now? I told you that you would sleep in the room full of snakes if you were to break your promise. Did my words fall on deaf ears?¡± Shi Bao¡¯er took several steps back and shook her head frantically, ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to go there, I don¡¯t want to!¡± An Xiaoning looked up and red at her coldly. ¡°I must punish those who break their promises.¡± ¡°Auntie, I won¡¯t do it again. I¡¯ll go hunt for a small animal now, I won¡¯t escape!¡± ¡°Once you¡¯ve broken my trust, it¡¯s hard for me to believe you again.¡± An Xiaoning yelled with a sullen expression, ¡°No. 5, No. 8, bring her back to the room!¡± ¡°Auntie, I don¡¯t dare to do it anymore, I won¡¯t... Auntie!¡± Shi Bao¡¯er was again taken away forcefully. An Xiaoning sighed and put down her book. She grabbed her mobile phone and began browsing through the news for thetest updates on Wen Lele. There turned out to be new reports. Wen Lele¡¯s condition was critical, and she would definitely face a long string of health issues that would require treatment in the future. What a pity. Although she¡¯s a dimwit, she didn¡¯t harm anyone. The fire hadpletely robbed her of her happiness and ruined her life forever. .... Shi Bao¡¯er fell silent in the evening. No. 5 told An Xiaoning that Shi Bao¡¯er was tired of crying and was humphing incessantly while sitting on the pir. An Xiaoning instructed him to bring Shi Bao¡¯er¡¯s dinner over to her and told him to watch her together with No. 8. It was up to them to decide how they¡¯d like to assign the shift. After delivering the food, No. 5 returned to inform her that No. 8 would be taking the night shift while he would take over the next morning. ¡°No one likes taking the night shift. How did you convince him to do it?¡± she asked. No. 5 chuckled and said, ¡°Easy peasy, we had a game of rock, paper, scissors.¡± An Xiaoning said, ¡°Go get some rest, then. I¡¯ll turn in after reading the book.¡± ¡°Alright. Goodnight, Sis.¡± ¡°Goodnight.¡± No. 5 left while An Xiaoning got out of bed to close the door. Shey back down and continued reading her book quietly. She finished reading the second book within a whole afternoon. The room was extremely quiet, and the temperatures on the mountains were much cooler. When she flipped to thest page, she heard the sound of footsteps approaching. There was a knocking on the door. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± There was no response. An Xiaoning remained still and continued reading the lines on thest page. ¡°I won¡¯t open it if you don¡¯t speak up.¡± ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± Jin Qingyan answered in a deep and husky voice that she immediately recognized. Chapter 1216 - I Want to Make You Stay (94)

Chapter 1216: I Want to Make You Stay (94)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She finished reading thest line before answering the door. As soon as An Xiaoning opened the door, Jin Qingyan pressed a hand against the back of her head and began kissing her fiercely. She took a few steps back while he followed her inside. Every cell of hers was bursting with euphoria. She leaped up, threw her arms around his neck, and wrapped her legs around his waist. ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°To see you, of course.¡± ¡°Close the door,¡± said An Xiaoning, pointing at the door behind him. He kicked his foot backwards to shut the door. ¡°Lock it too.¡± He reached behind him to fumble for the doorknob and locked the door sessfully. ¡°Will this do?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Jin Qingyan lowered her onto the bed and scanned his surroundings in the room. ¡°It¡¯s such a simple room.¡± ¡°It¡¯s good enough. There¡¯s a washroom in here too. In another two days, I¡¯ll be returning to where I grew up.¡± ¡°Can you even stay there?¡± he asked with raised brows. ¡°Why not? Beicheng¡¯s bodyguards have been living there every day and guarding over his grandfather and my mentor¡¯s graves. I actually want to stay there for a few days. It may be a little shabby, but it was once my home.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go with you, then.¡± ¡°If you find this ce shabby, you definitely won¡¯t like it there. Don¡¯t punish yourself by going there.¡± He insisted, ¡°No. I¡¯d like to experience what it¡¯s like to stay in your childhood home. By the way, should we renovate that temple? You may then return whenever you¡¯d like.¡± Shaking her head, she refused, ¡°No matter how beautiful it may be after renovation, it¡¯ll no longer be the same. I would¡¯ve started construction and renovation works long ago if I wanted to refurbish it.¡± ¡°You have a point. You didn¡¯t expect me to show up, did you? You definitely didn¡¯t, right?¡± he asked, grazing his finger against her nose. ¡°Of course I didn¡¯t. The sky is getting dark soon. Are you going to go back?¡± ¡°Do you want me to?¡± ¡°Yes...¡± Noticing the austere expression on his face, she continued, ¡°No...¡± ¡°Give me a reason. Why don¡¯t you want me to go back?¡± Staring at his glistening eyes, An Xiaoning knew what he wanted to hear. It was too obvious. ¡°Because I want to sleep with you.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll satisfy you...¡± ¡°Ah, I haven¡¯t showered yet.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s shower together after the deed is done.¡± ¡°...¡± After giving it their all, the two of themy down in bed, panting heavily. Jin Qingyan then picked her up and carried her to the bathroom. Jin Qingyan greatly despised the washroom. ¡°Why is this water so yellow?¡± ¡°We¡¯re on the mountains, that¡¯s how the water is. Collect some and we¡¯ll make do with it. It¡¯s only slightly yellow, it¡¯s alright.¡± ¡°Ah, this urinal...¡± Being a clean freak, Jin Qingyan could not tolerate the sight of the rusty and grimy spots around the urinal. ¡°That¡¯s what happens with wear and tear. If you really can¡¯t stand it,e back tomorrow with a toilet bowl.¡± ¡°How do you know that I¡¯ming again tomorrow?¡± An Xiaoning answered with a smile, ¡°That¡¯s how much I understand you. It¡¯s not like you to note by again tomorrow, Jin Qingyan.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so smart, Mdy. Here¡¯s a kiss for you,¡± said Jin Qingyan, who quickly smooched her again. Both of them did not wash their hair and instead just exited after a hot-water bath. After wiping themselves dry, theyy down beside each other on the bed and began cuddling. An Xiaoning told him everything that she had done to Shi Bao¡¯er today, after which she asked, ¡°Do you think I have the potential to be a vicious stepmother?¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be the vicious aunt, why is it the stepmother instead?¡± he asked in puzzlement. ¡°Don¡¯t people always stereotypically imagine all stepmothers to be wicked and vicious? Although most stepmothers do dote on their stepchildren, there¡¯s still a minority who don¡¯t. There¡¯s also a small number who are terrifyingly wicked. But of course, there are also mothers who abuse their biological children. It varies from person to person. Stepchildren who have kind, caring, and magnanimous stepmothers are really fortunate.¡± ¡°You¡¯re nowhere as vicious as Bao¡¯er who tried to kill Qingyue and Ciye by leaving the gas stove on and set Wen Lele on fire. Even if Qingyue isn¡¯t pregnant, she wouldn¡¯t be able to discipline Bao¡¯er the way that you did. I reckon she must have handed Bao¡¯er to you because she knows that she¡¯ll definitely be too soft-hearted and end up giving in,¡± said Jin Qingyan, resting his arm below her head. An Xiaoning smiled upon hearing his words. Given the intimate rtionship they have, they were bothfortable with being naked around each other. An Xiaoning hugged him tightly and asked, ¡°Why is your body so warm? I suddenly feel so cold.¡± ¡°Ah...¡± He let out a moan of pleasure and whispered affectionately into her ear, ¡°I feel so excited whenever you press your boobs against me.¡± She warned, ¡°Jin Qingyan, you¡¯re not to get up to any nonsense. I¡¯m going to bed now.¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s turn in.¡± ¡°Why are you touching me again?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go to bed.¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan!¡± ¡°Call me ¡®Hubby.¡¯ Be good and do it just once. You haven¡¯t called me that in so long.¡± ¡°Hubby...¡± The night was long and endless. This time, they did not shower again. An Xiaoning dozed off, feeling rxed andfortable. It had been a long time since she dreamed of anything. This time, she dreamed again. During her dream, she was running away continuously, and she did not stop to catch her breath, despite panting heavily. There seemed to be something guiding her. However, there was nothing in front of her and she could not see anything at all. She felt as if her legs were about to break. Finally, the white screen began to fade, and there seemed to be a huge wind that cleared the air in front of her. She was greeted with the sight of Jin Qingyan all of a sudden. She stared at Jin Qingyan and eximed gleefully, ¡°Qingyan!¡± After she did, she felt a sudden excruciating pain in her head and soon got a dizzy spell. She touched the liquid trickling down her forehead to see that her hand was covered in crimson. ¡°I¡¯m bleeding...¡± she murmured. Jin Qingyan smiled at her without uttering a single word. cing a hand on her head, An Xiaoning walked toward him. Although he was clearly not too far away from her, she just could not seem to reach him. She began to panic and broke down, yelling and screaming hysterically. It felt as if she could not grab him no matter how hard she tried. He stood rooted to the ground and smiled at her quietly. All of a sudden, she missed her step and began plunging downward. ¡°Qingyan!¡± An Xiaoning woke up from her dream with a shriek. She sat up straight and panted heavily to catch her breath. ¡°Xiaoning, what¡¯s the matter?¡± An Xiaoning grabbed her hair, still yet to recover from the shock she had gotten in the dream. When Jin Qingyan called her name again, she hugged him and said, ¡°I had a nightmare.¡± ¡°Was it about me?¡± he asked. Chapter 1217 - I Want to Make You Stay (95)

Chapter 1217: I Want to Make You Stay (95)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning nodded and answered, ¡°Yes, I dreamed of myself too. It¡¯s a bad sign.¡± If she were someone else, Jin Qingyan would have just told her that it was merely a bad dream. However, he knew that her dreams were rarely false rms. ¡°What did you dream of?¡± ¡°I dreamed that I was sprinting continuously to nowhere, and I bumped into youter on. My head was bleeding, and you even smiled at me,¡± said An Xiaoning, appearing ill at ease. Jin Qingyan¡¯s temples began to throb and he asked, ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Absolutely. You didn¡¯t say a word at all. I couldn¡¯t tell if it was you or Henry, but I was calling your name in the dream,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°It might either be me or Henry. You might have called my name because you didn¡¯t know that I had be Henry. Or perhaps you did but you were just too used to calling me by my name. Or maybe we¡¯re just the same person. Henry is just a small part of me.¡± An Xiaoning tried her best to calm herself down. After doing so for a long while, she finally felt much more at ease. ¡°I feel a little flustered.¡± Jin Qingyan put an arm around her andy down. ¡°Don¡¯t dwell on it, just be more careful.¡± An Xiaoning instructed him, ¡°Could you stay in Wei Ni Estate for the time being? I¡¯m afraid that you¡¯ll be Henry again and wander off on your own.¡± In order to get her to stop worrying, he conceded, ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t go anywhere from now on. I¡¯ll just stay home.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not allowed toe here either.¡± ¡°Got it, Ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°...¡± The two of them fell asleep again. By the time An Xiaoning woke up, Jin Qingyan was no longer around. However, he had left a note on the table. ¡°My dear, continue to work hard and brave through all odds. I¡¯m looking forward to seeing a brand new Bao¡¯er.¡± He even added a cute smiley face at the bottom of the message. An Xiaoning chuckled and stowed the piece of paper away into her bag. She then opened the door after washing up to let the fresh morning air in. However, it was a little too humid. No. 8 walked toward her and greeted, ¡°Sis, Good morning.¡± ¡°How did Bao¡¯er behavest night?¡± ¡°She was too tired and dozed off while sitting on the pir. She then fell off andnded on the ground. She was so frightened that she could not stop yelling. I then picked her up and ced her onto the pir again. She¡¯s been awake ever since. She kept asking to see you, but I turned her down,¡± said No. 8. ¡°Well done. Take a nap in your room after breakfast.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± One hourter, the clock struck half past seven. Shi Bao¡¯er was brought to An Xiaoning. She frantically greeted, ¡°Auntie...¡± ¡°I heard from No. 8 that you fell off the pirst night. Is that true?¡± Shi Bao¡¯er turned pale and shivered at the thought ofst night¡¯s scenario. ¡°Yes,¡± she answered, her lips trembling uncontrobly. ¡°Go wash your face and brush your teeth. The smaller toothbrush belongs to you. Once you¡¯re done,e out for breakfast.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er walked toward the bathroom, after which An Xiaoning opened the suitcase to take out a fresh set of Shi Bao¡¯er¡¯s clothes. After breakfast, An Xiaoning made Shi Bao¡¯er change into them. ¡°Since you guys had to attend lessons and training sessions at the boot camp, the servants were put in charge of doing yourundry, and you didn¡¯t have to lift a finger when you were at home either. However, there¡¯s no one to do yourundry here, and you have to wash your own clothes. Don¡¯t think that there¡¯d be someone to help you with the chores. That¡¯s impossible. Get Uncle No. 5 to bring you to the water taps to wash your dirty clothes.¡± ¡°Yes, Auntie,¡± said Shi Bao¡¯er, who left together with No. 5. Half an hourter, she returned with her washed clothes and waited for An Xiaoning to give out her second order. ¡°I made you hunt for a small animal yesterday and you promised that you would keep your word, yet you didn¡¯t even do so and you failed toplete the task that I gave you. I want you to do it again today. This time, no one will be tailing you, and there won¡¯t be anyone watching you at the foot of the mountain either. I shall see if you¡¯re going to make another attempt at escaping.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t. Auntie, I¡¯ll return with a small animal,¡± Shi Bao¡¯er said softly while pinching her own fingers. ¡°You may begin now. I¡¯m giving you a day¡¯s time. Bring two bottles of milk and two sandwiches with you.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er nodded and grabbed the bag of milk and sandwiches from No. 5. An Xiaoning warned onest time, ¡°If you try to escape again this time, you won¡¯t just be sitting on the pir when I find you.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er asked fearfully, ¡°What is going to happen, then?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll share an intimate night with those adorable creatures.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er turned pale instantly and she said firmly, ¡°I won¡¯t run away.¡± ¡°Let your actions speak for themselves. Hurry along.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er left with the bag in her hands. No. 5 asked, ¡°Sis, is there really no one at the foot of the mountains?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t assign anyone to stay on standby at the exits.¡± ¡°What if she tries to flee again this time? I have a feeling that she still wouldn¡¯t abide by your words,¡± No. 5 said worriedly. ¡°That¡¯ll depend on whether she trusts her own capabilities or mine. If she believes that she¡¯ll never escape my clutches, she won¡¯t escape. If she believes in her own ability to flee, she will definitely do so. Although I didn¡¯t assign any bodyguards to stay near the exits, I did arrange for some of them to be on standby about five hundred meters away from the exit of Mount Heyuan. I even told them to bring her back only after she¡¯s expended all her energy trying to run around, should she really try to escape again.¡± No. 5 finally understood why she was soposed and certain that Shi Bao¡¯er could never escape from her clutches. ¡°I take my hats off to you,¡± No. 5 remarked. An Xiaoning said, ¡°If we adults can¡¯t outsmart a child, we¡¯ve really lived in vain.¡± About two hourster, An Xiaoning received a call. The bodyguards told her that Shi Bao¡¯er had already left Mount Heyuan. An Xiaoning ended the call and remarked, ¡°What a disobedientss. She really hasn¡¯t learned her lesson.¡± ¡°Did she leave Mount Heyuan again?¡± asked No. 5, who felt a little worried for Shi Bao¡¯er. ¡°Yes, she has. This child is not trustworthy at all. All she does is lie, just like her father. Gics are really such an incredible thing. It¡¯s extremely difficult to alter gic personality traits. If she were in an ordinary family, she would have been beaten to death long ago for all that she had done. Her family would have gone bankrupt after paying for all the trouble that she had caused too. It¡¯s so unfortunate that she had reincarnated as Qingyue¡¯s child. However, it¡¯s Shi Bao¡¯er¡¯s blessing to have someone to clean up after her and the mess that she creates. I guess that¡¯s the reason why she¡¯s so dauntless andwless.¡± Chapter 1218 - I Want to Make You Stay (96)

Chapter 1218: I Want to Make You Stay (96)

¡°There are hardly any children like her. If all children were like her, it¡¯d be terrifying.¡± ¡°Confirm with the farm-keepers if those snakes are really non-venomous and harmless. Make sure it¡¯s a hundred percent safe.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Wait a minute.¡± An Xiaoning got out of bed and continued, ¡°Stay here with No. 8 and wait for Shi Bao¡¯er toe back in the afternoon or evening. Let her stay with those things for a night. This time, I shall see if she¡¯s going to repent. I won¡¯t being back tonight. Call me if something happens.¡± ¡°Sis, are you going back to the city?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be returning tomorrow morning.¡± An Xiaoning was still worried about Jin Qingyan and she wanted to stay by his side whenever possible. Nothing mattered more to her than him. ¡°Alright, Sis, rest assured. Leave everything here to me and No. 8.¡± ¡°Okay, thanks.¡± An Xiaoning grabbed two books and her car keys before leaving. She drove all the way to Wei Ni Estate. Before she even reached the gate, she caught sight of Long Tianze dancing in a goofy manner outside the door. His dance moves were exaggerated beyond limits. He seemed just like a mentally-unsound patient who had escaped from the asylum. However, she could tell that he was doing it on purpose. ¡°Mr. Long, what are you doing under the zing sun?¡± ¡°I lost a bet against your sister.¡± An Xiaoning turned her steering wheel and drove through the gate. As soon as she entered, she wound down the window and asked Xiao Huang, ¡°Is your Young Sir at home?¡± ¡°He¡¯s at home. He didn¡¯t leave aftering home this morning.¡± ¡°Got it,¡± said An Xiaoning, thinking to herself that Jin Qingyan was rather obedient to have stayed home like she had instructed. She drove the car into the garage and began sprinting toward the mansion. An Xiaoning changed into her slippers and headed upstairs. She then tiptoed toward the door of the bedroom. She reached out to knock on the door. She initially thought that he would ask her who she was. However, there was no sound. She knocked again, but there was still no noise. Unable to tolerate it any further, she immediately pressed the password to unlock the door. There was no one inside the room at all. An Xiaoning called, ¡°Qingyan?¡± There really wasn¡¯t anyone at all. She zoomed downstairs again. When she bumped into Auntie Chen, she asked, ¡°Where did Qingyan go?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t Young Sir upstairs?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no one in the room.¡± ¡°Huh? I saw Young Sir going upstairs. Is he not there?¡± Auntie Chen asked in bewilderment. An Xiaoning headed upstairs again and searched the entire bedroom to find that he was really not inside. She had no choice but to call him. Yet, he did not answer. An Xiaoning immediately went to the surveince camera monitor room and asked to view the footages. It showed that he had gone to the cer half an hour before she arrived home. The cer... An Xiaoning ran to the cer to call him again. However, there was still no response. An Xiaoning thought to herself that he must have sneaked out via the secret passageway. She could not help but feel a little angry. I told him not to go out and yet he took the secret passageway. I¡¯m going to teach him a lesson when I get home. She immediately instructed Xiao Bai to track his whereabouts using the GPS system and report to her on the spot. None of the bodyguards and servants dared to defy her orders because they all knew that even Jin Qingyan would give way to her. Hence, they had no other option but to adhere to her instructions. Xiao Bai would report to her in ten-minute intervals. Thus, she was crystal clear about Jin Qingyan¡¯s whereabouts for she would receive live updates while she was reading her book at home. By the afternoon, he still did not show any signs ofing home. Neither did he pick up her calls. After having her lunch, An Xiaoning drove out of the estate to look for her. She simply could not figure out why he had headed to a remote vige instead of the office. However, the GPS system could not give her a specific location in the vige, and she could only obtain a generic address near the vige. An Xiaoning drove for forty minutes before alighting from the car in front of the vige. She walked toward a few middle-aged women who were chatting with each other and asked with a smile, ¡°May I ask if you¡¯ve seen this person here?¡± She showed them a small photo of Jin Qingyan that she kept inside her wallet. The bevy of women had been crowding around the spot for the entire afternoon, ever since breakfast. After taking a look at the photo, one of them immediately said, ¡°Yeah, he alighted here and asked us for directions too. He has gone to the Li family home.¡± ¡°Where is the Li family home?¡± Pointing in the direction of the East, the middle-aged woman said, ¡°There. Walk along this path and turn right, then continue walking straight. It¡¯s the third house that faces the West and has a red door.¡± ¡°Alright, thanks.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡± An Xiaoning returned inside her car and continued driving ording to the directions given by the middle-aged woman. The roads in the vige had already been repaired, thus allowing for a smooth car ride. Less than two minutester, she pulled over at the doorstep of the house that the middle-aged woman had described. There was also a red taxi not too far away from her. The third house with the red door that was facing the West. She could not figure out his reason foring to such a ce. He even refused to answer her calls. An Xiaoning alighted and stared at the red door in front of her. Instead of entering straight away, she called Xiao Huang and asked, ¡°Are you sure that he¡¯s still at the ce that you had mentioned?¡± ¡°Yes, Young Madam.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± An Xiaoning ced her mobile phone inside her bag and entered. As soon as she reached the door, a ck dog charged out of the gate and began barking at her furiously. Not long after, a middle-aged woman, who appeared to be in herte forties, walked out of the door with an apron around her waist. She seemed to be in the midst of cooking. She asked in astonishment, ¡°Ms. An, what brings you here?¡± Surprised to hear how she had addressed her, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°You can recognize me?¡± ¡°Of course. We all know that you¡¯re Mr. Jin¡¯s ex-wife.¡± An Xiaoning put on a courteous smile and asked, ¡°Is he inside?¡± ¡°Yes, pleasee in,¡± the woman answered, smiling. ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning followed her into the house. It was rather small, and there were two rooms and a kitchen. An Xiaoning could already hear Jin Qingyan before she even reached the door. ¡°He¡¯s inside. You may enter. I¡¯ll have to watch the dumplings in the stove.¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± An Xiaoning entered and walked toward the living room. She immediately caught sight of Jin Qingyan, who was sitting on the couch, a middle-aged man, and a young woman. An Xiaoning could tell that the middle-aged man was the young woman¡¯s father, judging from their appearance. ¡°Qingyan. You didn¡¯t answer my calls so I came to take a look,¡± said An Xiaoning. He patted the spot beside her and said with a tender smile, ¡°Come and sit here.¡± An Xiaoning proceeded ordingly and asked, ¡°Why are you here? Is anything wrong?¡± ¡°I¡¯m here for some private issues.¡± An Xiaoning did not probe any further, thinking to herself that it would be inappropriate for him to exin to her when there were so many outsiders around. Hence, she decided to wait until they were home. The middle-aged woman yelled from the kitchen, ¡°The dumplings are ready!¡± Chapter 1219 - I Want to Make You Stay (97)

Chapter 1219: I Want to Make You Stay (97)

The pair of father and daughter stood up and headed to the kitchen to bring the dumplings out. The girl ced the dumplings in front of him and said, ¡°Brother Qingyan, these are for you.¡± ¡°Alright, they look delicious.¡± An Xiaoning watched as Jin Qingyan picked up a pair of moldy chopsticks and a yellow and rusty metal bowl. Seeing how rxed he was while eating, she could not help but think, Is he the same person who despised Mount Heyuan and found it too filthy? The middle-aged man ced some dumplings in front of her and said, ¡°Ms. An, have some, too.¡± ¡°No, thank you, I¡¯ve already had my meal before leaving the house. You guys go ahead. I¡¯ve really already eaten. I don¡¯t lie,¡± said An Xiaoning, who then ced the bowl in front of him. ¡°You really have?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The middle-aged man did not insist any further. An Xiaoning initially thought that Jin Qingyan had stayed for lunch because he had something important to discuss with them aboutter. To her astonishment, he actually nned to leave after the meal and had even decided to bring the girl along. An Xiaoning was dumbfounded and bewildered. However, she found it too embarrassing to ask him for the reason in front of the girl¡¯s parents. Thinking that he must have his own reasons, she did not say anything else and instead just paid the taxi driver and told him to drive away. They then entered her car one after another. While they were on their way back, she desperately wanted to ask him about it. However, he still did not take the initiative to exin it to her. Besides, the girl was around too. Hence, An Xiaoning curbed her curiosity and proceeded all the way to Wei Ni Estate. Fan Shixin had yet to go to the office. Upon the sight of Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning returning with a girl, Fan Shixin asked, ¡°Young Sir, who¡¯s this?¡± Since Fan Shixin had already asked the question that she was dying to ask, An Xiaoning decided to listen to his answer calmly. ¡°You don¡¯t have to care about who she is. Give her a position in the office.¡± Fan Shixin squinted and asked, ¡°Young Sir, what position?¡± ¡°Do as you deem fit. A receptionist or secretary would be fine. We¡¯ll let her get familiar with the environment today and report to work officially tomorrow.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Fan Shixin left with the girl, allowing An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan to be alone. An Xiaoning finally bombarded him with all the questions that she had been keeping to herself, ¡°Who is she? What were you doing at her house? Why did you leave via the secret passageway instead of the main entrance? Why did you bring her home? Please answer my questions.¡± ¡°Can I not answer them?¡± An Xiaoning squinted and said, ¡°I want to know.¡± ¡°But I don¡¯t want to tell you.¡± He then turned around and left. Staring at his back view, An Xiaoning squinted and said, ¡°Henry.¡± He stopped in his tracks. An Xiaoning recalled the dream she hadst night, which was now proven to be a premonition. She scurried toward him to stop him from leaving. Staring at him with a mirthless smile, she gibed, ¡°You two are just the same person. Wow, I actually couldn¡¯t tell straight away that you were pretending to be him. If it weren¡¯t because of your attitude that give it all away, I would¡¯ve been duped by you. I suggest you exin everything about this girl to me. Otherwise, I can¡¯t guarantee what I won¡¯t do to you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to exin it to you. What can you do about that?¡± ¡°In that case, I¡¯m sorry, but that girl is not going to get a job at the office. Who do you think Fan Shixin would obey? Me or you?¡± ¡°You really haven¡¯t changed a single bit.¡± An Xiaoning humphed, ¡°I¡¯m better than you... you¡¯re clearly the second personality and yet you still pretend to be someone else.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that we¡¯re the same person? How is that pretending, then? How things are going to be handled all depends on me.¡± ¡°I did say that. Although you¡¯re just another part of him... you don¡¯t have to deliberately do this. How did you know about the secret passageway in the cer?¡± An Xiaoning answered. ¡°Why must I answer you? There¡¯s no need for you to find out,¡± he said while walking past her. A frown creased An Xiaoning¡¯s forehead, and she grabbed him by his arm before dragging him upstairs. Despite being petite, she could manage to move Henry, who was more than 1.8 meters tall. ¡°An Xiaoning, what are you doing!?!¡± ¡°What am I doing? I should be asking you, what are you doing? I haven¡¯t seen you in a long time. Did your tempere back again?¡± She pushed him onto the bed and kicked her shoes off. She then straddled him and raised his wrists above his head while holding his gaze. ¡°If you don¡¯t answer my questions, I¡¯ll do whatever I want to you.¡± She knew that he hated it whenever she took liberties with him. ¡°Get off me!¡± he barked while trying to struggle, to no avail. He felt as if there was a ball of energy within him that was waiting to explode. An Xiaoning did not discover anything different about him and refused to let go, for she wanted to threaten him into exining to her about the girl. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t everything be fine once you tell me? There¡¯s a need for me to know.¡± ¡°I told you to get off me!¡± All of a sudden, he felt as if he was empowered and had gained tremendous strength, which allowed him to push her away effortlessly. An Xiaoning was mmed against the wall before falling onto the ground. She twitched in pain, and fresh blood began flowing out of her head. She opened her eyes slightly and muttered in a faint voice, ¡°Qingyan...¡± Her voice was so soft that no one else could hear her. She actually wanted to say, ¡°Qingyan wouldn¡¯t do this to me.¡± However, she suddenly recalled the nightmare that she hadst night. It turned out she wasn¡¯t addressing him by his name, unlike what Jin Qingyan had conjectured. She cked out and copsed. Henryy down on the bed and stared at the ceiling above. He panted a few times and sat up straight again when he did not hear any sounds from An Xiaoning. He was greeted with the sight of An Xiaoning lying motionless on the ground. ¡°Stop pretending, hurry and get up.¡± Noticing that she still wasn¡¯t moving, Henry stood up and walked toward her in a bid to pull her up. The moment he saw the pool of blood on the ground, he stood rooted to the ground in utter shock. More than ten secondster, he hurriedly picked her up and zoomed downstairs. Before Fan Shixin even arrived at the office, he received a call from Xiao Bai, who informed him that An Xiaoning had been admitted to the hospital. He immediately ordered for the news to be kept under wraps and headed to the hospital together with the girl. Once they arrived in the hospital, Fan Shixin sprinted toward the operating theater and caught sight of Henry, who was remaining silent. He could immediately tell that it was Henry. ¡°What did you do to Young Madam?¡± Henry looked up and answered, ¡°I just gave her a push and she was flung against the wall... I didn¡¯t do it on purpose.¡± Just as Fan Shixin was about to speak, the girl caught up with him. He immediately instructed Xiao Bai, ¡°Bring her to the human resource manager in the office. I¡¯ll call the manager.¡± ¡°Yes, Chief.¡± The girl had to return to the office again. Chapter 1220 - I Want to Make You Stay (98)

Chapter 1220: I Want to Make You Stay (98)

The path along the corridors from the operating theater to the hospital ward was cleared. Fortunately, the operation ended a whileter. An Xiaoning received some stitches on her head, and there was now a bald spot on the part of her scalp that had been wounded. ¡°Mr. Jin, Ms. An¡¯s surgery was very sessful.¡± ¡°Thank you, Doctor. Is she alright?¡± ¡°The impact was very forceful, and she¡¯ll definitely suffer some symptoms of concussion...¡± Fan Shixin immediately red daggers at Henry. Henry avoided eye contact with him and asked the surgeon, ¡°Is her condition serious?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not too serious, but it¡¯s not minor either.¡± ¡°Administer her with the best medicine.¡± ¡°We will.¡± Just as the surgeon was about to leave, Fan Shixin stopped him and said, ¡°I hope you¡¯ll keep my Young Madam¡¯s condition confidential. Otherwise, Young Sir will start donating to another hospital instead.¡± ¡°Rest assured, our lips are sealed. We¡¯ll never leak any of the news.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± An Xiaoning was sent to the ward, her head bandaged. The nurse handed Henry An Xiaoning¡¯s mobile phone. Fan Shixin and Henry were the only ones in the ward. ¡°The doctor said that she had suffered a great impact. Did you really just give her a little push?¡± Fan Shixin questioned. ¡°I felt exceptionally strong in that moment and I managed to push her away with ease...¡± Fan Shixin sneered, ¡°Young Sir would never speak to Young Madam harshly, let alone get physical with her. Why didn¡¯t you just kill her?¡± Henry was at a loss for words and thus said, ¡°I¡¯ll stay behind to look after her.¡± Fan Shixin said, ¡°I¡¯m heading to the office now.¡± He turned around and left, closing the door after him. Henry walked toward the bed and took a seat on a chair. He could not help but feel a strange sense of misery at the sight of An Xiaoning, who was lying on the bed with her eyes tightly shut. He felt as if someone was ripping his heart apart. I really didn¡¯t want to hurt her, I really didn¡¯t... What was with that sudden burst of strength? Henry sighed and remained seated quietly while waiting for her to wake up. ¡°Boss, that fellow is calling you again!¡± Her mobile phone had begun to ring. Henry whipped out the mobile phone and took a look at the caller disy. It was a call from Wang Jinsheng. Thinking that it must be something important, he picked up the call and answered, ¡°Hello.¡± Slightly taken aback to hear that a man had picked up, Wang Jinsheng asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t this Ms. An¡¯s mobile phone?¡± ¡°Yes, is something wrong? She¡¯s not free to talk on the phone right now, so I¡¯ll ry your message to her.¡± ¡°Okay, alright. I¡¯m Wang Jinsheng from the archeological team. Tell her that there¡¯s a major discovery at thekeside, and do also tell her to call me whenever she can.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll get her to call you when she¡¯s avable.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± After ending the call, Henry ced the mobile phone on the table and prayed to himself that she woulde to as soon as possible. Half an hourter, An Xiaoning came to. Perhaps his prayers had worked, or perhaps it was just time for her to regain her consciousness. She had a splitting headache. After scanning her surroundings with her eyes ssed over and taking a whiff of the smell of antiseptic solution, she urately guessed that she was in the hospital. ¡°Are you awake?¡± Upon hearing his voice, An Xiaoning looked at him quietly. ¡°I didn¡¯t do it on purpose...¡± he added. ¡°I know. Prop the bed up,¡± she said, feeling dizzy and nauseated. He immediately did as instructed and propped the bed up slowly, allowing her to feel much better. ¡°Bring me a stic bag.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± He handed her arge ck stic bag, which she then held with both hands and threw up into. She felt much more relieved after throwing up. He immediately poured her a ss of warm water, which she then used to rinse her mouth with. An Xiaoning handed him the ck stic bag and said, ¡°Dump it.¡± Henry grabbed it and discarded it into the trash can. ¡°Wang Jinsheng from the archeological team called you to say that there¡¯s a major discovery by theke.¡± ¡°Okay, where¡¯s my mobile phone?¡± He handed it to An Xiaoning, who then immediately called Wang Jinsheng. ¡°What discovery is there?¡± she asked feebly. ¡°Ms. An, we found a very special and unique graveyard near theke. There are four openings, and our team members have entered to take a look inside. It¡¯s dark and spooky, and there are also strange sounds. They got a huge fright and ran out frantically. I thought that they were just being timid and so I tried to go inside to take a look. It was indeed very terrifying.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t touch it first. Send some people to keep close tabs. I¡¯m not feeling well right now. I¡¯ll go take a look in another few days.¡± ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. Listen to me, don¡¯t let anyone else enter. Wait for me to arrive.¡± ¡°Okay, take care of yourself, then, Ms. An. Come again when you¡¯ve recovered.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± An Xiaoning then called Fan Shixin and said, ¡°Shixin, isn¡¯t it a little inappropriate to hire someone whose identity and profile are unknown?¡± Upon hearing her words, Henry immediately said, ¡°I¡¯ll just tell you, will that do?¡± An Xiaoning looked down and said to Fan Shixin over the phone, ¡°It¡¯s okay, get back to work.¡± She ended the call and said, ¡°Shoot.¡± ¡°That girl¡¯s name is Li Baozhen, and she once saved me when I was a child.¡± ¡°When you were a child? Do you mean when she was a child?¡± An Xiaoning questioned. ¡°When I was a child,¡± he affirmed. An Xiaoning was speechless. ¡°You¡¯re already in your thirties and she looks like she¡¯s barely twenty. Are you sure it happened when you were a child?¡± ¡°I¡¯m only 24 years old this year. I¡¯m not in my thirties.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve always been trying to find her and her father to thank them personally. I finally found them. Baozhen said that she¡¯d like to work in a corporate office so I agreed to hire her.¡± ¡°You¡¯re really fortunate, you¡¯re always being saved by girls,¡± said An Xiaoning, who could not help but be reminded of Bu Xianxian. She continued, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t everything be fine if you came clean earlier? It¡¯s nothing to be ashamed of, anyway. Why did you have to be so secretive?¡± ¡°I just felt that there was no need to tell you about my private matters.¡± An Xiaoning closed her eyes and stopped talking to him. She was not in the least bit curious about how that girl had even saved him. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you talking?¡± ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t feel like talking to you.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you want to know how I found out about that secret passageway?¡± An Xiaoning opened her eyes to look at him. ¡°How did you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how I did either. No one told me about it. I just knew it naturally.¡± ¡°What do you mean naturally?¡± An Xiaoning asked in puzzlement. ¡°I mean, I just had a feeling that there was a secret passageway there.¡± An Xiaoning was extremely baffled. Is this a sign of the two personalities bing one? Chapter 1221 - I Want to Make You Stay (99)

Chapter 1221: I Want to Make You Stay (99)

¡°When was the first time you saw me? Do you still remember?¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t it in M Nation?¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s head was hurting so bad that she did not want to say another word more. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Sister Gao, is Fang En¡¯s injury serious?¡± Yu Caiwei asked as she drank her tea. ¡°As to how it is specifically, no one knows. Her bodyguard refuses to allow anyone to visit her.¡± Sister Gao was not in a good mood. ¡°This is great, all her scenes can¡¯t be filmed for now. We can only hope that they can be shotter on and that the whole series won¡¯t be affected.¡± ¡°What¡¯s there to worry about? She probably won¡¯t shoot any more television dramas after this one, so she¡¯ll definitely do her best for it.¡± Sister Gao was surprised. ¡°Where did you get this news?¡± ¡°Nowhere, I¡¯m just guessing.¡± ¡°Guessing?¡± Sister Gaomented, ¡°Caiwei, you can go be an underworld medium already. She has such excellent resources because she¡¯s the only artiste in her work studio, and all the opportunities are being given to her. She¡¯ll quit the entertainment industry? I won¡¯t believe that, over my dead body.¡± ¡°For an actress who was born in the countryside, it may be difficult to give these up indeed. But, Sister Gao, do you still think that that bodyguard of hers is just a bodyguard?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°What else could I mean? When you¡¯ve been in the entertainment industry for so many years, you¡¯d have seen plenty of hunks. But have you seen a man like her bodyguard working for others?¡± Sister Gao disagreed with her. ¡°So what if he¡¯s handsome? If he¡¯s not capable, he may still have to work for others as a bodyguard.¡± ¡°I think you¡¯re really ignorant,¡± Yu Caiwei said bluntly. ¡°Although I don¡¯t know what that man does, I know he¡¯s not simple for sure. Have you seen the car he drives?¡± ¡°No. I¡¯m busy enough with my work, why would I notice what car a bodyguard like him drives?¡± ¡°It¡¯s an Aston Martin. A car that costs over four million dors. Can a hunk like him who drives a car worth over four million dors possibly be a bodyguard?¡± Sister Gao responded skeptically, ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s true,¡± Yu Caiwei said with a grin. ¡°I dare say that there¡¯s something wrong with this man¡¯s eyes since he¡¯s fallen for Fang En.¡± Sis En was perplexed. ¡°But isn¡¯t En together with Yan Ge?¡± ¡°Do you really think she can get married to Yan Ge?¡± Sheughed. ¡°Don¡¯t joke with me, Yan Ge¡¯s mother doesn¡¯t approve of Fang En. If she does, would she say such things to the media? It¡¯s just a matter of time that they break up.¡± ¡°If they break up, isn¡¯t it a good opportunity for you?¡± Sister Gao persuaded her, ¡°Go and get back with Yan Ge. I know you still want to be with him.¡± ¡°He really doesn¡¯t have feelings for me anymore. Forget it.¡± Yu Caiwei held her head high and was about to head outside. ¡°It¡¯s not like there¡¯s nobody who wants me. I have plenty of suitors anyway.¡± Seeing her head outside, Sister Gao shook her head. Yu Caiwei twisted her stunning body as she walked gracefully toward the seat in the film set and sat down with one leg crossed, revealing her porcin-white slender legs. With her fingers interlocked, she proceeded to put on a calm andposed look. Turning her head and fixing her gaze on Yan Ge beside her, she mocked coldly, ¡°Your girlfriend is injured and hospitalized, why haven¡¯t you gone to the hospital to visit her? What kind of boyfriend are you?¡± ¡°How do you know I didn¡¯t go?¡± he murmured as he cast her a side nce. How could he possibly have not gone? He had gone there but was chased away by that Xiao Chenyang. He had not even gotten to see Fang En. ¡°Do you know what¡¯s on the news today? I know you didn¡¯t see it for sure. The news reported that Fang En is hospitalized and that your mother can now rest assured and has gone home.¡± Yu Caiwei¡¯s eyes were sparkling with joy. ¡°I actually thought that your mother would really approve of you two, but she¡¯s still the same after all this time. I dare say that between your mother and your girlfriend, you¡¯ll definitely take your mother¡¯s side. Yan Ge, don¡¯t look at me like this. No matter what, I¡¯ve spent some time together with you and I know you quite well.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve nothing to say to you, you don¡¯t have to purposely find a topic with me.¡± Yu Caiwei¡¯s smile stiffened, and she shifted her gaze elsewhere, embarrassed. ¡°No matter what, we¡¯re colleagues. Don¡¯t tell me just speaking to you makes me have an ulterior motive?¡± She went on casually, ¡°Yan Ge, I have a question to ask you.¡± ¡°Shoot.¡± ¡°Do you really not know who that bodyguard around Fang En is?¡± The hand that Yan Ge was using to hold onto his script instantly froze, and he turned to his side to face her and asked, ¡°You do?¡± ¡°Of course I don¡¯t. Otherwise, why would I be asking you this? So, you don¡¯t know as well.¡± She lowered her head and dug into her fingernails. ¡°I feel that he isn¡¯t someone simple, but I just don¡¯t know in what way. But there are rumors...¡± Yu Caiwei surveyed her surroundings before leaning toward him and saying in a low voice, ¡°The night Fang En was injured, someone spotted a person flying in the film set. It was just a quick sh then, but someone saw it indeed. It couldn¡¯t have been part of filming for sure because they had wrapped up because of the heavy rain.¡± ¡°Fly?¡± Yan Ge felt that it was utterly ridiculous. ¡°Men have no wings, how could one possibly fly?¡± ¡°That¡¯s why it¡¯s just a rumor. But I once tried to check the surveince footage and found out that all the footage during that period of time had been taken away by the police and there aren¡¯t any backup copies either. I¡¯m really curious as to whether or not that rumor is true.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you find the rumor you talked about hrious?¡± Yan Ge was inplete disbelief. ¡°It¡¯s akin to saying that dragons exist in this world. Until now, there is no concrete evidence to prove that dragons exist.¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure they do. If they don¡¯t exist, why did the ancient people use them in the 12 zodiac signs? I do believe in this. This world is too huge for us to see all of it. Even if we haven¡¯t witnessed it, we can¡¯t deny the possibility of such things existing.¡± ¡°I think you¡¯re just being superstitious.¡± Yan Ge turned over to his other side. ¡°I¡¯m being superstitious? Then tell me, the medium who can see ghosts, An Xiaoning, has once received the president¡¯s verification. Do you believe that?¡± ¡°Stop, I don¡¯t wish to continue discussing this issue with you.¡± Seeing how he looked rather annoyed, Yu Caiwei could only stop saying anything. While his eyes were fixed on his script, Yan Ge¡¯s mind was wandering to something else. When he finished filming, he drove to the hospital again. This time, he did not head to her ward straight away but went to find Fang En¡¯s doctor-in-charge. ¡°Doctor, how is Fang En doing?¡± ¡°You¡¯re Yan Ge, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The doctor was well aware of who he was. After all, there wasn¡¯t anyone who didn¡¯t know about Yan Ge being Fang En¡¯s boyfriend. ¡°She doesn¡¯t have any major issues and will recover after she recuperates for some time. We¡¯re using the best medicine on her.¡± ¡°I actually haven¡¯t been able to enter her ward. Her bodyguard made the decision himself to forbid me from entering. Doctor, can you do me a favor?¡± ¡°Why does her bodyguard forbid you from entering?¡± The doctor was puzzled. ¡°What favor?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know why he forbids me from entering either, so can you call him awayter and allow me to enter the ward to see her?¡± ¡°That¡¯s easy. I mean, aren¡¯t you her boyfriend?¡± Chapter 1222 - I Want to Make You Stay (100)

Chapter 1222: I Want to Make You Stay (100)

Yan Ge did not make any exnation regarding the matter. After all, he could only make public the news of his breakup from Fang En after a period of time. ¡°Then, thank you, Doctor.¡± ¡°No problem at all.¡± After a while, Xiao Chenyang was called away by the doctor, leaving Fang En and Xiao Yue inside the ward. Yan Ge was hence sessfully able to enter her ward. Seeing his sudden arrival, Xiao Yue hurriedly stood up. ¡°Please, take a seat.¡± ¡°Xiao Yue, you go out first. I want to speak a few words to En in private.¡± Xiao Yue shook her head. ¡°No, I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°Cousin has given me instructions. I can¡¯t do that.¡± Fang En spoke, ¡°Xiao Yue, you can go out first.¡± Until now, Xiao Yue was still in the dark about her breakup with Yan Ge. Since he wanted to speak to her in private, it must be because he wanted to talk about something rted to that. ¡°Okay.¡± Xiao Yue then headed out of the ward. Yan Ge gazed at Fang En, who was lying on the hospital bed with her face rather sickly and pale but looking rather energetic. ¡°How are you doing?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. What do you want to say to me? Just speak.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t I juste here to visit you without saying anything much?¡± Yan Ge shot her a question back, ¡°You¡¯re really... together with him now?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± she answered frankly. ¡°After we broke up, I got together with him.¡± Yan Ge¡¯s gaze flickered for a moment, his emotions slightly stirred. ¡°Are you happy with him?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m very happy.¡± ¡°Breaking up with me, don¡¯t you feel upset about that at all?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like that,¡± Fang En denied. ¡°I don¡¯t want to hurt you. I do like you a lot, but my liking toward you is different from that toward him. I¡¯ve thought about this very carefully. Senior Yan Ge, it¡¯s over between us already.¡± ¡°To you, this may be over. But to me, it isn¡¯t.¡± Fang En did not know how to respond to him and simply kept silent. ¡°I love you.¡± Fang En suddenly looked up at him. ¡°Senior Yan Ge...¡± ¡°Fang En, I¡¯m in love with you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Yan Ge took a deep breath and replied, ¡°How short is the time that the two of you have known each other? How could he possibly be devoted to youpletely? When the dayes that you realize who truly loves you, I¡¯ll be here waiting for you.¡± As Fang En watched him turn around to leave, she shouted out to him, ¡°There¡¯s no need. You don¡¯t have to do this, do you hear me?¡± The only response that she got was the door being closed shut in front of her. ¡°Ah, it hurts. Cousin, let go...¡± Xiao Yue, who was outside the door, was being dragged in by her ear by Xiao Chenyang. At the sight of this, Fang En immediately said, ¡°Let go of her. I was the one who asked her to go out.¡± Xiao Chenyang released her. Xiao Yue started rubbing her reddened ear and was on the verge of crying from being treated wrongfully. ¡°Why did you do that? What did I tell you? Have the two of you turned a deaf ear to my words?¡± ¡°No,¡± Fang En exined. ¡°I saw that he had something to say.¡± ¡°He got the doctor to call me away so he could enter. What did he say?¡± ¡°Nothing much. Look at you how you¡¯ve made Xiao Yue cry.¡± Fang En cast a stern nce at him. Xiao Chenyang reached out to pat Xiao Yue¡¯s head. ¡°Remember what I say, you¡¯re to listen to my words only in the future. Understand?¡± ¡°I got it, Cousin.¡± Xiao Chenyang took out his wallet and fished out a thick stack of cash for her. ¡°Compensation.¡± Xiao Yue instantly stopped her tears from flowing out and took the money from him. ¡°Wow, Cousin, my ears don¡¯t hurt one bit anymore.¡± ¡°Next time, if you don¡¯t listen to me again, I¡¯ll pinch your ears off.¡± ¡°Yes, Sir, I¡¯ll remember this.¡± Xiao Yue nced at the time and asked, ¡°Cousin, Sis En, are you two hungry? What do you guys want to eat? I¡¯ll go and buy it.¡± ¡°I want to eat fried rice cakes...¡± ¡°No.¡± Xiao Chenyang cut her off and told Xiao Yue, ¡°Ginseng and red date chicken soup, plus two sunny-side ups. These are for your Sis. I¡¯ll have anything, I¡¯ll eat anything you buy.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to drink soup anymore...¡± ¡°That is to regte your vital energy and blood. Your body is weak right now, you can¡¯t eat junk food.¡± ¡°Xiao Yue, get me fried rice cakes. I want to eat them...¡± ¡°Alright, Cousin. I¡¯ll buy what you said.¡± Fang En was at a loss for what to say. She was obviously upset and said irritably, ¡°I¡¯ve been drinking soup and eating eggs every meal, I¡¯m sick of them already.¡± ¡°Then, are you sick of seeing me?¡± he asked her as hey down naturally. ¡°Not yet, but I don¡¯t know about the future.¡± ¡°That means...¡± He went on in a smooth voice, ¡°You may get sick of seeing me in the future?¡± ¡°Of course, so you better treat me well.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t I treating you well already? What do you define as ¡®treating you well¡¯?¡± Xiao Chenyang asked in a serious manner. ¡°Treating me well means that you try your best to please me in everything you do. If you disobey my words, you¡¯re being bad to me.¡± Looking at the convincing attitude she put on, Xiao Chenyang responded in a meaningful tone, ¡°So, pleasing you is what you define as being nice to you? I see.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Then, I¡¯ll please you right now.¡± He lifted the thin nket from her. Seeing how he instantly clutched onto her hospital pants, she panicked and asked anxiously, ¡°My back is already injured, what are you doing?¡± ¡°Your back is injured, but aren¡¯t other parts of your body working just fine?¡± He blinked at her and remarked, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t cause you pain. I¡¯lle on you gently.¡± ¡°Xiao Chenyang, you jerk. I¡¯m already in such a situation and you¡¯re still thinking of doing that. You... you¡¯re simply...¡± Fang En¡¯s face started to flush red like a tomato. ¡°You were the one who said that treating you well means I have to please you. Seeing how you¡¯re so dissatisfied with me, I must have been unable to please you, so...¡± He simply pulled down her hospital pants, along with her innerwear inside, all the way to her ankle. ¡°It¡¯s broad daylight and you have the cheek to act like a gangster.¡± He bent down to cover her mouth, leaving her unable to speak or exert any force using her body to struggle. She could only vaguely mutter a few words, ¡°Xiao Yue will being back in a while...¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay...¡± As he was afraid that he would touch her injury, he only kissed her on the lips and then straightened his body thereafter. He pulled down the zipper of his pants and dragged it down just a little. With his arms by both sides of her body, she kissed her again before asking, ¡°Is the forey not enough?¡± She red at him instead and remarked, ¡°It was more than enough already. You¡¯re still noting?¡± He couldn¡¯t help but chuckle and asked, ¡°It hasn¡¯t even been a few minutes and I can go in already?¡± Fang En turned her face aside and put on an act of ignoring him, avoiding his twinkling eyes. She let out a moan of pleasure as he filled her. ¡°Rx...¡± Fang En listened to him and gradually calmed her nerves, allowing him to start moving. She remarked shyly while gasping for breath, ¡°Slow down...¡± ¡°What did he talk to you about?¡± ¡°I already told you it was nothing much.¡± ¡°If it was nothing much, would he bother telling you?¡± He went in with force and demanded, ¡°Say it. I hope you won¡¯t keep it from me.¡± ¡°He said that I haven¡¯t known you for a long time, so you couldn¡¯t possibly bepletely devoted to me, and that he would wait for me.¡± She left out the part where Yan Ge had said ¡°I love you¡± to her, for it would definitely make Xiao Chenyang upset to hear such words. Chapter 1223 - I Want to Make You Stay (101)

Chapter 1223: I Want to Make You Stay (101)

Although he did not actually mind since she was already his, knowing that there was someone thinking about his person, could he possibly feel happy about it? ¡°What did you tell him?¡± ¡°I told him there¡¯s no need for that.¡± Xiao Chenyang nodded in satisfaction. ¡°Well done. This is your reward, enjoy it well.¡± ¡°You hurry up, Xiao Yue won¡¯t take very long to buy the food.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll still have to wait until I¡¯m satisfied.¡± Inside the ward, their romantic act continued until Xiao Yue¡¯s voice sounded outside the door. ¡°Doctor, your shift is over already?¡± Fang En quivered in shock for a moment and gave him a push. ¡°Get off.¡± But he simply refused to. He swiftly made a few jerking movements before finally getting down from her. When Xiao Yue entered the ward carrying food in her hands, she sniffed a few times and remarked, ¡°What smell is this in the room...?¡± With sweat still trickling on her, Fang En answered without pausing in between, ¡°What else could it be other than the smell of the disinfectant solution? What did you buy?¡± ¡°Other than your ginseng and red date chicken soup, as well as two sunny-side ups, I bought fried noodles and some dishes for Cousin and me.¡± Xiao Chenyang reached out and took his portion, then ced it on a disposable container. The three then started to eat together. Fang En was half-leaning against the bed rest and ate in a rather ufortable position. She had yet to clean herself up and felt extremely ufortable, yet the one who started it appeared as if nothing had happened at all. Finally, when everyone had finished eating, Fang En said, ¡°Xiao Yue, since it¡¯s not dark yet, you should hurry and return to the hotel. Call me if there¡¯s anything.¡± ¡°Alright. Then, Sis En, Cousin, I¡¯ll be leaving first.¡± She picked up the rubbish bag and left the ward. ¡°Hurry and help me wipe myself,¡± she said anxiously. He locked the door from the inside and finally lifted the nket before using tissue to help her wipe her body. ¡°I really want to see how my child looks like. Maybe it¡¯s already starting to form in your stomach right now.¡± Fang En did not know whether to cry orugh at hisment. ¡°How can it possibly be so fast?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me the other afternoon at the hotel wasn¡¯t counted?¡± ¡°Do you think you¡¯re that powerful to seed in just one try?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know the answer to that very soon.¡± He gave her some warning in advance, ¡°If you get pregnant before you finish filming this show, then after filming ends, you¡¯re not to take on another job anymore.¡± Fang En asked, ¡°Then, after I give birth, can I still continue acting?¡± ¡°En, I hope that after the filming for this show ends, we can lead a life that we want together. There are too many disputes in the entertainment industry, and I don¡¯t wish for you to continue living under the public eye. Other than such a lifestyle, I can allow you to lead any other kind of life you want.¡± Fang En suddenly thought of what Yan Ge had once said to her. He asked her if she would give up her career for someone she cared about. She had answered him, ¡°Can¡¯t that person and my career co-exist?¡± But Yan Ge continued to probe, ¡°Will you?¡± She then answered, ¡°If I would really give up my career for someone I care about, then that person must be more important than my own life.¡± She grinned as she looked at Xiao Chenyang. ¡°I love you.¡± He reached out to touch her face and replied, ¡°I love you, too.¡± The two locked eyes and exchanged a smile, looking like twoplete fools. ¡ª¡ª At 5 am in the morning, An Xiaoning woke up to see a figure standing on the balcony. She lifted the nket off of her and got off the bed before slowly heading toward the balcony door. ¡°What are you looking at instead of sleeping?¡± ¡°Why are you awake?¡± ¡°I slept too earlyst night, so I just naturally woke up.¡± She walked to the railing, feeling a slight ache from the bandaged part of her head, though it did not hurt as much as it did yesterday. Gazing at the sky that was still dark, she sighed. ¡°We really wake up earlier than roosters and sleepter than dogs.¡± He frowned. ¡°Even if you want to be a rooster or a dog, please don¡¯t drag me into it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just using that as aparison.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t likeparing such animals to myself.¡± An Xiaoning gazed at him. ¡°Then, what animal do you want to use topare to yourself?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no animal out there that can bring out the unique charm I possess.¡± An Xiaoning sneered, ¡°Can you get more narcissistic than this? The ancestors of men are apes, and you dare say that no animal can bring out the unique charm you possess? You should think before saying such arrogant words, because I keep having the feeling that you¡¯re trying to imply that you¡¯re not human.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning felt that it was rather humid outside and was about to return inside when her phone started to ring. Ny-eight percent of people tend to look at the caller disy before they pick up the phone. After all, only after looking at it will one know the identity of the person calling. She was no exception. This time, however, the caller disy was empty. She picked up her phone and slid the ¡°answer¡± button. ¡°Hello?¡± It was silent on the other end of the line. An Xiaoning repeated herself, ¡°Hello, who is this?¡± Still, there was no reply. She took another nce at the disy screen and asked once more, ¡°Hello? Please speak or I¡¯m hanging up.¡± There was still no answer. It wasplete silence on the other end, so she simply hung up the call. She also nced at the time, which showed that it was 5:08 am. Henry entered the room from the balcony and asked, ¡°Who was that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, the caller didn¡¯t say anything, and there was no number on the caller disy either. Can you call me using your phone? I want to see if my phone is faulty.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± He took out his phone and called her. Her phone rang and the caller disy wasn¡¯t empty. When she picked it up, she could also hear him speaking. That went to show that it wasn¡¯t her phone that was faulty. An Xiaoningy down on the hospital bed, still feeling that there was something strange about that call. But she had no idea if her intuition was right either. ¡°When daylightes, help me to sign my discharge papers.¡± Henry rejected her request immediately. ¡°No way. You just got hospitalized yesterday, how can you get discharged today? The doctor said you¡¯ll suffer some symptoms of concussion.¡± ¡°Then, after I have my drip in the afternoon, drive me to Heyuan Mountain.¡± ¡°What are you going there for?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be nosy.¡± .... Shi Bao¡¯er had suffered terriblyst night. Having been around those snakes for the whole night, she was in so much shock that she was dumbfounded. After she was brought out by No. 5, Shi Bao¡¯er started bursting into loud wails. No. 5 ignored her and found some clothes for her to change into, then made some food and drinks for her. Only after she was done drinking and eating did she ask in a low voice, ¡°No. 5, where is my Auntie?¡± No. 5 darted her a nce and ignored her question. Shi Bao¡¯er hurriedly corrected herself. ¡°Uncle No. 5, where has my Auntie gone to?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bother about where your Auntie has gone to. You should go and hunt for a small animal now. Remember, this is your third time.¡± ¡°I got it.¡± Although Shi Bao¡¯er did not hear him mention the consequences she would face if she escaped again this time, she was already quite clear about it inside. If she were to escape again, the consequences were unimaginable. ¡°Alright. Bring some food and drinks too. Go on.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er took the food and drinks and went on her way. This time, she did not walk on the same path she had the previous two times but went to the path on the side. There were more small animals on the mountain, such as chickens, rabbits, and birds. Chapter 1224 - I Want to Make You Stay (102)

Chapter 1224: I Want to Make You Stay (102)

She saw quite a few, but she could not catch any no matter how she tried and was leftpletely exhausted. She had run around back and forth extremely quickly. Shi Bao¡¯er knew she had to catch one by hook or by crook, but since it was difficult to do so with her hands, she started to think of other methods. She took off her small cardigan and tied it onto a long stick, making it act as a. She became more sessful this way as she was quickly able to catch a small white rabbit. Carrying the small rabbit, Shi Bao¡¯er returned to report her mission. It took her more than two hours to get to the foot of the mountain and report. Looking at the small rabbit she had brought back, No. 5 was surprised at how she no longer ran away. ¡°Here.¡± No. 5 took the small rabbit from her and remarked, ¡°Go and wash your clothes.¡± While she took the clothes she had changed into in the morning and washed them, No. 5 hurriedly went to call An Xiaoning to get further instructions from her. Upon hearing that Shi Bao¡¯er not only did not escape this time but also caught a small rabbit, An Xiaoning told No. 5 to assign a second mission to Shi Bao¡¯er. When Shi Bao¡¯er returned from washing her clothes, No. 5 went to the luggage to get a huge packet of tiny beads and passed it to her. ¡°Your Auntie¡¯s second mission for you is to cluster all of these beads into a single piece of string.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er¡¯s whole face was creased into a huge frown. Inside the heavy bag, there were countless tiny beads stored. She looked at No. 5 in disbelief and remarked, ¡°When will I be able to finish this?¡± ¡°Your Auntie has said, if you¡¯re able to finish stringing the beads together today, the small rabbit that you caught will have its life spared.¡± ¡°Then, does it mean that if I don¡¯t string these beads, the small rabbit will die?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Just let it die, then. I¡¯m not going to string these beads anyway.¡± No. 5pletely did not expect her to say that. After his gaze flickered for a moment, he told her, ¡°Your Auntie did not say that if the little rabbit were to die, you¡¯re to stay in the room with the snakes again. However, Uncle No. 5 has a video to show you. If you still refuse to string the beads and want to let the rabbit die after you see this, then I¡¯ll ask for further instructions from your Auntie. Okay?¡± ¡°What video are you talking about?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know when you see it.¡± It was a bloody video of a rabbit being skinned alive that No. 5 had once seen on the inte. He went to find this video and showed it to Shi Bao¡¯er. With her two hands holding onto the phone, Shi Bao¡¯er went from a state of indifference to the point where she could no longer bear to look on. ¡°Uncle No. 5, here. I¡¯m not watching this anymore...¡± ¡°Watch it until the end first.¡± Suppressing her difort, Shi Bao¡¯er finished watching the video until the end. After she was done watching, she passed the phone back to No. 5. ¡°Do you want to string the beads, then?¡± Shi Bao¡¯er could only reply as she sat at the bedside, ¡°I¡¯ll just do it.¡± ¡°Right, I forgot to tell you.¡± No. 5 tilted his head and looked at her. ¡°You have to string the beads through three times.¡± ¡°Three times?¡± Shi Bao¡¯er felt like she was about to go mad. ¡°Then won¡¯t I take donkey years to finish it?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to wait for donkey years. As long as you stay focused and patient, you¡¯ll be able to finish it today. I¡¯ve calcted the time for you. You can begin now.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er lowered her head and started to string the beads slowly. Just so that she could finish her mission earlier, she did not dare to dy her progress. No. 5 watched her from the side as she started to string the beads seriously. However, her seriousnesssted for only a while before she lost her patience. No. 5 could only continue to stimte her, and she proceeded to continue and stop repeatedly. Shi Bao¡¯er¡¯s hands were aching, and she could only bear it in and continue to string the beads for the whole afternoon until An Xiaoning came. With a cap on her, An Xiaoning came striding in. ¡°How many times has she done it?¡± ¡°Twice. She just needs to do it one more time.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± An Xiaoning turned to Shi Bao¡¯er and said, ¡°When you¡¯re done stringing the beads for the final time, it means that you¡¯ve aplished the two things you promised Auntie. Tonight, you¡¯ll be able to sleep on the bed.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er asked excitedly, ¡°Auntie, are you serious about that?¡± ¡°I am.¡± Seeing her lit up with happiness, An Xiaoning¡¯s lips curled into a smile as she remarked, ¡°I didn¡¯t think you would actually string the beads obediently. Are you sure you¡¯re thispassionate?¡± ¡°That¡¯s because I showed her...¡± No. 5 was about to speak when Shi Bao¡¯er stood up from the bed and ced her hand over his mouth. ¡°Uncle No. 5, don¡¯t say a word further. Aren¡¯t I almost done with this already?¡± No. 5 darted her a nce and removed her hand from his mouth. ¡°Your hand is full of germs and you actually ced it over my mouth...¡± Shi Bao¡¯er sat down again and replied, ¡°Then, you should stop talking. Auntie, I¡¯ll finish stringing these beads. Don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°Alright. No. 5,e out with me for a moment.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er watched as the two went out, and she discreetly crept to the side of the window to hear what they were saying, but their voices were too soft for her to hear anything. When No. 5 casually turned his head and spotted her eavesdropping on them, she panicked and hurriedly scuttered off. When No. 5 came back into the room, An Xiaoning had already left. As for Henry, who hade here together with her, he had stayed in the car throughout the whole time. ¡°My Auntie¡¯s gone?¡± ¡°Yes, she¡¯s gone.¡± No. 5 went on, ¡°If you finish stringing these beads, you¡¯ll get to sleep on this bed tonight.¡± ¡°Then, does that mean that you¡¯ll keeping watch over me?¡± ¡°No, tonight, it¡¯ll be your Uncle No. 8 on duty.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er¡¯s face fell and she looked rather upset. ¡°Our teacher told us that a boy and a girl cannot sleep together in the same room.¡± No. 5 did not know whether to get angry orugh at herment. ¡°Your Uncle No. 8 and I aren¡¯t boys, we¡¯re men. That¡¯s not counted. We¡¯re almost 30 years old, is that the same?¡± ¡°Uncle No. 5, do you have a partner?¡± ¡°What are you asking so many questions for?¡± ¡°From the looks of it, you¡¯re almost 30 and still don¡¯t have a girlfriend. You can¡¯t evenpare to my father. My father has already been with plenty of women. You¡¯re much worse than him.¡± No. 5 was infuriated. ¡°Why are youparing me to your scumbag father? You really have a way of saying things with evil intentions. Let Uncle tell you, when girls like you grow up, boys won¡¯t like you. You won¡¯t be able to get married because you¡¯re not only not adorable at all, you even have a bad temper and character.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you tell that I was mocking my Daddy?¡± Shi Bao¡¯er said with her head lowered, ¡°If only he were like you, Uncle No. 5. That way, my Daddy and Mommy won¡¯t have gotten divorced.¡± No. 5 suddenly understood what she meant and his anger dissipatedpletely. ¡°You can¡¯t choose the kind of father you have. Since it¡¯s like that, why are you looking up to your Daddy? Shouldn¡¯t you try to prove that you¡¯re not like him at all? That way, when people talk about you, they¡¯ll say that Shi Shaochuan¡¯s daughter is much better than her father. Instead of that, they¡¯re now saying that an apple doesn¡¯t fall far from the tree. I¡¯m sure you understand what I mean. Although you¡¯re young now and can do anything if you want to, have you thought of the consequences of everything you do? If your mother isn¡¯t Jin Qingyue and your uncle isn¡¯t Jin Qingyan, starting a fire to burn others would have led to extremely dire consequences instead of just having your Auntie discipline you now.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er looked at him and did not utter a word. Chapter 1225 - I Want to Make You Stay (103)

Chapter 1225: I Want to Make You Stay (103)

An Xiaoning finally got discharged after staying in the hospital for five days. Every afternoon, she would personally head to Mount Heyuan to assign Shi Bao¡¯er various difficult missions to aplish. The missions got increasingly more difficult, but Shi Bao¡¯erpleted them one after another and did not have to stay around those snakes anymore. At the same time, at 5:08 am every morning, she would receive a mysterious call. There was no number on the caller disy, and no one spoke a word on the other line either. This made An Xiaoning feel rather strange, as well as somewhat curious and uneasy. Until Wang Jinsheng suddenly told her that something happened at the tomb that they¡¯d found near theke. A curious staff member had secretly entered the tomb alone, never to return again. They had only discovered this after watching the footage from the surveince cameras. No matter how everyone shouted for the staff member from outside, there was no reply, so Wang Jinsheng felt that it possible something had happened. However, no one entered the tomb to check since they did not know what exactly was the situation like inside. As such, An Xiaoning drove there personally to take a look. It was the 15th of August, and the weather was as good as the mid-autumn¡¯s festive mood. When she reached theke, as the weather was rather hot, An Xiaoning took off her jacket and got off the car only in a short-sleeved shirt. She was wearing a cap thatpletely covered the injury on her head. She strode in the direction of the sunlight and headed toward the few people from the archeological team. ¡°Ms. An, you¡¯re here,¡± Wang Jinsheng said as he walked. ¡°What do we do? We¡¯ve no idea what the situation is like with the staff member inside right now.¡± ¡°Come, let¡¯s go and take a look.¡± The two arrived at the entrance of the tomb, and An Xiaoning surveyed the surroundings, realizing that the location of the tomb especially attracted dark energy. The surroundingnd was obviously higher while the tomb was caved inwards, like a coffin had been ced inside. ¡°Have you checked whose tomb this belongs to?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve tried checking but could not find any leads at all. The tombs here don¡¯t lead to any houses nearby. Moreover, since we haven¡¯t gone in to see, we don¡¯t know if there may be other clues inside. But the situation right now is knotty since we don¡¯t know what will happen if we go in. I just feel like the odds are against us...¡± An Xiaoning also did not dare to enter the tomb hastily as well. Moreover, it was the 15th of August today, also the day when the full moon emerged. ¡°How about this? Let¡¯s all go back ande back the day after tomorrow. Only then will I go in and take a look.¡± ¡°The day after tomorrow?¡± ¡°Yes. Today¡¯s the 15th of August. Let¡¯se back on the 17th. The moon will be very round these two days, but it might not be like that on the 17th.¡± Wang Jinsheng never really paid attention to such things and could only listen to her opinion. ¡°Alright, then, we¡¯lle back the day after tomorrow.¡± ¡°Take greater notice of the surveince cameras here these two days. Also, warn your men again not to enter the tomb freely.¡± ¡°Of course, of course. I¡¯ve already warned them previously, but that staff member just didn¡¯t listen. You tell me, who is to me for such an incident?¡± ¡°Just put this incident aside first. You should also inform his family to be mentally prepared. I¡¯ll be going back first, you guys should leave too.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± An Xiaoning returned to her car and drove back. On the way back, she was still thinking about that tomb. It had a squarish shape and only had space to allow for one person to enter each time. With such a small opening for the tomb, the one that was buried inside it could not have possibly been someone very old. With many years¡¯ worth of dark energy gathered around the tomb, intruders who were not well prepared would not be able to fend themselves from the consequences that would unfold. This was the reason why An Xiaoning took extreme caution. After she drove her car all the way into Wei Ni Estate and entered the front gate of her house, Xiao Bai came running to the front of her car window and said, ¡°Young Madam, Sir is here. He¡¯s talking to Young Sir inside.¡± An Xiaoning got off the car and headed inside the mansion. Before she had even gone into the house, she could hear an intense argument between them from outside. Usually, when Mr. Jin came over, it was simply to ask him for money. This time, it was no exception. When An Xiaoning entered the house, the quarreling ceased instantly, as if all that she had heard earlier was just her imagination. ¡°Uncle, you¡¯re here.¡± Mr. Jin¡¯s face was green with anger, and he murmured a short acknowledgement on the sofa, turning his head to the side. Henry was about to head upstairs when Mr. Jin turned his face over and called out, ¡°You brat, stop there!¡± Henry turned his head around and looked at him coldly. ¡°Haven¡¯t you had enough?¡± ¡°I¡¯m your father, you¡¯ve gone way too overboard!¡± ¡°¡®I¡¯ve gone overboard? What gives you the right to ask me for anything when I was not allowed to have anything that I want?!¡± Mr. Jin was taken aback and asked in a puzzled manner, ¡°When did I not let you have anything that you want? Since you were young, you had all the best clothes, food, and things. When have I ever treated you poorly?¡± ¡°Racing car.¡± Mr. Jin thought he was hearing things. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I said, the racing car.¡± Mr. Jin did not expect that such an incident that happened so long ago was still fresh in his memory. ¡°How long ago was that? Your results were not satisfactory then, and you were still yful. Father didn¡¯t let you y with your racing car to let you concentrate on your studies.¡± ¡°Was that really the reason?¡± Mr. Jin¡¯s expression softened a lot as he responded, ¡°I didn¡¯t smash your racing car intentionally back then. I only wanted you to put your time and effort on your studies. After all, Father only has you as my son.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not intentionally refusing to give you money now either. I just want you to better control your spending.¡± Mr. Jin felt that he was indeed doing it intentionally and replied, ¡°Tell me, how long has it been since Ist asked you for money? I¡¯ve handed thepany over to you now and just want to ask you for money every now and then. Are you that unwilling to give it to me?¡± An Xiaoning tried to smoothen things out by cutting in, ¡°Uncle, I think if you were to apologize to him for smashing his racing car, he would willingly give it to you. He actually just wants you to do that.¡± Mr. Jin felt that it was rather unbelievable as he remarked, ¡°Qingyan, it¡¯s really because of that incident? Why didn¡¯t you tell me earlier? Father was wrong with what I did back then that left a scar in your heart. Father is sorry about it. If time could rewind, I definitely wouldn¡¯t do that again.¡± Henry did not expect that something that was that important to him was so insignificant to his father. He was probably the only one who would take such a thing to heart. To any other person, it probably wouldn¡¯t have been a big deal. Why should he make a big fuss out of it, then? Henry fished out his wallet and took out a piece of check, then passed it to him after he had filled in an amount. An Xiaoning took a nce at the amount he had written. It was two million dors. Mr. Jin did not say a word further. He simply took the check and left. ¡°I¡¯ve made a joke out of myself in front of you.¡± ¡°Anything that concerns you is never a joke to me.¡± She went on, ¡°Come upstairs, I have something to say to you.¡± He went upstairs after her silently, the two of them entering the bedroom one after another. An Xiaoning said as she entered the room, ¡°I¡¯ve arranged the girl that had saved you previously to work at thepany already, but she can¡¯t possibly stay together with us right?¡± ¡°There are so many rooms here, what¡¯s wrong with letting her live here with us? Moreover, she¡¯s still young and innocent. If she were to rent a house outside by herself, it won¡¯t be safe for her. Her parents also instructed me to take care of her.¡± Chapter 1226 - I Want to Make You Stay (104)

Chapter 1226: I Want to Make You Stay (104)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After some thought, An Xiaoning said, ¡°How about this? I¡¯ll free up a room in the office and allow her to stay there instead. Since she¡¯s your savior, we can¡¯t ill-treat her. What do you think?¡± ¡°Do you not want her to stay here?¡± ¡°Of course, I hate the idea of her staying here. Apart from me, Qingyue, Yangyang, Auntie Chen, and the maids, no other girls like her or Bu Xianxian are wee in this house. We must repay our gratitude to your saviors, but there¡¯s always another way to do it,¡± she said bluntly. ¡°You¡¯re so petty.¡± An Xiaoning said gleefully, ¡°Yes, I may be petty, but I¡¯m better than you. Someone over here is so much pettier than I am, how dare he have the cheek to criticize me?¡± ¡°Who... does... someone refer to? Me?¡± he asked, pointing at himself. She remained silent while sitting on the couch. ¡°I¡¯m asking you, were you referring to me?¡± ¡°Yes, I was. I was talking about you. You¡¯re just asking the obvious.¡± Noticing that she was about to grab the bottle of liquor, he snatched it away and said, ¡°Your wounds have yet to heal, why are you drinking?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m happy and I like it. Give it to me,¡± An Xiaoning said while extending her hand in a bid to grab it. Henry ducked while An Xiaoning chased him. ¡°I just want to have a few drinks, what¡¯s wrong with that? Give it to me.¡± ¡°No, you can¡¯t have any.¡± An Xiaoning took chase and blocked him from running away. She reached behind his back to grab the bottle of liquor. However, she did not manage to do so and ended up pushing him onto the bed. He raised the bottle of liquor up high in his left hand while An Xiaoning fell onto his body. She instinctively moved away, for fear that he would fling her onto the wall again. At the same time, she also managed to snatch the bottle away. Henry sat up and chided, ¡°I told you your wounds have yet to heal. You¡¯re so stubborn and defiant.¡± ¡°I told you to stay out of it. A little won¡¯t hurt,¡± An Xiaoning said while pouring herself some liquor. She took a few enjoyable sips out of the ss. ¡°You¡¯d better keep your promise and just drink a little bit.¡± He headed to the washroom and said, ¡°I¡¯ll take a shower.¡± Instead of answering him, An Xiaoning sat on the bed and continued drinking her favorite liquor, Dreamyanghe, the unique liquor concocted by Jin Qingyan. She fell in love with the liquor ever since the first time she tasted it. It was a special liquor that could not be bought elsewhere. She subconsciously proceeded to have a few more sses. An Xiaoning finally put the ss down. I¡¯ve grown so much with time but why is my liquor tolerance still so pathetic even after all these years? Henry exited from the washroom to see that she was lying on the couch with her face flushed red, seemingly deep in thought as she kept her eyes fixed on the ceiling above. He shifted his gaze onto the liquor bottle and remarked, ¡°Who was the one who said that she¡¯s only going to have a little bit? You¡¯ve drunk so much.¡± She stood up from the couch and said, ¡°I identally... had a drop too much. I couldn¡¯t help myself.¡± Noticing that she was walking toward him on an unsteady gait, Henry said, ¡°Lie down and get some rest, then.¡± ¡°Lie down to get some rest?¡± An Xiaoning pped her hands and continued, ¡°Alright, alright, my sentiments exactly.¡± She then sat on hisp unrestrainedly. A sullen expression formed on Henry¡¯s face and he rebuked. ¡°Do you want me to throw you against the wall again?¡± An Xiaoning blinked and put on a look of misery. Staring at him pitifully and pointing at her head, she murmured, ¡°It hurts, here...¡± Henry squinted and stared at her while she murmured coquettishly. For some reason, he began to feel his throat getting dry and his heart racing rapidly. His hands had even ced themselves onto her waist. Secondster, he snapped out of his trance and pushed her away again gently, for fear that he would injure her. However, An Xiaoning still fell onto the ground. She winced in pain and rested her head against the bed. She groused, ¡°You said before that you would get hard only for me...¡± Henry¡¯s face turned beet red, feeling shy like an innocent teenager. ¡°Who said so?¡± ¡°You.¡± She wrapped her arms around his thigh and said, ¡°Qingyan, I¡¯m so tired.¡± Henry picked her up in his arms and lowered her onto the bed. An Xiaoning refused to let go and grabbed his shirt tightly. ¡°Go to bed with me...¡± He pushed her hand and said, ¡°Go to sleep on your own.¡± ¡°Apany me to sleep...¡± She pulled Henry onto the bed forcefully. He stopped moving and thought to himself that he would get up again once she¡¯s asleep. However, she simply kept her eyes wide open without uttering a single word. A long whileter, she was still wide awake. He could not help but ask, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you were sleepy? Why aren¡¯t you turning in yet?¡± An Xiaoning turned to her side and ced one leg over his body. ¡°Let¡¯s chat before sleeping.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing for us to chat about.¡± ¡°How could there be nothing...? Do you remember when we first got intimate with each other?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not Jin Qingyan. Look closely, I¡¯m Henry.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bring that up. I just... got intimate with this body,¡± she said, poking his chest with her index finger. ¡°I don¡¯t recall that happening before.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not possessed by another spirit. You¡¯re Qingyan and Qingyan is you. You two are the same person to begin with. You¡¯re the same...¡± she said, pressing her face against his body while closing her eyes. Henry remained silent, and she soon dozed off. Noticing that she had already fallen asleep, he got up slowly and pulled the nket over her body. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Sis, we¡¯re here to visit you,¡± said Fang Yunxi, who entered together with Mr. and Mrs. Fang. All three of them had turned up empty-handed. Mrs. Fang hurriedly said, ¡°We read about your hospitalization from the news so we called you, and Chenyang told us not to visit you yet.¡± ¡°Chenyang?¡± Fang En immediately looked at Xiao Chenyang. I¡¯ve never addressed him that way before, how could Mother blurt that out so smoothly? ¡°Yeah. Just hurry and break up with that Yan Ge. What¡¯s wrong with his mother? She spouted so much nonsense about you online. Chenyang is a great man,¡± said a disgruntled Mrs. Fang. ¡°We¡¯ve already broken up a few days ago.¡± Mrs. Fang nodded profusely and gave her approval, ¡°Good that you did.¡± COMMENT Fang En answered, ¡°We¡¯re not nning to announce it just yet. We¡¯ll only do so after the television series finishes airing. So, all of you are to keep mum whenever others ask about it.¡± ¡°Yes, yes. It¡¯s your brother¡¯s birthday today,¡± said Mrs. Fang. ¡°You guys go get him a cake and we¡¯ll have a meal together to celebrate his birthday,¡± Fang En suggested. ¡°We thought so too. What do you say we bring some food back and eat here together?¡± Seeing how excited she was, Fang En agreed with a nod, ¡°Sure.¡± Mrs. Fang quickly urged her husband and son to go buy some food and a cake while she moved a chair over to take a seat. She asked straightforwardly, ¡°Chenyang, are you dating En now?¡± Chapter 1227 - I Want to Make You Stay (105)

Chapter 1227: I Want to Make You Stay (105)

Fang En kept quiet while Xiao Chenyang answered, ¡°Yes, Mother-inw.¡± bbergasted, Fang En chided, ¡°We¡¯ve yet to get married, why are you calling her ¡®Mother-inw¡¯...¡± ¡°Let him be. He can address me that way. I¡¯m in full support of your rtionship anyway,¡± said Mrs. Fang. ¡°...¡± Fang En did not wish to expose her mother¡¯s ulterior motive. She was well aware of what Mrs. Fang was thinking. However, it was great that she had no objections to Fang En¡¯s rtionship with Xiao Chenyang. ¡°Chenyang, we met briefly the previous time and I didn¡¯t get the chance to get to know you better. Where do you live?¡± How was Xiao Chenyang supposed to answer that? He had properties all across the globe, and they all belonged to him even though he may have only lived in each house once. ¡°Home is wherever En is,¡± he answered. Mrs. Fang was pleased to hear his answer. ¡°Although I¡¯m very d to hear that from you, I still have to know where your parents live.¡± ¡°My parents have passed away. They lived in B City.¡± ¡°Your parents have passed away?¡± asked Mrs. Fang, who was ted about that fact, for it meant that Fang En would not have to face any conflicts with her mother-inw. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°How old are you this year?¡± After a moment of silence, he answered, ¡°I¡¯m six years older than En.¡± ¡°That means you¡¯re thirty years old?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Wonderful. When do you guys n to register your marriage?¡± asked Mrs. Fang, who was extremely satisfied with her son-inw-to-be. ¡°Register our marriage? We can do it anytime as long as she¡¯s willing,¡± Xiao Chenyang said while ncing at Fang En. Fang En knew that Xiao Chenyang did not have a household register in S Nation and would definitely have to obtain a household register before they could register their marriage. Thus, she said, ¡°We can always wait until filming is over before we register our marriage.¡± ¡°Yes, yes,¡± Mrs. Fang agreed, grinning widely from ear to ear. She was as happy as ark. ¡°By the way, Mother, there¡¯s something I have to tell you. Just ry it to Father,¡± said Fang En, who then told Mrs. Fang about Fang Ruzhen. A sullen expression formed on Mrs. Fang¡¯s face and she asked, ¡°You mean, she hired someone to assault you?¡± ¡°Yes, she¡¯s already been arrested. I almost died because you decided to be nosy and got me to invite her father over to our ce. Could you stop poking your nose into others¡¯ business from now on?¡± Fang En chastised in disgruntlement. Feeling extremely perturbed and horrified, Mrs. Fang asked, ¡°She doesn¡¯t know that I was the one who made you do it, right?¡± ¡°Of course not. She¡¯s in a terrible plight, though. She¡¯s even be a drug addict. The police have arrested her, but I haven¡¯t asked them for updates about the situation.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a pity that their family turned out that way. They were living so happily and peacefully at the start. Look what happened in the end. If her mother wasn¡¯t promiscuous and didn¡¯tmit adultery, would her father have killed her mother? They¡¯ve ruined themselves and made their child an orphan.¡± ¡°Regardless of what happens to them, it¡¯s still their family¡¯s affair and you shouldn¡¯t have been poking your nose into their business. Just let Father know about this. Keep it from Yunxi.¡± ¡°I know. Don¡¯t worry, this concerns our family¡¯s safety.¡± ¡ª¡ª Gu Beicheng only found out about An Xiaoning¡¯s injury when he asked her out for a meal. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you call to tell me earlier?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine, it¡¯s just a minor injury. It¡¯s almost been a week since it happened,¡± she said nonchntly. ¡°How did you get injured?¡± Not wanting to discuss it any further, An Xiaoning answered. ¡°I identally had a fall. Why isn¡¯t Mingxi here?¡± ¡°She can¡¯t make it. She¡¯s nursing her pregnancy, and the food here is on the spicy side. She can¡¯t eat such spicy foods for now. Let¡¯s go to another restaurant. I didn¡¯t know that you were injured so I made reservations for this one.¡± An Xiaoning stopped him and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, the dishes are going to be served soon. Wouldn¡¯t it be a waste of money if we just leave now? A little spice won¡¯t hurt or aggravate my injury. I enjoy spicy foods.¡± Gu Beicheng said, ¡°I¡¯ll order a few more dishes that aren¡¯t spicy, then.¡± ¡°How can we finish so much food?¡± He ignored her and proceeded to order a few more dishes. The two of them ordered a table full of dishes. ¡°I wanted to have a meal with you yesterday, but I had to apany Mingxi back to her parents¡¯ ce. I happened to dine here before with Xiaotian and I took a liking to their dishes, so I decided to bring you here to let you have a taste of them.¡± An Xiaoning scanned her surroundings and said, ¡°Since you were the one who chose it, it must be great. This environment is pretty tranquil and rxing.¡± They were sitting at a table by the window on the second floor. Therge window allowed them to enjoy a bird¡¯s-eye view of the scenery outside. It was evening, and there were streaks of red in the amber sky. The golden rays of the sun cast down on them. ¡°What has Ye Xiaotian been busy withtely?¡± Gu Beicheng smiled and answered, ¡°What else could he be busy with? Back when hispany was doing well, he would coop himself up in the office every day. Now that he has lost hispany and Mo Li, he seems to have lost his mental sustenance and idles his life away every day.¡± ¡°Is his wife pregnant?¡± Shaking his head, Gu Beicheng answered, ¡°His wife? I don¡¯t think so, I didn¡¯t hear anything from him.¡± ¡°He ruined his happy family just like that. Who else can he me? He drove Mo Li into a corner back then and she had nowhere to run. Everything is peaceful now, and Mo Li is living well too.¡± Gu Beicheng supported his head with one arm and said with a shrug, ¡°That¡¯s just fate, I guess. Everyone¡¯s destined to have a different life. Some people don¡¯t treasure what they have that others can never achieve no matter how hard they try. One must learn to let go of something if it¡¯s not destined to be theirs. Nothing can be changed no matter how hard they try. That¡¯s why I always say Jin Qingyan is really lucky.¡± ¡°I¡¯m the lucky one.¡± They smiled at each other, and the waiter served the dishes one by one. They picked up their chopsticks and began digging in. A luxury car pulled up by the roadside, and Henry looked up into the window of the second floor to see that An Xiaoning was inside. However, he could not tell who the man sitting opposite her was because Gu Beicheng was facing away from the window. He was certain that the man was no ordinary person because he exuded an alluring aura. Besides, she wouldn¡¯t dine with just anyone. He felt a strong urge to rush upstairs to take a look. However, he held it back and drove back home instead. Fan Shixin had been ordering the bodyguards to keep close tabs on Henry¡¯s whereabouts. Upon hearing that he had driven into Wei Ni Estate, Fan Shixin decided to wait at the entrance. Once he drove through the gate, Fan Shixin stopped his car. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Young Madam tried to call you but you didn¡¯t answer her calls. She wanted me to tell you that she had gone out for dinner with someone else and that she would be home before nine.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care what time she gets home,¡± said Henry, who then wound up the window and drove into the garage. Why should I care about what time shees home? Why does she have to inform me? Chapter 1228 - I Want to Make You Stay (106)

Chapter 1228: I Want to Make You Stay (106)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Henry was filled with disgruntlement. I¡¯m definitely going to make her lose the bet we had. Does she really think I¡¯ll fall in love with her? She can dream on. Henry entered the house to see that Li Baozhen was in the living room. She stood up from the couch and said, ¡°Brother Qingyan, I¡¯m going to move to the office tomorrow.¡± ¡°Yes, stay inside the office and don¡¯t wander off on your own at night. If anything happens, look for Chief Fan. He¡¯ll help you settle everything.¡± ¡°Huh... shouldn¡¯t I look for you instead?¡± ¡°I might... be away for business trips sometimes. I¡¯m rarely at home.¡± ¡°Oh oh, I see.¡± ¡°Go to bed if there¡¯s nothing else. I¡¯m going upstairs now.¡± ¡°Brother Qingyan, wait a minute.¡± Li Baozhen handed him the bag in her hand and said, ¡°Here¡¯s a gift from me to you.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s my token of gratitude, to thank you for hiring me and giving me a job at yourpany. You must keep it properly.¡± She then skipped away merrily. Instead of looking at what was inside the bag, he headed upstairs and casually ced it onto the couch. Knock-knock... Long Tianze entered and said teasingly, ¡°Hello, Sir. I¡¯m the hunk who¡¯s here to serve you.¡± In the past, Henry would have definitely ignored him. However, he actually opened the door for Long Tianze this time. ¡°I knew you were home. Don¡¯t you wanna know how I was so sure?¡± Long Tianze goaded. ¡°I don¡¯t want to know.¡± Long Tianze chuckled and said, ¡°I saw your car when I was at my house just now. Hey, look how grave of an expression you have. Are you in a foul mood, Lord Jin?¡± ¡°I¡¯m in a splendid mood. There¡¯s something I¡¯d like to ask you,¡± he said calmly. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Under what circumstances would a man and a woman eat together alone?¡± ¡°Hehe, don¡¯t I usually ask you that question? Why are you the one asking me now?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t I ask you now?¡± Long Tianze answered, ¡°You can. There are only a few answers to your question. Firstly, it might either be for business or personal matters. All work-rted matters are about the same. However, it¡¯s a different case if it¡¯s personal matters. It¡¯s normal for friends to meet for a meal together. It¡¯s also normal for lovers to do so. Rtives can have a meal together too.¡± ¡°Your answer is so redundant.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re asking a redundant question too, aren¡¯t you? Come, let me guess what you¡¯re worried about, Little Jin. Did Sis-inw have a meal with some hunk that made you jealous? But which brazen fellow is that? He actually dared to meet Sis-inw in A City... I mean S Nation. Well, he¡¯s really asking for death.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not worried. You don¡¯t have to worry about me.¡± ¡°True, Sis-inw is so in love with you. She won¡¯t be snatched away so easily,¡± Long Tianze said while giving him a pat on his back. He continued, ¡°I¡¯ve been sensing something unusual about you for the past few days, but I can¡¯t put a finger on it. Are you alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°Good that you are. Okay, I¡¯m going home now.¡± .... It was already 8:40 pm by the time An Xiaoning returned home. Noticing that the lights were off on the second floor, she thought to herself that he was probably asleep or out. Thus, she headed upstairs to discover that he had really gone to bed. The night was still young, and it was unlike him to go to bed at such an early time. An Xiaoning ced her bag on the couch and caught sight of the pink bag. She subconsciously picked it up and held it in her hand before peeking inside. There was an exquisite box inside the bag. An Xiaoning took the box out and ced the bag aside. The box was pink in color as well. There was a pink ribbon on it. An Xiaoning smiled and stared at the man on the bed who had his eyes closed. Is this a gift for me? Without hesitation, she untied the ribbon on the box. She was looking forward to seeing what was inside. As soon as she opened the box, An Xiaoning was dumbfounded. Although the gift seemed to be for a woman, the item inside was meant for men. The exquisite box contained a man¡¯s watch. To her astonishment, the watch was identical to the one that she had given him in the past. It was the first birthday gift she had given him during the first year of their marriage. On that day, she gave him three gifts. The first gift was a handwritten letter, the second was a dance that she had performed for him while wearing only a scarf, and the third was the exorbitantly-priced watch. It was an expensive watch from a luxury brand. A million images began to flood her mind as she began to wonder what could have possibly happened to him. Just as An Xiaoning was deep in thought, Henry said, ¡°Put it down.¡± She turned to look at Henry, who was lying on the bed. She had no idea when he had woken up. He was no longer sleepy. An Xiaoning walked toward him with the box and ced it on the headboard. ¡°Why did you wrap this up in such an exquisite packaging?¡± Henry scoffed and asked, ¡°Surely you can¡¯t be thinking that this is a gift for you?¡± An Xiaoning could not hide her embarrassment and said in admittance, ¡°I did think so before I opened it. However, I changed my mind after I saw what was inside. Answer me, why did you wrap the watch up in such an exquisite packaging?¡± ¡°Someone else gave it to me.¡± An Xiaoning paused and asked, ¡°Who?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to care who gave it to me.¡± An Xiaoning stared at the watch inside the box to see that the watch was indeed very new. She turned around and entered the dressing room. She opened Jin Qingyan¡¯s watch drawer and nced at the wide array of luxury watches that he owned. She immediately caught sight of the one that she had given him. She picked up the watch and walked toward Henry. ¡°These two watches are identical,¡± she said. Henry grabbed both watches andpared them, only to find that they were identical. The only difference was that one was worn and the other was brand new. ¡°So what if they¡¯re exactly the same? A gift is a gift.¡± Henry ced the older watch in her hand and said, ¡°This one¡¯s so old. Throw it away.¡± An Xiaoning gasped in shock and asked, ¡°Throw it away? What do you know?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Don¡¯t I have the right to throw a watch away?¡± An Xiaoning retorted with a sullen expression on her face, ¡°Of course you don¡¯t. This watch wasn¡¯t for you anyway. You don¡¯t have the right to decide what to do with it.¡± ¡°Was it a gift from you?¡± An Xiaoning walked toward the dressing room and opened the drawer again. She then ced the watch inside the box carefully before closing it again. Next, she removed her makeup and took a shower. She put on a shower cap to prevent her wound from getting wet. Chapter 1229 - I Want to Make You Stay (107)

Chapter 1229: I Want to Make You Stay (107)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Despite the circumstances, she still could not neglect her skin. Masks were still necessary. ¡°Did you really give me that watch?¡± ¡°Does it really matter if I was the one who gave it to you?¡± she hissed. ¡°I was just asking a casual question. Why are you getting so riled up?¡± An Xiaoning ignored him and leaned against the headboard while using her mobile phone. However, the more she refused tomunicate with him, the more he tried to talk to her. ¡°When did you give it to me?¡± ¡°Long, long time ago. It¡¯s been eight or nine years since I gave it to you. I gave it to you during our first year of marriage,¡± she said calmly. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that it was a gift from you, that¡¯s why I... told you to throw it away.¡± An Xiaoning was not a petty person, and she knew that he was Henry, not Jin Qingyan. ¡°Who gave you this new one?¡± ¡°Baozhen. She said that it¡¯s a token of gratitude from her and that I must keep it properly. I thought that it was just a small item. I didn¡¯t expect her to give me this.¡± She turned to her side and said to him, ¡°Return it to her tomorrow morning. I bought it at a really expensive price nine years ago. Although the value may have depreciated now, it still costs at least tens of thousands. Luxury watches don¡¯te at a cheap price, unless they¡¯re counterfeits. It¡¯s not a small sum for her. Get her to return the watch, or pay her back in full sum for it. It¡¯s hard for a vige girl like her to earn money. The cost of this watch may be peanuts to us but it¡¯s exorbitant to her.¡± Finding her words to have made sense, Henry agreed, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll do as you say tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°If...¡± An Xiaoning red at him and continued, ¡°If this girl harbors any feelings for you, you are to stop her from getting any funny ideas. Got it?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear what I said? You¡¯re mine. I¡¯ll break the neck of whoever tries to snatch my man away from me.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Why are you looking at me? Answer me.¡± Henry answered in a sexy and husky voice, ¡°You¡¯ve got such a wild imagination. Who¡¯s your man...?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re not mine, why do you sleep with me every day? Yes, you may have been dead against sharing the same room as me in the past. Although you¡¯re willing to lie next to me now, you¡¯re still very haughty and arrogant, aren¡¯t you? You keep putting on a front and pretending to be pure and chaste. You may not remember much but I remember everything. You¡¯ve forgotten who you are but I haven¡¯t. We¡¯ve given our bodies to each other. You¡¯re still you, regardless of which personality is in control. I can ept all your attributes and ws because I love you deeply. I believe that one day, both sides of you will be one and love me wholeheartedly. So, I¡¯ll be waiting for that day.¡± ¡°What if that day neveres?¡± ¡°That won¡¯t happen. I believe it¡¯ll definitelye someday in the near future. Henry, shall we talk about something?¡± she said confidently. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not get intimate, but shall we share a kiss?¡± Henry was speechless. ¡°Stop pretending to be a pure and innocent youth. I still remember you getting all touchy-feely with those women in the nightclub in M Nation. If I hadn¡¯t kicked you and knocked you unconscious, you would have gotten intimate with one of those women. If I wasn¡¯t so strict with you, you would have slept around countless times before!¡± ¡°Why are you the only woman whom I¡¯m so resistant toward?¡± ¡°Although it¡¯s not exactly wonderful, at least it proves that I¡¯m special to you, doesn¡¯t it?¡± said An Xiaoning, who snuggled up beside him slowly. She subconsciously touched his hand and he hurriedly tried to move it away, only to have her grab it. ¡°You refuse to let me kiss you, and now you won¡¯t let me touch your hand too?¡± He retracted his hand and said, ¡°I¡¯m not letting you do so.¡± She kissed him forcefully and said, ¡°I shall kiss you, then.¡± ¡°An Xiaoning!¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t go overboard.¡± She sat up and said, ¡°Shall we y a game of dice? If I win, you¡¯ll have to grant my requests, and if you win, you may make a request of me too. However, you¡¯re not allowed to cancel the pact that we had made earlier.¡± Seemingly having guessed her intentions, he said, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, you¡¯re suggesting that we y this game just so you could touch me.¡± An Xiaoning let out an evil chuckle and said, ¡°And many more... Are you afraid?¡± ¡°No, I just don¡¯t want to y such a low-ss game with you...¡± ¡°Just admit it if you¡¯re afraid. Why do you have to undermine my suggestion? Since you don¡¯t want to y, let¡¯s turn off the lights and go to bed,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Are you going to agree to all my requests?¡± ¡°Yes, on the condition that you win the game. However, like I said, you¡¯re not allowed to call off the pact we had made earlier.¡± ¡°Will you abide ordingly, even if I make you run naked on the streets, or make you drink urine, or force you to eat a toad?¡± An Xiaoning pursed her lips and said, ¡°Will you actually make such requests?¡± ¡°You never know. Didn¡¯t you say that I¡¯d be allowed to make any requests? What¡¯s wrong? Are you afraid?¡± Henry asked with raised brows. ¡°What a joke. Why would I be afraid when I was the one who suggested it?¡± said An Xiaoning who was, however, feeling rather uncertain. What if he really makes me do those things? That¡¯d be terrible. Henry looked at her and wondered what she was pondering about silently. After a minute of silence, he sat up and said, ¡°Game on.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°The probability of me winning is half. Anyway, I shall make things clear beforehand. If you lose, I might really make you do those things that I mentioned just now.¡± Despite feeling a little scared, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°Alright, then, wait for Fan Shixin to bring the dice here.¡± .... Five minutester, they sat cross-legged facing each other, a square nket in between them. An Xiaoning held the dices in her hand. She quickly readjusted the mask on her face when it almost fell off. They yed with two dices. ¡°Do you want to go first?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go first.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll decide who goes first after a round of rock, paper, scissors.¡± ¡°... Alright.¡± Henry won and got to go first. He grabbed the dices from her hand and threw them. At this moment, An Xiaoning prayed in her head, Small, small, small, small, small, small! However... The two dices added up to eleven. An Xiaoning could only win if both her dices added up to twelve. All of a sudden, she felt like all hope was lost. She grabbed the dices and took a look again. She could not help but feel a little disgruntled upon the sight of Henry staring at her with a sinister smile. Despite knowing that her chances of winning were slim, she still carried some hope and prayed that she would get lucky. Thus, she grabbed the dices and threw them. Chapter 1230 - I Want to Make You Stay (108)

Chapter 1230: I Want to Make You Stay (108)

Just like she had expected, she lost. Staring at her dices that added up to a pathetic value of four, which was a far cry from his sum of eleven, she could not help but sigh in her heart. Why is there such a huge difference... ¡°Fine, I lost. You may make your request,¡± she said straightforwardly, waiting for his answer. I¡¯m not going to be a sore loser! ¡°Let¡¯s put it on hold first.¡± ¡°Put it on hold... Alright, let¡¯s start over again,¡± said An Xiaoning, who did not expect him to say that. He threw the dices again and got a three and a five, both adding up to eight. An Xiaoning felt a little nervous. However, she won this time by a close shave. Her dices added up to nine. ¡°I win.¡± ¡°Yes, make your request.¡± ¡°I want to sleep with you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll trade my request and offset yours.¡± An Xiaoning looked at him dejectedly and said, ¡°No wonder you didn¡¯t make your request immediately. Turns out you had other intentions.¡± ¡°Are you still ying or not?¡± ¡°I¡¯m ying.¡± To An Xiaoning¡¯s astonishment, he seemed to be godly when it came to dices. They kept taking turns to win, and the results came to a draw after more than twenty rounds. Smiling, Henry asked her, ¡°Do you still want to y?¡± An Xiaoning removed her facial mask and threw it into the dustbin. Shey down and answered in disgruntlement, ¡°No, I¡¯m going to bed.¡± He put the dices away andy down. ¡°Who did you have dinner with tonight?¡± he asked, trying to sound as nonchnt as possible. ¡°A hunk.¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°Gu Beicheng.¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t tell that it was him.¡± An Xiaoning hurriedly asked, ¡°You saw us?¡± ¡°No... I mean, I didn¡¯t think it¡¯d be him.¡± ¡°Why are you making such a big fuss? It¡¯s normal for us to have a meal together. It¡¯s just like when you have a meal with your sister.¡± ¡°You two are not rted by blood...¡± ¡°Enough, stop talking to me. You won¡¯t let me touch, kiss, hug, or do anything with you. Go sleep on the couch. Don¡¯t get in the way.¡± She kicked him and said, ¡°Hurry and go sleep on the couch.¡± Henry fell off the bed with the pillow in his arms. He stared at her and retorted, ¡°Are you human at all? Couldn¡¯t you tell that I was letting you win when we were ying with the dices just now? How dare you forbid me from sleeping on the bed...¡± ¡°Who told you to let me win?¡± ¡°I should¡¯ve made you lose and let you weep.¡± An Xiaoning closed her eyes and remained still, as if she did not hear him at all. Henry got an immense backache after sleeping on the couch for a night. He used to feel fine after sleeping on the couch. However, it actually caused him a ton of difort this time. He felt that it was nowhereparable to a bed. They woke up almost at the same time. An Xiaoning behaved like a whole different person from the moment she opened her eyes. Feeling fresh and energized, she proceeded to get dressed, freshen up, and put on some makeup before heading downstairs. She did not waste any time at all. The two of them had woken up earlier than usual. Thus, they only saw Li Baozhen exiting from the guest room with her luggage after they were done with breakfast. An Xiaoning shot Henry a nce to signal him to bring the watch down. Upon catching her hint, he stood up from the couch. ¡°Good morning, Brother Qingyan and Ms. An.¡± ¡°Good morning. Are you satisfied with the amodation that we¡¯ve arranged for you?¡± An Xiaoning asked with a smile. ¡°Very, thank you so much.¡± ¡°I heard from Qingyan that you and your parents have saved him before, so it¡¯s only right that we repay your kindness. Don¡¯t feel too burdened by it.¡± Li Baozhen nodded. ¡°Ms. Li,e here for breakfast,¡± said Auntie Chen, who exited from the kitchen with the dishes. ¡°Alright, Auntie Chen.¡± Apart from Jin Qingyue, Mei Yangyang, Fang En, and Lin Mingxi, all of whom posed no threat to her, An Xiaoning could not help but keep her guard up against other women who could be her potential rivals in love, especially those who were young. Perhaps she had learned her lesson after encountering Chi Rui¡¯er, Bu Xianxian, and Hu Xin. Hence, she constantly observed Li Baozhen from afar when thetter was having her breakfast. Seemingly having sensed that An Xiaoning was staring at her, Li Baozhen turned around to meet her eyes. An Xiaoning did not feel awkward at all and, instead, smiled at Li Baozhenposedly. She then picked up the newspapers on the table and began reading them. Momentster, Henry arrived downstairs again with the pink paper bag that Li Baozhen had given herst night. An Xiaoning pretended not to notice and continued reading the newspapers. Henry ced the paper bag on the table and said bluntly, ¡°I opened the giftst night. It¡¯s too expensive and you¡¯re not affluent either. Don¡¯t give me such expensive gifts again. Save the money for yourself.¡± Li Baozhen ced her chopsticks down and said sulkily, ¡°There was a discount... it didn¡¯t cost me much. Besides, I can¡¯t return it anyway. Just keep it. It¡¯s a token of gratitude from me.¡± ¡°How much did it cost?¡± ¡°Not much...¡± ¡°How much exactly? Tell me the truth...¡± She hung her head low and remained silent. Henry then whipped out the cash that he had prepared beforehand from his wallet and handed it to her. ¡°Take this money. Just take it that I bought it from you.¡± ¡°Brother Qingyan...¡± ¡°If you refuse to take the money, I won¡¯t ept the watch either.¡± She had no choice but to take the money quietly because she wanted him to ept the gift she had given him. After Li Baozhen left with her luggage, An Xiaoning began packing her belongings too. It was the 17th of August ording to the Lunar calendar, the day that she was going to visit theke, like she had promised Wang Jinsheng. Henry watched as she packed her belongings and ced them neatly inside her bag. ¡°You brought so many clothes, are you nning to stay out for a few days?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just bringing these clothes to spare, just in case I dirty the ones I¡¯m wearing now. I¡¯m not staying out. With you at home, I muste back. Besides, theke is not that far from home anyway. Although I don¡¯t need you to handle any documents at the office, you still have to show up. Don¡¯t give me any trouble. Got it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to go to the office.¡± ¡°You must go even if you don¡¯t want to. It doesn¡¯t matter even if you spend the entire day ying video games instead of handling documents. I just need you to show up. Shixin is there to help you manage everything anyway. You don¡¯t have to put in any effort.¡± ¡°I¡¯d prefer going to theke with you.¡± An Xiaoning paused in her actions and asked, ¡°You want to go with me?¡± ¡°Do I have a choice?¡± ¡°No, I just didn¡¯t think that you would make such a request out of your own ord,¡± said An Xiaoning. She would obviously feel much more at ease with him in sight all the time, for she knew that he was extremely resistant toward her. She did not ask him to go with her because she thought that he would definitely be unwilling to do so. Chapter 1231 - I Want to Make You Stay (109)

Chapter 1231: I Want to Make You Stay (109)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Do I have to bring any clothes?¡± ¡°It¡¯s better to bring a spare set. You won¡¯t have to lug it around anyway. We can just leave it in the car.¡± He headed to the dressing room to grab some of his clothes while An Xiaoning tidied her things. He then exited in a fresh set of clothes. He was dressed in a casual outfit. Being too used to seeing him in business suits, she was a little surprised to see him in a windbreaker and jeans. He had put on some eyeliner, which made him exude a devilish charm. The two of them made their way to the garage together to collect the car. This time, An Xiaoning did not drive her own car and instead decided to drive Jin Qingyan¡¯s Mercedes-Benz sports car instead. She got behind the wheel while he sat in the passenger¡¯s seat. He would turn to nce at her every now and then. An Xiaoning could not tolerate it any further and she asked, ¡°What are you looking at?¡± ¡°Nothing much. Look how gloomy the sky is. It¡¯s not going to rain today, is it?¡± ¡°Take a look at the weather forecast. It does provide live updates.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have the software for live weather reports on my mobile phone.¡± ¡°I do. Take a look.¡± Henry grabbed her bag and took out her mobile phone. He unlocked it and checked the weather conditions for today. ¡°I was right. It¡¯s expected to rain at eleven in the morning.¡± ¡°Would it be heavy?¡± ¡°Light showers.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Reminded of the fact that the situation was unstable, she instructed him, ¡°When we arrive, I¡¯ll be entering the cave to look at the grave. Don¡¯t follow me. Wait outside together with the archeologists.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t I go in with you?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t. One of the archeologists trespassed on his own and he¡¯s yet to return, even until now. I doubt he¡¯s safe. It¡¯s likely that he had met with a mishap. Otherwise, why would he still be inside? He¡¯s either dead or got lost inside. Or perhaps there¡¯s another reason. There are secret entrapments and booby traps in ancient tombs. I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s inside because I¡¯ve yet to see it, so you¡¯d better stay outside.¡± ¡°Since it¡¯s so dangerous, wouldn¡¯t you be...¡± ¡°I¡¯ve made the necessary preparations. No matter how dangerous it may be, someone has to go in to check on the situation. Besides, I¡¯m different from you ordinary people. It¡¯ll be much safer for me.¡± His face grew a little sullen and he said, ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡± ¡°You¡¯d better not go to theke at all, then.¡± She stepped on the brakes all of a sudden and stared at him solemnly. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to be distracting me when I¡¯m inside. If you go in with me, I¡¯ll have to focus all my attention on keeping you safe.¡± Noticing the austere expression on her face, Henry had no choice but to give in. He conceded, ¡°I just won¡¯t go in, then. Anyway, your life has nothing to do with me. At most, your child will just lose his mother.¡± An Xiaoning glowered at him and rebuked, ¡°From now on, shut up.¡± She put on her earphones and listened to some music while keeping her eyes fixed on the roads ahead. From then on, they stopped talking to each other, all the way until they arrived at their destination. ¡°Hey, Mr. Jin, you¡¯re here too. Hello, I¡¯m Wang Jinsheng,¡± said Wang Jinsheng, who extended his hand for a handshake. Henry remained quiet and shook his hand aloofly. An Xiaoning asked, ¡°How long have you guys been here for?¡± ¡°About half an hour. We¡¯ve been watching the surveince cameras and none of the team members havee out of there yet. I reckon they must have already died inside...¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s heart sank, and she had a hunch that the mysterious calls that she would receive at 5:08 am daily had something to do with the tomb. After all, it was way too bizarre. ¡°Captain Wang, would you like to go in with meter?¡± Wang Jinsheng answered softly, ¡°I¡¯ve encountered so many graves throughout my three-decade career as an archeologist. However, I really don¡¯t have the guts to explore this one. I would definitely go in if the members hadn¡¯t done so and ended up being trapped.¡± ¡°So you don¡¯t n to enter this one?¡± ¡°That¡¯ll depend on your decision, Ms. An.¡± ¡°I won¡¯tpel you if you don¡¯t wish to go in. How about the rest of the team? Are they not going in either?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already asked them. None of them dares to go inside. Ms. An, I know it¡¯s a little inappropriate to make you go in there alone since you¡¯re not an archeologist and you¡¯re already doing us a great favor bying all the way here...¡± An Xiaoning interjected, ¡°Enough with all that crap. Since no one dares to enter, I¡¯ll just proceed on my own.¡± Henry did not know prior to this that she would be going inside the cave alone. He red at Wang Jinsheng and said, ¡°None of you archeologists have the guts to enter but you¡¯re making a woman go in there on her own? You¡¯re the captain of the archeological team and yet you¡¯re as timid as a mouse. You¡¯re more cowardly than a woman. Are you even fit to be the captain? Well, your subordinates are definitely not going to take the risk if even you are unwilling to take the lead.¡± Wang Jinsheng turned beet red, feeling extremely embarrassed. He exined, ¡°Mr. Jin, you have no idea how many strange and supernatural encounters we have had in the past. However, we would always hire a medium to perform a ritual once we discover something unusual. We¡¯d then seal the exits immediately if the rituals can¡¯t be performed or are proven ineffective. We¡¯ll never allow anyone to trespass or cause any damage to the sites. We¡¯re very experienced in such matters. We can only continue to do more meaningful things if we¡¯re still alive. Once you¡¯re dead, you¡¯ll have nothing left. Besides, we didn¡¯t decide to be archeologists for the sake of losing our lives. We decided to be archeologists because we wanted to contribute to the research work done by the nation. I think Ms. An should also abort her n to enter. We¡¯ll just seal the exits. That¡¯s not too bad of an idea.¡± An Xiaoning objected, ¡°Do you want to make atonements only after a major mishap urs? Wouldn¡¯t it be toote then? Do you really think sealing the exits of bizarre graves is the best solution? It¡¯s expected to rain at about eleven in the morning today. I love and cherish myself and my life too, but I still think there¡¯s a need to go inside to take a look. It doesn¡¯t matter even if there¡¯s no feasible solution for it.¡± ¡°What if you never make it out again? Captain Wang, if something happens to her here, what do you say you and your subordinates atone for your mistakes using your lives?¡± said Henry. A sullen expression formed on Wang Jinsheng¡¯s face immediately. He almost forgot An Xiaoning¡¯s status and identity. ¡°Ms. An, shall we just seal the exits? Although that won¡¯t solve the root problem, it¡¯ll at least not cause any further issues. It¡¯s not a must for us to deal with this grave either. Ms. An, you must consider this carefully. Nothing matters more than your life does.¡± An Xiaoning was stuck in a dilemma. She desperately wanted to find out what was inside. However, she was also concerned about the risks involved. Thus, after some thought, she said, ¡°Give me some time to think about it before Ie to a decision.¡± Wang Jinsheng hurriedly answered, ¡°Sure, sure, we¡¯ll wait for your answer.¡± She and Henry got inside the car again. She questioned him in displeasure, ¡°Why did you have to say those words just now?¡± ¡°I was just sparing a thought for you. That ce is so dangerous and yet you¡¯re thinking of going inside on your own. Didn¡¯t you see how terrified that Wang Jinsheng was? He doesn¡¯t even dare to go inside. You¡¯re very brave, eh?¡± Chapter 1232 - I Want to Make You Stay (110)

Chapter 1232: I Want to Make You Stay (110)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°He doesn¡¯t dare to go in because he¡¯s an ordinary person, just like the rest of the archeological team. They can¡¯t see the things that I can. They don¡¯t possess the supernatural powers that I do either. The corpses that they had found by theke were all intact and did not fester. The conditions of the soil here allow the corpses to be perfectly preserved, so it¡¯s highly likely that there¡¯s something amiss with this tomb. If the tomb wasn¡¯t located here, I wouldn¡¯t have entered at all. However, I¡¯m afraid that the zombie incident would happen again. Do you know how many lives will be lost should that happen?¡± ¡°Zombies? What zombies?¡± Henry asked with a look of astonishment. ¡°You have no idea because it happened a while ago near Beiying. There were lots of casualties. The mutated corpse that started it all was found right here. The government secretly sent troops to annihte the infected individuals. None of the media broadcastingpanies had dared to report about the incident. Although rumors had begun spreading amongst the public, there were still no official news about the matter. The government didn¡¯t want the citizens to be frightened.¡± An Xiaoning stared out of the window and continued, ¡°It¡¯s really strange, though. This area is near theke and humidity levels are so high. It¡¯s the optimal condition for bacteria to grow, yet the soil here is so special. Perhaps there¡¯s nothing wrong with that tomb and the members of the archeological team simply got lost inside and couldn¡¯t find their way out. We can¡¯t be certain or assume that there are supernatural beings inside since no one else has entered. I still think that I should go in to take a look.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid of dying? Even if it¡¯s unknown if there are any harmful beings in there, it¡¯s very likely that there are things that could kill you. Are you really not afraid?¡± ¡°Even then, I still want to go in.¡± She took a deep breath and continued, ¡°I¡¯ve already made up my mind.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so thick in the head. Even if the zombie incident urs again, so what? You weren¡¯t the cause of it anyway.¡± ¡°If I can prevent it from happening, why not? Take the previous incident for an example. If preventive measures were taken beforehand, so many innocent lives wouldn¡¯t have been lost. Gu Beicheng and Lin Mingxi were at Beiying back then too. They could have died if I hadn¡¯t managed to save them. This concerns the safety of everyone, including my family, friends, and loved ones, so I¡¯ll definitely prevent it if I can. I just think it¡¯s a very meaningful thing to do. It¡¯s so obvious that you¡¯re Henry. Qingyan definitely wouldn¡¯t have said those callous things that you did just now.¡± Just as Henry was about to reply to her, she pushed the door open and alighted from the car. Upon hearing her answer, Wang Jinsheng asked, ¡°Ms. An, could you record a video of yourself...¡± ¡°What video?¡± ¡°A video of you dering that should you meet with any mishap, the archeological team will have nothing to do with it, and we won¡¯t be held ountable. We still want to live...¡± ¡°...¡± Noticing that An Xiaoning was remaining silent, Wang Jinsheng said awkwardly, ¡°Of course, we don¡¯t want anything to happen to you. However, we still have families to feed...¡± ¡°How about you guys just dismiss yourselves and leave?¡± said An Xiaoning, who could not help but feel annoyed despite finding his words to have made sense. ¡°Leave?¡± ¡°Yes, you and your team may stay out of this from now on. It¡¯ll no longer have anything to do with you guys. No one will hold you liable even if I die here. Leave.¡± Upon hearing her words, Wang Jinsheng dared not utter another word and stood rooted to the ground. An Xiaoning gestured for him to leave and said, ¡°What are you waiting for? Go.¡± ¡°Ms. An, we¡¯ll excuse ourselves now, then?¡± ¡°Yes, you may go.¡± The archeological team soon got inside their car and left. An Xiaoning removed the surveince cameras and stopped monitoring the archeological team¡¯s progress. Noticing that she was about to enter, Henry grabbed her arm and asked, ¡°Are you not going to consider it again carefully?¡± ¡°No. Wait for me here. I¡¯ll be out very soon.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll wait for you for half an hour.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± An Xiaoning put on the heamp to guide herself in the pitch-dark cave. There was no light at all and she would not be able to see even with her night vision goggles. She began walking inside via the square entrance. There was an indescribable odor in the air, and An Xiaoning instinctively covered her nose with her handkerchief while making her way down the stairs. She had once entered Nan Chuang¡¯s tomb in V Nation and thus was a little experienced. Although she was not cold at all, she could feel how humid it was inside. The further she delved, the more she felt that there was something unusual that she had yet to discover. The stairs were made of stone bricks that looked tattered and worn, perhaps because of all the wear and tear throughout the years. An Xiaoning had been feeling tense throughout, and she could not rx at all. When she reached the bottom, she was greeted with an astonishing sight. It was indeed like a maze. There were lots of doors in front of her. Fortunately, she hade prepared with everything she needed. She took out arge stack of amulets from her bag and pasted one on each door before walking in. She made sure to leave marks along the path she took, so as to make it easier for her to find her way back. Yet, as soon as she entered, the amulets fell off the door and began drifting away. Every amulet that she pasted fell off. An Xiaoning continued to walk inside. However, she had no idea that she had already walked into a spell that made her slip into a trance. She only discovered that something was amiss ten minutes after she entered. After taking a few steps forward, she turned around to nce at the door, only to realize that the amulet that she had just pasted was now missing. An Xiaoning thought that she was just hallucinating and thus continued walking back while trying to recall the route she had taken just now. To her astonishment, all of the markings that she had made were missing too. She decided to leave. Just like she had expected, things began to get more and more unusual. Tried as she might, she could not seem to find her way out. After scouring for a long while, An Xiaoning gave up on trying to go out and instead turned around to continue walking inside. Soon, a bright light caught her attention. An Xiaoning quickly strode toward it. By the time she reached it, she discovered that the light source was above where she was. She looked up and moved her hand away from her nose. There was a unique-looking coffin hanging on the wall facing the North. The light was clearly emitted by the coffin. The bottom of the coffin was made of stone bricks that were stacked together, measuring up to five meters. An Xiaoning stepped forward to see that it was just like a building. After observing it for a long while, she confirmed that there was no path that she could take to go up there. However, she had to find a way to go up, so as to understand the situation. An Xiaoning whipped out her rope from her waist. Fortunately, there was a thick metal rod holding the stone walls together that she couldtch on to. Otherwise, there wouldpletely be no way for her to move up. Chapter 1233 - I Want to Make You Stay (111)

Chapter 1233: I Want to Make You Stay (111)

She cast the rope upward with all her might and managed to hook it onto the rod sessfully. She began scaling the stone wall while supporting herself with the rope. Wall-scaling was her forte. Thus, she did not feel afraid at all. However, it would still require energy to climb up. Thus, she expended a great ton of energy while climbing to the top from the bottom. An Xiaoning was panting heavily by the time she finally made it to the top. She looked down to see that she was rather high above ground, and she would definitely sustain severe injuries if she were to fall off. She gathered all her energy and leaped up. She finallynded on the thick metal rod. She pressed both hands against the stone bricks and got on her feet slowly. She could finally see the coffin. She instantly realized why it was glowing. It was not made of wood at all. Instead, it was made of translucent gems that would emit a bright luminescent glow when umted inrge amounts. An Xiaoning could tell that it must have been costly. An Xiaoning tried to open the coffin. She initially thought that it would be tough to do so. However, she managed to move the lid to the side effortlessly. She channeled all her attention onto the space inside the coffin, not allowing herself to be distracted at all. She wanted to see just what the corpse looked like. An Xiaoning wanted to know the age, gender, size, and appearance of the corpse. To her astonishment, it was empty. Empty! There was nothing inside at all. Why wouldn¡¯t there be a corpse inside? There were several items inside the empty coffin, which made An Xiaoning think that there definitely used to be a corpse inside. The color and print of the fabric of the pillowcase had already faded. There were also lots of bottles and porcin ornaments inside the coffin, as well as some gold and jade. They are all very valuable. Where did the corpse go? Is this coffin just a bait to ward off tomb raiders? Was their intention to make the tomb raiders think that the corpse had been stolen? And then leave with the jewelry? Was there really a corpse here? Or has it already mutated? What on earth happened? She could not wrap her head around it. An Xiaoning put the lid back on with a sullen expression on her face. Just as she was about to make her way back down, she suddenly heardughtering from below. An Xiaoning looked down to see that there was a man dressed in a military uniform who was looking up at her. Theughter hade from him. An Xiaoning slipped and lost her bnce, after which she plunged downward immediately. ¡°Ah!!!¡± An Xiaoning shrieked in terror, thinking to herself that she would definitely fall to her death. To her astonishment, she fell into his embrace instead of the ground. An Xiaoning opened her eyes and stared at the man who was carrying her. She finally managed to take a closer look at him, only to get a great shock. Her heart almost jumped out of her chest. His eyes... Why is one of them blue and the other ck... His blue eye was not purely blue and was instead a blue tint that was covering the cks of his pupil. The man put An Xiaoning down and she stood up straight. She then scanned him from head to toe. His military uniform was immacte, and his features were refined. He had short hair, and he was standing with his back straight. ¡°How did youe in?¡± The man asked, ¡°Me? How did youe in?¡± ¡°I entered through the door. Is there another exit here?¡± ¡°I came in through the entrance too. I don¡¯t know if there are any other exits.¡± An Xiaoning asked again, ¡°You definitely didn¡¯te in from the same entrance as I did. Just which one did youe in from?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a spell here. I have no idea which direction I had entered from either, but there were trees around the entrance that I came in from.¡± ¡°Trees? You definitely didn¡¯t enter from the same one as I did, then. That means there are two entrances, then. Are you a soldier? How did you find out about this ce?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve always been very interested in these ancient tombs. I heard from the archeological team that there was a tomb here, but no one was allowed to enter. Hence, I was wondering if there were any other entrances that I could enter from. I then found my way here.¡± There seemed to be nothing wrong with his statement... ¡°Which army do you belong to, then?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t tell you that. If I do, I¡¯ll definitely be punished if you tell on me to my superior,¡± he said calmly. Seeing that he refused to divulge the answer, An Xiaoning decided not to probe any further. She looked up into the sky and said, ¡°I just went up there and discovered that the coffin was empty. I I have no idea where the corpse had gone to. I don¡¯t know either if the archeologist who came in previously had died here. Look at this ce, it¡¯s like a maze. It¡¯s so hard to get out of here.¡± ¡°I also made my way here because I couldn¡¯t find my way out. I discovered that you were climbing up the wall just now. How did you manage to do it?¡± An Xiaoning lifted the rope in her hand and said, ¡°I did it using this. How else could I have done it? If it weren¡¯t for you, I would have definitely fallen to my death just now. Thanks.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡± He scanned his surroundings and continued, ¡°I think we¡¯d better find a way to get out of here as soon as possible. Otherwise, we might never be able to get out.¡± Reminded of Henry, who was waiting outside, she answered, ¡°Yes, let¡¯s find the exit.¡± She refrained from entering the tomb two days ago because of the full moon. It¡¯s the 17th today, it should be a little better. Even if I get trapped here for the rest of the night, it shouldn¡¯t be that bad. The man took the lead while An Xiaoning followed closely behind. She felt much less afraid because she now had somepany. ¡°Isn¡¯t the military very strict with their rules? Soldiers are not allowed to don military uniforms or be armed with military weapons during non-duty periods. Since you¡¯re here, you¡¯re not on duty, are you?¡± ¡°We¡¯re allowed to don military uniforms when visiting rtives. I¡¯m on leave now and I didn¡¯t bring any weapons with me,¡± said the man, who was shocked to hear how knowledgeable she was. An Xiaoning said, ¡°I have a friend who¡¯s also from the military. He¡¯s a major, and I heard that military personnel might receive orders anytime without warning. I¡¯ve always respected our nation¡¯s patriotic soldiers who are passionate about serving the citizens. We can enjoy a life of peace and security all thanks to them. Soldiers are really noble.¡± The man turned around all of a sudden and asked, ¡°You find us noble too?¡± ¡°Of course. A lot of people think so too. However, there is a minority of military personnel who don¡¯t deserve such respect because of their immoral characters. The ones I respect are soldiers who are upright and have integrity. I really think that way,¡± An Xiaoning said with a smile. Chapter 1234 - I Want to Make You Stay (112)

Chapter 1234: I Want to Make You Stay (112)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Staring at her calmly, the man said, ¡°Every industry is a microcosm of the real world. It¡¯s the same in the military. If you still haven¡¯t changed your perspective of military personnel even after encountering the ck sheep of the military, that just means you¡¯re very certain that those scums are just a minority.¡± He had voiced An Xiaoning¡¯s thoughts exactly. After a few seconds of silence, he asked, ¡°Why are you alone here? Didn¡¯t youe in with apanion?¡± ¡°I was supposed toe inside here with the archeological team. However, one of them trespassed and had yet to exit even until now. Thus, they didn¡¯t dare to enter and I got them to go back.¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t have the guts toe in but you do? How are you so bold?¡± ¡°I¡¯m actually not that brave, but I felt that there was a need for me toe in to take a look.¡± The two of them spoke softly while walking. Even after doing so for a long while, they were still clueless and were going around in circles. Just as An Xiaoning was about to take a break, she caught sight of a man who was squatting by the stone wall, his face buried in his legs. She could tell from the way he was dressed that he was a man. Her heart dropped, and she thought to herself, Is this the archeologist who trespassed? ¡°There¡¯s someone over there.¡± ¡°Yeah, I saw it too.¡± The two of them continued walking toward the man and stopped when they were about two meters away from him. An Xiaoning yelled at the man who was squatting on the ground. However, he did not respond. Just as An Xiaoning was about to step forward, the man stopped her and asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that he¡¯s already...¡± ¡°Even if he¡¯s already dead, I still have to verify it. If he¡¯s dead, I¡¯ll bring his corpse out and give his parents an exnation.¡± The man then let go of her and allowed her to proceed. An Xiaoning pushed him gently. ¡°Ah!¡± An Xiaoning shrieked and retreated backward, staring at the man who had copsed onto the ground with astonishment written all over her face. The man¡¯s face had turned dark and he appeared extremely aged. He seemed just like a withered flower. However, An Xiaoning could still recognize him to be the archeologist who had trespassed a few days ago. ¡°How did this happen...?¡± An Xiaoning was bewildered. Even if he had starved to death or died of thirst, he can¡¯t possibly turn into such a state, unless... Did the corpse mutate too? But if it did, it would have be a zombie by now, and not just lie there motionlessly. She was very certain that all of the archeologist¡¯s energy had been sucked out of him. Nheless, she tied the rope around the corpse¡¯s legs and dragged it away. She did not have another option. The man beside her did not make anyments about what she had done. They then continued trying to find an exit. Their legs had already begun aching. Yet, to their bewilderment, they ended up back at the same spot. After going in circles again and again, An Xiaoning¡¯s patience began to grow thin. She felt as if time was crawling by. An Xiaoning took a look at the time on her mobile phone to discover that several hours had passed since she entered. Has Henry already left? Or did he think that I¡¯d died in here? ¡°I can¡¯t go on anymore. My legs are aching so badly. Let¡¯s stop to take a break,¡± she said. An Xiaoning then squatted down and leaned against the wall while panting heavily, dog tired. Noticing how exhausted she was, the man stopped walking and asked, ¡°What if we can¡¯t make it out?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll definitely make it out so long as there¡¯s an exit. Damn it. I made some markings when I came in just now. I even left amulets around, yet they had all gone missing. How absurd!¡± ¡°Amulets? Are you a... medium?¡± the man asked in shock. ¡°You can say so. I¡¯m not sure what I am,¡± she said while trying to figure out why the amulets had gone missing. It can¡¯t be a ghost because they can¡¯t touch those amulets. Did a human remove them, then? Who else is in here apart from this man and me? She immediately looked at him and asked, ¡°Were you the one who removed my amulets?¡± ¡°Did you see me doing that? You and I came in from different entrances. How would I know where your amulets were?¡± he retorted coldly. ¡°You have a point.¡± She was filled with perplexion. ¡°Look at how horrible this man looks. Is there someone else in here? Or is there a supernatural being?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t be sure,¡± said An Xiaoning, who instantly thought of the owner of the coffin. ¡°We must get out of here as soon as possible. We¡¯re in great danger.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you tired at all?¡± asked An Xiaoning, who was confused as to why he did not seem exhausted at all, for even an athletic person like her was worn out. ¡°Does fatigue matter more than your life?¡± ¡°Makes sense.¡± She supported herself against the wall and tried to stand up while the man held the rope in his hand. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± An Xiaoning looked at him and asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you know who I am?¡± ¡°Must I know who you are?¡± ¡°No, I just thought that you¡¯d know who I am because I¡¯m always on the news,¡± An Xiaoning said, chuckling wryly. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± he asked. ¡°An Xiaoning. I¡¯m 31 years old this year.¡± ¡°You¡¯re already 31 years old? I really... couldn¡¯t tell,¡± he asked in surprise with his brows raised. ¡°My birthday passed in July. I¡¯m 31 years old.¡± ¡°You must put in a lot of effort in caring for your skin. You look like you¡¯re in your early twenties.¡± Women love beingplimented, and An Xiaoning was no exception. She smiled joyously and said, ¡°I am a little vain sometimes. What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need for me to tell you right now.¡± ¡°...¡± Why is he so annoying? ¡°I told you my name when you asked. Shouldn¡¯t you also tell me yours?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell you when I feel like it.¡± ¡°Forget it, we won¡¯t be meeting each other again after this anyway. If you don¡¯t wish to tell me, so be it.¡± He did not say anything else. They continued walking further, until An Xiaoning¡¯s phone ran out of battery. Fortunately, she had brought along some spare batteries for her torchlight. If not, it would be even more difficult for them to leave if they had to fumble about in the dark. They would take short breaks in between, every now and then. Atst, her efforts paid off. They finally found the exit. An Xiaoning was on the verge of tears the moment she saw the flight of stairs that led upwards. She felt a sudden burst of energy in her legs and she began making her way up the stairs. When she finally reached the entrance, she noticed that it was pouring heavily outside and that the sky had already turned pitch dark. Although she could go on without eating, drinking, or relieving nature¡¯s calls, she did not use any of her inner energy today. Hence, she was famished, parched, and exhausted. Without hesitation, she immediately sprinted out amidst the heavy rain. Chapter 1235 - I Want to Make You Stay (113)

Chapter 1235: I Want to Make You Stay (113)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The man grabbed her and asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you want the corpse anymore?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t bring it along with us right now, anyway. Let¡¯s just leave it here for now. I¡¯ll send someone to bring the corpse away after we go back. However, I can¡¯t tell where we are now.¡± An Xiaoning untied the rope and put it away. ¡°You can¡¯t tell and yet you were so eager to run away. I¡¯ll take you out of this ce,¡± he drawled. An Xiaoning trusted himpletely since he had entered from this very exit and, hence, should be aware of which route they should take to leave. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go with you.¡± The man removed his hat and ced it on her head. ¡°You may wear it instead, I¡¯m fine...¡± An Xiaoning said in surprise. ¡°Put it on if you don¡¯t want to fall ill.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to be caught in the rain, then?¡± She removed the hat and tiptoed to put it back onto his head. She then took off her jacket and said, ¡°We can both stay dry like this. Let¡¯s go, it¡¯s already so dark.¡± The man remained quiet, and the two of them quickly left. An Xiaoning followed him blindly, her shoes getting covered in mud. Time crawled by. She decided to break the silence and ease her boredom. ¡°How much do you get paid for working in the military?¡± ¡°It¡¯s enough to get by.¡± An Xiaoning knew that military personnel were not paid much. But of course, the value of money was subjective. For example, a sry of eight thousand dors a month was considered a good amount to the average citizen. However, to An Xiaoning, even 80 thousand dors would be considered peanuts. She had no idea what he meant exactly by ¡°enough to get by.¡± ¡°How old are you?¡± she asked. ¡°How old do you think I am?¡± ¡°About 26 years old?¡± ¡°I¡¯m the same age as you.¡± He would never give her an exact answer to all her questions. ¡°Are you married yet, then?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± His cold replies killed An Xiaoning¡¯s desire to continue chatting with him. Thus, she decided to stop talking, lest he finds her to be a nosy parker. Five minutester, he asked, ¡°How about you?¡± ¡°What... about me?¡± ¡°Are you married yet?¡± ¡°Not now, but I was thrice-married. I have a seven-year-old son too.¡± ¡°...¡± He fell silent upon hearing her answer. An Xiaoning hurriedly caught up with him and said, ¡°Wait a minute, I need to use the toilet.¡± He stood still and cupped her face in his hands. He then moved her head to shine the heamp around. Atst, he shifted his gaze onto a tree nearby and pointed at it. ¡°Go there, I¡¯ll wait for you here.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± .... ¡°Bastard!¡± Pan Zhenghui eximed while mming the handset down. He immediately called An Xiaoning, only to find that he could not reach her. He then zoomed out of the office. Noticing the sullen expression on his face, Ma Jianguo asked, ¡°Bureau Chief, did something happen?¡± ¡°Old Ma, go to the archeological research center with me now. Bring your subordinates along.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Ma Jianguo immediately did as instructed. Less than twenty minutester, they arrived at the archeological research center. Upon hearing the sounds of their arrival, Wang Jinsheng immediately stubbed his cigarette into the ashtray and rose from his seat. ¡°Captain, Bureau Chief Pan is here,¡± one of the team members reported. ¡°I can hear that.¡± Before they even reached the door, Pan Zhenghui scurried in. He immediately punched Wang Jinsheng, causing Ma Jianguo and the rest to be dumbfounded. They had no idea what had happened at all. ¡°Bureau Chief, simmer down and hear me out, alright?¡± Pan Zhenghuished out at him and hollered, ¡°Quit trying to exin! Are your brains fried!?!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t have a choice, Ms. An insisted on going in and I couldn¡¯t stop her. I told her to film a video of herself dering that she won¡¯t hold us responsible should anything happen to her, and she just told us to leave.¡± ¡°Why did you wait until now to call me? It¡¯s all toote now! She made you guyse back, but do you think that you¡¯ll really be able to escape scott-free if something happens to her? I¡¯m telling you, you and your subordinates will still have to face the punishment. I¡¯m not trying to scare you. I didn¡¯t want to go to Beiying previously but I still risked my life and went anyway. Nobody wants to die, but do we have a choice? Great, you let her go in alone while all of you came back here. You¡¯re digging your own graves.¡± Wang Jinsheng suggested, ¡°Bureau Chief, why don¡¯t we head there now to check on the situation?¡± ¡°Of course we have to do that. I tried to call her but she didn¡¯t pick up. I¡¯m going to check if she has returned to Wei Ni Estate yet.¡± Pan Zhenghui called the bodyguards in Wei Ni Estate, only to hear that An Xiaoning was not home yet. His heart sank; he was extremely terrified. The two cars sped along the streets toward theke. Pan Zhenghui continuously berated Wang Jinsheng throughout the entire journey. When they were about to reach theke, Zu Dong, who was behind the wheel, yelled loudly, giving Pan Zhenghui a great fright. ¡°What are you yelling for?¡± questioned a startled Pan Zhenghui. ¡°Bureau Chief, look, is that Team Leader An? But who¡¯s that beside her?¡± Pan Zhenghui looked over to see that it was indeed An Xiaoning and the man, both of whom were drenched in the rain. Everyone frantically alighted from the cars. ¡°Xiaoning!¡± Pan Zhenghui eximed while sprinting toward An Xiaoning. He hurriedly grabbed the umbre in Gong Le¡¯s hand and held it over An Xiaoning¡¯s head. ¡°You gave us a huge scare.¡± ¡°What¡¯s there to be scared about? Captain Wang, I found your team member inside. He¡¯s already dead and we left his body near the exit. There are no markings. The approximate location...¡± She looked at the man beside her and said, ¡°You tell them.¡± The man looked down and answered calmly, ¡°You guys better write down the directions I give you. I can¡¯t do anything else apart from giving you directions because there isn¡¯t a specific location.¡± ¡°Alright, sure.¡± Pan Zhenghui took out a small notebook and a pen from his pocket without dy. To An Xiaoning¡¯s surprise, the man gave them the directions urately. She did not expect him to have remembered the route so clearly, especially since they had had to make several turns here and there. Wang Jinsheng brought his subordinates along to look for the corpse. An Xiaoning called Henry whose mobile phone was switched off. Thus, she had no choice but to head to theke in Pan Zhenghui¡¯s car together with the man. Pan Zhenghui had been dying to ask about the identity of the stranger. However, he decided to curb his curiosity because he found it a little inappropriate to ask her right in front of him. After the man alighted with the umbre, Pan Zhenghui asked softly, ¡°Xiaoning, who¡¯s that?¡± Chapter 1236 - I Want to Make You Stay (114)

Chapter 1236: I Want to Make You Stay (114)

¡°We met inside the tomb. He said he entered because he was curious. Luckily, he was here to show the way, which was why we were able toe out from it.¡± ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Wearing a short-sleeved shirt, An Xiaoning took an umbre and got down from the car as well. She had spotted the Mercedes-Benz parked at the same old spot, so that must mean that Henry was waiting for her in the car, right? Dragging her tired body, she walked briskly to the car. When she tried to pull open the car door, however, it was unexpectedly locked. An Xiaoning knocked on the car window. ¡°Unlock the door.¡± There was still no sign of movement. She shone her torch on the front ss of the car and realized that there was actually no one inside. Where had he gone? The car was parked here, so there was no way he could have gone back. After all, the car keys were with him. He could possibly have left a car for her without leaving the car keys. An Xiaoning made a call to Wei Ni Estate and found out that he wasn¡¯t at home either, so she immediately got Fan Shixin to check his GPS location. Unexpectedly, he was unable to track his location. It was impossible given that Henry knew that he had the tracker on him. He had worn it all along and could not have possibly removed it now, unless... An Xiaoning¡¯s gazended at the entrance of the tomb. Could it be that he had gone in without waiting for her toe out? She hade outpletely fatigued and with her legs almost dying. What if he wasn¡¯t able to? An Xiaoning¡¯s heart wrenched tightly. ¡°Chief Pan, here, your phone.¡± With an umbre in hand, she turned around and was about to run through the entrance of the tomb when, upon the sight of this, Bureau Chief Pan called out to her, ¡°Xiaoning, where are you going?¡± ¡°Qingyan may have gone into the tomb to find me.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Upon hearing this, Pan Zhenghui immediately made everyone get off the car. ¡°You rest in here, we¡¯ll go and find him.¡± To utter these words, Pan Zhenghui used up all the courage he possessed in his whole life. No matter how unwilling to enter he was, he could not be so forthright about it like Wang Jinsheng. ¡°Let¡¯s go in together.¡± An Xiaoning was aware of her own limitations. Her legs were almost breaking, and she probably would not be able to return if she went in by herself. It would be better if she hadpany. If they were to meet with danger, she would go to the extent of using her own life to protect them. ¡°You¡¯re going in again?¡± the man holding onto the umbre asked upon hearing her words as he approached her. ¡°Yes. My man is most probably inside. He surely must have gone in to find me because he didn¡¯t see meing out.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve spent so much effort to get out of there and you¡¯re hastily going back in again. It¡¯s too dangerous.¡± ¡°No matter how dangerous it is, I have to go in.¡± An Xiaoning turned around and was about to enter the tomb straight away. At this moment, a figure emerged from the tomb. ¡°He¡¯s out!¡± An Xiaoning stared straight at the figure approaching, her happiness indescribable. She just pounced into his arms without saying a word. Upon seeing her, Henry¡¯s anxious heart was finally able to rest at ease, and his eyebrows, which were originally creased into a frown, instantly rxed. His hands, which were by his sides, immediately wrapped around her. But within a few seconds, he rxed his arms. An Xiaoning could not help but grab onto his hand. Henry did not shake her hand off either, perhaps because there were quite a lot of people surrounding them and he did not want to embarrass her. ¡°Chief Pan, please help me to send him home.¡± An Xiaoning pointed to the man who remained silent throughout. ¡°I will, I will. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll definitely send him home.¡± ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s all go back now.¡± Henry took An Xiaoning¡¯s umbre, and the two were about to leave together. But a crisp and clear voice stopped her. ¡°Ms. An.¡± She turned back. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll meet again.¡± An Xiaoning had originally thought that they would not possibly meet each other anymore. But hearing him say this, she answered, ¡°I hope that the next time I see you, I¡¯ll be able to know what your name is.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to wait ¡¯til next time. I can tell you what my name is right now. I¡¯m Zong Jingyi.¡± What a willful boy! When she asked him, he wouldn¡¯t tell her. Now that she was no longer asking him, he simply revealed his name just like that. An Xiaoning looked at him and replied, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll remember it. Thank you for today.¡± Henry had remained rather quiet throughout, but when they got into the car, the first thing he said was, ¡°Who was that Zong Jingyi?¡± ¡°I met him in the tomb. He went in because he was curious. He had entered from another entrance and helped me quite a lot. If not for him, when I fell from a great height, I would have either died or be paralyzed. It was all thanks to him that I escaped unscathed.¡± An Xiaoning drew the curtains and started to remove her wet clothes without saying anything further. ¡°What are you doing...?¡± ¡°Removing my clothes.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you do that when we reach home?¡± ¡°It¡¯s simply too ufortable.¡± Her movements were so rapid that when Henry took out his car keys, she had already removed all her clothes. Luckily, when she hade out earlier, she had prepared clothes in advance. Otherwise, she would have had to return in her wet clothes. Henry had simply taken a nce, in an unlit environment furthermore, and already felt himself bing flushed from head to toe. He then immediately retracted his gaze. After a minute or two, the car went through the rain and was driven away. The police car followed behind them and left as well. Zong Jingyi, who was sitting in the police car, looked out the window and watched as the Mercedes-Benz drove away. Turning his head over, he asked, ¡°Is that man Ms. An¡¯s boyfriend?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you know who Mr. Jin is?¡± Pan Zhenghui was rather surprised. Never would he have expected that there was actually someone who didn¡¯t know who Jin Qingyan was. ¡°Did you not take a closer look just now?¡± ¡°I never use the inte or watch television. Even if I read the papers, I only pay attention to matters rted to the military, so...¡± His face was turned toward the ss of the car window so that no one would be able to notice his eyes. ¡°I see.¡± Pan Zhenghui readily educated him, ¡°Whether Mr. Jin is Xiaoning¡¯s boyfriend or not, it¡¯s not easy for us to say. After all, Xiaoning doesn¡¯t tell us about her personal matters. But Xiaoning lives in Mr. Jin¡¯s house, so they should still be together. One thing we can say for sure, though, is that he¡¯s Xiaoning¡¯s ex-husband.¡± ¡°Ex-husband?¡± ¡°Correct, ex-husband. They¡¯ve been married twice altogether and got divorced twice as well.¡± Pan Zhenghui only exined this much to him. ¡°Where¡¯s your house?¡± ¡°You can just send me to Mingyuan Road.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± .... On the way back home, An Xiaoning exined the whole process of her entering the tomb and meeting Zong Jingyi to Henry. He listened to her quietly and made no mention of him entering the tomb to find her. But while he did not mention it at all, An Xiaoning was curious to find out. The two sat at the dining table. An Xiaoning picked up a ss of milk and finished it in one go. Even though she had already drunk a bottle of mineral water on the way back, she still felt very thirsty. cing the ss down, she asked, ¡°Can you tell me the whole process of you entering anding out of the tomb? I want to know.¡± ¡°You really want to know?¡± ¡°Yes, I really do.¡± ¡°If you sleep on the sofa tonight and let me have the bed to myself, I¡¯ll tell you.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t need to sleep on the sofa, I¡¯ll sleep in the guest room tonight. So, tell me.¡± She didn¡¯t think it was that big of an issue and was simply too easy a request to fulfill. She then picked up her chopsticks and started to eat. Seeing her agree to it so readily, Henry started to pick up his chopsticks to eat as well. With food in his mouth, he replied, ¡°You went in for half an hour and still had note out, so I simply went in. I brought a torch and a phone with me when I went in to find you, but the torch ran out of batteryter on. My phone battery ran out as well. Since I couldn¡¯t find you, I just came back out.¡± Chapter 1237 - I Want to Make You Stay (115)

Chapter 1237: I Want to Make You Stay (115)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The words he said were basically pointless. ¡°What I want to hear is the details of what happened.¡± ¡°That was what happened.¡± ¡°It waspletely like a maze inside, how could you havee out so easily?¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I took such a long time to get out, from afternoon to night.¡± Hearing his vague response, An Xiaoning felt rather overwhelmed with emotions. She was well aware of the amount of effort it took to get out of there. Moreover, he had to do so without any source of light to help him. It was almost like the blind walking! He wouldn¡¯t have been able to see a thing. ¡°I thought you would leave first. I didn¡¯t think you would go in to find me.¡± She shed him a smile. ¡°How touching.¡± Henry replied casually, ¡°I was just afraid you would die inside.¡± ¡°I know.¡± She picked up some vegetables for him with her chopsticks. ¡°Eat more.¡± Henry looked at the vegetables in his bowl, then darted a nce at her, hesitating to speak his mind. Eventually, he still did not say a word. After their meal, shefortably took a hot bath in the tub. Having gained a few blisters on her feet, she sat on the bed and used a sterilized needle to pop them, thereafter putting on some medicine and cing a few bandaids. After everything was settled, her phone had been charged for some time already. She then took it and gave Pan Zhenghui a call. ¡°Have you sent him home?¡± ¡°He alighted at Mingyuan Road.¡± ¡°Okay. Get someone to check his personal information. This Zong Jingyi should be around the same age as me.¡± ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll get my men to check and return a call to you.¡± ¡°Also, there¡¯s something very suspicious about the tomb at theke. Get Ma Jianguo to find out whose territory that ce belonged to a few decades ago or even way back.¡± ¡°Oh, Xiaoning, I haven¡¯t gotten to asking you. What did you find inside the tomb?¡± An Xiaoningy down on the bed and responded, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you tomorrow at the station. Just do ording to what I¡¯ve said and call me when you get anything.¡± Since she had said it like this, Pan Zhenghui did not probe any further as well. ¡°Okay.¡± Two hourster, when the search on Zong Jingyi¡¯s information had been done, he gave her a call back. ¡°We¡¯ve checked all the names with a simr pronunciation to his, and they¡¯re all different from what you¡¯ve described. Their ages can¡¯t match his either. They¡¯re either between ten to twenty years old or in their forties to sixties. Even if there are some in their thirties, their height differ from his. The man we saw tonight was definitely taller than 1.8 meters.¡± ¡°There isn¡¯t a profile match for him?¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s suspicion was aroused. Could he have given her a false name? It probably shouldn¡¯t have been the case. If he had not wanted to give her his name, he could have simply not told her. Why would he have made up a name? Or was it that she had heard his name wrongly? It couldn¡¯t have been the case, since she remembered his name by heart when she heard it. Then what exactly was going on? How could there be no profile match for him? Someone from the military could not possibly have no household register. Unless he didn¡¯t have a proper identity or wasn¡¯t from the military. But no matter how she looked at it, he did not seem like someone like that. An Xiaoning sat upright and said to Pan Zhenghui on the other end of the line, ¡°No matter what, this doesn¡¯t seem possible. Is it possible for the page showing the search results in the system to be hacked?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± ¡°Alright, I got it. Send me an email with the surveince footage of the area where he alighted from the car. I¡¯ll see where he lives specifically. Let¡¯s talk about other things tomorrow.¡± ¡°Sure, okay.¡± An Xiaoning got down from the bed, her legs and neck about to break any time. Every step that she took was as heavy and painful as if she were about to head to an execution ground. She went upstairs to the bedroom and found that Henry had fallen asleep on the bed without even changing his clothes. He remained sound asleep even when she entered the room. After taking herptop, she switched off the lights and went out of the room again. She logged in to her email ount and finally received a new email after waiting for some time. The document that was attached was the surveince footage retrieved tonight. With herptop resting on herp, she clicked on the attachment and gathered all her energy to watch the footage carefully. In the footage, she saw that the police car had pulled over and Zong Jingyi had alighted from it. After walking away from the police car, he walked along the pavement and headed in the southward direction. An Xiaoning did not fast-forward the footage and continued to watch him walk, as if she were apanying him. After more than ten minutes, he arrived before the entrance of a hotel. If she had not guessed wrongly, that hotel was one of multiple chains belonging to the Gu family. Without an identification card, there was no way he could have checked in there to stay. But why was he going to a hotel instead of going home? With this new discovery, An Xiaoning hurriedly gave Gu Beicheng a call. ¡°Call the front desk of one of the hotels you own at Mingyuan Road and get them to check the details of a man who entered at around 7:40 pm.¡± Gu Beicheng did not hang up the phone but picked up the telephone beside him to call the hotel manager. Very soon, he was able to get the specific details from that side. However, what An Xiaoningpletely did not expect was that Zong Jingyi did not check in at the front desk but simply entered the hotel lift and went to room 409 at the fourth floor. The room was registered under someone called Liu Dasheng, and it had been booked a few days ago. Tonight was thest night the room was booked until. An Xiaoning¡¯s curiosity was aroused and, without hesitation, she called Pan Zhenghui and got him to check Liu Dasheng¡¯s personal information. The results that came out made her jaw drop. It turned out that this Liu Dasheng was the captain of the elite militarymando unit of B City¡¯s special forces. But, from the picture that Pan Zhenghui had sent, An Xiaoning confirmed that he was not the same man. Once one became curious of something, they would resort to every method to find out what they want to. An Xiaoning then received news from B City¡¯s military that, amongst all the subordinates under Liu Dasheng, there wasn¡¯t anyone called Zong Jingyi. Also, in the military database, there was no such name to be found. She originally did not think there was anything wrong about Zong Jingyi, but from how things looked now, she actually felt that he was not a simple person. She was obviously feeling very fatigued already and did not want to move anymore, yet her brain refused to give it a rest. At the thought that this was thest night he would be staying in that hotel room, she felt that if she did not go to see him tonight, it would put her in a disadvantageous position if she wanted to see him in the future. COMMENT Atst, after thinking for some time, An Xiaoning put on her clothes again and took her car keys with her before heading to the garage to get her car. She had to personally go and ask him who he was. She would not let it go easily if she did not find out the truth. Unless he actually confesses that he had given her a fake name, the mystery in her heart could not be resolved. When her car arrived at Mingyuan Road, there were very few people and cars on the streets because it was raining. An Xiaoning pulled the car over at the entrance of the hotel and alighted with an umbre in hand. After taking the lift to the fourth floor, she soon arrived at room 409. Standing before the door, she pressed on the doorbell. Very soon, the door was opened. Looking at her standing before him, Zong Jingyi did not seem surprised at all. ¡°I didn¡¯t think we would meet so soon. I thought we would see each other tomorrow.¡± An Xiaoning tried to look more natural. ¡°You seemed to have expected... that I woulde and find you.¡± ¡°Come on in.¡± He did not answer her directly and turned to head back into the room. An Xiaoning went in after him and closed the door behind her. Chapter 1238 - I Want to Make You Stay (116)

Chapter 1238: I Want to Make You Stay (116)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The orange lights in the room created a warm atmosphere inside. An Xiaoning sat right opposite him, the coffee table between them. She did not beat around the bush and immediately stated her reason foring. ¡°I got the police to check your information, and I could not find any name with a simr pronunciation to yours. Don¡¯t tell me you gave me a fake name?¡± ¡°Why would I give you a fake name? I still need your help; giving you a fake name is insincere behavior, but I am very sincere about this.¡± With her bag ced on her leg, An Xiaoning clutched onto it and stared straight into his eyes. ¡°Then why couldn¡¯t they find your name? I also found out that this room is registered under the captain of B City¡¯s elite militarymando unit, Liu Dasheng. But you aren¡¯t his subordinate. Do you understand all the questions I have in my head?¡± ¡°I can answer all your questions, but there¡¯s something that I need to ask you.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± He handed her a document from the table. ¡°This is your personal information that I obtained. I received this twelve minutes before you came and I¡¯ve read it. It contains details about the cases you previously cracked for the police. It also says that you haven¡¯t been helping the police crack cases for a long time already and that you may not get involved in their work anymore in the future. Is it true?¡± ¡°Where did you obtain these pieces of information from?¡± An Xiaoning could not help butugh as she read through a few pages of it. ¡°Did you get these from searching online? I can clearly answer your question, it isn¡¯t true.¡± ¡°You mean, you¡¯ll still help out the police in investigating cases?¡± ¡°Of course. If there are very special cases that need my expertise, I¡¯ll take time out to help them no matter how busy I am. If the case is an ordinary murder case, I¡¯ll just leave it to the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit to investigate. I used to lead them, but I don¡¯t anymore.¡± An Xiaoning could vaguely guess that the help he needed from her was about solving a case. ¡°I¡¯m not Liu Dasheng¡¯s subordinate indeed. The only reason why I was in a military outfit is because I think that I¡¯m still a military officer.¡± His tone was obviously cold. ¡°You must be curious about my rtionship with Liu Dasheng. I won¡¯t hide it from you, then. He¡¯s my brother-inw.¡± ¡°He¡¯s so fortunate to have married a young wife when he¡¯s already in his forties to fifties.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like that,¡± he corrected her. ¡°My younger sister is the same age as him.¡± An Xiaoning was at a loss for words for a moment. Her heart skipped a beat as she asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you around the same age as me? How can your younger sister... be older than you?¡± With sparkling eyes, he remarked with a faint smile, ¡°Didn¡¯t you already guess something?¡± An Xiaoning abruptly stood up and stared straight at him. ¡°You... you...¡± ¡°I¡¯m a living person.¡± He added, ¡°So you should be very clear of what¡¯s going on already.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning was in disbelief as she approached him and grabbed onto his arm, then ced her finger on his wrist. There was a pulse indeed, and he was obviously breathing. These were signs of a living person. But why... Zong Jingyi seemed to notice the doubtful look she had and reiterated, ¡°I¡¯m really a living person. I¡¯m not the owner of that tomb either. I¡¯m just someone who was enclosed there more than ten years ago.¡± An Xiaoning went back to her original seat and sat down. ¡°Was Liu Dasheng the one who gave you this information?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°It was obviously searched online and printed out.¡± Upon knowing that he wasn¡¯t the one buried in that tomb, An Xiaoning heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°Did you meet me by ident in the tomb, or were you there intentionally to wait for me?¡± ¡°I was there to wait for you. Dasheng received news that you would be going there today and made me wait for you there. He only showed me a picture of you and didn¡¯t even tell me your name. He just said that maybe you would be able to help me.¡± With her arms crossed and resting on her leg, she ced her hand below her chin and said, ¡°Tell me about your problem.¡± He did not know if this woman before her was reliable, but it seemed that he did not have any other option either. He could only pray that by a stroke of luck, she was someone who could help him. ¡°Sixteen years ago, I was already a lieutenant with three stars in the A City military...¡± An Xiaoning silently listened to him speak and did not say a word throughout. When he was done, a few sentences in her head were able to summarize the story he had told her. This man had been abandoned during an internal struggle for power, and his girlfriend back then was actually someone the enemy force ced around him. This matter escted to a point where there had to be someone who¡¯d sacrifice themselves for it to end, and he became the most suitable target to y the role of the sacrificialmb. The one who executed this order was his brother-inw and another military officer. However, he was lucky that he had taken extra care of this other military officer, who decided to take the risk to repay his kindness. The officer and Liu Dasheng found a witch to carry out a ritual and, thereafter, Liu Dasheng hid him in the tomb at theke for a whole sixteen years. What was truly unbelievable was that Liu Dasheng had long known about the fact that thend near theke could allow corpses to mutate. However, not only did information not travel fast back then, most people also avoided talking about such strange ces. Moreover, only Liu Dasheng had found out about the tomb, so apart from him and his wife, nobody else knew about it. ¡°That tomb is like a maze inside. How was Liu Dasheng able to walk around inside ande out?¡± ¡°From what he told me, it was also the first time he went in when he sent me there. He thought that it would be around the same as any other tomb, but he did not expect it to not be that case. If he had not brought much food and drinks then, he wouldn¡¯t have been able toe out of that ce. Back then, he stayed there for almost a week before he was able toe out. Ever since then, he had never gone in again. Although he didn¡¯t kill me, he still felt that when I woke up one day, it would be highly unlikely for me to walk out of that ce. So, in his heart, he took it that I was dead. It was I who walked out of there by myself.¡± An Xiaoning was perplexed. ¡°Why did he bring food and drinks in when he sent you inside?¡± ¡°He thought that since thend there could mutate corpses, the dead wouldn¡¯t dpose there, so food and drinks could probably remain fresh there for a long time as well. He said that the food and drinks were prepared for me, but in the end, it came to good use for himself.¡± Zong Jingyi¡¯s handsome face remained calm andposed throughout and did not seem to show any change in his emotions. It was as if he was talking about someone else¡¯s matter. How huge of a blow did one have to receive toe to this state that he was in! ¡°Your eyes... what¡¯s wrong with them?¡± ¡°I was born like this.¡± He went on, ¡°Back then, when I entered the military, it became a huge obstacle. Butter on, because I performed a deed of merit by ident, the higher-ups decided they would not pursue it and granted me permission to stay.¡± ¡°Do you know anything about the owner of that tomb? Don¡¯t hide this from me. I may be able to help you with this, and I¡¯ll definitely teach you a lesson if you dare hide it from me.¡± Chapter 1239 - I Want to Make You Stay (117)

Chapter 1239: I Want to Make You Stay (117)

¡°I only woke up a few days ago. After that, I was busy finding the way out of that ce. I haven¡¯t seen anyone there. Although I haven¡¯t seen anyone, I always felt there was someone inside.¡± He remarked honestly, ¡°It feels like a sixth sense.¡± ¡°There should be someone inside. Otherwise, that archeologist wouldn¡¯t have died like that and the amulets I pasted wouldn¡¯t have disappeared for no reason. Your matter has implicated quite a lot of people. Even to me, it¡¯s very challenging. Moreover, so many years have passed. It would be difficult to find any evidence as well.¡± Her words had justnded when the man opposite her simply knelt down before her. With his back straight and upright, and his expression unchanging, he said, ¡°I have nothing left to my name already. All I have left is this life of mine. As long as you¡¯re willing to help me, my life will belong to you in the future. As long as you give me an order, I¡¯ll carry it out with no hesitation. I¡¯ll treat you as my everything and serve you for the rest of my life.¡± An Xiaoning gazed at him in astonishment. Ever since she had seen him in the tomb, the impression he gave her was someone who was not apt to talk and who did not reveal his emotions. But, deep inside his bones, he seemed to be someone obstinate and unyielding. An Xiaoning would never have expected him to be willing to kneel down just to beg her for help. ¡°A real man shouldn¡¯t kneel down so easily. Please get up.¡± ¡°Ms. An, I¡¯ll agree to everything that you ask me to do. Please help me. I really have no way out now. I don¡¯t want to live the rest of my life in a resigned manner or get discovered and executed again.¡± ¡°Let me think about this matter properly. After all, it isn¡¯t a small matter and I still have to verify the truth of it. Otherwise, how would I know whether you¡¯re telling the truth? So, get up. I¡¯ll give you an answer after I¡¯ve thought through this properly.¡± He slowly got up. ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°This hotel belongs to my brother¡¯s family. I¡¯ll tell the front deskter, so you can just stay here temporarily for now. Right, can you write out your name here for me?¡± An Xiaoning took out pen and paper from her bag for him. He nodded, then swiftly wrote out his name for her. .... It was the next day. An Xiaoning was awoken by a kiss. Looking at the handsome face that was inches away from hers, her gaze flickered for a moment as she reached out to touch it. After she was sure of it, she called out, ¡°Qingyan.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°You¡¯re finally back.¡± An Xiaoning kissed him multiple times before she had enough. ¡°Henry didn¡¯t let me kiss him at all. I couldn¡¯t even touch his hand.¡± ¡°Idiot, couldn¡¯t you do it forcefully?¡± ¡°I¡¯d wanted to before. Look here, do you see this?¡± She pointed to her forehead. ¡°This was caused by him. He used all his strength and flung me toward the wall.¡± As the lights were not on and the curtains were not pulled open either, it was rather dark in the room and Jin Qingyan did not notice this. After hearing her words, he immediately switched on the lights and carefully looked at the injury on her head. ¡°Does it hurt?¡± he asked as he touched it lightly while frowning deeply. ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt anymore.¡± ¡°What did I do yesterday? My legs are aching really badly.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a long story. I¡¯ll tell you slowly as we eat.¡± She sat up and added as she pointed to her clothes, ¡°Bring them to me. I¡¯m getting up now.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not sleeping a while more?¡± ¡°How could I get back to sleep anymore? Anyway, I feel like eating.¡± He took her clothes to her and put them on for her. An Xiaoning enjoyed the privileged treatment she received from him where she did not have to use her own arms and legs. After helping her put on her clothes, he carried her upstairs on his back to wash herself up, and then carried her down again, cing her on the chair safely. Throughout the whole of breakfast, it was basically her sharing and exining the details of what had happened yesterday. An Xiaoning was parched from saying so much in one go. She did not leave out a single detail and told him everything. After hearing her speak, Jin Qingyan replied, ¡°Zong Jingyi¡¯s matter isn¡¯t something that¡¯s easy to interfere in. It¡¯s ratherplex and has many people involved in it. Without sufficient evidence, it¡¯s easy to create trouble too. But, from what you have described, I feel that this person isn¡¯t someone who¡¯spletely incapable. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to bring you out of the tomb. Just because of this, I think you can give it some consideration. As to where the owner of that tomb went, he or she will definitely leave a trace be it dead or alive. However, you shouldn¡¯t enter that tomb so hastily anymore next time. You should at least go in there with me. I¡¯m talking about me, not my second personality. If something were to happen to you, I wouldn¡¯t want to live anymore.¡± An Xiaoning was amused by thest line he said. ¡°You make it sound like it¡¯s really happening.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t believe me?¡± He looked at her in a serious manner. ¡°You are my life. Without you, will I still be able to live on?¡± An Xiaoning bit her lip andughed. ¡°Why are you doing this? You¡¯re making me feel touched so early in the morning.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why you need to take care of yourself before you do anything. Promise me, okay?¡± ¡°I promise you. I¡¯ll promise you everything okay?¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s eyes were brimming with happiness. ¡°Promising me is the first step. You have to actually carry it out.¡± ¡°Of course. When are you going to thepany?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going today, I¡¯ll stay home to keep youpany.¡± With that, he lowered his voice and added, ¡°I¡¯ll make it up to you properly.¡± Hisst line was full of meaning. An Xiaoning broke into an exaggerated grin. ¡°I have serious matters to handle today. We can only do it tonight...¡± ¡°This is a serious matter too, we can¡¯t wait ¡¯til tonight.¡± His tone was firm, leaving An Xiaoning with no room to argue. After eating, he carried her upstairs on his back again. After the two brushed their teeth, they slumped back onto the bed. Gazing at each other, they basked in the warm glow in each other¡¯s eyes. ¡ª¡ª When she was heading to the police station, An Xiaoning took her phone and saw a missed call when she unlocked it. As she stared at the disy screen, her face fell. It was the mysterious call again that came everyday at 5:08 am. She had slept too soundlyst night and had not heard her phone ringing. She ced her phone in her bag and drove to the police station. ¡°Ms. An, we¡¯ve got the results.¡± A police officer showed his screen to An Xiaoning immediately. ¡°Although Zong Jingyi¡¯s household register was written off, we have a file of it inside. It was written off 16 years ago, on the 12th of June.¡± ¡°Print out his personal and family information for me.¡± ¡°Alright, please give me a moment.¡± A minuteter, she took the information out from the household registry room and ran into Pan Zhenghui. ¡°Xiaoning, when did you arrive?¡± ¡°I just came. I was about to go and find you.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s talk in my office.¡± Pan Zhenghui said as they walked, ¡°This morning, Captain Wang called me and said that the staff member who died suffered a horrible death. He showed me pictures of it too.¡± ¡°I know. If he had died of hunger or thirst, it wouldn¡¯t have been the case. It was definitely an unnatural death.¡± ¡°That means...¡± Pan Zhenghui¡¯s throat constricted and his voice lowered. ¡°There¡¯s really something dirty inside?¡± Chapter 1240 - I Want to Make You Stay (118)

Chapter 1240: I Want to Make You Stay (118)

¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s something dirty or if a corpse has mutated and revived. I didn¡¯t see anything and only met with some spooky incident inside. This matter is rather tricky to handle. Take note of new cases that emerge. If there are more victims who died in the same way as that staff member did, there must really be someone behind it.¡± The two entered the office together, and Pan Zhenghui closed the door shut. ¡°I just feel that there¡¯s something strange about that guy who came out of the tomb with you.¡± ¡°He¡¯s a living person, and he¡¯s situation is rather special. This is information about him.¡± An Xiaoning passed it to him. ¡°Take a look.¡± Pan Zhenghui read it carefully. ¡°This is...¡± ¡°His household register was written off 16 years ago, and he¡¯s a dead person in name. In reality, he was the sacrifice of an internal struggle,¡± An Xiaoning stated simply. ¡°Don¡¯t spread this matter, there¡¯s already a lot of people involved in it.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Pan Zhenghui asked, ¡°So, Xiaoning, are you intending to help him?¡± ¡°I¡¯m still considering it. It¡¯s been so many years since this matter of his took ce, and it¡¯s not simple either. There¡¯s no hurry. At the present moment, I¡¯m more concerned about the owner of that tomb. Whether the owner of that tomb is still being kept inside or has escaped, we can¡¯t be sure for now, so I have to think of a way to verify this. This is the most important priority for now.¡± Pan Zhenghui was really afraid that something simr to what had happened at Beiying would happen in A City. If it was really the case, he would definitely lose his position. ¡°Xiaoning, should we send some men to keep an eye on the tomb at theke?¡± ¡°We should install surveince cameras on both exits. I¡¯ve sent the archeological team away previously, so you should send some people to take turns to keep watch 24 hours a day.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°I¡¯m taking a day of rest today. If there¡¯s nothing much, I¡¯ll enter the tomb tomorrow to see.¡± ¡°Again?¡± Pan Zhenghui had his hands sped behind his back. ¡°Oh dear, you really shouldn¡¯t go in again. It¡¯s too dangerous.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have someone to apany me this time, don¡¯t worry.¡± An Xiaoning shed a smile at him. ¡°If you can¡¯t rest assured, why don¡¯t you go in together with me to take a look yourself?¡± The corner of Pan Zhenghui¡¯s lip twitched slightly. No matter how unwilling he was, it was hard for him to reject her. ¡°Since even you dare to go in, I¡¯ll put my life aside and go in with you to take a look, then.¡± An Xiaoning did not expect him to say that. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± An Xiaoningughed and did not say anything further. She took the information on Zong Jingyi and simply left. On the way home, she received a call from an unknown number. The number shown on the caller disy was from B City. An Xiaoning stepped on the brakes to stop the car and ced her earphone inside her ear before answering the call. ¡°Hello, who is this?¡± ¡°Hi, Ms. An. I¡¯m the captain of B City¡¯s elite militarymando unit, Liu Dasheng.¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m at Wei Ni Estate now, can I meet you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m on the way back. There¡¯s a jam here, so I¡¯ll take at most 20 minutes to arrive.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll wait for you.¡± Liu Dasheng hung up the call as he stood upright outside the front gate of Jin Qingyan¡¯s house. His wife beside him asked, ¡°What did Ms. An say?¡± ¡°She¡¯s on the way and will arrive soon.¡± Mrs. Liu had her fingers sped together as she closed her eyes and prayed, ¡°I really hope that she can help us.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t force this matter or make things difficult for her. We should just leave it to Ms. An to decide. After all, this is not a small matter either.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Seventeen minutester, An Xiaoning¡¯s car emerged. Liu Dasheng and his wife stood aside as her car stopped at the front gate. An Xiaoning¡¯s car window rolled down and she greeted them. ¡°Hi, Captain Liu. Come in.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning drove the car in and did not park in the garage but simply pulled over and alighted. ¡°This is...?¡± ¡°This is my wife.¡± Liu Dasheng introduced her to An Xiaoning. ¡°Nice to meet you, Ms. An,¡± Mrs. Liu said shyly as she reached out to shake her hand. An Xiaoning gripped her hand and shook it. ¡°Nice to meet you. Come inside the house.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± After she instructed the maid to serve tea, An Xiaoning sat down and said, ¡°I was actually going to contact you, but the two of you actually came down yourselves.¡± ¡°Last night, my brother called us,¡± Mrs. Liu said. ¡°He said he met you at the hotel and told you everything. Ms. An, I¡¯ll be honest with you. You¡¯re my brother¡¯s only hope. If he can¡¯t get back his name, it¡¯ll be fine if he continues living without being discovered. He can still live the rest of his life in hiding. But if he¡¯s discovered alive, it¡¯s not only him but Dasheng and the other military officer will be implicated as well. Then all of them may have to die. We don¡¯t want to force you by emotionally ckmailing you or to give you a hard time either. But we really...¡± She choked on her words for a moment, tears flowing down her cheeks. ¡°... have no other way. We might have to live in fear every day in the future.¡± ¡°Honestly, I haven¡¯t thought through this matter properly yet. I¡¯ve always been someone who¡¯ll either not do things or do them, but I will put in my utmost effort if I do something. I¡¯m not thoroughly confident with this matter and it¡¯s not like I¡¯m someone who has no principles. I¡¯m not a saint either. I won¡¯t help you all out just because you tell me that you¡¯re desperate, so we shouldn¡¯t talk about making things difficult for me. It all depends on whether I¡¯m willing or not to help you all out. Also, this isn¡¯t the most important matter right now. I¡¯m not sure, but perhaps Captain Liu knows about what happened at Beiying previously?¡± ¡°I do know about that.¡± ¡°Thend around theke allows corpses to mutate, and it was what caused the disaster at Beiying. I¡¯m not sure if the owner of the tomb where you kept Zong Jingyi hasn¡¯t been found or if the body went elsewhere, as the coffin inside was empty. So, the most important thing now is this matter. I heard from Zong Jingyi that you discovered that tomb. Captain Liu, can you tell me how you found it?¡± ¡°It was a long time ago. Back then, we were carrying out our mission there and I found it by ident. It looked like a tomb to me so I didn¡¯t dare to go in. After all, it was a ce to bury the dead. So, I covered up the entrance and left. Later on, when something happened to my brother, I thought of that ce and felt that it was a good hiding ce. After all, other than tomb raiders and people from the archeological team, who else would go there?¡± Hearing this, An Xiaoning nodded. ¡°For now, this matter takes priority. However, the two of you should try not to contact Zong Jingyi unless necessary. Let him stay at the hotel to rest. No matter whether I decide to help you all out with this matterter on or not, I¡¯ll guarantee his safety. So please, rest assured.¡± Hearing her words, the couple instantly felt assured. ¡°Thank you, Ms. An.¡± ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°Shaochuan.¡± Shi Shaochuan raised his head toward the direction where the voice came from, and his face changed instantly. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°Look at you. We¡¯re friends, and your wife¡¯s hospitalized. How can I possibly note and visit?¡± Carrying the gifts she brought along, Bu Xianxian closed the door shut with a radiant smile on her face. Chapter 1241 - I Want to Make You Stay (119)

Chapter 1241: I Want to Make You Stay (119)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Wen Lele was lying on the hospital bed with bandages all over her body, leaving only her eyes, nose, and lips exposed. Her scalp and face were severely burned as well. Upon the sight of her plight, Bu Xianxian asked worriedly, ¡°How is Sister Wen doing now?¡± ¡°She¡¯s alright,¡± Shi Shaochuan answered. ¡°You must take good care of Sister Wen and give her the best treatment and medicine.¡± Shi Shaochuan shot Bu Xianxian a nce to warn her to leave immediately. However, Bu Xianxian pretended not to see it and continued, ¡°Sister Wen, have you found out who the person who had set you on fire is?¡± Wen Lele finally broke out of her deadpan expression and asked in a loud but hoarse voice, ¡°Do you know who it is?¡± Before Bu Xianxian could even answer, she was dragged out of the hospital ward by Shi Shaochuan, who had grabbed her by the arm. ¡°What on earth are you trying to do?¡± Shi Shaochuan asked, ring at her menacingly. ¡°Shaochuan, I thought that your wife already knew who the culprit is. I don¡¯t mean anything else. Don¡¯t get me wrong.¡± ¡°Cut the crap. Just why did youe to the hospital? Tell me clearly.¡± ¡°Shaochuan, I really don¡¯t have any other intentions. I just really wanted to see you.¡± Shi Shaochuan was beyond irritated and he rebuked, ¡°Xianxian, can you stop showing up in front of me from now on? I don¡¯t want to see you.¡± ¡°Shaochuan, I didn¡¯t mean to intrude, but I just can¡¯t stop myself from wanting to see you. I won¡¯t jeopardize your life. I mean it. So, stop being so uptight and stop guarding against me all the time. I won¡¯t spout any nonsense to your wife either. That¡¯s not something I would do.¡± ¡°Enough. If there¡¯s nothing else you need to say, just go back.¡± ¡°There¡¯s something I have to tell you. Shaochuan, could you lend me some money?¡± she asked, gazing at him with the sweetest smile she could put on. He sneered, ¡°When was thest time I gave you money? It wasn¡¯t that long ago. Bu Xianxian, do you take me for your cash cow? We no longer have anything to do with each other. What are you thinking? Are you out of your mind?¡± ¡°This is thest time. It really is,¡± she pleaded, staring at him earnestly. Shi Shaochuan took out his wallet and handed her a thin stack of hundred-dor bills. ¡°Take it and scram immediately.¡± Feeling extremely humiliated upon the sight of the meager amount of money he had given her, she retorted, ¡°What do you take me for? A beggar?¡± ¡°I take you for a leech. Even beggars are better at supporting themselves than you are.¡± ¡°Shi Shaochuan, you...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t give me double standards. To be honest with you, I¡¯m not scared of whatever nonsense you might say to my wife. After all, she¡¯s already been horribly burned. I¡¯m just taking pity and feeling sorry for her. So, stop trying to threaten me. I¡¯m not afraid of anything. Also...¡± He pointed his index finger at her and continued, ¡°Don¡¯t try and pull any funny tricks with me. I won¡¯t show you any mercy just because you¡¯re a woman.¡± Bu Xianxian grabbed the money and said, ¡°I won¡¯t show up in front of you ever again. Rest assured.¡± ¡°I hope you¡¯ll keep your word.¡± Shi Shaochuan then returned to the hospital ward. Wen Lele almost fell off the bed, and he hurriedly pushed her back onto the mattress. Wen Lele stared at him and asked, ¡°Just who was the one who had set me on fire? Don¡¯t tell me you were trying to kill me?¡± ¡°How could it be me? We¡¯re still in the midst of investigating, and I believe there¡¯ll be an oue very soon. Just focus on resting and recuperating,¡± he answered, refusing to tell her the truth. Extremely agitated, Wen Lele red at him and questioned, ¡°That woman seems to know who the culprit is. Are you hiding it from me on purpose?¡± ¡°She¡¯s my ex-girlfriend. I shall be honest with you. She was merely trying to spite you deliberately because I¡¯m ignoring her now. That¡¯s why she pretended to be in the know. I haven¡¯t even found out who the culprit is, how could she possibly know?¡± Shi Shaochuan said patiently. ¡°I refuse to believe that all of the surveince cameras were faulty. There has to be a few that were working fine, such as those along the corridors and the stairwell. The fire didn¡¯t spread to those areas. We¡¯ll find out who had gone upstairs after checking the surveince camera footages. I know you¡¯re just hiding it from me.¡± ¡°How many times must I repeat myself in order for you to believe me? The person whomitted arson hadpletely destroyed all the surveince cameras. We can¡¯t see anything at all.¡± Wen Lele did not know if she should believe him or not. From the moment she came to, she felt as if she was in a living hell, for the rest of her life was now ruined. ¡°Please leave, I want to be alone for a while.¡± Shi Shaochuan did not wish to stay in the ward at all. Upon hearing her words, he took a look at the time on his watch and said, ¡°I¡¯ll call for the nurse toe in.¡± Wen Lele watched him leave quietly. A minuteter, the door was opened again. Wen Lele tensed up at the sight of Bu Xianxian, who had locked the door after her. ¡°What do you want?¡± Wen Lele questioned. Bu Xianxian walked toward her and said softly, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, I won¡¯t do anything to you.¡± ¡°Are you Shaochuan¡¯s ex-girlfriend?¡± Bu Xianxian shook her head and answered, ¡°I wasn¡¯t his girlfriend but his kept woman. I came to tell you something, but you mustn¡¯t tell Shi Shaochuan that I was the one who told you this. Otherwise, he¡¯s not going to let me off.¡± Wen Lele agreed with a nod, ¡°I won¡¯t tell him. Go ahead and speak.¡± ¡°The person who had set you on fire is Shi Bao¡¯er.¡± ¡°Bao¡¯er?¡± ¡°Do you know why I¡¯m certain that she was the one? It¡¯s because she had once tried to burn me before and I was lightly burned when that happened. I didn¡¯t sustain any major injuries, unlike you. Shi Bao¡¯er is the epitome of a devil. She even added pesticide to my cosmetic products. Don¡¯t be fooled by her age, she¡¯s very vicious. That¡¯s why Shi Shaochuan refused to tell you who the culprit is.¡± Seething and trembling with exasperation, Wen Lele asked with tears in her eyes, ¡°Is that true?¡± ¡°Without a doubt. Why would I lie to you? I heard that Shi Shaochuan has returned the custody of Shi Bao¡¯er back to Jin Qingyue, her mother. If it weren¡¯t because of this incident, why would he choose to give up Shi Bao¡¯er? Besides... do you know what your husband said to me when we were outside just now? He said that he isn¡¯t afraid of whatever nonsense I might say to you, because you¡¯re already so horribly scalded, and that he¡¯s only taking pity on you because he feels that he had let you down. I¡¯m not being nosy, but I just want to tell you truthfully that he¡¯ll definitely divorce you sooner orter because of the plight you¡¯re in now. After all, why would a jerk like him stay devoted to you? So, you¡¯d better fight for more of his assets to ensure your financial security.¡± Wen Lele burst into tears and began bawling loudly. Her heart hadpletely shattered, and money was thest thing on her mind. Staring at the sorry plight that Wen Lele was in, Bu Xianxian could not help but feel a little lucky. I was still rather disgruntled when they got married back then, but thank God I didn¡¯t marry Shi Shaochuan. If not, I might very well be the person lying here today instead. After Bu Xianxian left, Wen Lele went into hysterics and began yelling and screaming her lungs out. Upon seeing how agitated she was, the nurse hurriedly tried to cate her feelings, to no avail. Chapter 1242 - I Want to Make You Stay (120)

Chapter 1242: I Want to Make You Stay (120)

¡°Give me the phone, call him, call him!¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll call Mr. Shi now.¡± Just as the nurse was about to call Shi Shaochuan, Wen Lele changed her mind and quickly stopped her. ¡°Forget it, don¡¯t call him...¡± The nurse had no choice but to stop. Wen Lele began to calm herself down gradually. What use would it be if I make hime here and question him? I can¡¯t move and he won¡¯t admit it anyway. There¡¯s nothing I can do with him. Wen Lele teared up again, unable to contain her misery. Once I get discharged, I must verify if Shi Bao¡¯er was the culprit. If she was the one who had done it, I must torture her to no end! ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning initially wanted to visit the tomb together with Jin Qingyan tomorrow and get Fan Shixin to take over at the office for a day. However, there were sudden changes that had to be made to her ns. Team Leader Zhang gave her an emergency call at about six o¡¯clock. He desperately pleaded for An Xiaoning to make a trip to the police station. After learning about the exact situation, An Xiaoning immediately rushed to the police station on her car. What she dreaded most had ultimately happened. ¡°Where was the deceased found?¡± ¡°The wheat field nearest to theke. The deceased was a farmer from the vige, and his wife was the one who had found his body. We headed to the site immediately after we received the report. However, we couldn¡¯t find anything at all. There weren¡¯t even any footprints. We¡¯ve also checked the surveince cameras, but they were all damaged and we couldn¡¯t get any footages.¡± An Xiaoning frowned and stared at the corpse, which was in a simr state as the archeologist¡¯s corpse. ¡°When was the police report made?¡± ¡°5:23 am.¡± An Xiaoning murmured, ¡°5:23 am... The crime must have beenmitted before that, then...¡± The first thing that came to her mind were the bizarre calls that she would receive at 5:08 am every day. Could it be the same culprit? That¡¯s very likely, she thought. Did I happen to miss the owner of that tomb because I simply got lucky and he happened to be away at that time? But the amulets had all gone missing. How could that be exined? Did the tomb belong to more than one person? ¡°Let his family bring his corpse back to be buried. Inform Bureau Chief Pan about it and tell him to bring some men to theke. I¡¯ll go home to get my stuff before rushing there to meet him.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± .... When they arrived at theke, the sky was already starting to darken. Having to delve into the tomb at night was indeed a hair-raising feat. However, she had no choice. The police officers waited outside in two groups while An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan entered together. Pan Zhenghui initially offered to apany them. However, An Xiaoning decided to let him stay outside upon seeing his trembling legs. Being middle-aged, Pan Zhenghui was definitely not at the peak of his fitness. Thus, it was a better idea for him to sit it out, lest they¡¯d have to take care of him while they were inside. Hence, An Xiaoning decided to bring Zu Dong and Gong Le instead. After all, they were young and fit and could carry the things that she had brought along. Moreover, they were brave as well and did not seem at all intimidated when she suggested that they go in with her, unlike Ma Jianguo, who seemed like he was about to pee himself. Ma Jianguo was quivering from head to toe in fear that An Xiaoning would pick him. He finally heaved a sigh of relief after An Xiaoning decided to take Zu Dong and Gong Le with her. He had broken out into a cold sweat because of how frightened and anxious he was. The four of them entered the tomb. This was An Xiaoning¡¯s second time entering. Hence, she took the lead while Zu Dong and Gong Le walked in between her and Jin Qingyan. As soon as they entered, Zu Dong remarked, ¡°Why is it so chilly in here? It¡¯s almost like wintertime.¡± ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s much... spookier than I had imagined. It¡¯s a little terrifying,¡± Gong Le chimed in. ¡°Don¡¯t be scared. I¡¯m here, aren¡¯t I?¡± An Xiaoning said in a bid to cate their feelings of fear. Gong Le expressed assent, and the four of them proceeded to walk further in quietly. This time, they felt a strong gust of wind that was just like a tornado before they could even see the light. If An Xiaoning had not grabbed Zu Dong and Gong Le forcefully to hold them down, they would have been blown away by the wind. Soon, the wind stopped, and a deafening silence filled the pitch-dark space. An Xiaoning was certain that the owner of the tomb was inside. She yelled, ¡°Show yourself! Let us see who on earth you are!¡± ¡°Hahahahaha!¡± A woman beganughing sinisterly, giving Gong Le and Zu Dong a great fright. Scared out of their wits, they began trembling uncontrobly. An Xiaoning rebuked, ¡°What are youughing about? You sound terrible. Come out.¡± Theughter ceased as soon as An Xiaoning made the snide remark. The woman answered in a cold and goosebump-inducing voice, ¡°You may see me, but on the condition that the rest of them scram. You shall meet me alone.¡± ¡°What if I refuse to give in?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to kill anyone so you¡¯d better concede. Your amulets don¡¯t work on me.¡± An Xiaoning turned around and said to Jin Qingyan, ¡°Bring the two of them out.¡± ¡°Did you forget what I said? No!¡± he refused vehemently. Jin Qingyan would never leave her alone. An Xiaoning did not actually n to make him leave. After all, the woman had already stated that An Xiaoning¡¯s amulets would not work on her. Thus, she would definitely die if she could not defeat the woman on her own without Jin Qingyan. ¡°Yes. Don¡¯t go out, then. I shall see how capable she really is.¡± She looked at Jin Qingyan with a smile, feeling much safer and at ease with him around, because she knew that he was not Henry now. She knew that he waspletely capable of unleashing the extraordinary powers that he possessed. After hearing their conversation, the woman guffawed menacingly and sneered, ¡°Seems like there¡¯s no need for us to meet anymore. Hide and seek is... pretty interesting too.¡± An Xiaoning said unhurriedly, ¡°None of the supernatural beings that I¡¯ve encountered had dared to touch my amulets, and yet you¡¯re not afraid of them at all. You even told me that they don¡¯t work on you. Well, that just means that you have a physical body. That just allowed me to verify something. Interesting.¡± ¡°What... do you mean?¡± ¡°I mean what I just said. I¡¯m asking you one more time, are you going to show yourself or not?¡± An Xiaoning questioned once more. ¡°Like I said, I¡¯ll only meet you if the rest of them get out of here. No bargaining.¡± An Xiaoning turned around and said to the three of them, ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here.¡± Despite being terribly frightened, Zu Dong asked, ¡°Team Leader, why are we leaving so quickly?¡± ¡°Since she refuses to meet us in here, we¡¯ll have to take it outside.¡± The woman retorted, ¡°I¡¯m not going to meet you guys outside.¡± ¡°Oh, you will. You definitely will,¡± An Xiaoning said firmly. Jin Qingyan led the way out. Although they did go in circles for a while, they did not waste as much time as she did previously. They exited the tomb to see that the sky had already turned pitch ck. Pan Zhenghui and the rest scurried toward them and asked, ¡°Xiaoning, how did it go?¡± Chapter 1243 - I Want to Make You Stay (121)

Chapter 1243: I Want to Make You Stay (121)

¡°Chief Pan, I¡¯d like you to help me do something.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Come closer,¡± said An Xiaoning, gesturing for him to lean in. Pan Zhenghu inched forward while An Xiaoning whispered something into his ear. Greatly taken aback by her words, Pan Zhenghui asked, ¡°Xiaoning, are you really going to do that?¡± ¡°What other options do I have? Get it done immediately. I¡¯ll bear the consequences. It¡¯s like a maze in there and it¡¯d be difficult to find her. Even if we bring more people in, that will only result in more casualties. This is the best solution I can think of.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll get to it right now.¡± An Xiaoning smiled at Jin Qingyan and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to see if shees out or not.¡± Jin Qingyan understood her very well and was fully aware of what she was nning to do. He subconsciously interlocked his fingers with hers and said, ¡°I agree with your solution.¡± Zu Dong and Gong Le looked at each other in puzzlement,pletely unsure about what they were nning to do. Two hourster, a fleet of extraordinary cars arrived all of a sudden. A huge bunch of people alighted from the cars and blocked any passersby from staying to take a look. Zu Dong, Gong Le, and the other police officers got inside the car. Riding in the backseat of the car, Ding Liang asked curiously, ¡°What was inside that tomb?¡± ¡°It was pitch ck and chilly inside. It¡¯s so eerie and terrifying. Anyway, both of us were really frightened after we went in,¡± Zu Dong answered. ¡°Yeah, we would have been frightened to death if not for Mr. Jin and Team Leader An. I¡¯m already very brave and yet I felt so timid all of a sudden the moment I stepped foot inside,¡± Gong Le chimed in, feeling terrified and disturbed at the thought of the unsettling atmosphere inside the tomb. ¡°I can¡¯t tell what Team Leader An is trying to do. Can you guys tell?¡± Ding Liang asked. ¡°I couldn¡¯t at first, but everything kinda made sense to me after I saw those cars. I¡¯m afraid there would be chaos breaking out againter,¡± Zu Dong said softly. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll knowter.¡± Half an hourter, they received orders to alight. As soon as they stepped foot onto the ground, they heard a deafening explosion and caught sight of a zing fire near the tomb. There were thick fumes in the dark sky, and they stood rooted to the ground in shock. The first explosion was followed by a few more. ¡°Oh my god! They actually bombed the ce,¡± eximed Ding Liang, who had just recovered from the shock. ¡°Yeah, it exploded. Did Team Leader give instructions for that to happen? Let¡¯s go take a look,¡± said Zu Dong. Just as they were about to proceed, they stopped in their tracks all of a sudden and stared wide-eyed at the figure walking out of the fire, their mouths gaping. The figure hollered angrily, ¡°How dare you people bomb my home? I¡¯m going to kill all of you!¡± Upon hearing her threat, the men frantically retreated back inside the car while An Xiaoning stood still on the spot. She taunted, ¡°Didn¡¯t you want to y hide and seek with me? Go ahead and hide. I was the one who bombed this ce. Come at me if you have an issue with that.¡± ¡°Who do you think you are? How dare you have the gall to be so arrogant? You¡¯re the first one I¡¯m going to kill!¡± As soon as the woman said her piece, she began charging toward An Xiaoning, who focused all her attention on the woman. The woman reached An Xiaoning in the blink of an eye. However, she was no match for Jin Qingyan, despite her incredible speed. Jin Qingyan bolted toward her and grabbed her neck. The woman was dragged to the side by Jin Qingyan, and she struggled with all her might to free herself, to no avail. The impact of the explosion had wounded the woman, causing her face and body to be covered in blood. An ordinary person would have been ripped into pieces by the bomb. An Xiaoning calmed herself down and looked closely at the woman¡¯s features. Although her face was stained by blood, An Xiaoning could still tell that she was a ssic beauty. She had a slim face and exquisite features. Although she was seething with exasperation, her anger did not seem to affect her beauty and aura at all. Noticing that the woman was dressed in ancient clothing, An Xiaoning reckoned that she must have been the owner of the tomb. ¡°I told you, we¡¯d definitely meet outside.¡± ¡°So what if we did? I really didn¡¯t expect tond in your hands so soon. It¡¯s up to you to decide if you want to kill me or do whatever you want with me,¡± the woman conceded without hesitation. An Xiaoning grabbed her wrist tightly and tried to feel her pulse, only to discover that she really had one. ¡°Qingyan, bring her to the car,¡± said An Xiaoning, who then got inside the car too. They drove away in no time. All the trees in the woods near theke werepletely destroyed by the fire. There were professionals in charge of monitoring the situation, so as to prevent the fire from spreading to the viges nearby. Safety measures and precautions were taken as well. The woman was brought back to Wei Ni Estate. Jin Qingyan supervised her personally. An Xiaoning freed up one of the rooms and decorated it meticulously before telling Jin Qingyan to bring the woman inside. At the sight of the numerous amulets stered across the walls, the woman snorted withughter and gibed, ¡°That¡¯s so redundant. Didn¡¯t I already tell you that I¡¯m not afraid of these things?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you touch them? You¡¯ll find out if they¡¯re redundant or not once you do,¡± said An Xiaoning, smiling at her sarcastically. She then said to Jin Qingyan, ¡°Let go of her, she can¡¯t run.¡± As soon as Jin Qingyan let go, the woman walked toward the window and said to An Xiaoning, ¡°If I manage to remove all these amulets, you shall set me free. Are you game enough to make a bet with me?¡± ¡°Why should I make a bet with you? However, since you¡¯re so confident, you may give it a try. Let¡¯s see if you can remove them,¡± An Xiaoning said with a grin. ¡°I can do it without using my hands,¡± said the woman, who then started blowing some air onto the amulets in an attempt to remove them. However, her efforts were futile. Atst, she decided to try and rip the amulets off using her hands, only to discover that she could not do so. She retracted her hand immediately upon contact with the amulets. She then turned around to look at An Xiaoning in shock. An Xiaoning felt extremely relieved to see that she had achieved her desired results. However, she kept a straight face and said, ¡°These amulets are different from the ones that I had brought to the tomb. Those were meant for warding off spirits and ghosts while these belong to a new batch that I had just prepared. They¡¯re meant for dealing with things like you. It¡¯s a bad habit to look down on others and belittle them. I shall get straight to the point. Were you the one who gave me those calls?¡± ¡°What calls? I don¡¯t know,¡± the woman denied. ¡°Drop the act. Who else could it be other than you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re talking about. What calls? What¡¯s that?¡± Refusing to believe her, An Xiaoning retorted, ¡°If you don¡¯t even know what a mobile phone is, how could you possibly know how to destroy the surveince cameras before killing someone? Shouldn¡¯t you be unaware of those things too?¡± She scoffed and said in denial, ¡°Killing someone? What do you mean? I didn¡¯t kill anyone.¡± An Xiaoning gibed, ¡°You didn¡¯t kill anyone? Who killed that archeologist inside your tomb, then? It wasn¡¯t you? You didn¡¯t kill that farmer near the vige?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t. I¡¯ve been inside the tomb for so many years. If I wanted to kill people, I would have done so long ago. Also, when you headed to the tomb yesterday, all I did was remove your amulets. I didn¡¯t confront you or try to kill you, did I?¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t you just waiting for me to be trapped and end up dying in there? You wouldn¡¯t have had to go to the trouble of killing me, then, if that had happened.¡± Chapter 1244 - I Want to Make You Stay (122)

Chapter 1244: I Want to Make You Stay (122)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I could have just killed you guys when you found the staircase and made it to the exit. Why would I have let you leave? Besides, I didn¡¯t kill that man too, did I?¡± Remaining calm andposed, An Xiaoning questioned, ¡°Could you tell me how that archeologist died in there, then?¡± ¡°This is exactly what I wanted to tell you in private tonight, yet you just bombed my home because you were afraid that I would harm you! If I hadn¡¯t sensed that something was amiss and rushed out immediately, I probably would have died tonight.¡± An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan looked at each other, feeling perplexed and uncertain if they should believe her words. After all, her statement seemed to have made some sense. ¡°How did that man in the tomb die?¡± ¡°Will you believe what I say? Don¡¯t you already take me for a murderer now?¡± the woman gibed indignantly. ¡°How can I deduce whether or not you¡¯re telling the truth if you don¡¯t speak up?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be able to tell if I¡¯m speaking the truth?¡± An Xiaoning nodded firmly and said, ¡°Of course. As long as you tell me everything that you know, I¡¯ll have my own ways to determine if what you said was true.¡± ¡°Will you set me free once you validate my statement?¡± ¡°To be honest, I haven¡¯t thought about what I should do with you just yet. However, one thing¡¯s for sure: I won¡¯ty a finger on you if the murders really have nothing to do with you.¡± ¡°Okay. Have a seat,¡± the woman said while turning around and taking a seat on the straw mat on the floor. An Xiaoning sat opposite the woman and said, ¡°Speak.¡± ¡°The person who killed the archeologist is the one who left the tomb together with you.¡± An Xiaoning scoffed and quipped, ¡°You¡¯re kidding me, right?¡± If Zong Jingyi was really that invincible, why would he need to beg me to help him take revenge and clear his name? Besides, he even got on his knees before me. Doesn¡¯t seem like it at all... The woman said firmly, ¡°I¡¯m not kidding you, I saw it with my very own eyes. He¡¯s aware of my existence, but he doesn¡¯t know if I¡¯m human or a ghost. Little does he know, I had witnessed him killing someone.¡± The smile on An Xiaoning¡¯s face stiffened and faded. ¡°How did he kill the man?¡± ¡°I saw him cing his hand on the crown of that archeologist¡¯s head, after which the archeologist immediately copsed. He then picked the archeologist up again. However, I knew that he had already killed him.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll verify if your statement is true,¡± said An Xiaoning, who then rose from her seat. ¡°Are you going to question him personally? Do you really think he¡¯d admit to it?¡± ¡°No, I won¡¯t question him. I have other ways of proving the truth.¡± ¡°What ways?¡± ¡°By asking the deceased.¡± Thinking that she had heard An Xiaoning wrongly, the woman asked in disbelief, ¡°What? Ask the deceased? He has already been dead for several days. He must have already reincarnated.¡± ¡°I have my own solutions, so you¡¯d better be speaking the truth.¡± She then left the room together with Jin Qingyan. ¡°She¡¯s right, he¡¯s already been dead for so many days. Is there still a way for you to question him?¡± ¡°After being brought back to theherworld by the reapers, spirits will definitely have to be interrogated and put through a trial before they can reincarnate. People like that archeologist who did notmit any major sins would most likely be reincarnated as humans again. These spirits will be put in a queue where they¡¯d have to wait for their turn to reincarnate. Hence, he won¡¯t be reincarnating so soon. I¡¯ll make a trip down to theherworld,¡± An Xiaoning exined. She then headed to the ritual room while Jin Qingyan waited for her on the couch in the living room. ¡°Young Sir, have you had dinner yet?¡± ¡°No. Auntie Chen, please prepare some food. Xiaoning and I have yet to have our dinner.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± By the time dinner was served, An Xiaoning was still yet toe out of the room. Realizing that it had been a long while, Jin Qingyan made his way to the ritual room and opened the door to see that An Xiaoning was kneeling on the praying mat, remaining as still as a statue. Not daring to disturb her, he closed the door again gently. He finally heard some noises after waiting outside the door for close to twenty minutes. An Xiaoning exited with cold sweat all over her forehead, appearing much paler than before. Jin Qingyan picked her up in his arms and carried her to the dining chair. ¡°Have your dinner first,¡± he said. She picked up the ss of milk and chugged it down all in one go before saying, ¡°At least I didn¡¯t make a wasted trip.¡± ¡°Did you see his spirit?¡± ¡°Yes, I did. I already know what happened,¡± An Xiaoning said feebly. Jin Qingyan was not in a hurry to ask her for the details and decided to talk to her about it in depth after dinner. They headed upstairs and took a shower together. As soon as shey down in bed, she called Pan Zhenghui to inform him of her findings. ¡°The big fire tonight is definitely going to spark spections amongst others. Find an excuse to cover this matter up. I¡¯m already handling the owner of the tomb, whom I took away with me.¡± ¡°Bravo, Xiaoning, I knew we could count on you to crack all kinds of cases. You¡¯re the talent that we need.¡± ¡°Enough, stop sucking up to me. Come tomorrow, tell Wang Jinsheng to arrange for the deceased archeologist¡¯s parents to look me up. I¡¯ve gone down to theherworld and I met the archeologist¡¯s spirit. I have something to tell his parents.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± An Xiaoning ended the call and plugged her mobile phone to the charger. She then snuggled up to Jin Qingyan and said, ¡°The truth is really unexpected. This is going to be a long battle.¡± ¡°Are you confident about winning it?¡± ¡°No, but I think it should be fine with you around,¡± she said, looking up at him. ¡°Could you tell me what you and the deceased talked about when you met him?¡± ¡°Of course. I was already nning to tell you anyway.¡± An Xiaoning wrapped her arms around his waist and continued, ¡°When I first met him, he was bbergasted and appalled to see me in theherworld. He thought that I had died too. However, the moment he heard that I had gone there specifically to look for him, he immediately told me everything that had happened. Turns out, he and a few of his colleagues were discussing and contemting about whether or not they should raid the tomb for treasures, thinking that it would be safe since it looked rather unassuming. His greed had gotten the better of him and he decided to trespass on his own. As soon as he entered, he instantly regretted his decision and tried to get out. However, he simply could not find his way out and kept going around in circles. After being trapped inside for a long while, he finally heard some footsteps approaching, which greatly startled him. He stood rooted to the ground in shock and only felt a sense of relief when he discovered that it was a human. He got excited and wanted to talk to the fellow human. Yet, before he could even do so, he felt the man¡¯s hand on the top of his head. Momentster, he felt all his blood rushing up to his head and soon cked out after feeling an excruciating pain. The next thing he knew, he had been brought to theherworld by the reapers. ording to his description of the perpetrator, I¡¯m very certain that it¡¯s Zong Jingyi.¡± ¡°Does that mean Zong Jingyi tried to frame the owner of the tomb in order to cover up for himself?¡± An Xiaoning deduced, ¡°That¡¯s very obvious. I¡¯m guessing that everything he had told me were lies, apart from the things that had happened to him. He was definitely lying about Liu Dasheng showing him my photo and that he was waiting for me inside the tomb. In reality, he was the one who had been mysteriously calling me at 5:08 am every single day. He already knew who I was long ago.¡± Chapter 1245 - I Want to Make You Stay (123)

Chapter 1245: I Want to Make You Stay (123)

Jin Qingyan analyzed, ¡°But he¡¯s entirely capable of killing the person who had harmed and set him up back then. Why did he have to ask for your help?¡± An Xiaoning answered without hesitation, ¡°To clear his name, of course. If he were to just kill the person who harmed him, he wouldn¡¯t gain anything else apart from being able to vent all his anger and hatred toward the man. Nothing else can be changed. This is his ultimate agenda. Heid a trap for me and lured me inside, so as to make use of me to clear his name. He then put on this show to appear convincing. What a seamless n he has devised.¡± An icy cold gaze formed in Jin Qingyan¡¯s eyes and he remarked, ¡°He¡¯s devised a great n.¡± ¡°We shall beat him at his own game.¡± ¡°What do you n to do, then?¡± An Xiaoning blinked at him and said, ¡°I have my own ns.¡± He smiled and rubbed his finger against her nose. ¡°It¡¯s very likely that he had fed you with lots of lies too. You must be very careful when handling this.¡± ¡°That goes without saying. Rest assured, I¡¯lle up with a seamless n to deal with him.¡± ¡°Yes, I absolutely have faith in you. I believe you¡¯ll handle it well.¡± ¡ª¡ª Fang En was secretly discharged from the hospital and moved to the mansion in the suburbs of B City. Ever since she moved in, Xiao Chenyang had ordered for all other guests to be forbidden from checking in. Fang En really enjoyed staying there during her recovery period. Xiao Yue and the chauffeur had moved in with her too. On the surface, Fang En and Xiao Chenyang upied separate rooms. However, in reality, he would sneak into her room every night. Even the dimwitted Xiao Yue could smell a rat. Recalling Xiao Chenyang¡¯s actions, Xiao Yue further confirmed her spections. Hence, when Xiao Chenyang headed to the bathroom after breakfast, Xiao Yue took the chance to bombard Fang En with her question, ¡°Sis En, did you already begin dating Cousin a long time ago?¡± Well aware that Xiao Yue carried a torch for Xiao Chenyang, Fang En hesitated before asking, ¡°Um, Xiao Yue... did you discover something?¡± After some thought, Xiao Yue answered, ¡°I know that Cousin really fancies you.¡± Fang En did not wish to hide the truth from her. After all, Xiao Yue was her personal assistant who followed her everywhere she went. She also knew that Xiao Yue wouldn¡¯t spread it to outsiders. However, it was impossible to tell her about their previous lifetime. ¡°I got together with him after I broke up with Senior Yan Ge.¡± Trying to force herself to smile, Xiao Yue said, ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve already guessed it. You guys just didn¡¯t tell me yet. Sis En, Cousin must be head-over-heels in love with you. He simply can¡¯t take his eyes off of you. I can tell that he really dotes on you, and it was only a matter of time before you¡¯d fall for him.¡± ¡°Xiao Yue... I know you have a crush on him...¡± ¡°Sis En, from now onwards, I¡¯ll only see him as my brother-inw. So, it¡¯s okay, don¡¯t worry about me. I know that Cousin will never be interested in someone like me anyway. I¡¯m not that thick-skinned or oblivious. Sis En, you truly have my blessings, and I wish you and Cousin conjugal bliss.¡± Fang En held her hand and said, ¡°Thank you, Xiao Yue.¡± Xiao Yue smiled and said, ¡°Sis En, my one-sided rtionship has finallye to an end. I must have a delectable feast this afternoon to make up for the emotional trauma I¡¯ve suffered.¡± ¡°Sure, your cravings will be satisfied.¡± Xiao Chenyang exited from the washroom to see that they were smiling at each other. ¡°What are you guys smiling about?¡± he asked. ¡°Xiao Yue wants to eat some tasty food for lunch and I agreed to satisfy her desires. Shall we go out for a feast in the afternoon?¡± ¡°Xiao Yue? I think you¡¯re the one who wants to feast. Am I right?¡± said Xiao Chenyang, who exposed her relentlessly. Fang En admitted, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m so sick of drinking soup every day. I protest. I don¡¯t want to drink soup anymore, I want to feast!¡± ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll have a feast for lunch this afternoon. You guys may eat to your hearts¡¯ content.¡± Joy was written all over Fang En¡¯s face. Her eyes lit up and she asked, ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Xiao Yue chirped gleefully, ¡°Terrific, Cousin, you¡¯ve finally decided to be benevolent and cut Sis En some ck. All Sis En has been eating every day are eggs and soup. She¡¯s going to throw up if you feed her any more of those tasteless food.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all for her own good.¡± He handed Fang En a cup of water for her to rinse her mouth with. ¡°You must nourish your body and replenish all the blood that you had lost. Your wound is not going to heal in a few days. You must spend more time recuperating. Nothing matters more than your health.¡± Fang En could tell how serious he was. Seemingly having sensed his determination to protect her, Fang En smiled widely and nodded abidingly. ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll listen to you and adhere to your arrangements.¡± Xiao Yue gasped in shock and remarked, ¡°Sis En, I¡¯ve never seen you being so meek andpliant before.¡± Fang En pursed her lips and said, ¡°That¡¯s what happens to women once they¡¯re in love.¡± Upon discovering that Fang En had revealed their rtionship to Xiao Yue, Xiao Chenyang warned Xiao Yue, ¡°You¡¯d better not spill the beans. If not...¡± He pointed his finger at her as if it were a gun and continued, ¡°I¡¯ll...¡± Before he could even finish, Xiao Yue frantically eximed, ¡°Rest assured, Cousin, my lips are sealed!¡± ¡°Okay, I trust you.¡± Xiao Yue chuckled. Staring at the man of her dreams who was untouchable, she could not help but envy Fang En. ¡°Cousin, Sis En, I¡¯m going back to my room to take a nap. Call me when it¡¯s time for lunch.¡± ¡°Got it, go ahead.¡± ¡°Hello, hello, you have a text message!¡± Fang En grabbed her mobile phone to see that it was a text from Director Gao, who was asking about her injury and about when she can resume filming. After taking a nce at the content of the message, Xiao Chenyang said, ¡°Tell her that we don¡¯t know when you¡¯ll fully recover and that you¡¯ll resume work once your wound ispletely healed.¡± ¡°How about next week? I should be fine by then. The season is perfect for filming this television series. If we postpone it any further, it¡¯s going to be Autumn. What if we can¡¯t finish filming by then...?¡± said Fang En, who did not wish to cause any dy in the production. Noticing the sullen expression on his face, she added, ¡°I really want to finish filming as soon as possible. Once I¡¯m done, I¡¯ll be able to spend time with you properly.¡± Staring at her glistening eyes, Xiao Chenyang said, ¡°Don¡¯t force yourself to do it if you can¡¯t. If you still can¡¯t manage to get back to work by next week, just turn her down.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Unable to contain his joy that was derived from her obedience, he kissed her and asked, ¡°Do you want to go out for a walk?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Do you want to bring some snacks along?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What else do you want?¡± Fang En answered, ¡°I want you.¡± Xiao Chenyang smiled and said, ¡°Your wish is mymand.¡± ¡ª¡ª First thing in the morning, An Xiaoning headed straight to the room where the owner of the tomb had been kept in. Chapter 1246 - I Want to Make You Stay (124)

Chapter 1246: I Want to Make You Stay (124)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The woman was lying on the bed with her eyes wide open. Upon the sight of An Xiaoning, the woman sat up straight and said, ¡°I¡¯ve thought about it for the whole ofst night. There¡¯s something I must tell you about clearly.¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°If the truth is that I didn¡¯t kill anyone, you must return my home to me!¡± ¡°It¡¯s already been destroyed. How am I supposed to return it to you?¡± The woman said in exasperation, ¡°I don¡¯t care. The destruction was uncalled for. Just who did I provoke? Why did you guys have to do that to me?¡± ¡°Frankly speaking, before we found this tomb, we incinerated several other corpses that were found nearby. Since you¡¯re human and not a mutated corpse, you can¡¯t continue staying there. How could you ask me forpensation? I¡¯m giving you two options now. You must either be obedient and stay here for the time being or leave this ce. However, there are definitely different oues, depending on which option you choose.¡± ¡°The difference is, I would either be kept here like a prisoner or enjoy the freedom that I deserve.¡± An Xiaoning corrected her coldly, ¡°Wrong. If you¡¯re obedient and stay here, I can guarantee that you¡¯ll be safe. If you choose to leave, the only thing that awaits you would be death.¡± The woman flew into a rage and barked, ¡°I told you, I didn¡¯t kill anyone!¡± ¡°No one said that you¡¯re the one who did it. I won¡¯t be the person killing you either.¡± Noticing how confused the woman seemed to be, An Xiaoning said bluntly, ¡°I made a trip to theherworld yesterday to meet the deceased. Just like you had mentioned, the murderer wasn¡¯t you. However, I¡¯ve already told the police that I¡¯m handling you myself. We weren¡¯t the only people who saw your face yesterday. You¡¯re all alone and penniless, where can you run to? Even if the police can¡¯t find you, do you really think that that man will let you off?¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t see me anyway. He doesn¡¯t know that I had witnessed him murdering that man either. Why wouldn¡¯t he let me off?¡± ¡°Do you really think that the police and we were the only ones who saw your appearancest night? I reckon he must have gone to the sitest night. He¡¯s keeping himself well hidden, and he may not know now that you had witnessed him in the act, but he¡¯ll definitely find out one day. It¡¯s also only a matter of time before I confront him. It won¡¯t be now, though. So, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re fully aware of how to make a wise decision.¡± ¡°I bet you¡¯re just trying to force me to stay within your surveince.¡± ¡°If you continue being so ignorant and senseless, we¡¯ll choose not to keep you. So? Have you thought about it?¡± An Xiaoning questioned. She answered without hesitation, ¡°I must stay here, of course. However, can you tell me what amulets these are?¡± ¡°Humans have seven spirits and six souls, one of which takes the physical form. Those that are only spiritual can be warded off and subdued by amulets and rituals. You were able to survive for so many years in the cold and humid tomb simply because your body is full of the Yin energy, unlike ordinary humans. It¡¯s extremely difficult to subdue you. Since you¡¯ve decided to be obedient and stay here, I definitely won¡¯t ill-treat you. Now that you¡¯re no longer staying in that area, you¡¯d better draw the curtains open and soak up the sun more often. Once this matteres to an end, you¡¯re free to go wherever you want.¡± Seeing that An Xiaoning was about to turn around, the woman said, ¡°I shall introduce myself. My name is Qing Zhu.¡± ¡°An Xiaoning.¡± .... ¡°Young Madam, there are some people asking to see you. They imed to be the deceased archeologist¡¯s family.¡± ¡°Let theme in.¡± An Xiaoning instructed the servants to serve the tea while she waited patiently on the couch. Soon, a middle-aged couple entered together with a young woman who was carrying an infant in her arms. All their eyes were swollen, and they appeared to be in a somber mood. ¡°Hello, take a seat.¡± ¡°Ms. An, I heard that you¡¯d seen my son¡¯s spirit. Is that true?¡± the archeologist¡¯s mother asked while sobbing. ¡°Yes, Auntie, I met him in theherworld. He said that he¡¯s already on his way to reincarnation. He wanted me to ry a few words to you guys.¡± An Xiaoning pulled the archeologist¡¯s wife¡¯s hand and said, ¡°No one wanted this to happen, but there¡¯s no turning back now. My condolences.¡± The archeologist¡¯s father nodded and asked, ¡°What did he say?¡± ¡°He said that he had let you guys down by passing away too soon. From now on, he¡¯ll no longer be able to take care of you guys in your old age, and he hopes that you¡¯ll take good care of yourselves. He hopes that you guys won¡¯t be too devastated about his death.¡± She looked at his wife and continued, ¡°He wants you to know that he¡¯s very sorry for no longer being able to take care of you and your child. He hopes that you¡¯ll find a good man and remarry, as well as raise the child to adulthood. He regrets letting his greed get the better of him, but there¡¯s nothing he can do to salvage things now.¡± His wife began bawling loudly while covering her mouth, and so did the infant in her arms. The living room was instantly filled with sounds of incessant weeping. An Xiaoning was disturbed and felt sympathetic toward them. ¡°Did the archeological teampensate you guys?¡± The middle-aged couple nodded and answered, ¡°They¡¯ve already given it to us.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± An Xiaoning took out an envelope of cash from her purse and stuffed it inside the archeologist¡¯s wife¡¯s hand. ¡°Here¡¯s a small token from me. It¡¯s for your child. I hope he¡¯ll grow up healthily.¡± ¡°Well... Ms. An...¡± An Xiaoning patted her hand and said, ¡°Take it.¡± The deceased¡¯s wife nodded with tears in her eyes. ¡°Thank you.¡± After they left, An Xiaoning handed the money she wanted to give to the other deceased man¡¯s family to Xiao Bai and instructed him to send it to the police station. She told him to get the police to deliver it to the family of the deceased, on her behalf. An Xiaoning then headed upstairs to get changed. She picked out a ck suit and left the zer unbuttoned. She paired the suit with a white shirt underneath the zer, as well as a pair of stilettos. She had never fancied wearing stilettos. However, for the sake of vanity, she decided to put on a pair of ck-colored ones. She grabbed her dark brown vintage purse and headed to the restaurant on Mingyuan Road. As soon as An Xiaoning alighted from the car, she looked up at the hotel¡¯s signboard and entered without hesitation. She made her way to Zong Jingyi¡¯s room and pressed the doorbell several times until he finally answered the door. Zong Jingyi had a towel wrapped around his waist and water dripping from his hair. He had clearly just taken a shower. ¡°Have you eaten?¡± Shaking his head, he answered, ¡°No.¡± ¡°Just like I had guessed. I brought you these,¡± An Xiaoning said, raising the bag in her right hand. Zong Jingyi closed the door and asked, ¡°What are those?¡± ¡°Some delicious food,¡± she said calmly, making sure not to let the cat out of the bag. She ced the items onto the table before taking a seat. Zong Jingyi retrieved a few containers from the bag and opened them to see that there were lots of delicious food. The aroma of the delectable dishes wafted up to his nose. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡± An Xiaoning stared at him to discover that he was extremely handsome and suave, with features that matched his face¡¯s shape perfectly. He did not seem like a cunning murderer at all. ¡°Someone died again yesterday. I visited theke and arrested the owner of the tomb.¡± Chapter 1247 - I Want to Make You Stay (125)

Chapter 1247: I Want to Make You Stay (125)

¡°That¡¯s good,¡± he said while eating continuously. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve already executed her. There won¡¯t be such cases anymore. Since this matter hase to an end, I¡¯ve also made up my mind and decided to... intervene and help you. I should be able to focus on your case, so long as there are no murder cases that would require my assistance.¡± Zong Jingyi¡¯s blue eye darkened and he asked, ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes, really.¡± ¡°Okay, from now on, I belong to you. I¡¯m a man of my word. I won¡¯t break my promise.¡± An Xiaoning looked down and hid her emotions. A few secondster, she looked up and smiled at him. ¡°Alright, move in with me in Wei Ni Estate after dinnerter. I¡¯ve already arranged for a suitable amodation for you.¡± He answered with a nod, ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Pen down everything that had happened back then, including the names of all the people that were involved. Don¡¯t rush, take things slowly. I¡¯ll get my people topile all the relevant information ording to your ount. However, there¡¯s something I need you to tell me. What was your rtionship with your fianc¨¦e like? Please answer me truthfully.¡± ¡°It was one-sided on my part.¡± ¡°Okay. Continue eating. Have some more food.¡± After he was done eating, An Xiaoning sent him back to Wei Ni Estate and arranged for him to stay in a room that was away from the main mansion. She then instructed the servants and bodyguards to forbid him from getting near the main mansion whenever she and Jin Qingyan were not around. She then headed to Mount Heyuan. She had not forgotten about the devilish imp in there. Shi Bao¡¯er had long since been adhering to her instructions andpleting the tasks that she was assigning her with. During the time that An Xiaoning had been away, No. 5 would mostly be in charge of looking after her since No. 8 was in charge of the night shift. Thus, No. 8 did not get to interact with her much. No. 5 would take her out to the mountains in the day to pluck some tomatoes, catch some live chickens, and feed the rabbits. Shi Bao¡¯er¡¯s living conditions were considered decent, apart from the times when she was being punished. Upon the sight of An Xiaoning, she immediately got out of bed and stood up straight. She greeted politely, ¡°Hello, Auntie.¡± ¡°I heard from No. 5 that you had alreadypleted all the tasks I¡¯ve given you. Not bad. I¡¯ll be taking you to another ce today.¡± She then said to No. 5, ¡°Go wake No. 8 up and pack your belongings. We¡¯ll be leaving today.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± No. 5 left immediately. Shock was written all over Shi Bao¡¯er¡¯s face and she asked, ¡°What... what... ce?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know when we get there.¡± She dared not let her imagination run wild. Rubbing her hands together, she said, ¡°Auntie, I¡¯ll definitely be obedient from now on. I really will.¡± An Xiaoning squatted down and stared at her solemnly. ¡°Do you remember what I said about it being difficult to regain a person¡¯s trust once you¡¯ve broken it? I won¡¯t believe you anymore, even if you tell me a million times that you¡¯ll be obedient. Let your actions do the talking.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er stood rooted to the ground in fear. By the time No. 5 and No. 8 had returned with their belongings, she was still standing at the same spot, not daring to move an inch at all. After An Xiaoning left, Shi Bao¡¯er grabbed No. 5¡¯s hand and asked, ¡°Uncle No. 5, where is Auntie taking me to?¡± No. 5 looked down and answered, ¡°I don¡¯t know. Follow me.¡± No. 5 pulled her out of the house and got inside the car. Shi Bao¡¯er grew increasingly worried and terrified at the thought of the possible ces that An Xiaoning might bring her to. If she were to send me to a lion¡¯s den, wouldn¡¯t I be dead meat? Shi Bao¡¯er could not help but tear up. ¡°Auntie...¡± An Xiaoning noticed that she was weeping from her reflection in the rear view mirror. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± she questioned. ¡°Will you spare me from punishment as long as I behave myself and stay away from trouble?¡± Shi Bao¡¯er asked. ¡°I want you to genuinely stop creating trouble, not just do it for the sake of escaping my punishment.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er bit her lip and expressed assent. She pulled over by the foot of the mountain, and the four of them alighted from the car, after which they began making their way up the stairs. An Xiaoning took the lead while the three of them followed closely behind her. They continued walking toward the entrance of a temple. Staring at the ce before her, An Xiaoning was overwhelmed with a sense of familiarity. It was a ce that she once called home for years, a ce that she would always hold close to her heart. It seemed she would never forget everything about it. An Xiaoning said to the people behind her, ¡°This is my childhood home. My mentor and I used to live here in the past. Let¡¯s go inside.¡± ¡°Missy, you¡¯re here. We¡¯ve already cleaned and tidied up the rooms,¡± said a servant belonging to the Gu family. ¡°Alright, thank you. You can take a short vacation now.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Everyone was dismissed, apart from the bodyguards who were watching the graves. An Xiaoning handed her car keys to No. 5 and gave him a few hundred-dor bills. ¡°You don¡¯t have to buy any food or beverages. There are plenty of those here. Buy me some items that can be used for offerings.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning headed to the rooms that they would be sleeping in. No. 5 and No. 8 would be having one room to themselves while she¡¯d be sharing the other one with Shi Bao¡¯er. Having been on duty for the whole ofst night, No. 8 dozed off right after cing their luggage in the room. An Xiaoning patted the empty space beside her and said to Shi Bao¡¯er, ¡°Come sit here.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er looked at her and walked toward the bed slowly. She then sat down and left her legs dangling in the air. ¡°Auntie, you said just now that this was the ce you grew up in. Well... how long did you live here for?¡± ¡°A very long time. I was abandoned by my foster parents at this temple when I was very young. I was even younger than you are now. My mentor took me under her wing and raised me to adulthood. I had no idea who my biological parents are when I was a child. I didn¡¯t need them by my side either. Don¡¯t you think that you¡¯re in a better plight now than I was back then? At least, your parents didn¡¯t abandon you even though they¡¯ve divorced each other. Bao¡¯er, you¡¯re far more fortunate than many other children,¡± she said, staring at Shi Bao¡¯er. ¡°Auntie, have you found your parents, then?¡± ¡°I have, but they¡¯re not together now.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er stared at her in astonishment and asked, ¡°Auntie, aren¡¯t you devastated?¡± ¡°Why must my parents stay together? If they¡¯re not happy with living together, isn¡¯t it better for them to separate? Look how blissful your mommy is now. I know you¡¯ve always wanted your parents to reconcile and that you¡¯re afraid that your stepmother will ill-treat you and cause your daddy to neglect you, but Bao¡¯er, it¡¯s impossible to change the decision of adults just by harming others. You won¡¯t be able to change their mindsets. So, you have to understand that you¡¯re their child, not their liability. Don¡¯t be a burden to your daddy and mommy.¡± Chapter 1248 - I Want to Make You Stay (126)

Chapter 1248: I Want to Make You Stay (126)

Listening to her words with an open heart, Shi Bao¡¯er teared up and said, ¡°Auntie, I constantly feel that I¡¯ll be redundant once Daddy and Mommy each have a family of their own.¡± An Xiaoning could not help but smile upon hearing that Shi Bao¡¯er had finally opened up and bared her heart and soul to her. She caressed Shi Bao¡¯er¡¯s head and said, ¡°That won¡¯t happen. Even if your daddy married another woman who treats you badly, you must understand that your mommy holds the rights to your custody now. You don¡¯t have to be bothered by your stepmother at all. On the bright side, you¡¯ll have two daddies and one mommy who¡¯ll dote on you, without a doubt. Besides, how are you so sure that your stepmother will ill-treat you? You haven¡¯t spent enough time with her yet to know her well enough. You were simply jumping to conclusions and letting your imagination run wild.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er cocked her head sideways to look at An Xiaoning, feeling as if she had just been enlightened. ¡°Auntie...¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I realize my mistake now. I was wrong to have set my stepmother on fire.¡± ¡°Good that you¡¯ve realized your mistakes. You¡¯ll be a good child so long as you¡¯re willing to repent.¡± An Xiaoning took out two packets of tidbits from her bag and handed them to her. ¡°You must have had lots of cravings when you were staying on the mountains these past few days. There you go.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er took it from her hands gleefully and began munching on the snacks. When No. 5 returned with the bag of offerings, An Xiaoning took it from him and walked to the grave behind the house. She got on her knees and took the items out from the ck stic bag before arranging them neatly on the ground. Despite being fully aware that her mentor had already gone to reincarnate and was no longer around, An Xiaoning could still feel her presence. She felt as if Nun Jingxin was just standing in front of her. It was simply human folly. One would often feel like their deceased kin was beside them, just because they believed so. ¡°Master, I¡¯vee home to see you. How are you and Grandpa doing? I miss you so much. I miss the days we used to spend together when I was a child. Although they were simple and tough, they were very fulfilling because you were beside me. I¡¯ll be staying here for a few days. Master, don¡¯t me me for disturbing you...¡± ¡ª¡ª Days had passed. Having drunk a daily dose of medicinal soup for several consecutive days, Mo Li began to feel nauseated at the sight of the medicine. However, she dared not stop taking them, and the effects of the medicine were starting to show. After going through a checkup at the hospital, she was told that her condition had improved. Without dy, she immediately told No. 8 to ask An Xiaoning for an amulet that would bless her with a child. No. 8 did as instructed and delivered the amulet to her before daybreak. He then burned the amulet and dissolved the ashes in water before feeding it to Mo Li. After breakfast, No. 8, Mo Li, and her parents headed to the temple together to offer their prayers to the deities. The four of them knelt down on the praying mats and began kowtowing earnestly while offering their prayers. Mo Li sincerely prayed that Heaven would bless her with a child, be it a boy or a girl. After offering some joss sticks and saying their prayers, Mo Li decided to stand up. A nun hurriedly stopped her and said, ¡°Miss, please don¡¯t get up just yet.¡± Mo Li got back on her knees. The nun then asked, ¡°Are you here to pray for a child?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Smiling, the nun answered, ¡°You¡¯re really lucky today, then. The Goddess of Mercy is here today, and she¡¯s decided to grant you a child on ount of how sincere you are, and also because she has taken pity on you for having a tough life. What are you waiting for? Kowtow 66 times to show your gratitude.¡± Beaming with joy, the family of four hurriedly began kowtowing incessantly, and they only stopped after the 66th kowtow. They felt a little giddy after kowtowing. Extremely agitated, Mo Li asked, ¡°Reverend, is what you said true?¡± ¡°I only ever speak the truth. From now on, don¡¯t take any more medicine. Just wait patiently for a child to appear in your life. Once your wishese true, don¡¯t forget toe back here to pay your respects.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, yes, I definitely will if I get blessed with a child. Thank you, thank you, Goddess of Mercy!¡± Mo Li eximed agitatedly with tears in her eyes. After leaving the temple, No. 8 bought some bottled mineral water for the three of them. Mrs. Mo said apprehensively, ¡°Was that nun telling the truth? Why does it seem so iffy to me...¡± ¡°Mother... how could you say such things?¡± Mo Li chided. ¡°No, I¡¯m not being superstitious, but I just find it a little too absurd. Besides, we had to pay some joss money. Did she deliberately say those things just to make us pay?¡± ¡°Mother, cut it out. We came to make our prayers, and since we had decided toe, we ought to be sincere and earnest.¡± Mrs. Mo decided to keep mum. They returned back to Sanqiao Estate. As soon as they closed the door, Mo Li grabbed No. 8¡¯s hand and started skipping merrily. Noticing how ted she was, No. 8 chuckled and asked, ¡°Are you really that happy?¡± ¡°Of course. I believe everything that that nun said. From today onwards, I¡¯ll stop taking the medicine and see if what she said is true,¡± said Mo Li, who sat down beside him. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it too.¡± ¡°By the way, when are you going to leave again?¡± ¡°Later.¡± No. 8 ced his hand on her shoulder and continued, ¡°When I¡¯m not home, don¡¯t go out at night.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± No. 8 stood up and headed to the kitchen to check the refrigerator. He then said to her, ¡°I¡¯m going to the supermarket to buy some groceries.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll apany you.¡± Mo Li frantically ran to the bedroom and returned with her wallet. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± The two of them made their way to the supermarket in the estate. Mo Li sat inside the shopping cart while No. 8 pushed her around the supermarket. After grabbing their daily necessities, they proceeded to buy some food and beverages to replenish the stock at home. No. 8 then left home and returned to Mount Heyuan. When he arrived, An Xiaoning happened to be cooking some vegetables No. 5 had plucked while Shi Bao¡¯er was fanning the mes. ¡°Sis, why haven¡¯t you guys had breakfast yet?¡± ¡°We woke upte.¡± Noticing how energetic he seemed, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Did you visit the temple?¡± ¡°Yes, we received some good news too. Right after we offered our prayers, a nun told us that the Goddess of Mercy had granted our wishes. She told us to wait patiently for a child to appear.¡± ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll give you a break after we leave this ce. Spend more time with Mo Li.¡± ¡°Thank you, Sis,¡± said No. 8, who was on cloud nine. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. It¡¯s hard on Mo Li too. You guys just got married recently. Don¡¯t neglect her because of work.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t dare to neglect her. She¡¯s very understanding toward me.¡± ¡°No matter how understanding she may be, which woman wouldn¡¯t want her man to apany her more often? I¡¯m not telling you to stay by her side all the time. I¡¯ll only be giving you a short break,¡± said An Xiaoning. She removed the lid of the pot, after which the thick fumes of steam wafted up into the air. She began scooping some rice out. An Xiaoning left after breakfast and returned to Wei Ni Estate to see that Zong Jingyi had already penned everything down like she had told him to. An Xiaoning perused the information on the paper to discover that he had recorded everything down in extreme detail, including the relevant locations and persons involved. An Xiaoning ced the document aside and said to him, ¡°I reckon you must have already devised a n in your head that will give you an advantage and pondered over it repeatedly. Why don¡¯t you just tell me what it is?¡± ¡°How did you know?¡± he asked in bafflement. ¡°I could sense it. Just tell me what your thoughts are.¡± Chapter 1249 - I Want to Make You Stay (127)

Chapter 1249: I Want to Make You Stay (127)

¡°I¡¯d like to settle this as soon as possible. Although I¡¯m not sure how quick I can be, I¡¯m still very eager because I pondered over this for the whole ofst night. I¡¯ve decided to cut the Gordian knot.¡± ¡°Continue speaking.¡± He told An Xiaoning about the n that he had devised. ¡°I¡¯ve decided to lure them out and trick them into revealing the truth about what happened back then. We¡¯ll then catch a turtle in a jar. So many years have passed and lots of evidence have been destroyed. This is the only strategy that¡¯ll save us time and allow us to have the upper hand.¡± An Xiaoning could tell how impatient he was. It seemed he no longer wanted to wait. She agreed, ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll go ahead with your n. We¡¯ll lure them and get the evidence. Who do you n to act on first?¡± ¡°My ex-girlfriend.¡± An Xiaoning looked up at him. Although she was unclear about what he was nning to do, she had a hunch that he definitely wouldn¡¯t spare his ex-girlfriend, who had been a spy sent to monitor him. Staring at him, she said, ¡°I have to make things clear to you beforehand. I know you must be fuming and bearing a ton of hatred towards her, but don¡¯t let your anger get the better of you and cause you to lose your rationality. If you act rashly, you¡¯ll never get to clear your name.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning picked up the document and nced at it again. ¡°Is your ex-girlfriend the daughter-inw of the Mu family now?¡± ¡°Yes, she¡¯s the one.¡± ¡°Are you going to show up in front of her personally?¡± ¡°How else am I supposed to lure her out, then?¡± An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°Do as you deem fit.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go out now, then.¡± ¡°Wait a minute...¡± An Xiaoning stood up and continued, ¡°I remember clearly that I got Shixin to prepare some clothes and shoes for you. Why are you still dressed in your military uniform?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll change into themter.¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t seen her in so many years. She¡¯s definitely going to get a great fright when you show up in front of her again. That¡¯s a good thing, actually. Change your clothes and get a haircut.¡± Zong Jingyi nodded and turned around to leave. ¡ª¡ª In the evening, a crisp, female voice filled the air in the living room of the Mu family home. ¡°Grandpa, didn¡¯t you say that if I insist on marrying Xing Wei, I wouldn¡¯t be given a single cent for my dowry? I don¡¯t need any dowry from the Mu family. Xing Wei and I have already settled on a wedding date. We¡¯re getting married next month.¡± As soon as Mu Wansheng said her piece, the elderly Mr. Mu swung his walking stick across her head, causing her to tremble from head to toe in excruciating pain. She tried to bear with it as much as she could. Staring at her grandfather, she said, ¡°I¡¯ve said everything that I needed to. It doesn¡¯t matter whether the Mu family attends my wedding or not. I¡¯m still going to carry on with my wedding regardless of your approval.¡± ¡°The Mu family doesn¡¯t need a traitor like you. If you insist on marrying that pauper, go ahead. From now onwards, you¡¯re no longer a member of the Mu family. We¡¯ll have nothing to do with you!¡± Old Mr. Mu barked in exasperation, after which he coughed violently for a long while. Mu Wansheng¡¯s mother hurriedly pleaded, ¡°Father, Wansheng is young and foolish. She must have been bewitched by that pauper. She¡¯ll definitely regret her decision in the future. We mustn¡¯t watch her dig her own grave and jump right into it.¡± Mu Wansheng¡¯s mother then pinched her arm forcefully. ¡°What are you waiting for? Hurry and apologize to your grandfather! You don¡¯t really want to be chased out of this family, do you?¡± Mu Wansheng remained still and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything wrong. Xing Wei treats me really well. There¡¯s no reason for me to leave him.¡± Mrs. Mu was at the end of her patience. She snapped, ¡°No reason? The fact that he¡¯s poor is the very reason you should leave him!¡± ¡°Mother, you¡¯re too mercenary. I don¡¯t care whether he¡¯s rich or poor. I¡¯m contented as long as he treats me well.¡± Not wishing to see her at all, Old Mr. Mu hollered, ¡°Let her get lost! Don¡¯t think of stepping foot into this house ever again! We can¡¯t depend on this wretchedss. We¡¯ll count on Pingyang from now on.¡± To Mrs. Mu¡¯s dismay, Mu Wansheng turned around to leave without uttering another word. Thetter was her only daughter and, thus, she definitely wouldn¡¯t let her leave the family so easily. Mrs. Mu rushed forward to grab Mu Wansheng¡¯s wrist and said to the elderly Mr. Mu, ¡°Father, simmer down. Forgive Wansheng for being insensible. It¡¯s my fault for failing to take her in hand and causing her to be so rebellious.¡± Mu Wansheng was again dragged out of the house by her mother. Once they were outside, Mrs. Mu instructed the bodyguards to lock her up and said, ¡°Beat the living daylights out of her and only stop when she begs for mercy.¡± ¡°Mother...¡± As soon as Mu Wansheng made a sound, she was picked up and brought away. Minutester, she was pinned onto the table with her wrists tied together, after which the bodyguards began hitting her with a rod. ¡°Ah!¡± Mu Wansheng shrieked in pain. She eximed, ¡°Mother, why can¡¯t you put yourself in my shoes?¡± Mrs. Mu rebuked, ¡°Put myself in your shoes? Have you ever put yourself in mine? You¡¯re my only daughter. If I had other children, I wouldn¡¯t be bothered even if you die outside. I signed you up for a blind date with Fan Shixin and he had even agreed to meet you. You were so close to getting him on the hook, and yet you had to ruin it by telling him that you already have a boyfriend. Great, your aunt¡¯s daughter, Wu Pingyang, has now gotten the chance to date and marry Fan Shixin. How did I even give birth to such a useless thing like you? Fine, since you¡¯re so dead against obeying us and since depriving you of your dowry and chasing you out of the family doesn¡¯t work, I shall break your legs. Let¡¯s see if that pauper will still want to marry you when you be crippled!¡± Mrs. Mu then said to the bodyguard, ¡°Beat her up with all your might. Don¡¯t show her any mercy.¡± Mu Wansheng¡¯s heart dropped, and she cringed in pain and fear. Her screams began to get louder and louder. In no time, everyone in the Mu family had heard about Mu Wansheng being reprimanded and beaten up upon the orders of her own mother. She instantly became theughingstock of the family. Mrs. Mu decided to be ruthless this time. She would get the bodyguards to stop once her daughter pleads for them to. However, to her astonishment, Mu Wansheng was as stubborn as a mule and she refused to beg for mercy even when she was knocked unconscious. Mu Wanshengy motionlessly on the ground with blood all over her legs. Noticing that she had already turned as pale as a sheet, the bodyguards stopped and asked, ¡°Second Madam, do we send Missy to the hospital immediately?¡± ¡°No, you guys may go out.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Mrs. Mu closed the door after the bodyguards left. As soon as she sat down, she heard a knock on the door again. ¡°I told you guys to leave, didn¡¯t you hear me?¡± The person ignored her and continued knocking. Frustrated beyond limits, Mrs. Mu immediately stood up and opened the doors, only to get a huge fright. Upon the sight of the man before her, she shrieked in terror and fell onto the ground as she cked out. Zong Jingyi did not expect for there to be zero surveince cameras in the Mu family home, which made it much easier for him to take action. With a menacing gaze, he red at the two women who had passed out. Chapter 1250 - I Want to Make You Stay (128)

Chapter 1250: I Want to Make You Stay (128)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He had already learned quite a bit about the Mu family and the current situation of his ex-girlfriend¡¯s life. I can¡¯t believe she¡¯d actually be so cruel to her own daughter. He picked Mu Wansheng up and brought her away from the Mu family home. However, he did not have a ce of his own and was currently staying at An Xiaoning¡¯s house. He could not bring Mu Wansheng back with him either. Thus, he decided to bring her to the old house where his family used to reside. He was born in a vige and came from a humble background, which was also the very reason why he was so vulnerable to the harm others had caused him. After he had met with the mishap, his father moved away with his sister and had never once returned to the old family home. He would not have thought ofing to this ce if it weren¡¯t because it was nighttime. He wished he could kill Mu Wansheng, at the thought of her being the only child of his ex-girlfriend. However, he decided to take her to the house after recalling An Xiaoning¡¯s words. The gate of his old house was locked tightly, and there were weeds all over the backyard of the abandoned house. He pried the lock open and entered, guiding himself using a torchlight. He then dropped Mu Wansheng onto the couch. As soon as she fell onto the couch, the thickyers of dust sprung up high into the air. He could not stay here any longer. Just as he was about to leave, Mu Wansheng¡¯s mobile phone began to ring. Zong Jingyi turned around and searched her for her mobile phone. He unlocked it to see that her wallpaper was a photo of her and another man behaving intimately, and the contact that was calling her was saved as ¡°My Dearest¡±¡ª the exact same way his ex-girlfriend used to address him. He kept his eyes fixed onto the screen with his temples throbbing. He smashed the mobile phone onto the ground and crushed it beneath his foot, causing the ringing to cease abruptly. Zong Jingyi then stuffed the mobile phone into his pocket and changed his mind. He picked Mu Wansheng up again and strode out of the house. He zoomed away in his car and sped toward a remote hill where there was not a single soul in sight. He then dragged her out of the car and dumped her into the woods, not forgetting to leave a note in her pocket before leaving. Back in Wei Ni Estate, Fan Shixin was monitoring Zong Jingyi¡¯s whereabouts using the GPS tracking system. He said to An Xiaoning, ¡°Young Madam, what is that Zong Jingyi doing in such a dpidated ce? Did he kill someone and decided to dump the corpse there?¡± ¡°No idea. Shixin, you and Xiao Bai go to this locationter to see if there¡¯s anything unusual.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± .... When Mu Wansheng regained her consciousness, she was greeted with pitch darkness before her eyes. She was lying motionlessly on the ground with tears streaming down her face incessantly. She wanted to move but could not gather the energy to do so. When a bird started chirping all of a sudden, she got a huge fright and curled up into a ball. The first thought that came to her mind was, Did my family dump me in this remote jungle? She subconsciously moved her hand inside her pocket and fumbled about for her mobile phone. She heaved a sigh of relief the moment she felt it. However, her relief was short-lived, and she tensed up again immediately the moment she saw that her mobile phone had been shattered. There was no way she could call for help at all. Not a single chance. Her immense fear and desire to livepelled her to bear with the pain and continue crawling away. However, there was barely enough space for her to move about, and she felt as if she had been drowned in the vast ocean, struggling to swim to the surface of the water but to no avail. Unable to contain her agony at the thought of her mother¡¯s actions, Mu Wansheng burst into tears. Why is it so difficult for me to pursue my own happiness!?! Just as she was weeping and bawling incessantly, a sudden light shone in her direction. Mu Wansheng squinted to see that a car was being driven toward her. Her joy was soon reced by fear and panic. It must be those people who had dumped me here! She struggled to roll toward the side. After trying to do so for a while, she noticed that the people were alighting from the car. She immediately continued rolling. To her astonishment, she rolled downwards rapidly all of a sudden. ¡°Ah!!!¡± After screaming loudly at the top of her lungs, Mu Wansheng fell onto the ground with a loud thud. She shivered and twitched in unbearable pain while sinking her nails into the soil. The pain worsened tremendously, and Mu Wansheng felt that she was about to die. All her hopes were dashed, and she remained lying on the ground, unable to move an inch at all. A torch was being shone on her, and a familiar-sounding voice asked, ¡°Are you alright?¡± Mu Wansheng looked up at him, trying to recall where she had heard his voice before. However, she could barely catch a glimpse and she had no idea if she should speak up. She was afraid that the man was the perpetrator who had dumped her here. Who else would be here at such ate hour? It was more likely that it¡¯d be a thug. Hence, Mu Wansheng remained silent. However, Fan Shixin did not leave just because she chose to keep quiet, especially since his agenda was to check for any victims who might have been harmed by Zong Jingyi. The shriek that he had heard just now further confirmed his guess. He had to go down to take a look, regardless of whether she was dead or alive. However, the hill was too steep. ¡°Chief, do we go down?¡± Xiao Bai asked. ¡°Yes. Xiao Bai, go back to the car to get the rope.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Xiao Bai turned around and began sprinting toward the car. Soon, he returned with the rope. Xiao Bai stood on top of the hill with one hand on the rope while Fan Shixin grabbed onto the rest of the rope and began making his descent down the hill. When he finally caught sight of what was below the hill, Fan Shixin shone his torchlight at Mu Wansheng and yelled, ¡°Xiao Bai, there¡¯s a woman here!¡± ¡°Is she dead?¡± ¡°No idea, I¡¯ll go down to take a look.¡± Mu Wansheng moved her head toward the soil and kept her eyes tightly shut while ying dead. She could sense that he was approaching from above. Fan Shixin squatted down beside her and swallowed his saliva. He then moved her head over, only to get a great shock the moment he saw her face. He yelled at Xiao Bai, ¡°It¡¯s Mu Wansheng!¡± ¡°Ah, is she dead, then?¡± Xiao Bai asked. Just as Fan Shixin was about to ce a finger below Mu Wansheng¡¯s nose, she opened her eyes and stared at him tearfully. ¡°Ms. Mu... are you alright?¡± ¡°Chief... Fan?¡± asked Mu Wansheng, who did not expect to see him at all. No one would be able to understand how she felt at this very moment. She felt as if she had just received a verdict iming that her life would be spared while being strapped to a guillotine. It was an unforgettable feeling. ¡°It¡¯s me. What are you doing here?¡± Fan Shixin flipped her over and ced his arm below her head in a bid to pick her up. However, she winced in pain and said, ¡°It hurts... I can¡¯t sit up...¡± Fan Shixin immediately paused his actions and yelled at Xiao Bai, ¡°She¡¯s still alive. Xiao Bai, go back immediately and bring two more bodyguards and a foldable stretcher here!¡± Chapter 1251 - I Want to Make You Stay (129)

Chapter 1251: I Want to Make You Stay (129)

¡°Alright,¡± Xiao Bai assented and scurried away. ¡°Chief Fan, why are you here?¡± Fan Shixin answered, ¡°Umm... I was here to handle something. What about you? How did you... who dumped... you here?¡±¡® ¡°My family.¡± ¡°Huh? Your family?¡± Mu Wansheng had broken out into a cold sweat because of the excruciating pain. ¡°Yeah. I don¡¯t know if my mother had broken my legs or what, but I can¡¯t feel them at all. I passed out and woke up here.¡± Fan Shixin immediately figured out what had happened. Yet, he could not tell her. ¡°Why did your mother do that to you?¡± ¡°Because I refused to obey her,¡± she answered. Instead of probing further, Fan Shixin answered, ¡°My subordinates will being soon. Bear with it for a little while.¡± ¡°Yeah. Well... I¡¯m really sorry about the matchmaking session. I didn¡¯t mean to y a prank on you,¡± said Mu Wansheng, who still felt embarrassed about the blind date that they had. ¡°You¡¯ve already apologized and exined things to me that time. I didn¡¯t take it to heart.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Fan Shixin rested her head on hisp and half-knelt onto the ground so as to ease himself into afortable position. He then leaned forward to move closer toward her. Mu Wansheng could smell the unique masculine scent on him. When they were mere inches apart, she bit her lip and asked, ¡°Once your people are here, could you not send me back to the Mu family home? Can you send me to the hospital instead?¡± Appalled by her question, Fan Shixin answered, ¡°Of course we¡¯ll have to send you to the hospital first. Why would we send you back home? You¡¯re severely injured. We can¡¯t afford to dy your treatment.¡± ¡°Could I ask something of you, Chief Fan?¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°Could you hide this from my family? Please,¡± she said with tears in her eyes. Fan Shixin stared at her and agreed with a nod, ¡°Alright.¡± Xiao Bai arrived half an hourter together with Xiao Huang and Xiao Lu. They put Mu Wansheng onto the stretcher and carried her painstakingly onto the road. Xiao Bai opened the car door while Fan Shixin carried Mu Wansheng into the backseat carefully before closing the door. Everyone hurriedly got inside the car. Xiao Huang asked, ¡°Chief, which hospital should we go to?¡± ¡°The First People¡¯s Hospital. Has Young Madam heard about it yet?¡± Fan Shixin asked. ¡°Yes. I happened to bump into Young Madam at home and she asked me about it so I answered her truthfully,¡± said Xiao Bai. ¡°Okay,¡± said Fan Shixin. Mu Wansheng was lying in his embrace. She was in so much pain that she almost passed out again. The car zoomed along the streets, and they arrived at the hospital in no time. Fan Shixin carried her to the emergency room. As soon as he lowered her onto the bed, Mu Wansheng grabbed his shirt tightly and murmured, ¡°Don¡¯t go, wait for me toe out, I have something to say to you...¡± He expressed assent and watched her get wheeled into the operating theater. He could have left right after she was sent to the operating theater. However, he now had to wait for her to be wheeled out before he could leave, just like she had requested. Besides, she even forbade me from informing her family. Who¡¯s supposed to take care of her while she¡¯s hospitalized, then? Oh, right, her boyfriend. Fan Shixin sat on one of the chairs in the corridor and waited quietly for the operation to be over. More than four hourster, the operation finally ended. Mu Wansheng was then wheeled into the ward. Noticing how pale she was, Fan Shixin said, ¡°Get some sleep while the effects of the anesthetic are still potent. What¡¯s your boyfriend¡¯s mobile number? I¡¯ll call him and get him toe here to take care of you.¡± She shook her head and said, ¡°No... thank you for helping me pay for the medical bills, I¡¯ll return the money to you in the future. We¡¯ve only met twice and you¡¯re doing me such a huge favor. You¡¯re really a kind man. Thank you.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t let me call your family or your boyfriend, you...¡± said Fan Shixin, who felt that there really had to be someone to take care of her since she was immobile. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. It¡¯s been hard on you tonight. Go back and get some rest,¡± she answered, hanging her head low. ¡°I¡¯lle again in the morning.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, he left the ward. For some reason, Mu Wansheng felt that she could rely on him even though he was almost a stranger. When the surgeon entered, Mu Wansheng asked, ¡°Doctor, how much does my surgery cost?¡± ¡°It costs more than 80 thousand dors. The surgery was split into two segments. One was for reconnecting the bones in both your legs and the other was for repairing the fracture in your rib.¡± Turns out I had broken my rib when I rolled down the hill. No wonder my upper body hurts so much. She knew that her surgery would definitely be expensive, considering how heavily injured she was. However, she did not expect it to cost that much. The total bill would total up to 100 thousand dors, including the costs for the post-surgery treatment. It was a massive sum for her. The only reason she did not wish to inform her boyfriend about it was that she did not want to add on to his burden. He could only afford the down payment of their new home after borrowing money from his family members, and he had barely any money left. She knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to afford her hospital bills and would instead feel even more emotionally burdened. She did not expect that Fan Shixin would pay such an expensive bill for her. A sudden warmth filled Mu Wansheng¡¯s heart. She was determined to work hard and return the money to him once she¡¯s fully recovered. ¡°¡®Ms. Mu, these are your clothes,¡± the nurse said while bringing her clothes to her, which had been stored in a stic bag. ¡°Leave them on the table.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After the nurse left, Mu Wansheng grabbed the bag of clothes and took out her mobile phone to check for her SIM card. Once she made sure that it was still there, she ced her mobile phone back inside the bag, only to discover that there was a piece of paper there too. Mu Wansheng took out the piece of paper to see that there was a message written on it: I didn¡¯t want to dump you here, but if you have to me someone, me it on your mother. If you manage to survive, ry my message to her. Tell her that there¡¯s no way she can escape the responsibility for my death, which took ce sixteen years ago. Tell her not to get too caught up with livingfortably. I¡¯m still alive. She read through the message over and over again before tearing it into pieces and dumping the pieces onto the ground with a look of mncholy in her eyes. .... It only dawned on Fan Shixin that he should have made her sign an IOU after he left the hospital. After all, she was just a stranger. He only knew her name and they weren¡¯t friends. Besides, it was not a small sum of money, and he should have made her sign an IOU to ensure that he would be getting his money back. But she said that she would return it to me in the future. She doesn¡¯t seem like the type to go back on her word. He decided to stop brooding over it. It was already the wee hours of the night. To his surprise, An Xiaoning was not asleep yet and was instead waiting for him. ¡°Young Madam, why aren¡¯t you asleep yet?¡± ¡°What do you think?¡± An Xiaoning pointed at the living room and said, ¡°Let¡¯s talk over there.¡± He followed her. An Xiaoning looked at him and asked, ¡°How¡¯s her injury?¡± Chapter 1252 - I Want to Make You Stay (130)

Chapter 1252: I Want to Make You Stay (130)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°They¡¯re very severe. She had broken her legs and her ribs. However, she¡¯s already undergone an operation and she¡¯s resting in her ward now. Her injuries weren¡¯t caused by Zong Jingyi, though. Her mother was the one who had had her beaten up. I reckon he must have just abducted her and dumped her there.¡± An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Have you informed the Mu family yet?¡± ¡°No, she begged me not to. She didn¡¯t let me call her boyfriend either.¡± ¡°So... did you pay for her medical bills?¡± ¡°Yes, I paid using my card.¡± An Xiaoning smiled and said teasingly, ¡°Ah, I really didn¡¯t know that our Shixin is so kindhearted.¡± Fan Shixin blushed and said, ¡°What else could I have done? I can¡¯t possibly leave her in the lurch. It¡¯s a life we¡¯re talking about. Also, she said that she¡¯ll return the money to me.¡± ¡°What if she doesn¡¯t?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think she¡¯s such a person. Even if she really doesn¡¯t pay me back, I¡¯ll just take it that I bought a lesson with my money. Money is only superficial anyway. I can just earn it again.¡± An Xiaoning was heartened to hear how positive he was. ¡°She doesn¡¯t know that Zong Jingyi was the one who had dumped her there, does she?¡± ¡°Seems like she doesn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Okay. Her mother was the one who had broken her legs? How could she do that to her own daughter? Since she doesn¡¯t want her family or boyfriend to know about her hospitalization, look after her for the next few days. It¡¯s not appropriate to just dump her in the hospital either.¡± ¡°I thought so too.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been exhausted after such a long day. I shall not disturb you any further. Hurry and go get some rest. ¡°Okay, goodnight, Young Madam.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡ª¡ª News of Mu Wansheng going missing began to spread amongst the Mu family members. Mrs. Mu woke up to discover that her daughter had gone missing. Thinking that Mu Wansheng had fled on her own, she thought to herself, She definitely wasn¡¯t beaten hard enough. When she finally caught sight of Zong Jingyi, she thought that her eyes were ying tricks on her. After all, she frequently had nightmares about Zong Jingyi. She initially thought that Mu Wansheng had gone to look for her boyfriend. Thus, she sent her bodyguards to look into the matter, only to hear that her boyfriend could not contact her at all since the night before. Mrs. Mu did not think much of it for she simply thought that her daughter had gone into hiding. However, Mu Wansheng¡¯s boyfriend, Xing Wei, was extremely worried about his girlfriend, whom he could not contact. He headed to the possible ces where Mu Wansheng could be bright and early in the morning. He even tried to look for her at her friends¡¯ homes, but his efforts were futile. Atst, he had no choice but to call the police. Shortly after, he received a notice from the police. ¡°We¡¯ve found your girlfriend, but she told us that she can¡¯t see you at the moment. She¡¯lle to meet you once she¡¯s recovered, and she wants me to tell you not to look her up.¡± Greatly taken aback by the policeman¡¯s words, he had no choice but to head home. He continuously tried to call his girlfriend, only to hear the automated robot voice that kept telling him that she could not be reached at the moment. While he was fretting over theck ofmunication, Mu Wansheng was in great pain and agony at the hospital. Mu Wansheng began shrieking hysterically due to the unbearable pain in her legs that consumed her once the anesthetic had worn off. That was not all. She could relieve nature¡¯s calls with ease since she had a urinal tube attached to her. However, she could not manage to do a number two and had to call for the nurse¡¯s help. She could not hold it in for long either. Thus, she settled it right on the spot in bed. One can only imagine how terrible that felt. No one showed up even after her voice had turned hoarse from all the yelling. Mu Wansheng could barely move an inch, and she was both physically and emotionally traumatized. She even felt like she would be better off dead. Fan Shixin heard her hoarse voice when he arrived in the morning. He immediately rushed inside. The moment he opened the door, the unbearable stench attacked his senses and he instantly knew what had happened. Without hesitation, he ced the container of food onto the table and apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I should have sent more nurses herest night. I thought that the nurses would do their rounds routinely, I didn¡¯t expect...¡± Feeling extremely awkward and embarrassed, Mu Wansheng said, ¡°You¡¯re not to me. I tried to call for help several times but no one appeared, I feel...¡± Tears streamed down her face like a broken tap. She continued, ¡°I just feel so ashamed and embarrassed...¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing to be ashamed of. Give me a moment.¡± He exited and asked the nurse for a clean set of hospital attire and bought lots of tissue paper as well. He instructed the nurse to clean up after her. Despite being extremely disgruntled and unwilling to do it, the two nurses had no choice but to proceed reluctantly. Fan Shixin used the time in between to buy a new mobile phone from a mall next to the hospital. By the time he returned to the hospital, the nurses had already left and the room was filled with the fragrance of air freshener. The windows were wide open too. He opened the box and took out the pink mobile phone inside. ¡°I bought you a new mobile phone and a SIM card. Call me if there¡¯s anything you need when I¡¯m not around. I¡¯ll give you my numberter.¡± ¡°I have a SIM card...¡± said Mu Wansheng, who was surprised by how meticulous he was. ¡°Where is it? I¡¯ll ce it inside together with the new SIM card. This is a dual-core mobile phone.¡± ¡°It¡¯s in the pocket of my clothing,¡± she said, pointing at the bag on the table. Fan Shixin took out the SIM card from her old mobile phone and ced it into the new one. Noticing that the battery percentage was at half, he input his mobile number and plugged the mobile phone to the charger. He then ced it on the table. ¡°I¡¯ll arrange for a nurse toe and look after youter,¡± Fan Shixin said while propping her up against the bed, after which he removed the lid of the container of food. ¡°Okay... Chief Fan, I really don¡¯t know what I should say. A simple ¡®thank you¡¯ is not enough to express my gratitude toward you.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t do this because I wanted you to thank me. Don¡¯t dwell on it. C¡¯mon, have some food.¡± ¡ª¡ª Three dayster... Mrs. Mu was in the midst of a gathering with her friends when she received a letter delivered by a courier. She didn¡¯t think much of it at first. However, she turned pale the instant she opened it and read its contents. After the gathering ended, she freshened up, grabbed her purse, and headed to a tea house nearby. Mrs. Mu gasped in shock the moment she opened the door. She only realized that she wasn¡¯t just hallucinating that night when she saw the man before her. ¡°You...¡± ¡°Have a seat.¡± Mrs. Mu closed the door. For some reason, she felt like Zong Jingyi appeared exactly the same as he did sixteen years ago. He didn¡¯t seem to have aged a day at all, though she wasn¡¯t sure if her eyes were just ying tricks on her because of the lighting. Why? No matter how much effort I put into my skincare routine, time still leaves its trace on my skin. Why does he... After taking a seat opposite him, she finally asked, ¡°Are you... human or a ghost?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you see clearly who I am? Can¡¯t you see that I¡¯m still alive?¡± A lump formed in Mrs. Mu¡¯s throat, and she questioned agitatedly, ¡°Why are you still alive? How can you still be alive!?! Weren¡¯t you already executed back then!?!¡± ¡°Seems like you¡¯re really hoping for me to be dead. However, you¡¯re destined to be disappointed. Do you think I¡¯ll take what happened back then lying down?¡± Chapter 1253 - I Want to Make You Stay (131)

Chapter 1253: I Want to Make You Stay (131)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°So what if you won¡¯t? Do you think that I can¡¯t make you be an internationally-wanted criminal just by making a report to the higher-ups right now? It¡¯ll be difficult for you to even survive, let alone take revenge. I¡¯m not undermining or belittling you, but I suggest you wake up from your idea. We¡¯re no longer who we were sixteen years ago. Are you still living in that time?¡± Zong Jingyi red at her and gibed, ¡°Do you really think I¡¯lle and look you up unprepared?¡± ¡°Who would bother helping you? With that pathetic family background of yours, you can¡¯t possibly have any esteemed family members who are politicians, can you?¡± said Mrs. Mu, who did not believe him at all. ¡°An Xiaoning.¡± Mrs. Mu guffawed and sneered, ¡°Who? An Xiaoning? Do you really think she¡¯ll help you? On what grounds would she do that? Can you even benefit her in any way?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t bring about any benefits to her because I have nothing to my name now. All I have left is my life. I¡¯ve already sold my life to her.¡± Mrs. Mu retorted vehemently, ¡°As if I¡¯d believe you. An Xiaoning has everything she needs, why would she want your life? Your life is worth nothing!¡± As soon as she finished speaking, he mmed the table and sprung up from his seat. Mrs. Mu cringed in shock and asked, ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± ¡°Would you like to verify if I¡¯m speaking the truth?¡± ¡°S... sure.¡± He immediately called An Xiaoning and put her on speaker. Mrs. Mu was frightened out of her senses the moment she heard An Xiaoning admit that Zong Jingyi belonged to her. As soon as the call ended, Zong Jingyi said, ¡°So, if you want to keep your life, you¡¯d better tell me everything you know about that incident. I want nothing but the truth. Otherwise, I can¡¯t guarantee that you¡¯ll live to see tomorrow.¡± Mrs. Mu stared at him and agreed reluctantly, ¡°Okay...¡± ¡ª¡ª Fang En finally returned to work. Although she had to cut back on filming because of her wound that had yet to healpletely, Director Gao was more than happy to have her back. While Fang En was busy filming her scenes, Yu Caiwei strolled toward Xiao Chenyang casually and remarked, ¡°Why do I have a hunch that there¡¯s something wrong with you?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with me?¡± Xiao Chenyang retorted, keeping his eyes fixed on Fang En instead of looking at Yu Caiwei. ¡°It¡¯s too obvious. Everyone in the production unit is aware that you¡¯re fond of Fang En. Look how brazen you are with admiring her. Even the blind can see that you only have eyes for her.¡± ¡°My eyes belong to me. It¡¯s up to me to decide who I want to look at. Besides, who I fancy is my business. No one is to interfere or poke their nose in.¡± ¡°Does that mean you¡¯ve admitted to having feelings for her? ¡± Xiao Chenyang stared at her and quipped, ¡°How does that concern you?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t... but do you really think it¡¯s appropriate to harbor such feelings for someone else¡¯s girlfriend?¡± ¡°I know better than you whether or not she¡¯s someone else¡¯s girlfriend.¡± Yu Caiwei squinted and asked, ¡°What... do you mean?¡± ¡°It¡¯s none of your business. Stop being such a gossipmonger. Mind your own business.¡± ¡°Why do I feel like... you meant something more?¡± Xiao Chenyang looked up and chided, ¡°Can you shut up?¡± Yu Caiwei retorted with a wry smile, ¡°Why so serious? I was just trying to have a chat with you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t wish to chat with you or listen to what you have to say, so you may leave now.¡± After having her ego bruised, Yu Caiwei stormed off in a huff without uttering another word, despite feeling extremely peeved. Fang En scurried toward him after filming her scenes. She nced at Yu Caiwei and asked him softly, ¡°What did she say to you?¡± ¡°Nothing much.¡± ¡°Are you sure? I saw her mouth moving continuously just now. Just what did she say to you?¡± she probed. Noticing how curious she was, Xiao Chenyang chuckled and said, ¡°You really want to know?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Kiss me.¡± ¡°Right here? There are people everywhere,¡± said Fang En, who felt like he was putting her in a spot on purpose. ¡°That¡¯s exactly why I want you to kiss me.¡± Xiao Chenyang added softly, ¡°That¡¯s what makes it... thrilling. Am I right?¡± Fang En teased coquettishly, ¡°You¡¯re so naughty.¡± Xiao Chenyang stared at her intently and said, ¡°Do you dare to kiss me...? It doesn¡¯t have to be on the lips. You can kiss my face too, or my forehead, my ears and my hands...¡± Fang En held his gaze while her heart beat rapidly. She scanned her surroundings to see that there were lots of crew members and fellow colleagues around. He must think that I don¡¯t have the guts to do it, huh? Hmph. Fang En cleared her throat and said loudly, ¡°I have something private that I¡¯ll need you to help me settle.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± She bent forward and inched closer toward his ear. She then covered it with her hand as if she were whispering to him, after which she nted a kiss on his earlobe. She then stood up calmly and looked around again to check if anyone had been looking. To her relief, no one was staring at her. She looked at him with a smile and asked, ¡°How was it?¡± ¡°Marvelous,¡± he answered, sticking his thumb up. ¡°So, can you tell me now?¡± Fang En asked with a smug smirk hanging from her lips. ¡°We¡¯ll talk in the nanny van.¡± He then chucked his hands inside the pockets of his windbreaker and took the lead. He had bought the windbreaker during a shopping trip with Fang En. She thought that it suited him very well and, hence, he bought it straight away. Fang En walked behind him and admired his suave figure in awe, feeling overjoyed. They got inside the nanny van one after another. She closed the door and said, ¡°Go ahead and tell me.¡± He gave her a summary of everything that Yu Caiwei had said. ¡°She said that she could tell that I¡¯m fond of you and that I had indirectly admitted to it since I didn¡¯t deny it. She also said that it was inappropriate of me to be harboring designs on someone else¡¯s girlfriend.¡± ¡°How... did you answer her, then?¡± ¡°I said that I know clearly whether or not you¡¯re someone else¡¯s girlfriend.¡± Fang En chided, ¡°How could you say that? Forget it, just don¡¯t say such things again. Once the television series ends, I¡¯ll announce it openly. Before that, you must bear with it. You hear?¡± ¡°Okay...¡± He subconsciously ced his hand on her thigh and said, ¡°I can¡¯t bear with my urges right now. What do I do?¡± ¡°You must force yourself to bear with it even if you can¡¯t. I still have to get back to filming in ten minutes.¡± Just as she was about to alight, he pulled her toward him and said, ¡°Ten minutes is better than nothing.¡± COMMENT Fang En wished she could just beat him to death. ¡°Ten minutes is barely enough for forey. No, I have to alight now.¡± Although the windows of the nanny van were tinted, he decided to draw the curtains nheless. He kissed Fang En¡¯s lips deeply and tried to unzip her shirt, only to be stopped by her. She moved away from him and chided, ¡°I told you we don¡¯t have enough time.¡± ¡°Trust me when I say that it¡¯s enough.¡± ¡°You...¡± As soon as she spoke, he moved his tongue into her mouth forcefully, causing her to quiver in pleasure. Chapter 1254 - I Want to Make You Stay (132)

Chapter 1254: I Want to Make You Stay (132)

Just as things were getting hot and steamy, Xiao Yue scurried toward the nanny van in a bid to open the door. Upon realizing that the doors were locked, she knocked on the window and said, ¡°Sis, hurry, it¡¯s time for you to be on set.¡± ¡°Okay... got it... I¡¯ll be on my way.¡± ¡°Hurry up, they¡¯re all waiting for you,¡± said Xiao Yue, who was waiting outside the nanny van. ¡°Alright...¡± Fang En answered softly. She then whispered to Xiao Chenyang, who was mounting her, ¡°Hurry up, quick.¡± While the two of them were deeply enthralled by each other, Xiao Yue was getting impatient outside the van. Seemingly having guessed what was going on inside the car, she had no choice but to wait. Fang En finally alighted from the van twenty minutester. Noticing how flushed and radiant she was, Xiao Yue said, ¡°Sis, hurry up, the director is probably losing her patience.¡± ¡°Yes, let¡¯s go.¡± Xiao Chenyang leaned back against the seat, basking in his post-coital pleasure. He watched them leave and let out a sigh of satisfaction. When Fang En and Xiao Yue arrived, the disgruntled Yu Caiwei said to Director Gao, ¡°She¡¯ste for almost an hour. Does she think she¡¯s some big shot? Can we even still continue filming?¡± ¡°Not so loud. Mind you, she¡¯s injured.¡± Fang En stepped forward and apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry to have made you guys wait for me, Sister Gao.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. Can we begin now?¡± ¡°Yes, yes,¡± Fang En answered with a smile, beaming with joy. It just so happened that she had to film a romantic scene with Yan Ge today that was preceded by a scene where she argued with Yu Caiwei. Filming proceeded smoothly, and there were no bad takes at all. Although Yan Ge could notice the bliss and joy in her eyes when filming the scene with her, he knew that she must have been thinking about someone else while staring at him. It made him terribly upset. Whenever he broke up with his ex-girlfriends in the past, he would only feel sad at the beginning, and his misery would gradually fade into nothing. In some cases, he would also feel nothing, for he had already lost feelings for them before the breakup. Yet, for the first time, he felt overwhelmed with agony that had not faded a single bit ever since Fang En broke up with him. Instead, it worsened with time and he missed her badly. All he could think about was her. In fact, he was detesting himself for feeling that way, because he knew clearly that he and Fang En had already begun drifting further and further apart from the moment he found out about her rtionship with Xiao Chenyang. Yan Ge had always been arrogant and held his pride high. He would never allow himself to act rashly ormit any childish acts. Needless to say, she would definitely have already gotten intimate with Xiao Chenyang. Given how much a woman¡¯s chastity mattered to him, how could he possibly get back together with her? However, his heart often got the better of his rationality. His rationality told her that he can¡¯t get back together with her, but his heart constantly told him that he could just lower his pride for the sake of being with the person he loved. Hence, he resented himself for being irrational. ¡°Will you be freeter?¡± Yan Ge asked. Fang En rejected him immediately, ¡°I¡¯m going for lunch now, so no, I won¡¯t be free.¡± She then left right away, not giving him the chance to answer her at all. ¡ª¡ª Before Zong Jingyi left, he asked Mrs. Mu, ¡°Didn¡¯t your daughter ry my words to you?¡± ¡°Wansheng? I didn¡¯t see her.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t? You mean, you haven¡¯t met her ever since you beat her up?¡± he asked. ¡°Yeah, how did you know...¡± ¡°I was the one who had abducted her and dumped her on a hill. Did she die there?¡± A sullen expression formed on Mrs. Mu¡¯s face immediately, and she asked frantically, ¡°You... you dumped her on a hill? Which hill? Which hill was it!?!¡± Zong Jingyi sneered, ¡°Are you worried sick? You can drop the pretense and save the hypocrisy. You beat the living daylights out of your daughter and probably broke her legs. You were so cruel with her. Wouldn¡¯t you be happier if she was dead?¡± ¡°I¡¯m asking you, where did you dump her?¡± Zong Jingyi guffawed at the sight of tears welling up in her eyes. He remarked sarcastically, ¡°You¡¯ve got such great acting chops. It¡¯s a shame you didn¡¯t join the showbiz industry. I dumped her...¡± He proceeded to tell her the exact address. Mrs. Mu grabbed her purse and bolted out of the door. She then zoomed inside her car and frantically rushed to the destination. She constantly prayed in her heart, Please don¡¯t let me see her corpse. Please don¡¯t let her be dead, please don¡¯t! Just like she had prayed for, she did not find Mu Wansheng at the site. Mrs. Mu felt as if a boulder had been lifted off her chest. Does this mean that she had been rescued? But who would pass by such a remote ce? Surely she can¡¯t have been devoured by wild dogs or something? I doubt it. If that was the case, there would definitely be traces. She repeatedly tried tofort and reassure herself that everything was fine. As soon as she returned home, she hurriedly told Old Mr. Mu about the situation. ¡°Regardless of whether she had been rescued or gone into hiding, I won¡¯t send anyone to look for her.¡± Dumbfounded, Mrs. Mu said bluntly, ¡°But she¡¯s your daughter too, are you really going to give up on her?¡± She was not afraid to say it out openly because there was no one else in the room. Glowering at her, Old Mr. Mu snapped, ¡°Shut up! What nonsense are you spouting!?! She¡¯s your daughter and my granddaughter. Don¡¯t get that mixed up! I don¡¯t want to hear such things from you again. I¡¯m not giving her up, she¡¯s just too willful and insensible. She was the one who gave up on the Mu family. She¡¯s not fit to be a member of the Mu family. I no longer have a granddaughter like her. She has nothing to do with us from now on!¡± Mrs. Mu took a deep breath and said, ¡°I¡¯m upset at her for being so disobedient too. However, she¡¯s still my daughter at the end of the day. Father, just send some people to look for her in all the hospitals. She¡¯s injured and penniless. I don¡¯t know where she had gone to either. She¡¯s my only daughter, you can¡¯t leave her in the lurch.¡± ¡°I told you, I¡¯m not going to look for her. Are you deaf?¡± Mrs. Mu clenched her fist and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go look for her on my own, then.¡± ¡°Suit yourself. You gave birth to such a useless thing. She¡¯s nowhereparable to Pingyang! I wonder who she takes after. What a dimwit!¡± Mrs. Mu stormed off angrily upon hearing his words. She returned to her bedroom and fumbled around for her bank card, which she then ced inside her bag. She put on a pair of ts and left the Mu family home. She headed to a few hospitals nearby before going to the First People¡¯s Hospital. She asked the front desk if there was a patient named Mu Wansheng. However, she was told that Mu Wansheng had not been admitted to this hospital. Fan Shixin instructed the hospital staff to keep it a secret, so as to protect Mu Wansheng and himself from Zong Jingyi. Hence, Mrs. Mu could not find her at all. Pangs of panic engulfed her. Upon hearing that Mrs. Mu had visited the hospital, Fan Shixin informed Mu Wansheng about it when he arrived in the evening. ¡°She... came to look for me? Is she here to see whether or not I¡¯m dead yet?¡± Mu Wansheng quipped with a lopsided smile. ¡°She couldn¡¯t find you. There¡¯s something I must tell you. I hope you¡¯ll adhere to my instructions,¡± Fan Shixin said while staring at her earnestly. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°No matter who you see in the future, don¡¯t tell them that I was the one who had saved you.¡± Extremely puzzled, she gave his words some thought and asked, ¡°Are you worried that Pingyang would get upset?¡± Chapter 1255 - I Want to Make You Stay (133)

Chapter 1255: I Want to Make You Stay (133)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°No, it¡¯s because of other reasons.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do as you say and keep my lips sealed.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Mu Wansheng answered with a nod, ¡°Rest assured.¡± ¡°Have you been refraining from contacting your boyfriend?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Contact him so that he can stop worrying. Put yourself in his shoes. If I were him, I¡¯d be very worried if my girlfriend goes missing or stops contacting me all of a sudden.¡± She shook her head and said, ¡°No, I¡¯m afraid that I¡¯ll be too soft-hearted and tell him that I¡¯m here. I¡¯ll go see him once I¡¯m fully recovered.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you want to let him know that you¡¯re injured and let hime here to take care of you? Isn¡¯t he your boyfriend?¡± After a moment of silence, she exined, ¡°His family is not well to do and he had to borrow money from lots of people to pay for the down payment of his house. He thought that life would be more stable once he has a ce of his own. Actually, we were also hoping that my family would approve of our rtionship after he finally owns a house. However, being able to afford the down payment is barely enough for my family. They still look down on him and despise him all the same. They¡¯ll never see him in a different light even if he can afford to pay the full sum in one go. Besides, my medical bills cost a bomb. I don¡¯t want him to feel burdened.¡± Fan Shixin did not expect that that would be her reason. He recalled shortlisting her as a candidate without hesitation, back when he was paging for blind dates. Seems like I¡¯ve got a decent taste in women. She¡¯s such a kindhearted girl. It¡¯s a shame that we met at the wrong time. ¡°Oh, I see.¡± He removed the lid of the food container and said, ¡°You¡¯ve been having porridge for the past few days. I brought you some shrimp dumplings tonight. They should taste great.¡± She smiled and said, ¡°Yes. I can finally eat something different.¡± ¡ª¡ª Zong Jingyi had been collecting new pieces of evidence almost every other day, ever since he met Mrs. Mu and a high-ranking military officer in B City. An Xiaoning did not put in much effort at all. However, she learned a fact. Just like she had expected, Zong Jingyi had long devised a seamless n and merely needed her support. Her status and identity was enough to help speed up his investigations. He was entirely confident about solving the matter perfectly. The ns were well prepared andcked just one crucial element. The matter dragged on until mid-September. He finally stopped after collecting sufficient evidence. ¡°If you ever work at the police station, you¡¯d be an outstanding policeman.¡± Zong Jingyi looked down and said, ¡°Unfortunately, I¡¯ll never get the chance to be a policeman or a military officer.¡± An Xiaoning said, ¡°I¡¯ve already submitted all of the evidence to the head councilor of the military in B City. They¡¯ve already begun the investigations and the tallying of the evidence. I believe the results will be out soon. You¡¯re much more capable than I had imagined.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not capable at all. You are. If it weren¡¯t because of you, no one would bother re-investigating my case again, regardless of how well prepared I may be. This is the charm of possessing power and authority.¡± ¡°No matter what, it¡¯s crucial to act at the right time and to know your limits. Greed will always ruin everything. Don¡¯t think that possessing power and authority will give you everything. There¡¯s always going to be someone better and stronger than you are. You can never be the best of the best.¡± ¡°Boss, that fellow is calling you again!¡± An Xiaoning took out her mobile phone to see that it was a call from Gu Beicheng. She immediately answered, ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Really? Great. I¡¯ll head there immediately.¡± ¡°...¡± Noticing how ted she seemed, Zong Jingyi immediately asked, ¡°Is there new progress?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ve be an aunt. I have a nephew now.¡± An Xiaoning stood up agitatedly and said, ¡°This shall be all for today. I¡¯ll be heading to the hospital now.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning then drove to the hospital. Lin Mingxi had given birth to a baby boy who weighed about seven pounds. By the time An Xiaoning arrived at the hospital, Lin Mingxi¡¯s ward was already filled with people. There were visitors from the extended Gu family as well as Lin Mingxi¡¯s family. They were all there to congratte the newly-minted parents. Upon the sight of her, everyone began greeting her one after another. Gazing at Lin Mingxi, who was lying on the bed, An Xiaoning held her hand and said, ¡°Congrattions on bing a mother. It¡¯s been hard on you.¡± Beaming with joy, Lin Mingxi said, ¡°I¡¯ve finally delivered the product. You have no idea how much I¡¯ve suffered in the past few weeks. I could barely sleep at night. It was terrible.¡± ¡°What were you expecting? It¡¯s not easy being a mother.¡± ¡°Indeed. Xiaoning, Beicheng and I have already thought about it and we¡¯ve decided to let you name the child.¡± ¡°Me?¡± An Xiaoning waved her hands and countered, ¡°I¡¯m terrible at naming babies. You and Beicheng shall name your son.¡± ¡°No, you do it. If it weren¡¯t because of your help, our son might have... So, Beicheng and I have already decided to let you be in charge of naming him. Just give him whatever name you¡¯d like.¡± ¡°How can you be so casual about it? Since you¡¯ve tasked me with this, I shall rack my brains toe up with a nice name.¡± A name popped up in her head and she continued, ¡°How does Gu Xiyuan sound?¡± Lin Mingxi agreed gleefully, ¡°Sure, we¡¯ll name him just that, then.¡± An Xiaoning then proceeded to take a look at the newborn. Staring at his fair and chubby cheeks, she could not help but caress his face. An Xiaoning recalled the time when she gave birth to Jin Yiheng. In the blink of an eye, Yiheng is already seven years old. Oh, how time flies. Gu Beicheng handed the infant to her and said, ¡°Carry him.¡± She carried the infant in her arms and remarked, ¡°He¡¯s so tiny and light. I¡¯m so afraid of dropping him.¡± Gu Beicheng smiled and asked, ¡°Xiaoning, do you think he looks like me or Mingxi?¡± ¡°His features have yet to develop. However, he seems to resemble you more, especially his eyes. He¡¯ll definitely be better-looking and outshine you in the future. Look how your son has inherited the positive traits of the two of you. He was just born and yet he¡¯s already so handsome.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s for sure,¡± said Gu Beicheng, who was as happy as ark. After carrying the infant for a while, An Xiaoning ced him back into his cot. Staring at his little lips, she found him extremely adorable and bent forward to kiss his cheeks. Her heart almost melted. An Xiaoning left after staying for more than an hour. It was a joyous asion for her. There was new hope in Gu Beicheng¡¯s life and he had achieved another milestone. What a great feeling. As soon as she reached the elevator, she was suddenly reminded that Mu Wansheng had been admitted to the same hospital as well. After some consideration, she decided to visit her. Mu Wansheng was alone in her ward. Upon the sight of her, Mu Wansheng sat up straight and greeted with a smile, ¡°Hello, Ms. An.¡± Chapter 1256 - I Want to Make You Stay (134)

Chapter 1256: I Want to Make You Stay (134)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Hello. Where¡¯s the nurse? Why isn¡¯t she around?¡± ¡°She has gone out to buy something. Please have a seat, Ms. An.¡± An Xiaoning sat down and asked, ¡°How are your injuries now?¡± ¡°I can get out of bed to move around now. However, I still struggle to walk.¡± ¡°Your injuries are going to take some time to heal. Do cooperate with the doctors and receive proper treatment. Try to avoid leaving any repercussions or ailments untreated. Has Shixin been visiting you every day?¡± Mu Wansheng answered with a nod, ¡°Yes, Chief Fan woulde by every day and I¡¯m very, very grateful for his help. If it weren¡¯t for him, I would probably have died then and there. Or perhaps I might have been rescued toote and ended up bing a cripple. Chief Fan is really a good man.¡± An Xiaoning smiled gently and said, ¡°That¡¯s true. He¡¯s a capable, brave, and charming man. On top of that, he¡¯s also kindhearted and upright. Whoever gets to marry him should count her blessings.¡± ¡°Chief Fan is dating my cousin now...¡± ¡°I know, she signed up for a blind date with him too, didn¡¯t she?¡± Mu Wansheng nodded and answered, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Could you tell me about what your cousin is like?¡± ¡°I... can¡¯t quite tell you what she¡¯s like. It won¡¯t be appropriate for me to praise or criticize her,¡± Mu Wansheng answered truthfully. ¡°It¡¯s alright, just tell me about her truthfully. I haven¡¯t met that girl before. I shall be frank with you. We¡¯ve rarely interfered with Shixin¡¯s private matters and we leave him to make his own decisions. However, I¡¯m still rather concerned about his rtionship. After all, girls these days are so full of tricks. I only want to hear the truth. I suppose you won¡¯t lie on ount that he had saved you.¡± Hanging her head low, Mu Wansheng answered, ¡°Ms. An, I¡¯m really in no ce toment about her. It all depends on how they feel about each other. If Chief Fan fancies her, that¡¯s his choice.¡± ¡°Be honest with me, are you on good terms with that cousin of yours?¡± Shaking her head, she answered, ¡°No.¡± ¡°Smart people like you are rare toe by. You respect your own feelings and you refrain from making anyments about her. I¡¯m sure Shixin will find out for himself what your cousin¡¯s true colors are.¡± Mu Wansheng looked up and said, ¡°Sometimes, one might not be willing to ept the opinions and advice that outsiders give them. Take me for an example. My family strongly objects against my rtionship with my boyfriend, but I stubbornly refuse to heed their advice. I don¡¯t mind that he¡¯s poor and I think that he¡¯s good enough so long as he treats me well. I trust my taste and so I won¡¯t care about others¡¯ opinions of him. I feel like I won¡¯t regret my decision even if things go awry someday.¡± An Xiaoning smiled at her in agreement. ¡°Young Madam, what brings you here?¡± Fan Shixin asked in surprise. She smiled and stood up. ¡°Why can¡¯t I be here? Mingxi has given birth to a son. I came here to visit her so I decided to visit Ms. Mu too. Good that you¡¯re here, it¡¯s time for me to leave too.¡± ¡°Ms. An, aren¡¯t you going to stay a little longer?¡± ¡°Nah. Rest well and recuperate. It does get boring in here. Get Shixin to take you out for a stroll.¡± Mu Wansheng nodded and watched her leave. ¡°Would you like to go out to take a walk?¡± asked Fan Shixin, who had nothing else to do anyway. ¡°Yes. Can you take me out, though? Don¡¯t you want to keep the fact that you had rescued me a secret? If you bring me out, wouldn¡¯t that be harmful for you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone would recognize me. We¡¯re not going out often anyway.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be very slow, however,¡± said Mu Wansheng. She indeed wanted to go out to take a breather, for she was bored out of her wits. ¡°We can¡¯t let you walk. I¡¯ll wheel you around in a wheelchair. Give me a moment, I¡¯ll go get one.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Mu Wansheng was filled with joy and excitement. How great is it that I could finally go out to take a breather? After Fan Shixin returned with the wheelchair, he lowered her onto it gently. He then folded a piece of nket and draped it across her shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s a little chilly outside, don¡¯t catch a cold.¡± Mu Wansheng turned around to look at him. Fan Shixin held her gaze and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Nothing,¡± she said, shaking her head. He put on a surgical mask and a pair of shades before wheeling her out. Fan Shixin made a conscious effort to avoid crowded ces. This was the first time Mu Wansheng had gone out ever since she was admitted to the hospital. She tried to take in as much fresh air as she could and said to him merrily, ¡°This feels terrific.¡± ¡°You must have been really bored while being all cooped up in the ward. I¡¯ll take the time out to bring you out more often from now on, alright?¡± ¡°Yes, yes, that¡¯d be great.¡± ¡°The doctor said that you should get on your feet and walk around more often. Although it might hurt, it¡¯ll aid in your recovery. Would you like to take a walk here?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Fan Shixin stopped the wheelchair and walked in front of her before extending his arm toward her. Mu Wansheng ced her hand on his while he helped her up slowly. However, the pain was too unbearable. Nheless, she took a deep breath and persisted. ¡°Easy does it. Don¡¯t panic,¡± said Fan Shixin, who let go of her hand and grabbed her arm instead. He ced his other arm around her shoulders and helped her walk slowly. Clenching her jaw in immense pain, Mu Wansheng began taking a few steps forward slowly. She did not turn around at all. After a long while, she realized that the wheelchair was already very far from her. ¡°Try taking a few steps further.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± She continued moving forward under his apaniment. Despite the excruciating pain, she did not oncein and, instead, tried to bear with it while clenching her jaw. Just as she was about to walk back to the wheelchair, she abruptly caught sight of a familiar figure walking toward her. She thought that he had already seen her too. However, he was clearly preupied with talking to the girl beside him and did not see her. At this very moment, Mu Wansheng hurriedly buried her face in Fan Shixin¡¯s chest and murmured, ¡°My boyfriend...¡± Fan Shixin turned to take a look before wrapping her head in his windbreaker, so as to conceal her face. When the pair walked past her, Mu Wansheng heard her boyfriend¡¯s voice. ¡°Is 500 dors enough?¡± Extremely peeved and frustrated, the girl answered in a high-pitched voice, ¡°What can I do with 500 dors? Is that even enough for the surgery?¡± ¡°How much do you want, then?¡± ¡°Five thousand dors. I¡¯ll still have to nourish my body after the surgery.¡± ¡°Two thousand dors. That¡¯s all I can afford.¡± ¡°I said, I want 5000 thousand dors, not a single cent less. Otherwise, I¡¯ll give birth to your child!¡± ¡°...¡± Their voices soon began to fade, and Mu Wansheng remained still as a statue. After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, she stood up straight slowly. Fan Shixin looked down to see that her eyes had already turned red and were brimming with tears. He had no idea what to say to her and instead carried her back to the wheelchair. Chapter 1257 - I Want to Make You Stay (135)

Chapter 1257: I Want to Make You Stay (135)

She removed the nket from her shoulders and ced it onto herp. She then bent forward and buried her face into the nket. Fan Shixin continued to wheel her back to the hospital. She remained still throughout and did not move an inch even after they¡¯d reached the hospital ward. ¡®¡±Are you alright?¡± She finally stood up and sat down. ¡°I¡¯m alright,¡± she said while sniffing. How could she possibly be alright? Fan Shixin carried her onto the bed, pulled the nket over, and asked, ¡°What would you like to eat for lunch? I¡¯ll buy it for you.¡± He did not console her any further. However, Mu Wansheng felt a great sense offort. Staring at Fan Shixin, she sobbed and said, ¡°Anything is fine.¡± Fan Shixin handed her his handkerchief. Shocked to see that it was a blue floral embroidered handkerchief, she said, ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± She picked up her mobile phone and hurriedly dialed the number that she had memorized like the back of her hand. Fan Shixin knew who she was calling. However, he decided to stay out of it since it did not concern him. The call went through quickly. ¡°Hello, it¡¯s me.¡± Zuo Xingwei did not expect to receive a sudden call from his girlfriend. He looked at the girl beside him before answering, ¡°Hello, Wansheng, where have you been all this while? I¡¯ve been trying to find you.¡± ¡°My mother broke my legs because I insisted on staying with you in spite of my family¡¯s objection. I¡¯m in the hospital now.¡± Zuo Xingwei grasped his mobile phone tightly and eximed, ¡°What! Why didn¡¯t you tell me? Which hospital are you in? I¡¯ll head there immediately.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t I tell you? It¡¯s all because you had to borrow money to pay for the down payment of our house. My medical bills are inching past 100 thousand dors, can you afford that? I didn¡¯t tell you about it precisely because I know that you can¡¯t afford it. I didn¡¯t want you to feel stressed out or add on to your burden. I was thinking of looking you up once I recover, yet I didn¡¯t expect to have met you so soon,¡± said Mu Wansheng, who never liked to mince her words. Zuo Xingwei subconsciously asked, ¡°Are you at the First People¡¯s Hospital?¡± ¡°Yeah. I saw you just now.¡± Zuo Xingwei immediately said, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you call me immediately, then? I apanied my colleague to the hospital. Which ward are you in? I¡¯ll go look for you now.¡± ¡°You¡¯re lying! Are you here to apany her to a regr consultation or an abortion!?! Do you think I didn¡¯t hear you!?!¡± Mu Wansheng eximed, feeling extremely heartbroken. ¡°It¡¯s not like what you heard at all. Wansheng, don¡¯t you know how much I love you? Aren¡¯t you aware of how well I treat you? Why would I do something that¡¯ll hurt you? Don¡¯t malign me,¡± exined a flustered Zuo Xingwei. ¡°That¡¯s the reason why I wanted to marry you regardless of what the consequences may be. But what happened in the end? Do you really treat me that well? If you do, why would you fool around and cheat on me with another woman?¡± ¡°Wansheng, hear me out, it¡¯s not like what you think. We had apany gathering and drank too much. Thus, we ended up doing something we shouldn¡¯t have. I¡¯ve been feeling extremely regretful too. I don¡¯t fancy her at all. You¡¯re the one whom I love and want to marry. Wansheng, will you please forgive me this once?¡± ¡°You know what I¡¯m like. Let¡¯s break up and put an end to everything. From now on... let¡¯s never meet again.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, she ended the call and switched off her mobile phone. Fan Shixin did not expect her to be so straightforward. Thus, he was momentarily stunned. ¡°I¡¯m going back now. I¡¯ll bring you lunchter in the afternoon.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he won¡¯t be able to find you. The nurse is outside. I¡¯ll ask her toe in and apany you.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°Wow, what brings you here, Lord Xiao?¡± An Xiaoning teased upon the sight of Xiao Chenyang and Fang En sitting on the swing. ¡°Your man did. We were waiting for you,¡± said Xiao Chenyang, who walked toward her while holding Fang En¡¯s hand. ¡°Waiting for me? Why?¡± ¡°To go to my mentor¡¯s ce.¡± ¡°When? Now?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°We¡¯ll arrive there in the afternoon. Let¡¯s have lunch before setting off.¡± An Xiaoning answered, ¡°Deal. Hurry ande inside the house. En, how¡¯s your wound?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already recovered long ago. Sis Xiaoning, do ask Sis Yangyang along. Let¡¯s have lunch together,¡± said Fang En. ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll call her now,¡± said An Xiaoning, who rummaged through her bag for her mobile phone. She then called Mei Yangyang to invite her over for lunch. She was initially nning to just invite Mei Yangyang. However, thetter brought a plus one. Long Tianze was having a day off from work and thus headed opposite together with Mei Yangyang. Upon the sight of him An Xiaoning jested, ¡°Hey, I didn¡¯t invite you. Why have youe along?¡± ¡°Sis-inw, it¡¯s my duty to follow my wife around wherever she goes. Otherwise, what¡¯s going to happen if she gets abducted?¡± Mei Yangyang interjected angrily, ¡°Do I look like the type that gets abducted easily? You¡¯re more likely to be abducted than I am.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, yes, you¡¯re right, my beloved wife. My worries are uncalled for.¡± The pair sat down, after which An Xiaoning said, ¡°Tell me everything you want to eat for lunch, I¡¯ll instruct the cooks to prepare them.¡± Long Tianze raised his hand and said, ¡°Make me a sumptuous feast.¡± An Xiaoning answered, ¡°Sure, but you must finish everything before you can leave. How does that sound?¡± ¡°Hehe, I was just saying that casually...¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t being casual though. After all, Qingyan and I are the hosts for today. Hurry and give me a list of dishes that you¡¯d like to eat. I¡¯ll get the cooks to prepare the food beforehand.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have any cravings in particr, I¡¯ll eat whatever is prepared,¡± said Mei Yangyang. She then looked at Xiao Chenyang and Fang En. ¡°What about you guys?¡± ¡°Same for us. We¡¯ll eat whatever is avable.¡± ¡°Since you guys are fine with anything, shall I impress you with my culinary skills?¡± An Xiaoning suggested, smiling. ¡°No!¡± Jin Qingyan interjected. He immediately stood up to nudge her back into her seat. ¡°You don¡¯t have to go to the trouble of cooking,¡± he said. ¡°I don¡¯t find it tiring or cumbersome at all. I¡¯ll feel aplished after whipping up a meal for everyone,¡± said An Xiaoning, who tried to stand up again. However, Jin Qingyan pulled her down once more and insisted, ¡°I can¡¯t bear to let you cook. Even if there are no servants at home, I won¡¯t let you go to that trouble. I¡¯d do it instead.¡± Clucking his tongue in disdain, Long Tianze remarked, ¡°Look at how mushy Eunuch Jin is. I¡¯m about to throw up.¡± Jin Qingyan red daggers at Long Tianze, who immediately chuckled wryly and said, ¡°Who told you to publicly disy your affection in front of us? I have the freedom of speech and the right to express my thoughts.¡± Mei Yangyang glowered at him and chastised, ¡°Shut up. Why don¡¯t I hear you saying such words to me at all? I¡¯m always the one who has to cook and serve the dishes. I almost have to feed you too.¡± Chapter 1258 - I Want to Make You Stay (136)

Chapter 1258: I Want to Make You Stay (136)

Long Tianze protested, ¡°Honey, it¡¯s not that I want you to cook, but you¡¯re the one who insists on cooking instead of letting the servants do it. How could you me me?¡± ¡°It¡¯s all your fault.¡± ¡°I was wrong...¡± Fang En burst intoughter and poked Xiao Chenyang¡¯s arm. ¡°Did you see that? You must learn from your brothers-inw and apply your gained knowledge on me.¡± ¡°They¡¯re your brothers-inw, not mine,¡± Xiao Chenyang corrected. ¡°Seems like you don¡¯t want to marry me, then. Otherwise, why won¡¯t you acknowledge them too?¡± said Fang En. ¡°Hello, my brothers-inw,¡± Xiao Chenyang conceded. Long Tianze snorted withughter and said, ¡°No, no, please don¡¯t address me that way. I¡¯m getting goosebumps.¡± Fang En said with a smile, ¡°He ought to do that.¡± ¡°Alright, I shall take advantage of Brother Xiao, then. Hahahaha,¡± Long Tianze said whileughing out loud. ¡°You¡¯reughing like a dog. I always feel that way whenever I see Tianzeughing,¡± Jin Qingyan remarked in disdain. ¡°I bet you¡¯re just jealous because I look better than you when Iugh.¡± Jin Qingyan smiled and quipped, ¡°Rascal, do you need me to help you call the asylum?¡± ¡°No, thank you.¡± An Xiaoning suggested, ¡°We¡¯ll have some time to spareter after lunch. Shall we y a game?¡± ¡°A game of cards?¡± Jin Qingyan asked with raised brows. ¡°No.¡± ¡°What game do you want to y, then?¡± ¡°A guessing game. You men shall be blindfolded and guess which one of us is your spouse. How does that sound?¡± An Xiaoning said with great enthusiasm. ¡°How boring. Even if there are a million women in front of me, I¡¯ll be able to identify En,¡± said Xiao Chenyang, who was clearly not interested. Well aware of how potent his curse of devotion was, An Xiaoning said, ¡°I know. That¡¯s why you¡¯re not included in my game.¡± ¡°How about En?¡± Xiao Chenyang asked. ¡°She has to join the game too. Otherwise, it¡¯d be too easy if it¡¯s just me and Yangyang.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°How about the three of us take turns to guess who each of you are?¡± ¡°Of course you can.¡± Seeing that he had given his approval, An Xiaoning stood up from the couch and said, ¡°It¡¯s settled, then. I¡¯ll go upstairs to get the blindfolds.¡± She returned two minutester. ¡°We¡¯ll take turns to be blindfolded. You guys rearrange your positions after each round. You may try to conceal your identity by pretending to be someone else too. I¡¯m certain that I can make the correct guess,¡± An Xiaoning said confidently. Long Tianze chuckled and said, ¡°Sis-inw, you¡¯re so confident, huh? It¡¯s too easy for you to identify Qingyan out of the three of us. Let¡¯s get Xiao Bai and the rest to join in. Oh, Dummy is here too. Dummy, go and get your subordinates toe here and join the game.¡± Pursing his lips, Fan Shixin said, ¡°Mr. Long, what game...¡± ¡°Just get them toe here first. You¡¯ll find outter.¡± Fan Shixin had no choice but to do as instructed. The task had be much more challenging now that Xiao Bai and Xiao Lu had joined in. It would be a piece of cake for An Xiaoning to identify Jin Qingyan. However, it would be a tall order for her to guess everyone correctly. However, she was the one who suggested that they y the game and, thus, had to finish what she started, by hook or by crook. Thus, An Xiaoning took the lead and put on the blindfold, after which the men started rearranging themselves in different positions. They even removed their outerwear and waited patiently for her to identify them. With her vision obstructed by the blindfold, An Xiaoning walked toward them and reached out to touch the first man. At the instant that she touched his mouth, she deduced without hesitation, ¡°Long Tianze.¡± ¡°Ah, Sis-inw, how did you guess that it was me?¡± ¡°You had the widest smile.¡± ¡°...¡± Mei Yangyang announced, ¡°Long Tianze, you¡¯re out.¡± An Xiaoning proceeded on to the second man. After touching his hair, she figured out that he was definitely one of the bodyguards. However, she needed a little more time to deduce which one exactly. ¡°Xiao... Lu.¡± ¡°Sis, you¡¯re right. Xiao Lu, you¡¯re out.¡± An Xiaoning continued guessing. After eliminating Xiao Lu, she proceeded to identify Fan Shixin effortlessly, followed by Xiao Chenyang, whose features were uniquely distinct. Last but not least, it was Jin Qingyan, whose scent she recognized immediately. ¡°Jin Qingyan,¡± she said. She ripped the blindfold off to see that it was really him. She had identified everyone correctly. Unlike An Xiaoning, who passed effortlessly, the other two yers had a tough time trying to make the correct guess. Fang En was only familiar with Xiao Chenyang out of all the men. Thus, she ended up guessing wrongly on her first try. Mei Yangyang was a little better than her and managed to identify three of the men correctly. Hence, they had to do a forfeit, that is, to massage their spouses. Fang En was an expert at giving massages, but Mei Yangyang... Long Tianze would usually be the one massaging her all the time. Thus, he was exceptionally thrilled now that the roles had been reversed and it had be her turn to serve him. Thus, he basked in bliss while enjoying the massage she was giving him. .... Lunch went on smoothly, and they thoroughly enjoyed themselves. After a merry lunch, Jin Qingyan told An Xiaoning that they wouldn¡¯t be able to make it back on the same day because Xiao Chenyang said that the mountain on which the graveyard was situated was a perfect spot for watching the sunrise. Thus, they decided to stay there for a night and go home after watching the sunrise the next morning. An Xiaoning brought her camera along, as well as some daily necessities, tents, food, and drinks that she had instructed Xiao Bai to prepare. The four of them were dressed casually and set off in Jin Qingyan¡¯s car. Xiao Chenyang adhered to his mentor¡¯s wishes and buried thetter on a renowned mountain in G City. He had also instructed his subordinates to watch the grave. Thus, the grave was well maintained throughout several centuries. It was already past four o¡¯clock by the time they arrived. After pulling over at a spot on the peak of the mountain, the four of them alighted from the car and walked toward the grave of Xiao Chenyang¡¯s mentor, together with all of their things. There was arge tombstone before the grave on which there was a carving of Xiao Chenyang¡¯s mentor. ¡°Master, I¡¯ve brought them here to see you. I¡¯m sure you know who the two of them are so I don¡¯t have to introduce them to you. This girl beside me is Nan Chuang¡¯s reincarnation. I¡¯ve fulfilled my wishes, so I want to fulfill yours too, Master. Although you didn¡¯t mention it, I¡¯m well aware that you felt extremely upset about chasing Senior away back then. You resented him for being overly obsessed with Hua Jin and losing his rationality. But you knew that you were the one who had taught him everything that he knows. Thus, you resented yourself for teaching him to love someone wholeheartedly and to never give their lover up easily.¡± Xiao Chenyang then said to Jin Qingyan, ¡°It¡¯s your turn.¡± Jin Qingyan had dreamed of his previous lifetime again a few days ago, perhaps because he had constantly been thinking about visiting his mentor¡¯s grave together with Xiao Chenyang. Thus, his thoughts turned into dreams about him growing up alongside his mentor. He recalled his mentor¡¯s caring guidance and strict discipline. Jin Qingyan felt rather upset, for he knew deep down that he had hurt his mentor through his actions. He immediately got onto his knees and ced his hands on the ground. An Xiaoning followed suit, and so did Fang En and Xiao Chenyang. Chapter 1259 - I Want to Make You Stay (137)

Chapter 1259: I Want to Make You Stay (137)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Master, I¡¯m sorry to have broken your heart. I sincerely apologize to you. Master, please forgive me!¡± Jin Qingyan apologized, after which he immediately kowtowed thrice. After they were done kowtowing, the sky started pouring without warning. Jin Qingyan looked up into the sky. At the instant that the raindrops fell onto his face, he felt as if his mentor was caressing it. The four of them hurriedly scurried away to take shelter for they did not bring any umbres. Strangely, the rain stopped abruptly as soon as they reached their car. They proceeded to set up two tents with the openings facing the East. The sky was still bright after the tents were pitched. Thus, they decided to take out the barbecue rack and the food items. After having dinner together, they returned to their own tents to rest. Xiao Chenyang and Fang En snuggled up together to chat softly with each other. As curious as a cat, Fang En demanded that Xiao Chenyang tell her more about their previous lifetime. However, he would often just tell her a small portion of the events that had happened. This time, he actually told her about everything that had happened, after which an important question came to his mind. ¡°Do you know which position you enjoyed most in our previous lifetime?¡± ¡°No,¡± Fang En answered, blushing red with embarrassment. ¡°Make a guess.¡± ¡°From behind?¡± Xiao Chenyang squinted and teased, ¡°Seems like you really like it when I enter you from behind.¡± ¡°Were you just trying to sound me out?¡± asked Fang En, who suddenly realized that he seemed to be sounding her out. She found him to be extremely sly all of a sudden. It seemed as if he could find out anything he wanted with the snap of a finger. ¡°I wasn¡¯t, because you really enjoyed that position in our previous lifetime.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Fang En asked apprehensively. ¡°Yes.¡± She inched closer toward him and asked, ¡°What perfume do you use every day? Why do you smell so good?¡± ¡°Have you ever seen me using perfume?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s why I¡¯m curious.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t ever use perfume. My scent is natural.¡± ¡°Oh, why don¡¯t I have any scent?¡± ¡°You do... but only I can smell it,¡± he said, burying his face in her decolletage to take a whiff of her bodily scent. Feeling a little ticklish, Fang En wiggled and said, ¡°The night is still young. I can¡¯t fall asleep so early.¡± ¡°Who says we have to sleep early?¡± ¡°What are we going to do, then?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll make love.¡± He then flipped her over, causing her heart to skip a beat. She grabbed the nket and moved her body upwards slightly. .... It was the day after. Xiao Chenyang was energetic while Fang En was extremely lethargic. ¡°En, why do you look like you haven¡¯t caught a wink at allst night?¡± An Xiaoning asked while pouring a bottle of water over Jin Qingyan¡¯s face to help him wash up. ¡°I couldn¡¯t get used to the change in environment, so I had... insomnia,¡± Fang En said with a tinge of guilt. She found that her excuse was a little far-fetched. Although we weren¡¯t too vigorous or loudst night, they probably heard us, didn¡¯t they? An Xiaoning smiled without uttering another word. They proceeded to have a simple breakfast. Seems like they didn¡¯t make a wasted trip, after all. The sun rose from the East and cast its warm, golden rays onto the earth beneath it, adding a tranquil and pleasant vibe to the atmosphere on the peak of the mountain. The four of them stood side by side and stared at the golden sun in high spirits. An Xiaoning whipped out her camera to take several photos. They gave their bodies a stretch, packed up, and got ready to leave. The air on the mountains were fresher than ever. Thus, they decided to wind down the windows and let the fresh air in while driving down the mountain. ¡ª¡ª ¡°I still think you should take Bao¡¯er¡¯s custody back.¡± Upon hearing Wen Lele¡¯s words, Shi Shaochuan answered without hesitation, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I really like children. Given the state that I¡¯m in now, I really don¡¯t know if I can ever have any of my own. Hence, after giving it some thorough consideration, I¡¯ve decided to treat Bao¡¯er like my own daughter and raise her to adulthood. I think that¡¯d be a great idea.¡± Shi Shaochuan objected, ¡°Forget it, just let that woman raise Bao¡¯er. She was the one who raised her single-handedly ever since she gave birth to her anyway. I don¡¯t want to take care of Bao¡¯er anymore.¡± ¡°Why not? Isn¡¯t she your daughter too?¡± Wen Lele asked. ¡°End of discussion. Don¡¯t bring this up ever again.¡± ¡°Even if you don¡¯t want to raise her, you should still bring her home often, lest you grow distant from her after not spending time together for too long.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about this. Just take care of yourself,¡± Shi Shaochuan said, brushing her off coldly. Staring at him, Wen Lele answered, ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go out now, then.¡± ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°To settle something.¡± She decided not to probe further, knowing that her efforts would be wasted anyway. After he left, Wen Lele shifted her gaze onto the window like she usually would. Throughout her hospitalization, she had been spending each day all by herself. There was no one for her to pour her heart out and air her grievances to. She had lost all hope in life and did not think she would ever feel happy again. The peaceful and mundane life that she used to live now seemed like Heaven to her; meanwhile, the life that she used to yearn for and was living now seemed to have be Hell. There was no way she could get out of the doldrums that her life was now in. Wen Lele closed her eyes and allowed her tears to flow freely. She grabbed the corners of the nket tightly with all her might. The door opened again, and Wen Lele looked up to see that it was Shi Shaochuan who had returned. ¡°Why are you back again?¡± Shi Shaochuan handed her an agreement that he was holding and said, ¡°I¡¯ve thought about it, and I decided that it¡¯d be better to give this to you now. After all, it¡¯s only a matter of time before we have to sign it.¡± Wen Lele grabbed the document, only to discover that it was a divorce agreement. ¡°You... are divorcing me?¡± ¡°Yes, let¡¯s get a divorce. I won¡¯t ill-treat or shortchange you. I¡¯ll give you enough money that¡¯ll allow you to live a carefree life from now on.¡± ¡°No amount of money can restore my health and appearance. Do you think you can remove these ugly scars of mine with all that money?¡± After a moment of silence, Shi Shaochuan answered, ¡°No one wanted that to happen. Lele, I know you must be feeling terrible, but this is inevitable. Getting a divorce is mandatory. There¡¯s no other option.¡± ¡°How much are you nning to give me?¡± ¡°Five million dors, all in one go. It¡¯s enough tost you a lifetime.¡± Wen Lele guffawed sarcastically and sneered, ¡°Five million dors... that¡¯s not a small sum. I¡¯d have to work for years before I can earn that much money. Shi Shaochuan, you¡¯re really generous, eh? But shouldn¡¯t I be entitled to half of your assets if we are to get a divorce?¡± ¡°Half of my assets? Impossible. We¡¯ve only been married for such a short period of time. I¡¯ve only bedded you once and yet you¡¯re asking for half of my assets? Frankly speaking, I only decided to give you that sum of money as a form ofpensation because you had gotten injured at my home. What else do you want? How dare you ask for half of my assets?¡± Chapter 1260 - I Want to Make You Stay (138)

Chapter 1260: I Want to Make You Stay (138)

Wen Lele stared at him hopelessly and asked, ¡°Are youpensating me on behalf of your daughter?¡± ¡°What... what are you saying?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already found out about everything. Bao¡¯er was the one who had set me on fire. That¡¯s why you returned her to her mother. You¡¯re intimidated by her too, aren¡¯t you?¡± she said while observing Shi Shaochuan¡¯s facial expressions, which had given it all away. ¡°Bao¡¯er has nothing to do with this...¡± Wen Lele interrupted, ¡°Shi Shaochuan... the truth is as clear as day and yet you¡¯re still denying it. Is there a point in that?¡± Shi Shaochuan took out a pen from his pocket and said, ¡°Sign your name here.¡± Wen Lele knew that she was in no ce to go toe to toe against him, especially since she was in such a state. ¡°Give me the money first.¡± Shi Shaochuan answered, ¡°I¡¯ve already transferred it to you just now. You should be receiving the notification very soon.¡± Just as they were speaking, Wen Lele received a message on her mobile phone. She opened it to see that it was a notification from the bank to inform her that she had received a sum of five million dors. ¡°Can you sign it now?¡± he asked. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be so pragmatic. I must have been blind to have married you. The decision to marry you was what ruined my life.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you mercenary yourself? Didn¡¯t you marry me because of my wealth? Don¡¯t try to deny it. You know clearly whether or not I¡¯m stating facts.¡± Wen Lele sneered, ¡°I¡¯m not trying to deny it. If not for your wealth, why would I have married a divorcee like you who has a child?¡± ¡°Since we¡¯ve decided to be honest with each other, there¡¯s nothing to say between us anymore. I married you for superficial reasons as well. I found you beautiful and I just wanted you to bear a child for me. But look what you¡¯ve be. Frankly speaking, I don¡¯t even feel like touching you. I can¡¯t even bring myself to look at you. Why would I live with you? I¡¯ve already given you the money, now sign the document.¡± He stuffed the pen into Wen Lele¡¯s hand. Wen Lele burst into tears while signing her name on the divorce papers. Shi Shaochuan grabbed the signed document and said, ¡°I¡¯ll call your parentster and tell them to bring you home.¡± Physically and mentally exhausted, Wen Leleughed sarcastically and gibed, ¡°No wonder both your former wives decided to divorce you. Most women in this world often have the misconception that they possess the potential to make a scumbag change his ways. They always think that they¡¯ll be thest woman in his life. But in reality, scumbags will always be scumbags, no matter how hard they try and conceal their ws with a prim and proper attire. However, I understood this toote. Way toote...¡± ¡°If I were a scumbag, I wouldn¡¯t even have given you five million dors!¡± ¡°Shi Shaochuan, do you think you can overwrite the fact that you¡¯re a scum just because you gave me money? Get out. I¡¯d like to be alone for a while,¡± she said, not wanting to say anything further. In the end, Shi Shaochuan said, ¡°I¡¯ll call your parents now to tell them to pick you up.¡± Wen Lele remained silent, as if she did not hear him at all. Shey down and stared nkly into a corner, almost boring a hole through the wall. She detested the person who had ruined her life! She detested him to the core! ¡ª¡ª ¡°Young Madam, there¡¯s a parcel for you,¡± said Xiao Bai, who scurried toward the garage. ¡°Mine? I didn¡¯t buy anything online though,¡± An Xiaoning said in bewilderment. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Your name is written on it. By the way, it¡¯s from an overseas nation.¡± ¡°Overseas? Who?¡± An Xiaoning asked, extremely puzzled. ¡°It doesn¡¯t say who the sender is, but I¡¯ve already checked for its safety. It contains a beautiful set of clothes and a letter.¡± The first person that came to An Xiaoning¡¯s mind was Pei Yi. Jin Qingyan thought the same too. ¡°Where¡¯s the letter?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go get it now.¡± When they¡¯d sat down in the living room, Xiao Bai returned with the gift box and the letter. He ced the gown on the table and handed the letter to An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning opened the letter. Just as she was about to read the contents, she red at Jin Qingyan, who had leaned forward, and said, ¡°Go away.¡± He gave her the side-eye and said, ¡°I just wanted to see who had written you that letter. If it¡¯s from Pei Yi, I¡¯ll send him a package of poop. I hope it¡¯ll stain his face.¡± An Xiaoning took out the piece of paper and said, ¡°We¡¯ll find out after reading the content.¡± An Xiaoning instantly discovered who the sender was after reading the opening lines of the letter. She smiled and said, ¡°Turns out it was from Mr. Gong.¡± Jin Qingyan craned his neck to take a look. ¡°What did he say?¡± ¡°Mr. Gong said that he racked his brains for a really long time but he couldn¡¯t think of a suitable gift for me. Atst, he found a girl who¡¯s of the same build and stature as me and got a dress that¡¯s tailored to her measurements for me. He hopes that I¡¯ll like it and he wants me to ept it no matter what. He even said that his twin sisters are recovering well. That¡¯s the gist of the letter.¡± She put the letter away and brought the box upstairs before returning downstairs again. Xiao Chenyang rested one arm on the couch and ced the other around Fang En. ¡°Now that we¡¯ve already visited Master¡¯s grave, I shall tell you guys about the curse.¡± An Xiaoning listened attentively, for that was what she and Jin Qingyan wanted to know about most. ¡°After you two died, the news was somehow leaked and many people heard about it. I don¡¯t know much, but I know more than you guys do now. I don¡¯t know exactly who had ced the curse on you, but I know that the culprit was someone from the Wu family who practiced witchcraft. I know it because my mother hired one of them to ce the curse on Nan Chuang. This family was an expert in cing curses. However, they charged a high price for their services, which most people can¡¯t afford. They only perform rituals for the sake of profits.¡± ¡°Do they still exist today?¡± Shaking his head, Xiao Chenyang answered, ¡°No, they no longer exist. I don¡¯t know when their family was wiped out entirely. They should have received their retribution. Legend has it that those who ce curses in exchange for money will suffer such a fate. That¡¯s why it¡¯s extremely difficult to remove the curse. It¡¯s almost impossible. I know it because they were the ones who ced the curse of devotion on me.¡± ¡°Does that mean it¡¯s impossible, then?¡± ¡°Yes, unless we manage to find their descendants. However, I¡¯ve already tried doing that and I got nothing in the end. I believe that they had been annihted because of their retribution, though I can¡¯t be a hundred percent sure.¡± Chapter 1261 - I Want to Make You Stay (139)

Chapter 1261: I Want to Make You Stay (139)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°They¡¯re gone?¡± Jin Qingyan asked. Xiao Chenyang answered, ¡°The residence that they used to live in has now be an estate. I¡¯ve never interacted with them much so I barely know anything about them.¡± ¡°It¡¯s already been so many years. Even if they haven¡¯t beenpletely wiped out, finding them would be akin to searching for a needle in a haystack. We¡¯ll take things in our stride and y it by ear. Actually, I still think that it all depends on ourselves. It would be hard for curses to take effect so long as we stay firm and don¡¯t waver. Let¡¯s not dwell on it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to waver. I never will,¡± Jin Qingyan said resolutely. ¡°Yes, I believe in you.¡± Jin Qingyan held her hand and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go upstairs. You two suit yourselves.¡± Xiao Chenyang smiled and looked at Fang En. ¡°Shall we head back to B City today or tomorrow?¡± ¡°Today. We¡¯ve already rested yesterday.¡± He answered with a nod, ¡°Sure, let¡¯s go, then.¡± ¡ª¡ª One weekter, An Xiaoning received a call from the chief military councilor of B City, who informed her that they had gotten to the bottom of the truth about Zong Jingyi¡¯s case. An Xiaoning knew that they would definitely pay more attention to the case since she was the one who had submitted the concrete evidence. However, she thought that they would take at least two weeks to a month to conduct thorough investigations. To her surprise, they managed to get the results within a week. ¡°I don¡¯t want to know about the process. I just want to hear the oue.¡± ¡°The oue is that those who had gotten the sack deserved to be fired and those who had been imprisoned or executed also deserved their sentences. He had received a death sentence because the investigators back then were involved in corruption and other illegal acts, ording to our investigations. Ms. An, are you satisfied now?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not about me being satisfied. Rather, it¡¯s a matter of principle. I hope you¡¯ll publish a rification on the military news and clear Zong Jingyi¡¯s name so as to restore his reputation.¡± ¡°But... Ms. An, that would be inappropriate. If we were to do that, it¡¯d be as good as admitting that we had made a grave mistake.¡± ¡°Are you afraid of ruining your image?¡± An Xiaoning questioned coldly. ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll adhere to your requests and do as you instructed. Let¡¯s put an end to this matter.¡± ¡°Yes, I want it to end as soon as possible. It¡¯s only human to err. What matters is you have the bravery and courage to admit to your mistakes.¡± After ending the call, An Xiaoning headed to Qing Zhu¡¯s room. She would inevitably be bored after being locked up in the house for so long. However, she had never once asked to go out to take a breather, or made any other requests. ¡°You must be really bored in here, aren¡¯t you?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°I¡¯ve gotten used to it. I never felt bored living in the tomb either.¡± ¡°Are there any ces where you¡¯d like to go?¡± Shaking her head, Qing Zhu answered, ¡°You¡¯ve already bombed the tomb. Where else can I go?¡± An Xiaoning removed the amulets in the room and said, ¡°From now on, you¡¯re free. Do you understand what I mean?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve never asked about me at all ever since I moved in here. Are you really not curious?¡± ¡°Not at all. Everyone has a past. There¡¯s nothing much for me to be curious about,¡± An Xiaoning said truthfully. Qing Zhu smiled and said, ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve been living rather well during my time here. Now that you¡¯ve given me freedom, I really don¡¯t know where to go...¡± ¡°You can continue staying here if you¡¯d like,¡± said An Xiaoning, who took into consideration that the woman was all by herself. Now that her home had been destroyed, there was nowhere she could go to either. ¡°May I continue staying here?¡± ¡°Yes, you may.¡± After giving it some thought, Qing Zhu said, ¡°It¡¯d be best if I can continue staying here since that would save me a whole lot of hassle. However, I¡¯ll feel bad if I constantly impose on you guys. There¡¯ll definitely be a ce for me in this big, big world. I think I¡¯d better excuse myself.¡± Seeing how understanding she was, An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s all up to you to decide if you¡¯d like to leave or stay. There¡¯d be a ce for you in this house if you choose to stay. However, if you choose to leave, I¡¯ll provide you with all the material things that you¡¯d need. No matter where you go, money is an absolute necessity.¡± ¡°Thank you so much for your kindness, Ms. An, but I¡¯ve already thought about it. I¡¯ll just take the money that you¡¯re nning to give me as apensation for destroying my home. The tomb contained lots of my dowry that are very valuable. You may have all of them. Now that the tomb is in ruins, it¡¯d be difficult for me to scour for them.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t be able to get my hands on those things. The archeological team will have to find all the items and hand them over to the national relic museum.¡± ¡°Is that so? But I¡¯ve been safekeeping those precious items for so long. Those archeologists are going to get an advantage.¡± ¡°Perhaps you don¡¯t know much about the outside world since you had spent all your time inside the tomb and isted yourself from the word. However, those items actually belong to the nation even though they were your personal possessions. Even if you pawn them for money, you¡¯re likely to be a target for thieves and robbers. Those crooks are present everywhere. I know you¡¯re formidable and powerful yourself, but you¡¯d only be causing yourself unwanted trouble should you get into a conflict with those crooks and end up in the police station. How about I help you register for an official identity before you leave? However, your identity card will have an expiry date. Once your time is up, you¡¯ll have to either move to another ce where identification documents are not required or do as you deem fit.¡± Qing Zhu answered with a nod, ¡°I understand. You¡¯re really so considerate. I hereby rify solemnly that though I may possess some formidable abilities, I¡¯ll never use them to harm others. I¡¯ll at most... scare them.¡± An Xiaoning grinned and said, ¡°You may wait until I get your identity registered before setting off. It won¡¯t take too long.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± An Xiaoning bumped into Xiao Huang when she exited the room. ¡°Young Madam, Zong Jingyi wants to see you.¡± ¡°Let him in. I was just about to go look for him.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± said Xiao Huang, who then strode out. Not long after, Zong Jingyi entered. He had mostly been dressed in casual attire throughout the past few days. For the first time in a while, he donned his military uniform again. An Xiaoning folded her arms and walked toward the couch. ¡°I heard from Brother-inw that there¡¯s been an oue in the investigations.¡± ¡°Yes, they¡¯ve already called me. I was just about to go look for you. Have a seat.¡± Zong Jingyi sat down, unable to contain his agitation. ¡°Did they mention when the rification would be made?¡± ¡°It should happen soon. I¡¯ve requested for them to restore your reputation by publishing the rification on the military newspaper. Do you still remember the words you said to me in the past?¡± asked An Xiaoning, who had already rehearsed her sentences in her head. ¡°Which words?¡± ¡°Those that you said in the hotel on Mingyuan Road.¡± ¡°I do,¡± he answered firmly. Chapter 1262 - I Want to Make You Stay (140)

Chapter 1262: I Want to Make You Stay (140)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Since there¡¯s already an oue for your case and those who ought to get punished have already received their due punishment, shall we... talk about the other matters rted to you?¡± said An Xiaoning. Unsure of what she meant, Zong Jingyi asked in puzzlement, ¡°What do you mean... other matters?¡± ¡°You were the one who had killed the archeologist and the farmer by theke, weren¡¯t you?¡± An Xiaoning was asking a rhetorical question. Zong Jingyi squinted as his mind was sent into a state of frenzy. ¡°Didn¡¯t the owner of the tombmit those murders?¡± ¡°Did the owner of the tomb really do that? If she genuinely wanted to kill, why didn¡¯t she kill us when we were inside? Did she want to watch us starve to death? I¡¯ve long figured out everything that happened in the tomb. To be honest with you, I may have helped you, but this is a separate issue altogether. Since others have paid a huge price for the mistakes that they had made, shouldn¡¯t you be punishing yourself for the actions that you had made too?¡± said An Xiaoning, staring at him with a mirthless smile. Not believing that she would actually be aware, he said in denial, ¡°I... didn¡¯t... do it. You can¡¯t suspect me.¡± ¡°Can I take these as yourst words?¡± An Xiaoning leaned against the couch and stared at him solemnly. ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me, I¡¯ve already made a trip to theherworld to question the deceased. ording to his description, I know clearly that you were the one who killed him. Don¡¯t deny it.¡± ¡°A trip to theherworld... how can that be...¡± he spluttered, losing hisposure. ¡°To be frank, I used to find out the truth bymunicating with the dead back when I assisted in cracking cases and led the investigation team in the police station. Hence, I¡¯m very clear and certain about the murders that you hadmitted. On top of that, I¡¯m also very sure of what powers you have. You definitely aren¡¯t an ordinary human. Seems like the soil by theke is really potent and effective, huh?¡± Zong Jingyi was at a momentary loss for words. He said, ¡°In that case, I won¡¯t argue with you any further. What do you n to do with me?¡± In other words, he had admitted it. ¡°I decided to help you clear your name because I sympathized with you. I took pity on you for almost losing your life more than a decade ago because you were helpless and maligned. However, don¡¯t those innocent lives whom you had killed deserve pity as well? The archeologist¡¯s child lost his father at such a tender age. So, I just need to know that you¡¯re clear about what you should do,¡± said An Xiaoning, who was certain that he understood what she meant. ¡°Could you let me stay with my family until tomorrow morning?¡± An Xiaoning agreed, ¡°Sure. You still look as suave as ever in your military uniform. No matter where you end up in the future, don¡¯t forget your morals and principles. Bear in mind that you were once a soldier.¡± Feeling a little touched, he said, ¡°The owner of the tomb is still alive, isn¡¯t she? I¡¯m sure you found out long ago that I was the one who killed those people. That¡¯s why you definitely wouldn¡¯t have killed her.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯ve set her free. However, I¡¯ve already destroyed that tomb. If you didn¡¯t kill those people back then, you¡¯d probably have gotten to enjoy your freedom too.¡± ¡°I only did that to catch your attention, so as to get you to help me sooner.¡± He took a deep breath and continued, ¡°My family aren¡¯t aware of this.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯re a separate individual. Your family is not going to be affected.¡± ¡°Okay. I¡¯lle clean with them tomorrow.¡± ¡°You may leave. Go back and spend some time with your family. They must be longing to meet you again,¡± said An Xiaoning. Zong Jingyi left after hearing her words. It was thest time An Xiaoning ever saw Zong Jingyi. He had poisoned himself to death after spending the day with his family. During the cremation of his corpse, An Xiaoning specifically instructed her bodyguards to supervise the crematory process at the crematorium, for fear that what happened sixteen years ago would happen again. Liu Dasheng called her personally to inform her that Zong Jingyi had told his family about the truth. Although his family members were all grief-stricken, they felt much more heartened than they did sixteen years ago. An Xiaoning felt that the help that she had rendered Zong Jingyi did not go in vain, for at the very least, he admitted his mistakes in the end. All she needed was for him to be willing to pay the consequences of his actions. It was only right to own up to one¡¯s mistakes and atone for them. Feeling rather at ease, she stayed at home for the rest of the morning to catch up on some reading and to water the nts. The sun was shining brightly, and she basked sluggishly in its golden rays while lying on the couch in the yard. She did not wish to open her eyes at all. Upon hearing footsteps approaching, An Xiaoning opened her eyes slightly to take a peek, only to discover that it was Long Tianze. ¡°Hello, Mr. Long.¡± ¡°Sis-inw... I need to ask something of you, but I wonder if you¡¯ll agree to help me,¡± said Long Tianze. An Xiaoning ced her hand on her forehead to shield her eyes from the ring sun. ¡°How can I help you?¡± ¡°Yangyang said that she¡¯d like to personally coach and nurture a young and hunky intern. She ns to visit schools to carry out a selection. Can you persuade her to give up?¡± Gazing at him inquisitively, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Fang En is the only artiste who¡¯s signed to our studio right now. Thus, it¡¯s necessary for us to develop new talents. Why should I persuade her to give up? Surely you can¡¯t be feeling threatened by the charms of a young hunk? Are you afraid that your wife might be snatched away?¡± Long Tianze refused to admit it and said, ¡°Do I seem like such a petty person? That¡¯s definitely not the case.¡± ¡°Could you tell me the reason, then? I¡¯ll consider helping you if your reason is valid.¡± Long Tianze answered, ¡°Actually, there isn¡¯t much of a reason. I just hope that she¡¯ll focus on nurturing female artistes instead.¡± ¡°Or are you afraid that you¡¯ll pale inparison to young hunks and that Yangyang might end up getting sick of you?¡± Pinching his face, Long Tianze protested, ¡°I¡¯m only 32 years old, not 62. How could you mock me like that?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t say that. Aren¡¯t you oldpared to those teenagers? Qingyan is a year older than you are, and yet he looks seven years younger than you...¡± Feeling as if a million arrows had darted through his heart, Long Tianze retorted in disgruntlement, ¡°Sis-inw, I¡¯m so handsome and dashing. Why do you make me out to be a fool?¡± ¡°Well... your ws are bound to be amplified when you¡¯repared to others.¡± ¡°Sis-inw, are you going to help me or not?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°...¡± Long Tianze turned pale immediately and stormed off in a huff. As soon as he exited, he caught sight of Jin Qingyan¡¯s car being driven in slowly. Long Tianze quickly stepped forward to stop it from proceeding. ¡°Get down.¡± Jin Qingyan rolled down the windows and asked, ¡°Why? What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I have something major to discuss with you. Hurry and get out of the car.¡± Jin Qingyan alighted and ced both hands into the pockets of his trousers. ¡°Just what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Come to my ce.¡± At the sight of Long Tianze turning around to enter his own home, Jin Qingyan followed suit, thinking that something must have happened. Yet, Long Tianze actually brought up such a trivial matter after they took a seat on the couch in the living room. ¡°Is that all you wanted to tell me about?¡± Chapter 1263 - I Want to Make You Stay (141) Chapter 1263: I Want to Make You Stay (141) Long Tianze expressed assent and remarked, ¡°Qingyan, Sis-inw has greatly disappointed me.¡± Jin Qingyan stared at him sideways and hissed, ¡°She¡¯s not going to spend her life with you anyway, your disappointment is not going to affect her at all.¡± ¡°You really do choose love over your buddy. Can¡¯t she just help me on ount that you and I are best buddies?¡± said Long Tianze. ¡°Our friendship has nothing to do with her. It¡¯s not like we¡¯re so close to the point of sharing a woman.¡± Long Tianze was at a sudden loss for words. He retorted, ¡°I¡¯m not thinking of sharing a woman with you.¡± ¡°What I¡¯m trying to say is, our friendship only concerns us both and has nothing to do with her. It¡¯s entirely up to her to decide if she wants to give you a hand or not. Her decision has nothing to do with your friendship with me. Besides, do you really have such little confidence in yourself?¡± ¡°Of course not!¡± ¡°Good that that¡¯s not the case. What¡¯s the point of making Yangyang be a full-time housewife? Besides, there has to be more than one artiste signed to their entertainment studio. They¡¯d definitely have to nurture some fresh blood, and they can¡¯t just be nurturing female artistes. There needs to be diversity. Do you understand?¡± Long Tianze sighed and said, ¡°You¡¯re at ease because Sis-inw doesn¡¯t have to interact with those young hunks although she manages the studio as well. However, Yangyang would have to stay with them all day. I can¡¯t stand that.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just making a mountain out of a molehill. As the CEO of an entertainment productionpany, don¡¯t you always interact with actresses and models too? She didn¡¯t have any objections to that, did she?¡± ¡°I can exercise proper self-control.¡± ¡°Do you doubt her ability to exercise self-control, then?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You have a point. I was reading too much into things, but that¡¯s all because I care too much about her.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not the only one who cares about your woman. Lots of men can¡¯t hold a candle to you. Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯re the only person whom Yangyang loves, so stop brooding over those illusory things.¡± Long Tianze felt like his mood was instantly lifted. He regained his confidence and said, ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Jin Qingyan stood up in a bid to leave. Long Tianze said, ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°Home, of course. I didn¡¯t get off work early just to listen to your woes.¡± ¡°I have to pick the kids upter. Do yours need a lift too?¡± ¡°Suit yourself.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll go to your ce for dinnerter, then. Auntie Chen makes the best food.¡± ¡°Sure, juste whenever you want.¡± Long Tianze packed up and headed to the boot camp to pick up the four children. It had been a long time since Long Xiaoxi saw her father. Upon the sight of Long Tianze, she scurried toward him gleefully and eximed in excitement, ¡°Daddy!¡± Long Tianze¡¯s heart melted. Staring at his little princess, he stepped forward to pick her up and nted several kisses on her face. ¡°My precious baby, did you miss Daddy?¡± ¡°Of course I did. Daddy, it took you so long to bring me home. Are you even my daddy? Do you miss me at all?¡± Long Xiaoxi questioned, pouting her lips. ¡°Of course I am! I missed you too. I¡¯m here to pick you up now, aren¡¯t I? Let Daddy take a good look at you. My precious baby has lost so much weight. You must have had a hard time here. It hurts me to see you like this. Kids, hurry and get inside the car. It¡¯s time to go home.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t lose any weight. Neither did I suffer much. Daddy, I¡¯ve been living well in the boot camp.¡± Jin Yiheng got inside the car. After everyone followed suit, he asked, ¡°Godpa, why aren¡¯t my parents here?¡± ¡°Your daddy is busy going about his business at home, so he sent me to pick you guys up.¡± ¡°Business? What business?¡± Jin Yiheng asked in puzzlement. ¡°You don¡¯t need to know the details. You won¡¯t understand what business adults have to get down to.¡± ¡°I¡¯m already seven and a half. I¡¯m no longer a child,¡± Jin Yiheng retorted. ¡°No matter how old you are, you¡¯ll always be a child to me.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± .... Meanwhile, Jin Qingyan was really getting down to business. He was thrusting himself vigorously in and out of the petite An Xiaoning while shey on the spacious bed with her eyes slightly open. After a long while, An Xiaoning asked while panting heavily, ¡°Are you done yet?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°How long more do you need? Can we stop? I¡¯m really tired.¡± ¡°You really want me to stop?¡± he asked, gazing at her intently. ¡°Yes... my legs are sore.¡± She got up slowly and supported herself with her arms beside her body. Staring at him while smiling, she asked, ¡°Why did you get off from work early today?¡± ¡°I missed you too much and I couldn¡¯t focus on reading any documents.¡± ¡°Bullshit.¡± ¡°I swear to God, I¡¯m telling the truth.¡± An Xiaoning smiled and nodded. ¡°Okay. Hurry up, my legs are aching.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be done real quick.¡± Five minutester... ¡°Are you done yet?¡± ¡°Almost.¡± Ten minutester... An Xiaoning was at the end of her patience. She snapped, ¡°Jin Qingyan! You¡¯d better not go overboard!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be done really soon.¡± ¡°...¡± Fifteen minutester... ¡°Jin Qingyan, get out! God damn it!¡± ¡°I¡¯m really going to be done soon. I promise.¡± An Xiaoning felt as if her bones were about toe loose. Knock-knock. Long Tianze leaned against the door frame and said with a look of hopelessness on his face, ¡°What are you two getting up to in broad daylight? Hurry ande out. The children are home.¡± Jin Qingyan put on his trousers and got out of bed. He then buttoned his white dress shirt and folded his sleeves while An Xiaoning cleaned up. He then tucked her beneath the nket before answering the door. Long Tianze was pressing his ear against the door in an attempt to eavesdrop. All of a sudden, he was caught off guard when Jin Qingyan opened the door, causing him to fall forward and onto thetter¡¯s chest. Long Tianze felt as if his heart had stopped beating, and he froze in shock on the spot. Jin Qingyan looked down and chastised, ¡°Get off me. What are you waiting for? Are you asking for death?¡± Long Tianze got back onto his feet awkwardly and said with a chuckle, ¡°It was a misunderstanding. It¡¯s all a misunderstanding. I didn¡¯t mean to pounce on you.¡± Instead of uttering another word, Jin Qingyan headed downstairs while Long Tianze followed closely behind. ¡°I was the one who brought the children home.¡± ¡°You¡¯re their father and godfather. What¡¯s wrong with picking them up?¡± Long Tianze frantically waved his hands and exined, ¡°No, no, there¡¯s nothing wrong at all.¡± ¡°Why isn¡¯t Yangyang here? Go bring her over for dinner.¡± Long Tianze sat down and said, ¡°She¡¯s not home. Whenever she¡¯s not home, I don¡¯t even have the appetite to eat the food cooked by our cook. I tried to make my own lunch today but that turned out to be a disaster. I used to be great at cooking, but my culinary skills have be rusty afterying off cooking for such a long time.¡± Chapter 1264 - I Want to Make You Stay (142)

Chapter 1264: I Want to Make You Stay (142)

¡°Don¡¯t overestimate yourself. Your cooking is horrible to begin with,¡± Jin Qingyan said bluntly. ¡°...¡± Long Tianze gathered the children at the dining table, and everyone sat together after An Xiaoning made her way downstairs. Long Tianze said, ¡°Let¡¯s all live together from now on, shall we?¡± ¡°Will that make a difference? You live just opposite us,¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°That¡¯s at least a hundred steps away from you.¡± Jin Qingyan scoffed and quipped, ¡°Why don¡¯t you just be bedridden for life and have a toilet bowl installed below your bed? That way, you won¡¯t have to go anywhere at all. Walking a few steps won¡¯t hurt, will it?¡± ¡°Ah, I just want to enjoy the freedom of being able toe over to your ce for a meal whenever I don¡¯t feel like eating at home.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you enjoy that freedom now too? Who¡¯s stopping you from eating?¡± ¡°Qingyan, let us be one and cohabit.¡± Jin Qingyan darted his chopstick at Long Tianze¡¯s bowl and rebuked, ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it. I don¡¯t want to see you every single day. It¡¯s annoying enough to have you live opposite me.¡± ¡°I know you¡¯re just saying things that you don¡¯t mean. I understand,¡± Long Tianze jested, teasing him with a sheepish wink. ¡°...¡± ¡ª¡ª It began to drizzle continuously in the evening, causing puddles of rainwater to form on the ground. After parking his car inside a lot by the entrance of the hospital, Fan Shixin alighted from the car with a container of food and an umbre in hand. He abruptly caught sight of a few people standing by the door, one of which was Mrs. Mu. He remained still with the umbre over his head and waited for them to enter before doing so as well. d in a surgical mask and a pair of shades, Fan Shixin made his way to Mu Wansheng¡¯s ward. She was in the midst of working on a cross-stitch piece, which she had decided to do since she was rather bored. She was cross-stitching a pair of lovebirds onto a pillow case. She intended to cross-stitch two pillow cases and had alreadypleted one. Upon the sight of his arrival, Mu Wansheng greeted, ¡°Hello, what delicious food did you bring for me this time?¡± Reminded of the fact that Mrs. Mu was still in the hospital, he closed and locked the door before walking toward her. ¡°You¡¯ll find out once we open it.¡± Fan Shixin removed the lid of the food container, after which the heavenly aroma of the piping-hot delicacies wafted up to her nose. Mu Wansheng instantly got an appetite. Fan Shixin ced the dishes onto the tray and pushed it toward her. He then handed her a pair of chopsticks and said, ¡°Dig in. I have something to tell you.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°I saw your mother at the entrance and some other bodyguards. They seem to be from your family.¡± She paused in her actions and asked, ¡°Did she find out that I¡¯m here?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think she did. After all, I¡¯ve already instructed for the news of your hospitalization to be kept confidential. I¡¯m guessing that someone must have seen you when we were out on a stroll and informed your mother about it. It¡¯s alright, just stay here in peace. I won¡¯t let them find you.¡± Mu Wansheng answered with a nod, ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Besides that, I think there¡¯s something else I need you to know. Remember when I told you not to tell anyone that I was the one who saved you?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Do you know why my subordinates and I were on that hill that night?¡± Shaking her head, Mu Wansheng answered, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Take a look at this,¡± he said, handing her a stack of newspapers. Mu Wansheng put her chopsticks down and read the piece of news. She then handed the newspaper back to him and continued eating. ¡°This soldier has finally cleared his name. He seems rather pitiful.¡± ¡°He was the one who abducted you from your home and dumped you on the hill. His name was Zong Jingyi.¡± Mu Wansheng stared at him in astonishment and asked, ¡°Why? Why did he abduct me?¡± ¡°Your mother is his ex-girlfriend. She was also a snitch who was sent to spy on him. She had an ulterior motive for dating him. He was executedter on. However, he didn¡¯t actually die and was kept in the tomb by his brother-inw for a whole sixteen years.¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t die after staying in the tomb for sixteen years? Can he even stay alive without drinking or eating?¡± ¡°That ce is supernatural so he didn¡¯t die. He came out to seek help from my Young Madam. We ced a GPS tracker in his car so we had gotten to monitor wherever he went. We found it really strange the moment we discovered that he had gone onto the hill. So, Young Madam sent me and Xiao Bai to take a look. That¡¯s how we found you.¡± ¡°No wonder he left me that note.¡± ¡°What note?¡± ¡°He said that he didn¡¯t mean to dump me there and that if I must me someone, I should me it on my mother. He also wanted me to tell her that she can¡¯t shirk the responsibility for what happened to him sixteen years ago and that she shouldn¡¯t be too preupied with livingfortably. He wants me to let her know that he¡¯s not dead.¡± ¡°That man has now passed away.¡± ¡°Passed away? How?¡± Mu Wansheng asked with a frown. ¡°He poisoned himself to death, so as to atone for the murders of two innocent lives.¡± Mu Wansheng continued to eat her food, taking one small bite at a time. She could empathize with Zong Jingyi and understood his reasons for doing what he had done. She thought that he was being kind by dumping her on the hill instead of killing her. ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but I feel a little guilty because of my mother.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not your fault. Do you believe that one can remain youthful-looking and not age for years?¡± Fan Shixin asked, staring at her. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that defy thew of nature? That¡¯s impossible,¡± said Mu Wansheng. ¡°Do you know how sinister Shen Jia Lake is?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t, but I heard that there were zombies there that caused a massacre in Beiying. I don¡¯t know if those are just rumors, though.¡± ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Mu Wansheng asked. ¡°Yes, really. My Young Madam was there too. However, the media was prohibited from reporting about the incident because it would invoke fear within citizens. That zombie was already dead for years but he remained preserved. Zong Jingyi came from a tomb not too far away from where that corpse was found. He looks exactly the same as he did sixteen years ago. He didn¡¯t age at all.¡± ¡°Does that mean that I can remain youthful too if I were to live there?¡± ¡°I guess you can if you stay at the bottom. However, the tomb has already been sealed and not everyone is allowed to enter.¡± Mu Wansheng put down her chopsticks and took a few sips of water to wash her food down before saying, ¡°Did his age change, though?¡± ¡°He was in his thirties sixteen years ago. He should be about 50 years old now. How old is your mother?¡± ¡°Forty-nine years old.¡± Chapter 1265 - I Want to Make You Stay (143)

Chapter 1265: I Want to Make You Stay (143)

¡°This matter hase to an end. Zong Jingyi has restored his reputation and paid the price for his actions. Your mother wasn¡¯t implicated, perhaps because she was just Zong Jingyi¡¯s girlfriend at the time and did not take part in aggravating matters. Otherwise, she would have had to have been punished by thew too. Are you still going to continue eating?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m full.¡± Fan Shixin brought the tray away and ced it onto the table. As soon as he did, someone began knocking on the door. Mrs. Mu said, ¡°Please open the door.¡± Mu Wansheng stared at him in shock and asked softly, ¡°What do we do?¡± He lifted the duvet, picked her up, and carried her into the washroom before cing her onto the toilet seat. ¡°Stay here for a while.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Fan Shixin exited the washroom and closed the door after him. ¡°Chief Fan... why are you here?¡± Mrs. Mu asked in shock. ¡°Turns out it was you, Madam Mu. What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking for someone. Chief Fan, why are you here?¡± Remaining calm andposed, Fan Shixin answered, ¡°I¡¯m here to visit a friend who got hospitalized. Who are you looking for, Madam Mu? Perhaps I can give you a hand.¡± Thinking that it would be impossible for Mu Wansheng to be friends with Fan Shixin, Mrs. Mu politely declined, ¡°You don¡¯t have to go to that trouble, Chief Fan. I¡¯ll try looking for her in the other wards.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Fan Shixin closed the door and locked it again. He then carried Mu Wansheng out of the bathroom and said, ¡°Seems like your mother hasn¡¯t given up on searching for you yet. I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll give up before she finds you. I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s only a matter of time before your family finds you here.¡± ¡°Could you bring me to a safer ce where I can¡¯t be found easily? Like a cheap rented room or apartment or something. I can stay in the house all the way until I recover. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll definitely pay you back for all the costs.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not worried about those. I believe you¡¯re a person of your word. I¡¯ll take you out to look at some houses tomorrow. We¡¯ll move you in immediately once we find a suitable ce.¡± ¡°Sorry to trouble you. Thank you for rendering me so much help. No amount of money is enough to repay my gratitude toward you.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no point in being so calctive. Get some rest, it¡¯s raining outside and the temperatures are colder. This nket is rather thin. If you feel chilly, get the nurse to bring you a few more nkets. I¡¯ll be taking my leave now.¡± ¡°Alright, drive safely.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Fan Shixin put on his shades and surgical mask before exiting the ward. The rain grew heavier, and Fan Shixin drove to Wei Ni Estate at a steady speed. Fan Shixin put his umbre away and said to Xiao Lu, who was on duty, ¡°Help me search for some apartments that are avable for rent. It¡¯d be best if you can find a one-bedder. Anywhere is fine except the red-light districts.¡± ¡°Apartments avable for rent?¡± Without uttering another word, Xiao Lu immediately started searching for apartment listings online. After a long while, Xiao Lu asked, ¡°Chief, are you fine with those that are avable for co-renting?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°There are very few one-bedroom apartments. Most are up for co-renting. The conditions don¡¯t seem too ideal either.¡± Fan Shixin stepped forward and stood beside Xiao Lu to take a look at theputer screen, only to find that there were indeed no suitable apartments. ¡°Forget it, stop searching,¡± said Fan Shixin, who then left and headed to the dormitory. Xiao Bai and Xiao Huang were in the midst of a game of cards. Upon the sight of Fan Shixin, they immediately put the cards away and stood up straight by the bed. ¡°You guys seem to be very free. I¡¯ve got something for you to do.¡± They looked at each other in surprise and eximed, ¡°Chief, please give us your orders!¡± ¡°You know that I own an apartment in the estate, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never lived in that apartment before. You guys, go there to clean and tidy the apartment. Make sure everything¡¯s spick and span before youe back here to sleep.¡± Staring wide-eyed at him, Xiao Huang asked, ¡°Chief, are you nning to move there?¡± ¡°No, someone else is. The password is 123456. Hurry along.¡± Xiao Bai snorted withughter and remarked in amusement, ¡°Chief, your password is so simple. Aren¡¯t you afraid of burrs?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll remember to change it once you guys are done cleaning up. What are you waiting for? Hurry. Make sure everything is squeaky clean. I¡¯ll be running a spot check tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Xiao Bai added, ¡°Chief, why don¡¯t you just get the servants to do it? You¡¯re putting our talents to waste.¡± ¡°You guys have nothing better to do anyway.¡± ¡°...¡± Fan Shixin returned to his room. He decided to let Mu Wansheng move into his apartment for the time being since it would be left vacant anyway. Besides, she would be kept close to him. Jin Qingyan had given that apartment to him as a reward in the past. It was meant to be his nuptial home when he gets married in the future. The apartment had been vacant all along, though, because he was living in the dormitory. However, the apartment was already well renovated, and it contained all the necessary furniture. Fan Shixin sat on the bed. Just as he was about to go wash up, his phone began to ring all of a sudden. It was a call from Wu Pingyang. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°I¡¯m about to go wash up and turn in.¡± ¡°Are you free tomorrow?¡± Wu Pingyang asked. ¡°Tomorrow?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d like to have lunch and go to the movies with you. I don¡¯t have to go to work tomorrow,¡± Wu Pingyang said merrily. ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll take some time out of my schedule,¡± Fan Shixin agreed. As happy as ark, Wu Pingyang answered, ¡°It¡¯s settled, then. Leave it to me to book the movie tickets and make a reservation at the restaurant. You just have to turn up.¡± ¡°Let me do it instead. How can I make the girl pay for the date? Tell me the title of the movie you¡¯d like to watch and the name of the restaurant you¡¯d like to go to. I¡¯ll make the bookings.¡± That was exactly what Wu Pingyang was expecting to hear. She answered, ¡°I... shall not stand on ceremony with you, then. You¡¯re my boyfriend anyway. I¡¯ll text youter.¡± ¡°Alright, go to bed early, then.¡± ¡°Goodnight.¡± As soon as he put his mobile phone down after ending the call, he received a text message. He took a nce at it and headed to the bathroom. ¡ª¡ª Long Xiaoxi sat on Long Tianze¡¯sp and ced her arms around his neck while resting her head on his shoulder. She was all cuddled up in his embrace like a princess. ¡°Daddy, now that Shi Bao¡¯er is no longer around, is she going to pull out of the boot camp?¡± ¡°She¡¯s being punished for her wrongdoings. I don¡¯t know if she¡¯ll return to the boot camp in the future.¡± ¡°Daddy, when do Brother and I have to return to the boot camp?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll send you guys back tomorrow.¡± Extremely displeased to hear how soon they¡¯d have to leave, Long Xiaoxi asked, ¡°Daddy... can¡¯t Brother and I stay at home for a little longer?¡± Long Tianze squeezed her chubby cheeks and said, ¡°I¡¯ll bring you guys home again after a while. We¡¯ll try and let you stay at home for a longer duration next time. Your teacher told us that we¡¯d have to send you back tomorrow.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Chapter 1266 - I Want to Make You Stay (144)

Chapter 1266: I Want to Make You Stay (144)

¡°Are you tired? I¡¯ll tuck you in bed.¡± ¡°Daddy, I don¡¯t want to sleep at home.¡± Long Tianze asked in astonishment, ¡°Where do you want to sleep, then?¡± ¡°I want to sleep together with Yiheng.¡± bbergasted, Long Tianze said, ¡°Xiaoxi, you¡¯re a big girl now. You can¡¯t sleep on the same bed as your Brother Yiheng anymore. The same applies for your brother too.¡± Long Xiaoxi insisted, ¡°No, I¡¯m going to marry Yiheng when I grow up.¡± ¡°Baby, I¡¯m very heartened to see how ambitious you are, but boys can¡¯t sleep on the same bed as girls. That¡¯s not allowed at all!¡± Noticing how stern he was getting, Long Xiaoxi said solemnly, ¡°I sleep next to Yiheng in school every day!¡± Shocked out of his senses, Long Tianze chided, ¡°Xiaoxi, girls shouldn¡¯t be so proactive and take the initiative all the time. Will you listen to Daddy?¡± ¡°No, no, no, I refuse.¡± A sudden saying popped up in his head ¡ª¡±When a girl is grown up, she must be married off.¡± But my daughter is only five! Yet, I already can¡¯t keep her by my side? He instantly felt as if he had to lose his daughter to another man before he could even spend enough time with her. He was filled with an immense misery that words could not exin. Fortunately, Qingyan lives really close to us. Even if we be inws in the future, I won¡¯t have to worry about the distance. They won¡¯t ill-treat Xiaoxi either. Long Tianze felt much better after reassuring himself. ¡°Xiaoxi, tell Daddy, do you really want to marry Yiheng when you grow up?¡± ¡°Of course I do. Daddy, are you doubting my words?¡± Long Tianze exined, ¡°I¡¯m not doubting your words. I only asked that because you¡¯re so fickle-minded. Whenever Yiheng makes you upset, you¡¯ll dere that you won¡¯t marry him anymore when you grow up. But you¡¯ll say that you want to marry him again after a while.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t say such things again in the future. Daddy, Yiheng said that he¡¯ll definitely marry me when we grow up,¡± Long Xiaoxi said firmly. ¡°What if he changes his mind when he grows up?¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I must make him mine now, so as to prevent him from changing his mind when he grows up. He¡¯ll only have eyes for me then. Hehe, Daddy, I came up with his idea after some meticulous brainstorming. What do you think of it?¡± On the verge of tears, Long Tianze hugged his precious daughter tightly and said with obvious reluctance, ¡°Daddy... supports you.¡± Long Xiaoxi kissed him delightedly and said, ¡°I knew you were my biological daddy. You¡¯re the best daddy. Daddy, I love you.¡± She then let go of Long Tianze and got off from hisp. ¡°Daddy, I¡¯m tired. I¡¯m going to bed now. Goodnight, Daddy.¡± ¡°Goodnight, Baby.¡± Long Tianze headed downstairs to see that Mei Yangyang was sitting in front of the dressing table and applying some night cream. Noticing how sulky he seemed, she asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± He let out a long sigh and said dejectedly, ¡°Yangyang, Xiaoxi told me just now that she wants to marry Yiheng when she grows up.¡± ¡°Hasn¡¯t she already said that several times before?¡± asked Mei Yangyang, who did not find it to be a big deal. ¡°She said that she¡¯s been sleeping next to Yiheng in the boot camp every day. She¡¯s going opposite to sleep with him again.¡± Mei Yangyang remarked, ¡°They¡¯re still so young. What¡¯s wrong with sleeping together on the same bed?¡± ¡°She also said that she¡¯s going to make Yiheng her person, so as to prevent him from changing his mind in the future.¡± Mei Yangyang turned around and asked, smiling, ¡°Did she really say that?¡± ¡°Yes, she really said that.¡± ¡°Seems like Xiaoxi does take after you. How dare you have the cheek to criticize her? Didn¡¯t you carry a torch for Qingyue throughout your adolescence and young adult phase? She¡¯s too mature for her age. I didn¡¯t even know what romance was all about when I was a child.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Long Tianze walked toward her and hugged her from behind. ¡°I¡¯m still afraid that Xiaoxi will follow in my footsteps. I¡¯m afraid Yiheng will... you know what I¡¯m referring to. This has always been one of my greatest concerns.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just stressing yourself out for nothing.¡± ¡°Yangyang, no one can be certain about what will happen in the future. Why don¡¯t we arrange for the two of them to be married? That way, Yiheng will know from a young age that he¡¯ll be marrying Xiaoxi when he¡¯s older.¡± Pursing her lips, Mei Yangyang chastised, ¡°Are you out of your mind? That¡¯s so outdated.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just worried about Xiaoxi. I know I¡¯m overreacting, but I can¡¯t help but let my imagination run wild whenever I think about this problem. After all, I¡¯ve had some experience.¡± ¡°Xiaoxi really takes after you, but her predicament is different from yours. She¡¯s very close to Yiheng right now. Were you as close to Qingyue when you guys were children? Qingyue detested you ever since you guys were young, didn¡¯t she?¡± Long Tianze retorted, ¡°Who said so? She loved following me around and calling me ¡®Brother.¡¯¡± ¡°Are you sure she wasn¡¯t referring to Ling Ciye or Jin Qingyan?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure!¡± ¡°Psht.¡± Mei Yangyang did not believe him at all. ¡°I¡¯m telling the truth.¡± Mei Yangyang answered perfunctorily, ¡°Yeah, yeah, it¡¯s all real.¡± ¡°No, I must talk to Qingyan about this now.¡± Mei Yangyang grabbed his shirt and said, ¡°Come back here. What¡¯s there to talk about? Isn¡¯t it better to just let nature take its course?¡± ¡°No, I must protect our Xiaoxi,¡± said Long Tianze, who felt that they could not afford any more dy. ¡°God damn it.¡± Mei Yangyang hurriedly chased after him in her pajamas. Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning were sitting on the couch and watching a movie when Long Tianze rushed inside their house with a sullen expression on his face. Jin Qingyan nced at him and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Qingyan, Sis-inw, I have something to discuss with you guys.¡± ¡°Sit down and tell us,¡± said An Xiaoning, who then switched off the television. Silence filled the air. ¡°It¡¯s regarding Xiaoxi and Yiheng.¡± ¡°Oh? Not regarding Yangyang nurturing a young hunk?¡± An Xiaoning asked. Mei Yangyang turned to look at Long Tianze and questioned, ¡°You actually sought Sis¡¯ help regarding the matter about the artiste?¡± Long Tianze answered wryly, ¡°You refused to listen to me so I was nning to ask Sis-inw to talk you around.¡± ¡°Long Tianze, are your brains fried? I¡¯m only doing that for work, not to look for a boy toy.¡± ¡°I know. Let¡¯s talk about the main problem first,¡± said Long Tianze, holding her hand. Unable to tell what he wanted to say, An Xiaoning prompted, ¡°Just what do you want to talk about? What¡¯s wrong with Xiaoxi and Yiheng?¡± ¡°Sis-inw, Qingyan. Let¡¯s betroth the children to each other,¡± said Long Tianze, staring at them solemnly. An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan exchanged nces, dumbfounded. ¡°Long Tianze, the children are still so young. Why do you want them to be engaged?¡± Jin Qingyan asked in bewilderment. Chapter 1267 - I Want to Make You Stay (145)

Chapter 1267: I Want to Make You Stay (145)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Xiaoxi sleeps next to Yiheng every day, and she even said that she¡¯s going to marry him when she grows up. She also said that Yiheng promised to marry her when they¡¯re older. I find this matter to be very important. We must take it seriously.¡± An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°I think you¡¯re just worried about ruining Xiaoxi¡¯s reputation. We shall betroth them to each other if they don¡¯t have any objections, then.¡± Jin Qingyan asked, ¡°What happens if there are changes after the engagement? For example, if Xiaoxi and Yiheng fall in love with others in the future, or if one of them has a change of heart. What do we do when that happens...?¡± Long Tianze looked at them and said, ¡°I asked to betroth them precisely because I¡¯m worried about that. I just want to create a safety for the two of them. What happens to them in the future will depend on themselves. Besides, divorce is somon nowadays, isn¡¯t it? Such stuff are unpredictable.¡± ¡°Alright. Xiaoning, bring the children here,¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°Sure.¡± An Xiaoning stood up immediately and headed upstairs. A few minutester, the three children arrived downstairs. A strange tension filled the living room. ¡°Yiheng, do you fancy Xiaoxi?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°I do.¡± ¡°Are you going to marry her when you guys grow up?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Xiaoxi, what about you?¡± Long Xiaoxi eximed eagerly, ¡°Godma, I fancy him! I¡¯m willing to marry him!¡± The four adults burst intoughter. Mei Yangyang could not stopughing for she was extremely amused by how eager her daughter was. ¡°Yiheng, do you know what it means to be engaged to each other?¡± Jin Yiheng answered, ¡°Yes, it means to make a promise to marry each other in the future.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m asking you now, are you willing to get engaged to Xiaoxi right now?¡± Jin Yiheng turned to nce at Long Xiaoxi before looking at his parents again. ¡°But, Mommy, aren¡¯t we allowed to get engaged only when we¡¯re adults?¡± ¡°During the olden days, some children do get betrothed to each other. However, such outdated practices have be obsolete with time as society progresses. In such practices, girls whoe from poor families will usually be sold to the boys¡¯ families. In other cases, close friends tend to arrange a marriage between each other¡¯s children too. I¡¯m asking you now, are you willing to be engaged to Xiaoxi?¡± Jin Yiheng smiled at Long Xiaoxi before answering, ¡°Yes, I am.¡± Long Tianze heaved a sigh of relief and said, ¡°Yiheng, you must think through it carefully.¡± ¡°Godpa, I¡¯ve already thought through it carefully.¡± The four adults looked at each other, and the matter was finally settled. Long Tianze had a sleepless night that night, whereas Mei Yangyang managed to catch a few hours of sleep. He constantly tossed and turned in bed, as if his daughter was about to get married. As soon as daybreak arrived, he got out of bed. Mei Yangyang asked, ¡°Why are you up so early?¡± ¡°Did you forget that we agreed to hold a ceremony today? We have to invite a lot of guests.¡± ¡°I think we should just hold a small ceremony and keep it within our social circle. It won¡¯t be that appropriate to announce it to the whole wide world.¡± ¡°We must invite our closest friends and family to an extravagant ceremony.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t even have the time to get the gowns and attires tailor-made. Why can¡¯t you just wait for everything to be prepared before holding the ceremony?¡± ¡°No, we must hold it today. We¡¯ve already decided on the locationst night. Hurry, get out of bed and take the children out to shop for some clothes.¡± Mei Yangyang had no words for his overeagerness. She got out of bed and said, ¡°I should just knock you out.¡± ¡ª¡ª The weather was fair this morning, as opposed to the drizzles the night before. The clouds could be seen up high in the clear blue skies. Fan Shixin was dumbfounded to hear about the children¡¯s engagement first thing in the morning. ¡°Young Sir, is it true that Miss Xiaoxi and Little Sir will be going through an engagement ceremony today?¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯ve already decided on a venuest night. Head there now and oversee everything. Make sure the food is catered, and do also invite all our closest friends and family.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the rush?¡± asked Fan Shixin. He would have mistook it for a shotgun marriage if the two children were adults. ¡°Didn¡¯t you see how eager Tianze was? He¡¯s always acting on impulse. Since Yiheng has no objections, we decided to concede.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Fan Shixin instructed Xiao Bai to deliver breakfast to Mu Wansheng and at the same time help her get discharged from the hospital before bringing her back to his apartment in Wei Ni Estate. Xiao Bai murmured, ¡°Chief...¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Turns out you made us clean the apartment because you wanted to let Ms. Mu move in.¡± ¡°Her mother is searching for her everywhere in the hospital. Since there aren¡¯t any suitable apartments avable for rent, I decided to just let her move into mine temporarily. It¡¯s vacant anyway. By the way, tell the rest of them to keep their lips sealed.¡± ¡°I know what to do. Rest assured, Chief. I¡¯ll go pick Ms. Mu up now,¡± said Xiao Bai, who was keeping his back as straight as a ruler. ¡°Okay. Pay the nurse her due wages too.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s going to take care of Ms. Mu, then?¡± Fan Shixin answered, ¡°She can walk on her own now. Deliver her meals to her whenever I¡¯m not around to do so. You don¡¯t have to worry about the rest.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll get to it now.¡± Xiao Bai headed to the hospital with some food. He entered the ward to see that Mu Wansheng was lying on the bed quietly. ¡°Ms. Mu, Chief wanted me toe and pick you up.¡± ¡°Where did he go?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a little busy today. Let¡¯s pack up. I¡¯ll settle the administrative procedures to get you dischargedter.¡± ¡°Alright, thank you for the trouble.¡± Xiao Bai smiled courteously and said, ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡± Once everything was settled, Mu Wansheng got inside the car that Xiao Bai drove to the hospital and asked, ¡°Where are we going?¡± ¡°Back to Wei Ni Estate.¡± ¡°Wei Ni Estate? Shouldn¡¯t we be heading to a rented apartment elsewhere?¡± Mu Wansheng asked in puzzlement. ¡°No, Chief made us clean his apartment yesterday and he wants you to move in there.¡± Mu Wansheng¡¯s heart skipped a beat and she asked, ¡°Am I going to live with him?¡± ¡°No, Chief stays with us in the dormitory. That apartment was meant for him to live in with his future wife but he has never moved in before. However, the renovation has beenpleted, and all the furniture you¡¯d need are inside the apartment too. We¡¯ll deliver all your meals to you from now on.¡± Mu Wansheng found it shocking and inappropriate for her to move into his nuptial home. ¡°That won¡¯t be too appropriate. It¡¯d be inauspicious if I move into his nuptial home right after getting discharged. I must give him a call.¡± Trying to talk her around, Xiao Bai said, ¡°Ms. Mu, it¡¯s fine. Since Chief has already decided to let you move in there, it just means he isn¡¯t worried about those things you¡¯ve mentioned. Just stay there.¡± ¡°I still don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea. Chief Fan has already given me so much help. How can I move into his nuptial home?¡± said Mu Wansheng, who found it extremely inappropriate, especially since Fan Shixin was still single. Chapter 1268 - I Want to Make You Stay (146)

Chapter 1268: I Want to Make You Stay (146)

She decided to call Fan Shixin. The call went through soon after. ¡°Chief Fan, it¡¯s me.¡± ¡°Hello, Wansheng.¡± Mu Wansheng clenched her fist in shock as she felt her heart skip a beat. This was the very first time that he had addressed her by her name instead of ¡°Ms. Mu.¡± Hello, Wansheng. She spluttered nervously, ¡°Yes... it¡¯s me, um, my injuries have yet to heal. I don¡¯t think I should live in your nuptial home. It won¡¯t be appropriate. You see...¡± Before she could even finish speaking, Fan Shixin interrupted, ¡°It¡¯s alright, I don¡¯t mind it at all. I can¡¯t find a suitable apartment for you so you shall stay in mine for the time being. You can save on rent too. I have to get going now.¡± ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t disturb you any further, then.¡± Mu Wansheng ended the call and gripped her phone tightly without uttering a single word. Upon arriving at Fan Shixin¡¯s apartment in Wei Ni Estate, Xiao Bai input the password and said, ¡°The password is 123456 for now. Chief Fan will tell you the new password once he changes it.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Mu Wansheng entered the apartment to discover that she liked the decor and theyout. The bedroom was rather spacious and had a full-length window as well as a balcony. Mu Wanshengy down on therge bed and found that it wasfortable. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to thank me. By the way, Ms. Mu, note my mobile number down. You may call me instead whenever Chief is busy.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Mu Wansheng and Xiao Bai exchanged numbers before he left. She was left alone in the apartment. Finding it too boring to be lying down in bed all day, she decided to get down and walk. Although she was walking very slowly, she was still making progress. The ce was a three-bedroom apartment. There was a master bedroom, a secondary bedroom, a study, a washroom, and a kitchen. She dared not enter the master bedroom and instead just stood close to the door. Mu Wansheng headed to the balcony and stared at the roads below. Due to the fact that the apartment was on the third floor, she could see the cars and pedestrians below clearly. After gazing at the roads for a while, she decided to go back inside to rest. ¡ª¡ª The children were supposed to return to the boot camp today. However, they decided to postpone it by a day because of the engagement ceremony. Upon hearing the sudden news, the friends and family of the four adults decided to gift them with red packets since they did not have the time to buy proper gifts. Gu Beicheng attended the ceremony alone and gave an extra red packet on behalf of Lin Mingxi, who could not make it since she was in the midst of her postpartum confinement period. Tuoba Shuo could not attend either because he had to handle some political matters. However, Shi Qingzhou and Tuoba Rui turned up. The ceremony officiallymenced at eleven o¡¯clock in the morning. Long Xiaoxi was dressed in a red gown with makeup all over her chubby face. Since she wasn¡¯t morbidly obese, she still looked great in the exquisite gown that had been meticulously selected. On the other hand, Jin Yiheng was donning a white buttoned shirt and ck vest beneath a ck suit, paired with a red tie that was tucked under the vest. He too had on a pair of shiny leather shoes, and his hair wasbed into a pompadour, which made him look extremely dashing. The instructors, teachers, and other members of the boot camp attended the ceremony, all except Shi Bao¡¯er, who had been brought away to another city by No. 5. Wen Yuechan sat down beside the instructors with a sullen expression on her face, feeling extremely shell-shocked and upset. She felt as if the world hade crashing down on her the moment she saw Long Xiaoxi smiling widely. She recalled her mother¡¯s words and could not help but fear the next time that she¡¯d be meeting her. After the ceremony proper began, Jin Yiheng and Long Xiaoxi grinned widely from ear to ear. They were extremely serious and knew not to y the fool because it was an official ceremony. It was time for the parents to speak once the ceremony ended. Jin Qingyan was the first to make his speech. d in a suit, he stood on the podium and looked at the guests before saying, ¡°Thank you, everyone, for taking the time out of your busy schedules to attend the children¡¯s engagement ceremony. I¡¯m sure all of you know that Tianze and I are childhood friends and that his wife and Xiaoning are best friends. The two children are on very close terms with each other too. After seeking their opinions, we¡¯ve decided to hold an engagement ceremony for them. Since Yiheng is about two years older than Xiaoxi, we¡¯ve all decided to let them register their marriage once Yiheng turns 22 years old and Xiaoxi turns 20.¡± After a round of apuse, Jin Qingyan retreated and allowed An Xiaoning to make her speech. She said, ¡°The children may be young, but they¡¯re very sensible and they¡¯re fully aware of what this ceremony is for. They know that this is a formal and serious event, not child¡¯s y. I hope that all of you can give this pair of childhood sweethearts your best blessings. Thank you, everyone.¡± The crowd burst into boisterous fanfare. Mei Yangyang made a simple speech as well. However, Long Tianze could not stay as calm as the three of them and had teared up. ¡°They all say that daughters are the greatestfort parents can have. Yet, I¡¯m about to lose myfort even before she bes an adult...¡± Everyone instantly burst intoughter. Long Tianze rolled his eyes haughtily and retorted, ¡°What are you peopleughing for? I¡¯m being serious. I¡¯m so agitated right now...¡± He continued to make an incoherent speech before ending off with an amusing line. ¡°I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m talking about either, just make do with it.¡± Laughter once again filled the room. It was time for the banquet. Everyone was in high spirits. Although the two families had decided to keep a low profile and keep the matter away from the media to prevent receiving any bacsh from maliciousizens, the news still got leaked in the end. However, they were not bothered by it at all. Fan Shixin did not attend the ceremony and instead proceeded to meet his girlfriend, Wu Pingyang, at the restaurant that they had agreed upon earlier. Wu Pingyang had deliberately dolled herself up, allowing her long locks to cascade down her back. She exuded a feminine and alluring aura. ¡°I read a piece of news on my mobile phone while I was on my way here. I heard that Mr. Jin¡¯s son and Mr. Long¡¯s daughter are getting engaged today. It sounded really usible. It can¡¯t be true, can it?¡± she said. ¡°Do you think it¡¯s true?¡± Fan Shixin asked while chewing on a small piece of steak. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I find it a little inappropriate, but at the same time, it seems rather possible too.¡± ¡°Inappropriate? I don¡¯t think it¡¯s inappropriate. Young Sir never acts inappropriately,¡± Fan Shixin said calmly. ¡°Does that mean it¡¯s real?¡± ¡°Yeah, I just rushed here from the ceremony. They¡¯re attending to the guests now.¡± Wu Pingyang took a sip of red wine from her goblet and asked, ¡°Why are they getting engaged at such a young age?¡± ¡°Little Sir and Ms. Long get along really well. Their parents are very close to each other too. They decided to let the children get engaged after seeking their opinion.¡± Chapter 1269 - I Want to Make You Stay (147)

Chapter 1269: I Want to Make You Stay (147)

¡°The children are still so young. Even though they might agree to it now, wouldn¡¯t they regret it when they¡¯re older? Why does it... seem like they¡¯re treating it as child¡¯s y.¡± Not sure of how to answer her, Fan Shixin replied, ¡°They¡¯ve already talked about that problem before and decided to let nature take its course. However, they¡¯re very serious about it and it¡¯s not just child¡¯s y. If it is, they wouldn¡¯t have bothered throwing a banquet and inviting so many guests.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± said Wu Pingyang, who decided to drop the subject after noticing that he appeared a little stern. After a few minutes of silence, Wu Pingyang asked, ¡°Do you still remember my cousin?¡± ¡°Your cousin? Who?¡± Fan Shixin asked. ¡°Mu Wansheng. She signed up for a blind date with you before. She¡¯s the one who showed up and informed you that she had a boyfriend.¡± Fan Shixin answered with a straight face, ¡°I do. What¡¯s wrong with her?¡± ¡°She¡¯s gone missing and we can¡¯t find her at all. We¡¯re all wondering if her boyfriend had killed her. However, my aunt keeps insisting that Wansheng had probably gone into hiding after getting wounded. Her boyfriend is penniless. She was already beaten up into a pulp by her mother. I wonder if she died somewhere on the streets.¡± ¡°Why did her mother hit her?¡± ¡°She was disobedient and defied my aunt and my grandfather. They wanted her to marry a man who¡¯s of the same background, but she insisted on marrying that penniless boyfriend of hers. My grandfather hit the roof and decided to throw her out of the family. Wansheng is ill-tempered and stubborn. She doesn¡¯t possess the gentleness and meekness that a woman should have,¡± Wu Pingyang said while enjoying her food. Ill-tempered? Fan Shixin did not see that personality trait in her at all. Could it be that I had yet to spend enough time with her? Or was it because I¡¯m her life savior? ¡°Judging from what you said, does that mean that she¡¯s not on good terms with her mother?¡± ¡°That goes without saying. She¡¯s always getting into an argument with her mother and causing her mother to be exasperated all the time. She doesn¡¯t talk to my uncle either.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Shaking her head, Wu Pingyang answered, ¡°It¡¯s hard to exin... anyway, she just doesn¡¯t talk to my uncle much. He kinda ignores her too. That¡¯s why we all think that the reason she¡¯s bent on marrying that pauper is because he treats her well.¡± Fan Shixin did not seem to be interested in knowing about Mu Wansheng at all. Hence, he did not reply and instead asked Wu Pingyang, ¡°When do you n to get married?¡± Wu Pingyan beamed with joy upon hearing his question. She assumed that he was trying to sound her out because he had intentions to marry her. Is he going to propose to me if I tell him that I¡¯m ready to get married anytime? Blushing red with shyness, she answered, ¡°I don¡¯t really have any ns at the moment, but I¡¯ll get married when fate decides it¡¯s time for me to. I don¡¯t mind getting married right now either.¡± Surprised to hear her answer, Fan Shixin answered, ¡°Good to hear.¡± Good to hear? Does that mean he¡¯s really going to propose to me? But we¡¯ve only been dating for a while. Seems like he¡¯s really fond of me. She could not contain her joy and excitement. She asked, ¡°What about you?¡± Fan Shixin put down his cutlery and said, ¡°I¡¯m leaving it to fate too.¡± Wu Pingyang was over the moon after hearing his words. After lunch, they proceeded to the movies. She had selected thetest romance film. Most women generally prefer romantic films. Although there were quite a lot of men who enjoyed romantic films too, Fan Shixin was an exception. He could not tolerate films that were senseless and ridiculous. The male and female leads of the film that they had watched today were acting just like idiots. Although most of the audience wereughing their hearts out, Fan Shixin simply could not understand the reason behind their amusement and did not find it enjoyable at all. If it weren¡¯t because of Wu Pingyang, he would have stood up and left straight away. The two hours of the film felt like hell to him. He heaved a sigh of relief after leaving the movie theater. ¡°It was so funny, I loved it,¡± she remarked. He nodded and said, ¡°Okay. Pingyang, I have to get going now.¡± ¡°Huh... we¡¯ve only been out for such a short while. Can¡¯t you apany me to go shopping?¡± she asked with a look of disappointment. ¡°I¡¯m a little busy today. Shall we wait ¡¯til I¡¯m free another day?¡± ¡°By the time you¡¯re free, I won¡¯t be able to take leave anymore. But I won¡¯t make things difficult for you. Go ahead and get to work. I¡¯ll go shopping by myself.¡± ¡°Do you want me to give you a lift?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Fan Shixin ferried her to a shopping street before driving away. Wu Pingyang was a little disappointed because Fan Shixin turned out to be different from what she had imagined him to be. Contrary to her expectations, Fan Shixin did not have a sense of humor and was not generous with his girlfriend at all. Ever since they started dating, he would only pay for dates and small gifts that he had given her, unlike other wealthy men who would gift their girlfriends with credit cards that they were allowed to use freely. He had never given her any cash to spend during her shopping trips either. Although she was financially independent and was not short of money, she nheless felt that he was not sincere enough. Could it be because we¡¯ve only known each other for a short period of time? Or will he only start being generous after we get married? She felt too embarrassed to ask Fan Shixin about his sry and how many property he owned, for fear that he would be repulsed by her. Wu Pingyang pursed her lips and proceeded to go shopping. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Mrs. Wen, Yuechan is on a break today. Please send her back to the boot camp tomorrow.¡± Smiling, Mrs. Wen answered, ¡°Sure. Goodbye, Coach Chen.¡± Chen Xu waved her goodbye before driving away. Wen Yuechan stood rooted to the ground with her head hung low, not daring to establish eye contact with her mother. The smile on Mrs. Wen¡¯s face turned into a sullen frown, and the gentleness of her voice instantly faded. She hollered, ¡°What are you waiting for? Go home!¡± Wen Yuechan walked back home in fear. Mrs. Wen mmed the door shut forcefully and dragged Wen Yuechan to the couch. Wen Yuechan stared at her mother, who was looming over her menacingly. ¡°Mommy.¡± ¡°What have you been doing at the boot camp all this while? Did you forget what I told you? I said, you must make Jin Yiheng fancy you no matter what it takes. Why did he get engaged to that fatso!?!¡± ¡°That was a decision made by their parents, and they¡¯re the godchildren of each other¡¯s parents... Mommy, there really isn¡¯t anything I can change. Besides, Jin Yiheng still has a younger brother...¡± Wen Yuechan exined while pressing both hands on the couch. ¡°I know he has a younger brother, but he¡¯s adopted. It¡¯s just not the same,¡± said Mrs. Wen, who knew that there was no turning back now that they were already engaged, unless... Unless Long Xiaoxi was no longer around... Mrs. Wen was appalled the moment she realized that she had such an evil thought for a split second. The children are still young, we¡¯ve got plenty of time and opportunities. Besides, no one can be certain about what happens in the future. Thus, she mellowed her tone and said to Wen Yuechan, ¡°They may be engaged now but you still stand a chance.¡± Chapter 1270 - I Want to Make You Stay (148)

Chapter 1270: I Want to Make You Stay (148)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Wen Yuechan looked up and stared at her mother in bewilderment. ¡°You children are still young. As long as you work hard now and make Jin Yiheng fall in love with you, he¡¯ll break off his engagement with that fatso. On top of that, don¡¯t be so oblivious and ignorant. Although his younger brother is adopted, he¡¯s still a member of the Jin family. Take note and try to get closer to him too. Should you end up failing to win Jin Yiheng¡¯s heart, there¡¯s still Jin Rongyan for you to fall back on.¡± Wen Yuechan nodded and said, ¡°Mommy, I heard that Long Xiaoxi always runs to the boys¡¯ dormitory in the boot camp at night...¡± ¡°Look how hardworking and conscientious she is. No wonder she can get engaged to Jin Yiheng. Why can¡¯t you learn how to take the initiative more often?¡± Wen Yuechan hung her head low and remained silent. Noticing that her daughter had fallen silent, Mrs. Wen added, ¡°From now on, you must learn from that fatso and be more proactive. Yuechan, your daddy has abandoned us, and I¡¯ve pinned all my hopes on you. Whether or not we¡¯ll get to live a life of luxury will depend on you. If you don¡¯t buck up and work harder, I¡¯ll have to find you a stepfather.¡± Wen Yuechan looked up and frantically said, ¡°Mommy, don¡¯t get me a stepfather, I¡¯ll do my best.¡± Mrs. Wen answered with a nod, ¡°I hope you really will.¡± ¡ª¡ª The two families sat in the living room of Jin Qingyan¡¯s mansion with the coffee table in between them. They began exchanging their tokens of love. They were initially supposed to exchanged the tokens during the ceremony but decided to do it privately instead after some discussion. An Xiaoning ced the token on the coffee table and slid it across gently. ¡°Xiaoxi, Godma and Yiheng picked this out for you this morning. It¡¯s a piece of jade that has engravings of yours and Yiheng¡¯s name. There¡¯s a love knot attached to it at the bottom too,¡± she said. Just as Long Xiaoxi was about to touch the jade, Mei Yangyang smacked her hand and chided, ¡°Why are you so impatient? Wait for me to take out Yiheng¡¯s gift before you take a look.¡± Mei Yangyang then took out the token of love that was meant for Jin Yiheng. It was a ring that would fit Jin Yiheng when he was an adult. They had decided to select such a size so that they would not have to constantly get the ring resized to fit his growing fingers. The two children scrutinized the two tokens of love. ¡°From today onwards, we¡¯ll be inws. You have no idea how I¡¯m feeling right now,¡± said Long Tianze. cing an arm around Long Xiaoxi, Long Tianze looked at Jin Yiheng and said, ¡°Hey rascal, you reserved Xiaoxi for yourself when you guys are still so young. If you ever dare to bully her, I won¡¯t let you off.¡± Jin Yiheng answered without hesitation, ¡°Godpa, Xiaoxi has also reserved me, hasn¡¯t she?¡± ¡°You have a point... whatever it is, I hope you two will grow up together happily. I¡¯m waiting for the day that you address me as your father-inw. This has be a wish of mine.¡± ¡°Father-inw,¡± said Jin Yiheng. Long Tianze was dumbfounded. Once he snapped back to reality, he murmured, ¡°This kid is... really... sensible.¡± Upon returning home, Long Tianze and Mei Yangyang headed to their bedroom upstairs to get some rest. The pair were dead beat after attending to guests for the entire day. They sprawled themselves across the bed, not wanting to move an inch at all. ¡°How much older is Yihengpared to Wenlun?¡± Mei Yangyang answered sluggishly, ¡°Yiheng was born on the 15th of July while Wenlun was born on the 15th of December of the same year. Xiaoxi is a year younger than Wenlun so she¡¯s almost two years younger than Yiheng.¡± Long Tianze expressed assent and said, ¡°Yangyang, I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m just psyching myself out or what but I suddenly feel much less worried than before.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just imagining it. It¡¯s all in your head. However, it¡¯s good that we¡¯ve beat Xiaoxi¡¯s potentialpetitors to it. I heard from Xiaoxi that there¡¯s this girl in the boot camp who lives in the same estate as us. Her name is Wen Yuechan and she¡¯s incredibly fond of Yiheng too. We¡¯ve saved so much trouble by allowing Yiheng and Xiaoxi to get engaged. Xiaoxi is considered to be Yiheng¡¯s fianc¨¦e now. She owns the rights to fend off those pesky girls around him.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Long Tianze closed his eyes, feeling extremely exhausted after a long day and a sleepless night. Mei Yangyang remained quiet and stared at him while caressing his face gently. She knew that he had been eagerly trying to get the children engaged, simply because he knew that his precious daughter adored Jin Yiheng to bits. He really pampers Xiaoxi to no end. Should Xiaoxi ever ask for the moon, I bet he¡¯d do whatever it takes to fulfill her wishes. She decided to go to bed too since she did not catch much sleep the night before. On the other hand, the couple opposite was not sleepy at all. They had had a great night¡¯s sleep. Long Tianze would be exasperated to know how calm they were about the engagement. Long Xiaoxi and Jin Rongyan headed outside to y while Jin Yiheng sat opposite his parents obediently, clueless as to what they were nning to say to him. Jin Qingyan had nothing much to say to him, unlike An Xiaoning. ¡°My son.¡± ¡°Yes, Mommy.¡± ¡°I know you¡¯ve always been a sensible and knowledgeable child. Although you¡¯ve inherited our brains and wit, there¡¯s something I still have to tell you.¡± ¡°Go ahead and tell me, Mommy,¡± Jin Yiheng answered while listening to her attentively. ¡°From now onwards, you and Xiaoxi will be facing each other every day, be it in the boot camp or in school in the future. You must remember to do whatever you can to protect Xiaoxi whenever your godparents are not around.¡± Jin Yiheng smiled and said, ¡°Mommy, I know what to do. Rest assured.¡± Amused by how profound and mature he sounded, An Xiaoning nodded while smiling and answered, ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Boss, that fellow is calling you again!¡± An Xiaoning grabbed her mobile phone and saw that it was a call from No. 5. ¡°Hello, No. 5.¡± ¡°Sis, what¡¯s the next step of the n?¡± ¡°Come back first.¡± No. 5 asked gleefully, ¡°Sis, we can go back?¡± ¡°Yes,e home. I¡¯ll evaluate the results.¡± No. 5 said agitatedly, ¡°Sis, Bao¡¯er has grown a lot more obedient than she was at the start. I can tell that she has really changed a lot within such a short period of time.¡± ¡°This is a tall order. However, it¡¯s fortunate that she¡¯s yet to be a teenager. It¡¯s much easier to take her in hand now while she¡¯s still young. I¡¯ll need you guys to guide her along whenever I¡¯m not around. No. 5, you deserve credit if we really manage to make her turn over a new leaf.¡± No. 5 chuckled and said, ¡°Sis, I do somewhat feel a sense of aplishment.¡± ¡°It¡¯s indeed a tough feat to change someone.¡± ¡°Yes. Sis, I¡¯m hanging up now.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± No. 5 ced his mobile phone inside his pocket. He and Bao¡¯er were currently on a remote mountain in K City. Chapter 1271 - I Want to Make You Stay (149)

Chapter 1271: I Want to Make You Stay (149)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Shi Bao¡¯er was attending lessons and ying together with the other children in the mountains. No. 5 had grown to fancy the tranquil and serene ce after staying there for some time. He informed the teachers that he would be taking Shi Bao¡¯er away for good, after which he packed their belongings and headed to Shi Bao¡¯er¡¯s ssroom. After her lesson ended, No. 5 entered the ssroom and said, ¡°Bao¡¯er, we¡¯re going home now.¡± ¡°Okay, Uncle No. 5.¡± ¡°I mean we¡¯re going to A City.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er stared at the textbooks on the table, which she had been sharing with her table mate because thetter did not have any of her own. She had already gotten used to staying on the mountain, despite finding the living conditions rather arduous at the start. Hence, she was, in fact, extremely reluctant to leave. ¡°Can we stay here instead of going home?¡± Surprised to hear her words, No. 5 said with raised brows, ¡°If you like it here, we cane back frequently from now on.¡± Knowing that she could not defy No. 5¡¯s orders, she decided not to insist any further. Instead, she ced her textbooks and pencil case inside her bag before removing the floral rubber band wrapped around her hair, which she then handed to her table mate. She said, ¡°I¡¯m really d to have been able to sit beside you all this while. Thank you for helping me. Here¡¯s a memento for you that¡¯ll always remind you of me. I¡¯ll visit you when I¡¯m free in the future and we can y together.¡± The table mate took it from her and said, ¡°Thank you...¡± She then took out a soybean bun from the drawer of her desk and handed it to Shi Bao¡¯er. ¡°My grandma made this for me. You can have it.¡± Shi Bao¡¯er epted it with a nod. She left reluctantly. During her time on the mountain, she could sense the curiosity and bewilderment that her ssmates had about the outside world. They were easily contented and would often ask her questions about the world outside the mountains. Afterparing herself to the rest of the children there, she realized how ungrateful and discontented she was with the luxurious life she lived. Most of her ssmates¡¯ parents were either busy with work all the time or had broken families with divorced parents. There were also those who were orphaned or had a deceased parent. Life was indeed very tough for them. Noticing that she had been remaining silent throughout the flight home, No. 5 said, ¡°There¡¯s something I must let you know.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I heard that your daddy has divorced your stepmother.¡± Unlike what he had expected, Jin Bao¡¯er was not happy at all to hear the news. Instead, she looked at her own hand and asked, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Your stepmother was so badly scalded. Of course your daddy wouldn¡¯t want her anymore.¡± She cocked her head toward the window without uttering another word. More than an hourter, she said, ¡°Uncle No. 5.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Does Mommy hold the rights to my custody now?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t call me Shi Bao¡¯er anymore. I prefer to be called Jin Bao¡¯er.¡± ¡°...¡± After they disembarked from the ne, Xiao Huang picked them up in the car. They returned to Wei Ni Estate to see that An Xiaoning was reading some books in the yard while the other children were ying with each other. Upon seeing Shi Bao¡¯er, the handful of childrenpletely disregarded her presence and pretended not to see her. An Xiaoning put down her book and called them to her side. Staring at Jin Bao¡¯er, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Has it been hard on you?¡± ¡°Not at all, Auntie. I really enjoyed it there.¡± ¡°Oh, is that so?¡± Pointing at the other children, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Say hi to your friends.¡± Jin Bao¡¯er smiled and greeted them with a smile, ¡°Hello Yiheng, Xiaoxi, Wenlun, Minhe, Rongyan.¡± An Xiaoning said, ¡°You shall go back to the boot camp tomorrow.¡± ¡°Will Uncle No. 5 be apanying me?¡± ¡°Do you want him to?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Why so? Don¡¯t you hate it when he supervises you?¡± An Xiaoning asked, resting her chin in her hand. ¡°I no longer do.¡± ¡°He can follow you, but you¡¯ll have to promise me one thing. I¡¯ll let Uncle No. 5 apany you so long as you do.¡± ¡°What is it, Auntie?¡± ¡°Get along well with your little buddies. I heard that you¡¯re on bad terms with Xiaoxi. Bao¡¯er, Xiaoxi has been engaged to Yiheng. We¡¯ll be family from now on. Xiaoxi is younger than you too and you ought to give in to her. Do you understand what I mean?¡± ¡°Yes, I do,¡± said Jin Bao¡¯er. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll send all of you back to the boot camp tomorrow. The sky is still bright. Go y with them.¡± Jin Bao¡¯er walked toward the children and asked, ¡°May I y with you guys?¡± Not wanting to defy her godmother, Long Xiaoxi agreed reluctantly. Jin Bao¡¯er left with the children. ¡°Sis, why have you agreed to let her return to the boot camp?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to disrupt her education. I never nned to let her stay at the boot camp alone anyway. I was already nning to let you chaperon her. No. 5, has she grown to be attached to you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so. We haven¡¯t spent that much time together...¡± No. 5 said bashfully. ¡°Seems like it to me, though. Although her mother has left her under my care, I can¡¯t possibly look after her every day. No. 5, you must help me guide her.¡± No. 5 answered, ¡°Yes, Sis, rest assured. I¡¯ll keep correcting her until shepletely turns over a new leaf. When we arrived at the entrance just now, I saw Director Jing Tian getting inside his car. Was he here to discuss a new production with you?¡± ¡°Nah, there has been some dy in the post-production of the previous television series and it has yet to be broadcast. He¡¯s not that free. He came to give me a suggestion.¡± ¡°What suggestion?¡± An Xiaoning picked up her book and said with a smirk, ¡°He said that a sudden idea popped up in his mind and he¡¯s nning to produce a television series based on my past experiences. He suggested that I write an autobiography that he can use as the core material of our next cooperation.¡± No. 5 gasped in shock and asked, ¡°Sis, I find it to be an absolutely great idea. Are you going to write it?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t thought about it yet.¡± She then turned around and left. While walking toward the living room, An Xiaoning recalled everything that took ce in the past. So many years had passed by in the blink of an eye, and her memory had begun to fail her. She thought that it would be rather meaningful if she could document everything about her past with Jin Qingyan. She stepped foot inside the living room to see that Jin Qingyan had just made his way downstairs. ¡°What¡¯s on your mind?¡± he asked. ¡°Jing Tian dropped by for a discussion with me.¡± ¡°Was it regarding the television series?¡± ¡°No, we were discussing our next cooperation. He wanted me to write an autobiography about us and our past that he can use to produce a new television series.¡± Chapter 1272 - I Want to Make You Stay (150)

Chapter 1272: I Want to Make You Stay (150)

¡°You definitely wouldn¡¯t have agreed to it,¡± said Jin Qingyan, who felt that there was no need for her to focus on creative productions since she did notck money or a sense of aplishment. In fact, what she needed most was more time. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t turn him down nor ept his offer. I just told him to let me consider it.¡± Jin Qingyan sat on the couch and pulled her onto hisp. ¡°Do you really want to consider it?¡± ¡°I just found it to be not too bad of an idea. When we¡¯re old and gray, we¡¯ll have something to look back on and we can reminiscence about our past in our free time.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s document our everyday life by filming videos of ourselves. We can look back on those too.¡± ¡°The point is, we can¡¯t share our personal videos with everyone.¡± ¡°You wavered, didn¡¯t you?¡± he asked, pinching her nose. ¡°I already said I¡¯m going to consider it. There are pros and cons to this, however. Although the television series can be shared with strangers, it kinda feels as if we¡¯re exposing our private lives to the public eye. That¡¯s my greatest concern. I don¡¯t want us to be affected negatively. However, I¡¯d like to seek your opinion. What are your thoughts on this?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t approve of it, but I¡¯ll have no objections if that¡¯s what you want to do.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your reason?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to share about my private life with others. I want to keep most things between us two.¡± Keeping her eyes fixed on his, An Xiaoning came to a decision and said, ¡°Forget it, then. I don¡¯t want to do something that you don¡¯t approve of either.¡± ¡°Like I said, I¡¯ll have no objections if it¡¯s what you want to do.¡± Shaking her head, she answered, ¡°No... after hearing that you don¡¯t like that idea, I suddenly lost my desire to do it. You¡¯re right, this is our private life.¡± She immediately called Jing Tian to inform him of her decision. After hearing her answer, he decided not to bring it up again, knowing that she had her own qualms and reasons. While An Xiaoning was speaking to Jing Tian, Jin Qingyan¡¯s mobile phone rang. To his surprise, it was a call from He Yi, whom he had not contacted in a long time. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Jin Qingyan asked calmly. ¡°...¡± ¡°Where did you find it?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You maye over right now. I¡¯m at home.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning ended the call at the same time as he did and asked, ¡°Who called you?¡± ¡°He Yi. He imed to have just returned from R Nation where he found a mural of you. He called me instead because he couldn¡¯t reach you.¡± ¡°A mural of me?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what he said. I didn¡¯t ask for the details. We¡¯ll do that when he arrivester. I invited him over.¡± An Xiaoning got off hisp and said, ¡°Given how much he loves raiding tombs for valuables, could it be that he had found that mural in some tomb?¡± ¡°Maybe.¡± In reality, their guesses were proven correct after hearing He Yi¡¯s ount. Just as He Yi was about to sit down beside An Xiaoning, she shot him a dirty look and pointed at the couch opposite of her. ¡°Sit there instead.¡± He nodded and did so calmly. ¡°I didn¡¯t n to tell you guys about this at first, but after giving it some thought, I found it to be way too coincidental. Hence, I decided to tell you guys about it. However, you can¡¯t betray me, okay? Don¡¯t tell anyone about this.¡± An Xiaoning crossed one leg over the other and ced her hand on her knee. ¡°Which tomb is that?¡± ¡°A burial ground belonging to the elite Pei family in R Nation.¡± ¡°Pei?¡± An Xiaoning asked with raised brows. Although Pei Yi was in R Nation too, she found itrgely impossible for there to be only one Pei family in the entire R Nation. ¡°Who does the tomb belong to?¡± ¡°No idea. I only know that it belongs to an elite family. I didn¡¯t open the coffin either. Well, even if I did, the corpse would have already been reduced to just bones.¡± Why would he return without opening the coffin? How was he so sure that all that¡¯s left of the corpse were bones if he hadn¡¯t opened it? ¡°If you don¡¯t even know the gender of the corpse, how do you know that it belongs to the elite Pei family?¡± ¡°I could tell from the exterior of the coffin. There were some simple information about him engraved on the side of the mural. It only says that his surname is ¡®Pei,¡¯ and the rest of the information had been erased. Seems like someone had already gone to that ce. When I took a look at the erased markings, it seems like they have been erased recently. The scratches don¡¯t seem old. That mural of you was so surreal. Anyone can see the uncanny resemnce.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you take any photos?¡± ¡°It was pitch dark inside and I couldn¡¯t get a clear photo even if I tried. Besides, that mural was huge. It was about two meters high, how was I supposed to take a photo? I can show you the way if you¡¯d like to take a look personally. I just find it really bizarre for there to be a painting of you. Are you rted to the owner of the tomb? Or were your ancestors affiliated with them?¡± An Xiaoning began to feel a little curious upon hearing his words. Anyone would, actually. However, she found He Yi¡¯s words to be incredibly suspicious. He was merely Jin Qingyan¡¯s former ssmate, and yet, not only did he inform them about his discovery, he even offered to show them the way. Why would he do that? she wondered, though she was unsure if she was just reading too much into things. She answered, ¡°It¡¯s just a mural. I don¡¯t necessarily have to see it.¡± He Yi was greatly taken aback by her answer. So was Jin Qingyan, who had gotten curious too. How is she so calm and collected? Doesn¡¯t seem like her. Needless to say, she was definitely very curious. However, she did not wish to go to R Nation, perhaps because Pei Yi was there as well. ¡°There are plenty of people who look alike in this world. Perhaps the woman depicted in the mural just has a striking resemnce to me. It¡¯s not worth my time at all.¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t just resemble you... she looks exactly like you. I¡¯m being serious,¡± He Yi said firmly. ¡°Why did youe back without opening the coffin? Don¡¯t you raid tombs for a living?¡± asked a puzzled An Xiaoning. She was extremely slow in her speech, and He Yi seemed to have sensed her disdain toward him. ¡°What¡¯s the difference between tomb raiders and archeologists? The only difference is that I¡¯m doing it for personal gains while the archeologists are doing it for the nation. Besides, I find that archeological work is so much more detestable than what I do. Tomb raiders are only after money, and we leave the corpses alone once we get the valuables that we want. But archeologists disrupt the peace of the dead and often carry out checks and examine the corpses. Besides, not all archeologists are that morally upright, are they?¡± ¡°I used to think that way too, back when I knew little about archeologists and what they do. I just thought that they were glorifying a heinous act. However, I¡¯vepletely changed my mind now.¡± Chapter 1273 - I Want to Make You Stay (151)

Chapter 1273: I Want to Make You Stay (151)

Unable to tolerate his words, An Xiaoning retorted, ¡°To those who don¡¯t understand archeological work, your exnation might seem rather reasonable. However, for an experienced tomb raider like you, I doubt that you don¡¯t know the real difference between what you do and what archeologists do. Yours is not a proper profession whereas the archeologists conduct scientific research on the material they¡¯ve collected. The core intentions and purpose are different. You tomb raiders are after mary gains, and you guys simply discard those items that are worthless by your standards. Do you preserve them like archeologists do? You don¡¯t care who the valuable items are sold to either. How can youpare yourself to archeologists? Last but not least, I didn¡¯t say that all archeologists are morally upright. There are bound to be ck sheep in every industry. Aren¡¯t I right?¡± ¡°At the end of the day, I didn¡¯t cause any major destruction to the tombs, unlike you, Ms. An. You casually bombed that tomb near theke.¡± An Xiaoning red at him and asked, ¡°Who did you hear that from?¡± ¡°No one, I guessed it.¡± ¡°You guessed it? Why would you be that good at guessing?¡± she questioned apprehensively. Feeling peeved, He Yi decided to put an end to the discussion. He stood up and said in displeasure, ¡°I came here with the kind intentions of telling you about the mural that I had discovered, yet you actuallyunched a personal attack on me. Forget it, pretend that I never said anything. Suit yourself. I¡¯m taking my leave now.¡± An Xiaoning interjected sternly, ¡°Did I say you can leave? You may do so if you answer my question.¡± He Yi sneered, ¡°Will youpel me if I don¡¯t? What if I don¡¯t answer you?¡± ¡°You may stay behind, then. Qingyan and I will provide your meals.¡± He Yi looked at Jin Qingyan and protested, ¡°We¡¯re former ssmates, no matter what. I came here to inform you guys about my discovery out of goodwill. Is this how you should be treating me?¡± ¡°I initially just wanted to ask you about why you had returned without opening the coffin. However, I have another question for you now. Just who was the one who told you that I was the one who bombed thatke? You just have to answer those two questions truthfully and you may leave.¡± He Yi had no choice but to answer, ¡°I didn¡¯t open the coffin because it wasn¡¯t an ordinary wooden coffin that was ced on the ground. It was made of cement and steel. I felt that the coffin wasn¡¯t originally constructed that way and that someone had tampered with it recently. Since it¡¯s freshly cemented, the valuables inside the coffin should have already been stolen, so there¡¯s no point for me to open it. As for your second question, I found out about it based on hearsay. No one told me that it was you.¡± An Xiaoning did not believe him at all. ¡°Based on hearsay? Since you refuse to tell the truth, you shall stay here until you decide toe clean.¡± ¡°I was speaking the truth.¡± ¡°Do you dare to let me hypnotize you?¡± He Yi could tell that she would not give up until she got the answer she wanted. ¡°Fine, someone did tell me. It was one of those so-called morally upright archeologists. He did tell me that there were reasons behind your actions. However, no matter what reasons there may be, it still wasn¡¯t right of you to bomb the entire tomb, was it?¡± ¡°An archeologist told you? Which one? What¡¯s his name?¡± ¡°I really can¡¯t divulge that. I still have my own principles, alright? Betraying others is not something I would do.¡± ¡°Even if you don¡¯t tell me, I¡¯ll find out myself.¡± She whipped out her mobile phone and sent the bodyguards a text, after which she continued, ¡°He Yi, I have an honest piece of advice for you. You¡¯re considered a wealthy man now and it¡¯s time for you to stop. You ought to find a good woman and settle down with her. You¡¯ll never earn enough money, but time waits for no man.¡± He Yi snapped, ¡°That¡¯s none of your concern. Can I leave now, Ms. An?¡± ¡°Leave,¡± said An Xiaoning, who cut off eye contact with him. He Yi strode out of the door, clearly fuming with anger. After he exited the living room, An Xiaoning looked at Jin Qingyan and asked, ¡°Do you find me a little unreasonable?¡± ¡°No, but I was surprised that you weren¡¯t curious about that mural.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m not curious, I just don¡¯t want to go to R Nation.¡± She then instructed the servant, ¡°Give me a ss of warm milk.¡± ¡°Alright, Young Madam.¡± ¡°Is it because of Pei Yi? You don¡¯t want to see him, do you?¡± Jin Qingyan asked gleefully. ¡°That¡¯s one of the reasons. It¡¯s also partly because I have a hunch that He Yi has a hidden agenda. If what he said about the coffin being cemented recently was true, wouldn¡¯t the perpetrator have seen the mural too? Or did that person paint the mural after cementing the coffin in order to lure me in there?¡± After hearing her words, Jin Qingyan asked, ¡°Why? Why would he do that?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already instructed Xiao Huang to ce a GPS tracker in He Yi¡¯s car and check his call history. I mainly want to find out who the person who had tipped him off is. If it¡¯s really a member of the archeological team, I must find that person. It¡¯d be great if I can find out more at the same time.¡± The servant ced the warm milk onto the coffee table in front of An Xiaoning, who then took a sip of it. The fragrance of milk filled her taste buds. Just as she was about to continue drinking the rest of her milk, she discovered that he was staring at her with an intense gaze. ¡°What are you looking at?¡± ¡°Why are you behaving just like a child?¡± An Xiaoning ignored him and switched on the television with the remote to see that there was a live stream of a celebrity¡¯s wedding. The bride was wearing a diamond-embellished dress and was smiling widely from ear to ear. He wrapped her in his embrace and said softly, ¡°When we get married, I¡¯ll throw you avish and extravagant wedding. I¡¯ll fulfill my promise.¡± An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°Perhaps by then, I¡¯d already be old and gray. By the way, speaking of which, I suddenly realized that you¡¯re almost bing like Xiao Chenyang. If the two of you stop aging, what¡¯s going to happen to me and En?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a solution for that. Would you like to hear and try it out?¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Xiao Chenyang told me in private that you¡¯ll be like me if you take a little bit of my blood every day.¡± bbergasted, An Xiaoning eximed, ¡°What!?!¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to ask for your opinion, but he didn¡¯t ask for Fang En¡¯s opinion. ording to what I know, he¡¯s been secretly feeding Fang En with his blood without her knowing.¡± Chapter 1274 - I Want to Make You Stay (152)

Chapter 1274: I Want to Make You Stay (152)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°How much is a little bit?¡± ¡°One or two drops a day.¡± She said, ¡°Let me ingest your blood, then. I want to be with you forever. I don¡¯t want to be old and wrinkled while you¡¯re still so young and youthful-looking... Our children...¡± Staring at her, Jin Qingyan answered, ¡°If you keep worrying about this problem, you¡¯ll continue being troubled and fretting over it. For example, you¡¯ll be worried about our grandchildren and the following generations, because when you¡¯ve lived enough, you would want them to be just like you too. So, stop worrying about these problems that are uncalled for. I¡¯ve already thought about our future.¡± ¡°What are your ns?¡± ¡°Once Yiheng is old enough and capable of running thepany, I¡¯ll hand everything over to him. We¡¯ll then travel around the world or move to a ce where nobody knows us. How does that sound?¡± An Xiaoning could not help but feel a little mncholic, for she knew the cold harsh truth was that they would probably be immortal while their children will live like ordinary humans. However, Jin Qingyan was right. There was no way they could interfere with the lives of their future generations. Hence, it would be best to let nature take its course. She did not like the idea of letting him live on forever, all by himself. Noticing that she was not answering him, Jin Qingyan seemed to have sensed something unusual about her. ¡°Are you really that upset?¡± he asked. ¡°No, I just feel a little emotional to have suddenly realized this truth. However, I got over it and thought through it instantly. If I were to insist that our children be like us, they¡¯ll probably wish the same for their own children. It¡¯ll then be a vicious cycle, and everything is going to be so chaotic. We¡¯ve already defied thews of nature. As for our children, I think they should abide by thews of nature and not follow in our footsteps. Don¡¯t they always say that the best part of being a parent is enjoying the growing process of their children? Everyone is a unique individual. However, why does Xiao Chenyang have to feed En with his blood secretly? Can¡¯t he just tell her about it truthfully?¡± ¡°I guess it¡¯s because Fang En might be too afraid to drink his blood? Although it¡¯s only a minute amount, I doubt most humans can stomach the fact that they¡¯re drinking someone else¡¯s blood.¡± Noticing that she seemed much more rxed, Jin Qingyan continued, ¡°But again, how would I know what he¡¯s thinking? I can¡¯t read his mind.¡± An Xiaoning chuckled and remarked, ¡°Poor En. She¡¯s probably going to be subdued by him.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t I pitiful too? You¡¯vepletely subdued me as well. Why aren¡¯t you showing me any sympathy?¡± Jin Qingyan protested. Auntie Chen called, ¡°Young Sir, Young Madam, it¡¯s time for dinner.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± An Xiaoning responded. She then said to Jin Qingyan, ¡°I¡¯ll go call the kids in for dinner.¡± .... During dinner, Fan Shixin handed An Xiaoning the investigation report that contained He Yi¡¯s call history for the past three months. After taking a look, she discovered that there were a few numbers that he had been contacting rather frequently. He had also saved the numbers as contacts. The moment she saw Wang Jinsheng¡¯s name, An Xiaoning immediately checked her mobile phone to see that the numbers did tally. Disappointment filled her heart. She had no idea who the other names were. Hence, she instructed Fan Shixin, ¡°Check up on the profiles of these names.¡± ¡°Alright. But ording to the GPS tracker that we had nted in his car, he¡¯s already gone to Mo Sha District now.¡± ¡°Mo Sha District?¡± asked An Xiaoning, who knew that it was a popr tribal area in A City. It was the ce of residence for several different tribes. ¡°Qingyan, does He Yi belong to a minority tribe?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°What is he there for, then?¡± An Xiaoning said to Fan Shixin, ¡°Continue keeping close tabs on him. We¡¯ll continue talking about it again after dinner.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Throughout the meal, An Xiaoning had an ominous hunch that there was a conspiracy nned against her. It almost felt like a premonition. She trusted her instincts and believed that she wasn¡¯t just imagining things. After dinner, she immediately proceeded to verify He Yi¡¯s current location. She decided to head to the location where He Yi¡¯s car was at since it wasn¡¯t too far away either. Fan Shixin apanied her and took over the duties of driving. ¡°Young Madam, why did you ask the bodyguards to find out his location and other information about him?¡± ¡°I find him really suspicious. Although there doesn¡¯t seem to be any plot holes in his statement, that¡¯s exactly the reason why I find it far too problematic. Besides, he has also found out that I was the one who bombed that tomb beside Shen Jiake. I must find out who had tipped him off. He was initially tight-lipped about it and I had to coerce him into telling me that it was one of the archeologists who had leaked the information to him. I¡¯ve now gotten a clear idea after looking at the investigation report.¡± ¡°Why did Captain Wang have to tell him those things? It¡¯s not something that should casually be spread around,¡± said Fan Shixin. ¡°That¡¯s where the problem lies. When I first got to know him, I thought he was a respectable man. However, the more I interacted with him, the more I started to find that he is greedy and overly ambitious. Well, at the end of the day, he steals from tombs. No matter how ambitious he may be, he can¡¯t possibly raid every single tomb in the world,¡± An Xiaoning said while rolling down the window. ¡°Perhaps he dabbles in other stuff apart from tomb raiding.¡± An Xiaoning leaned back against her seat and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know...¡± Upon arriving at Mo Sha District, Fan Shixin pulled over and whipped out his tablet to find out the exact location He Yi was at. After verifying the location, he ced the tablet aside and alighted from the car together with An Xiaoning. They stopped at a house after walking for a short distance. Fan Shixin said softly, ¡°Young Madam, he¡¯s here.¡± An Xiaoning walked toward the door and took a look at the unit number before sending a text message to Ma Jianguo to get him to check up on the residents of the house. Being highly efficient, Ma Jianguo replied with the relevant information that she had asked for. There was nothing unusual about the profiles of the residents. Hence, An Xiaoning wanted to find out what He Yi was getting up to inside the house. She had toe up with a feasible solution. Thus, she stepped onto Fan Shixin¡¯s back and climbed up the wall. As soon as she did, the dogs inside the house began barking incessantly. An Xiaoning did a flip andnded on the door while Fan Shixin frantically scurried toward the back of the house. The dogs stopped barking after realizing that there seemed to be nothing amiss. It was pitch ck in the yard, and the only light source wasing from inside the house. She dared not move about carelessly, for fear that the dogs would begin barking again. When her mobile phone vibrated, she hurriedly unlocked it to see that it was a text message from Fan Shixin, who informed her of his intentions to bring the tranquilizer gun. She gave her approval and told him to be quick. The gate of the house was never once opened. An Xiaoning had no idea if she was being overly suspicious toward He Yi. She felt like a maniac who was sneaking onto the rooftop of someone else¡¯s house at night... When Fan Shixin returned with the tranquilizer, the dogs sensed his movement and began barking ferociously again. Chapter 1275 - I Want to Make You Stay (153)

Chapter 1275: I Want to Make You Stay (153)

This time, the door was finally opened and the lights in the yard were switched on. An Xiaoning popped her head out stealthily to take a look, only to discover that He Yi had exited together with eight other men. She took a look at their household register, which stated that it was a family of two sons. Where did the other mene from? One of the men hollered at the dogs sternly, after which they stopped barking instantly. An Xiaoning could hear He Yi speak. He said, ¡°I¡¯ll try again, then.¡± He then left the house. The men headed back inside the house again. Once they were inside, An Xiaoning squinted at the dogs and fired an arrow at them with her tranquilizer gun, after which they winced and passed out. The lights went out again. She slowly made her way down the rooftop using her rope. She walked toward the fainted dogs and pulled out the arrows on their bodies before climbing back onto the wall, trying her best to make as little noise as possible. She then climbed up the window grilles on the second floor and onto the balcony on the third floor. It was a house that consisted of two-and-a-half floors. The third floor was an attic. The windows were wide open, thus allowing her to enter the attic through the window. After managing to do so sessfully, An Xiaoning made her way to the staircase slowly while stering herself onto the wall. When she reached the staircase leading to the first floor, she overheard their conversation. To her surprise, they weremunicating in a native tribalnguage instead of the officialnguage of S Nation. Perhaps that was also the reason why the men were speaking loudly and clearly at the top of their voice, for they did not have their guards up at all. Instead, they were just chatting in a carefree manner, knowing that no one else could understand them. They were extremely fluent in thenguage. ¡°Whether or not we get to leave this ce tomorrow will have to depend on He Yi¡¯spetence.¡± ¡°It¡¯s so frustrating that the fish is not taking the bait.¡± ¡°She¡¯ll definitely take the bait this time. I have faith.¡± ¡°Big Brother, we¡¯ve already been hiding here for a long time. We don¡¯t even dare to go out in broad daylight. I¡¯m almost bored to death.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the rush? Don¡¯t panic or get too impatient.¡± ¡°...¡± The first thing that came to An Xiaoning¡¯s mind was ¡ª Where are the original residents of this house? Did these men kill them? An Xiaoning headed to the balcony on the second floor andtched her rope onto the wall before gliding down slowly toward the window. It allowed her a clear view of the appearance of the men inside the house. She scanned her surroundings carefully before pulling herself up again. She then texted Ma Jianguo and requested for him to send her the identification photos of the residents of the house. Just like she had expected, the photos did not match the appearance of the men. Without further dy, An Xiaoning instructed Ma Jianguo to tell Pan Zhenghui to send some members from the police tactical unit to her aid. Ma Jianguo replied with an ¡°OK,¡± and she returned to the top of the third floor and shone her torchlight at Fan Shixin. She gestured to him, and they waited patiently. Half an hour passed. Two police cars pulled up by the roadside. The police officers alighted and began walking toward the house in an orderly manner. After gaining her permission, they knocked on the door. An Xiaoning headed downstairs again after seeing that the men in the house had exited. By the time she reached the bottom of the stairs, the men were already subdued by the police officers. They were bbergasted to see her. ¡°An... An Xiaoning? How did you end up here!?!¡± ¡°Why are you guys here, then?¡± ¡°We rented this house. Why can¡¯t we be here?¡± a bearded man retorted smugly. ¡°Since you rented this house, why are you afraid of going out in the day? I heard your conversation just now.¡± She instructed the police officers, ¡°Take them away.¡± The men struggled and resisted the police officers but to no avail. An Xiaoning instructed the rest of the team, ¡°Check the house for any remaining persons.¡± Fan Shixin helped to check as well. Not long after, a few people were brought downstairs, including women. They were all extremely agitated. An Xiaoning looked at the photos that Ma Jianguo had sent to her and verified that they were the actual residents of the house. She said, ¡°This house belongs to them, let them go.¡± As soon as the police officers let go of them, they immediately got on their knees before her and said, ¡°Thank you so much for saving us. We thought we would end up dying here. Thank you so much, thank you.¡± An Xiaoning helped the woman up and asked, ¡°Do you guys know each other?¡± Shaking her head, the woman answered, ¡°No. It was such a disaster. We don¡¯t know them at all and yet they just barged into our house with knives and tied us all up. It¡¯s been more than a month since that happened.¡± ¡°They¡¯ve already been arrested. You guys may live in peace now. Don¡¯t worry, they won¡¯t get the chance to threaten you guys again.¡± The entire family had already turned pale because of the major fright, and their legs became wobbly. However, they still managed to walk An Xiaoning and the rest to the door while thanking them profusely. An Xiaoning remained silent throughout the journey back. Fan Shixin could sense that she was not in a good mood, although he did know what she was thinking. ¡°Young Madam, do we follow the police back to the police station, or would you like to go home instead?¡± An Xiaoning took a look at the time and answered, ¡°To the police station. I really didn¡¯t expect this to happen. I¡¯m so eager to find out just what this He Yi is getting up to.¡± ¡°Fortunately, you were sharp and cautious, Young Madam. Otherwise, you would have definitely fallen into their trap.¡± ¡°This just goes to show that the more normal a person seems to be on the surface, the more suspicious and problematic they are in reality.¡± .... The seven people were detained in the police station. An Xiaoning arrived to see that Pan Zhenghui was already waiting for her. ¡°Xiaoning, how did you know that there were criminals there?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a long story. Bureau Chief, I have an honest piece of advice for you. From now on, refrain from contacting Wang Jinsheng. After all, he had even leaked the information about me bombing the tomb. Who knows what he might divulge about you in the future?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve always... kept a distance away from him. Seriously speaking, Xiaoning, did he tell others about what happened in Shen Jiake?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°That bastard. He just can¡¯t keep his mouth shut.¡± ¡°He frequently contacts tomb raiders. I don¡¯t think an immoral person like him deserves to be the captain of the archeological team. Keep this matter under wraps for the time being. We¡¯ll see if we can collect any evidence.¡± ¡°Okay, okay. Xiaoning, rest assured, I definitely won¡¯t breathe a word about this to others. I¡¯m very trustworthy,¡± Pan Zhenghui said while patting himself on the chest. ¡°Order your subordinates to search the criminals for their mobile phones and hand them over to me.¡± Chapter 1276 - I Want to Make You Stay (154)

Chapter 1276: I Want to Make You Stay (154)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Alright.¡± Pan Zhenghui immediately did as she instructed. Once she obtained the mobile phone, she immediately checked the call log, text message history, and saved voice recordings before heading to the interrogation room. At the sight of her, the people who were ying dead immediately got a shock. An Xiaoning sat down and grabbed the desk gently while Fan Shixin stood beside her. ¡°Tell me all your names.¡± The policemen had already gotten a pen and a piece of paper ready and were waiting to record their statements. The men looked at each other in silence, seemingly not nning to speak. She raised her brows and said sternly, ¡°Are you refusing to speak up? You people kidnapped that poor family in Mo Sha. You even upied their home and stole their assets. I¡¯m giving you one minute to decide if you want to tell me who the mastermind is. If you¡¯re willing to speak up, I¡¯ll release the rest of you.¡± Their eyes lit up in joy and they asked, ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Of course. Your one minute starts now. If no one wants to divulge who the mastermind is, the seven of you shall be detained and subjected to a court trial.¡± As soon as they heard her words, the seven men looked at each other again. All of a sudden, they lost theirposure and began pointing at the oldest man of the bunch within less than a minute. The man whom they had pointed at turned pale in shock and terror. He looked left and right at his most trusted buddies, who were actually pointing their fingers at him at this juncture. They were clearly out to sacrifice him. An Xiaoning questioned, ¡°Is it really him? Since you guys have pointed at him, that means you should also know how he had nned this scheme. Tell me, how and why did he decide to do this?¡± ¡°He did it because... of money.¡± An Xiaoning instinctively crossed one leg over the other and asked, ¡°Are you kidding me? Although that family had built their own house, the construction is very minimalistic. They¡¯re dressed in simple clothes too. They don¡¯t seem very wealthy either. Besides, why would you just break into one house and stay there for more than a month? Doesn¡¯t make sense, does it?¡± The men fell silent again. At this very moment, the man whom they had used decided to speak up. He interjected, ¡°We didn¡¯t do it for the money, of course. We invaded and upied that house because we were waiting for a chance to return to R Nation. The higher-ups gave us only two orders, and that is to either get a hold of your hair ore up with a way to make you go to R Nation, Ms. An. We only have to fulfill one of the two.¡± While he spoke, the other men frantically yelled and tried to get him to stop, to no avail. ¡°Who is the mastermind? Why does he or she want a sample of my hair or for me to go to R Nation?¡± asked An Xiaoning, who was starting to feel like Pei Yi could very likely be the one. I haven¡¯t contacted Pei Yi in such a long time. Why does he want to do these all of a sudden? Or is it that he just can¡¯t stand the sight of me living in peace? Although all the clues pointed to Pei Yi, she could not jump to conclusions without any concrete evidence. The used man answered, ¡°Our master is the Donggong family of R Nation.¡± The rest of the aplices turned pale the instant he revealed the name. The Donggong family was a prestigious and wealthy family in R Nation. Qingyan and I have never been in contact with this family. Why do they want my hair sample? ¡°Does that alleged mural of me really exist?¡± she asked. ¡°Yes, it really does. We didn¡¯t paint it recently just to lure you there either. It really does exist. Hence, we decided to use it to our advantage and try to lure you there. However, we have no idea why he wants a sample of your hair.¡± ¡°Does the owner of the tomb really have ¡®Pei¡¯ as hisst name?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± At the moment, An Xiaoning still could not tell if he was telling the truth or not, despite the earnest expression on his face. She said to the police officer, ¡°Single this one out.¡± The police officer did as instructed. The six remaining men were left inside the interrogation room. ¡°If what he said is true, I¡¯ll be releasing him. As for you guys, I¡¯m sorry, but you won¡¯t be released. You¡¯ve really given me an eyeopener by sacrificing others for your own selfish needs.¡± They were instantly dumbfounded upon hearing her words. Didn¡¯t she say that she would release all of us so long as someone reveals who the mastermind is? What is she doing now? ¡°You broke your promise!¡± An Xiaoning smiled and stood up. ¡°It¡¯s up to me to decide whether to keep my promise or not. Your life lies in your own hands too. It all depends on your decisions.¡± Noticing that they had grown silent again, she knew that she wouldn¡¯t be able to get anything out of them. ves like them who lie in ambush in S Nation are no different from spies. She exited from the interrogation room, and Pan Zhenghui asked, ¡°How did it go?¡± ¡°Those people... are spies from R Nation. Consult your superiors for instructions on how to deal with them.¡± ¡°What about the other one?¡± ¡°Do the same after I hypnotize him.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning knew that death was the only thing that awaited them, because thew of S Nation had always been strict when dealing with such spies. She had never nned to let any one of them live, for that would only give them the chance to harm others. She headed to the ce where the man had been brought to. An Xiaoning stared at him and asked, ¡°Your buddies said that you were lying to me just now. Who should I listen to? I¡¯m very perturbed too.¡± Upon hearing her words, the man clenched his fists tightly while his veins bulged from his forehead, seemingly trying his best to suppress his emotions. ¡°Do you have any family members?¡± she asked, trying to strike the iron while it was hot. ¡°No, I¡¯m alone.¡± ¡°Oh, I just wanted to say that your master definitely wouldn¡¯t let your family off, should you have any. After all, I heard that the rules in R Nation are that one¡¯s family would be implicated and punished together as well, should he or shemit any crime. That¡¯s why the crime rates are so low in R Nation. Fortunately, you don¡¯t have any family members. Otherwise, they¡¯re going to be implicated. So, are you going to answer my questions?¡± ¡°Everything I said was the truth. They were the ones who were lying.¡± ¡°How can I believe you? There¡¯s only one way to prove that you were telling the truth. Look at this,¡± An Xiaoning said while inching closer toward him. She took out arge bell and swung it in her hands, producing arge and crisp sound. ¡°Do you feel dizzy?¡± she asked. The man¡¯s eyes followed the movement of her hands. ¡°A little.¡± Noticing that he was slipping into a trance, she slowly let go of the bell and asked, ¡°Can you tell me the color of this bell?¡± ¡°Gold.¡± ¡°Do your eyelids feel as heavy as a boulder, so heavy that you can¡¯t lift them at all?¡± Chapter 1277 - I Want to Make You Stay (155)

Chapter 1277: I Want to Make You Stay (155)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Yes, I¡¯m very sleepy.¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯re sleepy and you want to fall asleep. Go ahead and doze off. Once you¡¯re asleep, you won¡¯t be troubled anymore.¡± Fan Shixin felt much more relieved after seeing the man closing his eyes and remaining still. ¡°I¡¯m going to ask you some questions now. You mustn¡¯t keep anything from me. Can you do it?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Very good. What¡¯s your name and where do youe from?¡± ¡°My name is Alexandra, and I¡¯m an orphan from S Nation who was adopted by the Donggong family.¡± No wonder he looks so much like a local. An Xiaoning asked, ¡°What mission were you tasked with when you were sent to S Nation?¡± ¡°I was in charge of gathering information and sending it to Master. Someone took over my duties, and we were then tasked with nning a strategy to lure Ms. An to R Nation or get a sample of her hair. That¡¯s the only way we¡¯ll get to return to R Nation.¡± ¡°What was the strategy that you hade up with?¡± ¡°We first tried to select a suitable candidate to get close to An Xiaoning. However, it was hard to single out a suitable one. At that juncture, He Yi happened to trespass on our master¡¯s ancestral ground and was discovered by one of us. When Master was about to execute him, He Yi actually dragged Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning into this and imed to be a friend of theirs. He said that we can¡¯t send him to the police station. Hence, Master decided to make use of him to get this matter settled with our guidance.¡± ¡°Does that tomb belong to a member of the Pei family? Does that mural really exist too?¡± ¡°No, the owner doesn¡¯t belong to the Pei family, but the mural really does exist. Master said that An Xiaoning has a feud with Pei Yi from the DK Organization and that Pei Yi could be the scapegoat even if our n falls through.¡± An Xiaoning realized that the Donggong family was trying to kill two birds with one stone. It would be best for them if they seeded. However, if they were to fail, she would pin Pei Yi as a suspect. Pei Yi was a representative of the DK Organization and, thus, the R Nation would definitely be after his life. In fact, the entire world wanted to annihte the DK Organization. Unfortunately, there was nothing much they could do. Thus, the Donggong family was probably trying to make use of her and Jin Qingyan to deal with the DK Organization. ¡°What is the name of your master?¡± ¡°Donggong Lianzhi.¡± I really haven¡¯t heard of... this name. Although she was aware of the existence of the Donggong family, she had never researched the members in detail. Lastly, she asked him about the motive of the mastermind. However, he was clueless since he was just a subordinate. At the end of the hypnosis session, Alexandra regained his consciousness slowly and shook his head a few times. He had no idea about what had happened at all. How did I end up falling asleep? When did An Xiaoning leave? he wondered. The next thing he knew, he was being taken away before he had even sobered up. .... On the way home, An Xiaoning asked Fan Shixin, ¡°Do you know anything about the Donggong family from R Nation?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t exactly know the details, but I do know quite a bit about them. The Donggong family is an established elite and wealthy family. They¡¯ve never once suffered a downfall throughout the many years of their existence. I heard that the daughters of the Donggong family are all betrothed to the royal family of R Nation. I don¡¯t know much about the rest. I¡¯ll go back and look into it to find out more.¡± Upon hearing Fan Shixin¡¯s ringtone, An Xiaoning asked in puzzlement, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to answer the call?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t pull over right now. Young Madam, please help me grab my mobile phone,¡± said Fan Shixin. There were cars everywhere on the road, and he could not slow down or cause a traffic holdup. An Xiaoning took out his mobile phone from the pocket of his suit and said, ¡°Your girlfriend is calling you.¡± She answered the call and held it beside his ear. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You¡¯re at the door? I¡¯m not home yet.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I¡¯m on the way home, is there something urgent?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning helped him end the call and asked, ¡°Did your girlfriend go to your ce to look for you?¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s already sote. I don¡¯t know if she¡¯s looking me up because of something urgent.¡± ¡°Are you silly? What else could her reason be? She probably just wants to see you. Shixin, you can let her stay overnight,¡± An Xiaoning said teasingly. Blushing red with shyness, Fan Shixin spluttered, ¡°Young Madam... we¡¯ve only been dating for a while.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter how long you¡¯ve been dating her for, it all depends on whether you want to do it or not.¡± Keeping his eyes fixed on the road, Fan Shixin said, ¡°I doubt she¡¯ll agree to it. When I tried to kiss her previously, she turned me down and said that she¡¯s not a loose woman. For now, she only lets me... hold her hand.¡± An Xiaoning was speechless. After a moment of silence, she said, ¡°In that case, her parents must be very strict with her.¡± ¡°I think so. She said that her parents had been teaching her since she was young that she could only get a boyfriend after she graduates from university. She had never dared to confess to her crushes in the past either.¡± ¡°You two are very simr, then.¡± ¡°Young Madam, I have no idea why, but whenever I¡¯m with her, we don¡¯t behave like you and Young Sir at all. We¡¯ve been prim and proper, in fact, a little awkward and formal too. I don¡¯t find there to be any major changes in my life either, although she¡¯s my girlfriend now,¡± Fan Shixin said truthfully. ¡°You guys met through a blind date, after all. You haven¡¯t grown to love each other yet. Do spend more time together.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Once they pulled over in Wei Ni Estate, they caught sight of Wu Pingyang loitering around the entrance. Upon the sight of their car, she stood by the roadside and looked in their direction. Fan Shixin drove An Xiaoning to the doorstep and parked the car inside the garage before alighting. An Xiaoning headed straight to the main mansion while he proceeded to look for Wu Pingyang. ¡°Why are you here at such ate hour?¡± ¡°I missed you, so I decided toe and look you up. I couldn¡¯t help myself,¡± said the doe-eyed Wu Pingyang, staring at him meekly. Fan Shixin smiled and held her hand. ¡°But it¡¯s already sote. Do you want to stay at my ce for a while before I send you home?¡± ¡°Okay,¡± she answered coyly. Fan Shixin brought her to his dormitory. Upon the sight of the one-bedroom apartment, Wu Pingyang asked, ¡°Do you usually live here?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve always stayed here.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a little small,¡± she said, scanning her surroundings. ¡°I live alone. It¡¯s just perfect for me. Besides, it¡¯s about a hundred square meters even though it¡¯s only a one-bedder. Strictly speaking, it¡¯s not that small.¡± ¡°If we get married in the future, will you make this our nuptial home?¡± Shaking his head, he said, ¡°Of course not. Young Sir has given me an apartment meant for my nuptial home.¡± ¡°Where is it, then?¡± ¡°In this estate.¡± ¡°Could you bring me there to take a look?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not very convenient right now. It¡¯s a three-bedroom apartment,¡± he said frankly. Chapter 1278 - I Want to Make You Stay (156)

Chapter 1278: I Want to Make You Stay (156)

Wu Pingyang thought that it was inconvenient because of howte it was. ¡°Can you take me there tomorrow, then?¡± Fan Shixin answered calmly, ¡°We¡¯ll talk about it again next time.¡± Sensing that he was brushing her off, Wu Pingyang felt a little disgruntled. She did not dare to ask him about his sry either. She picked up the teacup and took a few sips of water before asking, ¡°Why are you home sote? Where did you go?¡± ¡°I had something important to do. I¡¯ll be very busy in the next few days, so I won¡¯t be able to apany you much.¡± A sullen expression formed on Wu Pingyang¡¯s face immediately. However, she tried her best to pretend to be understanding and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, workes first.¡± After a while, Fan Shixin noticed that it was gettingte and thus said, ¡°I¡¯ll send you home now.¡± ¡°Can I not leave yet? I want to stay with you.¡± Fan Shixin teased, ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that I would do something bad to you?¡± Pouting her lips, Wu Pingyang said, ¡°I know you won¡¯t do that.¡± He smiled and said, ¡°There¡¯s a bed here. It¡¯s not too big so you¡¯ll have to make do.¡± ¡°You can always sleep on the couch.¡± Fan Shixin was speechless. She chuckled and said, ¡°I was just kidding. Were you frightened? You don¡¯t have to send me home. I drove here.¡± Fan Shixin nheless sent her to the entrance and watched her get inside the car. ¡ª¡ª He Yi really showed up again the next morning. Staring at He Yi calmly, Fan Shixin asked, ¡°Mr. He, what brings you here?¡± ¡°I have something important to talk to your Young Sir and Young Madam about. Please help me inform them.¡± ¡°Please give me a moment.¡± He closed the door and turned around to send An Xiaoning a text message. As soon as he did, An Xiaoning walked toward the balcony on the second floor and waved at him, signaling for him to bring He Yi in. He Yi was thus brought to the living room, where he waited for ten minutes before An Xiaoning finally arrived downstairs. She was dressed in a white long-sleeved shirt and a blue rag-cloth skirt. ¡°What brings you here bright and early in the morning?¡± ¡°Where¡¯s Qingyan?¡± ¡°You just have to answer my question,¡± she said haughtily, clearly intolerant of him. ¡°Ms. An, you¡¯re still as domineering as ever.¡± ¡°Mr. He, why are you always evading my questions? Is it that fun?¡± She took the ss of warm water from Auntie Chen and took a few sips before cing it onto the table. She nced at him. ¡°I¡¯m here to invite you to meet someone.¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll... know when you get there.¡± ¡°Nah, I¡¯m not going,¡± she refused straightforwardly. ¡°Ms. An, it¡¯s really someone important,¡± He Yi said, trying to persuade her further. ¡°Since he¡¯s very important, get him toe and see me instead. However, if you¡¯re just cooking up stories, I suggest you stop ying such retarded games.¡± He Yi felt his heart skip a beat, and he felt as if An Xiaoning was boring a hole through him with her intense gaze. He began to feel flustered. After clearing his throat, He Yi stood up and walked toward An Xiaoning. ¡°There¡¯s a strand of white hair on your head...¡± An Xiaoning could no longer tolerate it. She lifted her leg and pressed it down on his, ¡°Do you really think it¡¯s that easy to pluck my hair?¡± What! Shocked out of his senses, He Yi stared at An Xiaoning and spluttered, ¡°I just...¡± An Xiaoning snapped, ¡°You just what? Drop the act. I¡¯ve seen enough of your pretense. Your aplices in Mo Sha have already been arrested and detained in the police station. This time, you¡¯ve really sent yourself to the lion¡¯s den.¡± He asked, ¡°What... what do you mean?¡± ¡°Shixin, what are you waiting for? Grab him,¡± An Xiaoning ordered. Just as Fan Shixin was about to hold him down, He Yi whipped out a knife unexpectedly. Upon the sight of what he was doing, An Xiaoning grabbed the cup on the table and threw it at He Yi, striking him on his head. He Yi stumbled backward before regaining his bnce. By the time he did so, An Xiaoning had already shot him twice in his legs. Fan Shixin snatched the knife away from him and pinned him onto the ground. An Xiaoning walked toward the door and whistled, after which the bodyguards rushed in. A few minutester, An Xiaoning stared at He Yi with a straight face and said, ¡°I already smelled a rat when you said those things to me and Qingyan yesterday, so I had a GPS tracker nted in your car. We tailed you all the way to Mo Sha District and arrested those people. I¡¯ve long expected that you¡¯de forth again to look me up. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve already prepared myself beforehand. He Yi, I won¡¯t spare you just because you¡¯re Qingyan¡¯s former ssmate. I won¡¯t ask you for the reason either because I already understand quite a bit about the situation. I¡¯ll never spare anyone who tries to harm me.¡± He Yi¡¯s forehead creased into a frown. He retorted vehemently, ¡°Do you have any concrete evidence? An Xiaoning, I¡¯ve never expected you to be such a person.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need you to define what kind of a person I am. However, I know clearly what kind of a person you are.¡± She then said to Fan Shixin, ¡°Lock him up and take his mobile phone.¡± ¡°Yes, Young Madam.¡± ¡°An Xiaoning, how dare you do this to our nation¡¯s citizen. You shall die a horrible death. Hurry and let me go!¡± ¡°Shut up! Do you think I won¡¯t shove you into a pit of feces?¡± Xiao Huang rebuked. ¡°Young Madam, what should we do with him? Should we send him to the police station too?¡± ¡°Just lock him up for the time being. We¡¯ll talk about it again another time. I¡¯ve already discussed this with your Young Sirst night, and he suggests that we observe the situation quietly,¡± An Xiaoning said while rubbing her temples. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll run a background check on the Donggong family now.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± In reality, the discussion between An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyanst night revolved around the same question. Just what was their motive? There had to be a reason. I¡¯ve never had a feud with the Donggong family. Neither Qingyan nor I even know who Donggong Lianzhi is. Even if he or she wants to take revenge, there had to be a reason. An Xiaoning headed upstairs again. Jin Qingyan was still deep in his sleep. An Xiaoning sat on the bed and removed her mobile phone from the charger before unlocking it. As soon as she did, she received a text message all of a sudden. An Xiaoning opened her eyes slowly while staring at the content. It read: ¡°Dear valued user, you have received a new text message at 06:23 am. Please tap to open and read the message.¡± She tapped on the link, after which a webpage wasunched. It was a message from an unsaved number. ¡°Long time no see.¡± An Xiaoning checked the area code to discover that it was from Qingping in R Nation. Chapter 1279 - I Want to Make You Stay (157)

Chapter 1279: I Want to Make You Stay (157)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Qingping was the capital of R Nation. Pei Yi lived on Mount Qingping. The mountain was named after the capital. However, she knew that the mobile number did not belong to Pei Yi because she had saved his number in her mobile phone. An Xiaoning dialed the number and heard that it had a melodious dial tone. The call went through shortly after. Just like she had expected, it wasn¡¯t Pei Yi. ¡°I went through such painstaking means to invite you to R Nation. I didn¡¯t expect you to be cautious and vignt.¡± She answered, ¡°I have no idea who you are at all. If I just leave with your underlings, wouldn¡¯t that make me a fool? I¡¯m in my thirties, I¡¯m not thirteen. You should have just been honest and sent me an invitation openly. Isn¡¯t that the normal thing to do? Whatever you had done just makes me repulsed. I really despise how shady you are.¡± ¡°I was just thinking that it¡¯d be hard to invite you since I¡¯m only a small fry. I hereby apologize to you.¡± Not wanting to beat around the bush, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°You know me, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I know you, of course. You¡¯re the famous Ms. An, Jin Qingyan¡¯s ex-wife, the mother of his son, the daughter of the current president. You¡¯re the honorable princess.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t beat around the bush. I mean, you do know me personally, don¡¯t you? Otherwise, why would you say ¡®Long time no see¡¯? That¡¯s something that you¡¯d say to someone when you meet them again after a long time.¡± The man chuckled and said, ¡°So, will youe and take a look at the mural of yourself if I sent you an invite?¡± An Xiaoning answered coldly, ¡°That¡¯ll depend on your sincerity. Although I¡¯ve never met you before, nor do I have any memory of you, you¡¯ve already given me a bad impression because of what you had done sneakily. I hope you¡¯ll redeem yourself.¡± Needless to say, An Xiaoning had ns of her own. He answered sluggishly with a sigh, ¡°Ah... sure, wait for my invite, then. That¡¯s all I have to say to you.¡± As soon as the call ended, Jin Qingyan wrapped his arm around her waist while shey down beside him. He greeted in a hoarse voice, ¡°Good morning.¡± ¡°He called me.¡± ¡°Yeah, I heard everything.¡± An Xiaoning buried her face in his chest and took a whiff of his scent before leaning closer toward him. ¡°Qingyan...¡± ¡°Yes...¡± ¡°I... love you.¡± ¡°I love you, too.¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°Sis, there you go,¡± Xiao Yue said while handing her the dress with both hands. Fang En took it from her and eximed, ¡°Ah, it¡¯s so beautiful.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, Xiao Chenyang snatched it away from her and reced it with a pink sweater and a pair of ck tights. Staring at the clothes in her hands, Fang En said, ¡°You want me to wear this to the publicity events?¡± ¡°It¡¯s almost October. The temperatures are getting chilly. Why are you even wearing a dress?¡± ¡°There are heaters on set.¡± He threw the dress onto the bed and countered, ¡°No. Women ought to take proper care of their health once fall arrives. Otherwise, you¡¯ll grow to be vulnerable to the cold in the future.¡± Although he had a sullen expression on his face, his tone was still gentle. She tiptoed and pinched his cheeks. ¡°Why so serious? I just won¡¯t wear the dress. Will that do?¡± Xiao Chenyang¡¯s austerity instantly vanished. He ced his hand behind her head and kissed her a few times, which was to the dismay of Xiao Yue. Xiao Yue hurriedly turned around, blushing red with embarrassment. Ten minutester, Fang En changed into the pink sweater, ck tights, and a pair of cherry red stilettos before getting inside the nanny van. She proceeded to attend the publicity event together with Yan Ge for the television series that An Xiaoning had invested in. The post-production works for the television series were almostplete, and the broadcast date was confirmed today. Hence, they had begun attending publicity events and filming for variety programs in a bid to promote the television series. Fang En, Yan Ge, and the rest of the cast got into standby backstage. Although the television series had yet to go on air, it had already garnered the attention and support of everyone, mainly because the director was Jing Tian and the male lead was yed by Yan Ge. Another reason was also because everyone was looking forward to seeing Fang En¡¯s acting chops. Lastly, it was because the storyline was captivating. The first segment of the program was an interview. When the emcee asked Yan Ge which attribute of Fang En had attracted him, everyone shifted their eyes and attention onto him. He nced at Fang En with a tender gaze and said, ¡°What attracts me most is her unique charm. I can¡¯t exin in detail what I like about her, but I just really fancy her.¡± Despite being extremely reluctant to respond, she knew clearly that they were in the midst of filming a program and that she was still Yan Ge¡¯s girlfriend in the eye of the public. Thus, she put on a courteous smile. Personal questions were inevitable during variety programs. Hence, Fang En was at a loss for an answer when the emcee posed the next question. ¡°En, where did you meet Yan Ge for the first time?¡± ¡°In a hotel in C City, where the cast and crew were staying in throughout the course of filming. I had never met him before prior to this television series. Hence, I decided to go to the hotel to find out if Yan Ge was an easygoing person.¡± Smiling, the emcee probed, ¡°What happened next? How did your first meeting with him go?¡± ¡°Not... too well.¡± Recalling her first encounter with Yan Ge, Fang En could not help but burst intoughter and continued, ¡°It was thoroughly amusing. When I was there, I ran into a psychopath who tried to drag me away. However, I managed to shake him off and identally barged into Yan Ge¡¯s room. His door had been left ajar at that time. It was my first time meeting him.¡± The audience broke into boisterous chatter, and the emcee asked, ¡°It¡¯s a rather romantic encounter, sans the psychopath. However, you must have been terrorized, haven¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yeah, I was frightened out of my wits.¡± The emcee asked curiously, ¡°What happened next, then? How did Yan Ge react to you, the uninvited guest?¡± Fang En recalled the scenario that night, where Yan Ge questioned her sternly about how she had managed toe inside. In conclusion, she still had him to thank for saving her that night, despite the string of unhappy events. However, she obviously could not divulge those details during the program. ¡°He got a huge shock when he saw me. However, he remained calm and listened to my exnation. I left after rifying things,¡± she answered. Yan Ge did not deny her statement. The two of them were the only ones who knew clearly what happened that night. Chapter 1280 - I Want to Make You Stay (158)

Chapter 1280: I Want to Make You Stay (158)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°It¡¯s your turn to answer the question that I asked Yan Ge just now. En, what do you like about Yan Ge?¡± Fang En instinctively looked at Xiao Chenyang, who was standing in a dim corner. Thus, she could not see his appearance clearly. Everyone stared at Fang En while she looked away. She then answered while smiling, ¡°I guess Yan Ge¡¯s handsome good looks are every girl¡¯s weakness. When I first joined the cast, I didn¡¯t know him at all yet and I was afraid that he¡¯d have a bad impression of me because of what happened in the hotel. Hence, I was really cautious at the start and all I wanted to do was to perform well during acting. Actually, his bark is worse than his bite and he¡¯s not as aloof as he seems. After getting to know him for a long time, I realized that he can be rather meticulous too. He¡¯s hard-working and has received a lot of des for his superb acting skills and effort. He¡¯s kind to the people around him too. I guess that¡¯s what I respect and admire most about him.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, she turned to look at Yan Ge, who was staring at her too. They held each other¡¯s gazes while the audience began to cheer and coerce them, ¡°Kiss! Kiss!¡± Fang En turned red immediately as the cheering continued. Feeling extremely awkward, she wished that the ground would swallow her up. The moment Yan Ge cupped her face in his hands and kissed her on the forehead quickly, she froze in shock and gripped the microphone tightly in her trembling hands. She stared at Yan Ge nkly, at aplete loss for words. The crowd burst into a fanfare. Fang En took a look at the spot where Xiao Chenyang was standing just now, only to discover that he was no longer there. Is he angry? Fang En held her own hand and forced a stiff smile, which everyone had mistaken to be a bashful one. After the interview ended, they proceeded to get changed and got ready to y some games. The filming of the programsted for more than three hours, during two of which Xiao Chenyang was missing. Fang En thought to herself that he must be waiting for her inside the nanny van. Hence, she hurriedly scurried toward Xiao Yue, who was backstage, and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Chenyang?¡± ¡°Cousin said that he had something to attend to and had already left.¡± ¡°What¡¯s there for him to attend to? He said that he wouldn¡¯t leave my side, not even for a minute. Where could he have gone to? Oh no,¡± Fang En spluttered, thinking that he was really upset. Xiao Yue found her reaction to be too over-the-top. She said, ¡°Sis En, calm down. Cousin will be back soon.¡± ¡°Give me the phone, I¡¯m going to call him.¡± Xiao Yue handed her the mobile phone, after which Fang En immediately called Xiao Chenyang. ¡°Where are you?¡± ¡°Outside.¡± ¡°Come back in.¡± Upon hearing how eager and anxious she sounded, he smirked and said, ¡°Stay backstage with Xiao Yue. I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Fang En ended the call, feeling much more relieved than before. Just like Xiao Chenyang said, he returned soon after she got changed with a paper bag in his hands. ¡°There you go.¡± ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Fang En took a look at the contents of the bag, only to discover that it was a bag of snacks. ¡°Did you go out to buy this?¡± she asked. ¡°Yes. Didn¡¯t you say that you were craving for this yesterday? It¡¯s freshly made so I had to wait a while.¡± Fang En took out two pieces of the delicacy and handed them to Xiao Yue before taking another one for herself. After taking a bite, she said to him softly, ¡°I thought you had gotten angry.¡± Instead of replying to her statement, he said, ¡°Let¡¯s get inside the car.¡± ¡°Um... the emcee told me just now that they¡¯ve already made reservations at a restaurant nearby and wanted us to eat together...¡± ¡°Alright, you guys go ahead. I¡¯ll just eat somewhere else with Xiao Yue and the chauffeur.¡± Fang En nodded and smiled at him. While Fang En had dinner with the rest of the cast and the emcee, Xiao Chenyang dined with the chauffeur and Xiao Yue at the restaurant next door. They had ordered a lot of dishes that Xiao Yue had a love-hate rtionship with. She wished that she could finish them all, yet she was also afraid of gaining weight. Seeing how meticulous she was with eating, Xiao Chenyang said, ¡°Why are you acting like that? Just eat as much as you want.¡± ¡°Cousin, you have no idea how much women are afraid of gaining weight.¡± ¡°Just eat. Don¡¯t waste the food.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I told you not to order so much just now. Forget it, I¡¯ll have a cheat meal tonight and eat to my heart¡¯s content.¡± Xiao Chenyan continued chewing slowly while Xiao Yue wolfed down a few bites in one go. By the time he was full, Xiao Yue could no longer move because of how stuffed she was. She patted her stomach and said feebly, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have eaten that much if I knew this would happen. I feel like my stomach is about to explode.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so useless. You¡¯re the one who chose to stuff yourself silly.¡± ¡°...¡± When Xiao Chenyang and Xiao Yue met Fang En, she had already gotten drunk. Thus, they helped her to the side and left the restaurant. Xiao Yue took the backseat and closed her eyes to take a short nap while Fang Entched herself onto Xiao Chenyang. Her hands began to wander up and down his body. However, he did not stop her and instead allowed her to do whatever she wanted. Although her eyes were ssed over and slightly open, she was still lucid and knew what she was doing. She continued to flirt and seduce him all the way until they reached the car park of the hotel. Xiao Yue and the chauffeur returned to the hotel to rest, leaving the two of them inside the van. Xiao Chenyang was not nning to get intimate with her in the van at all. However, she took the initiative to arouse him. Xiao Chenyang could no longer contain his raging hormones the moment she ced his hand on her chest. ¡°En...¡± Fang En looked up and kissed him with lips that reeked of alcohol. ¡°Shh... don¡¯t say anything.¡± Xiao Chenyang looked down at her and smooched her on her lips while lifting her shirt up. He reclined the seat and remove Fang En¡¯s tights. Fang En began quivering in pleasure. She began panting and moaning incessantly. ¡°You¡¯re angry, aren¡¯t you?¡± she asked. ¡°I was a little upset at the start, but I felt like he was just trying to spite me. I don¡¯t feel angry anymore, though.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because your actions have proven that I¡¯m the only one you love.¡± ¡°Good that you know...¡± Fang En remained silent, feeling as if a boulder had been lifted off her chest. The two of them alighted from the van to see that Yan Ge had arrived as well. In the blink of an eye, he alighted from the van and stood opposite them. Xiao Chenyang glowered at him and warned, ¡°If you dare to behave like this again, I definitely won¡¯t spare you next time.¡± Yan Ge remained calm and taunted, ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°You may try if you don¡¯t believe me,¡± Xiao Chenyang said while holding onto Fang En¡¯s hand. He then turned around and left. Chapter 1281 - I Want to Make You Stay (159)

Chapter 1281: I Want to Make You Stay (159)

Staring at their receding figures, Yan Ge followed them out of the car park. The pair then let go of each other¡¯s hand. The three of them entered the same elevator, after which an inexplicable tension filled the air. Upon returning to the hotel room, the two of them proceeded to take a shower. Fang En murmured, ¡°Senior Yan Ge is also an arrogant and prideful person. Actually, he¡¯s always been taking care of me, and I often feel like I¡¯ve let him down. I was the one who had hurt him. He¡¯s a kind soul.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t hit him just now. However, I¡¯ll never allow him to take liberties with you again,¡± Xiao Chenyang said while getting undressed. Fang En filled the bathtub with water and adjusted the temperature before jumping inside. ¡°Anyway, we won¡¯t get to work together anymore after this current television series. I must sell the apartment in Qingyuan Estate too. I was initially nning to buy another apartment in A City but I¡¯ve now changed my mind.¡± Xiao Chenyang asked in astonishment, ¡°What are your ns now?¡± She answered, ¡°I want to live a happy life with you.¡± ¡ª¡ª Donggong Lianzhi sent An Xiaoning a proper invitation card at the start of October. He sealed the invitation card with his personal stamp and signed off with his own name. This time, An Xiaoning decided to take a look. Jin Qingyan agreed to let her go, on the condition that he apanied her. Needless to say, An Xiaoning agreed to let hime along since he could serve as her security nket, giving her the reassurance she needed. As soon as they arrived in R Nation, Jin Qingyan received a call from someone who informed him that Mr. Jin had gotten into a conflict with someone because of gambling and had been sent to the hospital for emergency rescue after sustaining serious injuries. Jin Qingyan initially wanted to let Fan Shixin monitor Mr. Jin¡¯s condition. However, An Xiaoning found that it would be inappropriate if Jin Qingyan did not visit his father whose life was in danger. Hence, she urged him to go back while she headed to the destination together with Fan Shixin and Xiao Bai. Although An Xiaoning had already arrived in R Nation, she did not contact Donggong Lianzhi immediately. Instead, she checked into a hotel and stayed in all day. She only opened the door for the attendants who served her her meals. Meanwhile, Donggong Lianzhi knew all about her whereabouts. Seeing that she had yet to contact him, he decided to head to the hotel to meet her. When An Xiaoning saw Donggong Lianzhi, a few scenes shed through her mind rapidly. She stared at the man in front of her who had long, narrow eyes, a straight and pronounced nose bridge, as well as a pair of thin and red lips. His wavy hair was slicked back neatly, and he was dressed in a formal attire while standing in front of her with his back straight. Although she had never seen him before, she could not help but find him extremely familiar-looking. ¡°Hello, Ms. An, I¡¯m Donggong Lianzhi.¡± ¡°I know. Pleasee in.¡± Just as his bodyguards were about to enter together with him, he gestured for them to stop and said, ¡°You guys wait at the door.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Pointing at the chair, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Take a seat. My people aren¡¯t here yet. I was thinking of visiting you once they¡¯re all present, but you¡¯ve decided toe and look me up first.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you ask to see my sincerity, Ms. An? How could I note here to wee you personally after hearing that you¡¯ve made your way to R Nation? I¡¯m not in a hurry. We can wait until your people are here before heading back to my ce.¡± Knowing that Fan Shixin and the rest would take at least a few hours to arrive, An Xiaoning asked straightforwardly, ¡°I¡¯ve already found out that the owner of the tomb is not a member of the Pei family. Mr. Donggong, could you tell me his real surname?¡± ¡°Wu.¡± An Xiaoning squinted and asked, ¡°What... Wu?¡± ¡°Yes, Wu.¡± ¡°Now that I think about it, I really don¡¯t know anyone who has thest name ¡®Wu.¡¯ I have no idea why my mural is in that tomb.¡± ¡°Did you really forget... that you know someone who has ¡®Wu¡¯ as theirst name?¡± ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t remember.¡± ¡°I¡¯m really curious too, actually. That tomb seems to be from ages ago. Unless you¡¯ve been around for a really long time, why would there be a mural of you there? I think it¡¯s impossible that it¡¯s a mural of your doppelganger. So, I really hope to hear your exnation, Ms. An. Please rify my doubts,¡± he said, staring at her. ¡°Mr. Donggong, you must be kidding me. I¡¯m just an ordinary human, and I¡¯m 31 years old this year. How could I have been around for ages? I¡¯m guessing that it must be a mural of a woman from the olden days who resembles me a lot. Let¡¯s put that aside for now. How old are you, Mr. Donggong?¡± ¡°Twenty-four years old.¡± ¡°That¡¯s very young. You¡¯re still single, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I have a fianc¨¦e.¡± ¡°Your fianc¨¦e must be having a hard time. Given how young and handsome you are, it must be tough to win your heart and loyalty,¡± An Xiaoning remarked with a smirk. Donggong Lianzhi smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s just a political marriage. No one would put in their true feelings.¡± ¡°Does your family know about you inviting me over?¡± ¡°No. I don¡¯t n to let them know just yet because this matters a lot to me. I found that tomb recently.¡± ¡°May I ask you a question? Please answer me truthfully.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Do your family¡¯s roots originate from R Nation, or did your ancestor migrate here from another nation centuries ago?¡± ¡°My ancestors moved here from S Nation more than seven centuries ago. I guess you can tell from my looks that I¡¯m not from R Nation.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s heart dropped all of a sudden. The owner of the tomb has thest name ¡°Wu¡± and has a mural of me. The Donggong family had migrated from S Nation? ¡°May I ask where that tomb is? How did you discover it?¡± ¡°Would you believe me if I told you that it was at my family¡¯s ancestral burial ground?¡± ¡°Your family¡¯s ancestral burial ground?¡± she asked with a frown. ¡°A while ago, our family held a sacrificial ceremony offered to our ancestors. Although my family is very extended, all members of the Donggong family will have to be buried in the ancestral burial ground. Hence, the ancestral burial ground is situated on arge piece ofnd. After the offerings ceremony, my mother and I were about to go home. However, our family rules forbade us from doing so and, hence, we had to trek up the mountain. Not long after, I discovered a small house that piqued my curiosity. I went over the wall beside the house. I then walked toward the door and discovered that it was locked. Hence, I tried to enter and managed to do so. I didn¡¯t discover anything unusual at first and it seemed just like a simple house. There was nothing inside at all. Just as I was about to leave, I caught sight of a photo frame on the wall behind the door. It was a simple frame so I touched it with my hand, after which I instantly felt as if I had fallen into a ditch. I got a huge fright and climbed out before closing the door. I fixed the damaged lock back on too. I was really curious after I left, so I decided to sneak in there again a few dayster.¡± Chapter 1282 - I Want to Make You Stay (160)

Chapter 1282: I Want to Make You Stay (160)

¡°Wasn¡¯t there anyone to look after the tomb?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Did you tell anyone about this? Your mother?¡± ¡°My mother is the only one who knows about this. However, I found out a few dayster that He Yi had trespassed on my family¡¯s ancestral burial ground. If he hadn¡¯t mentioned that he was friends with you and Jin Qingyan, I wouldn¡¯t have guessed that you guys were associated with him. Hence, I decided to use him to my advantage. However, I was afraid that you guys will hold it against me if my n were to backfire. Should that happen, I would be punished by thew. Hence, I decided to tell him that the owner of the tomb was a member of the Pei family.¡± Everything seemed to be starting to make sense. An Xiaoning did not expect him to be so honest with her. If what he had said was true, he would have proven himself to be sincere enough. However, she was afraid that he was lying. She knew that she had to keep her guard up against strangers and never trust them easily. ¡°ording to your description, you don¡¯t seem to have seen me before. However, the truth is you must have met me prior to this and you strongly believe that I have some recollection of you. Otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t have said ¡®Long time no see.¡¯ Mr. Donggong, can you clear my confusion?¡± ¡°Would you believe me if I said that I too was appalled after sending that text message? I don¡¯t remember ever seeing you before, but I just had a feeling that we know each other. I found you very familiar-looking too. In fact, I still feel that I had made the correct decision to invite you here,¡± said Donggong Lianzhi, who did not sound like he was lying at all. ¡°Why did you want a sample of my hair?¡± He gasped in shock and lost hisposure for the very first time. An Xiaoning kept her eyes fixed on him and waited to hear his answer. ¡°Please pardon me for being unable to answer that question of yours.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll find out myself,¡± she said, finding that the situation was starting to get interesting. .... Donggong Lianzhi was surprised to see Fan Shixin and Xiao Bai. He asked, ¡°Did you only bring two bodyguards?¡± An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that? What¡¯s the point of bringing so many bodyguards with me when I go out? I don¡¯t need that many people to protect me. Let¡¯s have lunch before heading there.¡± He was shocked to hear how confident she was. Staring at An Xiaoning, Donggong Lianzhi could not help but find that her aura was too domineering for someone so gorgeous and petite. Just like she had intended, they had a meal together before heading to Donggong Lianzhi¡¯s car. The airport was rather near the city, and they decided to go to his private residence first. ¡°Ms. An, I have a suggestion.¡± ¡°Feel free to speak.¡± ¡°What do you say the two of us head there alone while our bodyguards stay behind?¡± Fan Shixin objected immediately, ¡°No way, we¡¯re not here for fun. We can¡¯t let Young Madam follow you there alone.¡± ¡°You maye along, then. Your colleague shall stay.¡± An Xiaoning agreed, ¡°We¡¯ll do just that, then. Shixin, pack the luggage and hand the rest over to Xiao Bai.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Although her bag was stuffed with lots of items, it was not heavy at all. Donggong Lianzhi offered, ¡°Let me carry it for you.¡± ¡°No, thank you. I can manage on my own.¡± He did not insist further because he knew that she did not trust him yet. The three of them got inside the car and set off to Donggong Lianzhi¡¯s residence together. It would take a short amount of time to arrive if they were to take the route along the Donggong family ancestral burial ground. However, Donggong Lianzhi chose a different route instead. He parked the car in the woods, after which they alighted together and walked toward a house nearby. After scanning his surroundings, Donggong Lianzhi took out his keys and said, ¡°This is a newly-reced lock that¡¯s identical to the one before.¡± He unlocked the door and pushed it open before entering. An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin followed closely behind. After entering, Donggong Lianzhi closed the door and pointed at the photo frame on the wall behind the door. ¡°This is the photo frame that I was talking about.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± He took a few steps back and moved the photo frame with his hands, after which a hole formed in the ground immediately. He took out his torchlight and plunged in, followed by An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin. The hole was not too deep and was much shallower than the one in Shen Jiake. It had a depth of about four meters. The tunnel wasn¡¯t long either, and they reached the mural within minutes. ¡°There, it¡¯s this one.¡± An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin shone their torchlights at the wall to see that it was an extremely vivid and realistic-looking mural of her. She leaned closer toward the wall to scrutinize the mural, only to discover that it did seem a little aged. There was some slight discoloration, and the paint was no longer vibrant. ¡°Can you tell if this is you or someone else?¡± Donggong Lianzhi asked. She looked at him and answered, ¡°I can¡¯t. Where¡¯s the coffin?¡± ¡°Up there.¡± An Xiaoning looked up to see that the coffin was covered in cement. ¡°Is it empty?¡± she asked. ¡°Yes, it should be a coffin, but it¡¯s already been covered in cement. I can¡¯t be sure if there¡¯s a corpse inside or not. I suppose someone must have entered within the past year.¡± ¡°Can we open this up?¡± ¡°Do you really want to?¡± Donggong Lianzhi asked hesitantly. ¡°Yes, since we¡¯re already here, we must open it up to take a look.¡± ¡°But we don¡¯t have tools.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve brought the necessary tools with me. However, you must close your eyes because I can¡¯t let you see them.¡± He agreed with a nod, ¡°Alright.¡± He turned around and closed his eyes. Less than a minuteter, he heard the sound of an explosion. Just as he was about to turn around, Fan Shixin pressed his shoulder and said, ¡°Wait a moment.¡± Donggong Lianzhi paused in his actions and only turned around after Fan Shixin let go of him. The cement had already shattered, and An Xiaoning was standing a meter away from him with nothing in her hand. Bewildered, he wondered to himself, Just how did she break the cement with her bare hands? ¡°What is that?¡± Donggong Lianzhi asked while trying to move the cement away. ¡°Move the cement pieces away and we¡¯ll find out.¡± An Xiaoning then bent forward to move the pieces away while the two of them followed suit. Given her immense strength, she was undoubtedly a whole lot faster than them. They moved the cement pieces away to reveal the true appearance of the corpse inside the coffin. It was a corpse that was bandaged in white fabric. She could tell from the shape and size of the corpse that it belonged to a man. However, she could not see its features because of the bandages. Chapter 1283 - I Want to Make You Stay (161)

Chapter 1283: I Want to Make You Stay (161)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Apart from the corpse, there was nothing left. Slightly disappointed, An Xiaoning did not wish to even look at the appearance of the corpse. However, Donggong Lianzhi reacted differently. He walked toward the corpse and squatted down. He then whipped out a dagger and slit the bandages open gently. Although it was rather disrespectful, they would have made a wasted trip if they didn¡¯t take a look. As soon as the trio saw the corpse, they froze in shock. Donggong Lianzhi sprung up and stared at the face of the corpse in astonishment. Although the corpse had already dried up, they could still see the face of the corpse clearly. The features of the corpse were exactly identical to Donggong Lianzhi¡¯s. An Xiaoning had felt the same way as she did when she found the corpse of Jin Qingyan¡¯s incarnation from the previous lifetime. Judging from Donggong Lianzhi¡¯s reaction, she could tell that he did not seem to be pretending or to have a preconceived n. ¡°How... how did this happen?¡± After a moment of silence, An Xiaoning said, ¡°There are a few possibilities. One could be that your twin brother had been buried here and the other could be that it was your clone. Another one could be that he¡¯s your incarnation from your previous lifetime...¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be that he¡¯s my twin brother. I¡¯m the only son.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t finished my sentence. Apart from the possibility of him being your brother, it should be impossible that he¡¯s your clone too since the corpse is all shriveled up and doesn¡¯t seem to have died recently. That leaves us with the third and most likely possibility. He is probably your incarnation from your previous lifetime.¡± ¡°My previous lifetime... do previous incarnations necessarily have to look the same as their reincarnations?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the case for some people, like me. So, cases like that do exist. How do you know that the owner of this tomb has the surname ¡®Wu¡¯?¡± ¡°I asked my mother about it. She told me that this ce is taboo and that trespassing is prohibited. We¡¯re not allowed to ask more about it too,¡± he answered. ¡°How are you doing in the Donggong family? Be honest with me, are you living well?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°No.¡± ¡°I figured that out.¡± Not wishing to continue staying here any longer, she continued, ¡°This cement coffin has already been destroyed. Do you n to restore it or ruin it? Or do you n to take the corpse away?¡± Without hesitation, he said, ¡°I¡¯m going to destroy it. Since it looks identical to me, doesn¡¯t that just mean that someone in my family already knows about this?¡± ¡°That goes without saying. That¡¯s why you¡¯re in a very dangerous predicament. Seems like you only discovered that now.¡± Noticing his austere expression, she seemed to have further confirmed that he did not have a preconceived n. Had he devised a scheme beforehand, he wouldn¡¯t have told her that the corpse had thest name ¡°Wu.¡± She had a bad impression of him at first and found that he definitely had an ulterior motive. However, she had changed her opinion of him. ¡°Since you¡¯ve decided to destroy it, you shall take over from here.¡± She handed the lighter to him and said, ¡°The corpse has already dried up. It should be easy to light it up with all the extra bandages. Hurry up, we must leave this ce as soon as possible.¡± He took the lighter from her and set the corpse aze. Just like she had expected, the corpse was set aze immediately. A bizarre odor filled the air soon after. Upon the sight of the corpse being engulfed by mes, the trio decided to leave. At this very moment, the mountain began shaking violently. They rocked unsteadily from side to side, as if they were in a Viking ship ride at the amusement park. A few minutester, the soil and stone bricks around them began copsing and falling onto the ground. The trio instinctively ran out of the cave. As soon as they reached the mural, thick fumes filled the air and they heard a loud explosion. The air grew thinner, and the space began to feel cramped while their visions grew blurry because of the fumes. An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin covered their noses with their handkerchiefs. Donggong Lianzhi was the only one who didn¡¯t have any handkerchief since he did not have the habit of carrying one around. Fortunately for him, An Xiaoning would always bring two handkerchiefs with her. Thus, she gave him one, after which they squatted on the ground. The noisessted for a minute before ceasing. Silence filled the air. ¡°What do we do now? The roads are obstructed and we can¡¯t leave,¡± Donggong Lianzhi said anxiously. After all, they were underground, and there would be dire consequences should they fail to make it out in time before the oxygen in the air is depleted. Even Fan Shixin was starting to get flustered and worried. An Xiaoning was the only one who could remain calm. ¡°Are you sure that you told only your mother about this?¡± she asked, staring at Donggong Lianzhi from the corner of her eye. ¡°Of course. I wouldn¡¯t tell others about something so serious.¡± ¡°Did you also tell her about my arrival?¡± He seemed to have guessed what she was going to say. ¡°I only told my mother about it briefly.¡± ¡°Try and recall what your mother¡¯s expression was when she heard the news.¡± Donggong Lianzhi immediately recalled the conversation that he had with his mother before answering, ¡°She was shocked at first because she didn¡¯t expect that I would be able to invite you over to R Nation. She regained herposure afterward.¡± ¡°Why do you think we¡¯re trapped here?¡± ¡°Is it not because of a sudden earthquake?¡± Fan Shixin exined, ¡°No, that¡¯s not the case. I observed the situation carefully just now. The tremors came from above, not underground. It must have been a deliberate act.¡± Donggong Lianzhi did not notice that at all. ¡°A deliberate act... I¡¯ve already checked this ce. There are no surveince cameras around this ce at all.¡± ¡°How does that make any sense? Just because you didn¡¯t discover any surveince cameras, it doesn¡¯t mean that there aren¡¯t any here at all. Pinhole cameras exist nowadays, and they could easily go unnoticed. I¡¯m guessing that your family must have discovered us when we entered. If you didn¡¯t n this beforehand, there are only two possible reasons.¡± ¡°Why would I n this beforehand? I¡¯m not crazy,¡± Donggong Lianzhi retorted. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯ve already ruled out that possibility. The other two are too obvious. One could be that your mother had tipped your family off about our arrival, and the other could be that they had found out about it themselves. Whatever it may be, the only aftermath is that they¡¯ll make do ande up with a suitable strategy by sacrificing you to achieve their purpose. Even if the police found out, they¡¯ll just cover their plot up with the excuse of being unaware that you were in there. They can just say that they wouldn¡¯t have done it if they knew that you¡¯re inside. That would allow them to kill two birds with one stone. In conclusion, you were used by your family. Perhaps they had already been keeping you under their surveince. You were just too confident and unsuspecting.¡± Donggong Lianzhi remained silent and digested all her words. An Xiaoning had no time to waste. Although it was extremely ufortable, it wasn¡¯t like she had never been trapped in such a tiny space or encountered such a ustrophobic experience before. Chapter 1284 - I Want to Make You Stay (162)

Chapter 1284: I Want to Make You Stay (162)

She had been buried alive andpelled to break out of her own coffin before. Hence, the situation was no issue to her at all. ¡°We must start moving immediately if we want to get out now. Move all of these obstructions away. You two follow me while I lead the way.¡± Donggong Lianzhi said coldly, ¡°I¡¯m a man, after all, how can I let you take the lead? Your subordinate and I shall stay at the front while you walk behind us.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid we¡¯re really going to die of suffocation if I let you two lead the way. There¡¯s too much debris and we¡¯re going to take a long time based on the speed that you two are moving at. Let¡¯s stop wasting any more time. I reckon this is only the first step of your family¡¯s n.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t figure out why they wanted to do that...¡± An Xiaoning looked at him and said, ¡°From the moment I learned that yourst name was ¡®Wu¡¯ in your previous lifetime, I had already smelled a rat. After what the mastermind has just done, I find that the situation is as clear as day. The truth should be out very soon.¡± Although he did not quite understand what she meant, he decided not to probe further since it wasn¡¯t the time to ask such questions right now. An Xiaoning decided not to keep her powers from him anymore. Donggong Lianzhi was frightened beyond words the moment he saw her moving the debris away effortlessly. He immediately figured out why she dared to bring just two of her bodyguards. Just as they were about to reach the exit, they heard some noisesing from above. They could not hear the voices clearly since they were too soft. However, they knew for a fact that there were more than two people upstairs. In order to avoid attracting unnecessary attention, An Xiaoning gently moved the stone brick in front of her away from the exit. As soon as she moved it, one of the men from above dived into the basement with the aid of a rope. The trio kept their backs against the wall and held their breaths while standing side by side. ¡°Okay, okay, all clear,¡± the man said fluently in a foreignnguage while wearing a safety helmet. At the same time, An Xiaoning caught sight of a thick rope being lowered into the basement. The man had even secured it in ce to prevent it from falling off. He checked it again a few times before climbing back up. As soon as he climbed up, An Xiaoning rapidly burrowed through the debris with the help of Fan Shixin and Donggong Lianzhi. They slowly got out of the basement, only to discover that there seemed to be no one else above. Fan Shixin touched An Xiaoning gently and pointed at the rope in a bid to seek her opinion on what to do about. An Xiaoning waved her hand, signaling for him to leave it alone. Fan Shixin and Donggong Lianzhi then helped An Xiaoning up. She peeked inside the house to see that there was no longer anyone around. An Xiaoning hurriedly climbed up aboveground and uncoiled the rope around her waist. She cast the rope into the basement and said, ¡°Grab it.¡± Fan Shixin made his way up, followed by Donggong Lianzhi. After the two of them made their way aboveground, an unbearable stench began to waft up from the basement. ¡°Just like I had expected. They released some poisonous gas in an attempt to kill us,¡± said An Xiaoning. A sullen expression formed on Donggong Lianzhi¡¯s face. He reached out in a bid to open the door. Unfortunately, it was already locked. Thinking that they probably would not return any time soon, An Xiaoning walked toward the wall at the back and pushed it forward with all her might. Thus, there was now an opening for them to exit from. Although the sky had already turned dark, it was obvious that there hadn¡¯t been an earthquake at all. An Xiaoning pointed at a small, blinking red light and said, ¡°Do you see that? That¡¯s a surveince camera.¡± Donggong Lianzhi took a closer look to see that it was indeed a surveince camera. He could not help but feel embarrassed, especially in front of a woman. There were lots of simr surveince cameras in the vicinity. After discussing their next step and mapping out a route, An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin decided to take a detour in order to avoid the surveince cameras. They returned to where the car was parked and heaved a sigh of relief once they got inside it. Donggong Lianzhi said, ¡°Thank you.¡± An Xiaoning looked at him and said, ¡°I don¡¯t like hearing ¡®thank you.¡¯ If you¡¯d like to thank me, let your actions speak louder than words. You just have to promise me one thing.¡± Donggong Lianzhi asked in puzzlement, ¡°What is it? Feel free to speak your mind.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll talk again once we return to your home. Do you have any abodes that are meant for servants? If you do, let¡¯s go there instead.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± .... Donggong Lianzhi brought them to a luxurious estate in the city. ¡°I do own a property here but I haven¡¯t lived here in a long while. I haven¡¯t cleaned it either.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. Doesn¡¯t matter as long as we can stay inside.¡± He nodded and alighted from the car. They entered the apartment to see that it was well furnished and spacious. An Xiaoning sprawled herself across the couch and said, ¡°Shixin, you two go and pick Xiao Bai up. Before youe upstairs, please also help me buy some silicon-free shampoo and hair serum. I¡¯m going to take a shower.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning headed to the bathroom of one of the rooms and took out a pair of slippers, a bathrobe, and a towel. She would usually refrain from using the bathtub in someone else¡¯s home. However, she decided to spread some disposable stic film that she had found across the bathtub and filled it with water before taking a bath. Due to the fact that she had expended lots of her inner energy tonight, she felt a little feeble and lethargic. Blisters had also formed all over her hands due to the friction from moving the stone bricks. She only realized it now. An Xiaoning exited the bathroom in a bathrobe with her damp hair draped across her shoulders. She then sat on the couch and began wiping her hair dry with a towel. At the same time, they returned. ¡°Use the hairdryer to dry your hair instead. It¡¯s ced inside the cab below the sink.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± She picked up a fresh set of clothes before entering the bathroom. Her hair was already dry when she exited again fifteen minutester. Fan Shixin and Donggong Lianzhi were already lying on the couch in fresh clothes. ¡°Your family will definitely find out that we¡¯re still alive. Their n has failed and they might not take any further action for now. Hence, I¡¯ve alreadye up with a n and I¡¯ll need your cooperation. That¡¯s what I wanted you to promise me.¡± ¡°Go ahead and tell me.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll need you to give me an identity that I can assume. I want you to allow me to show up in your family¡¯s territory as a stranger. I¡¯ll be wearing a mask.¡± She then said to Xiao Bai, ¡°Xiao Bai, bring me the mask from my luggage.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Having already understood what she meant, Donggong Lianzhi asked, ¡°Could you tell me what your n is, then?¡± ¡°Do you think I still need any special n now? They tried to murder me with no rhyme or reason. The random mural of me is also puzzling enough. I need to find out the reasons for those.¡± He had the same qualms as her. ¡°I already have a fianc¨¦e, but I can arrange for you to pretend to be my girlfriend who¡¯s in a ndestine rtionship with me, if you don¡¯t mind.¡± Chapter 1285 - I Want to Make You Stay (163)

Chapter 1285: I Want to Make You Stay (163)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Let me first ask you this. Do you have any actual girlfriends? If you do, things will inevitably get veryplicated.¡± ¡°I used to have one, but my family opposed to our rtionship and made me break up with her. I had remained single ever since.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great. You said that you don¡¯t get along too well with your family and you don¡¯t have a respected status at home either. Since you¡¯re now aware that someone in your family is out to sacrifice and kill you, do you n to retaliate? I know it¡¯s a tough decision to make, but I¡¯d really like to know what you¡¯re thinking.¡± ¡°Instead of living my whole life stepping on eggshells and trying to hide from danger, I¡¯d rather live a life that¡¯s fulfilling and ording to my wishes. Although I don¡¯t quite have a ce in my family, I still have a backbone. I¡¯m all set.¡± ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll first start by defying your family¡¯s orders for you to marry a woman whom you have no feelings for. That¡¯s the only way you can introduce my presence to them,¡± An Xiaoning said before grabbing the mask from Xiao Bai and putting it on. As soon as she did, Donggong Lianzhi stared at her in astonishment and said, ¡°I really... can¡¯t tell at all.¡± ¡°Of course you can¡¯t. I bought it at an exorbitant price. It has served me well throughout all these years. The fact that your family has never heard my voice before makes things easier. Give me a wig tomorrow. No one can tell my true identity once I disguise myself.¡± Donggong Lianzhi smiled and remarked, ¡°Ms. An, you¡¯ve really given me an eyeopener. I see you in apletely different light now. I used to find you to be aloof and standoffish before I met you in person, and I thought that it¡¯d be impossible to meet you given my insignificant status. That¡¯s why I did those things back then and ended up offending you unintentionally. However, it now seems that you¡¯re very grounded and personable. You don¡¯t put on airs either.¡± ¡°Ditto. I used to have a bad impression of you before I found out that you didn¡¯t hatch a n to harm me. However, there¡¯s something important that I must remind you about. From now on, you mustn¡¯t trust anyone in the Donggong family, including your mother. Believe it or not, I¡¯m the only person whom you can trust. We can only uncover the truth by cooperating with each other. Understand?¡± Donggong Lianzhi nodded and said, ¡°Yes, got it.¡± An Xiaoning removed her mask and said to Fan Shixin and Xiao Bai, ¡°Shixin, bring Xiao Bai back to S Nation tomorrow. I can manage on my own here. Besides, it¡¯d be easy for your identity to be exposed. I¡¯ll pretend to board the flight with you guys tomorrow and sneak back here afterward.¡± Fan Shixin objected, ¡°Young Madam... I don¡¯t agree to it. I can¡¯t leave you here alone. We don¡¯t feel safe doing that.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll inform Qingyan about this matter. The situation is much trickier than we had imagined. For safety reasons, we mustn¡¯t let them find out that you¡¯re my bodyguard. Otherwise, wouldn¡¯t the cat be let out of the bag? Besides, I¡¯m confident that I can handle everything here by myself. I¡¯ll deal with whateveres my way.¡± Seeing how resilient she was, Fan Shixin decided not to insist any further. An Xiaoning had a hard time falling asleep that night. There was a twelve-hour time difference between R Nation and S Nation. Thus, it was the morning in S Nation at this time. She gave Jin Qingyan a call just as he was about to call her. He said, ¡°I¡¯ve already heard it from Shixin.¡± ¡°I told him and Xiao Bai to go back to your side.¡± ¡°That works too, but you must take good care of yourself.¡± An Xiaoningy on her side and kissed her mobile phone before answering, ¡°Of course. I¡¯m starting to think that the Donggong family might be keeping some secrets that we¡¯re interested in knowing.¡± ¡°Smartypants, are you confident about finding out the truth?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t a police investigator for nothing. Although this is different from solving cases, don¡¯t forget that I also went undercover as a bodyguard in the Autumn Pce. By the way, how¡¯s your father doing?¡± ¡°He¡¯s been rescued but he hasn¡¯t regained his consciousness yet.¡± The two of them continued to chat for a long while before hanging up. ¡ª¡ª ¡°What brings you here?¡± Jin Qingyan asked with a frown upon the sight of Bu Xianxian. Bu Xianxian ced gifts on the table and said, ¡°I heard that Uncle was hospitalized and my parents told me toe visit him. How¡¯s Uncle¡¯s condition now?¡± ¡°His life is out of danger. You may leave now that you¡¯ve seen him.¡± Bu Xianxian¡¯s face stiffened and she asked, ¡°Nick, may I ask something of you? Well... could you arrange for a job for me? I¡¯ve been trying to look for a job but I haven¡¯t found a suitable one yet.¡± ¡°What kind of job do you want? What are some skills that you have?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine with any job as long as it¡¯s within my means.¡± ¡°How about a janitor?¡± Bu Xianxian took a deep breath before answering, ¡°Is there anything else apart from a janitor?¡± ¡°The best I can do for you is to hire you as a receptionist at the front desk,¡± said Jin Qingyan, who was willing to help her on ount that she had once saved his life. ¡°I shall work as a receptionist, then. Will I be posted to the main office?¡± ¡°No, you¡¯ll be posted to the branch office that used to belong to the Ye Corporation. However, I¡¯ve already acquired it. You shall work there. You may leave now. I¡¯ll hand my instructions over to my subordinates, and the human resources department will give you a call in due time,¡± Jin Qingyan said impatiently. ¡°Alright,¡± said Bu Xianxian, who left soon after. As soon as she arrived home, Mrs. Bu asked, ¡°How did it go? Did Nick agree?¡± ¡°He agreed to let me work as a receptionist at his branch office.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great. Xianxian, stay grounded and do well at work. There¡¯ll definitely be lots of outstanding men working in Nick¡¯spany. It¡¯d be wonderful if you can find a suitable partner.¡± ¡°Got it. Mother, just stop being so naggy. It¡¯s not like I can¡¯t hear you.¡± She then walked toward her room sluggishly, after which Mrs. Bu sat on the bed and asked, ¡°Xianxian, I have no idea why, but I still like it better in our hometown. We don¡¯t know anyone here at all, and your father and I have nowhere to go to every day. Why don¡¯t we sell the house and move back to our nation?¡± ¡°Is there a difference? The tsunami had killed all of our rtives and friends. The situation would be the same as here even if we move back. I don¡¯t n to go back there forever,¡± Bu Xianxian retorted. Mrs. Bu sighed and said, ¡°Xianxian, you¡¯re a big girl now. You¡¯re the only daughter your father and I have. We hope that you¡¯ll settle down soon and give birth to children of your own. We¡¯ll help you look after your children while you focus on working. This is the normal life that a woman should have.¡± ¡°Mother, I know what to do. Didn¡¯t we already agree on this before? I¡¯ll definitely have children of my own, and I¡¯ll work hard to get the man I want.¡± Still feeling worried, Mrs. Bu chided, ¡°Xianxian, you should really drop the idea of winning Nick¡¯s heart. Stop harboring any designs on him. I ran into the daughter-inw of Old Li, the farmer who used to work in Wei Ni Estate, a few days ago. She told me that Ms. An and Nick share a very close rtionship and that they¡¯re very sweet to each other. Don¡¯t be too stubborn and obstinate.¡± Bu Xianxian retorted agitatedly, ¡°My greatest regret now is not holding a wedding ceremony with Nick back then. Had we done that, An Xiaoning would have never had the chance to reconcile with him.¡± Chapter 1286 - I Want to Make You Stay (164)

Chapter 1286: I Want to Make You Stay (164)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Xianxian, I¡¯m done trying to knock some sense into you. Just forget it, stop being so obsessed and stubborn. It¡¯s enough. Nick has already agreed to hire you and he had even given us so much money.¡± ¡°He¡¯s so wealthy. Five million dors is peanuts to him. Is his life worth just five million dors? I know he can¡¯t stand the sight of me now, but I still feel that I deserve more credit than An Xiaoning does. If it weren¡¯t for me, he would have died long ago. I can¡¯t help but feel indignant whenever I think about it.¡± She then opened her closet and began picking out an outfit. Mrs. Bu asked, ¡°You just came home, why are you getting changed again?¡± ¡°I¡¯m getting changed into my outfit for tonight.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going out again at night? Where to and what for?¡± ¡°Mother, will you please just stay out of this? I¡¯m not a three-year-old child,¡± Bu Xianxian snapped while giving her the side-eye. ¡°You don¡¯t have any friends here at all. Don¡¯t go out and fool around at night.¡± ¡°Enough, I¡¯ll be home early. Get out. I want to take a nap.¡± Mrs. Bu stood up and chided, ¡°You must have stayed uptest night again. No wonder you¡¯re so listless and lethargic.¡± She then left the room. After picking out her outfit, she hung the clothing on a hanger andy down in bed to catch some sleep. She woke up again at five o¡¯clock in the afternoon. Afterzing in bed for a while, she got out of bed to take a shower and put on some makeup. Upon the sight of her parents sitting inside their own room, she tiptoed out of hers and left the house with her purse. She headed to a restaurant for dinner before proceeding to a nightclub in the city. She was dressed in a sexy ensemble, which was further entuated after she removed her windbreaker. Whilst she was sipping on some drinks and ncing at the men in the nightclub, two slovenly-looking men walked toward her and teased, ¡°Prettydy, are you alone?¡± Bu Xianxian nced up at them and decided to ignore them. Peeved by her nonchnt attitude, one of them groped her butt cheeks, causing her to be riled up. She glowered at him and barked, ¡°What are you doing!?!¡± ¡°Teasing you.¡± Feeling extremely repulsed, Bu Xianxian gave him a tight p across his face and rebuked, ¡°Who do you think you are? Are you tired of living?¡± The man waspletely caught off guard. He chuckled sinisterly and looked at his friend, after which the two of them grabbed Bu Xianxian by her arms and dragged her away forcefully. ¡°What are you trying to do!?! Let go of me!¡± Bu Xianxian yelled in panic while trying to struggle out of their grip. Although the other patrons had witnessed the scene, they decided to turn a blind eye and focused on enjoying themselves. Bu Xianxian was dragged to the second floor of the nightclub. As much as she was screaming at the top of her lungs, her efforts werepletely futile and no one bothered to rescue her. At this very moment, a voice hollered sternly, ¡°Stop it!¡± Bu Xianxian could not believe her ears at first. She turned around to see that it was Jin Qingyan and Long Tianze. ¡°Nick!¡± Bu Xianxian eximed while her tears flowed freely from her eyes. She did not feel like crying at all. However, she decided to do so at this juncture, thinking that she could gain Jin Qingyan¡¯s sympathy by doing so. Having recognized who he was, the two men let go of her in disgruntlement. After ncing at each other, they immediately took flight. Jin Qingyan stepped forward to help her up. ¡°What are you doing here at such ate hour? Didn¡¯t you receive a call from the human resources department? You are to report to work tomorrow.¡± Bu Xianxian looked down and said, ¡°They called me this afternoon. Thank you, Nick.¡± Jin Qingyan said, ¡°Let¡¯s go. I¡¯m about to go home too. I¡¯ll give you a lift since you live rather close by.¡± Bu Xianxian answered with a nod, ¡°Yes.¡± Pursing his lips, Long Tianze remarked, ¡°You¡¯re dressed so sexily at such ate hour, tsk, tsk tsk...¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± said Jin Qingyan. I may have gotten a huge fright tonight but it was worth it, Bu Xianxian thought to herself after leaving the nightclub. Once she got inside Jin Qingyan¡¯s car, she began to think that tonight was the perfect opportunity for her to take action. To her surprise, Jin Qingyan drove really quickly. We¡¯ll definitely arrive in Sanqiao Estate soon and I¡¯ll have to alight when that happens. Bu Xianxian looked out of the window to see that Long Tianze¡¯s car had overtaken Jin Qingyan¡¯s. Long Tianze would definitely head straight back to Wei Ni Estate. How am I supposed to grasp the opportunity within such a short amount of time? Bu Xianxian began racking her brains and came up with a brazen idea. She shivered at the thought of it, thinking to herself that she definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to work at hispany if her n were to fail. By then... But if I were to seed... There are still risks anyway. But then again, the worst thing that can happen if I fail would be losing the opportunity to work at hispany. However, if I were to seed, my life would be changed forever! She then said, ¡°Nick, I need to use the washroom.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you wait until you get home?¡± ¡°No, I can¡¯t hold it in any longer.¡± Thus, Jin Qingyan pulled over by the entrance of a shopping mall and said, ¡°Go inside to find a washroom.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± She alighted and scurried toward the shopping mall. She then sneakily exited from another exit before returning to his car almost ten minutester. ¡°Did you fall into the toilet bowl?¡± ¡°I had the runs. That¡¯s why I said I couldn¡¯t hold it in any longer.¡± She sat in the passenger¡¯s seat, feeling extremely nervous and tense. She gripped her purse tightly in her hands, filled with panic and anxiety. Once they reached the junction, Long Tianze drove toward Wei Ni Estate, just like she had expected. On the other hand, Jin Qingyan headed toward Sanqiao Estate to drop her off before going back to Wei Ni Estate. Just as he was about to turn toward Sanqiao Estate, Bu Xianxian stealthily unzipped her purse and retrieved the brick. Due to the fact that it was dark inside the car and she was sitting behind Jin Qingyan¡¯s seat, he did not sense anything amiss with her actions since he could not see her while keeping his eyes fixed on the roads ahead. Her hands began to tremble when the car started to slow down. Just as Jin Qingyan was about to speak when he stopped the car, he felt a sudden, excruciating pain in the back of his head. Pangs of panic engulfed Bu Xianxian when she realized that he did not pass out immediately. Hence, she picked up the brick and smashed it against his head again, causing him to ck out and thump his head down onto the steering wheel. She felt a great sense of relief the moment she saw that he had stopped moving. She reclined the passenger seat and moved him onto the seat with all her might. The entire process made her exhausted. She got inside the driver¡¯s seat and ced her hand on Jin Qingyan¡¯s face gently. She murmured, ¡°Just what does he do to his face? His skin is so smooth and soft. It¡¯s so much better than mine. Ah, the perks of being rich.¡± Without hesitation, Bu Xianxian decided to carry on with her n while he was still unconscious. Thus, she gave her parents a call. Mr. and Mrs. Bu did not catch sight of Bu Xianxian immediately when they arrived downstairs. She rolled the window down and said, ¡°Mother, I¡¯m here.¡± Chapter 1287 - I Want to Make You Stay (165)

Chapter 1287: I Want to Make You Stay (165)

Mr. and Mrs. Bu walked toward her and asked, ¡°Xianxian, whose car is this?¡± ¡°Nick¡¯s. He¡¯s drunk, help him out of the car.¡± She alighted from the car before walking toward the door on the passenger side. She then opened it to allow her parents to move Jin Qingyan out of the car. ¡°Why doesn¡¯t he reek of alcohol at all?¡± Mrs. Bu asked in puzzlement. ¡°He drank some alcohol... that doesn¡¯t smell like alcohol. Cut the crap and help him upstairs.¡± Without uttering another word, Mr. and Mrs. Bu helped Jin Qingyan to the corridor. Bu Xianxian grabbed the car keys and followed them closely. Upon returning home, she told her parents to carry Jin Qingyan onto her bed. The moment Mrs. Bu let go of him, she shrieked in astonishment, ¡°There¡¯s... blood!¡± After staring at the back of Jin Qingyan¡¯s head, Mrs. Bu immediately questioned Bu Xianxian, ¡°What happened!?!¡± Bu Xianxian did not know that she had hit him so hard that he bled. Pangs of panic consumed her, for she was afraid that she might have killed him. She ced a finger below his nose and felt relieved after discovering that he was still breathing. ¡°Xianxian, tell us, did you knock Nick out? He wasn¡¯t even drunk in the first ce, was he!?!¡± Seeing that her mother had already exposed her, Bu Xianxian could not be bothered to exin any further. ¡°Just like what you had seen, he¡¯s bleeding. I took the risk tonight. Father, Mother, I really adore Nick. I love him and I want to be with him.¡± Mrs. Bu¡¯s lips began to quiver, and she rebuked, ¡°Xianxian, you¡¯re out of your mind. What you had done is not going to change anything. Once Nickes to, he¡¯s going to detest you even more. Xianxian, stop letting your heart rule your head!¡± ¡°Mother, I had already thought about it carefully beforemitting myself to this n. I know exactly what I¡¯m doing, so just stay out of this. Why don¡¯t you and Father check into a hotel tonight ande home again tomorrow instead? Just pretend that you don¡¯t know anything.¡± cing a hand on her forehead, Mrs. Bu said, ¡°Xianxian...¡± ¡°Mother, leave with Father. You guys may stay out of this. Get out, quick.¡± ¡°Nick¡¯s bleeding. His wound has to be cleaned.¡± ¡°Bring the medicine to me. I¡¯ll clean his wounds for him.¡± Mrs. Bu had no choice but to head to the medical office in the estate to get some ointment and antiseptic cotton pads. Bu Xianxian then closed the door and locked her parents outside. Instead of checking into a hotel, Mr. and Mrs. Bu remained seated on the couch, feeling extremely ill at ease. Bu Xianxian proceeded to clean Jin Qingyan¡¯s wounds and ce a bandage over his head. She then eased him onto the bed and removed all of his clothing, leaving just his boxers on. She did the same to herself before lying down beside him under the duvet. She then grabbed his mobile phone and took several photos. However, she made it a point to not include her face in the photos. She took some photos of them cing their necks closely together and holding hands. She then grabbed a needle and poked her finger, allowing her blood to drip all over the pink sheets. Thinking that there was not enough blood on the sheets, she proceeded to poke herself again a few more times. That was not all. She grabbed the tissues that were stained by his blood from the dustbin and threw them onto the ground together with a few more clumps of tissues, so as to make it seem like they had just gotten intimate. She kept her makeup on and took out her lipstick, which she then smeared on her index finger and applied onto his lips. She then hugged him to sleep after everything was settled. Bu Xianxian felt that he would definitely give her a huge sum of money to keep her mouth shut, even if he were to fly into a rage. Although she may not be able to see him again, she could not afford to lose this opportunity. It was daytime in R Nation. Fan Shixin and Xiao Bai arrived in S Nation at midnight. He did not n to look for Jin Qingyan at first. However, he changed his mind after hearing from his subordinates that something seemed to be amiss. ¡°Young Sir still isn¡¯t home yet?¡± he asked. ¡°Yeah, he won¡¯t pick up either. His mobile phone wasn¡¯t switched off, though. He¡¯s just not picking up my calls.¡± ¡°Check where he is now.¡± ¡°Young Sir and Mr. Long went out for some drinks so we didn¡¯t call him because we thought that he must still be drinking.¡± ¡°Hurry and check.¡± Fan Shixin immediately called Long Tianze, who did not pick up either. Hence, he decided to head over to Long Tianze¡¯s house. ¡°Is your Young Sir home?¡± he asked. ¡°He came home long ago.¡± Did Young Sir stay over here, then? ¡°Is my Young Sir here?¡± ¡°No.¡± Fan Shixin immediately entered the house and knocked on the door of Long Tianze¡¯s bedroom. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± Long Tianze murmured with his eyes shut. ¡°I¡¯m Shixin. Mr. Long, where did Young Sir go?¡± ¡°We were supposed toe home together, but he decided to give Bu Xianxian a lift home so I came back by myself.¡± ¡°What!?!¡± Without dy, Fan Shixin turned around and headed downstairs immediately. ¡°Is Brother-inw still not home yet?¡± asked Mei Yangyang, who was woken up by the noises. Long Tianze sobered up immediately and said, ¡°What... did he get assaulted?¡± Mei Yangyang sprung up immediately and turned on themps. Glowering at him while gritting her teeth in anger, she rebuked, ¡°Long Tianze, if anything happens to Brother-inw, I¡¯ll murder you!¡± She then grabbed her clothes and put them on. Long Tianze followed suit before chasing after her. As soon as they exited the gate, they caught sight of Fan Shixin¡¯s car. The pair got inside the car, after which Mei Yangyang asked, ¡°Chief Fan, didn¡¯t you apany Sis to R Nation? Why are you back again?¡± ¡°Young Madam wanted me toe back. Mr. Long, why didn¡¯t you just go to Sanqiao Estate with Young Sir before driving home together? It¡¯s only a stone¡¯s throw away.¡± ¡°I just decided not to follow him since he was giving Bu Xianxian a ride home. In hindsight, I was really too careless. After all, Qingyan was driving and there¡¯s no way he could defend against any mishaps, especially since she was sitting in the backseat. She could have attacked him easily, but I don¡¯t think she¡¯s that brazen, is she?¡± Long Tianze said regretfully. ¡°That shameless slut. There¡¯s nothing she wouldn¡¯t dare to do. You dimwit, Long Tianze!¡± Mei Yangyang eximed angrily, seething with exasperation at the thought of Bu Xianxian. ¡°You¡¯re berating me again... who would have thought...¡± Long Tianze murmured, feeling aggrieved. Wei Ni Estate was very near to Sanqiao Estate and was just a few minutes¡¯ drive away from each other. Upon the sight of Jin Qingyan¡¯s car, the three of them frantically alighted. Fan Shixin took the lead since he had already gotten hold of the exact location. The couple followed closely behind him. Upon hearing the doorbell ringing, Bu Xianxian¡¯s parents stood up from the couch and tiptoed toward the door. They got a huge fright the moment they peeked into the peephole. Mrs. Bu immediately dragged her husband into the room and spluttered, ¡°Chief Fan and Mr. and Mrs. Long are here. What do we do?¡± ¡°What else can we do? Go inform Xianxian about it. I¡¯ll answer the doorter.¡± ¡°Yes, yes.¡± Chapter 1288 - I Want to Make You Stay (166)

Chapter 1288: I Want to Make You Stay (166)

Mrs. Bu frantically said to Bu Xianxian through the door, ¡°Xianxian, Chief Fan is here...¡± Extremely rmed, Bu Xianxian answered, ¡°Okay, let theme in.¡± Mrs. Bu gestured at her husband, after which he immediately opened the door. Fan Shixin nced at them and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Young Sir?¡± ¡°There...¡± Mr. Bu answered, pointing at Bu Xianxian¡¯s door. Fan Shixin immediately proceeded to knock on the door. After he did so twice, the door opened. He was greeted with the sight of Bu Xianxian staring at him, dressed in a short nightdress that ended at her hips. ¡°Long time no see, Chief Fan.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, Fan Shixin pushed her away, causing her to almost lose her bnce and fall to the ground. Supporting herself against the door, she hollered, ¡°What are you doing!?!¡± Fan Shixin ignored her. Just as he was about to walk toward the bed, Jin Qingyan woke up. He then sat up straight immediately. Fan Shixin stopped in his tracks while Mei Yangyang covered her mouth in shock before turning to look at Long Tianze. Neither of them knew what was going on. The tissues on the floor... the bloodstained tissues... His naked body... Long Tianze covered his eyes and exited the room immediately. Mei Yangyang glowered at Bu Xianxian angrily, after which she lifted her leg and kicked Bu Xianxian forcefully in her gut, causing her to fall onto the ground. Before she could even recover from the shock, Mei Yangyang stomped her foot onto her face. A loud cracking noise could be heard. Bu Xianxian¡¯s nose bridge seemed to have broken, and her jaw, too, seemed to have... fallen off. Overwhelmed with immense pain, she struggled to get up on her feet. ¡°What right do you have to hit me!?!¡± Just as Mei Yangyang was about to beat her up, Henry said, ¡°Hold it.¡± Bu Xianxian took the chance to climb onto the bed and said to him, ¡°You have to be responsible.¡± ¡°For what?¡± Henry asked, ncing at her. ¡°What do you think? You bedded mest night,¡± said Bu Xianxian, who decided to go all out at this juncture. Henry had no recollection of what happenedst night at all, nor did he have any idea about what the truth was. The first thing that came to his mind was, I really didn¡¯t expect Jin Qingyan to... Feeling an unbearable pain in his head that seemed to be intensifying, he said in frustration, ¡°You guys, go out.¡± Fan Shixin said, ¡°Young Sir, I think we should call the police immediately, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Why?¡± Fan Shixin was dumbfounded the moment he heard his words. With a sullen expression on her face, Mei Yangyang tugged Fan Shixin¡¯s shirt and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go out and let him put his clothes on.¡± Fan Shixin exited the room together with Mei Yangyang without uttering another word. To Bu Xianxian¡¯s surprise, he did not hit the roof. Is this the calm before the storm? She rested her chin in her hand and said frantically, ¡°I really love you, that¡¯s why I was willing to sleep with you...¡± Henry nced at the familiar face from sideways and thought to himself, Did Jin Qingyan break up with An Xiaoning and get together with a doppelganger of hers? He reached for the back of his head and asked, ¡°What happened to my head?¡± Upon hearing his words, Bu Xianxian immediately answered, ¡°Um... I was being pestered by two men in the nightclubst night. You identally hurt yourself while trying to defend me.¡± He sneered, ¡°He saved the damsel in distress?¡± Noticing that he seemed to be acting abnormally, Bu Xianxian deduced that she must have knocked him senseless and caused him to lose his memory. She quickly grabbed his arm and tried to test if he had really forgotten everything. ¡°Did you forget everything that happenedst night?¡± she asked. ¡°Yeah, I can¡¯t remember.¡± Unable to contain her excitement, Bu Xianxian wished she could exim in glee. She immediately lifted the duvet and pointed at the bloodstains on the sheets. ¡°I had given you my virginity. You were so vigorousst night that my back still aches.¡± Henry stared at the bloodstains before shifting his gaze onto the tissues on the ground. He took a deep breath and said, ¡°Got it.¡± Bu Xianxian stared at him in shock. Afraid that Fan Shixin and Mei Yangyang would discover his injury, she quickly handed him a ck cap while he was getting dressed. ¡°Put this onter. Otherwise, your wound is going to show.¡± He expressed assent and put it on. Noticing that she had been supporting her chin in her hand, he asked, ¡°Is your chin alright?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. I think I dislocated it. I¡¯ll go to the hospital to get it checked once daybreak arrives.¡± Before exiting the room, Henry took out a five-hundred-thousand-dor check from his wallet and handed it to her. ¡°You don¡¯t have to look me up again. That¡¯s all.¡± Bu Xianxian initially thought that she had finally gotten the chance to get near him. Yet, his words were like a wet nket. The smile on her face vanished instantly and she asked, ¡°What... do you mean?¡± ¡°I mean you don¡¯t have to contact me anymore. I¡¯m sick and tired of you,¡± said Henry, who could not exin that he was not Jin Qingyan. However, he still had to put an end to the mess. Bu Xianxian burst into tears and retorted, ¡°When we were getting intimatest night, you said that you¡¯d always love me. Why did you change your mind again so quickly? Aren¡¯t you a little too fickle?¡± ¡°I said that I loved you? Let¡¯s put an end to this.¡± ¡°Your car keys...¡± He picked them up and left. Bu Xianxian grasped the check tightly in her hands, filled with misery and disappointment. She took a deep breath and tried tofort herself by telling herself that it was an opportunity too. He¡¯s lost his memory again. Does that mean that he had forgotten about An Xiaoning again? Hahahaha. She was inexplicably thrilled. .... Fan Shixin drove Jin Qingyan¡¯s car back to Wei Ni Estate while Long Tianze drove Fan Shixin¡¯s car. ¡°Young Sir, did you really bed Bu Xianxian?¡± Henry remained silent. He repeated, ¡°Did you really get intimate with Bu Xianxian?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you already see it?¡± Fan Shixin questioned in disgruntlement, ¡°How could you let Young Madam down like this?¡± Henry could not be bothered to exin due to the unbearable pain in his head. Fan Shixin took his silence to be consent and guilt. Mei Yangyang was on the verge of losing her temper. Long Tianze continued driving, too afraid to even look at her. He feared that she would bombard him and berate him relentlessly. A deafening silence filled the car. It was almost suffocating. She said, ¡°I¡¯m going to report to Sis.¡± Long Tianze immediately said, ¡°Don¡¯t... she¡¯s still overseas now. If you tell her about it, she¡¯ll definitely blow her top and rush back here. Let Qingyan handle this himself. However, I still don¡¯t think that he had done that. Qingyan and I barely drank. He wasn¡¯t drunk either, how could that...¡± ¡°Was he tipsy?¡± ¡°Of course not. If he was, I definitely wouldn¡¯t have allowed him to drive. He waspletely sober. I don¡¯t get it, how did his taste be so poor? That shouldn¡¯t be the case. Sis-inw has only been away for a day or two. He can¡¯t possibly have been tempted to such an extent.¡± Chapter 1289 - I Want to Make You Stay (167)

Chapter 1289: I Want to Make You Stay (167)

Forcing herself to calm down, Mei Yangyang said, ¡°I¡¯ll ask him about itter.¡± Upon arriving in Wei Ni Estate, the cars entered the gate one after another. Mei Yangyang alighted from the car and questioned Henry immediately, ¡°Did you sleep with Bu Xianxian or not?¡± Henry left without answering her. Mei Yangyang widened her eyes in shock and chased after him. She grabbed him and barked, ¡°I¡¯m asking you a question. Did you sleep with her or not!?!¡± ¡°Yes, I did, what¡¯s wrong?¡± bbergasted, Mei Yangyang screeched at the top of her voice, ¡°You scoundrel! Jin Qingyan, how could you do this to my sister!?!¡± Mei Yangyang felt that he would not have been so blunt with his answer if he had cared about An Xiaoning. ¡°What has been done cannot be undone.¡± ¡°...¡± Just as Mei Yangyang was about to hit him, Long Tianze dragged her away from behind. Fan Shixin stood by the side quietly. Once they entered the living room, Henry headed upstairs immediately while Fan Shixin sat on the couch and stared at the second floor of the mansion with a heavy heart. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Let go of me, I¡¯m going to teach him a good lesson!¡± Mei Yangyang eximed while kicking and pushing Long Tianze away. He dragged her back to the bedroom with all his might and pushed her onto the bed. ¡°Will you please cut it out? Get a grip on yourself first, alright?¡± ¡°Screw you. Goddamn it, Long Tianze, it¡¯s all your fault! If you hadn¡¯t insisted on taking him to the nightclub tonight for drinks, he wouldn¡¯t have been seduced by Bu Xianxian. That shameless slut! I¡¯m going to go beat her into a pulp!¡± ¡°I admit that I¡¯m partly to me, but I didn¡¯t make him sleep with Bu Xianxian. I¡¯m guessing that Bu Xianxian must have put a spell on him using some witchcraft. Otherwise, it¡¯s impossible that Qingyan would be attracted to her. If he was interested in her, why would he chase her out of Wei Ni Estate? Why don¡¯t you use your brains to think about it?¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing to think about now that it has already happened. I only care about the oue, not the process!¡± Mei Yangyang whipped her phone out and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to call Sis now.¡± Long Tianze decided not to stop her this time. Mei Yangyang called An Xiaoning, and thetter soon picked up. ¡°Hello, Sis.¡± Noticing that she seemed to sound a little different, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Yangyang, what happened to you? Did you have a tiff with Tianze?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to tell you something now, but you have to stay calm.¡± Long Tianze murmured, ¡°You¡¯re not calm at all and yet you¡¯re telling her to stay calm...¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Mei Yangyang hollered at him. Long Tianze stuffed his fingers into his ears and removed his shoes before lying on the bed. ¡°Tell me, what happened?¡± asked An Xiaoning, who did not know what was going on. ¡°Tianze and Brother-inw went to the nightclub for some drinks and Tianze said that they only had a few and werepletely sober. They then bumped into Bu Xianxian at the nightclub...¡± Mei Yangyang proceeded to tell her everything she knew about the incident. The first thing An Xiaoning said was, ¡°That¡¯s impossible. Qingyan doesn¡¯t fancy Bu Xianxian at all.¡± ¡°Sis, everything I said is the truth. I¡¯ve even questioned him myself. Give him a call to verify it.¡± An Xiaoning ended the call, unable to get a grip on her emotions. Instead of calling Jin Qingyan, she decided to call Fan Shixin first. ¡°Young Madam...¡± An Xiaoning sensed that something was amiss the moment she heard Fan Shixin¡¯s voice. ¡°Shixin, Yangyang called me just now. It... isn¡¯t... true, is it?¡± Fan Shixin wished he was mute, for he had no idea how to exin it at all. ¡°Young Madam... I can¡¯t bring myself to believe it because I know how much Young Sir really loves you. However, I really have no idea what happened.¡± An Xiaoning ended the call without saying anything else. ¡°Are you ready yet¡±? Donggong Lianzhi asked. ¡°I have to make a trip back home right now to attend to something urgent. I¡¯ll go with you again when I return.¡± Noticing how panicky she was, Donggong Lianzhi asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°It¡¯s something very urgent and important. I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± Donggong Lianzhi nodded and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll drive you there.¡± She politely declined, ¡°It¡¯s alright. Before I get back, don¡¯t act rashly. Got it?¡± ¡°Yes, don¡¯t worry. I understand.¡± An Xiaoning boarded a ne back to S Nation. She stared out of the window at the clear blue skies while the ne zoomed through the clouds. She could not feel the ne moving at all. She had no idea how she managed to get through the journey home. She found it hard to ept the truth. Extremely hard. It felt just like a dream. It was already the morning of S Nation by the time she touched down in the airport of A City. Xiao Huang was shocked to see her when she showed up at the entrance all of a sudden. ¡°Young Madam, why did youe back all of a sudden?¡± ¡°Am I not allowed to?¡± ¡°You are. Pleasee in, Young Madam.¡± An Xiaoning strode toward the main mansion quickly and headed straight upstairs. Henry was still asleep at the time. She walked toward the bed and stared at him before lifting the duvet. Her movements were enough to wake him up. He opened his eyes and stared at her. ¡°Are you here to interrogate me again?¡± ¡°Henry?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve really got bionic eyes. Yes, it¡¯s me. What¡¯s wrong?¡± An Xiaoning grabbed him by his cor and picked him up. ¡°Did you sleep with Bu Xianxian using Henry¡¯s body?¡± Keeping his eyes fixed on hers, Henry answered truthfully, ¡°If I¡¯m not even attracted to you, why would I be attracted to your counterfeit replica? Your man was the one who had slept with her, not me. Don¡¯t be mistaken. I woke up next to that woman.¡± An Xiaoning let go of him and heaved a sigh of relief while her lips curled into a smile. ¡°You¡¯re still in the mood to smile?¡± ¡°If it wasn¡¯t you, Jin Qingyan definitely didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Do you really have that much faith in his loyalty?¡± ¡°Yes, I trust him unconditionally.¡± An Xiaoning took a look at the time and said, ¡°Get up for breakfast, I haven¡¯t had my meal yet.¡± She then turned around and headed to the bathroom. Henry watched her leave, after which he got out of bed and followed her inside. An Xiaoning then headed downstairs and instructed Fan Shixin, ¡°Bring Bu Xianxian here.¡± ¡°Young Madam, you...¡± ¡°Cut the crap. Hurry and go.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Upon the sight of Henry, who had just made his way downstairs, An Xiaoning red at him and asked, ¡°Why are you wearing a cap?¡± ¡°I hurt my head. My wound is going to show if I don¡¯t wear the cap.¡± ¡°Where did you get hurt? Let me take a look.¡± He removed his cap and pointed at the back of his head. ¡°Here.¡± An Xiaoning took a look to see that there was really a wound on his head. Everything started to make sense to her. ¡°This Bu Xianxian is still as shameless as ever.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t she the one who had hit you on your head? I heard that Qingyan gave her a lift homest night.¡± ¡°Why would she do that?¡± Chapter 1290 - I Want to Make You Stay (168)

Chapter 1290: I Want to Make You Stay (168)

¡°To sleep with you, of course. However, it¡¯s impossible to get an erection when you¡¯re unconscious. I¡¯ll question her properly when she¡¯s hereter.¡± Upon hearing her words, Henry said, ¡°She imed that I had gotten injured during a scuffle with some gangsters.¡± ¡°See, that¡¯s where the plot hole is. She¡¯s lying. I heard from Yangyang that Tianze and Qingyan drove home together and no one mentioned that you were injured at all...¡± ¡°Is that so? In that case, that woman is really so full of tricks. However, I thought that Jin Qingyan had really bedded her, so I gave her a check for 500 thousand dors...¡± ¡°What a wastrel. Is she worth that much?¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning continued eating her breakfast. Bu Xianxian was brought to them shortly after they had breakfast. Her hands were tied behind her back, and Fan Shixin was pushing her into the living room. ¡°You¡¯re tying me up like I¡¯m a criminal. Is this how you should be treating me?¡± ¡°Are you not a criminal? Qingyan only offered to send you home on ount that you had saved his life, yet you pushed your limits and got so brazen. You even had the audacity to knock him unconscious and take him home. Bu Xianxian, are you tired of living?¡± Bu Xianxian panicked and looked at Henry. Oh dear, he¡¯s regained his memory... Otherwise, why would An Xiaoning be so clear about what I had done? However, she refused to admit it and retorted, ¡°What are you talking about? Do you have any evidence?¡± An Xiaoning smiled and quipped, ¡°Is the victim¡¯s statement not sufficient evidence? Bu Xianxian, did you think that he¡¯d lose his memory just because you hit him on his head?¡± Bu Xianxian was at a loss for words. ¡°Do you really think I won¡¯t know what to do with you just because you refuse to speak? I¡¯ll send you to the police station immediately. Just you wait. You¡¯re going to be put behind bars. Don¡¯t forget to return the check to me.¡± Noticing that Henry was remaining silent, Bu Xianxian began to panic and threatened, ¡°I¡¯ll announce to the world that he had slept with me. An Xiaoning, you don¡¯t want to see that day, do you?¡± An Xiaoning asked sarcastically, ¡°Oh... how are you going to announce it to the world when you¡¯re in prison?¡± Not wanting to waste her breath talking to Bu Xianxian, she said to Fan Shixin, ¡°Shixin, take this woman to the police station and bring me the footages from the surveince cameras in Sanqiao Estate.¡± Realizing that she seemed to be serious about punishing her, Bu Xianxian decided to give in. ¡°I¡¯ll just return you the 500 thousand dors. Will that do?¡± An Xiaoning said with folded arms, ¡°Do you think that¡¯s enough? You¡¯re so simple-minded, aren¡¯t you? When you saved Qingyan back then, we gave you five million dors as a reward, didn¡¯t we? You injured Qingyan¡¯s head and you almost caused his reputation to be tarnished. I want you topensate us with two million dors.¡± ¡°What!?! Two million dors!?! You¡¯re just scamming me!¡± Bu Xianxian eximed, dumbfounded. ¡°Shall we take this to court, then?¡± ¡°An Xiaoning!¡± ¡°I can hear you, you don¡¯t have to shout.¡± ¡°I was at fault this time. I was just too smitten and allowed my heart to rule my head. I admit, I didn¡¯t get intimate with him at all. Please be magnanimous and let me off this time. After all, you wouldn¡¯t have been able to see Nick again if I hadn¡¯t saved him back then.¡± ¡°Are you taking the moral high ground just because you had saved him? Bu Xianxian, don¡¯t you have a guilty conscience at all?¡± ¡°The very fact that I had saved his life overwrites all of the misdeeds that I had done.¡± Bu Xianxian took a deep breath and continued, ¡°If you let me off this time, I promise I won¡¯t appear in front of you guys again.¡± An Xiaoning stared at her and recalled that she was Jin Qingyan¡¯s wife in their previous lifetime. She then said to Fan Shixin, ¡°Draft an agreement and print it out. I want you to include this term. This matter shall have nothing to do with the fact that Bu Xianxian had saved Qingyan. If she were to threaten us by bringing that up again, or try to vite Qingyan, she¡¯ll have topensate us with 50 million dors.¡± Bu Xianxian¡¯s eyes widened in shock. Fifty million dors... Fan Shixin returnedter with the agreement. Bu Xianxian could not believe her eyes the moment she read the contents of the agreement. However, she had no other option than to sign it, for that was the only way she could leave. ¡°Shixin, bring a bodyguard with you and send her home. Bring that check back too.¡± ¡°Wait a minute, tie her arms up first,¡± said Henry. Bu Xianxian saw a glimmer of hope. She initially thought that he would just be generous and allow her to keep the 500 thousand dors. To her astonishment, he headed upstairs and returned with the cap that she had given him the night before. He handed it to Bu Xianxian and said, ¡°Take your cap away.¡± Disappointment filled Bu Xianxian¡¯s heart as it sank to rock bottom. She grabbed the cap and said, ¡°Nick...¡± ¡°You¡¯re so ugly.¡± Bu Xianxian tried her best to contain her anger. How dare he mock my appearance!?! Henry ced his arm around An Xiaoning¡¯s shoulders and chastised Bu Xianxian once more, ¡°You¡¯re so ugly. You¡¯re hideous. I lose my appetite whenever I see you. You¡¯d better not appear in front of me ever again. Otherwise, I¡¯m going to hit you whenever I see you. When I¡¯m all riled up, I won¡¯t hesitate toy a hand on women.¡± Bu Xianxian left with clenched fists. An Xiaoning could tell how exasperated she was. An Xiaoning looked at the hand on her shoulder and remarked, ¡°You¡¯re getting better and better at acting.¡± He let go of her and turned around to head upstairs. An Xiaoning said to Fan Shixin, ¡°You actually couldn¡¯t tell that he was Henry.¡± Fan Shixin grinned widely, revealing his straight rows of pearly whites. ¡°Awesome.¡± ¡°What¡¯s awesome?¡± ¡°Young Sir is innocent.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°What are you waiting for? Hurry and chase after Bu Xianxian.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± An Xiaoning smiled and headed upstairs too. Henry had already changed into his clothes by the time she was putting her makeup on. ¡°I¡¯m going to the hospital to get my wounds checked.¡± ¡°Do you need me to apany you?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°The more you resist, the more I want to do it.¡± ¡°Mind... yournguage. You¡¯re going to cause a misunderstanding easily.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning apanied him to the hospital, nheless. The doctor cleaned his wounds, changed his dressing, and prescribed him with some oral medication. Henry was also told to avoid cold or spicy foods. When they returned home, he proceeded to get some rest while An Xiaoning visited Mei Yangyang at home. Mei Yangyang and Long Tianze had yet to wake up since they had slept at ate hourst night. An Xiaoning knocked on the door of the bedroom and called, ¡°Yangyang?¡± ¡°Yes... Sis?¡± Mei Yangyang asked wearily while trying to open her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re not up yet?¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re back?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll wait for you downstairs.¡± Mei Yangyang got out of bed, freshened up, and exited the bedroom in her pajamas. ¡°Yangyang, I have to rify this with you. You¡¯ve maligned Qingyan.¡± ¡°Huh? I maligned him?¡± An Xiaoning nodded and exined everything to Mei Yangyang, who then said, ¡°Seems like you didn¡¯t punish Bu Xianxian severely enough. However, getting her to sign that agreement was a clever move. She¡¯s going to give up everything she has topensate you if she dares to act shamelessly again.¡± Chapter 1291 - I Want to Make You Stay (169)

Chapter 1291: I Want to Make You Stay (169)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°That¡¯s just one of the ways to keep her in line. If she dares to be unruly again, I definitely won¡¯t spare her.¡± ¡°If he didn¡¯t do it, why did he have to admit to it?¡± Mei Yangyang asked in puzzlement. An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°He¡¯s probably upset because you guys had maligned him.¡± Mei Yangyang leaned back against the couch and said, ¡°Good that he didn¡¯t cheat on you. The greatest joy in this world is to receive a false rm. I was boiling with fury when I first heard about this matter. I berated Tianze too.¡± ¡°Why did you berate him? It wasn¡¯t his fault.¡± Mei Yangyang asked, ¡°Sis, are you still going to go abroad?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be leaving today.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to stay home for a day?¡± ¡°No, I can¡¯t afford to make any dy.¡± ¡°Sis, you must be careful when you¡¯re outside, then. I¡¯m nning to visit some schools to select a few candidates for the next artiste that we¡¯re going to sign. Sis, do you have any requirements or expectations of the candidates?¡± After some thought, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°Once you shortlist a few candidates, bring them to a room that has surveince cameras inside so that we can monitor them. Get them to call their best friends and parents for five minutes and send me the footages. I¡¯ll observe the details and decide if they¡¯re fit enough to be signed to our studio. Good looks alone are not enough.¡± Having understood what she meant, Mei Yangyang assented, ¡°Alright, Sis, I know what to do.¡± ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning returned home to see that Henry was basking in the sun with his eyes closed, a pair of headphones on his head. He was so engrossed that he did not sense her presence at all. She took a seat beside him and slid into afortable position. He turned around and opened his eyes to look at her. ¡°Where did you go?¡± ¡°A secret rendezvous.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I have to leaveter. You¡¯d better be obedient and stay home. You hear me? Don¡¯t create any trouble and stay away from cold or spicy foods. The most important thing to remember is that you¡¯re not allowed to get near any woman except me!¡± ¡°You do have a lot of requests. Do you really think you¡¯re my wife?¡± he said while closing his eyes. She remained silent andy sluggishly on the sunbed. Half an hourter, she sent a text message to the bodyguards at the airport. A few minutester, a car began driving toward her slowly. An Xiaoning sat up straight and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to leave now.¡± ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°Overseas.¡± Henry watched her leave and muttered under his breath, ¡°You didn¡¯t tell me what you¡¯re going there for.¡± She rushed back to R Nation again after staying in S Nation for a short while. It was midnight in R Nation. By the time she arrived after a long flight, it was morning again. The jetg made her feel nauseated. She began to slip into a daze as well. Donggong Lianzhi had been staying in the apartment where she was staying. After taking a few sips of water, she sent him a simple text message that read: ¡°I¡¯m home.¡± She exited from the bathroom to see that he was already seated in the living room. He had bought her some breakfast, which he ced on the table. It consisted of a spread of different dishes, all of which were fragrant and piping hot. She sat down and asked, ¡°You haven¡¯t eaten either, have you?¡± ¡°Not yet.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s eat together, then,¡± said An Xiaoning, who did not stand on ceremony with him. Her stomach was rumbling, and she picked up her chopsticks before wolfing the food down ravenously. ¡°Have you settled your personal issues?¡± ¡°Yes, I have. Did you go home yesterday?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t?¡± ¡°Because...¡± He hesitated for a moment before continuing, ¡°I didn¡¯t have the courage to. I had always been dauntless and never faltered or feared anything that came my way. However, this time is an exception. I¡¯m actually starting to have a strange feeling...¡± ¡°What feeling?¡± ¡°The ce where I was raised is actually a toxic environment full of ruthless and greedy people. Although I¡¯ve only known you for a short while, I still feel safer with you around, especially since I¡¯m aware of the abilities that you have.¡± Although he sounded rather calm, An Xiaoning could tell that he was reliant on her. She looked at him and answered with a nod, ¡°Well, now that your family knows that you had entered the tomb and left unscathed, they must have guessed that you¡¯re already aware of their intentions to sacrifice you. Thus, they might very likely be devising a plot to harm you again before you can touch them. Honestly speaking, how many of those family members of yours truly spare a thought for you?¡± Her words had struck a sour note within him, and he remained silent while pursing his lips. After the two of them were done eating, An Xiaoning packed up and cleared the mess. She was dressed in a red embroidered dress and a pair of ck leggings, coupled with a pair of red stilettos. The long, curly locks of the wig cascaded down her back, and no one could tell her true identity with the addition of the mask. Before leaving the house, An Xiaoning stared at him solemnly and said, ¡°From now onwards, you have to remember these three things. Firstly, I¡¯m the love of your life, your ndestine girlfriend. You must openly rebel against your family for my sake and object to your arranged political marriage. They¡¯re out to kill you anyway. We¡¯re walking on a tightrope, and you must learn how to act even if you suck at it. Secondly, if you want to live in peace for the rest of your life, you must adhere to all my instructions. Lastly, I believe that we¡¯re both curious about the same things and want the same answers. I hope you¡¯ll understand that I won¡¯t spare you if you ever dare to harm me. You¡¯ll find out what I¡¯m really like in due time.¡± ¡°I understand everything that you said.¡± ¡°Good that you do. Let¡¯s go.¡± They closed the door and walked toward his car. Once she got inside his car, she stared at the reflection in the rear view mirror to see that someone was staring at them continuously. Fortunately, she did not go by the main door or entered through the corridor. Instead, she had made her way to the highest floor and descended from there. Everything was seamless, thus allowing her to go unnoticed. ¡°Tell me who the members of your family are and how old they are.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± He began telling her about his family members, starting from his elders. He described their traits and appearances while driving steadily. By the time they reached the Donggong family mansion, he was already almost done with the introduction. Although there were lots of members in his family, An Xiaoning could memorize all their different traits. His mother was the only one who had an only son while his aunts and uncles had several children of their own. Upon the sight of them, the bodyguards greeted, ¡°Hello, Seventeenth Young Sir.¡± ¡°Hello,¡± he answered calmly before leading An Xiaoning inside. The Donggong family had retained the ancient decor and constructions of the mansion and did not carry out any renovation on the property at all. However, it was notcking in extravagance. Chapter 1292 - I Want to Make You Stay (170)

Chapter 1292: I Want to Make You Stay (170)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios While walking, he said to her softly, ¡°Our family is very strict and uptight about social etiquette. We try to avoid making noises when we walk, as far as possible. You may be wearing stilettos, but you should still try to take lighter footsteps.¡± She answered, ¡°No, that¡¯s your family rule, not mine. I¡¯m not a member of your family so I don¡¯t have to follow it, at least not until I gain your family¡¯s approval.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so willful.¡± Donggong Lianzhi brought her to arge mansion. They walked toward the door in the middle, and he said, ¡°This mansion belongs to my grandparents. My family would usually gather here at this time, lest the two of them feel lonely. This has already be an unspoken rule.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°My grandparents dislike me, so they would naturally be prejudiced against you too, but that doesn¡¯t matter. It¡¯s always been difficult to survive in a huge family.¡± An Xiaoning nced at him, feeling a little tense. However, she had been through all sorts of events and was not afraid of the Donggong family at all. The moment they entered, An Xiaoning almost gasped in shock. Although she had heard about all his family members, she did not expect to see so many of them at once. Almost all the members were present, except those who could not make it. An Xiaoning felt as if she had just witnessed an ancient family that wasrgely extended. ¡°Good morning, Grandpa and Grandma,¡± Donggong Lianzhi greeted. Instead of standing next to him, she nced at all the eyes on her dauntlessly without uttering a single word. She did not rush to introduce herself because she knew that someone would definitely ask about her. ¡°Who¡¯s this woman who¡¯s dressed so awfully?¡± an elderlydy remarked while sitting on a high chair and ring at them coldly. An Xiaoning almost choked the moment she heard the snide remark. I¡¯m dressed so normally, how is this awful!?! What an overbearing elderly woman who throws her weight around! At this very moment, it was her turn to speak. An Xiaoning replied, ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything wrong with the way I¡¯m dressed. Did you forget that you¡¯re dressed in red too, Madam? I don¡¯t think you should be criticizing yourself like this.¡± The elderly Mrs. Donggong looked down at her own outfit and humphed before rebuking, ¡°Who gave you the audacity to mock me!?!¡± ¡°You¡¯ve gotten me wrong, Old Madam. I was just stating facts. I didn¡¯t mean to be disrespectful to you at all. I didn¡¯tment about your outfit or call it awful the moment I saw you, did I? I didn¡¯t y the age card and say that you¡¯re bullying me because I¡¯m young. I was just stating facts from an objective viewpoint. Lianzhi and I came here today to announce something important to you guys.¡± ¡°Who do you think you are? Who allowed this woman in my house!?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m nobody. I¡¯m Lianzhi¡¯s girlfriend. I heard that you guys have arranged a marriage for him. Please call off the engagement. This is what I came here to talk about today,¡± she said while holding onto Donggong Lianzhi¡¯s arm. The patriarch finally broke his silence and chastised, ¡°What an arrogant littless. Who are you to jeopardize our family matters? Lianzhi, she may be unsure of our rules since she¡¯s an outsider but how could you not know? We can¡¯t just make changes to your marriage. You¡¯d better handle this woman properly. If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll have to punish her myself.¡± An Xiaoning drawled, ¡°I¡¯m carrying your family¡¯s flesh and blood. Old Mr. Donggong, are you sure you want to break us up?¡± Donggong Lianzhi looked at her in shock. She didn¡¯t rehearse this bit with me beforehand! ¡°What!?!¡± The patriarch flew into a rage and stood up immediately. Her words had garnered a variety of responses and reactions. Some were nonchnt and indifferent. Some were shocked and derisive. Some were simply waiting to watch a show. There were all sorts of facial expressions. An Xiaoning shifted her gaze onto a woman who seemed rather worried and anxious. An Xiaoning could guess from her features that she was probably Donggong Lianzhi¡¯s mother. His mother was the only one who had such a reaction. Clearly, Donggong Lianzhi did notmand respect in the Donggong family at all. ¡°Lianzhi, is this true!?!¡± Old Mr. Donggong questioned sternly. Donggong Lianzhi felt a sense of relief andfort after An Xiaoning tightened her grip around his arm. He answeredposedly, ¡°Yes, Grandpa. That¡¯s why I want you to cancel my engagement. I must be responsible toward Mu Ning and our child.¡± Donggong Lianzhi¡¯s mother finally stood up and stared at him in disbelief. ¡°Son, did you forget what you said to mest time? You said clearly that you wouldn¡¯t get into any other rtionships outside of your engagement. Were you lying to me?¡± After a few seconds of silence, Donggong Lianzhi answered, ¡°I just want to be with the woman I love.¡± Donggong Lianzhi¡¯s mother red daggers at An Xiaoning, who exchanged nces with her and even smiled at her. It seemed as if An Xiaoning was the arrogant daughter-inw while Donggong Lianzhi¡¯s mother was an aggrieved mother-inw. Old Mrs. Donggong hollered, ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll have to uphold justice for my granddaughter-inw-to-be! Guards! Take this witch out to be beaten and executed!¡± Donggong Lianzhi stared at An Xiaoning in astonishment only to see that she was still cool and collected. She retortedposedly, ¡°You¡¯ve really given me an eyeopener. The Donggong family is still so old-fashioned and you guys still resort to medieval punishment. I shall make things clear beforehand. I¡¯ll teach whoever dares toy a finger on me a hard lesson!¡± ¡°How arrogant! Take her away to be executed!¡± Old Mrs. Donggong screeched. Soon, four men entered in a bid to pull An Xiaoning away. However, as soon as they touched her, they were thrown off bnce by a sudden force and were propelled out of the door. Everyone stared at her in astonishment. Old Mrs. Donggong then eximed frantically, ¡°Shoot her to death! Hurry!¡± The guards outside the door immediately whipped out their guns and rushed inside. Since the members of the Donggong family were not allowed to carry guns into the house, the bodyguards were the only ones who were armed with them. The moment they swarmed inside, they stopped in their tracks, not daring to take another step forward. The reason was, An Xiaoning was already holding the elderly matriarch at gunpoint. Donggong Lianzhi stood rooted to the ground in shock, feeling as if his heart was about to jump out of his chest. He had witnessed An Xiaoning cing her gun against his grandmother¡¯s forehead within just a few seconds. The thing was, she was in stilettos... Chapter 1293 - I Want to Make You Stay (171)

Chapter 1293: I Want to Make You Stay (171)

How was she so quick... ¡°Old Madam, I was kind to you at first but you tried to kill me so I had no other option. Who do you think will die first? You or me?¡± The initially haughty Old Mrs. Donggong was at a sudden loss for words. Everyone in the house was frightened out of their senses. They did not expect things to take such an unexpected turn. A young woman interjected, ¡°Do you think you¡¯d be able to leave this ce alive even if you kill my grandmother?¡± ¡°Oh? Does that mean that you want your grandmother to die?¡± ¡°I... didn¡¯t say that! Let go of my grandmother and we can talk things over calmly,¡± the woman said frantically. ¡°I can let your grandmother go, but you must call off the engagement right now.¡± Old Mr. Donggong barked, ¡°We¡¯ll call it off! We¡¯ll call off Lianzhi¡¯s engagement now! I¡¯ll send someone over to talk about it. Will that do?¡± ¡°I can let her go, but I¡¯ll do that after Lianzhi and I get inside our car.¡± She looked down and said to Old Mrs. Donggong, ¡°You¡¯re already so old and yet you¡¯re still so vicious. Get up, we¡¯re going out.¡± Seething with exasperation, Old Mrs. Donggong had no choice but to leave with her walking stick in hand. An Xiaoning walked beside her while Donggong Lianzhi followed closely behind. They headed to the entrance, after which An Xiaoning helped her into the car and got onto the backseat as well. Donggong Lianzhi began driving away. As soon as he left, a fleet of cars began to take chase. ¡°Pull over after moving up onto the slope.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± He stepped hard on the elerator to move up the slope, after which he immediately mmed the brakes. An Xiaoning opened the car door and allowed Old Mrs. Donggong to alight. The elderly matriarch frantically alighted, after which the cars chasing them pulled over in the middle of the road. They initially wanted to rush forward. However, there was no way they could do so. The bodyguards alighted and walked toward Old Mrs. Donggong. They then frantically asked if she was alright. Knocking her walking stick against the ground, she answered, ¡°I¡¯m alright. Okay, you may go back.¡± ¡°Madam, aren¡¯t we going to take chase?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no hurry. They can¡¯t escape so easily!¡± Old Mrs. Donggong eximed angrily, gritting her teeth. She was truly frightened. Upon hearing her orders, the bodyguards proceeded to help her into the car without uttering another word. An Xiaoning and Donggong Lianzhi continued zooming toward their destination. They remained silent throughout the journey. Once they arrived at the estate, he smiled at her and said, ¡°I know why you did that. You¡¯re still a little worried about me so you tried to use this method to pull me away from my familypletely so that I¡¯ll have no backup n. I¡¯ll then be devoted and loyal to you. Actually, you really don¡¯t have to do this. I¡¯m very clear about my current predicament. I¡¯ve already figured it all out the moment I found out that they had sacrificed me. My only worry now is my mother. I wanted to take her along with me but I know I can¡¯t. My mother has been living with the Donggong family for so many years, and she probably already treats them as her everything. To her, leaving the Donggong family would be her greatest shame. She¡¯s usually very proud of being a member of the Donggong family. She will definitely be devastated if I ruin her pride.¡± An Xiaoning looked at him and said, ¡°You¡¯ve mistaken me. I didn¡¯t do that to ruin your backup n. That wasn¡¯t my purpose for visiting them today. It¡¯s up to you to believe me.¡± ¡°What do we do next?¡± Donggong Lianzhi asked. ¡°Next, your family will call the cops on me for assaulting her and then the cops wille for us. At this moment, we can only beat them at their own game.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll find out when we¡¯re upstairs.¡± She alighted from the car and headed upstairs together with him. After closing the door, An Xiaoning took out her notebook andid it on the coffee table. She then took out her mobile phone from her bag. Donggong Lianzhi finally realized that her mobile phone was connected to a device on the exterior of her bag. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°A surveince camera,¡± An Xiaoning said while connecting her mobile phone to herptop, after which she quickly opened the video-editing software. Donggong Lianzhi realized that the video ying on the screen depicted the scenario that took ce in the Donggong family mansion, all the way until they returned to the estate. It did not ur to him that she would have the entire process filmed. Staring at her editing the videos with finesse, Donggong Lianzhi said softly, ¡°If we hand this over to the police, won¡¯t they be able to tell that you had tampered with it and edited the video?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. At least we can produce some evidence. Can your family do that? When I was helping your grandmother out of the living room, I was extra careful so as to make sure that it looked like I was just helping her on the surface. There are no surveince cameras in your family¡¯s mansion either. No one would dare to install a surveince camera there since that¡¯s the ce where all of you gather early in the morning. Your grandparents wouldn¡¯t have allowed that. So, we shall now wait for the policemen to show up at the door, after which we¡¯ll submit this USB drive to them.¡± An Xiaoning then reyed the video again to ensure that there were no mistakes before finally calling it quits. Just like she had expected, the police arrived and knocked on the door. After looking through the peephole, Donggong Lianzhi looked at her and made a hand gesture. He then opened the door. The policemen entered the apartment after stating their purpose of visit. ¡°Please disy your personal identification cards.¡± An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m not a local. I¡¯m just here to visit my boyfriend. Here¡¯s my passport.¡± She handed them the fake passport that she had already prepared beforehand. After taking a nce, the police officer handed it back to her and said, ¡°Ms. Mu Ning, someone has filed a report against you...¡± Before he could even finish speaking, An Xiaoning handed him the USB drive and said, ¡°Sir, my boyfriend and I were just nning to file a police report too but you guys coincidentally looked us up first. Please take a look at this. My boyfriend and I visited his family mansion today, and yet, the moment I entered... I...¡± Tears began to well up in her eyes and eventually rolled down her cheeks. She looked extremely pitiful and almost managed to tug at the heartstrings of the two police officers. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°Evidence. Evidence of them trying to execute me.¡± ¡°Really?¡± The two police officers looked at each other in astonishment for they totally did not expect there to be such a turn in events. ¡°Yes, you¡¯ll find out once you take a look at it.¡± The two police officers immediately stood up and left. As soon as An Xiaoning closed the door, she wiped her tears away and leaned back against the couch. Crossing one leg over the other, she looked at Donggong Lianzhi and said, ¡°Let¡¯s head back to your ce tonight. Get ready.¡± Chapter 1294 - I Want to Make You Stay (172)

Chapter 1294: I Want to Make You Stay (172)

¡°We¡¯re going back again tonight?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll stay at your family mansion temporarily tonight. I must get closer to your family in order to find the answers I need in the quickest time possible.¡± An Xiaoning added, ¡°The most dangerous ce is often the safest. Your family would have never expected that we would return.¡± ¡°What if we get exposed? There are surveince cameras everywhere in the yard.¡± ¡°We won¡¯t be discovered easily if we¡¯re careful. I¡¯m very experienced in being stealthy.¡± Seeing howposed she was, Donggong Lianzhi said, ¡°There¡¯s still such a long way to go from now until tonight. What do you n to do while waiting?¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing inside the refrigerator. Let¡¯s go to the supermarket together. We still have to eat lunch after all.¡± ¡°We can always order takeout.¡± ¡°Do you actually still dare to eat takeout food at such a critical juncture? Aren¡¯t you afraid that you¡¯ll be poisoned?¡± Donggong Lianzhi took a look at the time on his watch and said, ¡°Shall we head to the supermarket downstairs now, then? The groceries are fresher in the morning.¡± An Xiaoning agreed, ¡°Sure. But can you cook?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I can put my mind at ease, then. Most men nowadays are better cooks than women.¡± Donggong Lianzhi blurted without hesitation, ¡°You... can¡¯t cook?¡± ¡°Of course... I can. The food I make is just not that delicious.¡± An Xiaoningbed her wig, put on a pair of ts, and headed to the supermarket with him. They bought fourrge bags of groceries, each carrying two in their hands. When they were about to approach the corridor, An Xiaoning asked softly, ¡°Is that woman here to look for you?¡± Donggong Lianzhi answered coldly, ¡°Just ignore her.¡± Seemingly having guessed who the woman was, An Xiaoning continued to walk forward alongside him. Just as they were about to walk past the woman, she finally said, ¡°Is this what you want?¡± Donggong Lianzhi ignored her and headed straight inside the corridor. The girl scurried toward him and stopped him from proceeding. ¡°Donggong Lianzhi, I¡¯m asking you a question. You fell out with your family and broke off your engagement with me all because of this woman. Is this what you really want?¡± ¡°Yes, this is what I want. Is that enough?¡± Seething with exasperation, the woman rebuked, ¡°You... are your brains fried? Do you know how many benefits I can bring you if you marry me? These are advantages that she won¡¯t be able to give you. How could you...¡± ¡°So what if you can bring me those benefits? You can¡¯t hold a candle to the woman I love,¡± he said before turning to gaze at An Xiaoning affectionately. ¡°News about what you had done is now spreading around our social circle. You¡¯vepletely disgraced me and my family by breaking off the engagement. How much longer do you think this woman can live?¡± Donggong Lianzhi looked up at her and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be happy even if we only have one day left with each other.¡± He managed to shut her up. Instead of following them into the elevator, the woman eximed in disgruntlement, ¡°Donggong Lianzhi, you¡¯d better not regret this!¡± He responded to her words with an icy cold stare. In reality, Donggong Lianzhi knew clearly how terrible of a predicament he was in currently. He had been insulted and belittled in the Donggong family for so many years. His family¡¯s attitude toward him only improved slightly after he gained the affection of Jin Miaomiao. Yet, he had chosen to give up everything and return to square one. However, those superficialities no longer mattered to him. All that he wanted now was to live well. ¡ª¡ª Henry began to feel a little tempted afterying off racing for such a long while. Although he was a little traumatized and affected by the fracture he had sustained previously, the ident did not kill his passion for car racing. He thought to himself, Now that An Xiaoning is abroad, I¡¯ll gain freedom once I find a way to remove this tracking device and get out of here. However, it was not a simple solution, for there were now bodyguards guarding the exit of the secret passageway, ever since the time he tried to sneak away through the wine cer. Hence, it would be tough to sneak away again. However, he reckoned that there must be another secret passageway somewhere that Jin Qingyan had had built. Thus, he stayed awake in bed and pondered over the problem continuously. The more he dwelt on it, the more he realized that he could note up with a feasible solution to get out of the house. Secret passageways can only be built on the first floor, right? There were only a limited number of rooms on the first floor. There would be very few left after eliminating the guest rooms, the living room, and the wine cer. As for the other rooms... Henry got out of bed and headed to the dressing room to grab a pair of new shoes that he had never worn before. He put them on and slowly made his way downstairs. The lights were still on in the living room, and the servants were in the midst of tidying the house. Upon the sight of him, they greeted him politely. Pretending that everything was normal, he sat down on the couch and picked up the remote control to watch some television. Once the servants were done tidying the house, he gestured for them to leave. After they left, he began checking all the rooms one by one, only to discover that there was nothing unusual at all. However, he did not give up and decided that he would only do so after checking through everything thoroughly. Henry¡¯s eyes finally lit up the moment he entered the antiques room. He found that theyout of the room was closely simr to that of the cer. There were numerous antiques and shelves inside the room, the perfect setup for a secret passageway. His instincts told him that that was where the other passageway began. Staring at the ancient porcin ornaments on the shelves, he ced his hands onto them gently, for fear that he would break the exorbitantly-priced treasures. Henry felt a little disappointed to discover that he did not get the results he wanted after touching the antiques on two of the shelves. Atst, he shifted his gaze onto the ornaments on the ground. He hurriedly ced his hand onto them too. The instant he touched one of them, a sudden noise filled the air. Henry peeked inside to see that there was a secret passageway. Just like he had expected! Henry¡¯s eyes lit up in joy and excitement. Without hesitation, he dived into the opening. As soon as he did, the sensors detected his presence and closed the opening. After walking for more than ten minutes, he caught sight of a flight of stairs. He strode forward gleefully and gently pushed the cover up, only to discover that there was a bed above him. He climbed up and ced the lid back on. No one could have guessed that a secret passageway would lie beneath a perfectly seamless flooring. However, his joy was short-lived, and his hopes were dashed the moment he discovered that it was Fan Shixin¡¯s abode. Chapter 1295 - I Want to Make You Stay (173)

Chapter 1295: I Want to Make You Stay (173)

The secret passageway did not lead to the world outside the estate at all. This was... After going round in circles, he still ended up in the estate. However, it was much better herepared to the mansion, because there were fewer guards around to keep close tabs on him. His mood was instantly lifted at the thought of it. However... Fan Shixin should be back any time soon. It would be terrible if he finds out that I¡¯m here. Speak of the devil. As soon as he heard the footsteps approaching the door, Henry frantically stood behind the clothes rack, which was full of Fan Shixin¡¯s clothes, thus allowing him to stay hidden. The first thing Fan Shixin did when he returned was to take a shower, thus giving Henry the chance to escape as well. When Fan Shixin removed his clothes and headed to the bathroom in a pair of shorts, Henry hurriedly removed his own and put on Fan Shixin¡¯s. He had even put on Fan Shixin¡¯s cap before grabbing his own clothing and making his exit with Fan Shixin¡¯s car keys. He decided to leave a note for Fan Shixin on the table. He then headed straight to the garage to collect Fan Shixin¡¯s car, put on the surgical mask, and drove through the entrance. He managed to pass through sessfully. Henry¡¯s cells were bursting with euphoria. He had finally managed to sneak out of the estate using his own wits. What he had to do next was to remove the GPS tracker. His lips curled into a sinister smile, and he stepped onto the elerator while surging forward. Fan Shixin was dumbfounded and shocked beyond words the moment he discovered that his clothes and car keys had gone missing, as well as that there was a note on the table. He rapidly called the guards in the guard room. After hearing that Henry had left, he hurriedly instructed his subordinates to find out his exact location. He put on his clothes and immediately took chase. However, Henry had been gone for more than half an hour already. A lot could be done in half an hour. Hence, Fan Shixin immediately rushed to the location with his subordinates after verifying Henry¡¯s whereabouts. After knocking on the car door and receiving no response, Fan Shixin decided to open the door. There was no one in the car at all. Fan Shixin discovered that his clothes, car keys, and Henry¡¯s GPS tracker were in the car. There was a note as well. It read: ¡°I won¡¯t get into trouble. I just want to stay out and roam freely for a few days. Will you allow me the freedom to enjoy peace for a few days?¡± Fan Shixin was utterly speechless. Needless to say, he definitely wouldn¡¯t fulfill Henry¡¯s wishes. He immediately sent his subordinates to continue trying to track Henry down. However, Henry was just like a wild horse that had been set free. He definitely wouldn¡¯t allow himself to be caught easily. It did not cross Fan Shixin¡¯s mind that he would sneak out of the nation and cross the borders illegally. Henry felt that the only way he could take a breather was by going overseas. At this juncture, he did not have the time to pick where to go at all and simply boarded a random ship. He only realized after the ship sailed off that they were headed toward R Nation. ¡ª¡ª The sky had just turned dark, and An Xiaoning was already getting ready to set off. This time, she did not put on her wig because she found it to be a hindrance. Hence, she decided to just put on a hat. Donggong Lianzhi said, ¡°Since there are people watching us outside, it would be difficult for us to avoid them.¡± ¡°We definitely can¡¯t go out by the main entrance, of course. It¡¯d be best to trick them into thinking that we¡¯re at home all day. Only then will your family let their guards down, because they wouldn¡¯t be expecting that we would show up at the mansion all of a sudden at night.¡± ¡°Where do we leave from, then?¡± Although he hated to admit it, he could not help but find himself to be clueless around her. ¡°There are lots of ways. Follow me,¡± said An Xiaoning. Donggong Lianzhi had no idea what her ns were and had no other option than to follow her into the elevator. Instead of heading to the first floor, An Xiaoning chose to stop on the second floor. They exited from the elevator, and An Xiaoning led him to a staircase, after which they made their way up. She was well aware that there were window grills at the turning point from the first floor to the second floor, whereas there were none from the second to the third. An Xiaoning decided to open the windows first before wrapping the rope around his waist. She then said to him, ¡°Go down from here. I¡¯ll be pulling you from upstairs. You must grip the rope tightly. Although it¡¯s not too high up, it¡¯s still going to hurt if you fall off.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Without hesitation, Donggong Lianzhi climbed over the railing and straddled the windowpane before grabbing the rope tightly. He then made his descent slowly. An Xiaoning grabbed the rope on her end tightly until he hadnded safely. However, Donggong Lianzhi began to wonder just how she would manage to make her way down without anyone up there to hold the rope for her. He gasped in shock the moment he saw An Xiaoning climbing over the window and casting the hooked end of her rope toward the window grille next door. She then grabbed the rope tightly with both hands and leaped off. The momentum of the rope then swung her over to the grille and allowed her to slide downward slowly. She then gave the rope a tug to remove it from the window grille. Since the car was parked by the corridor outside the main entrance, they had no choice but to climb over the wall of the estate in order to leave. They left the lights on in the apartment so as to create the false image of them being at home. They hailed a taxi to a spot near the Donggong family mansion. An Xiaoning asked softly, ¡°How many doors are there in your family¡¯s mansion?¡± ¡°Two. One at the front and one at the back. The one at the back is usually meant for servants. However, it¡¯s also the most crowded. I do know of a ce where we can enter without being captured by the surveince cameras.¡± ¡°Where?¡± ¡°Come with me.¡± ¡°...¡± A few minutester, they arrived at a door. An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Where¡¯s this ce?¡± ¡°This is a forbidden area, and I heard from my family when I was a child that it¡¯s haunted in here. It¡¯s been abandoned for decades, and no one has ever dared to enter. However, it¡¯s only one wall away from the main mansion. There are no surveince cameras on the wall too.¡± ¡°Haunted? Aren¡¯t you afraid, then?¡± ¡°I heard that you¡¯re a supernatural expert so I doubt there¡¯ll be any issues even if it¡¯s really haunted. Besides, we¡¯re only going to pass by for a while. We won¡¯t be staying there for long.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and took out her night vision goggles. ¡°There are dim lights around here. Put this on, you¡¯ll be able to see clearly at night.¡± He took it from her and put it on before entering the dpidated house with her. As soon as they stepped foot inside, An Xiaoning began coughing violently for a long while before saying softly, ¡°This is indeed a sinister ce. Can¡¯t you smell that stench?¡± ¡°I can,¡± Donggong Lianzhi said with a frown, feeling rather nauseated. Chapter 1296 - I Want to Make You Stay (174)

Chapter 1296: I Want to Make You Stay (174)

¡°Take it, let¡¯s go quickly.¡± She passed him an amulet and then grabbed onto his arm to pull him toward the wall leading to the Donggong family mansion. This wall was different from other walls in the mansion because, while other walls were especially tall, this one was about the same height as An Xiaoning. It was not difficult to climb over it at all. An Xiaoning let him climb over first and followed afterward. The moment they had gone over the wall, she vomited first. As he could not take it either, he vomited after her. The twopletely emptied out their stomachs of their dinner. An Xiaoning took out two bottles of mineral water from her bag, and the two each took one to rinse their mouths. The feeling that they had in the mansion earlier was absolutely disgusting. Donggong Lianzhi still had not realized where the stench hade from as he remarked, ¡°That smell was absolutely terrible.¡± ¡°How can the smell of corpses possibly smell good?¡± ¡°Corpses?¡± ¡°You were too focused on going ahead just now that you didn¡¯t notice a pile of corpses lying around near the entrance. The stench is so strong because the corpses are all highly dposed.¡± Donggong Lianzhi stood on his toes confidently and looked a distance away. When he saw the pile of bodies clearly, he retreated hurriedly and eximed, ¡°Why are there so many...?¡± ¡°After seeing how your grandmother wanted to punish me so readily, I¡¯m not surprised. To beat up someone to death and leave them lying there without incinerating them is far more than just being wicked. The amulet I just passed you onlysts the whole of tonight. You can just ce it in your pocket, you don¡¯t have to keep holding onto it.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°From now onwards, we should try to refrain from talking. At this time, most people should still be awake. But since the elderly sleep earlier than young people, we should head to your grandfather and grandmother¡¯s ce first. You lead the way. I¡¯ll pull you away when there¡¯s a need to hide from the surveince cameraster.¡± Donggong Lianzhi nodded in agreement. He was definitely more familiar with the routes inside the Donggong family mansion than An Xiaoning was. While he led the way, An Xiaoning took note of the surveince cameras. The two were working together with rather great chemistry and managed to hide from the surveince cameras, the guards on duty, as well as the servants and family members of the Donggong family. They sessfully arrived at the wall outside the Old Master and Old Madam¡¯s mansion. Needless to say, there were many surveince cameras and guards on duty near the entrance, so the two could only climb over the wall again. This time, they did not enter the mansion directly from climbing the wall but used the wall to climb to the roof. They were extremely careful when they stepped on the tiles on the roof, as a single sound they made could attract attention, ruining all their ns for tonight. Aside from that, because the roof was slightly tilted to one side, they had to watch out to bnce themselves and not fall down. An Xiaoning whispered to him, ¡°Is this side your grandparents¡¯ bedroom? Or the other side?¡± ¡°The other side.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s gazended on a tile not far away, and she cautiously stepped on it and bent down to pick up the tile. Underneath the tile was a piece of oilcloth that had been ced there because rain tended to leak through the roof of such old houses. Usually, simply cing a piece of oilcloth with a tile pressed down on it would block the rain from leaking through. With the tile and oilcloth removed, they were able to see the situation inside the house. With one leg stepping on the tile, she lowered her body and crept over the empty hole, peeking inside the house. There were more than ten young men seated inside, and they appeared to be Donggong Lianzhi¡¯s cousins, judging from their age. This morning when they came here, she had heard some servants calling Donggong Lianzhi Seventeenth Young Sir. That meant that he still had sixteen older cousins. This was really a family that could give birth to so many children. Old Madam¡¯s voice was crisp and clear, and everything that she said was heard loud and clear above by the two. ¡°I¡¯ve discussed things with your Old Master. A traitor like Lianzhi is to be expelled from the Donggong family as punishment. From now on, he won¡¯t be a part of this family anymore. Also, even though he called off the marriage with Miaomiao, we cannot let this affect our rtionship with the Jin family. Hence, I called all of you here to give you guys a great opportunity. Later, when Miaomiaoes, anyone who gets chosen by her will be rewarded handsomely.¡± An Xiaoning did not know what the handsome reward the Old Madam was referring to, but she felt that this was simply a blessing for these hungry men. Regardless of whether they liked Jin Miaomiao or not, they would do their best to earn her affection, so as to allow the marriage to take ce as per normal. ¡°Your grandson will do his best to earn the affection of Ms. Jin.¡± This line was uttered so neatly that An Xiaoning almost thought they had practiced this chant. ¡°Very good.¡± ¡°Old Madam, Ms. Jin is here.¡± ¡°Wee her in quickly,¡± Old Madam answered earnestly. Her words had justnded when Jin Miaomiao walked into the room dressed to the nines. She was stunning and eye-catching, unlike how she looked at the stairway. The speed at which Old Mrs. Donggong changed her expression made An Xiaoning thoroughly impressed. ¡°Aiya, my dear granddaughter is finally here. Come, take a seat.¡± ¡°Good to see you, Grandmother Donggong.¡± ¡°It¡¯s great to see you. I¡¯ve been calling for you all day, but you never came. I missed you so much. That unfilial grandson of mine really made me furious.¡± Jin Miaomiao appeared calm and indifferent. ¡°I wonder what the reason is for Grandmother to have called me here?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it all because Lianzhi¡¯s useless? I thought it over, and we can¡¯t let you suffer, Miaomiao. So, I called all the unmarried grandsons in our family here for you to pick one, Miaomiao. See if there¡¯s anyone that you fancy.¡± Jin Miaomiao scanned the men who were smiling at her. All the men in the Donggong family looked pretty decent, perhaps because of the genes they inherited. However, no matter how she looked, she could not feel a sense of attraction toward any of them. Just when she thought that she could finally get what she had wished for, everything slipped away from her hands. ¡°I still want Lianzhi...¡± Old Madamughed and replied, ¡°Could Grandmother possibly not know what you¡¯re thinking? But that brat isn¡¯t worthy of you anymore, Miaomiao. He not only dated someone behind your back, that woman is even pregnant now.¡± ¡°She¡¯s pregnant?¡± Jin Miaomiao¡¯s voice changedpletely while she uttered these words. ¡°Yes. So, don¡¯t think of him anymore. His cousins are all more outstanding than he is. Miaomiao, give yourself a chance to try them out. Moreover, Lianzhi is not someone from our family anymore. He¡¯s been expelled from our household.¡± Hearing her words, Jin Miaomiao felt like there was something bottled up in her heart that could not be swallowed down nor let out of her. After staying silent for a few seconds, she pointed to the one who was considered the most handsome of the group. ¡°I¡¯ll pick him, then.¡± ¡°Fifteen, Miaomiao picked you.¡± Old Mrs. Donggong could finally rest assured. Donggong Lianzhi¡¯s cousin was so ted that he did not know what to say. On the other hand, An Xiaoning could not stand watching this scene anymore and simply stopped looking. She just quietly sat there enjoying the breeze with Donggong Lianzhi. After a while, when Jin Miaomiao and all the grandsons had left, she continued to lean over to check out the situation inside the house again. Old Mrs. Donggong was sitting there drinking tea by herself, with a woman in her fifties or sixties who appeared to be her maid standing beside her. Chapter 1297 - I Want to Make You Stay (175)

Chapter 1297: I Want to Make You Stay (175)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Madam, you won¡¯t be able to fall asleep if you drink tea at night. You shouldn¡¯t drink anymore.¡± ¡°I can sleep fine even if I drink tea.¡± Old Mrs. Donggong sighed. ¡°Where has this old fellow gone that he isn¡¯t back yet?¡± ¡°He should be back soon. Madam, do you want to rest first?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t sleep. I¡¯ll wait for him toe back first.¡± After she had drunk half a cup of tea, Old Mr. Donggong was back. Seeing him return, the servants automatically went out. ¡°Old Lady, guess where I¡¯ve been?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not guessing.¡± ¡°Oh seriously, just make a guess.¡± Old Mrs. Donggong hit the nail on the head instantly. ¡°You went to see our eldest son, right?¡± ¡°Aiya, you¡¯re still smart, after all.¡± ¡°What did the police station say?¡± ¡°They said we should just let this incident go because, if that woman posts the video online, it¡¯ll be detrimental to the reputation of our family.¡± Old Mrs. Donggong sneered, ¡°That woman really emerged out of nowhere. I¡¯ve checked for so long and still couldn¡¯t find her. From how I see it, we should hurry and kidnap the two of them, lest theye up with other tricks.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you see today how that woman isn¡¯t a simple one? It¡¯s right to think of a way, but that¡¯s not realistic at all.¡± ¡°How is it unrealistic? They need to drink water, right? We can do something to their water tank and secretly tell the other households that the water can¡¯t be used for a few days. We¡¯ll drug the water, then.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s talk about this tomorrow.¡± Old Mr. Donggong headed to the room to sleep. An Xiaoning ced the oilcloth and tile back before following the elderly couple along the roof of the room they slept in. When the two sat on the bed, the Old Madam couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°You saw it today too. He can¡¯t be tamed now that he¡¯s all grown up, and he¡¯s very much aware that we were going to sacrifice him previously. So, don¡¯t let him off easily just because he¡¯s part of the Donggong family.¡± ¡°Alright, alright. I heard from our son that there¡¯s no news from S Nation at all. Why isn¡¯t there anything from that An Xiaoning if she¡¯s back home?¡± ¡°She probably thought that that was really just an earthquake, or that our Donggong family is no pushover, so she doesn¡¯t want toe over and die in our hands.¡± ¡°You¡¯re overthinking it, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case.¡± The Old Master said in a frustrated manner, ¡°Old Lady, you should read the news more when you¡¯re free to have a better understanding of things, okay? You think that she¡¯ll actually be afraid of us? This An Xiaoning¡¯s mother is now the First Lady of S Nation while her man is the leader of S Nation¡¯srgest conglomerate. How could she possibly be afraid of us? She¡¯s probably plotting on how to take revenge on us, right? I¡¯ve long thought that nning an ident to kill them previously wasn¡¯t a good idea, but you insisted on going ahead with it.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, yes. It¡¯s all my fault. Happy?¡± ¡°Look at yourself, Old Lady. Getting angry just like that as you speak.¡± ¡°If we hadn¡¯t taken the opportunity to try to kill them previously, who could guarantee what she would have done to our family? I¡¯m afraid that she¡¯ll do something crazy. We should have just killed Lianzhi previously. All these troubles are created by him.¡± The Old Master did not speak and simply arranged the pillow properly before lying down. After a moment, he muttered, ¡°These... must really be the sins our ancestorsmitted that we now have to suffer for.¡± ¡°Alright, don¡¯t talk about that anymore. Today, Miaomiao chose Fifteen.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s true. Looks like this marriage with the Jin family will still take ce.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. I really didn¡¯t think that that young brat would be so scheming. She even knew to bring a surveince camera to our house.¡± Old Mrs. Donggong uttered in a mocking tone, ¡°She emits a seductive air, just like a vixen.¡± ¡°Are you jealous just because she¡¯s young and pretty?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not someone like that. How many years could she possibly be younger than me? When she grows as old as me, she¡¯ll probably look worse than I do.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning, who was on the roof, was seriously dumbfounded from hearing what the olddy said. Seeing how the eldery couple were about to sleep and were no longer chatting, she got ready for her next n of action. The only piece of useful information she had gained was what Old Mr. Donggong had said earlier about them suffering the sins their ancestors hadmitted. But it did not matter to An Xiaoning. They would hardly say anything she wanted to know when they¡¯re awake, but when they were asleep, An Xiaoning would definitely make them spill out everything. She gently covered the tile on the roof and took light steps to leave with Donggong Lianzhi. The tiles on an old roof were definitely not as solid as those on a new house. Moreover, with two adults standing on it, it was difficult to not make a sound. When Donggong Lianzhi almost slipped, An Xiaoning instantly grabbed onto his arm to support him. He was evidently shocked but tried to bnce his body and bent down, slowly heading forward. The two both did not know if the sound created earlier rmed the people in the house, but they increased the speed at which they went across the roof and got down from it. Almost immediately after they had gone down, someone appeared to check on the roof. It seemed that they had really alerted the people in the house. Coincidentally, at this moment, a cat started climbing onto the roof, making it a close shave for them. Following this, An Xiaoning had wanted to stop him from going along with her. After all, with one more person around, it was easier for them to be exposed and there would not be as much freedom as a single person would have. However, after much careful thought, she still allowed him to go along with her. There was a maid guarding outside the Old Master and Old Madam¡¯s bedroom. But luckily, all the bodyguards were outside the main door. As long as they did not rm the people outside the main door, getting in wasn¡¯t a difficult task under the premise that they did not alert the elderly couple inside the room. An Xiaoning took out her killer¡¯s weapon from her bag and swiftly poured the liquid in the bottle onto a handkerchief, which left her skin wet as well. She took the handkerchief and made her way to a corner quietly before heading toward the girl who was sitting there alone to guard the room. Although the girl was on night duty because no one was around and the night was long, she had her head lowered as she yed games on her phone. After all, it was quite unlikely for her to be caught. There were many rules in the Donggong family, but as long as one was not caught, it was fine. She had been doing this almost every night. An Xiaoning went forward and urately covered her nose and mouth area with the handkerchief. Within two seconds, the girl passed out. She allowed the girl to rest against a huge pir and took the phone in her hand, which was about to fall to the ground, before cing it back in her hand properly. From afar, it looked like she had just fallen asleep. An Xiaoning made a gesture from around the corner, and Donggong Lianzhi came walking over briskly. As he walked, he did not forget to take light footsteps. Donggong Lianzhi led her and pushed open the door gently. Having lived in the Donggong residence for so many years, he was more than familiar about how to make the wooden doors not make a sound as he opened them. The two went in and closed the door behind them. An Xiaoning made Donggong Lianzhi stand there by himself while she went in. She intended to call him in only when she had the situation under control. While he was standing right at the door, he was extremely nervous as he watched her enter the bedroom slowly. An Xiaoning speedily covered the olddy¡¯s nose and mouth with the handkerchief, making her pass out almost instantly. This was because she intended to hypnotize only the old patriarch. Chapter 1298 - I Want to Make You Stay (176)

Chapter 1298: I Want to Make You Stay (176)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The old patriarch definitely knew more than the olddy. And this despite them being husband and wife. In such a family, there was a severely ingrained inequality between both genders, and it was needless to say that the status of women was exceptionally low in R Nation. Although the olddy probably knew about some things, her knowledge of things was probably iplete. Donggong Lianzhi stood there with his back stiffen, frightened at the thought of his grandparents suddenly awakening. After all, the elderly weremonly known for having light sleep. But his worries were unnecessary, for An Xiaoning sessfully hypnotized the old patriarch. Her method was extraordinary, which left him rather dumbfounded. She had done so by inducing him. The old patriarch loved to smoke, but Old Mrs. Donggong disliked him doing so. As a result, he avoided smoking in front of her and only did so privately. The reason An Xiaoning had decided to start from this topic was that when she was about to cover the tile on the roof, she had noticed the old patriarchying his fingers on the cigarette box a few times but eventually removing them. Hence, this was what she had deduced. After she had gained his trust, which allowed the two of them to get nearer to his bed, Donggong Lianzhi remembered clearly that this was the first time in his life that he stepped inside his grandparents¡¯ bedroom. While he surveyed the room with a pair of night vision spectacles on him, he recalled a memory of his cousin Neen, who was his grandparents¡¯ favorite, proudly bragging to him about their grandmother calling him into this bedroom and then secretly passing him a kind of food that they were notmonly able to eat. Although that incident had happened so long ago, he still remembered vividly the pair of sparkling eyes his cousin had when he was bragging to him. It was as if his cousin was high up in the clouds while he was trapped on the ground in a mud pit. ¡°Why did the Donggong family change their surname?¡± She already had a clear answer inside, as it was the only possible reason the Donggong family would take such a risk to attempt to kill her. ¡°Because it was imed that our ancestors were wiped out and many of them died. Eventually, the rest of them had no choice but to leave their homes and migrate elsewhere. For the sake of future generations and to prevent such annihtion from urring again, our ancestors had no choice but to forbid their descendants from practicing witchcraft and ck magic, as well as to stop passing on the knowledge regarding this area. Until today, no one in the entire family knows witchcraft and ck magic, and we have lived peacefully until now.¡± These words were definitely not what An Xiaoning were expecting to hear. It was by chance that she had discovered that this was the Wu family n, and she was beyond excited because it meant that she had a way to remove the curse. Yet, now... It was indeed not good news for her. However, she did not give up just because of this. ¡°What have your ancestors left for you that is more important than money?¡± ¡°Other than money and rules, they didn¡¯t leave anything for us.¡± ¡°...¡± By this point, An Xiaoning had no more desire to continue asking him questions. ¡°Why did you try to kill Donggong Lianzhi and An Xiaoning?¡± ¡°It is Lianzhi¡¯s greatest honor to sacrifice himself for the family n. As for An Xiaoning, we fear that she maye to us for revenge, so we decided to make the first move on her.¡± ¡°How did you find out that An Xiaoning was going to find your family for revenge, and why would she want to do so?¡± ¡°Because, a very long time ago, our ancestors once put a curse on An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan, preventing them from being together for an eternity. As to how I know this, I was informed by an elder.¡± Upon hearing this, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Who... is this elder?¡± ¡°He¡¯s the most respectable and authoritative figure in our n, and he has lived for many years. No one knows his age, apart from himself.¡± ¡°Why is he able to live for so many years?¡± ¡°If we had known the reason behind it, we would have used it to allow ourselves to live this long as well.¡± An Xiaoning exchanged nces with Donggong Lianzhi before asking further, ¡°Where does he live now? What is his name?¡± ¡°He has been hibernating underground and just woke up recently. His name is Wu Haigang, and he¡¯s living at the Mingxin residence right now.¡± ¡°The tomb where Lianzhi and An Xiaoning were almost buried, who did it belong to? Why was there a drawing of An Xiaoning on the wall in the tomb?¡± ¡°That was the tomb of Wu Lianzhi. Because it¡¯s the past life of Lianzhi, the elder woke up once previously and gifted this name upon him, saying that he¡¯s extraordinary and that we should raise him for a period of time first to see how things would go. If he¡¯s unable to be controlled, then it¡¯ll be better for us to get rid of him. I heard that the drawing was drawn by Wu Lianzhi himself.¡± ¡°Why was there a need to raise him for a period of time to see how things would go?¡± The old patriarch¡¯s tone sounded dull as he replied, ¡°Because they said he¡¯s a source of misfortune and that he was very close to An Xiaoning in his previous life. When the family n were about to put the curse on An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan in their previous lives, he tried many means and ways to stop them. If he hadn¡¯t been imprisoned and punished in time, the consequences would have been unimaginable. Lianzhi has been very obedient since he was born and hasn¡¯t done anything out of line. Whenever he was tasked with a mission by the family, he alwayspleted it on time. That¡¯s why we continued to raise him until now.¡± This hadpletely never urred to An Xiaoning. It was not only An Xiaoning who had not thought of it, Donggong Lianzhi also never expected there was this rtionship between them. The first time they met at the hotel, the two of them both found each other to be familiar, as if they had already known each other for a long time. Moreover, when An Xiaoning recollected her memory of her past life, there was nothing about him at all. As such, the two had not expected that they had close ties in their past lives. If they had close ties, that probably meant that they were friends who were particr close, right? She probed a few more questions before deciding to leave this ce. She did not immediately lift the hypnosis from the Old Master, since the effect would automatically wear off a while after they leave. After leaving the ce, Donggong Lianzhi said to her in a whisper, ¡°I want to make a trip to Mingxin residence.¡± ¡°You mean that house that Wu Haigang resides in?¡± ¡°Not only that, it¡¯s also where my mother lives.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s nostrils constricted. An elder and a daughter-inw living in the same house given the strict rules of the Donggong household? With the Donggong residence being so huge, a prestigious person like Wu Haigang would definitely be treated respectfully. Why would they be so hard on him? There was something fishy about it. An Xiaoning did not hesitate to reply to him, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± As it wasn¡¯t the time for them to chat casually, the two refrained from talking to each other. Risking a few times where they were almost caught on the surveince cameras, they finally arrived at Mingxin residence. ¡°Why isn¡¯t there anyone guarding outside your mother¡¯s house?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no one guarding this whole ce, so we can rx a little.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Since I was young, my father has had another concubine who received more love from him. My mother wasn¡¯t in favor, so there would only be two people around cooking and cleaning up the ce usually.¡± An Xiaoning responded, ¡°I think all of that is just a facade.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear your grandfather say that Wu Haigang¡¯s living in your mother¡¯s house? I think there¡¯s something fishy about this.¡± ¡°It¡¯s probably because my mother¡¯s ce is quiet.¡± An Xiaoning did not say a word further and climbed over the wall with him. Curiously enough, An Xiaoning did not notice any light in the courtyard, and she did not spot any surveince cameras either. It was as if they had entered a ck hole. Chapter 1299 - I Want to Make You Stay (177)

Chapter 1299: I Want to Make You Stay (177)

Just like the courtyard, the inside of the house was pitch ck, and it was surrounded byplete silence as well. Donggong Lianzhi was so exceptionally familiar with his mother¡¯s house that he could get inside with his eyes closed. He led An Xiaoning like a navigation system would, and if An Xiaoning hade alone, she definitely would have taken longer because she was unfamiliar with the ce. When the two had just reached the corridor of the main house, they could hear the faint sound of people speaking inside, which sounded like the voices of a man and a woman. How nice, the two were sitting inside to talk with the lights off? As an adult, An Xiaoning of course did not believe that. All the more did Donggong Lianzhi not believe that. His face had already changed at this point, actually, and as the two were afraid of alerting the two inside the house, they took every step with extreme caution, at a pace of about three steps every minute. There was a row of seats between each pir along the corridor, and they were directly connected to the pir. The two did not continue walking ahead but sat there side by side. For a few minutes, the two did not really catch what the people inside were talking about. Given the situation before them, it was best for them to just stay put and sit there. It was not a good idea for them to climb onto the roof. After all, two grown adults would definitely have sharp hearing, unlike Old Mr. and Mrs. Donggong, who were short of hearing because they were getting on in years. However, they had no idea for how long they had to sit there. A few minutes and yet another few minutester... They gradually had no idea what the two were talking about inside as they were bbering non-stop. After about half an hour had passed, the two inside the house finally stopped chatting and started kissing. By this point, An Xiaoning could feel that Donggong Lianzhi beside her had bepletely astounded. To prevent him from acting rashly, she held out her hand to grab onto his. He nced at her and moved his lips. Although no sound came out, she understood what he said from the shape of his lips. He was saying: ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± An Xiaoning did not release her hand as, under usual circumstances, the two should have been leaving by this point. However, given the situation at present, he was not moving at all, so she knew that he did not want to go. The sound of them kissing gradually became softer, and what followed next was an even more intense situation. The situation really made one embarrassed and, at the same time, wanting to rush in to beat them up furiously. Obviously, the one who felt embarrassed was her while the one who wanted to go in to beat them up was him. During such an activity between a man and a woman, it was obvious for one to lose at least half of their rationality and to let out noises with no restraint. As a result, when the man inside said, ¡°I think we can¡¯t let those two stay for long. Why don¡¯t you make a trip yourself to settle them?¡± ¡°No matter what, he¡¯s my son! I can¡¯t harm him, I simply can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Then, is it me or your son that you want?¡± The woman stayed silent for a moment, but the man seemed to have applied force on her as he went into her because the woman suddenly let out a series of high-pitched sounds. ¡°Answer me!¡± ¡°You, of course.¡± These words were simple to utter, but An Xiaoning knew that Donggong Lianzhi definitely suffered a huge blow when he heard them. That was his biological mother. And she actually treated him like this, she actually did... ¡°Then, you go and settle them.¡± At this point, Donggong Lianzhi stood up, and An Xiaoning followed him as well. Seeing that he did not intend to listen on, An Xiaoning did not say anything either. After all, he was the one who suggesteding here. The two were about to take their leave cautiously, but when they were just a few steps away, they could hear Donggong Lianzhi¡¯s mother answering, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go.¡± ¡°Yes, good girl. I like how obedient you are.¡± ¡°...¡± They came back from the same way they had entered, and when they went past that same dpidated house, Donggong Lianzhi¡¯s face was expressionless, as if he had already experienced the most disgusting thing in this world and dposed corpses was nothing to him at all already. However, An Xiaoning still could not bear it and vomited non-stop after they had gotten out. She had long vomited out her dinner already, and all that she was vomiting now was acidic liquid from her stomach. The trip tonight, however, was not in vain. After walking quite a distance away, the two who had kept silent for some time finally started to talk. ¡°I¡¯m so hungry. Lianzhi... shall we go and eat something?¡± She decided to get along well with him since they were supposedly good friends in their past lives. ¡°I¡¯m hungry too, but I... feel like I¡¯m already full.¡± ¡°Umm... let¡¯s go and have some barbecue skewers and beer. Just thinking about it makes me so hungry.¡± ¡°...¡± An hourter, the two each carried a big bag of barbecue skewers and a can of beer in their hands. They ate as they walked, and they did not go back immediately to rest. It was rather good to just enjoy the night breeze like that. He ate at a slow pace and did not speak. Even though she knew that he wasn¡¯t in a good mood, she still had to ask him, ¡°Tomorrow when your motheres to find you, what do you intend to do?¡± ¡°Make a guess... what would I do?¡± ¡°I... can¡¯t think of it.¡± ¡°Do you know? This ismon given the instability within our country. It¡¯s the darker side of how things are. An example would be the pile of dposed corpses we saw at the dpidated house today. If I killed someone, will it worsen your already poor impression of me?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already gotten my hands stained with a lot of human blood.¡± An Xiaoning felt rather pathetic as she said this. ¡°I think I probably won¡¯t have any happy ending in this life. Honestly speaking, I¡¯ve always felt this way.¡± Donggong Lianzhi looked at her and expressed, ¡°Nobody has an easy life to lead, and no one has it easier than someone else. A poor family¡¯s child may envy a rich second-generation heir, but such a rich heir has his or her own troubles too. In this world, the rich have their own troubles. So, we should just lead each day as it is and not think of tomorrow. This is the conclusion I¡¯vee to today.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve gained quite a lot tonight.¡± An Xiaoning heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°Even though the most important issue probably can¡¯t be resolved.¡± ¡°You mean the curse?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning switched on her phone, which she had kept switched off earlier to prevent any slip-ups from urring. The moment her phone was switched on, loads of notifications popped up. They were basically missed calls from Fan Shixin. She immediately returned a call to Fan Shixin. ¡°What¡¯s with all the missed calls?¡± ¡°Young Madam, Henry escaped. We can¡¯t find him now.¡± ¡°What? Escaped? How did he escape?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a secret passageway from the storage room that leads to my room. From there, he put on my clothes and drove the car away. He even removed the GPS tracker on him.¡± That damn Henry, hadn¡¯t she already told him not to create any trouble while she was away? ¡°Continue looking for him. Don¡¯t let slip of this news.¡± ¡°Of course. No matter what it takes, even if we have to dig three feet deep into the ground, we have to find him. Otherwise, we won¡¯t know what trouble he¡¯ll create again.¡± After hanging up the phone, An Xiaoning was so furious that her lungs were burning. How she wished she could catch Henry and bring him before her to teach him a harsh lesson. At the same time, she wouldn¡¯t be able to bear to do it as it was Qingyan¡¯s body she would be hurting, after all. Also, it had to be under the situation where he could not retaliate. Ever since the previous time he mmed her against the wall, she became really quite afraid toy a finger on him. Chapter 1300 - I Want to Make You Stay (178)

Chapter 1300: I Want to Make You Stay (178)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios While they hade here via a secret passage, when they went back, the two openly went back in through the stairway. Seeing this situation, those who had been keeping a watch on them could not figure out how this had happened. They had been watching them closely, so how did they slip away? It was only after they went for a patrol that they realized there was apse in the design of the stairway. They did not know for how long they had gone out and what they had been doing during the time they were gone. To avoid getting scolded, they did not report this to their superior. When they reached home, the two of them returned to their own rooms to rest. An Xiaoning had to soak in a bathtub every day if the circumstances allowed for it to make herself feel much morefortable. After she was done washing up, she felt rather thirsty so she went out in her bathrobe to grab a bottle of mineral water to drink. When she passed by Donggong Lianzhi¡¯s bedroom door, she heard the sound of faint sobbing. It seemed as if he was trying his best to control his emotions. An Xiaoning took the water and then used the lightest footsteps she could to return to her room. As she sat on the bed to drink water, she thought of everything that had happened tonight. It was really a huge joke. They still had a tough war to fight tomorrow, and although it was nothing much to her, to Donggong Lianzhi, it probably would be an extremely tough day. Especially when he already knew what was going to happen. At present, the only reason that was preventing her from getting sleep was the fact that Henry had disappeared. Where on earth had he gone to? ¡ª¡ª ¡°Xianxian, eat something. How can one not eat anything?¡± Mrs. Bu walked in with food in her arms and ced it by her bedside. Bu Xianxian was lying on the bed straight like a corpse, her eyes wide open and staring nkly. ¡°Mother, take it away. I¡¯m not eating.¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t eatenst night or this morning. If you still don¡¯t eat anything at noon, it will be bad for your stomach.¡± ¡°Just let me starve to death. Is there still any point for me to live on?¡± Hearing her say this, Mrs. Bu couldn¡¯t help butment, ¡°Xianxian, is the life we¡¯re living now not good? We¡¯re so much better off than we used to be. Xianxian, don¡¯t be so discontented. Father and Mother only have you as our daughter. We have all our hopes pinned on you. If you don¡¯t want to live anymore, Father and Mother will die together with you. I¡¯m not joking with you, I¡¯m serious about it.¡± Bu Xianxian sat upright. ¡°You always say the same thing.¡± ¡°Quick, hurry and eat some of this.¡± Mrs. Bu passed her the food. ¡°It¡¯s very tasty.¡± It was only at this point that she took the food from her mother. Actually, she had been hungry since morning and had been suppressing her hunger until now. Seeing her finally eating, Mrs. Bu could finally rest assured. ¡°Since you¡¯ve signed the contract and returned the 500 thousand dors, from how I see it, it¡¯s already good enough that Nick won¡¯t pursue responsibility from us for this matter. After all, you were the one who first harbored evil designs on him and even injured his head. Nick is very magnanimous already. Xianxian, you never listened to my words, but I really hope that you¡¯ll seriously think about it. Stop creating a fuss about it already. If you vite the contract, we won¡¯t be able to afford thepensation. What if they put you in prison?¡± ¡°Aiya, Mother, I know. I¡¯m more clear about this than you are. So, rest assured. I... I¡¯ve given up.¡± ¡°You always say that you¡¯ve given up, but you never really mean it. Mother doesn¡¯t even know if you¡¯re telling the truth or not.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not stupid. Viting the contract will mean that I have to pay a huge amount ofpensation. We won¡¯t be able to afford it even if we sell everything that we have.¡± Mrs. Bu nodded. ¡°It wasn¡¯t easy for us to get Nick to finally get you a job at thepany. Now, it¡¯s gone down the drain too.¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t that good of a job either. I wouldn¡¯t earn that much from it every month.¡± ¡°But no matter what, you¡¯d have needed qualifications to get in, right?¡± ¡°Mother, other than nag, can you do something else? My ears are tired from hearing these things.¡± Mrs. Bu responded helplessly, ¡°Mother always does this for your own good. Other than your father and I, who else will care this much for you?¡± Watching the figure of her mother fade away, Bu Xianxian felt a sudden urge to cry, because she knew that what her mother said was correct. Other than her parents, who else would care about her? Why was it that others could attain whatever she wanted easily but she wasn¡¯t able to do so no matter how hard she tried? Just thinking about it made her feel bitter. Her tears came flowing down her cheeks as well. She started crying while she ate. When she was done crying and eating, she got down from the bed and went to the bathroom. Looking at herself in the mirror, she saw someone who wasn¡¯t her original self. ¡°Xianxian!¡± Mrs. Bu shouted to her from outside the door. ¡°Your friend is here to look for you.¡± ¡°Friend?¡± Bu Xianxian was about to go out but realized that the supposed friend had already entered her room. But it was aplete stranger to her. ¡°You¡¯ve found the wrong person, right? I don¡¯t know you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s you I¡¯m looking for. Bu Xianxian, you know this person, right?¡± The woman showed her a picture, and she saw that it was Wen Lele printed on it. ¡°I do know who she is.¡± ¡°Go and see her. I believe you won¡¯t be disappointed.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Bu Xianxian started to brush her teeth. ¡°You¡¯ll know when you go. I¡¯ll be waiting for you downstairs. Come down as soon as you get changed.¡± Bu Xianxian wanted to say something, but the woman had already gone out. After she had dolled herself up, she went downstairs quickly. Once she came out of the stairway, she immediately spotted a car parked outside. She went forward, pulled open the car door, and sat inside the car. ¡°What exactly is the matter? I¡¯m not even close to her, why is she looking for me?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know when we get there. Why ask so much?¡± Bu Xianxian was at a loss for what to say. ¡°I¡¯m not going, that¡¯s that.¡± She turned away and got down from the car instantly. Seeing the situation, the woman hurriedly said, ¡°She has a favor to ask from you. She said that you¡¯ll be rewarded handsomely for it.¡± Bu Xianxian stopped in her tracks. ¡°A favor? What can I possibly help her with?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not very sure about this either, so you¡¯ll have to make a trip yourself to find out.¡± The woman¡¯s tone softened significantly. Bu Xianxian then got onto the car eventually and headed toward Wen Lele¡¯s ce with the woman. It turned out that the woman was Wen Lele¡¯s older cousin. ¡°Ms. Bu, you¡¯re here. Have a seat.¡± ¡°I wonder what you wanted to see me for? I¡¯m not capable, and it doesn¡¯t seem like there¡¯s anything I can help you with.¡± Wen Lele shook her head. ¡°No, there is. Ms. Bu, I would like you to help me with something. I¡¯ll reward you ordingly, and you don¡¯t have to bother about anything else.¡± ¡°What is it, exactly?¡± Wen Lele looked at her, her lips quivering as she muttered, ¡°I want you to help me...¡± After Bu Xianxian heard her request, she hesitated for a moment. ¡°How much will you pay me, then?¡± ¡°A million dors.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡± To Bu Xianxian, her request wasn¡¯t anything huge, and it didn¡¯t seem like it would involve her in something illegal either. Moreover, the remuneration was quite a lot, which made her rather tempted. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a day to think about it. After you¡¯ve thought through it, give me a call.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡ª¡ª The sky was gloomy early in the morning in R Nation. It seemed that it would be hard to see any sign of a sunny sky today. At past 6 am, the two had just woken up when the doorbell rang. An Xiaoning¡¯s first thought was that Donggong Lianzhi¡¯s mother was here. In reality, her guess was pretty urate. Chapter 1301 - I Want to Make You Stay (179)

Chapter 1301: I Want to Make You Stay (179)

She opened the door to see that Donggong Lianzhi¡¯s mother was standing alone outside the door. Thetter nced at An Xiaoning before entering straight away. An Xiaoning noticed that she was carrying arge lunch box in her hands, which could contain arge amount of food. ¡°Lianzhi, I¡¯m going out to buy something,¡± said An Xiaoning. Having sensed that she was trying to avoid his mother, Donggong Lianzhi said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to, my mother brought us some food. Let¡¯s eat together.¡± Donggong Lianzhi¡¯s mother shot her a rare smile and said, ¡°Yeah, since you¡¯re my son¡¯s girlfriend and the mother of my grandchild, do sit down and eat with us. Just take it that you¡¯re eating on behalf of the baby.¡± An Xiaoning closed the door and nodded while smiling. ¡°Sure.¡± Being immune to all types of poison, An Xiaoning was not afraid that Donggong Lianzhi¡¯s mother would poison her at all. An Xiaoning sat down beside Donggong Lianzhi and asked his mother, ¡°Auntie, did you cook these yourself?¡± ¡°Of course I did. They¡¯re Lianzhi¡¯s favorite dishes.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a great mother who dotes on her son, Auntie.¡± She opened the lunch box and took out the dishes one by one. ¡°They look delicious,¡± she remarked. Donggong Lianzhi stared at the piping-hot dishes while remaining still. ¡°Son, what are you waiting for? Hurry and eat. It¡¯s really delectable,¡± Donggong Lianzhi¡¯s mother urged while stuffing a pair of chopsticks into his hands. ¡°Did Grandpa and Grandma punish you because of me?¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t do much except chide me.¡± ¡°Mother, do you have any savings?¡± Donggong Lianzhi asked. ¡°I¡¯ve been saving all the allowance that I get each month. They¡¯re enough tost me for a long time.¡± He nodded and said, ¡°Mother, I¡¯m leaving R Nation. You must take good care of yourself whenever I¡¯m not at home.¡± Upon hearing his words, Donggong Lianzhi¡¯s mother asked in astonishment, ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°I¡¯m leaving this ce to go to another nation with Mu Ning. I no longer have a ce in this nation. Once our living conditions are stable, we¡¯ll arrange for you to move in with us.¡± She replied, ¡°No... no need for that. I¡¯m not going anywhere. Since I¡¯ve married into the Donggong family, I¡¯ll always belong to the family. I won¡¯t leave.¡± An Xiaoning remarked bluntly, ¡°Auntie, you¡¯re so ignorant. I did hear about the women of R Nation having a low sense of pride, but I didn¡¯t expect it to be this low. You¡¯re almost degrading yourself. If you live for another man, your thoughts and ideas will all have to be controlled.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need you to tell me what to do. Also, if you¡¯re not from R Nation, where the hell did youe from?¡± ¡°I came here for a vacation and hit it off really well with your son. As simple as that.¡± ¡°Lianzhi, are you going to follow this woman to her nation?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Mrs. Donggong would have definitely objected to it in the past. However, she did not say anything and instead urged, ¡°The food is getting cold. Let¡¯s tuck in.¡± Donggong Lianzhi looked at her and said, ¡°I¡¯m not very hungry.¡± ¡°Do have a little, at least.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try the food first. Since he¡¯s not hungry, he can wait,¡± An Xiaoning said, smiling. Noticing that she was about to start eating, Donggong Lianzhi ced an arm around her shoulder, hinting her not to touch the food. An Xiaoning smiled at him and wrapped her right arm around his waist to tell him that she would be alright. However, he did not feel safe about it at all. He had pinned all his hopes onto her, and if something were to happen to her, it would be the end of his life. Mrs. Donggong perceived their actions to be disying their affection for each other tantly in front of her. Donggong Lianzhi grabbed the chopsticks from her and ced it onto the table. ¡°I know you¡¯re sparing a thought for me, but at this point, there¡¯s really no need for us to continue putting on an act, is there?¡± An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯ll really be alright. My body is immune to all types of poison. Your mother¡¯s poison won¡¯t be able to kill me.¡± Appalled, Donggong Lianzhi asked, ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Would I lie to you? Besides, I¡¯m still so young. What¡¯s going to happen if I die? I still have a long life ahead of me.¡± Their exchange was like a hard p in Mrs. Donggong¡¯s face. She did not expect them to have guessed that she had poisoned their food. Just how did they find out? There¡¯s no way they would. ¡°You shameless woman, what nonsense are you talking about? Poison? Why would I poison my son? He¡¯s my flesh and blood. The son whom I had carried in my womb for ten months!¡± ¡°Exactly. He¡¯s your flesh and blood and yet you still chose to follow your lover¡¯s orders and poison him to death. I¡¯m nowhere as shameless as you are.¡± Her words hadpletely agitated Mrs. Donggong, who stood up in a moment of pique. An Xiaoning continued, ¡°Lianzhi and I headed to the Mingxin residence in the Donggong family mansion and we overheard an interesting conversation when we were outside the door. Let¡¯s not talk about the shameless things you had done with Wu Haigang. But you did promise him to kill your own son, didn¡¯t you? We had already heard everything. What¡¯s wrong? Are you still going to deny it?¡± Donggong Lianzhi¡¯s mother turned as pale as a ghost immediately. ¡°I¡¯ve always thought that parents would never harm their own children, yet you actually tried to kill me. You were the only one to whom I had told about my discovery of the tomb. Although the surveince cameras captured me in the act, I still feel that you were the one who leaked the news. Are you that eager to turn up for your secret rendezvous with that old fogy? Are you that eager to annihte me!?!¡± Donggong Lianzhi let go of An Xiaoning and stood up, ring at his mother with tears in his bloodshot eyes. ¡°No... No... I didn¡¯t want to do that at all. Son, this was not what I had intended. I really didn¡¯t want to do this,¡± she tried to exined. ¡°But you still did it ruthlessly, didn¡¯t you? I feel so ashamed to have a mother like you. Since you don¡¯t want me anymore and have long nned to get rid of me, let¡¯s cut off all ties with each other from now on. I¡¯ll no longer be a member of the Donggong family and I¡¯ll change myst name back to ¡®Wu.¡¯ My name shall now be Wu Lianzhi.¡± ¡°You...¡± She was incapable of speech. In reality, she had been feeling rather upset and miserable throughout the journey. At the end of the day, he was still her flesh and blood whom she had delivered and raised on her own. She could not bring herself to kill him at all. Since they were already there, there was no turning back. Hence, she decided to stop hesitating and proceed ording to n. She flew into a rage the moment she heard that her son was nning to leave the nation with Mu Ning. It had never urred to her that they would find out about her n to poison them. Neither did she expect him to sever ties with her and change hisst name back to ¡°Wu.¡± Not only did she fail to achieve her agenda, she had even exposed herself. It would be difficult for her to try and harm him again. She had suffered a double loss. ¡°I¡¯m leaving now,¡± she said with a sullen expression. Since she did not once look back, she had no idea that there was a gun being pointed at her. However, the trigger was never pulled in the end. Chapter 1302 - I Want to Make You Stay (180)

Chapter 1302: I Want to Make You Stay (180)

The door was mmed shut with a loud thud. An Xiaoning stared at Donggong Lianzhi and asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you pull the trigger?¡± ¡°Although she wants to get rid of me and no longer sees me as her son, although we¡¯ve already severed ties, I still...¡± In fact, An Xiaoning knew what the rest of his sentence was. She knew that he could not bear to kill his own mother in spite of how ruthless and cruel she was to him. ¡°Your mother will definitely inform your family about this matter, and they¡¯ll also find out that we were at the mansionst night. Hence, we can¡¯t stay here any longer. We have to move.¡± ¡°Do we go back to S Nation?¡± ¡°Of course. Just like what we told your mother, we¡¯ll be going back to my nation. After all, we¡¯re overseas now and the circumstances aren¡¯t advantageous to me. To be honest, I¡¯ve already found out about everything I want to know. I¡¯m just waiting to carry out my grand n. How could I allow anyone who wants to kill me to stay alive? I¡¯m at odds with the Donggong family, but you¡¯re an exception since you¡¯ve already severed ties with them.¡± ¡°I reckon they¡¯ve already informed the airport staff to restrict me from leaving...¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, we¡¯ll leave via my private jet. I¡¯ve already instructed my men to send the jet to our aidst midnight. It just so happens that I have some personal issues to settle at home. You definitely have lots of luggage to sort too. Shall I apany you back to your mansion to retrieve them? Also, would you like to settle your assets too?¡± ¡°Apart from this apartment, the rest of the things I own all belong to my family. Let¡¯s just leave this apartment here for now. There are lots of things to prepare and pack. I¡¯ll just take the necessary and important belongings. It won¡¯t take too long.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll pack my own luggage first,¡± said An Xiaoning, who then returned to her room to pack her belongings. She then dragged her suitcase out. He helped her carry her luggage to the elevator. During the elevator ride, he said to her solemnly, ¡°Don¡¯t call me Donggong Lianzhi anymore from now on.¡± ¡°Yes, Wu Lianzhi. Lord Wu.¡± He squinted and asked, ¡°What was your name in your previous lifetime?¡± ¡°Hua Jin.¡± ¡°Miss Hua?¡± Why does it sound a little strange? Wu Lianzhi ced the luggage into the trunk of the car before driving out of the estate and toward the family mansion. While he was packing his belongings, An Xiaoning strolled around the yard to take a look. After observing carefully, she discovered a serious issue. Hence, she entered the house, only to have her guess confirmed. When he exited with two suitcases, she asked casually, ¡°I didn¡¯t realize this earlier when we were here, but after taking a closer look, I discovered that the Feng Shui of your mansion is terrible. If you stay here for a long time, your kidney is going to fail eventually. You¡¯ll then have a horrible sex life. Didn¡¯t you get a Feng Shui master to take a look at this ce before moving in? The ws are very obvious.¡± He said in puzzlement, ¡°I¡¯ve never thought of consulting a Feng Shui master.¡± ¡°Forget it, you won¡¯t be staying here from now on anyway.¡± As soon as they got inside the car and prepared to leave, a bunch of bodyguards swarmed them. They looked at each other, after which An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Do they work for the Donggong family?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s them.¡± ¡°I knew your mother would tell on us. I really regret not killing her myself. You couldn¡¯t bear to kill her but she¡¯s bent on taking our lives. Let¡¯s get out of the car.¡± He objected, ¡°We can¡¯t do that. They¡¯re armed with guns. If we alight, we¡¯re going to be shot. The windows of this car are bulletproof so it¡¯d be safer to stay in here.¡± An Xiaoning began to find that it¡¯d be difficult to escape. At this juncture, she could not help but be reminded of Pei Yi. She called Pei Yi and said, ¡°I¡¯m in R Nation right now, could you give me a hand?¡± ¡°What do you need help with?¡± ¡°I¡¯m being trapped in the Donggong family mansion right now. I¡¯ve been surrounded.¡± Pei Yi quipped, ¡°Oh? Why have you thought of me? Where¡¯s your Knight Jin Qingyan?¡± ¡°Are you going toe or not?¡± ¡°What do I stand to gain from this? I won¡¯t go if there¡¯s nothing for me to gain.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll agree to one request of yours, as long as it¡¯s not immoral or illegal.¡± Pei Yi chuckled and said, ¡°Got it. Send me your current location.¡± ¡°I¡¯m giving you ten minutes.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one asking for help and yet you¡¯re still so demanding.¡± An Xiaoning sent him her exact location, after which she felt much more relieved. ¡°Who did you call?¡± ¡°That person whom you wanted to frame at the start.¡± He asked in surprise, ¡°Pei Yi?¡± ¡°Yes, him.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you have a feud with him? To my knowledge, you guys are not friends.¡± An Xiaoning had no idea how to exin it to him. ¡°We do have some differences. He may be a threat and an ultimate viin to most people because of the DK Organization. However, I don¡¯t think he¡¯s that vile or ruthless with me. At least, that¡¯s the case for now.¡± Just as they were speaking, a fleet of ck cars began driving toward them. An Xiaoning watched the men alight and thought to herself, Are they dering war? She looked over to see that they all had their guns pointed at her and Wu Lianzhi. The elderly patriarch and matriarch stood rooted to the ground, appearing extremely energetic and eager to get rid of them. An Xiaoning reclined her seat and leaned backward while staring at the men outside calmly. ¡°Look how many people they¡¯ve brought to kill us.¡± ¡°It¡¯s easy to kill me. It¡¯s going to take a lot for them to kill you.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s wait and see.¡± The two of them remained in the car and refused to get down, regardless of the ruckus outside. A few minutester, Old Mr. Donggong instructed his bodyguards to bring the car mechanics to dismantle Wu Lianzhi¡¯s car. An Xiaoning waspletely rxed, for it would take at least twenty minutes for the mechanics to arrive. Not to mention, the traffic was heavy in the morning too. She thought that Pei Yi would arrive in about fifteen minutes. To her surprise, he took a way shorter time than that. Nine minutes after she ended the call with him, she heard the noise of helicoptersing from the sky. An Xiaoning pressed her face against the window and looked up to see that there were five or six helicopters soaring high up in the sky. Soon, a bunch of armed men began disembarking from the helicopters while wearing bvas. In R Nation, no one knew what the members of the DK Organization looked like. Everyone began to get flustered upon the sudden appearance of the members of the DK Organization. When the DK Organization surrounded the cars, the bodyguards of the Donggong family immediately stopped in their tracks, not daring to open fire. Chapter 1303 - I Only Want You (1)

Chapter 1303: I Only Want You (1)

¡°What are you people doing!?!¡± Old Mr. Donggong hollered angrily while knocking his walking stick against the ground. ¡°Our ancestor is almost here. Mr. Donggong, please don¡¯t get too impatient. You¡¯ll find out what we¡¯re going to do soon enough.¡± Old Mr. Donggong knew exactly who ¡°ancestor¡± referred to. He was at a sudden loss for what to do, and he had no idea why Pei Yi was here. It was not a wise decision to go against the DK Organization. Although everyone in R Nation wanted to annihte them, it was practically impossible. It was a far-fetched idea. A few minutester, Pei Yi¡¯s car arrived. He alighted from his car and shifted his gaze onto the car that An Xiaoning was in. An Xiaoning alighted from the car without removing her wig or mask. Wu Lianzhi followed suit. ¡°You¡¯re here,¡± said An Xiaoning. Pei Yi scanned her from head to toe and chuckled before walking toward her. He inched even closer toward her and said softly, ¡°I doubt those people can recognize you under this disguise.¡± ¡°Of course. I did this just so they wouldn¡¯t find out my identity. It¡¯s not yet time for me to reveal my identity. That¡¯s the reason I got you toe here.¡± Pei Yi nced at Wu Lianzhi and asked An Xiaoning, ¡°Why are you with him?¡± ¡°For some issue.¡± He stood up straight, turned around, and said to the members of the Donggong family with a smile, ¡°Just what did my younger sister do to your family? Why did you have the audacity to try and kill her? Are you people tired of living?¡± The members of the Donggong family turned pale the instant that they heard his words. Pei Yi¡¯s sister? Since when did he have a sister? Old Mrs. Donggong said, ¡°We really had no idea... that she¡¯s Mr. Pei¡¯s sister.¡± ¡°I¡¯m telling you now that she¡¯s my sister. Did you hear me?¡± Pei Yi said coldly. ¡°Since you¡¯ve said that she¡¯s your sister, please take her away, Mr. Pei. As for Donggong Lianzhi, he¡¯s a member of my family and his name is registered on my family¡¯s ancestral records. He¡¯s still part of the Donggong family, so it¡¯s up to us to decide what to do with him.¡± Before Pei Yi answered, the quick-witted An Xiaoning hurriedly said, ¡°Brother, he¡¯s my boyfriend and I¡¯m carrying his child now. We can¡¯t abandon him.¡± Pei Yi initially wanted to take only An Xiaoning away, but things turned out to be trickier than what he had expected. However, there was nothing the tyrannical Pei Yi couldn¡¯t do, as long as he wanted to do it. ¡°Old Lady, you heard her. This man... could be considered as my brother-inw now. They already have a child now. If I let you guys have him, wouldn¡¯t the child be fatherless? Do you think I¡¯d agree to that?¡± Old Mrs. Donggong knew clearly that if she were to let Pei Yi take Wu Lianzhi away, it would be impossible for her to get rid of her grandson openly from now on. Hence, she refused to budge, despite fearing the DK¡¯s authority and power. ¡°Mr. Pei, I¡¯m afraid we can¡¯t let you have him. Our family has our own set of rules. No outsiders are allowed to intervene when we¡¯re punishing the members of our family.¡± ¡°Like I said, he¡¯s the father of my sister¡¯s child. Are you deaf?¡± Pei Yi then looked at Wu Lianzhi and said, ¡°Are you a member of the Donggong family?¡± ¡°When my mother delivered some poisoned dishes to me this morning, I had already severed all ties with her. Prior to this, the Donggong family tried to kill me, Ms. An, and her subordinates under the facade of it being an ident. I already knew then that I¡¯m no longer a member of the Donggong family, although it says so in the official records. Myst name is now ¡®Wu.¡¯ My name is Wu Lianzhi. I no longer belong to the Donggong family!¡± His words were cold, harsh, and full of impact. The fact that he had the courage to make such a deration in front of everyone just went to show that he was determined to cut ties with his family. Old Mrs. Donggong barked, ¡°It¡¯s not your call! Once you¡¯ve be a member of the Donggong family, you always will be!¡± ¡°Old Mrs. Donggong, may I ask you something? Now that Ms. An is already aware of your attempt to kill her, aren¡¯t you afraid that she would intervene too?¡± Wu Lianzhi said dauntlessly in an austere tone. Pei Yi smiled and chimed in, ¡°I do know Ms. An personally, and she¡¯s definitely one to take revenge where it¡¯s due. You guys tried to kill her. Do you think she would take it lying down? Okay, enough with the crap. My time is precious. I¡¯m taking both of them away with me.¡± Noticing that the members of the Donggong family were about to speak again, he added, ¡°You should know what to do if you don¡¯t want there to be any bloodshed.¡± Hence, the Donggong family watched as their meticulously-premeditated n backfired. Old Mr. and Mrs. Donggong were beyond exasperated. Finally, Old Mrs. Donggong said, ¡°Forget it, forget it. We¡¯ll just remove his name from the family records and the household register!¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°We have to go back to S Nation.¡± Pei Yi gave her the side-eye and gibed, ¡°Are you burning the bridge after you crossed over it? Didn¡¯t you say that you¡¯d promise me something? I haven¡¯t even informed you of my request and yet you¡¯re already intending to return to your country?¡± ¡°I just have something important to handle back home, but I meant it when I said that I would agree to one of your requests. Tell me, what do you have in mind?¡± ¡°Hmm, my request might put you in a difficult spot...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bring it up, then. Give me another request that won¡¯t put me in a spot.¡± Pei Yi turned to look at her and said, ¡°You really haven¡¯t changed at all. Apany me for half a month.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°Like you used to in the past.¡± Gazing at him, An Xiaoning refused, ¡°That can¡¯t do. Firstly, I don¡¯t want to be chained and have my freedom restricted. Two weeks is too long. I¡¯m fine with two days.¡± The smile on Pei Yi¡¯s face stiffened a little and he chastised, ¡°You¡¯re going overboard with the bargaining. Five days, no fewer than that. Since you agreed to let me make my request, you can¡¯t go back on your word. I¡¯ll definitely let you have your freedom.¡± ¡°Can you let me return home first, then?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°...¡± After hearing their conversation, Wu Lianzhi could not help but wonder, Are they in a rtionship? Is it aplicated one? Why does it sound like it? If they¡¯re really in a rtionship, they¡¯re being too brazen in front of me. An Xiaoning negotiated, ¡°Let him return to S Nation while I stay at your ce. Will that do?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t do anything to you guys. He maye along,¡± Pei Yi said insistently. An Xiaoning did not argue any further. They arrived shortly after they left the Donggong family mansion, because it was not too far away from Mount Qingping. An Xiaoning was filled with a mix of emotions. Qin Guo was overwhelmed with displeasure the instant she saw An Xiaoning. After they entered, she immediately rolled her eyes in annoyance. Why did Ancestor bring this jinxed troublemaker back again? Chapter 1304 - I Only Want You (2)

Chapter 1304: I Only Want You (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After sending the snacks and beverages into the room, Qin Guo asked, ¡°Ancestor, who is he...¡± ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Pei Yi asked. ¡°Wu Lianzhi. I remember mentioning it before.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t notice,¡± Pei Yi said coldly. He then instructed Qin Guo, ¡°Arrange a guest room for him to stay in.¡± ¡°Alright, but do I arrange one for Ms. An, too?¡± ¡°No.¡± Wu Lianzhi immediately confirmed his guess. Seems like he¡¯s going to share the same room as An Xiaoning, he thought. Noticing something unusual about the way Wu Lianzhi was staring at her and Pei Yi, An Xiaoning knew that he must have gotten the wrong idea. However, she did not wish to be mistaken to be in a rtionship with any other men except Jin Qingyan. She could not help but feel the need to rify things at the thought of her man. ¡°Lianzhi,e outside with me. I have a few words to say to you.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Once they exited the room, she asked softly, ¡°Did you mistake me to be in a rtionship with Pei Yi?¡± ¡°Are you not...?¡± ¡°Of course not. I would usually sleep on that couch in his room, even when he chained my arms together in the past.¡± ¡°Does he fancy you?¡± An Xiaoning smacked his shoulder and said, ¡°Don¡¯t spout any nonsense. We¡¯ll leave after staying here for five days.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡ª¡ª Fang En was as busy as a bee, for her schedule had been hectictely. She had to redo some scenes and attend publicity events all day. She would start working the moment she opens her eyes every day, all the way until bedtime. She was dog tired. Although Xiao Chenyang tried to do everything he could to nourish her with nutritious food, she still lost quite a bit of weight. After reading An Xiaoning¡¯s text message, Xiao Chenyang said to Fang En, ¡°I don¡¯t think I can apany you for the next few days.¡± ¡°Where are you going?¡± Although Xiao Chenyang did not wish to keep any secrets from Fang En, he decided to keep Jin Qingyan¡¯s dissociative identity disorder a secret because he knew that it would be better for fewer people to find out. ¡°To handle something very important. I¡¯ll be back real soon.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you still have to film and attend publicity events?¡± ¡°I can continue doing that after we¡¯re back.¡± Xiao Chenyang reached out to caress her head, delighted to see how worried and attached she was to him. ¡°I¡¯d really like for you to go with me too because you¡¯ll be the safest with me around. However, I really can¡¯t bring you along this time.¡± ¡°Just what are you going to do? If you don¡¯t tell me, I won¡¯t let you go,¡± Fang En probed. Noticing how worried she was, Xiao Chenyang said, ¡°You must promise to keep your lips sealed, then. You can¡¯t breathe a word about it to anyone at all.¡± ¡°Of course, I won¡¯t tell anyone.¡± Xiao Chenyang said softly, ¡°Qingyan has run away.¡± ¡°Run away... what do you mean?¡± ¡°He has dissociative identity disorder, which means he has two distinctively different personalities within him. His second personality is in control right now and has run away to an unspecified ce. We don¡¯t even know where he is now. We can¡¯t find him in S Nation, so he¡¯s probably gone abroad. However, we don¡¯t know which nation he had gone to, so I have to send my men to search around for him. On top of that, An Xiaoning is with the DK Organization right now. I must make a trip to R Nation because someone from the Wu family is there now. He¡¯s someone who¡¯s simr to me.¡± ¡°What is the Wu family like?¡± Xiao Chenyang exined, ¡°They used to be a family of mediums who practice witchcraft and ck magic. They had once ced a curse on An Xiaoning and Qingyan. However, they disappearedter all of a sudden and we¡¯ve now found one of their descendants. Their family¡¯s witchcraft and ck magic were not passed on to the descendants, though. The person who¡¯s simr to me must know how to ce curses. Even if I can¡¯t get any benefits out of him, I mustn¡¯t let him stay alive.¡± ¡°Will Sis Xiaoning be alright?¡± asked Fang En, who felt as if she had just heard an absurd legend. ¡°Yeah, she said that she¡¯s fine and will be returning home in a few days.¡± ¡°Go ahead, then. I won¡¯t tag along, lest I be your burden. I¡¯ll ask Sis Yangyang to send a few bodyguards over to protect me.¡± Xiao Chenyang stroked her hair and said, ¡°I really wonder when Qingyan will recover from his disorder.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t he your senior? Why aren¡¯t you addressing him as your senior?¡± ¡°I enjoy addressing him by his name instead. I rarely addressed him as ¡®Senior¡¯ in the past either. I would only do so whenever Master was around. Well, we¡¯re just too close to each other.¡± ¡°I have nothing to say about you.¡± Xiao Chenyang kissed her and said, ¡°I¡¯ll leave after the bodyguards are here. Call your Sis Yangyang first and let me talk to her.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Fang En grabbed her mobile phone and gave Mei Yangyang a call. ¡°Sis, Chenyang has something to tell you.¡± Mei Yangyang agreed, ¡°Alright.¡± Fang En handed the phone to Xiao Chenyang, who then said, ¡°I have something important to handle for the next few days. Hence, I won¡¯t be around to protect En. Send eight of your bodyguards over.¡± Fang En immediately interjected, ¡°I don¡¯t need that many bodyguards. Four is enough.¡± He countered, ¡°No.¡± He then said to Mei Yangyang, ¡°You may get them toe here now.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll send them over immediately.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Xiao Chenyang ended the call and instructed, ¡°I won¡¯t be at home for the next few days. You must eat and rest well. Once you¡¯re done with work, go home and get some rest. Refrain from using your phone at night. It¡¯d be bad for your eyesight.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning felt much more relieved to know that Xiao Chenyang had arrived in R Nation. She hoped that Jin Qingyan could be found as soon as possible. Throughout the two days that she had been in Mount Qingping, she did not kill time by folding paper cranes. Instead, she practiced yoga on the woolen carpet. Pei Yi would nce at her periodically while working and watch her practice a plethora of poses. Even though they barely spoke to each other, he found that her presence had allowed him to feel more energized. ¡°Who¡¯s in charge of the DK Organization now that Xihou Jiaping is gone?¡± ¡°He was the founder of the DK Organization. Hence, no one can rise to his position even though he¡¯s no longer around. Will you remarry Jin Qingyan again?¡± he asked, staring at hisputer screen. An Xiaoning turned around and sat cross-legged on the ground. ¡°Actually, it doesn¡¯t make a difference whether I marry him again or not,¡± she said while facing him. She initially wanted to answer him with a firm ¡°Yes.¡± However, she changed her mind upon being reminded of the curse. He disagreed, ¡°How could it be the same? Marriage is the only institution that can prove your rtionship¡¯s existence. Once you¡¯re married, others will address you as ¡®Mrs. Jin¡¯ instead of ¡®Ms. An.¡¯¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be together anyway.¡± Pei Yi asked, ¡°Do you know why I want to keep you here with me?¡± ¡°Your life is too boring and you need me to spice things up.¡± ¡°An Xiaoning, could you stop being so intelligent?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t help it, I was born with it.¡± He smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s not all, actually.¡± ¡°What other reasons are there, then?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re not in love with someone else, I would want to make you my woman.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you dislike unchaste women? Why would you be interested in me?¡± ¡°When a charming woman manages to capture the attention of a man, he wouldn¡¯t bother about the superficial things. Instead, he would focus on who she truly is and what her personality is like. For example, when I look at you, I¡¯ll automatically neglect the fact that you¡¯re no longer a virgin and see you for who you are instead.¡± Chapter 1305 - I Only Want You (3)

Chapter 1305: I Only Want You (3)

Pei Yi looked at her and said, ¡°An Xiaoning, I genuinely admire you, and I¡¯d like to be friends with you. The type of friends who can meet up often. Are you willing to be my friend?¡± An Xiaoning stood up and took a seat on the chair beside his desk. Resting her chin in her hand, she said, ¡°You¡¯re the chieftain of the DK Organization while I¡¯m the daughter of the First Lady of S Nation. Don¡¯t you think others will find us to be in cahoots for the sake of our own interests if we were to be friends?¡± ¡°So you... don¡¯t agree to it?¡± An Xiaoning looked at him and said, ¡°Pei Yi, I admire you too, and you¡¯re very charming as well. I¡¯m serious. I¡¯m not just praising you because you gave me apliment. You¡¯re very capable, but I have a principle that I strictly adhere to. Do you know what it is?¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I will never be friends with terrorists, even if they¡¯ve saved me before. I¡¯m not being prejudiced, but there are lots of wolves in sheep¡¯s clothing out there. For example, the Donggong family. Pei Yi, my greatest wish is for there to be world peace. Although I know that there will never be a day that my wish wille true, I don¡¯t want there to be anymore chaos in this world. Besides, I can¡¯t afford to be used andbeled as an aplice of the DK Organization. My parents are the President and the First Lady. I can¡¯t give them any pressure because things are going to get messy andplicated if anyone makes an issue out of our friendship.¡± Pei Yi nodded and said, ¡°I understand your concerns.¡± ¡°If, I¡¯m just saying if, one day you ever leave the DK Organization, I reckon we could be very good friends. However, it¡¯s better that we maintain the status quo for now.¡± She thought that he would pledge to never leave the DK Organization. To her surprise, he said, ¡°Who knows what might happen in the future?¡± After lunch, Pei Yi left to handle some matters. Thus, An Xiaoning and Wu Lianzhi were left alone in the house where there were surveince cameras all around. Although they were in Pei Yi¡¯s study, they wouldn¡¯t touch his things unnecessarily. Qin Guo was extremely disgruntled to see that they were having a leisurely game of cards while she still had to serve them some drinks. ¡°What are you waiting for? Go bring me some cake. I¡¯d like to eat cake.¡± Qin Guo retorted, ¡°Ms. An, do you take this ce to be your home?¡± ¡°Are you going to serve me or not?¡± Qin Guo turned around to exit. She muttered under her breath, ¡°I hope the cake makes you obese.¡± After serving the cake, Qin Guo snapped, ¡°I have no idea what Ancestor brought you back for. All you do is idle about and eat.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have to ask your ancestor, then. How would I know? Ms. Qin, if you¡¯re bored, you may join us for a game of cards,¡± An Xiaoning said with a smile. Qin Guo remained silent. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Don¡¯t you want to y?¡± ¡°If Ancestor finds out...¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯ll exin it to him. You don¡¯t have anything better to do anyway.¡± Upon hearing her words, Qin Guo said proudly, ¡°Alright, since you¡¯ve invited me, I shall y a few rounds with you guys.¡± An Xiaoning said in her head, Suit yourself, I even gave you an out... Forget it, I¡¯m on someone else¡¯s territory anyway. During the game, Qin Guo added, ¡°Ms. An, do you fancy Ancestor?¡± ¡°Are you hoping to hear that I fancy him?¡± ¡°I¡¯m asking you, do you fancy him?¡± ¡°Why must I tell you what I¡¯m really thinking about?¡± Qin Guo was at a loss for words. Pouting her lips, she said, ¡°If you don¡¯t like Ancestor, you¡¯d better not seduce him. He may seem cold and nonchnt on the surface, but he¡¯s actually very serious when ites to rtionships.¡± ¡°Why would I seduce him? Kid, you¡¯re reading too much into things. There¡¯s no romance between us.¡± Qin Guo asked agitatedly, ¡°Really? Really?¡± ¡°Do you fancy him?¡± Qin Guo said in denial, ¡°Of course not. We¡¯re in no ce to harbor designs on Ancestor.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll be interested in you.¡± Qin Guo was speechless... An Xiaoning continued, ¡°I think he¡¯ll be interested in two types of women.¡± ¡°Which two?¡± ¡°One would be pure and innocent women. The other type would be strong and capable women who have ambitions of their own. Do you belong to either of those types?¡± Shaking her head, Qin Guo answered, ¡°No.¡± ¡°Exactly.¡± ¡°Ms. Qin, why did you join the DK Organization?¡± ¡°No reason. My entire family joined so I can¡¯t be an exception.¡± ¡°You really aren¡¯t a decisive person. Just because your entire family joined the organization, it doesn¡¯t mean that it¡¯s the right thing to do. Did your mother forget to give you brains when she gave birth to you?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°What are you looking at me for? Am I wrong?¡± ¡°Ms. An, you¡¯ve got such a sharp and vicious tongue.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning lived in peace and tranquility during her five-day stay at Pei Yi¡¯s ce. Although she still felt a little tense, she was rxed most of the time. Five days flew by. It was way too short for Pei Yi. However, he still kept his word and allowed An Xiaoning to leave. Just as An Xiaoning was about to return to S Nation, she received a call from Xiao Chenyang, who informed her that there were traces of Henry in R Nation. Thus, the two of them proceeded to meet Xiao Chenyang. Shock was written all over Xiao Chenyang¡¯s face the moment he saw Wu Lianzhi. ¡°Turns out it¡¯s really you.¡± ¡°Do we know each other?¡± Xiao Chenyang snorted withughter. Wu Lianzhi looked at An Xiaoning and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with him?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never seen him behaving like this before. No idea what has gotten into him,¡± An Xiaoning said while walking in. Wu Lianzhi followed suit. Once Xiao Chenyang was doneughing, he opened a bottle of mineral water and took a few sips before saying, ¡°I¡¯ve long guessed that it was him. It feels strange to be able to see him in the flesh today.¡± ¡°Seems like you already know who he is. Saves me from the trouble of having to introduce him to you.¡± ¡°An Xiaoning, do you really have no recollection of him?¡± ¡°No.¡± Xiao Chenyang eased himself into afortable position on the couch and crossed his legs before resting them on the coffee table. Smiling, he said, ¡°He¡¯s the only talent ever produced by the Wu family. I definitely remember him.¡± ¡°Stop keeping me in suspense. Hurry and tell me.¡± ¡°I heard that he¡¯s on good terms with you.¡± An Xiaoning chided, ¡°I¡¯ve already known about that long ago. Is that what you¡¯ve beenughing about? I really don¡¯t know what¡¯s so funny about that.¡± ¡°Ah... I onlyughed because I got reminded of Long Tianze¡¯s expression.¡± ¡°What does that have to do with Tianze...?¡± ¡°Seems like you only recalled everything about you and your man in your previous lifetime. Why didn¡¯t you recall anything about other people?¡± Chapter 1306 - I Only Want You (4)

Chapter 1306: I Only Want You (4)

An Xiaoning agreed with a nod, ¡°Seems like it. Hurry and exin.¡± ¡°Wu Lianzhi used to be lovers with Long Tianze¡¯s wife in our previous lifetime. I¡¯m talking about Yu Jiao.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes widened in shock and she asked, ¡°You¡¯re not lying to me, are you?¡± ¡°What do I stand to gain from lying to you? I only knew about him because Lord Xihou mentioned that he was jealous of him on a few asions. I found outter that he was not actually in love with you but was fond of your maid instead.¡± ¡°...¡± Having understood what he meant, Wu Lianzhi asked, ¡°Who¡¯s Yu Jiao?¡± Laughing wryly, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°My maid in my previous lifetime.¡± ¡°And in this lifetime?¡± ¡°In this lifetime, she has already gotten married and given birth to children. Her husband is Long Tianze, the owner of an advertising and mediapany in our city.¡± Wu Lianzhi nodded and asked, ¡°Mr. Xiao, was Yu Jiao in a rtionship with me in my previous lifetime?¡± ¡°Like I said, you two were lovers. However, you two definitely didn¡¯t end up together because I heard that you died after the Wu family killed you.¡± ¡°Oh, I see, but all of that happened in the previous lifetime. Xiaoning, how is Yu Jiao doing now?¡± ¡°She¡¯s doing very well. Her husband really dotes on her, and they have a daughter and a son. She¡¯s enjoying a blissful marriage.¡± ¡°Good to hear. Since I didn¡¯t get to meet her early in this lifetime, it just means that we¡¯re no longer destined to be together. I¡¯m contented enough knowing that she¡¯s living well now. But do you have a photo of her?¡± ¡°I do.¡± An Xiaoning opened her photo album on her mobile phone and showed him a photo of Mei Yangyang. ¡°This is her. Her name is Mei Yangyang.¡± Wu Lianzhi smiled and remarked, ¡°She¡¯s quite pretty.¡± ¡°Yeah, her daughter resembles her greatly. They both have chubby cheeks.¡± ¡°Xiaoning.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t tell her or her husband about our rtionship in our previous lifetime. I don¡¯t want to intrude or disrupt their peaceful life.¡± Surprised to see how considerate he was toward Mei Yangyang, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll keep it from her, in that case. Like you said, since you¡¯re not fated to be together in this lifetime, it¡¯s better that you not cross paths.¡± It was time for them to talk about the main topic. ¡°Have you found him yet?¡± An Xiaoning asked Xiao Chenyang. ¡°I¡¯ve already sent my men to hunt him down. We¡¯ll bring him back immediately once we find him. Did hee all the way here to look for you, though?¡± Xiao Chenyang asked, returning to his usual austerity. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. No idea. Did you go to the Donggong family mansion yet?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve already gone there. I got into a brawl with the old fogy too. I thought that he would have impressive skills but I managed to subdue him effortlessly. I¡¯ve already brought him back to S Nation.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning stuck her thumb up and said inpliment, ¡°Well done, how suave of you.¡± ¡°You tter me.¡± Xiao Chenyang decided to tell her about Fang En. He continued, ¡°Now that there are new artistes in your entertainment studio, En will retire after the filming for this television series draws to a close.¡± ¡°Yangyang and I have already guessed that you would do that, so we¡¯ve prepared ourselves for it. However, when do you two n to get married?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t thought about it yet, but we can¡¯t rush the wedding. It¡¯s a serious matter, and we ought to prepare for it well. I initially didn¡¯t want to throw an extravagant wedding because I thought that it was a private matter that should be kept between us and amongst our closest friends and family. However, I¡¯ve now changed my mind. On the day of our wedding, I¡¯m going to announce to the entire world that she¡¯s my woman.¡± An Xiaoning remarked, ¡°Oh wow, you¡¯re nning to throw such a grand wedding, huh? Do you n to go bankrupt and spend all your money on it?¡± ¡°Do you know how much my worth is?¡± ¡°Fifty billion?¡± Xiao Chenyang opened the bottle of liquor on the table and poured three sses of liquor. ¡°You¡¯ve really belittled me. I¡¯ll toast to myself. You guys suit yourself.¡± He then poured the liquor into his mouth slowly. An Xiaoning picked up one of the sses and handed it to Wu Lianzhi before taking a few sips from the other one. ¡°How did you get so much money?¡± she asked. ¡°I stole them.¡± ¡°Psht... lies.¡± ¡°Where do you think I got the money from, then?¡± An Xiaoning looked at him for a few seconds before whipping out her phone. ¡°I believe En doesn¡¯t know about this yet. I must report it to her. I wonder how she¡¯s going to react.¡± Xiao Chenyang hurriedly grabbed her wrist to stop her. ¡°I was wrong.¡± ¡°Will you be more frank with me?¡± ¡°Apart from hibernating, I used to also do some business while searching for En, in order to live a fulfilling life and spend each day to the fullest. I dabbled in almost every trade. Ages ago, my family used to be merchants. I had three older sisters and I was the only son in my family. Hence, all of my family¡¯s assets were bequeathed to me. I began to expand my businesses and, in recent decades, I also started investing in jewelry, real estate, and many other investment vehicles. After earning pots of gold, I decided to stop. I¡¯ll tell En about it when I get back. She indeed doesn¡¯t know about this.¡± ¡°When did you stop investing in real estate?¡± ¡°Two years ago.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the epitome of a capitalist. I¡¯ve truly belittled you. However, it¡¯s good that you pulled out in time. Some merchants never know when it¡¯s time to stop,¡± An Xiaoning remarked. ¡°How much money is considered enough? I¡¯ve already started applying for a household register in S Nation. It¡¯s really troublesome to not have one.¡± ¡°Where are you currently registered in?¡± ¡°Y Nation. I¡¯ll have to renew it every few decades. I¡¯ll just transfer the register over.¡± An Xiaoning looked at Wu Lianzhi and asked, ¡°Do you have any ns for the future?¡± ¡°Not at the moment.¡± ¡°You can start thinking about it now. Didn¡¯t you hear that Wu Haigang has already been brought back to S Nation? I believe your family members will start looking for me in S Nation very soon. I¡¯m certain that they¡¯ve pinned me as the culprit. By then, I¡¯ll address your issue too. Hence, you can start making ns for your future now.¡± ¡°I want to... settle down with a woman I love and live peacefully.¡± ¡°You will.¡± .... The three of them continued to wait for news from Xiao Chenyang¡¯s underlings. Two hourster, they finally received an update. Xiao Chenyang¡¯s underlings initially attempted to nab him and bring him back. However, they did not manage to subdue him and allowed him to escape. Thus, the three of them had no choice but to rush to the hotel. Upon the sight of him, An Xiaoning immediately removed her mask and yelled, ¡°Henry!¡± Henry turned around in bafflement and caught sight of her. An Xiaoning scurried toward him while he stood rooted to the ground. An Xiaoning chided, ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you not to wreak any havoc? Why are you so defiant?¡± ¡°I just wanted to take a breather because I was too bored at home.¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t you have brought some bodyguards with you? If you did, you would have been allowed to go anywhere you want,¡± said An Xiaoning. Just as she was about to hold his arm, he cruelly retracted it. ¡°Everyone¡¯s trying to catch me. I feel like I¡¯m a criminal,¡± he said. Chapter 1307 - I Only Want You (5)

Chapter 1307: I Only Want You (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°We wanted to find you as soon as possible because we were afraid that you would stir trouble again,¡± An Xiaoning said while hugging his arm, for fear that he would run away again. ¡°Why is he here too?¡± ¡°All because of you, duh.¡± Henry remained silent and continued walking toward Xiao Chenyang. ¡ª¡ª Fan Shixin finally heaved a sigh of relief after hearing that Henry had been found. He rubbed his temples to soothe his headache. He had been feeling tense ever since Henry escaped. After resting for a while, he called Xiao Huang over. ¡°Yes, Chief?¡± ¡°Bring He Yi to the guardroom. I¡¯ll be on my way.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Fan Shixin took a shower and got changed before leaving. He Yi finally saw the light of day after being kept in the basement for so long. He looked extremely haggard and disheveled, a far cry from his appearance when he was first nabbed. Fan Shixin looked at him indifferently and said, ¡°It¡¯s not that easy to lure my Young Madam into a trap. I can¡¯t believe you used to be Young Sir¡¯s ssmate. Young Madam said she¡¯ll let you off this time. However, you¡¯re not to do it again. We won¡¯t be letting you off next time. You may leave now.¡± The bodyguards holding He Yi down immediately let go. He Yi stood up straight without uttering another word, knowing that he was not in an advantageous position. Xiao Huang asked, ¡°Chief, how can we let him off? Didn¡¯t his aplices all face a death sentence? He should at least be put behind bars for a few years.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just following Young Madam¡¯s orders. However, he wouldn¡¯t be sentenced to death, unlike those people. He wasn¡¯t involved in hatching the n and was merely threatened into executing the n. He just needs to be taught a lesson. The other seven, however, were spies from the Donggong family, and they¡¯vemitted a serious crime in our nation. If He Yi was also sent by them, I believe Young Madam wouldn¡¯t have let him off.¡± ¡°Chief, your hair is still damp. Did you take a shower?¡± ¡°Yeah, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Stroking his chin, Xiao Huang said teasingly, ¡°You took a shower and changed into a fresh set of clothes. Chief, are you going out on a date?¡± ¡°Why? Are you annoyed that I am? I can empathize with you. You¡¯re just green with envy because you¡¯ve been single for ages,¡± Fan Shixin said with a chuckle. Xiao Huangmented, ¡°Chief, can you not rub salt into my wound?¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯m leaving now,¡± Fan Shixin said after taking a look at the time. He had been turning Wu Pingyang down and canceling dates with her throughout the period that Henry had been missing. He had given her the excuse of being too busy to go out. Hence, he decided to make it up to her now that he suddenly had time. He nned to go look her up now. He decided not to call her because he wanted to buy her a gift. Wu Pingyang was at the First People¡¯s Hospital in A City. Fan Shixin bought her a box of red roses, thinking that most women loved flowers. He headed to the second floor and walked toward the dental department. Wu Pingyang was in the midst of putting on braces for a teenager and did not see him. The other doctors were the one who saw him first. With a smile, one of them greeted him, ¡°You must be Chief Fan, right?¡± ¡°Hello.¡± Upon hearing his voice, Wu Pingyang looked up to see that he was here. Beaming with joy, she hurriedly said, ¡°I¡¯ll be done soon, take a seat first.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Fan Shixin sat down and noticed that all the doctors and nurses were keeping their eyes glued onto him, making him feel a little ufortable. It was Fan Shixin¡¯s first time visiting his girlfriend at work. She was wearing her white coat and a blue surgical mask, and she appeared to be fully focused on her work. Her attentiveness made her appear much more charming. Once she was done, she noticed that all her female colleagues were staring at her and Fan Shixin enviously, which was an ego boost for her. She removed her mask and coat and asked joyously, ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been really busy for the past few days, so I decided toe see you now that I have some time to spare. I bought these for you.¡± Wu Pingyang hurriedly took the gift box from him and peeked inside to see that it was full of roses. Happiness was written all over her face. ¡°They¡¯re beautiful. Are you free this afternoon?¡± ¡°Yes, I should be.¡± ¡°Alright, then. I have half a day¡¯s leave that I had reserved for you. My family would like to meet you,¡± said Wu Pingyang. She put the lid back onto the gift box and held his arm. She continued, ¡°Let¡¯s continue talking outside.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Once they were outside, Fan Shixin asked, ¡°Did your family ask to meet me?¡± ¡°Yes, they wanted me to bring you home for a meal when you¡¯re free. I told them that you¡¯ve been busy the past few days.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll go to your ce this afternoon and stay for dinner, then.¡± Wu Pingyang was extremely agitated after hearing that he had agreed to it. She was rather worried that he would turn her down at first, because she had already promised her grandfather to bring Fan Shixin home. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll call my family now to inform them.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Wu Pingyang immediately informed her family of the good news. After hanging up, she said to Fan Shixin excitedly, ¡°We¡¯ll be going to my grandfather¡¯s ce. Have you thought about what gifts to bring?¡± ¡°Not yet.¡± ¡°My grandfather¡¯s favorite liquor is the famous one from B City. I forgot what it¡¯s called, but it¡¯s blue in color and extremely fragrant. It has an English name.¡± ¡°Blue Ocean?¡± ¡°Yes, yes, that¡¯s the one. My grandfather has been craving for it really badly. If you gift him with that, he would definitely be over the moon.¡± ¡°Um... a bottle of that liquor costs 200 thousand dors. I think it¡¯s a discontinued series of liquor and people usually buy them as a collection piece. I¡¯m pretty sure they cost more than 200 thousand dors now. Can we get him another gift instead?¡± said Fan Shixin. He was well aware that he ought to bring a gift when visiting his girlfriend¡¯s family for the first time. However, he thought it would be inappropriate to present them with such an expensive gift on the first meeting, for it would mislead them into thinking that he was a wealthy spendthrift who¡¯s generous with his money. In fact, he was not a wealthy heir. Although he owned a car, an apartment, and had a monthly sry of 200 thousand dors, his family background was nowhereparable to those of Jin Qingyan, Long Tianze, and Ling Ciye. His parents were working as servants in the Jin family mansion, and they did not have it easy. Displeased to hear his words, Wu Pingyang groused, ¡°So what if it costs 200 thousand dors? That bottle of liquor canst my grandfather for a long time. What¡¯s wrong with being filial to him? Besides, you¡¯ll only need to buy it once. When we get married in the future, we¡¯ll be recouping the money spent by receiving the betrothal money given by the guests.¡± ¡°There are lots of ways to show our filial piety. It doesn¡¯t necessarily have to be an expensive gift. I¡¯ll see to buying the gift. You don¡¯t have to worry about it,¡± said Fan Shixin. After a moment of silence, Wu Pingyang asked, ¡°What do you want to buy him, then?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll decide when afternoones.¡± Chapter 1308 - I Only Want You (6)

Chapter 1308: I Only Want You (6)

Wu Pingyang dropped the subject about the gift, for fear that she would infuriate him. She continued, ¡°The important members of my family will probably be presentter. Don¡¯t feel shy or awkward.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± said Fan Shixin, who had experienced too much in life to be intimidated by a meeting. He asked, ¡°Why aren¡¯t we visiting your parents¡¯ home instead, though?¡± Wu Pingyang answered, ¡°Well, actually, my grandfather was the one who wanted to meet you, so my mother arranged for us to meet at his home instead. If my family brings up the topic about our marriage... how do you n to answer their questions?¡± ¡°It won¡¯t be toote to talk about getting married after we¡¯ve gotten to know each other better. I decided to go on blind dates precisely because I n to get married. However, I can¡¯t be too hasty about it since marriage is a once-in-a-lifetime affair and concerns my lifelong happiness.¡± Wu Pingyang nodded and asked, ¡°Where should we go now, then?¡± ¡°Where would you like to go?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go to Wei Ni Estate.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± He brought her back to Wei Ni Estate. Upon alighting from his car, she nced at the main mansion and asked, ¡°Shixin, could you take me inside for a while? I¡¯m really curious about what Mr. Jin¡¯s home is like.¡± Fan Shixin answered hesitantly, ¡°Young Sir usually doesn¡¯t allow outsiders to visit his home without his permission, unless you¡¯re his friend or something. But since you¡¯re my girlfriend, I can show you around the living room, but you can¡¯t go upstairs.¡± In order not to put him in a spot, she agreedpliantly with a nod. ¡°Sure.¡± Fan Shixin held her hand and walked her toward the door. As soon as she looked inside the mansion, she gasped in shock and eximed, ¡°Wow, it¡¯s sovish!¡± ¡°Come in,¡± said Fan Shixin, who took the lead. Wu Pingyang followed closely behind him and scanned her surroundings. She did not dare toe inside the main mansion at all when she looked him up at Wei Ni Estate previously. She was extremely enticed by the extravagance of the luxurious mansion. If I ever have the chance to live in such a ce, I would die with no regrets! Although she was extremely tempted to take a look upstairs, she had no choice but to curb her urges since she had already promised him not to do so earlier. After exiting the mansion, Wu Pingyang asked softly, ¡°Shixin, who was that auntie just now?¡± ¡°She¡¯s Auntie Chen. She¡¯s the head cook who¡¯s in charge of preparing all the meals. Her culinary skills are superb.¡± ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Realizing that it was almost noon, Fan Shixin asked, ¡°Shall we eat here or go to a restaurant elsewhere?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s eat here. We can save the trouble of going to a restaurant.¡± ¡°What would you like to eat, then?¡± he asked. ¡°Do I get to eat whatever I want? I want to eat some delicious food,¡± Wu Pingyang said excitedly. ¡°Tell me what your cravings are. We¡¯ll try and fulfill them as long as it¡¯s possible.¡± ¡°I want some steak with red wine.¡± Fan Shixin agreed with a nod, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll inform the cooks. Wait for me in the guardroom.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± She proceeded to the guardroom while Fan Shixin instructed the cooks to whip up some steaks. At the same time, he decided to give An Xiaoning a call. It was almost midnight in R Nation, and An Xiaoning had yet to go to bed. ¡°Young Madam, are you going to bed already?¡± ¡°Not yet. What¡¯s the matter, Shixin?¡± After some thought, Fan Shixin asked, ¡°My girlfriend asked to bring me home to meet her family today. What gifts should I bring along with me?¡± ¡°You ought to prepare two sets of gifts, one of which is for her parents.¡± ¡°Not only will I be meeting her parents...¡± Fan Shixin cleared his throat and continued, ¡°She said that we¡¯d be going to her grandfather¡¯s home, which is also the Mu family mansion.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to meet her parents first? But since you¡¯re going to visit her grandfather¡¯s home, you can¡¯t bring a casual or simple gift. After all, her other rtives will be around too. However, I don¡¯t think you should be meeting all of them so soon since you two aren¡¯t at the stage where you¡¯re nning to get married yet. Wouldn¡¯t you go bankrupt if you have to meet them every so often?¡± ¡°She told me today that her grandfather loves drinking Blue Ocean and suggested that I buy him a bottle of that liquor, iming that he would be thrilled to receive it as a gift.¡± An Xiaoning scoffed and remarked in amusement and bafflement, ¡°Why is this girl so greedy? You two have only been dating for such a short amount of time. You¡¯re not married yet, there¡¯s no need to buy her grandfather such an expensive gift. How about you go to our cer and pick out a bottle of wine that costs about twenty to thirty thousand dors? Give that to her grandfather. At the same time, gift her father and uncles some premium cigarettes too. You don¡¯t have to go out of your way to buy them. Just take the ones that we have at home. Those should amount to a reasonable sum. Most guys would only spend a few hundreds or thousands of dors on gifts for their girlfriends¡¯ family. What you¡¯re bringing is more than enough.¡± Finding her words to have made sense, Fan Shixin agreed, ¡°Alright, thank you, Young Madam.¡± ¡°Remember to dress formally.¡± ¡°Yes, I know.¡± Fan Shixin immediately proceeded to get ready after hanging up the phone. He wrapped the gifts up in special gift bags. He then carried them to the guardroom. Staring at the gift box in his hands, Wu Pingyang asked, ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Cigarettes and liquor. They¡¯re for your grandfather, father, and uncles.¡± ¡°What about my mother and aunts?¡± Fan Shixin answered, ¡°I can¡¯t possibly bring a gift for everyone. It¡¯s not like we¡¯re getting engaged or married right now.¡± ¡°How can you be so biased as to only bring gifts for the men in my family? What are my mother and my aunts going to think of you? This is your first time meeting my family. How could you be so casual and perfunctory?¡± ¡°How am I being casual and perfunctory? These are worth about 60 thousand dors. They¡¯re considered to be expensive gifts. Am I supposed to bring gifts that are worth more than a few hundred thousand dors on our first meeting?¡± Fan Shixin retorted. Biting her lip, Wu Pingyang snapped, ¡°You don¡¯t care about me at all. I¡¯m not asking you to bring my mother and my aunts costly gifts, but you ought to give them something as a kind gesture too, don¡¯t you?¡± Suppressing his emotions, Fan Shixin conceded, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll buy some gifts for them along the way.¡± Given Wu Pingyang¡¯s petty temper, she would have left him long ago. However, she knew that she could not mess this up, for she would definitely have to face the music should that happen. Trying to stop herself from throwing a fit, she said, ¡°Alright. I¡¯m hungry.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take you inside for lunch.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Although it was Fan Shixin¡¯s first time meeting the Mu family, none of them left a good impression on him at all. He could not help but feel disturbed by the way that they were staring at him. He could tell that they seemed to have something to say whenever they looked at him. He had a shy and reserved nature and would refrain from speaking much to strangers. He initially thought that he could pull through the meeting effortlessly since he had experienced far more stressful events in his life. However, he only realized after meeting the Mu family just how ufortable it was to have curious eyes glued onto him for hours. In fact, they were not sensitive with their words at all. Not only did they ask him about his ns to marry Wu Pingyang, they had even bombarded him with a ton of inappropriate and taboo questions, including those about business, as well as about Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning. However, he had declined to answer all of those sensitive questions, though he knew that he was being a killjoy by doing so. Chapter 1309 - I Only Want You (7)

Chapter 1309: I Only Want You (7)

Noticing the look of disappointment on her grandfather¡¯s face, Wu Pingyang could not help but feel embarrassed. She chided Fan Shixin softly, ¡°Can¡¯t you just fulfill my grandfather¡¯s wishes and answer his questions truthfully? It¡¯s so boring if you keep being so tight-lipped.¡± Fan Shixin stared at her and insisted on sticking to his principles. ¡°They¡¯re the ones who keep asking me about topics that are taboo. What am I supposed to do? I really can¡¯t answer those questions. That¡¯s just my principle.¡± ¡°How uninteresting,¡± Wu Pingyang muttered under her breath, finding Fan Shixin to bepletely different from what she had expected. ¡°What did you say?¡± Fan Shixin asked with a frown. He had noticed the look of annoyance that formed on her face for a split second. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing.¡± Fan Shixin felt an urge to leave immediately but decided to endure it and stay through the evening since he was already there. During dinner, all of the Mu family members constantly toasted to him. Despite being able to hold his liquor well, he inevitably became tipsy after having so much to drink. Although he constantly declined and told them that he still had to driveter, Wu Pingyang¡¯s uncle insisted on toasting to him enthusiastically, telling him that they would get the servants to send him hometer if he were to get drunk. Hence, he had no choice but to continue drinking. Finally, he decided to stay firm to his decision and stop drinking when his stomach began to feel upset. As Jin Qingyan¡¯s right-hand man, he had always been sticking to his own principle of never letting himself get drunk out of his senses during such events. Otherwise, he could easily be vulnerable to the ill intentions of others. It turned out that his concerns were not uncalled for. When Wu Pingyang¡¯s mother suggested that he just stay over at the Mu family home for the night, he immediately sobered up and turned her down profusely. He stood firm to his decision regardless of how hard they tried to coerce and persuade him. Seeing how insistent he was, the Mu family had no choice but to instruct their bodyguards to drive Fan Shixin home in his own car. They also instructed Wu Pingyang to take good care of him. Wu Pingyang followed him into his car, and he was driven back to Wei Ni Estate. Having slipped into a trance, Fan Shixin leaned back against the seat with his eyes tightly shut. However, he had yet to lose his consciousness. When they arrived in Wei Ni Estate, Xiao Huang and Xiao Bai helped him out of the car. He squinted at Wu Pingyang and said, ¡°You may go home...¡± ¡°You¡¯re drunk. I¡¯ll stay to take care of you.¡± Xiao Bai chuckled and said, ¡°Sis-inw, we¡¯re here to take care of him, you may go home.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Huang smacked him and chided, ¡°Watch your words.¡± Reminded of the fact that she was supposed to act like an innocent and chaste woman in front of Fan Shixin, she nodded and got back inside the car. She then rolled down the window and said, ¡°Give him some hangover broth.¡± ¡°Alright, Sis-inw, goodbye.¡± After the car left, Xiao Huang said, ¡°Why did you let Sis-inw leave when she offered to stay behind? You idiot.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you see that Chief told her to go home? That just means that Chief doesn¡¯t want her to stay behind.¡± Xiao Huang asked Fan Shixin, ¡°Chief, why did you drink so much?¡± ¡°They kept making me chug liquor... my stomach feels terrible,¡± Fan Shixin said before letting out a barf. Unable to curb his nausea, he threw up immediately, after which he instantly felt more sober andfortable. Xiao Bai instructed the servants to clean up the mess. He then helped Fan Shixin back into the house together with Xiao Huang. He also ordered the cooks to prepare some hangover broth, which the two of them then fed to Fan Shixin before leaving. Fan Shixin dozed off. He woke up three hourster with a splitting headache. However, he felt much more sober and no longer felt sleepy. Thus, he got out of bed, freshened up, and changed into a fresh set of clothes before leaving. It was already eleven o¡¯clock at night. It was time for Xiao Bai¡¯s shift. Upon the sight of him, Xiao Bai stifled a yawn and asked, ¡°Chief, why are you up already?¡± ¡°My head hurts and I can¡¯t sleep,¡± he answered in a hoarse voice. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have let Sis-inw leave and allowed her to stay behind to apany you instead. If she did, you would definitely be able to sleep very soundly. Right, Chief?¡± Xiao Bai asked with a sheepish grin. Fan Shixin chided, ¡°Right, my ass! Don¡¯t address her as ¡®Sis-inw¡¯ so casually. We haven¡¯t gotten married yet.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that? Young Madam is not married to Young Sir yet and we still call her Young Madam too, don¡¯t we? Chief, are you just too shy? Don¡¯t be so sensitive, Sis-inw didn¡¯t have any issues with us addressing her that way.¡± Fan Shixin chastised, ¡°Haven¡¯t you been sleeping in the afternoon? Why do you still look so listless and lethargic? Wake yourself up.¡± ¡°Yes, Chief!¡± Xiao Bai shook his body and struggled to open his eyes widely. Fan Shixin held the mouse in his hand and scrutinized the surveince camera footages. He discovered that the lights were still on in his private apartment. Why is she still awake at such ate hour? ¡°How has Ms. Mu been when you guys delivered her meals to her?¡± ¡°She¡¯s doing fine. However, Ms. Mu told us to stop bringing her food.¡± ¡°Huh? Why?¡± Fan Shixin asked. ¡°Ms. Mu said that she didn¡¯t want to trouble us any longer and wanted us to send her some groceries in bulk instead of delivering ready-cooked meals to her. She said that she can cook her own food and kill some time during the process. Hence, we¡¯ve already stocked her fridge up with lots of groceries that are enough tost her for at least three days.¡± Fan Shixin expressed assent and turned around to enter the guardroom. It began drizzling outside. He exited and headed to his own apartment. After unlocking the door with the password, Fan Shixin entered slowly and closed the door as gently as he could. He walked toward the bedroom and knocked politely. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± she asked. ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± ¡°Pleasee in.¡± Fan Shixin pushed the door open to see that she was doing some cross-stitching while sitting on the bed. ¡°Why haven¡¯t you gone to bed yet?¡± he asked. ¡°I can¡¯t fall asleep. Did you drink?¡± Mu Wansheng asked, finding that he reeked of alcohol. ¡°You can still smell it? I¡¯ve already showered and brushed my teeth.¡± ¡°A little bit. You seem to have drunk quite a bit.¡± ¡°I went to your home this afternoon and had dinner there. Your family made me drunk.¡± Mu Wansheng ced her cross-stitch piece on the table and asked, ¡°Are you going to get engaged to her?¡± ¡°No, I just went because Pingyang said that your grandfather wanted to see me.¡± ¡°You must have spent lots of money, didn¡¯t you?¡± Mu Wansheng asked while looking at him. ¡°Young Madam allowed me to bring some premium cigarettes and a bottle of liquor from the cer at home.¡± Mu Wansheng took a deep breath and asked, ¡°Chief Fan, do you fancy Pingyang?¡± Fan Shixin held her gaze and answered, ¡°I suppose so.¡± Mu Wansheng held back the words she had wanted to say. Although she did not want to be nosy, she did not want her savior to get hurt either. ¡°It¡¯s probably my family¡¯s greatest wish to see you marry Pingyang. My grandfather especially. He¡¯s definitely looking forward to it. However, Pingyang is not genuinely true to you. She has... an ulterior motive for dating you.¡± Mu Wansheng had been gripping her duvet tightly while speaking. Having already understood her point, Fan Shixin said, ¡°I know that they¡¯re after my superficial qualities. That¡¯s why I haven¡¯t made any ns to get married yet. I¡¯ll make a decision after getting to know her better.¡± Chapter 1310 - I Only Want You (8)

Chapter 1310: I Only Want You (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mu Wansheng smiled and said, ¡°Chief Fan, you¡¯re such a good man, I¡¯m sure Pingyang will recognize and appreciate your qualities.¡± ¡°Do you really think I¡¯m a good man?¡± ¡°Of course. You¡¯re the person who treats me the best in this world.¡± Fan Shixin did not expect her to make such an extreme statement. He smiled and teased, ¡°How about I break up with Pingyang and date you instead?¡± Mu Wansheng stared at him in astonishment and said, ¡°Chief...¡± Fan Shixin burst intoughter and said, ¡°Were you shocked? I was just teasing you.¡± Mu Wansheng looked down and said, ¡°It¡¯s gettingte. Chief, go back early to get some rest. I¡¯m starting to feel sleepy.¡± Fan Shixin stoppedughing and said, ¡°Okay, goodnight.¡± ¡°Goodnight.¡± Mu Wanshengy down and switched off the lights. He closed the door after him. She reached out to touch her face, only to find that she was burning hot. She could not help but turn red with embarrassment at the thought of herself taking his joke seriously. Why didn¡¯t I realize that he was just joking? I¡¯m so stupid. He¡¯s Pingyang¡¯s boyfriend and my future cousin-inw. A look of dejection formed on Mu Wansheng¡¯s face the moment she thought about having to return to the Mu family home once her injuries heal. After all, she can¡¯t possibly hide in his apartment forever. She would still have to go out to work and repay her debts. The Mu family will definitely find her sooner orter. She suddenly realized how precious it was to be able to eat and live in peace without having to worry about anything. She had always yearned to have a heartwarming home. Hence, she did not mind that her boyfriend was penniless. She was willing to work hard with him to build their future, so long as he was good to her. Yet, she was now left with nothing. All her hopes had been dashed. Mu Wansheng closed her eyes as a teardrop rolled down her cheek. ¡ª¡ª It was already daybreak by the time An Xiaoning, Henry, Wu Lianzhi, and Xiao Chenyang arrived back in S Nation. She felt much safer and relieved the moment she stepped foot onto the ground in Wei Ni Estate. Clearly, she had already treated it as her own home. In fact, it was her home. After arranging for Xiao Chenyang and Wu Lianzhi to move into the guest rooms, An Xiaoning headed upstairs together with Henry. As soon as she entered the bathroom, she kicked her shoes off and walked toward the big bed. She thumped herself down onto the soft and fluffy sheets and said in satisfaction, ¡°Ah, howfortable.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve already slept for so long. Are you still going to continue sleeping?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m going to remove my makeup, put on a sheet of mask, and lie down to calm my senses. I¡¯m going to start thinking about how to solve the impending issues.¡± Henry proceeded to take a shower. By the time he exited the bathroom in a bathrobe, she was already lying on the bed with a mask over her face. He walked toward her dressing table while wiping his hair dry and began using her skincare products. An Xiaoning remarked, ¡°Yourplexion is better than mine. Why do you still need to use these products?¡± ¡°Am I supposed to wait until I¡¯m old?¡± An Xiaoning said, ¡°You won¡¯t grow old. You¡¯ll live for a long, long time, so you don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡± Henry took her words to be a joke. He said, ¡°If I don¡¯t ever grow old, you¡¯ll be in trouble. When we¡¯re old and gray, you¡¯ll be a wrinkled olddy while I¡¯m still young and youthful.¡± She red at him coldly and said, ¡°You¡¯re going to be disappointed, then, because I¡¯m going to be immortal too.¡± ¡°What a beautiful dream.¡± ¡°I¡¯m being serious, alright?¡± ¡°Yeah, totally.¡± ¡°I¡¯m telling the truth!¡± Patting his face, he walked toward her and nodded. He said patronizingly, ¡°I said I believe you.¡± Noticing that he was about to take a seat, An Xiaoning stretched her leg out and ced it near the edge of the bed. Without hesitation, he sat straight down on her leg. ¡°Ah!!!¡± An Xiaoning shrieked in pain. She turned to lie on her side and kicked his neck with her other leg. ¡°The bed is mine, move over to the couch,¡± she demanded. ¡°Is your name written on it?¡± ¡°If you lie down here, I¡¯ll start groping you and kissing you.¡± ¡°Go ahead and try me if you wish to be flung onto the wall again,¡± he said while moving her leg away and lying down beside her. ¡°Henry, you¡¯ve got such a backbone, huh?¡± ¡°You bet.¡± An Xiaoning got out of bed and pulled out a thin needle from the drawer. She then grabbed his hand and poked it into his flesh when he was not paying attention. Just as he was about to retract his hand in pain, she began sucking on it. Greatly taken aback, Henry stared at her and barked, ¡°Why did you poke me with the needle!?!¡± ¡°To drink your blood.¡± ¡°You¡¯re nuts.¡± An Xiaoning moved his hand away andy back down nonchntly. Henry lifted his hand to see that her saliva was all over it. A look of disgust formed on his face, and he got out of bed to head to the bathroom. He returned after washing his hands. ¡°You¡¯re so revolting.¡± ¡°You call that revolting?¡± An Xiaoning smiled sinisterly and leaned closer toward him. She continued, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you something even more revolting. I guarantee you¡¯ll definitely stay silent for a minute after you hear what I have to say.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear it.¡± ¡°Just listen, it¡¯s about getting intimate with you.¡± ¡°I said, I don¡¯t want to hear it,¡± he said vehemently. However, his efforts were futile for she would still tell him regardless of his opinion. An Xiaoning blurted a sentence. Henry flew into a rage and turned as red as a tomato. ¡°You¡¯re spouting nonsense. I don¡¯t believe you.¡± An Xiaoning got out of bed and left the room. She returned ten minutester. She climbed back onto the bed with her mobile phone and said, ¡°You don¡¯t believe me, huh? Let me show you the surveince camera footages.¡± Henry was feeling conflicted and curious. He grabbed her mobile phone and zoomed toward the bathroom. An Xiaoning stared at his actions in amusement. Beaming with joy, she murmured, ¡°Who told you not to believe me? The evidence is solid.¡± It had never crossed Henry¡¯s mind that his body would actually do something so outrageous. He could not believe his eyes at all, and he felt that he could no longer hold his head high in front of An Xiaoning. He knew that An Xiaoning had gotten intimate with his body countless times before. In fact, Jin Yiheng was the best proof. However, he did not expect that he would go down on her and even allow her to film a video of it! His brain was about to explode. He hurriedly deleted the video and exited the bathroom with his eyes wide open. An Xiaoning extended her arm, and he ced the mobile phone onto her hand quietly. After realizing that he had deleted the video, she said unhurriedly, ¡°I had already saved this video to myptop. This is just one copy of it.¡± ¡°Are you nning to let those hackers steal the video and expose it to the world?¡± he questioned sternly, feeling worried for his privacy. Chapter 1311 - I Only Want You (9)

Chapter 1311: I Only Want You (9)

¡°Of course not. This video was taken when we were in the heat of the moment and decided to do it for fun. We then saved it in a hidden file on theputer. However, I¡¯ve already deleted the copy that I made just now. Look how worried you¡¯re getting.¡± Henry finally felt much more relieved after hearing her words. Although he had seen for himself the atrocious and outrageous act that he had performed on her, he did not have any recollection of it at all. In fact, he didn¡¯t even know how it felt. ¡°You guys are really kinky.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that normal? Are you going to continue sleeping or get out of bed?¡± An Xiaoning asked while resting her head in her hand. ¡°What about you?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t sleep anymore. I¡¯m going to get up soon.¡± ¡°Go ahead, then, I¡¯m going to sleep.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª¡ª Henry tried to fall asleep, to no avail. During breakfast, everyone got into their usual seats at the dining table. However, Wu Lianzhi felt a little awkward and ufortable because he was in someone else¡¯s home. While they were in the midst of a joyous meal, Long Tianze entered, humming a melodious tune. ¡°Hello, my dearest friends, I¡¯m here.¡± Xiao Chenyang shot An Xiaoning a nce instinctively, after which they had a mutual tacit understanding and burst intoughter. ¡°What¡¯s so special about your appearance?¡± said Henry. ¡°I came here because I missed you!¡± ¡°Get lost.¡± Unsurprised, Long Tianze shrugged his shoulders and said, ¡°I haven¡¯t had breakfast yet. Let me join in. Auntie Chen, please bring me a pair of chopsticks.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Long Tianze was just acting like his usual self. Long Tianze grabbed the pair of chopsticks and sat down gleefully. He looked at Wu Lianzhi and asked, ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡± ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Wu Lianzhi.¡± ¡°Long Tianze.¡± As soon as he answered, Wu Lianzhi was dumbfounded. He could not help but take a few more nces at Long Tianze. Sensing that Wu Lianzhe was constantly staring at him, Long Tianze asked teasingly, ¡°Why do you keep looking at me? Have you fallen for me?¡± Wu Lianzhi chuckled wryly and said, ¡°Of course not, but you do seem like a good man.¡± Long Tianze grinned widely from ear to ear and said proudly, ¡°That goes without saying. I¡¯m the best man in S Nation. Aren¡¯t I, Qingyan?¡± Henry brushed him off relentlessly, ¡°Stop blowing your trumpet and praising yourself. You¡¯re such a narcissist.¡± ¡°Must I blow my trumpet? This is only a matter of fact. Sis-inw, tell me, don¡¯t I treat Yangyang well? I always give in to her and abide by all her orders.¡± An Xiaoning chimed in, ¡°Yes, I agree with you on that one. Tianze is really doting toward Yangyang. Regardless of whether he¡¯s the best man in S Nation or not, he¡¯s a great man to Yangyang.¡± ¡°Did you hear that? Eunuch Jin.¡± Henry ignored him and continued eating quietly. After breakfast, Xiao Chenyang instructed his men to bring Wu Haigang over, after which he asked An Xiaoning, ¡°He should be well versed in witchcraft butcking in martial arts. However, I think he should be able to remove the curse that had been ced on you and Qingyan. Do you have a good solution to make him do it?¡± ¡°What matters most to humans is staying alive. It¡¯ll all depend on whether he wants to live or not. Perhaps he already knows that he won¡¯t get to stay alive even if he removes the curse. After all, he would need Qingyan¡¯s birth characters and mine in order to break the curse. We definitely have to kill him once he learns about our birth characters. Thus, this definitely won¡¯t work. We¡¯ll have to make a deal with him.¡± Xiao Chenyang asked, ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll deal with his family. You and I both know that his family had changed theirst name and migrated to R Nation. Changingst names is a challenging feat for most families. Hence, the descendants are the most important.¡± Xiao Chenyang agreed, ¡°You have a point. We¡¯ll do just that, then. Anyway, his family is no longer as formidable as they once were. They no longer practice witchcraft and ck magic, so they¡¯re in fact just like normal humans. By the way, aren¡¯t you going to go opposite to take a look?¡± An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°I was just about to go. Wait for me here.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± When An Xiaoning headed opposite, she was greeted with the sight of Long Tianze and Wu Lianzhi chatting with each other in the living room. Mei Yangyang was nowhere to be found. ¡°Mr. Long, where¡¯s Yangyang?¡± she asked. ¡°She headed to the studio bright and early in the morning. She said that she wanted to talk to the shortlisted candidates whom she had picked out from the schools she visited.¡± She nodded and asked, ¡°Oh, I see. What are you two talking about?¡± ¡°Nothing much, just some men talk. I discovered that Brother Wu has a great sense of humor,¡± Long Tianze said with a grin. ¡°A great sense of humor?¡± asked An Xiaoning, who did not find Wu Lianzhi to be in the least bit humorous at all. ¡°Yeah, Sis-inw, he¡¯s very funny.¡± ¡°When will Yangyang be home?¡± ¡°Soon, I suppose. She left without having breakfast, but she said she would being home to eat.¡± An Xiaoning took a look at the time and sat down straight away. ¡°Lianzhi, did you know? Tianze¡¯s daughter is engaged to my son.¡± Wu Lianzhi nodded and said, ¡°He told me about it just now. However, isn¡¯t it a little too traditional and old-fashioned to let them be engaged to each other at such a young age?¡± ¡°I really really like Xiaoxi, that little dumpling. She¡¯s so chubby and adorable, just like Yangyang. The more I look at her, the more I adore her,¡± An Xiaoning remarked. Long Tianze smirked proudly and said, ¡°Of course. She¡¯s my precious daughter, you must adore her.¡± ¡°Tsk, tsk, look how smitten he is with his daughter.¡± Wu Lianzhi nodded while smiling and said, ¡°I can tell. Brother Long, your family is so blissful.¡± ¡°That goes without saying.¡± An Xiaoning interjected, ¡°Seriously speaking, can you two not address each other in such a manner?¡± ¡°Is there a problem?¡± ¡°Of course there is. It just sounds so wrong. You two are a perfect match for each other, though. This is the first time you two have met, right?¡± The two of them burst intoughter upon hearing her remark. Half an hourter, Mei Yangyang returned. She entered with her purse in hand, d in a pair of jeans and a cream-colored sweater. ¡°Hubby, I¡¯m home.¡± ¡°Yes, Honey, our friends are here.¡± ¡°Who?¡± Mei Yangyang asked while changing into her home slippers. At the sight of the unfamiliar face, she asked, ¡°This is...¡± ¡°My friend, Wu Lianzhi. I met him for the first time today and we hit it off really well.¡± Mei Yangyang walked toward them while smiling and said, ¡°Tianze is just very friendly.¡± Chapter 1312 - I Only Want You (10)

Chapter 1312: I Only Want You (10)

Staring at Mei Yangyang, Wu Lianzhi could not help but find her rather familiar even though he could not recall anything about her at all. ¡°Hello.¡± Mei Yangyang answered, ¡°Hello.¡± .... On the way back, An Xiaoning noticed that Wu Lianzhi had been remaining calm andposed. ¡°How do you feel?¡± she asked. ¡°Great. I¡¯m d to see how happy a life she¡¯s leading.¡± An Xiaoning patted him on his shoulder and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, you¡¯ll be as blissful too. You two just weren¡¯t destined to be together in this lifetime. Think about your future and make some concrete ns. Tell me if there¡¯s any job that you¡¯d like to do. I can help you arrange it if it¡¯s within my means.¡± They entered the gate together and Wu Lianzhi said, ¡°I can tell that her husband is a very kind and good man. She¡¯ll definitely be blissful living with such an optimistic and cheerful man. I¡¯m gratified and heartened to see that she¡¯s living well. As for my future, I just want to live a stable life of peace and settle down with a woman who can bring me joy. But in order to meet a good girl, I¡¯ll have to go to a ce where there are many girls, right?¡± An Xiaoning agreed, ¡°You have a point.¡± Shortly after they arrived home, Wu Haigang was brought forth. Staring at the man before her, An Xiaoning saw that he seemed to only be in histe thirties or forties. ¡°Hello, Mr. Wu. I believe you should be well aware of who this is. He used to be a member of your family too,¡± she said. He looked up and red at Wu Lianzhi. ¡°He¡¯s not fit to be a member of the Wu family.¡± An Xiaoning looked at him condescendingly and said, ¡°Ah... are you fit enough, then? I¡¯m telling you, there¡¯s no other option for you now that you¡¯vended in our hands. Your life means nothing now. The point is, do you want the rest of your descendants to die together with you?¡± Pointing at Wu Lianzhi, Wu Haigang asked, ¡°Including him?¡± ¡°No. Although he has already changed hisst name back to ¡®Wu,¡¯ he no longer belongs to the Wu family, so nope, he¡¯s not included. Mr. Wu, I¡¯m sure you know what my status is. So what if you¡¯re the head of an elite family in R Nation? No big deal to me. As long as I drop a bomb on your home, I reckon lots of lives will be lost. R Nation is still going through tumultuous times anyway, so it¡¯s your call to decide if you want to break our curse or let your family be in danger. Do as you deem fit.¡± ¡°You... how am I supposed to believe you? I believe you won¡¯t go back on your word, would you?¡± he asked. ¡°You don¡¯t have a choice now. Did you think that I had forgotten about the plot that your people had devised to kill me? Do you think my country won¡¯t pursue the matter, especially since I¡¯m the President¡¯s daughter? As long as I want to do it, I¡¯ll have many ways to make your family pay double the price and be eradicated. You want to see that happen?¡± Wu Haigang closed his eyes and remained silent. Indeed, his life didn¡¯t matter as muchpared to the many lives of his family. If he were to let her annihte his family, he would have be the ultimate sinner and let his ancestors down. This time, he hadpletely lost the battle. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Sis En, I heard that Jing Shui is done filming for his parts and would be leaving today.¡± ¡°Does his presence even matter? Although he was hard-working at the start, he stopped showing up as the filming progressed. I heard that Director had to use a stunt double for lots of the scenes involving Jing Shui. He¡¯s only ying a minor role and yet they had to use a stunt double so frequently to fill in for him. If his brother were involved in this production, he definitely wouldn¡¯t have allowed that,¡± Fang En said while putting on some lipstick. ¡°That goes without saying. Director Jing Tian has always been strict and holds high expectations. He definitely wouldn¡¯t allow the stunt double to be used so frequently. By the way, Sis En, when is Cousin going toe back?¡± Xiao Yue asked. ¡°Very soon.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m starting to crave for all the delicious food that Cousin had been bringing you when he was around.¡± ¡°You little glutton.¡± Fang En stood up and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Xiao Yue picked up her bag and followed Fang En out. The bodyguards quickly followed her too upon the sight of her exiting. She seemed to have the airs of a queen. Even a popr actress like Yu Caiwei had only brought along four bodyguards, yet Fang En had eight beside her. They formed a single file. She was attending a fan meeting, which was also a publicity event for the television series. Most of the fans who had turned up were Yan Ge¡¯s female fans, whereas Fang En barely had any. Although she had be famous after her rtionship with Yan Ge was exposed, she still did not have many fans since neither of the two television series that she¡¯d starred in had begun broadcasting. However, she was surprised to see that she had about twenty fans. Twenty was insignificant, given that there were hundreds of people in total... The eventsted for half an hour. Just as it was about to end, an ident happened. When Fang En was about to make her way down, a middle-aged man who appeared to be in his fifties weaved his way through the bodyguards and pounced onto Fang En. Chaos broke out instantly. Fang En immediately fell backward onto the other bodyguard beside her. The bodyguard swiftly pulled her away from danger and flung the man onto the ground, causing him to have a great fall while the rest of the people retreated. Fang En stood up straight, still unable to recover from the shock. Nheless, she still maintained herposure and left the ce quickly. Seething with exasperation, Xiao Yue snapped the moment they got inside the nanny van, ¡°Goddamn it. That old fogy must be tired of living. If Cousin had been around, he definitely would have broken that man¡¯s arm.¡± Fang En calmed herself down and remained quiet. Thinking that she must be in low spirits, Xiao Yue frantically tried tofort her, ¡°Sis En, it¡¯s alright. Our bodyguard flung him away harshly and taught him a lesson.¡± ¡°Xiao Yue, what do you want to do in the future?¡± Xiao Yue asked in puzzlement, ¡°Huh? What do I want to do in the future? I still want to continue working for you.¡± ¡°What if I quit the showbiz industry?¡± Xiao Yue looked at her and said, ¡°I¡¯ll still want to follow you, Sis En.¡± ¡°If I quit the showbiz industry, you won¡¯t be able to work for me anymore. Xiao Yue, youe from a humble family too, right? You once said that your greatest wish is to own a house in A City, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes, but property prices are so high nowadays and I won¡¯t be able to afford one with that meager sry of mine. I only make a few thousand dors a month.¡± ¡°How much savings do you have now?¡± Fang En asked. ¡°More than 30 thousand dors.¡± ¡°How about I buy you a one-bedroom apartment?¡± Dumbfounded, Xiao Yue said, ¡°Sis, I can¡¯t ept that. The cheapest one-bedroom apartment is going to cost at least one to two million dors. I¡¯ve only worked for you for such a short period of time. I don¡¯t deserve that much kindness from you.¡± Chapter 1313 - I Only Want You (11)

Chapter 1313: I Only Want You (11)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°You really don¡¯t want it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t. Sis En, your money is hard-earned too. You work so hard every day. Keep the money for yourself. I believe that I¡¯ll save enough to purchase my own apartment one day,¡± Xiao Yue answered. Fang En did not insist any further and returned to her hotel room to rest. She sat alone on the bed and began surfing the inte for property listings. Although Xiao Yue had been working for her for only about a year, they faced each other every day. Xiao Yue could no longer stay by her side once she quits the showbiz industry. Hence, she wanted to do something for Xiao Yue. After all, Xiao Yue had been showing her lots of care and concern throughout. She had already viewed a few estates by the time the doorbell rang. Since there were bodyguards watching outside the door, she could open it without looking into the peephole. Upon the sight of the man outside, Fang En smiled and said, ¡°You¡¯re back.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He entered and closed the door after him. He picked her up in his arms and began walking inside. ¡°What were you doing?¡± ¡°Looking at property listings online.¡± ¡°Property listings?¡± Xiao Chenyang lowered her onto the bed and stared at the screen of herptop. ¡°A one-bedder? Shouldn¡¯t we get a bigger house?¡± he asked in puzzlement. ¡°I¡¯m not buying one for us, I¡¯m looking at property listings for Xiao Yue.¡± Xiao Chenyang removed his shoes and asked, ¡°Can she even afford an apartment?¡± ¡°I¡¯m buying it for her, of course.¡± He sat down beside her and ced an arm around her shoulders. ¡°That works too, but which one are you eyeing?¡± ¡°Take a look at this one, and this one,¡± she said while moving the cursor around the screen. ¡°This apartment in Sanqiao Estate looks good. The scenery and venttion seem great too. By the way, An Xiaoning has a house there too. We¡¯ll take this.¡± After gaining his approval, Fang En decided to settle on that apartment. She noted down the contact details of the owner and asked, ¡°Should we also buy a house for ourselves now too? The renovation is going to take some time. Besides, we can¡¯t move in immediately after the renovation either.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have to go to the hassle of getting the house renovated. We¡¯ll just buy one that¡¯s already well furnished. I¡¯ve already asked Chief Fan. He said that there are well-furnished mansions for sale in Wei Ni Estate. They¡¯re reasonably priced as well. Let¡¯s just buy one.¡± ¡°Mansion? You mean the ones like Sis Yangyang¡¯s and Sis Xiaoning¡¯s?¡± Fang En asked. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s buy one, then.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°An old fogy pounced on me during the publicity event today.¡± Noticing the gleaming anger in his eyes, she added, ¡°Fortunately, our bodyguards were quick to react and managed to throw him out almost instantly.¡± Fang En put theptop away and sat down beside him. Staring at him solemnly, she asked, ¡°Frankly speaking, did you miss me during the past few days?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t. I missed Doggy Fang.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the doggy.¡± He hugged her andy down. ¡°Yes, yes, I¡¯m the doggy. You¡¯re the woman who sleeps with a doggy.¡± Fang En pinched him and chided, ¡°Can you talk decently?¡± ¡°Yes... Mrs. Xiao.¡± ¡°Is everything settled?¡± Fang En asked. ¡°More or less. It¡¯s hrious though. Let me tell you all about it.¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯m all ears.¡± ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning and Henry visited Mr. Jin at the hospital. They heard from Fan Shixin that Mr. Jin had alreadye to and was no longer in any critical danger. All he had to do now was to rest and recuperate in the hospital. Henry was reluctant toe at first but had no choice since An Xiaoning insisted that he did. Mr. Jin was reading some newspapers when they entered the ward. Upon the sight of them, he humphed and gibed in disgruntlement, ¡°It¡¯s already been so many days and you¡¯ve onlye to visit me now. What kind of a son are you?¡± Henry retorted rudely, ¡°Be grateful that I¡¯m here to see you. What else do you want?¡± ¡°What do you mean I ought to be grateful? I¡¯m your father!¡± ¡°You mean you know that you¡¯re my father? When are you going to start behaving yourself?¡± Henry questioned coldly, not wanting to talk to him much. Boiling with fury, Mr. Jin stopped talking and put his newspapers away. An Xiaoning ced the fruits on the table and asked, ¡°Uncle, do you feel better?¡± ¡°Yes, much better.¡± ¡°Qingyan has been unwell for the past few days too, that¡¯s why he didn¡¯te to visit you. He actually really misses you too. Uncle, could you stop frequenting those gambling dens and casinos from now on? I remember that you rarely gambled in the past. If you find life to be too boring, you can always look forpanions your own age and travel with them. You could also join some leisure activities. That¡¯ll make your life more fulfilling.¡± Mr. Jin remarked snarkly, ¡°Why should I interact with those strangers? It¡¯s pointless.¡± Henry chimed in, ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s not as meaningful as losing money. You can¡¯t go out and gamble anymore now that you¡¯re lying in the hospital, can you?¡± ¡°Does it hurt not to infuriate me? If there¡¯s nothing else you¡¯d like to say, please leave. Both of you, get out,¡± Mr. Jin snapped. Without hesitation, Henry grabbed An Xiaoning¡¯s arm and left. When they exited the ward, he let go of her and said, ¡°I told you we didn¡¯t have toe and visit him. Why did you have to insist?¡± ¡°Tongues will wag if you don¡¯t visit your father at the hospital. It¡¯d be more appropriate to visit him even if you don¡¯t mean it.¡± He said in annoyance, ¡°I would rather look at Wang Cai and Fu Gui than visit him.¡± ¡°Okay, okay, we¡¯ve already visited him. Let¡¯s go home,¡± said An Xiaoning. There was another ce they had to go to. Upon seeing the unfamiliar route, he asked, ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°To the boot camp.¡± He remained silent and watched her drive to the martial arts academy. Along the way, An Xiaoning bought several presents, one for each of the children, including Long Tianze¡¯s. The children adored the gifts to bits. It took them an hour to arrive home. Wu Haigang had already agreed to break their curse. However, they would have to wait until the day of Jin Qingyan¡¯s birthday, the 16th of October. However, it was just round the corner and they could afford to wait a few days. Hence, Wu Haigang was locked up for the time being. She specifically instructed the bodyguards to find out more information about Wu Lianzhi and his personal details. She initially wanted to help him transfer his register to S Nation. However, she discovered that the Donggong family had already removed his name from their household register. Wu Lianzhi made a trip down to the police station to request for a household register application. Due to the fact that An Xiaoning had already made the arrangements beforehand, he could settle the procedures immediately once he was there. He returned to the estate to see that An Xiaoning was sipping on some coffee and waiting for him. ¡°I almost forgot something.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t answered my question yet. Why did you want my hair sample back then?¡± He was a little embarrassed. Chapter 1314 - I Only Want You (12)

Chapter 1314: I Only Want You (12)

¡°I actually didn¡¯t want to tell you. But the main reason was because a brazen idea came to my mind after I saw that mural.¡± ¡°What idea?¡± ¡°I wanted to use your hair sample to get a DNA test done. I wanted to verify if we were rted by blood.¡± ¡°Psht.¡± An Xiaoning had never expected that to be his reason. ¡°That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t tell you. I was afraid that you would be repulsed.¡± ¡°Why would I be?¡± As soon as she finished her sentence, Xiao Lu reported, ¡°Young Madam, the people from the Donggong family are here. They¡¯re right outside the entrance.¡± She had long expected that they woulde for her, just not so soon. ¡°Let them in.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°Should I... hide?¡± he asked. ¡°No, what for? Are you afraid of them?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± An Xiaoning waved at the servant and said, ¡°Make me another cup of coffee.¡± ¡°Alright, Young Madam.¡± The people who hade forth included Old Mr. Donggong¡¯s sons and a few of his grandsons. They were the members who held a higher status in the Donggong family. ¡°Have a seat.¡± The seven men sat down, and the eldest son of Old Mr. Donggong took the initiative to speak. ¡°Ms. An, we came here with a purpose this time. One is to offer you our sincere apology and the other is to plead for your mercy. Will you please release our elder?¡± ¡°I ept your apology, but you want me to let your elder go? Why should I do that? I don¡¯t even know who he is. What does he look like? What¡¯s his name?¡± Wu Lianzhi did not expect that she would deny it straight away. Seemingly having guessed her intentions, he remained seated quietly. However, the men were dumbfounded. ¡°Ms. An, let¡¯s not beat around the bush. We¡¯ve already found out that he¡¯s here.¡± ¡°Do you have any evidence?¡± They looked at each other, and one of them answered, ¡°No... but we¡¯re very certain that he¡¯s here.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can only believe you if you have concrete evidence. Talk is cheap. You can¡¯t just use me casually,¡± said An Xiaoning. The second son said, ¡°Ms. An, name us your condition. We¡¯ll agree to your request as long as you release him.¡± ¡°Do you need me to repeat myself? I really didn¡¯t take your elder away,¡± she saidposedly. However, they knew that she was just denying it. They were at a sudden loss for what to do. Little did they know, An Xiaoning was nning to make them make a wasted trip because she would never let Wu Haigang stay alive. After a minute of silence, the eldest son said, ¡°Ms. An... if you¡¯re willing to let our elder go, the Donggong family shall be loyal to you from now on. These are the exact words from my father.¡± Wu Lianzhi was dumbfounded. ¡°Why did your father...¡± ¡°Our family has long stopped practicing witchcraft and ck magic. Elder is the only one who possesses those skills. We¡¯ll never be able to pass the skills onto the next generation if he were to die.¡± An Xiaoning quipped with a smile, ¡°Pass on? Are you going to expand and develop your witchcraft and use it to harm others?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant.¡± An Xiaoning did not waver at all. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I really didn¡¯t bring him away, and I have no idea who he is either. If there¡¯s nothing else you¡¯d like to say, please leave. I won¡¯t entertain you any longer.¡± She was clearly chasing them out. They were at aplete loss, for they had even pulled theirst trump card. Yet, she was nonchnt and refused to budge at all. There was nothing they could do. Feeling helpless, the eldest son got onto his knees. ¡°What are you doing? I really haven¡¯t seen him before. Am I supposed to do a conjuring and make him appear magically?¡± ¡°...¡± Atst, they had no choice but to leave empty-handed. There was nothing they could do at all. A silence filled the air in the living room. Noticing the deadpan expression on Wu Lianzhi¡¯s face, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Do you think that I was being cruel too?¡± ¡°No. I understand your considerations and, standing from your perspective, I know what you did was right. I¡¯ve already severed ties with the Donggong family, so I¡¯m in no ce toment about someone else¡¯s family matters,¡± Wu Lianzhi said solemnly. ¡°Once the curse is broken, all of this wille to an end. To be honest, I still have you to thank. If you hadn¡¯t tried to contact me first, I wouldn¡¯t have known about your existence. Or rather, it would have taken me much longer to find out about you. If it weren¡¯t for you, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to learn about all these things within such a short amount of time. You see, Xiao Chenyang once tried to search for the descendants of the Wu family, but he never managed to find any clues. So many years had already passed, after all. It would definitely be tough to find them. We initially thought that they had all died because of karma.¡± ¡°I¡¯m really d to have been able to help you in such an unexpected way. Fate and destiny are such incredible things. We got to reunite in such an amazing way.¡± As soon as Henry arrived downstairs, he caught sight of An Xiaoning and Wu Lianzhi smiling at each other. He stood by the stairs and yelled sluggishly, ¡°Come upstairs, I have something to tell you.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know when youe upstairs,¡± he said before turning around to head upstairs. An Xiaoning followed suit, thinking that he actually had something to say to her. Yet, it was not the case at all. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you wanted to tell me something? Were you fooling me?¡± ¡°So what if I was?¡± An Xiaoning red at him and said, ¡°Fine, as long as you¡¯re happy. I¡¯m going downstairs now.¡± ¡°Hold it.¡± ¡°What is it again?¡± ¡°When are you going to make that fellow leave?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let him stay here for the time being. We¡¯ll talk about it again next time,¡± said An Xiaoning, who decided to make further arrangements only after the curse was broken and after Wu Lianzhi¡¯s household register was approved. ¡°Talk about it again next time? I don¡¯t like having a stranger around at home,¡± Henry snapped. ¡°Go ahead and be upset about it. You¡¯ll be fine, just bear with it.¡± ¡°An Xiaoning, this is my property!¡± ¡°Does that mean you¡¯re admitting that you¡¯re Qingyan?¡± ¡°Who was the one who said that he and I are the same person?¡± ¡°Good. I have some special needs now. I hope you¡¯ll fulfill them,¡± she said while sitting down on the bed and cing her hands behind her. Pursing his lips, Henry said, ¡°There you go again...¡± ¡°What do you mean again? Isn¡¯t this very normal? Henry, I think it¡¯s absolutely necessary for our bodies tomunicate with each other properly. I hope you¡¯ll consider my suggestion seriously.¡± Chapter 1315 - I Only Want You (13)

Chapter 1315: I Only Want You (13)

¡°No.¡± An Xiaoning turned around and walked away. Henry asked, ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°Off to die.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning headed downstairs again to see that Wu Lianzhi was no longer there. She sat on the couch and switched on the television to see that the ongoing program was a documentary about archeology. Coincidentally, Wang Jinsheng was being interviewed during the documentary. An Xiaoning kept her eyes fixed onto the screen while remaining calm andposed. A few minutester, she decided to call Pan Zhenghui. ¡°Bureau Chief, it¡¯s me.¡± ¡°Hello... Xiaoning.¡± ¡°Is Wang Jinsheng still the captain of the archeological team?¡± ¡°Yes. I was just about to contact you to talk about him. Ever since you told me that he was in close contact with tomb raiders, I¡¯ve begun investigating him and the results are out now.¡± ¡°You¡¯re really efficient, huh?¡± An Xiaoning remarked in surprise. ¡°Of course I¡¯d have to pay attention to the issues that you had spoken to me about. It¡¯s a long story, I can¡¯t exin it through the phone. Xiaoning,e down to the police station.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be on my way.¡± ¡°Okay, sure.¡± She immediately switched off the television. Meanwhile, Pan Zhenghui coted all the documents and checked through them carefully once more. By the time An Xiaoning arrived, he had already prepared some tea for her. ¡°Here, Xiaoning try the tea that I made for you using some new tea leaves that I had just bought. Have a seat and let¡¯s discuss it slowly.¡± An Xiaoning grabbed the teacup and took a seat opposite him. ¡°So what¡¯s going on?¡± she asked. ¡°ording to my investigations, this Captain Wang is such a major disappointment. I really couldn¡¯t tell he was such a person. It wasn¡¯t until I started checking up on him that I saw his true colors. Captain Wang had only started contacting He Yi recently. However, he had been in close contact with traffickers who peddle national treasures illegally. We found out that he had sold the nation¡¯s relics and archeological property without permission and earned a load from those illegal transactions.¡± Slightly speechless, An Xiaoning replied, ¡°Continue investigating, then. Just handle the matter impartially and punish him ordingly.¡± ¡°Yes, that goes without saying.¡± ¡°Also, He Yi is an expert at raiding tombs. You guys look out for him and keep close tabs on him. Do as you deem fit if he dares to continue raiding tombs.¡± ¡°Yes, I know what to do.¡± ¡°Has a recement for Yuan Mingzhu been found yet?¡± she asked. Pan Zhenghui let out a sigh and answered, ¡°I would have informed you long ago had I found a recement. It¡¯s not that easy to find someone like her. We thought we had finally found one a couple of days ago, but he turned out to be a swindler. Xiaoning, please juste back to join us. It¡¯s alright even if you can only afford to spare a few days a week to assist in solving cases. There are still cases from a few decades ago that haven¡¯t been solved yet. Since there are no outsiders now, I shall be frank with you. Some cases can never be cracked without your help. It¡¯s not that we don¡¯t have sufficient evidence, we just don¡¯t have the means of authority to do it.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you get it?¡± Pan Zhenghui lowered his voice and spoke as softly as possible, ¡°The criminals of those cases have a powerful family background and we can¡¯t touch them.¡± An Xiaoning said, ¡°How about I resume my duty as the leader of the Special Investigation Unit? However, I can¡¯t report to the station every single day because I have lots of personal issues to handle. I can only free up a few days per month perhaps to drop by. My attendance won¡¯t be consistent.¡± Upon hearing that she had agreed, Pan Zhenghui jumped for joy and eximed, ¡°Marvelous! It¡¯s alright even if you can onlye once a month. Xiaoning, our nation needs more talents like you. I can only tell you these secretly. Think about it, there are lots of major andplicated cases that haven¡¯t been solved for years. Apart from those that we have sufficient evidence for, the rest are all cases from several decades ago where there are no surveince cameras or fingerprints collecting systems. Hence, it¡¯s extremely difficult to solve those cases, unlike now where technology is so advanced. Besides, I¡¯m actually really frustrated and infuriated about being unable to nab those criminals who have powerful families, despite having collected sufficient evidence against them.¡± ¡°How about you cote all the information and evidence pertaining to those cases and hand them over to the special investigation team? I¡¯ll go there to take a look.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning put down her teacup and left the office to head to the Special Investigation Unit. It was extremely quiet in the office. An Xiaoning opened the door and craned her neck to see that they were all sitting quietly without uttering a single word. Zu Dong was the first one who discovered her. He immediately stood up and greeted, ¡°Hello, Team Leader.¡± ¡°What are you guys doing? Why do all of you look so serious?¡± Ma Jianguo answered, ¡°We¡¯re just fretting over these cases. But what brings you here, Xiaoning? Did something urgent crop up?¡± ¡°Yeah, I came to look for Bureau Chief to talk to him about something. However, I have some good news for you. Would you guys like to make a guess?¡± she asked while walking toward the desk. The men looked at each other in shock, wondering to themselves what the good news could be. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Make a guess.¡± ¡°Hmm... could it be that you¡¯reing back to lead our team?¡± Ma Jianguo asked. ¡°Spot on. Old Ma, what have you been eating every day? Why have you gotten so smart?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°I eat everything.¡± Gong Le chimed in, ¡°Yeah, yeah, Old Ma eats everything, including grass and poop.¡± Ma Jianguo chided, ¡°You rascal,e here. I¡¯m going to beat you up!¡± Gong Le grimaced at him and said, ¡°Old Ma is getting riled up.¡± The initial silence turned into a lively and boisterous mood. After teasing each other for a while, Ma Jianguo asked, ¡°Team Leader, are you really going to join us again? You¡¯re not lying to us, are you?¡± ¡°What do I gain from lying to you? I¡¯ve already informed the Chief of my decision. However, I won¡¯t be able toe every day and I might only be able toe for a few days a month. He said that it would be alright.¡± Ma Jianguo smacked his own forehead and eximed excitedly, ¡°Did you guys hear that? See, I told you guys something good will happen today. Look, we really received some good news! It doesn¡¯t matter how often you cane, as long as you do!¡± ¡°Is that so? Let¡¯s start working on a new case once you¡¯ve solved this one. I came here just to inform you guys about my return. Alright, I shall not disrupt your brainstorming session any further. You guys continue, I¡¯m leaving now,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°You¡¯ve only been here for such a short while. Are you going to leave already?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to disturb you guys. Work hard. I¡¯ll see you guys again another day.¡± She then stood up and left. During the journey home, she suddenly felt parched. Hence, she decided to stop by a supermarket to buy some water. To her surprise, she ran into Shi Shaochuan and... Bu Xianxian. I heard that Shi Shaochuan and Bu Xianxian had already broken up long ago, how... Why is this world... so strange? ¡°Hey, Bu Xianxian, you¡¯re really something, eh?¡± An Xiaoning quipped while holding a bottle of water. Chapter 1316 - I Only Want You (14)

Chapter 1316: I Only Want You (14)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°What do you mean?¡± Bu Xianxian questioned, staring at her. ¡°Didn¡¯t you two already break up? Why are you together again?¡± Feeling a little tense, Bu Xianxian retorted, ¡°That¡¯s our business, stay out of it. Stop being so nosy and scram.¡± An Xiaoning shrugged her shoulders and said nonchntly, ¡°Oh, good luck.¡± After watching her leave, Bu Xianxian held onto Shi Shaochuan¡¯s arm and said, ¡°She¡¯s so annoying.¡± ¡°Hasn¡¯t she always been very annoying? Just ignore her. Are you done yet?¡± Shi Shaochuan asked calmly. ¡°Yeah, almost.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go, then.¡± Shi Shaochuan proceeded to pay for their items at the supermarket¡¯s counter. They exited to see that An Xiaoning was standing in front of her car and drinking some water while staring at them. ¡°Shi Shaochuan.¡± ¡°What do you want?¡± Shi Shaochuan asked indifferently. ¡°I¡¯d like to give you an honest piece of advice. Would you like to hear it?¡± ¡°Save it.¡± An Xiaoning answered, ¡°Sure, if you say so. However, don¡¯t you notice how you¡¯ve been feeling very ufortabletely?¡± She walked toward the driver¡¯s seat in a bid to leave. Just as she was about to enter, Shi Shaochuan stopped her. ¡°Wait a minute.¡± She rolled down the window and said, ¡°Speak.¡± ¡°Were you able to tell something?¡± Bu Xianxian frantically interjected, ¡°An Xiaoning, quit trying to swindle us. We won¡¯t fall for your tricks.¡± ¡°Bu Xianxian, you¡¯re really something, huh?¡± An Xiaoning leaned back sluggishly and stared at the two of them. She continued, ¡°Shi Shaochuan, I wasn¡¯t going to be kind and tell you what¡¯s going on with your body because you¡¯re an evildoer. However, it just so happens that the person who did it to you is Bu Xianxian, the woman I detest the most. After weighing the pros and cons, I decided that I really don¡¯t want to see her living so leisurely. Shi Shaochuan, there¡¯s someone on your back.¡± ¡°Someone on my back? Who?¡± She smiled and said, ¡°What do you think? Figure it out yourself.¡± She rolled the window up and drove away. Shi Shaochuan stood rooted to the ground before turning to look at Bu Xianxian. ¡°Did she mean that you¡¯re up to something?¡± he questioned. Bu Xianxian eagerly exined, ¡°Shaochuan, don¡¯t believe her nonsense, alright? It¡¯s obviously not me. I¡¯m not that capable, don¡¯t malign me. I just have a feud with her. Didn¡¯t you hear what she said about not wanting me to live a carefree life? That damned An Xiaoning. All she does is spout nonsense and frighten the public. Don¡¯t believe her. She¡¯s just out to make our life difficult.¡± ¡°How did she know that I¡¯m feeling unwell, then?¡± ¡°You look so pale. Anyone can tell that you¡¯re unwell. Shaochuan, you mustn¡¯t believe her words,¡± said Bu Xianxian. Feeling an immense headache, Shi Shaochuan remained quiet and got inside the car straight away while Bu Xianxian got inside the passenger seat. He began driving toward the Shi family mansion. The pair barely spoke to each other throughout the journey home, during which Shi Shaochuan struggled to drive while trying to bear with the difort. As soon as he arrived home, hey down in bed and dozed off. Bu Xianxian sat on the bed, and her lips curled into a sinister smile. She wished she could hammer An Xiaoning to death, at the thought of thetter almost foiling her ns. Fortunately for her, Shi Shaochuan did not seem to have suspected anything. On the other hand, An Xiaoning constantly pondered over the scene that she had witnessed at the supermarket earlier. There was a ghost child riding on Shi Shaochuan¡¯s back, and she knew exactly who the culprit was. I really couldn¡¯t tell that Bu Xianxian would actually resort to ck magic. However, she¡¯s going to face dire consequences if she doesn¡¯t treat the ghost child well enough. Is she really aware about what the rules are? That silly and stupid woman. It¡¯s akin to selling her soul to the ghost child in exchange for its help. It was an equal trade-off. I really wonder what she¡¯s up to. From the way I see it, it just seems like she¡¯s trying to continue sponging off Shi Shaochuan, nothing more than that. Whatever, it has nothing to do with me anyway. Everyone has their own predestined fate. The heavily pregnant Jin Qingyue arrived in the afternoon. Since she was almost due, she had already decorated the nursery. However, she had yet to buy any clothes for the baby and nned to ask An Xiaoning to apany her to go shopping. An Xiaoning agreed because she had some free time to spare. Wu Lianzhi tagged along as well and was mainly in charge of driving and carrying the items. They initially wanted to ask Henry along. However, An Xiaoning decided not to after some consideration, thinking to herself that the ill-tempered Henry would definitely be unwilling to help with carrying the shopping bags. Little did she know, Henry was terribly upset about being left out. Jin Qingyuebed her hair and allowed them to hang by the sides of her face, allowing it to cover her chubbiness. She had also developed some pigments on her face due to her pregnancy. To make matters worse, she could not use any cosmetic products to conceal the blemishes since they would affect her fetus. Hence, herplexion had be rather dull. However, there was no change to her graceful aura. She made her way down the stairs slowly and carefully, fearing that she would fall because she could not see her feet, which were obstructed by her baby bump. Hence, An Xiaoning decided to walk behind her and keep a lookout. Wu Lianzhi drove while the two of them sat together in the backseat. The ride to the shopping mall was smooth and steady. The shopping mall belonged to the Jin Corporation. An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyue had only been there a few times. They alighted from the car, d in caps and surgical masks, for they did not want the media to make a big fuss about Jin Qingyue¡¯s bare face, should the paparazzi snap any photos of them. Furthermore, Jin Qingyue had nned to pay for everything she was to buy and did not want the cashiers to make anypromises just because the mall belonged to her brother. Hence, a simple disguise would save them some time and trouble. The three of them entered through the automatic door and proceeded to the maternity and child-wear department after checking the directions. The sales assistant could not help but take a few more nces at Wu Lianzhi, who was not wearing a mask. He said, ¡°Show us all the best products and clothing for baby boys.¡± ¡°All?¡± the sales assistant asked, dumbfounded. ¡°Yes, all of the best ones. Let us pick some out.¡± The sales assistant frantically called for the manager to help her with carrying all the products. ¡°These are everything we have. Please take a look.¡± ¡°You may leave it here.¡± Wu Lianzhi then said to the two women, ¡°You guys, take your pick.¡± Jin Qingyue picked up the clothes and smiled, and so did An Xiaoning. They could not help but feel like their maternal instincts had been invoked. ¡°I don¡¯t think he can wear everything. Qingyue, let¡¯s just pick out the ones that we like. You don¡¯t have to buy so many sets.¡± ¡°Of course. Infants tend to grow up really quickly and he won¡¯t be able to wear them for long. I¡¯ll just pick out the ones that I like,¡± said Jin Qingyue, who then proceeded to pick out a few outfits of different sizes. Chapter 1317 - I Only Want You (15)

Chapter 1317: I Only Want You (15)

A long whileter, Jin Qingyue finally settled on eight sets of clothes for her baby. However, An Xiaoning found that eight was too few and decided to pick out five more sets. They then went on to buy some baby products such as diapers and milk bottles. They decided that they¡¯d buy some milk form only after the child was born. After selecting all their items, An Xiaoning said to the sales assistant, ¡°You may bring the rest away. We¡¯ll be taking these.¡± Upon hearing her words, the smile on the manager¡¯s face vanished instantly and he scorned, ¡°You people are ridiculous. Why do you want to put on airs when you can¡¯t even afford to buy so many clothes? You even pretended to be wealthy and generous and made us bring out all of the most expensive clothes and items, yet you bought less than half of them.¡± An Xiaoning exined, ¡°We¡¯ve bought more than ten sets of clothing. Those are more than enough. We¡¯ll purchase more if we need them in the future. Besides, we live so close to the mall. It¡¯s not like A City is going to run out of these things.¡± Being a mother herself, the sales assistant said, ¡°Manager, we can¡¯tpel the customers if they don¡¯t wish to buy our items. Besides, they¡¯ve indeed bought more than enough.¡± However, her words did nothing except further aggravate the manager¡¯s anger. He chastised, ¡°Did I hire you to preach to me? Who¡¯s the manager here? You or me?¡± Frightened out of her senses, the sales assistant shivered and murmured, ¡°You, of course.¡± Jin Qingyue gibed, ¡°Seems like you don¡¯t know as much as the sales assistant does, even though you¡¯re the manager. Why don¡¯t you switch positions with her and be the sales assistant instead? Or you could also resign.¡± The manager was further infuriated upon her remark. However, he could not blow his top since they were customers at the end of the day. Hence, he suppressed his anger and said, ¡°The positions are assigned by the human resources department based on the employee¡¯s abilities. Those who are ipetent are only deserving of being sales assistants.¡± Displeased to see how arrogant and snobbish the manager was, Jin Qingyue snapped, ¡°Forget it, we¡¯re not buying these anymore. This is not the only counter here anyway. Sis-inw, let¡¯s go and shop at the other counters.¡± The manager retorted angrily, ¡°You¡¯ll have to buy these before you can leave.¡± Wu Lianzhi glowered at him and said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you just forcing us now?¡± ¡°Since you don¡¯t wish to buy them, why did you ask to view all the products that we have? Were you guys out to y us for fools? We¡¯ve already packed them into the bags,¡± said the manager, who then gestured for the security officers toe. Everyone understood what was going on. At this moment, Jin Qingyue¡¯s mobile phone began to ring. Just as she was about to whip her phone out, the manager immediately snatched it away from her, for fear that she would call the police. ¡°I¡¯ll let you people leave once you pay up.¡± Unable to tolerate it any further, An Xiaoning snapped, ¡°Who gave you the audacity to bully customers like this? Even if you¡¯ve already packed them into the bags, you can always just take them out again. Return the phone to me.¡± An Xiaoning was thinking of letting the matter slide once the manager returns the mobile phone. After all, the mall belonged to the Jin Corporation and she did not want to cause a stir. However, the manager simply refused to budge. Atst, An Xiaoning decided to remove her cap and her mask. Both the manager and sales assistant were dumbfounded the moment they saw her face. She walked toward the manager and snatched the phone back from him. ¡°You¡¯ve got the guts, huh?¡± she added. The manager turned as pale as a sheet and lost all the haughtiness and airs he had put on earlier. He immediately apologized cowardly. ¡°Ms... Ms. An, I¡¯m sorry, I was too blind and failed to recognize you. I¡¯m really sorry, please ept my apology.¡± ¡°Save it. After all, your apology is not sincere anyway. It doesn¡¯t make a difference at all. Get your supervisor here to see me.¡± Sensing that the situation had turned awry, the manager stood rooted to the ground. An Xiaoning then said to the sales assistant, ¡°You, go call your supervisor toe here.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± A few minutester, the supervisor scurried toward them with a few other staff members and the sales assistant. The supervisor had already heard about the details of the situation from the sales assistant along the way. The supervisor said, ¡°Young Madam, he¡¯s just the ck sheep of the herd. All the other employees of this mall will never dare to treat customers that way. It¡¯s my fault for failing to discipline him. Young Madam, rest assured, I¡¯ll take note and improve on our customer service. I¡¯ll sack this manager immediately too.¡± ¡°Good. I don¡¯t want this to happen again from now on, hear me?¡± ¡°Yes, don¡¯t worry, Young Madam. It won¡¯t happen again.¡± The supervisor then ordered the sales assistant, ¡°Hurry and bring the items that Young Madam had chosen.¡± ¡°Qingyue, do you still want these items?¡± An Xiaoning asked. Upon hearing her words, the supervisor finally realized that the expectant mother before him was Jin Qingyan¡¯s sister. He wished he could jump into a hole and die. Jin Qingyue said, ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll just take them. I can¡¯t be bothered to look at the other counters. Get me the bill. I¡¯m paying by card.¡± During the journey to the mall, Jin Qingyue had already made it known clearly that she was going to pay for the items herself and did not want An Xiaoning to pay for her. Hence, An Xiaoning did not stop her from paying with her card. When their car made a turn on the way home, a luxury car sped from behind them and zoomed forward. The driver was a man who was wearing a pair of shades. The three of them were a little shocked by how fast the car was traveling. Most importantly, the car looked a lot like Jin Qingyan¡¯s Mercedes-Benz. However, An Xiaoning did not manage to take a closer look because of how fast it had zoomed past them. Staring at the car and gripping the steering wheel with trembling hands, Wu Lianzhi said, ¡°That driver must be out of his mind. He¡¯s driving so quickly. Is he tired of living?¡± Wu Lianzhi continued driving forward to see that the car had stopped in its tracks. ¡°Why did he stop?¡± Wu Lianzhi asked. An Xiaoning squinted to take a look at the license te number at the bottom of the car, only to receive a great shock. She then said to Jin Qingyue, ¡°That¡¯s your brother¡¯s sports car.¡± ¡°Huh? Really? Why did Brother drive at such a fast speed?¡± Jin Qingyue asked. ¡°God knows.¡± Just as they were about to overtake the Mercedes-Benz, Henry zoomed forward again. ¡°Lianzhi, follow him.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Wu Lianzhi squinted and stared at the speeding car. He stepped on the elerator and surged forward steadily. They continued to tail him all the way to the restaurant. An Xiaoning looked in front to see that Henry had alighted with Xiao Bai and Xiao Huang. She alighted from the car and instructed Donggong Lianzhi to bring Jin Qingyue back in. After all, she was still pregnant. She then strode quickly toward the restaurant. Henry was sitting at a dining table beside the window whereas the bodyguards were sitting at another table. An Xiaoning took a seat opposite Henry and questioned, ¡°What was wrong with you just now? Why did you drive at such a fast speed? Are you tired of living?¡± Henry rolled his eyes at her and asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t yourpanionse in?¡± ¡°They went home.¡± He was just asking her that question on purpose. Chapter 1318 - I Only Want You (16)

Chapter 1318: I Only Want You (16)

¡°Why didn¡¯t you go back with them?¡± An Xiaoning hollered, ¡°Because I saw you entering this restaurant. Why can¡¯t you eat at home? Why must youe here for a meal!?!¡± ¡°Am I not allowed toe out for a meal asionally?¡± ¡°Of course you are, but the point is, it¡¯s only ten o¡¯clock right now. Are you hungry already?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t control when my hunger strikes.¡± An Xiaoning asked, ¡°What would you like to eat? ce your order.¡± ¡°My date is not here yet. I¡¯ll orderter.¡± ¡°You asked someone out for a meal? Who?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Does it concern you?¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning could sense that he was boiling with fury. How did I even provoke him in any way? What a lunatic. The two of them fell silent. An Xiaoning rested her chin on her hands and kept her eyes fixed onto him. Feeling extremely ufortable about the way that she was staring at him, he quickly looked out of the window. Ten minutester, Li Baozhen arrived. Upon the sight of her, An Xiaoning¡¯s heart sank. ¡°You¡¯re here, Ms. Li. Take a seat.¡± Li Baozhen did not expect that An Xiaoning would be present too. She smiled and said, ¡°Thank you. I was rather shocked to receive a call from Brother Qingyan all of a sudden. I didn¡¯t expect him to ask me out for a meal. It so happens that I have the day off today.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. Qingyan just wanted to ask you out for a meal to ask about how you¡¯ve been doing because he had been too busy to see youtely. After all, you¡¯re his benefactor and he¡¯ll always remember your kindness.¡± ¡°I¡¯m doing fine. I¡¯ve been going to work and having my meals regrly. I stay in my room after work and go out to take a breather asionally.¡± Henry handed her the menu and said, ¡°Order whatever you¡¯d like to eat.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Li Baozhen selected a few dishes before handing the menu to An Xiaoning. However, An Xiaoning did not order anything because she wasn¡¯t hungry. An awkward silence filled the air as neither of them knew what to talk about. At this moment, An Xiaoning said to Henry out of the blue, ¡°I want a second baby.¡± ¡°!!!¡± The four other people immediately stared at her. Xiao Bai and Xiao Huang chuckled while Li Baozhen remained silent, feeling extremely awkward. Henry had no idea how to answer her. If they were alone, he would have brushed her off by saying, ¡°Go have a baby on your own.¡± However, there were people around. Thus, he had no choice but to say, ¡°I happen to have that in mind too. Let¡¯s talk about it properly when we get home.¡± They had unknowingly rubbed salt into the wounds of the three singletons. An Xiaoning understood that he did not know about the fact that it was near-impossible for her to conceive again, for he did not experience the things that she and Jin Qingyan had been through and, thus, did not have any recollection of them. She gently extended her leg toward him and hooked it around his. Henry froze in shock and looked at her menacingly. He knew that it was definitely not Li Baozhen since she was sitting right beside him. After the dishes were served, An Xiaoning took a few bites and stopped eating. When she grabbed a serviette to wipe her mouth, she dropped it onto the ground by ident. She then bent forward to pick it up and groped Henry¡¯s leg at the same time. Henry was filled with anger. How dare she flirt with me when we¡¯re in public? She even winked at him after picking up the serviette. Yet, he still had to remain seated calmly and act as if nothing had happened at all. He did not feel great at all throughout the rest of the meal. When they were done eating, he said to her, ¡°Get inside the car with Xiao Bai and Xiao Huang. I¡¯d like to have a few words with Baozhen in private.¡± Not wanting to embarrass him, An Xiaoning agreed, ¡°Sure.¡± The three of them soon left the restaurant. After watching them get inside the car, he turned around and said to Li Baozhen, ¡°Stay in the office and perform your duties well. Take the time to visit your parents whenever you¡¯re free. If you need help with work, seek assistance from Xiaoning or Chief Fan. Got it?¡± ¡°Brother Qingyan, you already said that to me before I started working at the office. Are you going on a business trip again?¡± Henry answered, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m always away on business trips and won¡¯t be in A City much.¡± Staring at him, Li Baozhen asked, ¡°Brother Qingyan, why do I have a feeling that you¡¯re going to go to a faraway ce and never return?¡± He said, ¡°Let¡¯s go. Xiaoning and the rest are waiting for us. I¡¯ll send you back to the office.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± After dropping Li Baozhen off at the office, they drove back to Wei Ni Estate... The silence continued all the way until he parked the car inside the garage. Xiao Huang and Xiao Bai alighted, followed by the two of them. They only spoke to each other when they returned upstairs. An Xiaoning asked, ¡°What did you say to her when we were in the car?¡± ¡°Some shameless things that shouldn¡¯t be heard by others.¡± ¡°...¡± Finding him to be acting strangely, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± He lifted the duvet andy down before closing his eyes, not wishing to speak to her at all. An Xiaoning inched forward, kicked her shoes off, and knelt on the bed to look at him. ¡°Henry, you promised to give me a second child when we were at the restaurant today.¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t you tell that I was just trying not to embarrass you?¡± Gazing at him, An Xiaoning said, ¡°You¡¯ve changed. You¡¯re no longer that Henry who detests me. You didn¡¯t even care about giving me face in the past.¡± He squinted at her and said, ¡°An Xiaoning, I want you to promise me something.¡± ¡°Will you make a baby with me if I agree?¡± ¡°...¡± She continued, ¡°Fine, tell me what it¡¯s about first.¡± ¡°From now on, I hope he¡¯ll still greet Baozhen like I do whenever I¡¯m not around. I want him to visit Baozhen¡¯s parents too, even if it¡¯s just once a year.¡± ¡°What if he doesn¡¯t?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°He will. He does whatever you tell him to.¡± An Xiaoning was on the verge of losing her mind. Staring at his alluring and captivating gaze, she wished she could devour him. ¡°I know you don¡¯t want to get intimate with me at all, but strangely, I really want to get intimate with you right now. I¡¯ll promise you if you let me kiss you just once.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Forget it if you don¡¯t want to let me kiss you.¡± Just as she was about to return to her usual spot on her bed, he caught her by surprise with his answer. ¡°Just a peck,¡± he said. Hence, she straddled him and lowered her head to nt a deep kiss onto his lips. It was toote for Henry to back out now. How is this just a peck? She¡¯s getting my hormones all worked up. When she finally let go of him, Henry stared at her and felt as if he could no longer move. Chapter 1319 - I Only Want You (17)

Chapter 1319: I Only Want You (17)

An Xiaoning stared at him in satisfaction and said coquettishly, ¡°Oppa, saranghae (I love you).¡± Henry¡¯s heart skipped a beat; he was at aplete loss for words. An Xiaoningy down beside him and draped her arms around his neck. ¡°I went to shop for some baby products together with Lianzhi and Qingyue today. The moment I saw those products, I instantly felt an urge to give birth to another child. We¡¯ll have three children at home then. How wonderful.¡± He moved his lips slightly, unable to speak his mind. After a long while, he was still remaining silent. Thinking that he must have fallen asleep, she looked up at him, only to discover that his eyes were wide open and that he seemed to be deep in thought. ¡°Why do I have a feeling that you¡¯re troubled?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°Henry, let¡¯s sleep together.¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s sleep.¡± She repeated her words and emphasized the word ¡°sleep.¡± She added, ¡°Okay?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± An Xiaoning was dumbfounded. She sat up straight and looked at him closely. ¡°Qingyan?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Henry.¡± ¡°!!!¡± An Xiaoning inched closer toward him and said, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? If you¡¯re upset about something, tell me about it. Don¡¯t bottle your feelings up.¡± ¡°An Xiaoning.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°If I never ever vanish, will you detest me to the core?¡± ¡°I... refuse to answer your question,¡± she answered. He nodded, seemingly having understood something. ¡°Ah! What are you doing!?!¡± she yelled. ¡°Henry, you¡¯re out of your mind. What¡¯s wrong with you? Let go, I told you to let go. You¡¯re nuts, let go!¡± ¡°...¡± Due to the superb soundproofing effects, no one could hear the ruckus going on inside the room. It was the afternoon. Auntie Chen knocked on the door and said, ¡°Young Madam, Young Sir, it¡¯s time for lunch. It¡¯s already three o¡¯clock.¡± An Xiaoning answered feebly, ¡°Got it, Auntie Chen, we¡¯ll go downstairs now.¡± Upon hearing her reply, Auntie Chen hurriedly zoomed downstairs to make the preparations. An Xiaoning opened her eyes and stared nkly into space before shifting her gaze onto the man beside her. It had never crossed her mind that Henry would take the initiative to get intimate with her. In fact, he was incredibly passionate and hysterical. Usually, he wouldn¡¯t even let hery a finger on him, let alone get intimate. She was incredibly shocked. An Xiaoning sat up straight to see that there was a piece of paper on the headboard. There was a pen beside it too. Staring at the words on the paper, she picked it up. He had written a message. It read: ¡°I¡¯ve lost the bet that we made with each other. I¡¯ll keep my word and disappear on my own. Today... is the happiest day of my life. You were the one who gave me that joy, though you used to be the person I detested the most. Thank you. ¡ªHenry¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s hands trembled after reading his message. He hadpletely taken her aback today. She had no idea when he started falling in love with her. She initially yearned for him to vanish. However, she could not help but feel a little upset about his sudden farewell. She spaced out for a long while before lying down again to hug Jin Qingyan. He hugged her back and murmured, ¡°Xiaoning...¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He opened his eyes to look at her before looking at himself. He soon realized what happened. They were both stark naked. A sudden memory popped up in his head. Soon, his mind was flooded with various memories that he never once had, causing him to spring up all of a sudden. ¡°Qingyan, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Jin Qingyan hugged her and said, ¡°Xiaoning.¡± ¡°Yes? What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Why do I suddenly possess Henry¡¯s recollections?¡± An Xiaoning finally figured out what was going on. Their memories were now connected, at the expense of Henry¡¯s existence. ¡°He kept his promise and vanished on his own. Actually, you¡¯ve just walked out of your traumatic past and let go of everything that you¡¯re upset about deep down. You¡¯re still you, regardless of whether you¡¯re Henry or Jin Qingyan. You two are the same person in the first ce. However, your condition is a breakthrough. For now, there is no official cure for dissociative identity disorder, and yet you¡¯ve now recovered, haven¡¯t you? Incredible.¡± ¡°He fell in love with you? That¡¯s way sooner than I had expected. I thought that you guys would have to interact with each other more for him to fall in love with you,¡± said Jin Qingyan, who found it to be rather incredible although he had already expected it. ¡°I find it a little too sudden as well. I thought about it in detail and I reckon that he probably only realized today that he had developed feelings for me. He was not acting like his usual self today, and he even got intimate with me out of the blue. Hmph.¡± Jin Qingyan raised his brows and said, ¡°So...¡± ¡°So what? I¡¯m getting up now. It¡¯s already three in the afternoon. I¡¯m going to have my lunch. Since you now possess his memories, I no longer have to exin some things to you, especially regarding Li Baozhen. Henry wants you to visit her parents and treat her well. I¡¯m in support of that. After all, they¡¯re your saviors and we ought to repay their kindness. What do you think?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a must. But say it once more.¡± ¡°Say what?¡± ¡°Oppa, saranghae.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning conceded, ¡°Oppa, saranghae. Brother, I love you.¡± Beaming with joy, he pulled her into his embrace. ¡ª¡ª It was Jin Qingyan¡¯s birthday on the 16th of October, ording to the Lunar calendar. The best gift to him would be the breaking of the curse. They were not at all worried that Wu Haigang would deceive them. After all, Wu Haigang knew clearly how important the lives of his descendants were to him. At this point, he did not have an option. He broke their curse on the 16th of October, the very same day that he died. The witchcraft of the Wu family would now cease to exist. The price that the Donggong family had to pay for attempting to kill An Xiaoning was the death of Wu Haigang. Nothing else mattered anymore. Wu Haigang was executed in secret after the curse was broken. An Xiaoning felt as if the rock on her chest had finally been lifted. It was the most rxed she had ever been. Wu Lianzhi¡¯s application for a household register had been approved. ¡°Since you¡¯re now allowed to enjoy permanent residence, I¡¯ve arranged a job for you. You may be a counselor at a university. Although staff-student rtionships are prohibited, university campuses are densely popted with girls. Once you¡¯ve found a suitable partner, you may switch to another job. What do you think?¡± said An Xiaoning. Chapter 1320 - I Only Want You (18)

Chapter 1320: I Only Want You (18)

¡°I like that idea, but I¡¯m worried about something.¡± ¡°What are you worried about?¡± ¡°That the Donggong family will continue to exact revenge on me.¡± ¡°Do you really think they would dare to do that? How about I tell themter that you¡¯re my close friend and that I¡¯ll definitely pursue the matter if they were to try and harm you again?¡± ¡°How mighty of you, Xiaoning.¡± An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s what I ought to do. Thanks to you, the curse that had been ced on me is now broken. I¡¯ll definitely continue to protect you, so go ahead and pursue the peaceful life that you want. Find a girl you fancy and settle down with her.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll do my best,¡± said Wu Lianzhi. .... All the servants were busy preparing for the birthday banquet. Although Jin Qingyan had already received the best present ever, he still wanted to go on with the celebration. He invited his closest friends over for a small gathering in celebration of his birthday. It was five o¡¯clock in the afternoon. As soon as An Xiaoning came out of the shower, he picked her up and carried her to the bed. ¡°Sing me the birthday song,¡± he demanded. ¡°I¡¯ll sing it for you when the banquet beginster.¡± ¡°I want to hear it from you first.¡± An Xiaoning rolled her eyes and said, ¡°You¡¯re really such a child. Fine, fine, you call the shots since it¡¯s your birthday today. I¡¯ll just sing it for you, Oppa.¡± To An Xiaoning¡¯s amusement, he began pping along. ¡°Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you...¡± ¡°You sound great.¡± As soon as he praised her, he pulled her down and began tickling her while kissing her, causing An Xiaoning to burst into incessantughter and roll around on the bed. She would have continuedughing if someone hadn¡¯t knocked on the door. Fan Shixin had brought them the clothing that they were going to wear for the banquet. It consisted of a pair of heels and clothes that were tailored to her measurements. An Xiaoning fell in love with the outfit the moment she saw it. It was a white gown and a pair of diamond-encrusted stilettos. It was especially made to cater to her needs, because she detested wearing stilettos. Although the heels were rather high, it felt extremelyfortable for her feet. When they arrived downstairs after getting dressed, they were greeted with the sight of all their friends. Ling Ciye and Jin Qingyue were sitting on the couch. Long Tianze was initially sitting beside Ling Ciye. However, he decided that lying down would be morefortable. Hence, he eased himself onto Ling Ciye¡¯sp. If they weren¡¯t the best of friends, Ling Ciye would have kicked him away long ago. Clucking his tongue against the roof of his tongue, Long Tianze remarked, ¡°Sis-inw, you¡¯re so beautiful. Nice outfit.¡± ¡°Yeah, Sis-inw, you look great. Such a beauty,¡± Jin Qingyue praised. An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°Money does the trick. Why isn¡¯t Yangyang here yet?¡± ¡°She went to pick the kids up. We can¡¯t leave them out during such asions.¡± All the guests were present once the children arrived. There were no outsiders since it was a small celebration anyway. Hence, the birthday banquet officially began at six o¡¯clock. Fan Shixin was the emcee for the evening. After he made the opening speech, it was time for Jin Qingyan to make his wish and cut the cake. Jin Qingyan walked toward the cake, and they began singing the birthday song while he held his hands together and closed his eyes. Soon, he blew out the candles on the cake. Everyone began apuding. Jin Qingyan said, ¡°I just made a wish. Do you guys want to know what it is?¡± All eyes were on him. They held their breaths and waited to hear his revtion. ¡°My wish is...¡± He paused and stared at An Xiaoning affectionately beforepleting the rest of his sentence. ¡°Is to marry Xiaoning and make her my wife again as soon as possible.¡± ¡°Hooray!¡± Long Tianze cheered while pping his hands excitedly. Everyone followed suit. An Xiaoning was the only one who remained silent. She looked at Jin Qingyan with a smile on her face. During the cake-cutting ceremony, An Xiaoning cut the cake together with him and everyone began singing and dancing merrily. The children were the happiest of them all. They even sneaked some alcohol into the room and gathered together to have some drinks. In the end, they all got tipsy and dozed off. ¡ª¡ª It had never crossed An Xiaoning¡¯s mind that Wang Jinsheng would show up at their doorstep. An Xiaoning agreed to let him in reluctantly. ¡°Ms. An...¡± ¡°If you¡¯re here today with the purpose of begging me to put in a good word for you, you may save your breath. There¡¯s no point.¡± ¡°Ms. An, when... did you find out?¡± asked Wang Jinsheng, who did not expect to hear that she had already learned about it. Smiling, An Xiaoning said, ¡°It was on the news this morning. However, I found out about it way beforehand. Weren¡¯t you the one who informed He Yi that I was the one who put a bomb in that tomb? Weren¡¯t you the one who was in close contact with He Yi? You¡¯re an archeologist, and yet you¡¯re still so closely acquainted with tomb raiders. I really wonder what you¡¯re thinking. On top of that... you evenmitted all those crimes. I reckon the police must be on their way to arrest you now.¡± Wang Jinsheng had already broken out into a cold sweat. He pleaded, ¡°Ms. An, please help me, I¡¯m begging you. I promise I won¡¯t do it again.¡± ¡°Captain Wang, did you not hear me clearly? You ought to bear the consequences for your own mistakes.¡± Fan Shixin said, ¡°Young Madam, the criminal police are here to arrest Captain Wang.¡± ¡°He¡¯s here.¡± Fan Shixin gestured for the policemen to enter. They entered and arrested Wang Jinsheng. An Xiaoning sighed and said, ¡°Shixin, I really have no idea what this Captain Wang was thinking.¡± ¡°Beats me. I reckon he must havee to try his luck because he doesn¡¯t know that you had already found out long ago.¡± ¡°Maybe. No one can help him if he wants to shoot himself in the foot.¡± .... After lunch, An Xiaoning received a call from Pan Zhenghui, who asked her to make a trip down to the police station for a discussion. An Xiaoning agreed. Pan Zhenghui wanted to talk to her about the matter regarding Wang Jinsheng and He Yi, as well as the next case he would be handing over to her. Shaking his head, Pan Zhenghui said, ¡°It¡¯s such a shame. He had been an archeologist for so many years, and he was even the captain of the archeological team. How could hemit those mistakes? Not only did he lose his job, he even has to be put behind bars. As for He Yi, I found out that he¡¯s a real piece of work. The Y Nation police are trying to hunt him down right now and they¡¯re asking for our assistance.¡± Chapter 1321 - I Only Want You (19)

Chapter 1321: I Only Want You (19)

An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Have you nabbed him yet?¡± ¡°Of course. I sent my men to keep close tabs on him ever since you told me to keep him under surveince. We managed to arrest him effortlessly and are now handing him over to the police overseas. He¡¯smitted far more serious crimes than Wang Jinsheng did.¡± ¡°How long of a jail term do you think he¡¯d be sentenced to?¡± ¡°More than ten years, I reckon. He¡¯s in for a tough time.¡± An Xiaoning remained silent. After all, one had to be responsible for their own actions. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about the case.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Pan Zhenghui handed her a few case files and said, ¡°There are two famous unresolved cases here. Take a look and see which one you¡¯d like to handle first. They¡¯ve been left unresolved for years. However, there¡¯s one that¡¯s tough to handle even though we have sufficient evidence. You may take both files with you and discuss them with the members of your team.¡± An Xiaoning took it from him and said, ¡°Okay, I know what to do.¡± When she exited the office, she opened the files and began perusing the content. The pieces of paper had already turned yellow, and she could tell that the case dated back to a long time ago. An Xiaoning pushed the door open and entered the Special Investigation Unit office. Her team members immediately turned to look at her. Rubbing his hands together, Ma Jianguo chuckled and said, ¡°Xiaoning, you¡¯re finally here. We were waiting for you. We¡¯ve just finished solving the case that we had been working on. Bureau Chief told us to start working on the new case with you.¡± An Xiaoning sat down and said solemnly, ¡°I¡¯ve just received the case files for the two unresolved cases. I skimmed through the details and found that one is a case that took ce 22 years ago while the other one took ce 14 years ago. They¡¯re famous cases. The culprits don¡¯t necessarily have to be smart or highly intelligent. The reason they could get away is probably because there were no surveince cameras or fingerprint-collecting systems back then. It¡¯s indeed difficult to solve cases in the past. You guys look through these cases first. I¡¯ll read them againter.¡± She handed them the documents in her hand and allowed them to look through the content. Ten minutester, they handed the file back to her. ¡°We¡¯re done reading them. Which one would you like to work on first?¡± Ma Jianguo suggested, ¡°I think we should start working on the case about the widow¡¯s vige. This is the older one of the two cases. Although there are discussions about it online, it¡¯s much tougher to crack thispared to the other one. At the very least, though, there is sufficient evidence for the other case. I think we should begin with the hardest one first.¡± ¡°I agree with Old Ma. Team Leader, I¡¯ve actually already read through the discussions of the case online. However, I have a feeling that the culprit of that case is still living well today. This is also why the victim has died an unavenged death. I think it¡¯d be very difficult to get to the bottom of this case, so I do agree that we should work on this first,¡± Gong Le chimed in. An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°Let¡¯s start with this one, then. However, do you guys really think that the other case is easy to solve? If that were the case, why do you think it¡¯s still unresolved even though there is sufficient evidence?¡± Ma Jianguo said softly, ¡°It¡¯s all because of the culprit¡¯s powerful family who has his back. But of course, his status pales inparison with yours, Xiaoning. It¡¯s true that in the wider world, there¡¯ll always be someone better. I bet that that culprit doesn¡¯t know that you¡¯re going to handle this case yourself. He¡¯d definitely be terrified if he were to find out.¡± ¡°You guys better keep your lips sealed. We haven¡¯t begun working on the second case yet. You¡¯d better not spout any nonsense.Otherwise, you are to bear the consequences yourself.¡± ¡°Ah, Xiaoning, rest assured, we¡¯re policemen. You must have faith in your subordinates. Alright?¡± An Xiaoning expressed assent and said, ¡°I¡¯ll take the second case file with me first. We¡¯ll discuss it again at ater time. For now, let¡¯s focus all our attention on the first case. I¡¯d like to take a different approach this time. We¡¯ll start investigating slowly. I reckon this matter has be taboo within the vige. Besides, I also want to know if the ratio of males to females was normal in the vige prior to the case. Was it?¡± Ma Jianguo exined, ¡°Yes. After this case took ce, the men in the vige began dying one after another. Most of the men then began cooping themselves up at home. There were quite a few who moved away too. The ones remaining in the vige now are all financially unstable. At first, everyone thought that it was a problem with the water supply. However, they found outter that that wasn¡¯t the case because the female vigers have drunk the water too. Not long after, the vige was renamed as the Widows¡¯ Vige. Two decades ago, everyone began spreading a rumor about there being a sinister presence in the vige and an evil spirit exacting its revenge on the vigers.¡± ¡°Seems like I must go there myself if I want to find out about the Widows¡¯ Vige. I was nning to do so anyway.¡± Zu Dong asked, ¡°Team Leader, do we go with you or do you have other ns?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll definitely arouse suspicion if so many of us go together. I¡¯ll assign tasks to you guys. Zu Dong shall go with me while Gong Le and Ding Liang shall reconnoiter the Widows¡¯ Vige. Ma Jianguo, you¡¯re the oldest so you shall stay in the police station to wait for further orders.¡± ¡°Xiaoning, you¡¯re discriminating against me because of my age. I want to follow the two of them. I¡¯m an experienced police officer. I definitely know more than they do,¡± Ma Jianguo protested. ¡°Alright, we shall do just that, then. I¡¯ll take a look at the case in detail. The three of you, go and reconnoiter. Zu Dong shall follow me back to Wei Ni Estate.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± An Xiaoning drove back to Wei Ni Estate with Zu Dong and discovered that Jin Qingyan was still home. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you go to the office?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll goter. Did you really take on the case?¡± Jin Qingyan asked upon the sight of Zu Dong. ¡°Yes, I did. Zu Dong and I will be heading to the Widows¡¯ Vige this afternoon. I won¡¯t being back for a while.¡± Jin Qingyan hated hearing about such ns. The fact that she was staying out meant that he would have to sleep alone at night and that he wouldn¡¯t be able to see her for a period of time. ¡°Are you nning to stay there, then?¡± ¡°Yes, of course.¡± After some thought, An Xiaoning added, ¡°Zu Dong and I will be pretending to be a couple and rent a house there.¡± She decided to let him know in advance, lest he gets jealous for no reason. ¡°...¡± Jin Qingyan objected, ¡°Let Shixin go with you.¡± Chapter 1322 - I Only Want You (20)

Chapter 1322: I Only Want You (20)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Why? Shixin is your able assistant. I¡¯m going to go solve a case. I should be going together with my colleague, shouldn¡¯t I? Didn¡¯t I pretend to be a couple with Shixin previously too? Don¡¯t be too petty,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°I¡¯m not being petty. Do I seem like such a petty person? I just don¡¯t feel safe about you being alone. That¡¯s why I want Shixin to tag along.¡± What a bunch of excuses. He clearly doesn¡¯t want me to pose as someone else¡¯s wife, that¡¯s why... ¡°Have you ever spared a thought for the feelings of Shixin¡¯s girlfriend?¡± An Xiaoning said before gesturing for Zu Dong to go outside. Feeling a little awkward, Zu Dong immediately exited. ¡°You either bring him with you or not go at all. Take your pick.¡± ¡°Jin Qingyan.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t hear you.¡± ¡°Brother.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not going to work on me.¡± An Xiaoning walked toward him and sat down beside him. ¡°How old are you? You¡¯re already 34 years old. You¡¯re not a child anymore. I¡¯m just going to handle some work-rted matters with my colleague. Must you really do this?¡± ¡°I just want you to go with my subordinate. I would have gone with you if I could. However, I have to run thepany. I¡¯ll feel much more at ease if Shixin is the one ying your husband instead. After all, he¡¯s already done that before and has the experience.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Did you hear me?¡± An Xiaoning red at him and said, ¡°Fine, let Shixin tag along, then. He¡¯s the only person you trust anyway. Are you happy now?¡± ¡°Yes, I am.¡± He then made a call to Fan Shixin that ended quickly. Shortly after, Fan Shixin arrived. ¡°Young Sir,¡± Fan Shixin greeted. ¡°Apany your Young Madam on a vacation to the countryside.¡± Fan Shixin was dumbfounded. Shouldn¡¯t Young Sir be the one to go with her instead since it¡¯s a vacation? Why am I going instead? ¡°Young Sir, a vacation to the countryside?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a reward for the hard work that you had been putting in while helping out at thepanytely.¡± ¡°Why do I feel like there¡¯s a hidden plot behind this?¡± An Xiaoning interjected, ¡°Don¡¯t listen to his nonsense. It¡¯s not a vacation. I¡¯m going to the countryside to work on a case. I was supposed to pretend to be a couple with my colleague from the police station...¡± Before she could even finish, Jin Qingyan covered her mouth forcefully. Having understood what she meant, Fan Shixin answered, ¡°You¡¯re referring to that police officer at the door, right? Young Sir doesn¡¯t want you to pose as his wife so he decided to summon me. To be exact, Young Sir doesn¡¯t like the idea of you pretending to be someone else¡¯s wife, especially if it¡¯s someone whom he doesn¡¯t trust. He¡¯s just a jealous and petty man who can¡¯t tolerate it even though he knows nothing will happen.¡± An Xiaoning moved Jin Qingyan¡¯s hand away from her mouth and said, ¡°Yes, exactly! Did you hear that? Shixin made such an urate analysis. Jin Qingyan, you¡¯re hopeless.¡± ¡°So be it. I just enjoy being like this. Don¡¯t go if you¡¯re not happy with my decision.¡± An Xiaoning poked him on his forehead with her index finger and conceded, ¡°Fine, fine, you call the shots. I¡¯ll go with Shixin instead.¡± Due to the sudden change in ns, Zu Dong had no choice but to meet up with Ma Jianguo and the rest. She and Fan Shixin proceeded to pack their belongings and ced their luggage inside the car. They set off from the city at half past one and arrived at the vige four hourster. There were gray clouds in the dark sky, and it seemed to be on the verge of pouring. An Xiaoning instructed Fan Shixin to park the car in a car park, after which she put on her mask and they proceeded to head to their next destination in a rickshaw. The male rickshaw driver was astonished to hear where they wanted to go. ¡°Are you two going there to visit your parents?¡± he asked. ¡°No, we¡¯re going to visit some rtives.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t loiter there for too long. That vige is creepy and haunted. That vige only has women left now. There are only a few men left. Hence, men rarely visit that vige. You two should leave as soon as possible. It¡¯s getting dark too.¡± An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Sir, is it really that creepy? I¡¯m a little intimidated now.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s really that creepy. The male vigers all met with a mishap one after another. Most of them are dead now. Everyone around here knows about this. Your ent sounds foreign. You haven¡¯t been here before, have you?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s our first time here,¡± An Xiaoning answered. ¡°No wonder. Bear my words in mind, you won¡¯t go wrong.¡± ¡°Alright, thank you.¡± Eight minutester, they arrived at the Widows¡¯ Vige. The rickshaw driver decided not to send them in, for fear that he would meet with a mishap. ¡°There, it¡¯s right in front.¡± After paying the fare, An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin began walking further inside. ¡°Shixin, do you remember when we went to V Nation with Xiao Bai? We pretended to be a couple then. We¡¯ll do the same from now on. My name is now Mu Ning.¡± ¡°Alright, I know. Rest assured, you can trust my acting chops.¡± An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°Yes, they¡¯re great. Qingyan is just so paranoid sometimes.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all because he¡¯s too worried and concerned about you.¡± ¡°There are people at the entrance, hurry and go ask around.¡± The two of them strode forward quickly. An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°Hello, may I ask if there are any houses here avable for rent? My husband and I are peddlers in the town, but the houses there are too expensive. This vige is very near the town, so we¡¯d like to rent a ce here. We¡¯ve asked around in the other viges, but there are no avable spaces.¡± A middle-aged woman stood up enthusiastically and said, ¡°There are. I have two rooms in my house, but...¡± She hesitated and continued, ¡°I can rent the rooms to you if you don¡¯t mind the bad reputation our vige has.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, my husband is nning to sleep in the shop most of the time anyway. I¡¯ll be staying here more often. We just need a ce to cook.¡± The middle-aged woman immediately said, ¡°That¡¯s great, I¡¯ll rent it to you, then.¡± Upon hearing her words, An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°Sure, Sister, please bring us to view the house. We¡¯ll move in if everything¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Sure,e with me.¡± The two of them followed the middle-aged woman into the house and stood in front of a metal door. She then whipped out her keys to open the door. ¡°Myst name is ¡®Wang¡¯ and my children are at school while my husband is out of town for work. He hasn¡¯t returned in years. I¡¯m the only one left at home and there¡¯s no one for me to talk to at all. My daughter used to stay in the room that I¡¯m renting to you. It¡¯s very neat and sanitary. She onlyes home during her summer break from school.¡± ¡°Sister Wang, is the vige densely popted?¡± Chapter 1323 - I Only Want You (21)

Chapter 1323: I Only Want You (21)

¡°There were lots of people in the vige before the incidents happened. After the men in the vige started dying one after another, there was barely anyone left in the vige.¡± Madam Wang then led the two of them to the room. ¡°The room isn¡¯t exactly spacious, but it¡¯s very clean,¡± she said. An Xiaoning walked inside and scanned her surroundings to see that it was exactly like what Madam Wang had described. However, she found that the conditions were rather pleasant given that they were in a vige. She immediately agreed to rent the room and paid Madam Wang on the spot. Madam Wang nodded and said, ¡°You¡¯re so decisive.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to impose on you, then, Sister Wang. My husband and I will go to the town to buy some food and necessities now.¡± ¡°Hurry and go while it¡¯s still early. But, Sister, yourplexion is really good. You¡¯re so beautiful too, a perfect match for your handsome husband.¡± ¡°We used to work in the city, so it was important for us to put emphasis on our appearance. However, we decided to move back to the vige to do some business in the town so that we could be closer to our parents who are old in their years.¡± ¡°You two are such filial children. Alright, hurry along. The humans on the town were already scarce when you arrived, right?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± An Xiaoning answered. ¡°It¡¯s really crowded in the day, though. The fair happens once a month. However, things are going to be cheaper since there are fewer people. You guys hurry and go.¡± An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin proceeded to buy lots of items at the fair on the town. However, they did not spend much money since the items were all sold at a cheap price. There was barely any evidence left in the Widows¡¯ Vige, especially since more than two decades had already passed. It was a tough case to solve, and she had no idea how much longer she had to stay there for. If luck was on her side, she would be able to find some clues and solve the case sooner. If not, she would have to stay even longer. Although An Xiaoning told Madam Wang that Fan Shixin would be staying in the town most of the time, it was not actually the case. After all, if Madam Wang were to find out that Fan Shixin had stayed over, they would simply have to brush her off with an excuse. Besides, Fan Shixin was not afraid of the sinister presences that might be lurking around in the vige with An Xiaoning around to protect him. However, there was only one bed in the room. Thus, they decided to share it and have one nket to themselves each. An Xiaoning had bought the mattresses and nkets from Madam Wang. They were all new and unused. After fixing themselves a simple meal, An Xiaoning decided to have a chat with the women of the vige in the afternoon and get to know them better. At the same time, she would also go out to take a tour around the vige while Fan Shixin stayed in. An Xiaoning headed to the vige entrance and began chatting with the middle-aged women. ¡°What business do you and your husband run in the town?¡± ¡°We set up a restaurant, but it hasn¡¯t officially opened for business yet.¡± Madam Wang asked, ¡°That¡¯s great. Do you guys have children?¡± An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°No, we just got married and we don¡¯t n to have children just yet.¡± ¡°You must give birth early. It¡¯d be easier for your body to recover if you give birth at a younger age. It¡¯s only a matter of time before you have children anyway,¡± said Madam Zhang, who was in her sixties and had three children, all of whom were married. Hence, she was stress-free and looked much younger than her actual age. ¡°I¡¯ll wait for another two years. By the way, the rickshaw driver who sent us here today told us that this vige is really creepy, and we¡¯ve also heard lots of rumors about the happenings here. Are they true?¡± An Xiaoning asked. Madam Wang hushed her and said, ¡°Lower your volume. We generally avoid talking about this in the vige. Rumors about our vige have been spreading like wildfire. They¡¯ve been affecting us negatively. Those vigers who have moved away don¡¯t even dare to admit that this ce is their hometown. We really don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and asked, ¡°Did it have something to do with the food and water supply?¡± Madam Wang hurriedly exined, ¡°Sister, there¡¯s nothing wrong with our water supply at all, really. We drink straight from the tap every day and nothing has happened to us at all.¡± ¡°Good that nothing has happened. However, this is a vige. Where does the water supplye from?¡± asked An Xiaoning, who had been dying to ask that question. ¡°Ites from the entrance of the vige.¡± Pointing in the direction of the east, Madam Wang continued, ¡°There¡¯s arge reservoir over there, and all the wateres from that main tap. There are technicians in charge of tending to the water supply and checking the pipes so the water is absolutely safe.¡± An Xiaoning too felt that the problem probably didn¡¯t lie with the water supply. After all, all the other viges received water from the same reservoir. Madam Zhang said, ¡°But... it¡¯s true that there are ghosts in that reservoir.¡± ¡°Sister, are there really ghosts?¡± An Xiaoning asked curiously. ¡°Of course there are. A drowning incident took ce a few years ago. A child drowned in that reservoir by ident when he was ying with his friends nearby. The rest of the children came back crying and imed that they had heard soundsing from the reservoir and, thus, the child who had drowned looked inside the reservoir out of curiosity. In the end, he was grabbed by the neck and pulled into the water.¡± An Xiaoning did hear stories about water spirits attracting the attention of others by letting out crying sounds and taking the chance to pull the innocent humans into the water. An Xiaoning found that the stories she used to hear in the past seemed to be true. If there were ghosts in the water, would the water really be safe for consumption? The discussion ended because it started pouring and everyone left to head back to their own homes. An Xiaoning and Madam Wang entered the house to see that Fan Shixin was cooking some food. Madam Wangughed and said, ¡°Your husband can cook? My husband is a far cry. All he does is wait for me to serve him like he¡¯s a prince. You¡¯re so lucky. I¡¯m so envious of you.¡± ¡°Frankly speaking, I¡¯m not a great cook and my husband does the cooking most of the time. It¡¯s your husband¡¯s blessing to have a wife like you.¡± Green with envy, Madam Wang said, ¡°Look at you, yourplexion is so good. It¡¯s time for me to cook. By the way, tell your husband to return to the town as quickly as possible after dinner. I¡¯m doing this for your own good.¡± ¡°Thank you, Sister.¡± An Xiaoning entered and sat on the chair while watching Fan Shixin cook. ¡°Fortunately, you know how to cook. Otherwise, we¡¯re going to starve. However, did you use the water from the tap or the bottled water we brought here?¡± ¡°The water we brought.¡± ¡°I can put my mind at ease, then. I heard from the vigers that the water supplyes from the reservoir, in which there are ghosts. It sounds rather real, though. However, I still think we should be careful with what we consume. It¡¯s better to be safe than sorry.¡± Chapter 1324 - I Only Want You (22)

Chapter 1324: I Only Want You (22)

¡°There are not many residents in this vige. I looked around and found that lots of houses have already been abandoned. Seems like humans are scarce here.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear what Madam Wang said? All the young people have already left the vige. The only ones left here are children and middle-aged or old women. Lots of families have moved away too. It¡¯s definitely going to be dpidated. The entire vige feels so dead.¡± ¡°This vige is really strange. Outsiders are mostly too afraid to stay here. The rumors alone are terrifying enough.¡± .... By nighttime, the vige grew dead silent. The empty streets were pitch ck, and the only light source came from the lights in some houses. There were also the asional sounds of dogs barking. The rain grew heavier and louder. The air was chilly and breezy. Due to the fact that the lights in the room were too dim, An Xiaoning shone her torch on the case files and began reading the information while seated on the bed. She had yet to have the time to peruse the information because she had only received the files today. The case was considered to be a terrifying mass murder. The culprit must have been a cruel and relentless person. Most people would not be able to bring themselves to mince the corpses up and hang the heads of the deceased on the doors of their respective houses. Although it seemed that the victims very likely had a feud with the murderer, An Xiaoning had yet to find any clues or evidence of it and thus decided to be open to all possibilities. All she wanted to do now was to try her best and find some clues. If the rumors were true, the only possibility would be that the spirits of the victims were too vengeful and hence were still lingering around the vige. If that were the case, it would be easy for her to proceed. All she had to do was to find the spirits of the deceased victims. Her only fear was that the strange deaths of the men had nothing to do with the mass murder. Things would be way trickier then. She had to verify the presence of the spirits first. She hoped to solve the case as soon as possible, so that she could put her mind at ease sooner. ¡°Boss, that fellow is calling you again!¡± An Xiaoning took a look at the caller disy to see that it was a call from Ma Jianguo. She immediately answered and asked, ¡°Hello, how did it go?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve observed thendscape and discovered therge reservoir nearby. The rest are just agriculturalnds. Xiaoning, I suggest that we ask around the viges secretly.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll carry that out in another few days. We¡¯ve just moved here. If you question the vigers so soon, they¡¯re going to get suspicious. If our identities get exposed, we¡¯ll never hear the truth from the vigers.¡± ¡°Alright, what do we do next, then?¡± ¡°Go check on the reservoir and send me the detailed information about it. I want the details about the number of the casualties and the timings.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°On top of that, tell Zu Dong and Gong Le to head to the victim¡¯s house. Don¡¯t rm the victim¡¯s husband yet. Start off with her maiden home. Although we¡¯ve already investigated it, I still want to find out more about this case. Perhaps we¡¯ll have a breakthrough. Tell her family not to leak any details about the matter yet and that the police will announce it when the time is right.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± As soon as she ended the call, she heard the sounds of a heated argumenting from outside. An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin looked at each other, after which she got out of bed and walked toward the door while Fan Shixin stayed inside in order to avoid being seen by Madam Wang. She opened the door to see that Madam Wang was standing by the door with an umbre in hand. ¡°Sister Wang, what happened outside?¡± ¡°Were you frightened? It¡¯s nothing, that happens all the time. I¡¯ve already gotten used to it,¡± said Madam Wang. Upon hearing her words, An Xiaoning walked toward her with an umbre in hand and asked, ¡°Sister Wang, what happened?¡± Shaking her head, she said, ¡°It¡¯s hard to exin. Stop standing there. Go back in and get some rest. It¡¯ll stop soon.¡± ¡°Who hit her?¡± asked An Xiaoning, who could not sit back and do nothing now that she had found out about it. ¡°Her mother.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not too sure either. Her mother doesn¡¯t let the neighbors meddle with their family affairs. No one has asked about it either. I really pity that child. Well, she was adopted after all.¡± Her words had struck a sour note within An Xiaoning. She could empathize with the adopted child. Noticing that she seemed a little stunned, Madam Wang said, ¡°Don¡¯t just stand here. It¡¯s raining heavily outside. Hurry and go back in. It¡¯s time for me to rest too.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± The vigers were used to going to bed early, especially since it was also raining. They dozed off early too. An Xiaoning returned inside and exined the situation to Fan Shixin briefly. She then added, ¡°Madam Wang has returned to her room to sleep. I think I¡¯m going to go take a look outside.¡± Fan Shixin asked, ¡°Alright. Do you want me to go with you?¡± Shaking her head, An Xiaoning said, ¡°I¡¯ll go by myself.¡± In no time, Madam Wang turned off her lights. As soon as An Xiaoning exited, she caught sight of a girl being tied to a tree with her head hung low. Her long tresses covered her entire face. She was drenched in rainwater and covered in blood. An Xiaoning could not help but find her pitiful. The lights were shining brightly in front of the door. Are they afraid that no one will see them? A middle-aged woman was standing in front of the girl with an umbre and a thick wooden rod in hand. Despite knowing that An Xiaoning was watching her, she continued to beat her adopted daughter with the rod. An Xiaoning stepped forward and barked, ¡°Stop it.¡± The woman stopped and rebuked, ¡°You¡¯re the new tenant from next door, right? Mind your own business. This is my family¡¯s affair.¡± ¡°It¡¯s indeed your family matters, but you¡¯re disrupting my peace. Can you mellow down?¡± The woman snapped in annoyance, ¡°This is my house. What has it got to do with you? Do you have any right to interfere?¡± An Xiaoning said, ¡°I don¡¯t, but I¡¯m just here to give you some advice. It¡¯s up to you to decide if you want to heed it or not. At the rate you¡¯re beating her, you¡¯ll end up killing her sooner orter. Look how thin she is. She must have been malnourished for an extended period of time. I really can¡¯t stand watching you abuse an innocent child. Just what is it thatpelled you to be so violent and vicious with her?¡± The woman hollered, ¡°You¡¯re just an outsider and yet you¡¯re poking your nose into my family¡¯s affair. So what if I beat her to death? I¡¯ve been beating her for more than a decade and she¡¯s still alive. If you poke your nose into my business again, I¡¯m going to beat you up too. Believe it or not! I¡¯m being serious, I¡¯m not joking!¡± Chapter 1325 - I Only Want You (23)

Chapter 1325: I Only Want You (23)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She could not tolerate how haughty and obnoxious the woman was. An Xiaoning reiterated, ¡°I¡¯m asking you once more. Why did you have to do that to her? She¡¯s still so young. What grave mistake did shemit to warrant such a severe beating from you? You can¡¯t possibly hit her for no reason.¡± The woman ignored her and began swinging her rod at An Xiaoning, catching thetter off guard. An Xiaoning did not expect that she would actually try and hit her. She quickly grabbed the other end of the rod and snatched it away effortlessly before throwing it into a ditch behind the tree. ¡°You...¡± An Xiaoning walked toward the girl and moved her hair away from her face. She knew that the girl was still conscious because she had seen her raising her head to look at her just now. ¡®¡±Are you alright?¡± An Xiaoning was slightly stunned the moment she saw the girl¡¯s appearance. She had a beautiful pair of eyes and a matching set of nose and lips. In fact, she was stunningly gorgeous, despite the bloodstains on her face. Although she appeared extremely disheveled, An Xiaoning could tell that she was not a viger at all and felt that she exuded a natural posh aura. The wounds all over her body were evidence of her unfavorable predicament. A gentle tenderness formed in the girl¡¯s eyes, and she mouthed some words with her lips: ¡°Save me.¡± An Xiaoning stared at her and left without uttering another word. Disappointment was written all over the girl¡¯s face and she had long be immobile. She had tried to escape several times before, but she never once seeded. Seeing that An Xiaoning had already left, the middle-aged woman closed the door and humphed. She then untied the rope wrapped around the girl to release her from the tree before dragging her into the house forcefully. The girl was overwhelmed with the stinging pain from her raw wounds. It was so unbearable that she wished she could die. = She was then thrown into themb fence where shey motionlessly on a pile ofmb feces. The same thing happened to her every day. Ever since she was young, she had never lived a day in peace. She had no idea why she was being treated that way either. The rain continued to pour heavily. The girl started to hear some sounds. She struggled to sit up and finally managed to do so after expending all her energy. In the darkness of the night, a figure descended slowly from the rooftop. The girl took a closer look to discover that it was An Xiaoning. She thought that An Xiaoning wouldn¡¯t rescue her since she simply returned to her house just now. She did not expect An Xiaoning¡¯s arrival at all. The girl said softly, ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± As soon as An Xiaoning stepped foot onto the ground, thembs began bleating. After sedating the dogs, she still had to deal with these creatures. However, they stopped bleating after the girl murmured something. It would be a piece of cake for An Xiaoning to carry an immobile person away. However, the stench was far too intolerable. An Xiaoning left brazenly through the main entrance. She had even pried the fences open so as to make it seem as if the girl had climbed away on her own. An Xiaoning brought the girl back to her room and helped to undress her. She then ced the dirty clothes into arge trash bag, which she nned to dispose ofter. The girl emitted an unbearable pungent stench that was mixed with the metallic odor of blood. It was as if she had never showered before. An Xiaoning could barely stand being around her. Hence, she instructed Fan Shixin to collect some water from the tap, which she then used to bathe the girl with. The water should be safe for use for a bath. The girl had never been cared for in such a manner before. No one had ever bathed her, washed her hair, or put her clothes on for her. She felt extremely touched that a stranger would show her so much kindness. An Xiaoning took out a set of her own clothes and put them onto the girl. She then grabbed a towel to wipe the girl¡¯s hair dry before tying it back into a ponytail. ¡°Listen to me, you can¡¯t stay here any longer. Hence, we¡¯re going to take you away from this ce now. Once you¡¯re in the town, Shixin will bring you to a safer ce. Alright?¡± The girl nodded with tears in her eyes and said, ¡°Thank you, Sister.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. Come, let me carry you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do it,¡± said Fan Shixin. ¡°Let me do it, I¡¯m stronger.¡± An Xiaoning sat down on the bed and said, ¡°Come, get on my back.¡± The girl leaned forward and wrapped her arms around An Xiaoning¡¯s shoulder. An Xiaoning used her inner energy to pick her up. The girl was holding an umbre in her hand, and so was Fan Shixin, who was guiding them with a torchlight. Although Fan Shixin was not carrying anyone, he could barely keep up with An Xiaoning¡¯s pace. The girl said softly, ¡°Sister, my name is Jing Chu.¡± ¡°Your mother may be abusive, but she gave you a nice name.¡± ¡°She wasn¡¯t the one who named me.¡± ¡°Huh... who did, then?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a tattoo on my arm that had been present ever since I was a child. I only found outter that it was my name, Jing Chu.¡± ¡°What did you say to themb to stop them from bleating when I rescued you?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°I canmunicate with animals. I told them to be quiet so they obeyed my instructions.¡± An Xiaoning was appalled. She canmunicate with animals? Seems like she really isn¡¯t an ordinary human. ¡°Oh, I see. Can you hear themunication between animals too?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°That woman... is she your stepmother or your adoptive mother?¡± An Xiaoning asked after much consideration. Jing Chu answered, ¡°Neither. I¡¯ve never addressed her as my mother. She never told me where I came from either. All she does is hit and berate me.¡± ¡°Did she ever exin why she abuses you?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°How old are you this year?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I have no idea when my birthday is either.¡± ¡°I think you¡¯re still very young. That woman said that she had been beating you for more than a decade. You should be almost twenty now. But what happened to your leg?¡± ¡°They¡¯re broken. I broke them when I was younger. They healed by themselves, but she broke them again. After a repeated cycle, I became crippled.¡± An Xiaoning sighed in sympathy. There were truly all sorts of unlucky people in this world. ¡°It¡¯s alright, you¡¯re free from all that pain and suffering now. From now on, I¡¯ll protect you and you¡¯ll live well.¡± Jing Chu teared up and asked, ¡°Sister, what¡¯s your name?¡± She answered, ¡°I... An Xiaoning.¡± Chapter 1326 - I Only Want You (24)

Chapter 1326: I Only Want You (24)

She noted down An Xiaoning¡¯s name and pressed her head against her shoulder. It was the first time in her life that she ever felt such a warm and fuzzy feeling in her heart. Although there was an umbre, An Xiaoning got drenched nheless because of the heavy rain and the incredible speed at which she was walking. They arrived in the town. Fan Shixin proceeded to collect the car by himself while the two of them waited for him in a secluded corner. ¡°Sister, is he your boyfriend?¡± ¡°No.¡± Jing Chu did not probe any further and instead waited quietly. Not long after, Fan Shixin arrived in An Xiaoning¡¯s car. He then carried Jing Chu and ced her onto the back seat. Fan Shixin then brought her away from the vige. An Xiaoning called Pan Zhenghui and instructed, ¡°Help me erase all the surveince camera footages that were captured from five o¡¯clock in the afternoon all the way until now, along with those that would be captured tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± said Pan Zhenghui, who did not ask any more questions, thinking that she probably had her identity exposed. An Xiaoning returned to the Widows¡¯ Vige while Fan Shixin headed to the city. He only returned in the morning. An Xiaoning did not n to erase the surveince camera footages at the start. However, she had a feeling that the middle-aged woman would definitely cause a stir after finding out that Jing Chu had gone missing. Hence, she decided to go all out and leave no stones unturned. Feeling a little sleepy after changing into a fresh set of clothes, An Xiaoningy down onto the bed to get some rest. Due to the poor weather, she decided not to go out anymore and instead continued sleeping all the way until the next morning. She was jolted awake by a string of misceneous noises. An Xiaoning had just gotten dressed when Madam Wang came to knock on her door. ¡°Sister Wang, what¡¯s the din about?¡± ¡°Thatss next door ran away. I¡¯m talking about the one who got beatenst night. You heard it too. She went missing this morning. They¡¯re trying to get everyone to go look for her but no one wants to. That woman is usually so haughty, and she often tells us to stay out of her family matters. Yet now that thess has gone missing, she actually wants us to help find her.¡± ¡°Are you guys going to help her?¡± ¡°No, I haven¡¯t had my breakfast yet. Where would I find the energy to help her? That¡¯s just how she is. She only talks to us when she needs our help, and when she doesn¡¯t, all she does is pull a long face. No one is willing to help her.¡± An Xiaoning decided to stay silent, lest she give away any clues. She boiled some water and made herself a bowl of instant noodles. Fan Shixin returned after she had had her breakfast and informed her that he had already settled the matter about Jing Chu. Since it was not appropriate for them to reconnoiter in the day, they had to wait patiently for nighttime to arrive. Fortunately, Ma Jianguo had already made progress on his side. He said, ¡°The water reservoir was built 19 years ago, and there are a total of 37 casualties who had died from drowning in the reservoir, consisting of both adults and children. In order to ensure safety, the reservoir management staff had built railings around the reservoir and ced signs to warn passersby against the danger of drowning.¡± ¡°Has there been any new progress with the victim¡¯s family?¡± ¡°Zu Dong and Gong Le have gone to visit them. I don¡¯t know the exact situation yet because they had just left. However, he¡¯ll definitely call you if there are any special finds. If not, they probably won¡¯t call.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯m hanging up now, then.¡± An Xiaoning did not pin much of her hopes onto the victim¡¯s family. She nned to go to three ces tonight, namely the victim¡¯s grave, the victim¡¯s home, and the reservoir. Thus, she was eagerly looking forward to the nighttime. .... Although she had already verified the location of the victim¡¯s tomb. It was still rather troublesome for her to get there. Due to the heavy rainst night, the soil around the fields had be wet and muddy, which created added resistance for them when they were treading through the fields. An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin searched for a long time before finding the grave. They could see everything clearly without having to step forward. ¡°Nope, there aren¡¯t any. If she¡¯s a very vengeful spirit, she¡¯ll probably wander around. She doesn¡¯t necessarily have to be in her tomb. Let¡¯s go visit her home now.¡± The two of them then began walking back. The victim¡¯s home was near the reservoir, and most of the other residents there had already moved away. The vige used to be a crowded one that housed hundreds of households. However, things were now drastically different. The moonlight tonight made it easier for them to see through the night vision goggles. Staring at the entrance of the victim¡¯s home, An Xiaoning remarked, ¡°The door is so narrow. It¡¯s bad.¡± ¡°The doors of other houses are rather wide. Why is hers so small? It¡¯s barely one-third the size of our door.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Let¡¯s climb over the wall instead. Don¡¯t bother touching the lock.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± They swiftly climbed over the wall to see that the yard was terribly shabby and run down. It felt extremely dead and secluded. An Xiaoning scanned her surroundings and began walking toward the house. There was no lock on the main door, which was left ajar. It was understandable since most people would avoid going near the house. Ever since the victim¡¯s death, the victim¡¯s husband had already left the vige with their child. Hence, it was unlikely that there would be burrs. An Xiaoning reached out to push the door, which opened with a creak. The two of them stood outside the door for more than ten seconds before entering. An Xiaoning took the lead while Fan Shixin followed closely behind. As soon as they entered, the two of them heard some sounds. An Xiaoning looked over to see that there was a head banging against the cab in the living room. Although An Xiaoning had already seen and experienced lots of supernatural encounters, she could not help but let out a shriek of terror and grab Fan Shixin¡¯s arm tightly. Frightened by her sudden shriek, Fan Shixin shivered and grabbed her arm too. ¡°Young Madam, what¡¯s wrong?¡± An Xiaoning took a deep breath instead of answering him. She calmed herself down before turning to look at the same spot again. ¡°I¡¯m An Xiaoning, the team leader of the special investigation unit at the police station. I¡¯m also the daughter of the current president of S Nation. I¡¯m psychic and I canmunicate with spirits. I¡¯ve begun investigating your case again. It¡¯s good to know that you haven¡¯t reincarnated yet. That makes it much easier for your case to be resolved.¡± ¡°You... really can see me?¡± the spirit of the victim asked in a mncholic voice. ¡°Of course I can. We went to your grave beforeing here. Had I known earlier, we would have juste here first.¡± Noticing that the victim¡¯s head was moving toward her, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Stop, don¡¯te here. I wouldn¡¯t be afraid of you if your body was in aplete form. However, I¡¯m a little terrified by you since only your head is left.¡± Chapter 1327 - I Only Want You (25)

Chapter 1327: I Only Want You (25)

As soon as she finished speaking, she finally stopped shaking her head and let out the words that she had been keeping to herself. An Xiaoning tried to cate her feelings and said, ¡°Calm down, tell me slowly. I have the time to listen to you. You have no idea how tricky your case is. There are no clues or evidence, that¡¯s why it has been left unresolved for so many years. Fortunately, you haven¡¯t reincarnated yet. Otherwise, it¡¯s going to take a much longer time to be solved.¡± ¡°I... I... finally got to witness this day. I really didn¡¯t expect that a police officer could see me. Not to mention, you¡¯re even the daughter of the president. I¡¯m sure you can definitely solve this case. I¡¯m so over the moon. The person who killed me is none other than my wicked mother-inw!¡± An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin were bbergasted. It had never crossed An Xiaoning¡¯s mind that the victim would be killed by her mother-inw. Such murders usually arose from conflicts in everyday life. ¡°Your mother-inw? Why did she kill you?¡± ¡°All because of her son...¡± It turned out that the victim did get along rather well with her mother-inw at first. However, their rtionship took a turn for the worse afterward because of her husband. Her husband was the catalyst of their conflicts. Whenever she argued with her husband, he would tell on her to his mother and rant about all of the victim¡¯s ws and shorings. On the other hand, the victim was a thrifty woman who constantly reminded her husband not to spendvishly. Whenever her husband ran out of money, he had no choice but to borrow some from his mother, who often took pity on him. Hence, the victim and her mother-inw frequently quarreled because of her husband. They then got a divorce and stopped arguing. Everyone else simply thought that it was because their rtionship had improved. The victim thought so too. However, the murder arose because the victim¡¯s husband bought some pork from the market in a bid to make some dumplings. Two decades ago, pork dumplings were an expensive delicacy that could only be enjoyed during festive asions. The victim¡¯s husband had bought just enough pork for the family of three, thus leaving his mother out. However, his mother heard about it from someone else and flew into a rage. She then called the victim over to the house and they had a conflict afterward. The victim said, ¡°So what if we didn¡¯t give you any dumplings?¡± Her words had greatly infuriated her mother-inw. The victim died at 32 years old when her mother-inw was in her fifties. Although the victim was young, she could not defend herself against the unexpected attack. She had never dared to imagine that her mother-inw would actually kill her. By the time her mother-inw had shed her on the neck, she could no longer retaliate. It wasn¡¯t until she died that she realized the souls of humans could leave their bodies. Just as she was trying to speak, she was taken away by the grim reapers. However, a hup urred when she was being brought to theherworld, thus allowing her to escape sessfully. She once hid in a corner and refused to go anywhere, for fear that the grim reapers would catch her. To her surprise, she discovered that her husband, son, and mother-inw had already moved away when she returned to look for them in a bid to scare her mother-inw. Hence, she never returned to the house again. ¡°Do you know that the vige has been renamed to ¡®Widows¡¯ Vige¡¯?¡± ¡°Yes, but it has nothing to do with me. I didn¡¯t do it,¡± she said, shaking her head. An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Does it really have nothing to do with you? After all, you¡¯ve be a spirit now. If you admit that you were the culprit, I can help you with your case in exchange.¡± ¡°It really wasn¡¯t me, but I might know the reason.¡± ¡°What was the reason?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell you when my case is closed.¡± ¡°Does it have something to do with the water reservoir?¡± ¡°You know about it?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll definitely look into it.¡± While on their way back, Fan Shixin noticed that An Xiaoning had been remaining silent throughout the journey. He asked, ¡°Young Madam, why do you still look so upset even though we already found out who the culprit is? Are you troubled because we don¡¯t have any concrete evidence?¡± ¡°No. That old woman is still alive, isn¡¯t she? As long as she¡¯s alive, we can get the evidence easily. I can always hypnotize her. I just find that woman really pitiful to have married such a foolish man. She ended up losing her life. You see, it¡¯s a blessing to have brains.¡± The two of them left the house, after which they removed their muddy boots and rinsed their feet with water. ¡°By the way, are we leaving tomorrow?¡± ¡°Yes, to get this case settled. However, we¡¯ll still have to return afterward. Once we close the case, we should continue investigating the other problem and solve everything before leaving the vige proper.¡± ¡°Okay, sure.¡± After washing her feet, shey down on the bed. She then grabbed her mobile phone from the charger to see that she had received eight missed calls from Jin Qingyan. Thinking that he must have called because of something urgent, she hurriedly returned his call. As soon as the call went through, he asked eagerly, ¡°Why did you take so long to call me back?¡± ¡°I went out at night and only returned just now. I just saw your missed calls.¡± ¡°Okay... where are you guys now?¡± Jin Qingyan asked while leaning against the couch. ¡°We rented a room in the vige.¡± Upon hearing her words, Jin Qingyan sat up straight and asked, ¡°A room? You and Shixin are sharing a room?¡± An Xiaoning exined, ¡°Of course. Thedy who rented the room to us doesn¡¯t know that he¡¯s staying here. She suggested that Shixin stay away from the vige because he¡¯s a man. However, Shixin has to be with me at all times, doesn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re sharing the same bed too...¡± ¡°Ahem... there¡¯s only onerge bed here. However, Shixin and I lie down in opposite directions and we use separate nkets. I can¡¯t possibly make him sleep on the ground.¡± Although Jin Qingyan was slightly ufortable with the idea, he did not object to it since Fan Shixin was the person he could trust the most. He said, ¡°I hope you can leave that damned ce soon.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll try my best to go back as soon as possible.¡± ¡°It¡¯s always the mostfortable at home. The temperatures are getting colder. If you¡¯re at home, you can at least soak in the hot spring. But when you¡¯re there...¡± ¡°I can soak my feet in water.¡± ¡°Whatever you say. I miss you.¡± An Xiaoning burst intoughter and said, ¡°It¡¯s only been a few days since we parted. Okay, I gotta go now. Zu Dong is calling me.¡± Chapter 1328 - I Only Want You (26)

Chapter 1328: I Only Want You (26)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She called Zu Dong and asked, ¡°How are things now?¡± ¡°There isn¡¯t anything unusual with her family. There aren¡¯t any different leads from those obtained from the previous investigation.¡± ¡°I found the victim¡¯s spirit in her house. Tell Ma Jianguo to go with you guys to the victim¡¯s husband¡¯s home tomorrow and arrest him and his mother.¡± ¡°Does that mean that the victim¡¯s husband and her mother-inw colluded to kill her?¡± ¡°No, the mother-inw was the one who did it alone. However, the victim¡¯s husband deserves to be taught a lesson too. He knew of his mother¡¯s crime and yet he still covered up for her. Arrest the two of them.¡± ¡°Roger.¡± An Xiaoning ended the call and took a deep breath before saying to Fan Shixin, ¡°Changes are truly unpredictable. The case seemed so tricky at first. Who would have known that the truth would be out so soon?¡± ¡°You deserve all the credit, Young Madam. If it weren¡¯t because of your ability tomunicate with spirits, I doubt this case could have been cracked so soon.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all Heaven¡¯s will. It¡¯s already been 22 years since the crime wasmitted. I bet Heaven wanted the culprits to be arrested too.¡± An Xiaoningy down. Just as she was about to speak, Fan Shixin¡¯s mobile phone began to ring. It was a call from Wu Pingyang, despite it being such ate hour. ¡°Hello, why aren¡¯t you asleep yet?¡± ¡°It¡¯s still early. It¡¯s barely ten o¡¯clock yet, what¡¯s the point of sleeping so early? Where are you now?¡± Fan Shixin answered, ¡°Handling something in the countryside.¡± ¡°Countryside? What are you there for? When are youing back?¡± ¡°In another few days.¡± Wu Pingyang answered in displeasure, ¡°Does that mean that I won¡¯t be able to meet you? What if I start to miss you? We don¡¯t even have any photos together. I must take a photo with you next time we meet.¡± ¡°Yeah, okay.¡± Fan Shixin hung up soon after. An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Why don¡¯t you guys talk for a while longer? You two sound so distant from each other. You don¡¯t sound like you¡¯re in a rtionship with her at all. I would have thought that you were strangers.¡± Fan Shixin asked, ¡°Strangers?¡± ¡°It does seem like it. Perhaps it¡¯s because you haven¡¯t gotten to know each other better yet. After all, you two met through a matchmaking session. It takes time to develop and nurture your feelings for each other.¡± ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t feel like we¡¯re in a loving rtionship either. Besides, Ms. Mu had also told me something that left a deep impression on me. After spending so much time with Ms. Mu, I¡¯m rather certain that her words were true.¡± An Xiaoning asked out of curiosity, ¡°What did she tell you?¡± ¡°She told me... that all the elders of the Mu family are looking forward to seeing Pingyang and I get married, except Ms. Mu¡¯s mother. She also told me that Pingyang has an ulterior motive for getting close to me and that she isn¡¯t true to me either.¡± Upon hearing his words, An Xiaoning said, ¡°You ought to decide whether or not to marry her only after you¡¯ve gotten to know what she¡¯s genuinely like. The Mu family had suffered a downfall and gone bankrupt in the past, didn¡¯t they? The patriarch of the Mu family probably wants his granddaughter to marry you so that you can help them make aeback. However, I find your girlfriend to be rather dense in the head. Take the previous incident, for example. I can¡¯t believe she actually asked you to buy her grandfather a bottle of Blue Ocean. She seems like a spendthrift to me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m also nning to consider it carefully before deciding whether or not to marry her. After all, I¡¯ve been single for almost three decades. I don¡¯t mind waiting a little longer. Marriage concerns my lifelong happiness. I won¡¯t be rash or hasty when ites to that.¡± An Xiaoning remarked, ¡°There may be lots of people in this big, big world, but it¡¯s not easy to find the right one for you. Fate is a very important factor.¡± .... An Xiaoning managed to get a peaceful night¡¯s sleep, perhaps because there had been a major progression in the case. She received numerous consecutive calls in the morning. Daybreak had yet to arrive when she was jolted awake. An Xiaoning instructed Ma Jianguo to drive to the vige entrance to wait for her. She could not be bothered to lie low anymore. She and Fan Shixin proceeded to return to the city together with the police officers before they even had their breakfast. They stopped by the town to allow An Xiaoning to get inside her own car. They arrived back in the city at past eight o¡¯clock. Ma Jianguo proceeded to buy breakfast for everyone, and they headed back to the interrogation room after eating their fill. Unlike what An Xiaoning had expected, the elderlydy, who was in herte seventies, had a tidy appearance, with her hair neatly tucked behind her ears. The elderlydy and her son were not at all flustered and instead maintained theirposure, probably because they knew that there was no concrete evidence of their crime, which took ce decades ago. They were smug and confident. An Xiaoning was greatly angered by how calm they were; they did not show a tinge of guilt or remorse at all. In fact, they probably did not even take the matter seriously, which was why they could remain so dauntless. However, it was still unclear if the victim¡¯s husband was aware of his mother¡¯s crime or not. ¡°Madam, how old are you this year?¡± ¡°Seventy-eight years old.¡± ¡°If your daughter-inw were still alive, she would be 54 years old this year. Poor her. You killed her when she was at the young age of 32 years old, and you even minced her corpse up with your cleaver. Madam, it must have taken you a great ton of energy to do that.¡± The elderlydy retorted with a straight face, ¡°Officer, you need to have sufficient evidence before you can use me. From what I know, you¡¯re supposed to release us if you can¡¯t collect valid evidence within 24 hours of detaining us, right?¡± ¡°Correct, but that doesn¡¯t apply to me. I call the shots here. I get to decide how long you should be detained for. No one will dare to defy my orders and release you, even if you die here,¡± said An Xiaoning, ring at her. The elderlydy scoffed and sneered, ¡°You¡¯re so young and yet you¡¯re so arrogant. Do you own the police station? Are thews set by you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m supposed to ask you. You¡¯re just a viger. Who gave you the gall to live so peacefully without feeling a tinge of guilt, even after murdering someone so brutally? Well, yeah, you probably weren¡¯t afraid since there were no surveince cameras in the past, nor did we have any sufficient evidence. Your fingerprints couldn¡¯t be collected either. However, things are different now. How dare you be so smug and dauntless even when you know you¡¯vemitted a serious crime? Do you think you own the police station? Are thews set by you? Do you know who I am?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you just a police officer?¡± An Xiaoning answered, ¡°Not only am I a police officer, I¡¯m also a psychic who canmunicate with the dead. Don¡¯t you know of my existence?¡± The victim¡¯s husband asked, ¡°You¡¯re An Xiaoning?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s me.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s An Xiaoning? Who on earth is that?¡± asked the ignorant elderlydy. He exined, ¡°Mother, she¡¯s the biological daughter of our First Lady. She¡¯s also a renowned psychic medium and fortune-teller!¡± The elderlydy turned pale immediately and asked in shock, ¡°What?¡± Chapter 1329 - I Only Want You (27)

Chapter 1329: I Only Want You (27)

¡°Yes, Mother, it¡¯s her.¡± After receiving a great shock, the elderlydy regained herposure and said vehemently, ¡°Like what I said, please produce the valid evidence. Don¡¯t just use us blindly. I may only have a few more years left to live, but I can¡¯t let my reputation be tarnished.¡± ¡°Evidence? I was initially nning to hypnotize you, but I¡¯ve now changed my mind. I¡¯ve decided to take you back to the Widows¡¯ Vige and let you have a look at your daughter-inw. You¡¯ll be able to hear her. How does that sound?¡± Despite being rather apprehensive, the elderlydy conceded, ¡°Sure. My conscience is clear and I have nothing to be afraid of.¡± ¡°Alright, follow me there, then. I¡¯m not afraid of trouble at all. After all, vicious old women like you have to be dealt with the hard way.¡± An Xiaoning instructed Ma Jianguo to hold the elderlydy down and bring her out. ¡°Take her son along too.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Thus, they returned to the Widows¡¯ Vige. This time, An Xiaoning was no longer wearing her mask and Fan Shixin did not tag along either. Upon the sight of the police cars, the vigers quickly surrounded them to have a look at what was going on. In order to avoid any disruption to the process, An Xiaoning instructed the police officers to stop the vigers from entering the door. An Xiaoning then brought the pair of mother and son to the house. They felt much more relieved the moment they saw that there was no one inside the yard. ¡°Where is she?¡± An Xiaoning smirked and quipped, ¡°What¡¯s the hurry? She¡¯s not even getting impatient. She¡¯s staring at you guys right now.¡± An Xiaoning then said to the victim¡¯s spirit, ¡°Don¡¯t act rashly. You must stay calm if you want to avenge yourself. I know you¡¯re wishing that you could rip this evil old hag into shreds right now, but will you please get a grip on your emotions first?¡± The spirit then said, ¡°Okay.¡± Upon hearing the invisible voice, everyone except An Xiaoning turned pale in utter shock, especially the elderlydy and her son. They had just heard the familiar voice clearly. It had to be her! The elderlydy¡¯s initialposure vanishedpletely, and she almost fell to the ground but was held back by the police officers. ¡°This...¡± The spirit questioned, ¡°Mother-inw... my great mother-inw, what are you so afraid of? Weren¡¯t you the one who killed me with your cleaver?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t... I didn¡¯t, it wasn¡¯t me!¡± As soon as she finished speaking, the spiritughed sinisterly and quipped, ¡°It wasn¡¯t you? Who was it, then? How could I not know who the person who murdered me is? You didn¡¯t expect that I would still be here, did you?¡± After recovering from the shock, the victim¡¯s husband muttered, ¡°Wanzhen...¡± The spirit yelled at the top of her lungs in a shrill voice, ¡°Shut up! Don¡¯t call my name. I must have been blind to marry you. My family was strongly against our rtionship, and they told me that your mother was a tough nut to crack. However, all I cared about was the way you treated me and I decided to marry you regardless of their objections, simply because I thought that you doted on me. Yet your mother killed me with her cleaver and even minced my corpse up. She even beheaded me and hung my head on the door of my family¡¯s home. How about you? You remarried, didn¡¯t you? You¡¯re living well now, huh? You¡¯ve never oncee back throughout all these years. My biggest regret is marrying you and giving birth to your son!¡± ¡°I, Wanzhen, I...¡± The husband, who was in his fifties, burst into tears and bawled loudly. ¡°I didn¡¯t know. I didn¡¯t know that Mother killed you. I really didn¡¯t. I¡¯m sorry to have let you down.¡± The elderlydy was at a loss for words. It was already five o¡¯clock in the afternoon by the time they arrived back at the police station. Hence, the interrogation proceeded smoothly. The elderlydy could no longer retort now that the truth was as clear as day. At the end of the interrogation, An Xiaoning stared at the elderlydy, who had a deadpan expression, and said, ¡°I can tell from yourplexion that you¡¯ve been living very well all these years. I bet you thought that your crime will never be exposed since there aren¡¯t any evidence. Even though you¡¯re already old in your years, we¡¯re still going to expose the details of this case to the media and let the entire nation know what a vicious mother-inw you are.¡± Having nothing left to live for, the elderlydy said, ¡°Just execute me straight away. It¡¯s no big deal. I¡¯ve lived for long enough anyway.¡± ¡°How can we execute you immediately? We¡¯ll let the court decide what to do with you,¡± An Xiaoning said with a smile. Pan Zhenghui popped his head through the crack of the door and asked, ¡°Are you done?¡± An Xiaoning stood up and said, ¡°Case closed.¡± Pan Zhenghui stuck his thumb up and eximed in awe, ¡°Xiaoning, you¡¯re so impressive! I really have so much respect and admiration for you. You never fail to crack major cases effortlessly, no matter how tough they may be for us.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a coincidence. I couldn¡¯t have solved it easily if I didn¡¯t possess supernatural abilities or if Liu Wanzhen¡¯s spirit had already reincarnated. No matter what, at least this case has now been solved after so many years. I initially thought that Liu Wanzhen¡¯s husband was aware of his mother¡¯s crime, but it seems that he didn¡¯t know anything at all. In that case, let¡¯s release him.¡± ¡°I guess you¡¯re going to start working on the second case, then.¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t have such ns yet. This case might be closed but I still have to find out the reason the vige became the Widows¡¯ Vige, It seems rather absurd and bizarre. There might be something wrong with the water reservoir.¡± ¡°Alright, go ahead, then, but from what I know about you, you probably won¡¯t need much time to uncover the truth either,¡± said Pan Zhenghui, who was in high spirits because he knew that his superior would definitely praise him for cracking the case. ¡°I can¡¯t guarantee that I¡¯ll get to the bottom of the truth in a short period of time. You¡¯ve got lots of confidence in me, huh? It¡¯s gettingte, I have to go,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Alright, drive safely.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Before she left, she instructed her team members, ¡°You guys stay put and wait for further instructions. You¡¯ve been working hard. You guys deserve a break. I¡¯ll call when I need you guys again.¡± ¡°Alright. I knew I could rx a little whenever you¡¯re around, Xiaoning. Call us whenever you need help. We¡¯re on call 24/7,¡± Ma Jianguo said gleefully. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m leaving now.¡± After a long day of shenanigans, An Xiaoning had her dinner at a street stall before returning to the town. It was already nine o¡¯clock by the time they arrived. Upon the sight of the two of them, Madam Wang said, ¡°You guys have no idea what just happened. We finally got some good news.¡± ¡°What good news?¡± ¡°There was a murder case that took ce more than two decades ago, and the police came today to crack the case. We all thought that the police had already given up on the case at the start, but it turns out that they had been carrying out investigations. Great. By the way, is your husband staying here tonight?¡± Chapter 1330 - I Only Want You (28)

Chapter 1330: I Only Want You (28)

¡°Yes, he¡¯ll be staying here tonight. We¡¯ve been using bottled water for our meals. He¡¯ll be fine, especially with me around,¡± said An Xiaoning. Still feeling worried, Madam Wang said, ¡°I¡¯m not being nosy, but I really don¡¯t think you should let him stay here. I don¡¯t want to be responsible if anything happens.¡± Noticing how worried she was, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Sister Wang, pleasee inside with me. I have something to tell you.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± As soon as they entered, An Xiaoning removed her mask in front of Madam Wang, giving thetter a great shock. She asked in astonishment, ¡°Oh my god, oh goodness, this... this... you... aren¡¯t you that female police officer whom I saw today?¡± ¡°Yes, Sister. I¡¯m sorry to have lied to you, but we came here with the purpose of cracking the case. The case was officially closed today. However, the peculiar phenomenon of the unusual deaths of male vigers is still unexined. I came here to look into this bizarre matter.¡± Madam Wang eximed in surprise, ¡°Terrific! Turns out you¡¯re a police officer. What were you wearing on your face? It¡¯s so realistic. I couldn¡¯t even tell that you were wearing a mask.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a mask. The texture is identical to human skin. That¡¯s why you couldn¡¯t tell. Sister Wang, I hope you can keep our identities confidential. Don¡¯t tell any of the other vigers, alright?¡± ¡°Sure, sure. Rest assured, my lips are sealed. He¡¯s not your husband, is he?¡± asked Madam Wang. ¡°No, he¡¯s my bodyguard. There¡¯s only one bed but we don¡¯t share the same nket.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t we let him move to another room? There¡¯s a bed in the other room.¡± An Xiaoning declined politely, ¡°We appreciate your offer, Sister Wang, but we haven¡¯t found out the reason for the deaths of the male vigers yet. I¡¯m afraid that it might be the doing of spirits, so I think it¡¯d be better for us to stay together in the same room. Besides, I can see andmunicate with spirits.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve truly gotten an eyeopener today. Actually, when you guys were in Liu Wanzhen¡¯s house, we heard some of the noises while standing outside the door. We heard her voice too. I really can¡¯t imagine what it must have been like inside. By the way, I must return you the money for the nket and the rent.¡± Noticing that she was about to turn around and get the money, An Xiaoning stopped her and said, ¡°Sister, that¡¯s a separate issue. It¡¯s our duty to solve cases. We can¡¯t stay here for free. You must ept the money. If you don¡¯t, we¡¯ll have to move away.¡± ¡°You¡¯re helping all of the vigers solve the crime. I can¡¯t ept your money.¡± ¡°Madam Wang, you must ept it. It isn¡¯t much but you deserve it. We can¡¯t stay here for free. Besides, I¡¯ll still need your help with investigating this strange phenomenon.¡± ¡°My help?¡± ¡°Yes, I need to find out more about this vige in detail. Take me to meet the other aunties tomorrow to chat about the vige.¡± ¡°Sure, no problem. Hurry and get some rest, then. You¡¯ve been busy for the entire day.¡± ¡°Alright, rest well too, Sister Wang.¡± Smiling, Madam Wang left. Fan Shixin poured some water onto his leg and closed the door. ¡°If we can uncover the truth about this matter quickly as well, we¡¯ll get to go home sooner.¡± An Xiaoning smiled and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Don¡¯t you like it here?¡± ¡°Of course not. I just think that Young Sir would definitely get anxious and impatient if we stay here for a couple of months.¡± Still smiling, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°It¡¯s just a couple of months, not years. It¡¯ll be fine. Your Young Sir can handle it.¡± However, she had to eat her words as soon as she said them. The door opened and Jin Qingyan entered. ¡°I can¡¯t handle it,¡± he said in a deep voice. An Xiaoning was greatly taken aback to see him. Why is he here? Dressed in ck from head to toe, Jin Qingyan stood by the door with his hands in his pockets. The door looked extremely narrow and shortpared to him. ¡°Did youe alone?¡± An Xiaoning asked while walking toward him. He scanned the room to discover that it was really cramped, chilly, and humid. Despite detesting it, he suppressed his displeasure and answered, ¡°Yeah.¡± An Xiaoning pulled him into the room and closed the door before asking, ¡°It¡¯s a five-hour drive from the city to this vige. That¡¯s quite a long distance. How did youe here?¡± He answered, ¡°Why do you think I came here? It¡¯s obviously because I miss you. Is this where you¡¯re staying? Can¡¯t you find a better house?¡± ¡°Of course this is where I¡¯m staying. It¡¯s not too shabby, actually. The room is rather clean. Besides, we¡¯re in a vige. All the houses here are simr to this.¡± ¡°It¡¯s so humid. There are definitely going to be rats and other pests,¡± he remarked in disdain. ¡°Those rats and pests were rather bold before you arrived here; they were scurrying around brazenly. However, now that you¡¯re here, they¡¯ve clearly gone into hiding,¡± she jested. Jin Qingyan smiled and said, ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Of course, I wouldn¡¯t lie to you. Are you leaving tonight?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll force myself to bear with it and stay here for the night. It¡¯ll take me another eight or nine hours to drive home. Do you want me to die of exhaustion?¡± ¡°Have you eaten yet, then?¡± ¡°Do I look like I have?¡± Fan Shixin asked, ¡°Young Sir, what would you like to eat? There¡¯s some rice, veggies, and instant noodles.¡± ¡°Instant noodles.¡± Fan Shixin began cooking him two packets of instant noodles. Clearly, Jin Qingyan was a picky eater and rarely ate such junk food. Hence, he only took a few mouthfuls of the instant noodles. ¡°There¡¯s still so much left. Why did you stop eating?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want them anymore.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t entertain you if you get hungryter.¡± Thinking that it would be a waste to throw the remaining noodles away, An Xiaoning decided to finish them all at once. ¡°Young Madam, aren¡¯t you full? You¡¯ve already had dinner and you still finished those noodles,¡± Fan Shixin said worriedly. ¡°I am... a little.¡± ¡°I think you¡¯ve got a ck hole for a stomach. What if you stuff yourself excessively and end up damaging your stomach instead? Just eat whatever you can and leave the rest there if you can¡¯t finish the food.¡± ¡°It¡¯s such a waste to throw them away, though.¡± He smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m in trouble. How am I going to afford to provide for a glutton like you?¡± An Xiaoning rolled her eyes and said, ¡°I¡¯m not asking you to provide for me anyway. I can survive on my own. Don¡¯t belittle me. I¡¯m rich now, I have lots of savings.¡± Chapter 1331 - I Only Want You (29)

Chapter 1331: I Only Want You (29)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Yes, yes, yes, you¡¯re a wealthy woman now.¡± Fan Shixin chuckled and said, ¡°I knew it, Young Sir couldn¡¯t handle being away from you at all. Young Sir, if you¡¯re sleeping here tonight, where do I sleep?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t there other rooms here?¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°There are, but there¡¯s something really strange about this vige and it¡¯s better not to let Shixin stay alone in another room. How about I tell Madam Wang about it and ask her for two more nkets? Shixin, sleep on the floor tonight,¡± said An Xiaoning, who was worried about Fan Shixin¡¯s safety. ¡°Alright,¡± Fan Shixin agreed. Hence, Jin Qingyan conceded and persuaded himself to stay in the less-than-ideal room together with the woman he loved. An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin exined the matter about Jing Chu to Jin Qingyan, after which he asked in astonishment, ¡°She canmunicate with animals?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°She¡¯s a talent. We must let her stay.¡± An Xiaoning shared the same thoughts as he did. ¡°I¡¯ve already told Shixin to send her to the hospital. Send some bodyguards there to help look after her.¡± ¡°Okay, but why is the situation so bizarre? Is there really no reason behind the physical abuse that that woman had been inflicting on Jing Chu?¡± said a puzzled Jin Qingyan. ¡°I don¡¯t know either. We don¡¯t even know who Jing Chu¡¯s parents are. I don¡¯t think they¡¯re ordinary people since she¡¯s gifted with such a special talent. No matter what, we must ensure she¡¯s safe. The victim of the case that we solved today was very pitiful too. Did you see the reports yet?¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s all over the news. This case had been left unresolved for more than two decades and yet you solved it so quickly. I¡¯m so proud of you for aplishing yet another meaningful task.¡± Upon hearing his words, An Xiaoning asked gleefully, ¡°Do you really think that way?¡± ¡°Since when do I ever lie to you?¡± An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°However, there are still problems ahead of us. I can only leave after solving them.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to suffer in silence whenever you serve the public. I haven¡¯t seen you for so many days. I really hope you¡¯d just stay at home and wait for me toe back from work every day. I¡¯ll get to see you as soon as I¡¯m home. However, I know you don¡¯t like staying at home and doing nothing. That¡¯s what makes you charming. You have a mind of your own.¡± ¡°What¡¯s up with you tonight? You keep praising me. If you keepplimenting me every day, I¡¯m going to be too proud for my own good.¡± ¡°Since I¡¯ve alreadyplimented you, you shouldpliment me too.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so dashing.¡± Upon hearing her words, Jin Qingyan smiled and asked, ¡°Which part of me is dashing?¡± ¡°Everything. Your eyes, nose, lips, brows, ears, voice, figure...¡± He turned over and pinned her beneath him. He gave her a few pecks and hugged her. ¡°Let¡¯s go to bed.¡± Fan Shixin was green with envy because of their public disy of affection. It was really pathetic since he already had a girlfriend. An Xiaoning was wrapped up in his embrace with her face pressed against his chest. His unique scent wafted up to her nose, and she fell asleep unknowingly. She proceeded to have a good night¡¯s sleep. By the time she woke up, he was no longer around. She sat up and Fan Shixin said, ¡°Young Madam, Young Sir left just now.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± An Xiaoning picked up her mobile phone, only to discover that it was merely five o¡¯clock in the morning and that the sky was still dark. An Xiaoningy back down and stared at the ceiling above. She could no longer fall asleep. Thus, she decided to get out of bed. Fan Shixin followed suit, although he had initially wanted to catch some more sleep. Fan Shixin proceeded to make some breakfast. By the time he was done, it was already half-past five. The sky had just begun to brighten. The two of them headed to the reservoir in a bid to reconnoiter the ce. However, An Xiaoning decided to drop by Liu Wanzhen¡¯s ce before going to the reservoir. To her surprise, Liu Wanzhen¡¯s husband and son were both there. It seemed that they did not return homest night. Upon the sight of the two of them, Liu Wanzhen¡¯s husband asked, ¡°You are?¡± He could not recognize An Xiaoning since she was wearing a mask. ¡°Can¡¯t you tell who I am from my voice?¡± An Xiaoning removed her mask and answered, ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± ¡°Oh, I see, Ms. An.¡± ¡°How long have you two been staying here?¡± ¡°One night. We arrived at about nine o¡¯clockst night.¡± Just like An Xiaoning had expected. Noticing that they were about to leave, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Are you leaving already?¡± ¡°Yes, Wanzhen said that she¡¯s going off to reincarnate. She can¡¯t stay here anymore.¡± ¡°Is she gone?¡± ¡°Gone.¡± An Xiaoning took a look around the house to see that Liu Wanzhen was really no longer around. Hence, she and Fan Shixin left the house. She put the mask back on and ced her hands inside her pockets. ¡°Staying alive is the most important thing. If a woman dies, her husband is definitely going to remarry since he¡¯s still so young. Her child will also have to address another woman as his mother. All the money that she had saved up painstakingly will go to someone else too. That¡¯s why women should always love themselves first before they can earn the love of others.¡± ¡°Young Madam, I agree with you, but in real life, men are still held to different standards than women are. For example, if a woman cheats on her spouse, she would definitely be berated for the rest of her life and her husband will very likely divorce her straight away. However, women tend to forgive their cheating husbands after they apologize to them. Women are much more traditional than men and often suffer in silence for the sake of their children.¡± An Xiaoning answered, ¡°I don¡¯t find women who live for the sake of their children to be very noble. Each and every person is a unique individual on their own right. We ought to stay true to our morals and live for ourselves. If a woman chooses to live with an unfaithful man for the sake of money, her family, and her children, she¡¯s just forgoing her own pride and dignity. What¡¯s the point of living if you no longer have your pride or dignity? Hence, I¡¯ve never depended on your Young Sir for a living. What he gives me is just a bonus to my life. I can live well on my own without him too. This was what I thought during both our divorces.¡± Fan Shixin smiled and said, ¡°Young Madam, the more independent you are, the more Young Sir cares about you. He¡¯s worried about losing you because you seem to be able to live an exciting life even without him.¡± ¡°It¡¯s only right that we live our lives to the fullest. You can always leave your spouse if you don¡¯t want to live with them. However, you shouldn¡¯t trample on someone else¡¯s pride and dignity. It¡¯s just wrong. It¡¯s the same for both men and women. In my opinion, this has already be a serious problem in today¡¯s society.¡± They soon reached the reservoir. The reservoir wasrge and deep. Chapter 1332 - I Only Want You (30) Chapter 1332: I Only Want You (30) An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin headed to the office of the water reservoir maintenance workers. The workers had yet to rise and shine, but they were jolted awake soon after she knocked on the door. The female worker was initially rather annoyed to be woken up from her sleep. However, she dared not show her displeasure the moment she realized that An Xiaoning was a police officer. ¡°Have you heard any strange noisesing from the reservoir before?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if they¡¯re considered strange, but I did hear some noises of frogs croaking and other sounds from animals when summer first started. It was a mix of noises, and I couldn¡¯t hear each one distinctly. The noises have been reducedtely, but I can still hear them from time to time.¡± ¡°Have you heard sounds of crying and weeping?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never heard any while I was working here.¡± An Xiaoning asked, ¡°How long have you been working here for?¡± ¡°More than two years.¡± ¡°How many people have died within that period of time?¡± ¡°Two or three. Most children have stoppeding here to y in the summer. However, there were still those who refused to obey their parents¡¯ warnings and came here to y. They ended up in a tragedy.¡± ¡°Do you usually live here?¡± An Xiaoning scanned her surroundings in the room to see that there were pots and pans and other necessary items. ¡°Yes, I stay here every day.¡± ¡°I¡¯lle by again this evening at about eight o¡¯clock. Don¡¯t lock the door. I¡¯ll be on patrol tonight.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡ª¡ª Upon the sight of her father, Jin Bao¡¯er stopped in her tracks when she was about two meters away from him. No. 5 stood beside her and asked softly, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Shaking her head, Jin Bao¡¯er said to Shi Shaochuan, ¡°Didn¡¯t you already choose to abandon me? What are you here for?¡± Shi Shaochuan had beencking sleeptely and was not in the best state of mind despite catching up on sleep whenever he could. As a result of his poor sleep quality, he had developed under-eye circles. He said, ¡°Bao¡¯er, you¡¯re still my daughter at the end of the day. I only said those things in a moment of anger. Will you have a meal with me?¡± Jin Bao¡¯er said bluntly, ¡°My name is now Jin Bao¡¯er. If you want to have a meal with me, you¡¯ll have to get Mommy¡¯s permission. I¡¯ll have a meal with you if Mommy agrees.¡± Shi Shaochuan was incredibly shocked to hear his daughter¡¯s words. ¡°Bao¡¯er, you may be under your mother¡¯s care now and it may be alright for you to take her surname, but you¡¯re still my biological daughter, after all. No matter what, I¡¯m still your father. Why can¡¯t I have a meal with you?¡± Jin Bao¡¯er bit her lip and nodded. She decided to give in in the end. No. 5 said, ¡°I¡¯ll call your mommy now.¡± Jin Bao¡¯er grabbed his arm and said, ¡°Uncle No. 5, don¡¯t call Mommy. She definitely wouldn¡¯t agree if she hears about it.¡± No. 5 insisted, ¡°I still have to inform her.¡± He then called Jin Qingyue, who strongly opposed the idea of Shi Shaochuan taking Jin Bao¡¯er out for a meal as soon as she heard it. Hence, Shi Shaochuan could not take Jin Bao¡¯er out for a meal. He then left angrily. Jin Bao¡¯er and No. 5 proceeded to eat at the canteen. ¡°Are you upset?¡± No. 5 asked. ¡°Am I not allowed to see Daddy anymore? Not even for a meal?¡± ¡°Your mommy is just sparing a thought for you.¡± Jin Bao¡¯er turned to look at No. 5 and said, ¡°Daddy lost so much weight. He seems to have fallen ill. Uncle No. 5, couldn¡¯t you tell?¡± No. 5 nodded and said, ¡°He does seem a little unwell, but maybe he caught a cold. He¡¯s an adult, he¡¯ll know how to take care of himself.¡± Jin Bao¡¯er nodded and stayed silent. .... Upon the sight of Shi Shaochuan exiting the martial arts academy alone, Bu Xianxian asked, ¡°Hey... where¡¯s Bao¡¯er? Why didn¡¯t shee out with you?¡± ¡°Her mother refused to allow us to have a meal together so I had to leave.¡± Bu Xianxian remarked in displeasure, ¡°You may have returned the custody to Jin Qingyue, but you¡¯re still Bao¡¯er¡¯s father, after all. Jin Qingyue is so heartless. How can she deny you the chance to have a simple meal with your daughter?¡± Shi Shaochuan said nonchntly, ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s go home. I¡¯m really tired.¡± Refusing to give up, Bu Xianxian said, ¡°I have a solution to make her eat with you.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Pretend to be hospitalized and get her to visit you. I doubt Jin Qingyue can object to that.¡± Although Shi Shaochuan was extremely infuriated and upset at Jin Bao¡¯er for setting Wen Lele on fire, he was angrier at himself for returning the custody to Jin Qingyue. After all, Jin Bao¡¯er was still his biological daughter, and he wanted to see her asionally. He just wouldn¡¯t allow her to live with him anymore. Shi Shaochuan was eager to go home. He initially didn¡¯t want to do what Bu Xianxian had suggested. Somehow, he agreed almost involuntarily, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do just that.¡± Bu Xianxian drove him to the hospital. She could tell that he seemed to be under the weather. The doctor suggested that he undergo a physical examination that, however, did not show any problems with his health at all. Hence, the doctor thought that Shi Shaochuan was just having an overly active sex life and wanted him to be mindful of his health. The doctor did not let Shi Shaochuan be hospitalized nor prescribe him with any medicine. After all, there were no apparent issues with his health. However, Bu Xianxian insisted that the doctor allow him to be hospitalized, iming that Shi Shaochuan seemed to be sickly and unwell. Hence, after seeing how frail he appeared, the doctor decided to let Shi Shaochuan stay in the hospital for a day to undergo further observation. Hence, he was admitted to a hospital ward while Bu Xianxian called Jin Qingyue to tell her that Shi Shaochuan had been hospitalized and that he¡¯d like to see Jin Bao¡¯er. Jin Qingyue answered, ¡°Didn¡¯t he already see her at the boot camp just now? Why does he have to meet her again?¡± ¡°We had to leave even before they got to chat properly. Shaochuan is hospitalized right now. Are you still not going to let Bao¡¯er meet him for a meal and apany him?¡± Jin Qingyue brushed her off, ¡°That¡¯s his problem. Don¡¯t call me again.¡± She then ended the call. Filled with exasperation, Bu Xianxian handed the mobile phone to Shi Shaochuan and said, ¡°See, this woman doesn¡¯t want to let you see Bao¡¯er at all. You¡¯re so silly. Why did you even return the custody to her?¡± Shi Shaochuan stared at her and said, ¡°You¡¯re acting so strangely... you clearly dislike Bao¡¯er, but why do you seem to be so concerned about her? Besides, after all that Bao¡¯er has done, I¡¯m truly terrified of her.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all because I care about you. Besides, she¡¯s only a child. We can always just teach her right from wrong slowly.¡± ¡°She seems to have changed a little for the better, though. But what do we do now? This excuse doesn¡¯t seem to work anymore.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no other option unless I go to the boot camp to talk to her,¡± said Bu Xianxian, who was at the end of her wits. ¡°Go ahead and give it a try, then.¡± Bu Xianxian expressed assent and said, ¡°If she still doesn¡¯te, there¡¯s no point for you to continue being hospitalized. I¡¯ll call youter.¡± Chapter 1333 - I Only Want You (31)

Chapter 1333: I Only Want You (31)

Bu Xianxian ryed the message to Jin Bao¡¯er, after which No. 5 sought the permission of Jin Qingyue, who vehemently objected to it once again. However, Jin Bao¡¯er began to get anxious and worried about her father. She was on the verge of tears. She had no choice but to beg No. 5 to bring her to the hospital, and she promised not to wander off on her own. She even tried to convince No. 5 that everything would be fine since she would be under his surveince and that it would just be a quick visit. No. 5 was initially insistent on sticking to his own principles. However, Jin Bao¡¯er was crying continuously in agony. Seeing how miserable she was, No. 5 softened his heart and conceded after taking into consideration that she had been rather obedienttely. Hence, he made her promise him that she would take no longer than ten minutes. Thus, No. 5, Jin Bao¡¯er, and Bu Xianxian headed to the hospital together. Shi Shaochuan was lying on the hospital bed, and he felt extremely heartened to see that Jin Bao¡¯er had really shown up. ¡°Daddy, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± ¡°Daddy¡¯s... sick. It¡¯s a little serious. Bao¡¯er, don¡¯t you want to have a meal with me?¡± said Shi Shaochuan, who felt as if he was not in control of his speech. Jin Bao¡¯er nodded and exined, ¡°I do, but I¡¯ve already promised Uncle No. 5 to stay here for no longer than ten minutes.¡± Shi Shaochuan looked at No. 5 and asked, ¡°Can¡¯t you let Bao¡¯er stay for a meal with me before bringing her back?¡± No. 5 said in refusal, ¡°No. Ms. Jin didn¡¯t allow it at first but I only decided to bring Bao¡¯er here to see you because of how upset she was. She kept crying and weeping. Please don¡¯t make any further requests.¡± Despite feeling rather disgruntled, Shi Shaochuan had no choice but to concede. Jin Bao¡¯er stayed for ten minutes before leaving with No. 5. Bu Xianxian did not exit the ward and instead sent a text message. She then said, ¡°You may not have gotten to eat with her, but at least you know that Bao¡¯er still cares about you. Your efforts didn¡¯t go in vain.¡± Shi Shaochuan expressed assent and said, ¡°I keep feeling really weak and heavy. I¡¯d like to catch some sleep.¡± ¡°There¡¯s another bed here. Just lie down and take a nap. We¡¯ll go back after you wake up.¡± Shi Shaochuan remained silent and closed his eyes while lying down. He dozed off shortly after and fell into a deep sleep. Bu Xianxian sat down and continued using her mobile phone. Half an hourter, she received a notification from the bank, which told her that a payment of 700 thousand dors had been transferred to her ount. She smiled gleefully and stood up immediately to leave. She left Shi Shaochuan alone in the ward. She could have made the ghost child kill Shi Shaochuan. However, she did not do so because she knew that An Xiaoning was a psychic medium and would definitely find out that she was the culprit behind the act. By then, not only will all of Shi Shaochuan¡¯s assets go to Jin Bao¡¯er, she would also be held responsible for his death too. Hence, she decided to stop when it was time to do so, for she did not want to be liable for anything. To her knowledge, she did not break thew. Besides, she had never loved Shi Shaochuan or wanted to marry him. Hence, leaving now would be the best option. After adding the 300 thousand dors that she had received upfront, she thought one million dors was enough tost her for a long while, provided she doesn¡¯t squander the money away. .... No. 5 and Jin Bao¡¯er were knocked out by drugged handkerchiefs that were put over their mouths after they left the hospital. The two of them were then brought away. They tied No. 5 up and dumped him in an abandoned house before abducting Jin Bao¡¯er. Before leaving the boot camp, No. 5 promised that they would be back within forty minutes. Noticing that they had yet toe back yet, the responsible guards at the door decided to call him again and again. However, No. 5 never once picked up. Hence, the guard decided to inform the instructor, Chen Xu. Chen Xu then informed Jin Qingyue about the mater. Jin Qingyue was bbergasted to hear that No. 5 had ignored her words and brought Jin Bao¡¯er to the hospital. She sent some bodyguards to the hospital to search for Jin Bao¡¯er. However, the bodyguards reported back to her that Jin Bao¡¯er was nowhere to be found in the hospital and that they had only seen Shi Shaochuan sleeping in his ward. Jin Qingyue continuously tried to call No. 5 but to no avail. Hence, she had no choice but to call Fan Shixin. When she finally found No. 5, she discovered that he had been knocked unconscious and that Jin Bao¡¯er was not with him. Everyone figured out that they had met with a mishap. However, it was impossible that Shi Shaochuan had abducted Jin Bao¡¯er since he was hospitalized. Hence, he was eliminated from the list of possible suspects. When No. 5 finally came to, he recounted everything that had happened in detail. Bu Xianxian was then pinned as the prime suspect. Needless to say, Bu Xianxian did not walk in the same direction that Jin Bao¡¯er and No. 5 did. Thus, they searched and found something unusual with Bu Xianxian¡¯s call history instead. They followed the leads, which led them to Wen Lele. The police only needed two hours to find out that Wen Lele was the culprit. Shi Shaochuan flew into a rage the moment he learned about the matter after he woke up. Yet, to the policemen¡¯s bewilderment, Shi Shaochuan¡¯s anger vanished almost instantly. They werepletely puzzled. The police then began searching for Wen Lele everywhere. At the same time, An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin had yet to return from the town. Little did anyone know, Wen Lele did not flee to a faraway ce and was instead staying in her own house, which she had rented specifically because of this task. It was a fully-detached house that was located in a remote area. The abductors whom she had hired left after taking their due wages and handing Jin Bao¡¯er over to her. Hence, everyone was greeted with the sight of Wen Lele sitting on the ground with a knife in hand. There was blood trickling down from the knife. Jin Bao¡¯er was lying on the ground next to her, clearly having been stabbed multiple times. There was a pool of blood on the ground. Just as the police were about to step forward, Wen Lele picked up the knife and stabbed herself straight in her neck with it ruthlessly. Her will to die was apparent from the strength that she had applied. The police officers scurried toward her, only to have her blood stter all over their bodies. ¡°She asked for it...¡± Wen Lele murmured with her veryst breath before copsing onto the ground. When the police officers were about to pick Jin Bao¡¯er up, she came to all of a sudden and began spasming because of the immense pain. They then hurriedly carried her to the car and rushed her to the hospital. They also informed Wen Lele¡¯s family about her death. The police learned that Wen Lele had long transferred all of her savings, which amounted to about four million dors, to her parents and informed them of her passwords under the pretext of wanting them to help safe keep her money. Clearly, she had already decided to die way beforehand. An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin rushed to the hospital to see that Jin Qingyue, Ling Ciye, and Jin Qingyan were all there. Bawling loudly in despair, Jin Qingyuemented, ¡°It¡¯s all No. 5¡¯s fault. I clearly told him not to bring Bao¡¯er to the hospital to see Shi Shaochuan and yet he defied my orders. He even took her there out of his own ord and ended up causing such a tragedy.¡± Chapter 1334 - I Only Want You (32)

Chapter 1334: I Only Want You (32)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios An Xiaoning was at a loss for words, and she barged into the operating theater without another word. As soon as she did, Shi Shaochuan reached the entrance of the operating theater. Upon the sight of him, Jin Qingyue eximed in exasperation, ¡°What are you here for? It¡¯s all your fault that this happened to Bao¡¯er. Are you happy now? Shi Shaochuan, you¡¯re the one who returned Bao¡¯er¡¯s custody to me. Since you had already decided that you don¡¯t want her anymore, why did you still go look her up!?!¡± Shi Shaochuan was momentarily speechless. Atst, he retorted, ¡°Do you really think I wanted this to happen to Bao¡¯er!?! It¡¯s all because you didn¡¯t want to let me meet her!¡± Afraid that the fetus would be affected because of how furious and agitated Jin Qingyue was, Ling Ciye hurriedly tried to cate her feelings, ¡°Cut it out. Wait for the results patiently.¡± They finally quietened down. With a grave expression on her face, An Xiaoning stared at Jin Bao¡¯er, who was lying on the operating theater. It was clear that the doctors were trying their best to resuscitate and rescue Jin Bao¡¯er. An Xiaoning felt much more relieved after realizing that Jin Bao¡¯er¡¯s soul did not leave her body. However, she was still uncertain and was worried upon seeing the sullen expressions on the doctors¡¯ faces and the massive amount of blood everywhere. When An Xiaoning exited from the operating theater, Jin Qingyue frantically asked, ¡°Sis-inw, how is Bao¡¯er now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not too sure about her exact condition, but she¡¯s still in the midst of emergency rescue. Qingyue, what are her birth characters?¡± Jin Qingyue told her straight away since there were no outsiders around. An Xiaoning¡¯s heart sank after hearing the birth characters and remained silent afterward. Noticing the change in her expression, Jin Qingyue asked, ¡°Sis-inw, is she... in danger?¡± After taking a look at the time, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Bao¡¯er will pass away in a minute¡¯s time. She can¡¯t be rescued. Go inside and take a look at her while you still have time.¡± Jin Qingyue was on the verge of passing out, and she only managed to get back on her feet with Ling Ciye¡¯s help. As soon as she did, she sprinted toward the operating theater. The moment she entered, the surgeon sighed and said, ¡°We¡¯ve already done the best we could.¡± Jin Qingyue leaped toward the operating table, followed by Shi Shaochuan. Jin Bao¡¯er opened her eyes slightly and was breathing heavily. She had been administered with a half-body anesthetic, which numbed her body from the neck down. Hence, she was still conscious from above the neck. The reason for the half-body anesthesia was to prevent her from falling unconscious. Jin Qingyue grabbed her hand with tears falling from her eyes continuously. ¡°Bao¡¯er, it¡¯s Mommy. Bao¡¯er...¡± ¡°Mommy... don¡¯t... don¡¯t me Uncle... No. 5, I... I... was the one who insisted on going... I... really... really... regret doing that... I shouldn¡¯t have done that to Auntie Wen... how... is she... now...¡± ¡°She¡¯s dead. She killed herself.¡± Jin Bao¡¯er could no longer make another sound. She opened her mouth and shifted her gaze onto An Xiaoning. She struggled to speak for the veryst time. ¡°Auntie... I... really... know my mistakes...¡± She fell silent afterward and closed her eyes. Jin Qingyue began bawling loudly and fainted shortly after. Ling Ciye carried her out of the operating theater while An Xiaoning stood rooted to the ground, incapable of speech. No one could change what had already been written in the books of fate. Everyone remained silent throughout the journey back from the hospital. An Xiaoning was particrly quiet. Shi Shaochuan tagged along back to Wei Ni Estate because they had brought Jin Bao¡¯er¡¯s corpse back home. An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan did not chase him away on ount that he was Jin Bao¡¯er¡¯s father. However, An Xiaoning snapped the moment she saw Shi Shaochuan grabbing No. 5 by the cor. ¡°Stop what you¡¯re doing, Shi Shaochuan. This is not your home.¡± ¡°If he hadn¡¯t defied Jin Qingyue¡¯s orders, Bao¡¯er probably wouldn¡¯t have died!¡± An Xiaoning stepped forward and pulled him away. ¡°You¡¯re the one at fault and yet you¡¯re ming others. Weren¡¯t you the one who insisted that Bao¡¯er go visit you at the hospital? Why are you shifting the me to No. 5 now? No. 5 didn¡¯t want that to happen to Bao¡¯er! I¡¯ll punish No. 5 for failing to stick to his principle, but you¡¯re in no ce to punish my bodyguard. Shi Shaochuan, don¡¯t forget where you are right now!¡± Shi Shaochuan pushed her hand away and murmured, ¡°Bao¡¯er is gone now. She¡¯s already dead.¡± An Xiaoning rebuked, ¡°Why are you shedding crocodile tears now? Do you still not know the reason behind Bao¡¯er¡¯s death? Even if No. 5 made Bao¡¯er stay in the boot camp, she would still have died at that same timing tonight. That¡¯s because you¡¯ve already been controlled and manipted long ago! Do you still remember what I said to you in the supermarket previously? There¡¯s a spirit on your back!¡± Shi Shaochuan stared at her in astonishment and asked, ¡°A spirit on my back?¡± ¡°I initially thought that Bu Xianxian had summoned a ghost child to ride on your back so as to milk more money from you. I never expected that she would collude with Wen Lele and devise a scheme against Bao¡¯er. Even if you didn¡¯t meet Bao¡¯er today, she would still have thought of another solution to make you do so. Shi Shaochuan, did you forget how you killed Wang Fangfang back then? Bao¡¯er had inherited your cruel and ruthless nature. How dare you have the cheek to me others?¡± An Xiaoning thought that the main reason was that Jin Qingyue had failed to discipline Jin Bao¡¯er and teach her the right values from a young age. However, she would not say that out loud. Gics may not be changed, but a child can be brought back onto the right track with some discipline. After all, it was clear that Jin Bao¡¯er had improved significantly within a short period of time. ¡°Is there still a spirit on my back?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s gone now.¡± Gritting his teeth in anger, Shi Shaochuan murmured, ¡°Bu Xianxian, that damned woman...¡± An Xiaoning warned, ¡°If you resort to any illegal acts, you¡¯ll definitely be put behind bars. ¡± Needless to say, Shi Shaochuan obviously understood that fact. However, he resented Bu Xianxian to the core. No wonder I allowed her to stay by my side even though I didn¡¯t even want to see her at all. No wonder my body was acting against my wishes and I seemed to have lost control over my actions. No wonder I was so lethargic all the time prior to this. If only I heeded An Xiaoning¡¯s advice after running into her at the supermarket that day. Perhaps things wouldn¡¯t have... ¡°An Xiaoning, since you had already seen the spirit on my back at the supermarket that day, why didn¡¯t you fend it off? Had you gotten rid of it, I wouldn¡¯t have been bewitched and manipted by Bu Xianxian!¡± bbergasted to see how unreasonable he was, An Xiaoning eximed, ¡°I already told you clearly that day that there was a spirit on your back but you refused to believe me. What was I supposed to do? Force a ritual onto you? Shi Shaochuan, how shameless of you to be ming everyone else but yourself. Have you got peanuts for brains? Are your brains loaded with feces? You¡¯re not wee here, scram!¡± Chapter 1335 - I Only Want You (33)

Chapter 1335: I Only Want You (33)

Shi Shaochuan said, ¡°I¡¯ll leave if you let me take Bao¡¯er¡¯s corpse away.¡± ¡°Why should I let you do that? Qingyue holds the rights to her custody. You don¡¯t have the right to take Bao¡¯er¡¯s corpse away,¡± said An Xiaoning, who immediately instructed her bodyguards to chase Shi Shaochuan out of the house. He was then driven away. An Xiaoning was fuming with anger. All of a sudden, No. 5 got onto his knees in front of her and said apologetically, ¡°Sis, it¡¯s all my fault. I¡¯m willing to give my life up as a punishment.¡± She looked down at No. 5 and sighed before saying, ¡°You may have made a mistake, but it doesn¡¯t warrant a death sentence. Get up on your feet first.¡± No. 5 stood up with tears in his reddened eyes and proceeded to follow her to the living room. Still unconscious, Jin Qingyue was lying down on the couch with a needle and tube attached to the back of her hand. An Xiaoning sat down while No. 5 stood beside her, feeling as if he was stepping on eggshells. ¡°Do we see to Bao¡¯er¡¯s funeral now or wait for Qingyue toe to?¡± asked An Xiaoning. Ling Ciye answered, ¡°Let¡¯s do it now.¡± Jin Qingyan instructed Fan Shixin to prepare a coffin and mark out a space on the burial ground. The burial ceremony for children was usually kept simple. A deafening silence filled the air in the living room. Jin Qingyue finally regained her consciousness. She appeared extremely haggard after having suffered a huge blow. As soon as she opened her eyes, she began tearing up again. Upon the sight of No. 5, Jin Qingyue questioned angrily, ¡°What did I tell you? Why did you refuse to listen to me? Why!?!¡± ¡°Bao¡¯er was constantly crying and begging me to let her visit her father. I took pity on her so I gave in. I made her promise that she wouldn¡¯t take any longer than ten minutes...¡± ¡°You took pity on her? I ordered you to ensure her safety and yet you took matters into your own hands and defied my orders. If you hadn¡¯t taken her to the hospital, she probably wouldn¡¯t have died!¡± An Xiaoning looked up and exined, ¡°Qingyue, I sent No. 5 to discipline Bao¡¯er and take her in hand, not to be her bodyguard. No. 5 did make a mistake this time, but he wasn¡¯t the cause of everything. Don¡¯t guilt-trip him or make him feel emotionally burdened. If I hadn¡¯t let No. 5 follow Bao¡¯er to the boot camp this time, you wouldn¡¯t have med him, would you? Bao¡¯er was destined to die at that timing today. Even if No. 5 didn¡¯t allow her to visit Shi Shaochuan, she would still have died at that exact timing. There was a spirit on Shi Shaochuan¡¯s back that had been summoned by Bu Xianxian. That spirit was in control of Shi Shaochuan, so Bao¡¯er would have definitely met him, one way or another.¡± She continued, ¡°Besides, the purpose of Bao¡¯er¡¯s existence in your life was so you could atone for the sins that you had done and repay her everything that you had owed her in her previous lifetime. Everything happens for a reason. Don¡¯t you agree? Honestly speaking, No. 5 did a great job at disciplining Bao¡¯er, and it was apparent that she had be much more sensible. It was very possible for Bao¡¯er to have turned over a new leaf. Qingyue, think about all that Bao¡¯er had done in the past, including the instances where she tried to kill you and Ciye by leaving the gas stove on, as well as the one where she set Wen Lele on fire. There were problems with the way you educated her in the first ce. You didn¡¯t take her in hand since she was a child and it resulted in her wed character. But of course, gics have a part to y as well. You can¡¯t just be concerned about your own daughter. You have to remember that your daughter ruined someone else¡¯s life as well. Wen Lele is also someone else¡¯s daughter. That¡¯s all I have to say. Give my words some thought. Karmic retribution is the reason for everything.¡± Jin Qingyue was at a loss for words and instead continued weeping incessantly. She absolutely regretted spoiling Jin Bao¡¯er rotten and giving in to her despite her wayward behavior. It was all toote now. The tragedy had already taken ce. What had been done cannot be undone. Jin Bao¡¯er¡¯s corpse was cremated, and her ashes were ced inside the coffin. Jin Qingyue requested, ¡°Sis-inw, could you let me talk to Bao¡¯er?¡± An Xiaoning sighed and said, ¡°You¡¯re pregnant right now, it¡¯d be detrimental to your fetus...¡± Before she could even finish, Jin Qingyue pleaded, ¡°It¡¯s alright, Sis-inw, please.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give it a try. Come with me.¡± Jin Qingyue followed An Xiaoning to the ritual room. Ling Ciye was not allowed to enter and thus had to wait outside the door. More than an hourter, Jin Qingyue exited. She appeared much less agonized. However, An Xiaoning had turned as pale as a sheet. Such rituals would definitely take a huge toll on An Xiaoning¡¯s health. She would usually avoid it whenever possible. ¡°Qingyue, how did things go?¡± Ling Ciye asked. Jin Qingyue nodded and said, ¡°Let¡¯s bury her now. Don¡¯t wait until tomorrow.¡± .... The sky had already turned pitch ck by the time Jin Bao¡¯er¡¯s ashes were buried. An Xiaoning had no choice but to dy her patrol around the water reservoir in the Widows¡¯ Vige. However, it was not toote yet and, hence, An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin rushed back to the vige. The female maintenance worker was still waiting for her, just like she had expected. ¡°Officer, why are you here at such ate hour?¡± An Xiaoning answered, ¡°We were tied up with something in the city. Rest early, we¡¯ll just look around.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not tired. Shall I go with you guys?¡± the female asked. An Xiaoning had no choice but to agree with a nod. Fan Shixin initially suggested that she take a break tonight and conduct the investigation the following night instead. The water reservoir was extremely spooky at night. It looked rather bizarre at first nce. After walking for a long while, An Xiaoning stopped in her tracks and stared at the water in the center, only to discover that there was a figure that had its back facing them. The figure¡¯s body was submerged in the water from the waist down. The night vision goggles allowed them a clear view at night. The figure had long hair and a thin frame. It was clearly a woman. An Xiaoning remained silent and refrained from disturbing the figure. They then headed back again. They told the female worker to rest before returning to Madam Wang¡¯s house. After soaking their feet, An Xiaoningy down in bed and began telling Fan Shixin what she had seen at the reservoir. Although he did not see the spirit, her description of the terrifying sight gave him goosebumps. ¡°Seems like there¡¯s really a major problem with this reservoir.¡± ¡°Young Madam, why didn¡¯t you intervene when you discovered the spirit back then?¡± ¡°I expended lots of energy while performing the ritual for Bao¡¯er tonight. We¡¯ll talk about it tomorrow. She doesn¡¯t know that I can see her, and she¡¯s not the only one inside the reservoir anyway. After all, there had been so many casualties all these years. There are definitely more spirits.¡± Tears welled up in An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes and she said, ¡°Frankly speaking, I really regret promising Qingyue to discipline Bao¡¯er. Although there are significant changes in her attitude, it still...¡± She continued, ¡°I¡¯m just afraid that No. 5 will me himself for it and live in guilt.¡± Chapter 1336 - I Only Want You (34)

Chapter 1336: I Only Want You (34)

¡°I wanted to say this just now. How could Missy and Shi Shaochuan push all the me to No. 5? That¡¯s so unreasonable of her. They were attacked when No. 5 happened to send Bao¡¯er home. Bao¡¯er couldn¡¯t have stayed in the boot camp forever anyway. The culprit would have definitely found another way to take action. I can understand her pain and sympathize with them for losing their daughter, but they can¡¯t just push all the responsibility to No. 5. That¡¯s so irresponsible of them. Besides, I feel that Bao¡¯er¡¯s upbringing has a lot to do with the way she had turned out. The way that they had educated her and her personality were the main problems.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already told the rest of them to talk to No. 5 and counsel him. This is such a tragic incident. Wen Lele did that just to avenge herself, but Bu Xianxian... she¡¯s just a horrible person.¡± ¡°Young Madam, it seems on the surface that Bu Xianxian would not be held liable for this. After all, the only evidence we have is of her contacting Wen Lele and Shi Shaochuan. However, we still don¡¯t have proof of Wen Lele instigating Bu Xianxian.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean we can¡¯t find any proof. Bu Xianxian is definitely going to be implicated since she had already gotten herself involved in this.¡± Fan Shixin looked up at the sky and said, ¡°I¡¯m really speechless when ites to Bu Xianxian. She could have lived very well at first, yet she just had to lead herself onto this path of no return. I really wonder what goes on in her head.¡± ¡°The spirit that she¡¯s feeding doesn¡¯t seem to be a kind soul. If she doesn¡¯t serve it well, she¡¯s going to end up in trouble.¡± Feeling extremely exhausted, An Xiaoning closed her eyes and began getting some rest. ¡ª¡ª Shi Shaochuan knocked on the door with all his might. However, Bu Xianxian and her parents simply refused to open the door. Atst, Bu Xianxian had no choice but to call the security officers of the estate. Bu Xianxian finally felt relieved after Shi Shaochuan was brought away from the estate. Mrs. Bu had no idea what was going on exactly and was worried sick; so was Mr. Bu. Bu Xianxian sat on the couch, feeling extremely ill at ease. She had been feeling that way ever since she heard about Wen Lele¡¯s suicide. However, she constantly tried tofort and reassure herself. She repeatedly told herself that it had nothing to do with her since she was not the one who killed Jin Bao¡¯er. Clearly, her reassurance did not work at all. Her prayers did not stop the police from knocking on her door. Bu Xianxian was brought away by the police for interrogation and further investigation. Shocked out of their senses, Mr. and Mrs. Bu tagged along to the police station. They were bbergasted after hearing the police officers¡¯ exnation. No matter how many times the police officers questioned her, Bu Xianxian insisted that she had just broken up with Shi Shaochuan and was merely acquaintances with Wen Lele, whom she had contacted a few times. However, the police officers were no fools. When asked about the one million dors that she had received from Wen Lele, Bu Xianxian hemmed and hawed before answering, ¡°We¡¯re just acquaintances, but I... I told her who the culprit who had set her on fire was. She gave me that money as a token of gratitude.¡± ¡°If it was a token of gratitude, shouldn¡¯t she have given you the lump sum all at once? Why did she split it into two payments? Besides, aren¡¯t the timings of transfer a little too coincidental? Thest payment was transferred a short while before something happened to Jin Bao¡¯er. Bu Xianxian, don¡¯t think we don¡¯t know that you had been up to some witchcraft.¡± Bu Xianxian vehemently answered in denial, ¡°She split it into two payments because she found that the amount she gave me at first was too little. That¡¯s why she transferred me arger sum afterward. Is there a problem with that?¡± ¡°In that case, we¡¯ll have no choice but to force you to undergo hypnosis.¡± ¡°How dare you hypnotize me at the police station?¡± ¡°Why can¡¯t we hypnotize you? It¡¯s the fastest way to make people like you speak the truth.¡± Bu Xianxian said in refusal, ¡°That¡¯s an invasion of privacy. I refuse to be hypnotized.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve already received permission to do so, because Team Leader An had already seen those tricks that you were up to. Hence, she has allowed us to put you through hypnosis. Bu Xianxian, we have lots of ways to make you speak up.¡± Bu Xianxian began to get flustered and hurriedly said, ¡°I didn¡¯tmit any crime.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not up to you to decide if you¡¯vemitted a crime or not. Are you going to tell us the truth yourself or let us hypnotize you?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just tell you the truth.¡± Bu Xianxian finally came clean about the truth and revealed everything that had happened. She then said, ¡°Wen Lele was the one who looked me up and told me to do that. I didn¡¯t kill Jin Bao¡¯er or Wen Lele.¡± ¡°Did you merely set them up?¡± ¡°Whatever it is, I didn¡¯tmit a crime.¡± ¡°Ms. Bu, it seems like you still don¡¯t know much about thew in S Nation. Although you¡¯re not the mastermind, you¡¯re considered to be an aplice. Isn¡¯t that a crime?¡± Bu Xianxian asked worriedly, ¡°Aplice? Will I be given a sentence? How long will my jail term be?¡± ¡°That¡¯s for the court to decide.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to be put behind bars. I want to get out of here,¡± said Bu Xianxian, who began to panic. The police officer stood up and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have a choice.¡± ¡°I want to see my parents. Please just let me see them once.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t see them yet for now. We¡¯ll let you do so once you¡¯re allowed to.¡± Bu Xianxian was on the verge of breaking down. Her ultimate agenda for seeing her parents was to make them beg Jin Qingyan to save her. However, Mr. and Mrs. Bu would have definitely done that with or without her request. She was their only daughter, after all. How could they watch their daughter go to jail? Hence, after leaving the police station, Mr. and Mrs. Bu rushed back to Wei Ni Estate and asked to speak to Jin Qingyan. Jin Qingyan allowed them to enter. Upon the sight of him, Mrs. Bu teared up and began begging him to help Bu Xianxian while on her knees. Staring at them, Jin Qingyan said coldly, ¡°You guys want me to save an... aplice who was involved in the murder of my niece? Since she assaulted me and framed me previously, Bu Xianxian has already signed an agreement that states that I¡¯m no longer indebted to her for saving my life. Hence, I definitely won¡¯t save her. She¡¯s the one who brought all of these things upon herself. She¡¯ll at most be sentenced to a jail term of ten-odd years. That¡¯s nothingpared to someone else¡¯s life.¡± ¡°What? Ten-odd years?¡± Mrs. Bu was on the verge of passing out. She continued, ¡°Nick, Xianxian may have made a mistake and signed that agreement, but you can¡¯t deny that your life is worth more than that. If Xianxian didn¡¯t insist on saving you back then, you would have lost your life long ago. My husband and I promise that we¡¯ll move back to our hometown once Bu Xianxian is rescued from prison. We won¡¯te back to S Nation ever again. She¡¯s our only daughter. How are we supposed to live if she goes to jail for ten-odd years?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had enough of you people emotionally ckmailing me with the fact that she had saved me. That is not your get-out-of-jail-free card. If I give you a hand this time, how am I supposed to face my sister? End of discussion. Please leave,¡± said Jin Qingyan, who did not waver at all. Chapter 1337 - I Only Want You (35)

Chapter 1337: I Only Want You (35)

He waved and instructed his subordinates, ¡°Send them away.¡± He then headed upstairs. Mr. and Mrs. Bu wept in agony and continued to call his name incessantly. Jin Qingyan was beyond disappointed in Bu Xianxian. He felt that she was aplete lost cause. It was better not to save her, lest she creates more trouble when she¡¯s released. He thought that he had already done enough to repay them for saving his life. If Bu Xianxian did not test his patience and push the boundaries, he might have allowed them to continue staying in Wei Ni Estate. However, Bu Xianxian had ruined everything. She had misused her credit for saving him by emotionally ckmailing him. She hadpletely thwarted the rationale behind the noble act of saving another person¡¯s life. ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning did not make anyments after hearing that Bu Xianxian had already divulged everything. She spent the entire day chatting with the other women of the vige together with Madam Wang and ended up learning a lot about the vige. An Xiaoning had a feeling that their ounts were credible. One of the stories had piqued her interest and curiosity. It was one about an extreme tradition and rule that the vigers used to practice in the past. If a woman and a man were to be caughtmitting adultery, the woman would be drowned in a wicker basket while the man would be beaten to death with a rod. It was an ancient form of punishment that was widely used in the olden days. The person who had piqued her interest was Juan Zi, a wanton woman in the vige who was known to be promiscuous. She had oncemitted adultery with five different men and ended up getting caught red-handed by her husband. Needless to say, the consequences were dire. The five men were beaten to death while Juan Zi was drowned in a wicker basket. Back then, everyone took pity on Kong Desheng, Juan Zi¡¯s husband whom she had made a cuckold out of. To the shock of everyone, Kong Desheng died all of a sudden, just when they all thought the matter would blow over gradually. The doctor diagnosed that a heart attack was what caused his death. Hence, the incident became a hot topic for discussion and everyone took pity on Kong Desheng. ¡°Where did they drown her?¡± ¡°Where the water reservoir is. That ce used to be a punishment ground before the water reservoir was built. It used to be ake but it was much smaller.¡± What a coincidence. It was understandable for there to be lots of spirits in the reservoir since it used to be a punishment and execution ground. There must have been lots of casualties even before the reservoir was built. No wonder it felt so spookyst night. In the evening, Fan Shixin whipped up a few dishes that the two of them ate together while chatting about thetest information that she had received in the afternoon. After taking a short break, the two of them proceeded to the reservoir. An Xiaoning gave Fan Shixin two amulets to guard him against spirits. She would feel much less bored with Fan Shixin¡¯spany. The moon was not out tonight. Thus, it was extremely dark outside. An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin arrived to see that the female maintenance worker was still waiting for them. ¡°Aren¡¯t there any lights around the water reservoir? Switch them on.¡± ¡°There are lights, but they aren¡¯t that bright. Besides, themps are situated at a distance away from the reservoir.¡± An Xiaoning expressed assent and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯ll just wear my night vision goggles.¡± The female worker switched on all the lights. Just as she was about to tag along, An Xiaoning stopped her from doing so and said sternly, ¡°You may stay behind here. Don¡¯t follow us.¡± The worker actually did not wish to tag along. However, she found that it might have been inappropriate if she did not do so. Hence, she asked, ¡°You really don¡¯t want me to go with you?¡± ¡°Yes, you don¡¯t have to.¡± ¡°You guys be careful, then.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin said, ¡°We won¡¯t being back but keep the lights on.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± The two of them began walking toward the water reservoir and pretended to be a couple. An Xiaoning held onto Fan Shixin¡¯s arm and continued walking slowly. The two of them did not put on their night vision goggles, for their perfect eyesight allowed them to see their surroundings clearly despite the dim lights. ¡°The air in this vige is rather fresh. Shall we stay here for a few more days?¡± ¡°Sure, as long as you like it. We can stay here for a few more days.¡± After walking around for a while, An Xiaoning stopped in her tracks and turned around. She then tiptoed and rested her head on Fan Shixin¡¯s shoulder before whispering, ¡°It¡¯s out...¡± Fan Shixin froze in shock and asked, ¡°Where?¡± ¡°The middle of the reservoir.¡± Fan Shixin took the night vision goggles out of the bag and handed a pair to her. The goggles resembled an ordinary pair of shades. An Xiaoning could see much more clearly after putting them on. She took out an amulet that she had already prepared beforehand and held it in between her index and middle finger. She stood up straight and began murmuring a spell, after which the amulet darted away from her fingers. It hit the spirit in the water reservoir urately. The spirit was then propelled out of the water, after which An Xiaoning pulled Fan Shixin and shoved him behind her. She then chanted a spell that brought the spirit toward her. She could finally see the spirit¡¯s features. An Xiaoning said, ¡°Hello.¡± The woman stared at her, unable to move. ¡°Who are you...¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter who I am. What matters is, who are you?¡± ¡°I refuse to tell you.¡± ¡°Sure, stay silent forever, then. I bet you¡¯ve been dying your reincarnation for several years. I shall just hand you over to the reapers.¡± As soon as she saw An Xiaoning raising her hand, she yelled frantically, ¡°Don¡¯t, I don¡¯t want to reincarnate. I haven¡¯t fulfilled my wishes yet.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a police officer. What wishes do you have? Maybe I can help you fulfill them.¡± Upon realizing that An Xiaoning was a police officer who could see her, she asked agitatedly, ¡°Are you really a police officer?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°My name is Zhang Lili and I drowned to my death here eight years ago. I haven¡¯t gone to reincarnate because I want to see my son. However, they¡¯ve nevere here before, and I couldn¡¯t have left the reservoir if it weren¡¯t because of your amulet.¡± An Xiaoning asked in puzzlement, ¡°Why couldn¡¯t you leave? Spirits like you should be able to move about freely out of your own will.¡± ¡°Yes, but there are rules here. We¡¯re not allowed to leave this ce unless we¡¯ve found a scapegoat.¡± ¡°Rules? Who set them? Do you have a boss or something?¡± An Xiaoning asked with raised brows. ¡°If you let me see my son, I¡¯ll tell you,¡± said Zhang Lili. Chapter 1338 - I Only Want You (36)

Chapter 1338: I Only Want You (36)

An Xiaoning agreed, ¡°Alright, leave with me, then. Tell me the names of your husband and son. You¡¯ll get to see them very soon.¡± Zhang Lili beamed with joy upon hearing An Xiaoning¡¯s words and left with her. An Xiaoning began searching for thetest information about Zhang Lili¡¯s husband and son, only to discover that the situation was not ideal. ¡°Your husband has passed away five years ago and your son is in university now. He¡¯s in a boarding school.¡± ¡°Passed away?¡± ¡°Yes, he has already passed on.¡± ¡°Which university does my son go to?¡± An Xiaoning answered, ¡°A University in D City. We can only get to D City from here by ne. However, I¡¯ve already told the other police officers to contact your son. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll rush here once he receives the news, so just wait a little while.¡± Despite feeling apprehensive, Zhang Lili had no choice but to believe her. An Xiaoning was not that eager to find out everything tonight anyway. Hence, she did not rush to question Zhang Lili. Instead, she waited until bedtime to ask her a few questions. ¡°Do you know that lots of men in your vige had met with mishaps?¡± ¡°I knew about those urrences even before I died.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and continued asking, ¡°Did you know the reason behind their unexined and sudden deaths?¡± ¡°No, the vige was very chaotic back then. There were all sorts of theories and spections. However, I now know the reason.¡± ¡°I know you¡¯ll definitely tell me. After all, your husband¡¯s death very likely has something to do with this. Your son is not going to live here either. However, I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t want your son to be too afraid to evene back and visit you, do you?¡± Zhang Lili answered with a nod, ¡°That goes without saying.¡± After a moment of silence, she continued, ¡°You guys better not drink the water here.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been drinking bottled mineral water.¡± ¡°Good.¡± An Xiaoning finally received a piece of relevant information tonight. However, she knew that she could not be impatient with handling the matter. The police officers were extremely efficient, and Zhang Lili¡¯s son arrived from D City the next afternoon after a long car ride. Zhang Lili proceeded to have a conversation with her son in An Xiaoning¡¯s rented room. Zhang Lili could see and hear her son. However, thetter could only hear her voice. Even then, the youngd continued to bawl incessantly, unable to contain his emotions. It had never crossed his mind that he couldmunicate with his mother again via such an unprecedented method. Zhang Lili handed him a long list of instructions and also reminded him to visit her and her husband¡¯s graves more often. Her son agreed to do so. He stayed behind for the night and took the spot on the ground where Fan Shixin used to sleep. Zhang Lili also told An Xiaoning everything she knew, just like she had promised to. ¡°Eight years ago, I went to work in the fields and I happened to hear the sounds of children crying for help when I walked past the reservoir. I panicked and hurriedly rushed over to see if I could help. However, I could not see anyone at all, even though I kept hearing the cries. Hence, I thought that the child or children might have fallen into the reservoir so I began walking closer toward the water. Yet, when I reached the edge, a pair of hands grabbed me by my ankles and pulled me straight into the water...¡± She continued, ¡°I was terrified and I desperately yelled for help. Although the water was rather shallow, I could not seem to get out because I felt that there was something pulling me down continuously. Drowning felt terrible, and I was thinking to myself that it was over for me this time... ¡°After I died, I discovered that my soul had darted out of the water. As soon as I got out of the surface of the water, I was pulled downward again by an immense force. I only realized then that there were lots of wandering spirits deep inside the reservoir. They belonged to the people who had died from being drowned in wicker baskets or other drowned victims. ¡°I¡¯m considered a new spirit, and they made me follow the rules that they had set. I¡¯ll have to find myself a scapegoat to rece me before I can leave this ce. Otherwise, I¡¯ll never get to leave this reservoir. There are people watching this ce, and you could see mest night because I had seen you guys and I tried to lure you to the reservoir. However, I continued to stay silent. I didn¡¯t expect that you could see me, Officer. You could even drag me out of the water. ¡°The rules here are set by Juan Zi. I heard from the other spirits that Juan Zi was used ofmitting adultery with five men because her husband had framed her. Her husband earned a ton from working as a head contractor, and he ended up having an affair. He wanted to divorce Juan Zi but he was afraid of being criticized by the other vigers. Hence, he came up with that vicious n so that he could marry his mistress rightfully. Juan Zi and the five men were maligned by him. Those men were the friends of Juan Zi¡¯s husband, Kong Desheng. He invited them over for some alcohol and spiked their drinks with a drug that knocked them unconscious. He then removed all their clothes and threw them onto the bed before leaving. Back then, vigers simply believed what they saw. ¡°Juan Zi was full of vengeance when she died, and she swore that she would kill all the men who were involved in killing her, as well as their descendants. Of course, the first person she killed was her husband...¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin could more or less figure out what had happened to Juan Zi. ¡°How do we lure Juan Zi out?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°It¡¯s usually impossible because she never rises to the surface. I think her child could be the only solution. The female spirits in there are usually emotionally attached to their parents and children because they feel that their husbands are going to remarry anyway.¡± ¡°Children... are indeed their weaknesses,¡± An Xiaoning agreed with a nod. ¡°By the way, how long has she been dead for?¡± Fan Shixin asked. ¡°About twenty years or more.¡± ¡°That¡¯s about the same time as Liu Wanzhen¡¯s death, then.¡± ¡°Juan Zi was killed shortly after Liu Wanzhen¡¯s death. I remember it very clearly.¡± ¡°No wonder there were so many rumors about Liu Wanzhen. In fact, Liu Wanzhen died a wrongful death too. She was murdered by her mother-inw.¡± Zhang Lili eximed in shock, ¡°Her mother-inw? She seemed like a kind olddy, except she was ill-tempered.¡± An Xiaoning did not expect to find out another piece of truth from cracking an unresolved case. Within a short period of time, there was tremendous progress in the cases. An Xiaoning decided to prepare herself before heading to the reservoir again. ¡ª¡ª The sky had just begun to turn bright the next morning. Zhang Lili had already gone to reincarnate. Before she left, she was still staring at her son longingly, reluctant to leave. However, she had no choice. She had already died long ago. An Xiaoning received some updates from the police officers whom she had asked to look into Juan Zi¡¯s case. Both of Juan Zi¡¯s children were raised by their grandparents and had now established their own families. Chapter 1339 - I Only Want You (37)

Chapter 1339: I Only Want You (37)

It was rather easy for them to find the information since they could search the household registers that were registered under their real names. Ma Jianguo, Zu Dong, Gong Le, and Ding Liang split up to search for Juan Zi¡¯s children, after which they brought them back to the Widows¡¯ Vige. It was already noontime by the time they returned. Juan Zi¡¯s children did not believe what the police officers told them at first, and they thought that the police officers were just telling them tall tales. However, they had a sudden awakening after chatting with An Xiaoning. It was as if she had brainwashed them into believing her words. An Xiaoning¡¯s n was to use Juan Zi¡¯s children to lure her out and make her let her guard down. An Xiaoning spent the entire day making preparations. When evening arrived, it was time for her to carry out her grand n. She brought them to the reservoir. However, An Xiaoning clearly did not n to head there straight away. Instead, she said to Juan Zi¡¯s children, ¡°You two go to the reservoir first and do what I had instructed you to. Remember to put on the earphones.¡± The two of them nodded and began walking toward the reservoir slowly. However, An Xiaoning still did not see any spirits on the surface. She knew that all the spirits in the reservoir had already brought their guards up after being rmed by Zhang Lili¡¯s incident. It was not surprising at all. However, An Xiaoning was nning to use Juan Zi¡¯s children to lure her out. She was certain that Juan Zi would definitely surface to take a look at her children, whom she had not seen in decades. An Xiaoning was very confident. She and Fan Shixin proceeded to walk forward slowly. They stopped in their tracks when Juan Zi¡¯s children called her name and dered who they were out loud. After a long while, a head finally popped up from the surface of the water. An Xiaoning squinted to take a closer look and said softly into the mic, ¡°Her head is out. Continue calling her... louder...¡± The pair of brother and sister yelled Juan Zi¡¯s name a few times while holding hands, not daring to go too near the water reservoir. An Xiaoning finally saw Juan Zi clearly. Thetter was moving toward her children quickly and stopped when she reached a spot in front of them. However, An Xiaoning decided not to tell them yet, for they would definitely be frightened and terrified, even though Juan Zi was their mother. Instead, she stealthily took out the ten pieces of amulets that she had prepared beforehand and ced them near Juan Zi. Upon the sight of the revolving amulets, Juan Zi¡¯s children stepped backward in shock. An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin finally walked toward them. ¡°Juan Zi, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve been yearning to see your children. Are you happy now that I¡¯ve brought them here to see you?¡± ¡°What on earth are you doing? Are you a medium?¡± Juan Zi questioned in displeasure. ¡°Well, I can¡¯t tell you that. It doesn¡¯t matter who I am. What matters is, who are you and what have you done?¡± Juan Zi guffawed loudly and quipped, ¡°What have I done? What could I have possibly done? All I did was pay those people who had killed me back in their own coin. Why aren¡¯t they being punished for framing me and drowning me here? Why should I be the one who¡¯s guilty?¡± Juan Zi¡¯s daughter said fearfully, ¡°Mother... I heard that you were the one who killed all the male vigers. Stop killing others. Go and reincarnate.¡± The sullenness of Juan Zi¡¯s expression vanished, and she stared at her children who had already be full-fledged adults. She sobbed and eximed agitatedly, ¡°Your father was the one who killed me first. It¡¯s already been so many years and I still bear a grudge against them. I hate them, I hate them!¡± ¡°Mother, you¡¯ve already killed so many people. Just let go of your grudges. Brother and I didn¡¯t know the truth at first and we misunderstood you as well. We felt ashamed to have a mother like you and we didn¡¯t want to acknowledge you at all. However, we now understand that you had been framed after hearing Officer¡¯s exnation. Mother, you were the victim at first but you¡¯ve now be a murderer. Don¡¯t go on anymore, please.¡± Juan Zi¡¯s son said, ¡°Sister and I both find you very pitiful, Mother. However, we also feel guilty toward those victims whom you¡¯ve killed. Sister and I have families of our own now. We¡¯re living very well...¡± ¡°...¡± Juan Zi¡¯s children had managed to talk some sense into her. Atst, she looked at An Xiaoning with a gentler expression and said, ¡°You¡¯re very intelligent. You actually thought of using my children to lure me out of the water. More often than not, children are the weaknesses of parents.¡± ¡°I was merely a little curious about you after hearing about your story from the vigers, but I didn¡¯t expect that you would turn out to be the cause of all these tragedies. You¡¯re just a troublemaker who turned your grudges into motivation to kill those innocent lives indiscriminately.¡± Juan Zi hung her head low, at aplete loss for words. .... An Xiaoning performed an borate ritual. She had spent the entire day preparing for this. The entire ritual ended at twelve midnight. An Xiaoning had expended lots of her own energy while performing the ritual. It was the most energy-consuming andrge-scale ritual that she had ever performed in her life. She passed out right after performing the ritual. Fan Shixin had to carry her back to Madam Wang¡¯s home. Upon seeing how pale she was, Fan Shixin could not help but feel extremely worried. Juan Zi¡¯s children proceeded to leave together with Ma Jianguo and the other police officers. Fortunately, Fan Shixin had given Zu Dong the car keys and told him to drive the car back from the vige to the town, so as to make it easier for them to leave the next morning. Fan Shixin adhered to An Xiaoning¡¯s instructions and did not call Jin Qingyan to inform him about the situation. An Xiaoning did not want Jin Qingyan to be worried and hence told Fan Shixin that she would be alright. Thus, Fan Shixin stayed wide awake by An Xiaoning¡¯s side and waited for her toe to. An Xiaoning¡¯s mobile phone rang at past six o¡¯clock in the morning. Fan Shixin struggled to keep his eyes open and took a look at the caller disy to see that it was a call from Jin Qingyan. He was stuck in a dilemma and was unsure if he should answer. After trying to call An Xiaoning twice, Jin Qingyan decided to call Fan Shixin instead. Fan Shixing had no choice but to pick up. ¡°Young Sir.¡± ¡°Is your Young Madam still asleep?¡± ¡°Yes, she performed a major ritualst night that made her extremely exhausted. We¡¯ll be rushing back to the city today.¡± Upon hearing his words, Jin Qingyan asked gleefully, ¡°Is the truth out already? ¡°Yes. Young Madam is very efficient, and she never fails to solve tricky cases within an incredibly short amount of time. Young Madam is really impressive. Young Sir, you¡¯ve got such great taste.¡± ¡°That goes without saying. Okay, let her continue sleeping. Come back after she wakes up.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Fan Shixin ended the call and stifled a yawn. An Xiaoning regained her consciousness at around eight. She opened her eyes and realized that she felt extremely energized and rejuvenated. She looked up to see that Fan Shixin was sitting beside the bed, his elbows on its edge and his eyes tightly shut. Her heart was filled with warmth. Chapter 1340 - I Only Want You (38)

Chapter 1340: I Only Want You (38)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She called softly, ¡°Shixin?¡± Fan Shixin opened his eyes and asked, ¡°Yes? Young Madam, you¡¯re awake.¡± ¡°Yes, let¡¯s have a simple breakfast before heading back to the city. Let me driveter. You can put your mind at ease and take a nap.¡± She got out of bed to boil some water and made two bowls of instant noodles, which they devoured before getting ready to leave. ¡°Sister Wang, sorry to have imposed on you these past few days. We¡¯re going back now.¡± Madam Wang asked in astonishment, ¡°You¡¯re leaving so soon?¡± ¡°Yeah. The truth is out, and I¡¯ve already performed a ritual by the reservoir. The spirits there have all gone to reincarnate. There won¡¯t be any more unexined deaths of men in this vige. I¡¯ll get the police to publish a rification.¡± Greatly surprised, Madam Wang said, ¡°Really? That¡¯s wonderful, I no longer have to live in fear from now on.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll leave the nkets and the remaining food items here. Do keep them for yourself if you don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind them at all. You bought those with money. We can¡¯t let it go to waste. Why don¡¯t you guys take them with you?¡± ¡°Nah, we don¡¯t need them anymore, Sister Wang. Alright, we¡¯ll be leaving now. My car is parked by the vige entrance.¡± An Xiaoning was not wearing her mask because it was no longer necessary. ¡°Alright, then. I¡¯ll see you out.¡± Madam Wang walked them to the vige entrance. An Xiaoning got inside the driver¡¯s seat and stared at the women and children who were approaching her from afar. She waved all of them goodbye before driving away. She said to Fan Shixin, ¡°I initially thought that we¡¯d have to stay here for at least a month. Seems like changes are truly unpredictable.¡± ¡°Young Madam, it¡¯s all thanks to your ability tomunicate with spirits. If you didn¡¯t possess that natural gift, I doubt we¡¯d even get to the bottom of the matter after investigating for two months.¡± Fan Shixin reclined his seat and continued, ¡°I really can¡¯t stay awake anymore. Young Madam, I¡¯ll be taking a nap now.¡± ¡°Alright, go get some sleep. I¡¯ll wake you up when we¡¯re home.¡± Fan Shixin went to sleep peacefully after hearing her words. An Xiaoning drove throughout the four-hour journey home. By the time they arrived in the city, it would be almost one o¡¯clock. She focused all her attention on driving. There was no dy in the journey at all, apart from when she had to use the washroom. They arrived in A City at 12:04 pm. It was just the right time for lunch. Feeling a little hungry, she decided to have lunch before heading home. She had begun craving for some delicious food after having had simple meals during her stint at the vige. Hence, she pulled over in front of a restaurant. She then woke Fan Shixin up and said, ¡°Time to wake up.¡± Fan Shixin opened his eyes and scanned the surroundings outside the car, only to discover that they were already in A City. He asked, ¡°Young Madam, do you want to have lunch here?¡± ¡°Yes, let¡¯s eat before heading home. It¡¯s almost one anyway. Qingyan is definitely at the office now.¡± Noticing that she was about to alight from the car, Fan Shixin stopped her. ¡°Wait a minute.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Look who¡¯s there...¡± An Xiaoning looked in the direction that Fan Shixin was staring, only to catch sight of Pei Yi. Thinking that her eyes had been ying tricks on her, she squinted to take a closer look and realized that it was really Pei Yi. ¡°Why is he in A City?¡± ¡°Not sure. Isn¡¯t he forbidden from showing up in S Nation openly?¡± ¡°He must have sneaked in here,¡± said An Xiaoning, who knew that Pei Yi had never visited S Nation before. Was he here for something urgent? An Xiaoning could not figure out what his agenda was. Thinking that it was necessary for her to find out more, she put on her mask and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go take a look.¡± The two of them alighted from the car and began walking toward the restaurant. However, An Xiaoning did not choose to sit right in front of Pei Yi. Although she was wearing a mask, she did not wish to cross paths with him in in sight, especially since she was with Fan Shixin. Besides, there were also other patrons in the restaurant. An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin sat at a table in front of Pei Yi¡¯s. Due to the partition between the two tables, Pei Yi did not discover them. On the surface, Pei Yi seemed to be dining alone. An Xiaoning sent him a text message and asked, ¡°Where are you now?¡± He replied, ¡°If I told you, would you tell your people to arrest me openly?¡± ¡°I saw you just now. What are you doing in S Nation?¡± ¡°I¡¯m giving myself a break bying out for a breather.¡± An Xiaoning replied, ¡°Guess where I am now.¡± As soon as she sent the text message, An Xiaoning noticed a change in Fan Shixin¡¯s expression. She turned around and met Pei Yi¡¯s eyes. ¡°You¡¯re... smart.¡± ¡°Care to share a table?¡± ¡°No, let¡¯s eat separately.¡± Pei Yi scoffed because he had understood that she wanted to avoid suspicion. ¡°Suit yourself,¡± he said before returning to his own seat and continuing to have his meal. After cing their orders, An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin waited patiently for the food to arrive. ¡°Shixin?¡± asked a woman¡¯s voice. The two of them looked over to see that it was Wu Pingyang. Fan Shixin suddenly realized the restaurant was rather near the hospital that Wu Pingyang was working at. ¡°You¡¯re here for lunch too?¡± he asked. Wu Pingyang nodded and shifted her gaze toward An Xiaoning. Staring at the beautiful woman before her, she said subconsciously, ¡°Who¡¯s this...?¡± An Xiaoning opened her mouth slightly, not forgetting that she was still wearing her mask. However, she decided that it was better for her to keep quiet. After all, if she were to reveal that she was An Xiaoning disguised under a mask, Wu Pingyang would definitely start suspecting something. After all, why would she need to wear a mask when she¡¯s out with Fan Shixin? Wu Pingyang would definitely suspect that we have an ulterior motive and secret. Hence, she decided to keep her mouth shut in order to prevent overplicating things. She allowed Fan Shixin to do the talking instead. ¡°She¡¯s... someone whom Young Madam had assigned to work with me. We just came back. We were hungry so we decided to stop by for lunch,¡± Fan Shixin exined. Because of the pause Fan Shixin had made in his speech, Wu Pingyang found it a little suspicious and sat down straight beside him. ¡°Let¡¯s eat together.¡± She then called the waiter over and ced her orders. Things began to get a little awkward. Although An Xiaoning detested dining with strangers, she had no choice but to concede since Wu Pingyang was Fan Shixin¡¯s girlfriend. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me that you were back?¡± she asked. ¡°I just arrived in A City and I haven¡¯t gone home yet.¡± Wu Pingyang asked, ¡°Did you order drinks?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Shall we order a bottle of liquor?¡± Fan Shixin said, ¡°You may order one if you¡¯d like to have some drinks, but the two of us are going to sit it out.¡± Chapter 1341 - I Only Want You (39)

Chapter 1341: I Only Want You (39)

Women would usually drop the idea of ordering liquor after hearing their boyfriends say that. However, that was not the case for Wu Pingyang, who went on to order a bottle of liquor, nheless. It was reasonably priced. It was a 200-milliliter bottle of liquor that cost four hundred dors. An Xiaoning was extremely ufortable throughout the meal, for Wu Pingyang kept leaving her out of the conversation with Fan Shixin. To make matters worse, she polished off all the sauteed shrimps and chicken cubes that An Xiaoning had ordered instead of the vegetarian dishes that she had ordered herself. Yet, Fan Shixin could not voice his thoughts since he was her boyfriend. In conclusion, An Xiaoning did not enjoy herself at all. She lost her appetite and gestured to Fan Shixin that they should leave after having eaten just a morsel of food. She then waited for him inside the car. Fan Shixin nodded. After An Xiaoning left, Wu Pingyang finally blurted all the words that she had been keeping to herself. ¡°Just who is she? She didn¡¯t say a word to me at all. She seems rather aloof.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I already tell you that she¡¯s my colleague?¡± Fan Shixin wiped his mouth and said, ¡°Are you done eating yet?¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re done?¡± ¡°I have to get going. I¡¯ll go get the tab.¡± She interjected, ¡°Why are you getting the tab? Aren¡¯t you guys going to go dutch?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter who gets the tab. We¡¯re not calctive with each other.¡± Fan Shixin then began walking toward the cashier counter. Wu Pingyang was filled with disgruntlement. That woman is so beautiful. If they keep working with each other, something is definitely going to happen between them. When Fan Shixin returned after getting the tab, she asked, ¡°Is that woman married yet?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t look that young. She¡¯s still unmarried?¡± ¡°She has a boyfriend,¡± said Fan Shixin, who thought that it would be appropriate to say that since An Xiaoning was considered to be Jin Qingyan¡¯s girlfriend now that they had yet to marry each other again. Wu Pingyang immediately felt relieved after hearing that An Xiaoning was attached. ¡°However, you must go on dutch when you dine with your friends next time, so that no one will be shortchanged. That¡¯s better for everyone.¡± ¡°I already said we¡¯re not that calctive with each other. She didn¡¯t bring her credit card out with her today. She definitely wouldn¡¯t have let me get the tab if she did.¡± ¡°Those are just excuses. Women nowadays are so full of excuses. They¡¯ll simply say that they had forgotten to bring their cards or cash if they¡¯re thinking of letting someone else get the tab.¡± Fan Shixin was speechless. He had no idea how to answer her at all. They exited the restaurant to see that An Xiaoning was waiting for him in the car. Wu Pingyang then spoke to him for a long while before allowing him to leave. An Xiaoning started the engine and turned the car around. She only removed her mask after leaving the vicinity of the restaurant. ¡°Young Madam, you barely ate anything just now. Shall we... get Auntie Chen to cook something for youter?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯ll just have some snacks when we get hometer. You must get some rest and catch up on sleepter. You¡¯ve only slept for four hoursst night.¡± Fan Shixin expressed assent and said, ¡°I feel...¡± He paused in his speech, unsure of how he should continue. ¡°What do you feel?¡± ¡°I feel that my morals and values are very different from hers. Sometimes, I¡¯m really speechless when ites to the things that she says.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why you must consider it carefully before getting married. Otherwise, you¡¯d just be being irresponsible.¡± ¡°...¡± To An Xiaoning¡¯s surprise, Jin Qingyan was still at home and did not go to the office. ¡°Young Sir, didn¡¯t you go to the office today?¡± ¡°Of course not. I waited at home for your return.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes lit up and she said teasingly, ¡°Had I known earlier that you were at home, we would¡¯ve juste back for lunch. We had lunch at a restaurant beforeing home.¡± ¡°I know, I saw your location.¡± ¡°You definitely don¡¯t know who we saw at the restaurant.¡± ¡°Who...¡± An Xiaoning answered, ¡°Pei Yi. He said that he¡¯s here for a vacation by himself. I don¡¯t think he¡¯s that brazen toe here alone. Could it be that he had brought his bodyguards but they just didn¡¯t tag along with him to the restaurant?¡± Jin Qingyan answered, ¡°We never know. He should have brought some bodyguards with him, given that he knows his life would be in danger once his identity is exposed.¡± ¡°Well, we can only turn a blind eye to this. I¡¯ll just pretend that I didn¡¯t see him today,¡± said An Xiaoning. Jin Qingyan knew what her intentions were. Noticing that Fan Shixin seemed to be a little listless, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± An Xiaoning answered on behalf of Fan Shixin, ¡°It¡¯s been hard on Shixin. I fainted after performing the ritualst night and he was the one who apanied me throughout.¡± Jin Qingyan asked, ¡°You fainted? Why didn¡¯t Shixin tell me?¡± ¡°I told him to keep it from you because I was afraid that you would be worried.¡± She then said to Fan Shixin, ¡°Shixin, you may go back and get some rest. I¡¯ll chat with your Young Sir.¡± Fan Shixin nodded and said, ¡°Okay.¡± After he exited, An Xiaoning pulled Jin Qingyan upstairs excitedly. As soon as she closed the door, she leaped onto him and wrapped her legs around his waist. ¡°I didn¡¯t want you to drive all the way to look for me at night. That¡¯s why I told Shixin to keep it from you. Don¡¯t get angry.¡± Jin Qingyan¡¯s initial displeasure vanished instantly. He pulled her toward the bed and said, ¡°You¡¯re not to be so willful from now on. You can do your best, but you¡¯re not allowed to sacrifice yourself when solving cases.¡± ¡°I understand. That¡¯s why I must get enough rest before I can start working on the next case. The next case seems rather simple yet tricky at the same time. We already have sufficient evidence, but the police haven¡¯t dared to nab the culprit.¡± Jin Qingyan asked in puzzlement, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°What other reason could there be? It¡¯s because of the culprit¡¯s powerful background.¡± ¡°If you were to intervene, wouldn¡¯t you be offending the culprit¡¯s entire family? Such culprits often have a powerful family behind them to back them up, just like Zong Jingyi¡¯s case. It¡¯s not that easy to punish the culprit even though there is concrete evidence.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll talk about it when the problemes. I don¡¯t want to think about the case now. I¡¯ll only think about you. Although it¡¯s only been a few days and we even met once while I was there, I still missed you dearly. I feel like we¡¯re still in the honeymoon period of our rtionship.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± he asked gleefully. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I want to kiss you but I can¡¯t bring myself to.¡± ¡°Why?¡± An Xiaoning asked in puzzlement. ¡°Because you haven¡¯t rinsed your mouth or brushed your teeth after eating.¡± An Xiaoning hollered, ¡°Jin Qingyan, how dare you scorn me!?!¡± She then pinned Jin Qingyan onto the bed and began kissing him ferociously. Being extremely germophobic, Jin Qingyan cringed in disgust. An Xiaoning chuckled and stopped. ¡°Let¡¯s see if you dare to scorn me again.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare to... if I do it again, what¡¯s going to happen if you decide to kiss me after eating poop? I¡¯ll probably faint.¡± Chapter 1342 - I Only Want You (40)

Chapter 1342: I Only Want You (40)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Jin Qingyan! Are you tired of living!?!¡± ¡°Mdy, please spare me.¡± They only stopped after teasing and ying a fool for a long while. Jin Qingyan¡¯s mobile phone happened to ring all of a sudden. He stood up to grab his mobile phone, only to see that it was a call from Xiao Chenyang. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Come over in the afternoon. I¡¯m at home. Okay, bye.¡± ¡°Who called you?¡± An Xiaoning asked curiously. ¡°Xiao Chenyang.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°He said that filming officially ended today for En and that they¡¯re rushing back from B City. He¡¯s going to give me something very importantter.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± An Xiaoning asked, feeling extremely curious. ¡°The treasure map.¡± An Xiaoning asked in astonishment, ¡°Why would he give you the treasure map? What has gotten into him? He should be keeping it for himself.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll know the reason only after he arrivester. I find it really strange too. Why would he give me this out of the blue?¡± ¡°He must have his own reasons. By the way, I heard from Shixin that Xiao Chenyang had bought a mansion in our estate.¡± ¡°Yeah, I heard about it too.¡± She pped her hands and said, ¡°The neighborhood is going to get livelier now. Look, all of our friends have moved into the same estate as us. Qingyue and Ciye, Tianze and Yangyang, Xiao Chenyang and En. We don¡¯t have to travel that far to visit each other from now on. Speaking of which, I have to visit Qingyueter. Bao¡¯er¡¯s death had affected her greatly.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡± ¡°Let me take a shower first,¡± she said while getting out of bed. ¡°Shall I go with you?¡± ¡°No.¡± She knew for sure that if they were to shower together, it would definitely take more than an hour for them to be done. Hence, she decided that it would be better for her to shower by herself. An Xiaoning took forty minutes to shower and get dressed. She then proceeded to Ling Ciye¡¯s home together with Jin Qingyan. Jin Qingyue was lying on the bed to nurse her pregnancy. Noticing how sickly she seemed, An Xiaoning sat on the bed and asked worriedly, ¡°You¡¯ve lost weight. Have you been skipping meals?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve lost my appetite. I know that this is Bao¡¯er¡¯s destiny but I can¡¯t help but feel miserable. I don¡¯t me anyone now, however. I¡¯ve already figured it all out. Even though Wen Lele was the one who murdered Bao¡¯er, Bao¡¯er was the one who had ruined her life first. I really hold it against myself for failing to teach her properly. I¡¯m partly to me for the way things had turned out.¡± ¡°Since Bao¡¯er is no longer around, don¡¯t me yourself anymore. What matters most now is the fetus you¡¯re carrying. You¡¯re about to deliver soon. Qingyue, there¡¯s no point in brooding over it. Your health is of the utmost importance now. I can only say that Bao¡¯er is not destined to be your daughter forever. You must guide your children along and teach them the right values, not just fulfill their material needs.¡± Feeling as if her spirits had been lifted a little, Jin Qingyue asked, ¡°Sis-inw, has she gone to reincarnate yet?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a queue for reincarnation. She¡¯ll reincarnate when it¡¯s her time. Actually, you can think of it this way. She actually hasn¡¯t really left this world at all. You didn¡¯t seek her opinion when you gave birth to her, so she definitely doesn¡¯t need your permission to leave. She has the right to choose her new parents. Qingyue, thest thread connecting you to Shi Shaochuan is now broken. You¡¯ve already started a new life of your own too. Just keep looking forward and let bygones be bygones.¡± Jin Qingyue nodded and said, ¡°Ry my apology to No. 5. I shouldn¡¯t have put all the me on him. He didn¡¯t want this to happen either.¡± An Xiaoning was extremely gratified to hear her words. ¡°He¡¯s already learned his lesson this time. Qingyue, I can tell that you¡¯ve be much more soft-hearted and you¡¯re starting to put yourself in the shoes of others.¡± ¡°Sis-inw, about the money I promised to give you...¡± Before she could even finish, An Xiaoning waved and interjected, ¡°Don¡¯t talk about the money anymore. I won¡¯t take it. Bao¡¯er is already gone anyway. I never wanted to take the money in the first ce. Qingyue, don¡¯t let your fetus sense your misery. Try to keep yourself happy. Alright?¡± Jin Qingyue felt much better. After chatting with her for a while, An Xiaoning left. Jin Qingyue then said to Ling Ciye, ¡°Hubby... I¡¯m hungry.¡± .... An Xiaoning drove back to Sanqiao Estate. She parked her car by the entrance and knocked on the door. No. 6 opened the door. ¡°Sis, you¡¯re home.¡± ¡°Yes. How¡¯s No. 5?¡± No. 6 answered softly, ¡°No. 5 has been in low spirits. He doesn¡¯t talk to us much either. He¡¯s been cooping himself up in the room all day.¡± Just like she had expected... ¡°Let¡¯s go, take me to see him.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning headed to the dormitory on the third floor and pushed the door open gently to see that No. 5 was sitting inside the room. She entered while No. 6 waited outside the door, knowing better than to enter. ¡°No. 5.¡± No. 5 turned to look at her. ¡°Sis.¡± An Xiaoning sat on his bed and said, ¡°I just came back from Wei Ni Estate where I met Qingyue. She wants me to ry her apology to you. She feels sorry for shifting all the me onto you, so stop holding it against yourself. You did make a mistake so I¡¯m going to punish you now. Open your ears and listen up.¡± No. 5 immediately said, ¡°Sis, punish me severely.¡± An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°Alright, you shall do the household chores for a month as punishment. Do you have any objections?¡± ¡°No.¡± An Xiaoning patted him on his shoulder. ¡ª¡ª Xiao Chenyang and Fang En arrived in Wei Ni Estate at three o¡¯clock in the afternoon. They headed straight to Jin Qingyan¡¯s mansion. An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan were sitting on the couch and watching a movie with a bag of potato chips in hand. They were chatting merrily while watching the movie, just like a couple who were in the honeymoon period of their rtionship. Xiao Chenyang was d in a pair of shades and a leather suit that was simr to the one that Fang En was wearing. What a cool couples¡¯ outfit. ¡°En, congrats on thepletion of filming,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°Sis Xiaoning, which movie are you guys watching?¡± ¡°An arts and literature film.¡± Xiao Chenyang removed his shades and took a look at the television screen before saying, ¡°I doubt Qingyan actually enjoys watching such films. What a henpecked wimp.¡± Fang En giggled and said, ¡°It¡¯s good to be henpecked, but speak for yourself. You apanied me to watch a romance dramast night too.¡± Jin Qingyan remarked with a straight face, ¡°Chenyang, you¡¯re the pot calling the kettle ck. She just shot you in your foot.¡± Xiao Chenyang said nonchntly, ¡°It¡¯s fine, she¡¯s my woman.¡± An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Are you guys nning to settle down in Wei Ni Estate?¡± Chapter 1343 - I Only Want You (41)

Chapter 1343: I Only Want You (41)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°En and I don¡¯t n to stay here all year round. We just bought a mansion that we can stay in when we¡¯re back here next time.¡± An Xiaoning asked in bewilderment, ¡°Where do you guys n to live, then?¡± ¡°We¡¯re nning to always be on the road and travel around the world. Once we¡¯re done with traveling, we¡¯ll live on Mount Wanyan for half a year and stay here for the other half. How does that sound?¡± Jin Qingyan gave him the side-eye and said, ¡°Tsk, tsk, tsk, no wonder you¡¯re giving me the treasure map. Turns out it¡¯s because you¡¯re nning to live life on your own.¡± ¡°Life is short, to begin with, but there¡¯s a long way for us to go. We¡¯ve already gotten our future nned out,¡± said Xiao Chenyang, who seemed to have already made such ns beforehand. He could no longer be bothered about anything else, and all he cared about was the woman he loved. ¡°When do you guys n to get married?¡± ¡°En insists on getting married only after the television series has finished broadcasting. I¡¯ve agreed. There¡¯s no hurry anyway. I¡¯ve already begun preparing for the wedding. We¡¯ll be getting married next year,¡± Xiao Chenyang said, smiling. ¡°There¡¯s still a long time to go before that. What are you worrying about?¡± An Xiaoning asked while munching on an apple that she had picked up from the coffee table. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that you two will get married before me. I¡¯m getting married first. No one is to vie with me for first ce.¡± Jin Qingyan turned around and sneered, ¡°You¡¯re nuts. No one¡¯s vying with you. You¡¯re worrying for nothing.¡± ¡°En is my precious baby. I¡¯m going to suffer a major headache if someone tries to snatch her away from me.¡± Fang En felt a little embarrassed and shy after hearing his mushy words. She pinched him on his waist and said, ¡°Can¡¯t you keep a low profile?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not one to keep a low profile.¡± Jin Qingyan asked, ¡°Where¡¯s the treasure map?¡± Xiao Chenyang handed it to him and said, ¡°There you go. I¡¯ve been carrying it around with me, but I still haven¡¯t found a way to decipher it. Solve the mystery if you can and just keep it with you if you can¡¯t.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so generous, huh?¡± Jin Qingyan grabbed the treasure map and scrutinized it together with An Xiaoning. To her surprise, the map that she had once searched high and low for in V Nation turned out to be an extremely ordinary piece of paper. ¡°This is the treasure map? The person who made this was being way too haste and casual. It looks just like an ordinary piece of paper.¡± ¡°In that case, give it a try and see if you can tear it.¡± An Xiaoning tried to tear it, only to discover that it could not be torn no matter how hard she tried. She finally realized what was extraordinary about it. ¡°What is this made of?¡± she asked. ¡°The skin of a rare animal. It does look ordinary but it¡¯s not. The diagram on this is really difficult to decipher. I couldn¡¯t find the meaning behind it despite racking my brains for years. Anyway, I¡¯m no longer interested in this now. You guys may take over and try to figure it out.¡± Jin Qingyan took a few more nces at it before folding it. ¡°You may leave it here, then. Where did you find this map, though?¡± ¡°Um... Master gave it to me. I believe he would have given it to you if you hadn¡¯t gotten kicked out back then.¡± ¡°...¡± They decided to change the subject since Xiao Chenyang did not know much either. An Xiaoning asked, ¡°What have you guys been busy withtely?¡± ¡°En has been busy with attending publicity events for the television series. We¡¯re nning to stay in the estate until we get married.¡± An Xiaoning apuded and said, ¡°Wee, you¡¯re very wee.¡± Fang En smiled and said, ¡°Once we move the furniture away from the apartment in Qingyuan Estate, we¡¯ll have to sell it. However, I can finally live in peace and rx. I don¡¯t have to act anymore.¡± An Xiaoning said, ¡°You must be tired after all that hectic filming and publicity events. Take a good break and rest well. Fate works in an amazingly incredible way. What¡¯s destined to be yours can never be taken away from you. What¡¯s not destined to be yours will never be. That¡¯s life.¡± A whileter, the two of them dragged their luggage and left. Reminded of Yan Ge, An Xiaoning remarked, ¡°In this lifetime, Yan Ge showed up in En¡¯s life way before Xiao Chenyang did. He had also beaten Xiao Chenyang to winning En¡¯s heart, yet why didn¡¯t they end up together in the end? What is the reason? Do women subconsciously gravitate toward men who can give her a sense of security? Or do they prefer men who can love them unconditionally?¡± Jin Qingyan tilted his head slightly and said, ¡°How would I know what you women are thinking? However, it all depends on how the woman feels. Some women might not reciprocate your feelings, regardless of how much effort and sacrifices you¡¯ve made for her. No one can be certain when ites to fate.¡± ¡°Yan Ge is a very outstanding man too. I believe he¡¯ll be able to find his other half one day.¡± Jin Qingyan embraced her and said, ¡°Don¡¯t bother worrying for others. Let¡¯s figure this out togetherter. I¡¯m really curious about what treasures this map will lead us to.¡± ¡ª¡ª Although Yan Ge had wrapped up earlier than Fang En, he had yet to check out of the hotel. He returned to A City only after Fang En was done. He initially thought that Fang En had returned to Qingyuan Estate too. However, she did not. Yan Ge had never felt happiness ever since the day that they had broken up. Although he had long gotten used to living by himself in Qingyuan Estate, he suddenly realized that he could no longer do so. Thus, he headed to his parents¡¯ home instead. ¡°Son, are you done with filming?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m done,¡± Yan Ge said while rubbing his temples. ¡°Since you¡¯re done, you should go on a hiatus now and take a break from filming. It¡¯s time you thought about your future and your marriage. You¡¯re not getting any younger, and you¡¯ve already earned enough money.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bring this up to me all the time. If it weren¡¯t because of you back then, En wouldn¡¯t have been snatched away,¡± said Yan Ge, who was trying to suppress his anger. ¡°Who snatched her away?¡± Mrs. Yan asked. Yan Ge brushed her off, ¡°Mother, if you want to continue talking about this, I think it¡¯s time I leave.¡± ¡°Fine, fine, I won¡¯t talk about these things anymore. Will that do?¡± said Mrs. Yan, who could tell how frustrated and vexed he was. Hence, she decided to stop talking, lest he throws a fit and decides to nevere back again. Yan Ge left after dinner. To his surprise, he ran into Xiao Chenyang and Fang En in the corridor. The pair decided to stay in the apartment for the night and move out the following day instead. Upon the sight of Yan Ge, Fang En greeted, ¡°Hello, Senior Yan Ge.¡± He expressed assent and remained silent. Xiao Chenyang pressed the elevator button quietly. The three of them stood inside the elevator awkwardly, finding it a little hard to breathe. They exited from the elevator and returned to their own apartments. Yan Ge closed the door and thought to himself, Just how do I feel about En now? Chapter 1344 - I Only Want You (42)

Chapter 1344: I Only Want You (42)

Do I want her back? Or am I just feeling indignant? He could not figure out what exactly he was feeling. However, he knew that this was the most miserable he had ever felt about a breakup. He had some drinks by himself at night. He could have slept in since he no longer had to work, yet he woke up bright and early in the morning. It was because his interest was piqued by the ongoing situation opposite, which he had caught sight of while going to the washroom. Fang En was in the midst of moving. She¡¯s moving out of the house... He had long expected her to do that. After all, who would befortable with being neighbors with their ex? A look of dejection formed in his eyes. After pondering for a while, he freshened up and stood by the door while looking at her apartment. Upon the sight of him, Fang En walked toward the door and said awkwardly, ¡°We¡¯ve bought a house in Wei Ni Estate and we¡¯re moving away now.¡± Gazing at her, Yan Ge said, ¡°I¡¯d like to have a few words with you in private. Give me ten minutes.¡± Fang En agreed with a nod after giving it some thought. She followed him back to his apartment. Fang En looked at him and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing for you to apologize about. It¡¯s your right to choose the life that you want to live. Does he treat you well?¡± Fang En nodded and said enthusiastically, ¡°Very well, no one has ever treated me that well before.¡± ¡°Seems like he really treats you well.¡± After all, her expressions wouldn¡¯t lie. ¡°Senior Yan Ge, I hope that you can also be blissful in the future. We¡¯ve worked together twice, and I know that you¡¯d decided to act in the second television series because of me. I¡¯m also aware of everything that you had done for me. I won¡¯t forget the kindness that you had shown me. You¡¯re a very outstanding man, and you have a charming personality. I believe that you¡¯ll gain the affection of another woman who¡¯s far better than I am. I wish you all the best.¡± Yan Ge answered, ¡°Since you¡¯ve made me out to be such a brilliant man, why don¡¯t you want to be with me? Or did you choose to leave me because I¡¯m not good enough for you? No matter what, I have no choice but to let go of you even if I still have feelings for you. I hope he¡¯ll really love you for the rest of your life and never let you be treated unfairly. That¡¯s all I¡¯m asking for. As for me, my future is bleak. I came here just to tell you that I won¡¯t pester you again from now on. You don¡¯t actually have to move away.¡± Fang En said in denial, ¡°No... I¡¯m not moving away because I was afraid that you¡¯d pester me. The main reason is that Sis Yangyang and Sis Xiaoning both live in Wei Ni Estate and I¡¯ll be closer to them if I move there. On top of that, I¡¯ll be quitting the entertainment industry and pursue the life that I want once this television series has finished broadcasting.¡± Yan Ge knew that he and Fang En could never be friends again. They were, perhaps, fated to be strangers. Everything was decided by fate. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Young Madam, Bu Xianxian died.¡± An Xiaoning paused while eating and she asked, ¡°Who... who died?¡± ¡°Bu Xianxian.¡± Greatly taken aback, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°How did she die?¡± ¡°The police called you today, but they couldn¡¯t reach you so they tried to call me instead. They told me about the situation. Apparently, when Bu Xianxian¡¯s parents visited her, Bu Xianxian began twitching and quivering out of nowhere. Her parents then hurriedly called the police. As soon as the police arrived, Bu Xianxian died on the spot. The entire process took less than a minute.¡± ¡°Has her corpse been sent for an autopsy?¡± ¡°They¡¯re in the midst of carrying it out.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s really shocking, though. How did she just die all of a sudden? Karma got her really quickly. However, her parents must be devastated since she¡¯s the only daughter.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Why did Young Sir leave so early?¡± Fan Shixin asked. ¡°He left for the office without having breakfast. He said that he had something important to handle.¡± She wiped her mouth and zoomed upstairs. She then unplugged the charger from her mobile phone and made her way downstairs again with her bag. She made a trip down to the police station to find out more about Bu Xianxian¡¯s death. Coincidentally, the results of her autopsy were just released. ¡°She had died a sudden death.¡± An Xiaoning asked with raised brows, ¡°A sudden death? How?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Her parents are still here,¡± said Ma Jianguo. ¡°Take me to see them.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± An Xiaoning followed Ma Jianguo to the waiting room. She pushed the door open to see that Mr. and Mrs. Bu were weeping incessantly. They sprung up from their seats the moment they saw her. ¡°Ms. An, Xianxian died a wrongful death,¡± eximed the grief-stricken Mrs. Bu. ¡°Didn¡¯t anyone tell you that Ms. Bu had died suddenly?¡± ¡°We know, but, Xianxian... didn¡¯t die normally,¡± Mrs. Bu said while coughing violently. ¡°Did someone try to murder her?¡± ¡°It was the spirit that killed her,¡± Mrs. Bu said with tears in her eyes. An Xiaoning instantly understood what had happened. ¡°How did you know that it was the spirit that had killed her?¡± Mrs. Bu then told her the reason. It turned out that Mr. and Mrs. Bu had visited her for ten minutes. As soon as Bu Xianxian answered the door, she informed them that she had to go to the altar in her room to burn some food and toys as offerings to the child spirit that she had been serving. She also informed them that she would meet with a mishap if she fails to keep the child spirit happy and feed it properly. Right after Bu Xianxian finished speaking, she began struggling to speak and grabbed her own neck forcefully, as if someone was trying to strangle her. She then started twitching vigorously. After hearing Mrs. Bu¡¯s description, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Bu Xianxian was embroiled in this murder case because she had used the child spirit to help her and give her an advantage. She had to make offerings to the spirit frequently to get it to help her. Actually, she¡¯s just receiving her karma. May I visit your home?¡± Mr. and Mrs. Bu nodded. An Xiaoning sensed that the atmosphere was bizarre the moment she entered the apartment. An Xiaoning shifted her gaze onto the dressing room in Bu Xianxian¡¯s room the moment she opened the door. There were no cosmetic products on the dressing table. Instead, there were lots of other items. An Xiaoning and Mr. and Mrs. Bu took a step closer to look carefully. There was a tablet hanging on the mirror, below which was a rotten apple, moldy biscuits, milk, and children¡¯s toys. An Xiaoning took out an amulet from her bag and pasted it on the tablet before removing it. She then said to them, ¡°The ghost child that she¡¯s serving is inside this tablet. All of these food items and toys that have been offered to it will turn moldy immediately, regardless of how fresh they had been. It¡¯s a sign of the ghost child consuming them.¡± Chapter 1345 - I Only Want You (43)

Chapter 1345: I Only Want You (43)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Mrs. Bu burst into tears again. ¡°Xianxian has reallymitted so many mistakes. If she hadn¡¯t saved Nick back then, none of this would have happened. Things wouldn¡¯t havee to this.¡± Extremely displeased to hear her words, An Xiaoning retorted, ¡°You mean you think that she would have lived well with that horrible personality of hers even if she didn¡¯t save Qingyan? At the start, everything was going fine. She created so much trouble, yet Qingyan still forgave her every single time on ount that she had saved his life. This time, she did those things for the sake of money and her own selfish intentions. This has nothing to do with Qingyan at all. Don¡¯t leave a bad impression on me, alright? I¡¯m bringing this ghost child away with me. You guys won¡¯t have to worry about being harmed by it from now on. Collect Bu Xianxian¡¯s corpse from the police station and cremate it. I know you guys have a ton of savings. Those should be enough tost you for the rest of your life.¡± Mr. Bu interjected, ¡°Ms. An, don¡¯t mind what Xianxian¡¯s mother just said. We¡¯re just too devastated. My wife and I know what Xianxian is really like. However, she¡¯s our only daughter. We have nothing to look forward to anymore now that she¡¯s gone. Hence, can we ask something of you and Nick for thest time?¡± An Xiaoning had vaguely guessed what he was intending to ask her. ¡°Are you thinking of returning to N Nation?¡± ¡°Yes, could you please help us sell this apartment and settle our migration procedures...¡± ¡°Alright, you guys cremate Bu Xianxian¡¯s corpse and leave the rest to us.¡± After exiting Bu Xianxian¡¯s home, An Xiaoning got inside her car, finding life to be incredibly fascinating. Bu Xianxian used to be one of Jin Qingyan¡¯s wives in their previous lifetime. However, she had never managed to win his heart, be it in the past or in the present. An Xiaoning initially thought that Bu Xianxian would face a jail sentence. It had never crossed her mind that she would kick the bucket. She whipped her mobile phone out and gave Jin Qingyan a call to inform him of the matter. After hearing her words, Jin Qingyan immediately said that he would arrange for Mr. and Mrs. Bu to migrate back to their hometown and for their apartment to be sold. An Xiaoning returned to the police station and entered Pan Zhenghui¡¯s office. Pan Zhenghui said gleefully, ¡°We¡¯ve already sent orders for them to rify the matters regarding Widows¡¯ Vige. Xiaoning, you have no idea how famous you are now amongst our nation¡¯s police force. There¡¯s no case you can¡¯t solve.¡± ¡°Good that it¡¯s been settled. At least thoseizens will stop makingments about the S Nation police being useless for failing to solve cases. They have to be resolved sooner orter. Otherwise, they¡¯re just going to pile up.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, we have records of unresolved cases, no matter how long ago they date back to. We¡¯ll re-investigate them sooner orter even if we can¡¯t find any leads. Xiaoning, when do you n to start investigating on the next case?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the hurry? I still need to rest. I¡¯ll start working on it once I¡¯m ready. Didn¡¯t you say that all the evidence has been collected? I¡¯ll think about how to begin nabbing the culprit. After all, your superiors must have put a halt on this case for a reason. Isn¡¯t it simply because the victim has a powerful family background?¡± ¡°Indeed. It¡¯s better to be careful. Otherwise, it¡¯d be difficult to clear up the mess. Frankly speaking, we decided to seek your help for this case precisely because of your status, Xiaoning. No one else would dare to handle this case. We¡¯re at our wits¡¯ end too. Let¡¯s keep this between us.¡± An Xiaoning understood that, of course. There would always be dark sides in every industry. ¡°I¡¯m going back now. I¡¯ll look through the case details at home.¡± ¡°Alright, then. Get some rest.¡± An Xiaoning turned around and began making her way home. She proceeded to take a break until November. During this break, she perused all the evidence that had been gathered and collected pertaining to the unresolved case. During this break, Jin Qingyue gave birth to a four-kilogram baby via a C-section delivery. During this break, Fang En was rumored to have broken up with Yan Ge because the media had received news of her apartment being sold. However, Fang En had yet to make any rifications. During this break, Mr. and Mrs. Bu brought Bu Xianxian¡¯s ashes back to N Nation, together with the money from the sale of their apartment. During this break, the television series that she and Lin Mingxi had invested in began broadcasting and received a massive number of good viewer ratings. It was the third of November, the first day of snowfall in the year. An Xiaoning stood by the window and stared at the snowkes floating in the air. She caught sight of No. 8, who was running toward the door. She opened the balcony door and yelled, ¡°Why are you in such a hurry? What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Sis, Mo Li¡¯s pregnant!¡± An Xiaoning asked, ¡°How far along is she?¡± ¡°No idea. We¡¯re going to the hospital now for a checkup. We¡¯ve just done a test using a pregnancy test kit.¡± Noticing how excited he was, An Xiaoning smiled and said, ¡°Congrats, you¡¯re a father-to-be.¡± Beaming with joy, No. 8 said, ¡°We¡¯re going to the hospital now. I was just about to inform you about it. Mo Li is waiting for me in the car. We¡¯re setting off now.¡± ¡°Alright, go ahead. Drive safely.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± No. 8 scurried toward the entrance and got inside the car. He got inside the car merrily and hugged Mo Li tightly before kissing her enthusiastically. They were both over the moon and headed to the hospital immediately. Upon arriving at the First People¡¯s Hospital, he alighted from the car and helped Mo Li inside carefully with an umbre in hand. ¡°Yun Chen, you don¡¯t have to be so worried. It only started snowing today. It¡¯s not slippery yet.¡± However, No. 8 insisted on helping her in. They registered for a number and waited for their turn for a physical examination at the gynecologist¡¯s office. Ever since they visited the temple previously, Mo Li had stopped taking any herbal medicine and looked after her health meticulously. She made a conscious effort to have nutritious meals and strictly stayed away from junk food. No. 8 abstained from alcohol and cigarettes. An Xiaoning had also allowed him to stay at home and apany Mo Li. However, there had not been any changes for a long time. Mrs. Mo even began to doubt the abbess¡¯ words. Yet now, the day that they had all been waiting for was finally here. They would dly ept the child, regardless of its gender. Mo Li thought that Heaven was showing her mercy and kindness by blessing her with another child after she lost her daughter. She was incredibly grateful for the chance to be a mother again. Mo Li and No. 8 held hands tightly while waiting on the bench in the corridor, feeling extremely agitated and excited. It was four o¡¯clock in the afternoon. They waited for one hour for their turn. The couple entered together. The gynecologist instructed Mo Li to remove her quilt jacket before lying down onto the bed. She then lifted her shirt to expose her tummy. Mo Li knew what to do since she had undergone ultrasound scans before. Chapter 1346 - I Only Want You (44)

Chapter 1346: I Only Want You (44)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Although the pregnancy stick had already shown that she was pregnant, at this point, she was still anxious and afraid. She was afraid that it would be an ectopic pregnancy, or that there would be other problems. Although the check-up was very short, she felt like every second was an eternity. Finally, the doctor was done checking and she sat upright before getting down from the bed. No. 8 then passed her quilted coat back for her to wear. ¡°Congrattions, you¡¯re pregnant. The embryo has been sessfully imnted in your womb for about 42 days. It looks like everything is fine at the moment. But Ms. Mo, your uterine lining is rather thin, so I suggest that from this moment onwards, you rest in bed at home. After three months, you shoulde for another check-up. Give this report to the doctor to take a look again.¡± ¡°Alright. Thank you, doctor.¡± The doctor passed her the ultrasound report, and Mo Li and No. 8 took it out with them. The two looked at the ultrasound report as they walked, feeling rather anxious but overjoyed at the same time. With the ultrasound report in hand, they returned to the gynecologist¡¯s office again. Unexpectedly, the doctor inside the office was Qiao Yina this time. She was originally a gynecologist and was just transferred to the First People¡¯s Hospital not too long ago. She had just changed shifts with her colleague and, as such, it was not surprising to see her there. Upon seeing the two, Qiao Yina was rather taken aback. ¡°Ms. Mo, are you feeling unwell?¡± Mo Li sat down and passed her the ultrasound report. ¡°This is the report from the ultrasound room. The ultrasound doctor told me to bring it here for the gynecologist to see.¡± Qiao Yina took it from her. After ncing at the contents of the report, she was rather surprised. ¡°You¡¯re pregnant?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Qiao Yina¡¯s face froze but she still said, ¡°Congrattions. I don¡¯t see any problems from this report. You just need to rest well and start to consume some folic acid pills.¡± Mo Li nodded. ¡°Alright.¡± Qiao Yina wrote down a prescription of folic acid pills for her. When they left, she had still yet to recover from the shock. Mo Li was actually pregnant? She herself had not gotten pregnant, yet Mo Li was actually pregnant. At this point in time, she received a call from Ye Xiaotian, who told her to get off her shift. She briefly told the doctor sitting opposite her, ¡°I¡¯m going to see my mother-inw, she¡¯s not going to make it. It¡¯ll be hard on you tonight.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, go ahead.¡± With her white robe still on, she rushed to the ward department of the hospital. Ye Xiaotian, his brother and sister-inw, as well as Mr. Ye, were inside the ward, standing by Mrs. Ye. Mrs. Ye had grown extremely thin by this point, and her eyes were already sunken. She looked lifeless, like a shriveled corpse, and it was a sight that was difficult to take in. The doctor had already informed them that she was critically ill and that they should be mentally prepared. Ye Xiaotian also kept in mind what An Xiaoning had told him: that Mrs. Ye would pass away at 7:14 that tonight. As such, he had asked the whole family toe and see her. Qiao Yina closed the door shut and looked at her mother-inw lying on the hospital bed, not making a sound at all. It didn¡¯t feel right to just stand there and do nothing, so Qiao Yina asked Ye Xiaotian to go out with her for a moment. ¡°I have something to tell you.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± When they were outside the door, Qiao Yina said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you previously say... if Mo Li were toe to the hospital to have any check-up done, I have to tell you if I know about it? She came by just now.¡± Ye Xiaotian remained calm andposed. ¡°What was the check-up for?¡± ¡°She... she¡¯s pregnant. The embryo is 42 days old already.¡± Ye Xiaotian¡¯s nostrils constricted, and he unknowingly clenched his hands and asked again as if he had not heard her words clearly, ¡°What?¡± ¡°I said she¡¯s pregnant, the embryo is 42 days old already.¡± He did not express any more abnormality in his reaction, at least not in front of his wife. Seeing how he was acting, Qiao Yina did not say anything else. ¡°Was she alone?¡± ¡°How could she possibly be? Her man was with her.¡± ¡°Alright, got it.¡± Ye Xiaotian raised his wrist and nced at the time and saw that it was only past five o¡¯clock. There were still about two hours to seven o¡¯clock. He instructed Qiao Yina, ¡°Go in the ward first. I¡¯ll go out and have a smoke.¡± Qiao Yina nodded and entered the ward. Ye Xiaotian went out of the ward department and headed directly to his car. Inside his car, he started to light up a cigarette, but perhaps because of the cold or something else, his hands were shaking and he failed to light it up a few times consecutively. When the cigarette was finally lit, he breathed in the smoke deeply and gazed outside the window. Snowkes were falling down slowly and it was simply a beautiful sight. Yet the wound in his heart still had not healedpletely and hurt from being torn apart. He smoked many cigarettes in one sitting. There were a whole lot of cigarette buds on the ground outside his car, but they were very soon covered up by the snow. When Ye Xiaotian returned to the hospital ward, it was about seven in the evening already. He got everyone else to go out first, iming that he had to speak in private with his mother. Everyone abided by his instructions and went outside to wait. Ye Xiaotian bent down and looked at his mother¡¯s face. ¡°Mother...¡± His low and hoarse voice had a tinge of heartache. ¡°Mo Li¡¯s pregnant.¡± Mrs. Ye¡¯s originally listless eyes suddenly glistened. ¡°Wh... what?¡± ¡°She¡¯s more than one month pregnant already.¡± Ye Xiaotian sniffed a little, his eyes reddening. ¡°I regret it so much. I could have treated her very well. I could have cherished and protected her, but I didn¡¯t manage to do that. All I gave her was suffering.¡± Seeing the state he was in, Mrs. Ye consoled him, ¡°Son... forget the past, let bygones be bygones.¡± ¡°Mother, I love her. She¡¯s the only woman I¡¯ve truly loved.¡± He straightened his body and said, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that until now, you don¡¯t feel that you¡¯ve let her down?¡± Mrs. Ye¡¯s eyes were slightly unfocused. ¡°Now, it¡¯s toote to say anything already, so I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve let her down. Even when I¡¯m dead, I won¡¯t think I¡¯ve let her down.¡± ¡°Even on your deathbed, you still want to keep your dignity. Actually, you¡¯ve already regretted it, haven¡¯t you?¡± Ye Xiaotian held onto her hand. ¡°Mother, let¡¯s not be mother and son in our next lives anymore. Promise me, let¡¯s not have any rtion with each other ever again in our future lives. This life will mark the end of our fate as mother and son.¡± Tears were spilling out from the corner of Mrs. Ye¡¯s eyes, and he reached out to wipe them away for her. On the third day of the 11th lunar month, urately at 7:14 pm, Mrs. Ye passed away. Ye Xiaotian did not continue staying in the hospital anymore. While the family brought Mrs. Ye¡¯s body back to the Ye residence, he went to the Gu residence instead. When he arrived, Gu Beicheng was carrying his son and ying with him. Upon hearing that Ye Xiaotian was here, he ced his son down on the bed beside Lin Mingxi. The weather was pretty cold out there so he could not possibly carry his child out. Once he arrived downstairs, he noticed Ye Xiaotian sitting on the sofa, looking extremely grim and dull. ¡°Xiaotian, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Beicheng, my mother¡¯s dead.¡± Upon hearing this, Gu Beicheng patted his shoulders and replied, ¡°My condolences.¡± ¡°Beicheng, get a few bottles of wine you have in your house. I want to drink.¡± Seeing how horrible of a mood he was in, Gu Beicheng then got the maid to get some wine and decided to drink a few sses with him. However, he did not expect that Ye Xiaotian would raise the wine bottle and drink directly from it. From the way the other was drinking, Gu Beicheng knew that he was feeling extremely upset. ¡°Xiaotian, don¡¯t drink like this, there¡¯s a ss here. Why are you drinking so fast?¡± He wanted to take away the wine bottle in Ye Xiaotian¡¯s hand but was unsessful. Chapter 1347 - I Only Want You (45)

Chapter 1347: I Only Want You (45)

While drinking, he told him, ¡°Beicheng, Mo Li¡¯s pregnant. ¡°It isn¡¯t my child. ¡°Do you think, if I had cherished her earlier, things wouldn¡¯t have ended up like this? ¡°I regret it so badly. ¡°Beicheng, there¡¯s no point in living anymore.¡± ¡°...¡± Gu Beicheng remarked as he watched him, ¡°It¡¯s not like you to be putting yourself through such torment. In this world, not everybody gets to be with the one they love.¡± ¡°Oh right... I forgot. You didn¡¯t get to be with your godsister either. But why can¡¯t I be one of those who can be with the person they love? It¡¯s all my fault... I¡¯m a jerk...¡± ¡°Just treat your current wife well and live well with her. Isn¡¯t that good too?¡± Ye Xiaotian looked at him. ¡°Beicheng, you haven¡¯t experienced the feeling of getting something and then losing it. It¡¯s worse than never getting a shot with the person you love.¡± Gu Beicheng was indifferent. ¡°No matter whether you lost someone you had or that you never got to be with the person at all, isn¡¯t the result the same? Xiaotian, don¡¯t think that someone who left you will still turn back for you. Even if you¡¯re dead, nothing will change in Mo Li¡¯s life. At the most, when she has nothing to do, she might think of having spent an unhappy time with a man like you. So you should take things easy. It¡¯s only when you lead a good life that, when the two of you meet again one day, you¡¯ll be able to give each other your blessing. That¡¯ll be the best ending.¡± Ye Xiaotian looked at him nkly. He had to admit, Gu Beicheng¡¯s words had gone straight to his heart. On this night, Ye Xiaotian did not go home but stayed at the Gu residence after drinking too much. After settling him down, Gu Beicheng went upstairs again. ¡°He¡¯s gone?¡± ¡°No, he drank too much. He¡¯s staying over at the guest room.¡± Gu Beicheng ced his son, who had finished eating, in the baby cot. Covering him with a nket, he was satisfied that it would warm him enough as the heat in the room was enough. He took off his coat, opened the covers, andy down on the bed. ¡°Xiaotian said that Mo Li¡¯s pregnant and that his mother¡¯s passed away. He¡¯s very upset.¡± ¡°From how I see it, he deserves it,¡± Lin Mingxi couldn¡¯t help but say. ¡°Back then, he divorced me and got back together with Mo Li. I was thinking back then that at least this pair of lovers had a good ending. To think that such a big reversal would take ce. Mo Li must be living a good life now with a man that treats her so well.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say that, he regrets it very much too.¡± Gu Beicheng went on slowly, ¡°But if it were me, things wouldn¡¯t have ended up like this. Sometimes, our character really determines our fate. It makes sense in a way. If, in principle, it was Mother¡¯s fault, I wouldn¡¯t let her have her way.¡± After hearing his words, Lin Mingxi said with a smile as she rested her head on his shoulder, ¡°I feel that this is the happiest time of my life. I have my husband, child, and family. Although we¡¯ve been through tough times, I think that life hasn¡¯t let me down. Beicheng, thank you for letting me be your wife.¡± Gu Beicheng held onto her hand. ¡°Thank you for letting me stay by your side as well.¡± The couple exchanged looks and broke into smiles. ¡ª¡ª It had been quite a long time, and An Xiaoning had still yet to open the investigation for the second case. Seeing how there was still no progress after quite some time, Pan Zhenghui called her to try to find out when she would begin investigating the case. An Xiaoning simply replied, ¡°Why are you anxious about this? It¡¯s a case that happened so long ago, would it matter if it takes a bit more time?¡± ¡°I can wait, but the main point is that the victim¡¯s family can¡¯t. Xiaoning, you won¡¯t be able to imagine what kind of life the family of the victim, Jiang Guoguo, is living now.¡± ¡°I know. I¡¯ve read the case file already. But no matter how much of a rush they are in, it still has to wait until I¡¯m ready to start investigating it formally. I haven¡¯t even fully understood where to begin with it.¡± ¡°I get this, I do, so I just want to ask you about when you will be able to start investigating it.¡± ¡°Probably within these next few days.¡± ¡°Alright, then, I¡¯ll wait for you toe to the station.¡± After hanging up the call, An Xiaoning rested her hands behind her head andy on the sofa, a scene appearing in her head. It was of a pretty and innocent-looking female university student who was brutally murdered in her dormitory in school. The murderer used a rope to tie the victim, who was asleep, to the metal ends of the bed. Her eyes were first stabbed by a sharp weapon, then her stomach was cut open. These were not enough. After this was done, the perpetrator sshed hydrofluoric acid on the victim. By sshing such a strong acid on her, even her bones would have melted into liquid form. As one can imagine, the victim had suffered such horrible torment before dying. It was not an understatement to say that she had died due to immense pain. Despite it being such a brutal murder, and under the circumstance where there was concrete evidence to convict the perpetrator, the murderer was actually able to escape from thew ¡¯til today. It was clearer to An Xiaoning than to anyone else that there was noplete fairness in society. Fourteen years had passed since the murder. Even when there had been concrete evidence to convict the murderer, they had failed to do so back then. This gave her little confidence that she would be able to change things now. Which was why she had yet to start the formal investigation of this case all this while. Even then, it did not mean that she was not thinking about the case. She crawled out from her covers and, after washing up, she opened the door of her wardrobe and chose a red feathered coat with ck leggings, along with a pair of snow boots. Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she then went downstairs. After eating breakfast, she went back to the university campus where the murder had taken ce back then. As the case back then had created a sensation in the whole nation and had not been cracked for so many years, the dormitory where the murder had taken ce was not allowing students to stay there anymore. It had been locked up all these years and had not even been used as a storage ce. Her sudden arrival was surprising to the principal and other leaders of the university. They had thought that something had happened in their school, but when they heard that she wanted to visit the dormitory where the murder had taken ce, they suddenly understood something. ¡°An Xiaoning, are you going to re-investigate this case now?¡± ¡°I do have such ns. Principal, don¡¯t you want this cold case to be resolved and the reputation of your university in A City to improve?¡± ¡°Ms. An, of course, I wish for that. This incident created an all-time low record for our student enrollment back then. Previously I saw how Ms. An cracked a more than 20-year-old case. I was just thinking, if Ms. An were toe and investigate this case, there will be hopes for it be cracked.¡± An Xiaoning made a gesture for them to lead the way. ¡°Then let¡¯s cut straight to the chase. You can show me the dormitory.¡± The principal got the chief to get the keys, and they went over together once the chief came back with it. The school had built a new dormitory building while the dormitory where the murder had taken ce appeared old and shabby. They went up the staircase from the first to the third floor. Atst, theynded before the door of room 317. The lock had not been opened for a long time and was extremely difficult to unlock. Even after a long time, they were still unable to unlock it. The principal could only remark generously, ¡°Smash the lock and rece it with a new one.¡± When the door was finally opened, the principal led them inside and put on the air as the leader of the school. ¡°Ms. An, look. This is the bed where the crime took ce.¡± Chapter 1348 - I Only Want You (46)

Chapter 1348: I Only Want You (46)

An Xiaoning looked toward the direction where his finger was pointed to. The bed was the lower bunk and was near the window. There was nothing special about it; it was just a metal bunk bed they use in dormitories. She surveyed the surroundings before asking, ¡°Which bed did Chen Anran sleep in back then?¡± ¡°She slept on the upper bunk, above Jiang Guoguo¡¯s bed.¡± The principal pointed to the upper bunk and remarked, ¡°Here.¡± An Xiaoning walked to the front of the bed and reached out to touch it lightly. The bed started rocking instantly. ¡°This bed is about to break apart already, can people even sleep here?¡± The principal answered, ¡°After all, it¡¯s been so many years already. Back then, it wasn¡¯t this rocky, just a little. It wouldn¡¯t affect the students¡¯ sleep.¡± ¡°But if the student sleeping on the upper bunk isn¡¯t considerate, it¡¯ll easily affect the student sleeping on the bottom bunk.¡± With that, she did not say another word and left the dormitory room. She only intended to have a look at the school casually. After leaving the ce, An Xiaoning received a call from Fan Shixin. He clearly informed her that he had gotten all the relevant information on the murderer, Chen Anran. Without any hesitation, she went back. After reading all the information, An Xiaoning remarked, ¡°She changed her name and got stic surgery. She even relies on sleeping pills to help her sleep all this while. It looks like she¡¯s still uneasy about that murder. What kind of deep feud would make her carry out such a vicious act?¡± ¡°What deep feud could two female students possibly have?¡± Fan Shixin analyzed, ¡°It must have been little things that built up over time and erupted. Moreover, those little things must have made the murderer exceptionally ufortable. For instance, snatching her boyfriend or badmouthing her. Everyone¡¯s different. Some are more magnanimous while others may be more petty and narrow-minded, keeping everything inside their hearts and not saying anything about it. But at the end of the day, they remember every single thing clearly.¡± ¡°There is concrete evidence and all, but her motive for the crime is still unclear. After all, back then, Chen Anran wasn¡¯t interrogated. We still don¡¯t know what her reason for carrying out the murder is.¡± An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Is she currently hiding overseas with a different identity?¡± ¡°Yes. That¡¯s what the investigation results show. She onlyes back during festive seasons to visit her family.¡± ¡°But there¡¯s still some time before the new year. I¡¯ll make a trip overseas to meet her first. Actually, this is what I n to do...¡± An Xiaoning exined slowly, ¡°If I can prate her psychological barrier, we don¡¯t need to go through other unnecessary trouble. From how she still uses sleeping pills, it¡¯s evident that she is affected by the murder. Although I know the possibility of this working out is pathetically small, I should at least see what she¡¯s like first.¡± ¡°If she had a conscience, she would have turned herself in long ago. Would she be such a coward and not admit her crime?¡± ¡°Even if she¡¯d wanted to turn herself in, her family wouldn¡¯t have agreed to it. Her family members are reputable figures, they¡¯d naturally have wanted to conceal this. Moreover, she may be more afraid of dying. We wouldn¡¯t know since we haven¡¯t interacted with her and have no understanding of her at all.¡± ¡°I feel that Young Madam doesn¡¯t need to make a trip overseas yourself and that you¡¯d be able to lure her back home.¡± ¡°What n have you got?¡± ¡°Once you officially announce that you¡¯ll re-investigate this case, her family, including herself, would be more worried than you are. Let them contact you themselves. Wouldn¡¯t that make it easier for them to expose themselves?¡± An Xiaoning felt that this idea was not a bad one. ¡°But... what if they don¡¯t contact me themselves?¡± ¡°I think they will. They must know that you¡¯re already aware of who the murderer is for this case, so they might want to talk to you in private.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think they will, because the evidence is a back-up copy.¡± An Xiaoning shrugged. ¡°As such, they don¡¯t know that we have the evidence with us. They probably think that the evidence has been destroyed already.¡± Fan Shixin¡¯s jaw widened slightly. ¡°You mean, the Chen family doesn¡¯t know that there is still evidence remaining?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°I¡¯m really curious as to who left the evidence behind back then. Whoever it was, he or she was really quite brave.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I really admire this person. The evidence was the surveince camera footage along the corridor of the girls¡¯ dormitory that was left behind from back then. During that period of time, Chen Anran was the only one who returned to the dormitory and the windows were also equipped with an anti-theft function. Putting these aside, other pieces of evidence that were unable to be copied were destroyed. But even then, this piece of evidence is more than conclusive enough.¡± Fan Shixin suggested, ¡°Then I think that Young Madam could give the Chen family a call and tell them that you have the evidence in your hands...¡± An Xiaoning didn¡¯t think much of this idea. ¡°I still want to see her myself. Give me the exact location where she is staying.¡± ¡°I think Young Sir will go mad again. After all, he hopes you can stay at home every day so that he can see you.¡± An Xiaoning smirked. ¡°It¡¯s wishful thinking on his part.¡± .... When they were about to sleep at night, Jin Qingyan¡¯s liver nearly burst open when he heard that she was going overseas. ¡°Can¡¯t you just stay in A City obediently?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be back very soon.¡± He wasn¡¯t too happy to hear her answer. ¡°Do you need me to apany you?¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re tired enough, going to thepany every day.¡± He turned over, half-resting on her. ¡°Then, how many days will you be gone?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be back within a week.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You¡¯re upset?¡± ¡°You must be back within four days.¡± After some thought, An Xiaoning felt that four days should be enough if things went smoothly, so she agreed. ¡°Alright, four days it will be, then.¡± Seeing her agree to it, Jin Qingyan allowed a smile to appear on his face. He touched her face affectionately and remarked, ¡°Good girl.¡± ¡ª¡ª The following day, An Xiaoning boarded the ne to leave the country. Once she left, Pei Yi called her. She was about to switch off her phone when she received his call. ¡°Are you at home?¡± ¡°No. Is anything the matter?¡± Pei Yi answered, ¡°Can I meet you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m on a ne right now, it¡¯s taking off soon. I have something that I have to settle overseas. Aren¡¯t you back home yet?¡± ¡°No. After being in your country for some time, I find I¡¯m quite liking it here,¡± Pei Yi remarked casually but with a serious look on his face. ¡°Since you¡¯re not in S Nation, forget it. I¡¯d wanted to meet you since we didn¡¯t really talk much previously at the restaurant.¡± ¡°There are quite a few ces with nice scenery in S Nation, you can go around and have a look. But did youe alone or with someone?¡± ¡°If I told you I came alone, you definitely won¡¯t believe it.¡± His lips curled into a faint smile and, upon hearing the sound of the ne engine on the other end, he added, ¡°I won¡¯t disturb you anymore, I¡¯m hanging up.¡± With that, she hung up the call as well and looked up at the ne that was taking off while leaning back against the seat. Since he hade to S Nation, he had been by himself the whole time. He did not bring a single person with him. That¡¯s right. Sometimes, one simply had to have insane courage. Nobody would have thought that he would go there alone, but that just was the truth. Pei Yi drove his car back out of Wei Ni Estate. Of course, An Xiaoning didn¡¯t think that Pei Yi had anything important he was looking for her about. If there was, he would have told her over the phone. She had gone to a neighboring country. After a rather short ne ride, she arrived. Chapter 1349 - I Only Want You (47)

Chapter 1349: I Only Want You (47)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When she arrived, the local weather wasn¡¯t good and the sky was rather downcast. Having only brought a set of bright clothing and necessities, she pulled her luggage out of the airport and took a taxi to her destination. When she arrived at the residential estate, she went to have a meal first. The estate waspletely different from how she imagined it to be. It wasn¡¯t a high-ss residential estate, and the buildings weren¡¯t new either. No matter how she looked at it, it seemed like an old residential estate. Chen Anran would actually live here? But there was nothing wrong with the address Fan Shixin had given her. Carrying all these doubts, An Xiaoning entered the stairway of one of the buildings. There was a foul smell in the stairway, so she went in with her hand covering her nose. There wasn¡¯t even a lift, only stairs. An Xiaoning could only climb the stairs all the way to the fourth storey. Surveying her surroundings, she realized that the estate didn¡¯t even have surveince cameras installed in the stairway. She had gone there without a mask. She had thought that since she was going there, there was no need to conceal her identity; her re-investigation of the case would soon be made known to all. She pressed the doorbell once, but there was no sound inside at all. Could she not be home? She pressed the doorbell yet again. This time, a rather loud noise sounded from inside. It sounded like something had dropped, and the noise was pretty crisp and clear, like the sound of ss shattering on ceramic tiles. Judging from how the sound could be heard so clearly from outside, it was evident that the house wasn¡¯t soundproof at all. Would Chen Anran, someone who had an established family background, stay at such a shabby ce? The door eventually opened. The woman that stood before An Xiaoning was distinctly different from her. Her hair was in aplete mess, and her face was in terrible shape and had poor coloring. There was no makeup on her either. The pair of loose-fitting set of pyjamas looked disharmonious on her thin body, and a gust of hot air blew from inside the house, seemingly from a heater. ¡°You¡¯re... An Xiaoning?¡± She actually recognized her. ¡°Hi. May Ie in?¡± She looked at An Xiaoning in astonishment and eventually murmured a short answer and agreed. She really waspletely different from how An Xiaoning imagined her to be. Her tone was warm and gentle, and no matter how she looked at her, she didn¡¯t look like someone ruthless. Even then, An Xiaoning still knew never to judge a book by its cover. After she went in, it was then that she saw a rather huge vase shattered into pieces on the floor. It must have been this that had produced the sound earlier. ¡°Please... take a seat.¡± An Xiaoning muttered a reply and sat on the sofa piled with clothes, trying her best not to sit on her clothing. ¡°What brings you here?¡± ¡°Why do you think I¡¯ll be here to look for you, Ms. Chen Anran?¡± She stared straight at An Xiaoning, her dry lips twitching slightly. ¡°Although I¡¯ve been overseas, I still keep an eye on the events happening within the country. I know you¡¯re great at solving cases and can even talk to the dead to find out the truth behind cases. So, have you already talked to Jiang Guoguo? She hasn¡¯t been reincarnated yet?¡± To think that she would bring up Jiang Guoguo¡¯s name first. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if she has been reincarnated already. I only went to your school to take a look. As to her home and grave, I haven¡¯t been to those ces yet as I wanted to talk to you first. Ms. Chen, you¡¯re quite different from how I imagined you to be.¡± ¡°Did you think that I¡¯d be living a luxurious and carefree life?¡± ¡°That was one thought. The other thing is that you don¡¯t look as ruthless as I thought you would be.¡± An Xiaoning did not forget to survey her home as she spoke. ¡°I can tell that you haven¡¯t been living well these ten years.¡± Chen Anran shrugged her shoulders. ¡°Indeed. I wanted to die, but I was scared. I wanted to live, but I couldn¡¯t live well. This kind of feeling is extremely torturous as well. I thought that Ms. An came to find me after you¡¯d talked to the deceased. It turns out you didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°I find something wrong with what you¡¯re saying. Why would I onlye and look for you after I¡¯ve talked to the deceased? This means there¡¯s something wrong.¡± ¡°There isn¡¯t. If you didn¡¯t have any concrete evidence, would youe and find me?¡± She remarked honestly, ¡°I paid a lot of attention to local news, but most of it was news about you, Ms. An. You probably wouldn¡¯t know, I¡¯ve read all the major cases that you¡¯ve taken part in. You¡¯re really quite efficient in handling cases. When I saw you assisting the police in solving major cases, I kind of guessed that you might take up Jiang Guoguo¡¯s case as well. This is what I¡¯ve expected.¡± ¡°Even then, it looks like you¡¯re not afraid that this case would be made known to all again. Furthermore, you don¡¯t seem afraid of what could possibly happen to you. Didn¡¯t you say that you¡¯re afraid of dying? Howe I can¡¯t see that in you?¡± Chen Anran looked at her and replied, ¡°Ms. An, I know that your status is different, but you¡¯re not someone who¡¯s involved in our national affairs, after all. You don¡¯t have actual power in your hands. I¡¯m not afraid to tell you this because it¡¯s the truth. So, even if you have concrete evidence in your hands, what can you possibly do to me?¡± Her tone was calm andposed, but An Xiaoning could sense a tinge of arrogance in her. ¡°Ms. Chen.¡± An Xiaoning stared straight at her face. ¡°I do have conclusive evidence to prove that you were the one who killed Jiang Guoguo. Although you think that I can¡¯t do anything to you, I just want to tell you that amongst the cases that I had investigated previously, the victims of the two cases that took ce in the Widow¡¯s Vige didn¡¯t reincarnate because they had deep grudges. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s the same for Jiang Guoguo now, but even if she has been reincarnated, it¡¯s fine. I already have concrete evidence with me.¡± ¡°What evidence?¡± ¡°Surveince camera footage,¡± she answered bluntly. ¡°Back then, after Jiang Guoguo entered the dormitory, you were the only one who went in throughout the whole time. There were no other people.¡± Her face finally changed slightly. ¡°Aren¡¯t the evidence all destroyed? Where... did this evidencee from? I thought you had other evidence with you so you came to find me. But if it¡¯s the surveince camera footage back then, that¡¯s not quite possible.¡± COMMENT ¡°For such an extremely brutal murder case like this, not everyone will fear the power of your family and not dare to do anything. At least, someone dared to keep a copy of this evidence. Chen Anran, your family background may be impressive indeed, and I don¡¯t have much power in national matters either, but do you know how united the onlinemunity is toward such cases? There are still many people who have their attention on this case. I believe that since you pay attention to news of me so much, you probably also paid attention to news on this case that was created by yourself. You definitely know how theizens discuss and think of this case. Is this also the reason why you couldn¡¯t live well all these years? Chen Anran, have you ever felt remorseful for what you have done to Jiang Guoguo?¡± Her gazended on the messy coffee table, where all kinds of trash from snack packaging to drink bottles were scattered around, and she appeared as if she was contemting this matter. She kept silent for a long while and did not answer An Xiaoning. An Xiaoning was not in a hurry either and patiently waited for her to answer. Chapter 1350 - I Only Want You (48)

Chapter 1350: I Only Want You (48)

¡°When a cowardly personmits a crime whilepletely being aware of its consequences, it goes to show how she had reached the limit of her endurance and how she did it with the mindset of perishing together with the victim,¡± Chen Anran replied, clearly confessing that she was the murderer. At the same time, An Xiaoning hade prepared to record her confession. It was impossible for Chen Anran to not have known this. ¡°All these years, I haven¡¯t had a good night¡¯s sleep. Once I close my eyes, I can see hering to me for revenge and treating me the same way I did her. To me, every single day has been a torturous and painful day, but I don¡¯t even have the courage to kill myself. Ms. An, I¡¯m about the same age as you, but look at me, don¡¯t I look like someone who¡¯s 50 years old already? As for you, you look like you¡¯re in your twenties. This is the direct effect of what one¡¯s life choices bring.¡± ¡°Can you tell me the motive of your crime?¡± She was unbothered and replied frankly, ¡°Do you know what my family has instructed me time and again? They warned me never to leave this estate, and they would punctually give me living expenses every month, but they simply forbade me from going out. All these years, I¡¯ve been living alone and had no one to talk to. It¡¯s been pretty horrible. The instant I ruined Jiang Guoguo¡¯s life, I ruined mine as well. But when I think that I may have been too impulsive back then and start to regret, whates to mind is everything that she did to me...¡± It turned out, Jiang Guoguo and Chen Anran were both Year 3 students in that particr university in A City and were studying the same major. When they were allocated the same dormitory room, Chen Anran was supposed to sleep at the lower bunk of the bed, but Jiang Guoguo reached the room before she did and told her that she didn¡¯t like sleeping on the upper bunk as she had to exert effort to climb up. She also said that she moves quite a lot when she sleeps at night, so she was afraid that she would fall down from the bed. Hence, without seeking Chen Anran¡¯s opinion, she simply settled down on the lower bunk of the bed. Very coincidentally, Chen Anran did not like sleeping on the upper bunk either. But seeing how Jiang Guoguo did not listen to her opinion and was already sleeping on the lower bunk, she decided to let it go since they were living in the same dormitory and it did not seem nice to fall out with each other. As such, she slept on the upper bunk. That was to mean that from the very beginning, Chen Anran had a rather unpleasant first impression of Jiang Guoguo. Naturally, she didn¡¯t quite like her as a person either. As a result, the two didn¡¯t have much interaction. Chen Anran could still remember very clearly the first time they had quarreled. That day was a Saturday, and they did not have lessons. Because she was going out to meet her boyfriend, Chen Anran woke up very early. As the metal frame bed was rather unsteady, she unknowingly disturbed Jiang Guoguo, who was sleeping on the lower bunk as she was changing on the upper bunk. Jiang Guoguo immediately got up from her bed and startedshing out at her. Chen Anran was actually going to apologize to her, but seeing how she was acting, she naturally fought back and even told Jiang Guoguo clearly, ¡°The lower bunk was originally where I should be sleeping. Did I say anything when you snatched my bed?¡± In the end, Jiang Guoguo rebutted coldly, ¡°So what if I snatched your bed? It¡¯s not like I snatched your man.¡± Chen Anran admitted that Jiang Guoguo¡¯s words instantly triggered her, which was why she couldn¡¯t help but get down from her bed and push her. The two were eventually pulled apart by their two other roommates. This was the first time they had a conflict. Actually, to Chen Anran, that incident only made her think that Jiang Guoguo was not a nice person to be around. As a result, she was careful not to have any confrontation with her and was never around when she was in the dormitory. Things between them should have gone on peacefully, but Chen Anran did not expect to see Jiang Guoguo talking to her own boyfriend when she went out of the dormitory building. She was very upset, and only after Jiang Guoguo was gone did she approach her boyfriend. Her boyfriend then told her that he had merely met Jiang Guoguo once at his friend¡¯s gathering and was only briefly acquainted with her. But Chen Anran was not assured by this. A woman¡¯s instinct has always been the most urate. After some time, Chen Anran was lying on her bed sleeping. As she was thin and as her head was covered by the nket, it appeared as if there was no one lying underneath. Jiang Guoguo naturally only took a quick nce and thought that she was not in the dormitory, and since the other two roommates were not back yet, she gave Chen Anran¡¯s boyfriend a call. At this point, when she spoke of this, Chen Anran still couldn¡¯t help clenching her teeth in anger. ¡°Do you know what she said?¡± An Xiaoning asked, ¡°What did she say?¡± ¡°She asked my boyfriend if he had fallen for her, or else why was he so desperate to sleep with her? I didn¡¯t hear what my boyfriend¡¯s reply was, but I was already very sure that they were together. At that point in time, although I was especially infuriated, I didn¡¯t harbor thoughts of killing her yet. I just felt that I could no longer live in the same dormitory as her. After all, if my boyfriend had fallen for someone else, it wasn¡¯tpletely her fault. It was thest incident that made mepletely erupt.¡± The ultimate trigger wasn¡¯t anything else but a personal attack on her. It was after Chen Anran and her boyfriend had broken up and she had already transferred to another dormitory. A series of sexual photos of her and her ex-boyfriend was suddenly released on their school discussion forum. She was the only party revealed in the photos, whereas her boyfriend¡¯s face was blurred out. Quite obviously, the person behind it was releasing the photos to target her. Even though the school deleted the photos immediately, this incident was still a huge blow to Chen Anran. She furiously decided to go and confront her ex-boyfriend, but she overheard him quarreling with Jiang Guoguo inside the boys¡¯ dormitory. Judging from their quarrel, it seemed that her ex-boyfriend had already deleted those pictures but forgot to clear the recycle bin on hisputer. Jiang Guoguo, who was using hisputer, identally came across those pictures thereafter. She then released those photos by herself without discussing it with him. When Chen Anran¡¯s ex-boyfriend asked her why she had done that, Jiang Guoguo told him that she absolutely hated Chen Anran and that although her family background was ordinary, she always wore branded clothing to act like she was rich. Jiang Guoguo also said that she had done that simply to take her down a peg or two. Finally, Chen Anran¡¯s ex-boyfriend revealed the truth to Jiang Guoguo. He told her that Chen Anran did indeede from a rich family. Her great-grandfather had strongly backed up the Tuoba family when there was a rebellion while her grandfather was a member of parliament. Her father was the CEO of the Chen Corporation while her uncle was a militarymander. Her family was basically made up of reputable figures. If she had wanted to boast about all these, she would have done so. Wearing branded clothing and spending her money away was simply just her usual way of life, it was not to act like she was rich. Chen Anran¡¯s ex-boyfriend broke up with Jiang Guoguo on the spot. However, the feelings that had been triggered inside Chen Anran did not disappear. She did not confront them on the spot but silently went to prepare the tools for the crime. She especially chose a weekend to murder Jiang Guoguo. The other two roommates in the dormitory room had gone out to date and shop while Jiang Guoguo, who had stayed up all night to game, was sleeping in the day. Chapter 1351 - I Only Want You (49) Chapter 1351: I Only Want You (49) Back then, Chen Anran flew into a rage at the thought of the dirty looks her schoolmates often shot her, as well as everything that Jiang Guoguo had done. She recalled the time when she lost control of her emotions and began acting out of her usual behavior. As a result, she killed Jiang Guoguo maniacally, as if she had been possessed by a demon. She heaved a sigh of relief and felt as if a rock had been lifted off her shoulders after revealing everything. She continued, ¡°I¡¯ve only ever told my family about these things. I decided to tell you now not because I¡¯m trying to plead for a lighter sentence or make myself feel less guilty but because I just want to say that perhaps I was wrong to have been so ruthless and extreme. However, it¡¯s not like she¡¯s that innocent either. The things that she had done to me may seem trivial, but they impacted me tremendously.¡± An Xiaoning found that it was true that everyone had their limits, and even the most quiet and reserved people would lose their temper and act ruthlessly out of anger once they are pushed over the edge. There was a reason for everything. Not all pitiful people were wless. The victim may not necessarily always be the innocent party either. ¡°Doesn¡¯t your family transfer you a monthly allowance? Why are you still living in such poor conditions?¡± She put on a lopsided smile and said, ¡°I¡¯m just living a pathetic life with nothing to look forward to every day. There¡¯s no meaning in life for me anymore. If I¡¯m allowed to die a peaceful death, I would no longer be afraid of dying.¡± ¡°If all criminals are given a peaceful death sentence and be allowed to die in their sleep, do you think thew will still have an impact on citizens? Although you¡¯re afraid of death, you¡¯re still rather brave. After all, you mustered up the courage to tell me these things.¡± She stood up and returned to the bedroom to take out her bank ount card. She then handed it to An Xiaoning and said, ¡°Although I feel no remorse for killing Jiang Guoguo at all, I do feel a little guilty toward her parents. I heard that Jiang Guoguo had ate brother and her parents had pinned all their hopes onto her. Yet I¡¯ve ruined their only hope. There¡¯s quite a bit of money in my ount. Please help me hand this to them as a token of apology from me.¡± She then told An Xiaoning the password to her ount. However, An Xiaoning did not ept the card and instead said, ¡°Honestly, it¡¯d be better for you to hand it to them yourself. It¡¯s not that appropriate for me to do it for you. I think I¡¯ve achieved the purpose of my visit today. I initially thought that you would be a tough nut to crack and that you wouldn¡¯t tell me these things. However, you were much easier to deal with than I had imagined. Indeed, it¡¯s hard to tell what a person is like before you interact with them and get to know them better.¡± ¡°As a criminal, I know that I was being foolish and stupid by telling you this. I know I¡¯m digging my own grave, but I somehow feel much more relieved after telling you all of these thoughts that I had been keeping to myself. I feel as if I¡¯m about to be free.¡± She stared at An Xiaoning and asked, ¡°May I ask something of you?¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Can you talk to me for a while before leaving?¡± Surprised to hear that her request was that simple, An Xiaoning agreed, ¡°Sure.¡± Chen Anran smiled and said, ¡°Thank you.¡± She did not seem like a ruthless murderer at all. Instead, she seemed just like a mentally-disturbed patient. An Xiaoning could tell that she had long sunk into depression after having gone through more than ten years of suffering. Although Chen Anran imed to have not felt a tinge of guilt for her actions, An Xiaoning could sense that she was extremely guilty and regretful. She regretted ruining her bright future because of that silly incident. She regretted acting rashly and causing herself to end up living such a pathetic life. Her inner demons were the hardest to fight. An Xiaoning dragged her luggage out of the estate and turned around to look at the shabby estate. Throughout the journey back, thoughts about Chen Anran flooded her mind. Chen Anran hoped to be released from her suffering and live uprightly. Yet, she had already lost the chance to do so from the moment she killed Jiang Guoguo. Jin Qingyan gave me a time limit of four days. He probably didn¡¯t expect that I would be home so soon, did he? I wonder how he would react the moment he sees me. I¡¯m starting to get really curious. .... An Xiaoning arrived home at past midnight. Jin Qingyan was surprisingly still awake. She walked toward the yard and stared at the brightly-lit room on the second floor, wondering what he could be doing at such ate hour. She changed into her home slippers and brought her luggage back up. She quickly punched in the pin number before opening the door to meet Jin Qingyan¡¯s eyes. ¡°Why are you back so soon?¡± Jin Qingyan asked in surprise. ¡°I missed you much. I thought it would be better for me toe home sooner.¡± Jin Qingyan pinched her nose and said, ¡°You thought correctly.¡± ¡°What are you doing at such ate hour? Are you suffering from insomnia again?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the cure to my insomnia. However, I¡¯m staying awake because I¡¯ve found something new while trying to figure this picture out.¡± An Xiaoning sat on the bed and craned her neck to look at the treasure map in his hand. ¡°What did you discover? I can¡¯t understand it at all, no matter how I look at it.¡± ¡°If an ordinary person can decipher it, Xiao Chenyang would have done so long ago.¡± ¡°Are you indirectly saying that you¡¯re extraordinary?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Of course, how can an ordinary person be with an extraordinary person like you?¡± An Xiaoning burst intoughter and threw her arms around his neck. ¡°Just what did you discover?¡± Pointing at the middle of the map, he said, ¡°From here... up north... to here. Do you see anything?¡± Shaking her head, An Xiaoning said, ¡°I can only see an axe. I can¡¯t see anything else.¡± ¡°You silly. So much for taking you back to the family mansion so many times before.¡± He then picked up a pencil and began sketching a few markings on a piece of paper. ¡°Do you see it now?¡± ¡°It does look like the diagram on the map, but what has this got to do with the family mansion?¡± she asked in puzzlement. ¡°Half of this treasure map is the sketch of the family mansion¡¯s floor n.¡± An Xiaoning said apprehensively, ¡°This is a treasure map, not a floor n. This map definitely leads to great treasures. Your family mansion had housed so many generations of people. What treasures could there possibly be?¡± Suppressing his anger, he said, ¡°Since you don¡¯t believe me, I¡¯ll take you there to have a look tomorrow. I¡¯m suspecting that the other half is my family¡¯s ancestral ground...¡± An Xiaoning had lost interest in what he had to say before he could even finish. Chapter 1352 - I Only Want You (50)

Chapter 1352: I Only Want You (50)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°No, I have to go to the police station tomorrow. I think your theory and analysis doesn¡¯t make sense at all. If it were really that simple, Xiao Chenyang would have deciphered it long ago.¡± ¡°It probably didn¡¯te to his mind. But you¡¯re right, it can¡¯t be that simple. I¡¯m starting to think that my analysis is a little far-fetched too.¡± ¡°Right, I told you you were reading too much into things,¡± said An Xiaoning who then proceeded to freshen up and remove her makeup. Jin Qingyan took a look at the treasure map in his left hand andpared it to the simple sketch in his right. He smiled and put the map away. After washing up, An Xiaoning climbed back onto the bed andy down beside him. She snuggled up beside him and murmured with her eyes slightly open, ¡°Qingyan...¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I¡¯m tired.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve had a long journey home. Go to bed.¡± ¡°Pat me to sleep.¡± He then began patting her gently and sang softly, ¡°Go to sleep... go to sleep... my beloved baby Xiaoning...¡± An Xiaoning burst intoughter and asked, ¡°What on earth are you singing?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got so manyints even when I¡¯m coaxing you. Are you going to sleep or not?¡± ¡°Yes, of course I am. Hubby, do you find me troublesome now?¡± ¡°No, I wouldn¡¯t dare to.¡± ¡°You do, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I swear to Heaven, I don¡¯t find you troublesome at all.¡± ¡°...¡± An Xiaoning was initially nning to head to the police station straight in the morning. However, Jin Qingyan insisted that they go to the family mansion first. Mr. Jin had long been discharged from the hospital. He was sitting in the yard and listening to some opera when he caught sight of Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning. Not forgetting Henry¡¯s harsh and defiant attitude toward him at the hospital, Mr. Jin quipped, ¡°You¡¯re actually home?¡± Jin Qingyan immediately said, ¡°If I don¡¯t evere home, you¡¯re going to miss me dearly.¡± Mr. Jin red at him and asked, ¡°What are you back for?¡± ¡°Two things, one is to visit you and check if you¡¯ve invited your friends over for a gambling session, and the other is to take a look at our family mansion, of course.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already quit gambling. You don¡¯t have to mock me.¡± ¡°Let your actions do the talking. I won¡¯t believe your words. Father, I have something to ask you about.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Has theyout of the entire mansion, including the garden, garage, and servants¡¯ dorms, stayed the same for years?¡± ¡°Why do you need to know that?¡± Mr. Jin asked in puzzlement. ¡°Just answer me.¡± ¡°Of course it has. Don¡¯t you know that we¡¯re not allowed to rearrange the Feng Shui of the mansion? It¡¯s an ancestral rule to adhere to the oldyout and style if we were to build a house.¡± ¡°Father, give me the floor n of the family mansion and ancestral burial ground.¡± ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± Mr. Jin questioned. ¡°Nothing much, just give them to me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s locked inside the drawer of my study. The key is beside my bed. Go get it yourself.¡± Jin Qingyan nodded and entered the main mansion together with An Xiaoning, hand in hand. After retrieving the key, he proceeded to the study to get the sketches of the floor ns. An Xiaoning was a little dumbstruck after taking a look at it. Holding the floor n in her hands, she scrutinized it carefully before taking a look at the treasure map that Jin Qingyan was holding. She stood rooted to the ground in shock. ¡°Seems like I was right. Let¡¯s go,¡± said Jin Qingyan. ¡°Where are we going?¡± Pointing at the middle of the map, he said, ¡°Here.¡± An Xiaoning followed his lead since he was definitely familiar with the family mansion. They began approaching the ancestral burial ground. All of the Jin family ancestors had been buried in the ancestral graveyard. She looked over to see that there were numerous tombstones, all of which had different designs and sizes. ¡°Those who have contributed most to the family will have arger tombstone,¡± Jin Qingyan exined. ¡°Which tomb are we going to first?¡± ¡°That one over there. The one beside thergest tombstone. Do you see it?¡± he said while pointing toward the front. Feeling extremely excited, An Xiaoning pulled him toward the grave. Jin Qingyan wrapped his arm around her waist and lifted the two of them up in the air. Within just seconds, they arrived at their destination. The moment theynded, An Xiaoning shook her body and stared at the tombstone in front of her. There was no photo of thete family member because he had passed away ages ago. It belonged to Jin Yuanzhi, who had passed on at the young age of 35 years old. ¡°He passed away at such a young age.¡± Jin Qingyan nodded and said, ¡°Seems like we must open this tomb.¡± ¡°Your father is definitely going to reprimand you. This belongs to your forefather, I don¡¯t think we¡¯re supposed to open it.¡± ¡°He¡¯s berated me so many times before. One more time won¡¯t make a difference.¡± ¡°...¡± However, Mr. Jin intervened and began berating him just as he was about to open the tomb. ¡°You rascal, what are you trying to do? You can¡¯t just open our ancestor¡¯s tomb.¡± ¡°Father, I have my reasons.¡± Mr. Jin hollered, ¡°I don¡¯t care what reasons you may have. You¡¯re not allowed to open it!¡± However, Mr. Jin¡¯s words had no effect on Jin Qingyan at all. He had long lost his power over thetter. Jin Yuanzhi¡¯s tomb was thus opened. Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning were the only ones left after the servants were dismissed. They had even prohibited Mr. Jin from tagging along. The coffin was, strangely, extremely hugepared to the tombstone. It wasn¡¯t too surprising, however. There was arge gap in between each tombstone anyway. The coffin was covered by a golden fabric. The appearance of the coffin was well obscured beneath the fabric. ¡°You should go down and take a look,¡± An Xiaoning said while poking his arm. After all, it was his family¡¯s ancestor, and it was only right for him to go take a look. Jin Qingyan made his way down slowly and picked up the piece of golden fabric. As expected, he was greeted with the sight of a corpse. He straightened his back and grabbed the fabric. An Xiaoning took a closer look to see that there was nothing inside the coffin except the corpse. Nothing was buried with him either. They looked at each other in bewilderment. ¡°What¡¯s going on? There¡¯s nothing inside at all,¡± said An Xiaoning. Jin Qingyan was astonished as well. He took a look carefully, only to discover that there was indeed nothing. ¡°Did you make a mistake?¡± Jin Qingyanpared the two diagrams again and said, ¡°No, I didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a nket below the corpse. Could there be something there?¡± Upon hearing her words, Jin Qingyan was at a sudden loss for what to do. Since the nket was beneath the corpse, he would have to touch the corpse in order to look at the nket. However, the Jin family ancestral rule strictly prohibits anyone from touching the corpses and graves of thete ancestors. Chapter 1353 - I Only Want You (51)

Chapter 1353: I Only Want You (51)

However, they had already opened the coffin and exposed Jin Yuanzhi¡¯s corpse to broad daylight. At this point, Jin Qingyan would never give up unless it was proven that there was nothing inside the coffin. Jin Qingyan made his descent slowly and stood on top of the coffin. He then moved the corpse slowly out of the coffin. Jin Qingyan lifted the nket, which had already be tattered and moldy with time. He lifted it before moving his feet below the nket. They were worried that there would be nothing at all in the end. However, they were clearly not disappointed. There was a letter stuck in between the nket. That was all. Jin Qingyan apologized to his ancestor beforeying the nket properly. He then moved Jin Yuanzhi¡¯s corpse back inside the coffin and covered it with the golden fabric, ording to the initial position. He then closed the cover of the coffin. Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning began looking at the envelope. However, there were no words written on it at all. He opened the envelope and reached a hand in to take out the letter. There were long strings of profound and poetic words. However, An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan could understand them clearly. After reading the letter, the two of them froze in shock, at aplete loss for words. Jin Qingyan said, ¡°Let¡¯s go back first.¡± An Xiaoning followed close behind him without uttering a single word. She remained silent throughout the journey too. Upon reaching the bedroom, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Do we tell Xiao Chenyang about this?¡± Without hesitation, Jin Qingyan agreed, ¡°Give him a call and get him toe here.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning immediately called Xiao Chenyang, who agreed toe over right after hearing about the treasure map. He arrived within ten minutes. An Xiaoning opened the door. Noticing the sullen expressions on their faces, he smiled and asked, ¡°Why so serious?¡± Jin Qingyan handed Xiao Chenyang the letter, after which Xiao Chenyang¡¯s smile instantly vanished. ¡°Who wrote this?¡± ¡°I discoveredst night that the treasure map resembles the floor n of my family¡¯s mansion and ancestral burial ground. Ipared them today and discovered that that was really the case. I then opened the tomb of Jin Yuanzhi, my ancestor, and found this letter.¡± Xiao Chenyang took a nce and read the letter before handing it back to him. He asked leisurely, ¡°Does the jade ring refer to the one on your hand now?¡± ¡°Of course, this is my family¡¯s precious heirloom.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand it, though. Your ancestor said that the jade ring exudes its effects and power only when the member wearing it finds it impossible to remove. What does that mean?¡± ¡°To my knowledge, my father and grandfather had never found it impossible to remove the ring. However, when my grandmother gave it to me, I couldn¡¯t remove it after putting it on. Apart from the color change from emerald to red, there hasn¡¯t been much changes.¡± ¡°The color change itself is a major change. The color of jade pieces doesn¡¯t always change.¡± Xiao Chenyang walked toward him and raised his finger to look at the jade ring. After scrutinizing it, he continued, ¡°When I took you to Mount Wanyan previously, you were knocked unconscious and your jade ring was emitting light. However, I remember that it was a different color back then. Now the jade does look like a shade of crimson.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been wearing this jade ring for years and I¡¯ve never quite experienced its effects before, except the time when Xiaoning was abducted by Pei Yi and my soul wandered off to R Nation. I wonder if that was because of this ring. Xiaoning and I both think so.¡± Xiao Chenyang deduced, ¡°Your ancestor wrote in his letter that he couldn¡¯t remove the ring too and only managed to do so when he handed it to his sessor. That just means that the ring can only be worn by a sessor of the Jin family. At what age did your ancestor die?¡± ¡°Thirt-five years old.¡± ¡°Is the exact month specified?¡± ¡°Of course. He passed away on the day of his birthday.¡± ¡°...¡± Noticing that Xiao Chenyang was pursing his lips, Jin Qingyan asked, ¡°What¡¯s up with your expression?¡± ¡°Nothing major happened to your family throughout the time that you were wearing this jade ring, right?¡± ¡°Wrong. My mother and grandmother passed away. Those are major incidents.¡± ¡°You know that¡¯s not what I¡¯m talking about. If something truly disastrous happened, something you cannot prevent, the jade ring wille in handy and save you from the mishap, ording to what your ancestor said. That just means that a major disaster had yet to happen... Brother, you¡¯re already 34 years old. Could something happen before you turn 35 years old? Pardon me for saying such inauspicious words that may jinx you, but we can only live eternally in the event that no one tries or seeds in killing us. If there¡¯s someone more invincible out there who tries to kill us, we¡¯ll definitely die. In this world, there¡¯s always going to be someone who¡¯s better than you. Seems like I had made the right choice by giving you this map. However, this is something fortunate as well.¡± Jin Qingyan asked coldly, ¡°How could you say that receiving such shocking news is a fortunate event?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fortunate because you have time to ward against the impending disaster. I finally understand why Master said that this was a treasure map when he handed it to me. No wonder I couldn¡¯t decipher it or find anything at all no matter how hard I tried. Yet you managed to figure it all out shortly after you received it. That just proves that it belongs to you at the end of the day,¡± said Xiao Chenyang. An Xiaoning chimed in, ¡°I agree with Chenyang. It¡¯s a blessing to have time. Ancestor Jin Yuanzhi must have had his reasons for leaving this letter behind. He had also hinted in his letter that he only realized the potency of the jade ring toote. Qingyan, the jade ring hasn¡¯t shown its effects throughout all these years. Could it be that you had never tried to activate it?¡± Xiao Chenyang leaned against the couch and said, ¡°You have a point. The letter didn¡¯t state any way to activate it, however. Qingyan, go home and ask your old man. Try and find out if he knows anything.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got plenty of time now that En has stopped acting. Call me whenever you need my help,¡± Xiao Chenyang said before leaving. He had expended too much energy the night before and was extremely exhausted. Chapter 1354 - I Only Want You (52)

Chapter 1354: I Only Want You (52)

Although An Xiaoning was not in the mood to go to the police station, she had no choice but to do so. ¡°Go back to the old mansion to ask your father about it. I have to make a trip to the police station.¡± Jin Qingyan walked toward her and kissed her before saying, ¡°Be careful when driving. I have to go now.¡± She nodded. Jin Qingyan returned to the Jin family mansion to see that Mr. Jin was still boiling with fury. Upon the sight of Jin Qingyan, Mr. Jin questioned angrily, ¡°What do you want now?¡± ¡°Father, I have something to ask you about.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not going to answer your questions.¡± ¡°Father...¡± Jin Qingyan had no choice but to tell him about the treasure map. He then continued to ask, ¡°You must answer me truthfully. Is there a way to activate this jade ring?¡± Mr. Jin finally understood the reason for his actions. His anger began to dissipate and he answered, ¡°I really don¡¯t know about that. Our ancestors never told us about any ways to activate it.¡± ¡°Are there any recounts or stories about the jade ring passed down by our ancestors? I want to know everything about it.¡± ¡°There aren¡¯t many records, but there are some pieces of information about it. Go look for them in the study. There¡¯s a brief description of the jade ring in the ck book on the top shelf.¡± Jin Qingyan immediately proceeded to retrieve the book. He then sat on the couch and began browsing through it. The truth was that there was barely any information about the jade ring. He learned nothing from the conversation with Mr. Jin. Hence, Jin Qingyan was filled with perplexion and bewilderment. Although he had a strong feeling that the precious family heirloom served a greater purpose than what it seemed to on the surface, he could not seem to discover any changes apart from the discoloration. = It was a tricky problem that had to be solved. .... As soon as Pan Zhenghui heard that An Xiaoning had arrived at the police station, he scurried toward the Special Investigation Unit joyfully to inform the team members that An Xiaoning was about to start investigating on the second case. ¡°I¡¯ve already gone abroad to meet Chen Anran. Here¡¯s the recording of the conversation that we had.¡± Pointing at the chair, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Bureau Chief Pan, have a seat and listen to the recording.¡± Pan Zhenghui immediately did as he was told. Ding Liang closed the door of the office and returned to his seat. An Xiaoning yed the recording, which could be heard clearly because of how quiet the room was. Everyone listened to the recording carefully, and so did An Xiaoning. At the end of it, An Xiaoning said, ¡°With this statement from the horse¡¯s mouth, we now have more than enough evidence. Hence, I n to trim this recording and cut out the redundant parts before sending a copy of it to Chen Anran¡¯s family. I believe that once they hear the recording, they¡¯ll look me up very soon. However, if what Chen Anran said was true, her behavior had exposed another underlying truth, although that¡¯s no excuse for her ruthless act. The truth is that one should never try and push others over the edge or drive them into a corner, for the consequences would be dire. It¡¯s all human nature. The Chen family has caused a hindrance in the proceedings of this case simply because they¡¯re afraid of ruining their reputation. I¡¯ll see what they say when theye to look for me in the future.¡± Pan Zhenghui sighed and said, ¡°Ah... although it¡¯s wrong to say this at this time, if what Chen Anran said was true, the victim Jiang Guoguo was truly a horrendous person.¡± ¡°There¡¯s always something detestable about someone, no matter how victimized they may be. I came here just to let you guys hear this recording. I¡¯ll be trimming it and sending a copy to the Chen family alter. I¡¯ll then wait and see what they do next.¡± Pan Zhenghui agreed, ¡°Sure, go ahead, Xiaoning. Thank you.¡± An Xiaoning stood up and left straight away. After instructing her subordinates to trim the voice recording, she mailed it to the Chen family via express courier. She had even typed out a message that was attached inside the letter. She then waited patiently. To her disappointment, she did not receive any news from the Chen family even after a long time. However, An Xiaoning was certain that they must be talking about a suitable strategy. She continued to research and look into the jade ring together with Jin Qingyan. They could not find anything even after racking their brains. The pair switched on the heater andy down on the bed, staring at each other quietly, almost getting lost in each other¡¯s mesmerizing eyes. ¡°What do we do?¡± He answered, ¡°We¡¯ll just let nature take its course. Let¡¯s not scare ourselves.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m worried.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be, we can¡¯t view that letter in such a negative light. I¡¯ve thought about it carefully. Why don¡¯t we look at it from a different perspective? Master Jin Yuanzhi only mentioned that the treasure that the map leads to is this jade ring and that the ring is showing its effects when it can¡¯t be removed. However, he didn¡¯t specify what the effects and powers of the ring are. He didn¡¯t say that I wouldn¡¯t live past 35 years old either, did he? These are all our assumptions. We¡¯re not prophets or irvoyants. Assuming and jumping to conclusions will only make us scared for no reason. Perhaps that¡¯s not what Jin Yuanzhi meant.¡± However, his words did not manage to convince orfort An Xiaoning. ¡°Qingyan, I¡¯ve memorized everything Xiao Chenyang said. It¡¯s true that there¡¯s always someone who¡¯s far more invincible than us in this world. Just because we don¡¯t know who they are, it doesn¡¯t mean that they don¡¯t exist. Do you still remember those blood-feeding tribes in V Nation whom I told you about?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that they work under Chenyang?¡± ¡°You have no idea how terrifying those people are. It¡¯s as if they have nine lives or something, and they can¡¯t be killed by guns or knives. They don¡¯t die even after falling from a great height. Aren¡¯t they formidable? I know you possess great powers now but I¡¯m afraid that you¡¯d be attacked by someone better. Besides, we don¡¯t even know what dangers there may be around us. That¡¯s the scariest part of it all. I really hope that this is just a false rm and a wild guess of ours. I really hope that it¡¯s not true at all.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll take things in our stride and deal with the problem when we face it. When Grandma gave me this ring, she told me that it recognizes its owner and that it had been protecting our family¡¯s life and bloodline...¡± ¡°Look, I¡¯m not just scaring myself. Your ancestor said that when you can no longer remove the ring, it means that the powers of the ring are in effect. That means the effects are showing now. We have no idea how your ancestor had gotten hold of this treasure, but since it¡¯s a treasure, someone else probably knows about it too.¡± They immediately put an end to their conversation. Xiao Bai knocked on the door and said, ¡°Young Madam, the members of the Chen family from B City are here to see you.¡± An Xiaoning immediately got out of bed and said, ¡°Got it, I¡¯ll go downstairs immediately.¡± She adjusted her clothes,bed her hair, and put on some lipstick before making her way downstairs. Meanwhile, Jin Qingyan turned around andy down, staring at the jade ring on his finger quietly. Chapter 1355 - I Only Want You (53) Chapter 1355: I Only Want You (53) The Chen family waited for An Xiaoning for two minutes. Upon the sight of her arrival, a man and a woman immediately stood up and greeted, ¡°Hello, Your Highness.¡± They addressed me using an honorific instead of just calling me ¡®Ms. An.¡¯ Are they indirectly trying to say that I¡¯m abusing my authority and status to deal with them? She waved and said, ¡°Have a seat. Auntie Chen, please serve the tea.¡± Auntie Chen immediately instructed the servants to serve the tea. ¡°You guys are...¡± The man said, ¡°I¡¯m Chen Bingqi, the eldest grandson of the Chen family. This is my younger sister, Chen Anxin. We¡¯re Chen Anran¡¯s older siblings.¡± An Xiaoning lowered her head and grazed her finger against her fingernails. ¡°Seems like your family still doesn¡¯t know how important this matter is. Otherwise, why would your elders send only the two of you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the case. My family takes the matter very seriously, especially after receiving that voice recording from you. Grandpa had also sent us here to talk to you about this matter and ry his message.¡± An Xiaoning looked up and said, ¡°Tell me what your grandfather thinks about this, then.¡± ¡°Grandpa hopes for this case to be resolved and closed peacefully without letting Anran face a sentence. We¡¯llpensate the victim¡¯s family with a reasonable amount of money. After all, we were furious and incredibly upset about this too. It has greatly tainted our reputation.¡± An Xiaoning was well aware of the Chen family¡¯s power and status in the nation, and she also wanted to solve the issue simply and without overplicating things. Thus, she said, ¡°You can keep your reputation untarnished, but there¡¯s something you mustpromise. Chen Anran must face her penalty and be punished by thew. Everyone in your family is a figure of status, and I fully understand why you guys decided to sweep this matter under the carpet back then. I remember that the senior Mr. Chen had stood up for the Tuoba family when there was a rebellion. Hence, I¡¯m going to let your family keep your pride and reputation. However, that¡¯s the bottom line. You guys go back and discuss it with your family before giving me an answer. I¡¯m sure you know that we already have sufficient evidence and that status doesn¡¯t matter. I hope this case will finally be resolved after 14 years. Correction, I won¡¯t let it go unresolved.¡± The siblings looked at each other and said, ¡°Well... please excuse us while we give my grandfather a call.¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± The pair then stood up and left. Things were much easier to handle than An Xiaoning had imagined. She initially thought the Chen family would ask for a negotiation and an exchange of terms in order to let the matter slide. The Chen family has been letting Chen Anran fend for herself abroad for so many years. Does this mean that they¡¯re finally deciding to give her up? Regardless of what it may be, I shall see what answer they give me. As long as theypromise and let Chen Anran be punished by thew, this case would be resolved and I can also make sure their reputation stays clean. Seeing that the Chen siblings had been outside for a long while, An Xiaoning reckoned that the senior Mr. Chen must be weighing the pros and cons. They finally returned almost half an hourter. ¡°What did he say?¡± ¡°Grandpa said that you may punish Anran, but on one condition. Anran¡¯s name has already been stripped off of our family¡¯s household register and, technically speaking, she¡¯s no longer a member of our family. Hence, you mustn¡¯t reveal that Chen Anran is a member of our family and her face must not be captured, even during the court trial. We want her to take on a false name. As long as you agree to that, our grandfather is willing to settle the matter, Your Highness.¡± She agreed, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll fulfill your conditions. Good that your family doesn¡¯t want this case to drag on any further too. It¡¯s better for everyone that way. I¡¯ll let this case pass as quickly as possible. After all, lots of people have been keeping close tabs on this.¡± Chen Bingqi stood up and left with his younger sister after hearing her words. After they left, An Xiaoning called Pan Zhenghui to inform him about the situation, after which Pan Zhenghui continuously praised her to no end. An Xiaoning could not tolerate how overly excited he was; neither could she stand all that bootlicking of his. She said, ¡°I believe that very soon, the Chen family would definitely send Chen Anran to the police station secretly. You guys just proceed ordingly and adhere to their requests. I won¡¯t being to the police station for some time.¡± Pan Zhenghui agreed gleefully. He finally realized how important it was to possess authority in this world. An Xiaoning managed to settle the case that had been left unresolved for years simply because of her status. The Chen family decided to conceded and give in because they did not want to offend her. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Daddy, we¡¯re home!¡± Jin Yiheng eximed excitedly, after which he realized that Jin Qingyan did not seem to be in a good mood. Hence, he grew silent and pulled Jin Rongyan along while walking past the couch slowly. Just as they were about to go upstairs, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°We¡¯re about to have lunch soon. Why are you going upstairs?¡± ¡°To... to do some homework. Teacher is going to check it tomorrow.¡± ¡°Go ahead, then. Come down to eat once you¡¯re done with your homework.¡± Despite feeling confused about why Jin Qingyan was in low spirits, he dared not say anything else and headed upstairs with Jin Rongyan. I wasn¡¯t nning to do homework anyway. All we do in the boot camp is train and attend lessons. Now that we¡¯re finally getting a break, why would I bother doing homework? Haha! Jin Yiheng was filled with excitement at the thought of finally getting to rest and rx. As soon as he returned to his room, he took out his game console and started ying some video games, which he had missed dearly. After watching Jin Yiheng y for a while, Jin Rongyan sat on the bed and began perusing his medical books. Jin Yiheng continued to have a whale of a time. To his astonishment, Jin Qingyan barged into his bedroom without warning. Upon the sight of Jin Yiheng ying some video games, Jin Qingyan questioned sternly, ¡°Are you done with your homework?¡± ¡°Um... yes.¡± Jin Yiheng thought that Jin Qingyan would not probe any further. To his surprise, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°Bring it here and let me check through it.¡± Jin Yiheng was no longer in the mood to y his games. He totally did not expect his father to run a spot check out of the blue. I haven¡¯t done my homework yet, what am I supposed to show him... Seeing that he was remaining silent, Jin Qingyan immediately understood what was going on. However, he continued, ¡°What are you waiting for? Hurry and bring your homework here.¡± Jin Yiheng murmured softly, ¡°Daddy... I... haven¡¯t done it...¡± ¡°Why did you lie, then?¡± ¡°I...¡± Jin Yiheng was at a loss for words or an excuse. Jin Rongyan stood beside him and stared at the sullen expression on Jin Qingyan¡¯s face, feeling extremely fearful. He held onto his book and remained silent. ¡°You what? Why did you lie to me?¡± ¡°...¡± Chapter 1356 - I Only Want You (54)

Chapter 1356: I Only Want You (54)

¡°Have you be mute? Is your mouth sealed with superglue? Have you lost the ability to speak?¡± Finally, Jin Yiheng said, ¡°Daddy, I was wrong.¡± ¡°Why so?¡± ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have lied or started ying video games before finishing my homework.¡± He red at Jin Yiheng and said, ¡°You just didn¡¯t take my words seriously. Finish your homework beforeing downstairs for lunch.¡± He then left as soon as he finished speaking. Pursing his lips, Jin Yiheng put his video game console away and took out his homework quietly while Jin Rongyan continued reading his medical book. Jin Yiheng urged, ¡°Hurry up and take out your workbook.¡± ¡°Brother, my teacher didn¡¯t leave any homework for us.¡± ¡°...¡± After finishing his homework, Jin Yiheng headed downstairs to see that Jin Qingyan was sitting on the couch and watching a movie. ¡°Daddy, I¡¯m done with homework.¡± He had brought his workbook downstairs this time, thinking that Jin Qingyan would check it again. However, Jin Qingyan simply nced at him and said, ¡°Go have your meal.¡± Jin Yiheng proceeded to the dining table with his workbook. Auntie Chen served the dishes and caressed Jin Yiheng¡¯s head. ¡°Your daddy is not in a good mood today. Be obedient and try not to provoke him.¡± He murmured, ¡°Granny Chen, he provoked me too. By the way, where is my mommy?¡± ¡°She¡¯s at your god... your mother-inw¡¯s house,¡± said Auntie Chen. Jin Yiheng hurriedly wolfed down his food and headed upstairs again to put his workbook away before running to Long Tianze¡¯s house. The ground was covered in snow after an afternoon of snowfall. Jin Rongyan and Long Xiaoxi were in the midst of building a snowman. Upon the sight of him, Long Xiaoxi eximed gleefully, ¡°Yiheng, let¡¯s build a snowman.¡± He walked forward and asked, ¡°Is Mommy here?¡± ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s talking to my mommy.¡± Jin Yiheng expressed assent and decided to join in the fun. Long Wenlun also joined in. The snowman-building session quickly became a snowball fight. Jin Yiheng rolled a snowball that he nned to throw at Long Wenlun. However, it ended up on Jin Qingyan¡¯s face instead. Everyone fell silent immediately. ¡°Yiheng, you¡¯ve hit Godpa...¡± said Long Xiaoxi. Jin Yiheng immediately took flight and fell down due to the slippery roads. However, he quickly got up and ran away again, vanishing out of sight in no time. Jin Qingyan stared at the direction that Jin Yiheng had run to and thought to himself, He can¡¯t escape forever. That rascal, I¡¯m going to teach him a lessonter. He wiped the snow off of his face as a frown creased his forehead. It was rather painful for him when the snowball hit his face. After Jin Qingyan left, Jin Rongyan said to Long Xiaoxi, ¡°Uh-oh, Brother¡¯s going to face the music.¡± ¡°Again? Has Godpa punished him already?¡± Jin Rongyan nodded and said, ¡°Yes... Brother lied to Daddy about havingpleted his homework. Daddy then found out that he was ying video games instead ofpleting his homework.¡± ¡°Will Godpa punish him for the snowball?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know...¡± Long Xiaoxi immediately zoomed toward the living room. Upon seeing Jin Qingyan, she hurriedly hugged his leg and eximed, ¡°Daddy!¡± Long Tianze waved at Long Xiaoxi frantically and eximed in terror, ¡°Baby, your father is here!¡± Long Xiaoxi ignored him and said to Jin Qingyan, ¡°Don¡¯t hit Yiheng. If you must hit him, hit me first!¡± Everyone was dumbfounded. Jin Qingyan said, ¡°I didn¡¯t hit him.¡± ¡°I mean, don¡¯t hit himter.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t. I¡¯m not the kind to hit my son,¡± said Jin Qingyan, who had forgotten about the times where he hit Jin Yiheng. After hearing his promise, Long Xiaoxi nodded in satisfaction. ¡°I believe you.¡± She ignored her father¡¯s misery and scurried out of the door again. Long Tianze said with a sigh, ¡°That¡¯s it. My daughter has be yours when she hasn¡¯t even grown up yet.¡± Jin Qingyan sat down and said, ¡°You should be happy that she has found a good set of inws.¡± ¡°When Xiaoxi called you ¡®Daddy¡¯ just now, shepletely forgot about me.¡± Jin Qingyan chuckled and said, ¡°Your daughter is so protective over my son. They¡¯re definitely childhood sweethearts.¡± ¡°I really envy you for not having a daughter. I¡¯ll have to lose my daughter to someone else one day.¡± ¡°...¡± After a long while, Fan Shixin arrived and informed An Xiaoning that Jing Chu had been assaulted in the hospital and was abducted by a group of anonymous people. Greatly taken aback, An Xiaoning asked, ¡°Did that woman find her?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I watched the surveince camera footages and those people were clearly after Jing Chu. The two bodyguards who were in charge of protecting Jing Chu got injured. They said that they were no match for those people who were extremely skilled.¡± ¡°Just who are those people? Seems like Jing Chu¡¯s predicament and background are not as simple as we think. She was dumped in the Widows¡¯ Vige and treated poorly ever since she was young. She had no idea how she ended up there either and had never been to school before. Her name derived from the tattoo on her arm. She¡¯s really pitiful. We must find out where she is, no matter what it takes.¡± Fan Shixin nodded and said, ¡°Of course. However, we don¡¯t even know who those people are.¡± ¡°It definitely has something to do with her real identity. We must do everything we can to find her,¡± she instructed. Fan Shixin did as he was instructed. At the same time, Jing Chu was forcefully shoved into a car. She had no idea who her abductors were because they had blindfolded her and pasted some duct tape over her mouth. Her arms and legs were tied together too. After receiving treatment at the hospital, she was supposed to be able to start walking soon. However, there might be furtherplications now that she was abducted before she even got to recuperate. She knew that she was in a disadvantageous position and wanted to escape. After giving it some thought, she realized that there was only one solution she could adopt. It was to relieve nature¡¯s call on the spot. She peed her pants immediately, causing the men to stop the car the moment they smelled the unbearable stench of urine. One of them removed the tape on her mouth and gave her a tight p immediately. He hollered, ¡°Bitch! How brazen of you! Before Jing Chu could even cover her face, she immediately said, ¡°I need to do a number two. I can¡¯t hold it in anymore.¡± The man had no choice but to pull her out of the car. It was seven o¡¯clock in the evening, and the sky had already turned pitch ck because the days were shorter in winter. However, the streets were still rather crowded. Hence, they had to untie the ropes around her limbs in order to avoid arousing suspicion. They removed her blindfold too. Two of the men then followed her to a shopping district to look for a washroom. Chapter 1357 - I Only Want You (55)

Chapter 1357: I Only Want You (55)

Jing Chu began to tense up, well aware that it was her only chance to escape. She could not afford to lose it, for it would nevere by again! The shopping district was underground and, thus, they made their way down the stairs slowly. Jing Chu tried her best to walk as slowly as possible. However, the men clearly did not allow her to waste any time and continued to push and nudge her down the stairs. She was thus pushed to the washroom. However, the men were rather sharp and did not allow her to enter the female washroom. After all, they were afraid that she would escape from the windows or borrow a mobile phone and call for help. Hence, they brought her straight into a cubicle in the gents¡¯. Theypletely ignored the other men inside. Jing Chu¡¯s heart sank as she closed the door. She initially thought that she could take the chance to escape. Yet, it was entirely impossible. She sat on the toilet bowl cover. Just as she was feeling lost, the person in the cubicle next door extended his arm below the partition and handed her a mobile phone. Jing Chu immediately grabbed the mobile phone. During her hospitalization, the bodyguards whom Fan Shixin had sent to protect her taught her some simple numbers and how to count. Fan Shixin had also given her his mobile number, as well as a new mobile phone that she could use to call him in times of emergency. Hence, she had already memorized Fan Shixin¡¯s mobile number and mastered the functions of a mobile phone. Jing Chu knew that it would not be a wise choice to make a call since she would have to speak up. Hence, she decided to send Fan Shixin a text message instead. It read: ¡°I¡¯m Jing Chu. I¡¯m in the gents¡¯ of an underground shopping district. The person in the cubicle beside me lent me his mobile phone. Don¡¯t call.¡± It took her several minutes to type the message. After the message was delivered sessfully, she added, ¡°The people outside are bad.¡± Her vocabry was limited. She then handed the mobile phone back to the person in the cubicle next door, who naturally read the messages that she had sent. Time passed by, minute after minute. Soon, the man began knocking on the door and hollered, ¡°Are you done yet!?!¡± ¡°Almost. I¡¯m having the runs,¡± Jing Chu answered. Her palms had already turned sweaty due to her immense nervousness. Jing Chu was ill at ease and the men outside were losing their patience. They banged on the door continuously, causing Jing Chu to panic. Finally, she flushed the toilet bowl and opened the door. She still did not hear any sounds from the cubicle next door. When she opened the door, the man in the cubicle did too. He had outstandingly handsome features, and he was clearly the one who had lent her the mobile phone. He began washing his hands at the basin. The men dragged Jing Chu away. All of a sudden, Jing Chu realized that the men were missing. She turned around to see that they were lying on the ground. The handsome man was holding a silencer in his hand. Fortunately, there was no one else in the washroom. He then dragged the two men into a cubicle and wiped away the bloodstains on the ground before throwing the tissues into the dustbin. Jing Chu waspletely dumbstruck and had yet to recover from the shock even when he was about to leave the washroom, d in a cap and a pair of shades. However, she could not be bothered anymore at this point. Jing Chu tried to bear with the pain in her legs and sprinted forward together with him. They left through a different exit. As soon as they left, Fan Shixin arrived with his subordinates. His heart sank the moment he saw the men inside the washroom, and he instructed his subordinates to retrieve a copy of the surveince camera footage before erasing the original copy. He then brought the two men back. Jing Chu was panting heavily and could no longer gather the energy to continue running. The man then brought her back to his car. ¡°Where do you live? I¡¯ll send you home.¡± ¡°I... I don¡¯t have a home.¡± ¡°Where can I send you to?¡± ¡°Do you know... where An Xiaoning lives?¡± The man asked in surprise, ¡°An Xiaoning? Do you belong to her?¡± ¡°She¡¯s like an older sister who had once rescued me.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± The man then began driving to Wei Ni Estate. She initially thought that the man would leave after dropping her off. To her surprise, he alighted from the car together with her and removed his mask and shades. Jing Chu stared at him and said, ¡°Thank you for saving me.¡± The man looked at her and said, ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡± Xiao Bai opened the door and received a great shock the moment he saw them. ¡°Is An Xiaoning home?¡± ¡°Young Madam is in.¡± ¡°Take me in.¡± ¡°No, I must inform her first.¡± ¡°Go on, then.¡± Xiao Bai scurried off quickly. He returned shortly after and said, ¡°Young Madam allows you guys to enter.¡± Noticing that Jing Chu was limping, the man grabbed her by her arm and helped her inside. An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan immediately understood what had happened. ¡°Shixin called to tell me that Jing Chu had been rescued. I was wondering who the kind Samaritan is. Pei Yi, you¡¯ve really done a good deed.¡± Jing Chu¡¯s savior was none other than Pei Yi. He removed his cap and said with a smirk, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you very surprised?¡± ¡°Yes, I am. You don¡¯t seem like someone who would do such a kind deed. However, I still have to thank you for saving her.¡± An Xiaoning then walked toward Jing Chu and asked, ¡°How are you feeling? Were you terribly frightened?¡± Jing Chu hugged her and said, ¡°Sister, I was horrified.¡± ¡°Everything¡¯s alright now,¡± An Xiaoning said while patting her on the shoulder. An Xiaoning initially thought that the stench of urine on her body arose because she had peed herself out of fear. However, An Xiaoning was thoroughly impressed by her wit after hearing her words. She said, ¡°Hurry and go take a shower, then change into a fresh set of clothes.¡± An Xiaoning instructed the servants to take Jing Chu to the bathroom. ¡°Have a seat,¡± An Xiaoning said to Pei Yi while pointing at the couch. Pei Yi took a seat. He had not seen her again since thest time they met at the restaurant. He was rather surprised that she would allow him inside her house. ¡°You¡¯re cohabiting so openly. Are you two getting married again?¡± Jin Qingyan snapped, ¡°None of your business. We won¡¯t be inviting you anyway.¡± Pei Yi smiled and said, ¡°Jin Qingyan, I¡¯m talking to An Xiaoning. Can you not interrupt?¡± ¡°I have the right to answer on her behalf.¡± An Xiaoning smacked him, hinting for him to stop being rude. Fan Shixin entered the house, only to be greeted with the shocking sight of Pei Yi. ¡°Young Madam...¡± ¡°Speak your mind. Pei Yi was the one who had rescued Jing Chu.¡± Fan Shixin asked Pei Yi, ¡°Did you kill those two people?¡± Pei Yi answered arrogantly, ¡°Why are you asking the obvious?¡± ¡°Young Madam, we have to investigate those two men. Their mobile phones are on them. I shall look into it and see if I can find any clues.¡± ¡°Alright, go ahead.¡± Fan Shixin nodded and left. ¡°Can I stay here for tonight?¡± ¡°There are so many luxurious hotels avable out there,¡± Jin Qingyan answered vehemently, clearly not wanting to let him stay for the night. Chapter 1358 - I Only Want You (56)

Chapter 1358: I Only Want You (56)

An Xiaoning said, ¡°Thank you so much for saving Jing Chu. However, we really can¡¯t let you stay.¡± They would be put in a disadvantageous position if anyone gets hold of the evidence of them interacting with Pei Yi. Pei Yi waved his hand and said, ¡°Alright, then.¡± Jing Chu exited from the shower to discover that Pei Yi had already left. Jin Qingyan headed upstairs while An Xiaoning sat alone in the living room. She then patted the spot beside her and said, ¡°Come here and take a seat.¡± Jing Chu sat down and asked, ¡°Was that man named Pei Yi?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Has he left?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s rare of him to save someone like how he saved you,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°I think he¡¯s a good man too.¡± An Xiaoning smiled and asked, ¡°How could you tell? Is it because he had saved you?¡± ¡°When I was at a loss for what to do, he was the one who lent me his mobile phone.¡± ¡°Well, he did the right thing this time, but that doesn¡¯t mean that he¡¯s a good person. If you knew what he deals in, you probably wouldn¡¯t think of him that way.¡± ¡°What does he do for a living, then?¡± Jing Chu asked curiously. ¡°It¡¯s... better that you don¡¯t know. You must be tired. You¡¯ve had a great shock tonight too. Rest well. You¡¯ll be safe here, don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°Can you give me his mobile number?¡± An Xiaoning asked in shock, ¡°Why do you want his mobile number?¡± Hanging her head low, Jing Chu stammered, ¡°I... I...¡± An Xiaoning did not want her to get too near Pei Yi. She said, ¡°You and he belong to two different worlds. Jing Chu, you probably won¡¯t see him again and he should be leaving S Nation soon. I think you¡¯d better not find out his mobile number.¡± Jing Chu decided not to probe further and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯m going to bed now, then. You should rest early too.¡± ¡°Okay, goodnight,¡± said An Xiaoning, who then headed upstairs. Jing Chu returned to the guest room andy down in bed, finding it difficult to fall asleep. What happened tonight was aplete nightmare for her. Pei Yi... Why did An Xiaoning make him out to be someone who¡¯s not to be trifled with? Jing Chu recalled the moment she caught sight of Pei Yi when she entered the washroom. She had never seen such a handsome and charming man before. However, her circumstances then did not allow her to take a few more nces. It did not cross her mind that he would be the one to rescue her. No matter what his real identity is, he was my savior tonight and I would have been abducted if it weren¡¯t for his help. Unfortunately, An Xiaoning said that he won¡¯t be staying here for long and that we probably will never meet again. .... An Xiaoning returned to the master bedroom. Before she even removed her makeup, Jin Qingyan pulled her onto the bed eagerly. ¡°What are you doing? I haven¡¯t washed up yet.¡± ¡°I have something to ask you,¡± he said while spooning An Xiaoning. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s better looking, me or Pei Yi?¡± An Xiaoning thought that it would be a serious question. Yet, it turned out to be such a... childish question. An Xiaoning smiled and turned around to look at him. ¡°Why are you asking such a question? You mean you can¡¯t tell who¡¯s the better-looking one?¡± ¡°I can, of course. I was just asking you.¡± An Xiaoning answered truthfully, ¡°You two aren¡¯t the same type. He¡¯s a pretty man who has a charming aura. You¡¯re different from him. In my eyes, you¡¯re the most handsome man in this world. Are you happy with my answer?¡± ¡°The most handsome man in the world is hungry. Aren¡¯t you responsible for feeding him?¡± he asked, smiling. ¡°No, go ahead and starve to death for all I care.¡± Jin Qingyany down and stared at her. ¡°Xiaoning, you¡¯re so cruel. How could you let me starve to death?¡± An Xiaoning looked at him and said, ¡°Yeah, women are the most vicious.¡± ¡°I mustn¡¯t spare you tonight, then. I¡¯m going to vent all my frustration and bed you for three whole nights.¡± ¡°Stop blowing your trumpet. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll die if you actually manage to do that.¡± ¡°How dare you doubt my abilities? Just you wait and see. I¡¯ll make you scream tonight,¡± he said with raised brows. Staring at his wless features, An Xiaoning began blushing slightly and chided, ¡°You¡¯re always so indecent.¡± ¡ª¡ª Fan Shixin informed An Xiaoning the following day that the information he had found about the two men was rather shocking, despite there being barely any data about them. ¡°I beg your pardon?¡± ¡°Young Madam, I¡¯ve verified that those two men were showing signs of mutating into a zombie. That¡¯s why they were easily killed by Pei Yi. There are names engraved on their bodies. However, I can¡¯t tell whichnguage they¡¯re written in.¡± ¡°What words are those?¡± Fan Shixin showed her the photo on his mobile phone and said, ¡°There you go.¡± An Xiaoning took a look at the words carefully and asked, ¡°You really can¡¯t find out whichnguage that is?¡± ¡°No. Xiao Chenyang is experienced and knowledgeable, shall we show it to him?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll ask him toe over.¡± She proceeded to call Xiao Chenyang, after which Xiao Chenyang and Fang En arrived. After hearing Fan Shixin¡¯s exnation, Xiao Chenyang took a look at the photos while his forehead creased into a frown. ¡°How did they surface all of a sudden again?¡± An Xiaoning asked in puzzlement, ¡°What do you mean... again?¡± ¡°This seems to be a marking unique to the blood tribe.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so. I used to own a dagger that had ancient carvings on it. The words were different from these.¡± Xiao Chenyang exined, ¡°You don¡¯t get it. You¡¯re referring to the blood-feeding tribes while I¡¯m referring to the blood tribe. The difference between the two is huge. They¡¯re worlds apart. An Xiaoning, don¡¯t you know what the blood tribes are?¡± ¡°You mean... vampires?¡± ¡°What else could I mean? These are clearly written by them. I haven¡¯t interacted with them much, and I don¡¯t know exactly what they¡¯re like. They were once exposed centuries ago and caused chaos to break out. They had been lying low in recent years. I didn¡¯t expect them to show up again. These corpses must be destroyed immediately. Otherwise, there¡¯s bound to be more trouble. Dig their hearts out and cremate their bodies.¡± Fan Shixin nodded and immediately did as instructed. Xiao Chenyang said to An Xiaoning softly, ¡°You can¡¯t let that girl stay. I¡¯m afraid she might bring about more trouble in the future. Vampires usually live in harmony with humans, but it¡¯s better to be safe than sorry. I have a feeling that that girl is no ordinary human. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have gone to such great lengths to take her away.¡± ¡°But if I leave her alone, it¡¯s akin to watching her die.¡± Chapter 1359 - I Only Want You (57)

Chapter 1359: I Only Want You (57)

¡°Send her away. However, I don¡¯t know if you still have time. Your bodyguards brought their corpses homest night. I¡¯m afraid their superiors are already aware that you guys were the ones who killed them. If that¡¯s the case, it¡¯d be difficult to send her away too. Just how did you get yourself involved in such a knotty situation?¡± An Xiaoning exined her encounter with Jing Chu briefly and said, ¡°I knew she wasn¡¯t ordinary, but I never expected that it would be thisplicated. I actually don¡¯t want her to die or hand her over to those vampires.¡± Xiao Chenyang said calmly, ¡°Do you have another option? Surely you can¡¯t be nning to make those vampires your enemies for the sake of an outsider? It doesn¡¯t seem to be a fair trade-off.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, Jing Chu stepped out of the corner, clearly having already heard their conversation. ¡°Sister Xiaoning, I can¡¯t implicate you in this. If they¡¯re really that formidable, I definitely shouldn¡¯t bring you any trouble. I must leave today.¡± An Xiaoning was at a loss for words. ¡°Jing Chu, take a seat.¡± Jing Chu sat down and swayed a little to the side. It was obvious that she was still terrified. ¡°Do you really not know who you are?¡± Xiao Chenyang asked. Shaking her head, she answered, ¡°I don¡¯t. If this is the truth, I really can¡¯t ept it, but I won¡¯t give in to them easily, despite being well aware that there¡¯s nothing much I can really do. I never had a choice ever since I was born. I was fortunately rescued from torment by Sister Xiaoning. I know Sister Xiaoning is a good person and she really wants to protect me. However, Sister Xiaoning, I really can¡¯t implicate you and be your burden. I¡¯ll repay your kindness in the future when I have the chance to. I think that I have to stand on my own feet now, no matter what the situation may be.¡± After some thought, An Xiaoning said, ¡°These are just some of our assumptions. We haven¡¯t verified it yet.¡± ¡°The words carved on the men¡¯s bodies are symbols belonging to the vampires. It¡¯s not the time to be indecisive now,¡± said Xiao Chenyang, who was viewing things from a greater perspective. Although An Xiaoning was well aware of that fact, she did not wish to watch Jing Chu being abducted again, especially since she had just been freed from suffering. At this moment, they received a piece of horrifying news. A few strangers had shown up at their doorstep! An Xiaoning and Xiao Chenyang looked at each other. She then instructed Fang En to bring Jing Chu elsewhere before allowing the men to enter. The men who entered were extremely tall and burly, making the 1.82-meter-tall Fan Shixin appear petite beside them. There were five of them in total. An Xiaoning asked, ¡°May I ask if it¡¯s me you¡¯re looking for?¡± ¡°Of course. Ms. An, you brought our person away forcefully. Our master wants you to hand her over. If you do, we can pretend that this didn¡¯t happen.¡± ¡°Since you guys said that she¡¯s your person, may I know what her identity is?¡± ¡°That¡¯s our confidential information. Ms. An, there¡¯s no need for you to know. We must take her away, so please hand her over.¡± ¡°What if I don¡¯t?¡± A sullen expression formed on the men¡¯s faces, and they stared at her with a menacing look in their eyes. ¡°Our master said that we¡¯ll have no choice but to snatch her away forcefully if you and Mr. Jin refuse to concede. After all, she belongs to us, and it¡¯d be really frustrating if you don¡¯t hand her over. If you decide to give in, we won¡¯t hold it against you and just let this matter slide. Ms. An, we¡¯ll have no qualms if you don¡¯t mind there being a bloodbath.¡± An Xiaoning squinted. This is clearly a threat. Before she even responded, Jing Chu struggled out of Fang En¡¯s grip and scurried toward the men. ¡°Don¡¯t threaten Sis Xiaoning. I¡¯ll just leave with you guys.¡± ¡°Jing Chu...¡± ¡°Sis Xiaoning, I can¡¯t put you in a spot. My life is worth nothing. I don¡¯t know why they¡¯re taking me away, but I may never be able to meet you again. I hope you and Mr. Jin will live a safe and peaceful life.¡± An Xiaoning was at a loss for words. She was in no ce to keep Jing Chu by her side anyway. After hugging An Xiaoning goodbye, Jing Chu was brought away by the five men. Feeling terribly upset, An Xiaoning looked at Xiao Chenyang and said, ¡°Jing Chu had been subjected to so much torment and suffering in the past. She definitely won¡¯t be sent back to the Widows¡¯ Vige. God knows what she¡¯ll be put through this time. I have to make a trip down to the Widows¡¯ Vige tonight. I must hypnotize that middle-aged woman to find out what those people are up to.¡± Xiao Chenyang stopped her and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to do that. That woman was just following orders. What could she possibly know?¡± ¡°Even if she doesn¡¯t know anything, I mustn¡¯t let this opportunity slip.¡± ¡°Sis Xiaoning, everyone leads a different life and enjoys a different fate from others. Even if you find out what happened, what can you do? You¡¯re better off not knowing what the situation is. You¡¯ll only feel bad, knowing that there¡¯s nothing you can do despite being aware of what happened. Jing Chu doesn¡¯t hold it against you. She just left with them out of her own ord because she doesn¡¯t want you to be implicated.¡± She found Fang En¡¯s words to have made sense and did not mention the Widows¡¯ Vige again. Everyone was destined to live a unique life decided by fate. Jing Chu could only me it on destiny if she were to meet with another mishap. ¡°You said that those carvings are symbols belonging to a certain blood tribe. You mean there¡¯s a hierarchy amongst those vampires too?¡± Xiao Chenyang nodded and said, ¡°Probably. Rebellious minorities exist even in normal families. There¡¯s nothing to be surprised about. Anyway, it¡¯s a good thing that thatss has been taken away. The consequences are really going to be dire if you end up being implicated because of her. There are still no updates about the jade ring yet. You¡¯d only be creating more trouble for yourself if you get embroiled in this sticky situation.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª¡ª Jing Chu was blindfolded and brought back inside the car, after which she was sent on a flight. She felt as if centuries had passed before she finallynded on the ground. The wind was extremely strong. She was then tied to a tree. She could only hear some sounds, not knowing what they were nning to do with her at all. When she heard some noises of footsteps shuffling, she finally realized that there must be lots of people in front of her. By the time her blindfold was removed, she was already famished and parched. She was also exhausted after a long journey. The sky had already turned dark. A bunch of big and burly men stood in front of her. However, she could not see their faces clearly in the dark. She scanned her surroundings to see that she was surrounded by lots of firewood. When two of the men poured some mmable liquids onto the firewood, Jing Chu finally understood what they were trying to do. They were going to burn her to death! She had no idea why she was being put through this either. Jing Chu closed her eyes and began weeping silently while her heart ricocheted vigorously against her chest. It wrenched up due to her overwhelming emotions of fear and anger, which she tried to suppress, to no avail. Chapter 1360 - I Only Want You (58)

Chapter 1360: I Only Want You (58)

Tens of secondster, she opened her eyes again to see that there was a cliff behind her. She could still manage to see a little because of the faint moonlight. No wonder it was so breezy. Her chances of escaping were bleak. At this very moment, the middle-aged woman who had been abusing Jing Chu for years began walking toward her. Jing Chu could recognize her silhouette right away, despite the dim lights. This woman was the person whom she had seen most of ever since she was born. The woman said slowly, ¡°Jing Chu, you were destined to be a sacrificial being from the day that you were born. We were initially nning to wait until you reach the age of twenty before carrying out this ceremony proper. However, we can¡¯t afford to wait until next year. I know you¡¯ve been really curious about your identity and background. Since you¡¯re already on the verge of death, I don¡¯t mind telling you and fulfilling your wishes. Your mother was the one who handed you over to us out of her own ord. I don¡¯t know about your father, but I heard that he had abandoned you and your mother. I¡¯m not sure of the details. After your mother handed you to us, she took our money and disappeared without a trace. That¡¯s how you became the appointed sacrificial being. This is the cold, hard truth. At this juncture, there¡¯s no need for me to lie to you. Hence, this is where your life ends. You may rest in peace. Do you have any more questions?¡± It was the most mellow the middle-aged woman had ever been with Jing Chu. She did not expect that her father would abandon her mother and that her mother would give her away. ¡°When is my birthday...¡± She was still concerned about her birthday at this point... ¡°Your mother once said that you were born on the 16th of December. I remember it very clearly.¡± Jing Chu¡¯s tears began to make her vision blurry. She was going to die even before she got to enjoy a blissful life. Her life was terrible, and there was nothing left for her to live for. Filled with fear and anxiety, her lips quivered uncontrobly and she turned as pale as a sheet. ¡°Are there any other questions you have?¡± ¡°No,¡± she answered feebly. ¡°Alright. The ceremony is going to begin soon.¡± The middle-aged woman then turned around and left. At this very moment, Jing Chu felt an acute pain in her calf, which felt like the bite of a small animal. She could not see it clearly in the dark. Just as the animal was about to leave, she immediately stopped it by talking to it softly. She then murmured a few words to the animal. The rest of the people around her could not understand what she was saying at all. More than a minuteter, someone lit the firewood up and began walking toward her. She stared coldly at the man who was walking toward her, feeling as if she was waiting to be ughtered. When Jing Chu was lit aze, she could feel herself being surrounded by the mes. However, the small animal had already bit the rope and caused her to plunge backward toward the cliff. Everyone was greatly taken aback. They frantically rushed forward to see that Jing Chu, who had already been set on mes, was moving further and further away. She soon vanishedpletely. It was apparent that she had fallen from a great height. Death was the only thing that awaited her. Hence, the bunch of people left. They could not be bothered to look for her corpse since they had never nned to bury her anyway. Not only were they certain that Jing Chu would definitely fall to her death, she had thought so too herself. However, she fell straight into a river that extinguished the mes on her body, after which she lost her consciousness. She had no idea that it was more than just an ordinary river. It was a tourist attraction. However, visitors were not allowed to enter the spot at night unless they paid a high price to stay behind and enjoy the night view. It had never crossed Pei Yi¡¯s mind that he would run into Jing Chu here. He noticed that she was covered in wounds and that her clothes had all been burnt. Fortunately, the fire that had also burnt off her hair did not scald her face. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to recognize her. Did... An Xiaoning do this to her? Doesn¡¯t seem like it. Did she end up in the hands of those people again? How unlucky. Fortunately, Pei Yi was the only one wandering around theke at night. Otherwise, if others were to call the police to help Jing Chu, his identity would definitely be exposed. Pei Yi picked her up in his arms and brought her back to his room. He took a careful look at her and found that she was alright and that she had merely passed out. He then left her alone. It was already difficult for him to bring her all the way to his room. Pei Yi barely slept that night and instead stayed up to watch some movies. He continued until Jing Chu came to. The moment she regained her consciousness, she scanned her surroundings before turning to look at Pei Yi, who was lying on the bed. She sobered up and began to feel the excruciating pain of the burns from head to toe. Pei Yi switched on the bedsidemps and asked, ¡°You¡¯vee to. How did you fall from the cliff? Why are you so badly burnt too?¡± ¡°Those people who abducted me said that they were going to sacrifice me. I jumped off the cliff when I was set on fire.¡± ¡°They must have tied you up. How did you manage to escape?¡± ¡°There was a small animal that helped me bite the rope to break it. I canmunicate with animals,¡± said Jing Chu, who did not mind being honest with the man who had saved her life twice. ¡°With animals?¡± Pei Yi asked in surprise. ¡°Yes.¡± He said, ¡°Earlier today, I checked out theke that you had plunged into just now. You would have definitely died if you¡¯dnded on hard ground after plunging from such a great height. Perhaps you¡¯re not destined to die yet. They must have thought that you were dead since they didn¡¯t try to search for your corpse. Go flee on your own. Hide yourself well and don¡¯t let them find out that you¡¯re still alive.¡± Jing Chu got down from the couch and knelt before him. ¡°Mr. Pei, there¡¯s no other option for me now. If you can take me in, I¡¯m willing to be enved to you for the rest of my life.¡± Pei Yi sat up straight and looked at her. ¡°Why don¡¯t you go look for An Xiaoning instead?¡± ¡°I... I don¡¯t want to stay in this nation anymore. I heard from Sister that you¡¯d be leaving S Nation soon, so...¡± ¡°If I¡¯m willing to take you in, will you really be willing to be my ve for the rest of your life?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°No regrets?¡± ¡°No regrets,¡± said Jing Chu, who thought that he was a good man and that nothing could be worse than the predicament she was in now. ¡°Will you do everything that I tell you to?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll abide by you.¡± Pei Yi nodded in satisfaction and said, ¡°In that case, I shall take you with me. Is your name Jing Chu?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°How old are you?¡± ¡°Neen years old,¡± said Jing Chu, who had just found out her own age. Pei Yi thought to himself, Neen years old... that¡¯s really young. She must be really puerile. After all, I¡¯m already 32 years old, a whole 13 years older than her. Chapter 1361 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1361: I Only Want You (59)

¡°Have you ever had a boyfriend?¡± Jing Chu answered, ¡°No.¡± He got out of bed and handed her a bathrobe. ¡°Go take a shower and change into this. I¡¯ll bring you out of hereter.¡± She grabbed the bathrobe and headed to the bathroom. She stared at her reflection in the mirror to see that the fire had left lots of bald spots on her scalp. She was overwhelmed with excruciating pain. If she had not fallen off the cliff in time, she would have be charred. She dared not take a thorough shower, for fear that she would aggravate her wounds. Hence, she came out of the bathroom soon after. At this moment, the sky had yet to brighten. Pei Yi brought her away from the tourist attraction. He had initially wanted to stay for a few more days. However, he decided that it would be fine to leave now too. Jing Chu would need her passport to leave the nation. Hence, Pei Yi had no choice but to choose to cross the borders illegally for her sake. He did not get his subordinates to register a passport for Jing Chu because she was stuck in a tricky predicament. They would be in a lot of trouble if the people were to discover that Jing Chu was still alive. However, it was indeed very ufortable to cross the borders illegally by being a stowaway. There was a twelve-hour time difference between R Nation and S Nation. They left S Nation at eight o¡¯clock in the morning and arrived in R Nation in the morning as well due to the time difference. Instead of taking her straight to Mount Qingping, Pei Yi brought her back to his own abode instead. It was arge mansion that strangely did not have any servants. However, he had hired a part-time maid who woulde at regr intervals to tidy the ce. Hence, the mansion was kept spick and span even though he had not lived there for a long time. ¡°You shall stay here. There¡¯s a supermarket outside. Don¡¯t wander off too far.¡± Jing Chu asked softly, ¡°How about you?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t being back often so stay here by yourself. The security of this estate is rather tight. Those people from S Nation must think that you¡¯re already dead. Hence, no one wille and disturb your peace. I¡¯ll give you my mobile number. Call me if something happens.¡± ¡°What am I supposed to do then...?¡± Jing Chu asked. Pei Yi scanned her from head to toe and said, ¡°Rest well and recuperate. By the way,e here.¡± Jing Chu had no idea what he wanted and thus followed him into the room. He then walked toward an electronic scale and switched it on. Pointing at the scale, he said, ¡°Stand on it.¡± She stepped onto the scale slowly, after which the disy showed that she weighed 40 kilograms. She was tall yet dangerously emaciated. He whipped out a wad of cash and handed it to her. ¡°I hope you¡¯ll have gained ten kilograms the next time I see you.¡± Jing Chu epted the money. Fortunately, she had already learned the basic skills of life when she was in the vige. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have known what to do with the money either. Pei Yi left shortly after. Jing Chu exited from the bedroom and put on his pajamas and his cap before heading to the supermarket outside. It was rather tough for Jing Chu to live alone in such a spacious house since she did not know how to cook or use household appliances. She could barely read or write either... Nheless, she decided to go out to buy herself some clothes and shoes, as well as some groceries that she filled the refrigerator up with. She had also bought a cheap mobile phone and saved Pei Yi¡¯s mobile number. She would strive to learn and pick up the skills she didn¡¯t have and would make an effort to ask for guidance whenever she was stuck. This was the new beginning of her life. ¡ª¡ª Life went on peacefully for several consecutive days. Both An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan were extremely worried and anxious about the jade ring. However, there was nothing they could do. Hence, they had a discussion and decided to stop worrying about things that had yet to happen or stress themselves out unnecessarily. Apart from the thing that had been bugging them, they lived each day rather interestingly. It was the middle of December. It was the winter break for the children in the boot camp. They were entirely thrilled and felt as if they were birds that had just been freed from their cages. They were over the moon to know that they no longer had to wake up early in the morning to train and attend lessons, at least not for a period of time. However, Jin Qingyan was out of sorts because he had to put on a stern front as the children¡¯s father and could no longer go about his carefree ways. If it weren¡¯t because of how much they resembled each other, Jin Yiheng would have never believed that Jin Qingyan was his father. He was not at all bothered by Jin Qingyan¡¯s austerity because he had long gotten used to it. He continued to enjoy a whale of a time at home. ¡°Daddy, if Yuechan looks for meter, tell her that I¡¯m not home,¡± Jin Yiheng said while making his way upstairs. Jin Qingyan looked up and said, ¡°Why must I lie for you?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re my daddy.¡± ¡°I have to lie for you just because I¡¯m your daddy? Seems like you haven¡¯t kicked that lying habit of yours. I should have reprimanded you harder.¡± Pulling a long face, Jin Yiheng said, ¡°Daddy, do you know what a white lie is? I¡¯m just asking you to tell Yuechan a white lie. If I y with her, Xiaoxi, your daughter-inw, will be upset. Do you want to see her upset?¡± ¡°What has that got to do with me? My wife is not the one getting angry.¡± Jin Yiheng frowned and eximed in disgruntlement, ¡°Daddy, when I grow up and get married, I definitely won¡¯t stay with you.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re that capable, stop living with me starting from now. Besides, did you actually think that I would let you stay here after you get married?¡± said Jin Qingyan, who was not threatened at all. Children should never try to argue or talk back to adults, because adults would always have a way to outargue children. Jin Yiheng was distraught about being punished by Jin Qingyan, who did not allow him to leave the house. ¡°Uncle, is Yiheng home?¡± Jin Qingyan looked at Wen Yuechan and answered, ¡°Yes...¡± Just as Wen Yuechan was about to zoom upstairs to look for Jin Yiheng, Jin Qingyan added, ¡°But he doesn¡¯t want to y with you, so don¡¯te looking for him again.¡± Wen Yuechan stood rooted to the ground and clenched her fists tightly. Although she had understood what Jin Qingyan meant, she could not just give up. Hence, she said, ¡°Is... Rongyan home, then?¡± Jin Qingyan raised his brows and scanned her from head to toe, only to find that she was rather pretty. ¡°Rongyan is not in. He¡¯s gone to Xiaoxi¡¯s home opposite.¡± ¡°Thank you, Uncle,¡± said Wen Yuechan, who did not have an excuse to go upstairs. She then left. Wen Yuechan was dressed in a pink quilted jacket with her hair draped across her shoulders. She had especially dolled herself up before arriving. Yet, she had her spirits dampened. Chapter 1362 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1362: I Only Want You (60)

She stepped out of the entrance. Just as she was about to go to Long Xiaoxi¡¯s home, Jin Rongyan happened to exit from there. Upon the sight of her, he greeted, ¡°Yuechan.¡± ¡°Rongyan, I was looking for you.¡± ¡°Me? Why were you looking for me?¡± Jin Rongyan asked in puzzlement. ¡°I was going to ask to y with you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think we can. I¡¯m going home to ask Brother along to go snow skiing.¡± Wen Yuechan hurriedly said, ¡°I want to go snow skiing too, can you bring me along?¡± ¡°Well...¡± Jin Rongyan was put in a spot, because Long Xiaoxi was the one who suggested that they go snow skiing, and he too was well aware that Long Xiaoxi detested Wen Yuechan. ¡°Um... Yuechan, I don¡¯t think you cane along.¡± Wen Yuechan nodded and left dejectedly. Without further ado, Jin Rongyan returned home to invite his brother. After Jin Rongyan pleaded with Jin Qingyan, he finally allowed Jin Yiheng, who was initially grounded, to go out and y. Long Tianze and Mei Yangyang brought the children to the ski resort. It was right in the city. All the other children were present too, including Zhong Minhe. While they were out for a joyous day of fun, Wen Yuechan was facing the music at home. ¡°Just what¡¯s going on with you? Even a chubby girl like Long Xiaoxi can make that rascal Jin Yiheng fancy her. You¡¯re so much slimmer and prettier than her, so why can¡¯t you do it? I don¡¯t think there¡¯s hope for you anymore, now that Jin Yiheng¡¯s father has already said such words. Both Jin Yiheng and his father dislike you, you can probably never step inside their house again.¡± Wen Yuechan knelt on the cold, hard ground with her head hung low, not uttering a single word at all. Greatly infuriated at the possibility of her n going to dust, Mrs. Wen hollered, ¡°You were so close to him, why did you fail to grasp the opportunity? You must have peanuts for brains!¡± ¡°Mother, Yiheng no longer wants to y with me because of Long Xiaoxi. Even Rongyan doesn¡¯t look me up anymore. How can you me me for that? Yiheng¡¯s parents are fond of Xiaoxi, simply because they¡¯re close friends with Xiaoxi¡¯s parents. If I were to be their daughter, Yiheng will definitely fancy me.¡± ¡°Are they going to go snow skiing?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what they said.¡± ¡°Did they mention which ski resort they would be going to?¡± Shaking her head, Wen Yuechan answered, ¡°No.¡± Mrs. Wen barked, ¡°You¡¯d better be obedient and stay home. You¡¯re not allowed to go anywhere at all!¡± Noticing that her mother had gotten changed and was about to go out, Wen Yuechan asked, ¡°Mommy, where are you going?¡± ¡°Out for a stroll.¡± Mrs. Wen mmed the door shut with a loud thud. Wen Yuechan got up onto her feet and walked toward the balcony to see using her binocrs her mother exiting from the house. She then proceeded to watch some cartoons and animated films. To Wen Yuechan¡¯s surprise, Mrs. Wen returned home covered in snow, her face as pale as a sheet. Upon seeing Wen Yuechan, she gave her a tight p across her face, causing her to bawl loudly in fear and puzzlement. ¡°You dimwit. How did I give birth to such a stupid daughter like you?¡± Clutching her face in pain, Wen Yuechan looked at her quietly while tears streamed down her face uncontrobly. Mrs. Wen poured herself a cup of tea and downed it before saying solemnly, ¡°I was trying to find a chance to take that chubby girl away, yet I ended up slipping and falling several times.¡± ¡°Mommy, where are you taking Long Xiaoxi to?¡± ¡°With her around, the Jin family sons will never notice you. It¡¯s easier to get rid of her now that she¡¯s young. I¡¯ve decided to take the risk for the sake of your future.¡± Having understood what she meant, Wen Yuechan frantically said, ¡°Mother, you¡¯re not thinking of killing her, are you? Teacher said that you¡¯ll have to face a death penalty for murder.¡± Mrs. Wen ignored her words. She initially thought that it wouldn¡¯t be toote to let her daughter get closer to them when she was older. However, after hearing that Jin Yiheng and Jin Rongyan were starting to dislike Wen Yuechan and avoiding ying with her, she decided not to let the opportunity slip. At the thought of the Jin family¡¯s wealth, she pushed the tea aside and chugged a few sses of liquor in one go. ¡°Why would I kill her? I won¡¯t.¡± Wen Yuechan felt a huge sense of relief after hearing her words. On the following night, Jin Yiheng actually took the initiative to look her up out of the blue. She was initially rather surprised and happy. However, Jin Yiheng turned out to be asking about Long Xiaoxi. She shook her head and answered, ¡°No, I¡¯ve been staying home to watch television all day.¡± Jin Yiheng turned around and scurried away. Has Long Xiaoxi gone missing? Wen Yuechan wondered to herself. She grabbed a torchlight and exited. As soon as she stepped out of the corridor, she was attacked by the sudden biting cold of the snow. Wen Yuechan stepped onto the pile of snow and began walking to Long Xiaoxi¡¯s home. The door was left ajar, and the lights were brightly lit. She stuck her head inside to see that there were lots of people. When Jin Rongyan exited, Wen Yuechan grabbed his arm and asked, ¡°Yiheng was asking me if I had seen Long Xiaoxi just now. What happened to Long Xiaoxi?¡± ¡°Xiaoxi has gone missing,¡± said Jin Rongyan. ¡°Missing? Where did she go?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, we just can¡¯t find her,¡± said Jin Rongyan, who hurriedly ran back home again. Wen Yuechan stood rooted to the ground. Reminded of the fact that her mother had been out all day, she turned around and ran home. She then called her mother using the telephone. Mrs. Wen picked up very quickly. ¡°Mommy, where are you now?¡± ¡°Having a meal outside. Have you eaten?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had some bread. When will you be home?¡± ¡°Soon.¡± Wen Yuechan asked, ¡°Mommy, did you see Xiaoxi today?¡± ¡°No.¡± Wen Yuechan had no choice but to wait for her mother toe home. Meanwhile, the Long family was filled with panic and anxiety. Ever since Mei Shuangshuang and her boyfriend, Xiaozong, abducted Long Xiaoxi for money, Long Tianze and Mei Yangyang had been paying attention to the safety of the two children. Whenever they were out, the pair would definitely ensure that the children were within sight. However, they wouldn¡¯t keep such a close eye on them whenever they were just at home or around the estate. Yet, the children had gone missing in the safest ce! There were undoubtedly lots of surveince cameras around in the estate. Hence, the moment they discovered that Long Xiaoxi had gone missing, the first thing they did was to check the surveince camera footage. Fifteen minutes had passed, and the surveince cameras had managed to capture Long Xiaoxi. Long Xiaoxi was seen being stopped in her tracks by a woman who was holding onto a red umbre when she was about to go opposite. They could tell that it was a woman from the way she was dressed. However, her face was concealed well and the surveince cameras could not capture her features. However, it seemed that Long Xiaoxi clearly knew who this woman was. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have bothered to run toward the woman. She even spoke to the woman for a while before leaving with her. Mei Yangyang and Long Tianze knew their daughter too well. Although Long Xiaoxi was young, she wouldn¡¯t leave with a stranger. Chapter 1363 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1363: I Only Want You (61)

They were very certain about that. They then discovered that Long Xiaoxi had left Wei Ni Estate together with the woman. However, the surveince cameras had never managed to capture the features of the woman. Fortunately, there were also lots of surveince cameras outside the estate and they continued to view the footage. Atst, Long Xiaoxi and the woman could no longer be seen after they reached the blind spot of the surveince cameras. After a long while, the woman exited alone while Long Xiaoxi was nowhere in sight. Mei Yangyang and Long Tianze were on the verge of despair after seeing what had happened. Long Tianze and Mei Yangyang drove to the area of the blind spot of the surveince cameras to see that Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning had already arrived. It was simply different for those who could fly. Long Tianze was not in the mood for idle talk. An Xiaoning scanned her surroundings. She discovered that the area of the blind spot was rather small and that there were no other buildings that could not be captured by the surveince cameras apart from the public washroom. Feeling extremely anxious, the two of them headed to the washroom. An Xiaoning entered the cubicles while Jin Qingyan proceeded to the area behind the washroom. To their relief, they did not find Long Xiaoxi inside. An Xiaoning¡¯s legs turned to jelly. Where could Long Xiaoxi be, then? The cover of a water sewer caught An Xiaoning¡¯s attention. Although it was winter time and the ground was supposed to be covered in snow, the cover of the sewer was not covered in snow. She stepped forward to see that there were lots of footsteps near the pipe that belonged to a child and an adult. ¡°Qingyan, hurry ande here.¡± Jin Qingyan strode toward An Xiaoning quickly, after which she lifted the cover. She instructed Jin Qingyan to wait there for Long Tianze and Mei Yangyang while she checked on the situation with a torchlight. The stench of the sewer was terribly overwhelming. An Xiaoning called Long Xiaoxi¡¯s name out loud a few times while holding onto her torchlight. However, there was no response. Instead of giving up, she continued to search for Long Xiaoxi. She walked in further and discovered that Long Xiaoxi was tied to the dirty wall. Her eyes were shut tightly and her face was as pale as a sheet. An Xiaoning could not tell if she was dead or in unconscious... An Xiaoning held her breath and teared up at the sight of Long Xiaoxi. ¡°Xiaoxi!¡± she eximed. She rushed forward to hug her and untie the ropes around her. Too afraid to stick her finger below Long Xiaoxi¡¯s nose, she pressed her face against Long Xiaoxi¡¯s instead to find that it was rather warm. She then stuck her finger below her nose, only to find that her breathing was faint. An Xiaoning picked her up and began running out of the sewer. Jin Qingyan had entered the sewer the moment he heard her yelling. Upon the sight of An Xiaoning, he immediately carried Long Xiaoxi out of the sewer while An Xiaoning climbed up rapidly. Long Tianze and Mei Yangyang arrived. They quickly zoomed toward Jin Qingyan, who was carrying Long Xiaoxi in his arms. ¡°I¡¯m sending her to the hospital,¡± said Jin Qingyan, who quickly walked away while the three of them tagged along in a separate car. By the time they arrived in the hospital, Long Xiaoxi was already going through a gastricvage. Staring at how ufortable she was, Long Tianze was filled with misery and anger. He wished he could rip that woman into shreds. Anyone who dares to harm his precious daughter will never be spared! Fortunately, they managed to get Long Xiaoxi to the hospital in time. The effects of the type of poison that Mrs. Wen had given Long Xiaoxi would usually take longer to kick inpared to other poisons. However, she would definitely die if she had arrived at the hospital ten minutester. Long Xiaoxi was transferred to the premium ward. Mei Yangyang finally rxed after hearing that Long Xiaoxi was definitely out of danger. She hugged An Xiaoning and began weeping incessantly. It was a sudden bolt out of the blue. An Xiaoning hugged Mei Yangyang while her heart sank. Just who had the audacity to abduct Xiaoxi right in front of us? Not to mention, she¡¯s someone we know. They had to wait for the results of the investigation. Long Tianze stayed behind in the hospital to look after Long Xiaoxi while Mei Yangyang tagged along with An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan. After a long while, Fan Shixin returned with the results and said, ¡°ording to our investigation, that woman entered one of the apartment buildings in our estate in the end. We¡¯re now trying to verify which unit she lives in. Xiao Bai and Xiao Huang have gone to do that. They¡¯ll bring her here soon.¡± ¡°Our estate? I don¡¯t remember ever offending any other residents in our estate. Besides, we¡¯re not close to them either. We barely interact with the other residents, let alone start a feud with them,¡± Mei Yangyang said in bewilderment. An Xiaoning had no idea who was up to such stuff either. Everyone was dumbstruck the moment the bodyguards brought the culprit to see them. ¡°Wen Yuechan¡¯s mother?¡± Just as Mrs. Wen was about to stand up straight, she was held down by the bodyguards. ¡°What are you people arresting me for? I didn¡¯t do anything at all.¡± Mei Yangyang scanned her from head to toe and screeched, ¡°You didn¡¯t do anything at all? You were caught on the surveince cameras and yet you¡¯re still trying to deny it!?!¡± Mrs. Wen vehemently refused to admit to it. Boiling with fury, Mei Yangyang barked, ¡°There¡¯s no point in denying it. We tracked you down using the surveince camera footage. You brought my daughter into the sewer and tried to harm her. Just what were your intentions!?!¡± Knowing that there was no escape for her now that they had gathered sufficient evidence against her, she changed her attitude drastically and began begging for forgiveness. ¡°I was just too muddled up at the moment. I was wrong to have done that. Please forgive me this once, I won¡¯t do it ever again.¡± ¡°Forgive you? Did you forget that we were the ones who allowed your daughter to participate in the boot camp? How dare you do that to Xiaoxi? What was your reason!?!¡± Mrs. Wen fell silent, not wishing to tell her the reason. ¡°It¡¯s alright if you refuse to speak up now. I believe you¡¯ll spill everything once we send you to the police station,¡± said Mei Yangyang, who believed that Long Tianze would definitely kick Mrs. Wen if he were there. She instructed Fan Shixin, ¡°Shixin, take her to the police station and let the police handle her.¡± Pangs of panic engulfed Mrs. Wen as she hurriedly pleaded, ¡°Please don¡¯t send me to the police station. I¡¯ve already divorced my husband and be a single mother. If I get put behind bars, my daughter will be orphaned.¡± ¡°Her father is still alive. It¡¯s not like she¡¯s going to die without you. Don¡¯t harm your daughter anymore. She¡¯s better off without a vicious mother like you.¡± Weeping continuously, Mrs. Wen continued to plead, ¡°Please, please let me off this once. I let greed get the better of me. It¡¯s all my fault and I deserve to be punished, but my daughter is still young and she needs maternal love.¡± Mrs. Wen¡¯s attempt to y the sympathy card turned out to be futile. Just as Mei Yangyang was about to send Mrs. Wen to the police station, Wen Yuechan zoomed through the door and knelt down in front of Mei Yangyang, bawling and begging for her mercy. It seemed as if Mei Yangyang was the one at fault and that Mrs. Wen and Wen Yuechan were the innocent victims instead. Chapter 1364 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1364: I Only Want You (62)

However, Mei Yangyang was much more concerned about her own daughter whom she felt very sorry for. Not only were Wen Yuechan and her mother not grateful for the chance to join the boot camp, they even tried to kill Long Xiaoxi. It was not just a trivial matter. Mei Yangyang could not allow others to trample on her principles and cross the bottom line. Mei Yangyang squatted down and stared at Wen Yuechan, whose tears were falling from her eyes as if from a broken tap. She said, ¡°I heard that your mother fed my daughter with poison. Don¡¯t think that I¡¯m going to let your mother off just because you two are pleading for mercy. She had attempted to murder someone. It¡¯s not a trivial matter at all. I will never forgive her. As for you, you shall be kicked out of the boot camp from now on. It doesn¡¯t concern me at all whose care you¡¯re going to be under from now on, be it your father or your rtives. We didn¡¯t harm you guys, you were the ones who did this to us first.¡± Mrs. Wen was thus arrested and brought to the police station. Wen Yuechan tagged along while still weeping and wailing. Meanwhile, Jin Yiheng and Jin Rongyan stood by the side to watch what was going on. When she walked past the two of them, she looked at them with tears in her eyes, only to discover that they were giving her the cold shoulder. Hence, she looked away and never looked back again. At about eleven o¡¯clock at night, they received some news from the police. Mrs. Wen finally broke her silence and pleaded guilty after meeting her former husband. She also revealed the reason behind her actions. An Xiaoning, Jin Qingyan, and Mei Yangyang were bbergasted after hearing the absurd reason for her brazen audacity. They had never expected Mrs. Wen to be so greedy and overly ambitious. ¡°What? She wants to be my daughter-inw? Wen Yuechan is so young and yet her mother is already teaching her to be so vicious. If she doesn¡¯t change her ways while she¡¯s still young, her future is definitely going to be bleak,¡± said An Xiaoning. ¡°They¡¯ve got such a wild imagination. Why don¡¯t they take a look in the mirror and see if she¡¯s fit enough to be my daughter-inw?¡± Jin Qingyan remarked. Mei Yangyang sighed and said, ¡°We¡¯re all tired tonight. I¡¯ve gotten a great fright tonight too. I have to go to the hospital now. Sis, you guys should go home to get some rest.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan stood up and brought their sons home. Jin Yiheng sat on the bed quietly with tears in his eyes. Jin Rongyan said, ¡°Brother, Xiaoxi will be fine.¡± ¡°Sister Xiaoxi.¡± She¡¯s only half a year older than me though... Jin Rongyan repeated, ¡°Sister Xiaoxi will be fine.¡± Jin Yiheng removed his shoes andy down on the bed. Staring at the ceiling above, he said, ¡°Xiaoxi almost died...¡± ¡°Mommy said that Sister Xiaoxi is in the hospital and that she¡¯s alright now. Let¡¯s go visit her tomorrow. Brother, hurry and go take a shower before going to bed. We¡¯ll go visit Sister Xiaoxi at the hospital tomorrow.¡± Jin Yiheng nodded and got out of bed to go to the washroom. ¡ª¡ª The following morning, Jin Yiheng immediately got out of bed before daybreak, despite his penchant for sleeping in. He then pulled his brother along and headed to the hospital with his parents. Long Xiaoxi had alreadye to. However, she was much paler than before. The pair of brothers scurried toward her bed, after which Jin Yiheng asked worriedly, ¡°Are you alright? How do you feel?¡± ¡°I stopped feeling terrible the moment I saw you.¡± The initial somber ambiance immediately became much more light-hearted as everyone burst intoughter after hearing her words. ¡°Daddy, Mommy, Godpa, Godma, you guys go out first. I have something to say to Yiheng in private.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, yes, Your Highness. We¡¯ll wait for you guys outside,¡± said Long Tianze, who could not help but feel a little miserable at the sight of how smitten his daughter was with her fianc¨¦. Mei Yangyang pulled Long Tianze out of the ward, and An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan exited as well together with Jin Rongyan. Mr. and Mrs. Long and Ling Ciye waited outside too. Long Xiaoxi grabbed Jin Yiheng¡¯s hand and began tearing up. She said sulkily, ¡°I thought I would never get to see you guys again. I haven¡¯t married you yet, I don¡¯t want to die.¡± Jin Yiheng sat beside her and gazed at her solemnly, ¡°Everything is alright now. With me around to protect you, none of such things will happen again. You¡¯ll definitely grow up safely, I promise!¡± ¡°I heard from Daddy that Wen Yuechan¡¯s mother wants Wen Yuechan to marry you when she¡¯s older. She can dream on, you¡¯re mine!¡± She then hugged Jin Yiheng¡¯s arm and said, ¡°I¡¯ll bite whoever dares to vie with me for you.¡± Jin Yiheng burst intoughter and said, ¡°You¡¯re not a dog...¡± Long Xiaoxi guffawed and said, ¡°You have a point.¡± While they were having a joyous conversation, the adults were waiting outside. When Jin Yiheng exited, An Xiaoning asked softly, ¡°What did Xiaoxi say to you? Why did you guys take so long?¡± Jin Yiheng looked up and eximed, ¡°Mommy, this is my private matter, adults are not allowed to probe!¡± An Xiaoning expressed assent and put his cap onto his head. ¡°Okay, okay, I won¡¯t ask anymore.¡± Jin Yiheng ced his hands behind his back while Long Xiaoxi¡¯s voice rang in his ears. He could not stop thinking about what she said: ¡°Brother Yiheng, I fell in love with you at first sight. It makes me happy to see you.¡± What a... wonderful feeling. When they were walking toward the clinic, an ambnce sped toward the hospital all of a sudden and the paramedics hurriedly carried the patient out of the ambnce using a stretcher. The patient was twitching uncontrobly in pain. Upon the sight of the scene before her, An Xiaoning instructed Jin Qingyan to bring the two children home while she rushed forward. Jin Qingyan focused on taking the children away and did not manage to see the patient clearly. An Xiaoning then scurried toward the patient and followed them all the way to the emergency rescue operating theater. It was not the first time that she had broken the rules by barging into the operating theater. However, the nurse insisted on abiding by the rules and forbade her from entering, despite having recognized who she was. ¡°Ms. An, you can¡¯t enter the operating theater. This a rule set by the hospital.¡± Staring at her solemnly, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Hear me out, I must go inside because that patient is in great danger!¡± The nurse wanted to conform to the rules and, at the same time, avoid offending An Xiaoning. Hence, she had no choice but to say, ¡°If you insist on going inside, I¡¯ll have to seek the permission of the doctor first.¡± ¡°Hurry and go inside, then.¡± The nurse zoomed inside the operating theater while An Xiaoning waited outside anxiously. Soon, the nurse exited again and allowed An Xiaoning to enter. An Xiaoning scurried inside to see that the male patient had been administered with anesthesia and could only move the parts of his body below his neck. Upon her arrival, the head surgeon took a nce and continued to carry out the surgery. Just as he was about to open the patient up with his scalpel, An Xiaoning stepped forward and pushed the other medical staff away. She shifted her gaze onto the patient¡¯s neck and asked, ¡°How did you get that bite on your neck?¡± Chapter 1365 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1365: I Only Want You (63)

¡°I got... bitten at... Blossom Vige...¡± As soon as the man answered the question, he vomited a mouthful of blood and his eyes turned into a different color, which was to the terror of the surgeons and nurses. ¡°Bring me some tissue papers.¡± Without dy, the nurse hurriedly handed her a box of tissues. An Xiaoning pulled out several pieces of tissue paper and stuffed them into the man¡¯s mouth. She then pressed his head down forcefully. Although the man seemed to be motionless, he was actually struggling to break free with all his might, to no avail. An Xiaoning used her other hand to wipe the blood off his neck. She had already noticed the wound from afar when the man was being carried out on the stretcher earlier. After taking a closer look, she realized that it was just like what she had expected. Fortunately, she managed to rush to the operating theater in time. Otherwise, there would definitely have been countless of casualties. She then asked the head surgeon, ¡°How long will the effects of the anesthesiast?¡± ¡°About an hour.¡± ¡°Prepare some anesthesia and administer him with another dose half an hour from now. Don¡¯t bother rescuing him anymore. There¡¯s no purpose in that. If I hadn¡¯t rushed here in time, a massacre would have taken ce.¡± Everyone was shocked out of their wits. They stared at the man who had bloodshot eyes, too petrified to even speak. An Xiaoning immediately whipped out her mobile phone to call Jin Qingyan. ¡°Make a trip to Blossom Vige personally. I don¡¯t know where that is so you have to find out the location. The man who was sent for emergency rescue just now had been bitten by those mutants. The situation is critical. I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s simr to what happened in Beiying. Bring the children home and head there at once. Hurry.¡± An Xiaoning then said to the surgeon, ¡°Call the rescue center and instruct them not to rescue any patients in Blossom Vige. Don¡¯t dispatch any more ambnces either.¡± The surgeons immediately instructed the nurses to proceed ordingly. ¡°Ms. An, what¡¯s... wrong with this man?¡± the surgeon asked in a shaky voice. Afraid of frightening him any further, An Xiaoning answered, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that for now, leave it to me. Administer him with another dose of anesthetic half an hour from now. Then, clean up all of the blood that flowed from his body before sending him to Wei Ni Estate. I have something far more important to do now.¡± The doctor answered, ¡°Yes, Ms. An, we¡¯ll do as you say.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and hurriedly rushed out of the hospital. She then called Mei Yangyang and said, ¡°If Xiaoxi¡¯s condition is stable, move her out of the hospital and go back to Wei Ni Estate. A man who had been bitten by a vampire was sent to the hospital just now. I¡¯ve already controlled him, but I¡¯m still not certain about the current situation.¡± Mei Yangyang said, ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll settle the procedures now and get the doctor to provide Xiaoxi with treatment at home.¡± An Xiaoning expressed assent and hailed a taxi to the police station. ¡°Team Leader, what brings you here?¡± asked Zu Dong. ¡°Is Bureau Chief in?¡± ¡°He should be.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± She hurriedly scurried inside and barged inside Pan Zhenghui¡¯s office, giving Pan Zhenghui a great shock. He shivered and almost spilled the cup of tea in his hands. He would have blown his top and raised his voice if it were any of his other subordinates. However, he dared not show his displeasure to An Xiaoning. ¡°Xiaoning, what¡¯s the matter? You¡¯re so flustered and anxious.¡± ¡°Something major happened.¡± An Xiaoning exined the ongoing situation at the hospital to him before saying, ¡°I have a hunch that that man was not the only victim who had been bitten. Trouble is going to arise if word about this incident spreads to the public. My greatest fear is that what happened in Beiying will ur again. Hence, we must carry out a screening at every road exit to identify any suspicious persons. Get the officers to report immediately when they discover any.¡± ¡°That goes without saying. I was wondering why my eyelid kept twitching today. Goddamn it!¡± Pan Zhenghui eximed, turning as pale as a ghost. Without another word, An Xiaoning brought Zu Dong and Gong Le away with her to Blossom Vige. ording to the GPS navigation system, Blossom Vige was rather near the city center, at only about a few kilometers away. An Xiaoning was ill at ease throughout the journey there. She was afraid that things would be blown out of proportion. The entire journey was grueling and arduous. She arrived in Blossom Vige to see that there was not a single soul in sight at all. She called Jin Qingyan to find out about his current whereabouts, after which the three of them rushed over. When they arrived, Jin Qingyan was standing alone at a ditch in Blossom Vige with no one else around. There were fire and thick fumes in the ditch. An Xiaoning stepped forward to see that he was setting two corpses on fire. The corpses were mutants who had already been bitten. ¡°You found two mutants?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve found two for now. Hence, we still have to carry out checks. Besides, average policemen are not capable enough to keep the situation under control. Things would be terrible if they get bitten too. We have to split up and carry out screening.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± An Xiaoning immediately agreed and left with Zu Dong and Gong Le. After an entire morning of screening and checking every household in Blossom Vige, they still did not find anything. An Xiaoning heaved a sigh of relief. However, she could not rx at all. An Xiaoning instructed the rest of the vigers to call the police once they find anything unusual before leaving the vige. After lunch, An Xiaoning still could not put her mind at ease. Jin Qingyan had a sullen expression on his face, seemingly deep in thought. He was sitting beside her and reading some books. She understood him very well. Thus, she knew that he was definitely not focusing on the book despite holding it in his hands. An Xiaoning rested her head in her hand and ced her arm against the armrest of the couch. She stared at him and asked, ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Jin Qingyan answered, ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering why this happened again out of nowhere. Could this be only the beginning? If the vampires and humans have been living together harmoniously all along, why have they decided to go against the rules now?¡± An Xiaoning was puzzled as well. ¡°Young Sir, Young Madam, you have a parcel from an anonymous sender. There¡¯s a letter inside.¡± Xiao Huang entered and handed the envelope to Jin Qingyan, who then ced the book aside and checked the letter in the envelope. The contents of the letter were rather short and concise, but enough to send Jin Qingyan into a rage. ¡°I knew all along that the Jin family had a precious family heirloom. However, I never knew what kind of a treasure it was. I had never expected that it would take us so long to verify what it really is. Mr. Jin, please keep it in a safe ce, lest we find it.¡± He could sense the arrogance in between the lines. ¡°This person is really haughty, huh? I wonder if he has the courage to steal the treasure away from me.¡± An Xiaoning could not help but think of the worst-case scenario. ¡°If this ring can¡¯t be removed from your finger, what if they try to cut your finger off? Seems like Ancestor Jin Yuanzhi was right.¡± Chapter 1366 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1366: I Only Want You (64)

Jin Qingyan pulled her into his arms and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, perhaps this is the time where the ring wille to our aid. We don¡¯t have to fear them, so long as we can find the way to activate the ring.¡± ¡°But the point is...¡± She paused in her speech. However, Jin Qingyan knew that she had meant to say. ¡°Who would know how to activate it?¡± The rest of their days continued to be peaceful again, as if the letter was just a minor hup. An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan both knew that it was not minor. She knew that it was a preconceived plot that had been hatched deliberately. It was just a warning and a threat that was nothingpared to the grand n that the anonymous masterminds had devised. For the rest of the year, the entire family rarely left Wei Ni Estate. The New Year was supposed to be a festive season that families celebrate together joyously and boisterously. However, apart from the children who were clueless, the adults spent the New Year feeling worried and ill at ease. An Xiaoning felt a sudden overwhelming difort in her chest that made it hard for her to breathe. She scurried toward the balcony and panted heavily while trying to catch her breath. She felt much better only after having the chilly breeze blow on her face. This was the strongest premonition she had ever felt. She knew for sure that a disaster was awaiting them. An Xiaoning immediately called Jin Qingyan, who had gone to Ling Ciye¡¯s home. Ling Ciye¡¯s apartment was in a building within the same estate that was merely a stone¡¯s throw away. An Xiaoning tried to call Jin Qingyan again after the first one failed to get through, only to receive the same oue. The reception is clearly excellent and I had paid my phone bills on time. She shook her mobile phone a few times, after which a ck figure descended from the sky. His menacing aura made him seem like the God of Darkness. Just as An Xiaoning was about to shriek, the lights went out and the man covered her mouth with his hand. The next thing An Xiaoning knew, she was being brought away by the man, who soared high up in the sky. Once they were in the air, the power in the lights was restored. An Xiaoning turned to look at the man, only to realize that she could not see him clearly in the dark. ¡°Where are you taking me to?¡± ¡°Stop moving. Otherwise, I¡¯ll throw you down from here. I won¡¯t take pity on you just because you¡¯re a woman.¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s face was hurting from the biting cold, and she had no idea where he was taking her. Her rationality told her that it definitely wouldn¡¯t be a great ce. Within no time, he embarked on his descent together with her. Her surroundings were pitch ck, and there was not a single light source in sight. As soon as theynded, An Xiaoning took flight and sprinted as hard as she could, to no avail. No matter how far she tried to run, he would stop in front of her to obstruct her from escaping. ¡°Are you trying to flee?¡± he questioned. ¡°Just what are you trying to do?¡± ¡°What am I trying to do? Didn¡¯t I already send you the letter? What¡¯s the point of feigning ignorance?¡± He then picked her up by her hood and pulled her into a room. An Xiaoning could finally see his features clearly after the fire was started. It was a man she had never seen before. An Xiaoning sat beside the firece and stuck her hand near the fire to warm herself up. She finally felt much less chilly. Noticing how calm andposed she was, he asked coldly, ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid of me?¡± ¡°Why should I be afraid of you? Are you the owner of Hell? If you¡¯re not in charge of my fate in my afterlife, why should I be afraid of you?¡± Entirely amused by her ignorance, the man remarked, ¡°I really wonder where you got that confidence from.¡± ¡°I was born with it.¡± ¡°Just be good and stay here. If Ie back again, it means I¡¯m going to release you. If I don¡¯t, that just means that Jin Qingyan chose that treasure over you. That also means that that treasure matters more to him than you do.¡± ¡°I obviously mean more to him than that thing does. I¡¯m very confident about that. To be honest with you, that thing can¡¯t be removed from Qingyan because it has already recognized Qingyan to be his owner. If you¡¯re thinking of snatching it away, save it.¡± The man stood with his hands by his side and said coldly, ¡°It¡¯s just an inanimate object. Why would it recognize an owner? You¡¯re just being ignorant.¡± ¡°Since it¡¯s an inanimate object, why are you threatening us and trying so hard to get your hands on it? If you don¡¯t mind, I can give you a piece of jade. It¡¯s an inanimate object too. Do you want it?¡± The man said bluntly, ¡°I¡¯ve already drawn boundaries around this house. Ordinary people can¡¯t see it. You won¡¯t be able to walk out of here either. I don¡¯t care if that thing has recognized him as its owner or not, but I¡¯ll do whatever it takes to get it. If I can¡¯t remove it from him, I¡¯ll just cut his hand off.¡± He then left as soon as he finished speaking. Although she could see outside the house, she could not walk out of it, just like he had said. There was no longer any reception on her mobile phone too. She sat beside the firece, at a sudden loss for what to do. There were lots of firewood inside the house. However, there was no food or water. Fortunately, her inner energy allowed her to go on for a long time without eating, drinking, or relieving nature¡¯s call. However, that man was not aware of her abilities. He¡¯s thinking of making me die of hunger and thirst? He can dream on. She was worried about Jin Qingyan¡¯s life. The jade ring was yet to be activated and hence was just an ordinary piece of jade. Can he deal with those vampires? An Xiaoning ced her hands beside her face, which was lit up by the fire. She was ill at ease and could not stop letting her imagination run wild. She decided to set her mobile phone to sleep mode, for fear that it would run out of battery. She racked her brains for a solution to escape, to no avail. The waiting game was the hardest, especially in such a situation. Days passed. Her mobile phone had finally run out of battery. She used the firewood to keep track of how many days she had been here for. An Xiaoning¡¯s heart sank a little each day. She was on the verge of despair and was incredibly distraught after fifteen days. She could not stay another minute longer. Although she was not being physically tortured, she felt as if she was being put through an arduous time. She could no longer be bothered to keep track of the number of days that she had been there. She stopped giving a care about the weather or the time. Just as she was losing thest bit of faith and hope in her, she caught sight of an elderly man who was wearing a long hood and walking toward her slowly. The elderly man had his head hung low, and the hood covered his face. She could not see his features clearly. It¡¯s drizzling outside and we¡¯re in the woods. Why would there be an elderly man here? An Xiaoning stood by the door and yelled, ¡°Uncle!¡± The elderly man did not raise his head at all, as if he did not hear her. An Xiaoning stood rooted to the ground dejectedly. All her hopes were dashed. Chapter 1367 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1367: I Only Want You (65)

Just as she was sulking in hopelessness, the elderly man began walking toward An Xiaoning. She straightened her back and yelled again, ¡°Uncle, can you hear me?¡± At this moment, the elderly man raised his head slowly and said, ¡°Lass, I can hear you.¡± Upon the sight of his face, An Xiaoning¡¯s eyes widened in shock and she eximed, ¡°Uncle, it¡¯s you!¡± The elderly man was the same one whom An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin had visited in the woods to seek help from when Jin Qingyan went missing after the tsunami. He smiled at her and walked straight into the house... An Xiaoning could not get out no matter how hard she tried, and yet he could enter so effortlessly. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me. We haven¡¯t met in a while. How are you doing?¡± the elderly man asked after removing his cloak. ¡°Terrible. Uncle, I¡¯ve been trapped here for days and I can¡¯t leave at all. I have no idea what¡¯s going on in the world outside right now, and I¡¯m very worried but there¡¯s nothing I can do.¡± He said, ¡°I¡¯m relieved to see that you are fine. The world outside is peaceful and well. You¡¯re worrying for nothing, so just put your mind at ease.¡± An Xiaoning asked in surprise, ¡°Peaceful and well? How could that be?¡± She didn¡¯t think that it would be peaceful at all. He smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s all been settled. How could I possibly allow that troublemaker to snatch my family¡¯s precious heirloom and harm my family member? I came here to pick you up.¡± An Xiaoning was greatly taken aback. I clearly heard him say ¡®my family.¡¯ Is he a member of the Jin family? ¡°Uncle, pardon my ignorance, but I don¡¯t know who you are in the Jin family. Could you enlighten me?¡± ¡°Qingyan already knows who I am. You may ask him when we get back. Let¡¯s go.¡± An Xiaoning nodded and left together with him. To her bewilderment, he brought her out of the house effortlessly without chanting any spells or performing any rituals. Once they exited, she turned around to take a look, only to discover that the house had magically disappeared. Although her mind was flooded with questions, she decided not to get too eager or impatient. It was a blessing to be able to make it out of that hellish ce. Shortly after, she caught sight of a helicopter on a barend and of Jin Qingyan, who was dressed in a ck suit and was waiting for them. An Xiaoning teared up the instant she saw that he was safe and sound. She was clueless as to what had happened in the outside world throughout the two weeks that she had been inside the house. However, she was certain that he must have gone through a battle. Upon reaching the helicopter, she chided, ¡°How could you let Uncle go and pick me up alone? Why didn¡¯t you go?¡± She was ming him for letting the elderly man go on his own and for not picking her up himself. Jin Qingyan said in a gentle voice, ¡°He didn¡¯t want to let me go. He said that this ce is full of spells.¡± ¡°Enough, hurry and leave this ce. It¡¯s time for me to go too,¡± the elderly man urged. An Xiaoning eximed, ¡°Uncle, why don¡¯t you go back with us?¡± He waved and said, ¡°Nah, I¡¯m used to living a carefree life in solitude. I don¡¯t like going to crowded ces at all. It¡¯s a wonderful thing to be free. I¡¯m leaving now. We¡¯ll meet again if fate allows it. If not, there¡¯s no need to force it.¡± He then turned around and walked along a narrow path. He was quick in his step and soon vanished in the drizzling rain. An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan got inside the helicopter. The moment the helicopter soared up into the sky, An Xiaoning shifted her gaze onto the direction that the elderly man had walked to, only to discover that he had gone missing. ¡°How strange. He told me that he¡¯s a member of the Jin family. Just who is he?¡± Jin Qingyan remained silent and cupped her face in his hands while staring at her closely. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you saying anything?¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking at you.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve already looked at me so many times before. Aren¡¯t you sick of me yet?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ll never get sick of you. I¡¯m sorry.¡± An Xiaoning held his hand and asked, ¡°Why are you apologizing to me?¡± ¡°I failed to protect you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t me you, it¡¯s not your fault. I¡¯m alright anyway. Fortunately, I have the ability to survive without food or water for a long time. Otherwise, I would have starved to death in that invisible house. There was nothing in there except a firece and some firewood.¡± She then shifted her gaze onto the jade ring on his hand, only to discover that it was no longer crimson and had turned a bright emerald color. ¡°Hey, why has it be a different color again?¡± ¡°Because we¡¯ve already tided through the crisis. That¡¯s why it has returned to its original color instead of the reddish-green hue.¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t answered my question yet! Who was that old man?¡± An Xiaoning asked. ¡°Him... it¡¯s a long story,¡± said Jin Qingyan, who felt much more rxed now that he had found her. ¡°Just exin it to me briefly, then.¡± His lips curled into a charming smile, and he wrapped his arms around her before whispering into her ear, ¡°He¡¯s one of the Jin family ancestors.¡± ¡°Then?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you ask for a brief exnation?¡± An Xiaoning punched him yfully and said, ¡°Not that brief!¡± ¡°What else am I supposed to say? I won¡¯t tell you unless you give me some benefits.¡± ¡°You...¡± An Xiaoning turned around and pretended to ignore him. ¡°It¡¯s up to you, then.¡± Jin Qingyan smiled and said, ¡°Fine, fine, I¡¯ll tell you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡± ¡°He¡¯s one of the Jin family forefathers. Do you remember what he told you about a Jin family ancestor falling in love with the dragon fairy?¡± ¡°Yes. Don¡¯t tell me, he¡¯s that ancestor?¡± ¡°Your brains are finally working.¡± An Xiaoning glowered at him and retorted, ¡°Hey, they¡¯ve always been working, alright? Has he been alive all this while, then?¡± ¡°Do you think that you were speaking to a ghost, then?¡± ¡°What about his wife? That dragon maiden.¡± ¡°He said that it was impossible between him and her. She was caught and punished eventually, despite having gone into hiding for a long time. She had been executed. They lived together for decades. Before she passed on, she gave Ancestor an elixir and told him to keep it safe.¡± An Xiaoning could not help but recall what the elderly man had said to her the first time she visited him in the mountains. Back then, he said, ¡°The Jin family used to be arge family with extended members. It¡¯s actually rather shocking to see how few descendants there are left today. Since you¡¯re the daughter-inw of the Jin family, shouldn¡¯t you be aware of the reason why the Jin family is extraordinary?¡± She answered, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°The ancestor of the Jin family fell in love with the Dragon Maiden and gave rise to their descendants. The Jin family bloodline had always been extraordinary. The reason why there had been peace within the family for so long is merely because their family heirloom has yet to unleash its power. They¡¯re not suspiciously different from ordinary people, apart from being much more intelligent.¡± Chapter 1368 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1368: I Only Want You (66)

Back then, she was overwhelmed with shock and bewilderment and she said, ¡°Uncle, I think I know what heirloom you¡¯re talking about. My husband has shown it to me before.¡± ¡°I heard that the Jin family heirloom is spiritual and would never leave once it has found its owner.¡± ¡°Uncle, what are the purposes of their family heirloom?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not too sure about the rest, but one thing I know for sure is that it protects the life of its owner. After the passing of so many generations, I reckon the Jin family may not be clear about the purposes of the family heirloom.¡± ¡°...¡± It suddenly dawned on her that the elderly man had already exined everything to her. However, she was just too preupied with saving Jin Qingyan back then and did not think much of the elderly man¡¯s words. In hindsight, she realized that it was rather bizarre that the elderly man had agreed to help her. ¡°How did you... handle that vampire?¡± Jin Qingyan did not wish to tell her about what happened. However, he knew that she would not give up unless he did. ¡°I went mad the moment I found out that you were taken away that night. Shortly after, he showed up in front of me and asked for a negotiation. He insisted on having the jade ring, but it couldn¡¯t be removed from my finger. If I could remove it, I would have definitely exchanged it for you. He stuck his hand out to remove it but he couldn¡¯t do so, so he tried to break my hand. I obviously wouldn¡¯t allow it so I fought back. However, I injured my hand in the process...¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s heart wrenched and she asked, ¡°What happened next?¡± ¡°I must admit, he¡¯s very formidable, but I¡¯m not one to sit back and wait. I got injured and bled while fighting with him. Somehow, the blood got onto the jade ring, which then emitted a captivating glow. The light rays engulfed me, and I suddenly felt like I was a whole different person. I immediately killed that man.¡± An Xiaoning gasped in shock and asked, ¡°You killed him? Didn¡¯t you say that vampires are hard to deal with?¡± ¡°I stabbed him in the middle of his heart and beheaded him when could no longer move. He died afterward.¡± An Xiaoning knew that it was definitely more dangerous and intense than he made it out to be. ¡°What happened afterward?¡± ¡°That inner force then returned to the jade piece. However, I¡¯ve already tried it out. As long as my blood touches the jade, I¡¯ll be a different person. I guess that¡¯s the way to activate the jade ring. As simple as that, yet we had never thought of it. After he died, lots of his people came but Ancestor managed to get rid of them.¡± An Xiaoning buried her face in his neck and rubbed it affectionately against him. ¡°Thank you, Qingyan.¡± ¡°What for?¡± ¡°Thank you for loving me in our previous lifetime and in our present one. Thank you for loving me all this while and staying by my side. I¡¯m so d that you¡¯re alright. I can¡¯t describe how ted I am.¡± Jin Qingyan looked at her and smiled. All of a sudden, he asked, ¡°Why do you smell so strange? Did you not shower at all for days?¡± An Xiaoning¡¯s feeling of gratification vanished the instant she heard his remark. She sat up straight and retorted, ¡°I was trapped inside that house with nothing but firewood. There was no water for me at all. He was out to make me starve to death. How was I supposed to shower?¡± ¡°I managed to find you, all thanks to Ancestor. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to find you.¡± An Xiaoning pinched his face and said, ¡°How dare you make fun of me? Jin Qingyan, if you despise me so much, don¡¯t touch me or kiss me ever again. Don¡¯t try to get intimate with me either. Can you do that?¡± ¡°If you never change out of this set of clothes or ever take a shower, I probably can do it.¡± ¡°...¡± Upon returning home, An Xiaoning took a shower, changed into a fresh set of clothes, and headed downstairs to see that everyone had gathered inside the living room. Jin Qingyue and Ling Ciye were carrying their infant while Mei Yangyang and Ling Ciye were present with their two children. Xiao Chenyang and Fang En were around too, along with Jin Yiheng and Jin Rongyan. It was extremely crowded. At the sight of her, Fang En and Mei Yangyang rushed forward to give her a hug, and so did Long Tianze. However, Jin Qingyan kicked him and snapped, ¡°Get lost.¡± Everyone guffawed and proceeded to enjoy a delectable reunion dinner. An Xiaoning heard from Mei Yangyang that Mr. Wen had sold the apartment in Wei Ni Estate at a low price after Mrs. Wen was arrested by the police for attempted murder. Wen Yuechan had also been withdrawn from the boot camp and was now under the care of her father. An Xiaoning did not catch a wink at all that night. After Jin Qingyan got intimate with her, he kept her up all night by chatting with her endlessly. ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning and Lin Mingxi had earned a fortune from the television series that they had invested in. The television series had be a blockbuster and was widely received by viewers all across the nation. Fang En managed to earn herself a massive number of fans after the television series began broadcasting. She had also gained recognition for her natural acting chops and genuine demeanor. Lots of sponsors and advertisers began trying to engage Fang En to star inmercials and endorsements. However, she turned all of them down. None of them knew the reason for her actions, and there were even sponsors who criticized her for being foolish and turning down money while she was famous. Everyone learned about the reason only after Fang En and Yan Ge¡¯s second television series began broadcasting. It was all because of Fang En¡¯s Weibo post. Not only did she reveal that she had broken up with Yan Ge during the filming of the second television series, she had also openly dered that she would be quitting the entertainment industry. It caused a major uproar within the industry and amongst theizens. No one could understand why a budding actress would quit showbiz all of a sudden, even though she was slowly gaining fame and recognition. It became a hot topic for discussion. A few dayster, a piece of groundbreaking news made the tabloids. Fang En had announced her marriage! To everyone¡¯s astonishment, her husband turned out to be her handsome ex-bodyguard. Everyone then deduced that the hunky bodyguard must have been the third party who snatched Fang En away from Yan Ge. However, Yan Geter rified, ¡°Our breakup has nothing to do with anyone else. We broke up amicably.¡± On her big day, there was a live-stream of her extravagant andvish wedding that was broadcast on all channels across the globe. Several ¡°insiders¡± began to step out and provide the media with information about Xiao Chenyang¡¯s true identity, iming that he was not her bodyguard in the first ce and that he was a tycoon. Yan Ge actually wished her well on Weibo, despite being reserved when it came to questions about his rtionships. He said, ¡°Congrattions on getting married, wish you a blissful marriage! @Fang En.¡± Chapter 1369 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1369: I Only Want You (67)

Fang En had also sent him a message on Weibo to thank him for his wishes. All the outsiders were thoroughly entertained by the juicy gossip. No one knew that Yan Ge had been drowning his sorrows in alcohol on the day of Fang En¡¯s wedding. Yu Caiwei was dumbstruck after watching the entire live-stream of the wedding. Staring at Fang En, who was beaming with joy and smiling widely from ear to ear, Yu Caiwei could not believe that Xiao Chenyang turned out to be a tycoon who had concealed his identity well. I can¡¯t believe I actually mocked Fang En for being foolish when I found out that she was leaving the entertainment industry. In hindsight... I was the foolish one. I can¡¯t believe that such an outstanding man would actually be willing to pose as Fang En¡¯s bodyguard. It must be true love. Needless to say, everyone knew about the wedding that Xiao Chenyang had spent a long while nning for. However, only a few people knew that Fang En was expecting. It was a double happiness for Fang En. She was already two months pregnant. Xiao Chenyang had also sold her apartment in Qingyuan Estate. On top of that, they had also bought another apartment for Xiao Yue, who was incredibly grateful for their kind gesture, although she insisted on declining the gift. After their wedding, they would be embarking on their tour around the world. They would then live the carefree life that they had always wanted and return again only when it was closer to Fang En¡¯s due date. Although Jin Qingyan did not mention anything on the surface, he too was actually preparing for his own wedding for the third time. The first time that they got married, they had a proper wedding ceremony and a banquet. However, for the second time, they only got their marriage registered without a wedding ceremony. This time, it would be their third and final wedding. An Xiaoning had no idea about his ns at all. Needless to say, he was an expert at hiding secrets and did not once let the cat out of the bag at all. When Xiao Chenyang and Fang En were about to leave, Jin Qingyan told them that they could forget abouting back to Wei Ni Estate if they were to miss his wedding. Xiao Chenyang was speechless. I didn¡¯t say that I wasn¡¯t going to attend this wedding... If he wants me to give him a huge red packet for his wedding, he could have just said so... It was the 6th of July. Fang En and Xiao Chenyang¡¯s wedding was just around the corner. Jin Qingyan announced his wedding ns on the official Jin Corporation website. He had also announced out of the blue that the wedding would be held on this very day. He had clearly been keeping a very low profile. All of the employees of the main branch office of the Jin Corporation received red packets and were granted a day off. The sum received by each employee was in ordance with their seniority and position in thepany, with the janitors receiving the lowest amount of five hundred dors. Not wanting to fall behind Xiao Chenyang, Jin Qingyan openly invited the media and reporters to report about his wedding. However, the styles of their weddings werepletely different. Xiao Chenyang had a Western wedding while Jin Qingyan opted for a Chinese-style one. Mei Yangyang and Fang En were appalled and caught by surprise the moment they saw An Xiaoning standing in front of the mirror, d in a traditional Chinese wedding gown with a face full of makeup. He actually kept his promise. He threw a full-fledged and extravagant Chinese wedding. Jin Rongyan and Long Xiaoxi were the flower boy and flower girl, respectively. As much as Jin Yiheng was displeased about the arrangement, it was more appropriate for Jin Rongyan to be the flower boy because he was about the same height as Long Xiaoxi and thus appeared morepatible. On the other hand, Jin Yiheng was almost eight years old and way taller than Long Xiaoxi. An Xiaoning was picked up from the Gu family mansion. Shi Qingzhou, Tuoba Shuo, Tuoba Rui, as well as the other members of the Tuoba family, were all present at the wedding. There was a beautiful phoenix embroidered on the red veil that was ced over her head. Mei Yangyang and Lin Mingxi helped her down the stairs and escorted her into the sedan. She was carried all the way to Wei Ni Estate. They had also sealed the roads, and other vehicles and pedestrians were prohibited from using the route leading to the Gu family mansion to Wei Ni Estate. An Xiaoning could not help but recall the time when she rode a sedan in her previous lifetime. Fortunately, the sedan proceeded at a steady pace and was not jerky at all. Hence, she did not feel giddy and instead felt as if she was just sitting in a normal car. Three sedan carriers took turns to carry the sedan. Two whole hourster, they finally arrived in Wei Ni Estate. They lowered the sedan onto the ground and went through the formalities, after which Jin Qingyan lifted the red curtain of the sedan while the crowd cheered on merrily. He handed her a red silk ribbon, which they held together while exiting the sedan. They walked over the pot of fire, which symbolized prosperity. Jin Rongyan and Long Xiaoxi were also dressed in traditional costumes and were leading the way. Jin Qingyan then carried An Xiaoning on his back, all the way to the area where the ceremony would be held. They first bowed to Heaven and Earth, then to their parents, and, finally, to each other. The ritual they went through next was a little different from the traditional ones. After the ceremony ended, Jin Qingyan removed the red veil from An Xiaoning¡¯s head. The moment he did, the crowd began apuding and cheering loudly. An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan smiled at each other before exchanging toasts. They entered their nuptial home and changed into their next set of gown and suit, respectively. This time, An Xiaoning donned a red gown while Jin Qingyan wore a suit. They had decided to hold a grand wedding to make up for the one they did not have in their previous lifetime. Although An Xiaoning had to walk to each table in her sky-high stilettos during the toasting ceremony, she did not allow the pain in her feet to rain on her parade. It did not stop her from feeling as if she was on top of the world. After the toasting ceremony, An Xiaoning followed her mother into the bedroom. It had been a long while since thest time Shi Qingzhou had seen her daughter. Needless to say, she was incredibly excited and thrilled to see her daughter getting married. Tears had welled up in her eyes. ¡°Xiaoning, I finally got to witness your big day. I couldn¡¯t attend your weddings in the past and it had always been a huge regret of mine. However, all is well now and I¡¯m really happy for you. A devoted man like Qingyan is really rare toe by. I can put my mind at ease now that you¡¯re in safe hands. I know he won¡¯t ever let you feel aggrieved.¡± An Xiaoning hugged her and teared up slightly as well. ¡°Mother, thank you for giving birth to me. Although I was put through lots of suffering in the past, I feel like everything is getting better for me now. From now on, I¡¯m going to live well and finally enjoy life. I¡¯ll get to rest and stop being so exhausted all the time.¡± ¡°Good that you think that way. I know your health has been poor. What¡¯s important now is to rest well and nurse your body back to the pink of health.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Shi Qingzhou smiled and said, ¡°You must be tired. Take a warm water bath and get some rest. You still have to attend another round of celebration tonight, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes, sure.¡± An Xiaoning took afortable bath and slept through the afternoon. She then woke up feeling refreshed and energized. In the evening, she enjoyed a reunion dinner with her closest friends, after which they gathered in thewn and watched a performance while sipping on some drinks. Everyone was beaming widely from ear to ear, clearly in high spirits. Chapter 1370 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1370: I Only Want You (68)

The fireworks went on for an entire hour. The beautiful scene going on in the starry sky was absolutely breathtaking. An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan would rarely dance in front of strangers. However, they made an exception tonight because of how ted they were. An Xiaoning was dressed in a white maxi dress with a floral tiara on her head while Jin Qingyan was donning a white suit. They began dancing excitedly in front of everyone else. Everyone kept their eyes peeled on the newlyweds. He was handsome and she was beautiful, a perfect match made in Heaven. Fan Shixin smiled, feeling extremely d for them for he had been by their sides throughout all the ups and downs of their rtionship and lives. He knew clearly that it had not been easy for them to get to where they were. He truly wished the best for them from the bottom of his heart. He cheered and rooted for them. ¡°Chief,¡± said Xiao Bai, who was running toward him from afar. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°I went to deliver some tasty food to Ms. Mu like you had instructed. However, when I got there, I discovered that Ms. Mu had gone missing. She left a letter behind.¡± Xiao Bai then handed the letter to Fan Shixin, who perused the content before rushing back to his apartment. The house was spick and span. He entered the room that Mu Wansheng had been staying in to see that the nkets were neatly folded, on top of which were a set of embroidered pillows and arge cross-stitch piece. He knew that she had been working on the cross-stitch pieces for the past six months. He unfolded the cross-stitch piece andid it across the bed to see that it was a stitching of his silhouette, which seemed as realistic as a photograph. It was a gift to him from her. She mentioned in her letter that she had already recovered fully and had decided to stop imposing on him. She also said that she would work hard to earn money and clear the debts that she owed him. She also expressed her gratitude to him. Atst, she said, ¡°We¡¯ll meet again next time.¡± ¡ª¡ª Fang En and Xiao Chenyang left Wei Ni Estate and embarked on their world tour the following day. An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan had also set off on their honeymoon trip together with their sons. It had been a long time since Ye Xiaotian saw Mo Li. The weather was exceptionally fair that day. The sky was shining brightly, and the temperatures were warm. Dressed in a maternity dress and a pair of t sandals, Mo Li headed to the hospital with No. 8. Since it was almost her due date, she decided to stay in the hospital for the remainder of her pregnancy. They ran into Ye Xiaotian and Qiao Yina along the corridor of the gynecological department in the hospital. Qiao Yina was already pregnant for four months and was at the hospital for a prenatal checkup. Qiao Yina smiled and greeted her, ¡°Ms. Mo, are you going to deliver soon?¡± Mo Li had be chubbier than before. Smiling, she nodded and said, ¡°Yes. I¡¯m due to deliver within the next few days. How far along are you?¡± ¡°Four months. We just had a checkup. We¡¯re expecting a girl.¡± Mo Li congratted, ¡°Congrattions.¡± ¡°You too. You¡¯re expecting a...¡± Mo Li answered with a smile, ¡°A boy.¡± ¡°...¡± Ye Xiaotian stared at his ex-wife, filled with pain and agony. However, he knew that the wounds that he had left in her heart had already been healed by another man. He was contented enough to see how happy she was. When he walked past them with Qiao Yina, Mo Li and No. 8 entered the gynecologist¡¯s office. It was the end of the fate between Ye Xiaotian and Mo Li. Despite dreading the sight of No. 8 and Mo Li living together blissfully, Sister Zhang and Princess Nicole of Y Nation had no choice but to do so. There was nothing they could do, so long as he worked for An Xiaoning. No. 8 had already made up his mind and decided to work for An Xiaoning for the rest of his life. Both No. 8 and Mo Li had spent one third of their lives in torment. However, they would be supporting each other and living the rest of their lives in peace and happiness. ¡ª¡ª ¡ª¡ª ¡ª¡ª After bringing Jing Chu back to S Nation with him, Pei Yipletely forgot about her and had never seen her again ever since. He had genuinely forgotten about her. There were too many things for him to be worried about and too many names for him to remember. He did not take to heart a woman whom he had saved just for the sake of doing a kind deed. He only remembered that he had brought Jing Chu back to his mansion when he drove past the estate in August. He stepped on the breaks the moment he was reminded of it. Pei Yi reversed back into the estate and pulled over in front of the mansion. He alighted from the car and walked toward the door. He then entered the house after unlocking the PIN-encrypted lock. It was three o¡¯clock in the afternoon. The scorching rays of the sun beat down onto the ground, causing the air to be overwhelmingly hot and humid. Chapter 1371 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1371: I Only Want You (69)

He only realized that the temperature was more than thirty degrees Celsius when he entered without an umbre. However, he was toozy to return to the car to retrieve it. He then walked toward the mansion. The further he delved in, the more he felt as if he had stepped into the wrong house. There were lots of flowers in the yard, all of which were of different breeds and had vibrant colors. He was captivated by the enchanting and melodious sound of someone singing. He then followed the sound toward the back of a tree, only to see that a woman was swimming in the swimming pool. Her neck-length hair was ck and silky, and he was entirely fascinated by her ravishing beauty. Pei Yi stood behind the tree and gazed at her quietly for a long while. Atst, she finally got tired of swimming and got out of the water, scantily d in nothing except a piece of underwear that stuck closely to her skin. Seemingly having sensed that someone was staring at her, Jing Chu instinctively looked around her to see if anyone was there. She got a great fright the moment she saw him behind the tree. However, she felt much less afraid after taking a closer look and realizing that it was Pei Yi. She hurriedly wrapped her towel around herself and walked toward him slowly, ¡°Mr. Pei, when did youe?¡± ¡°A few moments ago. I just dropped by to take a look,¡± he said coldly while ncing at her. Jing Chu was a little agitated to see him again. She frantically chased after him and said, ¡°Mr. Pei, I weigh more than 50 kilograms now.¡± ¡°I could tell. How are you doing now?¡± ¡°Great. By the way, I told the part-time maid not toe anymore. She has also handed me the card that you gave her for her sry. I can tidy the house by myself, I don¡¯t need another maid.¡± Pei Yi looked at her and asked, ¡°You mean, the maid has quit her job and gave you the bank ount card?¡± ¡°Yeah, because I don¡¯t have a personal identification card and can¡¯t register for a bank card. She¡¯s a good person.¡± Reminded of the meager amount of money that he had given her before he left, he realized that she must have depended on the money given to her by the maid. Otherwise, how could she have survived for so long? ¡°Did you grow all those flowers in thewn?¡± ¡°Yes, I bought some seeds.¡± Pei Yi returned to the living room and scanned his surroundings to see that it was rather neat and tidy. ¡°Mr. Pei, have you eaten yet?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Would you like to stay for a meal? I¡¯ve already learned how to cook. I can whip up a tasty meal.¡± Pei Yi answered in his head, Am I out of my mind? Why would I eat when I¡¯ve already eaten? ¡°No, it¡¯s alright.¡± He walked toward the couch and gestured for her to approach him. ¡°Come here.¡± Jing Chu hurriedly stepped forward. As soon as she reached him, he pulled her down onto hisp. By the time she recovered from the shock, she had already turned red with shyness. She had never sat on a man¡¯sp or been in such close proximity to a man before. What is he... trying to do? Jing Chu waspletely clueless and flustered. She could not think straight. Pei Yi looked down and kept his eyes fixed on her face. He then inched closer toward her ear and cast his warm breath onto her skin, causing her to feel a little ticklish. He asked softly, ¡°Have you any idea... how charming you are right now?¡± Jing Chu was bbergasted. She turned around in bafflement, fear and anxiety overflowing from her doe-like eyes. ¡°You said that you would be enved to me for the rest of your life, didn¡¯t you?¡± Jing Chu nodded and answered, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°In that case, every part of you belongs to me, including your body and your heart. I happen to becking a woman now. You can fill that vacancy.¡± He then kissed her on her cherry-like lips, causing Jing Chu to shiver in shock. Just as she was about to dodge, he pressed his hand against the back of her head. Her blood was boiling and gushing through her veins rapidly. She seemed to have be apletely different person. She was now his woman. Pei Yi could not remember how long it had been since hest got intimate with a woman. He had almost stopped lusting for women. However, Jing Chu managed to catch his attention. Jing Chu was a virgin who had never experienced anything in life. She was as innocent as amb, and he thoroughly enjoyed getting intimate with her. He was having such a good time that he could not bring himself to stop at all. He only let Jing Chu off when she continuously pleaded for mercy. As a result, he had caused a dy in handling the matter that he was supposed to handle. However, he could not just forget about it. Hence, he put on his pants and said to her, ¡°I¡¯lle back again tomorrow.¡± He then gave her another bank card and informed her of the PIN number. He had always been generous with his women. After he left, Jing Chu proceeded to take a shower andy down on her bed motionlessly. She tried not to move because every slightest movement would cause her to ache unbearably. Hence, she had no choice but to lean back against the headboard to watch some television. A warm and fuzzy feeling filled her heart the moment she recalled the things that he had done to her. Perhaps it was because she had always had a good impression of him. Although she had no idea what he did for a living, she found him to be a great man because he had saved her twice. She was willing to be his woman. During the time that he was away, she had learned how to use household appliances and picked up some culinary skills. She had also taught herself how to read and write some basic words. Although it was rather difficult at first, it was nowhere as tough as the life she used to lead. She was initially looking forward to his arrival. However, he did not show up for a long time. She had no choice but to convince herself that he was probably just busy. She was ted to see him again and even got a little excited at the thought of his impending arrival the following day. The pain did not matter anymore. He was the only one she knew in this foreignnd, the only person she could rely on. After a good night¡¯s sleep, she finally regained some strength and energy the following morning. She got out of bed and dressed in a set of cartoon-print pajamas. She had bought three sets of pajamas from the supermarket at the price of thirty dors per set. They werefortable and allowed her to move about easily. She initially thought that he would being by again today. However, he had yet to show up even after she waited for an entire day. Thinking to herself that he probably wouldn¡¯t show up, she decided to go to bed after dinner. All of a sudden, she was jolted awake at midnight when he embraced her. ¡°Why are you here at this hour? I thought that you would be here in the day.¡± ¡°Have you been waiting for me?¡± She nodded and answered truthfully, ¡°Yes... I was. Have you been drinking?¡± Pei Yiy on top of her and answered, ¡°A little.¡± Jing Chu could vaguely guess what he was trying to do and thus kept mum about feeling sore and amodated his needs instead. However, it was different tonight. Unlikest night, he ejacted inside her tonight. Hence, he had no choice but to wake up early in the morning to buy her some contraceptives. When he handed them to her, Jing Chu asked in puzzlement, ¡°What pills are these?¡± Pei Yi had given her two capsules that did not have abel. ¡°Some medication. Just take them, they¡¯re not poisonous.¡± Chapter 1372 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1372: I Only Want You (70)

It was a contraceptive pill that could prevent pregnancies as long as the right dosage was taken within a 72-hour window after intercourse. She did not probe any further and instead took it quietly. In the end, it was proven that it was indeed not poisonous, for she did not experience any difort after ingesting it. From then on, Pei Yi had been visiting her rather frequently. However, he would only stay for a short period of time and would never stay for dinner or spend the night with her. Although Jing Chu barely knew much, she was well aware that he was treating this ce like a hotel. However, she belonged to him, and so did the house. Hence, it was only right for him to visit as and when he pleased. Strangely, Pei Yi stoppeding again all of a sudden two monthster. After not seeing him for a week, Jing Chu decided to call him. She was feeling rather nervous while making the call because he had never once called her throughout his absence. It had been an entire week... The call went through after a while. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Nothing... nothing much.¡± She ended the call as soon as she finished speaking. At this moment, Jing Chu was both dumbstruck and regretful. I knew it, I knew I would be disturbing him by calling him. She obeyed his instructions and refrained from wandering off too far on her own. She would stay inside the mansion most of the time, with no one to talk to at all. When he had finally been visiting her frequently, she had been rather thrilled to have somepany. Yet, he stoppeding by again all of a sudden. He started visiting me frequently in thest two months after taking my virginity, yet he stoppeding again all of a sudden. Is he sick of me already? Jing Chu sat on the bed, feeling incredibly upset. She decided to walk out of the mansion to get some fresh air. There were lots of cars on the streets, and she walked alone on the sidewalk, yearning to go to a crowded ce and having a friend whom she could talk to. She was bored out of her wits. When Jing Chu passed by a nightclub, she stood by the entrance and stared at the signboard, as well as the numerous patrons. Feeling a little curious, she decided to enter as well. She was dumbfounded the moment she saw the scene inside. There were lots of people dancing on the dance floor and several women performing a sensual pole dance routine on the stage. It was truly an eyeopener for her. She subconsciously made her way upstairs. As soon as she did, a man who reeked of alcohol grabbed her by her arm and teased, ¡°Hey, babe. Yes, you.¡± He then pulled the shell-shocked Jing Chu into a private room. At this moment, Jing Chu deeply regretted her decision toe outside for a stroll. Once she was dragged into the room forcefully, she stopped struggling. In the dimly-lit room, a man was sitting on the couch with a cigarette between his fingers. Although the light was scarce, she could still tell with one nce that he was Pei Yi. Pei Yi never expected her to show up here. He knew that it was purely coincidental because she definitely did not have the means to find him. Hence, he remained still and silent. After taking a few nces at him, she looked away. The tipsy man then pushed her toward the song selection machine and said, ¡°Sing a song and I¡¯ll let you go.¡± Her anxiety faded the moment she saw Pei Yi. She pushed the man away and began walking toward Pei Yi. The drunk man initially wanted to grab her. However, he stopped the moment he saw her walking toward Pei Yi. There were lots of men in the room, and they began teasing and baiting her instantly. ¡°Ah, this little babe has set her sights on Master Pei. What a unique taste she¡¯s got.¡± ¡°Master Pei, this babe is rather pretty. Are you interested in her?¡± Pei Yi said coldly, ¡°How is she in any way pretty? She¡¯s hideous.¡± Jing Chu turned pale instantly with a look of disbelief in her eyes. The man who had once called her charming was now calling her hideous. How fickle. He¡¯s obviously gotten sick of me. Just as Jing Chu was about to leave after hearing his snide remark, the men inside the room hurriedly stopped her. Pei Yi said to the man grabbing Jing Chu, ¡°Have you really got such poor taste in women?¡± The man let go of her furiously. No one else dared to stop Jing Chu, who hurriedly sprinted out of the nightclub. She stood rooted to the ground and recalled the words that Pei Yi had said. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she held them back with all her might. Jing Chu walked at an exceptionally slow pace while making her way back. She was so distracted that she did not notice her surroundings at all. She only snapped back to reality the moment she walked into amppost, after which she discovered that she had no idea where she was. She was lost. She did not have her mobile phone either. She frantically turned around and began walking back. However, she soon began to sense that something was amiss. Having only gone out of the estate a pathetic number of times before, she could not recognize where she was at all. Pangs of panic and fear engulfed Jing Chu, and she had no choice but to search continuously. She did not stop even when it started raining, for fear that she could not find her way back. Fortunately, her efforts paid off and she finally found the nightclub. Just as she was sprinting toward the nightclub, she was sent flying into the air by a speeding car. The moment Jing Chunded on the ground, all her fear had vanished and there was only one thing on her mind. I shouldn¡¯t havee out tonight. I really shouldn¡¯t. The luxury car came to a halt, and the female driver alighted from the car before sprinting toward her. Staring at Jing Chu, who was twitching uncontrobly, she got a great shock and was at a sudden loss for what to do. ¡°Why did you run into the middle of the road all of a sudden? I¡¯ll... I¡¯ll send you to the hospital now.¡± At the same time, Pei Yi had just exited the nightclub and was about to leave in his car. However, a sullen expression formed on his face the moment he saw Tian Tian helping Jing Chu up and closed his car door. He then strode toward them quickly. Upon the sight of him, Tian Tian said anxiously, ¡°Pei Yi, I ran over someone. I can¡¯t carry her. Hurry and help me carry her into my car. I¡¯m sending her to the hospital.¡± Pei Yi picked Jing Chu up and carried her into Tian Tian¡¯s car before grabbing her car keys and handing her his own. He wanted her to drive his car away while he drove Jing Chu to the hospital. Tian Tian arrived ten minutes after he did. It was her first time running over someone. The moment she hit Jing Chu with her car, she felt as if her heart had stopped beating. Upon the sight of Pei Yi, who was standing outside the operating theater, Tian Tian immediately said, ¡°I was driving fine but she zoomed out onto the road all of a sudden. That¡¯s how I knocked into her. I wouldn¡¯t have run over anyone otherwise. How unlucky. I¡¯m so exasperated. Thank god you were there. If not, I wouldn¡¯t have known what to do. I wonder how she¡¯s doing now. I¡¯m going to be in trouble if she kicks the bucket. I have topensate her with a ton of money too.¡± Just as she was about to lean against Pei Yi, he dodged her and sat down quietly. Noticing the sullen expression on his face, Tian Tian asked, ¡°What were you doing there?¡± ¡°I was discussing a deal and happened to see you when I came out.¡± Chapter 1373 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1373: I Only Want You (71)

It had been a long time since Tian Tianst saw Pei Yi. He refused to answer her calls, and she could not find him in Mount Qingping either. She could not help but feel touched about him rendering her help this time. She said, ¡°Pei Yi, you must help me settle this. I really don¡¯t know what to do.¡± ¡°You actually need my help? You¡¯re so invincible, why would you need my help?¡± Pei Yi asked coldly. Tian Tian said coquettishly, ¡°I¡¯m not as invincible as you are. Help me settle it, I¡¯llpensate you in whatever way I have to.¡± Pei Yi said, ¡°We¡¯ll talk after the surgery ends.¡± The surgerysted for an entire hour, and Jing Chu managed to pull herself out of danger. She was sent to the hospital ward. However, she was still unconscious. Not wanting to go to the hospital again, she took out a bank ount card from her bag and said, ¡°There are 100 thousand dors in here. Help me hand it to her.¡± Staring at the card in her hand, Pei Yi rebuked, ¡°How do you have the cheek to offer such a meager amount of money? Why don¡¯t you let her run you over with a car andpensate you with 100 thousand dors?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t entirely my fault. She was the one who ran across the road without looking.¡± ¡°The police will check the surveince camera footage. You probably have to bear the full responsibility. Since you¡¯ve decided to let me handle this, you have to show your sincerity. Give me one million dors. That¡¯ll cover the medical expenses too.¡± ¡°What? One million!?!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that a reasonable amount? You wrecked her and yet you¡¯re expecting to pay peanuts? If you¡¯re not willing to fork out the money, then settle this yourself. I¡¯m going to leave now.¡± As soon as he stood up, Tian Tian stopped him and handed him another bank ount card. ¡°There are 900 thousand dors in here.¡± Pei Yi took it from her and said, ¡°You may leave now. I¡¯ll help you settle it.¡± Tian Tian nodded and exited with her bag. She could put her mind at ease with his help. After closing the door, Pei Yi stared at the unconscious Jing Chu with a frown on his forehead. He thought that she would return to the mansion right after leaving the nightclub. However, she actually loitered around outside. How worrying. .... Jing Chu woke up again at past five o¡¯clock in the morning, only to find that she was aching from head to toe. As soon as she opened her eyes, she was greeted with the sight of Pei Yi sitting on the chair beside her bed with his eyes closed. Jing Chu turned pale the instant she recalled the events that took cest night. She had gotten into an ident... All she could remember was that it was a woman who had run her over with her car and helped her up. But how did I end up here? No idea. He seems to be in so much peace while sleeping, however. The dim lights shone on his face, allowing his beautiful features to be entuated. Jing Chu continued to gaze at him, all the way until he woke up at daybreak. Pei Yi met her eyes as soon as he opened his. He questioned with a sullen expression, ¡°Why did you wander around on your own instead of staying inside the mansion?¡± ¡°I was just going out to take a breather.¡± ¡°Why would you end up in the nightclub, then? If it weren¡¯t because of me, you wouldn¡¯t have been able to leave that room,¡± Pei Yi said in displeasure. The private room incident had infuriated Jing Chu as well. ¡°If you¡¯re not attracted to a hideous person like me, please don¡¯t look at me ever again, Master Pei, lest your eyes get polluted.¡± Sensing how upset and disgruntled she was, Pei Yi smiled and said, ¡°You actually got upset because of that. Don¡¯t take those words to heart, it was just an excuse that I gave them. I simply didn¡¯t want them to know that you¡¯re my woman.¡± The anger within her vanished instantly. Jing Chu gazed at him and asked, ¡°Did you only say those words to patronize them?¡± ¡°Of course. Why would I get intimate with you if I found you hideous?¡± Blushing shyly and feeling much better, Jing Chu said, ¡°That person who ran me over...¡± ¡°She happens to be someone I know. There¡¯s 900 thousand dors in this card. It¡¯s thepensatory sum that she¡¯s given you.¡± Jing Chu¡¯s eyes widened in shock and she asked, ¡°Nine hundred thousand dors? So much money?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a lot. Just take what you deserve. You¡¯re going to be hospitalized for a long while, and you¡¯ll have to continue receiving treatment too. How troublesome.¡± Jing Chu quipped, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m very troublesome. Mr. Pei, you may just dump me on the streets.¡± Pei Yi was speechless. This littless is out to drive me to my grave. She¡¯s getting better and better at talking back to me. Is it because she¡¯s getting closer to me or what? ¡°You¡¯re still my woman at the end of the day. How could I leave you in the lurch?¡± ¡°Will youe to visit me often?¡± Feeling a little upset, she continued, ¡°You were away for so many days and I never dared to call you because I was afraid of disturbing you. You had been visiting me consistently for two months and yet you went missing for an entire week without warning. I was so bored at home with no one to talk to at all. I wait for your arrival every single day and you sounded so annoyed when I called you. Have you ever thought about me? Mr. Pei, there may be lots of people in your world but you¡¯re the only person in mine. My life revolves around you.¡± Pei Yi was rather touched by her words. He said with a tender voice and a gentle expression, ¡°I was just busier this week.¡± ¡°You were busy and yet you could still go to the nightclub?¡± She seemed just like a disgruntled wife who was protesting against her husband¡¯s actions. ¡°I went there to discuss a business deal. Did you think that I was there for fun?¡± After hearing his exnation, Jing Chu decided to drop the subject. Staring at him in shock, she said, ¡°Mr. Pei, why don¡¯t we give birth to a child after I recover?¡± Momentarily stunned beyond words, Pei Yi asked, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°What do you mean why? Whenever you¡¯re not around, I¡¯ll at least have the child¡¯spany and I won¡¯t feel bored and lonely. I won¡¯t have to keep waiting for you even if you don¡¯te back for days. I¡¯ll be fine as long as I have the child.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll never have children.¡± ¡°Why? Did the doctor say that I can¡¯t conceive?¡± asked a bbergasted Jing Chu. ¡°I¡¯ll never let you have my children.¡± Jing Chu finally understood what he meant. He will never let her give birth to his children or marry her. She could never rise beyond her current status. But... Her eyes turned red with tears and she asked, ¡°Who will have your children, then?¡± Pei Yi was at a loss for an answer. ¡°Jing Chu, I want a sensible woman.¡± He wanted her to know that he found her insensible. Suddenly reminded of the pills that he had given her, Jing Chu asked, ¡°What medication did you feed me with previously?¡± ¡°Emergency contraceptive.¡± Ever since the time that she popped the pills, he had begun using condoms whenever he got intimate with her. Would I be able to give birth to his child if I don¡¯t take contraceptives or poke a hole in the condoms? ¡°If I happen to be impregnated with your child by ident, what would you do?¡± Pei Yi answered bluntly, ¡°I¡¯ll send you for an abortion and you¡¯ll never get to be with me again.¡± Filled with disappointment, she remained silent. He had already drawn a clear line between them. She was well aware of it now. Right, he doesn¡¯t love me anyway. Why would he let me have his child? Chapter 1374 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1374: I Only Want You (72)

Jing Chu was terribly upset the moment she realized that fact. .... She stayed in the hospital all the way until November. During the period of her hospitalization, Pei Yi would get intimate with her on the hospital bed. He would leave in satisfaction every single time. She returned to the mansion to see that it was clean and tidy. Did he hire the maid again? Just as she was about to head upstairs, a figure popped up in the kitchen and said, ¡°Sister Jing Chu, you¡¯re home.¡± Jing Chu turned around and was greeted with the sight of a chubby teenage girl who had on an apron and a bandana. ¡°You are...¡± ¡°I¡¯m the new nanny whom Mr. Pei had just bought. I¡¯ll take care of all the household chores from now on and my job is also to look after you. My name is Fat Lass.¡± ¡°He bought you?¡± ¡°Yes, Mr. Pei bought me. My parents passed away a long time ago, and I was sold to the ck market where Mr. Pei bought me.¡± Jing Chu took pity on her and empathized with her after hearing that she was an orphan. ¡°You¡¯re an orphan? Me too. It¡¯ll be just the two of us from now on. I¡¯ll have to trouble you in the future.¡± Surprised to hear her words, Fat Lass waved frantically and said, ¡°It¡¯s no trouble at all. This ce is much better than the one I used to live in. Sis Jing Chu, wait a moment. The food will be ready very soon.¡± She nodded and sat on the couch. Jing Chu could not help but feel a little agitated now that she had someone else to talk to apart from Pei Yi. ¡°Fat Lass, are you a local?¡± ¡°Yes. How about you, Sis?¡± ¡°I¡¯m from S Nation.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so well versed in ournguage, especially since you have a different nativenguage.¡± ¡°I¡¯m speaking a foreignnguage?¡± ¡°Yeah, the nativenguage of S Nation is different from that of R Nation. You¡¯re speaking the R Nationnguage right now, aren¡¯t you?¡± Jing Chu had never deliberately picked up a foreignnguage since she never had the chance to do so anyway. Not only could shemunicate with animals, she could understand foreignnguages and speak them fluently as well. It was a talent of hers that she had just realized she possessed. ¡°Yes, I just came to this nation a while ago. I¡¯m not too familiar with the ce yet. Could you tell me more about it?¡± Fat Lass nodded and said, ¡°Sure. The women in our nation have a lowly status, and we have to undergo genital muttion when we¡¯re children. However, the crime rate here is very low because the family of criminals would be implicated and face a penalty as well. Hence, people would often refrain frommitting crimes, for fear of harming their family.¡± After learning about what genital muttion was, she immediately got the chills and said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to give birth to a daughter here, then.¡± Fat Lass exined, ¡°It doesn¡¯t happen to all girls. Lots of girls don¡¯t undergo genital muttion. It¡¯ll be alright as long as their families keep it a secret. Sis Jing Chu, is Mr. Pei your husband?¡± Shaking her head, Jing Chu answered, ¡°No.¡± ¡°Is he your boyfriend, then?¡± ¡°Boyfriend...¡± He may not think that he¡¯s my boyfriend, but I do consider him to be my boyfriend. She nodded and continued, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Although I couldn¡¯t manage to see Mr. Pei¡¯s features clearly, I¡¯m very certain that he¡¯s dashing.¡± Jing Chu smiled and said, ¡°He is, indeed.¡± Jing Chu finally had someone to talk to, and she could finally stop being bored. The two of them sat on the couch in the afternoon and watched some television while chatting. Fat Lass told Jing Chu about everything that she had experienced in the past. She had been sold as an inanimate object and had been denied all of her basic human rights. She had been put through lots of inhumane torment as well. She initially thought that Jing Chu would be an ill-tempered woman who had a wealthy husband. However, she was relieved after meeting Jing Chu and getting to know what she was really like. She was certain that she would get along well with Jing Chu. It had never crossed Jing Chu¡¯s mind that there would be other people who had experienced a predicament simr to hers ¡ª being put in a living hell where she was stripped of her basic human rights and freedom. Fat Lass decided to tell her everything she knew about R Nation. When she mentioned Pei Yi, Jing Chu asked excitedly, ¡°You know who Pei Yi is?¡± Fat Lass answered without hesitation, ¡°Most people in R Nation know him. He¡¯s the viinous kingpin of the DK Organization.¡± Upon hearing her words, Jing Chu realized that Fat Lass was not aware that ¡°Mr. Pei¡± was Pei Yi. ¡°What is the DK Organization?¡± Fat Lass exined, ¡°It¡¯s the world¡¯s most notorious terrorist organization. Lots of nations have tried to go against them but failed. They¡¯re the ultimate scums of the human race.¡± ¡°Is Pei Yi the kingpin of the DK Organization? Was he the founder?¡± ¡°Of course not. R Nation is only one of DK¡¯s headquarters. The main headquarters are in M Nation. The situation in R Nation has always been tumultuous, and the DK Organization has arge part to y for that. I heard that the DK Organization had once abducted lots of women and made them their ythings. I also heard that they kill the innocent ruthlessly without even having to think twice. They¡¯replete monsters and devils.¡± It was the first time Jing Chu ever heard anything about his identity. It was a far cry from the impression she had of him. She suddenly recalled the words that An Xiaoning had said to her. ¡°It¡¯s rare of him to save someone like how he saved you.¡± ¡°Well, he did the right thing this time, but that doesn¡¯t mean that he¡¯s a good person. If you knew what he deals in, you probably wouldn¡¯t think of him that way.¡± ¡°You and he belong to two different worlds. Jing Chu, you probably won¡¯t see him again and he should be leaving S Nation soon. I think you¡¯d better not find out his mobile number.¡± ¡°...¡± Although Pei Yi was fickle and stern most of the time, he had treated Jing Chu rather well. She could not tell before that he had evil tendencies. ¡°Is he married yet?¡± Fat Lass answered, ¡°No. I heard from others that his mother often urges him to get married, but he has never agreed to her request. In fact, there was even a hrious rumor.¡± ¡°What rumor?¡± ¡°Rumor has it that he fancies a married woman. There are people who say that Pei Yi is in love with Jin Qingyan¡¯s wife, An Xiaoning.¡± Although Jing Chu was rather apprehensive about the rumor, she did not let it slip her mind. Sis Xiaoning doesn¡¯t look like someone who will fancy Pei Yi. Besides, she has already married Mr. Jin again. Could it be one-sided on Pei Yi¡¯s part? ¡°Have you seen Pei Yi before?¡± ¡°With my lowly status, I¡¯ll never get to meet him. I don¡¯t know what he looks like either. I heard that he¡¯s very handsome, though.¡± Jing Chu felt rather relieved. Fat Lass might just faint in shock if she knew that the person who had bought her was Pei Yi. Hence, she decided not to tell her, lest she creates unnecessary trouble. After dinner, Jing Chu headed upstairs to send Pei Yi a text message, asking him if he would be visiting her tonight. She was filled with fear and anxiety after hearing a ¡°yes¡± from him. Chapter 1375 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1375: I Only Want You (73)

She wanted to know if the rumor was credible. She desperately wanted to know everything. It was eleven o¡¯clock at night. He had finallye. She could tell how tired he was from the way hey motionlessly on the bed. ¡°Are you exhausted?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Do you want me to massage you?¡± Hey on his stomach and said, ¡°Yes, I need that very much.¡± She began massaging him with all her might while pondering how she should ask him those questions that she had. After a long while of silence, she said, ¡°Mr. Pei...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t address me that way anymore. Don¡¯t you find it too formal?¡± ¡°How should I address you, then?¡± ¡°Call me master.¡± She bit her lip and said, ¡°Master Pei.¡± ¡°Do you have something to say?¡± Can he actually read my mind? Jing Chu opened her mouth and asked, ¡°Master Pei, what do you do for a living?¡± ¡°I belong to the DK Organization. Do you know what that is?¡± She nodded and said, ¡°I do.¡± Afraid of implicating Fat Lass, she said, ¡°I read some forums and posts about you. Rumor has it that you¡¯re in love with Sister Xiaoning. Is that true?¡± ¡°Do you think it¡¯s true?¡± he asked. ¡°I don¡¯t... I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I fancy her. Rather, I admire her a lot. I really do admire her. She¡¯s a woman who had managed to impress me with her unique charm. It¡¯s a shame that she¡¯s married to Jin Qingyan. What a waste,¡± Pei Yi answered with his eyes closed. ¡°How is it a shame? Mr. Jin is very handsome and wealthy. He¡¯s very capable too. Sister Xiaoning has great taste and they¡¯re a match made in Heaven,¡± said Jing Chu. ¡°You¡¯re praising him to no end. Who do you think is more outstanding, me or him?¡± What a tough question... ¡°Each of you has your own merits.¡± ¡°Psht...¡± He turned over and grabbed her hair before pinning her down onto the bed. Keeping his eyes fixed on her, he said, ¡°You¡¯re not topliment other men in front of me. No matter how outstanding he may be, he¡¯s still someone else¡¯s man. I¡¯m your man. You should be praising me instead.¡± Staring at him, Jing Chu chuckled and asked, ¡°Master Pei, are you getting jealous?¡± ¡°Of course not, silly. I just don¡¯t like hearing my womanplimenting someone else,¡± he exined. Jing Chu decided not to argue any further. She had no idea how they started getting intimate. He was clearly already exhausted, yet he still managed to thrust himself deep inside her with much force. However, he stopped after climaxing once. He then held her in his embrace and dozed off. However, Jing Chu could not fall asleep. A man like him must be living on the edge with his guard up high all the time. There are definitely lots of people who are yearning to annihte him. However, all I want is a simple life of peace and security. The life she wanted seemed to be theplete opposite of the one he was leading. Yet, she belonged to him, and that would be the life she¡¯s going to lead forever, unless he got sick of her. I was 19 years old when I met him. I¡¯ll be turning 20 years old in December. I¡¯m still so young. This should be the best time of my life. But what¡¯s going to happen from now on? I don¡¯t know when he will get sick of me. It might be a few months from now, or a few years, or perhaps... What can I depend on in the future? I want a family. I want children of my own. But he won¡¯t allow it. Am I supposed to wait until he¡¯s sick of me to get married to someone else? She dozed off unknowingly. She was woken up in the morning by his ringtone. Pei Yi opened his eyes and answered the call without taking a look at the caller disy. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Mother, there you go again...¡± He stood up and continued, ¡°Okay, okay, okay, stop rattling on about that. Who is it this time?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll show up. Are you happy now?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I¡¯m hanging up now.¡± Pei Yi nced at Jing Chu before getting out of bed. Jing Chu had been keeping her eyes closed and only opened them slowly after he exited the bedroom. She could guess that his mother was urging him to attend a matchmaking session. He had agreed. If it¡¯s sessful, is he going to get married? ¡ª¡ª Pei Yi returned to Mount Qingping to see that Qin Guo was busy preparing breakfast. Upon the sight of him, she immediately asked, ¡°Ancestor, you didn¡¯te homest night. Where did you spend the night?¡± ¡°Why? Have you started poking your nose into my business?¡± Qin Guo lowered her head immediately and said, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare to.¡± ¡°In that case, shut up.¡± Shortly after, he came out of his room in a fresh set of clothes. She asked, ¡°Ancestor, where are you going?¡± ¡°My mother arranged a matchmaking session for me. I¡¯m going to turn up for my blind date now. Would you like toe along?¡± he quipped. Qin Guo was speechless. She thought to herself, That old hag is so stubborn. He¡¯s already gone on so many blind dates... None of them worked out in the end. He was only patronizing his mother. After Pei Yi left, Qin Guo leaned against the railing, feeling extremely vexed and frustrated. It¡¯s strange enough that Ancestor has been spending nights out. She found it strange because Pei Yi would never spend a night outside in the past, although he had several other properties elsewhere. He never felt safe and would always return to Mount Qingping. Pei Yi left Mount Qingping and drove to a caf¨¦ in the city center. It was eight o¡¯clock in the morning. What an early time for a blind date. He entered the caf¨¦ to see that his blind date had already arrived. To his surprise, it was Tian Tian. He turned around to leave the instant he saw her. Tian Tian frantically chased after him and stopped him in his tracks. ¡°Pei Yi, Godma was the one who arranged this. You¡¯ve been to so many matchmaking sessions and yet none of them worked out. Godma thinks that I¡¯m the most suitable one for you.¡± ¡°I remember rejecting the idea of marrying you when my mother suggested it to me time and time again. Didn¡¯t you hear it from her?¡± Staring at him solemnly, Tian Tian said, ¡°Pei Yi, do you know that Godma received the results of her health checkup today?¡± ¡°Health checkup? I didn¡¯t hear about that,¡± said Pei Yi. ¡°Here¡¯s the report. If you don¡¯t believe me, you may ask Godma about it yourself.¡± Tian Tian handed him the report of the checkup and continued, ¡°Godma wants me to marry you and give birth to her grandson. I share simr sentiments too.¡± Pei Yi took a look at the report, and his hands trembled the moment he read thest line. Mrs. Pei had been diagnosed with thest stage of lung cancer. ¡°Are you lying to me?¡± Tian Tian stared at him and said, ¡°Pei Yi, am I such a person to you? Why would I joke about Godma¡¯s health?¡± Pei Yi nced at her and turned around to walk away. He got inside his car while Tian Tian got inside her own. They then drove to Mrs. Pei¡¯s home. Mrs. Pei let out a few coughs and said, ¡°Did you meet Tian Tian?¡± Pei Yi sat down on her bed and asked, ¡°Mother, how are you now?¡± Chapter 1376 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1376: I Only Want You (74)

¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯ve just been coughing really terriblytely. I went for a checkup and I was told that I have lung cancer. It has already developed to thest stages. The doctor said that I could still be treated, though.¡± Pei Yi was filled with agony and distress. He and his mother had always depended on each other, and his mother was his only kin. ¡°Mother...¡± ¡°I know you¡¯re very upset, but what can we do? Pei Yi, Tian Tian is a really sweet girl. She¡¯s been apanying me all these while whenever you¡¯re not around. She¡¯s very meticulous and caring toward me. I would be ted if she could be my daughter-inw.¡± Staring at her solemnly, he asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t there any other girls apart from Tian Tian?¡± ¡°I understand Tian Tian really well. She genuinely fancies you. No other woman will fancy you as much as she does. Don¡¯t think that I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on in this world. Girls like her are hard toe by nowadays. Not only is she caring toward me, she¡¯s very caring toward you too. Pei Yi, I¡¯ll die with no regrets if I can see you marry her and give birth to a child.¡± Pei Yi swallowed his words and stared at his sickly mother, no longer capable of speech. It doesn¡¯t matter as long as I can let her die without regrets. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Why didn¡¯t you speak your mind in front of Godma?¡± Tian Tian asked. ¡°Of course I couldn¡¯t. Tian Tian, my mother is fond of you, but I¡¯m well aware that you¡¯re just trying to curry her favor. Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know what tricks you¡¯re getting up to.¡± Staring at him calmly, Tian Tian said, ¡°Pei Yi, I know you¡¯ve seen and experienced a lot, but did you forget how much you used to adore me in the past? Yes, I may have had poor judgment and rejected you back then, but haven¡¯t I already proven how much I fancy you now? Let¡¯s not bring up the past anymore. Don¡¯t you want to marry me now? I can guarantee that I¡¯ll take good care of Godma even when you¡¯re not around. I¡¯ll apany her when you¡¯re busy and let her live peacefully in her remaining days. Given the advanced technology we have nowadays, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem for Godma to live another few years. Shall we give her a grandson while she¡¯s still alive?¡± Pei Yi red at her coldly and said, ¡°Do you really think I¡¯d get intimate with you?¡± ¡°We may opt for in-vitro fertilization instead.¡± ¡°If you can keep it a secret, I¡¯ll agree to marry you and have a child with you via IVF.¡± Tian Tian agreed gleefully, ¡°Sure.¡± Once I be his wife and bear his children, it¡¯s only a matter of time before I win his heart. He¡¯ll definitely fall in love with me again. Meanwhile, Pei Yi had ideas of his own. She wants to bear my children? Never in this lifetime! ¡ª¡ª Jing Chu was out of sorts for the entire day. Time passed exceptionally slowly for her. While watching television, Fat Lass yelled at her, ¡°Sister Jing Chu, hurry and take a look at this. Breaking news!¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Pei Yi is getting married. Look at the news. That¡¯s the Pei Yi I was telling you about yesterday.¡± Jing Chu immediately shifted her gaze onto the television screen. There was an ongoing report about the piece of news. Jing Chu had a sudden realization when she saw the photo of Pei Yi¡¯s fianc¨¦e. It¡¯s the woman who ran me over with her car that day. No wonder Pei Yi knew that I got into an ident and said that the driver was someone he knew. Did she run me over on purpose? I don¡¯t think so. If she intended to harm me, she would have done so long ago. Jing Chu¡¯s heart sank to rock bottom. Although I belong to him now, what¡¯s going to happen after he gets married? If I still continue seeing him, what does that make me? An ominous feeling filled her. Atst, she decided to send him a text message. ¡°I saw the news reports about your uing wedding. Is that true?¡± She wished that he could tell her that they were just false rumors. However, he did not reply to her. He verified the validity of the piece of news when he visited her at night. He arrived when Jing Chu was about to go to bed. He closed the door and sat on the bed. ¡°I saw the text message that you sent me.¡± ¡°Really?¡± she asked. ¡°Yes, really. We¡¯re getting married very soon, so don¡¯t create any trouble and stay here obediently,¡± he said while staring at her. Jing Chu held his gaze and asked, ¡°Can I... take back my words?¡± ¡°What words?¡± ¡°I want to take back the words I said about belonging to you for the rest of my life and being enved to you forever.¡± He squinted and asked, ¡°Do you think you have the freedom to go back on your words?¡± Jing Chu hung her head low and was at aplete loss for words. He grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. ¡°Jing Chu, don¡¯t be greedy. You¡¯re only deserving of being my ve, got it? Besides, don¡¯t think that you can seek help from others to get out of my clutches. You were willing to be mine and I didn¡¯t force you into this. I don¡¯t want An Xiaoning to know that you¡¯re together with me. If she finds out, those people who wanted to sacrifice you will find out very soon too. After all, I don¡¯t want a disobedient woman by my side. If you ever dare to tell An Xiaoning, I¡¯ll send you back to those people.¡± The coldness of his tone gave her the chills. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare to.¡± He let go of her and said, ¡°Come here and serve me.¡± Jing Chu wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder with tears in her eyes. ¡ª¡ª There was barely anything she could do without a personal identity card. She could not purchase a house, check into a hotel, or find herself a job. She couldn¡¯t even buy a car or a ne ticket. However, she had never thought of escaping. After all, she was the one who offered to be enved to him out of her own ord. She knew that she could not run far, given her limited abilities. Although the weather was warm, she still felt extremely chilly. She headed to the pet shop together with Fat Lass. They wanted to buy a pet. After browsing through all the avable pets, she finally settled on a snake. However, Fat Lass objected to it vehemently. ¡°Sis Jing Chu, select a different pet instead. I¡¯m really terrified of snakes. I get goosebumps whenever I see those boneless creatures.¡± Although Jing Chu fancied snakes, she decided to amodate Fat Lass. ¡°I¡¯ll buy a cage for the snake and let it out only when I¡¯m around. How does that sound?¡± ¡°Sis Jing Chu, you¡¯ve got such a strange taste. Why do you like snakes? Don¡¯t buy it. They really scare me. Shouldn¡¯t snakes be hibernating now? Why do they still sell them in stores?¡± Seeing how terrified Fat Lass was, Jing Chu decided not to buy it, and they went home empty-handed. ¡°Sis Jing Chu, are you angry?¡± ¡°No, I should be concerned about your opinion too. After all, we¡¯re living together.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been sensing that you were unhappy since yesterday. Sis Jing Chu, what¡¯s the matter with you?¡± ¡°Nothing much. Let¡¯s go home,¡± she said with a smile. Fat Lass decided not to probe any further, despite finding her to be in low spirits. When they were approaching the mansion, they caught sight of a car parked by the entrance. However, Jing Chu knew that it was not Pei Yi¡¯s car. ¡°Whose car is that?¡± Chapter 1377 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1377: I Only Want You (75)

Shaking her head, Jing Chu answered, ¡°No idea, let¡¯s go and take a look.¡± As soon as they stepped forward, a woman alighted from the car. Jing Chu took a closer look, only to discover that it was Tian Tian, after which she immediately pulled Fat Lass away. Fat Lass asked softly, ¡°Sis Jing Chu, isn¡¯t that Pei Yi¡¯s fianc¨¦e? What is she doing here?¡± Jing Chu shook her head and said, ¡°No idea. Let¡¯s go to the supermarket to get some stuff.¡± Fat Lass expressed assent, and the two headed to the supermarket together. They stayed at the supermarket for a long time. However, they were wandering around aimlessly and did not buy anything at all. Little did Jing Chu know, Tian Tian had already left long ago because she didn¡¯t know the password to Pei Yi¡¯s mansion. Upon returning home, she instructed Fat Lass, ¡°No matter who shows up at the door, just pretend that you didn¡¯t hear the doorbell. Don¡¯t open the door.¡± Even the dimwitted Fat Lass could tell that something was amiss. After some thought, she asked, ¡°Sis Jing Chu, could Mr. Pei be Pei Yi?¡± Jing Chu answered, ¡°Yeah.¡± Fat Lass ced her hand over her mouth in shock and said, ¡°Sis Jing Chu, why didn¡¯t you tell me earlier? I even said those things...¡± Jing Chu held her hand and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I didn¡¯t tell Master Pei. I won¡¯t betray you.¡± Fat Lass felt a huge sense of relief. ¡°Thank you, Sis Jing Chu. I won¡¯t spout any nonsense anymore from now on.¡± ¡°You can say whatever you want to me, but don¡¯t mention them to him. Fat Lass, I¡¯m hungry. Go and cook something,¡± said Jing Chu. ¡°Alright.¡± After Fat Lass headed to the kitchen, she sent Pei Yi a text message to inform him that Tian Tian had dropped by and that she did not meet her. Pei Yi replied, ¡°I¡¯ll see to it.¡± Jing Chu could put her mind at ease. She began cooping herself up at home again and instructed Fat Lass to go to the supermarket only in the morning. The two of them had each other¡¯spany. Jing Chu and Fat Lass got along very well and lived harmoniously with each other. Pei Yi would visit her periodically and only stay for a short while during each visit. However, he brought her to the hospital twice within two months. Whenever she asked about what they were there for, he would simply tell her that they were there for a regr physical examination. Due to the anesthesia that she had been administered, she had no idea what went on during the checkup. She did not think much of it either. It was the day of Pei Yi and Tian Tian¡¯s wedding. Their wedding was reported on the news, and Jing Chu even sneaked to the church to watch their wedding ceremony. During the ceremony, she sat in thest row of seats in the church and stared at the newlyweds. Pei Yi was dressed in an immacte suit while Tian Tian was dressed in a white wedding gown. No one discovered that she was an uninvited guest at first. However, Pei Yi caught sight of her when he exchanged wedding bands with Tian Tian and was about to kiss her. At that moment, Jing Chu hung her head as low as she could. Pei Yi grabbed Tian Tian¡¯s hand and kissed it, after which the ceremony ended. Jing Chu was the first to leave the church. She sprinted out of the church and ran toward Fat Lass. They then returned to the estate together. Jing Chu was overwhelmed with a different feeling the moment she returned home. Given Pei Yi¡¯s attitude, he would definitely make her stay with him for decades. By then, she would be old and way past her childbearing years. It would be difficult for her to get married too. Thus, she would definitely end up dying alone. Jing Chu could not help but find her future to be bleak and pathetic. She wanted to find a man who would be devoted to her and love her wholeheartedly. She wanted to live a happy life with her family too. However, her wishes would probably nevere true. She initially thought that Pei Yi would definitely spend his nuptial night with his bride. Yet, he arrived at the mansion just as Jing Chu was about to shower at night. He stood by the door of the washroom and watched her shower. ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you looking forward to seeing me?¡± he asked, not ming her for turning up at his wedding either. Jing Chu turned off the faucet and wrapped a towel around herself. She then began drying her hair with a hairdryer without answering him. He stood rooted to the ground and watched her dry her hair slowly. After brushing her teeth, she walked toward him and said solemnly, ¡°Didn¡¯t I mention this before? My life revolves around you. Of course I¡¯d be looking forward to seeing you.¡± Pei Yi grabbed her and carried her onto the bed. ¡°Is it really okay for you to spend the night away from her even though you just got married today?¡± ¡°Stay out of this.¡± She gazed at him, and a brazen idea popped up in her head. She wanted to win his heart. She knew that it was a bold idea and a near-impossible task. However, she still wanted to do this. Hence, she draped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his before sucking them gently. Pei Yi looked at her, surprised by her sudden proactive behavior. He moved closer toward her and kissed her deeply. She was the only woman whom he couldst that long in bed with. In fact, she had made him break his personal record. Jing Chu seemed to have lost her rationality and decided to be the dominant one in bed tonight. She turned over and straddled him while kissing him vigorously. She tried every single position that she knew. Pei Yi found it extremely overwhelming too. How rare for her. Two hourster, she finally stopped andy on the bed motionlessly,pletely exhausted. Panting heavily, she turned to look at him. Pei Yi remarked, ¡°Lass, you were so sensual tonight.¡± She turned to lie on her side and said to him softly, ¡°I know I mean nothing to you, but I still hope that you¡¯lle to me when you need to satisfy your sexual needs, Master Pei. Don¡¯t get intimate with other women. You can only...¡± Pointing at his member, she continued, ¡°Enter me.¡± He said with raised brows, ¡°I¡¯m a huge clean freak.¡± Upon hearing his words, she blurted excitedly, ¡°Wonderful!¡± ¡°Wonderful!?! Do you actually hope that you¡¯ll be the only person I get intimate with for the rest of my life?¡± ¡°Of course, but I don¡¯t know if I have the ability to be the only person you¡¯d get intimate with.¡± ¡°You have to work harder, then. It¡¯s hard for me to staymitted to someone,¡± Pei Yi said while pulling the duvet over the both of them. Her heart sank. However, she smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s because you haven¡¯t met a woman who can make you devoted yet.¡± Pei Yi remained silent and hugged her to sleep. He had dinner before leaving. Fat Lass asked carefully, ¡°Sis Jing Chu, did Mr. Pei sleep herest night?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I can tell that you mean more to him than his wife does.¡± Do I actually matter to him? Doesn¡¯t he only use me to satisfy his sexual needs? She smiled and remained silent, not making anyment. Life had been mundane for her. She felt as if she was a bird in a cage whose only purpose was to wait for her master to visit her. Jing Chu hated waiting aimlessly each day. Hence, she decided to find something to upy herself with. However, she did not have a personal identification card and hence could not go out to work. After much thought, she decided to do some volunteer work like those that she had seen on television. Chapter 1378 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1378: I Only Want You (76)

Hence, Jing Chu checked up on an orphanage nearby. She headed to the orphanage alone to ask for more information and learned that the orphanage did allow volunteers to help out. She would not be receiving any money for her efforts and would merely be doing it for the sake of the children. Jing Chu found volunteering to be a very meaningful job that allowed her to help children. Hence, she decided to sign up. She would help out at the orphanage twice a week. The orphanage was full of deformed and handicapped children because most of the able-bodied children had all been adopted. Staring at the innocent and puerile children, Jing Chu decided to help out more often. She wanted to do everything she could for the children and, hence, put her best efforts into carrying out chores such as carrying gas tanks, clearing the rubbish, and ying with the children. She derived a ton of joy from doing so, and all the orphans seemed like angels to her. She wanted to get closer to them and shower them with love. When it was time to leave, she promised the children, whom she had already built a rapport with, that she would being by again the day after tomorrow. On the way home, Jing Chu decided to use the GPS navigation system to guide herself home. She could not be bothered to take the bus since the mansion was merely a stone¡¯s throw away. Hence, she began walking on the pavement instead. As soon as she entered the estate, she heard a sudden cry for help when she walked past a luxurious car. Jing Chu immediately stopped in her tracks and listened closely, only to discover that the sound hade from a woman inside the car. She immediately banged on the car windows, after which the sounds ceased. However, she could not see anything despite pressing her face against the ss because the windows of the car were tinted. Refusing to give up, she continued to m her hand against the window and asked, ¡°Is anyone inside?¡± No one answered her. She was filled with a sudden ominous premonition. Could that person have been murdered? A grave expression formed on Jing Chu¡¯s face, and she began mming her hand against the window even more vigorously. At this very moment, the window was rolled down slowly, and she was greeted with the sight of a handsome man. ¡°Is something wrong?¡± he asked. Jing Chu stuck her hands through the window and grabbed the man by his hair. She then stuck her head inside the car to see a stark-naked woman who had ropes tied around her. Boiling with fury, she opened the door and pulled the man out of the car. ¡°Get out of the car!¡± The man alighted and pushed her hand away. Staring at her in annoyance, he questioned in displeasure, ¡°What are you doing!?!¡± ¡°I should be asking you that... what are you doing!?! Did you kidnap her? Are you trying to kill her? I¡¯ll call the cops on you!¡± The woman inside the car did not dare to make a sound at first, because she was afraid that Jing Chu was the man¡¯s wife. However, after hearing their conversation, she stuck her head out of the car and hollered angrily, ¡°Are you nuts!?! You¡¯re such a retard. Mind your own business!¡± Jing Chu froze in shock. ¡°I was trying to save you...¡± ¡°Who the hell told you to save me? Don¡¯t you understand that we¡¯re just having car sex? It¡¯s our fetish.¡± Jing Chu asked in puzzlement, ¡°What, role-ying?¡± The woman was speechless. She scoffed and sneered, ¡°Are your brains full of poop? Get lost.¡± Jing Chu retorted furiously, ¡°If anyone¡¯s brains are full of poop, yours are!¡± The man burst intoughter at the amusing sight of Jing Chu behaving like a mother hen. Jing Chu was further infuriated when she saw himughing. ¡°What are youughing about?¡± He answered nonchntly, ¡°Is meughing... any of your business?¡± ¡°No, sorry to have disturbed you.¡± She then turned around and left. The man squinted and watched her enter the mansion before he returned to his car. ¡°Master Tang, let¡¯s ignore that crazy woman. We shall continue.¡± Staring at her, Tang Zhijing gibed, ¡°Crazy woman? She¡¯s much prettier than you are. Get out of the car, I¡¯m no longer in the mood for it. I¡¯m leaving now.¡± ¡°Get out of the car?¡± the woman asked, greatly taken aback. However, she dared not hesitate further and hurriedly alighted after changing back into her clothes. .... Jing Chu was bbergasted at the thought of the scene that took ce just now. As soon as she entered the mansion, she was greeted with the surprising sight of Pei Yi. ¡°Where did you go?¡± he asked. ¡°To do some volunteer work at the orphanage.¡± A frown creased Pei Yi¡¯s forehead and he quipped, ¡°What for? Do you have too much time on your hands?¡± ¡°I just find it a little boring to be at home all the time. The orphanage is a short distance away from here anyway. It¡¯s only a few minutes¡¯ walk. The children there are all so pitiful. Even if they¡¯re ill or handicapped, how could their parents just abandon them so heartlessly?¡± Pei Yi answered, ¡°Some parents simply can¡¯t afford to pay for their children¡¯s treatment. The costs of treatment can be very hefty.¡± ¡°Master Pei, what does car sex mean?¡± ¡°Where did you hear that from?¡± asked Pei Yi, who almost choked on his coffee. ¡°On my way home, I chanced upon...¡± She exined the scenario that she witnessed earlier, after which she remarked, ¡°They¡¯re lunatics. That woman even called me a retard. I scolded her back.¡± ¡°Car sex simply means having intercourse inside a car.¡± Surprised to hear his answer, she asked, ¡°Does that mean that having intercourse on a horse is called horse sex, and doing it on a bed means bed sex? Is getting intimate on the ground called ground sex too?¡± ¡°Yeah... something like that.¡± ¡°How kinky.¡± ¡°Would you like to give it a try?¡± Jing Chu shook her head and answered, ¡°No.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I just don¡¯t want to. No reason. However, why are you here so early today?¡± ¡°I finished doing what I had to, so I came here.¡± Jing Chu was pleased because he had visited her for two days in a row. Fat Lass prepared a few dishes for dinner, and Jing Chu had also bought a bottle of liquor that she was nning to share with him. Needless to say, Pei Yi could hold his liquor extremely well after years of drinking. However, it was a different case for Jing Chu, who copsed after a few drinks. In the end, he carried her upstairs. He proceeded to bathe her and wipe her dry before carrying her onto the bed. He then took a shower. To his dismay, he discovered that she had gone missing when he came out of the shower. Pei Yi was greatly infuriated. He put on his clothes and zoomed downstairs to search for her. Fat Lass had already gone to bed. Hence, she did not know that Jing Chu had left the bedroom naked. Jing Chu was running around the yard despite the biting cold. Pei Yi was both infuriated and amused at the same time. He had never seen any drunkards behaving like her. He picked up her cold body and carried her upstairs. Jing Chu was much more alluring when she was drunk. Shey down on the bed with her face all flushed red. She even began singing while squinting. Pei Yi was at a loss for what to do. He initially wanted to get intimate with her tonight, yet she took the initiative and hugged him tightly while kissing him. Hey down on the bed while shey on top of his chest like an alluring snake-beauty. She began kissing and licking his skin before moving downward continuously. Pei Yi caressed her hair, hoping to himself that she would continue moving down... and down... Chapter 1379 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1379: I Only Want You (77)

However, she did not make his wishese true. When she reached his abdomen, she looked up at him and chuckled, ¡°Master Pei, are you happy when you¡¯re with me?¡± ¡°Yes...¡± After receiving an affirming answer, she smiled yfully and said, ¡°I¡¯ll make you even happier.¡± She then continued advancing downward. Pei Yi stared at the ceiling and enjoyed the thrill and joy that she was giving him. .... Jing Chu woke up with a fuzzy memory the next morning. However, she soon recalled everything that happened. She could not help but turn red and warm at the thought of how horny she wasst night. I actually... How embarrassing. Whatever, he¡¯s not a stranger anyway. She got out of bed and freshened up. When she made her way downstairs for breakfast, Fat Lass said gleefully, ¡°Mr. Pei said that he would being over for lunchter at noontime.¡± ¡°Lunch? Noontime?¡± ¡°Yes, you heard me correctly, Sis Jing Chu. I meant lunch at noontime.¡± ¡°What was his mood like... when he left?¡± ¡°He seemed to be in high spirits. He was all smiles.¡± ¡°...¡± Jing Chu did not ask any more questions. After breakfast, she sat outside the yard and basked in the sun, allowing the golden rays to warm her up. If only life could always be like this. How wonderful would it be if I had something to do every day and someone to wait for. However, she knew that her simple wish could not be fulfilled. Qin Guo arrived before Pei Yi did. Qin Guo could not believe her eyes, nor the fact that Pei Yi actually had a mistress. She was aware of the password to this mansion. When Tian Tian called herst night to ask about Pei Yi¡¯s whereabouts, she stammered and said that he was in Mount Qingping. Ever since then, she had begun suspecting that something was up with Pei Yi. It turned out her suspicion was not uncalled for. Jing Chu stood up and stared at the woman who was approaching her. She realized that it was not Pei Yi¡¯s wife. Instead, it was someone whom she had never seen before. ¡°You are...¡± Qin Guo answered, ¡°I¡¯m Ancestor¡¯s servant. My name is Qin Guo.¡± ¡°Ancestor?¡± ¡°I mean Pei Yi.¡± Jing Chu had no idea why she had addressed Pei Yi as ¡°Ancestor.¡± She asked, ¡°Ms. Qin, what brings you here?¡± ¡°Nothing, I just came by to take a look. Who are you?¡± ¡°I...¡± Jing Chu was momentarily speechless. However, she was quick-witted and answered within seconds, ¡°I¡¯m one of the maids here. Fat Lass and I are in charge of cleaning the house.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s Fat Lass?¡± ¡°A fellow maid. She¡¯s doing the dishes inside the kitchen.¡± Qin Guo took a few nces at her before shifting her gaze onto a hickey on Jing Chu¡¯s neck, which had caught her attention. ring daggers at her, Qin Guo questioned, ¡°Liar. You¡¯re Ancestor¡¯s mistress, aren¡¯t you?¡± Jing Chu remained silent, at aplete loss for words. Qin Guo took her silence for consent. ¡°Ancestor¡¯s wife had been calling me frequently every night to ask about where he had been sleeping and when he would be home. I brushed her off with excuses. It never crossed my mind that he would actually have a mistress. Pardon my bluntness, but how long do you seriously think you can stay by Ancestor¡¯s side for?¡± Jing Chu looked up and answered, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± Qin Guo guffawed sarcastically and gibed, ¡°You¡¯re so silly. I shall be honest with you. I¡¯ve been serving Ancestor for years and I know clearly what kind of a person he is. He had bedded virgins in the past too. However, they all died afterward.¡± Jing Chu asked in astonishment, ¡°Died... they died?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not trying to scare you. They really died. How do you think they died?¡± ¡°Did Master Pei kill them?¡± Qin Guo answered firmly, ¡°That¡¯s right. If you¡¯re sensible, you¡¯d better not stay here for too long. Ancestor is temperamental, fickle, and unpredictable. I can¡¯t guarantee that he won¡¯t kill you someday.¡± Consumed by terror, Jing Chu¡¯s hands began trembling uncontrobly. However, she still wanted to convince herself that he would never kill her. He didn¡¯t seem like the sort. She constantly tried tofort herself. Qin Guo said, ¡°Please don¡¯t tell Ancestor that I was here. Otherwise, I¡¯ll also tell his wife about your existence. That¡¯s all I have to say. I¡¯m leaving now.¡± Jing Chu had tensed up in fear, feeling as if her heart was being scrunched up tightly and no longer capable of beating. As soon as she returned upstairs, she sat on the bed and began researching about the DK Organization online. Although she was barely literate, she could still understand the reports andments made about them online. After reading the content, she sat on the bed stiffly. Her hands and legs were cold and mmy, and she seemed to have lost her soul. Pei Yi returned during noontime. Noticing that she seemed to be out of sorts, he asked, ¡°Are you still hungover?¡± Jing Chu looked at him and asked, ¡°Will you kill me?¡± Pei Yi asked with a frown, ¡°Why would you ask such a question?¡± ¡°I¡¯m asking you, will you kill me in the future?¡± He answered half-jokingly, ¡°I won¡¯t if you stay obedient. But if you disobey me, I might very likely kill you.¡± bbergasted, Jing Chuy down and pulled the duvet over her face. She felt terribly worried. Pei Yi lifted the duvet and asked, ¡°Why are you acting so strangely? What happened?¡± Jing Chu bit her lip and said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid that you¡¯d kill me. I¡¯m terrified. I¡¯ve been through lots of suffering in the past. Could you please let me continue living like this? Don¡¯t kill me. Let me experience the wonderful bits of life.¡± ¡°Why would I kill you with no rhyme or reason?¡± Seemingly having guessed something, Pei Yi added, ¡°Did someone say something to you?¡± ¡°No,¡± she answered, shaking her head. Pei Yi could tell from her expression that someone must have spoken to her. ¡°Tell me honestly, did someone tell you something?¡± ¡°No...¡± ¡°Do you want me to check the surveince cameras? I¡¯ll find out once I do.¡± ¡°A woman named Qin Guo came by this morning, and she told me not to let you know of her visit. She threatened to inform your wife about our rtionship if I were to tell on her.¡± A menacing look formed on Pei Yi¡¯s face and he said, ¡°How dare she.¡± Upon realizing that he sounded a little stern, he mellowed his tone and continued, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she wouldn¡¯t dare to tell my wife. She definitely wouldn¡¯t. Tell me, what did she say to you?¡± Jing Chu told him everything truthfully, after which she could tell that he was infuriated. ¡°Is Ms. Qin really your servant?¡± ¡°Yes, but just ignore her. I¡¯ll deal with her when I go back.¡± ¡°Just pretend that you don¡¯t know anything. Otherwise, she¡¯ll definitely know that I was the one who told you,¡± Jing Chu said worriedly. ¡°Are you afraid of her?¡± ¡°No, but just don¡¯t do it.¡± He conceded after much persuasion. ¡ª¡ª Jing Chu headed to the orphanage to see that the man whom she had chanced upon in the estate the other day was present too. Tang Zhijing saw her as well. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°I should be asking you that. I¡¯m a volunteer here.¡± Chapter 1380 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1380: I Only Want You (78)

He said, ¡°What a coincidence. I¡¯m a volunteer too. I¡¯m in charge of teaching them a foreignnguage.¡± Jing Chu could not tell that he would be the type to volunteer. However, she did not talk to him much since they were barely even acquaintances. ¡°I have a house in the same estate as yours too. We¡¯re really fated to meet each other.¡± Shaking her head, Jing Chu said, ¡°No, we¡¯re not.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Not telling you,¡± she said. ¡°My name is Tang Zhijing.¡± Remaining calm, she said, ¡°What your name is has nothing to do with me. You don¡¯t have to tell me specially.¡± What a strong-headed girl... Tang Zhijing was at a loss for words. However, he was extremely curious about her. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry for what happened yesterday. I know you meant well.¡± Upon hearing his words, she said in a mellower tone, ¡°Good that you know. However, your girlfriend seemed to have misunderstood me.¡± ¡°She¡¯s not my girlfriend.¡± ¡°Not your girlfriend? Why did you get intimate with her in the car? Are you a beast? Do you just mate with a random person?¡± Jing Chu asked curiously. Tang Zhijing rubbed his nose awkwardly and said, ¡°Um... of course not. Let¡¯s not talk about her. Are you married yet?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Do you have a boyfriend?¡± ¡°Yeah, what do you want?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want anything. I was just asking casually.¡± Jing Chu stared at him apprehensively and said, ¡°I doubt you¡¯ll ever get a wife or a girlfriend.¡± ¡°I have a wife.¡± ¡°...¡± She was extremely surprised to hear his answer. ¡°Is your rtionship with your wife estranged?¡± ¡°I thought you would call me a scum.¡± She probed, ¡°You haven¡¯t answered my question yet.¡± ¡°We got married for the sake of our business¡¯ interests. We¡¯re only married in name and we date other people in private.¡± Jing Chu asked in puzzlement, ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Why do you seem to be so ignorant?¡± He exined the purpose of his marriage to her before continuing, ¡°She has a boyfriend too. We stay out of each other¡¯s affairs.¡± Jing Chu remarked, ¡°What¡¯s the point of having such a marriage? You might as well live separately. You¡¯ll be happier and enjoy more freedom.¡± ¡°However, not everything will turn out perfectly.¡± Finding his words to have made sense, she asked, ¡°How long have you been volunteering in this orphanage for?¡± ¡°Two years.¡± ¡°Two years? I really couldn¡¯t tell that you were a volunteer,¡± Jing Chu said in surprise. He smiled and said, ¡°I look like a thug, don¡¯t I? You just started volunteering here, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯m too bored at home so I decided toe out and get some work done.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll get to meet frequently from now on, then. Ie here once a week.¡± ¡°Ie here twice a week.¡± ¡°I shalle twice a week too, then. Shall we make arrangements to meet at the same time?¡± She replied, ¡°Why should I do that? We¡¯lle at whatever time is most convenient for us. Let¡¯s leave each other alone.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°Is he in?¡± Qin Guo answered with a nod, ¡°Yes.¡± Tian Tian entered straight away. Pei Yi was in the midst of working. Upon her arrival, he took a casual nce at her and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°The IVF procedure is sessful,¡± Tian Tian said while handing him a medical report. After taking a nce at it, Pei Yi said, ¡°Good to hear. You shall rest at home and nurse your pregnancy from now on.¡± ¡°That goes without saying.¡± Tian Tian sat down and continued, ¡°I heard that it would do the fetus a lot of good if the father is consistently there throughout the course of pregnancy.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll apany you when I¡¯m free. However, I¡¯m very busytely and I¡¯m sure you know about that too.¡± Knowing that he would only speak to her in such a calm manner when he was in a good mood, Tian Tian said, ¡°Alright, then. Don¡¯t worry about Mother. I¡¯ll apany her.¡± ¡°Okay, thank you. I visit her every day.¡± Tian Tian watched him while he kept his eyes peeled onto the document in his hand. When she first met him, she felt that he was nothing more than just a handsome face who had nothing to his name. She had never expected him to possess so much potential, which was truly shocking. If only I didn¡¯t reject him back then. I wouldn¡¯t have to go through so much trouble. It¡¯d be incredibly difficult to win his heart now. ¡°Shall we have lunch together?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Pei Yi agreed. Tian Tian sat on the couch and yed with her mobile phone quietly. She continued to do so all the way until the afternoon. They then had lunch together. ¡°Would you prefer a boy or a girl?¡± ¡°The gender doesn¡¯t matter to me.¡± ¡°It matters. I want a boy. Mother wants a grandson too.¡± Pei Yi rebuked, ¡°Heaven decides the gender of the child, not you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. If this one¡¯s a girl, I¡¯ll give birth again.¡± Pei Yi stared at her in disdain and gibed, ¡°Do you really think I¡¯ll let you have two of my children?¡± Tian Tian said softly, ¡°It¡¯d be livelier at home if we have more children. I¡¯m the one giving birth but I¡¯m notining. You¡¯re not the one suffering. Are you afraid that you can¡¯t provide for them?¡± He remained silent and ignored her. However, Tian Tian left happily, all smiles. On the other hand, Pei Yi had a sullen expression on his face. When Qin Guo entered to clear the dishes, he red at Qin Guo and said sternly, ¡°If you dare to spout any nonsense to Tian Tian when I¡¯m not around, you¡¯ll get it from me. You¡¯d better keep your mouth shut.¡± ¡°Ancestor, I wouldn¡¯t dare to do that.¡± Pei Yi quipped, ¡°There¡¯s nothing you wouldn¡¯t dare to do. Don¡¯t get on my nerves. Otherwise, you know what will happen.¡± Qin Guo nodded and retreated. ¡ª¡ª Jing Chu learned about Tian Tian¡¯s pregnancy from the news report in March. Tian Tian was photographed when she was at the hospital. It was obvious that she was pregnant because she was extra careful with her step and had her hand ced on her belly at all times. Jing Chu was perplexed. Pei Yi has already developed a habit of sleeping here every night. How did he have the time to visit Tian Tian and make her pregnant? She posed her question to him directly, for it felt much better to voice her qualms out instead of bottling them up. Pei Yi ced a finger under her chin and raised it slightly. ¡°Why? Are you getting jealous? Am I not allowed to sleep with mywful wife?¡± A sullen expression formed on Jing Chu¡¯s face. Well, he was speaking the truth, after all. Tian Tian was hiswful wife while she did not have a proper status at all. She had no right to question him. ¡°Are you angry?¡± ¡°No...¡± She moved his hand away and got out of bed. ¡°I¡¯m going to the bathroom.¡± He grabbed her and pulled her into his embrace. ¡°You¡¯re angry.¡± Jing Chu shook her head and said, ¡°No, I don¡¯t have the right to get angry at you. Master Pei, you¡¯re wealthy and powerful. You have every right to impregnate or kill anyone. I¡¯m in no ce to interfere.¡± How bitter... Pei Yi guffawed and said, ¡°See, you¡¯re upset.¡± ¡°If I bedded another man and got pregnant with his child, would you be happy?¡± He squinted and said, ¡°Are we in the same position?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s a joyous thing for you to be a father.¡± She let go of him and headed to the bathroom. Chapter 1381 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1381: I Only Want You (79)

Pei Yi not only did not get angry but found it rather amusing. When a woman threw a tantrum appropriately, it could be seen as rather adorable. When she came out of the bathroom, Jing Chu had washed her face. Pei Yi did not exin much to her. After all, he had no need to. Jing Chu sat at the bedside and looked at him, asking in a serious manner, ¡°Master Pei, you¡¯ll abandon me eventually, right?¡± ¡°Why are you always worrying about such things?¡± ¡°Because Jing Chu is nothing, that¡¯s why I worry. Because I¡¯m nothing without you, and I don¡¯t have anything else. That¡¯s why I worry.¡± He pinched her face and replied, ¡°Not for now. It¡¯ll depend on how you perform in the future.¡± ¡°Then, Master Pei, let me get pregnant too. When you don¡¯t want me in the future, at least I¡¯ll have someone to rely on.¡± Pei Yi¡¯s heart waspletely soft at this point. He raised his eyebrows and responded, ¡°If anyone can give birth for me, then won¡¯t I have children everywhere?¡± Jing Chu knew he wouldn¡¯t allow it, but she still insisted on asking him. Now that she could not say anything much, she lifted the covers and crawled in, saying with her back facing him, ¡°I¡¯m sleepy, I¡¯m going to sleep.¡± ¡°Alright, you sleep. I¡¯ll get going.¡± She grunted a reply and did not turn around. Only when she heard the sound of his footsteps gradually fade away and, thereafter, the sound of the door closing, did she lie t on the bed and got up slightly to lean against the bed frame in a daze. Since he would not let her give birth, she did not dare to intentionally get pregnant without his permission. She knew that he would definitely be infuriated and, by then, she would not be able to keep the child. She would rather not suffer through that. Knock, knock, knock! Fat Lass¡¯s voice sounded from outside the door, ¡°Sister Jing Chu, Mr. Pei just left and someone¡¯s pressing on the doorbell.¡± ¡°Go and take a look discreetly to see who¡¯s outside.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± At the same time when Fat Lass went downstairs, Jing Chu got up as well and went down. Once she reached the door, Fat Lass had returned from outside and said under her voice, ¡°It¡¯s a young man. He looks rather handsome too.¡± A man? Jing Chu headed briskly toward the door. When she opened the door, she snapped at the man before her, ¡°Why did you press on my doorbell?¡± Tang Zhijing ced his arm on the door frame as he asked sluggishly, ¡°If I didn¡¯t see wrongly, it was Pei Yi¡¯s car that came out from here just now, right? You¡¯re Pei Yi¡¯s woman? Isn¡¯t he married already?¡± ¡°What has this got to do with you?¡± ¡°It does have nothing to do with me. But is this the life you want?¡± That was the first question he asked her. Is this the life she wanted? Jing Chu looked up at him. ¡°No one would want to live such a life. But if you knew what kind of life I was living before, you would probably think that the current life I¡¯m living is far better.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what kind of life you were living before. You¡¯ll have to tell me of your own ord.¡± Jing Chu lowered her head and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t feel like talking anymore. I¡¯m closing the door.¡± With that, she closed the door shut, leaving Tang Zhijing outside the door. ¡ª¡ª Ever since she met Tang Zhijing at the orphanage, she would always see him every time she went there. When she went to the orphanage, he was already there and was giving the children an English lesson. The children paid extreme attention to him, and he taught them seriously as well. It was really unexpected that a rich family¡¯s son like him would have a kind side. He visited the orphanage regrly and had been doing so for two years already. She went to help clear the rubbish, and once she was done, his lesson had ended too. The children were now free to do their own activities. She sat on the long bench under the warmth of the sun, making her feelzy all over. He approached her and sat down beside her. ¡°You look like you¡¯re not in a good mood.¡± With her hands in the pocket of her jacket, she raised her head slightly. ¡°Tell me, do you think a utopian ce exists in this world?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t heard of it. Why, you want to go there?¡± ¡°Yeah. I want to go somewhere secluded from the rest of the world. Even if I¡¯ll have to live a primitive life there, I still think it¡¯ll be excellent.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t we go there together?¡± Jing Chu turned and looked at him. ¡°Why would you go there? You have parents, a family, a job, and a wife. But I¡¯m different from you. I have no parents, no family, no money, and much less a job. I don¡¯t even have a household register. I have nothing while you have everything.¡± ¡°But I want to go somewhere like that as well. I¡¯ll be able to start the day at dawn and rest when the sun sets. I won¡¯t have to think about anything: earning or spending money, and I¡¯ll just have to work in the fields. My parents always said that I have no ambition, but that¡¯s just who I am. I¡¯m not driven toward my career. But, even then, I still listened to my parents and ran our familypany. I even helped them to open a newpany. I just feel really exhausted. Every time Ie here, I just feel like I¡¯ll feel better, that¡¯s why I insisted oning here regrly. You probably won¡¯t believe it, but my dream is to start a family and lead a happy life with the person I like.¡± Jing Chu looked at him in a rather astonished manner. She never would have expected that his dream was exactly the same as hers. ¡°Try to search for it.¡± Tang Zhijing replied, ¡°What?¡± ¡°Try to search and see whether such a ce exists in this world. Try finding it, maybe it really exists.¡± He couldn¡¯t help but grin, and he found her so silly that she was adorable. How could such a ce possibly exist in this world? Nevertheless, he still responded, ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll try to find it.¡± When they were going back from the orphanage, Jing Chu realized that Tang Zhijing did not drive either but walked together with her. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you drive here?¡± ¡°I saw you walking here and back all the time, so I felt like I should train myself too. Moreover, it isn¡¯t far so there¡¯s truly no need to drive indeed.¡± With her eyes fixed ahead, Jing Chu asked, ¡°Under what circumstances do men usually allow women to give birth for them?¡± ¡°Does such a simple question need to be asked?¡± He answered, ¡°Men usually let their wife or someone they love give birth for them. When a woman we don¡¯t like or someone that¡¯s not our wife gets pregnant, they¡¯ll usually end up having to get an abortion.¡± ¡°Then, if a man doesn¡¯t love a woman, why would he want to be with her?¡± After keeping silent for a moment, Tang Zhijing answered, ¡°Isn¡¯t this a giveaway question? Many men go out to find prostitutes. Amongst these men, many are married or have a girlfriend already. They don¡¯t have feelings for those prostitutes either, they¡¯re just tired of sleeping with their girlfriends or wives and go out to search for some excitement. The grass is always greener on the other side, isn¡¯t it?¡± Jing Chu stopped in her tracks and asked in a serious manner, ¡°Aren¡¯t chickens domestic creatures? Why would they want to sleep with these things? Are they perverts?¡±[1] ¡°...¡± ¡°Are you a caveman?¡± ¡°What¡¯s a caveman?¡± ¡°...¡± Tang Zhijing could only exin each term to her patiently. Upon hearing his exnation, Jing Chu remarked, ¡°So this is what it meant.¡± [1] ¡°Chicken¡± is the term for prostitutes in Chinese. Chapter 1382 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1382: I Only Want You (80)

¡°What else would they mean? Why don¡¯t you know anything?¡± She said while walking, ¡°Because I¡¯ve been locked up ever since I was young. I didn¡¯t have much of a chance to be exposed to the outside world.¡± ¡°Why were you locked up?¡± She was candid about it and replied calmly, ¡°Ever since I could remember, I had been locked up by a middle-aged woman and beaten up in all ways by her. It was onlyst year that I managed to escape. Then, I got captured back again and brought to a cliff where she tried to burn me to death. She said that not long after I was born, I became a sacrificial offering. It was my mother who sold me because my father had abandoned her.¡± Tang Zhijing asked with a grave expression, ¡°Then how did you get together with Pei Yi?¡± ¡°He was the one who saved me. He even saved me twice in total. I willingly became his woman.¡± His gaze toward her carried some pity as he could not tell at all that she had been through so much suffering. After she had finished speaking, Jing Chu remarked sulkily, ¡°Pei Yi probably treats me as a prostitute, right? He doesn¡¯t let me give birth for him as well.¡± Tang Zhijing did not know how to answer her and eventually replied, ¡°A man like him wouldn¡¯t possibly have feelings for you because there are plenty of women for him to choose from. Isn¡¯t his wife pregnant already?¡± Jing Chu didn¡¯t make a sound anymore. Only when they reached the neighborhood did she finally say, ¡°I really want to go somewhere nobody can find me and hide myself there.¡± Tang Zhijing did not reply to her, and the two each headed home in their separate ways. Pei Yi was back. He sat in the living room with a cigarette between his fingers, looking rather moody. He asked when he saw her enter the house, ¡°Who¡¯s the man who came back with you?¡± ¡°Someone who also does volunteer work. He¡¯s been teaching English at the orphanage for two years already.¡± ¡°Why do you look ghastly?¡± ¡°Nothing much,¡± she answered. ¡°I see that you¡¯ve been upset these few days. Have you been overthinking?¡± Jing Chu looked at him and replied, ¡°Indeed. I¡¯ve been thinking too much these days, so I¡¯ve had a lot of troubles on my mind.¡± ¡°Is there any point in overthinking?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t think about it.¡± Jing Chu was rendered speechless by him and did not say a word more. What she least expected was that after she had satisfied Pei Yi and he had left, he would nevere back again. Nor did he call her or send her any text messages. She naturally did not ask him why he had not gone to visit her. Jing Chu had told herself that when she realized her ce. She could not expect anything from him. Every day was spent peacefully for Jing Chu, and when she did not go to the orphanage, she would stay at home to read and learn words. That way, life did not feel too mundane to her. If Pei Yi¡¯s mother and Tian Tian did not visit, her peaceful days would have gone on like that. The day those two came was half a month since thest time Pei Yi came to visit her. It was during the midst of a stuffy and humid April. The sky was exceptionally gloomy with dark clouds enveloping the sky. It looked like it was about to rain. Jing Chu was wearing a clean, colorful dress. She did not need to do volunteer work at the orphanage this day, so she had stayed at home. She had intentionally kept her hair long, and her long hair was let down, reaching a little below her shoulder. The two did not press the doorbell when they came but simply brought someone to break the door¡¯s lock and entered grandly like that. To them, this was Pei Yi¡¯s house, which meant that it was theirs too. If they wanted to break the door¡¯s lock, there was no big deal about it. When Jing Chu saw them, all the blood in her veins started to flow backward. She wanted to dig a hole for herself to hide in. It had urred to her before that such a day woulde, but she never thought that this day woulde so quickly. Fat Lass was originally watching television, but when she saw them, she turned off the television instantly and stood aside, not daring to say a word. Mrs. Pei started using her sharp gaze to size up Jing Chu, who was standing. When Tian Tian saw her, she seemed to havepletely lost her rationality. She instantly went forward and gave her a few ps. But it wasn¡¯t enough to vent her anger, so she threw a kick at her thereafter. ¡°You... you¡¯re the woman I ran over with my car!¡± There was a look of disbelief on Tian Tian¡¯s face. ¡°Did you seduce him at the hospital?!¡± There was a stinging sensation on Jing Chu¡¯s face, but she did not fight back throughout. She answered in denial, ¡°No. Before the two of you got married, I was living here already.¡± She could not be any more obvious with her words. What she had meant was that she had gotten together with him first while Tian Tian married him after that. So, she was the one who had gotten together with him first. ¡°What?!¡± Tian Tian sneered. ¡°No wonder when I came here previously, he told me this house was sold. Don¡¯t tell me...¡± If someone had not secretly sent her that email, she would not have known that there was a woman living here. Jing Chu did not know that he had told Tian Tian that this house had been sold. He had never mentioned this to her before. Looking at how Tian Tian was wearing a maternity dress and how her stomach was already bulging, the color in her eyes faded away. Even though she had gotten together with Pei Yi first, in front of his wife, she had no dignity left at all. Mrs. Pei, who had not spoken since they entered, went forward to the sofa and sat down. Tian Tian then sat down beside her. ¡°Take a seat first,¡± the elderlydy remarked as she gestured for Jing Chu to sit down. Jing Chu abided by her instructions and sat down. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Jing Chu.¡± Mrs. Pei then said, ¡°If I didn¡¯t know about it, it wouldn¡¯t matter. But now, since I¡¯ve found out about this, I¡¯ll have to serve justice for my daughter-inw. Even if you and Yi¡¯er got together before they had gotten married, after they got married, you still continued to be with him. This is shameless behavior, do you know that? I¡¯ll definitely not allow him to continue this rtionship with you. Don¡¯t even think about getting rid of his current wife to take over her position.¡± Jing Chu kept silent and did not speak a word. At this point, she felt like she was already thoroughly humiliated and had no more dignity left. ¡°Get your things out of here right now, ¡± Mrs. Pei ordered. ¡°I¡¯m telling you clearly now, those women who lusted after my son were killed by me. I¡¯m not killing you now because I¡¯m thinking of the child in my daughter-inw¡¯s stomach. So, don¡¯t push your luck.¡± Hearing these words, Jing Chu thought of what Qin Guo had once said. Those women were not killed by him, but his mother... Then, why did Qin Guo say that he killed those people? Was it purely to scare her? She replied, ¡°I¡¯ll leave this ce right away. Please let Master Pei know, Madam.¡± Hearing her reply, Mrs. Pei nodded. ¡°Of course.¡± Jing Chu did not want to intrude on them and instantly went upstairs to pack her clothes and shoes briefly. She did not take all of them and simply took her bank card along with her, then carried her luggage down from upstairs. ¡°You, get lost as well,¡± Mrs. Pei remarked as she turned to look at Fat Lass. ¡°Mr. Pei was the one who bought me.¡± ¡°Whether it¡¯s to die or to get lost, make a choice. Today, I¡¯ll make a decision for you to get lost now.¡± ¡°Yes...¡± Fat Lass did not dare to say anything further and went to pack her own luggage. ¡°You...¡± Mrs. Pei added, ¡°If I find out that you¡¯ve gotten close to my son again, I¡¯ll definitely send someone to kill you. I¡¯ll definitely not let you live another day. If you want to find out if I¡¯m saying the truth, you can just wait and see.¡± Jing Chu nodded her head in terror. ¡°Yes, I got it.¡± Chapter 1383 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1383: I Only Want You (81)

She thought to herself, Even if his mother killed me, he probably wouldn¡¯t say anything. After all, he hasn¡¯t visited me for half a month already. He probably doesn¡¯t care whether I¡¯m dead or alive. Thinking about this, she grew more firm in her decision. She did not want to die yet. There was still a long road ahead in her life. She did not want to die yet. She absolutely did not want to die. Absolutely not. Looking at how Tian Tian appeared as if she wanted to kill her there and then, Jing Chu understood that she did not have much power and that, if they wanted to kill her, it would be as easy and effortless for them as killing an ant. The Heavens were really unfair to her. Once she went out of the front door, heavy rain started pattering down. Fat Lass was thrown out as well. They went to the supermarket and bought two umbres, then carried their luggage with them, not knowing where to go. Fat Lass did not have an identification card, and neither did she. There was no way they could stay at a motel or a hotel. At this point, Jing Chu thought of Tang Zhijing. She originally did not want to disturb this married man, but it seemed that she had to ask him for a favor. When Tang Zhijing¡¯s car pulled over in front of her, it was already twenty minutester. He watched as the two of them stood there carrying their luggage, and he let them get into the car. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been chased out by Pei Yi¡¯s mother. I don¡¯t have an identification card either. I want to ask you, what do I need to create an identification card?¡± ¡°To create a household register here, you have to own a house. But buying a house needs an identification card and other details. However, if you use money, you will need to spend quite a lot.¡± ¡°Around how much will I need to spend?¡± ¡°A lot of people from R Nation don¡¯t have a household register. To open one here, it¡¯ll cost around two to three hundred thousand yuan.¡± ¡°What?! It¡¯s that expensive?¡± Jing Chu immediately got rid of this idea. ¡°You only know the benefits of having a household register, but do you know the disadvantages of this?¡± Jing Chu asked, ¡°What disadvantages could there be?¡± ¡°Although having a household register has far more pros than cons, there are disadvantages to it as well. For instance, if you stay at a hotel or a motel or rent a house, people can easily track you down.¡± ¡°Then, can you send me to the harbor now?¡± Tang Zhijing asked, ¡°Why would you go there?¡± ¡°To go overseas, of course. I don¡¯t want to stay here anymore. I want to find somewhere with nobody and just simply live like that.¡± ¡°What, go overseas? There are plenty of people here who don¡¯t have a household register. You¡¯re not the only one.¡± Tang Zhijing suggested, ¡°Why don¡¯t you stay at my house first? How about that?¡± ¡°No.¡± Jing Chu rejected him directly. She did not forget that he was a married man. She did not want and did not think about staying at his ce at all. ¡°What¡¯s there to be scared of? My wife or mother won¡¯te and chase you away.¡± ¡°Even then, I still don¡¯t want to. I¡¯ll stay at the orphanage first. When it¡¯s not raining anymore, I¡¯ll go and find somewhere to settle down.¡± With that, she alighted from the car, and Fat Lass followed along as well. Seeing the situation, Tang Zhijing replied, ¡°In that case, the two of you can go over first. I have something to handle here, I¡¯ll go over soon.¡± Jing Chu nodded and headed toward the orphanage together with Fat Lass. ¡°Sister Jing Chu, who¡¯s that man?¡± ¡°He does volunteer work at the orphanage too. He teaches English, and he has done volunteer work there for two years already. Although his personal life may not be exceptionally clean, he¡¯s someone who¡¯s ratherpassionate. He and his wife have their own lovers and don¡¯t care about each other. But, even then, we can¡¯t stay at his ce. There¡¯s a bank over there, I¡¯ll go and withdraw some money. There¡¯s some money on my card.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± This was the very card that Tian Tian had offered to her aspensation. With no identification card, she naturally could not get a bank card. She had not used the money inside all this while, and today was the first time. Also, she left behind the card Pei Yi had given her. At the thought that there were many ces where money needed to be used, she withdrew 20 thousand dors and headed toward the orphanage with Fat Lass. When she reached the orphanage, the director arranged her lodging, allowing her to rest there peacefully. After thanking the director, Jing Chu and Fat Lass both changed into a new set of clothes. When they were done washing their clothes, Tang Zhijing arrived. Jing Chu carefully asked, ¡°In which areas do renting a house not require an identification card?¡± ¡°In those impoverished estates. But they are situated rather far from here, and they¡¯re quite secluded.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter. When the rain stops, can you bring us there to take a look?¡± He nodded and agreed, ¡°Sure.¡± However, before the rain had even stopped, the police stopped by the orphanage. ¡°It¡¯s her.¡± The police pointed at Jing Chu and went on, ¡°You picked up a bank card and not only did you not hand it over, you even withdrew money from inside. Bring her away.¡± Jing Chu¡¯s reaction was rather quick as well. ¡°I didn¡¯t pick up the bank card. Someone ran me over and used it topensate me. I didn¡¯t pick it up.¡± The police did not listen to her and took the bank card as well as the cash she had with her away, along with her. Not only that, they took Fat Lass with them as well, iming that she was her aplice. Jing Chu rified this matter to the police all the way to the police station, but no one listened to her. Tang Zhijing was not even allowed to visit her inside. No one interrogated her as well. They simply locked her up. ¡°Fat Lass, I¡¯m sorry... I¡¯ve implicated you.¡± ¡°Sister Jing Chu, it¡¯s fine. I have nowhere to go as well. But what¡¯s with that bank card...?¡± Jing Chu exined the matter to her from beginning to end. After hearing it, Fat Lass was beyond shocked. ¡°Since that money was given to you by Mr. Pei¡¯s wife, why are they locking us up now?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious enough?¡± She could already see the situation clearly. ¡°She called the police and said her bank card is missing. So, after we went to withdraw the money, they¡¯re iming that we withdrew it from a card we picked up. But why didn¡¯t the police ask us how we knew the pin number for the card?¡± ¡°Since Mr. Pei knows about this, he¡¯ll definitely help rid you of suspicion. Wasn¡¯t he the one who passed the card to you?¡± Jing Chu did not dare to have any hopes at all. ¡°That¡¯s his wife. Would he pin the me on her for framing me?¡± She leaned against the wall, feeling infuriated and aggrieved at the same time. ¡°I¡¯m really stupid, absolutely stupid.¡± Fat Lass couldn¡¯t help but exim indignantly, ¡°I don¡¯t believe that Mr. Pei doesn¡¯t want to save you at all. He¡¯s so powerful, it¡¯ll be effortless for him to get you out of here.¡± Jing Chu hugged her legs tight as she sat there, burying her face into her knees. Her mind was in apletely nk state. ¨D¨D In reality, Pei Yi found out that his mother and Tian Tian had gone to the mansion where Jing Chu was staying and that Jing Chu had been brought to the police station almost at the same time as it was happening. He personaly went to his mother¡¯s ce, where Tian Tian was around as well. ¡°That money was yourpensation to her, why are you making things difficult for her?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. That money was originally what Ipensated her. But that was when I didn¡¯t know who she was. If I knew that she had a rtionship with you, I would¡¯ve stepped on the elerator and ran her down. Would I havepensated her?¡± Pei Yi¡¯s gaze turnedpletely cold. ¡°You¡¯re really wicked.¡± ¡°Enough!¡± Mrs. Pei bellowed before coughing a few times. ¡°Is Tian Tian or that slut important? Tian Tian is your wife, you¡¯re having a woman outside and she¡¯s still trying her best to control her emotions. You still have the decency to scold her? I¡¯m already being merciful for not killing that woman. Don¡¯t even think about concerning yourself about her!¡± Chapter 1384 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1384: I Only Want You (82)

Pei Yi¡¯s expression was unpredictable. He had thought that by not visiting her for half a month, he was being very cautious already. To think that they actually still found out about it. ¡°Today, in front of Mother and your unborn child, let me tell you. Pei Yi, if you dare to save her, it¡¯ll be akin to throwing my pride away. I¡¯m your wife now. If that happens, I don¡¯t know what I¡¯ll be capable of.¡± After hearing this, Pei Yi had yet to say a word when Mrs. Pei hurriedly assured her, ¡°Xiaotian, don¡¯t worry. Mother¡¯s here. I won¡¯t let him do that. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Tian Tian immediately replied gently, ¡°Okay. I know Mother cares for me the most.¡± ¡°You¡¯re my daughter-inw. If I don¡¯t care for you, who would? Take care of the child in your stomach. Mother is waiting for this child to be born.¡± Mrs. Pei¡¯s gaze toward Tian Tian was filled with warmth. ¡°Yes, I will.¡± Watching how ghastly her son¡¯s expression was, Mrs. Pei remarked, ¡°Can¡¯t you just let your mother not worry so much about you? Yi¡¯er, treat Tian Tian well and don¡¯t let her down. Also, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything great about that woman either. What¡¯s the use of looking pretty? There are plenty of pretty women out there. Don¡¯t be bewitched by her. Mother knows that you¡¯re just ying with her, you won¡¯t fall for her. Am I right, son?¡± Pei Yi looked at his mother¡¯s gaze and could only reply, ¡°Mother, take care of your body. I¡¯ll get going first.¡± ¡°Yi¡¯er, Mother doesn¡¯t want you to see that woman again. Do you hear me?¡± Seeing her cough vigorously to the extent that she even spurted out some blood, Pei Yi hurriedly responded, ¡°Alright, I got it. I won¡¯t see her anymore.¡± Hearing him agree to it, Mrs. Pei could finally rest at ease. Tian Tian, who was sitting at one corner, rest assured as well. After leaving his mother¡¯s ce, Pei Yi headed to the mansion. The house was still there, but the people living inside were no longer around. Despite having not gone there for half a month, he could still feel her presence inside the house. Inside the bedroom, the nket was folded neatly on the bed and the room was kept extremely tidy. On the bedside table, she had left the bank card that he had given her. She had not taken all of the clothes inside the wardrobe. She did not even have many decent clothes, to begin with, and yet she had still left some of her clothes behind. Sitting at the side of the bed, he did not know what was wrong with himself as well. He just felt empty inside, like a piece of him was missing, at the thought of there being no one to wait for him toe home here. Just thinking of this actually made him feel depressed. He remained seated there for a long while like this without moving. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Sorry, I can¡¯t help you with this,¡± Tang Zhijing told Jing Chu frankly. ¡°I¡¯ve spent money to find out, and Pei Yi¡¯s wife is out to put you into jail. She doesn¡¯t agree to a settlement. It¡¯s impossible that Pei Yi doesn¡¯t know about this, but there¡¯s no response from him at all. It looks like he has no intention to meddle in this.¡± Every word of his went straight for Jing Chu¡¯s heart like a cold and sharp knife slicing it apart. ¡°I already guessed that.¡± ¡°Can you tell me the details of the whole matter?¡± She slowly exined the whole matter to him from start to finish and finallymented, ¡°Maybe I¡¯m just born with a jinxed life. I concede this. I¡¯ll just have to wait until the day my sentence ends.¡± Looking at her expression, Tang Zhijing couldn¡¯t help but feel pity for her. Perhaps to give her some hope, he suggested, ¡°I¡¯ll help to search for a utopian ce in this world. Maybe I¡¯ll be able to find it.¡± She shed a forced smile at him. ¡°Sure, go search for it. If you find it, I¡¯ll be extremely grateful to you.¡± ¡°...¡± After they had stayed for a short while at the detention center, she and Fat Lass were brought to court. As the used mastermind behind the crime, she was sentenced to two years in prison while Fat Lass was charged as the aplice and sentenced to a year. Jing Chu was most apologetic toward Fat Lass as she had not done anything at all yet was dragged into prison for no reason with her. It was the same for herself as well. She had originally wanted to call Sister Xiaoning for help but recalled what Pei Yi had once said to her. If she dared to tell An Xiaoning, he would try to inform the group of people who had once captured her. She did not dare to do so. Fortunately, she and Fat Lass were allocated to the same jail cell. The cold handcuffs were removed from them once they entered the cell. There were two women inside. One was young while the other was slightly older. Watching the two of them enter, the two inside started to scrutinize them from head to toe. Jing Chu and Fat Lass sat down on one empty corner inside and stuck close to the wall, hugging their legs and not saying a word. ¡°Neers, what are your names?¡± the older woman asked in an unfriendly manner. Fat Lass replied, ¡°I¡¯m Fat Lass.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Jing Chu,¡± she replied as well. ¡°What offense did youmit to get sent in here?¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t, we were framed...¡± Fat Lass replied with a stammer. The two women were obviously in disbelief. ¡°Alright, quit acting in front of us. There are no cops in here anyway.¡± ¡°We were really framed,¡± Jing Chu reiterated. ¡°It¡¯s okay if you guys don¡¯t believe us. We really didn¡¯tmit any crime.¡± ¡°Hahaha,¡± the young womanughed heartily as she pped. ¡°Looks like someone¡¯s here to apany me. Hahaha.¡± Jing Chu noticed that the woman wasn¡¯t really old but appeared as if she wasn¡¯t in the right state of mind. She looked extremely haggard as well. ¡°This Sister, you...¡± ¡°She¡¯s in prison because she was framed as well. How did the two of you get framed?¡± Jing Chu did not dare to mention Pei Yi¡¯s name but simply exined briefly, ¡°Earlier, I was hit by a woman¡¯s car. She offered me 900 thousand dors aspensation, all saved inside a bank card. I don¡¯t have an identification card, so I wasn¡¯t able to get a bank card done. I haven¡¯t spent this money all this time, so, when I... withdrew some money, the woman imed that I picked up her card and stole her money inside. That¡¯s why the police captured me.¡± ¡°What?!¡± The older woman was simply speechless upon hearing her words. ¡°Are you stupid? Since you have no identification card or bank card, why didn¡¯t you let her write a written statement to prove that she gave you this card aspensation?¡± Jing Chu lowered her head. ¡°At that time, I was unconscious. I didn¡¯t see her after I woke up.¡± ¡°Then, who was the one who passed you that card?¡± Jing Chu held onto Fat Lass¡¯s hand as she replied, ¡°My... my boyfriend.¡± ¡°Your boyfriend is another dimwit! You were sent here for no rhyme and reason, and not only did you not receive the money forpensation, you even have to serve a jail sentence. What are the police in R Nation doing? Did they not check the dashboard camera of the car that hit you and run an investigation?¡± ¡°She... she¡¯s powerful and...¡± Jing Chu stammered as she went on, ¡°She¡¯s my boyfriend¡¯s wife now.¡± The two women were thoroughly dumbfounded. ¡°Then you¡¯repletely screwed. Your boyfriend is in cahoots with her. The two were probably together long ago and were preparing tond you into trouble, but you were still too stupid to realize it. You never know, that woman might have hit you intentionally back then.¡± ¡°Probably not. At that time, she still didn¡¯t know me. We only met after that.¡± ¡°But...¡± The older woman was perplexed. ¡°Your boyfriend¡¯s wife? Why does this sound especially strange? You¡¯re the mistress? Or is she the mistress?¡± ¡°When I was together with him, they hadn¡¯t gotten married yet. Later on, they got married...¡± Chapter 1385 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1385: I Only Want You (83)

The two exchanged nces, and the younger woman said, ¡°Do you know how I got in here?¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°My mother and my husband got me in here.¡± The woman¡¯s eyes were brimming with tears. ¡°My biological mother, not my mother-inw. My biological mother!¡± It was onlyter on that Jing Chu found out that this youngdy was called Qiao An. She was 27 years old and had been in prison for three years already. She had two more years of her sentence to go. The olderdy was called Xiong Mingming and was 38 years old. She made all of them call her Sister Xiong. As her crime of embezzling funds was more serious, she had been in here for 12 years already and had three more years ¡¯til her sentence was to end. No matter what kind of person it was, everyone became the same kind of person after they entered prison. As the days passed, Pei Yipletely died inside Jing Chu¡¯s heart. She did not have a single hope toward him lingering inside her anymore. And she did not wish to have any ties with him at all in the future. From the moment he had given up on her, she had done the same to him as well. From the moment he had given up on her, it meant that he no longer wanted her. From then onwards, she was free. All she wanted was to be herself. She wanted to live a different life. One in which she could depend on no one but herself. As the time that the four spent grew increasingly longer, they began to develop a deeper understanding of each other. To Jing Chu, this was a blessing amidst the misery of being in jail. She was able to chat with the rest every day and even learned how to knit from Qiao An. The knitting set was sent by Xiong Mingming¡¯s family, so she took time out to knit quietly whenever she had nothing to do. Even Qiao An, who was originally in the most weary state, gradually walked out of her pain and awaited the day she got out of prison with the others. ¡ª¡ª Two years was enough for one to put their mind at ease and thoroughly change a person as well. When Jing Chu entered prison, it was around the middle of April, and it was in May when she was sentenced. Back then, she had not even passed her 21st birthday. On the day she was released from prison, the weather was also extremely humid. As she came out carrying her things, she raised her head and looked up at the sky, a grin forming on her calm face. She was finally free. A car started to pull over in front of her slowly. Fat Lass¡¯s head popped out from the car window, and she waved at her. ¡°Sister Jing Chu...¡± She looked toward the direction where the sun was in, and Tang Zhijing drove the car right in front of her and pulled over. During these two years, other than Tang Zhijing and Fat Lass, who waster released from prison, nobody else came. Her hair was kept rather long, and her hair was as ck as kelp. She looked beautiful. As she had not been out in the sun too frequently, her skin was so white that it was rather shocking. Tang Zhijing got down from the car and looked at her, grinning lightly. ¡°Let me take you somewhere. Get on.¡± ¡°A utopia?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know when we get there.¡± She sat at the back row of the car while he ced her luggage inside the car boot for her. The car drove off very soon. There was air-conditioning in the car, so it wasn¡¯t humid inside at all. She turned to ask Fat Lass, ¡°How are you doing?¡± ¡°Good. I¡¯m working as a maid at Mr. Tang¡¯s house. Sister Jing Chu, because you asked Mr. Tang to take me in back then, I was able to get a job. Otherwise, I really wouldn¡¯t have known where to go when I came out of prison.¡± ¡°This is because of how benevolent our Mr. Tang is.¡± Tang Zhijing, who was driving, chuckled as he replied, ¡°Good that you know.¡± He gazed at her from the rear-view mirror, noticing that she was different from how she was two years ago. She seemed to have lost the innocence that she used to possess. Tang Zhijing drove the car to the entrance of a building. Seeing that he had pulled over, Jing Chu asked, ¡°Where is this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s mypany. Get off and have a look.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± She and Fat Lass both got off the car and followed Tang Zhijing as he passed through the turnstile. They then followed him upstairs. He had bought two floors of the building. The area of the space was ratherrge. Only after checking it out did Jing Chu realize it was a modelingpany. ¡°You opened thispany?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s been open for a few years already and has been developing quite well. Are you interested ining to work here?¡± ¡°But, I don¡¯t know anything...¡± ¡°You can learn if you don¡¯t know. Don¡¯t tell me, you¡¯re not confident?¡± She asked, ¡°Then, what can I do here?¡± ¡°You can be a model.¡± ¡°Models are all rather tall. Would my height do?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not short at all. Let me take your height.¡± He took a measuring tape to measure her height, and it was 1.67 meters. Tang Zhijing added, ¡°With heels, you¡¯ll be at least 1.70 meters tall. Sorry, I haven¡¯t found a utopia yet, but I want you to find the utopia inside your heart. The real peace shoulde from within yourself. Achieving inner peace is what you really need, isn¡¯t it?¡± These words went straight to her heart. ¡°Actually, I know that as well. There¡¯s no such thing as a utopia in this world. It¡¯s all just self-deception. But don¡¯t models all have long legs and need to be at least 1.70 meters tall? Would my height really do?¡± ¡°This is mypany. If I say it¡¯s allowed, then it is. Why do you have to be like those models with long legs? Not every model has such expectations. Also, being a model needs hard practice as well, because you haven¡¯t been in this upation. But I want to know, Jing Chu, do you want to live a life that you want?¡± Jing Chu looked at his eyes and nodded as she replied, ¡°I do. I want to earn money as well.¡± During these two years in prison, Jing Chu had been thinking about what she could do when she was released. She had note to any conclusion all these while, because, other than learning knitting and words in prison, she really did not know anything else. Now, there was a job given to her and an opportunity for her to earn money. She naturally had to grab hold of it. However, she still had some concerns. ¡°If I be a model, do I have to go on television?¡± ¡°Of course. If you get famous, you¡¯ll be on television for the whole world to see.¡± Jing Chu shook her head vigorously. ¡°Then I can¡¯t take this job.¡± ¡°Why?¡± She exined, ¡°If the group of people who captured me previously see me and know that I¡¯m still alive, would they allow me to live?¡± This question was really... How could he forget this? ¡°For the consideration of your safety, I know what job is suitable for you.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°A kindergarten teacher.¡± Tang Zhijing went on, ¡°You¡¯ve learned quite a lot of things in prison. You basically know how to write already. The job in the kindergarten mainly requires you to take care of children. I¡¯ll arrange such a job for you. You¡¯ve done volunteer work in prison, so I know you¡¯re someone with patience. How is it?¡± ¡°Great. I think it¡¯s good too. Thank you, Tang Zhijing.¡± ¡°Why stand on ceremony with me? If you really want to thank me, give me a hug. You¡¯ve never hugged me before.¡± Fat Lass, who was at one corner, started to cover her mouth as sheughed. She remarked cheekily, ¡°Sister Jing Chu, just give Mr. Tang a hug. Show him some care.¡± What was the big deal with a hug? She reached out her arms and approached him to give him a hug. Just when she was about to release her arms, he tightened his grip around her. ¡°This is the first time you¡¯re hugging me. I need to enjoy it properly.¡± ¡°Are you trying to strangle me?¡± He finally released her from his arms and, seeing that she was blushing, he grinned. ¡°Come, I¡¯ll bring you there. My friend and his wife opened a private kindergarten. It¡¯s fine even if you don¡¯t have an identification card. On my ount, they¡¯ll have no choice but to let you have a job.¡± Chapter 1386 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1386: I Only Want You (84)

Jing Chu and Fat Lass followed him. The kindergarten was located in a luxurious district, and Tang Zhijing brought them to meet his friends. ¡°Gang Zi.¡± Upon their arrival, Gang Zi turned around and said, ¡°What brings you here?¡± ¡°You, of course. I need your help.¡± Gang Zi was surprised to see him with two women, especially Jing Chu, who was the prettier one out of the two. He coughed and asked, ¡°What? You actually need my help? With what?¡± ¡°This is my... girlfriend. She doesn¡¯t have a personal identification card, but I want her to be a kindergarten teacher. Will you hire her?¡± Upon hearing the way he had introduced her, Jing Chu looked at him in shock, after which he winked at her. Jing Chu immediately understood his hint. ¡°Sure, of course. Your girlfriend is my sister-inw. However, we don¡¯t provide meals and lodging, and it¡¯s a little far from your ce. If she wants to move in, I can get my wife to tidy one of the rooms for her to stay in. Would she like to move in?¡± Gang Zi asked. ¡°She¡¯ll stay.¡± Gang Zi immediately called his wife over. When Mrs. Gang saw Jing Chu, she was actually reluctant to let her stay, for she felt that Jing Chu was way too beautiful and she found her to be a possible threat. She was afraid that Jing Chu would seduce her husband. However, she felt much more relieved after hearing that Jing Chu was Tang Zhijing¡¯s girlfriend. After all, her husband was inferior to Tang Zhijing in every aspect, be it wealth, status, or appearance. She believed that Jing Chu would know better than to choose Gang Zi over Tang Zhijing. Hence, Jing Chu moved into an empty room in Gang Zi¡¯s home. Mrs. Gang had also given her a straw mat and an electric fan. Although the air was stale and stuffy, she was more than contented. She had long gotten used to such living conditions for she had already experienced it before in prison. After taking a nce at the room she would be staying in, Tang Zhijing said, ¡°Gang Zi said that he can only let you take care of the toddlers because you don¡¯t have any paper qualifications or a teaching certificate.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do my best.¡± ¡°Okay. Gang Zi said that all the children there were born with silver spoons in their mouths and are spoiled rotten. Their parents are wealthy, and the school fees are expensive as well. So, it¡¯s better for you to be conscientious and take the job seriously. I know you can do it.¡± Tang Zhijing and Fat Lass left after a while. Jing Chu packed up briefly before looking for Mrs. Gang. Mrs. Gang exined her job scope to her in detail. ¡°You¡¯re new and inexperienced, so I shall arrange for you to look after two of the children, a boy and a girl. The girl is one year old while the boy is a year and a half. The girl¡¯s parents have divorced and her father holds her custody. However, he only takes her home once a week because of his busy schedule. The boy¡¯s parents don¡¯te to pick him up at all. His nanny is the one who usually brings him to and from school. Just remember what she looks like.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± said Jing Chu. Mrs. Gang then brought her to meet the children. ¡°This girl¡¯s name is Su Nainai and her nickname is Sugarbean. The boy¡¯s name is Pei Ling. Strangely, he doesn¡¯t cry or throw tantrums. He doesn¡¯t smile much either. He¡¯s the most peculiar child I¡¯ve ever seen.¡± Jing Chu stared at the boy carefully and got a great shock. Why does he look so much like Pei Yi... ¡°What are the names of the boy¡¯s parents?¡± ¡°No idea. They¡¯ve nevere to pick him up before. The nanny does all the work.¡± Jing Chu nodded and told herself to stop overthinking, trying to convince herself that there wouldn¡¯t be such a likely coincidence. Due to the fact that it was a prestigious kindergarten, there were lots of rooms and ample space for the children to y in. Jing Chu would sit on the ground and follow the children everywhere they went. Su Nainai was only a year old and could not walk or talk yet. She could only make some simple sounds. She sat on the ground and had a whale of a time ying with toys. ¡°Sugarbean...¡± Jing Chu called. Su Nainai looked at her before turning away again. When Jing Chu tried to hug her, she pushed Jing Chu away and declined her hug. She was rather aloof as well. Hence, Jing Chu decided not to hug her and instead tried to get closer and build a rapport with her. After all, she was just a toddler, and it was rather easy for Jing Chu to get closer to her. Once they were familiar with each other, Jing Chu instructed Su Nainai to y on her own while she walked toward Pei Ling. He was cool yet cute at the same time. ¡°Hello, Pei Ling...¡± He looked at her before struggling to get up with all his might. Holding his favorite toy in hand, he walked toward her slowly and called out in a puerile voice, ¡°Mommy...¡± Jing Chu was rather touched to hear his words. He¡¯s still so young. How could his parents bear to leave him alone at the nursery? He must miss his mother dearly. She tried to hug him and he allowed her to do so. He was extremely obedient. Jing Chu¡¯s heart melted. She picked Pei Ling up in her arms and asked, ¡°Are you missing your mommy? She has gone to work? You must be obedient and stay here.¡± Hanging his head low, he continued to fiddle with his toy car and murmured, ¡°Mommy...¡± Jing Chu caressed his head and ced him in front of Su Nainai. Looking after two young toddlers was indeed an extremely tiring and tough job. She had to take care of all their needs as soon as possible and feed them on time. Fortunately, Pei Ling was very obedient, unlike Su Nainai, who would constantly crawl around and drool continuously like a broken tap. She simply could not stay still. Jing Chu had no choice but to rece her bib every now and then. Despite being worn out and exhausted, Jing Chu never failed to feel aplished after a fulfilling day. At past five o¡¯clock in the afternoon every day, she would hand Pei Ling over to his nanny and proceed to take care of Su Nainai all the way until eight or nine in the evening. After feeding her and tucking her in bed, Jing Chu would be done for the day. However, she could not help but be reminded of the heartless man who let her down two years ago whenever she looked at Pei Ling. She had clearly forgotten about him. However, now that she was reminded of him all of a sudden, she was filled with misery. It¡¯s alright, it¡¯s all in the past. It¡¯s all over now. I¡¯ve already ended things and sorted my feelings out two years ago. She felt much better afterforting herself. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Madam, we¡¯re back,¡± the nanny said while entering with Pei Ling in her arms. Lying sluggishly on the couch, Tian Tian expressed assent and said, ¡°Help him change into a fresh set of clothes. I¡¯ll be taking him to see his grandmotherter.¡± Chapter 1387 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1387: I Only Want You (85)

¡°Alright.¡± The nanny helped Pei Ling change into a fresh set of clothes and made him a bottle of milk before carrying him into Tian Tian¡¯s car. Tian Tian was dressed exceptionally fashionably and did not seem like she had given birth before. She ced lots of emphasis on her appearance and made a conscious effort to look good. She barely gained any weight during her pregnancy and managed to stay svelte. Mrs. Pei¡¯s home was a stone¡¯s throw away and, thus, they did not take too long to get there. Mrs. Pei would have passed away long ago if she didn¡¯t receive the best treatment possible. However, despite being administered with the most potent medication avable, her condition was still deteriorating with each passing day. She had be emaciated and bedridden. Pei Yi would visit her every day, and so did Tian Tian, who would bring Pei Ling along. They made it a point to visit her every day, although the duration of their stay varied. Pei Yi had arrived before them and was having a chat with his mother. Upon the sight of them, Mrs. Pei waved while smiling and said, ¡°Pei Ling,e to Grandma.¡± The nanny stepped forward and ced Pei Ling on the bed. Mrs. Pei held her grandson¡¯s hand gleefully and asked, ¡°What did you learn at school today?¡± He remained silent and stared at his bedridden grandmother with a straight face. The nanny hurriedly said, ¡°The new teacher at the kindergarten praised Pei Ling for being very obedient.¡± ¡°Why is there a new teacher?¡±¡® ¡°I don¡¯t know. They said that the previous teacher had been transferred to the other sses to look after the older children. Hence, the new teacher is now looking after the toddlers. However, she¡¯s only in charge of looking after two children and she seems to be doing a good job.¡± Mrs. Pei snapped, ¡°I wonder if she can really make the cut. When you send Pei Ling to the kindergarten tomorrow, give that teacher a warning. Tell her that if she dares to let my precious grandson get injured, I¡¯ll never let her off!¡± The nanny expressed assent softly. Pei Yi interjected, ¡°It¡¯s only normal for children to slip and fall every now and then. Don¡¯t spoil him rotten.¡± Mrs. Pei chastised, ¡°You¡¯re so busy with work every day and you barely spend any time with Pei Ling. He doesn¡¯t seem to be very close to you either. Children his age require the most parental love and concern. You two must shower my precious grandson with more love and concern. Hear me?¡± Tian Tian smiled and said, ¡°Mother, rest assured, we will. It¡¯d be inappropriate if we neglect our own child.¡± Mrs. Pei nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s true. The three of you, go have dinnerter. Pei Yi, stop being so preupied with work such that you neglect your wife and son.¡± Pei Yi answered with a nod, ¡°Got it.¡± During the journey back in the car, Tian Tian asked, ¡°Where should we go for dinner?¡± ¡°You may go home for dinner. I¡¯ll take Pei Ling back to Mount Qingping. I¡¯ll send him to school every day from now on.¡± Tian Tian said in astonishment, ¡°Have you decided to listen to Mother and show more care for our son?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to care about this,¡± he said sluggishly. Tian Tian was rather d to hear his decision. Ever since Pei Ling was born, Pei Yi had barely taken care of him or showed him much concern. Tian Tian had always regarded his nonchnce as a form of disdain toward her. However, after seeing that he had begun paying more attention to Pei Ling, she knew that she could use her son as a trump card to win Pei Yi¡¯s heart. Pei Ling sat quietly in the child booster seat in the backseat during the car ride. Pei Yi stared at Pei Ling¡¯s reflection in the rear-view mirror and found that his son¡¯s eyes, nose, and brows were almost identical to his. Pei Ling¡¯s lips and face shape were the only features that did not resemble his. He knew clearly whose lips and face shape Pei Ling¡¯s resembled. ¡ª¡ª Jing Chu woke up at six o¡¯clock in the morning, and the first thing she did was to check on Su Nainai. Before she even entered Su Nainai¡¯s room, she heard a bunch of crying noisesing from inside. She walked into the room, only to discover that Su Nainai was not in her cot. Frightened beyond words, Jing Chu hurriedly proceeded to search for Su Nainai. Atst, she found her in another child¡¯s cot, sleeping soundly despite the ruckus. Jing Chu picked her up and carried her back to her own cot. She then removed her diapers to see that Su Nainai had soiled herself, just like she had expected. Just as she was about to clean her up, Su Nainai woke up. Jing Chu grabbed her ankles and cleaned her up before wrapping a clean diaper around her bottom. ¡°Shall we call you Little Stinky from now on?¡± Jing Chu teased. Su Nainai remained silent, seemingly pondering over what that nickname meant. Jing Chu carried her out of the room and made her some breakfast. She then fed her with some milk before carrying her back to the room she was staying in. She bought two cartons of instant noodles, a kettle for boiling water, as well as some crockery the night before, and nned to live on those items. Tang Zhijing offered her some money. However, she only epted five hundred dors because she was afraid that she couldn¡¯t afford to pay him back. She made herself two packets of instant noodles and polished off everything. After breakfast, she yed with Su Nainai for a while. She then carried her to the entrance of the kindergarten where she waited for Pei Ling to arrive. Su Nainai decided to y with Jing Chu¡¯s hair because she didn¡¯t have any other toys to fiddle with. She began tugging Jing Chu¡¯s hair forcefully, after which Jing Chu pretended to be infuriated. ¡°Sugarbean, if you yank my hair again, I¡¯ll kiss you as a punishment!¡± Su Nainai began giggling merrily and drooling uncontrobly. Jing Chu had no choice but to wipe her saliva away with her other hand. There was arge group of parents crowding around the entrance and handing their children over to the teachers. Eventually, the crowd began to disperse as the teachers and the children headed back inside the kindergarten. At this very moment, a posh, white limousine pulled up in front of the entrance and blocked it. The door opened, and a suave man alighted from the limousine, dressed in a thin suit with his hair neatlybed back. He then began striding toward the kindergarten. What is this man here for? Jing Chu wondered. To her surprise, he began walking toward her. Su Nainai began pping her hands excitedly. Jing Chu observed the man¡¯s features and deduced that he was probably Su Nainai¡¯s father. He stood in front of Jing Chu and said with a smile, ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Su Nainai¡¯s father. I¡¯m here to pick her up.¡± Although Jing Chu could tell that he was Su Nainai¡¯s father, she said, ¡°Mr. Su, please give me a moment. I¡¯m new here and I don¡¯t know who you are, so please let me verify your identity before handing Sugarbean to you.¡± He agreed calmly, ¡°Sure.¡± Jing Chu led him to Mrs. Gang, who then verified that he was indeed Su Nainai¡¯s father. She then handed Su Nainai to him. However, Su Nainai refused to let go of Jing Chu¡¯s hair and instead tugged it continuously, causing her scalp to ache. ¡°Did you start working this week?¡± Jing Chu nodded and said, ¡°I started yesterday.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Jing Chu.¡± ¡°Ms. Jing Chu, Nainai will be withdrawing from the kindergarten next Wednesday because of my personal reasons. Are you interested in bing her tutor?¡± Chapter 1388 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1388: I Only Want You (86)

Noticing that she seemed a little stunned, he continued, ¡°I¡¯ll pay you a handsome wage. How does 30 thousand dors a month sound? I¡¯m really surprised that Nainai is so reliant and attached to you even though you¡¯re new. She has never allowed the other teachers to carry her much, even though they had taken care of her for a long time. She would be crying whenever I¡¯m here. I reckon Nainai must be very fond of you.¡± Jing Chu was greatly taken aback by the price that he had offered. Thirty thousand dors was ten times what the kindergarten was paying her. Needless to say, she was definitely tempted. After all, who would turn money down? Besides, she was really cash-strapped right now. However, she thought that it would be a little inappropriate to quit her new job after a few days, especially since Tang Zhijing was the one who introduced her to the job. Hence, she decided to make a decision after seeking the opinion of Tang Zhijing. ¡°Mr. Su, the sry you¡¯re offering me is very attractive and I¡¯m honestly rather enticed by it. However, I think I have to rify something beforehand. I don¡¯t have an official household register or personal identification card. Can I still work for you in that case?¡± ¡°Those don¡¯t matter to me as long as you treat Nainai well.¡± She nodded and asked, ¡°Could you give me some time to consider?¡± ¡°Sure. It¡¯s Friday today. I¡¯ll send her back here on Monday. You can tell me your answer then. If you¡¯re not willing to ept the offer, I¡¯ll have to find another teacher to take care of Nainai.¡± Beaming with joy, Jing Chu nodded and carried Nainai toward the entrance. When they reached the car, Su Nainai¡¯s father got inside the car, after which Jing Chu handed Su Nainai to him. They then waved each other goodbye. As soon as the white limousine left, a ck luxury car pulled up in front of her. She stood rooted to the ground and looked inside the car, wondering to herself if it was Pei Ling. Jing Chu turned pale the instant she saw the familiar faceing out of the driver¡¯s seat. She froze in shock and stood rooted to the ground while trying her best to stay calm. The man opened the door of the backseat and carried his son out of the car. Indeed... No wonder Pei Ling looked so much like him. Turns out he¡¯s really his son. She wished she could just take flight and run away. However, she couldn¡¯t. She definitely couldn¡¯t. At least, not right now. Hence, she smiled and said, ¡°Hello, Pei Ling,e here and let me carry you.¡± She did not look at Pei Yi and instead extended her arms toward the child. Pei Ling extended his arms too and allowed her to carry him. She then turned around and carried him inside,pletely ignoring Pei Yi. Pei Yi hurriedly followed suit. As soon as she discovered that he had entered too, she stopped in her tracks and said coldly, ¡°Mr. Pei, you don¡¯t have to worry, I¡¯ll take care of Pei Ling. Please leave.¡± ¡°How would I know that you¡¯d take good care of him unless I witness it myself?¡± ¡°Mr. Pei, if you¡¯re still worried, you may inform the principal to take care of Pei Ling instead. I won¡¯t have any objections.¡± A sullen expression formed on his face. He gazed at her and realized that she had be much prettier after two years and that her hair had grown longer too. On top of that, the innocence that was once in her eyes had now vanishedpletely. Not allowing him to gaze at her any longer, Jing Chu immediately left and headed to the ssroom while carrying Pei Ling in her arms. He followed her to the door. Jing Chu felt extremely stressed out, especially because she knew that he had been staring at her. She felt utterly repulsed by the way that he was staring at her; she detested it. Fortunately, he left a whileter. After his departure, Jing Chu sat on the ground and began ying with Pei Ling. She kept her eyes fixed on his face and felt that he was almost identical to his father. None of his features resembled his mother at all. During lunchtime, she called Tang Zhijing while the children were asleep. She informed him about Mr. Su¡¯s offer, after which Tang Zhijing said without hesitation, ¡°You must take on that job. He¡¯s offering you such a high sry. The monthly wage he¡¯s offering is almost equivalent to how much you¡¯d receive in a year if you continue working here. I¡¯m supporting your decision if you¡¯d like to take up the offer. I¡¯ll talk to Gang Zi about it.¡± After hearing his words, Jing Chu told him that Pei Ling turned out to be Pei Yi¡¯s son. Tang Zhijing then urged her to take on the job as Su Nainai¡¯s personal caretaker. She felt a huge sense of relief. Pei Yi came to pick Pei Ling up again in the afternoon. Jing Chu did not speak a word to him at all and, instead, simply walked back into the kindergarten after handing Pei Ling to him. Jing Chu stayed up for the rest of the night, feeling extremely ill at ease. She was afraid that Pei Yi and his wife would throw her into prison again should something happen to their son while under her care. Hence, she asked Mrs. Gang for Mr. Su¡¯s number and gave him a call on Saturday morning. ¡°Ms. Jing Chu, have youe to a decision?¡± ¡°Yes. Mr. Su, I¡¯m willing to take on the offer. However, may I begin working immediately? Because I¡¯ve already tendered my resignation.¡± ¡°Sure, I won¡¯t have to take Nainai to the kindergarten again next week, then. Please bring her belongings with you when youe over. I¡¯ll send you the addresster.¡± After receiving the confirmation, all Jing Chu wanted to do was to leave the ce as soon as possible. Mrs. Gang paid her 200 dors for the two days of work that she hadpleted. She epted the money. She then packed her own luggage and brought Su Nainai¡¯s belongings with her before embarking on her journey to the address Mr. Su had sent her. ¡ª¡ª Needless to say, Pei Yi had no idea that she left her job on Saturday and only found out about her resignation when he sent his son to school on Monday. He immediately sent his subordinates to search for her whereabouts. However, their efforts were futile. Pei Yi was flustered and infuriated. Despite knowing that she resented him greatly, he did not expect her to detest him to the extent of not being able to tolerate the sight of him. Pei Yi was in a foul mood for the whole of Monday. No one knew the reason behind his displeasure. Even Qin Guo was too afraid to probe. After staying in Mount Qingping for the entire morning, he decided to look Tang Zhijing up. ¡°Where has she gone?¡± Feigning ignorance, Tang Zhijing said, ¡°Who are you referring to? Mr. Pei, I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re talking about.¡± Pei Yi red at him coldly and said, ¡°Drop the pretense. You know you can¡¯t afford to incur my wrath. Tell me, where on earth has she gone to!?!¡± Tang Zhijing stared at him quietly. Anger and disgruntlement were written all over Pei Yi¡¯s face when he returned to his car. After smoking two consecutive cigarettes, he took a look at the number on his mobile phone and dialed it. It went through on his first try. It was Jing Chu¡¯s voice. ¡°Who¡¯s speaking?¡± ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± Upon hearing his voice, Jing Chu gripped her mobile phone tightly and pretended not to recognize his voice. ¡°Who are you?¡± she asked. ¡°Pei Yi.¡± ¡°Mr. Pei, what¡¯s the matter? I¡¯m very busy,¡± she answered coldly. ¡°Jing Chu, since you¡¯re so willing to look after another man¡¯s child, why don¡¯t you look after mine too? I¡¯ll offer you an even higher wage.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t have ns to do so.¡± She then ended the call immediately. Upon realizing that she had hung up on him, Pei Yi flew into a rage and flung his mobile phone onto the carpet in his car. Chapter 1389 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1389: I Only Want You (87)

However, he could not just take her back from Su Yan because thetter was no ordinary man. Su Yan was the eldest male heir of the Su family in R Nation, and his aunt was the First Lady of the royal family. He had a powerful and formidable family background. Besides, his ill-stricken mother was still in the hospital, and he could not act rashly without considering the consequences. ¡ª¡ª Jing Chu somehow felt rather thrilled after ending the call, although she was still a little worried since Pei Yi was not one to be trifled with. However, she no longer wanted to have anything to do with him. He¡¯s already married and has a son. Did he stand up for me when his wife put me behind bars? Did he say anything to stop her? It¡¯s just my luck to have met him again. I hope I¡¯ll never see him again. Never again for the rest of my life! Jing Chu had no idea who Su Yan was at first; neither did she know his status and identity. She only found out who he really was when she arrived at the address. However, she was not concerned about what Su Yan¡¯s personality was like and all she wanted was to focus on doing her job well and look after Su Nainai. She believed that her life would improve gradually now that she was capable of generating an ie for herself. After babysitting Su Nainai in the Su family mansion for a few days, Jing Chu discovered that Su Yan was exceptionally concerned and caring toward his daughter, despite having a busy schedule. He would spend some time ying with her every day, his long working hours notwithstanding. She could tell from Su Nainai¡¯s attitude toward her father that the two were very close. She could not help but take pity on Pei Ling, for Pei Yi was an irresponsible father by her standards. He fared poorly as a father inparison with Su Yan. Pei Yi did not call her again ever since the time she hung up on him. However, she did not dwell on it and instead focused on taking care of Su Nainai. Babysitting one toddler was much easier than babysitting two. However, Su Nainai was a hyperactive child who simply could not sit still. Su Nainai would crawl away to another spot within seconds of being left unattended. Hence, for safety reasons, Jing Chu would take her along wherever she went, including the bathroom. Instead of leaving her alone in the nursery, Jing Chu would hug her to sleep. However, the awkward thing was... Su Nainai would start sucking on her nipple while sleeping at night. Su Nainai was still incapable of forming proper sentences or speaking coherently. Hence, Jing Chu had to teach her how to speak, walk, and perform other chores within her job scope as a babysitter. Although the weather was rather warm today, Jing Chu refrained from letting Su Nainai spend too much time in an air-conditioned room, for fear that she would catch a cold, especially since children had weaker immune systemspared to adults. Thus, she carried her out of the house and took a stroll along a cooler spot in the yard. Auntie Jiang, the head cook working for the Su family, scurried toward them with a basket of vegetables. As she was about to approach Jing Chu, she said, ¡°Help me take the basket of vegetables to the kitchen and leave the child to me.¡± Jing Chu asked, ¡°It¡¯s your job to bring the vegetables to the kitchen and my job to look after Nainai. Why should I hand her to you?¡± Auntie Jiang stood in front of her and answered, ¡°Nainai¡¯s grandparents are asking to see her. Are you going to forbid them from doing so? Do you have the right to do that?¡± Bearing Su Yan¡¯s instructions in mind, Jing Chu said, ¡°I¡¯ll have to call Mr. Su first, then. If he agrees, I¡¯ll bring Sugarbean to see her grandparents. Auntie Jiang, please bring the vegetables to the kitchen yourself.¡± Upon hearing her words, Auntie Jiang glowered at her and put down the basket of vegetables. She then extended her arm in a bid to snatch Su Nainai away. However, Jing Chu managed to dodge in time, causing Auntie Jiang to miss. ¡°What are you trying to do!?!¡± ¡°Give me the child.¡± ¡°No.¡± Jing Chu then carried Su Nainai back into the house while Auntie Jiang took chase. Jing Chu returned to the room and locked the door from the inside. She then called Su Yan to inform him of the matter, after which he said, ¡°Well done. I¡¯ll be on my way back.¡± Jing Chu felt a huge sense of relief. She sat on the bed and said to Su Nainai, ¡°Sugarbean, are you hungry?¡± Su Nainai opened her mouth and stared at Jing Chu with her eyes wide open while making some incoherent sounds. Unable to decipher what she meant, Jing Chu took out some soft bread and pulled them into smaller pieces before feeding the pieces to Su Nainai. The adorable sight of Su Nainai chewing on the bread pieces with her two baby teeth tugged at Jing Chu¡¯s heartstrings. Jing Chu continued to feed her and made her some milk. She then patted Su Nainai¡¯s back to help her digest the food better. At the same time, Su Yan arrived home. After hearing a knock on the door, Jing Chu carried Su Nainai to the door and answered it. Su Yan took Su Nainai from Jing Chu¡¯s arms and said, ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ve already taught Auntie Jiang a lesson and sacked her.¡± Jing Chu asked, ¡°Is there going to be a vacancy for a cook, then? Are you going to hire someone else to fill in for her?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°May I get my friend to fill the vacancy? She has superb culinary skills and whips up delicious food. She used to work for me too. However, I was too busy adjusting to the new job and couldn¡¯t help her out the past few days. She¡¯s working for another friend of mine now. She¡¯s reliable and trustworthy. Mr. Su, could you let her have a shot at working here?¡± Seeing how earnest she was, Su Yan agreed with a nod, ¡°I¡¯ll give her a chance, then.¡± Exhrated, Jing Chu nodded profusely and proceeded to call Fat Lass. Fat Lass was working for Tang Zhijing temporarily and helping out with the misceneous chores because Tang Zhijing had more than enough servants to take care of the meals and tidy the house. Upon hearing the piece of good news, Fat Lass agreed in delight, especially since she could be with Jing Chu too. Hence, she rushed to the Su family mansion after informing Tang Zhijing. Su Yan was pleased with the dishes that she whipped up for dinner at night and took a liking to her culinary skills. Hence, he decided to let her stay. When it was time for bed, Jing Chu bathed Su Nainai before tucking her to sleep. After a long, exhausting day, she proceeded to take a shower too. As soon as she saw Su Yan sitting on the bed when she came out of the shower, she stopped in her tracks and said, ¡°Mr. Su...¡± Su Yan stood up and said calmly, ¡°I came to take a look at Nainai. Rest early.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± After he left, Jing Chu locked the door, changed into her pajamas, and sat on the bed. Her mobile phone began vibrating continuously. Jing Chu grabbed it and took a look at the caller disy. She decided not to answer and instead allowed it to continue vibrating. However, the caller refused to give up and continued to call her again and again. Atst, Jing Chu switched off her mobile phone. Finally, she could get some sleep in peace. When she switched on her mobile phone again the next morning, she discovered that she had received 42 missed calls from the same caller. What does he want? Is he mad? She could not wrap her head around what Pei Yi was doing at all. He was the one who gave up on me and abandoned me heartlessly back then. Isn¡¯t it better to make a clean break? What is he trying to do now? Does he want to make me his mistress again? Does he want me to be his ything and nothing more than an outlet for him to vent his sexual frustration and satisfy his needs? Su Nainai only woke up after Jing Chu had had her breakfast and freshened up. Jing Chu carried her to the yard and ced her inside the ypen to help her practice how to walk. She continued to show Su Nainai the way and tried to entice her to get her moving. Su Nainai was in high spirits and was waving her arms in the air excitedly. Fat Lass joined in on the fun after she was done with her chores. Chapter 1390 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1390: I Only Want You (88)

After ying with her for a while, Jing Chu took a casual nce at the balcony, only to realize that Su Yan was standing on it and looking at them with a ss of liquor in hand. He even smiled at her when he noticed that she was looking at him. Jing Chu frantically looked down and continued ying with Su Nainai. Tang Zhijing arrived in the afternoon. After hearing about her current situation, he nodded and said, ¡°Actually, it¡¯s better for you to stay here than in the kindergarten. You¡¯re getting paid well and your safety is ensured. Pei Yi looked me up, by the way.¡± ¡°Were you the one who gave him my mobile number? What else did he say?¡± Tang Zhijing said truthfully, ¡°I told him that you had started working here and I gave him your mobile number too. He was threatening me.¡± Jing Chu nodded and asked, ¡°Did he say anything else?¡± ¡°No, he just seemed really exasperated. You¡¯re in a safe ce, actually. He wouldn¡¯t dare to barge into your employer¡¯s home as and when he pleases. Besides, he has never crossed paths with the Su family, and the DK Organization is at odds against wealthy families in R Nation. I¡¯m really surprised that you¡¯ve been given the chance to work there. Although my family is wealthy too, I can¡¯t protect you as well as they can.¡± ¡°I actually feel really sorry for failing to repay your kindness. You¡¯ve given me so much help. You were the only one who visited me and Fat Lass in prison too. You¡¯re a great man, you really are.¡± ¡°I actually didn¡¯t do much for you, don¡¯t make me out to be so high-sounding. I¡¯ve been in low spiritstely, and I¡¯m starting to find life to be rather meaningless. I¡¯ve initiated a divorce but my wife is dead against it. We¡¯re just married to each other for the sake ofmon benefits. My parents are opposing strongly to the idea of our divorce too. Money is no longer a problem to me. I just want to have my own freedom.¡± ¡°You¡¯re busy enough as it is, yet you still have to manage the modeling agency while running your parents¡¯pany. You¡¯ll definitely be exhausted in the long run.¡± ¡°I feel much better after talking to you and airing my grievances.¡± ¡°Come and visit me often, then. I¡¯ll chat with you while babysitting.¡± ¡°Alright...¡± After Tang Zhijing left, Fat Lass said to Jing Chu, ¡°Mr. Tang had been suffering from severe insomnia for the past few months. I saw him popping sleeping pills on more than one asion when I was working for him. Sis Jing Chu, I think his wife is a psychopath.¡± ¡°Why do you say so?¡± asked Jing Chu, who knew nothing about Tang Zhijing¡¯s wife because... she had never met her before or heard anything about her from Tang Zhijing. ¡°I saw his wife a few times when she visited him at his home. She has short hair and she¡¯s rather pretty. However, she looks just like a sex maniac. I even witnessed with my very own eyes how she was trying to get intimate with Mr. Tang forcefully. Mr. Tang turned her down and chased her out.¡± Jing Chu was dumbfounded. Why does Tang Zhijing¡¯s wife sound so liberal and promiscuous? Although they¡¯re married, haven¡¯t they always stayed out of each other¡¯s private lives? Don¡¯t they date other people? Why did she even do that? She suddenly felt sympathetic for Tang Zhijing, although she was in a worse predicament. Fat Lass continued, ¡°That¡¯s why I have a hunch that she¡¯s a maniacal psychopath.¡± ¡°Stay out of it. He¡¯ll see to it himself. We¡¯re in no ce to meddle with his rtionship.¡± ¡ª¡ª Pei Yi continued to be in low spirits for several consecutive days. In fact, he had never once felt genuinely happy in the past two years. After Jing Chu resigned, he stopped sending Pei Ling to school and handed the responsibility back to the nanny. However, he had stopped letting Tian Tian look after the child and, instead, instructed the nanny to bring him to Mount Qingping every day. Tian Tian would visit Mount Qingping whenever she could, under the pretext of missing her son. Pei Yi turned a blind eye to her actions and allowed her toe by in the day. However, he would never allow her to stay the night. Despite feeling disgruntled and unhappy, she had no choice but to swallow her pride. She could not help but feel frustrated because of his nonchnt attitude toward her. Although they had agreed to only be married in name at first, she felt that they were still married, after all, and that he ought to show her some care and concern. She was still a woman at the end of the day. Hence, during dinner, she deliberately spiked his drink while he was not paying attention, so as to make her n work. Yet, Pei Yi refused to touch the drink, regardless of how much she urged him to. He only begun drinking by himself after she left. Knowing that she had spiked his drink, Tian Tian did not stray far from the mansion at all and returned half an hourter. Qin Guo allowed her to enter, despite not knowing what she was there for. Pei Yi was in the midst of taking a cold shower that did not help him cool down, especially since it was summertime where temperatures were at their warmest. Upon hearing the noises outside, he locked the door of the bathroom and asked, ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± There was no response. Thus, he called Qin Guo while trying to bear with the contractions in his abdomen. He asked in a hoarse voice, ¡°Who¡¯s here?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Madam.¡± ¡°Chase her out of the house.¡± ¡°Yes...¡± Pei Yi ended the call, feeling as if he was losing self-control. He dialed Jing Chu¡¯s number with trembling fingers, only to discover that she had blocked his number, unsurprisingly. Due to the immense effects of the aphrodisiac, Pei Yi spent the rest of the night masturbating. He was exhausted and drained. After checking the surveince camera footage, he proceeded to catch some sleep for a few short hours. The clueless Qin Guo discovered that he was looking pale and ghastly when she entered his room to deliver breakfast. ¡°Ancestor, are you alright?¡± ¡°If you dare to let Tian Tian in without my permission again, you shall punish yourself with fifty strokes of the cane.¡± Qin Guo was instantly filled with joy. She thought to herself, So what if Tian Tian got to marry him? She still failed to win his heart. She immediately answered, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare to do it again.¡± He expressed assent and had his breakfast before leaving the house. He did not have much to do today and hence decided to drive to his mother¡¯s home. Mrs. Pei was having her breakfast, which was only a small portion of food. Upon the sight of him, the sickly Mrs. Pei asked, ¡°Pei Yi, why are you here so early?¡± ¡°I¡¯m here to visit you. Let me feed you.¡± He then grabbed the bowl from the servant¡¯s hand and began feeding Mrs. Pei some porridge. Noticing that he seemed to be unwell, Mrs. Pei asked, ¡°Why do you look so awful? Are you ill?¡± ¡°Tian Tian came to my ce yesterday and drugged me with an extremely potent aphrodisiac. I chased her away...¡± A sullen expression formed on Mrs. Pei¡¯s face and she said, ¡°That sillyss. Those drugs are particrly detrimental to one¡¯s health. How dare she spike your drink with them... but, I guess she¡¯s just at her wits¡¯ end because you¡¯re always so cold toward her. She had toe up with a trick or two to get your attention. Don¡¯t me her for it.¡± Seeing how biased his mother was toward Tian Tian, Pei Yi decided not to say the words that he initially wanted to. ¡°Is there something you wanted to say?¡± He fed her some porridge and said, ¡°No. Here, have some more.¡± ¡°I heard from Tian Tian that that woman has been released from prison. Is that true?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Chapter 1391 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1391: I Only Want You (89)

¡°Did you look her up again?¡± He answered in denial, ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to upset you.¡± ¡°Do you really fancy her that much?¡± Mrs. Pei asked while staring at him. ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about her,¡± said Pei Yi. ¡°Do you really think I can¡¯t tell?¡± Mrs. Pei sighed and continued, ¡°I¡¯m not blind. I can tell.¡± Pei Yi thought that his mother had already decided to give in. Just as he was about to say something, Mrs. Pei¡¯s words shut him up again. ¡°She¡¯s so much younger than you and she¡¯s really beautiful too. Pei Yi, do you really think she¡¯d be true to you? Besides, she definitely wouldn¡¯t want to see you now, especially since she was imprisoned for two years. You and Tian Tian already have a son together too. Just continue living peacefully with her. I know you don¡¯t fancy Tian Tian much but I know that she¡¯s truly devoted to you.¡± Pei Yi nodded and remained silent, not wanting to agitate his sickly mother. He wanted her to die peacefully with no regrets. ¡ª¡ª ¡°When is Sis Qiao An going to be released from prison?¡± Jing Chu answered, ¡°Soon, I suppose. She had already been in jail for a year when we went in. Her jail term should be over too. It¡¯s been hard on her. We must go and pick her up on the day of her release.¡± ¡°Sure. Sis Qiao An¡¯s husband and mother are such scumbags.¡± ¡°Were you guys... talking about Qiao An?¡± Su Yan asked upon overhearing their conversation. Jing Chu asked in surprise, ¡°Mr. Su, do you know her?¡± Su Yan asked, ¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m thinking about the wrong person, but were you referring to Qiao An, the daughter of the Qiao Corporation?¡± Jing Chu nodded and said, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s her. I¡¯ve heard her mention it before.¡± Su Yan said, ¡°I do know her, then.¡± Jing Chu asked curiously, ¡°Do you merely know of her existence or do you know her personally?¡± ¡°I know her personally.¡± ¡°Ms. Qiao went to jail because she was framed and maligned, just like me and Fat Lass. Mr. Su, are you bothered by the fact that we¡¯re ex-convicts?¡± Jing Chu said truthfully. ¡°I know you¡¯ve been to jail before, but I believe you¡¯re good-natured.¡± Jing Chu decided to exin the situation to him briefly because she felt the need to make a rification. Su Yan was astonished to hear what happened to her. Staring at her with a look of sympathy in his eyes, he said, ¡°I believe everything that you said, just like how I believe that Qiao An was wrongly used. She doesn¡¯t even dare to kill a fish. How could she have had the audacity tomit murder?¡± He then teased Su Nainai, who was in Jing Chu¡¯s embrace, before leaving. ¡°Sis Jing Chu, why does it seem like Mr. Su is very close to Sis Qiao An?¡± ¡°I had that feeling too.¡± In fact, Su Yan used to be in a rtionship with Qiao An, and they were each other¡¯s first love. However, they broke upter and each had their own family. Unfortunately, they did not have blissful marriages. They both ended up in a divorce. Qiao An signed the divorce papers when her father and mother put her behind bars. Su Yan could have saved her at first. However, he did not do so because he wanted her to have a taste of the hopelessness he had felt back then. He waspletely distraught when she broke up with him and aborted their child back then. She would be released from prison soon after a three-year jail term. So what if she¡¯s to be released from prison? He knew that she had nothing to her name because her mother had already transferred all the assets and money under her name away from her ount, leaving her without a single cent. The wealthy man¡¯s daughter, Qiao An, is now a nobody. Can she actually get used to living in poverty? I shall see. ¡ª¡ª Qiao An was released from prison two weekster. The weather was gloomy and pouring. Su Yan drove Jing Chu and Fat Lass to the women¡¯s prison. Jing Chu and Fat Lass waited outside the entrance under an umbre while Su Yan waited in the car with Su Nainai. Two minutester, the door opened. Qiao An exited with her belongings. Jing Chu and Fat Lass rushed forward to hug her. Fat Lass grabbed the belongings from her hands while Jing Chu sheltered her with the umbre. ¡°Why are you guys here?¡± Qiao An asked in surprise. ¡°We¡¯re here to wee you out of prison. We wouldn¡¯t have been able toe if Mr. Su didn¡¯t drive us here,¡± Jing Chu said with a smile. ¡°Mr. Su? Which Mr. Su?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know once we get inside the car. It¡¯s pouring heavily, let¡¯s go inside.¡± Qiao An did not think much of it and instead followed Jing Chu into the car. Fat Lass helped ce her suitcase inside the trunk of the car. Jing Chu carried Su Nainai in her arms, after which Qiao An asked, ¡°Who does this child belong to?¡± ¡°Mr. Su.¡± Qiao An turned to look at the man in the driver¡¯s seat. Upon the sight of his features, Qiao An turned pale immediately. ¡°Why are you here?¡± she asked in shock. Su Yan stared at her and said, ¡°Long time no see, Qiao An.¡± ¡°Long time no see. You¡¯re blessed to have such a pretty daughter.¡± He kept quiet and drove away. During the journey home, Qiao An learned that Jing Chu and Fat Lass were working for Su Yan. Su Yan was one of the three people whom she dreaded seeing the most, apart from her mother and ex-husband. Upon seeing Su Yan, she felt as if her wounds had been reopened again. Despite the fact that several years had already passed, she would still feel miserable whenever she got reminded of him. There was a drastic difference in their appearances. He was a year older than her, and yet he appeared much younger in his immacte suit. He was handsome and charming. On the other hand, she seemed to be perpetually drained ever since her downfall. She was distressed, out of sorts, and had lost all hope in life. She had already cried countless times during her first year of imprisonment. She appeared worn out and haggard, a far cry from him. The car was being driven toward the Su family mansion. Halfway through the journey, Qiao An said, ¡°Please pull over. I want to alight from the car.¡± Knowing that she had nowhere to go, Su Yan said, ¡°Come to my ce first.¡± ¡°It¡¯s... it¡¯s alright,¡± she said in refusal. ¡°Your mother had already taken all your money and property. Where can you go now? Have your rtives ever visited you in prison? Stop putting on a strong front.¡± Jing Chu held Qiao An¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Sis Qiao An, Mr. Su is a nice man. Just settle down in his ce before making further ns.¡± Qiao An knew clearly what kind of a person Su Yan was. However, she really had nowhere to go. Su Yan kept his eyes fixed on the road ahead and focused on driving. They arrived at the garage of the Su family mansion. Jing Chu alighted from the car with Su Nainai in her arms, followed by Fat Lass. However, both Su Yan and Qiao An remained still. ¡°Do you find it amusing that my life has been reduced to such a pathetic state?¡± Su Yan looked at her and said, ¡°It¡¯s very amusing, indeed. I thought that you¡¯d end up with a brilliant man after breaking up with me. Turns out, I thought wrong.¡± ¡°You¡¯re divorced too. How are you any better than me?¡± ¡°Seems like you¡¯ve been paying attention to the news about me even while you¡¯re in prison.¡± Chapter 1392 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1392: I Only Want You (90)

¡°I didn¡¯t, I just saw the news on a piece of newspaper that I used for relieving nature¡¯s call.¡± Qiao An leaned back against the seat and continued, ¡°Su Yan, I¡¯m not as blessed as you are and, perhaps, I¡¯m destined to live the rest of my life all by myself. I¡¯ll leave your houseter and go search for a job. Now that my reputation has already been tarnished, I wouldn¡¯t dare to find a job in an established corporation. I think I¡¯d better work at the nightclub. My dignity is not worth a single cent anyway. I want to lead a carefree life from now on.¡± She then pulled the door open and alighted. As soon as she did, Su Yan alighted and walked toward her. He then pushed her into the backseat and closed the door. He grabbed her wrist and said in a hoarse voice, ¡°Since your pride and dignity no longer mean anything to you, why don¡¯t you stay by my side? I¡¯ll pay you.¡± Greatly startled, Qiao An scoffed and quipped, ¡°Why? Are you actually interested in a withered flower like me? Or are you just trying to humiliate me because you¡¯re bearing a grudge against me for breaking up with you? Su Yan, I won¡¯t give you the chance to humiliate me.¡± She tried to open the other door, only to have him pin her down onto the seat. Without hesitation, he looked down and kissed her on her lips. Qiao An was bbergasted. She stared at him in shock, after which he grabbed her wrists and raised them above her head before kissing her passionately. She did not resist or push him away. All of a sudden, the misery in her heart seemed to have vanished. They used to be so in love with each other. They used to be so strong-headed and obstinate. However, change was inevitable, and fate had a part to y in the way things turned out for the two of them. He began to slow down when he realized that she had stopped moving. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you resisting me?¡± Qiao An smiled and said, ¡°I haven¡¯t gotten intimate with a man in a long time. If I get to do it for free tonight, what¡¯s not to like?¡± A sullen expression formed on his face, and he moved away immediately. Just as he tried to alight, she grabbed him by his arm to stop him. ¡°Su Yan.¡± He paused and looked at her, waiting to hear the rest of her sentence. ¡°You¡¯re the person whom I dreaded seeing the most, because... whenever I see you, I¡¯ll be reminded of the happy memories that we share, as well as those miserable ones. I know it¡¯s toote to say these now. Su Yan, don¡¯t bear a grudge against me for breaking up with you. What you did to me back thenpelled me to break up with you. That¡¯s how you always are. You only remember the oue and never the process.¡± She then adjusted her clothes before alighting. Su Yan alighted from the car and chased after her. He then pulled her and hollered, ¡°You aborted our child without even informing me and yet you still have the cheek to me me!?! You knew clearly how ted I was when I found out that you were pregnant, yet you aborted it right after!¡± Staring at him, Qiao An said, ¡°Who... told you that I aborted the child... without telling you?¡± ¡°Did you not do that? I¡¯ve already asked the staff at the hospital where you got the abortion done!¡± he barked, gritting his teeth in anger. Qiao An closed her eyes and opened them again. ¡°You were clearly the one who sent me a text message to tell me to get rid of the child. You were the one who said that you weren¡¯t ready to be a father and that you wanted to focus on your career. You said you couldn¡¯t bring yourself to say those words to me face to face!¡± Su Yan kept his eyes fixed on her with his hands quivering uncontrobly. He realized that she did not seem to be lying. He suddenly recalled everything that happened years ago. He was certain that he did not tell her to get rid of the child personally and that they were both ted about her pregnancy. Something must have gone wrong in between. That must have been the case. ¡°Which day did I send you that text?¡± She revealed the date, which she had remembered clearly. Noticing that he seemed to be unable to recall what happened, she reminded, ¡°It was the day that I gave you a knitted sweater when you left. I even told you to give the sweater to your mother.¡± Su Yan began to recall vaguely. ¡°Was it a red sweater?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I had never sent you that message before. It could very likely be my family members who pretended to be me. When I went home that day, lots of my family members were around, including my mother, sister, and aunt.¡± Qiao An had never felt so miserable and anguished before. She stared at Su Yan, filled with agony. Su Yan pulled her inside his bedroom and locked the door from the inside before calling his mother. It was more likely than not impossible to find the surveince camera footages since it happened so many years ago. He could only question her. He knew that his mother was rather fond of Qiao An and wouldn¡¯t resort to such a cruel act. Hence, he decided to call her straight away. However, he did not question her about it directly and, instead, asked her if she could remember who the person who removed his mobile phone from the charger was. Mrs. Su began trying to recall who that person was. Mrs. Su then answered, ¡°I think your sister was the one who took it. She and your brother were fiddling with it.¡± Su Yan hung up and said to Qiao An, ¡°Wait for me here. I¡¯ll make a trip home now. I must get to the bottom of the truth.¡± Qiao An nodded. It was her first time visiting his home and his bedroom. There was an empty photo frame above his bed. Clearly, he had removed their wedding photo. The decor of the room suited his style. She paced around in his room and observed her surroundings. A whileter, she sat on the couch and waited for his return. She dozed off while waiting. She barely caught any sleepst night because she was too excited about finally regaining her freedom. Su Yan returned to see that she was huddled up on the couch and sound asleep. He stepped forward and picked her up in a bid to carry her onto the bed. As soon as he walked toward the bed, she woke up. Just as she was about to struggle and break free from his embrace, Su Yan lowered her onto the bed and pressed her down to stop her from moving around. Hey down beside her and said, ¡°Don¡¯t move, I have something to say to you.¡± Qiao An remained still and asked, ¡°What do you have to say?¡± ¡°Qiao An, I¡¯m sorry,¡± Su Yan apologized, staring at her calmly. Qiao An held his gaze quietly. ¡°My sister was the one who had sent you that text message. She was jealous of you and didn¡¯t want us to be together because my mother was very fond of you. She felt disgruntled because my motherpared her to you all the time and chided her for being inferior. However, my sister truly regrets her actions. She wanted to own up and apologize to me several times before but never had the courage to do so. She came clean when I questioned her just now. My mother was infuriated and even gave her a tight p.¡± Qiao An began to tear up all of a sudden. She closed her eyes, and her eyshes began to tremble continuously. ¡°What¡¯s done cannot be undone. We can¡¯t turn back time anyway.¡± Chapter 1393 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1393: I Only Want You (91)

He held her hand and said, ¡°Let¡¯s start afresh.¡± She opened her eyes and asked, ¡°Do you really think it¡¯s possible?¡± ¡°Why not? We¡¯re both single now. Why can¡¯t we rekindle our love for each other? Besides, don¡¯t you want to get your money and everything that belonged to you back in your hands?¡± Noticing that her eyes had lit up, he added, ¡°I¡¯ll help you on the condition that you be my woman.¡± ¡°You still want me?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make you my woman if you¡¯re willing.¡± Qiao An turned over to have her back facing him. ¡°I¡¯m no longer worthy or good enough for you,¡± she said with tears in her eyes. Su Yan hugged her from behind and said, ¡°You¡¯re good enough for me. Qiao An, I still love you. You were the one who broke up with me first.¡± She burst into tears. She initially thought that she was no longer capable of crying since she had already cried enough in prison. Is Heaven opening another door for me after closing one? All she knew was that she definitely wasn¡¯t capable of taking back everything that belonged to her without any help, especially since she had nothing to her name. Qiao An turned around to hug him. She buried her face in his chest and inhaled his unique scent, feeling safe and sound. They reconciled again six years after breaking up. Was it destiny? ¡ª¡ª Jing Chu and Fat Lass were dumbfounded after hearing what Qiao An told them about her rtionship with Su Yan. Jing Chu said merrily, ¡°Sis Qiao An, it¡¯s wonderful that you¡¯ve reconciled with Mr. Su. Fat Lass and I are really happy for you.¡± Staring at Su Nainai, who was in Jing Chu¡¯s arms, Qiao An asked, ¡°What¡¯s her name?¡± ¡°Su Nainai. Her nickname is Sugarbean.¡± Reminded of her aborted child, Qiao An looked at her with an affectionate tenderness in her gaze. She yed with Su Nainai for a while in a bid to get closer to her. Su Nainai was initially reluctant to let the stranger, Qiao An, carry her. However, she let her guard down after spending half a day with Qiao An. Qiao An did not feel repulsed by Su Nainai at all and, instead, found her to be rather adorable. She even began to take a liking to her. Jing Chu could also tell that Qiao An was fond of the child. After spending a few days with Su Nainai, Qiao An began trying to hug her to sleep. Su Nainai was adamant about it at first and insisted that Jing Chu hug her to sleep instead. However, Qiao An finally seeded after several attempts. She did not sleep next to Su Yan and instead stayed in a separate room. She wanted to get closer to Su Nainai and, at the same time, allow the exhausted Jing Chu to get some proper rest. Hence, Jing Chu managed to rx and finally sleep in peace, without having to worry about waking up in the middle of the night to make some milk for Su Nainai. However, her peace was short-lived. She was jolted awake by her ringing mobile phone. She received numerous calls from several different unknown numbers, all of which she blocked one by one. Atst, she had no choice but to switch off her mobile phone. Shortly after, Fat Lass began knocking on the door. She said, ¡°Mr. Pei is outside. He said he¡¯s going toe in if you refuse to go out.¡± Jing Chu hurriedly put on her clothes and rushed downstairs to see what Pei Yi was up to. His car was parked by the entrance. Jing Chu exited and walked toward the car slowly. To her surprise, he was sitting in the backseat instead of the driver¡¯s seat. As she was approaching, the door opened and he pulled her into the car forcefully. Jing Chu fell onto hisp and struggled to get out with all her might. However, he closed the door and locked it. ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± Hugging her tightly, Pei Yi said, ¡°Nothing, I just wanted to tell you something.¡± Feeling extremely ufortable, she said, ¡°Just get straight to the point and let go of me.¡± However, Pei Yi did not let go. Instead, he continued to hug her from behind while holding onto his mobile phone. Jing Chu was exasperated. She wouldn¡¯t have decided to meet him if it weren¡¯t because she was afraid of bringing Su Yan trouble. She wanted to know what he was up to. To her surprise, he opened the photo album on his mobile phone and showed her some photos of Pei Ling. ¡°Take a look.¡± Jing Chu asked in puzzlement, ¡°At what?¡± ¡°My son¡¯s face.¡± ¡°Pei Ling is very handsome. You deserve some credit.¡± His mood was instantly lifted after hearing her words, and the austere expression on his face turned into a smile. ¡°That goes without saying. Take a closer look.¡± Jing Chu could not tell anything unusual about his face. ¡°Mr. Pei, I don¡¯t know what reasons you have for waking me up in the middle of the night to look at photos of your son, but I think it¡¯s really senseless of you to do that.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think that he resembles his mother too?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t tell which part of him resembles your wife.¡± ¡°Yeah, he doesn¡¯t resemble her.¡± Jing Chu turned around and stared at him. She could still see his features despite the faint light from the streetmps. ¡°So?¡± she asked. ¡°So, I want you to observe this photo carefully. Try and make out who else he resembles.¡± Jing Chu scrutinized the photo carefully, only to realize that his brows, eyes, and nose resembled Pei Yi¡¯s. However, his mouth is a little different... but it doesn¡¯t look like Tian Tian¡¯s either. Her heart began to race and she felt a little terrified. Why does he seem to resemble me the more I look at it? But the child isn¡¯t mine. I saw Tian Tian¡¯s baby bump with my very own eyes. ¡°Pardon my ignorance, but I really can¡¯t tell anything.¡± ¡°You¡¯re really silly. Don¡¯t you realize that Pei Ling¡¯s mouth is identical to yours?¡± Jing Chu¡¯s eyes widened in shock and she stared at him in bewilderment. ¡°What... what do you mean?¡± ¡°What do I mean? Do you remember the two physical examinations that you had undergone at the hospital?¡± Of course she did. She underwent two visits within two months and was even administered with anesthesia. However, she did not ask him about the details of the checkup back then. ¡°I brought you to the hospital back then just to collect your ova for IVF treatments. However, the doctor only seeded the second time and they managed to carry out artificial insemination with your ovum and my sperm. The fertilized embryo was then nted in Tian Tian¡¯s womb. Do you get it now? Pei Ling is our son. He doesn¡¯t belong to Tian Tian.¡± Jing Chu was utterly bbergasted. ¡°You... what are you talking about!?!¡± she questioned in disbelief. She could not believe that something like that would happen in this world. He actually... he... Apart from feeling infuriated, she was also surprised. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me anything!?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m the only one who knows about this. Tian Tian doesn¡¯t have a clue. Neither does my mother. I¡¯m telling you this now because I want you to understand that every part of you is mine. Don¡¯t forget what you said about being enved to me for the rest of your life.¡± Chapter 1394 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1394: I Only Want You (92)

¡°You were the one who didn¡¯t want me in the first ce,¡± Jing Chu said with tears in her eyes. Just how did something like this happen to me? I can¡¯t believe Pei Ling is my son. Jing Chu teared up uncontrobly at the thought of Pei Ling calling her ¡°Mommy¡± when she first met him at the kindergarten. ¡°Did I say that I didn¡¯t want you?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t, but your actions spoke louder than words.¡± He let go of Jing Chu and allowed her to sit up straight beside him. ¡°My mother was diagnosed with lung cancer two years ago and she wanted me to marry Tian Tian. She refused to ept anyone else as her daughter-inw except Tian Tian. However, Tian Tian and I were only married in name and I didn¡¯t want her to have my children either.¡± He hade to the decision to tell her everything tonight, after much consideration. He was afraid that she would develop feelings for the divorced Su Yan. After all, Su Yan was a pretty good catch. Jing Chu ced a hand on her face and began bawling loudly,pletely losing control of her emotions. She screeched, ¡°How could you do this to me? I¡¯ve already made up my mind to sever all ties with you and yet you¡¯re telling me now that your son is my son too? Pei Yi, why did you do this to me? How did I let you down in any way!?! You knew clearly that I wasn¡¯t the one who picked up the money, yet you didn¡¯t defend me or clear the misunderstanding for me. Instead, you made me go to jail, all because she¡¯s your wife, the woman whom your mother was incredibly fond of! You made me stay imprisoned for two years!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make it up to you.¡± Staring at him with tears in her eyes, Jing Chu retorted, ¡°Make it up to me? How are you going to do that? With money? Are you going to throw me into prison again?¡± ¡°My mother is in critical condition now. I can¡¯t tell her about this or risk upsetting her, so I¡¯ll divorce Tian Tian and marry you after my mother passes away. Alright?¡± He would rarely make promises to others, especially women. Jing Chu did not want to marry him at all, although she was very concerned about her child. ¡°I won¡¯t marry you.¡± Pei Yi asked in surprise, ¡°Why? Don¡¯t you want to give our son aplete family?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want him to grow up in an unstable environment where his security is threatened. You¡¯ve killed so many people and made so many enemies. I would be putting myself in danger by marrying you. You¡¯re just like a ticking time bomb. Why would I get close to you if I know that you¡¯re dangerous? Besides, you don¡¯t care about me at all. Once bitten, twice shy. Just let me meet Pei Ling frequently from now on.¡± ¡°...¡± However, it was not the oue that Pei Yi wanted. He decided to reveal the truth to her in hopes that she would return to him. He had never met her face to face throughout the past two years, but he had visited the women¡¯s prison a few times before to take a few nces at her without her knowledge. It seemed that it was necessary to adopt a tougher attitude. ¡°Jing Chu, I¡¯m giving you two options now. One is to return to my side and be with Pei Ling every day, and the other is to sever ties with mepletely. Do whatever you want with your life but you¡¯ll never get to see Pei Ling again. I¡¯m being serious.¡± ¡°...¡± She would definitely pick the second option if he did not drag Pei Ling into this. Yet... ¡°I¡¯ll make a decision after seeing the DNA report.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll get a DNA test done now.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nighttime now!¡± ¡°You can get it done anytime as long as you have money.¡± He then got inside the driver¡¯s seat and took her away. He headed back to Mount Qingping and ced Pei Ling on the backseat of the car. She stared at Pei Ling, who was sitting quietly on the child booster seat, wanting to caress his head but unable to bring herself to do so. Pei Ling was very obedient and did not throw any tantrums at all. Instead, he was focused on ying with the toy in his hand and did not make a single sound. Pei Yi brought the two of them to the DNA test center. The test center had already closed for the day. However, two men appeared at the entrance to wee them shortly after Pei Yi made a call. Pei Yi handed Jing Chu¡¯s and Pei Ling¡¯s hair samples to the men and instructed them to get the test carried out. He had already gotten a DNA test carried out using Pei Ling¡¯s and Tian Tian¡¯s samples a few months after he was born. Hence, he already knew what the results would be. Meanwhile, Jing Chu was extremely jittery and nervous to the point that her hands began to tremble. She stared at Pei Ling, filled with anger. ¡°Why did you stop going to the mansion during those two weeks? Did you get tired of me?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t visit you because my mother asked about you. If I had gotten sick of you, what do you think I¡¯m doing now?¡± Jing Chu said, ¡°Your mother said that she would kill me if I ever dare to show up in front of you again. She wanted me to remember that I¡¯ll never be worthy of an extraordinary man like you. I¡¯m just a small fry and I was indeed terrified. You¡¯re so afraid of your mother. I¡¯m really surprised.¡± Pei Yi exined, ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of my mother, I just want her to die without any regrets. That¡¯s why I had been fulfilling her wishes and refraining from upsetting her. I had been living with my mother ever since I was a child and she had done a lot for me. If my mother was healthy and well, I wouldn¡¯t have let you be imprisoned or married Tian Tian. I don¡¯t think Pei Ling would exist either. Believe it or not, I won¡¯t hurt you again from now on.¡± Jing Chu cocked her head toward the window, refusing to answer him. She was initially exhausted after a long day of babysitting. However, she was extremely awake now,pletely rid of sleepiness. Thus, she waited quietly for the results. Two hourster, the results were finally out. Pei Ling had dozed off while waiting. The moment she saw the test report, Jing Chu knew that she would never be able to sever ties with Pei Yi for the rest of her life. Now that she knew of her child¡¯s existence, she could not just sit back and ignore that fact. Although she did not give birth to him physically, he was still her flesh and blood, after all. Hence, she chose the first option that he gave her, just so she could see Pei Ling every day. He drove her back to the Su family mansion. ¡°I¡¯m giving you another night to consider. Think about it before telling me your answer.¡± She said softly, ¡°I don¡¯t need to consider anymore. I want to see Pei Ling every day. I was nning to work hard and lead a fulfilling life on my own, but I guess that¡¯s not going to happen. I have nothing to my name anyway. All I have is this life of mine.¡± He alighted from the car and opened the door of the backseat to stare at her. ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Jing Chu questioned. ¡°You.¡± ¡°What¡¯s there to look at!?!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, but you¡¯re really good-looking.¡± Although Jing Chu knew that he could be a sweet-talker at times, she felt that he was merely sugarcoating his words. ¡°Move away, I¡¯m alighting now.¡± He did as he was told and said, ¡°I¡¯ll send someone to pick you up tomorrow.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Unblock all of my numbers tonight.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± She returned to the Su family mansion, overwhelmed with a mix of emotions. Chapter 1395 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1395: I Only Want You (93)

She felt as if it was all just a dream. She decided to tell Fat Lass about it too. Fat Lass¡¯s jaw dropped in shock. ¡°Sister Jing Chu, is that real?¡± ¡°Yes, absolutely. That¡¯s why I¡¯m leaving tomorrow. I can¡¯t look after Nainai anymore.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave with you, then. I was bought by Mr. Pei anyway. Now that you¡¯re leaving, I must leave with you too,¡± said Fat Lass. ¡°You can leave after Mr. Su finds a new cook. I¡¯ll definitely take you with me wherever I go. Sis Qiao An is probably already asleep. I¡¯ll tell her about this tomorrow.¡± ¡°Sis Jing Chu, you mustn¡¯t tell Sis Qiao An who Mr. Pei is.¡± ¡°Of course. I wouldn¡¯t tell her. Rest well, I¡¯m going back to my room.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡ª¡ª Qiao An took a shower after tucking Su Nainai in bed. As soon as she got inside the bathtub, Su Yan opened the door, giving her a great shock. Standing by the door in his pajamas, Su Yan smiled at her and said, ¡°Look how frightened you are. Did you think I was a burr?¡± ¡°I clearly remember locking the door. How did you enter?¡± He showed her the key in his hand. Qiao An asked, ¡°Do you have something to say to me?¡± ¡°Not really, but I do have to inform you about something.¡± ¡°...¡± Qiao An exited the shower to see that he was lying in bed and ying with his mobile phone. After taking a seat on the couch, she remarked, ¡°Your daughter is really mischievous. She must have taken after you.¡± ¡°How am I mischievous at all?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you remember the pranks you pulled when we went camping together? You were already twenty then...¡± ¡°You actually remember that so clearly.¡± He put his mobile phone down, got out of bed, and sat down beside her. Gazing at her, he continued, ¡°If only we cleared this misunderstanding earlier. We wouldn¡¯t have had so many conflicts. I won¡¯t repeat these mistakes again. Qiao An, let¡¯s get married. Let¡¯s live together from now on. We¡¯ll always have each other.¡± Marry him? I just got divorced before I went to prison. Am I going to get married again now that I just got released? ¡°Will your family agree to it?¡± ¡°They will. I¡¯ve gotten divorced anyway. I had a horrible time after breaking up with you. I felt like I was better off dead. I¡¯ve never forgotten you, even after marrying Yao Lan. I loved you and hated you at the same time. I know we¡¯ve missed each other for years. I no longer resent you, but I know I¡¯ve let you down. I¡¯m sorry to have made you go through all of that suffering. I don¡¯t want to let you go again, Qiao An, I¡¯m being serious.¡± She agreed with a nod, ¡°Let¡¯s get married, then. I have everything anyway. I¡¯m not at a loss.¡± Smiling, Su Yan said, ¡°Yes.¡± He inched closer toward her and pressed his head against hers before kissing her, causing her to feel extremely nervous and flustered. She had no idea where to ce her hands. She felt exactly the same as she did during their first sexual encounter. ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous.¡± He began removing her towel slowly... Qiao An slid down slowly together with him while he pinned himself onto her. He began moving his lips downward. After twenty minutes of forey, Qiao An began panting heavily and begging for his mercy. Qiao An knew long ago that he was great in bed. They were each other¡¯s first love and had given each other their first kiss and virginity. Ever since the first time that they got intimate, they¡¯d begun doing the deed in a plethora of ces. He had also transformed from an innocent teenager to an expert in bed. It was the same for her. Neither of them could get over each other after the breakup. They missed each other terribly and wished they could see each other again. However, they soon got a grip on their emotions. She got married, followed by him. He was the first to have a child. It had felt as if he was getting revenge against her for getting married before him. In reality, they had never once let go of each other. When Su Yan was thrusting himself into her, she asked, ¡°Do I feel the same as I did in the past?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°I feel different too.¡± ¡°Why have you gotten tighter?¡± ¡°...¡± Su Yan ced her legs on his shoulders and continued thrusting himself into her forcefully. Staring at Qiao An, who had turned red and hot, he smiled and said, ¡°Look at you. You clearly didn¡¯t believe me. I¡¯m being serious, you really got tighter.¡± Qiao An praised him back, ¡°You¡¯ve gotten better in bed. We¡¯ve both been married once. Su Yan, I can¡¯t take any more pain or suffering.¡± He kissed her and said, ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t make you suffer again. Qiao An, it¡¯s great that you can return to my side. I¡¯m very d.¡± ¡°I never thought that this day woulde either.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª¡ª On the morning of the next day, Jing Chu informed Qiao An about her departure. The news came across as a bolt out of the blue to Qiao An. However, she could understand Jing Chu¡¯s reasons and allowed her to leave after collecting her wages. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of her from now on. Su Yan and I are getting married today anyway. From now on, I¡¯ll be her mother.¡± ¡°Sis Qiao An, congrattions.¡± Qiao An smiled and said, ¡°Come and look for me whenever you need help. I¡¯ll lend you a hand as long as I can.¡± Jing Chu nodded and said, ¡°Thank you, Sis Qiao An. I¡¯m leaving now.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± There was already a car waiting for her when Jing Chu walked toward the entrance. She got inside the car and asked the man who was driving, ¡°Where are we headed to?¡± ¡°Mount Qingping.¡± Pei Yi was not in Mount Qingping at the moment and had instead gone out to attend to some matters together with Qin Guo. When she arrived, Pei Ling had also gone to school. Hence, shey down on his bed to get some rest and catch up on sleep. She slept all the way until Pei Yi arrived home. He had missed her dearly and thus rushed home as soon as he wrapped up. She opened her eyes to see that he was lying next to her and staring at her, his head in his hand. As soon as Jing Chu tried to get up, he pressed his fingers on her hand and said, ¡°Lie down, I have something to say to you.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°For the time being, just stay here...¡± Before he could even finish, she interjected, ¡°Do you want me to be locked up here like a bird? Just like in the past?¡± ¡°Once my mother passes away...¡± She interrupted again, ¡°Pei Yi, I want to live uprightly like a normal human. I¡¯ve thought about it for the whole ofst night. I¡¯m nning to visit your mother today.¡± ¡°Her life is in danger now. You¡¯ll agitate her further if you visit her.¡± Chapter 1396 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1396: I Only Want You (94)

¡°I won¡¯t. Pei Yi, I have a way to stop your mother from being agitated. You may be fulfilling her wishes and allowing her to die without regrets, but don¡¯t you think you¡¯re being too unfair to me and our son? Your mother might never find out who Pei Ling really belongs to, even when she¡¯s dead. Is it really appropriate for you to keep up with this huge lie? Pei Yi, I hope you¡¯ll give me this chance. Maybe I¡¯ll be able to persuade your mother.¡± ¡°What solution could you possibly have?¡± Staring at him solemnly, Jing Chu said, ¡°Can¡¯t you just give me a chance? I¡¯ll give it a try.¡± After much consideration, Pei Yi decided to give her a chance. He nodded and said, ¡°On the condition that you don¡¯t provoke her...¡± Jing Chu understood his qualms. When she tried to sit up straight again, he pushed her down and said, ¡°I haven¡¯t even started and you already want to get up?¡± ¡°Start what...¡± He said with raised brows, ¡°You¡¯ll find out soon enough.¡± While he was on top of her, Jing Chu pushed him away and said solemnly, ¡°Don¡¯t touch me until you get a divorce.¡± Pei Yi conceded. He instructed Qin Guo to prepare a few dresses, a few pairs of shoes, and some cosmetic products. However, Qin Guo had yet to find out about Jing Chu¡¯s presence and was thus astounded by his request. She finally understood the reason behind his request when she saw Jing Chu exiting in the set of clothes and shoes that she had bought. She stood rooted to the ground in shock and stared at Jing Chu, at aplete loss for words. Thest time she saw Jing Chu, Jing Chu was merely a in Jane who dressed simply, though her in attire did not dampen her beauty. However, she looked stunningly gorgeous and breathtaking now that she had put effort into dolling herself up. Qin Guo knew that Pei Yi was one who cared about a woman¡¯s appearance more than anything else. He probably didn¡¯t kill An Xiaoning because of how pretty she was. Likewise, he couldn¡¯t get over this woman probably also because of her ravishing beauty, Qin Guo thought to herself. However, she dared not speak to Jing Chu because thetter exited the room together with Pei Yi. Before taking Jing Chu to meet his mother, Pei Yi gave the caretaker a call to confirm that Tian Tian was not around. If Tian Tian was around, his mother definitely wouldn¡¯t listen to what Jing Chu had to say. Pei Yi pulled up by the entrance and Jing Chu said to him, ¡°Go in ten minutes from now.¡± Worried that she would upset his mother, Pei Yi instructed, ¡°Be mindful of your words. My mother is already seriously ill.¡± Jing Chu nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be careful with what I say.¡± She alighted from the car as soon as she finished speaking. Mrs. Pei slipped into a daze again after having breakfast. She had just woken up when Jing Chu entered. Upon the sight of her arrival, Mrs. Pei¡¯s eyes lit up in shock and the caretaker waited outside the door, just like Pei Yi had instructed. ¡°Hello, Madam.¡± ¡°How... did you... know that I was here? Who let you in? Did you forget what I told you two years ago?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t. I came here today because I had something to say to you, Madam. Could you hear me out?¡± Jing Chu said in a gentle voice. ¡°Speak your mind and leave as soon as you¡¯re done,¡± Mrs. Pei said in annoyance. ¡°Madam, I know it¡¯s been hard on you. It¡¯s not easy having to raise Mr. Pei singlehandedly. However, your filial son has never bared his true feelings to you because he¡¯s worried about making you upset and further aggravating your condition. He has your best interests at heart and spares a thought for you before making any decisions. Yet, you only ever care about yourself. Madam, have you ever put yourself in your son¡¯s shoes?¡± Before Mrs. Pei could answer, Jing Chu continued, ¡°I became an orphan ever since I was a child. My mother abandoned me when I was young and she sold me for money. I never knew what it was like to be loved by my mother. However, I still believe that not all mothers are the same as mine. I still believe that most mothers are noble and would consider the feelings and wellbeing of their children. Their greatest wish is to see their children happy. Most mothers wouldn¡¯t force their wishes onto their children andpel them against their own will. Madam, have you ever thought about what might happen to Mr. Pei and Ms. Tian after you pass away?¡± ¡°Those are none of your business,¡± Mrs. Pei hissed. Jing Chu said, ¡°I¡¯m the biological mother of your grandson, of course it¡¯s my business.¡± ¡°What... what did you say? Repeat yourself,¡± said Mrs. Pei, who thought that she had heard her wrongly. Jing Chu said unrestrainedly, ¡°When you forced Mr. Pei and Ms. Tian to marry each other two years ago, Mr. Pei did not n to stay with her forever and hence opted for IVF treatments. He carried out artificial insemination using my ova and his sperm, after which the fertilized embryo was nted into Ms. Tian¡¯s womb. Of course, Ms. Tian doesn¡¯t know about this either. This is the DNA test results that Mr. Pei and I obtainedst night. I only found out about thisst night too.¡± She handed the test report to Mrs. Pei. Mrs. Pei leaned against the bed and stared at the report with trembling hands. She was filled with agony after reading it. Jing Chu put the report away and took a look at the time on her watch before saying, ¡°Madam, you¡¯ve seen it for yourself. Your son married a woman whom he doesn¡¯t love just so he could please you. He even carried out IVF treatments using my ova behind my back. He did all of these for you, but have you ever spared a thought for him? Madam, how long do you think their marriage can reallyst? You may force them to stay together when you¡¯re alive, but what happens when you¡¯re dead...?¡± Mrs. Pei remained silent, seemingly deep in thought. ¡°My main purpose for telling you these things today is because I want you to know that I¡¯d like to take good care of my son. I was maligned and put behind bars for two years. I didn¡¯t know of his existence before, but now that I do, I feel terribly upset and I can¡¯t just leave him alone. Pei Ling is still so young. He might not know who his biological mother is right now, but he¡¯ll find out sooner orter. Mr. Pei didn¡¯t want to tell you about these things because he wanted you to go in peace. He didn¡¯t want to provoke you or make you upset, yet you denied him of his freedom and his rights to pursue his own happiness. You forced him to marry a woman he doesn¡¯t love at all. That¡¯s the difference between you and Mr. Pei.¡± Mrs. Pei teared up and stared at the young and beautiful woman before her. ¡°How did you meet my son?¡± Jing Chu answered, ¡°Mr. Pei saved my life twice when he was in S Nation for a vacation.¡± Mrs. Pei had no idea since Pei Yi had never told her about it before. She simply thought that Jing Chu was a random mistress he met somewhere. Chapter 1397 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1397: I Only Want You (95)

¡°Are you from S Nation?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You mentioned just now that your mother sold you off when you were a child. Were you raised by the family who bought you, then?¡± ¡°I lived with a woman who wasn¡¯t my foster mother nor my stepmother, and she subjected me to a great ton of torment and suffering. She hit me and abused me all the time. Actually, I resented my mother when I found out that she had abandoned me. If she hadn¡¯t abandoned me, I probably wouldn¡¯t have had to go through all of that torture. When I found outst night that Pei Ling is my son, I made up my mind and decided that I¡¯ll never give up on him no matter what happens.¡± Mrs. Pei nodded and said in a mellower tone, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll talk to my son about this.¡± Jing Chu stood up and said, ¡°Get some rest, Madam. I¡¯ll be taking my leave now.¡± As soon as she turned around, Pei Yi entered. Things were much more amicable than he had imagined. He thought that his mother would hit the roof. However, she clearly didn¡¯t. Jing Chu exited the room while Pei Yi sat down on the spot that she was sitting on earlier. ¡°Mother, what did she say to you?¡± ¡°She told me everything.¡± Mrs. Pei held his hand and continued, ¡°I finally know how much you dislike Tian Tian. You even went to such great lengths to give me a grandson.¡± ¡°Mother, don¡¯t get angry...¡± Shaking her head, Mrs. Pei said, ¡°I¡¯m not angry, I just feel sorry to have neglected your feelings, even though you¡¯re so considerate toward me. I was being too selfish. I know you¡¯ve had an unhappy two years. Tell me honestly, are you nning to divorce Tian Tian after I pass away?¡± Pei Yi remained silent. ¡°Son, just tell me the truth. I¡¯m not upset.¡± ¡°Yeah, I do have such ns.¡± Mrs. Pei patted his hand and said, ¡°Divorce her now.¡± Pei Yi asked in astonishment, ¡°Mother, why did you...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think that I was touched or persuaded by that woman¡¯s words. I¡¯m merely sparing a thought for you and Pei Ling. He¡¯s still so young, he can¡¯t go without his biological mother.¡± Pei Yi smiled and said, ¡°Yes, I understand that you¡¯re doing this for our sake, not hers.¡± Mrs. Pei felt heartened to see him smiling. She instructed, ¡°Don¡¯t tell Tian Tian about this yet. Give her some buffer time and settle the divorce first. I¡¯ll inform her next time.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Jing Chu was initially rather nervous. However, she felt much more relieved after seeing the joyful expression on his face when he got inside the car. He smiled and said, ¡°I really couldn¡¯t tell that you would be this convincing. My mother has allowed me to divorce Tian Tian.¡± ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯re too afraid of hurting your mother¡¯s feelings and you were unwilling to take risks. Besides, I had taken a gamble.¡± ¡°What gamble?¡± ¡°A gamble on your mother¡¯s love for you. I was wondering if she would choose to be selfish or spare a thought for your feelings instead. Clearly, she had given in and chosen to consider your feelings. She still wants you to be happy, after all.¡± Pei Yi kissed her hand and asked, ¡°My beloved Ms. Jing Chu, when will you marry me, then?¡± ¡°After you get a divorce.¡± ¡°I know you still resent me and you¡¯re only marrying me because of our son...¡± Jing Chu said calmly, ¡°It¡¯s not entirely because of our son. I haven¡¯t forgotten about the times you had saved my life. I¡¯m only a small fry and I believe that I would never be able to retaliate against you if you were to insist on your ways.¡± ¡ª¡ª Tian Tian was called to Mrs. Pei¡¯s home half an hourter. She had no idea what it was about, but she had an ominous feeling after hearing her mother-inw¡¯s tone. She felt extremely panicky and flustered the moment she saw Mrs. Pei¡¯s expression. ¡°Mother, what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Tian Tian, take a seat.¡± Tian Tian sat down and stared at her,pletely clueless. ¡°You¡¯ve been married to Pei Yi for more than two years now. I don¡¯t want you guys to burden each other anymore. Why don¡¯t you get a divorce?¡± ¡°What? Mother, why...¡± ¡°I¡¯m just doing this for your own good. Pei Yi has been living miserably for the past two years. I was the one whopelled him against his wishes and forced him to marry you. However, I¡¯ve figured it all out now. Pei Yi was nning to divorce you after I pass away, so you might as well just get a divorce now, Tian Tian.¡± Shaking her head, Tian Tian refused vehemently, ¡°No, I¡¯m not getting a divorce. Over my dead body.¡± ¡°He has never gotten intimate with you before throughout your marriage, hasn¡¯t he?¡± Tian Tian asked in astonishment, ¡°He told you everything?¡± ¡°You two have been as good as separated for more than two years. The judge will grant his request to get a divorce if he raises it to court. Tian Tian, I understand how much you care about him and me, but I don¡¯t want this mistake to drag on. Give up on him and look for a man who truly loves you, alright?¡± Tian Tian teared up and said bitterly, ¡°I don¡¯t know why I¡¯m so insistent either. Pei Yi used to be so fond of me. I was too muddled up to have rejected him. Why can¡¯t he just fall in love with me again?¡± ¡°Love is hard to exin. Go home, I¡¯m going to take a nap,¡± Mrs. Pei said feebly while gesturing for her to leave. Tian Tian left in tears. She got inside the car, overwhelmed with a mix of emotions. The day that she had always been dreading was finally here. She arrived home to see that she had received a parcel from an anonymous sender. She was informed that Pei Yi and Jing Chu had gotten back together. Tian Tian was bbergasted. No wonder he asked for a divorce at such a juncture. Although she had no idea who the sender was, she knew that the news was definitely true because she had received a simr letter two years ago. It was only after reading that letter that she found out that Jing Chu was staying in Pei Yi¡¯s mansion. Tian Tian stormed off in a huff and headed straight to Mount Qingping. However, she was denied entry. She was eager, anxious, furious, and yet helpless. There was no way she could enter at all. Hence, she decided to take her son away. However, she was toote, for Pei Yi had already brought Pei Ling away. At this very moment, Pei Ling was all cuddled up in Jing Chu¡¯s embrace and she simply could not take her eyes off him. Meanwhile, Pei Yi was sitting by his desk and doing some work. However, he could not focus at all and would often get distracted by the two of them. Although Jing Chu knew that he was staring at her, she kept her head hung low and continued ying with her son. Blood ties were a miraculous and amazing entity. Pei Ling had only met Jing Chu a few times, and yet, he was already very attached to her and enjoyed being in her embrace. Having been abandoned by her mother when she was a child, Jing Chu yearned greatly to have a family of her own and swore to never abandon her child, regardless of what happens. Never ever. Over her dead body. ¡ª¡ª Qiao An and Su Yan got their marriage registered, after which Su Yan informed his family about the news. Although they were infuriated by his decision, they did not reprimand him or oppose his decision. That was because Su Yan¡¯s sister, Su Meng, was the one who¡¯d sowed discord between the two of them and caused them to bear a grudge against each other for so many years. She had also indirectly killed their child. Since they were both divorced, there was nothing wrong with them marrying each other. Although they had already registered their marriage, they would still have to hold a wedding. Chapter 1398 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1398: I Only Want You (96)

Su Yan and Qiao An proceeded to have their wedding photos taken and their weddings bands and gowns purchased. The wedding was to be held a few dayster. They had invited all their closest friends and family. Their university schoolmates were included in the guest list too. Everyone was surprised to see that they had reconciled. Needless to say, Su Yan¡¯s ex-wife, Yao Lan, was in utter disbelief. She could not tolerate the idea of her daughter addressing Qiao An as her mother. Not to mention, she used to mock and sneer at Qiao An when they ran into her asionally before she divorced Su Yan. Yet Qiao An is getting married to Su Yan now. How poor of a taste he¡¯s got, she thought. She was extremely disgruntled and upset. Hence, she racked her brains toe up with a way to sneak inside the Su family mansion on the day of their wedding, despite it being a tall order. Everyone was dumbfounded the moment they saw her, for they all knew that she was Su Yan¡¯s ex-wife. Su Yan, too, was astonished to see her showing up in the midst of the toasting ceremony. He shot his bodyguards a nce to hint them to chase her away. However, Qiao An grabbed his arm and hinted him not to act rashly, for there were lots of guests present. Smiling, Qiao An walked toward her and handed her a ss of liquor from the tray. ¡°Wee to our wedding. I hereby toast to you.¡± Unsurprisingly, Yao Lan did not ept the toast and instead knocked the ss of liquor out of Qiao An¡¯s hand. Everyone stared at each other in shock and dismay. They were all waiting to see a show. However, Qiao An kept a straight face and said softly to her, ¡°If you still want to see Nainai in the future, you¡¯d better drink up.¡± She then handed the ss to Yao Lan again before saying, ¡°Here, Ms. Yao, hold it properly. Don¡¯t drop it again.¡± Glowering at her, Yao Lan epted the toast. Qiao An smiled and clinked sses with her, greatly disappointing the guests who were waiting for drama to break out. She then turned around and walked toward Su Yan, after which they resumed the toasting ceremony. Yao Lan did not cause a stir because she missed her daughter dearly. Ever since they got a divorce, Su Yan had been forbidding her from meeting Su Nainai, and Qiao An¡¯s words had struck a sour note within her. She swallowed her pride and suppressed her anger. However, she was not the most upset person that day. The Qiao family and Qiao An¡¯s ex-husband, Xi Changzhi, were the most disgruntled. They could not believe that the ex-convict, Qiao An, managed to get a new lease on life and married her old me, Su Yan. Not to mention, Su Yan was the eldest heir of the wealthy Su family. However, they had no choice but to ept the truth since nothing could be changed. Qiao An transferred her name back to the Qiao family register after she divorced Xi Changzhi. Yet, her family had never once shown their concern toward her at all. To their embarrassment, she did not even inform them of her marriage and, thus, they thought that she went extremely overboard! That was not all. When they realized that she had gotten her marriage registered without informing them, the elderly matriarch of the Qiao family questioned, ¡°Since you¡¯d need a household register to get married, how did she manage to do so when the household register is with us?¡± ¡°Could it be that they only held a banquet without registering their marriage?¡± said Qiao An¡¯s father. ¡°It can¡¯t be. The Su family has a high status, they wouldn¡¯t allow that. Go find out if Qiao An¡¯s name is still under our register. She might have just removed it sneakily!¡± Qiao An¡¯s father immediately sent his bodyguards to look into it, only to discover that it was indeed the case. Qiao An had removed her name from the Qiao family household register and transferred it to the Su family¡¯s a few days ago. The elderly Mrs. Qiao was exasperated and regretted her decision to belittle Qiao An. She initially found Qiao An to be extremely foolish and dense, for thetter had been framed by her mother and husband. Hence, the elderly Mrs. Qiao did not bother saving her or defending her. Yet, to her astonishment, Qiao An actually married Su Yan. Qiao An¡¯s mother had divorced Mr. Qiao after Qiao An was imprisoned, after which she quickly became Xi Changzhi¡¯s stepmother. Xi Changzhi had agreed to let her marry his father, on the condition that she gave up on her own daughter, Qiao An. Hence, she chose to sacrifice her daughter for the sake of her own happiness. News of Su Yan¡¯s second marriage hit the headlines, especially because the Su family was a rtive of the royal family of R Nation. In fact, Xi Changzhi had been keeping close tabs on Qiao An ever since the day that she was released from prison. He was initially waiting to see her down and out before humiliating her relentlessly. He wanted her to beg him shamelessly for his help and live under his thumb forever. Yet, things did not unfold ording to n. He had never expected that Qiao An would marry Su Yan. Throughout the three years of Qiao An¡¯s imprisonment, Su Yan had never once visited her in prison. Hence, Xi Changzhi was puzzled and clueless as to how they had managed to reconcile. However, Qiao An could not care less about the opinions of everyone else. All that mattered to her was her pride, which she had managed to save and regain on her big day, all thanks to Su Yan. She was standing on the shoulders of giants. Su Yan could not control himself at all when they were consummating their marriage. In fact, he had never been able to control his hormones whenever he was around her, ever since they reconciled. After an exhrating time in bed, Qiao An asked, ¡°Are you really not nning to let Nainai meet Yao Lan?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m not nning to let them meet.¡± Qiao An said, ¡°Just let them meet once a month. After all, Nainai is still her biological daughter. She¡¯d be terribly upset if she never gets to meet her daughter again. Besides, you two were once married. If you separate them from each other, Nainai will resent you when she¡¯s older too. It¡¯s better to let them meet each other every now and then so that Nainai will know that she¡¯s her biological mother.¡± ¡°Why are you speaking up for her?¡± ¡°Because that was what I told her during the toasting ceremony today. I told her that if she wanted to meet her daughter again, then she¡¯d better ept the toast.¡± Su Yan kissed her on her forehead and said, ¡°I¡¯ll listen to you, then.¡± The newlyweds proceeded to have a peaceful night¡¯s sleep. The Qiao family paid them a visit the following morning, iming that the senior Mrs. Qiao wanted to see Qiao An. Hence, Qiao An dolled up and headed to the Qiao family home. She did not wish to fall out with the Qiao family in the first ce since they weren¡¯t the ones who framed her anyway. The first step of her n was to clear her name and restore her reputation, and the Qiao family was the first gateway she had to pass through. She returned to the Qiao family home again after several years. All the servants of the Qiao family greeted her, after which she nodded and walked toward Mrs. Qiao¡¯s mansion. The Qiao family members were all present. What¡¯s going on? Are they weing me? She smiled and entered. ¡°Why did you ask to see me?¡± Mrs. Qiao said, ¡°Qiao An, I know you¡¯ve been through a lot of hardship in the past few years. I was upset when I heard that you had gotten married yesterday. Not only did you remove your name from our household register, you also didn¡¯te home after you were released from prison. You didn¡¯t invite us to your wedding as well. We didn¡¯t get to prepare your dowry for you. After all, you¡¯re still a member of the Qiao family. Qiao An, I know you¡¯re full of resentment, but I wasn¡¯t the one who caused you to be put behind bars. I hope you¡¯ll understand that I definitely wouldn¡¯t want anything to happen to you.¡± Chapter 1399 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1399: I Only Want You (97)

¡°Grandma, you were reading too much into things. I removed my name and kept the news of my wedding from you guys simply because I¡¯m an ex-convict and didn¡¯t want to tarnish your reputation again. In my heart, you¡¯ll always be my grandmother, and Father will always be my father too. I¡¯m well aware that you guys had nothing to do with my imprisonment.¡± Extremely thrilled to hear her words, Mrs. Qiao quickly said, ¡°Stop standing there. Come here and take a seat beside Grandma.¡± Qiao An sat down beside Mrs. Qiao and asked, ¡°Grandma, how has your health been?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been alright. Qiao An, I¡¯ve actually always wanted to visit you in prison, but my legs were aching and I couldn¡¯t do so. You must have suffered a lot when you were in there. You¡¯ve lost so much weight,¡± Mrs. Qiao said while holding her hand. Although Qiao An knew that her grandmother was just putting on an act, it did not matter to her at all. ¡°Once bitten, twice shy. I was framed and put behind bars for three years. I must get my revenge and avenge myself for all the mistreatment that I had received. I can¡¯t suffer for nothing.¡± Having understood the hidden meaning in her words, Mrs. Qiao smiled and said, ¡°Son, take a photo of me and Xiao An, then publish a news article and inform the media of our stand and how we feel about Qiao An¡¯s case.¡± Back when Qiao An was involved in awsuit, the Qiao family did not make anyments and held their silence. It was rather appropriate of them to publish such a statement at this juncture. It was exactly what Qiao An wanted to achieve. Qiao An¡¯s car was stopped when she was on her way back from the Qiao family mansion. The person who stopped her from leaving was none other than Xi Changzhi. Qiao An thought to herself, Who gave him the gall and cheek to be so thick-skinned as to stop my car shamelessly? She alighted from the car and quipped coldly, ¡°What are you trying to do? Daylight robbery? Or are you trying to frame me again?¡± Xi Changzhi walked toward her and sneered, ¡°I hate that you had caught me by surprise, but Qiao An, you¡¯re really something, huh? You¡¯ve got the capability to make Su Yan marry you.¡± ¡°I just got married and you can already tell that I¡¯m capable? Have you got bionic eyes? Xi Changzhi, there¡¯s still a long way ahead of us. I¡¯m still young. All that you had done to me, I¡¯ll pay you back in double. Just you wait and see.¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll be waiting. However, let me warn you beforehand. You¡¯d better not go overboard and end up harming yourself again. If that were to happen, I¡¯ll be in for a good show.¡± Qiao An stared at him, wishing she could give him a few hard ps. However, she suppressed her anger and nced at him in disdain before getting back inside her car. Xi Changzhi watched her car leave, seething with anger. Is there going to be a twist of fate? Xi Changzhi was displeased about the fact that she now had the support of Su Yan. ¡ª¡ª Tang Zhijing was not surprised to hear that Jing Chu had returned to Pei Yi. What surprised him was the fact that Jing Chu had a son. He said to Jing Chu, ¡°Seems like he still cares about you. I had a hunch long ago that you would never escape his clutches unless he got sick and tired of you. I knew you couldn¡¯t stay in the Su family mansion forever.¡± ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s currently settling the divorce proceedings with Tian Tian. We¡¯ll be getting married once he¡¯s divorced. However, I¡¯d need a household register and personal identification card, so I¡¯m trying to get that settled too.¡± Tang Zhijing expressed assent and said, ¡°There¡¯s no hope for me anymore.¡± ¡°Why do you say so?¡± ¡°I have a feeling that this is how I¡¯m going to live for the rest of my life. I was actually really into having multiple rtionships in the past. However, life has be really nd and mundane after I got sick of casual dating.¡± ¡°Try and discover a new interest, then. Tang Zhijing, get a divorce and settle down with a decent woman. Don¡¯t you want toe home to a delicious meal and spend time with your own child every day? Life is too short to be living aimlessly. Go and pursue the life that you want. If your wife is dead against the divorce, take it to court. Don¡¯t bother about the interests and benefits that your marriage will bring you. You can never earn enough money. Tang Zhijing, you¡¯re already wealthy enough. You¡¯ll never be able to earn all the money in this world.¡± After a moment of silence, Tang Zhijing said, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll see to it.¡± Jing Chu could tell that Tang Zhijing was in low spirits, although there was nothing unusual about him apart from that. Jing Chu ended the call and fed her son with some milk. Pei Yi returned shortly after with two documents in his hand. She took a look at the document to see that it was a divorce agreement. Tian Tian had already signed the agreement. ¡°Wasn¡¯t she dead set against the divorce? Why did she sign it?¡± Pei Yi exined, ¡°I told her that I was going to pursue the matter about her framing you and sending you to prison for two years. I gave her two options, one is to let me reverse the verdict, and the other is to sign the divorce agreement. She chose the second option. I told her to keep the 900 thousand dors that she had given you aspensation after knocking you down with her car back then. I told her to take it as apensatory sum for being... a surrogate mother. But of course, I didn¡¯t say it to her face.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t couples supposed to split their matrimonial assets in half during a divorce?¡± ¡°We signed a pre-nuptial agreement that states that our assets are to remain as our individual assets, even after a divorce. I¡¯ll settle the rest of the proceedingster.¡± He winked at her and said, ¡°Wait for me toe home tonight. I want to enjoy a feast for dinner.¡± Jing Chu blushed and expressed assent softly. He left shortly after. When serving Jing Chu her dinner, Qin Guo said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that Madam would find out about you staying here?¡± ¡°They¡¯ve already signed the divorce papers and Master Pei is settling the rest of the proceedings now. Didn¡¯t he tell you about it?¡± Shaking her head, Qin Guo said in shock, ¡°No. Isn¡¯t Madam still alive? Why did she allow them to get a divorce?¡± Being rather intolerant toward Qin Guo, Jing Chu was naturally reluctant to share any information with her. ¡°I¡¯m not sure either. If you really want to know, you may ask Master Pei.¡± Qin Guo asked, ¡°How about Little Sir? Does Ancestor have his custody now?¡± ¡°Of course, there¡¯s nothing too strange about that,¡± said Jing Chu. It did not cross Qin Guo¡¯s mind that Pei Yi and Tian Tian would get a divorce so soon. She was initially waiting to see an interesting battle between Tian Tian and Jing Chu. Yet, Tian Tian was eliminated without even putting up a fight. She had never expected Jing Chu to be the ultimate winner. Two years ago, she thought that it would be a piece of cake for Tian Tian to eliminate Tian Tian. Yet, in the end... Qin Guo exited and stood by the door, still unable to recover from the shock. She had been serving Pei Yi and running errands for him for years. Although she had always carried a torch for him, she never dared to express her affection for him openly, for fear that he would punish her and kill her. He once stated clearly that he would never allow his female subordinates to harbor any designs on him. Yet, Pei Yi and Jing Chu had reconciled and eliminated Tian Tian. She definitely didn¡¯t stand a chance now. Chapter 1400 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1400: I Only Want You (98)

Life truly works in an amazing way. She looked up at the sky and pondered over some things quietly. I¡¯ve never dared to be brave enough to fight for what I want. I¡¯ve been living rather cowardly, now that I think about it. Upon hearing footsteps approaching, Qin Guo turned to see that Pei Yi had returned. He had a look of tenderness on his face and a smile on his lips, clearly in high spirits. Qin Guo was rather surprised because she had long gotten used to the perpetually sullen look on his face. Pei Yi walked toward her and stopped in his tracks. ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Qin Guo hurriedly looked down and answered, ¡°Ancestor, I heard from Ms. Jing Chu that you had gotten a divorce with your wife. Ancestor, did Madam agree to it?¡± ¡°This is not something that you should be concerned about.¡± Qin Guo watched him enter the house, clenching her fists tightly. ¡°Have you eaten?¡± ¡°Of course not. Like I mentioned just now, I want to enjoy a feast.¡± He then sat down beside Jing Chu. Just as he was about to kiss Jing Chu, who was carrying Pei Ling in her arms, Pei Ling extended his tiny hand out to p and pinch Pei Yi¡¯s face. Jing Chuughed and said, ¡°Seems like your son doesn¡¯t want you to enjoy this feast. Settle it yourself.¡± She then carried Pei Ling back to the bedroom. After dinner, Pei Yi returned to the bedroom to see that Pei Ling was still wide awake. Thus, he decided to go take a shower. Pei Ling was finally asleep by the time Pei Yi exited. Jing Chu was asleep too. He picked Jing Chu up in his arms and sat down on the couch. While in a daze, Jing Chu felt herself being undressed by Pei Yi, who moved his hands up and down every inch of her body. She opened her eyes and rubbed them. ¡°I forgot to ask you just now. Has everything been settled?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Jing Chu sat up and straddled him. Staring at him solemnly, she said, ¡°I have a few questions for you, but I¡¯ve never asked you about them in the past. I¡¯d like you to answer me truthfully now.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°When I was in prison, why didn¡¯t you visit me...¡± Before she could even finish, he interrupted, ¡°I did.¡± ¡°But I didn¡¯t see you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because I didn¡¯t let you see me. I discovered that you and Fat Lass got along really well with two other inmates. One of them is Su Yan¡¯s wife, right?¡± Jing Chu answered with a nod, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What other questions do you have for me?¡± ¡°Did you want me back because I¡¯m Pei Ling¡¯s mother or because you missed my body? Or is there another reason?¡± ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, but it should be those two reasons that I had mentioned.¡± Cupping Jing Chu¡¯s face in his hand, he said, ¡°I decided to make you Pei Ling¡¯s mother, precisely because I want you to be the mother of my children, not because I can¡¯t find any other woman. In hindsight, I¡¯m afraid I had probably already fallen in love with you back then.¡± Having sensed that he was telling the truth, Jing Chu asked with tears in her eyes, ¡°Really? You¡¯re not lying to me, are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not lying. There¡¯s no need for me to lie to you. I¡¯m telling the truth.¡± ¡°Okay...¡± ¡°You don¡¯t seem too convinced by my words.¡± Jing Chu shook her head and exined, ¡°No, I do believe you. I thought that we would never meet again after I got sent to prison. Yet, we actually forged closer ties. Pei Yi, I¡¯m telling you seriously now, if you dare to let me and our son down in the future, I¡¯ll leave you for good, regardless of what it takes. You hear me?¡± Knowing that she was dead serious, Pei Yi held her hand and said, ¡°I won¡¯t let you down again.¡± She then looked down and nted a kiss on his lips while he reciprocated. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Have you seen the news? Your daughter has married Su Yan,¡± Xi Changzhi said to his stepmother while keeping his eyes fixed on her. Qiao An¡¯s mother, Li Wanru, answered, ¡°Of course I have. Are you still not satisfied after sending her to jail? I thought that you had already let go of your grudges, but it seems you¡¯re still feeling indignant toward Qiao An. Are you upset that she got to marry a wealthy man like Su Yan, or are you upset that she didn¡¯t end up living in poverty after going to jail like you had hoped for her to?¡± ring daggers at her, Xi Changzhi said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that your daughter will deal with you now that she has the support of the powerful Su family? Don¡¯t forget that you were the one who absconded with her assets, not me.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think that she¡¯ll probably assume that we were in cahoots?¡± ¡°She isn¡¯t that silly. I¡¯m already so wealthy, why would I need her money? Unlike me, you were left with nothing after divorcing her father. Although you colluded with me for the sake of marrying my father, you actually gave up on your daughter for your own selfish reasons. She probably detests and resents you. I wonder what she¡¯ll do to me and you. I came here today to discuss this with you. We must get rid of her before she takes action against us. That¡¯ll ensure that there won¡¯t be any trouble in the future.¡± ¡°What do you n to do?¡± Li Wanru asked with a sullen expression on her face. ¡°That¡¯ll depend on your abilities. We have to work together again this time. We don¡¯t have another option.¡± Xi Changzhi handed her a document and continued, ¡°If you don¡¯t want my father to learn about this, you¡¯d better do as I say.¡± Li Wanru took a look at the information, only to discover that it was a record of her tainted past, including the misdeed she had done by abandoning her daughter in S Nation. ¡°You eloped with another man to S Nation a short while after marrying Qiao An¡¯s father and giving birth to Qiao An. You even gave birth to another daughter with that man and abandoned her for money. I believe things will get pretty interesting if my father were to find out.¡± Li Wanru asked nervously, ¡°How did you find out?¡± ¡°There¡¯ll always be a way to find out so long as there¡¯s evidence.¡± Staring at him, Li Wanru said, ¡°Tell me straight, what ns do you have?¡± ¡°I shall be frank about it, then...¡± Xi Changzhi said with a sinister smile. Dumbfounded after hearing his n, Li Wanru asked, ¡°Are you really nning to do that?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be ruining your own reputation at the same time that you destroy Qiao An. Is it really worth it?¡± ¡°How are you so sure that my reputation would be ruined? The caption of the news will only insinuate that Qiao An still harbors feelings for her ex-husband. Just do as I tell you and stay out of the other matters.¡± Li Wanru remained silent and sat on the couch with a deadpan expression after Xi Changzhi left. She had abandoned both of her daughters. My younger daughter has probably already been burnt as a sacrificial offering, she thought. Chapter 1401 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1401: I Only Want You (99)

Forget it, I¡¯ll stop dwelling on it. She saved the number that Xi Changzhi had given her before calling it. The call went through quickly. ¡°Hello.¡± It was a familiar voice. Li Wanru said, ¡°Hello. Let¡¯s meet.¡± Qiao An hung up without hesitation. Li Wanru tried to call her again. However, Qiao An refused to answer. Needless to say, Qiao An detested her to the core. Instead of giving up, she continued her attempt atpleting the task. Hence, she freshened up and proceeded to look for Qiao An. To her dismay, the servants of the Su family prohibited her from entering when she arrived at the Su family mansion. They did not bother informing Qiao An about her arrival either. Hence, she had no choice but to wait. Qiao An needed some time to rest and could not be bothered to meet her at all. She had been babysitting Su Nainai and wouldugh whenever she noticed her adorable antics. Su Nainai soon got familiar with her and wanted her to hug her to sleep. She would stick to Qiao An in the day too and had even started to call her ¡°Mommy.¡± Although her words were slurred and incoherent, she had finally learned how to address her. Qiao An woke up early in the morning to get herself and Su Nainai ready for a visit to Mrs. Su¡¯s home. After Su Yan left for work, she brought Su Nainai back to the Su family home in her car. Coincidentally, Su Yan¡¯s sister was present too. Su Yan¡¯s sister had never quite dared to show her face to Qiao An ever since thetter got married. They finally met each other again. Upon the sight of Qiao An and Su Nainai, Su Meng dared not raise her head at all. Mrs. Su red at her daughter sternly before weing Qiao An back home. She felt heartened and relieved to see how well Qiao An and Su Nainai got along. After all, most stepmothers would ill-treat their stepdaughters. ¡°Qiao An, Mengmeng already knows her mistakes. She deeply regrets her actions too. Will you forgive her?¡± Qiao An smiled and quipped, ¡°Mother, Mengmeng will always be Su Yan¡¯s biological sister. Now that I¡¯ve married Su Yan, I definitely wouldn¡¯t dare to hold it against her. I really can¡¯t afford to let history repeat itself if I get pregnant and she does that again.¡± Mrs. Su smiled awkwardly and said firmly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she won¡¯t dare to do it again. If she does, I¡¯ll definitely throw her out of the Su family and cut off all ties with her. If she hadn¡¯t done that back then, you and Su Yan would have been living blissfully. You have no idea how upset I was when I heard that you wanted to break up with Su Yan back then, because Su Yan would drown his sorrows and onlye home after midnight every day. He was so haggard and listless. However, it¡¯s wonderful that you two have now reconciled. I actually felt much more relieved after finding out the truth.¡± Qiao An said with a nod, ¡°We¡¯ll live well from now on.¡± ¡°Good to hear. Nourish yourself and give birth to another child.¡± ¡°Okay, I have such ns too,¡± Qiao An said with a nod. Overwhelmed with joy, Mrs. Su handed her some fruit and said excitedly, ¡°Here, have some fruit.¡± ¡°Thank you, Mother,¡± said Qiao An. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡± Mrs. Su had always been fond of Qiao An. Although she had once gotten upset at her for breaking up with Su Yan, she could not help but take pity on her. Thus, she was genuinely happy about Qiao An marrying Su Yan. After Qiao An left with Su Nainai, Su Meng finally broke her silence and said, ¡°Why must Brother get back together with her?¡± Mrs. Su chided, ¡°Your brother will be with whoever he wants. It¡¯s none of your business. You¡¯d better stay in yourne and watch your actions. If you ever dare toe up with any mischief again, I¡¯ll seriously cut off all ties with you. Do you hear me? By then, your brother will ignore you too.¡± Su Mengmeng answered, ¡°Okay, okay, you¡¯ve already repeated yourself so many times before. They¡¯re already married too, how can I sow any more discord? Mother, rest assured, I won¡¯t go against her for Brother¡¯s sake and yours. I¡¯ll get along with her well from now on. Will that do?¡± Mrs. Su expressed assent and said, ¡°That¡¯s more like it. If it weren¡¯t because of what you did, she would have had a blissful marriage with your brother. She even got framed and went to jail for three years. She had been through lots of suffering.¡± ¡°Mother, how did you know that she had been framed?¡± ¡°Your brother told me that Qiao An¡¯s mother and ex-husband colluded to frame her. Her mother is such a scum. She¡¯s really unlucky to have a mother like her. Her mother even married her ex-husband¡¯s father and absconded with Qiao An¡¯s money. Your brother is nning to reverse the verdict of her case. I don¡¯t know if he can do it or not, though.¡± Su Meng asked, ¡°Reverse the verdict? Is that even possible? It happened three years ago. What evidence could there be?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, I doubt it¡¯d be easy either.¡± Su Meng did not probe further because her mobile phone began to ring. She exited and answered the call. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Where are you now?¡± asked a gentle voice. Su Meng giggled coquettishly and said, ¡°At home, of course. Where else could I be? Why? Are you missing me already?¡± ¡°Of course. Hurry ande here. I haven¡¯t seen you in days and I miss you dearly.¡± After taking a look at the time, Su Meng smiled and said, ¡°You cast me aside when you¡¯re busy and you only think of me when you¡¯re free. Where are you now?¡± ¡°At our old haunt. Hurry.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll make my way there now.¡± She left and got inside her car gleefully. She then took out her makeup pouch and began touching up her makeup before leaving for her rendezvous. She parked her car in the car park of a hotel. After putting on a cap, a surgical mask, and a pair of shades, she sprinted into the hotel and toward the usual room. As soon as she opened the door, the two of them began smooching each other passionately, after which Su Meng wrapped her legs tightly around his waist. They closed the door and fell onto the spacious bed. He lifted her skirt up to expose her sexy lingerie. He tugged it down and stared at her tender, porcin skin. He removed his bathrobe and began thrusting himself into her. ¡°Ah...¡± Su Meng moaned in pleasure. Xi Changzhi chuckled and said, ¡°My little slut, I haven¡¯t seen you in a while and you¡¯ve gotten so much more passionate. Do you like it when I do this to you?¡± He then thrust himself deeper into her, causing Su Meng to be overwhelmed with pleasure. She desperately wanted to take all of him. ¡°Of course I do. By the way, there¡¯s something I want to tell you. I heard from my mother that my brother wants to re-investigate Qiao An¡¯s case. Do you know about that?¡± ¡°Whatever, he¡¯s not going to seed. You don¡¯t have to worry about that. There¡¯s something else I need you to help me do.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Qiao An and your brother are colluding with each other to go against me. I didn¡¯t have the chance to prepare myself. Ask Qiao An out tomorrow and leave the rest to me.¡± Su Meng said frantically, ¡°What are you trying to do? My brother will kill me if he finds out. He hit the roof after finding out about that text message and he even gave me a warning. Besides, I had already promised my mother to get along well with Qiao An from now on.¡± Chapter 1402 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1402: I Only Want You (100)

¡°Silly, just don¡¯t let him find out. I can teach you how not to let him discover that you were the one who did it. You just have to listen to me. Mengmeng, don¡¯t you want to marry me?¡± ¡°Of course I do.¡± He gazed at her and said gently, ¡°In that case, don¡¯t be stuck in a dilemma anymore. Let¡¯s get married after this matter is settled, alright?¡± Xi Changzhi held onto her slender waist and began thrusting his hips back and forth vigorously while Su Meng moaned loudly in immense pleasure. She could not help herself at all. Xi Changzhi finally called it quits after a long while. Su Mengy back in his embrace, filled with satisfaction and joy. ¡°Will you really marry me after this matter is settled?¡± Xi Changzhi squinted and said, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Don¡¯t you believe me?¡± Su Meng said profusely in denial, ¡°No, I¡¯m just worried because we¡¯ve been dating for so long but you¡¯ve never mentioned marriage before...¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t have ns to marry you before but I do now. If I didn¡¯t adore you, why would I bother getting intimate with you all the time? Mengmeng, you love me, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Of course. I love you very much. If not, I wouldn¡¯t have been willing to stay in a ndestine rtionship with you.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Su Meng grinned widely at the thought of their future together. ¡ª¡ª Jing Chu allowed the nanny to babysit Pei Ling because she had to go to the Su family home to pick up Fat Lass. As soon as she did, she brought Fat Lass out for shopping and bought her two sets of clothes and shoes. Surprised and grateful, Fat Lass thanked her profusely. Jing Chu felt that it was only right, for she felt guilty for implicating Fat Lass and causing her to be imprisoned for a year. As soon as Fat Lass left, Su Meng called Qiao An. Qiao An was surprised to receive the call from her. She spoke to her in a calm and ordinary tone. ¡°Hello, Mengmeng. What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Sis-inw, I¡¯d like to meet you. I have something to tell you in private. Can we meet up?¡± ¡°Come over to my ce, then. Your brother is not in, he has left for work.¡± ¡°Umm... can youe out instead? I want to meet you at a cafe,¡± Su Meng suggested. Qiao An agreed. Qiao An arrived at the cafe to see that Su Meng had already ordered a cup of coffee for her. Melodious music was ying in the background, and there were no other patrons in the cafe. Qiao An sat down and said, ¡°It would have been better to meet me at my ce. Your brother isn¡¯t home anyway.¡± ¡°It¡¯s better to talk outside. Sis-inw, please allow me to apologize to you for everything that I had done in the past. I couldn¡¯t bring myself to apologize to you in front of Mother yesterday, so I wanted to tell you in private.¡± Qiao An nodded and said, ¡°Okay, it¡¯s all over now. Don¡¯t bring it up again.¡± Although she did resent Su Meng, there was nothing she could do because Su Meng was Su Yan¡¯s sister. She decided to let go of the grudges, so long as Su Meng doesn¡¯t repeat the mistake again. Su Meng took a sip of her coffee. Pointing at the cup of coffee in front of Qiao An, she said, ¡°I ordered this for you, Sis-inw. I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ll like it, but have a taste.¡± Recalling Mrs. Su¡¯s words, Qiao An began to believe that Su Meng was sincere in apologizing. Although Su Meng was extremely nervous, she decided to go all out for the sake of her own happiness. Once Qiao An passed out after taking a few sips of the coffee, one of the waiters immediately came forth to move Qiao An out of the cafe and into her car. Su Meng was filled with uncertainty and anxiety. She had no idea what Xi Changzhi was nning to do. However, her intuition told her that he definitely was up to no good. She wanted to tag along but was stopped by the two men who were disguised as waiters. At this moment, Jing Chu and Fat Lass happened to stumble upon the two men who were abducting Qiao An. Sensing that something was amiss, Jing Chu frantically called Su Yan. She then scurried toward her own car and tailed Qiao An¡¯s car. The man driving Qiao An¡¯s car sped toward a remote district while Jing Chu hurriedly instructed the chauffeur to step on the elerator and chase after the car. She stayed engaged in the phone call with Su Yan throughout the entire journey. Due to the fact that she was not familiar with the roads, she had to get the chauffeur to tell Su Yan their exact location. To Qiao An¡¯s surprise, Su Yan sent his helicopter to stop the car in front. The man driving Qiao An¡¯s car only realized that they were being tailed muchter. However, there was no longer any chance for escape. Qiao An was rescued sessfully while the other two men killed themselves, for they knew clearly that they could not flee in time. When Su Yan first heard the news, he was both anxious and afraid. However, he felt as if a boulder had been lifted off his chest when he saw that Qiao An was safe and sound. Jing Chu and Fat Lass heaved a sigh of relief. Jing Chu tagged along in Su Yan¡¯s car when he drove Qiao An back home. Qiao An regained her consciousness shortly after they arrived at the Su family home. She then exined everything to Su Yan in detail. Su Yan flew into a rage and ordered his subordinates to bring Su Meng to him. Su Yan proceeded to look for the elders of his family to inform them of what happened. Jing Chu and Fat Lass stayed behind to apany Qiao An. Qiao An was grateful for their timely discovery. If it hadn¡¯t been for their help, the consequences would have been dire. Shey down on the bed feebly, feeling disappointed and bbergasted. ¡°I can¡¯t believe she tried to harm me even after I had forgiven her. I really don¡¯t know why she wants to do that.¡± Jing Chu said, ¡°Sis Qiao An, don¡¯t brood over it. Once bitten, twice shy. Just ignore her when you see her next time. A leopard will never change its spots. Question her when Mr. Su brings her hereter. Ask her for her reason.¡± Qiao An nodded. To the astonishment of Qiao An and the Su family, Su Meng had already died by the time they found her. Her corpse was found in the exact same spot that she and Qiao An were sitting at in the cafe. She was lying motionless with foam oozing out of her mouth. She had clearly been poisoned to death. Strangely, rumors of Qiao An murdering Su Yan for revenge surfaced as soon as the police intervened. The Su family did not believe the spections at first. However, they decided toe to a conclusion after receiving the oue of the investigation. News of Qiao Anmitting murder continued to spread like wildfire. The rumors got worse with each passing day. The police deduced that Qiao An was not a suspect. The reason was that Su Meng was the one who called Qiao An first that day, and Mrs. Su had also verified that Qiao An was the one who left first, followed by Su Meng, who exited after answering a call. The police then tried to track down the number who called Su Meng, only to discover that it was no longer in use. However... There were records of that number in the database of the telmunicationpany. ording to the information stated in the database, the identification card number of the owner of the mobile number was just a random number found on the inte. The owner of a telmunication store was the one who registered the mobile number with those details. Chapter 1403 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1403: I Only Want You (101)

The owner of the small telmunication store could barely remember anything since it happened so long ago. Hence, they could only find out more by viewing the surveince camera footages that had been captured back then. At this moment, Li Wanru called Qiao An, who had been refusing to answer her calls. Qiao An made Li Wanru spill everything she knew before allowing her to enter the Su family home. Qiao An was extremely indifferent toward her mother and felt nothing for her except disdain. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you knew some stuff. What do you know?¡± ¡°I know you¡¯re the one who killed Su Yan¡¯s sister.¡± ¡°...¡± Boiling with fury, Qiao An wished she could kill her mother on the spot. She said coldly, ¡°We¡¯ll leave it to the police to find out if I was the one who killed her. You don¡¯t have to try and use me deliberately. You and Xi Changzhi did not feel a tinge of remorse at all for framing me and putting me behind bars. How do you even go to sleep in peace at night? You¡¯re really thick-skinned, aren¡¯t you? Li Wanru, you failed as my father¡¯s wife and you eloped with another man a few years after giving birth to me. You made me suffer the shame and humiliation I received from the Qiao family for having such a disgraceful mother like you. You failed as a mother. You sent me to jail and absconded with my assets for the sake of marrying Xi Changzhi¡¯s father. I bet you¡¯re hoping that your stepson will be filial to you when you¡¯re old and gray. I¡¯m really looking forward to seeing that!¡± Li Wanru tried to suppress her emotions and stayed as calm as she possibly could. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about. You actually used me after being brainwashed by the Qiao family. What a great daughter you are, Qiao An.¡± Instead of arguing with her any further, Qiao An said to her bodyguard, ¡°Come in.¡± ¡°Madam.¡± The bodyguard entered. ¡°Search her and retrieve the recording device on her, be it in her mouth, on her body, or her pocket. Remove her clothespletely and search her.¡± Li Wanru did not expect her to do that at all. When she was held down by the bodyguards who began undressing her, she trembled uncontrobly in exasperation. Atst, they found two recording devices on her. Staring at the recording devices, Qiao An sneered, ¡°Seems like you really came prepared. However, your n wasn¡¯t seamless enough.¡± Atst, Li Wanru was thrown out of the Su family home. To her astonishment and dismay, not only did she fail to aplish her task, she even got humiliated by Qiao An. She was filled with anger. However, she had no choice but to leave in a pathetically disheveled state. ¡ª¡ª Jing Chu was extremely anxious and worried for Qiao An, who had already served three years in prison after being maligned. God knows what might happen if she were to get imprisoned again. Seeing that news of the matter was all over the media, she asked Pei Yi, ¡°Is there a way to stop them from making spections?¡± ¡°If the Su family hasn¡¯t intervened to stop the media reports, why should I do it? You¡¯re not the one being talked about anyway.¡± ¡°Mr. Su has just rified things, but the public is clearly not convinced by him. After all, Sis Qiao An is his wife and they probably just think that he¡¯s defending her.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just wait for the investigation oue. This concerns the Su family¡¯s reputation. I believe the police will definitely do their best to investigate.¡± That¡¯s true. The Su family is no ordinary family and enjoys high status and authority. The truth will definitely be out one day, Jing Chu thought to herself. ¡°I once told Tang Zhijing that I wanted to go to a peaceful ce and live in solitude in the future. If only there¡¯s a utopia in this world.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t be living asfortably as you are now if you were in utopia. The living conditions would be terrible if you go to a ce where there are no other humans. You won¡¯t get to enjoy good food, sleep well, or live well. You¡¯d even have to live primitively and make your own clothes. What¡¯s the good in that?¡± ¡°Tang Zhijing agreed with my idea. Seems like you think differently from me.¡± Pei Yi smiled and teased, ¡°Oh no, you¡¯ll never get to lead that kind of lifestyle since you¡¯re with me now.¡± Jing Chu said, ¡°Actually... this isn¡¯t the life I wanted. It¡¯s too dangerous and risky. If we can¡¯t live in seclusion, we can at least go to a ce where nobody knows us and live a simple life. Pei Yi, I actually wanted to say this to you since a long time ago. Have you ever thought about our future? To put it bluntly, the DK Organization is the world¡¯s greatest enemy. As one of the leaders of the organization, you may hold great power now but what happens in the future? What if our son ends up like you? There are so many justice warriors in this world. Can we really defeat all of them? I don¡¯t want to live such a worrisome life and feel like I¡¯m walking on eggshells every day.¡± Staring at her, Pei Yi said, ¡°But there¡¯s no turning back for me now. Back then, I stained my hands with blood and took away lots of lives to get to where I am today. There are so many people waiting to kill me. There¡¯s really no turning back for me. I can only continue advancing forward. There¡¯s nowhere I can run either. The DK Organization has quarters in every country. There¡¯s no escape.¡± Jing Chu understood the predicament that he was in. Hence, she decided to drop the subject, for she knew that no amount of discussion would lead to an oue. Hence, all she hoped was for the three of them to continue living peacefully without any chaos. Pei Yi had sessfully registered a personal identification card and household register for Jing Chu. It would usually take a few months for personal identification cards to be issued. However, they managed to obtain it in a day through some underhanded means. Pei Yi and Jing Chu got their marriage registered, and Jing Chu officially became Mrs. Pei. There were only a few people who knew about it because Pei Yi restricted the media from reporting about it. Pei Yi decided that it would be better to keep a low profile, mainly because of his identity, as well as to prevent those people who tried to light Jing Chu on fire in S Nation from finding out that she was still alive. Jing Chu even requested to skip the wedding. Jing Chu would visit Pei Yi¡¯s mother every day with Pei Ling and chat with her. She would spend most of her time at Mrs. Pei¡¯s home since she did not have much to do. Mrs. Pei started to change her opinion of Jing Chu. ¡°Have you ever thought of searching for your parents in the future?¡± She answered, ¡°No, they¡¯re not worth my time. I don¡¯t need a mother who¡¯d sacrifice me for the sake of money.¡± Mrs. Pei agreed with a nod, ¡°That¡¯s true. She failed her duty as a mother. Pei Yi seems to have be much happiertely. I guess he really adores you. Be more understanding and caring toward him. Work is really tiring for him.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mother. I¡¯ll treat him well. He¡¯s my husband.¡± ¡°Good to hear. With you around to take care of him, I can put my mind at ease and rest assured after I pass away.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª¡ª The president of R Nation sent orders for the police to carry out investigations and get to the bottom of the truth about Su Meng¡¯s murder as soon as possible. The police were grealy pressured. Almost all of the police units and departments had begun focusing their attention on the case. After four full days of investigation, there was finally an oue. They discovered that Su Meng had been in contact with Xi Changzhi for a long period of time. Chapter 1404 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1404: I Only Want You (102)

Lots ofizens were particrly interested and invested in the progress of the case. Even after the news of Xi Changzhi being interrogated by the police went out, Qiao An still remained as a suspect because she was affiliated to Xi Changzhi, her ex-husband. After being stubborn and remaining tight-lipped for several days, Xi Changzhi finally pleaded guilty. He had no choice since the police had sufficient evidence against him. Yet, he actually imed that Qiao An was the one who instigated him to do it. However, he did not manage to frame her. The police were no fools and were not to be trifled with. Despite being a figure of status and a well-known businessman, he could not overpower the Su family¡¯s authority. Besides, there were numerous people who had been keeping close tabs on the case. Hence, the police dared not ept the bribes offered by Xi Changzhi¡¯s father. Two weeks after the murder took ce, the police released the oue of the investigation. Qiao An¡¯s name was finally cleared. During investigations, the police discovered a video in a hidden folder on Xi Changzhi¡¯sptop. It was a video of him and Li Wanru devising a scheme against Qiao An three years ago. Xi Changzhi had kept that video in order to save himself in the event that the truth gets exposed. He nned to trim the video and mute his voice to make it seem like Li Wanru was the mastermind behind it. He would then manage to shift all the me to Li Wanru, who could not testify against him since she did not have any evidence. Yet, his n would not work now since he did not have time to trim or edit the video at all. The police had already found it and published it to the media. The video caused an uproar amongst citizens. Su Yan had been doing everything he could to find evidence to prove Qiao An¡¯s innocence. To his surprise, the truth unfolded itself. Xi Changzhi would be facing punishment by thew of R Nation. Li Wanru was sent to court for being in cahoots with Xi Changzhi as well. Li Wanru initially thought that it would be impossible for Qiao An to recoup her assets since they had already been transferred to her own ount so many years ago. However, she made a miscalction. ording to thew of R Nation, the assets would be returned to the giver in the event that the beneficiary causes the giver any harm. Now that Li Wanru had been found guilty for harming her biological daughter, Qiao An possessed the right to fight for her immovable property and assets to be returned to her ount. Besides, Qiao An had also testified in court that she did not bequeath her assets to her mother willingly and that her mother had absconded with the assets. Li Wanru was on the verge of losing her mind after she found out. However, she was helpless and could only wait for her fate to be decided by thew. There was nothing she could do to stop her assets from being seized. In the end, she was sentenced to two years in jail for framing Qiao An. Needless to say, Xi Changzhi was sentenced to a death penalty. After the truth was out, Qiao An dolled herself up and proceeded to meet Xi Changzhi. Xi Changzhi wanted to leave the instant he saw her. However, the door was closed and he could not exit. Qiao An smirked and sneered, ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you? You were so smug and arrogant yesterday. Why have you be so ashamed today? You should be feeling honored that I¡¯m here to see you. I didn¡¯t expect that you would end up in prison so soon.¡± He sat down and red at Qiao An, who was grinning widely. ¡°Take it that Lady Luck is smiling at you instead of me. Do you really think you¡¯d be able to escape if someone didn¡¯t find you that day? None of these are enough to make up for what you owe me. It¡¯s already been so many years. I¡¯m sure you know the reason behind my actions.¡± ¡°That¡¯s my purpose foring here today. Why do you have to do everything you can to jeopardize my life? I really don¡¯t know the reason.¡± ¡°You...¡± Xi Changzhi was exasperated, for she had no idea what the reason was at all. She waspletely clueless! ¡°That¡¯s why you have to tell me,¡± said Qiao An. Of course I must tell her. Otherwise, I¡¯ll never have the chance to tell her again. I must ensure that she never gets to live in peace! Hence, he said, ¡°Do you still remember that Mu Caiyi?¡± ¡°Mu Naiyi 1?¡± ¡°Mu Caiyi!¡± he emphasized. Shaking her head, Qiao An said, ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know her? You two were ssmates in your second year of university. How dare you lie,¡± he said with bloodshot eyes. ¡°Did you get the wrong person? I admit, I do have a poor memory, but I really don¡¯t know who that person is. If you don¡¯t believe me, I can show you my graduation photo. Would you like to see it?¡± Qiao An asked, smiling. ¡°She died before she even got to graduate. She obviously wouldn¡¯t be in the photo. Qiao An, you¡¯re absolutely revolting. You don¡¯t even have the guts to own up to your mistake!¡± ¡°You¡¯re not making any sense at all. I really don¡¯t know who Mu Caiyi is at all. Why don¡¯t I go back to Northern Prefecture University and check if there was a Mu Caiyi in my ss back then?¡± ¡°Northern Prefecture University? You graduated from that university?¡± he asked with a squint. ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Were you not from Beiyuan University?¡± Qiao An scoffed and said, ¡°I¡¯m sure you got the wrong person. The only person who attended Beiyuan University in the Qiao family is my cousin, Qiao Luo.¡± Extremely agitated, Xi Changzhi eximed, ¡°How can that be? I was clearly told that it¡¯s Qiao An, not Qiao Luo!¡± ¡°Is Mu Caiyi the woman Qiao Luo killed by running her over by ident?¡± Xi Changzhi was dumbfounded. He refused to believe or admit that he had made such a stupid blunder and took revenge on the wrong person. Back then, he had a tiff with his girlfriend, Mu Caiyi, after which they both gave each other the cold shoulder. Being prideful and arrogant, neither of them wanted to contact the other person first. However, he could not tolerate the silence anymore and decided to contact her after some time, only to discover that she had already passed away. The two of them did not go to the same university and had instead met each other online. Their friendship progressed into a cyber rtionship. However, he found out about her death toote, because they did not have any mutual friends. When he questioned Mu Caiyi¡¯s parents, they simply told him that the culprit who killed Mu Caiyi was the daughter of the Qiao family who was attending the same university at the time. They kept her name from him because the Qiao family had given them a heftypensatory sum and requested for them to keep the name of the culprit confidential. After some investigation, Xi Changzhi found out that Qiao An was the only person in the Qiao family who was attending university back then. Hence, he deduced that Qiao An was the one who killed Mu Caiyi. Qiao An said, ¡°Seems like you really thought I was the culprit. Back then, Qiao Luo left to go abroad after paying thepensation sum. Hence, I became the only female member of the family who was attending university at the time. This is such a terrible misunderstanding. I really don¡¯t know what to say about this. Xi Changzhi, I actually find it really amusing now that I¡¯ve learned the reason behind all your actions. I¡¯m sure we won¡¯t meet again. Go ahead and reincarnate after you die. Don¡¯t act so foolishly again in your next lifetime.¡± Qiao An left after saying her piece. Footnotes:
Ch 1404 Footnote 1
Mummy. Chapter 1405 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1405: I Only Want You (103)

Xi Changzhi could not recover from the shock at all. He wrote his father a letter and requested thetter to look into the matter. Mr. Xi informed him of the oue when he visited Xi Changzhi in prison. ¡°I¡¯ve already questioned Mu Caiyi¡¯s parents, and they said that the person who ran her over back then is called Qiao Luo. Qiao An had indeed graduated from Northern Prefecture University. Mu Caiyi¡¯s parents were shocked to find out that you¡¯re still bearing a grudge even after so many years. They weren¡¯t willing to divulge anything at first, but they conceded after hearing that you had been put behind bars because of this.¡± Xi Changzhi could not believe that he had devised a n for years and ended up exacting revenge on the wrong person. He found himself to be absolutely foolish. If only I asked Qiao An about it after I met her. If only I verified the truth and asked for a clear exnation from Mu Caiyi¡¯s parents back then. Perhaps things wouldn¡¯t havee to this and I wouldn¡¯t have ruined my own future. ¡°Father, get a divorce. When Li Wanru was still married to Qiao An¡¯s father, she once had an extramarital affair and eloped with another man. She gave birth to his child abroad and even sold the child for money. Given how cruel she is to her biological daughters, I doubt she¡¯ll treat you well.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me earlier?¡± Mr. Xi asked. He remained silent. ¡°I¡¯ll prepare a divorce agreement and hand it to herter when I get home.¡± ¡ª¡ª It was the 4th of July. Mrs. Pei slipped into critical condition and was at her veryst breath. She was lying on the bed with an oxygen tube attached to her mouth, emaciated and gaunt. Her eyes were closed, and she was in a daze. Pei Yi, Jing Chu, and Pei Ling were already apanying her on her deathbed. Tian Tian had also rushed to see her for thest time, despite having divorced Pei Yi. Regardless of what happened between her and Pei Yi, Mrs. Pei had long treated Tian Tian as her own daughter. Hence, it would be inappropriate for her not to visit Mrs. Pei. Although Pei Yi had already prepared himself mentally for Mrs. Pei¡¯s death, ever since he learned that his mother had been diagnosed with cancer, he could not help but feel lost now that the day had arrived. Mrs. Pei finally opened her eyes in the afternoon and regained consciousness. The doctor suggested that they remove the oxygen tube, for Mrs. Pei was already in herst moments. ¡°Pei Yi...¡± ¡°Mother, I¡¯m here,¡± Pei Yi said with tears in his eyes, cing her hand on his face. ¡°I... no longer have any regrets. I just want you and Pei Ling to live happily and peacefully. That¡¯s my greatest wish,¡± said Mrs. Pei, who was only concerned about her son and grandson. However, Jing Chu was not bothered at all since Mrs. Pei was already on her deathbed. Besides, Mrs. Pei did not exactly adore Jing Chu, despite having changed her opinion of her. ¡°I will. Jing Chu, Pei Ling, and I will live well.¡± Mrs. Pei nodded and waved at Tian Tian slowly. ¡°Tian Tian.¡± Tian Tian hurriedly rushed forward and said, ¡°Mother, I¡¯m here.¡± ¡°Find a man who dotes on you and marry him. Don¡¯t harbor any more feelings for Pei Yi. Listen to Godma, alright?¡± Tian Tian answered with a nod, ¡°Yes, Mother. I heard you.¡± Mrs. Pei smiled and passed away without saying anything to Jing Chu. Noticing that she had closed her eyes, Pei Yi said gently in a shaky voice, ¡°Mother?¡± He did not get any response. After the doctor pronounced Mrs. Pei dead, he proceeded to pull the plug on all the machines that Mrs. Pei had been attached to. Tian Tian and Jing Chu helped her change into her shroud. Pei Yi then carried his mother¡¯s body out of the hospital. He had already prepared the coffin and tombstone long ago. The weather was warm, and the wake had to be held for three days before the burial ceremony canmence. Hence, Mrs. Pei¡¯s corpse was ced inside the crystal coffin that Pei Yi had prepared. Pei Yi stayed awake for the first night of the wake, followed by Tian Tian on the second night. Lastly, it was Jing Chu¡¯s turn on thest night. However, Tian Tian had also turned up on thest night. ¡°It¡¯s not your turn tonight, what are you here for?¡± ¡°I was Godma¡¯s favorite when she was still alive. Why can¡¯t Ie?¡± Tian Tian knelt on the praying mat and nced at Jing Chu in disdain. ¡°Godma didn¡¯t even mention your name during herst few moments. She doesn¡¯t even like you at all and yet you still have the cheek to be so thick-skinned and call yourself her daughter-inw. Are you even fit enough?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not up to you to decide if I¡¯m fit enough or not. If you¡¯re that deserving, why did Master Pei get rid of you? I really wonder who the thick-skinned one is. I¡¯m Mrs. Pei now, you¡¯re not,¡± Jing Chu retorted. Tian Tian scoffed and sneered, ¡°You¡¯re acting as if I haven¡¯t been Mrs. Pei before. Don¡¯t think so highly of that position. You¡¯re not going to be in it for long anyway. You may be Mrs. Pei now, but Pei Ling is still my son. Even if he calls you his mother from now on, I¡¯m still the one who gave birth to him.¡± Jing Chu smiled and stayed silent. Thinking that she had sessfully managed to shut Jing Chu up, Tian Tian beamed with joy and began ying with her mobile phone. ¡ª¡ª Tian Tian no longer had an excuse to turn up at Mount Qingping after the funeral was over. A bold idea popped up in Jing Chu¡¯s mind. While Pei Ling was asleep, she sat opposite Pei Yi¡¯s desk and said, ¡°Let me ask you a question. Don¡¯t think I¡¯m jinxing you, though.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Will we be attacked one day?¡± Pei Yi looked up and answered, ¡°I can¡¯t be certain. Things have begun to get chaotic again. Several nations have also started working together against DK. The situation is tricky.¡± Jing Chu¡¯s heart scrunched up in shock. The first thing that came to her mind was that she had toe up with a strategy to ward against the possible attack. After some thought, she asked, ¡°Are there forests in R Nation where reception is non-existent?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s build a house there. When things get blown out of control, we shall seek refuge in the house we built.¡± ¡°...¡± Pei Yi found her mindset to be ignorant yet adorable. ¡°Where do you think we can run? Others will be able to find us there too. There are only two things that will happen to traitors who betray DK.¡± ¡°I know that one is death, for sure. What¡¯s the other one?¡± ¡°One may leave after earning the approval of the chieftain, but on the condition that he aplish a task that would benefit the organization greatly. To me, neither of the two is a feasible option because I know too many secrets of the DK Organization. Although I don¡¯t know what my fate would be in the end, I can only continue working for them.¡± Jing Chu¡¯s heart sank to the bottom after hearing his words. Shaking her head, she said eagerly, ¡°No, there must be another way out. There definitely is. I¡¯lle up with a solution for sure.¡± Pei Yi smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t bother. There¡¯s nothing you cane up with that I can¡¯t think of.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not certain. You¡¯re not God. Give me a detailed map of R Nation.¡± Chapter 1406 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1406: I Only Want You (104)

Pei Yi took out a map from his drawer and handed it to her. ¡°There you go.¡± She began perusing it carefully while Pei Yi remained indifferent, for he was certain that there was no way for him to leave the organization at all. Yet, Jing Chu refused to believe him. What was childish and impossible to Pei Yi seemed like a feasible n to her. Hence, she only focused on the forests annotated on the map of R Nation. After a long while, she pointed at a forestation region and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a forest that¡¯s known to be terrifying.¡± ¡°Why so?¡± ¡°Forget about that ce. It¡¯s terrifying because even nts can¡¯t grow in that forest, and it¡¯s also home to lots of menacing beasts. In order to prevent the wild beasts to harm any humans, the government of R Nation has even taken a preventive measure by building a thick and high wall around the forest. If we were to stay there, we¡¯d be devoured by the beasts even before the DK Organization attacks us.¡± Jing Chu asked, ¡°If nts can¡¯t grow, how did the treese about?¡± ¡°I was just making an analogy. It¡¯s way too difficult for humans to stay there. No one has ever dared to approach the area at all,¡± Pei Yi exined. Regardless of how hopeless Pei Yi had made it sound, Jing Chu still found it to be an ideal location... Doesn¡¯t the fact that no one dares to approach it make it the best ce for hiding? ¡°I¡¯d like to go take a look myself.¡± ¡°What... did you say?¡± ¡°I said I¡¯d like to go take a look for myself and see just how terrible the living conditions are. Since there are animals, it can definitely provide the conditions for humans to live in.¡± Pei Yi objected, ¡°I¡¯m not allowing it. You¡¯ll be digging your own grave if you go.¡± ¡°Everything you know about that ce is based on hearsay and not your personal experience. How would you know that I¡¯m digging my own grave?¡± ¡°Because no one has ever managed toe out alive after going inside. The entire world knows about this ce and what it¡¯s notorious for. You¡¯d better drop that idea as soon as possible. I won¡¯t let you go, for sure,¡± Pei Yi insisted. ¡°But I want to find out what¡¯s so scary about it...¡± Unable to figure out what she was thinking, Pei Yi said, ¡°Why would you want to put yourself in danger?¡± ¡°I just want to take a look.¡± ¡°You might just lose your life while trying to do that.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°There you go, take a look.¡± Tang Zhijing grabbed the photos on the table, only to see that they were photos of him and Jing Chu visiting the children at the orphanage. ¡°So? What are you trying to say?¡± Staring at him, Tang Zhijing¡¯s wife, Le Zhengmin, questioned, ¡°How are you rted to this woman?¡± Tang Zhijing retorted in annoyance, ¡°We¡¯re just friends, what¡¯s wrong? You¡¯re so busy fooling around with your boyfriends every day and I¡¯ve never said a word about it. Why are you meddling with my affairs now? Am I not allowed to have friends?¡± Le Zhengmin quipped, ¡°Oh? You¡¯re friends with Pei Yi¡¯s wife? How are you rted to the DK Organization, then? Are you one of DK¡¯s moles?¡± Tang Zhijing sneered with a sullen expression, ¡°I have nothing to do with DK. I¡¯m just friends with her, what¡¯s wrong? Are you going to report me to the police?¡± Le Zhengmin said, ¡°That¡¯s absurd. Hubby, you might not want your life anymore, but Father, Mother, and I still do. If you don¡¯t cut off ties with that womanpletely, I¡¯ll tell Father and Mother about your affiliation with her. I believe they¡¯ll have a way to solve this. You being associated with the DK Organization is a very serious matter. This is worse than your infidelity!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not rted to DK. How many times must I repeat myself? Can you shut up now?¡± ¡°Cut off all ties with her, then. Can you do that?¡± ¡°Why should I listen to you?¡± Le Zhengmin smiled and said, ¡°Because I can easily ruin you with this evidence that I have. I¡¯m sure you know how thew works in our nation. Whoever associates themselves with the DK Organization will have to be executed without a doubt. On ount that we¡¯re married, I¡¯m giving you onest warning. If I find out that you¡¯re still in contact with that woman, I won¡¯t show you any mercy even if you two are just friends.¡± ¡°Le Zhengmin, are you really happy with a marriage like ours?¡± ¡°Why not? I have a husband but I can stillmit adultery openly. That¡¯s such a thrill.¡± Tang Zhijing said coldly, ¡°I¡¯ve gotten really sick of this. Let¡¯s get a divorce.¡± She protested, ¡°Tang Zhijing, this is the third time you¡¯re initiating a divorce this month! Did I forbid you from dating other women? Go ahead and do so. It¡¯s not like you haven¡¯t done that before. We just have to pretend to be chummy and loving in front of our parents and outsiders. Why are you bent on getting a divorce? ording to my investigation, there isn¡¯t another woman whom you love at all. That married woman from DK is the only woman you meet regrly, isn¡¯t she?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve just gotten sick and tired of putting up with this toxic marriage. Why? Am I not allowed to even initiate a divorce? I¡¯ve already made up my mind. I¡¯ll tell my parents about thister.¡± Pointing at the photos on the table, Le Zhengmin insisted, ¡°I simply refuse to divorce you. If you¡¯re bent on getting a divorce, I¡¯ll send these photos to the police tomorrow. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re well aware of what the consequences will be.¡± Staring at her, Tang Zhijing said, ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll publish all the videos of you getting intimate with other men onto the inte. You didn¡¯t expect me to have those videos, did you? It¡¯s really interesting, getting to watch my wife get intimate with other men every other day.¡± Le Zhengmin snapped, ¡°Bullshit. I don¡¯t believe that you have those videos. Do you have the guts to show them to me?¡± He switched on his mobile phone and showed her a video clip. ¡°Look how loose and brazen you are.¡± He had purchased the video clip from Le Zhengmin¡¯s boyfriend at a high price to use it as a trump card in divorcing her sessfully. He did not expect her to threaten him with the photos of him and Jing Chu before he could even threaten her. After watching the video, Le Zhengmin raised her chin and eximed, ¡°Did you think that I don¡¯t have evidence of you getting intimate with other women in the past? I have them too!¡± ¡°In that case, why don¡¯t we just expose each other?¡± ¡°Tang Zhijing, must you really make things so ugly? We don¡¯t actually have to go to such extremes.¡± ¡°I just don¡¯t want to live with you anymore. Everything will be fine after the divorce.¡± ¡°I shall send these photos over to your parents now, then. I shall see how they react to this. The videos of me pale inparison to what you have done. I¡¯m not going to divorce you regardless of what happens. Over my dead body!¡± She then stood up and left with the photos. Tang Zhijing sat on the couch, feeling rather helpless. He thought that his divorce would proceed smoothly so long as he had the videos, yet things did not go ording to n. Chapter 1407 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1407: I Only Want You (105)

Tang Zhijing received a call from his furious father soon after. However, he didn¡¯t answer because it was obvious that his father was going to berate him and reprimand him for being foolish. Hence, there was no point in picking up. However, his refusal to answer greatly infuriated Mr. Tang, who then sent his men to arrest Tang Zhijing. Tang Zhijing was greeted with the sight of his parents and Le Zhengmin in the living room when he was brought back home. He shook the bodyguard¡¯s arm off and sat downposedly. Before he could even speak, Mr. Tang hollered angrily, ¡°Just how are you rted to that terrorist Pei Yi¡¯s wife!?! Why did you end up being affiliated with her!?! Are you trying to implicate us and cause us to lose our lives!?! You unfilial son!¡± ¡°We¡¯re just friends, and we used to volunteer at the orphanage together before she married Pei Yi. She¡¯s a very nice person.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just friends? A man and a woman can never be just friends. Do you fancy her?¡± Mr. Tang questioned apprehensively. After a moment of silence, he answered, ¡°I did fancy her a little in the past, but it¡¯s more of sympathy than love that I feel for her. She was really unlucky and had a tough life. However, I don¡¯t have feelings for her anymore and we¡¯re purely just friends now.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t contact her ever again from now on. If the paparazzi manages to snap photos of you two together, our enterprise is going to be rumored to be in association with the DK Organization. Should that happen, our entire family will be in hot soup. Rascal, did you hear me!?!¡± Mr. Tang barked, glowering at him. ¡°Why? I had no say in my marriage. Am I not allowed to choose who to befriend either?¡± Mr. Tang snapped, ¡°Are you trying to defy my orders now?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve always adhered to Mother¡¯s instructions and yours ever since I was a child. Have you two ever listened to my opinions?¡± As soon as he finished speaking, Mr. Tang gave him a hard p across his face, causing him to cock his head to the side. ¡°Listen to you? Who¡¯s the father? You or me? You must listen to me, precisely because I¡¯m your father! From now on, you are to cut off all contact and ties with that woman. I don¡¯t care if you¡¯re friends or not. You don¡¯t need a friend like her. Do you think others would believe that you two are just friends? Will the media believe you? If you be exposed online, that¡¯d be the end of our enterprise!¡± Although Tang Zhijing understood his father¡¯s concerns, he could not help but feel repulsed by the way his father waspelling him andshing out at him. Had Mr. Tang spoken to him nicely, he would havee to a wise decision after weighing the pros and cons. Noticing that he was remaining silent, Mrs. Tang interjected, ¡°Son, we¡¯re running a proper and upright business. Even if you¡¯re on good terms with that woman, she¡¯s still Pei Yi¡¯s wife at the end of the day. Don¡¯t create unnecessary trouble and risks for us. You¡¯re not to contact her ever again from now on. We¡¯re doing this for your own good.¡± Tang Zhijing quipped, ¡°Sure, you¡¯re doing it for my own good. Forbidding me from ying andpelling me to only study and read books when I was younger were for my own good. Forcing me to break up with my girlfriend when I was a teenager was for my own good. Even making me marry Le Zhengmin was for my own good too. You made these decisions all for my own good. Youpel me against my will and force me to ept it just because you im to have my best interests at heart. I¡¯m almost thirty years old. How much longer are you going to restrict my freedom for? Fine, I¡¯ll stop contacting her, but there¡¯s something I must rify now too. I must get a divorce with Le Zhengmin at all costs!¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been getting along well with Zhengmin. Why are you bringing up a divorce out of the blue?¡± Tang Zhijing answered, ¡°I don¡¯t want to hide this from you guys anymore. Le Zhengmin and I have never consummated our marriage. We¡¯ve been having our own private lives, and we date other people as well. I don¡¯t want to continue this toxic marriage anymore.¡± Mr. and Mrs. Tang looked at each other in shock and dismay. Mr. Tang said, ¡°Divorce is a very serious matter. How could you just bring it up so casually? Zhengmin, is what Zhijing said about your rtionship true?¡± Le Zhengmin admitted, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s true. However, I don¡¯t want to get a divorce and I¡¯d rather maintain the status quo. I told Zhijing that I¡¯ll allow him to date other women so long as he doesn¡¯t have any illegitimate children. I¡¯m willing to give birth to his child and carry on the Tang family bloodline.¡± Tang Zhijingughed sarcastically and sneered, ¡°You don¡¯t deserve to have my children. I don¡¯t n on having children anyway. Dream on!¡± Mr. Tang said, ¡°Just keep the status quo as it is, then. Le Zhengmin said that you had multiple affairs with other women as well. It¡¯s not like she forbids you from dating other women anyway. The Tang and Le Corporations are working closely together on arge-scale project right now. It¡¯s not like you¡¯re not aware of that. Your divorce will greatly affect our partnership. Just remain as you are for the sake of the interests of both parties.¡± ¡°Interests, interests, it¡¯s forever about interests. We¡¯re already wealthy enough as it is. Will we ever finish spending our family fortune? Why can¡¯t you guys put yourselves in my shoes and spare a thought for me? I want to get a divorce. I don¡¯t want to be tied down to this unhappy marriage anymore. Am I not allowed to make the decision?¡± Mr. Tang said bluntly, ¡°Are you even my son at all!?! You¡¯re not in the least bit ambitious! What can you do with that lousy modeling agency of yours? How much can you even make?¡± Tang Zhijing would get into a conflict and hear the same thing from his father almost every single time they met, such that he had already gotten sick and tired of hearing it over and over again. He closed his eyes and opened them again. Trying to suppress his emotions with all his might, he stood up and said to Le Zhengmin, ¡°I¡¯ll draft the divorce agreement and hand it to you. If you refuse to sign it, I¡¯ll raise it to court.¡± As soon as he turned around, Mr. Tang hollered, ¡°Hold it right there!¡± Tang Zhijing stopped in his tracks and turned to look at him. ¡°My marriage only concerns the two of us. It¡¯s none of your business. I¡¯ll get a divorce if I want to. You don¡¯t have a say in this.¡± Turning beet red and seething with exasperation, Mr. Tang said, ¡°Can¡¯t you wait a little longer? What¡¯s the hurry?¡± ¡°No, I must get a divorce now.¡± ¡°Fine, go get a divorce, then,¡± Mr. Tang gibed while kicking Tang Zhijing, causing him to stumble forward. However, he quickly regained his bnce and got back on his feet. As soon as Tang Zhijing tried to leave, Mr. Tang ordered the bodyguards to hold him down and lock him up in a dark, tiny room in the house. He would only be released after he reflects on himself. Tang Zhijing had been locked up in that room several times before as a child. The door of the room was perpetually locked, and there was nothing else in the room except a window that allowed for venttion. Tang Zhijing was filled with disappointment and dejection. Turns out, mary benefits and business interests were still his parents¡¯ primary concerns and priority. He sat on the bed, took out his mobile phone, and typed a text message. After deleting and retyping it over and over again, he finally found the courage to send it to Jing Chu. It read: ¡°Jing Chu, I had once felt a great deal of sympathy for you and found you pitiful to have already suffered so much pain and torment despite being so young. I even developed some feelings for you after we forged a strong camaraderie. However, I now wish you conjugal bliss with your husband, and I hope that you¡¯ll never let anyone hurt you again. My wife secretly snapped some photos of us visiting the orphanage together and she has verified your identity. My parents are also aware of this now, and they think that my family will be implicated if any outsiders find out about our friendship. They¡¯re afraid that we¡¯d be used of being associated with the DK Organization. They forced me to cut off all contact with you and, hence, I agreed. Jing Chu, do you still remember what I said to you at the orphanage yesterday? On the surface, I may seem to have everything, but deep down, I actually have nothing at all. You¡¯ve been trying tofort me and encouraging me to get over it and let go. I¡¯ve been trying very hard to do so too, but I just can¡¯t bring myself to do it. Jing Chu, I¡¯ve found my utopia. I¡¯m leaving now, Jing Chu. Goodbye.¡± Chapter 1408 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1408: I Only Want You (106)

Jing Chu immediately sensed that something was amiss the moment she saw the text message. Hence, she quickly called Tang Zhijing, only to discover that his mobile phone was switched off. Without hesitation, she handed Pei Ling over to the nanny, after which she hurriedly got dressed and left the house. She instructed the chauffeur to drive her to Tang Zhijing¡¯s modelingpany because she had no idea where Tang Zhijing¡¯s parents lived. She then went through painstaking means to find out their address from the employees at the modeling agency. To her dismay, Tang Zhijing¡¯s parents refused to allow her to enter when she arrived at their home. Hence, she had no choice but to show the text message to the guards at the door and instructed them to ry the message to Mr. and Mrs. Tang. They finally allowed her to enter. By the time she stepped foot inside, Mr. and Mrs. Tang had already gone to the room. They arrived before Jing Chu and the bodyguards did. Jing Chu was bbergasted. She stared in disbelief at Tang Zhijing, who had hung himself using a makeshift rope that he had made by shredding his clothes into pieces. Mrs. Tang held his lifeless body in her embrace and bawled loudly in agony while Mr. Tang stood beside them with a look of moroseness and misery on his face. There was a red welt on Tang Zhijing¡¯s neck and he was as pale as a sheet, no longer breathing. Tears welled up in Jing Chu¡¯s eyes and eventually rolled down her face. She was terribly upset. She did not me Tang Zhijing for taking the easy way out by ending his life, because she knew that he had a lower threshold for tormentpared to her. Although they seemed to be in the same boat and he seemed to have it better than she did, they were, in fact, in very different predicaments. Reminded of the reason behind his decision tomit suicide, she walked into the room and stared at the grief-stricken Mr. and Mrs. Tang. Not feeling a tinge of sympathy for them at all, she said, ¡°You guys can stop him from contacting me. We¡¯re just friends anyway. However, do you know what his dreams were? Do you know what the life that he yearned to lead is like? Is money of paramount importance, so much so that it trumps your son¡¯s happiness? You guys can finally focus entirely on making money now. You¡¯re not the only ones who value money more than your children anyway. Are you happy with how things had turned out? Tang Zhijing was denied the freedom and right to choose the life he wanted to lead. He told me that he had lost the will to live and found life and wealth to bepletely meaningless. Have you guys ever showed your concern for him and his mental health? I reckon his death is the only way he can exact revenge on you guys.¡± Jing Chu turned around to leave as soon as she finished speaking. She leaned back against the backseat and began tearing up silently while on the way home. All the memories she shared with Tang Zhijing began to flood her mind. She waspletely caught off guard by the sudden news. She was extremely appalled and horrified, for she had never expected him to take his own life. It had also never crossed her mind that their friendship would be affected by her marriage to Pei Yi. In hindsight, it¡¯s only understandable. I¡¯m considered to be a part of the DK Organization now, and so is Pei Ling. From now on, I can¡¯t contact Sis Qiao An and the rest anymore, lest I bring them trouble and implicate them. I mustn¡¯t stay in touch with Sis Xiaoning anymore either. Jing Chu was stuck in a dilemma. She wanted Pei Yi to leave the DK Organization. However, she knew clearly that there was no turning back for Pei Yi now that he had already delved so deep. If chaos were to break out, they might just be killed in a mass execution carried out by the governments of several nations. She could not help but feel worried and anxious at the thought of it. She could not let her guard down even though life seemed to be rather peaceful for the time being. She decided that she had toe up with a solution and strategy to deal with the potential threats. She returned to Mount Qingping and informed Fat Lass of Tang Zhijing¡¯s death. Fat Lass teared up miserably and told Jing Chu, ¡°I saw him popping some sleeping pills before. He must have been suffering from insomnia and depression...¡± Carrying Pei Ling in her arms, Jing Chu said, ¡°Perhaps this is the only way he can reach his utopia. Since this is his chosen path, we can only respect it. I understand how he feels.¡± Having overheard what she said, Pei Yi asked casually, ¡°Whose feelings can you understand?¡± Fat Lass exited the room while Jing Chu answered, ¡°Tang Zhijing.¡± ¡°Did you cry?¡± ¡°Yes, I did.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I cried because of Tang Zhijing.¡± Pei Yi asked with raised brows, ¡°You¡¯re telling me that you¡¯re crying because of another man?¡± ¡°Master Pei, he¡¯s dead.¡± ¡°Why did he die?¡± Pei Yi asked in surprise. ¡°He hung himself.¡± ¡°What was the reason?¡± ¡°He had emotional issues. His parents had never shown him any love or concern ever since he was a child, and they never allowed him to make his own decisions. I heard from Fat Lass that he had been heavily reliant on medication and even suffered from insomnia. I think he must have been diagnosed with depression.¡± Pei Yi put an arm around her shoulder and said, ¡°That¡¯s his choice.¡± ¡°If there¡¯s a way to leave DK unscathed, are you willing to live a peaceful life with me and our son?¡± Pei Yi answered, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m willing.¡± Jing Chu asked, ¡°Would you still be willing if the living conditions are tough?¡± ¡°Home is wherever you and our son are.¡± ¡°You said that yourself. You can¡¯t go back on your word.¡± ¡°Why would I go back on my word? You and Pei Ling are my only kin left in this world.¡± ¡°Let me go to that forest, then,¡± said Jing Chu, who had already made up her mind. Pei Yi refused vehemently. ¡°No.¡± Knowing that he definitely wouldn¡¯t give in easily, Jing Chu said, ¡°I canmunicate with animals, and I¡¯ll bring the appropriate weapons with me in order to protect myself. Don¡¯t be so pessimistic. I¡¯m not as weak as you think I am. There definitely is a ce for us in this vast world. I won¡¯t be satisfied until I go and take a look myself. I feel that it¡¯s the only way for you to make a clean break with DK.¡± ¡°No, my decision is final. I won¡¯t allow you to go to such a dangerous ce.¡± Jing Chu said, ¡°Aren¡¯t we living in a dangerous ce as well? Menacing beasts may devour humans, but humans will cause harm to other humans as well. Master Pei, I don¡¯t know what I might face when I get there, but I¡¯m not afraid at all. I¡¯d like to go take a look. Perhaps it¡¯ll really be the safest ce we can go to. I¡¯ve already made up my mind. If you won¡¯t allow me to go, let¡¯s not be together anymore. If you insist on forcing me, I¡¯ll kill myself.¡± Pei Yi knew how stubborn she was, but not to such an extreme extent. However, he had no idea how desperately she wanted for him to leave the DK Organization and for the three of them to live in peace forever. Her determination was evidence of how strong her desire was. ¡°Why are you so stubborn? You¡¯re just a weak and helpless woman. Wouldn¡¯t you be digging your own grave by going to that forest? How can I let you put your life at risk?¡± ¡°Will I definitely die just because I¡¯m weak and helpless? There¡¯s no certainty. No matter what happens, I¡¯ll never regret my decision. If I die, that just means that I¡¯m destined to. Likewise, if I don¡¯t, it just means my time isn¡¯t up yet. It¡¯s all Heaven¡¯s will.¡± Chapter 1409 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1409: I Only Want You (107)

Regardless of how hard Pei Yi tried to talk her around and knock some sense into her, she did not waver at all. Thus, he continued to insist on forbidding Jing Chu from going while she stood firm to her decision and ignored Pei Yi. Pei Yi did not indulge her or give in to her tantrums. Contrary to his expectations, she did not change her mind even after a long time. He decided to give in when she threatened to kill herself. He had no other option. Jing Chu did consider the risks involved in going to the forest. However, she could not think of another possible solution for Pei Yi to back out of the DK Organizationpletely, especially after she saw the news about several nations working together to annihte it. Ever since Pei Yi came clean with her, she began to get worried and anxious. Hence, she insisted on staying firm to her decision and refused to budge. Pei Yi used to think that Jing Chu was a meek and submissive girl whom he could control easily. However, he only realized now that she was as stubborn as a mule. She had never once considered ending her own life, despite all the hardship she endured ever since she was born. Yet she actually threatened him with her own life. Clearly, it mattered to her greatly, and no one could stop her at all. His determination and rationality vanished the instant he heard that she was attempting to kill herself. Hence, he insisted that he go with her to the forest. However, Jing Chu objected to it. ¡°If I really can¡¯t make it out, what¡¯s going to happen to our son? You can¡¯t go. I¡¯m going alone.¡± ¡°Let Fat Lass go with you. At least you¡¯ll have apanion.¡± Jing Chu was actually reluctant to let Fat Lass tag along because she was already feeling guilty enough for implicating Fat Lass and causing her to serve a jail term. However, Fat Lass offered to tag along, and Jing Chu agreed after realizing that Fat Lass¡¯ life would be in danger too if the DK Organization was gone. Besides, Jing Chu was confident that they wouldn¡¯t die in the forest. Hence, Jing Chu decided to set off as soon as possible. However, Pei Yi refused to let her go because she was not physically prepared yet. She doesn¡¯t even know how to use a gun, how is she going to survive? he thought. Thus, he instructed his men to train her for a period of time before allowing her to set off. At the same time, he wanted her to realize how tough and physically demanding surviving in the wild can be, in hopes that she would give up out of her own ord. However, Jing Chu pushed through the grueling training. She never once gave up throughout the two months of hard training under Pei Yi¡¯s men. Pei Yi had no idea what to do with her. She would be embarking on her journey tomorrow. Pei Yi decided to get intimate with her tonight in a bid to make her too sore to get out of bed the next morning. Hence, he was extremely rough and vigorous and did not take any contraceptive measures for the first time in a long while. However, his efforts were futile. He expended all his energy during the long battle in bed. Yet she still left the following day. Pei Yi woke up to see that he was alone in bed. He could not help but mutter in disgruntlement, ¡°That heartless woman!¡± He put on his clothes, got out of bed, and called Qin Guo to enter. ¡°When did she leave?¡± ¡°An hour ago,¡± answered Qin Guo, who did not know where Jing Chu had gone to. All she knew was that Jing Chu and Fat Lass had left with their suitcases. ¡°Did she take a look at Pei Ling before leaving?¡± ¡°No.¡± Noticing that he seemed to be curbing his anger, Qin Guo asked, ¡°Ancestor, did your wife divorce you?¡± ¡°You¡¯re reading too much into things. Enough with the questions. I want to have my breakfast. Serve the food.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Pei Yi returned to the bathroom to freshen up before exiting again. He picked up his mobile phone to see that she had sent him a text message. It read: ¡°Don¡¯t belittle me. I have strong survival instincts and abilities. I¡¯m not silly, I know what I¡¯m doing. However, I can¡¯t just do nothing and rely on you for life. I¡¯ll do whatever it takes toe back in one piece. Take good care of Pei Ling. If I find out that you had mistreated my son when I get back, I definitely won¡¯t let you off. Last but not least, I¡¯ll miss you.¡± She¡¯s making me sound like a stepfather. She¡¯s not going to let me off if I mistreat her son? He¡¯s my biological son too! However, he could not help but break into smiles the moment he read thest sentence of her sentence, after which he quickly replied to her. ¡°If you don¡¯te back in one piece, I¡¯ll marry another woman and make another woman my wife. I¡¯ll let our son address another woman as his mother and forget you forever. If you don¡¯t make it back alive, I¡¯ll never miss you again and I¡¯ll erase you from my memory.¡± Soon, she replied: ¡°How can I bear to let my handsome hubby sleep with another woman? How can I let my dashing son call another woman his mother? Perhaps I would be happy to let you forget mepletely if I didn¡¯t know the truth of my son. However, I¡¯m dead against that idea now, because I can¡¯t live without you.¡± Pei Yi was on cloud nine. Before he could even reply, she sent yet another text message. ¡°I¡¯m switching off my mobile phone now. There won¡¯t be reception in the forest.¡± After replying with a simple ¡°Okay,¡± he continued to read her messages over and over again. ¡°I¡¯ll miss you.¡± ¡°Because I can¡¯t live without you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll miss you.¡± ¡°Because I can¡¯t live without you.¡± ... ¡ª¡ª Jing Chu and Fat Lass brought one suitcase each. They brought along some freeze-dried biscuits, bread, other non-perishables, as well as lots of bottled mineral water. On top of that, Pei Yi had also prepared some daggers, ropes, guns, and lots of ammunition for her. Jing Chu and Fat Lass only brought a set of clothes and shoes each. Jing Chu decided to bring as few clothes as possible to ease their burden. Besides, they were not here for a vacation anyway. She had also brought somepressed tarpaulin, which they could use during rainy weather. Since all the items werepressed, they did not take up too much space. The other belongings in her suitcase included mandatory items such aspasses, lighters, and first-aid kits. She decided to be careful and stay vignt. Although Pei Yi was just making an analogy, she wanted to find out if life was really scarce on that patch ofnd. Hence, she decided to bring along different types of seeds and try nting them. Pei Yi was the only person who knew about their presence in the forest. There were barely any residences nearby the forest; hence, humans were scarce. No one dared to enter the forest, and it had been that way for several years. This gave Jing Chu a chance. She and Fat Lass went through painstaking means to get through therge iron door. However, that was only the first step of their quest. Jing Chu put the map away, and they began treading along the narrow path with their luggages. The weather was exceptionally warm in August. The two of them began sweating a short whileter. After walking for a brief period of time, they discovered that there was nowhere they could go to. Chapter 1410 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1410: I Only Want You (108)

There were no longer any weeds on the ground. Instead, there were nts that had intertwined branches. It seemed impossible to proceed. The ground was covered by the strange nt. Fat Lass was astounded. However, they did not stay any longer and instead continued to proceed forward while trampling on the ground. The uneven terrain caused them to slow down greatly. When they finally entered the woods, they realized that they had no sense of direction at all. Hence, they could only rely on thepass. After trekking for an hour, they began to feel as if the roads ahead were endless. While they were taking a break, Fat Lass asked, ¡°Sis, didn¡¯t they say that there are lots of menacing beasts in here? Why haven¡¯t we seen any yet?¡± ¡°Do you actually want to see them? It¡¯s better that we don¡¯t chance upon them, lest we get put in danger. Maybe we¡¯re just too slow and haven¡¯t reached their territory yet. However, I hope that we don¡¯t see those creatures.¡± ¡°True. It¡¯s best if they never surface.¡± Feeling warm and thirsty, Jing Chu took out a bottle of mineral water and finished half of it before letting Fat Lass have the other half. Just as Fat Lass was about to discard the empty bottle, Jing Chu stopped her and said, ¡°Don¡¯t throw it away. We can use it to collect water once we find a potable water source.¡± Fat Lass nodded and put the bottle away. They continued on their journey after a short break. There were lots of bugs and insects in the woods. Thus, they were both covered in bites from head to toe. When Fat Lass started scratching the itchy bites continuously, Jing Chu advised her to stop. Only then did Fat Lass realize that she had scratched off the skin on her legs and that they had started to bleed. ¡°Bear with it. The itchiness will fade after a while. The more you scratch them, the itchier they will be.¡± ¡°Sis Jing Chu, I have a feeling that these bugs are different from ordinary ones. The ones here are huge.¡± ¡°Yes, I discovered that too. However, the fact that there are bugs here just goes to show that life is supported here. Otherwise, how did these trees be so strong and sturdy? Let¡¯s keep going. We must find a suitable spot to take shelter before the sky turns dark.¡± ¡°Sis, look... ahead of you.¡± Jing Chu looked up to see that there were thick fumes of smoke moving toward them slowly. She had an ominous feeling. For the past two months, Pei Yi had been constantly telling her about the other element that exists in the forest. It was miasma, a poisonous gas. Continuous exposure to miasma would result in rapid poisoning, which will eventually be fatal if not treated in time. Fortunately, she had already made the necessary preparations before hand. She quickly handed a mask to Fat Lass and said, ¡°It¡¯s miasma. Hurry and put this on. You can¡¯t inhale that gas. It¡¯s poisonous and will kill you.¡± Fat Lass frantically put the mask on, after which Jing Chu handed her another handkerchief. They covered their noses and mouths tightly, after which the fumes of miasma surged forward and engulfed them. ¡°Fat Lass, let¡¯s hurry and get out of here. Quick.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± The duo picked up their speed. At this moment, Jing Chu could no longer be bothered to check thepass. She had no time for that at all. They continued to charge forward, as if they were being chased. Almost half an hourter, the fumes slowly began to dissipate. They sprinted forward with all their might. Finally, they made it out of the woods. They removed their masks and began coughing violently. They only managed to catch their breaths after coughing for a long while. However, they both appeared pale and ghastly. They rested for a long period of time before recovering enough energy to proceed. It felt as if the roads were endless. ¡°Sis Jing Chu, the bugs here seem to have disappeared. Could it be because of the miasma?¡± ¡°Maybe. Fat Lass, are you hungry?¡± Shaking her head, Fat Lass answered, ¡°No. Sis Jing Chu, if you¡¯re hungry, you may munch on something first.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not hungry either. Let¡¯s continue walking.¡± Jing Chu supported herself against the tree and got onto her feet slowly. ¡°Fat Lass,e with me. If we end up dying here, will you regret tagging along?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t. My parents have died long ago and I¡¯ve been sold to different owners all my life. I¡¯m living just like a nomad. I often had no idea who my next buyer would be. Sis Jing Chu, pardon me for my bluntness, but I think your mindset is right. If we can find a safe haven, we¡¯ll at least be able to live peacefully in the future. The political situation of the nation right now is not optimistic for us, and many nations have begun working together in a bid to destroy DK. I¡¯m not certain that the DK Organization would emerge victorious. After all, we¡¯d definitely be outnumbered and outssedpared to those armed military troops.¡± ¡°I thought so too. If we can settle down and survive in this ce, we shall move here. We¡¯ll move back to civilization again when the DK Organization no longer exists,¡± Jing Chu said, describing her ideal life. ¡°Sis Jing Chu, I wouldn¡¯t have had the courage and bravery toe here without you.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have wanted to put myself in such a dangerous situation if it weren¡¯t because of the circumstances we¡¯re in. Apart from this ce, where else can we go to to live a safe and peaceful life?¡± Jing Chu finally understood why Pei Yi wanted her to undergo training for two months. If she had not trained and built her stamina for the past two months, she would have been dead beat by now, especially after covering such a long distance. Unlike Fat Lass, who was beyond exhausted after two hours of walking, Jing Chu could still manage to continue. However, she had no choice but to take a break for the sake of Fat Lass. They replenished their energy and refueled themselves with some food before continuing again. Jing Chu also found it bizarre that there were no animals in sight at all, apart from the bugs and insects. Could it be that we¡¯re really just too far away from the animals? As soon as the question popped up in her head, another wave of miasma began swarming them. This time, the miasmasted for more than an hour, much longerpared to the first wave, which hadsted for about half an hour. Despite Fat Lass¡¯ immense fatigue, they dared not dy any further and hurriedly zoomed forward. Their will to live spurred them to ignore the aches and cramps in their legs. To their astonishment, what greeted them after the second wave of miasma was no longer lush trees and greenery. Instead, it was a smallke. The water flowed along theke endlessly, and they could not see the start or end of theke at all. It was a good thing for there to be water. After all, water was essential for life. Jing Chu and Fat Lass were ted. The two of them proceeded to search for the end of theke, only to discover that theke was not too long. However, the further they walked, the more surprised they were. The water was clear and unpolluted, and it was moving in a steady stream. They were extremely slow at their pace due to their overwhelming fatigue. Moreover, they were also weighed down by the heavy suitcases, which posed as added resistance. Chapter 1411 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1411: I Only Want You (109)

They would stop to take a quick break to snack on some food and drink some water every now and then throughout the journey. Fat Lass remarked, ¡°Sis Jing Chu, I¡¯m confident that I can definitely lose weight sessfully this time and have a figure like yours.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be waiting to see your results.¡± .... It was almost evening by the time they reached the start of the river. The water began flowing from the mountains. Jing Chu deduced, ¡°The menacing beasts must be living in the mountains. Let¡¯s take a break here tonight. My legs are almost breaking after a long day of walking...¡± ¡°Sis Jing Chu, look... look there...¡± Fat Lass spluttered, staring at a certain spot in utter shock and terror. Jing Chu looked at the spot that she was staring at, only to discover that there were numerous pairs of eyes staring at them. The pairs of eyes belonged to a bunch of bizarre-looking creatures. The duo could not tell what the creatures were at all. However, they were all identical and were massive in size. Not to mention, they looked rather ferocious and menacing as well. Jing Chu had never seen such creatures before. Frightened beyond words, her legs began to turn into jelly. However, she managed to keep her cool, unlike Fat Lass. After getting a grip on her emotions, Jing Chu frantically whipped out her guns and handed one to Fat Lass. ¡°Fat Lass... can you climb trees?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Climb up the tree first. I¡¯ll pass you the suitcases before climbing upter. Hurry, stop waiting around.¡± ¡°Sis Jing Chu, you go first.¡± ¡°No, you first.¡± She then whipped out a rope and tied it around the handle of the luggage. Without dy, Fat Lass hurriedly climbed up the tree. Since she was dressed in thin clothing, it was inevitable for her to suffer abrasions on her legs. By the time Fat Lass had struggled to make her way up the tree, the friction had already ripped the skin off her flesh, causing her to feel a stinging pain in her legs. Jing Chu flung the other end of the rope up toward the tree. After multiple attempts, Fat Lass finally grasped onto it while straddling a thick branch on the tree. She then pulled the suitcase up with all her might. After Fat Lass pulled the suitcase up the tree, Jing Chu suddenly discovered that the unknown creatures had begun approaching them. Instead of leaping toward them, the creatures were advancing slowly and quietly. Jing Chu tried to climb up the tree but failed to do so even after several attempts because her legs were much weaker than she had imagined. Pangs of panic engulfed her, and she struggled to climb up with all her might. She felt much more relieved after making it onto the tree. She grabbed onto the tree branch tightly and looked down. Therge creatures were crowding below the tree. Jing Chu remained silent because she had yet to hear the noises made by the creatures. All of a sudden, one of the creatures began charging toward the tree that Fat Lass was on, as if it had lost its temper. Fat Lass was consumed by terror, and she began quivering tremendously before falling off the tree. Jing Chu felt as if her heart was about to stop beating. Staring at the creature that was leaping toward Fat Lass, Jing Chu plunged from the tree andnded straight onto the creature. At this moment, she finally heard the creatures conversing with each other. She tried tomunicate with them in theirnguage, ¡°Why are you guys attacking us when we¡¯re harmless?¡± The pack of beasts began retreating. Jing Chu took the chance to help the injured Fat Lass up. She then stared at the beasts, which started giving off danger signals. She then said, ¡°We had no choice but to trespass. Please let us off.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, the creatures turned around and began running away. They were extremely quick, and the massive number of beasts soon vanished out of sight. Noticing that Fat Lass had begun bleeding from her forehead, Jing Chu frantically pulled the suitcases down and retrieved the first-aid kit. She helped Fat Lass clean her wound with some disinfectant liquid and cotton swabs before bandaging her head with some dressing. She then packed up. ¡°Sis... Jing Chu, I was scared soulless just now. What were you saying to those animals? I didn¡¯t understand what you said at all,¡± Fat Lass murmured while clutching her chest and struggling to breathe. She was as pale as a sheet, clearly frightened out of her wits. ¡°I was speaking to them in theirnguage. I pleaded with them to let us off.¡± ¡°Sis Jing Chu, you canmunicate with animals?¡± ¡°Yes, I can.¡± ¡°How did you develop that skill? Did you inherit it from your parents?¡± Fat Lass asked in astonishment. ¡°No idea. I¡¯ve never met my parents before anyway. The sky is about to turn dark. We must find a thick and sturdy tree to spend the night on,¡± Jing Chu said while scanning her surroundings. ¡°Sis Jing Chu, how about that one?¡± Fat Lass asked, pointing at a tall and sturdy tree that had a thick bark. ¡°We¡¯ll climb onto that, then.¡± Jing Chu and Fat Lass moved the suitcases over before taking out their food rations and some tissue. Just as they were about to move the suitcases up the tree, the beasts returned. Fat Lass began quaking in fear, the shock robbing her of her speech. She had turned into jelly and could not make it up the tree even with Jing Chu¡¯s help. The beasts ran toward them and stopped when they were at a distance away. One of the female beasts said to Jing Chu, ¡°We won¡¯t hurt you guys. Our leader would like to invite you over to our ce.¡± Gripping the gun in her hand tightly, Jing Chu decided to trust them. She then dragged the suitcases and followed the beasts together with Fat Lass. Jing Chu asked, ¡°What breed do you all belong to? I¡¯ve never seen such massive creatures like you.¡± She did not describe them as menacing, for fear that she might provoke them. ¡°Marsupial lions.¡± Although Jing Chu did not know what exactly they were, she knew that they were definitely carnivorous, especially since they looked menacing. ¡°Why does your leader want us to go over?¡± ¡°Because you canmunicate with us. We need humans like you.¡± Jing Chu felt a huge sense of relief after hearing her words. She asked, ¡°Are you guys the only animals here in this forest?¡± The beasts began to guffaw. Jing Chu could not help but get the chills. Her palms began to get sweaty, and her heart palpitated vigorously to the extent that she felt as if it was about to jump out of her chest. ¡°Although that¡¯s what we hope for, it¡¯s unfortunately not the case. There are lots of animals in this forest. Some are of the same build as us while others are smaller.¡± Fat Lass¡¯s legs were aching beyond words. She was filled with pain from head to toe, especially after the great fall that she had just had. Hence, she was walking at a snail¡¯s pace. Jing Chu did not wish to walk either, for she was already dead beat after a long day of walking. ¡°How much further do we have to go?¡± ¡°Not too far. Shall we get one of us to carry you there?¡± Jing Chu frantically declined, ¡°No need for that, we can walk on our own.¡± Even if the beasts were willing to carry them, they did not have the guts to ride on their backs. Chapter 1412 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1412: I Only Want You (110)

Soon, the sky began to turn dark, and they walked through the river to get to the other side before ascending up the mountain. Jing Chu initially thought that they would be heading to a cave. To her surprise, they stopped in front of a pile of stakes on which there was a male marsupial lion. It was much more massive than the other members of the herd. Jing Chu would have burst intoughter if not for the austerity of the atmosphere. She said politely, ¡°Hello.¡± The leader stood out amongst the other marsupial lions of the herd. Thrilled to hear Jing Chu¡¯s response, he said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry to have scared you guys. I really can¡¯t believe that there are humans who canmunicate with us. My dearest friends, how did you guys enter this ce? There haven¡¯t been any humans here in years.¡± Jing Chu answered, ¡°We had no choice but to enter. We wanted to see if this ce is suitable for habitation.¡± ¡°Does that mean you¡¯re nning to stay?¡± ¡°We do intend to do so.¡± ¡°That¡¯s wonderful, you¡¯re very wee to stay,¡± the leader said before letting out a roar of excitement. Jing Chu froze in shock, unable to figure out why it was so worked up. ¡°Are we really allowed to stay here?¡± ¡°Of course you are, but you¡¯ll have to live with us. Otherwise, you¡¯ll risk being attacked by other animals that might devour you. As you can see, we don¡¯t have a proper home at all. All the caves have been upied by the other animals. If you can help us build a home, we¡¯ll take care of your food.¡± ¡°Will you guys eat us up, then?¡± The leader said in displeasure, ¡°Can¡¯t humans start trusting animals more? We won¡¯t devour you. How about I let you be the leader and you shall take charge of expanding our pack? I¡¯ve long wanted to retire. I still have to look after these starving cubs who don¡¯t even have a roof over their heads. It¡¯s a great responsibility.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Cubs?¡± ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re all underage cubs.¡± Jing Chu was speechless. She could not put her feelings into words. They are already so huge as cubs. God knows howrge they will be by the time they reach maturity. ¡°Pardon me, but what about the adult lions? I mean, their parents. Where have those lions gone to?¡± ¡°They¡¯ve all been preyed on by other animals. Being devoured by other animals is verymonce when you¡¯re older, especially since we don¡¯t even have a roof over our heads. Some of the older lions have also been starved to death because food is scarce on this mountain and they could not bear to let their cubs go hungry. Hence, they decide to feed the cubs instead of themselves.¡± ¡°...¡± Finding Jing Chu to be rather reliable and trustworthy after having a chat with her for a long while, the leader said, ¡°I¡¯m getting on in my years and I can¡¯t take care of them any longer. You shall rece me as the leader. We¡¯ll listen to you.¡± Jing Chu agreed for the sake of her future peace. Meanwhile, Fat Lass waspletely clueless, and she could not make out what Jing Chu was saying at all. The sounds that Jing Chu were making simply came off as gibberish to her. However, she felt much less afraid and anxious after seeing the calm expression on Jing Chu¡¯s face. Her eyes widened in shock the moment she saw the beasts kneeling down in front of Jing Chu. ¡°Sis Jing Chu, what¡¯s going on?¡± Jing Chu exined softly, ¡°I¡¯ll be their leader from now on so you don¡¯t have to be afraid anymore. They won¡¯t eat us.¡± It was Fat Lass¡¯ first time witnessing something so absurd. When nighttime arrived, Jing Chu and Fat Lass took a rest. She asked the retired leader, ¡°The water in theke is potable, right?¡± ¡°Of course. We grew up drinking that water.¡± ¡°What do you guys eat?¡± ¡°We hunt for other animals. We¡¯re carnivorous.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll start building you a home tomorrow. The weather is still warm now, but wouldn¡¯t it be freezing for you in the winter?¡± The leader sighed and said, ¡°Yeah, there are lots of us who freeze to death. We¡¯re almost bing extinct.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll start tomorrow, then. Where would you guys like to live?¡± ¡°Anywhere. This entire area belongs to us.¡± Jing Chu nodded and said, ¡°Alright, I know what to do.¡± During nighttime, Jing Chu and Fat Lass could not fall asleep because they were being surrounded by the beasts. However, the only mature lion told her that they were just protecting them from the other beasts. She spent the rest of the night half-awake. Jing Chu felt a huge sense of relief when daybreak arrived. She began to find that those menacing creatures were rather loyal to their leader. She scanned her surroundings, after which she decided to build their den opposite the river. That was because the trees there were tall, huge, and much sturdierpared to the other trees in the forest. Hence, Jing Chu and Fat Lass began working together to build a small two-storey house. The lions would live on one floor while the two of them would take the other. They would enjoy the best of both worlds. However, it was easier said than done. How were they supposed to build a house without any tools? Atst, Jing Chu decided to leave the forest and return with some tools before beginning construction. She gained the approval of the retired leader. They then escorted the two of them away. The lions¡¯ trust in them made Jing Chu feel much more relieved. She believed that trust could be established between humans and animals. Hence, they did not take their luggage with them. Instead of taking a different route, they took an express route and exited the forest. They returned to Mount Qingping to discover that Pei Yi was not home yet. He rushed home as quickly as he could after hearing that she had returned. He initially thought that they had had a close shave with death. However, he was extremely appalled and bewildered after hearing her ount. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Why would I lie to you? That¡¯s why I have to go back there. I¡¯m home to collect some tools. Hubby, we¡¯ll be staying there in the future. Although there are lots of animals there, I¡¯m not afraid at all. I really am not. I think it¡¯s much safer there than here.¡± Pei Yi agreed to help her prepare some tools. ¡°Do you need me to send some bodyguards to your aid?¡± ¡°No, Fat Lass and I can manage on our own. I don¡¯t want anyone to know about our secret haven.¡± He nodded and pinched her cheek. ¡°Wow, my wife is really capable.¡± ¡°Hubby, what are marsupial lions?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t heard of them either. I¡¯ll go online to do a search.¡± He opened hisputer and began searching up on them while Jing Chu stood beside him. ¡°They¡¯re extinct.¡± ¡°Extinct?¡± ¡°Yeah, it says here that they¡¯ve gone into extinction.¡± ¡°That means no one else has discovered about what¡¯s inside the forest yet.¡± ¡°However, the inte says that they¡¯re closely simr to marsupial bears and grizzly bears.¡± Chapter 1413 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1413: I Only Want You (111)

Jing Chu nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go take a shower first. Hurry and prepare the items that I need. You don¡¯t need to give me any electronic devices. There are no power circuits there. I won¡¯t be able to use them.¡± ¡°Got it. You can just use battery-powered equipment instead. I¡¯ll see to it.¡± Pei Yi pursed his lips and watched her walk toward the bedroom. He smiled, feeling rather relieved to see that she was safe. He quickly instructed his bodyguards to prepare the items that she needed. He then tiptoed toward the bathroom to hear that there were sounds of water flowinging from inside. He grabbed the handle of the door, only to discover that it was locked. Pei Yi had no choice but to knock on the door. ¡°Open up, I need to take a shower.¡± ¡°You can do so when I¡¯m done.¡± ¡°No, I want to shower with you.¡± Jing Chu ignored him. He then unlocked the door with the spare key. She was in the midst of shampooing her hair while standing naked under the showerhead. Pei Yi strode in brazenly and said with a grin, ¡°Did you think that I won¡¯t have a solution just because you won¡¯t open up?¡± Jing Chu answered, ¡°Well, it¡¯s your house. No one can stop you from going anywhere as long as you want to.¡± He began undressing himself, after which he stepped forward to hug her. Pei Yi could not help but fondle her affectionately. Jing Chu looked up at him and said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯ll be a long time before I cane back again this time. After all, it¡¯s not that easy to construct a house. You must give me a blueprint that I can follow. It¡¯s alright, I¡¯ll get it constructed in the end. It¡¯ll be our ce of refuge in the future. I finally feel safer. Besides, theke there is really clear and the air is fresh, apart from the periodical waves of miasma. I really like it there.¡± ¡°As long as you¡¯re safe and sound, we can stay there forever. You can change it into your ideal home too.¡± Jing Chu nodded and said, ¡°Good that you agree.¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°I¡¯m here to see Nainai,¡± Yao Lan said to the guards at the door. ¡°Come in.¡± Yao Lan entered together with the bodyguards. She was now allowed to see her daughter once a month, which was much better than not being able to see her at all. Whenever she returned to the ce that once used to be her home, she would be filled with displeasure and disgruntlement. She used to be the mistress of this house, but she had now been reced. She felt annoyed that she had to be restricted to meeting her daughter only once a month. To make things worse, her daughter was addressing another woman as her mother. She could not help but feel miserable at the thought of it. She felt as if a million daggers had pierced through her heart upon the sight of her daughter walking on an unsteady gait in her walker with Su Yan and Qiao An teasing her. Although Su Yan did like children before their divorce, he had never spent so much time looking after Su Nainai together with her before. He would either bring Su Nainai out alone for a while or y with her for a few seconds before leaving. Noticing that Yao Lan was walking toward them, Qiao An stood up straight and said a few words to Su Yan softly before returning to the living room. Yao Lan stepped forward and carried Su Nainai out of the walker. However, Su Nainai felt distant from her and refused to let Yao Lan carry her. Filled with disappointment, Yao Lan said, ¡°Nainai, I¡¯m Mommy.¡± Su Yan watched her carry Su Nainai quietly with his hands in his pocket. Yao Lan shifted her gaze onto him and asked, ¡°Can you answer a question of mine?¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Did you divorce me because of her?¡± ¡°Do you actually think that I¡¯m a irvoyant who can predict that I¡¯ll end up with her after we got a divorce? We only reconciled after she got released from prison, and I divorced you because I regretted my decision to marry you. I could not figure out why I would actually marry such a cheap and lousy woman like you. I even let you be the mother of my child. I wanted to put an end to our destructive rtionship. I couldn¡¯t stand being together with you anymore. That¡¯s the reason for our divorce.¡± ¡°Is she any better than me? Su Yan, you¡¯re really thick-skinned. You¡¯re just holding yourself cheap. That woman aborted your child and broke up with you back then, yet you¡¯re still willing to be together with her. Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know what happened to you in the past. Everything about you had long been spreading within our social circle. They may wish you a happy marriage, but they¡¯re all just mocking you behind your back! How dare you call me lousy. Is she ssier than I am!?!¡± Yao Lan snapped. ¡°If you say such words again, forget about seeing Nainai. If Qiao An hadn¡¯t put in a good word for you, I wouldn¡¯t have allowed you to meet her at all. How dumb and ignorant,¡± Su Yan said while ring at her coldly. ¡°She only did so because she wanted you to think that she¡¯s kind and magnanimous. How scheming of her.¡± ¡°Seems like my words have fallen on deaf ears.¡± Su Yan snatched Su Nainai from her and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have toe here anymore from now on.¡± Yao Lan felt as if she had suffered a huge blow the moment he left without looking back. She scurried toward Su Yan and stopped him from leaving. ¡°I just won¡¯t say those words anymore from now on. Will that do?¡± ¡°It¡¯s gettingte. You can leave my house now,¡± said Su Yan, who kept his word. ¡°Su Yan!¡± All she received was silence. Yao Lan stood rooted to the ground, at aplete loss for words. Qiao An was lying on the bed when he returned with Su Nainai. Upon the sight of them, she asked in surprise, ¡°Why are you guys back so soon?¡± He closed the door and lowered Su Nainai onto the bed. ¡°We won¡¯t let here here anymore. From now on, you¡¯ll be Nainai¡¯s only mother. Yao Lan can forget about meeting her again.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I told her that you were the one who persuaded me to let her continue seeing Nainai, and yet she said that you were just pretending to be kind and magnanimous and that you were scheming for doing so. Since she¡¯s so ungrateful, I¡¯ve decided to just forbid her from seeing Nainai again. She¡¯s better off without a mother like Yao Lan anyway.¡± Qiao An kept mum. ¡°By the way, are you aware of this?¡± ¡°Aware of what?¡± Qiao An asked. ¡°That Ms. Jing Chu is Pei Yi¡¯s wife.¡± ¡°Pei Yi? Pei Yi from DK?¡± Su Yan answered with a nod, ¡°Yes, that Pei Yi.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know about this. She has never mentioned it to me before. I read on the news that Pei Yi has divorced his former wife. Is that true?¡± Qiao An asked in astonishment. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s been a while since he did that.¡± ¡°Jing Chu hasn¡¯t been contacting metely. I wonder what she¡¯s busy with.¡± Su Yan cautioned, ¡°Don¡¯t initiate a conversation with her if she doesn¡¯t contact you first. Although you two were fellow inmates for more than two years, her status is now different. I¡¯m sure you know that the DK Organization is an untouchable time bomb in our nation. The political situation is very tense right now, and we can¡¯t be the catalyst. You just have to understand the pros and cons.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Chapter 1414 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1414: I Only Want You (112)

Jing Chu returned to the forest with lots of items. Pei Yi drove her and Fat Lass to the forest personally and dropped them off at the metal gate. Jing Chu climbed up thedder to get to the other side, only to discover that there were more than ten marsupial lions waiting for her. Upon the sight of her, they got up from the ground excitedly and shook their bodies. Jing Chu could really use some help. She tied the items to their bodies and told them to bring them in for her. She was initially worried that she could not manage carrying so many things and hence decided to bring as little as possible. Now that she had some help, she told Pei Yi to prepare more necessary tools and equipment for her to bring inside. She also instructed him to bring her some clean sheets and pillows, as well as some crockery and pork. Pei Yi was their errand boy and chauffeur for the day. However, seeing how obedient andpliant the menacing beasts were toward Jing Chu, he decided that it was only right to reward and thank them with some meat. They took an entire day to move all the items into the forest. After moving everything, Pei Yi returned home. Before he left, Jing Chu reminded him not to barge into the forest without her apaniment. Knowing the dangers involved, Pei Yi agreed. The sky had already turned dark by the time they returned to theke. There was nothing much they could do. Fortunately, the pork was enough to satiate them, although they were not exactly full. After nning out their agenda for the following day, Jing Chu and Fat Lass proceeded to get some rest for the night. From the following day onward, the lions would go out in herds to hunt for food while a small number of them stayed behind to help Jing Chu and Fat Lass. At the same time, they would also protect them from other animals. After some observation and reconnoitering, Jing Chu found five trees that were of simr girth and height. The five trees formed a shape that was closely simr to a pentagon. They were very suitable for the construction of a treehouse. The two of them were inexperienced in constructing houses and, hence, had to follow the instructions and blueprint given by Pei Yi. It was rather tough for them to cut and saw the trees. Fortunately, they had two types of chainsaws; one was electric while the other was manually-powered. Due to the fact that there was no power source in the forest, the electric chainsaw was battery-powered. However, Pei Yi had given her something that was extremely useful. It was a sr-powered power bank that had arge capacity and could be used to charge torchlights and mobile phones. Pei Yi had given her five of those power banks. She could use them on a rotational basis. A professional architect and construction worker would be able toplete the construction of the house within a short period of time. However, it was an arduous and Herculean task for the two women, who required an extremelyrge amount of time toplete the construction. Not to mention, they would have been devoured by other menacing creatures if it weren¡¯t for the marsupial lions that were protecting them. Bullets were not enough to deal with those animals. Over the next few days, Fat Lass and Jing Chu developed a tan that made their skin appear much healthier. They first built a treehouse, followed by a den for the lions below the house. Lastly, they constructed two other houses. Two of the houses were built on the trees while the other was built on the ground. It was meant to be a kitchen. The two houses on the trees were connected via a bridge made of a wooden nk. It was extremely stable because it was secured with nails. The treehouses were eight meters above the ground. They had also installed a spiral staircase that Pei Yi had bought and delivered to them. However, Jing Chu still did not find it safe enough and instructed Pei Yi to send some cement, which she then used to secure the houses. Pei Yi did his best to send her all the materials she needed within the shortest time possible. However, she never brought him into the forest. Even then, he still fancied the ce after seeing the photos that she had sent him. To his surprise, Jing Chu did not stop construction yet. She still nned to build a room for the storage of firewood. The barend that was exposed to sunlight could be used for agriculture. Their safety was ensured, thanks to the marsupial lions. However, the spiral staircase was rather inconvenient. Hence, she intended to add another wooden nk to the staircase, so as to make ascending easier. It was a tough time for Pei Yi, for he had to be away from his wife for several consecutive days. Even Qin Guo began to think that they had already gotten a divorce. However, he felt rather touched at the thought of the efforts she had put in for the sake of their future. Although she was away at the forest for a long period of time, Pei Yi would constantly show Pei Ling Jing Chu¡¯s photo and remind him that she was his mother. Hence, Pei Ling knew who his mother was even though Jing Chu was not by his side. Pei Ling was barely two years old when Jing Chu and Fat Lass headed to the forest. By the time they were out, Pei Ling was already three years old. They had spent an enormous amount of time building their new home. However, Jing Chu finally felt a sense of security. No amount of money could buy her that sense of security. Their clothes had all been delivered to them, and they had also nted all the fruit trees. This time, Jing Chu exited the forest with the intention of bringing Pei Yi and Pei Ling to their new home, where they would start life afresh. Pei Yi had made some ns too. After more than a year, the DK Organization had begununching several terrorist attacks on every nation in the world. Although the attacks wereunched by the chieftains from the headquarters, Pei Yi understood that they were just giving out warnings and threats. However, their ns backfired. Pei Yi first made a copy of the documents he was handling and sent it to his own mailbox. Jing Chu and Fat Lass visited Qiao An, whom they had not contacted in a long time, with the purpose of bidding her goodbye. Jing Chu was surprised to see that Qiao An¡¯s mother was present the moment she stepped foot inside the living room. ¡°Sis Qiao An.¡± ¡°You¡¯re here, Jing Chu. I haven¡¯t seen you in a long time. Hurry ande take a seat here,¡± said Qiao An, who was already six months pregnant. Li Wanru was astonished at the sight of Jing Chu. The moment she heard Qiao An call her name, Li Wanru could not help but ask, ¡°Jing Chu?¡± ¡°Yes, Jing Chu.¡± Li Wanru stared at her in disbelief. ¡°Are you from S Nation?¡± After Jing Chu and Qiao An looked at each other, Jing Chu nodded and answered, ¡°Yes, but I¡¯ve been here for years.¡± Li Wanru stood up and zoomed toward her. ¡°Do you have a tattoo of your name on your arm?¡± Jing Chu expressed assent and asked, ¡°How did you know? Did Sis Qiao An tell you about it?¡± Qiao An answered in denial, ¡°I didn¡¯t tell her.¡± Li Wanru asked, ¡°May I have a look at it?¡± Jing Chu nodded and showed her the tattoo. After taking a look, Li Wanru closed her eyes and opened them again. ¡°I was the one who tattooed your name onto your arm. You¡¯re my daughter.¡± ¡°...¡± Chapter 1415 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1415: I Only Want You (113)

Jing Chu, Qiao An, and Fat Lass could not believe their ears at all. ¡°Is Jing Chu the child you had with the man whom you had eloped with back then?¡± Li Wanru admitted to it. ¡°You... you¡¯re that mother of mine who sold me to those thugs for money? So you¡¯re the one who abandoned me and left me to fend for myself, thus causing me to be subjected to torment and hardship ever since I was a child. You¡¯re the one who caused me to almost lose my life after being set on fire by those people who wanted to sacrifice me as an offering! Why aren¡¯t you dead yet? How are you still alive and well? Don¡¯t you feel uneasy or guilty at all? You were the one who assisted Sis Qiao An¡¯s ex-husband in framing her and sending her to prison, aren¡¯t you? Have you finished serving your jail term? Why weren¡¯t you executed to death instead!?!¡± Jing Chu snapped angrily, ring daggers at the woman whom she resented greatly. She wished she could just kill her. Li Wanru turned as pale as a sheet upon the sight of her eyes that were filled with fury and exasperation. Qiao An never thought that Jing Chu would be her half-sister. It had never crossed her mind at all. She said, ¡°She was initially sentenced to a two-year jail term. However, she was given credit for her good behavior in prison and was granted an early release.¡± Jing Chu said coldly, ¡°Is that so? I¡¯m here to bid you goodbye, Sis Qiao An. We¡¯ll meet again if fate allows.¡± ¡°Where are you going?¡± asked Qiao An, who was filled with a mix of emotions after finding out all of a sudden that Jing Chu turned out to be her sister. ¡°To a safe ce.¡± Li Wanru eximed, ¡°I know I¡¯ve failed as a mother and I don¡¯t deserve to be called your mother either, but your father is far worse than I am! He was the one who abandoned us and left me with no choice but to get rid of you because I couldn¡¯t take you back with me to R Nation.¡± ¡°How unlucky of Sis Qiao An and me to have a mother like you. There are so many great mothers in this world, yet we had to end up being born to one like you. Stop creating excuses for yourself. You¡¯re just a selfish woman. I¡¯ll never be grateful to you for giving birth to me because you didn¡¯t perform your duties as my mother at all. You were irresponsible and self-centered. It¡¯s destined that I¡¯ll never acknowledge you as my mother for the rest of my life. As for that scumbag who abandoned you and me, I have no interest in finding out who he is,¡± Jing Chu said bluntly, feeling nothing but hatred for her mother. Despite Jing Chu stating clearly that she did not wish to know about her father, Li Wanru still told her, nheless. ¡°Your father is no ordinary man. I hope you¡¯ll understand that. He was a very charming man and you resemble him greatly. However, he was already a married man, and I eloped with him out of recklessness. He discovered onlyter that his wife and children mattered to him the most. Hence, he decided to abandon us because we didn¡¯t have a proper status.¡± Jing Chu found the two of them to be utterly shameless and obnoxious. ¡°What do you mean he¡¯s not ordinary?¡± she scoffed. ¡°He canmunicate with animals.¡± ¡°Such people actually exist in this world? Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t inherit those superior genes from him.¡± Li Wanru nodded and said, ¡°You must have inherited mine, then.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t mention that so casually. It makes me feel so repulsed and it utterly disgusts me.¡± Jing Chu looked at Qiao An and said, ¡°Sis Qiao An, may I speak to you in private?¡± Qiao An agreed with a nod and brought her to the bedroom. They closed the door. Taking a close look at Jing Chu, whom she had not seen in a long time, Qiao An remarked, ¡°You¡¯ve gotten darker and healthier than before.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve grown to like suntanning.¡± ¡°Are you leaving R Nation?¡± Jing Chu exined, ¡°I¡¯ll be going to a faraway ce. I haven¡¯t been contacting you for such a long time because I was afraid that my status would affect you negatively and cause you to feel burdened. By the way, Pei Yi has decided to withdraw from DK and we¡¯re intending to spend the rest of our lives uprightly in peace. I may never get to see you again from now on, so you and Mr. Su must continue to live in bliss. I hope you¡¯ll give birth to a healthy baby too. I¡¯ll live well myself. If you don¡¯t hear any news about Pei Yi, it means we¡¯re doing well in a safe ce.¡± Qiao An held her hand and said, ¡°I feel so ashamed and guilty for failing to contact you first even though you¡¯re so considerate toward me. Jing Chu, promise me that you will live well like you said you would. As for our mother, I¡¯ve decided not to acknowledge her. I was intending to make things clear to her today. How about you?¡± ¡°Me too. Sis, I share simr sentiments as you. I don¡¯t need a selfish mother like her who would sacrifice her own children for the sake of her own interests.¡± Qiao An removed the gold bangle from her wrist and ced it inside Jing Chu¡¯s hand. ¡°This isn¡¯t worth much but keep it as a memento. It¡¯s a gift from me to you, Sis.¡± Jing Chu epted it. She was filled with emotions after finding out that her close friend turned out to be her half-sister. However, she would be beginning life anew from now on. ¡°By the way, Sis Xiong Mingming who was our fellow inmate has also been released for a while now. She began life afresh with a man whom she had met at a blind date and is now married too.¡± ¡°Oh, that sounds great.¡± The two of them exited the bedroom while Li Wanru was still in the living room. Li Wanru stared at Jing Chu, seemingly trying to tell her something. However, Jing Chu ignored her and disregarded her presencepletely. Noticing the sullen expression on Li Wanru¡¯s face, Qiao An said, ¡°Leave. Don¡¯te here ever again.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already divorced Xi Changzhi¡¯s father. There¡¯s nowhere for me to go now.¡± Qiao An said bluntly, ¡°That¡¯s none of my business. If you expect your children to be filial to you, you ought to behave and conduct yourself in a manner that¡¯ll earn their respect. Don¡¯t throw your weight around just because you¡¯re an elder. You should really be reflecting on your own actions and mistakes.¡± Despite feeling extremely regretful and knowing that she hadmitted grave mistakes in the past, there was no turning back for her and no way to redeem herself regardless of what she says now. ¡°Is Jing Chu leaving this ce? Where is she going?¡± ¡°No idea. We might never get to see each other again. It all depends on fate. You should really leave,¡± said Qiao An, who was exhausted due to her pregnancy. ¡°Did you request for your assets to be returned to you from my ount? I have nothing to my name and I¡¯m penniless now. How am I supposed to continue living?¡± ¡°Like I said, it¡¯s none of my business.¡± ¡°Qiao An, I¡¯m your mother. Do you really want to see me ending up as a beggar? Do you want the media to report about your unfilial ways?¡± Qiao An grabbed her wallet and handed her a wad of hundred-dor bills before saying, ¡°You¡¯ve long overwritten the credit that you deserved for giving birth to me bymitting all those misdeeds. This is all I can give you for the veryst time. I don¡¯t want to see you ever again. Whether you be a beggar or not in the future has nothing to do with me.¡± Li Wanru left after epting the money. When she exited, she thought to herself, If only I had treated one of my daughters well. Had I done so, I definitely wouldn¡¯t have ended up in such a sorry plight today. However, I did not put in any effort to raise them at all. I even ended up harming them. But what¡¯s the point of regretting it now? Chapter 1416 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1416: I Only Want You (114)

When Jing Chu returned, Pei Yi had already drafted the email and set the timing for the email to be sent automatically. Noticing that she seemed a little troubled, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°I saw my mother at Sis Qiao An¡¯s ce.¡± Pei Yi stood up and sat down beside her, ¡°You mean, your biological mother?¡± She answered with a nod, ¡°Yes, she¡¯s Qiao An¡¯s mother as well. Turns out, we¡¯re half-sisters...¡± She exined to him everything that happened. After hearing her words, Pei Yi was utterly speechless. Although his mother had always been cruel to others, she had never let him suffer any hardship before and she had never once given up on him even during their toughest times. It was also the very reason why he was willing to sacrifice his own happiness by marrying Tian Tian for the sake of fulfilling his mother¡¯s wishes. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, you won¡¯t be meeting her again in the future anyway.¡± Jing Chu nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. I just feel a little peeved and vexed. Are you done with packing yet?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be done after sorting all these documents on myputer. However, I think you can call An Xiaoning now to tell her that you¡¯re still alive. After all, I don¡¯t think she knows yet since she probably wouldn¡¯t be paying much attention to the news about R Nation.¡± ¡°Alright, sure, I¡¯ll call her right now.¡± She had long wanted to call An Xiaoning but never got his permission. Now that he finally allowed her to do so, she was definitely more than d to call An Xiaoning. The call went through quickly. ¡°Hello, who¡¯s speaking?¡± An Xiaoning asked. Feeling a little nervous, Jing Chu answered, ¡°It¡¯s... it¡¯s me, Sis Xiaoning. I¡¯m Jing Chu. Do you still remember me? You once saved me from the Widows¡¯ Vige.¡± ¡°Oh my god, Jing Chu? I really didn¡¯t expect to hear from you again. Where are you now?¡± An Xiaoning asked in surprise. She had always thought that Jing Chu had already passed away. ¡°Sis Xiaoning, the people who took me away back then tried to burn me alive, but Pei Yi saved me. I¡¯m married to him now and we have a son together.¡± What a piece of... groundbreaking news! ¡°Wait, isn¡¯t Tian Tian Pei Yi¡¯s wife? Didn¡¯t she give birth to the child too? Did you assume Tian Tian¡¯s identity?¡± Jing Chu exined, ¡°No, the child belongs to me and Pei Yi. Tian Tian was only the surrogate mother because my mother-inw wanted Pei Yi to marry her. Hence, he did so in order to fulfill her wishes. However, we came clean and exined everything to her afterward. Pei Yi and I got married after he divorced Tian Tian.¡± Having understood what Jing Chu meant, An Xiaoning said, ¡°Oh, I see. You two are fated to be together, then. That¡¯s great. Is Pei Yi beside you now?¡± ¡°Yes, you may talk to him,¡± said Jing Chu, who then passed the phone to Pei Yi. He answered, ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± ¡°Pei Yi, you¡¯re really something, huh? You brought Jing Chu away for so many years and you didn¡¯t even inform me. Are you carrying the world on your shoulders?¡± He chuckled and answered, ¡°I¡¯m not that capable. I¡¯m just afraid that those crooks wille and search for her again. I have something to tell you, though.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°I¡¯m withdrawing from the DK Organization.¡± An Xiaoning was extremely astonished. Although the DK Organization was currently in a disadvantageous predicament, An Xiaoning knew clearly that its members were not allowed to just leave as and when they¡¯d like. ¡°Have youe up with a seamless n?¡± ¡°Yes, I have. Am I worthy of being your friend now?¡± An Xiaoningughed and said, ¡°Yes, you are. However, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re well aware of how relentless and ruthless the DK Organization is. You must be very careful.¡± ¡°My life is rather valuable, actually. I¡¯m not going to die so soon. However, since we¡¯re friends now, I must tell you something. Friend, we¡¯ll probably never meet again.¡± ¡°Alright, all the best.¡± Pei Yi smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m d to hear that from you. Rest assured, as long as you don¡¯t hear any bad news about me, it means I¡¯m alive and well. Goodbye.¡± ¡°Goodbye. Take good care of Jing Chu and the child.¡± ¡°I will.¡± After ending the call, Pei Yi said to Jing Chu, ¡°She has always been unwilling to regard me as her friend because of my identity and status, even though I actually saved her life before.¡± ¡°You saved her once and she had saved your wife once too. What¡¯s there to say? You two are even.¡± Facts! Knock-knock! Qin Guo said, ¡°Ancestor, the people from the headquarters are here.¡± Jing Chu panicked and looked at Pei Yi, who then patted her hand in a bid tofort her. He then said to Qin Guo, ¡°Got it, I¡¯ll go down right away.¡± As soon as he left, Jing Chu followed closely behind him stealthily. However, there was no point in her doing that since she was not allowed to eavesdrop on the conversation between Pei Yi and the people from the DK headquarters. Hence, she had no choice but to wait outside the door. ¡°May I ask you a question?¡± Qin Guo asked. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Have you divorced Ancestor or not?¡± ¡°Of course not. We¡¯re getting along so well and our rtionship is so stable. Why should we get a divorce? Ms. Qin, are you hoping that we¡¯d get a divorce?¡± Qin Guo frantically denied it. ¡°Of course not. I just haven¡¯t seen you in a long time.¡± ¡°I went on a vacation. Didn¡¯t you notice that I¡¯ve gotten tanner? Ms. Qin, I really can¡¯t figure out how your brain works. Do you actually suspect that couples have gotten a divorce just because they¡¯ve been away from each other for some time?¡± Jing Chu quipped with a smile. Smiling wryly, Qin Guo answered, ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant, of course. Madam, you¡¯re so ambitious, though. You actually went on a long vacation all by yourself. You barely even came home to visit your son.¡± Jing Chu rebuked, ¡°That¡¯s our family matter. Master Pei doesn¡¯t even have any objections. Who are you to tell me what to do?¡± Qin Guo was speechless. After a moment of silence, Qin Guo said, ¡°I feel that Ancestor has changed ever since he met you.¡± Staring at her, Jing Chu asked, ¡°Changed? In what way, exactly?¡± ¡°Madam, don¡¯t you know how to make theparisons yourself?¡± Jing Chu could not be bothered to continue talking to her. However, she actually began recalling the way Pei Yi used to be when they first met andpared it to the way he was now. The greatest change that happened to him was that he had stopped being obstinate and resolute. In fact, he had even begun makingpromises and giving in to her. There were major changes in his personality too. She had changed as well. She had gone from yearning to live a peaceful life to yearning for love. What Jing Chu wanted the most now was to live a blissful and stable life with her husband and son. Hence, she had been working hard and putting all her effort into achieving her goals. They had both changed for each other. They had also changed because of each other. Wonderful. Surprised to see her outside the meeting room, Pei Yi asked, ¡°What are you here for? Why aren¡¯t you resting instead?¡± ¡°I was waiting for you.¡± To the dismay and disgruntlement of Qin Guo, Pei Yi held her hand gently with tender affection. ¡°Let¡¯s go back. Qin Guo, tag along. I have something to tell you,¡± he said. ¡°Alright.¡± Qin Guo followed him into his room. Chapter 1417 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1417: I Only Want You (115)

They sat on the couch together, after which Pei Yi said, ¡°The people from the headquarters came to discuss the strategies and actions to be taken against the cooperating nations. The nations have already begun attacking us more than a year ago, and the organization has also started nning long ago. No blunders are to be made at all. Putting that aside, Qin Guo, I¡¯m giving you a chance now.¡± ¡°Ancestor, what chance...¡± ¡°I¡¯ll allow you to leave the DK Organization. Although you¡¯ve made a lot of mistakes in the past, I don¡¯t want you to be implicated any further on ount that you¡¯ve worked for me for so many years.¡± Qin Guo had never expected to hear those words from him. Shaking her head, she said, ¡°I¡¯m not leaving. I¡¯ll go wherever you go, Ancestor.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not leaving? I¡¯m letting you leave and you¡¯re turning the chance down? Have you really thought about it carefully? I¡¯m only going to offer you this chance once. Qin Guo, I¡¯m being serious. Make the right decision while I¡¯m still in power.¡± Needless to say, Qin Guo definitely was not aware of Pei Yi¡¯s ns, for he would never inform her about what he and Jing Chu were intending to do. ¡°I¡¯m not leaving. I¡¯ve thought about it carefully. I¡¯m an orphan anyway. I¡¯ve been working for you and been through thick and thin with you for so many years. I don¡¯t wish to leave you.¡± ¡°I¡±m only letting you leave on ount of your loyalty to me. It¡¯s all for your own good. Don¡¯t be silly and make life hard for yourself.¡± ¡°I¡¯m destined to live like this for the rest of my life. I don¡¯t have any intentions to leave at all, so Ancestor, don¡¯t bring this up again,¡± said Qin Guo. ¡°You must think that I never found out about the email that you sent to Tian Tian in the past, don¡¯t you?¡± Qin Guo spluttered in surprise, ¡°Ancestor, I...¡± Pei Yi said, ¡°Enough, you don¡¯t have to exin anymore. It¡¯s all in the past now. You may go out.¡± Qin Guo nodded and left the room, closing the door after her. Jing Chu asked softly, ¡°Did those peoplee to use you as a tool?¡± Staring at her in surprise, Pei Yi said, ¡°Not bad, my wife is getting smarter.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°They discussed a n with me tounch an attack on H Nation in a week¡¯s time. They wanted me to make the first move and get the n going. There may be lots of people in Mount Qingping but don¡¯t be fooled. They may seempliant to me on the surface, but they¡¯re actually loyal to the headquarters instead.¡± ¡°I can tell that Qin Guo really fancies you.¡± ¡°How could you tell?¡± ¡°With both my eyes. Women¡¯s intuitions are always very urate. I guess she¡¯s been carrying a torch for you for years. She probably never dared to confess her feelings for you for fear that she would infuriate you.¡± He scoffed and said, ¡°If she ever dares to admit that she has feelings for me, I definitely wouldn¡¯t allow her to stay by my side. She knows that more than anyone else does. I will never fancy my subordinates.¡± Jing Chu burst intoughter and asked, ¡°Do you find Qin Guo pretty, then?¡± ¡°She¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°I think she¡¯s rather pretty, actually. She¡¯s just too scheming.¡± ¡°I agree, but she¡¯d have to be scheming in order to work for me. However, she¡¯s just a small fry.¡± He leaned against her and pressed her down onto the couch. Staring at her tan skin, he smiled and said, ¡°You¡¯re almost bing like charcoal...¡± ¡°Why? Do you despise me now?¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re still beautiful even with darker skin.¡± He kissed Jing Chu on the lips while she closed her eyes, feeling blissful at the thought of finally being able to start life anew. A question popped up in her head while they were in the midst of a deep, passionate kiss. ¡°What if... they drop a few bombs on the forest? We...¡± Pei Yi chuckled and said, ¡°Are you silly? The royal family and the military troops have now held the DK Organization under control. Although they have a stable home base here, they wouldn¡¯t dare to act so brazenly. Besides, that forest is so vast and there¡¯s no reception there either. No one will find out that we¡¯re in there. Who would think that we¡¯d actually move to such a dangerous ce? Do you remember the thick and high walls around the forest that I had told you about?¡± ¡°Yes. Didn¡¯t you say that the beasts behind that wall are harmful to humans?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯m guessing that the nation has been conserving the forest in a bid to protect those menacing beasts that are going into extinction. Didn¡¯t they all say that marsupial lions have long be extinct? Why do they still exist in the forest, then? Although there¡¯s only a small number of lions now, the nation would still have to protect them. Hence, I doubt humans will be granted entry for the next few decades. It¡¯d be safe for us to live there for a long time. Besides, we don¡¯t actually have to live there forever. If the DK gets wiped outpletely, we can always return to civilization. No one will remember who we are by then.¡± ¡°If the DK gets wiped out, lots of lives will be lost, including those belonging to people battling against the DK Organization. It¡¯s going to be a tough war... My wish is for there to be world peace,¡± Jing Chu said softly. ¡°It¡¯s impossible to achieve world peace because there¡¯ll always be viins in this world. Besides, humans are not the only entities in this world. The strongest will always be at the top of the food chain and the weak will forever fall prey to the strong. That¡¯s just thew of nature.¡± Jing Chu urged, ¡°Hurry and get everything settled. We¡¯ll leave tonight. I¡¯m really worried and I don¡¯t wish to stay here a minute longer.¡± He nodded and said, ¡°Alright.¡± During dinner, Pei Yi instructed the cooks to prepare a sumptuous spread. While they were in the midst of eating, Qin Guo reported about Tian Tian¡¯s arrival. Pei Yi would usually forbid her from entering. However, he let her in this time. Tian Tian was shocked to see that all three of them were present. Staring at Pei Ling, she extended her arms and said, ¡°Let Mommy carry you.¡± Jing Chu smiled and said, ¡°Ms. Tian, he¡¯s my son. Don¡¯t call yourself his mother.¡± Tian Tian scoffed and said, ¡°Your son? Who gave birth to him?¡± ¡°You did, but he¡¯s my son.¡± ¡°Since I gave birth to him, he¡¯s my son! If you want a son, can¡¯t you give birth to one yourself? Why can¡¯t my son address me as his mother? You¡¯re so thick-skinned, huh? Could it be that you¡¯re infertile? You¡¯ve already been married to Pei Yi for so long,¡± Tian Tian sneered. Pei Yi remained calm andposed, for he knew that Jing Chu would definitely tell Tian Tian about the truth and get her riled up sessfully. Hence, he decided not to interrupt and instead continued to listen quietly. ¡°Ms. Tian, I don¡¯t think you understood my words correctly. What I meant was, you may have given birth to Pei Ling, but he¡¯s my son. The child doesn¡¯t belong to you. He belongs to me and Pei Yi. I can exin it to you in further detail if you still don¡¯t get it.¡± Tian Tian looked at her before turning to look at Pei Yi. Having suffered a huge blow out of the blue, she took some time to recover from the shock before saying, ¡°Pei Yi... the child... is not mine?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t my wife already exin it to you? Tian Tian, you were just a surrogate mother. It has been hard on you, but there¡¯s something I need you to understand. Not everyone can be the mother of my child, especially not you.¡± Chapter 1418 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1418: I Only Want You (116)

Tian Tian took a few steps backward and eximed in astonishment, ¡°You¡¯re lying to me, aren¡¯t you? This isn¡¯t real, it¡¯s not real!¡± Since the door had been left ajar, Qin Guo could hear everything clearly from outside. She could not help but admit that Pei Yi was being too cruel. How... ruthless. ¡°Why would I lie to you? In case you¡¯re still not convinced, I¡¯ll give you a strand of Pei Ling¡¯s hair and you can bring it for a DNA test. Once the results are out, you¡¯ll know if we¡¯re lying to you or not. During the IVF treatment, I swapped your ovum for Jing Chu¡¯s.¡± He then plucked two strands of hair from Pei Ling¡¯s scalp and handed it to her. ¡°Take it. You¡¯ll only get to do this once.¡± Dumbfounded, Tian Tian took it from him and eximed agitatedly, ¡°Pei Yi, how could you do this to me? How could you!?! I loved you with all my heart ¡ª you were the only person I loved. Didn¡¯t you know how I felt about you? How could you hurt my feelings like that? Pei Yi, you¡¯re a jerk, you¡¯re inhumane!¡± Pei Yi retorted with a straight face, ¡°I¡¯m inhumane? You ran Jing Chu over with your car, framed her using thepensatory sum, and put her behind bars. Does that make you humane? We¡¯re the same. Don¡¯t be a pot calling the kettle ck. The situation right now is tense and DK is at odds with several nations. Don¡¯te here anymore. I don¡¯t want to see you ever again. Find someone you fancy and settle down with him.¡± Tian Tian snapped, ¡°Pei Yi! You lied to me for so many years and yet you¡¯re expecting me to leave after just telling me these things? I admit, I did do your wife wrong but didn¡¯t you let me down too?¡± ¡°We had a mutual agreement before we got married, didn¡¯t we? Since you wanted to marry me, you should¡¯ve prepared yourself to take risks. Besides, we were only married in name and I had never gotten intimate with you before. Pei Ling is not your son anyway. You did waste your youth and time on this marriage, but so did I. I just managed to foil your ns. You don¡¯t have to get so worked up. I know clearly what you¡¯ve been thinking. Tian Tian, if I had nothing to my name, would you still have bothered wasting so much time on me? You¡¯ll have probably just ignored me like how you did in the past.¡± His words had struck a sour note within Tian Tian. The worst decision she had ever made in her life was to reject Pei Yi when he tried to pursue her in the past. She left dejectedly. Pei Yi had never spared a thought for the feelings of those whom he did not care about. He only ever cared about the feelings of those who mattered to him. He did not bother about the others at all. Standing at the door, Qin Guo could already guess the expression on Pei Yi¡¯s face without having to look at him. At past ten o¡¯clock at night, Qin Guo discovered that Pei Yi and Jing Chu were about to leave. ¡°Ancestor, where are you and Madam headed to at such ate hour?¡± Remaining calm andposed, Pei Yi answered, ¡°Jing Chu misses the days when she was living in the mansion and she wants me to take her there. We¡¯ll be staying at the mansion tonight.¡± Qin Guo nodded and said, ¡°Alright... drive safely, then, Ancestor.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Pei Yi and Jing Chu then walked past her, hand in hand. As soon as they left, he stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Qin Guo. ¡°Xiao Guo 1.¡± Qin Guo looked up at him in astonishment. Throughout the years of working for him, he would rarely address her that way. He would usually just address her by her full name. She asked gleefully, ¡°Ancestor, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Staring at her calmly, Pei Yi said, ¡°Life is short. Let go when you have to. I¡¯m allowing you to live for yourself now.¡± Qin Guo insisted, ¡°No. Since I¡¯ve joined DK, I¡¯ll always belong to the organizaton. I¡¯ll always follow you wherever you go.¡± Pei Yi knew that her loyalty would be a benefit to the DK Organization but not to herself. ¡°...¡± He then turned around and pulled Jing Chu away. Somehow, Jing Chu could not help but feel bad for Qin Guo, for she felt that thetter was simply being foolish and blindly loyal. She could also tell that Pei Yi wanted to tell Qin Guo the truth but could not bring himself to do it. Once they got inside the car, Pei Yi said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve left a note for her on the desk. She¡¯ll see it.¡± Jing Chu felt a great sense of relief. She turned around to look at Fat Lass, who was carrying Pei Ling in her arms. Pei Yi drove away from Mount Qingping smoothly without obstruction. Halfway through their journey, the sky began pouring. He drove into the mansion. ¡°Weren¡¯t we supposed to go to the forest? Why did youe to the mansion instead? Are we really going to stay here for the night?¡± Jing Chu asked. He smirked and said, ¡°Of course not, we¡¯re leaving from here.¡± ¡°From here?¡± Although Jing Chu was unaware of what his ns were, she did not probe further and instead just followed him. To Jing Chu¡¯s surprise, there was more to the mansion than what she knew. Despite having lived there for a period of time, she had never once discovered the extraordinariness of it. There was a secret back door. They had to press a hidden button to activate it. After they passed through the door, Pei Yi said, ¡°I¡¯ve already mapped out the route that we¡¯re going to take. We¡¯ll be able to escape the surveince cameras if we take this route. No one will be able to trace our whereabouts then. We¡¯ll reach the forest straight away, but the journey is a little far.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Pei Yi carried Pei Ling in his arms. Fortunately, it was only drizzling and they could walk at a faster pace. Pei Yi had a better sense of danger and knew how to avoid thew and authority figures. After all, he had been working for DK for a long time and climbed his way to the top in order to be one of the greatest leaders. Hence, he was sharp and sensitive. Not only would the route lead to the forest, it could also lead them directly to the harbor. Besides, the journey to the harbor would be much shorterpared to the forest. Pei Yi had already erased all the surveince camera footages of him nning out the route one year ago. He deleted all the evidence thoroughly, and nothing suspicious could be found on the surface. Even if anyone were to check the surveince camera footages, it could only be traced to the harbor. The three-year-old Pei Ling had already be much heavier, and it was rather exhausting for them to carry him. However, Pei Yi carried him all the way to the forest. The rain had begun to grow heavier. Apart from Pei Ling, who was wrapped in a jacket, the other three of them were all drenched from head to toe. Fortunately, they found the forest in the end. Although their feet were sore and covered in blisters, they could not feel happier. It was the first time that Pei Yi would be seeing the house that Jing Chu and Fat Lass had built together. Although the only light source they had was the electricmp, he could already tell that it was spectacr. There were a few houses, a pig sty, some fowl, sheep, fruit trees, and a vegetable garden. Their new home was built by the two women after a year of painstaking effort. They did it all for the sake of the safety of Pei Yi and Pei Ling. Pei Yi was moved to tears. Jing Chu had so much potential and energy for such a petite woman. Footnotes:
Ch 1418 Footnote 1
Little Guo. Chapter 1419 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1419: I Only Want You (117)

Noticing that he had stopped in his tracks, Jing Chu asked, ¡°Why did you stop?¡± He remained silent and continued walking. When the herd of lions approached them, Pei Yi nheless got a great shock despite having been through all sorts of experiences. Jing Chu instructed them to return to their den and they agreed. The humans slowly made their way up the spiral staircase to the treehouse. There were two houses upstairs, one for Fat Lass and one for the three of them. After changing into a fresh set of clothes, Fat Lass hurriedly proceeded to boil some water. Pei Yi scanned the surroundings in the house and found that it exuded a familial warmth. ¡°I couldn¡¯t see clearly just now, but how many houses did you build in total?¡± Jing Chu answered, ¡°Four. Two upstairs and one below for the kitchen. Afterward, I decided to build another one for the storage of firewood. That¡¯d be enough for us.¡± Pei Yi proceeded to get some food, after which they began eating together with Fat Lass and Pei Yi. They finally settled down and began adjusting to the new environment. ¡°Thank you for building this home for us together with Fat Lass. I like it very much.¡± ¡°Fortunately, you came by to help us deliver and move the items inside. Otherwise, we wouldn¡¯t have had all the necessary items. We can stay here in the long run. The sky is about to turn bright very soon. Let¡¯s all get some rest. Pei Ling is tired too,¡± said Jing Chu. Fat Lass stood up and said, ¡°Sis Jing Chu, I¡¯ll go to bed now, then.¡± ¡°Alright, go ahead.¡± Fat Lass had now be friends with the marsupial lions, despite being afraid of them in the past. Hence, she was perfectly fine with sleeping alone and did not feel afraid at all. Themps in the room were powered by an adapter attached to the power bank. Although the lights were dim, it was much betterpared to candles. Jing Chu coaxed Pei Ling to sleep before helping Pei Yi clean the blisters on his feet. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that you wouldn¡¯t be able to adapt to living in such conditions. After all, you must have gotten used to living in luxury. It¡¯s a major change to be moving here all of a sudden. There¡¯s no television, refrigerator, or air conditioner.¡± ¡°My mother and I used to live in worse conditions. This is nothingpared to the life I used to lead. Besides, I¡¯m d to have you and Pei Ling by my side. I haven¡¯t got to enjoy a proper mental break in a really long time. I used to have to think about so many things. I can finally rest my mind and rx now. Jing Chu, I¡¯m not lying to you, I really find this carefree lifestyle to be enjoyable.¡± Jing Chu looked up and held his gaze. ¡°From now on, you shall be in charge of educating Pei Ling. Hence, I¡¯ve prepared quite a few number of books and lots of paper and stationery. After all, I¡¯ve never been to school and I taught myself how to read and write. Fat Lass is barely literate as well. We¡¯ll have to count on you.¡± Pei Yi looked at her with glistening eyes and agreed, ¡°Sure.¡± He then asked, ¡°Can we jump around here?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s very sturdy. Are you afraid that it¡¯d copse?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just afraid that we might fall off when we¡¯re getting intimate. That¡¯d be no joke, but since you said it¡¯s sturdy, I can put my mind at ease.¡± ¡°...¡± After cleaning the blisters and abrasions on his feet, Jing Chuy down on the bed. Dog tired, she did not wish to move at all. Pei Yi was just as exhausted. However, he could not seem to close his eyes and doze off. Somehow, he felt particrly at ease while staring at the sound-asleep Jing Chu and listening to the sounds of the rain as well as the roars of the lions. He dozed off unknowingly. Jing Chu felt as if she had slept for a long time. By the time she woke up, the sun was already out and shining brightly. Pei Ling was ying on his own quietly while Pei Yi was nowhere in sight. ¡°Pei Ling, where¡¯s Daddy?¡± ¡°He¡¯s cooking.¡± She got out of bed, carried Pei Ling in her arms, and made her way downstairs to freshen up. They had prepared lots of daily necessities, such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, towels, detergent, shampoo, and several other items. After she was done washing up, Jing Chu brought Pei Ling to the kitchen. She was greeted with the sight of Fat Lass cooking and Pei Yi burning some firewood. ¡°You¡¯re up.¡± Jing Chu answered, ¡°Yeah. What time did you guys wake up?¡± ¡°A while before you did.¡± ¡°I forgot to ask you thisst night. What did you write on the note that you had left for Qin Guo?¡± ¡°I told her that we had left and that she ought to do as she deems fit.¡± Jing Chu could totally imagine Qin Guo¡¯s reaction. ¡°She must have broken down in despair.¡± ¡°It¡¯s indeed very sudden, but I had given her two chances to leave. Well, everyone¡¯s destiny is different. However, from what I know about her, she would probably take over my position and continue to stay in the DK Organization. It¡¯d be inappropriate for someone from the headquarters to take over since they¡¯re not familiar with the situation in R Nation. Hence, Qin Guo is the best candidate.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean that there¡¯ll be no turning back for her?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve set the email to be sent to the headquarters automatically this morning. I believe they¡¯ve already seen it and they¡¯ve probably hit the roof. I reckon they must be sending their men to look for me. However, it doesn¡¯t matter anymore even if they resent me for betraying the organization. I didn¡¯t have a choice anyway. I would have left openly if I could.¡± Jing Chu smiled and said, ¡°There¡¯s no reception here, and we won¡¯t know what¡¯s happening in the outside world anyway. That¡¯s good since we won¡¯t need to worry or think about anything.¡± Pei Yi shared the exact same thoughts. Qin Guo still did not discover anything unusual in the morning, and she only found out about Pei Yi¡¯s departure when the headquarters called her after they failed to reach Pei Yi. She could not believe her ears at first. However, she knew that the headquarters were definitely serious about it. She then discovered the note that he had left for her. Qin Guo finally realized that Pei Yi had long been nning to leave for good. After all, it was a major decision that could not be made in just a few days. Qin Guo teared up at the thought of the words that he had said to herst night. She felt miserable for both Pei Yi and herself, for she knew how powerful the DK Organization was. She believed that Pei Yi would be nabbed and executed sooner orter, especially since he was one of the top leaders who knew the most about the organization. Qin Guo could not help but get upset the moment she imagined Pei Yi being arrested. She felt that Jing Chu was the one who influenced him to change his mindset and leave the DK Organization. From then on, Qin Guo never lived in peace again. She was stuck in a huge dilemma. Although she did not wish for Pei Yi to be arrested, she did not like the idea of him living a carefree life in a faraway ce. Even if Pei Yi gets nabbed, I can at least beg for mercy and they might spare his life. That way, he¡¯ll never get to be with Jing Chu. Several days passed, and she had also assumed the role that Pei Yi held in the DK Organization. Yet, there was still no news of him at all. Why couldn¡¯t they find him? The DK Organization had deployed all the members across the globe to search for Pei Yi but never once seeded. It was as if he had vanished into thin air. They could not find a single trace of him at all. Although the news of Pei Yi being wanted was kept within the DK Organization at first, it was somehow leaked and the entire world was now aware. Chapter 1420 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1420: I Only Want You (118)

It was undoubtedly a form of attack against the R Nation headquarters. Besides, the chieftain had already fled. The newly-appointed leader, Qin Guo, could not bepared to Pei Yi at all in terms ofpetence. Although the headquarters constantly reassured the members that nothing would be affected, they could not help but feel afraid and anxious. Regardless of what went on in the outside world, Pei Yi and Jing Chu werepletely clueless about the situation. They did not wish to find out anyway, lest they bring themselves unnecessary woes and trouble. Ever since they moved to their new home, they had been living peacefully in bliss. Their daily routine consisted of collecting eggs, feeding the pigs and cattle, and harvesting vegetables. In their free time, the three of them would y cards to kill time or do whatever they wanted. Four monthster, they heard a sudden, vigorous explosion thatsted for a long while before ceasing. Jing Chu initially thought that the forest was about to be bombed. However, Pei Yi told her clearly that the sounds of explosions came from several kilometers away. After a few more explosions, the sounds finally ceased. Sensing that something was amiss since he remained silent for the entire day, Jing Chu asked, ¡°Do you want to go out to take a look?¡± Shaking his head, he said, ¡°I don¡¯t intend to do that. I was just thinking about all the misdeeds that the haughty DK Organization has done for so many years. In order to sustain peace on the surface, the nations have been refraining from dealing with DK. They mainly didn¡¯t want to cause the loss of too many lives either. I reckon they¡¯ve decided to go toe-to-toe against DK this time in order topletely annihte these terrorists. I couldn¡¯t tell you this before I left the organization, but now that I have, I can tell you. The DK members are extreme terrorists who are anti-life. They should be annihted.¡± Jing Chu held his hand and said, ¡°From now on, these will be none of your concern. I was initially worried that you wouldn¡¯t be able to adjust to life here. I was surprised to hear that you can adapt. Master Pei, I think it¡¯s great that we can live here in peace from now on. We¡¯ll move back to civilization once there¡¯s world peace. No one will remember who Pei Yi is anymore. It¡¯s great that we can now live the life that I had always dreamed of.¡± Pei Yi held Jing Chu in his embrace and kissed her. ¡°I love you. Thank you for forgiving me and living with me. Thank you, Honey.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to thank me. I forgave you only because of our son. Don¡¯t think that I did it for you.¡± He pinned her onto the bed and asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you love me at all?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not telling you.¡± ¡°No, I want to hear it from you. Do you love me or not?¡± ¡°I said, I¡¯m not telling you.¡± Pei Yi began tickling Jing Chu, causing her to wiggle uncontrobly. Unable to tolerate it anymore, she had no choice but to say, ¡°Okay, okay, I love you. Please let go of me.¡± He grabbed her arms and kissed her gently. Just as things were getting passionate, the wooden door was opened by Pei Ling, who sat on the ground with a sullen expression on his face. ¡°Daddy, you¡¯re bullying Mommy again. Go away!¡± ¡°Do you still want a younger sister?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Go look for Fat Lass, then.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± He crawled out of the door and said, ¡°Daddy, Mommy, you guys may continue.¡± Jing Chu and Pei Yi looked at each other before bursting intoughter. ¡ª¡ª ¡ª¡ª ¡ª¡ª A short while after Mu Wansheng left, Fan Shixin received a notification from the bank that informed him that Mu Wansheng had transferred him some money. It was a sum of 150 thousand dors. It covered her medical bills, living expenses, as well as the 100 thousand dors that he had lent her. She had even sent him a text message. It was brief and concise. ¡°I¡¯ve already transferred the money to you. Chief Fan, you¡¯re a good man. I¡¯ll always remember you as my life savior. I¡¯ll eternally be grateful to you.¡± Fan Shixin replied, ¡°Take good care of yourself.¡± He did not send anything else afterward. They had also stopped contacting each other since then. Although they lived in the same city... Although they had each other¡¯s mobile number... Although Wu Pingyang and Mu Wansheng were cousins, Mu Wansheng had never met Fan Shixin again. Wu Pingyang had no idea why Fan Shixin had never mentioned Mu Wansheng or asked about her again. He had never run into her during his asional visits to Wu Pingyang¡¯s grandfather¡¯s home either. They had truly parted ways and disappeared from each other¡¯s lives. The next time he heard news about her again was a short while after his 31st birthday, and Xiao Bai was the bearer of the news. ¡°Guess who I saw at the mall today?¡± ¡°Stop keeping us in suspense. Hurry and tell us. Who did you see?¡± Xiao Bai put on a mysterious smile and said, ¡°Ms. Mu. She¡¯s getting engaged.¡± Fan Shixin was rather sleepy at the time and was sipping on some coffee. Upon hearing the news, he paused in his actions and sobered up immediately. He asked, ¡°Which... Ms. Mu?¡± ¡°Who else could it be? Chief, it¡¯s that Ms. Mu who stayed in your housest time. Did you forget? I saw hering out of a jewelry store with her fianc¨¦ in the shopping mall, so I approached her to say hello and she told me that she was getting engaged. Here¡¯s the catch. Do you have any idea who her fianc¨¦ is?¡± Xiao Huang could not stand how mysterious he was being. He snapped, ¡°Just tell us everything in one go. If not, you may keep it to yourself. Stop keeping us in suspense.¡± Xiao Bai patted him on his shoulder and said, ¡°Look how impatient you are. Her fianc¨¦ is Luo Xing, the son of the man who struck it rich from selling furniture.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. It¡¯s a bit of a stretch to say that he had struck it rich. He just managed to earn some money,¡± said Fan Shixin. ¡°Chief, although the Luo family is just an upper-middle-ss family, they¡¯re considered to be very wealthy in the eyes of average citizens. Besides, the Mu family has gone bankrupt long ago whereas the Luo family business is gradually expanding. They¡¯re considered to bepatible in terms of status and background.¡± Fan Shixin mmed his cup down onto the table and quipped, ¡°That Luo Xing is a Casanova. He remained single even after dating for six years. Why would he be genuinely serious about her?¡± Noticing the sullen expression on Fan Shixin¡¯s face, Xiao Bai and Xiao Huang looked at each other in shock and dismay. Chapter 1421 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1421: I Only Want You (119)

Looking at his receding figure, Xiao Bai asked under his voice, ¡°What¡¯s with our Chief?¡± ¡°I have no idea.¡± ¡°...¡± They usually say that men have a more urate judgement of things. That was what Fan Shixin thought as well. He had seen news of Luo Hang earlier this year, saying that he might be getting married to his girlfriend of six years. However, instead of getting married to her, he was now getting engaged to Mu Wansheng. There was evidently something wrong with this. Usually, when a man and a woman date for quite a long time, it¡¯s because the man is unwilling to get married. Women are sentimental, and most of them hope to get married to the man they love. During the process of dating, most women prefer to get married earlier. Take, for instance, him and Wu Pingyang. Wu Pingyang had made it quite clear to him her intention of marriage, but he had made no response in return. This was because, the more he spent time with her, the more he noticed her ws that she had exposed over time. As a result, it became clearer to him that she was not the one he wanted to marry. It became more obvious to him recently. In the beginning, when he had a feeling that she was not the one, he mistakenly believed that it was because they met on a blind date and did not develop sufficient understanding of each other yet. He thought that they would be able to develop feelings for each other. But, in reality, they could develop friendship or kinship, but not love. Throughout these few days, he had been thinking carefully about this issue and pondering how he should ask to break up with her. He merely had not found the right opportunity to do so. Fan Shixin went back to his room. After changing into a set of clothes, he took his car keys and drove out of Wei Ni Estate. Usually, Wu Pingyang would be working at this time, and she had also used up her days of leave for this month. Thus, he arrived at her workce without informing her. Once he parked the car at the car park of the hospital, he saw Wu Pingyang hurriedly speeding over to his direction from the outpatient department. Could it be that she had seen his car? Fan Shixin was about to get off the car when he saw her running to a blue car that was in the row in front of his car and getting into the front passenger seat. He narrowed his eyes, sitting there without moving at all. As he tapped his fingers on the steering wheel gently, his face was calm andposed. Five minutester, he gave her a call. As no one was picking up the call for some time, he thought that she did not have her phone with her. Just as he was about to end the call, she picked up. ¡°Hello?¡± ¡°Where are you?¡± ¡°Where else could I be? I¡¯m at the hospital.¡± Fan Shixin made a sound of acknowledgment, then continued, ¡°Let¡¯s meet. I have something to tell you.¡± ¡°That will have to wait until I get off work. I have no time right now. How about this,e and fetch me at the hospital an hour from now. Grandfather said that you haven¡¯t been back for quite a long time and wants you to go back for a meal. Are you okay with that?¡± Fan Shixin originally wanted to break up with her but suddenly changed his mind. ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll hang up first, okay? I have to put on braces for a patient now.¡± Fan Shixin raised his eyebrows. She¡¯s lying right now? He did not expose her, however, and responded, ¡°Okay. I¡¯lle and pick you up in an hour.¡± The call ended, and he got off from his car. He headed toward the blue car that was parked not far away and took a look at the license te number. Thereafter, he got into his own car again. ¡°Xiao Bai, check the personal information on the owner of a license te number.¡± ¡°...¡± Half an hourter, Wu Pingyang got off the blue car and speedily ran toward the outpatient department. The blue car also drove off thereafter. Fan Shixin¡¯s gazended on the person seated at the driver¡¯s seat. It was a young man. A few minutester, his phone rang. It was a call from Xiao Bai. He reported to him from the other end of the line, ¡°Chief, the owner of this car¡¯s license te number is called Li Chengbin. He¡¯s from a rich family and graduated with a degree in medicine. He currently owns a private clinic and is unmarried.¡± ¡°ording to his personal information, can you check records of him checking into any hotels?¡± Xiao Bai answered, ¡°Okay.¡± After a while, Xiao Bai called him again. ¡°Chief, this Li Chengbin checked in at hotels a total of 26 times in the past three months.¡± ¡°Retrieve the surveince footage from the hotel and see who he¡¯s been sleeping with.¡± Although Xiao Bai did not know why he wanted to investigate this man whom he did not know, he still efficientlypleted what he had asked him to. However, when the results of his investigation came out, he was taken aback and instantly understood why his Chief had made him investigate this person. ¡°Chief...¡± ¡°What are the results? Is there someone I know?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Xiao Bai did not mince with his words. He went on in a rather low voice, ¡°It¡¯s Sis-inw... it was her the whole time...¡± ¡°Right. I got it. Copy the surveince footage into a USB drive and bring it here to me. I¡¯m at the First People¡¯s Hospital. Also, prepare a gift and bring it as well. I have to make a trip to the Mu residenceter.¡± ¡°Chief...¡± Xiao Bai waspletely indignant for him. ¡°Sis-inw treated you like that, why are you still preparing a gift to visit the Mu residence?!¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to meddle in this. Just do as I said.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll get to it immediately.¡± Fan Shixin hung up the call, his eyes turning gloomy and the corner of his lips curling as he sneered. Today was really quite an unpleasant day for him. .... Xiao Bai arrived; he had been thinking of how to console him on the whole way there. But in reality, when he saw him, he instantly realized that his Chief did not need his constion at all. Given hisposed and rxed look as if he waspletely unaffected, what constion would he possibly need? Xiao Bai believed that if he showed any hint of pity for him, he would definitely die a horrible death. ¡°Chief, I¡¯ve brought the things for you.¡± ¡°Did you tell anyone else about this?¡± ¡°Nobody at all.¡± Xiao Bai hurriedly pped his chest and remarked, ¡°Chief, do you still not know what kind of person I am? How could I possibly spread word around?¡± ¡°Today, I¡¯d wanted to break up with her. But I never thought that I would run into her and that guy. Seeing how they¡¯ve been together for some time already, they should have expected this day toe.¡± Xiao Bai nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. I really couldn¡¯t tell. But since you¡¯ve already decided to break up with her, I can rest assured, Chief.¡± Fan Shixin cast him a side nce and remarked, ¡°What¡¯s there for you to rest assured about? You don¡¯t have to be concerned about my matters, just keep your lips sealed. If I find out that other people are aware of this, you won¡¯t be able to keep this life of yours. Do you understand?¡± ¡°Of course, Chief, just believe in me. I¡¯m the most tight-lipped, I¡¯ll never spout a word about this! Not even if I¡¯m being beaten to death. But, Chief, I still don¡¯t understand. You¡¯re already going to break up, why are you still going to the Mu residence with a gift?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to understand. Go back.¡± With that, Xiao Bai went back. Just when he had left, Wu Pingyang walked over carrying her bag. He pressed the car horn, and Wu Pingyang noticed this and headed toward his car. Once she got on, she asked as she fastened her seatbelt, ¡°Have you waited very long?¡± ¡°Not really, I just arrived.¡± He fired the engine and drove the car away without looking at her at all. ¡°Are you in a bad mood today?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯m feeling rather down.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Nothing much, I¡¯ll be able to settle it. Did you tell your grandfather that we¡¯re going over today?¡± Chapter 1422 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1422: I Only Want You (120)

¡°Not yet. I¡¯ll give my mother a call now.¡± .... When the car arrived at the Mu residence, they noticed a BMW parked at the entrance. When the two got off the car, Wu Pingyang said in scorn, ¡°The cheapest BMW. I see this Luo family is just an ordinary one.¡± ¡°What Luo family?¡± He said, asking the obvious. ¡°Ah... it¡¯s the Luo family that specializes in making furniture. Their son is my second uncle¡¯s daughter¡¯s boyfriend, and they¡¯ll be getting engaged soon. You have no idea how, because of this union with the Luo family, the wrinkles that have emerged on my second aunt¡¯s face can even trap a fly dead inside them.¡± ¡°When are they getting engaged?¡± ¡°Within the next few days, I guess, I¡¯m not very sure either. I don¡¯t care about her matters, but this marriage has been in discussion for many months already. My grandfather¡¯s wish is that they¡¯ll get married as soon as possible after their engagement. Shixin, we¡¯ve been together for so long already, don¡¯t tell me we¡¯ll begging behind them?¡± Fan Shixin¡¯s lips twitched as he replied, ¡°I have made ns for this recently.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Wu Pingyang appeared extremely overjoyed. ¡°If my grandfather hears about this, he¡¯ll be very happy. I have to tell himter.¡± He did not make any objection or say a word and simply followed her to the living room. The elderly Mr. Mu, who had been waiting for them to return, stood up as he saw them. ¡°Shixin and Pingyang are back? It¡¯s good enough that you two are back, what¡¯s with the gift? It¡¯s a waste of money.¡± ¡°It¡¯s only right for us to be filial to Grandfather.¡± There was a faint smile on his face as he replied, and he sat down almost at the same time as Wu Pingyang did. Mr. Mu waspletely ted and asked the servant to put the gift away, then instructed them to serve tea. ¡°Ah, right. Shixin, let me introduce someone to you. This is my future son-inw from the Luo family, he¡¯s Luo Hang.¡± Fan Shixin cast his gaze to the man seated opposite him. He was well dressed in a suit and indeed had outstanding looks. He stood up and shook hands with Luo Hang. Afterward, they sat down again. Ever since he¡¯d passed through the door to the living room, he did not cast a single nce at the woman seated beside Luo Hang. ¡°The day after tomorrow, Luo Hang and Wansheng will be having their engagement ceremony. Shixin, you¡¯ll be attending it, right?¡± Heughed and nodded. ¡°Sure. I¡¯m free that day, anyway.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. Since everyone¡¯s around today, let¡¯s eat together.¡± Mr. Mu then instructed the servants in the kitchen to prepare dinner. Once he was done instructing them, Wu Pingyang could not help but remark, ¡°Grandfather, Shixin said that he has made ns for our marriage recently.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± The elderly Mr. Mu was extremely overjoyed as Fan Shixin had not mentioned anything about marriage all these while, making him rather anxious about it. Now that he was finally making ns for it, he had not waited in vain, at least. While the men were chatting, Mu Wansheng, who had kept silent all these while, asionally cast a nce or two at Fan Shixin. After not seeing him for such a long time, she found that he still looked the same and had not changed at all. He even put on an excellent act. From the moment he entered ¡¯til the time they sat down to eat, he did not show a single hint that they had known each other since long ago. Not only that, he did not even cast his eyes on her even once. It was only when they were eating, when she had ced her chopsticks down and was wiping her mouth, that she suddenly felt that someone was looking at her. She then raised her head abruptly and met his gaze, which he had yet to retract. He did not avoid her gaze and kept his eyes fixed on her. Mu Wansheng did not know why, but she felt from his eyes that he had something to say. ¡°I¡¯m done eating, I¡¯m going out to take a walk.¡± She got up and left the dining area. It was only when she went out that she took out her phone and sent a message to his number. ¡°I didn¡¯t think I would see you here.¡± ¡°It was just a matter of time.¡± Mu Wansheng stared nkly at his reply. She understood this better than anyone else. After all, he would be her future cousin-inw. They were bound to meet sooner orter at the Mu residence. While she was deep in thought, another message from him came in. She lowered her head and checked the contents of the message. ¡°I have something to tell you.¡± ¡°Please speak.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not convenient through text message, let¡¯s meet privatelyter. My car is unlocked, wait for me in there.¡± Mu Wansheng couldn¡¯t help but feel nervous. She replied to him with an ¡°Okay¡± before leaving the house and getting into his car. A few minutester, he came out and got into his car. Mu Wansheng, who was sitting at the passenger seat at the back, said in a low voice, ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± Fan Shixin turned and asked, ¡°Who arranged this marriage for you?¡± ¡°The elders in the house did.¡± ¡°Does he like you?¡± Mu Wansheng replied, ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then do you like him?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Then why are you getting engaged and married to him? Is marriage such a hasty decision to you?¡± Mu Wansheng gazed at him and responded, ¡°Of course not. But marrying anyone or not marrying is the same. There¡¯s no difference, actually.¡± Fan Shixin was dumbfounded by her words. Heposed himself and replied, ¡°Come over the front here to sit.¡± Mu Wansheng moved over from the back passenger seat to the front, where she was much closer to him, to the extent that she could even smell the scent on him. ¡°Where did you get that 150 thousand dors from?¡± ¡°It¡¯s some savings of mine. Some were from my mother.¡± She bit her lip and asked, ¡°Chief Fan, are you really intending to get married?¡± ¡°I always had the intention to get married and have started preparing a long time ago.¡± She kept silent for almost half a minute before responding, ¡°I wish you the best.¡± He turned to the side and realized that, looking at her under the neon-orange streetmps, she looked exceptionally captivating. ¡°It¡¯s been so long since we¡¯ve met, and you look more beautiful than before.¡± Mu Wansheng¡¯s ears turned beet red, and her voice was suppressed even lower, ¡°No... I¡¯m still the same.¡± ¡°All these while, why didn¡¯t you bother contacting me?¡± ¡°I was afraid to disturb you. I know Chief Fan is very busy every day, so I didn¡¯t want to disturb you.¡± This reason... Just when he was about to say something, she added, ¡°Chief Fan, if you weren¡¯t busy, why didn¡¯t you bother contacting me either?¡± He stared right at her with his dark eyes. ¡°You¡¯re ming me?¡± Mu Wansheng hurriedly shook her head. ¡°No, why would I dare to me Chief Fan? I have no intention of ming you at all.¡± At this moment, Luo Hang came out of the house. Upon seeing this, Mu Wansheng bent over immediately to hide herself. But the position where she had leaned on was none other than... between Fan Shixin¡¯s legs. Fan Shixin¡¯s whole body stiffened instantly. She originally had not felt anything unusual, until the position where she had leaned on started to show some obvious changes as it expanded rapidly. It was then that she realized where she was leaning on, and her face started to flush extremely red like a tomato. She could feel her whole body on fire, until her phone suddenly started to vibrate as she had switched it to vibration mode. As she could not move at all, there was no way for her to pick up the call. However, at this moment, she had to hear Wu Pingyang¡¯s voice. ¡°How do I get off the car? What if Pingyang sees me in here?¡± He reached out and patted her back to get her to rest assured and leave it for him to settle. Seeing that Wu Pingyang was about to go around the front of the car to the front passenger seat, Fan Shixin rolled down the car window and said in his loud and clear voice, ¡°Pingyang, I have something urgent to handle and I need to rush off. I won¡¯t be able to send you home.¡± Chapter 1423 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1423: I Only Want You (121)

Wu Pingyang put on her usual pretense of being considerate and replied, ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll get the chauffeur to send me backter.¡± ¡°Help me tell Grandfather that I¡¯ll be taking my leave first.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go and tell him right now.¡± Once his car window had rolled back up, he started the engine and drove the car away. When Mu Wansheng straightened her body, she wished she could dig a hole for herself to hide in. She didn¡¯t even dare to fix her eyes on him as she stammered in embarrassment, ¡°Sor... ry.¡± ¡°What do we do now?¡± ¡°Hmm? What do you mean?¡± ¡°The ce where you leaned on just now is out of control already. Shouldn¡¯t you extinguish the fire that you started?¡± Mu Wansheng turned her head out the window as she responded, ¡°I didn¡¯t... mean to... Stop the car at that corner, I¡¯m getting off.¡± He did as she said and pulled the car over at the corner ahead. As she was about to get off, he remarked, ¡°Luo Hang isn¡¯t suitable for you. You should call off your marriage with him.¡± Mu Wansheng replied instead, ¡°Whether he¡¯s suitable for me is for me to decide. I never thought of living a happy life in the future anyway. This world is huge, how is it possible to meet someone whom I like and who likes me back? Moreover, even if I meet someone I like, does that mean that I¡¯ll be able to grow old with him? Not necessarily.¡± Fan Shixin watched as she turned and got off the car, his eyes staring nkly at her. Mu Wansheng was walking at an exceptionally fast pace, and her mind was in apletely nk state as she walked all the way back to the front gate of her house. Luo Hang¡¯s car was still parked near the front gate, but he was nowhere to be seen. When she walked to the entrance of the living room, Mr. Mu¡¯s voice sounded from inside, and he was evidently talking to Wu Pingyang. ¡°Quickly decide on the marriage details with Shixin, then our family will have two joyous asions one after another. You shouldn¡¯t be so busy with work all the time, Shixin is very busy every day already. How much money do you make in a month, anyway? You should just spend more time with him.¡± ¡°Grandfather, I only have a few days off every month. I can¡¯t free up so much time. Moreover, as a woman, if I have no job and just spend time with him, he¡¯ll be very annoyed...¡± ¡°It¡¯s up to you, then. Right, Luo Hang, you¡¯ve bought the engagement rings tonight, right?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve bought them. I¡¯ve also arranged the venue where the engagement ceremony will be held. Everything¡¯s in ce.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. Wansheng¡¯s not very good atmunicating with people, so you should take the time to talk to her more.¡± ¡°I will.¡± When Luo Hang was leaving, Mu Wansheng sent him to the door and instructed him in a courteous and formal manner, ¡°Drive safely.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Right after he was gone, Wu Pingyang came out of the house as well. Her tone was curt as she remarked, ¡°I thought this Luo family is really rich. To think they¡¯re just of middling standard, driving the cheapest BMW model. Such trash.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you make suchments in front of Grandfather just now, then? You¡¯re just trying to show off in front of me, huh?¡± ¡°I was just trying to save you some face in front of Grandfather. No matter what, aren¡¯t you his granddaughter? A granddaughter that can¡¯t evenpare to me. How can you possibly maintain the reputation of our Mu family?¡± With that, she left in the car with the chauffeur. Mu Wansheng stood at the door for a long time before she went back into the house. .... ¡°Luo Hang¡¯s gone?¡± Mrs. Mu asked as she looked up at her while holding onto her phone. ¡°Yes, he¡¯s gone.¡± ¡°You should stop putting on a long face. You¡¯re going to get engaged soon, you should look happier. When you be part of the Luo family, you won¡¯t suffer. If you¡¯re still in this family, you may be pushed into a fiery pit, but Luo Hang only has a younger sister so all the estates in his family will go to him. When you get married to him in the future, just stay at home peacefully and enjoy being a wealthy man¡¯s wife. You will have endless blessings to enjoy.¡± ¡°He has already said that he won¡¯t break up with his girlfriend.¡± Mrs. Mu furrowed her brows before responding, ¡°So what? Even then, he won¡¯t be able to marry that woman. Once a man gets married, his heart will settle down. If the Luo family didn¡¯t inject some funds into ourpany, it probably would have shut down long ago. If you marry him, it¡¯ll be the best of both worlds. Don¡¯t look at how your aunt throws her weight around. When our family¡¯spany was in trouble, why didn¡¯t she ask that prospective son-inw for financial help? One look and it¡¯s obvious that Wu Pingyang can¡¯t handle that Fan Shixin at all. She definitely won¡¯t be able topare to you when the timees.¡± Mu Wansheng could feel her head aching and she stuttered, ¡°I¡¯ll go to bed first.¡± ¡°Alright, go and sleep. You¡¯re getting engaged the day after tomorrow, you should get a facial treatment done at the beauty salon tomorrow and change your hairstyle too. Don¡¯t keep having curly hair, it makes you look more mature.¡± ¡°I like it,¡± she replied before heading upstairs without turning back. After shey down on the bed, Fan Shixin¡¯s face and the words he had told her actually emerged in her head. She was then reminded of how she had leaned on that part of his body, and she could feel her face on fire all of a sudden. Mu Wansheng tossed and turned in the bed before lying there t. She then took out her phone and opened her messages to take a look at the conversation they had tonight. Her eyes were fixed on the conversation as she looked through it over and over again. She then closed her eyes shut and felt a sudden urge to cry. Though she had wanted to sleep earlier, she now felt like she waspletely in no mood to do so. Toward this marriage without love, she harbored no fantasies at all. She had thoroughly given up on love ever since she broke up with Zuo Xingwei. Without expectations or wishful thinking, one would not get upset. Even if her other half were to hang around with other women every day in the future, she would not feel her heart ache at all. ¡ª¡ª The following day, Mr. and Mrs. Luo came especially with the bridal gifts they had prepared, as well as a manual to decide the auspicious date, so as to discuss the date of the marriage that would take ce after the engagement. Mu Wansheng had a polite smile stered on her face the whole day, but it was nothing more than just basic courtesy. Although the Mu family was on the verge of a downfall, it was nheless still considered a prominent family. While Mu Wansheng had an ex-boyfriend before, she was ultimately unmarried and with no children, so she was still considered an eligible daughter of a wealthy famly. She was exactly the kind of daughter-inw the Luo family was looking for. The wedding date was fixed for a monthter. After they have their engagement ceremony the next day, they would get married a monthter. The Luo family abided by most of the traditional customs. They passed her the gown and shoes for tomorrow¡¯s engagement ceremony. In the afternoon, Mrs. Mu forcefully brought her to the beauty salon to have some treatment done, as well as to the hair salon to get a new hairstyle. Her curly hair was straightened and slightly dyed as well. With her hair let down over her shoulders, she looked even prettier than before. Mrs. Mu was extremely satisfied. Ever since the marriage with the Luo family had been arranged, she had been in a pretty good mood. If everything went smoothly, she would be able to rest assuredpletely after her daughter got married. ¡°Mother, I want to take a walk on my own. You can go back by yourself first.¡± ¡°Take what walk by yourself? Is the courtyard in our house not big enough for you to walk on? You¡¯re getting engaged tomorrow, you better not create any trouble for me.¡± ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t.¡± Looking at how she looked rather out of sorts, Mrs. Mu didn¡¯t forcefully try to take her home and went back first. Meanwhile, Mu Wansheng walked on the pedestrian by herself with her bag slung over her shoulder. She had wanted to just walk on like that to take her mind off things, but she not only failed to do so, she also had new concerns added to her existing ones for no reason. ¡°Wansheng!¡± a familiar voice sounded from across the road. Mu Wansheng turned to look and saw Zuo Xingwei, whom she had not seen in a long time. Beside him was a girl, the one she had seen at the hospital to get an abortion. The two had their arms locked, and it was obvious that they were a couple. Chapter 1424 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1424: I Only Want You (122)

Upon seeing that it was him, she quickened her pace and tried to walk away as quickly as possible, but he ultimately still caught up with her. This was the first time Mu Wansheng was seeing him ever since they broke up over the phone. ¡°Wansheng, where have you been these two years?¡± ¡°What has this got to do with you?¡± Mu Wansheng¡¯s lips curled into a sneer as she asked, ¡°Thest time I saw you, you were at the hospital with this girl getting an abortion. I didn¡¯t think that when I see you again, the two of you would still be together. Are the two of you married?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Oh, you should marry her soon. It seems like this girl is very into you.¡± ¡°Wansheng... actually, I haven¡¯t forgotten you. I went to the Mu residence to find you a few times, but I didn¡¯t see you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say such things, I feel a bit disgusted.¡± Seeing that the girl across the road was rushing over as well, Mu Wansheng did not bother talking to him any longer and turned to leave. Little did she expect that Zuo Xingwei would grab her arm and ask, ¡°Wansheng, what¡¯s your number?¡± Mu Wansheng harshly shook his hand off of her arm and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t touch me. Zuo Xingwei, we¡¯ve long ended our rtionship already. The day I broke up with you, I¡¯d thoroughly given up on you already. I don¡¯t wish to have any contact with you anymore, don¡¯t ask for a snub.¡± Zuo Xingwei stood there rooted to the ground as he watched her figure recede. ¡°Look further and I¡¯ll dig out your eyeballs! I forbid you to look at her any further!¡± His girlfriend, Gao Manchun, hollered at him feistily. Zuo Xingwei turned to leave while his girlfriend chased after him and asked, ¡°Do you regret getting together with me? Do you still like her?¡± ¡°Can you give it a rest and shut up?¡± ¡°You...¡± Gao Manchun scoffed coldly. ¡°Even if you haven¡¯t given up on her, you don¡¯t stand a chance already. The news has already reported today that Mu Wansheng¡¯s getting engaged to the Luo family¡¯s son tomorrow.¡± Zuo Xingwei¡¯s face changed as he asked, ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Why would I lie to you? It¡¯s on the news already. Their engagement ceremony will be taking ce tomorrow. She¡¯s going to get married soon, and her fiance¡¯s family is so rich. Would she take a fancy to a poor chap like you?¡± He hurriedly fished out his phone and searched the news about Mu Wansheng online. It turned out that what his girlfriend had said was true. Seeing the state he was in, Gao Manchun furiously remarked, ¡°If you still can¡¯t forget her, then let¡¯s break up. Don¡¯t act like such a saint. If you really loved her so much, would you have slept with me and got me pregnant back then?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª¡ª Even when the sky was about to turn dark, Mu Wansheng did not have the intention of returning home. She did not want to go back. But she didn¡¯t know where else she could go either. As she walked on, she actually arrived at the front gate of Jin Qingyan¡¯s house in Wei Ni Estate. Looking at the front gate, Mu Wansheng was suddenly flustered. When she recovered from her trance, she turned and walked a few steps away, but the front gate opened just then. Xiao Bai ran toward her cheerily and said, ¡°Ms. Mu, it¡¯s really you! I thought I mistook you for someone else on the surveince camera. Why didn¡¯t you knock on the door when you were here?¡± Mu Wansheng anxiously replied, ¡°I was just taking a walk casually and somehow arrived here. Err, I¡¯ll be going back first, then.¡± ¡°Ms. Mu, why don¡¯t I drive you back?¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, I can hail a taxi from outside the estate. I¡¯ll take my leave first, Xiao Bai.¡± Without saying anything further, she briskly walked away. Xiao Bai had just turned back and gone through the front gate when he ran into Fan Shixin. ¡°Where were you when you were supposed to be on duty?¡± ¡°I saw Ms. Mu on the surveince cameras just now, so I went out to talk to her. She said she just arrived here somehow as she was walking around casually. I asked if she needed a ride home, but she didn¡¯t want one. Chief, I wasn¡¯t even done speaking to her!!!¡± ¡°...¡± Mu Wansheng had just left the estate when a car pulled over beside her. She fixed her gaze on the person inside and was taken by surprise. ¡°Chief Fan...¡± ¡°Hop on.¡± Mu Wansheng got into the front passenger seat and her face tensed up. ¡°Have you eaten?¡± She shook head. ¡°Not yet.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t eaten as well. What would you like to eat?¡± ¡°Anything¡¯s fine with me.¡± His body tilted to the side as he helped her buckle up her safety belt. It was just a simple gesture, but Mu Wansheng rested closely against the seat and did not dare to move an inch at all. The two then entered a private room of a restaurant together. Fan Shixin had originally just ordered some dishes, but she remarked, ¡°I want to drink some wine.¡± ¡°Were you looking for me at Wei Ni Estate?¡± Mu Wansheng said in denial, ¡°Of course not, I was just taking a stroll and I somehow ended up there.¡± ¡°A stroll...¡± He had a faint smile on his face. ¡°Right... I thought you were there to look for me.¡± Mu Wansheng lowered her head. ¡°Why would I look for Chief Fan?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you getting engaged tomorrow? It¡¯ste already, and you¡¯re still wandering around. Won¡¯t your family find fault with you?¡± ¡°They¡¯ve called me a few times already, I said I¡¯ll go back after I eat outside.¡± Mu Wansheng added, ¡°Chief Fan, what exactly do you like about Pingyang?¡± ¡°Actually, I intended to break up with her yesterday,¡± Fan Shixin confessed frankly. ¡°When I went to the hospital, I realized she was having an affair with someone else. I did a brief investigation and found out that she has hooked up with that same man at a hotel around twenty times in the past three months. This cousin of yours has really superb acting skills.¡± Hearing him personally reveal such a piece of groundbreaking news, Mu Wansheng asked, ¡°Were you intending to break up with her even before you found out about this?¡± ¡°Yes. I think our attitudes in life are too different. We wouldn¡¯t be suited for marriage. Moreover, I don¡¯t like her all that much either. At first, I thought it was because we met each other on a blind date and everything would be fine over time. But it seemed that that wasn¡¯t the case. Never would I have expected such a dramatic thing to happen either.¡± ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, you... why didn¡¯t you break up with her and even visited the Mu residence with a gift?¡± Fan Shixin stared at her with keen sparkling eyes, ¡°Why do you think I did that?¡± Mu Wansheng stared back at him and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know, why did you?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know in the future.¡± .... Throughout the meal, Mu Wansheng did not drink a lot of wine but felt like the whole world was spinning. ¡°I¡¯ll send you back home.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to go home.¡± She turned to look at him. ¡°I want to stay at your ce one more night, is that okay?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you tell your family that you¡¯re going back after eating outside?¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll tell them that I¡¯m staying over at a hotel.¡± He drove back to Wei Ni Estate and brought her to his apartment again. When the door was closed shut, Mu Wansheng unsteadily arrived at the spare bedroom. Everything inside the room was the same as how it was when she left. She slumped into the bed and remarked, ¡°It feels great.¡± ¡°You should wash up and rest. I need to go back outside.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± When she heard the door being closed shut, she turned her body over and stared at the ceiling, breaking into a grin. It would probably be thest time she would be staying in this house and sleeping on this bed, right? For some reason, she just felt that this house gave her a strong sense of security. She loved it very much. After she sat upright on the bed, she began to take off her clothing piece by piece and went into the bathroom. She then used a rubber band to tie up her hair and started to wash herself after putting on a showercap. Five minutester, she had washed her body clean. She then wiped herself dry and came out of the bathroompletely naked. Chapter 1425 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1425: I Only Want You (123)

After calling Mrs. Mu, she tossed and turned on the bed, unable to fall asleep. It was probably because she was not drunk enough. She got down from the bed to search for more wine in the house. Unexpectedly, she was really able to find a bottle of unopened wine. She sat down on the sofa in the living room and opened the wine before drinking it slowly by herself. The wine obviously tasted nicer than the one at the restaurant as there was no stinging sensation when it went down her throat and it had a fresh scent to it. She had her leg crossed as she sat there to drink in her naked body. After she had drunk half a bottle, she could not go on anymore. Mu Wansheng felt that she was really drunk enough to sleep now. She would definitely be able to fall asleep given the state she was in. She was about to get up from the sofa when the door suddenly opened. Mu Wansheng fixed her gaze toward the door and used one hand to rest her face on and the other to wave at the man at the door. ¡°Chief... Fan, your bottle of wine tastes so good.¡± Fan Shixin did not back away from her. As he closed the door shut, he averted his eyes from her. ¡°Go back to the room and put your clothes on.¡± She used the coffee table to support herself as she got up and asked, ¡°Chief Fan, what do you think of me?¡± ¡°What... do you mean?¡± Mu Wansheng waspletely unaware of what she was doing. She walked toward Fan Shixin and asked him with her head raised, ¡°Let¡¯s y once, shall we?¡± Fan Shixin lowered his head to look at her. The porcin-white skin of her cleavage instantly caused his hormones to rage. Fan Shixin suddenly felt his breathing turn rapid. ¡°y what?¡± She pulled his hand and said, ¡°Follow... me.¡± She was just about to turn and leave when her body became weak. Seeing that she was about to copse, he swiftly reached out to carry her. When his handnded on her naked skin, a strong current surged through him and Fan Shixin felt as if his whole body had been electrocuted. His brain was in apletely nk state, and after she carried her onto the bed, his legs could no longer move. Her eyes were tightly closed, and her face was extremely flushed. Her cherry-red lips were open slightly, as if she was sending out a passionate invitation to him. With her lying on the bed like this, his eyesnded on her slender body and he was beginning to lose his rationality gradually. When he lifted the covers over her, she opened her eyes. She ced her arms around his neck and murmured, ¡°Chief Fan...¡± ¡°Yeah...?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just y once. Just once, okay?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll regret it.¡± She shook her head. ¡°No, I won¡¯t.¡± Fan Shixin lowered her head and kissed her red lips. It was much softer than he had imagined. It felt like a piece of sweet candy. She leaned in closer to him and even helped by removing the nket that was over her. When his handsnded on her body, his whole body trembled slightly. It was the very first time in his life that he was touching a woman. It seemed that at this point in time, all of his self-control had vanished. He desperately wanted to continue this intimate act with her. He desperately wanted her. The woman lying beneath him was also extremely cooperative and used her body to tell him that she was willing to go on. Just like him, she wanted it badly. Their bodies, which were burning with passion, stuck closely together, and the two continued to kiss non-stop until they were out of breath. At the age of 31, he had not seen a woman¡¯s body in real life yet. Such a sight was unimaginably impactful on him. Although he had seen such videos online before, it was the first time he was seeing it for real. When he slowly parted her legs, he watched as the woman¡¯s lower body started to lean in closer to his body. As he tried to move deeper into her, he was stopped by a barrier. Fan Shixin wanted to move in, but she cried out in pain, ¡°It hurts...¡± It had never dawned upon him that she, who¡¯d had a boyfriend before, was still a virgin. It was already clear to him how low the chances were for a 27-year-old woman to still be a virgin in this society. Judging from how society was like, it was probably hard for there to be 1000 such women amongst a total of one million. Amongst those with boyfriends, nine out of ten of them had probably lost their virginity already. He couldn¡¯t help but feel excited and overjoyed at the same time. With his hands on her waist, she continued to go deeper into her, and when he broke that barrier inside her, an electrifying sensation went through him. Looking at how she had her eyes closed shut, he hurriedly went to get some tissue to wipe her. It hadsted too shortly indeed earlier, so he went closer to her and started to go into her again. This time, he went in at a much more rapid pace. Fan Shixin had the hang of things this time around. Especially since, after she had gone through some pain earlier, what came now was greater satisfaction for her. She was awakened by him after she had fell asleep, and she had her eyes half-opened as she moaned out loud. When his movements became more frequent and rapid, she could no longer keep it inside and started to let out sounds of excitement. ¡°Umm... ah... slow down...¡± Her drunken voice was low and slightly sexy, making him thoroughly enthralled. ¡°Louder.¡± ¡°Ah... ah...¡± She was very obedient and started to raise her voice. She even lost control and started to shout out loud. Fan Shixin waspletely overwhelmed with joy and wanted to carry on like this. For the whole night, they went on multiple times, and he was so thrilled that he could not fall asleep at all. After it ended, she was fatigued and fell into a deep slumber. When daylight came and Mu Wansheng woke up, she found herself deeply within his embrace. Underneath the covers, they were both not wearing a thing. Every scene ofst night was reying in her head, and she felt both overjoyed and ashamed at the same time. She had actually taken the chance while she was drunk to extend a passionate invitation to him. Mu Wansheng clearly knew that her marriage with Luo Hang was but an empty shell, and since he wouldn¡¯t break up with his girlfriend, it was obvious that he would not touch her after their marriage. Thus, her marriage would not make any difference to her life. As to what had happenedst night with Fan Shixin, she did not regret it. She had done it willingly. Having exerted so much vigorous strengthst night, her whole body was aching when she got up. After leaving behind a note, she left. As Fan Shixin had only slept at daybreak, he continued to sleep for a longer time. If Xiao Huang¡¯s calls to him had not gone through and if he had note knocking on the door to look for him, he would have continued to sleep. Mu Wansheng had long disappeared and, when he nced at the time, it was actually already two in the afternoon. When Fan Shixin got off the bed, his eyesnded on the piece of note on the bedhead. He picked it up and, after reading it, he felt rather pissed off. It read: ¡°Last night, I was a willing party. I just hope I didn¡¯t bring Chief Fan any trouble. My engagement with the Luo family cannot be called off. Today¡¯s engagement ceremony has to go on. Goodbye.¡± After hooking up with him, she was actually still going to get engaged with another man? She couldn¡¯t call off the engagement? Or was she unwilling to? He took out his phone and was about to send a message to her when he helplessly realized that his phone had run out of battery. When he went to open the door for Xiao Huang, Xiao Huang asked, ¡°Chief, has your phone run out of battery? My calls to you couldn¡¯t get through. Young Sir is looking for you.¡± ¡°Okay, I got it.¡± ¡ª¡ª The engagement ceremony indeed could not be called off, as the Luo family had injected a huge sum of funds into the Mu family¡¯spany. If the engagement was to be called off because of her, the Mu family would definitely not let her off easily. Chapter 1426 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1426: I Only Want You (124)

Besides, Mu Wansheng did not think that Fan Shixin would marry her. Even if he were willing to marry her, the price to pay for calling off the engagement with the Luo family would be huge. The Mu family and Luo family had signed an agreement prior to the engagement. The party who calls off the engagement will have topensate thrice the sum of money invested to the other party for breaching the contract. However, the decision to get a divorce could only be initiated by the Luo family, and the Mu family had no say in it. That sum of money was massive to Mu Wansheng, and she definitely wouldn¡¯t want to put Fan Shixin in a spot. Besides, Fan Shixin could not afford thepensatory sum either. Hence, she definitely couldn¡¯t call off the engagement. Her marriage was practically a transaction. She was just a sacrificial object. After she had left Fan Shixin¡¯s apartment back then, the bodyguards from the Mu family had found her and brought her home forcefully. Her mother then spoke to her in the nicest way she ever did and even apologized to her. She had also given her some money to return to Fan Shixin. Although she was not on close terms with her mother, the soft-hearted Mu Wanshang had conceded when she saw her mother cry. Nothing could be changed at all. She could not call off the engagement, let alone the wedding. She sat on the dressing table and looked at her reflection in the mirror after dolling herself up. She could not stop recalling the romantic encounter they hadst night. She felt that Fan Shixin was a good man whom she could rely on. However, she could not bring him any trouble. She was filled with nervousness; the engagement ceremony was to begin in the evening. It was not the engagement ceremony that made her nervous so much as the fact that Fan Shixin would be present too. She was overwhelmed with anxiety at the thought of meeting him again that night. The guests invited to the engagement ceremony included the closest friends and rtives of both families. Her mobile phone rang. After taking a look at the caller disy, she instructed the servants to go out while she answered the call alone in the dressing room. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you would marry anyone? Why don¡¯t you marry me?¡± Tears welled up in her eyes the moment she heard his words. ¡°I don¡¯t need you to take responsibility for me. What happenedst night was just an ident.¡± He teased, ¡°ident? Didn¡¯t you n it beforehand? I¡¯m asking you once more. Why don¡¯t we get married?¡± After a moment of silence, she answered, ¡°No, I don¡¯t intend to marry you. Forget about what happenedst night. Chief Fan, I¡¯ll erase it from my memory too. I won¡¯t cancel the engagement, and I¡¯ll be marrying him in the future. This is my marriage that can¡¯t be changed.¡± Fan Shixin asked in displeasure, ¡°You¡¯re not going to regret this?¡± ¡°Yes, I won¡¯t regret my decision.¡± He ended the call while Mu Wansheng removed her earphones, feeling tense and troubled. When the ceremony officially began, the emcee made the first speech. ¡°To all valued guests, dearest friends, and family, wee to the engagement ceremony of Mr. Luo Xing and Ms. Mu Wansheng. On this joyous asion, let us give our greatest blessings to the newlyweds-to-be.¡± All the guests began apuding enthusiastically. While the emcee made the rest of the speech, Mu Wansheng walked out together with Luo Xing, dressed in her engagement dress. They stood right next to each other. She dared not look at the guests at all throughout the ceremony. She obviously did not think that he would crash the wedding, for he was a mature and sensible man who definitely would not act so rashly. The wedding date was announced. Their wedding was to be held in a month¡¯s time. After the engagement ceremony, she returned to her room to get changed. She entered the washroom, only to discover that Fan Shixin was inside. ¡°Chief Fan... how did you end up here?¡± ¡°I was waiting for you.¡± He locked the door and hugged her tightly. ¡°Wansheng, marriage is a serious matter. You can¡¯t be hasty or rash when ites to getting married. Besides, we¡¯ve already gotten intimate with each other. Why don¡¯t you marry me?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t marry you. It¡¯s not because you¡¯re not good enough. I¡¯m just not allowed to do so,¡± she said softly. His unique scent lingered below her nose. Extremely agitated, Mu Wansheng said, ¡°If only my family didn¡¯t sign the marriage agreement with the Luo family. If the engagement can be called off, I¡¯ll definitely marry you.¡± ¡°Why can¡¯t you marry me? Make things clear,¡± said Fan Shixin. Shaking her head, she said, ¡°Hurry and go out. It won¡¯t be good if others see us.¡± ¡°Did you know that you took my virginityst night? I won¡¯t let you go unless you take responsibility for it.¡± Mu Wansheng said apprehensively, ¡°You¡¯re lying.¡± ¡°Why would I even lie to you? I¡¯m not a loose or promiscuous man. You made me really happyst night. Wansheng, do you really not know the reason I chose to stay with Wu Pingyang and visit the Mu family with gifts even after finding out about her true colors?¡± ¡°No.¡± He said truthfully, ¡°Because Xiao Bai told me about your engagement. I visited the Mu family home to see you openly. I did it all for you. I don¡¯t want you to marry Luo Xing. He doesn¡¯t deserve you.¡± Mu Wansheng was touched and delighted to hear his words. However, she soon snapped back to reality. Biting her lip, she said dejectedly, ¡°I¡¯ve already made up my mind. Don¡¯t say anything else. I can¡¯t call off the engagement.¡± Fan Shixin could not understand why she was so dimwitted. However, he did not force her because he was well aware that she had her own reasons. ¡°Does it still hurt?¡± ¡°Not anymore,¡± she answered, blushing shyly because she knew exactly what he was referring to. ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t force you, but you can¡¯t ghost me. Do you get what I mean?¡¯ ¡°Yes,¡± she answered with a nod. Fan Shixin kissed her on the forehead and said, ¡°I¡¯m leaving now.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Mu Wansheng watched him leave before turning to look at herself in the mirror, filled with a mix of emotions. As soon as Fan Shixin exited, Mrs. Mu entered. ¡°What did Pingyang¡¯s boyfriend say to you just now?¡± ¡°He was looking for Pingyang but she obviously isn¡¯t here,¡± Mu Wansheng answered calmly. ¡°You look much better today. Seems like the beauty facial you underwent yesterday was really effective.¡± ¡°Mother...¡± ¡°Yes? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Mrs. Mu asked. ¡°Luo Xing and I will never be happy together. You understand that, don¡¯t you?¡± Mu Wansheng said, staring at her. ¡°Wansheng, I know what you¡¯re trying to say. If you¡¯re still worried about his ex-girlfriend, I¡¯ll think of a way to get rid of herpletely.¡± Mu Wansheng frantically interjected, ¡°Don¡¯t... that¡¯s not what I¡¯m concerned about. If you do that, Luo Xing would resent me to the core. I don¡¯t love him anyway, so I don¡¯t mind that he hasn¡¯t made a clean break with his girlfriend. Mother, you have no idea what I want. I don¡¯t want money or authority. I just want a man who truly loves me.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you use to say that that pauper truly loved you and doted on you? But what happened in the end? He still cheated on you and made another woman pregnant, didn¡¯t he? Love is not as practical as money. I won¡¯t do you any harm. Once you be the Young Madam of the Luo family and build your own wealth, you can always have a boyfriend so long as no one discovers your rtionship. You¡¯ll have my support too. If Luo Xing can date other people, so can you.¡± Chapter 1427 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1427: I Only Want You (125)

Mu Wansheng had no idea why, but she simply could notmunicate on the same page as her mother. ¡°Mother, money is always the most important to you. To you, money can buy everything, including love. In order to stop me from marrying Zuo Xingwei, you even resorted to breaking my legs. Mother, all you care about is money. Money seems to be more important than me, your daughter.¡± ¡°Was I wrong to have opposed your rtionship? Didn¡¯t that pauper prove himself to be undeserving of you? That just means I¡¯m right when ites to judging people.¡± Not wishing to argue with her, Mu Wansheng said, ¡°I¡¯m tired. I¡¯m going to go get some rest now.¡± ¡°Where are you going? We have to eat dinner together. From tomorrow onwards, we¡¯ll have to start preparing for the wedding. You¡¯ll be getting married in a month¡¯s time.¡± She nodded and changed into a fresh set of clothes before exiting with Mrs. Mu. During dinner, she discovered that Fan Shixin was no longer around. He had clearly left together with Wu Pingyang. Throughout the entire journey home, Mu Wansheng was constantly distracted, and she would slip in and out of a trance when speaking to Mrs. Mu. ¡°You seem to be out of sorts the entire day. What are you thinking about?¡± ¡°Nothing much, I¡¯m just tired.¡± ¡°Why are you tired? You didn¡¯t even do anything.¡± ¡°My heart is tired.¡± ¡°...¡± Upon returning home, she tried to curb her urge to send him a text message. However, she simply could not get him off her mind. Did I fall head-over-heels in love with him just because I got intimate with him once? She tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep at all. At this very moment, Luo Xing gave her a call. To her surprise, he said, ¡°My girlfriend is jealous. Help me exin it to her. She said that she¡¯ll only believe it if she hears it from you.¡± Mu Wansheng rolled her eyes in annoyance. ¡°Put her on the line, then.¡± Luo Xing passed the call to his girlfriend, who asked, ¡°You and Luo Xing are going to stay out of each other¡¯s private lives even after you get married, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes. You can continue dating him even after we get married. I won¡¯t meddle with his affairs.¡± Luo Xing¡¯s girlfriend seemed to have heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°What if I get pregnant with his child?¡± ¡°Get pregnant? You¡¯ll have to ask Luo Xing about that, then. If he¡¯s willing to let you keep the child, then he¡¯ll have to understand that I can give birth to another man¡¯s child too. Everything has to be fair. I¡¯ll have no objections if he agrees,¡± said Mu Wansheng. Shocked speechless, Luo Xing¡¯s girlfriend stayed silent for a while before answering, ¡°I¡¯ll ask him about it before calling you again.¡± She then ended the call. Mu Wansheng knew for sure that Luo Xing and his girlfriend would definitely have a tiff over the matter. After all, she had raised a simr request. Half an hourter, she received a call from Luo Xing again. ¡°I can let my girlfriend¡¯s child address you as his mother temporarily, but I can¡¯t tolerate you giving birth to another man¡¯s child.¡± ¡°Indeed, men and women can never be equal. I¡¯m not interested in yours and your girlfriend¡¯s child. Like I said a long time ago, there must be equality between us. If you can have a girlfriend, I should be allowed to date other men too. If your girlfriend can give birth to your child, I can also give birth to another man¡¯s child. If you want to put an end to this marriage, please tell your parents to call off the engagement. Otherwise, you can dream on about treating me unfairly.¡± Luo Xing did not expect the aloof-looking socialite to be as stubborn as a mule. Things would not havee to this if he could manage to persuade his parents to break off the engagement. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about this face to face. Are you asleep yet?¡± ¡°I¡¯m already lying on the bed. I¡¯m not tired, you maye over.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Mu Wansheng got out of bed. She could not be bothered to put on any makeup again. After all, she did not care about her fianc¨¦ and never wanted to impress him anyway. Hence, she met him downstairs in her pajamas. Luo Xing remarked in distaste, ¡°You¡¯re really sloppy.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need to dress up for you.¡± She got inside the car and sat beside him. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you invite your girlfriend to join in the discussion?¡± ¡°No need for that. I can decide on my own.¡± ¡°What are your ns, then?¡± ¡°I can give birth to a child with you if you¡¯d like. We have every right to have a child together.¡± Greatly taken aback by his words, she rolled her eyes and said, ¡°Mr. Luo, I hope you can face this issue with a serious attitude. Don¡¯t just patronize me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not patronizing you. I¡¯m being serious.¡± Staring at him solemnly, Mu Wansheng said, ¡°That¡¯s impossible. If you want to bear a child with me, you¡¯d have to give up your rtionship with your current girlfriend. Forget about this if you can¡¯t give her up. Let¡¯s face this problem calmly and talk things over. We¡¯ve yet to get married right now, and if you really love her, there¡¯s no way you¡¯d have said those things just now. Luo Xing, I¡¯m really doubting if you¡¯re true to your girlfriend. I hope you¡¯ll consider this carefully.¡± He said, ¡°I genuinely love her, of course. We¡¯ll do as you say, then. However, I¡¯m only asking that our parents don¡¯t find out. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re well aware of the consequences if they do.¡± ¡°I know it better than you do.¡± She opened the car door and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to bed now. Drive safely.¡± She then alighted and closed the car door. Luo Xing followed suit and got inside the driver¡¯s seat. Just as Mu Wansheng was about to enter, she was stopped in her tracks by a sudden noise. It was a soft voice. Yet, it was extremely clear. She turned around to see where the voice wasing from. She was greeted with the sight of a figure standing below a tree not too far away from her, a cigarette in hand. He threw the cigarette butt onto the ground and stepped on it with his foot. Mu Wansheng stepped forward and asked in astonishment, ¡°Have you been staying here all this while or did youe back again?¡± ¡°Make a guess.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not guessing.¡± He smiled and said, ¡°I came back again. What did he say to you?¡± Mu Wansheng said, ¡°Nothing much. Where¡¯s your car?¡± ¡°By the entrance of the road in front.¡± ¡°It¡¯s already sote, what are you doing here... hurry and go home,¡± she said, hanging her head low. ¡°Am I not allowed to miss you? I wanted to see you.¡± Surprised to hear his words, Mu Wansheng said, ¡°Chief Fan, it¡¯s impossible between us. I¡¯ll be getting married in a month¡¯s time.¡± ¡°Why must you marry him? You know that you don¡¯t have feelings for him at all, so why?¡± ¡°I have my own reasons. You don¡¯t have to find out. I did this willingly. Chief Fan, you¡¯re a good man, so from now on...¡± She was suddenly unable to continue speaking. If we don¡¯t make a clean break now and continue to keep in touch after I get married, what¡¯s going to be of him? Chapter 1428 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1428: I Only Want You (126)

After some thought, she continued, ¡°So don¡¯t contact me ever again from now on. We¡¯ll go back to the way we used to be in the past and never keep in touch again.¡± The smile on Fan Shixin¡¯s face vanished. He could not figure out what she was thinking at all. ¡°Do you really want things to be like this?¡¯ ¡°Yes. So let¡¯s not meet each other again from now on. I¡¯m afraid that you¡¯d jeopardize my wedding. By then, it would be difficult to clear up the mess,¡± said Mu Wansheng, who felt that it would be better to avoid causing any unnecessary trouble. After all, there was no way to cancel the marriage anymore. Actually, she was afraid of the dire consequences that would ensue if she were to follow her heart and elope with him. ¡°What if I refuse to agree?¡± Mu Wansheng looked at him and said, ¡°Chief Fan, you¡¯ve always been a mature and sensible man to me. I believe you won¡¯t do anything reckless that will ruin my impression of you.¡± Fan Shixin was speechless. ¡°Since you¡¯ve chosen to do this, I¡¯ll respect your decision. You¡¯re an adult, and you should know what you¡¯re doing. Feel free to call me whenever you change your mind,¡± he said before turning around to leave. Mu Wansheng stared at his receding figure and watched him leave. Mu Wansheng stayed wide awake for the rest of the night. After having her breakfast, she decided to catch up on sleep. At this moment, Mrs. Mu said, ¡°That pauper showed up at our doorstep bright and early in the morning and he¡¯s been pestering us to let him see you. I told the bodyguards to chase him away.¡± ¡°Just ignore him.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you sleepst night? Why are your under-eye circles so dark?¡¯ ¡°Yeah, I had insomniast night.¡± ¡°Hurry and go take a nap, then. You¡¯ll look pale and listless if you don¡¯t get enough sleep. You¡¯ll even look aged in the long run,¡± Mrs. Mu urged. ¡°Mother, have you ever loved someone genuinely?¡± Greatly taken aback by her words, Mrs. Mu answered, ¡°No. Only young girls would be deceived by the elusive concept of love. I¡¯ve long seen through it all.¡± ¡°Why is there a photo of a man in your favorite book, then? I happened to see it when I went to your bedroom previously. You even wrote his name, Zong Jingyi, on the back of the photo. Mother, if you didn¡¯t love him, do you just feel guilty toward him?¡± After some thought, Mrs. Mu answered, ¡°That¡¯s just a form of regret, not necessarily love.¡± ¡°He¡¯s so handsome. Mother, how did you have the heart to betray him in such a cruel manner?¡± Mrs. Mu said, ¡°Is being handsome everything?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Mrs. Mu was speechless. After a moment of silence, she said, ¡°I was right about you being a dimwit. What else does that pauper have apart from good looks? Back then, you were so bent on marrying him. You should never be too obsessed with men. All men are the same. Their looks will fade when they¡¯re old. You¡¯ve seen your grandfather¡¯s photos too, haven¡¯t you? He was so dashing in the past, but doesn¡¯t he look average now? Everyone will age and grow old one day.¡± Mu Wansheng put down her chopsticks and stood up. ¡°Twenty-seven years ago, Grandpa must have been much more suave than he is now. No wonder he could coerce you into sleeping with him.¡± Mrs. Mu snapped, ¡°What nonsense are you spouting!?!¡± ¡°The whole world knows about it. Are you sure it¡¯s just nonsense I¡¯m spouting? You¡¯ve long disgraced me.¡± Mrs. Mu turned as pale as a sheet, not answering her any further. Mu Wansheng returned to her room to get some sleep. Her napsted all the way until nighttime. The first thing she did when she woke up was to fumble about for her mobile phone. She discovered that she did not receive any missed calls or text messages. Although she had made things clear to him the night before, she still carried some hope. However, her hopes vanished a few dayster. He had really stopped looking her up. Neither did she hear any news of him breaking up with Wu Pingyang. One week after the engagement ceremony, it was time for them to have their wedding photoshoot. Luo Xing arrived at her doorstep bright and early in the morning to pick her up in his car. He brought her to the wedding photoshoot studio, where he had already made an appointment beforehand. The studio was rather popr in A City, and the photographer was said to have received several des for his impressive work. He was specially in charge of taking the photographs for them today. Hence, the photographer was already waiting for them in the store. When they arrived, the store manager handed them a few samples of the wedding gowns and allowed them to take their pick. Luo Xing did not bother looking at the samples at all and instead allowed her to make the decision. Hence, Mu Wansheng came to a decision on her own quickly and began changing into the outfits. The store assistant arranged for her to try on the gowns in the fitting room while Luo Xing proceeded to change into his suit in another fitting room. During the photoshoot, Luo Xing¡¯s face was stiff and sullen, though Mu Wansheng could still manage to fake a lopsided smile. The two of them kept the same expression throughout the entire shoot, causing the photographer to feel awkward and vexed. How am I supposed to shoot like this? I guess I can only do my best. The outdoor shoot consisted of a scene by the beach. The wedding photoshoot was extremely exhausting and arduous. After a long day, the sky began to pour as soon as they were done with the shoot. The photographer was thankful that they had already taken enough photographs. The sky had already turned dark by the time they returned to the city. Due to the heavy traffic, they only arrived back at the bridal studio at half-past eight in the evening. Mu Wansheng was dead beat and famished. Hence, she hurriedly changed out of the wedding gown and headed out for dinner after putting on her own clothes. Within just a few minutes, the lights in the fitting room went out all of a sudden. Mu Wansheng thought to herself that it must have been a power outage. She fumbled around for her mobile phone and discovered that there was still some battery. Hence, she used it as a light source to guide herself downstairs. However, she arrived downstairs to see that the door was closed and that there was not a single soul in sight. She had been locked inside the store. The next thing she did was to call Luo Xing. However, she could not reach him at all. She would be directed to his voicemail every single time she tried to cal him. Nothing changed even after more than ten minutes. Boiling with fury, Mu Wansheng called her mother to tell her that she had been trapped inside the bridal store. Upon hearing her words, Mrs. Mu flew into a rage and rushed to the store without hesitation together with the bodyguards. Soon, the store manager scurried toward them and apologized while opening the door. Clearly not going to let the matter rest so easily, Mrs. Mu rebuked, ¡°What have you people got for brains? Forget it if you had failed to let an assistant apany the bride-to-be while she was changing. You even locked the door without checking if anyone was still inside. What¡¯s wrong with you guys?¡± ¡°I¡¯m so, so sorry, Mrs. Mu. I left earlier tonight because I had something to attend to urgently. This was caused by the negligence of our employees. We¡¯re really sorry.¡± Noticing that her mother was about to continue, Mu Wansheng interjected and said to the store manager, ¡°I changed out of the gown really quickly because I was hungry. However, the power outage and the closing of the door urred within just a few minutes. I¡¯m sure this has been premeditated. I hope you¡¯ll give me a satisfactory answer and exnation for this incident.¡± Chapter 1429 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1429: I Only Want You (127)

The store manager initially thought that everything would be fine once they apologize. To her surprise, Mu Wansheng did not wish to drop the matter at all. The manager said, ¡°Ms. Mu, it was really just a careless mistake made by our employees. We¡¯ll give you a twenty percent discount on all items in the store. Will that do?¡± Mu Wansheng said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to give me a discount. Just get all your employees to apologize to me sincerely.¡± A twenty percent discount? I¡¯m not the one paying for it anyway. I¡¯m not going to bother saving money for Luo Xing. Noticing how insistent she was, the store manager had no choice but to concede. She assembled all the employees and made them apologize to Mu Wansheng sincerely. Mu Wansheng left only after epting the apology. Instead of getting inside the car, she said to Mrs. Mu, ¡°I¡¯m going to go grab something to eat. You may go home first.¡± ¡°Eat at home instead. The food outside is not that hygienic.¡± ¡°I want to eat outside food. You may go home first.¡± She then left with her purse. Mrs. Mu stuck her head out of the window and said, ¡°Go home early once you¡¯re done eating, then.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± She headed inside a noodle restaurant where she ate to her heart¡¯s content. She then tried to call Luo Xing again and finally managed to reach him this time. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter? I wasn¡¯t expecting you to be extremely enthusiastic during the photoshoot, but you should have at least bothered to check if I had left yet. You left without me. Mind you, I¡¯m your fianc¨¦e. I was locked inside the bridal store and you didn¡¯t give a care about that at all. I have nothing else to say to you. We¡¯ll meet again during the wedding.¡± She ended the call as soon as she gave him a piece of her mind. After exiting the noodle restaurant, she then bought a bottle of mineral water that she sipped on while walking. While she was walking, a car pulled over by the roadside and Wu Pingyang popped her head out of the window next to the passenger¡¯s seat. ¡°Cousin, are you going home? Shixin is sending me home right now. Hop in.¡± ¡°Nah, I¡¯ll just hail a taxi.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go home together. If not, Grandpa is going to chide me for not having any manners should he find out. We¡¯re family anyway. Hop in.¡± ¡°Since you¡¯ve already said that, it¡¯d be impolite of me to turn you down.¡± Mu Wansheng then got inside the backseat. The car began moving off slowly and Wu Pingyang asked, ¡°I heard from my mother that you went for a bridal shoot with your fianc¨¦ today. Why didn¡¯t he send you home?¡± ¡°I told him to leave without me.¡± Wu Pingyang sneered, ¡°Seems like Cousin-inw really doesn¡¯t understand women. How can he leave just because you told him to? Cousin, have they prepared a nuptial home yet?¡± ¡°No idea. I didn¡¯t ask them about it, but they should be in the midst of preparations.¡± Mu Wansheng rested her head against the window of the car with her eyes tightly shut. He pulled up in front of the Mu family home. Wu Pingyang alighted from the car, followed by Mu Wansheng. This was the first time that they had met again in a few days. Yet, they did not speak to each other at all. Mu Wansheng and Wu Pingyang were headed to different directions. As soon as she entered, her mobile phone began to ring. It was a call from Fan Shixin. Staring at the caller disy, Mu Wansheng resisted the urge to pick up and declined the call immediately. He stopped trying to call her. She finally felt a sense of relief. She was afraid that she would act rashly and be unable to control herself. She would be soft-hearted whenever he made an advancement. Fortunately, he had yet to make any for now. Ever since then, the frequency of Fan Shixin¡¯s visits to the Mu family home increased. He used to only visit them once in a blue moon and Mu Wansheng would avoid him every single time. However, there were bound to be times when she won¡¯t be able to hide. Fan Shixin visited the Mu family home again two weeks before the wedding. Mr. Mu was thrilled to see him frequently. He stayed for lunch. Mu Wansheng did too, without knowing that he was there. They then met each other again. She felt an immediate urge to leave the moment she saw him. However, reality did not allow her to do so. She took a seat opposite Fan Shixin. She kept her head hung low throughout in a bid to avoid him. However, she had no idea what Fan Shixin had been thinking about for the past few days. He felt that he had made the wrong choice by deciding to respect her decision that night. He constantly regretted giving her his approval. However, it was no longer the time to talk about respecting her decisions. Hence, he had been refraining from calling her because he knew that she would decline his calls. Instead, he tried to look for a chance to meet her face-to-face. They finally got to see each other today. During lunch, he bent forward to tie his shoces, during which he took the chance to grab Mu Wansheng¡¯s ankle, causing her to quiver. He then got back into his seat, remaining calm andposed. Mu Wansheng turned as red as a tomato, knowing clearly that he was obviously trying to tease her. He even did it openly. She dared not look up at him at all. After lunch, she hurriedly returned to her own room. Little did she suspect, he followed her into her room and locked the door from the inside. At the sight of him, Mu Wansheng turned pale in shock and asked, ¡°Why are you here? Hurry and go outside...¡± He walked toward her without uttering a single word. Staring at him nkly, she murmured, ¡°Chief Fan...¡± Fan Shixin hugged her tightly and said, ¡°No one saw me enter. I just wanted to find a chance to meet you in private and convey my message to you.¡± Filled with nervousness, Mu Wansheng said, ¡°Let¡¯s talk outside... it¡¯s not convenient to talk here.¡± However, Fan Shixin did not wish to go outside from the moment he hugged her. He lowered his head and nted a kiss on Mu Wansheng¡¯s neck, which sent electrifying chills down her spine. She tried to push him away, only to discover that she seemed to have lost all her energy. She wondered if it was because she simply did not wish to push him away. Hence, she allowed him to hold her waist and continue kissing her all the way from her neck to her lips. Mu Wansheng lost her rationality the moment their tongues intertwined. She had been forcing herself to get him off her mind for the past few days. However, she failed to do so. She would often think about him after they parted. However, she would always resist the urge to contact him first because she knew that his girlfriend was Wu Pingyang. She was filled with joy when she found outter on that he was nning to break up with Wu Pingyang. After getting intimate with him for the very first time that night, she was practically bursting with euphoria. Although she said that she wanted to make a clean break with him, she actually thought about him and missed him every single day. It seemed she had finally released all her pent-up emotions. She thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of getting intimate with him. There was nothing else she could think of at this moment. Fan Shixin lowered her onto the bed and bent forward to kiss her while removing her pants. Soon, Mu Wansheng was half-naked. On the other hand, he had only removed his belt and pushed his trousers down halfway. Mu Wansheng murmured softly, ¡°Chief Fan...¡± He interrupted, ¡°Call me Shixin.¡± Chapter 1430 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1430: I Only Want You (128)

¡°I¡¯d better address you as Chief Fan...¡± ¡°Call me Shixin,¡± he insisted vehemently. Seeing that she was blushing and coordinating to match his rhythm, he knew that she actually didn¡¯t detest him. Hence, he did not wish to cut off contact with her at all. Just as they were in the midst of a long passionate session, someone began knocking on the door. ¡°Wansheng, are you inside?¡± Mrs. Mu asked. ¡°Yes, I just took a shower and I¡¯m going to take a nap now. What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Nothing, I just wanted to ask if you had seen Chief Fan. He seems to have left without saying goodbye. Pingyang tried to call him but his mobile phone is switched off.¡± ¡°I... I didn¡¯t see him.¡± ¡°Go take a nap, then.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Mu Wansheng heaved a sigh of relief after hearing her footsteps as she left. ¡°Is your car still outside?¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t drive here.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t feel like it,¡± he said, pressing his hands on both her sides. Grinning gleefully, he said, ¡°Mu Wansheng, I take my words back. I¡¯m not going to respect your decision. We must stay together every day like this.¡± ¡°Chief Fan...¡± Mu Wansheng murmured, biting her lip. ¡°Call me Shixin.¡± ¡°Shixin...¡± She could not help but feel a little shy to call his name for the first time. ¡°How can I address you that way around others?¡± ¡°Just do so when it¡¯s only the two of us, then.¡± Staring at her solemnly, he said, ¡°Seems like we can have a good sleep together. I don¡¯t have to go to work today.¡± ¡°How are you going to go home, then? There are so many people in this house.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m afraid I can only leave tomorrow morning. We¡¯ll have plenty of time to get down to business.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t cancel my marriage with Luo Xing.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you just tell me the reason? There isn¡¯t an issue in this world that can¡¯t be solved. Since you don¡¯t like him, why do you bother forcing yourself to marry him? You¡¯re being too negligent toward your own feelings and your lifelong happiness. Can¡¯t you have faith in me for once? Perhaps I can solve it.¡± It¡¯s not that Mu Wansheng wanted to keep it from him. Rather, she did not wish to burden him like how she did not want Zuo Xingwei to find out about her hospitalization back then. She was very concerned about Fan Shixin¡¯s feelings and knew that he could not afford to pay the heftypensatory sum. Besides, it wouldn¡¯t be fair to him either. ¡°Nothing, Luo Xing and I are destined to be married only in name. He hasn¡¯t broken up with his girlfriend yet and he doesn¡¯t intend to do so even after we get married. We agreed to leave each other alone and stay out of each other¡¯s personal lives. Hence, I can¡¯t cancel the wedding unless the Luo family initiates it. I¡¯m not disregarding my own happiness, it¡¯s just that the two of us met at the wrong timing. If we had gotten together before my engagement, we wouldn¡¯t have to worry about this. Please don¡¯t put me in a spot. If I had a choice, I definitely wouldn¡¯t push you away.¡± Fan Shixin had a feeling that she was keeping something from him. Hence, he decided that he would investigate on it. However, he said, ¡°Let¡¯s continue being in a ndestine rtionship, then. If Luo Xing can have a girlfriend, you can date me too.¡± ¡°Do you know what that means?¡± asked Mu Wansheng, who was surprised to hear him bring up a ndestine rtionship. ¡°What does it mean? I don¡¯t know,¡± said Fan Shixin, feigning ignorance. ¡°If we continue dating each other even after I marry Luo Xing, it¡¯d be akin to having an extramarital affair with you. You¡¯d be my lover and the third party...¡± ¡°We¡¯ll worry about that when you¡¯re married. We still don¡¯t know if your wedding will proceed smoothly. Two weeks may sound short, but it¡¯s not short at all.¡± Mu Wansheng did not actually carry much hope, for she knew that her engagement to Luo Xing was already set in stone. There wouldn¡¯t be any changes anymore. The two of them spent the rest of the afternoon in bed together. At the end of their intimate session, he said, ¡°I¡¯m hungry. What do we do now?¡± Mu Wansheng sat up straight and said, ¡°I¡¯m hungry too. Lie down while I go get some food.¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll be waiting.¡± Mu Wansheng got out of bed and proceeded to get dressed. Feeling sore and achy all over, she exited the room. Fan Shixin decided to take a shower while waiting. Once he was done, he wrapped himself in a towel and began observing her bedroom closely. It exuded a strong, feminine vibe. Even her decorative ornaments were girlish. Fan Shixin flipped through her photo album. Upon the sight of a photo of her as a child, he remarked, ¡°How adorable.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± she said, entering with a tray of food. She ced the food onto the table and locked the door before walking toward him. ¡°I was really cute when I was a child.¡±¡® ¡°Give me one of your photos. I want to keep it with me.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± she agreed gleefully. Fan Shixin chose a photo of her smiling sweetly. The two of them proceeded to eat together. Afraid that he wouldn¡¯t be full enough, she brought the tray downstairs and returned with some bread, biscuits, seeds, and other snacks. Fan Shixin sat on the bed and watched television while snacking together with Mu Wansheng, despite being conscious of his figure. ¡°I¡¯ve long wanted to make a clean break with you, yet we ended up together again.¡± ¡°That just means that you don¡¯t actually want to break up with me deep down. I heard that women often say one thing and mean another. Are you a ssic stereotype?¡± ring at him, Mu Wansheng retorted, ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°The fact that you¡¯re angry and embarrassed just means that you are.¡± Fan Shixin pecked her on her cheek and continued, ¡°I still hope that you can tell me what you¡¯re hiding. Regardless of how much you think I can¡¯t solve it, I have the right to know, okay?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to tell you.¡± Fan Shixin did not probe any further. Just because she doesn¡¯t want to tell me, it doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m not going to look into it. Even if only the Mu and Luo families know what¡¯s going on, I can easily just question any of them. ¡°Putting that aside, I¡¯d like to ask you a question and I hope you can answer me truthfully.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°You fancy me, don¡¯t you?¡± Mu Wansheng asked, ¡°How about you?¡± ¡°If I didn¡¯t fancy you, why would I get intimate with you? Of course I do. I never felt this way before. Ever since I found out about your engagement, I was filled with a sudden thought. Do you know what it was?¡± ¡°What was it?¡± ¡°I felt that no one deserves you.¡± Smiling bashfully, Mu Wansheng asked, ¡°Did you really feel that way?¡± ¡°Why would I lie to you? It¡¯s your turn to answer me now.¡± Chapter 1431 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1431: I Only Want You (129)

Trying to mimic him, Mu Wansheng answered, ¡°If I didn¡¯t fancy you... why would I sleep with you? Actually, I¡¯ve already started developing feelings for you long ago...¡± She then looked down and hid her face beneath the nket. Noticing that she seemed to get shy very quickly, Fan Shixin said, ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be like someone who¡¯s had a boyfriend before. You get shy so easily.¡± ¡°So what if I¡¯ve had a boyfriend before? We¡¯ve never done anything intimate. Actually, my ex-boyfriend wanted to get intimate with me several times before. However, I wasn¡¯t willing because I was against the idea of premarital sex. I can¡¯t believe I gave you my virginity when we¡¯re not even married.¡± Fan Shixin said softly, ¡°It¡¯s all your fault for being so sexy and bold that night...¡± Finding him to be extremely charismatic, Mu Wansheng asked, ¡°Do you work out regrly? You¡¯re in such great shape...¡± ¡°Of course. I make time to work out every day. I¡¯m not blowing my own trumpet, but even Young Sir doesn¡¯t have a figure as great as mine. He¡¯s too busy to exercise. He only started hitting the gym because Young Madamined about hisck of abs. However, he returned to his bby shape after skipping training for a while. Unlike me, he doesn¡¯t work out every day.¡± ¡°If Pingyang is already dating you, why did she cheat on you...¡± ¡°Your ex-boyfriend had such a great girlfriend like you but why did he still cheat on you and get another woman pregnant? Actually, it¡¯s all the same. Cheaters never win in the end. A leopard never changes its spots. I¡¯m not the one losing out anyway. I¡¯ve never gotten intimate with her.¡± ¡°You mean... you didn¡¯t get intimate with Pingyang and neither did I with my ex, that¡¯s why they...¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case for Wu Pingyang. She¡¯s just acting demure and innocent in front of me. She only allowed me to hold her hand. I actually already wanted to break up with her before I found out about everything that she had done. After spending so much time with her, I still think that we¡¯re notpatible in terms of values and morals. We don¡¯t have much inmon to talk about either.¡± Mu Wansheng rested her head on his shoulder and interlocked fingers with him. They remained silent afterward. All of a sudden, a question popped up in her head, and she sprung up from her seat in shock, staring at him with her mouth slightly open. Noticing her reaction, Fan Shixin asked worriedly, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°You pulled out both times that we got intimate, right?¡± asked Mu Wansheng, who was clueless because Fan Shixin was always the one who cleaned up. Shaking his head, Fan Shixin answered, ¡°No.¡± Mu Wansheng was dumbfounded. ¡°We didn¡¯t take any contraceptive measures at all. I thought you pulled out! What do we do now?¡± she eximed frantically. Entirely amused by how flustered she was, Fan Shixin tried tofort her by saying, ¡°If you really get pregnant, we¡¯ll just keep the baby. What are you panicking about?¡± After calming herself down, Mu Wansheng nodded and said, ¡°We probably wouldn¡¯t be that unlucky.¡± ¡°...¡± Fan Shixin held her hand and said, ¡°Actually, I really hope that you¡¯d get pregnant. So, from today onwards, let¡¯s not take any contraceptive measures until you get pregnant.¡± ¡°You... Why... Are you nning to use the baby to stop Luo Xing from marrying me? Actually, even if I get pregnant, the engagement can¡¯t be broken. Besides, we can¡¯t let the Luo family find out either.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t n to use your pregnancy to stop Luo Xing from marrying you. You¡¯re already 27 years old this year, the perfect age for childbearing. Once you¡¯re over the age of thirty, you¡¯ll be a high-risk expectant mother.¡± Mu Wansheng retorted, ¡°Nonsense. It¡¯s the age of thirty-five, not thirty.¡± ¡°Well, to me, it¡¯s thirty. Once a woman hits the big three-o, her health can no longer bepared to younger women who are in their twenties. Besides, we must have at least two children. If you get pregnant now, you¡¯ll give birth at 28 years old, and if you deliver via a Cesarean-section, we¡¯ll have to wait another three years before trying for the second baby.¡± ¡°...¡± Mu Wansheng found his words to have made sense. ¡°Two is not enough. I want three. I like children. The more, the merrier.¡± Mu Wansheng was the only child, and she had spent her childhood alone most of the time. Hence, she often felt lonely and bored. Besides, she had never experienced the warmth of having a family before. Hence, she yearned to have a warm family with more children. ¡°One or two is fine, but three is too many. It¡¯ll be detrimental to your health.¡± ¡°No, I must have three children.¡± Fan Shixin was speechless. He had never met someone who was so eager to have children. ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that people would tease you and call you a baby-making machine?¡± ¡°It¡¯s my life, I don¡¯t care what others say. I really do like children. If we can, let¡¯s have four or five children. Alright, Shixin?¡± Outrageous! With so many children, they¡¯d barely have time together. She continued, ¡°You¡¯re right. It¡¯s the best time to have a child now, but...¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to think about marrying him. I won¡¯t let you marry him. You¡¯re my woman and you¡¯ll give birth to my children. How can I let you be someone else¡¯s wife and let my child acknowledge another man as his father? We still have two weeks left. I¡¯ll definitely make the Luo family give up this marriage,¡± Fan Shixin said firmly. Gazing at him, Mu Wansheng began to waver. Should I tell him or not? After much contemtion, she decided to keep it to herself. However, Fan Shixin would find out one way or another. The following day, he deliberately asked Wu Pingyang out for lunch at a restaurant. To the joy of Wu Pingyang, he even ordered a bottle of premium liquor. She began chattering non-top after having a few drinks. Noticing that she was getting rather tipsy, Fan Shixin asked, ¡°I heard from others that the Mu and Luo family have a deal together. Is it true?¡± He was just making a wild guess. Yet, he was right. Resting her face in her hand, Wu Pingyang nodded and answered, ¡°Of course it¡¯s true. My uncle¡¯spany would have gone bankrupt long ago if the Luo family hadn¡¯t pumped in some funds to help him tide over the crisis. The Luo family wanted a socialite daughter-inw, so they set their sights on Cousin. They had even signed an agreement.¡± ¡°What agreement?¡± ¡°Unless the Luo family cancels the engagement or initiates a divorce, the Mu family will have no say in the marriage, and if we were to cancel the engagement, we¡¯ll have topensate them with triple the amount of funds invested for breaching the agreement. I heard from my mother that Luo Xing was strolling on the streets with another woman. Mu Wansheng is going to be treated poorly once she marries him. Hahaha.¡± ¡°How much money did the Luo family invest?¡± ¡°Ten million dors. I didn¡¯t expect Mu Wansheng to be worth that much money. Turns out the Luo family is really wealthy. They helped thepany tide over the financial crisis that we faced back then.¡± Chapter 1432 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1432: I Only Want You (130)

Fan Shixin thought to himself, Thepensation would amount to 30 million dors, then. It is indeed not a small sum. She probably chose to keep it from me because she finds it to be a hefty sum too. Indeed, triple of the sum invested is way too much. However, it wasn¡¯t a tall order for him to make the Luo family break off the engagement out of their own ord. Wu Pingyang had to report to work at two o¡¯clock in the afternoon. It was currently noontime. He helped her into the car and asked, ¡°Where do I send you to?¡± ¡°My grandfather¡¯s home.¡± Just what he hoped for. Wu Pingyang was in a daze throughout the entire journey home. She did not even realize that Fan Shixin was sitting next to her when she answered an iing call. ¡°I¡¯m on my way to my grandfather¡¯s home.¡± Li Chengbin asked over the phone, ¡°Have you been drinking? Why does your voice sound like that?¡± ¡°Yeah, I had a few drinks.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see you tonight, then. I¡¯ll be waiting for you at our usual haunt.¡± ¡°Sure, see you tonight,¡± Wu Pingyang answered before ending the call. She only realized that she was sitting in Fan Shixin¡¯s car when she turned to look at the driver¡¯s seat, after which she instantly sobered up. She exined awkwardly, ¡°It was my colleague who called to tell me that there¡¯s a gathering this evening.¡± ¡°Are you going to attend it?¡± asked Fan Shixin, who could not be bothered about who she was speaking to at all. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve already made ns with them.¡± He kept quiet afterward and alighted from the car together with her when they arrived at the entrance. Noticing that Wu Pingyang was walking on an unsteady gait, her mother asked, ¡°Have you been drinking?¡± ¡°Yeah, we had lunch together and she had a drop too much.¡± ¡°Help her into the room, please. Wansheng, tell the cooks to prepare some hangover broth.¡± ¡°Sure, Auntie.¡± Mu Wansheng turned around and headed to the kitchen, not daring to look at Fan Shixin at all. Fan Shixin helped Wu Pingyang into her bedroom and eased her into afortable position on the bed. She then turned over and dozed off. Shortly after, Mu Wansheng entered with some hangover broth. She would not have bothered to send it to Wu Pingyang¡¯s room if it weren¡¯t for Fan Shixin¡¯s presence there. As soon as she ced the broth on the table, Fan Shixin closed the door. ¡°It¡¯s still piping hot. Get her to drink itter. Auntie said that she would still have to go to workter in the afternoon.¡± ¡°Okay, I know.¡± He then hugged her and stared at her gleefully. Mu Wansheng could tell from the way he was looking at her what he was thinking of doing. However, they were in Wu Pingyang¡¯s room and it was impossible to get intimate at all. She pushed him away gently and mouthed, ¡°I have to go outter.¡± He mouthed, ¡°Great, I¡¯ll give you a lift.¡± Mu Wansheng agreed with a nod. Just as he was about to let go of her, he kissed her on her lips, unable to hold his urges back at all. Mu Wansheng frantically patted him on his back in shock and glowered at him before leaving. In high spirits, Fan Shixin woke Wu Pingyang up and told her to drink the hangover broth. Still in a daze, Wu Pingyang sat up and drank some hangover broth before falling asleep again. Fan Shixin set an rm for her before making his way downstairs. ¡°Shixin, has she drunk the broth yet?¡± ¡°Yes, she fell asleep again but I¡¯ve already set an rm for her.¡± Mrs. Wu chuckled and said, ¡°That¡¯s so thoughtful of you. I¡¯ll wake her up again at one o¡¯clock. I¡¯m afraid that she might bete.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be taking my leave now, then.¡± ¡°Alright, drive safely.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He strode out of the door and got inside his car. He then turned around instinctively to see that she was already sitting on the backseat. ¡°What are you going to buy?¡± ¡°I just wanted to go out to take a breather because I¡¯m too bored at home.¡± Fan Shixin suggested, ¡°What¡¯s there to do on the streets? Why don¡¯t we go to Wei Ni Estate?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± she answered softly. He knew she would agree. Hence, he headed back to Wei Ni Estate. He pulled over by the corridor and said, ¡°Wait for me upstairs. I¡¯ll be there after I park the car in the garage.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± She walked toward the corridor while he drove to the garage. He had even prepared some food and drinks. ¡°Chief, what are you doing with all this food and beverages?¡± ¡°Quit asking so many questions and focus on working.¡± ¡°...¡± Staring at his back view, Xiao Huang scratched his head and said to Xiao Lu, ¡°Chief has been acting strangely for the past two days.¡± Stroking his chin, Xiao Tian answered, ¡°I could tell too. He was clearly smitten with his girlfriend a while ago, but for the past two days, he¡¯s been acting like he¡¯s in the honeymoon period of his rtionship. However, that shouldn¡¯t be the case since he¡¯s been dating Sis-inw for such a long time. Why is he acting out of the ordinarytely?¡± ¡°Could it be that Chief is having an affair?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t let Chief hear you, he might just kill you.¡± Xiao Bai walked toward them and said confidently, ¡°Chief will break up with Wu Pingyang soon.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°Of course I know. None of you has any... insider news, unlike me.¡± Xiao Bai then turned around and left smugly. Xiao Lu and Xiao Huang followed closely behind. ¡°What insider news have you got? Hurry and tell us, won¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I promised Chief that I can¡¯t tell you guys.¡± His words had managed to pique their curiosity even further. ¡°Brother Bai, just what else do you know? Stop keeping us in suspense. Just tell us secretly. We definitely won¡¯t tell anyone.¡± Grinning widely in joy, Xiao Bai entered the guardroom and said, ¡°I can¡¯t tell you even if you call me ¡®Master Bai.¡¯ If I tell you, Chief will definitely know that I was the one who leaked his secret.¡± ¡°If you tell us, Chief might beat you up sometime in the future. If you don¡¯t, the two of us will beat the living daylights out of you right now.¡± Xiao Huang and Xiao Lu looked at each other, after which they held Xiao Bai¡¯s head and legs and removed his shoes before tickling him. Xiao Bai was distraught and could not breathe at all because of how ticklish it was. Atst, he had no choice but to concede. Xiao Huang and Xiao Lu were dumbstruck after hearing his words. After a long while, Xiao Huang remarked, ¡°Oh goodness, Wu Pingyang had made a cuckold out of Chief. And yet he could still stay so calm andposed. It¡¯s little wonder he deserves to be our leader.¡± ¡°He should be in low spirits, but why does he seem so happy instead? He must have found a new girlfriend.¡± ¡°I think so too.¡± ¡°Who did Chief bring those food items out for?¡± ¡°No idea. Shall we check the surveince cameras?¡± Xiao Lu immediately proceeded to check the footages, after which he said, ¡°His nuptial home is in the same block as Mr. Ling¡¯s and Missy¡¯s apartment, but they¡¯re not in. Chief clearly returned to his own apartment.¡± Xiao Huang pointed his finger and eximed confidently, ¡°He must be hiding a woman in his apartment! Let¡¯s check if Chief has gone inside the building.¡± Then... The three of them saw the footage of Mu Wansheng alighting from Fan Shixin¡¯s car and entering the apartment building. They were utterly shocked. ¡°Isn¡¯t Ms. Mu already engaged to Luo Xing?¡± ¡°Yeah. Why did Chief...¡± Chapter 1433 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1433: I Only Want You (131)

¡°Stop making wild guesses. Maybe he¡¯s not in a rtionship with her.¡± ¡°Yeah, Ms. Mu had once lived in Chief¡¯s apartment for an extended period of time too.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll find out what¡¯s going on after asking Chief about it when hees backter.¡± Unable to tolerate it anymore, Xiao Bai chided, ¡°Go ahead and ask Chief if you¡¯d like to see him skin me alive.¡± The two of them chuckled and said, ¡°We¡¯re looking forward to seeing that. It¡¯ll definitely be very interesting.¡± Xiao Bai snapped, ¡°You¡¯re going to get it from me!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª¡ª Fan Shixin entered to see that Mu Wansheng was sitting on the bed and watching some television. He ced the items onto the table and handed her some fruit juice. ¡°Have some.¡± She grabbed it and took a few sips with a straw. ¡°Was it freshly squeezed?¡± ¡°Of course. All the juice here is freshly squeezed.¡± Noticing that he was constantly staring at her, Mu Wansheng asked shyly, ¡°Why do you keep looking at me?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re beautiful.¡± As soon as she ced the ss of juice onto the table, he hugged her and said, ¡°I think I¡¯m addicted to you. I can¡¯t stop thinking about you.¡± ¡°Me too.¡± ¡°Pack your belongings and move here in a couple of days.¡± Mu Wansheng shook her head and refused. ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t stay here every day, they¡¯ll find out.¡± ¡°I mean, just move your belongings here. You don¡¯t have toe over every single day. This will be our home from now on. Strangely, this is my nuptial home but you¡¯re the only woman who has ever stayed here. Even my mother has never lived here before. Seems like it¡¯s really meant for you.¡± ¡°Hasn¡¯t Pingyang been here before?¡± Mu Wansheng asked, feeling a little d to hear that she was the only woman whom he had brought home. ¡°She did ask me to bring her here but I¡¯ve never done so before.¡± Mu Wansheng turned to hold his gaze and initiated a kiss. She then draped her arms around his neck and leaned forward slightly to move closer to him. He pressed his hand on the back of her head gently and began kissing her with zealous passion. That was always the case for couples who were in the midst of their honeymoon phase. They tend to yearn for each other¡¯spany and wish that they would be inseparable. They tried a few different positions, all of which made Mu Wansheng feel shy and embarrassed. However, she still reciprocated and went along with him. In fact, she enjoyed herself too. She felt that she could derive joy from just being around him, even if they weren¡¯t speaking to each other. She could not contain her happiness at all. She wished the moment wouldst forever. She wished that she could lead a stable andfortable life with Fan Shixin and build a loving family of their own with a few children. However, that ideal life only existed in her imagination. In reality, it was difficult to make the haughty and prideful Luo familypromise and concede. It would be rather inappropriate for Fan Shixin to handle this matter personally. Hence, he decided to seek Jin Qingyan¡¯s opinion. However, before he even did so, he was summoned by Jin Qingyan. ¡°I heard from Xiao Huang and the rest yesterday that you¡¯re dating Ms. Mu. Is that true?¡± While keeping a smile on his face, Fan Shixin thought to himself, I must teach all of them a lesson. ¡°Yes, Young Sir, but I must rify that the rtionship between Ms. Mu and Mr. Luo is a littleplicated. So is mine and Wu Pingyang¡¯s. It¡¯s a long story, I¡¯ll have to exin it to you in detail.¡± Leaning back against the couch, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°I¡¯m all ears, shoot.¡± ¡°So what happened was...¡± Fan Shixin exined everything to him in detail, after which he said, ¡°Young Sir, this concerns my lifelong happiness. You must help me out.¡± Jin Qingyan stared at him from the side and said, ¡°That¡¯s actually no big deal. Since there¡¯s a contract, it just means that the Mu family is practically selling Mu Wansheng off to the Luo family without sparing a single thought for her happiness. The Luo family holds the power to amend the contract terms anyway. Secondly, if they were to pay apensatory sum to the Luo family, wouldn¡¯t that just benefit them? They¡¯d get to earn 20 million dors for no rhyme or reason. Hence, there are only two solutions at hand now. One is to pay thepensatory sum and the other is to steal the contract. Which one do you think is a better solution?¡± ¡°From what I know about you, you¡¯re probably going to support the second solution. Young Sir, what would you do if you were in my shoes?¡± ¡°If I were in your shoes...¡± After some thought, he answered, ¡°The Luo family probably can¡¯t afford topensate me for the time and effort I wasted on them.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I¡¯ll talk to the Luo family for you regarding this matter. However, you should make things clear to Wu Pingyang and the Mu family today. Don¡¯t drag it on any longer.¡± ¡°Yes, I do intend to do that too.¡± Fan Shixin felt as if a rock had been lifted off his chestpletely. He was certain that Jin Qingyan would be able to resolve the issue. He gave Wu Pingyang a call and informed her that he would be making an important announcement at the Mu family home at night and that he wanted her to be at home. Wu Pingyang thought that he would be proposing to her and, hence, she agreed excitedly. Little did she know what awaited her. ¡ª¡ª During the evening, it began pouring heavily in A City. The air became much chillier. Fan Shixin arrived at the Mu family home, d in a windbreaker. He discovered that there were two other cars parked by the entrance. He alighted from the car with an umbre in hand, and the guards at the door greeted, ¡°Hello, Chief Fan.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Fan Shixin overheard the sounds of men chatting when he approached the living room. He stuck his head inside to see that the Luo family members had arrived, including Luo Xing¡¯s parents. The sky was already turning dark when I was telling Young Sir about this, so Young Sir probably hasn¡¯t arrived yet. Why are the Luo family members here all of a sudden? Fan Shixin walked into the living room. Upon the sight of Fan Shixin, the elderly Mr. Mu greeted with a smile, ¡°You¡¯re here, Shixin. Hurry and have a seat.¡± Fan Shixin nodded and sat down. He was filled with an ominous feeling when he noticed that Mu Wansheng seemed to be out of sorts. Indeed, a sullen expression formed on Fan Shixin¡¯s face the moment he heard Mr. Mu¡¯s next words. ¡°That goes without saying. Since you¡¯re afraid that the senior Madam can¡¯t make it ¡¯til the wedding, we can hold it tomorrow instead. We¡¯ll have no objections. You¡¯ve already prepared the wedding anyway.¡± Mr. Luo said, ¡°Good that you have no objections. It¡¯s settled, then. We¡¯ll be taking our leave now.¡± ¡°Alright, goodbye.¡± The Luo family left together. Fan Shixin hurriedly sent Jin Qingyan a text message to describe the situation to him briefly. Chapter 1434 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1434: I Only Want You (132)

He began to feel worried after knowing that Luo Xing¡¯s grandmother¡¯s days were numbered. After all, the Luo family would definitely want to fulfill her wishes since she was a respected elder of their family. ¡°Shixin, didn¡¯t you have something to announce? Is it regarding yours and Pingyang¡¯s wedding?¡± Fan Shixin answered, ¡°No, Mr. Mu, Pingyang and I will never get married.¡± ¡°What... do you mean?¡± Mu Wansheng was the only one who did not react adversely to his shocking announcement. She was not surprised at all, unlike the rest of the Mu family members. Fan Shixin said, ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve already found out about Pingyang¡¯s affair with a man called Li Chengbin. However, I didn¡¯t expose her immediately because I wanted to observe her for the time being. However, I discovered that her rtionship with that man has advanced to a great extent, and what she had done is truly unforgivable. They¡¯ve even checked into a hotel room together dozens of times. Although I may not be from a wealthy or elite family, I can¡¯t tolerate adultery.¡± Wu Pingyang turned as pale as a sheet,pletely caught off guard. She did not expect him to find out about her affair at all. I¡¯ve always been so careful. Just how did he find out? ¡°I... I¡¯m just friends with Li Chengbin!¡± Fan Shixin sneered, ¡°I¡¯ve already checked all the surveince camera footage from the hotel. Why would you and your friend visit a hotel so regrly? Wu Pingyang, I didn¡¯t only find out about this recently.¡± Fuming with exasperation, Mr. Mu sprung up from his seat and glowered at Wu Pingyang. He then began hitting her with his walking stick several times, causing her to bawl loudly and run around the living room. A sudden idea popped up in Fan Shixin¡¯s head and he said, ¡°I¡¯m the only one who knows about this right now. So, Mr. Mu, you¡¯d better marry your granddaughter off as soon as possible. Otherwise, it¡¯s going to be difficult for her to find a husband if rumors spread.¡± When the elderly Mr. Mu finally got a grip on his emotions, he pleaded, ¡°I¡¯m very angry that Pingyang has let you down too, but Shixin, please don¡¯t tell anyone else about this. It¡¯s alright if you guys break up.¡± ¡°I can keep this a secret, but on one condition. I hope you¡¯ll agree to my request, Mr. Mu.¡± ¡°What request? Please tell me.¡± ¡°Let Wu Pingyang marry Luo Xing and allow Wansheng to marry me instead. It¡¯d be the best of both worlds. Wansheng is so much more sensible than Pingyang. Mr. Mu, what do you think?¡± Everyone was greatly taken aback. Although the Mu family did not stand to lose anything... ¡°We¡¯ll agree to it, but I doubt the Luo family will.¡± ¡°Leave this to me to handle. They¡¯ll agree to it. Please wait for my news.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, Fan Shixin bowed a little and left. Seeing that there were no longer any outsiders around, Mr. Mu berated, ¡°Pingyang, you¡¯ve really disappointed me. Shixin is such a good catch and yet you still cheated on him with another man. You¡¯ve utterly disgraced the Mu family!¡± Wu Pingyang stood rooted to the ground with her head hung low, not daring to speak at all. ¡°Wansheng, have you spoken to Chief Fan in private before?¡± Mu Wansheng answered, ¡°Yes. When Mother broke my legs and dumped me on the hill, Chief Fan and his subordinates were the ones who saved me and sent me to the hospital. He even helped me foot the medical bills and arranged a suitable amodation for me. He took care of me meticulously until I recoveredpletely. He¡¯s an upright and kind person. After I left and paid him back with the money that Mother had given me, we stopped contacting each other. I only met him again when he visited us with Pingyang,¡± Mu Wansheng exined, obviously not going to tell them that she had already gotten intimate with Fan Shixin. Mrs. Mu said in astonishment, ¡°No wonder he opened the door for me when I looked for you in the hospital. He even said that he didn¡¯t know you.¡± ¡°I was the one who told Chief Fan not to inform you because I was extremely repulsed by you back then, Mother. He also felt that you didn¡¯t deserve to be a mother because you would actually resort to breaking the legs of your own daughter. That¡¯s why he decided to help me. I¡¯m extremely grateful to him, but I never expected that Pingyang would cheat on such a good man. Pingyang, if you didn¡¯t wish to marry Chief Fan, you could have just told Grandpa. Grandpa, I¡¯m willing to marry Chief Fan. I believe the Luo family will agree to it. Let¡¯s wait for the news tomorrow morning.¡± She had probably gained the confidence to say those words because of the trust she had in Fan Shixin. Wu Pingyang was fuming with anger because she had never discovered that Fan Shixin was in close contact with Mu Wansheng at all. In fact, he had never brought Mu Wansheng up in their conversations at all. He¡¯s such an expert at keeping secrets! Mu Wansheng¡¯s aunt said with a sigh, ¡°What¡¯s going on? It¡¯d be great if the exchange works out, but if it doesn¡¯t, the consequences will be terrible.¡± ¡°Mu Wansheng, I don¡¯t believe your words. If there¡¯s nothing between you guys, why would he want to marry you?¡± Wu Pingyang questioned. ¡°I had known Chief Fan for more than a year and he knows clearly what kind of a person I am. He probably said those words because he¡¯s extremely disappointed in you. Wu Pingyang, don¡¯t assume that Chief Fan has cheated on you just because you did it to him.¡± Wu Pingyang was speechless. She initially thought that they would be discussing her wedding today, but things became awry instead. She did not see iting at all. Anger consumed her. The gathering ended on an unhappy note tonight. Upon returning to her home, Mrs. Mu asked Mu Wansheng, ¡°Is there really nothing between you and Chief Fan?¡± ¡°Of course. There¡¯s nothing between us now, but we can¡¯t be sure about what happens in the future.¡± ¡°That means Chief Fan is a really great man. You didn¡¯t tell me that he was the one who saved you back then.¡± Mu Wansheng made her way upstairs while saying, ¡°I¡¯m tired. There should be news tomorrow. Let¡¯s just wait.¡± She returned to her bedroom and patted her own face before letting out a long sigh. Shey down on the bed, constantly pondering over what happened tonight. She was delighted yet anxious at the same time. She was looking forward to the following morning and desperately wanted to find out the news. ¡ª¡ª Jin Qingyan had gone to great lengths for his able assistant, for he would rarely visit such insignificant families personally, especially not on rainy nights like this one. Just as he was about to leave, An Xiaoning stopped him and said, ¡°Don¡¯t go, you¡¯ll be degrading yourself if you do. Let me go instead.¡± ¡°You?¡± ¡°Yes, me. Wait for me at home.¡± An Xiaoning put on a cardigan, grabbed her car keys, and left. She happened to run into Fan Shixin. Hence, he headed to the Luo family home with her. Due to the fact that the wedding was to be held tomorrow, the Luo family members were extremely busy. An Xiaoning¡¯s sudden visit had caught them by surprise. Chapter 1435 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1435: I Only Want You (133)

¡°Mr. and Mrs. Luo, I¡¯m here to talk to you about something.¡± ¡°Ms. An... I mean... Mrs. Jin, pleasee in,¡± Mrs. Luo said frantically. An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin entered and took a seat while the rest of the Luo family members, except Mr. and Mrs. Luo, left the living room. After the servants served the tea, An Xiaoning said, ¡°I¡¯m here to talk about the marriage of the Mu and Luo families. I know that the wedding will be held tomorrow, but unfortunately, Ms. Mu and Mr. Luo cannot be married.¡± Puzzled and astonished, Mr. and Mrs. Luo asked, ¡°The two families have already had a discussion and came to an agreement. Why can¡¯t they be married?¡± ¡°Perhaps you may not know this, but Ms. Mu and I are friends. She told me that she doesn¡¯t wish to marry your son. She thinks that a marriage without love is not what she wants. Hence, she asked for my help to talk to you guys about this. If you¡¯re agreeable, the Mu family is willing to rece Wansheng with another granddaughter of theirs. The wedding will still proceed ordingly.¡± ¡°Mrs. Jin, we¡¯ve always taken marriage seriously. How can we be so hasty and casual about it? Besides, isn¡¯t the other granddaughter Chief Fan¡¯s girlfriend?¡± ¡°They¡¯ve long broken up with each other because they couldn¡¯t get along.¡± Mrs. Luo replied, ¡°Mrs. Jin, we¡¯re not going to do the recement. Mu Wansheng is the one whom we had set our sights on. We don¡¯t want Wu Pingyang to be our daughter-inw.¡± ¡°I hope you¡¯ll consider this carefully before answering me, Mrs. Luo. If this negotiation is sessful, it¡¯ll be beneficial to both parties. If it doesn¡¯t turn out well, I¡¯m afraid it won¡¯t be ideal when Wansheng goes missing out of nowhere and the wedding bes jeopardized.¡± Mrs. Luo¡¯s heart wrenched and she looked at her husband. Mr. Luo was much calmer than his wife. He immediately answered, ¡°Mrs. Jin, to be honest with you, we only agreed to invest 10 million dors into the Mu family¡¯spany because our son wanted to marry Mu Wansheng. We¡¯ll agree to rece her with someone else if we can have five million dors returned to us.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a reasonable request. I¡¯ll convey your thoughts to the Mu family,¡± said An Xiaoning, who found their request to be understandable. After all, they had forked out such a huge sum and it was only right to ask for their money back if their son was not going to marry their ideal daughter-inw. Mr. Luo agreed, ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll have her reced, then.¡± ¡°Sure. I won¡¯t impose on you any further, then. We¡¯re leaving now,¡± An Xiaoning said before rising from her seat. ¡°Goodbye, Mrs. Jin.¡± ¡°Alright, you don¡¯t have to see me out.¡± As soon as she turned around, she stopped in her tracks and said to Mr. and Mrs. Luo, ¡°I heard that your son is still dating his girlfriend and that they haven¡¯t broken up yet. As his parents, how can you neglect your child¡¯s happiness? Instead of letting him be in a ndestine rtionship, you might as well let him marry the woman he loves. He¡¯ll be happier that way too. No one gets to choose their family background, so why are you using that as a factor? What matters most is your son¡¯s happiness, isn¡¯t it?¡± An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin had already left by the time Mrs. Luo recovered from the shock. She snapped, ¡°How could you agree to it!?!¡± ¡°What can we do if I don¡¯t? I can tell that Ms. Mu is very important to An Xiaoning. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have gone to the extent of visiting us personally. It¡¯s not like we can go against her. It¡¯s just a daughter-inw. Besides, I found her words to have made sense. Why don¡¯t we ask for the entire sum of 10 million dors to be returned to us and let Luo Xing marry his girlfriend instead?¡± Mrs. Luo objected vehemently, ¡°No way. Did you forget what I did to stop them from dating each other? If we let them get married, she¡¯s going to climb all over me. This can¡¯t happen. Since she ims to be able to endure it, we¡¯ll just let her continue bearing with it. I shall see how much longer she can put up with it. We¡¯ll just rece Mu Wansheng with the other granddaughter.¡± Luo Xing entered and asked, ¡°Father, Mother, am I going to marry someone else instead of Mu Wansheng?¡± ¡°Yes, Mrs. Jin came today to talk to us about this. It doesn¡¯t matter who you¡¯re marrying anyway. You¡¯ll marry Wu Pingyang tomorrow,¡± said Mrs. Luo. ¡°Mother, if it¡¯s all the same to you, why can¡¯t I marry my girlfriend? I must have owed you a living in my previous lifetime. That¡¯s why you¡¯re so cruel to me.¡± ¡ª¡ª An Xiaoning made a trip to the Mu family as well. After some consideration, Mr. Mu agreed to return five million dors to the Lu family because he did not want to give Fan Shixin up. The matter was put to rest. Mrs. Mu informed Mu Wansheng about the news before morning even arrived. She immediately leaped up from the bed, excited and ted. Needless to say, someone else was fretting over it. Wu Pingyang was boiling with fury. Hence, she decided to threaten and frighten her parents by pretending to kill herself. Mrs. Mu was at aplete loss for what to do. ¡°The Luo family have already agreed. You don¡¯t have to argue anymore. You shall marry him tomorrow.¡± ¡°No!¡± Wu Pingyang thumped herself down onto the bed and eximed agitatedly, ¡°Why must I marry him just because Mu Wansheng doesn¡¯t want to? Am I that cheap? Father, Mother, are you guys even my parents? Have you ever spared a thought for me?¡± Mrs. Wu chided, ¡°The Lu family is a prestigious family of status. What¡¯s there for you to lose? You were the one who decided to be insensible and ruin your rtionship with Chief Fan. You were the one who cheated on him and yet you¡¯re ming us? Pingyang, can you please reflect?¡± ¡°Mother, I¡¯m your biological daughter at the end of the day. I really don¡¯t want to marry him. I knew he wasn¡¯t that wealthy when I saw that cheap BMW of his. Even Li Chengbin drives a Porsche. Li Chengbin is richer than him so why should I marry him?¡± Mrs. Wu sighed and said, ¡°Don¡¯t bother saying those things to me. Your grandfather has already agreed to it. We can¡¯t change it anymore.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like me and Mu Wansheng are the only granddaughters Grandpa has. He still has one more!¡± Mrs. Wu was suddenly reminded of the child whom she had forgotten about. ¡°She¡¯s your daughter too, Mother. Why can¡¯t you let her marry Luo Xing instead? Mother, go tell Grandpa about this.¡± Noticing that her mother was remaining still, Wu Pingyang began bawling and she whined, ¡°I¡¯m not going to marry Luo Xing. I don¡¯t want to marry him, I refuse. Hurry and go tell Grandpa.¡± Mrs. Wu had no choice but to concede. Just as the elderly Mr. Mu was about to fly into a rage upon hearing that Wu Pingyang was not willing to get married, Mrs. Wu said, ¡°Pingyang would like you to let another person rece her. Father, what do you think?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s going to rece her? Do we still have another candidate?¡± ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s your granddaughter too.¡± Mr. Mu squinted and said, ¡°I have another granddaughter?¡± After a moment of silence, Mrs. Wu answered, ¡°Actually, that child didn¡¯t die back then. I had merely locked her up.¡± Mr. Mu¡¯s eyes widened in shock and he eximed, ¡°You mean... Qixing is still alive!?! Are you being serious!?!¡± Chapter 1436 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1436: I Only Want You (134)

¡°Yes, she¡¯s still alive. I¡¯m sorry for keeping it from you for so many years.¡± ¡°You... you...¡± Mr. Mu stood up and gave Mrs. Wu a tight p in a moment of pique. ¡°You unfilial daughter, how dare you hide it from me for so many years!?! Do you take me for dead!?!¡± Clutching her face in pain, Mrs. Wu remained silent, not daring to make a single sound. ¡°Where did you lock her up in?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t exactly lock her up, actually. I just sent her to live in the countryside.¡± ¡°Bring her home immediately.¡± ¡°Father, will you allow her to rece Pingyang and marry the Luo family, then?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with marrying into the Luo family? Since Pingyang is not willing to marry Luo Xing, we¡¯ll let Qixing go instead. You¡¯ve mistreated her for so many years. It¡¯s only right that we let her marry into that family. However, you must bring her home before I canmunicate with the Luo family. The wedding is to be held tomorrow. We¡¯re running out of time, hurry and go!¡± Mrs. Wu immediately answered, ¡°Yes, Father, I¡¯ll go right now.¡± The senior Mr. Mu was overwhelmed with exasperation. He could not believe that something like that would actually happen. Mrs. Wu returned with her daughter at midnight. Mr. Mu let out a long sigh upon the sight of Qixing. She was dressed in simple and in clothing and had her hair tied back into a ponytail. Mr. Mu could not help but notice the striking resemnce between her and her father. ¡°Qixing, I only found out tonight that you¡¯re still alive and that your mother had sent you to live in the countryside. I hit your mother to punish her. How have you been all these years?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been great. Why did you guys bring me home?¡± Mr. Mu exined, ¡°We signed a marriage agreement with the Luo family. They¡¯re a furniture magnate. Pingyang was supposed to marry Luo Xing but she already has a boyfriend. I actually insisted that she marry him but your mother wanted you to go instead. Are you willing to marry Luo Xing?¡± ¡°Do I have a choice?¡± she said with a straight face. Mr. Mu sighed and said, ¡°The Luo family is a wealthy family of high status. I think it¡¯s a good idea to marry them. Pingyang is not blessed enough to be their daughter-inw. If you marry Luo Xing, we¡¯ll prepare an expensive set of dowry for you. Take it aspensation for the way you¡¯ve been mistreated for so many years.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do as you say, Grandpa.¡± Mr. Mu nodded and said to Mrs. Wu, ¡°She¡¯s about the same build as Wansheng. She should be able to fit into the wedding gown. Take her to try it on.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Mrs. Mu agreed. The moment Mu Wansheng found out that she had another cousin who popped up out of nowhere, Mu Wansheng asked Mrs. Mu, ¡°Why did Auntie send Cousin to live in the countryside?¡± ¡°She¡¯s the child that your aunt had with her former husband. Her former husband had died in a car ident and he had a very loving rtionship with your aunt before he passed away. Actually, your former uncle died because he tried to save his daughter, who is also your cousin. Hence, your aunt resented her and med her for his death. Your aunt didn¡¯t want to see her, especially because she resembled her father greatly. However, she has the samest name as you because your aunt thinks that she isn¡¯t worthy of being your former uncle¡¯s daughter and doesn¡¯t deserve to be his daughter.¡± Mu Wansheng gasped and said, ¡°I must go and talk to her.¡± Noticing that she was standing up, Mrs. Mu frantically objected, ¡°It¡¯s already way past midnight. Go to bed.¡± ¡°No, I have something to tell her.¡± Mu Wansheng entered the room to see that Mu Qixing was already d in the wedding gown and shoes that fitted her perfectly. Upon the sight of her, Mrs. Wu asked, ¡°What are you doing here at such ate hour? You should be sleeping instead.¡± ¡°I heard from Mother that I have another cousin so I obviously want to say hello to her. Auntie, if you¡¯re tired, you may go to bed. I reckon Cousin doesn¡¯t want to see you either.¡± Mrs. Wu was shocked speechless. She then turned around and left. Mu Wansheng closed the door and sat on the bed. She then said to her cousin, ¡°My name is Mu Wansheng. I¡¯m your Second Uncle¡¯s daughter. Actually, I was supposed to marry Luo Xing. However, I broke off the engagementst night.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Mu Qixing asked in puzzlement. ¡°Because there¡¯s already someone whom I fancy and I want to marry the person I genuinely like. Grandpa then got Pingyang to fill in for me. I¡¯m actually here to give you some reminders. Just bear them in mind. That Luo Xing has a girlfriend whom he had been dating for six years. However, Luo Xing¡¯s mother has been opposing their rtionship. That¡¯s why they wanted him to marry me. So, don¡¯t expect too much from him after you get married. He probably wouldn¡¯t want to get intimate with you. You should also find someone whom you fancy. Luo Xing will allow it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great. I don¡¯t have much expectations of him anyway. I actually already fancy someone, but he has married another woman,¡± said Mu Qixing. Suddenly filled with sympathy, Mu Wansheng said, ¡°That Luo Xing loves his girlfriend so much. It¡¯s only a matter of time before he asks for a divorce. By then, you¡¯ll be entitled to a portion of his assets. The Mu family is actually already struggling and there¡¯s only so much they can give you. You must n for your own future. Besides, if Luo Xing says that he wants to have a child with you, you mustn¡¯t believe him at all. He¡¯s already nning to have a child with his girlfriend and he¡¯s just afraid that you would do the same. Although there¡¯s a chance he might ask you to bear him a child, it¡¯s still rather unlikely.¡± Mu Qixing nodded and said, ¡°Alright, I know what to do. Thank you, Cousin.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to thank me. I¡¯m just doing what I should.¡± ¡°It¡¯s wonderful to be together with the person whom you fancy. It was right of you to fight for your rtionship. The chance to marry the person you love is really rare. You¡¯ll be happy.¡± ¡°Thank you for your blessings. I believe you¡¯ll be happy too. Adversity will only be temporary.¡± .... The skies were still covered in gray clouds in the morning after a rainy night. Mu Qixing had already changed into the wedding gown and was all dolled up while waiting for the groom to arrive. She had beautiful features in the first ce, and the makeup did nothing except enhance her beauty. Luo Xing was clearly taken aback when he arrived at the Mu family home to fetch the bride. Although his parents had already informed him beforehand, he still felt uneasy about the sudden change of brides. Fortunately, he did not have feelings for either of them at all and it did not matter who he was getting married to. Mu Qixing was observing him at the same time that he was scrutinizing her. She found him to be rather suave and tall. However, he appeared rather standoffish. She did not mind it at all. When they got inside the bridal car and sat next to each other, she said, ¡°My cousin has already told me about you. I¡¯m fine with the way you¡¯re going to treat me. From now on, we¡¯ll stay out of each other¡¯s affairs and live harmoniously.¡± Luo Xing turned to look at her, surprised to hear that she sounded a lot like Mu Wansheng. ¡°Good.¡± Mu Qixing said, ¡°After we get married, you¡¯re not to meddle with my private affairs, and vice versa. There¡¯s one more thing I need you to know. You can¡¯t stop me from going out to work.¡± Chapter 1437 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1437: I Only Want You (135)

¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Good.¡± ¡°Good.¡± The two of them stayed silent afterward. Mu Wansheng actually felt rather guilty because she was the one who was supposed to marry Luo Xing. However, an innocent girl ended up having to rece her because she did not wish to marry him. Although Mrs. Mu repeatedly tried to convince her that five hundred dors was more than enough, Mu Wansheng insisted on giving her cousin 20 thousand dors for the wedding red packet. She handed the red packet to Mu Qixing personally during the wedding banquet. Mu Qixing knew that the red packet contained lots of money the instant she realized how thick it was. Despite her repeated refusal, Mu Wansheng insisted that she take it and even stuffed it inside her hand. She also told Mu Qixing to look for her whenever she needed help. Touched to see how sincere Mu Wansheng was, Mu Qixing sad softly, ¡°Cousin, there¡¯s actually no need for you to do this. The person I¡¯m recing is Wu Pingyang.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a little token of mine. From now on, you¡¯ll be on your own and you must be very careful all the time. This is my mobile number,¡± Mu Wansheng said, sliding her a piece of paper. ¡°You¡¯re really beautiful today,¡± she added. Mu Qixing smiled courteously and said, ¡°It¡¯s all just the makeup.¡± ¡°Your features were beautiful, to begin with. Women ought to treat themselves better. Only when you love yourself will others dote on you and love you as well.¡± Mu Qixing did not carry any hopes in leading a blissful life with the person she loves at all. She knew that her life was unfortunate. Ever since her father passed away, she knew that she had lost her mother together with her father. After her father¡¯s passing, her mother dumped her in the countryside and left her to fend for herself. To make matters worse, the man whom she loved had even married another woman. Having suffered such great blows, she felt that marrying into the Luo family was not too bad of a thing. She had nothing to lose, especially since the wealthy Luo family was willing to ept a country girl like her. After having figured it all out, she stopped feeling uneasy. Mu Qixing did not see Luo Xing ever again afterpleting the toasting ceremony and the registration of their marriage. Just like she had expected, her husband did not consummate their marriage with her or return to their nuptial home. Instead of calling Luo Xing, she proceeded to sort out her dowry and count the money from the red packets, after which she put them away andy down on the bed. She heard her parents-inw questioning her husband as soon as she reached the stairwell when she was making her way downstairs for breakfast. She slowly walked down the stairs and greeted in a gentle voice, ¡°Good morning, Father and Mother.¡± Mrs. Luo smiled and said, ¡°You¡¯re up. Come here for breakfast.¡± ¡°Yes, alright.¡± Mr. Luo red at Luo Xing, after which the four of them sat down by the dining table. Mr. and Mrs. Luo did not wish to mention a word about Luo Xing staying outst night in front of their daughter-inw. Mrs. Luo said, ¡°Qixing, we¡¯ve never seen you before, and yesterday was the first time that we met. Hence, we barely know each other. However, we¡¯ve still got a long way to go and we¡¯ll definitely get to know each other better in due time. Apart from Luo Xing, we also have another daughter, but she¡¯s already gotten a divorce. She frequentlyes home with her children. Due to the fact that Luo Xing is our only son, we really hope that you two can give us a grandson soon. You two must buck up. Your father-inw and I have decided to forbid Luo Xing from leaving the house from today onwards. He¡¯s not allowed to leave the bedroom at night either. We¡¯ll return his freedom to him once you¡¯re pregnant.¡± Luo Xing screeched, ¡°Mother, what are you saying!?! Are you grounding me? I have to go to work every day. How am I supposed to do that if you ground me?¡± ¡°Your father and I will be around to manage thepany. The business is not going to fold without you. Just focus on making a baby and ignore the rest.¡± Not only was Luo Xing on the verge of despair, Mu Qixing was also bbergasted. She was at aplete loss for what to do because she did not expect that from her mother-inw. I thought I could finally have some peace and still have a private life of my own even after marrying him. Yet... They were forced to put a square peg into a round hole. She dared not speak a single word and instead waited to see how Luo Xing would react. To her surprise, Luo Xing stopped after throwing a fit for a while. Mr. and Mrs. Luo became even more adamant. Hence, they decided to drop the subject. However, they had also begun grounding him for real. After breakfast, the newlyweds proceeded to visit Luo Xing¡¯s ill-stricken grandmother. The senior Mrs. Luo was rather pleased with Mu Qixing¡¯s looks. However, her constant nagging and urging for them to give birth made Mu Qixing feel rather awkward. She hurriedly returned to her room once they got home. As soon as she entered, Luo Xing followed suit. The first thing he did was to warn her, ¡°I¡¯ll never let you have my children.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t n to bear you any children either, but what do we do now? I can¡¯t persuade Father and Mother. You¡¯ll have to do it instead,¡± she said, staring at him. ¡°I would have done so if I could. Why don¡¯t we put on an act for them?¡± ¡°What act?¡± Mu Qixing asked, staring at him. ¡°Tell my mother tomorrow that we got intimate tonight. She¡¯ll feel much more relieved and rxed that way. Just pretend to get pregnant.¡± Mu Qixing immediately shot his idea down. ¡°I can tell your mother that we got intimate tonight but we can¡¯t keep it from her forever. We¡¯ll have to undergo prenatal checks if I¡¯m pregnant. By then, our lie will be exposed. Even if you can bribe the hospital staff, what happens next? Forget about it.¡± Luo Xing remained silent. He sat on the bed, feeling extremely frustrated. At this untimely moment, his girlfriend gave him a call. He still answered, nheless, despite not knowing what to say to her. ¡°Banqin, what¡¯s the matter?¡± he asked. ¡°Are you still going toe over tonight?¡± Luo Xing answered unrestrainedly, ¡°I want to but I can¡¯t... my mother has grounded me and I¡¯m not allowed to go out at all.¡± Xia Banqin panicked upon hearing his words. ¡°Why is she grounding you? Did she force you to consummate your marriage with that woman?¡± ¡°Yes, but I¡¯m not going to get intimate with her. Don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°How can I put my mind at ease? No, I must go look for you,¡± she said, biting her lip. ¡°Don¡¯te over. If you do, you¡¯ll be chased out by my mother and she might even call the cops on you. Just be obedient and wait at home. Don¡¯t go elsewhere,¡± Luo Xing answered. ¡°Luo Xing, let¡¯s have a baby. I¡¯m afraid that you¡¯d dump me. Your mother detests me so much and is so against our rtionship.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t. Don¡¯t be worried. If you really want a baby, we can only make one when I can leave home. I¡¯lle up with a way to get out of the house. Alright?¡± Xia Banqin expressed assent and said, ¡°Okay, but you¡¯re not allowed to get intimate with her. You can¡¯t share the same bed as her either!¡± ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t. I¡¯ll listen to you. I¡¯m hanging up now.¡± He ced his mobile phone on the table and held his hands together. Resting his forehead against his hand, he felt vexed and troubled. There was nothing he could do to retaliate and defy his mother¡¯s orders. Chapter 1438 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1438: I Only Want You (136)

He could not figure out why his mother would let him marry a random woman but refuse to ept his girlfriend. To him, his girlfriend was a lot better than Mu Qixing Mother has got such poor taste. Mu Qixing did not feel ufortable or disturbed by his conversation with Xia Banqin at all. She stared at the bottles of cosmetic products on the table, all of which were from a prestigious brand. They were part of her dowry. Her family had bought them for her. Although she rarely put on makeup, she would often use some cosmetic and skincare products. She was 26 years old yet still very inexperienced. She decided to try her hand at doing her own makeup. Surprisingly, the effects were not too bad. Noticing that she had put on some makeup, Luo Xing quipped harshly, ¡°What are you putting on makeup for? You¡¯re not going out anyway. Are you doing it for me? Don¡¯t bother wasting your efforts.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not putting on makeup for you. Why would I waste my efforts on trying to please you when I know that it¡¯spletely pointless? I¡¯m going out for a job interviewter.¡± ¡°Mother said that we¡¯re not allowed to leave,¡± he emphasized. ¡°Sorry, but Mother only said that you¡¯re not allowed to leave the house. She didn¡¯t ground me.¡± Mu Qixing could not be bothered by his opinions at all. She stood up and left with her bag. Luo Xing muttered under his breath in disgruntlement, ¡°No wonder you¡¯re cousins. You¡¯ve all got the same character.¡± ¡ª¡ª Mrs. Mu knocked on the door and said, ¡°Wansheng, Chief Fan is here. Your grandpa wants you to go over.¡± Mu Wansheng immediately sat up straight and answered, ¡°Coming.¡± She leaped up and felt as if she had be a teenager again, full of energy and rigor. After doing her makeup, Mu Wansheng headed to the living room to see that there were lots of gifts there. Fan Shixin was sitting on the couch, d in an immacte ck suit. Upon the sight of her, he smiled. Mu Wansheng asked, ¡°What are these?¡± ¡°Betrothal gifts,¡± he answered. ¡°Why are there so many?¡± ¡°I got my mother to prepare them. These are just mandatory traditional customs.¡± He stood up, took out a deposit receipt from his pocket, and handed it to Mu Wansheng. ¡°This one¡¯s for you. Keep it for yourself.¡± Mu Wansheng opened it to take a look, only to receive a great shock. There are so many zeros... There was a total of more than 40 million dors. ¡°Why is there so much money...?¡± ¡°Those are all the savings that I had umted throughout all these years. I¡¯m giving them to you now.¡± Moved to tears, Mu Wansheng said, ¡°Save it for yourself, I don¡¯t want it.¡± He insisted, ¡°From now on, we¡¯ll live together and you¡¯ll be my wife. I¡¯ve already gained permission from Grandpa and he agreed to let us register our marriage today.¡± ¡°Today?¡± Mu Wansheng asked in surprise,pletely caught off guard. She did not have the time to prepare herself mentally at all. ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll register our marriage first and I¡¯ll prepare for the wedding afterward.¡± Mu Wansheng returned the passbook to him and said, ¡°I don¡¯t feel safe keeping this with me. You¡¯d better keep the money. I¡¯m afraid that I might lose it.¡± Fan Shixin had no choice but to take it back. Mrs. Mu initially wanted to see how much money there was. However, she did not manage to do so because Mu Wansheng had quickly folded it in half. ¡°It¡¯s an inauspicious date to get our marriage registered today. It¡¯s the 24th of April. Let¡¯s do it tomorrow instead.¡± Fan Shixin agreed, thinking to himself that one day wouldn¡¯t matter. He actually wanted to spend some time with Mu Wansheng alone. However, Mrs. Mu told him that Mu Wansheng would have to run some errands with her. Hence, he had no choice but to leave. As soon as he left, Mu Wansheng asked, ¡°What errands do I have to run with you?¡± ¡°You¡¯re getting married soon. Aren¡¯t you going to visit the graves of your maternal grandparents and inform them about this? How much money does he have in the bank?¡± ¡°Why are you asking about this?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not after the money anyway. Why can¡¯t I ask?¡± Mu Wansheng declined to answer. ¡°This concerns his privacy. I can¡¯t tell you.¡± Seeing how tight-lipped she was, Mrs. Mu had no choice but to prepare the offerings instead of probing further. Mu Wansheng returned inside her room to get changed. She had to be dressed in dull and simple clothes since she was visiting her elders¡¯ graves. Before she could even close the door, Wu Pingyang barged in angrily. She did not turn up for Mu Qixing and Luo Xing¡¯s wedding. Hence, Mu Wansheng had no idea what she was throwing a tantrum for. Staring at her, Mu Wansheng questioned, ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve snatched my boyfriend. Are you happy now? Do you feel good?¡± ¡°Stop using me. You were the one who cheated on Shixin behind his back and yet you still have the cheek to me me. Wu Pingyang, you¡¯re really something, huh?¡± ¡°Mu Wansheng, you¡¯ve long lost your reputation. What do you have? I dated him for such a long time and he has never mentioned marrying me before. We finally started talking about getting married and yet you took him away from me. Who are you to do that?¡± bbergasted, she retorted, ¡°If you actually fancied Shixin, you wouldn¡¯t have made a cuckold out of him. Since you don¡¯t care about Shixin at all, why are you taking it out on me? You¡¯re so stupid. My reputation may be tarnished and I may have nothing to my name, but at least I won¡¯t put on a facade or say one thing and do another. Wu Pingyang, you¡¯re an expert at that, aren¡¯t you?¡± Seemingly having suffered a huge blow, Wu Pingyang barked agitatedly, ¡°Who said I didn¡¯t fancy him? I adore him to bits and I want to be together with him.¡± Mu Wansheng hissed, ¡°You¡¯re nuts. Please get out, we can¡¯tmunicate at all. I don¡¯t wish to speak to you either.¡± She extended an arm and pushed Wu Pingyang out of the room before closing the door. What is wrong with her? If she truly fancies Shixin, why would she date other men? She wouldn¡¯t. She¡¯s the one at fault and yet she¡¯s still so smug and arrogant. How typical of Wu Pingyang. Mu Wansheng proceeded to change into a ck dress. She then put on a pair of ck stilettos and left with her purse. Mrs. Mu was already waiting for her inside the car. Once she got inside the car, Mrs. Mu smiled and said, ¡°There¡¯s going to be a good show for us to enjoy.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Your aunt is going to hit the roof now that Pingyang screwed up her rtionship.¡± Seemingly having guessed something, Mu Wansheng asked, ¡°Did Pingyang break up with her boyfriend?¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s over between them. He found another girlfriend. Li Chengbin even said that he had known long ago that Pingyang¡¯s boyfriend was Shixin and that he didn¡¯t n to stay with her for long. Li Chengbin was just toying her.¡± ¡°Mother, how did you know all the details?¡± ¡°Your grandfather told me.¡± Mu Wansheng sneered, ¡°That exins why she barged inside my room and began throwing a fit, iming that she still fancies Shixin and that I had snatched her boyfriend away from her. I was wondering what had gotten into her. Turns out she had broken up with that man. She probably wants to reconcile with Shixin now. She actually put the me on me. How shameless and ignorant. It¡¯s obviously impossible between her and Shixin.¡± Chapter 1439 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1439: I Only Want You (137)

Mrs. Mu said, ¡°Just ignore her. She can only me it on herself for ruining her own rtionship. Your grandfather is extremely disappointed in her too. He thought that she could marry into the Lu family but that didn¡¯t turn out well.¡± Mu Wansheng remained silent. Like what Mrs. Mu had said, Wu Pingyang was the one who singlehandedlynded herself in such a sorry plight. There was no one to me but herself. The sky began to pour when Mu Wansheng was heading to the cemetery with Mrs. Mu. It would rain almost every other day. Fortunately, they had prepared some umbres, which were ced inside the car. The pair of mother and daughter headed home after paying respects to Mrs. Mu¡¯s parents. The chauffeur was waiting for them inside the car. They sat on the backseat together, with Mrs. Mu on the left and Mu Wansheng on the right. Due to the fact that she barely got to restst night, Mrs. Mu began to get a dizzy spell. Feeling under the weather, she urged the chauffeur, ¡°Step on it. I¡¯m getting a headache.¡± ¡°Yes, Madam.¡± The chauffeur drove along the expressway at a much faster speed than usual. Usually, traffic would not be heavy on the expressways unless it was a festive season. Yet, a traffic ident happened on the expressway that they were taking, causing there to be a major jam and a traffic holdup. The cars formed a snakelike queue, and the chauffeur began to slow down and gradually formed up in hisne while keeping a safe distance behind the car in front of theirs. It was an ident-prone area, and 70% of the total annual number of traffic idents on all expressways would ur on that particr expressway. The chauffeur was well aware of it since he frequently drove on expressways. This expressway was situated on top of a deep river that had a massive depth of dozens of meters. Noticing that the chauffeur had slowed down, Mu Wansheng looked up to see that there was a traffic jam. She then whipped out her mobile phone and sent Fan Shixin a text to inform him that she was on her way back to the city. She had also arranged to meet with him in the afternoon. As soon as she ced her mobile phone inside her bag, they felt a sudden impacting from behind the car, causing their car to move forward involuntarily. Tailgating was the worst thing that could happen when driving. It was exceptionally dangerous when traffic is heavy. The next thing Mu Wansheng and Mrs. Mu knew, the entire car had flipped and was flung outwards. It only came to a stop when it hit the railing. The chauffeur passed out immediately while Mu Wansheng and Mrs. Mu both started to bleed. Mu Wansheng had sustained much more severe injuriespared to Mrs. Mu because she waspletely caught off guard. Most of her injuries were inflicted on her upper body because she had huddled up during the ident. Hence, her legs were not stuck beneath anything. Although Mrs. Mu sustained less severe injuries, her legs were crushed beneath the debris of the car and she could not move an inch at all. She was bleeding from the head and wincing in immense pain while crying for help. It would be tough for them to get out of the car at this juncture, especially since the car had been flipped over. The car that rammed them from behind was pressed closely against the door on Mu Wansheng¡¯s side, thus hindering them from exiting. Besides, all the locks on the car were automatic and there was no way they could open the car doors even without any obstruction. The chauffeur and Mrs. Mu were facing the river. Shortly after the first ident urred, a major chain collision urred. The police officers who were initially handling the first ident frantically rushed toward the cars involved in the collision in a bid to begin rescuing them. ¡°Mother, how are you now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m dying of pain. Oh god, why would this happen to us? Which idiot was driving!?! If you can¡¯t drive, don¡¯t!¡± She then copsed onto the ground and began shrieking incessantly, ¡°Help! Is there anyone out there? Help!¡± Mu Wansheng rummaged through her bag and grabbed her mobile phone in her trembling hands. She hurriedly called Fan Shixin. The call went through quickly. ¡°You¡¯re home so soon?¡± Fan Shixin asked merrily, still in the dark about the collision that had happened. Choking with sobs, Mu Wansheng said feebly, ¡°Shixin... we¡¯re involved in an ident. I¡¯m trapped inside the car and I can¡¯t get out.¡± Pangs of panic engulfed Fan Shixin. ¡°Where are you now, exactly?¡± ¡°I¡¯m on the expressway above the river. The one that¡¯s very prone to idents. The car behind us tailgated and crashed into us. There was a chain collision...¡± Mu Wansheng answered, gripping her mobile phone tightly. Fan Shixin began running out of the house. ¡°Don¡¯t hang up, please don¡¯t hang up. I¡¯ll be there right away. Wait for me, ten minutes tops! Wait for me!¡± ¡°I¡¯m scared...¡± muttered Mu Wansheng, who was not afraid to show her vulnerability to her man at all. She was overwhelmed with fear, terror, and pain. She felt as if she was in a torture chamber and could not stop tearing up. Upon hearing her words, Mrs. Mu snapped, ¡°How are you still in the mood to talk on the phone at such a critical juncture? Hurry and call for help! What are you waiting for!?! We¡¯ll all be dead by the time Chief Fan arrives!¡± Just as Mu Wansheng was about to speak, she heard a voice shouting, ¡°Is this ck car going to explode? There are thick fumesing from it!¡± ck car... The car that they were in was the only ck car at the scene. The cars around them were all white in color. The two of them turned as pale as ghosts, feeling absolutely petrified. They called for help incessantly and yelled at the top of their lungs. Fan Shixin could not help but feel agony upon hearing her mncholic, shrilling voice. The culprit¡¯s car did not flip, although the front bo was destroyed beyond ruin. It was not known whether the culprit was dead or alive either. Noticing the thick fumes spreading from the car, the police officers hurriedly proceeded to rescue the people inside the ck car first. They did not have the time to worry about the white car for there would be a greater number of casualties and more damage done if the ck car were to explode. However, when the police officers tried to clear the cars around and move them out of the way, the fumes began to grow thicker. The police deserved credit for being able to stay calm during an emergency situation that was terrifyingly critical. So did the other drivers who rendered help to move the car out of the way. However, when the cars were moved away, the other drivers dared not step forward anymore because the ck car had already gone up in mes. Hence, they decided to leave it to the police. After the car was flipped over, Mu Wansheng was facing the river while Mrs. Mu and the chauffeur were facing the roads. Hence, it would be much easier to rescue them. ¡°Police officer, please save me first, save me first!¡± Mrs. Mu hollered at the top of her lungs. Mu Wansheng could not be bothered anymore. Despite the immense pain, she struggled to help herself up and pressed herself tightly against her mother. ¡°Officer, please help me!¡± she cried. Chapter 1440 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1440: I Only Want You (138)

Noticing that the police were trying to break the ss of the windows and that Mu Wansheng was pressing her body against hers, Mrs. Mu pushed Mu Wansheng further in, causing her head to m against the car again. She hollered, ¡°What are you panicking about!?! I have to get out before I can save you! There¡¯s no use getting all flustered!¡± Mu Wansheng teared up instantly. Staring at her mother in disbelief, she murmured, ¡°Mother...¡± There was nothing else Mrs. Mu could care about except saving her own life now that she was on the brink of death. She panicked even more after knowing that the car was already on fire. After breaking the ss windows, two of the police officers pulled the chauffeur out of the car before breaking the rear windows. The police officer asked Mrs. Mu worriedly, ¡°Can you move?¡± ¡°My leg has been stuck. I can¡¯t move my lower body. Hurry and save me.¡± ¡°How about you?¡± the police officer asked Mu Wansheng. ¡°I can still move. My legs aren¡¯t stuck.¡± ¡°Come over here, then, we¡¯ll rescue you first.¡± As soon as the police officer finished speaking, Mrs. Mu protested vehemently, ¡°No, you must save me first. Save me first! You must save me! If you don¡¯t save me, you can¡¯t save her!¡± Since Mu Wansheng was on the other side, she would have to pass Mrs. Mu first. Feeling panicky and anxious, the police officer said, ¡°We have to save her first. We¡¯ll definitely save you afterward. She can move but you can¡¯t. We¡¯ll get her to safety first.¡± Knowing that no one would survive if this goes on, Mu Wansheng said, ¡°Mother, stop wasting time. Let me go out first.¡± ¡°No, you must save me first, officer. If you don¡¯t save me, you definitely can¡¯t save her, you must save me!¡± she shrieked. If only there weren¡¯t any car seats in the way, Mu Wansheng would have definitely climbed into the driver¡¯s seat and climbed out of the window. However, the situation did not allow her to do so. The police officers had no choice but to save her first due to time constraints. For the sake of her own life, Mrs. Mu did everything she could to pull her legs out with all her might. She continued, even though her legs were drenched in blood and the excruciating pain made it difficult for her to even breathe. There was nothing else she could care about. Mrs. Mu was rescued through painstaking means. However... After she had been rescued, the fire began to grow bigger and even the rain could not put it out. They had already missed the best timing to rescue Mu Wansheng. Within seconds, the car began to jerk violently and was flipped over the railing, causing it to plunge downwards. It exploded before it evennded on the water. mes were shot up into the sky with the deafening sounds of an explosion. By the time Fan Shixin¡¯s helicopter arrived, it was toote. The call was ended forever. They could not save her anymore. He immediately plunged into the river without hesitation, causing the others to be dumbfounded. Fan Shixin waspletely submerged in the cold water where he frantically searched for her. After searching for two hours in the water, they could only manage to find Mu Wansheng¡¯s half-charred shoe. Nothing else. He could already imagine how terrified she must have felt during the explosion. He had arrived toote. Fan Shixin sunk into despair, feeling as if his soul had left his body. He squatted down and covered his eyes with his hands while sobbing uncontrobly. They had agreed to meet this afternoon and register their marriage the next day. They had alreadye to an agreement. However, it would never happen. The police officers were distraught and deeply anguished. They could have saved her, yet... Staring at the dumbstruck Mrs. Mu, Fan Shixin rebuked, ¡°You¡¯re the first mother I¡¯ve ever seen who¡¯d stop your daughter from being rescued for the sake of your own life. If you hadn¡¯t caused any dy, both of you could very likely have been saved. Is she really your daughter? If she is, you¡¯ve really given us an eyeopener.¡± Hanging her head low, Mrs. Mu began bawling and weeping. However, no one cared about her at all. All the members of the Mu family showed up when Mrs. Mu was sent to the hospital for emergency rescue. The senior Mr. Mu was seething with exasperation, and his anger knew no bounds. After hearing about what happened during the rescue efforts on the expressway, Mr. Mu had stormed off to the hospital and gave Mrs. Mu a few hard ps on her face,pletely ignoring the fact that she was injured. ¡°Are you fit to be her mother? Are you!?! Since she could have been rescued first, why didn¡¯t you let her be rescued!?!¡± ¡°I wanted to live too.¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Mr. Mu hit her again. No one dared to stop him, and Mrs. Mu dared not retort either, for she knew that she was at fault. The incident had made it onto the news, and the Mu family was utterly disgraced. Mrs. Mu¡¯s actions caused an uproar amongstizens. There were some who castigated her for being heartless andcking in maternal love because she should have saved her daughter first. However, there were also some who felt that it was only right for Mrs. Mu to be rescued first since it was a daughter¡¯s duty to let her mother be saved first. There were also some who thought that Mrs. Mu had done the right thing because every man for himself! There were all sorts of opinions online, none of which Fan Shixin bothered reading. He seemed to have lost his soul during the explosion. He cooped himself up in the room and drowned his sorrows in alcohol. After Fan Shixin had kept it up for a week, Jin Qingyan decided to intervene. Jin Qingyan was bbergasted at the sight of Fan Shixin. He was worlds apart from what he used to be. His beard had grown out and he reeked of alcohol. He had lost a great ton of weight too. He waspletely out of sorts. ¡°Are you still alive?¡± ¡°Yes, I am.¡± ¡°Your Young Madam wanted to perform a ritual for her but her mother had forgotten her birth timing. Hence, the ritual could not be performed. She may be gone now but you still have to continue living, don¡¯t you? Rest up for a period of time, but stop chugging so much alcohol. I believe Ms. Mu wouldn¡¯t want to see you this way. You¡¯ve done your best. Your Young Madam said that one¡¯s lifespan is all destined. Even if one¡¯s fate has been altered, the scores will be settled sooner orter. If she¡¯s destined to die, nothing can change it.¡± Fan Shixin said in mncholy, ¡°It happened all too sudden. I can¡¯t ept it.¡± Jin Qingyan patted him on the shoulder and said, ¡°I understand how you feel right now. I¡¯ll allow you to mourn and be sad, but I won¡¯t allow you to give up on yourself and continue like this forever. By the way, the Mu family has returned the betrothal gifts and I¡¯ve ced them in your apartment.¡± ¡°Okay, got it.¡± ¡ª¡ª Mu Qixing still could not ept the truth, even after a week. She could not believe that something so tragic had happened to Mu Wansheng. Although she barely knew Mu Wansheng, she¡¯d found her to be a nice and kind person. Chapter 1441 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1441: Great to Have You (1)

Mu Qixing suddenly realized the effects of human frailty and just how fragile life was. She felt sympathy, anger, and indignation for Mu Wansheng. She should be living happily and enjoying the bliss that life has to offer. Yet, she lost her life at such a young age. She could have led a blissful life with the man whom she loved and yet those merry ns had now gone up in smoke. Who wouldn¡¯t be regretful? Unlike her, Luo Hang was rather nonchnt and insensitive toward the somber issue. He gibed, ¡°That just means that Heaven doesn¡¯t want Mu Wansheng to be happy at all. She should have just proceeded with the engagement with me, yet she changed her mind at thest minute and went through such painstaking efforts. But what happened in the end?¡± Glowering at him, Mu Qixing chided, ¡°She¡¯s already gone, why are you still gloating over her misfortune? Are you a retard?¡± ¡°Did you just call your husband a retard? Aren¡¯t you bing more and more brazen?¡± Luo Hang snapped with a sullen expression on his face. ¡°Are you even human? How could you say that? If you can still keep up with this attitude if ever the same thing happens to your girlfriend, I¡¯ll take my hats off to you.¡± ¡°Are you cursing her? You jinx,¡± Luo Hang rebuked. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m a jinx, but you¡¯ve got a foul mouth.¡± ¡°Get on the couch tonight and stop talking to me.¡± Mu Qixing would never concede. After being married to him for a few days, she understood clearly what kind of a person he was. ¡°I¡¯m taking the bed, you can have the couch.¡± ¡°Dimwit, you¡¯ve been hunting for a job for weeks and yet you still haven¡¯t found one. Well, no employers would be so blind and foolish as to hire you. You can¡¯t even find a job, so you don¡¯t deserve to sleep on the bed at all. Loser.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the dimwit. You¡¯re cowardly and you still fear your parents. Why do you deserve to sleep on the bed?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t fear them, I just don¡¯t want to make them upset...¡± After arguing with each other for a while, Mu Qixing left, not wanting to talk to him at all. She could not stand him at all. Whenever she was in the room with him, he would definitely call his girlfriend, Xia Banqin, and be all lovey-dovey with her over the phone. Hepletely disregarded her presence! Since he enjoys hogging the phone and talking to his girlfriend all day, he can go ahead. I¡¯ll go out and be free. At least I¡¯ll feel less frustrated without having to see or deal with him. In fact, she had only spent the first day searching for a job. During the rest of the time, she would either go shopping or take a stroll in the park to rx and unwind. It was the same this time. She subconsciously walked into the First People¡¯s Hospital when she reached the entrance. There were photos of outstanding doctors hung on the wall outside the clinic. She stepped forward and stared at all the doctors photographed in front of a red backdrop, d in their white coats. Mu Qixing shifted her gaze onto the photo in the middle of the second row. It was a photo of a man who had narrow eyes, a high nose bridge, thin lips, and pronounced features. His name was Lu Jingrao. He was the head physician of the dental department of the hospital. He was a young, promising, and outstanding doctor. Mu Qixing stared at the photo for a long time before turning around to leave. Mu Qixing knew that he was Wu Pingyang¡¯s colleague. However, she had never asked her about him before, especially since she was Wu Pingyang. It was only a matter of time before the sadness hidden deep beneath her heart fades. ¡ª¡ª It had never crossed Mu Wansheng¡¯s mind that she would regain her consciousness. She thought that she had already died, because the explosion was the very testament of her impending death. She was certain that she would die. However, to her astonishment, she managed to survive. She was both surprised yet agitated. However, her joy vanished the instant she opened her eyes. It was pitch ck around her, and she could not see anything at all. Quaking in pain, Mu Wansheng tried to bear with it and sit up straight. At this moment, a man tried to stop her. ¡°Don¡¯t move, you¡¯re heavily injured and you suffered major burns. You¡¯ve only recovered very slightly.¡± ¡°Please switch on the lights,¡± Mu Wansheng asked, trembling vigorously from head to toe. Her voice had be hoarse and deep. She did not sound like herself at all. ¡°Can you... see my hand? Can you?¡± he asked, waving his hand in front of her. Shaking her head, she answered, ¡°I... I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Did you... lose your vision?¡± Quivering vigorously, Mu Wansheng asked, ¡°Could you take me to the hospital?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve sustained serious burns and we can¡¯t send you to the hospital. Why don¡¯t you give me your family¡¯s contact number and I¡¯ll get them toe pick you up?¡± ¡°No, don¡¯t,¡± she refused. She could sense that she had been badly burned and, hence, felt ashamed to see anyone. ¡°Why not? Your family will send you for treatment.¡± Shaking her head profusely in agony, she asked, ¡°No. Am I... disfigured?¡± After a moment of silence, he answered, ¡°Your features are still there, but you¡¯ve sustained serious burns on your face. I was diving in the river when I happened to see you. You had already passed out so I decided to rescue you. If I hadn¡¯t been there, you would have drowned to death even if the explosion didn¡¯t kill you. However, you managed to fall into the water in time and so the burns on your legs are less severe than those on your upper body. I rescued you and was afraid that your family would use me of killing you if you died so I didn¡¯t inform anyone about your presence. Fortunately, you survived. I think you¡¯d better go home and get your family to pick you up. You won¡¯t receive any treatment if you stay here. I can only provide for your meals. I¡¯m too poor to take you to the hospital.¡± Mu Wanshengy motionlessly on the ground, feeling as if she was in a living hell. She may have survived, but she would have to continue living with a different face. She could already guess what she looked like, just from his description. She must look ghastly. Noticing that she was remaining silent, the man asked, ¡°It was such a dangerous and critical situation. How did you manage to survive?¡± ¡°Thank you... for saving my life. Back then...¡± Mu Wansheng¡¯s heart wrenched in pain at the thought of what happened. She seemed to be unable to walk out of the trauma. Her voice, shrieks, and bawling were of no use at that time. The man remained silent and continued to listen to her speak. ¡°Back then, I had no idea how I managed to climb to the window, and the explosion seemed to have urred the same moment I jumped out. I don¡¯t know what happened afterward because I passed out,¡± she said, struggling to speak because of the excruciating pain in her throat. The man said, ¡°You¡¯ve lost your voice. You should refrain from talking. However, I still think it¡¯d be better for you to contact your family.¡± Chapter 1442 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1442: Great to Have You (2)

¡°I¡¯ve made up my mind. Don¡¯t contact them, I look terrible now...¡± Mu Wansheng said while trying to catch her breath. She was no longer capable of speech and felt as if she had sunk into a world of darkness. She had lost her vision. She could no longer see anything. There went her promising future, her blissful life, and herself. Who would want to be with a blind and hideous monster? She was incapable of doing anything and had to be served all the time. Even if Fan Shixin didn¡¯t despise her, she would despise herself. She felt that she was no longer fit to be his wife and the mother of his children. She had already lost those rights. She did not wish to return to the Mu family. Everyone must think that I¡¯m dead. ¡°No one came to look for me, right?¡± ¡°Yes, they all thought that you¡¯ve already passed away. There was a man who tried to search for you in theke for a really long time but he only managed to find one of your shoes. I¡¯m not sure if he¡¯s your boyfriend or brother.¡± After a moment of silence, Mu Wansheng asked, ¡°How old are you this year?¡± ¡°Twenty-eight years old.¡± ¡°I¡¯m 27 years old. Since you¡¯ve saved me, that makes you my benefactor. Let me call you my brother. If it hadn¡¯t been for you, I would have definitely died. I¡¯ll always remember your kindness. However, I¡¯m injured right now and can¡¯t do much for you, but once I recover, I¡¯ll do whatever I can to help you. I hope you can take me in.¡± ¡°I can take you in, but... you¡¯re a girl and tongues are going to wag if others find out that we¡¯re living together.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t I acknowledge you as my brother, then? Are you willing to take me as your sister? If you are, I¡¯ll treat you as my own brother from now on. I¡¯ll help you out with the chores when I can start moving.¡± ¡°Frankly speaking, it¡¯s not appropriate for you to be my sister either. I bought some medicine and ointment for you because I didn¡¯t want others to find out that you¡¯re here. But don¡¯t worry, I only applied the ointment on your arms, legs, and face. I didn¡¯t vite you or anything. If you¡¯re willing... to be my wife, this shall be your home from now on. If you¡¯re not, it¡¯s alright. I can send you to wherever you¡¯d like to go. You can stay here temporarily too, but not for too long. I hope you can understand my concerns. Once you¡¯ve recovered, I¡¯ll take you to the hospital for an optometric checkup. To be honest with you, I¡¯m very poor and I may not be able to afford the treatment fees, even if there¡¯s a viable treatment for your condition.¡± She knew that his qualms were reasonable. Who would believe that she was his godsister? It was only a matter of time before someone found out. ¡°I¡¯ve already be so hideous. Are you still willing to marry me?¡± Mu Wansheng asked. Although she did not know what he looked like, she was certain that he was a kind man. Since he had saved her life, she ought to spare a thought for him. ¡°Appearance is only secondary and superficial. Personality and character are the most important. Actually, there are scars on my face too, you just can¡¯t see them. Because of my appearance, I was put through lots of matchmaking sessions. However, none of them worked out because my blind dates all found me too poor.¡± Mu Wansheng remained silent for a while. Actually, she had already gotten it all figured out. Although she survived, it would forever be impossible between her and Fan Shixin. She did not want others to say that Fan Shixin was just marrying her out of responsibility or to mock him for having an ugly wife. She did not want her dignity to be trampled on by those mockeries either. She would rather be remembered as a beautiful woman. She had been so close to grasping her happiness, and yet it slipped out of her hands so soon. The old Mu Wansheng had already died. She was just a walking zombie now. She was hideous and revolting. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, even if you be my wife, I¡¯ll still respect you as I¡¯ve been doing. I just think that it¡¯s the only way for you to stay. Besides, I need apanion to chat with too.¡± Mu Wansheng put on a lopsided smile and said, ¡°Those were none of my concerns. I just think that my life has been ruined forever. If I had known that I would end up like this, I would have just allowed myself to die in the explosion. Worse still, I even lost my vision. Life has be so meaningless for me.¡± ¡°Why would it be meaningless? As long as you¡¯re alive, you can still achieve your dreams. Once you¡¯re dead, there¡¯s nothing you can do anymore.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Tang Yucheng.¡± ¡°Brother Tang, could you give me some time to consider? I know I¡¯m in no position to consider, given the predicament I¡¯m in now, but...¡± ¡°I¡¯m not in a hurry for an answer. Just stay and think through this carefully. I actually just need apanion to talk to. My parents passed away a long time ago, and my younger brother has moved in with his wife¡¯s family. I¡¯ve been alone at home all this while. It¡¯s too lonely to be all by myself. There¡¯s no one for me to talk to either.¡± Mu Wansheng expressed assent and said, ¡°Thank you, Brother Tang. Thank you so much.¡± ¡°I read from the news that your name is Mu Wansheng. Is that so?¡± ¡°Yeah, it is.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t be convenient for you to use that name while you¡¯re staying here. Why don¡¯t you change your name? Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t know how to introduce you to my brother and sister-inw.¡± ¡°Brother Tang, what do you think my new name should be?¡± ¡°Happy.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Your name should be ¡®Happy.¡¯ I hope you¡¯ll always be happy from now on. How does that sound?¡± Mu Wansheng teared up and said, ¡°Great. My name shall be Happy from now on. Thank you, Brother Tang.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. You must be famished. I¡¯ll go make you some porridge. Wait for me.¡± ¡°Alright, thank you.¡± Mu Wansheng heard the sounds of his footsteps fading. Although she could no longer see, her tears were still flowing out of her eyes uncontrobly, and she felt as if a million daggers were piercing through her heart. Her hopes had all been dashed, and she felt nothing except misery. Mu Wansheng used to hear from others that most men in the world were scumbags. However, she still believed that good men existed. Despite having had an unpleasant experience with Zuo Xingwei, she still believed that other men were different from him. For instance, Fan Shixin and Tang Yucheng. Tang Yucheng was genuinely nice to her. He would change her wound dressings and serve her meticulously every single day without fail. Mu Wansheng did not have any airs around her at all, and she felt that it was rare that a man would be willing to take care of her despite all the hassle. There were lots of couples who fail to support each other through tough times. They often allow their true colors to show during adverse situations. Chapter 1443 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1443: Great to Have You (3)

Furthermore, they were just strangers who happened to meet by chance. Although Mu Wansheng could not tell what his appearance was like, she knew that he was a kind soul. After she¡¯d been staying with him for some time, her burns gradually began to heal. She could finally get out of bed and start walking around, though she had yet to fully recover. Desperately wanting to know what had happened to her eyes, she requested Tang Yucheng to bring her to the hospital. Tang Yucheng agreed. It was summer time. Due to the burns on her body, Mu Wansheng had no choice but to wrap herself up in tight clothing, despite the immense heat. She did not wish to expose the burns and scars on her arms and legs. Although she could not see, she could roughly tell what they looked like just by touching them. After breakfast, Tang Yucheng brought her to the hospital. They registered for a consultation with the optometrist. Her long-sleeved ensemble was already eye-catching enough. Everyone around her could not help but take another nce at her, especially since she was d in a cap and a surgical mask as well. When it was her turn, Tang Yucheng held her hand and walked her to the doctor¡¯s office. Upon the sight of her, the optometrist immediately said, ¡°Have a seat.¡± Mu Wansheng sat down on the chair with Tang Yucheng¡¯s guidance. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your eyes?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t see anymore and I¡¯d like to have my eye examined.¡± ¡°Why? Did you lose your vision all of a sudden? Or did it ur after an ident?¡± ¡°It urred after an ident,¡± said Mu Wansheng. The doctor handed Tang Yucheng the receipt for the checkup and said, ¡°Please proceed to make payment.¡± Tang Yucheng exited the room while Mu Wansheng waited for him. When he returned, the doctor instructed Mu Wansheng to remove her mask, iming that it was getting in the way. After some hesitation, she decided to remove the mask. As soon as she removed her mask, the female optometrist shrieked, ¡°Oh, my god!¡± Hanging her head low, Mu Wansheng put her mask back on and said, ¡°Sorry to have frightened you.¡± Clutching her chest, the optometrist remarked, ¡°How did you get burned so badly? Your burns are way too severe.¡± ¡°Yeah, they are.¡± Mu Wansheng¡¯s heart sank to rock bottom after hearing the optometrist¡¯s diagnosis. ¡°You¡¯ve be permanently blind. There are no viable treatment options because the damage done is too severe.¡± ¡°Is there really no solution at all?¡± ¡°No.¡± Her hopes were once again dashed. Mu Wansheng knew that she had to resign herself to fate, as much as she didn¡¯t want to. They exited the hospital. Although the sun was shining brightly and the weather was hot and humid, she felt like she was freezing from head to toe. She was consumed by the coldness that came from within. She rode in Tang Yucheng¡¯s trishaw, which had curtains to cover her. Upon returning home, Mu Wanshengy down in bed and cooped herself up all day. Although she had already adjusted to living without vision, she did not want to spend the rest of her life in darkness. In fact, she even felt that she would be better off dead. Living in pain and misery was far more terrible. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Qixing, you¡¯ve been married to Luo Hang for so long. Has he gotten intimate with you yet?¡± Mrs. Luo asked eagerly. Mu Qixing smiled and said, ¡°Mother, you can¡¯t rush such things.¡± ¡°Seems like I¡¯ll have to implement another measure to deal with you two,¡± said Mrs. Luo, who left as soon as she¡¯d said her piece. Mu Qixing could not wrap her head around what Mrs. Luo was thinking. Another measure? What could it be? She headed upstairs to see that Luo Hang was sitting on the bed and talking to his girlfriend over the phone. She gestured for him to stop, hinting to him that she had something to talk to him about. Luo Hang ended the call reluctantly and said, ¡°Shoot.¡± ¡°Mother asked me just now if we had gotten intimate yet and I said no. She then said that she¡¯s going to implement another measure.¡± ¡°What is she going to do?¡± Luo Hang asked with a frown. ¡°How would I know? Mother is so mysterious. Is she going to watch us get intimate?¡± Luo Hang hissed and said, ¡°Dream on.¡± ¡°It¡¯d be great if I¡¯m just dreaming. You may be my husband, but I don¡¯t want to sleep with you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like I want to sleep with you either.¡± Mu Qixing rolled her eyes and pulled him forcefully to drag him out of the bed. ¡°It¡¯s my turn to sleep today. You can take the couch.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been cooped up at home all day and I¡¯m not allowed to go anywhere at all. Why don¡¯t we just forget it? I¡¯ll force myself to get intimate with you once so you can get pregnant. Once you¡¯re pregnant, we¡¯ll both be free.¡± Mu Qixing rebuked, ¡°You¡¯re nuts.¡± ¡°I¡¯m nuts? I¡¯m the one who has something to lose here, okay? Do you know how much courage it¡¯ll take for me to get intimate with you?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you feel disgusted by your own words at all?¡± ¡°...¡± After they¡¯d been staying silent for half an hour, someone began knocking on their door. Knock, knock, knock... Luo Hang answered sluggishly, ¡°Come in.¡± A maid entered with some fruits, hanging her head low. Luo Hang took a casual nce at her, only to discover who she really was. He immediately rushed forward and eximed, ¡°Banqin!?!¡± Mu Qixing sat up straight to look at the maid as well. She chuckled and sneered, ¡°Tsk, tsk, tsk, your girlfriend actually disguised herself as a maid and sneaked in here. However, if Mother were to find out...¡± Luo Hang warned with a sullen expression, ¡°You¡¯ll get it from me if you dare to tell Mother about this.¡± Staring at him with a look of disdain, Mu Qixing said, ¡°Go ahead and do whatever you want elsewhere, but you¡¯d better not get up to any hanky-panky business in my nuptial room. If you dare do that in front of me, I¡¯ll definitely tell on you to Mother. Luo Hang, I may not love you and you may not care about me, but I still want my pride and dignity. You may do anything you¡¯d like except get intimate right in front of me.¡± Without hesitation, Xia Banqin chastized, ¡°Who do you think you are? You may be Luo Hang¡¯s wife on the surface but in reality, you¡¯re a nobody. Get over yourself. It¡¯d be best if we can get along harmoniously. It¡¯s not like we¡¯re forbidding you from dating others anyway. Don¡¯t create any trouble for yourself.¡± Mu Qixing closed her eyes and opened them again before gibing, ¡°Luo Hang, you¡¯ve got such poor taste in women.¡± ¡°What... did you say?¡± Xia Banqin barked angrily. ¡°I said Luo Hang has poor taste in women. You¡¯re not as pretty as I am and your figure is average as well. You¡¯re much shorter than me too. No wonder Mother-inw doesn¡¯t want you as her daughter-inw. You¡¯d better put in more effort to keep Luo Hang by your side. It¡¯d be the end of you if he ever falls in love with me one day.¡± The couple turned pale and sullen immediately. Xia Banqin said to Luo Hang, ¡°Look how arrogant this woman is.¡± She then retorted, ¡°Do you really think you¡¯re his wife?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not for you to decide. I¡¯m hiswful wife, you¡¯re not. Enjoy your rendezvous. I¡¯m going out now.¡± She picked up her purse and left. Luo Hang said, ¡°Don¡¯t tell Mother. Did you hear me?¡± Chapter 1444 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1444: Great to Have You (4)

Mu Qixing left without answering him. Luo Hang and Xia Banqin stood by the window to observe the situation, only to discover that Mu Qixing did not tell on them. More than half an hourter, Luo Hang felt a huge sense of relief because his mother had yet to knock on his door. He immediately locked the door and held Xia Banqin tightly in his embrace. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you in days. I missed you so much.¡± ¡°Do you know how much effort it took for me to sneak in?¡± ¡°I know, I know. It¡¯s been hard on you.¡± He then pinned her onto the bed and began kissing her passionately. On the other hand, Mu Qixing was filled with displeasure. I¡¯m thewful wife and yet I have to let them have the room to themselves. Forget it, I¡¯d be less annoyed if I don¡¯t see them. Hence, she stayed out for the entire day and only returned in the evening. Yet, she still had to face Xia Banqin. Mrs. Luo had brewed some tonic soup especially for Luo Hang, which she told Mu Qixing to bring upstairs for him. She headed upstairs to see that Luo Hang and Xia Banqin were ying with some video games on the bed. ¡°Mother wanted me to bring this to you.¡± ¡°Leave it here.¡± Mu Qixing ced the bowl of soup on the headboard before sitting down on the couch, staring nkly at the bed. The couple fed each other and finished the entire bowl of soup together. Mu Qixing was speechless. Shey down on the couch, toozy to vie with them for the couch. To her surprise, the two of them began kissing each other affectionately,pletely disregarding her presence. They even began undressing themselves, as if she was not there at all. Unable to tolerate the atrocity any further, she questioned, ¡°Do you take me for dead?¡± However, they did not answer her at all. Mu Qixing flew into a rage. How dare they do this on my bed and right in front of me? Mu Qixing found it to be an insult to her. Without hesitation, she zoomed toward the bathroom and filled a bucket with cold water. Just as she was about to ssh it onto them, she discovered that they had already begun intercourse. Thinking to herself that it was pointless to ssh the water onto them since it was summertime anyway, Mu Qixing suppressed her anger andy down on the couch again. She then continued to watch them and filmed the entire process with her mobile phone, as if she was just a spectator. There were no sounds in the room at all apart from those of the bed shaking. Atst, she could not tolerate it any further. She absolutely despised Luo Hang. Hence, she left the room again. I don¡¯t even have a ce to sleep anymore, do I? Upon the sight of her, Mrs. Luo asked in surprise, ¡°He didn¡¯t drink the soup?¡± ¡°He¡¯s already drunk it.¡± ¡°Why are you going out, then? He¡¯ll be feeling hot and randyter. I added a little something to the soup.¡± Mu Qixing sighed, feeling sympathetic toward Mrs. Luo for all her painstaking efforts. ¡°Mother, go upstairs to take a look. There¡¯s no space for me to even sleep in anymore.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know once you take a look for yourself. I¡¯m going back to sleep in my maiden home tonight.¡± Mu Qixing left the house twice in a single day. She was helpless and had no other option. She would be fine with Luo Hang going out and fooling around while she remained at home. However, she could not help but feel repulsed and disgusted now that she was even denied her right to sleep in the room. Although she imed to be going back to her maiden home, she actually went out for a karaoke session instead. She booked a private room for herself and bought lots of snacks and beer. She decided to indulge in them, so as to vent her frustration. After switching off her mobile phone, she sat on the couch and began singing at the top of her voice while hugging her knees, feeling incredibly rxed. After downing a few cans of beer, the door of the room was opened. Mu Qixing looked at the door, only to be greeted with a shocking sight. She instantly sobered up and was no longer tipsy. She stared at the man and watched him approach her quickly. ¡°Long time no see,¡± said Mu Qixing, gazing at him. As soon as she finished speaking, he pinned her onto the couch and began kissing her ravenously while she remained still. When he finally stopped, she asked calmly, ¡°Are you done?¡± Lu Jingrao stood up slowly and glowered at her. ¡°Do you know how much time I¡¯ve spent trying to look for you? Where did you go?¡± ¡°I went to get married.¡± Not believing her words at all, he said, ¡°Qixing, I don¡¯t believe that you¡¯d marry someone else.¡± ¡°If you can get married, why can¡¯t I? Am I your personal belonging?¡± ¡°I got married? Who did I marry?¡± Mu Qixing scoffed and sneered, ¡°How can you not know who you married? Fancy you having the cheek to ask me instead.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t marry anyone.¡± Dumbstruck, she asked, ¡°You... didn¡¯t? You didn¡¯t get married?¡± ¡°You went missing. Who was I supposed to marry?¡± Lu Jingrao said angrily. He wouldn¡¯t have heard her singing and ended up finding her if he didn¡¯t happen to be at the karaoke joint with his colleagues. After she left without a word back then, he took a long break from work to search for her and even ended up being depressed for a period of time. He only recovered gradually after some time. Even ¡¯til now, he still had no idea why she went missing all of a sudden. ¡°I heard from your mother that your matchmaking session turned out to be sessful and that you were about to get married soon. Not only did you hide your matchmaking session from me, you even decided to marry someone else. Since you¡¯ve made up your mind, I thought it¡¯d be better for me to vanish out of your sight!¡± ¡°I was just coaxing my mother and lying to her. When I told her that I was getting married soon, I meant that I would be marrying you soon. I didn¡¯t go on any blind dates at all. Do you have that little trust in me?¡± Not wishing to argue with him any further, Mu Qixing eximed agitatedly, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you let your parents know of my existence at all? When your mother made you go on blind dates and matchmaking sessions, you could¡¯ve just told her about us... you could¡¯ve told her that you had a girlfriend. However, you never once did. I¡¯ve always felt that I fancied you more than you did me. You don¡¯t care about my feelings at all.¡± She pushed him away and stood up. ¡°I¡¯m already married now. Your marital status doesn¡¯t matter to me anymore.¡± ¡°You¡¯re married? Are you really married!?!¡± Lu Jingrao barked in disbelief, gritting his teeth angrily. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve been married for more than two months.¡± ¡°Are you lying to me?¡± ¡°Why would I lie to you? There¡¯s no need for that.¡± Mu Qixing took a deep breath and continued, ¡°Lu Jingrao, just what do I mean to you? Do you really love me? Or are you just using me to satisfy your needs?¡± Mu Qixing felt as if a boulder had been lifted off her chest after she finally poured her heart out. As soon as she walked past him, he grabbed her wrist forcefully and pulled her into his embrace. ¡°Qixing...¡± ¡°Let go of me.¡± He tightened his grip, refusing to budge at all. He had jeopardized her ns to unwind and rx at the karaoke joint all by herself. ¡°Seems like you still don¡¯t believe me. There¡¯s a dentist in your department whose name is Wu Pingyang, right?¡± He let go of her and said, ¡°Yes. How did you know?¡± Chapter 1445 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1445: Great to Have You (5)

¡°We¡¯re half-sisters, but we didn¡¯t grow up together. We¡¯re not on very good terms with each other either. You may ask her if I¡¯m married or not, but you¡¯d better not tell her about the rtionship we had in the past. I¡¯m going to be very upset and frustrated if you do.¡± Although she had now found out that he was not married, nothing could change the fact that she was already married. Given how prideful he was, he definitely wouldn¡¯t want to have anything else to do with her. Mu Qixing understood that very clearly. She knew him too well. Besides, she was already married now. Even if he was willing to be her secret lover, she did not wish for him to end up like Xia Banqin, because it was not fair to him. Unless her parents-inw initiate for her and Luo Hang to get a divorce, she had no right to do so. Mu Qixing left the room without uttering another word. He did not chase after her and instead remained standing, crestfallen and dejected. He returned to the room that his colleagues were in. As soon as he entered, everyone asked for the reason behind histe arrival. Instead of answering them, he said, ¡°Pingyang,e with me. I have something to ask you.¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll be on my way.¡± Wu Pingyang stood up and exited the room. Once they were outside, Wu Pingyang stopped in her tracks and asked, ¡°Chief, what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°How is Mu Qixing rted to you?¡± Greatly taken aback, Wu Pingyang asked, ¡°Chief, do you know her?¡± ¡°My friend does. He wanted me to ask you about her.¡± ¡°She¡¯s my half-sister, but we¡¯ve only met a few times. We used to live in different ces. Now that she¡¯s gotten married, she rarelyes back to my grandfather¡¯s home either.¡± Lu Jingrao¡¯s temples began throbbing upon hearing that she had gotten married. A cold and sullen expression formed on his face. ¡°Who did she marry?¡± ¡°Have you heard of the Luo family? The family known for the furniture that they sell. She¡¯s married to their son, Luo Hang. My cousin was supposed to marry Luo Hang at first. In case you didn¡¯t know, my cousin, Mu Wansheng, is the one whose death was reported in the news after the fatal car ident. However, Mu Wansheng changed her mind and my grandfather wanted to rece her with me. I was reluctant to marry Luo Hang too, so Mu Qixing... agreed.¡± He felt that Mu Qixing had married Luo Hang out of her own will and that no one hadpelled her at all. Lu Jingrao nodded and asked, ¡°Do you have her mobile number, then?¡± ¡°No, we¡¯re not very close. We don¡¯t contact each other often either.¡± ¡°Okay. You may go back in. I still have another gathering to attend. You guys enjoy yourselves and go home early,¡± said Lu Jingrao. ¡°Alright.¡± Wu Pingyang did not sense anything amiss, for she had long gotten used to his aloof attitude. Lu Jingrao left the KTV joint and hurriedly got inside the car. Shortly after the car moved off, he caught sight of a familiar figure. Despite thete hour, she was strolling around the sidewalk aimlessly instead of hailing a taxi home. He pulled over in front of her, alighted from the car, and stormed toward her in a huff. He then pulled her into the car forcefully. ¡°Are you done verifying it?¡± He grabbed her thin wrist, unable to voice his thoughts. Staring at him, Mu Qixing said, ¡°I haven¡¯t had dinner yet. Let¡¯s eat together.¡± She loved him deeply and could not help but yearn to lean closer toward him. Without another word, he brought her to a restaurant in his car. He requested for a private dining room in the restaurant. He ordered a table full of dishes that she enjoyed eating. They were seated opposite each other, and he chugged some liquor while watching her eat. He downed the liquor like it was water, not finding it to be overwhelming at all. Noticing how much he was drinking, she quipped, ¡°Are you nning to kill yourself in front of me via alcohol poisoning?¡± He remained silent and continued to chug liquor. Mu Qixing snatched the bottle away from him and stared at him solemnly. ¡°I¡¯ve already started life anew now. Regardless of whether it turns out well or not, it was my decision to get married. Ever since I decided to leave you, I¡¯ve already let go of all my feelings for you. I didn¡¯t leave without saying goodbye, I actually did send you a text message. Lu Jingrao, we were in a rtionship for so many years and yet you had never once brought me home to visit your family and friends. You turned me down repeatedly with the excuse of being tied up with work when I tried to invite you to meet my parents. I did hint that I wanted to marry you, but you¡¯ve never given me a response. Actually, I always knew that you were dating me only because you wanted to have a girlfriend and not because you truly loved me. Perhaps you did fancy me, but you¡¯ve never thought about a future with me at all. Even if you were just lying to your mother andforting her, it¡¯s all over between us.¡± ¡°I just wanted to spend time with you and live a life where it¡¯s just us two against the rest of the world. I¡¯d also been secretly nning for our future, but I never told you about it because I wanted to surprise you! Just because I didn¡¯t tell you about my ns, it doesn¡¯t mean that I didn¡¯t make any preparations. Qixing, I do admit that I didn¡¯t love you at first, but after dating you for a long time, I realized that I really love you. I love you so, so much. Qixing, don¡¯t you love me anymore?¡± he asked with tears in his eyes. Mu Qixing poured herself a ss of liquor and downed it, causing a burning sensation to fill her throat. He probed, ¡°Answer me. Tell me the truth, do you still love me?¡± ¡°Does it really still matter? The point is, I¡¯m already married now and I don¡¯t have the right to get a divorce.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°Because...¡± Not wanting to hide it from him anymore, she told him the truth. Finally, she added, ¡°Unless my inws initiate a divorce, I can¡¯t divorce Luo Hang. If not, my family will have to pay a heftypensatory sum. Although I¡¯m not close to my family and didn¡¯t live together with them as a child, I don¡¯t have much of a say in my marriage. There¡¯s no difference in being married and staying single anyway.¡± She then downed another ss of liquor before mming the ss down onto the table. A frown creased her forehead, and she rested her chin in her hand while eating the rest of her food, feeling giddy and warm. ¡°Since I¡¯m already married, I¡¯ll just make do with it. We¡¯ll get a divorce sooner orter anyway. Luo Hang is not as capable or tenacious as me. He¡¯ll be destroyed soon enough. It must feel terrible to have to face a woman he does not love every single day. By the way... he also has a girlfriend whom he loves to bits. I¡¯ve always found him to be such a coward. He clearly loves his girlfriend a lot and yet he doesn¡¯t have the courage to retaliate against his parents. Parents will never outargue their children. If he persists and refuses to concede, they¡¯ll definitely give in at the end of the day.¡± She began to lose her sobriety. After all, women were mostly poorer at holding their liquorpared to men. Although he rarely drank, he could hold his liquor better than she could. Despite him having drunk more than she did, she was already giddy and tipsy while he was still rather sober. Chapter 1446 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1446: Great to Have You (6)

He bore her words in mind. He stood up to grab her mobile phone, only to discover that it was switched off. Lu Jingrao turned on her mobile phone and dialed his own number. He then hung up after his mobile phone rang. As soon as the call ended, her mobile phone began to ring again. ¡°Mother-inw¡± was written on the caller disy. He handed her the mobile phone and said, ¡°Your mother-inw called you.¡± Still in a daze, Mu Qixing picked up and murmured, ¡°Hello...¡± Mrs. Luo said, ¡°Qixing,e home immediately.¡± ¡°Mother, I... I... I¡¯ll go home tomorrow morning instead.¡± ¡°Have you been drinking? Where?¡± Mrs. Luo asked. ¡°At my maiden home. I¡¯ll go back tomorrow morning.¡± She then ended the call, after which her body swayed to the side. Lu Jingrao hurriedly held her to stop her from falling, only to discover that she had fallen asleep. He had no choice but to bring her inside his car. Instead of sending her back to the Mu or Luo family home, he took her back to his own home instead. It was a ce where they used to cohabit. Due to the fact that they had cohabited for a long time, he was well aware of her temper and habits. Whenever she got drunk, she would mostly just stay still and fall asleep. She wouldn¡¯t drink any water either. Lu Jingrao switched on the air conditioner after cing her onto the bed. He was drenched in sweat from head to toe because the weather was simply too warm. He came out of the shower to discover that she was acting out of the ordinary. She had begun tossing and turning around in the bed, appearing extremely energized. He walked toward the bed and asked, ¡°Have you sobered up already?¡± Mu Qixing sat up straight and looked at him with her hair all messy and unkempt. ¡°What... what are you doing in my house?¡± ¡°This is my house.¡± ¡°Bullshit!¡± She stood up and stared at him from above. ¡°This is obviously my house. Hurry and leave, my husband will be home soon.¡± Lu Jingrao was both amused yet peeved to hear her calling another man her husband. ¡°Do you still love me?¡± ¡°I love you. I only left because you didn¡¯t want me anymore,¡± Mu Qixing said, cing her hands by her sides. ¡°How can I not want you?¡± He extended his arm toward her and said, ¡°Come here.¡± She leaned forward and grabbed his hand. ¡°Go home. Luo Hang will be back very soon. Although I¡¯m not afraid of him, it won¡¯t be good if my parents-inw are rmed.¡± ¡°He won¡¯t being back. He has gone out on a rendezvous with his girlfriend. Your inws aren¡¯t here either. We¡¯re all by ourselves,¡± said Lu Jingrao, who was ying along. ¡°All by ourselves... you still have to go home.¡± Mu Qixing let go of him and sat on the bed. ¡°Luo Hang may be willing to let his girlfriend be the third party, but I¡¯m not willing to let you be the same as her.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°Because I don¡¯t want you to be treated unfairly and because I know that you don¡¯t deserve that.¡± Mu Qixing stared at him with her eyes ssed over. He pinned her down and asked, ¡°Have you ever slept with him?¡± ¡°Would you believe me if I said that I didn¡¯t?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She held his gaze and answered, ¡°I didn¡¯t. His mother went to extremes to get us to consummate our marriage. Not only did she ground him, she even brewed him some tonic soup tonight and spiked it with some aphrodisiacs. Coincidentally, his girlfriend had also sneaked into our room without his mother¡¯s knowledge. The two of them drank the soup and began getting intimate with each other right in front of me. I decided to leave the house and inform his mother about what they had done. I reckon his parents must be infuriated now...¡± Unable to resist his urges, he looked down and kissed her on her lips. Shaking her head profusely, she said, ¡°Go home, go back to your own home.¡± Lu Jingrao grabbed her wrists and raised them above her head before kissing her brazenly again. He was a far cry from the prim and proper dentist he was by day. He had been missing her dearly all this while. Although he wanted to get intimate with her, he decided to let her off after seeing how resistant she was. She constantly pushed him away because she did not want to be just like Luo Hang. Hence, he did nothing except hug her to sleep that night. ¡ª¡ª Fan Shixin¡¯s mother called him over at seven o¡¯clock in the morning. He arrived home to see that there were a few strangers present as well. One of them was a young woman who seemed to be in herte twenties. She was dressed in an immacte and presentable outfit. ¡°Son, you¡¯re home. This is one of the girls whom I¡¯ve selected for you out of all the matchmaking candidates. I especially invited her home to let you have a look at her.¡± Fan Shixin frowned instinctively. Since there were outsiders around, it would be inappropriate for him to voice his objections. Hence, he decided to abide by his mother¡¯s instructions and have a chat with the woman in private. The woman was not at all shy and she greeted him naturally with ease. ¡°I know who you are. I signed up for a matchmaking session with you previously but I wasn¡¯t shortlisted. What a pity.¡± ¡°Is that so? There were too many candidates,¡± Fan Shixin said calmly. ¡°My name is Yang Qianxue and I¡¯m a year younger than you are.¡± She¡¯s thirty? Fan Shixin nodded and said, ¡°Seems like I don¡¯t have to introduce myself, then. You already know my name and age.¡± ¡°You must be shocked to see me here all of a sudden, aren¡¯t you? Auntie said that you definitely wouldn¡¯t want to meet me if we were to inform you beforehand.¡± Fan Shixin expressed assent and said, ¡°My mother is right. I don¡¯t have ns to get married at the moment.¡± He had declined her tactfully. In the past, Yang Qianxue would have left without another word. However, she decided to suppress her anger this time. Smiling wryly, she asked, ¡°I think I¡¯m a pretty good catch myself. Mr. Fan, would you be willing to give me a chance?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but my heart already belongs to someone else.¡± Yang Qianxue said bluntly, ¡°Are you referring to Ms. Mu Wansheng? It¡¯s said online that you sent a helicopter to rescue her from the traffic ident back then and you even dived into theke. There are also rumors about you getting together with Mu Wansheng after breaking up with her cousin. Is that true?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need for me to answer those questions of yours. I think we should put an end to this conversation.¡± Staring at him while he left, Yang Qianxue was filled with disgruntlement. She had no choice but to exit the room as well. Both hers and Fan Shixin¡¯s parents were waiting in the living room. They knew that it was a gone case the moment the two had left the room after just a few minutes. Before he could even say anything, Mrs. Fan said, ¡°I think Qianxue is a really great girl. She¡¯s pretty and sensible. It would be wonderful if she could be my daughter-inw.¡± Knowing what his mother was thinking, Fan Shixin nced at her and said coldly, ¡°I have something to attend to. I have to get going.¡± He then turned around and left without another word. Just as he was about to arrive in Wei Ni Estate, Fan Shixin received a call from his mother. Chapter 1447 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1447: Great to Have You (7)

Mrs. Fan said, ¡°I think this girl has great attributes. She graduated from a prestigious university and is now working for a major enterprise. She¡¯s well mannered and has a good temper. I even found out that her parents are very kind and friendly as well. They get along really well with their neighbors. She remained single until now because she had yet to meet someone whom she fancies. Shixin, she¡¯s already dead. You still have to continue living. You¡¯re our only son. Can you bear to see our family bloodline cease?¡± ¡°So, Mother, why didn¡¯t you give birth to two sons when you gave birth to me back then?¡± Fan Shixin retorted impatiently. He had been in low spirits, and his temper had also gotten worsetely. He would oftensh out at his subordinates as well. ¡°I would have given birth to another child if I could. Son, I just want you to have apanion who can be by your side. You¡¯re already 31 years old. Do you know how upset your father and I felt when we saw other elderly couples ying with their grandchildren at the park? I don¡¯t want to force you, so I¡¯ve already suggested to Qianxue that the two of you start dating for a while and get to know each other better. If you really don¡¯t fancy her, we¡¯ll make other ns. Alright?¡± Mrs. Fan began to sound desperate and eager for him to concede. Fan Shixin sighed and said, ¡°Alright.¡± Upon hearing his answer, Mrs. Fan said gleefully, ¡°Son, you have to be mindful of your health. Get more rest and refrain from tiring yourself out.¡± ¡°Got it. I¡¯m driving now. Time to hang up.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Fan Shixin drove to the yard and parked his car inside the garage. As soon as he alighted from the car, he caught sight of Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning sitting on the swing. He walked toward them at a steady pace and squinted at them. ¡°Young Madam, Young Sir, you two are so cruel to a singleton like me bright and early in the morning.¡± Jin Qingyan asked, ¡°Where did youe from?¡± ¡°My parents¡¯ home. My mother found me a prospective partner through a matchmaking session.¡± ¡°How did that turn out?¡± ¡°She seems to be a great catch, but I don¡¯t feel a thing for her at all. My mother wants me to try and get along with her for the time being.¡± Jin Qingyan sighed and remarked, ¡°It must be tough on your mother for having such a disobedient son like you.¡± Fan Shixin retorted, ¡°Young Sir, how am I disobedient? I agreed to get along with her first. Aren¡¯t I being obedient enough?¡± Surprised to hear that he had agreed, Jin Qingyan said, ¡°It¡¯s been hard on you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m d you understand my plight, Young Sir.¡± ¡°I have a piece of good news and a piece of bad news for you. Which one would you like to hear first?¡± Pursing his lips, Fan Shixin answered, ¡°Are you going to trick me again?¡± ¡°Hurry and make your selection.¡± ¡°I want to hear the bad news.¡± Jin Qingyan raised his chin slightly and said, ¡°Okay. The bad news is that your Young Madam and I are going on a vacation. You¡¯ll have to take care of the kids.¡± ¡°Young Sir, isn¡¯t this a piece of good news? Without you around, there¡¯ll be no one to pressure me anymore. I¡¯m more than happy.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Since you don¡¯t find this to be bad news, I won¡¯t say anything else. I shall now tell you a piece of good news. After some discussion, your Young Madam and I have decided to gift you with a bigger apartment as a reward for all your hard work throughout all these years.¡± Fan Shixin finally smiled and said, ¡°Young Sir, I hope to hear more of such good news in the future. Money and property are the most practical.¡± ¡°Shoot, which area do you want the house to be in?¡± ¡°Somewhere in our estate. I don¡¯t like other estates and I prefer it here. I feel much safer. I¡¯ll be nearer to you guys too.¡± ¡°There are only a few apartments left in our estate. Pick one and it¡¯ll be transferred under your name.¡± Fan Shixin nodded and said, ¡°Thank you, Young Sir.¡± ¡°Okay. Why don¡¯t you start picking one out now? There¡¯s nothing much for you to do anyway.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go take a look.¡± Fan Shixin proceeded to take a look at the apartments to find that theyouts and structures were simr. Finally, he chose a four-bedder. There was a balcony in the bedroom and another one in the living room. Fan Shixin had no idea why he suddenly recalled what Mu Wansheng said about wanting to have lots of children with him. If the apartment was too small, it wouldn¡¯t be sufficient to house so many children. The new apartment was spacious and had several rooms. Unfortunately, the mistress of the house was gone. How tragic. The ownership of the apartment was transferred to him after he took his pick. He did not inform anyone about it. Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning were the only ones who knew about it. ¡ª¡ª Lu Jingrao woke up to see that Mu Qixing had already left. She had just arrived in the Luo family home. Mr. and Mrs. Luo had yet to wake up. Luo Hang and Xia Banqin were not in the bedroom either. She took a shower, changed into a fresh set of clothes, and applied some makeup before making her way downstairs. Mrs. Luo sat in the living room with a cup of coffee in hand. Mu Qixing asked, ¡°Mother, where¡¯s Luo Hang?¡± ¡°He eloped with that woman.¡± ¡°Eloped?¡± ¡°Yeah. I sacked the servant who let her inst night and I lost my temper. I initially wanted to beat that woman into a pulp, but Luo Hang stopped me and brought her away. I didn¡¯t try and stop them. From now on, Luo Hang¡¯s father and I are going to terminate all his credit cards. I shall see how long that meager amount of cash canst them!¡± Mu Qixing sat down and asked softly, ¡°Mother, why don¡¯t you like Banqin?¡± ¡°I think that woman is not one to be trifled with. It all started from when they first met each other. Luo Hang once attended a school ball and found that his zer was missing all of a sudden. She then visited our home to return his zer. There were so many people at the ball. How could she have known that it belonged to him? Besides, Luo Hang wasn¡¯t in close proximity to her at all. I told Luo Hang that I found her to be very scheming but he didn¡¯t think much of it. That¡¯s how that woman approached him. She imed that it was love at first sight and told him that she had used some tricks to get near him.¡± Mu Qixing agreed with her mother-inw¡¯s opinion about Xia Banqin being scheming. ¡°However... she¡¯s already been dating Luo Hang for so long and he really adores her too. Mother, if you keep getting in the way of their rtionship, Luo Hang will resent you instead. You might as well give him your blessings.¡± ¡°Silly child. You¡¯re ourwful daughter-inw. That woman is nothing. Don¡¯t worry, we got your back. Luo Hang wille to sooner orter.¡± Mu Qixing answered, ¡°Frankly speaking, I don¡¯t fancy Luo Hang and he doesn¡¯t fancy me either. Mother, there won¡¯t be happiness if you force us to stay together. Luo Hang is too obsessed with that woman. Give it some thought, Mother. I¡¯ll respect your decision regardless of what it is.¡± Mrs. Luo was initially displeased after hearing her words. However, after she heard the rest of her sentence, she felt that Mu Qixing was an understanding and likable daughter-inw. After all, she was indeed different from Xia Banqin. Chapter 1448 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1448: Great to Have You (8)

¡°Don¡¯t brood over it. Have your meal first.¡± Mu Qixing nodded and remained silent. ¡ª¡ª ¡°I saw a piece of news on the inte today. I don¡¯t know if I should tell you about it.¡± Mu Wansheng looked down and said, ¡°Go ahead.¡± Tang Yucheng yed the video attached to the news article and ced the mobile phone beside her. ¡°This is the piece of news.¡± Mu Wansheng listened attentively to the entertainment news report. ¡°ording to some insider tips that we received, Jin Qingyan¡¯s right-hand man, Fan Shixin, has gone through a sessful matchmaking session today. His mother had found him a prospective marriage partner named Yang Qianxue. She¡¯s a graduate from a prestigious university abroad. The thirty-year-old is the only daughter of a wealthy family. They¡¯re a match made in heaven...¡± Mu Wansheng did not pay attention to the rest of the video. She was not surprised by the news at all. She knew the day woulde sooner orter. She felt a sudden tension in her chest and found it difficult to breathe, as if her body had forgotten how to do it. Forget it, it¡¯s better like this. Given the state I¡¯m in now, I don¡¯t deserve him at all. I used to be the beautiful Mu Wansheng who had an alluring voice and big, bright eyes. Yet, I¡¯ve now be hideous and blind. My voice even sounds like nails on a chalkboard. Seems like I have made the right decision. If I had rushed to meet him immediately after I regained my consciousness, he¡¯d definitely have insisted on taking responsibility for me. She knew that Fan Shixin would definitely want to look after her, for she had always known that he was a good man. However, she did not want him to shoulder the burden of taking care of her and be aughingstock. She did not wish for others to mock him for having such an ugly wife. ¡°Great. I hope he¡¯ll be happy. I¡¯d be contented enough to know that he¡¯s doing well,¡± she said. Tang Yucheng put his mobile phone away and said, ¡°Good that you¡¯ve gotten over it.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get married.¡± Greatly taken aback, Tang Yucheng asked, ¡°What?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say... that I could be your wife? I¡¯m willing to marry you.¡± Tang Yucheng looked at her and agreed, ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°But... I don¡¯t have a household register.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll register one for you. It might be difficult, but we must get our marriage registered since you¡¯re my wife.¡± Tang Yucheng was an odd-job worker and came from a poor family. He knew that the registration of a household register would require money. Hence, he sold two of the cows that he reared. He did not know any big shots at all and hence had to spend a hefty sum on the administration fees for her household register. Mu Wansheng had to get a personal identification card for her new identity. When she was having her photo taken at the registration counter, the staff continuously remarked insensitively, ¡°Did you get burned by acid or something? Why has your face be so hideous? It¡¯s terrifying.¡± Mu Wansheng sat down and remained silent. Tang Yucheng retorted, ¡°Have you any idea how beautiful my wife used to be before she suffered the burns? I don¡¯t find her terrifying at all.¡± The staff member answered, ¡°I could tell. You must really love her.¡± Tang Yucheng suggested that they head home first and settle the registration of their marriage another day, for fear that she would get her feelings hurt again. However, she refused. ¡°Let¡¯s just get it done today. I don¡¯t want toe out again.¡± Tang Yucheng put the mask onto her face and held her hand. He helped her up onto the rickshaw before heading to the Civil Administration Bureau. She received the same reaction from the people there. There were lots of people at the Civil Administration Bureau, some of whom were there to get their marriage certificate while others were there to settle their divorce proceedings. They were all bbergasted and frightened upon the sight of her face. They began gossiping loudly, too preupied to even spare a thought for her feelings. Their words were like daggers that were piercing through Mu Wansheng¡¯s heart. God knows how her family would react. However, the Mu family was no longer her family. Mrs. Mu was no longer her mother either. Her mother was dead to her the moment she plunged into the river, just like how everyone else thought she was dead too. They finally got their marriage certificate. ¡°We don¡¯t have to hold a wedding. These customs don¡¯t matter to me.¡± ¡°Alright. The weather is getting warmer these days. You barely have any clothes. I¡¯ll take you out to buy some clothes.¡± ¡°Do you still have any money?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Mu Wansheng agreed with a nod, for she indeed needed some clothes, including some undergarments. It was past four o¡¯clock in the afternoon. The two of them took about two hours to shop. By the time they were done, the sky was still bright and did not seem like it was already evening. Tang Yucheng bought some ready-made food and took her home. There was a light bulb in the yard, and it was the middle of summer. The two of them sat in the yard and began digging in. ¡°Thank you for taking care of me throughout the past few months. Now that I¡¯ve recovered, I¡¯d like to do something to help you. Since you¡¯re busy with work, I shall stay home and perform all the household chores like cleaning and cooking. After fumbling about, I already know where all the things are, more or less.¡± ¡°Just stay at home and rest. You don¡¯t have to do anything.¡± She insisted, ¡°I¡¯ll feel like a vegetable if you don¡¯t let me do anything at all.¡± ¡°I¡¯m nning to buy you a guide dog. It can apany you whenever I¡¯m not at home. I¡¯ll feel more at ease with it around to guide you.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to spend money on that. I¡¯ve already gotten used to being blind. I can start doing things on my own too.¡± Tang Yucheng insisted, ¡°You¡¯re my wife, I must spare a thought for you. It¡¯s not going to cost much. It won¡¯t matter, we still have enough money to spend. Besides, I¡¯ll go out to work and earn more money.¡± ¡°Can I ask you a question? I hope you can answer me truthfully,¡± asked Mu Wansheng. ¡°What is it? Shoot.¡± ¡°Will my family recognize me if I show up in front of them now?¡± Tang Yucheng expressed assent and said, ¡°Although your features are kept intact, your burns have caused you to be unrecognizable. Hence, I doubt your mother can even recognize you.¡± Suddenly reminded of something, Mu Wansheng said, ¡°Yucheng... I¡¯ve never counted, but how many days has it been since you rescued me?¡± ¡°About more than two months.¡± ¡°Two months...¡± She murmured. Turns out it has already been so long. Well, my wounds are recovering too. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Um, did my periode after you rescued me?¡± she asked. ¡°Your period? What do you mean?¡± ¡°My... menstrual period...¡± she asked straightforwardly. Tang Yucheng turned red instantly, feeling a little shy and embarrassed. ¡°I¡¯m not very sure because you were covered in blood. I couldn¡¯t... really tell.¡± Mu Wansheng could not help but feel ill at ease. Chapter 1449 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1449: Great to Have You (9)

After all, she and Fan Shixin had never taken any contraceptive measures before. Hence, her heart sank, and she repeatedly convinced herself not to panic. To her astonishment, she still did not get her period even after a week. Mu Wansheng had no choice but to inform her husband. ¡°Yucheng, there¡¯s something that I... must tell you.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°I had a boyfriend before this.¡± ¡°I know, it¡¯s Fan Shixin.¡± Mu Wansheng admitted, ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s impossible between us now. I¡¯ve already married you. However, I have to let you know that I¡¯m no longer a virgin.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already guessed that, but it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± ¡°I¡¯m suspecting that I¡¯m pregnant because my period iste. So, go to the pharmacy and help me get two pregnancy test kits...¡± she said, her voice beginning to fade. Tang Yucheng expressed assent and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go now.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Mu Wansheng felt that she was out of her mind for telling her husband to buy her some pregnancy test kits so that she could use them to check if she was pregnant with her ex-boyfriend¡¯s child. However, there was no one she could count on except him. Ex-boyfriend... Fan Shixin had indeed be her ex-boyfriend now that she was married. However, they did not officially break up. Needless to say, Mu Wansheng¡¯s name was definitely included under the list ofte family members in the Mu family records. She currently had only one identity. Tang Yucheng returned with the pregnancy test kits. She collected her urine in a transparent stic cup as stated by the instructions given on the pamphlet that Tang Yucheng had read out to her. The results of the test took her aback greatly. She was pregnant. ¡°What... is the oue?¡± Mu Wansheng asked, filled with panic. ¡°You¡¯re pregnant.¡± Mu Wansheng sat on the bed, facing a certain direction while her mind went nk. ¡ª¡ª Mu Qixing could finally live in peace after Luo Hang eloped with his girlfriend. Out of sight, out of mind. Shended herself a job at the supermarket, in spite of her inws¡¯ constant persuasion for her to work in their furniturepany instead. She turned their offer down because she did not want to feel burdened or pressured. To her dismay, Lu Jingrao would visit the supermarket every day and leave without buying anything. The same thing happened for several consecutive days. Hence, Mu Qixing pretended not to see him. Upon discovering that he was present today as well, she nned to pretend not to see him again. However, things did not turn out ording to n. ¡°How much does this cost?¡± he asked, holding a bag of snacks that she used to enjoy eating. ¡°Are you blind? Can¡¯t you read the price tag yourself?¡± He walked toward her and asked, ¡°You¡¯re getting off work soon. Shall we have dinner together?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to dine with you.¡± ¡°I apanied you for a meal previously. You ought to return the favor too.¡± ¡°Since you... already know that I¡¯m married, why are you looking me up instead of being upset at me? Why?¡± she asked, staring at him. ¡°If you had left me because you had lost your feelings for me and not because of a misunderstanding, I probably won¡¯t swallow my pride and look for you. I¡¯ve thought about it carefully. Qixing, I know you still love me. I was the one who didn¡¯t give you a sense of security.¡± He added, ¡°I want to salvage our rtionship because I still love you.¡± ¡°Even if I¡¯m already married?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one I care about.¡± Tears welled up in Mu Qixing¡¯s eyes. ¡°Although Luo Hang and I are married only in name, I really don¡¯t know when I can divorce him. He¡¯s now eloped with his girlfriend. God knows when he¡¯lle home.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll wait for you.¡± Gazing at him, Mu Qixing said, ¡°Let¡¯s have dinner together.¡± She loved him deeply, and although she had been suppressing her feelings for him, it didn¡¯t mean that she would sacrifice her happiness and true love for a hopeless marriage. Before her divorce, she would continue to see him while keeping an appropriate distance. They had lunch at a restaurant where there were partitions in between tables. However, he was chewing very slowly and spent most of his time watching her eat. ¡°I¡¯m almost done eating but you¡¯re not done yet. Are you expecting me to wait for you?¡± ¡°I just want to stay with you a little longer. Can¡¯t I?¡± She remained silent and stopped rushing him. As soon as they were about to leave after they were done with the meal, a figure suddenly caught Mu Qixing¡¯s attention. She stood up and said, ¡°I just saw Luo Hang walking past.¡± ¡°Are you afraid that he¡¯d see us?¡± ¡°Why should I be afraid? I¡¯m just thinking that we shoulde up with a way to make him pester his parents to let him have a divorce.¡± She smirked and continued, ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a jiffy. If you need to rush off, you may leave first. If not, wait for me in the car.¡± She then left. As soon as Luo Hang entered the room, she followed closely behind and zoomed into the room sessfully before the door closed. Upon the sight of her, Luo Hang glowered and questioned, ¡°Are you tailing me?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t be bothered to do that. I just happened to see you when I was having a meal downstairs. Luo Hang, just how much longer are you going to continue hiding from reality?¡± Luo Hang sat down and said, ¡°It¡¯s none of your business.¡± ¡°I know you want a divorce. Why don¡¯t you go home and tell your parents that you want to get a divorce? You can marry Ms. Xia and we¡¯ll both be happy.¡± Luo Hang sneered, ¡°I would have done so if I could. Why do I need you to tell me what to do?¡± Xia Banqin did not believe that Mu Qixing would be that kind and merely thought that it was just one of her devious schemes. ¡°Exactly, you don¡¯t have to be such a hypocrite. Go home and enjoy your life as a Young Madam,¡± Xia Banqin chimed in. Remaining calm andposed, Mu Qixing retorted, ¡°Ms. Xia, there¡¯s seriously so much animosity between us. But then again, I¡¯m Luo Hang¡¯swful wife and it¡¯s only understandable that you¡¯d resent me. However, I think that the only way you can marry Luo Hang is if we get a divorce and you get pregnant with his child. Otherwise, it¡¯s impossible for you to rece me and keep him.¡± She then turned around and left confidently. Luo Hang was overwhelmed with exasperation. However, Xia Banqin had taken Mu Qixing¡¯s words into consideration. In fact, that was exactly what she nned to do. The Luo family can¡¯t possibly make me go for an abortion if I get pregnant, she thought. Mu Qixing could not be bothered about what they thought because she was certain that they would definitely carry out that n. All she had to do was to wait patiently. Once Xia Banqin gets pregnant, she would definitely be able to divorce Luo Hang. She exited the restaurant to see that Lu Jingrao was still waiting for her inside the car. She stepped forward and got inside the car. ¡°You¡¯re back so soon.¡± ¡°What were you expecting...? We might be able to get a divorce in a few months¡¯ time,¡± Mu Qixing said with a smile. ¡°Why so?¡± he asked curiously. Chapter 1450 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1450: Great to Have You (10)

¡°Luo Hang¡¯s girlfriend doesn¡¯t have a way out now. Her best bet is to get pregnant and use her baby as a trump card to marry Luo Hang. I actually support her decision. How unlucky of her to be with a cowardly man like Luo Hang. She had been in a rtionship with Luo Hang for almost seven years, and yet he doesn¡¯t even dare to defy his parents¡¯ orders. She had to suffer in silence and feel aggrieved. Actually, from her perspective, she wasn¡¯t doing anything wrong. She was just too unfortunate to have fallen in love with an irresponsible man.¡± ¡°Do you find me irresponsible too?¡± ¡°No. After all, you didn¡¯t introduce me to your parents and I don¡¯t know what your parents think about me. I just felt that you didn¡¯t take me seriously. I¡¯ll take my hats off to you if you insist on being with me even after your parents find out that I was married before.¡± Gazing at her, Lu Jingrao said, ¡°I will.¡± She cocked her head toward the side and said, ¡°Start driving.¡± ¡ª¡ª When Mu Wansheng and Tang Yucheng were at the hospital for a checkup, she kept her face concealed throughout. The gynecologist handed her the test report and informed her that she was ten weeks pregnant. The normal course of pregnancy wouldst ten months. In other words, she was pregnant for two and a half months. Mu Wansheng stayed silent throughout the entire journey home, for she felt that she had let Tang Yucheng down. After much consideration, she said to him, ¡°I don¡¯t want to burden you. I¡¯m already having difficulties living on my own, I can¡¯t let my child add to your burden. You¡¯re a good man. Why don¡¯t we get a divorce?¡± ¡°You got pregnant before you married me. Since you¡¯re pregnant, just give birth to it. I¡¯ll treat him or her like my own. If you¡¯re nning to divorce me and return home or go back to your baby¡¯s father, I¡¯ll agree to it. But if you¡¯re not, I definitely won¡¯t agree to a divorce.¡± Mu Wansheng was incredibly touched, for she was already in such a horrendous state and yet he was still willing to treat her so well with sincerity. He was well aware that she wouldn¡¯t go back to Fan Shixin. ¡°However, it¡¯s not fair to you. Yucheng, I¡¯m sorry,¡± Mu Wansheng said, holding her hand. He ced his hand onto hers and said, ¡°My parents passed away a long time ago, and my brother has gone to live with his wife¡¯s family. All this while, I¡¯ve been lonely and living all by myself. With you and the child around, my home will feel like an actual home again. Don¡¯t apologize to me ever again. I didn¡¯t even give you any betrothal gifts for our marriage. I¡¯m the one who let you down. Happy, I¡¯ll be a good father and a good husband.¡± Mu Wansheng teared up and wrapped her arms around him. ¡°Thank you.¡± Tang Yucheng patted her on her back and said, ¡°There¡¯ll be hope as long as you¡¯re still alive. Although you¡¯ve never told me about how you felt, I know that you¡¯ve been in low spiritstely. From now on, you must pull yourself together. Don¡¯t forget that you¡¯re still carrying our child. When he or she is born, you¡¯ll be Mommy and I¡¯ll be Daddy. I¡¯ll do my best to work hard and support you two.¡± Mu Wansheng remained silent. Her heart had long been shattered into pieces. Fortunately, there was still someone who doted on her and genuinely treated her well. She decided to live properly for the sake of her child, as well as to repay his kindness. She could not allow herself to harbor thoughts about suicide again. ¡°Wait for me while I make you some sweet potato and purple rice porridge.¡± She answered with a nod, ¡°Sure.¡± Her mind was flooded with thoughts about her child since the moment she found out about her pregnancy. She did not want to abort the fetus at all. Regardless of how tough it may be, she was determined to give birth to the child and raise him to adulthood. She loved children. Besides, this child was... ... the testament and proof of the love between her and Fan Shixin. She was looking forward to the birth of their lovechild. She did not waver, even though the father of the child was not by her side. Mu Wansheng ced one hand on her abdomen. Strangely, she felt thrilled about the existence of the child, even though she could not feel it moving at all. The thought of being a mother-to-be never failed to put a smile on Mu Wansheng¡¯s face. ¡ª¡ª Fan Shixin began decorating the second apartment that Jin Qingyan had given him. He would keep himself busy every day and fill his schedule with errands to ensure that he had no time to be distracted by other things. Fan Shixin had yet to discover any ws of Yang Qianxue¡¯s after interacting with her for a few days. Although she seemed to be mature and understanding on the surface, he did not think that those were her true colors, especially since he had already learned his lesson after dating Wu Pingyang. Their rtionship had been mundane and in. In order to win his heart, Yang Qianxue forced herself to curb her poor temper and became as meek as amb. She would adhere to his instructions and go along with his decisions all the time. She even allowed him to decide what to order during lunch and never once gave her opinion. Mrs. Fan invited the two of them to the Fan family home for dinner. She had specially prepared a sumptuous spread and waited for everyone to be present before digging in. ¡°Qianxue, have a taste of the braised meat that I had made.¡± After thanking Mrs. Fan, Yang Qianxue said, ¡°Auntie, you¡¯ve got such great culinary skills. I must learn a thing or two from you and cook for Shixin in the future.¡± Pleased to hear herpliment, Mrs. Fan answered, ¡°Shixin is going to be blessed. No hurry, you can always pick those skills up slowly.¡± Noticing how delighted his mother was, Fan Shixin decided to remain silent and continued eating. He would barely speak during meals with Yang Qianxue. Before the meal ended, Mrs. Fan said, ¡°I went to make a wish at a renowned temple previously and wished for Shixin to find a suitable partner as soon as possible. My wish is finallying true. I¡¯ll have to go back to the temple to return my prayers. Shixin, give me a lift thereter.¡± Fan Shixin agreed, ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°Come along too, Qianxue.¡± Fan Shixin red at his mother without uttering a single word. The three of them then headed to the temple by car. The temple was rather near where Mu Wansheng was currently residing. Coincidentally, Mu Wansheng happened to be at the temple with Tang Yucheng as well. Instead of a mask, she was wearing a headdress that was wrapped around her head. Tang Yucheng held her hand and proceeded to make wishes for her unborn fetus. As soon as they exited, Tang Yucheng said to her softly, ¡°I saw Fan Shixin.¡± Mu Wansheng asked in astonishment, ¡°Where?¡± ¡°He¡¯s on the staircase with a middle-aged woman and another younger woman.¡± Suppressing her uneasiness, Mu Wansheng said, ¡°Let¡¯s go home.¡± Tang Yucheng helped her down the stairs slowly. Fan Shixin and the rest walked past the two of them. It was the first time after her close shave with death that Mu Wansheng had been in such close contact with Fan Shixin. Although she could not see or hear him, she knew that he was right there. Chapter 1451 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1451: Great to Have You (11)

Upon returning home, Mu Wansheng was overwhelmed with sleepiness and her eyelids grew heavier and heavier. However, her brain was still extremely lucid. Shey down on the bed and turned to the side. Tang Yucheng said softly, ¡°If I¡¯d known earlier that you¡¯d be upset, I wouldn¡¯t have told you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not upset. You¡¯re mistaken. Both he and I have started life afresh. Actually, it¡¯s really better that way.¡± Tang Yucheng said, ¡°In that case, rest well and take good care of yourself. You¡¯re no longer alone now. You must give birth to the child safely and smoothly.¡± Mu Wansheng murmured assent. ¡°You must be tired, you look so listless. Take a nap. I¡¯ll go outside.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Mu Wansheng closed her eyes. In fact, Tang Yucheng and Mu Wansheng were just like acquaintances who treated each other with great respect, not a married couple. Although they shared the same bed, they used one nket each and wouldn¡¯te into physical contact at all. They continued living peacefully in that manner. Not only did he take care of her physically, he was also very concerned about her mental wellbeing. ¡ª¡ª Luo Hang finally returned to the Luo family home with Xia Banqin in December. Xia Banqin was four months pregnant. Luo Hang decided to go home because he could no longer tolerate living in poverty. However, he was not in a disheveled state and still had airs around him, despite not having any money in the bank. ¡°Which rascal is this?¡± Mrs. Luo quipped coldly upon the sight of him and Xia Banqin. ¡°Mother, don¡¯t you miss me at all? I missed you and Father so much.¡± He then stroked Xia Banqin¡¯s baby bump and said, ¡°Mother, look, you¡¯ve got a grandchild.¡± Mu Qixing knew that such a day woulde. She remained silent. She could ept any kind of oue because she was hoping for a divorce anyway. After she¡¯d been waiting for a long while, this day finally arrived. However, Mrs. Luo still refused to give in. She chastised, ¡°A grandchild? I don¡¯t need her to give me a grandchild. Since she¡¯s pregnant, take her to the hospital to get an abortion, lest she and the child be an eyesore.¡± The initially-confident Xia Banqin became flustered instantly. Is the child not going to be of any use at all? ¡°Luo Hang and I have already verified the gender of the baby. It¡¯s a boy.¡± ¡°Judging from the size of your bump, you¡¯re probably not too far along yet. Is it even possible to tell the gender at this stage?¡± ¡°We did ab test and an ultrasound scan. It¡¯s verified to be a baby boy. I¡¯m already four months pregnant.¡± Luo Hang quickly said, ¡°Mother, can you really bear to kill your own grandson?¡± ¡°I can spare him, but you¡¯ll have to let Qixing be the child¡¯s mother once he¡¯s born.¡± Not expecting to hear that from his mother at all, Luo Hang said, ¡°Mother, children will only be happy if they grow up alongside their birth mother.¡± ¡°You went to such great lengths, all because you want to make her yourwful wife, didn¡¯t you? I definitely won¡¯t allow her to be my daughter-inw. Don¡¯t even think about it. Nothing can be changed even if she¡¯s pregnant! If there¡¯s a possibility of her bing our daughter-inw, your father and I wouldn¡¯t have spent so much money to let you marry a member of the Mu family!¡± Fuming with anger, Luo Hang retorted, ¡°Mother, you¡¯ve always pampered me and given in to all my requests, so why can¡¯t you let me take charge of my own marriage? Banqin and I truly love each other. Why must you break us up? We even have a child together now and yet you still don¡¯t approve of our rtionship. Do you want both your son and grandson to resent you?¡± Mrs. Luo was at a loss for words. Coincidentally, Mr. Luo happened to return home. Upon hearing that Xia Banqin was pregnant with his grandson, he said, ¡°Let her move in for the time being. We¡¯ll discuss this again slowly.¡± Luo Hang headed upstairs with Xia Banqin and brought her to his and Mu Qixing¡¯s bedroom. Mr. Luo said to Mu Qixing, ¡°Qixing, we¡¯re very sorry. Now that she¡¯s pregnant, we really can¡¯t let her go for an abortion. That¡¯d be akin to murder.¡± Glowering at her husband, Mrs. Luo snapped, ¡°Why can¡¯t she abort the child? If you let her keep the child, she¡¯s only going to benefit from it!¡± Mr. Luo exined, ¡°I didn¡¯t say that I want her to get what she wants, but since she¡¯s already pregnant, we¡¯ll let her give birth to the child. We¡¯ll just send Xia Banqin away after she gives birth. Will that do?¡± Mrs. Luo screeched, ¡°Nonsense! Will your son even agree to it? We don¡¯t need a useless son like him. He only cares about his girlfriend and not his parents. He¡¯s as stubborn as a mule. Can¡¯t he tell that that woman is just a gold-digger? Will she actually treat him well?¡± Noticing that her mother-inw had burst into tears, Mu Qixing sat down beside her and held her arm. ¡°Mother, I have a n to verify if she¡¯s really true to Luo Hang.¡± ¡°What n have you got?¡± ¡°The first is to put her through a lie detector test and the other is to subject her to hypnosis. Shall we give it a try?¡± she suggested. She would definitely have to give Luo Hang a hand since she wanted to get a divorce as soon as she could. ¡°Yeah, that sounds feasible,¡± Mr. Luo agreed. Mrs. Luo sighed and said, ¡°Let¡¯s give it a try, then.¡± Mu Qixing could tell that she had already broken through one of her mother-inw¡¯s walls. Although she was remaining calm andposed, she could sense that she would be the one leaving. After all, two tigers cannot share one mountain; one of them has to leave. Just like what she wanted. Mu Qixing made her way upstairs and opened the door of her bedroom. Staring at the couple who was cuddling each other and watching some television, Mu Qixing smirked and said, ¡°I thought you¡¯d stay out for longer than this. Turns out you gave up so soon. It does feel terrible to be penniless. I was living in such bliss when you were not around.¡± Luo Hang was surprised to see that she had begun dolling herself up after not seeing her for a period of time. She had developed a penchant for dressing herself up in Western-style clothing. He retorted, ¡°This is still my home at the end of the day. You should be worrying for yourself. You might be eliminated very soon.¡± ¡°I hope you two will get married as soon as possible. That way, I¡¯d be able to pursue my own happiness. There¡¯s no use dragging it on any further. Besides, I don¡¯t love you and I¡¯m not after your family¡¯s wealth anyway. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m more eager than you are to get a divorce. Each day spent waiting is one more day of my youth wasted. If you had gotten her pregnant earlier, we wouldn¡¯t have had to get married. Luo Hang, you¡¯re such a coward. How are you supposed to protect the woman you love and your child?¡± She poured herself a cup of tea and sipped on it while sitting on the couch. Xia Banqin and Luo Hang were both stunned to hear her words. ¡°Are you really not pretending to concede?¡± Xia Banqin asked. ¡°You¡¯ll find out in the future. You may regard him as a gem, but I don¡¯t. Don¡¯t assume that all women are like you.¡± ¡°You...¡± Instead of arguing with her, Xia Banqin continued, ¡°It¡¯d be best if you actually mean what you said.¡± Chapter 1452 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1452: Great to Have You (12)

Mu Qixing stayed silent and stared at her mobile phone. Noticing that she had received a few text messages, she decided to open them. They were all sent by Lu Jingrao. Although she felt that Xia Banqin would definitely use her child as a tool to marry Luo Hang, she could not be entirely certain. After all, what if Xia Banqin was infertile? Hence, she did not tell Lu Jingrao to wait for her. She had no idea when she would get a divorce anyway. Was Lu Jingrao supposed to wait for her for years? He did not mention much in his text message, apart from some caring words and reminders for her to keep herself warm by wearing more clothes, especially since it was wintertime. He also told her to soak her feet in warm water daily because her hands and feet tend to get chilly. She would reply to all his text messages. However, it had been months since theyst met because Mu Qixing thought that it would be inappropriate to meet him frequently before her divorce was finalized. Hence, she resigned from her job and stayed home all day. Lu Jingrao did not force her to meet him either. Instead, he would frequently send her text messages and call her. Mu Qixing knew that Lu Jingrao was makingpromises for her. In the past, he wouldn¡¯t even bother to contact her. He would have long forgotten about her since she was married. However, things were different now. She replied, ¡°I know, you too.¡± Less than a minuteter, he replied. ¡°I¡¯ll always be waiting for you here. Qixing, I miss you.¡± Mu Qixing teared up instantly. She looked down and smiled at her screen. After a long pause, she snapped back to reality and looked up to discover that Luo Hang was staring at her condescendingly. Peeved by his actions, she said, ¡°What are you looking at? Keep looking and I¡¯ll gouge your eyes out.¡± He chuckled sarcastically and retorted, ¡°How would you know that I was staring at you if you weren¡¯t looking at me too? You were clearly the one who looked at me first.¡± She said, ¡°Forget it, I¡¯m going out to take a breather. You two enjoy each other¡¯spany at home.¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± Mu Qixing hurriedly rushed out of the house, not wanting to see them at all. She could barely stand the sight of the two of them. As soon as she arrived downstairs, Mrs. Luo asked, ¡°Qixing, where are you going?¡± ¡°Mother, I¡¯m going out to take a breather.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t. I¡¯ve hired a hypnotist and instructed the servants to purchase a lie detector. Stay behind and watch the showter.¡± Speechless, she had no choice but to concede. Half an hourter, the servant returned with the lie detector, after which Mrs. Luo called the two of them toe downstairs. She then sat beside Mr. Luo and watched Xia Banqin go through the lie detector test. Mu Qixing was seated further away. She leaned back against the couch nonchntly, not too interested in the results of the test. In the end, the lie detector proved that Xia Banqin was truly in love with Luo Hang. The oue of the hypnosis proved the same too. Mrs. Luo was rather displeased with the results, for she wished that the tests would prove that Xia Banqin was untrue to her son. She was utterly dismayed. Luo Hang was over the moon. After all, nothing was more joyous than finding out that his girlfriend was true to him. After the hypnotist left, he said with a grin, ¡°Mother, you¡¯re convinced now, huh?¡± Mrs. Luo smiled sarcastically and barked, ¡°So what? I¡¯ll allow her to give birth to the child, but Qixing will be the mother. Over my dead body will I let her marry you!¡± Mu Qixing sat up straight and said, ¡°Mother, I¡¯d like to have a few words with you.¡± Mrs. Luo stood up and returned to her own room together with Mu Qixing. She closed the door and said softly, ¡°Mother, I know why you¡¯ve been refusing to ept Xia Banqin. Men are all the same. The more you refuse to give in to him, the more insistent he¡¯ll get. The child still belongs to her at the end of the day. Why don¡¯t you make Xia Banqin and Luo Hang sign an agreement? This matter can be solved perfectly.¡± ¡°What agreement?¡± ¡°Make Xia Banqin sign an agreement and allow her to marry Luo Hang on the condition that she fulfills all the terms. If she and Luo Hang were to be unfilial to you and Father, they¡¯d automatically be denied the rights to possess the assets that they¡¯re entitled to. This will definitely work. Mother, I¡¯m being serious. I can tell that Luo Hang genuinely adores her. She¡¯s even four months pregnant now. Frankly speaking, I¡¯d feel rather uneasy to have to take care of their child. I want to have my own happiness too. Mother, I know your bark is worse than your bite when ites to Luo Hang. You¡¯re sparing a thought for him and you have his best interests at heart, but he doesn¡¯t understand your concerns. Mother, I don¡¯t wish to continue being in such a marriage either. Please allow us to get a divorce.¡± ¡°Qixing, I know you¡¯re put in a spot too. Will you allow me some time to consider carefully?¡± ¡°Sure. I believe you¡¯ll figure it out, Mother. I¡¯m going out now, then.¡± She exited the room. Upon the sight of her, Luo Hang immediately asked, ¡°What did you say to my mother?¡± ¡°What were you hoping for me to say?¡± ¡°I hope you didn¡¯t tell her any redundant things.¡± She smirked and said, ¡°Seems like you¡¯re really suspecting that I had added fuel to the fire. I¡¯m not interested in doing that at all. If you¡¯d like to find out, go ask your mother.¡± Thinking that he must have gotten the wrong idea about her, Luo Hang said, ¡°I was just asking a casual question.¡± Mu Qixing did not answer him and headed upstairs instead. She packed all her belongings, including her dowry and other personal items. Luo Hang entered the room, only to receive a great shock after seeing that she had already packed her bags. ¡°Father and Mother want you to go downstairs.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be on my way.¡± Mu Qixing ced her things down. Just as she was about to exit, Luo Hang grabbed her arm. ¡°What do you want?¡± she asked with a frown. ¡°Why are you more eager than I am to get a divorce?¡± Mu Qixing sneered, ¡°Am I? Aren¡¯t you more eager than I am? You were so eager that you got your girlfriend pregnant. Why are you using me instead? I¡¯m just letting you two be together. Isn¡¯t this what you¡¯ve been looking forward to? We didn¡¯t just get married yesterday. We¡¯ve already been married for so long. I¡¯m actually really sick of living like this and I¡¯d rather be alone. Grandma is gone anyway. It¡¯s a good idea for us to get a divorce.¡± She shirked his hand off and left the room. Luo Hang chased after her. Xia Banqin and Mr. and Mrs. Luo were already seated in the living room, seemingly having alreadye to a consensus. ¡°Qixing, after some discussion, your father and I have agreed to let you divorce Luo Hang.¡± Mu Qixing beamed with joy upon hearing her words, and her heart began pounding rapidly as well. ¡°Luo Hang, let¡¯s get a divorce now, then. The Civil Administration Bureau is still open. It¡¯s only half past three now.¡± She was thrilled to be finally regaining her freedom. Chapter 1453 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1453: Great to Have You (13)

Noticing how eager she was, Xia Banqin chimed in gleefully, ¡°Yeah, Luo Hang, you guys go get the divorce settled now. By the way, let¡¯s go together. We can get our marriage certificate too.¡± Mrs. Luo interjected, ¡°They can go now, but your and Luo Hang¡¯s marriage can wait. You haven¡¯t even signed the agreement yet. What¡¯s the rush?¡± Xia Banqin agreed, thinking to herself that waiting another few days wouldn¡¯t make a difference since she had already been waiting for so long. Mu Qixing brought her luggage along with her to the Civil Administration Bureau. Although Mrs. Luo told her that she did not have to rush, Mu Qixing insisted on doing so. It was the first time that Mu Qixing had ever ridden in Luo Hang¡¯s car. ¡°It¡¯s such a rare chance to be able to hitch a ride from you.¡± ¡°Are you very happy?¡± ¡°Are you not? You should be happier than I am, shouldn¡¯t you? Why do you seem to be pulling a long face now? Could it be that you didn¡¯t expect me to be happier than you?¡± Mu Qixing asked with a smile. Luo Hang answered coldly, ¡°How could that be? I can¡¯t wait to divorce you. Why are all the women of the Mu family like this?¡± ¡°Like what?¡± ¡°Like you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily the case. Well, at least, Wu Pingyang isn¡¯t like me. Just because you don¡¯t like the way Cousin Wansheng and I are, it doesn¡¯t mean that others will detest us too. Different strokes for different folks. It¡¯s just like how I can¡¯t understand why you even fancy Xia Banqin and stayed with her for so many years. Well, one man¡¯s poison is another man¡¯s treasure.¡± Luo Hang said, ¡°Apart from your personal belongings, you can¡¯t take away anything from my home. You¡¯re to leave the marriage without a single portion of the assets either.¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I did. However, society is so strange nowadays. Clearly, you¡¯re the one who was at fault and you should be the one who¡¯s denied a portion of the matrimonial assets. I don¡¯t get it at all. Fortunately, I can¡¯t stand living like this. I don¡¯t want a single cent of yours either. I married you because your family had given us five million dors. I¡¯d be thankful enough if you don¡¯t ask for the sum back.¡± ¡°Seems like you actually have some self-awareness.¡± ¡°Of course I do.¡± They stopped talking to each other and proceeded to sign the divorce papers. After the proceedings were settled, Mu Qixing grabbed the divorce certificate merrily and immediately gged down a taxi. She ced her luggage in the trunk of the taxi and waved at her husband. Beaming with joy, she said, ¡°Goodbye.¡± She then got inside the car and left. Luo Hang was a little perplexed, and he was filled with an inexplicable emotion. He was feeling rather different from what he had imagined. He had no idea where Mu Qixing was headed to. She arrived at Lu Jingrao¡¯s home. Just like she had expected, he did not change the password on the lock of his door. She hung her clothes in the closet and tidied the ce before making her way to the supermarket to buy some groceries, which she then filled the refrigerator with. She took a look at the time to see that it was 4:15 pm. He would get off work at five o¡¯clock. She was well aware of his work hours. Mu Qixing changed into a fresh set of clothes, put on some makeup, and left the house at 4:40 pm. She hailed a taxi to the First People¡¯s Hospital. Mu Qixing called the Mu family while on her way to the hospital and informed her grandfather about the divorce. He was infuriated at first and asked her if she was the one who initiated the divorce. She then told him everything truthfully and imed that it was a mutual agreement between her and Luo Hang. She also informed him that the Luo family wouldn¡¯t be asking for the five million dors back since they were the ones who initiated the divorce. Hence, the elderly Mr. Mu did not say anything else and instead told her to exin everything in detail when shees home at night. Mu Qixing agreed. She stepped foot into the dental clinic at 4:55 pm. She stood in front of the ss and peeked through it to see that Lu Jingrao was treating a female patient, d in his white coat and a blue surgical mask. cing her hands behind her back, she tucked her hair behind her ear and continued to walk toward the door, unable to contain her happiness. Will he be angry at me? He probably will. After all, I haven¡¯t met him in months. How should I coax him? Reminded of the text messages that he had sent, she felt much more at ease. Wu Pingyang was present too. However, Mu Qixing did not notice her presence at all. All she wanted now was to grasp the happiness that she deserved. She was not bothered by the opinions of others at all. Just as she was about to enter, Wu Pingyang exited. Upon the sight of her, Wu Pingyang immediately asked, ¡°What brings you here?¡± She smiled and said, ¡°Not you.¡± ¡°What are you here for, then? Are you here to see the dentist?¡± ¡°Like I said, I¡¯m not here to look for you. You don¡¯t have to question me any further.¡± Mu Qixing did not talk to her any further and entered the room instead. Noticing that she was walking toward Lu Jingrao, Wu Pingyang decided not to leave and instead walked back in. What is she here for? she wondered. It had never crossed her mind that Mu Qixing and Lu Jingrao would know each other personally. She thought that she was at most looking for Lu Jingrao to treat her condition. Lu Jingrao was too focused on his work to notice Mu Qixing¡¯s presence. A few minutester, he finally stood up and caught sight of her when he casually turned his head around. Surprised to see her, he removed his mask and asked, ¡°Why are you here?¡± There were other interns and nurses who were still in the clinic and were watching him peform his treatment. Upon hearing his words, everyone shifted their gaze onto Mu Qixing. A frown creased Wu Pingyang¡¯s forehead. Do they actually know each other? Since when? Mu Qixing waspletely unrestrained. There was nothing for her to fear since she was single and free anyway. ¡°I¡¯m here to see you.¡± ¡°I happen to be wrapping up now too.¡± He removed his white coat and gave his patient some instructions before leaving with Mu Qixing. As soon as they left, one of the assistants snapped, ¡°I remember that woman. She used to visit the clinic frequently and pester Chief. She stoppeding for a long while. Why is she here again?¡± Upon hearing her remark, Wu Pingyang asked in shock, ¡°She used to pester Chief?¡± ¡°Yeah, we could tell that she was wooing him. Although Chief doesn¡¯t say anything to us, he actually does seem to fancy her a lot.¡± ¡°She¡¯s already married now.¡± ¡°She¡¯s married?¡± Everyone looked at each other in shock. ¡°Are you serious? How did you know?¡± ¡°She¡¯s my half-sister. Of course I¡¯d know.¡± ¡°...¡± Wu Pingyang was suddenly reminded of what happened at the karaoke joint that night and the questions about Mu Qixing that Lu Jingrao had asked her. Does that mean that he was asking for himself and not on behalf of his friend? Since he¡¯s aware that Mu Qixing is already married, why is he still contacting her? Chapter 1454 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1454: Great to Have You (14)

Is Mu Qixing having an extramarital affair with Lu Jingrao? The more she thought about the way that Lu Jingrao was gazing at Mu Qixing, the more she found it to be likely. After exiting the clinic, Mu Qixing remained silent all the way until they got inside Lu Jingrao¡¯s car. She then handed him the divorce certificate. Lu Jingrao grabbed it and took a look. ¡°You got a divorce?¡± he asked. ¡°He¡¯s gone home and his girlfriend is four months pregnant. His parents then allowed us to get a divorce. Are you still willing to be with me?¡± she asked solemnly. Lu Jingrao put a hand on her neck and kissed her a few times. ¡°Silly, of course I am. However, I won¡¯t allow you to leave without a single word again. You have no idea how devastated I was. If you returned after I had gotten a new girlfriend, there would be no ce for you.¡± Mu Qixing looked up at him and said, ¡°You¡¯re the one who didn¡¯t give me a sense of security and yet you¡¯re still ming me.¡± ¡°A sense of security?¡± He nodded and continued, ¡°Let¡¯s get our marriage certificate tomorrow. Will that be enough?¡± ¡°Are you being serious?¡± ¡°Why would I lie to you?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already moved my belongings to your ce.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve already acted before telling me. Why did you still bother asking if I¡¯m willing to be with you?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re not willing, I¡¯ll bring my luggage away now, lest I be an eyesore.¡± Lu Jingrao kissed her again deeply and said teasingly, ¡°I think you¡¯re just out to make my life difficult. You¡¯re going to get it from me when we return home.¡± Mu Qixing smiled and said, ¡°Did you know? My family has always thought that I had been in the countryside all this while. They have no idea that I came to the city to work. Well, if I didn¡¯t work in the city, how could I have met you during my dental appointment?¡± Lu Jingrao helped her put on the safety belt and drove away. ¡°Thanks for falling for me at first sight. However, I really didn¡¯t have a good impression of you back then because you kept staring at me as if you were going to devour me.¡± Recalling the scenario back then, Mu Qixing said in amusement, ¡°You didn¡¯t have a good impression of me but I still managed to win your heart in the end.¡± ¡°You¡¯re way too formidable and proactive. I couldn¡¯t help but let you win my heart.¡± ¡°I have to make a trip home this evening. Would you like toe along?¡± she asked. ¡°Can I tag along?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you want to register our marriage tomorrow? Have you changed your mind again?¡± Lu Jingrao chuckled and said, ¡°Am I such a fickle person? In that case, let¡¯s go home together.¡± ¡ª¡ª The first thing Wu Pingyang did when she arrived home was to look for her grandfather to tell on Mu Qixing. ¡°Grandpa, I saw Mu Qixing at the hospital today. She was there to look for our Chief Physician. I heard from my colleagues that she used to woo him too.¡± Mr. Mu asked calmly, ¡°And?¡± ¡°Mu Qixing is already married. If word about her hanging out with a bachelor spreads, wouldn¡¯t it be a disgrace to our family?¡± ¡°Who said that married women can¡¯t have friends of the opposite gender? Besides, Qixing has already gotten a divorce. She¡¯s free to see whoever she wants.¡± Wu Pingyang stood rooted to the ground in shock. ¡°She¡¯s gotten a divorce!?! Who allowed it? Hasn¡¯t she been married only for a short while?¡± ¡°The Luo family allowed them to get a divorce because Luo Hang¡¯s girlfriend has gotten pregnant.¡± ¡°Grandpa, what about those five million dors? Did the Luo family ask for it back?¡± Wu Pingyang asked. ¡°Of course not. They¡¯re the ones who initiated the divorce, not us.¡± ¡°Mu Qixing is really lucky, isn¡¯t she? She managed to help the Mu family earn five million dors just by being married for a short while. She even got to divorce him sessfully and won the heart of our Chief. She¡¯s really something, huh? I really couldn¡¯t tell,¡± Wu Pingyang quipped. Upon hearing her remark, Mr. Mu frowned and said, ¡°Look at her and look at yourself. Your mother raised you up and showed you care and concern, yet you turned out to be so ipetent. Qixing was left in the countryside and grew up on her own ever since she was a child. That just means that gics have a huge part to y. Not only does Qixing resemble her father in terms of looks, her personality is like his as well. Look at yourself. You two really don¡¯t seem like sisters.¡± Wu Pingyang could not help but say, ¡°Grandpa, don¡¯t be too quick to judge. Didn¡¯t Cousin manage to win Fan Shixin¡¯s heart too? But what happened in the end? Whoever lives the longest is the true winner.¡± Her words about Mu Wansheng struck a sour note within him. ¡°Do you think that you¡¯ll enjoy longevity, then?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say that. I¡¯m just saying that change is inevitable and things don¡¯t always turn out ording to n.¡± Mrs. Wu entered and said, ¡°Father, I went out for a game of mahjong today and I heard from the people at the mahjong den hat Chief Fan is going to get married soon.¡± ¡°He¡¯s already 31 years old. He¡¯s not getting any younger. It¡¯s only understandable for his parents to be worried. Besides, Wansheng has already passed on, so there¡¯s nothing strange about him finding another partner. Wansheng just isn¡¯t blessed enough. Actually, Pingyang is the one to me. The thought of it just makes me so infuriated.¡± Mrs. Wu was peeved as well at the thought of Wu Pingyang ruining her potential marriage. ¡°Chief Fan is such a good catch,¡± Mrs. Wu said with a sigh. ¡°Mother, did you hear about Mu Qixing¡¯s divorce?¡± Wu Pingyang asked. Mrs. Wu said nonchntly, ¡°I heard about it from your grandfather. Since she¡¯s gotten a divorce, so be it. The Luo family was the one who initiated it anyway. There¡¯s nothing we can do. Besides, we have nothing to lose. It¡¯s just a matter of pride.¡± Wu Pingyang was filled with disgruntlement. Little did she know, her spirits were about to be dampened further. In the evening, Mu Qixing returned home with Lu Jingrao. Wu Pingyang could already guess what was going on the moment she saw them. ¡°Chief, why are you here with her?¡± ¡°To meet her parents, of course. Qixing and I will be getting married tomorrow and Qixing has already agreed to it. I¡¯ve given her the betrothal gifts as well,¡± said Lu Jingrao. Wu Pingyang almost choked when she heard his words. She just got a divorce today and she¡¯s getting married again tomorrow? Lady Luck is smiling on Mu Qixing, huh? ¡°When did you get together with Qixing?¡± Mr. Mu asked. ¡°We started dating each other a long time ago, but she left without notice in between. I didn¡¯t know that she belonged to your family and I couldn¡¯t find her. Later on, I ran into her by ident and found out that she had already gotten married. Hence, I waited for her to get a divorce. She told me today that she had gotten a divorce, so I mustered up the courage toe home with her today to meet the parents.¡± Mr. Mu nodded and asked, ¡°Do you belong to the same department as Pingyang?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m her superior.¡± ¡°Being a doctor is a great profession. Since Qixing has already agreed to it, we¡¯ll have no objections either. You two may get your marriage registered tomorrow.¡± Mu Qixing said, ¡°Grandpa, we won¡¯t be holding a wedding. We¡¯ve already decided to go on a honeymoon trip instead.¡± ¡°Good idea. Go ahead since you¡¯ve alreadye to a consensus.¡± Mu Qixing felt much more at ease after hearing his words. Wu Pingyang pulled a long face throughout the entire meal. However, no one bothered to ask about her opinions. After all, it was none of her business. Chapter 1455 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1455: Great to Have You (15)

¡°Happy, I read some news about your family today.¡± ¡°What news?¡± Mu Wansheng asked, stroking her baby bump. ¡°Your cousin Mu Qixing has divorced Luo Hang.¡± Mu Wansheng instantly knew that the Luo family had initiated it. ¡°Their marriage wasn¡¯t going tost anyway. I was supposed to marry Luo Hang back then. Luo Hang has a girlfriend whom he has been dating for six or seven years. Their rtionship is very stable and his parents were the ones who kept forcing him to marry someone else.¡± Mu Wansheng sat up straight while Tang Yucheng handed her her clothes. After putting them on, she got out of bed slowly. She had to stay at home alone for the day because Tang Yucheng had to go to work in the city. However, Tang Yucheng had bought her an electronic navigation device and a Labrador that served as her guide dog. Mu Wansheng named it ¡°Snowman.¡± After a day of training, it seemed to have approved of its new name. Tang Yucheng initially wanted to take her with him to the city. However, she refused to tag along and constantly imed that she would be fine on her own. She disliked going to crowded ces because she felt that she was a monster who stood out from the crowd. Tang Yucheng was concerned about her, especially because she was pregnant. He initially tried to seek help from his sister-inw. However, she could not make any time at all because she had to take care of her own children and her mother. However, he felt much more relieved, knowing that she could get things done using her sense of hearing and her hands. He told her that he would be making a trip home once a week. Mu Wansheng told him not to worry, for she could take good care of herself. Tang Yucheng had breakfast with her before leaving. She was left alone at home. Mu Wansheng proceeded to do the things that she should. At this point, she had already be extremely familiar with the house, and she knew where each item was ced. She waspletely capable of taking care of herself. The longer she spent with Tang Yucheng, the more she realized how lonely he was. He was alone most of the time and would barely contact his brother and sister-inw. He didn¡¯t seem to have any friends either. Mu Wansheng was no different from him, because all she had was him and the unborn child. Tang Yucheng had decided on Snowman after making a careful selection for a long period of time. Snowman was tame, obedient, and very spiritual. Mu Wansheng was incredibly fond of it. As soon as she was done with doing the dishes andundry, she walked it around and tried to get closer to it. Life was simple yet fulfilling. Tang Yucheng returned home once a week and he would often replenish all the daily necessities at home so that she could use them whenever she needed to. He handed her all the money he earned and allowed her to hold the purse strings. Mu Wansheng was reluctant to do so at first. However, she decided to ept it after Tang Yucheng¡¯s constant insistence. Mu Wansheng began to feel ill at ease in December when she was eight months pregnant. Tang Yucheng had yet toe home even after two days. Since she did not have a mobile phone, she could not contact him at all. Hence, she sought help from a neighbor and dialed his number, only to discover that he had switched off his mobile phone. Unable to sit around at home any longer, she decided to bring Snowman along and start searching for Tang Yucheng, for fear that he had met with a mishap. The temperatures were freezing in winter. Mu Wansheng was dressed in a red quilted jacket, a pair of ck thermal pants, and a pair of anti-slip quilted shoes. Nheless, she still made a conscious effort to be careful with her step, lest she slips and falls. In order to prevent the scarf from falling, she wrapped it tightly around her face and put on a hat as well. She would inevitably catch the attention of others by dressing in such an eye-catching ensemble. However, she did not care about what others thought about her. She could not see them anyway. Upon the sight of a public bus, Snowman led her toward it. ¡°Sir, how much does it cost to get to the city?¡± she asked. ¡°Ten dors.¡± She took out a ten dor-coin from her pocket and handed them to the ticketing staff, after which Snowman brought her to an empty seat and she sat down. It was a direct bus to the terminal. The terminal was an interchange in the city. Hence, she did not have to alight at all. One and a half hourter, she finally reached her destination. If the bus driver had driven faster, they would have arrived in an hour. However, there was some dy today. Seeing that she was an expectant mother, the ticketing staff especially stood outside the bus to help her down. She said, ¡°Lass, it just snowed a while ago. You must be very careful when you¡¯re walking, especially since you¡¯re by yourself. It would be terrible if you were to fall. That¡¯d be extremely worrying.¡± ¡°Thank you, Ma¡¯am. I¡¯ll be very careful. May I ask when thest bus of the day will arrive?¡± ¡°Thest bus will arrive at half-past five in the afternoon. It used to be six, but it¡¯s been brought forward because it¡¯s wintertime now.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Mu Wansheng answered with a nod. She held onto Snowman¡¯s leash with her right hand and grabbed the electronic navigation device in her left. All she had to do was to switch the device on and it would automatically disy her current location. Although she could not see, she could hear the audio instructions, which informed her about her whereabouts. She stood by the roadside and waved her hand up and down. A long whileter, a taxi finally pulled over and the driver asked, ¡°Miss, where are you headed to?¡± She got inside the taxi together with Snowman after telling him her desired destination. The taxi driver initially wanted to cheat her of her money after seeing that she was blind. To his surprise, the electronic navigation device constantly gave audio reminders to tell her where they were and how many kilometers she had traveled. Hence, the taxi driver had no choice but to forgo the idea of exploiting her. Mu Wansheng alighted from the car and walked toward the construction site where Tang Yucheng was supposed to be working at. ¡°Does Tang Yucheng work here?¡± ¡°Tang Yucheng? He¡¯s at the hospital now. He fell off the building while he was working.¡± Mu Wansheng¡¯s heart almost jumped out of her chest and she asked worriedly, ¡°Is his condition serious? Were the injuries severe?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not too sure either. How are you rted to him?¡± ¡°I¡¯m his wife. Which hospital is he in now? Please tell me.¡± ¡°He had been sent to the First People¡¯s Hospital.¡± Mu Wansheng frantically made her way to the hospital. Pangs of panic engulfed her, and she constantly reminded herself not to get flustered. She wished she could sprint there right away. However, she was well aware that things would get worse if she were to have a great fall. Hence, she was careful with her step and only sped up when she arrived at the hospital. She was very familiar with the hospital and knew where all the clinics and wards were even though she could not see. She decided to inquire about Tang Yucheng at the front desk first. ¡°May I know which ward Tang Yucheng has been admitted to? Please help me check.¡± After checking the records, the nurse said, ¡°He¡¯s staying in Ward 712 on the seventh floor.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± She immediately rushed to the ward while pulling onto Snowman. Chapter 1456 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1456: Great to Have You (16)

Mu Wansheng was eager and anxious while waiting for the elevator. The doors finally opened after a while. Snowman entered, after which she followed suit. ¡°Which floor are you going to? I¡¯ll help you press the button,¡± said a middle-aged woman. ¡°Seventh please, thank you.¡± Just as the doors were about to close, the woman said, ¡°Wait a minute.¡± Ever since Mu Wansheng had lost her vision, her sense of hearing became heightened. She could tell that two people had entered the elevator just by hearing their footsteps. The doors of the elevator closed slowly. ¡°Auntie is not going to me us for beingte right? We should have been here yesterday,¡± said the woman. ¡°It¡¯s alright, betterte than never,¡± said a male voice that was too familiar for Mu Wansheng to not recognize. She instantly knew who it was. She froze in shock. She had never expected to run into him at the hospital or be in such close contact with him ever again. However, he will never be able to recognize me again. I¡¯m no longer that Mu Wansheng whom he knew. I¡¯m just a blind expectant mother who has a deep and hoarse voice. Her initial nervousness vanished at the thought of it. Soon, the elevator came to a stop. When she was about to exit the elevator, the middle-aged woman who had helped her press the button quickly stopped her and said, ¡°We¡¯re only on the fifth floor. We haven¡¯t reached the seventh yet.¡± Mu Wansheng nodded and returned to her initial position. When the elevator stopped on the seventh floor, Snowman immediately zoomed out of the elevator as soon as the doors opened. She quickly took chase. To her surprise, someone else followed suit as well. Mu Wansheng could not be bothered to stop and instead proceeded to look for ward 712. She began walking toward the corridor on the left where she asked for directions, after which she turned around and proceeded to the corridor on the right instead. Upon realizing that Mu Wansheng was blind, a kindhearted elderlydy offered to show her the way and thus led her to ward 712 after Mu Wansheng told her where she was going. Clearly, it was a simple ward that housed several other patients. Mu Wansheng did not have to guess which bed Tang Yucheng was on because Snowman led her there straight away. ¡°Yucheng?¡± Tang Yucheng was surprised yet frightened to see her. He was exceptionally worried for her because she was blind and pregnant at the same time. If she were to slip and fall, the consequences would be dire. ¡°Happy, why are you here? Why didn¡¯t you stay at home instead?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t go home for two days and I was worried about you, so I came to the city to look for you. I headed to the construction site before this and your colleagues said that you had fallen from a building. Are your injuries severe?¡± ¡°No, the building wasn¡¯t that high and I was wearing a safety harness as well. I just suffered some scrapes and abrasions.¡± He held her hand and pulled her onto a seat. ¡°I was initially nning to go home to see you today. Therefore, I didn¡¯t get anyone to inform you about my condition. I didn¡¯t want you to be worried. Yet you actually came to look for me first.¡± Mu Wansheng touched him with her hand and asked, ¡°Where are your wounds?¡± ¡°They¡¯re mostly on my thighs.¡± After touching his thighs gently, she discovered that his right thigh had been bandaged. ¡°It must be very severe. Does it hurt a lot?¡± ¡°Not at all.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t lie. If it doesn¡¯t hurt, you wouldn¡¯t be hospitalized,¡± said Mu Wansheng, who took great pity on him. He had been giving her all the money that he earned, and she suggested a few days ago that he stay at home for a while and go out to work again when the temperatures got warmer. However, he insisted on going back to work and, hence, she had no choice but to let him go. Actually, she was well aware that they were cash-strapped and needed some money to prepare for the arrival of her baby, who was due soon. She had already figured it all out. If the time came and it was really impossible for them to make ends meet, she would sell her ne, which would probably fetch a high price. Although she did not wish to sell it at all because it was a gift from Fan Shixin, who had helped her put it on himself, she realized that it cost 96 thousand dors and she could get at least half of the original price by selling it. It would be herst resort. Considering how much Tang Yucheng had done for her, she wanted to do something for him in return too. ¡°It was rather painful at first, but not anymore. I¡¯m nning to get discharged today.¡± ¡°Did the doctor say that you could be discharged today?¡± As soon as she finished speaking, the doctor entered and said to her, ¡°Tang Yucheng cannot be discharged yet. He has to continue being hospitalized for at least a week.¡± Upon hearing his words, Mu Wansheng immediately said, ¡°Doctor, he¡¯s not going to be discharged.¡± Tang Yucheng insisted, ¡°Happy, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a need for me to be hospitalized any longer. Let¡¯s go home.¡± ¡°The doctor has already said that you have to be hospitalized. You¡¯re not the doctor. How are you so sure that you don¡¯t have to be hospitalized anymore?¡± Tang Yucheng held her hand and said softly, ¡°The supervisor of the construction site had given me a sum of 20 thousand dors aspensation. I don¡¯t want to waste it all on my medical bills.¡± Having understood his concerns, Mu Wansheng said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll take care of the money. I have my own resources. Just put your mind at ease and stay here. The most important thing to do now is to let your wounds recover. Don¡¯t think about the rest. I¡¯ll be here to apany you.¡± ¡°What... resources do you have?¡± ¡°I just have my own. Don¡¯t worry. Besides, a few days of hospitalization is not going to cost much,¡± she said, patting his hand. Momentster, a new patient was transferred to ward 712 from another ward. There were frequent transfers of patients from ward to ward in the hospital. This time, the patient being transferred was Fan Shixin¡¯s aunt. Upon the sight of Fan Shixin, Tang Yucheng grew flustered. He immediately said, ¡°Happy, I think we¡¯d better go home. Let¡¯s go home.¡± Mu Wansheng was initially rather adamant about it. However, she soon realized why Tang Yucheng insisted on going home after she heard the voices of Fan Shixin and the woman. However, she was worried that he might get an infection if he were to recuperate at home instead, especially since their living conditions were harsh. Mu Wansheng held his hand and said softly, ¡°Don¡¯t let your imagination run wild. We¡¯ll go home after you¡¯ve stayed here for a few more days. Alright?¡± Noticing that Fan Shixin did not react abnormally after hearing Mu Wansheng¡¯s voice, Tang Yucheng felt much more relieved. He thought that Fan Shixin did not recognize her at all. In the past, he used to think that he would be supportive of her decision if she wanted to go home or return to Fan Shixin¡¯s side. However, he had now changed his mind. He felt that it was a heartwarming thing to have a wife toe home to after a long day of hard work. He would have someone to talk to and spend time with. He yearned to have a warm family. Although she was now covered in scars, he did not find her hideous at all. He found her to be a talented woman who had a great personality. After spending some time with her, he had gradually begun to fancy her too. Everyone else in the ward was initially displeased about Snowman¡¯s presence. However, they discovered that he was extremely obedient and was toilet-trained. Hence, they began to ept him. Chapter 1457 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1457: Great to Have You (17)

Tang Yucheng would be filled with worry whenever Mu Wansheng headed out to buy some food. He would also be thrilled and ted to see hering back in one piece. It had begun snowing outside. Thus, he repeatedly reminded Mu Wansheng to be careful while she was out to buy food. Mu Wansheng told him not to worry and assured him that she would be back soon. She held onto Snowman¡¯s leash and left the ward without the navigation device. After reconnoitering around the hospital for two days, she knew exactly where to find a jewelry store. She did not have to rely on the navigation device and only needed Snowman¡¯s guidance. Upon arriving at the store, she removed the ne on her neck and handed it to thedy at the counter. ¡°I¡¯d like to pawn this ne. May I know how much I can receive?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to check with the store manager. Please give me a moment, Miss.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± She stood still and waited. A whileter, the store assistant returned and said, ¡°Miss, our store manager would like to verify if you¡¯re really blind. Can he?¡± ¡°Sure, but I suffered burns on my face and the scars are grotesque.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Mu Wansheng proceeded to allow the store manager to take a look at her face. Upon hearing the shrieks of terror from the store manager and assistant, Mu Wansheng frantically covered her face and said in apology, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry to have frightened you guys.¡± ¡°It¡¯s... it¡¯s alright,¡± the store assistant said, still unable to recover from the shock. After adjusting her apparel, Mu Wansheng asked, ¡°This ne was bought at a high price and I¡¯ve only worn it for a few months. How much can it be sold for?¡± ¡°No matter how much the original price is, it¡¯s still considered a secondhand good. There¡¯ll definitely be a huge depreciation in value. We¡¯re willing to offer you 30 thousand dors.¡± ¡°Regardless of how great the depreciation may be, it should at least retain half of its value. I¡¯m willing to sell it to you for 45 thousand dors. Take it or leave it,¡± she said assertively. ¡°Um... let us consider it for a while.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± She waited patiently for their answer. Atst, the store manager conceded and bought it from her for 45 thousand dors. She was paid in cash. Mu Wansheng stowed the cash away into her bag before leaving. She felt much more relieved and walked back to the hospital with Snowman. She no longer had to worry about money and the potential expenses for her child. On the way back, she bought some takeout and brought it back to the hospital. She was walking at an exceptionally slow pace, and so was Snowman, who tried to match her pace. Nheless, a child who was running about bumped into her. Mu Wansheng¡¯s mind went nk the moment she fell to the ground. Fear filled her, and she did not know what the consequences would be. She pressed one hand against the ground and gripped tightly onto Snowman¡¯s leash with the other. Given her current size, she had be much clumsier and, therefore, it was harder for her to get up on her feet. At this very moment, a pair of arms helped her up. Panting heavily, Mu Wansheng said, ¡°Thank you.¡± The person who helped her up was none other than Fan Shixin. He let go of her, ced the food container back into her hand, and said, ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. Be careful.¡± Mu Wansheng stood rooted to the ground, at aplete loss for words. Noticing that she was not speaking, Fan Shixin asked, ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°I... I... I¡¯m alright.¡± ¡°Be careful of your own safety.¡± Mu Wansheng waited for him to leave before walking Snowman back to the hospital ward. Although there was a stinging pain in her palm, she did not allow it to bother her at all. Mu Wansheng handed the money to Tang Yucheng upon returning to the ward. ¡°Where did you get so much money?¡± ¡°I sold my ne for money. I decided to do it since it could help us tide over the crisis. Rest well. Nothing is more important than your health right now.¡± Tang Yucheng was incredibly touched. He knew that the ne had meant a lot to her because he had witnessed her holding onto it and pondering over something on several asions. He did not expect her to sell it at all. After being hospitalized for a week, Tang Yucheng could finally go home. Tang Yucheng continued to recuperate for a period of time. On the 26th of December, the two of them began shopping for some festive goods. The New Year would be arriving soon. Tang Yucheng asked Mu Wansheng what she was craving for, to which she answered, ¡°Pork and celery dumplings.¡± Hence, they bought lots of pork, beef, celery, and other vegetables. After much persuasion by Mu Wansheng, he decided to buy a refrigerator too. However, she turned down his suggestion to buy her a mobile phone because she could not see what was on the screen anyway. Yet, he decided to go ahead and buy her a mobile phone without her approval, because he felt that it would be much more convenient for her to contact him when he was out of town for work. There was a speed dial function that allowed her to call his number just by pressing the digit ¡°1¡± on the number pad. She could not turn it down since he had already bought it. What mattered most during a festive season was feeling joyous. Mu Wansheng and Tang Yucheng spent the whole of New Year¡¯s Eve making some dumplings. She was in charge of stuffing the filling and wrapping the dumplings while Tang Yucheng made the dough skin of the dumplings. They had made quite a few dumplings in total. In the evening, Tang Yucheng began to cook the dumplings while she helped him start the fire, in spite of his refusal to let her help. She had a much more enjoyable and pleasant New Year this time,pared to the past New Years that she had spent in the Mu family home. Although they were living a in and simple life, she did not have anyints. ¨D Ever since Mu Qixing married Lu Jingrao, the newlyweds had been living blissfully. To her surprise, her inws were extremely understanding and kind toward her. They did not have any objections against their decision to get married in a sh. After returning from their honeymoon trip, Mu Qixing and Lu Jingrao proceeded to have dinner with Mu Qixing¡¯s family. Mrs. Mu made a rare appearance during their reunion dinner. Wu Pingyang had barely seen her ever since Mu Wansheng met with a mishap. Upon the sight of her, Wu Pingyang gibed, ¡°Second Aunt, you¡¯re finally here. We haven¡¯t seen you in such a long while. Have you been reflecting on your mistakes and mourning over Cousin¡¯s death?¡± Mrs. Wu red at her, hinting for her to stop being a spoilsport. Wu Pingyang pursed her lips and returned to her seat. Mrs. Mupletely disregarded Wu Pingyang¡¯s snide remark. Remaining calm andposed, she sat down and proceeded with the meal. Everyone ignored Wu Pingyang as well. It seemed everyone had forgotten about Mu Wansheng. Or, perhaps, they just didn¡¯t want to bring up a deceased person. That was more or less the case. After dinner, Mu Qixing said, ¡°Auntie.¡± Mrs. Mu looked at her and asked coldly, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°I heard that Cousin was supposed to get her marriage registered with her fianc¨¦ on the day of the ident. However, she did not manage to do so because you wanted her to apany you to pay yourte parents her respects at their graves. She also did not manage to be rescued because of your intervention. I¡¯ve actually always wanted to tell you this in person, but I haven¡¯t gotten the chance to meet you. I¡¯m very devastated about what happened to Cousin. Although I barely spent any time with her ever since we were children, I know she definitely didn¡¯t expect that her own mother would be the one to cause her death.¡± Chapter 1458 - I Only Want You

Chapter 1458: Great to Have You (18)

She continued, ¡°I can¡¯t help but be reminded of my father. My father passed away because he tried to save me. Because of that, my mother sent me away to live in the countryside and left me to my own devices. However, it doesn¡¯t matter. I still hold the same amount of respect for my father that I always had. He¡¯s incredibly noble and respectable. He continued to live on in my heart, even until today. He was a remarkable father, and I¡¯ll always be proud to have him as my father. Cousin had met with a traffic ident just like I did, yet her mother actually reacted so differently from my father. I can¡¯t help but gasp in shock and feel sympathetic for Cousin. Second Aunt, I think you¡¯re a rare breed amongst all parents. Very few parents in this world would watch their child die in front of them for the sake of keeping their own life. Even though you¡¯re still alive now, you¡¯ll forever be dead to Cousin.¡± She raised her goblet and took a sip of red wine slowly. Surprisingly, the elderly Mr. Mu did not lose his temper. Instead, he said, ¡°Apart from her obstinate and capricious nature, Wansheng has always been an obedient child. If only that didn¡¯t happen. She would have gotten married to Chief Fan and he wouldn¡¯t be marrying someone else now.¡± Wu Pingyang butted in, ¡°The fact that Fan Shixin is getting married less than a year after Cousin¡¯s death just goes to show that he doesn¡¯t truly love her. If he truly loved her, shouldn¡¯t he remain a bachelor for the rest of his life?¡± ring at her angrily, Mr. Mu chided, ¡°Stop trying to sow discord. He¡¯s the only child in his family. Even if he doesn¡¯t want to get married, his parents wouldn¡¯t allow him to stay single. Besides, Wansheng has already passed away and we can¡¯t expect him to stay single forever even if they were already married. It¡¯d be too unreasonable.¡± Mu Qixing chimed in, ¡°You¡¯re right, Grandpa. Pingyang, are you even that loyal yourself? How shameless and thick-skinned of you to be making such a remark.¡± Too furious for words, Wu Pingyang rolled her eyes in annoyance. As soon as she did, she quickly looked down after realizing that Lu Jingrao had caught her in the act. ¡ª¡ª After New Year¡¯s, Mu Wansheng was admitted to the hospital, where she waited to go intobor. She had to deliver the fetus via a Cesarean section. The gynecologist had suggested that she undergo a Cesarean section instead because the fetus had toorge of a head and also because the umbilical cord was coiled twice around the fetus¡¯ neck, hence making it difficult for her to deliver naturally. Mu Wansheng did not mind going under the knife as long as her child could be delivered safely. Since the surgery was to be performed in the morning, she was told to fast and skip breakfast, lest she gets nauseous during the surgery. She and Tang Yucheng agreed. The ward she was staying in was a double-bedded ward. Since the bed beside hers wasn¡¯t upied, Tang Yucheng could take the other bed. ¡°Happy, get some rest on your own first while I go out to buy some items like milk bottles, diapers, and other necessities. I heard from my sister-inw that you won¡¯t be...ctating right afterbor, so I¡¯ll have to get some milk form for the baby.¡± ¡°Alright, go ahead, but be careful.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Tang Yucheng said before leaving. Tang Yucheng had long sewn the nket that would be wrapped around the infant. It was an easy task for him, for he had picked up sewing ever since his parents passed away. At the thought of her child¡¯s arrival the following day, Mu Wansheng could not help but feel nervous and agitated. Even until now, she still did not know the gender of her child. Regardless of the gender, she would love him or her nheless, because it would still be her flesh and blood. She waited patiently for Tang Yucheng¡¯s return. Half an hourter, the door was pushed open, and Mu Wansheng frantically sat up. ¡°Has everything been settled?¡± She did not cover her face at all because she was indoors. After all, the headdress was rather suffocating. Hence, the person who barged into the ward managed to see her face clearly. ¡°Wan... Wan... Wansheng?¡± Zuo Xingwei asked in astonishment. Upon hearing his voice, Mu Wansheng frantically put on her headdress and remained silent. Zuo Xingwei sat on the bed and pressed his hands on her shoulders. ¡°Wansheng, it¡¯s you, right? You¡¯re still alive! What¡¯s wrong with your face?¡± ¡°You¡¯re mistaken.¡± ¡°Mu Wansheng, I¡¯ll never mistake someone else to be you! Didn¡¯t you already die? What¡¯s going on?¡± Mu Wansheng struggled to break free and said, ¡°You really got the wrong person.¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t. You are Wansheng, aren¡¯t you?¡± Zuo Xingwei said firmly. He wouldn¡¯t have been able to recognize her if he did not see her face. However, he managed to do so at the instant that he saw her disfigured face. Although her scars were too terrifying, Zuo Xingwei was too familiar with her appearance, and he could still recognize her despite her current appearance. ¡°I said, you¡¯ve gotten the wrong person. Please get out of my ward!¡± Mu Wansheng eximed agitatedly while struggling to speak. ¡°Wansheng, don¡¯t be like this. I won¡¯t tell anyone that it¡¯s you. Just believe me this once. I really won¡¯t spill the beans!¡± Zuo Xingwei grabbed her wrist and continued, ¡°I know it¡¯s you. I know it¡¯s you. I really didn¡¯t expect you to still be alive. I¡¯m so d you¡¯re alive.¡± Mu Wansheng let out a long sigh. Seeing that he had already recognized her, she had no choice but to say, ¡°If you really want me to live well, please don¡¯t tell anyone that you have seen me. Don¡¯te and look me up again either. I¡¯ve already married someone else and we¡¯re living a stable life. I¡¯m begging you, will you leave me alone!?!¡± Staring at her with tears in his eyes, Zuo Xingwei said, ¡°Wansheng, you...¡± ¡°Zuo Xingwei, my life has already been ruined and I don¡¯t have a future anymore. Please let me live the rest of my life in peace, will you?¡± Upon hearing her mncholic voice, he conceded, ¡°Alright, I promise I won¡¯t tell anyone. Rest assured.¡± ¡°Leave. Just pretend that you didn¡¯t see me today.¡± Seeing that she was about to deliver, Zuo Xingwei turned around to leave without uttering a single word. He didn¡¯t expect to discover that she was still alive. Zuo Xingwei was devastated and upset to see the state that she was in now. He resented himself for failing to treasure her. If only he did... However, no one could turn back time. Mu Wansheng could not get a grip on her emotions. When Tang Yucheng returned, she said in frustration, ¡°Yucheng, we must move to another ward. Someone recognized me.¡± Tang Yucheng immediately asked, ¡°Someone recognized you?¡± ¡°My first boyfriend did. I had no idea how he managed to enter, but I wasn¡¯t wearing my headdress and he recognized me immediately.¡± ¡°Wait for me while I settle the transfer procedures.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Chapter 1459 - Great to Have You (19)

Chapter 1459: Great to Have You (19)

Mu Wansheng had to wait a long while before she could be transferred to another ward. However, there was another patient in her new ward. Hence, there was nowhere for Tang Yucheng to sleep. He told Mu Wansheng that he would be checking into an inn near the hospital. After he left, Mu Wansheng tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep at all. She constantly wondered if Zuo Xingwei will spread the news about her being alive. But since he¡¯s already agreed, he probably wouldn¡¯t tell on me, would he? I¡¯ve known him for so long, he doesn¡¯t seem to be a bbermouth. She could not help but feel terrified whenever she recalled the moment that he recognized her. Fortunately, it was Zuo Xingwei and not someone else. If it were him... She dared not imagine the consequences. She was willing to show her face to anyone except Fan Shixin. Mu Wansheng pulled the duvet up and forced herself to stop letting her imagination run wild. She convinced herself that everything would be better after she¡¯d slept on it. When the doctor was doing his rounds in the morning, he asked, ¡°Mu Wansheng, your husband slept on the chairs outside the corridorst night. Doesn¡¯t he feel cold at all?¡± ¡°The corridor outside? He told me that he had checked into a inn nearby,¡± Mu Wansheng said in surprise. ¡°Seems like he did it for the sake of saving money.¡± The doctor¡¯s words struck a sour note within her. She got out of bed slowly and walked toward the door. As soon as she exited, she ran into Tang Yucheng. ¡°Happy, where are you going?¡± ¡°To look for you. Yucheng, the doctor has already told me everything. Why did you sleep in the corridorst night? It¡¯s so cold. I know you did it for the sake of saving money, but it¡¯s not worth it if you catch a cold. If you catch a cold, you¡¯d have to spend more money on medical bills. Even if you sleep on the floor in the ward, there¡¯ll at least be a heater to warm you up.¡± Seeing that she was really angry, he said, ¡°I won¡¯t do it again. Alright?¡± ¡°Yes, don¡¯t do it again.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll buy a duvet today and sleep beside you tonight so that I can look after you and the child.¡± Mu Wansheng nodded, knowing that she would definitely need him to take care of her after the surgery. She was pushed into the operating theater at ten o¡¯clock in the morning. Tang Yucheng instructed the nurse to bring the nket in while he waited outside the theater anxiously. He was extremely worried because he knew the major risks involved during childbirth, especially since it was a surgery. Mu Wansheng was initially very worried as well. However, she stopped worrying the moment shey on top of the operating table. My life is already horrendous enough. Nothing could be worse than that. Besides, I¡¯ve once had a close shave with death. There¡¯s nothing for me to be afraid of anymore. Cesarean sections and natural birth each had their own pros and cons. When the doctors held her down to stabilize her body during the administration of the anesthesia, Mu Wansheng was overwhelmed with excruciating pain, even though she had already prepared herself mentally. Soon, she began to lose sensation below her neck. She could only feel her stomach being moved, after which the doctor asked, ¡°Does it hurt?¡± ¡°Not at all.¡± ¡°Try and raise your leg now. Can you do it?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t fall asleep. Let us know if you feel anything unusual.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to begin now.¡± Mu Wansheng felt the sides of her stomach being moved. However, she did not feel any pain at all. Soon, a female surgeon said, ¡°10:18 pm. It¡¯s a girl.¡± As soon as the surgeon finished speaking, the newborn began wailing loudly in a crisp voice. The surgeon teased, ¡°Ah, what a loud voice she¡¯s got.¡± Mu Wansheng smiled. It¡¯s a princess. She was much relieved to know that her child had been delivered safely. The nurse carried the newborn out of the theater. Tang Yucheng¡¯s heart melted the moment he carried the newborn over from the nurse¡¯s arm. The newborn was chubby and fair, and her eyes were still closed. How adorable. ¡°It¡¯s a girl. She weighs four kilograms.¡± Tang Yucheng was over the moon. Although the infant wasn¡¯t his biological daughter, he really considered her as his own. ¡°Hello, my dearest daughter, you¡¯re my precious gem. Nurse, how¡¯s my wife?¡± ¡°They¡¯re sewing her up now. She¡¯ll be pushed to the ward after the procedures arepleted. You may wait for her inside the ward. Don¡¯t let the child catch a cold.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, we¡¯ll wait for my wife to get out,¡± he said, carrying his daughter, who had been wrapped inside the nket he had sewn for her using premium-grade cotton. Hence, it was enough to keep her snug and warm. He would asionally look down at her. When Mu Wansheng was pushed out of the ward, Tang Yucheng asked, ¡°Happy, how do you feel?¡± ¡°I¡¯m alright. Where¡¯s the baby?¡± ¡°I¡¯m carrying her in my arms.¡± Mu Wansheng stayed silent while the nurse pushed her into the ward. The nurse then quickly spread a sheet of blue wax fabric over the bed, followed by a thickyer of tissues. When Mu Wanshengy down on the bed, the nurse ced a sachet of salt on Mu Wansheng¡¯s wound. It was used to stop the bleeding. She then attached the urinal tube to Mu Wansheng¡¯s body and covered her with the duvet. ¡°You can¡¯t eat anything before your airways are cleared. Once they¡¯re clear, you can start drinking some soup.¡± ¡°Alright, thank you.¡± Tang Yucheng then ced the infant beside Mu Wansheng and allowed her to caress the infant¡¯s face. The infant seemed just like a peeled egg to Mu Wansheng. She remarked gleefully, ¡°She¡¯s so tiny.¡± ¡°She¡¯s really fair and beautiful.¡± ¡°She was just born a while ago. How could you tell that she¡¯s beautiful? Her features are yet to develop.¡± ¡°I just think she¡¯s beautiful. Look after her while I go make her some milk.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Mu Wansheng held the infant in her arms, feeling satisfied and at ease. She was pleased with the way her life was currently. After being hospitalized for five days, Mu Wansheng was discharged on the 8th of February. Tang Yucheng carried the infant while she walked together with Snowman. However, she had to bend forward because of the immense pain from her wounds. Although there was only a short distance between the ward and the entrance, it still took them a long time. Tang Yucheng hailed a taxi and spread the duvet across the seat so as to prevent Mu Wansheng¡¯s wound from bing aggravated. She had always known that he was meticulous. They returned home to see that there were other people around. They were Tang Yucheng¡¯s brother and sister-inw. ¡°Brother, Sis-inw, hurry ande inside.¡± Tang Yucheng¡¯s sister-inw was warm and friendly. She quickly held Mu Wansheng and said, ¡°Kangcheng and I only found out yesterday that you were going intobor. Brother didn¡¯t tell us anything. We¡¯ve cooked some rice and dishes for you guys. We were waiting for you to get home.¡± Mu Wansheng thanked her and said, ¡°It¡¯s been hard on you, Sis-inw.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, we¡¯re family.¡± Chapter 1460 - Great to Have You (20)

Chapter 1460: Great to Have You (20)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Tang Yucheng¡¯s sister-inw helped her onto the bed before carrying the infant in her arms. ¡°Your daughter is so fair-skinned. She¡¯s going to be gorgeous when she grows up.¡± Tang Yucheng scooped Mu Wansheng some rice and asked, ¡°How¡¯s Auntie¡¯s health?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the same. Well, she¡¯s been suffering from the same illness for years. She can¡¯t be treated. We can only let her condition drag on. It¡¯s pretty torturous for her, but there¡¯s nothing we can do about it. Brother, have you named her yet?¡± ¡°Yes, her name is Mianmian.¡± ¡°Sounds great. Did Sis-inwe up with that name?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°I thought so too. Brother, where does Sis-inw¡¯s family live?¡± the sister-inw asked curiously. ¡°Your sis-inw...¡± Mu Wansheng said, ¡°I don¡¯t have a family.¡± ¡°Sis-inw, tell us, how did you meet Brother? He refuses to tell us. What do you like about Brother?¡± ¡°We met by chance... Your brother is a very nice man. He doesn¡¯t mind that I¡¯m blind. Life is safe with him too,¡± she said softly. ¡°That¡¯s true. Both Brother and my husband are very reliable. Their parents passed away a long time ago, and no one sent them for matchmaking sessions. Sis-inw, you may have lost your vision but you still have ears and hands. Some people may be blind, but they can still see with their heart. Meanwhile, some may be able to see with their eyes, but they¡¯re as good as blind.¡± Mu Wansheng could tell that she was a genuine person. She smiled and said, ¡°You have a point, Sis-inw. I may be blind, but I can still work and carry out chores.¡± Everyone gathered together for a meal, after which Tang Kangcheng and his wife left. Mu Wansheng and Tang Yucheng began the next phase of life as the parents of Tang Mianmian. Mu Wansheng would usually stay home to look after Tang Mianmian while Tang Yucheng goes out to work with the other male vigers. He opted for jobs nearby so that it would be easier for him to look after them. Although he wasn¡¯t making big bucks, it was enough for them to make ends meet. Tang Yucheng had also been secretly finding out more about viable treatment options for the removal of scars. He wanted to let Mu Wansheng have the courage to go out without having to hide her face. He then heard from a viger that there was a certain type of algae in theke that could remove scars. However, the algae was not easily obtained. During his free time, he would dive into the river to look for the algae. After searching for a long time, his efforts finally paid off and he found the algae. He then let Mu Wansheng try it, only to discover that it really worked. However, she felt a stinging pain the moment she applied it onto her face, as if she was being slit by a knife. After several applications, Mu Wansheng began to develop rashes on her face and her flesh started to fester as well. Tang Yucheng hurriedly brought her to see a doctor. Her wounds only began to heal after being put on medication for a period of time. Hence, their attempt to alter her appearance fizzled out. Mu Wansheng had forgotten who she was after living in the countryside for a long time. She had even forgotten her own name. No one called her Mu Wansheng anymore. She had already gotten used to her new name as well as to her current lifestyle. She had even begun treating herself as one of them. However, she would sometimes be jolted awake at night by a sudden, acute pain in her chest. These were decisions she had made out of her own ord. Hence, she did not regret them. She did not allow herself to regret them either. If only life could continue to stay like this. Mu Wansheng would be contented if her life continued to stay peaceful. Tang Yucheng met with an ident when he was working in the brickyard. He was transporting some bricks together with his colleagues when a drunk driver lost control of his car and rammed into them. Although they were sent to the hospital in time and managed to survive, the numerous bricks fell from the truck andnded onto Tang Yucheng¡¯s lower body. As a result, he became impotent and sexually disabled. He would even have to undergo an amputation. Mu Wansheng was infuriated and resented the drunk driver at the same time that she took pity on Tang Yucheng. She left her daughter in Tang Kangcheng¡¯s care temporarily and rushed to the hospital together with Snowman to take care of Tang Yucheng. Not only did Tang Yucheng lose his reproductive ability, he even had to be wheeled around in a wheelchair after the surgery. Upon finding out about his condition, he flew into a rage and became apletely different person. There were huge changes in his temperament as well. Tang Yucheng used to dote on her and would never bear to speak to her harshly. He had never onceid a hand on her either. Yet now that he was in the midst of receiving treatment, he had actually begun scolding Mu Wansheng and berating her. He had even pushed her onto the ground multiple times before. Well aware that he was terribly upset, Mu Wansheng did her best to bear with his tantrums and tried everything she could to help him get a grip on his emotions. However, he went from bad to worse. She knew how mentally destructive the amputation was to him, especially since he had be sexually impotent as well. They had been sleeping separately all this while ever since they got married. They had never even kissed each other before, let alone got intimate. Before the ident, he was nning to consummate his marriage with her after their daughter grows a little older. Yet, his ns will nevere to fruition. She understood that he was filled with resentment. But what wrong did I do? I¡¯ve suffered lots of massive blows before, but I¡¯ve still chosen to resign myself to fate. The brickyard owner and the drunk driver hadpensated him with a total of 1.2 million dors. It was a massive sum in the eyes of the poor vigers. However, Mu Wansheng did not find it to be arge sum. After all, the money was an exchange for the sacrifice that Tang Yucheng had made. She did not feel in the least bit happy about the money at all. However, Mu Wansheng finally understood that there were hidden sides to everyone when she overheard her sister-inw¡¯s remark at the entrance of the hospital ward. She had always thought that her sister-inw was a kind and genuine person who was also helpful enough to help her look after her child. She finally saw her true colors. ¡°Brother, don¡¯t think about anything else and focus on recuperating. Kangcheng and I are here to take care of everything. However, there¡¯s something I must tell you.¡± COMMENT ¡°What is it?¡± Tang Yucheng asked. ¡°I heard that both parties would be receiving an equal portion of the assets in the event of a divorce. Perhaps Kangcheng and I are just overthinking, but we can¡¯t help but feel that Mianmian doesn¡¯t look like you at all. Everyone else says the same thing too. Brother, since you¡¯re not short of money now, shall we get a DNA test done to verify if she¡¯s your daughter?¡± ¡°Mianmian just resembles her mother. Sister-inw, don¡¯t say such things again from now on. Mianmian is my daughter,¡± said Tang Yucheng. Chapter 1461 - Great to Have You (21)

Chapter 1461: Great to Have You (21)

His sister-inw chuckled wryly and said, ¡°We¡¯re just concerned about you, Brother, but since you¡¯re so certain, we shall not say anything else. However, we really feel like Sis-inw doesn¡¯t belong to our vige. Brother, have you ever asked about her family background in detail?¡± ¡°That¡¯s for me to know.¡± ¡°Brother, may I say something?¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you know that Kangcheng ended up with lots of debts after his business venture failed a few years ago. Our creditors are hunting us down and constantly pestering ustely. Could you please lend us some money?¡± ¡°How much do you need?¡± asked Tang Yucheng, who was obviously willing to help his younger brother. ¡°Fifty thousand.¡± He agreed right away. As soon as he finished speaking, Mu Wansheng entered the ward and said, ¡°We can lend you the money. After all, Kangcheng is Yucheng¡¯s biological brother. However, you¡¯ll have to sign an IOU. It¡¯d be easy for you to get a loan again if you return the money on time.¡± ¡°Sis-inw, are you worried that we¡¯ll go back on our word and not pay you back? Brother knows what Kangcheng and I are like. Sis-inw, you¡¯re indirectly telling us that you don¡¯t trust us,¡± she retorted in displeasure. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with signing an IOU? Isn¡¯t it just a standard procedure?¡± Just as Mu Wansheng was about to continue, Tang Yucheng interjected, ¡°Enough. We¡¯re all family. There¡¯s no need for an IOU.¡± Mu Wansheng fell silent after hearing his words. After Tang Kangcheng and his wife left, Tang Yucheng snapped, ¡°Happy, what you said just now made my brother and his wife feel very ufortable. I wouldn¡¯t mind giving them 50 thousand dors, let alone lend. He¡¯s my biological brother.¡± Mu Wansheng stayed silent for a long while before answering, ¡°Money-lending has its own risks. That money was given to you as a form ofpensation. I¡¯m just feeling sorry for you.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you just feeling the pinch because I decided to lend Kangcheng 50 thousand dors? You¡¯re just upset that you might not get to spend it, aren¡¯t you?¡± Tang Yucheng regretted saying those words as soon as he heard himself. Mu Wansheng swallowed her pride and anger. She did not expect to hear such harsh remarks from him at all. She was at a loss for words. She turned around and left with Snowman. Tang Yucheng wanted to stop her but could not bring himself to. Mu Wansheng proceeded to pick Mianmian up from Tang Kangcheng¡¯s ce. She returned to the hospital with Tang Mianmian in her arms. However, she did not enter the ward and instead sat on the bench outside. After realizing that it was silent around her and that there seemed to be no one else, she stopped suppressing her emotions and began bawling loudly. She continued to weep for a long period of time, until she¡¯d finally let out all her pent up frustration. She instantly felt much better after she was done crying. Mu Wansheng began to think to herself, Is this the life I really want to lead? Must I really resign myself to fate? ¡°Everyone is bound to face obstacles in their lives. Don¡¯t be dejected, everything will get better eventually.¡± Mu Wansheng was shocked beyond words the moment she heard the voice. It¡¯s him! How long has he been sitting beside me!?! He was probably here before me since there were no longer any sounds after I sat down. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry.¡± He handed her his handkerchief and said, ¡°Your daughter is asleep.¡± Fan Shixin only took a casual nce at Tang Mianmian, who was asleep at the moment. If her eyes had been open, he would have definitely been able to tell who she resembled. Mu Wansheng was not intending to hide or run away. Instead, she continued to remain in her seat with Tang Mianmian in her embrace and Snowman beside her. She held onto his handkerchief, reminded of the blue, embroidered handkerchief that he had given her in the past. She treasured it dearly and kept it with her at home. I wonder what color this one is. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it,¡± he said before standing up. As soon as he took a few steps forward, Mu Wansheng said, ¡°Wait... a minute.¡± Fan Shixin turned around and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Nothing, I just... wanted to thank you.¡± Fan Shixin answered with a smile, ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± His footsteps began to fade and Mu Wansheng stood up as well. She then began walking toward him, carrying her daughter in her arms. She returned to the ward and ced her daughter onto the empty bed. Tang Yucheng cleared his throat and asked, ¡°Did you go and pick Mianmian up?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± she answered. Due to the fact that she had covered her face, Tang Yucheng could not tell that she had just cried. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to say those words. Don¡¯t get upset.¡± ¡°Nah, I know you¡¯re in a terrible moodtely, so... I wasn¡¯t upset.¡± ¡°Good that you¡¯re not,¡± he said in his usual tone. Mu Wansheng thought that he had calmed down greatly. However, that was not the case. His temperament was erratic and unpredictable during the treatments, as if he had suffered a huge mental blow. His emotions were extreme, and he oftenshed out at those around him. However, Mu Wansheng forced herself to bear with it. She finally blew up on the day of his discharge. Tang Mianmian was more than four months old, and it was in the midst of June. Tang Kangcheng and his wife were at the hospital to pick Tang Yucheng up. Mu Wansheng had already bought some food and was nning to have her meal before going home. However, Tang Kangcheng requested for another loan again during the meal. Mu Wansheng questioned, ¡°You borrowed 50 thousand dors previously to pay your debts. What is it for this time?¡± Tang Kangcheng retorted in displeasure, ¡°I¡¯m borrowing money from my brother, not you. Why are you such a busybody?¡± ¡°Your brother is my husband and you¡¯re borrowing money from us. Why can¡¯t I question you?¡± At this moment, Tang Kangcheng¡¯s wife interjected, ¡°Sis-inw, I¡¯m not rubbing salt into your wound, but you¡¯re blind and Brother is disabled now. Who else can you guys rely on other than me, Kangcheng, and your nephew? We¡¯re family. Kangcheng and I are nning to set up a small business because Kangcheng¡¯s health has seriously deteriorated after working for so many years. Brother, I¡¯m sure you understand. We just want all of us to livefortably.¡± Mu Wansheng carried her daughter in her arms and gibed, ¡°I didn¡¯t say anything, did I? I was just making a casual remark. Why do you have to air your grievances about being penniless?¡± Tang Yucheng snapped, ¡°Enough! Sis-inw, I¡¯ll give you my bank ount card. You may withdraw the moneyter.¡± Mu Wansheng said, ¡°I¡¯ll go with her.¡± He¡¯s being too careless by just giving her his bank ount card! Mu Wansheng knew the importance of taking safety precautions and keeping her guard up! ¡°Sis-inw, you¡¯re blind. What¡¯s the point of you tagging along?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t see, but the staff at the bank can.¡± ¡°Sis-inw, just how little trust do you have in us? Do you really think that we¡¯d withdraw more than we should? Indeed, you¡¯re just an outsider.¡± Chapter 1462 - Great to Have You (22)

Chapter 1462: Great to Have You (22)

Mu Wansheng hadpletely changed her opinion of Tang Yucheng¡¯s wife. She had even begun feeling repulsed by her. Mu Wansheng murmured, ¡°You...¡± Before she could even finish speaking, she felt a hot bowl of noodles being sshed against herself, causing Tang Mianmian to bawl loudly. ¡°Brother...¡± Mu Wansheng immediately stood up and wiped the hot noodles off of Tang Mianmian. Mu Wansheng had nevershed out at him in such an angry manner before. However, she could no longer tolerate it any further. She barked in a piercing yet hoarse voice, ¡°If you¡¯re angry, just take it out on me. Why do you have to ssh the noodles onto Mianmian? Was I wrong to have said that?¡± Mu Wansheng was exasperated and anxious, for Tang Mianmian would not stop crying. Tang Yucheng had no idea what had gotten into himself either. He would often regret his actions aftershing out at her. He was shocked speechless, staring at the Tang Mianmian whose face had been scalded. Heartbroken and dejected, she stormed out of the ward with Snowman and Tang Mianmian. Tang Kangcheng¡¯s wife hurriedly stopped her and tried to y the nice guy by saying, ¡°Sis-inw, don¡¯t get angry. Brother didn¡¯t do it on purpose.¡± ¡°Let go of me,¡± she snapped, trying to struggle. However, she refused to let Mu Wansheng go and instead said, ¡°Sis-inw, simmer down. Brother is going to be discharged soon. Let¡¯s go home together, alright?¡± ¡°I want to go out and take a breather. Let go of me.¡± ¡°What if we can¡¯t find you?¡± ¡°Go home first if you can¡¯t find me.¡± Tang Yucheng¡¯s wife snatched Snowman¡¯s leash away from Mu Wansheng, thinking that she won¡¯t be able to go anywhere without Snowman. To her astonishment, Mu Wansheng was as stubborn as a mule, and she strode away with Tang Mianmian in her arms. By the time she¡¯d chased after Mu Wansheng, thetter had already boarded the elevator. Fuming with anger, Mu Wansheng paced back and forth around the hospital. After loitering around for a while, she sat down at a random spot with Tang Mianmian in her arms. She felt that life was tough, exhausting, and upsetting for hertely. It was nothing like what she wanted at all. She married him only because she thought he was a kind man who would treat her well and take care of her. But what happened? He even had the guts to ssh hot food onto our daughter. What¡¯s going to happen in the future? I can bear with it, but Mianmian is innocent. Mu Wansheng took a deep breath and decided to head home to have a good chat with him. If he were to promise to continue being the well-tempered man whom she knew, she would be willing to continue living with him. However, if he were to refuse to change and be worse instead, she would go on to divorce him. She would rather live on the streets than let her daughter get hurt. Having made up her mind, Mu Wansheng returned to the hospital ward while trying to remember the route that she had taken. Although she had been very careful with her steps, it was still rather difficult to get around without a guide dog. Hence, she entered the wrong elevator, which resulted in a chain mistake. She entered the wrong ward and got lost. After much painstaking efforts, she finally found her way back to the building that Tang Yucheng¡¯s ward was in. Although she was on the same floor, she was in a different ward section. Mu Wansheng looked for the room ording to her memory and pushed the door open. The room was dead silent. Have they all left? All of a sudden, Mu Wansheng heard a sudden noiseing from the bed. She closed the door and carried her daughter into the room. She called softly, ¡°Yucheng, shall we go home and talk things over?¡± The man on the bed remained silent and continued to stare at her and Tang Mianmian. Mu Wansheng sat on the bed and grabbed the man¡¯s hand. ¡°I know you haven¡¯t been able to get over the unfortunate incident that happened to you, and I know that you¡¯ve been feeling terrible, but so have I. Forget how you¡¯ve beenshing out at me a lot more than usualtely, but you really crossed the line today. You know how much my daughter means to me. How could you ssh the hot food onto her face? She means as much to me as my life does.¡± Noticing that he still wasn¡¯t speaking, Mu Wansheng wondered, Is he asleep? Didn¡¯t we agree to go home after having lunch? Did he decide to wait for me and Mianmian before going home? She reckoned that that must have been the case. In order to prevent making a mistake, she even went outside the ward and asked the other visitors for the number of the ward that she was in. She felt relieved after hearing that she had gotten the correct ward. However, she could not find Snowman at all, and sheter deduced that it must have been taken away by her sister-inw. There were no sounds in the room except those made by Tang Mianmian. All of a sudden, Tang Mianmian began giggling, as if someone had been teasing her. ¡°Mianmian, why are you giggling? Are you that happy?¡± Tang Mianmian was incapable of speech and hence could only express her emotions through herughter. ¡°Your daughter is really pretty,¡± said Fan Shixin, who finally broke his silence. Mu Wansheng sprung up from her seat and asked, ¡°What... what... what are you doing here?¡± ¡°This is my ward, what do you think I¡¯m doing here?¡± Frightened beyond words, Mu Wansheng frantically carried her daughter and tried to run away. Fan Shixin quickly yelled to stop her in her tracks. ¡°Do you need my help?¡± She stopped and answered, ¡°N... No.¡± ¡°I want to help you.¡± ¡°Why? Why do you want to help me?¡± Mu Wansheng asked. ¡°Because your daughter is pretty.¡± Mu Wansheng began to feel sad all of a sudden. She recalled the various times that Tang Yucheng mentioned that Tang Mianmian resembled her greatly, especially when it came to her eyes. ¡°Alright... then. Could you help me look after my daughter for a while?¡± Babysitting is an easy task for me, Fan Shixin thought. However... ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that I might abduct your daughter and sell her?¡± ¡°You won¡¯t, I trust you.¡± Fan Shixin was momentarily stunned. Why does she sound like she knows me personally? Needless to say, he had no idea how at ease Mu Wansheng felt to have him babysit her daughter. She knew that he definitely wouldn¡¯t abduct her. ¡°If you really trust me, you can let her stay here. I¡¯ll tell you my personal identification number and mobile number.¡± She decided not to turn him down, lest he found her to be peculiar. His mobile number was still the same one as before. ¡°When are youing back to pick her up?¡± ¡°Soon. Um...¡± She handed him her mobile phone and continued, ¡°Save your mobile number under the quick-dial digit ¡®2.¡¯ I¡¯ll call youter.¡± ¡°Sure. What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Happy.¡± Mu Wansheng exited. She was initially reluctant to ept his help. However, she decided that it would be safer to leave Tang Mianmian in his care. In fact, it was indeed much safer to do so. After she left the ward, Fan Shixin immediately called Xiao Bai to send a babysitter over to the hospital. Chapter 1463 - Great to Have You (23)

Chapter 1463: Great to Have You (23)

She returned to Tang Yucheng¡¯s ward to discover that the three of them were still there. Noticing that Tang Mianmian was nowhere in sight, Tang Kangcheng¡¯s wife asked, ¡°Sis-inw, where¡¯s Mianmian?¡± Mu Wansheng said, ¡°I left her in someone else¡¯s care.¡± ¡°What? Who did you leave her with? What if that person sells her away?¡± she asked in astonishment. Mu Wansheng said, ¡°He won¡¯t. Let¡¯s go home, I have something to talk to your brother about.¡± ¡°Just where did you leave the child? You¡¯re such an irresponsible mother.¡± Mu Wansheng said, ¡°I¡¯ll talk to your brother in private. You two stay out of this.¡± Tang Yucheng said, ¡°We¡¯ll talk when we get home.¡± Mu Wansheng walked away with Snowman. Tang Kangcheng then grabbed the suitcases while his wife wheeled Tang Yucheng out in his wheelchair. Mu Wansheng stayed silent throughout the journey home. She did not utter a single word even when Tang Yucheng handed the bank ount card to his sister-inw. Upon returning home, Tang Kangcheng and his wife left, allowing them to be alone with each other. Mu Wansheng sat on the chair and said, ¡°I need to have a serious talk with you.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I¡¯m eternally grateful to you for saving my life. I¡¯m also very thankful for the kindness and care that you showed me and Mianmian before your ident. However, if you n to use that as a tool to harm me, I won¡¯t put up with you forever. Let¡¯s make things clear now. If you¡¯re willing to go back to the way that you were before, let¡¯s continue as we have been. If you¡¯re worried that I¡¯m after your money, let¡¯s get a divorce.¡± Tang Yucheng was shocked to hear how serious she was. ¡°Where are you going to go if we get a divorce?¡± ¡°Do you really think I have nowhere to go? There are ces I can go to, it all depends on whether I want to go there or not. Don¡¯t think that I¡¯ve lost my survival abilities just because I¡¯m blind now. That¡¯s not the case. If Mianmian were your biological daughter, would you have sshed the hot food onto her face? Touch your heart and ask yourself. You may hurt me, but I¡¯ll never allow you to hurt my daughter, Tang Yucheng.¡± Tang Yucheng exined, ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to do that. I don¡¯t know what had gotten into me either. I was just really frustrated and angry. Happy, I too think that I had gone overboard, but I¡¯ll definitely change my ways. Happy, I won¡¯t do that to you and Mianmian again. Will you forgive me this time?¡± Mu Wansheng said resolutely, ¡°I¡¯ll forgive you just this once. If yoush out at us again, we¡¯ll get a divorce. I may be blind, but my heart is not blind. I won¡¯t continue to indulge and tolerate your ill-temper. I hope you¡¯ll really change your mindset. Life still has to go on andining is not going to solve the problem.¡± She had never spoken to him in such an austere manner before. He had always thought that she was a gentle and soft-spoken woman. Even until now, he still felt that he was the only person whom she could rely on. ¡°Got it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m being serious. I¡¯ve been thinking about it a lottely. It¡¯s normal for one to change drastically in temperament after a traumatic event. You¡¯ll definitely be upset, but it¡¯ll get better after some time. However, you didn¡¯t get over it at all. I hope you can get over it soon.¡± ¡°So where¡¯s Mianmian?¡± ¡°With her biological father,¡± said Mu Wansheng. As soon as Tang Yucheng heard her words, a sullen expression formed on his face and he glowered at her angrily. ¡°Did you let him acknowledge her?¡± he questioned. ¡°No.¡± ¡°How did it happen, then?¡± ¡°I entered his ward by ident when I was searching for yours and I mistook him for you. He asked me if I needed help, so I told him to help me look after her for a while.¡± ¡°Did he agree to it?¡± ¡°Yes, he did.¡± Tang Yucheng was speechless. He hollered, ¡°He doesn¡¯t know that she¡¯s his daughter. What if he harms her!?!¡± Mu Wansheng said firmly, ¡°He won¡¯t.¡± ¡°Do you trust him that much?¡± ¡°I know him very well. He won¡¯t do that. I just thought that it would be safer to leave her in his care for the time being. I¡¯ll think about what to do some timeter.¡± Tang Yucheng retorted angrily, ¡°You¡¯re still thinking of returning to his side, aren¡¯t you? Do you really think he¡¯ll still want you? He¡¯s already married now. Why would he abandon his beautiful and wealthy wife for you?¡± Quivering uncontrobly in pique, Mu Wansheng flew into a rage and hollered, ¡°I don¡¯t know if he¡¯ll still want me, but I have sufficient self-awareness to know that I don¡¯t deserve him. If I returned to his side back then, he would have definitely wanted to take responsibility for me. I¡¯m well aware of that fact. I was the one who chose not to go back to him because I know that he¡¯s already married now. I¡¯m not nning to make him get back together with me. Aren¡¯t you overthinking it?¡± ¡°Why did you leave him to babysit Mianmian, then? You just want him to nurture feelings for her, don¡¯t you? At the end of the day, he¡¯s still her biological father and I¡¯m not!¡± Mu Wansheng was at a loss for words. It seemed nothing she said would be right. Tang Yucheng finally managed to calm himself down. ¡°Wansheng, I don¡¯t want you to leave me. I¡¯ve already gotten used to having you by my side. Bring Mianmian home. I promise this won¡¯t happen again. I promise.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t even control your own emotions. How can you promise that you won¡¯t?¡± ¡°Are you doubting me now?¡± ¡°No, let¡¯s just observe the situation for a while. Once your emotions are stable, I¡¯ll bring the child home.¡± ¡ª¡ª Tang Mianmian did not cry at all when Fan Shixin was carrying her. Instead, she was staring at him with herrge, sparkly eyes. He could not help but tease her. She seemed to be easily amused and would giggle at every antic of his. He felt an urge to get close to her. Xiao Bai got a great shock when he arrived with the babysitter. ¡°Chief, whose child is this?¡± ¡°She belongs to a blind woman who requested me to babysit her daughter for a period of time.¡± Xiao Bai¡¯s jaw dropped in shock. ¡°Do you know that woman?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t, but I¡¯m really sympathetic toward her so I decided to give her a hand. Besides, look at this child. Doesn¡¯t she resemble Wansheng?¡± Fan Shixin asked, showing Xiao Bai Tang Mianmian¡¯s face. Xiao Bai gasped and said, ¡°Oh my god. She... really does.¡± ¡°I thought so too. I really like this child.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t let Sis-inw find out, she¡¯d definitely hit the roof,¡± said Xiao Bai. ¡°She won¡¯t. I still have another four-bedroom apartment in the estate. Take the babysitter and the child there. Don¡¯t tell Xiao Huang and the rest.¡± ¡°Got it. I really wonder what the child¡¯s mother looks like though.¡± ¡°No idea, I couldn¡¯t see her face. She wrapped it tightly and she had a hoarse voice.¡± Chapter 1464 - Great to Have You (24)

Chapter 1464: Great to Have You (24)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Xiao Bai asked, ¡°Chief, your injury is too minor to be hospitalized. Would you like toe home?¡± ¡°Too minor? I¡¯m indeed making too big of a fuss,¡± said Fan Shixin, staring at the minor cut on his hand. ¡°Others might just think that you¡¯re hiding from Sis-inw.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go home, then,¡± Fan Shixin said while standing up. He had already decorated the four-bedroom apartment ording to the style that he fancied. Fan Shixin instructed his babysitter to stay inside the guest room. He had also warned her not to make any blunders and that there were surveince cameras in the house. Hence, Fan Shixin began moving back to the apartment. Tang Mianmian was bubbly and jovial, and Fan Shixin babysat her for two months. If Mu Wansheng did not call him regrly, he would have really thought that she was going to abandon her daughter. When Tang Mianmian was about six months old in August, Mu Wansheng called to ask for her daughter back. Fan Shixin agreed and informed her of his address. Mu Wansheng could not help but feel nervous to be returning to Wei Ni Estate again. She discovered that the address he had given her led her to a different apartment from the one she stayed in previously. The babysitter had already been dismissed by the time she arrived because there was no longer a need for there to be a babysitter. Fan Shixin and Tang Mianmian were alone at home. Mu Wansheng entered and asked, ¡°Is this your home?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Are you married?¡± she asked despite already knowing the answer. ¡°Yes.¡± Mu Wansheng expressed assent and asked, ¡°Is your wife not home?¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t stay here. She lives elsewhere.¡± Mu Wansheng carried her daughter, only to discover that she had gotten much chubbier. Clearly, she had been fed well. Tang Mianmian¡¯s living conditions were much better than her own. ¡°Thank you for looking after my daughter all this while. Thank you so much.¡± Fan Shixin smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. I just thought that you could really use some help. Besides, I¡¯m very fond of the child too. I¡¯m a little reluctant to let her go after having spent so much time with her.¡± Mu Wansheng was rather upset to hear his words. Thinking to herself that they probably wouldn¡¯t meet again in the future, she said, ¡°Mianmian will be d to know that you liked her so much.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Fan Shixin then pinched Tang Mianmian¡¯s chubby cheeks and grinned at her. ¡°We¡¯ll be taking our leave now, then,¡± said Mu Wansheng, who was carrying Tang Mianmian in one arm and holding onto Snowman¡¯s leash with the other. Noticing that she seemed to be struggling, Fan Shixin said, ¡°Let me help you walk the dog and see you out.¡± ¡°It¡¯s... it¡¯s alright.¡± However, he snatched the leash from her and sent her downstairs. Mu Wansheng returned to the Tang family vige to see that Tang Yucheng had already prepared dinner. He had returned to his usual temperament after two months, which was the reason why Mu Wansheng decided to bring her daughter home. However, Mu Wansheng had promised herself that she would definitely leave if Tang Yucheng were to start being boorish and ill-tempered again. She was heartened to see that he had stopped losing his temper after getting his feelings sorted out. The peacested until Tang Mianmian¡¯s third birthday. Tang Kangcheng and his wife borrowed 300 thousand dors from Tang Yucheng. Mu Wansheng did not voice her opinions and instead left it to him to decide on his own. She did not wish to interfere and would not have any objections if he wanted to give his brother money again. Tang Kangcheng and his wife suggested that they bring their son and Tang Mianmian to the amusement park to celebrate her birthday. Mu Wansheng was 27 years old when she conceived Tang Mianmian and 28 years old when she gave birth to her. Thus, she was 31 years old now. Mu Wansheng did not carry any hopes for her future; her only hope was for her precious daughter to grow up well. The three-year-old Tang Mianmian was rtively tall for her age and seemed like a five-year-old instead. She had high pigtails and rosy cheeks. Although Mu Wansheng could not see her, she could roughly guess her features because she knew that her daughter resembled her. ¡°Mommy, hurry up. I can¡¯t wait any longer!¡± she eximed excitedly. Seeing how eager she was, Mu Wansheng said, ¡°I¡¯ming.¡± Tang Mianmian held her hand and said to Tang Yucheng, who was locking the door, ¡°Daddy, we¡¯re leaving without you!¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you see that I¡¯m locking the door? Look how eager you are,¡± said Tang Yucheng, who adored his daughter. Although she was young, she was rather mature and sensible. Not to mention, she also had a sharp tongue. Tang Yucheng could not help but regret his actions at the hospital whenever he recalled them. He had kicked the habit of smoking, all because of her. The roads were still slippery because of the recent snowfall. Hence, the family of three boarded a bus instead of the rickshaw. The amusement park was no longer as crowded, and the ticket prices had also returned to normal. Tang Mianmian was beyond excited, and she could not stop cheering loudly. She had always been a jovial child who enjoyedughing. Herughter could be heard wherever she went. Mu Wansheng was heartened to see how happy her daughter was. Before they started going onto the rides, Tang Yucheng bought Mu Wansheng some milk tea. Mu Wansheng decided to sit out and wait for them toe back. Although she could not see, she knew that there were lots of passing strangers. After finishing the milk tea, she continued to sit on the bench for a while. Mu Wansheng then proceeded to go to the washroom together with Snowman. The Ladies¡¯ and Gents¡¯ were usually separated by distinctbels and signs. Having received prior training, Snowman could urately bring her to the Ladies¡¯. However, there were onlybels and no symbols on the washroom signs of the amusement park. Hence, Snowman was lost when they arrived at the entrance of the washroom. After looking around for a while, Snowman brought her to the washroom on the right. The Gents¡¯ would usually be on the left while the Ladies¡¯ would usually be on the right. Thus, Snowman decided to lead her to the washroom on the right based on usual circumstances. Mu Wansheng followed along, not doubting it at all. Due to the fact that she did not know what kind of a washroom it was, she stuck her hand inside as soon as she stepped foot into the washroom. Snowman led her toward a cubicle, and she opened the door as soon as she touched it. After she was done relieving nature¡¯s call, someone came out of the cubicle. Mu Wansheng was not bothered and instead proceeded to wash her hands at the sink. However, what happened next shocked her greatly. The item that she was touching felt like the sink, but it also felt like something else. All of a sudden, a man said, ¡°How much longer are you going to fumble around the urinal? This is the Gents¡¯.¡± Chapter 1465 - Great to Have You (25)

Chapter 1465: Great to Have You (25)

Mu Wansheng was bbergasted! She would at most feel awkward and embarrassed if she realized only that she was touching the urinal instead of the basin. To her horror, the man who spoke to her turned out to be Fan Shixin, whom she had not met in a long time. Her hands and feet were cold and mmy, and she turned as pale as a sheet. She turned around and said awkwardly, ¡°I... I can¡¯t see, so, sorry about that.¡± ¡°Is that you, Ms. Happy?¡± ¡°Yes... yes, it¡¯s me,¡± said Mu Wansheng, who was surprised that he actually remembered her. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to see you here. How have you been?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been... great.¡± ¡°Good to hear,¡± Fan Shixin answered. He then entered the cubicle to relieve nature¡¯s call. Upon hearing that he had gone inside, she walked toward the sink and washed her hands, after which she turned off the faucet and flicked the water off her hands before walking out with Snowman. She had no idea why he had turned up there again. However, she knew that her calm and peace were once again disrupted. As soon as she reached the door of the washroom, a strong breeze began blowing in her face, causing her headdress to be lifted up. She hurriedly pressed it down, but it flew away again as soon as she let go. This time, even her cap was blown away. Pangs of panic engulfed Mu Wansheng, and she subconsciously covered her face when it was exposed. Snowman immediately rushed forward to fetch her cap. As soon as she tried to put it on, Fan Shixin grabbed her wrist tightly, causing her heart to almost jump out of her chest. ¡°Ms. Happy, may I see what you look like?¡± he asked. Trying to suppress her emotions, Mu Wansheng answered calmly, ¡°My appearance is terrifying. Sorry, it¡¯s not appropriate for me to show my face.¡± He shifted his gaze onto her face. Although it was rather terrifying, he seemed to have seen someone familiar the moment he caught a glimpse of her appearance. Just as she was struggling while Fan Shixin was trying to pry her arms away from her face, Tang Yucheng entered the bathroom in his wheelchair. ¡°Sir, what are you doing?¡± ¡°I just wanted to take a look at her face.¡± ¡°My wife has suffered severe burns on her face and she doesn¡¯t want others to see her appearance. Please don¡¯t put her in a spot.¡± He then grabbed Mu Wansheng¡¯s arm and said, ¡°Happy, let¡¯s go.¡± Fan Shixin stood rooted to the ground in shock. By the time he recovered from the shock and tried to chase after them, a woman exited from the washroom and asked, ¡°Hubby, where are you going?¡± He turned around and looked at his wife. Pursing his lips, he said, ¡°Nowhere, let¡¯s go home.¡± ¡°Huh? I haven¡¯t had enough fun yet. There aren¡¯t too many people today. Didn¡¯t you already promise that you¡¯ll apany me?¡± Fan Shixin said, ¡°I¡¯m tired. Why don¡¯t you stay here and y on your own and I¡¯ll get someone to pick you upter?¡± ¡°Forget it, there¡¯s no point in ying alone.¡± Fan Shixin did not answer her. Ever since they got married, Yang Qianxue had been performing her duties as his wife. She had picked up culinary skills and would perform all the household chores herself, such as cleaning and ironing his clothes. Fan Shixin did not find anything uneptable about her. However, she could neverpare to the love of his life, Mu Wansheng, regardless of how wless she may be. After exiting the amusement park, Fan Shixin subconsciously shifted his gaze onto the family of three and their guide dog, who were walking on the sidewalk. Tang Yucheng was on the way home with Mu Wansheng and Tang Mianmian while his brother and his family continued to stay in the amusement park. Fan Shixin drove at an exceptionally slow pace. Noticing that the three of them had boarded a taxi, Fan Shixin decided to tail them. Something was telling him that he must follow them. Yang Qianxue did not sense anything amiss until she discovered that he was not driving home. She asked, ¡°Hubby, where are you taking me?¡± Fan Shixin suddenly remembered that she was right beside him. ¡°I just remembered that I have something important to attend to. Qianxue, why don¡¯t you take a cab home first?¡± Yang Qianxue agreed, ¡°Alright, pull over by the roadside, then. Drive safely.¡± ¡°Okay, send me a photo of the taxi¡¯s license te once you¡¯ve hailed one.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Yang Qianxue alighted from the car and waved him goodbye. She was rather pleased with her husband even though he had ws that she could not stand. For example, he would rarely smile at her or show any signs of affection toward her, even though he treated her well and had never raised his voice at her. As soon as Yang Qianxue alighted from the car, she received a call from the doctor, after which she immediately hailed a taxi and rushed to see him. ¡°Doctor, have I met the requirements for pregnancy?¡± ¡°After such a long period of treatment, you can finally get ready to conceive. Your health is in good condition now and your infections have all been treated. Rest assured and look forward to bing an expectant mother,¡± the gynecologist exined while handing her the test report. Yang Qianxue nodded excitedly and said, ¡°Great, thank you, Doctor!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡± She left with her test report, feeling extremely agitated, as if she had already gotten pregnant. All the rtionships that she had had in the past never once worked out. Her health had been in poor shape, and she had been diagnosed with several gynecological diseases. She would often contract yeast infections and end up spreading them to her sexual partners. Not only was the treatment for yeast infections difficult, but rpses were frequent as well. Ever since she got married, she and Fan Shixin had never consummated their marriage. It was mainly because of her diseases, which resulted in a pungent odor in her feminine parts. Hence, she had been secretly undergoing treatment for her condition. She was thinking of trying for a baby after her condition waspletely treated. The time had finallye. Yang Qianxue was extremely agitated. She immediately rushed back home. She decided to put in effort and n a romantic night for the two of them. Needless to say, Fan Shixin was clueless about the ns she had. He was too preupied with tailing Mu Wansheng. The more he continued to tail, the more he could not control his emotions. Atst, they pulled over at a vige near the river where Mu Wansheng had plunged into during the traffic ident. He parked his car in an obscure corner and watched them enter a house together. Fan Shixin then called Xiao Bai and instructed him to bring some items over, as well as check up on Tang Yucheng¡¯s family carefully. Finally, Xiao Bai arrived in the evening when the sky was about to turn dark. He had also brought along some food. ¡°Chief, what are you doing here? You didn¡¯t even go home for dinner,¡± Xiao Bai said while closing the door. ¡°It¡¯s my pleasure to be here.¡± ¡°Fine. Go ahead and eat while I read the investigation report to you.¡± He then handed the food container to Fan Shixin before reading the contents of the investigation out loud. Chapter 1466 - Great to Have You (26)

Chapter 1466: Great to Have You (26)

¡°The patriarch of this family is called Tang Yucheng. He¡¯s 32 years old this year, and both his parents have passed away. His younger brother married into his wife¡¯s family and is living with them. Tang Yucheng works as an odd-job worker, and his family owns a few pieces ofnd. His wife is a blind woman named Happy. She¡¯s 31 years old andes from a mediocre family...¡± Xiao Bai then told him the date of their marriage registration as well as Tang Mianmian¡¯s birth date. ¡°When did the blind woman get her personal identification registered?¡± ¡°Huh? I didn¡¯t find that out.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you to do a thorough check? Go back and look into it. You¡¯re not allowed to tell anyone else either.¡± ¡°Yes...¡± Xiao Bai did not probe any further and returned to his own car, despite not knowing why he wanted to check up on this family. How could it be so coincidental? Fan Shixin could not help but begin to find it a little fishy. If it weren¡¯t because of how closely simr Happy¡¯s features were to Mu Wansheng¡¯s, he wouldn¡¯t have noticed that they were of a simr build too. However, he could tell the difference between their voices, though he reckoned that she sounded too hoarse for it to be her natural voice. He then recalled how much her daughter resembled Mu Wansheng and how confident she was that he would not harm her daughter when she left her in his care. The more Fan Shixin thought about it, the more he began to suspect that Mu Wansheng was still alive. After all, her corpse had not been found yet. Although it was a great mishap and it was very unlikely that she would be alive, he still wanted to verify it for himself. Perhaps I didn¡¯t manage to get a closer look at the amusement park. I must take a thorough look at her face again. It might just be a coincidence, but there¡¯s nothing for me to lose by taking a look. It¡¯s only going to require a day¡¯s time. He had instructed Xiao Bai to bring him some incense that would knock one unconscious. In order to take a close look at her face stealthily, he obviously couldn¡¯t rm her family. When the sky turned darkpletely, Xiao Bai gave him a call. Upon hearing Xiao Bai¡¯s words, Fan Shixin could not contain his agitation. It can¡¯t just be a coincidence, he thought. If she¡¯s really Wansheng, why didn¡¯t shee to look for me? Even if she didn¡¯t wish to see her family, she should have wanted to see me. Or did she lose her memory? That¡¯s very likely. Fan Shixin waspletely perplexed. However, he could only verify his doubts after taking a closer look at her appearance. He waited until eight o¡¯clock in the evening before alighting. He switched off his mobile phone and left it inside his car. He could guess that her guide dog was probably staying in the same house as her. Hence, he did not have any concerns when he entered the yard. The vigers had a habit of going to bed early. The lights were not on in the house. The family of three had clearly already turned in. After making sure that everyone had passed out because of the incense, he entered the house effortlessly. He guided himself using the torchlight. Tang Yucheng was lying on the extreme right of the spacious bed while Mu Wansheng was lying on the extreme left, with Tang Mianmian in the middle. She did not wear a headdress at night and, thus, her features could be seen clearly. Fan Shixin¡¯s heart pounded rapidly the moment he saw her face, and he teared up instantly. It¡¯s her... It¡¯s her! It really is her! She¡¯s really still alive! At this moment, Fan Shixin was filled with a mix of emotions. He stared at Tang Mianmian, who resembled Mu Wansheng greatly. This child... ... Is the same one that I babysat for two months! If I remember correctly, Xiao Bai said that she was born on the 3rd of February. If she wasn¡¯t born prematurely, isn¡¯t it very likely that she was my child? Although Fan Shixin was suspecting that Tang Mianmian was his daughter, he decided to collect hers and Mu Wansheng¡¯s hair samples. He then left stealthily. Fan Shixin was greatly distracted throughout the entire journey home. He did not expect the tables to have turned so many years after the mishap urred. Coincidentally, he had even managed to discover it by ident. If he hadn¡¯t gone to the amusement park today, he probably would have never found out about it. After some thought, Fan Shixin decided that he can¡¯t rm the Mu family or inform them about this. He nned to carry out a DNA test to verify if Tang Mianmian was his daughter first. If she turned out not to be his biological daughter, he would find the chance to carry out another DNA test to verify if Happy was rted to the Mu family. He arrived home from the DNA test center only near midnight. Yang Qianxue had already fallen asleep on the couch. Upon hearing the sounds of the door, she woke up immediately and asked, ¡°You¡¯re home. I tried to call you but your mobile phone was switched off. Where did you go?¡± ¡°I had something to attend to. Why aren¡¯t you asleep yet?¡± he asked with raised brows at the sight of her attire. ¡°I was waiting for you.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Nothing, I just wanted to wait for you. It¡¯s already midnight. Let¡¯s go to bed,¡± Yang Qianxue said, smiling. She returned to the bedroom while Fan Shixin followed closely behind. ¡°Feel free to speak your mind if there¡¯s something you¡¯d like to tell me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± After some thought, she said, ¡°Well, we¡¯ve been married for so long and it¡¯s time we have a baby.¡± ¡°We can wait until your health gets better.¡± ¡°I went for a checkup today and the doctor said that I¡¯ve recovered. I can prepare to conceive now.¡± Fan Shixin said calmly, ¡°Qianxue, I have something to discuss with you, but let¡¯s do it tomorrow. It¡¯s toote to do it now. Let¡¯s go to bed.¡± Noticing the sullen expression on his face, Yang Qianxue could not help but wonder what he was thinking. However, she did not dwell on it since she had already gotten used to his aloofness. Although the two of them shared the same bed, they would sleep with their backs facing each other. She initially waited to hug him to sleep tonight. However, she decided not to do so after seeing that he seemed to be out of sorts. Fan Shixin could not sleep well at all that night, and he woke up a few times throughout his sleep. He woke up bright and early in the morning. His mobile phone rang when he was having breakfast. It was a call from the DNA test center. ¡°Chief Fan, the results have shown that the child is biologically rted to you.¡± Fan Shixin¡¯s heart sank the moment he heard the news. He reckoned that there must be two possibilities to that. One could be that she had lost her memory, and the other is that she hadn¡¯t. If she had lost her memory, he would be able to understand why she didn¡¯t look him up. Likewise, he could also figure out the reason if that wasn¡¯t the case. She probably didn¡¯t lose her memory. Otherwise, why would she be so willing to leave the child in my care? But... I can¡¯t be too sure now. ¡°Who called you?¡± Yang Qianxue asked after seeing that he had hung up. ¡°You don¡¯t need to know. I actually wanted to tell you somethingst night but it was toote. Let¡¯s have a good chat now. There are some things that I have to make clear to you.¡± Noticing how stern he seemed, Yang Qianxue asked worriedly, ¡°What would you like to say?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get a divorce.¡± ¡°What!?! Why?¡± Yang Qianxue eximed. His words were like a bolt out of the blue. Chapter 1467 - Great to Have You (27)

Chapter 1467: Great to Have You (27)

¡°I guess Heaven hasn¡¯t been blessing us with a child because of this reason. If we had a child, things would have been much trickier. Qianxue, you¡¯re a good woman and I¡¯m sure that there¡¯s someone better than me out there for you. I don¡¯t want to hold up your time any longer.¡± ¡°Are you acting like this because we haven¡¯t been able to get intimate with each other? I actually wanted to consummate our marriagest night and I want to start trying for a baby. Hubby, I¡¯ve already recovered from my illnesses. Shall we have a child together?¡± Staring at her, Fan Shixin said, ¡°I¡¯ve already made up my mind. I won¡¯t change it easily. I¡¯ll make it up to you.¡± ¡°I want to know why you¡¯re asking for a divorce.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t love you when we got married and I¡¯ll never love you. Don¡¯t waste your youth on me.¡± Shaking her head, she said, ¡°No, that¡¯s definitely not the reason you want to divorce me. I know clearly that you didn¡¯t love me when we got married, but you still married me anyway because you¡¯re the only son and you didn¡¯t want your parents to be upset. So why are you asking for a divorce? Unless it¡¯s a good reason, you definitely won¡¯t ask for a divorce. I want to hear the truth.¡± ¡°The reason is not important. What matters is, we must get a divorce.¡± ¡°Have you spoken to your parents about this yet?¡± ¡°No, this is between the two of us and I don¡¯t wish to get them involved.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t agree to a divorce,¡± Yang Qianxue refused vehemently. ¡°I¡¯ll have no choice but to force you, then.¡± He then stood up and left. A short while after he left, Yang Qianxue told Fan Shixin¡¯s parents about the matter. Shocked to hear that their son had requested for a divorce, the elderly couple rushed to Wei Ni Estate and tried to find out what was going on. Not trying to hide at all, Fan Shixin said softly, ¡°Father, Mother, keep this to yourselves. You can¡¯t tell anyone about this without my permission.¡± ¡°Just what¡¯s the matter?¡± Mrs. Fan asked eagerly. ¡°Mother, Wansheng is still alive and she had given birth to my daughter.¡± Mr. and Mrs. Fan stared at each other in shock. ¡°What!?! Oh my god. How could that happen!?! Is that real?¡± ¡°Of course it is. However, Wansheng is not exactly living well now. She looks very different from the way she used to because of the burns that she had suffered. I just found out about this. I even stole my daughter¡¯s hair samplest night and sent it for a DNA test. I haven¡¯t told them about it yet, so you mustn¡¯t breathe a word about this at all. I know what to do. However, I must get a divorce with Qianxue. Only after I¡¯m divorced can I bring Wansheng and my daughter home.¡± Mr. and Mrs. Fan did not say anything else after hearing his words. ¡°Since she¡¯s still alive, why didn¡¯t shee back sooner? If she¡¯de back at the start, you wouldn¡¯t have had to marry Qianxue.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure if she had lost her memory or something else. Wait for my news. Go home first.¡± Mrs. Fan said, ¡°Qianxue said that she¡¯s not going to agree to a divorce. If she refuses to get a divorce, what are you going to do?¡± ¡°Mother, stay out of this. I¡¯ll handle it myself.¡± The elderly couple had no choice but to leave. ¡ª¡ª It began pouring at past nine o¡¯clock. Although the rain was not heavy, it was extremely chilly. Tang Yucheng brought Tang Mianmian back to his brother¡¯s home, leaving Mu Wansheng and Snowman alone at home. Fan Shixin visited her openly. Noticing that the door was left ajar, he pushed it and entered. Mu Wansheng sat by the fire to bake some marbles. It was an odd job that she had taken up. Although she could not see, her hands were rather nimble. Snowman snuggled up next to her feet sleepily. Fan Shixin caught sight of her the moment he reached the door. Sensing that there were noises, Snowman quickly stood up and barked at Fan Shixin. Mu Wansheng put down the rack that she was holding and asked, ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± Snowman began barking as soon as Fan Shixin entered. Feeling jittery all of a sudden, Mu Wansheng asked, ¡°Just who is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± She sprung up from her seat, and her heart began to pound rapidly. She was extremely distracted and at aplete loss for what to do. After calming herself down, she chose to feign ignorance and asked, ¡°Who are you?¡± Fan Shixin said with a frown, ¡°You clearly know who I am. Can¡¯t you recognize my voice?¡± ¡°Ah... you¡¯re Mr. Fan who helped me look after my daughter in the past, right? I got a great shock just now. What brings you here?¡± He walked toward her while Snowman began to bark again. Mu Wansheng stopped it and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°I came to see you... because of something important, of course.¡± Fan Shixin walked toward her and stared at her bare face. ¡°Wansheng, you¡¯re not a good actor. Drop the act. You¡¯ve already met me so many times before, why didn¡¯t you just tell me then that you¡¯re Wansheng? What are you afraid of? Are you afraid that I¡¯d mind the way you look? If you¡¯d told me the truth earlier, the three of us would have been living together happily now. Is this really the life you want? Wansheng, how heartless of you to be letting my daughter call another man her father.¡± Pangs of panic engulfed Mu Wansheng. How did he find out about this? How!?! She initially wanted to pretend not to know who he was. However, it turned out that he already knew that her daughter belonged to him. ¡°Don¡¯t spout any nonsense. That child belongs to my husband.¡± ¡°Your husband? I¡¯ve already gotten a DNA test carried out. She¡¯s my biological daughter.¡± ¡°So what?¡± said Mu Wansheng, who could not continue pretending not to know him. ¡°So what? I¡¯d been thinking that you were dead all this while,¡± he said with a look of agony. ¡°You can continue thinking that way. After all, that¡¯s what I thought too. Ever since the moment I plunged into the river, Mu Wansheng had already died. I¡¯m a whole new person now. I didn¡¯t suffer from amnesia. I didn¡¯t go back to the Mu family home or look you up because I didn¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°Do you me me for... failing to rescue you in time? I actually made it there but it was all toote,¡± said Fan Shixin, filled with misery. ¡°I don¡¯t me you. The problem doesn¡¯t lie with you. It was entirely my choice. Let¡¯s just live our lives properly. We¡¯re both married to different people now. We¡¯ll let bygones be bygones. Don¡¯t hurt Mianmian either. She¡¯s still young. She already has a father now.¡± A lump formed in Fan Shixin¡¯s throat and he said, ¡°You¡¯re the one who hurt her, not me. I never knew of her existence until now. You¡¯re the one who refuses to let her be with her biological father. Wansheng, I know why you didn¡¯t look me up. You were afraid that I¡¯d despise you for your appearance, weren¡¯t you? Am I such a superficial man to you?¡± Chapter 1468 - Great to Have You (28)

Chapter 1468: Great to Have You (28)

Mu Wansheng said softly, ¡°I just feel that I¡¯m no longer worthy enough to be with you.¡± Fan Shixin questioned angrily, ¡°Who said you could take matters into your own hands and jump to conclusions? It¡¯s not for you to decide if you¡¯re worthy enough or not.¡± Mu Wansheng could tell how angry he was. However, she had long made her mind up not to return to his side. Hence, nothing he said would work anymore. ¡°Yes, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯m worthy.¡± Fan Shixin felt that she waspletely different from the old Mu Wansheng who used to get shy easily. She sounded cold and aloof. She was obstinate and as stubborn as a mule. However, she was still the woman he had been missing dearly. Fan Shixin said with tears in his eyes, ¡°Wansheng, regardless of what you be, I¡¯ll never despise you. Your husband is the man who had saved you, isn¡¯t he? We can make it up to him in other ways. You don¡¯t necessarily have to give yourself to him.¡± ¡°Stop trying to persuade me any further. I don¡¯t want my life to be jeopardized. Please just leave. I think we¡¯re just not destined to be together. He¡¯s a good man. He may have lost his legs but he treats me very well. I¡¯m his wife now. The rtionship that you and I had is now a thing of the past.¡± Fan Shixin said sternly, ¡°You can take charge of any decision except this. There¡¯s no bargaining for this! He may be a good man but does that make me a jerk? You don¡¯t want to hurt him but does that mean you can hurt me? Does he treat you very well? I still remember what you said at the hospital back then. I still remember how miserable you looked when you were crying on the bench outside the ward. Wansheng, don¡¯t bother lying to me.¡± ¡°He was just acting out of the ordinary because he had suffered a huge mental blow. He¡¯s gotten better after he was discharged. Everything has been well so far.¡± ¡°But I love you, Wansheng.¡± Mu Wansheng cocked her head toward the side and said, ¡°I don¡¯t love you anymore.¡± ¡°You¡¯re lying.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you say it to my face, then? Why did you look away?¡± Fan Shixin grabbed her and said, ¡°Come back with me.¡± ¡°No.¡± Mu Wansheng tried to push him away forcefully. ¡°Could you please respect my decision!?!¡± Fan Shixin identally ced his hand onto the stove. Although he retracted his hand as quickly as he could, he was still scalded. Sensing that something was amiss, Mu Wansheng asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I ced my hand onto the stove.¡± Mu Wansheng was infuriated yet flustered and worried for him at the same time. She hurriedly brought some white wine over for him to rinse his hands with. Fan Shixin felt rather relieved upon seeing how worried she was. There was some medicated cream in the bedroom. She applied it onto his hand and bandaged it. ¡°This is just a simple dressing. You¡¯ll have to go to the hospital to get it cleaned properly.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Suit yourself, then.¡± She stood up and continued, ¡°Please leave. My husband will be back soon. It won¡¯t be appropriate if he sees you.¡± He grabbed her wrist with his uninjured hand and pulled her onto hisp. She tried to struggle to break free with all her might, to no avail. She knew how strong he was. ¡°Fan Shixin!¡± He wrapped his arms around her and said, ¡°Wansheng, why did you make those decisions without seeking my opinion?¡± Mu Wansheng remained silent, filled with a mix of emotions. It had never crossed her mind that he would ever show up at her doorstep. ¡°I¡¯m not going to let go of you no matter what.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be like this. You¡¯re putting me in a spot. Will you let me be in charge of my own life?¡± ¡°He might get hurt, but this is inevitable. I¡¯ll do my best to make it up to him, but he can¡¯t have you and our daughter.¡± Mu Wansheng was at a loss for words. ¡°You already have a family of your own. Don¡¯t do this. You¡¯ll only be hurting another woman and disrupting my peace. I want to continue living like this for the rest of my life.¡± He said, ¡°I¡¯ve already requested a divorce. We¡¯ve never consummated our marriage and we don¡¯t have children either. I¡¯ve already informed my parents about you and they agreed to stay out of this. We¡¯re definitely getting a divorce. Whether or not you divorce him, it doesn¡¯t matter at all because your current identity will be overwritten once I apply for a household register under the name ¡®Mu Wansheng¡¯. Your marriage will no longer be valid either.¡± Mu Wansheng pleaded anxiously, ¡°Don¡¯t act like this. Don¡¯t force me, please. Will you just let me lead the life that I want?¡± ¡°I can give you a life of peace too. Wansheng, I know you¡¯re very grateful to your savior, but didn¡¯t I save you too? Do you really love him? I don¡¯t believe that you love him. I refuse to believe that you can forget me that easily!¡± Tears welled up in Mu Wansheng¡¯s eyes, unsure of what else to say. At this very moment, Tang Yucheng and Tang Mianmian entered the house. Upon hearing their voices, Mu Wansheng panicked and eximed, ¡°Yucheng and Mianmian are home. Hurry and hide yourself, quick!¡± ¡°Why must I hide? We¡¯ll have to meet sooner orter anyway.¡± ¡°I¡¯m begging you! Hide... beneath my bed. Hurry up.¡± He let go of her and conceded. This was the most aggrieved he had ever felt! He actually had to hide beneath the bed. Fortunately, the bed was big and high. Otherwise, it would have been extremely ufortable for Fan Shixin, who was standing at over 1.8 meters. As soon as he shielded himself with the bed sheet, Tang Yucheng entered in his wheelchair. ¡°Why are you home so soon?¡± ¡°Kangcheng and Sister-inw weren¡¯t at home. Why do you look so pale?¡± ¡°Nothing, I just felt cold.¡± She handed Snowman to him and said, ¡°Snowman is freezing too. Bring him to the living room. I want to lie down and get some rest.¡± She was worried that Snowman would discover Fan Shixin because it had a habit of snuggling up beneath the bed. Not suspecting that anything was amiss, Tang Yucheng wheeled himself out of the room and brought Snowman into the living room. ¡°Mommy, weren¡¯t you sitting by the firece when Daddy and I left? Why did you stop?¡± Tang Mianmian asked. ¡°It wasn¡¯t warm enough for me so I wanted to lie down. Mianmian, is it pouring heavily outside?¡± ¡°Yes. Mommy, there¡¯s a huge car outside our vige, though. Daddy said that it¡¯s an expensive car.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Mu Wansheng removed her shoes andy down on the bed. Tang Mianmian followed suit. Feeling a little ufortable, Tang Mianmian removed her jacket and tucked herself beneath the nket while leaning beside her mother¡¯s arm. Mu Wansheng was ill at ease because she knew that Fan Shixin was beneath the bed. After leashing Snowman, Tang Yucheng asked, ¡°I remember closing the door properly before leaving the house. Why was it open when we came back? Did you go out?¡± Chapter 1469 - Great to Have You (29)

Chapter 1469: Great to Have You (29)

¡°It was probably the wind,¡± said Mu Wansheng. ¡°Turn on the electric nket. You don¡¯t seem too well.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°Are you... still going to your brother¡¯s ce in the afternoon?¡± ¡°Nah, it¡¯s cold and it¡¯s pouring.¡± A frown creased Mu Wansheng¡¯s forehead. What do I do now? He would stay at home all day if he wasn¡¯t going out. Doesn¡¯t that mean that Shixin will have to stay under the bed for the entire day? ¡°Mianmian, do you want to take a nap?¡± ¡°No, Mommy, I¡¯m not tired at all. I just woke up a while ago. I don¡¯t want to sleep.¡± ¡°...¡± Mu Wansheng decided to not to say anything else. Tang Yuchengy down on the bed as well, for he had nothing else to do anyway. Mu Wansheng was filled with anxiety. Time passed by bit by bit. When noontime arrived, Tang Yucheng proceeded to prepare lunch while Tang Mianmian dozed off. Mu Wensheng got out of bed and took out a set of bedsheets from the cab, which she then handed to Fan Shixin. She then gave him a duvet and a pillow. She could not afford to let Tang Yucheng find out about Fan Shixin. If he were to find out, she would be at a loss for an exnation. She knew that Tang Yucheng would definitely read too much into things. However, there was a crucial problem! What if he needed to use the washroom!?! Mu Wansheng squatted down and asked softly, ¡°Do you need to use the washroom?¡± ¡°No.¡± When Tang Yucheng was cooking lunch, Mu Wansheng took the chance to heat up two vegetable buns that she had made. She then handed the buns and a carton of warm milk to him. Fan Shixin felt that... it was not too bad! Tang Yucheng had no idea that there was another man in his house at all. Not to mention, he was the man Tang Yucheng dreaded seeing the most. Mu Wansheng spent the rest of the day in fear. Evening finally arrived. After dinner, the family of three went to bed as usual. However, Mu Wansheng did not feel tired at all because of how vexed she was. However, Tang Yucheng and Tang Mianmian fell asleep after having a joyous conversation. Mu Wansheng finally got out of bed slowly after making sure that the two of them had fallen asleep. She purposely took the extreme right of the bed tonight. Tang Yucheng was a deep sleeper and would usually sleep all the way until daybreak without waking up to go to the toilet. She slid down the bed slowly, not making a single sound at all She lifted the bedsheets and stuck a hand beneath the bed. As soon as she touched him, he grabbed her arm, causing her to get a great shock. He pulled her toward him, and she felt as if her heart was about to jump out of her chest. She almost screamed in terror. However, he quickly covered her mouth and said softly, ¡°Do you want to wake them up?¡± Mu Wansheng whispered, ¡°Hurry and leave. Stop wasting time.¡± He pinned her beneath himself and began kissing her. Mu Wansheng was bbergasted. She grabbed the bedsheets tightly, feeling weak and unable to move. His scent infiltrated her senses. Mu Wansheng reminisced on the time when they had gotten intimate and instantly turned red with shyness. Her heart began beating rapidly; she was unable to contain her emotions. Shey still like a dead fish and allowed Fan Shixin to continue kissing her until he was done. He raised Mu Wansheng¡¯s hands above her head slowly and spread her legs open. The moment he reached below her shirt, she opened her mouth and bit him. A sudden wave of pain hit Fan Shixin. He then began thrusting himself into her. Although her skin was no longer as smooth as it used to be, he still could not help himself. Mu Wansheng was at the end of her wits. How dare he take liberties with me at such a juncture! However, there was nothing she could do. It had been a long time since Fan Shixin had gotten together with a woman. He said softly, ¡°Wansheng, I missed you so much.¡± ¡°Hurry... and leave.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to be away from you.¡± ¡°Will you please leave quickly?¡± ¡°You have to kiss me first.¡± ¡°...¡± He would not leave until Mu Wansheng kissed him. Atst, she had no choice but to give him a quick kiss on his cheek. ¡°I¡¯ll still love you regardless of what you¡¯ve be. I love you for who you are, not for what you look like. I hope you¡¯ll understand that.¡± He kept his word and left. ¡°Don¡¯te back again.¡± He did not answer her. Mu Wansheng had a night full of dreams. She was ashamed of what she had dreamed of. She dreamed of getting intimate with Fan Shixin in her bedroom in the Mu family home. He wanted to climax inside her over and over again. It only dawned upon her that it was just a dream when she woke up. However, it was enough to make her feel flustered. ¡°Happy, what would you like to have for breakfast?¡± Tang Yucheng asked. ¡°Anything.¡± Tang Yucheng did not ask any other questions and proceeded to prepare breakfast. Mu Wansheng was filled with an inexplicable feeling. She felt that Fan Shixin would definitelye back for her. Needless to say, Fan Shixin would not give up. Seeing that she did not waver at all, he decided to take further action. He specially asked Jin Qingyan for some time off work so that he could handle some personal matters. Jin Qingyan felt sympathetic for him and told him to act as soon as he could, lest his woman and child get snatched away. Fan Shixin trusted Jin Qingyan¡¯s words, for he felt that Jin Qingyan was experienced enough to give him sound advice. Hence, he secretly re-applied for a household register for the supposedly-dead Mu Wansheng and transferred her name under the Mu family household register without their knowledge. He had also registered a household register for his daughter and changed her name to Fan Mianmian. Tang Yucheng and Mu Wansheng were kept in the dark. Fan Shixin did everything by himself, including the divorce proceedings with Yang Qianxue. However, Yang Qianxue was dead against a divorce. Fan Shixin did not expect an independent woman like her to be so insistent when it came to marriage. He had no choice but to raise it to court and let the judge grant him a divorce. Yang Qianxue was filled with disappointment. She felt utterly hopeless, seeing how determined he was to divorce her. After much persuasion by Mr. and Mrs. Fan, she finally gave in and agreed to get a divorce for the sake of her pride and receiving arger portion of shares. Chapter 1470 - Great to Have You (30)

Chapter 1470: Great to Have You (30)

However, she could not take it lying down. Her marriage was going well, yet he initiated a divorce all of a sudden. She had to get to the bottom of the truth! The assets that Fan Shixin had acquired before the wedding were not included in the matrimonial assets. Nheless, Yang Qianxue managed to gain quite a hefty sum from Fan Shixin. After all, he was the one who initiated the divorce. Hence, he had to do his best to make it up to her. He hoped that the divorce proceedings could be settled as soon as possible. Fan Shixin did not look Mu Wansheng up again since he was busy with handling the administrative matters. He had merely instructed his subordinates to keep an eye on her just in case she left the vige. To his relief, she did not. The divorce and household register applications werepleted half a monthter. It was the 19th of February. The weather was fair, and the sun was shining brightly. The air was as fresh as dew. Fan Shixin groomed himself neatly and proceeded to look for Mu Wansheng after breakfast. Havinge prepared, he parked his car outside Tang Yucheng¡¯s doorstep openly. He was dressed formally in a ssic ensemble, consisting of a ck suit and a white buttoned shirt. Fan Shixin had always been in good shape, and almost every piece of clothing would look good on him. It seemed all of his life experiences were reflected on his face. He entered the house to see that Mu Wansheng was doing theundry while Fan Mianmian was ying with a ball in the yard. On the other hand, Tang Yucheng was sitting in his wheelchair and sweeping the floor with a broom. Tang Yucheng tensed up the moment he saw Fan Shixin. However, he pretended not to know who he was and asked, ¡°Who are you looking for?¡± ¡°Why bother pretending that you don¡¯t know me when we both know that you do?¡± said Fan Shixin, causing Mu Wansheng to freeze in shock. She turned around to look at Fan Shixin. ¡°What... are you doing here?¡± she asked with trembling hands. In fact, she wanted to ask, ¡°Why are you here again?¡± He was well aware of what she was thinking. ¡°I¡¯m here to pick you and Mianmian up,¡± Fan Shixin said in a deep, low voice. He could see Mu Wansheng even though she could not see him. Tang Yucheng raised his voice and questioned, ¡°What do you mean? They¡¯re my wife and daughter, who are you to bring them away with you?¡± ¡°Your wife and your daughter? I¡¯ve already reapplied for a household register for the supposedly-deceased Mu Wansheng and registered her and Mianmian¡¯s names under my address. The identity of ¡®Happy¡¯ will now be invalid. I know you were the one who saved her, and she¡¯s very grateful to you as well. She didn¡¯t look for me because she¡¯s worried that I would despise her. However, I must bring them home with me no matter what. By the way, Wansheng, I¡¯ve already gotten a divorce.¡± The average and mediocre viger, Tang Yucheng, was greatly agitated by his words. What he dreaded the most had finally happened. ¡°I won¡¯t let you take them away. Forget about it!¡± he hollered. Fan Shixin saidposedly, ¡°I¡¯ll repay you for the kindness that you had shown them both in a different way. I know that some intangible things cannot be made up for. However, I would rather hurt you than hurt myself by watching my woman and daughter live with another man. I hope you won¡¯t act rashly while I still have the patience to talk things over with you calmly.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no room for bargaining. I won¡¯t let you take them away,¡± Tang Yucheng said while dumping the broom onto the ground and pulling Fan Mianmian into his embrace. ¡°She¡¯s no longer your wife now. If you don¡¯t believe me, you may go check on her household register and on the validity of your marriage certificate. Besides, I¡¯ve already gotten a DNA test carried out. Mianmian is my biological daughter. You¡¯re in no ce to object.¡± Tang Yucheng was boiling with rage after hearing how haughty and insistent he was. ¡°You still have to seek Happy¡¯s and Mianmian¡¯s opinion before you can take them away.¡± ¡°Wansheng¡¯s judgment is impaired right now. I don¡¯t need her opinion. Mianmian is still young and insensible, I don¡¯t need her approval either. I¡¯m their legal guardian. Hence, I can take charge.¡± Mu Wansheng was at a loss for words. She had always thought him to be a mature and stable man. However, she had never seen such a stubborn side to him before. ¡°Leave. Mianmian and I are not going to go back with you. Don¡¯t make me repeat myself again,¡± Mu Wansheng interjected. ¡°Do you want me to take extreme measures, then? Is that what you want?¡± Fan Shixin questioned. ¡°Fan Shixin, I¡¯ve already told you that Mianmian and I want to stay here. We¡¯re not leaving! I¡¯m an adult, I ought to take responsibility for my actions. Who are you to decide how I should live?¡± Mu Wansheng was afraid that Tang Yucheng would take his own life out of exasperation. She clearly remembered him telling her a few days ago that he would lose his purpose in life if she and Fan Mianmian were to leave him. If Tang Yucheng had continuedshing out at her and became ill-tempered, she definitely wouldn¡¯t have stayed with him any longer. However, Tang Yucheng had changed for the better ever since he was discharged. Hence, she had no reason... ¡°Why don¡¯t I have the right to intervene? You¡¯re my woman and Mianmian is my daughter. Is he supposed to be the one in charge instead of me? Mu Wansheng, you can trample on your own pride, but don¡¯t drag Mianmian down with you. Who was the one who felt the most devastated after your mishap? Was it this man, your savior? Was I the first person you thought of the moment you realized that you were still alive? If I was, why didn¡¯t you look for me? Why didn¡¯t you let him inform me? You were only sparing a thought for yourself. Perhaps you may say that you¡¯re sparing a thought for me, but I don¡¯t need you to. You¡¯d rather marry such a man than let me know that you¡¯re still alive. If I hadn¡¯t found out by ident, you would have kept it from me forever! Can you hold your head high in front of our daughter?¡± His eyes were teary and bloodshot. Every single word of his struck a sour note within Mu Wansheng. ¡°Take Mianmian away with you, then. You don¡¯t have to care about me.¡± Staring at her in astonishment, Tang Yucheng said, ¡°No, you can¡¯t let him have Mianmian.¡± Fan Mianmian was frightened as well. She frantically threw her arms around Tang Yucheng¡¯s neck and eximed worriedly, ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere. I don¡¯t want to leave with this bad Uncle. Daddy, chase him away, quick! I¡¯m scared!¡± After hearing those harsh words from his own daughter, Fan Shixin lost his rationality. Mu Wansheng was distraught. Mu Wansheng knew that it won¡¯t be easy to solve the problem, especially since Fan Shixin was now aware that Mianmian was his daughter. It was a tricky situation. She could neither stay nor make Fan Shixin leave. Her peace waspletely disrupted. It was the exact reason Fan Shixin could take action. Without hesitation, Fan Shixin picked her up in his arms and carried her outside,pletely ignoring her shrieks and screams. He then shoved her into the car. Chapter 1471 - Great to Have You (31)

Chapter 1471: Great to Have You (31)

Shortly after, the bawling Fan Mianmian was shoved into the car as well. Fan Shixin¡¯s anger knew no bounds and he hollered, ¡°Mu Wansheng, must you really make me do this?¡± ¡°Why do you have topel me like this!?! Can¡¯t you just take Mianmian away with you? I must stay!¡± ¡°Do you really think I¡¯d let you stay?¡± ¡°Yucheng is going to take things too hard and end up hurting himself! He has neverpelled me against my wishes before and I did all of this out of my own ord. I want to continue living like this, I like living like this! Shixin, ever since I escaped the ordeal and became disfigured, I had already decided to give you up.¡± Tears streamed down Fan Shixin¡¯s face uncontrobly. Staring at her, he said, ¡°Let me ask you, what gave you the power and courage to let go of me and live life with him? He doesn¡¯t despise you, but I don¡¯t despise you either. Mu Wansheng, if you had truly given up on me, why did you still give birth to Mianmian? Didn¡¯t you know that you¡¯ll forever be rted to me once you give birth to her? Since you were so heartless as to give me up, why don¡¯t you give her up too? Why? Why!?!¡± Mu Wansheng hugged her daughter tightly in her arms, at aplete loss for words. Fan Mianmian stopped bawling and instead stared at Fan Shixin with reddened eyes. Fan Shixin took a deep breath and eximed, ¡°There are lots of ways to repay him for his kindness. I¡¯m very grateful to him for saving you too, but that doesn¡¯t mean that I can allow him to share the same bed as my woman and rece me as my daughter¡¯s father! I was initially nning to make it up to him, but it seems there¡¯s no need for that now. He¡¯s coveting my woman and my daughter. Why should I stillpensate him? Who¡¯s going topensate me, then!?!¡± He then mmed the door shut and turned around to stare at Tang Yucheng, who had heard all of his words. ring at him sternly, Fan Shixin said, ¡°Wansheng is worried that you might take your own life because of this, but I¡¯m not worried at all. Your life doesn¡¯t belong to me. If you want to die, I¡¯ll send someone to take care of your funeral matters.¡± Tang Yucheng stared back at him and quipped, ¡°Will Happy and Mianmian be happy about you taking them away forcefully? You¡¯re so obstinate and inconsiderate to their feelings. And you call yourself a man!¡± ¡°If I¡¯m not a man, are you? If you¡¯re a man, you should have told her that she and Mianmian are free to go wherever they want. You shouldn¡¯t be tying them down and emotionally ckmailing Wansheng with the fact that you had saved her life.¡± Mu Wansheng alighted from the car and walked past the rear of the car with her daughter in her arms. ¡°He didn¡¯t ckmail me, so don¡¯te back here ever again. Stop jeopardizing our peaceful life.¡± ¡°Mu Wansheng, I wasn¡¯t nning to tell your family about this, but since you¡¯ve decided to be so stubborn, I don¡¯t mind making a trip to the Mu family home to tell them about this. I shall see if you can continue living peacefully. If you don¡¯t wish to leave with me, hand Mianmian over to me. If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll have no choice but to take legal action. I¡¯m sure you know which one of us has the ability to give her a better environment to grow up in. Besides, the judge will definitely make the right decision, especially since you¡¯re denying me the right to acknowledge my daughter.¡± She did not expect him to say that. She almost fainted in exasperation. Needless to say, she had no idea that Fan Shixin had already lost his patience and rationality. He would do whatever it took to get the two of them to return to his side! Mu Wansheng said, ¡°How about you go back first? I¡¯ll discuss this with Yucheng.¡± ¡°Sure, but don¡¯t think of moving overnight. My people will be keeping a close eye on you. I¡¯ll be back again tomorrow morning. I hope to hear a satisfactory answer.¡± He then got inside his car and left. She only just realized how stubborn he can be. Mu Wansheng instructed Fan Mianmian to y on her own in the yard while she discussed the matter with Tang Yucheng. ¡°Do you really n to let him have Mianmian?¡± ¡°Do you agree to it?¡± ¡°We can let him have her as long as it solves the problem, but I can¡¯t let you go. I wouldn¡¯t have intervened if we weren¡¯t married, but everyone in the vige knows that you¡¯re my wife now. I¡¯ve also gotten used to your presence after all these years. I¡¯ll be left all alone if you leave with him. Happy, will you promise that you won¡¯t leave me?¡± Mu Wansheng nodded and said, ¡°I won¡¯t leave, don¡¯t worry.¡± However, Tang Yucheng was still ill at ease. He was out of sorts for the rest of the day. Atst, he decided to visit his brother in the afternoon. Mu Wansheng and her daughter were left alone at home. Shey down on the bed with Fan Mianmian in her arms. Although she was young, she was not ignorant. ¡°Mommy, can I ask you something?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s that uncle today?¡± Mu Wansheng held her hand and said, ¡°He¡¯s your biological father.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t I already have Daddy? Why do I have another biological father now?¡± ¡°They¡¯re both your fathers. Your biological father did not know of your existence when I was pregnant with you. Without him, there won¡¯t be you. However, you were raised by me and your current Daddy.¡± ¡°Why wasn¡¯t my other Daddy aware of my existence? Mommy, why didn¡¯t you raise me together with my other Daddy?¡± Mu Wansheng had no idea how to answer her. She constantly wondered if she had made the wrong decision back then. However, she dared not imagine it. Although the condition of the skin on her face had improved tremendously over the years, she was still worried that others would get a shock after seeing her appearance. She had not wished for things to turn out this way. ¡°Mommy, why aren¡¯t you speaking?¡± ¡°Are you tired? Do you want to sleep?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°Shall I tell you a story, then?¡± Fan Mianmian sat up all of a sudden and said, ¡°Mommy, that Daddy is crying.¡± ¡°What?¡± Mu Wansheng asked, cocking her head sideways. ¡°That Daddy is crying inside the car.¡± ¡°Is he really crying?¡± asked Mu Wansheng, who felt as if a dagger had been pierced through her heart. ¡°Yes, I saw it.¡± Mu Wansheng kept quiet and closed her eyes while tears streamed down her face. She dozed off soon after. She was then jolted awake by the rm on her mobile phone. Due to the fact that she could not see the time, Tang Yucheng had specially set several rms on her mobile phone to wake her up and remind her of the time. When the rm notified her that it was eight o¡¯clock in the evening, Mu Wansheng called, ¡°Yucheng?¡± There was no response. She then lifted the duvet and got out of bed. She walked out of the room and called his name again but still did not receive any response. Chapter 1472 - Great to Have You (32)

Chapter 1472: Great to Have You (32)

Mu Wansheng thought to herself that he was probably not home yet. She proceeded to whip up a meal. Although cooking was tough for her since she was visually impaired, she had already gotten used to it. By the time she was done cooking, Tang Yucheng was still not home yet. Mu Wansheng could not help but feel a little worried. She continued to y with Fan Mianmian before tucking her to sleep. He finally returned at past midnight. He reeked of alcohol. This was the first time that he had evere home drunk. Mu Wansheng asked gently, ¡°Why did you drink? Where did you go?¡± Just as she tried to grab him, he pushed her away and barked in a drunken stupor, ¡°It¡¯s none of your business. You... you¡¯ve heard what that man said today. He¡¯s already reapplied a household register for you. Your identity as ¡®Happy¡¯ is no longer valid. That also means that you¡¯re no longer my wife. We don¡¯t even have to get a divorce. Frankly speaking, Happy, weren¡¯t you d to hear that he had already gotten a divorce?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°I know you were. He¡¯s such a good catch. He¡¯s handsome and rich. I can¡¯t hold a candle to him at all. I can¡¯t give you a good life or let you stay in a good house. I don¡¯t have a car like he does and I¡¯m not as tall as he is. It¡¯s only understandable for you to waver. Although we¡¯re no longer legally married, you¡¯ll always be my wife.¡± ¡°Mianmian is asleep. Lower your volume. I¡¯ll go pour you some tea,¡± she said while walking away. However, Tang Yucheng refused to let her go and instead grabbed her arm. ¡°Carry me onto the bed.¡± She carried him onto the bed with all her might. To her astonishment, he grabbed her arms and pinned her beneath him. ¡°Happy, I¡¯ve never kissed you before. Will you let me kiss you?¡± Mu Wansheng hurriedly sat up straight and said, ¡°Yucheng, you¡¯re drunk.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not, I¡¯m perfectly sober and I know what I¡¯m doing. I¡¯ve never gotten intimate with you before because I wanted to respect you. However, after I met with the mishap, I resented myself for failing to bed you because I could no longer do it. I¡¯m incredibly frustrated and distraught. I wished I was dead.¡± He then lowered his head in a bid to kiss Mu Wansheng, who hurriedly cocked her head sideways, causing his lips tond on her cheek. Tang Yucheng remained still and took a whiff of her scent. ¡°You react this way whenever I try to kiss you, yet you still say that you¡¯re willing to stay by my side. Happy, aren¡¯t you just avoiding the problem? You don¡¯t genuinely want to stay behind.¡± Mu Wansheng pushed him away and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go pour you some tea.¡± This time, Tang Yucheng did not stop her. She headed to the kitchen to pour him some tea and brought it back to him. Tang Yucheng took it from her and gulped it down. ¡°I¡¯ve already told Kangcheng and his wife about this and they¡¯ve both agreed that I should let you go. They think that I ought to let you go because you and Mianmian belong to him.¡± Mu Wansheng ced the cup on the table. He continued, ¡°But I won¡¯t let you go. Happy, I finally found meaning in life after living with you and Mianmian. If you leave me, I won¡¯t know what to do with life anymore. I was on the verge of losing it when I was in the hospital. However, after you spoke to me when I was discharged, I decided to continue living life with you properly. Wansheng, I¡¯ll really kill myself if you leave me.¡± Mu Wansheng sat down on the bed andforted him, ¡°Don¡¯t read too much into things.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not, I¡¯m just getting a major headache now. I just can¡¯t stop wondering, would my life have stayed peaceful if I hadn¡¯t saved you back then?¡± ¡°Are you regretting your decision to save me?¡± Mu Wansheng asked. ¡°I don¡¯t regret saving you, but I regret letting you stay behind. I should have just sent you home.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°If, I mean if, he gives you five million dors, will you let me go?¡± ¡°Five... million?¡± ¡°Yes. If he gives you five million dors to let go of me, will you? I want to hear the truth.¡± ¡°I... I won¡¯t.¡± Mu Wansheng¡¯s heart sank. She had heard the hesitation in his tone. ¡°I¡¯ve already heard everything that he said to you in the car,¡± he continued. ¡°The stuff he said about not wanting topensate you? He only said it in a moment of anger. If I leave with him, he¡¯ll definitely repay you for your kindness and for saving my life. I¡¯m just worried that he might inform my family that I¡¯m here. If he does, they would definitelye here to look for me and word about me being alive will definitely spread all over the news. We won¡¯t be able to stay here anymore too...¡± ¡°...¡± Mu Wansheng could not fall asleep at all for the rest of the night. Soon, Fan Shixin arrived. Tang Yucheng was out to harvest some vegetables while Mu Wansheng and Fan Mianmian were still asleep. Fan Shixin headed straight to the bedroom. Upon the sight of the two of them sleeping, he sat down on the bed. Mu Wansheng was sound asleep, and she had no idea that he was right beside her. Fan Mianmian was the first to discover him when she woke up wearily. Fan Shixin caressed her face. Staring at him with her eyes wide open, she said, ¡°I take my words back. You¡¯re not Bad Uncle, you¡¯re Daddy.¡± Fan Shixin teared up and asked, ¡°Who told you that?¡± ¡°Mommy.¡± Fan Shixin nced at Mu Wansheng and thought to himself, At least you still have a conscience. ¡°Come here, let Daddy hug you.¡± Fan Mianmian stood up and walked toward him, after which he pulled her into his arms. Upon the sight of Fan Shixin¡¯s car, Tang Yucheng immediately dropped his vegetables and entered. He panicked when he saw Fan Shixin hugging Fan Mianmian. ¡°Mianmian.¡± ¡°Hello, Daddy.¡± Tang Yucheng extended his arms and carried Fan Mianmian while Fan Shixin let go, feeling extremely disgruntled to hear his daughter address someone else as her father. Mu Wansheng woke up. ¡°Yucheng, bring Mianmian out while I speak to him privately.¡± Tang Yucheng did as he was told. They were left alone in the room. Fan Shixin lifted the duvet, only to see that she was fully clothed. He asked, ¡°Did you put your clothes on in the morning or did you keep them on all night?¡± ¡°Do you really want to know?¡± ¡°No, just tell me... your answer,¡± said Fan Shixin. Chapter 1473 - Great to Have You (33)

Chapter 1473: Great to Have You (33)

Mu Wansheng answered, ¡°Take Mianmian away. She may only be three years old, but she¡¯s very sensible. She¡¯s very bright too.¡± Fan Shixin said, ¡°Just like I had expected. Aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯d inform the Mu family?¡± ¡°I¡¯m already letting you have Mianmian.¡± ¡°She¡¯s my biological daughter in the first ce. Isn¡¯t it only right that you give me her custody?¡± Fan Shixin tried to hold her hand but she managed to retract it sessfully. He then pulled her toward him and said, ¡°I want Mianmian, and I want... you too.¡± Mu Wansheng¡¯s heart skipped a beat and she said, ¡°Let go.¡± Not only did he not let go, he even allowed his hand to wander freely around her body. He said softly, ¡°Wansheng, I miss you. I want you by my side. I¡¯ll take good care of you and our daughter. I¡¯ll make up for all the time that we had lost in the past few years.¡± Mu Wansheng asked, ¡°What if I refuse?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll carry you home with me, then. I¡¯ve already made up my mind. Do you think he can stop me?¡± He then let go of her and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go talk to him. Stay out of this. Leave it to me to handle. I know what you¡¯re thinking, but that¡¯s of no use at all. I must bring you home with me. I must!¡± Mu Wansheng sighed and stayed silent. Tang Yucheng handed Fan Mianmian to Mu Wansheng and began talking to Fan Shixin in the yard. ¡°I¡¯ve made a hugepromise by letting you take Mianmian away. I can¡¯t let Happy go with you.¡± Fan Shixin said bluntly, ¡°I must bring the two of them away with me. I¡¯m telling you now. Wansheng only sided with you on ount of you saving her life. I¡¯m sure you know whether or not she loves you. Don¡¯t bother going against me. Settle this while I¡¯m still patient. What do you think the consequences will be if you go toe-to-toe against me? I¡¯m giving you the chance toy your conditions and name your price. I¡¯ll agree as long as it¡¯s within my means.¡± Tang Yucheng stared at him in astonishment and thought to himself, He¡¯s letting me name my price? He was well aware of his own limitations and knew that he would not be able to defeat Fan Shixin or stop him from taking Mu Wansheng and Fan Mianmian away. An idea came to Tang Yucheng¡¯s mind. Didn¡¯t he say that I could name my price? I shall make him back off on his own! Tang Yucheng answered, ¡°Ten million dors! If you¡¯re willing to give me ten million dors, I¡¯ll let you take her away.¡± Fan Shixin nodded and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go in, then.¡± He then walked into the house while Tang Yucheng followed closely behind. Upon hearing their footsteps, Mu Wansheng asked, ¡°What did you two talk about?¡± ¡°He said that he¡¯s willing to let you go if I give him ten million dors.¡± Mu Wansheng asked with a frown, ¡°Yucheng, did you really say that?¡± ¡°Yes, I told him that he could take you away as long as he gives me ten million dors.¡± ¡°Are you objectifying me? Can I be sold like an item?¡± Mu Wansheng retorted. Tang Yucheng immediately said, ¡°Happy, he won¡¯t be able to afford it. He may be wealthy, but he definitely doesn¡¯t have ten million dors.¡± Mu Wansheng understood that he was just trying to make things difficult for Fan Shixin because he thought that Fan Shixin did not have that kind of money. However, the truth is, he did have that kind of money! ¡°He does,¡± she said. ¡°What?¡± Tang Yucheng asked in disbelief. ¡°I said, he has ten million dors.¡± A sudden tension filled the air. Tang Yucheng looked at Fan Shixin, followed by Mu Wansheng and,stly, Fan Mianmian. Fan Shixin said, ¡°It¡¯s time to ask Wansheng now. Do you want me to give him ten million dors or another form ofpensation? I¡¯ll give him ten million dors if you want me to.¡± Mu Wansheng¡¯s determination wavered. Because Tang Yucheng had epted his offer. He was willing to let Fan Shixin take her away as long as thetter gave him ten million dors. ¡°Yucheng, it¡¯s not easy to earn money, let alone such a huge sum. Regardless of whether you meant it or whether you were just trying to put him in a spot, I¡¯m very certain that he can afford it. However, I can¡¯t let him do so. Shixin had spent a lot of money and time to look after me after saving my life back then, but I haven¡¯t returned him the full amount yet. I didn¡¯t make it up to him either. Back then, he and I weren¡¯t in a rtionship yet...¡± Before she even finished, Tang Yucheng interjected, ¡°You don¡¯t have to say these things anymore. Just leave with him.¡± Afraid that he would do something foolish, Mu Wansheng said, ¡°I told youst night that I wouldn¡¯t leave you, yet you¡¯ve decided to let me go for the sake of money...¡± Tang Yucheng snapped, ¡°I don¡¯t have another option! He¡¯s better than me in every aspect, how am I supposed to go against him!?! That¡¯s why I should have just sent you back home after saving you back then. I married you, but I don¡¯t even get to bed you at all. What¡¯s the point of me raising your daughter for you? I just wanted a life partner. All I wanted was somepany and someone to talk to, yet things havee to this. Do you think I wanted this to happen? Leave with him. Take your daughter with you and leave immediately!¡± Fan Shixin was filled with joy the moment he heard that Tang Yucheng had never been allowed to sleep with Mu Wansheng. He did not expect that Mu Wansheng would forbid him from getting intimate with her. In fact, he would not have minded it even if she had really slept with him, because he loved her and, thus, was willing to amodate that fact. However, he would definitely have been upset. Tang Yucheng¡¯s words made Mu Wansheng¡¯s heart wrench. ¡°Yucheng...¡± ¡°Cut it out. Leave.¡± ¡°Shixin, take Mianmian with you, I¡¯ll stay,¡± said Mu Wansheng, who was merely afraid that he would take his own life. Tang Yucheng flew into a rage and barked, ¡°I don¡¯t need you to take pity on me. Do you really think that I¡¯ll kill myself just because you¡¯re gone? I don¡¯t regret saving you at all. My only regret is letting you stay. Besides, you don¡¯t owe me anything else now. You took great care of me after my ident too. So just leave with him and start life anew. Don¡¯t suffer by living in this shabby house with me. Will you just hurry and leave!?!¡± Mu Wansheng teared up, at aplete loss for words. Fan Shixin said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to chase us away. We¡¯ll leave on our own.¡± He then picked Mu Wansheng up in his arms and brought her away. This time, Mu Wansheng did not resist and instead allowed him to carry her into his car. He then did the same for Fan Mianmian. ¡°Give him two million dors as a token of our gratitude. He¡¯s a kind man, but this is your hard-earned money as well. Two million is enough. Although some things cannot be measured by money, this is the best we can do.¡± Fan Shixin smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll take care of the rest.¡± He then closed the car door and entered the house again. Chapter 1474 - Great to Have You (34)

Chapter 1474: Great to Have You (34)

Tang Yucheng was greatly infuriated. However, there was nothing he could do. ¡°I¡¯m actually angrier than you are. However, I¡¯ve at least found what I lost. Wansheng wanted me to give you two million dors, but I¡¯ve decided to give you an extra million because, as she said, you¡¯re a good man. Three million dors should be more than enough for you since you¡¯re living in the vige. Use the money to build yourself a house and buy a car. Lots of women will be throwing themselves at you and begging you to marry them once you have those things. You actually have nothing to lose. Instead, you¡¯ve even stood to gain.¡± He handed Tang Yucheng the bank ount card and said, ¡°The PIN number is the six-digit code at the back of this card. There¡¯s three million dors in the ount.¡± Tang Yucheng epted it, despite feeling indignant. He did not have another option. ¡°Pack Happy¡¯s and Mianmian¡¯s belongings and take them with you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯ll buy them new ones. You may throw these things away or do whatever you want with them. Feel free to approach me if you need help in the future.¡± Just as Fan Shixin was about to leave, Tang Yucheng said, ¡°Wait a minute.¡± He handed Snowman¡¯s leash to him and said, ¡°Snowman has been by Happy¡¯s side all this while. Take it away with you too.¡± He grabbed Happy¡¯s leash and said, ¡°You¡¯re still young and you¡¯re rich now. Find a wife and live well.¡± Fan Shixin left with Snowman. When he got inside the car, Mu Wansheng asked worriedly, ¡°What did you say to him?¡± ¡°I told him to take the money and live well. I gave him an extra million dors.¡± Three million dors... Mu Wansheng found it to be an exorbitant sum. It¡¯ll take numerous years for the average folk to earn three million dors. What more a viger like Tang Yucheng, who worked odd jobs for a living. Three million dors was more than enough tost him for the rest of his life, in addition to the initial sum ofpensation that he had received. Mu Wansheng¡¯s greatest regret was being unable to see what Tang Yucheng looked like. However, she no longer had a say in anything. She had no choice but to leave with Fan Shixin, who forced Tang Yucheng intopromising. She had perhaps wavered unknowingly after hearing Fan Shixin¡¯s words. After driving for a while, Fan Shixin said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll get someone to keep an eye on him. At least, we¡¯ll prevent him from killing himself. However, I don¡¯t think he¡¯s that emotionally fragile. People usually only kill themselves because they¡¯ve lost all hope in life. He can¡¯t be in despair. If you don¡¯t believe me, just continue waiting for updates about him. I¡¯ll show you what reality is all about. Don¡¯t think that he¡¯ll die without you.¡± ¡°Were you really going to give him ten million dors if I refused to leave?¡± Mu Wansheng asked. ¡°Didn¡¯t I let you choose? If you were dead against leaving, I would have given him ten million dors and brought you away by force. However, you chose to save money for your man.¡± Mu Wansheng began blushing shyly. ¡°Why are you so insistent on bringing me home? I¡¯m so ugly now and my voice is horrendous. I¡¯m no longer that Mu Wansheng you knew,¡± she said. ¡°I did it because I love you and because I¡¯m Mianmian¡¯s father. Are those reasons good enough?¡± ¡°I used to think that you were mature and reliable. Turns out you can be very stubborn and domineering too.¡± ¡°Yes, but then again, I¡¯ve always thought that issues that could be solved with money aren¡¯t issues at all. Apart from the very few things that we¡¯re truly helpless when ites to solving, almost every problem in this world can be solved using money. He agreed to let you go for ten million dors because he values his life more than you. I won¡¯t let anyone take you away regardless of how much money they offer me, because you¡¯re my one and only.¡± Mu Wansheng pressed her face against Fan Mianmian¡¯s head. She trusted his words, for he would not have tried everything he could to take her away if he didn¡¯t mean those words. ¡°How can I let you give up so much for me...¡± ¡°I¡¯m still upset at you for hiding it from me. I was also angry that you¡¯d rather trust a stranger than trust me. However, I¡¯m d that you¡¯reing home with me now.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry...¡± Fan Shixin smiled and said, ¡°Since you feel sorry, make it up to me when we get home.¡± ¡°I still... don¡¯t want others to know that I¡¯m alive right now.¡± ¡°I know.¡± They arrived in Wei Ni Estate. Fan Shixin carried Fan Mianmian while Mu Wansheng walked Snowman to Fan Shixin¡¯s apartment. ¡°Which apartment is this?¡± ¡°The one you used to stay in. I¡¯m nning to sell the four-bedder that Young Sir had given me because my ex-wife used to stay there. We shall stay here from now on. Apart from you, no other woman has lived here before.¡± ¡°Are you lying to me?¡± Mu Wansheng asked gleefully. ¡°Of course not. Wait for me here while I go buy something,¡± said Fan Shixin. ¡°What do you need to buy?¡± ¡°Plenty of items, like apparel for you and Mianmian, groceries, and dog food for Snowman. Wait for me.¡± He then left. Mu Wansheng carried Fan Mianmian into the bedroom. She leashed Snowman to the bed and sat down. ¡°Why have you been staying quiet? Are you upset?¡± she asked Fan Mianmian. ¡°Mommy, will we never be able to see the other Daddy again?¡± ¡°No, you¡¯ll still get to see him. It¡¯s just... that your other Daddy will be living his new life from now on. He may not be your biological Daddy, but he¡¯s taken great care of us and we¡¯ll visit him regrly in the future. Your Daddy now is your biological Daddy. From now on, your name is Fan Mianmian. Hear me?¡± ¡°Yes... but I don¡¯t want to leave the other Daddy.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all my fault,¡± said Mu Wansheng, who med herself for making the wrong decision by choosing not to go back to Fan Shixin. She resented herself for having an inferiorityplex. If she had returned to Fan Shixin¡¯s side back then, things wouldn¡¯t havee to this. However, she could not turn back time. ¡°Mommy, will this be our home from now on?¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll stay here together with Daddy and Snowman from now on. This is our home,¡± Mu Wansheng said while removing the scarf on her face. ¡°This house is beautiful.¡± Chapter 1475 - Great to Have You (35)

Chapter 1475: Great to Have You (35)

Mu Wansheng smiled and said, ¡°When your Daddyes home, tell him to bring you downstairs to y.¡± Fan Shixin had always been highly efficient when it came to running errands. He bought everything he needed within a short period of time. The trunk and backseat of his car were full of the items that he had bought. Upon reaching the corridor, he instructed his bodyguards to help carry the items to his apartment. Mu Wansheng initially wanted to go out to take a look. However, she quickly put on her scarf after hearing Xiao Bai¡¯s voice and stayed inside. She was not ready to greet them yet. After they left, Fan Shixin stored the groceries inside the refrigerator, hung the clothes and socks onto the hangers inside the closet, and arranged the daily necessities before telling her where the items were ced. ¡°I bought lots of beautiful clothes for you and Mianmian. You two change into them while I go prepare some food.¡± ¡°Alright, go ahead. We¡¯ll take a shower.¡± Back when she was living in the vige, the conditions were harsh and she usually had to take baths in the tubs. Thus, she would easily catch a cold in the winter. However, it was much different here. Mu Wansheng knew that there were heaters and, hence, she would not feel cold at all. Although Fan Shixin rarely cooked, it did not mean that he could not cook. He just didn¡¯t have to do it most of the time. When dinner was ready, Mu Wansheng and Fan Mianmian exited just as he was about to call them. Both mother and daughter seemed to have aplete makeover after putting on a fresh set of clothes. Being young and easily contented, Fan Mianmian was thrilled to be dressed in new and beautiful clothes. However, Mu Wansheng was rather awkward and shy. Although she could not see, she knew that Fan Shixin was staring at her. ¡°Mianmian picked this out for me.¡± ¡°It looks great.¡± Fan Shixin held her hand and pulled the chair out for her to take a seat. He then ced Fan Mianmian beside her before taking a seat opposite them. Fan Shixin was overjoyed to be having his first meal with his newfound family. He constantly helped Mu Wansheng and his daughter to the dishes. After lunch, Fan Shixin instructed Xiao Bai and Xiao Huang to take Fan Mianmian out to y in the backyard because he wanted to spend some time alone with Mu Wansheng. Fan Mianmian knew that Xiao Bai and Xiao Huang were people whom she could trust. Fan Shixin led her to the master bedroom. ¡°I spent some time decorating the house previously. We¡¯ll stay in the master bedroom from now on. Mianmian is still young so she shall sleep with us. Next, I¡¯ll take you to see a doctor to have your eyesight treated.¡± Shaking her head, Mu Wansheng said, ¡°I¡¯ve already sought medical help for my vision and I was told that there¡¯s no hope in regaining my sight.¡± ¡°Who said so? Foreign medical technology allows for cornea transnts to be carried out. The donors are all donating their corneas and eyes willingly on the condition that the receiver gives them more money, so I¡¯m nning to take you abroad to seek help. We¡¯ll leave Mianmian with my parents for the time being. They¡¯ll take good care of her.¡± Mu Wansheng lit up in surprise and she felt a sudden glimmer of hope again. She asked agitatedly, ¡°Really? Can I really go for a surgery abroad?¡± ¡°There are cases that have been sessful. Wansheng, I¡¯ll definitely let you see the light of day again. We¡¯ll just need some time.¡± Mu Wansheng smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯ve actually already given up at first, but I suddenly feel that there¡¯s hope again. However, Mianmian hasn¡¯t adapted to the new environment yet. We¡¯ll just stay here for a while. It¡¯s best to let her get familiar with her grandparents and spend more time with them.¡± ¡°I thought so too. I¡¯ll also start searching for a renowned optometrist who can treat your condition abroad. We¡¯ll go overseas once I¡¯ve arranged everything properly. You can undergo cosmetic surgery as well. I¡¯ll help you regain your confidence. I know you¡¯ve been feeling inferior because of your appearance and your blindness. Believe me, everything will change.¡± Staring at her affectionately, Fan Shixin could not resist his urges and thus nted a kiss on her lips,pletely catching her off guard. ¡°Ah...¡± she murmured in shock. He grabbed her chin and kissed her again. ¡°I want you.¡± Blushing slightly, she said, ¡°It¡¯s daytime...¡± ¡°So what? It¡¯s not like we haven¡¯t done it before. I had such a bad time holding my urges in when we were under the bed previously. I don¡¯t care, I must sleep with you this time,¡± he said while holding her in his arms. Mu Wansheng grabbed his hand and said, ¡°My skin is... unpleasant.¡± ¡°I¡¯m the only one looking at you anyway. You¡¯re mine. I still love you regardless of your appearance.¡± He then started kissing her neck. Mu Wansheng let go slowly and closed her eyes even though she could not see. The heater was switched on in the room. He removed her garments one by one. Fan Shixin felt an immense heartache the moment he saw the scars on her body. The pain was almost suffocating. She must have been through lots of pain and torment. It was a miracle that she survived. His hands were trembling when he was touching her skin. Although Mu Wansheng had been naked in front of him before, she still could not help but feel shy to be naked around him again after a few years. Fan Shixin was extremely careful with his actions, regardless of how hard he wanted to thrust himself into her. He shifted his gaze onto a scar that was about five inches below her belly button. It was the scar left behind after her Cesarean section. He dared not imagine how terrified she must have been without him around during herbor. Going intobor was akin to having a close shave with death. He regretted the fact that he could not be by her side during her delivery. He was both agitated and ted to be making love with her again. He continued to climax again and again without stopping. Mu Wansheng was initially biting her lip and staying silent. However, she began moaning in pleasure when she finally could not hold it in any longer. Just before he was about to ejacte, she grabbed his hand and said, ¡°I still want a second child. I like children. It¡¯s been three years since I had a Cesarean section. We can have a second baby now.¡± Fan Shixin was appalled by her words. Second child? It was thest thing on his mind. She actually... ¡°I¡¯m already 31 years old...¡± ¡°You really want another child?¡± ¡°Yes, I want one right now.¡± .... To Mu Wansheng¡¯s surprise, Fan Mianmian returned with a bag full of children¡¯s snacks. She whispered into Mu Wansheng¡¯s ear excitedly, ¡°Mommy, I really like Uncle Xiao Bai. I still want to y with him tomorrow.¡± ¡°Uncle Xiao Bai has to work tomorrow.¡± Fan Shixin smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, he can y with you even if he has to work. But Mianmian, why don¡¯t you y with Daddy instead? Shall we go to the zoo tomorrow? We¡¯ll get to look at tigers, lions, pandas, and many other animals.¡± ¡°Is Mommy going?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have to ask her. She cane along if she wants.¡± Chapter 1476 - Great to Have You (36)

Chapter 1476: Great to Have You (36)

¡°Wonderful. Mommy, shall we go to the zoo together tomorrow?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Mu Wansheng agreed. She had nothing else to do at home anyway. ¡ª¡ª After Fan Shixin brought the two of them away, Tang Yucheng sat in his chair alone and spaced out for a long time with the bank ount card in hand. He pondered over everything for a long time. He used to reject his brother¡¯s suggestion to get a prosthetic limb because he felt that his disability would be a sufficient reason for Mu Wansheng to stay by his side forever. Now that Mu Wansheng was gone, he had no choice but to get a prosthetic limb for himself. He called for his brother toe over. He told Tang Kangcheng to send him to the hospital to have a prosthetic limb fitted. ¡°Brother, where¡¯s Sis-inw and Mianmian?¡± ¡°Gone.¡± ¡°Gone?¡± ¡°Yes. Don¡¯t bring them up again from now on. Tell your wife to help me keep a lookout. I¡¯m nning to remarry.¡± Tang Kangcheng agreed with a nod, ¡°Alright.¡± Tang Yucheng was willing to spend on himself and hence bought the best prosthetic limb offered on the market. He nned to carry on with life and adopt a child if he could. Fan Shixin was informed of all his ns, and so was Mu Wansheng, who heard it from Fan Shixin. ¡°See, just like I told you, he wouldn¡¯t kill himself just because you left him. He¡¯s begun a new life of his own and has gotten a prosthetic limb. He¡¯s nning to build a house, marry another woman, and adopt a child.¡± Heartened to hear that Tang Yucheng did not take things too hard, Mu Wansheng said, ¡°I was indeed regarding myself too highly. After all, life does go on no matter what.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because he has money now. If he were still penniless, he¡¯d probably feel hopeless and distraught.¡± Reminded of an issue, Mu Wansheng asked, ¡°Mianmian would like to visit him again in the future. Will you allow that?¡± ¡°Of course, but it can¡¯t be too frequent. Mianmian is still young now. She¡¯ll forget about him after not seeing him for some time. Actually, I don¡¯t really want her to see him again.¡± ¡°We shall not let her see him, then,¡± said Mu Wansheng. ¡°You¡¯re agreeable to that?¡± ¡°Are you very surprised that I am?¡± ¡°Of course, I thought that you¡¯d be against it.¡± ¡°He¡¯s already started life anew. I don¡¯t wish to disrupt his life just like how I didn¡¯t want to disrupt yours back then. Actually, I should have returned to your side right from the start. I was too narrow-minded. I was constantly afraid of adding on to your troubles and bing your burden. Turns out you don¡¯t mind it at all.¡± He put an arm around her shoulder and gave her a kiss before saying, ¡°I still have to get back to work. I sneaked out only because I wanted to see you for a while. I¡¯ll get going now. Tell me what you¡¯d like to have for lunch. I¡¯ll buy them for you and Mianmian.¡± Mu Wansheng answered, ¡°I want to eat lots of delicious food. I don¡¯t have any specific cravings, but they have to be tasty.¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll see what¡¯s avable, then.¡± He stood up and left. Shortly after his departure, the doorbell rang. Mu Wansheng knew that it was not Fan Shixin because he would just enter after unlocking the door and hence would never need her to open the door for him. After the doorbell rang for several times, Mu Wansheng proceeded to walk toward the door. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± a woman answered. Mu Wansheng did not open the door because she could not see who it was at all. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Fan Shixin¡¯s former wife.¡± Mu Wansheng decided not to let her in. ¡°May I ask what you¡¯re here for?¡± ¡°I have something to talk about.¡± ¡°Shixin has just left home. You may go look for him.¡± Yang Qianxue said, ¡°I¡¯m not looking for him. I¡¯m looking for you.¡± ¡°Sorry, but I don¡¯t know who you are. Since you¡¯re his former wife, there¡¯s no need for us to talk.¡± Yang Qianxue was stunned beyond words when she heard Mu Wansheng¡¯s footsteps leaving. She did not expect to be denied entry. She went through painstaking means to find out that Fan Shixin had moved back into his apartment with a masked woman and wanted to find out who she was, but she did not manage to do so. She had a hunch that Fan Shixin had divorced her because of Mu Wansheng. In her eyes, Mu Wansheng was the homewrecker who ruined her marriage. She stood by the door, infuriated and disgruntled. Just as she was about to leave, she heard the faint sounds of Fan Mianmian giggling. She thought that her ears were ying tricks on her at first. Hence, she continued to listen closely, only to discover that she was not hearing things. There¡¯s a child in there? Why so? Whose child is it? Does she belong to Fan Shixin? Could be the case. She was filled with uncertainty and could not calm herself down. Hence, she decided to hire someone to keep a close eye on the exit of the corridor. A few dayster, she received some photos taken by the private investigator. Mu Wansheng was photographed together with Fan Mianmian, d in a veil that concealed her features. Although Fan Mianmian¡¯s face could not be captured, it was apparent that she was a girl. She seems to be about three or four years old, Yang Qianxue thought to herself. If she was born three to four years ago... I haven¡¯t married Fan Shixin at that time yet. If the child belongs to him, that just means that Mu Wansheng is still alive... Wait a minute... Mu Wansheng? Surely it can¡¯t be that she¡¯s still alive? If she weren¡¯t dead, why would Fan Shixin have married me? Yang Qianxue was overwhelmed with bewilderment. Ever since her divorce, she had been too depressed and upset to go to work. Now that she was already in her thirties, she would be a high-risk expectant mother even if she got married this year and gave birth the following year. Her future and happiness were bleak. Hence, she tendered her resignation two days ago. ¡°Just who is this masked woman?¡± Yang Qianxue muttered in frustration. Refusing to give up until she gets to the bottom of the truth, Yang Qianxue decided to stand outside Fan Shixin¡¯s apartment when he was off to work and wait for Mu Wansheng to make an appearance. Her efforts finally paid off. When Mu Wansheng came out of the apartment with Fan Mianmian in her arms and Snowman beside her for a stroll, Yang Qianxue boarded the same elevator as them. Upon the sight of the guide dog, whose leash Mu Wansheng was holding onto, Yang Qianxue deduced that Mu Wansheng was probably visually impaired. She then brazenly tugged Mu Wansheng¡¯s veil to remove it. At the sight of Mu Wansheng¡¯s face, Yang Qianxue shrieked in terror. ¡°Oh goodness!¡± ¡°Give it back to me!¡± Mu Wansheng eximed, flustered and exasperated at the rude stranger. Yang Qianxue frantically returned the veil to Mu Wansheng, who then put it back on. As soon as she did, the elevator doors opened and she heaved a sigh of relief. Although Yang Qianxue did not say much, Mu Wansheng had instantly figured out who she was the moment she heard her voice. She rebuked, ¡°You removed my veil for no rhyme or reason. Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re being too impolite?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I was just wondering what you looked like,¡± said Yang Qianxue, who failed to recognize that she was Mu Wansheng. After all, she had merely seen photos of Mu Wansheng online and had never met her in person before. Besides, most people would be too frightened and distracted by the scars on Mu Wansheng¡¯s face to even observe her features closely. Hence, Yang Qianxue could not tell who she was at all. Chapter 1477 - Great to Have You (37)

Chapter 1477: Great to Have You (37)

¡°You¡¯re curious? Don¡¯t you know that your curiosity would hurt the feelings and pride of others?¡± Yang Qianxue said awkwardly, ¡°I¡¯ve already apologized, haven¡¯t I? Just don¡¯t hold it against me. So how are you rted to Fan Shixin?¡± Carrying Fan Mianmian in her arms, Mu Wansheng exited the elevator with Snowman,pletely ignoring Yang Qianxue. Yang Qianxue chased after her and quipped, ¡°I¡¯m asking you a question. Aren¡¯t you also being rude by ignoring me?¡± Mu Wansheng stopped in her tracks and answered, ¡°How I¡¯m rted to him has nothing to do with you. After all, you¡¯re no longer his wife. You have no right to question me. I don¡¯t wish to answer you either. Are you satisfied now?¡± Yang Qianxue was shocked speechless. She did not expect this strange-looking woman to be so haughty and prideful. She humphed and retorted derisively, ¡°I really doubt that you¡¯re the woman Fan Shixin loves. After all, you¡¯re so hideous it¡¯s actually revolting. All men would be repulsed by the way you look. Forget it.¡± She then turned around and left. Although Mu Wansheng was rather peeved, she did not bother confronting her. Yang Qianxue stopped and turned around to look at Mu Wansheng after she exited the lobby. To be exact, she was looking at Fan Mianmian. Why did I find that child to be so familiar-looking? Actually, now that I think about it, why... She hurriedly whipped out her mobile phone and searched for a photo of Mu Wansheng on the inte, after which she quickly chased after them andpared Fan Mianmian¡¯s features to Mu Wansheng¡¯s. ¡°Are... are you Mu Wansheng?¡± she asked, her hands trembling slightly. Despite having been recognized, Mu Wansheng kept her cool and said, ¡°My identity doesn¡¯t concern you.¡± ¡°You must be Mu Wansheng! Otherwise, why would your daughter resemble Mu Wansheng so greatly!?! No wonder Fan Shixin was suddenly so bent on divorcing me. I was wondering what the reason was. Turns out it was because of you. Your daughter belongs to Fan Shixin too, doesn¡¯t she? I really didn¡¯t expect this from you, Mu Wansheng. Why can¡¯t you just die? What gave you the courage toe back and reconcile with him even when you¡¯ve already be so hideous? Didn¡¯t you know that he was already married to me? You shameless homewrecker!¡± Remaining calm andposed, Mu Wansheng retorted, ¡°Ms. Yang, Shixin and I were supposed to get our marriage registered on the day of my ident. We were in a loving rtionship and I showed up in his life before you did. How am I the homewrecker who ruined your marriage? Besides, this is my and Shixin¡¯s daughter. You were only married to him in name. Why else do you think he has never gotten intimate with you before despite sleeping beside you on the same bed every night? We only reconciled after you two got divorced, so I hope you stop running your mouth and avoid spouting any nonsense again. Otherwise, I¡¯ll sue you for nder. I have every right to do so.¡± Boiling with rage, Yang Qianxue sneered, ¡°He only reconciled with you because you had given birth to his daughter. He¡¯s just taking pity on you. Which man can tolerate seeing your revolting face every day? Well, you¡¯re blind so you don¡¯t know just how grotesque you look. But it doesn¡¯t matter, I¡¯m letting you know now that you¡¯re horridly monstrous-looking. Your looks alone are enough to scare one out of their wits, so you¡¯d better let go of Fan Shixin. There¡¯s no point in living like this. You¡¯re better off dead.¡± ¡°That¡¯s strange. How are you so sure about whether he really loves me or is just taking pity on me? Did he tell you himself? If not, who are you to judge? Just because my skin is burned, it doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t go for stic surgery. My features are still intact. Were you too frightened to realize that? I still have a long life ahead of me, why should I drop dead right now? I¡¯d only bring joy to you and misery to my loved ones by killing myself. Why should I fulfill your wishes? Who do you think you are? Stop getting in my way and scram.¡± Yang Qianxue was greatly infuriated by her words. Just as she was about to grab Mu Wansheng, she heard Xiao Huang¡¯s voiceing from afar. ¡°Sis-inw!¡± Yang Qianxue retracted her hand and turned around. Xiao Huang scurried toward them and again called, ¡°Sis-inw.¡± Yang Qianxue answered, ¡°Yes? Xiao Huang, why are you here?¡± Xiao Huang smiled and said, ¡°Ms. Yang, I wasn¡¯t referring to you. You didn¡¯t have to answer me. I obviously came out because I saw the surveince camera footage.¡± Yang Qianxue¡¯s tender smile vanished and a sullen expression formed on her face. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Are you afraid that I¡¯d harm her?¡± ¡°Yes. After all, Sis-inw is visually impaired and carrying Mianmian in her arms. She¡¯s very vulnerable.¡± Xiao Huang then said to Mu Wansheng, ¡°Sis-inw, go to the mansion. Chief is there too.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Mu Wansheng answered in a gentle voice. Yang Qianxue stared at them as they left, gritting her teeth in anger. She did not expect that Fan Shixin actually loved Mu Wansheng genuinely. I¡¯m a million times prettier than Mu Wansheng, yet he¡¯d rather be with her than me. Let¡¯s wait and see if he¡¯ll stay loyal to her forever! Mu Wansheng did not let Yang Qianxue¡¯s appearance rain on her parade. However, Fan Shixin was extremely worried and thus asked, ¡°Did she say something nasty to you?¡± ¡°Nah, she just made some irrelevant remarks.¡± ¡°Did she insult you and hurt your feelings?¡± Fan Shixin asked. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter to me at all, because she was just stating facts. However, I¡¯ve already gotten over it. No matter what, I have to look forward to the future. I won¡¯t let others¡¯ opinions affect me as long as you don¡¯t mind that I¡¯m disfigured and as long as you¡¯re not staying with me out of sympathy. You¡¯re the only one I care about.¡± Fan Shixin held her hand tightly in his. ¡°I don¡¯t mind it at all because I¡¯ve seen you at your best and your worst. I still love you, regardless of your appearance. I love you for who you are. If I was merely taking pity on you, I could have just helped you settle down in a better environment. Why would I be willing to spend the rest of my life with you? Good that you¡¯ve figured everything out. I hope you won¡¯t be bothered by such things again in the future. Promise me that you¡¯ll tell me everything truthfully from now on. Don¡¯t bottle your feelings up. Otherwise, I won¡¯t know what you¡¯re truly thinking. Alright?¡± Mu Wansheng nodded and said, ¡°Yes, I won¡¯t hide anything from you from now on.¡± ¡°Good.¡± A sullen expression formed on Fan Shixin¡¯s face the moment he thought about Yang Qianxue. This woman is a real piece of work. Hence, he gave her a call and asked to meet her. Despite knowing his purpose, Yang Qianxue still agreed to meet him. Chapter 1478 - Great to Have You (38)

Chapter 1478: Great to Have You (38)

Upon seeing him again, she still found him charming, despite having gotten used to seeing him in a suit. He appeared to be several years younger than his actual age while still exuding a mature charm. She could not resist how alluring he was. However, he was ring at her with a sullen expression on his face, clearly displeased. ¡°Why are you staring at me like this? Are you trying to devour me? You can go ahead and question me. I¡¯d like to hear your answers too,¡± she said. ¡°Who are you to question me and hear my answers? Are you in any ce to do that? We¡¯re already divorced and I¡¯ve given you a reasonable amount ofpensation as well. Don¡¯t test my patience and stop pestering me. After all, we¡¯ve never gotten intimate nor had children together. You¡¯d better know your limits.¡± ¡°You¡¯re mistaken. Since when did I pester you? I¡¯m just curious about the reason you divorced me. Just because you refuse to tell me, it doesn¡¯t mean that I won¡¯t try to find out using other methods. However, I never expected that Mu Wansheng would still be alive. She had even given birth to your daughter. She¡¯s the reason you divorced me. Her face is already so terrifyingly hideous and yet you actually still want her.¡± Staring at her, Fan Shixin said, ¡°I¡¯ve always loved her for who she is. Her appearance doesn¡¯t matter at all. I understand why you were curious, but now that you know the truth, you don¡¯t have to show up in front of us again.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need you to warn me. I¡¯m not in the mood to see you two every day either.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Noticing that he was about to leave, she quickly yelled, ¡°Fan Shixin, can I ask you a question?¡± He turned around to look at her and asked, ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°If she had died during the ident, would you still have divorced me?¡± ¡°Is there still a point in asking that now?¡± Fan Shixin asked. ¡°Yes, to me. I want to know.¡± ¡°Probably not, but I¡¯d still have never loved you for the rest of my life.¡± His words were like daggers piercing through Yang Qianxue¡¯s heart. It turned out he had never nned to love her even after they got married. Did he only marry me just to conform to societal norms and make his parents happy? Yang Qianxue took a deep breath, fuming with anger. She had chosen to marry him because she had fallen for him as a person. I¡¯m not getting any younger. I¡¯m already in my thirties and I would be at high risk if I were to get pregnant now. Besides, I¡¯m now jobless and divorced. Yang Qianxue felt like she was stuck in a rut. Her ideal life had been disrupted because of Mu Wansheng¡¯seback. If it weren¡¯t because of her, my life wouldn¡¯t have ended up like this! Yang Qianxue would get riled up at the thought of Mu Wansheng. Yet she could not vent her anger and could only keep it to herself. ¡ª¡ª ¡ª¡ª After living a peaceful and quiet life with her parents, Fan Mianmian hadpletely acknowledged Fan Shixin as her father. News of Mu Wansheng still being alive were broadcast on television just as Fan Shixin was about to leave Fan Mianmian with his parents and take Mu Wansheng abroad for medical treatment. To make matters worse, they were not just rumors, for there were photographs of Mu Wansheng strolling in the park with a veil on her face together with Fan Shixin and Fan Mianmian. Although Mu Wansheng was not a famous person, it was not her first time making it onto the news. She had made it onto the headlines four years ago because of her fatal ident, which had caused an uproar amongst citizens. Although several years had past and everyone had forgotten about the ident, the piece of news still managed to garner some attention now that everyone was reminded of Mu Wansheng again. After looking at the photos, the Mu family immediately called Fan Shixin to verify if the media was reporting the truth. Fan Shixin sought the approval of Mu Wansheng before informing the Mu family that the news reports were real. The Mu family was bbergasted. They requested Fan Shixin to bring Mu Wansheng home to them. However, Fan Shixin refused and told them that Mu Wansheng did not wish to see them. The elderly Mr. Mu flew into a rage and sent his sons to find out more about the situation. Mu Qixing then took the initiative and requested to meet Mu Wansheng, after which Mr. Mu agreed. Mu Qixing was filled with excitement after finding out that Mu Wansheng was alive. She was initially astounded the moment she saw the news and became agitated after hearing the truth. She headed to Wei Ni Estate alone. To her surprise, Wu Pingyang had tagged along and arrived at the same time as she did. ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°Why can¡¯t I be here? Grandpa gave me permission toe here too. I¡¯m really curious as to what Mu Wansheng looks like now. I¡¯m really looking forward to it.¡± Mu Qixing gave her the side-eye and gibed, ¡°I personally think there¡¯s no need for you to see her, so you should just stay here and wait.¡± ¡°I told you, Grandpa gave me permission toe. You¡¯re in no ce to stop me,¡± said Wu Pingyang, who entered the corridor as soon as she finished speaking. Mu Qixing hurriedly caught up with her. Once they entered the elevator, Mu Qixing warned, ¡°You¡¯d better not make any snide remarks in front of Cousin. If not, don¡¯t me me for telling on you to Grandpa.¡± Wu Pingyang shrugged her shoulders and said nonchntly, ¡°Well, it¡¯s a blessing that she¡¯s still alive so why would I make any snide remarks? Don¡¯t assume that everyone is as petty and scheming as you are.¡± After exiting the elevator, Mu Qixing pressed the doorbell. Fan Shixin asked, ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Mu Qixing, Mu Wansheng¡¯s cousin.¡± Fan Shixin switched on the surveince camera disy only to discover that Wu Pingyang was there too. After seeking the opinion of Mu Wansheng, he opened the door and allowed them to enter. Mu Wansheng covered her face with the veil, leaving only her eyes exposed. She was in the midst of having her meal at the dining table while Fan Mianmian was at the Fan family home. The two cousins stared at Mu Wansheng as soon as they stepped foot into the apartment. Mu Qixing said, ¡°Cousin, I¡¯m really surprised that you¡¯re still alive. It¡¯s wonderful that you¡¯re alright.¡± ¡°Did Grandpa send you guys?¡± ¡°Yes, Grandpa initially wanted to send Uncle and Second Uncle but I offered to take their ce. Pingyang tagged along. I ran into her downstairs,¡± Mu Qixing exined. ¡°Why did he send you? Is there something he wants to tell me?¡± Mu Wansheng asked, hanging her head low. Hence, neither Mu Qixing nor Wu Pingyang found anything unusual about her. ¡°Grandpa said that you¡¯re still a member of the Mu family at the end of the day. We were all thrilled to know that you¡¯re still alive. They want you to go home and see them.¡± Mu Wansheng declined coldly, ¡°Nah, I don¡¯t have the time now. Maybe next time.¡± Wu Pingyang asked, ¡°Cousin, why are you wearing a veil when you¡¯re eating? Where did you pick that habit up from? Doesn¡¯t it get in the way?¡± ¡°I only put it on because you guys are here. I suffered some burns on my face because of the ident,¡± said Mu Wansheng. Wu Pingyang felt much less envious and disgruntled about the fact that Mu Wansheng was still alive. She stood up immediately and walked toward Mu Wansheng. ¡°Let me see what your face has be.¡± Chapter 1479 - Great to Have You (39)

Chapter 1479: Great to Have You (39)

Mu Wansheng warned sternly, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to be thrown out of my house, you¡¯d better know your ce and remain in your seat obediently.¡± Wu Pingyang retorted, ¡°I was just concerned about you. Must you throw me out of your house?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t tell that you were just being concerned.¡± Wu Pingyang sat down and shifted her gaze onto Fan Shixin, who was indifferent about their presence. He constantly helped Mu Wansheng to the food,pletely ignoring them. Suddenly unsure of what to say, Mu Qixing said, ¡°By the way, Cousin, I¡¯ve already divorced Luo Hang half a year ago and married another man. He¡¯s Pingyang¡¯s superior who also happens to be my ex-boyfriend. We have two children now.¡± Mu Wansheng said, ¡°Good that you¡¯re happy. Luo Hang is not your cup of tea. Are your children both sons or daughters?¡± ¡°They¡¯re a pair of twins, one boy and one girl. They¡¯re one-and-a-half years old,¡± Mu Qixing said with a smile. ¡°That¡¯s great. I have a three-year-old daughter now too. I¡¯m nning to have another baby.¡± Wu Pingyang interjected, ¡°Are you even married yet? Why are you already thinking of having a second child?¡± Mu Wansheng answered, ¡°I can get married whenever I¡¯d like. Shixin has already reapplied for a household register for me and my name is registered under his. All we have to do is get our marriage certificate registered at the Civil Administration Bureau. We can get married now as long as I¡¯m willing to. However, we¡¯ve already agreed to get married after we return from abroad.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going abroad? Why?¡± Mu Wansheng looked up and answered, ¡°To get my eyes treated.¡± Wu Pingyang squinted at her to discover that her eyes were still and sparkless. ¡°Are you blind?¡± Mu Qixing red at Wu Pingyang, hinting for her to mind her words. Mu Qixing then asked, ¡°Cousin, have you lost your vision?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Wu Pingyang said in disbelief, ¡°No wonder you refuse to go home. Turns out you¡¯ve be disfigured and blind. Cousin, we¡¯re family. Do you really think we¡¯d mock you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if others will mock me but I know you will,¡± Mu Wansheng said coldly with a faint smile. She knew Wu Pingyang inside out. Wu Pingyang said awkwardly, ¡°I really didn¡¯t expect this from you, Cousin. I was showing you concern out of goodwill and yet this is how you treat me.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have much to say to you. You two may go home and tell Grandpa that I¡¯ll go home when the time is right.¡± Mu Qixing stood up and said, ¡°Alright, take good care of yourself, then, Cousin. We¡¯re leaving now.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± After they left, Fan Shixin said, ¡°Your other cousin seems like a nice person.¡± ¡°I think so too. She¡¯s Pingyang¡¯s half-sister. Her mother refused to see her after her father passed away while trying to save her. She was abandoned in a vige and her mother even told my grandfather that Qixing was dead. If it weren¡¯t because of Pingyang¡¯s refusal to marry Luo Hang, my aunt wouldn¡¯t have remembered her at all. However, I think she¡¯s living well now. I¡¯m happy for her.¡± Fan Shixin said, ¡°Let¡¯s set off after lunch.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡ª¡ª Mu Qixing and Wu Pingyang returned to the Mu family home to see that the rest of the family were present too. They informed Mr. Mu of Mu Wansheng¡¯s current situation, after which Mr. Mu opened his eyes and said, ¡°Wansheng has suffered a lot of hardship. Forget it, just let here home when she wants to. It¡¯s such a pity that she has lost her vision. Fortunately, Chief Fan is around to take care of her, if not...¡± He then red at Mrs. Mu and said, ¡°I know Wansheng¡¯s temper and character too well. I doubt she¡¯ll acknowledge you as her mother from now on. Just prepare yourself mentally.¡± Mrs. Mu said, ¡°I¡¯m still her mother and the one who gave birth to her, even if she doesn¡¯t want to acknowledge me.¡± Mr. Mu waved his hands in annoyance and said, ¡°Enough. Do you think you still deserve to be her mother after all that you have done? Don¡¯t make her abhor you to the point where she refuses toe home. I didn¡¯t expect that Chief Fan would divorce his wife and end up with Wansheng again. He¡¯s destined to be Wansheng¡¯s husband.¡± Although Mrs. Mu was peeved to hear his words, there was nothing she could say back to him. If given the chance to turn back the clock and go back to the time of the ident, she would have made the same decision as she did back then. However, she did not want Mu Wansheng to die. After all, Mu Wansheng was her only daughter. She was truly sick and tired of living in guilt and being med for her daughter¡¯s death throughout the past four years. Fortunately, her daughter didn¡¯t die. Even if Mu Wansheng refused to acknowledge her, she would forever be her daughter. Mrs. Mu felt that Mu Wansheng would definitely forgive her if she were to treat her better from now on. Little did she know that Mu Wansheng had never intended to forgive her at all. Mu Wansheng had made up her mind to cut off all ties with her mother. She did not wish to see her ever again. Some things just cannot be changed. Fan Shixin and Mu Wansheng tasked Xiao Bai with looking after Snowman while they were overseas. They touched down in M Nation before daybreak. Fan Shixin and Mu Wansheng checked into a hotel. They did not feel sleepy at all since they had slept through the journey there. Hence, they took a shower and waited until daybreak. After having their breakfasts, they headed to a renowned optometric hospital in M Nation with their luggage. They had already made an appointment prior to their arrival. Hence, they could settle the hospitalization procedures as soon as they arrived. Mu Wansheng was admitted to the VIP ward. There was arge queen-sized bed inside the ward, a bathroom, a dining table, a couch, a television, and several other amenities. It was just like a hotel. After settling the administrative procedures and cing their luggage inside the room, Fan Shixin brought Mu Wansheng for a full optometric checkup. Mu Wansheng¡¯s hands trembled uncontrobly as she was feeling nervous and anxious. After examining her eyes, the doctor said, ¡°Four years is a long time to be blind. You should havee right after you found out that you had lost your vision.¡± ¡°I did undergo a checkup at the hospital back then, but the doctor said that I won¡¯t ever regain my vision, so...¡± ¡°It¡¯s indeed impossible to restore your vision now. Had youe for a cornea recement surgery back then, the chances of a sessful transnt would have been much higher. This surgery carries its risks and not everyone will seed. However, we¡¯ll try our best to help you.¡± Upon hearing the doctor¡¯s words, Mu Wansheng deeply regretted her decision to not return to Fan Shixin¡¯s side. However, it was already over and there was no use in regretting it anymore. All she hoped for right now was to regain her vision and see the colorful world again. She still did not know what her daughter looked like. ¡°Thank you, Doctor.¡± ¡°The professor will be here in an hour¡¯s time. You guys may go meet the donor first.¡± Mu Wansheng and Fan Shixin proceeded to the donor¡¯s ward. Fan Shixin arranged for the donor to be warded in a VIP ward as well, which was only a few rooms away from Mu Wansheng¡¯s. Chapter 1480 - Great to Have You (40)

Chapter 1480: Great to Have You (40)

Fan Shixin never informed Mu Wansheng about who the donor was. Mu Wansheng only found out when she visited the donor¡¯s ward. To her astonishment, it was a teenager who had just turned eighteen. After chatting with the teenager, Mu Wansheng could not help but take pity on her. She was still young and had yet to live life to the fullest. She had yet to get married but was already on the brink of death. Besides, she was not a local in M Nation and was also a patient from S Nation. She did note from a wealthy family either. Her parents had spent all their money on treating her, but there was no hope in her recovering at all. The teenager agreed to donate her eyes after learning that she would receive financial aid and that she could help others. Her eyes were the only organs that were not affected by her terminal illness. Her days were numbered, and it was still unknown if her eyes would be affected in the near future. Hence, they decided to schedule the surgery for today after gaining the approval of the teenager and her parents. Fan Shixin was the most nervous. However, he could not let his emotions show. He did not want Mu Wansheng to feel even more worried than she already was. When the head surgeon arrived, Mu Wansheng and the donor were wheeled into the operating theater while Fan Shixin and the donor¡¯s parents waited outside. This was the most worried and uneasy he had ever been, apart from the time during Mu Wansheng¡¯s ident four years ago. The surgery took two hours in total. When the surgeon exited, Fan Shixin felt more assured after seeing his expression. ¡°Was it a sess?¡± ¡°Of course. I¡¯m known for my superb skills. It was very sessful.¡± ¡°Thank you, Doctor. Thank you so much,¡± Fan Shixin said, holding his hand. ¡°It¡¯s only my duty.¡± The nurse then pushed Mu Wansheng and the donor out of the operating theater. The anesthesia had yet to wear off and, hence, the two of them were still unconscious. Fan Shixin felt as if a boulder had been lifted off his chest. All they had to do now was wait for her to recover. It was dead silent in the hospital ward. He sat on the bed and stared at Mu Wansheng, whose eyes were bandaged. ¡ª¡ª Luo Hang and Xia Banqin¡¯s divorce came as a surprise to Mu Qixing. They had already been together for so many years and their child was already a few years old, yet they were getting a divorce all of a sudden. Mrs. Luo did not fancy Xia Banqin in the first ce. Hence, they did not have any objections to their son¡¯s divorce. Surprisingly, Xia Banqin looked her up first, giving Mu Qixing a great shock. ¡°How does his divorce concern me?¡± ¡°I just want you to ry a message to your family. I visited the Mu family in the afternoon. If you don¡¯t want your family¡¯s dirty linen to be washed in public, don¡¯t stop me when I go there in the afternoon.¡± Mu Qixing asked with raised brows, ¡°My family¡¯s dirty linen? Who does it concern?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know in the afternoon,¡± she said before leaving with her purse. When Mu Qixing told Mr. Mu about the matter, Mr. Mu asked, ¡°Did she say anything else?¡± ¡°No, she just mentioned that she would being by in the afternoon. She¡¯s in no ce to poke her nose into our business, but she has divorced Luo Hang. Could that have something to do with this? I¡¯m not too sure either.¡± The elderly Mr. Mu instantly understood what she meant. ¡°We¡¯ll know when she gets here.¡± After lunch, Xia Banqin showed up at their doorstep. All the Mu family members were present except Wu Pingyang and Mu Wansheng. ¡°Ms. Xia, what dirty linen were you referring to when you spoke to my granddaughter?¡± Mr. Mu asked. ¡°I think it¡¯s better if you guys see it for yourselves. After all, the concrete evidence will speak for itself,¡± Xia Banqin said, showing them the photos. Mr. Mu was filled with exasperation the moment he saw the photos. However, he had no choice but to keep it in. ¡°I hired someone to snap those photos. Mr. Mu, Luo Hang and I have been together for ten years and we even have a child together. I¡¯m not asking for an exnation today. After all, we¡¯ve already gotten divorced. I just wanted to ask you if you had already nned to betroth one of your granddaughters to Luo Hang when I married him. First, it was Mu Wansheng, followed by Mu Qixing, and in the end, it became Wu Pingyang too. I just want to know why you¡¯re so bent on ruining my marriage! I heard that Mu Qixing only married him because Wu Pingyang refused to, yet why did shee in between me and Luo Hang again? Is she just cheap and shameless!?! Does she enjoy being the other woman!?!¡± Xia Banqin¡¯s words were harsh and sarcastic. Mr. Mu had already turned as pale as a sheet. Mrs. Wu retorted, ¡°I beg your pardon? Are you any better yourself? Luo Hang dated you for six years and he still didn¡¯t want to marry you. He just had no choice but to do so because you got pregnant. You scheming bitch, what right have you got to criticize my daughter?¡± ¡°That¡¯s all because my ex-mother-inw opposed our marriage. I¡¯m different from your shameless daughter! Nothing you say can change the fact that she¡¯s a homewrecker!¡± Mrs. Mu flew into a rage and stepped forward in a bid to hit her. Mr. Mu yelled for her to stop. ¡°What are you doing!?! Get back here!¡± Mrs. Wu had no choice but to do as she was told. Xia Banqin sneered, ¡°She had the cheek to do such a shameless thing and yet you still won¡¯t let others criticize her. If you want your daughter to be praised, you ought to take her in hand.¡± Mr. Mu said, ¡°Ms. Xia, since you¡¯ve already divorced Luo Hang, there¡¯s no need for me to take her in hand. If you came to look for me before your divorce, I would have done everything I could to break them up. However, there¡¯s really nothing I can do now. After all, they¡¯re both unmarried.¡± ¡°You do make sense, but that leaves me with no choice but to leak this scandal to the media. I believe Wu Pingyang¡¯s reputation will be tarnished once the news spread.¡± ¡°Name your price. You came here for a negotiation, didn¡¯t you?¡± said Mr. Mu. Xia Banqin answered, ¡°Five million dors, no less than that. I forgot to tell you, these are only photos. I also have videos of them checking into a hotel together and getting intimate. I wouldn¡¯t havee unprepared. I¡¯ve already contacted the media as well. You¡¯d better weigh the pros and cons and give me an answer now. Doesn¡¯t she enjoy being the third party? She should be d about having to pay too. You only have until today to decide.¡± Chapter 1481 - Great to Have You (41)

Chapter 1481: Great to Have You (41)

They gasped in shock upon hearing this. Five million dors? It was definitely not a small sum. Moreover, they only had a day to give her the money. Where could they possibly get this five million dors from? Mrs. Wu snorted. ¡°You¡¯re really making a huge extortion. Aren¡¯t you afraid of straining your tongue when you say such things?¡± ¡°Why would I?¡± Xia Banqin sniggered. ¡°It¡¯s your precious daughter who should be afraid of that, right? The sight of her serving Luo Hang on the bed with her mouth was truly a distasteful one.¡± With her uttering such blunt words, the Mu family was really ced in an embarrassing situation. ¡°You can leave first. We¡¯ll send you the five million dors.¡± The elderly Mr. Mu¡¯s words made Mr. Wu ask in surprise, ¡°Father-inw, are you really going to give her five million dors?¡± ¡°Not me. You and Pingyang¡¯s mother should fork it out. Why should I do so? Pingyang is the precious daughter you¡¯ve brought up,¡± Mr. Mu replied in an infuriated manner, wishing that he could get Wu Pingyang toe back so that he could beat her to death. When Xia Banqin left, Mr. Mu got Mrs. Wu to give Pingyang a call. Before Wu Pingyang had even returned home, the atmosphere in the living room was already boiling and at its peak. Mrs. Wu refused to give Xia Banqin the amount of money she wanted, but Mr. Mu insisted that she was to fork out the money. ¡°Father, do you want to see me sell my car and house away?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care if you sell your house or car away, just fork out this amount by hook or by crook. That is, if you two don¡¯t want the Mu family to cut off all ties with you three!¡± Mr. Mu warned them. ¡°Thepany has been stable for only a few years. If this scandal goes viral and affects thepany, try me.¡± Mrs. Wu turned speechless as she fumed inside. This was five million dors they were talking about, not five or fifty thousand. How could it be easy for them to raise this amount? When Wu Pingyang entered through the front gate, she could already sense something amiss with the atmosphere at home, but she was still unaware of what exactly was going on. Although she was unaware, she could already see that everyone¡¯s expression was ugly. Especially her grandfather¡¯s. Could it be about her cousin¡¯s matter? ¡°Grandfather, what happened?¡± ¡°Kneel down!¡± Mr. Mu stood up using his cane as support and eximed as he red fiercely at her, ¡°Pingyang, I¡¯m so disappointed in you!¡± Wu Pingyang was still unaware of what was going on, so she waspletely confused as to why she had to kneel down. But, seeing how deeply enraged her grandfather was, she thought there must be a reason for it, so she knelt down without saying anything further. She then asked, ¡°Grandfather, what did I do? What happened?¡± ¡°Today, Luo Hang¡¯s ex-wife came. She said you were the third party in her and Luo Hang¡¯s marriage...¡± Before he was even done speaking, Wu Pingyang instantly rebutted, ¡°Grandfather, I wasn¡¯t!¡± ¡°You weren¡¯t? If you didn¡¯t do it, would she have personally brought these?!¡± Mr. Mu threw the pictures at her face. ¡°Look properly, is this person you or not?!¡± Wu Pingyang didn¡¯t realize before she saw it, and when she did, she almost jumped in shock. Unexpectedly, her originally firm stancepletely vanished and turned into panic. ¡°Grandfather, I... I...¡± ¡°Xia Banqin also has a video of you and Luo Hang, and she¡¯s demanding five million dors from us. I¡¯ve already told your parents that you guys will fork out this money. I¡¯ll overlook this, no matter whether all of you use money to settle this or get Luo Hang to settle it. Anyway, if this is not properly settled, the Mu family will cut off ties with you three!¡± Wu Pingyang was thrown into a panic and she assured, ¡°Grandfather, I¡¯ll tell Luo Hang about this. He¡¯ll definitely be able to settle it.¡± With that, she crawled up from the ground and hurriedly went out of the house. When she was outside, she gave Luo Hang a call. Upon hearing this matter, Luo Hang assured her solemnly, ¡°I¡¯ll settle this matter. I have the custody of the child, so if I use it to negotiate with her, she¡¯ll have no choice but to concede.¡± Wu Pingyang felt that he would be able topletely handle this matter, so she could finally rest assured. ¡°My family is really angry about this, especially my grandfather. How are your parents?¡± ¡°They¡¯re still the same, they don¡¯t really have much reaction about this. My parents originally didn¡¯t like her anyway. They were indifferent toward our divorce as well, so they¡¯re fine now.¡± Luo Xing said in a casual tone, ¡°Tell your grandfather to rest assured. I¡¯ll settle this matter.¡± ¡°Alright, then, I¡¯ll tell him.¡± With that, Wu Pingyang immediately went to tell Mr. Mu about it. After hearing her words, he looked much better and his tone had softened as well. ¡°Didn¡¯t you look down on himst time? How did you end up with him now?¡± ¡°Last time, didn¡¯t I have Fan Shixin as a reference? That¡¯s why I felt that Luo Hang was just average. But, in these few years, hasn¡¯t the Luo family¡¯s business been expanding rather quickly? I¡¯m not young anymore as well, I should start a family of my own soon. I now think he¡¯s pretty decent. Moreover, he and that Xia Banqin were already living separately long ago. What was wrong with me getting together with him? They got divorced in the end anyway, and Luo Hang says he wants to marry me.¡± Mr. Mu did not quite approve of this. ¡°That Luo Hang can even abandon a woman he married and loved for ten years, don¡¯t you think he would do the same to you one day? The Luo family is rich, but Luo Hang¡¯s conduct and values are far from that of Chief Fan¡¯s.¡± ¡°Chief Fan, Chief Fan. Grandfather, you only know how to speak of Chief Fan. No matter how excellent a catch Chief Fan is, he¡¯ll never be my future husband.¡± Wu Pingyang lowered her voice and muttered softly, ¡°I think that Luo Hang... is still rather decent. He¡¯s the only son and has many aplishments at a young age. No matter what, he¡¯s still considered a rich second-generation heir. How can Fan Shixinpare to him? He¡¯s at most a servant that¡¯smanded around by others.¡± Mr. Mu sneered coldly, ¡°I¡¯m so old already, do you think I can¡¯t tell whether someone¡¯s good or bad? Luo Hang¡¯s a rich second-generation heir, so what? Does he dare to challenge Chief Fan? How can he even bepared with Chief Fan? Just thinking about what you¡¯ve done makes me enraged. Looking at how you have such a brain, I really don¡¯t know who you take after! Even a pig is better than you!¡± Wu Pingyang started to seethe upon hearing this. ¡°Grandfather, you¡¯re an elder and I¡¯m your junior, so I haven¡¯t dared to say many things to you out of respect. Yes, I am brainless and I¡¯ve made mistakes. But Grandfather, at an age like yours, don¡¯t tell me you haven¡¯t made any mistakes before? You¡¯re afraid that I¡¯ll taint the reputation of the Mu family, but a few years back, was the rumor about you and Second Auntpletely baseless?!¡± Once she spouted these words, the tensed atmosphere that had originally begun to ease started to fill up the air again. Mrs. Wu instantly reached out to nudge Wu Pingyang to warn her not to spout nonsense. This matter had been strictly forbidden to be mentioned within the Mu family. No matter how it had spread outside, they were not allowed to mention it amongst the Mu family. Wu Pingyang¡¯s words immediately sparked a me within the elderly Mr. Mu and he hollered, ¡°What do you mean? Outsiders may have spread this rumor, but you believe it too?¡± Mrs. Wu tried to smooth things over. ¡°Father, Pingyang¡¯s just a child. Don¡¯t stoop to her level.¡± ¡°A child? She¡¯ll be turning 30 soon!¡± Mr. Mu roared. Because of this sudden burst of anger, his whole face had turned extremely stern, making it a sight that made one cringe anxiously inside. Chapter 1482 - Great to Have You (42)

Chapter 1482: Great to Have You (42)

Wu Pingyang could no longer suppress her rage either. ¡°Grandfather, you¡¯re saying that those in power can do anything they want while the weak cannot do anything. The one that tainted the reputation of the Mu family was you and Second Aunt, I¡¯m nowhere near you two! After all, my surname isn¡¯t Mu. Moreover, whether Mu Wansheng is your daughter or my Second Uncle¡¯s daughter, everyone¡¯s curious about this even though no one says it on the surface!¡± Mrs. Wu berated her sternly, ¡°Alright, enough.¡± ¡°Let her finish!¡± Mr. Mu roared, his pair of round eyes ring fiercely. Wu Pingyang replied with pouted lips, ¡°I have nothing much left to say already. I just want to know the truth. If Cousin Wansheng and Grandfather or Second Uncle were to do a paternity test, I reckon it¡¯ll sessfully seal everyone¡¯s lips, right?¡± Since this topic was raised, Mrs. Wu and the rest were actually very curious as well, with the exception of Wu Pingyang¡¯s Second Uncle and Second Aunt, who appeared extremely indifferent. Mr. Mu himself already had an idea of what to do. ¡°Since this is the case, then we¡¯ll wait for Wansheng toe back to do the paternity test.¡± Once his words came out, everyone believed that the old master was being open and aboveboard about it. It was evident that he was just Mu Wansheng¡¯s grandfather. Hearing his words, Wu Pingyang became uncertain of what the situation was anymore. She could only remark sulkily, ¡°Then, we¡¯ll wait and see.¡± ¡ª¡ª After the effects of Mu Wansheng¡¯s anesthesia had worn off, her eyes started to hurt terribly, and she could only describe the pain as being worse than death. The doctor told her that she could not cry, so in order to recover, she suppressed the urge to do so and grabbed onto Fan Shixin¡¯s hand tightly to bear with the immense pain. It took a total of two whole days for the immense pain to ease. In the days that came, Mu Wansheng couldn¡¯t help but worry about whether Mianmian was doing fine at home. Fan Shixin had to call home once every day, and only after ensuring the child was well and fine would she rest assured. This stay at the hospital turned out to be an extremely long one for her. Fan Shixin stayed by her side every single day, and even during meal times, he got people from the restaurant to deliver food directly to them. Since the day she was hospitalized, he never left her side at all and stayed with her every day and night. This went on until a humid month of June. Justst month, the donor had passed away, and Fan Shixin and Mu Wansheng even went to pay their respects to her. Fan Shixin paid a huge sum ofpensation to the donor¡¯s family as well. While the dead was gone, the living still had to move on with life. This was the final thing that the donor had wanted for her parents. On the day of removing her bandage, Mu Wansheng was actually feeling more anxious than she was when she entered the operation theater. Even though the doctor constantly assured her that the operation had been sessful, before she could open her eyes to see, she still did notpletely believe it. Mu Wansheng sat by the bed while her doctor helped her to remove the bandage over her eyes. Her fists were clenched tightly while Fan Shixin had a mirror in his hand as he stared intensely at her. The moment the bandage was sessfully removed, Mu Wansheng instead sat there with her eyes tightly closed and still did not attempt to open them. The curtains had been closed shut inside the ward because they were afraid that her eyes would not react well to the sudden burst of light when she had been used to seeing darkness for a long time. Just like that, she kept her eyes closed shut and only after a while did she slowly open them. Even though it wasn¡¯t really bright inside the room, she was still extremely ufortable with the sudden brightness. After the doctor tried to help her adjust to it, she was finally able to open her eyespletely. She looked at the foreign doctor in a white robe before her, then turned to the nurse, who was smiling brightly at her, and finally, to Fan Shixin, who was beside her. Mu Wansheng became overwhelmed with joy, and, unable to contain her happiness, she turned to give Fan Shixin a kiss. ¡°Thank you guys so much.¡± Without the doctor and nurses, her world would still have been one that was enclosed in darkness. Of course, most importantly, she had to thank the donor for this. She was so thankful to her. Fan Shixin passed her the mirror in his hands and said with a grin, ¡°Take a look.¡± Mu Wansheng took the mirror from him and raised it up, looking at herself inside it. Simply because her eyes were different now, it felt like she waspletely different from before. However, this pair of eyes, which were someone else¡¯s, looked extremely natural on her face. When the doctor and nurse were gone, she hurriedly said, ¡°Quick, show me pictures of Mianmian.¡± Fan Shixin took out his own phone and searched for pictures in his phone gallery. ¡°Look, she looks exactly like how you looked when you were young. She looks so much like you.¡± Mu Wansheng gazed at Mianmian¡¯s rosy cheeks, and her heart was simply going to melt. He was right, the child looked extremely like her. Thinking of how she had touched her small little cheeks previously, she realized they looked quite simr to how she had imagined them to be. ¡°When are we going back? I miss her already, I want to see her as soon as possible.¡± ¡°If you want, we can go back right now since you¡¯ve already recovered.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s go back right now.¡± ¡°Look at how anxious you are.¡± He didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry at the situation. ¡°Since we¡¯re here, why don¡¯t we explore the ce before we go back? Let¡¯s go back home tomorrow, shall we? I want to bring you around.¡± Mu Wansheng thought that it indeed would not make a difference if they explored the ce before they went back, so she agreed. Never would she have imagined that Fan Shixin would bring her to the top of a hill to see M Nation¡¯s famous night view while they had their luggage with them. This hill was situated at the far end of the city they were in, and the bird¡¯s-eye view at the top of the hill was excellent. Not only that, the air at the top of the hill was especially fresh, and there was a luxury hotel situated there. The two enjoyed the night view while sipping on wine, their moods spectacr. ¡°I didn¡¯t dare to think, nor did I allow myself to think, that this day woulde. It¡¯s great to have you, Shixin.¡± He reached out to wrap his arms around her waist, a deep and meaningful smile forming on his face. ¡°I¡¯ve been bearing with it these days. I thought since your eyes weren¡¯t recovered, I couldn¡¯t touch you. So we¡¯re staying a night here so that I can have you properly. May I?¡± Mu Wansheng couldn¡¯t help but remark, ¡°When were you such a gentleman? You¡¯re even asking me if you can have me beforehand. This isn¡¯t your style.¡± ¡°I want to give you a proper mental preparation.¡± He ced the wine ss on the table and pulled her even closer to him. As Mu Wansheng leaned closely against him, her face started to feel hot all over, and she didn¡¯t quite dare to fix her eyes on him. She didn¡¯t think that even after a few years had gone by, he¡¯d look like he had not aged a single day. He looked exactly like how he did four years ago. This face was one that made her heart palpitate with excitement. They were now above the observation tower, where the lights had already gone out and only they could see the outside world while the people outside were unable to see them. Fan Shixin went behind Mu Wansheng and started to lift her skirt up all the way to her waist. Mu Wansheng knew what he was trying to do but was suddenly at a loss as to what to do. ¡°What if other people see us?¡± ¡°They won¡¯t be able to.¡± Mu Wansheng was assured in the end and allowed him to do as he wished. The two finally rested against each other while catching their breaths. Mu Wansheng leaned against his chest while he hugged her from behind as the two watched the stars together. Mu Wansheng simply felt that this life of hers had taken so many turns, and it was great at the present moment. ¡ª¡ª The following day, the two left M Nation and returned to S Nation. Their flight was a long one, and Mu Wansheng ate and slept throughout the whole journey. When they arrived home, she could not be more energetic. Because of the time difference, it was three o¡¯clock in the morning when they reached home. Chapter 1483 - Great to Have You (43)

Chapter 1483: Great to Have You (43)

Fan Shixin slept for a few hours. Mu Wansheng couldn¡¯t sleep so she starting arranging things in the house properly. She even went to the supermarket in the morning to buy many ingredients to make a sumptuous breakfast. The weather was exceptionally good, and Fan Shixin slept until eight. After he woke up, he had breakfast with her. He noticed that she looked extremely radiant, as her cheeks were rosy and looked plump and round. ¡°Since we¡¯re both in a good mood, why don¡¯t we collect our wedding certificate, then go and pick up Mianmian?¡± ¡°Good idea.¡± Mu Wansheng¡¯s lips curled into a grin. ¡°I support this.¡± Fan Shixin¡¯s eyes were full of joy as he remarked, ¡°This is what you said, okay? You can¡¯t go back on your word anymore.¡± ¡°Looks like you¡¯re really afraid that I¡¯ll go back on my word.¡± ¡°Of course, I really care about you.¡± Mu Wansheng lowered her head to drink milk and merely grinned but did not answer him. After a moment, she said, ¡°But... I want to do stic surgery. After I look pretty, then I¡¯ll marry you. Of course, if you really want it to be today, then so be it.¡± Fan Shixin looked at her and replied, ¡°I value your opinion more. Although I¡¯d really like it to be today, I know how you must be feeling. Let¡¯s just do what you¡¯ve said. I actually thought of that already and already got someone to contact a famous stic surgeon. The appointment will be a week from now, is that alright?¡± It was simply a surprise to her! Without her even having to say it, he had already thought of this in advance. Mu Wansheng¡¯s emotions were simply at its peak, and the happiness inside her was beyond what one could imagine. ¡°That¡¯s great, of course. It¡¯s excellent. I¡¯m so overjoyed. Shixin, I want everyone to see my face properly. This is my wish. I¡¯m actually more eager to collect our marriage certificate today than you are because I really want to marry you now and be your wife. I want to tell everyone that my husband is Fan Shixin. But I also want to marry you with everyone¡¯s blessings. I want to wear a nice wedding gown and have my face shown to everyone when I marry you. I really want everyone to know how your wife looks like now, but I don¡¯t want people to say that you married a hideous woman.¡± ¡°I understand. It¡¯s okay, we¡¯re spending every day with each other already. I can wait, no matter how long.¡± ¡°...¡± After they ate, the two headed straight to the old Jin residence to fetch Mianmian. When Mu Wansheng and Fan Shixin saw their daughter, the two were inplete disbelief. Was this little girl who was wearing a small red singlet and line-dancing so superbly really their daughter? ¡°Mommy!¡± Upon seeing Mu Wansheng, Mianmian stopped dancing abruptly and merrily ran over to her, hugging Mu Wansheng¡¯s legs tightly. Seeing how her daughter still recognized her after being apart from her for so long, Mu Wansheng bent down and carried her in her arms. ¡°Our Mianmian has gotten heavier than before. Are you bing a fat princess?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not fat at all,¡± Fan Mianmian grumbled in a dissatisfied manner. ¡°I¡¯m not a fat princess, I¡¯m Mommy¡¯s little princess.¡± Mu Wansheng chuckled. ¡°Alright, alright. This is our little princess. Now, look at Mommy properly, little princess.¡± Fan Mianmian let out a short exmation before asking, ¡°Mommy, why are your eyes different from before?¡± ¡°Make a guess.¡± She replied with her baby voice, ¡°Mianmian can¡¯t guess it.¡± ¡°Mommy can see you now, my darling.¡± Fan Mianmian was rather cheeky as well, as she stuck a finger out and asked, ¡°What number is this?¡± Mu Wansheng felt rather amused by this. ¡°One.¡± ¡°How about this, then?¡± she then asked after sticking out four fingers. ¡°Four.¡± ¡°Wow, Mommy, you¡¯re amazing.¡± Mu Wansheng did not know whether tough or cry at what she said and carried her to greet Fan Shixin¡¯s parents. ¡°Auntie, Uncle.¡± Seeing how there was joy written all over her son¡¯s face, Mrs. Fan was ted as well. ¡°Wansheng, when are you and Shixin intending to get married?¡± ¡°Auntie, my face is ruined, so Shixin is bringing me to get stic surgery. After it¡¯s done, we¡¯ll get married.¡± Mrs. Fan replied, ¡°I see, that¡¯s good. Medical science is so advanced now that eye transnts can even be done, much less one¡¯s face. Auntie supports you. But can Mianmian stay with us until your operation is over? You don¡¯t know, your Uncle and I are stuck around Mianmian all the time now. What an adorable little girl she is! She¡¯s so likeable, and we haven¡¯t had enough of her yet.¡± Since she was already asked like this, Mu Wansheng could only agree with a grin. She thought, It¡¯s rare that her grandparents like her so much. ¡°Right, do you want to ask your parents to meet us so we can discuss the wedding?¡± ¡°Auntie, it¡¯s okay. I can make decisions by myself.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good as well. As long as you can decide for yourself.¡± Unexpectedly, once Mu Wansheng had returned, she received a call from the Mu family in the afternoon. It was a call from Mu Wansheng¡¯s father. Her father, who seldom talked to her, had actually called her. This made her rather surprised. ¡°What is this about?¡± Mu Wansheng asked, simply not knowing what else to talk to him about. ¡°I heard you came back from overseas. Are your eyes fine now?¡± ¡°Yes, they¡¯re fine now.¡± ¡°Then make a trip back home.¡± Mr. Mu did not beat around the bush either. ¡°Your grandfather wants to get a paternity test done. With you. So, you need toe back.¡± Mu Wansheng was rather taken aback. ¡°Paternity test? Who suggested it?¡± ¡°Pingyang suggested it a while back. Everyone¡¯s curious as well, so your grandfather agreed.¡± Mu Wansheng gripped her phone tightly as she replied, ¡°You agreed to it as well? You¡¯re curious too? Don¡¯t tell me you haven¡¯t gotten a test secretly done before?¡± Mr. Mu suddenly kept silent, and only after a moment did he answer, ¡°We¡¯ll be waiting for you at home tomorrow.¡± With that, he hung up the call. Mu Wansheng ced her phone down, feeling rather overwhelmed inside. After she conveyed the contents of the phone conversation to Fan Shixin, he was rather surprised as well and asked her, ¡°Are you going to do this test?¡± ¡°Of course. But I think there¡¯s something fishy about this, so I¡¯ll try to get a strand of my father or grandfather¡¯s hair tomorrow, and then you can help me to get it tested with another DNA test center.¡± Fan Shixin agreed to it. ¡°Sure, but if the answer is not what you expected, how would you face it?¡± ¡°I actually have an answer already,¡± Mu Wansheng remarked frankly. ¡°Although I haven¡¯t gotten a paternity test done, I do have some sort of answer already. After all, this isn¡¯t something that has been going on for three to five years only. A long time ago, there were already rumors about this. As to what I have to face, we¡¯ll just see how things go. I didn¡¯t ask to be born anyway, so it isn¡¯t my fault.¡± ¡°Alright. If you have an answer inside, then I don¡¯t have to worry. We¡¯ll go back tomorrow. Come, let¡¯s go shopping. I want to buy you some clothes and shoes.¡± ¡°Sure, okay.¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°Why don¡¯t you go to my grandfather¡¯s ce with me tomorrow?¡± Wu Pingyang asked with her hand wrapped around Luo Hang¡¯s. ¡°Tomorrow? Why?¡± ¡°Tomorrow, Mu Wansheng is getting a paternity test done with my grandfather. Everyone will be around. You¡¯re my boyfriend, it¡¯s fine even if you¡¯re there.¡± Hearing this immediately aroused Luo Hang¡¯s curiosity. ¡°Sure.¡± Chapter 1484 - Great to Have You (44)

Chapter 1484: Great to Have You (44)

Thereafter, he added, ¡°But this is ultimately your family¡¯s private issue. I haven¡¯t married you, is it really okay to go as your boyfriend?¡± ¡°Why not? My grandfather is just trying to make things clear, right?¡± Wu Pingyang insisted on him going along with her. ¡°Just go with me to take a look. I heard from my mother that Mu Wansheng¡¯s eyes have been treated.¡± ¡°She really has a blessed life. I¡¯m impressed.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t there a saying that goes, ¡®good people don¡¯t live long, but the evil live a thousand years to harm others¡¯?¡± Luo Hangughed in amusement. ¡°I can tell, your rtionship with her is really terrible.¡± ¡°It has been like this since we¡¯re young. It isn¡¯t a matter of one or two days.¡± Speaking of this, Wu Pingyang asked him, ¡°Is that Xia Banqin still contacting you?¡± ¡°She called me, but I didn¡¯t pick up. She had originally wanted custody of the child, but how could I have given it to her? I¡¯m already being magnanimous by allowing her to see the child twice every month. What else does she want?¡± ¡°Well done. You can¡¯t give her the custody of the child. It¡¯s right to have her in your clutches like that. Otherwise, if she gets the child¡¯s custody, she¡¯ll have the upper hand.¡± Wu Pingyang was peeved once she thought about how Xia Banqin had taken her and Luo Hang¡¯s intimate pictures to the Mu residence and dared to extort such a huge sum from them. She must be really crazy about money. ¡°I¡¯m going back.¡± ¡°Alright. Drive safely.¡± He nodded, then got up to leave. Wu Pingyang also got up from the long bench and went back to her department. She had just gone in when Lu Jingrao started criticizing, ¡°Don¡¯t you see that there are so many patients around? Where have you been?¡± ¡°My boyfriend was here. I went to meet him for a while.¡± ¡°He has toe once every day, and during your work hours? Tell him next time toe and find you when you¡¯ve gotten off work. If you dare to go out for half an hour during your work hours again, I¡¯ll add a demerit to your record.¡± With that, he left the department. Having been told off by him in front of so many colleagues, Wu Pingyang was extremely peeved. ¡°Isn¡¯t our head your brother-inw? I see he isn¡¯t humane toward you at all. Looks like you don¡¯t have a good rtionship with your sister.¡± Wu Pingyang let out a snort before rebutting her colleague, ¡°Why do you care? You needn¡¯t worry about such things. Get lost.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª¡ª The following morning, the skies were gloomy and rather dark. The weather was evidently not good. Mu Wansheng and Fan Shixin packed up their house before heading to the Mu residence. When Fan Shixin entered the front door with his hand in Mu Wansheng¡¯s, he asked upon realizing that everyone was around, ¡°Is this a family meeting or something? Why is everyone here?¡± From how it seemed to him, a paternity test didn¡¯t require the whole Mu family to be around, right? Wasn¡¯t it enough if a few of the elders were around? Wu Pingyang responded, ¡°No, everyone gathered here because we want to witness the moment of truth. We were only waiting for you and Mu Qixing¡¯s family to arrive.¡± Mu Wansheng replied frankly, ¡°I think there¡¯s no need for this, actually...¡± ¡°You may think that there¡¯s no need, but all of us think that this is very necessary. Not only has the outside world been engaging in heated debates about this, even amongst the Mu family members, there have been discussions about this. And this despite the fact that nobody says anything about it on the surface,¡± Wu Pingyang asserted strongly, without even waiting for her to finish speaking. ¡°Why didn¡¯t we do a test a few years ago, then?¡± Mu Wansheng asked. ¡°That was when the debate about this was the fiercest, wasn¡¯t it?¡± This question rendered the senior Mr. Mupletely speechless, yet he could not ignore it. ¡°I thought it¡¯s fine that the outside world has been specting about it, but I didn¡¯t expect that our family members have been doing so as well.¡± Mu Wansheng turned to Luo Hang, who was standing beside Wu Pingyang, and asked, ¡°What is this jerk doing in our house?¡± Wu Pingyang burst out in anger upon hearing this, ¡°Who are you calling a jerk? He¡¯s my boyfriend!¡± ¡°Luo Hang, of course. Who else could I be calling? Although Luo Hang¡¯s ex-wife wasn¡¯t a saint either, in my opinion, she was much better than you. At least she waspletely devoted to Luo Hang, unlike you, getting together with him when you were with Shixin...¡± ¡°Cousin!¡± Wu Pingyang hollered. ¡°I got you toe back today to do this paternity test, can you not rake up such ancient and useless matters from the past?¡± Mu Wansheng intentionally wanted to blow her cover. She ignored the ufortable look on Luo Hang¡¯s face and remarked bluntly, ¡°The two of you are reallypatible, huh? Since you insist on a paternity test, then so be it. Even though the results don¡¯t matter to me at all.¡± Wu Pingyang replied through gritted teeth, ¡°That¡¯s good, then.¡± While they were speaking, Mu Qixing and Lu Jingrao arrived without their children. In the presence of everyone, they then extracted Mu Wansheng and the senior Mr. Mu¡¯s hair and passed it to the staff from the DNA test center. Thereafter, Fan Shixin¡¯s phone rang. He left first as he had to deal with some matters and said that he would returnter to fetch Mu Wansheng. From the moment Mu Wansheng entered, she had not cast a single nce at Mrs. Mu at all. Although she knew that Mrs. Mu had her eyes fixed on her the whole time, she did not have a single inch of affection left toward this mother of hers anymore. To her, Mrs. Mu was but a stranger. ¡°Wansheng, the whole family is really happy that you¡¯re able to stay alive. You¡¯ve been through enough suffering, and your mother has been in deep regret these few years as well...¡± The elderly Mr. Mu had yet to finish speaking when Mu Wansheng continued, ¡°She won¡¯t... she won¡¯t be regretful for it. If given another chance, she would still do the same time. I¡¯m definitely her biological child, but I¡¯ve repaid her for giving me this life already. If all of you still hope for me toe back to the Mu residence, then don¡¯t ever call her my mother anymore. I have no such mother. I won¡¯t repeat these words a second time.¡± Hearing how adamant she sounded, the senior Mr. Mu darted a nce at Mrs. Mu before nodding as he replied, ¡°Alright, then. You¡¯re no longer a child. If you insist, Grandfather can¡¯t do anything about it either.¡± ¡°Wansheng!¡± Mrs. Mu couldn¡¯t keep it in anymore. ¡°The situation back then was really critical. As my daughter, didn¡¯t you think about getting out of there yourself first?¡± ¡°That was because I could get out at the fastest speed while your leg was stuck. We could have both escaped unscathed, but you insisted on putting on an act!¡± Mu Wansheng¡¯s voice was originally hoarse, but as she was extremely firm, there was a certain hardness in her voice. ¡°You¡¯d better know your limits.¡± Mrs. Mu was about to reply to her, but Mu Wansheng did not give her this chance and simply turned to leave. Upon the sight of this, Mu Qixing went after her. ¡°Cousin.¡± Mu Wansheng turned back. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Have your eyes really beenpletely cured?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s all thanks to the donor.¡± ¡°That¡¯s simply great.¡± Mu Qixing was overwhelmed with joy. ¡°I¡¯m really happy for you. Cousin, it¡¯s been really hard on you, but you¡¯ve made it through.¡± ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll be doing stic surgery in a few days too. After that, I won¡¯t have to cover up my face anymore.¡± Mu Qixing responded with sparkling eyes, ¡°Really? Ahhhh, that¡¯s wonderful! Future Brother-inw is really beyond great. He really loves you a great deal.¡± ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s really great to me. Right, why didn¡¯t you bring your children out?¡± ¡°They were being naughty, so I didn¡¯t bring them out.¡± Mu Wansheng nodded and specially inquired, ¡°How did Luo Hang and Wu Pingyang get together?¡± Chapter 1485 - Great to Have You (45)

Chapter 1485: Great to Have You (45)

Mu Qixing followed her out and started chatting with her, exining to her about everything that Wu Pingyang did. After hearing her story, Mu Wansheng was simply stunned. ¡°Luckily, you and Luo Hang got divorced long ago. Otherwise, you¡¯d really have been implicated in this. There¡¯s this saying, right? Every jack has its jill. Amazing.¡± Mu Qixing smiled faintly. ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± .... When the DNA test results came out, the members of the Mu family were all curious to know the truth while the senior Mr. Mu and Mr. Mu both looked indifferent, as if they were already aware of what the results were. Since she had entered, Mu Wansheng had not gotten the chance to obtain a strand of the elder Mr. Mu¡¯s hair. However, it was pretty clear to her that Fan Shixin had gone out previously most probably to follow the staff back to the test center. The results of the test could not have been faked. It would not be a lie or a scheme that was plotted. Hence, she believed that the results of the test would definitely be the truth. ¡°The test results are out, ¡± the doctor from the test center remarked, his expression rather sullen. His hands were also trembling slightly as he held onto the test report. The senior Mr. Mu replied bluntly, ¡°Since they¡¯re out, just announce them.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Mu Wansheng interjected. ¡°Luo Hang hasn¡¯t married Pingyang, he probably shouldn¡¯t be here to hear this news. I think he should stay away for a while.¡± Wu Pingyang felt that Mu Wansheng was intentionally going against her. ¡°That won¡¯t do. Although we¡¯re not married yet, we will be very soon. Luo Hang can stay here, he shouldn¡¯t be asked to leave.¡± The senior Mr. Mu was indifferent toward it as well since he already knew clearly that the results would be as per his arrangement. There would be no mistake. ¡°Wansheng, it¡¯s okay. Luo Hang and Pingyang will get married soon anyway. Since he¡¯s here, he can listen as well.¡± Hearing how he had said it like this already, Mu Wansheng had no choice but to reply, ¡°Since Grandfather says so, then please announce the test results, Doctor.¡± The doctor flipped open the test report and said, ¡°Afterparing the senior Mr. Mu and Ms. Mu Wansheng¡¯s DNA, we found that... they are indeed father and daughter.¡± Once this was revealed, everyone¡¯s faces changed instantly. Wu Pingyang let out a cold snort while the elder Mr. Mu, the junior Mr. Mu, and Mrs. Mu¡¯s faces turned from calmness to rage. This was not the result they had intended to announce. How did it... How did the test result they had arranged properly turn out like this? ¡°You... have you gotten the wrong results?¡± the senior Mr. Mu asked. ¡°Mr. Mu, the results are correct. There are absolutely no mistakes. I¡¯ll take my leave first.¡± The doctor passed the test report to Mu Wansheng before leaving. Mu Wansheng took a nce at the results, her face unchanged. She spoke first. ¡°Since this is the results, then there¡¯s no need to say anything more. After all, I¡¯ve already suffered enough from this matter during my university days and even quit school because of this. I didn¡¯t ask to be born, nor was I the one who made a mistake. So, I¡¯m not the one who should be responsible for this either. Since the truth has been revealed, let¡¯s just face it.¡± The senior Mr. Mu did not expect her to be this calm. ¡°Wansheng, you...¡± ¡°Should I continue calling you Grandfather or Father?¡± Mu Wansheng asked while looking at him. ¡°Father, of course. Since you¡¯ve let go of this already, then I won¡¯t say anything much.¡± It had never urred to him that things would turn out like this. He had originally given a strand of the junior Mr. Mu¡¯s hair to the test center¡¯s doctor in private while giving his own strand of hair in front of everyone to deceive them. Who would have expected... Mu Wansheng¡¯s gazended on the rest of the Mu family members. ¡°Alright, then, from today on, I won¡¯t be in the Mu family with the status of a granddaughter, but the youngest daughter. Pingyang, you should stop calling me cousin from here on. Since I¡¯m your mother¡¯s sister, you should call me Youngest Aunt. Come, greet me once.¡± Wu Pingyang felt like she would be the death of her. She had yet to tease Mu Wansheng about this, and she had already started to use her seniority on her. The elder Mr. Mu urged her, ¡°Pingyang, what are you waiting for? Greet her.¡± Wu Pingyang ultimately still greeted, ¡°Youngest Aunt.¡± Mu Wansheng sneered faintly, ¡°You aren¡¯t being sincere at all. Forget it, it¡¯s good that you¡¯ve greeted me. When your Youngest Unclees backter, don¡¯t forget to greet him.¡± Wu Pingyang was simply on the verge of vomitting blood. ¡°Why am I the only one greeting you and Mu Qixing doesn¡¯t need to do so?¡± ¡°Because Youngest Aunt dotes on you the most, ¡± Mu Wansheng remarked, winking at Mu Qixing as she did so. Mu Qixing covered her mouth while chuckling. Given how the truth of what was supposed to be a dirty scandal hade out and transformed into a situation like this, there was simply no way for anyone to start pointing fingers to use someone. When Fan Shixin went through the front door, the atmosphere in the house was rather strange. Even though he knew the reason behind it, he still pretended like he was in the dark and asked, ¡°What happened?¡± Mu Wansheng discreetly whispered a few sentences into his ear while he, in turn, whispered back into her ear. After she heard what he had muttered in her ear, Mu Wansheng¡¯s face was burning slightly, as this was what he had said: ¡°I was the one behind it. Please reward me at night.¡± ¡°Right, Shixin. Pingyang will call you Youngest Uncle from now on. Although you might not be used to it, you¡¯ll grow ustomed to it once she greets you more often.¡± Fan Shixin grinned as he replied, ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right.¡± Wu Pingyang¡¯s blood was boiling as she turned speechless because of these two and could not act up either. She could only say, ¡°Grandfather, now that we know what happened between you and Second Aunt, have you thought of how Second Uncle might feel? It wasn¡¯t anyone else but his own father who made him a cuckold. I really feel indignant for Second Uncle.¡± The senior Mr. Mu simply responded bluntly, ¡°If you feel like you can¡¯t live in this house anymore or don¡¯t wish to stay here, you don¡¯t have toe back anymore. It¡¯s been something that happened more than 30 years ago. What¡¯s the point of saying such things now? It¡¯s water under the bridge already. I would like to make it er now. In the future, Wansheng¡¯s status in this house will be that of my youngest daughter. Wansheng¡¯s mother is to move out and will never be allowed to return to the Mu residence anymore.¡± Mrs. Mu simply could not believe what she was hearing. ¡°Why do I have to move out?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯ll divorce you, ¡± Mr. Mu interjected. ¡°Since the results have been revealed now, there¡¯s no need to continue a marriage like this anymore, right?¡± Mrs. Mu¡¯s face turned pale, and she could no longer utter a single word. When everyone had left, the senior Mr. Mu immediately got the younger Mr. Mu to go and ask the doctor what exactly had happened. However, he was stopped by Mu Wansheng. ¡°There¡¯s no need to ask.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I made the doctor reveal the true results,¡± Fan Shixin stood out to answer. ¡°Wansheng already had an answer inside, and she did not want to continue living like this without knowing her true background. Even if the truth was this, she felt that there wasn¡¯t anything wrong with it. After all, none of this is her fault, right?¡± The elder Mr. Mu let out a deep sigh. ¡°It¡¯s me, it¡¯s all my fault. Back then, when Pingyang¡¯s grandmother passed away. I was so devastated that I started intoxicating myself with alcohol. Then, I made such a mistake when I was muddleheaded... I already told Pingyang¡¯s Second Uncle about this in private before.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all in the past, don¡¯t talk about it anymore, ¡± Mu Wansheng replied. ¡°Since this matter has already been revealed, just let it be. We¡¯ll be leaving first.¡± Chapter 1486 - Great to Have You (46)

Chapter 1486: Great to Have You (46)

¡°Alright, go home, then.¡± After they left, the elder Mr. Mu leaned against the chair with his eyes ssed over. Staring at his second son, he said, ¡°I¡¯ve let you down.¡± ¡°It¡¯s already been so many years. The truth still got out anyway. However, I still see Wansheng as my daughter. It¡¯s just that our family¡¯s reputation is now...¡± ¡°Our family¡¯s reputation has long been ruined. Forget it, we¡¯ll just y it by ear.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Are you really alright?¡± Fan Shixin asked Mu Wansheng while holding onto her hand. ¡°Yes. Actually, the Mu family isn¡¯t that important to me anymore. What matters most now are you and our daughter. So, I won¡¯t take it to heart after making my priorities clear.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got the right mindset. The truth can never be changed, regardless of how absurd it may be,¡± he said, smiling. Once they got inside the car, she asked, ¡°Are we going home?¡± ¡°Where would you like to go?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go wherever you take me to.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± He reached out to buckle her safety belt before driving toward the amusement park. ¡°Why are we here?¡± ¡°This is the ce where I found you. We have toe and take a look.¡± ¡°This may be the ce where you found me but it¡¯s not the ce where I first met you again after my ident,¡± Mu Wansheng said with a smile. ¡°The first time you saw me again was at the hospital.¡± ¡°Yes, it was on the elevator of the hospital. We were going to the same floor.¡± He looked at her and said, ¡°You should have called my name back then. I couldn¡¯t tell it was you because your voice was different and you had your face covered.¡± ¡°Yes, I regret it too.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, we¡¯ve still returned to each other¡¯s side at the end of the day after going round and round in circles.¡± Mu Wansheng¡¯s heart began to flutter. She often found herself turning as meek as amb whenever she was with him. She felt like she was bing increasingly attached and reliant on him. Giving your heart to someone else is indeed a great risk and a huge gamble. ¡ª¡ª A few dayster, Fan Shixin took Mu Wansheng overseas again. This time, she was embarking on a journey toward regaining her beauty and confidence, which would involve a great deal of pain, suffering, and risks. If the surgery were to fail, the results would be fatal because of the numerous blood vessels beneath the skin on one¡¯s face. Not to mention, the costs of the cosmetic surgeries were hefty, especially since Fan Shixin had booked an appointment with a renowned stic surgeon. He wanted to maximize the chances of sess, as far as possible. After running a physical check on Mu Wansheng¡¯s face, the surgeon told them, ¡°Fortunately, Ms. Mu¡¯s features are still intact. I¡¯ve performed many other surgeries that are simr to this, but there are definitely risks involved because of the numerous blood vessels beneath the skin surface of the face. I have to let you guys know this beforehand so that you can prepare yourselves mentally.¡± Mu Wansheng nodded and said, ¡°We¡¯re well aware of that.¡± ¡°On top of that, once the anesthesia wears off after the surgery, you¡¯ll be in great pain due to the severe damage on your skin. The recovery will take a longer time as well. You must be ready for that.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve prepared myself as fully as I can. Doctor, please help me. I can bear with the pain regardless of how excruciating it may be.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my best to help you.¡± Although Mu Wansheng was rather terrified, she felt much less worried because Fan Shixin was around to apany her. The surgery was scheduled after the surgeon hade up with a concrete n. While waiting for the day of the surgery, Fan Shixin brought her to the hospital to have her vocal cords checked. He wanted her to regain her confidence and, hence, he had been keeping it in mind. After the checkup, the doctor informed them that the damage to her vocal cords was not severe and could be fixed with a minor surgery. Mu Wansheng felt as if she was in a dream. After some discussion with Fan Shixin, she decided to undergo the minor surgery. Mu Wansheng was put through a whirlpool of emotions and a whole lot of pain because of the two surgeries that were scheduled in one week. She came to when the effects of the anesthesia subsided. She was in too much pain to even continue lying down. In order to stop her from moving, Fan Shixin had no choice but to hold her jerking body down. Fan Shixin was sympathetic yet helpless when he heard her shrill screams and shrieks. As much as he wanted to suffer in her ce, there was nothing he could do to ease her pain. All he could do was try andfort her. Grabbing his hand and panting heavily, Mu Wansheng spluttered in unbearable pain, ¡°Shixin, I... I think... I¡¯m... I¡¯m going to die of pain.¡± ¡°Bear with it. It¡¯ll be over very soon. Think about how beautiful you¡¯re going to be in the near future. No one would dare to tease you or call you names anymore. Isn¡¯t that great? Be good and stay quiet. You¡¯ve just gotten your vocal cords operated on. I¡¯m here with you. It¡¯ll all be over soon. If you find that time is crawling by, why don¡¯t I tell you a story?¡± ¡°Okay...¡± Fan Shixin held her body down with one hand and grabbed her hand with the other while telling her a story. He recounted everything that happened to him in the past, including anecdotes about his childhood. He managed to distract her from the pain and she gradually began chatting with him while forgetting about the pain. Despite feeling parched, Fan Shixin continued to go on and on until she dozed off. He heaved a sigh of relief. Fan Shixin had never taken such a long break from work before due to the fact that he used to be single. Hence, he could focus entirely on work since he had no women to go on dates with. He was still rather preupied with work even after marrying Yang Qianxue. Jin Qingyan had actually begun to miss Fan Shixin after not seeing him for such a long time. He gave Fan Shixin a call to show his concern about the situation. ¡°Young Sir.¡± ¡°Shixin, I haven¡¯t seen you in such a long time. Did you miss me?¡± Pursing his lips, Fan Shixin jested, ¡°Young Sir, what has gotten into you? Are you possessed by a ghost?¡± ¡°Are you out of your mind? Why would I be possessed with your Young Madam around?¡± ¡°Why did you... ask such a random question, then?¡± Jin Qingyan smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m just not used to seeing you around.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have to bear with it for a while longer. Wansheng has just undergone surgery. I¡¯ll have to take care of her while she¡¯s recovering. The recovery is going to take some time.¡± ¡°Yes, you should. I¡¯m waiting to attend your wedding.¡± Fan Shixin chuckled and said, ¡°Young Sir, you can prepare the red packets in advance.¡± ¡°I can get that ready anytime. What¡¯s the rush? I¡¯m going to go now.¡± ¡°Young Sir! Don¡¯t go! What¡¯s going to happen to Young Madam if you leave?¡± ¡°Seems like you¡¯re asking for death. How dare you make fun of me.¡± ¡°I learned it from you.¡± He then ended the call. Fan Shixin was in high spirits. It had never crossed his mind that Jin Qingyan would miss him. Unbelievable. However, it¡¯s rather amusing for a grown man to be missing another grown man. Chapter 1487 - Great to Have You (47)

Chapter 1487: Great to Have You (47)

The pain was only temporary, and most of it had subsided by the time Mu Wansheng came to again. She was in high spirits and continued to stay in the hospital with Fan Shixin. It was a fresh day for her. Mu Wansheng and Fan Shixin only returned to S Nation in November. She was extremely thrilled and agitated, because it had been a long time since shest saw her daughter, Fan Mianmian. Although they had video calls regrly, she still missed her greatly. Mu Wansheng could not stop looking at herself in the mirror. Although she looked more or less the same as she did before the ident, her current appearance was not identical to her previous one. Her voice was restored back to how it was, however. She no longer had to wear a veil to hide her scars. She could show her face to the public openly. She no longer had to feel ashamed and embarrassed when holding onto Fan Shixin¡¯s arm. There was new hope in life for her. The moment they disembarked from the ne, Xiao Bai and the rest apuded enthusiastically to wee them home. Mu Wansheng was on cloud nine because she could finally stand in front of everyone unashamedly. After the fanfare, Fan Shixin proposed to her in in sight. Mu Wansheng was entirely caught by surprise. He was by my side every single day. When did he prepare the ring? Mu Wansheng was dumbstruck while staring at Fan Shixin, who was holding the ring in his hand with one knee on the ground. She then said, ¡°Yes.¡± Fan Shixin brought her home to get their clothes changed before heading straight to the Civil Administration Bureau without even stopping to visit their daughter. Mu Wansheng was amused by how eager he was. She said, ¡°I¡¯m not going to run away, we can always do it tomorrow too.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll get it done today.¡± ¡°Alright, it¡¯s your call,¡± she agreed. She then changed into another outfit and dolled herself up. Upon arriving at the Civil Administration Bureau, Mu Wansheng said, ¡°Shixin, aren¡¯t we supposed to be dressed in white instead?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, our outfits are very matching. The visual effects of the photo are going to be beautiful.¡± ¡°You have a point.¡± After taking another few steps forward, she stopped and asked, ¡°Shixin, should we inform your parents first?¡± ¡°It won¡¯t be toote to inform them after we¡¯ve collected our marriage certificate.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a candy store over there, shall we buy some wedding candy before getting our marriage registered?¡± ¡°The candy isn¡¯t important... the most important thing to do now is to get our marriage registered. Everything else can wait,¡± he said while grabbing her wrist. He then brought Mu Wansheng to the entrance of the Civil Administration Bureau. ¡°Are you getting married or divorced?¡± the staff asked. ¡°Married.¡± ¡°The counter for registering your marriage is over there. Ah, you look really familiar. Are you Fan Shixin? You¡¯re so much more dashing in person! I signed up for a blind date with you in the past!¡± the staff said while staring at him in shock. Fan Shixin was at a sudden loss for words. Feeling a little awkward, he thanked the staff and brought Mu Wansheng to the marriage registration counter. They proceeded to have their photo taken, sign the marriage agreement, and exchange vows. When it was time to stamp their thumbprint onto the certificate, the female staff at the counter remarked, ¡°You two look really familiar.¡± Fan Shixin smiled courteously without uttering a single word. The staff was as slow as a sloth when getting the paperwork done. She constantly stared at them while smiling like an idiot. ¡°I really find you two very familiar-looking. Are you famous?¡± ¡°We¡¯re not. Will you please hurry up and give us our marriage booklets? Thank you,¡± Fan Shixin answered eagerly. Mu Wansheng chuckled, finding him to be extremely adorable. When handing them their marriage booklets, the female staff said, ¡°Congrattions.¡± Fan Shixin was over the moon. Mu Wansheng stared at the photo of them smiling widely. From now on, she was hiswful wife and they were aplete family. After exiting the Civil Administration Bureau, Fan Shixin proceeded to buy lots of wedding candy and even informed his parents of the good news while on his way to the Fan family home. They went to pick their daughter up gleefully. Fan Mianmian had grown taller and chubbier. Mrs. Fan had dressed her up in a princess outfit, apanied by a floral hair clip on her braid. Upon the sight of her mother, Fan Mianmian hugged her and said, ¡°Mommy, you¡¯re finally home. I missed you so much.¡± Hugging her back tightly, Mu Wansheng said, ¡°Mommy missed you too. My baby has grown taller.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve gotten fatter too. Grandma said that I¡¯m a little piggy.¡± Mu Wansheng smiled and asked, ¡°Are you a piggy, then?¡± ¡°No, of course not. I¡¯m Daddy and Mommy¡¯s pretty little princess.¡± Once again... She self-proimed that she was a princess. ¡°Son, when is your wedding going to be held?¡± Mrs. Fan asked. ¡°Within the next few days. We¡¯re in no hurry. We¡¯ve already registered our marriage anyway. We¡¯ll hold the wedding after having our bridal photos taken.¡± ¡°Good idea. However, you guys will definitely be very busy with the wedding preparations. Just leave Mianmian with us. We love her so much. She¡¯s such a mischievous little imp.¡± Mu Wansheng agreed with a nod, ¡°Sure.¡± They returned to Wei Ni Estate. As soon as they entered, all of Fan Shixin¡¯s subordinates who were on duty sprinted toward them and surrounded them excitedly. ¡°Chief, congrattions!¡± Beaming with joy, Fan Shixin said, ¡°Let your actions do the talking. Our wedding is to be held in a few days¡¯ time. Come with your red packets ready.¡± Clutching his chest, Xiao Bai said, ¡°Are you out to kill me? Everyone¡¯s getting married and yet I¡¯m still old and single. We¡¯ll have to empty our pockets again this time, now that Chief is getting married. Ouch!¡± Fan Shixin red at him and said, ¡°I¡¯m giving you guys an important task now. Make the necessary preparations for my wedding. Here¡¯s my card.¡± He handed them his card and said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to be the most expensive, but it must be the best.¡± Xiao Bai swiftly grabbed the card and eximed merrily, ¡°Yes, Sir! I don¡¯t have to fork out my own money for the wedding red packet, then. I¡¯m going to use your money, Chief!¡± Fan Shixin said, ¡°I want a clear list of all the wedding and banquet expenses. I¡¯ll tally the sums after the wedding.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª¡ª On the following day, Mu Wansheng and Fan Shixin proceeded to have their bridal photos taken. Fan Mianmian was again sent to her grandmother¡¯s house. Mu Wansheng decided to patronize the same bridal store that she went to prior to her marriage to Luo Hang. She wanted to see if the customer service had improved and to have the wedding photos of her and Luo Hang deleted. Although it happened a long time ago, she felt the need to rece them. Chapter 1488 - Great to Have You (48)

Chapter 1488: Great to Have You (48)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Fan Shixin dly agreed, for he allowed his wife to make all the decisions. Coincidentally, they ran into Wu Pingyang at the bridal store. Mu Wansheng thought that her eyes were ying tricks on her at first. However, she took a closer look and discovered that it was really Wu Pingyang. Wu Pingyang was dressed in a white wedding gown and having her makeup down. Mu Wansheng scanned her surroundings to see that there wasn¡¯t another man in sight. ¡°Would you like to have your wedding photos taken?¡± Fan Shixin expressed assent and said, ¡°Show me all the packages that you¡¯ve got.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Wu Pingyang turned to stare at them upon hearing Fan Shixin¡¯s voice. She then exchanged nces with Mu Wansheng. Shocked to see them, she quipped, ¡°Oh, look who we have here. Mr. Fan, Cousin, are you guys here to congratte me?¡± ¡°You¡¯re reading too much into things. We¡¯re here to have our wedding photos taken.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have to book an appointment for tomorrow, then. Two of the photographers have gone out for outdoor shoots. The remaining one is reserved for me.¡± The store assistant said, ¡°Indeed. You¡¯ll have to wait until tomorrow to have your photos taken.¡± Fan Shixin asked, ¡°Where¡¯s your manager?¡± ¡°Our manager...¡± As soon as the store assistant spoke, she looked at the door and said, ¡°Our manager is back.¡± Mu Wansheng looked over to see that it was a different manager from the one that served her a few years ago. The store manager recognized Fan Shixin straight away. ¡°Mr. Fan, are you here to have your wedding photos taken?¡± ¡°Yes, but your employee said that there are no photographers avable at the moment.¡± ¡°We have four photographers in total. One of them is on leave today and two of them are out for outdoor shoots. The remaining one is in charge of this current shoot.¡± ¡°Is there a way for us to have our photos taken today, then? We can pay more. My wife had her photos taken at your studio a few years ago too so she¡¯d like to have them taken here again.¡± The store manager knew that Fan Shixin was a figure of status. However, she could not afford to offend Wu Pingyang either. Hence, the manager said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to pay extra. Since Mrs. Fan likes our studio, we¡¯ll let the photographer who¡¯s on leave take over the other client¡¯s shoot. You guys may have the photographer we have on set now.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re very wee.¡± Wu Pingyang flew into a rage and barked, ¡°We came before them and we¡¯ve already picked out the gowns. You should be letting us go for the shoot first. Don¡¯t you operate on a firste-first-served basis?¡± The store manager smiled and said, ¡°Ms. Mu, you arrived before I went out to run an errand. Now that I¡¯m back, the groom still isn¡¯t here yet. Are we supposed to make the photographer wait for him? He has to appear in the photos too. There¡¯s no use if you¡¯re the only one who¡¯s ready.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll be here very soon,¡± Wu Pingyang said indignantly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but we have two clients here who are already ready for the shoot. We¡¯ll have to do a swap since we don¡¯t know when your fianc¨¦ will be here.¡± Hence, Mu Wansheng and Fan Shixin proceeded to select the photoshoot package and the gowns before having their makeup done. Wu Pingyang had no choice but to wait for her groom to show up. Mu Wansheng only saw Luo Hang when she exited from the fitting room after changing into the wedding gown. Luo Hang looked at her from head to toe and asked in astonishment, ¡°Mu Wansheng?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s me. Are you two getting married?¡± ¡°Of course we are,¡± Wu Pingyang interjected while rolling her eyes at Mu Wansheng. ¡°Pingyang, didn¡¯t you say that Luo Hang was a good-for-nothing who drives a cheap BMW? You despised him and you were dead against marrying him back then, yet you¡¯re so willing to marry him now. I really don¡¯t get it.¡± Wu Pingyang denied it vehemently. ¡°What nonsense are you spouting? Why would I say such things? Stop lying. Luo Hang, hurry and get yourself groomed. If it weren¡¯t because of the fact that the deposit is non-refundable, I would have gone to another studio instead. How annoying.¡± Mu Wansheng ignored him and proceeded to have her photos taken with Fan Shixin. They were scheduled for an indoor shoot followed by an outdoor one. Mu Wansheng and Fan Shixin did not n to take too many photos. Hence, they decided that two sets would be enough. The photoshoot took ce smoothly because the newlyweds were happy andpliant. A short while after the indoor shootmenced, they proceeded to change into another outfit in preparation for the outdoor shoot. Wu Pingyang and Luo Hang were not done with their indoor shoot yet by the time Mu Wansheng and Fan Shixing returned to the studio after their outdoor shoot. They both had a sullen expression on their faces and appeared extremely awkward. To the photographer¡¯s dismay, they refused to cooperate either. Hence, most of the photos taken were not satisfactory. Fan Shixin and Mu Wansheng ran into Wu Pingyang in the fitting room. Wu Pingyang warned, ¡°You¡¯d better not say such things in front of Luo Hang again. Are you hoping that my wedding with Luo Hang will fall through? I¡¯ve finally found a man I can rely on. Don¡¯t screw it up for me.¡± Clucking her tongue against the roof of her mouth, Mu Wansheng said, ¡°You didn¡¯t even bother addressing me and your uncle when you saw us. Pingyang, seems like my sister didn¡¯t educate you properly or take you in hand. I must chide Sister if I see her.¡± Wu Pingyang hollered, ¡°Mu Wansheng! I¡¯ll never address you as my aunt unless we¡¯re in the Mu family home. Dream on!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have no choice but to tell your grandfather, then. Pingyang is such a two-faced person.¡± ¡°...¡± She left without even hearing what Wu Pingyang had to say. She was surprised to see that there were reporters at Wei Ni Estate. When Fan Shixin and Mu Wansheng alighted after pulling over at the corridor, the reporters surrounded them. Fan Shixin put an arm around her shoulder and walked away, refusing to ept any interviews. However, the reporters would not let them go that easily. ¡°Chief Fan, I heard that you and Ms. Mu have gotten married. Is that true?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a celebrity or a famous person. Why are you guys hounding me for answers?¡± ¡°You must be kidding, Chief Fan. You and Ms. Mu are both hot topics. We heard rumors about you two getting married and so we wanted to verify it. There are lots of people who are paying attention to news about you.¡± Pointing at the photographer who was taking photos, Fan Shixin said, ¡°You may take photos of me but leave her out.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°Please delete the other footages. I¡¯ll ept your interview once you do.¡± After hearing his words, the reporters hurriedly erased the footages before resetting the cameras. ¡°Chief Fan, is it true that you and Ms. Mu have gotten married?¡± ¡°It¡¯s true. We got our marriage registered today and the wedding will be held in a week¡¯s time.¡± ¡°Everyone¡¯s very curious about your daughter. Is she your biological daughter?¡± ¡°Of course she is. She¡¯s my biological daughter.¡± The reporter then asked, ¡°I have onest question for you. Chief Fan, did you divorce your former wife because of Ms. Mu?¡± Chapter 1489 - Great to Have You (49)

Chapter 1489: Great to Have You (49)

It was a critical question. In other words, the reporter was trying to ask if Mu Wansheng was the person who hade in between him and Yang Qianxue. Fan Shixin understood that Mu Wansheng would receive harsh criticism as long as he did not make a detailed rification. Gossip is a fearful thing. ¡°Wansheng and I were in love before we got married. We were supposed to get our marriage registered on the day of her ident. However, my mother-inw told us to postpone it to the following day because it was an inauspicious date. Unfortunately, Wansheng met with the ident that day. Yang Qianxue and I were only married in name and we had never consummated our marriage either. Wansheng is the only person I¡¯ve ever loved, and I still do so today. Wansheng was put through a lot of hardship after her ident. She lost her vision and suffered burns that made her disfigured. She recovered only recently. I also only found out about our daughter a few months ago because Wansheng had been raising her in a vige where she had resided for a couple of years. I really have Wansheng to thank for giving birth to such an adorable daughter, as well as for being determined and strong-willed enough to carry on living. I¡¯ll do my best to be a good husband and father. I¡¯ll protect Wansheng and our daughter, and I¡¯ll love them forever.¡± ¡°I wish you and Ms. Mu conjugal bliss.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± He then walked to the corridor together with Mu Wansheng. After dinner, Mu Wansheng and Fan Shixin began ying some video games on the bed. Mu Wansheng had never liked ying games in the past. However, she developed a penchant for it after ying one round with him. It was probably because everything seemed enjoyable so long as she was with him. They began bickering with each other jokingly soon after. Fan Shixin wanted her to stop ying since she had already yed for a while. However, Mu Wansheng refused to stop because she found it fun and wanted to continue. Fan Shixin then put the video game console away and refused to give it back to her. They were acting just like a teenage couple. Hence, Fan Shixin pinned her down onto the bed to subdue her. Mu Wansheng kicked her legs in the air and whined, ¡°Let go of me, I still want to y. I¡¯ll just y for another two rounds.¡± ¡°Video games are not as fun as I am. Don¡¯t y video games. y me instead.¡± Mu Wansheng turned red and said, ¡°What¡¯s so fun about you? It¡¯s the same piece of meat anyway.¡± ¡°Mrs. Fan, you¡¯re insulting me.¡± He stared at the table and flung the video game console at it, after which itnded with a loud thud. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Honey, you¡¯re really beautiful.¡± Mu Wansheng said angrily, ¡°Go to hell.¡± He smiled and said, ¡°Honey, I¡¯m hungry.¡± ¡°We just had dinner a while ago. Have you got a ck hole for a stomach?¡± ¡°I¡¯m hungry for you.¡± He looked down and began kissing her. Mu Wansheng¡¯s anger vanished after he kissed her. ¡ª¡ª It began raining the next day. Fan Shixin and Mu Wansheng stopped paying attention to the news after reading the report about the interview that he had received and verifying that there was no mistake. They then set off and proceeded to purchase their bespoke wedding gowns and suits. It was the happiest time of Mu Wansheng¡¯s life. She¡¯d never forget all the pain and torment she had been through. They were as busy as bees for the next few days. After settling everything, all they had to do was wait for their big day. Mu Wansheng suggested that they bring Fan Mianmian to see Tang Yucheng. Fan Shixin agreed for he was in a pleasant mood. The family of three headed to the Tang family vige. A long time had passed since they left the vige. The shabby house that she used to live in had be a two-storey bungalow. Mu Wansheng and Fan Mianmian walked in front of Fan Shixin, who was walking with some gifts for Tang Yucheng. Since the door was left ajar, the three of them entered straight away. Tang Yucheng was sitting in the backyard and basking in the sun while ying with a child. The first person he recognized the moment he saw them was Fan Mianmian and not Mu Wansheng. ¡°Daddy,¡± Fan Mianmian called merrily while scurrying toward him. Staring at the child whom he had raised, Tang Yucheng teared up and asked, ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°Mommy brought me here.¡± Pointing at Mu Wansheng, she continued, ¡°Daddy, Mommy suggested that we visit you.¡± Tang Yucheng looked at Mu Wansheng to see that she was dressed in a cherry-red woolen sweater and a pair of ck stilettos, appearing extremely beautiful and eye-catching. ¡°Happy?¡± Mu Wansheng did not correct him and asked, ¡°It¡¯s me. How are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. Your face...¡± ¡°I¡¯ve undergone cosmetic surgery and it was sessful. My vocal cords and eyesight have been restored.¡± She nced at Fan Shixin and continued while smiling, ¡°All thanks to him.¡± Tang Yucheng nodded and said, ¡°Great. I... am happy for you.¡± ¡°Yucheng, who¡¯s here?¡± asked a female viger who appeared to be in her thirties. ¡°She¡¯s my current wife, Xinyue. Xinyue, this is Happy, and next to her is Mr. Fan.¡± Tang Yucheng¡¯s wife instantly knew who she was. However, she was surprised to see that Mu Wansheng did not fit Tang Yucheng¡¯s description. ¡°Please have a seat.¡± She quickly moved two chairs over for Mu Wansheng and Fan Shixin. Mu Wansheng said politely, ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. I¡¯ll go make you guys some tea.¡± Mu Wansheng said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to. We¡¯ll be leaving in a while. We came here today just to visit Yucheng and see how he¡¯s doing.¡± Xinyue nodded profusely and said, ¡°He¡¯s doing fine. We¡¯ve been married for a few months, and I¡¯m infertile too. That child is our adoptive son.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great,¡± said Mu Wansheng, who felt much more relieved. The three of them left shortly after because there was nothing much to chat about. Before they left, Tang Yucheng asked, ¡°I read the news report about you guys getting married. Aren¡¯t you going to invite me to your wedding?¡± Mu Wansheng said, ¡°If you¡¯re willing to attend our wedding, you¡¯re definitely most wee. We didn¡¯t send you an invitation because we thought that you wouldn¡¯t want toe.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll definitely be there. Congrattions.¡± Hence, Mu Wansheng gave him an invitation card. ¡ª¡ª The day of their wedding was the happiest day of Mu Wansheng¡¯s life. She was dressed in a white wedding gown with a face full of exquisite makeup. She sat down in front of the dressing table and stared at her own reflection in the mirror. d in a gown, Fan Mianmian said gleefully, ¡°Mommy, I have a piece of news for you. Daddy is absolutely dashing today.¡± ¡°Oh, really? How dashing?¡± Mu Wansheng asked, amused by her remark. ¡°Hmm... I don¡¯t know how to exin it but he¡¯s just the most dashing man I¡¯ve ever seen.¡± Mu Wansheng pinched her cheeks and said, ¡°Daddy is going to be over the moon if he hears yourpliment.¡± ¡°Mommy, you must tell Daddy, then. Let him be overjoyed.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll convey your words to him.¡± Chapter 1490 - Great to Have You (50)

Chapter 1490: Great to Have You (50)

The wedding proceeded smoothly. However, there was an uninvited guest, Yang Qianxue. Needless to say, she did not give Mu Wansheng and Fan Shixin any red packets. She did try to create trouble for them, however. To her dismay, she was denied entry at the door by the security guards who had performed their duties well. They refused to allow any uninvited guests to enter. Peeved to be denied entry, Yang Qianxue stood by the door and threatened, ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll have no choice but to go to the reporters, then.¡± The security guards had no choice but to inform Fan Shixin, who then came outside and said, ¡°Don¡¯t bother, let her be.¡± Clearly, he had nothing better to say to his ex-wife. The security guard said coldly, ¡°Like Chief Fan said, suit yourself. You may leave now.¡± Yang Qianxue chuckled sarcastically and stormed off in a huff. She was overwhelmed with disgruntlement because she did not manage to create trouble for them. The newlyweds did not allow the opinions of others to rain on their parade. They only had eyes for each other. It was as if they had blocked out the audience and guests when they were hugging and kissing each other after the solemnization ceremony. Life is full of obstacles, and one is bound to be stuck in a rut at one point or another. However, it¡¯s crucial to remember that darkness is temporary and that the light wille eventually, regardless of how long the process might take. One should never give up before the turning point. Staring at the man before her, Mu Wansheng smiled, filled with joy and bliss. This was her man, Fan Shixin. ¡ª¡ª ¡ª¡ª ¡ª¡ª Jin Yiheng was already in first grade while Long Xiaoxi was still in kindergarten. Long Xiaoxi did not feel the difference until Jin Yiheng enrolled in secondary school, whereas she, Jin Rongyan, and Ji Gui were still in primary school. Hence, Jin Yiheng would only attend the boot camp during weekends and disappear during weekdays. There was nothing Long Xiaoxi could do, regardless of how distraught she was. She too wanted to do well in school and advance to secondary school. However, herck of intellectual ir prevented her from doing so. She was just not cut out for academic excellence. Ever since Jin Yiheng began attending secondary school, Long Xiaoxi would look forward to weekends the most. Jin Yiheng remained more or less the same during the first year of secondary school. The greatest and most obvious changes urred in his second year. He stopped allowing Long Xiaoxi to sleep beside him in the dormitory of the boot camp during weekends and told her the difference between genders. Despite being dumbstruck, Long Xiaoxi agreed. In reality, she hid in the toilet and cried her heart out that day. Ever since then, she began to find that Jin Yiheng was changing drastically. He even stopped staying over at the boot camp on weekends and reduced the frequency of his visits. Long Xiaoxi could tell that something was amiss. However, she did not know the reason behind his behavior. She did not find anything different about herself either. Why did he change all of a sudden? Long Xiaoxi finally realized that something major was amiss the moment she heard from her brother that Jin Yiheng had requested to cancel their engagement. She decided to ask him about it and find out the underlying reason. Long Xiaoxi remembered clearly that it was pouring heavily on the day that she visited Jin Yiheng¡¯s home to look for him. He was in the midst of being punished by his father. Hence, she did not dare to enter and instead stood outside the door to eavesdrop. She finally understood the reason he was getting punished. Jin Yiheng had gotten into a rtionship. Jin Qingyan forced him to break up with his girlfriend and transferred him to another school. Long Xiaoxi only had eyes for Jin Yiheng, and she used to think that it was the same for him. After all, she would watch the video of their engagement ceremony regrly. She discovered that it was all just wishful thinking on her part. When they met again, he told her bluntly that he did not feel anything special for her, perhaps because they knew each other too well since they used to be inseparable when they were children. Long Xiaoxi hung her head low, feeling as if her dreams had been shattered. Her dreams of marrying him and giving birth to his children were now gone. Later on, she did not attend the same secondary school as he did. Although they lived right opposite each other, they no longer met each other as frequently as they used to. In fact, they had even... grown distant from each other. However, the engagement was still valid. Both their parents were all very worried about them. However, Jin Yiheng dared not bring up his request for the engagement to be canceled ever since he received a punishment for it. Instead, he simply stopped talking to Long Xiaoxi and declined all her calls. He had even stopped seeing her. Long Xiaoxi suffered a huge blow ever since he started giving her the cold shoulder. She took the initiative to have the engagement canceled and even requested to pursue an education abroad. Long Tianze and Mei Yangyang agreed to her request. They initially suggested that she bring Ji Gui or Long Wenlun along with her. However, she turned down their suggestion calmly. Hence, the engagement was canceled and An Xiaoning suggested that they keep the engagement gifts as a memento. However, Long Xiaoxi threw the gift that Jin Yiheng had given her into the rubbish bin instead. She then left. Although Long Tianze felt that his daughter was acting rashly by throwing the jade piece away, he was incredibly upset because of how moody his precious daughter had been. She had also stopped eating her favorite desserts and was constantly in low spirits. As much as An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan wanted to give Jin Yiheng a severe beating, they decided to respect the children¡¯s decision. After all, it concerned their lifelong happiness. Since they were both willing to cancel the engagement, the adults felt that they were in no ce to interfere. Besides, they were still the godparents of Jin Yiheng and Long Xiaoxi, respectively. Chapter 1491 - Great to Have You (51)

Chapter 1491: Great to Have You (51)

Long Xiaoxi left S Nation to study in M Nation when she was 14 years old. She stood at 1.55 meters and weighed 65 kilograms at the time. She had short hair and was chubby yet skilled in martial arts. To everyone¡¯s surprise, she stayed abroad for several consecutive years and refused to let anyone visit her, not even her brother or parents. She refused to make any video calls with them either and would only send them photos by mail. The only way they could contact her was via the telephone. Afterpleting her secondary and tertiary education in M Nation, Long Xiaoxi continued to get herself a job there. Ever since she graduated from university, she stopped taking allowance from her parents and told them that she could live well on her own. However, Long Tianze could not put his mind at ease and continued to transfer her money as usual. To his surprise, she would transfer them back to him. Long Tianze missed his daughter dearly. However, Long Xiaoxi stood firm on her decision and refused to let her parents visit her. After Long Xiaoxi had been working for a year, Long Tianze decided that enough was enough. Hence, he decided to stage an act with his family and feigned illness. Long Xiaoxi only agreed toe home after hearing that her father was seriously ill and had been hospitalized. She left when she was 14 years old and returned home when she was 23 years old. Nine years had passed. Long Tianze, Mei Yangyang, and Long Wenlun rushed to the airport at five o¡¯clock after hearing that Long Xiaoxi would be arriving at the airport at seven o¡¯clock in the morning. Everyone was eager and excited to see her. Although they had to wait for a long time, they did not feel tired at all. ¡°Xiaoxi must have been homesick when she was abroad. Why is she so stubborn? Who did she take after? Neither you nor I seem to be stubborn. Look how thin she has gotten. My heart aches just looking at this photo of her,¡± Long Tianzemented. Long Tianze had obtained a photo of Long Xiaoxi from a private investigator he had hired to shadow Long Xiaoxi. Although only her back view could be seen, he could tell that she had lost a lot of weight and seemed to weigh only 45 kilograms. On top of that, she had also grown much taller and seemed to be about 1.72 meters tall. Hence, she was extremely thin for her weight. ¡°It¡¯s better to be slim, but she¡¯s way too thin for her own good. I¡¯ve already instructed the cooks to whip up a sumptuous spread. Xiaoxi needs some nourishment. Since she¡¯s back, we must do whatever we can to stop her from leaving again. She actually left for nine full years withouting home at all. I must chide her when I see herter,¡± said Mei Yangyang. ¡°Don¡¯t do that. Do you really think she didn¡¯t want toe home? She¡¯s more upset than we are,¡± said Long Tianze. Mei Yangyang teared up and said, ¡°Fine, fine, I won¡¯t chide her. Let¡¯s wait for her on that bench. It¡¯s still early.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re tired, you may go there and sit down. I¡¯ll wait here with Wenlun.¡± Seeing how stubborn Long Tianze was, Mei Yangyang decided to take a seat and ignore him. Long Tianze walked out of the arrival hall with her luggage at 7:10 am. Upon the sight of her, Long Tianze immediately sprinted toward her while Long Wenlun followed closely behind. Mei Yangyang was thest of the three. Long Xiaoxi burst into tears the moment she saw them. As soon as she called her father, Long Tianze wrapped his arms tightly around her and they began bawling loudly. ¡°You heartless child. How could you do this to your parents? Are you not going toe home unless I¡¯m dead?¡± ¡°No...¡± Long Tianze was at a loss for words. He had lost all control of his emotions in public. Long Wenlun and Mei Yangyang had broken down in tears as well. After they were done crying, Long Tianze stared at her gaunt face and asked, ¡°What happened to your chubby cheeks? Where did all your fats go to? Who told you to lose weight? Didn¡¯t I remind you to eat more and feed yourself well?¡± Long Xiaoxi was at a loss for words. Choking with sobs, she answered, ¡°I didn¡¯t have the appetite.¡± Long Tianze said, ¡°Let¡¯s go home.¡± ¡°Daddy, you lied to me.¡± ¡°Yeah, how else could I make youe home?¡± ¡°I heard that you were ill and so I resigned from my job and sold my house.¡± Upon hearing her words, Long Tianze said agitatedly, ¡°Well done, don¡¯t go abroad anymore. Just stay by our side. We missed you so much.¡± Long Xiaoxi agreed with a nod. Staring at Long Wenlun, she smiled and said, ¡°Brother, you¡¯ve be so tall and handsome. I almost didn¡¯t recognize you.¡± Long Wenlun said, ¡°You¡¯re the one who shocked me greatly. You¡¯ve lost too much weight. You don¡¯t even look like your old self. Your eyes have gotten bigger, your nose has gotten sharper, and your mouth has be smaller. Did you get stic surgery?¡± Long Xiaoxi rolled her eyes and said, ¡°Your sister is au naturale. Our parents have such great genes, do I even need to get stic surgery?¡± Long Tianze smacked his son and said, ¡°Exactly. Your mother and I are gically blessed. What are you waiting for? Hurry and move your sister¡¯s luggage to the car.¡± ¡°Yes, Pops.¡± Long Wenlun was in charge of driving his family home. Long Xiaoxi sat in the middle of the backseat, in between her parents who were holding onto each of her hands tightly. Long Xiaoxi was entirely amused. It was as if they were afraid of losing her. ¡°Isn¡¯t it so much better to be at home? You can go out to work whenever you¡¯d like and take a break whenever you¡¯d please. I¡¯ll provide for you. You don¡¯t have to work so hard. I didn¡¯t give birth to you to let you work so hard,¡± said Long Tianze. ¡°Daddy, I¡¯m not working for the money. I¡¯m working to make my life as meaningful as possible. How can I be jobless? Besides, I¡¯m working in a field that¡¯s closely rted to what I majored in during university. However, I feel like working in a different field now.¡± Long Tianze asked, ¡°Oh? What would you like to work as?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to work as a model.¡± Surprised to hear her answer, Long Tianze asked, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°No reason. I just want to try a different lifestyle. Perhaps I¡¯d want to do something else once I¡¯m sick of being a model.¡± ¡°You have my support. Fortunately, you inherited my tall stature. If you were as petite as your mother, you can forget about being a model.¡± ring at him, Mei Yangyang said, ¡°Yes, yes, you deserve all the credit. I was the one who gave birth to her, though.¡± Long Tianze smirked and said, ¡°I was just stating facts. Look how tall and leggy our Xiaoxi is.¡± They arrived back in Wei Ni Estate. Long Xiaoxi had been keeping her eyes peeled onto the scenery outside. It was no longer like what she remembered. It felt familiar yet foreign at the same time. She had long gotten used to living independently after staying abroad by herself for so many years. She had never paid attention to the news nor thought about Jin Yiheng. She no longer wanted to have anything to do with him since they could not be friends. They drove into Wei Ni Estate slowly. The gates of An Xiaoning¡¯s mansion opened at the same time that Long Tianze¡¯s did. Long Xiaoxi looked over to see a ck car exiting from the yard. Although it was just a quick nce, she instantly recognized that the person driving was Jin Yiheng. Chapter 1492 - Great to Have You (52)

Chapter 1492: Great to Have You (52)

Long Xiaoxi immediately looked away, feeling as if a million daggers were piercing through her heart. Recalling the past, she felt as if she had a blissful dream followed by a nightmare. She stopped dreaming ever since she snapped back into reality at 14 years old. Every room in the house had been renovated except hers. Her room was still the same as it used to be when she was a child. It was spick and span and had a familiar aroma. Long Xiaoxi drew the heavy curtains open to allow the sunlight to enter and light up the entire room. Her room used to belong to Long Wenlun. However, she requested for a swap in the past because the balcony in his room allowed her a clear view of the mansion opposite. Mei Yangyang brought her her favorite childhood snacks and said, ¡°Hurry and try these. You can¡¯t get these abroad.¡± At the sight of the sweet snacks, she said, ¡°Mommy, I haven¡¯t had sugary snacks in a long time.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because you can¡¯t get our local specialties overseas.¡± Not wishing to be a killjoy, Long Xiaoxi grabbed the snacks and began eating them slowly. The first person she asked about was Zhong Minhe. ¡°Mother, is Brother Minhe still living with us?¡± ¡°No, he moved away with his family a long time ago. However, we still paid for his tuition fees for university. He¡¯s a very grateful child and would visit us during every festive asion. He would ask about you whenever he visits. I heard that he¡¯s be a voice actor and is working for a television series production unit right now.¡± ¡°Do you have his mobile number?¡± Long Xiaoxi asked. ¡°Yes.¡± Mei Yangyang took out her mobile phone and gave her Zhong Minhe¡¯s mobile number. After saving his contact in her mobile phone, Long Xiaoxi proceeded to take a warm shower, change into a fresh set of clothes, and put on some makeup. She then headed downstairs for breakfast with her family. This was the first time that the family of four was sitting together for a meal, ever since she left home at 14 years old. She¡¯d had a change of taste and no longer enjoyed eating the dishes that she used to love. After breakfast, they sat on the couch and chatted with each other. Long Xiaoxi then recounted everything that happened when she was abroad and told them about her living conditions. Although the problems that she had faced were minute and trivial, her parents felt that she had suffered a great ton. Their conversationsted throughout the entire morning, leaving Long Xiaoxi with no time to even call Zhong Minhe. Finally, she found the chance to sneak back into her own room using the excuse of being tired. Staring at Zhong Minhe¡¯s mobile number, Long Xiaoxi tapped on it and ced the mobile phone beside her ear. The call went through but no one picked up. After two more missed calls, Long Xiaoxi deduced that he must be busy at the moment. She gave it some consideration and decided to look him up. Long Xiaoxi asked her brother for the address of Zhong Minhe¡¯s workce. She then put on a rabbit fur beanie, a scarf, and a chestnut-colored coat before leaving the house. She instructed the chauffeur to send her to Zhong Minhe¡¯s workce. Upon arriving at her destination, Long Xiaoxi excused the chauffeur and walked toward the voice-dubbing studio. ¡°May I ask if Zhong Minhe is in?¡± ¡°Brother Zhong is still busy. You are?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a friend of his. I tried to call him but he didn¡¯t answer. Could you tell me which room he¡¯s working in?¡± Long Xiaoxi asked. ¡°Room 205 on the second floor. You may wait for him outside the door.¡± ¡°Alright, thank you very much.¡± Long Xiaoxi then made her way up the staircase and found room 205. She had no idea what Zhong Minhe looked like now. Throughout the past nine years that she had been abroad, she cut off all contact with the people in S Nation and did not pay attention to the news about S Nation, for she was afraid that she would be tempted to go home. She continued to wait quietly outside the door for more than an hour. A woman exited from the room and asked, ¡°Who are you looking for?¡± ¡°Zhong Minhe. I¡¯m a friend of his.¡± The woman scanned her from head to toe and yelled into the room, ¡°Brother Zhong, your friend is waiting for you outside the room.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± answered an alluring voice that waspletely different from what Long Xiaoxi had remembered and imagined. After all, one had to have a pleasant voice in order to be a voice actor. She began to feel nervous all of a sudden and wondered if he could recognize her after not seeing her for so many years. Long Xiaoxi stood rooted to the ground, and so did the woman, who kept staring at her instead of leaving. ¡°Why haven¡¯t I seen you around before?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been abroad. I only came home today.¡± ¡°Abroad?¡± A sullen expression formed on the woman¡¯s face. Noticing her reaction, Long Xiaoxi asked in puzzlement, ¡°Is there a problem?¡± ¡°No. Brother Zhong said that the girl he fancies is abroad. Surely he can¡¯t be referring to you?¡± Greatly taken aback, Long Xiaoxi answered, ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± As soon as the woman was about to say something, the door opened and Zhong Minhe exited. Long Xiaoxi stared at him in astonishment. She wouldn¡¯t have recognized him if she didn¡¯t notice that he had a missing arm. He lookedpletely different from her expectations. Although only her eyes were revealed, Zhong Minhe could still recognize her. ¡°Xiao... Xiaoxi?¡± She pulled her scarf down to reveal the rest of her face. ¡°Yes, Brother Minhe, I¡¯m back.¡± Zhong Minhe teared up while staring at her. She had undoubtedly changed a lot. Her chubby cheeks and figure were gone. They did not remain speechless for long. Long Xiaoxi wrapped her arms around him tightly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for not contacting you for so many years.¡± ¡°Good that you¡¯re back. I¡¯ve been waiting for your return.¡± Upon exiting the studio, she grabbed his sleeve, just like she used to when she was younger. ¡°That girl just now said that you fancy someone who¡¯s overseas. Who is it?¡± ¡°You. Why? Are you doubting me?¡± Long Xiaoxi chuckled and said, ¡°You must be kidding me. How can it be me?¡± ¡°Why should I do that? I¡¯m being serious. Xiaoxi, I¡¯ve been carrying a torch for you ever since we were children. I like how straightforward you are and how bubbly you are. I also like that you enjoyed ying with me all the time. I used to have an inferiorityplex and never dared to express my feelings. However, I¡¯ve be much more confident, and I must let you know how I feel about you now that you¡¯re finally back.¡± It had never crossed Long Xiaoxi¡¯s mind that she would receive a confession on the first day that she returned from abroad. Caught by surprise, she smiled and said, ¡°Brother Minhe, I¡¯m very d that you¡¯ve be much more confident. You¡¯ve be the ideal person that I had hoped for you to be.¡± ¡°You¡¯re changing the subject.¡± Long Xiaoxi grimaced and said, ¡°What would you like to hear from me, then?¡± Although they had not met in years, they did not feel distant or awkward at all. ¡°I¡¯d like to hear you say that you¡¯ll give me a chance.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you a chance,¡± she answered without hesitation. Chapter 1493 - Great to Have You (53)

Chapter 1493: Great to Have You (53)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Staring at her solemnly, Zhong Minhe asked, ¡°Why did you agree so quickly?¡± Long Xiaoxi answered, ¡°Because... I¡¯ve never had a boyfriend all these years. I didn¡¯t want to give others the chance to hurt me, but you¡¯re different. I have known you since I was four years old. I know you very well. Brother Minhe, you¡¯re a meticulous and mature person. I¡¯m very touched to hear that you¡¯ve been carrying a torch for me ever since we were children. Hence, I¡¯m willing to give you a chance because you¡¯re the only person in this world apart from my parents who dotes on me and loves me wholeheartedly. Since I have you, I ought to cherish you and give you a chance.¡± Zhong Minhe felt bittersweet after hearing her words. ¡°I¡¯ll never hurt you, Xiaoxi.¡± Long Xiaoxi smiled and said, ¡°We¡¯re so strange. How are we not feeling awkward at all? Do you still have work to do in the afternoon?¡± ¡°No. The temperatures are getting chilly. Would you like toe over to my ce?¡± ¡°Sure. I don¡¯t even know where you live now and how you¡¯ve been. I mustn¡¯t miss the chance to find out.¡± He smiled at her and said, ¡°I initially thought that you¡¯ve changed a lot. However, you¡¯re still the same old Xiaoxi I know.¡± ¡°Yes, my mother has always said that I¡¯m a leopard who can never change my sports.¡± He burst intoughter, feeling thrilled to see her. He could not take his eyes off her at all, and it seemed like he could never get enough of her. Since he could not drive or ride a bike, he could only get to and from work on foot. However, his workce was only a stone¡¯s throw away from his home and required just a short, ten-minute walk. Long Xiaoxi walked together with him, side by side. They chatted with each other along the way. She found out that he did not live with his family and was instead living by himself. He had a part-time maid who would visit his home to clean and tidy up the ce regrly. He had never cooked before and would either order takeout or have his meals in the studio with his colleagues. He lived in a two-bedroom apartment that was neat and had beautiful decor. It felt just like home. After scanning her surroundings, Long Xiaoxi said, ¡°This is a nice ce. I really like it.¡± Zhong Minhe said, ¡°It¡¯s indeed a nice ce, but itcks a mistress who can cook.¡± Long Xiaoxi teased, ¡°What a shame, I can¡¯t cook. I do know how to eat though.¡± Zhong Minhe smiled and said, ¡°Who are you kidding? I heard from Uncle and Auntie that you handle all the household chores when you were living overseas.¡± ¡°Seems like I can¡¯t hide anything from you. Would you like to try the food that I make?¡± ¡°My pleasure.¡± Long Xiaoxi took a look around the kitchen to see that it was well equipped with crockery, pots, and pans. However, the refrigerator was empty. ¡°Shall we go to the grocery store to buy some ingredients?¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Zhong Minhe recalled the happiest time of his life when Long Xiaoxi apanied him when they were children. Although he had lost his arms, she was still willing to befriend him and help him out whenever he could. He was extremely surprised to see her today. Zhong Minhe could not help but grin widely from ear to ear. Shopping with her leisurely at the supermarket was something that he had always yearned to do. After cooking, eating, and chatting with him for a long while, she decided that it was time to go home. Hence, he hailed a taxi and sent her back to Wei Ni Estate in the evening. ¡°Would you like to go inside for a while?¡± ¡°Nah. Send my regards to Uncle and Auntie.¡± She nodded with a smile and said, ¡°Alright, the temperature is freezing. Hurry and get back inside the taxi. I¡¯m going back in too.¡± ¡°Go ahead, I¡¯ll leave after watching you go in.¡± Long Xiaoxi refused. She opened the car door for him and closed it after he got inside. She then waved him goodbye and watched the car vanish out of sight gradually before going back home. Her father had given her a massive number of missed calls. Long Xiaoxi entered and said to Long Tianze, ¡°Daddy, are you going to send your bodyguards to abduct me if I hade home anyter?¡± ¡°No, I would have gone to look for you myself.¡± Long Xiaoxi sat down beside him and said, ¡°I went to look for Brother Minhe and we went to the supermarket to get some groceries, whip up a meal, and had dinner together.¡± ¡°Minhe changed a lot too. Were you shocked to see him?¡± ¡°A little. However, I was more taken aback by what he said to me.¡± ¡°What did he say?¡± Long Xiaoxi leaned back against the couch and said, ¡°Brother Minhe said that he had been carrying a torch for me ever since we were children and that he had been waiting for me toe home. He asked for me to give him a chance.¡± ¡°What!?! Really?¡± Long Tianze asked in disbelief. ¡°Of course. I¡¯ve agreed to give him a chance.¡± Mei Yangyang said in approval, ¡°Apart from his missing arms, Minhe is a really good catch. He¡¯s a hardworking and grateful child. He¡¯s Xiaoxi¡¯s childhood friend, and it¡¯s only right that Xiaoxi gives him a chance. Besides, I can guarantee that he¡¯ll dote on Xiaoxi and treat her very well.¡± ¡°How smart of Mommy. Brother Minhe has be handsome and now has an alluring voice.¡± Long Tianze conceded, ¡°I don¡¯t have any objections as long as you¡¯re happy. Daddy and Mommy have always respected your decisions. You just returned home from abroad and you two should really interact more with each other. Just like your mother said, Minhe is a great kid. He¡¯s trustworthy and reliable.¡± Long Xiaoxi draped her arms around his neck and gave him a peck on his cheek. ¡°Daddy, I actually missed you the most when I was abroad.¡± Beaming with joy, Long Tianze said, ¡°You missed me and yet you didn¡¯te home to visit me at all. You didn¡¯t send me any photos or videos of you at all. I wished I could bring you home.¡± ¡°I was wrong. I won¡¯t do it again.¡± Long Tianze teased, ¡°Look how upset your mother looks. She¡¯s angry that you missed me the most.¡± Long Xiaoxi let go of Long Tianze and pecked Mei Yangyang. ¡°I missed you and Brother so much too, Mommy. I really missed all of you. However, I forced myself not to think about you guys because I would get tempted toe home.¡± Long Tianze patted her hand and said, ¡°Your hands have be thinner too. My baby is all grown up.¡± They continued to chat until ten o¡¯clock at night. Lying down on the soft and spacious bed, Long Xiaoxi closed her eyes and opened them again. She stared nkly at the ceiling for a long time. Shey in bed for an entire night without sleeping. It began snowing at one o¡¯clock in the morning. She wrapped the nket tightly around herself and leaned against the headboard. Chapter 1494 - Great to Have You (54)

Chapter 1494: Great to Have You (54)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She dozed off and woke up at eight o¡¯clock in the morning. Mei Yangyang brought her a new quilt jacket that was white in color and thick enough to keep her warm. Long Xiaoxi adhered to her mother¡¯s instructions and put on the jacket, only to discover that it was reallyfortable. ¡°What does Dummy do for a living now?¡± Mei Yangyang began singing praises for Ji Gui. ¡°He¡¯s really impressive. He¡¯s a math genius. He¡¯s already set up his ownpany despite being so young.¡± ¡°He¡¯s been excellent at math ever since we were children. How about Rongyan?¡± said an unsurprised Long Xiaoxi. ¡°Rongyan is working at the hospital. He graduated from medical school a long time ago.¡± She expressed assent and began eating quietly. Long Xiaoxi used to sport a short bob. However, she began to grow her hair out after she went abroad and had been keeping her hair long ever since. She had her long locks permed and dyed and allowed them to cascade beautifully down her back. She remained silent throughout. Long Xiaoxi headed out. She decided to go on foot instead of asking the chauffeur to send her. She left with her purse and a pair of boots on her feet. Shortly after, a car pulled over beside her and the door was opened. Out came a handsome and neat-looking man. He took a close look at her features before asking, ¡°Are you Xiaoxi?¡± Long Xiaoxi answered, ¡°It¡¯s me, Rongyan. Long time no see.¡± Staring at her, Jin Rongyan smiled and said, ¡°I really haven¡¯t seen you in a long time. When did youe home?¡± ¡°Yesterday.¡± ¡°Where are you going? I¡¯m on my way to work, I can give you a ride.¡± ¡°Nah, it¡¯s alright. I¡¯d like to take a stroll outside and enjoy the breeze.¡± Jin Rongyan nodded. Just as he was about to turn around, he pointed at a car and said, ¡°There, that¡¯s Ji Gui¡¯s car.¡± Long Xiaoxi immediately stepped forward. As soon as Ji Gui alighted, he felt his leg being kicked. Who¡¯d have the audacity to kick me? Is he tired of living? he thought. The moment he saw Long Xiaoxi, he eximed in shock, ¡°Xiaoxi!?! Oh my god, am I seeing things? It really is you.¡± ¡°Dummy, why have you be like this? What happened to the dimwitted Dummy I used to know?¡± Long Xiaoxi remarked while staring at him. ¡°Goddamn it. I¡¯m really dashing now. The dimwitted style doesn¡¯t suit me.¡± Long Xiaoxi said with a sigh, ¡°People really do change with time.¡± ¡°...¡± Ji Gui was bewildered. I¡¯m so handsome and I¡¯m almostparable to those young hunks of the entertainment industry, he thought to himself. Although he had a trendy, curly, center-parted hairstyle, Long Xiaoxi found it hideous. ¡°I almost couldn¡¯t recognize you. Why have you be so tall? I¡¯m towering over many others with my 1.8-meter stature and yet I suddenly seem so short next to you. You¡¯d better avoid stilettos. I really wonder if you took any steroids to boost your height when you were abroad.¡± Long Xiaoxi rolled her eyes and said, ¡°Screw you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± Long Xiaoxi could not believe how quick-witted Ji Gui had be. He was worlds apart from his younger self. She said, ¡°I¡¯m leaving now. Not going to waste my breath talking to you.¡± ¡°Xiaoxi, what do you say we catch up over dinner tonight?¡± ¡°Sure, let¡¯s exchange phone numbers.¡± She had already met all of her childhood friends except Jin Yiheng. However, Long Xiaoxi knew that she would see him eventually. After all, they lived right opposite each other and Wei Ni Estate was not exactlyrge. It would be inevitable for her to run into him someday. No matter how hard she tried, she still could not get over the unhappy issue that would forever remain as a thorn in her flesh. Although it had already be a thing of the past, she still could not move on from it. Long Xiaoxi decided that it was time she tried to walk forward and carry on with life. She left the estate and headed to the address that Long Tianze had given her, only to discover that there were open auditions for a modeling contest. The best candidates would be shortlisted. Long Xiaoxi was not intending for her family to pull their connections in order to help her. Hence, she decided to sign up for the contest as a normal candidate. Mei Yangyang and Long Tianze respected her decision and hence would not interfere without her permission. In fact, they had faith and confidence in their daughter¡¯s abilities. She managed to sign up sessfully. The results of the open auditions would require a few days to be processed and released. Hence, Long Xiaoxi headed home straight after signing up. The temperatures were freezing and she did not want to loiter out in the cold. At about five o¡¯clock in the afternoon, she received a call from Ji Gui, who told her that he had already booked a private dining room in a restaurant. He informed her of the room number and told her to be there in half an hour¡¯s time. Long Xiaoxi dolled herself up and headed to the restaurant together with her brother. She arrived to see that Ji Gui was already there, but Jin Rongyan had yet to show up. The Long siblings sat down, after which Long Xiaoxi poured herself a cup of tea and began sipping on it slowly. ¡°I heard my mother say that you¡¯re really capable. You¡¯ve even started your ownpany. Dummy, you¡¯ve really be something.¡± ¡°Enough about me, let¡¯s talk about you. What have you been doing abroad?¡± ¡°What else could I have been doing? I went to school, graduated, and looked for a job.¡± Ji Gui said apprehensively, ¡°You actually went to school? Spill the beans. What have you done abroad?¡± ¡°I told you the truth. I studied well and looked for a proper job. I lived like a normal human being. Life was very fulfilling for me and I had something to upy my time with every day.¡± ¡°Do you have a boyfriend now?¡± Shaking her head, Long Xiaoxi answered, ¡°No.¡± Ji Gui beganughing hysterically upon hearing Long Xiaoxi¡¯s words. ¡°What are youughing for?¡± ¡°Wee to the Singles¡¯ club.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Do you have a girlfriend?¡± Long Xiaoxi asked. ¡°No, neither does your brother or Rongyan. I really wonder if our estate has been cursed. Otherwise, why are we all still single? How frustrating. I wonder if my future wife is still in someone¡¯s womb. I¡¯ve been waiting since forever.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got such a horrendous hairstyle. You deserve to be single. My brother just hasn¡¯t met the right one for him yet. Why doesn¡¯t Rongyan have a girlfriend, though?¡± ¡°He said that he has a crush on someone but hasn¡¯t had the chance to confess to her yet. How about you?¡± ¡°I was too preupied with studying and didn¡¯t have the chance to date anyone. Now that I have the time, I¡¯m in the midst of finding a suitable partner.¡± ¡°Xiaoxi, you may consider me. Let¡¯s be a couple and save the public from trouble...¡± he said with a sinister smile. ¡°You must be tired of living.¡± The door of the private room was opened. The three of them looked up to see that Jin Rongyan had entered, followed by... Chapter 1495 - Great to Have You (55)

Chapter 1495: Great to Have You (55)

The three of them were greatly taken aback the moment they saw him. Ji Gui muttered softly, ¡°I didn¡¯t invite him though.¡± Long Xiaoxi stared at the two men who entered, remaining calm andposed. A deafening silence filled the air. Jin Rongyan smiled and said, ¡°Brother said that he happens to be free for dinner and wanted to catch up with everyone, so he tagged along.¡± Long Wenlun said, ¡°Sure, join us, then. Xiaoxi just returned from abroad. She isn¡¯t clear about how everyone¡¯s doing yet. Let¡¯s chat while eating.¡± Long Xiaoxi smiled and said, ¡°Yeah, all of us grew up together anyway. Join us.¡± She sounded calm andposed and acted rather natural. However, Long Wenlun was well aware that she was incredibly upset. Some traumas just never go away. Jin Yiheng resembled Jin Qingyan greatly and was just as tall. It had been a long time since he saw Long Xiaoxi. Actually, it was not the first time that he had seen her ever since she returned from abroad. He was at the supermarket as well when she was shopping with Zhong Minhe. He wouldn¡¯t have recognized her easily if she hadn¡¯t been with Zhong Minhe. She simply looked too different. Her chubby face had now be slim and sharp, causing her chin to be entuated. Her eyes appeared much bigger too. Jin Yiheng knew clearly that it was tough for Long Xiaoxi to lose weight because of how much of a glutton she was. When they were children, she had never once seeded in losing weight because she was too impatient and not determined enough to curb her cravings. Hence, she could not lose any weight despite all the high-intensity training that she had been through during the boot camp. She would often defeat the purpose of exercising by overeating. Losing weight used to be the bane of her existence. He knew that she must have gone through painstaking means to lose weight sessfully. He had made the right guess. Long Xiaoxi had developed chronic gastritis. She could not tolerate spicy foods at all and would get an upset stomach after eating just a small amount of spice. She had to stay away from cold foods as well. No one knew of her condition except herself. Long Xiaoxi was dumbstruck after the dishes were served. They were all spicy. Although they looked extremely appetizing, they were terrible for her stomach. However, she could not be bothered to order more dishes for herself because there was already more than enough. She ordered a ss of warm coconut juice and sucked on it with a straw. Jin Rongyan asked, ¡°Xiaoxi, what do you do for a living?¡± ¡°I¡¯m jobless now, I quit my job abroad,¡± said Long Xiaoxi, who wanted to avoid bringing up the modeling contest. ¡°What do you n to work as?¡± ¡°A model.¡± Jin Rongyan smiled and said, ¡°You should be able to make the cut since you¡¯re so tall.¡± She answered, ¡°I can¡¯t be too sure yet. Who knows what might happen in the future?¡± Long Wenlun said, ¡°My parents hope that she won¡¯t begin working just yet. My father had to lie about being ill in order to dupe Xiaoxi intoing home. Hence, they¡¯re hoping for her to settle down in the nation as soon as possible. Fortunately, she has begun making some progress.¡± ¡°What progress?¡± Ji Gui asked. ¡°Minhe has always carried a torch for Xiaoxi ever since we were kids and he recently confessed his feelings to her and asked her to give him a chance. Xiaoxi agreed and so have my parents. They find him to be very reliable.¡± Ji Gui guffawed and remarked, ¡°Wow, you¡¯re really something, huh? You¡¯re so quick to grasp the opportunity when ites. But I really didn¡¯t expect Minhe to have carried a torch for you for so many years.¡± Long Xiaoxi said, ¡°I have to grasp it because it¡¯s rare. The food is getting cold, let¡¯s dig in.¡± During dinner, a sudden tension filled the air. Although Long Xiaoxi turned up specially to catch up with them, she did not speak much throughout the meal and was exceptionally quiet. Just before dinner was about to end, she received a call from Zhong Minhe. ¡°Hello, Brother Minhe.¡± ¡°Where are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m having dinner with Brother, Dummy, and the rest.¡± ¡°I just wrapped up at work and I¡¯d like to see you. May I look for you now?¡± Long Xiaoxi agreed, ¡°Sure, but I¡¯ll go find you instead.¡± After hanging up, she said to her brother, ¡°I¡¯m leaving now, you guys go ahead.¡± Noticing that Long Xiaoxi was putting on her jacket, Ji Gui asked in displeasure, ¡°You¡¯re leaving so soon?¡± ¡°Yes, let¡¯s meet up again another day.¡± She picked up her purse, waved everyone goodbye, and left. Upon arriving at the entrance, Long Xiaoxi discovered that it had begun snowing outside. She clutched her chest and found it hard to breathe. She had to pant heavily several times to catch her breath. Just as she was about to hail a taxi, she felt someone grab her wrist and she hurriedly turned around to take a look. To her surprise, it was... ¡°Rongyan?¡± ¡°You barely ate anything just now. Take this with you.¡± He let go of her wrist and handed her a paper bag containing some food. Long Xiaoxi took it from him and discovered that it was a slice of cake. Everyone around her knew that she had a sweet tooth. She took a nce at it and said with a nod, ¡°It looks delicious. I¡¯ll finish everything.¡± His eyes glistened and he said, ¡°Don¡¯t go hungry.¡± Long Xiaoxi smiled and answered, ¡°Got it.¡± Long Xiaoxi stared out of the window while enjoying her cake inside the taxi. Recalling the moment that Jin Rongyan had grabbed her wrist, she could not help but feel silly for thinking that it was Jin Yiheng. Why would he even grab my wrist? Even if we have met again, we¡¯d be distant and awkward with each other. He was the one who ruined everything. I will never forgive him! She had polished off the cake by the time they arrived at her destination. As soon as she alighted, she was greeted with the sight of Zhong Minhe waiting for her at the door. Long Xiaoxi disposed of the wrapper and paper bag into a dustbin nearby and walked toward him. ¡°Are you tired?¡± ¡°A little, but I¡¯ve already gotten used to it.¡± Long Xiaoxi smiled at him and said, ¡°I signed up for a modeling contest this morning. There were so many hopefuls and they were all tall and leggy. I¡¯m starting to lose confidence in myself.¡± ¡°They¡¯re definitely not as pretty as you are.¡± ¡°Have you eaten?¡± He answered with a nod, ¡°Yes, I have. Shall we go watch a movie?¡± ¡°Which movie?¡± ¡°Aedy flick. I heard that it has good ratings. I¡¯ve booked two tickets online.¡± Long Xiaoxi dly agreed, ¡°We can¡¯t let the tickets go to waste since you¡¯ve already booked them. Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°There¡¯s an umbre,¡± he said, staring at the door beside her. ¡°We don¡¯t need an umbre. The snow isn¡¯t that heavy. Just put on your hood.¡± She then tiptoed to put the hood of his jacket over his head before doing the same for herself. They then began walking toward the cinema nearby. Chapter 1496 - Great to Have You (56)

Chapter 1496: Great to Have You (56)

Long Xiaoxi¡¯s spirits were lifted because of the movie, during which she constantlyughed out loud. Zhong Minhe was as happy as ark too. It seemed being around her was enough to make him ted. It was already past nine o¡¯clock by the time they exited the movie theater. It had stopped snowing, and they were walking at a slow and leisurely pace. Although she said that she could head home by herself in a cab, he insisted on sending her home. Hence, she conceded. When they arrived at the entrance of her home, she refused to let him alight together with her and instead closed the door and said to him while smiling, ¡°Goodnight, Brother Minhe.¡± ¡°Okay, goodnight. Rest well.¡± Long Xiaoxi nodded and watched the taxi leave. As soon as she was about to turn around and enter her home, she was stopped in her tracks by a voice that called her name all of a sudden. ¡°Xiaoxi.¡± Long Xiaoxi tensed up the instant she heard the voice. She scanned her surroundings, only to discover that there was no one in sight. Thinking to herself that she must have been hearing things, she decided to head home. Just as she was about to enter, the gates of the mansion opposite opened. Jin Yiheng stood rooted to the ground with a domineering aura. Long Xiaoxi gazed at him quietly. Jin Yiheng began walking toward her and stopped when he was a meter away from her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about what happened in the past.¡± His apology was nine yearste. Long Xiaoxi said coldly, ¡°It¡¯s all over now. Let bygones be bygones and don¡¯t bring it up again. I¡¯ve already forgotten what I should have. I¡¯m over it now.¡± ¡°If you¡¯ve gotten over it... why are you afraid to make eye contact with me?¡± The moment she heard his words, Long Xiaoxi looked him in the eye and they held each other¡¯s gazes. However, she was filled with an inexplicable feeling, and her inner voice seemed to be screaming for an unknown reason. ¡°So I have to establish eye contact with you in order to prove that I¡¯ve already gotten over it? I was just toozy to look at you. Don¡¯t read too much into things. I used to be young and ignorant. Perhaps that¡¯s why I was so smitten with you in the past. I don¡¯t feel any special feelings when I look at you now. Actually, I have you to thank for being able to recognize who I really am.¡± She then turned around and entered her home, leaving Jin Yiheng standing still and alone with a sullen expression on his face. Long Xiaoxi¡¯s hands were still trembling by the time she returned to her room. She felt that she should have given Jin Yiheng a tight p. She threw her purse onto the bed, removed her makeup, and proceeded to wash up in the bathroom. She rinsed her face with icy cold water instead of warm water. Staring at herself in the mirror, Long Xiaoxi felt much more clear-headed. She grabbed the towel and used it to wipe her face. She then made herself a hot cup of tea and walked toward the balcony with the cup in her hands. Shivering in cold, she leaned against the railing and sipped on the tea. Despite the biting cold, she did not wish to go inside at all. When she was halfway done with the cup of tea, Long Xiaoxi turned around and leaned back against the railing with her back facing out. Her heart began to scrunch up all of a sudden. Although she was right in her own home, she felt as if she was incredibly near him and could not help but be reminded of all the memories they had, which were still fresh in her memory. Recalling everything that had happened throughout the past few years, she decided that it was really time to give herself a break. She finished up the rest of the tea in the cup, feeling much more relieved. Long Xiaoxi headed back to her room andy down on the bed, staring nkly at the ceiling above her for the rest of the night. There was endless chatter at the dining table during breakfast the following morning. However, a deafening silence filled the room the moment Long Xiaoxi spoke. ¡°I want to get married,¡± she said. Long Tianze and Mei Yangyang looked at each other in shock. ¡°Married? To whom? Minhe?¡± d in a ck, cored sweater, she said with a straight face, ¡°Yes. There¡¯s nothing much for me to consider when ites to Brother Minhe. He¡¯ll treat me very well. We watched a movie togetherst night and it was very enjoyable. Even though we haven¡¯t met each other in a long time, we don¡¯t feel awkward with each other at all. I think he¡¯s the best choice there is out there. I want to start living life properly. I¡¯ve never had a boyfriend before when I was abroad because I was too afraid. Father, Mother, will you guys agree?¡± Mei Yangyang said, ¡°Your father and I will have no objections as long as you¡¯re happy. Xiaoxi, marriage is a serious matter that concerns your lifelong happiness. I hope you won¡¯t act rashly and think carefully before you make a decision. We know that Minhe is a good kid, but your father and I are honestly rather taken aback by your decision to get married right after you just came back from abroad.¡± She believed that her daughter truly wanted to get married and wasn¡¯t acting rashly. Hence, she and Long Tianze would support her decision. They¡¯d already had enough of living away from her. ¡°Daddy, Mommy, I¡¯m already 23 years old. I¡¯m no longer a child. I¡¯ll take responsibility for my own actions. Regardless of how insensible I may have been in the past, I¡¯ve thought about it carefully. I was unfilial in the past and I¡¯ve decided to apany you guys for the rest of my life to make up for the time lost. I want to settle down and build a family of my own. I want to work a job that I like. I¡¯ll have no other requests as long as you¡¯re both healthy.¡± Long Wenlun said, ¡°Xiaoxi, have you... really thought about it?¡± ¡°Of course. Why would I tell you guys if I haven¡¯t?¡± ¡°I support your decision too, then. Father, say something.¡± Long Tianze said, ¡°Daughter, what matters is you¡¯re happy.¡± Long Xiaoxi grinned and said, ¡°I knew you loved me the most, Daddy. It¡¯s my blessing to be able to reincarnate as your daughter.¡± Long Wenlun spread the news in the group chat with his friends. ¡°Special Announcement: Xiaoxi is getting married, get your red packets ready!¡± Ji Gui was bbergasted and replied almost instantly. ¡°What!?! So soon!?! With whom!?! Is it really Minhe?¡± Long Wenlun replied, ¡°Duh. It¡¯s been confirmed. My parents have agreed too.¡± ¡°Xiaoxi is so quick to get married.¡± ¡°Of course, you can¡¯t deny it.¡± ... They continued to mock each other in the group chat. However, they were the only ones talking even though there were four people in the group chat. Jin Rongyan did not join in because he was busy treating patients in the hospital and thus could not check his mobile phone. Jin Yiheng did not reply because he was staring nkly at his screen... He knew that Long Wenlun was not joking. Hence, he was at a loss for words. He simply could not bring himself to congratte her. Her words were still ringing in his ear. She used to be young and ignorant? She used to be blinded by love? She doesn¡¯t have any more feelings for me? He could not sleep well at all because of that. He felt extremely guilty for what he had done to her. However, he always thought that he had probably only seen her as a younger sister. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have canceled the engagement. Chapter 1497 - Great to Have You (57)

Chapter 1497: Great to Have You (57)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He did not wish to fall out with her. However, it seemed that it was impossible for them to get along harmoniously like they used to as children. He could not bring himself to give Long Xiaoxi, whom he had always regarded as a little sister, his blessings. That was a problem. He was not at all worried that Zhong Minhe would mistreat her, because he knew that Zhong Minhe was indebted to Long Xiaoxi and her family. Hence, he would definitely dote on her. Jin Yiheng was certain that Long Xiaoxi must have thought about it carefully before informing her parents of her decision to get married. Jin Yiheng stayed in the office throughout the entire morning. However, he could not stop thinking about Long Xiaoxi. He could not focus on reading the documents at all. Finally, he decided to contact Ji Gui personally and asked him for Long Xiaoxi¡¯s mobile number. Long Xiaoxi did not expect to receive a call from Jin Yiheng. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s meet.¡± ¡°What for?¡± ¡°Do you want me to look you up or would you like to meet me instead?¡± Long Xiaoxi said coldly, ¡°We can just talk over the phone. There¡¯s no need to meet.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± He ended the call and proceeded to find her current location before driving toward the address he had found. Long Xiaoxi pondered over everything for the entire morning. She decided to give Zhong Minhe a surprise and hailed a taxi to look for him to discuss the wedding. To her astonishment, she was stopped by Jin Yiheng as soon as she arrived at Zhong Minhe¡¯s workce. Not wanting to get into a scuffle with Jin Yiheng in public, she followed him to his car and questioned, ¡°Just what do you want?¡± ¡°Are you getting married?¡± She nced at him and sneered, ¡°Yes, are you here to congratte me? If you are, I think you¡¯re overreacting. We¡¯re not exactly friends, you didn¡¯t have to go to such great lengths.¡± He remained silent and stepped on the elerator to move the car forward slowly. Long Xiaoxi stared at him closely, only to find that he seemed to be different from the way he was during his teenage years. ¡°I¡¯m talking to you, are you deaf?¡± Gripping the steering wheel tightly, he answered, ¡°I can¡¯t bring myself to congratte you, so you¡¯re reading too much into things.¡± ¡°What are you here for, then? Where are you taking me to now?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know when we get there.¡± Long Xiaoxi was filled with exasperation, clueless and at a loss for words. She suppressed her anger and watched him drive back to Wei Ni Estate. ¡°What are you doing? I didn¡¯t say that I wanted to go home.¡± Jin Yiheng looked at her and said, ¡°Come with me, I have something to show you.¡± Long Xiaoxi alighted from the car and walked behind him toward his home. She was rather curious about what he wanted to show her. She followed him into his bedroom. She closed the door and he stared at her. ¡°Don¡¯t marry him,¡± he said. Long Xiaoxi teared up and said, ¡°What makes you think that you have the right to say this? Are you in any ce to do so?¡± ¡°Are you willing to give me the right to do so?¡± ¡°No, I no longer want to have anything to do with you. Ever since you requested for our engagement to be canceled, got into a rtionship with another girl, and started giving me the cold shoulder, I knew that you no longer deserved my heart and affection. You don¡¯t deserve everything that I had done for you. You truly let me down. You were the only person I adored ever since we were children. How could you do that to me? Jin Yiheng, I¡¯ll never forgive you for hurting me. Never in my life.¡± He knew that she had never gotten over it and was well aware that she probably resented him. However, he felt as if a million daggers were piercing through his heart the moment he saw her tearing up while saying those harsh words. He hugged her tightly in his arms and refused to let go regardless of how hard she struggled. When she finally calmed down, he said, ¡°We were inseparable throughout our childhood and we knew each other too well. The older we got, the more I felt like you were just like my younger sister. However, I stopped developing interests in other women ever since you went abroad. No matter how slender, beautiful, adorable, charming, or outstanding other women may be, I often felt that they could notpare to you. I tried tofort myself by telling myself that I was only feeling guilty for hurting you. But I don¡¯t know why I just can¡¯t bring myself to give you my blessings after hearing that you were getting married. I gave it some thought and I realized that I want to seek your forgiveness and start afresh with you. I want to be with you every single day, like I used to when we were children. I went to look for you and brought you back here because I wanted to pour my feelings out to you and let you know how I really feel, regardless of whether you believe it or not.¡± Long Xiaoxi pushed him away. This time, he did not stop her because he had already told her everything that he wanted to. Pa! She finallyid her hand on him. ¡°Does it hurt? Is it fun to toy with my feelings? Like I said, I¡¯ll never forgive you,¡± she said. Gazing at her, he asked, ¡°Do you feel better now?¡± ¡°You¡¯re just feeling guilty for what you had done to me and you only regard me as your younger sister. There are no romantic feelings between us. You said that you want to go back to the past only because you¡¯re feeling nostalgic. I¡¯ll pretend that I didn¡¯t hear what you said today. What has been done cannot be undone. You were the one who ruined everything. We¡¯re just not destined to be together. I¡¯ve already seen through it all.¡± Long Xiaoxi then turned around and left. She mmed the door shut with a loud thud. He took a deep breath, removed his tie, and flung it onto the ground. Long Xiaoxi returned home and sprawled herself across the bed before crying her heart out. She was no longer in the mood to give Zhong Minhe a surprise. Who would have known that Jin Yiheng would say such things to her? She was infuriated and agonized, for it felt like he had just ripped all of her wounds and scars open again. Once she was done crying, she turned over and stared at the hand that she used to hit him with. A look of hopelessness formed in her eyes. Three dayster, Mei Yangyang discovered that she had stopped talking about getting married. She asked Long Xiaoxi, ¡°Have you spoken to Minhe yet?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Why not? Have you decided not to marry him?¡± Long Xiaoxi answered, ¡°I¡¯ve decided to focus on the modelingpetition first. Brother Minhe is very busytely too. He¡¯s taken up a new assignment and it urgently needs to bepleted. I don¡¯t want him to be distracted so I shall not tell him for now.¡± ¡°That works too. You¡¯re still young. There¡¯s no hurry. Your father and I are supportive of your decision to join the modeling contest. We just want you to be happy while doing the things you enjoy.¡± ¡°Thank you, Mommy.¡± Chapter 1498 - Great to Have You (58)

Chapter 1498: Great to Have You (58)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Long Xiaoxi packed her luggage and headed to the modeling contest venue. All the candidates were present, and there were more than ten of them, all of whom had to squeeze into a tiny room. Long Xiaoxi used a stage name when she signed up for thepetition. Hence, no one would know her true identity since she was now known as Xuan Yin. She avoided luxury clothing and instead dressed in simple clothes from mainstreambels. It was wintertime and, hence, they could stay warm while squeezing in the same room. The rest of the contestants all had a pretty face to go along with their tall and slender figures. Needless to say, those were the qualities that allowed them the chance tond themselves a spot in the contest, especially since the contest was a live program that would be broadcast on television. They gathered together to chat and gossip. However, Long Xiaoxi did not join in the conversation and instead listened quietly. ¡°I heard that they¡¯ve already decided who the top three contestants are going to be and that those three alle from wealthy and powerful families, so we¡¯d better not carry any hope for being the top three. It¡¯d be good enough to get into the top ten.¡± ¡°Yeah, I heard about it too. I¡¯m so envious of those who were born into wealthy and powerful families. What can we do even if we¡¯re indignant and find it unfair?¡± ¡°Yeah, I even heard that the daughter of the municipal secretary has joined the contest.¡± Everyone looked at the contestant and asked, ¡°What¡¯s her name?¡± ¡°Wen Yuechan.¡± Long Xiaoxi was shocked to hear that name again after so many years. ¡°I beg your pardon?¡± ¡°Wen Yuechan.¡± Long Xiaoxi had a deep impression of Wen Yuechan, and she remembered her very clearly. I don¡¯t remember her father being a political figure, she thought. Why has she be the daughter of the municipal secretary? ¡°Is she his biological daughter?¡± ¡°How could that be? Don¡¯t you read the news at all? Her mother married the municipal secretary. Although she¡¯s only his stepdaughter, she¡¯s still his daughter at the end of the day. That¡¯s it. There are so many contestants, there¡¯s no hope for us.¡± Long Xiaoxi did not expect that at all. Wen Yuechan¡¯s mother is a real piece of work. She was put behind bars for trying to kill me back then, and yet she actually married the municipal secretary. She scurried toward the bathroom to call her mother. ¡°She was initially sentenced to ten years of jail but it was said that she was released early because of her good behavior. However, I don¡¯t believe that. I heard from your father that she was only allowed an early release because Wen Yuechan slept with many men and thought of ways to get her mother out of jail.¡± ¡°...¡± Long Xiaoxi felt that Wen Yuechan was extremely pathetic. However, everyone was destined to live a different life. In today¡¯s society, some people are willing to be whores, some are willing to be foul-mouthed, and there were also some who are willing to be upright and stay true to their morals. You cannot expect everyone to be an upright person. After all, there are all sorts of people in this world. Having encountered many different types of people, she had already gotten used to humanity. Shortly after, it was their turn to audition. Due to the fact that it was an open audition, they did not have to wear any costumes. All they had to do was perform a catwalk in front of the judges. After the audition, hundreds of contestants were eliminated. Long Xiaoxi was the only one left in the room. Hence, she was told to proceed to another waiting room. There were six contestants in the room. Long Xiaoxi entered and ced her suitcase beneath the bed, after which she sat down and started ying with her mobile phone. Soon, the other five contestants entered the room, one of whom was in-looking and had short hair. However, she was extremely tall and had excellent proportions. She took the bed above Long Xiaoxi¡¯s. Due to the fact that they were all strangers, the room was dead silent and there was no conversation at all. A short whileter, the in-looking girl got off the bed and started introducing herself to everyone. ¡°Hello, everyone, my name is Wang Hulu. Please guide me along.¡± A girl who had an afro said, ¡°Hello, my name is Li Xiaoxiao. Who gave you that name? It¡¯s so unique.¡± ¡°My parents did.¡± The girl with an afro then asked Long Xiaoxi, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Xuan Yin.¡± ¡°Is that a stage name?¡± ¡°Umm. Yes.¡± ¡°I like you. Can we be friends?¡± said Li Xiaoxiao, who walked toward her and extended a hand. Long Xiaoxi was bewildered, for it was the first time that she¡¯d encountered another girl telling her that she liked her. After all, it was a little too enthusiastic of Li Xiaoxiao to ask to be friends on their first meeting. She shook Li Xiaoxiao¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Sure.¡± There was no harm in being friends. ¡°Do you want to go out for a meal? I know of a restaurant that serves up delicious food. It¡¯s my treat.¡± Feeling famished, Long Xiaoxi stood up and grabbed her purse. She agreed with a smile, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± After exiting the room, Li Xiaoxiao began holding Long Xiaoxi¡¯s hand, giving her a great shock. She found the way that Li Xiaoxiao was smiling at her to be rather strange. ¡°You must be curious about why I took the initiative to befriend you. I actually know how to do face-reading and I use that ability to decide who to befriend. I can tell from your face that you¡¯re a kind and pleasant person. That Wang Hulu is worlds apart from you. I didn¡¯t say that just because she looks dull. In conclusion, she doesn¡¯t have a good face. I can tell that she¡¯s a petty and narrow-minded person who would throw a fit over every slightest thing. Besides, she likes gossiping and creating rumors, and I could tell with one nce that she¡¯s not trustworthy at all.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve only ever heard of fortune-telling. Is face-reading that urate too?¡± Li Xiaoxiao said confidently, ¡°Of course it is. However, it all depends on the reader¡¯s skills. Ie from a family of face-readers, and I guess we¡¯re experts at face-reading. However, it¡¯s a really useful skill to have. I can tell a person¡¯s character just by looking at their face. That saves me lots of hassle.¡± Long Xiaoxi realized that she spoke at a very quick pace and was a frank and candid person as well. She was certain that Li Xiaoxiao was not a scheming person. ¡°Do youe from this city?¡± Shaking her head, Li Xiaoxiao answered, ¡°No, I¡¯m from B City, and I came here just for this modeling contest. How about you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m from this city.¡± ¡°Why are you staying here, then? Isn¡¯t it better to go home?¡± Long Xiaoxi exined, ¡°I don¡¯t want to miss out on any important news so I felt that it¡¯s better to stay here.¡± ¡°I think you¡¯d make it to the top ten.¡± ¡°Why do you think so?¡± Long Xiaoxi asked. ¡°Because you exude a charming and elegant aura. I noticed you the moment I entered the room. I¡¯m really d to be your friend.¡± ¡°Thank you, I think you¡¯re pretty good yourself too.¡± ¡°Hehe, I hope we can advance together.¡± She treated Long Xiaoxi to lunch at a restaurant. Hence, Long Xiaoxi decided to treat her to some milk tea after their meal. Chapter 1499 - Great to Have You (59)

Chapter 1499: Great to Have You (59)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Long Xiaoxi got closer to her in the next few days, and they would have all their meals together. Two dayster, the second round of elimination began. Two out of five hundred contestants would be eliminated. Fortunately, three of the contestants in Long Xiaoxi¡¯s room were advanced to the next round. The three contestants were Long Xiaoxi, Li Xiaoxiao, and Wang Hulu. The modeling contest managed to garner the attention of the public and was widely received amongst the viewers. It became a hot topic for discussion on the inte. Many fans had also shown their support for the contestants. Unfortunately, only those beautiful and handsome contestants had fans. After a few rounds of elimination, it boiled down to fifty remaining contestants who were ranked ordingly. Li Xiaoxiao and Long Xiaoxi were close in rank. Long Xiaoxi was in 32nd ce while Li Xiaoxiao was in 38th ce. Wang Hulu managed to survive the elimination by a close shave and was ranked 49th ce. Long Xiaoxi had paid lots of attention to Wen Yuechan. She was as gorgeous as she used to be as a child. She was also ranked several ces before Long Xiaoxi,ing in at 11th ce. At this juncture, Long Xiaoxi still did not want to rely on her family¡¯s connections. However, Mei Yangyang told her that it was true that the rankings and positions had already been determined beforehand and that the voting system was just a sham and a facade. Long Xiaoxi snapped the moment she heard that it would be impossible for her to make it into the top thirty contestants. Why can¡¯t it be a fair contest? Is this apetition of who has the best family background? She found out from Mei Yangyang who the top thirty contestants were. Mei Yangyang sent her a name list. Wen Yuechan was set to be the second runner-up. To her astonishment, Wang Hulu would emerge as champion! The first runner-up was unsurprisingly the daughter of a tycoon. Just like she had expected, Li Xiaoxiao and herself were not in the name list. At this moment, Long Xiaoxi realized that Wang Hulu definitely had a powerful backer. However, she felt that Wang Hulu¡¯s name was rather distasteful and thus deduced that thetter¡¯s parents must have been uncultured. Hence, she requested Mei Yangyang to help her look into Wang Hulu¡¯s profile. The day before the next round of elimination, Mei Yangyang informed her that Wang Hulu was the daughter of the organizer of the modeling contest. Her actual name was Wang Xizhen, and she had changed her name to Wang Hulu because of the contest. It had never crossed Long Xiaoxi¡¯s mind that the in and average-looking Wang Hulu would be the greatest winner. Long Xiaoxi finally requested Mei Yangyang to help her and Li Xiaoxiao pull some strings using her connections. Despite feeling exasperated, she did not confront Wang Hulu. After much consideration, she decided to have a talk with Li Xiaoxiao. She asked, ¡°What do you think Wang Hulu¡¯s family background is like?¡± ¡°She¡¯s dressed in cheap clothes from head to toe and she doesn¡¯t put on any makeup either. She doesn¡¯t seem to be from a wealthy family.¡± ¡°We won¡¯t make it to the top thirty this time.¡± ¡°Huh? How did you know?¡± Li Xiaoxiao asked. Gazing at Li Xiaoxiao, she answered, ¡°I have a list of names that have already been determined beforehand. Wang Hulu would be the champion, followed by a tycoon¡¯s daughter, and, thirdly, Wen Yuechan.¡± ¡°Wang Hulu? Are you kidding me? How could she be first ce?¡± ¡°Her real name is Wang Xizhen and she changed her name right before the contest. She¡¯s the daughter of the contest organizer.¡± Li Xiaoxiao was shocked speechless. She eximed in astonishment, ¡°What!?! That¡¯s so unexpected. How could she have the cheek to say that her parents had given her that name. Such great acting chops she¡¯s got. However, this is supposedly top secret. Xuan Yin, how did you know about this?¡± Not wishing to hide it from her any longer, Long Xiaoxi decided toe clean. ¡°My real name is Long Xiaoxi. You might not know who my father is, but you definitely know who my godparents are. My godmother is An Xiaoning.¡± Covering her mouth in shock, Li Xiaoxiao asked, ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes, I initially wanted to depend on my own abilities to make it to the end of the contest. However, I found out that I would not make it to the top thirty after my mother obtained the name list. Since then, I realized that everyone in this contest is just pulling strings using their connections. In that case, why can¡¯t I use my connections too? Xiaoxiao, don¡¯t worry, I told my mother to help you advance to the next round too.¡± Li Xiaoxiao hugged her agitatedly and said, ¡°Thank you, Xuan Yin. I was so disappointed when I heard that the results were determined beforehand, and my heart was shattered. Did the organizer organize this contest just to let his daughter debut? Are we just there toplement her?¡± ¡°I reckon so.¡± ¡°Xuan Yin, your real identity will be revealed sooner orter. You have no idea how well-connected thoseizens are. However, you¡¯d better lie low before they find out about your identity.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve always kept a low profile. I only wanted to tell you because we¡¯re friends and I don¡¯t wish to hide anything from you.¡± Upon hearing her words, Li Xiaoxiao patted her chest and said, ¡°I knew I was good at judging people. Xuan Yin, thank you for being my friend. I won¡¯t let you down or betray your trust.¡± Long Xiaoxi smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m nning to go home for tonight, but you must remember not to let Wang Hulu find out that you already know her identity.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll keep it a secret until the contest is over.¡± Li Xiaoxiao walked her out to the entrance. Shortly after, a luxury car pulled over in front of them and Jin Rongyan alighted. Li Xiaoxiao was stunned beyond words the moment she saw his face. ¡°Is he your boyfriend?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I¡¯m in love with him.¡± ¡°...¡± Amused by her words, Long Xiaoxi asked, ¡°Are you sure? Have you met him before?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s my first time seeing him. I¡¯ve never felt like this before, but my heart is beating rapidly. Xuan Yin, does he have a girlfriend?¡± ¡°Not that I know of.¡± Staring at Long Xiaoxi with wide eyes and tugging her arm, Li Xiaoxiao asked, ¡°Really? You¡¯re not lying to me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not. He doesn¡¯t have a girlfriend right now.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to court him, then.¡± ¡°You... are so proactive.¡± Long Xiaoxi then walked toward Jin Rongyan and said, ¡°Rongyan, this is my friend, Li Xiaoxiao.¡± Jin Rongyan frowned the instant he saw Li Xiaoxiao, who had an afro, heavy makeup, and green eyeshadow. She seemed like a freak to him. ¡°Hello,¡± he said coldly. Li Xiaoxiao immediately held his hand and said, ¡°Hello, hello, what¡¯s your mobile number?¡± ¡°...¡± Jin Rongyan retracted his hand with a look of disdain. He did not have a good impression of her at all. He then opened the door and said to Long Xiaoxi, ¡°Everyone¡¯s waiting for you, hop on.¡± Li Xiaoxiao waved Li Xiaoxiao goodbye and said, ¡°I¡¯ll get going now.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± After driving away, Jin Rongyan asked, ¡°Why would you even be friends with her?¡± ¡°Xiaoxiao is a nice person.¡± ¡°She¡¯s just like a female gangster.¡± Long Xiaoxi protested, ¡°She¡¯s not. She just likes dressing that way.¡± Chapter 1500 - Great to Have You (60)

Chapter 1500: Great to Have You (60)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Rongyan said, ¡°You don¡¯t actually have to stay at the dormitory. It¡¯s so near from home.¡± ¡°I¡¯lle home after the contest. Saves me the hassle of traveling to and fro.¡± Jin Rongyan remarked, ¡°Howzy can you get? It¡¯s such a short distance.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have a girlfriend right now, do you?¡± she asked at the thought of Li Xiaoxiao¡¯s words. ¡°No, I¡¯m too busy with work for a girlfriend.¡± ¡°Stop using work as an excuse. Ji Gui said that you¡¯re carrying a torch for someone but you haven¡¯t had the chance to confess to her yet. Is she your colleague?¡± asked Long Xiaoxi. She could not think of anyone else apart from his colleagues. After all, he probably did not have the time to meet other girls. ¡°She¡¯s a ssmate of mine from university and she does work in the same hospital as me too. I¡¯ve never had the chance to confess to her because she¡¯s always had a boyfriend.¡± Long Xiaoxi looked at him and asked, ¡°Are you waiting for her to break up with her boyfriend before you¡¯d be willing to confess?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°My friend said that she¡¯s in love with you.¡± Jin Rongyan said with a straight face, ¡°Don¡¯t you find her to be very superficial and casual?¡± ¡°Love at first sight does happen.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a good impression of her.¡± Long Xiaoxi shrugged her shoulders and said, ¡°You¡¯ll only get to know her better after interacting with her more often.¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t feel like interacting with her.¡± ¡°...¡± Jin Rongyan pulled over at an entertainment joint. When she alighted from the car, she asked, ¡°Is your brother here too?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°From now on, I must ask you guys beforehand if he¡¯s joining us.¡± Jin Rongyan smiled and said, ¡°He¡¯s been very busytely too. It¡¯s rare for him to have the time to hang out with us. Since you can¡¯t stand the sight of him at all, why don¡¯t you just ignore his presence?¡± Long Xiaoxi stuck her thumb up and said, ¡°Good idea, I shall do just that.¡± The two of them entered and walked toward a private room. Long Xiaoxi took a deep breath and opened the door. To her surprise, there were other women inside whom she did not recognize. She looked at Jin Rongyan and asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on? Why are there strangers?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have to ask Ji Gui. I have no idea.¡± Long Xiaoxi shifted her gaze onto Ji Gui, who was walking toward her with a microphone in hand. He put his arm around her shoulder and said softly, ¡°These girls are undergraduates I¡¯ve invited. They¡¯re fun-loving and bubbly. Don¡¯t mind them, we¡¯ll y and enjoy ourselves.¡± ring daggers at him, Long Xiaoxi wished she could kill him with her gaze. Without another word, she took a seat on the couch beside Jin Rongyan. She subconsciously leaned back against the couch and took a casual nce at the spot opposite her, only to make eye contact with Jin Yiheng. He was sitting on the couch with a cold and aloof expression on his face and a cigarette between his slender fingers. He kept his eyes fixed on her for a long time. Peeved by the way he was staring at her, Long Xiaoxi questioned, ¡°What are you looking at?¡± ¡°You.¡± ¡°You¡¯re nuts.¡± Long Xiaoxi looked away and gulped arge ss of beer, after which she instantly regretted her decision. Her stomach could not tolerate cold foods because of her gastritis. As expected, her stomach began churning the moment she downed the entire ss of beer and a sudden difort arose. However, she managed to bear with it and the difort did notst for long. They proceeded to sing, chat, and y with some cards. After winning herself arge wad of cash, Long Xiaoxi smiled and said, ¡°Seems like I didn¡¯te here for nothing.¡± ¡°Since when did you get so good at cards?¡± Ji Gui asked, feeling the pinch. ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe I just got lucky tonight. It¡¯s gettingte, I have to go home now. Rongyan, are you leaving too?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go, I have to go to work tomorrow morning.¡± He stood up and put on his coat before exiting the room together with Long Xiaoxi. As soon as they left, Jin Yiheng followed suit. Just as Long Xiaoxi was about to get inside Jin Rongyan¡¯s car, Jin Yiheng grabbed her and tried to pull her away. However, he did not manage to do so sessfully. After exchanging blows for a while, Jin Yiheng realized that her martial arts skills had improved tremendously. Atst, Long Xiaoxi got inside Jin Rongyan¡¯s car and left while Jin Yiheng drove closely behind. Upon arriving at Wei Ni Estate, Jin Yiheng again stopped her from leaving. ¡°Let¡¯s have a chat.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing for us to talk about.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a lot for us to talk about.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk to you. I¡¯ve already made things clear to you previously. Didn¡¯t you hear me?¡± she snapped, trying to push him away. He grabbed her hand tightly and said, ¡°Let¡¯s get married.¡± Long Xiaoxi felt that he was out of his mind. ¡°W... what?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get married.¡± Long Xiaoxi rebuked, ¡°Haven¡¯t you had enough? Haven¡¯t you toyed with my feelings enough yet? Do you still want to continue?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t do so again from now on.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe you. Stop pestering me, you¡¯re making me feel so repulsed,¡± she said, staring at him. However, her heart had wavered after hearing him initiate marriage. She returned to her room, bbergasted and emotional. She felt as if she was about to lose her mind. After some thought, she decided to go to her parents¡¯ room. She informed them about what Jin Yiheng had said to her. ¡°What are your thoughts?¡± Long Tianze asked. ¡°Why should I let a loony y me like a fool?¡± ¡°Ever since you left for abroad, he really didn¡¯t have another girlfriend. Your mother can vouch for that too. However, I don¡¯t get it at all. Doesn¡¯t he see you as his younger sister? That¡¯s the reason he gave for canceling the engagement too. Yet he wants to marry you again. Which lunatic would marry his sister? Well, unless he doesn¡¯t actually see you as his sister.¡± Long Xiaoxiy down on her parents¡¯ bed and said, ¡°This time, I¡¯m not going to let him manipte me anymore. I don¡¯t know if he¡¯s just proposing to me out of guilt or what, but I¡¯m not going to let him have his way.¡± Mei Yangyang smiled and said, ¡°The decision lies with you. You have more options now. However, Xiaoxi, be honest with me. Do you really not fancy him anymore?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t fancy him anymore!¡± she eximed angrily. Mei Yangyang expressed assent and said, ¡°Just reject him and cut him off from your life, then. It¡¯s better that way. You two will marry different people in the future. No one can force you if you¡¯re unwilling.¡± Although Long Xiaoxi knew that her mother was right, she was stuck in a dilemma. When she returned to her room, she decided to take a hot bath. As soon as she sat inside the bathtub, the lights went out all of a sudden. Long Xiaoxi stood up and got out of the bathtub slowly. She fumbled around for her towel and walked out after grabbing it. The room was still warm although the heater had been switched off because of the power outage. The moment she stepped foot out of the bathroom, she was hugged from behind. Chapter 1501 - Great to Have You (61)

Chapter 1501: Great to Have You (61)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Long Xiaoxi felt as if her heart was about to jump out of her chest. She instinctively tried to retaliate, only to hear a familiar voice. ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± said Jin Yiheng. She turned around and asked in a shaking voice, ¡°What... are you doing!?! Hurry and let go of me!¡± Jin Yiheng pressed her down onto the bed, causing her to be unable to move at all. Due to the fact that she only had a towel wrapped around her body, the towel would be unwrapped once she moves about too vigorously. Hence, shey still and stared at him. They could not see each other¡¯s faces clearly in the pitch darkness of the room. However, she could tell that he was keeping his eyes glued onto her. Long Xiaoxi felt that Jin Yiheng was acting out of the ordinary, and she had not decided to cut him out of her lifepletely yet. ¡°Just what do you want?¡± Hey down and held her in his arms. ¡°Could you give me a chance to verify something?¡± ¡°Verify what?¡± ¡°Verify... if I¡¯m still considering you as my sister and if I¡¯m just acting this way out of guilt, or because of another reason.¡± Long Xiaoxi heaved a sigh of relief and asked, ¡°How do you want to verify that?¡± He then kissed her on the lips, catching her by surprise. Long Xiaoxi froze in shock as all her blood rushed to her head rapidly. She was overwhelmed with an indescribable feeling, and her mind went nk. Jin Yiheng did not stop there. Instead, he turned over and pinned her beneath him. Several minutester, he finally stopped. Long Xiaoxi squinted at him and asked, ¡°Have you verified it yet?¡± ¡°No, let me try again.¡± After the second time, Long Xiaoxi wiped her mouth with her hand and remarked in disdain, ¡°You¡¯re just trying to take liberties with me.¡± ¡°The fact that I can bring myself to kiss you and get a reaction out of it just means that I don¡¯t actually see you as my sister. I¡¯m not leaving tonight,¡± he said, pulling the duvet up to cover them both. ¡°I¡¯m going to yell for help, then.¡± ¡°Go ahead,¡± he said dauntlessly. Unable to tolerate it any further, Long Xiaoxi snapped, ¡°I still remember you saying that we ought to keep a distance because there¡¯s a difference between the sexes. Practice what you preach. Get out of my house now.¡± ¡°Since when did I say that? Why don¡¯t I remember it at all?¡± ¡°You¡¯re feigning amnesia? Get out now. Don¡¯t make me repeat myself again!¡± she hollered. He rested her head on his arm and inched closer toward her. ¡°Go to bed. I¡¯ll leave once you doze off.¡± Long Xiaoxi was screaming in exasperation internally, for she was infuriated at herself. She was constantly persuading herself to muster up the courage and tell him to scram. However, she remained still and continued lying there. Long Xiaoxi felt pathetic and upset because she could not hold her pride high in front of the person she fancied. Whenever she took a nce at him, she would wish that she could get closer to him despite knowing that she shouldn¡¯t. She would feel as if all her troubles and woes were gone whenever he smiled at her. She dozed off and had a dreamless night. She woke up again to discover that he had really left like he said he would. Long Xiaoxi grabbed her mobile phone to look at the time, only to see that she had received a message. It was from him. Although it was short and concise, it was enough to send her into a rage. ¡°Your lips were so sweet. I want to taste them again today.¡± She switched off her mobile phone and proceeded to take a shower, then changed into a fresh set of clothes before going downstairs for breakfast. During breakfast, Mei Yangyang asked, ¡°Yiheng was here for such a long timest night. What did you guys talk about inside your room?¡± ¡°Mother, you knew about his arrival?¡± ¡°Of course. There are surveince cameras at home. There¡¯s no way I wouldn¡¯t have known,¡± Mei Yangyang said with raised brows. ¡°Nothing much. I just find him to be a nutcase now.¡± Mei Yangyang chuckled and said, ¡°I think he¡¯s trying to pursue you now.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to ignore him.¡± ¡°You¡¯re lying. Who do you think you can fool?¡± ¡°Brother...¡± ¡°I¡¯m just telling the truth. Since you¡¯ve already decided to marry Minhe, just tell Minhe about it and have a discussion with him. Don¡¯t give Yiheng the chance to win your heart again. The decision lies with you. Think about it carefully.¡± Long Xiaoxi remained silent. Upon her return to the dormitory, Li Xiaoxiao handed her the costumes that they would be wearing. ¡°Xuan Yin, this is yours. I collected it for you.¡± ¡°Alright, thank you.¡± As soon as Long Xiaoxi finished speaking, she grabbed her hand and asked, ¡°Xuan Yin, who was that hunk who picked you up yesterday?¡± She whispered the answer to Li Xiaoxiao, who soon became dejected. Upon the sight of her expression, Long Xiaoxi asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no chance for me now.¡± ¡°Why so?¡± ¡°We¡¯re ipatible in terms of status. Our family backgrounds are worlds apart. However, I couldn¡¯t sleep at allst night because I kept thinking about him. I¡¯ve never felt like this before. I must have fallen for him.¡± ¡°His family doesn¡¯t mind the difference. They¡¯d respect his decision. He confirmed that he doesn¡¯t have a girlfriend when I asked him about itst night. However, he said that he¡¯s carrying a torch for someone, but he has never confessed to her because she has a boyfriend.¡± Li Xiaoxiao asked earnestly, ¡°Xuan Yin, do they really not mind the difference in status?¡± ¡°Yes, I support your decision to woo him. Rongyan is a medical genius. He¡¯s very good-tempered too. Happiness lies in your own hands. How would you know if you don¡¯t try? Even if you fail, you¡¯d at least have no regrets. After all, you¡¯ve already tried your best, right?¡± ¡°You really support my decision?¡± ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I? I think you have a great personality. However, I can¡¯t give you his mobile number. You¡¯ll have to work for it. I can tell you where his workce is, but to be honest with you, he doesn¡¯t have a good impression of you. Could you straighten your hair? I think that¡¯d be better.¡± Li Xiaoxiao agreed with a nod, ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll do itter.¡± Seeing how eager she was, Long Xiaoxi smiled and said, ¡°By the way, don¡¯t put on such heavy makeup anymore. I think you¡¯d have a greater chance if you don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Li Xiaoxiao would do anything to attract the man she was smitten with. Thus, she straightened her hair and dyed it back to ck before putting on some light makeup. She seemed like a whole different person. Long Xiaoxiplimented her, finding her to look much better. Li Xiaoxiao felt much more confident and asked her for the address of Jin Rongyan¡¯s workce. She nned to look for him after the contest. Chapter 1502 - Great to Have You (62)

Chapter 1502: Great to Have You (62)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Long Xiaoxi and Li Xiaoxiao managed to make it into the top thirty. Ten more contestants would be eliminated in the next round. Li Xiaoxiao was filled with anxiety. The first thing she did when she arrived at the First People¡¯s Hospital was to register for a consultation with the doctor at the emergency unit. The emergency unit was packed with people, and she still had to wait despite it being an emergency unit. It was a three-hour wait. She waited from four to seven o¡¯clock. Coincidentally, it happened to be the doctors¡¯ dinner break. Hence, the doctors on duty had to take over. After waiting for three hours, Li Xiaoxiao was called to the office of another doctor. She was utterly dejected. Upon entering the doctor¡¯s office, she asked if she could have a consultation with Jin Rongyan instead, only to be turned down by the doctor, who thought that she did not have faith in his abilities. Hence, she proceeded to re-register for an appointment and continued to wait for her turn all over again, hoping that she could be allocated to a different doctor instead. However, there were four doctors in total, and it was not a guaranteed chance that she would be called by Jin Rongyan. Fortunately, Lady Luck was smiling on her. Her number was picked by Jin Rongyan. Li Xiaoxiao burst with euphoria the moment she saw him. Feeling jittery and joyful, she walked toward him slowly. Jin Rongyan red at her before asking, ¡°Where do you feel difort?¡± Pointing at her chest, she answered, ¡°It hurts here.¡± ¡°You have to get an ECG, in that case.¡± ¡°Doctor, don¡¯t you remember me?¡± ¡°I have so many patients every day. I can¡¯t possibly remember all of them.¡± ¡°We metst night. I¡¯m Xuan Yin¡¯s... I mean, Xiaoxi¡¯s friend.¡± Jin Rongyan looked at her and asked in shock, ¡°Are you the... one who had an afro?¡± ¡°Yes, yes, do you remember me now? I changed my hairstyle because you didn¡¯t like my previous one.¡± Recalling Long Xiaoxi¡¯s words, he asked, ¡°Did Xiaoxi tell you the address of my workce?¡± ¡°I pestered her to tell me, but don¡¯t worry, she didn¡¯t give me your number. Doctor, you have to take responsibility.¡± ¡°For what?¡± ¡°After meeting you yesterday, I couldn¡¯t sleep at allst night. I¡¯ve never fallen in love with someone at first sight before. This is the first time that this has ever happened. Why don¡¯t you give me a chance to court you?¡± Sensing that he was displeased, she quickly continued, ¡°I promise I won¡¯t cause you any disturbance.¡± ¡°You¡¯re already causing me disturbance now. Pardon me for being blunt, but you¡¯re not my type, so you may stop looking me up because of this,¡± he said bluntly, not mincing his words at all. Li Xiaoxiao did not expect to be rejected by him straight away after waiting for so long. The smile on her face vanished. However, she realized that he had the right to reject her since she was the one who decided to court him first. If I were to retreat straight away, wouldn¡¯t that mean that I¡¯m not trying hard enough? ¡°If I had known that we would be meeting yesterday, I would have tidied my appearance and avoided giving you a poor first impression of myself. It¡¯s alright, there¡¯ll be plenty of chances for you to understand what kind of person I am. If you still don¡¯t think that I¡¯m your type after getting to know me better, I¡¯ll admit that I¡¯m not charming enough.¡± She stood up and quickly gave him a peck on his cheek, greatly catching him off guard. Hence, Jin Rongyan was dumbfounded the moment he snapped back to reality and realized what was going on. Li Xiaoxiao scurried out immediately. Fortunately, there were no other doctors or staff in the clinic. There would usually be other people around. This woman is really brazen and thick-skinned. Outrageous! he thought to himself. Li Xiaoxiao had no idea what he thought about her. She sprinted out of the hospital and began blushing as red as a tomato while her heart pounded rapidly. However, she was rather worried too. After hearing her description, Long Xiaoxi was both agitated and worried for her. ¡°He must be repulsed by you now. What do you n to do?¡± ¡°Xuan Yin, I actually don¡¯t know what to do now. Do you have a solution?¡± Shaking her head, Long Xiaoxi said, ¡°Frankly speaking, we haven¡¯t met each other in a long time. I just returned from abroad and I don¡¯t know if he¡¯s still the same as he used to be when we were younger. However, Rongyan is a very meticulous man and he¡¯ll definitely treat you well if you can win his heart. He¡¯s an excellent doctor and had a penchant for reading medical books ever since he was a child. He¡¯s always been quiet and reserved. I think it¡¯d be difficult for you to woo him since he rejected you so bluntly.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯ve never been so fond of a man I had just met. I read his face and I could tell that he has a nice personality too, so I¡¯d like to be in a rtionship with him. Xuan Yin, no matter how difficult it might be, I¡¯m determined to give it a try. We¡¯re still young anyway. I must let him know that there¡¯s more to me than he thinks.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, I¡¯m rooting for you.¡± The two of them returned to the dormitory to see that Wang Hulu was still awake. Upon the sight of them, Wang Hulu remarked with a smile, ¡°You two have gotten so much closer in such a short period of time. I¡¯m really envious of you.¡± Li Xiaoxiao said with a grin, ¡°We¡¯re all here for the contest. It¡¯d be lonely if we don¡¯t have friends. Hulu, you must have lots of friends too, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have many friends.¡± Li Xiaoxiao beganying the duvet on her bed and said, ¡°I have very few friends too.¡± ¡°Can I be friends with you two?¡± Li Xiaoxiao shot Long Xiaoxi a nce, after which Long Xiaoxi blinked at her. After getting the hint, Li Xiaoxiao immediately said, ¡°Sure. We live in the same dormitory anyway. However, I have very high expectations of my friends. We can be friends if you can meet them.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Firstly, you must be honest with me and there shouldn¡¯t be any secrets between us. Secondly, you mustn¡¯t be narrow-minded. I don¡¯t like being friends with petty people. Can you do it?¡± Wang Hulu immediately said, ¡°I can meet your second expectation. After all, I¡¯m not a petty or narrow-minded person. I¡¯m very magnanimous and I¡¯m not scheming at all. However, everyone has their own secrets and I can¡¯t be a hundred percent honest with you. After all, we¡¯ve only known each other for days. It¡¯s not like me to bepletely honest with someone whom I¡¯ve just met for a few days.¡± Li Xiaoxiao folded her arms and said, ¡°Too bad, then. I¡¯d like to be your friend too, but I hope to have friends who won¡¯t hide things from me. Xuan Yin could do it. That¡¯s why we¡¯re friends now.¡± Wang Hulu said, ¡°I can tell that Xuan Yin is a nice girl despite only knowing her for a short period of time. Xuan Yin, don¡¯t mind me saying this, but Xiaoxiao, how are you so sure that Xuan Yin isn¡¯t keeping any secrets from you?¡± Chapter 1503 - Great to Have You (63)

Chapter 1503: Great to Have You (63)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Li Xiaoxiao was just giving her an excuse. She definitely didn¡¯t have such high standards when it came to Long Xiaoxi. She said, ¡°I trust her.¡± Wang Hulu could tell that they did not want to be friends with her. She thought to herself in disgruntlement, Do these two bitches know who I actually am? Are they looking down on me just because I¡¯m dressed like a country bumpkin? Unable to contain her anger, she turned around and called her father. ¡°Father, my roommates are looking down on me. I want you to get rid of them. Have them eliminated in the next round.¡± ¡°What are their names?¡± Wang Hulu¡¯s father asked. ¡°Xuan Yin and Li Xiaoxiao.¡± ¡°My dear daughter, we can¡¯t get rid of them.¡± Wang Hulu asked in astonishment, ¡°Why? Don¡¯t tell me they have a strong background too?¡± ¡°Xuan Yin is just Long Xiaoxi¡¯s stage name. You¡¯ll know who she is once you search her name online. Try and get along well with your roommates. Don¡¯t get into a conflict or be too hostile with them.¡± Overwhelmed with frustration, Wang Hulu ended the call. She frantically searched for Long Xiaoxi¡¯s name on the inte, only to receive a great shock. That¡¯s it. It¡¯s over for me, she thought to herself. There goes my chance of winning the first ce. Wang Hulu¡¯s heart began to sink deeper and deeper as thepetition progressed. They actually made it to the top ten! Only three contestants would remain after thest round of elimination. Wang Hulu could no longer keep her cool after seeing that Li Xiaoxiao and Long Xiaoxi were both in the top three. She hurriedly returned home and asked her father, ¡°Father, what title is that Long Xiaoxi going to get?¡± Mr. Wang refused to divulge. ¡°That¡¯s a secret. We can only reveal the ces after the next round. I can¡¯t tell you.¡± ¡°Father! Can¡¯t you just tell me? Forget it, don¡¯t tell me about her cing. Can you at least let me know if I¡¯ll be in first ce? Didn¡¯t you promise to make me the champion? Is that still the case?¡± Mr. Wang answered, ¡°You¡¯re going toe in fourth.¡± ¡°What!?!¡± she eximed, bbergasted. Unable to ept the truth, Wang Hulu eximed agitatedly, ¡°I should at least make it to the top three! Father, you¡¯re the organizer of this contest, shouldn¡¯t you be making me the champion? I changed my name deliberately because of this contest, just so that everyone could remember me better. I made such a huge sacrifice!¡± ¡°Xizhen, I know you¡¯ve put in a lot of effort for this contest, but didn¡¯t you read thements about you online? You¡¯ve received so much criticism. If I let you be the champion, wouldn¡¯t it be obvious that you made it because of connections? Fourth ce is more than enough.¡± ¡°No! Everyone is criticizing me because I¡¯m not pretty enough and that¡¯s all your fault! I¡¯ve been suffering from an inferiorityplex!¡± Not wishing to argue with her any further, Mr. Wang said, ¡°Enough. Do you know how many contestants would kill to be in fourth ce? Don¡¯t be greedy. I¡¯m the organizer, but there are lots of people who are above me. You may be my daughter, but I can¡¯t blindly let you win first ce. From an objective viewpoint, those three contestants are indeed far more outstanding than you.¡± Wang Hulu stormed off in a huff. As soon as she reached the entrance of the dormitory, she caught sight of Long Xiaoxi standing in front of a luxury car and speaking to the driver. She put on a mask and began walking toward Long Xiaoxi to take a peek at the driver. She stood rooted to the ground in shock. She waited for the car to leave. ¡°Who¡¯s that man?¡± she asked Long Xiaoxi. ¡°A friend of mine. What¡¯s wrong?¡± Long Xiaoxi asked coldly. ¡°Isn¡¯t he your boyfriend?¡± Recalling Li Xiaoxiao¡¯s reaction when she saw Jin Rongyan, Long Xiaoxi smirked and answered, ¡°No.¡± ¡°What¡¯s his name, then?¡± Long Xiaoxi turned around and continued walking inside. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, you¡¯re expecting me to introduce you to him?¡± She had hit the nail on the head. Wang Hulu asked in embarrassment, ¡°Can you do that?¡± ¡°I... don¡¯t think we¡¯re close enough for me to do that. I¡¯m sorry,¡± she declined. Wang Hulu was extremely displeased to be rejected by her. ¡°What¡¯s his name, then?¡± ¡°Ji Gui.¡± ¡°Where does he live?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I make myself clear enough? Are you trying to do a background check on him?¡± Long Xiaoxi said bluntly. She felt that there was no need to sugarcoat her words, especially when it came to people she disliked. ¡°I was just asking a casual question. Forget it if you don¡¯t want to tell me.¡± Long Xiaoxi did not answer her. For the very first time, she suddenly felt extremely proud and delighted to be surrounded by so many outstanding men. Upon returning to the dormitory, she packed her purse in a bid to leave again. She was nning to meet Zhong Minhe and return to the dormitory by afternoon. Li Xiaoxiao was at the hospital. Ever since the first time she visited Jin Rongyan at the hospital, she would register for an appointment at the hospital whenever she was free. After realizing that she had been frequenting the hospital, Jin Rongyan decided not to pick her number. She then stopped registering for a consultation and instead just stood outside his office to look at him. Long Xiaoxi knew where she had gone. Although she admired and respected Li Xiaoxiao for her courage and bravery, she had understood long ago that love could not be forced. Long Xiaoxi arrived at the studio to see that Zhong Minhe was still working. Hence, she waited for him outside and gazed at him through the window. He was extremely focused. Thus, he did not discover her presence at all. In order not to disturb him, she sat in an obscure corner where he could not notice her and looked down at her mobile phone. After Long Xiaoxi had been waiting for a while, a young girl who was dressed in a red quilt jacket and a skirt entered all of a sudden. She was rather pretty and her face was full of cogen. She had her hair tied back into a ponytail. The assistant did not stop her from entering, seemingly knowing who she was. Long Xiaoxi asked the assistant, ¡°Does she work here too?¡± ¡°No, she¡¯s Brother Zhong¡¯s sister.¡± Long Xiaoxi acknowledged with a nod. The girl was Zhong Tian¡¯ai, the adoptive daughter of Zhong Minhe¡¯s parents. Zhong Tian¡¯ai looked extremely different from the way she did when Long Xiaoxi left for abroad. ¡°Are you Tian¡¯ai?¡± Zhong Tian¡¯ai immediately looked at her and asked, ¡°You are?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Sis Xiaoxi.¡± Long Xiaoxi said that because Zhong Tian¡¯ai used to address her that way. Chapter 1504 - Pampering You to Bits (1)

Chapter 1504: Pampering You to Bits (1)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios To Long Xiaoxi¡¯s surprise, a sullen expression formed on Zhong Tian¡¯ai¡¯s face as soon as she heard her answer. ¡°You¡¯re back?¡± ¡°Yeah, I have been for a while.¡± Zhong Tian¡¯ai retorted, ¡°Why did youe back? I thought you were going to settle down abroad.¡± Long Xiaoxi¡¯s smile vanished, and Zhong Minhe¡¯s assistant began to feel awkward as well. ¡°My home is in A City. My parents, family, and closest friends are all here. Why can¡¯t Ie back? Regardless of how great it may be overseas, it¡¯s nowhereparable to home.¡± Zhong Tian¡¯ai questioned, ¡°What are you here for, then?¡± Long Xiaoxi retorted, ¡°I¡¯m looking for your brother, not you. Why do you have so many questions?¡± Zhong Tian¡¯ai was at a loss for words. Long Xiaoxi thought to herself, What¡¯s wrong with Zhong Tian¡¯ai? Why is she so hostile? Their conversation ended on an unhappy note. Long Xiaoxi continued to use her mobile phone and could not be bothered to talk to her. When Zhong Minhe was done, his assistant whispered something to him. His spirits were dampened after hearing what his assistant said. ring at his sister, he chided, ¡°Why are you so insensible? Xiaoxi and I are going out. You may go home if there¡¯s nothing you¡¯d like to tell me.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the fun in you two going out alone? I want toe with you.¡± ¡°Tian¡¯ai, don¡¯t be so willful,¡± he warned sternly. Zhong Tian¡¯ai left in displeasure. Long Xiaoxi gloated in her head. After exiting the studio, Long Xiaoxi asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your sister? Why has she changed so drastically?¡± Zhong Minhe exined, ¡°Ignore her. My parents have spoiled her rotten. She knows how to get in my parents¡¯ good books too. She doesn¡¯t usually act like this.¡± ¡°Why did she have such a hostile attitude toward me, then? Does she have a crush on you?¡± Zhong Minhe chuckled and said, ¡°How can that be? She¡¯s my sister.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not rted by blood anyway.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be.¡± Noticing that she was carrying a bag, he said, ¡°Let me carry your bag for you. Hang it around my neck.¡± Long Xiaoxi declined profusely, ¡°It¡¯s alright, it¡¯s not heavy anyway.¡± Zhong Minhe insisted, ¡°I want to help you.¡± Afraid that she would hurt his pride, Long Xiaoxi conceded. ¡°Does it feel ufortable?¡± she asked worriedly. ¡°No, not at all.¡± Long Xiaoxi grabbed his sleeve and continued walking with him. ¡°I watched the live broadcasts of the modeling contest that you participated in. You did really well. The next broadcast seems to be thest one. Are you confident about winning?¡± Zhong Minhe asked. ¡°Of course. I¡¯m full of confidence. It¡¯s honestly just a game of connections. I didn¡¯t want my family to pull strings for me at first. However, I decided to follow suit and y along after finding out that the contestants were all predetermined. I got my parents to help me out.¡± ¡°Have you ever thought about the other contestants who don¡¯te from wealthy families? Aren¡¯t they being treated unfairly too?¡± asked Zhong Minhe, who took sympathy on the other contestants. ¡°I understand, but what can I do? I can¡¯t make the judges and organizers y it fair either. After all, we¡¯re not in charge of organizing the contest. In every industry, there¡¯ll always be people who gain benefits by using their connections. Nothing is fair in this world. If you can¡¯t change society, you¡¯ll have to force yourself to adjust and adapt. It¡¯s a dog-eat-dog world and this is the only solution I have to ensure that I won¡¯t be eliminated.¡± Despite understanding her mindset, he said, ¡°Xiaoxi, I know you have a point, but would you be happy with that title?¡± Staring at him, Long Xiaoxi answered, ¡°Why not? I¡¯m not snatching the title away from the other contestants whoe from humble backgrounds. I¡¯m just depriving those who pulled strings to get into the top thirty the chance of being champion. By the way, Wen Yuechan joined the contest too. She¡¯s going to be in the top three because of her stepfather who enjoys power and authority. How else could she have gotten in?¡± Zhong Minhe sighed and said, ¡°What matters is you¡¯re happy. I just think that this contest is no longer a battle of abilities. Instead, it¡¯s just apetition of who has the best family background.¡± Long Xiaoxi regretted telling him about the contest. She remained silent. Noticing that she had stopped speaking, Zhong Minhe pressed his forehead against hers and said, ¡°That¡¯s the only thing you could do. I don¡¯t me you. I just find the organizer to be disgustingly immoral.¡± Long Xiaoxi said, ¡°The organizer¡¯s daughter shares the same dormitory as me. Her name is Wang Hulu. She used to be named Wang Xizhen, but she changed it in order to leave a stronger impression on others.¡± ¡°Her original name was so much better. Her new name sounds so unrefined. There¡¯s a fried chicken store in front. Shall we go there?¡± ¡°Alright.¡± As soon as they reached the fried chicken store, Long Xiaoxi stopped in her tracks because she saw Jin Yiheng alighting from his car. Why is he here? She had never seen him again ever since the time that he sneaked into her room. She refused to answer his calls or reply to his messages. Hence, she was rather surprised to see him too. Zhong Minhe had also caught sight of Jin Yiheng. He stood beside Long Xiaoxi and waited for Jin Yiheng to walk toward them. ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°To look for you.¡± ¡°What is it that you¡¯re looking for me for?¡± ¡°I¡¯m here to discuss our marriage.¡± ¡°...¡± Zhong Minhe stared at Long Xiaoxi in shock and asked in disbelief, ¡°Your marriage?¡± Long Xiaoxi vehemently said in denial, ¡°Don¡¯t listen to his nonsense. I don¡¯t n to marry him at all!¡± ¡°Are you not going to take responsibility for me? You kissed me and slept with me...¡± he said with open frankness, especially since Zhong Minhe was there. Long Xiaoxi turned red immediately, embarrassed and infuriated. She did not expect him to say such shameless things in front of Zhong Minhe. ¡°Jin Yiheng!¡± ¡°Since you¡¯re here for fried chicken with Minhe, I¡¯ll talk to you tonight instead. I¡¯ll be waiting for you at home.¡± Watching him leave, Long Xiaoxi stomped her feet on the ground and hollered, ¡°You jerk!¡± He turned around and winked at her before leaving. A sudden tension filled the air. Long Xiaoxi looked at Zhong Minhe, who was looking at her too. She quickly exined, ¡°It¡¯s not like what he said. He sneaked into my house yesterday... and refused to leave... no...¡± Finding her exnation to be a little inappropriate, she continued, ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened to him...¡± Chapter 1505 - Pampering You to Bits (2)

Chapter 1505: Pampering You to Bits (2)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He asked, ¡°So, did... you guys get intimate with each other?¡± Intimate? Long Xiaoxi asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Did you kiss him and sleep with him?¡± ¡°No...¡± ¡°Why did he say that, then?¡± Zhong Minhe asked. He knew that Jin Yiheng was telling the truth the moment he saw how embarrassed and awkward she seemed. She answered, ¡°He forced a kiss on me, but we didn¡¯t get intimate. He onlyy down beside me for a while like he used to when we were children.¡± Staring at her, Zhong Minhe answered, ¡°Are you still willing to be with him despite all that he has done to you?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say that I was willing.¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have allowed him to kiss you or sleep beside you if that were really the case,¡± Zhong Minhe said with a sullen expression on his face. No one could understand the painstaking means that he had been through to get to where he was in his career. No one would ever understand how much mockery and jeering he had suffered. In fact, he had already realized how different he was from others ever since he was a child. He also knew that he came from a family that was way inferior to Jin Yiheng¡¯s. Thus, he had always been envious of Jin Yiheng from a young age. Hence, he was extremely sensitive and had an inferiorityplex. However, he finally made a name for himself in the voice-dubbing industry after putting in a lot of hard work. His efforts had finally paid off. He was hired by several major production teams, thus giving him a whole lot of confidence. However, his inferiorityplex would surface whenever he was in front of Jin Yiheng, Jin Rongyan, Long Wenlun, and Ji Gui. Zhong Minhe knew for sure that Long Xiaoxi would waver if Jin Yiheng were to regret canceling the engagement and pursue Long Xiaoxi all over again. He also knew that the chance that she had given him to court her would be gone. ¡°I¡¯ve never forgotten the things that he had done to me. I¡¯m not a woman who can be easily manipted either.¡± She then entered the fried chicken store together with Zhong Minhe. The two of them sat opposite each other, and Long Xiaoxi removed her bag from his neck before cing it on a chair beside her. ¡°He said that he wanted to discuss your marriage...¡± ¡°I won¡¯t marry him. No matter what he says or does, I¡¯ll never forgive him for what he did to me. He can¡¯t force me either. There¡¯s nothing he can do unless I agree.¡± Zhong Minhe asked apprehensively, ¡°He¡¯s young and sessful. Why wouldn¡¯t he be able to do anything?¡± ¡°It still takes two hands to p,¡± Long Xiaoxi said, after which she ordered some beer and fried chicken. In fact, Jin Yiheng did not need her approval at all. Long Xiaoxi had underestimated Jin Yiheng¡¯s abilities. He had already taken her passport away with him when he sneaked into her room previously. In S Nation, one could get his or her marriage registered so long as he or she had the passports of both parties. After various reformations and changes to thew, there were two types of passports that were valid in S Nation. The first type allowed one to use their passport as an identification document during the registration of their marriage while the other did not. Most people would avoid the first type. They did not want to risk having their passports stolen and misused for fraudulent marriages. However, Long Xiaoxi opted for the first type because she desperately needed her passport to go abroad back then. She had yet to discover that her passport was missing. However, her decision to opt for such a passport led to a major headache for her. She was dumbstruck the moment Jin Yiheng handed her two red marriage booklets when she arrived at Wei Ni Estate. ¡°What are these?¡± ¡°Open them.¡± Upon the sight of the marriage certificate, she thought to herself, Whose certificate is he showing me? She got a great shock after opening the booklet and flipping through the pages. She then rolled her eyes and threw the booklets at him. ¡°You made them seem so realistic. Are you bored out of your wits?¡± He then handed her her passport. Long Xiaoxi snatched it away from him at once before staring at him. ¡°Since when did you take my passport away?¡± ¡°Since the time I went to your room after you returned.¡± ¡°What did you do with my passport...?¡± Long Xiaoxi asked, her temples throbbing uncontrobly. ¡°To get our marriage registered.¡± What! Long Xiaoxi was on the verge of breaking down. She grabbed the marriage certificate and stared at the stamp of authorization. Simmering with anger, a frown creased her forehead and she asked, ¡°Is the certificate... real?¡± ¡°It¡¯s real.¡± Staring at him in disbelief, she barked, ¡°Are you out of your mind!? Why are you always so dominant and overbearing? What right do you have to register our marriage without my permission? Do you really think there¡¯s a point in doing this if I¡¯m unwilling to marry you?¡± She turned around and headed home with the certificate. She then ced it on the coffee table, fuming with exasperation. ¡°Whose marriage certificate is this?¡± Long Tianze asked. ¡°Father, Jin Yiheng stole my passport and got our marriage registered without my permission!¡± Long Xiaoxi screeched. Long Tianze and Mei Yangyang looked through the booklet to see that it was real. ¡°Where is he now?¡± As soon as Long Tianze spoke, Jin Yiheng entered and said calmly, ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± ¡°Yiheng, I don¡¯t want to chide you, but you¡¯re the one who canceled the engagement in the first ce. You gave Xiaoxi the cold shoulder for a really long time after your father berated you and hence she decided to break off the engagement too because she could no longer tolerate your attitude. She even lived abroad for so many years and only returned a while ago. Yet you suddenly did something like that. Just what do you want?¡± ¡°It was too insensible of me in the past, but I won¡¯t do something like that again from now on.¡± Long Xiaoxi snapped agitatedly, ¡°I can¡¯t live with you! I¡¯m going to raise a request for a divorce tomorrow. You¡¯ve utterly disgusted me! Who do you think you are? What makes you think you can pick me up and throw me away as and when you¡¯d please? What do you take me for!?!¡± Mei Yangyang hurriedly said, ¡°Xiaoxi, simmer down. Your father and I will talk to Yiheng and his parents about this. Wenlun, take Xiaoxi to her room.¡± Long Wenlun hurriedly stood up and pulled Long Xiaoxi upstairs. A silence filled the air in the living room. Mei Yangyang looked at Jin Yiheng and said, ¡°Come here and have a seat.¡± Jin Yiheng sat down opposite them and stared at them calmly, ¡°Godpa, Godma, I¡¯m not acting rashly. I thought about it clearly before making the decision to get our marriage registered.¡± ¡°I know you weren¡¯t acting rashly, but I¡¯d like to ask you something. Do you really adore Xiaoxi in a romantic way?¡± Chapter 1506 - Pampering You to Bits (3)

Chapter 1506: Pampering You to Bits (3)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°I do now.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already verified it.¡± Mei Yangyang asked in puzzlement, ¡°How did you do so?¡± Staring at her calmly, Jin Yiheng answered, ¡°I kissed her.¡± Long Tianze was bbergasted. Glowering at him, he rebuked, ¡°You... rascal. How dare you kiss her!?!¡± ¡°Godpa, we¡¯re both adults.¡± He was not ashamed at all. Long Tianze was filled with displeasure at the thought of his precious daughter being kissed by Jin Yiheng. However, he constantly tried tofort himself by telling him that it was only a matter of time before his daughter belongs to someone else. ¡°So what if you¡¯re adults? Does that mean that... you can just kiss girls casually? Absurd!¡± Mei Yangyang red at him and chastised, ¡°You shut up. Isn¡¯t that what you did back then too? How dare you have the cheek to criticize others?¡± ¡°Honey, whose side are you on?¡± ¡°I¡¯m on...¡± She took a deep breath and continued, ¡°Enough, don¡¯t bother talking about these useless things now. Let¡¯s get straight to the point. Yiheng, you¡¯ve seen how agitated Xiaoxi was just now. What you did back then had indeed broken her heart. However, your godfather and I watched you grow up and our families have always been getting along so well. We still want to give you and Xiaoxi a chance. Since you¡¯ve already gotten your marriage registered, there¡¯ll be lots of rumors and trouble if you were to get a divorce. How about this? I¡¯ll draft an agreement that you two can sign. You two shall live under the same roof from now on, and if you can make Xiaoxi forgive you within half a year, we¡¯ll have no objections. However, if Xiaoxi still refuses to give in, you must adhere to the terms of the agreement and divorce her immediately. Before Xiaoxi agrees to reconcile with you, you... can¡¯t get intimate with her or even kiss her. If you can keep your promise, we¡¯ll talk to Xiaoxi about it and try to convince her.¡± Jin Yiheng immediately agreed, ¡°Godma, I agree.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll call your parents to discuss it with them. Get the agreement ready and send it to meter.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± After Jin Yiheng left, Long Tianze remarked in displeasure, ¡°Is this really appropriate? Why do I feel like Xiaoxi is at the losing end!?!¡± ¡°You still don¡¯t see it, do you? Do you really think your precious daughter has gotten over him? Otherwise, why do you think she stopped bringing up the topic of marrying Minhe? You¡¯re so silly!¡± ¡°Old hag, who are you talking about?¡± ¡°Who are you calling an old hag!?! I clearly only look like a thirty-year-old!¡± Mei Yangyang barked, yanking his hair. ¡°Our daughter is already 23 years old. How could you be 30 years old?¡± ¡°I said, I look like I¡¯m thirty! I look like it!¡± ¡°Fine, fine, stop pulling my hair. It hurts so much. Are you trying to yank my scalp off!?!¡± Mei Yangyang let go of his hair and turned around to enter Long Xiaoxi¡¯s room. ¡°Mommy, how did it go?¡± ¡°It¡¯s done.¡± Mei Yangyang mmed the door shut and walked toward her. ¡°Really? Thank you, Mommy!¡± Long Xiaoxi eximed in joy. However, her happiness soon vanished. ¡°You two will cohabit as a married couple for half a year. If you still refuse to forgive him after the stipted time frame and can¡¯t bring yourself to get together with him, he¡¯ll sign the divorce papers with you, as stated on the agreement.¡± Long Xiaoxi asked, ¡°What if... he gets touchy with me?¡± ¡°He agreed not to cross the line.¡± Staring at her mother, Long Xiaoxi asked in bewilderment, ¡°Mother, I have a feeling that you¡¯re standing on his side. Is he your son while I¡¯m your adoptive daughter?¡± Mei Yangyang retorted, ¡°How can you resemble me so much if you¡¯re adopted? Wenlun, go outside and tell your father to call your godfather.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Long Wenlun stood up immediately and exited. The mother and daughter were left in the room. Mei Yangyang gazed at her and said, ¡°It¡¯s hardest to control your heart and your feelings. Once you¡¯re in love with someone, you¡¯re giving them the power and ability to hurt you. The decision to hurt you lies entirely with them, and since you¡¯ve already given him the power to do that, why bother making things difficult for yourself? You¡¯re our biological daughter, of course. We definitely have your best interests, but that¡¯s also the reason why we want you to think about your future carefully. Xiaoxi, it¡¯s for you to decide if Minhe is the one for you and if you want to forgive Yiheng. No one else has the right to decide for you. Calm yourself down and give each other a chance and some buffer time, alright?¡± Long Xiaoxi was frustrated, bewildered, and ill at ease. Everything that happened in the past had be traumatic for her, and she did not wish to be reminded of them. However, she could not beat reality nor escape from it. Hence, the matter was settled. Mei Yangyang handed her the agreement at eleven o¡¯clock at night. The terms and conditions were stated clearly. After discussing with An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan, Long Tianze and Mei Yangyang decided to let the two of them cohabit in a house by themselves. Thus, Long Xiaoxi randomly picked arge three-bedroom apartment that happened to be opposite Ji Gui¡¯s nuptial home. The nuptial home was a gift from Ji Gui¡¯s parents, who wanted him to live near them. Ji Gui was currently residing there. The apartment was well furnished, and they could move in once they buy some furniture. Long Xiaoxi had picked it casually because she felt that there was no way she could forgive and forget. Hence, she did not intend to really live together with him like a married couple. She did not bother decorating the house either. However, Jin Yiheng was overwhelmed with excitement and could not sleep at all. It was as if he was on ecstasy. After arranging all the furniture and decorations, he sent a text message in the group chat at three midnight to inform his friends about his wedding. He even generously gave them some digital red packets that amounted to 500 thousand dors in total. He wrote: ¡°I¡¯ve gotten married. Here are some red packets for you guys. I¡¯m expecting to receive red packets from you guys again in the near future.¡± He even snatched one of the red packets that contained 180 thousand dors. Jin Rongyan was on the night shift and swiftly grabbed the second red packet, followed by Long Wenlun, who grabbed the third. Thest one was snatched by Long Xiaoxi, who was added to the group by Long Wenlun in the morning. Hence, Ji Gui was dumbfounded the moment he saw the notification. He grabbed his mobile phone and sent a text message to the group chat: ¡°Married? Yiheng, you¡¯re married? To whom?¡± Jin Yiheng replied: ¡°Xiaoxi. We got our marriage certificate yesterday.¡± Ji Gui replied: ¡°That¡¯s why you decided to give us red packets?¡± Jin Yiheng replied: ¡°What do you think?¡± Ji Gui replied: ¡°I didn¡¯t get a single cent at all. All of you snatched the entire sum of 500 thousand dors! Let me kill myself now. I¡¯ve never met such thick-skinned people like you! Not only did you not notify me, you even snatched the red packets that you sent yourself!¡± Chapter 1507 - Pampering You to Bits (4)

Chapter 1507: Pampering You to Bits (4)

Jin Yiheng replied: ¡°You weren¡¯t around at midnight. You only have yourself to me. Since you¡¯re feeling so indignant, I shall send another red packet that¡¯s solely for you. Will that do?¡± Ji Gui sent a smiling emoticon and replied: ¡°That¡¯s more like it. Hurry up!¡± Hence, Jin Yiheng sent another red packet that was captioned ¡°500 thousand dors.¡± However, Ji Gui discovered that there were only five cents after opening it! ¡°Five cents? You¡¯re driving me mad! Let¡¯s end our friendship!¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ... Ji Gui stared at the text messages furiously. He happened to run into Jin Yiheng when he was about to leave for work. He said with a sinister smile, ¡°I must take it out on you today.¡± ¡°What are you trying to do? I¡¯m up for it,¡± said Jin Yiheng, staring at him. Thus, the two grown men continued to bicker at their doorstep. Although they did not p each other, they ended up kicking each other yfully. Needless to say, the two of them obviously did not fall out with each other for real. After all, they had grown up together and their friendship was way stronger than that. Jin Yiheng once again sent another 500 thousand dors¡¯ worth of red packets that were split into four shares. However, the unlucky Ji Gui again discovered that the red packets were all gone within the short period of time that he was away at the washroom. Upon the sight of his expression, his assistant asked, ¡°Brother Ji, why do you look so dejected?¡± ¡°God knows what I¡¯ve been through. I only managed to grab five cents out of the one million dors worth of red packets! Five cents!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡ª¡ª Long Xiaoxi returned to the dormitory to see that Li Xiaoxiao was currently lying on the bed and sleeping while Wang Hulu was nowhere to be found. Li Xiaoxiao was not actually fully asleep because she had a terrible headache. Upon hearing the noises, she squinted at Long Xiaoxi and asked in a feeble voice, ¡°Xuan Yin, you¡¯re back?¡± ¡°Yes. Why do you look so pale? Are you ill?¡± Long Xiaoxi asked, cing a hand on Li Xiaoxiao¡¯s forehead to find that it was rather warm. ¡°You¡¯re running a fever. Hurry and get up. You must go to the hospital.¡± ¡°Am I really running a fever? Great, I can finally go and see Rongyan,¡± she said gleefully. ¡°...¡± Long Xiaoxi said, ¡°Rongyan was on the night shiftst night. He¡¯s not at the hospital now. Did you make yourself get a fever on purpose? Hurry and get up. I¡¯ll take you to the hospital.¡± Shaking her head, Li Xiaoxiao sat up and said, ¡°No, I¡¯ll just go get some fever medicine. I¡¯ll be fine after taking them.¡± Seeing that she was refusing to go to the hospital, Long Xiaoxi had no choice but to say, ¡°Lie down. I¡¯ll go out to buy them for you.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°I really don¡¯t know what to do with you,¡± said Long Xiaoxi, who then headed out to buy her some medicine. She gave Jin Rongyan a call as soon as she was outside. ¡°Where are you?¡± ¡°At home.¡± ¡°You were on the night shiftst night, weren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes. I had an entire day of work. I still have to work the night shift tonight. I¡¯ll be resting in the day.¡± Long Xiaoxi said with a sigh, ¡°That exins it. Li Xiaoxiao went to your workce yesterday. She probably saw that you were on day duty and assumed that you would be working in the day today too. She gave herself a fever on purpose.¡± Jin Rongyan was speechless. After a few moments of silence, he said, ¡°Is there something wrong with her head? You should really take her to the neurologist to have a CT scan done.¡± ¡°Touch wood. There¡¯s nothing wrong with her brain. She just fell in love with you at first sight. She¡¯s a very nice girl. Rongyan, stop denying her feelings for you. I can tell that she has really fallen for you. Ah, it¡¯s such a shame.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a shame that women be fools once they¡¯re in love. I¡¯m hanging up now.¡± She then ended the call and proceeded to buy some fever medicine for Li Xiaoxiao. Long Xiaoxi returned to see that Li Xiaoxiao had passed out. She hurriedly made some tea and fed Li Xiaoxiao with the medicine. Li Xiaoxiao¡¯s cheeks were flushed and she was abnormally red. ¡°Let¡¯s observe your condition and see if the medicine works. If your fever still doesn¡¯t subside, we must take you to the hospital. Rongyan carries a torch for another girl who has a boyfriend. Although he never had the chance to confess to her, his heart is already upied by someone else. Xiaoxiao, it¡¯s not easy to win someone¡¯s heart when they already fancy another person.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. He doesn¡¯t have a girlfriend anyway. I¡¯ll give up if he has a girlfriend. I¡¯m not a shameless person who doesn¡¯t respect boundaries. However, I don¡¯t know why but he seems to be the ideal husband for me. How can a man be so pretty? Xuan Yin, I really envy you for being able to grow up with him. However, why haven¡¯t you ever fallen for him even though he¡¯s so outstanding?¡± ¡°Because there are people who are more outstanding than him. Don¡¯t you know that I was engaged to his older brother when we were children? The engagement was canceled muchter, but the pathetic thing is, we¡¯re married now.¡± ¡°You¡¯re married!?! Since when!?!¡± She answered, ¡°Yesterday. He took my passport and got our marriage registered without my permission.¡± ¡°He¡¯s so... domineering.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so vexed.¡± Li Xiaoxiao¡¯s eyes lit up and she asked, ¡°It¡¯s Jin Yiheng, isn¡¯t it!?!¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Xuan Yin, you¡¯re really blessed to be married to Jin Yiheng. Others would faint from joy if they were you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to faint. I just wish I can knock the living daylights out of him.¡± ¡°Xuan Yin, don¡¯t be so silly. You must treasure a good man when you have one. If you don¡¯t want him, there are plenty of women waiting in line to get their hands on him. The fact that he chose to get your marriage registered behind your back just goes to show that he¡¯s serious about you. However, why aren¡¯t there any news about your marriage?¡± ¡°Only our closest friends and family are aware of it.¡± Li Xiaoxiao¡¯s fever seemed to have subsided all of a sudden. ¡°I¡¯m so happy for you!¡± she eximed excitedly. ¡°I¡¯m not happy at all. You have no idea what I¡¯m feeling now. I¡¯m having mixed feelings.¡± Wang Hulu returned. The two of them quickly changed the subject. ¡°I heard that we¡¯d be wearing a uniform costume for the finals. Have you guys heard about it?¡± Wang Hulu asked. ¡°No, what¡¯s the costume?¡± Wang Hulu answered casually, ¡°I think it¡¯s a set of lingerie. Everyone has to wear the same color.¡± Li Xiaoxiao and Long Xiaoxi were not surprised at all. It was probably meant for them to disy their figures. Long Xiaoxi sat on the bed and stared at Zhong Minhe¡¯s mobile number. She had no idea how to break the news of her marriage to him. However, she still had to let him know anyway. After some thought, she decided to send him a text message. She was filled with an inexplicable feeling after the message was sent. Chapter 1508 - Pampering You to Bits (5)

Chapter 1508: Pampering You to Bits (5)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios To her surprise, she received a reply right after she sent the message. Long Xiaoxi was dumbfounded after reading the content. It was short and cold. ¡°Let¡¯s never meet again from now on. Good that you¡¯re happy.¡± Long Xiaoxi did not expect that he would end their friendship. She hurriedly tried to call him again, but to no avail, because he would end the call almost instantly. She hated such a feeling. However, she had a hunch that Zhong Minhe wouldn¡¯t have been so harsh with her. Hence, Long Xiaoxi decided to have a good chat with Zhong Minhe after the finals of the modeling contest. If he could understand her predicament, they could then remain friends. However, if he was really the one who had sent that text, she wouldn¡¯t force him to continue being friends with her. The modeling contest had garnered lots of attention, and it was widely broadcast on all television channels. Long Xiaoxi was in low spirits. However, she wanted to do her best despite knowing that she would definitely win first ce. Unfortunately, she was too shy to go out of the fitting room after putting on the lingerie set for the finals. After all, there were so many viewers. Li Xiaoxiao was less awkward than she was. Although she discovered that she was the most well endowed amongst all the finalists, she did not mind it at all. ¡°Will Rongyan watch the live-stream?¡± she asked. ¡°I think so.¡± ¡°I know he¡¯s going to be watching you, but I¡¯m really excited about the fact that he¡¯s going to watch me. Xuan Yin, I think I¡¯m a lost cause.¡± The tension within Long Xiaoxi eased up a little and she said with a chuckle, ¡°When you¡¯re doing the catwalk, you must be the most confident you can be, because you¡¯re going before me. Rongyan will definitely watch.¡± Li Xiaoxiao answered with a nod, ¡°Got it.¡± Long Xiaoxi shifted her gaze onto Wen Yuechan, who still did not recognize her at this point. Did she think that I would always stay fat? She wanted to see how Wen Yuechan would react when she finds out that Xuan Yin was Long Xiaoxi herself. Long Xiaoxi was No. 8, Li Xiaoxiao was No. 6, Wang Hulu was No. 9, and Wen Yuechan was No. 5. They could hear the boisterous fanfare before the catwalk started. At this point, each of the contestants had some fans of their own. Long Xiaoxi stared at the pair of sky-high stilettos on her feet to see that they were about five inches high. All of the contestants had to wear the same type of stilettos. However, she had never worn heels that were so high before. She would usually only wear three-inch ones. Hence, she decided to pace back and forth in a bid to get used to walking in them. After the end of the singing segment, it was their turn to perform the catwalk. The ten finalists slowly made their way onto the stage. They were astonished to see the massive crowd beneath the stage. There was arger audience than they had imagined. It was not surprising since there were high viewership ratings for the program. The ten of them stood in a row with their hands on their waists, all smiles. They were wearing white lingerie. All of them had long and slender legs. The tanner finalists would be at a disadvantage. Long Xiaoxi was extremely fair from head to toe because she used to work an office job and thus was rarely out in the sun. After informing Mei Yangyang that the final round of the contest was a lingerie show, Mei Yangyang delivered some high-grade whitening powder that she could use to make her skin appear fairer. Both Long Xiaoxi and Li Xiaoxiao applied the powder onto their skin to see that it was extremely effective. Long Xiaoxi looked sexy and gorgeous with her curly locks draped across her shoulders and some exquisite makeup on her face. Li Xiaoxiao¡¯s makeup was much lighter and matched her skin color. She looked much prettier and fresher with light makeup. Jin Yiheng and Jin Rongyan were already sitting in front of the television and waiting for Long Xiaoxi to appear. Jin Yiheng was initially looking forward to watching the final round of the contest. However, a sullen expression formed on his face the instant he saw that the finalists were scantily d in lingerie. Staring at Jin Yiheng, Jin Rongyan said, ¡°Ah, why are they dressed in such revealing garments? Xiaoxi is so stunning though. How pretty.¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± Jin Rongyan smiled and said, ¡°Let me guess, you must be infuriated now, Brother...¡± Jin Yiheng remained silent and stared at the television screen. Jin Rongyan decided to stop teasing him and instead leaned back against the couch to watch the rest of the program. Jin Rongyan¡¯s eyes widened in shock the moment the cameras zoomed in on Li Xiaoxiao. He really couldn¡¯t tell that she was so well endowed. This crazy woman actually has such a full bosom... It was rare for tall and slender women to be well endowed. Besides, bigger breasts tend to sag easily. However, it was not the case for Li Xiaoxiao. She smiled and stood with her back straight, appearing extremely sexy and enticing. When the cameras focused on her, theizens watching the live-stream beganmenting on her bosom. Needless to say, she had no idea what theizens were saying about her. Jin Rongyan wouldn¡¯t have watched the contest if it wasn¡¯t for the sake of supporting Long Xiaoxi. However, Jin Yiheng could not bring himself to feel any joy at all. He was fuming with anger. I¡¯ve never seen Xiaoxi in such little clothing and yet the world has seen her now! How infuriating. He focused all of his attention on Long Xiaoxi and did not bother looking at Wen Yuechan at all. When it was Long Xiaoxi¡¯s turn to do the catwalk, he kept his eyes glued on her. He did not feel in the least bit happy at all to see that she had emerged as the champion. Jin Rongyan apuded and said, ¡°Xiaoxi is the champion. How interesting. Time for me to pack up and go to work.¡± As soon as he stood up, he heard his name being called. He then shifted his gaze onto the television screen. ¡°Rongyan, I fell in love with you at first sight. I adore you, I love you! Even if you reject me eight hundred times, I¡¯ll continue to pursue you!¡± Li Xiaoxiao eximed during the live-stream. Even Long Xiaoxi was caught by surprise, let alone Jin Rongyan. He stared at the television screen with a straight face. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Was she referring to you?¡± ¡°Brother, you¡¯d better take care of your own anger first,¡± said Jin Rongyan, who left afterward. Jin Yiheng turned around and nced at him, after which he immediately sent Long Xiaoxi a text message. ¡°Come home immediately once you¡¯re done. I¡¯m waiting for you at home! Our new home!¡± Long Xiaoxi did not think much of the text message at all when she opened it while changing backstage. The first ce she intended to go to after the contest was Zhong Minhe¡¯s office, not Wei Ni Estate. However, the door of the changing room was kicked open as soon as she changed out of the lingerie. Chapter 1509 - Pampering You to Bits (6)

Chapter 1509: Pampering You to Bits (6)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The people who kicked the door open were a few finalists. Staring at them, Long Xiaoxi asked calmly, ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°What do you think we¡¯re doing? We don¡¯t think it¡¯s fair that you¡¯re champion,¡± said the finalist who came in fifth. ¡°Does it actually matter whether or not you think it¡¯s fair? I don¡¯t need you to find it fair,¡± Long Xiaoxi said with a smirk. ¡°You¡¯re really arrogant, huh? Quit beating around the bush. Just who are you? Who¡¯s your father?¡± ¡°Does it concern you who my father is?¡± said Long Xiaoxi, who could not be bothered to talk to her. As soon as she tried to leave, she was stopped by the indignant finalist. ¡°Who said you could leave?¡± Long Xiaoxi pushed her away and said with a sullen expression, ¡°Are you tired of living? Scram.¡± The woman poked Long Xiaoxi¡¯s arm and gibed, ¡°Seems like you must be really wealthy. Otherwise, why would you be so arrogant?¡± ¡°You¡¯re just asking for trouble.¡± ¡°How am I asking for trouble? I was just asking you who your father is and you were the one who refused to answer me. Stop feigning ignorance. We all know that the ces have been predetermined based on the family backgrounds of the finalists. Don¡¯t think that you¡¯re that capable or pretty.¡± Just as the finalist was about to extend her arm toward Long Xiaoxi, Long Xiaoxi grabbed her wrist forcefully and kicked her in the gut. One can only imagine how painful it must have been, especially since she was wearing heels. The finalist did not see iting at all. The other finalists then swarmed up in a bid to hit Long Xiaoxi. Little did they know, she was proficient in martial arts and could subdue them easily. Wen Yuechan was no match for her either since she did not receive as much training as Long Xiaoxi did. Upon the sight of the scuffle, Li Xiaoxiao hurriedly sprinted toward them. She flew into a rage the moment she saw that they were trying to mob Long Xiaoxi. Thus, she pulled two of the finalists by their hair and pulled then backward. As soon as she did, Long Xiaoxi kicked the rest of them rapidly, causing them to copse onto the ground within seconds. She had executed the strikes with much finesse and fluidity. She red at them menacingly. Staring at Wen Yuechan, she quipped, ¡°We haven¡¯t seen each other in so many years. Turns out you¡¯ve be a woman who has slept with lots of men. I really see you in a different light now.¡± There was a sudden change in Wen Yuechan¡¯s expression the moment she heard her words. Although she found Long Xiaoxi a little familiar, she could not figure out where she had seen her before. ¡°I don¡¯t know you, don¡¯t spout any nonsense,¡± she said, trying to get up onto her feet while rubbing her back. ¡°You don¡¯t know me? Wasn¡¯t your mother the one who kidnapped me and tried to murder me when we were children? Long time no see, Wen Yuechan. I really didn¡¯t expect that you would fail to recognize me,¡± Long Xiaoxi said with a smile. ¡°You... you¡¯re... you¡¯re Long... Long Xiaoxi!?!¡± Wen Yuechan asked in disbelief. Long Xiaoxi did not answer her. Instead, she walked toward the finalist who came in fifth and said, ¡°I shall spare you this time for failing to realize who I am and what I¡¯m made of. If you dare to do this again, I¡¯ll break your neck.¡± She then pulled Li Xiaoxiao away. The rest of the women looked at each other in shock and dismay. ¡°Just who is she? Who¡¯s Long Xiaoxi?¡± ¡°Yuechan, is what she said true? Is your mother such a person?¡± ¡°Yuechan, why aren¡¯t you saying anything?¡± Staring at them, Wen Yuechan eximed in frustration, ¡°You people are such gossipmongers. Why did you have to insist on attacking her? You guys may not know who Long Xiaoxi is, but you definitely know who Jin Yiheng is. Long Xiaoxi is the one who was engaged to him when they were children. Her father is the owner of an entertainmentpany and her mother is the owner of an artiste management agency. Lots of famous celebrities are managed by that agency. Her mother is best friends with An Xiaoning. I don¡¯t have to tell you who An Xiaoning is, do I? I didn¡¯t even want toe in the first ce but you people just had to insist that I tag along. How annoying!¡± She then stormed off in a huff. The rest of the finalists were distraught and upset. .... ¡°I was really worried about you, but it turns out you could handle them effortlessly. Xuan Yin, you¡¯re so skilled in martial arts. Have you been training ever since you were a child?¡± ¡°Yes, I used to train at the boot camp of a martial arts academy with my childhood friends. Let¡¯s go back to the dormitory to pack our luggage. Now that the contest is over and I¡¯m going home, we have to part ways. Xiaoxiao, are you going to go home? Or do you have other ns?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going home. I¡¯m nning to work as a janitor at the hospital,¡± she said, smiling. ¡°Huh? Is it because of Rongyan?¡± Long Xiaoxi asked in shock. ¡°Yes, I can¡¯t think of another solution to get closer to him.¡± Long Xiaoxi said, ¡°How about I create a chance for you to get closer to him? Whether or not you can make Rongyan change his opinion of you will depend on yourself.¡± ¡°What is it? Xuan Yin, hurry and tell me,¡± said Li Xiaoxiao. ¡°I¡¯m going home now and we¡¯ll definitely be gathering for dinner tonight. Rongyan will be there too. Come along.¡± ¡°Alright, that¡¯s great. I¡¯m not sure if I can seed, but I¡¯ll definitely seize the opportunity and try my best. Xuan Yin, you¡¯re so nice.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t do much anyway, it all depends on yourself.¡± The two of them then proceeded to pack their suitcases. Li Xiaoxiao returned to the hotel while Long Xiaoxi headed to Zhong Minhe¡¯s studio. Just like she had expected, he was in the midst of working. Long Xiaoxi waited at the door with her luggage. She waited for a total of half an hour. Upon the sight of her, Zhong Minhe asked in surprise, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you go in?¡± Long Xiaoxi answered, ¡°I know you¡¯re angry at me so I decided to wait for you outside.¡± ¡°Angry? Why would I be angry?¡± Long Xiaoxi said with raised brows, ¡°Seems like you weren¡¯t the one who replied to my text message, then.¡± ¡°What text message?¡± Long Xiaoxi showed him the text messages on her mobile phone. A sullen expression formed on his face as soon as he read them. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect him to act so quickly. Seems like he does have feelings for you. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have done that. I¡¯m starting to see it clearly now,¡± said Zhong Minhe. ¡°Will you stop seeing me again from now on?¡± Zhong Minhe looked at her and said, ¡°Of course not. No matter what happens, I¡¯ll always be your Brother Minhe.¡± ¡°Who sent that text message on your behalf, then?¡± Chapter 1510 - Pampering You to Bits (7)

Chapter 1510: Pampering You to Bits (7)

After some thought, Zhong Minhe answered, ¡°It must be Tian¡¯ai. She asked to borrow my mobile phone to call Father and Mother. I lent it to her because she said that she didn¡¯t bring her mobile phone.¡± ¡°Seems like she really sees me as her rival in love. She has romantic feelings for you,¡± Long Xiaoxi said with a smile. Zhong Minhe said, ¡°You¡¯re the one whom I¡¯ve been carrying a torch for ever since we were children. I¡¯ll be waiting for you. If you¡¯ve made up your mind to leave Yiheng for good, let me know. If you... really think that you¡¯re happy with him, do let me know too.¡± ¡°Brother Minhe...¡± ¡°I know what you¡¯re going to say, but you don¡¯t have to say anything. Xiaoxi, I¡¯m inferior to Jin Yiheng in every aspect, but I can tell you that I don¡¯t fancy you any less than he does. In fact, the way I feel about you has never changed even when he abandoned you. Xiaoxi, do you know how happy I was when you agreed to give me a chance?¡± ¡°Thank you, Brother Minhe. I never knew that you carried a torch for me because you¡¯ve never once confessed to me before. Now that I know how you feel about me, I don¡¯t want to let you down. Brother Minhe, I¡¯d like to tell you this. Don¡¯t wait for me, because I¡¯m notpletely certain that I¡¯lle to you one day.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, rtionships are never perfect. I¡¯ll be happy if you¡¯re happy, even if the person who makes you smile isn¡¯t me. Xiaoxi, I¡¯m not that petty or narrow-minded, even though I really want to be with you.¡± ¡°...¡± Long Xiaoxi returned to Wei Ni Estate after parting ways with Zhong Minhe. Jin Yiheng was waiting for her at home. He opened the door for her when she arrived. Long Xiaoxi nced at him before entering with her luggage. ¡°Why are you waiting for me at home? What do you have to say to me?¡± ¡°I have lots to say to you. Take a seat,¡± he said, trying his best not to re up. Long Xiaoxi took a seat on the couch and stared at him. ¡°Speak.¡± ¡°What ns do you have now that the modeling contest is over? Do you really intend to be a model?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You can be a model, but you¡¯re not allowed to wear lingerie like you did during the contest today. You can¡¯t perform any intimate acts with other men. That¡¯s all, you may do anything else you¡¯d like.¡± ¡°Why must I obey your instructions? Who are you to interfere? Even my parents are not restricting me from anything,¡± Long Xiaoxi said nonchntly. ¡°I¡¯m your husband. Of course I¡¯d have to interfere.¡± ¡°Oh? But I don¡¯t acknowledge you as my husband, so you¡¯re in no ce to tell me what to do,¡± she said, giving him the side-eye. ¡°...¡± Despite being exasperated, Jin Yiheng remained calm andposed. He picked up his teacup and began sipping on it slowly. ¡°What must I do to make you acknowledge me, then?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not interested in telling you.¡± Jin Yiheng drawled, ¡°Must I subdue you and make you admit defeat before you¡¯ll acknowledge me? Long Xiaoxi, how about we have a drinking contest? If I get drunk out of my senses before you do, we¡¯ll get a divorce tomorrow. If you get drunk before me, you have to let me kiss you.¡± Thinking that Jin Yiheng probably could not hold his liquor well, Long Xiaoxi agreed, ¡°You said it yourself. You¡¯re not allowed to go back on your word.¡± ¡°Yes, I definitely won¡¯t go back on my word. Let¡¯s film the process with a camera.¡± ¡°Sure!¡± Ten minutester... It was still rather early. Long Xiaoxi and Jin Yiheng sat at opposite ends of the coffee table, on which there were a few bottles of liquor. They were all expensive and premium liquor. The two of them looked at each other before beginning to drink. Long Xiaoxi saw it as a golden opportunity. It was her chance to divorce Jin Yiheng. Hence, she decided that she must win at all costs! They began drinking the liquor, ss after ss. Long Xiaoxi was full of confidence at the start because Jin Yiheng indeed could not hold his liquor well before she left for abroad. However, she had no idea if it had gotten better since then. She began to fill giddy after they finished their second bottle. Holding the goblet in his hand, Jin Yiheng was smiling as he asked, ¡°Do you want to continue?¡± ¡°Of course! Do you really think I¡¯d admit defeat so easily? Listen up! I won¡¯t!¡± ¡°Okay, go ahead and continue, then.¡± Even Jin Yiheng had begun to get giddy after finishing the fourth bottle, let alone Long Xiaoxi, who had broken into hysterics. Holding the empty bottle in hand, she jumped up and down enthusiastically while singing. Jin Yiheng rested his chin in his hands and stared at her as he smiled. A long whileter, he raised his wrist to take a look at the time on his watch before standing up. He began walking toward her. Holding her shoulders down, he said, ¡°I¡¯ve won. You have to let me kiss you as agreed upon earlier on.¡± Staring at him with her eyes wide open, she smiled and said, ¡°Sure.¡± It was the first time since she returned from abroad that she had ever smiled so sweetly at him. Jin Yiheng lowered his head as soon as she answered. Long Xiaoxi held her breath and stared at him. After the kiss, she felt as if she was about to suffocate. ¡°I¡¯m done,¡± said Jin Yiheng. ¡°So soon? We¡¯re not done yet.¡± She then tiptoed and kissed him back. She threw her arms around his neck and their tongues intertwined. It was the first French kiss that Long Xiaoxi had ever initiated. She had done it in a drunken stupor. That was not all. She began tugging at Jin Yiheng¡¯s clothes while walking toward the couch. Jin Yiheng¡¯s hormones began to rage and he simply could not resist his urges. Besides, the camera was still on and the entire process would be recorded. He would not be liable since he was not the one who took the initiative. Jin Yihengy down on the couch while Long Xiaoxi pounced on him. Staring at her, Jin Yiheng asked, ¡°Xiaoxi, do you know who I am?¡± ¡°Yeah, aren¡¯t... aren¡¯t you... that big baddie Jin Yiheng? The whole world knows who you are. How could I not know?¡± ¡°How dare you pounce on me, then?¡± She giggled and said in between burps, ¡°So... what... if I pounce on you? We used to sleep on the same bed every day, and you even said that you would marry me when we grew up. You said that you wanted us to have lots of children. Yet you lied to me. You don¡¯t even want to bear children with me or marry me...¡± ¡°It was my fault in the past, but you¡¯re my wife now. We¡¯ll have as many children as you want, alright?¡± Chapter 1511 - Pampering You to Bits (8)

Chapter 1511: Pampering You to Bits (8)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Long Xiaoxi blinked and eximed excitedly, ¡°Really? I want five children, then!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t five too few?¡± ¡°How about ten? Ten would be just perfect,¡± she said, sticking her hands up. ¡°...¡± Jin Yiheng wrapped his arms around her and said, ¡°Sure, it¡¯s up to you.¡± .... Long Xiaoxi woke up again three hourster. She sat up straight, only to discover that she was naked. She had sobered up a little and tried to open her eyes. Images of the event that just took ce flooded her mind. She stared at the man beside her in disbelief. Long Xiaoxi looked him in the eye, wishing she could devour him. ¡°How dare you... did you forget the terms stated in the agreement!?!¡± ¡°The agreement states that I¡¯m not allowed to get intimate with you for six months, but I didn¡¯t initiate anything at all, apart from the kiss I gave you after you lost the bet. You were the one who initiated everything.¡± He then reyed the recording and showed it to her. Long Xiaoxi blushed as red as a tomato after watching the video. She dared not imagine that... she had done that. Jin Yiheng looked at her and asked, ¡°I¡¯m not lying, am I?¡± ¡°So what?¡± ¡°So what? What do you think? We¡¯ve consummated our marriage now. Don¡¯t go back on your word. You must take responsibility for what you¡¯ve done, although we¡¯ve already gotten our marriage registered.¡± ¡°You...¡± Long Xiaoxi rubbed her back andy down slowly. She then pulled the duvet up forcefully. ¡°In order to avoid being maligned by you, I¡¯ve already informed Father and Mother about this. I believe they¡¯re already helping me prepare the wedding.¡± ¡°Did you tell my parents too?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m afraid that Father-inw mighte here and hit me with a rod. Although you¡¯re the one who initiated it, he mighte after me. However, I think my father will definitely tell yours.¡± ¡°...¡± Long Xiaoxi was at aplete loss for words. She did not expect to have fallen for him again so soon. She felt aggrieved and agonized. Noticing that she had stopped talking, Jin Yiheng said, ¡°Xiaoxi, take a good look at how adorable you are when you¡¯re drunk. I think that¡¯s how you really are deep down. You¡¯re just putting up a front now. I insisted on moving in with you despite knowing that you¡¯re mad at me, clearly because I really want to be with you. There¡¯ll be plenty of time for me to prove myself in the future.¡± Long Xiaoxi turned over and cocked her head sideways while tears rolled down her face. Recalling the life she had been leading for the past few years, she felt that he had broken the walls that she had been building painstakingly for such a long time, without much effort at all. Who does he think he is? Who is he to have so much control over my mood and emotions? Why is he always the one in power? She started falling apart and she could not contain her emotions at all. She began bawling loudly. Jin Yiheng knew the reason behind her tears. He hugged her gently without uttering a word. Once she was done crying, she turned around and looked at him. ¡°Do you dare to apologize to me in front of the media and reporters?¡± ¡°Why not? I¡¯ll do it if you want me to,¡± he answered. ¡°Do you dare to make a vow in front of everyone else, then?¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°If you let me down again in the future, you¡¯ll have to bequeath all your assets to me and our children. You¡¯ll then be a monk.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make that vow. I¡¯m willing to do so if you¡¯re going to use that as proof of my devotion to you.¡± ¡°Jin Yiheng, you said so yourself. You¡¯re the one who wants us to reconcile. You¡¯d better not regret your decision. If you let me down again, I¡¯ll definitely do more than just move abroad. I¡¯ll make sure you be a monk for the rest of my life and never be a man again!¡± He said dauntlessly, ¡°Sure. I¡¯m waiting for you to give birth to ten of my children.¡± Long Xiaoxi was overwhelmed with exasperation. She felt that she had fallen into a trap. He had a hidden agenda for suggesting that they y the drinking game! At this moment, Long Xiaoxi¡¯s mobile phone began to ring. It was a call from Li Xiaoxiao. She hurriedly grabbed her mobile phone and answered, ¡°Hello, Xiaoxiao.¡± ¡°Xuan Yin, I¡¯m on my way to your ce now. It¡¯s Wei Ni Estate, right?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll pick you up downstairs.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± After ending the call, she hurriedly put on her clothes, not at all bothered by the fact that he was staring at her naked body. She exined, ¡°Li Xiaoxiao is a fellow contestant I met during the contest. She fell in love with Rongyan at first sight and she once visited the hospital every single day just so she could see him. I¡¯d like to create an opportunity for her during dinner tonight.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. I¡¯m not interested.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not asking for you to be interested, I was just informing you.¡± She then turned around and proceeded to rinse her face in the washroom. She then exited barefaced and headed downstairs with her backpack. Li Xiaoxiao arrived to see that Long Xiaoxi was waiting for her outside the estate. ¡°Xuan Yin, why is your face so red? Are you cold?¡± ¡°No. I¡¯m just infuriated,¡± she answered. ¡°Who made you angry?¡± ¡°Jin Yiheng. Let¡¯s go to my home.¡± As soon as she was about to enter the apartment, Jin Yiheng exited from the lobby. Li Xiaoxiao waved and greeted with a smile, ¡°Hello, Mr. Jin.¡± ¡°Hello.¡± Jin Yiheng said to Long Xiaoxi, ¡°Let¡¯s go home. I¡¯ve already called the cooks to inform them to get ready.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± While walking, Li Xiaoxiao said, ¡°He¡¯s so, so handsome. He¡¯s so much more dashing in person!¡± ¡°Nah, he¡¯s so-so. I¡¯ve probably gotten used to seeing him. He looks like an average human. Nothing to fuss about,¡± she said while ncing at Jin Yiheng. ¡°You just don¡¯t know how blessed you are. He¡¯s so easy on the eyes.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just man-crazy. Are you starting to think that Rongyan isn¡¯t the most handsome man on this?¡± ¡°No! No one can surpass Rongyan in my heart,¡± Li Xiaoxiao hurriedly said. ¡°...¡± As soon as they entered, the servant at the door said, ¡°We were all waiting for you. Everyone¡¯s here.¡± Long Xiaoxi and Jin Yiheng looked at each other before asking in bewilderment, ¡°Are my parents here too?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Long Xiaoxi hurriedly walked toward the house, causing Li Xiaoxiao to panic as well. She felt as if something major was about to happen. When the three of them arrived at the living room, Long Tianze yelled, ¡°I object!¡± A frown creased Long Xiaoxi¡¯s forehead. Chapter 1512 - Pampering You to Bits (9)

Chapter 1512: Pampering You to Bits (9)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She hurriedly entered and discovered that everyone was sitting on the couch. She asked, ¡°Father, what are you objecting to?¡± Long Tianze quickly stood up and said, ¡°Your father-inw wants you two to have two children, but I want three!¡± Long Xiaoxi had broken out in a sweat. ¡°Father, three is not enough. I want ten children.¡± Jin Yiheng chimed in, ¡°Yeah, Father-inw, Xiaoxi told me today that she wants to have ten children.¡± Everyone stared at Long Xiaoxi with their eyes wide open in shock. Long Xiaoxi red at Jin Yiheng and chastised, ¡°Stop being nosy,¡± Long Tianze said, ¡°Xiaoxi, we may all love children but don¡¯t turn yourself into a baby-making machine. You should know when to stop. I¡¯ll really take pity on you.¡± ¡°Father, I was just making a casual remark... how can I possibly give birth to ten children? Can¡¯t you tell that it was just a joke?¡± Long Xiaoxi exined. As soon as she finished speaking, Li Xiaoxiao asked softly, ¡°Xuan Yin, are they Rongyan¡¯s parents?¡± After taking a nce at her inws, Long Xiaoxi answered, ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°They look so young... I can¡¯t tell their age at all.¡± Long Xiaoxi chuckled and said, ¡°My mother-inw is two years older than my mother. Are you starting to think that my mother looks older?¡± ¡°Yeah... she looks way too young for her age...¡± An Xiaoning said, ¡°Xiaoxi, your mother and I have discussed your wedding. We¡¯ve decided to hold it in two weeks¡¯ time. What do you think?¡± Jin Yiheng said, ¡°Mother, two weeks is too long to wait. Three days would be best.¡± Everyone burst intoughter while Long Xiaoxi chastised, ¡°It¡¯s not long at all! I actually find it way too soon!¡± Jin Yiheng said unrestrainedly, ¡°You¡¯re already mine. There¡¯s no need to wait so long to go through the formalities. It¡¯s better to get it done as soon as possible.¡± ¡°...¡± Mei Yangyang said, ¡°Since Yiheng wants it to be done as soon as possible, we¡¯ll do just that. However, it might be a little rushed. You won¡¯t have time to get the wedding photos taken.¡± ¡°Mother-inw, we can get the photos taken in one day. We just have to pay a little more.¡± Mei Yangyang said, ¡°If only you were that proactive in marrying Xiaoxi back then. She wouldn¡¯t have left to live abroad for so many years. Look how eager you are now.¡± ¡°Mother-inw, I was wrong.¡± ¡°Mother, Yiheng has already agreed to apologize to me publicly and make a vow too,¡± said Long Xiaoxi. ¡°Yes, Xiaoxi is right.¡± The parents looked at him in shock, after which he exined what he had to apologize and make a promise about. Mei Yangyang said, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that... your father-inw and I know what kind of a person you are. We believe that you¡¯re serious this time.¡± ¡°But I still have to do it to put Xiaoxi¡¯s mind at ease.¡± An Xiaoning looked at her son and said, ¡°You shall see to it, then. You¡¯re an adult now and you have to be responsible for your own words and actions.¡± .... The wedding was set to be held in three days. The group of childhood friends gathered for dinner. Long Xiaoxi and Li Xiaoxiao arrived to see that Ji Gui and Jin Rongyan were already there. Upon the sight of Li Xiaoxiao, Jin Rongyan asked with a frown, ¡°Why did you bring her along?¡± Long Xiaoxi said, ¡°Xiaoxiao is here to apany me.¡± Ji Gui jested, ¡°Hahaha, isn¡¯t this the woman who confessed to you during the modeling contest?¡± He asked Li Xiaoxiao, ¡°Do you fancy Rongyan? Why? He¡¯s a workaholic. He¡¯s not romantic at all.¡± ¡°The fact that he¡¯s a workaholic doesn¡¯t bother me at all. I just fancy him.¡± Feeling a little awkward, Jin Rongyan picked up a ss of liquor and downed it before saying, ¡°I¡¯m going out for a while. Call me when Yiheng and Wenlun are here.¡± Li Xiaoxiao hurriedly followed him out. Long Xiaoxi and Ji Gui were left alone in the room. ¡°Actually, you don¡¯t have to deny it. We can all tell that you still love him. The eyes don¡¯t lie, Xiaoxi. You¡¯re seriously so loyal,¡± Ji Gui said with a grin. Long Xiaoxi said, ¡°I just feel that destiny is out to y a prank on me.¡± ¡°Just be contented with what you have. Yiheng is such a rare find. You have no idea how many women he¡¯s rejected after you left for abroad. We thought that he would start afresh and get into a new rtionship after canceling your engagement. However, he didn¡¯t. I heard from Rongyan that he had picked up the engagement gift again. He must have still carried feelings for you since you two grew up together. He probably didn¡¯t figure his feelings out and merely thought that he only treated you like his sister. Which lunatic would still sleep on the same bed as their sister even when they¡¯re already teenagers?¡± Long Xiaoxi looked at him and said, ¡°But it still hurts whenever I think about it...¡± ¡°Time will heal everything. You¡¯ve already gotten married and you two have a proper sex life now. You¡¯ve got a long way ahead...¡± ¡°Dummy! Who told you that... we... have a proper sex life?¡± Ji Gui rolled his eyes and asked, ¡°I don¡¯t need anyone to tell me. Look at your own neck.¡± Upon the sight of the hickeys on her neck, she turned as red as a tomato instantly. She hurriedly zipped her jacket up all the way, causing Ji Gui to burst intoughter. ¡°It¡¯s toote. I¡¯ve already seen it. I¡¯m afraid Rongyan and your parents have too...¡± Long Xiaoxi was red with embarrassment. She felt extremely ashamed! It¡¯s all Jin Yiheng¡¯s fault! As soon as Jin Yiheng entered, Long Xiaoxi kicked him forcefully, causing him to be overwhelmed with pain. ¡°Why did you kick me?¡± ¡°Look at this!¡± She unzipped her jacket to expose her neck. She continued, ¡°Dummy wasughing his heart out at me. Father and Mother saw them too!¡± He pulled the zipper of her jacket up and said, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that? We¡¯re all adults.¡± Ji Gui chimed in, ¡°Yeah, yeah, we¡¯re all adults. Is it really appropriate for you to say such things in front of someone like me who¡¯s only ten years old at heart!?!¡± Jin Yiheng sat down on the chair and sneered, ¡°You¡¯re so shameless.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already been shameless for years. It doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Long Xiaoxi said, ¡°Yeah, it doesn¡¯t matter. After all, he doesn¡¯t have a wife anyway.¡± Ji Gui picked up the menu and said, ¡°I want to order some food. I want to order some food. Since it¡¯s Yiheng¡¯s treat, I shall order expensive dishes. Hmph!¡± Chapter 1513 - Pampering You to Bits (10)

Chapter 1513: Pampering You to Bits (10)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The three of them waited for the dishes to be served while Li Xiaoxiao caught up with Jin Rongyan. She chased him all the way into the Gents¡¯. He asked, ¡°I need to relieve nature¡¯s call. Are you sure you want to stay here?¡± ¡°I have something to say to you in private.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear it.¡± Li Xiaoxiao pushed the door of the cubicle open and pushed him into it. Fortunately, there weren¡¯t any other people in the washroom. Otherwise, it would have been really awkward. Jin Rongyan did not expect her to be so strong and almost lost his bnce. Upon seeing her locking the door from inside, he said coldly, ¡°If there¡¯s something you need to say, we can talk outside.¡± ¡°Do you really detest me that much?¡± ¡°Yes, girls like you are not my type.¡± Li Xiaoxiao bit her lip and said, ¡°But I fancy you.¡± ¡°Why are you so thick-skinned? I already said that I don¡¯t like you.¡± ¡°But I like you.¡± ¡°...¡± Staring at her, Jin Rongyan subconsciously shifted his gaze onto her chest the moment he was reminded of the modeling contest. The washroom was narrow and cramped. She was dressed in a low-cut, long-sleeved blouse and a quilted jacket that she did not zip up. The atmosphere was indescribable. Li Xiaoxiao wrapped her arms around him. To her surprise, he did not push her away and instead stood still. She looked up and said, ¡°Rongyan, I really fancy you, please give me a chance. You¡¯ll definitely fall for me after getting to know me better.¡± Jin Rongyan froze in shock and looked down at her. She had light makeup on her face and gazed at him intently. Before he could even speak, she tiptoed to kiss him. Blood gushed through Jin Rongyan¡¯s veins rapidly. All of a sudden, he no longer felt the urge to push her away. Noticing that he was not moving. Li Xiaoxiao brazenly stuck her tongue into his mouth and moved it around. Gradually, Jin Rongyan sat down on the toilet seat while she straddled him. The very fact that he did not push her away gave her a great deal of courage. Jin Rongyan finally snapped back into reality when she began kissing his neck. He decided to stop her. Turning beet red, he said softly, ¡°Go out first...¡± She remained still and kissed him again before saying gently, ¡°I¡¯ll wait for you outside.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± he answered. Li Xiaoxiao was over the moon. She smiled at him widely and scurried out gleefully. She was not at all bothered by a middle-aged man who happened to enter the washroom at the same time. Overwhelmed with excitement, she jumped for joy outside the washroom. She felt as if the genders were reversed just now. If he doesn¡¯t like me, why did he allow me to kiss him? Hmph. Li Xiaoxiao began to think that he did not actually resent her. He wouldn¡¯t even let me near him if he really detested me. She then sent Long Xiaoxi a text message to tell her what happened, after which Long Xiaoxi snorted withughter. Jin Yiheng asked, ¡°What are youughing about?¡± ¡°None of your business.¡± ¡°Who texted you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s none of your concern.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, he snatched her mobile phone away. Jin Yiheng¡¯s jaw dropped the moment he read the content of the text message. Ji Gui then snatched the mobile phone away to take a peek. ¡°Oh my god!¡± ¡°Give it back! You two are to act as if nothing had happened. Otherwise, I won¡¯t let you off. She only wanted me to know and yet you two read it too. It¡¯s really going to be awkward if you expose them. Did you hear me!?!¡± ¡°Yes, yes, I promise I won¡¯t tell. Not only will I keep my lips sealed, I¡¯ll give them a hand too. Rest assured. I really didn¡¯t expect Rongyan to be so randy,¡± said Jin Yiheng. Long Xiaoxi was thrilled to see that there was hope for Li Xiaoxiao. After taking a look at the time, she asked, ¡°Why isn¡¯t my brother here yet?¡± ¡°He should be here soon.¡± Long Wenlun arrived. Upon the sight of them, he asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Rongyan?¡± ¡°He went to the washroom.¡± Jin Rongyan and Li Xiaoxiao entered right after Long Wenlun sat down. Ji Gui hurriedly said, ¡°Xiaoxiao,e and sit here. Let¡¯s swap seats. I want to sit down beside Xiaoxi.¡± Li Xiaoxiao expressed assent and sat beside Jin Rongyan. The meal was rather pleasant. Ji Gui continuously coerced Jin Rongyan into drinking. Thus, he could not help but have a few more drinks than usual. However, he was not drunk. He was still rather sober. When it was time to leave, they returned to Wei Ni Estate together. Jin Yiheng and Long Xiaoxi returned to their nuptial home while Ji Gui returned to his apartment that was opposite theirs. Long Wenlun then drove home. Jin Rongyan and Li Xiaoxiao were left alone with each other. They could hear the sounds of each other breathing in the car. Li Xiaoxiao ced her hand on top of his and held it tightly. She then rested her head on his shoulder, feeling as if she was on top of the world. ¡°Rongyan, shall we try dating each other? If you still don¡¯t fancy me after the probationary period, I won¡¯t show up in front of you again. Alright?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± he asked in a hoarse voice. ¡°I want to be your girlfriend. I want us to be an actual couple.¡± ¡°How?¡± She sat up straight and leaned closer toward him. ¡°Just like this...¡± She then kissed him again. This time, Jin Rongyan reciprocated. Ji Gui¡¯s car was not cramped at all. Li Xiaoxiao was excited yet nervous. He seemed to have lost control of himself and began getting intimate with her. It felt amazing. Jin Rongyan found it extremely enjoyable. .... Staring at Ji Gui, who was standing on the balcony with a pair of binocrs in hand, Long Xiaoxi asked, ¡°What are you looking at?¡± ¡°They haven¡¯t alighted from the car yet. Something major is about to happen.¡± ¡°What could possibly happen?¡± ¡°Rongyan is going to lose his virginity! Should I film them with my camcorder?¡± Ji Gui said excitedly. Long Xiaoxi smacked him on the head and chided, ¡°Obviously not. Scram and go home.¡± ¡°I know why you¡¯re so eager for me to leave. I¡¯m getting in the way of your business, aren¡¯t I? I¡¯m going to leave now,¡± he said, putting away his binocrs. Long Xiaoxi watched him leave before returning to her bedroom. Jin Yiheng handed her the tablet and said, ¡°Take a look.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know once you see it.¡± Long Xiaoxi unlocked it to see that there was a self-recorded video of Jin Yiheng. ¡°I recorded this video for the sole purpose of making a promise to someone...¡± Chapter 1514 - Pampering You to Bits (11)

Chapter 1514: Pampering You to Bits (11)

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Nine years ago, Long Xiaoxi requested to cancel our engagement. However, I was the reason behind her decision to do so. I was insensible back then, which was also why she left S Nation and lived abroad for nine years. Now that she¡¯s back, we¡¯ve reconciled and gotten married. I¡¯d like to make a promise to her now and I want everyone to testify for me. If I ever let her down, I¡¯m willing to be a monk and bequeath all my assets to her and our children. This is proof of my determination. We¡¯ll be holding our wedding very soon. Although I¡¯ve already apologized to her in person, I¡¯d like to apologize again. Xiaoxi, I¡¯m sorry. I love you.¡± Long Xiaoxi looked at him and said, ¡°Seems like you¡¯ve really kept your word.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Long Xiaoxi¡¯s mobile phone rang. She took a look at the caller disy to see that it was a call from Zhong Minhe. She answered it immediately, ¡°Brother Minhe.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go downstairs right now.¡± She then ended the call immediately and hurried outside with her mobile phone. Jin Yiheng stopped her and asked, ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°Brother Minhe is downstairs. He wants to see me.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡± Long Xiaoxi red at him and asked, ¡°What for? He wants to see me, not you. Just wait for me at home.¡± Jin Yiheng insisted, ¡°We all know each other. Why can¡¯t I see him?¡± ¡°No, just stay at home and wait for me. I¡¯ll be back very soon. If you insist on tagging along, I¡¯ll go back to my parents¡¯ home tonight.¡± ¡°...¡± Jin Yiheng had no choice but to go over to Ji Gui¡¯s apartment to borrow his binocrs. He then stood on the balcony and looked down. Unfortunately, he did not see anything at all because Zhong Minhe was standing in the lobby and thus was not in his field of vision. Long Xiaoxi ran into him when she exited from the elevator. ¡°Brother Minhe.¡± He answered, ¡°Xiaoxi.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I saw Yiheng¡¯s apology video.¡± Long Xiaoxi said, ¡°I just saw it too.¡± ¡°I also heard... that you¡¯ve reconciled with him.¡± ¡°Who did you hear it from?¡± ¡°Is it true?¡± ¡°Yes... we drank and... Brother Minhe, you don¡¯t have to wait for me any longer.¡± ¡°I knew it. I knew you would return to him. You¡¯ve only ever had eyes for him ever since we were children, and you wouldn¡¯t have stayed abroad for so many years if you didn¡¯t resent him. Xiaoxi, I think he¡¯s made up his mind to be with you. You have my blessings,¡± he said, gazing at her. Long Xiaoxi felt that he had said those words with a heavy heart. ¡°Brother Minhe, I wish you all the best too. I hope you¡¯ll find a woman you can settle down with.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, a squeaky voice hollered impatiently, ¡°Brother! Are you done yet!?!¡± Long Xiaoxi looked over to see that Zhong Tian¡¯ai was striding toward them. Zhong Tian¡¯ai said in a mellower tone, ¡°I heard that you¡¯ve gotten married. Congrattions.¡± ¡°You seem to be happier than I am about my marriage.¡± Zhong Tian¡¯ai said candidly, ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s worth celebrating. Besides, you¡¯ll no longer be pestering my brother. I¡¯ll obviously be happy about it.¡± Long Xiaoxi said calmly, ¡°The second reason should be the main one. Although you were hostile toward me and sent me a text message using your brother¡¯s mobile phone, I¡¯m d to see how much you care about him.¡± ¡°It was my fault for being hostile and pretending to be my brother. I apologize for that.¡± Zhong Tian¡¯ai then said to her brother, ¡°Mother said that she had made some dumplings and wants us to go over to have some.¡± ¡°Xiaoxi, we¡¯re leaving now,¡± said Zhong Minhe, who did not stay any longer. ¡°Alright, get home safely.¡± She then walked out of the lobby and watched them leave slowly. Long Xiaoxi turned around and headed back to her apartment. As soon as she entered, Jin Yiheng exited from the balcony and asked, ¡°Was that his sister?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°She¡¯s already so grown up.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What did he say to you?¡± Long Xiaoxi changed into her home slippers and entered. ¡°Nothing much, he just congratted me.¡± ¡°You seem unhappy. Are you upset that you can¡¯t be with him anymore?¡± Shaking her head, she answered, ¡°I¡¯m just feeling a little guilty. I never knew that he used to carry a torch for me. I started feeling guilty after I found out. Well, like what he said, I used to only have eyes for you. I never realized that there were others around me. If he hadn¡¯t confessed his feelings to me, I wouldn¡¯t have known that he fancied me at all.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll adore you more than he does.¡± He walked toward Long Xiaoxi, who quickly took a few steps back. ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to kiss you.¡± ¡°Get lost.¡± He pressed her against the wall and said as he smiled, ¡°Where should I get lost to? Shall I get lost in you?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t forgiven you yet, so quit being so sheepish.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯m in no hurry anyway. You can always forgive me after we have a few children.¡± ¡°...¡± Long Xiaoxi deeply regretted getting back together with Jin Yiheng without preparing herself mentally beforehand. She felt as if she was stepping on eggshells every day. After the modeling contest, she seemed to have cut off contact with the modeling industry. He would take her with him everywhere he went, be it to the office, social events, business trips, or even the supermarket. Hence, Long Xiaoxi was greatly peeved and felt that her freedom had been restricted. Not only was she restricted by him, she was restricted by the baby in her womb as well. She was told to avoid cold and spicy foods and even had to watch her weight! What else can I do? Nothing. Well, at least her sex life was not affected. Despite repeatedly telling him that she had yet to forgive him for everything that he had done, her efforts were futile. As the days passed, she gradually stopped saying those words to him. Long Xiaoxi¡¯s pregnancy did not give her the greatest sense of aplishment. Instead, it was the fact that she had managed to matchmake Jin Rongyan and Li Xiaoxiao sessfully. They fell in love with each other after the various sexual encounters. Whenever she saw them together, Long Xiaoxi would express her disdain toward men in her head. Men are all the same. No matter how much they im to dislike a certain woman, their hormonal reactions would often betray them. The truth is often revealed by their actions! she thought. Jin Rongyan was the best example. Long Xiaoxi was bored out of her wits. After begging Jin Yiheng for a long time, he finally agreed to take her on a vacation. Chapter 1515 (END) - The Final Chapter

Chapter 1515: The Final Chapter

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jin Yiheng apanied her to her favorite ce, the beach. The temperature was just right. He held the hand of the expectant mother, Long Xiaoxi, and walked toward the sandy shore. Coincidentally, they chanced upon another couple who was walking toward them. The chubby man who had a pot belly was holding his beau by her slender waist. He constantly whispered to her while walking, and she constantly hung her head low as she smiled. Hence, they did not notice Jin Yiheng and Long Xiaoxi. The woman seemed rather familiar to them. ¡°Ah, Wen Yuechan?¡± Wen Yuechan looked up and turned pale the instant she saw them. ¡°Mr. and Mrs. Jin, do you guys know Yuechan?¡± ¡°Yeah, but we¡¯re not close. How is she rted to you?¡± ¡°She¡¯s my friend,¡± the man answered, chuckling. He quickly let go of her waist. ¡°I¡¯m surprised that there¡¯d be such intimate physical contact between friends.¡± ¡°You guys carry on and chat,¡± said the man, who excused himself. After he left, Long Xiaoxi smiled and said to Wen Yuechan, ¡°I¡¯ve long heard about your tarnished reputation. I¡¯ve finally seen it with my own eyes today. I can¡¯t believe you¡¯d be willing to date a man of such low standards.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to mock me. You¡¯re just lucky to have been born into a wealthy family. What¡¯s the big deal?¡± Long Xiaoxi said, ¡°Hope you¡¯ll reincarnate as a wealthy man¡¯s daughter your next life too.¡± Staring at them while they walked away, Wen Yuechan could not help but tear up. Does she really think that I want to live like this? There¡¯s just no turning back for me now. As much as she hated to admit it, Long Xiaoxi was the person she envied the most. Long Xiaoxi managed to win his heart at the end of the day. Good for her. When Long Xiaoxi stopped and turned around to look at Wen Yuechan, she discovered that thetter had already walked away. Jin Yiheng then cupped her face in his hands and kissed her before saying, ¡°Honey, I love you.¡± Gazing at him, Long Xiaoxi said, ¡°Let your actions do the talking. I¡¯m tired.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll piggyback you, then.¡± ¡°How about this?¡± she asked, pointing at her baby bump. ¡°I¡¯ll still carry you.¡± He squatted down and continued, ¡°Come sit on my shoulders.¡± ¡°Will I crush you?¡± ¡°No, just try.¡± Long Xiaoxi did as she was told, after which he stood up and carried her away. He was carrying on his beloved wife and son on his shoulders, a clear proof of his unyielding and selfless love for them. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!